@TheDailyPioneer facebook.com/dailypioneerFollow us on:

VIJAYAWADA 9CLIMATE CRISIS:

IS IT ALREADY TOO LATE?

ANALYSIS 7UNIVERSITYFOR COPS

SPORTS 12BUMRAH OUT OF SA TESTS

VIJAYAWADA, WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 25, 2019; PAGES 12 `3

www.dailypioneer.com

RNI No. APENG/2018/764698

Established 1864Published From

VIJAYAWADA DELHI LUCKNOW BHOPALRAIPUR CHANDIGARH BHUBANESWAR

RANCHI DEHRADUNHYDERABAD

*Late City Vol. 1 Issue 330*Air Surcharge Extra if Applicable

}NOW I AM‘GODARAMMA’

FOR EVERYONE:POOJA HEGDE

Page 11{

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

The Andhra Pradesh HighCourt on Tuesday dismissedthe argument of power com-panies that the State govern-ment cannot review the PowerPurchase Agreements (PPAs).It upheld the government'scontention that review of thePPAs should be done in thepresence of the AndhraPradesh Electricity RegulatoryCommission (APERC).

The High Court directed thegovernment and power com-panies to put forth their argu-ments before APERC, and stat-ed that it cannot confirm thedecisions taken by theCommission. It asked theAPERC to settle the issueswithin six months and agreedwith the argument of the gov-ernment for interim paymentat Rs 2.43 to Rs 2.44 per unit.

The High Court also ruledthat the government can issuenotices as per law to powercompanies and stop powergeneration. Meanwhile,Minister for Power BalineniSrinivasa Reddy lambasted

Chandrababu Naidu on theHigh Court verdict over PPAs."As per our request, the HighCourt has handed over PPAprice review matter toAPERC," he said.

The High Court has over-turned the argument of com-panies and clearly stated thatthe price can be reviewed, hesaid in a press release.

"All our efforts are meantfor the public. Chief MinisterYS Jaganmohan Reddy is try-ing his best to set right theElectricity department that has

lost its credibility during theprevious government," he said.

He further said,"Corruption-free and trans-parent governance to the pub-lic is the major goal of ChiefMinister YS JaganmohanReddy." As part of it, the ChiefMinister has decided to reviewthe PPA price.

"Some companies have syn-dicated and made the agree-ment at higher cost. The PPAprice review will be conduct-ed only on such company'sagreement," he added.

The TDP has reached anagreement with some mediahouses to promote its false pro-paganda against the govern-ment, he alleged. Reddy, talk-ing on behalf of the public, saidthat the low cost of electricitydevelops industry sector. "It isbecause of ChandrababuNaidu's corrupt governmentthat the Electricity depart-ment is yet to get Rs 20,000crore dues," he added.

HC asks govt, power firms toapproach APERC over PPAsHC asks govt, power firms toapproach APERC over PPAs

l The High Court hasasked the APERC tosettle the issues withinsix months and agreedwith the argument ofthe govt for interimpayment at Rs 2.43 toRs 2.44 per unit

l The High Court alsoruled that thegovernment can issuenotices as per law topower companies andstop power generation

PNS n HYDERABAD

Minister for MunicipalAdministration and UrbanDevelopment BotsaSatyanarayana on Tuesdayappeared in a special CentralBureau of Investigation (CBI)court as a witness in the 14-year-old Volkswagen case.

The minister appeared inresponse to the summonsissued in August.Satyanarayana is likely torecord his statement as the60th witness in the case.

He was Industry Ministerin the YS Rajasekhara Reddygovernment in undividedAndhra Pradesh in 2005when the scandal had sur-faced. The State governmenthad allegedly paid Rs 11.67crore to Vashishta WahanPrivate Limited floated forsetting up of a Volkswagenmanufacturing unit inVisakhapatnam.

Vashishta Wahan, however,turned out to be a fictitiousentity. The scam came tolight in 2005 whenVolkswagen sacked its thenhead of Indian operationsHelmut Schuster on chargesof corruption in some otherdealings. Schuster was nego-tiating on behalf ofVolkswagen with the AndhraPradesh government for set-ting up of the car plant.

Following allegations bythe opposit ion thatSatyanarayana and some oth-ers had paid the money toVashistha Wahan through"dubious" means, the Stategovernment ordered theprobe by the CBI.

The CBI in 2010 filed achargesheet against sixaccused, including Schuster.They were charged with crim-inal conspiracy and cheating.However, Satyanarayana wasincluded as a witness in thecase.

The other accused includebusinessman Jagdish Alaga

Raja and his sister GayatriChandravadanan, AshokKumar Jain, Bhuwan KumarChaturvedi and Joseph VGeorge. They allegedly col-luded with Schuster in float-ing Vashishta Wahan.

In 2015, the EnforcementDirectorate had also filed achargesheet in the case.

Volkswagen case: MinisterBotsa appears in CBI court

l Botsa Satyanarayana wasIndustry Minister in the YS

Rajasekhara Reddygovernment in undivided

Andhra Pradesh in 2005 whenthe scandal had surfaced

l The State government hadallegedly paid Rs 11.67 crore

to Vashishta Wahan PrivateLimited floated for setting up of

a Volkswagen manufacturingunit in Visakhapatnam

l VashishtaWahan, however,turned out to be afictitious entity.The scam came tolight in 2005 whenVolkswagen sackedits then head ofIndian operationsHelmut Schusteron charges ofcorruption in someother dealings

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

The Chief Minister's Office(CMO) has condemned astory published in a section ofthe media over the meetingbetween the Chief Ministers ofAndhra Pradesh andTelangana. The CMO hasissued a statement that thereport was ridden with false-hood and dismissed it as base-less.

A few media houses report-edly published stories on ChiefMinister YS JaganmohanReddy and Telangana ChiefMinister K ChandrashekarRao stating that they were notsatisfied with the Central gov-ernment. The CMO made itclear that there was no suchdiscussion during the meetingbetween the two ChiefMinisters, and also warned aparticular media house againstpublishing speculative storiesand misleading the public.

The two Chief Ministershad a long meeting at PragatiBhavan in Hyderabad onMonday. "The meeting was

centered around the welfare ofthe people of both the TeluguStates," the AP CMO said in astatement. "All Telugu peopleare aware of the meetingsbetween the two ChiefMinisters for the benefit of thetwo States over the past fourmonths," officials said.

Continued on Page 4

PNS n HYDERABAD

Lingamaneni Ramesh, owner ofthe Lingamaneni Guest House,urged Chief Minister YSJaganmohan Reddy not todemolish his building justbecause TDP chief and formerChief Minister N ChandrababuNaidu has been residing inthat.

Lingamaneni wrote an openletter to the Chief Minister onMonday expressing concernover 'vendetta and destructivepolitics' being adopted by theYSRCP government after itcame to power in May.

It may be recalled that theYSRCP government hadannounced the demolition driveon buildings constructed on thebanks of River Krishna atVundavalli in Amaravati soonafter assuming office in May.Following the Chief Minister'sdirective, the AP Capital RegionDevelopment Authority(CRDA) served notices on theowners of the buildings termingthem as illegal buildings thathad come up by flouting thenorms and asking them to evict

the buildings immediately topave way for its demolition.Lingamaneni Guest House wasserviced two notices by CRDA.The second and final notice wasserved three days ago askingLingamaneni to vacate thehouse within a week. He hadrented out the building to thethen Chief Minister NChandrababu Naidu, who hadconverted it as the CM's officialresidence and had been resid-ing there since 2016.

Naidu still continues to residein the building even after losing

the Assembly polls and theCM's post.

In his letter, Lingamanenisaid that when he constructedthe house, there had been noCRDA and he took all requisiteapprovals from the Vundavallipanchayat to construct thebuilding. "The permission wasgiven by the Vundavalli grampanchayat during the regime ofthe late YS Rajasekhar Reddy. Iobtained all necessary clear-ances from the government forthe building," he said.

Continued on Page 4

3 bottles perperson atexcise outlets

HC asks govtfor Panchayatpoll schedule

Naidu condemnsattack on scribeVIJAYAWADA: TDP chief NChandrababu Naidu onTuesday alleged that theYSRCP government in theState has failed to maintain lawand order. Referring to anincident in which a journalistnamed Nagarjuna Reddy wasallegedly attacked by support-ers of former MLA AmanchiKrishna Mohan at ChinnaGanjam in Prakasam districton Monday, he demandedstringent action against theaccused. He expressed concernover Freedom of the Press.

Nagarjuna Reddy wasattacked after he lodged acomplaint during theSpandana programme.Presently, he is undergoingtreatment at a hospital inChirala. 2 years ago, Reddy wasassaulted by Swamulu, KrishnaMohan and others in full pub-lic glare for writing reportsagainst them. The accusedwere in TDP at the time.

VIJAYAWADA: The AP HighCourt on Tuesday asked theGovernment of AndhraPradesh for the schedule ofPanchayat elections in theState. Hearing a petition filedby advocate T Yogesh seekingimmediate elections to GramPanchayats, the High Courthas issued a notice to the gov-ernment seeking the scheduleof elections to Panchayats.Yogesh has mentioned in hispetition that the developmenthas been stalled due to theabsence of elected bodies in vil-lages. The High Court hasissued notices to the ChiefSecretary, the Special ChiefSecretary to Panchayat Rajdepartment and the SEC.

The term of Panchayatsexpired on August 2. Sincethen, Special Officers havebeen given the responsibility oftaking care of Panchayats.

According to sources, theGovernment of AndhraPradesh is planning to holdGram Panchayat elections inJanuary or February 2020 aftercompleting the elections formunicipal bodies in Dec 2019.

VIJAYAWADA: The Stategovernment on Tuesday issuedguidelines on sale of liquor atthe outlets on Tuesday. As perGO Ms. No. 411, a person getsa maximum of three bottles ofany size of Indian MadeForeign Liquor (IMFL), threebottles of foreign liquor andthree litres of denatured/methylated spirit. Six bottles of650 ml size of a beer can betaken and for toddy the limitis two litres. The GO comesinto effect on Wednesday.However, it is not clear as tohow the government willimplement the purchase limit.

Lingamaneni Ramesh criesfoul at ‘vendetta politics'l Writes an open letter to YS Jaganmohan Reddy

Lingamaneni Ramesh having a word with the then Chief Minister YS RajasekharaReddy (file photo)

TDP at pains tocounter govt’s claimson reverse tenderingG RAVI KIRANn VIJAYAWADA

TDP leaders are struggling tocounter the reverse tenderingtaken up in the case ofPolavaram project. While theruling party is campaigningthat its government has savedmore than Rs 700 crore, theTDP has confined itself topointing out at the single ten-der process. The MeghaEngineering and InfrastructureLimited (MEIL), which haddone projects under the TDPrule, has now bagged thePolavaram project works byquoting 12.6% less than thecost projected by the previousgovernment. This is a big set-back to the TDP. Reverse ten-dering, which has been the hottopic for discussion in politicalcircles for the past threemonths, has given positiveresults for the YSRCP govern-ment in the Polavaram project.Apart from the Oppositionparty, many criticised the gov-ernment for cancelling theagreement with the NavayugaEngineering Company andopined that because of theprocess, the project will bedelayed. Despite the HighCourt's stay order, the govern-ment has gone for reverse ten-dering processing and now, tohand over the work to the newcontractor, it is waiting for theHigh Court order, which islikely to be pronounced onFriday.

For 65th Package of Left

Connected Polavaram Project,Max Infra Private Limited hasquoted 15.6% less which savedRs 58 crore for the government.Now, the MEIL has quoted12.6% less than the basic priceand saved Rs 780 crore to thegovernment. The TDP hasmaintained that multiple tendersshould be allowed as per therules framed by the YSRCP gov-ernment. But, the governmentsays as the price quoted is lessthan the Minimum Basic Price,the tender can be accepted.

Continued on Page 4

l The MeghaEngineering andInfrastructure Limited(MEIL), which had doneprojects under the TDPrule, has now baggedthe Polavaram projectworks by quoting 12.6%less than the costprojected by theprevious government.This is a big setback tothe TDP

l Reverse tendering,which has been the hottopic for discussion inpolitical circles for thepast three months, hasgiven positive results forthe YSRCP governmentin the Polavaram project

‘No discussions on Centreat Jagan-KCR meet’

l A few media housesreportedly publishedstories on Chief MinisterYS Jaganmohan Reddyand Telangana ChiefMinister K ChandrashekarRao stating that they werenot satisfied with theCentral government

l The Chief Minister'sOffice has issued astatement that the reportwas ridden with falsehoodand dismissed it asbaseless

Rajnath presents medals to Coast Guard personnelPNS n VISAKHAPATNAM

Defence Minister RajnathSingh awarded gallantry andmeritorious service medals tothe personnel of Indian CoastGuard at an impressive cere-mony in Chennai on Tuesday.The ceremony was held in thepresence of Director GeneralIndian Coast GuardKrishnaswamy Natarajan, theCommander Coast GuardEastern Seaboard, AdditionalDirector General KR Nautiyal,Commander Coast GuardRegion (East) InspectorGeneral S Paramesh and othersenior officers of the Ministryof Defence, along with CoastGuard personnel and theirfamilies.

The President's TatrakshakMedals and Tatrashak's Medalsare awarded in recognition ofselfless devotion to duty, exem-

plary courage and acts of val-our under extreme condition tothe officers and men of IndianCoast Guard.

Rajnath inspected animpressive Ceremonial Guard

prior to the award ceremony.One President TatrakhakMedal for gallantry service,eight for distinguished ser-vice, 32 Tatrakshak Medals forgallantry and 20 for meritori-

ous service were conferredupon the awardees.

The minister reiterated thatthe awards would motivateCoast Guard personnel to excel

in their profession and go theextra mile, while dischargingtheir duties. He spoke aboutthe country's development andemphasised that unhinderedmaritime activity was central tothe all-round growth trajecto-ry of the nation.

"This calls for 24x7 vigil,coordination and proactiveapproach from all agencies inthe maritime domain. Today,the Indian Coast Guard isplaying a pivotal role in build-ing synergy and cohesion ofefforts between all stakehold-ers responsible for ensuringsafety and security in our mar-itime zones. Indian CoastGuard, over the years, hasbecome a force to reckon withand is responding to a multi-tude of challenges in the mar-itime sphere with profession-alism and pride,'' he said.

Continued on Page 4

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh seen with Coast Guard officials in Chennai onTuesday

l The ministerreiterated that theawards will motivateCoast Guard personnelto excel in theirprofession and go theextra mile, whiledischarging their duties

l He spoke about thecountry's developmentand emphasised thatunhindered maritimeactivity was central tothe all-round growthtrajectory of the nation

PNS n NEW DELHI

Megastar Amitabh Bachchanwas on Tuesday named thisyear’s Dada Sahab Phalke win-ner, Indian cinema’s highesthonour for an artiste.

Information andBroadcasting Minister PrakashJavadekar confirmed the newsin a Twitter post. “The legendAmitabh Bachchan who enter-tained and inspired for 2 gen-erations has been selectedunanimously for#DadaSahabPhalke award.The entire country and inter-national community is happy.My heartiest Congratulationsto him. The 76-year-old screenicon, who rose to stardom withhis ‘Angry Young Man’ per-sona capturing the anger of the

young generation in the 1970swith films such as “Zanjeer”,“Deewar” and “Sholay”, con-tinues to be a force to reckonwith the Indian cinema.

In a career spanning fivedecades, Bachchan has givenmemorable performances filmafter film and is a four-timeNational Film Award winner.

Dada Sahab Phalkefor Amitabh Bachchan

VIJAYAWADAWEATHER

Current Weather ConditionsUpdated September 24, 2019 5:00 PM

ALMANACMonth & Paksham:Bhadrapada & Krishna PakshaTithi : Ekadashi: 02:08 pmNakshatram: Pushya: 08:53 am Time to Avoid: (Bad time to start

any important work)Rahukalam: 12:07 pm – 01:37 pmYamagandam: 07:38 am – 09:08 amVarjyam: 08:30 pm – 09:58 pmGulika: 10:38 am - 12:07 pmGood Time: (to start any

important work)Amritakalam: 05:13 am – 06:40 amAbhijit Muhurtham: Nil

Forecast: CloudyTemp: 31/25Humidity: 90%Sunrise: 06.05Sunset: 06.10

TODAY

Printed and Published by B Krishna Prasad on Behalf of CMYK Printech Limited. Printed at Jagati Publications Limited, Sakshi Press, Door No. 5-625, Vadlamudi Road, Atmakuru Village, Mangalagiri Mandal, Guntur District, Andhra Pradesh.Published at Door No. 40-4-11, Flat No.501, Sujatha Citadel, Jasti Venkataratnam Street, Behind DV Manor Hotel, Vijayawada, Krishna District, AP. Resident Editor B Krishna Prasad RNI title Code no. APENG03628. Phone No. 0866-2479001.

Although every possible care and caution has been taken to avoid errors or omissions, this publication is being sold on the condition and understanding that information given in this publication is merely for reference and must not be taken as having authority of or binding in any way on the writers, editors, publishers, and printers and sellers who do not owe any responsibility for anydamage or loss to any person, a purchaser of this publication or not for the result of any action taken on the basis of this work. All disputes are subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of competent court and forums in Delhi/New Delhi only. Readers are advised and requested to verify and seek appropriate advice to satisfy themselves about the veracity of any kind of advertisement beforeresponding to any contents published in this newspaper. The printer, publisher, editor and any employee of the Pioneer Group's will not be held responsible for any kind of claim made by the advertisers of the products & services and shall not be made responsible for any kind of loss, consequences and further product-related damages on such advertisements.

CAPSULE

Two meet waterygrave in KadapaKADAPA: In a tragic incident,two persons met a waterygrave in Chitravathi river atYalamachinthala village inKondapuram mandal onTuesday. The deceased wereidentified as Babavali (36) ofChagala village in Tadiparthimandal of Anantapur district,SK Anwar Basha (14) ofKondapuram mandal in Kadapadistrict. According to sources,the duo had come to participatein Muharram atYalamachinthala village. In thisconnection, they went to theriver for having a bath, butaccidentally washed away asthe river was in spate.Meanwhile, the number ofpeople drowned in the streamsand rivers in various incidentsincreased up to 13 in the lastone week in the district.

Annual tourismawards on Sept 28PNS/VIJAYAWADAThe State Annual TourismExcellence Awards - 2019 willbe given away in Vijayawada onSeptember 28. Chief MinisterYS Jaganmohan Reddy is likelyto grace the occasion.Sivanarayana Reddy ofKakinada has been adjudgedthe winner for the award in thecategory 'Best TourismPromotion Collateral PublicityMaterial. The award function isscheduled to commence at5.30 pm at TummalapalliKalakshetram in Vijayawada.

VIJAYAWADA | WEDNESDAY | SEPTEMBER 25, 2019 vijayawada 02

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

While sand has become scarceafter the YSRCP governmentlaunching its online sale sys-tem as a part of the new sandpolicy, but surprisingly, it isfreely available in the blackmarket in the city.

Scores of sand-laden lorriesparked on the roadside are acommon sight in the city. Asmonsoon has been very activeover the State and riverKrishna has been receivingheavy flood inflows fromupper catchment areas inMaharashtra and Karnataka,most of the sand reaches inKrishna district have beenclosed. However, it appearssome influential people are stillmanaging to mine sand andsell lorry loads of the same onthe roadside.

Three weeks have elapsedsince the new policy tookeffect, but the situation con-tinues to be the same despiteregular reviews by ChiefMinister YS JaganmohanReddy and Minister for MinesPeddireddy RamachandraReddy.

Common people, who havebeen trying to order the sandonline, are still waiting toreceive their delivery.Continuous floods to riverKrishna are one of the reasonsfor the delay. But, sand smug-glers have been managing to

mine sand at a few reaches inthe district and are sending itinto the black market.

"We are not getting sandthrough the online system.Whenever I ask officials the

reason for the delay, they areciting the floods. Therefore, Ihave procured sand inVijayawada itself by paying Rs12,000 for a lorry load. I hadto purchase it at a hefty priceonly to avoid losses on accountof delay," said K Yugandhar, abuilder.

District Collector MdImtiyaz Ahmed, who reviewedthe situation recently, said thatthey had seized around 15vehicles that were trying totransport the sand illegally. Heinstructed MiningDepartment officials to pre-vent unauthorised transporta-tion of sand from any reach.He said, "From now on, manyreaches will be made availableand we will be able to supplyadequate sand to people. If allthe reaches come into opera-tion, more than the requiredquantity of sand will be avail-able," he said at the reviewmeeting.

In places likeBhavanipuram, Poranki,Tadepalli and other points,sand-laden lorries can be seenon the roadside. All theseplaces are transit points fromwhere they reach the city.According to M HanumanthaRao, a retired employee, con-sumers have been visitingthese places to purchase sandat exorbitant prices, while theillegal sale goes on right underthe nose of officials.

Sand scarce for online buyers,freely available in black market

n Three weeks haveelapsed since the newpolicy took effect, butthe situation continuesto be the samedespite regular reviewsby Chief Minister YSJaganmohan Reddyand Minister for MinesPeddireddyRamachandra Reddy

n District Collector Md Imtiyaz Ahmed, who reviewed thesituation recently, said that they had seized around 15vehicles that were trying to transport the sand illegally.He instructed Mining Department officials to preventunauthorised transportation of sand from any reach

n Common people, whoorder sand to receivetheir delivery. Continuousfloods to river Krishnaare one of the reasonsfor the delay. But, sandsmugglers have beenmanaging to mine sandat a few reaches in thedistrict and are sending itinto the black market

EGGRATES

` 37, 980 (10 gm)

` 10

GOLD

` 48, 000 (1kg)

` 700

HYDERABAD 390VIJAYAWADA 410VISAKHAPATNAM 415RETAIL PPRICE `4.10

SILVER

VIJAYAWADABULLION RATES

`/100

CHICKENRATES

Dressed/With Skin `139

Without Skin `158

Broiler at Farm `96

`/KG

(IN VIJAYAWADA)

PNS n TIRUMALA

The traditional cleansing fete,Koil Alwar Tirumanjanam washeld in the Tirumala temple onTuesday. TTD ExecutiveOfficer Anil Kumar Singhal,Special Officer AV DharmaReddy and others took part inthe religious event.

