RAJINIKANTH HINTS ATJOINING POLITICSChennai: The reigning monarchof Tamil films, Rajinikanth, saidin Chennai on Monday that join-ing politics is not a bad idea.

PETROL PRICE CUT BY `2.16A LITRE, DIESEL BY `2.10New Delhi: Petrol price was onMonday cut by `2.16 per litreand diesel by `2.10 a litre,reversing the four week trend ofrising rates.

INDIA’S APRIL EXPORTSUP BY 20 PER CENTNew Delhi: India’s exportsrevival continued for the eighthstraight month, recording 19.77per cent growth during April2017, official data showed onMonday.

CAPSULEIf all forms of talaq go, will bringnew divorce law: Centre tells SCIndia rips up Pak at ICJ

PNS/AGENCIES nNEW DELHI/HAGUE

India and Pakistan onMonday sparred in the

International Court of Justice(ICJ) over the death sentenceawarded to ex-Indian NavyCommander KulbhushanJadhav with New Delhi seekingannulment of the death sen-tence of Jadhav as an immedi-ate relief.

During his forceful sub-mission before the ICJ in

Hague, India’s counsel HarishSalve listed out several proce-dural lapses made by Pakistanunder the Vienna Conventionon Consular Relations (VCCR),1963 adding it amounted tohuman rights violation.

Pakistan, however, reject-ed India’s allegation and saidthe ICJ has no jurisdictionover Jadhav’s case as it waslinked to an act of terrorism.

Significantly, the ICJ refusedto see a six-minute video clip of‘confessional’ statement’ byJadhav that Pakistan wanted touse as a proof to bolster its argu-ments on Jadhav being anIndian spy. The 11-Bench court,of which an Indian judge is alsoa member, will now pronounceits order in a day or two.

Continued on Page 7

ABRAHAM THOMAS nNEW DELHI

The Centre’s fresh attempt toseek a judicial review of all

forms of ‘talaq’, polygamy and‘Nikah Halala’ practiced underMuslim Personal Laws failed toget the nod of the SupremeCourt on Monday. Terming‘talaq’ as a discriminatory prac-tice, the Centre submitted beforea five-judge Constitution Benchthat in the event of all forms of‘talaq’, including triple ‘talaq’,being struck down by the SC, theCentre would bring a law todetermine the rights of Muslimmen and women concerningmarriage and divorce.

However, the SC remainedunimpressed by the offer say-

ing, “The manner, in which youare dealing with the case, willfinish their (minority) rights.”The Bench said that due to“paucity of time” it will onlytake up the triple ‘talaq’ issue,leaving the other issues to beconsidered at a later stage by theConstitution Bench.

Attorney-General MukulRohatgi even urged the Benchto decide the validity ofpolygamy and ‘Nikah Halala’along with triple ‘talaq.’

Rohatgi, representing theCentre said, “It is inconceivablethat one half of a major com-munity of this country sufferfrom lack of equality, status anddignity as compared to women-folk of other religious

Continued on Page 7

New Delhi exposesIslamabad’s lapses,demands annulmentof death sentencegiven to Jadhav

Praises MP CM’s futuristic road map for Narmada’s conservation

PNS/PTI n AMARKANTAK (MP)

Prime Minister NarendraModi on Monday voiced

concern over “exploitation” ofrivers for “vested interests”,which resulted in many ofthem drying up.

While addressing the con-cluding ceremony of the 150-day-long Narmada Seva Yatrahere, Modi praised the BJPGovernment in MadhyaPradesh for coming out with aroad map for conservation ofthe Narmada River, consideredthe “lifeline” of the State.

Continued on Page 7

The manner, inwhich you aredealing with the case, will

finish their(minority) rights

SUPREME COURT

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, along with Madhya Pradesh Chief MinisterShivraj Singh Chouhan, during the concluding ceremony of the Narmada SewaYatra, in Amarkantak on Monday Pioneer photo

p India listed out several procedural lapses made by Pakistan underthe Vienna Convention on Consular Relations (VCCR), 1963,saying that it amounted tohuman rights violation

p Harish Salve told ICJ that Paknot only denied 16 requests forcounsel access, but also didnot provide copies ofchargesheet and militarycourt’s verdict to enable Indiato appeal against the deathsentence

p Pakistan, on its part, challenged India’s argument on thejurisdiction of the ICJ in the matter where the accused is accusedof serious charges of espionage and terrorism

p Significantly, the ICJ refused to see a six-minute video clip of‘confessional statement’ by Jadhav that Pakistan wanted to use asa proof to bolster its arguments

p The 11-member Bench, of which an Indian judge is also amember, will now pronounce its order in a day or two

JUSTICE FOR SON OF INDIA

PM slams exploitation of rivers

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‘TRIED HARD TO

BE A JERK ON

BAYWATCH SET’

16 VIVACITY

UP Assembly session begins on stormy note

PNS n LUCKNOW

The Uttar Pradesh Assemblytouched a new low on

Monday as Samajwadi Partylegislators disrupted GovernorRam Naik’s address to the jointsitting of both Houses by blow-ing whistles.

Carrying posters and plac-ards denouncing the YogiAdityanath government, theSP members also threw paperballs at Ram Naik, made fromthe copy of the Governor’saddress.

The marshal and watchand ward staff of the Assemblyhad a tough time protecting theGovernor from paper missiles.

However, undeterred bythe unruly behaviour of the SPlegislators, the Governor con-tinued to read out his speechamidst the din and completedhis 35-minute address at 11:35am.

Many SP legislators stoodon their benches while otherstrooped into the Well of theHouse and climbed on thetables of Assembly reporters asthey kept throwing paper ballsat the Governor all through hisaddress and also raised slogans.

Despite the best efforts ofthe marshals, some paper ballshit the Governor.

The Governor repeatedlytried to pacify unruly SP mem-

bers sayingthat the wholeof UP waswatching theirconduct andthey shouldd i s c i p l i n ethemselves .But his peptalk went invain and thedin continued.

For thefirst time inthe history ofany stateAssembly inI n d i a ,Doordarshanmade a live

telecast of the proceedings onMonday.

Along with the SP, mem-bers of the Congress and theBahujan Samaj Party alsojoined the slogan-shoutingagainst the Governor and thestate government.

Former Chief MinisterAkhilesh Yadav, who is a mem-ber of the Legislative Council,led the SP protest in the pres-ence of his uncle Shivpal SinghYadav. Akhilesh kept smilingduring the Governor’s addressas his MLAs busied them-selves in blowing whistles andthrowing paper balls at Naik.

Akhilesh was seen telling Continued on Page 7

Marshals protecting Governor Ram Naik from paper ballsthrown by agitating opposition MLAs during his address tothe first sitting of the UP Assembly in Lucknow on Monday

city 02LUCKNOW | TUESDAY | MAY 16, 2017

Lucknow (PNS): The Bharatiya Janata Party slammed theSamajwadi Party members for disrupting the proceedings of theAssembly on the first day of the inaugural session of the House.It said that after its crushing defeat in the recent Assembly poll,the opposition had lost its track and was indulging in irrespon-sible behaviour which was detrimental to the dignity of theHouse.

Energy Minister and government spokesman SrikantSharma said in Lucknow on Monday that the government wasworking fast to improve the situation in all sectors of economyand the opposition was unable to digest the Yogi Adityanath gov-ernment’s success even during a short stint.

“The main opposition party is concerned only about a par-ticular family. They have nothing to do with the people or otherissues before the state. They are anti-people and anti-poor andunnerved by the BJP government’s success in benefiting differ-ent sections of society, particularly farmers and poor by waiv-ing farm loans mounting to `36,000 crore,” Sharma said.

Refuting allegations of opposition parties that law and orderhad deteriorated after the BJP government came to power, theminister said, “Law and order is fine and the government hastaken a series of measures to tone up the situation. Those talk-ing about law and order are creating anarchy inside the House.”

Health Minister Siddharthnath Singh said, “Blowing of whis-tles inside the House was an unprecedented incident which low-ered the dignity of the House and its members.”

“The conduct of SP members in the House on Monday hasreassured the people of the state that they did the right thingby voting the SP out and reducing its tally to a lowest ever of47. The people of the state on Monday saw glimpses of the goon-da raj of Samajwadi Party,” Singh said, adding “The conduct ofSP members in the House has shown to the people how theyran the government when in power in the state.”

SP leader and leader of opposition in Assembly, Ram GovindChaudhary, however, defended the conduct of his party’s leg-islators inside the House. “The BJP did the same thing whenwe were in power."

Muzaffarnagar (PTI): The body of a farmer was found withthe throat slit in Mansurpur village here, police said. SHO NitinKumar said that on Sunday Vikas (40) had gone to irrigate hisfields and did not return afterwards. After searching the area,his body was found near a tube well in his fields with his throatslit, he added. The body has been sent for post-mortem, he said,adding that the investigation is on in the case.

Bhadohi: Senior VishwaHindu Parishad leader PravinTogadia has said that only whenthe word “secular” is removedfrom the Constitution will Indiabecome a “Hindu nation”.

“This will ensure that onlyHindus become prime minis-ters, chief ministers, judges andpolice chiefs,” he said on Sundaynight at a Bajrang Dal pro-gramme in the UP town.

Known for his controversialremarks, Togadia added that thestone pelters of Kashmir were“Pakistanis who just live inIndia”.

“Pelting security forces withstones is an act of war,” he said.The VHP leader also suggestedthat just as Muslims pray atmosques on Fridays andChristians in churches onSundays, Hindus should have aday for gathering. PTI

Lucknow (PNS): Sleuths ofSpecial Task Force claimed tohave busted a gang involved inleaking question papers throughWhatsApp.

Two members of the gangwere arrested in Agra onMonday morning and a ques-tion paper of SSC (Multi-Tasking Staff) entrance examand mobile phones were recov-ered from them.

SSP (STF) Amit Pathaksaid that they had been gettinginputs that some gangs wereinvolved in leaking questionpapers through the chat appli-cation and collecting moneyfrom candidates by forming aWhatsApp group.

He said the inputs weredeveloped and some gangmembers were identified inAgra and adjoining areas whowere collecting money to leakpaper of SSC (Multi-TaskingForce) entrance examination.

The exam was conductedfrom 10 am to 12 noon onSunday.

Pathak said a team wasdespatched to Agra and itdropped the net on two gangmembers who were sendingquestions and answers throughWhatsApp just before the startof the exam.

The arrested persons wereidentified as Pushpendra andLokendra of Etah. Lokendra isPushpendra’s brother-in-law.

During interrogation, theduo revealed that MukeshPathak of Hathras had collect-ed Rs 5 lakh and managed to getthe paper leaked and it was latersent through WhatsApp. Theadministrator of this group is aperson going by the name of ̀ JJ’.

Interestingly, the gangmembers collected original edu-cational documents of candi-dates and only when they hand-ed over the money after gettingsolved papers, they returned thedocuments. Further investiga-tions are on.

PNS n LUCKNOW

With the first session of theUP Legislature starting

with the joint sitting of bothHouses on Monday, confu-sion still prevails on who willbe the leader of Congress in theCouncil.

While the name of DineshSingh, who led the party in theCouncil after retirement ofNaseeb Pathan, was projectedby the party as its leader, con-fusion prevails as no one in theparty is willing to come onrecord as the Congress brass isnot happy with Singh.

In the absence of UPCCchief Raj Babbar, a senior leaderasked how could Singh benamed leader of the party inthe Council when he was fac-ing a disciplinary inquiry and

was suspended. The leader said that until

the inquiry against Singh wasfinalised, the only otherCongress MLC, Deepak Singh,would lead the party in theUpper House.

It may be mentioned herethat after Rae Bareli unit ofCongress issued suspensionletter to sitting MLC DineshPratap Singh about twomonths back, the disciplinarycommittee of UPCC alsoserved a showcause notice onhim.

“It came to my knowledgethat you assaulted general sec-retary of Rae Bareli Congressunit, Manoj Kumar Paswan, athis residence in Newajganj(Rae Bareli) and kidnappedsome dedicated members ofCongress. You also held a press

conference through which youmade baseless charges andused derogatory remarksagainst the local MP in RaeBareli,” the notice served onSingh by UPCC disciplinarycommittee in-charge RamKrishna Dwivedi said.

The notice further saidthat at a time when allCongressmen had united andcollectively fight and revive theparty, Singh’s act increasedinfighting in he party and wasdamaging the Congress.

Singh was asked to reply tothe charges in five days.

Two months back, RaeBareli district Congress chiefVK Shukla had announcedsuspension of Dinesh PratapSingh, one of the two CongressMLCs, with immediate effect.

Shukla told reporters that

the MLC was suspended forderogatory statement againstparty workers and againstCongress president and MPfrom Rae Bareli, Sonia Gandhi’srepresentative KL Sharma.

Sources in the party saidthat there were reports thatSingh, who won the electionfrom local bodies constituency,was set to join the BharatiyaJanata Party.

During a press conferenceat Rae Bareli, he abused partyleaders and workers.

Another leader said thatSingh was upset with the entryof Aditi Singh, daughter of archrival and Thakur leaderAkhilesh Singh, and her subse-quent fielding from Rae BareliSadar constituency in therecent Assembly polls whichshe won handsomely.

PNS n LUCKNOW

Governor Ram Naik saidthat the Yogi Adityanathgovernment would not

follow the policy of appease-ment and his government wascommitted to protecting theinterests of all sections of soci-ety, irrespective of caste andreligion.

Addressing the joint sittingof the UP legislature on theinaugural day of the 17thAssembly, Naik said, “It is thepriority of the government toeradicate corruption, providetransparent administration, ful-fil aspirations of the people andensure all-round developmentof UP. The people have givenan unprecedented mandate tothis government with greathope and it has tried to ensuredue representation of all com-munities and region.”

“My government is com-mitted to instilling a sense ofsecurity among the masses,apart from making arrange-ments of basic needs likefood, drinking water, housing,hygiene (toilets) health andeducation. It is the target ofthe government to reaffirmthe faith of the people in thegovernment and also ensuretheir participation. The stategovernment will bridge thegap between the state and thepeople by providing goodgovernance,” the Governorsaid.

Naik said the governmentwould encourage officers andemployees doing good workbut the corrupt and inefficientwould be punished.

“The government will bededicated to people’s welfareand will be accountable tothem. This government is com-mitted to providing such a

system which is permanent,sensitive and development-ori-ented,” the Governor said.

Without naming any partyor leader, Naik said that UP wasonce a leading state of thecountry, but in the past sever-al years, it had lagged behindin all spheres of development ascompared to other states.

“It is our resolve to makeUP a frontline state withemphasis on ‘Sabka Saath,Sabka Vikas’. Announcement ofloan waiver of 86 lakh farmersamounting to over Rs 36,000crore and ensuring 24-hourpower supply by October 2018is the target,” he said.

“In its short stint, the newgovernment has made trans-parent and corruption-free

arrangement of e-tenderingthrough use of modern infor-mation technology in all gov-ernment departments besidessetting up a task force to iden-tify land grabbers and eliminateland mafia. Besides, the ‘anti-Romeo’ squad has alreadymade its impact on society,”Naik said.

In his 101-page address,the Governor dealt with everygovernment department andwhat the Yogi government haddone during its 55-day tenure.

Naik said that the month-ly pension of ‘divyangs’ (phys-ically challenged) and widowshad been raised to Rs 500from the previous Rs 300,while interest subsidy would begiven to the people for con-

structing their houses. Speaking on industrialisa-

tion to boost employment foryouths, the Governor said thatthe new industrial policy wouldpave way for faster develop-ment besides generating jobs.

During his 35-minutespeech, which was marred byprotests by the opposition,Naik also highlighted how theBharatiya Janata Party govern-ment would improve gover-nance.

“I hope that you will extendconstructive co-operation totake the state on the path ofspeedy development,” Naik saidwhile concluding his speech,adding that this governmentwould fulfil the aspirations ofthe people.

PREETAM SRIVASTAVA n

LUCKNOW

Experimenting with postingof senior officers in zones,

ranges and districts as wasdone during the Bahujan SamajParty regime, the YogiAdityanath government is like-ly to face an awkward situationas the seniority of several offi-cers has been ignored whileposting them.

It may be mentioned herethat the present DGP SulkhanSingh is very particular aboutthe seniority factor but he hasbeen grossly ignored.

While being posted at theTraining Directorate duringthe Samajwadi Party regime,Surya Kumar Shukla of 1982batch was posted as the headand Sulkhan Singh (1980batch) became the junior offi-cer. Later, Singh and one of hisbatch mates posted therethreatened to proceed on leaveif Shukla was not removed orthey were not transferred toanother department. The thenChief Minister Akhilesh Yadavresolved the issue by cancelling Shukla’s transferorder.

With the present regimeignoring seniority, it hasbecome clear that either

Sulkhan Singh has no role inthe exercise and officers doingthe job have blundered or nowseniority has ceased to be anissue for the DGP.

Going by the present hier-archy, after the DGP, it is ADG(Law and Order) or ADG(Crime) who supervises lawand order through Zonal IGs,Range DIGs and districtsSSPs/SPs.

At present, Aditya Mishraand Chandra Prakash-1 areposted as ADG (Law andOrder) and ADG (Crime)respectively and are batchmates of the 1989 batch.

Ironically, under Mishraand Prakash, a 1987 batch offi-cer, Biswajit Mahapatra, hasbeen posted as ADG (VaranasiZone) which makes it manda-tory for him to take instruc-tions on law and order from histwo junior colleagues.

Similarly, 1988 batch IPSofficer Anand Kumar has beenposted as ADG (Meerut) andhe too will have to play a sub-ordinate role vis-à-vis Mishraand Prakash in law and orderreview meetings.

Sources confirmed that thegovernment also ignoredseniority in postings in dis-tricts. Deepak Kumar, a 2005batch officer who is yet to get

the selection grade, has beenposted as SSP of Lucknow,ignoring seniors like SoniaSingh and Manoj Tewari of2003 batch and ChandraPrakash-2 and Love Kumar of2004 batch. All these officershave been given selection gradebut they have been posted inless important districts.

When contacted, a seniorofficer said that the move wasbound to boomerang like theprevious try during Mayawatiregime after which the thengovernment had to roll back tothe tradition practice.

“Had senior police officersplayed any role, the governmentwould not have made the blun-der of posting junior officers onsenior positions. It is clear thatthe government and SulkhanSingh ignored the seniorityfactor,” the officer said.

The government’s strongsignal on law and order frontis enough for any officer to givedesired results and not postingof senior officers. At a timewhen saffron leaders are open-ly abusing IPS officers and thegovernment and the DGP arefailing to give a strong messageon taking stern action, postingsenior officers in zones andranges will hardly help,” theofficer stressed.

Printed and Published by Vijay Prakash Singh for and on behalf of CMYK Printech Ltd., 4th Floor, Sahara Shopping Centre, Faizabad Road, Lucknow-226016 and Printed at Tin Tin Printech Pvt Ltd., C-33 Amausi Industrial Area, Nadarganj, Lucknow. Tel: (0522) 2438656 / 9336266608.

Editor: Chandan Mitra. Resident Editor: Vijay Prakash Singh. RNI No. 2016/57. Lucknow Telephones: EPABX: 4036600 Fax: 2345582. Allahabad Office: (95532) 2420818, 2421018, 3290460. Kanpur Office: (95512) 2304006, 2304416. Varanasi Office: (95542) 2414294, 2414295. Delhi

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On behalf of BSNL, Item rate e-tenders are invited for NIT Nos.05/2017-18/TCD-I/KP/181,06/2017-18/TCD-I/KP/182 &07/2017-18/TCD- I/KP/183. Thelast date of submission of bidsonline will be 23.05.2017 by18:00 Hrs. Other detail/informa-tion can be seen on websitewww.tenderwizard.com/BSNL

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Be it known to all that I havechanged my name fromKUMAIL ASKARI (S/o SyedAskari Jawwad Rizvi R/o LIII/38, sector-D, Aliganj,Lucknow) to MOHD KUMAILASKARI. In future I should beknown as MOHD KUMAILASKARl.

Govt will protect interests of

all sections of society: Guv

‘Not to follow appeasement policy’

Govt ignores DGP’s stress

on seniority in postings

Governor Ram Naik addressing the joint sitting of the UP legislature on Monday Pioneer

CM tables GST Bill in Assembly

Lucknow (PNS): Chief Minister YogiAdityanath tabled the state Goods and ServicesTax Bill in the Assembly on Monday.

Consideration and passage of the Bill is themost important legislative business that the gov-ernment wants to complete in the first session.

The House was adjourned for the day aftertabling of the state GST Bill which will be takenup for approval later this week.

Later in the afternoon, the Chief Ministerinaugurated a workshop on GST Bill for the leg-islators. The workshop was organised on the ini-tiative of Assembly Speaker Hriday NaryanDikshit by Assembly Secretariat for members ofboth Houses of UP Legislature to help themunderstand its provisions and enable them to takepart in the debate. In his address, the CM said,“UP will become the ninth state of India after thestate GST Bill is passed by the Assembly duringthe current session.”

“I am overwhelmed by the huge turnout ofMLAs and MLCs of all parties. It is indeed veryencouraging that legislators cutting across partylines are participating in the workshop on GST,which is the biggest tax reform in India post-Independence,” Yogi said.

“The hall is packed to the capacity. This led

me to believe that Speaker Hriday NaryanDikshit has mobilised crowd from his Assemblyconstituency in Unnao. But I realised that thosepresent here are all legislators as I know each ofthem personally,” the Chief Minister said.

Yogi urged the legislators to take active partin the debate on the state GST Bill during con-sideration and its passage.

“It is a very important legislation which isgoing to immensely impact the life of the com-mon man. Legislators would add to the glory ofthe Assembly by their effective participation inthe debate on the Bill in the House,” he said.

Parliament has already passed the CentralGoods and Services Tax Bill, 2017, IntegratedGoods and Services Tax Bill, 2017, UnionTerritory Goods and Services Tax Bill, 2017 andGoods and Services Tax (Compensation toStates) Bill, 2017 during the budget session.

The GST, the single biggest tax reform inIndia post-Independence, subsumes all indirecttaxes levied by the Centre and states and will comeinto force from July 1.

Before this deadline, all 29 state Assembliesof the country have to pass their state GST Bill.So far eight Assemblies have passed their respec-tive state GST Bills.

Confusion over Congress leader in Council

BJP slams SP for disrupting House proceedings

Two held forleaking SSCexam paper

Remove ‘secular’from Constitution,says Togadia

Farmer’s body found with throat slit

city 03LUCKNOW | TUESDAY | MAY 16, 2017

PIONEER NEWS SERVICE n LUCKNOW

Lucknow is all set for BadaMangal celebrations fromTuesday. Co-administra-

tor of Naya Hanuman MandirNandit Srivastava told ThePioneer on Monday that ChiefMinister Yogi Adityanath waslikely to visit the temple on theoccasion.

Bada Mangal, which wit-nesses a number of bhandarasorganised across the city bymultifarious organisations, hasbecome one the most keenlyawaited occasions by citydenizens who visit Hanumantemples and partake the prasadoffered at the bhandaras.

“We are hopeful of theChief Minister visiting thetemple. Various ministers arealso expected to visit the tem-ple on all four Tuesdays,” saidNandit. Giving the details of thearrangements made by thetemple administration, Nanditsaid that over five lakh devoteeswere expected to visit the tem-ple on the first Bada Mangal.”Keeping in mind the hotweather conditions, the templeadministration will be spread-ing jute mats on the floor forthe very first time which will besprinkled with water at regularintervals. The area will also becovered to protect the devoteesfrom direct sunlight. We havemade arrangements for drink-ing water in environment-friendly kulhads,” he said.

A fire brigade will bestanding close to the templepremises as a precautionarymeasure. Regarding parkingwoes faced by the devotees,Nandit said that the entirespace behind the temple had

been marked out for parking ofthe vehicles of the VIPs.

He said that apart from thebhandara which the templeorganises in the afternoon andevening, they would also beserving puri-sabzi and prasadto the devotees.

He said that the maximumrush was expected to be in themorning before 10 am andthen in the afternoon from 12pm to 3 pm and then from 6pm onwards. “The templedoors will be opened at mid-night and closed after 24hours,” he added.

Meanwhile, additionalmunicipal commissioner PKSrivastava said that LucknowMunicipal Corporation wouldensure that the city was cleanedthe next day.

Begum Rabiya, the wife ofNawab Mohammad Ali Shah,established this temple inLucknow. “It is said that onceshe had a dream that there wasa grand idol of Hanuman lyingnear the garden and that sheshould dig it out and keep it ina temple. After that, she wasblessed with a child. NawabMohammad Ali Shah immedi-ately ordered excavation of theplace and a Hanuman idol wasrecovered from there. NawabMohammad Ali Shah said thatthe idol should be installed ina temple near Bara Imambara.While the idol was being taken,the elephant carrying it stoppedand sat down at a place inAliganj. A number of efforts tomake him stand up proved tobe futile. On the advice of asaint of the area, Nawab’s wifeordered installation of the idolat the same place. A temple wasconstructed and the piece of

land was given for its upkeep,”temple authorities said.

Among the otherHanuman temples in the city isthe ancient temple in Aliganj

which was discovered by afamous saint of Ayodhya. Aremnant of the Awadh empire,the temple is visited by a num-ber of devotees. Displaying a

symbol of unity between theHindu-Muslim community, thedome of the temple is adornedwith a moon, an emblem of thegrand Awadh empire.

PIONEER NEWS SERVICE n LUCKNOW

There is relief in store for people reeling underthe intense heatwave conditions in the state.

The weatherman on Monday predicted rain andthundershower in isolated places on Tuesday.There is a warning for thunderstorm accompaniedby gusty winds too.

On Monday, the state capital recorded themaximum temperature at 43.3 degree Celsius,which was three notches above normal. The localforecast is that skies would remain clear with themaximum and the minimum temperatures areexpected to be around 42 degree Celsius and 27degree Celsius respectively.

In the state, Banda was the hottest at 47 degreeCelsius, followed by Allahabad 46.3 degreeCelsius and Orai 45.5 degree Celsius.

PIONEER NEWS SERVICE n LUCKNOW

Afast-food seller and hisbrother were nabbed for

attack on a customer for Rs 50in Alambagh two days afterthe incident was reported onSaturday. The arrests weremade from Fateh Ali Ka Talablocality and they were identi-fied as Rocky Handa and hisbrother Sunny Handa ofTalkatora area.

As per reports, Ujjawal ofChhota Barha locality, alongwith his friend Sachin Silori,went to a food joint onSaturday night. The twobrothers asked Ujjawal to payback an amount which heowed. This led to a verbal spatamong them and Rocky start-ed abusing them. When thevictim opposed them, Sunny

caught Ujjawal while Rockyattacked him with a knife.Sachin lodged a case and toldthe police that Rocky andSunny attacked him withoutprovocation.

“With the help of somecommuters, I rushed Ujjawalto Ajanta Hospital from wherehe was referred to TraumaCentre,” he narrated the incident.

After registering the case,the Alambagh police sat onthe case as the accusedenjoyed a good rapport withlower-rung cops. However,the police swung into actionafter the victim’s family peti-tioned senior officials. A team,led by sub-inspectorChandrabhan Singh, raidedthe house of the accused andnabbed them.

PIONEER NEWS SERVICE n LUCKNOW

Agroup of men armed withweapons and sticks attacked

officials of a private telecom com-pany and injured two senior offi-cers in Itaunja on Monday after-noon. The police later said that vic-tims suffered injuries due to bluntobjects and they were not firedupon.

Security head of AmericanTower Company Shivpoojan Singhsaid that Siddharth, along withHarish Singh, zonal commanderHarishchandra Dubey and others,were returning to the city after vis-iting Itaunja police station wherethey had to lodge a case of pilfer-ing of oil from towers.

They were in a car and as they

reached a flyover near Itaunjapolice station, the attackers forcedthem to stop the car. They thenbeat them up injuring HarishSingh and Harishchandra. Singhsaid that the attackers were guards

earlier deployed to look aftermobile towers.

It surfaced during investigationthat the security guards deployedto look after the towers set up indifferent villages of Itaunja wereinvolved in malpractices and usedto steal oil used to run a towerround the clock.

Singh alleged that securityguards, identif ied as Amit,Mahendra and Ashish, wereinvolved in corrupt practices andwere sacked from their job fivemonths back. He alleged that thelaid off staff wanted to be re-instated.

SSP, Lucknow, Deepak Kumarasked SHO, Itaunja, to register acase against the miscreants and slapGoonda Act on them.

PIONEER NEWS SERVICE n LUCKNOW

Taking a cue from biggercities, the Lucknow police

will chalk out a plan tostreamline vehicular move-ment and motivate offendersto adhere to traffic rules inthe state capital.

Under the plan, top copswil l meet Petrol PumpOwners’ Association and askthem to instruct the staff atfilling stations to deny givingfuel to those not wearinghelmets or those not puttingtheir seat belts while reachingthe station,” SSP, Lucknow,Deepak Kumar said.

Drawing a parallelbetween Lucknowites andcitizens of the US, the top coppointed out: “People in theUS adhere to rules of theland. But here, people are notdutiful to the law and thismore often leads to jams sit-uations on city roads.”

Kumar said that planswere afoot to take stringentaction against those floutingtraffic rules. He said thatpetrol pump owners and theirstaff would be provided secu-

rity so that they were notattacked by disgruntled ele-ments.

About the shortage ofstaff in Traffic police, the SSPsaid that the district policepersonnel would also beemployed to streamline thetraffic. “The crime rate in thestate capital is not high andso the Lucknow police havelittle work. The manpowercan thus be utilised in regu-lating traffic,” the SSP said.

The top cop said that theunder construction Metrorail work had added to traf-fic woes but that was for atemporary period. “One cannot do away with this as it ispart of a developmental thatthe city and the citizensneed,” he said. Kumarappealed to the public to belaw-abiding and adhere totraffic norms so that jams andsnarls on city roads could beaverted.

The SSP said that thepolice would also hold meet-ing with the district admin-istration and school author-ities to help in streamliningthe traffic in Lucknow.

PIONEER NEWS SERVICE n LUCKNOW

Achartered accountant(CA), formerly employed

by Irrigation department, wasnabbed on charges of hackingthe department website onMonday. The motive of hack-ing the site was to avoid pay-ing service tax that the CA hadto pay against cash transactionsin his bank account.

The arrested was identifiedas Sanjay Frederick Singh ofZahoor Baksh church underKaiserbagh police station area.The police recovered a mobilephone which he had used toreset the password of TaxDeducted from Salary (TDS)domain.

As per reports, engineer(Credit and Distribution) ofIrrigation department PrakashKumar Singh lodged a casewith Hussainganj policeinforming that some unidenti-fied person had hacked thewebsite meant for TDS pay-ment of non-salaried account(form 26). After registering acase, the probe was handedover to cyber cell.

It surfaced that the websitewas hacked after the hackerused a mobile number to resetthe password to open files of

the website. The cops trackedthe number and reached Singhwho was later interrogated.

ASP (Crime) SanjayKumar said the miscreantsecured a token by applying forthe same on NSDL KARVYand logged in for filing TDS.“The site sought previousrecord of TDS details that themiscreant had as he hadworked for the department ona contractual basis and used tofile the TDS of employees of theIrrigation department,” theASP said explaining the modusoperandi.

The ASP said when themiscreant filled the form on thewebsite, he was asked for amobile and he gave his number

to get a One Time Passwordwhich was needed to reset thepassword for ‘use’ and then restthe password.

The ASP added that whenthe engineer opened the site, hefailed to open the website.“The cyber cell worked on thecase and retrieved the passwordof the website and also succeed-ed in identifying the cell num-ber which was used to reset thepassword of Irrigation depart-ment website,” he said.

The miscreant, however,disowned that he hacked thesystem to benefit himself andsaid he committed the crime ashe had got a message of fakepayment in which his PANcard was mentioned. He said hewas checking tax-related detailsagainst his PAN and read amessage of a cash transactionof Rs 21 lakh for which he hadpay a TDS of Rs 1.21 lakh.

Singh said that he hadnever done the transactionand so he filed the returnusing the Irrigation depart-ment website. The miscreantsaid that he was guilty of hack-ing the website of the depart-ment but he did not do it formonetary benefit. Singh’s wifeis an advocate who takes upIncome Tax-related cases.

PIONEER NEWS SERVICE n LUCKNOW

Afraudster made a websiteposing to represent a

famous and popular astrologerand also promised to fixappointments to people seek-ing astrological advice to reapfinancial benefits. The phonytransgressor also gave theaddress of an off ice onFaizabad Road urging inter-ested clients to contact him bypost providing their detailedaddress and phone numbers.

But the fraud was detect-ed by a follower who imme-diately contacted theastrologer and decided tounravel the fraudster by lodg-ing a case. Eminent astrologerand former Trade Tax topoff icia l Pandit ShankerCharan Tripathi came toknow from one of his follow-ers about the website somedays back.

The website ‘how to meet’gave a brief profile of theastrologer and also severalother famous personalitiesand asked people to contactthem by post. Promising to fixan appointment for interest-ed people, the fraudster alsogave the address of ‘SaharaTrade Centre, Faizabad Road,Lucknow’ but did not provideany telephone number to contact.

