DA ILY FROM: AHMEDABAD , CHAND IGARH , DELH I , JA IPUR , KOLKATA , LUCKNOW, MUMBAI , NAGPUR , PUNE , VADODARA

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2020, KOLKATA, LATE CITY, 12 PAGES `5.00/EX-KOLKATA `6.00 (`12 IN NORTH EAST STATES & ANDAMAN)WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

SADleaderSukhbirSinghBadalatSinghravillage inKarnaldistrictonThursday. SukhbirSiwach

JOURNALISM OF COURAGESINCE 1932

AGSAYSWILLCHECKWITHGOVTONASSURANCE

Farmershaveright toprotest,butmust talkandwewill facilitate,saysCJIbench

APURVAVISHWANATH&SUKRITABARUAHNEWDELHI,DECEMBER17

ACKNOWLEDGINGTHErightoffarmerstoprotestbutunderlin-ing that they “cannot sit inprotest for years” and “have totalkandwewill facilitate it”, theSupremeCourtThursdaysoughtthe Centre’s viewonwhether itcanputonholdimplementationof the new farm laws until thecourtdecidesonthe issue.“Can the executive assure

that no actionwill be taken un-der the laws tillwehear it?” thebenchheadedbyChief JusticeofIndia asked Attorney General KK Venugopal while hearing aclutch of petitions seeking

CONTINUEDONPAGE2 RITIKACHOPRANEWDELHI,DECEMBER17

THEELECTIONCommission(EC)is open to the prospect of offer-ing assistance, if sought by thesystem, in administering theCovid-19vaccinetothecountry'spopulationnextyear.Speaking Thursday at the

Idea Exchange programme ofThe Indian Express, ChiefElection Commissioner SunilArora said the ongoing pan-demic is anunprecedentedna-tional crisis that requires “ex-ceptional and extraordinary”response.

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RAVIKBHATTACHARYA&ATRIMITRAKOLKATA,DECEMBER17

WESTBENGAL'SformertransportministerSuvenduAdhikarihasre-signed from the TrinamoolCongress, taking the step that is

likely to openthe floodgatesfor an exodusfrom the TMCto the BJP atmultiple levelsacross thestate.About a

dozen TMCMLAs and

heads of elected bodies are be-lieved to be preparing to resignandwalkwithSuvendutotheBJP.

Jitendra Tiwari, MLA fromPandabeswar and president of

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HARIKISHANSHARMA&LIZMATHEWNEWDELHI, DECEMBER17

WITHFARMERunions rejectingthe concessions he proposed toend their opposition to the newfarm laws, Union AgricultureMinister Narendra Singh TomarThursday slammed theOppositionpartiesandothersforbackingtheproteststomake“in-nocent farmers… puppets oftheirpolitics”.In an open letter to farmers

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SUVENDUADHIKARI'Sfinalbreakwith theTMCwill giveconfidence tomanyotherswhoareei-therunhappy in thepartyorexpect togetbetter returnsby invest-ing in theBJPwhichsomebelievecouldun-seat the rulingparty intheAssemblyelectionsnextyear.

CouldsetoffdominoE●EXPLAINE

DCECSunilAroraat the IdeaExchangeonThursday

SHYAMLALYADAVNEWDELHI, DECEMBER17

NOTONLYPSUs,academicinsti-tutions and public sector banksbut also the three armed forces–Indian Army, Indian Air Forceand Indian Navy-- have con-tributed in abigway to thePM-CARESFund.Together, thethreeservices contributed Rs 203.67crorefromaday'ssalaryof theirpersonnel.While the Indian Air Force

andIndianNavyprovidedinfor-mation to The Indian Expressunder the RTI Act, the IndianArmydidnotrespondtotheRTIapplication.Itdid,however,postaTwittermessageonMay15re-garding its contribution.TheIAF, initsresponsedated

November25,statedthatatotalofRs29.18crorewascontributed

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Armedforces gaveRs 203.67 crfrom day’ssalary toPM-CARESYOURRIGHTTOKNOW

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ABHISHEKANGADRANCHI,DECEMBER17

TRACKING IP addresses, theCBIteam that is probing the pre-MatricscholarshipscaminBihar,based on the findings of an in-vestigation by The IndianExpress, has zeroed in on loca-

tions from where the onlineforms of “several fake benefici-aries” were filled -- all are inJharkhand'sChatra,adistrictthat

has already come under thescannerof localpolice.“After conducting an initial

investigation, we found benefi-ciaries inSasaramandGayadis-tricts (of Bihar). Through IP ad-dresses,wetrackedthelocationsfrom where the forms werefilled to Chatra. A few persons

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EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI,DECEMBER17

REFUSINGTOinterferewiththeorder of the Allahabad HighCourt dismissing charges filedagainstDrKafeelKhanunderthestringent National Security Act,theSupremeCourtonThursdaydismissed theappealmovedbythe Uttar Pradesh governmentagainst theHighCourt'sorder.“It seems to be a goodorder.

WeseenoreasontointerferewiththeHigh Court order,” a three-judge Bench headed by ChiefJusticeof IndiaSABobdesaid.OnSeptember1,atwo-judge

Bench headed by AllahabadHCChief JusticeGovindMathurhadrevokedchargesunderNSA,andhad ordered the immediate re-leaseofKhanwhohadbeeninaMathura jail since January29.Khanwasaccusedofdeliver-

ing a provocative speech atAligarh Muslim University onDecember 10, 2019, during theprotestsagainstTheCitizenship(Amendment) Act. He was ac-cusedof“disturbingpublicorderin the city and creating an

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BUSINESS AS USUAL

BYUNNY

THESCHOLARSHIP

SCAM

Those stoppingsupply trains tosoldiers can’t befarmers: Tomar

WORLD

FRENCHPRESIDENTMACRONTESTSPOSITIVE FORCOVIDPAGE10

FORCES’ CONTRIBUTIONTOPMCARESFORCE CONTRIBUTIONIndianAirForce Rs29.18crIndianNavy Rs16.78crIndianArmy Rs157.71crTotal Rs203.67crSource:RTI (for IAFandNavy);Tweet fromADGPI (Army)

CBI tracks online trail from Bihar toJharkhand district at heart of probe

HC’s order torelease Kafeelgood, will notinterfere: SC

Tomarrefersto ‘languageof1962war’

Open to idea of aidingvaccine drive if EChelp is sought: CEC

TiwarialsoquitasMLA

Suvendu Adhikari quitsTrinamool, many likelyto follow him to BJP

SCasksCentre if newfarm lawscanwait till it hears thematter

Kolkata

THESECONDPAGE2 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHEINDIANEXPRESS,FRIDAY,DECEMBER18,2020

Kafeel releaseatmosphere of fear and insecu-rity within the citizens ofAligarh”.OnDecember12,theUPgov-

ernment filed an appeal againstthedecisionof theHighCourt.Earlier, the Supreme Court

had refrained from hearing ahabeas corpus plea filed byKhan’smotherNuzhatPerweenchallenging his detention. TheHighCourtwasthe“appropriateforum” to hear the challenge, ithadsaid.In itsdetailed, 48-page judg-

ment, theHighCourt hadnotedthatKhan in fact, “givesacall fornational integrity and unityamongthecitizens”.TheHighCourthadalsocome

downheavilyonthedistrictmag-istratewho ordered Khan’s de-tention. “It appears that theDistrictMagistratehadselectivereadingandselectivementionforfewphrases fromthe speech ig-noringitstrueintent.Primafacie,thespeechisnotsuchthatarea-sonablemancouldhave arrivedat a conclusion as the inferencedrawnbytheDistrictMagistrate,Aligarh,” ithadsaid.Although charges under the

NSA were revoked, Khan stillfaces criminal charges includinghatespeech.Under theNSA,en-actedin1980,thestateorcentralgovernments can arrest andde-tain any person to prevent himfromacting inanymannerprej-udicialtothesecurityofthestate,maintenance of public order,maintenance of supplies andservicesessentialtothecommu-nity.

CBI trackshavebeenquestionedandsomeAadhaarcardsfoundintheirpos-session,” CBI sources told TheIndianExpress.“Onenquiry,anumberofres-

idents in Chatra said they knewwho had filled the forms. TheypointedtovarioushouseholdsinLineMohalla.Somesuspectsareyet to be traced.We are investi-gatingtheinputs,”sourcessaid.The mohalla has already

comeunder the scanner of dis-trict authorities in Jharkhand'sDhanbad,whosaidinaprobere-portthattheallegedmastermindofthescaminthestate,identifiedasMohammadSadiq,andhisas-sociateswerebasedinChatra.Dhanbadwas among the six

districtsinJharkhandwhereTheIndianExpressfoundthatanexusof middlemen, officials andschoolstaff, colludedtosteal IDsandpasswords of schools to ac-cess the National ScholarshipPortal (NSP), dupe gullible par-entsandstudents,andsetupfakebeneficiaries.The IndianExpressalso found

that the scam stretched fromJharkhandtoBiharand involvedschools in Punjab andAssamaswell. Taking note of these find-ings, the Union Ministry ofMinorityAffairs,whichadminis-tersthisscholarship,soughtaCBIinvestigationlastmonth.The agency began its probe

basedonanFIRregisteredbypo-lice in Gayawhere The IndianExpressfound134fakebenefici-aries fromManu Indian PublicSchoolintheBankeBazarareaaf-ter investigating entries on theNSP andmatching themwithbank accounts in the PublicFinanceManagement System(PFMS).CBI sources said the agency

will send an initial report to theMinority AffairsMinistry afterwhichitmayregisteranFIR.In Jharkhand, the Anti-

Corruption Bureau lodged aPreliminary Enquiry into thescam Wednesday. “A teamheaded by a DySP-rank officerwill investigate. The officerwillsubmit the initial findings in 15days,whichwillbehandedoverto the Cabinet VigilanceDepartment,”saidanofficial.Initsreport,theDhanbadad-

ministration referred to the roleof several middlemen, school

owners,a lawyer,anddistrictof-ficials involved in verification ofapplicants -- 11 FIRs have beenregisteredinthedistrict.The scholarship scheme,

launched in 2008, is meant tohelp students ofminority com-munities from familieswith an-nual income below Rs 1 lakh.Eligible students fromClass 1 to5 receive Rs 1,000 per year, andstudents of Class 6 to 10 receiveRs 5,700 a year if they are dayscholars or Rs 10,700 if they areinahostel.

