16
D espite rampant urbanisa- tion, India has scripted an exemplary story of tiger preservation. As per a survey released by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday on Global Tiger Day, the popula- tion of the country’s national animal has increased from 2,226 four years ago to 2,967 in 2018, a rise of 33 per cent. “The results of the just declared tiger census would make every Indian, every nature lover happy. However, the story which started from ‘Ek Tha Tiger’ and reached to ‘Tiger Zinda hai’ shouldn’t end here. It should be ‘baaghon mein bahaar hai,” Modi said in a lighter mode after releasing the All India Tiger Estimation Report 2018. India can now boast of being home to over 75 per cent of the world’s tiger population. “Today, we can proudly say that with nearly 3,000 tigers, India is the safest places for tigers in the world. India has achieved a historic milestone. On Global Tiger Day, we reaf- firm our commitment to con- serve tiger population in the country. We are doing whatever we can to conserve the majes- tic animal,” said Modi calling upon heads of other countries to form an alliance of global leaders and erase the demand for illegal poaching in Asia. According to the survey, one of the biggest wildlife counts in the world, Madhya Pradesh topped the list at 526, followed by Karnataka (524), Uttarakhand (442), Maharashtra (312) and Tamil Nadu (264). Chhattisgarh and Mizoram have registered a decline in their tiger numbers while the number in Odisha remained constant at 28. Northeast Hills too remained critically vulnerable and need immediate conser- vation attention. Tiger occupancy was found to be stable at 88,985 km since 2014. New areas that were colonised by tigers in 2018 con- stituted 25,709 (28 per cent) km. The results are important given that India along with 12 other tiger range countries had committed to double the pop- ulation of tigers in their terri- tory by 2022, as part of the World Wildlife Foundation (WWF) programme. “Nine years ago it was decided in St Petersburg that the target of doubling the tiger population would be 2022, we in India completed the target four years earlier. This is one of the finest examples of ‘Sankalp se siddhi’ (attainment through resolve),” said the PM. Calling these estimates “encouraging,” Ravi Singh, CEO of WWF India, said that given the “immense pressure on India’s biodiversity,” the numbers speak of the com- mitment of the Government, local communities and citizens of India. Rajesh Gopal, head of the Global Tiger Forum, hailed Government’s efforts and called for better strategies and need to think beyond protected areas. Gopal explained, “Physical space gets reduced when you take into consideration the landscapes in which you have these reserves. Tigers being territorial animals cannot be packed in a small space because there will be increased compe- tition for food, mating partners and prey base. “Spaces outside the reserves are equally important for tigers, as male tigers move from place to place to disperse genes. The routes that tigers use to move from place to place are called corridors, which need to be identified and interventions are required. More important- ly, community sensitivity and better management strategies are needed,” he said. Qamar Qureshi, wildlife expert from Dehradun-based Wildlife Institute of India which was involved in the sur- vey, agreed. “Now empha- sis should be on good management protection and making the core areas inviolate besides ensuring safe habitat corridor for their con- servation.” One of the world’s largest wildlife surveys, the wildlife officials covered 3.81 lakh km of forested habitats in 20 tiger occupied States of India. A foot survey of 5.22 km was done for tiger signs and prey abundance estimation. Camera traps were deployed at 26,838 locations. These cameras resulted in 3.4 crore pho- tographs of wildlife of which 76,651 were of the tigers. A fter a massive uproar in the Lok Sabha over Samajwadi Party (SP) MP Azam Khan’s derogatory remarks against BJP member Rama Devi, the SP lawmaker on Monday apol- ogised in the House twice for his sexist comments. In an anti-climax to the vociferous demand on Thursday for an exemplary- punishment to Azam, the SP leader described Rama Devi as his “sister” saying, “If my word hurts hurt anyone, I apologise.” Though Azam had to repeat his apology twice in the House, a visibly indignant Devi said the member has the habit of uttering derogatory words against women. As soon as the House met for the day, Speaker Om Birla asked Azam to speak and soon after he tendered his apology. “I have been an MLA for nine times, a minister several times, a Rajya Sabha member also. I was a Parliamentary Affairs Minister also. I know legislative procedures,” he said. “However, if my words hurt anyone, I hereby apolo- gise,” he said. T he Supreme Court on Monday directed the Uttarakhand Government to withdraw the work order for the construction of a road passing through a corridor between the Rajaji and Corbett Tiger Reserves. A Bench comprising Justices Arun Mishra and Deepak Gupta passed the order after the counsel appearing for Uttarakhand said the State would approach the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) for obtaining approvals for the road. The apex court was hear- ing a plea which sought stay on construction of roads, bridges and culverts on the Laldhang Chillarkhal Road passing through corridor between the Rajaji and Corbett Tiger Reserves. The Bench said it is open for the State Government to approach the MoEF in accor- dance with the law for obtain- ing the requisite approval under the provisions of Wildlife Protection Act. Advocate ADN Rao, assist- ing the top court as an amicus curiae in the matter, said the court-appointed Central Empowered Committee (CEC) has filed its report on the issue. The State Government had earlier told the court that not “even an inch” of widening of road is going to be made there. During the hearing on Monday, the Bench expressed displeasure that some widening work was apparently done there despite the statement made by counsel appearing for the State, upon receiving instruction from a senior Government official, that no such thing would happen. The State’s counsel told the Bench that no new widening of road was done there. P rime Minister Narendra Modi will feature in a spe- cial TV episode of Discovery channel’s “Man Vs Wild” high- lighting “issues related to envi- ronmental change”. The episode will be telecast in 180 countries on August 12 on Discovery channel. According to a statement from the channel, the special episode, featuring adventurer Bear Grylls and shot in India’s Jim Corbett National Park, will be a “frank and free- wheeling journey” which will throw light on wildlife con- servation. “For years, I have lived among nature, in the moun- tains and the forests. These years have a lasting impact on my life. So when I was asked about a special programme focussing on life beyond pol- itics and that too in the midst of nature, I was both intrigued and inclined to take part in it,” the PM said in a statement. “For me, this show pre- sents a great opportunity to showcase to the world India's rich environmental heritage and stress on the importance of environment conservation and living in harmony with nature. It was a great experi- ence spending time in the jungle once again, this time with Bear, who is blessed with indefatigable energy and quest to experience nature at its purest,” he added. Bear said it was a privilege to take the PM “on an adven- ture into the Indian wilder- ness.” As they explore the wild lands of Jim Corbett, Bear presents Modi with a makeshift spear and promises to keep the “most important man in India” safe. “I feel truly honoured to get to spend time with this remarkable world leader. The wild reminds us that we need each other and that together we are stronger. I am so excit- ed to spend time with the PM and to get to know the man who leads this great nation,” Bear added. Sharing the teaser of the episode on Twitter on Monday, Bear said it will be an oppor- tunity for people across the globe to see the unknown side of the Indian Prime Minister. In his response to Bear, Modi said the episode will con- tribute to the discourse of environmental conservation. The 45-second-long clip teases the episode as an “epic adventure of a lifetime” and the one that unites “an ace adven- turer” with “the leader of the world's largest democracy”. M embers across party lines on Monday demanded in the State Assembly that a special session of the House be convened for holding discussions on various aspects pertaining to the State’s plan to celebrate 150th birth anniver- sary of Mahatma Gandhi for two years. Raising the issue during the Zero Hour, Congress Legislature Party Leader Narasingha Mihsra wanted to the know why the Gandhi Jayanti Celebration Committee headed by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has not met long and its plans Gandhi Jayatni celebra- tions. He ridiculed saying that leaders of some parties liking ideologies of Gandhi’s killer Nathuram Godse are now in power and have built a temple of Godse. They are praying Godse as their god. This way, efforts are being made to diminish the ideologies of Gandhi, he said. He urged the Government to introduce courses on Mahatma Gandhi from pri- mary to university level. He too wanted that the upcoming Gandhi Jayanti October 2 should not be declared as a holiday and debates on Gandhi be held among students. To this, BJP member Bishnu Charan Sethi said the RSS and the BJP should not be linked to Godse as they were in no way linked to him. Godse was a member of Hindu Mahasabha. He demanded that a special Assembly session be convened for holding discus- sions on Mahatma Gandhi Jayanti. Leader of Opposition Pradipta Kumar Naik demand- ed that the Godse-relates state- ments made by Mishra he expunged from the recordings of the House. BJD member Amar Prasas Satpathy demanded that all places in Odisha visited by Mahatma Gandhi be declares as tourism sites. While Atanua Sabyasachi Nayak demanded for convening of special Assembly session, Debi Prasad Mihsra and Bhupinder Singh demanded the Ahmisha be added to the Preamble of the Constitution. BJP Chief Whip Mohan Charan Majhi demanded that total prohibition be enforced in the State from October 2. C hief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Monday announced renaming of the Sachivalaya (the State Secretariat) as ‘Lok Seva Bhawan and reiterated his ear- lier claim that the overall law and order and crime situation in the State has remained large- ly under control. In reply to the discussions on the Demands for Grants of the Home and the General Administration and Pension Grievances Departments, the Chief Minister said the simul- taneous elections to Parliament and the Assembly were con- ducted peacefully. There has been no significant communal or student unrest. The situation relating to the Left Wing Extremism has improved substantially during the last few years. Only a few pockets in the hilly and diffi- cult terrains and the inter- State borders along Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh remain the areas of concern. During 2018, 19 hardcore CPI (Maoist) cadres were killed and in the current year seven cadres have been killed. Gurupriya Bridge and several development initiatives have given a big fillip to integrate the “Swabhiman Anchal”. “Protection of women, children and weaker sections of the society is among the top- most priorities of my Government. Specialised Investigation Units for dealing with crimes against women have been constituted in 29 dis- tricts in addition to Mahila and Sishu Desks and Integrated Anti-Human Trafficking Units. All rape cases involving minors and other important cases are being treated as red-flag cases for better monitoring of inves- tigation leading to increase in conviction rate,” the Chief Minister said. The police have been vig- orously going after organised crimes and economic offences. Notorious gangsters and mafia elements have been arrested. Criminals associated with drugs, illegal stone-quarry and transport mafia are being dealt with firmly. As many as 148 cadre Assistant Public Prosecutors and 11 cadre Public Prosecutors have been posted to improve the quality of pros- ecution. The Government has taken several steps to mod- ernise the police force and promote the use of IT. The State police are already providing 18 services as part of the Citizen Portal in the CCTNS. Regarding General Administration and Public Grievance Department, he said his Government has given utmost emphasis on welfare of the public. Financial assistance is being given to the poor and needy people from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund (CMRF). A total of Rs 462 crore has been received in the CMRF from dif- ferent sources after the Cyclone Fani. The Government has enunciated the 5T Mantras namely, Technology, Teamwork, Transparency and Time leading to transformation to take delivery of services and governance to the next level, he said. To enhance air connectiv- ity within the State, State Government has initiated action for upgradation of the airstrips at Kangcilunda, Jeypore, Sativata, Utkela, Tusra and Uirasal. A provision of Rupees 100 crorc has been made for upgradation of these airstrips. The office of the Lokayukta has started func- tioning from March 20, 2019 to maintain transparency in administration. Continued on Page 4 A t long last, in the backdrop of a bitter war between Odisha and West Bengal over the claim of place of origin of Rasagola, ‘Odisha Rasagola’ has now got the much-awaited Geographical Indications (GI) tag on Monday. Registered as ‘Odisha Rasagola’, the GI certificate was granted to the famous sweet by the Chennai-based GI institute of the country and it will be valid till February 22, 2028.The news led to celebra- tions in the State. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik expressed his happiness over the achievement for ‘Odisha Rasagola’. He took to Twitter to express his joy. “I am happy to share that Odisha Rasagola has received GI Tag in Geographical Indication Registry. This mouthwatering culinary delight made of cottage cheese, loved by Odias across the world, is offered to Lord Jagannath as part of bhog since centuries,” Patnaik Tweeted. Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan also expressed pleasure over what he described as the “sweet news for all Odias”, saying that Rasagola is used as Bhog in the Lord Jagannath Temple since ages as part of an old cultural tradition of the State. It may be noted that in November 2017, West Bengal had bagged the GI tag for ‘Banglar Rasogolla’ triggering an immediate reaction that Odisha lost its Rasagola battle to the neighbouring State. The then Odisha Finance Minister Sashi Bhusan Behera rejected such apprehensions and said the process was on to get GI tag for the Odisha vari- ety of the sweet. A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was filed in the Orissa High Court in February last year seeking GI tag for ‘Odisha Rasagola’ and scraping the tag received by West Bengal. Odisha had been fighting for the GI recognition for its Rasagola by pointing out that the sweet delicacy is being offered to Lord Jagannath from time immemorial. CUTTACK: The city police on Monday claimed that they have detained a person who is believed to be the prime sus- pect behind the three back-to- back murder incidents that happened here within 24 hours last week. City DCP Akhileswar Singh told reporters that the suspected serial killer has been identified as one Narayan Sahu (30) of Ganjam district, who was seen wandering on roads near OMP Square, College Square and Ranihat for around three to four months now. “A special squad engaged for the purpose apprehended the prime suspect from a place outside the city on Monday morning and he is now being questioned by a team of inves- tigating officers,” Singh said without divulging exactly from where the accused was appre- hended. He further claimed that during the hour-long ques- tioning of the suspect, it prima facie appeared that the person was not a psychopath as was widely perceived. “Details about the modus operandi, weapons of offence and the motive behind the murders would be ascertained during the subsequent ques- tioning of the suspected accused,” Singh said, adding that due process of criminal law, including medical exami- nation, would be followed in the event of his arrest. Three unidentified bodies had been recovered from the city from three different places on Tuesday morning and Wednesday morning. Since all the bodies had similar cut wounds in the throats and crushing head injuries and all the victims turned out to be homeless persons sleeping on footpaths, police began inves- tigation believing that a single individual was behind all these deaths. A team of officials was entrusted to investigate into the three killings from all angles and the team also went to sev- eral places outside the city during the course of investiga- tion, PNS

News Headlines India - The Pioneer - #$% ˇ &’(#)...2019/07/30  · 20 tiger occupied States of India. A foot survey of 5.22 km was done for tiger signs and prey abundance estimation

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Page 1: News Headlines India - The Pioneer - #$% ˇ &’(#)...2019/07/30  · 20 tiger occupied States of India. A foot survey of 5.22 km was done for tiger signs and prey abundance estimation

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Despite rampant urbanisa-tion, India has scripted

an exemplary story of tigerpreservation. As per a surveyreleased by Prime MinisterNarendra Modi on Monday onGlobal Tiger Day, the popula-tion of the country’s nationalanimal has increased from2,226 four years ago to 2,967 in2018, a rise of 33 per cent.

“The results of the justdeclared tiger census wouldmake every Indian, everynature lover happy. However,the story which started from‘Ek Tha Tiger’ and reached to‘Tiger Zinda hai’ shouldn’t endhere. It should be ‘baaghonmein bahaar hai,” Modi said ina lighter mode after releasingthe All India Tiger EstimationReport 2018.

India can now boast ofbeing home to over 75 per centof the world’s tiger population.

“Today, we can proudlysay that with nearly 3,000tigers, India is the safest placesfor tigers in the world. India hasachieved a historic milestone.On Global Tiger Day, we reaf-firm our commitment to con-serve tiger population in thecountry. We are doing whateverwe can to conserve the majes-tic animal,” said Modi callingupon heads of other countriesto form an alliance of globalleaders and erase the demandfor illegal poaching in Asia.

According to the survey,one of the biggest wildlife

counts in the world, MadhyaPradesh topped the list at 526,followed by Karnataka (524),Uttarakhand (442),Maharashtra (312) and TamilNadu (264). Chhattisgarh andMizoram have registered adecline in their tiger numberswhile the number in Odisharemained constant at 28.

Northeast Hills tooremained critically vulnerableand need immediate conser-vation attention.

Tiger occupancy was foundto be stable at 88,985 km since2014. New areas that werecolonised by tigers in 2018 con-stituted 25,709 (28 per cent)km. The results are importantgiven that India along with 12other tiger range countries hadcommitted to double the pop-ulation of tigers in their terri-tory by 2022, as part of theWorld Wildlife Foundation(WWF) programme.

“Nine years ago it wasdecided in St Petersburg thatthe target of doubling the tigerpopulation would be 2022, wein India completed the targetfour years earlier. This is one ofthe finest examples of ‘Sankalpse siddhi’ (attainment throughresolve),” said the PM.

Calling these estimates“encouraging,” Ravi Singh,CEO of WWF India, said thatgiven the “immense pressureon India’s biodiversity,” thenumbers speak of the com-mitment of the Government,local communities and citizensof India.

Rajesh Gopal, head of theGlobal Tiger Forum, hailedGovernment’s efforts and calledfor better strategies and need tothink beyond protected areas.

Gopal explained, “Physicalspace gets reduced when youtake into consideration thelandscapes in which you havethese reserves. Tigers beingterritorial animals cannot bepacked in a small space becausethere will be increased compe-tition for food, mating partnersand prey base.

“Spaces outside thereserves are equally importantfor tigers, as male tigers movefrom place to place to dispersegenes. The routes that tigers useto move from place to place arecalled corridors, which need tobe identified and interventionsare required. More important-ly, community sensitivity andbetter management strategiesare needed,” he said.

Qamar Qureshi, wildlifeexpert from Dehradun-basedWildlife Institute of Indiawhich was involved in the sur-

vey, agreed. “Now empha-sis should be on goodmanagement protectionand making the coreareas inviolate besidesensuring safe habitatcorridor for their con-servation.”

One of the world’slargest wildlife surveys,the wildlife officialscovered 3.81 lakh kmof forested habitats in20 tiger occupiedStates of India. A footsurvey of 5.22 km wasdone for tiger signsand prey abundanceestimation. Cameratraps were deployedat 26,838 locations.These camerasresulted in 3.4crore pho-tographs ofwildlife ofw h i c h76,651 w e r eof thetigers.

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After a massive uproar in theLok Sabha over Samajwadi

Party (SP) MP Azam Khan’sderogatory remarks againstBJP member Rama Devi, theSP lawmaker on Monday apol-ogised in the House twice forhis sexist comments.

In an anti-climax to thevociferous demand onThursday for an exemplary-punishment to Azam, the SPleader described Rama Devi ashis “sister” saying, “If my wordhurts hurt anyone, I apologise.”

Though Azam had torepeat his apology twice in theHouse, a visibly indignant Devisaid the member has the habitof uttering derogatory wordsagainst women.

As soon as the House metfor the day, Speaker Om Birlaasked Azam to speak and soonafter he tendered hisapology.

“I have been an MLA fornine times, a minister severaltimes, a Rajya Sabha memberalso. I was a ParliamentaryAffairs Minister also. I know legislative procedures,”he said.

“However, if my wordshurt anyone, I hereby apolo-gise,” he said.

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The Supreme Court onMonday directed the

Uttarakhand Government towithdraw the work order forthe construction of a roadpassing through a corridorbetween the Rajaji and CorbettTiger Reserves.

A Bench comprisingJustices Arun Mishra andDeepak Gupta passed the orderafter the counsel appearing forUttarakhand said the Statewould approach the UnionMinistry of Environment andForests (MoEF) for obtainingapprovals for the road.

The apex court was hear-ing a plea which sought stay onconstruction of roads, bridgesand culverts on the Laldhang

Chillarkhal Road passingthrough corridor between theRajaji and Corbett TigerReserves.

The Bench said it is openfor the State Government toapproach the MoEF in accor-dance with the law for obtain-ing the requisite approval underthe provisions of WildlifeProtection Act.

Advocate ADN Rao, assist-

ing the top court as an amicuscuriae in the matter, said thecourt-appointed CentralEmpowered Committee (CEC)has filed its report on the issue.

The State Government hadearlier told the court that not“even an inch” of widening ofroad is going to be made there.

During the hearing onMonday, the Bench expresseddispleasure that some wideningwork was apparently donethere despite the statementmade by counsel appearingfor the State, upon receivinginstruction from a seniorGovernment official, that nosuch thing would happen.

The State’s counsel toldthe Bench that no new widening of road was donethere.

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Prime Minister NarendraModi will feature in a spe-

cial TV episode of Discoverychannel’s “Man Vs Wild” high-lighting “issues related to envi-ronmental change”.

The episode will be telecastin 180 countries on August 12on Discovery channel.

According to a statementfrom the channel, the specialepisode, featuring adventurerBear Grylls and shot in India’sJim Corbett National Park,will be a “frank and free-wheeling journey” which willthrow light on wildlife con-servation.

“For years, I have livedamong nature, in the moun-tains and the forests. Theseyears have a lasting impact onmy life. So when I was askedabout a special programmefocussing on life beyond pol-itics and that too in the midstof nature, I was both intriguedand inclined to take part in it,”the PM said in a statement.

“For me, this show pre-sents a great opportunity toshowcase to the world India'srich environmental heritageand stress on the importanceof environment conservationand living in harmony withnature. It was a great experi-ence spending time in the

jungle once again, this timewith Bear, who is blessed withindefatigable energy and questto experience nature at itspurest,” he added.

Bear said it was a privilegeto take the PM “on an adven-ture into the Indian wilder-ness.” As they explore the wildlands of Jim Corbett, Bearpresents Modi with amakeshift spear and promisesto keep the “most importantman in India” safe.

“I feel truly honoured toget to spend time with thisremarkable world leader. Thewild reminds us that we needeach other and that togetherwe are stronger. I am so excit-ed to spend time with the PMand to get to know the manwho leads this great nation,”Bear added.

Sharing the teaser of theepisode on Twitter on Monday,Bear said it will be an oppor-tunity for people across theglobe to see the unknown sideof the Indian Prime Minister.

In his response to Bear,Modi said the episode will con-tribute to the discourse ofenvironmental conservation.

The 45-second-long clipteases the episode as an “epicadventure of a lifetime” and theone that unites “an ace adven-turer” with “the leader of theworld's largest democracy”.

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Members across party lineson Monday demanded

in the State Assembly that aspecial session of the House beconvened for holding discussions on various aspectspertaining to the State’s plan tocelebrate 150th birth anniver-sary of Mahatma Gandhi fortwo years.

Raising the issue during theZero Hour, CongressLegislature Party LeaderNarasingha Mihsra wanted tothe know why the GandhiJayanti Celebration Committeeheaded by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik hasnot met long and its plans Gandhi Jayatni celebra-tions.

He ridiculed saying thatleaders of some parties likingideologies of Gandhi’s killerNathuram Godse are now inpower and have built a templeof Godse. They are prayingGodse as their god. This way,efforts are being made todiminish the ideologies ofGandhi, he said.

He urged the Governmentto introduce courses on

Mahatma Gandhi from pri-mary to university level.

He too wanted that theupcoming Gandhi JayantiOctober 2 should not bedeclared as a holiday anddebates on Gandhi be heldamong students.

To this, BJP memberBishnu Charan Sethi said theRSS and the BJP should not belinked to Godse as they were inno way linked to him. Godsewas a member of HinduMahasabha. He demanded thata special Assembly session beconvened for holding discus-sions on Mahatma GandhiJayanti.

Leader of OppositionPradipta Kumar Naik demand-ed that the Godse-relates state-ments made by Mishra heexpunged from the recordingsof the House.

BJD member Amar PrasasSatpathy demanded that allplaces in Odisha visited byMahatma Gandhi be declaresas tourism sites. While AtanuaSabyasachi Nayak demandedfor convening of specialAssembly session, Debi PrasadMihsra and Bhupinder Singhdemanded the Ahmisha beadded to the Preamble of theConstitution.

BJP Chief Whip MohanCharan Majhi demanded thattotal prohibition be enforced inthe State from October 2.

���������������� ��� ����������������� ����4!���������5���������%���"������9�����

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Chief Minister NaveenPatnaik on Monday

announced renaming of theSachivalaya (the StateSecretariat) as ‘Lok SevaBhawan and reiterated his ear-lier claim that the overall lawand order and crime situationin the State has remained large-ly under control.

In reply to the discussionson the Demands for Grants ofthe Home and the GeneralAdministration and PensionGrievances Departments, theChief Minister said the simul-

taneous elections to Parliamentand the Assembly were con-ducted peacefully. There hasbeen no significant communalor student unrest.

The situation relating tothe Left Wing Extremism hasimproved substantially duringthe last few years. Only a fewpockets in the hilly and diffi-cult terrains and the inter-State borders along AndhraPradesh and Chhattisgarhremain the areas of concern.During 2018, 19 hardcore CPI(Maoist) cadres were killedand in the current year sevencadres have been killed.Gurupriya Bridge and several

development initiatives havegiven a big fillip to integrate the“Swabhiman Anchal”.

“Protection of women,children and weaker sections ofthe society is among the top-most priorities of myGovernment. SpecialisedInvestigation Units for dealingwith crimes against womenhave been constituted in 29 dis-tricts in addition to Mahila andSishu Desks and IntegratedAnti-Human Trafficking Units.All rape cases involving minorsand other important cases arebeing treated as red-flag casesfor better monitoring of inves-tigation leading to increase inconviction rate,” the ChiefMinister said.

The police have been vig-orously going after organisedcrimes and economic offences.Notorious gangsters and mafiaelements have been arrested.

Criminals associated withdrugs, illegal stone-quarry andtransport mafia are being dealtwith firmly.

As many as 148 cadreAssistant Public Prosecutorsand 11 cadre PublicProsecutors have been postedto improve the quality of pros-ecution. The Government hastaken several steps to mod-ernise the police force andpromote the use of IT. The Statepolice are already providing 18services as part of the CitizenPortal in the CCTNS.

Regarding GeneralAdministration and PublicGrievance Department, he saidhis Government has givenutmost emphasis on welfare ofthe public. Financial assistanceis being given to the poor andneedy people from the ChiefMinister’s Relief Fund (CMRF).A total of Rs 462 crore has been

received in the CMRF from dif-ferent sources after the CycloneFani.

The Government hasenunciated the 5T Mantrasnamely, Technology,Teamwork, Transparency andTime leading to transformationto take delivery of servicesand governance to the nextlevel, he said.

To enhance air connectiv-ity within the State, StateGovernment has initiatedaction for upgradation of theairstrips at Kangcilunda,Jeypore, Sativata, Utkela, Tusraand Uirasal. A provision ofRupees 100 crorc has beenmade for upgradation of theseairstrips. The office of theLokayukta has started func-tioning from March 20, 2019 tomaintain transparency inadministration.

Continued on Page 4

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At long last, in the backdropof a bitter war between

Odisha and West Bengal overthe claim of place of origin ofRasagola, ‘Odisha Rasagola’has now got the much-awaitedGeographical Indications (GI)tag on Monday.

