6! & 3˜ 11’ ˚ * ; 1˚ , * ˚ ˚ /.˚˚%,. 1’. .% / , 1 1.˚, · establish a 40 kg silver...

12
P rime Minister Narendra Modi will share the stage with just four more dignitaries — Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat, Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Mahant Nritya Gopaldas — at the grand Ram Temple foundation-stone laying cere- mony at Ayodhya on August 5. Even someone like Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, who is one of the tallest leaders from Uttar Pradesh and former Chief Minister of the State, will not be on the dais. Home Minister Amit Shah will not be able to make it due to Covid- 19 infection, and veteran LK Advani and MM Joshi will have to watch the ceremony on video conference from Delhi itself. Both Joshi and Advani were reportedly advised by the organisers to not travel to Ayodhya due to their age relat- ed vulnerability to Covid-19. Firebrand BJP leader Uma Bharti said she would, for the safety of the PM and other guests, stay away from the event and visit the site after everyone was gone. Incidentally, only a day ago she had declared she would take part in the ceremony. The invitations are only for residents of Ayodhya. The first invite went to Iqbal Ansari, one of the Muslim litigants in the Ayodhya case. Padma Shri recipient Mohammad Sharif, another Muslim, honoured for cremating over 10,000 unclaimed bodies, has also been invited. The invitation card men- tions Prime Minister Narendra Modi and three more names, indicating a vastly trimmed list in the time of Covid-19. The invite also has an image of the idol of “Ram Lalla” or infant Lord Ram. Each invitation has a security code that will work only once; if the guest exits the venue they will not be allowed back in, according to Champat Rai of the Ram Temple trust. Invites have been sent to some 175 people for the elabo- rate “Bhoomi Pujan” organised on Wednesday in the middle of the nation’s coronavirus fight. Champat Rai said the invi- tees were finalised only after they RSVP-ed on phone calls. “We have the Covid situation, that’s why we have kept social distancing in mind. We have personally called and apolo- gised to many people. Age is a factor too. How will Advaniji (91) come at his age? So we have carefully prepared a list around these compulsions,” he said. On inviting the Muslim lit- igant, Rai said: “Celebrating an event does not mean someone else should feel bad. No one should be teased.” PM Modi is expected to establish a 40 kg silver brick for the symbolic start of the con- struction of a Ram Temple that has been central to the BJP’s core agenda and election promises for decades. According to news agency ANI, three prominent scholars of Astrology and Vyakaran left for Ayodhya from Kashi on Monday to participate and supervise in the rituals of the ‘Bhoomi Pujan’, The scholars are office- bearers of the Kashi Vidwat Parishad, an organisation of intellectuals and scholars of Veda, Astrology, Paninian, Sanskrit Grammar and Indian philosophy. The organisation represents Kashi. Three schol- ars, including the VHP vice- president Prof Ramchandra Pandey, member Prof Vinay Kumar Pandey and Prof Ramnarayan Dwivedi, the con- vener have left for Ayodhya. T he ongoing slugfest between the Bihar and Mumbai Police over the inves- tigation into the Sushant Singh Rajput suicide case assumed a new dimension on Monday as Mumbai Police Commissioner Parambar Singh went on record saying that he was “emo- tionally disturbed” after his ex-manager Disha Salian’s alleged suicide. A day after Mumbai BJP general secretary and MLA Ameet Satam raised suspicions over Disha’s alleged suicide and indirectly linked the devel- opment with the actor, the Mumbai Police chief came clean on the issue by saying that the late actor was “emotional- ly disturbed” to see his name being linked with Disha. Disha allegedly committed suicide by falling from the 14th floor of a building in Malad in Mumbai on June 8. Talking to mediapersons, the city police chief said, “When the actor saw his name being linked to Disha Salian’s death in the social media, he was emotionally disturbed. He (Sushant) had met Disha Salian only once, he even asked his advocate who she was”. Singh said that the actor was acutely conscious about what was being published, appearing about him in both the media and social media. “Sushant would Google search for articles and his name to find out what was being written about him. He would also search for “painless death”, “schizophrenia and bipolar dis- order’,” the police chief said. The Mumbai Police chief ’s clarification came after for- mer Chief Minister and current Leader of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis tore into the Uddhav Thackeray dis- pensation for quarantining an IAS officer from Bihar who is in Mumbai to investigate the actor’s suicide case. “It is really very strange why the Maharashtra Government is coming under unnecessary suspicion by not allowing Bihar Police to per- form their duties. Instead of solving the mystery of Sushant’s death, such behavior will only result into huge public outcry and disbelief amongst the peo- ple about the investigation,” Fadnavis said in two tweets. Fadnavis charged that the Mumbai Police were adopting different yardsticks for police from different States and for different cases. “A medical team from Kerala visited Mumbai, UP Police came to investigate Vikas Dubey case, a team from the Bihar Police is already working in Mumbai since 4 days but none of them were quarantined then why only an SP rank officer is treat- ed differently?,” the senior BJP leader asked. I ndia on Monday piped the USA and Brazil to record the highest daily rise in coronavirus cases in the world. This was the first time that India’s daily spike was the highest in the world. While India recorded 52,783 cases, the USA report- ed 49,038 and Brazil reported 24,801 cases. This was after many weeks that the USA’s caseload came below 50,000 marks and Brazil listed below 30,000 cases. In terms of mortality, India was again ahead of both the USA and Brazil, but Mexico recorded the highest number of death on Monday. India recorded 758 deaths, the USA 467, Brazil 514 whereas Mexico listed 784 deaths. Meanwhile, Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus, Director- General, World Health Organisation (WHO has said the number of cases globally has increased more than 5-fold to 17.5 million and the number of deaths has more than tripled to 6,80,000 since WHO’s emer- gency committee on Covid last met 3 months ago. Dr Tedro also said several vaccines are now in phase-3 clinical trials and the world can hope to have a number of effective vaccines that can help prevent people from infection. However, there’s no silver bul- let at the moment and there might never be, he said. Addressing the Emergency Committee on Covid-19, con- vened by the WHO Director- General under the International Health Regulations (2005) (IHR), Dr Tedros said, “The pandemic is a once-in-a-century health cri- sis, the effects of which will be felt for decades to come. Many countries that believed they were past the worst are now grappling with new outbreaks. Some that were less affected in the earliest weeks are now see- ing escalating numbers of cases and deaths. And some that had large outbreaks have brought them under control.” T he State Government on Monday allowed finan- cial institutions to function within restrictions amid the Covid-19 pandemic. In a letter, the Finance Department asked the dis- trict authorities and the SLBC General Manager to allow the public and private sector banks, RRBs, Odisha State Cooperative Bank, small finance banks and insurance companies to function normally with 50% staff for the large branches. The letter, however, stat- ed full staff for the small branches having less than five employees must be allowed to function follow- ing strict social distancing, use of mask and hand sani- tisers. “Postal employees and bank employees are allowed to move to the premises of senior citizens and differ- ently-abled persons to deliv- er cash on phone calls,” the letter stated. C oronavirus infections claimed 10 more lives in the State on Monday, increas- ing the total death toll to 207. While Ganjam and Rayagada districts reported three deaths each, Gajapati reported two and Khordha and Kalahandi one each. The Ganjam deceased included a 48-year-old man, a 54-year-old man and a 54- year-old woman. The deceased in Rayagada included a 70- year-old man, a 64-year-old man and a 61-year-old man. The two fatalities in Gajapati were a 34-year-old man and a 44-year-old man. The other deceased was a 66- year-old man of Kalahandi and a 63-year-old man of Khordha. Meanwhile on Monday, as many as 1,384 more persons tested positive in the State, pushing the total number of positive cases to 36,297, includ- ing 14,095 active ones. Of the new cases, 873 were detected from quarantine cen- tres and 511 were local contact cases. The day’s highest 331 cases were reported from Ganjam district again followed by Khordha 211, Koraput 97, Sambalpur 93, Cuttack 89, Baleswar 79, Gajapati 61, Balangir 51, Sundargarh 46, Malkangiri 39, Rayagada 38, Bargarh 33, Mayurbhanj 29, Nabarangpur 26, Bhadrak 25, Jagatsinghpur and Nayagarh 22 each, Jajpur 18, Angul 13, Dhenkanal and Kendrapada 11, Jharsuguda seven, Subarnapur six and Kalahandi and Nuapada four each. However, a record 1,119 patients recovered on the day, taking the total recoveries to 23,073. It was for the first time that the State recorded over 1,000 recoveries in a single day since the outbreak of the pan- demic. The highest 354 recovered in Ganjam district followed by Khordha 97, Gajapati 83, Jajpur 70, Keonjhar, Cuttack 50, Boudh 40, Nayagarh 37, Rayagada 35, Puri 31, Baleswar 30, Mayurbhanj 29, Bhadrak 28, Jagatsinghpur 27, Dhenkanal 24, Sundargarh 22, Kandhamal 17, Balangir and Sambalpur 16 each, Malkangiri15, Nabarangpur 12, Kendrapada 11 Angul and Koraput five each, Baragarh four, Subarnapur three and Jharsuguda one. B hubaneswar on Monday recorded 89 more Covid-19 positive cases, taking its total tally to 3,068. Out of the new cases, 65 were from quarantine and 24 were local contacts, the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) said. The quarantine cases included 17 of Aiginia Aulu Gadi linked with an earlier pos- itive case; seven, all males, of Police Reserve Colony linked with an earlier case; five of Gautan Nagar Basti linked with an earlier case; four of Badagada Nua Sahi linked with an earlier case; three of Rasulgarh GGP Colony linked with an earlier case; three of Jagamara Uppar Sahi linked with an earlier case; three of Chandrasekharpur Shramik Basti linked with an earlier case; two of Unit-8 CBI Colony; two of Unit-6 linked with an earlier case; one of Pokhariput Gopalkrsihna Vihar; and one of Pokhariput Ananta Vihar, who is a CRPF employee with trav- el history of Hyderabad. The local contacts includ- ed two of BJB Nagar; two of Ganganagar; two of Unit-6 Radhakrusha Basti; one of Pokhariput Gopalakrishna Nagar; one of Rameshwarpatna; one of Kolathia; one of Tamando Subudhipur; one of Nayapalli near CRPF Square; one of Satyanagar near Big Bazaar; and one of Kharavel Nagar Press Colony. However, as many as 107 patients recovered from the dis- ease in the city on the day. In Cuttack, 87 more posi- tive cases were detected on Monday. With this, the city’s total cases rose to 1,091. Of the new cases, 76 were from home quarantine, eight local contacts, two from paid quarantine and institutional quarantine, the Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC) said. A super spreader has infected 57 persons in the city, including 27 women in Malgodown Behera Sahi. On July 29, the CMC had declared Behera Sahi as a containment zone after detection 12 positive cases. T wo low pressures formed in the Bay of Bengal are like- ly to trigger heavy to very heavy rainfall in the State, The depressions would be formed on August 4 and August 8 which might trigger heavy rain, said the Regional Office of the Indian Metrological Department (IMD) here on Monday. The low pressure on August 4 would bring rains till August 6. Likewise, the depres- sion on August 8 would trigger rains till August 11. “The monsoon trough-line is now moving southward; hence, Odisha would experi- ence rainfall. This wiouldl be a welcome relief for the much distressed farmers in the State, who have been hit by deficit rainfall. A low pressure area likely to form over north Bay of Bengal around 4th August,” said the IMD The weatherman also fore- cast rain, thunderstorm with lightning over several places in the State for next five days and have issued yellow warning for the period. Heavy rainfall is very like- ly to occur at one or two places over the districts of Malkangiri, Koraput, Nabarangpur, Gajapati, Rayagada, Bargarh and Boudh while thunder- storm with lightning is very likely to occur at one or two places over the districts of Balangir, Subarnapur, Boudh, Sambalpur, Angul, Kendrapadda Jagatsinghpur, Bhadrak and Dhenkanal dur- ing the period. K ill me, if you can. I am not interested to live further as everyone hates me," said a patient undergoing treatment in the Covid Hospital in Sambalpur to his attending doctor. He also requested the doctor to give him proper medicine and food. A video on this has gone viral in the social media, and pointing out the poor standards of treatment and food. “I have requested the doc- tors in charge of treatment to give me an injection so that I will die soon,” the patient says in the video. The patient has been in the hospital for four days. He seems under severe mental trauma, may be due to the dreaded disease. When contacted, Sambalpur district Collector Subham Saxena said some Covid patients are undergoing psychological disorders too. "Hence, it is obvious for them to express their reactions in many ways.” “Still, doctors and other staffs have been asked to treat patients with a human touch,” said Saxena, adding, “We are further arranging to send psy- chologists to meet such patients for proper counselling so that they can come out of trauma.”

