HYDERABAD, SATURDAY JANUARY 30, 2021; PAGES 12 `3

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MONEY 8INDIA REAPING ‘LOCKDOWN DIVIDEND' BY SAVING LIVES

ANALYSIS 7PARATROOP REFORMS

ON THE GROUND

SPORTS 12YOU NEED TO BOWL ‘BEST BALL’AGAINST KOHLI & CO: THORPE

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MUMBAI LOCAL TRAINS OPEN TO PUBLICFROM FEBRUARY 1, FIXED TIME SLOTS

FISCAL DEFICIT SOARS TO RS 11.6 LAKH CR AT DECEMBER END

ELON MUSK LOSES ROUND ONE VS INDIANAMERICAN STUDENT WHO SUED HIM

SOCIAL ACTIVIST ANNA HAZARECANCELS FAST, BACKS FARM REFORMS

Mumbai local train services - suspendedin March last year due to thecoronavirus pandemic and lockdown,

and re-started in phases since - will beopened to the general public in fixed timeslots from Monday, Maharashtra ChiefMinister Uddhav Thackeray's office said thismorning. The trains - an essential service forlakhs of commuters, particularly for thosefrom economically weaker sections - will beopened from the first service till 7 am, noonto 4 pm and 9 pm to the last service. Inbetween these timings, only those in essential services - such asfrontline workers and healthcare staff, single women travellers.

Union government's fiscal deficitsoared to Rs 11.58 lakh crore or145.5 per cent of the budget

estimate at the end of December 2020,mainly on account of lower revenuerealisation. Revenue realisation was hitby disruptions in normal businessactivities following the coronaviruspandemic and lockdowns. Accordingto the data released by the ControllerGeneral of Accounts (CGA), the fiscaldeficit at the end of December in theprevious financial year was 132.4 percent of the Budget Estimate (BE) of 2019-20.

Tesla Inc. Chief Executive Officer Elon Muskfailed to turn the tables on a critic of thecompany who sued him for defamation. A

California state judge rejected Musk'sargument that the suit filed by Randeep Hothiwas baseless and should be thrown out as anattempt to silence the billionaire's free speech.Hothi, a University of Michigan graduatestudent known as "@skabooshka" on Twitter,drew Musk's wrath two years ago after twoincidents, both of which Hothi claims wereharmless. In the first, in February 2019, Hothiwas confronted by a security guard when he showed up -- to doresearch, he says -- at the Tesla sales center in Fremont, California.

Veteran social activist Anna Hazare hascancelled his planned fast against thethree central agricultural laws. He

announced his decision today in thepresence of senior BJP leader and formerMaharashtra chief minister, DevendraFadnavis. "I have been doing andolan(agitation) on various issues for a long time.It is not a crime to protest peacefully...I havebeen raising the farmers' issue for threeyears... they die by suicide because theydon't get the right prices for their crops...thegovernment has decided to increase the MSP (Minimum SupportPrice) by 50 percent - I have got the letter," he told reporters.

2

Sales of affordablehomes improving:

Survey

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‘Govt ‘vigilant’,additional forcesdeployed at LAC’

5

Why some peopleare more susceptible

to COVID-19

2

PRC row: CS-led panelfor 15 per cent fitment

PNS n HYDERABAD

The three-member committeeheaded by Chief SecretarySomesh Kumar that wasappointed to look into the PayRevision Commission (PRC)report and make recommenda-tions on the quantum of hikethat could be effected, keepingin view the recommendationsmade in the report, concludedits negotiations with variousemployees unions on Friday.

The negotiations with

employees' unions were held forthree days in line with thedirections issued by ChiefMinister K. ChandrasekharRao. The committee membersheard the views expressed by therepresentatives of the unions onthe PRC recommendations andother issues.

The Chief Secretary assuredthe members that their stancesconcerning the PRC recom-mendations as well as otherissues would be conveyed to theChief Minister for appropriateaction.

CASH-FOR-VOTE CASE

Court rejects Revanth's pleaPNS n HYDERABAD

In a setback to TPCC workingpresident and Malkajgiri LokSabha member A RevanthReddy, an ACB court rejectedhis plea that the cash-for-votecase did not come under itspurview.

On Friday, the Special Courtfor ACB cases here dismissedthe petition filed by him in this

regard.In his petition,

Reddy said theACB was enti-tled to probeonly cases per-taining to Stateg o v e r n m e n temployees. Sincehe was not a 'govern-ment servant', his casewould not come under the

purview of the ACBcourt and only theE l e c t i o nCommission couldlook into it, heargued.

After hearing thearguments, the court

dismissed the petitionfiled by Revanth.

AI has potential tohelp agri sector: KTRPNS n HYDERABAD

For making emerging tech-nologies beneficial in India, itneeds to be assured that theyreach people at the bottom ofthe pyramid, business andpolitical leaders said on Fridayat the Davos Agenda Summit.

During a panel discussionon 'Harnessing emergingtechnologies in India' on thelast day of the week-longonline summit of the WorldEconomic Forum, TelanganaIT Minister K T Rama Raosaid any technology that doesnot have a positive societalimpact is going to be futile.

"We need to take a closerlook at technologies that haveredefined the world. We needto consider how it positivelyimpacts the common man,"Rao said. The AI has thepotential to help with agricul-

ture, he added.During the same session,

UPL Ltd Global CEO JaiShroff said small farmers faceconstant disruptions and chal-lenges and the technologyindeed has the potential tohelp them.

Raja Singhsentenced forone year,granted bailPNS n HYDERABAD

Bharatiya Janata Party leaderand MLA from Goshamahalconstituency T. Raja Singhwas on Friday sentenced toone year's imprisonment bythe Special Sessions Courthere in a case booked againsthim in 2015. The court alsoimposed fine of Rs.5,000 onhim.

Bride-to-be among 6killed in road mishap PNS n HYDERABAD

In a tragic event, six persons,including a bride-to-be andthree of her family members,were killed on Friday as aspeeding lorry rammed theauto rickshaw in which theywere travelling on the outskirtsof Marrimitta village of Gudurmandal in the Mahabubabaddistrict. All of them werekilled on the spot.

Four of the deceased wereidentified as Jatoth Kasna, hiswife Jatoth Kalyani (48),daughter Jatoth Prameela(23) and son Jatoth Pradeep(25). The others killed wereKasna's relative Jatoth Prasad(42), his daughter JatothDivya (19) and auto driverJatoth Ramu (33). All thedeceased were fromErrakunta thanda of Gudurmandal.

According to the relatives ofthe deceased, the family mem-bers were going to Narsampetto purchase 'wedding clothes'as the marriage of Prameelawas fixed a couple of days ago.The mishap took place whenthe autorickshaw reachedMarrimitta, with the lorrycoming from Narsampet.

Signed building plan not must for loansPNS n HYDERABAD

The Telangana State govern-ment has issued orders instruct-ing financial institutions not toinsist on a signed building plancopy for processing loans forindividual residential plots upto 500 square-metre area.

The institutions can verifythe post verification status of

the application by scanning theQR code printed on the regis-tration certificate or buildingpermit order.

The orders come in view ofthe objective of the TelanganaState Building Permission andApproval and Self certification

System (TS-bPASS) to pro-vide hassle-free building per-missions and layout approvalsto citizens across the State.

The Act came into effectfrom November 16, 2020.

Under the Act, building per-missions are issued in threecategories - instant registration,

TS gets Rs 245crore flood aidPNS n HYDERABAD

The central High LevelCommittee (HLC) underthe Chairmanship of UnionHome Minister Amit Shahhas approved additionalCentral assistance under theNational Disaster ResponseFund (NDRF) to five States,including Telangana, thatwere af fected byfloods/landslides duringSouth-West Monsoon 2020and hailstorm during Rabi2019-20.

Under this, Telanganawill get Rs. 245.96 crore,constituting about 18% ofthe Rs 1,350 crore thatChief Minister KChandrasekhar Rao hadsought in October 2020 as' immediate assistance' ,while pegging the state'stotal loss at RS 5,000 crore.

Editor's guild,IWPC slamFIRs againstjournalistsPNS n NEW DELHI

Media bodies on Fridaystrongly condemned the fil-ing of FIRs against senior edi-tors and journalists for theirreporting on the farmers'tractor rally and the ensuingviolence here on RepublicDay, saying it was an attemptto "browbeat" and "intimi-date" the media.

The Editors Guild of Indiademanded that such FIRs bewithdrawn immediately andthe media be allowed to reportwithout fear and with free-dom. It said journalists havebeen specifically targeted forreporting the accounts per-taining to the death of one ofthe protestors on their per-sonal social media handles.

Minor blast atIsraeli EmbassyPNS n NEW DELHI

A minor IED blast took placeoutside the Israeli Embassy inthe heart of Lutyens' Delhi onFriday evening, police said onFriday. No one was injured.Some cars were damaged in theblast, an official said, adding thatthree fire tenders were rushed tothe embassy on APJ AbdulKalam Road.

CS Somesh with reps of The Telangana Teachers Union, Telangana RashtraTeachers Federation and the Rashtra Upadhyaya Panditha Parishad on Friday

Why can't UPSC candidates be givenanother chance? SC asks CentrePNS n NEW DELHI

The Supreme Court Fridayasked the Centre as to whyone-time relaxation cannot begiven to civil services aspirantswho could not appear for theirlast attempt in 2020 due to theCOVID-19 pandemic by giv-ing them an extra chance.

A bench of Justices AMKhanwilkar, BR Gavai andKrishna Murari askedAdditional Solicitor GeneralSV Raju to apprise it byFebruary 1 on how many can-didate would appear if one-timerelaxation is given and howmany times it has been donesince the Union Public Service

Commission (UPSC) was estab-lished. It's just a one-time relax-ation and if it has been donebefore then why not this time ,the bench told Raju.

The top court asked Centreto not issue any notification for2021 UPSC examination tillFebruary 1.