Vaccine drive“Currently, we do not have

anylegalauthority(toassistintheadministrationofthevaccine).Toconduct elections, we are em-poweredunder Article 324. Buthavingsaidthat,giventheexpe-rience and expertisewehave, ifsomeone reaches out to us for anational cause, wewill take acall,”hesaid.Arora was responding to a

question asked in the context oftherecentHealthMinistryguide-lines shared with the states,whichsaythattheCovid-19vac-cination drivewill be similar totheelectionprocess.However,hesaidthatnohelporassistancehasbeensought,asofnow,fromtheCommission for the vaccinationexercise.On the lessons learnt during

theBiharelections,thepollpanelchief said theEChasalreadybe-gun preparations for theWestBengalassemblypolls.The Commission, he said, is

already organising interactionsbetween officers in charge ofBiharelectionsandtheircounter-partsinstatesgoingtopollsnextyeartofacilitatesharingofexpe-riences and lessons of holdingelectionsinapandemic.“Wehavealready informally

reached out to the HealthDepartment of Bihar to have aninformal interactionwith theircounterpartsinWestBengalandTamilNadu, so that theycanex-changenotesonhowtobestim-plement the lessons of Bihar(elections). InWest Bengal, wewill have 28,000more pollingbooths.Basedononeofourma-jorlessonsfromBihar,wearetry-ingtolocatealladditionalpollingboothsascloseaspossibletothemain polling station so that re-sources, deployment of forcesand polling personnel are opti-mised,”hesaid.The Bihar process of regular

press briefings on the day ofcounting,hesaid,wouldnowbea “template” for all upcomingpolls.Asked about the reforms he

would like to see implementedwithin the electoralmachinery,Arora highlighted the need toprotect honest election officersfromvictimisation at the rulingparty's hands once elections areover.“Many times, we have seen

that our officers, especially theChief Electoral Officers, becomevulnerablebecauseof theirhon-est and independent conductduringanelection. Immediatelyafter elections, such officers arevictimised or harassed. TherehavebeeninstancesinwhichtheCommissionhas authorisedmeto take up thematter with theHonourable ChiefMinister con-cerned. At the same time,manyofficerswhowe had to change(during an election) because oftheirbiasedorpartialconductgetrewardedwhen the samepartyreturnstopower,”hesaid.“Wewould like to go to the

governmentandsaythatatleastfor one year after a state or cen-tralelectionisover,no(election)officershouldbepenalisedunderdifferentalibis.Justbecauseheorshewas very objective and im-plemented the law of the landfaithfully,"hesaid.

PM-CARES fundfrom April to October “by IAFpersonnel toPMCaresFund”.Itprovidedamonthlybreak-

upof itscontribution--April:Rs

25.03crore;May:Rs75.24lakh;June:Rs1.08crore;July:Rs73.93lakh; August: Rs 61.18 lakh;September: Rs 50.27 lakh; and,October:Rs46.70 lakh.The Indian Navy, in its re-

sponse dated December 9,stated that between April andOctober,a totalofRs12.41crorewas contributed to PM-CARESFund “in respect of officers andsailors”andRs4.36crore“inre-spect of civilian personnel” ofthe Navy. The IntegratedHeadquarters under theMinistry of Defence (Navy)stated that “Contributionmadefromotherheadsisnotavailablewiththeconcerneddirectorate”.The IndianArmydid not re-

spondtotheRTIapplication,butits ADG PI (AdditionalDirectorate General of PublicInformation) tweeted onMay15: “#IndianArmy personnelhavevoluntarily contributedRs157.71 Crores as one day salaryforApr2020towards#Nation’sfight against #COVID-19 pan-demic to#PMCARES fund.”OnMarch29,apressrelease

fromtheMinistryofDefence, is-sued by the Press InformationBureau, stated: “RakshaMantriShriRajnathSinghhasapproveda proposal for the contribution

ofonedaysalarybytheemploy-eesofMinistryofDefencetothePM-CARES Fund to fight Covid-19.It isestimatedthataroundRs500 crore will be collectivelyprovided by the DefenceMinistry to the fund from vari-ous wings, including Army,Navy, Air Force, Defence PSUsandothers.Theemployees’con-tributionisvoluntaryandthosedesirousofoptingoutwillbeex-empted.”Itwastweetedthesameday

by Defence Secretary AjayKumar who said “Min ofDefence, Armed Forces,Attached offices, DefencePSUs/Organizations come for-ward to donate One day salarytoPMCARESFundonvoluntarybasis. From salary of April/May2020 ~Rs 500 crores to PMCARESFund.”Earlier, RTI responses

showed contributions of Rs204.75 crore from seven publicbanks and other financial insti-tutions including Reserve Bankof India, apart from Rs 21.81crore by several central educa-tional institutions, all fromstaffsalaries.Atotalof101PSUscon-tributed Rs 154.70 crore fromsalarieswhile 98 contributed atotal of Rs 2,422.87 crore from

CSR funds.

Suvendu quitsthe TMC's PaschimBardhamandistrictunit,resignedfromallpo-sitionsinthepartyonThursday.Suvendu's followersclaimed

theywereintouchwithnearly50TMCMLAs andmany leaders inthepartyorganisation–not justfrom his strongholds of PurbaMedinipur and PaschimMedinipur, but also fromHooghlyandBurdwan.Several rebel TMCMLAsand

leaders will join the BJP alongwith Suvendu at a publicmeet-ing presided over by HomeMinisterAmitShahinMedinipurover theweekend, sources said.The rest are likely to wait andwatchfornow.Inhisshortresignationletter

datedDecember16,addressedtoChiefMinisterMamataBanerjee,Suvendu said hewas “thankfulforall thechallengesandoppor-tunitiesthathasbeenaffordedtome”. Suvenduwas amemberofthe party’s steering committeeandstatecommittee,andaleaderof its trade union front. Lastmonth, he had quit the Cabinetwhere he held three importantdepartments.Tiwari,whoquitaschairper-

son of the board administrationof Asansol MunicipalCorporation, said he could notstayinthepostafterAsansolhadbeen deprived of developmentworks.HethenresignedfromallhispostsintheTMC,andclaimedthat his MLA office inPandabeswar had been van-dalised on the orders of a partyleader inKolkata.Tiwari, a former chairperson

of theAsansol Corporation, hadrecently written to UrbanDevelopmentMinister FirhadHakimaccusingthegovernmentofblockingRs2,000croreofcen-tralfundsforthesmartcityproj-ect.TMCleadersmetwithhiminKolkata on Tuesday, but Tiwaribacked Suvendu at a publicmeeting on the following day.Banerjeeranghimthesameday,and a meeting was fixed onDecember18.Aftersubmittinghis resigna-

tion asMLA to the Speaker onWednesday, Suvenduhad gonetotheresidenceofSunilMondal,the TMCMP from BardhamanPurba. Besides Mondal andTiwari,severalotherTMCleadersandMLAswerepresentthere,in-cludingBiswajitKundu,thetwo-timeMLA fromKalna in PurbaBardhaman district, and Col.

Diptangshu Chowdhury, thechairmanof South Bengal StateTransportCorporation.“Thetreatmentmetedoutto

SuvenduAdhikari is somethingthat a lot of us have suffered. Itpains to leave a party that youhaveservedfor22years,”Kundutold The Indian Express. “BJP isnot in power in Bengal; at thispointtheycan'tofferusanything.Itisnotforpostsoranygreedthatanyonewill joinBJP. It isbecauseour party has chosen to ignorehonest leaders,”hesaid.“We are in touch with 50

MLAs,someofwhomwouldjointheBJPwithSuvenduAdhikari,”Kundu said, but declined to givenames.“Thisisapartfromdistrictpresidents, block presidents,chairmenandcouncillorsofmu-nicipalities,whohave started toquit,”hesaid.Both Kundu and Mondal

mentioned a specific grievanceagainst political strategistPrashantKishor,whoisadvisingMamata Banerjee on theAssemblyelection.“Our party spent crores to

bringinPK(PrashantKishor).Hechoseorganisationalheadsinmyconstituencywhodonot have aclean record and who are notliked by people. People like uswere sidelined. But he seems toknows better than us. Sowhatdoes the party need me for?”Kundusaid.Mondal said: “There is anger

becausethisisthereality.Webe-cameMLAorMP through poli-tics. Prashant Kishor did notmake usMLA orMP. The partycannotruninthisway.”Saikat Panja, the TMCMLA

from Manteswar in PurbaBardhamandistrictwhoislearnttobeintouchwithSuvendu,said:“Amemberof PrashantKishor'steamhas spokenwithme, but Iamnot satisfied. I have not de-cidedyet to leave theparty,but Iwill remain politically inactiveuntil my issues have been re-solved,” Panja told The IndianExpress.Shilbhadra Dutta, the two-

termTMCMLAfromBarrackporeinNorth24-Parganasdistrict,re-fusedtospeakwithKishor'steamabout his candidature for theAssemblyelections.Duttadidnottake phonecalls from The IndianExpress.Atalowerlevel,sixareapres-

idents of the TMChave quit thepartyintheBamangolacommu-nity block ofMurshidabad dis-trict.Adeputychairmanofthelo-cal civic body in Dankuni ofHooghly district, and the presi-dent of theTMC’swomen’s unitatHaldia inEastMidnaporedis-tricthaveresigned, too.State BJP president and

MedinipurMPDilipGhoshpre-dicted that the “house of TMCwillfalllikeahouseofcards”.Theparty's Asansol MP BabulSupriyo, however, expressedsomereservationsaboutJitendraTiwari.“ManyBJPworkersinAsansol

were heckled by TMC goonswhoseleaderwasJitendraTiwari.I cannot betray BJP workers,”Supriyosaid. In response,Tiwariconceded that he did indeeddoa “lot of things then”, and couldnot“denymyresponsibility”.HesaidhewouldspeaktoSupriyo.SeniorTMCleaderssoughtto

putupabraveface.LokSabhaMPKalyanBanerjeesaid:“Goodrid-dance to Suvendu. It is better tohave an empty cowshed than anaughtycow.”Veteran TMC leader Subrata

Mukherjeesaid:“Therearethou-sands of leaders andworkers inthe party. If one or twoormoreleadersdecide toquit, itwill nothave any effect at all. Nobody isbiggerthantheparty.”Since Suvendu escalated his

rebellion, several other leadersand MLAs, including ForestMinister Rajib Banerjee, havepublicly aired their grievancesagainst theparty.However, theyhavebeenplacatedfornow,andaccordingtosourcestheydonothaveimmediateplansofleaving.

