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16
A day ahead of his fast, Prime Minister Narendra Modi came down heavily on the Opposition parties accusing them of killing democracy by not allowing Parliament to function even for a day. Addressing BJP MPs through audio conferencing on Wednesday evening, he urged the legislators and party lead- ers to expose the crime com- mitted by the Congress to the world by holding fast across the country. “The people, who couldn’t gain power in 2014, don’t want the country to move forward. They didn’t let Parliament work for a single day. They killed democracy and we will observe fast to bring their crime in front of world. I will also hold fast, while doing my work,” he said to MPs and party leaders. Modi said the BJP leaders and its workers will observe the fast on Thursday to “expose” those handful people who “throttled” democracy by stalling Parliament proceedings during the Budget Session. Besides Modi, Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and Commerce Minister Suresh Prabhu will observe the fast in Delhi. The PM will go to Chennai in connection with the inauguration of Defence Expo and will be back to Delhi in the evening. As per the schedule pre- pared by the BJP for observing the fast across the country, Union Health Minister JP Nadda will be in Modi’s con- stituency Varanasi, while Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad will travel to Patna for it, said party leaders. Many other Ministers will travel to various places across the country to observe the fast. Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will observe the fast in Chennai, Human Resource Development Minister Prakash Javdekar in Benguluru, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Vijay Goel in Tamil Nadu, and Minister of State for External Affairs MJ Akbar in Vidisha, Madhya Pradesh. Tourism Minister KJ Alphons will observe the fast in Kerala. Continued on Page 4 A s massive protests were witnessed on Tuesday night during the Indian Premier League (IPL) match between the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), the IPL franchisee was told to consid- er shifting base due to the Cauvery water dispute, Committee of Administrator (CoA) chief Vinod Rai said on Wednesday. Late at night, the BCCI took a decision to shift CSK’s remaining home games to Pune. The Board had earlier short-listed four cities to host CSK’s home matches. But, Pune emerged out to be the winner. The other three cities were Visakhapatnam, Thiruvananthapuram and Rajkot. There were already calls by various groups not to host cricket matches in the city when the State was facing such a grave situation. “We are thinking on the lines of shifting the IPL match- es from Chennai. There are four alternative venues that BCCI has kept ready. They are Visakhapatnam, Trivandrum, Pune and Rajkot. CSK can play their matches at these venues,” Rai told PTI. “We have to keep in mind the prevailing political and security situation in the State. But we have told the CSK fran- chisee to evaluate the current situation and take a final call in this regard. It will be CSK’s deci- sion,” Rai said earlier. According to information received, CSK CEO Kashi Vishwanathan is speaking to police authorities and trying to take a stock of the situation. “There are a lot of options that we are mulling. There is a possibility that our next home match on April 20 against Rajasthan Royals will be an away match in Jaipur. In the meantime, we can decide upon a substitute venue. There are a lot of things that comes under consideration. Ticketing, mar- keting, entire logistical move- ments, in stadia. Hopefully, a call will be taken tomorrow,” a CSK insider had said earlier. IPL’s most popular fran- chise CSK has made a come- back to the League after serving two-year suspension on charges of spot-fixing in 2013. Continued on Page 4 S etting the record straight on who is the master of the ros- ter, a Bench headed by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra on Wednesday dismissed a peti- tion challenging the authority of the CJI to allocate matters and constitute Benches. Holding that there is no room for “presumption of mis- trust” against the CJI, a Bench comprising the CJI, Justices AM Khanwilkar and DY Chandrachud said that the Constitution empowers the CJI to be first among equals under Article 146. The petition filed by a lawyer Asok Pande sought to regulate the power of the CJI to allocate cases to specific Benches in order to curb arbi- trariness. Dismissing the same, the Bench held that the CJI has “exclusive prerogative” in this matter and nobody can ques- tion it as this power is vested in him by virtue of his position of being the highest constitu- tional functionary of judiciary. The judgment has come at a time when a similar petition filed by former Law Minister Shanti Bhushan challenging the power of CJI to fix the ros- ter of allocation of work for judges is pending for hearing in the apex court. The ruling will also settle the dispute raised by four seniormost judges of the Supreme Court early this year to question the arbitrary man- ner adopted by CJI to allocate politically sensitive cases to select Benches. The decision, written by Justice Chandrachud, spoke about the position of the CJI under Constitution. “The authority (to allocate matters) is entrusted to the CJI because such an entrustment of func- tions is necessary for the effi- cient transaction of the admin- istrative and judicial work of the court…The entrustment of functions to the Chief Justice as the head of the institution, is with the purpose of securing the position of the Supreme Court as an independent safe- guard for the preservation of personal liberty. There cannot be a presumption of mistrust,” he said, speaking for the Bench. The court took note of the scandalous statements made by the lawyer in the petition but let him off without cost. Continued on Page 4 W eeks after Punjab National Bank (PNB) was jolted by a 13,578 crore fraud scripted by diamond merchants Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi, the CBI has started probing another massive loan fraud of 5,280 crore involving Choksi’s Gitanjali’s group. The loan was given by a consortium of 31 banks led by ICICI Bank. According to the CBI, the probe is a part of the existing FIR filed against Choksi and his Gitanjali Group but different from the PNB fraud. CBI sources said that dur- ing the searches at the Gitanjali Group of companies, inves- tigative agencies seized crucial documents, including an agree- ment between Gitanjali and a consortium of 31 banks. The loan was cleared in October 2016, and the agreement was revised in October 2017. The document shows the Mehul Choksi firm utilised the “work- ing capital facility”. As per the agreement, ICICI Bank was the “lead bank” in the consortium, which sanctioned the “capital facility” to Gitanjali Group. It was also found that in August 2013, the consortium of banks increased the borrowing facilities to Choksi’s firms from 3,610 crore to 5,280 crore. The PNB reportedly offered the highest loan amount of 587 crore to the company, while ICICI, which is the lead bank in the consortium, has given 405 crore. Choksi took loans from Allahabad Bank, Andhra Bank, Bank of Maharashtra, Bank of Baroda, Bank of India, Central Bank of India, Canara Bank, Corporation Bank, Dena Bank, Export Import Bank of India, Indian Overseas Bank, ICICI Bank, IDBI Bank, IndusInd Bank, Karnataka Bank, Karur Vysya Bank, Punjab National Bank, Punjab and Sind Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, State Bank of Hyderabad, State Bank of India, State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur, Syndicate Bank, Union Bank, United Bank, Vijaya Bank, State Bank of Mauritius, Catholic Syrian Bank, Lakshmi Vilas Bank, Jammu & Kashmir Bank and Oriental Bank of Commerce. In a related development, the CBI on Wednesday ques- tioned three officials from for- eign branches of Indian banks for extending credit facilities to companies of absconding bil- lionaire jeweller Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi. Two officials of the Canara Bank’s branch in Bahrain, including its branch manager, and an official of Bank of India’s branch in Antwerp in Belgium were questioned by a CBI team in Mumbai. On a related note, the CBI on Sunday had issued a Non- Bailable Warrant (NBW) against billionaire jeweller Nirav Modi and his uncle and business partner, Mehul Choksi, in connection with the PNB scam. Continued on Page 4 C onfusion prevailed over a reported directive by the Centre to State-owned oil mar- keting companies (OMCs) not to increase retail petrol and diesel prices by absorbing a part of the losses due to the recent hike in global crude oil prices. While shares of the OMCs plummeted sharply on the stock exchanges, the OMCs denied the reports, saying they have so far not received any such directive. In the absence of any clarification from the Government, the fuel price movement in the coming days will be keenly watched to understand the nature of the Government’s intervention in regulating the prices. According to sources, Indian Oil Corp (IOC), Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) and Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) among other oil retailers have reportedly been asked to absorb up to 1 a litre hike. “In deregulated market, the Government cannot open- ly notify OMCs to absorb oil prices in the vast market like India, that’s why there is no official word on it,” it added. When asked about the development, IOC Chairman Sanjiv Singh said, “No, we haven’t heard from the Government anything on drop- ping daily price revision.” HPCL Chairman and Managing Director MK Surana too said that the company was not aware of any directive to oil companies not to pass on the rise in international oil prices. Concerned with the con- tinuous hike on oil prices, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said efforts to artificially distort prices are self-defeating, and a global consensus must be built for responsible pricing to provide affordable energy to all. Addressing the 16th International Energy Forum (IEF) Ministerial meeting in the presence of Ministers from Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), including Saudi Arabia, Iran and Qatar, Modi said, “The world for too long has seen oil prices on roller coaster. We need to more responsible prices which balances interest of both consumer and producer.” The Government decision to pass on the burden to the OMCs is dictated by the reali- sation that any cut in excise duty could adversely reflect on the fiscal deficit. The OMCs will now have to take a hit on the profits when they absorb under-recovery. This is the reason the shares of the OMC saw freefall on the exchanges. HPCL declined as much as 5.55 per cent to 344.65 while BPCL and IOC were down by over 3 per cent in early morn- ing trading on the Bombay Stock Exchange. Prices of petrol and diesel are at their highest in four years even as Brent crude at $70 a barrel, despite the recent surge, though it is still lower than the peak level of $108 in 2014. However, experts feel that with the struggling to balance its books, the Centre has already prolonged its fiscal consolidation roadmap where its fiscal deficit is gradually widening. “This is not good news for India which meets more than 80 per cent of its crude oil requirement through imports. A surge in the oil mar- ket could give it new headaches to the Government in the long run,” said a Mumbai based oil expert who wished not to be named. Over the years, India’s efforts to step up production and reduce dependence on imports have failed to make a difference. The Modi Government has envisaged bringing down India’s import dependence on oil imports by 10 per cent by 2022. The Modi-led Government hiked excise duty on auto fuels by nine times in 2014-15 and 2015-16. Excise duty on petrol and diesel was 9.48 and 3.56 a litre respectively before this Government took office. Continued on Page 4 T he Uttar Pradesh Sunni Waqf Board has been asked by the Supreme Court to show documents signed by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan to prove its claim that it owns the icon- ic Taj Mahal. A Bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra asked the counsel of the board to show it documents to substantiate that Shah Jahan, who had built the Taj Mahal in the memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal in 1631, had executed a ‘waqfnama’ in favour of the board. Waqfnama is a deed or a document through which a person expresses intention to donate a property or land for charitable purposes or waqf. “Who in India will believe that it (Taj) belongs to the waqf board,” asked the Bench, which also comprised Justices AM Khanwilkar and DY Chandrachud, and added that such issues must not waste the time of the apex court. When the waqf board counsel told the court that Shah Jahan had himself declared it a Waqf property, the Bench asked the board to show it the original deed executed by the Mughal emperor. “Show us the signature”, the CJI told the counsel, who then sought more time to produce relevant documents. The court was hearing a 2010 appeal filed by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) over the ownership of the historic monument against the waqf board’s decision to declare the Taj Mahal as its property. The Bench also asked the counsel how Shah Jahan could sign a document when he was imprisoned by his son Aurangzeb at the Agra Fort in 1658 after a bitter war of suc- cession. Shah Jahan died in 1666 in the fort itself. It told the counsel that the 17th century monument and other heritage structures, built by the Mughals, were taken over by the British after the Mughal rule. After India’s Independence, the monuments came under the control of Government of India and were being managed by the ASI. The Archaeological Survey of India counsel also main- tained that there was no waqf- nama. The court posted the matter for further hearing on April 17. Another Bench of the apex court is also seized of a matter related to Taj Mahal in which the petitioner has sought direc- tions to protect the structure from the ill-effects of polluting gases and deforestation in and around the area. The top court has been monitoring the development in the area to protect the Taj Mahal, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Lucknow: After the Special Investigation Team (SIT) sub- mitted its report on Wednesday stating that Unnao’s BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Senger may have been involved in the conspiracy behind assaulting the rape victim’s father while in police custody, the accused MLA surrendered at the Lucknow SSP’s office late on Wednesday night after the intervention of senior BJP leaders. Senger — accused of rap- ing the 18-year-old girl of the man who was killed in judicial custody in Unnao — said he is being framed in the case. The MLA’s surrender came hours after BJP chief Amit Shah reportedly dis- cussed the issue with UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath dur- ing his Lucknow visit. Sources said the BJP is likely to expel Senger from the party. The Supreme Court on Wednesday decided to hear next week a plea for a CBI probe into the rape and the custodial death, even as the wife of the accused BJP MLA demanded narco tests on her husband and the rape victim. The Allahabad High Court posted the matter for hearing on Thursday. Also, it ordered that the body of the victim’s father should not be cremated, if already not done so. However, the mortal remains of the deceased were consigned to the flames on Tuesday, hours after his cus- todial death. PNS

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Aday ahead of his fast, PrimeMinister Narendra Modi

came down heavily on theOpposition parties accusingthem of killing democracy bynot allowing Parliament tofunction even for a day.Addressing BJP MPs throughaudio conferencing onWednesday evening, he urgedthe legislators and party lead-ers to expose the crime com-mitted by the Congress to theworld by holding fast across thecountry.

“The people, who couldn’tgain power in 2014, don’t wantthe country to move forward.They didn’t let Parliament workfor a single day. They killeddemocracy and we will observefast to bring their crime in frontof world. I will also hold fast,while doing my work,” he said

to MPs and party leaders.Modi said the BJP leaders

and its workers will observe thefast on Thursday to “expose”those handful people who“throttled” democracy bystalling Parliament proceedingsduring the Budget Session.Besides Modi, Home MinisterRajnath Singh, PetroleumMinister Dharmendra Pradhanand Commerce MinisterSuresh Prabhu will observethe fast in Delhi. The PM willgo to Chennai in connectionwith the inauguration ofDefence Expo and will be backto Delhi in the evening.

As per the schedule pre-pared by the BJP for observingthe fast across the country,Union Health Minister JPNadda will be in Modi’s con-stituency Varanasi, while LawMinister Ravi Shankar Prasadwill travel to Patna for it, saidparty leaders. Many otherMinisters will travel to variousplaces across the country toobserve the fast. DefenceMinister Nirmala Sitharamanwill observe the fast inChennai, Human ResourceDevelopment Minister PrakashJavdekar in Benguluru,Minister of State forParliamentary Affairs VijayGoel in Tamil Nadu, andMinister of State for ExternalAffairs MJ Akbar in Vidisha,Madhya Pradesh. TourismMinister KJ Alphons willobserve the fast in Kerala.

Continued on Page 4

���� 2,"��,34�

As massive protests werewitnessed on Tuesday

night during the IndianPremier League (IPL) matchbetween the Chennai SuperKings (CSK) and KolkataKnight Riders (KKR), the IPLfranchisee was told to consid-er shifting base due to theCauvery water dispute,Committee of Administrator(CoA) chief Vinod Rai said onWednesday. Late at night, theBCCI took a decision to shiftCSK’s remaining home gamesto Pune.

The Board had earliershort-listed four cities to host CSK’s home matches. But, Pune emerged out to bethe winner. The other threecities were Visakhapatnam,Thiruvananthapuram andRajkot.

There were already calls byvarious groups not to hostcricket matches in the citywhen the State was facing sucha grave situation.

“We are thinking on thelines of shifting the IPL match-es from Chennai. There arefour alternative venues thatBCCI has kept ready. They areVisakhapatnam, Trivandrum,Pune and Rajkot. CSK canplay their matches at thesevenues,” Rai told PTI.

“We have to keep in mindthe prevailing political andsecurity situation in the State.But we have told the CSK fran-chisee to evaluate the currentsituation and take a final call inthis regard. It will be CSK’s deci-sion,” Rai said earlier.

According to informationreceived, CSK CEO KashiVishwanathan is speaking topolice authorities and trying totake a stock of the situation.“There are a lot of options thatwe are mulling. There is apossibility that our next homematch on April 20 againstRajasthan Royals will be anaway match in Jaipur. In themeantime, we can decide upona substitute venue. There are alot of things that comes underconsideration. Ticketing, mar-keting, entire logistical move-ments, in stadia. Hopefully, acall will be taken tomorrow,” aCSK insider had said earlier.

IPL’s most popular fran-chise CSK has made a come-back to the League after serving two-year suspension on charges of spot-fixing in 2013.

Continued on Page 4

����� 2,"��,34�

Setting the record straight onwho is the master of the ros-

ter, a Bench headed by ChiefJustice of India Dipak Misra onWednesday dismissed a peti-tion challenging the authorityof the CJI to allocate mattersand constitute Benches.

Holding that there is noroom for “presumption of mis-trust” against the CJI, a Benchcomprising the CJI, JusticesAM Khanwilkar and DYChandrachud said that theConstitution empowers the CJIto be first among equals underArticle 146.

The petition filed by alawyer Asok Pande sought toregulate the power of the CJI toallocate cases to specific

Benches in order to curb arbi-trariness. Dismissing the same,the Bench held that the CJI has“exclusive prerogative” in thismatter and nobody can ques-tion it as this power is vested inhim by virtue of his position ofbeing the highest constitu-tional functionary of judiciary.

The judgment has come ata time when a similar petition

filed by former Law MinisterShanti Bhushan challengingthe power of CJI to fix the ros-ter of allocation of work forjudges is pending for hearing inthe apex court. The ruling willalso settle the dispute raised byfour seniormost judges of theSupreme Court early this yearto question the arbitrary man-ner adopted by CJI to allocatepolitically sensitive cases toselect Benches.

The decision, written byJustice Chandrachud, spoke

about the position of the CJIunder Constitution. “Theauthority (to allocate matters)is entrusted to the CJI becausesuch an entrustment of func-tions is necessary for the effi-cient transaction of the admin-istrative and judicial work ofthe court…The entrustment offunctions to the Chief Justice asthe head of the institution, iswith the purpose of securingthe position of the SupremeCourt as an independent safe-guard for the preservation ofpersonal liberty. There cannotbe a presumption of mistrust,”he said, speaking for the Bench.

The court took note of thescandalous statements made bythe lawyer in the petition butlet him off without cost.

Continued on Page 4

����� 2,"��,34�

Weeks after PunjabNational Bank (PNB)

was jolted by a �13,578 crorefraud scripted by diamondmerchants Nirav Modi and hisuncle Mehul Choksi, the CBIhas started probing anothermassive loan fraud of �5,280crore involving Choksi’sGitanjali’s group. The loan wasgiven by a consortium of 31banks led by ICICI Bank.

According to the CBI, theprobe is a part of the existingFIR filed against Choksi and hisGitanjali Group but differentfrom the PNB fraud.

CBI sources said that dur-ing the searches at the GitanjaliGroup of companies, inves-tigative agencies seized crucialdocuments, including an agree-ment between Gitanjali and aconsortium of 31 banks. Theloan was cleared in October2016, and the agreement wasrevised in October 2017. Thedocument shows the MehulChoksi firm utilised the “work-ing capital facility”. As per theagreement, ICICI Bank was the“lead bank” in the consortium,which sanctioned the “capitalfacility” to Gitanjali Group.

It was also found that inAugust 2013, the consortium ofbanks increased the borrowingfacilities to Choksi’s firms from�3,610 crore to �5,280 crore.The PNB reportedly offered thehighest loan amount of �587 crore to the company,while ICICI, which is the leadbank in the consortium, hasgiven �405 crore.

Choksi took loans fromAllahabad Bank, Andhra Bank,

Bank of Maharashtra, Bank ofBaroda, Bank of India, CentralBank of India, Canara Bank,Corporation Bank, Dena Bank,Export Import Bank of India,Indian Overseas Bank, ICICIBank, IDBI Bank, IndusIndBank, Karnataka Bank, KarurVysya Bank, Punjab NationalBank, Punjab and Sind Bank,Standard Chartered Bank, StateBank of Hyderabad, State Bankof India, State Bank of Bikanerand Jaipur, Syndicate Bank,Union Bank, United Bank,Vijaya Bank, State Bank ofMauritius, Catholic SyrianBank, Lakshmi Vilas Bank,Jammu & Kashmir Bank andOriental Bank of Commerce.

In a related development,the CBI on Wednesday ques-

tioned three officials from for-eign branches of Indian banksfor extending credit facilities tocompanies of absconding bil-lionaire jeweller Nirav Modiand his uncle Mehul Choksi.Two officials of the CanaraBank’s branch in Bahrain,including its branch manager,and an official of Bank ofIndia’s branch in Antwerp inBelgium were questioned by aCBI team in Mumbai.

On a related note, the CBIon Sunday had issued a Non-Bailable Warrant (NBW)against billionaire jewellerNirav Modi and his uncle andbusiness partner, MehulChoksi, in connection withthe PNB scam.

Continued on Page 4

����� 2,"��,34�

Confusion prevailed over areported directive by the

Centre to State-owned oil mar-keting companies (OMCs) notto increase retail petrol anddiesel prices by absorbing a partof the losses due to the recenthike in global crude oil prices.

While shares of the OMCsplummeted sharply on thestock exchanges, the OMCsdenied the reports, saying theyhave so far not received anysuch directive. In the absenceof any clarification from theGovernment, the fuel pricemovement in the coming dayswill be keenly watched tounderstand the nature of theGovernment’s intervention inregulating the prices.

According to sources,Indian Oil Corp (IOC),Hindustan Petroleum CorpLtd (HPCL) and BharatPetroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL)among other oil retailers havereportedly been asked toabsorb up to �1 a litre hike.

“In deregulated market,the Government cannot open-ly notify OMCs to absorb oilprices in the vast market likeIndia, that’s why there is noofficial word on it,” it added.

When asked about thedevelopment, IOC ChairmanSanjiv Singh said, “No, wehaven’t heard from theGovernment anything on drop-ping daily price revision.”HPCL Chairman andManaging Director MK Suranatoo said that the company wasnot aware of any directive to oilcompanies not to pass on therise in international oil prices.

Concerned with the con-tinuous hike on oil prices,Prime Minister Narendra Modion Wednesday said efforts toartificially distort prices areself-defeating, and a globalconsensus must be built forresponsible pricing to provideaffordable energy to all.

Addressing the 16thInternational Energy Forum(IEF) Ministerial meeting inthe presence of Ministers from

Organisation of the PetroleumExporting Countries (OPEC),including Saudi Arabia, Iranand Qatar, Modi said, “Theworld for too long has seen oilprices on roller coaster. Weneed to more responsible priceswhich balances interest of bothconsumer and producer.”

The Government decisionto pass on the burden to theOMCs is dictated by the reali-

sation that any cut in exciseduty could adversely reflect onthe fiscal deficit.

The OMCs will now haveto take a hit on the profits whenthey absorb under-recovery.This is the reason the shares ofthe OMC saw freefall on theexchanges.

HPCL declined as much as5.55 per cent to �344.65 whileBPCL and IOC were down by

over 3 per cent in early morn-ing trading on the BombayStock Exchange.

Prices of petrol and dieselare at their highest in four yearseven as Brent crude at $70 abarrel, despite the recent surge,though it is still lower than thepeak level of $108 in 2014.

However, experts feel thatwith the struggling to balanceits books, the Centre has

already prolonged its fiscalconsolidation roadmap whereits fiscal deficit is graduallywidening. “This is not goodnews for India which meetsmore than 80 per cent of itscrude oil requirement throughimports. A surge in the oil mar-ket could give it new headachesto the Government in the longrun,” said a Mumbai based oil expert who wished not to benamed.

Over the years, India’sefforts to step up productionand reduce dependence onimports have failed to make adifference. The ModiGovernment has envisagedbringing down India’s importdependence on oil imports by10 per cent by 2022.

The Modi-led Governmenthiked excise duty on auto fuels by nine times in 2014-15and 2015-16.

Excise duty on petrol anddiesel was �9.48 and �3.56 alitre respectively before thisGovernment took office.

Continued on Page 4

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The Uttar Pradesh SunniWaqf Board has been asked

by the Supreme Court to showdocuments signed by Mughalemperor Shah Jahan to proveits claim that it owns the icon-ic Taj Mahal.

A Bench headed by ChiefJustice Dipak Misra asked thecounsel of the board to show itdocuments to substantiate thatShah Jahan, who had built theTaj Mahal in the memory of hiswife Mumtaz Mahal in 1631,had executed a ‘waqfnama’ infavour of the board.

Waqfnama is a deed or adocument through which aperson expresses intention to

donate a property or land forcharitable purposes or waqf.

“Who in India will believethat it (Taj) belongs to the waqfboard,” asked the Bench, whichalso comprised Justices AMKhanwilkar and DYChandrachud, and added thatsuch issues must not waste thetime of the apex court.

When the waqf boardcounsel told the court thatShah Jahan had himselfdeclared it a Waqf property, theBench asked the board to showit the original deed executed bythe Mughal emperor.

“Show us the signature”, theCJI told the counsel, who thensought more time to producerelevant documents.

The court was hearing a2010 appeal filed by theArchaeological Survey of India(ASI) over the ownership of thehistoric monument against thewaqf board’s decision to declare the Taj Mahal as itsproperty.

The Bench also asked thecounsel how Shah Jahan couldsign a document when he wasimprisoned by his sonAurangzeb at the Agra Fort in1658 after a bitter war of suc-cession. Shah Jahan died in1666 in the fort itself.

It told the counsel that the17th century monument andother heritage structures, builtby the Mughals, were takenover by the British after the

Mughal rule. After India’s Independence,

the monuments came underthe control of Government ofIndia and were being managedby the ASI.

The Archaeological Surveyof India counsel also main-tained that there was no waqf-nama. The court posted thematter for further hearing onApril 17.