ANUSHA PUPPALA n HYDERABAD

In what is seen as 'terror tactics'adopted by a city school, author-ities of Glendale Academy,Bandlaguda gave TransferCertificate (TC), allegedly with-out any reason, to a Class IX stu-dent just because her parents,presently down with Covid-19,had questioned the schoolauthorities' wisdom in barringstudents from online classes.

The parents have approachedthe Telangana Human RightsCommission (HRC) as the stu-dent has been given TC onemonth before her final exami-

nations. Moreover, the schoolauthorities have taken the dras-tic step at a time when both theparents of the student are down

with COVID-19. According to the parents, the

school authorities had beenharassing their daughter for the

past few months, as they havebeen highlighting certain irreg-ularities being committed byprivate schools in Hyderabad

city, including GlendaleAcademy.

Removing a student fromschool at the fag end of the aca-demic year, and that too justbefore the annual examina-tions, is violation of humanrights, fundamental rights andchild rights guaranteed undersections 14, 19 and 21 etc. ofthe Constitution of India.

On condition of anonymity,one of the parents said, "Mydaughter was barred from theonline classes and she and weparents were removed from allthe school-related WhatsAppgroups.

COVID TIMES!

Vietnamese couple kiss at their wedding ceremony in Hanoi, Vietnam/Reuters

The institutions can verify the post verificationstatus of the application by scanning the QRcode printed on the registration certificate orbuilding permit order

n Concludes talkswith unions

n To submit report toCM in a day or two

School gives Class IX student TC to spite her parentsThe parents haveapproached theTelangana HumanRights Commission(HRC) as thestudent has beengiven TC one monthbefore her finalexaminations

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Start vaccination offrontline workers fromFeb, Centre tells StatesPNS n NEW DELHI

The Health Ministry has askedall states and union territoriesto initiate vaccination of front-line workers against COVID-19from the first week of February.

Vaccination of healthcareproviders that began onJanuary 16 will continuesimultaneously, the ministrysaid in a letter to states andunion territories (UTs).

In the letter, HealthMinistry Additional SecretaryManohar Agnani said the

database of frontline workersis being updated by states andUTs in collaboration with therespective line ministries.

As on date, the database ofmore than 61 lakh frontlineworkers has been uploaded onCo-WIN portal.

"In this regard, after dueconsultation with states andUTs, it is advised that the statesand UTs shall initiate simulta-neous vaccination of frontlineworkers and healthcare work-ers from the first week ofFebruary," Agnani said.

Printed and published by B Krishna Prasad for and on behalf of CMYK Printech Ltd., Phone: 040-23322341, Hyderabad Office: F-502, Diamond Block, Lumbini Rockdale, Somajiguda, Hyderabad - 500 082. Telangana. Printed at Sree Seshasai Enterprises, Plot No.19, IDA Balanagar , Hyderbad-500037, Medchal -Malkajgiri District, Telangana. Chief Editor: Chandan Mitra. Resident Editor: B Krishna Prasad, AIR SURCHARGE of Rs 2.00.

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hyderabad 02HYDERABAD | SATURDAY | JANUARY 30, 2021

EGG

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(IN HYDERABAD)

One of the most enduringmysteries is: why aresome young people moreseverely affected than othersby COVID-19? Do co-mor-bidities (e.g. hypertension,obesity, diabetes) alone pro-vide a complete explanation,or are there any other char-acteristics that predict greatersusceptibility to serious com-plications caused by thevirus? Some significant point-ers are available from themortality rates of African-Americans.

In the United States, themortality rate amongAfrican-American men hasbeen disproportionately high.One study using datathrough July 2020 found thatBlack people aged 35-44years were dying at ninetimes the rate of white peo-ple the same age. Some of thestock explanations include:their self-destructive behav-iors, their unhealthy diets,their genes, the neighbor-hoods they choose to live in,

the low-paying jobs they optfor, and “black-on-black”violence.

However, anecdotal evi-dence shows that it is not justliving in poverty that wearsdown Black men; it is thedaily struggle in life and theconstant “high-effort cop-ing” required over a lifetimethat leads to lasting corrosivestress. This is partly due towhat they are taught as kids.

If a task has begun, neverleave it until it’s done.

Be the labor great or small,do it well or not at all.

Whenever there is anexternal threat, the humanbody takes measures to wardoff the threat. It does this byinducing stress. So, stress initself is not bad, it is simplya psychological reaction thatinduces neurological changesand pours chemicals into

the blood. This is aimed tobring the body into a fight-or-flight state in order tocounter the threat. In thisstate, the heart beats fasterand breathing quickens;blood vessels dilate, so thatmore oxygen reaches thebrain and muscles. Theimmune system’s inflamma-tory response is activated topromote quick healing.When the threat recedes,chemical levels return tonormal, blood glucosereduces, and heart rate and

blood pressure go back tobase levels. This is how thehuman body is configured tooperate.

A constant state of copingleads to a recurring state offight-or-flight. This meansthat the body is always try-ing hard to bring itself backto normal levels, or equilib-rium. When the fluctuationfrom normal happens fre-quently, then slowly the nor-mal state itself is shifted tohigher (elevated) levels or the“normal is reset”.

In the new normal, bloodpressure remains high andinf lammation becomeschronic. The inner linings ofthe blood vessels start tothicken and harden, whichforces the heart to workharder. In turn, this impairsgoverning regulatory mech-anisms (e.g. metabolism,

immune response, or organfunction) and over a longertime span, the neurologicalsystem’s f ight-or-f l ightresponse is rewired.Ultimately the brain’s stressswitch breaks down.

Stress effects are also vis-ible at the cellular level. Eachcell contains DNA, which is,simply put, the source mate-rial of life. The DNA hastelomeres - repeatedsequences of DNA that pro-tect the ends of chromo-somes by forming a cap,much like the plastic tip ona shoelace. The shortening oftelomeres is a sign of prema-ture aging and research hasshown that in African-American people, telomerestend to become shorter at afaster rate.

We notice from the abovediscussion how the biologi-

cal and emotional assaultslead to wearing down of thehuman body much beforethe average time. At thispoint, it is not the virus thatkills, it is the years of work-ing non-stop and taking careof other people more thanoneself, that wears the bodydown and when the virusattacks, these young African-American people are unableto fight back. In the words ofsocial epidemiologistShawnita Sealy-Jeffersonfrom Ohio State University,the effect is same as revving“the engine of your car allday, every day. Sooner orlater, the car is going tobreak down”.

Thus, the bottom-line isthat high-effort copingbrings about stress-relatedneurological and chemicalresponses. Problems arise

only when such responses arebrought into play withincreasing frequency and thestress switch goes haywire,ultimately becoming dys-functional. Under these con-ditions, the body is unable toreturn to its original normalstate. A new normal comesinto being, and one charac-teristic of this new normal isconsistently elevated levels ofcortisol and other stress hor-mones. This leads to thepremature wearing down ofthe body. Perhaps this canhelp further explain the dif-ference in severity of symp-toms and death rates betweendifferent people.

(Author has a PhD fromUSA and a DLitt fromKanchi University. The arti-cle is based on his researchand practice and views arepersonal)

DR. SAMEER SHARMA

Why some people are more susceptible to COVID-19Whenever there is an external threat, the human

body takes measures to ward off the threat. It

does this by inducing stress. So, stress in itself

is not bad, it is simply a psychological reaction

that induces neurological changes and pours

chemicals into the blood

PNS n HYDERABAD

The health department andmanagements of private hospi-tals in Hyderabad on Fridaysaid that vaccines are the onlyway to end the Covid pandem-ic and individuals must not fallfor negativity over their effica-cy and side-effects.

Maintaining that not a sin-gle person has died due toCovid vaccine in the country,health authorities said that inthe coming few days, effortswill be intensified and mop-updrives will be organised toensure all healthcare workers inTelangana get inoculated.

So far, of the 2.55 lakh reg-istered personnel from pri-vate healthcare establishmentsin the State, 90,000 havereceived the vaccine.Authorities had set a target ofinoculating 2.75 lakh govern-ment healthcare workers out ofwhich so far 1,10,000 havereceived the vaccine.

"Healthcare workers mustset an example in getting vac-

cinated which will encouragefrontline workers and otherbeneficiaries who are next inline. How can you expect oth-ers to get inoculated if theyavoid vaccine," Director ofPublic Health (DPH), Dr GSrinivasa Rao said.

To ensure proper coordina-tion is in place and healthcareworkers, especially from pri-vate hospitals, are encouragedto get vaccinated, Dr Srinivasa

Rao held a detailed meetingwith IMA, Telangana, and rep-resentatives from super-spe-ciality hospitals.

"I myself got administeredwith the vaccine yesterday andafter 24-hours, I have no side-effects at all. I also urge mediapersonnel to report aboutsevere adverse events only afterchecking with the authorities.Unverified accounts in themedia have the potential to

impact the vaccine drive," saidDr. Narendra Reddy, generalsecretary, IMA-Telangana.

For the past ten months, theCovid pandemic crippled allwalks of life and made itimpossible to live normally.There is no denying the factthat, in the last few months,cases of Covid have dropped.However, in the comingmonths, a new variant of thevirus may trigger a fresh roundof infections. The only way outof this pandemic is throughvaccination and healthcareworkers and general publicshould realise it, officials said

The Covid mop-up vaccina-tion drive will be conducted onJanuary 30, February 1, 2, 3and 5 for healthcare workersfrom government and privatehealthcare establishments."Due to various reasons like ill-health etc, 15 per cent ofhealthcare workers will not beeligible to get vaccinated andthe rest 85 per cent must bevaccinated," Dr Srinivasa Raoadded.

‘Must not fall for negativity over Covid vaccine efficacy' Continued from page 1

Official sources said the com-mittee is likely to recommend 15per cent fitment (hike on basicpay) for employees, thus dou-bling the 7.5 per cent fitmentrecommended by the first PRCof Telangana State led by retiredIAS officer CR Biswal.Employees' unions are up inarms against the PRC report,which recommended a meagrefitment of 7.5 per cent, thelowest so far.