Registered as ‘OdishaRasagola’, the GI certificatewas granted to the famoussweet by the Chennai-based GIinstitute of the country and itwill be valid till February 22,2028.The news led to celebra-tions in the State.

Chief Minister NaveenPatnaik expressed his happinessover the achievement for

‘Odisha Rasagola’. He took toTwitter to express his joy.

“I am happy to share thatOdisha Rasagola has receivedGI Tag in GeographicalIndication Registry. Thismouthwatering culinarydelight made of cottage cheese,loved by Odias across theworld, is offered to LordJagannath as part of bhog since centuries,” PatnaikTweeted.

Union MinisterDharmendra Pradhan alsoexpressed pleasure over whathe described as the “sweetnews for all Odias”, saying thatRasagola is used as Bhog in theLord Jagannath Temple sinceages as part of an old culturaltradition of the State.

It may be noted that in November 2017, West Bengal had bagged the GI tag for

‘Banglar Rasogolla’ triggeringan immediate reaction thatOdisha lost its Rasagola battle to the neighbouringState.

The then Odisha FinanceMinister Sashi Bhusan Beherarejected such apprehensionsand said the process was on toget GI tag for the Odisha vari-ety of the sweet.

A Public Interest Litigation(PIL) was filed in the OrissaHigh Court in February lastyear seeking GI tag for ‘OdishaRasagola’ and scraping the tagreceived by West Bengal.

Odisha had been fightingfor the GI recognition for itsRasagola by pointing out thatthe sweet delicacy is beingoffered to Lord Jagannath fromtime immemorial.

��#�������#*�+�� �� ����)������,%����CUTTACK: The city police onMonday claimed that they havedetained a person who isbelieved to be the prime sus-pect behind the three back-to-back murder incidents thathappened here within 24 hourslast week.

City DCP AkhileswarSingh told reporters that thesuspected serial killer has beenidentified as one Narayan Sahu(30) of Ganjam district, whowas seen wandering on roadsnear OMP Square, CollegeSquare and Ranihat for aroundthree to four months now.

“A special squad engagedfor the purpose apprehendedthe prime suspect from a placeoutside the city on Monday

morning and he is now beingquestioned by a team of inves-tigating officers,” Singh saidwithout divulging exactly fromwhere the accused was appre-hended. He further claimedthat during the hour-long ques-tioning of the suspect, it primafacie appeared that the personwas not a psychopath as waswidely perceived.

“Details about the modusoperandi, weapons of offenceand the motive behind themurders would be ascertainedduring the subsequent ques-tioning of the suspectedaccused,” Singh said, addingthat due process of criminallaw, including medical exami-nation, would be followed in

the event of his arrest.Three unidentified bodies

had been recovered from thecity from three different placeson Tuesday morning andWednesday morning. Since allthe bodies had similar cutwounds in the throats andcrushing head injuries and allthe victims turned out to behomeless persons sleeping onfootpaths, police began inves-tigation believing that a singleindividual was behind all thesedeaths. A team of officials wasentrusted to investigate into thethree killings from all anglesand the team also went to sev-eral places outside the cityduring the course of investiga-tion, PNS

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interview of the weekpioneer

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Bishnupada Sethi is currently the State’sSpecial Relief Commissioner, Head of DisasterManagement Department, in addition to hisduties as Commissioner of Commercial Tax. Hejoined the Indian Administrative Services (IAS)of Odisha Cadre after his MTech in IndustrialEngineering from a reputed national institute atMumbai. His engineering skills and ingenuity per-fectly match with his adroitness to provide thedesired leadership in realm of disaster manage-ment.

Under his effective leadership through grass-roots-level capacity building,decentralised decision-making,effective use of technology andbuilding institutions respon-sive to disasters, Odisha hasclimbed to soaring heights ofglory earning worldwideacclaim in capacity building tohandle multiple disasters. Hehad opened the innings to hiscareer as Sub-Collector andthen worked as ProjectDirector, DRDA, DistrictMagistrate in the KBK region.Having climbed successfullyover the hierarchical ladder, he has reached thecurrent position. Sethi has lent Midas touch of goldin his areas of manifold assignments during hislong administrative career by bringing aboutmeaningful changes focusing on quality, effec-tiveness, sound financial discipline and leadership.Besides, he has also served as Secretary to differentdepartment like Cooperation, Fisheries & AnimalResources, Excise, Rural Development and HigherEducation. During his salad days in KBK, hereceived appreciation from the National HumanRights Commission for taking effective steps toimprove the systems for people’s benefit.

He was chosen for the International StarAward for Leadership in Quality (ISLQ) in Parisin 2015. The Institute of Economic Studies con-ferred upon him the Udyog Ratan Award for hiscontributions. He has bagged President’s Silver forsuccessfully conducting the 2011 Census inOdisha. He also worked as ProgrammeCoordinator for UNDP. The NIT Rourkela pro-claimed him as Star Alumnus. As the CommercialTax Commissioner, he is committed to acting withprecision in order to hit the bull’s eye by nailingthe habitual tax evaders. In an interview to ThePioneer, Sethi spoke to Sugyan Choudhury onmany aspects concerning the Commercial TaxDepartment.

Commercial tax has by now assumed over-whelming proportions. Currently what are the

components that contribute to the sum totalof commercial tax lying under your lens?

With the passage of time and more partic-ularly after the implementation of GST, the oper-ational area of the State commercial tax admin-istration has been significantly widened. An alto-gether new area, hitherto not under the Statecontrol -- levy of tax on services -- has been anadded responsibility and a new challenge. In thisregard, the earlier levy of tax on services by theGovernment of India had not stabilised.

What are the steps taken by your departmentfor arresting tax evasion?

To keep pace and balance with the increasedoperational area and dimensions, the adminis-trative strategy including the strategy to curb taxevasion and tax avoidance needs reorientation.Now, Enforcement Action Planning is mainlybased on data analysis. GST is totally IT-enabledand lots of information are available in the ITsystem. Accordingly, strategic planning is madeeasy. It is not like the earlier system of ‘suspectand hit’; it is now ‘plan and hit’. It’s precisionstrike.

We are also planning policy intervention totake some preemptive measures. It’s to preventoccurrence of fraud and evasion.

What steps are being contem-plated to look towards thebenefits and interest of the tax-payers?

The target is to remove thefear of the tax compliancethrough a sound ICT policy anda transparent administrativesystem. The idea is to enhancethe awareness level of the tax-payers through outreach pro-grammes.

Could there be any way forsimplification of the cumber-

some rules for the taxpayers?It’s a constant endeavour in tax policy to

make tax compliance simple. Lots have beendone and lots more are under consideration.Some illustratable steps are: Only one return perannum for the composite taxpayers; four quar-terly returns for the small taxpayers with aturnover up to �5 crore; separate simple returnform for small retailers supplying only to con-sumers; filing of Nil return through a single click,etc.

What are the plans on your agenda for gal-vanising the commercial tax system in the larg-er interest of the State?

The Government’s objective of meeting therevenue target is the outcome of tax efforts. So,the following tax efforts have been planned andtargets have been assigned to meet the end objec-tive: Tax revenue is majorly collected throughreturn mechanism by way of voluntary com-pliance. So, targets have been assigned to max-imise filing of returns by the taxpayers. Returnsshould be correctly filed in time. Accordingly,target has been assigned for intensive returnscrutiny to be followed by appropriate action toresolve the instances of mismatch.

Analytics-based planned enforcement actionagainst habitual evaders to curb tax evasion.

Extensive sensitisation programmes to ori-ent the officers and the taxpayers.

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Chief Minister NaveenPatnaik’s Private

Secretary V KarthikeyanPandian has been given addi-tional charge as the Secretaryto the Chief Minister’sTransformation andInitiatives (5Ts).

Notably, Pandian, a2000-batch Odisha-cadreIAS officer, was appointed asthe Private Secretary to theCM in May 2011.

Prior to this, he hadserved as the Collectors ofMayurbhanj and Ganjam dis-tricts.

After assuming office asthe Chief Minister for a fifthconsecutive term, Patnaik hasgiven emphasis on 5Ts --Teamwork, Transparency,

Time, Technology andTransformation for the sakeof good governance.

He has advised hisMinisters, newly-elected BJDMLAs and bureaucrats tofocus on the 5 mantras tobuild a “New Odisha”

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Work at the TalcherCoalfields of the

Mahanadi Coalfields Limited(MCL) remained paralysed ona sixth consecutive day onMonday, affecting the fuel sup-ply to coal-fired power plantsin the country severely.

The Talcher coalfields, pro-ducing on an average of 2.1lakh tonnes of coal per day,came to a grinding halt fromevening of July 24 after a land-slide in its Bharatpur Open

Cast Project (OCP).The company has not been

able to produce or dispatch coaldue to forced closure of mines.Not even a single cubic meterof overburden has beenremoved during all these days,forcing mining equipmentcatching rust.

The quantum loss to thecompany due to operationalstoppage for the last five dayshas been estimated at �85.68crore while total loss to theState and Central Exchequer isestimated to be around �55.46

crore.The stoppage of work in

Talcher coalfields has resultedin an estimated power genera-tion loss to the tune of 1339.42million units.

The NTPC Kaniha, whichtakes coal from TalcherCoalfields, has reportedly shuttwo of its units, whereas theNalco is also facing fuel crisisat its plant.

While the MCL is divertingtwo rakes of coal from IBValley Coalfields to NTPC,Kaniha to save it from furthercrisis, efforts have also beenmade to divert one rake coalfrom Basundhra Area under IBValley Coalfields to Nalco, forwhich the aluminum companyhas been requested to arrangethe rake from railways.

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Ashocking case of high-handedness and harass-

ment of a 65-year-old widowand her son by the Gajapati dis-trict police has come to the forein the State capital.

The incident occurred inthe posh IRC Village areaunder the Nayapalli police sta-tion on July 26.

A Parlakhemundi PS policeteam led by Sub-InspectorSunil Dalei barged into the res-idence of Jyotsna Paikray at N-6- 29 at IRC Village on the pleaof seizing dowry articles givento her son Prasanta Paikray byhis in-laws. Prasanta’s wife, SaiSneha, who is staying sepa-rately, and his father PrafullaPatro also accompanied thepolice team.

When Jyotsna asked themif they had any documentslike any court order or searchwarrant for the raid, the police-

men said they didn’t need anydocument as they were carry-ing out the raid on instructionsof the Gajapati SP. But whenshe and her son Prasantaprotested, they allegedly abusedthem and warned them of direconsequences.

Emboldened by the police-men’s blatant misbehaviourand excesses, Sai Sneha and hisfather also abused Prasantaand his mother in filthy lan-guage and even issued threatsto murder them.

Shocked and unable to tol-

erate the humiliation, Jyotsnacalled up the Nayapalli policeand pleaded for help. But therewas no response.

Earlier, Prasanta after hisseparation from his wife hadfiled an FIR with the Nayapallipolice (Case no. 0331, Dated26/ 7/ 2018 under 154 of CrPC)against his estranged wife andfather-in-law a year back. Butsurprisingly, no action wastaken against them.

After the Parlakhemundicops’ raid, Prasanta went to theNayapalli police station; and

after informing the IIC aboutthe entire incident, wanted tolodge his mother’s FIR. Butpolice only made a stationdiary of the incident and are yetto register a case.

Meanwhile, the elderlywoman and her son are in astate of panic and dilemma, notunable to decide what to do toget justice. When contacted, aNayapalli police officer said,“We only provided assistance tothe Gajapati police as per lawto prevent any untoward inci-dent.”

CUTTACK: A womanConstable of `the Malgodownpolice station here nabbed amiscreant, who allegedly triedto snatch a gold chain from heron Jobra Road on Monday.

The Constable identified asGitanjali Jena was returninghome from duty by a two-wheeler when the accused way-laid her scooty and attemptedto snatch the chain from herneck.

Locals immediately rushedto her rescue and thrashed themiscreant severely. The culpritwas later handed over to police.

Jena lodged a written com-plaint at the Malgodown policestation regarding the incidentand an investigation into it wason. PNS

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Of late, a spate of burglarieshas triggered panic among

the residents of VSS Nagararea under the Sahid Nagarpolice station here.

In last few days, burglariesoccurred near the VSS NagarHaat and A/L colony postoffice, while on Saturday night,miscreants attempted to com-mit robbery in four houses,including two in G/L colonyand two in D/L colony.

On Monday, VSS NagarUnayan Parishad general sec-retary Dillip Dashsharma andjoint secretary Nimai CharanDas met Sahid Nagar PS IICBiranchi Narayan Pati and helddiscussions over the risingcrimes.

After discussions, Pati saidthat patrolling would be con-ducted in the VSS Nagar from11pm to 5 am by a PCR vanand three PCR motorcycles.Besides, an officer has beengiven charge for the VSS Nagaroutpost, who would also mon-itor the patrolling.

The Parishad membersalso requested Pati to ban theentry of heavy vehicles duringevening time in VSS Nagararea. Pati assured that it wouldbe implemented soon.

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Even as panic prevails afterthe triple murders in the

Silver City by a psycho killer, awoman was allegedly attacked

by an unidentified person atMalasahi in the Jobra areahere on Sunday night.

The victim Sandhya Taraiwas standing near her housearound 10 pm when a person,who had covered himself witha shawl, slit her throat with asharp weapon.

She raised an alarm fol-lowing which locals tried tochase and nab the attacker. Butthe assailant managed to

escape. The woman sustainedminor injuries and was rushedto the SCB Medical CollegeHospital. Later, she was dis-charged.

Police have started investi-gation into the matter. OnMonday, city DCPAkhileshwar Singh clarifiedthat the incident has no con-nection with the triple murdersand it was a chain snatchingattempt.

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Prof Dartnell, a world-famous author with two

bestsellers ‘Origins’ and ‘TheKnowledge’ and known for hismedia presence and public lec-tures on astrobiology, spokeabout astrobiology and thehunt for alien life during deliv-ering lectures in the city hereas part of the British Council’sGREAT Talks series, beingorganised across India.

He delivered a lecture fromthe Odisha Primary EducationProgramme Authority(OPEPA) office through video-conferencing which reachedout to 30 districts and 600 stu-dents. He also delivered talks atthe Government Boys HighSchool, Bhubaneswar and CVRaman College of Engineering.

After interacting withProfessor Dartnell, students

learnt about new fields andopportunities in biology, astro-biology and the sciences.

Similar talks will be held atdifferent other schools in thecity as well. After Bhubaneswar,Prof Dartnell will speak inBangalore and Pune.

Throughout the year, theBritish Council will organiseand host a variety of lectures ondiverse topics to create oppor-tunities for Indian students toengage with distinguished UK

personalities who bring insight-ful, real world experiences andoutlook to these talks.

British Council, East andNortheast India Director DrDebanjan Chakrabarti said,“We are delighted to bringProfessor Dartnell and theGREAT Talks toBhubaneshwar. I am confidentthese lectures will ignite con-versations and inspire youngpeople to pursue careers in sci-ence research in the UK.”

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The Rajarani Temple ofBhubaneswar will remain

open from morning till 9 pm inevening every day.

The temple is among 10other monuments across thecountry whose timing has beenchanged.

Speaking to mediapersonsin New Delhi, Union CultureMinister Prahlad Singh Pateltold that the Government hastaken the decision for the easeand pleasure of the visitors,who would now get more timeto move around. Earlier, theyused to be open from 9 am to5 pm.

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The Health and FamilyWelfare Department once

again conducted a raid on theBR Life Kalinga Hospital hereon Monday under the PC andPNDT Act.

During the raid variousirregularities were detected.

The address of pregnantwoman doing ultrasound wasnot found. Though it is manda-tory for the doctors to put theirinitials on the ‘F’ Form, inmany forms, the doctors’ sig-natures were not found.

It is suspected that sexdetermination tests were beingconducted in the hospital.

Two ultrasound machineswere sealed and cases werelodged against the hospitalauthorities for flouting therules.

Earlier, the Khordha dis-trict administration had seizedone Ultrasound machine.

Assistant CollectorPurandar Nanda, KhordhaDHH CDMO, Family PlanningDepartment Joint Director Dr

Vinod Bihari Rath and othersenior officials conducted theraid.

Earlier on July 26, the DrugControl Administration hadconducted a raid on the hos-

pital and seized some medi-cines and sent it to laboratoryfor testing.

Worth mentioning, raidswere conducted at the privatehospital following allegationsthat it had been procuring inferior quality med-icines.

The hospital had triggereda controversy by not releasingthe body of a patient overnon-payment of dues.

When Keonjhar MLAMohan Majhi intervened in thematter, he was allegedly mis-behaved by the hospital staffs.

Following this, the hospi-tal was dropped from the list ofOdisha State Treatment Fund(OSTF) from July 19 by theState Government.

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BHUBANESWAR: While theFourteenth FinanceCommission recommendedState share from the Central taxof �1,84,000 to be paid toOdisha for the period from2015-16 to 2019-20, the UnionGovernment has so far given�1,56,081 to the State.

Finance Minister NiranjanPujari informed this in theState Assembly on Monday inresponse to a question of BJDMLA Ashwini Kumar Patra

and additional questions put byother members on Monday.

The Minister furtherinformed that the Commissionhad also recommended � 7,965for gram panchayats, �1,418crore for Urbal Local Bodiesand performance grants of�885 crore and 355 crore forGPs and ULBs, respectively.While grants for the GPs havebeen availed to the State, �232crore for ULBs and �690 croreunder Performance Grantshave not been availed yet.

Similarly, the Centre hasnot paid �266 crore under the

natural calamity head. He told the House that

even as the Commission hadrecommended a Centre andState share at 90:10, the UnionGovernment is now payingassistances at 75:25 ratio nowdue to lessening of Centralreceipts.

The Minister said the Stateis getting 4.64 per cent of theDivisional Pool now under theNITI Aayog while it was 4.77per cent earlier and, thus, theCentral assistances have to the State have decreasednow. PNS

BHUBANESWAR: The pro-posed 414.07-km CoastalNational Highway from Dighato Gopalpur in Odisha is at thedetailed project report (DPR)preparation stage now,informed Works, Steel andMines Minister Prafulla KumarMallick in the Assembly onMonday.

In response to a question ofBJD member Prashant Beheraand additional questions ofother members, the Mintersaid that two DPR consultants,Chaitanya Projects Limitedand Aarvee Associates, havebeen appointed for making

detailed project reports for thetwo stretches of the proposedNH, one from Gopalpour toRatanpur and two fromRatanpur to Digha.

The Minister said theNational Highway Authority ofIndia approved the alignmenton August 21, 2018. But ameeting held under the ChiefSecretary on February 13, 2019recommended to the NHAI forcertain changes in the align-ment. Accordingly, the DPRsare being prepared. Mallicksaid he would soon hold ameeting with NHAI officersover the proposed project. PNS

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No-holds-barred poachinghas reduced tiger popula-

tion drastically in Odisha withmere 28 of them living thesedays.

While the population oftigers has increased at thenational level and also in theStates like Madhya Pradesh,Karnataka, Maharashtra,Uttarakhand and Kerala in thelast four years, Odisha drew a

blank over the same period.In fact, in last 16 years,

Odisha’s tiger population hasbeen reduced by 104 from 132in 2002 to 28 in 2018.

A report of the fourth cycleof the All India TigerEstimation conducted by theNational Tiger ConservationAuthority (NTCA), which wasreleased by Prime MinisterNarendra Modi on Monday,revealed the dismal state ofaffairs in Odisha. Though therise in the national average oftigers is a moment of jubilationfor the wildlife lovers, the fig-ure in Odisha has been a wor-rying factor for them.

The report stated that thetiger population in India hasincreased from 2,226 in 2014 to

2,967 in 2018. The 33 per cent rise in tiger

number is the highest everrecorded between cycles whichstood at 21 per cent between2006 and 2010 and 30 per centbetween 2010 and 2014.

Madhya Pradesh saw thehighest number of tigers at 526,

closely followed by Karnatakaat 524 with Uttarakhand atnumber 3 with 442 tigers.

Meanwhile, wildlife activistand Wildlife Society of Orissa(WSO) secretary BiswajitMohanty has attributed ram-pant poaching to the steady fallin number of tigers in Odisha.

The slack protection measureshas been an advantage to thepoachers who have been activein the State forests and carry-ing out their covert operationswithout any check.

Mohanty told since tigersare good breeders, providedthere is sufficient prey base andprotection from poaching, theState could have easily doubledthe tiger numbers to at least 264in 16 years.

However, the SimlipalTiger Reserve lost 75 wildtigers as per the StateGovernment census figures of2006 and 2016.

No accountability was fixedon the forest officials thoughover �25 crore spent on tigerprotection.

Similarly, the SatkosiaTiger Reserve has only one wildtiger now. Out of the two relo-cated tigers, one was killed lastyear by poachers while one hasbeen caged due to conflictwith local villagers, toldMohanty.

“Odisha has excellent habi-tat and vast forests for tigers tolive and flourish. However,rampant poaching of prey baseand tigers is taking a heavy toll.The Forest Department hasmiserably failed to controlpoaching even in tiger reserveslike Simlipal and Satkosia. Thetigers are targeted for theirbones, claws, skin and whiskers by professionalpoachers in Odisha,” informedMohanty.

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AClass-VI student of theSacred Heart School at

Raniguda of Rayagada districtdied after collapsing during aprayer in the school onMonday morning.

The deceased was identi-fied as Subhranshu Nayak,elder son of MangaldaanNayak.

According to reports,Subhranshu was attending theprayer session in his class-room at around 7:30 am whenhe suddenly fainted and col-lapsed.

The boy began shiveringand his mouth started foaming.The school authorities rushedhim to the Rayagada DistrictHeadquarters Hospital, wherehowever the doctor pro-nounced him dead.

Police registered a case ofunnatural death in this regardand began investigation.

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The Odisha Milk Farmers’Association (OMFA) on

Sunday demanded that theState Government order aVigilance probe into the alleged�27 lakh scam committed inKendrapada Omfed unit andirregularities in the Cuttack andPuri Milk Unions.

“It is alleged in the 2018-19annual report that a scam of�27 lakh has been committedin the distribution of cattle feedand medicines by the Omfed’s

Kendrapada unit. But theOmfed authorities have sitsilent after suspending the con-cerned contractual worker. Thescam is deep-rooted and, thus,the Government should ordera Vigilance probe to bring outall the culprits involved in it,”said association president RabiBehera.

Behera, vice-presidentDushasan Mohapatra and sec-retary Narayan Dalua sent amemorandum to Agricultureand Farmers’ Empowerment inthis regard.

All irregularities in theOmfed would come out if theVigilance is entrusted the inves-tigation charge, they said.

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The Vishwa Hindu Parishad(VHP) has planned to

intensify its activities andstrengthen its network inMayurbhanj district.

With its friendly party BJPheading the Government at theCentre, leading Zilla Parishadin Mayurbhanj and having sixMLAs and one MP from thedistrict, the VHP finds anatmosphere quite conducivefor its growth and expansion inthe district.

The VHP MayurbhanjDistrict unit on Sunday held animportant meeting here underthe chairmanship of its districtpresident Divakar Tripathy. Itdecided a series of pro-grammes, besides announcing its new districtcommittee.

The committee decided toform organisational units andSatsang Kendras at thePanchayat level and to told atleast three massive pro-grammes, namely AkhandBharat Divas, KrishnaJanmastami Utsav and Swami

Laxmanananda SaraswatiValidaan Divas at differentparts of the district.

While Divakar Tripathywas retained as district presi-dent, some new faces werechosen to the posts of workingpresident, vice-presidents andgeneral Secretary.

While Dr Khageswar Singhhas been named as the work-ing president, retired teacherRajanikant Mohant and retiredMajor Mrutyunjay Das as vice-presidents and Prasant KumarAcharya was chosen as gener-al secretary.

Besides, Ashok KumarGiri, Ajay Kumar Pal and

Bibhuti Bhusan Pratihary havebeen chosen as assistant secre-taries, Haripad Kalia as tresur-er, Vasant Acharya as SatsangPramukh, Sudhamayee Das asMat r u s h a k t i - i n - c h a r g e ,Madhuri Mohanty as DurgaVahini Pramukh, HariharPanda as Mutt MandhirPramukh, Hemendra Rout asSeva Pramukh and DayanidhiDas Dharma Prasar Pramukh.

Apart from senior Parishadleaders like Harihar Tripathy,Upendra Nayak, RamaChandra Saha and SomanathDas, a large number of VHPworkers from all over the dis-trict attended the meeting.

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Badampahar police stationOfficer-in-Charge (OIC)

Sashadhara Sethi was trans-ferred in connection with thewrongful arrest of a man andhis son in a murder case.

Sethi was transferred to thedistrict police headquartershere on the directions of theMayurbhanj SP.

Due to a faulty probe bythe Badampahar police, twoinnocent persons had to lan-guish in jail for three monthsin connection with a murdercase of a woman, who was laterfound to be alive.

The action was taken afterfather-son duo was releasedfrom jail recently.

According to reports, theBadampahar police had recov-ered a charred body of anunidentified woman from aforest on April 27. Duringinvestigation, the police iden-tified her as Raimani Bankira,wife of Sanjay Nayak, a residentof Purunapani village under theBadampahar PS.

Later, the police laterarrested the deceased woman’shusband Sanjay Nayak andfather-in-law Mangal Nayaksuspecting their involvement inher murder.

After their bail applica-tions were rejected by a localcourt, the duo was sent to theRairangpur Sub-jail.

Later, Mangal wife Panainformed the Badampaharpolice about existence ofRaimani, whose charred bodywas reportedly recovered fromforest in April, in Cuttack.Based on her inputs, the policerushed to Cuttack and foundRaimani alive.

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Cultural programme “ AyaSawan Jhoom ke,” was

organised on Sunday here bythe Jharsuguda Marwari YuwaManch (MYM), Jagrutibranch.

The event comprisedRajasthani dance, HamarePyari Jodi, slogan competitionon environmental safety and Green India revolu-tion, etc.

The talent of differently

abled artists was appreciated bythe audience and guests whowere left speechless with theirastonishing artistry on wheel-chairs.

Jharsuguda MYM Jagrutibranch president Babita Modi,Brajrajnagar MYM Jagrutibranch general secretary NikitaRajiv Sharma, secretary KabitaMittal, vice president KamalaAgarwal, Versa Tibrewal,Dipika Agarwal, Bindia Jalan,Sujata Agarwal and Amita Sahacoordinated.