Another Bench of the apexcourt is also seized of a matterrelated to Taj Mahal in whichthe petitioner has sought direc-tions to protect the structurefrom the ill-effects of pollutinggases and deforestation in andaround the area.

The top court has beenmonitoring the development inthe area to protect the TajMahal, which is a UNESCOWorld Heritage Site.

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�������������� ���������������������5����� �����������&02��� ��� �Lucknow: After the SpecialInvestigation Team (SIT) sub-mitted its report onWednesday stating thatUnnao’s BJP MLA KuldeepSingh Senger may have beeninvolved in the conspiracybehind assaulting the rapevictim’s father while in policecustody, the accused MLAsurrendered at the LucknowSSP’s office late on Wednesdaynight after the intervention ofsenior BJP leaders.

Senger — accused of rap-ing the 18-year-old girl of theman who was killed in judicialcustody in Unnao — said he isbeing framed in the case.

The MLA’s surrendercame hours after BJP chiefAmit Shah reportedly dis-cussed the issue with UP Chief

Minister Yogi Adityanath dur-ing his Lucknow visit. Sourcessaid the BJP is likely to expelSenger from the party.

The Supreme Court onWednesday decided to hearnext week a plea for a CBIprobe into the rape and thecustodial death, even as thewife of the accused BJP MLAdemanded narco tests on herhusband and the rape victim.

The Allahabad HighCourt posted the matter forhearing on Thursday. Also, itordered that the body of thevictim’s father should not becremated, if already not doneso. However, the mortalremains of the deceased wereconsigned to the flames onTuesday, hours after his cus-todial death. PNS

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Five men have been arrestedby the customs officials for

allegedly trying to smuggleinto the country gold valuing�60 lakh at Indira GandhiInternational Airport (IGIA)here. The accused were arrest-ed in two separate cases bookedby the customs on Sunday andMonday.

In first case, three personswere intercepted after theirarrival from Sharjah on Sunday.In their personal and baggagesearch, three gold bars weigh-ing about one kg, were recov-ered from them. The accusedwere carrying one gold bareach, a statement issued todayby the customs said. The triowere arrested and the goldwas seized.

In another case, two pas-sengers were held after their

arrival from Dubai on Monday.They were carrying two goldplates which were pastedbeneath the luggage trolleywith double-side adhesive tape,the statement said. In both thecases five persons were arrest-ed and gold valued at �60 lakhwas seized, it added.

���� 2,"��,34�

ADelhi court on Wednesdaydismissed a plea of advo-

cate Prashant Bhushan seekingtransfer of a defamation case,filed against him by formerUnion Minister Kapil Sibal'slawyer son Amit Sibal, to amagisterial court which washearing it earlier. The matterhad later been shifted to a spe-cial designated court at theorders of the Delhi High Court.

Additional ChiefMetropolitan Magistrate(ACMM) Samar Vishal, whosecourt was designated exclu-sively to deal with criminalcases involving politicians,rejected Bhushan's applicationsaying it did not have the juris-diction to transfer the case.

"This court does not have

the jurisdiction to transfer thecase to any other court. Theapplication is dismissed," theACMM said.

Bhushan had moved theplea seeking transfer of the caseback to the court which washearing it, contending that nopolitician was left in this caseas everyone had tendered theirapologies to Amit Sibal. "Thisspecial court was set up to dealwith cases involving politi-cians. Since all the politicians

have gone now, there is no suchperson left in the matter,"Bhushan said.

Recently, BJP leader ShaziaIlmi had also tendered an apol-ogy to Amit Sibal by moving ajoint application with the com-plainant seeking to settle thematter, which was accepted bythe court. Both Bhushan andIlmi were earlier members ofthe Aam Aadmi Party.

The court had on March 19acquitted Chief MinisterKejriwal and Deputy CMManish Sisodia after they hadapologised to Amit Sibal formaking "unfounded allega-tions". The lower court had, onSeptember 20, 2014, putKejriwal, Sisodia, Ilmi andBhushan on trial for the chargeunder section 500 (defamation)of the IPC.

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The Delhi DevelopmentAuthority (DDA) on

Wednesday presented theannual Budget for the currentfinancial year. With a regis-tered growth of 67 per cent in2017-18, the Budget expendi-ture for 2018-19 has been setat �8,032 crore and expected tobe incurred mainly on housesand shops to the tune of �3,633crore, for the acquisition ofland and payments ofenhanced compensation at�765 crore and development ofland �2,348.

With an aim to transformCapital in a world class city, theDDA has taken major decisionswhich primarily includeRequest for Proposal (RFP) fordeveloping vacant area avail-able at Dwarka (200 hectare),Rohini (259 hectare) andNarela (218 hectare) have beenfloated.

Land owning agency in itsofficial release mentioned that

it will come up with 15 newdevelopment schemes and 14new Housing and relatedDevelopment Works intro-duced in BE 2018-19.

Other projects, instance -Construction of Rail-overBridge (ROB) at Narela,Community Hall at Block -E,Sector-16, Rohini, three pilotprojects on in-situ rehabilita-tion are under progress at A-14,Kalkaji (3024 EWS DU's),

Jailorwala Bagh (1675 EWSDU's) and Kathputili Colony(2800 EWS DU's),Construction of five number ofSocio Cultural Centres inRohini, Dwarka, CBDShahdara, Mayur Place andNetaji Subhash Place is at plan-ning stage. Development of 25hact (62 acre ) area surround-ing the Sultangarhi TombConservation Complex, VasantKunj Rejuvenation and restora-

tion of River Yamuna andUpgradation of Vasant Udyanat Vasant Kunj were also tabledin authority meeting.

On Floor Are per Ratio(FAR), DDA official under thechairmanship of LieutenantGovernor Anil Baijal, alsohighlighted revised modalitiesfor enhanced FAR in plannedcommercial centers, "For opti-mal utilization of commercialland, Master Plan Delhi - 2021

recommended enhancementof FAR and Ground Coverageof commercial centres.

This further means that forCentral Business District theFAR will be 150 per cent, forDistrict Centre/Sub-CentralBusiness District, FAR will be150 per cent while forCommunity Centre and non-hierarchical commercial centrethe FAR will be 125 per cent.The FAR for Local Shopping

Center and ConvenientShopping Centre is 100 per-cent.

In the authority meeting itwas also decided that 794LIG/One Bed Room Flats, 574in Sector-34 Rohini and 220flats at Siraspur to CentralIndustrial Security Force(CISF) would be allotted .

The authority also ratifiedthe modifications in theUnified Building Bye-Laws(UBBL) 2016 for simplificationof forms and proforma andomission ofBond(s)/Affidavit(s) to usherin smooth operations in theBuilding Permit process andcontribute significantly in theEase of Doing Business.

"In addition to other sim-plified procedure, self decla-ration undertakings will beaccepted instead of attestationby NotaryP u b l i c / M e t r o p o l i t a nMagistrate on Rs.10/- Non-judicial stamp papers," DDAstated in an official statement.

��55��������� 2,"��,34�

Three men have been arrest-ed by the Delhi Police

Crime Branch who cheatedhundreds of people acrossIndia on the pretext of offeringbonus money on lapsed insur-ance policies. The accusedclaimed that they were linkedwith various Governmentdepartments. Police onWednesday said they haveidentified 34 fake email IDsregistered in the name of gov-ernment authorities.

The accused claimed thatthrough this method theyearned lakhs every month. Theaccused has been identified asDushyant (25), Swetraj Jha(26) and Shiv Narayan Singh(30). Police said the three menwere running a call center formore than a year.

"Since all of them hadexperience of working at callcentres, they used to approach

people asking them to investmoney to get a refund on thelapsed policies. The cops haveidentified around 32 bankaccounts through which theaccused used to receive themoney," said Bhisham Singh,DCP (Crime). Singh said, "Wereceived a complaint from aLudhiana based senior citizenwho claimed that he has beencheated of �68 lakh. As per thecomplainant, he had stoppeddepositing premium for hisinsurance policy in a LifeInsurance company after threeannual premiums of �15,000/-each, so his insurance policylapsed."

The DCP said, "While hewas living in Pitampura in2016, he got a call from a pri-vate firm saying that the com-pany has invested �30,000 ofthe lapsed police in some for-eign company. The companyclaimed that his policy amounthas doubled to �16.5 lakh and

asked him to deposit �4 lakh ina bank account as processingfees."

The complainant furthertold police that the he used toget calls from the companywhere they impersonated asofficials belonging to theFinance Ministry of India, officeof the Punjab Chief Minister,RBI and President of Indiaoffice. In this way the accusedcheated �68 lakh from him.

"A team under ACP CrimeBranch scanned the mobile aswell as the bank records andmanaged to trace the accusedto Ghaziabad. During sus-tained interrogation, theaccused told police thatDushyant is the mastermind ofthe gang. To earn quick money,the three started their own callcentre to cheat people. Theaccused further disclosed thatthey took a flat on rent at theRaj Nagar Extension inGhaziabad," said Singh.

��55��������� 2,"��,34�

Four men, including suspendedconstable from the Manipur

police, have been arrested by theSouth District Police for sellingstolen cars after they registered themwith the State transport authorities.Apart from the recovery of high endstolen cars like one BMW, twoFortuner and other cars, police havealso recovered eight country madepistols.

Romil Baaniya, DeputyCommissioner of Police (South)said, "We have arrested Akser Ahmed(34), Mohd Fakruddin (31),Sorokhaibam Chorijit Singh (25),Abdul Gaffar Khan (34). WhileAhmed holds a degree in MBA,Mohd Fakruddin was a constable inthe Manipur Police. He was sus-pended after he was found to beinvolved in cases of auto-lifting."

He said, "The operation wasconducted by a team of Anti AutoTheft Squad (AATS). Eight country-made pistols with 16 live cartridges

along with 16 stolen vehicles includ-ing one BMW car, two Fortuner cars,five Creta cars, two Honda Citycars, one Honda Accord car, oneChevrolet Cruze Car, one Hyundai i-10 Car, two Bullet Motorcycles andone Avenger motorcycle have beenrecovered from their possession."

Police said in a bid to crack thecases of auto lifting, the Anti AutoTheft Squad on March 27 received atip off that members of this gangwould come to the approach roadadjacent to drainage between Sector5 and Sector 6 in Pushp Vihar areain Saket. Inputs were also receivedthat the men will go towardsMehrauli Badarpur Road to delivera consignment of arms and ammu-nitions to their associates.

"On this, a trap was laid inPushp Vihar and the team startedstringent checking of vehicles in thearea. Around 8:45 pm, a Honda Citycar was seen approaching. Spottingsuspicious movements by the occu-pants of car, it was intercepted anddriver was overpowered. During

search, five country-made pistolsand eight live cartridges were recov-ered. The vehicle was also foundstolen. Identity of accused wasrevealed as Akser," said Baaniya.

During sustained interrogation,he confessed that he has alreadytransported more than 50 stolencars in Manipur. He further confessedthat, after preparing forged docu-ments he managed to register thesevehicles afresh in different DistrictTransport Officer (DTO) office inManipur, police said.

"At his instance police recoveredfive Creta cars and one ChevroletCruze car, all having registration cer-tificates issued from different trans-port offices in Manipur and twoFortuner cars were recovered fromImphal. Further, one Hyundai I-10Car, one BMW Seven Series, oneHonda City and one Honda Accordcar was recovered from KotlaMubarakpur in Delhi," the DCPsaid. Later on April 8, other membersof the syndicate were arrested fromKotla Mubarakpur area, he added.

��55��������� 2,"��,34�

A29-year-old Muslim man has claimed thathe was harassed on a bus here by two men

who asked him to chant a religious slogan androughed him up in Outer Delhi's Bawana areaon Sunday night.

A senior police officer said, "In his complaint,Maulana Aftab Alam, who teaches at a mosquesaid he was also asked about his nationality bythe two men." A case has been registered on thecomplaint of the victim and efforts are on to nabthe accused persons, said the officer.

Police said Alam, who is a resident of JJColony in Bawana, wrote in his complaint thathe was heading home from Shahbad Dairy, outerDelhi on the night of April 8. "The two men ofPrahladpur village, aged around 35-40, asked mewhether I was an Indian. When I said yes I aman Indian, they asked me to say 'jai mata di', whichI did, but they started roughing me up," Alam saidin the complaint. Later, the two men got downat the Prahaladpur bus stand. Alam did not knowthe duo, the police officer said. After the incident,Alam called police. He got his statement regis-tered and was also medically examined, but noinjuries were found on his body.

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The Delhi Police rescued agirl, who was kidnapped six

years ago by a man in Dwarkaarea. Police on Wednesday saidthe man, Faujdar, has beenarrested. In 2012, he had kid-napped the girl, then 16. Yearslater, police managed to rescueher and found that she got mar-ried to Faujdar and is motherto two children.

Shibesh Singh, DeputyCommissioner of Police(Dwarka) said, "We have reg-istered a case of kidnapping atDwarka North police station inDecember 2012 regarding theabduction of a 16-year-old girl,on the complaint of her father."

The DCP said, "The nameof the accused, Faujdar,cropped up during investiga-

tion but all the attempts toarrest him were fruitless.

“After the FIR was regis-tered, Faujdar was declared aproclaimed offender in thecase by a court on November30, 2013." In a drive to tracekidnapped and missing per-sons, launched by the Dwarkapolice district, a team delvedout old cases and managed totrace the accused to UttarPradesh. Faujdar was arrestedfrom Uttar Pradesh and thekidnapped person was recov-ered.

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In a step towards adoption ofelectric vehicles in Haryana,

State Government officials willsoon use battery-powered carsin Gurugram. MunicipalCorporation Gurugram(MCG) and GurugramMetropolitan DevelopmentAuthority (GMDA) are in theprocess of procuring 25 cars forofficers. A Memorandum ofunderstanding (MOU) will besigned by Energy EfficiencyServices Limited (EESL) withthe Municipal Corporationand GMDA.

"On a pilot basis, the offi-cials will use these cars for theirofficial purpose. This wouldhelp in improving the envi-ronment. The electric vehicles

will save huge fuel consump-tion, maintenance and operat-ing cost of the vehicles," ChiefExecutive Officer (CEO) ofGurugram MetropolitanDevelopment Authority(GMDA), V Umashankar, said.

The EESL has also startedwork on installing LEDs acrossthe city to save power. Thecompany has also started workto reduce the pollution and torun electric vehicles to savediesel and petrol costs. Aftersigning the MOU, GurugramMetropolitan DevelopmentAuthority and MCG will getelectric cars in about onemonth.

"Electric cars will be givenspecial attention in the gov-ernment offices at the place ofdiesel and petrol. It is going tobe the first of its kind in the

state of Gurugram. The vehicleswill be given to the officers andit will replace the old vehicles,"an official with the MCG, said.

Highly placed sources,once fully charged the electriccars will be able to travel 140kilometres after that they willhave to be charged again.

Electric car charging pointswill also be built for this theGMDA is being identified theplace to create a charging sta-tion. Although it is not yet clearhow many of charging stationwill be built.

Meanwhile, a chargingpoint has been built in sector-34, located in the MCG office.More charging points can bemade in other governmentoffices including newly builtPWD Rest House on old Jailroad.

��55��������� 2,"��,34�

The municipal secretary ofSouth Delhi Municipal

Corporation (SDMC) hasissued election schedule for theelection to the post of Mayor,Deputy Mayor and three mem-bers of Standing Committee onApril 26.

A senior SDMC officialsaid election will be held onApril 26 at 2 pm. The nomi-nation papers can be collectedfrom the office of theMunicipal Secretary on anyworking day between 11 amand 5 pm, he said.

The official further said thenomination papers will beaccepted in the office ofMunicipal Secretary till April18 between 11 am and 5 pm."Any candidate may withdrawhis/her nomination at any time

before the election is proceed-ed with in the meeting," headded.

The three members of theStanding Committee retiredon draw of lot in the Housemeeting resulting in threevacancies in the standing com-mittee. "The election of thethree members is being con-ducted to fill the vacancies. Themembers Ashok Kumar,Abhishek Dutt and Dr NandiniSharma were retired with theresults of draw of lot," he said.

SDMC Mayor KamaljeetSehrawat, who won the civicpolls with a record margin ofover 9,000 votes, was electedunopposed for the post of theMayor. Sehrawat representsDwarka-B ward. KailashSankla who won from PunjabiBagh, was also chosen unop-posed as Deputy Mayor.

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Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)founder member Kumar

Vishwas was on Wednesdayremoved as the party in-chargeof election-bound Rajasthan,the party announced onWednesday. AAP's nationalspokesperson Ashutosh madethe announcement and saidNational Treasurer DeepakBajpai had been made the newin-charge.

Vishwas has been ignoredby the party for the second timeafter the Rajya Sabha electionsin Delhi, allegedly for differingwith the party line on severalissues and for "locking horns"with the party's top brass onseveral occasions.

"A decision to this effecthas been taken by the AAP'sPolitical Affairs Committee(PAC) in its meeting held onMonday in which it was decid-ed to appoint Deepak Bajpai asstate in-charge for Rajasthan",said Ashutosh.

"During a meeting of theAAP's Political AffairsCommittee held two days ago,it was decided that the partywould contest RajasthanAssembly elections scheduledto be held in November-December later this year.Senior leader and nationaltreasurer of the party Deepak

Bajpai had been deputed toRajasthan over the last fewweeks to assess the political sit-uation in the state, for whichhe toured several districts andAssembly segments. DeepakBajpai has been nominated bythe party as the State in-charge for Rajasthan," saidAshutosh.

He said the "candidateselection process has been ini-tiated and seats where theparty has a strong supportbase have been identified todesign a tailored strategy".

The AAP alleged that thefarmers and labourers ofRajasthan have suffered "con-tinuous persecution and atroc-ities". "Farmer agitations haveerupted in almost all parts ofthe State, electricity prices areon the rise and corruption hasreached unprecedented levels.

Both the BJP and the Congresshave betrayed the people of thestate at every step," said theparty's spokesperson.

AAP Rajasthan leaderPoonam Chand Bhandari said,"The people of Rajasthan havebecome frustrated with bothparties and are looking for anew alternative. The currentVasundhara Raje Governmentis only concerned with itselfand is favouring corporatehouses."

AAP laders asserted thatthe people of Rajasthan willnow have an "honest alterna-tive" as they are fed up of thepolitics of Congress and BJP.The AAP leaders said thattheir government has made a"huge difference to the lives ofall sections of society in Delhiand will reflect the same inRajasthan".

��55��������� 2,"��,34��

The Confederation of AllIndia Traders (CAIT) on

Wednesday said implementa-tion of intra-State E-way bill inseveral States from April 15, willprove to be a roadblock insmooth transportation of goodsin such States and as such theCAIT has called upon the'Goods and Services Tax' (GST)Council to restrict to inter-stateE Way bill for the present.

CAIT secretary generalPraveen Khandelwal said GSTin itself is at a very initial stageand still needs to be settled andunder such conditions if Eway Bill for intra-State trans-actions is used, it will provemuch detrimental for the tradeand transportation of goodswithin a State. He further saidthere is much less of educationabout E way bill among traders

across the country particular-ly in smaller towns and as suchcomplying with the E way billconditions would be an oner-ous task.

Khandelwal also said intraState trade is highly diversifiedand transportation of goodsremains both in retail andwholesale nature. “Further,largely the goods are kept ingodowns and warehouses andusually such goods are trans-ported either directly to thetransport or at the showroomof the traders. Generation of Eway bill for such transactionswill add to many complexitiesand will be hurdle in smoothbusiness activities,” he said.

Also, he suggested that theGST Council may draw someother automatic mechanism tovalidate the legality of the trans-ported goods instead of E Waybill. "A Quick Response Code

(QR Code) couldbe developed andbe given to eachtrader registeredwith the depart-ment to imprint onhis Invoice and thegoods can bechecked at anygiven point of timewithout giving anyextra botheration totraders," he added.

�����������#�����2,"��,34�

Complying with the NationalGreen Tribunal (NGT)

orders all the three municipalcorporations in Delhi havepenalised thousands of viola-tors issuing challans for usingplastic bags. Levying, � 5,000 as"Environmental CompensationFine" for violating the NGTdirections, which puts an inter-im ban on use of plastic bags ofthickness less than 50 micronsin Delhi.

As per the NGT direc-tions, anyone found in pos-session or use of such plasticshall be liable to pay �5,000 asenvironmental compensation.

A total of 1,886 challansissued by all three MCDsagainst those using polythenebags and collected a huge�3,520,000 as environmentalcompensation fine. Also, in araid conducted in differentmarkets, a total of 9,956.7 kgplastic bags were seized by allthe three corporations tillMarch this year.

According to the data pre-sented by the North DelhiMunicipal Corporation(NMC), it reveals that a huge7580.7 kg plastic have beenseized from October 2017 to tillMarch this year, in an operationconducted in all the six zonescome under it. The highestamount of plastic seized fromRohini zone (1817 kg).

However, East Corporationalso came down heavily againstviolators and seized 2298 kgplastic in the financial year2017 till February this year. Theeast body also collected �13,

95,000 as environmental com-pensation fine.

A senior East DelhiMunicipal Corporation saidthat 694 challans were issued inShahdara north and 454 chal-lans issued in Shahdara south.

While, South DelhiMunicipal Corporation hasseized 78 kg, issued 115 chal-lans and collected �1,020,000 asfine.

Yogendra Singh Mann,Director Press and Informationsaid that the action will be con-tinue against those violatingdirections and stringent mea-sures will be adopted to preventsuch violations.

"The focus of the depart-ment has shifted to conductchecks in more such com-mercial areas. The number ofchallans issued, has increasedseveral- folds comparativelyin the last six months," hesaid.

He said in the financialyear, 2017-18, 14588 challanedwere issued till October for lit-tering and imposed penalty ofapproximately �. 1.32 crore.

According to the experts,plastic is the major source ofenvironmental pollution as itcannot decay naturally, creat-ing lots of damages such aschoking drains, water-bodiesand adding to the load of thealready-exhausted landfillsites.

��55��������� 2,"��,34��

Astudent of DelhiUniversity's Kirori Mal

College alleged that he wasthrashed by a group of studentslast month and was referred toas "Bihari". Senior Delhi Policeofficers, however, said the stu-dent had given a police com-plaint but withdrew it later. Nocase was registered in thisregard, police said onWednesday. This is third suchincident reported from theDelhi University in less thantwo months.

The incident surfacedwhen a video of the incidentwent viral on the social mediashowing the student beinggheraoed by a group of stu-dents and then being beaten up.Police said the incident tookplace on March 15.

Media reports onWednesday claimed that thevictim had given a complaint topolice alleging that others usedto ask him for money and tar-geted him saying "Tum UPBihar ke ho yahan tumhari nahichalegi (You are from UttarPradesh and Bihar. No one willlisten to you here)". The studenthas also alleged that he reachedout to police but they did nottake him seriously, some mediareports read.

However, DCP North, JatinNarwal said the victim hadsubmitted a police complaintwhich he later withdrewdemanding no police action."No police case was registeredin this regard," Narwal said.

The incident had come tolight less than two monthsafter an 18-year-old student of

Dyal Singh College wasallegedly attacked for belong-ing to the Scheduled Caste. Thevictim, who had alleged that hewas attacked by an ice pick andglass bottles by a group of Jats,had reportedly got 14 stitcheson the face.

Just a week after this inci-dent, a 23-year-old sports-woman was also allegedly man-handled by a group of menwhen she was on her way to herhostel. The woman, in herpolice complaint said the boymistook her for a man andstarted bullying her. Theytouched her inappropriatelyand assaulted her when sheshouted that she was a girl andfled from the spot, she said.

��55��������� 2,"��,34��

Concerned over the low learn-ing level of students from

Class III to IX in DelhiGovernment schools, DeputyChief Minister Manish Sisodiawho also holds education port-folio on Wednesday launched‘Mission Buniyaad’ campaignto ensure the basics learning inreading, writing and basic math-ematics in next three monthsstarting from academic year2018-19.

"For this campaign, specialefforts are being made by theGovernment to reach out to theparents through FM ads, megaParent Teachers meeting andletter to the parents to convincethem to stay back in Delhi forthe entire duration of the cam-paign and send their child toschool. During the campaign,every day two-three hours offocussed activities will be con-ducted by the school teacherswith all those students ofClasses III to IX who cannotread their textbooks or solvebasic numerical to strengthentheir reading, writing andmaths skills. The campaignwill continue during May andJune as well" an official state-ment issued by the DelhiGovernment stated.

"With the goal that all chil-

dren in Classes III to IX of theschools run by DelhiGovernment, MunicipalCorporations, New DelhiMunicipal Council (NDMC)and Delhi Cantonment boardshould be able to perform basics,the government has launchedthis programme," it stated.

Interacting with Teachersand DoE officials at ThyagrajStadium, Sisodia highlightedthe fact that inability of chil-dren to read and write fluent-ly is basically a reflection on thefailure of the school system.

"This situation puts chil-dren in a seriously disadvan-taged situation to acquire fur-ther learning. And the unfor-tunate part is that the schoolsystem instead of owning itsown failure projects it on chil-dren and their parents as if itis they who are at total fault,"said Sisodia.