FROMPAGEONE

Can new farm laws wait: SC asks Centre

‘Those stopping supplies of soldiers can’t be farmers’

removal of farmers staging asit-in at the borders of Delhiagainst thenewfarmlaws.Despite objections from

SolicitorGeneralTusharMehtathat itwouldbe impossible togive such an assurance to thecourt, Venugopal told thebench that he would discusstheissuewiththegovernment.“This is to enable discus-

sion. We are not staying thelaw,” thebenchsaid. It also in-dicated itwould setupan“in-dependentandimpartialcom-mittee to hear both sides”while a “non-violent protest”couldcontinue.“The committee’s finding

will have to be followed.Meanwhile, the protest willcontinueinanon-violentfash-ionandcannotendangerlifeorproperty.Youcannot instigateviolence too by police,” thebenchsaidinoralobservations.Although the court did notpass any specific order, it saidexperts such as journalist PSainath and agriculturalunionsliketheBharatiyaKisanUnion (one of the factions is apetitioner) couldbemembersof thecommittee.Senior Advocate and for-

mer Union Minister PChidambaram, appearing fortheStateofPunjab,saidhehadnoobjection to formingan in-dependentcommitteetofacil-

itate talks between the farm-ersandtheCentre.Solicitor General Mehta

submitted to the court thatother farmer unionswere notpresent in court andmay notshare theviewsof theBKU.OnWednesday, the court

hadgrantedpermissiontoim-plead in thematter the BKU-Rakesh Tikait, BKU-Sidhupur(Jagjeet S. Dallewal), BKU-Rajewal (Balbeer SinghRajewal), BKU-Lakhowal(Harinder Singh Lakhowal),Jamhoori Kisan Sabha(KulwantSinghSandhu),BKU-Dakaunda (Buta SinghBurjgill), BKU-Doaba (ManjitSinghRai) andKulHindKisanFederation (Prem SinghBhangu).Buttherewasnorep-resentation from themThursday.AstheSupremeCourtisset

to break for winter vacation,the CJI-led bench said it willensure that the case is listedbefore a vacation bench forhearing.“Wewillnotdecidetheva-

lidity of the laws today. Thatcan wait. The only thing wewill decide today is regardingthe farmers’ protest andaciti-zen’sfundamentalrighttofreemovement,”CJIBobdesaid.Senior Advocate Harish

Salve,whoappearedonbehalfofaDelhiresidentandforgov-

ernmentsofUttarPradeshandHaryana, said that the right toprotesthastobebalancedwiththe right to life.“Delhi has a population…

which cannot sustain itself.Fruits and vegetables comefromneighbouring states andpriceswillskyrocketifbordersare restricted. The right toprotest does not extend todenyingother rights,”hesaid.Salvealso called for a fresh

protocol while allowingprotests that would includeprior identificationof thepro-testerssothattheycanbeheldaccountablefordamagetoanylifeandproperty later.“It is high time this court

makes a declaration on thecontoursoftherighttoprotest.Unions who organise largecrowdsshouldbeheldrespon-sible for the acts of thecrowds,”hesaid.TheCJIagreedthattheright

toprotestcannotinterferewiththerightsofothersandsaidthecourtwouldconsulttheCentreto see if the mode of protestcanbealtered.“Youhavearighttoprotest

whichwe are not going to in-terfere with. Carry on theprotest,butthepurposeof theprotest must be to talk tosomeone. You cannot sit inprotestforyears.Farmershavetotalkandwewill facilitateit,”

theCJI said.“Wearemakingitclearthat

werecognisethefundamentalrighttoprotest,andthereisnoquestionofbalancingtocurtailit.Butitshouldnotcausedam-age toanyone’s life,”hesaid.Meanwhile, leaders of

farmerunionsannouncedtheywould be consulting fourlawyers --DushyantDave,HSPhoolka, Prashant Bhushanand Colin Gonsalves -- on theSupreme Court proceedingsbeforemaking any commentordecision.K V Biju of the Rashtriya

KisanMahasangh, addressinga press conference Thursdayevening at the Singhu border,said their unions are not yet aparty to the petition in theSupremeCourt.“The farmerunions collec-

tivelyheldameetingtoday.Wehavedecidedtodiscussthede-velopments in the SupremeCourt with a legal team ofPrashant Bhushan, ColinGonsalves,DushyantDaveandHSPhoolka…Wedonotwanttomakeanycommentwithoutconsulting them,”hesaid.Phoolkaconfirmedthatthe

fourlawyerswereintalkswiththe farmer leaders. “They(unions) have taken consentfromallfourofusandwehaveofferedourservicesprobono,”hesaid.

protestingat thegatesofDelhi,Tomarsaidthosestoppingtrainscarrying supplies to soldiers attheborders,especiallyatatimewhenthesituationinLadakhis“challenging”, cannot be farm-ers.Theminister,whohasbeen

leading thegovernment’s talkswiththefarmerunions,alsore-ferred to the call for boycott of“Indian products” – someunionshadcalledfortheboycottof products of theAmbani andAdanigroups.“Atatimewhenthecountry

ismoving forwardwith its re-solveofAtmanirbharBharatandvocalisgoinglocal,theintentionofthesepeoplewhohavecalledfor theboycott of India's prod-uctsmustbeidentified,”hesaid.Tomar’s letter was

retweeted by PrimeMinisterNarendraModiwho said theministerhadexpressedhisfeel-ingsandtriedtohaveahumbleconversation(vinamrasamvad)

withthefarmers.Herequestedall“annadatta”toreadtheletter,andurgedcountrymentomakeit reachasmanypeopleaspos-sible.Inhis8-pageletter inHindi,

Tomarsaid:“Whenthesecuritysituationat thebordersof Leh-Ladakh is challenging, and thesnowfallismanyfeethigh,thenthose stopping trains carryingsupplies to soldierson thebor-derscannotbefarmers.”“Becauseofthesepeople,we

have to transport supplies andother essential goods to ourtroopsbyairandothermeans,”hesaid.Withoutnaminganyorgan-

isationorpolitical party, he re-called the situationduring theSino-Indianwar of 1962. “Theideology of these people,whoaremisleading the farmers byhidingbehindcurtains,wasnotwith the country even duringthewarof62.Today,thesepeo-ple are again speaking the lan-

guageof62,”hesaid.Hesaidfarmersshouldthink

what theirgoalwaswhentheystarted their movement andwhatwashappeningtoday.He urged them not to be

misledandthinkonthebasisoffacts. “It is thedutyof our gov-ernment to remove all yourdoubts and answer all yourqueries,”hesaid.Tomar saidpoliticalparties,

which have lost ground, havebeenmisleading farmers thattheir landswill be taken awayunderthenewlaws.“The Congress did not im-

plement the SwaminathanCommittee report for 8 years,howcantheCongressbeawell-wisher of farmers…WhyhaveUPA government ministers,who used to write letters infavourof these reforms,doneaU-turnnow,”hesaid.“The Aam Aadmi Party

wrote in its Punjab electionmanifestothatitwillgivefarm-

ers the facility to sell their pro-duceoutsidethemandi,whyisit nowspeaking against it,” hesaid.He said SAD leaderswere

part of theHooda committeethatrecommendedagriculturereformsbut arenowopposingtheselaws.He also questioned why

farmunions,whichwere sup-portive of these reforms untiltwo-threemonths ago, weresuddenlyopposedtothem.Tomar’lettercomesatatime

when seniorministers andBJPleaders aremobilising supportfor thenew farm laws, and at-tackingtheOppositionfor“mis-leading”farmers.Sources said UnionHome

MinisterAmit ShahandTomaralongwith BJP general secre-tariesArunSingh, C TRavi andDushyantGautamheldameet-ingThursday inwhich they re-viewedtheparty’smovessofarontheissue.

WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

Why36accusedoftakingpart inTablighieventwereacquittedNEWEPISODEEVERYDAY

In today’sepisode,we’re lookingatwhy36foreignnationalswhotookpart inthecontroversialTablighi Jamaateventwereacquittedbyacourt.

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ANTICIPATING TROUBLE, PUNEPRIDEORGANISERSMULL ACTION

Thetentheditionofthemarch,usuallyheld inJune,couldnotbeorganisedthisyearduetothecoronaviruspandemic.

TECH EXPLAINED

INTERVIEW:PANDUNAYAKOFGOOGLESEARCH

‘Language isat theheartofwhatwedo’

WEB

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IndianExpress★★★★★■4.6

ABHISHEKSAHA&TORAAGARWALAGUWAHATI, DECEMBER17

ELECTRIC fences put up by vil-lagers toprotect their cropsandhomes fromwandering pachy-derms claimed threemore ele-phants in Assam’s Chirang dis-trict this month, with the lastoneonWednesday.Officialssaidthe one killed onWednesdaywaspregnant.This takes thenumberof ele-

phantskilled in similar incidentssinceAugustinthevicinityof theManas National Park, amid agrowing human-elephant con-flict,tosix.“AtleastfiveelephantshavebeenelectrocutedinChirangalonesinceAugust.Villagersstealpower to electrify their fences toprevent elephants fromdestroy-ing their paddy fields,” saidGautam Talukdar, DeputyCommissioner,Chirangdistrict.Data shared by the Assam

Forest Department show thatthe state saw 113 elephantdeaths due to electrocution be-tween2009 and September 25,2020,withseveralmorecasual-ties reportedsince.Chirang Divisional Forest

Officer (DFO) BrahmanandaPatirisaidsevenpeoplehadbeenheldforthefiveelephantdeathsin the district. "We are in touchwithAssamPowerDistributionCompany Limited (APDCL) and29 transformers have been dis-connectedinthearea,asperpro-visions of electricity rules (re-garding improper use of powerconnections),"hesaid.Assam Environment and

Forest Minister ParimalSuklabaidya said electrocutionwas a “dangerous villain”, buttherewas no easy solution. “Ateverymeeting, I talk about thiselectrocution problem... Peoplehaveencroacheduponlandthatis meant for elephants,”Suklabaidyasaid.He said they had also ap-

proached officials of theElectricityDepartmentforawayout. “Wehave spoken toAPDCLand deputy commissioners ofdistricts where such incidentsarehappening frequently."Bibhab Talukdar, secretary

general of conservation NGOAaranyak, said many of thesedeaths were “deliberate”. “Thevillagers harbour resentmentbecause they are not compen-sated (by the government) forthe damage to their crops andpropertiesforyears,”hesaid.“Sotheytakemattersintotheirownhands, build these live wirefences.”TheDFOsaidfencesalsoend

uphurtingelephants, pigs,wildboarsaswell asdeer.DrBhaskarChoudhry,wildlife

veterinarianof theWildlifeTrustof India (WTI), said uncheckedsaggingpowerlineswereoftentoblame too. “The APDCL can atleast try insulatingwires at vul-nerable locations, check saggingwires.Or,forthatmatter,lookintothetheftofpowerfromdomesticlines,”hesaid.M K Yadava, Chief Wildlife

Warden, Assam, said theywerelooking at a holistic approachnow. “Wehave begun installinghangingsolar-poweredfencesinplaceslikeOrang(NationalPark),Manas & Laokhowa. These arevisible from a distance, and aremoreeffectiveinkeepingtheele-phantsaway.Weareerectingtall(over50 feet) towers tomonitormovement of elephants in vul-nerable areas... We have set upMobileAntiDepredationSquads,armedwith pump action gunsandrubberbullets."Additionally,Yadava said, theywere trying toensurethatpaymentofcompen-sation for cropdamagedoesnottake long.

Assam electricfences taketoll, pregnantelephant latestcasualty

Kolkata

3THEINDIANEXPRESS,FRIDAY,DECEMBER18,2020

WESTBENGALWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

1. The Indian Coast Guard, an Armed Force of the Union, offers a challenging career to young and dynamic Indian malecandidates for General Duty branch as an Assistant Commandant (Group ‘A’ Gazetted Officer) and invites ‘online’ applicationfor SC, ST and OBC category only.

2. Branch and Eligibility. Indian citizens having following minimum qualifications are eligible to apply:

* Date of opening online application will be :_21 Dec 2020 from 0001 Hrs.* Date of closing online application will be:_27 Dec 2020 upto 2359 Hrs.

* Admit card through URL www.joinindiancoastguard.gov.in will be available for print from 06 -10 Jan 2021.

Note. (i) Upper age relaxation of 5 years for SC/ST and 3 years for OBC candidates.

(ii) Maximum 5% relaxation in aggregate in the degree certificate for SC/ST candidates.

No relaxation is applicable for 12th class marks.

(iii) Indian Coast Guard reserves the right to fix the cut off percentage for issue of PSB call up letters.

3. Vacancy. The total category wise posts for Assistant Commandant - 02/2021 (SRD) batch are as mentioned below:-

4. Additional Eligibility Criteria:

(a) While short listing applications for call-up, priority will be given to candidates with higher percentage of marks in thedegree.