Later, speaking to the mediaoutside the temple, TTDExecutive Officer said usuallythis fete is observed four timesin a year before annualBrahmotsavams, AnivaraAsthanam, Ugadi andVaikuntha Ekadasi.

As the nine-day annual fete isgoing to be celebrated betweenSeptember 30 and October 8,Koil Alwar Tirumanjanam wasperformed on Tuesday from 6am till 10 am. The significancebehind this fete is to beseech the

Lord to forgive the sins com-mitted either knowingly orunknowingly by employees anddevotees and purify the entiretemple premises with a herbalamalgamation called'Parimalam'.

"This Parimalam is applied onto the walls, roofs, pillars in the

main sanctum and also in othersub-shrines located in Tirumalatemple by employees. Whiledoing this, the main deity will becovered with a veil and after thecompletion of cleansing of thetemple and even the puja uten-sils, the veil is removed andprayers have been offered to the

presiding deity, later devoteeswere allowed for darshan, theExecutive Officer said. TempleDyEO Sri Harindranath,Peishkar Sri Lokanatham andothers were also present.EO INSPECTS PUSHKARINI:

TTD EO Sri Anil Kumar

Singhal, later inspected thebeaut i f icat ion works ofSwami Pushkarini along withTirumala Special Officer SriAV Dharma Reddy. Speakingto media the EO said, all thearrangements forBrahmotsavams are com-pleted and the departments

have geared up for the bigoccasion.

KOIL ALWAR TIRUMANJANAM CONDUCTEDl As the nine-day annual

Brahmotsavams aregoing to be celebratedbetween September 30and October 8, Koil AlwarTirumanjanam wasperformed on Tuesdayfrom 6 am till 10 am

l The significance behindthis fete is to beseechthe Lord to forgive thesins committed eitherknowingly orunknowingly byemployees and devoteesand purify the entiretemple premises with aherbal amalgamationcalled 'Parimalam'

Science teachers trainedin ‘Make Your Own Lab'PNS n VISAKHAPATNAM

As part of CSR Initiatives,HPCL-Visakh Refinery isorganising two Mobile ScienceLabs and one Science Centrein GVMC Schools, which arenearby its vicinity to benefithigh school students.

G Rama, Chief GeneralManager-Materials, HPCL-VR and project leader ofMobile Science Labs, inaugu-rated the teacher training pro-gramme 'Make Your OwnLab' at GVMC High School,Malkapuram.

The HPCL is organising afour-day training programmein coordination with AgastyaFoundation with an inten-tion to provide hands-ontraining to all the GVMCHigh School science teachersto make their own laboratoryequipment with low costs andtrain the students in theirscience laboratory demon-strations.

As a part of Swachhta hiSewa initiative, G Rama alsoinaugurated the rally andSramadaan programme atGVMC High School,Malkapuram, and at PrakashNagar Colony area with the

participation of a huge num-ber of students. GVMC Schoolteachers and people wereurged to participate in creat-

ing awareness on collection ofplastic waste and disposal inassociation with GVMC, var-ious organiations and NGOs.

G Rama, Chief General Manager-Materials, HPCL-VR and project leader of MobileScience Labs, addressing the teacher training programme in Vizag on Tuesday

The HPCL is organising a four-day trainingprogramme in coordination with AgastyaFoundation with an intention to provide hands-on training to all the GVMC High Schoolscience teachers to make their own laboratoryequipment with low costs and train the studentsin their science laboratory demonstrations

PNS n VISAKHAPATNAM

As a part of the SwachhtaPakhwada programme,Visakhapatnam Port Trust(VPT) conducted drawing andessay writing competitions atQueen Mary Girls High Schoolwith a theme 'Plastic WasteManagement'.

Schoolchildren in largenumbers participated. A skitwas also performed by VPTCultural team as a part of

Swachha Bharat in QueenMary Girls High School in abid to create awareness amongschoolchildren on cleanlinessand how plastic is dangerous tothe environment.

Schoolchildren were educat-ed on cleanliness issues likekeeping their surrounding areastidy and the impact of plastic tothe environment. VPT HoDs,school teaching staff, employeesand children participated inthe programme.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Sri Ramachandra MissionCentre coordinator Dr PVSVijaya Bhaskar Rao on Tuesdaysaid a three-day Dhyanotsavamwould be organised in the cityfrom September 26.

Addressing a press confer-ence here on Tuesday, he saidthe programme is being con-ducted to promote universalbrotherhood and create aware-ness about meditation amongthe people. Three batcheswould be formed and sessionswould be held for them from

6.30 am to 7.30 am, 10.30 amto 11.30 am and 6 pm to 7 pmon all three days.

Those desirous of attendingthe meditation sessions shouldbe above 15 years of age. DrVijaya Bhaskar Rao said onecan gain mental peace, incul-cate ethical values and makeprogress in spiritual well-being.The participants should prac-tice at home the principleslearnt during Dhyanotsavamto improve their personality, headded. For more details, onecontact mobile numbers 9010626345 and 90107 27345.

Dhyanotsavamfrom Sept 26 to 28

Sri Ramachandra Mission Centre coordinator Dr PVS Vijaya Bhaskar Raoreleasing a poster on Dhyanotsavam in Vijayawada on Tuesday

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

In line with its steadfast com-mitment to uplift socio-eco-nomic development of ruralIndia by skilling youth fromthese areas and warrantingthat they can build a sustain-able livelihood, Amara RajaSkill Development Centre(ARSDC) on Tuesday held theconvocation of its 8th batch ofstudents.

The centre awarded 60 stu-dents, including 47 boys and13 girls at a ceremony on thepremises of MangalVidyalayam at Petamitta inChittoor district. In all, 812students from Batch-1 toBatch-8, comprising 611 boysand 201 girls have alreadybeen placed on regular rolls invarious companies of theAmara Raja Group.

The present batch, consist-ing of talented youth fromrural upbringing, received cer-tificates at the convocation,hosted in the presence of DrRamachandra N Galla,Founder & Chairman ofAmara Raja Group, JaganMohan G, Head Operations -Amara Raja Batteries Limited,

Senior Management of AmaraRaja, Plant Heads, Prem SagarRaju, Head CSR, HR Heads,and staff of ARSDC. The par-ents of students were also pre-sent in large numbers.

Rashmikant Joshi,Managing Director, FESTOIndia Pvt. Ltd graced the eventas the chief guest and deliveredthe convocation address.

During the convocation, DrRamachandra N Galla,Founder & Chairman ofAmara Raja Group, said, "TheCentre is aimed at empower-ing young aspiring talent withrequisite knowledge andresources that would helpthem in charting successfulcareers. Many rural folks arenot able to contribute mean-

ingfully to their communityand the country at large, dueto lack of affordable and acces-sible quality skilling ecosystem.We are bridging this gap byproviding them with trainingwhich will be relevant for theirentire lifetime. My good wish-es are with all my students fora bright future ahead."

The 'Multi Skill TechnicianCourse' is 18 months, fully res-idential course (blended withclass room learning, work-shops, sports, games, on thejob training and various othercultural activities) offered freeof cost to the rural youth.While the students undergoOn the Job Training at differ-ent factories, the companiesoffer them stipend as well.

PNS n VISAKHAPATNAM

Brands Impact presentedGolden Glory Award to city-based woman Sonia ChopraJain at a function in Mumbairecently. Bollywood actressPriety Zinta presented theaward to Sonia Jain.

Golden Glory awardshave been instituted byBrands Impact to bring for-ward the extra ordinaryjourneys of individuals andcompanies that are embark-ing on a glorious path tosuccess with their remark-able achievement.

The GGA ceremony is anoutstanding platform to berecognised and showcaseone's achievement and it isheld once in a year. It is oneof the most prestigious acco-lades an individual canreceive.

Sonia Chopra Jainreceived the award as thebest happiness coach of theyear 2019 under educationcategory. Sonia has also pub-lished a book Happiness 7.0,which speaks about herseven secrets of happiness.She is also the first happinesscoach of Vizag.

Golden Glory awardfor Vizag woman

Sonia Chopra Jain receiving award from Bollywood actress Preity Zinta

Amara Raja Skill Centre aimsat empowering young talent

Students of Amara Raja Skill Development Centre strike a pose after convocation in Mangal Vidyalayam at Petamitta inChittoor district on Tuesday

Students sensitised on impact of plastic on environment

Visakhapatnam Port Trust officials creating awareness among students aboutplastic waste in Visakhapatnam on Tuesday

The centre awarded 60 students, including 47boys and 13 girls at a ceremony on thepremises of Mangal Vidyalayam at Petamitta inChittoor district. In all, 812 students from Batch-1 to Batch-8, comprising 611 boys and 201 girls,have already been placed on regular rolls invarious companies of the Amara Raja Group

A new lease oflife for elderly atKIMS SaveeraPNSnANANTAPUR

Fulfilling the promise of betterhealthcare, KIMS SaveeraHospitals, Anatapur, saved thelife of a 75-year-old patient byadopting the new cutting bal-loon angioplasty with stentimplantation technology.

Narayana Swamy wasbrought to the emergencyward at KIMS with the com-plaint of severe chest pain. Hewas diagnosed to have had amassive heart attack. An emer-gency angiogram revealedsevere fibrous and calcifiedblockages in the main vessel ofthe heart, which needed anemergency bypass surgery tosave the life of the patient. Ashe was also had severe lung dis-ease, he was at very high riskfor bypass surgery. Dr BalaKishore and his team decidedto conduct innovative cuttingballoon angioplasty with stentimplantation.

"In this procedure, a specialballoon tip is used, which hassmall blades. These smallblades are activated once theballoon is inflated. Once the tipis stimulated, the blades spin athigh revolutions, cutting awaythe calcium deposits in the ves-sel, he said.

TTD Executive Officer Anil Kumar Singhal, Special Officer AV Dharma Reddy and others taking part in Koil Alwar Tirumanjanam at Tirumala on Tuesday

ISUZU announcesfestival bonanzaPNS n SRI CITY

ISUZU Motors India onTuesday announced attractiveoffers for its products in thecountry. The offers range fromRs 50,000 for the commercialvariant of D-Max (single cab)to Rs 2,00,000 on the up-mar-ket SUV, the mu-X. The offersare available on the commercialD-Max (all variants), S-Cab (allvariants), V-Cross (base vari-ant) and the mu-X (all vari-ants). These offers (on ex-showroom prices) are validuntil October 31 only, andtranslate to an approximateequivalent of 10% of the taxeson vehicles.

The automobile marketacross the country has beenwitnessing a slowdown over thepast several months owing toseveral factors. There was abroad expectation on somerelief over the recent past thatwould have had a positiveimpact on the market.However, notwithstanding thestatus quo, ISUZU India wouldlike to keep an upbeat moodamongst customers during theforthcoming festive season.

"ISUZU would like its cus-tomers to be delighted andenter the festive season joyously.Our special offer, valid untilOctober 31 and would exciteour prospective customers tocontinue their focus on theirbusiness with added fervourduring the festive season," saidcompany spokesperson.

VIJAYAWADA | WEDNESDAY | SEPTEMBER 25, 2019 vijayawada 03

No mention of new railwaylines in SCR at MPs meetPNS n VIJAYAWADA

Making no mention of new rail-way lines within the jurisdictionof the South Central Railway(SCR), General ManagerGajanan Mallya, however, haspromised to complete the ongo-ing projects by 2023.

The SCR conducted a meet-ing here on Tuesday with MPsfrom the State, coveringVijayawada, Guntur andGuntakal divisions. As many as18 MPs took part in the meeting.

Speaking on the occasion,Vijayawada TDP MP KesineniNani said that new railway lineswere not being sanctioned andthe sanctioned works weregoing on at a snail's pace. Hestated that by dividing theVisakhapatnam Zone, theUnion government had showndiscrimination against AndhraPradesh. After his address, heboycotted further proceedingsof the meeting in protest, despiterequests by railway officials tostay on.

Mallya briefed the MPs onthe performance of SCR andvarious steps initiated for thedevelopment of infrastructure.He explained various initiativesbeing taken up towards enhanc-ing passenger amenities likewater conservation, avoidinguse of plastic on railway premis-es, and conversion of conven-tional trains with LinkemanHalf Bosch (LHB) coaches forproviding safe and comfort-able rail journey.

The MPs expressed happinessover various rail development

initiatives being taken up by theSCR and congratulated offi-cials for taking steps to promotea green and clean environment.

Later, speaking to the media,Mallya briefed about the achieve-ments and performance of thezone. He stated that all the infra-structure development projectssituated in Andhra Pradesh wereprogressing well with the active

cooperation of the State govern-ment. He informed that variousongoing rail development projectsin the State were being accordedtop priority for completion.

Phase-I new line works per-taining to Nadikudi-Srikalahastion a stretch of 45 km is plannedfor commissioning during thecurrent fiscal and the whole pro-ject is targeted to be completed

by 2023-24. Whereas Kadapa -Bengaluru new line works arealso set to be completed by2023-24. The doubling andtripling works in the State arebeing expedited for completion.

MPs, including Dr BVSatyavathi from Anakapalli,Vanga Geetha from Kakinada,Chinta Anuradha fromAmalapuram, Raghu RamaKrishna Raju from Narasapuram,V Balashowry fromMachilipatnam, K RavindraKumar (Rajya Sabha), NandigamSuresh from Bapatla, MSrinivasulu Reddy from Ongole,Adala Prabhakara Reddy fromNellore, B Durga Prasad Raofrom Tirupati, L Sri KrishnaDevarayalu from Narasaraopet,P Brahmananda Reddy fromNandyal, T Rangaiah fromAnantapur, N Reddeppa fromChittoor, K Gorantla Madhavfrom Hindupur,

P V Midhun Reddy,Rajampet and Y S AvinashReddy from Kadapa participat-ed in the meeting.

TDP MP Kesineni Nani staging a walk-out from a meeting convened bythe SCR GM in Vijayawada on Tuesday in protest against the Centre fornot sanctioning new railway lines

SCR GM Gajanan Mallya addressing a meeting

n The South CentralRailway conducted ameeting with MPs fromthe State, coveringVijayawada, Guntur andGuntakal divisions. Asmany as 18 MPs tookpart in the meeting

n Mallya briefed the MPson the performance ofSCR and various stepsinitiated for thedevelopment ofinfrastructure

n He explained various initiativesbeing taken up towardsenhancing passenger amenitieslike water conservation,avoiding use of plastic onrailway premises, andconversion of conventionaltrains with Linkeman Half Bosch(LHB) coaches for providingsafe and comfortable railjourney

n MP Kesineni Nani boycottedthe proceedings of the meetingin protest after his address

Govt entrusts illegalmining case againstYerapatineni to CBIPNS n AMARAVATI

The Government of AndhraPradesh on Tuesday issuedorders to entrust the illegalmining issue of former TDPMLA Yarapatineni SrinivasaRao to the Central Bureau ofInvestigation.

CBI sleuths will soonbegin investigation of thecase. The CB-CID officialshanded over relevant recordsto the CBI. This is the firstever case entrusted to theCBI by the YSRCP govern-ment.

Complaints about illegalmining of lime stone hadcome up in Kesanapalli vil-lage of Dachepalli mandaland Konanki vi l lage ofPidugural l i mandal ofGuntur district. At thebehest of the court, the CIDcommenced investigationand recorded statements ofwitnesses and resolved thatillegal mining had takenplace there after all. TheCID then submitted aninquiry report to the court inthe i l legal mining caseagainst YerapatineniSrinivasa Rao.

Going through the inquiryreport, the court held nego-t iat ions with the StateGovernment on who shouldprobe the case and asked itto take a decision on entrust-ing the case to the CBI. TheCabinet has discussed it andtook note of how the previ-ous regime did not allow the

CBI into the state. It thenannulled the orders of theprevious regime, paving theway for the CBI to probe thecase against Yerapatineni.

Reverse tender processwill delay Polavaram by28 months, says Uma PNS n AMARAVATI

Former water resource minis-ter Devineni Uma on Tuesdaycharged AP Chief Ministerwith behaving in an eccentricway and noted that the reversetenders on execution ofPolavaram Hydel Electric pro-ject would delay the project by28 months.

Though the YSRCP govern-ment took reins of stateadministration four monthsago, no concrete works inPolavaram project works haveso far done.

Jagan and KCR discussedabout brining Godavari watersto Srisailam project at a four-hour marathon meeting inHyderabad on Monday, hedemanded Jagan to spell outwhat transpired at the meetingon the schedules nine and 10of the state's reorganization actand about AP Bhavan inDelhi.

In the absence of Waterresources minister Anil KumarYadav, officials and engineers,the two CMs discussed aboutGodavari waters with con-tractors for about four horus,he alleged and doubtedwhether the two CMs startedplanning for the next electionsnow on wards.

When the agency executingPolavaram project by 2020,Jagan wanted it to be over by2021, he said wondering whatdoes it mean?

The Navayuga engineeringcompany quoted Rs 3200 croreto construct the power project

when Megha EngineeringInfrastructures Limited(MEIL) offered to complete itwith Rs 3,445 crore. Butthe same MEIL now quoted Rs2810 crore to execute the pro-ject, he wondered.

Quoting Telangana CMKCR as saying, Uma said thatJagan was urged to reducePolavaram dam height. Healleged that Jagan agreed to doso. He sought to know whyJaganmohan Reddy is not rul-ing out decreasing thePolavaram dam height.

YSRCP made self-goalsin last 4 months: TDPPNS n VIJAYAWADA

The YSRCP has made self-goals in the last four months,the Telugu Desam Party (TDP)has said. At a meeting heldunder the chairmanship ofparty chief N ChandrababuNaidu at the state party officeon Tuesday, the leaders dis-cussed the Polavaram reversetendering, where they felt thatdevelopment was beingreversed due to the decisionsof the government.

Briefing the media about themeeting, former ministerChinnarajappa and formerMLA Jyothula Nehru said thatthe party opined that in thename of reverse tendering,the government has reservedthe tender for one company.Without taking the capabilities

of the contractor and the secu-rity aspects into considera-tion, the government is mov-ing ahead with its decisions.

Rajappa recalled that theYSRCP had earlier alleged thatMegha Company was the'benami' of ChandrababuNaidu, but have now finalisedthe tender to it. He said thecompany had quoted a highprice for Kaleswaram and

Jurala projects in Telanganaand hence quoted a lowerprice for Polavaram. It looks asif the company has decided tocompromise on quality, headded.

"Extending the time forpower project construction upto 58 months means therewill be no power productionfor two-and-a-half years. Thegovernment will incur a loss ofmore than Rs 5,000 crore," hesaid.

TDP AP President KalaVenkata Rao, KonakallaNarayana, Rama Naidu,Jyothula Nehru, BondaUmamaheswara Rao, DevineniUmamaheswara Rao,Nannapaneni Rajakumari,Batchula Arjunudu, DhulipallaNarendra and others partici-pated.

At the behest of thecourt, the CIDcommencedinvestigation andrecorded statementsof witnesses andresolved that illegalmining had takenplace there after all.The CID thensubmitted an inquiryreport to the court inthe illegal miningcase againstYerapatineniSrinivasa Rao

When the agencyexecutingPolavaramproject by 2020,Jagan wanted itto be over by2021, he saidwondering whatdoes it mean?

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

The Vijayawada Task Forceon Tuesday arrested threepersons transporting khainisachets worth Rs 18 lakh ina vehicle at Kesarapalli onTuesday.

Kantha R ao (51) ofVuyyuru, Haji Attar (41) ofPune and Bhukya ChandraSekhar (30) of Vuyyuruwere taken into custody.

Kantha Rao had been in tothe khaini business for thelast three years. A man Bashafrom Berhampur, Odishahad been supplying the khai-ni sachets through lorries.Rao used to collect them onthe highway and transportthem to Vuyyuru in his vehi-cle. Later, he would distrib-ute them to pan shops andother retail shops for sale.

As usual, Basha sent akhaini load by a lorry on

Tuesday. Based on a tip-off,the Vijayawada Task Forcepolice intercepted the vehi-cle at Kesarapalli and founda large number of gunnybags f i l led with khainisachets.

ADCP Srinivasa Rao, ACPVSN Varma and Sub-Inspector G Srinivasa Raotook part in the operation.

Khaini worth Rs 18 lakhseized, three held

Paying peo-ple back in

their own coinhas always been

trendy inpolitics. Harassing

political opponentshas become the in thing

in present-day polit ics.Former AP Speaker KodelaSivaprasad Rao's recentunnatural death is of a piecewith this inveterate trend inthe political firmament.

Everyone who is capable ofattaining political power withconcentrated efforts wouldnaturally harass his/her oppo-nents with increased will andvigour upon coming topower. In any state wherenational parties have beenreduced to nonentities, andwhere there is strong influ-ence of regional forces, such

political situation is all themore common. Tamil Nadu isa classic example of this typeof politics of vendetta, withpeople accepting such things.Andhra Pradesh has the dubi-ous distinction of seeing rou-tine scenes of polit icalvendetta, with or withoutpeople's acceptance.

Political uncertainty hascomplicated this unseemlysituation, following the infa-mous bifurcation of erstwhileAndhra Pradesh. During theAssembly elections in AP,YSRCP's political opponentswere subject to harassment bythe Telangana government.Dozens of acres of valuableland belonging to TDP lead-ers in Hyderabad faced thesword of forceful land acqui-sition.

After the elections, harass-

ment of political opponentstook a turn for the worse.Former AP Speaker KodelaSivaprasad Rao's unnaturaldeath is the culmination ofpolitics based on vendetta.What is poignant about thesad episode is the reaction ofKodela's family members,

who did not want a statefuneral to be accorded to thedeparted leader by the YCPgovernment headed by YSJaganmohan Reddy.