The Deputy Chief Ministerurged teachers and officials to

reach out to children and theirparents through simple andeasy to understand messagesand ensure that in next threemonths all children should beable to read, write and do basicmaths fluently so that they areon the right track to attain gradeappropriate learning outcomes.

The event was organised bythe SCERT Delhi and wasattended by the senior officialsof the Directorate of Educationand local bodies apart from theheads of Sarvodaya schools ofDelhi Government, Vice prin-cipals, Teacher DevelopmentCoordinators and MentorTeachers.

The planning for the cam-paign had started in mid-February when Sisodia con-vened the meeting of the seniorofficials of the DelhiGovernment and local bodiesto discuss the NationalAchievement Survey 2017 datareleased by NCERT.

��55��������� 2,"��,34��

The Delhi BJP Member ofParliament (MPs) will sit

on fast in their respective con-stituencies on Thursday. TheMPs will be sitting on fast tojoin Prime Minister NarendraModi, along with other seniorBJP leaders, who will observeUPVASS on Thursday to markthe protest against theOpposition parties stalled theworking of budget session inParliament.

The MPs will sit on fast intheir constituencies 10 am and4 pm and Pradesh Office bear-ers, district presidents andworkers will join them. Union

Minister Suresh Prabhu willvisit and meet the fasting DelhiMPs and party workers duringthe day to enthuse them.

Delhi BJP president ManojTiwari will continue his sym-bolic fasts (indefinite hungerstrike) to protest against the con-tinuous biased neglect of devel-opment work in North EastDelhi by Arvind KejriwalGovernment in Delhi. UnionMinister Vijay Goel shall addressthe workers at the venue.

Union Environment

Minister Dr Harsh Vardhanwill fast at Town Hall Chowkin Chandni Chowk, MaheishGirri sit on near Laxmi NagarMetro Station,

Meenakshi Lekhi, MPfrom New Delhi will sit atHanuman Mandir ConnaughtPlace complex,

Pravesh Verma will sitnear Uttam Nagar BusTerminal, Dr Udit Raj at DCChowk Rohini Sector-9 andRamesh Bidhuri will sit at GaliNo 1 Govindpuri.

#���#��"����� 2,"��,34��

The Delhi Police has bookeda serving Indian Army

Lieutenant Colonel for domes-tic violence. As per the writtencomplaint submitted by hiswife, she claimed that her hus-band thrashed and punched onher face so badly that she sus-tained a zygomatic fractureunder the bone of her eye, crit-ical injuries on her face, mak-ing it difficult to swallow food.

Police have registered anFIR at the Delhi Cantt policestation under section 325(Punishment for voluntarilycausing grievous hurt) of theIndian Penal Code against LtColonel Ramandeep Singh.The incident took place atManikshaw Marg of DelhiCantt on April 4.

The complaint, in posses-sion of The Pioneer, reads, "Imarried Ramandeep inJalandhar in 2004. Since he wasposted out in the field, I shift-ed with my in-laws at UrbanVillage in Delhi Cantt. Duringthe early days of marriage, I

found that he was short tem-pered.”

"I have two daughters.Despite being married for closeto 12 years, he used to indulgein passing lewd remarks on mycharacter. He used to verbally,emotionally and physicallyassault me on several occa-sions," reads the FIR.

It mentions, "Despiteknowing my plight, my in-lawsnever intervened. He had alsoasked for dowry once. For thepast four years, the violencegrew and he demanded adivorce, asking Rs 1 crore for

maintenance of our daugh-ters. However, the mattercooled down. On the night ofApril 4, he was invited for anofficer's party at the officer'smess. I went along with him asthe officers were supposed tobring their wives,"

"Since he used to check myphones often, after the party,when we reached home, hestarted checking my phone andquestioned me that whom did Itext last. Evidently, it was himthat I had texted. He had hurledsuch filthy abuses at me that Icannot mention here (in the

FIR). Then all of a sudden, hestarted kicking me and punch-ing me on my face. Due to theblows he rained on me, I lostconsciousness. I called out to mydaughters for help but theywere not there. Within a fewminutes, I managed to pickmyself up, took the car keys fromthe bedside table and ran fromthe room," said the woman.

"He followed me. By thetime, I reached the Rao TulaRam hospital, my eyes wereswollen, my mouth was swollenand I was bleeding from mynose. Doctors told me that dueto the injuries I had sustaineda zygomatic fracture in mynose," added the woman.

The complaint furtherreads, "I am worried about thesafety of my two daughters. Isuspect that they have beenshifted elsewhere."

The woman further statedthat due to the continuingharassment meted out by herhusband, Ramandeep Singh toher as well as her elder daugh-ter, 11-year-old, she tried to cuther wrists.

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Facebook CEO MarkZuckerberg on Wednesday

said his organisation is com-mitted to ensure integrity ofelections across the world,including India, as he testifiedbefore the US Congress amida firestorm over the allegedhijacking of data of millions ofFacebook users by British firmCambridge Analytica.

He said data privacy andforeign interference in elec-tions were topics that theyhave discussed at the Facebookboard meeting.

"These are some of thebiggest issues that the compa-ny has faced, and we feel ahuge responsibility to get theseright," Zuckerberg told theUS the lawmakers during theCongressional hearing, addingthat "this is one of my top pri-orities in 2018".

He said Facebook was tak-

ing steps to ensure integrity ofelections in countries like theUnited States, India, Brazil,and Pakistan.

"2018 is is an incrediblyimportant year for elections.Not just in the US mid-terms,but, around the world, thereare important elections—inIndia, Brazil, Mexico, Pakistanand Hungary—and we want tomake sure we do everythingwe can to protect the integri-

ty of these elections," theFacebook founder and CEOsaid.

Zuckerberg began his two-day hearing as his organisationfaces charges of failing to pre-vent Cambridge Analytica, thedata-mining firm affiliatedwith Donald Trump's presi-dential campaign, from gath-ering personal informationfrom over 80 million users totry to influence election.

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ANIA court in Hyderabadwill pronounce its judge-

ment on Monday in the MeccaMasjid blast case, almost 11years after a powerful bombwent off during the Fridaycongregation.

The incident on May 18,2007 had left 9 people killedand 58 others injured andanother five people died in sub-sequent police firing on thecrowd outside the mosque.

The fourth additional met-ropolitan sessions court whichalso deals with the Cases ofNational investigation Agencywill pronounce the judgmentafter hearing the final argumentof the prosecution and defencecounsels.

The ten accused belongingto Abhinav Bharat and otherright wing Hindu organisa-tions include Devender Gupta,Lokesh Sharma alias AjayTiwari, Nabakumar Sircar aliasSwami Aseemanand,Lakshman Das Maharaj,Mohanlal Rateshwar and

Rajender Chowdhary. Two accused Ramchandra

Kalsangra and Sandeep Dangeremain absconding whileanother Sunil Joshi was killedby unknown assailants.

During the trial prosecu-tion listed 226 witnesses but 64of them including Lt. Col.Srikant Purohit turned hostile.

Swami Aseemanand,Pracharak of RSS had given aconfessional statement beforethe magistrate but later retract-ed it. Even this document hadgone missing at the latter stageof the trial. However officials

traced the document later. Inhis statement Aseemanand hadadmitted his role in the plan-ning of the blast and providedthe details of others who wereinvolved in conspiracy andplanting of the bomb in the his-toric mosque. While one bombhad exploded under a marblebench near the abolition tankin the court yard another bombfailed to explode and it was dis-posed off by the police bombsquad later.

The case saw many dra-matic ups and downs before theCBI unravelled the conspiracy

of Hindu right wing groupsbehind the blast.

Initially the case wasbooked at the Hussainialampolice station in Hyderabad, aspecial investigation team (SIT)took up the investigation andarrested more than 100 Muslimyouth suspecting the hands ofMuslim groups behind theblast. As the allegations of ille-gal detentions and torture incustody caused an uproar,police booked 26 youth oncharges of conspiracy and letoff others. A local court acquit-ted even those 26 youth.

Later the SIT headed byJoint Commissioner HarshGupta was disbanded and thestate government handed overthe case to the Central Bureauof Investigation.

The breakthrough wasachieved by the CBI when itarrested Devender Gupta andLokesh Sharma during theirprobe into a similar blast inDargah of Ajmer in Rajasthan.The investigation also threw upthe links of the Hindu groupsto various other blasts.

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The Akola town inVidarbha region experi-

enced most severe heat onWednesday with mercurytouching a maximum of 40degree Celsius, even as thetemperatures in at least adozen districts of Maharashtraranged nearly high 39 to 40degrees C.

While Akola in Vidarbharegion recorded the highesttemperature, Ahmednagar,Jalgaon and Malegaon townsin north Maharashtra regis-tered temperature of 40 degreeCelsius.

The western Maharashtratowns of Kolhapur andSolapur recorded a tempera-

ture of 39 degree Celsius,while mercury touched 38degrees C in Sangli, Satara andPune towns which are also inwestern Maharashtra.

The Marathwada towns ofAurangabad, Nanded andParbhani recorded 39 degreeCelsius plus. In Vidarbha,Akola and Brahmapurirecorded over 41 degreeCelsius, fol lowed byChandrapur town whichrecorded 40 degree Celsius.The Wardha and Yavatmaltowns recorded 39 degreeCelsius while the winter cap-ital of Nagpur registered atemperature of 38 degreeCelsius.

Meanwhile, in Mumbai,the Island city recorded a max-

imum of 33.2 degree Celsius,while the city suburbs record-ed 34.8 degree Celsius. The rel-ative humidity in southMumbai and suburbs stood at87 per cent and 79 per cent,forcing the Mumbaikars tosweat profusely all throughthe day.

The RegionalMeteorological Observatoryof IMD-Mumbai forecast hasforecast "rains or thunder-showers at isolated places insouth Madhya Maharashtraand Marthwada".

According to SkymetWeather, Vidarbha is likely towitness be a drop in temper-ature giving respite to people.This drop in the temperatureprofile is being attributed to a

trough which is extendingfrom Madhya Pradesh to inte-rior Tamil Nadu acrossVidarbha and South MadhyaMaharashtra.

On account of the pre-vailing weather conditions,Maharashtra expect rains tocontinue at a few parts ofVidarbha over the districtslike Nagpur, Akola, Amravati,Chandrapur, Buldhana, andGondia for the next 24 hours.This would further result in adrop in the temperatures.

"However, the coastalKonkan region will remaindry while, isolated parts ofMadhya Maharashtra andMarathwada may witnesssome isolated showers," theSkymet weather report said.

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Former Prime MinisterManmohan Singh on

Wednesday said there waswidespread concern that thecountry's electoral system wasbeing undermined by the useof money and muscle powerand stressed on the need toeffect electoral reforms tocheck the menace.

Addressing the first S BRangnekar Memorial Orationat the Panjab University, hisalma mater, Singh said India'selectoral system has succeed-ed against great odds and hasdestroyed feudal systems ofGovernment. It has opened upopportunities for the com-mon man, without any social,economic or political privilegewhatsoever by birth, to occu-py the highest positions ofpower, he said.

"There is, however, todaywidespread concern that ourelectoral system is beingundermined by money powerand muscle power," he saidaddressing the gathering here.

"The faith of the people indemocratic elections as thebest system to select aGovernment that would governin the common interest istoday being eroded as much bya sustained campaign to attackdemocratic institutions andelected representatives as by theincreasing political corruptionand the capture of political par-ties and elected office by vest-ed interests," he said.

Electoral reforms to cleanseelections of money and musclepower and to maintain integri-ty of elected officials are vitalareas for securing and strength-ening India's democracy, saidthe former prime minister.

Talking about renewingcommitment to democracy,Singh invoked B R Ambedkarand said, "Democracy requiresnot only that all of us must getinvolved, but that we musteach ensure that everyone hasan equal voice."

"Dr. Ambedkar once wor-ried that the day may comewhen people may prefer gov-ernment for the people togovernment by and of thepeople. He saw that as a greatdanger. On this 70th anniver-sary, we must ensure that wedo not fall into the trap ofchoosing government for thepeople over government byand of the people."

The topic of Singh'saddress was: The SeventiethAnniversary of our Ind-epen-dence—Strengthening theroots of our Democracy.

"We need to ask ourselves

whether we are losing patiencewith democracy and turningto more authoritarian alter-natives that may well yieldsuperior short-term resultsbut in the long term will endup destroying our countryand all the achievements ofthe last seventy years," hesaid.

"Governance is complex.It is messy. It is slow. Its ben-efits are long term. It requiresgreat patience. Above all,democracy is a system inwhich people without privi-lege have a decisive voice ingovernance. If this is lost,democracy becomes mean-ingless," said Singh.

"Democracy requires notonly that all of us must getinvolved, but that we musteach ensure that everyone hasan equal voice," he said.

Dwelling on the issue ofequality, Singh said it is thekeystone of democracy. "Andit is one of the greatest chal-lenges faced by India in build-ing our democracy because ofthe persistence in our societyof feudal, hierarchical ideas ofinequality based on caste,class and gender."

Singh said, "Speaking onNovember 25, 1949 to theConstituent Assembly abouthis concerns on the challengeof transforming India into asociety based on equality, Dr.B.R. Ambedkar said, [In ourRepublic], in politics we willhave equality and in social andeconomic life we will haveinequality. In politics we willbe recognizing the principle ofone-man-one-vote and one-vote-one-value. In our socialand economic life, we shall, byreason of our social and eco-nomic structure, continue todeny the principle of one-man-one-value. How longshall we continue to live thislife of contradictions? Howlong shall we continue todeny equality in our social andeconomic life?

"If we continue to deny it forlong, we will do so only byputting our political democra-cy in peril. We must remove thiscontradiction at the earliestpossible moment or else thosewho suffer from inequality willblow up the structure of polit-ical democracy which thisAssembly has so laboriouslybuilt up."

Singh said that the country'sfirst Prime Minister Jawahar LalNehru warned in 1952 in one ofhis letters to Chief Ministers, "ifpoverty and low standards con-tinue then democracy for all itsfine institutions and ideals,ceases to be a liberating force."

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UPA Chairperson SoniaGandhi has said that India

and Russia enjoy excellent rela-tions due to the legacy of for-mer Prime Minister IndiraGandhi and praised RussianPresident Vladimir Putin andsuccessive Indian prime min-isters for consolidating thatlegacy.

She was speaking yesterdayat the inauguration of a photoexhibition organised here tocelebrate the CentenaryAnniversary of India's firstwoman prime minister IndiraGandhi.

Gandhi said the exhibitionon her mother-in-law IndiraGandhi tells the story of acourageous, compelling andcharismatic leader who left anindelible imprint not only onher own country, not only onthe India-USSR relationshipbut on the world stage as well.

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From Page 1The petition demanded

that Constitution Benches ofthe Supreme Court must com-prise of CJI with three seniormost judges and two junior-most judges.

The court held, “Everyjudge appointed to this courtunder Article 124 of theConstitution is invested withthe equal duty of adjudicatingcases which come to the courtand are assigned by the ChiefJustice. Seniority in terms ofappointment has no bearing onwhich cases a judge shouldhear.”

On the matter of allocationof cases and fixing of roster,Justice Chandrachud was of theview that Chief Justice of aHigh Court or Supreme Courthas to bear in mind the area ofspecialisation of each judge, theneed for judges to have abroad-based understanding ofdiverse areas of law, amongother aspects while decidingthe allocation of work.

From Page 1On March 30, Karnataka

Bank has also disclosed a loanfraud amounting to Rs 86.47crores involving Mehul Choksiowned Gitanjali Gems. TheMangalore-based private bankhad also disclosed that it hadreported the fraud to theReserve Bank of India on fund-based working capital facilitiesextended to the company.

The CBI is currently prob-ing the Rs 13,000 crore fraud atthe PNB committed allegedlyby diamond czar Nirav Modiand his uncle Mehul Choksi byobtaining fake Letters of

Understanding (LoUs) in col-lusion with a former bankemployee. Both the business-men left the country with theirfamilies in the first week ofJanuary this year. It may berecalled that ICICI Bank MD &CEO Chanda Kochhar andAxis Bank MD Shikha Sharmawere summoned by SFIO dur-ing an investigation into theloan given to Gitanjali Group.The scam, which reportedlybegan in 2011, was detected inthe third week of January thisyear, after which the PNB offi-cials reported it to the con-cerned agencies.

From Page 1However, through repeat-

ed hikes, it jacked up duty to�21.48 and �17.33 a litre,increase of 226 per cent and486 per cent respectively overthe May 2014 level.

In a move to shore upfinances as global oil prices fell,Finance Minister Arun Jaitleyhad raised excise duty ninetimes between November 2014and January 2016, and it alsohad cut tax �2 a litre lastOctober to defuse inflationarypressure. Later in January,ahead of the presentation of theUnion budget 2018-19, the

Petroleum Ministry had soughta reduction in excise duty onpetrol and diesel to cushionconsumers from the impact ofrising fuel prices in the globalmarket.

However, struggling to bal-ance his fiscal arithmetic, theFinance Minister ignored thecall. After slashing excise dutylast October, the Centre hadasked States to also lower VAT,but only Maharashtra, Gujarat,Madhya Pradesh andHimachal Pradesh acted on itscall.

Global oil prices crashed inJune 2014. The Modi

Government took advantage ofthe low oil prices to jack upexcise duty on petrol and dieseland fills coffers, which in turnhelped it contain the fiscaldeficit. Excise duty on petroland diesel went up by �11.77and �13.47 a litre respectively.

As a result, theGovernment’s excise mop upmore than doubled to �242,000crore in 2016-17 from �99,000crore in 2014-15. The price ofIndian crude basket is cur-rently less than $70 a barrel,but petrol is selling at over �73a litre at fuel stations. Not onlythe Centre, states too are tax-

ing petrol and diesel heavily tofill their coffers. TheGovernment could bringpetrol and diesel within theambit of Goods and ServiceTax (GST) to prevent statesfrom arbitrarily hiking sales taxon auto fuels.

In fact, Petroleum MinisterDharmendra Pradhan haspitched to bring petrol, dieselunder GST. However, Statescontinue to drag their feet onthis issue. The Centre hasfailed to persuade States to letgo of auto fuels despite the factit is the BJP that is ruling in amajority of States.

From Page 1IPL sources said

Visakhapatnam is likely to bepicked by the CSK management

due to logistical reasons.However, CSK are not playinga home match before April 20and situation may get betterbefore the clash againstRajasthan Royals.

IPL chairman RajeevShukla had also spoken to theUnion Home Secretary onTuesday, seeking governmentintervention in smooth conductof IPL matches in Chennai.

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Two Indian men and awoman have been sentenced

to 517 years each in jail by aDubai court for swindling thou-sands of people in a multi-mil-lion-dollar fraud case, the UAEmedia reported.

Sydney Lemos, fromMapusa in north Goa, was thechief executive of Exential, aforex trading company in DubaiMedia City. Investors lost over$200 million when Exentialfailed to pay out after promising

120 per cent returns on a $25,000(Dirham 91,800) investment.

The accused—Lemos, hiswife Valany and Ryan D'Souza- were convicted on Sunday bythe Dubai MisdemeanoursCourt in the 515 cases filedagainst them and were sen-tenced to one year in jail each in513 cases and two years in jail forthe remaining two cases, GulfNews reported.Dr MohammadHanafi, the presiding judge ofthe special bench, sentencedValany in absentia. She remainsat large.

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Two persons were killed in asuspected factional fight in

the ruling Trinamool Congressduring a victory procession inNorth 24 Parganas district onWednesday, police said.

The rally was organised bythe party after it won the FaltiGram Panchayat in the Sasanarea of the district uncontested.

Local party leader SaifarRahman (52) was attacked witha knife when he was walking inthe rally. He was taken to a hos-pital in Barasat where he wasdeclared dead on arrival.

Police sources said localpeople beat 40-year-old RajabAli, a Trinamool Congress work-

er, to death alleging that hekilled Rahman. Meanwhile, incontinuing violence over pan-chayat poll nominations in thestate, houses of two Congresscandidates were torched in theRatua area in Malda district,police said. Nine more houses,reportedly of Congress sup-porters, were also set on fire.

A Congress candidate waskilled in a road accident inMalda district on April 9 andanother person was shot deadearlier this month during a clashin the same district. Meanwhile,the scrutiny of nominationpapers for three-phase pan-chayat polls in West Bengal wascompleted today, State ElectionCommission (SEC) sources said.

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Former Bihar ChiefMinister Rabri Devi and

her two sons, Tejashwi and TejPratap Yadav, on Wednesday"returned" their State securi-ty cover, protesting with-drawal of guards from her res-idence here.

Reacting to this, DeputyChief Minister Sushil KumarModi said they were exasper-ated following interrogationby the CBI in connectionwith a railway hotels scam.State Government officialsand the ruling Janata Dal(United) defended the recallof security from Rabri Devi'shouse last night, saying theguards had been provided toher husband Lalu Prasad,who enjoys 'Z' category secu-rity. Accordingly, the guardswere asked to return as theRJD supremo is currently in

jail, they said. "Just now at thestroke of midnight, NitishKumar has called back 18house guards deployed in thesecurity of the two ex-CMs.Surrendering our security toNitish ji so that he canincrease his own security ashe is the most namby-pambyCM of the country," TejashwiYadav said in a tweet.

"Returning the security(covers) provided to mymother Rabri Devi as ex-CM, to my brother as anMLA and to me as Leader ofthe Opposition. Hope NitishKumar gives up acting spite-fully and concentrates ondoing something construc-tive," he added.

Rabri Devi, in a letter toChief Minister Nitish Kumar,said the recall of house guardshad left the security of her residence and family in"tatters".

���� 2,"��,34�

A38-year-old Delhi Policeconstable died in a road

accident in west Delhi'sVikaspuri area, police said.

After receiving a call aboutthe accident at around 8.40AM, a police team rushed tothe spot.

Injured Constable HariSingh Meena was taken toPark hospital where he suc-cumbed to injuries, DCP (west)Vijay Kumar said.

Police found the constable'smotor cycle that was damagedin the accident.

A case has been registeredand investigation is underway,the officer added.

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I, Anuradha Dhani W/o LateSh. Rahul Dhani R/o 206,Oriental Insurance Aptts.,Plot No. C-58/26, Sector-62,Noida (U.P.) have changedmy daughter’s name fromZubya Rastogi to ZubyaDhani for all purposes.

PD(8061)AI, Purnima Pradhan D/o Sh.G.C Pradhan R/o II A-129,Vaishali Ghaziabad(U.P.)201010 have changedmy name to Lovleen Kaur forall purposes.

PD(8062)AI, Shashi Prabha SharmaW/o Bharat Bhushan SharmaR/o A-25, Keshav KunjYammaha Vihar Road Barola,Sector-49, Noida (U.P.) havechanged my name to ShashiSharma after marriage forall purposes.

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The Supreme Court onWednesday refused to

entertain a married woman’spetition to declare her lawfulmarriage under the HinduMarriage Act as null and voidon the ground that she neverconsented for the marriagethat she claimed was conduct-ed under the threat and pres-sure of her family. Her fatheris an influential politician ofKarnataka.

Faced with a plea that pre-sented quite the reverse situa-tion to the one as in the lovejihad case where the apexcourt reunited Hadiya with herhusband Shafin Jahan, thesame bench headed by ChiefJustice of India (CJI) DipakMisra was reluctant to enter-tain the issue.

The bench, also compris-ing Justices AM Khanwilkar

and DY Chandrachud toldsenior advocate Indira Jaising,who presented the petitionfor the woman, that the HinduMarriage Act (HMA) providesthat if a girl does not consent,she can file a suit to annul hermarriage. Jaising said that theAct does not expressly state sonor does any court decision laydown this rule. The benchcontested this position by

referring to several provisionsfrom the HMA which held thata valid marriage presumesconsent as it can be invalidat-ed if the girl is incapable of giv-ing consent due to unsound-ness of mind.

The bench said, “A consentnot validly given will stand onthe same footing as a consentobtained by fraud to initiate acivil suit to annul the mar-

riage.”The bench said its juris-

diction will begin in a habeascorpus petition where a girl isbeing forcibly taken away orsomebody has captured her.This was the case in Hadiyawhere she was kept against herwish by her father andremoved from the company ofher husband despite havingconsented for marriage. TheCourt further pointed out thatin the present case, there wasno cause of action either as aquestion of law will only ariseafter a decision is rendered bythe trial court.

The Court also issuednotice to the Karnataka Policeand her family members whoseidentity and address was sup-plied by the petitioner to theCourt in a sealed envelope.

The bench will consider onMay 4 on ensuring her a safepassage to her matrimonialhouse.

����� 2,"��,34�

The Congress on Wednesdaydemanded the dismissal of

Uttar Pradesh Chief MinisterYogi Adityanath, dubbing hisGovernment a “Ravan” regimewhich has failed to protectwomen. The Congress chargecomes against the backdrop ofthe alleged gangrape of an 18-year-old girl and the subse-quent death of her father inpolice custody in the State’sUnnao district.

“Yogi AdityanathGovernment is a Governmentof Ravan, which has failed toprotect women. YogiAdityanath has no right tocontinue as the Chief Minister.He should be immediately dis-missed,” Congress chiefspokesperson Randeep SinghSurjewala said.

Congress said: “It is shock-ing that the Yogi Govt has with-drawn a rape case against a for-

mer BJP Minister. This movewill further embolden crimi-nals and jeopardise women’ssecurity in a State that has wit-nessed a sharp rise in crimesagainst women.” The party alsoattached a news report with thetweet about the UPGovernment deciding to with-draw a rape and kidnappingcase against former UnionMinister SwamiChinmayananda.