“I was taken by surprisewhen told of the develop-ment. When I inquired, Ifound that the miscreant hadformed a website and was‘guiding’ gullible people tomeet famous personalities.He/she also mentioned thebest ways to meet me. All thismust have been done to makemoney at the cost of innocentneedy people, “ said PanditTripathi.

The famous astrologer

clarified: “Astrology is a sci-ence which is close to myheart and I take recourse to itonly to help distressed people.For this, I never charge anymoney. Neither have Ilaunched any website for this.”

“Whoever this person is,must have conned people intopaying for an appointmentwith me which is free. I live inViram Khand and peoplecome to my home seekingadvice which I give as helpingpeople gives me happiness. Ido not have any office and donot intend to have any com-mercial plans in the future,”said Pandit Tripathi.

The astrologer has decid-ed to complain to the policeon Tuesday so that the fraud-ster can be unravelled andinnocent people can be savedfrom being conned intocoughing up money for anappointment with him.

City all set for first Bada Mangal

A decked-up Hanuman temple in Aliganj makes for a shutterbug’s delight. (Right) A priest cleaning the idol of the deity ahead of first Bada Mangal Pioneer

SHARMILA KRISHNA n LUCKNOW

Sunil Gomber, who is knownfor the Hanuman museum

which he has created at his res-idence, has acquired silver andgold plated Hanuman Chalisasfor his huge collection of arte-facts.

Talking to The Pioneer,Gomber said that he hadacquired them from an artisanin Delhi. “The HanumanChalisa in silver has pagesthat are in silver over which thewords are embossed and incase of the golden HanumanChalisa, the pages are goldplated,” he said.

Gomber admitted that thecreation could not be done byany goldsmith. “One cannotjust place an order for thisHanuman Chalisa as this canbe done only by skilled arti-sans. The artisan from whomI procured them had madeonly a few of these artefacts,”he said. Gomber said that sev-eral devotees who had visitedhis museum admitted thatthey had never come across agold or silver HanumanChalisa ever before.

Talking about HanumanChalisa, he said: “It is a well-

known fact that it was writtenby Tulsidas and it has becomealmost a kind of mantra.“There are several intellectualswho have studied it and giventheir interpretations. Tulsidas’s

vision is something that cancapture the soul of HanumanChalisa. If recited with dedica-tion, Hanuman Chalisa can rida person of his fears and dis-eases,” he added.

Prized possessions of

a Hanuman bhakt

Several devoteeswho visited themuseumadmitted thatthey had nevercome across agold or silverHanuman Chalisaever before

Chartered accountant heldfor hacking website

Traffic rules’ offenders

may be denied fuel

Astrologer’s name (mis)used

online to make a ‘kill’

Fast-food seller,

brother arrested for

attacking customer

Rains likely at

isolated places

Telecom co officials attacked

THE ATTACKERS WERE

SECURITY GUARDS

DEPLOYED TO LOOK

AFTER THE TOWERS SET

UP IN DIFFERENT

VILLAGES OF ITAUNJA

AND THEY USED TO

STEAL OIL USED TO RUN

A MOBILE TOWER

city 04LUCKNOW | TUESDAY | MAY 16, 2017

M A D H YA N C H A LVIDYUT VITRANNIGAM LIMITEDHEADOFFICE4-A,

GOKHALE MARG, LUC-KNOW:-226001 CORRIGEN-DUM For MaterialManagement E-tender wasinvited for procurement ofSupply, Installation &Commissioning, meter chang-ing and associated workregarding meter through newinstalled Boxes for ongoingundergrounding of LT line byconversion of overhead sys-tem to underground systemon turnkey basis in BahraichTown District Bahraich (U.P.)by Madhyanchal Vidyut VitranNigam Ltd., Lucknow underMaterial Management whosedate of opening is being extend-ed due to unavoidable circum-stances as detailed below. Sl.No. 1 Tender Specification No.MEDCO/2043/2016 Name ofwork Supply, Installation &Commissioning, meter changingand associated work regardingmeter through new installedBoxes for ongoing underground-ing of LT line by conversion ofoverhead system to under-ground system on turnkey basisin Bahraich Town DistrictBahraich (U.P.) Last date &time for submission of tenderdocuments 20.05.2017 upto15:00 hrs Tender opening date& time (Part 1) 20.05.2017 from17:00 hrs Other terms and con-ditions shall remain unchanged.Please visit our websitewww.mvvnl.in and http://etender.up.nic.in for further details,Corrigendum/amendment andfurther up to date details beforesubmission and date of openingof bids. superintendingEngineer (MM-II) MVVNL:Office-4-A, Gokhale Marg,Lucknow- 226001 E-mail:cemmapdrp@gmail.com No.1016 Dt. 15.5.17 Save Electricity& use LED in place of bulbs ininterest of nation helpine No.1800-1800-440

RAIDS AT PETROL PUMPS The district administra-

tion conducted raids at twopetrol pumps in Sadar onMonday and sealed two fuel-dispensing machines from apetrol pump. The districtadministration officials saidthat at the Super Service Stationin Sadar, there were four dis-pensing units.

CAMPUS RECRUITMENT The campus placement

process started for the MBAfinal year students of BBAUfrom Monday by FutureGenerali. BBAU mediaspokesperson Govind Pandeysaid: “The students got select-ed after a rigorous online testfollowed by personal inter-views. The minimum packageoffered to students is 2.68 lakhper annum besides Rs 30,000 asbusiness developmentallowance”. He said that theremaining students would havea second chance for placementin Film City Noida for whichthe interview is scheduled forJune 6.”

TRAINING CSIR-NBRI will organise a

three-day training programmeon ‘Aloe vera cultivation and itsproduct processing’ from May22-24. There will be hands-ontraining in cultivation, mainte-nance and process develop-ments for aloe products. Thecultivation methods on sodicwastelands will also be explainedby the experts. Farmers and

entrepreneurs may register forthe training programme, lastdate for which is May 20.

EXAM RESULTSResponding to the various

queries regarding declaration ofISC and ICSE results, Councilfor Indian School CertificateExaminations (CISCE) CEOGerry Arathoon said that infor-mation would be given inadvance when the results weredeclared. A principal of a localschool said various social net-working sites were claimingthat results would be declaredon Monday which made thestudents nervous and theystarted inquiring about theresults. It may be noted that the

exams were delayed because ofthe Assembly elections in fivestates. Meanwhile, official web-site of the Council flashed amessage that a notification onthe results will be issues twodays in advance.

ELECTIONThe general election to the

executive committee (2017-18)of A-Block Residents’ Society,Indira Nagar, was held on May14. Gaurav Singh Yadav waselected president, SandeepArora & SC Trivedi vice-pres-idents, Prithipath NathShrivastav secretary, AlokRajvanshi & Imran Ali jointsecretaries, and Sunil Shrivastavtreasurer. (pic below)

PIONEER NEWS SERVICE n LUCKNOW

The first batch of theVacation Hobby Camp

started on Monday in whichmore than 100 students fromdifferent schools enrolled infive disciplines namely cre-ative kids art, innovative ideain craft, astro-lab, fun withmaths and electricity andHome Appliances etc.

The main objective oforganising the vacation hobbycamp is to provide a platformto young children to nurturetheir creative talents and alsoto train them in making inno-vative science projects whichwill help them in understand-ing the concepts and also to usetheir creative ideas to developmodels further at their homes.

On the first day, all the par-ticipants were introduced to thecamp and were provided withcourse material. An exciting

science demonstration on ‘Ourunique body’ was also held forthe participants. The partici-pants also completed the firstday’s projects under the guid-ance of experts. All the childrenwere excited about their partic-ipation. Other exciting science

shows, demonstrations andexperiments will be organisedfor the participants in comingdays. Meanwhile, the registra-tion process is in full swing forsecond, third and fourth campswhich will be held from May22, May 29 and June 5.

PIONEER NEWS SERVICE n LUCKNOW

ASSOCHAM (UP) secretarygeneral Virendra Nath

Bhatt said here on Mondaythat they would meet two USSenators on Tuesday. Talking toThe Pioneer, he said they will bediscussing the prospects of UScompanies investing in UP.

“Deb Peters is a dynamicRepublican Party Senator fromSouth Dakota. She is a champi-on of creating more accountabil-ity and transparency in govern-ment. She is recognised as oneof the top 40 political rising starsunder 40 years old. She is cur-rently president elect of Nationaland State Affairs of Legislationin USA,” Bhatt said.

She was elected to the SouthDakota Senate in 2010 after sixyears in the State House ofRepresentatives. In November2014, she was re-elected to herthird term in the Senate. She hasmore than 19 years of profes-sional experience in the com-munity as a small businessowner and dedicated publicservant. State representativeHelene M Keeley is a memberof Delaware General Assembly.She is currently House Speakerpro-tempore and representsDemocratic Party.

Keeley has taken an activerole in championing impor-tant legislation through theDelaware General Assembly,including the Mental Health

Parity Act, a bill to catch redlight runners in the City ofWilmington, legislation torestrict physicians from charg-ing outrageous fees for thetransfer of medical records, leg-islation to prevent price goug-ing during a state of emergencyand bills to make streets saferby cracking down on drug dealers.

DELEGATIONA delegation of

ASSOCHAM (UP) had a meet-ing with Ambassador of IsraelDaniel Carmon on Monday.Carmon said she was happy toshare that India and Israelwere celebrating 25 years ofdiplomatic ties during 2017-18.

“We want to celebrate thediplomatic ties in terms of

long-lasting beneficial agree-ment for both the countries.Israel is very small country andhas a population of 8.4 milliononly. We have focused on inno-vation and technological devel-opment,” said Carmon.

ASSOCHAM (UP) presi-dent Shailendra Jain spokeabout the various initiativestaken by the government inencouraging investment in UP.

“The state government issupportive in all possible waysin terms of creating harmo-nious business and investmentenvironment in Uttar Pradeshwhich, with a population ofover 220 million, is theyoungest and one of the fastestgrowing economies and is alarge market potential base,” hesaid.

Lucknow (PNS): CISHdirector Shailendra Rajansaid that in order to enhanceincome of farmers through theyear in two villages, ICAR-CISH distributed improvedbreeds of poultry, which werebrought from CARI-Hitkari,CARI-Devendra, Kadaknathetc, to farmers.

ICAR-Central Institutefor Subtropical Horticulture,Lucknow under ‘Farmer First’project is establishing mango-based poultry in Nabi Panahand Mohammad NagarTaluqedari villages ofMalihabad. “The birds grazein the mango orchard andfetches good prize in the mar-ket. Two sets of boxes com-

prising 100 birds per boxhave been delivered to farm-ers,” said Rajan

RB Rai, a known poultryexpert from ICAR-CARI(Bareilly), visited these farm-ers and expressed happinessabout mango-based poultryfarming. “It will certainly helpin doubling farmers’ income,”he said.

Maneesh Mishra, princi-pal investigator of ‘FarmerFirst’ project, said that farm-ers were being trained inmango-based farming sys-tem. The birds are fed Azollawhich is locally available. Thefarmers needs to diversifyagriculture practices in orderto sustain livelihood.

PIONEER NEWS SERVICE n LUCKNOW

IG Navneet Sikera showedinterest in including the

anonymous reporting of ‘hon-our’-related crimes againstwomen, including forced mar-riage, in the mandate of ‘1090helpline’ and also committed tospreading public awarenessregarding the same at an inter-face organised by a women’sgroup at a city hotel on Monday.

He sought details of stan-dard operating procedures fromAALI, based on their researchand experience, on how thehelpline should ideally respondto such cases to be able to pro-vide maximum support. AALIorganised an interface round-table meeting to share key find-ings and recommendations withstate bodies for realisation ofbasic human rights of womenfacing the fear of forced marriageand other crimes in the name of‘protecting family honour’.

The interface saw the pres-ence of DWCD joint director,Social Welfare departmentdeputy director and representa-tive of UP Police MahilaSamman Prakosht.

The DWCD joint directorexpressed the commitment ofdepartment in realisation of the

rights of women, like life withdignity, clean and hygienic envi-ronment for living, freedom ofmovement and access to basicentitlements like free legal aid,skill development, employmentgeneration etc. She spoke aboutthe efforts of the department informing in inter-departmentallinkages to better the situation ofwomen in shelter homes.

Mahila Samman Prakoshtshared the commitment of thewing in addressing the issues ofwomen for realisation of theirrights and promised for imme-diate action in cases of forcedmarriage and other crimes donein the name of ‘protecting fam-ily honour’.

In 2015-2016, AALI con-ducted a research study acrossUttar Pradesh, Jharkhand andHaryana, mapping the role shel-ter homes and the civil law formarriage play in aiding womenresisting or exiting forced mar-riages because despite variousnational and international legalframeworks upholding thehuman right to decision makingregarding sexual partners with orwithout marriage, the exerciseand claim over the said right hasproven to be difficult, especial-ly for women, given the complexsocial fabric of India.

PIONEER NEWS SERVICE n LUCKNOW

The Indian MedicalAssociation (IMA) on

Monday wrote letters to theGovernor and Health Ministerurging them to withdrawcriminal cases registeredagainst two senior surgeons ofKing George`s MedicalUniversity (KGMU) in con-nection with alleged kidneytheft. It is alleged the kidneyof a patient who hails fromBarabanki district was takenout by the senior surgeons ofKGMU while performing theoperation on March 20.

Prithvi, a resident ofBarabanki district, met withan accident on February 19 inwhich his intestines were seri-ously damaged. His family

members charged two seniorsurgeon of Trauma Centre —Dr Sandeep Tiwari and DrAnand Mishra —- for takingout his kidney while per-forming the operation.

While defending the twosenior surgeons at a pressconference, IMA local presi-dent Dr PK Gupta said theallegations were baseless. DrGupta said that it was wrongto level such allegationsagainst doctors who savedhis life by performing a majoroperation.

He requested theGovernor and UP Medicaland Health Minister to inter-vene as such baseless allega-tions would bring a bad nameto a prestigious medical institute.

PIONEER NEWS SERVICE n LUCKNOW

The state government hasdirected the UP Housing

Development Board to planlow-cost houses as theirdemand has gone up in thepast two years. It has alsoinstructed UPHDB not to goahead with big budget pro-jects. The directives wereaimed at improving the finan-cial condition of the board.The board had conducted asurvey which suggested itshould concentrate only onthe low-cost houses.

Housing commissionerDheeraj Sahu said that itwould be advisable to plansuch houses which were muchin demands and could be soldwithout delay.

The state government isalso concerned over the targetset under the Prime MinisterAwas Yojana (PMAY). It is tobe recalled that the boardhad decided to construct10,000 shelters all over thestate in three years time.

The board is having suffi-cient land bank for PMAY butit lacks infrastructure andskilled manpower.

SCHOLARSHIPDeepika Gupta, a meritorious stu-

dent of City Montessori School, Aliganj(Campus I), has bagged 100 per centscholarship at Cornell University, USA.Cornell University belongs to IvyLeague US Universities and is amongthe top 15 universities of the world.

CPI (ML) protests

attacks on Dalits

ASSOCHAM meet withtwo US Senators today

SCHOOLSCAN

CITYBRIEFS

Deb Peters Helene M Keeley

IG to spread awarenessabout ‘honour’ crimes

IMA defends

KGMU doctors

Hobby camps kick off at RSC

Lucknow (PNS): In protestagainst attacks on Dalits inSaharanpur, the UP unit of theCommunist Party of India(Marxist-Leninist) staged dhar-nas near Ambedkar statue inHazratganj and district head-quarters of the party on Monday

Addressing the gathering,CPI (ML) state secretarySudhakar Yadav said the partywould intensify the agitation ifthe Dalits did not get justice.

He and other leaders of theparty lambasted the YogiAdityanath government for fail-ing to give justice to Dalits dueto their aristocratic mindset.They charged that the statemachinery engineered con-frontation between Dalits andminority leading to violence inDudhali on April 20 during the

Ambedkar shobha yatra. Theysaid later Dalits were attacked byThakurs during the MaharanaPratap shobha yatra in Sabbirpuron May 5. “This is the Yogi andBJP government’s divide andrule policy. But we will fightagainst those trying to vitiatepeace and social harmony andnot let them succeed in theirnefarious design,” the leaderssaid. Party spokesman ArunKumar said the BJP governmentwas shielding rowdy elementsand this had adversely affectedlaw and order in the state. Theparty leaders later submitted amemorandum to the Governor,urging him to compensate theDalits for the losses suffered bythem and take action againstthose who orchestrated attack onDalits.

Plan low-cost

houses;

UPHDB told

CISH bid to enhance

farmers’ income

Medical aspirants protest demanding re-NEET on Monday Pioneer

ASSOCHAM (UP) delegation meeting Ambassador of Israel Daniel Carmon on Monday

BBAU campus placement exercise

nation 05LUCKNOW | TUESDAY | MAY 16, 2017

PNS n NEW DELHI

In a bid to bring down logis-tics costs, the Centre has

planned to develop 15Mutimodal Logistics Parksacross the country at an esti-mated investment of `33,000crore. Road Transport MinisterNitin Gadkari on Monday saidthe proposed logistics parkswill bring down the overallfreight costs, reduce vehicularpollution and congestion andwill enable reduction of ware-housing costs.

Gadkari said that therewas an urgent need to improvelogistics costs in India as ofnow India has very poorLogistics Performance Indexdue to an unfavourable modalmix of transport and a lack ofseamless intermodal connec-tivity. "The IITLS is envisagedas a platform for all stake-holders in transport and logis-tics sectors to come togetherand initiate collaborative part-nerships to realise the variousgreenfield and brownfieldopportunities in logistic parks,freight corridors and IT solu-tions," it added.

The National Highways

Authority of India (NHAI)inked a pact with the TamilNadu government for one suchpark for Tamil Nadu IndustrialDevelopment Corporation Ltd(TIDCO) for the developmentof a multimodal logistics parkin the Ponneri Industrial Nodearea near Kamarajar Port inTamil Nadu.

The MoU was signed in thepresence of Gadkari and TamilNadu's Minister for industriesM C Sampath.

The Ministry of RoadTransport and Highways isplanning to develop the muti-modal logistics parks underits Logist ics Ef f iciencyEnhancement Programme(LEEP). Speaking on thisoccasion, Gadkari said that itis an important agreement forthe development of an inte-

grated, multi-modal trans-port infrastructure in thecountry.

According to the studythese initiatives are expectedto reduce India's logistics costsand bring them closer to theaccepted global benchmarksfrom the current high levels of13-14 per cent of GDP. TheLEEP study by the ministryhas identified key solutionthemes to improve the state oflogistics in India that includesfreight corridor upgradation,logistics park development,seamless interState movementand electronic toll collection

systems. The MMLPs will serve 50

per cent of the freight move-ments, enable 10 per centreduction in transportationcosts and 12 per cent cut inC02 emissions. For theMMLPs, land parcels havebeen identified and pre-feasi-bility studies initiated at six ofthese locations. "The parkswill be developed jointly bythe NHAI, the NationalHighways InfrastructureDevelopment Corporation(NHIDCL), other para-statalsand the respective state gov-ernments," Gadkari said.

Aimed at promoting eco-friendly vehicles, Union

Minister Nitin Gadkari saidthe Government will be readywith its electric vehicle pol-icy by December. Acceleratedadoption of electric andshared vehicles could saveUSD 60 billion in diesel andpetrol costs while cutting

down as much as 1 gigatonne(GT) of carbon emissionsfor India by 2030,Government think tank NitiAayog in a joint report withRock Mountain Institute saidlast week. "The Governmentwill be ready with its electricvehicle policy by Decemberthis year," Gadkari said.

Govt’s electric vehicle policy tobe ready by December: Gadkari

PNS n NEW DELHI

Home Minister RajnathSingh inaugurated the two-

day-long National Platform forDisaster Risk Reduction(NPDRR) on Monday attendedby over 1,000 distinguishedguests, including UnionMinisters, parliamentarians,heads of local self Government,heads of specialised disastermanagement agencies besidesothers at Vigyan Bhawan.

The NPDRR is a multi-stakeholders national platformheaded by the Home Ministerand it promotes participatorydecision making in disastermanagement and strengthensfederal policy of the country.

The NPDRR meet’s themeis "Disaster Risk Reduction forSustainable Development:Making India resilient by 2030",an official statement said.

The meeting will have aplenary session, one sessionon outcomes of pre-events,four technical sessions onfour priority areas of Sendaiframework for disaster riskreduction, one technical ses-sion on monitoring of Sendaiframework and a closing cum

valedictory session.Besides, there will be an

exclusive Ministerial sessionafter the inaugural ceremony,where Ministers from theCentre, States and UnionTerritories will deliberate onvarious aspects of disaster risk

reduction. The home ministrywith the help of the NITIAayog has also organised anonline call from startups andinnovators in the areas like firefighting, GPS-based solutions,search and rescue operations,reconstruction, low cost shel-

ter etc. In MyGov.In for displayduring the NPDRR meet.

The meeting is held at acrucial juncture, after adop-tion of Sendai framework in2015 and Asia Regional Plan fordisaster risk reduction in 2016,the statement said.

Rajnath inaugurates 2-day NPDRR meet

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh with Union Minister for Science and Technology and Earth Sciences Harsh Vardhan andMinister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju at the inauguration of the National Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction’s (NPDRR)second meeting at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi on Monday PTI

DEEPAK K UPRETI n NEW DELHI

In a attempt to showcase thethree-years success story of

the BJP Government at theCentre , the party would organ-ise ‘Modi-festivals’ in around115 districts of the country.This would be part of the sixprogrammes to celebrate theoccasion.

The BJP, the CentralGovernment, and the BJP-ruledDtate dispensations wouldengage in 15 days ‘Major andintense exercise’ from May 26 tobring to public awareness the"pro-poor" welfare schemeslaunched by the ModiGovernment .

While Prime MinisterNarendra Modi would giveaddress to nation fromGuwahati, Assam on May 26,the BJP President Amit Shahwould address a press confer-ence same day in Delhi todetail "targets reached" by theGovernment in various sectorsin last three years.

The 'Modi-festivals' inabout 125 districts would seekto bring in beneficiaries of dif-ferent schemes under Prime

Minister's Jan Dhan Yojya,Mudra Yojna, Jeevan JyotiYojna, Ujjawala Yojna, FasalBima Yojna, Awas yojna,

Swachchta Abhiyan and oth-ers and continue the "connect" with the people at the districtlevels. Mudra Bank Yojna ( a

new institution set up fordevelopment and refinancingactivities relating to microunits and small Entrepreneurs)

is estimated to have reached22.17 crore people with twolakh crore investment andUjjawala ( providing LPGconnections to BPL house-holds in the country) is esti-mated to have benefited morethan two crore people.

All constituencies in thecountry will be covered withBJP MPs, central ministers ,MLAs, organisational officebearers visiting and attendingthe six programmes (includingthe Modi-festival) in the coun-try which would also includemeeting with common peopleand intellectuals in each district.

" All MPs, Ministers, ChiefMinisters , deputy-ChiefMinisters and others . ..janatake paas jayenge aur central gov-ernment ke garib kalan yoj-naon ke bare me batayenge..",said BJP General Secretaryand in-charge of the pro-grammes Arun Singh.

Selected cities across thecountry would also organizefestivals, meeting, seminars anddo door-to-door connect withthe people and "re-affirm theconnect with the people" estab-lished in last three years, he said.

Union Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Ram Vilas Paswan releases a booklet at a Pressconference on the achievements of the Ministry during 3 years of the NDA Government, in New Delhi on Monday. Minister ofState for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, CR Chaudhary, the Secretary, Department of Food and PublicDistribution, Preeti Sudan, the Secretary, Department of Consumer Affairs, Jagdish Prasad Meena and the Director General(M&C), PIB, Ira Joshi are also seen PTI

ABRAHAM THOMAS n

NEW DELHI

With triple talaq under attackfrom all quarters, the All

India Muslim Personal LawBoard (AIMPLB) on Mondaytold the Supreme Court that theproblem at hand is not tripletalaq but patriarchy, which is theroot cause of such discriminatorylaws existing not just amongMuslims but Hindus as well.

Opening arguments at thecrucial hearing before a five-judge Constitution Bench thatwill determine the validity oftriple talaq, senior advocateKapil Sibal submitted that underHindu property laws, a father canwill his property without givinga share to his daughter. By thatcount, should the Hindu law bechallenged as being discrimina-tory against women, he asked.

Sibal argued that at thecore of the debate is not theissue of triple talaq as it is only

a facet of patriarchy thatremains the underlying issue.As regards personal laws, Sibalexplained that theConstitution has carefullyplaced personal laws underEntry 5 of Concurrent List.The Constituent Assemblydebates showed that anattempt was made to accordpersonal laws the status of fun-damental rights that got reject-ed. Instead, the Constitutionmakers thought it fit to includeit under Directive Principleswith Article 44 providing that"the State shall endeavour tosecure for the citizens a uni-form civil code throughout theterritory of India."

"This is a highly complexissue where 160 million peopleare waiting for what the Courtwill do on something that theParliament did not decide," saidSibal. On the question of whetherIndia should take cue fromother Islamic countries that have

shed triple talaq, Sibal submittedthat Muslims of India are pre-dominantly Hanafis (almost 90per cent) and no other countryhas such a substantial Hanafipopulation. "Outside religiouslaws have no relevance to India.When you talk of Muslim reli-gion in India, you talk of Hanafis.Can the Court decide what willbe their faith," he asked.

Additional SolicitorGeneral (ASG) Tushar Mehtawho appeared for the Centrepointed out that the religion ofIslam practiced in India doesnot have the sanctity of theoriginal Mohammaden law.

Pointing to how the AIM-PLB views triple talaq, ASGMehta read a portion from theBoard's affidavit that justified theright of Muslim women to seektalaq on the ground that menhave greater power of decisionmaking compared to women,who are in the habit of makinghasty decisions.

Patriarchy behind laws

like triple talaq: AIMPLB

White tigers sit around ice blocks to beat the heat at Nandankanan Zoological park in Bhubaneswar on Monday PTI

PNS n NEW DELHI

In a good news to the Master’sof Dental Surgery (MDS)

aspirants who had appeared forNational Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) 2017, theUnion Health Ministry in con-sultation with Dental Councilof India (DCI), has lowered thequalifying NEET score foradmissions in the PG dentalcourses across the country by7.5 percentile for 2017-18.

Last year, the DCI hadasked the centre to cut downpercentile to fill seats in dif-ferent parts of the country by10 per cent. Accordingly, thequalifying percentiles for

NEET MDS 2017 have beenrevised to 42.5 percentileinstead of 50 percentile for gen-eral category, 32.5 percentileinstead of 40 percentile forSC/ST/OBC category and 37.5percentile instead of 45 per-centile for the persons withlocomotary disability of lowerlimbs, says the order signed byPradip Kumar Pal, under sec-retary to the government ofIndia on May 11.

"This is in exercise of thepowers conferred by the pro-viso contained in clause 2 ofSection 3 of the Dental Counciloflndia Revised MDS Course(2nd Amendment)Regulations, 2007," said the

official.This is applicable for the

academic session 2017-18 only,said the order. The examination

for MDS was heldfrom 30Novemb er-3rdDecember lastyear. According toa senior official inthe HealthMinistry need tolower the qualify-ing score wasmandated as sig-nificantly lesserstudents had qual-ified for admis-sion as comparedto seats available.

In India, for15,000-odd MDS

seats, only 10,636 students hadqualified for admission. The

officials said the fresh merit listwill be declared next week.With about 309 dental collegesin the country, 26,000 dentistsgraduate every year. It is like-ly in 2020, that India has a sur-plus of about 1 lakh dentists inthe countryPNS n NEW DELHI

The Government has creat-ed a buffer stock of 20 lakh

tonnes of pulses and now it isgrappling with the problem ofdistributing them. This hasbeen revealed by Union Foodand Consumer Affairs MinisterRam Vilas Paswan on Mondaywhile highlighting hisMinistry's achievements. Thebuffer stock was created tomanage price volatility throughbuying from local and overseasmarkets using the PriceStabilisation Fund.

"Right now, we havearound 20 lakh tonnes of puls-es in buffer stock. 16.27 lakhtonnes has been procuredlocally and 3.79 lakh tonnesimported. There is one prob-lem, how do we distribute it,"Paswan told reporters.

Pulses production has goneup this year and farmers are notgetting the right price.However, the higher output hashelped retail prices cool down,he added. The problem, how-ever, is distribution of thebuffer pulses stock, he added.

The ministry is in talkswith various states and agen-cies for sale of pulses from thebuffer stock. It is planning tosell some quantities to theDefence and para-militaryforces as also to give to states,a senior Government officialsaid.

Pulses output is estimatedto be a record 22.40 milliontonnes in the 2016-17 crop

year ending June, as against16.35 MT previous year. Thiswould reduce the country'sdependence on imports tosome extent as demand-sup-ply gap is 2-3 MT. On retailprices of 22 essential com-modities tracked by the gov-ernment, Paswan said they arestable and under control."With GST and implementa-tion of e-national agri-market,both farmers and consumerswill benefit," he added.

It is interesting to notethat despite creating a bufferstock, data on wholesale pricesshow that higher procure-ment as claimed by the gov-ernment has failed to liftdomestic prices. For instance,arhar (tur or red gram) is cur-rently selling between `3,500to `4,500 per quintal inwholesale markets in Gujarat,Karnataka and Maharashtra,lower than the governmentdeclared MSP of `5,050 perquintal. Presently, the gov-ernment has fixed the MSPsbased on production costsand makes purchases.Interestingly prices of somepulses fell below their mini-mum support prices (MSPs).

The fact that prices arebelow MSP despite a recordbuffer stock implies inade-quate procurement in abumper crop year. Moreover,duty free imports which surgedin the last few months, coupledwith stock limits imposed ondomestic traders, have con-tributed to lower price realisa-tion by farmers.

Govt struggles to

distribute 20L tonnes

of pulses: Paswan

BJP to hold ‘Modi-festivals’ in 115 districts

Centre to develop 15 Logistics Parks nationwide

PULSES OUTPUT ISESTIMATED TO BE ARECORD 22.40MILLION TONNES INTHE 2016-17 CROPYEAR ENDING JUNE,AS AGAINST 16.35MT PREVIOUS YEAR

PTI n NEW DELHI

Amid a cyber attack glob-ally, the Centre has

advised all those who areworking in strategic and sen-sitive fields to use stand-alone computers sans internetto store data and criticalinformation.

The advisory has beensent to all those who handlesensitive desks in the min-istries of home, finance,defence, external affairs andsecurity agencies as a pre-cautionary measure.

"We keep advising officersregularly in some ministriesand departments to use stand-alone computers for storingsensitive information so thatno one can hack them. It is acontinuing process," a seniorsecurity officer said.

Most of the officers work-ing in strategic and sensitivefields use computers withoutinternet and the advisory is aregular exercise to ensure a fool-proof network, the official said.

Earlier, IT Minister Ravi

Shankar Prasad said theGovernment 's NationalInformatics Centre wassecured and running smooth-ly and a cyber coordinationcentre will start operatingfrom next month to take pre-cautions against cyber attacks.

India is on high alert,monitoring critical networksacross sectors like banking,telecom, power and aviationto ensure that systems areprotected against possiblecyber attack on its vital net-works by the crippling glob-al ransomware, 'WannaCry'.

'WannaCry' has disruptednetworks in over 150 countries,including Russia and the UK,and is being termed as one of themost widespread cyber attacks.

Wannacry attacks: Usestandalone computers,officers told

‘WannaCry' hasdisrupted networks inover 150 countries,including Russia andthe UK, and is beingtermed as one of themost widespreadcyber attacks

Govt lowers qualifying NEET score for PG dental coursesIn India, for 15,000-odd MDS seats, only10,636 students hadqualified foradmission. Theofficials said thefresh merit list willbe declared nextweek

LUCKNOW | TUESDAY | MAY 16, 2017 nation 06

KUMAR CHELLAPPAN n

CHENNAI

The reigning monarch ofTamil films, Rajinikanth,

said in Chennai on Mondaythat joining politics is not a badidea. People in Tamil Nadu,reeling under a severe leader-ship vacuum caused by thedemise of former ChiefMinister J Jayalalithaa and theimmobilisation of the 94-yearold M Karunanidhi due to agerelated issues could soon lookforward to Rajinikanth offeringhis services to lead them to aworld of prosperity.

Rajinikanth (66), theKarnataka-born iconic figure inTamil tinsel town, gave enoughhints to his fans in the Mondaymeeting that he may join pol-itics. “If I do not join politics,it is like disappointing you,”said Rajinikanth in his firstmeeting in eight years with hisfans. The next five days will see Thalaivar (Tamil for leader,as the superstar is addressed by his fans) interacting briefly with fans from all overthe State.

The superstar said that hewould not like to disappoint hisfans by saying he would notjoin politics. But in the nextsentence he asserted that if heis destined by God to becomea politician, he would nevershun the responsibility and atthe same time clearly under-scoring that those who aredabbling in politics for thesake of money making couldnever hope to come under hisumbrella. By these words hesent a strong message to hisfans that elimination of cor-ruption would be his prime jobif he has to enter the sphere ofpolitics in Tamil Nadu.