Transcript of 6! & 3˜ 11’ ˚ * ; 1˚ , * ˚ ˚ /.˚˚%,. 1’. .% / , 1 1.˚, · establish a 40 kg silver...

Page 1: 6! & 3˜ 11’ ˚ * ; 1˚ , * ˚ ˚ /.˚˚%,. 1’. .% / , 1 1.˚, · establish a 40 kg silver brick for the symbolic start of the con- ... ing 14,095 active ones. Of the new cases,

����� ���������

Prime Minister NarendraModi will share the stage

with just four more dignitaries— Rashtriya SwayamsevakSangh (RSS) chief MohanBhagwat, Uttar PradeshGovernor Anandiben Patel,Chief Minister Yogi Adityanathand Mahant Nritya Gopaldas— at the grand Ram Templefoundation-stone laying cere-mony at Ayodhya on August 5.

Even someone like DefenceMinister Rajnath Singh, who isone of the tallest leaders fromUttar Pradesh and formerChief Minister of the State, willnot be on the dais. HomeMinister Amit Shah will not beable to make it due to Covid-19 infection, and veteran LKAdvani and MM Joshi willhave to watch the ceremony onvideo conference from Delhiitself. Both Joshi and Advaniwere reportedly advised by theorganisers to not travel toAyodhya due to their age relat-ed vulnerability to Covid-19.

Firebrand BJP leader UmaBharti said she would, for thesafety of the PM and otherguests, stay away from theevent and visit the site aftereveryone was gone.Incidentally, only a day ago shehad declared she would takepart in the ceremony.

The invitations are only forresidents of Ayodhya. The firstinvite went to Iqbal Ansari, one

of the Muslim litigants in theAyodhya case. Padma Shrirecipient Mohammad Sharif,another Muslim, honoured forcremating over 10,000unclaimed bodies, has alsobeen invited.

The invitation card men-tions Prime Minister NarendraModi and three more names,

indicating a vastly trimmed listin the time of Covid-19.

The invite also has animage of the idol of “RamLalla” or infant Lord Ram.Each invitation has a securitycode that will work only once;if the guest exits the venue theywill not be allowed back in,according to Champat Rai of

the Ram Temple trust.Invites have been sent to

some 175 people for the elabo-rate “Bhoomi Pujan” organisedon Wednesday in the middle ofthe nation’s coronavirus fight.

Champat Rai said the invi-tees were finalised only afterthey RSVP-ed on phone calls.“We have the Covid situation,

that’s why we have kept socialdistancing in mind. We havepersonally called and apolo-gised to many people. Age is afactor too. How will Advaniji(91) come at his age? So wehave carefully prepared a listaround these compulsions,” hesaid.

On inviting the Muslim lit-igant, Rai said: “Celebrating anevent does not mean someoneelse should feel bad. No oneshould be teased.”

PM Modi is expected toestablish a 40 kg silver brick forthe symbolic start of the con-struction of a Ram Temple thathas been central to the BJP’score agenda and electionpromises for decades.

According to news agencyANI, three prominent scholarsof Astrology and Vyakaran leftfor Ayodhya from Kashi onMonday to participate andsupervise in the rituals of the‘Bhoomi Pujan’,

The scholars are office-bearers of the Kashi VidwatParishad, an organisation ofintellectuals and scholars ofVeda, Astrology, Paninian,Sanskrit Grammar and Indianphilosophy. The organisationrepresents Kashi. Three schol-ars, including the VHP vice-president Prof RamchandraPandey, member Prof VinayKumar Pandey and ProfRamnarayan Dwivedi, the con-vener have left for Ayodhya.

������������ ��

The ongoing slugfestbetween the Bihar and

Mumbai Police over the inves-tigation into the Sushant SinghRajput suicide case assumed anew dimension on Monday asMumbai Police CommissionerParambar Singh went onrecord saying that he was “emo-tionally disturbed” after hisex-manager Disha Salian’salleged suicide.

A day after Mumbai BJPgeneral secretary and MLAAmeet Satam raised suspicionsover Disha’s alleged suicideand indirectly linked the devel-opment with the actor, theMumbai Police chief cameclean on the issue by saying thatthe late actor was “emotional-ly disturbed” to see his namebeing linked with Disha.

Disha allegedly committedsuicide by falling from the14th floor of a building inMalad in Mumbai on June 8.

Talking to mediapersons,the city police chief said,“When the actor saw his namebeing linked to Disha Salian’sdeath in the social media, hewas emotionally disturbed. He(Sushant) had met Disha Salianonly once, he even asked hisadvocate who she was”.

Singh said that the actorwas acutely conscious aboutwhat was being published,appearing about him in boththe media and social media.

“Sushant would Googlesearch for articles and his nameto find out what was beingwritten about him. He would

also search for “painless death”,“schizophrenia and bipolar dis-order’,” the police chief said.

The Mumbai Police chief ’sclarification came after for-mer Chief Minister and currentLeader of OppositionDevendra Fadnavis tore intothe Uddhav Thackeray dis-pensation for quarantining anIAS officer from Bihar who isin Mumbai to investigate theactor’s suicide case.

“It is really very strangewhy the MaharashtraGovernment is coming underunnecessary suspicion by notallowing Bihar Police to per-form their duties. Instead ofsolving the mystery of Sushant’sdeath, such behavior will onlyresult into huge public outcryand disbelief amongst the peo-ple about the investigation,”

Fadnavis said in two tweets.Fadnavis charged that the

Mumbai Police were adoptingdifferent yardsticks for policefrom different States and fordifferent cases. “A medicalteam from Kerala visitedMumbai, UP Police came toinvestigate Vikas Dubey case, ateam from the Bihar Police isalready working in Mumbaisince 4 days but none of themwere quarantined then whyonly an SP rank officer is treat-ed differently?,” the senior BJPleader asked.

����� ��������

India on Monday piped theUSA and Brazil to record the

highest daily rise in coronaviruscases in the world. This was thefirst time that India’s daily spikewas the highest in the world.

While India recorded52,783 cases, the USA report-ed 49,038 and Brazil reported

24,801 cases. This was aftermany weeks that the USA’scaseload came below 50,000marks and Brazil listed below30,000 cases.

In terms of mortality, Indiawas again ahead of both theUSA and Brazil, but Mexicorecorded the highest number ofdeath on Monday. Indiarecorded 758 deaths, the USA

467, Brazil 514 whereas Mexicolisted 784 deaths.

Meanwhile, Dr TedrosGhebreyesus, Director-General, World HealthOrganisation (WHO has saidthe number of cases globallyhas increased more than 5-foldto 17.5 million and the numberof deaths has more than tripledto 6,80,000 since WHO’s emer-gency committee on Covidlast met 3 months ago.

Dr Tedro also said severalvaccines are now in phase-3clinical trials and the world canhope to have a number ofeffective vaccines that can helpprevent people from infection.However, there’s no silver bul-let at the moment and theremight never be, he said.

Addressing the EmergencyCommittee on Covid-19, con-vened by the WHO Director-General under the

International HealthRegulations (2005) (IHR), DrTedros said, “The pandemic isa once-in-a-century health cri-sis, the effects of which will befelt for decades to come. Manycountries that believed theywere past the worst are nowgrappling with new outbreaks.Some that were less affected inthe earliest weeks are now see-ing escalating numbers of casesand deaths. And some that hadlarge outbreaks have broughtthem under control.”

�������������� �������������������� ������������������������������� ���������� ����������� �������������������������

! ������������ ������"����#�� �$������%#

�������������� �� ���������������� ��������� �����

&��������!'����(������������ �$����

�������������� ��� � ������ ��� ���������������������������������� ���� �� ������������������� ���� ����������������������������������������� ������������������������ � � ��������� ���������� �!"

���� ��#�� �����$�� ����%%�����%��������#������������ �&'(���� ����� ����� �� � ��)�%���� ���������� �!"

������ � ���������������������������������� ����������������� ������������ ���������������������������� !���"# �������� ����� �������� $"����%��"&�� �������� ������������������������'��$���(� ����������������������������������������������&!� � �������� ����� ��������������%��"&�� ������ ��������������������������&����&$)�! ������ ��������������������������&!�$)�$� ������ ��������������������������*#+����� ������ �������������������������� ����� ������ ��������������������������,�+�����$ ������ �������������������������� ���� ������ �����������������������������-�$� ������������� ��������������������������." ��� ������ ���������������������������"�-��%��"&�� ������������� ��������������������������'&��!� ������ �� ������

������ �������������������������� ��������������������������������

������ !"#�"#�"$� ���

�%������� � ����� ������������� �

����� ���� ��/� ,

The State Government onMonday allowed finan-

cial institutions to functionwithin restrictions amid theCovid-19 pandemic.