“Beti Bachao’ has nowbecome ‘Beti Ke Pita Ko BhiMarwao. Bahut Hua Naari Par

Vaar..’ is now a Cruel Joke onthe Women of India’. Justice forWomen in BJP ruled States hasbecome a mirage because BJP’seco-system is influencing thelegal process by building aFalse Narrative,” Surjewala said.

The party recalled howcurfew was imposed in UttarPradesh barely three weeksago over the Kasganj clashes. Italso reminded that hundreds ofchildren died in a hospital inthe CM’s hometown, and pub-lic healthcare is deplorable.

“According to latest NCRBdata, Uttar Pradesh reported4,816 cases of rape—amongthe highest in the country. Theother two States with thehighest rates of crimes againstwomen were Maharashtra andMadhya Pradesh, both ruledby the BJP. 803 incidents ofrape and 729 murders werereported in the first twomonths of Aditynath’s tenure,”the party mentioned.

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Taking ahead the Digital Indiafocus in administrative set

up, the Centre on Wednesdaylaunched a `dashboard’ systemto enable monitoring of publicgrievances on real time basis andperiodically review progress ofsystemic reforms by all peopleoriented ministries.

The systemic reforms andtheir monitoring metrics, cater-ing to grievance issues are high-lighted on the dashboard. Thiswill enable concernedMinistries/Departments to mon-itor implementation of thesereforms and thus also reduce theload of RTIs. Minister of State(Independent Charge)Personnel, Public Grievances &Pensions, Dr. Jitendra Singhlaunched the online dashboarddeveloped by Department ofAdministrative Reforms andPublic Grievances (DARPG).

The decision to launch such

a facility has come following sur-vey reports recommending sys-temic reforms to impact andbring about improvements inservice delivery.

Grievances in various min-istries including Ministry ofHome Affairs, Ministry ofRailways, Central Board ofDirect Taxes, Ministry ofDefence, Ministry ofCommunication & IT, Ministryof Finance and others will be ableto resolve the issues without theaggrieved party running frompillar to post for file works and

take helps through RTI. Speaking on the occasion,

Singh said that the DARPG is thenodal department for the dash-board that was launched, but itwill also be helpful to the con-cerned Mini-stries/Departmentsto monitor the implementationof various initiatives and will pro-vide inputs to them.

He said that DARPG shouldcreate awareness among depart-ments/ministries about thisdashboard so that they can ben-efit the citizens to the maximumout of it. Singh said that griev-ances received by theGovernment have increasedmany times, due to the promptresponse given by theDepartment and faith of publicin the Govt. He further indicat-ed that an analysis has been doneby the department on the caus-es of grievances and this hashelped in the indepth under-standing of the causes and tak-ing corrective steps.

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The Union Cabinet onWednesday approved a

Memorandum ofUnderstanding (MoU)between India and the UnitedKingdom and NorthernIreland on the return of illegalmigrants.

The pact will ensure thereturn of persons who have nolawful basis to be in the terri-tory of the other country afterverification of nationality to itssatisfaction. This will also facil-itate a Visa Free Agreement forholders of Diplomatic pass-ports as well as liberalisation ofUK visa regime for those whoare travelling to the UK legal-ly. “It will help in streamliningthe procedure of return ofnationals who are caught to bestaying illegally, belonging tothe other party in a specifiedtime-frame,” the governmentsaid in a statement.

In another development,the treaty between India andVietnam on mutual transfer ofsentenced prisoners has comeinto effect from this week. Thepact would grant the citizensof the countries, convictedand sentenced in the othercountry, an opportunity toserve their remaining terms intheir own countries and facil-itate their social rehabilitationin their own societies. India

has such an agreement withseveral countries.

The agreement on transferof the sentenced persons wassigned by India and Vietnamon November 1, 2013 andwas ratified by India onJanuary 1, 2014. Vietnam,however, ratified it in March10, 2017. The gazette notifi-cation was issued by theMinistry of Home Affairs(MHA) last week.

Giving the details of thepact, the MHA notificationsaid that for transfer of a sen-tenced person from one coun-try to another, the person hasto be a national of the receiv-ing state and must not havebeen sentenced to death.Among other conditions, theimprisoned person must beundergoing the term after thefinal judgement on his case inthe transferring state and mustnot be facing any other crim-inal proceeding, requiring hiscontinued presence in the hoststate. Additionally, for a pris-oner to be transferred fromone country to another, hemust not have been convictedfor an offence under a militarylaw, the notification said.

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India and Iran may soon beable to finalise the long

pending deal on Farzad B oilblock. The exploration in theoil block was awarded to Indiaby Iran but has been stuck dueto financial issues. The oil fieldwas discovered by ONGC-Videsh Limited (OVL).

On Wednesday, on thesidelines of the EnergySummit, Oil Minister of Iran,Bijan Namdar Zangeneh,expressed hope that the twosides are closely working tofinalise the modalities. “Afterthe visit of Iranian President(Hassan Rouhani) relationbetween the two countries isgetting closer and closer. Thetalks on Farzad B is goingahead very wll. I and Indian

minister (DharmendraPradhan) have instructedcompanies to try and finalisemain issues in next twomonths. The master develop-ment plan and timing sched-ule is the main issue that hasto be sorted out,” the ministersaid.

Iran had previously con-ditioned granting rights todevelop the Farzad-B fields toOVL on Indian firms buyingall of the gas produced at theimported-LNG equivalentrate.

This proposition, whichinvolved an investment of $11billion in first developing thefield and then setting up afacility to convert it into liquidgas (liquefied natural gas orLNG) for shipping to India,was considered very expensive.

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As the BJP on Wednesdaykicked off a series of pro-

grammes aimed at reachingout to Dalits and backwardsections of society, PrimeMinister Narendra Modi onWednesday asserted that hisGovernment is working torealise the visions of Daliticon Bhimrao Ambedkar andsocial reformer Jyotiba Phule.

The party observed thebirth anniversary of Phule,who is venerated—especiallyby Dalits and backwards—forhis relentless struggle for socialreforms, as ‘Samta Diwas’(equality day) today. It willlaunch the ‘Gram Swaraj’ cam-paign on Ambedkar’s birthanniversary on April 14.

The BJP’s high-visibilitycampaigns, which are aimed athighlighting the ModiGovernment’s works for thepoor, come against the back-drop of protests by Dalitgroups across the country.

Modi, in an audio confer-ence call, told the party’s law-makers in State legislaturesand Parliament that his gov-

ernment had been striv-ing to realise the dreamsof Mahamta Gandhi,Ambedkar and Phule ofempowering villages.

The ‘Gram Swaraj’exercise, which will con-tinue till May 5, will beaimed at fulfilling thedreams of these stalwarts,he said, asking the party’srepresentatives to fan outin villages to ensure thatpeople there get benefitsof Government schemes, anofficial statement said.

The prime ministerspelled out several pro-grammes during the periodwith April 18 being observedas ‘Swachh Bharat’ festival.

This is also a part of socialjustice as the mindset thatthose engaged in sanitationwork have a low status has tobe changed, he said.

April 20, 24 and 28 will beobserved as ‘Ujjwala Diwas’,‘Panchayati Raj Diwas’ and‘Gram Shakti Diwas’ respec-tively to highlight variousGovernment schemes, he said.

He said he will interactwith BJP leaders on April 22

through a video conference.April 30, May 2 and May

5 will be dedicated to high-lighting various schemesaimed at benefiting farmersand the poor.

Modi said he will be inChhattisgarh’s Bijapur district,which is among the districtschosen by his Governmentfor development push, onApril 14 and in MadhyaPradesh on April 24.

He said the better the con-ditions of villages, the strongerwill be India and the countrywill be more quickly on thepath to development if livingstandards of the rural massesimprove.

����� 2,"��,34�

Amidst the ongoing tensesituation in Jammu &

Kashmir, Chief MinisterMehbooba Mufti onWednesday met Union HomeMinister Rajnath Singh anddiscussed with him the securi-ty situation in the State and theways to bring back normalcy.

During the 20-minutemeeting, the two leaders dis-cussed the initiatives taken bythe Centre’s representativeDineshwar Sharma in holdingtalks with a wide cross sectionof society. Mehbooba metPrime Minister Narendra Modi

on Tuesday. The Chief Minister briefed

the Home Minister on the pre-vailing law and order situationand the steps taken to restorepeace in the Valley. The situa-tion along the border withPakistan, which often witness-es attempts of infiltrations bymilitants and cross border fir-ings, also came up for discus-sion, the home ministry officialsaid. The meeting came in thewake of growing demands fora CBI probe into the gangrapein Kathua and incidents ofmilitant violence and encoun-ters with security forces.

They also discussed how to

deal and rehabilitation of thecivilian population, who oftenface firing from across theborder, and the implementa-tion of the prime minister’sdevelopment package, anotherofficial said.

As many as 60 incidents ofterrorist violence have takenplace in Jammu and Kashmirfrom January till mid-Marchthis year, killing 15 securitypersonnel and 17 terrorists,according to data provided toParliament. Last week, an offi-cer of the Jammu and KashmirPolice was badly injured in astone-pelting incident inSrinagar.

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The trust managing thefamous Saibaba temple in

Shirdi on Wednesday demand-ed an apology from Congresspresident Rahul Gandhi for“insulting” Sai devotees acrossthe world. This after Rahulstirred a controversy as he soughtto target Railway Minister PiyushGoyal over his family’s businessinterests in Shirdi Industries.

The Congress later said thatit respects Sai Baba and hisdevotees, but asked the ‘SaibabaSansthan Trust, Shirdi’ to urgethe Securities and ExchangeBoard of India (SEBI), the reg-ulatory body for stocksexchanges, to ensure that nocompany misuses the name of‘Shirdi’ and its goodwill.“Friends... ‘The miracles ofShirdi’ have no ‘seema’ (limits)”,Gandhi tweeted, tagging a newsreport claiming growing invest-ments of Piyush Goyal and his

wife Seema. He also used thehashtag “PiyushGhotalaReturns”along with his tweet.

Objecting to the tweet,Chairman of the Shirdi TrustSuresh Haware said devotees ofSai Baba were hurt by Gandhi’sremarks.

“Rahulji, it is painful to seethe name of ‘Shirdi’ beingdragged into political slugfest. Saidevotees from within the coun-try and abroad are deeply hurtby this. We condemn this onbehalf of all Sai ‘bhakts’. Youshould apologise to ‘Sai Bhakts’for this insult,” Haware tweetedin Hindi. The Congress had onTuesday demanded the resigna-tion of Goyal alleging that hisfamily has business interests incompanies which are in default.

Hitting back, the BJP hadsaid the Congress was making“false”, “sensational” and “scur-rilous” statements to divert atten-tion from the many scams com-mitted by it.

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JD (U) national president andBihar Chief Minister Nitish

Kumar is in IT city Bengaluruon Wednesday and joined theKarnataka poll kurukshetrato stake claim for a pie. Nitishwho arrived in the afternoonaddressed JD(U) workers con-vention and expressed fearover prevailing tension in thecountry. He said the need of thehour is peace and harmony.Nitish is trying to expandJD(U) in Karnataka. Howeverhe refused to speak about thepolitical situation in the State.

He said “There is an atmos-phere of tension; everybody isattacking each other nobodylooks at the work done. I feelcountry can develop only whenthere is peace and harmony. Inthe end the victory will be ofthose who fight for the people”.

“I do not want to commenton the political situation in theState today but I will speakabout what we can do forKarnataka. What is beingdone in Bihar, if it is replicat-ed in Karnataka, which isalready a developed State, it willtake the State to new heights”,he added.

“In Bihar, 12.5% childrenwere uneducated so I took it upas a challenge and decided tomake it our goal that all childrenshould go to school. There werevery few girls going to the

upper primary school becauseshe wasn't comfortable in theclothes. We started giving themtwo uniforms, a pair of shoesand a bag and soon the numberof girls students went up con-siderably,” he said talking aboutBihar model of development.

Nitish recollected howJD(U) was born in Karnatakawith the visionaries like JHPatel, Ramkrishna Hegde andGeroge Fernandes and theircontributions to the develop-ment of the country. He said“JD(U) was born in Karnataka.This state has a long history ofsocialist movements. JH Patelwas the first person to speak inKannada in Parliament when hewas elected in 1967. There havebeen such rich movements herelike land reforms, Kagodu agi-tation, anti English agitation etc,which inspired us when wewere young. Hegde strength-ened panchayati Raj andbrought in 33% reservation for

women”. Bihar Chief Ministersaid his party and governmentwill not compromise on com-munal riots and corruption.Nitish defended the prohibitionin Bihar and said it has helpedin flow of tourist into Bihar.

“After prohibition peoplesaid tourists will decrease butthe opposite has happened. Isaid tourists don't come here todrink and tourists doubled.Nobody else had the will to dothis. In the evenings earlier theirused to be problems but nowthere is peace. This does nothappen by just bringing in leg-islation. You have to have a con-tinuous campaign”, he added.

According to sources in theJD(U) they are expected tocontest 25 to 30 seats inKarnataka May 12 assemblypolls. It is quite interestingthat Nitish led JD(U) is goingon its own in the Karnatakapoll not supporting the BJP.

Sharad Yadav was inBengaluru recently and had ameeting with his faction tocontest in the polls. HoweverNitish Kumar’s visit signifies hisdecision to revive JD(U) inother states ahead of generalelection in 2019 is significant inchanging political scenario.JD(U) national general secre-tary and Karnataka in-chargeSanjay Jha said that Nitishwants to look beyond Bihar.

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The Bengal civil societywhich had once rejected

the Marxists to turn out in largenumbers on street for Mamata Banerjee playing thevital catalyst to mark the end ofthe Left era on Wednesday gotthe history to repeat itself evenas they registered a strongprotest against the rulingTrinamool Congress for “per-petrating immeasurable vio-lence” during filing of nomi-nation in the first phase of thePanchayat elections.

The nomination disputehas moved to Supreme Courtand Calcutta High Court with an indecisive StateElection Commission timidlysubmitting itself to the diktatsof the ruling party barons theopposition parties haveaccused.

In a development thatsurprised many, prominent

faces known for their proxim-ity to the Chief Minister toldthe media at the Kolkata PressClub that the lust for “absolutepower” had literally corruptedthe present dispensationabsolutely.

In a hard-hitting statementtheatre personality BibhashChakrabarty said, “We hadwanted a political change in theState. But that change doesn’tseem to have materialized. Theelectoral violence we have beenwitnessing for the last a fewelections crossed all limits thistime round. This is not thechange that the people of theState had desired.”

Educationist MiratunNahar wondered “is the victory that they (ruling party)are bragging about is the realvictory. Is democracy in Bengalhas not been thoroughly crip-pled.”

To ensure an oppositionless Government could not beand should not be the onlyobjective of a political party,they said.

“The development MamataBanerjee is talking about seemsto be coming down on theopposition in the shape ofbatons. It is development beat-ing down and causing blood-shed at will,” said singer PallavKirtaniya.

Incidentally senior StateMinister and MamataBanerjee’s Nanidgram spear-head Subhendu Adhikaryrecently announced �5-crorereward for any person whowould ensure an opposition-free Panchayat board.

A few days ago thousandsof people had turned out inKolkata in a large rally led byveteran Bangla poets likeShankha Ghosh.

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Minutes after she was dis-charged from the state-

run JJ Hospital after undergo-ing treatment for “drug over-dose”, prime accused in theSheena Bora murder IndraniMukherjea on Wednesdayalleged that she feared threat toher life inside the Bycullawomen’s prison where she iscurrently lodged.

Indrani voiced her appre-hension about threat to her life,while she was being taken backto the Byculla prison from theJJ Hospital, where she under-went treatment for five days.

Forty-six-year-old Indranireplied in the affirmative whena journalist asked her if shefeared a threat to her life.

Indrani, who had beenrushed from the prison to theJJ Hospital on the night of April6 after she complained ofdrowsiness and breathing problems, was diagnosed andtreated for overdose of anti-depressants that had notbeen prescribed to her by doc-tors.

Quoting the reports of herurine that had been sent to theForensic Science Laboratory atKalinia, a senior doctor attend-ing on her at the JJ Hospitalsaid: "The reports of her urinesample showed a significantincrease in the level of benzo-diazepine, a class of anti-depressants".

Ahead of her dischargefrom the hospital, the hospital’ssuperintendent Dr SanjaySurase said: “We carried out adetailed check up of her today.Her health has improved. Wehave told both the police andjail authorities that she can betaken back to the prison”.

“An X-ray of her lungs had

earlier shown a patch, forwhich she was still on antibi-otics. The treatment wouldcontinue for the next couple ofdays.... Those medicines wereprescribed by jail doctors. It isup to them to continue with thesame medicines or make anychanges," Dr Surase said.

The State Prison adminis-

tration has, meanwhile, orderedan inquiry into Indrani’s sud-den indisposition leading to herhospitalisation. “The IG (Prison) will submit his reportby the weekend,” a senior jailofficial said.

Indrani, who was arrestedon August 25, 2015 for heralleged role in the murder ofher daughter Sheena, is the keyaccused in the Sheena Boramurder case. Indrani’s formerhusband Sanjeev Khanna andher second husband PeterMukherjea are two otheraccused in the case.

Sheena was daughter ofIndrani from her first live-inpartner Siddhartha Das.Incidentally, Sheena was in alive-in relationship with RahulMukerjea, the son of PeterMukherjea — a relationshipwhich the CBI has stated in itsaffidavit both Indrani and Peterhad disapproved.

Indrani, Peter and Khanna are being currentlytried in the special CBI court,where charges were framedagainst the three on January 17,2017.

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The Congress on Wednesdaystepped up its attack on the

ruling BJP in Goa, this timeusing the health of ChiefMinister Manohar Parrikar as aexcuse. Addressing a Pressconference in Panaji at theparty's State headquarters onWednesday, State Congresspresident Shantaram Naikclaimed that it was a "very badpractice" to keep the health ofan elected Chief Minister asecret for over two months, even as Parrikar who wasmoved to a US-based hospitallast month, continues to under-go treatment for a pancreas-related ailment.

"This is mockery of theworst order. Parrikar's medicalcondition has been kept a secreteven from BJP leaders, who aresupposedly close to him. He isa Chief Minister of a State andhe has been hospitalised fornearly two months now andnobody knows what he is suf-fering from. The people deserveto know the medical conditionof their Chief Minister," Naiktold media persons.

The former DefenceMinister was first hospitalisedon February 15, after he com-pleted of stomach pain to theState Government-run GoaMedical College and Hospital,before being shifted to theLilavati Hospital in Mumbai.

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More than 24 hours after adistressed farmer com-

mitted suicide in Yavatmal dis-trict in Vidarbha region, his fam-ily members onW e d n e s d a yrefused to accepthis body fromthe Vasantrao Naik MedicalCollege and Hospital, saying thatthey would not do so unless anduntil Chief Minister DevendraFadnavis visited them.

On Thursday, chief minis-ter Fadnavis is meeting thefamily members of 50-year-oldfarmer from Rajurwadi villagein Yavatmal district ShankarBhaurao Chayare who had onTuesday ended his life by con-suming poison. In a suicidenote recovered by the policefrom his body, Chayare held theNarendra Modi governmentresponsible for his death andsought help financial assistancefrom the Centre to his family.

On Wednesday, Chayare’sfamily members rejected acompensation of Rs.100,000offered to them on behalf of theMaharashtra government byVasantrao Naik ShetiSwavalamban (VNSM) MissionChairman Kishore Tiwari.

“Having lost their solebreadwinner, Chayre’s familymembers are shattered. Theyhave demanded that the chiefminister must visit them,understand the plight of the

agrarian cruis-hitfarmers in the dis-trict, before theyaccepted Chayare’s

body,” Tiwari said.Tiwari quoted Chayare’s

wife as saying: “How can we sur-vive with a financial assistancejust �100,000 ? The Maharashtragovernment should give us atleast Rs.1 crore. I have to edu-cate my four children, get themmarried, run the farms, etc”.

Chayare is survived by wifeAlka (47), daughters Jaishri(21), Bhagyashri (19) andDhanashri (17), and son Aakash(15). Reports reaching the stateheadquarters from Yavatmalhad said that Chayare went tohis farmland on Tuesday morn-ing and attempted to hang him-self from a tree. However, whenthe rope snapped, Chayareconsumed poison and fellunconscious, even as someworkers rushed him to a localhospital in a serious condition.He was declared dead before hewas taken to the district med-ical hospital at Yavatmal.

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Telangana and AndhraPradesh were facing the

worst currency crunch as mostof the ATMs have run dry inmajor cities and towns.

It is a throwback to thedark days of late 2016 when thesudden demonetisation of 1000and 500 value notes by the cen-tral government had left thepeople high and dry and bankaccount holders had to wait inqueue for hours to get a fewnotes.

The current shortagewhich started a few weeks backhas now worsened as most ofthe ATM booths were flashingthe message of "No currency".

Such is the shortage ofcurrency notes that the ReserveBank of India has alreadybrought in additional 2000crore from other states. WhileRs 1200 crore was brought inMumbai, remaining waspumped in from Kerala,Odisha and Tamil Nadu.

Among the various reasonsfor this sudden crisis, mostnotable was the admission ofthe RBI officials that there wasa sharp decline in circulation ofcash. "People are withdrawingthe money from the banks butthe fresh deposits have comedown to a trickle", an officialsaid. Officials said that thepeople appear to be holdingback the cash.

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In an attempt to placate Dalits,BJP national president Amit

Shah and Chief Minister YogiAdityanath paid floral tributesto Dalit icon Jyotiba Phule onhis birth anniversary sending asignal that the party was notagainst the community andeven respects Dalit icons.

Shah, who reachedLucknow airport around 12.30pm on Wednesday to a rousingwelcome, went drove straight toSamatamulak crossing inGomtinagar to pay floral trib-utes to the Dalit icon.

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Normal life was thrown outof gear across many parts

of Jammu region onWednesday in response to theday long bandh call given bythe Jammu and Kashmir HighCourt Bar Association, Jammuin support of various demandsincluding deportation ofRohingyas and Bangladeshinationals, CBI probe in rapeand murder case of a minor girland withdrawal of minutes ofthe meeting of Tribal affairsdepartment. The ruling part-ners BJP-PDP had not antici-pated peaceful and successfulbandh in the region.

Even though Chamber ofCommerce and Industries,Jammu stayed away from thebandh call but shops remainedclosed and market places woredeserted look in many parts of

Jammu city. Additional DeputyCommissioner, Jammu DrArun Manhas told ThePioneer, the day long bandhpassed off peacefully with noincident of violence reportedfrom any where across Jammutill late afternoon".

Public transport remainedoff the road while educational

institutions were closed downto ensure safety of children inthe wake of bandh call.

Activists belonging to var-ious political parties includingPanthers party, Shiv Sena,Bajrang Dal staged protestdemonstrations against thestate government and burnteffigies at several places.

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An Army jawan was mar-tyred along the Line of

Control in Krishna Ghati sec-tor of Poonch late Wednesdayevening. This is the third fatalinjury received by an armyjawan in the last 48 hours in theregion. Two jawans fromJammu region earlier attainedmartyrdom late Monday nightin Keri sector of Sunderbani inRajouri.

According to reportsPakistan army had initiatedunprovoked and indiscrimi-nate firing in two differentsectors --Nowshera andKrishna Ghati during the day.

Firing in the Nowsherasector of Rajouri was reportedaround 2.00 while Pakistanarmy trained its guns towardsforward Indian posts in KGsector around 4.45 p.m. Inboth the sectors Indian armyreacted strongly and effective-ly. Pakistan army also targetedcivilian areas using mortars

Defence PRO in JammuLt-Col Devendra Anand said,"in the exchange of fire NaikThorat Kiran Popatrao wasgrievously injured and suc-cumbed to his injuries latewednesday evening".

Lt- Col Anand said, "NaikThorat Kiran Popatrao, aged 31years, belonged to VillageFakirabad Wadi, Post officeLadgaon, Waijapur Tehsil,District Aurangabad,Maharashtra and is survived byhis wife Aarti.

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Heat is on Unnao’s BJP MLAKuldeep Singh Senger

after the Special InvestigationTeam (SIT) submitted its reporton Wednesday and an allegedrecording of a phone conver-sation between the rapeaccused MLA and the uncle ofthe rape victim clearly pointedthat Senger was a party to theentire sequence of event.

Amid an outcry over therape case, the Supreme Courton Wednesday decided to hearnext week a plea for a CBIprobe, even as the wife of theaccused BJP MLA in UPdemanded narco tests of herhusband and the 18-year-oldwoman, who alleged confine-ment by local authorities.

The Congress used thecase to hit out at the BJPGovernment with party presi-dent Rahul Gandhi wonderingif Prime Minister NarendraModi would observe a fast onthe alleged rape and death ofthe complainant's father incustody, which he said "hasshamed humanity".

Separately, the AllahabadHigh Court sought to know theYogi Adityanath-led StateGovernment's stand on theincident, while posting the mat-ter for hearing on Thursday.Also, it ordered that the body ofthe victim's father should not becremated, if already not done so.

"If the body has not been

cremated, then it shall not becremated," the court said.