(b) Only candidates cleared their final year/ final semester exams and completed their degrees are to apply.

(c) Candidates withdrawn on disciplinary grounds from any other service training academy are not eligible to appear.

(d) Candidates should not have been arrested, convicted or prosecuted on criminal charges.

(e) Free boarding & Lodging facility for the duration of FSB will be provided. To & Fro rail fares (AC III Tier / Chair car) oractual bus fare to the candidates appearing in FSB (Stage-II) will be reimbursed as per GOI policy.

DISCLAIMER. Information published in various News Papers is for guidelines only. In case of any ambiguity regarding eligibilitycriteria, date and time of examination and other procedures, the contents given in the Coast Guard recruitment websitewww.joinindiancoastguard.gov.in will be final.

* Important:- Please read the instruction given in the website before submitting your application.This is an indicative advertisement only.

SL EXAMAGE

(Borne Between)GENDER EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATION

(a) GeneralDuty

Born between 01Jul 1996 to 30 Jun2000 (Both datesinclusive).

Male (i) Candidates who have passed Bachelor’s degree from any recogniseduniversity with minimum 60% marks in aggregate (i.e. 1st Semester to 8thSemester for BE/B.Tech Course or 1st year to last year for BachelorDegree candidates wherever applicable).

(ii) Mathematics and Physics as subjects up to intermediate or class XIIth of10+2+3 scheme of education or equivalent with 60% aggregate inMathematics and Physics. {Candidates not in possession of Physics andMaths in 10+2 (intermediate) or equivalent level are not eligible forGeneral Duty (GD)}.

CAUTION: SELECTION IN COAST GUARD IS FAIR AND ON MERIT ONLY. CANDIDATESHOULD NOT FALL PREY TO UNSCRUPULOUS PERSONS POSING AS RECRUITMENTAGENTS. FOR COMPLAINT AGAINST SUCH PERSONS, CANDIDATE MUST APPROACH THEDIRECTORATE OF RECRUITMENT, COAST GUARD HEADQUARTER, NOIDA ONTELEPHONE-0120-2975817 AND EMAIL ID: dte-rect@indiancoastguard.nic.in

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DAVP/10119/11/0020/2021

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI,KOLKATA,DECEMBER17

CHIEF MINISTER MinisterMamata Banerjee on ThursdaytermedtheCentre’smovetosendthree IPS officers from the stateoncentraldeputationdespitethestate’sobjection“acolourableex-ercise of power” and a “deliber-ate attempt to encroach” uponthestate’s jurisdiction.The Centre has asked the

West Bengal government to im-mediatelyrelievethethreeIPSof-ficers so that they join theirnewassignments.The officers -- RajeevMishra

(1996 batch), Praveen Tripathi(2004 batch) and BholanathPandey (2011 batch) --were di-rectedtoreportoncentraldepu-tationhoursaftertheWestBengalgovernment refused to send itschiefsecretaryandpolicechieftoDelhitodiscussthelawandordersituationinthestate.In a fresh order, theMinistry

ofHomeAffairs(MHA)citedrulesof Indian Police Services (IPS)while asking the state govern-menttorelievethethreeofficers--Pandey(SP,DiamondHarbour),Tripathi (DIG,PresidencyRange)andMishra(ADG,SouthBengal).The threewere responsible

for the security of BJP chief J PNadda during his recent visit tothe statewhere his convoywasattackedatDiamondHarbour.TheorderalsocitedRule6(1)

of the Indian Police Service(Cadre) Rules of 1954 andamended in 1985which states,“...providedthatincaseofanydis-agreement, thematter shall bedecided by the CentralGovernment and the StateGovernment or StateGovernments concerned shallgive effect to the decision of theCentralGovernment”.TheCentrehasalreadyissued

posting to Pandey to join in theBureau of Police Research andDevelopment, Tripathi asDIG inthe Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB)and Mishra as IG in the Indo-TibetanBorderPolice(ITBP).Inaseriesof tweets,Banerjee

slammedtheCentre’smove.“GoI’s order of central depu-

tationforthe3servingIPSofficersofWestBengaldespitetheState’sobjectionisacolourableexerciseof power and blatantmisuse ofemergencyprovisionofIPSCadreRule1954,”shetweeted.“This act is nothing but a de-

liberate attempt to encroachupon State’s jurisdiction & de-moralize the serving officers inWB. Thismove, particularly be-fore the elections is against thebasic tenets of the federal struc-ture.It'sunconstitutional&com-pletely unacceptable!,” sheadded.“We wouldn’t allow this

brazen attempt by the Centre tocontrol the Statemachinery byproxy!West Bengal is not goingto cow-down in front of expan-

sionist & undemocratic forces,”shesaidinanothertweet.A senior official in the state

governmentsaidtheCentreusu-ally“takesthestategovernment’sconsent”beforeanall-Indiaserv-ices officer is called for centraldeputation, but in this case, theMHAhasdecided“unilaterally”.A senior officer in the state

homedepartment said the stategovernmenthadrefusedtorelievethe threeofficers due to a short-ageof IPSofficersinthestate.Meanwhile,theTMCsaidthat

theWestBengalgovernmentwillnot release three Indian PoliceServiceofficersondeputationfol-lowing the diktat of the Centre,anddared the BJP-led regime toimpose President's Rule in thestate.TheCentre'sorderinthisre-gardis"unconstitutionalandun-acceptable,” senior TMC leaderandRuralDevelopmentMinisterSubrataMukherjee told a pressconferencehere."Wewill not send them on

deputation. Atmost, the Centrecan impose Presidents Rule.Wewelcome that. If the Centre hasthe power to do that, let it goahead,"hesaid."This is unconstitutional and

unacceptable.Wewill not allowinterference by the Centre",Mukherjeesaid.TheseniorTMCleaderalleged

that the Centre is attempting tomisuse certain provisions of theIPSCadreRuleof1954andtryingtodestroythefederalstructureofthecountry. WITHPTIINPUTS

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEKOLKATA, DECEMBER17

SENIOR BJP leader and UnionHomeMinister Amit Shahwillarrive in Kolkata late Fridaynight on a two-day visit to thestate. According to BJP sources,Shah's visit assumes signifi-canceasa largenumberof TMCleaders, including SuvenduAdhikari,aresettojointhepartyinpresenceof Shah.Shah is scheduled to visit

Medinipur, the stronghold ofSuvenduAdhikari, onSaturday.Hewillpayhomageto freedomfighter Khudiram Bose thereand meet one of the descen-dants of Bose in Habibpur. Hewill also visit Siddheswari KaliTemple in thearea.Shah is scheduled to have

lunch at the house of partyworker Sanatan Sinha atBenajuri Village in PaschimMedinipurdistrict.

Later, hewill address a pub-lic meeting where some TMCleaderswillbeinductedintotheparty.Sources said, TMC leaders

from neighbouring Jhargram,East Midnapore, Bankura andBurdwan districts are likely tojoin the BJP in the presence ofShah.On Sunday, Shah is sched-

uled to visit Bolpur in Birbhumdistrict. Hewill also visit Visva-Bharati University campus andmeet Vice-Chancellor BidyutChakraborty. Shah will havelunch at the house of a Baulsinger Basudev Das atShyambatiareainSantiniketan,theparty said.

He is also scheduled to holda roadshow inBolpurTown.

CRPF seeks securitydetails from state

Meanwhile, inviewoftheat-tackonBJPnationalpresidentJPNadda'sconvoylastweek,CRPFofficials have reportedly wrotea letter to state DGP Virendra,askinghimtoensureafoolproofsecurity arrangement for Shah.SourcessaidtheCRPFhasaskedthe state police chief to ensureadequatesecurityarrangementsinrouteswhichwillbetakenbytheUnionHomeMinister.The CRPFhas also asked the

policetoinformthemaboutthesecurityarrangementsmade inlightof Shah's visit to the state.On December 10, Nadda’s

convoy was attacked withstones and stick in DiamondHarbour. Nadda,whowas trav-elling in a bulletproof car, wasnothurt.

Moveanattempttoencroachuponstate’sjurisdiction&demoraliseofficers:CM

Chief Secy AlapanBandopadhyay leavesaftermeeting Jain.ParthaPaul

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEKOLKATA,DECEMBER17

DEPUTY ELECTIONCommissionerSudeepJain,whois in Kolkata to review poll pre-paredness,onThursdaymettopofficialsof thestategovernment,includingChiefSecretary AlapanBandopadhyay andDG and IGPVirendra. He also met seniorministerandTMCleaderParthaChatterjee and a delegation ofBJP leaders.Sources said Jain, who is re-

viewingthelawandordersitua-tion in the state ahead of theAssembly elections next year,toldtheofficialsthattheElectionCommission is determined toconductafreeandfairpoll“atallcosts”andhasaskedthedistrictpolice chiefs to identify areasvulnerable toviolence.Also,alltheDistrictCollectors

andSPsofsouthBengaldistrictshavebeentoldtosendreportstothe Commission. No trouble-makersshouldbeoutof jailoncethe election notification is is-sued,Jainissaidtohavedirectedthedistrict administration.Sources said that Deputy

Election Commissioner told of-ficials that all the voters shouldexercise their franchisewithoutfearandthatshouldbetheironlyfocus.Duringhismeetingwith the

ChiefSecretary, thetwoofficialsdiscussed conducting free andfair electionswith Covid proto-cols inplace, said sources.A BJP delegation also met

Jain. "Poll is not possiblewith-out the presence of Centralforces.WehaveconveyedthistotheCommission.Also, themainissuewasovervoters' list. Therearemanydeadpeopleintherollsand they need to be removed, "BJPleaderShishirBajoriasaidaf-termeeting Jain.TMCgeneralsecretaryPartha

Chatterjee after meeting Jainsaid,"Weconveyedtotheofficerthat BJP is challenging theElectionCommission's job...”

EC tells SPsto identifyareas proneto violence

CMMamataBanerjeeatBagdograairportonThursday.PTI

Shah arrives today, to visit Suvendustronghold, hold roadshow in Bolpur

UnionHomeMinisterAmitShah

Relieve 3 IPS officers, Centre tellsBengal;Mamata says unacceptable

Kolkata:Governor JagdeepDhankhar on Thursdayasked Chief MinisterMamata Banerjee to takesmeasures to allay formerminister SuvenduAdhikari’s apprehensionthat hemay be implicatedin “false” and “politicallymotivated” cases after heresignedasanMLA."Please take urgent noteandall expectedmeasureson the representation tome from formerministerSuvenduAdhikari, seekingmy intervention ‘so thatpolice and administrationapparatus in the State isdissuaded from implicat-ing’ him and his associatefollowers‘incriminalcasesout of politicalmotivationand vendetta," Dhakharwrote in a letter toBanerjee. Adhikari had onWednesdaywrote a lettertoDhankharseekinghisin-tervention. ENS

ALLAYSUVENDU’SFEAR: GOVERNORTOCHIEFMINISTER

Kolkata

WESTBENGAL4 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHEINDIANEXPRESS,FRIDAY,DECEMBER18,2020

GOVERNMENT OF ODISHAOFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE ENGINEER,

RWSS DIVISION, KORAPUTNational Competitive Bidding Through E-Procurement

Tender Identification No. 9/EE/RWSS/KPT/2020-21/11.12.2020The Executive Engineer, RWS&S Division, Koraput on behalf of theGovernor of Odisha invites Percentage Rate Bids in Double cover ( P1contract) from the eligible class of experienced registered contractorsthrough e-Tendering system for the Piped water supply works asdetailed in DTCN. The bid should be submitted on-line in the websitewww.tenderorissa.gov.in separately for the works.