In a letter, the FinanceDepartment asked the dis-trict authorities and theSLBC General Manager toallow the public and privatesector banks, RRBs, OdishaState Cooperative Bank,small finance banks andinsurance companies tofunction normally with 50%staff for the large branches.

The letter, however, stat-ed full staff for the smallbranches having less thanfive employees must beallowed to function follow-ing strict social distancing,use of mask and hand sani-tisers.

“Postal employees andbank employees are allowedto move to the premises ofsenior citizens and differ-ently-abled persons to deliv-er cash on phone calls,” theletter stated.

* ���� �% �� ��� ����������� ��# ���+,-�����

����� ���� ��/� ,

Coronavirus infectionsclaimed 10 more lives in

the State on Monday, increas-ing the total death toll to 207.While Ganjam and Rayagadadistricts reported three deathseach, Gajapati reported twoand Khordha and Kalahandione each.

The Ganjam deceasedincluded a 48-year-old man, a54-year-old man and a 54-year-old woman. The deceasedin Rayagada included a 70-year-old man, a 64-year-oldman and a 61-year-old man.

The two fatalities inGajapati were a 34-year-oldman and a 44-year-old man.The other deceased was a 66-year-old man of Kalahandiand a 63-year-old man ofKhordha.

Meanwhile on Monday, asmany as 1,384 more personstested positive in the State,pushing the total number ofpositive cases to 36,297, includ-ing 14,095 active ones.

Of the new cases, 873 weredetected from quarantine cen-tres and 511 were local contactcases.

The day’s highest 331 caseswere reported from Ganjamdistrict again followed byKhordha 211, Koraput 97,Sambalpur 93, Cuttack 89,Baleswar 79, Gajapati 61,Balangir 51, Sundargarh 46,Malkangiri 39, Rayagada 38,Bargarh 33, Mayurbhanj 29,Nabarangpur 26, Bhadrak 25,Jagatsinghpur and Nayagarh 22each, Jajpur 18, Angul 13,Dhenkanal and Kendrapada11, Jharsuguda seven,Subarnapur six and Kalahandiand Nuapada four each.

However, a record 1,119patients recovered on the day,

taking the total recoveries to23,073. It was for the first timethat the State recorded over1,000 recoveries in a single daysince the outbreak of the pan-demic.

The highest 354 recoveredin Ganjam district followed byKhordha 97, Gajapati 83, Jajpur70, Keonjhar, Cuttack 50,Boudh 40, Nayagarh 37,Rayagada 35, Puri 31, Baleswar30, Mayurbhanj 29, Bhadrak28, Jagatsinghpur 27,Dhenkanal 24, Sundargarh 22,Kandhamal 17, Balangir andSambalpur 16 each,Malkangiri15, Nabarangpur12, Kendrapada 11 Angul andKoraput five each, Baragarhfour, Subarnapur three andJharsuguda one.

����� ���� ��/� ,01��� 1'

Bhubaneswar on Mondayrecorded 89 more Covid-19

positive cases, taking its totaltally to 3,068. Out of the newcases, 65 were from quarantineand 24 were local contacts, theBhubaneswar MunicipalCorporation (BMC) said.

The quarantine casesincluded 17 of Aiginia AuluGadi linked with an earlier pos-itive case; seven, all males, ofPolice Reserve Colony linkedwith an earlier case; five ofGautan Nagar Basti linked with

an earlier case; four ofBadagada Nua Sahi linked withan earlier case; three ofRasulgarh GGP Colony linkedwith an earlier case; three ofJagamara Uppar Sahi linkedwith an earlier case; three ofChandrasekharpur ShramikBasti linked with an earliercase; two of Unit-8 CBI Colony;two of Unit-6 linked with anearlier case; one of PokhariputGopalkrsihna Vihar; and one ofPokhariput Ananta Vihar, whois a CRPF employee with trav-el history of Hyderabad.

The local contacts includ-ed two of BJB Nagar; two ofGanganagar; two of Unit-6Radhakrusha Basti; one ofPokhariput GopalakrishnaNagar; one ofRameshwarpatna; one ofKolathia; one of TamandoSubudhipur; one of Nayapalli

near CRPF Square; one ofSatyanagar near Big Bazaar;and one of Kharavel NagarPress Colony.

However, as many as 107patients recovered from the dis-ease in the city on the day.

In Cuttack, 87 more posi-tive cases were detected onMonday. With this, the city’stotal cases rose to 1,091.

Of the new cases, 76 werefrom home quarantine, eightlocal contacts, two from paidquarantine and institutionalquarantine, the CuttackMunicipal Corporation (CMC)said.

A super spreader hasinfected 57 persons in the city,including 27 women inMalgodown Behera Sahi. OnJuly 29, the CMC had declaredBehera Sahi as a containmentzone after detection 12 positivecases.

����� ���� ��/� ,

Two low pressures formed inthe Bay of Bengal are like-

ly to trigger heavy to veryheavy rainfall in the State,

The depressions would beformed on August 4 andAugust 8 which might triggerheavy rain, said the RegionalOffice of the IndianMetrological Department(IMD) here on Monday.

The low pressure onAugust 4 would bring rains tillAugust 6. Likewise, the depres-sion on August 8 would triggerrains till August 11.

“The monsoon trough-lineis now moving southward;hence, Odisha would experi-ence rainfall. This wiouldl be awelcome relief for the muchdistressed farmers in the State,

who have been hit by deficitrainfall. A low pressure arealikely to form over north Bay ofBengal around 4th August,”said the IMD

The weatherman also fore-cast rain, thunderstorm withlightning over several places inthe State for next five days andhave issued yellow warningfor the period.

Heavy rainfall is very like-ly to occur at one or two placesover the districts of Malkangiri,Koraput, Nabarangpur,Gajapati, Rayagada, Bargarhand Boudh while thunder-storm with lightning is verylikely to occur at one or twoplaces over the districts ofBalangir, Subarnapur, Boudh,Sambalpur, Angul,Kendrapadda Jagatsinghpur,Bhadrak and Dhenkanal dur-ing the period.

�����������������/ � �%�,

Kill me, if you can. I am notinterested to live further as

everyone hates me," said apatient undergoing treatmentin the Covid Hospital inSambalpur to his attendingdoctor. He also requested thedoctor to give him propermedicine and food.

A video on this has goneviral in the social media, andpointing out the poor standards

of treatment and food. “I have requested the doc-

tors in charge of treatment togive me an injection so that Iwill die soon,” the patient saysin the video. The patient hasbeen in the hospital for fourdays. He seems under severemental trauma, may be due tothe dreaded disease.

When contacted,Sambalpur district CollectorSubham Saxena said someCovid patients are undergoingpsychological disorders too."Hence, it is obvious for themto express their reactions inmany ways.”

“Still, doctors and otherstaffs have been asked to treatpatients with a human touch,”said Saxena, adding, “We arefurther arranging to send psy-chologists to meet such patientsfor proper counselling so thatthey can come out of trauma.”

���������������

����������� ��������������������������������

������������ �����������������

� ������������������ ���������� !"� #$%����&�����������'�(��&��� )� ��������!��� ������������ ��*"�

',���������.�/������� ����%%���#�0,1 )*�������������$���������!+������,�-,)���*"�������� �������"����� �������� +� �$�����������������,� ��-"

��#���������� ������ �� ��/���

2��&�� !-% 3$&&� 4�5&633(753�0"� !-8 3$&&�&������� ���'

����� ������������

$���)���753�0"� !-8 3$&&�0

���&�1 �- � !"�����##$% ���9 ��/#�5���)&��:���� 4� 88! 5�6!&

%#6! ��&"�;�3�����������1'�.� ��.% ������� ��/� ,

, �1��, %�, 1� ��* ,�����, ��� �<��, � ��=> <� �

�#&'(!)#*%+��������������������� �����������

,�,����-����������.��������������/�����������

���"#"�#�(1��1' ��*

1��

��#)*�!� ��; 1��,�*�

1.��, 1�/�;.,�����.���

��������� ����������� ����������� �

+��,-� .� �����/��.������%,.����

��.�,�1.���,<��/ </�1����,

Page 2: 6! & 3˜ 11’ ˚ * ; 1˚ , * ˚ ˚ /.˚˚%,. 1’. .% / , 1 1.˚, · establish a 40 kg silver brick for the symbolic start of the con- ... ing 14,095 active ones. Of the new cases,

����* ���������� �!�"���#�$ !������" %��&'&'

����������� ������ ������������������� ������������������������� !��������"�� ���#�$!%���&�'��(� !)$&% �&!&�*+(� !)$&% �,%%��$-��(������������./-�����-���������01"�2�1�3$&4�5�������$6�7���$3�������#�2��������1�����"�� ���#�$!%�����1�����(����������8�������1�����(��������8�28�/�����9821�:4&��!4&&)!%�628�;8�<68:1��8������1��(�������8����������(���0���(��- �=6�-�� ������("�/����=�������������(��>�����3����9�����(��� �"�����:�� "�#��"�������7����/���#3����$�����&������(���$)����)%%���--��������9�����(*$,�������� ��9236�:��-"����/�$&��,���;�������(��&�$)?!5?��=)?!55������@��#9�����()��*���������������/�������*�A �8������@��#&& �� �'���������(�%&&$&,) )),�&,) )))�&,) ))%�

���������� �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� ������������������������������������� ��������������������������������������� ��������������� �� ���������������������������������������������������������� ������������ ����� ��������������� ��������������������������������������������������� ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� �������� �!����������������"���������� ���������������������������� �������������������� ���� ��������������������������������� �����������������������������#��������������������������� ���� ����$����%����&�������������������������� ��������������� �����������������������'����������������������������������� ���������������"��������������������(�����������������������������

Astar alumnus of the UtkalUniversity, having had

bagged two gold medals fromthe PG Department of Physicsin 1973, Dr Kailash ChandraMishra took to the world ofacademics like a fish takes towater. Thereafter, he had addeddegrees like CAIIB, MBA andDLit in post-doctoral educationat the Wharton’s ArestyBusiness School, Philadelphia.A philosopher king in theempire of academia, an apos-tle of Oriental ethos, a man-agement guru both at homeand abroad, he is one of thebest brains that this country hasproduced. He was Vice-Chancellor of Sri Sri University;Director of LBSIM, Delhi;Director of National InsuranceAcademy, Pune; Member,IRDAI Advisory Committee;Member, SEBI MarketDevelopment Committee;Member, EPFO PensionReforms Committee; Member,RBI Reserve Management BestPractice Advisory Group;Dean, Area Chair andProfessor of ASCI, SPJAINand BOI-MDC, World BankTemporary staff for disastermanagement; Board ofDirector and Audit CommitteeChairman of UTI, Mumbai;Advisor of PlanningCommission of India; Advisorto Ministry of Health on RCHand Insurance, EmeritusProfessor in Management(Now attached to BharatiyaVidya Bhavan and Lal BahadurShastri Institute ofManagement, Delhi), AdvisoryCouncil member of onlyInsurance Product RatingAgency Beshaq.com,Bengaluru. He was decoratedwith many awards like Bhavan’sSamman for Education,UKIERI (UK and India JointAward) for financial skilldevelopment, Student Speakerof Columbia University, USAand Best Citizen of India awardby World Biographers’Association. In an interview toThe Pioneer, Dr Mishra spoketo Sugyan Choudhury onmany key affairs of current eco-nomic, business affairs arisingout of the Covid-19 pandem-ic.