Rajinikanth has spurrednew hopes that he might jumpinto politics anytime consider-ing the fluid and unstable sit-uation in Tamil Nadu. But he

gave enough hints that hewould not align with the DMK-led front.

“I made a big mistake bysupporting the DMK-ledalliance in the 1996 Tamil NaduAssembly election,” declaredRajinikanth and charged thatcertain people used his name forpolitical gains.

Though he had declaredduring the 2004 Lok Sabhaelection that he would vote forthe BJP-led National Demo-cratic Alliance, the front wasobliterated in Tamil Nadu bythe Rainbow Alliance cobbledup by the DMK which won allthe 39 seats from the State.Since then Rajinikanth had

kept a safe distance from pol-itics.

During the run up to the2014 Lok Sabha election,Narendra Modi, the PrimeMinisterial candidate of theBJP, had called on the actor athis Poes Garden residencewhile the former came toChennai. Though Rajinikanthhad waxed eloquence on Modi,he later declared that it wasonly a personal visit and therewas nothing political in it.

He exhorted his fans to stay away from liquor andsmoking which were the majorthreats to the families. Thesuperstar also asked the fans tolove their family members andtrust in God Almighty, hintingthat he may not cast lots withthe Lefts.

Political commentators inTamil Nadu are spreadingword that the BJP may projectRajinikanth as it’s ChiefMinisterial candidate since theHindutva party is struggling toget a foothold in the State. Sincemost of the persons portrayedas political commentators andanalysts by the media are eitherwith leanings towardsDravidian parties or pro-Left,their words may have to betaken with a pinch of salt.

FAIZAN AHMAD n PATNA

Reacting for the first time on the charges of corrup-

tion hurled at his ally LaluPrasad, on Monday ChiefMinister Nitish Kumar saidthose levelling allegationsshould take legal recourse ifthey think their charges comeunder legal scrutiny.

When asked about the alle-gations made by senior BJPleader Sushil Kumar Modi onRJD supremo, the CM saideverything floating was basedon mere allegations and havenot been probed by any agency.

“No issue raised by themconcerns the Bihar Govern-ment so where is the questionof ordering any enquiry by me.These are only allegations andLalu and his RJD have alreadyreplied to them. Both factionshave levelled charges on eachother. If BJP thinks its chargesare true and can be provedlegally it should go aheadthrough legal recourse,” saidNitish on the sidelines of hisweekly Lok Samwad pro-gramme. He said most of thecases seemingly related toCompany Law and werebeyond State’s jurisdiction.

But he added that suchissues were being raked up bythe Opposition and highlight-ed by the media aiming at

diverting public attention fromthe works being done by hisGovernment. “If media thinksit has influenced me andimpacted public, it is wrong. Iam doing my job uninterrupt-ed and people are influenced byour works,” he said..

Asked that some of hisMinisters have concealed theirfinancial transactions andassets in their annual declara-tion, the CM shot back, “Thisquestion should be asked tothem.” But hadded that hebelieved all the Ministers havedisclosed their assets in the for-mat. The question was relatedto Deputy CM Tejashwi PrasadYadav and his brother andHealth Minister Tej PratapYadav. Tejashwi was present atthe press briefing.

The CM said, in 2011, hehad made it mandatory to filedeclaration by all the Ministers,legislators and Governmentemployees from Class III to toprank officials and it were put inpublic domain. If media has anyreport that anybody concealedinformation it should inquireinto it, he said. However, he saidthat this declaration was notbound by law and was onlymoral and ethical. Nitish alsorefused to comment on thecharges of alleged money laun-dering through shell companiesby Lalu’s kin.

FAIZAN AHMAD n PATNA

Bihar Chief Minister NitishKumar, who is believed to

be a challenger to PrimeMinister Narendra Modi andpossible PM face in 2019, saidon Monday, “I am not aclaimant of 2019.”

“This is a wrong perceptionand seldom I am attacked formy high aspirations. My partyis small and my effort is itsexpansion. Becoming nationalpresident of my party does notmean I have national aspira-tions,” said Nitish, who is alsonational president of JD(U). Hesaid that after assuming officefor two terms, Sharad Yadavcould not become president forthird time. “My efforts are tobring the party on nationallevel,” he added.

About Modi, the CM said,until five years ago nobodyknew him at the national levelbut he had the quality and abil-ity and became the PM. “Iknow I don’t have such quali-ties,” Nitish said and added,“Only time will tell who canexhibit such quality.”

About the election of thePresident of India, Nitish saidit was up to the ruling party towork for a consensus as perprecedence and only then theOpposition would react. “Ifthey (ruling alliance) try toenforce their plan, theOpposition will not remain assilent spectator,” he said.

On the Opposition unity,the JD(U) chief said three par-ties formed a maha gathband-han in Bihar which is workingsmoothly. But the alliance didnot mean they could not havedivergent views of certainissues, he said referring to theopposite view points of JD(U)and RJD on various issues likedemonetisation and EVM. Ifthere is any doubt on theEVMs, he said, it should bethoroughly clarified. There aredozens of parties in the coun-try and the need of the hour isthat they should also havemutual understanding to takeon the BJP, he added.

Asked if Pranab Mukherjeeshould be maintained for sec-ond term, he said that it wouldbe the best option, but the deci-sion has to be made by theUnion Government.

When asked if his partywould participate in the meet-ing of non-NDA parties on

August 27 being organised byRJD chief Lalu Prasad atGandhi Maidan, Nitish saidcalmly, “Is this any issue? Agarbulayenge to hum jayenge (Wewill go if invited).”

A day earlier, Bihar JD(U)president Bashistha NarainSingh had not committed onattending the meet and saidthat there was still a long timeto take a decision.

On the arrest of the father-in-law and brother-in-law of aJD(U) functionary for smug-gling country made foreignliquor at Sasaram on Sunday,the Chief Minister said whoso-ever was caught involved inwrongdoing would not beallowed to go scot free asnobody was above law. “I amneither in business of impli-cating nor protecting anybody.Nobody will escape law ifcaught on wrong foot no mat-ter he is related to leader of anyparty,” he said.

NAYAN DAVE n GANDHINAGAR

Aday after stirring a hornets’nest by ‘unfollowing’ his

party’s top leaders’ social mediahandle, former Gujarat ChiefMinister and senior Congressleader Shankersinh Vaghelaon Monday said that he want-ed to convey a strong messagethat he didn’t want to be namedas Chief Ministerial candidatefor his party.

Vaghela not only unfol-lowed AICC vice-presidentRahul Gandhi on his Twitterhandle, but he also decided tounfollow everyone from socialmedia handles. In fact he hadunfollowed 30 Twitter han-dles, including those of AICCpresident Sonia Gandhi’s polit-ical advisor Ahmed Patel,Gujarat Congress presidentBharatsinh Solanki and othersapart from Rahul. He alsoskipped party’s IT cell meet inthe State capital Gandhinagar.

“I am not going to followanyone. I instructed people inmy political office to remove allfrom Twitter, Facebook,WhatsApp and other socialmedia platforms. I am notdoing anything to pressuriseanyone about anything,” saidthe veteran politician, addingthat he has never done any suchthing in his political career.

He further said that theparty should have announcedthe list of its candidates a yearin advance to counter rulingBJP effectively.

Replying to a query onwhether he was in the race forthe Chief Ministerial candidate’srace, the Congress leader quick-ly said it was the media whichinterpreted his statements con-veniently. Vaghela also clearedthe speculation on him joiningBJP by saying that during bud-get session of the Assembly,Amit Shah and Chief MinisterRupani came to meet him at hisoffice, but it was just a courtesymeeting. “I never made anymove to join BJP or said on it.Did I?” he quipped.

Is Rajinikanthjoining rajniti?

Super star Rajinikanth addresses fans at an event at Raghavendra KalyanaMandapam in Chennai on Monday PTI

If I do not join politics, it is like disappointing you, Thalaivar tells fans

Not a claimant of PM post: Nitish Kumar

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, along with Deputy Chief Minister TejashwiYadav, addresses a Press conference at the CM Secretariat in Patna on Monday PTI

Bihar CM saysModi has qualitiesto become PMwhich I don't have

Take legal recourse toprove charges againstLalu, CM advises BJP

Don’t want to beGuj CM face,says Vaghela afterhe unfollows RaGa on Twitter

President Pranab Mukherjee confers the Lifetime Achievement Award on Sikkim Chief Minister Pawan Kumar Chamling at the First Bhairon Singh Shekhawat MemorialLecture in Jaipur on Monday PTI

TN RAGHUNATHA n

MUMBAI

Union Minister andRepublican Party of India

(A) president Ramdas Athavaleon Monday adopted a leopardat the Sanjay Gandhi NationalPark (SNGP), by paying `1.20lakh for the upkeep of the wildcat for a period of one year.

In a move that came threeyears after Thackeray familyadopted a tiger, a lion and tworusty-spotted cats at the SNGP,Athavale adopted the leopard

“Bhima” from the same nation-al park, spread over 103 sq kmand wedged between the sub-urbs of Mumbai and Thane.

The RPI (A)’s Dahisar talu-ka unit paid `1.20 lakh for theupkeep and maintenance of theleopard for a period of one year.

F i f t y - s e ve n - ye ar- o l dAthavale adopted the leopard atthe behest of his son Jeet.Athavale, his son Jeet and wifeSeematai were present at theadoption ceremony.

Athavale, who made hispolitical debut from the Dalit

Panther party founded by lateactivist and poet NamdevDhasal, said “In the past, DalitPanther would not get alongwell with the Shiv Sena. But,now that Thackerays haveadopted a tiger and I haveadopted a panther. As bothpanthers and tigers live togeth-er in forests, we (RPI-A andShiv Sena) get along well now”.

The Dalit Panther move-ment, headed by Dhasal, hadespoused the cause of socialjustice and justice and crusad-ed against caste discrimination

in seventies and early eightiesin a big way in Maharashtra.

The State-run SNGP man-agement has been encouragingadoptions of wild animals tohelp fund the maintenance ofanimals

In May 2014, Yuva Senapresident Aditya Thackerayhad adopted a five-year-oldmale tiger Yash, while hisbrother Tejas has adopted tworusty-spotted cats, whileSiddharth Thakur,had adopteda two-and-a-half-year-old malelion Jespa.

Athavale follows Thackerays, adopts leopard

ENOUGH INDICATIONS

■ Rajinikanth asserted that if heis destined by God to become apolitician, he would never shunthe responsibility

■ Those, who are dabbling inpolitics for the sake of moneymaking, can never hope to comeunder his umbrella, he said

■ Political commentators inTamil Nadu are spreading wordthat the BJP may projectRajnikant as it’s CM candidatesince the party is struggling toget a foothold in the State

VR JAYARAJ n KOCHI

The Kerala Police on Mondayarrested two of the seven

CPI(M)-DYFI workers/sym-pathisers, who had allegedlyhacked to death local RSSleader Choorakkad Biju (34) onMay 12, even as the State BJPfound itself in a difficult situa-tion over the scathing criticismslaunched by some of its topleaders against Governor PSathasivam for not acting in away, which they thought wasappropriate, over the incident.

Those arrested on Mondaywere second accused Reneesh,who along with first accusedAnoop had hacked Biju, 12thaccused in the case pertainingto the murder of CPI(M)activist CV Dhanaraj last July,to death, and seventh accusedJyothish, who had taken on rentthe Toyota Innova car which thegang had used to waylay Biju.

According to the police,Reneesh, who was a close friendof murdered Marxist Dhanaraj,has already admitted to thecrime. He told them that Bijuwas murdered as an act ofrevenge for killing Dhanaraj.The police said all the sevenmembers of the killer gangwere Payyannur natives andwere workers or sympathisersof CPI(M) and DYFI.

The gang had attacked Biju,a paint worker and RSS MandalKaryavahak in Ramanthali,Payyannur, when he was on his

way home on a motorbike dri-ven by his friend Rajesh. Thekillers attacked him after hittingthe bike with the Innova theywere travelling in at Palakkodnear Pazhayangadi, Payyannur.Biju died on the spot.

According to Reneesh’sadmission, there was a month-long conspiracy behind thekilling of the RSS leader.Reneesh, a truck driver, told thepolice that they had taken theInnova on rent almost a monthago for with the specific goal ofkilling Biju. They had made anunsuccessful attempt to killBiju earlier but the RSS leaderor his associates had not knownabout it.

“The probe is progressing.We are confident of arresting allthose responsible for the crimewithout delay,” a member of thepolice team probing the murdersaid from Thalipparamba,Kannur. The official said thefact that all the seven membersof the gang were CPI(M) work-ers or sympathizers “need notmean that the party had anyknowledge of the plan to killBiju”.

According to the police,four men of the gang includingReneesh and Anoop had beendirectly involved in the murder.They also said that none of theaccused could have fled fromthe Payyannur region.

Meanwhile, the Kerala BJPwas on Monday seen strugglinghard to get out of the contro-

versy two of its general secre-taries had triggered in the pasttwo days with their intense crit-icisms against Governor JusticeSathasivam for not taking theaction they thought was appro-priate in connection with theincident.

BJP general secretary MTRamesh had criticisedSathasivam with his statement,“There are several actions aGovernor can take. The ques-tion is whether he can do that,”while Sobha Surendran, anoth-er general secretary, said that ifthe Governor was afraid ofChief Minister Pinarayi Vijayanand could not take any action“he should vacate his chair.”

Faced with intense attacksin the Assembly from both theCPI(M)-led ruling UDF andCongress-led Opposition UDFover the BJP leaders’ criticismsagainst Governor, lone BJPMLA O Rajagopal said, “Thosestatements should be seenmerely as emotional responsesof young leaders.”

In the Assembly, ChiefMinister Pinarayi accused theBJP of trying to threaten theGovernor in order to makeCentral intervention possible inKerala while Opposition LeaderRamesh Chennithala said, “TheGovernor is not a tool in theBJP’s hands.” Senior Congresslegislator KC Joseph asked,“Does the BJP think that theGovernor is a servant at theirhouse?”

Two of seven-man killer gang arrested

KANNUR RSS LEADER’S MURDER

PNS n KOLKATA

Bengal Chief MinisterMamata Banerjee has

refused to play her cards on thecoming scheme of anti-BJPalliance ahead of the presiden-tial elections.

Before leaving for Delhiwhere she would meetCongress chief Sonia Gandhion Tuesday morning, Banerjeesaid she had nothing to sayabout the alliance as of now.

Curiously however,

Banerjee’s meeting with theCongress president howevercomes a couple of days afterBengal Congress presidentAdhir Chowdhury writing aletter to 10 Janpath about theChief Minister’s credentials onalliances.

In his two-page letterChowdhury wrote “Trinamoolclaims that it is fighting the BJPbut in Bengal every possiblescope for the BJP to spread itstentacles are being provided bythe ruling party.”

It also referred to the cor-

ruption charges being faced bythe Trinamool leaders inNarada and Sharada scamswhich meant the “biggest fish-es” of the Trinamool couldsoon go to jail leaving theparty’s organisational prowessineffective in the State.

Banerjee however refusedto lend credence to such letterssaying in Bengal the CPI(M),Congress and the BJP hadjoined hands but that would hardly impact thenational politics.

Meanwhile, after Sunday’sviolence-ridden civic polls in which Trinamool goons were seen rampaging the Statewith open bombs and guns, the State ElectionCommission declared re-pollin six booths.

KHURSHEED WANI n SRINAGAR

The Court of Inquiryannounced by the Army

into the allegation of tying a vil-lager to a jeep and using himas human shield in centralKashmir last month has notbeen concluded, an Armyspokesman said here. Theincident triggered massivepublic outrage in Kashmirand cutting across party andideological lines, the inci-dent evoked condemnation.However, the public opinionoutside Kashmir, especiallyamong the former Army offi-

cers remained divided. Whilesome former Army officerscondoned the ‘human shield’incident as a preventive mea-sure to safeguard humanlives, the others described itas a blot on the image ofIndian Army.

The incident occurredduring the by-pol l ofS r i n a g a r - B u d g a mParliamentary Constituency,which was marred by wide-spread anti-poll protests andsubsequent use of dispropor-tionate force that resultedinto the death of nine per-sons and injuries to dozens

others. In Beerwah pocket ofBudgam district, the Armytied a youngster FarooqAhmad Dar with the front ofan olive green vehicle withropes and paraded through acluster of villages. The Armyin two vehicles in the convoyannounced that this was thefate of stone-pelters. Incide-ntally, Dar, a shawl-weaverhad cast his vote before hewas taken as human shield.

Former Chief MinisterOmar Abdullah, who repre-sents Beerwah Constituencyin State Assembly, was amongthe first to upload a video clip

of Dar’s parade on twitter.“The Court of Inquiry

concerned with the incidentwherein a civilian was tied toan Army Jeep is still incom-plete,” Col Rajesh Kalia,spokesman of the Ministry ofDefence in Srinagar said. Theclarification came in responseto media reports that an offi-cer named in the incidentMajor Nitin Gogoi has beenexonerated by the CoI.

“Reports in some sec-tions of the media about theArmy major being given aclean chit are speculative,”Kalia said.

Has nothing to sayabout alliance now,says Bengal CM

Court of Inquiry still on in‘human shield' incident

Mamata-Sonia meet today

nation 07LUCKNOW | TUESDAY | MAY 16, 2017

STAFF REPORTER n NEW DELHI

The Gurugram Police haveconstituted a Special

Investigation Team (SIT) toinvestigate the rape case of a26-year-old Sikkimese womanwho was allegedly raped bythree unidentified men in amoving car late night onSaturday. Police also releasedthe sketch of one of the sus-pects on Monday evening.

The SIT, will be led byDeputy Commissioner of Police(crime) Sumit Kuhar, includeACP Dharna Yadav, ACP JaySingh and other police officials.

“The SIT will thoroughlyinvestigate the case, collect sci-entific evidence and technicalevidence and nabbed the cul-prits as soon as possible,” saidSandeep Khirwar, PoliceCommissioner, Gurguram.

“We have received someimportant clue in the case.We've scanned CCTV footagefrom various locations wherethe woman was taken and willprobe the matter from allaspects,” Khirwar said.

The police also confirmedthat the unknown people threat-

ened her with dire con-sequence if she revealsher ordeal with any-one. The womanwas waylaid fromDelhi by theaccused personand more thanthree hours theyroam around inGurugram andfinally, theydropped her inNajafgarh area inDelhi and leftaround 5.40 am.

With the help of apasserby, she managed to con-tact Delhi Police, who contact-ed to Gurugram Police and latershe recorded her statement.

“As soon as we received hercomplaint she was sent for amedical examination the sameday, whose report had con-firmed sexual assault with thewoman,” the Commissioner said.

A group from theNortheast community also metthe Police Commissioner onMonday and sought the arrestof the accused persons. “ThePolice Commissioner assuredus that the cops will catch theaccused person soon. A SpecialInvestigation Team probe thematter,” a member of the com-munity on the requestinganonymity said.

The Northeast woman was

allegedly gangraped by threeunidentified men in a movingMaruti swift car. The incidenttook place on Saturday whenshe was returning fromConnaught place to her resi-dence at Sukhrali village inGurugram.

The woman was allegedlyabducted from few distance ofher home around 2 am whenshe returned to Gurugram,where she lives in a rentedaccommodation. The victimhails from Sikkim and was liv-ing in Gurugram since the lastsix months.

An FIR was registeredagainst three unknown people,under various sections of theIndian Panel Code (IPC)including gangrape at theSector 17-18 police station.

SIT set up to investigateSikkim woman’s rapeGurugram policereleases sketchof suspect

SOUVIK MITRA n NEW DELHI

Delhi police in itschargesheet against Nabha

jail break accused andKhalistan Liberation Force(KLF) leader Harminder SinghMintu has quoted him makingshocking revelations of poorfunctioning and lax security inthe jail.

“Prisoners lodged in Nabhajail are not scared of the jailsuperintendents, they roamfreely in the entire jail area anddo not follow any rules and reg-ulations. Prisoners stay in anycell they want to,” said Mintu toDelhi police.

Delhi police further quot-ed Mintu saying that the pris-oners can access mobile net-work inside the jail premisesdespite there being a jammerinstalled.

“The jail staff are scared ofthe prisoners as most of them

have sound political contacts,”the police quoted Mintu in the22-page chargesheet filed onMonday.

The police filed thechargesheet before the court ofAdditional Sessions judgeSidharth Sharma. The court isyet to take cognizance of thechargesheet.

In the chargesheet, whereMintu was quoted making theshocking revelations, it wasalso mentioned that whenMintu had been living inMumbai he was asked by hiscousin Daljeet Singh to elimi-nate Dera Sachcha Sauda chiefRam Rahim Singh ji forallegedly insulting Sikh reli-gion.

Mintu also told the policethat he and his friendKashmere Singh had plannedto go to Nepal and meet an ISIagent to get a Pakistani pass-port in his name made and

then escape to Germany.The police chargesheet fur-

ther reads that in 2007 Mintuwent to Lahore where he metRanjeet Singh Nitta, chief ofKhalistan Jindabad Force. Nittalater asked him to arrange fordynamite to attack Ram RahimSingh. Mintu then went back toMumbai and arranged for 120kg dynamite, which was laterallegedly used in the attack onRam Rahim's Ashram inHaryana. Nitta also introducedMintu to ISI agents.

Delhi police also stated in thechargesheet that he was also intouch with KLF terrorists livingabroad and also traveled to manycountries to develop his contactswith ISI and KLF terrorists.

In 2013, during his stay inThailand, he was given trainingin the use of gunpowder andother explosive substances byan ISI colonel. Mintu also sentaround half a dozen people toPakistan where ISI agents gavethem training.

The police have also men-tioned in the chargesheet thatthey recovered pistols used inNabha jail break fromHaryana's Kaithal area at theinstance of the accused.

It was a free-for-all

in jail: KLF leaderPNS n CHANDIGARH

Under fire from variousquarters for deteriorating

law and order situation in theState, the Haryana Governmenton Monday said that the hear-ing of the brutal gangrape andmurder of a 23-year-old Dalitwoman in Rohtak will be con-ducted in a fast-track court.

Speaking on the recentcases of rape reported fromRohtak and Gurgaon, ChiefMinister Manohar Lal Khattarin New Delhi said that “speedyjustice will be ensured” via fasttrack courts.

“Culprits involved in suchghastly acts won't be spared.Such kind of heinous crimeswould not be tolerated at anycost in a civilised society andthe guilty would be punished,”said Manohar Lal, whoseGovernment is under severecriticism for increasing crimerate against women.

The decomposed andmutilated body of a 23-years-old girl, who went missingfrom Rohtak on May 9 and wasgang-raped and brutally mur-dered, was found near theIndustrial Model Township inUrban Estate, Rohtak, on May 11.

The sheer brutality of the

crime, reminiscent of the'Nirbhaya' incident in Delhi,which triggered nation-wideoutrage, occurred barely amonth after the BJP-ledHaryana Governmentlaunched 'Operation Durga' tostop harassment of women.

Two persons, including themain accused Sumit, who isalso a dalit, have been arrestedby the Haryana Police whichhas formed a SpecialInvestigation Team (SIT) toprobe the case.

A Haryana District Courton Monday sent the twoaccused in seven days of policeremand. The accused will beproduced before the SonipatDistrict court next on May 22.

Police said the family of thevictim has suspected theinvolvement of six more per-sons, out of whom five arerelated to the main accused.The kin of the victim have alsoalleged that they hadapproached the Sonipat policeabout a month back with acomplaint that main accusedwas harassing their daughter,but there was no action.

The Chief Minister alsopromised strict action againstthose involved in the allegedrape of a 23-year-old woman atGurgaon in the State.

NABHA JAIL BREAK

‘The jail staff are scared of the prisoners as

most of them have sound political

contacts,’ the Delhi police quoted Mintu in

the 22-page chargesheet filed on Monday

Fast-track court to

try Rohtak rape,

murder: Khattar

From Page 1Jadhav was arrested on

March 3, 2016, and sentenced todeath by a Pakistani militarycourt on charges of espionageand subversive activities. Whileforcefully putting forth his argu-ment, counsel for India HarishSalve said Pakistan denied 16requests for counsel access. Salvealso said Pakistan did not evenprovide copies of chargesheetand military court’s verdict toenable India to appeal againsthis death sentence.

Terming it a major viola-tion of human rights, Salveadded that Pakistan blockedIndia’s efforts to provide legalaid to the former Naval officerand alleged he was in Pakistan’scustody without any commu-nication to his family. As animmediate relief, Indiademanded suspension ofJadhav’s death sentence,expressing fears that Pakistancould execute him even beforethe hearing at the ICJ was over.

“The execution of thedeath sentence cannot be donewhile this court is hearing theappeal. Else, it will be a viola-tion of the Vienna Convention,”Salve said. The urgent hearingcomes after the ICJ last weekstayed Jadhav’s execution,” Saveargued.

The ICJ on Monday begana public hearing in the case ofJadhav with India arguing foran immediate suspension of thedeath sentence. The ICJ ishearing the issue of jurisdictionof the world’s top court in thematter of what India says vio-lation of VCCR while Pakistanargued that it does not accept

the jurisdiction of the top courtin this matter.

“The procedural safe-guards are greater when thecharges are as serious as capi-tal punishment. The ViennaConvention offers no excep-tion. India asserts that thebreach of the ViennaConvention is fatal. UnderArticle 36, jurisdiction exists inrespect of all cases that partiesrefer to and in respect of allmatters specially provided forin treaties and conventions,”Salve told the ICJ in a forcefulsubmission. He argued thathuman rights treated as“basics” all over had beenthrown to the wind by Pakistanand all requests for consularaccess to Jadhav had fallen on“deaf ears”.

Battling Pakistan in the UN’shighest judicial body, India saidthe situation was grave andurgent, prompting it to approachthe court at a short notice.“Jadhav has not got the right toget proper legal assistance andthe right to consular access.There is an immediate threat tohim to be executed even beforea decision is passed,” joint sec-retary in the Ministry of ExternalAffairs Deepak Mittal (who wasIndia’s agent at ICJ) told the courtin opening remarks.

Pakistan, on its part, chal-lenged India’s argument on thejurisdiction of the ICJ in thematter where the accused isaccused of serious charges ofespionage and terrorism. Pak’sagent Dr. Mohammad Faisal,who is Director General ofSouth Asia and SAARC, playedthe terror card saying his coun-

try has been a victim of terror-ism while accusing Jadhav to bean Indian spy out there to carryout more terror strikes in Pak.

Both Faisal, and counsel forPak Khawar Qureshi, arguedthat the VCCR was not applic-able in Jadhav’s case and it hadlimited jurisdiction. Theyaccused India of using ICJ as astage for political theatre. Pakshowed a copy of Jadhav’s pass-port to the court as a proof ofhim being Indian spy, butinterestingly, Qureshi went onto argue that while India hadsaid Jadhav was an Indian cit-izen it has given no documentto prove that.

India, in its appeal to theICJ, asserted that Jadhav waskidnapped from Iran where hewas involved in business activ-ities after retiring from theIndian Navy. Salve said inorder to ascertain any accusa-tion on him, it was importantfor India to have access to theaccused to whom Pak neverallowed the Indian govern-ment to meet. Salve argued therights of Article 36 of theVienna Convention onConsular Relations are sacro-sanct and cited that theInternational Covenant onCivil and Political Rights(ICCPR) recognises that noone can be arbitrarily deprivedof their lives. He added Indiahad not been given the copy ofthe charges filed against Jadhav.“The need for a wholesomecompliance is greater whencharges are serious. We wantappropriate legal representationfor Kulbhushan Jadhav,” Salvesaid.

India alert but no serious

ransomware impact: Govt

India rips up Pakistan...

From Page 1Modi also lauded Chief

Minister Shivraj SinghChouhan by saying that MPhas made “commendablestrides” for a SwachchhBharat. Lauding the Narmadaconservation campaign, Modisaid, “The roadmap was sentto me in advance and I wentthrough it. It has details ofwhat is to be done, by whom,and when. In my opinion, it isa perfect document with afuture vision.” Modi askedChouhan to share the docu-ment on Narmada conserva-tion with other States. Modisaid India’s economy is basedon its rivers and it is the riverNarmada that helped MPachieve agricultural prosper-ity. “Narmada has the powerto change farmers’ lives. Wesay, water is life and river is

our mother. Our economy isdependent on rivers and willcollapse without them. Wehave used Narmada haphaz-ardly. So now, we have tomake efforts to save it,” he said.

“Narmada is behind theprosperity of farmers inMadhya Pradesh. If we fail inour duty of protecting rivers, itwill spell doom for mankind.The Madhya PradeshGovernment has decided toplant trees for the conservationof mother Narmada. I wasborn in Gujarat and the peo-ple of Gujarat know the valueof every drop of Narmada,” hesaid. Highlighting the poorcondition of many rivers inthe country, he said, “There isa river named Bharat Puzha inKerala. It is a matter of con-cern whether this river willsurvive or not.”

PM slams exploitation...

From Page 1communities in this coun-

try as also womenfolk of thesame community in other coun-tries.” The Bench headed byChief Justice JS Khehar andconsisting of Justices KurianJoseph, RF Nariman, UU Lalitand S Abdul Nazeer said,“Going by your argument, allforms of talaq are arbitrary andextra-judicial. If we strike downthe unfettered right of hus-band to unilaterally seek talaq,what remedy will be available toa Muslim husband to come outof marriage. Is it not beyond thepurview of judicial court to doso.” In reply, the A-G said, “If allthree forms of talaq - talaq-e-ahasan, talaq-e-hasan, talaq-e-biddat - are held to suffer fromthe vice of unconstitutionality,the Centre will bring a law to fillthe vacuum.”

He urged the court not toshut its eyes to the constitutionthat envisaged dignity andequality to woman as much asman. “The question to answer inthis case will be whether womenof one religion can be denied thefull play of Fundamental Rightsunder the Constitution. Ourargument is that all forms oftalaq are opposed to dignity ofwoman.” In addition, he urgedthat practices of polygamy and‘Nikah Halala’ too fell foul of theConstitution, and should bedealt with by the Bench.

The Bench explained toCentre that the door of consti-tutional courts is open to citizensonly when state violatesFundamental Rights of citizens.Here, it was a case of an indi-vidual violating the fundamen-tal right of another individual.

If all forms...

“We are forced to sweat itout now because we did not ful-fil our responsibilities towardsrivers. We exploited them forour vested interest,” he said.Heaping praise on Chouhan,the Prime Minister said theState is making “commendablestrides” in its flagship scheme,Swachchh Bharat Mission. “Weare seeing the commendablestrides MP is making inSwachchh Bharat Mission. Icongratulate Madhya Pradesh.”

“I am very happy that theMP Government is working onafforestation,” PM Modi saidwhile promising that theGovernment is committedtowards doubling the income offarmers in 2022.

The Narmada Seva Yatrawas flagged off in Decemberlast year as part of a campaignto clean the Narmada. Thecampaign was projected as theworld’s “biggest river conser-vation campaign with publicparticipation”. Earlier, the MPAssembly had passed a resolu-tion declaring the holy river aliving entity. Subsequently,Chouhan had announced thata Bill to provide legal frame-work to the resolution wouldbe brought in the Assembly inthe next session. Lauding peo-ple’s participation in the cam-paign, Modi further said, theNarmada Seva Yatra was aunique mass movement in thecountry’s history. “The biggeststrength of a democracy is JanBhagidari (people’s participa-tion). We are seeing greatenthusiasm towards SwachchhBharat Mission,” he said,adding the success of the mis-sion was due to people and notbecause of governments. “TheNarmada Seva Yatra has endedbut the yagya has begun, toachieve the aims with which wecommenced this Yatra,” heconcluded.

PNS n NEW DELHI/ KOCHI

Amid incidents of ran-somware cyber attacks in

some parts of Kerala, AndhraPradesh and West Bengal, theGovernment on Monday saidthere was no serious impact ofthe malware in the country.

“There is no major impactin India unlike other countries.However, we are alert andkeeping a close watch. As perthe information received so far,there have been isolated inci-dents in limited areas in WestBengal, Kerala and AndhraPradesh,” InformationTechnology Minister RaviShankar Prasad told reporters.

However, the Centre onMonday advised all those whoare working in strategic andsensitive fields to use stand-alone computers sans internetto store data and critical infor-mation. The advisory has beensent to all those who handlesensitive desks in the Ministriesof Home, Finance, Defence,External Affairs and securityagencies as a precautionarymeasure. Capital markets reg-ulator Sebi and top stockexchanges have also beefed up

their cyber security systems toward off any threat from thedreaded ransomware.

India is on high alert, mon-itoring critical networks acrosssectors like banking, telecom,power and aviation to ensurethat systems are protected inthe wake of reports of possiblecyber attack by ransomware‘WannaCry’ on the country’svital networks.

‘WannaCry’ has disruptednetworks in over 150 countries,including Russia and the UK,and is being termed as one ofthe most widespread cyberattacks in the history. Reportssuggest that over two lakh sys-tems globally could have beeninfected by the malicious soft-ware. India’s cyber securityunit CERT-In earlier said it hasnot received any formal reportof cyber attack on India’s vitalnetworks. “Everything seems tobe normal, so far. No reportshave come to CERT-In. Wehave been in touch withMicrosoft and others...Eventhey have not got any reports,”Indian Computer EmergencyResponse Team (CERT-In)director general Sanjay Bahlsaid.