Further details can be seen in the bidding documents which is availablein the e-procurement portal https/www.tendersorissa.gov.insubsequent corrigendum if required shall be appeared in the web siteAuthority reserves the right to reject any or all tenders without assigningany reason thereof.

Sd/- Executive Engineer,RWS&S.Division, Koraput.

OIPR-25034/11/0009/2021

O - 750

1 Nature of work. Rural piped water supply work(Civil)2 Estimated Cost. Varies from 6.20 Lakhs to 139.40

lakhs3 No. of works 13 nos.4 Tender cost Rs.4000/- to 10000/-

5 Class of Contractor. “D”,“C”, “B” & “A”6 Availability of Bid document

in the web siteDt. 24.12.2020 17 hours to 2.1.202117 hours.

7 Date of Seeking clarification. During the Office hours of 24.12.2020to 1.1.2021

8 Date of Opening of Bid. Dt. 4.1.2021 at 11 hours

Regd. Office: PSEB Head Office, The Mall, Patiala - 147001, CIN: U40109PB2010SGC033813, Website: www.pspcl.in(O/o CE/TS, B-1, Shakti Vihar, Patiala)

OPEN e-TENDER NOTICEOnline Tenders are invited for the supply of the following material as per Tender Specification No 220/2020 of PSPCL:-

EMD 1,05,220/-Minimum EMD 26,310/-

Detailed NIT and Specifications may be downloaded from PSPCL e-Tendering website: https://eproc.punjab.gov.in.The prospective bidders may contact customer care of above cited website in case of any difficulty.It is informed that in case tender process is not completed due to any reason, No CORRIGENDUM will be published in newspapers.

Details regarding corrigendum may be seen on PSPCL e-tendering website https://eproc.punjab.gov.in.Sd/-

Dy. CE/Sub-Station DesignPSPCL, Patiala.

C-373/2020119236/Pb

Manufacturing, Testing and supply of Battery Chargerof following ratings

220V-100AH

24V-100AH

Qty. (Nos.)

38

12

EnquiryNo/Year

220/2020

Last date & timefor downloading

of tender

28.12.202011.00 AM

Last date &time for Bidsubmission

29.12.202011.00 AM

Date & timeof opening of

Bids

30.12.202011.30 AM

Government of PunjabNATIONAL HEALTH MISSION

Department of Health and Family Welfare, PunjabPrayas Building, 5th Floor, Sector-38-B, Chandigarh

Tel. No. 0172-2688438NOTICE INVITING SHORT TERM E-TENDERS FOR SUPPLY OF

TEMPERATURE CONTROLLED HUMIDIFIER DEDICATEDFOR USE DURING HFNOXYGEN MODE IN VENTILATORS

Ref No. Tender/Proc-Cov/2020/NHM-12The National Health Mission-Punjab, Department of

Health and Family Welfare, Government of Punjab here-by invites online bids through www.eproc.punjab.govin forthe supply of Temperature Controlled HumidifierDedicated for use during HFNOxygen Mode in Ventilatorsavailable in the State of Punjab. Detailed requirementsand terms and conditions are available on websitewww.eproc.puniab.gov.in.

MISSION DIRECTOR119240/Pb

NOTICEBOARD CORPORATE ASSOCIATE DIARY E V E N T S , H O N O U R S , M O V E M E N T SShri S K Kashyup ,the new General Manager ofChittaranjan Locomotive Works (CLW) has issued thenecessary guidelines to speed up the all-rounddevelopment of CLW as soon as he took over thecharge on 26th November 2020. In line with this, theGeneral Manager undertook systematic inspectionsof Chittaranjan and the ancillary unit at Dankuni alongwith senior officials. General Manager gave emphasison cleanliness drive in CLW as well as giving directionsto speed up production capacity of quality electriclocomotives.

ALL-ROUND DEVELOPMENT GAINING MOMENTUM IN CLW

NHAI has recently collaborated with two engineering colleges of JIS Group, Narula Institute of Technology and JIS College of En-gineering for working together with mutual co-operation for improvement of highway infrastructure.This association will facilitate the faculty, researchers & students of the institutes to familiarize with the latest trends in the high-way and transportation sector with a common objective of sharing knowledge in their respective domain. These institutes mayadopt nearby stretches of NHs which may be used as a field of study for faculty, researchers and students. With these associa-tions, NHAI facilitates internship opportunity to the students of these institutes. Students will get a chance to receive monthly re-muneration under the NHAI project.Speaking on this occasion, Mr. Taranjit Singh, MD, JIS Group added, "We are proud to be part of this prestigious project ofNHAI. NHAI is going to provide a unique platform to the students, which is going to eradicate the industry - institution gap. With thisassociation, our students will get hands-on experience by working on nearby highway stretches voluntarily."

NHAI SIGNS MOU WITH 2 ENGINEERING COLLEGES OF JIS GROUP

Sister Nivedita University has organised an Orientation Program for the officers and staff of HIDCO where domain specific expertswill impart training. The training will focus on recent trends and developments in areas such as cyber security, communication andPR and will cover topics ranging from urban planning to work life balance. The Orientation program was inaugurated by CMD ofHIDCO and NKDA, Mr Debasish Sen, I.A.S, ACS. " There has been an attempt to boost the e-governance initiatives at HIDCO. Weare looking ahead to adopt this change effectively and it has become imperative that our officers remain adept at using the tech-nology required for the smooth transition. This training initiative is to ensure that officers are abreast of the latest development infields that HIDCO undertakes," Mr Sen said.VC of SNU, Prof Dhrybajyoti Chattopadhyay in his welcome note said that it was a proud moment for SNU to be involved in the train-ing of the country's one of the most prestigious government organisation.

SNU AND HIDCO - JOINING HANDS TOGETHER

The meeting of ConcurrentAuditors was organized on14.12.2020 by Punjab Na-tional Bank, Circle OfficeKolkata North. The meetingwas inaugurated by Shri.Pramod Kumar Dubey,General Manager of ZonalAudit Office, Kolkata. ShriPramod Kumar Dubey,General Manager, ad-dressed all Concurrent Auditors to submit their report on timely basis. Deputy General Manager of theZonal Audit Office, Kolkata Shri Pradeep Kumar Mishra advised to all the Concurrent Auditors tosubmit their work on the portal within the stipulated given timeframe. Circle Head Mr. Puskar Tarai ad-vised all Concurrent Auditor to complete their Audit work on daily basis, so that Irregularities can bereduced and the possibility of Fraud can detected timely.

PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK

For the winters, Dollar brings to its customers a wide range of Thermal wear which not only promises to keep you safe andwarm during the cold and harsh weather but also makes you look stylish. With our extensive product research, we havemade the thermal wear in a way where the customer would not need anything else to make them feel warm. We are pos-itive that the product range will strike a chord with our consumers", said Mr.Vinod Kumar Gupta, Managing Director, Dol-lar Industries Limited. Dollar Ultra Thermals are made from 100% Super Comb Siro Clean Cotton Yarn which is guaranteedto provide warmth and comfort. These are specially processed to control shrinkage and to hold its shape for a long time.The thermal range is tailored fit with interlock patterns which helps in withstanding severe chilly weather. The price rangefor their thermal wear is between INR 182 - INR 498 for kids and INR 310 - INR 938 for adults.

KEEP IT WARM & STYLISH THIS WINTER WITH DOLLAR ULTRA THERMAL

The National Energy Conservation Week has been observed in South Eastern Railway Headquarters and its four Divisionsviz. Kharagpur, Adra Ranchi and Chakradharpur from 8th December to 14th December, 2020. This has been observed tomake the Railway men aware of the importance of Energy Conservation.This approach of energy conservation, LEDification of all railway stations, service buildings, quarters, street light in rail-way areas etc. have been made to reduce power consumption. As a result of the Energy Conservation Drive, South East-ern Railway during the current financial year upto November, 2020 has saved a total amount of Rs. 1.22 crores in compar-ison to the corresponding period of last financial year.

SOUTH EASTERN RAILWAY

South Eastern Railway RPF (Railway Protection Force) personnel are playing a significant role inproviding security of rail travellers as well as in guarding the railway property and its vital instal-lations. During nationwide COVID-19 crisis, RPF personnel of this railway, in the month of Novem-ber, 2020 has conducted regular drives against miscreants involved in theft of passenger belong-ings. Preventive measures have also been taken to control the theft of railway materials andbooked consignments.During the month of November 2020, a total number of 21 miscreants were arrested underRP(UP) Act and Railway property worth Rs. 1,26,661/- was recovered. Moreover, 177 offend-ers were booked under different sections of the Railways Act and Rs.38,350/- was realisedas fine. Regular drives were also conducted by RPF and Commercial Department and 511 tick-etless travellers were detected and Rs 69,260/- was realised as fine.40 left behind luggage of passengers was recovered by the RPF during the month and 19 casesof smoking in train were detected by RPF under Tobacco Act and a fine amounting to Rs.3,800/-was realised.RPF personnel of S E Railway have taken active part to conduct 143 cleanliness drives andalso removed 42 encroachments at various places in SER jurisdiction. During the month ofNovember 2020, RPF personnel rescued 8 minor boys and 23 minor girls and the rescued mi-nors were handed over to their relatives with proper verification and acknowledgement.

KEEP IT WACOMMENDABLE PERFORMANCE OF RAILWAY PROTECTIONFORCE OF SOUTH EASTERN RAILWAY

To kick start the festive spirit,rapper Feyagoreleases a folk rap ballad ‘Logical Guy’ft. Sharoni Poddaron Sterling Reserve Music Project. The song is a harmoniousblend of English rap with a mix ofan an-cient Bangla folk song ‘Jalaiya Gela Moner Aagun’lending a contemporary flavor to the song. Along withFeyago, the songis performed by the talentedSharoni Poddarwho’s an independent musician and aplayback singer.The video of ‘Logical Guy’ features the veryadmired, Sauraseni Maitra whotogetherwithFeyago will be seen grooving to the renowned Tollywood choreographer Pratim Roy's innovativedance moves.

STERLING RESERVE MUSIC PROJECT

Chairman of Shantinath Detergents Pvt Ltd Shri, Vinod Kumar Jain(B.Tech(Hons.) in Chemical Engineering from IIT -Kharagpur passed out in1970) has been conferred with the " Distinguished Alumnus Award 2020".The award conferment ceremony will take place during the 66th AnnualConvocation of the Institute.