However, the mortalremains of the deceased wereconsigned to the flames onTuesday, hours after his custo-dial death. Earlier in the day, theaccused MLA's wife SangeetaSengar met DGP, OP Singh inLucknow and presented sever-al documents in support of herhusband and tried to prove thatthe girl had made the chargeson behest of some people.

However, she did not speakanything on the audio tapepointing to her husband'sinvolvement, at least in themurder of the victim's father.

Besides the transcript of aconversation between the MLAand victim's uncle in a tape, avideo of the rape survivor'sfather Pappu Singh chargingthe MLA's brother and hisaides of attacking him with riflebutts just prior to his death,went viral on the social mediaand was aired by several TVchannels. He also alleged thatthe local police remained spec-tators to the torture. Also, thevideo showed the deceased'back having serious wounds,but its veracity could not beascertained.

"The victim's family will beprovided security. They have arelative in Delhi, now it istheir decision if they want tolive in Unnao or in Delhi," SIT

led by Rajeev Krishna told themedia while replying to fami-ly members allegation thattheir lives were in danger.

The ADG said, "We havecome here to investigate. I willsend the interim report to theState Government. All anglesare being investigated and thereis no pressure on the SIT. It isworking independently."

Meanwhile, the rape victimand her family appealed to Yogifor justice and demanded aprobe by the Central Bureau ofInvestigation. "The DM hasconfined me to a hotel room.They are not even serving mewater. I just want the culprits tobe punished," she told reportersin Unnao on Wednesday.

The allegations were sup-ported by the victim's sister,who claimed that they wereearlier kept at the DM's resi-dence and later taken to alocal hotel. She said they per-ceived threat to their lives ifthey returned to their village.

The family also demandedthat they be allowed to meet theCM so they could tell the facts.She said, "I want justice, why arethey pressuring me for an apol-ogy? Do they want my (anoth-er) uncle to be killed too?"

Meanwhile, a womanShashi Singh, earlier named bythe victim has come out in sup-port of the legislator. Sheclaimed that nine months ago,

the complainant accused herson of rape and sent him to jail.

"She often frames peopleleveling false allegations. Earlierit was my son, and now she isframing the MLA," said Shashi.

The accused MLA's broth-

er Atul Singh Sengar and fourothers- Sonu, Baua, Vinit andShailu- have been arrested inthe case. The MLA's brotherhad allegedly assaulted Pappuafter he was arrested under theArms Act on April 3.

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In an alleged bid to divide thefarmers of Keezhattur in

Kerala’s Kannur district whoare on a united struggle to pro-tect their paddy land throughwhich the National HighwaysAuthority of India is planningto construct a bypass for NH66,the CPI(M) has begun to woothe farmers it had expelled ear-lier for taking part in the agi-tation back into the party.

As part of the bid, theKannur district leadership ofthe CPI(M) on Wednesdaymet the farmers who wereexpelled from it at their homesreportedly offering to recon-sider the disciplinary actionstaken against them if they wereprepared to withdraw fromthe agitation. The CPI(M) hadexpelled its 11 farmer membersfrom Keezhattur for partici-pating in the agitation.

P Jayarajan, Kannur districtsecretary of the CPI(M), andsome of his colleagues in the dis-trict committee met the farmersand asked them to cooperatewith the party on Wednesday.Suresh Keezhattur, leader ofVayalkilikal, a forum of thepaddy farmers in Keezhatturopposing the construction of theNH bypass destroying 21hectares of rice field, confirmedthe development.

The district leadership ofthe CPI(M) has launched the

bid as per a decision taken byits area committee inThalipparamba at its meetingheld the other day to takestock of the situation arisingout of the farmers’ stir whichhas pushed the CPI(M) and theLDF Government into a deepcrisis as all the agitators areworkers and sympathizers ofthe party.

The party has initiated themove also in the context of thedecision of the Vayalkilikal tohold a 500-kilometer LongMarch from Thalipparambato State CapitalThiruvananthapuram if theGovernment does not changeshift the bypass alignment outof the Keezhattur paddy land.The CPI(M) has asked its for-mer members not to participatein the planned march.

After the visits to formerparty members’ homes,Jayarajan asked his party col-leagues not to paint Vayalkilikalas political opponents. Rem-aining firm on the party standthat the ideological leadershipbehind the stir was certainextremist forces, Jayarajan saidpartymen’s responsibility was toguide those who had goneastray through the right path.

Keezhattur is known as a‘party village’ under the absolutecontrol of the CPI(M). “Life canbecome really terrible for those

who get expelled from the partyand for their families. Expulsionfrom party automatically bringsabout virtual ostracism,” said aformer CPI(M) functionary.The CPI(M) has termed thefarmers’ stir as an act of anti-development environmentalextremism.

Suresh Keezhattur saidVayalkilikal were determined tohold the Long March as per theplan. A farmer expelled fromthe CPI(M) said Jayarajan hadonly held a friendly chat withhim during the visit to hishouse on Wednesday. Sourcesin the Vayalkilikal collectivesaid the farmers expelled fromthe CPI(M) were firm aboutcontinuing with the struggle.

The stir to protect the

paddy land in Keezhattur hadstarted under the leadership ofthe CPI(M) but the party with-drew from it accordance withthe LDF Government’s devel-opment policy. There are alle-gations that the CPI(M) lead-ership is firm about construct-ing the bypass through the ricefield because there are possi-bilities of corruption in theconstruction process.

Though the party, after itswithdrawal from the stir, hadadopted a confrontationistapproach towards the agitators,it was forced to consider ways tomollify the farmers as the smalllocal agitation has turned into aState issue attracting nationalattention and has won the activesupport of several other politi-cal parties and environmentaland rights organisations.

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Along with Chief MinisterNitish Kumar, his deputy

Sushil Kumar Modi and formerCM Rabri Devi, a little knownperson Khurshid Mohsin willfile their nomination papers forthe Legislative Council. Mohsinis the personal choice of RJDboss Lalu Prasad, and whynot, because he is doing organ-ic farming in the lands andhouses of Lalu family.

The CM, deputy CM andformer CM have completedtheir tenure and they are certainto be nominated by theirrespective parties for anothersix year term. The process forthe nomination filing hasalready started but no candidatehas so far come up to file hispapers. The election, if needed,will be held on April 26.

Rabri and three other can-didates of RJD will file theirnominations on April 16. Eventhough there is no official con-firmation sources said the RJDsupremo Lalu Prasad, current-ly under treatment at AIIMS,has cleared all the names.

Apart from the former CMothers who have been nomi-nated are Bihar RJD chief RamChandra Purbe, former CMJitan Manhi’s son SantoshManjhi and Lalu’s favourite

gardener Mohsin.The BJP’s state election

committee held a meeting onWednesday to finalise the list.Party sources said the list hasbeen forwarded to the highcommand for its approval. Thename of Modi is on the top ofthe list which also included thename of Health MinisterMangal Pandey.

The JD(U) has constituteda four member committee toselect the names. The panelheaded by Bihar presidentBashistha Narain Singh includetwo former State presidentsBijendra Prasad Yadav andRajiv Ranjan Singh Lalan, bothMinisters, and parliamentaryparty leader in Rajya Sabha andJD(U) secretary general RCPSingh. The committee will sendits list to party president NitishKumar.

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Taking cognisance of a let-ter petition written by

senior advocate GopalSwaroop Chaturvedi demand-ing court-monitored probe ofthe heinous Unnao rape caseand the death of the victim’sfather in judicial custody, ChiefJustice DB Bhosale and JusticeSuneet Kumar of AllahabadHigh Court appointed senioradvocate Gopal SwaroopChaturvedi as amicus curiae torepresent the victim and fixedthe hearing in the case forApril 12, 2018. The Bench alsosaid that Advocate General orone of the AdditionalAdvocate Generals to remainpresent during the course ofhearing to apprise the courtabout the incident in questionand action taken upon it. TheCourt further directed con-cerned officials to preserve the

body of the victim’s deceasedfather, if it had not beenalready cremated. In a letterdated April 11, 2018, senioradvocate Gopal SwaroopChaturvedi demanded a Courtmonitored investigation toensure fair investigation of thecase as the matter involved anMLA of the ruling party. TheCourt observed, “What is dis-turbing as submitted by Mr.Chaturvedi is that the father ofthe prosecutrix, for no reason,came to be arrested and was incustody, where he was merci-lessly beaten and he suc-cumbed to injuries onTuesday. We fail to understandwhy the Investigating Agencyinstead of arresting accusedpersons, arrested the com-plainant in connection withthis case.” The Court thendirected to register the letter asa PIL and fixed April 12, 2018for hearing.

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Four unarmed protesters anda soldier died during a

fierce gunfight and simultane-ous public protests in southKashmir’s Kulgam district onWednesday. Three terroristsholed up inside a residentialhouse reportedly fled from theencounter site after inflictingcasualties on the security forces.The separatists have called fortwo-day shutdown against thekillings.

Sources said that RashtriyaRifles troops along-with policeand paramilitary CRPF cor-doned off Khudwani, Wanpoharea of south Kashmir’s Kulgamdistrict late on Tuesday eveningfollowing specific informationon presence of militants in aresidential house. The siege wastightened during the night asthe hideout was kept underflood lights to ensure militantsdid not escape during the deadof night. However, the situationturned ugly at the crack ofdawn when announcementswere made from mosques ask-ing the people to rush towardsthe encounter site to help mil-itants escape.

During the initial exchangeof fire, a soldier identified asSepoy S Gunakar Roy was hit

with a bullet. He was immedi-ately shifted to hospital where hesuccumbed to injuries. Twomore soldiers injured in theshootout were undergoing treat-ment at Army’s 92 Base Hospitalin Srinagar, officials said.

The security forces saidthat that two to three militantsincluding a ‘commander’ ofbanned Lashkar-e-Tayyeba(LeT) outfit were trapped in thearea. However, the militantsmanaged to flee from the cor-doned house after a hugecrowd of protesters hamperedthe operation.

Eyewitnesses said the secu-rity forces opened fire on the

protesters to keep them awayfrom the encounter site. At leastfour protesters died sustainedgrievous firearm injuries andlater succumbed. One amongthe slain civilians is fromShopian district. Another civil-ian adult sustaining criticalinjuries is undergoing treat-ment at Srinagar hospital.

Police said the civilianswere killed in cross fire. Morethan two dozen civilian pro-testers were also reportedinjured during clashes. Theslain civilians have been iden-tified as Sarjeel Ahmad Sheikh,Bilal Ahmad Tantray, FaisalIllahi and Aijaz Ahmad Palla.

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Three people, including theYoga guru of Samajwadi

Party patron Mulayam SinghYadav and a Congress leader,were killed in a road accidenton Agra- Lucknow expresswayon Wednesday. Six others werealso injured in the mishap andwere hospitalised.As perreports, the mishap occurredwhen a SUV collided with twoother cars as they entered theexpressway near Faghua Bhattavillage of Tirwa police stationarea on Wednesday morning.

Yoga guru LaxmipatiVerma and Congress leaderDharamraj Verma were killedon the spot. The third deceasedwas travelling in another car andwas identified as HarimohanAgarwal of Lucknow.Occupants of two other carswhich collided with the SUVsuffered injuries and wererushed to Kanpur for treatment.Meanwhile in Unnao, around 25passengers were injured when aUP Roadways bus overturnedafter crashing on to a divider onthe busy Lucknow-Kanpurhighway early Wednesdaymorning. The accident occurredwhen the bus driver lost controlover his steering. The conditionof two of the injured was stat-ed to be critical.

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Page 8: 01 ˙ ($0$2(-3˙ (. 4 ˛!ˆ˙#$˛ˇ%& ’#(’˙)#*˜˜ˇ#˙opinionexpress.in/news-pdf/epaper-DelhiEnglish-Edition_12-04-2018.pdf · Kings (CSK) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), ...

China is thirsty. What can the MiddleKingdom do to quench its thirst?Simple, have said the Chinese experts

for decades, divert the rivers from Tibet tothe Mainland and to Xinjiang.

On March 29, the Chinese magazine TheSouthern Weekend carried an interview ofWang Hao, the Chairman of the ExpertGroup on Dialogue for the ‘Red Flag RiverIssue’, a group of ‘scientists’ discussing regu-larly these issues, in particular the diversionof the Yarlung Tsangpo River.

Wang is also an academician of theChinese Academy of Engineering, and hon-orary director of the Water ResourcesInstitute of the China Institute of WaterResources and Hydropower Research.

Though plans to divert Yarlung Tsangpo(which becomes the Siang as it enters in Indiaand then the Brahmaputra) are known fordecades, the Expert Group is working on anew scheme known as the ‘Red Flag River’,which apparently has already been turneddown by the Government.

The Southern Weekend admitted thatdespite the participation of a number of aca-demicians and experts, the project raises a lotof questions. How is this scheme differentfrom the previous plans? The BrahmaputraValley is known for its rich ecosystem; it isalso an area witnessing frequent geologicaldisasters. What would be the environmen-tal consequences of such a project?

Wang admitted that though a largenumber of ecological and environmentalimpact studies have been carried out, “theenvironmental impact assessment has notyet been completed”.

However, for the Chinese scientist, theecological issue not the basic one, the real dif-ficulty is political; each Province on the routeis bound to create problems for handing overthe required lands, prices will rise and com-petition between local interests will createmore hurdles.

Wang Hao however argued: “Thesepeople (the scientists planning the diver-sion) are not crazy…they have a sense ofresponsibility.” He pointed out what he calledthe main issue: “There is no water in thesouthwest and in the northwest. (If the pro-ject is realised), the entire country will change,and future generations will be better off.”

It is true that there is a difference withprevious plans; in the past, China did not pos-sess “hard rock tunneling machine and onlydrill and blast method was used”. Wangobserved that China is today the world leaderin drilling technology: “Our longest tunnelis 55 kilometers. Considering that the hardrock boring machine also needs a properaccess, we have selected a (new) alignment,where it is relatively easier.”

Already in August 2017, The GlobalTimes had reported that some 20 scholars hadmet in Urumqi in Xinjiang to discuss the “fea-sibility of diverting water from the heights of

the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau to Xinjiang’s low-land plains”. The tabloid wrote: “Experts wantthe Government to reconsider diverting waterfrom Tibet to parched northern regions. Theyclaim the project will help stimulate the worldeconomy and create a ‘second China’ in theregion’s arid plains. Disagreements remainstrong due to the huge cost and possible envi-ronmental damage.”

For the downstream neighbours, thesmall mercy lies in these disagreements.Ren Qun Luo, professor at the XinjiangUniversity of Finance and Economics,told the party’s mouthpiece: “Water from(Tibetan) rivers can help turn the vastdeserts and arid lands into oasis andfarmlands, alleviate population pressure inthe east, as well as reduce flood risks.”

It is not clear if these ‘scientists’ are apart of the group headed by Wang; how-ever Ren was quoted as saying: “Xinjianghas 1.1 million square kilometers ofplains, equal in size to all the plains in thecountry’s east. But less than 70,000 squarekilometers are arable due to a shortage ofwater...If all these plains are greened,another China will have been created.”

The Global Times admitted the dream ofmassive water diversions, from soaking-wetSouthwest China to the thirsty north, hasbeen on the minds of engineers and schol-ars for decades: “Some say this dream couldbe a nightmare of environmental damage, andthese concerns mean the plateau-to-plain pro-ject has never been approved.”

One wonders if the Indian mandarins inSouth Block will dare to question theirChinese counterparts about these crazy

schemes. If they do, it will probably imme-diately be denied by Beijing.

When Chinese President Hu Jintao vis-ited India in November 2006, WangShucheng, his Minister for Water Resources,stated that the scheme of diverting the YarlungTsangpo was “unnecessary, unfeasible andunscientific” and it had no government back-ing. The China Daily quoted him as saying:“There is no need for such dramatic andunscientific projects.”

But nothing can stop Chinese ‘scientists’who love these so-called impossible projects.It probably evokes for them the Great Wallor the Grand Canal.

Take another example. A few weeks ago,The South China Morning Post reported: “Vastsystem of chambers on Tibetan plateau couldsend enough particles into the atmosphereto allow extensive clouds to form.” The HongKong newspaper added: “China is testing cut-ting-edge defence technology to develop apowerful yet relatively low-cost weathermodification system to bring substantiallymore rain to the Tibetan plateau, Asia’s biggestfreshwater reserve.”

There is an obsession with Tibet’s watersand environment among some of the mem-bers the scientific community in China; theThe South China Morning Post explained:“The system, which involves an enormousnetwork of fuel-burning chambers installedhigh up on the Tibetan mountains, couldincrease rainfall in the region by up to 10 bil-lion cubic metres a year — about seven percent of China’s total water consumption. Tensof thousands of chambers will be built atselected locations across the Tibetan plateau

to produce rainfall over a total area of about1.6 million square.”

Ma Weiqiang from the Institute ofTibetan Plateau Research observed that acloud-seeding experiment on such a scalecould help answer many intriguing scien-tific questions; he was however quick toadd that it could affect the weather in theregion: “(It) might not work as perfectlyin real life, as intercepting the moisture inthe skies over Tibet could have a knock-on effect and reduce rainfall in otherChinese regions.”

What about India?The point is that Chinese scientists con-

tinue to work on these grandiose schemeswhich are bound to bring more harm thangood to China …and also to the neighbourswho are never consulted anyway. The ques-tion remains: Why are Chinese ‘experts’putting so much time and energy to mate-rialise old mad dreams?

In the meantime, Beijing has decidedto spend $300 million to improve the irri-gation systems “in the heavily ethnicUygur part of the violence-prone regionof Xinjiang,” announced Xinhua whichadded: “The Government has increasing-ly turned its focus to development insouthern Xinjiang in recent years, in animplicit recognition of the economic caus-es of some of the unrest there.”

Will more water help in solving therestive Province’s issue? Can these megapro-jects quench the locals’ thirst for freedom?Certainly not.

(The writer is an expert on India-Chinarelations and an author)B

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Sir — This refers to the editorial,“Hubris is the opponent” (April11). Negativity spreads faster thanpositivity and perception is most-ly bigger than reality. Hence, theBJP needs to be more than cau-tious. It is indeed shameful thatneither POSCO was invoked norFIR was registered in the com-plaint of the minor girl against BJPMLA from Unnao.

Even Uttar Pradesh ChiefMinister acted quite late in the day.Coupled with this, the narrative, sp-read by the Opposition that the BJPis anti-Dalit, is gaining momentumbecause the BJP has not been ableto send a right message to the Dalits.Since it has been almost four yearsthat the BJP has been in office, ar-rogance is bound to creep in someof its leaders. But that is somethingwhich we do not associate with theBJP as it has grown from a ‘two MPparty’ to have a full majority of itsown. There is still time for the BJPleaders to change their approach andwork for the good of the commonpeople and send the right messageto the masses what all former lead-ers have done in the last four years.Otherwise they will have no one butthemselves to blame.

Bal GovindNoida

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Sir — This refers to the article,“India’s unity is non-negotiable”(April 10) by A Surya Prakash. Thewriter’s invocation of former PrimeMinister Atal Bihari Vajpayee tobutress his point of India’s non-nego-tiable integrity and sovereignity

finds timeless relevance as the lat-ter harbours strong aversion to anysort of divisive notions in the nameof self-determination.

Verily speaking, gripes againstthe Centre’s alleged discriminationagainst the southern States in termsof the devolution of funds are a com-mon phenomenon while thedemand of bifurcation for the man-agerial facilitaion is something quitedifferent from the secession ofStates that comes across as a frag-mentation of the country, pushingit into a vulnerable position againstother global powers. That’s why thesaying goes, ‘United we stand, divid-ed we fall’.

Azhar A KhanRampur

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This refers to the report, “Even Modiwill lose poll in 2019: Rahul” (April9). It is incredible that someone, whohypocritically proclaims that hedoes not hate any one, singles outPrime Minister Narendra Modi ashis sole object of hatred, seeminglyout of juvenile jealousy of the latter’simmense mass popularity. Rahul, ina pseudo-astrologer’s avatar, assertsthat the BJP is “sure to lose in 2019Lok Sabha polls” if “the Congress,the BSP and SP united against him”.It’s tragic that the Congress president,instead of concentrating his youth-ful energies to revive his party, nowreduced to a rump status of 40-plusMPs in the Lok Sabha from over 400in his father’s time, is obsessed withhis agenda to defeat Modi.

M RatanVia email

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Page 9: 01 ˙ ($0$2(-3˙ (. 4 ˛!ˆ˙#$˛ˇ%& ’#(’˙)#*˜˜ˇ#˙opinionexpress.in/news-pdf/epaper-DelhiEnglish-Edition_12-04-2018.pdf · Kings (CSK) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), ...

Large companies are usually syn-onymous with growth andprogress, and are credited for

being the source of employment forthe country, besides turning thewheels of the economy. But an increas-ingly overlooked fact is now gettingclearer: Large businesses are also having the dubious distinction ofbeing the largest polluters.

According to data gathered byThomson Reuters, out of the 250largest emitters, India’s state-ownedcompany ‘Coal India’ topped the listwith largest greenhouse gas emis-sions (GHG) of 2076.2 milliontonnes. Besides Coal India, threeother Indian companies featuredamong 100 global businesses with thehighest carbon footprint.

This interesting aspect is due tothe fact that in spite of vociferouscommitment towards reducing therate of global warming at the ParisClimate Agreement by all membernations, the very same nations areunable to control the pace of green-house gas emissions of their majorindustries and businesses.

In the past three years, emissionsfrom businesses with highest emissionhad been stable, instead of going downby roughly three per cent per yearwhich is needed to limit global warm-ing in line with goals set by the 2015Paris Climate Agreement. Had thenations been really committed to theclimate cause, this state of affairs wouldnot have emerged and emissionsfrom big companies would have start-ed showing a downward trend.

The superficial concern for theenvironment is a global feature.Sample this out of all polluting com-panies and businesses, 33 per cent ofthe top 100 GHGs emitters areEuropean. The United States has thesecond largest share with 26 per centof top 100 companies being of

American origin. China has the third largest share

with 14 per cent of top GHG emittersbeing of Chinese origin. India wouldhave done well to keep out of thisundesirable list but thanks to emis-sions of Coal India — at 2,076 milliontonne — India now has an avoidabletop position in this list. The thirst foreconomic growth and global compe-tition to vie for international marketsamidst dwindling natural resources aremade worse by ever increasing pop-

ulation. This has led to a thriving man-ufacturing sector that has scant regardfor the environment.

The insane scramble to put busi-ness before climate has not comewithout a price. According to apaper published on April 2, in thejournal Nature Geoscience, spirallingglobal warming between 2010 and2016 has caused the base of ice nearthe floor of the ocean to shrink by1,463 sq km, roughly the size ofDelhi. Continued warming at this

rate will leave Antarctica without icein the coming decades and one canonly imagine the calamity of sea-levelrise when all the melted ice finds itsway to the world’s oceans.

As the damage continues, thereis clearly an absence of an impactfulintervention to rescue the environ-ment. Unfortunately India too isunable to take the lead and make adifference by assuming the role of aglobal climate change leader.

The task before India, to set aglobal example to control GHG lev-els, may not be as difficult as it looks.According to a study released by TheNature Conservancy, a global conser-vation organisation, India can offsetclose to 520 million tonnes of green-house gas emissions per year throughreforestation alone. The study furtherelaborates that merely by conserva-tion of nature and reforestation,about 37 per cent of global green-house gas emission could be reducedby 2030. Reforestation activitiesalone could offset emissions equiv-alent to that produced by 90 coalpower plants.

A third of India’s geographical areais still degraded and offers significantopportunities to sequester carbonthrough reforestation while also cre-ating jobs and improving freshwateravailability for rural communities.

Reforestation initiative, coupledwith curbs on industrial emissions, canscript a turn around at least for theIndian GHG output levels and imme-diately deliver cleaner and better air forthe citizens. Initiative taken mustalso be followed through and effectiveimplementation must be ensured forthe results to be visible.

For instance, plastic ban is an aptexample wherein the ban has beenapplied many times over but unfor-tunately one still finds the urbanlandscape and waterways chokedwith plastic covers. The methods areclearly available but the all-impor-tant initiative and spirited imple-mentation is missing and this needsto change. This alone will ensure thatthe environment is not used asinvestment for business.

(The writer is an environmentaljournalist)

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Effectiveness of environ-mental governance willdetermine the long-termsustainability of develop-mental programmes in

India and also the overall social har-mony and happiness of the society.The fact is that our environment iscontinuously changing and, there-fore, the need is to become increas-ingly aware of the problems sur-rounding us. The time is to taketimely action to not only monitor thechanges continuously but to take thesociety on board so as to meet thechallenges.

For the last two decades, theUnion Government, as also the judi-ciary, has taken steps to check thedegradation of our forest resourcesand environmental pollution. Of allnations in the world, Indians andGovernments, both at the Centreand States, need to be on their toes.

A population of 130 crore andstill growing is gradually making thislandmass unsustainable as we faceshortage of life sustaining resourceslike water, fuel and food. Growingfood agriculture practices causedamages to the environment throughthe use of chemical fertilisers, pes-ticides and insecticides. Currently,over population is one of the majorenvironmental problems that shouldattract the attention of environmen-tal planners.