Jagan had vehementlyopposed the attitude ofKodela as Speaker. Kodela, asSpeaker, did not disqualify

the 23 YCP MLAs who hadthen defected to the TDP andwas accused of diluting thespirit of the anti-defectionlaw.

Given its landslide win inthe Assembly polls, YCP lead-ership has declared that there

would be no need for it toencourage defections fromother parties. But nobodyknows when such need wouldarise.

What beats everyone aboutKodela is that he had allalong been a courageousleader. As home minister inNTR's cabinet, he had to stepdown owing moral responsi-bility for the 1988 killing ofthen Congress MLA fromVijayawada (East) VangaveetiMohana Rangarao.

Eleven years after that inci-dent, another one pushedKodela into deep trouble. Itwas the one in which fourpersons were killed in bombexplosions in his own house.He could manage thingsunder the leadership ofChandrababu and evenreturn to the cabinet there-

after. Corrupt activities offamily members broughtgreat disrespect to him and hewent down psychologicallyafter being manhandled byirate voters in a polling boothin his constituency for gain-ing wrongful entry.

Bench of HCThe alleged move to shift

High Court from Amaravatito Kurnool has sparked crit-icism in the legal fraternity ofcoastal Andhra Pradesh.Lawyers across coastalAndhra are observing boycottof court proceedings at alllevels. The talk is that theHigh Court must be shiftedfrom Amaravati to Kurnool,which was capital of erstwhileAndhra state during 1953-56.

The YCP governmentappears to be keen on hon-ouring the sentiments of peo-

ple at the time of the undivid-ed State's formation 66 yearsago regarding sharing ofCapital and High Courtbetween the two regions. TheAP government is believed tohave sent feelers into thepublic. The lawyers' boycottmust have given the govern-ment some feedback aboutthe mood of the people on theissue. In 1953, when Andhrastate was newly formed,Kurnool in Rayalaseema wasselected as the capital ofAndhra and High Court wasset up in Guntur.

Now, the Government ofAP is thinking on the samelines of sharing Capital andHC between two regions ofthe State! Perhaps it can puta full stop to the core issue bysetting up High Court Benchin Rayalaseema.

M D RATNA KUMAR Senior Journalist

Former AP Speaker Kodela SivaprasadRao's unnatural death is theculmination of politics based onvendetta. What is poignant about thesad episode is the reaction of Kodela'sfamily members, who did not want astate funeral to be accorded to thedeparted leader by the YCP governmentheaded by YS Jaganmohan Reddy

PINPOINT

The undying trend of harassing political opponents

PNS n HYDERABAD

To cater to passenger rush dur-ing Dasara festival season, theTelangana State Road TransportCorporation (TSRTC) hasdecided to run 4,933 specialbuses. As Dasara is an importantfestival for both Telangana andAndhra Pradesh people, TSRTCwill run the special buses to des-tinations across two Telugustates. The special buses will beoperated from September 7 toOctober 7.

"Dasara is an important fes-tival for Telugu people. It is animportant season for evenTSRTC as we experience peak

passenger rush. To cater to thepassenger rush during Dasarafestival, we are planning to runspecial buses for 11 days fromSeptember 27 to October 7.While last year we operatedabout 4,900 special buses, this

year will operate 4,933 specialbuses. Depending upon thedemand, we will also push morebuses into service if needed,"said TSRTC Rangareddy regionRM Varaprasad, speaking tomedia on Tuesday.

TSRTC senior official alsosaid that there would not be anyhike in fare for the specialbuses. By running special buses,the loss making TSRTC aims toearn some revenue, besides sav-ing passengers from the fleecing

private travels, who charge exor-bitant amount on tickets, to cashin on festival rush.

TSRTC has planned specialbuses in both long distance andshort distance routes. The spe-cial bus services will be operat-ed in Hyderabad-Vijayawada,H y d e r a b a d - K u r n o o l ,Hyderabad-Kar imnagar,Hyderabad-Warangal, and otherintrastate routes. TSRTC carrieson an average close to one lakhpassengers daily and during thefestival season the passengersincrease at least three fold, cre-ating huge demand for bus ser-vices. Dasara is being celebrat-ed on October 8 this year.

TSRTC to run 4,933 spl buses for Dasara

PNS n WARANGAL

In a bid to spring a major sur-prise in the Huzurnagar by-elections, the BJP is makingevery possible effort to repeatthe fate of north Telangana bydeploying forces from thenorth Telangana districts.

The party high command atthe state-level is keen onadopting a major offensive inthe fashion of TRS and it isidentifying cadre to overseethe election process during thecampaign schedule.

As of now the BJP was notregarded as a strong force inthe segment but the recentdevelopments at the state-level have made the party aformidable preposition andthe cadre of that party seemsrejuvenated with their activi-

ties in the segments. Victoriesin Karimnagar, Adilabad andNizamabad Lok SabhaConstituences have boostedthe morale of the party cadreand it made the party a forceto reckon with.

Following this, the partyleadership is trying to take acue from this result tostrengthen itself in the southTelangana too. Since theHuzurnagar is regarded achallenging task by the rulingTRS and Congress, the BJP isalso not losing any chance toprove its mettle.

The BJP has announcedSrikala Reddy as its candidateand their cadres from variousparts of the state are express-ing their desire to join thebandwagon of election in thecoming fortnight period.

BJP leaves no stoneunturned for by-poll

Bhatti demands‘reverse tendering'

PNS n HYDERABAD

Congress Legislature Party(CLP) leader Mallu BhattiVikramarka has said that theCongress is welcoming the CMK Chandrashekhar Rao's act ofcomplimenting Andhra PradeshCM YS Jaganmohan Reddy'sreverse tendering policy. Hedemanded the Chief Minister tobring the same policy inTelangana too by appointingjudiciary committee to monitorthe tendering process. He saidthat Megha Company filed ten-ders for Polavaram project with12.5 per cent less. He asked KCRto bring reverse tendering pol-icy if he had sincerity.

On Tuesday at AssemblyCommittee Hall, Bhatti allegedthat the TRS government hadspent Rs 1 lakh crore on irriga-tion projects and it would spendRs 1.25 lakh crore on irrigationprojects. Contractors wouldhave filed tenders with 12 percent less if the TRS governmentresorted to reverse tendering inirrigation projects, Bhatti said.He said that 28,000 crore wouldhave saved if reverse tenderingwould have taken place inTelangana in irrigation pro-jects. Stating that the MissionBhagiratha estimated expendi-ture is Rs 50,000 crore, Bhattisaid that the government wouldhave saved Rs 6000 crore ifimplemented reverse tenderpolicy.

The VijayawadaTask Forcepoliceintercepted thevehicle atKesarapalli andfound a largenumber of gunnybags filled withkhaini sachets

Last year we operatedabout 4,900 specialbuses. Depending uponthe demand, we will alsopush more buses intoservice if needed, saysTSRTC official

VIJAYAWADA | WEDNESDAY | SEPTEMBER 25, 2019 region 04

CAPSULE

Magisterial probebegins on boatmishapKAKINADA: The magisterialprobe into the tourist boatmishap in the River Godavarihas begun its first sitting onTuesday. Joint Collector andAdditional District Magistrate DrG Lakshmisha conducted thepreliminary enquiry on theincident that took place on theSeptember 15 with variousdepartments at JC chambers atthe Godavari Collectorate. SPAdanan Nayeem Asmi, AssistantSuperintendent of Police , andinvestigating officer on boatmishap Vakul Zindal ,Rajamahendravaram Sub-Collector Mahesh Kumar,Kakinada Port Officer CaptainDharma Shasta, SE Irrigation NKrishna, Joint Director FisheriesP Jaya Raj, Boat SuperintendentK Dorayya, Divisional ManagerTourism K Prakash and othersparticipated. The JC wasappointed as inquiry officer asper the GO No. 242. On theoccasion, the JC said thatindividuals who have knowledgeor information about theincident can provide informationeither in person or in writing.When contacted, Dr Lakshmishasaid that the preliminary inquiryon the incident was conductedon the day. The JC also said thatthe next phase of probe wouldbe conducted in next few days. Itmay be recalled that in the boatmishap, 38 died and 26 wererescued. As per the availabledetails, out of the total 75 whowere on the boat, 11 are stillmissing, as per investigatingofficer and ASP Vakul Zindal.

PNS n VISAKHAPATNAM

Maxxis India, a sub-companyof Maxxis Group, one of theworld's fastest growing tyrecompanies, conducted its firstdealers' meet here on Tuesday.The meet was attended by 39dealers from Visakhapatnam,Vizianagaram and Srikakulamwho were briefed on Maxxis'sworld-class tyre rangedesigned for diverse Indianapplications and industry-bestwarranty policy and trans-parent claim resolutionprocess.

Commenting on the event,Bing-Lin Wu, Retail SalesHead, Maxxis India, said,"South India is an importantmarket for Maxxis tyres andwe are committed to furtherscale up our presence in themarket by creating accessibletouch points for two-wheelerowners. With over 600 dealersacross South India, we aresteadily picking up pace andplan to increase our presencesignificantly in AndhraPradesh market with close to350 dealers by end of this year.

Po-Yu (Jeremy) Hsu,Assistant Vice-President,Service, Maxxis India, said"Maxxis has always taken acustomer first approach,hence, we have been trying tomeet their demands by provid-ing world-class products withglobal safety and quality stan-dards. The dealers meet gaveus a great platform to commu-nicate Maxxis highest servicequality to our dealer partners."

The dealers led by UParadha Saradhi, Owner ofCyber Automobile PrivateLimited, Maxxis's distribu-tor for Andhra Pradesh andTelangana was introduced tothe latest products and solu-tions offered by Maxxis,including the industry-best5+1 unconditional warran-ty with Maxxis 2-wheelertyres.

‘Maxxis providingworld-class products'

PNS n VISAKHAPATNAM

The district rural policedenied the arrest of Maoists ortheir sympathisers whileresponding to the demand ofCivil Rights activists, whosought them to produce thearrested persons in the court.A retired teacher,Lakshamana Rao, said that hisdaughter Aruna, who is amember of the AOB ZonalCommittee and anotherleader Birsu were present atthe encounter site on Sunday.Rao's son Azad was killed inalleged encounter years ago.

It may be recalled that fiveMaoists were killed in twoseparate encounters that tookplace near Madigamallu andKondajarta areas atGummirevula in GK Veedhimandal of Visakha Agency ontwo consecutive days -Sundayand Monday.

Bodies of the two maleMaoists killed on Mondayreached the Narsipatnam areahospital on Tuesday evening.They were identified asDivision Committee Member

Ramesh of Maoists MilitaryCompany- Third CRC, whowas carrying an AK 47, whilethe other one was also from thesame platoon and identified asBhuma. Both were fromChhattisgarh.

The Maoists killed in theencounter on Sunday werealso identified as Ajay, Bimalaand Budhiri of Chhattisgarh.The platoon or the Third CRCled by Commander ChelluriNarayana Rao alias Suresh was

allegedly supporting theGalikonda Area Committeeof the East and MalkangiriDivision Maoists.

"Galikonda Area Committeehas become weak with manysurrenders, including its secre-tary Naveen recently. Nowaround seven members are inthe committee. So, the platoonhas come here to support themand show the people ofGalikonda area that they arestill strong. They chose theparty formation day celebra-tions to show their strength tovillages and also possiblyinvolve in some destructiveactivity to show their exis-tence," one of the senior policeofficers involved in anti-Maoistoperation said.

"No one was arrested, orcaptured. Scores of Maoistsescaped from the area duringthe encounter on Sunday. "Ourteams are continuing combingoperations. We have no per-sonal grudge against anyMaoist. I am appealing toMaoists to surrender and joinmainstream," SP BabujeeAttada said.

Cops deny arrests of Maoists,identify slain activists

It may be recalled that five Maoists were killed intwo separate encounters that took place nearMadigamallu and Kondajarta areas at Gummirevulain GK Veedhi mandal of Visakha Agency on twoconsecutive days -Sunday and Monday

PNS n VISAKHAPATNAM

Chodavaram MLA KDharmasree alleged that theTDP had launched negativepropaganda against the stategovernment in thePolavaram project reversetendering process, despiteits huge success.

Addressing a press confer-ence here on Tuesday,Dharmasree said that thereverse tendering process sofar saved nearly Rs 841 croreto the state's exchequer inPolavaram.

"The State Government can-celled the Polavaram contractsas part of reverse tenderingand called back tenders. Itreceived a bid from MeghaEngineering andInfrastructure Limited forPolavaram main dam andhydel project at a price 12.6percent less than the previousone. This was a major successof the State Government, butdespite the huge savings TDPleaders continue to spewvenom against the govern-ment," said Dharmasree.

"The TDP leaders' propa-ganda has become thebiggest curse for NorthCoastal Andhra Pradesh.They are wantonly show-casing the region in a badlight. Chief Minister YSJaganmohan Reddy wantsto make Vizag as an IT huband create a base for themovie industry. At least now,the TDP leaders shouldmend their ways for theregion's development," headded.

YSRCP leaders KolaGuruvulu, RongaliJagannadham and others werepresent on the occasion.

ChodavaramMLA defendsreverse tendering

PNS n VISAKHAPATNAM

Marking its 12th FoundationDay, Damodaram SanjivayyaNational Law University(DSNLU) conducted a paneldiscussion on "Scraping of Article370 by Modi Government" hereon Tuesday.

The panel was graced by ProfA Lakshminath (Former ViceChancellor, CNLU, Patna andfounding Chancellor ofDSNLU), Prof S Surya Prakash(Vice Chancellor, DSNLU), ProfK Madhusudan Rao (Prof atAndhra University), Prof D PapaRao (Economic and FinancialAnalyst) and A Nageshwara Rao(Asst Prof DSNLU).

The two and half hour discus-sion was addressed by ProfBhawani Prasad Panda (AcademicAdvisor, DSNLU) who touchedupon the 12-year history of theUniversity. He enlightened the stu-dents with a brief history onJammu & Kashmir. The British,while leaving in 1947, offeredJammu and Kashmir a freechoice to either separate, go withIndia or with Pakistan. He con-cluded the address by mention-ing Salman Khurshid's book"Beyond Terrorism: New HopeFor Kashmir" which gives adetailed account of Hindu geno-cide and hence is important forstudents to understand the issueof Article 370.

Additionally, the discussion

was taken ahead by the ViceChancellor, who divided thetopic into halves - non legal partand the constitutional part - forbetter understanding. He men-tioned that the order of August5, 2019 says, 'Art 370 seizes tooperate' and hence it would becorrect to say that it was removedand not scraped by the govern-ment. He also stated the signifi-cance of 35 A which is in theappendix and not explicitly in theConstitution. He concluded stat-ing that the step taken by theGovernment was constitutional-ly valid as Art 370 (3) empowersthe President to pass such orders.

The discussion was furthertaken by Prof A Lakshminath whocreated a nexus between the his-torical and present background ofArt 370 and the status of Kashmir.He concluded stating that it wouldbe wrong to say that India has afederal structure, for, Art 1 men-tions 'India is a Union of states'.Further, Prof K Madhusudanspoke about the concept of feder-alism and the federal structure ofIndia, and the agreement betweenJawaharlal Nehru and MhmdAbdullah Sheikh.

Prof D Papa Rao explainedhow the decision of removing Art370 was not important in the pre-

sent scenario where the countryis facing large scale unemploy-ment and economic crisis. Hefurther stated about how bring-ing economic stability in the stateof J&K would bring peace andharmony in the state. Finally, thediscussion was concluded byAsst Prof A Nageshwara Rao whopresented the conceptual under-standing of Art 370 & 35A. Healso opined that the matter ofArt.370 is clearly an internalmatter of the state and thereforePakistan should not interfere init. Registrar Prof CM Rao, mem-bers, and students were also pre-sent in the programme.

DSNLU holds panel on scraping of Article 370

PNS n VISAKHAPATNAM

A game-changing simulationtest at Singapore has provideda fillip to Visakhapatnam PortTrust (VPT) in handling big-ger container vessels at itsOuter Harbour and cape ves-sels at its Inner Harbour. Thesimulation will help VPTbecome a potential ContainerTranshipment Hub on the EastCoast.

VPT and ForceTechnologies, Singapore con-ducted the Simulation Studiesbetween September 9 and 13 atSingapore. A team, headed byDeputy Chairman of VPT PLHaranadh (IRTS), attendedthe study.

At present, the container ter-minal VCTPL at OuterHarbour is capable of handlingvessels up to 320 meters inlength. The Simulation Studysuccessfully demonstrated thecapability of handling biggercontainer vessels of 366 meterslength and 51 meters beam,

and 397 meters length and 57meters beam with higher tugpower.

Currently, the InnerHarbour is capable of handling

vessels of length up to 230meters and 32.5 beam. Withthe knowhow acquiredthrough the simulation, vesselswith 260 meters length/45

meters beam and 290 meterslength/45 meters beam with15.20 meters draft can be han-dled on high tide. This enablesthe port to handle larger baby

cape/cape vessels also in theInner Harbour, thereby provid-ing opportunity to attract car-goes like bauxite, pet cokeand gypsum at VPT.

Haranadh expressed his sat-isfaction over the outcome ofstudies. "Simulation Studywill be a game-changer byenabling VPT to handle biggercontainer vessels in OuterHarbour, and cape and babycape vessels in the InnerHarbour. The entire scenarioof cargo operations at VPTwould change in the nearfuture, paving way for VPT tobecome a potential ContainerTranshipment Hub on the EastCoast.

He further informed thatmedium size container vesselsfrom the feeder ports likeHaldia, Paradeep and Kolkatawould be arriving atVisakhapatnam Port for tran-shipment of containersthrough VPT to various coun-tries by the Mainline Vessels.

VPT is envisaging imple-menting the results of thestudy after imparting requiredtraining to the pilots andincreasing the capacity of TugPower, he added.

Simulation test to be a game changer for VPT

UDAY Express torun btw Vizag andVijayawada fromSeptember 26PNS n VISAKHAPATNAM

The Ministry of Railwayshas decided to introduce thedouble-decker UDAYExpress connectingVisakhapatnam andVijayawada five days a weekfrom September 26. On theday of inauguration, the trainwill run as a special expresstrain with train No. 02701Visakhapatnam-Vijayawadawith open timings. The reg-ular service will commencefrom September 27.

The inauguration of thetrain had been postponedbecause of the untimely demiseof Arun Jaitley. Train No. 22701Visakhapatnam- Vijayawadadouble decker UDAY expresswill leave Visakhapatnam sta-tion every Monday, Tuesday,Wednesday, Friday, andSaturday at 5.45am which reachVijayawada at 11.15am.

In the return direction,train No. 22702 Vijayawada-Visakhapatnam double deck-er UDAY express will leaveVijayawada on every Monday,Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday,and Saturday at 5.30pm andreach Visakhapatnam at11pm.

n Conducts dealers meetin Vizag

n Over 300 dealers fromacross the Stateattended the meet

Dealers from Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram and Srikakulam at the Maxxisdealers’ meet in Visakhapatnam on Tuesday

NAD Vizag celebratesPlatinum Jubilee

PNS n VISAKHAPATNAM

Naval Armament Depot (NAD), Visakhapatnamcelebrated its Platinum Jubilee with a special pro-gramme on Tuesday.

Eastern Naval Command Vice Admiral, AtulKumar Jain was the Chief Guest. KK Prasad,Director General (Naval Armament), RearAdmiral Sanjay Misra, Director General (NavalArmament Inspectorate), MLA VisakhapatnamWest Constituency, Ganababu, flag officers ofENC, Chief General Managers of NADs,Director NSTL, Commanding Officers of var-ious establishments of ENC, retried DGs,Retired CGMs, and JCM members, in additionto a large number of retired officers andemployees were present on the occasion.

The programme commenced with JCMmembers welcoming the gathering, which wasfollowed by a cultural programme consisting ofclassical dances and patriotic songs. MSomasekhar, Sr Superintendent of Post Offices,Visakhapatnam, released the Special Cover. TheChief Guest released the Platinum Jubilee edi-tion of the NAD Magazine 'Smritika' and alsounveiled a Platinum Jubilee souvenir, a muraldepicting multifarious activities of the depot.

Addressing the gathering, Vice Admiral AtulKumar Jain acknowledged that NAD,Visakhapatnam was one of the oldest naval estab-lishments as it even came before ENC. He laud-ed the role played by NAD in meeting the oper-ational requirements of the Navy and assuredthem of the ENC's continuous support.

Continued from Page 1

Explaining the reason forrenting the building to Naidu,he said, "It was not due to anypolitical affiliations or financialfavours. As a responsible citi-zen and having concern for thedevelopment of AP, I leased outthe building after the then CMhad asked for it. After bifurca-tion, AP was left without anycapital and I felt it was my dutyto provide a suitable residentialaccommodation to a CM, whowas overseeing the construction

of new capital city Amravati. Iwould have rented out mybuilding to any CM at that time,if they had asked for it."

Lingamaneni brought to thenotice of Jagan about how he andhis family members were beingsubjected to mental agony andhumiliation by spreading falsereports that he was the 'benami'of Chandrababu, just because herented out the building to him.He stated that he had strived hardfor the development ofVijayawada by taking up sever-al residential and commercial

projects since 2004 when the lateYSR was the CM.

He said he had met andinvited the late YSR for thefoundation of Rain Tree ParkDwaraka Krishna, a huge res-idential project in 2004, con-structed a mega multiplexLEPL ICON in Benz circle in2011, constructed Ayush NRILEPL Healthcare Pvt Ltd in2012, LEPL Centro Mall in2012, and launched Air Costaflight services in 2013 whenKiran Kumar Reddy was CM.He also said he took up sever-

al projects around Vijayawadaeven after bifurcation of AP.

Lingamaneni stated thatwhatever assets he or his fami-ly members had accumulatedaround Vijayawada were doneprior to bifurcation in 2014 andhe did not secure any favoursfrom the TDP government orChandrababu after 2014.Adding that vendetta politicswill only lead to insecurity andfears among investors andindustrialists, he stated that itwould not be good for the Stateor the State's economy.