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The Xavier Institute ofM a n a g e m e n t ,

Bhubaneswar’s (XIMB)Operation Committee, X-Ops,organised their flagship eventand annual business conclave‘Ashwamedh 2019’ on thetheme ‘Driving Global SupplyChain Management throughInnovation’ here on Sunday.

The aim of the eventorganised by the XIMB was to

gain perspective on how thebusiness world is evolving andhow supply chain manage-ment is changing to adapt toIndustry 4.0.

Raymond Ltd DGM(Strategy and Supply ChainManagement) Sunil Bharadwajas first speaker spoke about theneed for a self-sustainingmodel of supply chain man-agement, and also the need toimplement the principles ofdesign thinking and change management in theworkplace.

He insightfully stated that,“Supply Chain Management is

about visibility, velocity, andvariability”.

Legrand Supply Chain andBusiness TransformationCountry Head Satpal Singh, the

second speaker, talked abouthow innovation in supply chainmanagement should not bejust for the sake of innovation.He also stated that the focal

point of supply chain is to takecare of the customer andadvised the companies thatthey must self-disrupt, so thatothers cannot do the same tothem.

PATH Supply ChainProgramme Deputy DirectorNikhil Kush suggested thatsupply chain management istoo narrow a term, and that weshould look at value chainmanagement as an overarchingconcept.

As the only panel memberfrom the public sector, he dif-ferentiated between supplychain management in the pri-

vate and public sector andstated that, “The goal of SupplyChain in the public sector ismaximum coverage – to movefrom curative to preventivesolutions”.

A Q and A session was alsoheld where the students askedinsightful and inquisitive ques-tions to the speakers. Theannual magazine of X-Ops‘Ashwamedh’ was released onthe occasion. Among others,XIMB Supply ChainManagement Prof BikramKumar Bahinipati and studentcoordinator Ankita Rath werepresent.

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The second meeting of theConsortium of Human

Resource Development(CHRD) was organised here onJuly 27.

It got initiated bycofounder, CHRD Dr AjitKumar Kar, followed by wel-come address by co-founder,CHRD and Director, WOMS,Prof IB Mahapatra.

The programme witnesseddeliberations by experts whichcommenced with Dr MangeshDash, (advisor – CHRD andco-founder, TWARAN), high-lighting on the purpose andvision of CHRD.

VP (HR and IR), TataRefractories Ltd- Krosaki, DrRK Singh delivered a talk on“Innovative HR practices”.

The theme “Challengesand opportunities in develop-ing organisation work cultureby adopting lean six sigmaphilosophy in Japaneese way”was delivered by Dr SK Kar,

chief of consultancy of CTTC(MSME Technology Centre),Bhubaneswar, while Dr AshokKumar Sahu, former ExecutiveDirector (HR and Admn),Nalco, spoke on “Global

emerging trends in L and D.”

Vote of thanks was pro-posed by Assistant Prof HR,IMIS- BBSR, Dr LopamudraMishra.

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Ganjam Collector VijayAmruta Kulange on

Sunday took part in a cleanli-ness campaign being organisedby the Team Clean City for overthree weeks in Brahmapur.

Kulange participated in thecampaign organised at PVNRao Petrol Pump Square hereand peeled off posters stuck onthe walls near the area alongwith the members of the organ-isation.

“The step taken by the cit-izens of the city is praisewor-thy. Action would be taken

against those insti-tutions that aresticking bills on citywalls indiscrimi-nately,” Kulangesaid.

He also said thatthe educationalinstitutions, privatebodies and cinemahalls have also beenasked to refrainfrom sticking bills.He added that thosenot following thedirective would befined.

Notably, the‘Team Clean City’has been on a mis-

sion of making the city cleanand green.

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The Bhitarkanika NationalPark in Kendrapada district

will reopen for the touristsfrom August 1.

The wildlife habitat wasclosed for a period of threemonths due to breeding seasonof saltwater crocodiles.

The park was closed fortourists from May 1 to July 31during the mating and nestingseasons of saltwater crocodilesto ensure the safety of humansand provide a congenial envi-ronment for the crocodiles.

As many as 92 nests ofcrocodiles were counted duringthis year’s nesting season. Asone nest was destroyed due to

high tide of the sea, 32 eggshave been kept at theDangamal Crocodile Breedingand Research Centre.

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Page 4: News Headlines India - The Pioneer - #$% ˇ &’(#)...2019/07/30  · 20 tiger occupied States of India. A foot survey of 5.22 km was done for tiger signs and prey abundance estimation

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Protesting horticulture stu-dents’ demand for 100 per

cent reservation in recruit-ment to Assistant HorticultureOfficer (AHO) post, the stu-dents of AgricultureDepartment of the OdishaUniversity of Agriculture andTechnology (OUAT) onMonday staged a demonstra-tion in the university premis-es.

Holding placards, the agi-tating students locked the maingate and sat on a dharna as amark of protest.

They alleged that farmers

in the State will die of starva-tion if horticulture studentsbecome AHO.

The demand of the horti-culture students is completelybaseless, said an agitator.

“Without working hard,the horticulture students areseeking reservation, which isnothing other than fear”, said

an agitating student. The agitators also threat-

ened that they would continuetheir stir in coming days if theauthorities do not interveneinto the matter.

When asked, the varsityauthorities said a committeehas been formed to sort out theissue.

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The Rotary Club of BaripadaHeritage held a “Public

Image Building Seminar” andits Installation Ceremony hereon Sunday. The programme was organized under the chair-manship of RotarianAniruddha Prusty.

While the keynote addresswas delivered by club adviser JPNath, Rotarians Arun Dash,

Debashis Das and CA AnantKumar took active part in thediscussion.

Writer Kavi VishnuSatpathy was chief guest whileDr Subal Chandra Sahoo waschief speaker.

Amitabh Patnaik wasinstalled as the club presidentfor the year 2019-’20. He, inhis speech, elaborated thesocial service plans of theRotarians to be undertaken inthe months to come while

outgoing president Prusty pre-sented the report of Rotarians’activities and achievements inthe past months.

Several personalities werefelicitated on the occasion fortheir distinguished service intheir respective fields.

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The State GST officials hadconducted raid in the house

of a retired Rourkela SteelPlant (RSP) employee five daysago here. This was confirmedby on Monday by the State GSTDeputy Commissioner atRourkela.

Sources said on July 24morning, following a raid by afour- member team at houseNo. A/104, sector-8 of SibnathPrasad(72), identifying them-selves as GST officials, Prasadhad received a brain stroke andwas hospitalized in seriouscondition in the local IGHand later shifted to a

Bhubaneswar based privatehospital.

However, the sleuths latertold that they had wrongfullyraided the house as they got noevidence there. While the fam-ily members were in a state ofshock over the incident, theywere planning to initiate legalproceeding against the raidofficials.

But when the Central GSTofficials had denied of havingconducted any raid, there wasa suspense as to who conduct-ed the raid.

On Monday, however, theState GST authority here con-firmed that their officers hadconducted raid in the house ofPrasad.

"We had got complaints ofan irregular business activity inthe mentioned address, forwhich a team of the State GSThad conducted a raid," saidDeputy Commissioner, State

GST Rourkela, LingarajPradhan.

"It was not a raid as such;just an inspection," Pradhanclarified. "Unfortunately, dur-ing the process of inquiry thehouse owner had fallen sick,following which our officialshad immediately extended allcooperation to rush him tohospital," Pradhan added. TheState GST officials confirmedthat they had entered into thecorrect address but later couldcome to know that the houseowner was not the one theywere looking for.

Meanwhile, the health con-dition of Prasad who had beenadmitted in a private hospitalat Bhubaneswar has improvedand he has been shifted to ageneral ward from the ICU onSunday.

The locals here have con-demned the raid on the houseof an innocent.

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Umarkote town continuedto experience witness

spells of heavy rainfall sinceSunday throwing normal lifeout of gear.

Several parts of the sub-divisional town were water-logged, as a result of which thevehicular traffic was severelydisrupted.

There was a flood-like sit-uation at the old bus-standleading to traffic snarls andchaos for the whole day onMonday.

The overflowing drainsdue to lack of sanitation driveby the municipality authoritiesmade life more miserable.

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Odisha-cadreIPS officer

Sanjeev Arorajoined asAdditional DeputyDirector in theIntelligence Bureauin New Delhi onMonday.

Arora has beenappointed on dep-utation basis foran initial period offour years. TheState Governmenthad relieved him for theCentral deputation on July 18,a Home Department notifica-tion said.

The 2005-batch IPS officer

was earlier posted as CuttackDCP and later as SambalpurSuperintendent of Police (SP).

Arora was the recipient ofthe Governor’s Medal in 2017.

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An enforcement squad of theB h u b a n e s w a r

Development Authority(BDA), BhubaneswarMunicipal Corporation (BMC)and the Commissioneratepolice on Monday demolishedsome illegal constructions ofdrug peddlers in theHaladipadia slum under theLaxmisagar police station here.

Seven asbestos sheet struc-tures were partly demolished due to shortage oftime.

The rest unauthorised con-structions would be demol-ished on Tuesday.

The drug peddlers whosehouses were demolished areSarif Khan,

Aysa Bibi, Tulasi Das,

Pradip Pradhan, Dilip Singhand Sanjay Mohanty.

BDA EnforcementOfficer-II Pramod Kumar

Patro, Liaison OfficerSubhransu Sekhar Mohanty,ACP Amerandra Panda, ACPAnil Kumar Mishra,

Laxmisagar PS IIC DayanidhiNayak and Badagada PS IICDilip Kumar Swain were pre-sent.

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Avedic memory lab wasinaugurated at the KiiT

International School here onMonday by former PrimeMinister of Nepal LokendraBahadur Chand. It is the firstof its kind in India.

Chand said, “In the Vedic

Age, there was no written doc-uments. There was ShrutiShastras.

The people memorisedeverything by listening to oth-ers. Therefore in Vedic Age allthe books were written in poet-ry format as it was easy tomemorise.

He also said we are in a

process of perfect man and per-fect society. Vedic memorytechniques are thousands years’old. There were specific tech-niques to memorize all things.”

Vedic Memory Lab is aninitiative of Shree Marg Trust.Its chief facilitator isDivyanandaji, master trainer ofShree Vidya.

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BHUBANESWAR: A youthwas arrested by the Dhaulipolice on the city outskirts forattacking his father atTikarpada village on Sundayevening. The arrestee identifiedas Surendra Kumar Swain (28)was later produced before acourt on Monday. He was latersent to the Jharpada Special Jailafter his bail plea was rejectedby the court. Sources saidSurendra had a heated argu-ment with his father Bhaskarover some matter. In a fit ofrage, he stabbed his fatherwith a kitchen knife leavinghim injured.

Later, Surendra’s elderbrother Rabindra lodged acomplaint in the Dhauli policestation, following which copsarrested Surendra and for-warded him to court. PNS

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The Socially Smart Project ofBhubaneswar Smart City

Limited (BSCL) has won thethird edition of the SandvikIndia Gender Award, 2019under the Government cate-gory.

Gender specialist SarojiniBrahma received the awardfrom Swedish Consul GeneralMumbai Ulrika Sundberg onbehalf of the BSCL in Pune onJuly 27.

The focus of the award is torecognise initiatives done toend violence against womenand empowering girls andwomen in our society. It alsoencourages individuals andgroups that are doing exem-plary work to promote genderequality and strengtheningSGD 5 (SustainableDevelopment Goals of UNreferring to Gender Equalityand Empowerment of AllWomen and Girls).

The jury for final selectionof the winners included

Sundberg, Sandvik Asia PrivateLimited MD ErwinSteinhauser, Swedish Chamberof Commerce in India GM Sara

Larsson and United NationsGlobal Compact IndiaExecutive Director KamalSingh.

The project is a collabora-tive initiative of Bhubaneswar MunicipalCorporation, BSCL and United

Nations Population Fund(UNFPA) and is being imple-mented at the field-level by theHumara Bachpan Trust.

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Rajya Sabha Chairman MVenkaiah Naidu on Monday

rejected the allegations made bythe Opposition in a letter writ-ten to him last week that theirvoice was being "smothered"and the Government was rush-ing through the passage of billswithout parliamentary scrutiny.

At least 15 MPs from 14political parties had in a letterto Naidu on July 25 expressedconcern over it and respondingto it, the Chairman said eightout of 10 bills which came to theRajya Sabha were sent to theStanding or Select Committeeduring the last two years. Healso said empirical evidenceproves that the complaint doesnot stand scrutiny.

Elaborating upon it, Naidusaid 15 members belonging to14 parties addressed him a let-ter conveying what they calledtheir anguish and concern overpassing of Bills without scruti-ny by either ParliamentaryStanding or Select Committees.

Noting that the contents ofthe letter were widely reportedin the media, Naidu said, "Thishas cast a cloud over the func-tioning of our apex legislaturewhich is not good for our par-liamentary democracy."

He said the members havequoted some statistics about thenumber of bills referred and notreferred to scrutiny either byparliamentary committees dur-ing the 14th, 15th, 16th and the

present Lok Sabha."If their complaint is that

Bills first introduced in theseLok Sabha sessions were notreferred to parliamentary com-mittees for scrutiny that is notcertainly in my domain as theChairman of Rajya Sabha. So, Iam not in a position to respondto this complaint and I feel thatthis complaint, if any, has beenaddressed to the wrong person,"Naidu said.

Naidu further said "since abroad message" has gone abouthurried legislation byParliament, of which RajyaSabha is a constituent, as itsChairman, he would like to clar-ify the factual position regard-ing scrutiny of Bills introducedin the Upper House.

During the last five sessionsthat he has presided (244th to248th sessions), Naidu said 10Bills have been first introducedby the government in RajyaSabha adding ""I have referred8 of those 10 Bills to respectiveDepartment Related StandingCommittees, though it is notmandatory to do so."

The other two Bills thatwere not so referred related toinclusion of some more groupsin the category of Scheduledtribes as they did not warrant adetailed scrutiny by standingcommittee.

Further, one more Bill —The Motor Vehicles(Amendment) Bill — asreceived from the Lok Sabhaafter detailed scrutiny by the

Standing Committee concernedand passage by the other Housewas again referred to the SelectCommittee of Rajya Sabha.

"I hope that all of youwould agree that such a recordwould not justify the allegationif it is so intended that RajyaSabha is a party to hurried leg-islation," Naidu said.

During the current session(249th), four bills have so farbeen introduced first in theRajya Sabha. Of these, three Billshave been taken up for consid-eration and passed. These Billscould not be referred toStanding Committees becausethey are still to be constituted,Naidu said. Also, it is for theHouse to decide if a Bill is to bereferred to the Select Committeeand not the Chairman of theHouse, he added.

The fourth Bill — theInsolvency and BankruptcyCode (Amendment) Bill —first introduced in the RajyaSabha is still to be taken for con-sideration and passing.

The Chairman also saidseven more Bills to be taken upin the Rajya Sabha for consid-eration as received from the LokSabha also have been alreadyscrutinised by standing com-mittees

As regards alleged ""smoth-ering of the voice"" of theOpposition as mentioned in theletter, Naidu said the memberstalked about the inadequacy ofShort Duration Discussions inthe House.

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Rajya Sabha Chairman MVenkaiah Naidu on Monday

became emotional and brokedown as he read out an obituaryreference for his old friend andformer Union Minister S JaipalReddy, saying both shared a 40-year-long association. Reddy,77, passed away on Sunday.

When the House met forthe day, Naidu read out the obit-uary reference for Reddy. Herepresented the state of AndhraPradesh in the Upper House fortwo terms — from April 1990 toApril 1996 and from September1997 to March 1998 and he wasalso union minister holding dif-ferent portfolios during 1997-98and 2004-14, Naidu said.

Recalling his personal asso-ciation with Reddy in a chokingvoice, Naidu said they used to sit

on the same bench of AndhraPradesh Assembly when thetwo were members. "Reddy wasa friend, senior and guidebecause he was six years seniorto me," he said.

Naidu said Andhra PradeshAssembly used to meet at 8 amin those days and he and Reddywould often meet over breakfastat 7 in the morning to discussissues

"The amount of knowledge,depth of understanding andmastery of language, bothEnglish and Telugu and someUrdu, is really remarkable," hesaid as he attempted to hide hisemotions. "It is really painful thathe has left us," he said. Wipinghis tears, Naidu said he was sorryhe could not control his emo-tions. "I am sorry I cannot con-trol my emotions because of 40years of association."

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The Lok Sabha on Mondaypassed the National

Medical Commission Bill forreplacing the "den of corrup-tion" Medical Council of India(MCI). Terming the Bill ashistoric, Health Minister HarshVardhan said that new NationalMedical Commission will endthe 60-year-old 'inspector raj' inthe medical education and theGovernment has accommo-dated all the concerns of thedoctors and other people in themedical field.

The Bill that seeks to repealthe Indian Medical Council Act1956 was passed by a voice vote,amid a walkout by OppositionCongress, DMK and TrinamoolCongress, accusing the dilutionof powers of state Governmentsand implementation of new'exit exam'. Health Minister reit-erated that no medical collegewill be allowed without consentof the State Governments.

The Bill also has a provisionfor making national standardsin medical education uniformityby proposing that the final yearMBBS exam be treated as anentrance test for PG and ascreening test for students, whograduate in medicine from for-eign countries. This exam,called the National Exit Test(NEXT), would ensure that theproposed National MedicalCommission (NMC) moves

away from a system of repeat-ed inspections of infrastructureand focuses on outcomes ratherthan processes, Vardhan said.

Opposition membersobjected to provisions like exitexam and replacing electedmembers with nominated mem-bers in the proposed commis-sion. They alleged that the leg-islation was against the spirit offederalism. It is like "throwingthe baby with the bathwater...The cure seems to be worst thanthe disease," Congress' ManishTewari said during the debateand claimed the Bill would endup legalising capitation fee.

However, Vardhan allayedthe fears saying the legislationis "anti-vested interests", willhelp end 'inspector raj' andincrease the number of seats inmedical colleges. "NMC will belean and effective," Vardhansaid in his reply. He assured themembers that genuine con-cerns of the Indian MedicalAssociation (IMA), which hasbeen protesting against theBill, have been addressed.

Vardhan termed the legis-lation as "pro-poor" saying itwould bring not only govern-ment seats but also 50 per centof all private seats within thereach of meritorious studentsbelonging to economicallyweaker sections. The bill wasbrought in the wake of allega-tions of corruption against the63-year-old MCI.

"Once the NMC Bill ispassed by both houses ofParliament, exit examinationwill be implemented in the nextthree years," the Minister said."When history will be written...It (bill) will go down as one ofthe biggest reforms," he noted.

Participating in the discus-sion, Congress' Adhir RanjanChowdhury said the legislationwas against federalism as thebody has no representationfrom the state. Supporting thebill, BJP member MaheshSharma, who is also a doctor,said the 1956 India MedicalCouncil Act has completelyfailed to fulfill aspirations of thepeople. In the last three years,Sharma said as many as 121medical colleges were set up inthe country of which 60 were ingovernment sector. DMK leaderA Raja termed the bill as "anti-poor, anti- social justice, unde-mocratic and anti-federalism".

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The Rajya Sabha saw twoadjournments in the pre-

lunch session on Mondaywith the first one comingafter smoke emanated from amicrophone-cum-votingpanel in front of some MPs'seats. The Opposition raisinga din over the car accidentcarrying the Unnao rape vic-tim in Rae Bareli district onSunday led to the secondadjournment. Her two auntstravelling in the same vehicledied when a truck collidedwith it head on while herlawyer was seriously injured.The woman was allegedlyraped by a BJP legislator ofUP.

The issue of accident wasraised in the Rajya Sabha by

Ramgopal Yadav(SP), whosaid the woman alongwithher lawyer and relatives whowere witnesses in the casewere proceeding to the courton Sunday when the accidenttook place. He also allegedthat the registration numberplate of the truck wassmeared with grease to avoiddetection adding here secu-rity cover had gone on leave.

Taking note of the mat-ter, Chairman M VenkaiahNaidu asked the HomeMinister to take note as it wasserious though it pertained toa particular state. However,Yadav and his party col-leagues were not satisfiedwith the Chair's assuranceand soon al l otherOpposition parties alsojoined in. Naidu then

adjourned the proceedingsfor 15 minutes.

Earlier, the house wasadjourned for 15 minutesafter some MPs including KJAlphons and Shiv PratapShukla complained to theChair that smoke was ema-nating from the microphonepanel located in front of theirseat on the treasury benches.

Naidu asked them andminister Purshottam Rupalasitting next to them to shift tothe benches at the back.When several other membersalso expressed concern, thechair adjourned the pro-ceedings. The maintenancestaff replaced the affectedpanel and proceedingsresumed with Naidu statingthat the cause leading tosmoke will be looked into.

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In an effort to curb vehiclethefts, the Centre has direct-

ed auto manufacturers to affixlaser-oriented microdots inautomotive parts, which can beread only by microscopesunder ultra violet light sources.

The Ministry of RoadTransport and Highways onMonday issued a draft notifi-cation amending CentralMotor Vehicle Rules, allowingmotor vehicles and their parts,components, assemblies, sub-assemblies to be affixed withpermanent and nearly invisiblemicrodots that can be readphysically with a microscopeand identified with ultra violetlight source.

"Microdot technologyinvolves spraying the body and

parts of the vehicle or any othermachine with microscopicdots, which give a unique iden-tification. Use of this technol-ogy will help check theft ofvehicles and also use of fakespare parts. The microdotsand adhesive will become per-manent fixtures/affixationwhich cannot be removedwithout damaging the assetthat is the vehicle itself," said aMinistry official.

The technology namedMicrodots makes it almostimpossible to remove the dotsand hence, the car's identity canbe established at any stage. Theministry had asked the expertsto involve Delhi Police officialswhile framing the standards.

Most of the vehicles stolengo untraced since auto-lifterstake out the engines and other

valuable parts before destroy-ing the vehicles. An auto expertsaid that while the cost ofmicrodots may be incurred bythe buyers, but certainly theinsurance rate of the vehiclewill come down given the lessrisk factor involved due toupgradation of the technology.

Annually about 2.14 lakhvehicles are stolen across thecountry with Delhi topping thelist by theft of over 100 vehiclesper day, followed by UP andMaharashstra. The rate ofrecovery by Delhi police isaround 30 vehicles a month.

The technology is verymuch prevalent in countriessuch as United States and SouthAfrica to track stolen vehicles.The road transport ministry lastweek came out with the draftsrules enabling manufacturers to

go for the new technology. Microdots are nano-size

(0.5 mm) metal particles thatwill carry information includ-ing the personal identificationnumber (PIN) or the vehicleidentification number (VIN) sothat these can be traced. SouthAfrica has made it a legalrequirement to have microdotfitted to all vehicles and therethey require police clearance.The technology involves spray-ing thousands of small dotslaser-etched with a PIN or VINthroughout the body, and it'salmost impossible to removethese dots. These can only bedetected using ultraviolet light.

Industry sources said addi-tional cost for this featurecould be less than �1,000 oncethe numbers increase sub-stantially.

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The EnforcementDirectorate on Monday

said it has attached assets worth�246 crore in connection witha money laundering probe intothe Gutkha scam.

Attached assets in the caseinclude 174 immoveable prop-erties in Tamil Nadu,Puducherry andAndhra Pradesh,with market value of�243.80 crores and moveableproperties in the form of sharesand vehicles worth �2.29crores, the ED said.

The ED had initiated inves-tigation under the provisions ofPrevention of MoneyLaundering Act (PMLA) in theGutkha scam against unknownofficials of State and CentralGovernment, public servantsand others based on an FIRfiled by the CBI.

CBI had registered the casefollowing a directive from

Chennai High Court to con-duct investigation into allaspects of the offence of illegalmanufacture, import, supply,distribution and sale of Gutkhaand other chewable tobaccoproducts which were banned inthe Tamil Nadu and UnionTerritory of Puducherry witheffect from May 2013.

"Investigation underPMLA revealedthat accused AVMadhava Rao,

P.V.Srinivasa Rao, Tallam UmaShankar Gupta and others hadassociated in illegal manufac-ture, sale and distribution ofGutkha products in TamilNadu with a turnover of Rs639.40 crore from June 2013 toJune 2016 and the ill- gottenmoney derived out of the crim-inal activities were invested inmoveable and immoveableproperties in Andhra Pradesh,Puducherry and Tamil Nadu,"the ED said in a statement.

The criminal activity relat-

ed to the payment of bribes tothe Central and StateGovernment officials as quidpro quo for allowing the illegalbusiness of Gutkha and othertobacco products which arebanned in the State of TamilNadu. The above criminalactivity is related to theScheduled offence underPMLA and therefore, the prop-erties acquired by means of ille-gal manufacture and sale ofGutkha resulting from suchcriminal activity were conse-quently liable for attachment,the ED said.

Investigation furtherrevealed that investments madeby the accused were in landpurchased in the name ofGayathri Realtors, Medha DiaryPrivate Limited and VaijayanthiSpinners, among others sourcedthrough cash generated out ofthe sale proceeds of the illegalGutkha business.

Three factory premiseswere also acquired by the

accused in the names of rela-tives / employees during theperiod to facilitate smoothrunning of their illegal Gutkhabusiness. Further, out of theprofits of Gutkha business,personal investments weremade by accused persons forpurchase of land in their nameand in the name of familymembers / relatives.

Besides, shares were pur-chased in Goutham BuddhaTextile Park, Guntur and vehi-cles were purchased for the saleand distribution of Gutkhaproducts. The major invest-ments in real estate made bythe accused were in GunturDistrict of Andhra Pradeshapart from investments inSalem, Puducherry andChennai.

"These assets consist of 174immoveable properties andmoveable properties totalling to�246 crores have been provi-sionally attached under PMLA,"added the agency.

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New Delhi: Vietnam has briefed India about the esca-lating tension in the South China sea after Chinadeployed a large number of survey vessels in Vietnamesewaters including around areas where India's ONGC hasoil exploration projects.

On July 4, Chinese survey vessel Haiyang Dizhi 8,escorted by a large number of ships including from thecoast guard began conducting marine sesmic surveysnear several offshore oil blocks which fall withinVietnam's exclusive economic zone, Vietnamese diplo-matic sources said.

The Chinese action aimed at disrupting oil explo-ration projects in Vietnam's waters triggered thebiggest confrontation between the two neighbours since2014 and Vietnam is determined to protect its territo-rial integrity, they said. An attempt by China in 2014to drill oil in the Paracel islands, claimed by Vietnam,had led to anti-China riots in Vietnam in which sever-al Chinese factories were vandalised. The sources saidChina had deployed as many as 35 ships to escortHaiyang Dizhi 8, a ship operated by the ChinaGeological Survey. "We have briefed India about the cur-rent situation in South China sea as it is a major stake-holder and a key player in the region," said a Vietnameseofficial on the condition of anonymity. PTI

New Delhi: Leading private telecomfirms like Bharti Airtel, Vodafone andstate-owned MTNL and BSNL have pend-ing licence fee outstanding of over �92,000crore till date, the Centre has told theSupreme Court.