But reports from Kochisaid that two Governmentoffices in Kerala were onMonday hit with messagesdemanding $300 in virtualcurrency to unlock encryptedfiles. The suspected ran-somware attack was identifiedin computers at the offices ofthe Thariyode VillagePanchayat in Wayanad districtand Aruvapulam VillagePanchayat in Pathanamthittadistrict. Unconfirmed reportslate Monday evening said sim-ilar issue was found in com-puters at the office of anothervillage panchayat inPathanamthitta. However,employees at the local bodies’offices said the suspected ran-somware had not done muchharm. “We hope no big harmhas been caused to our systems.Some files were found encrypt-ed and inaccessible but wehaven’t lost any vital data,”claimed an employee of theThariyode Grama Panchayat.

Four of the total ten com-puters at the Wayanad officeand two at the Aruvapulamoffice had been hit. The extentof the reported problem at thesecond Pathanamthitta pan-

chayat was not clear. Employeesat Thariyode panchayat saidmessages that appeared onscreen had demanded $300 invirtual currency for enablingdecryption of affected files.

The suspected malware isbelieved to have hit the com-puters on Friday. “We openedthe computers in the morningtoday (Monday) as we do everyday and that was when theissue was noticed. Efforts are onto backup the files in the affect-ed systems,” said an employeeof the Thariyode panchayat.

Meanwhile, reports fromKolkata said Ransomware hasnow travelled to WestMidnapore infecting the com-puter installations of WestBengal State ElectricityDistribution Company Limited,bringing daily business to astandstill in at least four places,sources WBSEDCL said.Dozens of computer network inat least three districts wentkaput following WannaCryptattack, sources said addingthough power distribution wasnot as yet affected other vitalservices like billing and cashreceipt against monthly billswas severely hit.

Hurry to reach exam centre cuts 3 lives short

UP Assembly...From Page 1

Congress Legislature Partyleader Ajay Kumar that theirlung power would be underscrutiny as they had shoutedduring his government and hewould like to see their talent too.SP MLC Rajesh Yadav blew thewhistle continuously while SPMLA from Kanpur Irfan Solankiled the group pelting paper balls.

Earlier, the Governor wasgiven a ceremonial welcome forthe first time with a guard of hon-our. The Assembly Speaker, theCouncil Chairman and the Chief

Minister accompanied Naikin a procession to theAssembly. As soon as theGovernor entered theAssembly hall, the Oppositionmembers went berserk andraised slogans against thegovernment.

The slogans raised by SP,BSP and Congress membersincluded ‘Bhagwa brigade kigoondagardi bandh karo’(stop saffron goondaism),‘BJP ne kisano ko dhoka diya’(BJP has befooled farmers),‘Kanoon dhawst, Yogi mast’(law and order has crumbled,Yogi is enjoying) and‘Samajwadi Pension bahaalkaro” (restore Samajwadi pen-sion). Later, Speaker HridayNarayan Dikshit thanked theGovernor for addressing thejoint session. Senior SP mem-ber Mohammad Azam Khanand expelled BSP MLCNaseemuddin Siddiqui wereabsent during the Governor’saddress. BJP legislator fromGarauth in Jhansi JawaharRajput reached the Assemblyon a bullock cart to becomea photo op for lensmen. TheMLA claimed that he travelledon the cart to thank ChiefMinister Adityanath forannouncing the waiver offarm loans.

KANIKA MEHTA n NEW DELHI

Their hurry to reach theexam centre on time proved

costly for seven students ofGuru Gobind SinghIndraprastha University(GGSIPU) on Monday. Three ofthem lost their lives while fourothers were battling for life inICU when a Honda City car, inwhich they were travelling toappear for semester exam, skidand toppled from the PunjabiBagh flyover.

The deceased have beenidentified as Sanchit Chhabra,Ritu and Rajat. While Chhabraand Ritu died on the spot, Rajatlater succumbed to injuries.The injured — Pranav Malik,Garima Gupta, Rishab Mawiand Raja Rastogi — are under-going treatment at the AIIMSTrauma Centre. They are saidto be in critical condition. Thestudents, all in the age groupof 20-22, are the first year BBAstudents of the Delhi Instituteof Professional Studies, basedin Rohini. On Monday, they allwere supposed to give theirBusiness Organisation paper at

the examination centre inNarela.

They were heading towardsNarela when their car lost con-trol, hit the railing of the flyoverand fell down from the 40-feetrailing onto the railway tracks.

According to police, eitherover-speeding or tyre puncturemight have caused the deadlymishap. “We have sent a teamof Forensic Science Laboratoryto the spot to ascertain the causeof the accident,” said a seniorpolice officer. “We are alsoprobing whether Rajat, whowas behind the wheel, had a dri-ving licence,” he added.

Vijay Kumar, DeputyCommissioner of Police (West),said, “We received a PCR callaround 8.45 am about the acci-dent near the Punjabi Bagh-Madipur flyover. Followingwhich our team reached thespot.”

Friends and relatives of theinjured students, who gatheredoutside the Emergency ward atthe AIIMS Trauma centre onMonday afternoon pointed outthat it was not the first time thatRajat had an accident.

The order of the seven-judgeBench of the Supreme Court,gagging media coverage ofany comment by Justice CSKarnan of the Calcutta High

Court, is inadequate to spare the blush-es of the august court which felt drivento sentence a sitting judge to six monthsimprisonment for contempt of the apexcourt, judiciary, and judicial process. May 9 will long be remembered as a dayof ignominy.

The Supreme Court must admit thatJustice JS Verma’s order assuming powerto appoint judges violates the division ofpowers between the executive, legislatureand judiciary, and was a usurpation of theConstitution. It survived a quarter cen-tury despite flaws because the polity wasfragmented due to the decline of one-party dominance symbolised by the Congress.

Now, with Prime Minister NarendraModi securing a majority in Parliament,it is time to return to Caesar whatbelongs to Caesar. With a ConstitutionBench of the apex court striking down theNational Judicial AppointmentsCommission as unconstitutional, andthe Supreme Court refusing to finaliseprocedures for appointments to preserveits unilateral power, all dialogue shouldend and the original status quo restored.The Government alone should havepower to appoint judges; consultationswith senior-most judges and the mainopposition party may continue. Nowherein the world do judges appoint judges.

The court appropriated the power toappoint judges in 1993 and vested it withthe Chief Justice of India, assisted by twobrother judges. In 1998, this was institution-alised in a collegium comprising the ChiefJustice of India and four senior-most col-leagues. The explicit intent of theConstituent Assembly to not make theChief Justice of India the final authority wasscuttled. Yet most observers concur that thebest judges appointed were via appoint-ments made prior to the collegium system!

The Supreme Court’s resistance toreforming the collegium system has cul-minated in the crisis in which JusticeKarnan stands sentenced to jail andpolice are looking to arrest him. With thejudge ‘disappearing’ while directing coun-sel to seek review of the orders, and thenoffering to apologise, the drama may per-sist for another day or two. It will beunfortunate if he is arrested (which hadnot happened at the time of writing thispiece). In the best interests of judicial hon-our, the court should accept an apology,rescind the sentence and close thisunseemly chapter.

Being a self-created body, the collegiumlacks institutional support to make diligent

inquiries about the competence, integrityand emotional stability of candidates. Itholds informal consultations with otherSupreme Court judges regarding candidatesfrom High Courts, or sounds a member ofthe Bar. The final choice is known onlywhen the file is sent to the Government forformal appointment. Justice J Chelameswarfound the functioning so opaque that herefused to attend meetings, insisting thatfiles be sent to him for consideration, withreasons recorded for considering or reject-ing a candidate.

Justice Karnan was appointed to theMadras High Court in 2009, when JusticeKG Balakrishnan was Chief Justice ofIndia. But when the controversy erupted,the latter shunned responsibility, sayingthe collegium went with the recommen-dation of the Chief Justice of the HighCourt concerned. Ironically, Balakrishnanhimself faces a petition in the SupremeCourt, which accuses him of havingassets disproportionate to his knownsources of income.

Justice Karnan has long been contro-versial. In 2011, he lodged a complaintwith the National Commission for SC/STagainst a brother-judge. In 2015, heaccused the then Chief Justice of theMadras High Court of harassing himbecause he was a Scheduled Caste. InFebruary 2016, he accused the ChiefJustice of corruption. When transferredto the Calcutta High Court, he issued astay on his own transfer order. When theSupreme Court lifted the stay order, heordered the Chennai Police

Commissioner to book a case against thetwo judges under the SC/ST (Preventionof Atrocities) Act. Finally, after a closeddoor meeting with Chief Justice of India,TS Thakur, he joined the Calcutta bench.

In January 2017, judge Karnan wroteto the President of India alleging thattwenty judges of the Supreme Court werecorrupt; he was served with a contemptnotice. Many believe the Court shouldhave asked him to furnish evidence (ifany) to support his claims, and investi-gated the concerned judges. Instead, hisjudicial and administrative powers wereannulled in February, which unleashedan unseemly confrontation. The rest is ,of course, history.

However, in his challenge to theauthority of the Supreme Court, JusticeKarnan asserted that as per theConstitution, judges of the SupremeCourt and High Courts have co-equalconstitutional status, and “high courts arenot under supervisory jurisdiction of theSupreme Court”. Hence, the courts have“no power to enforce punishment againsta sitting judge of the High Court” — apoint many senior lawyers concur with.

The crux of the problem is theabsence of procedures to deal with mis-conduct in the judiciary. Is JusticeKarnan’s alleged misconduct (writing aletter to the President of India demand-ing a probe into allegations of corruptionby sitting judges) a contempt of court?Does the Supreme Court have the powerto exercise jurisdiction of contempt ofcourt over a sitting judge of a High Court?

The Supreme Court should haveasked Parliament to launch impeachmentproceedings, which are preceded by acommittee of inquiry. If a case emergedagainst Justice Karnan, impeachmentwould follow. The motion has to be sup-ported by the majority of the total mem-bership of both Houses and not less thantwo-thirds of those present and voting.Grounds for impeachment include mis-behaviour or incapacity. But theCongress, the Bahujan Samaj Party, andother parties were unlikely to support impeachment.

The judiciary’s ‘in-house procedure’to tackle errant judges is also ineffective.The Chief Justice of India can constitutea three-member committee consisting oftwo High Court Chief Justices and a HighCourt judge to hear serious complaints.Should it recommend removal, the judgeconcerned can be asked to resign or canseek voluntary retirement. If he does notcomply, the Chief Justice of India canorder that no judicial work be allocatedto the judge and inform the President andthe Prime Minister to initiate proceedingsfor his removal — a difficult if not impossible process.

As Justice Karnan retires in June, thebest course is to allow him to retire in peace.There is no glory in jailing a sitting judge.

PS: There are unconfirmed reportsthat Justice Karnan has crossed over alongthe India-Nepal border. The columnist,however, stands by her assertions.

(The writer is a political analyst andan independent researcher)I

t’s strange that while the Pakistani Government considers Hafiz Saeed to bean individual who foments terror, it shies away from persecuting the Jamaat-ud-Daw’ah (JuD) chief over the 26/11 terrorist attack in Mumbai eight years

ago. Pakistan’s Interior Ministry has told a judicial review board that theGovernment had held Saeed captive because he was found spreading terrorismin the name of jihad. Obviously, the JuD supremo was not resorting to terrorcloaked as a holy war within Pakistan; his playground is India. And yet, or pehapsbecause of that, authorities there have treated him with kid gloves. There is noother explanation for the free run Saeed has had since the 2008 Mumbai attacks,although mountains of evidence have been presented to Islamabad over the years.The context of the present case is interesting, though. Saeed claims that theGovernment of Pakistan is seeking to prevent him from raising his voice againstthe Kashmiris (of India). In other words, Islamabad accepts that Saeed’s recentadventures in Kashmir valley — provoking the population there to take up armsand plotting infiltration into Indian territory by Pakistan-based militants — are

terror activities. But then, Saeed couldnot have been able to do this withoutthe connivance of the authorities, espe-cially the Pakistan Army. Besides,Saeed has had a free run until recent-ly, during which time he is reported tohave visited forward posts along theIndia-Pakistan border. What role doesa ‘religious’ leader and a ‘socialactivist’ have in these areas?Islamabad’s sincerity will be reflectedin the manner in which it defendsSaeed’s current detention before thejudicial review board. If the past is tobe believed, then what we are witnessto now is a sham designed to misleadthe world community into believingthat the elected Government ofPakistan is serious about clamping

down on terrorism. It’s difficult to be convinced that not just the Governmentbut also the Army is prepared to disown its prized ‘asset’. India will be convincedonly if concrete action is taken against Saeed over the 26/11 mayhem.

Pakistan may seek to persuade the global community by its half-hearted action,especially at a time when it stands side by side with China in the ambitious OneBelt One Road (OBOR) project, of which the China-Pakistan Economic Corridoris a critical component. But it would be exposed if it resorts to brutal suppres-sion of the Baloch people and of those in Gilgit-Baltistan once the project gath-ers steam and faces opposition among the local population there. Already, protestshave begun, and both China and Pakistan will find themselves on a sticky wick-et. India has done well to keep away from the OBOR summit on a matter of prin-ciple, despite the tantalising benefits dangled before it by China — which believesthat New Delhi could join the project later. India cannot be part of any third-coun-try scheme that runs through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. Period.

The recent cyber attack on institutions across the world highlights the dra-matic risks of our digital life. While some Indian companies and institutionshave been impacted, notably Maharashtra Police, on the whole it appears

that India’s critical economic infrastructure has been spared. This may not alwaysbe the case, however. Even though the Narendra Modi Government’s Digital Indiaprogramme is laudable, the ‘WannaCry’ ransomware attack is just a taste of whatmight happen if the often outdated digital infrastructure that is supporting thisinitiative, is not immediately updated. It is also a warning shot that future warswill not necessarily involve armour and infantry alone; targeted cyber-attacks toocan paralyse an enemy nation. India must move quickly to assess the threat toits digital infrastructure, and while this should involve civilian bodies such asthe Reserve Bank of India, it must engage security agencies and the military aswell. Any debilitating future digital attack on Indian financial institutions has tobe considered as being akin to a declaration of war. The attack on Britain’s NationalHealth Service, Spain’s leading telecom service provider and Germany’s mainrailway company, proves how damaging cyber crime can be. While things have

not stopped, operations in all thesecore organisations have been deeplyimpacted and have slowed down dra-matically, at the very least. The nextattack could well shut down operations.Imagine what could happen if IndianRailways’ digital infrastructure wereattacked? Trains would come to astandstill across the country, givingIndia an economic heart attack.

The scale and scope of the recentcyber assault will probably lead glob-al police forces to work together andpin down the criminals involved, buthundreds of small-scale ransomwareattacks are taking place all the time andmany police forces are painfullyunaware of how to deal with suchproblems. And while the Information

Technology Act was promulgated to deal with online harassment and abuse, thereare no provisions in the law to deal with online ransom attacks. However, com-ing up with new laws can wait until India builds a task-force that can assist Indiancompanies and institutions in building the appropriate security systems.

India must also move both in the multilateral fora and internally to act againstorganised crime. Many digital attacks enabled by cryptocurrency such as BitCoinare clearly a new business arm of global organised crime and potentially hack-ers from rogue states. Organised crime is already running rampant on the deepinternet, the so called ‘dark web’ where sexual trafficking and drug trading ishappening under the nose of enforcement agencies across the world. The UnitedStates and European police forces have occasionally shut down some websitessuch as ‘the Silk Road’, which was a fairly well-known website dealing in drugs.The dark web remains a place where digital criminals can deal in financial crimesuch as buying and selling credit card information, as well as trading in com-puter exploits and thus holding companies to ransom by encrypting their files— as had happened this past weekend.

None wants WannaCry

The recent ransomware assault across many

countries is a serious wake-up call

opinion 08LUCKNOW | TUESDAY | MAY 16, 2017

The collegium systemgave us this judge

Bringing Saeed to justice

Let Islamabad first show its sincerity by

punishing 26/11 terror mastermind

Religious tool

Sir — This refers to the article,“When religion is made a reasonto be atrocious” (May 15) byKushan Mitra. Religion is animportant but not well-definedtopic. Was sati part of religious ora social tradition? Is triple talaqand cow vigilantism ‘religious’?

Yet, certain dogmas, whichare central to religions, weremade a reason to be atrocious. Itis the claim that a particular religion alone is true and allthose who do not believe in itwill be thrown into hell by thealmighty forever.

For the last 2,000 years, theseclaims by the two major religionshave caused havoc for humani-ty. Strangely, these claims arehardly ever discussed and are stilltaught to children as true. Theseassertions in the name of religioncan be used to justify hate crimesand are unacceptable in anycivilised humanity.

Maria WirthVia email

Fighting disease

Sir — This refers to the editori-al, “Growing concerns on TB”(May 13). The editorial has aptlyraised concerns about a reportpublished by the British medicaljournal, Lancet, which has pro-jected an alarming situationabout the spread of tuberculosis(TB), which is infected bymicrobes that resist the drugsand and kill people. What is mostworrisome is that TB is a diseasewhich can spread by humancontact very soon.

Hence, TB infection controlmeasures are essential to preventits spread. To achieve the same,BCG vaccination must be madecompulsory. Renewed effortsmust be made for effective diag-nostics, therapy and vaccina-tion of this disease. It is a sadstory that, despite many advance-ments, the spread of this diseaseis expected to grow by 8.9 percent by 2040.

Advanced measures need tobe taken urgently. Prevention isbetter than cure. Compulsoryvaccination, healthy nutritionand other medical precautionsare the need of the hour.

PN SaxenaVia email

Prevention first

Sir — This refers to the editori-al, “Growing concerns on TB”(May 13). Given that India ishome to 2.2 million tuberculosis(TB) patients out of a global 9.6million, and 40 per cent of thepopulation is infected with eitheractive or latent tuberculosis bac-teria, the TB menace should befought with adequate nutritionand medication.

Sadly, India remains a fertileground for the highly infectiousTB mainly because of poverty andmalnutrition. Preventative mea-sures such as more nutritiousfood, distribution of mid-daymeal, and curative ones like ade-quate treatment regimens, mustbe followed on a war-footing.

Sujit DeKolkata

www.dailypioneer.com

p a p e r w i t h p a s s i o n

Send your feedback to: letterstopioneer@gmail.com

SOUNDBITE

The Aam Aadmi Party

which opened shell

companies to

show black money into

white, also got illegal

foreign funding. This

is a serious charge.

Congress leader

—Ajay Maken

SANDHYAJAIN

As Justice Karnan retires in June, the best course is to allow him to retire in peace.There is no glory in jailing a sitting judge on contempt of court charges

We (the US) are going

to continue to tighten

the screws on North

Korea, through

sanctions or Press

statements.

US envoy to UN

—Nikki Haley

President is ignoring the

truth that’s discomforting

This refers to President Pranab Mukherjee’s description of Indira Gandhias the “most acceptable” Prime Minister democratic India has had.It was surprising that on the eve of ending his presidential tenure,

Mukherjee has made a clearly controversial claim. One can understandthat the former Congress leader, who was appointed to the nation’s topoffice by his party in 2012, was glorifying Indira Gandhi on the occasionof the release of a book, India’s Indira — A Centennial Tribute, but hisdescription of Indira Gandhi seemed a bit far-fetched and untruthful.

Undoubtedly, Indira Gandhi was a great leader who proved firm anddecisive at the time of the India-Pakistan war that resulted in the birth ofBangladesh. But at the same time, within four years, she imposed the ruth-less Emergency, suppressing dissent and jailing thousands of her oppo-nents. This wasthe darkest chapter in our post-independence history.

The Press was muzzled. How can a fair-minded, honest observer ofthe Indian scene ignore such a monumental and horrible event which con-tinued for 19 months? Even a small, sad reference to the dictatorial impo-sition would have redeemed President Mukherjee’s approach as a an objective and bold commentator.

M RatanVia email

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

The decision of privati-

sation of airport devel-

opment and manage-

ment turned crucial

and all are thankful to

Praful Patel.

Maharashtra CM

—Devendra

Fadnavis

The world and Europe

now need France more

than ever, and they need

a strong France with a

sense of its own destiny.

French President

—Emmanuel

Macron

In the last 20 years, there hasbeen a lot of noise about greenDelhi; clean Delhi; pollution-

free Delhi; clean Yamuna; stablepower; clean water; better roads andservices and so on. We will all agreethat finding a lasting solution to theabove mentioned issues is the needof the hour.

And its not that voices have notbeen raised. Such issues have beenraised at various forums at differ-ent points in time. Among all,there has been a widespread call forthe need for a clean environmentfor our future generations. But atthe ground level situations areexactly the opposite.

So, here is a simple solution thatI would request all to not look at

just from the primary view of costbut also look at the secondary andtertiar y drivers which may eventually drive the initiatives we all may really want.

Before I start with the mathe-matics, I would like to factually statethat there is no common man. Lessthan five per cent of the populationin the capital city works on a 20-year plan and most of them do notunderstand the concept of sustainable living.

Now coming back to the mathwith Delhi being the case point. Itis a well known fact that the capi-tal city’s air is extremely poisonousto breathe. It is expected to get evenworse in the next 60 days with theonset of summer.

The National Capital Territoryof Delhi covers a land area ofabout 1,484 sq km. Of this about 51per cent is urban and 49 per cent isrural. Delhi has about 18 billion-aires and 23,000 plus millionairefamilies (common man); this beingthe known number, adding the unknown might triple

this count. Total wealth of Delhiites is over

$450 billion or higher — we are farbigger than many countries puttogether. Approximately 27 percent of the land area is built up. Therest being the roads, open spaces,farms etc. Twenty seven per cent ofthe 1,484 sq km equals to about 400sq kms and Delhi’s electricity peakload stands at 6,000 Megawatt(MW) and counting.

Change will only happen onlyif the 2.6 crore population vow tochange their behaviour. But howcan this happen? Well, theGovernment has done its bit.Various policies have already beenput in place. They just need to beimplemented tooth and nail.

As a first step, there should bean increase in the cost of power toa base of `20 per unit. The effect ofthe 27 per cent built-up area of 400sq km, more than 25 per centtoday, can be used immediately togenerate rooftop solar-power,aggregating to about 3,200 MW(contiguous panel installation we

can get 50 MW per sq km, rooftopwe get 32 MW per sq km), we willbe coal free for almost six months a year.

And the regular power comingat `20 per unit, the business case toadopt solar will immediately makesense — all factory sheds can beimmediately converted. Net meter-ing policy of the Government isalready in place, effectively what wedo not use during the day we willconsume at night.

Many companies today offersolar power at six rupees per unit— zero investment upfront — allthey need is rooftop access. Thebuilders will be forced to convert allsouth facing walls to solar-panels atzero cost. Its just that the attitudeneeds to be changed and with thecost increase it will — very soon.

Another 10 per cent (40 sq km)can be converted very easily forsolar rooftop use. This will addanother 700 MW as the power costgoes up change, air-conditionertech has evolved from using archa-ic power guzzler compressors to

inverter models which save 30-50per cent in annualised bills.

Given the fact that pricing hascome down substantially for manyelectrical products like the light-emit-ting diode (LED) bulbs — a 10 wattLED bulb offers the same amount oflight as the older 60 watt bulbs, there-fore, there will be 6x saving.

We will save another 300 MWmoving to such green technologies.Factories and offices, motivateddue to the financial impact, willrelocate eventually and that willreduce further demand fortraffic/water/ power/public ser-vices etc. As also help smallertowns develop. Tier down effect willbe huge and the repercussions andbenefits will be felt across theentire food and value chain.

As a second step, there should bean increase in the cost of petrol/diesel from `70/`60 to `200 per literin Delhi and the National CapitalRegion. Also, the cost of metro/bustravel must also be at least tripled.Cash must be used to offer 50 percent subsidy for electric vehicles.

But how long do you think willit take the local population to adoptelectric vehicles? A case in point isthe Chinese e-rickshaws: In one year,we see them all over the country!The Chinese rickshaw costs about`1.10 lakh. Fully loaded, and chargedovernight they run for the whole day— charging with solar power at sixrupees per unit — it is nirvana!

Innovation and adoption oflocalised technologies, where entre-preneurs bring in low cost e-vehi-cles will only be a matter of 60 days.The Government has already noti-fied the Faster Adoption andManufacturing of (Hybrid &)Electric Vehicles policy.

There are many manufacturersin the country who have beenready with their e-vehicles for a verylong time now and for them tobring in the products to market willtake less than 30 days. We have beenseverely neglecting the environmentand we will pay for our mistakes —everyone does.

(The writer is Vice Chancellor,Rama University, Kanpur)

Strengthening the defender

3rdeye 09LUCKNOW | TUESDAY | MAY 16, 2017

Kapil Mishra and BJP repeat each other.

Whenever BJP talks of corruption, it's like

Gabbar Singh speaking of no-violence.

—AAP leader

SANJAY SINGH

Let AAP file a defamation case against

Kapil Mishra. The serious nature of the

financial scams revealed must be probed.

—BJP leader

VIJENDER GUPTA

POINTCOUNTERPOINT

Our political class is yet tolearn from our own his-tory that we were subju-gated over centuriesbecause those in power

were unwilling to accept that in abattle, victory depends less on num-bers and more on organisationalethos, training, leadership and moti-vation. The fact that the CentralReserve Police Force (CRPF) hasexpanded from two battalions in1939 to 235 presently, with another12 to be raised by 2019, hardly helpsmatters since neither has it led to animprovement in our internal securi-ty situation, nor has it prevented theMaoists from conducting debilitat-ing attacks against them repeatedly,almost at will.

The latest incident being theincident at Sukma in Chhattisgarh,where a company sized force wasambushed recently and lost 25 con-stables. Incidentally, each CRPF bat-talion has a strength which is oneand a half times the strength of thestandard Infantry Battalion the Armydeploys with minimal differences inthe weapons profile.

What this recent massacre indi-cates is the reality — that in its exist-ing avatar, the CRPF is incapable oftackling not just the Maoist menacebut also insurgencies — in Kashmirand elsewhere. While the UnionHome Minister and others maywant us to believe that intelligencefailure was the root cause that led tothe ambush, the truth lies else-where. It speaks poorly of any unitthat while deployed for a road open-ing operation, supposedly concen-trates at one place for a picnic lunchwithout ensuring its own protection.

That was not just an isolated caseof non-adherence to StandardOperating Procedures, but an utterlack of professionalism and absenceof leadership. It is an unfortunate butindisputable fact that the CRPF is abadly led, poorly trained force whol-ly lacking in motivation and low on morale.

Instead of wasting time deplor-ing the “cowardly attack”, the PrimeMinister and the Home Ministershould be asking those responsibleas to how is it possible for theMaoists to move around in strength?Reportedly 300 Maoists wereinvolved in the recent attack, despite25 CRPF battalions, the equivalentof nearly four infantry divisionsbeing deployed for counter insur-gency operations in Chhattisgarh.Obviously, this indicates that “neither a counter-insurgency gridnor any posts in the hinterland havebeen established to dominate theaffected area.

That is also the only feasible wayin which hearts and minds of the

local population can be won andactionable intelligence obtained.

The non-performance of theCRPF is not because of the qualityof manpower that it inducts,undoubtedly on more than oneoccasion some of them have given usample reason to extol their braveryand sacrifice, but the lack of anappropriate organisational ethos.

Conduct of counter-insurgencyoperations, which appears to havebecome their primary task, requiresskilled and experienced leaders,both at the junior and senior levels.

In addition, regimentation, espritde corps and team spirit are ofimmense importance. Importantly,the CRPF is manned at the DeputyInspector General of Police andhigher levels by those on deputationfrom the Indian Police Service forlimited tenures.

Unfortunately, these officers haveneither the experience at lower lev-els in a counter-insurgency environ-ment, nor any understanding of theorganisational ethos that needs to bedeveloped and strengthened if theyare to achieve success in combat.

Nothing can be more illustrativeof this fact than the recent incidentthat made headlines: The ‘statefuneral’ cortege of a martyred CRPFconstable being halted while BiharChief Minister Nitish Kumar’s con-voy whizzed past.

Obviously, the local Police Chief,who must have been making thebandobust for both these events,clearly showed where his preferenceslay by giving priority to the passageof the Chief Minister’s entourage. To

expect our political masters tobehave any differently would beunrealistic, but what does it tell usabout our police hierarchy?

Clearly their servility to theirmasters and utter lack of empathytowards their own uniformed com-rades, howsoever tragic the situation,clearly indicates an emphasis on theindividual rather than the team.

An ethos completely at variancefrom that required, if the CRPF is tosucceed. Clearly until its leadershipprofile is not changed it is unlikelyto perform any better.

The bitter truth that PrimeMinister Narendra Modi and hisGovernment now must confront isthat not only are their policies forcountering insurgencies rapidly fallingapart, but they also face an increasing-ly restive and angry military; unhap-py at having been denied its rightfuldues by the Seventh Central PayCommission (CPC) with its standingbeing further downgraded.

Clearly, the deliberate and con-certed policy of this Government tobring down the Armed Forces anotch or two by enhancing thestanding of the Central ArmedPolice Forces (CAPF) at their cost,is now floundering.

Nothing else can otherwiseexplain the Defence Ministry’s vehe-ment opposition to the grant of NonFunctional Financial Upgradation(NFFU) to the military despite theArmed Forces Tribunal havingdirected that it be implemented.

It also explains the reluctance ofthe Government to rectify the coreobjections raised against the recom-

mendations of the Seventh PayCommission and its non-implemen-tation till date. At the end of the daythe Government may just find thatjust like the CAPF, it has hollowedout the Armed Forces to such anextent that they will not be able todeliver the goods when required.This, even as our internal and external security situation rapidlydeteriorates.

Finally, if the Government’s cupof woes was not already full, theSupreme Court has added to its dif-ficulties by severely restricting thelegal cover that the Armed Forcesenjoyed under the Armed Forces(Special Powers) Acts. The Armyhierarchy, if it is to be true to its salt,has little choice but to cease counter-insurgency operations and ordertroops back to their barracks.

It cannot let those young officersand men at the cutting edge bethrown to the wolves and face legalaction for life and death decisionstaken in good faith, as is likely to befaced by the officer who tied astone-pelter to his jeep to avoid hav-ing to open fire while evacuatingtrapped Police and the ElectionCommission officials from a pollingstation in the Kashmir valley.

If the Army’s return to barracksleads to enhanced violence and thebreakdown of governance, so be it.As with every constitutional author-ity, even the Supreme Court willfinally have to answer to the peoplefor its actions.

(The writer is a military veteranand consultant with the ObserverResearch Foundation)

Let’s lower Delhi’s pollution this summerthinknow

If a man can

realise his

divine nature

with the help of

an image, would

it be right to call

it a sin? Even

when he has

passed that

stage, should he

call it an error?

Man is not

travelling from

error to truth,

but from truth to

truth. All

religions mean

so many

attempts of the

human soul to

grasp the

Infinite.

— Swami

Vivekananda

Venezuelan politics

and its volatility

Our police and various forces are capable of tackling serious insurgencies. But they arebadly led and poorly trained. They lack not manpower but organisational ethos

The Government has given the green signal for the FAME policy and many indigenous companies have technology at

hand. Clean environment in the capital city is undoubtedly doable and needs to be implemented whole-heartedly

DEEPAK SINHA

RUSHENCHAHAL

Incumbent President Maduro’s dictatorialconduct can end as badly as it did for

some twentieth century autocrats

Iam no Mussolini”, insistedVenezuela’s beleagueredPresident Nicolás Maduro

Moros on television early thismonth, but if things go on thisway he could end up likeMussolini. That would be veryunfortunate for him and alsofor Venezuela.

The daily street protests against Maduro's rule are now in theirsecond month, and around 40 people have already been killed; mostof them by the police. ‘Molotov cocktails’ (fire-bombs) are old hat;the new fashion is for ‘Poopootovs’ — containers of human or ani-mal excrement that are thrown at the security forces. Nobody knowswhen it will all end, but most people fear that it will end badly.

It didn't begin all that badly. Hugo Rafael Chávez Fríasa, a rad-ical former Army officer, who had led a failed coup attempt in 1992,was elected to the presidency quite legitimately in 1998. Venezuelawas the richest country in South America because of its oil wealth,but most of the 31 million Venezuelans were very poor, and Chávezproposed to change that.

He had strong popular support — majorities of around 60 percent in the 2002 and 2006 elections, and still 55 per cent even in2012 — and he had lots of money to give to the poor. But he diedof cancer in 2013, and his successor, a former bus driver called NicolásMaduro, got barely 50 per cent of the vote in a special election laterthat year. He has not had a quiet moment since.

The problem is money. Chávez ran up massive deficits to financehis spending on health, education and housing, which really did trans-form the lives of many of Venezuela's poor, but the Bills only camein after he died. The world price of oil collapsed, Venezuela's incomedid too and everything went sour.