Lingamaneni Ramesh cries foul over ‘vendetta politics'

Prof A Lakshminath (former Vice-Chancellor, CNLU, Patna), Prof S Surya Prakash (Vice-Chancellor, DSNLU), Prof K Madhusudan Rao (Prof ofAndhra University), A Nageshwara Rao (Asst Prof at DSNLU) and economic and financial analyst Prof D Papa Rao at the panel discussion on Tuesday

The Inner Harbour iscapable of handlingvessels of length up to230 meters and 32.5beam. With theknowhow acquiredthrough thesimulation, vesselswith 260 meterslength/45 metersbeam and 290 meterslength/45 metersbeam with 15.20meters draft can behandled on high tide

TDP at pains tocounter govt’sclaims on reversetendering

Continued from Page 1Another argument put forth by the govern-

ment is that it is detrimental for the interestof the State if works are allotted to a compa-ny without assessing its capabilities. However,MEIL is a company that has done more worksduring the TDP rule in the last five years.

Chandrababu Naidu, who has given adetailed report on Polavaram on the day ten-ders were opened, has not uttered a singleword on the tender process and the cost.Only former minister DevineniUmamaheswara Rao, former MLAs andMLAs have made statements on Polavaramreverse tendering.

Devineni said that during the YSRajasekhara Reddy's government, workswere done without taking the capabilities ofthe companies into consideration. Suchworks were stalled half-through.

M Ganapati Rao, a contractor, said,"Generally, margins will be high in these pro-jects. If a work is given for Rs 100, the com-pany will offer the same work on sub-con-tract for Rs 80. But, this will not stop here,the work will be changing hands and the lastperson will do it for Rs 40. He will also getmargin on it. As YSRCP leaders have alsodone the works during the YS RajasekharaReddy's regime, they know about all this.Hence, they have cut one, or two sub-con-tractors' margins and convinced the maincontractor to come up with net price,which is a lesser than the projections dur-ing the earlier government."

Continued from Page 1

The CMO also stated thatthe meetings were not aboutpolitics. They discussed thebenef its of diver t ingGodavari waters to theRayalaseema region, includ-ing the Sagar Right Canal inKrishna Delta region. Withthis, Prakasam in AndhraPradesh, old Mahabubnagar,Rangareddy and Nalgonda

districts of Telangana wouldbe benefitted. The two ChiefMinisters also discussedunresolved issues from thetime of AP's bifurcation andalso about the separation ofpolice officers. The CMOstated that they had alsodiscussed the training ofnewly-appointed Telanganapolice constables in AP andthe problems of electricityworkers.

‘No discussions on Centre

at Jagan-KCR meet’

Defence Ministerpresents medalsto Coast Guardpersonnel

Continued from Page 1

The Indian Coast Guardwas actively involved insaving over 4,000 preciouslives during the recent floodrelief operation 'Sahayata' inMaharashtra, Karnatakaand Kerala.

He further appreciatedtheir efforts for undertakingmajor fire-fighting opera-tions onboard MerchantShip Daniela off Colombo,Motor Tanker Genessa offKandla and MerchantVessel Maersk Honam onthe fringes of the IndianSearch and Rescue Regionand thus carving a nicheamong the internationalmaritime community.

The service created amaritime history by seizing1.5 ton heroin f romMerchant Ship Henry.

Vice Admiral Atul Kumar Jain lauded the roleplayed by NAD in meeting the operationalrequirements of the Navy and assured themof the ENC's continuous support

VIJAYAWADA | WEDNESDAY | SEPTEMBER 25, 2019 nation 05SHORT READS

OSD to chief engineer held on graft chargesJAMMU: An officer on specialduty (OSD) to the chiefengineer of the public worksdepartment has been arrestedby the Anti Corruption Bureau(ACB) for allegedly acceptingbribe, an official said onTuesday. Suresh Kumar said inhis complaint that he hadcompleted counterfort wallwork at Reasi Anji Road for61.42 lakh for which anamount of Rs 32 lakhs waspending with the Roads andBuilding Department. Thecomplainant was constantlyharassed by OSD Nazir Ahmadand bribe was demanded forrelease of payment, officialssaid. After receiving thecomplaint, the Anti CorruptionBureau registered an FIR andthe ACB laid a trap. ACB teamscaught Ahmad along with hisassociate Raju Singh, driver inthe PWD department, whileallegedly accepting a bribe ofRs 70,000.

Goa cops track downperson behind nudeparty poster

Mayawati dissolvesRajasthan BSPexecutiveJAIPU: Bahujan Samaj Partychief Mayawati has dissolvedthe party's executive inRajasthan, days after its all sixlegislators joined the Congressand the brawl among activistsat its office. National convenerRamji Gautam and formerRajya Sabha member MunkadAli have been given theresponsibility of the BSP inRajasthan, said BhagwanSingh, the party's Rajasthanincharge. The entire executiveof the BSP has been dissolvedin the state, Singh said, addingthat the decision had beentaken on the instructions ofMayawati. The move comesafter all the six BSP MLAs inthe state joined the rulingCongress on September 16.Following the switch, workersclashed at the state-levelmeeting of the party held heretwo days ago.

Chouhan to launchcivil disobediencecampaign against MPBHOPAL: Former MadhyaPradesh chief minister ShivrajSingh Chouhan on Tuesdaysaid he will launch a 'savinayavagya' (civil disobedience)campaign against the rulingCongress over "non-fulfillment"of its promises made to peopleof the state. The senior BJPleader made the announcementduring the conclusion of histwo-day 'Janata ki Adalat'(people's court) held atNasrullaganj tehsil in Sehoredistrict, which falls in hisconstituency Budhni. A largenumber of people turned up atthe people's court to highlighttheir various problems,including inflated electricitybills, non-waiver of farm loansand issues pertaining towomen self-help groups. InChouhan's presence, somepeople also set afire their'inflated' power bills and saidthey will not pay them till theCongress-led state governmentdoes not fulfil its promise ofreducing their electricity usagecosts from Rs 200 per monthto Rs 100 per month. "Farmersare getting highly inflatedelectricity bills running intothousands of rupees, which istotally unjustified," Chouhansaid addressing the gathering.

Bhagwatinteracts withforeign mediaPNS n NEW DELHI

RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat onTuesday interacted with for-eign journalists from 30countries and shared thevision of the organisation."This interaction was part ofthe continuous process wherethe 'Sarsanghchalak' (chief)engages in constructive dia-logue with people from dif-ferent walks of the society,"the Rashtriya SwayamsevakSangh said in a statement.The interaction lasted foraround two-and-a-half hours.It started with brief intro-duction given by Bhagwat,followed by a question-and-answer session covering awide range of issues acrossthe spectrum, according tothe statement.

PANAJI: Goa Police have"tracked down" the personbelieved to be behindadvertising hosting of a "nudeparty", Chief Minister PramodSawant said on Tuesday after aposter surfaced on socialmedia announcing the event innorth Goa. Police on Mondaylaunched investigation into thesource of the poster titled'Private Goa Party'. Itmentioned the venue asMorjim-Ashwem road,Gawdewada Road, in Pernemtown. The poster informed that"10-15 foreigners" and "morethan 10 Indian girls" will takepart in the event. "Police haveinvestigated about that poster.They have been able to trackdown one person. He will bearrested soon," the chiefminister said, adding that thestate will not allow such anevent to happen. He refused todivulge the location of theperson. Tourism MinisterManohar Ajgaonkar also saidthat any nude party will not beallowed in Goa. "If you come toknow anything about suchevent then please inform us.We will take strict action," theminister said.

PNS nTHIRUVANANTHAPURAM

Indian badminton icon andworld champion P V Sindhuwill be part of a centuries-oldfolk ritual art form in a sleepyvillage of Kerala later thisweek, but not through herphysical presence.

A ceremonial 'kolam' (effi-gy) of Sindhu, holding bad-minton racket, will be madeand put on display onSeptember 27 at the finale ofthe famed 'NeelamperoorPadayani,' a 16-day-long annu-al ritual art to be held at PalliBhagavathy temple in the state.

"Padayani' is a ritual per-formed at the 'bhagavathy'(goddess) temples in centralKerala.

One of the oldest suchshrines dedicated toVanadurga (goddess) in thestate, the history of PallyBhagavathy temple atNeelamperoor located in theKottayam-Alappuzha border,can be traced back to 1700years, local people said.

Along with the conven-tional effigies of divine andsemi-divine impersonations,'padayani' artists of the villagehave decided to make the'kolam' of Sindhu as a sym-bolic representation of womenempowerment and her epicvictory in the recent worldchampionship. The six-feet-high effigy of Sindhu will bemade completely using natur-al ingredients like stem ofarecanut tree, stem sheath ofbanana plantain, bamboo and

lotus leaves and colour extractsof 'ixora' (chethi in local par-lance) flower.

"The work is progressingand the effigy of P V Sindhuis nearing completion. It willbe in the form of the girl hold-ing badminton racket in herhand," Sreekumar, a villager,who in among those oversee-ing the preparations of theNeelamperoor Padayani, toldPTI. Unlike the other varietiesof 'padayanies', theNeelamperoor Padayani givesfreedom in the making ofeffigies, he said.

"The traditional effigies likeswan will be maintained asmuch. But, youngsters in thevillage are particular aboutbringing some novelty in thesub-effigies. Last year, wemade one of iconic Argentinefootballer Lionel Messi," hesaid.

PNS n KOLKATA

Former Kolkata PoliceCommissioner Rajeev Kumaron Tuesday moved the CalcuttaHigh Court seeking anticipa-tory bail in the multi-croreSaradha chitfund case andclaimed that the CBI was"hounding" him.

Kumar, who is currentlyadditional director general inthe West Bengal CID, said hisleave will end on Wednesdayand his plea for pre-arrest bailbe taken up for hearing urgent-ly.

Moving the anticipatory bailpetition, his counsel DebasishRoy submitted before a divisionbench presided by Justice SMunshi, that "the CBI ishounding me (Kumar) likeanything."

At this, the other judge of thebench Justice S Dasgupta said,"Go and surrender."

The division bench thenfixed Kumar's anticipatory bailplea, which was filed onMonday, for hearing on

Wednesday.Kumar's lawyer earlier sub-

mitted that the petition waslisted at 'serial number 271'before the bench and prayedfor an urgent hearing of thematter.

The court asked him toexplain why it needed to betaken up for urgent hearing.

CBI sleuths have gone toseveral places, includingKumar's official residence atPark Street here, in search ofthe elusive officer.

Kumar's pre-arrest bail plea

was rejected by the AliporeDistrict and Sessions Court onSeptember 21.

The agency has given mul-tiple notices to him to appearbefore it for questioning as awitness in the Saradha scamcase.

He, however, did not appearbefore the CBI and has soughtmore time on every occasion.

The Saradha group of com-panies allegedly duped lakhs ofpeople to the tune of Rs 2,500crore, promising higher rates ofreturn on their investments.

During the hearing beforethe Alipore Sessions Court, the

CBI had claimed that Kumar isnot cooperating with it in theprobe, and has been evadingappearance before its investi-gation team on frivolousgrounds.

Countering the assertion,the senior IPS officer's counselsaid Kumar is not a fugitive andis on leave from September 1to 25.

On September 19, theagency had moved the court ofAdditional Chief JudicialMagistrate (ACJM) at Alipore,seeking an arrest warrantagainst Kumar.

The court had, however,said the CBI does not need itswarrant, as the Supreme Courtand the Calcutta High Courthad already lifted bar on hisarrest in the chitfund case.

Prior to that, Kumar hadapproached the Barasat districtcourt for pre-arrest bail, but itdisposed of his application onthe ground that it did nothave jurisdiction in the matter,as the case was registered atAlipore court.

The Calcutta High Courthad on September 13 vacatedits interim order granting himprotection from arrest. It hadalso rejected his plea for quash-ing the CBI notice that soughthis appearance for interroga-tion in the case.

Earlier on May 23, the apexcourt had vacated an interimprotection to Kumar fromarrest by the CBI.

The agency had summonedKumar on May 27 for ques-tioning in connection with theponzi scam, challenging whichhe had moved the high court,seeking quashing of the notice.

Kumar was part of a SpecialInvestigation Team set up bythe West Bengal government toinvestigate the scam, before theSupreme Court handed overthe case to the CBI in 2014,along with other chitfundcases.

The chitfund scam wasunearthed in 2013 duringKumar's tenure as theBidhannagar PoliceCommissioner.

PNS n NEW DELHI

The National Commission ofSafai Karamcharis (NCSK) onTuesday said 64 people havedied while cleaning sewers inDelhi since 1993 with 38 suchdeaths taking place in the lasttwo years.

NCSK chairman ManharValjibhai Zala claimed that theDelhi government has notbeen implementing theProhibition of Employment asManual Scavengers and theirRehabilitation Act, 2013 and issending out a wrong messageto the rest of the country.

Delhi's Social WelfareMinister Rajendra PalGautam, however, said theDelhi government has ensuredeffective implementation ofthe Act and the deaths whichhave taken place occurred inseptic tanks of malls and highrises where sewer cleaningmachines of Delhi Jal Boardcannot reach.

The minister said his gov-ernment has put an end tomanual scavenging andexploring alternatives forcleaning septic tanks in mallsand buildings.

He said, "The issue shouldnot be politicised and every-

one should join hands to putan end to the abominablepractice. We have developed'mangalyaan', we should alsoexplore new technologies forsewer cleaning."

After a review meeting withthe officials of the Delhi gov-ernment, Zala said 38 sewerdeaths have taken place inDelhi alone in the last twoyears and 64 deaths have takenplace in the city since 1993.

Of the 64 people who diedwhile cleaning sewers, thestate government has givencompensation of Rs 10 lakhsto 46 families.

The commission asked theDelhi administration to pro-vide compensation to rest ofthe families within a week.

PNS n NEW DELHI

RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat onTuesday said the fear of losingland and jobs among people ofJammu and Kashmir afterabrogation of Article 370 pro-visions should be allayed andasserted that putting an end tothe region's special status willhelp integrate Kashmiris withrest of the country.

According to sources, whileinteracting with journalistsrepresenting foreign media,he claimed that Kashmiriswere earlier "alienated" butthe repeal of the provisions ofArticle 370 will remove thebarriers that existed betweenthem and the rest of the nation.

The Rashtriya SwayamsevakSangh (RSS), in a statement,said, "This interaction waspart of the continuous processwhere the 'Sarsanghchalak'(chief) engages in constructivedialogue with people fromdifferent walks of the society."

About apprehensions ofKashmiris that the move onArticle 370 will lead to "out-siders" buying their land,Bhagwat is learnt to have said,

"Whatever fears they haveabout losing land and jobsshould be allayed."

On the issue of NationalRegister of Citizens in Assam,he said it's not about expellingpeople but about identifyingthe citizens.

"There is no place forHindus in the world exceptIndia," sources said quotinghim.

Asked about homosexuali-ty, an issue on which the viewof the Hindutva organisationhas evolved over time,Bhagwat said it's a "variation"and not an "abnormality".

"They should be treated asequal human beings and inte-

grated into society," the RSSchief said.

About incidents of moblynching, Bhagwat said theRSS condemns all forms ofviolence and its volunteersshould try to stop such inci-dents.

"If a swayamsevak is foundguilty, we will disown him andlaw should follow its owncourse," he said.

Bhagwat, under whose stew-ardship the RSS has opened upcomparatively, also told foreignjournalists that his organisa-tion will never be a politicalbody and "the Hindutva itespouses is about unity indiversity".

PNS n NEW DELHI

Robert Vadra has opposed inthe Delhi High Court theEnforcement Directorate's pleachallenging his anticipatorybail in a money launderingcase. Vadra, son-in-law ofCongress chief Sonia Gandhi,said in his reply that there wasno single instance of his non-cooperation with the investi-gation and there was no risk ofhim tampering with any evi-dence as the ED has alreadyseized from him every docu-ment pertaining to the case.

ED was conducting a fish-ing and roving enquiry andhas no material to support theallegations made against him,he claimed.

The matter is scheduled tocome up for hearing in thecourt on September 26.

ED had sought in the highcourt cancellation of Vadra's

anticipatory bail on theground that it required his cus-tody as he was not cooperat-ing in the investigation.

Regarding the allegation offlight risk, Vadra said in hisreply, "The conduct of therespondent (Vadra) in return-ing to India from abroad vol-untarily upon reading pressreports that ED was investi-gating him made it abun-dantly clear that Vadra had nointention of whatsoever offleeing the country and wasdetermined to stay in Indiaand clear the name."

PNS n NEW DELHI

A new leadership group, to beled by India and Sweden, wasannounced at the UnitedNations Climate ActionSummit to help guide theworld's heaviest greenhousegas emitting industries towardslow-carbon economy, an offi-cial of the Union Ministry ofEnvironment said on Tuesday.

Besides India and Sweden,the other countries which arethe part of the initiative includeArgentina, Finland, France,Germany, Ireland,Luxembourg, the Netherlands,South Korea and the UK, hesaid, adding several companies

are also an active part of thegroup.

The new leadership groupwill drive transformation inhard-to-decarbonise and ener-gy-intensive sectors.

"This global initiative will besupported by the WorldEconomic Forum, the EnergyTransitions Commission,Mission Innovation,Stockholm Environment

Institute, and the EuropeanClimate Foundation amongmany others in an ambitious,public-private effort, to ensureheavy industries and mobilitycompanies can find a workablepathway to deliver on the ParisAgreement," the ministry offi-cial said.

Addressing a press confer-ence in New York, UnionEnvironment Minister PrakashJavadekar said, "The last twodays have seen major take-aways, including the decisionthat heavy industries who aredoing their bit on their own,without any external help, havedecided to have a low carbonpath."

PNS n NEW DELHI

Union Home Minister AmitShah on Tuesday asked oper-ators of private security agen-cies to undertake welfare ini-tiatives like health insurance,health check up and pensionfor private guards by takingadvantage of government-sponsored schemes.

Shah also asked privatesecurity agencies to hire NCCtrained guards so that thoseemployed have some basictraining on security.

Launching a private securi-ty agency licensing portal ini-tiated by the Ministry ofHome Affairs, he said agenciesmust ensure that each andevery private security guardhas a 'Jan Dhan' bank accountfor salary disbursement andthere should be no cash trans-

actions with them.The home minister said

there are around 90 lakh pri-vate security guards in thecountry while the total num-ber of police and paramilitaryforces is around 30 lakh. Thatmeans, there are 24 per centpolice and 76 per cent privatesecurity guards, he said.

"You should undertakesome welfare schemes likeregular health check up of pri-

vate security guards. Youshould enrol them under thegovernment-sponsored Rs 2lakh insurance scheme(Pradhan Mantri SurakshaBima Yojana) and pay theyearly premium of Rs 22 foreach guard. The governmentwill pay rest of the amount ofRs 350.

"Similarly, arrangementsshould be made so that eachprivate guard comes under the

cover of Atal Pension Yojana(a government back scheme),"he said.

The home minister askedprivate security agencies toemploy NCC trained youths assecurity guards to ensure thatthey get people with basicdiscipline.

"We should enhance thecredibility of the wholeprocess. People would knowthat with NCC certificate,

they will get a job in securityagencies easily. This criteriashould be popularised gradu-ally. You will also get peoplehaving discipline and patriot-ic values trained by the gov-ernment. There is also a SkillIndia certificate," he said.

Shah said the police verifi-cation of private securityguards has become easier nowas 90 per cent police stationsin the country are now linkedwith a dedicated only system(CCTNS).

"The record of any securi-ty guard in those 90 per centpolice stations will be easilyavailable. This is also veryconvenient for you to checkwith the police the criminalrecord of a person... you canalso do the police verificationof existing security guards," hesaid.

Shah wants welfare schemes for pvt guards

Rajeev Kumar

CBI sleuths havegone to severalplaces, includingKumar's officialresidence at ParkStreet here, insearch of theelusive officer.

P V Sindhu

Padayani' is aritual performed atthe ‘bhagavathy'(goddess) templesin central Kerala

Sindhu in Kerala’sancient ritual art form

Amit Shah

The Home Minister said there arearound 90 lakh private securityguards in the country while thetotal number of police andparamilitary forces is around 30lakh. That means, there are 24per cent police and 76 per centprivate security guards, he said.

Mohan Bhagwat

On the issue ofNational Registerof Citizens inAssam, he said it'snot aboutexpelling peoplebut aboutidentifying thecitizens

‘Kashmiris' fear about losingland, jobs misplaced’

The minister saidhis governmenthas put an end tomanualscavenging andexploringalternatives forcleaning septictanks in malls andbuildings

Robert Vadra

Robert Vadraopposes ED in HC

New group led by India, Sweden at helmUN CLIMATE SUMMIT

64 sewersdied inDelhi while cleaning

Saradha scam: Rajeev Kumarclaims CBI ‘hounding' him

Onion prices tostabilise in nextfew days: TomarPNS n NEW DELHI

Onion prices, which are rulingas high as Rs 70-80 per kg insome parts of the country, willcalm down in the next fewdays with supply being boost-ed through agencies likeNafed, Agriculture MinisterNarendra Singh Tomar said onTuesday.

Onion prices have gradual-ly increased in the last onemonth due to supply disrup-tion from flood-hit onion-growing states likeMaharashtra. Last week's rain-fall has further affected thesupply, due to which onionprices have surged up to Rs 70-80 per kg in the national cap-ital and other parts of thecountry, as per trade sources.

"Onion situation willimprove in the next few days.Cooperative Nafed is releasingstock from the central bufferat a lower price. We haveenough stock of onions,"Tomar told reporters after thelaunch of two mobile apps forfarmers.

The government is aware ofthe onion situation and takingmeasures to balance in theinterest of both farmers andconsumers, he said.

"At times, consumers haveto pay high price for farmitems; and at times, farmers getless price for their produce.Our role is to balance this. Weare aware of it and are takingseveral measures," Tomaradded.