In an affidavit filed in the top court,Department of Telecom (DoT) said thatas per calculations, Airtel owes �21,682.13crore as licence fee to the Government.

Dues from Vodafone totalled�19,823.71 crore while RelianceCommunications owed a total of�16,456.47 crore, DoT said.

BSNL owed �2,098.72 crore whileMTNL owed �2,537.48 crore, it said.

The total amount which has to berecovered from all the telecom firmsaccrues to �92,641.61 crore as on date, itsaid.

As per the New Telecom Policy, tele-com licensees are required to share a per-centage of their Adjusted Gross Revenue(AGR) with the Government as annualLicense Fee (LF). PTI

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Ten heritage sites includingRani-ki-Vav, (Patan in

Gujarat), Safdarjung Tomb(Delhi) and Man Mahal(Varanasi in UP) in the coun-try will remain open fromsunrise to 9 pm for commonpublic.

Union Culture MinisterPrahlad Singh Patel on Mondaytold reporters here that thedecision has been made for thebenefit of generalpublic/tourists who can visitand appreciate the beauty ofsuch historical sites for longhours.

Earlier these monumentsused to open from 9 am to 5.30pm for general public.

The Minister also informedthat in the first phase, 10 mon-

uments (see box) have beenidentified and soon some otherhistorical monuments will alsobe considered for long openinghours for visitors.

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One Nation One RationCard scheme will be

launched as a pilot project infour States — Gujarat,Maharashtra, Telangana andAndhra Pradesh — fromAugust 1. This means thosehaving ration cards will be ableto buy subsidised rice andwheat from any ration shop inthese four States, so long astheir ration cards are linked toAadhaar.

The Modi Government isexpected to implement the'One Nation One Ration Card'scheme across the country

from July 1, 2020. Under thescheme, the ration card hold-ers would be able to buy sub-sidised foodgrains from rationshops in any part of the coun-try. Delhi had also begunimplementing portability,though it was later stopped fortechnical reasons.

Sources in the Ministry ofConsumers Affairs, Food andPublic Distribution said thatthe scheme will be launched atthe meeting of food ministersof all states on August 1. Thestate governments have beenasked to use point of sale(PoS) machines in the rationshops and implement the

scheme. Issues such as the shop not

being open, long queues andill-treatment by dealers havebeen reported from all overthe country.

"As many as 10 States —Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat,Haryana, Jharkhand,Karnataka, Kerala,Maharashtra, Rajasthan,Telangana and Tripura —already offer this portability.Other States, includingHimachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Jammu &Kashmir, Punjab and Tamil Nadu, could easilyimplement the scheme, as they

had PoS machines in all the ration shops," said officials.

Officials said that one ofthe agenda of the food minis-ters meeting is to roll out apilot project in 15 districts tofortify rice grains with iron,folic acid, Vitamin A andVitamin B12 to reduce nutri-tion deficiencies among ben-eficiaries.

The scheme will enablemigrant workers obtain theirmonthly PDS entitlementsfrom any ration shop. This willalso reduce the dependency ofbeneficiaries on a single rationshop.

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Lucknow: BSP presidentMayawati on Monday urgedthe Supreme Court to takecognizance of the accident of acar in which the survivor ofUnnao rape case, her familyand lawyer were travelling.

Mayawati said prima facieit appears to be a “conspiracy”to kill the survivor. “Her mater-nal and paternal aunts werekilled and she herself and heradvocate are seriously injured.The Supreme Court need totake cognizance of the matterand ensure strict action,” shetweeted.

On Sunday, the car inwhich the woman, her familyand lawyer were travelling washit by an over-speeding truckin Rae Bareli, killing two mem-bers while leaving her and theadvocate critically injured,police said. PTI

New Delhi: Congress generalsecretary Priyanka GandhiVadra said on Monday that theroad accident of the womanfrom Unnao, who had accusedan Uttar Pradesh BJP MLA ofrape, was “shocking”. Vadrawondered whether any hope forjustice can be expected fromruling BJP, whose MLA KuldeepSengar is an accused in the case.

“The road accident involv-ing the Unnao rape victim isshocking. Where has the CBIprobe in this case reached?” sheasked on Twitter. “Why is theaccused MLA still in the BJP?Why is there laxity in the secu-rity of the victim and the wit-nesses?” “Can you hope for anyjustice from the BJPGovernment without ananswer to these questions,” theCongress leader added.

A car in which the Unnaorape victim, her family andlawyer were travelling was hitby an overspeeding truck inRae Bareli on Sunday, killingtwo members while leavingher and the advocate criticallyinjured, police had said.

Congress chief spokesper-son Randeep Surjewala allegedthat the incident was a con-spiracy to kill to woman.“Unnao and UP demand jus-tice for the victim daughter ofthe abominable rape crime.But instead of justice, what hashappened is a conspiracy tokill,” Surjewala tweeted. PTI

New Delhi: Congress leaderRahul Gandhi on Mondayattacked the BJP over the roadaccident in Uttar Pradesh inwhich the Unnao rape survivorwas critically injured and tooka dig at the Modi Government’s‘Beti Bachao-Beti Padhao’scheme.

“Beti Bachao-Beti Padhao.A new special education bul-letin for Indian women. Don’task questions if a BJP MLA isaccused of having raped you,”Gandhi said in a tweet, tagginga media report on the accident.

Unnao Superintendent ofPolice Madhav Prasad Vermasaid the rape survivor, herpaternal and maternal auntsalong with their advocate metwith an accident while on theirway to meet her uncle, who islodged in Rae Bareli jail.

A woman belonging toMakhi Police Station area inUnnao had alleged sthat BJPMLA Kuldeep Sengar, a four-time MLA who representsBangermau in the UPAssembly, raped her teenagedaughter at his residence in2017. PTI

New Delhi: Linking the BJP toa road accident involving theUnnao rape survivor’s car,CPI(M) general secretarySitaram Yechury said onMonday that the Government’s‘Beti Bachao’ slogan was a“grim warning in this context”

as the sexualassault casewas against aruling partylawmaker. Inthe Sundayroad accident,a car carryingthe 19-year-

old survivor, who has accusedBJP MLA Kuldeep SinghSengar of rape, her family andlawyer was hit by a speedingtruck in Rae Bareli. While hertwo family members were killedin the accident, she and herlawyer were critically injured,police said. “Beti Bachao! Thisslogan is a grim warning in thiscontext, which involves a BJPlawmaker and party’s StateGovt. This is the reality ofBJP’s policies towards women,”Yechury tweeted. PTI

Kolkata: West Bengal ChiefMinister Mamata Banerjee onMonday criticised the BJPGovernment at the Centre forfailing to ensure the safety of the Unnao rape sur-vivor and demanded a high-level probe into the accidentinvolving the victim.

Banerjee also urged PrimeMinister Narendra Modi tolook into the incident.

Speaking on Monday,Banerjee said the incident was“extremely unfortunate” andshould be probed to bring outthe truth. “Everyday they (BJP)defame Bengal but does the(Central) Government haveany idea about what is hap-pening in UP? What happenedin Unnao? Two relatives of thevictim died and she is in seri-ous condition. There should bea high-level probe. The primeminister should look into it,”she said.

Attacking the BJP-ruledGovernments in Uttar Pradeshand the Centre for not doingenough to protect the sur-vivor, Banerjee, a severe criticof the saffron party, said,“There is fascist rule in thecountry. Everyday incidents oflynching are taking place. ThePrime Minister should lookafter the country.” PTI

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Congress MP ShashiTharoor’s remarks on “lack

of party leadership” has notgone down well with severalleaders, as AICC general sec-retary KC Venugopal onMonday said Rahul Gandhicontinues to be engaged in day-to-day affairs of the party asassured by him at the time ofhis resignation.

“Being a Congress worker,Tharoor has expressed the sen-timent of the common Congressman. I am not blaming him. Butit does not mean the partylacks leadership,” Venugopalsaid. “When Rahul Gandhiresigned (as Congress presi-dent), he had said he would takecare of the party’s function tilla new chief takes charge. And hehas kept his word. He is engagedin the day-to-day affairs of theparty,” he said.

The AICC leader, howev-er, said it was necessary toselect a new chief for the partyand the Congress WorkingCommittee (CWC) shouldelect the same in case of avacancy. Venugopal added thatthe CWC would meet inAugust to take a decision onfilling the vacant president

post, among other things. In aninterview to PTI, Tharoor hadexpressed disappointment withthe prevailing situation in theparty and asserted that there isno clear answer to the current“predicament that we in theCongress are facing”.

“It is certainly quite truethat the lack of clarity at the topof the party is likely to be hurt-ing the Congress workers andsympathisers, many of whommiss the fact of having a partyleader to look to for key deci-sions, authority and even inspi-ration and energy, to rallytogether and move forward,”Tharoor said.

Meanwhile, KeralaCongress chief MullappallyRamachandran asked Tharoorto read the history of Congress.“Tharoor’s claim that Congressis without a leader is not right.How can he say something likethat? The Congress has gotenough leaders to carry forwardits functions,” he asserted. “If wego through the 134 years ofCongress history, we can seeCongress is the only party witha proper leadership. Tharoormust read the history ofCongress. He should not havesaid so,” the KPCC president toldreporters.

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Election from Vellore LokSabha constituency to be

held on August 5 has assumedmajor significance in the back-drop of political developmentsthat took place in Tamil Naduover the last 24 hours.

The general belief was thatDMK candidate DM KathirAnand (son of DMK treasurerDurai Murugan) would romphome without much difficulty,Not any more. The election wasrescinded in the month ofApril following seizure of largecache of cash from the resi-dence and business establish-ments of Kathir Anand hoursbefore the polling was to begin.

Sunday’s arrest of Karthik(39), son of a senior DMKfunctionary, from a hideout inMadurai in connection with atriple murder that took place in

Tirunelveli has come as amajor embarrassment to theprincipal opposition party.

Karthik, who is also knownas Karthikeyan, son of DMKleader Seeniammal, was pickedup by the police team probingthe murder of another DMKleader 65-year-old UmaMaheswari (former mayor ofTirunelveli), her husbandMurugasankaran (74) andtheir housemaid Mariammallast Tuesday.

The bodies were seen earlyWednesday morning at theresidence of Uma Maheswariand the initial assessment was that the murders were for gain.

But the visuals collectedfrom the CCTV camerasinstalled in the locality threwout the pictures of Karthikmoving around the house f thevictims in the fateful day.

Seeniammal, mother of

Karthik, was also a DMK leaderand an adversary of the slainDMK leader Uma Maheswari.The police got wind of thefinancial dealings between thetwo women leaders of the partyand hence they picked upKarthik.

Stalin who launched hiscampaign from Vellore onSunday had lambasted theAIADMK Government forbreakdown in law and order inthe State.

“Not a single day passeswithout me reading news ofmurder, rape and burglary,” Stalin had told thevoters on Sunday.

Interestingly , the DMKleader’s diatribe had come at atime when the police picked upKarthik for interrogation. Hismother Seenimmal too wasgrilled by the police team formore than two hours in con-nection with the murders.

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Adocumentary capturingthe efforts of officers and

forest guards involved in theprocess of tracking and count-ing of tigers under the 2018census of the big cat will beshowcased on NationalGeographic on August 7, offi-cials said on Monday.

The announcement by thenetwork comes on a day PrimeMinister Narendra Modireleased the All India TigerEstimation Report 2018 andsaid the country has emerged asof one of the biggest and safesthabitats for tigers in the world.

“The documentary —‘Counting Tigers’ showcasesthe efforts of officers and for-est guards involved in theprocess of tracking and count-ing tigers in the last census,including the never before in-depth tiger profiling,” NationalGeographic said in a statement.

The documentary closelyfollows India’s tiger census

2018 and gives viewers “rareaccess” to the operationsbehind this momentous exer-cise, it said.

“It also encapsulates theuse of advanced technologyand efficacious methodsdeployed in order to up theante on accuracy of this tigercensus. Interesting to knowthat nearly 15,000 cameratraps were used for capturingtiger images and recordingtheir unique stripe patternwith the help of a dedicatedsoftware,” the network said.

The documentary, elabo-rates on the current habitatand situation of tigers in India.It celebrates those officialsand biologists who have takenthe responsibility to conservethe tiger population and work round the clock for it.

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Ahead of the MaharashtraAssembly polls in October

this year, the BJP has gone infor the kill in consolidating itsbase by roping in leaders andfunctionaries from theCongress and the NCP, a trendthat has unnerved the twomajor Opposition parties in the State.

Amid speculation that heand some other leaders fromthe NCP might join the BJPlater this week, seven-timeMLA Kalidas Kolambkar onMonday resigned both fromthe primary membership of theCongress and his Assemblymembership.

Kolambkar, who representsthe Wadala constituency insouth-central Mumbai, hadbeen elected to the StateAssembly five times on a ShivSena ticket. Once a staunchsupporter of former chief min-ister Narayan Rane, had beenin regular touch withMaharashtra chief ministerDevendra Fadnavis of the BJPfor more than a year now.

At a function to be held onWednesday, Kolambkar, NCP’sMLA Vaibhav Pichhad, formerminister Ganesh Naik and stateparty’s women president ChitraWagh are likely to join the BJP.As many as 52 NCP corpora-tors from the Navi MumbaiMunicipal Corporation(NMMC) will also switch to theNCP at the same function.

Vaibhav Pichad, who rep-resents Akole Assembly con-stituency from Ahmednagardistrict, is the son of NCP’sformer president and closeaide of Pawar. It remains to beseen if Sr Pichad will also jointhe BJP. Chitra Wagh had onFriday resigned from her posi-tion as the State NCP womenpresident and was replaced byRupali Chakankar on Saturday.

The names of threeCongress MLAs JaykumarBhagwanrao Gore, SunilChhatrapal Kedar andGopaldas Shankarlal Agrawalare also making round as per-sons who may join the BJP inthe coming days.

The BJP’s eagerness to ropein as many as MLAs from theOpposition parties should beseen in the context of a claim

made by Senior BJP leaderand Maharashtra WaterResources Minister, GirishMahajan on Sunday that 50MLAs from the Congress andNCP were in touch with hisparty leaders and would switchover to his party ahead of theState Assembly polls.

Ahead of the Lok Sabhapolls, senior Congress leaderRadhakrishna Vikhe-Patil’s sonDr Sujay Vikhe-Patil andRanjitsinh Mohite-Patil – sonof Nationalist Congress Party(NCP) MP and former DeputyChief Minister VijaysinhMohite-Patil had joined theBJP. After the elections, formerleader of the Opposition in theState Assembly RadhakrishnaVikhe-Patil of the Congress wasinducted into the State Cabinetby Fadnavis.

The BJP’s ally Shiv Sena isno different when it comes toenrolling leaders from theOpposition parties. OnThursday last, the Sena landeda major catch, when it induct-ed the NCP’s Mumbai unitpresident Sachin Ahir into itsfold. Earlier on May 22, NCP’sformer minister JayduttaKshirsagar had joined the Sena.Kshirsagar was subsequentlyinducted into the MaharashtraCabinet, when chief ministerDevendra Fadnavis expandedhis Cabinet on June 16, 2019.

The anxiety within theNCP about the BJP’s efforts topoach its party functionariescan be evidenced from theaccusation made by NCPSharad Pawar in Pune onSunday that the ruling BJP-ShivSena alliance was misusing theagencies like the ACB,Enforcement Directorate (ED)and CBI to mount pressure onmembers of the Oppositionparties to switch sides.Dubbing the poachingindulged in by the BJP as an“attack on Parliamentarydemocracy”, Pawar chargedthat the BJP was forcing theNCP leaders to switch politicalloyalties by threatening themwith legal action.

Rebutting Pawar’s chargethat the BJP was “misusing”probe agencies to force theOpposition party leaders tojoin the BJP, Fadnavis con-tended the Congress and NCPlegislators were joining his

party on their own. He saidthat the BJP was selective inwelcoming the Oppositionparty leaders to its fold and itwas not giving entry to suchopposition leaders who werefacing enquiries from the ED orother probe agencies.

On his part, Maharashtra’sformer chief minister and stateCongress president Ashok hadalso gone on record last monthalleging that Fadnavis was call-ing the Congress legislatorsand enticing them to join theBJP ahead of the StateAssembly polls.

Going by the manner inwhich the BJP is poaching theleaders from the OppositionCongress and NCP, there willbe a lot of churn inMaharashtra politics ahead ofthe State Assembly polls.

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Mumbai: BJP veteran RamNaik, who recently completedhis term as Governor of UttarPradesh, is set to return toactive politics by enrollinghimself as a primary memberof the saffron party on hishome turf, Mumbai, onTuesday, sources said.

“Naik (85) will take pri-mary membership of the partyat the BJP office in Mumbai,”sources said on Monday. Theformer Union petroleum andnatural gas minister had rep-resented Mumbai North con-stituency for three terms beforehe was defeated by Bollywoodactor Govinda in 2004 and by Sanjay Nirupam of Congressin 2009.

Naik, who has been withthe BJP since the Jana Sanghdays, had also served as anMLA in the MaharashtraLegislative Assembly.

In 2014, he had announcedthat he would not contest LokSabha elections.

He was later appointed asGovernor of UP. PTI

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In a major embarrassment forthe BJP, a Kolkata court on

Monday issued an arrest warrantagainst party leader Mukul Roywho reportedly failedto appearbefore it in an earlier case. TheAdditional Chief JudicialMagistrate of the BankshallCourt issued an arrest warrantto be complied by August 30 anddirected the officer in-charge ofthe Burrabazar Police Station toproduce the BJP leader before him before the said date,sources said.

Roy who had already peti-tioned the Delhi High Courtseeking a stay on the order saidhe was called as a witness toappear before the court. Heasked “how two steps could beinitiated in one go — first the-police have sent me a notice tointerrogate me and secondthey havegot the court to issuea warrant of arrest against me.”This was a clear case of politi-cal vendetta of MamataBanerjee Government, he said.

According to sources acase was lodged against a pub-lic servant who was arrestedwith Rs 80 lakh sometime lastyear. During interrogationRoy’s name appeared on severaloccasions and hence KolkataPolice sent a notice to the BJPleader asking him to appear forinterrogation on July 30.

Kolkata: In yet another incident of lynching in West Bengal’sAlipurduar district, seven people have been arrested for killinga man on suspicion of being a child-lifter, police said on Monday.

“A man, nearly 35-years-old, was beaten to death onSunday night near Tasati tea-estate. Seven people have been arrest-ed and we are trying to find out the person’s identity,” said a seniorofficer of Alipurduar Police.

The officer said that they had also nabbed two people forposting rumours on social media.

On Saturday, a youth was severely beaten up by a mob inMajher-dabri tea estate in Alipurduar on similar suspicions ofchild-kidnapping. He was later rescued by some locals and keptlocked inside a primary school building.

IANS

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New Delhi: In a first, wildlifeofficials used mobile applica-tion M-STrIPES (MonitoringSystem For Tigers-IntensiveProtection and EcologicalStatus) to estimate the big catpopulation in the country, aWII scientist said on Mondaysoon after the release of the AllIndia Tiger Estimate report.

YV Jhala, Scientist, TigerCell at Wildlife Institute ofIndia (WII), an autonomousinstitution of the EnvironmentMinistry, who also contributed to the report, saidM-STrIPES made it a lot easi-er for officials to collect and

collate data digitally. “This mobile app records

the track a forest official walksand geotags the sightings oftigers and even other animalsor signs which helps in the estimation. It was easierthis time but the data washuge,” Jhala said.

As per the four-yearlyreport, India had 2,967 tigersin 2018, an increase from2,226 in 2014. According to thereport, data was received from491 forest divisions of Indiaand it was processed using M-STrIPES software.

PTI

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The third orbit raising activ-ity for Chandrayaan-2

spacecraft has been performedsuccessfully at 3.12 pm onMonday, the Indian spaceagency said.

The Indian Space ResearchOrganisation (ISRO) said theorbit of the Chandrayaan-2was raised to 276 x 71,792 kmby firing the onboard motorsfor 989 seconds.

All spacecraft parametersare normal, it said.

The fourth orbit raising manoeuvre is scheduled between 2 to 3 pmon August 2.

On July 22, theChandrayaan-2 was injectedinto an elliptical orbit of170x45,475 km by India’s heavylift rocket GeosynchronousSatellite Launch Vehicle-MarkIII (GSLV Mk III) in a textbook style.

The spacecraft comprisesthree segments - the Orbiter(weighing 2,379 kg, eight pay-loads), the lander ‘Vikram’ (1,471kg, four payloads) and rover‘Pragyan’ (27 kg, two payloads).

The Indian space agencysaid the major activities includeearth-bound manoeuvres, thetrans-lunar insertion, lunar-bound manoeuvres, Vikram’sseparation from Chandrayaan-2 and touch down on themoon’s South Pole. The ISROsaid the trans-lunar insertion ofChandrayaan-2, which willsend it to the moon, is sched-uled on August 14. After that,the Chandrayaan-2 is sched-uled to reach moon by August20 and the lander Vikram willland on the Earth’s sole satelliteon September 7.

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Bengal Chief MinisterMamata Banerjee has final-

ly developed an answer toPrime Minister NarendraModi’s Maan ki Baat with adidikebolo.com and a mobilephone number through whichaggrieved people can access herfor redressing their grievances.

Desperate to overhaul theTrinamool Congress organisa-tion and makeover her party’ssagging image post 2019 gen-eral elections which saw BJPthrowing a serious challenge tothe ruling outfit Banerjeeapparently in consultations withelection strategist PrashantKishor the Chief Minister onMonday launched the two-pronged measures — phonekaro and didi ke bolo (tell didi).

That the TMC Inc wasgoing corporate was drivenhome by the Chief Minister, whosent out the “modernisation”message, saying, “this is a newTMC a modern party which willreach out to everyone and helpthem sort out their issues.”

Intriguingly for the mediamen Bengal’s own Didi —known for delivering extem-pore on anything under the sun— for the first time in her polit-ical career read out from ascribbled text her reach-outplans in which she said, “it is amodernising process for theTMC and our people’s repre-sentatives and office bearerswill visit 10,000 villages to thebooth level…”they will meetparty men, ordinary and emi-nent people … if need be havefood with them, stay overnightin their houses and hear outtheir problems so as to ensurespeedy solution.”

The party workers thusvisiting the villages will hoistparty flag their before theyleave for some other place, shesaid, adding 10,000-plus vil-lages will be covered within amatter of 100 days.

Thus about 2 crore peoplewill be touched in a matter of20 months before the 2021

Assembly elections, party lead-ers said not denying posers thatthe entire episode had beenplanned by Kishor who plannedstrategies for Prime MinisterNarendra Modi in 2014 elec-tions, Nitish Kumar-LalooYadav in Bihar and JaganmohanReddy in Andhra Pradesh.

On the question of whetherthe party was going to appoint“whole timers” a la the BJP orthe Left, Banerjee said TMC wasa party of the poor and did nothave enough money to appointwhole-timers like the BJP.

“The BJP is a rich partyand has huge fund so they canappoint whole-timers. TheCPI(M) too has whole-timersbut their ways are different. Weare not a rich party and so wecannot afford whole timers soas to pay them for their ser-vices. So no such worker will beappointed,” she said refusing toanswer questions as to why aleader like her who was a mas-ter of extempore had to readout her message perhaps for thefirst time in her life.

Though the Left wouldnot make any comments theBJP leadership immediatelymade skeptic remarks sayingthe effort to reach out to the

grassroots itself proved thatTMC had long lost connectwith the people down below.

Senior leader Mukul Roysaid, “today’s statements madeby the Chief Minister to reachthe common people itselfproves that she has been askingfor votes without popular con-nect… that her party lad lostpopular connect… that theyare detached from the people,”wondering why the ChiefMinister did not take similarsteps a few years ago. “This isall a gimmick,” she said.

Insisting that all the effortswould be futile, BJP strongmanand MP Arjun Singh who hadjust before the elections jetti-soned TMC to join the saffronoutfit said, “this will all becomea futile exercise as no one willbelieve Mamata Banerjee any-more. She is spending Rs 400crore to purchase her strategiesfrom a corporate man.”

Another BJP leader said“the people will ask TMC lead-ers questions: ‘why have youcome now, why not earlier?’They will have to explain whythey did not allow people tovote in elections after elections,where is the cash that wasearned in various scams?”

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A12-day-old toddler, whoseabdomen was punctured

and intestines were exposeddue to splinter injuries of amortar shell, succumbed inthe wee hours of Monday indistrict hospital Poonch.

The infant probablybecame the youngest Indian tohave lost his life after receivingfatal injuries amid escalatingtensions between the Indian and Pakistani armies inthe region. The toddler wasamong three civilians whowere injured in the intensemortar shelling initiated bythe Pakistan army along theline of control in Shahpur areaof Poonch on Sunday evening.

The family was handedover the death certificate even before they could registerhis name and prepare his birthcertificate. The minor child washit by splinter injuries while hismother, Fatima Jaan, was hold-ing him in her lap inside one ofthe rooms of her house.

Interestingly, time lines ofkashmiri politicians, celebrities,bollywood glitterati remainedmute. Few others, posed direct

questions to popular Kashmiripoliticians over their mutedsilence even as they were busyranting their anger overincreasing foot prints of centralparamilitary forces in theKashmir valley.

Speaking to The Pioneer inJammu, Mohd Qasim, father ofa minor child, said, “when fir-ing started in the forward areasof Shahpur on Sunday after-noon he along with his familytook shelter inside one of therooms of their home. Minuteslater, a mortar shell landed out-side the main door of our housein which my wife Fatima Jaan,

my 12 day old son and MohdArif, another villager, receivedsplinter injuries”. He said themortar shell splinters had pen-etrated the windows and wallsof their house causing maxi-mum damage inside the room.

Mohd Qasim said, “as theybled profusely, no help cameforward for about one hour”.He alone was not in a conditionto shift the injured to the near-by hospital all alone.

After about one and halfhour, Mohd Arif,also campingthere, informed his family andothers in the area about theirfatal injuries. In response to their

SOS calls, a group of villagerstook risk and braved barrage ofbullets and mortar shells toshift them to the main road fromwhere they were ferried to thedistrict hospital in Poonch.