As an acclaimed manage-ment guru, how do you per-ceive the change in globalattitude for problems facingmankind in the aftermath ofthis pandemic?

Opinion makers of theworld were busy in intellectu-al acrobatics on various impor-tant issues. A more-urgentissue had escaped all attention.Pandemics are a hundred-yearphenomenon with return peri-od nearer to 20s of the centu-

ry. Last century had seenSpanish Flu around 1918 whichlasted for three years. WhenCovid-19 struck the world,even the serious governmentsand their think tanks nevertook it as a disaster. They werestill busy listening to the distantdrums created from their intel-lectual membrane. Crisis is atevery body’s door and itsurgency brings out the best inhuman creativity. The ongoingsuffering will eventually giverise to a new healthcare worldin particular and new lifestylein general.

How do you see evolutionof online trading in India?

Online trading or e-com-merce is a great tool for pro-ductivity anywhere in theworld. Amazon or Alibabashowed how quickly successcan be harnessed. Online trad-ing requires a robust platform,seamless logistics and ethicalbehaviour towards customers.It has no geographical limita-tion excepting compliance oflaw of the land of operation andregulatory compliances. Whilelogistics is the forward inte-gration of the platform, pro-ducers are the backyard inte-gration. The Reliance Jiomartis scaling up very fast whileFlipkart or Amazon hadalready established their pres-ence. Online trading will flour-ish in India exponentially giventhe consumer base and chang-ing preference of particularlyurbanites. Even erstwhile brickand mortar businesses likeWallmart have become onlinetraders. There will be weedingout of some non-serious or un-optimised platforms. but ingeneral the hybrid model ofproducer, platform, logisticsand outlets are going to coex-ist in many forms. They are andwill be the biggest employmentproviders.

What do you see of theeconomic fallouts of this pan-demic in India?

Vulnerability is the key.Pandemic is a global phenom-enon, which will shrink eco-nomic size and growth of mostcountries. Countries whichhave developed Venezuela syn-drome where governments attop are corrupt and unimagi-native, people are lazy as theyare used to governmentlargesse harnessed either fromexploitation of naturalresources or still worse fromborrowings, are most certain-ly going to be in distress withhunger, crime and unemploy-ment. Governments with goodleadership like Germany, New

Zealand and Vietnam havesafeguarded life of their citizensensuring smooth retention oftheir livelihoods. They protectsystemic values of institutions.They separate electoral politicscompulsions from technicalimperatives like efficiency,rationality and administrationwith an eye on pluralism of val-ues and culture.

According to theInternational LabourOrganisation (ILO), nearly 25million jobs could be lost worldwide due to pandemic mean-ing income losses for workersto the tune of US$ 3.4 trillionby the end of 2020. This willtranslate into a temporary fallin the consumption of goodsand services; and, in turn,affect the national economies.But economies with strongeconomic governance capabil-ity, absorption capacity ofintermediate enabling tech-nology, genuine skill develop-ment efforts and cheap powerand labour will come outstrong.

India livelihood situationduring this period can be high-lighted by some major trends inthe national-level employment.As per the Periodic LabourForce Survey (PLFS), around47% adults are working in thecountry with dependence mul-tiplier of 3, almost 52%workersare self-employed followed bycasual workers 25% and theremaining 23% are regular orsalaried workers. Of these, thecasual workers are the mostvulnerable due to the irregularnature of their work. Almost96% of the self-employed areeither own-account workersor unpaid family worker or soleworkers with only 4% consti-tuting employers or entrepre-neurs. These sole workers areas vulnerable as casual workers.

Special Insurance Schemefor Covid Health workers,PMGarib Kalyan Ann Yojana,augmented PM Kisan SammanNidhi, PMGKY components,augmented MNREGA,National Rural LivelihoodMission and few other welfareschemes are announced forproviding relief to such vul-nerable workers. The packageof 1,7 lakh crore announced forthe purpose may not be ade-quate given the dimension andduration of vulnerability. Thestimulus package looks verycosmetic and without applica-tion of economic and welfaremind.

The unemployment situa-tion is growing bleaker.Government should not con-tinue to be in denial mode.Problem can be assuaged only ifit is honestly recognised. GDPhad already decelerated itsgrowth due to unimaginativeeconomic governance even inpre-pandemic days. During pan-demic de-growth is obvious butpost pandemic, there may be aU-shaped recovery if economicgovernance is adequately tonedup. Indian spirit will delink itselffrom electoral politics menace torestore its growth.

.���������,�������+

2��)� %������������ ���

/����������������

&��������������������%�������������$�����������$�����$�

����� ���� ��/� ,

Auction of nine coal blocksin Odisha by the Central

Government would be destruc-tive as it would displace thou-sands of tribals and farmers anddestroy thousands acres of agri-culture land. Thus, the StateGovernment should stop it.

Lok Shakti Abhiyan presi-dent Prafulla Samantara urgedthis in a letter to Chief MinisterNaveen Patnaik on Monday.

“There will be destructionof thousands acres of agricul-ture land in Chendipada areawhere there is coal under threefeet beneath the earth.Similarly, huge forest areas willbe lost in both two districts ofKeonjhar and Jharsuguda,”wrote Samantara.

He mentioned that anoth-

er very sensitive deep green for-est in the Gandhalpada area inKeonjhar district having ninelakh Saal trees, where auctionfor mining of iron ores wouldbe done by the StateGovernment, would be affect-ed.

“All these natural resourceshave to be protected and con-served not only for the presentbut also for future generationsas generational equitable jus-tice,” he remarked.

He appraised that theJharkhand Government hasfiled objection in the SupremeCourt against arbitrary deci-sion on auction of nine coalblocks there and the UnionGovernment excluded five coalblocks in Chhattisgarh in viewof its protest.

“You can also stop theanti-people and anti-natureauction of rich naturalresources of our State in theinterest thousands’ right tolivelihood and climate justice.I appeal you to stop thedestruction in the name ofdevelopment,” Samantaraurged the CM.

������������� ���������������������%���������������/��������0

0��.���������

The sudden outbreak ofCovid-19 pandemic has

brought a great upheaval in thetotal education system. A timehas come when future is facedwith uncertainties and unpre-dicted repercussions. Studentshave been segregated from realclassrooms and the environ-ments of schools. They do notcome face to face with theirfamiliar teachers who not onlybuild their careers but alsomould their personality, char-acter and life itself. However,being a change agent is not aseasy as it seems. It requiresmicroscopic planning, great

precision and constant atten-tion.

There was a time whenteaching was confined withintraditional lecturing to givethe students theoretical andrule-based knowledge andinformation required for mak-ing a good scoring in exami-nations. Gone are the dayswhen students used to be pas-sive listeners only inside thefour walls of a classroom. In thepresent scenario, a teacher’s rolehas been changed to that of afacilitator. A question that oftendraws our attention is whatactually the role of a teacher isin the 21st century. Is it to pro-vide contents, facts, dates andformulas? Absolutely not. Infact, teachers are no more thesource of information. Simplybecause children can get factsand data on anything any timeanywhere. A simple click ofmouse or touch on smartphones, Facebook, Wikipediaand, most importantly Google,can give them limitless infor-mation. Therefore, our cur-riculum should be focussedmore on ideas and skills ratherthan facts and contents.

Now, question is what arethese skills and ideas and howcan they be achieved? It has

been rightly said that learningis not the product of teaching;it is rather the product of activ-ities of the learners. Classroomactivities not only enhanceconcept clarity but also createa vigorous ambience to enablethe students to explore andexperience things themselvesand, thereby, develop variousskills and ideas. The termwhich is aptly appropriate inthis context is ExperientialLearning, a way to apply aca-demic content to real life.Students can be engaged inactivities related to real life sit-uations so that they can dis-cover and learn various thingspractically rather than by gog-gling. On the basis of a chap-ter, they can be assigned witha variety of situations to buildskills like critical thinking andanalysis, problem solving anddecision making, etc. We haveto rethink on the kind of prob-lems we ask the students tosolve and the tools we use.Students are to be trained touse the ICT tools not to enter-tain themselves but to discuss,collaborate, compare and pub-lish their ideas.

Development of ICT skillslike searching, commenting,posting, subscribing, linking,

networking, editing, uploading,tagging, etc., are highly essen-tial for online teaching. Apartfrom that, value-based teachingcan bring remarkable attitudi-nal changes in students whichwill help them to generate pos-itive thinking, willpower,readiness and courage to meetchallenges, compassion, toler-ance, etc., and ultimately cantransform them into decentand civilised human beings.Competency-based educationis another approach to allowthe students to learn on thebasis of their own abilities tomaster a particular skill attheir own paces. Visual makescommunication easier. So,teaching through ArtIntegration, which has recent-ly been made compulsory bythe CBSE, is absolutely a com-mendable step. Art-integratedactivities like making projects,sketching, painting, debating ,role play, power point presen-tation, etc., can be connectedwith teaching to strengthen thelink between education andculture and develop knowledge,skills and values.

In this way, a shift frommark-centric approach tolearner-centric approach is def-initely going to give a new

dimension to the teaching-learning process in the presentpandemic situation. It is not anexaggeration that teachers ofthe DAV Public SchoolChandrasekharpur are alwaysready to be the change agents.Since its inception from 4th ofAugust 1989 till date, thisschool has been setting its ownbenchmarks in holistic andquality education for the all-round development of its stu-dents focussing on their per-formances in scholastic, co-scholastic and extracurricularactivities following the latesttrends of pedagogies andmethodologies in education. Ithas been the right platform foran ideal amalgamation of Vedictraditions propounded bySwami Dayananda Saraswatiwith the latest development inscience and technology to pro-duce worthy citizens for themotherland.