Now Venezuela has the highest inflation in the world (700 per-cent this year), and the economy has shrunk by almost one-fifth. Thereare chronic shortages of food and medicines: Three-quarters ofVenezuelans say they are eating less than two meals a day, and thechild death rate is up by 30 per cent. And a lot of people, includingformer Maduro supporters, are very angry.

Maduro's response has been to blame all the problems on thelocal business elite, who, he claims are hoarding goods to cause short-ages, and on the United States, which he says is plotting with thelocal opposition parties to overthrow the elected Government. Butplots are hardly necessary: He barely scraped into office in the 2012election, and he would lose massively in an election held today.

To stay in power Maduro must avoid an election, and the nextpresidential election is due next year. The Opposition had already wona two-thirds majority in the National Assembly in 2015, so Maduro'sfirst move, in late March, was to have the Supreme Court (packedwith his supporters) simply declare that the National Assembly was“in contempt” of the country's laws and shut it down.

That was what brought the protesters out on the streets in suchnumbers that three days later Maduro lost his nerve and the SupremeCourt revoked its decree. But the protests, fueled by the growing short-ages of practically everything, just kept going, and now the demon-strators were demanding that the next presidential election be broughtforward from 2018 to this year.

Maduro is cornered. He could not win a presidential election thisyear or in 2018 either. It's not even certain that the rank-and-file ofthe security forces can be relied on to defend him forever. So he hasplayed his last card: A new Constitution.

The last Constitution was written by Chávez himself and adopt-ed in 1999. At that time, he said it was the best in the world andpromised it would last for centuries, but on May 1, Maduro said thecountry needs a new one. He is going to call a “constituent Assembly"to write it, although he was vague on how its members would bechosen. Some might be elected, and others would be chosen from“social organisations” (ie his cronies).

The Chávez Constitution does not give Maduro the authority todo this but the man is desperate. He needs an excuse to postponeelections he knows he would lose, and this is the best he can comeup with. It won't work because the Opposition understands his gameand will not accept it. The country is drifting towards a civil war.

“I don't want a civil war”, Maduro said while announcing his con-stituent Assembly, but he is laying the foundations for one. He mighteven win it in the short term if the Army and police stay loyal to him.But in the longer run he really does risk ending up like Mussolini:Executed without trial and hanging upside-down in a public square.

(The writer is an independent journalist)

GWYNNE DYER

THE BITTER TRUTHTHAT PRIME

MINISTER NARENDRAMODI AND HIS

GOVERNMENT MUSTCONFRONT IS THAT

NOT ONLY ARE THEIR POLICIES FOR

COUNTERINGINSURGENCIES

FALLING APART, BUTTHEY ALSO FACE

AN INCREASINGLYRESTIVE AND ANGRYMILITARY; UNHAPPY

AT HAVING BEENDENIED ITS RIGHTFUL

DUES BY THESEVENTH CENTRALPAY COMMISSION

LUCKNOW | TUESDAY | MAY 16, 2017 money 10

It is nothing major, but we arestill watching. The next coupleof days, we will be on alert onthis

INDIAN COMPUTER EMERGENCY RESPONSE TEAM (CERT-IN), DIRECTOR GENERAL, SANJAY BAHL

There is no major impact in Indiaunlike other countries. We are

keeping a close watch. As per theinformation received so far, there

have been isolated incidents inlimited areas in Kerala and

Andhra Pradesh

INFORMATION AND TECHNOLOGY MINISTER RAVI SHANKAR PRASADRANSOMWARE

ON

BUZZ

{usp}

The Union Minister, Kalraj Mishra met Minister of Gender Equality, Government of Mauritius. Kalraj Mishra apprised her of variousinitiatives taken by Government of India in empowering women. She expressed her keenness to acquire women entrepreneur relatedprojects from India which can empower women in Mauritius and expressed to renew the MoU with NSIC for cooperation in this matter.

The Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways and Shipping, Nitin Gadkari witnessing the signing ceremony of an MoU

between VO Chidambarnar Port Trust (VOCPT) and Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation Limited (TANGEDCO) for

upgradation of VOCPT’s Coal Jetty-I & Coal Jetty-II, in New Delhi on Monday. The Minister of State for Road Transport & Highways

and Shipping, P Radhakrishnan, and the Minister of Electricity, Prohibition & Excise of Tamil Nadu, P Thangamani are also seen.

The Union Minister for Health & Family Welfare, JP Nadda presenting the degree to the students at the annual convocation of Sree

Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology (SCTIMST), in Thiruvananthapuram on Monday.

The Union HomeMinister, RajnathSingh lighting thelamp to inauguratethe second meetingof the NationalPlatform for DisasterRisk Reduction(NPDRR), in NewDelhi, on Monday.The Union Ministerfor Science &Technology and EarthSciences, Dr HarshVardhan and theAdditional PrincipalSecretary to thePrime Minister, DrPK Mishra are alsoseen.

POWERGRID has signed a MoU with Ministry of Power, Government of India in last week (on May 11, 2017) detailing various targets to be

achieved by POWERGRID during FY 2017-18. The MoU was signed by Pradeep Kumar Pujari, Secretary (Power), GoI, and IS Jha, CMD,

POWERGRID in the presence of Additional Secretary, Ministry of Power, Joint Secretary (Trans), Ministry of Power, Director (Personnel),

Director (Operations), Director (Finance) & Director (Projects), POWERGRID and other senior officials from Ministry and POWERGRID.

SDMC (N INDIA) TO WORK ON THE CONCEPT OF ZERO GARBAGE LOCALITIESThe SDMC has taken another novel initiative to implement the concept of Zero

Garbage by processing and disposing off locally the entire waste generated in a

particular locality, hence bring reduction in the burden at land fill site and contain

expenditure in transportation of the garbage. The SDMC has become the first

civic body in the Northern India to work on urban zero garbage initiative and

generate organic compost by properly segregating, collecting and processing bio-

degradable waste from the four sectors of RK Puram initially. The Commissioner,

Dr Puneet Kumar Goel on Monday stated that this initiative has been taken under ‘Compost Banao- Compost Apnao’

Abhiyan launched by the Union UD Ministry as apart from Swachh Bharat Mission and in tune with the Wealth from

Waste vision of Prime Minister, Narender Modi. Dr Goel added that the SDMC is presently collecting wet garbage from

approximately 1500 houses from various sectors of RK Puram and 4 to 5 restaurants nearby. To expedite the process eco

enzymes are being used. It takes less than 40 days to prepare organic compost; it will enhance fertility of the soil.

The foundation stone for Central DrugsControl Organisation (CDSCO) has been laidby JP Nadda, the Union Minister for Health& Family Welfare, GoI, on the last Sunday inBaddi, Himachal Pradesh. The ceremony wasgraced by Kaul Singh Thakur, Minister ofHealth & Family Welfare, Govt of HimachalPradesh and Virender Kashyap, MP andother dignitaries. Gyanesh Pandey, CMD,HSCC briefed the ministers and thedistinguished guests about the new project.

PNS nNEW DELHI

Strong performance by petroleum, engineering and tex-tiles sectors pushed up India’s exports growth by 19.77

per cent to $ 24.63 billion in April but trade deficit witnessedabout three-fold increase to $13.24 billion mainly on accountof sharp jump in gold and crude oil imports during the month.

“In continuation with the double digit growth exhib-ited by exports during March, exports during April haveshown growth of 19.77 per cent,” the commerce ministrysaid in a statement.

The country’s imports too jumped 49.07 per cent to$37.88 billion last month from $25.4 billion in April 2016.

Gold imports rose three-fold to $3.85 billion in Aprilcompared to $1.23 billion in the same month last year.

In April, petroleum, textiles, engineering goods and gemsand jewellery shipments recorded a growth of 48.77 per cent,31.72 per cent, 28.21 per cent and 15 per cent respectively.

The other sectors that helped boost exports includechemicals, iron ore, marine products, cashew, oil meals, ironore and plastic. Further, oil imports grew by 30.12 per centto $7.35 billion. Non-oil imports too rose by 54.50 per centto $30.52 billion.

For the entire last fiscal, 2016-17, exports saw a growthof 4.71 per cent to $274.64 billion as against $262.3 billionin 2015-16. Imports dipped 0.17 per cent to $380.3 billion,lowering trade deficit at $105.7 billion against $118.7 bil-lion in 2015-16.Further, services exports in Marchincreased by 8.57 per cent to $14.179 billion.

“The net export of services for 2016-17 was esti-mated at $65.21 billion, which is lower than net exportof services of $69.41 billion during 2015-16,” it added.

“The implementation of upcoming GST andrelease of the revised Foreign Trade Policy will give fur-ther push to export growth,” said FIEO PresidentGanesh Kumar Gupta.

MADHUSUDAN SAHOO nNEW DELHI

Now home loan seekershave reasons to cheer as

country’s major housingfinance provider HousingDevelopment FinanceCorporation Limited or HDFCand India’s largest private sec-tor bank ICICI Bank has cut itshome loan rates to match therates offered by SBI last weekup to `30 lakh for new bor-rowers. It is expected thatmany other banks and housingfinance companies would fol-low them soon.

In a bid to boost affordablehousing loan segment, HDFCon Monday followed suit of itsrivals and lowered its homeloan prices by 15 bps to 8.35per cent for women borrowersand by 10 bps for men up to`30 lakh. Similarly, its peerICICI Bank also announced itsdecision to reduce interestrates by up to 30 basis points(bps) for home loans up to `30lakh earlier in the day, the rate-cut move came just after StateBank of India (SBI) and LICHousing Finance reduced itshome loan rate to attract max-imum borrowers in the coun-

try.However, banking sources

said that many banks andhousing finance companieswould follow them soon toincrease their loan portfoliosfor the next financial quarters.“The move for sharply reduc-ing lending rate is expected inmajor public and private banksas well as several leading hous-ing finance companies, includ-ing one of the major playersDewan Housing FinanceLimited (DHFL) and otherswhich operate their lendingbusiness in the country withmaximum loan exposure to thehousing sector only,” it said.

On the other hand, ICICIBank MD and CEO ChandaKochhar, however, said, “Ibelieve that this initiative,along with the bank’s expan-sion of home loan business intier II cities, will empower alarger section of customers torealise the dream of owning anew home.”

Encouraging low-costhouse loan seekers, she added,“Customers of economicallyweaker section and low incomegroup (LIG) can avail the dualbenefits of low interest ratesfrom us and the Credit Linked

Subsidy Scheme (CLSS) underthe Pradhan Mantri AwasYojana.”

HDFC has lowered itsmortgage pricing for new low-cost home loans to 8.35 percent from 8.50 per cent forloan below `30 lakh forwomen borrowers and by 10bps to 8.40 per cent for men.The new rates will be applica-ble with immediate effect. “Forloans between `30 and `75lakh, the new rates will be 8.50per cent for all borrowers andfor above `75 lakh, new loanswill be priced at 8.55 per cent,”HDFC said in its statement.However, the lender had a flatrate of 8.50 per cent for alltypes of borrowers earlier.With this, the three largestplayers offer similar prices fornew affordable home loans.

Earlier in the day, ICICIBank also cuts its offering by 30bps to 8.35 per cent for loansup to `30 lakh, bringing it inline with the country’s largestlender SBI, which had lastweek set the tone for the mar-ket. “With this reduction,salaried borrowers can availhome loans at among the low-est rates in the industry.Salaried women borrowers will

get home loans at 8.35 per cent,while others will get at 8.40 percent,” ICICI Bank said in astatement.

“The reduced rate will beeffective from May 15, 2017 fornew borrowers. Further, bor-rowers of ICICI Bank can alsochoose to link their home loanswith I-MCLR-6 Months or I-MCLR-1 Year, claiming to bethe first bank to offer such flex-ibility to customers,” it added.

State-owned bank SBI,which is also country’s largestbank and has the largest homeloan market share, is offeringhome loans up to `30 lakh tosalaried borrowers at 8.35 percent. For loans above ̀ 30 lakh,the bank will charge 8.50 percent. It will continue to charge8.60 per cent on loans above`75 lakh.

Housing finance major LICHousing Finance also launchedits new home loan product‘Griha Siddhi’ to offer similarrates of 8.35 per cent to womenand 8.40 per cent to the rest forloans up to `25 lakh. In Januarythis year housing finance firmDHFL had also reduced itshome loan lending rate by 50basis points to 8.60 per centfrom 9.10 per cent.

After SBI, HDFC, ICICI Bank reducehome-loan rates, others to follow soon

MUMBAI: The Government hasfixed at `5,000 the levy onscheduled flights, being chargedfrom the airlines flying on majorroutes, to fund its regional con-nectivity scheme, UDAN.

The revised levy, which willbe effective from June 1, has nowbeen fixed at a uniform rate of`5,000 per flight till furtherorder, aviation regulator DGCAsaid in a circular, issued last week.

To fund the ambitiousregional connectivity scheme--

UDAN (Ude Desh ka AamNaagrik) -- the Civil AviationMinistry is collecting a levy of upto ̀ 8,500 per departure from air-lines operating on major domes-tic routes, including Mumbai andDelhi.

The Directorate General ofCivil Aviation (DGCA) also saidthat the amount already paid bythe airlines as per the earliercharges, will be adjusted againstthem as per the fresh circular.

The ministry started col-

lecting the levy from Decemberlast year. The Airports Authorityof India (AAI) is the nodalagency for UDAN.

The UDAN scheme, underwhich airfares have been kept at`2,500 for a one hour flights, isaimed at making the air travelmore affordable and providing airservices to the hinterland.

It was kick-started lastmonth with the Prime MinisterNarendra Modi flagging off thefirst RCS flight between Shimla

and New Delhi, operated byAlliance Air, the regional arm ofthe national carrier Air India.

With at least half of the seatsin UDAN flights offered at sub-sidised fares, the participatingcarriers would be provided acertain amount of Viability GapFunding (VGF) -- an amountshared between the Centre andthe states concerned.

The levy is being collectedtowards the VGF. TheFederation of Indian Airlines

(FIA) has already challenged thecollection of levy from carriersfor the RCS fund in the court.Jet Airways, IndiGo, SpiceJetand GoAir are members of theFIA.

AAI chairmanGuruprasad Mohapatra hadlast week said that the gov-ernment was looking to“refine” the present norms forUDAN ahead of the secondround of bidding, which islikely in three months.

NEW DELHI: India’s largest softwareservices firm Tata ConsultancyServices (TCS) will commence its`16,000-crore mega buybackoffer from May 18.

The buyback programme,which received shareholderapproval last month, will openon May 18 and close on May 31,the company said in a regulato-ry filing.

TCS will dispatch the Letterof Offer for the buyback to eli-gible shareholders on or beforeMay 16, it added.

The share buyback, if suc-cessful, will be India’s biggest, sur-passing Reliance Industries’ 2012share repurchase of `10,400crore.

Share buybacks typicallyimprove earnings per share andreturn surplus cash to share-holders while also supportingshare price during periods ofsluggish market condition.

The Indian IT companieshave been under pressure toreturn excess cash on their booksto shareholders through gener-ous dividends and buybacks.

TCS had earlier said thatit received suggestions frominvestors over the need forcertainty on dividend policyalong with share buyback todistribute the cash.

TCS to commence

`16,000 cr buyback

from May 18

Levy on scheduled flights on major routes fixed at `5,000

NEW DELHI: Indian computer sys-tems largely escaped a global ran-somware attack as the Governmentand companies installed securitypatches to gain an upper handagainst the first wave of an unri-valled global cyber attack.

Over two lakh computers in atleast 150 countries are said to havebeen infected, according to Europol,the European Union’s law enforce-ment agency. In India, only a fewisolated incidents in Kerala, AndhraPradesh and Tamil Nadu werereported.

National Informatics Centre,which manages Government web-sites, and the Centre forDevelopment of AdvancedComputing installed security patch-es issued by Microsoft to immunisetheir Windows systems.

Also, guidelines were issued toenable large IT networks to tacklethe threat.

“There is no major impact inIndia unlike other countries. We arekeeping a close watch. As per theinformation received so far, therehave been isolated incidents in lim-ited areas in Kerala and AndhraPradesh,” Information andTechnology Minister Ravi ShankarPrasad told reporters here.

He said a cyber coordinationcentre will start operating from nextmonth to take precautions againstsuch attacks.

India’s cyber security unitCERT-In said it has received formalreports of just five “incidents”

across locations like Delhi andTamil Nadu.

“It is nothing major, but we arestill watching. The next couple ofdays, we will be on alert on this,”Indian Computer EmergencyResponse Team (CERT-In), direc-tor general, Sanjay Bahl told thenews agency PTI.

India is on high alert, moni-toring critical networks across sec-tors like banking, telecom, powerand aviation to ensure that systemsare protected against the attack thathas claimed victims in more than150 countries over the weekend.

The Reserve Bank of India(RBI) asked banks to follow theinstructions issued by CERT-In to

prevent the attack. A few ATMsrunning on old MicrosoftOperating System remained non-operational as part of precaution-ary measures.

CERT-In has issued list of dosand don’ts and webcast on how toprotect networks from the globalransomware attack.

India Inc has also been on thevigil against ‘WannaCry’, which hasclaimed victims in over 150 coun-tries like Spanish telecom firmTelefonica, US’ logistics majorFedEx and Russia’s interior min-istry.

Auto maker Nissan, whichsaw its systems being impactedglobally, said the Renault-Nissan

alliance plant in Chennai cameunder attack but its India team hasresponded and there is no majorimpact on business.

“Normal production opera-tions are underway at our RNAIPLplant in Chennai,” Nissan India saidin an emailed statement.

Indian IT companies likeInfosys and Wipro are alsomonitoring their systems andtaking necessary precautions toensure business continuity fortheir clients.

“The Indian IT industryshould be better placed than oth-ers (in handling the situation). Wehave not come across any signif-icant impact yet,” Nasscom

President, R Chandrasekhar said.Meanwhile, capital markets

regulator Sebi and top stockexchanges have beefed up theircyber security systems to ward offany threat from the dreaded ran-somware WannaCry, which hashit computers and networks inover 100 countries.

The Securities and ExchangeBoard of India (Sebi), which isalready in the process of strength-ening its rules for cyber securitymeasures in the capital markets,is keeping a close eye on networksecurity measures for its own sys-tems as also for the overall mar-ketplace, sources said.

Besides, the regulator is mon-itoring the steps being taken by themarket infrastructure institutionsand other entities.

GSTN, the company set up toprovide the IT infrastructure for GSTrollout, will not be impacted by theWannaCry ransomware attack as itssystems do not run on Microsoft soft-ware, its CEO Prakash Kumar said.

IT Secretary ArunaSundararajan said the ITMinistry along with CERT-In isclosely monitoring the situationand reiterated that no large scaleincidents were reported in pub-lic and private sectors. Report byvarious security solutions firmsover the weekend had claimedthat India is amongst the countriesworst affected by the ‘WannaCry’outbreak, accounting for aboutfive per cent of the attacks. PTI

Global ransomware attack: India stays on high alert

NEW DELHI: As part of pre-cautionary measures, banksdid not operate some ATMsrunning on old software inview of threat from ran-somware ‘WannaCry’.

The RBI has aske dbanks to follow the instruc-tions of government organ-isation CERT-In on ran-s omware , w hich hasimpacted various IT net-works in over 150 coun-tries.

Indian C omputerEmergency Response Team(CERT-In) has come outwith a list of dos and dont’s

and webcast on how to pro-tect networks from theglobal ransomware attack.

Most automated tellermachines (ATMs) were run-ning fine, there could be somewhich may not have updatedMicrosoft’s Windows operat-ing system, sources said.

Such ATMs could beprone to attack so as pre-cautionary measure banksr unning such ATMsrefrained from feedingcash, sources added.

However, there was noofficial information in thisregard from the RBI in this

connection till late evening. There are a total of 2.2

lakh ATMs in India, ofwhich few may be runningon old Windows XP.

In a separate malwareattack last year, 3.2 lakhdebit cards were compro-mised in the country. Dataof the users who transactedfrom ATM machines ofHitachi were compromisedduring three months of May,June and July last year. TheHitachi ATMs deployed bymany White Label ATMplayers and Yes Bank wereimpacted by the malware.PTI

Some ATMs remained shut on precautionary ground

Exports rise 20% in April but trade deficit swells 3-fold

money 11LUCKNOW | TUESDAY | MAY 16, 2017

Companies come under greater scrutiny

PTI n NEW DELHI

The government has askedall companies to disclose

shares and bond transactionsinvolving Rs 10 lakh or more ina financial year to Income Taxdepartment by May 31.

Besides, a listed companypurchasing its own securitiesfor a specified amount frominvestors will have to furnishthe information to the taxdepartment, Corporate AffairsMinistry said in a notice.

A company issuing shares,bonds or debentures aggre-gating to Rs 10 lakh or more ina financial year to any personwill have to make the disclosureonline regarding such transac-tions to the Income-Taxdepartment on or before May

31, 2017.“Buy back of shares from

any person (other than sharesbought in the open market) foran amount or value aggregat-ing to Rs 10 lakh or more in afinancial year,” will also comeunder this disclosure.

Further, the government isin the process of cancelling theregistration of more than twolakh companies that have notbeen carrying out business fora considerable period of time,amid stepped up efforts totackle the black money menace.

These firms have beenserved with show cause noticesas they have not been carryingout any operation or businessactivity for a prolonged time.

These companies are sus-pected to be used for money

laundering activities.Earlier in April, Revenue

Secretary Hasmukh Adhia saidthat close to nine lakh regis-tered companies are not filingannual returns with theMinistry of Corporate Affairsand are a potential source ofmoney laundering.

As per the income taxdepartment records, out of the15 lakh companies registered inIndia, only 6 lakh file returns.Out of these 6 lakh, about 3lakh show nil income.

Meanwhile, organisationswith over Rs 20 lakh turnoverwill have to specify the PANwhile filling the UdyogAadhaar Memorandum forregistration.

These organisationsinclude companies, limited lia-

bility partnerships, cooperativesocieties, societies and trusts.

The decision, taken at ameeting chaired by the MSMESecretary KK Jalan recently,will be implemented after twomonths of the Goods andServices Tax coming into oper-ation.

The GST regime is likely tocome into force on July 1.

“Presently, it is not manda-tory for these organisations tomention the PAN number inthe Udyog AadhaarMemorandum. However, sinceit will be compulsory for firmswith turnover above Rs 20lakh to have a PAN numberunder the GST, we have takenthis decision to align it with theproposed regime,” Jalan toldPTI.

Maruti earmarks `140 cr for

CSR activities this fiscal

PTI n NEW DELHI

Country’s largest carmakerMaruti Suzuki India (MSI)

has earmarked Rs 140 crore forvarious CSR activities, includ-ing road safety initiatives, forthe current financial year.

As part of various activitiesplanned during the fiscal, thecompany is looking to exploreinnovative technology in thearea of road safety for trafficmanagement and control aspart of its corporate socialresponsibility (CSR) initia-tives.

It has also included health-care as a focus area under com-munity development.

“Through CSR projects,we aim to create positiveimpact.

The quality of life in theadopted villages has improved,over 90 per cent of the indi-vidual household toilets con-structed are used regularly,”MSI Head of CSR Ranjit Singhtold PTI.

There is an increase in thepass percentage of students inthe supported schools, headded. MSI has adopted 14new villages in last three years.

The company’s board hasalready approved Rs 140 crorefor CSR activities in 2017-18.

The carmaker had invest-ed `89.45 crore in 2016-17, 140

per cent more than 2014-15and 14 per cent more than2015-16 on CSR activities.

Last fiscal, it trained 2.95lakh drivers in safe drivingwhile adding 40 new drivingtraining schools making it 400across 190 cities. It alsoreleased a comprehensive pan-India road safety index.

Besides, it doubled recruit-ment of ITI students across itsdealer service network. Over,2,200 students were placedduring the last fiscal as against1,100 in 2015-16.

The company said itupgraded 25 new ITIs in lastthree years under skill devel-opment programme.

Dr Reddy’s launches generic hepatitis C drug

New Delhi: Dr Reddy’sLaboratories on Monday said ithas launched a generic versionof Sofosbuvir 400 mg andVelpatasvir 100 mg fixed-dosecombination, indicated for thetreatment of chronic hepatitisC, in the country.

The Hyderabad-based firmhas launched its generic prod-uct under the brand nameResof Total, Dr Reddy’sLaboratories said in a state-ment.

Dr Reddy’s product is ageneric version of Gilead’sbrand Epclusa.

“Treatment with this com-bination achieves a cure rate ofmore than 90 per cent in allgenotypes of Hepatitis C virus,”the company said. Shares of thecompany ended 3.54 per centup at `2,676.15 on BSE.

Sebi fines 8 entities for disclosure lapses in IPO docus

New Delhi: Markets regulator Sebihas penalised Rushil Decor, CorporateStrategic Allianz and six others for dis-closure lapses in their IPO docu-ments.

Sebi has imposed a total penalty of`7 lakh on Rushil Decor and signato-ries of the IPO prospectus — VipulVora, Ghanshyam Ambalal Thakkar,Krupesh Ghanshyambhai Thakkar,Harshadbhai Navnitlal Doshi, ShankarPrasad Bhagat and Hasmukh KanubhaiModi.

These entities raised unsecuredloans of `5.94 crore after filing draftpapers for Rushil Decor’s `40 crore IPObut before the allotment of securities.

These loans were taken just before theIPO and repaid immediately after thepublic issue.

They did not disclose the financialliabilities and further that these liabil-ities would be paid from the IPO pro-ceeds.

“It is a material development con-sidering that such loans constituted14.54 per cent of the size of IPO.

“However, no disclosures in thisregard were made through publicadvertisements nor updated in theprospectus filed with the RoC(Registrar of Companies) on July 7,2011,” Sebi said in an order dated May12.

Rushil Decor initial share-sale wasopen for public subscription duringJune 20-23, 2011.

Besides, Sebi has slapped a fine of`8 lakh on merchant banker CorporateStrategic Allianz, which handled theIPO, as it failed to ensure that adequate,accurate and all relevant material dis-closures were made in the offer docu-ment.

It also failed to update the offerdocument regarding loans amountingto `5.94 crore taken by the entities.

By not disclosing such informa-tion, all these entities have violated SebiICDR (Issue of Capital and DisclosureRequirements) regulations.

Ficci urges govt to clamp down on rising contraband trade

PTI n NEW DELHI

Industry body Ficci has sug-gested to the government to

clamp down hard on rising illic-it trade in smuggled and coun-terfeit goods in India.

A report brought out by thechamber noted that high tax ratestend to exacerbate illicit marketsby creating greater demand forcheap and counterfeit substitutes.

The report by Ficci bodyCASCADE pegged the loss inseven industry sectors at`1,05,381 crore, increasing 44.4per cent between 2011-12 and

2013-14.Ficci shared the findings of

the report with policymakersfrom the Ministry of Finance,Cabinet Secretariat and the PrimeMinister’s office.

The chamber also highlight-ed the rising menace of smuggledand counterfeit goods in India ina letter to Revenue SecretaryHasmukh Adhia earlier thismonth.

“India is seen to be one of thegrowth engines of the world. AsIndian economy grows, it is fac-ing the challenges of illicit tradein smuggled and counterfeit

goods. “You will kindly agree thatto deal with a problem of thismagnitude, it is necessary thatadequate attention is given tobring forth the magnitude of themenace,” Ficci Secretary GeneralA Didar Singh said in the letter toAdhia. Trade in illicit goods ishighly pervasive across countriesand sectors, representing a multi-billion-dollar industry globallythat continues to grow. It is esti-mated that 8 to 15 per cent ofglobal GDP is impacted due toillicit trade. Smugglingand counterfeiting severely harmthe economy of a country as

they undermine the local indus-try, suppress innovation andinvestment, discourage legalimports, reduce the volume ofrevenues collected from dutiesand levies by the government andfuel transnational crimes. Themarket for contraband and smug-gled goods is thriving in India andis today one of the biggest chal-lenges faced by Indian industry,Ficci said in a statement.According to the report, the totalloss to the government on accountof illicit markets in just sevenmanufacturing sectors was`39,239 crore in 2014.

Script Last Abs ChangeTraded Price Change %3MINDIA 12750 49.75 0.398KMILES 584.2 -8.45 -1.43AARTIIND 930.85 35.65 3.98ABAN 222.1 1 0.45ABB 1561 14.85 0.96ABBOTINDIA 4200 -97 -2.26ABFRL 176.05 6 3.53ABIRLANUVO 1704.1 29.55 1.76ACC 1682.5 4.95 0.3ADANIENT 121.95 0.35 0.29ADANIPORTS 355.25 -1.9 -0.53ADANIPOWER 30.3 0 0ADANITRANS 95.15 5.8 6.49ADVENZYMES 1992 89.2 4.69AEGISLOG 194.3 2.3 1.2AIAENG 1499.05 11.35 0.76AJANTPHARM 1629.75 20.6 1.28AKZOINDIA 1968.95 49.9 2.6ALBK 87.95 -2 -2.22ALKEM 1914.9 22.4 1.18ALLCARGO 185.2 1.2 0.65AMARAJABAT 926 -0.2 -0.02AMBUJACEM 258.2 -0.2 -0.08AMTEKAUTO 37.25 -0.55 -1.46ANDHRABANK 68.75 -0.7 -1.01APLAPOLLO 1450 29 2.04APLLTD 601 0.25 0.04APOLLOHOSP 1305 -5.65 -0.43APOLLOTYRE 232.15 4.85 2.13ARVIND 393.75 -2.25 -0.57ASAHIINDIA 255.85 16.95 7.1ASHOKA 215.5 4.65 2.21ASHOKLEY 86.2 0.65 0.76ASIANPAINT 1147.25 14.95 1.32ASTRAL 608 11.7 1.96ASTRAMICRO 139.5 -2.35 -1.66ASTRAZEN 1020 40.95 4.18ATUL 2562.95 51.9 2.07AUROPHARMA 613.7 -9.1 -1.46AVANTI 1077.95 179.65 20

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EIHOTEL 135.45 2.85 2.15ELGIEQUIP 222.35 4.9 2.25EMAMILTD 1093.15 -3.85 -0.35ENDURANCE 820.9 12.7 1.57ENGINERSIN 168.55 2.75 1.66ENIL 790 4 0.51EQUITAS 162.9 1.15 0.71EROSMEDIA 244.1 7.65 3.24ESCORTS 649.95 3.8 0.59ESSELPRO 264.7 -2.9 -1.08EVEREADY 320 0.2 0.06EXIDEIND 246.35 1.6 0.65FAGBEARING 4667 50.5 1.09FCONSUMER 32 -0.25 -0.78FDC 184.15 -0.3 -0.16FEDERALBNK 117.05 2.15 1.87FINCABLES 537.95 0.9 0.17FINOLEXIND 601.9 13.9 2.36FORCEMOT 4522.15 32.2 0.72FORTIS 205.35 -2.9 -1.39FRETAIL 324.15 1.7 0.53FSL 37.75 -0.55 -1.44GAIL 413.55 4.7 1.15GATI 134.7 0.95 0.71GAYAPROJ 163.85 1.95 1.2GDL 250 -3.05 -1.21GEPIL 653 7.05 1.09GESHIP 427.05 0.65 0.15GET&D 363.1 0.9 0.25GHCL* 256 5.25 2.09GICHSGFIN 545.5 4.6 0.85GILLETTE 4915.65 -53.3 -1.07GLAXO 2419.05 0.6 0.02GLENMARK 716.25 -43.1 -5.68GMDCLTD 133.55 0.6 0.45GMRINFRA 17.5 0.9 5.42GNFC 305.15 -1.45 -0.47GODFRYPHLP 1265.25 8.9 0.71GODREJCP 1926.35 18.3 0.96GODREJIND 577.05 12.55 2.22GODREJPROP 513.85 4.5 0.88GPPL 158.7 -2.05 -1.28GRANULES 141.4 -1.8 -1.26GRASIM 1172.5 21.8 1.89GREAVESCOT 156.3 -3.45 -2.16GREENPLY 289 -1.05 -0.36