It may be recalled that PRCchairman CR Biswal had sub-mitted PRC report to the stategovernment on December 31,

2020. However, the report wasmade public only on January 27,when the CS-led committedstarted consultations.

The report triggered sharpprotests from employees who setPRC report copies on fire tovent their ire over the pay panelrecommending a mere 7.5 percent fitment.

All the unions that took partin the consultations held by theCS-led committee rejected thePRC report and demanded fit-ment ranging from 45 per centto 60 per cent.

However, the committee triedto convince the agitated unionsto agree for lower fitment, cit-

ing the grave financial crisisbeing faced by the state govern-ment due to corona-inducedlockdown and the pre-existingeconomic slowdown.But theunions refused to accept lowerfitment and categorically statedbefore the committee that theywill meet CM very soon andsecure higher fitment.

Chief Minister KChandrasekhar Rao will take afinal call on fitment, aftergoing through the report sub-mitted by the CS-led commit-tee. The CM will hold a cabi-net meeting to discuss thePRC issue and take a decisionon the quantum of fitment.

PRC row: CS-led panel for15 per cent fitment Continued from page 1

"We need to help thembecome more resilient toovercome the challenges thatmany urban dwellers take forgranted," said Shroff, whosecompany is a leading manu-facturer of agrochemicalsand crop protection solu-tions.

Sequoia Capital India LLPManaging Director RajanAnandan said it was "a tale oftwo halves" in 2020.

"The first half saw signifi-cant hurdles, but in the sec-ond half of last year, a num-ber of sectors with digitally-led startups were actuallyahead of where they were inFebruary. We had more uni-corns -- new billion-dollarstartups -- in 2020 than in2019," he said.

Meagan Fallone, Directoron the Board of BarefootCollege, a voluntary organi-sation connecting rural com-munities, said the pandemichas crystallised the need tosee technology as a tool tocreate justice and inclusionand in building citizenship.

"Opening up our mindsetabout who we should includein the design of technologyhas great potential forincreased efficiency and cost-savings. From government tothe private sector and socialentrepreneurs, it requiresmultiple stakeholders tomake this change," sheadded.

The panelists discussedwhat role will emerging tech-nologies play when theIndian economy is expectedto regain ground as theworld's fastest-growing econ-omy in 2021, when the IMFexpects a growth rate of 8.8per cent after a contraction of10.3 per cent in 2020.

AI has potentialto help agri...

Continued from page 1

"A very low intensityimprovised device went off...No injury to any person wasreported and nor was thereany damage to propertyexcept the glass panes ofthree vehicles parked nearby,"Delhi Police Additional PROAnil Mittal said.

He said initial impressionssuggest it could be a mischie-vous attempt to create a sen-sation. The fire departmentreceived the call at 5.11 pm,as the Beating Retreat cere-mony was going on atRajpath a few kilometresaway.

Minor blast atIsraeli...

Continued from page 1

Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao has expressedshock over the incident andconveyed his condolencesto the kin of the bereavedfamily members. Ministerfor Panchayat Raj and RuralDevelopment Errabel l iDayakar Rao and Ministerfor Tribal WelfareSatyavathi Rathod alsoexpressed condolences tothe relat ives of thedeceased.

Continued from page 1

While approving the assis-tance, Union Home MinisterAmit Shah said the UnionGovernment, under the lead-ership of Prime MinisterNarendra Modi, had resolvedto help "our sisters and broth-ers of Assam, ArunachalPradesh, Odisha, Telanganaand Uttar Pradesh who bravedthese natural disasters".

The HLC has approvedadditional Central assistancetotaling Rs. 1,751.05 crore tothe five States from theNational Disaster ResponseFund (NDRF).

For floods/landslides duringSouth-West Monsoon-2020,a sum of Rs. 437.15 crore toAssam, Rs. 75.86 crore toArunachal Pradesh, Rs. 320.94crore to Odisha, Rs. 245.96crore to Telangana, and Rs.386.06 crore to Uttar Pradesh

has been approved.For hailstorm during Rabi

2019-20, a sum of Rs. 285.08crore to Uttar Pradesh hasbeen approved.

The Central Governmenthad deputed Inter-MinisterialCentral Teams (IMCTs) to allthe five states immediatelyafter the calamities, withoutwaiting for the receipt ofMemorandum from the affect-ed State Governments.

It may be recalled thatTelangana Chief Minister KChandrasekhar Rao had urgedPrime Minister NarendraModi in October 2020 torelease Rs 1,350 crore forimmediate relief and rehabil-itation as the total losses suf-fered by the state due to heavyrain and flash floods werepegged at Rs 5,000 crore with50 people losing their lives,apart from heavy damage toinfrastructure and crops.

Continued from page 1

However, the court latergranted him bail and sus-pended the sentence, givinghim one month to appealbefore the High Court.

It was in December 2015that the Joint Action Committee (JAC ) of OsmaniaUniversity organized a 'BeefFestival' against which RajaSingh protested. He was takeninto preventive custody thenand shifted to the BollaramPolice Station. A few BJPactivists reached the policestation and tried to meethim, but the police stoppedthe MLA from meeting them.Singh then assaulted a cop onduty and threatened him, fol-lowing which a case wasbooked and a charge-sheetfiled against him in 2019.

Raja Singhsentenced forone year,granted bail

Continued from page 1

The court posted the case toFebruary 8 for framing ofcharges by the ACB. It direct-ed that the accused shouldpresent themselves beforethe court on February 8.

The ACB, which bustedthe scam in 2015, arrestedReddy, along with his aides,and filed a charge-sheet in thecase. Reddy, who was aMLA in TDP in 2015, wasarrested for allegedly offeringRs. 50 lakh to the nominat-ed MLA Elvis Stephenson forvoting in support of the TDPcandidate Vem NarenderReddy during the MLC elec-tions.

School gives Class IX student TC to spite her parents

Continued from page 1

instant approval and singlewindow. Accordingly, foravailing the registration certifi-cate under instant registrationand building permit orderunder instant approval, it isnot mandatory for the appli-cant to submit the buildingplan. Even if the applicant sub-mits the building plans, theTS-bPASS issues only registra-tion certificate or buildingpermit order as applicable.

The state government hasalso dispensed with the prac-tice of issuing digitally signedbuilding plans for applica-tions filed under instant reg-istration and instant approvalcategories.

Further, for instant registra-tion and instant approval cat-egories, the government con-ducts post verification toensure the availed certificateor permissions are in accor-dance with the rules.

Continued from page 1Our school online account

was blocked due to which wecould not pay the fees online.When we went to school to paythe fees, they did not accept thefees and gave TC. When I didnot accept the TC, they sent itthrough post which is illegal.

No school can issue TC rightbefore the exams. Now mydaughter is under a lot ofmental, emotional and psycho-logical pressure due to this sud-den, unforeseen, humiliatingand intimidating action takenby the school. And all this hap-pened when we were suffering

with COVID19".Commenting on the school's

illegal act, members ofHyderabad School ParentsAssociation (HSPA) said,"Issuing TC to a student ofClass IX right before her examsis illegal act by the schoolauthorities. The Education

Department should look intothis matter and take strictaction against the schoolauthorities".

Venkata Narasamma,District Educational Officer,Hyderabad told The Pioneer,"This incident has come to mynotice and I have initiated an

inquiry in this matter. I haveasked MEO to conduct theinquiry and he will submit theexplanation and depending onthe report we will take actionagainst the school".

The school authorities werenot available to comment onthe same.

Signedbuilding plan...

TS gets Rs 245crore flood aid

Bride-to-beamong 6...

Court rejectsRevanth's plea

Continued from page 1

The court said that it was notasking to increase the age-limitof candidates but the request isbeing made that one-time con-cession be given to those whohave exhausted all theirattempts. Senior advocateShyam Divan and advocateAnushree Prashit Kapadiaappeared for petitioner Rachnaand others seeking grant of onemore chance in the UPSC'scivil services exam to those

aspirants who could not appearin their last attempt in 2020due to the pandemic.

On Thursday, the top courthad questioned the Centre forfiling an affidavit without spec-ifying at whose level the deci-sion was taken for not granti-ng one more opportunity toUPSC civil services aspirantswho could not appear in theirlast attempt in 2020 exam dueto Covid. The top court hadsaid that the affidavit filedbefore it was not clear about at

whose level this decision wastaken and observed that aroutine affidavit has been filedbefore it by an under-secretarylevel officer. On January 25, theCentre had told the apex courtthat allowing extra attempt inUPSC civil services exam tothose who could not appear intheir last chance in 2020 due toCovid would create a cascad-ing effect , detrimental to theoverall functioning and levelplaying field necessary for apublic examination system.

Continued from page 1

Well as those of the publi-cations they lead and repre-sent.

"It must be noted that onthe day of the protest and highaction, several reports wereemerging from eyewitnesseson the ground as well as frompolice, and therefore it wasonly natural for journalists toreport all the details as theyemerged. This is in line withestablished norms of journal-istic practice," the Guild said.

The Editors Guild said it"strongly condemns theintimidating manner in theway in which the UttarPradesh and Madhya PradeshPolice" have registered FIRs

against senior editors andjournalists (including currentand former office-bearers ofEGI) for reporting on thefarmers' protest rallies and theensuing violence that tookplace in the national capitalon January 26.

The FIRs allege that thetweets were intentionallymalicious and were the reasonfor the desecration of theRed Fort, the Guild noted,asserting that nothing can befurther from truth.

"On a day thick with infor-mation, the EGI finds theseFIRs, filed in different states,as an attempt to intimidate,harass, browbeat, and stiflethe media," the Guild said.

That the FIRs have been

booked under a total of 10 dif-ferent provisions, includingsedition laws, promotingcommunal disharmony, andinsulting religious beliefs, isfurther disturbing, it said.