SHANTINATH DETERGENTS

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEKOLKATA,DECEMBER17

TOP LEADERSHIP of theCongress, including RahulGandhi and Priyanka GandhiVadra,willcampaigninthestatenextmonth intherun-uptotheAssembly polls, party’s WestBengal in-charge Jitin PrasadasaidhereonThursday.PrasadaalsohitoutattheBJP,

sayingthestateBJPleaderswerebeing remote controlled by theparty’s central leadership, andtheparty lacksanational face inBengal.“TheCongress,unliketheBJP,

isapartythathasa longassocia-tionwithBengalandisconnectedto the grassroots. It has a localmass-based leadership. Unlike

BJP,itisnotcontrolledbythecen-tralleadershipinDelhi.AICC(All-India Congress Committee)willgive its full thrust to the Bengalelection.... fromstrategy toman-power,fromleaderstochiefmin-

isters. Our top leadership ofRahulji andPriyankajiwillmakeregularvisitstothestatetoreachout to people of Bengal. There isno scope for any lapse,” Prasada,who heldmeetings with statepartyleaders,said.The Congress leader said at

present,theBJP hasnostronglo-cal leader in thestate. “Therearedifferencesbetweenthetwopar-ties.AsfarastheBJPgoes, itdoesnot have any leader in WestBengal so to say. It might haveMPs,butIdon’tcallthemnationalleaders. They are being run by aremotecontrol fromDelhiwhiletheCongresshasa longahistorywith Bengal and has great lead-ers in the Lok Sabha and theBidhanSabha,”saidPrasada.Onanelectoralalliancewith

the Left, he said a final call will

betakensoon.However,Prasadaavoided a question onwhetherthere is any scope of an alliancewith theTMC.“AsfarastheLeftisconcerned,

our state unit is jointly holdingpoliticalprogrammeswiththem.Theyaretogetheronthestreets.Idon’t knowwhy you are askingabout another party. A final callon thealliancewith the Leftwillbetakensoon,”saidPrasada.HefurthersaidtheBJP is try-

ing to change the culture ofBengal.“SomeBJP leaders are trying

to changewords in the nationalanthempennedbyRabindranathTagore. This is being done tochange the culture of the state.The people of the statewill nottolerate it and the Congresswillneverallowit,”hesaid.

SHUBHAJITROYNEWDELHI, DECEMBER17

India andBangladesh Thursdaysoughttobringrelationssouredby the CAA-NRC issue back ontrackasPrimeMinisterNarendraModi and counterpart SheikhHasinamet throughvideo-con-ferencinganddiscussedarangeof issues—from loss of lives ontheborder,Teestawater-sharingagreementandeaseoftraveltoamoreambitious tradepact, vac-cines against Covid-19 andRohingya refugees.Hasina invitedModi to visit

Bangladesh for celebrations ontheoccasionofthe50thanniver-sary of Bangladesh’sIndependence and 50 years ofBangladesh-Indiadiplomaticre-lationsinMarchnextyear,whichheaccepted.“Bangladesh isamajorpillar

of our ‘Neighborhood First’ pol-icy. From the very first day,strengtheninganddevelopmentofrelationswithBangladeshhasbeen a special priority forme,”Modi said, after the bilateralmeeting.“It’s a fact that this year has

been challenging due to theglobalpandemic.But it isamat-terofgratificationthatIndiaandBangladesh had good coopera-tion in this difficulttime.Whetheritbemedicinesor

medicalequipment,orworkingwith health professionals. Wearealsohavinggoodcooperationin the field of vaccine.Wewillalso take special care of yourneeds in this regard,”hesaid.Otherthanhealth,Modisaid,

“This year our special partner-shiphasbeensteadilyadvancingin other areas as well. We re-duced hurdles in land bordertrade,expandedconnectivitybe-tween the two countries, andadded newmeans. All this re-flects our intentions to furtherstrengthenour relationship.”According to a joint state-

ment, both sides emphasisedsimplifying people to peoplemovement between the twocountries.The two leadersalsoagreed

to facilitate completion of bor-der fencing at all pending sec-torsat the internationalborderbetween both the countries attheearliestbeginning fromtheTripura (India)- Bangladeshsector.

Teesta to borderdeaths feature inModi-Hasina talksBangladeshpillarof ‘neighbourhoodfirst’policy, saysModiaftermeeting

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEKOLKATA,DECEMBER17

WITH 2,747 Covid patients dis-charged in the last24hours, therecovery rate on Thursday im-proved to 94.56 per cent. Thisbrought down active case to19,597, according to the StateHealth Department’s bulletin.The state has declared 5,01,624patients recovered.The state’s caseload in-

creasedto5,30,456afterrecord-ing2,245newcasesonThursdaywhile the toll attributed to thevirus reached9,235withanad-ditionof 44 fatalities.Of the fresh cases, Kolkata

recorded the highest at 524 fol-lowed by 505 in North 24Parganas, 154 in South 24Parganas,142inHooghlyand128in Howrah. In North Bengal,Darjeeling recorded 84 newcases, Jalpaiguri38,Malda30.

Kolkata:Spa,gamingzonesorre-clinersatKolkataRailwayStationwould have been unthinkableuntil recently. But not anymore.TheEasternRailwayshasinaugu-ratedapremiumwaiting loungeforpassengersatplatformno1.Thespaciouslounge,covering

anareaof2000sqft, isair-condi-tionedandequippedwithsalon,spa and gaming facilities. Fromthecomfortoftheirrecliners,pas-sengers can also order tea andsnacks.The entry fee is Rs 30, and if

passengerswishtoavailanyserv-

ices, there are nominal add-oncharges. The lounge has beenconstructed under a public pri-vatepartnership. ENS

Spa, gaming zones: KolkataRly Station gets new look

NarendraModiandSheikhHasinaduringthevirtualbilateral summitThursday.

ASSEMBLYPOLLS

Rahul, Priyanka to campaign

Congress leaders JitinPrasadaandManojChakrabortyatapressconference inKolkataonThursday.ParthaPaul

TOTAL CASES

530456

501624RECOVERED

INCREASE

2293DEATHS

9235

65,81,465 SAMPLESTESTED TILL DEC 17

STATECOUNT

The loungeat thestation

Active cases drop below20K after more recoveries

Kolkata

5WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHEINDIANEXPRESS,FRIDAY,DECEMBER18,2020ADVERTORIAL

Strengthening Cooperation in Post Covid Era

Bangladesh and India have excellent bilat-eral relations based on shared history,her-itage,culture, language and other unique com-monalities. Father of the Nation BangabandhuSheikh Mujibur Rahman founded the relationsmarked by sovereignty,equality,trust and under-standing. The emotional bonds are stemmedfrom the invaluable contribution of the Govern-ment and the people of India in theWar of Liber-ation of Bangladesh in 1971.

The year 2020 is the birth centenary ofBangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and theGovernment of Bangladesh had decided to ob-serve the year as ‘Mujib Borsho’ (Mujib Year).Indian Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi wasthe Guest of Honour at the grand inaugural cer-emony of Mujib Borsho in Dhaka on 17 March2020.Due to the global outbreak of COVID-19,physical visit could not take place but he at-tended the ceremony virtually and paid richtributes to the great leader mentioning Banga-bandhu as ‘one of the greatest figures of thelast century’.

Bilateral engagements including summitlevel meetings between the two countriestake place regularly on various issues of mu-tual cooperation.Yesterday, on 17 December2020, the two Prime Ministers held a virtualmeeting when they had comprehensive dis-cussions on the entire spectrum of the bilateralrelationship to further strengthen coopera-tion in the post-COVID era.

During this summit,seven Memorandum ofUnderstanding on cooperation in various sectorswere signed.A postal stamp marking the birthcentenary of Bangabandhu was launched andBangabandhu-Bapu Digital Museum was un-veiled. The two Prime Ministers also inaugu-rated the restoration of Chilahati (Bangladesh)to Haldibari (India) rail link connecting thenorthern part of Bangladesh with the adjoin-ing districts of the State of West Bengal. Thiswas the fifth rail link restored in the recent pastout of six pre-1965 rail networks aimed at en-hanced people to people contact and growthof bilateral trade and economic developmentbetween the two countries and beyond.

People-to-people contact betweenBangladesh and India has increased manifold

due to better connectivity and flexibility in visaregime. It has been observed that, during therecent years, the highest number of foreigntourists to India were from Bangladesh.The of-ficial statistics showed that 2.25 million tourists(one in five foreign tourists) came to India fromBangladesh in 2018. A good number of stu-dents are also coming from Bangladesh tostudy in various disciplines in Indian institu-tions. On the other hand, a large number oftechnically qualified Indian nationals are cur-rently engaged in Bangladesh’s businesses, in-dustries and service sectors contributing to theeconomies of both the countries.

A stable,strong and friendly neighbourhoodis a necessity for any country, big or small, andespecially in our region which is reeling with ahost of challenges. A fast-developingBangladesh offers opportunities to its neigh-bours to further deepen economic relations.

Bangladesh is going to celebrate the 50thanniversary of its independence and 50 yearsof Bangladesh-India diplomatic relations. Inyesterday’s virtual summit,our Prime MinisterSheikh Hasina extended an invitation to herIndian counterpart to join the celebration inMarch 2021 which was warmly accepted. Weare looking forward to welcome the IndianPrime Minister to Bangladesh soon and hopethat such high-level engagements will take ourbilateral relations to a further new height.

Long live Bangladesh-India friendship.

M E S S A G EH.E. MUHAMMAD IMRAN

BANGLADESH HIGH COMMISSIONER TO INDIA

INDIA and Bangladesh held an im-portant virtual summit to strengthentheir bilateral ties and trade. Held aday after Bangladesh’s Victory Day,Prime Minister Narendra Modi said atthe inauguration of a summit-leveltalks that Bangladesh is a major pillar ofIndia’s ‘neighbourhood first’ policy.Greeting Bangladesh on the occasionof centenary of Bangabandhu SheikhMujibur Rahman, PM Modi said inHindi, “Bangladesh is a major pillar ofour ‘neighbourhood first’ policy and ithas been a special priority for me fromDay 1 to strengthen our relations withBangladesh.Today, I pay my respect tothe martyrs of both our sides who sacri-ficed their lives during the 1971 war,when the anti-liberation forces weredefeated by us.”

During the summit, PM Hasina said,“Our relations have embarked on alandmark moment. Bangladesh hasstepped into the 50th year of its inde-pendence. Our relations are also step-ping into the 50th year. We havechalked out programmes for the en-tire coming year that will jointly markour collaboration in the LiberationWar”. She pointed out that despitethe pandemic, both sides had workedtogether to ensure connectivity andtrade remain uninterrupted. Extollingthe efforts of Indians, Prime MinisterSheikh Hasina said many Indian na-tionals were working in Bangladeshto enhance bilateral economic ties be-tween the two countries.

The two sides inked seven agree-ments “to further cooperate in variedsectors, such as hydrocarbons sector,High Impact Community Development

Projects, trans-border elephant conser-vation, solid waste management, tex-tiles and agriculture, and terms of ref-erence of the India-Bangladesh CEOsforum.” On the bilateral trade front,both Prime Ministers directed the offi-cials to expeditiously conclude the ongo-ing joint study on the prospects of en-tering into a bilateral ComprehensiveEconomic Partnership Agreement(CEPA). The leaders emphasized “theimportance of increased linkages andcollaboration in the textile sector anddirected the officials to conclude the on-going negotiations on the MOU be-tween Ministry ofTextiles,Governmentof India and Ministry of Textiles andJute,Government of Bangladesh at theearliest.”

The agreement on hydrocarbons“will help streamline investments, tech-nology transfers and joint studies andpromote hydrocarbon connectivity.”