No change is possible with-out conflict. So, let’s overcomeall conflicts and start fromsmall steps to see its miraculousimpact on our dear students.

(The writer is a senior fac-ulty of the Dept of English, DAVPublic School,Chandrasekharpur)

� ���,���������$��,�#1��2���� �� �������2��

��������������&����

"�������� %% ��������������������������

BHUBANESWAR: In abureaucratic reshuffle, the StateGovernment on Monday shift-ed six IAS and OAS officers andentrusted them with newresponsibilities.

OAS officer Sanat KumarMohanty, currently AdditionalSecretary, ST/SC Development,has been transferred as districtCollector, Khordha.

Outgoing KhordhaCollector Sitansu Kumar Rout,also an OAS officer, has beenposted as AdditionalCommissioner ofConsolidation and Settlement,

Brahmapur. IAS officer Keerthi Vasan

V has been appointed asOfficer on Special Duty (OSD)in charge of Covid manage-ment in Ganjam district.

Subhankar Mohapatra, alsoan IAS officer, has beenappointed as Sub-Collector,Balliguda, Kandhamal district.

IAS officer SuryawanshiMayur Vikas has been appoint-ed as Sub-Collector, Sambalpurand IAS officer J Sonal as OSDin charge of Covid manage-ment in Gajapati district. PNS

BHUBANESWAR: To pro-mote badminton as part of amove to make India a sportspowerhouse, the StateGovernment, the DalmiaCement (Bharat) Limited andIndian Badminton chief coachPadmabhushan PullelaGopichand would together setup a badminton high perfor-mance centre at the KalingaStadium campus here.

The Bhoomi Pujan for thecentre was performed at the

academy site in the presence ofSports and Youth Services offi-cials on Sunday.

The eight-court centrewould come up at an expenseof Rs 45 crore. Apart from lat-est sports amenities and facil-ities, the centre would haveboarding and lodging facilityfor 40 players and eight coach-es. Further, with a sitting capac-ity of about 500 spectators, thecentre would be capable ofhosting both national andinternational events in thefuture, informed a release.

����� ���� ��/� ,

In a significant achievement,the Commissionerate police

busted two looter gangs byarresting as many as eight gangmembers of both the gangs.

Police have seized 70smartphones, 23 laptops and

nine motorcycles from theirpossession.

The accused were identi-fied Ranjan Satpathy (20) ofChakeisiani, Sanjaya Behera(23) of Mali Sahi , MantuPaikray (38) of PalamandapSahi, Baramunda, ChandanPradhan (27) of MahabirNagar, Samantrapur, BhagabataPrasad Mohapatra (32) of TangiSahi, Gurujanga, Sk Zawed(37) of Hata Sahi Muslim Basti,Nimapada Alok Behera (28) ofGop area in Puri, and Pradip

Das (33) of Nimapada.The accused belong to two

groups of robbers. One of thegroups used to lift laptops andmobile phones in Khandagiriand Tomando areas of the cityand later disposed it off to buy-ers.

The other group wasinvolved in snatching mobilephones and motorcycles frompeople during early morninghours after finding the victimsalone, police sources said.

BHUBANESWAR: Congressleader Debashish Patnaik onSunday alleged that formerBanki MLA Pravat RanjanTripathy and his MLA-sonDebi Ranjan Tripathy haveviolated Covid guidelines manytimes, making a mockery ofshutdown and lockdown beingannounced by the StateGovernment to check spread ofCovid-19 often.

“The former BJD MLAinaugurated thee petrol pumpson July 25, 29 and 31. A lot ofpeople gathered without usingmasks. They didn’t maintainsocial distancing. Earlier tothese events, MLA Tripathy cel-ebrated his birth day by organ-ising a blood donation camp atthe BJD party office. Here alsoCovid guidelines were violatedbluntly,” alleged Patnaik, formerMLA of Banki.

He wanted to know whypolice have not accepted an FIRlodged against them. “IfCongress and BJP leader arebeing booked for violation ofCovid guidelines, why actionwill not be taken against BJDleaders,” wanted to knowPatnaik. PNS

����� '���, % �

Aul MLA Pratap KeshariDeb on Friday felicitated

Manoj Kumar Baral (32), whodonated plasma after his recov-ery from Covid-19 and savedtwo lives.

Deb visited the village ofplasma donor at Radhanagarunder Aul block. Baral is thefirst plasma donor in the State.The MLA presented him ashawl and flower bouquet andpraised his effort in the coro-na battle.

Notably, Baral, who wasdetected the first covid positivepatient in the district on April6, was working as a plumber in

Abu Dhabi. He had returnedfrom Abu Dhabi on March 21.

“We are proud for thenoble gesture of Manoj for

saving the life of two Coronapatients by donating his plas-ma. He is an example for oth-ers," said the fellow villagers ofManoj.

����� 1��� 1'

The Cuttack MunicipalCorporation (CMC) on

Monday issued new guidelinesfor shops to reopen in Cuttackcity. The shops, excluding med-icine shops would close at 8 pmas night curfew would beimposed from 9 pm on week-days.

The CMC took the deci-sion following a meeting withthe bazaar committees. All theshops have been directed todisplay boards for maintainingsocial distancing for the cus-tomers.

Besides, shopkeepers andstaffs should use masks in theshops. Shopkeepers would notprovide goods if any customeris not wearing mask

“The shopkeepers shalldeploy staff outside of the shopfor orderly parking of vehiclesas well as to maintain social dis-tancing,” a notification said.

If any shop is found vio-lating social distance measuresdrastic action would be takenagainst the shops by sealing itand imposing hefty fine.

The CMC further said one-way traffic would be intro-duced in congested and crowd-ed markets.

If any area is declared ascontainment zone, shopkeeperswould cooperate in shuttingdown the shops in those areas.

!��������������)����� ���$%0�+�������$,�������+������� �������

?�>��!&�"&���35(�53�3$�$3���� $���$( @

����������� ���������������������"*����������� ���������!��+������3��

��-� �����������

3��� �������������)�/��� ������

/���4�� ����%������������������� ����������������������

����� ���� ��/� ,

In view of rising Covid-19cases, the State government

in collaboration with theRegional Medical ResearchCentre (RMRC) would con-duct a second phase randomserological survey inBhubaneswar in mid-August.

RMRC DirectorSanghamitra Pati said the sec-ond-phase sero survey is cru-cial as its outcome would reflectthe infection status of July.“Someone requires four weeksto get infected and developantibodies and a completeimmunity. That’s why we will

conduct serological survey inphases,” said Dr Pati.

On July 14, sero survey wasconducted in the city whichshowed the infection status ofJune. Around 1.4% of the city’spopulation developed anti-bodies, she informed.

She said that after Puri andBhubaneswar, a serological sur-vey was kick-started in

Brahmapur on Monday. Thesurvey is being jointly under-taken by RMRC, BrahmapurMunicipal Corporation andMKCG Hospital in 25 wards ina random manner. The sampletarget is 2,500. While 1,500samples would be collectedfrom community, 1,000 wouldbe drawn from high-riskgroups, she added.

.������� ��������!+�����/' � ��4���������������+�����5������

BHUBANESWAR: TheCapital Region UrbanTransport (CRUT) wouldresume its Mo Bus services invarious routes from Tuesday.

Non-AC buses would plyin eight routes -- 11, 16, 18, 20,

23, 25, 27 and 33 between 7 amand 7 pm. Passengers withoutmasks would not be allowed forboarding.

However, services wouldremain suspended on weekendshutdowns in August. PNS

�������������������������

Page 3: 6! & 3˜ 11’ ˚ * ; 1˚ , * ˚ ˚ /.˚˚%,. 1’. .% / , 1 1.˚, · establish a 40 kg silver brick for the symbolic start of the con- ... ing 14,095 active ones. Of the new cases,

�����*����������� �!�"���#�$ !������" %��&'&'

����� > >%�,

True love can keep coron-avirus at bay even if some

people may differ with thisargument.

Kailash Pradhan (67) ofKaliapani under Sukinda blockin Jajpur district had got hiswife Goli (62) admitted to theAcharya Harihar Institute ofCancer at Cuttack. A few daysago, the institute was shutdown after many patients andstaffs tested Covid-positive.Goli was advised to stay inhome quarantine where shewas later found infected withcoronavirus.

Since Goli always neededsupport of her husband for tak-ing food and medicine, she wasallowed to stay at home underthe observation of local Covidhospital doctors.

After Goli was treated for14 days and declared Covidnegative, the health officialsconducted a swab test ofKailash to find if he was infect-ed with the disease while tak-

ing care of his wife.To the utmost surprise

of the doctors, the man test-ed negative.

“Since we do not haveany other family members,I had to take care of my wife.By the grace of God, she hasgot cured of Covid-19 and Ihave been found Covid neg-ative. God is very kind tous,” told Kailash.

What is quite surprisingis that Kailash never woreany mask or hand-gloveswhile feeding and takingGoli around for a stroll inthe courtyard of their house.He used his towel to coverhis mouth and nose andused plain soaps for clean-ing clothes and articles.

“This is a clear case ofstrong feeling on the part ofa person for his beloved. Hehas defied all logic of scienceand we can say he has con-quered Covid-19 by his trueand perpetual love for hiswife,” said former MinisterPrafulla Chandra Ghadai.

2������,��������������

��������������������� �����������

��1������0������ 1� A%�

When Keonjhar CollectorAshish Thackre sanc-

tioned Rs 98 crore from theDMF to enhance the MGN-REGA wages from Rs 201 toRs 298 at that time it wasthought that the migrantlabourers will no more go outof the district and durableassets like ponds, roads, plan-tation of forests will be creat-ed but if the recent allegationof low quality of plantationwork by Keonjhar Forestdepartment is any indication,it is a great setback not only tothe MGNREGA and DMF butGovernment's effort to containdistress migration.

Sources revealed that inorder to create village forest,Rs 13 ,18,700 had been sanc-

tioned from MGNREGA forplantation in 50 hectares ofland in Pentadihi forest inDeobandh section underGhatgaon range. As per rules,before planting of seedlings, itis required to dig pits in themonth of April, May and Junebut it is alleged the Forestdepartment was going to com-plete the project by diggingbelow size pit instead of spe-cific size of one feet deep andone feet diameter in the thirdweek of July.

It is alleged that by diggingbelow size pits, the Forestdepartment was trying to mis-appropriate the wages of 5work days which is Rs 1,490per hectare in digging pit.There is also bungling of fundsin use of fertilizer and manureon each hectare of land.