After providing immediatemedical treatment, both FatimaJaan and Mohd Arif, a Sumodriver, were referred to GovtMedical College Hospital inJammu by the doctors while theminor child was kept underobservation in the wake of hiscritical condition.

Munir Hussain, grandfather of the minor child said,“my grandson succumbed inthe wee hours and early morn-ing he was buried as per theirreligious traditions by the fam-ily members in Poonch. InGMC, the injured residentssuffered for long hours beforethey were provided with themedical treatment and latershifted to the recovery ward.

Fatima Jaan, was still notaware that she has lost herbeloved son in the ceasefire vio-lation by Pakistan army. “I havenot informed her about our loss.She is going to be operated uponby the doctors in the evening”,Mohd Qasim added.

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In what came as a majorembarrassment for the

Indian Institute of Technology(IIT-B) management, a shock-ing video of a stray entering alecture hall the IIT-Bombaycampus went viral on Monday,prompting the authorities toappoint a committee to lookinto the human vs animal con-flict issue on the campus.

The video clip showed thatstudents present looking amus-edly at the white medium-built cow with a lot dark spotsthat strayed into a first-floorlecture hall, walked from oneend to another near the blackboard and later went out of the

room through the aisles. A staffmember is also seen drivingaway the stray cow. When con-tacted, an IIT-B spokespersonsaid: “There is no date orvenue mentioned anywhere inthe video. Hence, I cannotconfirm the incident”.

Before long, the video wentviral on the social media, withtwitterati mak-ing having afield day.“Excellentmetaphorfor today’sIndia. Acow entering anIIT Bombay class-room,” a twitter usersaid. “Bovine

Engineering is now part of thecurriculum at IITs,” anothersaid.

“Holy Cow!! She got inwithout JEE? Under whichquota?,” yet another tweeted. Aspromised, @BJP4India pro-duces the first cow graduate,and that too from IIT Mumbai.Leave alone Pakistan, evenUSA and all of Europe cannever compete with this. China

will now rush toproduce theircow graduate.

Too bad it won’t bethe first ever!!,” com-

mented a twitter user.Later in the day,

the IIT-B spokesper-son said, “The Director

has constituted a committee tolook into the human vs animalconflict issue on the campus.The members have been dis-cussing the matter”.

“They (the committeemembers) will consultBrihanmumbai MunicipalCorporation (BMC), NGOsand animal experts before tak-ing any conclusive steps. TheBMC has removed only 2 bullsfrom outside the gate. Ourstaff and security are alert anddoing their best,” IIT-Bspokesperson added.

There have been manyoccasions in the past whenleopards have strayed into theIIT-B campus from the nearbySanjay Gandhi National Park

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(SNGP). So much so that aleopard was spotted a leoparda the Metallurgy workshop onJuly 23, 2014. The facultymembers alerted the forestdepartment officials who laid atrap and took away the animalback into the wild.

There have also been com-plaints from the students aboutthe monkey menace and spot-ting of a large of snakes with-in the IIT-B campus.

Spread over 550 acres, theIIT Bombay campus is locatedat Powai in north-east Mumbaibetween Vihar and Powai lakes. It is nestled in lush greenenvirons.

Page 8: News Headlines India - The Pioneer - #$% ˇ &’(#)...2019/07/30  · 20 tiger occupied States of India. A foot survey of 5.22 km was done for tiger signs and prey abundance estimation

The ugly political drama inKarnataka has finally endedwith the defeat of the HDKumaraswamy Government onthe floor of the State Assembly

and the appointment of a new BharatiyaJanata Party (BJP) Government headed byBS Yediyurappa.

But the story is not over yet becauseof the Constitutional issues that havesprung up vis-a-vis the decision of theSpeaker of the Karnataka Assembly, KRRamesh Kumar, to disqualify 17 MLAs,who had earlier sent in their resignations.The MLAs wanted their resignations tobe accepted and 10 of them even appearedbefore the Speaker to assert their right toresign from the House. The Congress andthe Janata Dal (Secular) wanted them dis-qualified because they did not turn upwhen the HD KumaraswamyGovernment faced a trust vote in theAssembly. The Speaker has also barredthese MLAs from contesting electionsafresh during the life of the presentAssembly. This will now completely upsetthe plans of these MLAs and the newChief Minister, who had planned to givethem BJP tickets in the by-elections. Thematter is already before the SupremeCourt and it is likely that these MLAs willchallenge the Speaker’s decision to dis-qualify them. Whatever the eventualoutcome, there can be little doubt that thishas done considerable damage to thedemocratic traditions in the country.

The drama began with the Congressand Janata Dal(S) rebels going to the officeof the Speaker and submitting their res-ignations. As the resignations were ten-dered in his absence, the Speaker insist-ed that the MLAs present themselvesbefore him because he was duty-bound toascertain whether they were under anyduress or if they were resigning from theAssembly on their own volition. Rules ofthe Assembly state that when the resig-nation letter is handed over personallyand the MLA says his action is “voluntaryand genuine” (and if the Speaker is sat-isfied), he has to accept the resignation“immediately.” If the letter of resignationis not handed over personally, the rulesgive the Speaker scope to begin aninquiry on whether the resignation is vol-untary and genuine. He also has the rightto reject such a letter. Ten MLAs met theSpeaker after the apex court directed themto do so. They complied with the direc-tive and informed the Speaker in personthat they wished to resign from their seats.

Days later, when the KumaraswamyGovernment had to face a trust vote, thetwo parties in the ruling coalition issuedwhips, directing their members to be pre-sent in the State Assembly and to vote forthe trust motion. The rebel MLAs, hav-ing tendered their resignations, stayedback in Mumbai. Given this chronology

of events and the rules regard-ing the resignation of MLAs,the Speaker ought to haveaccepted the resignations.Since the resignations weretendered before the trust votewas taken up by the House,the rebels contended that thewhips issued by the two par-ties were infructuous.

There was somethingrepulsive about the fortnightlong drama in the State withthe leaders of the Congressand the JD(S) trying everytrick to win back the dissi-dents. A police complaint waslodged alleging wrongful con-finement of MLAs in Mumbai.On one occasion, DKShivakumar, an influentialleader of the Congress in theState and a senior Minister inthe KumaraswamyGovernment, who tried toenter the hotel, was “escortedout” of the hotel after the rebellegislators wrote to theMumbai police and sought“protection” from the visitingpoliticians from Karnataka.

The conduct of theKarnataka Speaker is in con-trast to the approach ofVenkaiah Naidu, theChairman of the Rajya Sabha,in regard to resignations.

Naidu received a letter of res-ignation from Neeraj Shekhar,a member of the Housebelonging to the SamajwadiParty, on July 15. The follow-ing day, he informed the RajyaSabha that he had acceptedShekhar’s resignation. TheChairman called the memberand asked him if his resigna-tion letter was genuine andwhether he had taken thedecision voluntarily. He alsoasked him if he would like toreconsider his decision.

When the member insist-ed on resigning from theHouse, the Chairman accept-ed the same “with immediateeffect” and asked his secretari-at to complete the formalities.He also made a formalannouncement about the MP’sresignation on July 16 in theHouse.

Coming back to thedrama in the KarnatakaAssembly, it is indeed unfor-tunate that the people of theState failed to give a clearmandate to one political partyor a pre-poll coalition in thelast Assembly election in 2018.The final verdict left the BJPhigh and dry with 104 seatsand the State ended up havinga Chief Minister from the

third largest party — the JD(S)— which had 37 seats andwhich had the support of theCongress, the second largestparty with 78 seats. In theAssembly election held in2008, the electorate gave theBJP 110 seats in the 224-member House. Yediyurappahad to entice someIndependents and form theGovernment, which survivedprecariously for some time.But this was neither here northere, and there were no easysolutions to the problem.

Following theConstitution 91 AmendmentAct, it has become difficult forpoachers to get MLAs to crossthe floor. Therefore, if a partyfalls short of a majority by afew seats, the only optionavailable for the ruling partyis to entice Opposition legis-lators to vacate their seatsand contest the electionsafresh on the ruling party’sticket. This is whatYediyurappa did in 2008 andsucceeded in bolstering hisnumbers in the State legisla-ture.

It also speaks of the matu-rity of the electorate that someconstituencies, which hadnever voted the BJP before,

elected candidates put up bythis party and, thus, voted toprovide stability to theGovernment. This entire oper-ation was code-named“Operation Kamala” and camein for a lot of criticism. Butthis writer is of the view thata few MLAs going back to thepeople for a fresh mandate onanother party’s ticket is farbetter than dissolution of theHouse and fresh Assemblyelection. This is also a muchbetter option than the shame-less defection of MPs andMLAs from one party toanother, which was the caseuntil the anti-defection lawcame into being.

Yediyurappa was hopingto undertake a similar exercisethis time, too, and get thedefecting MLAs to contestafresh on a BJP ticket. This isstymied by the Speaker’s order.We will now have to await ajudicial decision. Until then, afresh round of instability is onthe cards and the people willwatch helplessly as anotherGovernment will hobblealong.

(The writer is an authorspecialising in democracy studies. Views expressed arepersonal)

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Sir — The fines proposed underthe new Motor Vehicles Bill,2019, will serve as an effectivedeterrent to violations such asover speeding of vehicles, ridingtriplets on two-wheelers, jumpingtraffic signals and not wearing ahelmet among others, all of whichendanger the lives of not only theoffenders but others as well.

Neither are traffic rules strict-ly followed nor are they toughlyenforced even as the roads areperennially ridden with pot-holes.Talking of airbags, which theIndian Government recentlymade mandatory in automobiles,one cannot but recall the pioneer-ing efforts of the internationally-renowned American lawyer-turned consumer activist, RalphNader, who for the first time in theautomobile history, got airbagsand similar safeguards againstaccidents such as seat belts, shat-terproof windshields and paddeddashboards to be made compul-sory in American cars in 1966.This effectively saved thousandsof lives over there.

Well, it is said of Rama Namathat it protects us whether wechant it with or without attention.

So are traffic rules. We may findthem irksome, but they save ourlives, whether we follow themdutifully or perfunctorily.

CV Krishna ManojHyderabad

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Sir — Veteran leader S JaipalReddy was known for his excep-tional oratorical skills, political acu-

men and outspokenness. Healways spoke his mind. Despitelimited physical mobility due tochildhood polio, he did not fail inreaching a higher role in politics.He became a Union Minister, was

five-time member of the LokSabha and two-time member RajyaSabha. He was a multi-talentedperson, prolific writer, honest andupright and was bestowed with thebest Parliamentarian award. Hisspeeches were always forceful andinspiring. He was a true statesman.

Ramesh G JethwaniBengaluru

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Sir — The heroic rescue of thepassengers on board theMahalaxmi Express, which wascaught in flood waters about 65km from Mumbai, is much appre-ciated. The Railways should nowbe proactive and cancel trainservices in flood-affected regionsin the best interest of passengersafety. The incident should leadto better facilities on board trains.A public announcement systemto communicate information topassengers during an emer-gency/crisis is needed. Railwaystaff should also be equipped tohandle any emergency.

Varun DambalBengaluru

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Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan’s recent-ly concluded three-day visit to the US andhis one-on-one meeting with US President

Donald Trump have evoked mixed reactions inIndia not only due to the latter’s controversial state-ment but also due to a lukewarm concern dis-played by American authorities with regard to ter-rorism. Relations between Pakistan and the UShave been strained ever since the TrumpAdministration assumed power due to Islamabad’ssupport to the global jihadi terrorist organisationsand its involvement in cross-border terrorism inIndia and Afghanistan. Though Pakistan’s involve-ment in cross-border terror in Iran is also wellestablished, the US does not show much concerndue to its strategic concerns in the Gulf region.

Pakistan’s continued support to the Talibanand the Haqqani network operating inAfghanistan irked the new US Administration,which put it on notice, threatening to suspend allaid, including the package to its Army. Islamabadfailed to read the US’ intent. In the past, it got awayplaying the nuclear card. The Western world, par-ticularly the US, is scared of the nuclear arsenalfalling in the hands of jihadi terrorists operatingfrom Pakistan’s soil and succumbed to its blackmail, dishing out doles to it. Trump, however, isdifferent.

“The US has foolishly given Pakistan morethan $33 billion in aid over the last 15 years andthey have given us nothing but lies and deceit,thinking of our leaders are fools. They give safehavens to the terrorists we hunt in Afghanistan,with little help. No more!” — this is what Trumptweeted on the first day of 2018. Pakistan wentto the extent of blaming Trump for “flinging accu-sations at Pakistan,” as he was disappointed at the“US’ defeat in Afghanistan.” Trump responded byblocking American aid of approximately $3 bil-lion that also included the $300 million for thePakistani Army. The Army-to-Army contactbetween the two nations was suspended. It wasa big setback for Pakistan, which was already goingthrough an economic crisis. Islamabad did try toput up a brave front initially but its dwindlingeconomy, India’s diplomatic offensive in expos-ing Pakistan, the firm stand of the USAdministration and the strictness of the FinancialAction Task Force (FATF) compelled the ImranKhan Government to take stern measures againstthe terror industry. Whether these measures area “show window” to win the trust of Trump andthe US authorities (a prelude to Khan’s visit to theUS) or is there a sense of seriousness or perma-nency, only time will tell.

Meanwhile, the US has begun preparationsfor the next presidential election and Trump hasalso thrown his hat in the race. He is desperateto have one major diplomatic victory about whichhe can boast to the American people. His initia-tive in the Korean Peninsula is not making muchheadway. The strained relations with Iran areharming him more than helping him boost hisimage. His high-handed tactics of dealing withother countries have got him more enemies thanallies. Both China and Russia also have tense rela-tions with America. Although India is likely to begranted the status of the most-favoured non-NATO ally and is already designated with specialSTA-1 status, the relationship between the twocountries is blowing hot and cold. Many in Indiaperceive the US as a fickle ally. In a nutshell, Trumphas more negatives to his credit than positives as

far as foreign and strategic relations are concerned.He is desperate to win the Afghan tangle, whichis not possible without placating the Taliban. TheUS also knows that only Pakistan can exert thedesired influence on the Taliban. This forms thebackground of Khan’s visit to Pakistan as far asAmerican perspective is concerned and unblock-ing the US aid.

Let’s first discuss Afghanistan. India hasemerged as a major soft power in Kabul and hasa big stake in whatever final settlement takes place.The Taliban has been recognised as the key imped-iment to the end of conflict in Afghanistan. Earlier,India was elbowed out of the direct negotiationswith the Taliban, as claimed by a section of themedia. To my mind, it is a deliberate decision bythe Government to stay away from direct nego-tiations with the terror group due to adverse ram-ifications back home. India, however, cannot beignored. Sooner than later, we will be involved inthe final settlement. India remains steadfast on itstraditional position of supporting only an“Afghan-led, Afghan owned and Afghan con-trolled” process, which includes the duly electedGovernment in Kabul.

With Pakistan forming a key partner inTrump’s South Asia strategy for achieving a polit-ical settlement in Afghanistan; defeating AlQaeda and IS-Khorasan; providing logisticalaccess for US forces and enhancing regional sta-bility, it certainly has gained an upper hand. Thatis why Pakistan was included for the first time inthe trilateral consultations with Russia, China andthe US on the Afghanistan peace process held inBeijing in July.

The entire focus of the US was concentratedon Afghanistan during Khan’s visit, which includ-ed the Pakistan Army Chief and the Inter-ServicesIntelligence (ISI) chief in the entourage. While

Khan has agreed to work with Trump to prod theTaliban to strike a peace deal with the aim of extri-cating the US Army from its longest war, the lat-ter has dangled the offer of unblocking $3 billionaid to Pakistan if Khan succeeds. Khan said, “Iwant to assure President Trump, Pakistan will doeverything within its power to facilitate the Afghanpeace process. The world owes it to the long-suf-fering Afghan people to bring about peace afterfour decades of conflict.”

There is no doubt that the US is desperate toexit from Afghanistan but is the negotiation withthe Taliban the best solution? The terror organ-isation has not been reformed and its five-yearbrutal rule is still fresh in the mind of the Afghans.It certainly suits Pakistan because this will helpit achieve its aim of achieving strategic depth andthe use Afghan territory to promote terrorism. Itwill also end the hope of a democraticAfghanistan, disappointing millions who are hold-ing out still for a brighter future. India must, there-fore, press for its involvement in the peace talksand ensure that the Taliban does not elbow outthe elected Afghan Government. Trump’s desper-ation can be gauged from this statement, “I couldwin that war within a week, and I don’t want tokill 10 million people. Afghanistan could be wipedoff the face of the earth. I don’t want to go thatroute.”

India has lot at stake because Afghanistanholds significant economic, security and strate-gic implications for it. We cannot be a mute spec-tator and have to ensure that democracy survivesin Afghanistan. As far as counter-terrorism is con-cerned, not much time was devoted to the samepossibly to avoid public embarrassment to the vis-iting premier, whose services are badly needed bythe US in view of its leverage over the Taliban,thanks to the safe havens it provides to the group’s

leadership. But as admitted by Khan himself, withmore than 40 terror groups existing in Pakistan,the situation is very fragile. Any terror attack inAfghanistan or India with mass causalities withproven links to Pakistan will reverse the new-found relationship between the US and Pakistan.The latter will have to tread the path very care-fully.

Khan was successful in raising the Kashmirissue during the one-on-one meeting withPresident Trump. It was a spin-doctored questionasked by a correspondent to prevent difficult ques-tions on Pakistan’s involvement in terrorism, whichwould have caused a lot of embarrassment toPakistan. The question successfully diverted thetopic to Kashmir, when Khan lost no time in seek-ing Trump’s mediation and assistance in resump-tion of Indo-Pak dialogue. India has made its standvery clear by stating that talks and terror cannotbe held together.

Trump surprised everyone with his signaturetrademark off-the-cuff remark. He has developeda habit of speaking or tweeting without prepara-tion or proper briefing. His remark stoked a con-troversy, to which New Delhi reacted promptlyand set the record straight. Fearing a strain inIndo-US relations, a number of American bureau-crats and leaders also jumped in to save the sit-uation from worsening. But Trump is Trump andhis remark should be seen in the light of his des-peration for an early Afghan exit.

But Khan has succeeded to once again tointernationalise Kashmir after numerous failedattempts by past Governments. India has to becareful and thwart the ISI’s design to portrayhome-grown terror groups in India by promot-ing the proxies of IS like ISJK, Al Qaeda like AnsarGhazwa-ul-Hind, Hizbul Mujahideen and otherIS-affiliate/inspired terror outfits. The ISI will cer-tainly attempt to influence Left-wing extremismas has been exposed by the Pune Police disclos-ing links between urban Naxals and HM.

Khan’s attempt at reviving bilateral trade, aswas evident from the large number of business-men and traders that formed his entourage andunblock the US aid, has failed for the time beingand is in no way going to help him to come outof the current economic mess. It may force himto persist with various counter-terrorism mech-anisms put in place, including the arrest of HafizSaeed. More arrests are likely provided the Armyand ISI permit. The imminent danger of beingplaced in the blacklist by the FATF may tie thehands of the ISI and Army. So the axe is likely tofall more on Afghan-specific terror groups like theTaliban and the Haqqani network.

The visit has been significant as far as bilat-eral security cooperation and military-to-militaryrelations are concerned. There is a bright chanceof resuming suspended military training pro-grammes for Pakistan. At one point duringPresident Trump’s meeting with Khan, the formeralso hinted at resumption of the security assistancefor Pakistan depending on what both countriesachieve concerning Afghanistan. The major pluspoint was the personal rapport establishedbetween the two. There is a great likelihood of adirect tele-line between the two leaders to furthercement their bonhomie and smoothen anybureaucratic hiccups that may erupt. Islamabadwould like to use such an opportunity to sort outother issues in the bilateral realm.

Will there be a change in the Indo-Pacificstrategy of the US? Will Pakistan succeed in elbow-ing out India from the US equation in the region?Indian diplomats will have to work hard to wardoff any such possibility. Though the present bon-homie between the two is Afghan-specific, whatshape it takes in the future in case Khan succeedsto placate the Taliban, will have to be watched care-fully.

(The writer is a Jammu-based political com-mentator, columnist, security and strategic analyst)

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Human trafficking is nota new crime, rather it isan age-old age practice

prevalent in the form of “slav-ery” and was an accepted eco-nomic practice. Trafficking isnothing but “modern slavery”and has now emerged as a sig-nificant problem all over theworld. The entire process oftrafficking is a trans-nationalorganised crime, starting fromthe identification of the victims,their transportation and lastlytheir exploitation, which oper-ates seamlessly across nation-al as well international borders.

Trafficking is a market-dri-ven industry based on the

principle of demand and sup-ply. It is a demand-led crimewherein the victims are boughtand sold for their exploitationand is one of the by-productsof society’s unchecked greedand lust. It is an alarming factthat human trafficking is theonly industry in which the sup-ply always meets the demand.At this juncture it is imperativeto understand the dynamics of‘demand’ and ‘supply’ sides oftrafficking. The organised gangof traffickers meets suchdemands by targetting areasand people with vulnerabilities.The supply pool is generallyconfined to areas with pooreconomic growth, high rate ofgender disparity, political insta-bility and lack of job opportu-nities. Reasons for the demandare countless, ranging fromcheap labour to beggary, use ofchildren for prostitution, sextourism, pornography, forcedprostitution, illegal organ tradeand adoptions.

The victim most certainly

is too undeveloped to give“consent” for “exploitation.”Sometimes the movement ofchildren may be voluntary,wherein the victim is enticed ordeceived by the trafficker; or asbonded labour where it isinter-generational; and some-times involuntary where chil-dren are victims of coercion.

Babies are trafficked toboost the business of illegaladoption, widely known as“child laundering.” The child is

procured illegally from his/herparents and the legal system ofadoption is used to “launder”him/her as a legally adoptedchild. In 2018, a probe was car-ried out by the NationalCommission for Protection ofChild Rights (NCPCR) whichrevealed that illegal adoptionswere being carried out by theMissionaries of Charity inRanchi, India. The home, bythe name of Nirmal Hriday,was established for unwed

mothers. It was found that theillegal adoption activities weregoing on there for the last sev-eral years. While the policetraced the four children, whowere sold by the home foradoption, 58 more suspiciouscases came to light. In otherwords, in such rackets, a childis treated in a manner analo-gous to a criminal organisationengaged in money laundering,which obtains funds illegallybut then “launders” themthrough a legitimate business ashas been iterated in an articlewritten by David M. Smolin.

Another frightening aspectof trafficking is exploitation ofpeople, especially children,who are the victims of human-itarian crisis. According toBBC news, Shamim (namechanged) aged 14, was forcedto flee from her home countrybecause of the fear of persecu-tion for reasons of race, reli-gion, ethnicity and so on. BBCnews also reported that she fledfrom Myanmar after her fam-

ily was killed. She was search-ing for help on the road toBangladesh. In her own words,“Women came with a van.They asked me, if I’d go withthem. After accepting theirhelp, I was bundled into a car,with the promise of safe pas-sage to a new life. Instead I wastaken to the nearest city, Cox’sBazar. Not long after that theybrought two boys to me. Theyshowed me a knife andpunched me in my tummy andbeat me because I wasn’t co-operating. Then the boys rapedme. I wasn’t willing to but theykept going.”

It is unfortunate thatdespite the mounds of evi-dence, little is being done tostop preying traffickers. Neitheris there any codified law or pre-ventive measure to make thevulnerable people aware aboutthe dynamics of trafficking,watching out for traps or thedark side of unsafe migration.Further, our legal system doesnot create adequate and effec-

tive deterrence against com-mercial exploitation of chil-dren; such deterrence is possi-ble only when customers aredealt with sternly.

The existing enforcementmechanisms to curb the men-ace of trafficking are limited topunitive measures and a fewschemes. They are grosslyinsufficient to address themulti-dimensional problemswhich trafficking poses. Thepresent system is also grosslyinadequate to meet the coun-selling, rehabilitation and rein-tegration needs of the victimsof trafficking. Given its trans-national nature, there is apressing need for a comprehen-sive legislation to deal with allaspects of trafficking, whichshould evolve a well-equippedcriminal justice system and arehabilitative mechanism, rang-ing from the district to thenational level, to ensure pre-vention of trafficking, time-bound investigation, trial, reha-bilitation and reintegration.

There is also need for the “vic-tim-witness protection proto-col” to punish the perpetrators.

Against the above back-drop, in 2018, the Ministry ofWomen and ChildDevelopment introduced acomprehensive legislativeframework — Trafficking ofPersons (Prevention,Protection and Rehabilitation)Bill, 2018 — dealing with var-ious aspects like preventives,time-bound prosecution andrehabilitation. For some rea-sons the Anti-Trafficking Bill,2018 could not be passed andlapsed. However, the need fora comprehensive legislativeframework still exists.Trafficking continues to be asevere attack on human digni-ty. At this point it is apt to referto Martin Luther King whosaid, “Our lives begin to endthe day we become silent aboutthe things that matter.”

(The author is anAnti-Trafficking expert and apractising advocate in Delhi)

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Extending indemnity to suc-cessful bidders of loan

defaulting companies, FinanceMinister Nirmala Sitharaman onMonday said the Governmentwill not launch any criminal pro-ceedings against those who buyout a bankrupt company and notax claim will be raised againstthem after implementation of aresolution plan.

Replying to the debate on abill to amend the three-year-oldInsolvency and BankruptcyCode (IBC) in the Rajya Sabha,she said the government willimplement in phases insolven-cy regulations for individualsincluding those who give per-sonal guarantees for loans takenby defaulting companies.

The Insolvency andBankruptcy Code(Amendment) Bill, 2019 makesit “binding on the government”that it will “not raise any furtherclaim after resolution plan isapproved,” she said in her replyafter which the House passedthe legislation by a voice vote.

Under the IBC, loandefaulting companies are auc-tioned and successful bidder,

called resolution applicant,takeover such firms after pay-ing off an amount they had bid.

However, Sitharaman —who is also the CorporateAffairs Minister — said crim-inal matters will continue to bepursued against individuals ofthe loan defaulting companies.

“Criminal matters alone areproceeded against individuals,not a company. There will be nocriminal proceeding against suc-cessful resolution applicant.There will be no criminal pro-ceeding against successful reso-lution applicant for fraud by pre-vious promoters,” she said.

The IBC, she said, givesthat comfort for all new biddersand they “need not now bescared” over taxmen comingafter them for the faults of theearlier promoters. “Once theresolution plan is accepted, theearlier promoter will be dealtwith as individual for theircriminality but not the new bid-der who is trying to restore thecompany,” she said. On indi-vidual insolvency, Sitharamansaid the rules and regulations inrespect of personal guarantorsto corporate debtors are ready.