The two countries agreed “tostrengthen sub-regional energy coop-eration, especially with Nepal andBhutan,and speed up work on the 130-km India-Bangladesh FriendshipPipeline.”

Strengthening the connectivity be-tween the two countries, “both sidesalso restored a cross-border Chilahati-Haldibari rail link, snapped during the1965 India-Pakistan war.” Upgrade ofthe old lines were carried out before theinauguration.Further,both leaders wel-comed the recent initiatives, includingthe signing of the second addendum tothe Protocol on InlandWaterTransit andTrade (PIWTT), trial run of trans-ship-ment of Indian goods from Kolkata toAgartala via Chattogram and opera-tionalization of Sonamura-DaudkandiProtocol route under the PIWTT. Boththe leaders agreed to expeditiously op-erationalise trans-shipment of Indian

goods through Chattogram andMongla Ports.

According to a joint statement re-leased at the end of the summit, thefilming of a biopic on Bangabandhuwould begin under the direction ofShyam Benegal in January 2021.A pactbetween the National Museum of Indiaand Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rah-man Memorial Museum in Dhaka wasalso declared.The two leaders virtuallylaunched a “stamp on BangabandhuMujibur Rahman, and inaugurated adigital exhibition of Rahman andGandhi focusing on their contributionsto independence movements of thetwo countries.”

Speaking on COVID-19 vaccine avail-ability, PM Modi assured PM Hasina“vaccines will be made available toBangladesh as and when produced inIndia,” and also offered a partnershipin vaccine production.

Bangladesh, a major pillar of India’s‘neighbourhood first’ policy

India and Bangladesh signed seven agreements to boost connectivity andenergy cooperation, among others, at the virtual summit

by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and PM Sheikh Hasina

A lmost 50 years ago,on December 16,1971, India changed the world mapby liberating Bangladesh after a hard-fought,13-day-long battle with Pakistan thatsaw 93,000 Pakistani troops surrender at thefamous Ramna Race Course in Dhaka.Sincethen,India and Bangladesh have been work-ing hand in glove in almost every sphere oflife,making the most of this fructifying bilat-eral relationship.

On January 1 this year, the bilateral rela-tionship between India and Bangladesh be-ganonahighnotewith theexchangeofNewYear greetings between Prime Minister Modiand Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.Moreover,PM Sheikh Hasina had visited New Delhi onan official visit from 3 to 6 October, 2019.Both the Prime Ministers also met in a high-level event on the celebration of 150th birthanniversary of Mahatma Gandhi on the side-linesof74thsessionofUNGeneralAssembly inSeptember 2019.Ten MOUs/agreements forcooperation in various sectors were signed bythe two nations on various occasions in 2019.

In order to promote cooperation on bilat-eral trade,both the Prime Ministers agreed tocreate an India-Bangladesh CEO’s Forum toprovide policy-level inputs in various areas oftrade and investment and also to facilitate ex-changes among the business communities ofboth the countries. Meetings of various insti-tutional mechanisms to promote bilateraltrade, including that of border haats,shipping,LCS/ICP infrastructure and on establishmentof Indian Economic Zone etc, were held in2019. Clearly, these high-level visits havecharted the path for strengthening the multi-faceted partnership between the two coun-tries.

Today, India and Bangladesh enjoy a warmand cordial relationship, with positive devel-opment in the areas of diplomatic, political,economicandsecurity relations.Bilateral tradewas a little over $9 billion in FY 2017-18 andBangladeshi exports increased by 42.91%,reaching $1.25 billion in FY 2018-2019. Bysigning the Land Boundary Agreement in2015,the two neighbours amicably resolved alongstanding issue. India and Bangladeshhave also decided to expedite their proposedComprehensive Economic PartnershipAgree-ment (CEPA).The CEPA is an advanced formofa free tradeagreement thatwill ensurepref-erential and even tariff-free access to goods,

services and investments in both countries.In 2018, in addition to the 660 MW of

power imported by Bangladesh,Indian exportof electricity increased by another 500 MW.Besides, railway connectivity got a majorboost as freight services were increased in thepast few months.Train services on the Dhaka-Kolkata and Kolkata-Khulna are doing well,whilea third,on theAgartala-Akhaura route,isunder construction.Moreover, India considersBangladeshas itsbiggestdevelopmentpartner,evinced fromthe fact that Indiahasextended3LinesofCredits (LOC) toBangladesh in the last8yearsamounting toUS$8billion fordevelop-ment of infrastructure in various sectors, in-cluding roads, railways, shipping and ports.Apart from this,GoI has extended grant assis-tance to Bangladesh for various infrastructureprojects, including dredging of inland water-ways in Bangladesh and construction of India-Bangladesh Friendship Pipeline.

The two Prime Ministers had jointly inau-gurated four bilateral developmental projectsin March 2019 in Bangladesh through video-

conferencing, including (i) supply of 500trucks, 300 double decker buses and 200 ACbuses under the second Line of Credit, (ii) ex-tension of National Knowledge Network toBangladesh,(iii) establishment of 36 commu-nity clinics in five districts of Bangladesh and(iv) establishment of 11 water treatmentplants in Bangladesh and another three pro-jects inOctober2019,including (i) inaugurationofVivekananda Bhaban at Rama Krishna Mis-sion in Dhaka, (ii) import of bulk LPG fromBangladesh and (iii) inauguration ofBangladesh-India Professional Skill Develop-ment Institute (BIPSDI) at the Institution ofDiploma Engineers, Bangladesh (IDEB),Khulna.

During the COVID-19 crisis,“the coordina-tion between the two nations deepened asBangladesh announced that it will contributeUS$1.5 million to the proposed Corona emer-gency fund for the prevention and combat ofCOVID-19 pandemic in the SAARC region.”India also provided “medical aid toBangladesh to tackle medical assistance fordealing with Covid-19 pandemic.”

Again, in July 2020, “the maritime con-nectivity was enhanced as a trial for thetranshipment to India’s Northeast throughChittagong and was completed.” The in-land waterways connectivity between In-dia and Bangladesh has also been strength-ened. In May 2020, “the two countriessigned an addendum to the protocol on in-land water trade and transit and added twonew routes and five port of call.”

India and Bangladesh,the Perfect Neighbours

PM Modi - PM Hasina Virtual Summit

Over the years, the cooperation between India and Bangladesh has deepenedand is often regarded as an example of good neighbourly ties

Prime Minister Narendra Modi paying tribute at the National War Memorial onthe occasion of Vijay Diwas in New Delhi on December 16, 2020.

INDIA ANDBANGLADESH HAVE AWARM RELATIONSHIP,WITH GOODDIPLOMATIC,POLITICAL TIES

Kolkata

6WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

SPECTRUM OF CHOICESHighreserveprice forspectrumledtopoorauctionoutcomesinpast.Governmentmust lookbeyondrevenuemaximisation

ONWEDNESDAY, THE government kickstarted the process of auction-ing4Gspectrum,approving the saleof 2,251MHzof spectrumata re-serve price of Rs 3.92 lakh crore. The auction is expected to be com-pleted byMarch next year with bidders having the option of eitherpayingtheentireamountupfront,orpayingacertainamountnow,with

the balance being paid in annual instalments subsequently. Considering the revenueshortfall that the Centre is facing, a successful auction could help boost its coffers — inthebudget, thegovernmenthadpeggedrevenuefrom“othercommunicationservices”,whichincludeslicencefeesfromtelecomoperatorsandreceiptsonaccountofspectrumusagecharges, atRs1.33 lakhcrore in2020-21.However,whether this roundof auctionwill bemetwith enthusiasm isnot clear as

highreservepriceshaveinthepastledtopooroutcomes.Forinstance,inthepreviousauc-tionsheld in2016,while thegovernmenthadoffered2,354.55MHzof spectrum, itwasable to sell just 40per cent (965MHz)due tohigh reserveprices. As a result, itwas abletomopuponlyRs65,789crore. This timearound, it ispossible that telcos looking to re-newtheirlicencesinbandswhichareexpiringin2021,andseekingtoplugexistinggaps,might pick up spectrum in the less expensive bands. But demand for the higher pricedbands isuncertain. For instance, the reserveprice for the700MHzband—it ismoreef-ficientthanthebandsbeingoffered,andhasbetterpropagationcharacteristics—ispeggedatRs6,568croreperMHzforallIndia.Whilethisisaround43percentlowerthanthe2016priceofRs11,485crore,whenitremainedunsoldduringtheauctions,whetherfirmswillbid at even these prices remains to be seen. Telecom operators have in the past com-plainedaboutthehighreserveprices.Somemayoptoutof thebidding,whileothersmaybid,heighteningtheriskof“winner’scurse”.Alternatively,highreservepricescouldleadto a situationwhere bidding is dominated by a single player to the detriment of bothcompetitionandconsumers.Reportedly, the Department of Telecommunications is yet to finalise the bands for

auctionof5Gspectrum.Thisputs telcos inablindspot.Withnoclarityoverwhichbandwillbeofferedupforauction,andwhen, theyareunable toplantheirauctionstrategiesinadvance.Thegovernmentwouldthusdowell toprovideatimelineofwhenit intendstoauction5Gspectrum.Equally, itmustreconsideritsapproach,whichisdrivenmorebyconcernsof revenuemaximisation than thesector’swelfare.

LEFT TURN IN KERALACongress is the loser in localbodiespolls, asCPMregainsground lost in2019generalelection

THERESULTSOFKerala’s localbodiespollswouldbeabigrelief fortherul-ingLeftDemocraticFront(LDF),whichfoughtthepollsbattlingcorruptionallegations.TheFrontbuckedanti-incumbencytowinfiveofthestate’ssixmunicipalcorporations—onemorethanin2015—besidesmakinggainsin central Kerala, a stronghold of the Congress-led United Democratic

Front. Though itmanaged towin amajority of municipalities, the UDF has reasons toworryabout its insipidperformance, less thansixmonthsbefore theassemblyelection.TheBJPimproveditstally inall thetiers,buthasfailedtoconsolidate itsrisingvoteshareto grab at least one corporation ormake a splash in any region. Clearly, the party has tocovera lotmoregroundbefore it canhope to redrawKerala’s two-frontpoliticalmap.TheLDF’ssuccessowesmuchtowelfaremeasuresundertakenbythePinarayiVijayan

government,especiallysincetheoutbreakofCOVID-19.Thelocalbodieswereinthefore-frontofensuringrelief—medicalandmaterialhelp.Thegovernmentbeefedupthepub-lic distribution systemandprovided extra rations aswell as specialmonthly kitswheneconomic activities ceased in thewake of the pandemic. The lockdown had increasedthedependencyof peopleonpublicwelfare andgoods and thegovernment rose to thechallenge.Onthepoliticalfront,theCPMbenefitedfromtheabsenceof factionalismthathadplaguedthepartyinthepast,theentryofafactionoftheKeralaCongress,apartywithinfluenceamongChristians, into theLDF, and thesmartmove to fielda largenumberofwomenandyouth.TheCongress,ontheotherhand,waslistlessinitselectioncampaignandpollmanagement. Though theUDFwon19of the20LokSabha seats in the state in2019,theCongresshasbeenunabletostemtheleakofcadresandlower-levelpartyfunc-tionaries to theBJP in thewakeof increasingcommunalpolarisation in thestate.Also, adividedpartyleadershipwasunconvincingwhenitspokeaboutthescandalsthathadem-broiled thechiefminister’sofficeandtheCPMstate secretary’s family.Theassemblyelectionwill haveapolitical dynamicof its own, of course. But the re-

sultsof localbodiespollsareominousfortheCongressinoneof itsfewremainingstrong-holds. Thepartyseemstobewilting in theheat fromboth theCPMandtheBJP,particu-larly the latter since it became the party of office at the Centre.With the erosion in itssocialbase, theCongress isnowdependent solelyonanti-incumbencyagainst theCPMtowinelections.But theremaynotbeenoughof it always.