As the allegation flies thick

and fast, GhanashyamMahanta, ACF in Charge ofChampua, who is known tovery close to DFO SantoshJoshi, has been assigned theimplementation of MGNRE-GA work by sidelining AjayaSahu ,ACF in charge ofGhatagaon range.

Similarly , another closeman of DFO, Keoonjhar,Deputy Ranger of GhatgaonRange Pitambar Naik againstwhom departmental inquirywas initiated for his allegedinvolvement in a fraud casewhen he was Deputy Rangerin Tellkoi, was placed in aprized post and the field offi-cer to implement the MGN-REGA.

Now, it is demanded herethat a proper inquiry andaction against the errant offi-cials be taken.

�������������������+�

0+1�'� ���� ��������23����4�����"���������

����� '���, % �

Local MP Anubhav Mohantysubmitted the Management

Action Plan (MAP) for themanagement and conserva-tion of mangrove areas in theState during the year 2020-2021 to Union EnviornmentMinister Prakash Javadekarand requested to release therequired funds for effectiveimplement of the plan.

Mohanty in the letter toJavadekar informed that theState Level SanctioningCommittee(SLSC) was held on

May 28 in which the MAP ofthe management and conser-vation of mangroves areaswas approved. He too broughtto the notice of the UnionMinister about the frequentcrocodile attacks in the districtof Kendrapada and the loss ofhuman lives along with thesorry plight of injured victims.

Most of the victims of suchattacks are from the fishingcommunity who depend onwater to collect their liveli-hood. But the water bodies areinfested with crocodiles.Though barricades are erectedand human entry is forbiddenduring the mating and nestingseason of the crocodiles, buthuman-mammal conflict is onthe rise, said MP Mohanty, urg-ing the Minister to take tangi-ble and immediate action.

�����%��������$ ��$��$���������$���23����6������7�����0��

����� �, � A%�,

The Odisha MoParivar organ-

ised a blood dona-tion camp at theBlood Bank of theMKCG MedicalCollege Hospitalhere on Friday.

Parivar gener-al secretary andlocal MLA BikramKumar Pandainaugurated thecamp by donating blood. It wasthe second time Panda donat-ed blood in the last threemonths. As many as 20 volun-teers donated blood amid social

distancing.Among others, BJD leaders

Sanjeet Panigrahi, MadanDalai, Dhanajay Rao, SanjayJena and P Asha Rani were pre-sent.

Besides, the Sabuja Vahini,

Anchalika Vikash Parishad andthe Brahmapur Blood Bankjointly organised a blood dona-tion camp titled "AsantuGadhiba Rakta Sampark" for

the 11th time. With 12 unitscollected from this camp, a totalof 182 units of blood were col-lected from all 11 camps.

Sabuja Vahini presidentShibaram Panigrahi, Blood

Bank officer Dr SashmitaBehera, Susanta KumarPanigrahi, Satyanarayan Das,Bishnu Prasad Dash coordi-nated the programme.

����� % , �%

The Indian Oil Board hasgiven its go-ahead for

implementation of anIntegrated Para-Xylene (PX)and Purified Terephthalic Acid(PTA) complex project atParadip at an estimated invest-ment of Rs 13,805 crore at theBoard meeting held here.

The PX-PTA complex shallbe integrated with IndianOil’sParadip Refinery, which isoperational since 2015.

Chairman, IndianOil, SMVaidya said, “This plant, alongwith the upcoming MEG(Mono-Ethylene Glycol) plantof 357-KTA (kilo tonnes perannum) capacity at Paradip,would be a ready source offeedstock for the Indian Oil’supcoming 300-KTA textileyarn manufacturing project atBhadrak and can similarlyfacilitate other textile and poly-ester projects in the region. Weare sure that these investments,along with investments in otherdownstream projects will boostentrepreneurship not only in

Odisha but in the entireEastern India that would con-tribute to the ‘AtmanirbharBharat’ and ‘Make in India’vision of our nation.”

The PX/PTA project wouldbe completed by early 2024. Thepetrochemicals complex willhave a PX production capacityof 800,000 tonnes per annum,which would be the feedstockfor production of PTA. Theproduction capacity of PTAwould be 1,200,000 tonnes perannum. IndianOil’s MEG pro-duction facility is already underimplementation at Paradip andwill become operationaltowards the end of 2021.

The project is estimated togenerate approximately fivemillion man-days of employ-ment over the three-year con-struction period with directand indirect employmentopportunities for more than2,000 technically skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled man-power in the various areas ofoperations, maintenance ofunits and logistics for handlingthe product value chain.

����� �, � %�,

Sub-Collector SindhuDattatraye Bhausaheb and

Kukudakhandi Tehsildra IpsitaPriyadarshini along with policeconducted raids on twogutkha-making units atGurunthigaon and Marthipallivillage and seized 177 bags ofgutkha worth Rs 1.5 crore onSaturday.

They also detained eightpersons in this connection.

Sadar PS IIC SantoshiniOram said the gutkha unitraided at Gurunthi gaon isowned by Sambhu Sahu.Gutkha packets worth Rs 50lakh and four machines wereseized from his factory.

The other gutkha factorybelonged to Rabi Sahu. Asmany as 157 bags of gutkhawere seized here, informedSDPO Jayanta Mohapatra.

����� � ��/� ,

During the corona periodwhile financial condition

of the people across all walks oflife is miserable, in the firstphase scrutiny, as many as5,525 beneficiaries of theKALIA scheme in the districtwere identified as ineligible.

These beneficiaries wereserved notices by theAgriculture Department askingthem to refund the sum ofmoney.

With the available data inthe department, it is found thehighest number of ineligiblebeneficiaries are from Remunablock with 1,150, followed bySadar (879) and Bahanaga(567). The ineligible benefi-ciaries have been detected from12 blocks.

While the ineligible bene-ficiaries are worried how torefund money in the currentpressing time, some activistshave targeted the Governmentalleging that during poll timethey were lured by the rulingparty and now the Governmentwas cracking whips on them.

The officials responsiblefor the mistakes or flaws inselecting the beneficiariesshould be taken to task and theamount should be recoveredfrom their salaries rather thanfrom the beneficiaries, theydemanded.

District Agriculture OfficerPrasanna Mahapatra statedthat notices to the ineligiblebeneficiaries had been servedand action would be taken asper the instruction of theGovernment.

BALESWAR: Two patientswere killed on the spot when anSUV carrying them rammedinto a truck from the rear atSoro College Chhak inBaleswar district on Monday.

The deceased were identi-fied as Sheikh Mortaza andJamal Shah. The vehicle carry-ing them from Mukundpur inWest Bengal was headingtowards the SCB MedicalCollege Hospital in Cuttack.Two other occupants the SUVwere also injured seriously.Being informed, police reachedthe spot, recovered the bodiesfor postmortem and rescuedthe injured and admitted themto the Soro Community HealthCentre. The injured were latershifted to the Baleswar DistrictHeadquarters Hospital. PNS

����� % , �%

The Paradip Port Trust’s(PPT) 50-bed Covid Care

Centre (CCC) at the Port Clubfor its employees became func-tional on Monday.

PPT Chairman RinkeshRoy assured that the portauthorities would leave nostone unturned to fight thepandemic.

Asymptomatic or portemployees having mild symp-toms would be housed in theCCC and provided with face-masks. Home isolation formild/asymptomatic cases isrecommended if a separateroom with toilet is availableunder the same roof. All thehouses in the port townshipdon't have such facilities.

If anybody is legally sub-jected to home isolation, all

other families in the samebuilding might be in dilemma.Hence, mild or asymptomaticpeople may be in a better con-dition at the Covid Care

Centre. The biomedical wasteswould be safely disposed of. Allprotocols of Covid manage-ment would be strictly fol-lowed.

0���������������������, � %�,

The Bharatiya BikashParishad (BBP) led by its

State president SurendraPanigrahi went to BrahmapurPolice District SP office andlodged two separate FIRs, oneagainst Ganjam districtCollector Vijaya AmrutaKulange, Commissioner ofBeMC Chakravarty SinghRathore and Ganjam CDMODr Umashankara Mishra andthe second FIR was reported-

ly lodged against DrUmasankara Mishra, DrJagannath Patra (the CEO ofHiTech Medical College, andDr Sambit Rout (MedicineSpecialist of the same hospital)here on Friday morning fortheir negligence in providingproper and effective healthcareservices to the Corona affect-ed patients in Ganjam district.

Some of the key allegationsstated in the FIR include non-issue of certificates/test reportsto those Coronasuspected/inflected patientswho undergo swab test or anti-gen test and keeping thepatients and their relatives indark about the outcome of thetest reports leading to the deathof the poor patients, deliber-ately informing the patients/ortheir relatives verbally aboutthe positive report after 7-12long days of the test instead ofgiving original copy of the

report giving rise to commu-nity spread and refusal of 108ambulance to pick up seriouspatients to hospital etc.

Citing an example, the FIRpointed out that, an employeeof the Forest Department ofBhanjanagar locality whoseswab sample was taken fortesting was informed positivemuch later. Even after givingswab sample for testing, thesuspected patient came in closecontact with hundreds of peo-ple and spread the virus to thecommunity.

Similarly, when the healthcondition of a resident ofPrahallad Nagar area and achronic diabetic patient ManojPraharaj deteriorated on July27, the family members con-tacted 108 for Ambulance andafter reaching the ambulance,the driver outright refused totake the patient to hospital andstarted arguing for 90 minuteswhich led to the death of the

patient leaving two small chil-dren which amounts to mur-der, the FIR said.

Had the administrationgiven clear instruction toinstantly pick up the patient tohospital, his life could havebeen saved, the FIR stated.The Parishad demanded sternaction against the erring offi-cials under the relevant provi-sions of IPC.

Similarly, the second FIRwhich was lodged against thethree prominent senior officersin charge of healthcare systemsof the Tata Covid Hospital,namely, Ganjam CDMO DrUmashankar Mishra, CEO ofHiTech Medical College DrSangram Patra and AuthorisedOfficer of Covid Hospital DrSambit Rout alleged that, theseofficers have deliberately sup-pressed the covid test reports,responsible for communityspread, misbehaving with thepatients and their relatives in

filthy language, threatening inthe name of police, negligencein treatment and pushing thepatients and their relatives toundergo mental stress.