Issues of global warming, defor-estation and consequent loss of bio-diversity, pollution of soil, water andair, natural disasters and displace-ment of people due to disruption oflivelihood opportunities are increasingly getting manifested withgreater vigour every year. Untimelyrains, excessive rainfall within fewdays with prolong dry spells areupsetting the farmers by disturbingthe hydrology, thereby causing themheavy losses which results in law andorder problem.

The department of environmentwas created in 1980 and after forestrywing from the Agriculture Ministrywas merged with it in 1985, theMinistry of Environment and Forestscame into existence. The journey ofenvironmental laws began with theForest (Conservation) Act, 1980. Thiswas coupled with the enactment of theEnvironmental Protection Act, 1986.The Indian Forest Act, 1927, alongwith States Acts, like the Water(Prevention and Control of Pollution)Act, 1974; the Water (Prevention andControl of Pollution) Cess Act, 1977;and Wild life Protection Act, 1972were existing already.

Now in 2006, the Forest RightsAct (FRA) was implemented toempower the tribal people and vestwith them land rights. The TNGodavarman case was watershed in

the management of forest resourcesthrough its 1996 epoch making orderand still continuing, redefining andstrengthening the forest laws.

After more than three decades ofthe creation of the EnvironmentMinistry, in 2014, Prime MinisterNarendra Modi, in order to give pol-icy thrust to climate change,renamed it as the Ministry ofEnvironment, Forests and ClimateChange. The success of any policy orprogramme depends upon its imple-mentation infrastructure in the field.

The Forest departments are wellequipped with trained staff.Environmental laws are implementedby the Central and State pollution con-trol boards. To strengthen the set upfor generation of knowledge, theIndian Council of Forestry Researchand Education (ICFRE), with a net-work of institutions all over the coun-try, the Wildlife Institute of India andNational Biodiversity Authority ofIndia were established. The forestcover is being scientifically monitoredby the Forest Survey of India.

It is time to review the perfor-mance of these institutions so thatthe emerging challenges are met suc-cessfully. The recently released ‘Stateof Forest Report 2017’ reports mar-ginal increase in the forest cover.However, for the last more than 25years, degraded forests have notreduced, rather they have increasedfrom 24 million ha in 1985 to over30 million ha now.

Forest Type reassessment of 2013by ICFRE has clearly indicated thatmost forests are losing soil moistureand hydrology is getting severely

affected which is having a directimpact on our agriculture, wateravailability and rain fed rivers. Forthe long-term survival of the peoplein and around the forests and forestfringe villages and as also for carbonsequestration, it is necessary to de-politicise the implementation of theForest Rights Act.

A recent study by The Energy andResources Institute (TERI) is a mat-ter of serious concern and PrimeMinister Modi must take a decision onpriority to fix a cut-off date for itsimplementation. The study is based ona scrutiny of 66,300 FRA rights on10,7897 ha spread across 19Maharashtra districts. Till 2012,Maharashtra emitted 5,70881 tonnesof GHG on account of deforestationdue to the recognition of rights underthe Act. Thus, carbon sequestrationhas been lost in 14,669 ha of forests.

Wrong implementation of thisAct is encouraging encroachmentsand depriving the tribal populationof life sustaining resources. Theland vested must yield productiveresources for livelihood in a plannedmanner. There has to be a politicalconsensus on this and the Ministryof Environment, Forests and ClimateChange must work in tandem withMinistry of Tribal Affairs and otherMinistries to see that the adverseimpact of deforestation is not felt bythe forest dependent people.

The Paris Climate ChangeAccord builds upon the bottom-upapproach of voluntary IntendedNationally DeterminedCommitments (INDCs) from bothdeveloped and developing coun-

tries. The Accord urges parties toenhance their pre-2020 emissioncuts and acknowledges the significant gap between currentpledges and what is needed to beconsistent with holding temperaturerise to 1.5 degrees.

Countries are expected to submitrevised INDCs by 2020, and everyfive years thereafter. India submittedits action plan on October 2, 2015,committing to reduce growth of itscarbon emissions by 33-35 per centof the economy by 2030 and toenhance its forest cover by 25 to 30million hectares to create a carbonsink of around three billion tonnes.

It is being claimed that in thefield of renewal energy, due toproactive investments, we may beable to achieve the target of 175Gigawatt. However, in the case offorestry, it may prove to be a pipe-dream, considering the fragmentedinvestment proposals, institutionaldeficiency and lack of synergy/con-vergence among various actors.

It is therefore, necessary thatPrime Minister Modi takes specialinterest in revamping the environ-ment sector with far-reachingreforms. In order to ensure successof ‘Green India Mission’ theGovernment needs to adopt a prag-matic reformist approach and inte-grate its working within the overalllandscape developmental perspectiveof the country.

(The writer is former Director-General, Indian Council of ForestryResearch Chancellor, FRI Universityand Principal Secretary toGovernment of Tripura)

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In a bid to quicken award oflicences, the Cabinet on

Wednesday allowed ministers offinance and petroleum to awardoil and gas blocks to their win-ners in the ongoing auction, bidsfor which are due on May 2.

Till now, only the Cabinetheaded by Prime Minister hadthe powers to approve award ofan block or area for explorationand production of oil and gas.

“In line with theGovernment initiative of ease ofdoing business, the UnionCabinet chaired by PrimeMinister Narendra Modi hasgiven its approval for delegatingthe powers to Minister ofPetroleum and Natural Gas andFinance Minister to award theblocks/contract areas to suc-cessful bidders,” an officialstatement said.

The two ministers willapprove the award based on therecommendations of a panel ofsecretaries, called theEmpowered Committee ofSecretaries (ECS).

The delegation of power isfor Open Acreage LicensingPolicy (OALP) bid rounds underthe Hydrocarbon Explorationand Licensing Policy (HELP).Presently, the first round ofOALP is underway, with bids for55 exploration blocks on offerfor prospecting of oil and gasdue on May 2. These blocks areto be awarded by July.

“Under HELP, blocks are tobe awarded twice in a year.Therefore, this delegation ofpowers will expedite the decisionmaking process on awardingblocks and give a boost to theinitiative of ease of doing busi-ness,” the statement said.

India had, in July last year,allowed companies to carve outblocks of their choice with a view

to bringing about 2.8 million sqkm of unexplored area in thecountry under exploration.Under this policy, called HELP,companies are allowed to put inan expression of interest (EoI)for prospecting of oil and gas inany area that is presently notunder any production or explo-ration licence.

The EoIs can be put in atanytime of the year but they areaccumulated twice annually.The blocks or areas that receiveEoIs at the end of a cycle are putup for auction with the origina-tor or the firm that originallyselected the area getting a 5-mark advantage.

HELP replaced the NewExploration Licensing Policy

(NELP) where governmentcarved out areas and bid themout.

Under the NELP policy,ECS make recommendationsto Cabinet Committee onEconomic Affairs (CCEA) foraward of blocks after consider-ing the bid evaluation criteria(BEC) and conducting negotia-tions with the bidders wherev-er necessary.

“The entire process, includ-ing inter-ministerial consulta-tions (IMC) is quite lengthy andtime consuming. In consonancewith the Government initiativeof ‘Ease of Doing Business’, it isdesirable to shorten the durationof time taken for award of theblocks/contract Areas,” the state-

ment said. Under HELP, thecompetitive bidding will be con-tinuous and blocks will beawarded twice a year.

HELP offers revenue shar-ing contract, single licence forexploration and production ofconventional as well as uncon-ventional hydrocarbon resourcesand marketing and pricing free-dom.

OALP under HELP, is maininnovative feature whereininvestor can carve out blocks oftheir own interest and submit anExpression of Interest (Eol)throughout the year. Based onthe areas for which expression ofinterest has been expressed bid-ding will be conducted every 6months.

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The Cabinet on Wednesdayrelaxed rules for state-

owned Coal India Ltd forextraction of natural gas lyingbelow coal seams in its blocksin a bid to quickly boost pro-duction. Till now, Coal IndiaLtd had to apply to oil ministryfor a licence to extract coal-bedmethane (CBM) from its coalblocks. Now, the world’s largestcoal producer does not needsuch a permission.

The Cabinet Committeeon Economic Affairs chairedby Prime Minister NarendraModi approved an amend-ment to the November 2015regulations issued by theMinistry of Petroleum &Natural Gas under Section 12of the Oil Fields (Regulationand Development) Act, 1948

(ORD Act, 1948).“Due to this amendment

relaxation is granted underthe Petroleum & Natural GasRules 1959 (PNG Rules, 1959),to Coal India Ltd (CIL) and itssubsidiaries for not applyingfor grant of licence/lease underthe PNG Rules, 1959 forextraction of CBM under theirCoal Bearing Areas,” an officialstatement said.

Stating that the decision isin line with the government’sinitiatives of ‘ease of doingbusiness’, it said the move willexpedite the exploration andexploitation of CBM, enhancethe availability of natural gasand reduce the demand-supplygap.

“The increased develop-ment activities for explorationand exploitation of CBM gasreserves in-and-around the

block will generate economicactivities which in turn haspotential to create employ-ment opportunities in CBMoperations and in the indus-tries,” the statement said.

The government issued anotification on November 3,2015 granting rights to CILand its subsidiaries for explo-ration and exploitation of CBMfrom all coal bearing areas forwhich they possess mininglease for coal.

Clause 3(vi) of theNotification provided that the“Lessee shall submit applica-tion under the P&NG Rules1959 for grant of Mining Lease(ML) for CBM to Ministry ofPetroleum and Natural Gasalong with detailed recom-mendations of Central MinePlanning & Design InstituteLimited (CMPDIL).”

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As newer technologies likerobotics and artificial intel-

ligence (AI) take over, workersneed to upskill or face the riskof lower wages and unemploy-ment, ADB warned onWednesday.

ADB’s ‘Asian DevelopmentOutlook, 2018’ has called forgovernment action on skilldevelopment coupled withsteps in labour regulation,social protection and incomeredistribution.

It said jobs which requirerepetitive, routine tasks andworkers who do not have theeducation or training to moveeasily to other occupation, mayface slow growth in wages.

“New technologies alterthe skills required of the work-

force and may cause unem-ployment as some firms down-size or close. They make theless-skilled more likely to expe-rience lower wage growth,exacerbating income inequal-ity,” it said.

Asian Development Bank(ADB) President TakehikoNakao said the application ofnew technologies will boostproductivity but displace cer-tain jobs.

He added however thatrising demand and higher out-put will create jobs, therebyoutweighing job displacement,as new occupations and indus-tries would be added due to useof technology.

“This transition wil lrequire a skilled workforceand could put the less-skilledat a disadvantage. The chal-

lenge for governments is toensure that workers areequipped with foundationalskills to enable lifelong learn-ing and have the specialisedskills required for workingwith new technologies...

“They must ensure thatnew technologies develop inways that benefit people andprotect their rights,” Nakaosaid. The report further saidthat governments should usenew technologies in educationand skills development, aswell as to deliver such publicservices as social protectionprogrammes. “Governmentsupport for new technologiesmust benefit people and pro-tect their rights and privacy.”

ADB Chief EconomistYasuyuki Sawada said newtechnologies drive higher pro-

ductivity, the foundation forbetter-paid jobs and econom-ic growth.

“While new technologiesdisplace jobs, they alsounleash countervailing forcesthat generate more jobs. Assome workers may be leftbehind, governments in devel-oping Asia should respond tothis challenge by ensuringthat workers are protectedfrom the downside of newtechnologies and prepared toharness the new opportunitiesthey provide,” he said.

Stating that developingAsia has done remarkablywell in creating jobs for itsworkers, the report said thatover the past 25 years, theregion has created 30 millionjobs annually in industry andservices.

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The food ministry has noimmediate plans to give sub-

sidy to sugarcane growers forbailing out cash-starved sugarmills, and it asked factories toexport 2 million tonnes sweet-ener, even at loss, to liquidate sur-plus stock and improve domes-tic prices.

With domestic productionestimated to rise to a record 29.5million tonnes in the 2017-18marketing year endingSeptember, the government hasalready doubled import duty to100 per cent and scrapped 20 percent export duty on sugar.

That apart, the ministry hasrecently allowed 2 million tonnesof sugar under the MinimumIndicative Export Quota (MIEQ)scheme and has fixed a compul-sory quota for each mills depend-ing their production.

“Right now, there is noimmediate plans to give pro-

duction-linked subsidy that wehad given few years back. Wehave announced two schemes tohelp mills export surplus sugarand that should help improve thesituation,” a senior food ministryofficial told PTI.

India’s sugar production isestimated to rise sharply from20.3 million tonnes in 2016-17marketing year to 29.5 milliontonnes in the current year, result-ing in fall in ex-mill and retailprices in the domestic market.Even global market is depressedcurrently. Asked if the govern-ment plans to help mills clearcane arrears which crossed Rs15,000 crore, the official said,“The excess sugar has to beevacuated in the form of exportonly. For that, we recentlyannounced two schemes MEIQand DFIA.

“If every mill takes action toexport its quota, the entire 2 mil-lion tonnes will be exported.Once this quantity is exported,

the price in the domestic marketwill stabilise and increase,” heexplained.

At present global rate, theofficial said mills will incur a lossof Rs 5-7 per kg, which can beoffset by selling the remainingstock in the domestic market atimproved rate. Moreover, millscan take advantage of zero importduty under the Duty Free ImportAuthorisation (DFIA) scheme forthe next two years.

“If 2 million tonnes is export-ed from the country, the domes-tic price will improve at least byRs 1-2 per kg. This will benefitmills to clear the remainingstock in the domestic market,” theofficial added.

Ex-mill prices have fallenbelow Rs 30 per kg, lower thanthe production cost of up to Rs35-36 per kg. The productioncost is higher in Uttar Pradeshand some other states where millshave to pay more than the ratefixed by the Centre.

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India’s economic growth willrise to 7.3 per cent this fiscal

and further to 7.6 per cent inthe next financial year, retain-ing the fastest-growing Asianeconomy tag, on back of GSTand banking reforms.

In its Asian DevelopmentOutlook (ADO), 2018, Manila-based ADB said, “risks to tradeare high” and retaliatory actionscould dent growth in the Asianregion going forward.

Indian economy grew 6.6per cent in the last fiscal as itbattled the lingering effects ofdemonetisation in 2016, busi-nesses adjusting to goods andservices tax (GST) in 2017, anda subdued agriculture. Thecountry’s economic growthwas 7.1 per cent in 2016-17.

With 7.3 per cent growth

projected for this fiscal, Indiawould be reversing the two-year declining trend.

“Despite the short-termcosts, the benefits of reformsuch as the recently imple-mented GST will propel India’sfuture growth,” ADB ChiefEconomist Yasuyuki Sawadasaid.

Robust foreign directinvestment flows attracted byliberalised regulations and thegovernment steps to improvethe ease of doing business willfurther bolster growth, Sawadasaid.

The ADO said protection-ist trade measures by theUnited States are yet to impacttrade flows to and from Asia.

“However, further actionand retaliation against it (UStrade tariffs) could underminethe business and consumer

optimism that underlies theregional outlook (for Asia),” itsaid.

With regard to China, itsaid the country will slowdown from 6.9 per cent in 2017to 6.6 per cent this year, and 6.4per cent in 2019.

“India would remain thefastest-growing country acrossAsia,” ADB India CountryDirector Kenichi Yokoyamasaid. However, there are issuesregarding rising NPAs andrisks from crude oil prices ris-ing above USD 70 a barrel, hesaid. He, further, said theimpact of the US tariff hikesmay not be much, but India“need to be cautious”.

“The biggest risk factorcould be the crude oil price,”Yokoyama said.

ADB’s growth projection of7.3 per cent this fiscal is in line

with that of rating agencyFitch, but a tad lower than RBI’sforecast of 7.4 per cent.

The ADO projected devel-oping Asia to grow 6 per centin 2018 and 5.9 per cent in2019. It, however, said the risksfor Asian region are mostly onthe downside.

“The big risk, of course,would be worsening trade fric-tion. Another would be rapidcapital outflows that couldmaterialise if the US FederalReserve needed to raise inter-est rates faster than marketsexpect.

“Finally, the continuedbuild up of private debt forsome regional economies sincethe global financial crisis couldundercut growth. DevelopingAsia is well positioned torespond to these shocks,” itadded.

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Saudi Aramco, the world’slargest oil producer, on

Wednesday signed an agree-ment to pick up 50 per centstake in a planned USD 44-bil-lion refinery-cum-petrochem-ical project in Maharashtra, amove that will give it an assuredcustomer for additional 30million tonnes of its crude oil.

Aramco, at a later date,plans to dilute some of its 50per cent equity stake in the 60million tonne-a-year refineryproject in favour of anotherstrategic investor, visiting SaudiOil Minister Khalid Al-Falihtold reporters here.

The Saudi national oilcompany will supply half of thecrude oil required for process-ing at the refinery, he said.

State-owned refiners

Indian Oil Corp (IOC),Hindustan Petroleum CorpLtd (HPCL) and BharatPetroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL)will own the remaining 50 percent stake.

“As large as this projectmay be, this does not by itselfsatisfy our desire to invest inIndia. Aramco will not stop dis-cussing other opportunitiesbecause we see India as a pri-ority destination for ourinvestment and energy sup-plies,” he said.

Like other major produc-ers, Aramco is looking to lockin customers in the world’sthird-largest oil consumerthrough the investment. UAEand Kuwait too are looking atinvesting in projects in returnfor getting an assured offtake oftheir crude oil.

Last year, Saudi Arabia

invested in refinery projects inIndonesia and Malaysia thatcame with long-term crude oilsupply deals.

Saudi Arabia was thebiggest oil supplier to India till2016-17 fiscal year, but slippedbehind Iraq last fiscal. It hadsupplied 39.5 million tonnes ofcrude oil to India in 2016-17,ahead of 37.5 million tonnes byIraq.

But in the first 11 monthsof 2017-18 fiscal, Saudi suppliesat 33.9 million tonnes laggedbehind Iraqi exports of 42.4million tonnes to India.

“We have always said thatIndia is going to get priority interms of supply of crude oil andcertainly that assurance is onlygoing to be increased with thismassive investment on theground,” Al-Falih said, addingthat Saudi Arabia was keen to

supply not just oil but petro-chemical and fertilisers to Indiaas well.

He said Aramco is alsokeen on venturing into fuelretailing.

“The project is designed as50:50 (joint venture betweenIndian and foreign compa-nies). There is a domestic blockby three Indian companies(holding 50 per cent). We aremanaging the internationalblock,” he said.

“Saudi Aramco will initiallyassume 50 per cent, but wehave the option of introducinganother international partner ifit is in the interest of the pro-ject. There is one internation-al company which has alreadyexpressed interest and we havetaken note of it and in duecourse we will address it,” headded.

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GE Power on Wednesdayannounced the completion

of first turnkey full flow wet fluegas desulphurization (WFGD)unit at state power giant NTPC’s500 MW Super Thermal Powerproject site in Vindhyachal,

Madhya Pradesh.The FGD installation at

Vindhyachal is the first lime-stone-based WFGD commis-sioned in an NTPC power plantsuitable for continuous operationat 500 MW unit for 100 per centgas flow, a GE Power statementsaid. The GE’s scope of work inthe project includes delivery ofthe WFGD system for the 1x500MW pulverised coal-fired boil-er unit on full turnkey basis,including designing, engineering,manufacturing, testing, civilworks, erection and commis-sioning.

This is a key step towardsimplementing SOx control sys-tems mandated by India’sMinistry of Environment Forestand Climate Change (MoEFCC)to reduce the emissions of ther-mal power plants. AndrewDeLeone, Managing Director –GE Power India Limited, said,“World over, the economics ofpower generation have becometighter and regulations havebecome even stricter.”

The Executive Engineer, BuildingDivision South-East (M-421), PWD(GNCTD), Police Colony, Hauz Khas,New Delhi invites on behalf of thePresident of India percentage ratetender in two bid condition for fol-lowing work(s):-

1. NIT No. 01/South-East(B)M/NewDelhi/2018-19, Name of Work:Infrastructure set up for AdvanceDiploma in Automotive Mechatronics(Benz) in Automobile workshop atG.B. pant Institute of Technology,Okhla, New Delhi during 2018-19(SH: Remaining face lifting, staff roomwith toilet, student toilet block works),Estimated Cost: Rs. 20,50,860/,Earnest Money: Rs. 41,017/-drawn infavour of EE, CBMD M-421, PWD,New Delhi, time of completion of work02 Months, The Last date & time forreceipt of Tenders through e-pro-curementis 18.04.2018 upto 15.00 Hours &Tender ID No 2018_ PWD_148697_1.Further details of the tender can behad from : http://govtprocurement.delhigov.in/nicgep/app

DIP/Shabdarth/0072/18-19

PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENTNotice Inviting e-Tender

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FMCG major ITC is eyeing 10 to 12 per cent market share inthe packed juices and fruit beverages segment by next year

as the company bets on its ‘not from concentrate’ range of juices,said a top company official.

ITC would continue to add more flavours in B Natural’s port-folio and plans to add 4-5 new variants in next few months.Besides, the Kolkata-headquarted company is also looking to tapthe export market.

“We believe that we should get double-digit market share ofthe juices by next year,” ITC Divisional Chief Executive, FoodsDivision Hemant Malik told PTI.

According to the company, B Natural is a �100-crore brandat present, and is growing 25 per cent annually. ITC has around7 per cent share in the juices and fruit beverages market, whichis estimated to be around �2,500 crore.

The market is growing 13 to 14 per cent annually and is dom-inated by players like Pepsico’s Tropicana and Dabur’s Real, thecompany said.

As per its strategy, ITC has now shifted away from makingjuices from concentrates, which are mostly imported, and is nowleveraging strength of its agri division to directly source fruitsfrom farmers and convert pulps into juices.

“This will lead to sourcing of over 2.5 lakh tonnes of freshfruits directly from Indian farmers annually instead of import-ing concentrates,” said Malik.

Globally, the trend is moving towards not-from-concentratebased juices, and in markets as US, it is sold at 30 per cent pre-mium, he added. “We have 13 products and now our entire rangewould be made not from concentrate and fruits sourced fromthe domestic market,” said Malik. It is also strengthening the dis-tribution network of B Natural and would focus on small tierIII markets, which have also started consuming packed juices,besides tier I & II places. “We are using our distribution strengthto expand availability across both rural and urban markets,” hesaid. Besides ITC has also started exporting B Natural to MiddleEast targeting the Indian diaspora and is looking at markets asUS, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

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Messaging app WhatsApp is scouting for afull-time hire to lead its operations in India,

its largest market globally.The individual will lead the company’s oper-

ations in India, “including products for peopleand businesses along with our interest in peerto peer payments,” a job advertisement onWhatsApp’s website.

WhatsApp has over one billion users glob-ally. India is the largest market for the compa-ny with over 200 million monthly active usersas of February 2017.

“This is a senior leadership position thatrequires product experience as well as a trackrecord of success leading partnerships and busi-ness development in India. This leader will needto build a close partnership with product andengineering teams to influence direction and toeffectively represent WhatsApp’s long termstrategy,” it added.

The development comes at a time whenWhatsApp is rolling out its UPI-based paymentsservice in India. Unified Payments Interface(UPI) allows users to make intra-bank transferseasily using a virtual ID.

WhatsApp’s payment service has beencriticised by rival Paytm, whose founder Vijay

Shekhar Sharma had alleged that the Facebook-owned company’s platform has security risks forconsumers and is not in compliance with theguidelines.

There have also been concerns around pri-vacy of user information, following the globaldata breach at its parent company. WhatsApphas, however, defended itself, saying it collectsvery little data and that every single message isend-to-end encrypted.

Apart from being a “heavy user ofWhatsApp’s products”, WhatsApp is looking fora candidate with over 15 years of experience inproduct-driven companies and more than 5years of experience with payment technologiesin India.

The position is based in Mumbai and thechosen executive will report to WhatsApp’s ChiefOperating Officer in California.

A key responsibility, according to the post,will be to lead partnership efforts in market, “act-ing as a cross functional leader across WhatsAppand Facebook teams”.

Besides, WhatsApp is also looking forCommunications Manager in India, who cancreate and implement a long-term communi-cations strategy for India to support the brandas well as the growth of the app amongst con-sumers and businesses.

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Mahindra Powerol, a unit ofthe Mahindra Group,

today forayed into the gasgenset vertical with the launchof a CNG/NG powered prod-uct priced at �9.5 lakh.

The company, which isalready selling diesel-poweredgensets, plans to sell the newrange through its own channelof 200 dealers across the coun-try.

“We are targeting telecom,retail, housing societies besidesrental segment. Operating costof our product is 45 per centless than a diesel genset and isenvironment friendly,”Mahindra Powerol and SparesBusiness President HemantSikka told PTI.

The 6-cylinder 125 kVAgas genset is the country’s firstCPCB-II (Central Pollution

Control Board Stage 2Emission Norms) approvedproduct, he claimed.

It is being produced at thecompany’s Chakan plant andhas a significantly lower noiselevel as compared to a dieselgenset, Mahindra Powerol said.

“It is not only a testimonyto Mahindra’s commitment toa greener future, but is alsointended to drive positivechange in the society,” Sikkasaid.

Speaking at the launch,Minister of State for HeavyIndustries Babul Supriyosaid:”It emits zero particulatematter and low noise, which is

great. In Delhi, where we facethe problem of air pollutionregularly, it is a great productto have.”