"This targeting of journal-ists grievously violates andtramples on every value thatour democratic republicstands for.

It is intended to grievouslyhurt the media and prevent itfrom working as an indepen-dent watchdog of Indiandemocracy," the statementsaid.

"We demand that the FIRsbe withdrawn immediatelyand the media be allowed toreport without fear and withfreedom," the Guild said.

The Guild also reiterated itsearlier demand that the high-er judiciary takes serious cog-nizance of the fact that sever-al laws such as a sedition areoften used to impede freedomof speech, and issue guidelinesto ensure that "wanton use ofsuch laws does not serve as adeterrent to a free press".

The Indian Women's PressCorps (IWPC) also "unequiv-ocally" condemned the UttarPradesh Police's decision tofile an FIR for sedition againstMrinal Pande, founder pres-ident of the IWPC, alongwith several leading journal-ists, allegedly because theyshared "unverified" news dur-ing the farmers tractor rally inDelhi on Republic Day.

Why can't UPSC candidates be givenanother chance? SC asks Centre

Editor's guild, IWPC slam FIRs...

HYDERABAD | SATURDAY | JANUARY 30, 2021 hyderabad 03

Hyderabad traffic police on Friday caught avehicle which has 69 pending challans.Reportedly, the challans were pending from

last one year. Hyderabad traffic officials detainedthe vehicle while conducting special drives onFriday at Afzalgunj area. On verifying the detailsof the vehicle bearing no TS12EG8524, thetraffic officials came to know that the vehiclehave 69 pending challans with an amount of Rs21,270 within the period of January 16, 2020 toJanuary 21, 2021. The vehicle belongs toRishab Gupta who cleared 69 challans on thespot by paying Rs 21,270. AdditionalCommissioner of Police Anil Kumar told ThePioneer, "Good work by Traffic officers. The purpose of challan is tomake the violators realise their mistakes and not to repeat trafficviolations again. It is for their own safety. We keep conductingspecial drives to check any violators in the city and its a continuousongoing process".

CITY LIGHTS

Aimed at passenger safety in thepresent Covid-19 times, GMRHyderabad International Airport

has introduced one more initiativetowards safe travel, a Water-Less EcoWashing facility to sanitise cars. Thiscar washing service at the airportincludes - exterior cleaning, vacuum cleaning, tyre clean and polish,air freshener, dashboard dressing, deep clean services. This helps inthe complete sanitisation of the vehicles and ensures a safe travel.Special 3M products which are used widely in the automobileindustry and pose no kind of issues to the paint durability of thevehicle are used in the cleaning/washing. The cleaners are trained toclean the vehicle in a unidirectional way so that way it'll even reducethe chances of leaving swirl marks on the vehicle. One of the Water-Less Eco Washing kiosks is located at the entrance of the CarParking zone - C and one kiosk dedicated to taxis is near the Airportlodge at the taxi staging area. Irrespective of the location, servicewill be provided at the location where the vehicle is parked withinthe airport car park. The service is 24/7, 100% contactless, techenabled service for the ease of the customers.

Lieutenant General A Arun,General Officer commanding(GOC), Dakshin Bharat Area

during a visit to SecunderabadArmy Cantonment was briefed byMajor General RK Singh, GeneralOfficer Commanding, Telanganaand Andhra Sub Area (TASA) onsecurity situation and operational preparedness, infrastructuredevelopment, educational institutions, initiatives in Ex-servicemenContributory Health Scheme (ECHS) in treatment of Covid patientsand the efforts towards vaccination. He was also briefed by thePrincipals of Army Public Schools. The General Officer also visitedArmy College of Dental Sciences (ACDS) and was briefed on thesteps taken by the College on the innovative methods utilised foronline coaching of the undergraduates, practical training for postgraduates and interns on working models/training mannequins andtreating of emergency cases with all laid down precautions underCovid conditions.

Telangana continues to see morerecoveries than the new Covidcases, health officials said on

Friday. The state reported 356recoveries during the last 24 hourswhile 197 new infections weredetected. The cumulative recoveriesmounted to 2,89,987 while the recovery rate improved further to98.59 per cent against the national average of 96.9 per cent.The active cases also dropped to 2,537 including 1,083 who are inhome or institutional isolation. The fresh cases pushed the tally to2,94,120. Two more persons succumbed to the virus during the last24 hours, taking the death toll to 1,596. The fatality rate remained0.54 per cent against the national average of 1.4 per cent. While44.96 per cent of the deaths occurred due to Covid, 55.04 per centhad comorbidities.

The five-day Republic Day Regatta 2021 concluded on Friday at Hussain Sagar Lake inthe city. The event of Yacht Club of Hyderabad is the first regatta in the sailing calandar ofIndia and the largest ever in the Junior and Sub Junior categories. Telangana has become

the powerhouse of Sailing with the Yacht Club of Hyderabad spearheading juniorsailing."Teaching the marginalised kids sailing and winning so many medals was very

satisfying but now with this high level education we have transcended to a different levelof creating careers," said Dadi Bhote the Vice President of the Yacht Club Foundation

WATER BABIES

– SV Chary

PNS n HYDERABAD

Schools across the countryhave started reopening with thenumber of Coronavirus casessteadily dropping. A number ofstates resumed physical class-es on a voluntary basis in themonth of January, while a fewmore states are set to openschools next month.

As schools and collegesTelangana will reopen fromFebruary 1, 2021, for classes IXonwards after a gap of one yearwith Covid protocol in place,the Telangana State RoadTransport Corporation(TSRTC) has decided to runbuses in schools zones of theGreater Hyderabad MunicipalCorporation (GHMC) fromthe residential colonies pro-vided that the occupancy ratiois over 60 per cent.

The officials of the TSRTChave been advising the people,who are in dire need of bus ser-vices, to call their nearest RTCdepot manager for operating abus service from their colonyto their schools.

The RTC officials seek guar-antee from the commutersthat 35 of the total 45 seats ina bus are going to be filled to

run the bus service in theirlocality.

Moreover, the authoritiesgave the independence to com-muters to choose the bus tim-ings. The RTC depot in thelimits of GHMC is gearing upto press into service all of itsfleet in tune with the passen-ger rush. RTC operates variousservices catering the needs ofpeople from all walks of life.The different services include

City Ordinary, Metro Express,Palle Velugu, Deluxe, SuperLuxury, Rajadhani, Vajra andGaruda to different parts of theState and also to neighbouringStates.

Currently, all the 2,750 busesof the RTC are on the roadsboth in the mornings andevenings. The city expanded inall directions up to a distanceof 50 km. But, the RTC has noenough number of buses. In

fact, its fleet of buses is downby 1000 compared to earlier.Therefore, the TSRTC is seek-ing to adjust the existing busservices to all parts of the city.

Of all the complex decisionseducation leaders face as theyplan to reopen schools for the2020-21 academic year, thetoughest one might be themost basic: how to get studentsto the buildings in the firstplace.

TSRTC to expand occupancyratio for helping school kids

PNS n HYDERABAD

Governor Dr TamilisaiSoundararajan on Friday askedthe vice-chancellors and theregistrars of universities in thestate to follow the standardoperating procedures to ensurethe safety of the students whilereopening of the campusesfrom February 1.

She emphasised on takingcare of students' health, safety,psychological, and nutritionalaspects during the resumptionof physical classes.

The Governor was virtuallyreviewing with the vice-chan-cellors and the registrars on thepreparedness of the universitiesin reopening the colleges withall the safety norms amid theprevailing pandemic condi-tions.

"Owing to the effective con-tainment of the pandemic bythe Central and State govern-ments and the roll out of thevaccine, we are reopening the

colleges. However, we need tobe cautious in ensuring thesafety of the students, faculty,and others. The best possiblepreventive measures need to bein place in the campuses. Socialdistancing, hand wash facilities,wearing of mask, availability ofquality sanitizers need to beensured," she added.

The Governor appreciatedthe vice-chancellors for con-ducting the online classes,examinations and declaringthe results thus helping the stu-

dents to continue their educa-tion despite the pandemic con-ditions Special Chief SecretaryChitra Ramachandran inform-ed that physical attendancewas not mandatory to allow thestudents for examinations atschool level. Alternativearrangements are in place tooffer online classes for thosewho are not willing to attendphysical classes. The SOPs pre-pared by the State and Centralgovernments will be scrupu-lously implemented.

REOPENING OF EDU INSTITUTIONS

Focus on health, safety of students: Governor

HYDERABAD: Governor Dr.Tamilisai Soundararajan onFriday wanted the universities tocome up with vision documentsoutlining the strategy and road-map to promote the role ofalumni in the development ofuniversities. Emphasising on thefact that alumni have a greatpotential to contribute to theuniversities, she said that it washigh time that the universitiestake steps to promote thealumni role. "The alumni cancontribute in different ways likeextending financial assistance,scholarships, fellowships, travelgrants, sponsorships, andresearch grants to thestudents,” she said.

VCs told topromote role of alumni inuniversities

PNS n HYDERABAD

The Supreme Court on Fridaygave another six months tothree-member inquiry com-mission, headed by formerapex court judge V S Sirpurkar,to file final report on the cir-cumstances leading to theencounter killing of the fouraccused in the gang-rape andmurder of a veterinarian inHyderabad.

The other members of thecommission include formerBombay High Court judgeRekha Sondur Baldota and ex-CBI director D R Karthikeyan.

A bench of Chief JusticeBobde and Justices AS

Bopanna and VRamasubramanian said, wewill extend it by six months.

The bench perused an appli-

cation filed by the commissionseeking some more time for fil-ing the report in the case andpassed the order.

This is the second time thetop court has granted sixmonths' time to the commis-sion to file its final report, sinceit was setup on December 12,2019.

The top court had on July 24,2020 granted the Commission6-month extension to submitfinal report.