Right now, stored onions aresold in most parts of thecountry, as fresh Kharif(summer) crop will hit themarket from Novemberonwards, traders said.

Traders further said thatthere is enough supply ofstored onion of the previousyear's crop in the country, butits transportation has beenaffected because of heavyrains.

The centre has taken sever-al measures to arrest the pricesof onion in Delhi and otherparts of the country.

Narendra Singh Tomar

The space for presidential con-tenders in Sri Lanka’s election onNovember 16 is crowding. Thehopefuls are from the Sri LankaPodujana Peramuna (SLPP), the

breakaway faction of the Sri Lanka FreedomParty (SLFP), Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, JanathaVimukthi Peramuna (JVP)’s Anura KumaraDissanayaka and United National Party(UNP)’s leaders — Ranil Wickremesinghe;deputy leader, Sajith Premadasa; Speaker ofParliament Karu Jayasuriya — and evenDemocratic Party leader Field MarshalSarath Fonseka, who fought and lost toMahinda Rajapaksa in 2009. Tomorrow’ssecret ballot will determine the UNP candi-date. The bets are on the youthful Premadasato give a fight to Gota, former Army Coloneland Defence Secretary under his brotherMahinda Rajapaksa, who was the key archi-tect of victory over the Liberation Tigers ofTamil Eelam (LTTE). His image as a do-er/disciplinarian under the shadow of 21/4Easter Sunday bombings makes him elec-table. The most striking headline of a pos-sible outcome of an election is Rajapaksaredux and democracy in peril.

At present, national security tops the elec-tion agenda, which includes the fragileeconomy, abolition of the executive presiden-cy and arresting and rolling back the angeragainst Muslims. Like in previous elections,the vote of the minorities — Christians,Muslims and Tamils — will be the clincher.In the last elections, a unity candidate of theSLFP and UNP, incumbent PresidentMaithripala Sirisena defeated MahindaRajapaksa. This time around, a grand allianceis unlikely. Its signal achievement was theopening up of the democratic space, the pas-sage of 19 and 20 Amendments and tinker-ing with Constitutional reform. TheRajapaksas swept the local polls in 2018,marking its rise due to the collective failureof the National Unity Government — fail-ure to mend the economy and press aspromised corruption charges against theRajapaksas.

Gota, a former American citizen, has anedge at present as he commands the sup-port of a majority Sinhalese (76 per cent)in urban areas and among civil and militarybureaucracies. He is feared as much as heis admired as a tested war leader; his aurathough tainted with “white van” disappear-ances, allegations of human rights violationsand a litany of corruption charges that hesays are being “managed.” Gota’s choice asPresident has, according to the grapevine,introduced a rift in the ambitious Rajapaksaclan. While presenting Gota as a presiden-tial suitor, Mahinda promptly proposed hisown name as the future Prime Minister. Inan interview to a Tamil newspaper, he saidthe real power, thanks to the 19thAmendment, will be with the PrimeMinister. He is Gota’s shadow in his electionrallies and closed-door meetings with SLPPyouth wing and other Muslim and Tamil

minorities. Gota is explainingthat discipline and military ruleare not the same thing.

The Sirisena-Wickremesinghe cohabitationfailed miserably. In the UNP, theperennial question of youngerleadership has been blocked byWickremesinghe, who has twicebefore lost presidential electionsand will be no match for Gota athird time. He lacks charisma.Fifty-nine-year-old Premadasa,the Minister for Housing andReconstruction, has like hisfather, former PresidentRanasinghe Premadasa, donegreat work in rural areas, build-ing homes and caring for theunderprivileged. Fonseka, a for-mer Army Commander duringthe Eelam war, has said that ifnational security is the lead issue,he is the right man for the job. Butonly Premadasa can give a fightto Gota. JVP’s Dissanayake willeat into around five to six lakhSinhalese votes. This campaignwill be about Gota securingminority support and SajithPremadasa winning additionalSinhalese votes. The Rajapaksashave never won over the minori-ties though this time they areworking overtime.

The ruling combine hasmade some progress in reconcil-iation and transitional justice inthe north by returning 75 per

cent of the land occupied by theArmy and establishing the Officeof Missing Persons. But noprogress was recorded in theinvestigation of 65,000 com-plaints of “the missing.” Sirisenavisited Jaffna on August 30 andreiterated his promise to theTamils. They are disillusionedwith Mahinda Rajapaksa, whofirst replaced devolution withdevelopment but later, at India’sinsistence, pledged the imple-mentation of 13A plus, the plusbeing an upper house. TheTamils are divided. A number ofnew parties has sprouted like theTrans-Pacific Partnership (TPP)and the Social Democratic Partyof Tamils (SDPT). The mainstay,Tamil National Alliance (TNA),remains aligned with UNP whilethe Eelam People’s DemocraticParty (EPDP) plus some small-er parties will support theRajapaksas. Rizakh Badruddin ofACPC party is a Muslim. SomeMuslims have been returning tothe north in Mannar — after theywere hounded out of the northby the LTTE. The TNA is thekingmaker in Government for-mation and has invariablyshunned the Rajapaksas.

The most pragmaticMuslims are united and betterorganised in the east. InBatticaloa and Ampara districts,Muslims constitute 22 per cent

of the population (populationdivision in the east, includingTrincomalee district, is roughlyone-third each of Sinhalese,Tamils and Muslims). The ever-green Rauff Hakeem of the SriLanka Muslim Congress(SLMC) has kept his flocktogether as for his party there areno untouchables. After the 21/4bombings, Muslims have self-moderated and 10 of itsMinisters resigned from theGovernment so that investiga-tions against them could beheld freely and fairly. Anti-Muslim sentiment across thecountry is high but dormant,especially among Sinhalese andTamils in the east.

Gota hopes to receive 47 percent of the Muslim votes thoughhis association with the BoduBala Sena in the riots inAmparai, Kandy and Kalmunaihas not been forgotten. InBeruwala last month, accompa-nied by Mahinda, he attended acivic reception by 10,000Muslims at a mosque. Christianstraditionally vote for the UNP. Sothe battle for the minority vote,crucial for Gota, is in full swingthough UNP is the usual bene-ficiary (the minority vote is evenmore critical during the parlia-mentary elections due on August2020). Together, the north andthe east make up 29 seats in the

225-member Parliament. Themuch-promised electoralreforms are critical for stability.

The shock of the Colombobombings by local internallyradicalised Muslims inspired bythe Islamic State (IS) has shat-tered the confidence Sri Lankansachieved after subduing the dead-ly LTTE following a three-decade-long war. The risk ofgrowing polarisation in societyhas to be contained and rolledback. This makes internal secu-rity the main concern of the peo-ple and Gota, therefore, the fron-trunner with attendant dangersof over-securitisation. If UNP andits candidate can switch the elec-toral agenda to economy, liveli-hood and democracy while keep-ing national security in place, canbe a close race — too close to call.The return of the Rajapaksas willcause some anxiety for NewDelhi. Three retired Sri Lankanprofessors along with Colombo’sLakshman Kadirgamar Institutecarried out an election survey inAugust. It showed Gota ahead.But six weeks is a long time inelections, especially if it is Gotavs Sajith.

(The writer is a retiredMajor General of the IndianArmy and founder member ofthe Defence Planning Staff, cur-rently the revamped IntegratedDefence Staff)

Seems the eastern State of Jharkhand,which accounted for 17 of the 44 lynch-ing deaths in the country between May

2015 and December 2018, is unlikely to getrid of the tag of being a “hotbed” of cow vig-ilantism anytime soon. If anything, it demon-strates how an artificially created fear psychosisand the vicarious thrills it generates are beingused to create an ambient temperature and votepolarisation before the Assembly elections.Most worrisome is the fact that attacks onminorities seem to be an easy tool as the per-

petrators are pretty sure that they can avoid the law. Just three months ago, 24-year-old Tabrez Ansari was killed on the alleged suspicion that he and two of hisfriends were guilty of theft. Despite viral videos on what should have been anopen and shut case, the accused were let off at first and booked only after apublic outcry and a detailed medical inquiry. This time three Christian tribals —Kalantus Barla, Philip Horo and Kachhap — were attacked in Khunti district inthe belief, arising from a chain of whatsapp messages, that they were carvingout meat from the carcass of an animal. Overlooking the lessons from the Ansariincident, self-styled vigilante groups took it upon themselves to deliver justice tothe three without even confirming the truth behind the messages. An agitatedmob beat one to death while the other two are battling for life in the hospital. Ofcourse, the police, unlike the Ansari case, has taken swift action in this case.As soon as the matter was reported, it lost no time to rescue the victims and isnow probing all angles that led to the heinous act.

It is deeply distressing that lynching incidents, mostly manifestations of big-otry, caste or communal, and accelerated by social media platforms, continueto remain a recurring theme not just in Jharkhand but also other States. Thisdespite the Supreme Court berating politicians for their failure to deal with suchoffences. It had asked the Parliament to formulate an anti-lynching law and pro-vide adequate punishment for such incidents while also asking respective Statesto “take specific preventive, punitive and remedial measures.” Two high-level com-mittees were set up to guide the Government in the formulation of a law but noth-ing much has yet been achieved. Forget the drafting of a law, even the guide-lines to prevent misuse of social media platforms for hate campaigns haven’ttaken shape. Which is why on Monday, the top court had to step in once againto haul up the Government, asking it to submit details of the progress made inholding social media firms accountable for their failure to trace the origin of onlinecontent within three weeks. While lynching-specific laws may not be there atpresent, there are others that can effectively tackle the menace. Only the politi-cal will seems to be lacking. This has only created an environment that has allowedwrong-doers to overcome all sorts of inhibitions and kill people legitimately in agroup to make a point. The Raghubar Das Government, which is seeking anoth-er mandate, has to order a thorough investigation into the matter and ensure thatthe perpetrators are brought to book unlike in the Ansari case which continuesto linger, marred as it is with several twists and turns. More than anything else,instilling a sense of fear of law among vigilante groups is essential.

The collapse of Thomas Cook in the UKhas little or no direct bearing on India otherthan the fact that this winter, there might

be fewer holiday-makers from Britain in Goaand Kerala, the two destinations popular amongthose who book package holidays back home.Thomas Cook India, which was once a sub-sidiary, was spun off a few years ago and iscurrently majorly owned by a Canadianinvestor. Thomas Cook was the original pack-age tour operator wherein people paid a com-pany to take care of all arrangements of trav-

el, stay and food. But a history of bad decisions coupled with management greedled the company to its demise. These have clearly been compounded by con-cerns about Brexit and the way the travel industry has undergone a sea-changein recent times. The rise of an online market, with consumers choosing theirown travel plans through aggregated players and with Airbnb and OYO servicesnow being available in almost every city round the world, travel agencies arebecoming all but redundant while their commissions have dwindled drastically.Consequently, it is either corporate business travellers or those who do not wantthe baggage on their heads to plan a trip who rely on them. A sudden shutdownof the traditional service has meant that it is not just those planning holidays who’vebeen hit. Imagine the plight of the 180,000 holiday-makers, who are currentlyout on their vacations and have suddenly discovered that not only has their hol-iday been curtailed, they have no way of getting back home.

For years, the British have had something called the Air Travel Organisers’Licence (ATOL), wherein a small fee from every package holiday went to theUK’s Civil Aviation Administrator so that in case of a business failure, the fundscould be used to help repatriate stranded tourists home. The rationale behindthis plan was developed after several operators went under in the 1970s with amultitude of citizens stranded abroad. For many in those days, holidays wereonce-in-a-lifetime experiences for which they would save money for years. Manyvacationers did not have the funds to pay for an emergency ticket back home,let alone pay for such tickets for entire families. Over time, the planning and exe-cution to rescue stranded tourists across the world — from the Asia-Pacific tothe US — has become a remarkable operation and is extremely impressive, espe-cially since it is being conducted during peacetime. Most other dramatic repa-triation operations have often had the clouds of war in the background, includ-ing India’s dramatic airlift of citizens before the 1991 Gulf War. While this pro-vision only covers those with package holidays, there have been industry callsfor protecting the traveller from failed airlines. India, too, must look at such aproposal. In the past decade, two large airlines and several smaller ones havegone into insolvency, leaving thousands of travellers high and dry. While those,who paid with credit cards, were entitled to some sort of compensation fromtheir card-issuing companies, others found themselves without any recourse.Those who were abroad, or even foreign flyers in India, found themselves strand-ed. As air travel and package tours become more popular, several companies,airlines and travel operators will face financial difficulties in India and could facea heartbreak or two in the coming years. The Government should add a smallfee, even under a hundred rupees, to every air ticket to take care of such aneventuality. While travellers should be aware of the financial health of their touroperators and the airlines, that is not always possible and with many holidaysbooked months in advance, it is impossible to predict a business failure.

Safe travel plans

Unconventional move

Sir — This refers to the editori-al, “Convenient truths”(September 24). Despite manycriticisms by the media, the factremains that Prime MinisterNarendra Modi did steal theshow during his speech at theworld’s only super power, wherepublic speaking is as celebratedas the presidency itself. Andthis, in the company of theworld’s most powerful politi-cian, who quite incredibly — andgoing against his grain — wascontent playing the second fiddle.

But wading into the domes-tic politics of a host nation cancast a long shadow on future rela-tions. Whether an Indian PrimeMinister should have so openlyweighed in an upcoming electoralbattle in a foreign country wouldnot have passed the test of con-ventional diplomacy. But nei-ther Trump nor Modi is a con-ventional politician.

By speaking of India’sdemocracy and its diversity,Prime Minister Narendra Modishowcased the common valueswith the US. By defending hismoves in Kashmir, linking it toterrorism and espousing a part-

nership with Trump on counterterrorism, he sought to neu-tralise Pakistan.

Pakistan, already feeling frus-trated due to the lack of globalsupport after the abrogation ofArticle 370, has all the reason tofeel very angry and helpless.

JS Acharya Hyderabad

Mutual benefit

Sir — This refers to the editori-al, “Convenient truths”(September 24). The joint appear-ance of Prime Minister NarendraModi and US President DonaldTrump at Houston underscoresthe growing significance of the

Indo-US ties. For the latter, it wasa chance to court Indian-Americans for the 2020 presiden-tial election, where Texas couldemerge as an important politicalentity while deciding the result.For Modi, it was a PR triumph,and the picture with Trump mayhelp him shrug off the criticismover his recent strong-arm poli-

cies at home. It was a win-winevent for both.

That said, why does themedia always keeps harpingabout the current situation inKashmir? I wonder, did it everbother about the plight of theKashmiri Pandits when they weredriven out of Kashmir? Of theapproximately 300,000 to 600,000Hindus living in the KashmirValley in 1990, only 2,000 to 3,000reside there today. Any tears forthem?

KS Jayatheertha Bengaluru

Courting controversy

Sir — This refers to the editori-al, “Convenient truths”(September 24). What purposedid the Prime Minister’s Houstonvisit serve at a time when thenation is burning with issuessuch as economic slowdown,falling GDP, increasing unem-ployment, farmer suicides? Itwas nothing but indulgence in achoreographed extravaganza.

SumitVia email

P A P E R W I T H P A S S I O N

www.dailypioneer.comfacebook.com/dailypioneer | @TheDailyPioneer | instagram.com/dailypioneer/

op nionVIJAYAWADA | WEDNESDAY | SEPTEMBER 25, 2019

06

Lanka’s electoral test

ASHOK K MEHTA

With presidential polls in Sri Lanka scheduled later this year, internal security isone domain that is going to be on the minds of citizens

There is no sign of freedom of speech inJammu and Kashmir.The situation in theValley is very bad.

Senior Congress leader—Ghulam Nabi Azad

The world's getting smaller and we are a hugeindustry. We all are goingto be out there at somepoint or the other.

Director—Zoya Akhtar

PM Imran Khan met British ForeignMinister Boris Johnson this morning. Sorry for the typo in previous tweet. PM Imran Khan met British PM this morning (sic).

Pakistan's UN envoy—Maleeha Lodhi

S O U N D B I T E

L E T T E R S T O TT H E E D I T O R

The pomp and show at Houston

This refers to the editorial, “Convenient truths”(September 24). In its appearance, the “Howdy,Modi” event in Houston was a big success. It made

for a magnificent spectacle and a visual treat. PrimeMinister Narendra Modi was in his element and hisaddress delivered to the rapturous applause of the audi-ence was an exercise in grand-standing. However, onlyby looking at India through rose-coloured spectaclescan we agree with the Prime Minister’s assertion that“everything is fine in India.” Seeing impoverishment,joblessness, farmer distress, mob lynchings, jailing ofdissenters and the like and speaking about them arenowadays left to “anti-nationals” and “urban Naxals.”

One thing that US President Donald Trump andPrime Minister Modi — leaders of predominantlyChristian and Hindu nations — share and what makesthem look similar is their conscious dissociation fromIslam. Their allusion to “extremist Islamist groups” asthe common enemy and threats from them was notlost on anyone. Modi opined that Article 370 “bene-fitted separatists and terrorists.” But he did not explain

as to why its dilution by a two-thirds majority in theParliament was followed by repressive measures andrestrictions in the Valley. We couldn’t agree more withthe Prime Minister when he said, “Diversity is thestrength of our democracy.” To add to what he said,it is the defining feature of our democracy.

G David MiltonMaruthancode

Send yyour ffeedback tto:letterstopioneer@gmail.com

Another lynching

Friendship was the bedrock ofmy father’s politics. I will notcompromise on my corebeliefs even though politicscontinues to become partisan.

Former Congress MP—Milind Deora

The collapse of Thomas Cook has led to an incredible rescueoperation. Should India look at such protection for travellers?

The vigilante attack on Jharkhand tribals is not just anincident, it is symptomatic of a system that condones it

University for cops

SHOULD I COMMIT SUICIDE? WHAT AM I EXPECTEDTO DO IF NOT RAISE THE ISSUES OF MY

CONSTITUENCY AS AN ELECTED REPRESENTATIVE?—UNION MINISTER

GIRIRAJ SINGH

GIRIRAJ OFTEN SEEKS TO GIVE THE IMPRESSIONTHAT HE IS BRAVE. BUT HIS TALK OF SUICIDE GIVES THE IMPRESSION THAT HE IS A COWARD.—JD(U) SPOKESMANNIKHIL MANDAL

POINTCOUNTERPOINT

With the crime graph soaring and crim-inals becoming more technology-savvy each day, smart policing is the

need of the hour. But for this, India needs tooverhaul the training of the force, teach skills todeal with new policing challenges such ascyber crime, improve the mechanisms in placeto maintain law and order, encourage researchand development and improve investigation abil-ities.

The idea of setting up a central police uni-versity for overhauling the way the policeworks and deals with law and order has beenaround since 2006. In keeping with PrimeMinister Narendra Modi’s vision of “SmartPolicing,” the idea of a central university was partof the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) commitmentin the Lok Sabha elections.

On the 49th Foundation Day of the Bureauof Police Research and Development, the UnionHome Minister, Amit Shah, announced the set-ting up of a national police university and foren-sic science university, with affiliated colleges inevery State. According to the Centre’s plan, thisuniversity, for which the Government has givenin-principle approval and a 100-acre plot hasbeen identified in Greater Noida, will have affil-iated colleges in every State, which will offerundergraduate courses in policing. Touted as anunprecedented development in India’s policingand crime-reduction landscape, this proposalaims to serve three main purposes, which areto improve the knowledge, skills and training ofpolice personnel; increase the use of research inpolicing policy and practice and allow candidateswho have cleared their class XII examinationsto gain specific skills of police work, with spe-cial weightage in recruitment to the police andparamilitary forces.

Such institutions are already operational inthe three States of Gujarat, Rajasthan andJharkhand, each of them having one police uni-versity. These universities, while relativelyyoung, are offering professional courses on crim-inal justice, which include criminology, policescience and forensic science, with an intentionto provide skilled, trained and efficient manpow-er for the police forces. Of the three, RakshaShakti University, the brainchild of Modi, is theonly police-oriented university which has keptthe promise of bolstering local police efforts tocombat crime and changing their perspective ontackling law and order situations.

So, is it worth making a huge investment insetting up an institute for imparting police edu-cation, when only one such university hasclaimed to have made substantial progress in itsavowed purpose of modernising policing, thusfar? The answer to that question is a resound-ing “Yes.” That’s because policing educationstresses not only on physical fitness, persever-ance and teaching handy skills like firearms andself-defence but also on developing a specialistknowledge-base for all policing roles whichreflects its current and future challenges. Of themany subjects taught under police studies, theone that is central to policing in many ways iscriminology. The etiology and distribution ofcrime offers a foundation from which policeagencies can develop a proactive approach andget smarter about crime control.

In the West, for example, police scholars andprofessionals use criminologically-driven con-cepts — such as victim-offender relationship,geographic concentration of crime, early iden-tification of high-rate offenders, differentialinvolvement in crime by age and gender andlinkages between disorder, signs of incivility, lackof guardianship and crime—to create an effec-tive and humane response to crime problems.

Remarkably, this practice is grounded in thebelief that crime is a social phenomenon, tack-ling which requires the police to understand its

causal factors — much like a doctorwho first diagnoses the problem andthen prescribes medical treatment forcuring the ailment.

Hence, the vision that the nation-al police university will serve as athink-tank can only be realised when“intellectualism” is brought into thepolice discipline. This means teachingpolicing not only with an emphasis oneffective practices but also with theintention to conduct deeper analysesabout its role, functions and legitima-cy. For this to happen, criminologymust be institutionalised and for-malised in the curriculum.

Challenges for Police Education:There are three major challenges toteaching modules.

First, at present, there are only afew courses in India and they too teachrudimentary skills. That’s becausethese courses are mostly taught byretired or serving police officers, whoutilise their experience of handling“tough situations” largely throughtheir “great vision” and larger-than-lifepersona. The success of policing work,however, has to be based on verifiabledata and evidence-based strategieswhich are not dependent on larger-than-life projections. A pedagogicalapproach, which is dependent on indi-vidual bravado and not empirical evi-dence, may be detrimental to develop-ing effective strategies.