“We would be operational-ising them soon,” she said. “Twoother categories, proprietorsand partnership firms, whichalso come under the realm...And other individuals will bedone in a phased manner but weare making provisions for all ofthem.”

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German sportscar manu-facturer Porsche has

launched the second-genera-tion of their Macan Sports-Utility Vehicle in India. Pricedat �69.98 lakh for the Macanand �85.03 lakh (prices, ex-showroom) for the more pow-erful Macan S, both equippedwith petrol engines, the lattercoming with an all-new 354horsepower V6 engine.Porsche recently announcedthat it would stop producingvehicles with diesel enginesgoing forward, this part of thefallout that has envelopedPorsche’s parent, VolkswagenAuto Group. “Even in Indiamany buyers, particularly incities like Delhi are votingwith their money to shifttowards petrol vehicles, so thisis not a major issue”, PavanShetty, Director, Porsche Indiatold The Pioneer.

To make the Macan evenmore attractive to customers,

Porsche India has alsolaunched both basic and com-prehensive service packagesfor customers. The compre-hensive package covers allmajor consumables includingtires. “Many buyers of luxurycars had an apprehension aboutPorsche because they thoughthe vehicles are expensive tomaintain and have expensiveparts. But our affordable servicepackages will give customerspeace of mind and important-ly protect them from priceinflation and foreign currencyfluctuations”, Shetty told ThePioneer.

The German carmaker has

aggressive product plans for2019, already having launchedthe eighth-generation Porsche911, followed by the Macan andhas the Cayenne Coupe and theall-electric Taycan on the cardsnext. “The luxury market hasbeen suffering, but towardsthe higher end of the marketthere has been relatively less ofan impact, but then again youare talking of a very limitedmarket for such cars. There areat best a thousand-odd house-holds across the country thatwe look at. It is importanttherefore for the overall econ-omy and thus the market togrow”, Shetty added.

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The RBI might not provideany relief to people from

pesky telecallers from NonBanking Financial Companies(NBFCs) offering loans as itsaid they create “awareness”about their products and ban-ning them may not be the“ideal way out”, according to anRTI response.

In a note sheet made pub-lic under the RTI, the ReserveBank of India (RBI) said the“onus should be on the bor-rower” to exercise “due dili-gence” and understand the termsand conditions before availingloans offered through such calls.The banking regulator has alsorejected suggestions given byRTI activist Subhash Agrawal onoperations of NBFCs, like to bancalls luring customers for unse-cured loans, capping interestrates and putting a ban onfinancing of NBFCs by banks.

Agrawal, who had raisedthese concerns on the govern-ment’s online grievance portal‘Centralized Public GrievanceRedress and MonitoringSystem (CPGRAMS)’, recentlyfiled an RTI to know whataction had been taken on hissuggestions.

“NBFCs lure peoplethrough mobile calls for grant-ing unsecured loans on postdated cheques or bankinginstructions for auto electron-

ic clearing. When borrowersare not able to pay they are tor-tured,” he had said.

The RTI activist had sug-gested that unsecured loansand mobile calls to people forsuch loans should be banned orterms and conditions should beregulated so that these may notbecome suicidal for borrowersin case of difficulties.

In response to his applica-tion, the RBI provided thenote sheet and gave reasons toreject his suggestion.

“As regards, banningmobile calls for luring cus-tomers for loans, telephoneand mobile calls are a generalmarketing and advertising tac-tic deployed by NBFCs.

“In the process, it also cre-ates awareness about variousproducts, their features for thecustomers,” the policy wing ofthe RBI’s central office noted.

It said it is “debateable” ifcustomers are compelled bysuch calls to take loans.

On the unsecured loansissue, the RBI said they are typ-ically offered for medical emer-gencies, education and mar-riages among others where the“loan ticket” size is not very high.

“It may not be always pos-sible for prospective borrowersto offer security for availingloans and there is a genuineneed for unsecured loans asone of the products in the over-all kitty,” it said.

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The Rajya Sabha on Mondayapproved amending the

three-year-old Insolvency andBankruptcy Code (IBC), pro-viding clarity about preferenceto secured lenders over opera-tional creditors and givinglenders explicit authority overdistribution of proceeds ofauction of loan defaulting com-panies.

Replying to a debate on theInsolvency and BankruptcyCode (Amendment) Bill 2019,Finance Minister NirmalaSitharaman said the changesbeing brought in now are inresponse to events that erodedlegislative intent of the IBC.

She referred to the EssarSteel insolvency case where thelenders and operational credi-tors have been treated at par bythe bankruptcy court for dis-tribution of auction proceeds.

The amendments givecommittee of creditors of a loandefaulting company explicitauthority over the distributionof proceeds in the resolutionprocess and fixes a firm time-line of 330 days for resolvingcases referred to the IBC.

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Japanese auto major Hondaon Monday said it is recall-

ing an additional 5,088 units ofits previous generation modelsof Jazz, City, CR-V, Civic andAccord in India as part of aglobal exercise to rectify faultyTakata airbags.

The company, which ispresent in India through awholly-owned arm HondaCars India Ltd (HCIL), said ithas expanded its campaign toreplace Takata driver and pas-senger front airbag inflators in5,088 units as part of its pre-cautionary global recall cam-paign concerning Takata frontairbag inflators.

It is recalling 2,099 units ofCity sedan manufacturedbetween 2007- 2013, 2,577units of CR-V producedbetween 2003-2008 and in 2011and 350 units of Accord man-ufactured in 2003, Honda said.

It is also recalling 52 unitsof Civic sedan manufacturedbetween 2006-2008 and 10units of Jazz manufacturedbetween 2009-2012.

The company said replace-ment will be carried out free ofcost at HCIL dealerships acrossthe country from July 29, 2019and the company will com-municate with customersdirectly.

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Indian Oil Corp (IOC) and itspartner Adani Gas Ltd will

invest about �9,600 crore inrolling out infrastructure forretailing CNG to automobilesand piped natural gas to house-hold kitchens in 10 cities forwhich they recently wonlicences for, the state-ownedfirm said on Monday.

The two firms in 2013had incorporated a 50:50 jointventure company, IndianOil-Adani Gas Pvt Ltd (IOAGPL),for implementation of city gasdistribution (CGD) projects invarious cities in the country.

Over the years, IOAGPLparticipated in various bidrounds for city gas licenceconducted by Petroleum andNatural Gas Regulatory Board(PNGRB).

It as on date has licencesfor 19 geographical areas(GAs), IOC said in a notice toshareholders. The notice was toseek shareholder nod for pro-viding corporate guaranteesto banks on behalf of IOAGPLfurnishing of performancebank guarantees to PNGRB to

fulfil the licence conditions.“In line with PNGRB reg-

ulations, authorization to thesuccessful entity is issued byPNGRB only after the entitysubmits Performance BankGuarantee (PBG) from anyscheduled bank for a pre-determined amount for spe-cific GA,” IOC said in thenotice.

Shareholders will vote onthe proposal at IOC’s annualgeneral meeting (AGM) inMumbai on August 28.

City gas distribution(CGD) projects, which entailretailing CNG to automobilesand marketing piped naturalgas to household kitchens forcooking as well as to industriesfor use as fuel, are typicallylong duration projects where-in demand build-up is gradualand revenue generationbecomes appreciable only inthe later years. “IOAGPL is stillin process of development ofCGD Projects in its authorizedGAs,” IOC said.

The funding required forcapital expenditure has to bemet from equity contribu-tion/debt financing, it said.

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Europe’s top court ruled onMonday that online retailers

must warn web users that theysend personal data to Facebookthrough the “like” button.According to the European Courtof Justice ruling, a site thatembeds the Facebook “like” iconand link on its pages also sendsuser data to the US web giant.

“It seems that that trans-mission occurs without thatvisitor being aware of it andregardless of whether or not heor she is a member of the socialnetwork Facebook or hasclicked on the ‘Like’ button,” itsaid. Under EU data protectionlaw, therefore, a Europeanretailer and the US platform arejointly responsible for gather-ing the data and sending it toFacebook’s Irish subsidiary.

Users should therefore bewarned and asked to consentto their data being gathered,although the retailer is notresponsible for what Facebookdoes with it later.

New Delhi: Fujifilm India Pvt Ltd in partnership with ChhatrapatiShivaji Subharti Hospital, Meerut, organised an awareness pro-gram ‘Together end TB’ to help eradicate tuberculosis in India.According to WHO’s Global TB report, Tuberculosis is the 10thleading cause of death worldwide, and since 2011 it has been theleading cause of death from a single infectious agent, rankingabove HIV/AIDS and claiming over 4000 lives a day. India hasthe highest number of TB cases in the world at 27% of 10 mil-lion people who developed the disease in 2017 globally. PNS

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Viral infections are common among people of all age but oftenseem to be concentrated in infants and children. The data

released by The United Nations Inter-Agency Group for ChildMortality Estimation also indicates the continued high mortalityrisk in the first year of Indian children’s life. Viral infections suchas rotavirus and enteric viral illness pose more serious threats tochildren in comparison to adults. Most childhood viral infectionsare not serious and include such diverse illnesses as cold, runningnose, watery eyes, sore throat, fever, skin rashes, vomiting and diar-rhea. Some viral illnesses that cause more serious disease, convul-sions, measles and others, are less common now due to widespreadimmunisation.

If symptoms persists in children for more than a week, it’s timeto take them to a physician as these could be the clarion call againstviral infections and lead to complications as pneumonia and oth-ers. At that time, a child should be taken for blood testing for malar-ia, dengue, typhoid, chikungunya, arbovirus and others includingcomplete blood count. Parents generally take extra care of their chil-dren during the change in weather or when it rains badly. But, itis important to know that children require extra care across theseasons. Few of the common tips to protect children from viral infec-tions are:

�Replace handkerchiefs with skincare wipe& tissue paper:Parents are often seen carrying cotton handkerchiefs for wipingthe face or running nose of their children again and again, whichcan be dangerous because the children are getting re-exposed to

the virus. The wet and medicat-ed skincare wipes and tissuepapers are mild on the skin incomparison to the cloth handker-chief. And the best part is thatthey can simply be disposed offafter use. Parents should makesure to immediately wash handswith soap and water thoroughlyto wash off the harmful bacteriawhich tend to cling to hands.

�Keep children away fromthose with infectious illness espe-cially while playing with friends.

�Ensure good hygiene bykeeping nails clean to preventaccumulation of germs and dirt.

�Maintain cleanlinessaround the children: Mosquitoes,ticks, fleas, and bugs are themost active carriers of harmfulbacteria and viruses. Children aretheir easy target. Check for any

standing water nearby, in order to prevent mosquito breeding. Limitthe outdoor visits of your children during the morning and evening.Keep neighborhood free from trash, discarded containers, and binsto inhibit mosquito breeding.

�Vaccinate in time: Vaccination is the best and effective wayto protect infants and children from deadly infections and diseases.Still, parents overlook this aspect, which is important for their chil-dren’s well-being. Only when the signs and symptoms are visible,the parents rush to the hospital to get a vaccine. Vaccination forDiphtheria, tetanus, and whooping cough, polio (IPV), rotavirus(RV), influenza (flu), measles and mumps in the early life of thechild is imperative.

�Boost immunity: Strengthening the immune system of chil-dren is one of the unbeatable ways to provide protection againstviral infections. Give nutritious food with a balanced diet.Freshfruits and veggies are must for children of all age groups. Keepchildren hydrated with water, milk, and fruit juice. Limit their intakeof unhealthy food and snacks such as soda, chips, chocolates andcookies, and increase the consumption of oatmeal and cereals.

�Keep children indoors during the first rain of the season asit contains acidic elements which can cause skin problems and alsobecause children tend to fall sick frequently during this season.

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#������ A cherry is the fruit of many plants of the genusPrunus, and is a stone fruit. These tiny fruits are loaded

with Vitamins and antioxidants that help in reducing skin’ssigns of aging and making it look fresh and glowing.

It also helps in regulating blood pressure because of the highpotassium content. The phytosterols in cherries help reduce badcholesterol levels.

They work wonders as sleep stimulators. If you want to havea good night’s sleep then grab a cup of cher-ry juice before going to bed and after wak-ing up in the morning. Cherries are a goodsource of melatonin, whichhelps us regulate our sleepcycles. Cherries have alsobeen found to help with jetlag.

Sweet cherries have a lowglycemic index of 22 — lowerthan apricots, grapes ,and peach-es. This makes them a better snackthan many other fruits, especially fordiabetics.

Furthermore, these small berries are good enough to keepyou hydrated and energetic throughout the day.

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Hotter weatherincreases bothsuicide rates and

the use of depressive lan-guage on social media, saysa new study that analysed half a billiontweets. The research published in thejournal Nature Climate Change suggests thatthe effects of climate change could be asdevastating as the influence of economicrecessions when it comes to increasing sui-cide rates.

Projected temperature rise through2050 could lead to an additional 21,000 sui-cides in the US and Mexico, the findingsshowed. “Surprisingly, these effects differvery little based on how rich populationsare or if they are used to warm weather,” saidlead researcher Marshall Burke, AssistantProfessor at Stanford University.

To tease out the role of temperaturefrom other factors, the researchers com-pared historical temperature and suicidedata across thousands of US counties andMexican municipalities over severaldecades. The team also analysed the lan-guage in over half a billion Twitter updatesto further determine whether hotter tem-peratures affect mental well-being.

They analysed, for example, whethertweets contain language such as ‘lonely’,‘trapped’ or ‘suicidal’ more often during hotspells. The researchers found strong evi-dence linking warmer temperature withhigher suicide rates.

Temperature rise by 2050 couldincrease suicide rates by 1.4 per cent in theUS and 2.3 per cent in Mexico. — IANS

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Nothing is worse than adry and itchy skin.More so during rainy

season. For people who havedry skin, the problem leads toinvisible pores, patchy andscaly skin. One of themost important thingsto remember is thatone needs to keepthe skin dampfree. A dampskin attractsinfection lead-ing to rashes toringworm. Hereis what one cando this monsoon:

Clean yourskin at least threetimes a day. This willhelp remove excess grime andoil that can clog the skinpores. Use a skin toner tomaintain the pH balance.

Exfoliate your skin byusing a scrub to remove deadskin cells. Use the scrub at least

once a week if you have oilyskin. Use lukewarm waterinstead of cold to wash off thescrub.

The humidity that therains bring can make your skin

dry. Use a nourishingmoisturiser to keep

the skin moist,supple andhealthy. Onecan use oliveoil. However,if you have anoily skin use awater-based

moisturiser.Drink at

least eight glass-es of water during

the day. Those whosweat a lot, their skin can endup looking pale and dull.

Use a sunscreen even inthe monsoons because eventhough there isn’t any sun, theUV rays are still present andcan damage the skin.

One of the most common prob-lems during rains is how to take

care of the skin that is dehydratedand parched. ROSHANI DEVI

shares home remedies to take careof the dry skin this monsoon

Many Governments are makingprogress in the fight against tobac-

co use, but the World HealthOrganisation’s (WHO) latest tobaccoreport shows more could be done tohelp people quit the addictive sub-stance. “Quitting tobacco is oneof the best things any personcan do for their own health,”WHO Director-GeneralTedros Adhanom Ghebreyesussaid in a Press release.

About five billion people, or65 per cent of the world’s popula-tion, are now covered by at least one of theWHO’s recommended anti-tobacco mea-sures launched in 2007, according to theWHO report on the global tobacco epi-demic 2019.

The number has more than quadru-pled since 2007 when only about 1 billionpeople, or 15 per cent of the world’s pop-ulation, were protected by at least one of

the measures.The set of tobacco-control measures,

known as MPOWER, included six keystrategies — namely monitor tobacco use

and prevention policies, protect peo-ple from tobacco smoke, offer

help to quit tobacco use, warnpeople about the dangers oftobacco, enforce bans on tobac-co advertising, promotion andsponsorship, and raise taxes

on tobacco.These measures provided

“practical tools to help people kickthe habit, adding years to their life and lifeto their years,” Ghebreyesus said.

Despite the progress, the report citedby Xinhua news agency said that manycountries are still not adequately imple-menting the MPOWER policies, whichcan effectively help people quit tobaccoand save lives.

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The spectrum of colours is an endless varietyto choose from and each of them has an effect

on our frame of mind, mood and body. Interiordesigners have a sound knowledge about coloursas they work with different styles, they know whichcolour will gel well and is fit for the combinationsalong with the psychological effects of onecolour.

It is astonishing how a body harmonises itswaves with the interiors of a building be it home,restaurant, hotel or any corporate office. How dif-ferent colours can actually leave a great impact onour way of thinking and well being. Colours arecapable of altering an individual’s mood and oftenprovoke them to show different emotions.

It is important to know and understand eachcolour and how they affect the mind, mood andbody. The colour component of interior design-ing shouldn’t be considered only as what it looksbut how it makes one feel.

Shades or hue is the main component of howwe feel and experience the world around us. Beingan element of light, it communicates diverse feel-ing including passion, excitement, mystery orserenity. Understanding the theory of shades ininterior designing can help in creating the rightmood. Each colour has a different impact on dif-

ferent individuals. Play with black for mystery and sophistica-

tion: Black signifies dark and deep feelings thus,incorporates strong will environment. A combi-nation of subtle elegance without being conser-vative and enhances sophistication.

Red for passion, stimulates and warms thebody: Red is known for increasing heart rate, res-piration and brain wave activity. It elevatesenthusiasm and increases the room’s energy level.People with high blood pressure and hyperten-sion then avoid designing rooms with red color.

Energy booster orange: The colour is meantfor fitness purposes and stimulates all the emo-tions required for releasing in physical activities.It is known for healing lungs and escalating ener-gy levels.

Relax with blue: It is totally the opposite ofred and has a calming effect on mood, mind andbody. It is known for lowering heart rate, bloodpressure and respiration. It doesn’t relate to sad-ness but implies how cool a person can feel.

Happy with yellow: It is known as a memo-ry stimulator and increases pulse rate and bloodpressure. The colour works well with workplacesand classrooms to gain focus and alertness.

Elegant and stunning purple: The colour isassociated with luxury and gives an illusion ofinspiring and dreamy. Shades of purple have acalming effect on the interior similar to blue butwithout the feeling of cold.

Colour choice is very personal so, decide thecolour for your interiors which suits your lifestyle.The hue will dictate your mood and thoughts. Itis natural that an individual tends to feel comfort-able in those shades which reflect their person-alities. Therefore, interior designers while select-ing the colours for their clients must keep in mindtheir preferences to make them feel as comfort-able as possible.

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H A V E A C O LO U R F U L

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Medicine is one ofthe most challeng-ing, yet so fulfilling

a profession. The earlyinspiration for most doctorscomes from either the fam-ily or interaction with apleasant mannered, warmhearted paediatrician. Someof course get inspired byrich fruits of hard labour.They start preparing forthe entrance exams as earlyas tenth standard and fewthousand manage to getthrough the barrier, to amedical school. The med-ical college for the mostcomes as a shocker. Thebasic subjects of anatomy,physiology and biochem-istry seem so disinteresting,taught by a demotivatedfaculty, low on creativityand inspiration, at least inmost colleges in India. Thesame happens later in clin-ical subjects. The condi-tions are worst in most pri-vate medical colleges. Theynot only lack good facultybut a good hospital infra-structure as well. Most ofthem are located in relative-ly remote areas and do notattract many indoorpatients. Many of thememploy ghost faculty, to beshowcased during medicalcouncil inspections only.The bedside teaching andclinical skills, the bedrock ofmedical practice is left tosenior resident or juniorfaculty. In absence of ade-quate indoor patients andlack of good clinical teach-ers, the skillset of graduatespassing out of these collegesis anybody’s guess..

There has been a rapidexpansion of medical edu-cation infrastructure in lastdecade, more so in the pri-vate sector. TheGovernment is planning toupgrade district hospitals toteaching medical colleges inmany states, increasing thenumber of graduation seats.Similarly, many AIIMS- liketertiary centres have beenstarted with eye at trainingboth graduates and postgraduates.

The issues of facilitiesand infrastructure thoughlinger on. The most seriousissues facing medical educa-tion in India is lack ofteaching faculty. A parlia-mentary panel report on sixnew AIIMS has indicated avast shortage faculty . About48 per cent of faculty potsare lying vacant and some ofthem don’t have a singleteacher in super specialityservices like neonatology,surgical gastroenterologyand trauma management.The non-faculty positionsare understaffed as well, 60per cent of the sanctioned

non faculty posts are vacant.The doctors have to workunder huge stress because ofskewed doctor patient ratio,affecting both the clinicalservices as well as medicaleducation. These institu-tions are created for anexcellence in patient care,teaching and research. Ifthey are in such a condition,the plight of state medicalcolleges is anybody’s guess!

Since the expansion ofcorporate hospitals, most ofthe talented doctors opt forfinancially lucrative privatesector or leave the country.The medical colleges espe-cially the private ones don’tget the best talent for teach-ing. Most of them employretired medical faculty forheading departments andare most often have anotional presence. Themedical faculty in clinicaldepartments inGovernment medical col-leges are overburdened withpatients and also have busyparallel private practice tomanage.

Since time for them is aconstraint, teaching suffersin the end. The traditionalclinical skills of history tak-ing and thorough clinicalexaminations is taking aback seat. There is moreemphasis on diagnosticinvestigations. The gradu-ates are tested more fortheir rote skills in examina-tions than clinical acumen.The one year internship ismostly used for preparingfor post graduate exam,than learning art of conver-sation with patients or hon-ing clinical skills. Most ofthem join postgraduatecourses or state services,hyposkilled. The training inpost-graduation is no differ-ent, barring a handful ofinstitutions. The clinicallearning in medicine is byapprenticeship. The young

ones learn when the oldcock crows.

When the old cock hascome up the heirarchy onconsiderations other thanteaching skill, the skill trans-fer to students get compro-mised Unfortunately, polit-ical patronisation of medicalteachers is playing havoclike in all other fields.Eventually, a generation ofspecialist and primaryphysicians enters medicalservices without requisiteskills, heavily dependent onclinical investigations fordiagnosis and managementof patients, driving up thecost of medical services.

Medicine is not only ascience but a skill and phi-losophy as well. The art ofmedicine is the history tak-ing, a thorough physicalexamination and orderingminimal relevant test forconfirmation of diagnosis.Prescribing plethora of testswithout a diagnosis isantithesis of art of medicine.The practice patterns mustsuit the socio-economic

conditions of the countryand must not be aped formthe costly models of theWest. Unfortunately, the socalled latest technology isbeing increasingly adoptedto boost earnings. Theoptional is being pushed asnecessary. The case in pointis a marketing of Femtocataract as vastly superiortechnology. The technologyhas its few advantages in afew steps of surgery but isdriving up the costs to twoand half times, compared tosafe and tested phacoemul-sification. I do not want tosound like a Luddite but athorough cost benefit analy-sis is to made before adopt-ing a technology, profiteer-ing can not be the solemotive!

The low clinical skills ofdoctors and over reliance oninvestigations come handyfor corporate hospitals.Most corporate hospitalsand nursing homes employdoctors on “fee sharingbasis” or on “percentage onearning”. This fuels unnec-essary investigations andneedless surgeries. The eco-nomic benefits seem to jus-tify and incentivise poorclinical skills. Eventually,the doctors with good skillsalso tend to adopt suchdubious practices. The eth-ical practice in medicine isalso a learnt trait, learnedfrom the honest and hardworking teachers. The eth-ical code gets passivelytransferred to a student.

The general fall in ethicsin a material driven worldhas affected everyoneincluding the medical fac-ulty, adversely affecting theethical fibre of students.

There is an increasingtrend of in-house pharma-cies in hospitals and clinics.It provides ease to thepatient in having all facili-ties under one roof, saves

time and ensure quality ofmedicine. Unfortunately, itraises issues of ethics andpropriety. The prescriptionbehavior can get influenced,with profiteering as motivefor prescribing unnecessaryand costlier medicines,without understanding theimpropriety of the act.

The medical professionneeds a serious introspec-tion about training andskilling. There is an urgentneed to train more teachers,improve doctor-patient ratioin teaching institutions,allow lateral entry for the tal-ented ones and improve theremuneration and housingof teaching faculty. Themotivation to teach andquest for excellence shouldbe the only criterion forselection. Political patroni-sation in selection of med-ical faculty must stop. The“deadwood” amongst teach-ing faculty, the ones playingpolitics and vitiating thewhole learning environmentmust be removed. An inter-nal audit is urgently needed.The young residents withknack for “skill transfer”must be groomed and men-tored as future teachers. Thefuture of a quality medicalhealthcare delivery of Indialies in their hands.

In the absence of goodteachers, expanding themedical graduation seatscan be counter-productive.The quality of services willget severely compromised ifthe doctors lack clinicalskills and their over depen-dence on diagnostic testswill escalate the health costs.No country can afford anextravagant health care sys-tem. An exit test or a licens-ing exam for doctors boththeoretical and a practicalclinical assessment is a goodidea to maintain an unifor-mity in teaching and mini-mal requisite clinical skills.

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Page 12: News Headlines India - The Pioneer - #$% ˇ &’(#)...2019/07/30  · 20 tiger occupied States of India. A foot survey of 5.22 km was done for tiger signs and prey abundance estimation

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China on Monday threw itsbacking behind Hong

Kong’s beleaguered pro-BeijingChief Executive Carrie Lam aswell as the city’s police andcalled on people in the finan-cial hub to oppose and resistviolence.

Hong Kong has been wit-nessing a violent mass outragewith thousands taking to streetsagainst the government’s planto allow extraditions to theCommunist nation.

Weighing its optionsincluding deployment of troopsto deal with growing pro-democracy protests in the for-mer British colony, a waryChina also accused someWestern politicians of stirringunrest in the financial hub inhopes of creating difficulties forthe country’s overall develop-ment.

Addressing a much-publi-cised press conference, YangGuang and Xu Luying,spokespersons for the Hong

Kong and Macao Affairs Officeof the State Council, took anumber of questions about thecurrent turmoil in Hong Kong,the worst since the formerBritish colony was handed overto China in 1997.

They praised Lam andHong Kong police in dealingwith protests mainly carriedout by youth and students.

“Since taking office as

Hong Kong’s chief executive in2017, Carrie Lam’s contributionto public welfare and econom-ic development is well recog-nised… On July 1, we tooknotice that Lam pledged to gov-ern with a more tolerant andopen style. Beijing will res-olutely continue supportingher administration,” Yang said,brushing aside calls for her res-ignation.

He also praised Hong Kongpolice when asked whetherChina will back appointment ofan independent commission ofinquiry into police actions.