GRINDWELL 385 0.6 0.16GRUH 416.1 -1.5 -0.36GSFC 138.5 2.45 1.8GSKCONS 5285.05 4.85 0.09GSPL 176.9 3.8 2.2GUJFLUORO 717.65 -0.5 -0.07GUJGAS 775.5 5 0.65GULFOILLUB 780 1.2 0.15HATHWAY 42.3 2.5 6.28HATSUN 614.7 4.15 0.68HAVELLS 513.35 1 0.2HCC 44.5 -0.2 -0.45HCL-INSYS 54.5 0 0HCLTECH 851.15 3.9 0.46HDFC 1555.95 7.1 0.46HDFCBANK 1555.2 6.7 0.43HDIL 99.25 4 4.2HEIDELBERG 132.55 -1.15 -0.86HEROMOTOCO 3505.1 -31.85 -0.9HEXAWARE 254.6 5.45 2.19HFCL 14.8 -0.15 -1HIMATSEIDE 349.8 3.6 1.04HINDALCO 198.4 7.4 3.87HINDCOPPER 66.75 3.45 5.45HINDPETRO 536.2 2 0.37HINDUNILVR 982.55 2.5 0.26HINDZINC 256.65 1.75 0.69HMVL 282 1.35 0.48HONAUT 11250 -150.8 -1.32HSIL 342.8 2.95 0.87HTMEDIA 84.05 0.65 0.78IBREALEST 173.55 2.4 1.4IBULHSGFIN 1062.7 9.6 0.91ICICIBANK 302.05 5.4 1.82ICICIPRULI 415.8 5.95 1.45ICIL 193.7 -4.6 -2.32ICRA 4210 -45 -1.06IDBI 75.15 -0.4 -0.53IDEA 85.85 -6.45 -6.99IDFC 63.65 0.25 0.39IDFCBANK 63.75 -0.6 -0.93IFCI 31.4 -0.05 -0.16IGL 1004 7.45 0.75IIFL 493.55 0.1 0.02IL&FSTRANS 117.6 0.05 0.04INDHOTEL 136.6 3.55 2.67INDIACEM 220.25 10.65 5.08INDIANB 358.35 5 1.42INDIGO 1111 17.85 1.63INDOCO 221.5 -1.85 -0.83INDUSINDBK 1414.1 0.9 0.06INFIBEAM 990.85 -6.95 -0.7INFRATEL 371.15 -3.3 -0.88INFY 951.95 -11.95 -1.24INGERRAND 885 4.05 0.46INOXLEISUR 282.4 0.3 0.11INOXWIND 166.8 -35.15 -17.41INTELLECT 123.4 -2.6 -2.06IOB 29.4 -0.45 -1.51IOC 441.65 7.35 1.69IPCALAB 556.5 6.25 1.14IRB 260.65 5.1 2ISGEC 6445.6 65.65 1.03ITC 277.35 3.05 1.11ITDCEM 165.55 -7.1 -4.11J&KBANK 81.55 -2.5 -2.97JAGRAN 193.55 0 0JAICORPLTD 87 -0.05 -0.06JBCHEPHARM 345.1 10.75 3.22JBFIND 277.3 -1.65 -0.59JCHAC 1860 32.95 1.8JETAIRWAYS 527.65 8.3 1.6JINDALPOLY 413.75 3.35 0.82JINDALSTEL 114.2 2.25 2.01JISLJALEQS 97.1 -3.2 -3.19

JKCEMENT 1115 43.2 4.03JKIL 304.15 2.9 0.96JKLAKSHMI 510.6 4.75 0.94JKTYRE 168.95 3.2 1.93JMFINANCIL 118 0.45 0.38JPASSOCIAT 12.73 0.06 0.47JSWENERGY 68.4 1.65 2.47JSWSTEEL 201.85 4.6 2.33JUBILANT 761.3 -12.25 -1.58JUBLFOOD 1022.6 37.15 3.77JUSTDIAL 510.2 11.95 2.4JYOTHYLAB 390 23.3 6.35KAJARIACER 715.45 28.9 4.21KALPATPOWR 349.7 -1.1 -0.31KANSAINER 431.55 21.35 5.2KEC 233.5 1 0.43KESORAMIND 150.15 5.95 4.13KIRLOSENG 395.3 -5.9 -1.47KITEX 398.45 -1.5 -0.38KOTAKBANK 973.3 20 2.1KPIT 128.8 0.5 0.39KPRMILL 765 17.9 2.4KRBL 412.7 3.9 0.95KSCL 547.75 3.35 0.62KTKBANK 164.1 -1.55 -0.94KWALITY 148.35 2.1 1.44L&TFH 133.75 2.35 1.79LAKSHVILAS 189.45 3.4 1.83LALPATHLAB 902.35 10.85 1.22LAOPALA 528.95 10.7 2.06LAURUSLABS 551.45 -5.15 -0.93LAXMIMACH 4609.35 56.5 1.24LICHSGFIN 685.8 2.65 0.39LINDEINDIA 443.5 -6.6 -1.47LT 1738.3 -1.2 -0.07LTI 763.25 8.35 1.11LTTS 765 3.25 0.43LUPIN 1284.25 30.1 2.4M&M 1376.25 10.5 0.77M&MFIN 331.25 0.35 0.11MAGMA 131.55 -1.1 -0.83MAHABANK 33.8 -0.15 -0.44MAHINDCIE 245.75 5.1 2.12MAHLIFE 450 -0.75 -0.17MANAPPURAM 96.1 2.2 2.34MANPASAND 774.3 35.8 4.85MARICO 309.3 -3.45 -1.1MARKSANS 51.9 1.05 2.06MARUTI 6812.65 84.55 1.26MCLEODRUSS 179.2 -2.05 -1.13MCX 1074.55 -31.15 -2.82MFSL 675.75 29.75 4.61MGL 993.7 10.95 1.11MHRIL 465.5 -1.65 -0.35MINDAIND 520 23 4.63MINDTREE 508.2 -2.1 -0.41MJCO 367 -7.65 -2.04MMTC 66.35 1.8 2.79MOIL 328.7 1.5 0.46MONSANTO 2719.1 50.5 1.89MOTHERSUMI 416.95 3.55 0.86MOTILALOFS 1062.85 36.5 3.56MPHASIS 578.05 3.85 0.67MRF 65551.15 57.9 0.09MRPL 134.1 4.9 3.79MTNL 24 -0.25 -1.03MUTHOOTFIN 392 2.15 0.55NATCOPHARM 934.15 27.4 3.02NATIONALUM 66.3 -0.1 -0.15NAUKRI 858 24.85 2.98NAVINFLUOR 2978 -43.05 -1.43NAVKARCORP 231.05 -0.05 -0.02NAVNETEDUL 164.55 -1.95 -1.17NBCC 197.15 2.6 1.34NBVENTURES 143.75 -2.8 -1.91

NCC 97.2 3.35 3.57NESTLEIND 6600 -219.55 -3.22NETWORK18 53.9 5.2 10.68NH 306.2 -0.2 -0.07NHPC 31.15 0.3 0.97NIITLTD 85.85 -1.15 -1.32NIITTECH 522.2 -4.1 -0.78NILKAMAL 2080.8 -51.5 -2.42NLCINDIA 107.2 3.45 3.33NMDC 128.5 2.7 2.15NOVARTIND 677 3.85 0.57NTPC 159.75 1 0.63OBEROIRLTY 401.9 7.8 1.98OFSS 3754.8 -2.3 -0.06OIL 320.2 1.25 0.39OMAXE 202.45 1.15 0.57ONGC 186.9 2.15 1.16ONMOBILE 81.75 -0.2 -0.24ORIENTBANK 160.05 -3.35 -2.05ORIENTCEM 164.6 2.25 1.39PAGEIND 15470 533.45 3.57PARAGMILK 248.75 4.9 2.01PCJEWELLER 448.7 -0.9 -0.2PEL 2866.1 256.65 9.84PERSISTENT 584.95 -0.55 -0.09PETRONET 451.4 16 3.67PFC 160.05 0.2 0.13PFIZER 1760.05 33.35 1.93PFS 49.6 0.45 0.92PGHH 8103.05 141.45 1.78PHOENIXLTD 420.25 1 0.24PIDILITIND 751 0.9 0.12PIIND 832.45 -4.05 -0.48PNB 166.95 -1.9 -1.13PNBHOUSING 1341.45 17.8 1.34PNCINFRA 159.35 1.5 0.95POLARIS 208.9 -3.05 -1.44POWERGRID 206.65 0.5 0.24PRAJIND 82.6 -0.5 -0.6PRESTIGE 236.9 -4.85 -2.01PRISMCEM 124.3 0.5 0.4PTC 101.3 0.3 0.3

PUNJLLOYD 23.55 -0.4 -1.67PVR 1520.05 -4.25 -0.28RADICO 128.25 1.2 0.94RAIN 107.45 2.75 2.63RAJESHEXPO 643.45 11.1 1.76RALLIS 247.55 -1.55 -0.62RAMCOCEM* 698.65 -11 -1.55RAMCOSYS 371.2 -8.9 -2.34RAYMOND 770.6 6.15 0.8RBLBANK 562.55 6.55 1.18RCF 96.1 2.3 2.45RCOM 32 -0.4 -1.23RDEL 65.95 0.2 0.3RECLTD 218.95 4.25 1.98REDINGTON 129.5 1.25 0.97RELAXO 479.45 0 0RELCAPITAL 677.45 9 1.35RELIANCE 1343.65 -7.2 -0.53RELIGARE 190.25 1.4 0.74RELINFRA 605.35 -3.95 -0.65RENUKA 14.24 -0.26 -1.79REPCOHOME 754 5.45 0.73ROLTA 59.25 -0.3 -0.5RPOWER 46.7 0.05 0.11RTNPOWER 8.31 -0.04 -0.48SADBHAV 340.6 8.95 2.7SAIL 61.8 1.4 2.32SANOFI 4201 1.1 0.03SBIN 300.45 3.3 1.11SCHNEIDER 149.8 2.65 1.8SCI 82.2 -1.15 -1.38SEQUENT 128.1 5.05 4.1SHARDACROP 541.6 -0.15 -0.03SHILPAMED 693.3 2 0.29SHK 290.95 -20 -6.43SHOPERSTOP 340 -2.6 -0.76SHREECEM 20239.15 516.55 2.62SHRIRAMCIT 2201.95 64.9 3.04SIEMENS 1419.85 28.15 2.02SINTEX 116.4 3.6 3.19SITINET 32.3 0.1 0.31SJVN 33.15 0.35 1.07SKFINDIA 1622 -30.4 -1.84SMLISUZU 1320 9.9 0.76SOBHA 406.65 -2.1 -0.51SOLARINDS 824 17.1 2.12

SONATSOFTW 163 -0.7 -0.43SOUTHBANK 24.65 -1.15 -4.46SPARC 314.4 0.95 0.3SPICEJET 117.7 -0.25 -0.21SREINFRA 113.85 0.05 0.04SRF 1794.85 28.35 1.6SRTRANSFIN 995 5.05 0.51STAR 1038.6 -7.35 -0.7STRTECH 159.5 4.75 3.07SUNDRMFAST 391.45 -2.75 -0.7SUNPHARMA 651.9 -1.7 -0.26SUNTECK 447 16.1 3.74SUNTV 912.2 28.1 3.18SUPREMEIND 1192.05 -3.7 -0.31SUVEN 191.55 -3.1 -1.59SUZLON 19.65 -1.15 -5.53SWANENERGY 143.1 -3 -2.05SYMPHONY 1489.7 28.8 1.97SYNDIBANK 89.1 -0.7 -0.78SYNGENE 449.5 1.15 0.26TAKE 139.7 -0.1 -0.07TATACHEM 629.65 1.05 0.17TATACOFFEE 130 0.95 0.74TATACOMM 684 12.25 1.82TATAELXSI 1558.45 8.35 0.54TATAGLOBAL 154 1.5 0.98TATAINVEST 669 7.6 1.15TATAMOTORS 431.85 1.45 0.34TATAMTRDVR 264.6 -0.4 -0.15TATAPOWER 83.3 1.2 1.46TATASPONGE 864.25 8.45 0.99TATASTEEL 455.75 19 4.35TCS 2364.4 4.9 0.21TECHM 442.6 0.6 0.14TECHNO 409.25 4.25 1.05TEXRAIL 96.55 -0.1 -0.1THERMAX 1036.55 17.4 1.71THOMASCOOK 225.5 8.55 3.94THYROCARE 723.6 -9.45 -1.29TIMKEN 708.15 12.15 1.75TITAN 483.45 -11.05 -2.23TNPL 342 8 2.4

TORNTPHARM 1300.1 1.55 0.12TORNTPOWER 214.25 1.3 0.61TRENT 252.25 -2.5 -0.98TRIDENT 86.15 -0.5 -0.58TRITURBINE 138.5 1.3 0.95TTKPRESTIG 6360 -4.15 -0.07TUBEINVEST 688.6 2.05 0.3TV18BRDCST 41.8 0.5 1.21TVSMOTOR 524.65 8.75 1.7TVSSRICHAK 4070 50.85 1.27TVTODAY 269.65 -1.05 -0.39TWL 128.4 -0.6 -0.47UBL 833 3.7 0.45UCOBANK 39.35 -2.2 -5.29UFLEX 372.55 5.55 1.51UJJIVAN 351.95 3.4 0.98ULTRACEMCO 4431.7 30.8 0.7UNICHEMLAB 263.15 0.35 0.13UNIONBANK 173.9 -0.8 -0.46UNITDSPR 2154.2 -18.9 -0.87UNITECH 5.57 -0.05 -0.89UPL 835.6 11.5 1.4VAKRANGEE 349.35 1.35 0.39VEDL 241.3 4.9 2.07VGUARD 210 3.45 1.67VIDEOIND 99.95 0.1 0.1VIJAYABANK 90.35 2.95 3.38VINATIORGA 840 17 2.07VIPIND 199.2 -2.55 -1.26VOLTAS 432.45 -1.85 -0.43VRLLOG 324 1.55 0.48VSTIND 3007 -13.1 -0.43VTL 1338 19.2 1.46WABAG 666.4 7.05 1.07WABCOINDIA 5900 -9.7 -0.16WELCORP 89.9 5.6 6.64WELSPUNIND 91.05 1.45 1.62WESTLIFE 224.4 6.75 3.1WHIRLPOOL 1225.65 45.1 3.82WIPRO 506.25 -0.55 -0.11WOCKPHARMA 675.95 1.2 0.18WONDERLA 385.7 -5.4 -1.38YAMNINV 23.6 0 0YESBANK 1471.5 -12.35 -0.83ZEEL 525.15 -1.4 -0.27ZENSARTECH 895.55 -0.2 -0.02ZYDUSWELL 852.55 15.05 1.8

NIFTY 50

SCRIP OPEN HIGH LOW LTP CHANGETATASTEEL 438 456.9 437.8 456.45 19.75HINDALCO 191.95 199.9 191.9 198.7 7.65DRREDDY 2,600.00 2,699.00 2,592.00 2,667.50 86.7BOSCHLTD 23,520.0024,300.0023,520.0024,135.00 649.2LUPIN 1,253.95 1,292.95 1,252.00 1,285.00 31.05GRASIM 1,151.00 1,178.00 1,151.00 1,174.10 24.9KOTAKBANK 955 981.45 954.4 970 15.35IOC 437.85 443.55 433.85 441.75 6.85ICICIBANK 299.5 303.5 298.2 301.2 4.65TATAPOWER 82.55 83.8 82.15 83.55 1.25ASIANPAINT 1,142.90 1,149.90 1,135.00 1,149.90 16.95MARUTI 6,759.40 6,839.10 6,733.45 6,824.00 93.8ITC 275.9 278.9 275.5 278.5 3.55GAIL 413.05 415.25 410 413.8 4.6ONGC 187.3 188.3 186.15 186.9 2.05IBULHSGFIN 1,056.10 1,074.00 1,054.55 1,064.85 11.05BANKBARODA 186.55 189.8 186.5 188.25 1.85SBIN 298.4 302 297.5 300.85 2.95ULTRACEMCO 4,415.00 4,498.00 4,415.00 4,442.00 37.65HDFC 1,554.50 1,572.60 1,554.10 1,561.00 11.2INDUSINDBK 1,414.20 1,422.60 1,403.40 1,420.00 8.25NTPC 159 160 157.8 159.7 0.85M&M 1,373.00 1,386.65 1,370.00 1,374.80 6.95TECHM 445 445.9 438.15 444 1.75TCS 2,375.10 2,377.95 2,341.60 2,368.00 7.35COALINDIA 277.25 278.5 277.25 277.4 0.8TATAMOTORS 434 434 430.1 431.95 1.1HINDUNILVR 981.3 988.85 974.55 982.5 2.3ACC 1,682.20 1,710.00 1,677.20 1,683.35 3.5POWERGRID 208.9 209 206.35 206.5 0.25HDFCBANK 1,550.00 1,557.20 1,542.25 1,553.00 1.35LT 1,748.60 1,751.55 1,736.50 1,742.00 1.4AMBUJACEM 258.3 263.5 255.6 258.3 -0.1HCLTECH 848.5 850 845 847.05 -0.6WIPRO 510 510 501.65 506.25 -0.8SUNPHARMA 655.4 656.85 649.5 654 -1.1BAJAJ-AUTO 3,005.00 3,022.85 2,985.10 2,998.25 -6.55CIPLA 567 572.45 561 566.65 -1.3ZEEL 530 531.6 521.5 525.05 -1.35BHARTIARTL 366 369.95 361.4 364 -1.1TATAMTRDVR 266 266.2 262.3 263.95 -0.85RELIANCE 1,356.40 1,356.40 1,333.50 1,343.60 -6.85ADANIPORTS 359 359.75 350.85 356 -1.95AXISBANK 505 508.5 498.4 500.25 -2.75BPCL 734.65 736 723 729 -4.15YESBANK 1,496.90 1,506.00 1,453.55 1,474.00 -9.1HEROMOTOCO 3,541.00 3,558.00 3,504.60 3,518.00 -23.5INFRATEL 375.8 375.8 368.65 372 -2.7EICHERMOT 29,403.1029,455.0028,831.0028,915.05 -263.3INFY 963.5 963.5 949.1 953.25 -11AUROPHARMA 626.7 626.7 611.55 613.6 -10.1

se 500B

VITAL STATS

GOLD SILVERMumbai 29529 37710Delhi 29197 37710Kolkata 29443 37710

BSE: SENSEX

OpenHighLowCurrent valuePrevious close Change (Pts) Change (%)

64.12

82.83

70.13

0.56

NIFTY NEXT 50

SCRIP OPEN HIGH LOW LTP CHANGEPEL 2,670.00 2,949.90 2,660.00 2,868.65 269.2BAJAJFINSV 4,427.00 4,589.95 4,381.20 4,575.00 179.45PETRONET 444.85 456.4 439.5 449.3 14JSWSTEEL 198 202.65 196.3 202.2 5.05SHREECEM 19,701.0020,538.0019,701.0020,219.90 483.1SAIL 60.6 61.95 60.55 61.75 1.35NMDC 126.25 128.85 126.05 128.5 2.7INDIGO 1,094.00 1,119.90 1,084.45 1,115.85 23.05SIEMENS 1,398.00 1,424.00 1,393.40 1,419.95 28.05PGHH 7,940.00 8,134.90 7,940.00 8,100.00 159.8RECLTD 215.9 220.15 214.65 219 4.2VEDL 238.95 243 237.25 241 4.25ICICIPRULI 411 419.9 409 417.5 7.25NHPC 30.9 31.45 30.85 31.35 0.5UPL 827.9 845.8 824.25 837.5 13.25BAJFINANCE 1,323.00 1,348.50 1,317.65 1,332.00 17.25CUMMINSIND 1,068.00 1,070.90 1,046.75 1,066.00 13.75ABB 1,550.00 1,575.45 1,524.85 1,565.00 19.55BRITANNIA 3,704.00 3,799.50 3,680.05 3,750.00 45.75ASHOKLEY 86 86.5 85.45 86.5 0.8GODREJCP 1,912.00 1,949.00 1,911.55 1,927.25 17.3DLF 209.65 211.9 207.3 210.1 1.75SRTRANSFIN 990 1,003.90 990 998 8.2HINDZINC 255 257.75 253.05 256.25 1.9MOTHERSUMI 416 418.5 412.1 416.1 2.1OIL 320 323 317.4 320.35 1.55CONCOR 1,192.90 1,192.90 1,175.05 1,187.80 4.9BEL 180 180.95 178.8 180.1 0.7BHEL 171.45 173.85 171.25 171.55 0.65HINDPETRO 537.95 538.8 531.1 537 1.3HAVELLS 514.95 517.75 508.9 513.7 0.75GLAXO 2,420.00 2,443.00 2,402.00 2,420.15 2.45UBL 826.9 844.6 822.2 828.15 0.85LICHSGFIN 685 687.35 678.65 683.5 0.45PFC 159.5 162.75 159.5 160.1 0.1TORNTPHARM 1,301.20 1,309.25 1,295.00 1,300.05 0.6GSKCONS 5,299.00 5,342.75 5,280.05 5,300.00 -1CADILAHC 484 493.65 480.5 487.45 -0.45PIDILITIND 752.95 755.05 744.2 749.05 -0.95DIVISLAB 628.5 630.95 621 624.1 -1.75EMAMILTD 1,105.00 1,111.55 1,081.30 1,091.00 -6.6OFSS 3,787.90 3,790.00 3,735.05 3,740.25 -27.3PNB 169.95 171.3 166.2 166.85 -2.3MARICO 314.3 315 306.8 309.4 -4.45MCDOWELL-N 2,180.00 2,215.00 2,141.00 2,142.80 -34DABUR 279.85 280.9 273.8 275.15 -4.7COLPAL 1,014.00 1,029.95 978 996.6 -17.5TITAN 489.65 490 472.4 486 -9GLENMARK 765 766 708.3 713.6 -45.95IDEA 92 93.35 84.55 86.5 -5.85

30287.3730357.9630273.6230322.1230188.15133.970.44

BSE: GAINERS

NETWORK18 53.90 (10.68)

PEL 2866.10 (9.84)

WELCORP 89.90 (6.64)

ADANITRANS 95.15 (6.49)

HATHWAY 42.30 (6.28)

Current (Chng %)NSE: GAINERS

TATASTEEL 456.45 (4.52)

HINDALCO 198.70 (4.00)

DRREDDY 2,667.50 (3.36)

BOSCHLTD 24,135.00 (2.76)

LUPIN 1,285.00 (2.48)

Current (Chng %)BSE: LOSERS

IDEA 85.85 (6.99)

GLENMARK 716.25 (5.68)

SUZLON 19.65 (5.53)

UCOBANK 39.35 (5.29)

SOUTHBANK 24.65 (4.46)

Current (Chng %)NSE: LOSERS

AUROPHARMA 613.60 (1.62)

INFY 953.25 (1.14)

EICHERMOT 28,915.05 (0.90)

INFRATEL 372.00 (0.72)

HEROMOTOCO 3,518.00 (0.66)

Current (Chng %)

SENSEX NIFTY

world 12LUCKNOW | TUESDAY | MAY 16, 2017

Lili Reinhart opens up

about depression battle

Los Angeles: Actress Lili Reinhart says she was suffering “theworst depression”before being castin CW televisionseries, “Riverdale”.The 20-year-oldactress stars asBetty Cooper in theseries, and hascredited the showfor not only givingher a steady job asan actress, but foralso “completelysaving” her life aftershe fell into a deepdepression, report-ed E! online.Taking to Twitter,Lili said, “I cried tears of joy. In that moment I became a work-ing actress with a steady job. Something I had been workingtowards for 7 years... “And now here we are, gearing up to filmseason 2. And I could not be more grateful. “‘Riverdale’ cameinto my life when I was going through the worst depression Ihad ever experienced. And in the end it completely saved me.

Swift sends note to a

fan for grad party invite

Los Angeles: Taylor Swift sent her well wishes to a fan, whohad invited the singerto her graduationparty. The 27-year-old“Bad Blood” hitmak-er’s message was per-sonally addressed,starting off, “Ashley,Hi love! I’m so sadthat I can’t make it toyour graduationparty,” reported Peoplemagazine. PraisingAshley, she furtherwrote, “I’m so proud ofyou, your hard workand dedication, yourexcitement and ambi-tion. I’m very luckythat a girl like you

cares about me.” The fan also took to social media to share pho-tos of the flowers and hand-written note by Swift, writing, “Iinvited Taylor to my graduation party and she sent me flow-ers and this card. I love you honey @taylorswift13.”

GLOBEGLOBE

TROTTINGTROTTING

N Korea: New missile can carry nuclear warhead

AFP n SEOUL

North Korea on Mondaycelebrated the launch of

what appeared to be its longest-range ballistic missile yet test-ed in a bid to bring the USmainland within reach, sayingit was capable of carrying a“heavy nuclear warhead”.

Leader Kim Jong-Un per-sonally oversaw the test onSunday, the official KoreaCentral News Agency (KCNA)said, and pictures by statemedia showed him gazing atthe missile in a hangar beforethe launch.In others he glee-fully clasped hands with offi-cers and staff after the blackmissile — named as theHwasong-12 — ascended intothe sky in the dawn light, atopa column of fire.The isolatedNorth is under multiple sets ofUnited Nations sanctions overits nuclear and missile pro-grammes, which have trig-gered global alarm. The missilewas launched on an unusuallyhigh trajectory, with KCNAsaying it flew to an altitude of2,111.5 kilometres and travelled787 kilometres before comingdown in the Sea of Japan (EastSea).

That suggests a range of4,500 kilometres (2,800 miles)or more if flown for maximumdistance, analysts said. Aside

from Pyongyang’s spacelaunches, Jeffrey Lewis of theMiddlebury Institute ofInternational Studies in theUS told AFP: “This is thelongest-range missile NorthKorea has ever tested.”

On the respected 38 Northwebsite, aerospace engineering

specialist John Schilling said itappeared to demonstrate anintermediate-range ballisticmissile that could “reliablystrike the US base at Guam” inthe Pacific.“More importantly,”he added, it “may represent asubstantial advance to devel-oping an intercontinental bal-

listic missile (ICBM)”. TheNorth has carried out twoatomic tests and dozens ofmissile launches since thebeginning of last year in itsquest to develop a missile capa-ble of delivering a nuclear war-head to the continental UnitedStates — something President

Donald Trump has vowed“won’t happen”.

KCNA said the new rock-et was a “perfect weapon”which was “capable of carryinga large-size heavy nuclear war-head”. It cited Kim as saying theNorth would never succumb towhat it called the “highlyridiculous” US strategy of “mil-itarily browbeating only weakcountries and nations whichhave no nukes”. “If the US daresopt for a military provocationagainst the DPRK, we are readyto counter it,” it said.

Tensions between the tworeached a peak in recent weeks,with Washington saying mili-tary action was an optionunder consideration andPyongyang issuing threats of itsown. Trump later appeared tohold open the door to negoti-ations, saying he would be“honoured” to meet Kim andcalling him a “smart cookie”.

Last week the South elect-ed a new president, Moon Jae-In, who advocates reconcilia-tion with Pyongyang and saidat his inauguration that he waswilling “in the right circum-stances” to visit the North toease tensions.

But he slammed the latestmissile test as a “reckless provo-cation” and said dialoguewould be possible “only if theNorth changes its attitude”.

Pyongyang says it needs

atomic weapons to defend itselfagainst the threat of invasion.In April it put dozens of mis-siles on show at a giant militaryparade through the capital,including one that appeared tobe the type launched Sunday.KCNA said the test “proved tothe full” the missile’s capabili-ties, including guidance andstabilisation systems, its engineperformance in flight, and “thehoming feature of the warheadunder the worst re-entry situ-ation and accurate perfor-mance of detonation system”.

There are doubts whetherPyongyang can miniaturise anuclear weapon sufficiently tofit it onto a missile nose cone,and no proof it has masteredthe re-entry technology need-ed to ensure it survives return-ing into Earth’s atmosphere.

Schilling said the ability tohit Guam, 3,400 kilometresaway, was not a game-changer,but that the new missile couldbe a step along the way.“Whatwould change the strategic bal-ance is an ICBM capable ofreaching the US mainland,” hesaid. “This is not that missilebut it might be a testbed,demonstrating technologiesand systems to be used infuture ICBMs.” The Northcould be testing ICBM subsys-tems in a “low-key manner” to“hedge” against the possibilityof US military action, he added.

This image made from video of an undated still image broadcast in a news bulletin by North Korea's KRT on Monday, M showsleader Kim Jong Un at what was said to be a missile test site at an undisclosed location in North Korea. Independent journalistswere not given access to cover the event depicted in this photo. North Korea on Monday boasted of a successful weekend launchof a new type of "medium long-range" ballistic rocket that can carry a heavy nuclear warhead. Outsiders also saw a significanttechnological jump, with the test-fire apparently flying higher and for a longer time period than any other such previous missile.

Intimidation of North

Korea must end: PutinAFP n BEIJING

Russian President VladimirPutin said on Monday

that North Korea’s latest mis-sile test was “dangerous”, buthe warned that Pyongyangwas being intimidated andcalled for a peaceful solutionto regional tensions.

“We are categoricallyagainst the expansion of theclub of nuclear powers,” Putintold reporters after an inter-national forum in Beijing .“We consider (the missile test)counter-productive, harmfuland dangerous,” Putin said.

But, he added: “We muststop intimidating North Koreaand find a peaceful solution tothis problem.”

North Korea celebratedSunday’s launch of whatappeared to be its longest-range ballistic missile yet test-ed in a bid to bring the USmainland within reach, sayingit was capable of carrying a“heavy nuclear warhead”.

The missile was launchedon an unusually high trajec-tory, with KCNA saying it flew

to an altitude of 2,111.5 kilo-metres and travelled 787 kilo-metres before coming down inthe Sea of Japan (East Sea).

That suggests a range of4,500 kilometres or moreifflown for maximum dis-tance, analysts said.

The White House saidyesterday that the missilecame down “so close toRussian soil... the president(Donald Trump) cannotimagine that Russia is pleased”.But Russia’s defence ministrylater said the missile landedabout 500 kilometres from itsterritory and posed no threat.

Airstrike kills 23 in Syria

Beirut, (AFP) An air strikeby the US-led coalition killed23 civilians on Monday in aSyrian town held by the IslamicState group on the border withIraq, a monitor said.

The deaths came after 12women were killed in a strikeby the US-led coalition fight-ing IS in the east of Syria’s Raqaprovince on Sunday, the SyrianObservatory for Human Rightsaid.

The strike hit the town ofAlbu Kamal in the early hoursof the morning, Observatorydirector Rami Abdel Rahmansaid. “They hit a residential areaat 3:00 am while people weresleeping, causing the high toll,”he said.

He added that IS was usingsome apartments in the areatargeted as local headquarters.

The deaths came after 12women were killed in a US-ledcoalition strike yesterday. The

Observatory said that strike hitvehicles carrying farmwork-ers home from fields in theafternoon.

IS has lost swathes of theterritory it once held in Raqaprovince, though it still holdsRaqa city and some areas to theeast.

A US-backed alliance ofKurdish and Arab fightersknown as the Syrian

Democratic Forces is battlingtowards Raqa city, the jihadistgroup’s most importantremaining Syrian bastion.

The US military said inMay that coalition strikes inSyria and Iraq had “uninten-tionally” killed 352 civilianssince it launched operationsagainst IS in 2014.

Rights groups say the actu-al figure is much higher.

UK’s NHS limps back to normalcy after cyberattacksPTI n LONDON

UK’s state-run National HealthService (NHS) was limping back

to normalcy today, even as expertshave warned of a second wave of ran-somwarecyberattacks on IT systemsaround the world.

The NHS systems appears to belargely up and running, althoughseven out of the 47 trusts hit by thelast week’s attack are still seekingemergency support, according to theNHS Digital.

UK Home Secretary Amber Ruddand health secretary Jeremy Hunt areholding a meeting of the country’semergency response committee,COBRA, to assess further action.

The UK’s National Cyber SecurityCentre said: “Since the global coor-dinated ransomware attack on thou-sands of private and public sectororganisations across dozens of coun-tries on Friday, there have been nosustained new attacks of that kind.”

“But it is important to understandthat the way these attacks workmeans that compromises of machinesand networks that have alreadyoccurred may not yet have beendetected, and that existing infec-tions from the malware can spreadwithin networks.”

The UK government has insistedthat the NHS had been repeatedlywarned about the cyber threat to itsIT systems, with Defence SecretaryMichael Fallon stating 50 millionpounds was being spent on NHS sys-tems to improve their security.

But Opposition parties have crit-icised the government,saying theyhad cut funding to the NHS IT bud-get and a contract to protect com-puter systems was not renewed after2015.

The virus that hit the NHS inEngland and Scotland, knownasWanna Decryptor or ‘WannaCry’,has infected 200,000 machines inover 150 countries since Friday.

‘Russia not involved in global cyberattack’Beijing (AFP): Russia had nothing to dowith a massive global cyberattack, PresidentVladimir Putin said on Monday, criticisingthe US intelligence community for creatingthe original software.Hundreds of thousands of computers inmore than 150 countries have been hit bythe ransomware attack, which has beendescribed as the largest-ever of its kind. Itbegan Friday and struck banks, hospitalsand government agencies among a varietyof other targets, exploiting knownvulnerabilities in older Microsoft computeroperating systems. “As for the source ofthese threats, Microsoft’s leadership statedthis directly, they said the source of thevirus was the special services of the UnitedStates,” Putin said. He was referring to a

weekend blog post by Microsoft presidentBrad Smith stating that the US NationalSecurity Agency had developed the codebeing used in the attack. It was leaked aspart of a document dump, according toresearchers. “A genie let out of a bottle ofthis kind, especially created by secretservices, can then cause damage to itsauthors and creators,” Putin said on thesidelines of an international summit inBeijing. “This completely doesn’t concernRussia.” The US has accused Russia in thepast of mounting several cyberattacks.In March the Justice Department indictedtwo officials of Russia’s Federal SecurityService and two criminal hackerswhom they allegedly hired to steal data fromsome 500 million Yahoo user accounts.

I was done with him: Preet Bharara

on not returning Trump’s call

PTI n NEW YORK

India-born former top feder-al prosecutor Preet Bharara,

who received a phone call fromUS President Donald Trumpjust two days before he wasfired, said he “was done with”the American leader and didhim a favour by not returninghis call.