On December 12, 2019, thetop court had appointed athree-member inquiry com-mission headed by former apexcourt judge VS Sirpurkar toinquire into the circumstancesleading to the encounter.

It had then stayed proceed-ings pending in the TelanganaHigh Court and the National

Human Rights Commission(NHRC) in the case and soughtan SIT report, saying no otherauthority shall inquire into thematter pending before thecommission of inquiry till fur-ther orders.

It had ordered that securityto the three-member commis-sion shall be provided by theCentral Reserve Police Force(CRPF) and the six-monthdeadline for submission of thereport by the commission shallstart from the first day of hear-ing and it shall have all thepower under the Commissionof Inquiry Act for conductinginquiry into the December 6,2019, encounter deaths.

The top court had noted that"conflicting versions about theincident demand an inquiry touncover the true facts".

It had directed that the panelwould sit at Hyderabad and allthe expenses including for thesecretarial staff would be borneby the Telangana government.Further, the state would renderall assistance required by thecommission.

Two petitions were filed inthe Supreme Court, one bylawyers G S Mani and PradeepKumar Yadav, and the other byadvocate M L Sharma, seekingindependent investigationagainst the police officers con-cerned.

Hyd encounter: SC extends term of probe panel by 6 months

PNS n HYDERABAD

Barely 24 hours after she waskidnapped, a two-and-a-half-year old girl was traced andrescued on Friday by theMalakpet police, who arrestedthe kidnapper with the help ofsurveillance cameras.

The accused identified as KSravan Kumar, 29, hailingfrom Mahabubnagar, is anauto driver by profession.

The parents of the victimAjay and Laxmi, both ragpickers, who stay on the pave-ment at Moosarambagh weremarried five years ago andblessed with a baby girlAmmulu.

Sravan, who noticed aminor girl Ammulu playingon footpath near SBI atMoosarambagh, planned tokidnap her and sell the baby tochildless parents and earn

money."As per the plan, on

Wednesday Sravan came toMoosarambagh on a motor-cycle, which he a committedtheft few hours before thekidnap, waited for a perfecttime and abducted her whenthe parents of the girl wereasleep," said Hyderabad PoliceCommissioner Anjani Kumar.

Her parents woke up in themorning to find Ammulumissing and approached theMalakpet police, who bookeda case of kidnap and beganinvestigation by forming spe-cial teams.

The team verified theCCTV footages and identifieda suspect. He was traced at hishouse in Golnaka, from wherethe child was rescued. He hadused a stolen scooter, whichwas also recovered, the policeofficials said.

PNS n HYDERABAD

The sleuths of Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) intwo different cases nabbedthree tainted officials fromPanchayat Raj and RuralDevelopment Department,along with sarpanch's hus-band, while accepting bribe inRanga Reddy district onFriday.

The tainted officials wereidentified as G Srinivasulu,mandal panchayat officer ofMaheshwaram, J Geeta, pan-chayat secretary of Mansanp-ally, B Simha Yadav, deputysarpanch of Mansanpally andKandi Ramesh, husband ofMansapally sarpanch.

Based on the complaintfrom Jakkidi Muthyam Reddy,police laid trap at two places atgram panchayat office,Mansanpally and mandalparishad development office,Maheshwaram in the after-noon hours on Friday.

The officials demanded abribe of Rs 7.5 lakhs fromMuthyam Reddy, records liai-son officer of a real estate com-pany, when he approached forofficial work to allow their realestate venture. The officialsasked Muthyam Reddy tohandover the money at twodifferent places.

Accordingly, MuthyamReddy went to gram panchay-at office with Rs Rs 5.50 lakhsand sent his friend Srinivas toMPDO to hand over Rs 2lakhs.

In the first trap at around1:55 pm on Friday at grampanchayat office, the ACBsleuths nabbed J Geeta, KandiRamesh, B Simha Yadav redhandedly when they wereaccepting the bribe amount ofRs. 5.50 lakhs.

Further, in the second trapthe ACB officers nabbed G

Srinivasulu when he wasaccepting bribe amount of Rs2 lakhs at MPDO fromSrinivas at 2:05 pm.

The ACB officials recoveredRs 7.5 lakhs tainted amountfrom the possession of theaccused. Further chemical testsconducted yielded positiveresults, said ACB officials.

As the accused performedtheir duties improperly anddishonestly they were arrestedalong with the husband ofsarpanch. The accused weresent to judicial custody.

PNS n HYDERABAD

The Rachakonda police onFriday arrested a fraudster forallegedly cheating people onthe pretext of providing themwith fake holiday packages.

The accused has beenidentified as Arafat FarookMotorwala, 32, hailing fromMumbai of Maharashtra.

According to the police,the accused posted fakeadvertisements of attractivetourist trip package details forinternational destinations toexploit money from thegullible public.

If any customer approach-es Farook, he will convincethem and loot their moneyunder the guise of holidaypackages. “After crediting theamount, the accused willinform the victim that thosetrips were cancelled on thepretext of non-availability ofthe said packages and dodgesthe matter without refundingthe payment to victim," saidACP Harinath.

Recently, police booked acase after a complaint from avictim. The police collectedall the technical evidencesand arrested the accused onFriday.

The officials laid trap at gram panchayat

office, Mansanpally and mandal parishad

development office, Maheshwaram and

nabbed the officials red-handed

Cops rescue kidnapped toddler within 24 hours

Man nabbed for cheating people with bogus tour packages in city

3 government officials, husbandof sarpanch arrested for graft

PNS n HYDERABAD

The Nacharam police arrest-ed three persons on chargesof selling banned tobaccoproducts at AnnapurnaNagar colony in Mallapurhere on Friday. Tobaccoproducts worth Rs 1.5 lakhand other material wereseized from them.

The arrested persons wereAjith Sharma, 20, from GreenHills Colony, Ajit Pandey, 30,from Narasimha NagarColony and D.Eshwar Rao,45, from Baba Nagar Colonyin Nacharam. Police said thetrio procured tobacco prod-ucts from dealers in Bidar ofKarnataka and transportedthem in auto-trollies toHyderabad and stored in awarehouse at AnnapurnaNagar colony. “There theypacked them into smallsachets and supplied to deal-ers and local markets in andaround Nacharam,” policesaid. Following a tip-off, thepolice raided the warehouseand arrested them.

Three nabbed forselling tobaccoproducts in city

More Coronavirus recoveries than fresh cases in Telangana

GOC Dakshin Bharat visits Secunderabad Cantonment

RGIA launches eco-friendly car washing facility to sanitise cars

Bike with 69 challans worth Rs 21K caught in Hyderabad

HYDERABAD | SATURDAY | JANUARY 30, 2021 hyderabad 04

One more nightshelter to come up in WarangalWARANGAL URBAN: Measuresare being taken to set up onemore night shelter in the city,disclosed Greater WarangalMunicipal Corporation (GWMC)Commissioner PamelaSatpathy. She inspected thegovernment land opposite theWarangal vegetable market, theland near the LB Nagar BharatGas Godown and other sites.Speaking on the occasion,Pamela said that a suitableplace for establishing a nightshelter in the city was beingidentified. “The night shelterwill soon be constructed withthe funds sanctioned under the‘Pattana Pragathi scheme’ toprovide accommodation for 50people,” she added. It may berecalled that the civic body hadalready constructed three-nightshelters in the city for thebenefit of the destitute.

Virtual talk onCOVID vaccineHYDERABAD: The TelanganaState Federation of Chambersof Commerce and Trade(TSFCCT) will organise avirtual talk on COVID vaccineawareness with HealthMinister Eatala Rajender onSunday at 10 am on theZoom platform. The ministerwill dwell on the governmentpriority of people to bevaccinated when and wherethe vaccine will beadministered and theprecautions to be takenbefore and after vaccination,said Ammanabolu Prakash,President of TSFCCT in apress note issued here onFriday.

CAPSULE

PNS n VARANASI

MLC Kalvakuntla Kavithaoffered prayers at KashiVishwanath temple here onFriday. On a visit purely ded-icated to spirituality, Kavithahas been accompanied by hermother Shobha Rao and herfamily members. On Day 2 ofher visit, Kavitha reachedKashi Vishwanath templewhere she spent a couple ofhours in the service of LordKashi Vishwanath. This wasfollowed by her visit to

Annapurna temple, DhundiVinayak temple andMahamritunjaya temple. Shetweeted her pictures from theAnnapurna temple where shewas found offering prayers atthe temple with her motherand others.

Later, former MP visitedthe historic Tulsi GhatHanuman temple, followed bya visit to Nishadraj Ghat whereKavitha performed holy ritu-als and interacted with peopleof Varanasi as she concludedher visit.

Earlier, on her first day, shevisited Assi Ghat,Dashashwamedh Ghat on theboat with locals. She was foundactive on Twitter as she sharedglimpses of her visit.

On Thursday, Kavitha per-formed Ganga aarti with herfamily and headed towardsSankatmochan temple, at boththe places Kavitha was spottedperforming all the holy rituals.She even wrote Ganga AartiSankalp and shared her videowhile performing the aartiwith her family.

Kavitha offers prayers atKashi Vishwanath temple

State Women’s Commission chairperson Sunitha Lakshma Reddy called on Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan at the RajBhavan on Friday. The former was accompanied by Women’s Commission members Shaheen Afroze, Gaddala Padma, KurmaEshwaribai, Sudha Lakshmi, K Uma Devi, Revati Rao and others are also seen

WOMEN’S CCOMMISSION CCHAIRPERSON CCALLS OON GGOVERNOR

PNS n HYDERABAD

“If the government gets per-mission, we will foot the bill forthe vaccination of the popula-tion. We are committed to thewelfare of the people ofTelangana,” Minister for HealthEatala Rajender asserted.

The Minister for Health wasspeaking on ‘The NextNormal: NavigatingUnchartered Waters’ organ-ised by FICCI LadiesOrganisation here on Friday, hesaid that the question of moneydoesn’t arise in the fight againstCovid.