According to industry esti-mate, in New Delhi alone thereare around 50,000 diesel-rungensets, which are a majorcause of air pollution, especiallyduring winter.

The genset market in Indiais pegged at around 1.17 lakhunits per annum. In valueterms, it stands at around�6,400 crore. MahindraPowerol entered power gener-ation segment in 2001-02. Itgenerated revenue of �1,400crore in the last financial year.

����)���� � ��� ������!�������))�! �����!�B7B2�������� ��������� 7���<���� �� �=�� �� �!�� �����!�1=*�������

#0����0 ���4� �6�*'�E�$�0���� �� ������������1��+�+������� 2,"��,34�

German luxury car maker Audion Wednesday launched its sec-

ond generation Audi RS 5 Coupe inIndia priced at �1.1 crore.

The company is banking on thenew model to play a key role in itsimage building and enhance thepositioning as a young and sporty

brand, according to Audi India HeadRahil Ansari.

The model powered by a 2.9 litrepetrol engine is capable of acceler-ating from 0 to 100 km in just 3.9seconds and it has a top speed of 250km/h.

“We are not looking at volumesfor the RS 5 Coupe. Audi is perceivedas a young sporty brand and this

model will be a main contributor tothat image building,” Ansari told PTI.

The all new Audi RS5 Coupe hasthe performance of a sport scar,while providing comfort of a sedan,thus appealling to enthusiasts wholove driving, he added.

It bridges the gap for those cus-tomers who are practical and wantto own a luxury car with the per-

formance of a sports car, Ansarisaid.

The model will be imported asa completely built unit (CBU) fromGermany like other sports cars thatAudi sells in India.

“At present, volumes don’t justi-fy assembling them here in India,” hesaid.

When asked about plans for the

year, Ansari said 2018 is the year of‘Audi Progression’ and in line withthis, the company is renewing itssports car portfolio in India.

Audi India had reported 2 percent increase in its total sales at 7,876units in 2017 as against 7,720 unitsin the previous year. The completedten years of operations in India in2017.

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US President Donald Trumpsaid on Wednesday “mis-

siles will be coming” inresponse to an alleged chemi-cal attack in Syria, defyingRussian warnings against astrike. Upping the stakes in anescalating confrontation withMoscow, Trump took toTwitter in the strongest asser-tion yet that he plans to takemilitary action in Syria.

“Russia vows to shootdown any and all missiles firedat Syria. Get ready Russia,because they will be coming,nice and new and ‘smart!’ Youshouldn’t be partners with aGas Killing Animal who killshis people and enjoys it!”Trump wrote.

US-Russian relations are“worse now” than ever, “andthat includes the Cold War,”President Donald Trump wroteon Wednesday on Twitter.

Trump and other Westernleaders have vowed a quick andforceful response to Saturday’salleged gas attack, which rescueworkers say killed more than 40people in the rebel-heldDamascus suburb of Douma.

Efforts to find a diplomat-ic solution at the UN SecurityCouncil on Tuesday failed,with Washington and Moscowopposing each other’s rivalmotions to set up an interna-tional investigation into chem-ical weapons use.

Russia has meanwhiletaken to stronger and strongerwarnings.

“We would hope that allsides will avoid steps that inreality are not provoked by anything and that coulddestabilise the already fragile

situation in the region,”Kremlin spokesman DmitryPeskov said.

“The situation is tense,”Peskov said, adding that Russiais calling for an “unprejudicedand objective investigationbefore making judgements” on the suspected use of chem-ical weapons.

Russian Foreign Ministryspokeswoman MariaZakharova also insisted that “smart rockets should beaimed at terrorists, rather than the legitimateGovernment” of Syria.

Trump has said he plans tomake the Syrian regime ofBashar al-Assad, and perhapshis Russian and Iranian back-ers, pay a “big” price for the lat-est alleged toxic gas atrocity inthe war-wracked country.

The United States, Britainand France have argued theincident bears all the hall-marks of a strike ordered by theregime, which has been blamedfor previous attacks by theOrganisation for theProhibition of ChemicalWeapons (OPCW).

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An Algerian military planecarrying soldiers and their

families crashed soon aftertakeoff on Wednesday into afield in northern Algeria,killing 257 people in whatappeared to be the NorthAfrican nation’s the worst-everplane crash.

Algeria’s Defense Ministrysaid those killed included 247passengers and ten crew. The cause of the crash wasunclear and an investigationhas been opened.

Algerian authorities didnot mention whether therewere any survivors but one wit-ness reported seeing some peo-ple jump out of the aircraftbefore it crashed at 7.50 am onWednesday.

The flight had just taken offfrom the Boufarik militarybase, 30 kilometres southwestof the capital Algiers, for a mil-itary base in Bechar in south-west Algeria, according toFarouk Achour, the chief

spokesman for the civil pro-tection services. It was sched-uled to make a layover inTindouf in southern Algeria,home to many refugees fromthe neighbouring WesternSahara, a disputed territoryannexed by Morocco.

The Soviet-designed Il-76military transport planecrashed in a farm field with nopeople nearby, Achour said.

Algerian TV Dzair saidfive people were in a criticalstate but it’s unclear whetherthey were inside the planewhen it crashed.

Footage from the sceneshowed thick black smokecoming off the field, ambu-lances and Red Crescent vehi-cles arriving at the crash siteand body bags lined up in thefield.

Several witnesses toldAlgerian TV network Ennaharthey saw flames coming out ofone of the planes’ engines justbefore it took off. One farmersaid some passengers jumpedout of the aircraft before the

accident.“The plane started to rise

before falling,” an unidentifiedman lying on what seemed tobe a hospital bed told EnnaharTV. “The plane crashed on itswing first and caught fire.”

The victims’ bodies havebeen transported to theAlgerian army’s central hospi-tal for identification.

The prime minister’s officesaid lawmakers and officialsobserved a minute of silence asa tribute to the victims.

The Il-76 model has beenin production since 1970s andhas an overall good safetyrecord. It is widely used forboth commercial freight andmilitary transport. TheAlgerian military operates sev-eral of the planes.

It was the first crash of anAlgerian military plane sinceFebruary 2014, when a U.S.-built C-130 Hercules turbopropslammed into a mountain inAlgeria, killing at least 76 people and leaving just onesurvivor.

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Washington: Facebook CEOMark Zuckerberg began a two-day congressional inquisitionon Wednesday with a publicapology for a privacy scandalthat has roiled the social mediagiant he founded more than adecade ago.

Zuckerberg opened hisremarks before the SenateCommerce and Judiciary com-mittees by taking responsibil-ity for failing to preventCambridge Analytica, a data-mining firm affiliated withDonald Trump’s presidentialcampaign, from gathering per-sonal information from 87 mil-lion users to try to influenceelections.

Zuckerberg had apologisedmany times already, to usersand the public, but this was thefirst time in his career that hehad gone before Congress. Healso is to testify Wednesdaybefore the House Energy andCommerce Committee.

In the hearings,Zuckerberg is not only trying

to restore public trust in hiscompany but also to stave offfederal regulations that somelawmakers have floated.

In his opening statement tosenators, he also apologised forfake news, hate speech, a lackof data privacy and Russiansocial media interference in the2016 elections.

“We didn’t take a broadenough view of our responsi-bility, and that was a big mis-take,” he said. “It was my mis-

take, and I’m sorry. I startedFacebook, I run it, and I’mresponsible for what happenshere.” Separately, the companyalso began alerting users thattheir data was gathered byCambridge Analytica.

A notification that appearedon Facebook for some usersTuesday told them that “one ofyour friends” used Facebook tolog into a now-banned person-ality quiz app called “This IsYour Digital Life.”

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Like every other success story that begins witha dreamer who is unflinching in his commit-ment to single-minded pursuit, the protago-

nist of this tale got success, audience adulation andpraise, fame and money beyond imagination. Butwhat followed was the downfall that was the by-product of stardom, insecurities, competition andalcoholism. Comedian Kapil Sharma rescued thenation’s sense of humour and earned acult following, making him anetwork and Bollywoodfavourite. Perhaps that lenthim an air of invincibilityand arrogance, which result-ed in the mid-air brawl withone of his show’s pillars andcolleague Sunil Grover andcrumbled the very creativeteam who made him. Today,the same networks find him aliability because of thestale nature of hiswork, lack of profes-sionalism and no-shows for record-ings. He did try tomake amendsand attempted acomeback ofsorts with FamilyTime with Kapil.It struggled tocaptivate audi-ence attentionin its first fewepisodes and hasreportedly been sus-pended by the channelfor almost a month. Thereason behind it is thatKapil has been slippinginto depressive bouts andcancelling shoots everyweek. While detractorsare aplenty, even hisfriends like comedian KikuSharda are keeping a dis-tance saying everybodyshould just allow him somespace to bounce back.

�������Kapil’s initiation of pro-

fessional journey comedy-wise began with HasdeHasande Raho on MH 1, whenhe was only 24-years-old. Notmany people know that Kapilaudtioned for The Great IndianLaughter Challenge twice. In2007, he auditioned fromAmritsar and had to face rejec-tion from his own city. But hedidn’t feel dejected and head-ed off to Delhi to give it anoth-er try, where he finally gotselected. At 27, he came outas a winner of the showwith a prize money of �10lakhs in his pockets. With

the cash prize poured in recognitionfrom across the country. The comedi-an first turned host for Chote Miyaan,following it up with Ustaadon KeUstad. His singing prowess (touted tobe his first love) was on display on

Star Ya Rockstar,but he was not

so success-ful in get-ting the

votes and wassoon eliminated.

After which henever looked back, he found

himself sailing through Comedy Circus in sixseasons of the show (2008-2013). It was acompetitive environment with an array ofother comedians doing their best but it wasKapil who took the winning trophy homein each edition. He became a householdname. Interestingly, Kapil adopted hismaternal surname. He is the son of a house-wife and a Punjab Police head constable,

Jeethendra Kumar Punj, who fell victim tocancer in 2004.

Soon he got the offer to come up withComedy Nights with Kapil solo and the rest ishistory. The show debuted on June 22, 2013.The first half of it was focussed on sketch com-edy while the latter was a celebrity talk show.Everyone, from newbies to A-listers, werehappy to be part of the show. It made Kapilgrow beyond a stand-up comedian and becomea sought-after talk show host. But Kapil’s showwas also as much about Ali Asgar, Sunil Grover,Kiku Sharda, Sumona Chakravarti, UpasanaSingh and Navjot Singh Sidhu. He wasundoubtedly the binder. But since he was the

face and the brand, he happened to land the mostplum of assignments, be it as co-host of JhalakDikhhla Jaa and in 2015 co-host of the FilmfareAwards. The same year he made his film debut withKis Kis Ko Pyaar Karoon, which did a business ofover �50 crore.

As Kapil’s contract with a leading channel cameto a close following ego clashes, something thatwould result in ultimately collapsing his strengths,he found a new home at rival GEC with The KapilSharma Show on similar lines with a medley of skits,celeb interviews and a grand entry with dance num-bers. Celeb loyalists came to this show too. And whywouldn’t they? The TRPs were good like his previ-ous show and the producers saw it as a perfect oppor-tunity to market new shows and releases.

���5���Kapil Sharma’s downfall from being the high-

est paid comedian and celebrity on the small screencame as a sudden surprise to a lot of people but fewindividuals in the business predicted it beforehand.It is easy to garner success but maintaining it is noteverybody’s cup of tea. It takes a lot of emotionalsupport from family and friends to stay humble anddown to earth once you are immensely successful.

It all began when the actor had a fallout withColors TV channel due to major clashes and the last

episode of Comedy Nights With Kapil was aired inJanuary 2016. With reports of it surfacing on vari-ous portals, the comedian made a comeback with-in a few months on a rival channel with an opulentset titled, The Kapil Sharma Show. Though, it wasa big change and a risky move to change channelsbut since the format and the cast remained the same,the audience were undeterred. The old ensemble castincluding Sunil Grover, Kiku Sharda, SumonaChakravarti and Ali Asgar reinvented their charac-ters to add a new element in the show.

It was a rather smooth sail till things turnedworse when a public tiff took place in a flightbetween Kapil Sharma and Sunil Grover where alle-gations were made by the co-star that Kapil hadturned abusive and heaped insults in an alcohol-induced supremacist, egoistic state. The war of thecore team spilled out in the social media, with col-leagues warning he should not “act like a god” andSunil himself drifting apart, pitching himself forother shows. Other key cast members like Asgar andSugandha Mishra, who supported the comedianthrough the best of years, started to exit the show.With rumours and gossip mills churning out newsabout constant cancellations and non-renewal ofcontracts, the comedian hit bottom with his showgarnering low TRPS, resulting in murmurs of alco-holism and mental health issues. Though his loyalfanbase was waiting for the release of Firangi, he wasunable to bounce back to his earlier position andstatus.

A series of tweets where a journalist and thecomedian filed cases against each other, stoked freshspeculation. Now Preeti Simoes, creative director ofThe Kapil Sharma Show and Comedy Nights, whomKapil has accused of misrepresenting facts andwhom his friend says was ruining Kapil simplybecause he was no longer interested in a creativepartnership, has clarified that she wants him to getbetter physically and mentally.

For each individual, stardom has a different def-inition. Fame comes at a price that most people areunable to pay. Though with success comes a lot ofmoney and recognition, the constant criticism, audi-ence judgments, no privacy in your personal life andenemies ready to throw you off the cliff do make ithard to maintain sanity. Instant fame is an even trick-ier concept to handle. When you come from a hum-ble background and you are deluged with excess, youare not very discerning. In rare cases, a good friendcircle and family helps you but if you have lost sightof who you are, no one will have the time to helpyou. Sometimes, it is the ego that becomes ourbiggest enemy. In a competitive world of show busi-ness where each day, newer talent crops up, it isimportant to keep your friends, co-stars and mostimportantly your creatives close. They are the oneswho support you and help you when the going getshard. They protect you at every turn. But once youturn arrogant and feel that you are superior to every-body, it doesn’t take long to free-fall. Power is addic-tive and the high is unlike anything you would feelbut what many forget is, power is something thathas a short life-span. Most people who end up onthe dark side after attaining success are trapped intosubstance dependence to distract themselves frominternal turmoil. There’s hope for recovery yet pro-vided Kapil professionalises his public persona anddoes not expose his innermost self to the wild toss-up of social media.

Auctions are seeing an exponential growthin India and Sotheby’s is planning to unveil

sales with Boundless: Mumbai scheduled forDecember. Affirming its commitment toSouth Asia, it has established Mumbai as a newselling location.

Boundless: Mumbai will exhibit not onlyimportant works by South Asia’s greatestartists, but also artworks by western artistsinspired and influenced by the art, culture,geography and people of South Asia. An excit-ing array of art sourced from collections acrossthe sub-Continent and globally by a worldwideteam of specialists, it will present an opportu-nity for young and seasoned collectors toacquire museum-quality works from a varietyof categories such as modern and contempo-rary South Asian Art, Photography, Prints, andDesign.

Jan Prasens, Sotheby’s Managing Directorfor Europe, Middle East, Russia and India, “Inrecent years, we have witnessed both the ever-growing presence of Indian collectors inSotheby’s global auctions, and the developmentof an increasingly vibrant domestic Indian artmarket. Given these promising signs, and theprojected economic growth for India in thefuture, it is the right time for Sotheby’s to fur-ther expand the services we offer our clientsin the region, and to bring our auctions direct-ly to the doorstep of the many collectors wholive there.”

Edward Gibbs, Sotheby’s Chairman ofIndia and the Middle East said, “Indian col-lectors have long been important participantsin Sotheby’s auctions. This strong uptick ofsales is part of a global pattern of increased liq-uidity within the market but it is also reflec-tive of the flourishing arts scene on theground in India itself. These new auctions willprovide collectors in India with fresh and excit-ing opportunities, not currently offered by anyother auction house.”

One of Tyeb Mehta’s most importantworks, Durga Mahisasura Mardini has beenconfirmed to lead the sale. This seminal paint-ing was commissioned directly from the artistin 1993 and has remained in a private collec-tion since, appearing on the market for the firsttime later this year. It is among the most valu-able works of modern South Asian art ever tobe offered at auction. Two out of the three high-est prices for the artist have been set at auc-tion within the last year, attesting to thestrength of Tyeb Mehta’s market. His currentauction record stands at US$3.6 million.

Yamini Mehta, International Head ofIndian and South Asian Art at Sotheby’ssaid:,“One of the most important artists in thecountry and a leading figure in the history ofIndian modernism, Tyeb Mehta’s DurgaMahisasura Mardini is possibly the mostimportant work in the artist’s oeuvre. A sym-bol of victory of good over evil, this paintingcelebrates the spirit of India. It is one of most

provocative portrayals of goddess Durgadefeating the mythical buffalo demon,Mahisasura. The painting celebrates hope andrenewal instilled in Indian mythology andreconnects with Indian values. The obliqueallusion to the colours of the Indian flag makesit a brilliant and powerful ode to the spirit ofthe country. This painting is a prelude to theartist’s iconic Celebrations and Mahisasuraseries, making it amongst the artist’s most sig-nificant and rarest works.”

Gaurav Bhatia, Managing Director,Sotheby’s India said, “In the past five years, thenumber of Indians across all Sotheby’s global

sales has almost doubled. Indian clients havebought over $250 million of art over this peri-od. We have an increasingly growing base ofcollectors; in our most recent sales of Asian artin New York in March, 40% of buyers were newto Sotheby’s. It is only fitting that Mehta’s excep-tional work is offered as part of our inaugur-al Mumbai auction. It has been an absoluteprivilege to work with the owner of this sem-inal painting, and be able to bring it to sale forthe first time.”

(Inaugural auction to be held in Mumbaiin December, led by ‘Durga’, a seminal paint-ing by Tyeb Mehta)

Producer Karan Johar is set to launch two new faces inBollywood with Student Of The Year 2, the second install-

ment of his own 2012 directorial Student Of The Year. Young star Tiger Shroff plays the male lead in the new

film, Student Of The Year 2 and it is being directed by PunitMalhotra. The film went on the floors on April 9 and its shoot-ing is underway. It is produced by Karan Johar, Hiroo YashJohar and Apoorva Mehta under the film production bannerof Dharma Productions.

The cast was announced via the social media onWednesday. Karan, who is presenting the film under his homebanner Dharma Productions, individually introduced the threemain leads.

After introducing the “leader of the brat pack” Tiger, heintroduced the girls who are joining the “new class.” He intro-duced Tara with a poster in which she is seen wearing a pairof denim shorts and a matching jacket.The newcomer is excit-ed to begin a new innings.

“And suddenly you know it’s time to start something newand trust the magic of new beginnings! Firsts are always spe-cial, especially when you’re blessed enough to be a part of theDharma family. My journey begins... Student Of The Year 2,”Tara posted on her Instagram page.

Tiger also extended her a warm welcome by saying, “I’msure you are as excited as I am. See you in class!”

Moments later, the official Twitter page of DharmaProductions announced Ananya, daughter of actor ChunkyPanday, as the second lead for the film.

“And finally! Presenting Ananya — joining class of 2018at Saint Teresa. Welcome to the movies! SOTY 2,” read a cap-tion to a poster featuring Ananya in a red sporty crop top.

There has been a dramatic rise in the Instagram follow-ing of Ananya Panday ever since she was announced as oneof the female leads of Student Of The Year 2. The newbie had1901 people following her on the photo and video-sharing web-site when the announcement was made. Within four hours,she is now being followed by over 70,000 followers. Withina matter of hours, Ananya has gained a staggering 68,000 fol-lowers.

With Student Of The Year, Karan had introduced AliaBhatt, Varun Dhawan and Sidharth Malhotra, who havecemented their space in the film industry year after year witha slew of diverse projects.

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Visit Monaco successfullyconcluded the Monaco

Residential Conclave 2018amidst the serene surround-ings of Goa, recently. Monacohas been a top-end luxury des-tination with a commitmenttowards environmental-friendly living.

The Monaco GovernmentTourist Bureau, with thetheme, Green is the NewGlam, endeavoured to takemajor steps in green and sus-tainable practices, keeping theprime interest of Indian trav-ellers in consideration.

The two-day affair laidemphasis on sustainabletourism and responsible lux-ury as the core of its commu-nication, through, a panel dis-cussion on energy conserva-tion.

Moderated by JamalShaikh, national editor-Brunch and new media initia-tives at Hindustan Times,along with, actor and celebri-ty youth icon, Huma Qureshi

and Corinne Kiabski, pressand communication director,Monaco Government Touristand Convention Authority.

The conclave saw top-notch, industry influencers,travel enthusiasts, corporates,business heads, fashion influencers, wellness profes-sionals and distinguished deci-sion makers, from across thelength and breadth of thecountry.

They came came togetherfor exchanging views andopinions on green initiativesacross various industries.

Fashion Icon, AmitAggarwal, an association

created during the LakmeFashion Week, designed special canvas Moodboards,for the Monaco ResidentialConclave.

The artworks depictedAmit’s inspiration from thecar vings and motifs ofMonaco’s Architecture as wellas the Mediterranean colourswith hues of re-cycled

fashion, imbibed. Along with this, various

interesting workshops, presentations, fun and engag-ing activities, were customised,so as to educate and refreshthe bond, that they share withDestination Monaco.

The informative sessionswere synced by a holistic mindand soul workshop by wellnessexpert, healer and clinicalhypnotherapist, Vesna Jacob.

Rajeev Nangia, Indiadirector, Monaco GovernmentTourist Bureau, said, “Monaco,has been the epitome of luxury and has always attract-ed the crème de la crème ofsociety from across the globe.We do understand that luxu-ry also comes with a respon-sibility. Thus, Monaco hasadopted this theme and con-sciously growing towardsindustrial sustainability with acommitment of value beyondbusiness, in the light of greeninitiatives and turning to eco-friendly practices.”

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Professor Dinesh Singh,former Vice-Chancellor, Delhi

University stressed on mak-ing India a knowledge econ-omy, changing people’s ideol-ogy and developing alertnessamong citizens for the over-all development of the nation.

Prof CB Sharma, thechief trustee of the ShantiUpendra Foundation forDevelopment Initiatives(SUFDI), a trust created in2010 for extending educationto those who have beendeprived of it. The attemptwas also to improve the qual-ity of education through dif-ferent initiatives. The aim ofthe trust is to establish acad-emic institutions, conductresearch and also undertakeextension activities. The trustis attempting to emerge as athink tank in the area of edu-cation besides advising gov-ernments on policy issues.The trust also awardsSushamajay Scholarship togirls who have lost their par-ents and are likely to discon-tinue their studies. Every yeartwo to three girls from theVidya Mandir Vidyalaya,Belwari (Meghalaya) areawarded scholarship whichalso includes hostel and othercharges for continuing theirstudies. For this, an amountof �1 lakh every year is donat-ed by Aparna Sharma, daugh-ter of Late Ajay Kumar andSushma Sharma of Manjhaul,Dist Begusarai (Bihar) andgrand-daughter of Upendraand Shanti Sharma.

The trust organises amemorial lecture every year

in the memory of ShantiSharma, wife of late UpendraSharma, the founder of thetrust. Various eminent educa-tionist have delivered lec-tures on this occasion viz.Prof Naresh Dadhich, ViceChancellor, Kota OpenUniversity ; PA Sangma,Former Speaker, Lok Sabha;Prof Sanjeev Sharma, profes-sor, Chaudhary Charan SinghUniversity, Meerut; DrKrishna Gopal, joint generalsecretary, Rashtriya SevakSangh. This year, the 5thShanti Sharma memorial lec-ture has been delivered byProfessor Dinesh Singh, for-mer Vice-Chancellor, DelhiUniversity.

Professor Singh statedthat the memorial lecture is

organised in the memory of‘a mother’ and India is moth-er to all of us so the lecture isdedicated to Shanti Sharmaand “Bharat Maa”. He spokeon the topic India as a knowl-edge economy: need of thehour and mentioned thatthrough this lecture perhapsthere would be some changein our thinking and under-

standing.He stressed on making

India a knowledge economywhich would result in thedevelopment of the country.The ideology of people needsto be changed for India tobecome a developed country.He emphasised that the Indianeeds to be more alert andaware to get rid of lacunae inthe system. He emphasisedon philosophy of Mimansawhich means that knowledgewithout action is meaninglessand thus we have to evaluateourselves. He reiterated thatthe knowledge system shouldbe holistic and trans discipli-nary and based on a hands-on application theory con-nected to the needs and chal-lenges of India. There is a need

to improve our system, espe-cially the one related to educa-tion, for the benefit of oureconomy. Indians have torecognise the power given tous by the Supreme Beingwhich can do wonders for thenation, if done with goodintention. Indians have anample sources of knowledgerooted in ancient India.Whether it is navigation,astronomy or astrology or sci-ence we can draw upon thoseto develop further. The proofof it lies in the fact that theIndian society and civilisationwas regarded as the best dur-ing ancient times too. So muchso, foreigners used to visit theIndian subcontinent to studyin reputed Indian universities.

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� �������������������B���+��) �� ���������+��! � ����� ��� �����������! ����� ��������������������������� ������������ ����� ���C���

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GAIL (India) Limited’s movement against air pollution — Hawa Badlo has launched an initiative wherein it will motivatethe masses to take a pledge change your habit, change your habitat. Hawa Badlo movement will reach various colleges/cor-

porate offices and fuel pump in three cities — Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore where they will educate people about the per-ils of air pollution in life and what all measures can be taken to improve the air quality. This is in line with Swachh BharatAbhiyaan and by pledging Indian’s will be asked to take measures for Swachh air .