NON, MONSIEURFranceshouldreward,not fine,Parismayor forhiringmorewomeninpositionsofpower.That’swhere theybelong

FORHEAVEN’SSAKE, it’s 2020.By rights, patriarchyought tohavepackedupandgonehomeaeonsago.Buthereweare, still stuck inaworldwheremenoverpopulateboardrooms,courts,bureaucraciesandministries,wheretheycontinuetoexplainthingstowomenandtalkoverthem,andwhereoldwhitemencanthrowtantrumsandclingontopowerevenafterlosinganelection.

Youwouldthinktheproblemisthenear-universalmalemonopolyoverwealth,property,resourcesandentitlement—ergo,toomanymen.But,no,France’spublicserviceministryappears tobelieveotherwise. It hasdecided to slapa$110,000 fineonParis city authori-tiesforemployingtoomanywomeninitsseniorpositions.Apparently,byhiring11womento fivemen, Parismayor AnneHidalgo has broken a 2013 law that holds that notmorethan60percentmanagementpositionscangotopeopleof thesamegender.Toquotearulethatpromotesgenderequalitytorundownaninitiativethatsucceeds

in achieving just that is rich in irony. It is also amanouevre thatmight be familiar in theIndiansubcontinent,where thestandard-issuemalechauvinist cutshis teeth insexismbywhining about seats reserved forwomen in public transport. Dominant groups in-creasinglywieldthis languageof “fairness” to justify theirdiscomfortat teenystepsthatforcethemtosharepower,whetherit isviareservationforhistoricallyoppressed“lowercastes” ormore seats inParliament forwomen;orhaving to listen to angry critiquesbythedisenfranchisedwhich theyrighteouslyderideas “cancel culture”.Thetrickistoownthechange.TheParismayorhassaidshe’dpaythefine—unjustas

it is—buthandoverthechequetoauthoritiesaccompaniedbyallherwomencolleagues.ShearguesFranceneedsmore,notless,ofsuchahiringskew,toaggressivelyplugalong-neglectedgendergap. Inallthis, lurksabiglessontoorganisersofmanelseverywhereintheworld. Toomanywomen?Theyexist.Now,go find them.

Let schools open

AjitMishra

Education isanessentialactivity. Ignoringschoolingwillhave long-termimplications

ITWASVERYnicetoreadreportsaboutsomestates reopening schools, and some othersplanning to do so. Over the last severalmonths, during thevariousupsanddowns,lockdownsandunlocks,start-stopactivitiesin both business and social spheres, one(near)constantfeaturehasbeentheclosureofschools.Itistheeasiestthingtodobecausethe consequences are not immediately ob-vious. During the pandemic, theywere thefirst to close nationwide andwould proba-blybe the last toopen.Variousstateshaveattemptedtoreopen

schools, with limited successes due to theresurgence of the virus. Barring some at-tempts,suchasconductofentrancetestsandoptionalattendancebysomepupils,schoolshaveremainedoutofreachformost.There-centattemptswillalsofaceobstacles,possi-bleleadtoariseinlocalinfections,andotherdisruptions, but let us hope authorities andparentsareprepared to face these.That brings us to a more fundamental

point. Do we treat the education sector,schoolsinparticular,asanessentialactivity?In the recent past, we have had big rallies,protests, socialandreligious festivities (onareducedscalethough)andcrowdedmarkets,busyroadsandalmosteveryactivity,butthedoors of schools have remained shut. Weconstantly talk aboutGDPgrowth rates butignore schooling and educationwhich de-termine,accordingtoseveralscholarlystud-ies, long-rundevelopmentandgrowth.Overthe lastninemonths,humaninter-

action in the realworld has become a scareresource.Thepandemichasforcedustopri-oritise activities overwhich this limited re-sourcecanbespent. Differentsocietieshavechosen toact differently in this respect. TheEuropeanmodel has been to keep schoolsrunning asmuch as possible,with great in-novations. Denmark and Norway openedschools early in April/May in a staggeredmanner—thisdidn’tleadtoasecondorthirdwave of infection. In the UK and Germany,schoolsreopenedinAugust/September,andit was not smooth sailing for them. Someschools had to be closed temporarily, some

(in Germany) adopted mass testing.Reopening schools could have contributedto some increase in infection numbers aswell, but then all activities have producedsuch an outcome. But the government andschool authorities deserve credit. For in-stance,theUKoptedforasecondnationwidelockdowninthefirstweekofNovemberbutannounceditsresolvetokeepschoolsopen:Itchoseschoolsovernon-essentialbusiness.SeveralcountriesinEuropedidthesame,sig-nallingthatschoolingwastobeidentifiedasanessential activity.Of course, suchcomparisonsarenot fair.

The incidence of infection, the school sup-portsystemsandbudgetaryburdensaredif-ferent. Butwe should not dismiss these ex-amples on the ground that these countriescouldkeep their schoolsopenbecause theyaredeveloped. Itcanbearguedthattheyaredevelopedbecause theyconsider schoolingtobeanessentialactivityanddotheirutmostto see students do not lose out. In fact, theUK’s educationministermade it clear that“continuity of education is anational prior-ity”andthegovernmentwasthreateningtotakeactionagainstalocalcouncilwhichhadorderedclosureof schools!Apartfromintent,whatelsemakeskeep-

ingschoolsopensohard in India?Thereareseveralfactors.Forexample,averagedistancetravelledbyastudentandthedensityofstu-dentpopulation inanyschoolarehigh.Thismakes it difficult to safeguard against thespread of the infection.While schools canbring in changes in terms of class arrange-ments, staggered lunch hours, reduction inphysical sports, limited social interactionsandyear-groupbubbles,theycannotcontrolwhat happens outside their premises. But,more than these logistical factors, I wouldlike todrawattention to twoother issues.Theschoolsystemneedsmoredecentral-

isationbothintermsofgovernanceandplan-ning.Notalldecisionsneedtobetakenatthenational or state level. Local councils or dis-tricts could have chosen to stay open, de-pending on the spread of the disease, theirlocalneedsandcapabilities. Infact,weneed

this flexibilityandfreedomat the local levelnot just tokeep schools openbut,more im-portantly, to address the damageswroughtby the pandemic. Inequality in educationalcapability has no doubt been exacerbateddue to the closureof institutionsduring thepandemic.Soonceschoolsacross thecoun-try reopen, it cannot be simply teaching asusual. Schoolsneedtoreassess theneedsoftheirpupilsanddoutmosttoattendtothese.Theotherissuehastodowiththepartic-

ular teachingmethods thatwe tend to use.In an interesting study, economists YannAlgan, Pierre Cahuc and Andrei Shleifer(2013) show how teaching practices atschoolshaveasizeableimpactonastudent’ssocial capital. Theydistinguishbetweentheverticalmethodwhere the teacher lecturesand students take notes and ask questionsand thehorizontalmethodwhere studentswork in groups and ask questions to eachother and the teacher. Obviously, countriesaswellasschoolswithinacountryusebothformsbutvaryinthemix.Theyshowthatinsocieties where the horizontal method ispredominant, generalised levels of trust inthe society are likely to be higher. Studentsunder the vertical system are also likely tohavelowerassessments(belief)of thevalueofcooperation.Wenowknowhowtrustandcooperation affect the long-termgrowth ofaneconomy. InIndia,weareprobablymoreinclinedtowardstheverticalmethod,whereonlineclassesareviewedasclosesubstitutesof classroomexperience.Let me end with an optimistic note. If

schools inEnglandcouldstayopenover thelast threemonths or so, with alarming riseinCOVID-19casesallaroundandafour-weeknational lockdown, we should be able tobringchildrenbacktoschools.Nowthatweare talkingaboutvaccinationstrategiesandcandidates for early rounds of vaccination,let us treat schools as part of the essentialsector and vaccinate teachers and schoolworkers too.

Thewriter isprofessorof economicsanddirector, InstituteofEconomicGrowth,Delhi

If schools in England couldstay open over the last threemonths or so, with alarmingrise in COVID-19 cases allaround and a four-weeknational lockdown, weshould be able to bringchildren back to schools.Now that we are talkingabout vaccination strategiesand candidates for earlyrounds of vaccination, let ustreat schools as part ofthe essential sector andvaccinate teachers andschool workers too.

FOUNDED BY

RAMNATH GOENKAB E C A U S E T H E T R U T H I N V O L V E S U S A L L

§ §

THEINDIANEXPRESS,FRIDAY,DECEMBER18,2020WORDLYWISE

The thingwomen have yet to learn isnobody gives you power. You just take it.

— ROSEANNE BARRTHEEDITORIALPAGE

Manoj Jain and Suvanand Sahu

CONTAGIONS IN THE AIRLearnings frompandemiccanhelp in the fightagainstTB

RECENTLY, UNIONMINISTER of Health andFamilyWelfare Harsh Vardhan acknowl-edged the impact of COVID-19 on the fightagainst tuberculosis. He said: “The deadlyvirushasderailedourpainstakingefforts ofmanydecadesanddivertedscientificatten-tionfrommanyinfectiouskillerdiseaseslikeTB.” Theminister is right. COVID-19 lock-downshaveresultedina30percentdeclinein tuberculosis diagnosis and reporting, ac-cording togovernment figures.Researchersestimatethatoverthenextfiveyears,anad-ditional1.19millionTBcasesand3,61,000TBdeathsmayoccur in India.Weagreethatthepandemichassetback

theresponsetoTB,butwebelievethisistem-porary. In the long run, the pandemic pro-vides an unprecedented learning opportu-nityandopensuppossibilitiesofacceleratingourTBeliminationendeavour.Here iswhy.First,COVID-19hasrattledgovernments,

institutions, and people in a way that noother disease has inmodern history. TB is acousin infectious disease that also spreadsthroughdropletsandaerosols,causesrespi-ratory illness, andhas amortality rate of 13percent—farworsethanthe1.3percentforCOVID-19. In 2019, TB caused 1.4 milliondeaths,globally.COVID-19 isset toovertakethis figure. In the COVID-19 era, the publichealth attention and prioritywhich TB andmulti-drug resistant TB deserve from localgovernments and the publicwill be signifi-cantlygreater,nowthatleadersandindivid-uals have realised the devastation an infec-tious respiratorydiseasecancause.

Second,masking, social distancing, andtracing have become commonplace prac-ticesduetoCOVID-19.TheseholdthekeytoTB elimination aswell. Doctors and nurseswill be less complacent about thesemeas-ures, and, over time, thegeneral publicwillcomplymoreeasilywiththesepracticestoo.Moreover, investmentsinhealthsystemsin-frastructure, infection control equipmentandpersonalprotectionequipmentwillen-sure better airborne infection preventionandcontrol—thiswillcomeinhandyinthefight against