“I was doing everyone afavour by not returning the call.I was doing the President afavour by not returning thecall,” Manhattan’s former pros-ecutor said during a conversa-tion last week with New YorkUniversity’s School of LawDean Trevor Morrison here.

Two days before he wasfired, 48-year-old Bharara hadgot a phone call from Trump’soffice asking him to call thePresident back. Bharara did notreturn the call. Asked if he hadconsidered returning that call,Bharara said there are lots ofregulations regarding how con-tacts should be madebetweenthe White House and theJustice Department. “This is aman who campaigned day after

day after day on the argumentthat (former President) BillClinton met with the sittingAttorney General during thependency of an investigation,”Bharara said, referring to thecontroversial meeting inPhoenix between Clinton andLoretta Lynch.

Trump had repeatedly saidduring the campaign trail thathe did not believe that talksabout investigation into HillaryClinton’s use of a private emailserver had not come up during

that meeting between her hus-band and Lynch and that thetwo had just talked about theirgrandchildren and other friv-olous things. Bharara said anyinteraction between him andTrump could have raiseddoubts in people’s minds overany future investigation hisoffice would have undertak-en.“Who on earth was going tobelieve that the President of theUS in a remarkable andunprecedented fashion is cul-tivating a relationship with the

US Attorney in Manhattan,whose jurisdiction includesvarious things, only to shootthe breeze… Who is going tobelieve that,” Bharara said.

“I saved a lot of people a lotof grief (by not returning thecall). At that point I was kindof done with him (Trump) soI didn’t return the call,” Bhararasaid.

Referring to him beingunceremoniously fired, Bharararecalled the meeting held withmuch “fanfare” between himand then president-elect Trumpin Trump Towers in Manhattanshortly after the presidentialelections. He said Trump hadthen explicitly asked him tostay on for another term.

Bharara also stressed theindependence of the USAttorney’s Offices.

“The mass of what goes onin any US Attorney’s Office…is not political and doesn’tbecome political, no matterwho thepresident is,” Bhararasaid. “My job was not to servethe president, whether that’sBarack Obama or DonaldTrump or anyone else.

Bangladesh top court

upholds life term for

cleric over war crimesDhaka (PTI): Bangladesh’sapex court on Monday upheldthe life sentence given to a warcriminal for committing crimesagainst humanity during the1971 Liberation War by sidingwith Pakistani troops.

The Supreme Court dis-missed both the pleas filed bythe state and defence, andstood by its earlier judgementto jail fundamentalist Jamaat-e-Islami stalwart DelwarHossainSayeedi, 77, until hisdeath.

A five-member bench ledby Chief Justice SurendraKumar Sinha delivered theverdict after a two-day hearing.“He (Sayedee) is sentenced toimprisonment of life, restofhis natural life,” Justice Sinhasaid.

Both the state and thedefence had filed petitionsseeking a review of theSupreme Court’s verdict in2014. Thestate wanted a deathsentence while the defencepushed for an acquittal. It wasthe first case of a war crimestrial in which the state soughtreview to maintain the tri-

bunal’s verdict.The trial of Sayedee began

at the International CrimesTribunal-1 in 2011 and a ver-dict was pronounced in 2013.Of the 20 charges against him,Sayedee was given the deathsentence for two — the mur-ders of Ibrahim Kutti andBisabali, and for setting fire toHindu households in Pirojpurin 1971, bdnews24.com report-ed.

Described by followers asa “firebrand Islamic preacher”,Sayedee’s death penalty inFebruary 2013 triggered vio-lence in parts of the countryregarded as Jamaat strongholdleaving scores dead.

The situation at that timehad prompted authorities tocall out paramilitary troops toquell his supporters, who wereswelled by rumours thatSayedee’s image was seen in themoon, in a sign of his inno-cence.

The Supreme Court ver-dict, delivered in 2014, sen-tenced Sayedee on five chargesof the 20 that were framedagainst him.

17 shot dead in PNG prison breakout

Sydney (AFP): Seventeen prisoners have beenshot dead after a mass breakout at a jail in PapuaNew Guinea, reports said on Monday, with 57still on the run. Inmates from the Buimo jail inthe Pacific nation’s second largest city Lae madea dash for freedom after breakingout of theircompound on Friday, with prison warders open-ing fire. The PNG Post-Courier and TheNational newspapers both cited local police as

confirming 17 were killed, three werecaught and57 were still at large.

“These are undesirable people and will bea threat to the community,” Lae police metro-politan commander Chief SuperintendentAnthony Wagambie Jr said of the escapees,warning the public to be vigilant.

“The majority of those who escaped werearrested for serious crimes and were in custodyawaiting trial.

“A good number were arrested by police lastyear for mainly armed robberies, car thefts, breakand enter and stealing.”

It is the same prison where police shot dead12 inmates during a jailbreak last year.

Crime and lawlessness in PNG, a sprawlingnation where many still live traditional and sub-sistence lives in remote areas, is rampant.Wagambie urged family members and associ-ates of the escapees not to harbour them.

“I am warning them that they will be caught.They must do what is good for them and sur-render,” he said.

Palestinians take part in a rally to mark the 69th anniversary of 'Nakba Day', in the West Bank city of Ramallah on Monday NakbaDay, or the Day of the Catastrophe, marks the first Israeli-Arab war in 1948 when hundreds of thousands of Palestinians fled, orwere expelled from their homes. AP

world 13LUCKNOW | TUESDAY | MAY 16, 2017

PTI n BEIJING

China on Monday dis-missed India'sconcerns

over the Belt and Road initia-tive, saying the mega venturehas broad international sup-port and the China- PakistanEconomic Corridor (CPEC)project which is a part of it willnot affect Beijing's stand onKashmir.

Reacting to India's reser-vations over the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor(CPEC), a flagship project ofChina's prestigious One Beltand Road (OBOR), theChinese Foreign

Ministry said over 100countries and organisationswere already involved in theventure. "The Belt and RoadInitiative was proposed in2013, and four years on, over100 countries around theworld and international organ-isations have supported andgot involved in this initiative,"the Foreign Ministry said in awritten response to PTI.

The Chinese ForeignMinistry's response came overthe remarks of External AffairsMinistry spokesperson GopalBaglay, who had asserted twodays ago that India cannotaccept a project that violates itssovereignty and territorial

integrity. India skipped theBelt and Road Forum (BRF)due to its sovereignty concernsover the USD 50 billion CPEC,which passes throughPakistan-occupied Kashmir(PoK).

The Chinese foreign min-istry, however, was silent onIndia's boycott of the Belt andRoad Forum that ended today."Important resolutions passedby the UN General Assemblyand Security Council containreference to it.

In the speech made byPresident Xi Jinping on themorning of May 14 at theopening ceremony of the Beltand Road Forum forInternational Cooperation, heelaborated on the progress andachievements of the initiativeover these years in terms ofpolicy, infrastructure, trade,financial and people-to-peopleconnectivity," the Chinese for-eign ministry said.

"All these (developments)show that the Belt and RoadInitiative responds to the trendof the times, conforms to thelaw of development, and meetsthe people's interests," it said.

The ministry asserted thatthe venture has broadprospects and the internation-al community's "warmresponse" to the BRF also

"speaks volumes" for the ini-tiative. The Chinese foreignministry referred to PresidentXi Jinping's remarks after heinaugurating the BRF in whichhe had said that the Belt andRoad should be built into aroad for peace. It also ref-fered to Xi's remarks in which,while skirting any references toIndia's absence at the meeting,he had said,

"All countries shouldrespect each other's sover-eignty, dignity and territorialintegrity, each other's devel-opment paths and social sys-tems, and each other's coresinterests and major concerns."

"Regarding the issue ofKashmir which the Indian sideis concerned about, we havebeen stressing that the issuewas left over from historybetween India and Pakistan,and should be properlyaddressed by the two sidesthrough consultation andnegotiation," the ChineseMinistry said, reiterating itsstand. "The China-PakistanEconomic Corridor is an ini-tiative on economic coopera-tion. It is not directed at anythird party, not relevant to dis-putes over territorial sover-eignty and does not affectChina's position on theKashmir issue," it said.

The Chinese foreign min-istry's assertions come a dayafter India boycotted China's

high-profile BRF, taking itsprotest over the CPEC to a newlevel. No Indian official of any

level was present at the elabo-rate opening ceremony yester-day attended by 29 heads ofs-

tate and government, includingPakistan Prime MinisterNawaz Sharif, along with top

officials of the world bodieslike the UN, the World Bankand the IMF.

China dismisses India's concerns over OBOR

China to hold next Belt and Road Forum in 2019Beijing: China will host the second Beltand Road Forum in 2019, President XiJinping said, as the first internationalmeeting on his pet project ended onMonday. The leaders of 29 nationswrapped up the first meeting of theforum to promote China's "Belt andRoad" initiative.

Xi said the implementation of theinitiative over which India hasexpressed concern is in full swing. Atotal of 68 countries, including PakistanPrime Minister Nawaz Sharif andinternational organisations have signedBelt and Road cooperation agreementswith China, he said addressing themedia.

He also expressed confidence in theprospect of the Belt and Road Initiative,when he wrapped up the first Belt andRoad Forum for InternationalCooperation in Beijing. India boycottedChina's high-profile Belt and RoadForum,taking its protest over a con-troversial multi-billion dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC)traversing through Pakistan-occupiedKashmir (PoK). He said the leadersattending a high-level international

meeting had agreed to set up a "stableand sustainable financial support sys-

tem with risks controllable" for the Beltand Road development. The leaders

also agreed on broader channels, inno-vative methods and lower costs offinancing, Xi said. The B&R includesa maze of roads and port projects.While CPEC is highlighted as "flagshipproject", it included Bangladesh, China,India, Myanmar, (BCIM) EconomicCorridor, New Eurasian Land Bridge,China-Mongolia-Russia EconomicCorridor, China-Indochina PeninsulaEconomic Corridor and 21st centuryMaritime Silk Road. Xi also said theBelt and Road Forum for InternationalCooperation has achieved positiveoutcomes over the past two days. Atotal of 68 nations and internationalorganisations have signed cooperationagreements with China on the Belt andRoad, Xi told reporters. "The Belt andRoad Initiative is not set by ideology.We won't set a political agenda. It's notexclusive," he said, adding that theforum had passed a list of 270 achieve-ments.

These outcomes will lend strongsupport to the buildingof the Belt andRoad, and serve to boost confidencefrom all parties to advance cooperation,he said

Chinese President Xi Jinping leaves a news conference at the end of the Belt and Road Forum in Beijing,Monday, May 15, 2017. Xi expressed ambitious hopes Monday for Asian and European governments towork closely on finance, law enforcement and a broad range of other issues under a Beijing-led tradeinitiative as leaders of 30 countries ended a meeting to promote the effort.

Macron to name PM on 1st day in officePTI n PARIS

New French PresidentEmmanuel Macron is set

to name a prime minister andvisit German ChancellorAngela Merkel on his first fullday in office.

The 39-year-old centristleader laid out his ambitiousplans for France as he tookpower on Sunday, promising torestore France's shattered self-confidence and help rebuild theflagging European Union.

His choice of prime min-ister will be crucial for the firsttask, with the 46-year-old cen-tre-right Edouard Philippefrom the Republicans partyseen as the favourite for the job.

Picking him would send aclear signal that Macron hopesto attract other young mod-ernisers from the Republicansto his new centrist party,Republic on the Move (REM),which will contest parliamen-tary elections in June.

"If the prime ministercomes from the right,Emmanuel Macron will be ableto attack the parliamentaryelections by dynamiting theright, in the same way he hasdone to the left," politicalexpert Philippe Moreau-Chevrolet told AFP. Macron,who was economy ministerunder outgoing Socialist pres-ident Francois Hollande, hasalready attracted dozens ofcentre-left MPs to his move-ment as he reshapes Frenchpolitical life.

Without his own parlia-

mentary majority, the formerinvestment banker will find ithard to push through hisplanned reforms of the labourmarket, pensions, unemploy-mentbenefits and education.

"I will not reverse courseon any of the commitmentstaken in front of the Frenchpeople," Macron said onSunday as he took power fromHollande, his former mentor,adding that "France is strongonly if she is prosperous".

Philippe is the mayor of thegritty northern port of LeHavre and an MP for the

region since 2012 who studiedat the

same universities asMacron and shares many of hisviews on the economy andsocial issues.

Later on Monday after-noon, Macron will travel toBerlin to meet ChancellorAngela Merkel, maintaining aFrench presidential tradition ofmaking the first European tripto the other half of the EU'spower couple. The ferventlypro-European Macron wants topush for deeper ties in the 28-member EU to help the bloc

overcome the imminent depar-ture of Britain which voted toleave last year.

France's place is in theEuropean Union "which pro-tects us and enables us to pro-ject our values in the world",Macron said on Sunday, but theclub needed to be "reformedandrelaunched".

He intends to press for thecreation of a parliament andbudget for the eurozone whichwould see Germany, the zone'srichest member, contributefunds to support economicgrowth in weaker nations.

In this photo dated Sunday, May 14, 2017, a horse from the horse-riding Republican Guard rears up as new French PresidentEmmanuel Macron waves from a military vehicle while riding on the Champs Elysees avenue towards the Arc de Triomphe in inParis, France. AP

South Africa court to rule

on Zuma confidence votePTI n JOHANNESBERG

South Africa's highest courtwas to decide on Monday

whether lawmakers can castsecret ballots in a no-confi-dence vote in President JacobZuma who is facing growingcriticism within the rulingANC.

Several hundred protest-ers marched to theConstitutionalCourt inJohannesburg in the latestdemonstrations againstZuma, who has been impli-cated in a series of corruptionscandals. Opposition partieshave lobbied for a secret bal-lot and called for AfricanNational Congress (ANC)lawmakers to "vote with theirconscience". The ANC holdsa large majority in parliamentand Zuma has survived sim-ilar votes in the past, whichhave not been secret.

"ANC members of parlia-ment will have to choosebetween what is best forthemselves and what is bestfor South Africa," MmusiMaimane, leader of the mainopposit ion DemocraticAlliance party, told protesters.Zuma's sacking of respectedf inance minister PravinGordhan in March has fannedyears of public anger overgovernment corruption scan-dals, record unemploymentand slowing economic

growth. "Zuma's time is up,"22-year-old marcher TsidoMolefe told AFP. "We aregoing to march until heleaves, and today we are hereto support the court case," shesaid. The president hasrecently faced unprecedentedcriticism from senior ANCfigures, including fromDeputy President Cyri lRamaphosa. Zuma, who cameto office in 2009, is due to stepdown as head of the ANC inDecember, and as nationalpresident ahead of the 2019general election.

He is seen as favouring hisex-wife, former AfricanUnion chief NkosazanaDlamini-Zuma, to succeedhim -- rather than

Ramaphosa. Zuma has beenaccused of being in the swayof the wealthy Gupta businessfamily, allegedly grantingthem influence over govern-ment appointments, contractsand state-owned businesses.

The dismissal of Gordhansaw the Fitch ratings agencyas well as Standard and Poor'scut South Africa's sovereigncredit rating to junk statusdue to fears of political insta-bility and groing corruption.

The ANC -- whichNelson Mandela led to powerin the 1994 post-apartheidelections -- has lost popular-ity in recent years, takingjust 55 percent of the vote inlast year's local elections, itsworst ever result.

Boko Haramkills 6 farmersin NE NigeriaAFP n KANO

Boko Haram jihadists havekilled six farmers who

were working on their landnear the northeast Nigeriancity of Maiduguri, civilianmilitia members and localssaid on Monday. Gunmenon motorcycles attacked thegroup who were preparingtheir fields for the rainy sea-son outside Amrawa village,16 kilometres from the Bornostate capital, on Saturday.

The gunmen attacked thefarmers with machetes asthey were clearing their farmsthat have been taken over byweeds in preparation for therains which start in a fewdays," said Ibrahim Liman, acivilian militia member.

"They seized six farmersand slaughtered them whilethe rest fled." Liman's accountwas supported by MasidaBunu and Rahis Musa, wholive in the village. Some res-idents raised the alarm andthe mil it ia pursued theattackers to the nearby villageof Sojori."

The vigilantes fought theterrorists and killed fourwhile the rest fled," saidLiman.

At least 20,000 peoplehave been killed and morethan 2.6 million made home-less in northeast Nigeria sincethe start of Boko Haram'sIslamist insurgency in 2009.

Italy busts mafia clan in migrant scandalRome: Italy has cracked opena mafia ring accused of infil-trating one of the country'slargest migrant reception cen-tres and capitalising on asylumseekers with the help of aCatholic association, policesaid on Monday.

The Arena clan, a familybelonging to the powerful'Ndrangheta crime syndicate,allegedly made a killing bysupplying services for the cen-tre at Isola di Capo Rizzutoand syphoning off moneyfrom the state destined for themigrants.

"Over 500 agentsovernight arrested 68 peo-ple... accused of mafia associ-ation, extortion, carrying ille-gal weapons, fraud, embezzle-ment to the detriment of thestate, (and) theft," police inCatanzaro, a city in Calabria,said in statement. T h e i rinvestigation revealed "thatthe clan controlled, for profit,the management of the recep-tion centre" at Isola di CapoRizzuto -- which has held upto 1,500 migrants at a time --and had been doing so for overa decade.

Police arrested LeonardoSacco, head of the CatholicMisericordia associationwhich officially runs the cen-tre. The 35-year-old has boast-ed of links to high-poweredpolitical figures.

Local priest EdoardoScordio was also detained inthe sting, according to Italianmedia reports. Police say theybelieve the Arena clan,

through Sacco, awarded con-tracts for services such as thecentre's food supplies to asso-ciations it set up specificallyfor the purpose, as well as toother 'Ndrangheta families.

It also provided food ser-vices to the reception centre onLampedusa, the Italian islandwhich for several years was thefrontline of the migranthumanitarian crisis, thebiggest influx in Europe sinceWorld War II.

The head of the country'santi-mafia commission, Rosymindi, said the sting was "animportant result in the fightagainst the 'Ndrangheta andthe infiltration of mafia in the

management of migrants".About 175,000 people are

currently living in receptioncentres, where the state pro-vides food, clothing, Italianlessons, psychological sup-port, health care and a smallamount of pocket money.

Italy's finance ministryhas estimated the 2017 budgetfor migrant reception at threebillion euros ($3.3 billion),depending on how many peo-ple are rescued in theMediterraneanand brought tothe country.

More than 45,000 peoplehave arrived so far this year, a44 percent increase from thesame period in 2016. The

Calabrian centre had longbeen on the authorities' radar:In 2015 Italy's L'Espresso mag-azine published an investiga-tive report alleging that man-agers at the camp were steal-ing funds earmarked formigrants and making moneyby starving them.

The Crotone prefecturesaid in 2014 that it appearedthe official number of peoplerecorded at the centre wasgrossly inflated, with man-agement pocketing funds fromthe state for "ghost" migrants.

L'Espresso said it had gothold of a police report puttingthe figure at over 10,000 eurosa day.

Tens of thousands of migrants have arrived in Italy in 2017

Germany slamsTurkey's refusalto let MPs visitNATO baseBerlin (AFP): Germany onMonday slammed Turkey'srefusal to allow its lawmakersto visit a NATO base near Syriaand warned it could move itstroops elsewhere. Berlindescribed as "unacceptable"Ankara's latest ban on a visit tothe Incirlik base in southernTurkey, used by internationalcoalition fighting the IslamicState group.

Germany has more than200 troops stationed there, fly-ing Tornado surveillance mis-sions over Syria and refuellingflights for partner nations bat-tling IS jihadists.Germany willnow "look into alternative loca-tions" for its military personnel,said Chancellor AngelaMerkel's topspokesman SteffenSeibert. Jordan offered "thebest conditions", a defenceministry spokesman added,saying it had also looked atKuwait and Cyprus sinceTurkey first denied such visitsto German MPs for severalmonths last year. The defenceministry spokesman cautionedhowever that any move wouldinvolve shifting hundreds ofcontainers of materielandwould take several months.Turkey rejected the latest law-makers' visit because of angerover Germany granting polit-ical asylum to some of its mil-itary officials since last year'sfailed coup against PresidentRecep Tayyip Erdogan.

About 40 pc of food inUS gets wasted: StudyPTI n WASHINGTON

About 40 per cent of food iswasted in the US, say sci-

entists who found that most ofthe discarded food containsimportant nutrients that couldhave helped Americans meettheir daily dietary needs.

Scientists at the JohnsHopkins University in the UScalculated the nutritional valueof food wasted at the retail andconsumer levels, shining a lighton just how much protein,fiber and other importantnutrients end up in the landfillin a single year.

These lost nutrients areimportant for healthy diets, andsome - including, dietary fiber,calcium, potassium and vita-min D - are currently con-sumed below recommendedlevels.

Nutrient-dense foods likefruits, vegetables, seafood anddairy products are wasted atdisproportionately high rates.Previous research estimatedthat as much as 40 per cent offood is wasted nationally, but itwas not clear before this studyhow nutritious that food was.

“Huge quantities of nutri-tious foods end up in landfillsinstead of meeting Americans’dietary needs,” said MarieSpiker, from Johns Hopkins.

“Our findings illustratehow food waste exists alongsideinadequate intake of manynutrients,” said Spiker. For the

study, the researchers calculat-ed the nutritional value of theretail- and consumer-level foodwaste of 213 commodities in2012.

The research team, lookingat 27 nutrients in all, found thatfood wasted in the US foodsupply that year contained1,217calories, 33 grams of protein,5.9 grams of dietary fibre, 1.7microgrammes of vitamin D,286 milligrammes calcium and880 milligrammes potassiumper person, per day.

Nutrient loss estimates pro-vided by researchers couldcontribute to a baseline formeasuring future progress,researchers said.

The study also highlightshow the amount of nutrientslost to waste compares to nutri-tional deficits in the typicalAmerican diet.

For example, dietary fiberis important for maintainingdigestive health and is found ingrains, vegetables and fruits.

Researchers estimate that,in 2012, food wasted each daycontained upwards of 1.8 bil-lion grammes of dietary fiber,which is comparable to the fullrecommended intake fordietary fiber for 73.6 millionadult women.

American women under-consumed dietary fibre by 8.9grammes per day in 2012. Thestudy found that the dailyamount of wasted dietary fibreis equivalent to the amountneeded to fill this nutritionalgap for as many as 206.6 mil-lion adult women.

“While not all food that iswasted could or should berecovered, it reminds us that weare dumping a great deal ofhigh quality, nutritious foodthat people could be enjoying,”said Roni Neff, an assistant pro-fessor at John Hopkins.

The findings were pub-lished in the Journal of theAcademy of Nutrition andDietetics.

sport 14LUCKNOW | TUESDAY | MAY 16, 2017

New Delhi (PTI:) The Federation CupNational Athletics Championships will beshifted to NIS Patiala after the Sports Authorityof India denied permission to hold it atJawaharlal Nehru Stadium here in view of FIFAU-17 World Cup, Athletics Federation ofIndia said on Monday.

The tournament is scheduled to be heldfrom June 1 to 4.

A fuming AFI said that the SAI had earli-er given the green signal to host the event atJLN but did a u-turn just two weeks before theevent.

The bone of contention is the use of throwarea inside the football pitch, which will be usedfor the group matches of the U-17 World Cup

in October. AFI wants to use the area, but SAIhas refused.

“We decided to host the Federation Cup atthe JLN after getting permission from SAI. Butnow SAI said we cannot use the throw areainside the football pitch. So we are shifting theevent to Patiala. The dates will remain thesame,” AFI secretary C K Valson told PTI.

“Fed Cup is an important event in our cal-endar and athletes can qualify for the WorldChampionships. So athletes need the best com-petition area. We can hold the throw compe-tition at the adjoining area but with top ath-letes like world junior record holder NeerajChopra we need to hold it proper competitionarea.”

AFP ■ ROSEAU (DOMINICA)

Pakistan won a thrillingthird and final Test withsix balls to spare to clinch

a first series victory in the WestIndies and give a fitting farewellto retiring captain Misbah-ulHaq and veteran Younis Khan.

Roston Chase’s unbeaten101, his second hundred of theseries, proved in vain as thehome side, set a target of 303at Windsor Park in Dominica,slipped to 93 for six before thelower order almost rescued adramatic draw.

“This was just incredible,”said a breathless Misbah afterShannon Gabriel dragged awide delivery from Yasir Shahonto his stumps, with just sixballs left in the game, to trig-ger Pakistani celebrations as theWest Indies were dismissed for202 to lose the series 2-1.

“There were so manythings happening in that lastsession — dropped catches,appeals, no-ball dismissals —it looked for a while as if it was-n’t going to happen.

“I am thankful for myself,the team and all supporters ofPakistan cricket that we wereable to pull it off.”

Chase, who also top scoredin the first innings with 69 andearned the man of the matchaward, was the prime beneficia-ry of those near-misses.

Twice he saw caught-and-bowled attempts by Hasan Aliput down and then wasreprieved on 91 when an edgeto Asad Shafiq at slip offMohammad Abbas was shownto be off a no-ball.

“I’m really disappointed thatwe couldn’t hold on for just onemore over,” said a crestfallenChase.

“We have showed that wecan compete with the best but it’sup to us to be able to take it allthe way. It doesn’t even matterthat I got a hundred.”

In the end he completed histhird Test century but was lefthelpless at the non-striker’s end

when Gabriel, who had defend-ed resolutely for 21 balls, inex-plicably attempted a wild driveoff Shah and dragged the ballback onto his stumps.

Shah finished with five for92 and a series haul of 25 wick-ets, the highest of his career, ashe took the man of the seriesaward.

From their mid-afternoonperils, a 58-run seventh-wick-et partnership between Chaseand Jason Holder frustratedPakistan for an hour-and-a-halfuntil the West Indies captainmissed a knee-high full tossfrom Hasan Ali to be leg beforefor 22 just after tea.

Devendra Bishoo andAlzarri Joseph also offeredsome resistance but it wasGabriel’s defiance through eightnerve-jangling overs withChase that almost took theWest Indies to safety and adrawn series.

A swift end to the matchhad looked likely as VishaulSingh and Shane Dowrich bothfell to Shah just after lunch.Both were taken at short-leg byBabar Azam and on a pitchoffering turn and bounce. It

appeared only a matter of timebefore more wickets fell.But Chase and Holder bat-

ted with calm assurance as thePakistanis grew increasinglyimpatient in pursuit of thebreakthrough.

Such anxieties appearedunlikely at the start of the day.Having already lost the wicketof Kieran Powell overnight,the home side suffered two fur-ther setbacks inside the firsthour of the morning.

Kraigg Brathwaite’s poorrun of form continued whenthe opening batsman miscuedan attempted cut off Shah forHasan Ali to take the comfort-able catch at backward point.

Shimron Hetmyer battedpositively for 25 but was thencomprehensively bowled byMohammad Amir for the thirdtime in the series.

Chase then joined ShaiHope with the pair defying allthe challenges presented tothem by the Pakistani attackuntil Hasan Ali got the break-through and his first Test wick-et 20 minutes before lunch,trapping Hope leg-before witha full-length inswinger.

His two additional wicketsin that pulsating finalsessionwere critical to the victory.

Scoreboard Pakistan 1st Innings: 376.West Indies 1st Innings:

247.Pakistan 2nd Innings: 174

for 8 declared.,West Indies 2nd Innings

(overnight 7 for 1): KBrathwaite c Hasan Ali b Shah6, K Powell c Masood b Shah4, S Hetmyer b Amir 25, SHope lbw Hasan Ali 17, RChase not out 101, V Singh cAzam b Shah 2, S Dowrich cAzam b Shah 2, J Holder lbwHasan Ali 22, D Bishoo cMasood b Abbas 3, A Joseph cAhmed b Hasan Ali 5, SGabriel b Shah 4.

Extras: (NB-3, W-2, B-6)11.

Total: (all out; 96 overs)202.

Fall of wickets: 1-7, 2-22, 3-47, 4-66, 5-76, 6-93, 7-151, 8-181, 9-197.

Bowling: M Amir 15-8-22-1, M Abbas 20-9-31-1, Y Shah37-13-92-5, H Ali 20-7-33-3, AAli 2-0-3-0, A Shafiq 2-0-15-0.

PTI ■ LUCKNOW

Uttar Pradesh Ranji Trophyteam’s chief coach Manoj

Prabhakar has tendered hisresignation from his post, cit-ing personal reason.

The contract of formerIndia all-rounder Prabhakarwas for a maximum period oftwo years, but he resigned aftercompleting one year.

“Last year internationalcricketer Manoj Prabhakar wasroped in as coach for UP’s Ranjiteam. His contract was for amaximum period of two years,but before his contract is over,Prabhakar tendered his resig-nation,” UPCA secretaryYudhvir Singh told PTI fromMeerut.

Singh said that Prabhakarcited ‘personal reasons’ for hisresignation.

Before Prabhakar, inter-national fast bowler VenkateshPrasad was the coach of UPRanji team, but the team didnot show any remarkable per-formance during his stint.

Singh said the UPCAwould hold a meeting in Juneto pick a new coach.

State-level players andthose of international reputeare being considered for thispost.

Uttar Pradesh had a forget-table outing last season, finish-ing at the seventh place inGroup A.

PTI ■ NEW DELHI

Singapore-open finalistKidambi Srikanth feels India

have been handed a toughdraw at the Sudirman Cupand they will have to bring outnothing but their best to win amedal in the mixed teamchampionship.

“I feel we have a reallytough draw as we are up againstIndonesia and Denmark. Ithink these are one of thestrong teams. So it won’t beeasy but if it is our day then wecan win,” Srikanth, who alongwith Ajay Jayaram and HSPrannoy will be handling theresponsibility of the men’s sin-gles, told PTI.

“India is part of the top 8teams and all these teams arevery strong but I feel we needto prepare ourself to play at thatlevel and that is the only option,can’t think about the matchesand draw. We have to bring outthe best we can,” he added.

A final finish at SingaporeOpen sealing his WorldChampionship berth, Srikanthsays he needs to curb hisinconsistency to return with amedal from Glasgow.

After two title-winningperformance at 2014 ChinaOpen and 2015 India Openthat catapulted him to worldnumber 3, Srikanth slipped to31st position in March follow-

ing an ankle injury he sufferedpost Rio Olympics. However,the Indian bounced back toreach the finals at SingaporeSuper Series last month.

“I am happy with the wayI came back from the injury, Imean to comeback and play atthat level keeps me motivated.Luckily I qualified for WorldChampionship too so I amreally looking forward to theevent,” Srikanth.

“There are many tour-naments before I play at theWorld Championship so itwould be very important forme to get the important matchpractice because I have beenout of the international level.

“For me, playing consis-tently in the next few events isthe target. WorldChampionship is one of themost important tournament.So I really want to play wellthere and win a medal.

“I was third seeded in 2015and Lee Chong Wei wasn’tseeded and I was set to playhim early and this time I hopesuch things don’t happen again.I am really focussed on win-ning a medal there,” saidSrikanth, whose best finishhas been reaching the pre-quarters of the WorldChampionship.

It was in October last yearwhen Srikanth posted a pictureof his injured leg on social

media site instagram.He was about to miss the

European circuit and wanted tobe back at China Open. Hecouldn’t make it to China butreturned at Japan Open but itdidn’t work out and he had togo back to work on his fitness.

He played well in PBL butfailed to defend his Syed Modititle and then crashed out earlyat the India Super Series.

“For every player such lowswill be there, getting injured isnot in our hands, we can’t pre-dict that. We have to forget thatphase and start playing again.It took me some time to getback.

“I have seen many of myseniors doing that, I have seenKashyap doing that, Prannoyalso did that so it is really moti-vating, which always remindsme that anything is possible,”he said.

Talking about competi-tion, Srikanth said: “I don’tknow exactly about the top 10but the top 30 is playing at thesame level. Me and SaiPraneeth played at Singaporefinal and we are above 25, so itsays it all. “It is all equal, its alleven. You can’t predict anymatch and it depends how weplay on that particular match.Mental toughness is veryimportant. Every player is play-ing to win and you can’t play at95 per cent and expect to win.”

Pakistan win thriller

... for first Windies series victory

Manoj Prabhakar resigns as UP Ranji chief coach

Nothing but the best neededat Sudirman Cup: Srikanth

Fed Cup National Athletics shifted from Delhi, AFI fumes

AFP n MADRID

The fight for the La Liga title will godown to the last day of the season afterconvincing wins for Real Madrid and

Barcelona on Sunday left them locked togeth-er on 87 points at the top of the table.

Madrid remain in the driving seat afterthe European champions saw off Sevilla 4-1as they have two games remaining to Barca'sone.

However, Barca remain on top thanks totheir better head-to-head record with Neymarscoring a hat-trick as they also won 4-1 at LasPalmas.

Madrid visit Celta in their game in handon Wednesday and then travel to Malaga,whilst Barca host Eibar on the final day nextSunday.

Sevilla's defeat at the Bernabeu alsoguarantees they will finish fourth and AtleticoMadrid, who drew 1-1 at Real Betis, qualifyautomatically for next season's ChampionsLeague in third.