Hawa Badlo movement’s main objective is to create awareness about the consequences of environmental contaminationcaused by human activity. It motivates the masses to inculcate friendly habits such as switching to CNG/electric vehicles,carpooling, and use of public transport. As individuals, there are multiple things one can do to save our planet, our environ-ment and, indeed ourselves.

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The calmness of MahendraSingh Dhoni is conta-

gious, feels Chennai SuperKings' new hero Sam Billings,who was happy to have hisskipper by his side duringtheir successful chase in ahigh-scoring IPL encounteragainst Kolkata Knight Riders.

Billings smashed 56 off 23balls as Chennai Super Kingschased down a stiff target of203 in their victorious home-coming. It was Billings' firstchance to bat alongside Dhoniand their half-century part-nership did go a long way inclinching a win for the team.

"It's about being com-posed and there's not a betterperson to have at the creasethan Dhoni," Billings said atthe post-match press confer-ence.

"He (Dhoni) is so com-posed and calm. It's impossi-ble for it not to kind of rub onto you. It was about buildinga partnership together,"Billings' admiration for theformer India captain was quiteevident.

"I know it's a cliche but inT20 cricket, on an absolutebelter, you can take time. Youare in not in so much of a rushall the time. Actually youhave got an opportunity to getyourself in, run hard and getones and twos," Billingsassessed his knock.

About what Dhoni saidduring the partnership, theKent cricketer, said he did notreally say much and it was amatter of running hard inorder to minimize the dotballs. "He didn't really say toomuch. It was a matter of run-ning hard and minimizingthe dot balls. He's very fastbetween the wickets and that'sa key part especially againstquality spin, it's a matter ofrotating strike, not lettingthem settle so that was a hugepart."

Dhoni's finishing skills inlimited overs cricket madehim the cricketer that he isand Billings wants to emulatehis idol.

"Once you get in and arebusy, you pick up these

boundaries and sixes as well.We know how much powerwe have got throughout theside. It's just a matter of play-ing pretty smart. And in hiswhole career, he's just playedit very smart and just finishedoff more games than anyoneelse,"Bil l ings, who wasdropped early in his inningsby Robin Uthappa, said.

It was first match for CSKat the Chepauk after servingtwo-year suspension for spot-fixing during the 2013 IPL.The match did mean a lot tothe fans accepted Billings.

"It means a lot to me butalso to the team. But probablyit means more to the fans whohaven't had cricket here forthe last two years," Billingssaid.

"We saw the passion ofour fans during practice ses-sions. We had 10,000 peoplerock up for a practice game. Itshows how much it means topeople in this part of theworld."

KKR all-rounder AndreRussell tried to rationalisethe defeat despite a big totalposted by the team, courtesyan incredible 36-ball-88.

"To be honest, I haveplayed a lot of T20 games. Ihave seen teams lose afterscoring 180 or 200 runs.Wejust have to learn from this.And take it another step like'make sure we nail our york-ers'," Russell said.

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The variety in SunrisersHyderabad's bowling attackwill pose a few tricky questions

for Mumbai Indians, when the twoteams square off in an IndianPremier League encounter, here onThursday.

The two teams met with con-trasting fortunes in their openinggames. While Sunrisers hardly brokesweat during their emphatic nine-wicket victory over Rajasthan Royals,Mumbai Indians lost a humdinger toChennai Super Kings in the tourna-ment opener.

Sunrisers is believed to have themost diverse bowling attack in thecompetit ion. They haveBhuvneshwar Kumar with his superbskill sets of seam and swing, BillyStanlake for raw pace and SiddarthKaul to hit the deck.

Add to it Rashid Khan's fast leg-breaks and googlies are still a mys-tery for most batsmen while ShakibAl Hasan with his orthodox left-armspin is miserly on most days.

Mumbai Indians on the other-hand is filled with a galaxy of starsand are often known to be slowstarters in a marathon tournament.Skipper Rohit Sharma would beexpecting a better effort from hisbatsmen as 165 on a good battingtrack wasn't par for the course.

Evin Lewis, who has twoTwenty20 hundreds against India,skipper himself and the explosiveKieron Pollard would like to showtheir big-hitt ing prowess onThursday.

For Mumbai Indians, the biggestgain from the opening game wasyoung leg-spinner Mayank

Markande's performance on hisIndian Premier League debut as heaccounted for Ambati Rayudu andMS Dhoni.

"He (Markande) has got greatcontrol of whatever he does, so, Ithink going forward he will be a greatweapon for us," MI Captain RohitSharma had said recently.

While googly is his stock ball, itwill be interesting to figure how wellMarkande can bowl his leg-breaks.

Mumbai's another concern will

be their death bowling as JaspritBumrah, Mustafizur Rahaman andMitchell McLenaghan all missedtheir length with Dwayne Bravogoing on a rampage during theother night at Wankhede.

Hardik Pandya played his heartout but his ankle injury could be acause of worry for skipper Rohit.

For Sunrisers, it was a good startunder new skipper Kane Williamson,who didn';t look out of place afterDavid Warner's suspension from

the league due to ball tamperingcharges.

Shikhar Dhawan's blazing formhas continued, which is the biggestshot in the arm for the 'OrangeArmy' apart from a bowling attackthat looks potent on any surface.

�71���SUNRISERS HYDERABAD: KaneWilliamson (C ), Shikhar Dhawan,Manish Pandey, BhuvneshwarKumar, Wriddhiman Saha,

Siddharth Kaul, Deepak Hooda,Khaleel Ahmed, Sandeep Sharma,Yusuf Pathan, Shreevats Goswami,Ricky Bhui, Basil Thampi, TNatarajan, Sachin Baby, BipulSharma, Mehdi Hasan, TanmayAgar wal, Alex Hales, CarlosBrathwaite, Rashid Khan, ShakibAl Hasan, Mohammad Nabi, ChrisJordan and Billy Stanlake.MUMBAI INDIANS: RohitSharma(c), Jasprit Bumrah, HardikPandya, Kieron Pollard, MustafizurRahman, Pat Cummins, SuryakumarYadav, Krunal Pandya, Ishan Kishan,Rahul Chahar, Evin Lewis, SaurabhTiwary, Ben Cutting, PradeepSangwan, Jean-Paul Duminy,Tajinder Singh, Sharad Lumba,Siddhesh Lad, Aditya Tare, MayankMarkande, Akila Dananjaya, AnukulRoy, Mohsin Khan, MD Nidheesh,Mitchell McClenaghan.

�5��� �F�2,F

Glenn Maxwell says theAustralian team felt Steve

Smith, David Warner andCameron Bancroft were treatedlike criminals during the ball-tam-pering scandal in South Africa,and the ordeal left them shell-shocked.

Maxwell, who was one of threeplayers rushed out to join the tourbefore the f inal Test inJohannesburg after the trio weresent home, said it had beenextremely hard for the youngsquad to witness what happenedto their teammates.

It was particularly tough forthem to watch the televised emo-tional apologies from Smith andBancroft on arrival in Australia,and chaotic scenes when Smithwas booed and called a cheatwhile being escorted throughJohannesburg airport.

"I think the way they saw it, it

was obviously beaten up a fair bitand they've seen a couple of theirmates treated like criminals," hetold Melbourne's Radio SENtoday.

"That is a hard thing for youto watch as a teammate, and towhat they went through, especiallySteve Smith at the airport, that wasa hard thing for everyone towatch.

"To then try and get yourselfready for a game of cricket a daylater was extremely difficult, andI certainly didn't envy their posi-tion at all. It was an extremelytough time for that whole playinggroup." The fallout had a bigeffect on the team as they slumpedto a 492-run defeat in the finalTest.

All-rounder Maxwell arrivedalong with opening batsmen MattRenshaw and Joe Burns as thereplacements and he thought hemight be able to provide someenergy and be a positive influence

around the team.But he admitted it had been

harder than he imagined."I had thoughts of what it

could be like, and I hoped I

could've provided something dif-ferent for the group when I gotover there, whether it be energy,or just a happy face around thegroup to try and cheer them up,"he said.

"The enormity struck me atthe end of the Test match whenBoof (coach Darren Lehmann)had his goodbye speech and spokeabout a few players in the groupthat he hoped could lead thegroup going forward.

"I think that's when it all hitme and how hard it was for thisyoung group." A tearful Lehmannquit in the wake of the scandal,staying on only for the fourth andlast Test before departing.

His decision followed 12-month bans given to then captainSmith and his deputy Warner forthe roles they played in the plot tocheat during the third Test in CapeTown.

Bancroft was banned for ninemonths for his part in the affair.

���� 2,"��,34�

The ICC has constituted athree-member dispute res-

olution committee to look intoPakistan Cricket Board's (PCB)$60 million compensation claimagainst the BCCI for not hon-ouring the Memorandum ofUnderstanding (MoU), whichrequired the two countries toplay five bilateral series in aneight year cycle between 2015-2023.

The hearing will take placeat the ICC headquarters inDubai from October 1-3.

PCB had appealed to ICC'sDispute Resolution Committee,accusing the BCCI of not hon-ouring the Future Tours &Programme (FTP) commit-ment, which also required themto play at least two away seriesagainst Pakistan on a neutralvenue like the UAE.

"The International Cricket

Council today confirmed thatthe Hon Michael Beloff QC willchair the Dispute Panel in thematter of proceedings betweenthe Pakistan Cricket Board andthe Board of Control for Cricketin India," ICC stated in a release.

"The two other members ofthe panel, which has been estab-lished under the Terms ofReference of the ICC DisputesResolution Committee, are JanPaulsson and Dr AnabelleBenett AO, SC," it further said.

The world cricket's govern-ing body also made it clear thatdecision of the Dispute Panelshall be non-appealable.

"The hearing will take placeas per article 10.4 of the Termsof Reference of the ICC DisputesResolution Committee, the deci-sion of the Dispute Panel shallbe non-appealable and shallremain the full and final deci-sion in relation to the matter andbinding on all parties."

���� )?B,

Edin Dzeko surprised a lot of peoplewhen he turned down a lucrative offer

from Premier League champion Chelseain January to stay with Roma.

Pledging his allegiance for Romathen, Dzeko declared that he was deter-mined to accomplish something impor-tant with the Italian club.

Consider his desire realized.Dzeko's sheer will and brute force

were the primary reasons behind Roma'sshocking elimination of Barcelona in theChampions League quarterfinals.

The Bosnia and Herzegovina strik-er scored two goals and drew a penalty

to set up another over the two legs asRoma clawed back from a three-goaldeficit to advance to the semifinals.

"I stayed with Roma to experiencematches like these. I'm happy to be with

Roma and I think the club should be,too," Dzeko said after Roma's 3-0 win onTuesday overturned a 4-1 first-leg defeat.

"I turned down a lot of money by notgoing to Chelsea but that's not whatI'm interested in. If we play like thiswe can play with anyone. I'venever seen Barcelona in so muchdifficulty."

Roma suffocated Barcelonawith high pressure, prompting theCatalan giants and La Liga leaders tomake a series of errant passes andturnovers. Barcelona had no answer forthe aerial abilities of Dzeko and fellowforward Patrik Schick, who was the rev-elation of the night.

�5���B-2�4,��,)

Manchester City manager PepGuardiola blasted Spanish referee

Antonio Mateu Lahoz for a number of deci-sions that cost his side dear after a 2-1

home defeat by Liverpool sealed a 5-1 aggregate Champions Leaguequarter-final win for the five-timeEuropean champions.

Guardiola was forced to watchthe second half from the stands after

being sent off for his protests at the breakas City's dreams of conquering theChampions League for the first time weredashed for another season.

City led 1-0 on the night at that stageafter Gabriel Jesus's second-minute open-

er, but the hosts felt aggrieved after LeroySane had a second goal wrongly disallowed.

"It's different to go in 1-0 at half-timeto 2-0," said Guardiola, who also believedLiverpool's opener in a 3-0 first-leg win atAnfield last week should have been ruledout for offside.

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were 153 for 5in the 18thover whenrain stopped play in their IndianPremier League match againstDelhi Daredevils here onWednesday night.

Rahul Tripathi was batting on15 and K Gowtham on two whencovers were called in.

As a result, the overs werereduced and Delhi need 71 runsin six overs, with a two-overPowerplay in place.

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Shreyasi Singh shot her way to acareer-best Gold medal in thewomen's double trap while there was

a Bronze each for Om Mitharval andAnkur Mittal, as Indian shooters extend-ed their domination in the 21stCommonwealth Games hereon Wednesday.

Shreyasi aggregated 96 in thefinals, same as Emma Cox, butprevailed over the Australian in ashoot-off by striking down both birds

even as the Indian's opponent missedthe target in her second attempt.

Harvard University studentVarsha Varman finished fourthwith 86, narrowly missing out

on a bronze to Scotland's LindaPearson, who shot 87.

Om Prakash Mitharvalsettled for the bronzemedal in the men's 50m

pistol event with 201.1 butthe fancied Jitu Rai fin-ished a disappointing 8thwith 105.0.

Ankur Mittal added tothe medal rush by win-ning a bronze in themen's double trap eventeven as MohammedAsab (43) f inishedfourth, a climbdownfrom the bronze hewon in Glasgow fouryears ago.

Mittal f inishedthird on the podiumafter scoring 53 in thefinals at the BelmontShooting Centre.

In the women'sdouble trap, the

2 6 - ye ar- o l dShreyasi shotrounds of 2425 22 and 25and the two

shooters f in-ished with identical scores of 96 fromtheir 120 shots in four rounds.

A Delhi University graduate,Shreyasi held her nerve in the shoot-offto have the last laugh and improve on

her silver-winning showing at theGlasgow Games four years ago.

Cox missed 12 of her 30 shots in thefourth round after placing herself in thegold medal position.

Shreyasi was in the second position

while Varsha was third after three rounds.In the last round, Shreyasi shot thehighest of all competitors (25) to confirmherself a silver .

In a dramatic final round, Shreyasiwas among the first batch of shooters and

her score of 96 meant that Emma, whowas in the second batch, needed 19 outof 30 to win gold.

Having hit 23, 28 and 27 in the pre-vious three rounds, Shreyasi looked des-tined for a lesser medal. But as it hap-pened, wind conditions changed, itbecame cloudy and Emma shot 18 to tiewith Shreyasi at the top.

"I'm feeling really well. In 2014, I wonthe silver and I was really upset that Icouldn't win the gold but now, also I wastrailing, but when I got the opportunityto fight more and fight harder in the shootoff, I was really happy about that, and Igave my 100 per cent," Shreyasi said.

In the men's 50m pistol, both Jitu,who won gold two days earlier in the 10mair pistol and Om Prakash Mitharval,bronze winner in the same event, quali-fied for the eight-man final.

However, while Om Prakash repeat-ed his performance to notch up his sec-ond bronze of the Games, Jitu finishedeighth with a score of 105 and was the firstto be eliminated at the 12th shot mark.

Om Prakash had earlier topped qual-ification with a score of 549 out of 600while Jitu had qualified sixth with 542.

Australian Daniel Repacholi wongold in the event with a finals score of227.2, a Games record while Bangladesh'sShakil Ahmed bagged silver with 220.5.

In day's last shooting final, Mittal shot53 out of 60 to go out in third place whileAsab shot 43 out of the first 50 targets.

Scotland's David McMath finishedwith 74 for another Games record to beatTim Kneale of Isle of Man who managed70, for gold.

Mittal and Tim were tied at 53, butthe Indian had to settle for bronzebecause Tim had qualified for the finalwith a higher qualification ranking.

Shreyasi, whose grandfather andfather served in the National RifleAssociation of India (NRAI) as its pres-ident, represented the country in twoevents at the 2010 Delhi CommonwealthGames Delhi but failed to win a singlemedal.

The Delhi-born Shreyasi won theindividual silver medal in double trap inGlasgow and followed that by winning abronze medal at the 2014 Asian Gamesin Incheon.

���� �?3���?-��

The indomitable M C Mary Kom(48kg) stormed into the finals and

was on course to deliver India's maid-en Commonwealth Games gold inwomen's boxing, while Vikas Krishan(75kg) along with two others entered themen's semifinals, here on Wednesday.

Five-time world champion andOlympic bronze-medallist Mary Komdefeated a defensive Anusha DilrukshiKoddithuwakku of Sri Lanka 5-0 to make the summit clash inher debut appearance at theGames.

Among the men, thedebutant duo of GauravSolanki (52kg) and ManishKaushik (60kg), worldbronze-medallist Vikas made the semi-finals to be assured of medals.

This takes the total number ofmale boxers in medal rounds to eight,a 100 per cent success rate in the eventand one more in numbers compared totheir best ever show at 2010 CWG.

"It was difficult in the sense that thisgirl would just not come to me. I hadto be careful because she was perhapswaiting for me to let my guard down,"Mary Kom said after the bout.

It was a battle of veteransbetween the 35-year-old Indian andthe 39-year-old Koddithuwakku.

Mary Kom, also a sittingRajya Sabha MP in India, pre-vailed in a rather dull contestwhere clean punches were fewand far.

Despite the height advan-tage Koddithuwak struggledto connect for most part. Shepicked up pace in the final threeminutes but Mary Kom drewfrom her own wealth of expe-rience to thwart her.

The Olympic bronze-medallist Indian will squareoff against NorthernIreland's Kristina O'Hara inthe final. O'Hara, a carer ata nursing home in hercountry, defeated 19-year-old New ZealanderTasmyn Benny in the semi-finals.

However, anotherIndian veteran L SaritaDevi (60kg) failed tosecure a medal after goingdown to Australia's AnjaStridsman.

The former world

and Asian champion Indian found thecrowd favourite's power difficult tohandle and was also troubled by herill-fitting head guard.

"It was distracting and I thinkthis other girl was very good. I could

not handle the power of her punch-es. Besides, home turf alwaysbrings out the best in you,which was the case with hertoday," said the gracious-in-defeat boxer from Manipur.

In the men's draw, Armyboxer Solanki dodged a tricky

opponent in Papua New Guinea'sCharles Keama in his quarterfinalbout.

The 21-year-old managed toevade several attempts at head-buttsby his rival in a bout he eventuallyclaimed 5-0.

"It was a risky fight. He was try-ing to hit me but I think my reflexes

were very sharp so I managed to out-wit him," he said.

Joining him in the semifinals wasVikas, a former Asian Games gold-medallist, with a power-packed perfor-mance against Zambia's Benny Muziyo.Vikas, who claimed a gold at theSrandja Memorial, pummelled his rivalwith sharp right hooks.

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Agold rush is anticipated when India'sstar-studded wrestling line-up

begins its campaign at theCommonwealth Games, the opening actfeaturing no less than defending cham-pion and double-Olympic medallistSushil Kumar (74kg) here on Thursday.

The wrestlers will be in action at thesame venue, where the weightlifterssigned off a phenomenalcampaign on April 9.

Five gold, two silver andtwo bronze medals is whatthey departed with onWednesday and the grap-plers would be hoping thatthey don't just match thatbut perhaps better theshow.

"Everybody expects us to win goldmedals in a heap and I can assure youthat, this is exactly what is going to hap-pen," India coach Kuldeep Singh saidafter a training session here.

"Tomorrow, our top pehelwan Sushilwill compete. He is in supreme fitnessand you will see how he dismantles com-petition," Singh said.

Sushil's build-up to the Games hasbeen far from ideal as he found himselfdragged into a selection controversy,

when his supportersand those of his rivalParveen Rana came toblows during the trials.

It would be interesting how Sushilresponds to the pre-event pressure.

Joining Sushil in India's opening daycampaigners among men is RahulAware. The 57kg category freestylewrestler is a former gold-medallist at theCommonwealth Championships.

His coach's confidence is not com-pletely off the mark given India's dom-inance at the Commonwealth level.The only challenge is expected to comefrom Canada and Nigeria, the latter inthe women's draw.

India had claimed 13 medals, fivegold, six silver and two bronze at the2014 Games, just one shy of top-finish-ers Canada.

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Varun Kumar and MandeepSingh struck in dying min-

utes of the game as the Indianmen's hockey team pulled off athrilling 4-3 win over Englandto top Pool B in theCommonwealth Games hereon Wednesday.

It was Varun Kumar (59’)who scored the 3-3 equaliserthrough a well-struck penaltycorner before Mandeep Singh(60') scored the winner.

Rupinder Pal Singh (51')and Manpreet Singh (33') werethe other goal scorers for Indiawhile David Condon (17'),Liam Ansell (52') and SamWard (56') struck for England.

India will nowtake on NewZealand while England willface defending championsAustralia in the semifinals.

It was Manpreet's fiercestrike from the midfield thatfound a deflection offMandeep's stick and ensured asensational win for India.

Talking about the semifinalagainst New Zealand, coachSjoerd Marijne said: "I want theteam to keep up this winningmomentum. New Zealand area good team, they did well

against Australia and I want ourboys to soak up this energyfrom this match againstEngland and focus on the semi-final."

It was a tussle to the topspot in Pool B and both Indiaand England lived up to thebilling with entertaining hock-ey, pushing each other hooter-to-hooter.

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Aconfident Indian women'shockey team will face a

daunting task in their semi-final match of CommonwealthGames as they play World No5 and hosts Australia here atthe Gold Coast Hockey Centreon Thursday.

India qualified for thesemi-finals by securing threeconsecutive victories in PoolA. After having lost toWales 2-3 in the open-ing match of theircampaign, the Indianteam showed their char-acter as they made an impres-sive comeback to finish secondin their Pool, defeatingMalaysia, World No 2 Englandand South Africa. The threewins made sure that Indiaqualified for the semi-finals by

accumulating nine points fromtheir four matches, onlybehind England on goal differ-ence.

Captain Rani, who scoredthe only goal in her team's 1-0 victory South Africa in theirlast Pool A match, praised herteam's performances at theCWG. The 23-year-old said,"We had a tough start to thetournament here but the girlsdecided to work hard on theerrors that we made in ouropening match. We made surethat we were not making thesame mistakes, and with thekind of attacking talent that wehave in our team, we werealways confident that we candefeat any team in the world."

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Fit-again top seed PV Sindhuled the charge as Indian

shuttlers made short work oftheir respective rivals to enterpre-quarterfinals of the singlescompetition in theCommonwealth Games hereon Wednesday.

Sindhu, who satout of the gold-win-ning team campaignbecause of an ankleinjury, took just 18minutes to oust Fiji's AndraWhiteside 21-6, 21-3 in her firstmatch of the competition.

"It has been pretty easytoday. I hope that it continuestomorrow. I am better andtotally fine, so it is really excit-ing," she said and thanked thecrowd for making her feel athome in a foreign land with its

vociferous support.Second seed Saina Nehwal,

despite being exhausted consid-erably due to playing the entireteam event, also took a mere 18minutes to dispatch Elsie deVilliers of South Africa 21-3,21-1 in the round of 32 at theCarrara Sport and Leisure

Centre.The Olympic bronze-

medallist was as sharp as she isat her best and showed no hintof exhaustion during thematch.

"It has been a long week. Ijust want to be focused andenjoy the tournament. Theplus point is I have been play-ing on this court. When youplay somewhere for a week ortwo you get used to the condi-tions, so I think that is whathappened," she said.

Ruthivika Gadde tooensured that she wrapped upher match 18 minutes, sendingGhana's Grace Atipaka out ofthe competition with a 21-5,21-7 triumph.

In the men's draw, KSrikanth was also quite clinicalas he got past Mauritian AatishLubah 21-13, 21-10.

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GOLD COAST: Defending championsDipikal Pallikal and Joshna Chinappaadvanced to the women's doubles quar-terfinals at the Commonwealth Gameshere on Wednesday.

Chinappa and Pallikal outclassedMalta's Dianne Kellas and ColetteSultana winning the tie in straightgames 11-5, 11-6.

Pallikal and Chinappa topped thegroup by wining all three games.

In the mixed doubles draw,Chinappa and Harinder Pal Sandhusailed past the Scottish pair of LisaAitken and Kevin Moran 11-10 ,11-8.

In the men's doubles, the 11thseeded duo of Vikram Malhotra andRamit Tandon caused an upset beatingthe higher seeded Welsh pairing of PeterCreed and Joel Makin 11-7, 8-11, 11-10.

In table tennis, India's top paddler

Sharath Kamal survived a mighty scareagainst World No 488 Javen Choong ofMalyaisa, scraping through 4-3 in themen's singles round of 32.

Sharath, who won the singles goldin the 2006 Melbourne edition, lost themomentum after winning the first threegames. However, the World No 48 didjust enough to outlast Choong 11-2, 11-5, 11-4, 7-11, 11-13, 6-11, 11-7.

Also advanced in the singles drawwas his doubles partner G Sathiyan. TheWorld No. 46 beat Muhammad Rameezof Pakistan 11-5, 11-3, 11-5, 11-3.

In the women's singles, Mouma Dasbeat Elodie Ho Wan Kau of Mauritius11-6, 11-1, 11-8, 11-7 and MadhurikaPatkar overcame Trinidad and Tobago'sRheann Chung 11-7, 14-12, 11-9, 11-2,11-9 to advance to the round of 16.

PTI

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