He said that the governmentspends Rs 35,000 crore perannum for welfare. Speakingfurther, the minister said thatTelangana is ready to admin-ister the vaccine to people, whocan’t afford it. “But even if richpeople, too, ask, we are readyto administer the vaccine toeveryone. The Telangana Statehas a per capita of two lakh andabove more than double thenational per capita. We canbear the cost of the vaccina-tion,” he said.

The State has taken eightlakh doses and 1.09 lakh gov-ernment healthcare workersand over 40,000 private sectorworkers have been vaccinatedso far, he informed. “We areready to vaccinate people above50 years and people with co-morbidities as per the guide-lines by the Central govern-ment. People are questioningthe efficacy of the virus andasking about trials, but accord-ing to WHO, a vaccine is saidto be efficient, if it has a 50%

efficacy. We have vaccines withmuch better efficacy in a shorttime. We are going to admin-ister vaccines to each andeveryone,” he said.

Mahima Datla, MD & CEO,Biological E Limited, address-ing the gathering said thatthey don’t have a source ofcredible scientific information.She lamented that the do’s anddon’ts list and FAQs for whocan take vaccination came

much late. It should have beenearlier, people should be edu-cated, she said.

Sharing the top three learn-ing from the Covid situation,Mahima said that they mustcollaborate with a global net-work to know about the emer-gence of viruses in time. Globalsurveillance of viruses must bethere and WHO is not enough,she said.

India has a greater opportu-

nity to play, she opined. Thereare about 25-30 viruses onlythat have pandemic potential.“We are exposed to a lot ofviruses and build immunityover time. But, when virusesjump from species to speciesour body doesn’t have time toovercome them,” she said.

The government shouldinvest in research and newtools to minimise the timetaken to produce the vaccine.Thirty viruses are not insur-mountable, she said. “We needinfrastructure that is kept readywhen we face challenges,” sheadded. Answering to a ques-tion on herd immunity, shesaid that the notion of gettingherd immunity by infection isbad. The best way to deal is byimmunizing the maximumnumber of people in the short-est possible time, she said.

Govt ready to administervaccine free of cost to all

Minister for Health Eatala Rajender at FICCI Ladies Organisation meeting in Hyderabad on Friday

n Mahima Datla, MD & CEO,Biological E Limited, said thatthey must collaborate with aglobal network to know aboutthe emergence of viruses intime. Global surveillance ofviruses must be there andWHO is not enough, she said.

n The State has takeneight lakh doses and1.09 lakh governmenthealthcare workersand over 40,000private sector workershave been vaccinatedso far, he informed.

(Top) MLC Kalvakuntla Kavithastrikes a pose with locals in Varanasi

(Left) MLC Kalvakuntla Kavitha offersprayers at Annapurna temple inVaranasi on Friday

IndiGo to startflights betweenKurnool andBengaluruPNS n NEW DELHI

IndiGo on Friday said itwill start direct flightsb etween Kurno ol andBengaluru, Visakhapatnamand Chennai from March28 onward under regionalconnectivity scheme Udan.According to the airline'spress re lease , SanjayKumar, Chief Strategy andRevenue Officer, IndiGo,said, "It will strategicallyenhance regional connec-tivity in southern India, asKurnool will be one ofthree capitals in AndhraPradesh, as well as thenode for the upcomingHy d e r a b a d - B e n g a l u r uIndustrial Corridor."

F l ights on a l l threeroutes - - B enga lur u-Kurnool, Visakhapatnam-Kurnool and Chennai-Kurnool -- will operatefour times per week underthe regional connectivityscheme, the release noted.

Under the Udan scheme,financial incentives fromthe Centre, State govern-ments and airport opera-tors are extended to select-ed airlines to encourageoperations from unservedand underserved airports,and keep airfares afford-able.

The release said Kurnoolwill be the judicial capitalof Andhra Pradesh and itsincreased accessibility willnot only help tourists butalso the government offi-cials travelling to and fromthe city.

A CHANDRASHEKHAR

n SANGAREDDY

Goods from neighbouringStates are crossing the borderillegally and entering the erst-while Medak district. Accordingto sources, the goods are beingsmuggled by private vehiclesfrom other States without prop-er bills. Smuggling is going onunabated mainly on the borderof Medak and Sangareddy dis-tricts with the lifting of checkposts by authorities concerned.It seems that traders are readyto smuggle goods with estimat-ed bills. Hundreds of lorries andcontainers are being loadedwith goods from other Stateswithout any bills. As a result, thegovernment is losing crores ofmoney in the form of taxes.

Apart from transportingcement and marble fromKarnataka and Maharashtra toMedak, they are also beingsmuggled to Hyderabad andother districts through thesedistricts. Electronics, homeappliances and plastic goodsfrom Maharashtra andKarnataka are also being sent tothe erstwhile district withoutpaying taxes. In the past, therehave been records of officersbeing caught illegally trans-

porting goods. Surveillancesources say they are moving tothe district overnight withoutany bills. Thus, the traders con-tinue to smuggle goods withoutpaying any taxes to the govern-ment. For time being, there isa need for the CommercialTax Department and otherdepartments to keep tabs on thezero business and the move-ment of illicit goods.

Traders, who do not complywith the regulations, are illegal-ly importing goods from otherStates into the joint Medakdistrict without any bills. Mostof the traders, mainly fromSangareddy, Medak andSiddipet districts seem to be

importing large quantities ofpulses, seeds, fertilizers, plasticsand electronics fromMaharashtra, Karnataka andAndhra Pradesh.

Bills and waybills are essen-tial if any goods are to betransported from one place toanother. But, traders at thefield level do not follow theserules. Hundreds of lorries ofvarious goods are plying dailyfrom the joint district to theneighbouring States withoutany bills and from there about100-200 lorries of various goodsare arriving here.

Lack of checking on the bor-ders, private buses and vehiclesare not stopped and the

Commercial and ExciseDepartment officials do notcarry out inspections, hence,smuggling of goods across theborders is rampant. This result-ed in a loss of crores of rupeesrevenue to the government inthe form of taxes.

Following the implementa-tion of the GST, theCommercial Taxes Departmentlifted the check posts atZaheerabad and Narayankhedborders along the erstwhileMedak district as per govern-ment orders. Similarly, on theroads, the authorities concernedstopped inspecting the vehiclestransporting the goods. Asvehicle inspections cease,intruders are becoming moreprovocative.

“We are taking steps to pre-vent smuggling in the borderareas of the State. TheEnforcement Department con-ducts inspections from time totime. We are carrying out vehi-cle inspections even thoughthere are no check posts on theborder. A special departmentconducts inspections in theareas where goods are trans-ported. We are taking steps tocurb smuggling in the erstwhileMedak district,” said Janaiah,CTO of Sangareddy district.

Illegal goods transit rampant inerstwhile Medak district

PNS n HYDERABAD

Dr G Narendra Kumar (IAS)assumed charge as the DirectorGeneral of the National Instituteof Rural Development andPanchayat Raj (NIRD&PR),Rajendranagar, here onWednesday for a period of fiveyears. Earlier, he was theAdditional Chief Secretary,Government of Delhi, a releasehere said on Friday. Dr Kumarpossesses Ph.D. from OsmaniaUniversity and holds master'sdegree in Public Administrationfrom llfaxwell School of PublicAffairs, USA. He was instru-mental in setting up of four uni-versities in Delhi and increasingaccess to quality technical andhigher education in the nation-al capital. Dr Kumar is alsoknown for developingPuducherry as the HardwareCapital of the country. Earlier,he had worked in variousnational and international aca-demic institutions such asAdministrative Staff College ofIndia (ASCI) and ICRISATbesides he has a wide range ofadministrative experience inenvironmental protection, socialand sustainable development.

Narendra Kumarassumes charge as Director Generalof NIRD&PR

PNS n NIRMAL

Rythu Vedika buildings wouldcome in handy for farmers indiscussing modern farmingmethods and sharing usefulinformation relating to agricul-ture, opined Minister forForest A Indrakaran Reddy. Heinaugurated a Rythu Vedhikaat Ola village in Kuntala man-dal on Friday, which was con-structed at an estimated cost ofRs 23 lakh.

Addressing the gathering,the minister said awarenessand training programmeswould be conducted at Rythu

Vedikas soon, to train farmersin adopting innovative farmingmethods. He stated that thefarmers could use the facilityfor other purposes to updatetheir knowledge.

He said that the governmentwas implementing manyschemes for the welfare of thefarmers.

He claimed that the govern-ment purchased paddy fromfarmers even through Covid-19 crisis crippled economy.

He cited construction ofirrigation projects and provi-sion of uninterrupted powersupply to agriculture needs and

introduction of Rythu Bimascheme.

Later, he laid the foundationstone to a 33/11 KV powersubstation to be installed at anexpenditure of Rs 1 crore. Healso laid the foundation stoneto an Anganwadi centre, ware-house and a temple of GoddessRenuka.

The estimated cost of thewarehouse is Rs 40 lakh, whilethe temple is being built byspending Rs 10 lakh.

Zilla Parishad chairperson KVijayalaxmi, Mudhole MLA GVittal Reddy and local publicrepresentatives were present.

‘Rythu Vedikas to come in handy for farmers’

PNS n PEDDAPALLI

Rebel star Prabhas arrivedhere on Friday to takepart in the shooting of‘Salaar’ movie, which isbeing directed by PrashantNeel of KGF fame, at anopencast-II mine inRamagundam-III area.

He came to Illanduguest house,Godavarikhani and wentto the OCP-II project site.Upon his arrival,Ramagundam PoliceCommissioner VSatyanarayana metPrabhas at Illandu guesthouse.

Since the shooting ofthe movie is scheduledfor nine days, Prabhas isgoing to stay in the coalbelt town. The movie unithas chosen opencast

mines to shoot fightingand other scenes for ninedays.