Second, since police educationcurriculum is directly driven by pro-fessional competencies as defined bypolice officers and approved on thebasis of existing delivery models, ittends to deal more with what is visi-ble on the surface and of immediateconcern; policy issues which haveserious implications for the future aregenerally ignored. This form of cur-riculum development often neglectsthe important role of social sciences in

advancing crime analysis and in eval-uating and assessing traditional prac-tices and new innovations in strategies.It also allows experts to deliver theirlectures based on field experiences andcondemn theoretical insights as some-thing constructed in “ivory towers.”There’s no denying that practitioners’experience is important, but being dis-missive about theories whose originslie in hard data analysis and researchis really worrisome.

For instance, Newman’s concept of“Defensible Space” allowed city plan-ners to create physical layouts thatdecrease crime levels by affecting thebehaviour of both residents and poten-tial offenders in urban neighborhoods.Newman was a professor of architec-ture and that helped him make use ofspaces for public surveillance. Similarly,the concept of “EnvironmentalCriminology,” introduced by C RayJeffery in 1971, is concerned with crim-inal events and the importance of thecharacteristics of the places wherecrime happens. Several practicalapproaches to Crime PreventionThrough Environmental Design(CPTED) were developed later on byPaul and Patricia Brantingham andothers. There is a need to blend in theseconcepts with practitioners’ experiencewhile teaching for policing.

Third, the non-upgradation ofpolice education curricula might leadto skills and knowledge deficiency inpolice personnel. The police studiessyllabus, as followed by the presentpolice universities, has not kept pacewith the latest developments in policesciences the world over, and indeed,within India itself. The curriculumdrafting committees must take steps toincorporate new topics of crime con-trol such as hotspots policing, problem-oriented policing, crime analysisthrough Computer Statistics and

Geographic Information Systems (GIS)Crime Mapping.

By doing this, future personnel willbe better equipped with the use of evi-dence-based strategies to improveresponses to complex crime and lawmaintenance problems.

Professional opportunities inpolice departments: The idea of anational police university will gain theimportance it deserves when graduatesof police science are provided with pro-fessional opportunities to practisetheir skills and knowledge. This maybe done in several ways. One of this isintroducing “Criminology and PoliceScience” as an optional subject in theCivil Services Exam. This will ensurean equal footing for this important sub-ject, which is already an establishedfield in most Western countries.Creating a special quota for the recruit-ment of criminology and police sciencegraduates at the lower levels of policedepartments would lead to an influx ofsubject area expertise in police ranks,which in turn, could assist senior offi-cers in framing and administeringsmart policies for crime reduction.

Police academia partnerships:The proposed universities would alsodo well to aggressively partner withacademia on conducting research intovarious policing practices and othercrime-reduction strategies. Through ananalysis of what works in policing andwhat does not, policy-makers can begiven evidence-based choices on alter-native courses of action. Over a peri-od, policing will gain as a result of thor-ough review and examination of itspractices.

(Chandra is a Criminologist andDirector of the Centre for Criminologyand Public Policy and Hanif Qureshi, isInspector General of Police, Haryanaand Chair, Evidence-Based PolicingNetwork of the same institute)

A central police university that will overhaul training and help the force fight new-agecrime better is the need of the hour, say Rochin Chandra and Hanif Qureshi

analysis 07F I R S T C O L U M N

Get on the start-up bus

HIMA BINDU KOTA

The initial investments may be high but thewindfall gains on the success of a company

would also be humongous

THROUGH ANANALYSIS OF

WHAT WORKSAND WHAT DOES NOT,

POLICY-MAKERSCAN BE GIVEN

EVIDENCE-BASEDCHOICES ON

ALTERNATIVECOURSES OF

ACTION. OVER APERIOD,

POLICING WILLGAIN AS A

RESULT OFTHOROUGH

REVIEW ANDEXAMINATION OF

ITS PRACTICES

They say to get rich you have to make money while you’re asleep,which certainly requires a new approach to investments andout-of-the-box thinking. According to the risk-return trade-off,

the higher the risk an investor takes, the potential returns are alsohigher. Therefore, although fixed income investments are safer, thereturns are limited. For risk tolerant investors, investing in some ofthe upcoming start-ups can be one of the options. According tothe Government, India is the second-largest start up ecosystem inthe world growing at the rate of 10-12 per cent year-on-year. Thenumber of innovative new firms in India has grown to 50,000 from7,000 in a decade, according to a KPMG report released in February.

What is a start-up anyway? Any business that can bring abouta disruption in the existing industry and give convenience like neverbefore through an app or usage of technology can be defined as astart-up. Order groceries, without leaving your house, by usingBigBasket or Grofers. Need cab at midnight? Call Ola or Uber. Theseare some of the examples of noteworthy start-ups. Most entrepre-neurs begin small while developing their initial idea and then as theybuild their businesses, go for additional funding from angel investorsor venture capitalists. And if they are successful, along with them,all the lucky investors who believed either in the product, serviceor the entrepreneur and took a risk by investing in the fledgling com-pany, are able to cash in big.

So, how can we, as investors, be a part of this growth storyand hope to make big gains? We can do that by investing and buy-ing a piece of the firm in exchange of equity, which essentially meansbuying a portion of the ownership which gives us the right to futurepotential profits. However, a word of caution here — if the com-pany fails, you lose your investment. Suppose for a growing com-pany all the profits are reinvested, then how do you make profits?If we believe that the start-up we chose grew quickly, then we asinvestors make a profit from their investments when we sell partor all of our portion of ownership in the company during a liquidi-ty event, such as an Initial Public Offering (IPO) or acquisition. Duringa successful IPO, there is a considerable rise in the share price ascompared to the initial investment, increasing the value of investors’holdings and giving shareholders the opportunity to trade their stockon the public market if they want to liquidate or cash in their shares.That was the good news! Now the bad news is that 90 per cent ofthe start-ups fail. It is also difficult to sell off their equity before itsIPO. However, having said that, this increased risk is coupled withthe potential for a very large return if the company succeeds andcan be a good investment option for risk- tolerant investors

Having understood the pitfalls and the risks involved in invest-ing in start-ups, there may be some investors who would want tobet on the future of some such firm. Such investors can start byjoining an angel network preferably with the nation-wide coverageto be able to give access to start-ups throughout India. With thislarger opportunity set, one should focus on the promoters, their visionand mission and their capabilities to take the venture forward. Theadvantage of these networks is that the preliminary due diligencelike discovery of the company, initial project evaluation, documen-tation and constant monitoring post -investment is being handledby them and the investor has to simply take the decision to investby taking advantage of their expertise. Often, it can get very over-whelming sometimes, particularly if you are starting new. So, aninvestor should observe what experienced angel investors are doing,build his own understanding of the start-up ecosystem, find out thesunshine sector and then invest. Some of the websites that an investorcan visit are LetsVenture, AngelList or OurCrowd. Retail participa-tion in start-ups is facilitated through an angel fund, which is a SpecialPurpose Vehicle (SPV) fund, registered under the SEBI. Indianinvestors can also participate in syndicates, which are private invest-ment vehicles led by experienced technology investors and financedby institutional investors and sophisticated angels, created to makea single investment. The advantage of syndicates is that the investorscan participate with lower minimums and can get access to someof the top deals, which are typically hard to procure for someonewho is not experienced in building deal flows. Personalised dealsare available for investors with higher fund availability, where he canpersonally scrutinize different ventures and invest in them after duediligence for price discovery and some smart negotiations. The ini-tial investments may be high but the windfall gains on the successof the company would also be humongous.

Although risky, start-up investing is an alternate investmentavenue for investors who are willing to be a part of the vibrant com-munity by investing in them for potentially higher gains. So, get onthe start-up bus and add a new leaf to your investment portfolio.

(The writer is Assistant Professor, Amity University)

The Election Commission ofIndia has sounded theAssembly poll bugle for the

two Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-ruled States, Maharashtra andHaryana, which will go for electionson October 21. The BJP is not onlyeyeing a comeback but also a muchbigger margin. The saffron party ispoised to win both the States main-ly because of the disarray in theOpposition ranks.

The elections in these twoStates will be a test for PrimeMinister Narendra Modi, as they willbe the first Assembly polls after his2019 impressive Lok Sabha win. Itwill also be an evaluation of theCentre’s crucial decisions like the

revocation of Article 370 in Jammuand Kashmir (J&K), the NationalRegister of Citizens (NRC) and theban on Triple Talaq.

The Maharashtra Chief MinisterDevendra Fadnavis’ leadership isalso at stake although the BJP isdepending on Modi’s charisma towork its magic again. Above all, theresults will show whether the slid-ing economy is going to be a factorfor voters or not. Given the fact thatMumbai is the financial capital of thecountry, the economic slowdown isa big issue in these polls, though theModi Government has announceda slew of fiscal measures to give aboost to the financial system in thelast one month.

However, the BJP has to guardagainst trouble regarding the defec-tors from the Congress Party and theNationalist Congress Party (NCP)and also over ticket distribution.

The BJP is looking for an oppor-tunity to emerge as an umbrellaparty like the Congress used to beearlier. The saffron party has beenon an accelerated path of growth

since the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. Inthe 2014 Assembly elections, afterthe four-way contest, the BJPemerged as the single-largest party,followed by the Shiv Sena (63), theCongress (42) and the NCP (41).

The BJP’s ally Shiv Sena is stillhaggling over seat sharing and alsobargaining for the post of DeputyChief Minister for Aditya Thackeray,son of Uddhav Thackeray. The Senahas also welcomed with open arms,defectors from the Congress and theNCP. The Sena finds that it has toguard against the BJP’s onslaught asthe saffron party has overtaken it inthe last 24 years. While the Sena hasregistered a modest 3.09 per centincrease, the BJP grew by 16.3 percent.

As for the Congress, this will bethe party’s first Assembly electionafter the return of Sonia Gandhi asthe Congress president.

The Congress and its alliancepartner NCP are the main chal-lengers to the BJP-Sena combine.However, the Congress is in a dis-array both at the local and national

level, its morale is at the lowest pointand it is facing not only a leadershipcrisis but also factionalism andindiscipline. The more importantworry for the grand old party is themass erosion in its ranks as severalleaders, including the Leader ofOpposition Radhakrishna VikhePatil and former MinisterHarshvardhan Patil, have left theCongress and joined the BJP whileAbdul Sattar joined the Shiv Sena.

Sonia Gandhi has been trying torestore some order but it is too lit-tle and too late to make a major dif-ference.

The BJP and the Sena havemade inroads in the WesternMaharashtra, Vidarbha andMarathwada. A win in Maharashtra,where the Congress had remaineddominant for decades, would go along way in boosting the morale ofthe party.

The Congress Party’s alliancepartner, the NCP, too, is not in goodhealth.

The two parties, which joinedhands in 1999 after Sharad Pawar

launched his new outfit, ruledMaharashtra together for 15 yearsbut had also, contested the 2014Assembly elections separately. Butlike the saffron parties, the Congressand the NCP also reunited for the2019 Lok Sabha polls.

Pawar is fighting a lonely battlewith some of his long-time associ-ates and staunch supporters likeVijaysinh Mohite Patil, PadmasinhPatil and Madhukar Pichad, leavinghim to join the BJP. The ageingSharad Pawar is not in good healthand has lost his grip on the rank andfile. The NCP, too, is facing faction-alism and indiscipline. So the twoailing parties will find it difficult tochallenge the combined might of theBJP-Shiv Sena combine.

Though the Congress-NCPcombine is the major challenger, theVanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA),led by Prakash Ambedkar, has beentrying to emerge as the third frontin Maharashtra’s largely bipolar pol-itics. The VBA will only cut into thevotes of the combine.

The Opposition has identified

key points like the economic slow-down, rural distress and unem-ployment as major poll issues whilethe BJP wants to showcase theachievements of the ModiGovernment at the Centre and theMaharashtra Government. It alsowants to invoke nationalism and itsstrong leadership.

Maharashtra, a major State, issignificant in multiple ways and sothe BJP wants to consolidate itsstrength while the Sena is trying toguard its turf.

For the NCP, it is all about sur-vival while for the Congress Party itis keeping up its relevance in thecountry and Prakash Ambedkar isexpecting a big break. Many predictthe fight may be one- sided as theBJP has an edge in Maharashtra withthe momentum gained from the LokSabah verdict coupled with thegrowing stature of DevendraFadnavis. It will not be a big surpriseif the two saffron parties win thepolls not just effortlessly, but alsowith a bigger margin this time.

(The writer is a senior journalist)

A test of tough decisions made by ModiThe October Assembly elections in Maharashtra and Haryana will be an evaluation of the Centre’s crucial steps

like the revocation of Article 370 in J&K, the NRC and the ban on Triple Talaq

KALYANI SHANKAR

VIJAYAWADA | WEDNESDAY | SEPTEMBER 25, 2019

www.dailypioneer.com

F O R E I G N E Y E

The whole miserableThomas Cook episode alsoserves as a reminder of theperils that await. Theweakness of sterlingcombined with Brexituncertainty, as well as otherfactors outside ministers'control, place companies atrisk. As political instability looks set tocontinue, the governmentmust come up with clearcriteria against which futurebids for state help fromcollapsing businesses canbe judged.

(The Guardian editorial)

SHOCKING NEWSON THOMAS COOK

VIJAYAWADA | WEDNESDAY | SEPTEMBER 25, 2019 money 08

CAPSULE

DGTR centre for fullutilisation of traderemedial measuresNEW DELHI: The DGTR, anarm of the commerce ministry,has set up a help desk andfacilitation centre to ensureoptimal utilisation of availabletrade remedial measures aimedat curbing unfair trade. TheDirectorate General of TradeRemedies (DGTR) is aninvestigation arm of theministry which deals with anti-dumping duty, safeguard duty,and countervailing duty. Theseduties are trade remedymeasures, provided under anagreement of the World TradeOrganisation (WTO) to itsmember countries. They areused to provide a level playingfield to domestic industry incase of dumping of goods,significant increase in imports,and subsidised imports. "TheHelp Desk and FacilitationCentre is an institutionalarrangement to facilitateoptimal utilisation by differentstake holders of available traderemedial measures aimed atcurbing unfair trade," the DGTRsaid in a notice.

UP govt to give 5% discount onkhadi productsLUCKNOW: The Uttar Pradeshgovernment on Tuesdaydecided to provide 5 per centadditional discount on khadiproducts. The decision to thiseffect was taken at a cabinetmeeting chaired by ChiefMinister Yogi Adityanath. "It hasbeen decided to provide 5 percent discount on khadiproducts. It will be in additionto the existing 20 per cent(discount) provided by thekhadi department. Thus, thecustomer will be getting 25 percent discount," UP minister andgovernment spokespersonShrikant Sharma told reporterswhile briefing about cabinetdecisions. The 5 per centdiscount will be available fromGandhi Jayanti (Oct 2) to Mar31, he added.

EU court: Dutch taxdeal with Starbucksis not state aidTHE HAGUE: A European Unioncourt has overturned a rulingby the European Commissionthat a tax deal between theDutch government andStarbucks amounted to illegalstate support for the coffeegiant. In 2015, the Commissionruled that the Netherlands gavetax advantages to Starbucks.That led to Dutch authoritiesrecovering 25.7 million eurosfrom the coffee giant. Both theNetherlands and Starbucksappealed the decision. In aruling Tuesday, the GeneralCourt of the European Unionsays the EU's executivecommission "was unable todemonstrate the existence of anadvantage in favour ofStarbucks". The Commissioncan appeal against Tuesday'sjudgment.

SEBI BETS BIGON TECHNOLOGYl Shortlists Infy, Wipro, others for data solutionPNS n NEW DELHI

Markets regulator Sebi hasshortlisted as many as sevencompanies, including Infosys,Wipro and AccentureSolutions, for providing a datasolution that can handle vastamount of data from multiplesources. Over the past fewyears, the regulator has beenbetting big on technology toaddress and handle challengesarising out of technologicaladvancements in the markets.

To provide 'data lake' solu-tion, the markets regulatorhad issued a notice in May,inviting expression of interest(EoI) from the interested par-ties. The selected company willbe responsible for designing,implementing and supportinga big data solution with ana-lytical capabilities.

The data lake will containlarge amount of structured(order, trade data among oth-ers), unstructured (annualreports and Sebi orders) andsemi-structured data (XML -- a markup language designedto store and transport data. Itencodes documents in a man-ner that is both human andmachine-readable) .

"As the trading volumes aregrowing at an astronomicalrate, a need is felt to build a

data lake which can handlestructured, semi-structuredand unstructured data frommultiple sources," the regula-tor had said.

Accordingly, the Securitiesand Exchange Board of India(Sebi) invited bids from com-panies to provide such ser-vices.

After evaluating theresponses, the regulator said ina notice, it has shortlistedseven firms — AccentureSolutions, CapgeminiTechnology Services India,Hewlett Packard Enterprises(India), EIT Services India,Infosys, Wipro and Larsen &

Toubro Infotech — "for fur-ther process". Data lake is asystem that stores vast amountof data in its native form at anyscale. Besides, the regulator, inits annual report for 2018-19,said that it intends to deploydata analytics and new gener-ation technologies to deal withvarious challenges in the mar-ket. "Sebi would encourageadoption and usage of finan-cial technology to furtherdevelop and maintain an effi-cient, fair and transparentsecurities market ecosystemwhich also promotes innova-tion in the securities market,"Sebi Chairman Ajay Tyagisaid in his statement in theannual report.

As per the report, the reg-ulator would continue tostrengthen market supervi-sion through steps such astechnology solutions beingbuilt to achieve the objectiveof identifying non-compli-ance and assisting in investi-gations.

Accordingly, the Securities andExchange Board of India (Sebi)invited bids from companies toprovide such services

RIL's earnings growthstarting to de-riskl Tax liability to fall by 4% pts: Morgan StanleyPNS n NEW DELHI

Reliance Industries' earningsgrowth is starting to be de-risked, amid improving earn-ings growth clarity, betterrefining margins, lower taxrate, and cheaper gas feedstockcosts, global brokerage MorganStanley said noting that com-pany's tax liability will reduceby 4 percentage points follow-ing cut in the corporate taxrate.

The shares of RelianceIndustries surged as much asfive per cent after MorganStanley said lower taxes andcheaper gas feed costs shouldde-risk outlook and boostearnings.

The stock was trading at Rs1,285.55, up nearly 4 per centover the previous close, on theBSE at 1245 hrs after scaling apeak of Rs 1298.55.

"Rising clarity on 2020growth; top pick in south Asia:RIL's earnings growth is start-ing to be de-risked as head-winds of 1H19 turn andbecome key tailwinds in 2020,"it said.

The brokerage went on tolist the reasons for its assess-ment -- rise in refining mar-gins with improved demandand slower capacity growth;cheaper gas costs andimproved margins from aslowdown in petrochemicalcapacity growth in 2020, inparticular for polyethylene,

supporting the rise in chemi-cal margins; and telecom sub-scriber adds remain steady.

"There is increased evidenceof these factors playing out,which should raise investorconfidence on the 17 per centEPS growth we expectover F2019-21,"Morgan Stanleysaid.

As one of themost complexrefiners, RILshould be thebiggest bene-ficiary in Asiaf r o mInte r nat i ona lM a r i t i m eOrganization (IMO)regulations that fromJanuary 2020 bar use of fuelwith more than 0.5 per centsulphur in ships. This willlead to a rise in diesel demand.

On the impact of last week'sannouncement of a reductionin the corporate tax rate,

Morgan Stanley said: "We esti-mate a 400 basis point reduc-tion in the consolidated taxrate RIL's businesses paid inF2019 of 29-35 per cent, muchhigher than the new corporatetax rate of 25.2 per cent.

"RIL also has deferredtax liabilities of USD

6.5 billion as ofF2019, which

could reducewith a lowertax rate."

The com-pany's retailand telecom

business cur-rently pay an

effective tax of34.9 per cent and its

consolidated effective taxrate comes to 27.9 per cent.

The brokerage said the com-pany's target of zero net debtby FY2021 will help lowerinvestor concerns about debt,which had increased steadilyover the past seven years.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Describing the government'smove to slash corporate taxrate as a bold measure, RBIGovernor Shaktikanta Das onTuesday said it has made Indiaa very attractive destination forforeign investment.

In the biggest reduction in28 years, the government onFriday cut corporate tax rate byalmost 10 percentage points asit looked to pull the economyout of a six-year low growthand a 45-year high unemploy-ment rate by reviving privateinvestments with a Rs 1.45-lakh crore tax break.

Base corporate tax for exist-ing companies has beenreduced to 22 per cent fromthe current 30 per cent; and fornew manufacturing firms,incorporated after October 1,2019 and starting operationsbefore March 31, 2023, it wasslashed to 15 per cent from thecurrent 25 per cent.

"It is a very bold measure,and it is a highly positive step.India's corporate tax nowbecomes very competitivecompared to other emergingmarket economies in ASEANand other parts of Asia. So far

as international investors areconcerned, so far as FDI isconcerned, I think India standsdefinitely in a very competitiveposition, and would be able toattract higher investments,"Das said. With regard todomestic investors, he said,they now have more cash so

they'll be able to undertakemore capital expenditure.

They can invest more andsome of them can deleveragetheir liabilities which will addstrength to their balancesheets, he said after meetingFinance Minister NirmalaSitharaman here.

Tax cut makes India attractiveinvestment destination: Das

Infosys, TCS, HDFCamong Forbes’ 17 Indianfirms best ‘regarded' cos

‘Retailers using advancedtech to target nicheconsumer segments’

It is a very bold measure, and it is a highly positive step.India's corporate tax now becomes very competitivecompared to other emerging market economies in

ASEAN and other parts of Asia. So far as international investorsare concerned, so far as FDI is concerned, I think India standsdefinitely in a very competitive position, and would be able toattract higher investments

— SHAKTIKANTA DAS, RBI Governor

‘Blocks to be identified for auctioning commercial coal mines’PNS n NEW DELHI

Union Minister Pralhad Joshion Tuesday said the governmentis in the process of identifyingblocks to be put up for auctionfor commercial mining of coalto Indian as well as overseasminers. Besides, the processfor auction of 42 mines todomestic public sector under-taking (PSUs) is also on to scaleup output, Coal and MinesMinister Pralhad Joshi saidadding that Prime MinisterNarendra Modi wants a curb onimports barring 135 milliontonnes which is unavoidable.