“Hong Kong police in thepast month have been under alot of pressure. They have donetheir best to protect society andmaintain stability, and havemade a great degree of sacri-fice,” he said.

“We understand the hugepressure facing the Hong Kongpolice and their families, andwould like to salute officerswho have been fearlessly stick-ing to their posts and fulfillingtheir duties against all odds,”Yang said.

The protests which beganfew weeks ago over the moveby Hong Kong SpecialAdministrative Region headedby Lam to introduce a bill toextradite wanted local personsto the Chinese mainland havenow turned into a major rebel-lion with protestors demandinguniversal franchise of ‘one per-son, one vote’ with freedom for

all the locals to contest the localelections.

Lam, a former bureaucrat,was elected in 2017 through acontroversial process of Chinavetting contestants for the locallegislature which was opposedby the pro-democracy activists.

Her announcement thatthe bill is dead has not satisfiedthe protestors who are nowcalling for its total withdrawaland her resignation.

Answering a spate of ques-tions at Monday’s press con-ference, which is the first sinceHong Kong was handed over toChina by Britain, Yang and Xuwere guarded in their com-ments on deployment ofChinese troops which waswidely believed to provokemore protests.

Asked whether Chinawould deploy its troops sta-tioned at a garrison in theHong Kong on the streets,Yang said, “the Basic Law hasclear statements on that ques-tion, and I have nothing toadd.”

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New British Prime MinisterBoris Johnson is waiting

for EU leaders to agree torenegotiate their Brexit dealbefore he meets them, hisspokeswoman said Monday,as the government stepped up“no deal” planning.

“He obviously wants tomeet EU leaders and negotiatebut not to be sat down and toldthat the EU cannot possiblyreopen the withdrawal agree-ment,” the spokeswoman said.

Johnson, who took officelast week, wants to change theexit terms struck by his prede-cessor Theresa May but insistshe will leave the EuropeanUnion without any agreementat all if necessary on October31. Brussels says it will notreopen the text.

In phone calls last week,German Chancellor AngelaMerkel and French PresidentEmmanuel Macron both invit-ed Johnson to visit, but he has

yet to announce any foreigntravel ahead of the G7 summitin August.

“The withdrawal agree-ment has been rejected by par-liament a number of timesnow and clearly it’s not goingto pass in its current form,” thespokeswoman said.

“It needs to change if there’sgoing to be a deal.”

May was forced to resignafter failing three times to getthe Brexit deal through theHouse of Commons, in theprocess delaying Britain’s EUexit twice.

Opposition among MPs isfocused on the “backstop”

arrangement intended to keepopen the border betweenBritish Northern Ireland andEU member Ireland.

Brussels says this is vital forpeace in Northern Ireland,which was once plagued by vio-lence.

But critics say it risks keep-ing Britain tied to EU rules longafter Brexit and erecting tradebarriers between NorthernIreland and the rest of the UK.

“The backstop has to beabolished,” Johnson’s spokes-woman said.

“He remains confident thatthe EU will stop claiming thatthe withdrawal agreement can-not be changed, but until thathappens we must assume therewill be a ‘no deal’ Brexit onOctober 31.

“The government’s centralfocus is preparing for that.”

A multi-million pound(dollar) advertising blitz isplanned to alert businessesand ordinary people on what todo to prepare for “no deal”.

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Iranian President HassanRouhani has penned an open

letter to Britain’s new primeminister, saying he hopes thecountries’ diplomatic ties willbe stronger under BorisJohnson’s leadership.

In the letter publishedSunday on Rouhani’s website,the Iranian president congrat-ulated Johnson on becomingprime minister Wednesday.

Rouhani said he hopedJohnson’s “only one visit toTehran” while serving as U.K.Foreign secretary in 2017 andnow his tenure as prime min-ister lead to a “further deep-ening of bilateral and multilat-eral relations.”

Johnson took office onWednesday amid a spike in

tensions in the Persian Gulf anda diplomatic standoff betweenBritain and Iran. Iran seized aBritish-flagged tanker in theStrait of Hormuz this monthafter the British navy helpedseize an Iranian supertankerloaded with crude oil nearGibraltar.

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In new video releasedMonday, an Iranian

Revolutionary Guard officer isheard telling a British warshipnot to interfere or put their “lifein danger” as the paramilitaryforce, using speedboats and ahelicopter, seized a UK-flaggedcommercial vessel in the Straitof Hormuz earlier this month.

The video includes a shotapparently filmed on the day ofthe July 19 incident from abovethe British warship Foxtrot236 that was in the vicinity ofthe UK-flagged Stena Impero,showing the British navyunable to prevent Iran’s seizureof the ship in the critical water-way.

It also offers additionalaudio to that released by mar-itime security risk firm Dryad

Global, which last week madepublic a portion of theexchange between the Foxtrotand the Iranian Guard duringthe incident.

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Donald Trump called civilrights activist Al Sharpton

a “con man” who is “alwayslooking for a score” Monday,fresh off a weekend in whichthe US president dominatedheadlines with attacks againsta prominent black lawmaker.

On Saturday and Sunday,Trump took aim at DemocraticRepresentative ElijahCummings, a high-profile crit-ic of his administration whosedistrict covers much of themajority black city of Baltimore.

When Sharpton tweetedlate Sunday that he had “arrivedin DC from Atlanta, headed toBaltimore” it was apparentlytoo much for Trump to resist.

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London: Britain’s ForeignSecretary Dominic Raab onMonday rejected the idea ofswapping seized oil tankerswith Iran in a bid to ease esca-lating Gulf tensions.

“This is not about somekind of barter. This is aboutinternational law and the rulesof the international legal systembeing upheld.

That is what we will insiston.” AFP

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Russian Opposition leaderAlexei Navalny was “poi-

soned” by an unidentified toxicsubstance but doctors havesent him back to jail despite hiscondition, his lawyer and per-sonal physician said Monday.

President Vladimir Putin’stop opponent was rushed tohospital on Sunday a day afteralmost 1,400 people werearrested at an unauthorisedprotest, in the largest policecrackdown on dissent in recentyears.

Navalny was hospitalisedfollowing what was describedas an acute allergic reaction, buthis supporters later said theybelieved he had been exposedto poison.

“It is indeed poisoning bysome unknown chemical sub-stance,” his lawyer OlgaMikhailova told reportersMonday outside Moscow’s hos-pital No 64, which treatedNavalny. Navalny on Sundayhad swollen eyelids, dischargein the eye and a rash on hisupper body, his personal physi-cian Anastasia Vasilyeva said.

She told reporters onMonday that both she and the43-year-old politician believethe reaction could have been aresponse to “some chemicalagent”.

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Underwater melting of tide-water glaciers is occur-

ring much faster than previ-ously thought, according to astudy which could lead toimproved forecasting of cli-mate-driven sea level rise.

The findings, published inthe journal Science, are based ona new method developed by theresearchers that for the first timedirectly measures the submarinemelting of tidewater glaciers --valley glaciers that flow all the

way down to the ocean.“Tidewater glaciers around

the globe -- in Greenland,Alaska, Antarctica and beyond-- are retreating and raising sealevels globally,” said RebeccaJackson, an oceanographer atRutgers University-NewBrunswick in the US.

“Submarine melting hasbeen implicated as a trigger forthis glacier retreat, but we havehad no direct measurements ofmelting, let alone how it mightvary in time,” Jackson said.

The study shows that the

prevailing theory for melt sig-nificantly underestimates meltrates.

“These results suggest astronger coupling between theocean and glacier than previ-ously expected, and our workprovides a path forward toimproving our understandingof how the ocean impacts glac-iers,” she said.

The scientists studied theunderwater melting of theLeConte Glacier, a tidewaterglacier in Alaska, from 2016-2018.

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Pakistan Prime MinisterImran Khan on Monday

termed the practice of forcedconversions as “un-Islamic”and said there was no prece-dent in Islamic history forforcefully converting others.

Addressing an event inconnection with NationalMinorities Day at the Aiwan-e-Sadr (President’s House) here,Khan vowed to protect anddevelop worship places of

minorities in Pakistan and alsofacilitate them to the maximumlevel to perform them reli-gious rituals.

Khan said the Prophethimself had given minoritiesreligious freedom and protect-ed their places of worship.

“How can we then take itinto our own hands to force-fully convert someone to Islam- either by marrying (non-Muslim) women (...) or ongunpoint or to (by threateningto) kill someone because oftheir religion?” he asked.

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Scientists have unearthed ahuge two-metre (6.5-foot)

dinosaur bone in a winegrow-ing village in southwesternFrance dubbed a “national trea-sure” for its prehistoric gems.

The 140-million-year-oldthigh bone, which weighs 400kilogrammes (880 pounds), isthe latest discovery at the vast Angeac-Charentepalaeontological site nearBordeaux, where experts andvolunteers have dug up thou-sands of bones over the pastdecade.

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Page 13: News Headlines India - The Pioneer - #$% ˇ &’(#)...2019/07/30  · 20 tiger occupied States of India. A foot survey of 5.22 km was done for tiger signs and prey abundance estimation

It took one of the old guards of Indianfashion to attempt something new. Inthe process, designer Tarun Tahilianibroke the stranglehold that the con-cept of showstopper has had on the

Indian ramp where the audience is liningup the seats to see Bollywood A-listerssashaying down rather than focussing onwhat the show is all about, clothes.

Tahiliani brought in the first ever ‘non-show-stopper-show-stopper’ concept atIndia Couture Week. For those who are yetto see the photographs, the designerachieved this by closing his collection withan anonymous model who donned a sim-ple yet stunning white tulle gown whichwas paired with a dainty net mask. It cov-ered the entire face with the intent ofemphasising on the outfit and making astatement about its own identity, the craftand workmanship that had gone into itsmaking. Said Tahiliani, “There was noshowstopper this time because people aremore interested in the muse than theclothes. They don’t care about the collec-tion as much as they care about who woreyour garment. So I didn’t want it to be likethat.”

There were more than 80 pieces span-ning bridal couture, occasion and festivewear which heralded the coming togeth-er of technique, craftsmanship and inno-vation. Lightweight lehengas, shararas,peplum blouses, concept saris, structureddrapes, anarkalis and fusion-style jump-suits exuded pure celebration. There wascontemporary occasion wear for pre-wedding functions with chikankaari,mukaish embroidery and kanjeevaram.When it came to couture, contoured con-struction, patterns and unique fabricsmerged to make the garment feel like sec-ond skin, sensually moulding to the shapeof every curve, and yet, allowing the free-dom and comfort to dance the night away.

The collection placed the new Indianbride at the centre who envisioned herwedding as a special extension of her per-sonality rather than an occasion where shelooks like a shadow of herself. So lushcolours, lightweight lehengas and struc-tured drapes which can e treasured for lifecould be seen in designer Tahiliani’s,Bloom collection.

“It captured the metamorphosis of theIndian bride with a synthesis of differentcultures, a reflection of today’s generation.It represented the delicate confluence ofartistic traditions and the pragmatism of

the times we live in,” said Tahiliani.Addressing the overall theme so swift-

ly was not easy. The biggest challengeTahiliani said was, “A lot of bridal hasbecome ridiculously heavy and uncom-fortable. Brides look worse after spend-ing so much. They are so pretty, whyload them with 40 kg? Another chal-lenge was to put the structure and thinkabout techniques because as lifestylechanges, clothes must too. Most bridesthat I know today want to have DJ anddance till morning but they can’tmove in such heavy dresses.”Recalling an incident thathappened two years backwhere the lehenga was soheavy that it fell off, hesaid, “What are you doingthis for? What needs to bedone is to make beautifulclothes in which peoplecan look and feel them-selves.” This was clearlyevident in his show as allhis models were not afar cry from their actu-al selves.

Tahiliani believesin retaining naturalbeauty with freshflowers, some jew-ellery and a pony tail.He said, “The mainbride has no jewelleryand she is the most beau-tiful bride we have. I onlywant to focus on herbeauty and nothingelse.” This is some-thing he feels he willalways work on.

The new bridestole the show insoft pastels ofpeach, dustyrose, blushpink, coral,teal, vintagegold andaqua. Forthe pre-

wedding functions and cocktails, the col-lection had a rich palette of electric blue,

deep violet and plum. Diverse embroiderystyles — from Kashmir-inspiredkashidakaari, fine zari work used aroundprints, jamavar and resham embroidery

were used to make sure that the bride wasnot weighed down by her outfit. Floralmotifs combined with French knots, tulle,jaali burned in the fabric, lace, and ombrébeading to bring glamorous exquisitenessand drama to each piece. Fluffs of whim-sical resham-crystal-baadla, sparklingSwarovski crystals adorned the crinolinesof each lehenga.

But Tahiliani had more up his sleeve.One of the models who was sitting behindhim during the interview was wearing asaree which was rolled up as a jumpsuit.“I love combining Indian clothes in a mod-ern way. See, this is so light and beautiful,”said he.

The menswear collection at the showfocussed on fitted tone-on-tone ensemblesincluding sherwanis, Mughal-inspired kur-tas with multiple fabric layers of differentlengths, pre-constructed kamarbandhsand period-inspired stoles. Emphasis wason fine fabrics and tailoring. But the col-lection stuck to basic shades. When ques-tioned about the same, Tahiliani agreed say-ing, it was all taken over by my modelsrather than the clothes.

The designer has been working withSwarovski crystals since the 90s. Even thisyear’s collection is lush with them. He said,“This association has witnessed some of themost iconic, luxurious and memorable cre-ations made with crystals. We love thewinking light, the luminescence andsparkle of a diamond, especially for wed-dings. It helps in creating magical garmentsusing traditional Indian techniques.”

As for endnotes, he gave us a takeaway:“I watch my models walk and sit 10 timesin a dress. It’s not about making a pretty thing, it’s something to live life in,”he added.

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Designer Gaurav Gupta hasbeen merging indigenousIndian construction and

embellishment techniques with hisidea of the future for the past 15 years.To celebrate the milestone, he inter-preted the artistry and details of hiscouture language through creatingand launching a fine jewellery brandunder the name Gaurav GuptaOccasions Fine Jewellery at the FDCI’sIndian Couture Week 2019. It hadcapsuled themes that captured the dis-tinct elements like the feather, forestand infinity collections.

The debut line consisted of 50pieces, all of which were hand-madeand created with precious stones anddiamonds and set in white gold.What made the jewellery coutureunique was the collaborative approachwherein each diamond was individ-ually cut according to the designsculpting that Gaurav had imagined.The collection included necklaces,bracelets, rings, earrings and ear-cuffswhich will be introduced as an exten-sion of the brand’s 2019 couture col-lection and will be available exclusive-ly through the Gaurav Gupta flagshipcouture store in Mehrauli.

On the ramp was global influ-encer and founder of Post for Change,Diipa Khosla, who was seen in anunending ethereal lehenga layered inombre hues of champagne. The per-fect accent for this was a specialLiberation necklace, designed in theshape of wings, interwoven together,stylised to project the movement of abird gracefully taking flight. Eachpiece of this necklace was set undera microscope, a delicate combinationof rose cut and full cut diamonds —8,000 pieces in all, created over theperiod of eight months. Its highlightwas that every feather was scoopedfrom the back to keep the necklace

light. Actor Diana Penty strutted outin a sculpted mermaid-esque gown,fashioned in light organza in green-gray. She was accessorised with state-ment ear cuffs which had threewoven and specially shaped dia-monds.

Gupta talks about the jewellerycollection and the idea behind thesedesigns.

What made you decide to venture inthe jewellery space?I have always loved jewellery and this

was something which was always onthe cards for the brand as a next stepin direction of growth.Ornamentation of a look is whatinspired me to finally pursue this. Iwould always see brides wearing mycreations, looking extremely beauti-ful and yet, it would somehow seemincomplete to me. I think that’s whatultimately made me delve into design-ing my maiden collection.

What are the points of conver-gence, in terms of design, in jew-

ellery and clothes?Designing for me is a very personalprocess. I begin with some abstractthoughts and ideas and let my mindtake the visionary wheel and conceivethe whole thing. For jewellery, thestarting point was my sartorial cre-ations. I looked at them and ideatedhow best can I complement my owngarments with diamond couture jew-ellery — this was the only difference.Apart from this, everything else wasremarkably same.

What was the inspiration for thesedesigns?The inspiration for the jewellerydesigns came from my obsessionwith elements and infinity of nature— birds of flight and freedom and themysterious, endless depths of forests.

Who are the women that the jew-ellery is aimed at?The jewellery is for confident,fearless and strong women whorevel in the sense of elation and lib-eration. It is for the Indian contem-porary global bride who enjoysfiner details in her jewellery withrespect to the cuts and design.

How often do you aim to bringout collections?Well, our collections will beunveiled annually during the cou-ture season. But, having to movealong with the dynamics of timeand to keep the momentum going,we will be adding jewellery suitesthroughout the year to our maincollection — just something to offermore to our clients.

Coloured jewellery is a huge trend.What according to you are the onesthat work for the skin tones ofIndian woman?I think, diamond jewellery looksvery flattering on Indian skin tones.It not only brings out our rich com-plexion but also complements it real-ly well. In diamond jewellery only, theuse of coloured stones like rubies,emeralds, tanzanites and opals furtheraccentuate the whole look.

Is the jewellery more for Indian orWestern couture?My jewellery can be paired very wellwith both Indian and Western cou-ture. %� � 2�%����)�.���

Amitabh Bachchan has shared anecdotes about hislast name and said that “Bachchan” was his father

and legendary poet Harivansh Rai Bachchan’s poet-ic nom de plume.

The 76-year-old cine icon took to his blog anddiscuss about the caste system prevalent in ancient

India. “The caste system in the land hasbeen prevalent for centuries, fol-

lowed diligently by many and nowdefied by many too, (it is) an ail-ment that has plagued our society,”he wrote.

He said that his father was a“strong opposer” of the caste system.

“Babuji was born in a Kayasthahome and a Srivastava. But

his temperament wasalways against the ail-ment of caste, his nomde plume, his takhal-lus his pen name hedesigned as‘Bachchan.’ Eminentpoets and writersoften designed theirnames with a nomde plume . So‘Bachchan’ becamemy Father’s penname, his poeticname, but it lentcredence of its con-cept later when Iwas born, on beingadmitted to my firstschool. It was when I

was asked by theteachers about what

surname was to be filledagainst my name in theadmission form. My par-ents had a quick discus-sion and it was decidedthat ‘Bachchan’ wouldbe the family surname,”he wrote.

The actor said hebecame the first bear-er of the surname.“And it has remainedso and shall alsoremain. My father andI are the proud bear-ers of this surname,”he added.

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Ihad been keen on looking at PadmaShri artist Bajju Shyam’s artworksbecause I consider him to be thefinest artist after his uncle, lateJangarh Singh Shyam. And his series

of artworks, titled Message From Trees, cur-rently exhibited at the Ojas Art Gallery, areindeed a delight to behold. Bajju used toassist his uncle and now has inherited afiner and subtler sense of detail. His workstread the path of surreal stories in theforests of the Gond tribes.

The term Gond comes from theDravidian expression kond, meaning ‘thegreen mountain’, which quite aptly depictsthe close kinship with nature that the trib-als maintain in all aspects of their exis-tence. The forest and its many beingsbecome an integral part of their visual rep-resentations — a cultural entity, visiblethrough the variety of vibrant depictionspainted on the walls of their homes.

While the Gond artists earlier usedvegetable and mineral dyes, charcoal,coloured soil and other traditional things,their modern mode of painting has seenthe use of acrylics and canvasses and large-sized sheets of watercolour paper. Bajju’sfour compositions involve the local flora,fauna and the hidden tales of gods.

MitrataMitrata (friendship) is a painting of

the gorgeous plumed eagle-like bird,with snakes and its eggs at the foot of thecomposition. It is a versatile and emotive

tale that takes us back to many legions.One of the many tales that Bajju hadshared in the past was of Lord Shankar.

“When Shankar bhagwan, the creator,made the first man, there wasn’t a single

leaf on earth. The man said, ‘Lord, whatwill I eat? How will I survive?’ The cre-ator pulled three hair from his own bodyand through them, made three great trees.Then the man said, ‘But Lord, there areno fruits on these trees. Three willremain three, and they must die one day.’Then Lord Shankar took the ash, coatedhis hair and sprinkled the trees with it.And flowers and fruits began to blossomon the trees. So during the time before weknew how to cultivate grains and crops,fruits on trees helped fill our stomachs.Here, I am just telling one of those sto-ries,” says Bajju, who has created six eggs,which symbolise the co-existence of NeelRaja, and the entire world.

The artwork also echoes the beauty ofbirds. We don’t have to be told that birdsare one of the most exquisite creatures onour planet. With a rich array of colours,a widely varying display of plumage andan unmatched ability to compose a sym-phony of songs and birds of all species,the work collectively captures our atten-tion at once. One of the many ways thatwe appreciate our birds is by looking atpaintings or photographs of them in thewild. Bajju recreates a magnificent bird ina composition that speaks of awe.However, the symbolism of birds has dif-fered in different eras and regions. ForEgyptians, a bird symbolises the soul,which is threatened in everyday idiomsof life and nature’s mortality. Inspired fromthat, Bajju’s birds talk to us about harmo-ny in living.

Tendu treeTrees are central to the Gond tribal

imagination. In addition to the stories thatsurround them, they are important in aneveryday sense. There is a belief amongthe community that trees are busy dur-ing the day in giving shade and food tohumans and animals. It is only during thenight that their real spirit emerges.

Bajju’s drawing of the tendu tree anda bat has a tensile and tactile intricatebeauty. “According to the ancient mythol-ogy of the tribe, during the day, treesnourish and protect and at night, theyhave a life of their own,” states Bajju. Thespirits of these trees, with whimsical talesand beliefs, are brought out through thisdelicate illustration by Bajju. It’s uncan-ny how he poetically illustrates a partic-ular aspect of Gond tradition related to thetree.

MrigaEqually elegant is his deer painting,

Mriga. Its intricate details can entice anart-lover — the leaf-like ear, the distinct-ly feminine slender-striped legs. In hisweaving of the modern, fashionable ele-ments, he gives us an image that is rareand unique. His use of fluorescentcolours are at once subtle and the man-ner in which he creates its position andintensity is one of great poise. “I love thedeer, I consider it the most beautiful ani-mal,” says Bajju. “I find its whole bodyone of great grace. Its eyes are so beau-tiful. I have always felt that among all ani-mals, it is a class apart because not onlydoes it personify extraordinary beauty,it is the majesty and royal signature ofthe forests that make it an inspiration.After all, deer has been a part of litera-ture and songs and poetry since timeimmemorial.”

(Message from Trees opens on August2 and runs till September 1 at Ojas Art.)

What specific term would you useto describe yourself as an aviddreamer? Artist Nandita Richie

calls herself a Khwabeeda, which is alsothe title of her latest solo exhibition. Shesays that she’s not very familiar with Urdubut is fond of giving titles to her paint-ings and exhibitions in different lan-guages. “I have named one of the paint-ings as Gurub-e-Aaftab, which means set-ting sun. It just sounds so beautiful inUrdu,” she says.

Art is something that liberates thesoul, provokes the imagination andencourages people to go further. And ifthis imagination is the result of childhoodmemories, then, it grows into manyideas that are endearing. For Nandita, herforay into art began with the memoriesof her grandfather’s garden and maturedwhen, as a young teenager, she attempt-ed to turn away from the canvas to exper-imenting on wearable fabrics.

At the age of 14, Nandita painted afew sarees for her mother with fabric dyepaints to try new ways of expressing herart form. Today, she has diversified herart into ‘wearables’ and owns her signa-ture line of ties, scarves and pocketsquares. She has started her own line ofdigitally printed limited edition sarees too.“I believe art should not be limited to gal-leries and only for those who can affordto buy original art. Bringing out my lineof designer sarees, silk wear seemed oneof the best options. These products arelimited edition prints of my canvas art andthey are affordable,” she says.

But her art continues to be rooted inher childhood. “My work is a visual diaryof my memories of the garden where Igrew up as a child watching my grand-father and father, who had green thumbs,working to create the most beautiful gar-den full of exotic flowers and lush treesfor us to play, enjoy and respect naturein my hometown of Jaipur. Today, a largemulti-storeyed building stands wheremy grandpa’s garden used to be. I not onlymiss watering his plants and tending tothe saplings but also sitting in that openspace surrounded by nature’s beauty,”Nandita says and goes on to add, “I amvery much inspired by nature especiallywaterscapes and lotuses. The lotus is morethan just a flower. It conveys a very strongmessage to humans. Even though it isrooted in mud, it continues to float onwater without becoming wet or muddy.This aspect of the flower dictates howhumans ought to live in this world.”

The architecture, fabrics, handicraftsand gemstones provide Jaipur with a myr-iad of colours labelling it famously as thePink City of India, she says, adding thatit is one of her favourite colours, there-fore. “I paint lotuses and lilies. The lat-ter are captivating blooms, both in thegarden and on the canvas. If only I couldcapture their subtle fragrance. None of mywater paintings feel complete without thelotus. The one that is close to my heartis the Blue Tranquil, which is a water bodywith floating lotus leaves and flowers. Ihave created a special light effect usingbold strokes and layers of paint to depicthow the water shines during the earlymorning hours.”

Although impressionist and postimpressionist styles have greatly influ-

enced her work, she is also moved bymodern and contemporary art and is notshy of experimenting with abstract stylesand mixed mediums. Her work is a resultof her vivid imagination, love of natureand years of experience with the paletteknife. Her paintings depict joy, romanceand beauty and are highly textured giv-ing a three-dimensional effect.

She says, “I am a die-hard nature loverwhich is evident from my paintings. Ipaint using my imagination and memo-ries. My formal training during my col-lege years and the critique provided by mytalented teachers keep me disciplinedabout form and dimensions while theappreciation of art lovers lends me newwings to experiment further with textures.I work with a palette knife and acryliccolours on canvas using the impasto wet-on-wet technique.”

Months ago,Bharatnatyam guruJayalakshmi Eshwar

wowed her audience with adance production that was muchmore than a regular classicalpiece.

Fused with electronic musicand animated visuals of theTamil culture, it spoke to view-ers about her openness to mergetechnology, her dance practiceand even, her dance lessons. Forviewers who saw Eshwar’s pro-duction Antariksha Sanchar —literally meaning transmission inspace — it was a mesmerisingtale of ancient aeroplanes, com-plete with technological ele-ments that attract the youthtoday.