The film unit, whicharrived at Singareni coalmine on Tuesday, madearrangements for a fight-ing scene in OCP-II. TheSCCL management hasallocated its guest housesfor the movie unit. It islearnt that the shootingwill be started in two tothree days.

Rebel star toshoot for ‘Salaar’in Ramagundam

Ramagundam Police Commissioner V Satyanarayana greets tollywood actorPrabhas at Illandu guest house on Friday

The film unit, whicharrived at Singarenicoal mine and madearrangements for afighting scene in

OCP-II

PNS n HYDERABAD

It was a dream come true fora whopping 215 underprivi-leged students of TelanganaSocial Welfare ResidentialEducational Institutions, whoproved their mettle in thecountry’s toughest IIT-JEE andNEET entrance exams thisyear. For the first time in thehistory of TSWREIS, 80 stu-dents secured seats inIITs/NITs, while as many as135 students got seats in MBBSthis year. What makes their featso special is that all the toppersare the first-generation sonsand daughters of beedi work-ers, small farmers, agricultur-al labourers, road-side tea sell-ers, vegetable vendors, masons,auto drivers, peons and secu-rity guards.

Minister for ScheduledCastes Development, BCWelfare and Minority WelfareKoppula Eshwar congratulat-ed the toppers for their out-standing achievement andfelicitated the toppers at afunction held at social welfareresidential college inGowlidoddi here.

Speaking during the felicita-tion ceremony, the ministersaid “It’s a golden lettered

moment in the history of gov-ernment residential educa-tional institutions and thanksto Chief Minister KChandrasekhar Rao forapproving free long termintensive coaching pro-grammes to prepare the brightSC/ST students for competitiveexams on par with the privateinstitutions.

The Chief minister’s supportto the government residentialeducational institutions hasbeen unparalleled in the edu-cation sector in India and theentire country is looking at theTelangana model of residentialeducation”, the ministerremarked. Speaking on theoccasion, the minister saidthe students’ success is a sym-bol of the hard work and sac-

rifice of TSWREIS teachersand staff, who have been work-ing with a commitment totake their students to greatheights in life, despite innu-merable challenges”. The min-ister called upon the studentsto serve poor communitiesand payback to the society.

Dr RS Praveen Kumar,Secretary TSWREIS, said,“Every year less than 10 stu-dents used to get medical seatsin undivided Andhra Pradesh,thanks to the Chief Ministerand Koppula Eshwar, the num-ber of students getting intomedical colleges risen to 135 in2019, a incredible achieve-ment by any standard andsuccess of these poor studentsmeans a lot to their poverty-stricken families”.

Social Welfare ResidentialIIT, medical toppers feted

Social Welfare Residential IIT, medical toppers pose with Minister for ScheduledCastes Development, BC Welfare and Minority Welfare Koppula Eshwar at afelicitation in Hyderabad on Friday

PNS n HYDERABAD

A Fortuner of Kannada filmproducer went missing fromthe parking lot at Park Hayathin Banjara Hills on Friday.Based on a complaint fromManjunath, the Banjara Hillspolice registered a case andtook up investigation.

According to the com-plainant, a week ago, he cameto Hyderabad and stayed atPark hotel. On Tuesday, heparked his vehicle Fortunerbearing No KA04MX1000silver colour of 2019 modeland parked in B2 parking lotof the hotel. But the car wentmissing from the parkinglot.

PNS n HYDERABAD

Minister for Education PSabitha Indra Reddy onFriday said that the govern-ment has decided to allowonly 50 per cent of the stu-dents in degree, PG and pro-fessional courses when col-leges reopen from February1.

During a meeting con-ducted with officials of theHigher EducationDepartment, the ministerdirected officials concernedto formulate and implementan action plan for each classin colleges.

Instructing officials toconduct classes duly follow-ing Covid-19 precautionarymeasures, she asked them toregularly inspect public andprivate educational institu-tions. To facilitate the sanita-tion process, the ministerdirected the Telangana StateCouncil of Higher Education(TSCHE) to provide Rs 20lakh to each university andalso instructed officials toinstil confidence among stu-dents and parents over pre-cautionary measures beingtaken for holding classes.

Only 50%students to beallowed incolleges

Kannada filmproducer’s car lifted

HYDERABAD | SATURDAY | JANUARY 30, 2021 nation 05

Villagers in the vicinity of a proposed medium-size dam in Alibagtaluka of Raigad district have given their "conditional consent"for its construction, a

senior official said on Friday. The dam, proposed to come up inKhairwadi in Jambhulwadi, some 25 kilometres away from Alibagtown, has been pending since 1972, the official said. Alibag deputycollector Sharad Powar said the meeting of villagers and officialstook place on Thursday. "Villagers have not opposed theconstruction of the dam. They have given conditional consent. Themain issue is rehabilitation of those who will be displaced. A secondmeeting will be held on February 24," Powar informed.

INDIA CORNER

PNS n NEW DELHI

Against the backdrop of theChinese aggression in easternLadakh, President Ram NathKovind on Friday said the gov-ernment is ‘vigilant’ and thatadditional forces have also beendeployed at the Line of ActualControl (LAC) to protect thesovereignty of the country.

In an address to a joint sit-ting of Parliament on the open-ing day of the Budget session,Kovind, who is also theSupreme Commander of theArmed Forces, said when Indiawas grappling with theCOVID-19 crisis last yearattempts were made to chal-lenge its capability at the bor-der.

"Efforts were made to disruptthe peace at LAC in utter dis-regard of bilateral relations andagreements. However, our secu-rity forces not only respondedto these machinations withpromptitude, force and courage,but also foiled all attempts tochange the status quo at theborder," he said.

"The restraint, valour andcourage displayed by ourjawans, deserve utmost praise.In June 2020, twenty of ourjawans made the supreme sac-rifice and laid down their lives

defending the country atGalwan Valley. Every citizen isdeeply indebted to these mar-tyrs."

Close to 100,000 Indian andChinese troops are deployed ineastern Ladakh as both sideshave been holding on to theirground and showing readinessfor a long-haul, amid continu-ing diplomatic and militarytalks to find an amicable solu-tion.

"My Government is vigilantand fully committed to safe-guard the interests of the coun-try. Additional forces have alsobeen deployed at the LAC to

protect the sovereignty ofIndia," President Kovind said.

The face-off began in earlyMay last year following a clashbetween Indian and Chinesesoldiers near Pangong lake.The tension escalated in east-ern Ladakh following theGalwan Valley clash on June 15that resulted in large deploy-ment of troops and heavyweaponry by both the armies atthe friction points.

China is yet to disclose thenumber of its soldiers killed andinjured in the clash though itofficially admitted to have suf-fered casualties. According to

an American intelligencereport, the number of casualtieson the Chinese side was 35.

At the ninth round of mili-tary talks last week, India andChina agreed to push for anearly disengagement of troopsand resolved to continue "effec-tive efforts" to stabilise and con-trol the situation in easternLadakh.

In his address, PresidentKovind also talked about thegovernment's efforts to fur-ther boost India's military pre-paredness.

"Keeping in mind the largerrole that India is set to play inthe future, my government isintent on strengthening ourmilitary preparedness," he said.

"A range of modern arma-ments are being procured toenhance the capabilities ofIndia's armed forces. There isalso a thrust on achieving self-reliance in the defence sector."

The President also referredto the government approving amega defence deal to procure83 Tejas light combat aircraft

from the HindustanAeronautics Ltd (HAL).

"Only a few days back, thegovernment has placed anorder with HAL for procure-ment of 83 indigenous fighteraircraft Tejas worth Rs 48,000crore. Imports of more than100 items linked to defencehave been prohibited in orderto promote 'Make in India'," hesaid.

Similarly, he said severaladvanced weapons includingsupersonic torpedoes, quickreaction missiles, tanks andindigenous rifles are beingmanufactured in India.

India is now also rapidlyincreasing its share in theexports of defence equipment,he added.

In August last, DefenceMinister Rajnath Singhannounced that India will stopthe import of 101 weapons andmilitary platforms like trans-port aircraft, light combat heli-copters, conventional sub-marines, cruise missiles andsonar systems by 2024.

In his address, President Kovind also talkedabout the government's efforts to further boostIndia's military preparedness

Govt ‘vigilant’, additional forcesdeployed at LAC: Prez Kovind

PNS n NEW DELHI

Police fired tear gas and resort-ed to baton charge Friday tobreak up a clash between farm-ers and a large group of menclaiming to be local residentswho hurled stones at each otherat the Singhu border, one of themain protest sites against farmlaws.

Delhi Police SHO (Alipur)Pradeep Paliwal was injured inthe violence after a man attackedhim with a sword, an officialsaid, adding that some peoplewere also wounded.

The official said that policedetained the man who attackedthe station house officer.

The group claiming to belocals demanded that the farm-

ers vacate the Singhu border, oneof the main protest sites aroundthe capital, alleging that they had"insulted" the national flag dur-ing their tractor parade onRepublic Day.

Armed with sticks, the groupof locals reached the site andasked the farmers to leave whileraising slogans against them.Both sides also pelted stones ateach other. The protesters at theSinghu border, much of whichis barred for entry from outside,came out in numbers to resistthe locals. However, they werepromptly stopped by farmerunion volunteers which helpedthe situation from turning ugly.

"They are not locals, buthired goons. They were throw-ing stones, petrol bombs at us.

They attempted to burn downour trolleys also. We are here toresist them. We won't leave theplace," said Harkirat MannBeniwal, 21, from Punjab'sKhana district.

Thousands of protestingfarmers had clashed with thepolice during the tractor rallycalled by farmer unions onJanuary 26 to highlight theirdemand for repeal of theCentre's three farm laws.

Many of the protesters, dri-ving tractors, reached the RedFort and entered the monument.Some protesters even hoistedreligious flags on its domes andthe flagstaff at the ramparts,where the national flag isunfurled by the prime ministeron Independence Day.