Citing examples of keyinstances in support of its alle-gation, the FIR pointed outthat, the Covid Hospitalauthorities deliberately sup-pressed the death of Basanta KSahu, a resident ofGanapatinagar who died onJuly 24 while under treatment,but the Covid Hospital man-agement surprisingly chose notto inform the relatives of thedeceased even after 4 days ofthe death and kept the familymembers of the deceased indark. Similarly, T Dillip Patra,a resident of Bijipur Tota Streetwas admitted into the ParalaMaharaja CCC on July 15, butthree days after he was dis-charged on the ground of nosymptoms. When Patra againsuffered from breathing prob-

lems, he was admitted into TataCovid Hospital where he dieddue to non availability of oxy-gen and negligence of doctorson duty, the FIR pointed out.Likewise, Anuradha Panigrahi,a native of Digapahandi, wasadmitted in to the ParalaMaharaja CCC along with herhusband Jitendra Panigrahi,her father in law and motherin law on July 10. When thehealth of her old parents dete-riorated, they were shifted tothe Tata Covid Hospital on July12 where Anuradha’s husband,father in law and mother in lawdied due to non availability ofoxygen and negligence of doc-tors. More shockingly, evenafter long 12 hours of oxygenstock was exhausted, neitherany doctor or nurse attended tothem nor oxygen was provid-ed which led to their death, theFIR stated.

These instances are only afew, the complainant said.

�����/5*�������������$�����������#8.)�����&��&���'����9������:����,,� ���

��8�� &$��" &� $� ���8� $�@�B��

������������ ���� ��� �����

�'5+&����������� 6�.7���� ��

.��5�����������

6�6.6����������2'7&'������$�������������$�

��������������� ������������������0;1�2�������������,��� ����������������

���.��� ���� ��/� ,

As on today, 165 types ofCovid-19 vaccines are

undergoing either clinical orpre-clinical trials. Among thesevaccines 26 are being screenedunder clinical trials, while 139vaccines are known to be reg-istered for pre-clinical evalua-tion around the globe.

Quoting from the source ofWorld Health Organisation(WHO), young scientist fromBhubaneswar, Dr SwayamPrakash busy in such researchwork in the USA told that such

a vaccine for human con-sumption is likely to be avail-able by November.

He stated specifically thatall the clinical trials are sup-posed to undergo three clinicalstages known as Phase-1,Phase-2 and Phase-3 beforebeing declared fit for humanusage and subsequently forlarge-scale manufacturing.

Dr Swayam further men-tioned that in the race to deliv-er a vaccine to get respite fromthe pathogenic SARS-CoV-2,atleast 6 vaccines are beingdeveloped from collaborativeefforts among world’s leadingulniversities and big pharma-ceutical companies.

Currently out of the 26 vac-cines undergoing clinical trials,USA alone is involved in devel-oping 4 vaccines such asModerna/NIAID, JanssenPharmaceutical Companies,Novavax and Kentucky Bio-processing, Inc. Also, at thefront run is China in the raceto priduce Covid-19 vaccinewith clinical trial of five vac-

cines in its territory.UK and India are involved

in preparing vaccines eachwithin their territories. UK isdeveloping two vaccines withthe OxfordUniversity/AstraZeneca; andImperial College London.While Cadila HealthcareLimited, and Bharath Biotechare either performing Phase-1or transitioned into Phase-2clinical trials in different partsof India.

Scientists in five othercountries like Japan (OsakaUniversity/AnGes/Takara Bio),Russia (Gamaleya ResearchInstitute), South Korea(Genexine Consortium),Germany (Curevac), andCanada (Medicago) are alsofrontrunners to develop Covid-19 vaccine and progressed intodifferent phases of clinical trialwith their research.

Amidst all global chaosand fast changing geo-politics,scientists from big pharma-ceutical companies and leadinguniversities also came forward

and six joint vaccine develop-ment programmes are beingconducted at this moment incollaboration among nations.Such joint research pro-grammes are conducted byAustralia-South Korea (VaxinePty Ltd/Medytox), Australia-UK (University ofQueensland/CSL/Seqirus),U S A - S i n g a p o r e(Arcturus/Duke-NUS), USA-UK-China (CloverB i o p h a r m a c e u t i c a l sInc./GSK/Dynavax), USA-Taiwan (Medigen VaccineB i o l o g i c sCorporation/NIAID/Dynavax),U S A - G e r m a n y - C h i n a(BioNTech/Pf izer/FosunPharma).

Also, the InternationalVaccine Institute, which is anorganization of the UnitedNational DevelopmentProgramme is preparing aCovid-19 vaccine which istransitioning into Phase-2 clin-ical trial in collaboration withthe Inovio Pharmaceuticals,USA.

08���� ������ ��������% � ��%��� �%������#��%�

����� � � �*,

The Covid-19 scenario isgetting worse in Balangir

with each passing day.As many as 51 people were

diagnosed as positive onMonday and the cases weremostly from the municipalityarea and periphery villagesand from local contact sources.

Significantly, 12 CRPFjawans were diagnosed asCovid-positive besides twoCovid warriors on the day.

So far, the number ofCovid cases in the district hasrisen to 514 with 208 activeones. A total of 306 patientshave recovered.

However, the total numberof beds at the Balangir CovidHospital is only 200.

��!�$) �C���1,%;��&$13D "�ED&

�5,�)-6/$������$��� �������������%����

Page 4: 6! & 3˜ 11’ ˚ * ; 1˚ , * ˚ ˚ /.˚˚%,. 1’. .% / , 1 1.˚, · establish a 40 kg silver brick for the symbolic start of the con- ... ing 14,095 active ones. Of the new cases,

�����*����������� �!�"���#�$ !������" %��&'&'

����� ��������

From maintaining a distanceof six feet to using a visor

rather than a mask, from fol-lowing respiratory etiquette toa strict no to kids and elderlypersons with co-morbidities,the Union Health Ministry onMonday outlined the dos anddon’ts for gyms and yoga cen-tres ahead of their reopeningfrom August 5.

Come Wednesday, it will bea new normal at gyms and yogacentres when these instituteswill reopen as a part of the thirdphase of easing of lockdown inthe country.

The Union HealthMinistry’s guidelines maintainthat elderly people above 65years, people with comorbidi-ties, pregnant women and chil-dren below the age of 10 yearsshould not use gymnasiums oryoga institutes in closed spaces.

Also, yoga institutes and

gymnasiums located in Covid-19 containment zones shall notbe permitted to open.

Yogic kriyas are to be avoid-ed or planned in open spaces.Users to be put in batches andallocated staggered timings toavoid overcrowding of peoplewhile entering and exiting thefitness centre.

Each batch could have agap of 15-30 minutes inbetween to keep rush at bay andfacilitate cleaning and disin-fecting process, the release stat-ed. “Those having oxygen sat-uration level below 95 percentshould not be allowed to exer-cise,” as per the guidelines.

“Individuals must main-tain a minimum distance of 6feet as far as feasible,” it saysadding that wearing of masksand face covers is mandatory,however, those may causebreathing difficulties duringexercising, therefore, the gov-ernment said that people can

use a visor as a preventivemeasure.

Frequent hand washingand using hand sanitisers havebeen emphasised besides astrict practice of “respiratoryetiquettes” have been advised asper the guidelines.

“Cover mouth and nosewhile sneezing/coughing witha tissue, cloth or flexed elbowand dispose off used tissueproperly,” the guidelines stated.

The owners and managersof gymnasiums and yoga insti-tutes have been directed to

plan fitness activities keepingthe floor area of 4m2 per per-son. Equipment and machinesshould be placed at a distanceof 6 feet. Utilisation of outdoorspace, if any, has been encour-aged.

The institutes have also

been asked to create specificpathways for entry and exitpoints into the premises byusing floor or wall markings.Regular and timely disinfectionof premises, machines, equip-ment has to be carried out.

“Promote card-based, con-tactless payment,” the guidelines

read. Only asymptomatic peo-ple are to be allowed admissionwhile thermal screening of allusers has to be carried outmandatorily.

A minimum distance of sixfeet is to be maintained at alltimes. Staggered batches andproper arrangement at parking

spaces, corridors and elevatorsto avoid overcrowding andensure social distancing. Theadministration is required tomaintain a detailed account ofcheck-in and check-out time ofthe users along with their detailsincluding name, address andcontact information.

���� ��������������������������!��������������������

����� ��������

Researchers at IIT-Madras’Healthcare Technology

Innovation Centre (HTIC) andHelyxon, a healthcare startup,have developed an AI-backedremote patient monitoring sys-tem for Covid-19 to keep tabson critical parameters liketemperature, oxygen satura-tion, respiratory rate and heartrate.

Equipped with geo-fencingtracking alerts, the OXY2 cankeep a tab on the patient’s vitalparameters and inform themedical staff about any aber-ration.

Costing between �2,500 to�10,000 depending on config-uration, the device has alreadyfound usage among 2,000patients in public and privatehospitals, and at homes, withanother 5,000 devices in the

pipeline.“The device is completely

self-contained, portable, wire-less and can be clipped on topatient’s finger and data isstreamed to a mobile phone orcentral monitoring system.

“The temperature is mea-sured at the armpit and bloodoxygen level, and other para-meters at the finger itself. Thedevice is reusable and has alifetime of over a year,” said

Prof. MohanasankarSivaprakasam, HealthcareTechnology Innovation Centre(HTIC), IIT Madras.

The core technology wasvalidated by a year-long multi-centric study at variousChennai-based medical insti-tutions for the accuracy andperformance with referenceto current standards.

The scientist said that spe-cific to Covid, the reduction of

close contact with patients bydoctors and nurses, savings inPPE and monitoring equip-ment was found to be a sig-nificant advantage by hospitals.

Based on the clinicalinputs, the team engineeredthis device in response todemand for low cost, simpleand easy to use devices formonitoring patients anywhereat hospital or home.

Commenting on the prod-uct, Mr. Vijai Shankar Raja,founder and managing direc-tor of Helyxon said, “It is morethan a monitoring device.

“Based on feedback fromdoctors and hospital manage-ment, deployment of OXY2reduces overall load, stressand anxiety in the healthcaresystem, saves hospital bedsfor severe cases, and increasesconfidence for patients athome.”

9�������� ������ ��� ������:��%�������������������� ����� ���

����� ��������

HRD Ministry on Mondayannounced a new alter-

native academic calendar forclasses 6 to 8 which is a con-tinuation of the previous 4-week calendar.

The Calendar containsdetailed guidelines for teacherson the use of technology &social media tools to imparteducation while the studentsare at home. It further aims toempower our students, teach-ers, school principals & parentswith positive ways to deal with#Covid19 via online teaching-learning resources and achievethe best possible learning out-comes.

The academic calendarconsists of subject-wise direc-tives for eight weeks anddetailed guidelines on usingsocial media tools and tech-

nology for education is a ref-erence for teachers to contin-ue teaching during the Covid-19 pandemic.

HRD minister RameshPokhriyal Nishank hadreleased the academic calendarfor the primary classes of 1 to5.