It featured many of her ownstudents but the performancestage is not the only place wherethe dancer shares a relationshipof technology with her pupils,many of who often juggle dancepractice with other activities. Asclassrooms change from theguru-shishya parampara, wheredisciples learnt under their

teachers almost everyday, mod-ern-day classrooms becomeanother place where the strictclassical often merges witheveryday tech. “The studentshave so fast moving lives thatthey don’t even have time towrite their notes and makesketch drawings of every move-ment — that we needed to makebecause there were no pho-tographs or tape in our times,”Eshwar said.

Even dancing for them is agreat thing, she said, adding thatsome of her students who are asyoung as six years, use mobilephones to record the move-ments and practice it later.“Technology as a teacher helpsa lot. When I am teaching myprofessional-level students, whoare all abroad, and they want tolearn a new item, I just tape init my class bit-by-bit, and uploadit. I send the lyrics, meaning,everything and they ask ques-tions and seek clarifications asper the usual practice,” addedshe.

Many factions of the artiste

community are still sticking topure classical but Eshwar sees noharm in mixing it up a little.“The lives of our generation, ourparents, our grandparents was soin tune with arts. My grandfatherused to tell mythological storiesto children in the evening. Thatlink is not there for childrennow.

“Antariksha Sanchar was aneye-opener for me. I’ve foundthat little bit of electronic musicgives interest in the classicalidiom for the youth. If I just haveclassical, many youth find it‘boring,’” said the prolific authorand Bharatnatyam guru at theTriveni Kala Sangam. On thefusion, she said, “Without devi-ating from that classical tradi-tion, keeping it intact, we’reusing technology only forenhancement. We’re not losingthe grammar. It depends fromdancer how you can merge andkeep moving forward.”

(The Bharatnatyam operawill be staged at the India HabitatCentre on July 31.)

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Australia’s Alex de Minaurcaptured his second ATP

title in dominant style onSunday, dropping just 10 pointson serve in a 6-3, 7-6 (7/2) tri-umph over Taylor Fritz in a bat-tle of rising stars in Atlanta.

Third-seeded de Minaur,20, became just the third play-er to win an ATP title without

facing a break point since thetour began keeping stats in1991.

German Tommy Haas didit in Memphis in 2007 andAmerican John Isner managedthe feat in Newport in 2017.

More importantly, deMinaur cemented his returnfrom the groin injury that side-lined him for nearly twomonths after he claimed his

maiden victory at Sydney inJanuary.

“This one is really special tome,” said de Minaur, whoimproved to 15-4 on hardcourts this season with the USOpen looming in August.

“I felt like I really neededthis. To start the year with abang and then be slowed downby injuries ... you expect yourlevel to be right there once you

come back, but you have toslowly grind your way back.

“I’ve been playing greattennis and felt like if I couldkeep it all together, the goodresults will come. This is a weekthat will really help me out.”

“I don’t think I could startthe American hardcourt seasonany better than this,” de Minaursaid. “I’m happy with where Iam and enjoying every day.”

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Ben Stokes has revealed thepride he felt after being

reinstated as England’s Testvice-captain ahead of the Ashesseries starting this week.

Stokes was stripped of therole in 2017 following a late-night brawl in Bristol but wasrestored as Joe Root’s deputyahead of the five-Test seriesagainst Australia, which beginsin Birmingham on Thursday.

Speaking on a weekendvisit to his old club in Cumbria,the 28-year-old said: “I lovehaving that responsibility andit is something that I thorough-

ly enjoy doing. I take pride inbeing vice-captain. Being partof that think-tank is prettycool.

“I am very good friendswith Joe as well, off the field,and as much as I can do to helphim through his career, not justas a captain but as a player aswell, I am really looking for-ward to that challenge.

“I think it would have beenjust as exciting anyway. Playingin an Ashes series is always spe-cial and they don’t comearound that often but beingnamed vice-captain again wasvery good words to hear whenI got the call.”

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Australia all-rounder Ellyse Perrybecame the first cricketer of

either gender to reach the raremilestone of scoring 1000 runs andtaking 100 wickets in the T20 for-mat.

Perry (47 not out) and captainMeg Lanning (43 not out) stitcheda match-winning partnership toguide Australia to a seven wicketwin against England in the secondT20 of the Women's Ashes tour, hereon Sunday.

A four brought up the1000-run milestone for theall-rounder, who had pickedup her 100th wicket by dis-missing England’s Nat Sciverin the World T20 final inNovember last year.

The 28-year-old , whohit four boundaries and asix, was adjudged playerof the match.

“I guess it’s lovely, butI wasn’t aware of it. I actu-ally think in T20 cricket atinternational level, weprobably play it asmuch as themen, so I haveplayed a pret-ty big vol-ume ofgames now- over 100,”Perry wasquoted assaying byE S P NCricinfo.

“So I sup-pose whenyou’ve played100 gamesyou might

get close to it. That’s proba-bly the only reason I’m there— because I’ve played a lot ofgames,” she added.

Former Pakistani all-rounder Shahid Afridi (1416runs and 98 wickets) current-

ly stands closest toachieving the feat,while Bangladesh’sShakib al Hasan, with1471 runs and 88wickets, stands next in

line to join Perry.A u s t r a l i aWomen have

taken anunassailablelead 2-0lead in thet h r e e -m a t c hTw e n t y20 series.They will

play thethird and final

match in Bristolon Wednesdayafter alreadysealing theWomen’s Ashesesiers.

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The successive losses toJapan’s Akane Yamaguchi

have been disappointing butIndian ace P V Sindhu willhave to put it all behindwhen she renews her chasefor a maiden title this year inthe Thailand Open bad-minton tournament, startinghere on Tuesday.

The last two weeks havebeen an emotional roller-coaster ride for Sindhu asafter finishing second-best atthe Indonesia Open, she wasshown the door in the quar-terfinals of the Japan Openlast week.

On both occasions,familiar foe Yamaguchiturned out to be Sindhu’snemesis.

The Indian would bedesperate to break her seven-month long title jinx.

Seeded fourth, Sindhuwill open her campaignagainst unseeded ChineseHan Yue, whom she easilyovercame in the first roundof Japan Open.

If all goes well, Sindhumight face her first real testin the quarterfinals with apossible clash against sixthseed Ratchanok Intanon ofThailand.

The other Indian in fray,Saina Nehwal has been seed-ed seventh here, she hasbeen pitted against a qualifi-er in the opening round.

In men’s singles,Shubhankar Dey has got atough opening round againsttop seed Kento Momota,while B Sai Pranneeth, wholost in the semifinals lastweek, is up against Thailand’sKantaphon Wangcharoen.

If both the Indians man-age to get past the first hur-dle, they will face each othernext.

Fifth seed KidambiSrikanth will take on a qual-ifier, while H S Prannoy willbe up against Wong Wing KiVincent of Hong Kong in theopening round.

Sameer Verma, seededeighth, will face Lee Zii Jia ofMalaysia while ParupalliKashyap will take on France’sBrice Leverdez.

Sourabh Verma and AjayJayaram will have to gothrough the qualifiers.

While Sourabh will playtop seed Shesar HirenRhustavito of Indonesia inthe first qualifying round,Jayaram will face ChineseZhou Ze Qi.

In men’s doubles, twoIndian pairs feature but onlyone among them wil lprogress to the next round.

The combinations ofSatwiksairaj Rankireddy andChirag Shetty and ManuAttri and B Sumeeth Reddywill face each other in theopening round.

The lone Indian pair inwomen’s doubles — AshwiniPonappa and N Sikki Reddy— will be up against theChinese duo of Li Wen Meiand Zheng Yu in the openinground.

In mixed doubles,Pranaav Jerry Chopra and NSikki Reddy are drawnagainst the Japanese combi-nation of Kohei Gondo andAyane Kurihara while thepair of SatwiksairajRankireddy and Ponnappahave a tough task at hand asthey are pitted against fifthseed Chan Peng Soon andGoh Liu Ying of Malaysia.

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Mohammad Amir’ssudden decision

to retire from Testcricket and concentrateon limited overs whileshifting his base to UKhas prompted the PCBto make participationin domestic cricketmandatory.

A PCB official ofthe board said thatbesides restructuringof the domestic sea-son, it would be mademandatory for playersto appear in domesticmatches to qualify forthe Pakistan team.

“For example,Mohammad Amir whohas now retired fromTest cricket has to playin the domestic One-Day cup and NationalT20 competitions to be

considered for nation-al selection,” the PCBsource said.

He said that simi-larly players who areactive in Test cricketmust play first class

cricket matches.The PCB has on

the directives of primeminister Imran Khandecided to revamp itsdomestic structure withfirst class competition

now being limited tojust six provincialteams while 16 region-al teams will competein division two (three-day) tournamentbesides the nationalone-day cup and T20competitions.

As per plans, thePakistan board will ini-tially offer domesticcontracts to 34 playersselected for a provincialside as they have decid-ed to end the participa-tion of institutionalsides in the first classcompetition.

Also the board isstill sticking to its pol-icy of allowing its cen-trally contracted play-ers to appear in onlytwo T20 foreign leaguesbut they are also givingpermission on a case tocase basis.

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New Zealand unveiled aspin-heavy attack on

Monday for the openinground of their World TestChampionship campaignagainst Sri Lanka next month.

Coach Gary Stead namedfour spinners in his 15-mansquad for the two-Test seriesin Sri Lanka that will markboth teams’ debut in the newworld championship that runsthrough to 2021.

Stead said the Sri Lankanwickets were expected to turnand he was adopting a “hors-es-for-courses” strategy in

selecting Ajaz Patel, WillSomerville, Mitchell Santnerand Todd Astle.

“Playing three spinners isan option in Sri Lankan con-ditions and we believe thisgroup provides the best vari-ations and skill mix on offer,”he said.

The reliance on spinmeans quicks Matt Henryand Lockie Ferguson missout, with Stead opting forTrent Boult, Tim Southee,Neil Wagner and Colin deGrandhomme.

Stead said the Black Capsare ready for a new challengeafter their dramatic defeat in

the ODI World Cup final.“It’s good timing for us

after the World Cup,” he said.“It was an incredible time

for the team and the country,but we’re now excited to moveforward as a group and sinkour teeth into another oppor-tunity.”

New Zealand: KaneWilliamson (capt), TomLatham, Jeet Raval, RossTaylor, Henry Nicholls, BJWatling, Tom Blundell, Colinde Grandhomme, MitchellSantner, Todd Astle, TimSouthee, Will Somerville, NeilWagner, Ajaz Patel, TrentBoult.

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Australia great Glenn McGrathbelieves the form of England

spearhead James Anderson coulddetermine the course of theAshes.

Anderson, 37 on Tuesday, hasbeen battling to overcome a calfinjury but McGrath believes hecould have a huge impact on thefive-Test series if he stays fit.

“On home soil with theDukes ball, he’s the best in theworld bowling in those condi-tions,” McGrath told the Sun.

“He is a big player and if hehas a big series for England,Australia will find it tough. IfAustralia bat well and can get ontop of him, that’ll make a massiveimpact on their chances.”

The 49-year-old McGrath,added: “But Jimmy is on his wayto 600 Test wickets, which isabsolutely incredible.”

Anderson is now just 25wickets shy of becoming the firstfast bowler to take 600 in Tests,having surpassed former pace-man McGrath's haul of 563against India last September.

“Jimmy’s got the record nowand it won’t be beaten,” saidMcGrath. “For a fast bowler tobeat whatever record he sets,they are going to have to play 150Tests-plus.”

This season’s Ashes is beingplayed with last year's Dukesball, which has a bigger seam than

the one now in use for the 2019English domestic season.

While that should benefitboth Anderson and new-ballpartner Stuart Broad, six-timeAshes winner McGrath thinks the2018 Dukes will aid Australia’s

attack as well.“Pat Cummins will bowl real-

ly well with it and if Mitchell Starcis swinging that new ball 150 kilo-metres (93 miles) per-hour-plusand bowling attacking lengths,he’s a handful for anyone,” he said.

“It’s going to be whether ourbatsmen have learned and adjust-ed from last time they were here,when they just went too hard atthe ball.”

Australia have won just threeof their past 19 Tests in Englandincluding the match at Edgbastonin 2005, when McGrath wasruled out on the morning of thematch after injuring his ankletreading on a stray ball duringfielding practice.

While the former pacemanrefused to give one of his trade-mark Australia whitewash fore-casts, he said Tim Paine’s mencould retain the Ashes.

“Teams around the worldare becoming stronger at homeand worse away. That is a massiveconcern,” he said.

“But having been here for theWorld Cup, a lot of Australia’splayers have been able to adaptand adjust to conditions, to playon the pitches and get a little bitof a feel for everything.

“We have got the players todo it. But they are going to haveto be on the top of their game ifthey are going to compete withEngland in their own condi-tions.”

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The culture inside theAustralian Test cricketsquad may have

changed since Tim Paine tookover the captaincy followingthe ball-tampering scandallast year in South Africa, butit has not blunted their com-petitiveness says pace bowlerPat Cummins.

The 26-year-old jointvice-captain — told TheGuardian that Paine’s arrival inthe wake of the scandal hadforced a rethink about theirapproach to the game.

Former captain SteveSmith and David Warner wereboth given 12-month suspen-sions by Cricket Australia,with opening batsmanCameron Bancroft — whoapplied sandpaper to the ballwhile in the field during a Testwith South Africa in CapeTown — banned for ninemonths.

They are all back in thesquad for the five-Test Ashesseries which gets underway atEdgbaston on Thursday withthe tourists bidding to notonly retain the Ashes but alsowin their first series inEngland for 18 years.

“It’s probably the first timewhere we’ve really had to sitback and think about how wewanted to play,” said Cumminsabout when Paine took over.

“For me personally, goingto university (he has aBusiness degree) or having afew pre-seasons trying torecover from injury, it’s justknowing that you can’t judgeyourself on purely cricket,because if you do then you’reforever riding this rollercoast-er.

“Definitely taking a stepback gives you time to actual-ly think.”

Cummins, who hasrebounded from several yearsof persistent injuries to be keyto the Australian attack, saidpeople who mistook that for

the team going soft would belulling themselves into a falsesense of security.

“The way I’ve alwaysplayed is to get into the fight,”he said.

“This is a side that’s real-ly hungry, many of them intheir first Ashes, their firstaway Test.

“For me it’s about remem-bering what I did well last timeagainst England, try to adjustto English conditions, but Ijust want to really make amark.

“It doesn’t get much big-ger for a Test player than anAshes, and you never know if

it’s going to be your last. Somake the most of it.”

Cummins, who lost thetop of a middle finger agedthree when one of his sistersslammed a door on it by mis-take, says he believes he canflourish on the English pitch-es.

“There always seems to besideways movement and theDukes ball, even if it goes soft,still has a bit of swing,” he said.

“It’s not 40 degrees soyou can run in all day.

“It feels like if you put intothe wicket you’re going to getsomething out of it.

“It levels the contest some-

times as opposed to a flat day-three or day-four wicket inAustralia or a flat ODI wick-et, sometimes you go intodefence mode.

“Over here you can alwayssense a wicket coming.”

Cummins had been a rarebird within the Australia campto speak out about sledginglast year but he says one can-not avoid displaying one’semotions.

“Sport’s quite emotionaland there will definitely betimes on the field when thoseemotions show through, butit’s about trying to managehow we show them.”

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Indian captain Virat Kohli onMonday categorically refutedrumours of a rift with his deputy

Rohit Sharma, saying “people feed-ing off lies” are being disrespectfulto the players’ personal lives.

After India’s ouster from theWorld Cup, stories of fissures in theIndian camp emerged with claimsthat Rohit and Kohli are not seeingeye to eye.

Theories of split captaincy werealso floated.

“In my opinion, its baffling. It’sabsolutely ridiculous to read thesekind of stuff, that comes out there.I have been to public events wherewe have been praised and here we arefeeding off lies, overlooking facts,turning a blind eye to all goodthings that happened and creatingfantasies and scenarios in our head.We want to accept that this is thetruth,” Kohli said.

Adding fuel to all the specula-tions was a cryptic Instagram post byKohli’s actress wife Anushka Sharma,which was later deleted.

“I have seen this for too longnow. Bringing personal lives into thepicture. It’s disrespectful after amoment. I have played the game for11 years and Rohit has played for 10years (12 years) and it’s bizarre thatpeople are creating this stuff fromoutside,” the skipper said, with coachRavi Shastri by his side.

Shastri made a tongue-in-cheekcomment about the conspiracy the-ories.

“Very soon you will hear wivesbatting and bowling. The way thisteam plays, no individual is biggerthan the game. Not me, not him,nobody in the team. I have a been apart of that dressing room and noneof the nonsense is there,” the com-mentator in the former all-roundercame out as he pooh-poohed therumours.

For Kohli, the Indian teamcouldn’t have performed consistent-ly across formats if there was no

camaraderie amongst the players.“I have also heard a lot of things.

Now you can only hear things fromoutside. If the dressing room envi-ronment had been bad, then wecouldn’t have possibly played the

quality of cricket that we played.“Because I know how the dress-

ing room environment and trust fac-tor becomes important to succeed ininternational cricket. The journeythat we have had in ODIs, in Tests

(from No 7 to 1) and T20s, thatwouldn’t have been possible withoutcamaraderie, respect and under-standing,” said Kohli, who urgedpeople to come and see the atmos-phere in the change-room.

“You people please come to ourchange room and see, how we speakto a Kuldeep Yadav, how we crack ajoke with the senior-most player MSDhoni. We can’t shoot a video andshow you guys. It baffles you as aleader, when lies are being floatedaround to make it look like actual-ly they are believable,” Kohli sound-ed irritated.

He emphatically denied thatthere could be any awkwardnessbetween him and Rohit due to theevents in the past few days.

“If I don’t like a person or if I aminsecure about a person, you will seeit on my face or my behaviourtowards the person and that’s howsimple it is,” Kohli said.

“I have always praised Rohitwhenever I have got an opportuni-ty because I believe he is that good.I don’t know who is benefittingfrom all of this but we are living,breathing towards getting Indiancricket to the top, and here we getsome kind of pleasure in bringingIndian cricket down,” the skippersaid.

It’s time that we all do someintrospection, he felt.

“We have to reflect as cricketerseveryone can take a step back andthink are we creating somethingthat’s really not out there. You can’tplay with that kind of passion if youdon’t get along with each other. AsI said, its baffling and its time thatwe focus on taking Indian cricketforward,” he said.

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India captain Virat Kohli onMonday said the ICC World

Test Championship, that getsunderway on August 1, willadd context to the longest for-mat and give it a much-need-ed boost.

The inaugural edition willsee the elite nations —Australia, Bangladesh,England, India, New Zealand,Pakistan, South Africa, SriLanka and the West Indies —fight for top honours across 71Test matches in 27 series overthe next two years.

The top two teams willthen play the final, scheduledto be to held in June 2021 inthe United Kingdom.

“I think it is a great thingfor Test cricket to be honest.We all were looking forward toit because we all felt that afterone big series or tour, a one-offTest or a couple of Tests werenot apt but I think the TestChampionship gives a lot ofcontext to all the Test cricketthat we want to play,” Kohlisaid.

“Interest of the fans willalso build going for the results.Test cricket really needed aboost. Players were puttingthe effort but from a globalpoint of view, Test cricketneeded an incentive attachedto it which is presented in theform of Test Championship.

“So now every session,every game will be moreintense. It will be challengingbut it will be all the more excit-ing. All the teams will enjoythrough this entire journey,” headded.

The opening day of theAshes series between Englandand Australia at Edgbaston onThursday marks the begin-ning of the World TestChampionship.

India will play two Testsduring the tour of West Indiesand those will be part of thechampionship.

“After the highs of a tour-nament like World Cup, it isonly logical that the focus willshift to T20 World Cup but theTest Championship will keepthe interest in Test cricketgoing as well.

“So that’s the nature ofinternational cricket today thatyou have to compromise onone format to keep the othertwo relevant. And I am gladthat people have thought aboutTest cricket to keep it relevantthrough Test championship,”said Kohli.

Each team will play threehome and three away seriesand will be awarded points forevery game.

Each series will count for120 points, distributed over thenumber of matches in a series.For example, a two-matchseries will mean 60 points foreach Test while a three-matchseries will give 40 points toeach match. A tie will be 50

percent of the points available,whilst a draw will be a 3:1points ratio.

For Kohli, nothing comesabove the longest format of thegame.

“When you are focussingon T20, you can say let’s forgetabout the other two formatsand just make the sport excit-ing for the people to watch andentertain. But for the sheer joyof playing cricket, executingyour skills as cricketer, Testcricket is the most importantformat.

“And for me nothingcomes above Test cricket. Sothe fact that the Test champi-onship will keep the excite-ment going,” said the Indianskipper.

Kohli said that the Indianteam has done really well inrecent years and would befancying its chances in the Testchampionship.

“Test cricket is very chal-lenging and coming out on topin the traditional form isalways highly satisfying. TheIndian team has done reallywell in recent years and will befancying its chances in thechampionship,” he said.

England’s leading Testwicket taker James Andersonsaid Test cricket was the “pin-nacle of our sport”.

“It is the very essence ofcricket and the majority ofplayers want to strive to playthe purist form of the game,”Anderson, said.

“The ICC World TestChampionship is another bril-liant initiative for the sport,adding context and relevanceto every Test series. Every Testmatters, but even more sonow,” he added.

Organised by the MemberBoards, the matches will beplayed just like any bilateralseries, but with the added con-text of a competition and onechampion team.

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Virat Kohli on Mondaysaid that there was no

communication either fromthe former physio and train-er of the Indian team withregards to skipping theshorter formats during theupcoming West Indies tour.

Kohli was tipped to berested alongside JaspritBumrah but the captain saidthat no one told him that hisworkload has exceeded theprescribed limit.

“Our rest period is puton record. It’s all on the e-mail given to the Board. SoI don’t know what reportthey have created. In mymind, until the trainer or thephysio tells me to restbecause my progress in suchand such with datas collect-ed from all games. I don’tknow what communicationwas sent out to the selectorsbecause nothing was com-municated to me in terms ofrest,” Kohli told mediaper-sons prior to team’s depar-ture.

It will be a new startafter the disappointment ofthe World Cup but Kohliadmitted that the team is yetto sort out the middle-orderconundrum and joked thatthey might need a “crystalmaze”.

“I don’t know whether itwill have to be explainedthrough a crystal maze,” hesaid with a laugh.

On a serious note, he feltthat the Indian middle-orderhad been a target of “unfaircriticism” being judged onthe basis of one or two per-formances.

“It’s very subjective andsituation-based. Sometimesyou say you have the besttop order in the world,which you can agree with; itleads to middle order gettingjust one or two opportuni-ties, then we judge it basedon it. I don’t know how tostrike balance in it,” theskipper said, sounding a bithelpless.

India’s top three per-formed more often than notduring the World Cup butthe day when the middle-order faced stern test, theycapitulated.

“If I am a middle-orderplayer and I hardly get anopportunity to bat, thenwhen I am expected to deliv-er in crunch, I don’t think it’sfair to be judged. If the top-order fails consistently, thenyou’ll say they need to begiven time since they havebeen performing.

“When it happens withthe middle-order, I don’tthink it’s right to be so crit-ical of them. We obviouslywant to find people who canbe consistent, who can dothe job regularly for us andwe have backed the playersthat we thought are goodenough to do the job. Andthey have,” Kohli said.

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India skipper Virat Kohli said itwill be a “very exciting oppor-

tunity” for the likes of Chaharbrothers and Navdeep Saini tomake a mark in the limitedovers format during the upcom-ing tour of the West Indies.

A number of players who arenot a regular with the Indianteam in either T20Is or ODIsmade the limited overs squads asthe selection committee made itsintention clear to move forwardfrom India’s semi-final ousterfrom the ICC World Cup andbuild for the future.

“The T20s as you have seen,the squads, when I met the selec-tors, the basic message fromthem was to try out a few play-ers that they had in mind. I thinkit is a very exciting opportunityfor all the guys who are stepping

in for the first time,” Kohli said.Deepak and Rahul Chahar,

Saini, Shreyas Iyer, ManishPandey and Washington Sundarare a mixture of new and old

faces to have been included in thesquad for the limited-overs for-mat.

“The ODI side is more or lessbalanced and we have been real-

ly doing well, the Test side, need-less to say the kind of perfor-mances we have put in, so I amparticularly excited about thethree T20s, because as I said newlot of players coming in,” Kohlisaid.

“Some players who havedone really well in the format andshown great composure underpressure in tournaments likeIPL, domestically as well. So it’sa great marker for all those guysand us as a team as well to havethem in the squad,” the captainadded.

India will play three T20sand as many ODIs, and two Testmatches during their West Indiestour, commencing on August 3.

“West Indies obviously is agreat place to go and play crick-et. It is a relaxed place, we all haveenjoyed playing cricket there,”Kohli said.

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Captain Virat Kohli onMonday said he is in favour

of Ravi Shastri continuing as thehead coach of the Indian crick-et team despite the criticism itfaced following the semi-finalouster from the World Cup.

The current support staffcomprising incumbent headcoach Ravi Shastri, bowlingcoach Bharat Arun, battingcoach Sanjay Bangar and field-ing coach R Sridhar were givena 45-day extension followingthe World Cup, covering theWest Indies tour from August3 to September 3.

“Well, the CAC (Cricket

Advisory Committee headedby Kapil Dev) has not contact-ed me on this. But all of usshare a great camaraderie with

Ravi bhai and would definite-ly be very happy (to have himaround),” Kohli told reporterswhen asked for his opinion on

the appointment of chiefcoach.

“But as I had said, it’s on theCAC to decide (how to goabout it).”

They may have failed towin the T20 World Cup in 2016and the ODI World Cup in2015 and 2019, but the Shastri-Kohli duo helped India climbthe top of the Test rankingswith a historic series triumphin Australia.

Shastri was the team direc-tor till June 2016 until India lostin the World T20 semi-finalsbefore being reappointed ashead coach in 2017 after AnilKumble was removed followinghis differences with Kohli.

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West Indies legend VivianRichards is pinning his

hopes on the current team topose a tough challenge toVirat Kohli’s battle-hardenedoutf it in the upcomingassignments in theCaribbean.

“India-West Indies serieshave always seen explosiveaction and I don’t expectanything less this t imearound.

With the current form ofthe West Indies team, I lookforward to them giving a

tough competition to theIndian side,” Richards wasquoted as saying in a mediarelease issued by officialbroadcasters Sony PicturesSports Network.

Former India captainSunil Gavaskar, who made amemorable Test debut in theWest Indies in 1971, said hehas “respect” for players fromthe Caribbean.

“West Indies will alwayshold a very special place inmy heart since I started mycareer over there and haveimmense respect for theirplayers,” said Gavaskar.

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