Tension at Singhu border as'locals' clash with farmers

Maha: Alibag villagers giveconditional consent for dam

Amajor fire broke out ina textile factory inSurat city of Gujarat on

Friday, in which at least sixpersons were injured,officials said. The blazeerupted in the multi-storeyfactory building located onA K Road around 3 pm,they said, adding that noloss of life was reported inthe incident. "At least six persons, who were trapped in the unitand suffered minor injuries, were rushed to a nearbyhospital," a personnel of '108' ambulance service said.The Surat firebrigade rushed 10 fire tenders to the spot, but there was no reportof any casualty so far, a fire control room official said.Talking toreporters, a factory representative said that all the 100-odd workerswere safe and nobody has suffered serious injuries.A spark in anelectric motor apparently triggered the fire, he said.

Major fire breaks out at textileunit in Surat, six injured

With over 4,600 activecoronavirus cases inTamil Nadu, the recovery

rate was above 97 per cent whilethe infection positivity rate stoodat 5.21 per cent, Chief Minister KPalaniswami said on Friday.Addressing a Covid-19 reviewmeeting with district collectorshere, Palaniswami also pointedout to the various pro-peoplemeasures taken by his government during the lockdown period, such asproviding essential items through ration shops, besides the stateattracting good investments. The use of RT-PCR tests had helped thegovernment curb the spread of the contagion, which had even earned thepraise of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he said. Tests were beingregularly conducted in colleges and hostels, the chief minister said."Presently, the infection positivity rate is 5.21 per cent, as 4,629 people areunder treatment. The death rate stands at 1.47 per cent while 8,19,850people have been cured and the recovery rate is 97.97 per cent,"Palaniswami added.

Covid-19: TN's recovery rate is 97.97 per cent, says CM

PNS n NEW DELHI

Union Home Minister AmitShah will address two rallies inWest Bengal on Saturday andSunday, and attend several pro-grammes as the BJP steps up itscampaign in the poll-boundstate where assembly electionsare expected to be held in April-May. BJP sources said Shah willarrive in Kolkata on Friday nightand start his public programmeson Saturday with a visit toISKCON (International Societyof Krishna Consciousness) inMayapur and later address a rallyat Thakurnagar.

He will also address his party'ssocial media volunteers inKolkata in the evening. Shah isscheduled to address anotherrally at Dumurjala in Howrah onSunday. He will also visitAurobindo Bhawan and Belur

Math on the day. Party leaderssaid he is expected to have lunchat the house of a jute mill work-er in Belur on Sunday.

The saffron party has emergedas the main challenger to the rul-ing Trinamool Congress, head-ed by Chief Minister MamataBanerjee, in the state. The partyis pulling out all stops to end her10-year-old reign and has deput-ed a number of senior leaders,including Union ministers, to itsstate campaign.

ACentral Reserve Police Force(CRPF) personnel was killedand another was injured

when a colleague opened fire onthem in Chhattisgarh's Bastardistrict on Friday morning, policesaid. The assailant, who wasundergoing treatment for mentalhealth issues, later tried tocommit suicide by shootinghimself, they said. The incidenttook place at 8 am in the camp of CRPF's 241st 'Bastariya' battalion atSedwa village under Darbha police station limits, 330 km from statecapital Raipur, Inspector General of Police (Bastar range) Sundarraj Psaid. Constable Girish Kumar (25), who had been admitted to isolationward of the camp for treatment of mental ailment, snatched a rifle fromhis colleague and opened fire, the IG said. "Constable Pramod KumarSori (27), who hailed fromNarayanpur district, died on the spot, while constable SantoshVacham (26), resident of Bijapur district, sustainedinjuries," he said. Subsequently Girish Kumar shot himself and sufferedgrievous injuries, the senior police officer said. Kumar hails from Sukmadistrict of the state.

CRPF jawan shoots deadcolleague, injures another

Amit Shah to address two rallies in Bengal

PNS n NEW DELHI

Terming the boycott of PresidentRam Nath Kovind's address tothe joint sitting of Parliament byopposition parties as "unfortu-nate", the BJP on Friday said asthe symbol constitutional head ofthe country, the President isabove political differences, andattacked the Congress, saying its"arrogance" is the "real problem".

Asserting that opposition par-ties violated parliamentary con-ventions, BJP leader and Unionminister Ravi Shankar Prasadsaid the BJP never boycotted apresidential address to Parliamentdespite many "scams" duringthe Congress-led UPA govern-ment.

Singling out the Congress,the largest opposition partywhich is among the 20 partiesthat boycotted the address, in hisattack, Prasad said its "arro-

gance" is the "real problem" as itbelieves that it is bound to rulethe country despite not havingthe popular mandate.

"The Budget session com-menced with President's addresstoday. The President is beyondthe pale of political divide andrepresents the symbol of consti-tutional head of India and there-fore, he is entitled to our respect,"Prasad told reporters outsideParliament. It is a matter of greatregret today that the opposition

sought to boycott the Presidentialaddress, Prasad said, adding thatmore irresponsible is the behav-iour of Congress which ruledIndia for fifty years.

Another party leader andUnion minister PrakashJavadekar also slammed theCongress, alleging that its exis-tence over the last 5-6 years isbased on a "false narrative" thatthe Modi government is againstconstitutional institution andvalues.

Oppn boycotting Prezaddress 'unfortunate': BJP

PNS n NEW DELHI

Sustaining a downward move-ment, the tally of India's activeCOVID-19 cases has dropped to1.71 lakh (1,71,686) which isjust 1.60 per cent of the totalinfections, while the nationalcumulative positivity rate hasfallen to 5.50 per cent, the UnionHealth Ministry said on Friday.

The country's cumulative testsfor detection of coronavirus infec-tion has crossed 19.5 crore(19,50,81,079) with 7,42,306tests being conducted onThursday.

"The national cumulative pos-itivity rate has fallen to 5.50 percent," the ministry said. India'scaseload per million populationis one of the lowest when com-pared globally and stands at

7,768, it said. "The count is much higher for

countries like Germany, Russia,Italy, Brazil, France, UK andUSA," the ministry said.

It said 17 states and UTs have

cases per million lower than thenational average (7,768).

Till 8 AM on January 28,nearly 30 lakh (29,28,053) ben-eficiaries have received anti-coro-navirus shots under the country-

wide COVID-19 vaccinationexercise, it said.

In a span of 24 hours, 5,72,060healthcare workers were vaccinat-ed across 10,205 sessions. Theministry said 52,878 sessionshave been conducted so far.

"The number of beneficiariesbeing vaccinated every day hasshown a progressive increase," theministry underlined, adding that72.46 per cent of the total vacci-nated beneficiaries are from 10states.

Uttar Pradesh accounts forthe maximum share of vaccinat-ed beneficiaries followed byKarnataka and Rajasthan.

India's cumulative recoverieshave surged to 1,03,94,352. A total18,855 new daily cases have beenrecorded in a span of 24 hourswhereas 20,746 patients have

recovered during the same peri-od. Chhattisgarh has reported6,451 cases, 6,479 discharges and35 deaths since their last report.The jump in figures, according tothe State Health Department, isdue to the reconciliation of dis-trict level and state level case, dis-charge and death figures, the min-istry said. It said 85.36 per cent ofthe new recovered cases areobserved to be concentrated inseven states and UTs.

Chhattisgarh has reported themaximum number of single dayrecoveries with 6,479 newlyrecovered cases. In Kerala, 5,594people recovered in a span of 24hours followed by 3,181 inMaharashtra.

The ministry said 85.73 percent of the new cases are fromfive states and UTs and added

Chhattisgarh reported the high-est daily new cases at 6,451.

"As mentioned above, thejump in figures is due to the rec-onciliation of district level andstate level case, discharge anddeath figures," the ministryunderlined.

It is followed by Kerala with5,771, while Maharashtra report-ed 2,889 new cases. It added that163 fatalities have been record-ed in a span of 24 hours.

Eight states and UTs accountfor 85.89 per cent of the newdeaths. Maharashtra saw themaximum casualties (50).Chhattisgarh follows with 35daily deaths and Kerala with 19.Altogether, 19 states and UTshave deaths per million lowerthan the national average (112),the ministry added.

COVID-19 active cases tally contracts to 1.71 lakh

PNS n ALIBAUG (MAHA)Two men, including aNigerian national, havebeen detained fromRasayani in Maharashtra'sRaigad district for alleged-ly possessing drugs worthover Rs one lakh, police saidon Friday.

The duo was nabbed onThursday and mephedroneand ganja collectively worthRs 1.11 lakh were seizedfrom them, the police said.

Raigad Superintendent ofPolice Ashok Dudhe saidthe accused have beenbooked under sections ofthe Narcotic Drugs andPsychotropic Substances(NDPS) Act.

Police said the accusedcould be linked to an inter-national drug syndicate.

Nigerianamong twoheld withdrugs PNS n NEW DELHI

President Ram Nath Kovindinvoked nationalist Assamesepoet Ambikagiri Raichaudhuriin his address in Parliament onFriday to describe how thecountry achieves success evenin seemingly unattainable goalswhenever it is united and saidchallenges like COVID-19 orborder tension with China werefaced with fortitude by every-one together.

Addressing the joint sitting ofboth houses of Parliament onthe first day of the Budget ses-sion, Kovind also said that theNarendra Modi government isfully committed to the overalland balanced development ofeastern India.

He said whenever India hasremained united, it has beenable to attain even seeminglyunattainable goals and this sol-

idarity and Mahatma Gandhi'sinspiration had given us free-dom from hundreds of years ofcolonial rule.

"Echoing the same spirit,Assam 'Kesari' AmbikagiriRaichaudhuri, the nationalistpoet, had said – 'Om tatsatBharat Mahat, Ek chetonaat, EkDhyanot, Ek Sadhonaat, EkAvegot, Ek Hoi Jaa, Ek Hoi Jaa'(India's grandeur is the ultimatetruth. In one single conscious-ness, one thought, one devo-tion, one inspira