"Our policy is clear (to inviteglobal players for roll out ofcommercial coal mining). Wewill decide on the numbers andidentify blocks at a proper

time," Joshi said onthe sidelines of IndiaEnergy Forum organised byMining Geological andMetallurgical Institute of India.

The maiden move aimed at

cutting coal imports isset to end the monopoly of

domestic giant Coal India thataccounts for over 80 per cent ofthe India's dry-fuel output.

"Prime Minister has directed

me and my Ministry to doublethe production of coal. PrimeMinister has said that he canunderstand we are importingcrude oil, petroleum productsbut he doesn't understand whyare we importing coal which isunacceptable," he said addingPM has directed to curbimports barring 135 milliontonnes that is unavoidable forplants.

Addressing the event "Indian

Coal: Potential andDiversification", he saidalthough domestic coal pro-duction has grown substantial-ly by 165 million tonnes (MT)in last 5 years, still a lot of it hasto be imported to bridge thedemand-supply gap and there isurgent requirement of rampingup the domestic coal produc-tion. "Coal India, SCCL andother miners are geared up forenhancing coal production

from the current level of 730MT to 1149 MT by FY 2023thereby totally eliminating thecoal import except the un-sub-stitutable import of 135 MT," theMinister said adding land acqui-sition was also one of the rea-sons behind delays in opera-tionalising mines. He said thecoal PSUs have planned toincrease coal production fromthe present level of 676 MT to965 MT by opening of newmines, capacity expansion ofexisting mines and creation ofnew evacuation infrastructure.

CIL alone is poised to com-mission 11 new coking coalwasheries in a phased mannerto meet the total demand ofwashed domestic coking coal ofsteel sector expected to be 10MT in FY 2022.

The maiden move aimed at cuttingcoal imports is set to end themonopoly of domestic giant CoalIndia that accounts for over 80 percent of the India's dry-fuel output

PNS n NEW DELHI

Retailers are adoptingadvanced technologies such asartificial intelligence and socialmedia analytics to understandconsumers' shopping behav-iour and preferences with aview to target niche segments,according to a Deloitte Indiareport. Retail firms are usinga strategy - Tribetailing - toidentify andcater to aniche setof con-sumers.

As con-s u m e r s 'p r e f e r -ences arechangingat adynamic pacewith an evolving retail envi-ronment, tribetailing helpsretailers connect with buyersand understand them better,the report titled 'KNOW yourconsumer – What you see iswhat you get' said.

"Riding on the digital wave,retailers are using advancedtechnologies such as artificial

intelligence, machine learning,and social media analytics toget information about con-sumers' shopping history,behaviour, preferences, andonline activities," it said.

This information, it said, ishelping retailers to group con-sumers in different categoriesand come up with bespokesolutions, and devise person-alised marketing and promo-

tional pro-g r a m m e ssuch asm e m b e r -ship andloyalty pro-g r a m m e sand dis-counts totarget nichec o n s u m e r

segments.With the emergence of a

more informed and tech-savvyconsumer base, retailers areincreasingly replacing the tra-ditional mass market approachwith targeted strategies formedusing insights driven fromconsumer data, said the report,which was unveiled in associ-ation with Mapic India.

Global postalunion meetsunder threatof US pull-outPNS n GENEVA

Diplomats opened an emer-gency meeting of the UNagency that sets internationalpostal rates on Tuesday, withthe US threatening to quit theglobal body as early as nextmonth. President DonaldTrump's administrationannounced last October that itplanned to withdraw fromthe Universal Postal Union,charging that the current sys-tem sets postal rates thatunfairly penalise the UnitedStates while benefiting carriersin countries like China.Washington, which made itsannouncement as trade ten-sions soared with China, saidit would leave the UPU in ayear unless the agency under-went dramatic reform.

But the State Departmenthad stressed that "if negotia-tions are successful, theAdministration is prepared torescind the notice of with-drawal and remain in theUPU". This week's three-daymeeting marks only the thirdextraordinary congress to beheld in the UPU's 145-year-history.

BlackRock trims Escorts stake; sellsshares worth Rs 22.7 crPNS n NEW DELHI

BlackRock has trimmed itsstake in engineering and farmequipment maker Escorts byselling 4.41 lakh shares wortharound Rs 22.7 crore througha market transaction.

As per a regulatory filing,BlackRock Inc, which had3.20 per cent stake earlier,brought down its sharehold-ing in the company to 2.84per cent by selling shares onSeptember 19, 2019.

Based on the weightedaverage price of Escorts' stockat Rs 514.50 apiece on

September 19, 2019, thetransaction is estimated at Rs22.7 crore.

Shares of Escorts weretrading 4.51 per cent lower atRs 606 apiece on the BSE.

PNS n NEW DELHI

As many as 17 Indian compa-nies, including Infosys, TCS andHDFC, have been named in thelist of World's Best RegardedCompanies compiled byForbes.

IT major Infosys hasbeen ranked third in thelist of World's BestRegarded Companies,along with global paymentstechnology company Visaand Italian car-makerFerrari on the first andsecond position, respec-tively.

Infosys jumped to thethird spot from 31st posi-tion in 2018. "Infosys'leading position head-lined an Asian invasion inthe rankings," Forbes said.The other top ten companiesin the list for 2019 are Netflixat the 4th position, followed byPayPal (5), Microsoft (6), WaltDisney (7), Toyota Motor (8),Mastercard (9), CostcoWholesale (10).

Indian companies TataConsultancy Services (22ndposition) and Tata Motors (31)

featured among the top 50 inthe coveted list.

Other Indian companies inthe list include Tata Steel (105),Larsen & Toubro (115),Mahindra & Mahindra (117),

HDFC (135), Bajaj Finserv(143), Piramal

Enterprises (149), SteelAuthority of India(153), HCLTechnologies (155),

Hindalco Industries(157), Wipro (168),HDFC Bank (204), SunPharma Industries(217), General

Insurance CorporationOf India (224), ITC (231)

and Asian Paints (248).The US dominated

the list as it is home to59 of the 250 companies

in the list. The next threemost-represented countries

are Japan, China and India.Japan, China and India togeth-er house 82 companies on thelist, up from 63 last year. "In all,nearly half of the 250 best-regarded companies are basedin Asia, making it the mostdominant continent," Forbessaid.

PNS n LONDON

Britain has repatriated ten percent of nationals who werestranded abroad after the col-lapse of travel firm ThomasCook, authorities said Tuesday,as anger erupted over excessivemanagement pay.

The Civil Aviation Authorityregulator, which is managing theUK's biggest repatriation sinceWorld War II after ThomasCook's dramatic bankruptcy,said in a statement that it flewback 14,700 of the 150,000

stranded Britons on Monday.The CAA added that it hoped

to bring back another 16,500people on Tuesday. The dra-matic collapse of Thomas Cookleft 600,000 customers of all

nationalities stranded in popu-lar tourist destinations dottedaround the globe, includingCancun, Kos, Las Vegas andLanzarote. "Following the verysad news ... that Thomas Cookhad stopped trading and its air-craft were grounded, welaunched at the government'srequest our operation to returnmore than 150,000 people to theUK," said CAA Chief ExecutiveRichard Moriarty.

Moriarty added: "A repatria-tion of this scale and nature isunprecedented and unfortu-

nately there will be some incon-venience and disruption forcustomers. "We will do every-thing we can to minimise this asthe operation continues.

"We want people to continueto enjoy their holiday, so we willbring them back to the UK ontheir original departure day, orvery soon thereafter."

Meanwhile, criticism ismounting over the pay ofThomas Cook's management,who steered the 178-year-oldcompany into the rocks withvast debts.

10% of Thomas Cook's UK clients repatriated

PNS n THIRUVANANTHAPURAM

Information Technology toolswill be used extensively in datacollection and compilationworks for the Annual Survey ofUnincorporated SectorEnterprises 2019, according toVijay Kumar, Director General,National Statistical Office, NewDelhi.

This would help in main-taining the quality of data and

early release of survey results inpublic domain, Kumar said onMonday in his address at the

regional training conferencefor Central and State govern-ment officials here who havebeen assigned the field work ofAnnual Survey ofUnincorporated SectorEnterprises.

NSO is in the process oflaunching new surveys apartfrom its regular surveys meet-ing the requirements of gov-ernment, data users, plannersand researchers.

IT to be used extensively in datacollection works: DG

chools have beenmushrooming atevery street cornerat a rate that isunheard of 20years ago. Even

though this will help provideeducation to more students,it comes at the cost of qualityeducation especially in physi-cal activities. To fill in thegap many private organisa-tions have taken the mantleto help children participate insporting events. One suchevent was the Netplay SportsTelangana State Squash

Closed Championship 2019that concluded on Tuesday atGamepoint, a multi sportscenter in Madhapur. Thistournament was conductedunder the aegis of TelanganaSquash Rackets Associationand Squash RacketsFederation of India (SRFI).

Tushar Kothari won theMen’s category by beatingRavi Pandey in the finalwhile Aishwaria Payyanemerged as the victor in theWomen’s category. Prof K.Ranga Rao, President,Olympic Association of

Telangana was the chief guestof the event who distributedthe prizes to the winners.

THIS TOURNAMENTWAS HELD UNDERTHE AEGIS OF TSSQUASH RACKETSASSOCIATION ANDSQUASH RACKETSFEDERATION OFINDIA (SRFI)

Everyone is affected

by climate change.

While a few regions

experience extreme

heat, others experience

unseasonal floods. But

as Greta Thunberg

says, “No one seems to

care.”It is time for

countries to take stock

of what is happening

and reduce emissions.

Climate protests are

taking place all over

the world to bring

people's attention

towards global

warming, reports

V SATEESH REDDY

Global climate protestsare being held all overthe world by people fromall walks of life to savethe next generation fromthe harmful effects of cli-

mate change. Speaking at theClimate Action Summit - 2019 atthe United Nations GeneralAssembly on Monday, GretaThunberg, a 16-year-old Swedishclimate activist who spearheadedthe movement said, “We are in the

initial stages of a mass extinctionand all you can talk about is money

and fairy tales of eternal economic

growth. How dare you!”World leaders, including Indian

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, will

be coming together this week for the

annual United Nations GeneralAssembly, where so far many world

leaders, at the beginning of the UN

event, have spoken about theresponsibility of governmentsaround the world to find ways tomitigate the oncoming climate cri-

sis. But many activists remain disap-

pointed with the lack of action from

the nations, especially the developed

ones, despite the Paris climateaccord that they signed in 2015, to

lower carbon emissions, among oth-

ers. “This largely disappointing set

of outcomes from the ClimateAction Summit raises the stakeseven higher for the upcoming[United Nations climate conferences

in December 2019 and 2020], where

leaders have another chance to take

action,” said Oxfam Internationalexecutive director, WinnieByanyima, as reported in an article

by The Verge.Angry with the world govern-

ments for not taking any actionagainst the man-made effects on the

environment, the young climateactivist says, “For over 30 years cli-

mate change has been crystal clear.

But how dare you continue to look

away and come here and say thatyou are doing enough when the pol-

itics and the solutions needed arestill nowhere in sight. You say youhear us and that you understand the

urgency but I do not want to believe

that because if you really under-stood the situation and still keepfailing to act then you would beevil.”

Since August 2018, Greta has been

raising awareness globally on therisks posed by climate change, and

has been holding politiciansaccountable for their lack of action.

Following Greta’s footsteps, hundreds of kids and parents

gathered in the city recently and raised their voice over the

dangers of climate change. The protest was part of the ‘Fridays

For Future’ movement that has gathered speed in several

nations. The participants shouted slogans and performed

short skits to explain the risks of climate change, and urged

people to come forward.Kaajal Maheshwari, one of the participants in the demon-

stration, said that climate change is a global issue and we must

do something to save our environment.

Ravindra, a class X student, said that India has to take

immediate action as five cities are in the list of most polluted

cities in the world. Sanjay Kumar, a techie shares, “The pollu-

tion levels are very high in Hyderabad and I don’t know what

actions are being taken by the Pollution Control Board (PCB)

and GHMC but with the radiation of cell towers, many birds

are dying and no one cares.”

HYDERABADIS FIGHT

FOR A HEALTHY FUTURE The South Asian People’s Action on Climate Crisis (SAPACC) was formed in May 2019 to provide a

platform for people to discuss and act on environmental issues. They recently organised a four-day confer-

ence on people’s action on climate change in the city titled, “Keep the Climate, Change the Economy”.

Sudhershan Rao Sarde, Convener of SAPACC said, “No country is working towards making the possibil-

ity of the Paris Agreement a reality. This is

seen in the rising global averagetemperature. This wouldsubstantially increasethe risks andeffects of cli-matechange.”

KEEP THE CLIMATE, CHANGE THE ECONOMY

CLIMATE CRISIS:IS IT ALREADY TOO LATE?

G You’ve stolen my dreams

and my childhood withyour empty words. Weare in the beginning of a

mass extinction and all

you can talk about ismoney and fairy tales of

eternal economicgrowth - how dare you!

GRETA THUNBERGCLIMATE ACTIVIST

CLIMATE CRISIS:IS IT ALREADY TOO LATE?

DEBATE OVER FITNESS

THROUGH SQUASH

S

WednesdaySeptember 25, 2019

Follow us on@TheDailyPioneerfacebook.com/dailypioneer

ollywood actor-singer Ayushmann Khurranarecently posted an Instagram message on theevergreen Lata Mangeshkar hit, Saawan ke jhoolepade... from the 1979 Amitabh Bachchan- starrerJurmana.

Picking the RD Burman as a personal favourite,Ayushmaan posted the original soundtrack album-cover of

Jurmana and a heart icon with the lilting number.“From her incredible repertoire of songs I think Saawan ke

jhoole pade... is one of her finest,” opined Ayushmann.Incidentally, Mangeshkar has no recollection of this exquisite

number but she is appreciative of Ayushmann’s praise.Opening up on Ayushmann, Mangeshkar told us on Monday, “I

know he is a very good actor and an equally good singer, so hisappreciation comes from a genuine understanding of music. I wishhim well. He must pursue singing as ardently as acting. It willenhance his performances,” said the playback legend.

When the Nightingale of India showers praise on you, it isindeed a rare honour, which must thrill Ayushmann no end.

inger KelseaBallerini says shewants to write aweird song for hernext album.

In an interviewwith the latest issue of MusicWeek magazine, Kelsea shareddetails about her new songs andwhat audience can expect newfrom her, reportsfemalefirst.co.uk.

“Ten songs. The first 10songs are the ones that are sin-

gles or that feel mainstream andgood for radio. I want to getthose all mixed and masteredand then be like, OK, I want todo a weird song and a song thatis going to crush live but willnever be a radio single. I canplay with the rest of it,” addedthe “Miss me” hitmaker.

effrey Wright is in negotia-tions to play CommissionerGordon in upcomingBatman movie, while JonahHill will be seen as one of theCaped Crusader’s signature

adversaries in the Matt Reeves directori-al. Robert Pattinson is toplining the castas the popular DC Comics superhero.

Jim Gordon, role famously played byGary Oldman and JK Simmons in thepast, is the police commissioner/detec-tive at the Gotham City PoliceDepartment and a reluctant allyto Batman. A source told TheHollywood Reporter, talks withHill are at an early stage as thetwo sides are yet to reach con-sensus on the character hewill play.

The choice is betweentwo antagonists — Penguinand the Riddler. The filmis being billed as agrounded take on theDark Knight and will fea-ture many of Batman vil-lains.

In a new interview withVariety, Pattinson talkedabout playing Batman andsaid he had grown up watch-ing the Tim Burton’s Batmanmovies and also had his ownBatman costume. “When I was akid, it was the only outfit that I had,”he said.

ctress Amy Jackson and her fiance GeorgePanayiotou recently became parents to ason. Announcing the arrival of the babyboy, Amy on Monday took to Instagramand wrote: “Our Angel, welcome to theworld Andreas.”

She even posted a video of Andreas on Instagramstory in which the little one is seen sleeping. “HiWorld,” she captioned the video. Amy announced herchild’s gender in August and said she will be welcom-ing a baby boy.

elgium's DJ duo Dimitri Vegas andLike Mike will perform in multiplecities of India in November.

They will hit the stage inBengaluru on November 7, thenHyderabad on November 8, fol-

lowed by New Delhi on November 9, andfinally culminate their musical tour inMumbai on November 10 for their IndiaTake Over 2019 Tour with Sunburn Arena.

"It's been a while since we came to India,for us always one of our favourite countriesto visit, as we get such incredible love fromthe fans. We cannot wait to come back thisNovember for what will be one of our biggesttours ever," Dimitri Vegas and Like Mike saidin a joint statement.

Karan Singh, COO, Percept Live, added: "Weare so excited to bring Dimitri Vegas and LikeMike back to India after a long gap. They have amassive fan base in India who has been waiting eager-ly for their return. This promises to be their biggestSunburn Arena India tour ever."

Sunburn Arena is a sub-variant brand format created underthe brand umbrella Sunburn, an Intellectual Property of PerceptLive, with the aim to cater to dance music enthusiasts across variouscities pan India and around the world.

ctress Surveen Chawla has openedup on casting couch. She saidthere was a time when directorwanted to see how her cleavagelooked, and another one wasinterested in her thighs.

The actress started her showbiz journey

with the TV show Kahiin to Hoga and went

on to act in more small screen projects. She

also featured in Telugu, Kannada and Tamil

films apart from Bollywood movies.The Hate Story 2 actress had to face the

casting couch five times — thrice in South

filmdom and twice in Bollywood.“A director wanted to see how my cleavage

looked. Another director wanted to see how

my thighs looked,” Surveen said in an inter-

view with Pinkvilla.She also revealed that there was a time

when she was called overweight. “I went to

give this audition and the person told me,

‘You are overweight’. I was just 56 kilos and I

thought the person needed glasses,” shequipped.

Her experience in TV didn’t make it easy

for her.“Yes, there was a time when people told me

you are overexposed because of television.

For sometime, I tried to hide it from produc-

ers and tell them I did TV only for a year, but

I realised later that ‘Why am I doing this?’

Isn’t it going to be easier for a team to get

someone who already knows how to do their

lines?,” she said.

A

B

J

B

A

Vijayawada Wednesday September 25, 2019

10

celeb talks

DIRECTORS

WANTED TO SEE MY

CLEAVAGE, THIGHS:

SURVEEN CHAWLA

KELSEABALLERINI

WANTS TO PEN

‘‘WEIRD''SONG

DIMITRI VEGAS, LIKEMIKE TO PERFORM IN INDIA

AMY JACKSONSHARES A

GLIMPSE OFHER NEWBORN

JONAH HILL TO PLAYTHE RIDDLERAGAINST ROBERTPATTINSON'S BATMAN

AYUSHMANNPICK HIS

‘‘FINEST'' LATASONG

S

aresh’s son, Naveen Vijay, whomade a decent debut withNandini Nursing Home is com-ing up with yet another film,tit led, Oorantha

Anukuntunnaru.Touted as a clean family entertain-

er, this film is directed by Balaji Sanala.Meanwhile, the latest news is that thisfilm will be hitting the screens duringDussera season on October 5. The filmalso stars Kota Srinivas Rao, Jayasudhaand Srininav Avasarala in prominentroles. Megha Chaudhry is the femalelead in Oorantha Anukuntunnaru.

Srihari Mangalampalli, RamyaGogula, and PLN Reddy producedthe film, jointly.

ooja Hedge, who hasplayed a small role inGaddalakonda Ganesh, ison cloud nine with theresponse she has beenreceiving for her dance

performance for the new version ofYelluvachi Godaramma YellakilaPaddadammo... song in the movie.“I’ve seen people dancing and enjoy-ing themselves to the song in the the-atres. They’ve been sharing thosevideos on my social media pages. Ithas been such a high. It was difficultshooting for the song in the middleof the river at Yanam. It was hot andtiring. I’ve even had sunburns. Also,I was nervous to match to Sri Madam’sscreen space. But at the end of day,with the kind of response the song hasgenerated, it all feels worth it. Evenwhen I saw the song, I wanted to stopthe movie and rewind the song threetimes,” she said flashing a smile. Shewas speaking at the success meet of thefilm in Hyderabad on Mondayevening.

Pooja thanked film’s director HarishShankar for giving her another block-buster song after Seetimaar... fromDuvvada Jagannadham. Lauding theefforts of film’s composer Mickey J.Meyer, she added, “It’s scary to remixan old classic without ruining theessence of it but Mickey was spot onwith his work. I’ve always been knownas Gopikamma (her famous song inMukunda) in villages till now but theyare now calling me as Godaramma,” shechortled and extended her thanks tochoreographer Sekhar master as well fornailing the choreography.

Varun, on his part, extended histhanks to his elder brother Charan andJr NTR for helping him with releaseblues. “As everyone knows the film's titlewas changed in the last minuteand as unit got into ahuddle to oversee thetitle change, I rangCharan anna,explaining what Iwas going through.He asked me to cometo his home. I foundJr NTR garu at hishome, having a coffee.As experienced actorswho have seen manyups and downs, theyhelped me relievethe stress,”V a r u nsaid.

he US leg filming of ShivaKandukuri’s next withdebutante VaidehiChandrasekhar, who assist-ed Ram Gopal Varma in the

past, has been deferred to November.The shooting for the romantic emo-tional entertainer, co-starringManjima Mohan and Hippi girlDigangana Suryavanshi, was to beginon October 5 in the US for 35 daysbut with the actor’s maiden filmChoosi Choodangaane scheduled torelease mid-October, the plan hasbeen rescheduled.