At the bottom, Sporting Gijon joinedGranada and Osasuna in being relegateddespite winning 1-0 at Eibar as Deportivo laCoruna secured safety in a 0-0 draw atVillarreal.

"It is a long road. We know to win theleague in Spain is not easy," said Madrid bossZinedine Zidane.

"Every day we are getting closer, we keepwinning but there are two games to go andwe need to keep doing what we have until

now."How e v e r,

the fact two ofBarca 's fourleague defeats thisseason came at the twosides Madrid have still tovisit gives the Catalans' boss Luis Enriquehope.

"We have one game left and the objective

is to win it," he told TV station Movistar."If we have lost (there) then any team

can."Sevilla have now won just three of their

last 13 games as their season has petered outto a disappointing end.

However, they gave Madrid more than afew scares at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Nacho gave the hosts the lead in contro-versial fashion as he curled home a quick free-kick with the Sevilla defence caught unawaresand their protests towards referee AlbertoUndiano Mallenco falling on deaf ears.

That goal meant Madrid broke BayernMunich's European record for scoring in con-secutive games as their streak now stretchesto 61 games.

RONALDO REACHES 400Sevilla fired their first warning shot

when Stefan Jovetic smashed a shot againstthe post from the edge of the area.

However, moments later it was 2-0 asSergio Rico could only palm JamesRodriguez's effort into the path of CristianoRonaldo to score his 400th Madrid goal.

Jovetic then saw a fine chipped effortcome back off the bar and was denied byKeylor Navas when played through byJoaquin Correa as Sevilla continued to threat-en. And they finally got back in the gamethrough Jovetic's neat finish from outside thebox three minutes into the second-half.

Yet, just as the hosts' nerves were becom-ing frayed, Ronaldo appeared once more bycrashing home Toni Kroos's cut-back torestore Real's two goal lead.

And Kroos rounded off the scoring him-self by prodding into the far corner six min-utes from time.

Barcelona kept the pressure on despite aseries of defensive absences that meant

Brazilian 21-year-old Marlon Santoswas handed a full debut in the Canary

Islands. The visitors still hand allof Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and

Neymar to call on up front andthe latter two combined togive Barca a 2-0 half-timelead. After wonderful passesfrom Sergio Busquets andAndres Iniesta , Suarezsquared for Neymar to openthe scoring.

The roles were reversedtwo minutes later as Neymar's

chip freed Suarez to dink homehis 36th goal of the season.

Pedro Bigas momentarily gaveLas Palmas hope just after the hour

mark. But Neymar headed home IvanRakitic's cross and then sealed his first hat-trick of the season 19 minutes from timewhen he slotted in Jordi Alba's through ball.

Real, Barca set up showdown

Ronaldo-inspired Madrid trounce Sevilla 4-1, while Neymar scores hat-trick

Nadal bagsMadrid title,jumps to 4th

MADRIDVISIT CELTA IN

THEIR GAME IN HANDON WEDNESDAY AND

THEN TRAVEL TOMALAGA, WHILST BARCA

HOST EIBAR ON THEFINAL DAY NEXT

SUNDAY

AGENCIES n MADRID

Rafael Nadal continuedhis impressive form

heading into the FrenchOpen, winning his thirdstraight title on clay Sundaywith a 7-6 (8), 6-4 victoryover Dominic Thiem in theMadrid Open final.

Nadal withstood atough challenge from theninth-ranked Thiem, convertingon his fourth match point toearn his 15th straight victoryand tie Novak Djokovic's recordof 30 career titles in Masters1000 events.

The triumph at his hometournament gave Nadal his72nd career title, and 52nd onclay. It will also move him fromfifth to fourth in the rankings,ahead of Roger Federer.

"To try to win RolandGarros, you don't need to be No4 or No 1 or No 5, what youneed is to play tennis very well,"Nadal said. "I don't think itchanges a lot for me. What I'mreally happy about is to achievea title like this here in Madrid.I see myself being able to winimportant titles and achievemy goals."

It was Nadal's secondstraight win against the 23-year-old Austrian, coming twoweeks after the Barcelona Openfinal when the Spaniard cruisedto victory in straight sets.

Nadal also won in MonteCarlo last month. It was Nadal'sfifth title in eighth MadridOpen finals, and the first since2014. His other titles came in2005, 2010 and 2013.

NADAL MOVES TO 4TH

Nadal's climb one place tofourth in the world on thestrength of his Madrid Masterswin was confirmed in the latestATP rankings released onMonday. The Spaniard is now15-0 on his favoured surface thisyear having also picked up his10th titles in Monte Carlo andBarcelona in recent weeks.Thiem's reward for making the

final was a two-place move toseventh. Nadal was last rankedfourth in October last year.

KERBER TOPS WTA RANKINGS

Angelique Kerber displacedSerena Williams at the top of theWTA rankings released onMonday. Kerber had assured herplace as World No 1 by her per-formances in the Madrid Openlast week. The German, made itto the third round where shefaced Eugenie Bouchard andretired with a lower back injurytrailing 6-3, 5-0.

SHARAPOVA IN 2ND ROUND

ROME: Taking advantage ofanother wild card upon herreturn from a doping ban, MariaSharapova overcame a shakyopening set to defeat 58th-ranked Christina McHale 6-4, 6-2 Monday in the first round ofthe Italian Open.

Sharapova was broken inthe opening game and went onto drop serve twice more in thefirst set before finding hergroove. A three-time championin Rome, Sharapova is stillrediscovering her form afterreturning to the WTA Tour lastmonth following a 15-monthban. Tournament organizerswere criticised for giving a wildcard to Sharapova instead of for-mer French Open championFrancesca Schiavone, an Italian.But fans cheered and held upsigns of encouragement forSharapova.

Sharapova's next opponentwill be Mirjana Lucic-Baroni,who beat former French Openfinalist Lucie Safarova 7-5, 4-6,6-3.

LUCKNOW | TUESDAY | MAY 16, 2017

This has been the story of theseason. When we look back,

we can see we needed experi-ence in these sorts of games.When the wicket is slow, you

need to go big early— DD skipper Zaheer Khan

4s

6s 671

boundarymeter

1542

TODAYINACTION

QUOTEUNQUOTE

15

PTI n MUMBAI

Table-toppers Mumbai Indians willbe itching to avenge their doubledefeat against Rising Pune

Supergiant in the league stage when thetwo teams face-off in Qualifier 1 of theIndian Premier League here on Tuesday.

Mumbai Indians outplayed theKolkata Night Riders in their last leaguematch to secure the top spot.

The side will be particularly satisfiedthat their bench strength clicked againstKKR, providing them more options tochoose from for the key clash.

There is a lot at stake as the winningteam goes straight into the final to beplayed in Hyderabad on May 21, while theloser gets another chance in the Qualifier2, to be played on May 19 in Bengaluru.

Supergiant is the only team to havedefeated Mumbai Indians twice in theleague stage, both home and away and thisfact would be playing on the minds ofMumbai players.

For the entire season, Mumbai's bat-ting has clicked. When the likes of WestIndians Lendl Simmons, Kieron Pollard,Parthiv Patel, skipper Rohit Sharma,Nitish Rana fire in unison, they candestroy any bowling line up in the worldand Pune's will be no exception.

And Pandya brothers, Krunal andHardik, are delivering when needed andthe hosts will expect that they rise to thebig occasion.

Hardik would like to continue fromwhere he left off at the Eden Gardens.

Considering that the Wankhede trackwill be batting friendly, it is expected tobe another high-scoring affair.

Mumbai would get back to their reg-ular openers Parthiv and Simmons, and

the duo would want togive them another flayingstart.

But the home teamcan bring in AmbatiRayadu, in place of an outof form Delhi-lad Nitish

Rana, to play at the one-down position.

Their bowlers, wholeaked over 200 runs intheir last home game, willhave to put up animproved show. The team

is likely to open their attack with SriLankan Lasith Malinga and Kiwi MitchellMcClenghan.

Jasprit Bumrah has been their bestdeath over specialist and along withHardik he will have to play a key role torestrict the Pune line-up, which boasts ofsome big names.

Pune, who decimated Kings XI Punjabby nine wickets to finish on the secondspot, will take confidence from thatgame.

Their pacers Jaydev Unadkat (21wickets), Shardul Thakur (8 wickets) andDan Christian (9 wickets) have beenimpressive and regularly taking wickets.

The trio will need to strike once againto restrict Mumbai and also require sup-port from Australian leggie Adam Zampa.

Their one opener Rahul Tripathi,who has amassed 388 runs in the cash-richT20 league, will need support from hispartner Ajinkya Rahane, who is notscored big this season.

The side however will badly missEnglishman Ben Stokes, the costliest pickof the season, as he returns to nationalduty. It was something that was acknowl-edged by captain Steven Smith himself.

Pune, who have come back verystrongly in the tourney, will need to gettheir combinations right.

PTI n NEW DELHI

Batting great Rahul Dravid hasmarked Rishabh Pant as a "very

important player" for India in thenear future, basing his prediction onthe exemplary courage the youngstershowed in overcoming a personaltragedy.

A couple of days before the startof Indian Premier League, the 19-year-old Pant lost his father, but stillplayed in Delhi Daredevils' openingfixture. "Rishabh played very well thisyear, played a very good innings, heentered the tournament at a very adifficult time, he lost his father, whichshows his mental strength,"Daredevils mentor Dravid said.

He added, "Pant overcame thattragedy and did consistently wellthroughout the season. I am sure hewill go on to become a very impor-tant player for India."

Dravid rued Delhi's inability toclose out tight games. Daredevils fin-ished sixth with six wins and sevendefeats. "It's disappointing obvious-ly, had hoped to qualify at the startof the tournament but there weresome close matches in the middlewhich we couldn't win. You needeight wins to qualify in this tourna-ment, we got seven last year, six thisyear and I think the close games welost probably cost us," Dravid said atthe post-match press conferenceafter his side's loss to RoyalChallengers Bangalore.

The 44-year-old further addedthat the franchise backed some of theyounger Indian players because theyhad lost a couple of key foreign stars.

"Few of the changes were obvi-ously forced due to injuries, some-times you do make tactical changesas well when people are not in form,so it's hard to assess. Each and everygame was different. That's not real-

ly an excuse. I believe we had thesquad and the players to make up forthat. I think the team was really good,maybe a little bit inexperienced in thebatting because of the injuries earlyon but I still think we had the abil-ity and a lot of opportunities in a lotof games."

Dravid lamented missing out onthe services of Quinton de Kock andJP Duminy.

"Unfortunately for us at thestart of the season, after the auction,Quinton (de Kock) and JP(Duminy), who were probably ourtwo experienced players, pulled outof the IPL because of injury and wehad to look for replacements at thelast minute and, which, I guess, isn'teasy when most of the players aretaken. So, to balance it out, we triedto go with a slightly more experi-enced bowling attack because weknew we had young Indian batsmen.I think there is a lot of talent but,maybe, sometimes you have to getthe balance right. Maybe we didn'thave a little bit of luck as well: injuriesat the wrong time, maybe a coupleof guys didn't kick on as well as wewould have liked."

PTI n NEW DELHI

Most of them have not exactly been con-sistent during the ongoing IPL but West

Indies swashbuckler Chris Gayle feels Indianbatsmen have enough firepower to unsettleoppositions during the upcoming ChampionsTrophy.

Virat Kohli (308 runs), Kedar Jadhav (267runs) and Yuvraj Singh (243) — the trio, whoare set to form an integral part of the Indianmiddle-order, have not had a great T20 league.

But Gayle feels it will have no bearing onthe Champions Trophy.

"The good thing about T20 cricket is thatit's a very quick format compared to ODI crick-et, where you can give yourself a chance to bata bit longer. It gives you more time to get set.With IPL pushed aside now, they (Kohli,Jadhav) will have enough time to regroup,"Gayle said in an interview.

"If the Indian top-order batsmen get set,we all know how dangerous they can be. Weall look forward to that. Forget about the cur-rent IPL form, all of them are match winners.

"Everybody will be eager to become astandout man to win the tournament for theirteam. They will be hungry to prove a point,"Gayle sounded upbeat about India's chancesterming Pakistan as another team to watch outfor.

But Gayle also had a word of caution forthe Indian team about the fickle English weath-er (Birmingham and London), which can

change the conditions."I am not a 'Weather Man' to tell you about

the sort of climate you will get but little expe-rience that I have had playing cricket inEngland over the years, you can get five dif-ferent kind of weather conditions in a singleday.

"It can get very, very tricky. Weather willplay a huge role in places like Birmingham,"said Gayle, who is currently promoting alter-nate fashion brand 'ATTIITUDE.COM'.

Talking about Kohli, Gayle was a bit empa-thetic considering the kind of pressure he wasin during the RCB's wretched campaign.

"You feel for Virat when he has to put forthhis views at post-match presentations when theteam loses so consistently. You can see he is atloss for words. What reason can he give matchafter match?" he asked.

"But then he knows that he is the leaderof the pack. But when a team loses, we are allin it. All I can say is that we would like to putup a far better show next time round," the self-proclaimed 'Universe Boss' said.

Gayle also spoke about how the

Chinnaswamy Stadium track also became amajor factor in the process.

"Yes, it was a factor. The Chinnaswamytrack was relaid and the drainage systembecame better. It soaked all the water and thepitch became dry. Now, Chinnaswamy is a tra-ditionally 180-plus wicket where 140 becamea winning score," Gayle said.

On a different note, Gayle is happy thatSunil Narine has added a different skill-set (roleof an opener) with such stupendous success.

Narine has scored 214 runs at an astound-ing strike-rate of 178.33.

"To be honest, he is one guy who has turnedit around as a cricketer. Some teams (franchises)tried him as an opener and it worked for KKR.You can't deny he has been under scrutiny forhis action.

"He came back with a remodelled action.But once people play him more, more accus-tomed they are to his style of bowling. So it'ssomething where you can say, 'Yes' his battingcan give him confidence with his bowling aswell. As a spinner, he is still most economicalin T20," said Gayle.

PTI n NEW DELHI

Despite emerging victorious,disappointment was palpable

in Virat Kohli's face as the RoyalChallengers Bangalore captaintoday termed the 10th season ofIPL as "forgettable" and a season to"reflect on" for his side.

RCB had a horrendous IPL 10,finishing at the bottom of theeight-team team competition withjust seven points from 14 games.

"It's been a season to forget, aseason to reflect on.

“We've got a great chance tolook at all the things we've donewrong and refresh as a franchise,"a disappointed Kohli said after

defeating Delhi Daredevils by 10runs in their last match at theFeroze Shah Kotla here Sundaynight.

"The guys took today as anopportunity and it worked out."

Talking about next edition ofthe IPL, Kohli said: "We do haveguys in the 3-5 player bracket whowe want to retain if that's possible.They've shown the right attitudeand they deserve it. It's just nice toend on a winning note."

Kohli was full of praise for hispace duo of Harshal Patel (3/43)and young Avesh Khan (1/23) fortheir show on Sunday.

"Both Harshal and Aveshplayed with a lot of heart. The way

Avesh rushed it onto the batsmenon this pitch, something world-class bowlers couldn't do, wasimpressive.

"We know Harshal's skill setand he took three big wicketstoday, it's unfortunate he couldn'tplay more," he said.

Losing captain Zaheer Khan,who might have played his last IPLgame today, was utterly disap-pointed with Daredevils campaignthis season.

"This has been the story of theseason. When we look back, we cansee we needed experience in thesesorts of games.

“When the wicket is slow, youneed to go big early," he said.

Resurgent Pune face defiant Mumbai

ROAD TO QUALIFIER 1

MUMBAI INDIANS:

l Lost to Rising Pune Supergiant by 7wickets at Pune

l Beat Kolkata Knight Riders by 4 wickets atMumbai

l Beat Sunrisers Hyderabad by 4 wickets atMumbai

l Beat Royal Challengers Bangalore by 4wickets at Bengaluru

l Beat Gujarat Lions by 6 wickets at Mumbai

l Beat Kings XI Punjab by 8 wickets atIndore

l Beat Delhi Daredevils by 14 runs atMumbai

l Lost to Rising Pune Supergiant by 3 runsat Mumbai

l Tied with Gujarat Lions at Rajkot (Won inSuper Over)

l Beat Royal Challengers Bangalore by 5wickets at Mumbai

l Beat Delhi Daredevils by 146 runs at Delhi

l Lost to Sunrisers Hyderabad by 7 wicketsat Hyderabad

l Lost to Kings XI Punjab by 7 runs atMumbai

l Beat Kolkata Knight Riders by 9 runs at Kolkata

RISING PUNE SUPERGIANT:

l Beat Mumbai Indians by 7 wickets atPune

l Lost to Kings XI Punjab by 6 wickets atIndore

l Lost to Delhi Daredevils by 97 runs atPune

l Lost to Gujarat Lions by 7 wickets atRajkot

l Beat Royal Challengers Bangalore by 27runs at Bengaluru

l Beat Sunrisers Hyderabad by 6 wickets atPune

l Beat Mumbai Indians by 3 runs atMumbai

l Lost to Kolkata Knight Riders by 7 wicketsat Pune

l Beat Royal Challengers Bangalore by 61runs at Pune

l Beat Gujarat Lions by 5 wickets at Pune

l Beat Kolkata Knight Riders by 4 wickets atKolkata

l Beat Sunrisers Hyderabad by 12 runs atHyderabad

l Lost to Delhi Daredevils by 7 runs at Delhi

l Beat Kings XI Punjab by 9 wickets at Pune

S T A T P I C K

14ROHIT SHARMA NEEDS 14 RUNSTO BECOME THE FIRSTBATSMAN FROM MUMBAI

INDIANS TO COMPLETE 3000 RUNS INIPL. ROHIT HAS SCORED 2986 RUNS IN111 MATCHES SINCE 2011

FAISEL FEATURES

K E Y B A T T L E S

STEVE SMITHFor Pune skipper Steve Smithhas lead the side brilliantly sofar in this edition of IPL. Inthe very first match as captainthis season, the Aussie starmade an unbeaten 84 to takehis team home against themighty Mumbai Indians. He has been aconsistent performer for his side since then. Hehas 420 runs so far with an impressive averageof 42 this season. He will be key to Pune havinga good play-off.

JASPRIT BUMRAHYet again batsmen have found it

difficult to handle the trickyJasprit Bumrah in IPL. With hisprecise yorkers, Bumrah is the

man to go for Mumbai indeath overs. He was

particularly impressive in thesuper over against Gujarat Lions as he was able topick the right spot time and again under pressure.

With 15 wickets so far at a very good economyrate of 7.66, Bumrah will be the bowler to

watch for Mumbai.

VS

JAYDEV UNADKATThe Pune medium pacer hasbeen a revelation so far this IPL.He has been terrific with the ball,picking up 21 wickets in thisseason - only Sunrisers'Bhuvneshwar Kumar has morewith 25. At a splendid average of13.28, his economy is equally good with 7.37. The5/30 - including a final over hat-trick againstSunrisers - remains his standout performance thisseason. Mumbai will have to come up with specialplans to contain him.

KIERON POLLARDThe West Indian has yet againlived up to the expectations forthe Mumbai side. This season hehas shown not just his attacking

prowess but also the ability toremain calm for a longer periodwhen his side needed him.

Struggling at 33/5 against Royal ChallengersBangalore, Pollard took his team over the line with aterrific 47-ball 70. Overall he has 362 runs thisseason at a very good average of 32.90, consideringhow lower down the order he usually bats.

VS

‘Pant will be veryimportant player’

SEASON TO FORGET FOR RCB: KOHLI

Indian batsmen will be dangerous in CT: Gayle

Smith’s men keen to make it hat-trick of victories against MI to book a Final spot

Live on Sony Six

MUMBAI

MI vs RPS

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RPS 3TUESDAY | 8:00 PM

15

Bollywood starRANBIR KAPOOR, anavid traveller, wasannounced as brandambassador of onlinetravel portal Yatra.com.“I am an avid travellermyself and travel hasplayed an important

part in my films. So a partnershipwith a travel brand like Yatra was anatural fit for me. I am particularlyexcited to be part of this newjourney and I am looking forwardto a long and fulfilling ‘Yatra' withthe brand,” Ranbir said in astatement.The fact that Ranbir appeals to allage groups and demographics isalso exciting for the brand officials,said Vikrant Mudaliar, ChiefMarketing Officer, Yatra.com.

LUCKNOW | TUESDAY | MAY 16, 2017vivacity 16

RANVEER SINGH promoted hisfriend and actor Arjun Kapoor’sforthcoming film Half Girlfriend bycalling himself the latter’s“half girlfriend”. He evendissed Arjun’s co-starShraddha Kapoor.Arjun shared a video onsocial media in whichhe was joined byShraddha. Hethen introducedRanveer saying,“He is morethan a co-starbut a little lessthan a lover.”When thecamerapanned onRanveer, theBajiraoMastani starsaid,“Hi. I amArjun's real life‘Half Girlfriend'.”The Gunday starslater started jumpingwhile hugging eachother. In a funnytone, Ranveer toldShraddha, “Yourtime is over. Gofrom here.”

Ranveer is Arjun’s‘half girlfriend’?

The Cannes Film Festival, whichcelebrates its 70th anniversary

this year, has historically been aboutas fond of change as day-oldbaguettes. As much as its screenslight up with the world’s most dar-ing, adventurous cinema, the FrenchRiviera festival protects its traditionsmore closely than its dapper hostsguard the famous Cannes red car-pet. But this year, even as Cannesprepares for a lavish birthday cele-bration, the Croisette is quakingwith transformation.

This year’s festival, which opensWednesday with French directorArnaud Desplechin’s Ismael’sGhosts,” contains films from Netflix(Bong Joon-ho’s Okja and Noah

Baumbach’s The MeyerowitzStories), movies from Amazon(including Todd Haynes’Wonderstruck), two high-pro-file television series (DavidLynch’s Twin Peaks revivaland Jane Champion’s Top ofthe Lake), and virtual-reali-ty exhibits, including amulti-media installation byAlejandro Inarritu.

But trying to keep pacewith today’s fast-changingmedia landscape has comewith plenty of challenges for

a time-honoured institutionlike Cannes. While unveiling

this year’s lineup, Cannes direc-tor Thierry Fremaux acknowl-edged the festival’s internalhand-wringing over such issues.The festival, he concluded, is “alab.”

Yet some of the festival’sexperiments have already provenhighly combustible. After anoutcry from French theatres,organisers announced last weekthat beginning next year, filmswithout the intentions of a the-

atrical release in France won’t beeligible for Cannes’ prestigiousPalme d’Or competition — the fes-tival’s main slate of about 20 films.The move effectively bars Netflixreleases from Europe’s answer to anOscar race. Netflix chief executiveReed Hastings bitterly called it “theestablishment closing ranks againstus.”

It’s not that such clashes aren’thappening throughout the movieindustry. But like everything else at

Cannes, they’re inflated at the fes-tival, arguably the most passionatestandard-bearer of cinema.

Sofia Coppola has been comingto Cannes since she was a child,accompanying her father when hedebuted Apocalypse Now. This year,she’ll premiere one of the mostanticipated films there, The Beguiled,her fourth at Cannes and second incompetition. “It’s still a place that’scelebrating and loves internationalcinema, and the idea of cinema,”said Coppola. “I feel like that’s at theheart of it.”

Cannes has often come undercriticism for a lack of female direc-tors — not to mention occasional-

ly turning away women withouthigh heels from red-carpet pre-mieres. There are 12 female-direct-ed films among the 54 official selec-tions this year, including three incompetition. (The other two areLynne Ramsay’s You Were NeverReally Here, with Joaquin Phoenix,and Naomi Kawese’s Radiance.)

“I guess there’s three instead oftwo this year,” said Coppola. “I thinkthey have more there than we dohere. There’s always been more of atradition of female filmmakers inFrance and internationally.”

Coppola’s film is its own kind ofcorrection. It’s a remake of DonSiegel’s 1971 Civil War drama about

a Union soldier (Clint Eastwood,who will also be at Cannes to teacha masterclass) hiding out in aSouthern girl’s school. Coppolawanted to flip the story to a femalepoint of view. Like many otherfilmmakers, Coppola was racing lastweek to put the final touches on herfilm before the festival. But Inarrituwas arriving in Cannes days early tofinish building the space for hisCARNE Y ARENA (Vir tuallyPresent, Physically Invisible), a three-part installation about immigrantsand refugees.

“I’m very curious to see howpeople from cinema will react tothis,” said Inarritu. “It’s an individ-ual experience. It’s one-by-one andit’s six minutes-and-a-half. This isnot a community experience. Thatwill give the festival somethingextraordinary to experience andsee what people think about it.”

Inarritu said he always envi-sioned the piece in a museum (it willlaunch later in Milan’s FondazionePrada). But he said after he showedit to Fremaux, the Cannes directorwas “very insistent” that he bring itto the festival. “I thought it was aninteresting proposition,” saidInarritu. “Let’s see what happens.”

While virtual reality is nowwidespread on the festival circuit,Cannes has been more reluctant toembrace it. It has, though, some-times showcased TV works, notablySteven Soderbergh’s HBO Liberacedrama Behind the Candelabra andOlivier Assayas’ miniseries Carlos.

The dust-up with Netflix has puta brighter spotlight on Okja and TheMeyerowitz Stories. “It’s an interest-ing issue and it’s going to continue,”said Joon-ho, Okja’s director. “Whilethat was all happening, I wasfocussed on post production in LosAngeles. That’s really where myfocus is. These other bigger indus-try-wide issues will naturally getresolved with time.”

Okja, starring Tilda Swinton andJake Gyllenhaal, is the South Koreandirector’s follow-up to Snowpiercer.It’s a fantasy about the gulf betweenhumans and animals, individualsand corporations. “After all this talkhas come and gone,” said Joon-ho,“I hope people just focus on the filmitself and the story and the images.”

AP

PRIYANKA CHOPRA, who ismaking her Hollywood debut withBaywatch, says she tried hard tobe a jerk on the set of theforthcoming action comedy film.Priyanka will be seen as theantagonist Victoria Leeds inBaywatch, which alsofeatures Dwayne “The Rock”Johnson and Zac Efron. “We got on really well,though I tried really hard to bea jerk, I couldn't becauseeveryone was super fine,”Priyanka said on the redcarpet of Miami premiere.“Also, I was flying in andout as I was shootingQuantico and Baywatchtogether. But I did try togo a little method in mywalk and in my talk. Iam happy to be here.Baywatch is greatsummer fun. By theway, don’t take yourkids (to theatres),” sheadded.About her co-stars,Priyanka said, “DwayneJohnson and Zac Efronwere a little moreconscientious thanme.”Priyanka shared a fewphotographs from thepremiere on socialmedia. “Thank youfor the love Miami!Baywatch premiering on May 25in a theater near you,” she wrotealongside a video in which sheshowed the fans, who gathered tosee the stars.Baywatch will release in India onJune 2.

Summer workshops this seasonhave undergone an upgrade.Much like a reloaded version

of skill development, new activitiesfocus on outdoor living (completewith first aid and survival tactics)cultivating mindfulness, develop-ing emotional intelligence, film-making, learning to play musicalinstruments from across the worldand reconnecting kids with theirinner selves. In short, if there wasan extension of the concept ofcomplete man, you would have acomplete child.

Says Anshu Daga, the founderof Inner Startup, who is takingworkshops on emotional intelli-gence, “Being a mother, I realisedthat we are living in a very fast-paced and chaotic society.Digitisation has created an artificialworld, disconnecting people fromrealism and this is what our chil-dren believe our world is. The foun-

dation of the programme is tomake the children under-stand themselves and devel-op their awareness byworking on their five sens-es. This is to help them takethings slow and realisethat the world has more tooffer through a layeredand graded understand-ing.”

Daga’s workshop atIHC, CultivatingMindfulness andEmotional Intelligence,works purely on the emo-tions and not on the intel-lectual side. She introduces

the students to variousforms of emotions and accept

them as normal rather than sup-pressing them. Her plan alsoincludes creative theatre, music andmovement, games and exercises.She continues, “I teach the studentsfrom 7-12 years to be mindful ofwhat they are eating and how theyshould eat it. We ask them to quan-tify and express the feel, taste andsensation any food gives when youput it in your mouth.” This wouldmake the world appear as a gigan-tic 3D experience rather thanbeing flat-screen and anodyne.

These summer workshops areoffering a huge age waiver so thateverybody can be a part of discov-ering themselves in a mixed gath-

ering. Suchet Malhotra, a percus-sionist and music producer, hascome up with the creative idea ofbringing music to all generations.“I am just the custodian of instru-ments. I do not keep myself restrict-ed to any age group as every per-son is inclined to one or the otherinstrument by birth but has neverhad the opportunity to explorethem. The workshop is divided intotwo groups. Those below 10 are

accompanied by the parents andthe second group is for thoseabove 10. The intention is thatthe parents and children get tospend time and learn together intheir stressed and regimentedlives. The workshop is a journeythrough sound. One learns aboutthe history of music, its originand the music instruments theworld developed along with play-ing them.”

With the workshop, Storiesthrough Sound: World PercussionInstruments, they are able totravel across the world throughmusic and feel free to be creative.

One feels a sense of wonderlooking at the abundance of musicand appreciating native culture asexpressed through it. There’s westAfrican djembe, middle-easterndarbouka, Brazilian rainstick,Australian didgeridoo, naturesounds, forest sounds and a vastrange of rhythmic percussioninstruments, such as shakersand tambourines, which aremeant to enhance our sense ofhearing.

Aerie Backcounty Medicineand Hanifl Centre for OutdoorEducation is offering a summerworkshop in Wilderness First

Aid (WFA) Course and EssentialSkills for Outdoor Education,which is open to anyone above 16years. The WFA course pro-vides a great introduction tomanaging crisis in a remotestretch. The course focusses oninjury and illness prevention,patient assessment, long-terminjury management, improvisedsplint and litter constructionand environmental emergencies.“Teaching students to makeimpromptu survival gear isrewarding because it’s tangible.Seeing students gain knowl-edge/skills that empower them is

as perceptible as picking up andunzipping a finished bag,” saysDara McDevitt, WFA instructor.

Meanwhile documentarymaker Smina Mishra will introducechildren between 12 and 14 yearsto record their visual experienceswith their own perspective and editthem. The workshop gives thechildren a platform to discover theprocess of making shorts, brain-storming ideas for shooting andediting and actively being a part ofthe production process. For the firsttime, these workshops are notonly about acquiring skills butapplying them in real life situations.

Dhaval Mudgal initially started playing poker asa hobby which overwhelmed him enough to

become a fixture on the professional circuit. Says he,“I started playing about eight years ago when myfriends studying at American universities startedbringing the game back home. I instantly fell in lovewith it. As I started playing more, the game’snuances pulled me in. The more I studied about it,the more I realised that it requires math, understand-ing of the human psyche and great composure.”

Giving an insight about Poker Sports League 2017,he explains, “The league is already accumulating greatinterest. We are very excited to compete with someof the best players around. I personally feel thatHaryana Hunters look the strongest on paper andRajasthan might be the surprise package.”

He is optimistic about the fact that India is goingto be the next big poker hub. According to him, “TheIndian poker scene is growing at a phenomenal ratedespite obstacles. If our government can removesome of the draconian laws and restrictions, espe-cially the 30 per cent tax we have to pay on the win-ning amount, it would definitely mushroom into ahuge movement.”

Mudgal prefers tournaments compared to cashgames. He believes that “The variance in tournamentis higher and it’s probably easier to win at cash gamesin the long run. Tournaments put everyone at a level-playing field and there is something very noble inthat.” He considers winning the fourth place at theRed Dragon in Macau as his biggest ticket. “I’m sur-rounded by so many fantastic players, and we all worktogether in a fairly close-knit circuit. There are somefantastic poker players in this country but SamayParikh and Aditya Agarwal are the original heroes.The emerging talent, Vidwath Shetty, has a noble tablepresence and the results are speaking in favour ofhim.”

Mudgal considers himself weak in setting goals:“Apart from constantly improving, I’ve tried to set afew milestones for myself this year. Financial free-dom while travelling the world and making sure I playmy best poker are what I strive for.”

He also shares his success mantra, “I look for aclear thought process, the ability to deal with the emo-tional swings of the game and the will to succeed asa player. I usually travel a lot to play tournaments,so my routine is very flexible. Having some quiet timeto rest your mind before a tournament, a fair amountof sleep and exercise are things that can really helpyou find focus.”

Complete child is the

father of a complete man

With the academicyear drawing to aclose, and a longsummer vacation insight, ANGELAPALJOR has packedin a bunch ofdifferent workshopsthat will keep youand your little onesnot just busy butthoroughly engaged

Okja Ismael's Ghosts

Self awareness classes by Anshu Daga Ambient instruments

Suchet with Bongos

Self awareness classes by Anshu Daga

Dance classes

Wonderstruck Twin Peaks

DHAVAL MUDGAL, one of themost consistent performers on theAsia Circuit, believes that poker ismore a game of skill than chance

‘India, the next

poker hub’

‘Tried hard to be a jerk on Baywatch set’ Digital films

Cannesdebut at

This year’s edition features Netflix, Amazonand a multi-media installation by filmmakerALEJANDRO INARRITU