“Vaidehi will first shoot in Indiawhich has been planned for only10 days. The director will shootwith Shiva from October 4 toOctober 14, post which Shivawill dive headlong into thepromotions of ChoosiChoodangaane. He has allottedthe whole of November to forVaidehi’s film,” said RajKandukuri, who has producedChoosi Choodangaane.

The producer has also clarified thathe is looking to slot his productionon October 18. Vijay Deverakonda’sproduction Meeku MaathrameCheptha too is eyeing a similar datethough nothing has been official yet.“Vijay is our boy. I don’t want to clashwith his movie. I can come onOctober 25 as well but Suresh Babu,with whom I have a meeting onWednesday, will take the final call,”he said. — NG

RAHULVIJAY to

playstudentleader

urrently awaiting the release of his Telugu-Tamilbilingual College Kumar, a remake of Kannadahit with the same name, Rahul Vijay of Ee MayaPeremito and Suryakantham fame has signed ona new film,

The Pioneer has exclu-sively learnt.

A source close to thedevelopment says,“Gangadhar, formerassociate of writer-pro-ducer Kona Venkat ismaking his debut as adirector with this flick.It’s an action collegedrama set in the back-drop of student politics.It’s inspired by events that happened in Siddharth ArtsCollege, Vijayawada, in 2003. In fact, Gangadhar was astudent of the college. He has penned an interestingscreenplay around the incidents and Rahul will play thestudent leader. There’s also a love story that has beenwoven into the narrative. The director is planning to shootin Vijayawada and most likely the film will be a perioddrama.”

Signing on to this new movie also comes close to Rahulagreeing to spearhead debutant Krishna Kishore’s lovestory, also co-starring Satyadev. This yet-to-be-titled filmis about the love stories of the actors and how one par-ticular character affects the life of the other. It has a poet-ic feel to it that is both contemporary and fresh. — NG

Vijayawada Wednesday September 25, 2019

It’s scary to remix an old classic without ruining the essence of it but Mickey was spot

on with his work. I’ve always been known as Gopikamma (her famous song in

Mukunda) in villages but they are now calling me as Godaramma

THE FILM ALSOSTARS KOTASRINIVAS RAO,JAYASUDHA ANDSRININAVAVASARALA INPROMINENT ROLES.MEGHA CHAUDHRY ISTHE FEMALE LEAD INTHE FILM

THE MOVIE ISINSPIRED BY EVENTSTHAT TOOK PLACE ATA COLLEGE INVIJAYAWADA IN 2003

p

11

tollywood

fter completing almost 70 percent of the shoot in 2017, writerSreedhar Seepana had to put hismaiden directorial, Brundavan-amadi Andaridi, on hold over

financial reasons. But producers V. Srinivasand Prabhakar Reddy have said that theyare finally ready to fund the project.Seepana is now planning to reshoot the left-over portions of the romantic comedy, fea-turing Harshvardhan Rane, Richa Panai,Pridhvi and a couple of other new faces.

“We are back on track withBrundavanamadi Andaridi. The last sched-ule will commence next month. We will beshooting in Mysore, Chikmagalur andHyderabad for 15 days. The film is a thor-ough entertainer that will attract all typesof audience. It revolves around three char-acters who think money is everything.They come across a character, played byMano Bala, in a palace. He gives them tasksto accomplish and the follow-up events are

narrated in a funny way. The story is thereal hero and I’m confident of winning thebox-office,” says Seepana, who had pennedscripts for films like Poola Rangadu,Bhimavaram Bullodu and Loukyam amonga slew of other comic entertainers.

He added that senior TDP leader andformer MP N. Sivaprasad, who died dueto renal failure last Saturday, had played akey role in the film. “His role in my filmis one of his last gigs as an actor. It’s alsohis biggest role in the last five years. He willbe seen as a middle-class father,” addsSeepana.

The writer/director is confident thatMani Sharma’s music will do the trick forhim on the publicity front. The ace com-poser is back in the spotlight after his recentsoundtrack for iSmart Shankar topped thecharts. “He has composed extraordinarytunes for Brundavanamadi Andaridi andthe songs should help generating buzzaround the project,” says Seepana. — NG

A

SREEDHAR SEEPANA SAID THAT SENIOR TELUGU DESAMLEADER AND FORMER MP N. SIVAPRASAD, WHO DIED DUE

TO RENAL FAILURE LAST SATURDAY, HAD PLAYED A KEYROLE IN THE FILM

Seepana's BrundavanamadiAndaridi back on track

c

t

KANDUKURI's filmshoot in US rescheduled

Now I am ‘Godaramma’ foreveryone: POOJA HEGDE

n

It was difficult shooting for the song in the middle of the river at Yanam. I’ve even hadsunburns, recalls Pooja while speaking at the success meet, reports NAGARAJ GOUD

Naveen Vijay's OoranthaAnukuntunnaru to

release on October 5

PTI n NEW DELHI

India’s top wrestler Bajrang Punia onTuesday said not even an Olympic

medal will heal the pain of his contro-versial semifinal loss at the just-con-cluded World Championships.

The 25-year-old from Haryana,who had claimed Bronze and Silver inthe last two editions, lost to localfavourite Daulet Niyazbekov in the 65kg semifinal following some debatabledecisions by the judges in Kazakhstan.

The two were tied 9-9 after thebout but the Kazakh was declaredwinners by points, robbing Bajrang achance to fight for the Gold medal.The Indian had to be contend with aBronze.

“It is very demoralising when youlose due to bias or someone wins bycheating because I didn’t do anythingwrong. I didn’t lose out the Goldbecause of my mistakes,” Bajrangsaid.

“I know I have to forget this pain.I have to put this aside to do well in

sport 12VIJAYAWADA | WEDNESDAY | SEPTEMBER 25, 2019

PTI n NEW DELHI

In a major setback to India,pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrahwas on Tuesday ruled out of

the upcoming Test series againstSouth Africa due to a stress frac-ture in his lower back, whichmight also force him out of nextmonth’s assignment againstBangladesh.

Fellow paceman UmeshYadav replaced him in the Indiansquad for the three matchesagainst the Proteas, beginning inVisakhapatnam from October 2.

“The injury was detected dur-ing a routine radiological screen-ing. He will now undergo rehabil-itation at NCA and will be mon-itored by the BCCI Medical Team.The All-India Senior SelectionCommittee has named UmeshYadav as Bumrah’s replacement,”

the BCCI said in a release.A BCCI official, however,

said Bumrah could also miss thehome series against Bangladesh.That series comprises three T20Internationals and two Tests,which are part of the the WorldTest Championship. It will be heldfrom November 3 to 26.

“Jasprit is out for a period ofseven to eight weeks minimum.This effectively rules him out ofthe World Championship gamesagainst Bangladesh also. He is outtill the end of November. That’show his medical bulletin is at themoment,” the official said.

“The good thing is that thedetection happened at the prelim-inary stage and that’s why it won’ttake more than two months toheal. Otherwise, a stress fracturetakes pretty long to heal,” headded.

Bumrah had been rested fromthe recently-concluded Twenty20series against South Africa, whichended in a 1-1 draw.

The paceman, with a slingaction, is feared for his immacu-late line and length, particularlythe perfectly-placed yorkers.

In the Test series against theWest Indies, which was his lastassignment, Bumrah emerged asthe wrecker-in-chief for Indiawith 13 wickets in two Tests.

The 25-year-old became thefastest Indian pacer to take 50wickets in Tests during the courseof that assignment last month. Heachieved the feat during the sec-ond Test against the Caribbeanside.

Bumrah reached the mile-stone in 11 matches, going pastVenkatesh Prasad andMohammed Shami, who took 13

matches each to touch the mark.Yadav last played a Test for

India in December 2018, duringthe tour of Australia.

The 31-year-old Yadav, onthe other hand, was part of theIndia A squad that toured theWest Indies last month butcouldn’t make much of animpact.

In the 41 Tests that he hasplayed so far for India, Yadav has119 wickets at an average of33.47.Revised squad: Virat Kohli(Captain), Mayank Agarwal,Rohit Sharma, CheteshwarPujara, Ajinkya Rahane (vc),Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant,Wriddhiman Saha, RavichandranAshwin, Ravindra Jadeja,Kuldeep Yadav, MohammedShami, Umesh Yadav, IshantSharma and Shubman Gill.

IANS n NEW DELHI

India’s limited-overs deputy Rohit Sharma’stactical acumen is no secret. The man who

has won four Indian Premier League titlesas Mumbai Indians skipper is often consid-ered as one of the best when it comes to mak-ing on spot decisions. His record as Indiacaptain is also enviable and in MS Dhoni’sabsence, captain Virat Kohli and head coachRavi Shastri have asked him to be more vocalon the field when it comes to guiding theyoungsters.

In the just concluded T20I series againstSouth Africa, Rohit was seen time and againwalking up to the bowlers and speaking tothem. It was a great sign to see the deputyconstantly speak to the youngsters even asskipper Kohli manned the boundary. Andthis practice isn’t a one-off.

Speaking about it, sources in the teammanagement said that with Dhoni notthere to guide the bowlers from behind thewicket — the captain and coach felt that itwould be great to have Rohit share histhoughts with the bowlers as the T20 formatcalls for quick thinking and on-spot changein plans.

“See, you don’t want too many cooks tospoil the broth. There is always the need tohave a fine balance and not confuse theyoungsters in the middle of a match. So,when MS was there behind the wicket, it wasKohli and MS who would do the guiding. InDhoni’s absence, it was felt that it would begreat to have Rohit sharing his thoughts withthe youngsters and being vocal on the field.

“Rohit has been a part of the leadershipgroup for a while now and it is not like thisis the first time that he is sharing his ideaswith the players. The captain and coach trusthis instincts and it is great when a seniormember walks up to a bowler and suggestsways to trump the opposition batsman,” thesource pointed.

A youngster who has also played underRohit’s leadership in the Indian team saidthat the opener like Rohit backs the boys andjust shares his thought process and what hefeels will work in a particular situation.

“You might feel a lot of things about yourown capabilities. But the backing of theseniors is what helps. Be it Kohli bhai orRohit bhai, they give you freedom to go andexpress yourself. They don’t impose them-selves on us. Even when Rohit bhai is lead-ing or explaining a situation on the field, heonly gives you his suggestions and what hefeels could work. After that, it is on you totake the call,” the player said.

AFP n ZHUHAI

Andy Murray ground outhis most significant victo-

ry since major hip surgerywith a 6-3, 6-7 (6/8), 6-1 winover Tennys Sandgren onTuesday at the ZhuhaiChampionships.

This was the former num-ber one’s first triumph in a sin-gles match on the ATP Toursince the 32-year-old had acareer-saving operation inJanuary.

A three-time Grand Slamwinner but now ranked 413 inthe world, the Briton hascompeted mostly in doublessince and recently played sin-

gles on the lower-levelChallenger Tour.

He faces seventh seedAlex de Minaur of Australia inthe second round in southernChina after coming through aphysically demanding test last-ing more than two and a halfhours.

Murray looked exhaustedat the end, slumping in hischair and puffing out hischeeks.

There were glimpses ofMurray at his best as he sealedthe first set in 41 minutes afterthe 69th-ranked Sandgrenplanted a backhand wide.

Murray squanderedmatch point in the second-set

tie break as Sandgren forced adeciding set.

But the American foldedin the third, seemingly affect-ed by a foot injury whichrequired extensive strappingwith him 3-0 down in thedecider.

Victory was a small mea-sure of revenge for Murray,who lost to the 28-year-old lastmonth in his second singlestournament since his return.

After Zhuhai, the ChinaOpen in Beijing and theShanghai Masters, Murraywill return to Europe to com-pete in Antwerp, making it atesting next month on the longroad to rehabilitation.

PTI n KARACHI

Pakistan Cricket Board CEOWasim Khan on Tuesday

said playing their home match-es in the United Arab Emiratesis “not an option anymore”,aiming to cut down on costs inlight of the “improved securi-ty” situation in the country.

The UAE has remainedPakistan’s home venue for along time with no Test nationvisiting the country since the2009 terrorist attack on the SriLankan team bus.

“It costs us a lot of moneyhosting there,” the chief exec-utive officer said.

“Frankly speaking thesecurity situation hasimproved in Pakistan andsecurity experts have also

assessed that we are in a posi-tion to manage security riskswhile hosting teams in thecountry,” Khan added.

He said his board has notpaid any money to Cricket SriLanka for its tour to Karachiand Lahore to play a series of

One-day internationals andT20 matches.

Khan told the media herethat since the PCB now wantsto see Pakistan playing alltheir home Test and limitedover series in Pakistan, it wastrying to convince otherboards to start sending theirteams to the country.

Since 2010, a year aftermilitants attacked the SriLankan team in Lahore,Pakistan have played all theirmajor international homeseries in the UAE.

The PCB succeeded inbringing a World XI side toLahore in 2017 for a short T20series and then convinced SriLanka to play a lone T20 in thesame city.

Last year they also hosted

a depleted West Indies teamfor three T20 matches inKarachi, which came at thecost of extra money to theplayers and the concernedWICB by the PCB.

However, Khan said not asingle penny has been paid toSri Lanka for the current tour,as it was part of a reciprocalagreement.

He said that Pakistan alsowanted Sri Lanka andBangladesh to come and playPakistan’s home Tests of theICC Championship in thecountry in December andJanuary.

The PCB official also saidPakistan wanted to resumebilateral ties with India but thatdepended on their govern-ment.

PTI n NEW DELHI

Former India cricketerYuvraj Singh on

Tuesday called for anend to the constant crit-icism of Rishabh Pant,saying the youngstumper-batsman des-perately needs guidancefrom captain Virat Kohlior anyone who canunderstand his psyche.

Yuvraj said Pantdoesn’t deserve the crit-icism coming his wayand needs the support ofKohli and head coachRavi Shastri to overcomethe slump. Pant has beendrawing flak for failing tograb his chances and get-ting out to rash shotsdespite being given along rope by the Indianteam management.

“I really don’t knowwhat is happening withhim (Rishabh). He is fac-ing a lot of criticismwhich is not needed.Somebody needs to getthe best out of him,”Yuvraj said on the side-lines of 'The SportsMovement' summit.

Pant struggled dur-ing the away seriesagainst the West Indieslast month before failingto ake an impact in therecent home T20International seriesagainst South Africa.

“The people moni-toring him, the coach(Ravi Shastri), the cap-tain (Kohli) have toguide him,” the formerleft-handed batsmanadded.

The former al l-rounder, who retiredfrom international crick-et earlier this year, saidPant needs to be givenconfidence to overcome

the drop in form after aspectacular start whichfetched him Test hun-dreds in England andAustralia in his maidenyear at the top level.

“At the moment thething is in IPL, the youngguys are getting a lot ofmoney. So somebodyneeds to tell them how togo about their businessand tell them what istheir priority. Somebodyreally needs to talk tothem,” Yuvraj said.

“That guy has gottwo away Test hundreds.He has a lot of potential.He is an outstanding tal-ent. Someone shouldknow how to read him,how to encourage him,point him what he needsto focus on,” he added.

Pant is seen as anheir apparent to the icon-ic Mahendra SinghDhoni, who led India totwo world titles.

“If you feel he is themost talented wicket-keeper batsman we havethen stick with him, givehim more chances. Goand tell him to playdomestic cricket. Youneed to give him confi-dence, by criticising youwon’t get anything out ofhim,” he said.

Yuvraj said the 21-year-old should belooked after psychologi-cally.

“How you get thebest out of him is com-pletely based on his char-acter. You need to under-stand his character, youneed to understand hispsychology and workaccording to that.

“If you are going tosuppress him, you arenot going to get the bestout of him,” he added.

IANS n NEW DELHI

After a poor time with theTest team last summer,

Australia’s ODI and T20 skip-per Aaron Finch wants to giveit another try and play thelongest format of the game forhis country. With suspensionshanded to Cameron Bancroft,David Warner and StevenSmith following the ball-tam-pering scandal in South Africalast year, Finch was included inthe Australia Test team for theUAE series against Pakistan inOctober 2018.

The 32-year-old has playedfive Tests, two against Pakistanaway and three against India athome, averaging 27.80.

“For me personally, it’sabout probably having onereally good crack at trying toget back to the Test team again,”Finch was quoted as saying bySEN radio station.

“The young guys who camein and did well throughout theback half of last summer did areally good job. I still think thatI’ve got one really good crack atit left in me,” he added.

There are four SheffieldShield games before Australia’sfirst Test against Pakistan andFinch is eyeing to use it as aplatform for making his pres-ence felt. “Obviously [I’ll] justtry and get some runs, getsome big runs there. That’s myplan,” Finch said.

“I think the young kidswho have come in have takentheir opportunities, KurtisPatterson and Travis Head,these guys have come in anddone reasonably well whenthey’ve played.”

“Kurtis got a hundred inthe last Test that he played. WillPucovski and that whole cropof young batters who are com-ing through are so talented, soI think I’ve got one more pushin it for myself. If it doesn’t hap-pen then it doesn’t happen. I’mcomfortable with that. It will benice to play a few Shield gamesin a row to be fair. It’s been awhile since I’ve played morethan one in a row,” heexpressed.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Both the union ministry of sports and Bengal ChessAssociation have taken serious note of the corrup-

tion charges leveled by Arjuna Awardee andGrandmaster Dibyendu Barua against Bengal ChessAssociation secretary Atanu Lahiri, who is also a mem-ber of the trainer's committee of the all India ChessFederation (AICF).

While the Union Ministry of Youth Affairs andSports has directed the AICF through a letter datedSeptember 18 to take immediate action against Lahirion Barua’s charges, the BCA has sacked Lahiri from thepost of secretary and ended his membership of the asso-ciation.

The BCA has also received an ad interim Order ofinjunction issued from the Court of the 3rd AdditionalCivil Judge (Junior Division) against Atanu Lahiri’s titlesuit 1434 of 2019.

The Court has further restrained AICF and ANReddy, Chairman of the AICF Enquiry Committee, bothfrom issuing any direction on BCA relating to Elections.The Court has also restrained Atanu Lahiri from tak-ing part or act as Secretary of BCA.

The decision is also a big blow to AICF presidentPR Venketram Raja, who had formed a three-membercommittee on receiving Barua’s complaint againstLahiri. The committee issued a directive to Lahiri to con-duct the election of state chess association in October,but it remained silent on any action against Lahiri.

The Court has granted ex parte ad interim injunc-tion inter alia directing both BCA and Atanu Lahiri tomaintain status quo in respect of election activities ofthe Association till November 20.

Since the Disciplinary Committee of the BCA didnot receive any written submission or explanation to theshow cause issued to Atanu Lahiri on Barua’s charges,the the three member BCA Ad-hoc Committee onMonday decided to remove Atanu Lahiri from the postof Hony Secretary and also to terminate his member-ship with BCA with immediate effect.

BCA Ad Hoc Committee had earlier communicat-ed to hold an EOGM on the September 30 to discussfurther course of action.

Virat Kohli congratulates Rishabh Pant after he scored his fifty BCCI

Pant needs guidancefrom captain: Yuvraj

Jasprit Bumrah prepares to bowl during nets at NCA in Bengaluru PTI

Indian pacer to miss Freedom series due tostress fracture in lower back

Bumrah out of SA Tests

Rohit gets more vocalrole in MS absence

Rohit Sharma chats with bowling coach Bharat Arun andhead coach Ravi Shastri during training session PTI

Ministry, BCA acton Barua's charges

Olympic medal won’t even heal World C'ship loss: Bajrang

Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju in a group photograph with the World Wrestling Championships medal winning wrestlersRavi Dahiya, Bajrang Punia, Vinesh Phogat and Deepak Punia at SAI Head Office in New Delhi on Tuesday PTI

Finch eyes return to Test team

Murray ramps up comeback with 1st ATP Tour win

Andy Murray takes selfie with fans after his win in the singles match ATP/Twitter

Pak not to play home matches in UAE anymore

the future tournaments but it isdifficult to get over it.”

Will an Olympic medal easethe pain, Bajrang didn’t think soat this point of time.

“World Championship andOlympics are different tourna-ments. I am preparing forOlympic and I had put a lot ofeffort for World Championshipalso, so I don’t think I can for-get it. Whenever somethingsimilar will happen, I willremember this incident,” hesaid.

Bajrang, who has claimedGold medals at 2018 AsianGames, 2018 CommonwealthGames and 2017 AsianChampionship, said it wasn’t thefirst time he had to face bias.

“I have been at the receiving

end of such discrimination in allthe three World Championships.Last year also it happened in thefinal,” he said.

“Our president has object-ed to it this time and told themwhy it is happening to Indianwrestlers time and again andthey assured it won’t happenagain,” he said.

Asked if he is satisfied withhis performance at the WorldChampionships, Bajrang said: “Iam just happy that I could wina third medal for my country atthe tournament. But it wasn’t mybest. If I could have got a chanceto win the Gold, then I couldhave showed.

“In the first bout, I won eas-ily and I did work on my legdefence ahead of the tourna-

ment and I gave very less chancein that area this time. So now Iwill work on it further so that Idon’t give any chance to myopponents to get hold of my leg,”he said.

“I need to work on all areas.Overall, whether it is leg defence,attack or counter attack, I needto keep improving in all aspectsgoing ahead.”

Deepak Punia had claimedhis maiden Silver at the WorldChampionships in the 86kgbefore he was forced to pull outof the final due to an ankleinjury.

“I had suffered this injury inthe first round itself but I keptcompeting and so it got aggra-vated. If I would have played inthe finals, I might have needed

a surgery so we decided to skipit,” he said.

“The physio said it will takeanother 15-20 days to recovercompletely,” added Deepak.

Last month, he become thefirst Indian to win the WorldJunior C’ship in 18 years and theyoungster said it gave him theconfidence to do wellWorlds.

“I had won the junior WorldC’ship last month and it gave methe confidence ahead of thesenior World C’ships. It isextremely tough competitionas all top wrestlers come into thisevent with full preparation.

“I have to work on mytechnique now. I lacked experi-ence as it was my first worldchampionships, so as I grow inconfidence it will help.”