The academic calendar forthe upper-primary classes wasdeveloped by the National

Council of EducationalResearch and Training(NCERT).

“Alternative AcademicCalendar for upper primarystage (Classes VI to VIII) forfour weeks was released earli-er. I have launched the acade-mic calendar for the next eightweeks today,” Pokhriyal said ontwitter after announcing thecalendar.

;�2�� � �����������# ����#��%����� ������ ����%����������%��8����7�

����� ��������

With China stalling a pullback and India insisting

on a complete disengagementfrom “friction points” at theLine of Actual Control (LAC)in Ladakh, the all-powerfulChina Study Group (CSG) onTuesday will review the out-come of the fifth round ofCorps Commander level talksthat were held on Sunday. TheCSG comprises top brass of thedefence, external affairs andhome ministries besides theNational Security Advisor(NSA).

The military-level talksbetween Lt General HarinderSingh and Major General LiuLin at Moldo near the LAC inChushul, Ladakh, on Sunday,lasted more than 10 hoursafter starting at 11.00 am.While an official statement isyet to come, sources said hereon Monday that India askedChina to step up the with-drawal of its troops from thePangong Tso (lake).

In fact, the CSG in itsmeeting last week also favouredcomplete disengagement byChina as a major confidencebuilding measure to defusetension. The government maygive details of the latest roundof Corps Commander talks toend the 10-week-old impasse atthe LAC after the crucial CSGsession on Tuesday, sourcesadded.

The CSG was set up in1976 by the CabinetCommittee on Security (CCS)to advise on policy issuesrelating to China and includestop secretaries and militaryand intelligence officials. Itwas initially headed by theForeign Secretary.

Though appreciating theposition that China has sub-stantially reduced and with-drawn its troops from Galwanval ley, Gogra and HotSprings, the Indian securityestablishment is, however,concerned that the Chinesetroops have not withdrawnfrom the contentious PangongTso. In fact, the first face-offtook place at this place onMay 5 when the Chineseintruded more than five kminto India and obstructed anIndian army patrol. It led toexchange of blows.

Since then, the Chinesebolstered its troop strengththere forcing India to takepreventive steps to thwartany major challenge, sourcessaid adding as per the latestsatellite photographs of thePangong Tso the Chinesehave not gone back thoughagreed upon in the last roundof Commander-level talks.

The Chinese continue tooccupy positions in depth onslopes along ‘Finger 5’ and onslopes extending towards‘Finger 8.’ India maintainsthe LAC is at Finger 8.Mountain spurs are calledFinger. However, China is

insisting that the LAC is at‘Finger 4.’

Besides deploying on thecrucial spurs, the Chinesehave also built a jetty in theIndian side of the PangongLake and moved several fastinterceptor boats thereby pos-ing a threat to the Indiansecurity interests, they said.

Flagging its concern onthe tardy pace of disengage-ment, India last week said theprocess of disengagement oftroops in eastern Ladakh hasnot yet been completedthough some progress hasbeen made.

This was a counter toChina’s claim that frontlineforces of the two countrieshave “completed” this exerciseat most locations along theirborder.

After the last round oftalks between the CorpsCommanders, the statementsaid

India and China havebeen engaged in discussionsthrough established militaryand diplomatic channels toaddress the prevailing situa-tion along the LAC.

The engagement(July 14)was consistent with the con-sensus reached between theSpecial Representatives ofIndia and China earlier, onJuly 5, to discuss completedisengagement.

The Senior Commandersreviewed the progress onimplementation of the firstphase of disengagement anddiscussed further steps toensure complete disengage-ment. The two sides remaincommitted to the objective ofcomplete disengagement. Thisprocess is intricate andrequires constant verifica-tion. They are taking it for-ward through regular meet-ings at diplomatic and mili-tary level.

9<=�.4=�1;4='�;1�

�/<������ #������������ �������������������������&%�%���%��

����� ��������

Giving a fillip to defencemanufacturing in the

country with the focus on‘Atmanirbhar’ (self-reliance),the Government on Mondaycame out with a draft DefenceProduction and ExportPromotion Policy(DPEPP)2020. The main objective is toachieve a turnover of morethan �1,75,000 crore(25Billiondollar) including �35,000-croreworth of exports in aerospaceby 2025.

Giving details of the draftof the policy, now in publicdomain for inviting sugges-tions, officials said the mainfocus is on providing a frame-work to position India amongstthe leading countries of theworld in defence and aerospacesectors.

The DPEPP 2020 is envis-aged as an overarching guidingdocument of the defence min-istry to provide a focused,structured and significantthrust to defence production

capabilities of the country forself-reliance and exports.

Besides achieving aturnover of �1,75,000 Crores,the policy also aims to devel-op a dynamic, robust and com-petitive defence industry,including aerospace and navalshipbuilding industry to caterto the needs of armed forceswith quality products.

Moreover, the documentfocuses on efforts to reducedependence on imports bygiving a push to Make in Indiathrough initiatives like domestic design and develop-ment. Also to promote exportof defence products andbecome part of the globaldefence value chains, the draftsaid.

The policy brings out mul-tiple strategies under the fol-lowing focus areas like pro-curement reforms, indigeniza-tion, support toMSMEs/Startups, optimiseresource allocation, invest-ment promotion, FDI and easeof doing business amongstothers.

.����������������� ��.������&������&� ������������,�� �������� ���� ���

<�����%��������2���������� �������$=���������� �����% �� �0,0,

����� ��������

Union Home Ministry onMonday invited sugges-

tions from subject experts andall stakeholders for the incor-poration or amendments incriminal laws. The Committeefor Reforms in Criminal Laws,a joint forum organised byMinistry of Home Affairs(MHA) and National LawUniversity, Delhi, has opened aseparate page on their websitefor the public to make sugges-tions regarding various crimi-nal laws including Indian PenalCode (IPC) and CrPC.

“National Level Committeefor Reforms in Criminal Lawsset up by MHA has been invit-ing professionals, functionaries

and stakeholders involved withIndian criminal justice systemto submit their suggestions,”said MHA. The Committeefor Reforms in Criminal Lawsis created to recommendreforms in a principled, affec-tive, and efficient mannerwhich ensures safety and secu-rity of the individual, the com-munity and the nation, said thestatement.

NLU Vice Chancellor ProfRanbir Singh is theChairperson of the Committee.Other members are NLURegistrar Prof GS Bajpai, ProfBalraj Chauhan, ViceChancellor of Jabalpur LawUniversity, noted lawyerMahesh Jethmalani and formerjudge GP Thareja.

�;�� �� �������������� � ��%�%�#��������% � ������%���

����� ��������

The expression of opinion,“however outspoken, dis-

agreeable or unpalatable tosome”, cannot constitute con-tempt of court, activist lawyerPrashant Bhushan said onMonday in his reply to a showcause notice issued by theSupreme Court.

The top court on July 22issued notice to Bhushan forhearing on August 5 the crim-inal contempt proceedings ini-tiated against him for his twoalleged derogatory tweetsagainst the judiciary, observ-ing his statements prima facie

“brought the administration ofjustice in disrepute”.

In a 142-page reply affi-davit filed through lawyerKamini Jaiswal, the activistlawyer has referred to severalapex court judgements,speeches of former and serv-ing judges on contempt ofcourt and the “stifling of dis-sent” in a democracy and hisviews on judicial actions insome cases.

Bhushan also stood by histwo tweets.

“The respondent(Bhushan) states that expres-sion of his opinion howeveroutspoken, disagreeable orhowever unpalatable to some,cannot constitute contemptof court. This proposition hasbeen laid down by severaljudgments of the SupremeCourt and in foreign jurisdic-tions such as Britain, USA andCanada,” he submitted.

$=�� �������� � ������������� ��������������������>��������3���������/�

��� � > %�,�

Rajasthan Chief MinisterAshok Gehlot has written

to Prime Minister NarendraModi, demanding that thelocust menace affecting manyStates of the country bedeclared a national disaster,according to a statement onMonday.

In the letter, Gehlot said thelocust outbreak was an inter-national problem and theCentre should coordinate willall affected countries to tacklethe menace, the statement said.

The Chief Minister saidthat it would be appropriate todeclare the locust menace asnational disaster due to possi-ble damage to crops of kharifand rabi crops, and the weakeconomic condition of farmersand states due to the novelcoronavirus pandemic.

It will further strengthenthe capacity of states to dealwith locust outbreaks, the chiefminister said.

Gehlot informed Modi thatlocusts had started coming inRajasthan from April 11 and 32out of the 33 districts hadbeen affected.

In addition to Rajasthan,locust attacks have been report-ed in

Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh,

Punjab, Haryana, UttarPradesh and Maharashtra.

This has become a multi-state problem, he said in the let-ter.

Locust outbreaks havebeen seen on such a largescale in the country after sev-eral decades. In such a situa-tion, declaring this problem asa national disaster will be in theinterest of all the affected statesand the farmers, Gehlot said.

Locust swarms were con-trolled quite effectively by thejoint efforts of the Centre,Locust Warning Organisationand the state government, butstill the farmers lost about Rs1,000 in rabi crops, he said.

In 2019-20, about 6.70lakh hectares in 12 districts of

Rajasthan was affected bylocust. In 2020-21, locust con-trol has been done in about3.83 lakh hectares so far,Gehlot said.

According to the earlierestimates of the Food andAgriculture Organization, thelocust outbreak arrived early inthe state and is expected to bemuch higher this year, thestatement said.

In such a situation, theCentre should take appropri-ate steps in time, he added.

Gehlot underlined that thelocust outbreak was an inter-national problem and theymust be stopped at their pointof origin in order to check theorigin of new locust groups.

����� ��������

Rain lashed Mumbai onMonday as the monsoon

system active over the ArabianSea strengthened and the weath-er department sounded a redalert that it will get intense in themetropolis and its suburbs dur-ing the next two days.

Though Mumbai had beenreceiving intermittent rainfall,forecasting agencies said thiswould be the second spell ofheavy rainfall this monsoonafter a gap of a fortnight.

Mumbaikars are advised toavoid going out on August 4 and5, said private forecaster SkymetWeather, adding that the inten-sity will start decreasing fromAugust 6.

On the east coast, the India

Meteorological Department'sOdisha centre said a low-pres-sure area was developing overnorth Bay of Bengal under the

influence of a cyclonic circula-tion over Gangetic West Bengaland another one over northeastBay of Bengal. It will bringheavy rainfall to several parts ofthe State between Tuesday andThursday.

The IMD advised fishermento not venture deep into the Bayof Bengal till August 6 as surfacewinds with speeds up to 50kmph will make the sea condi-tions very rough.

The low-pressure area islikely to trigger heavy rainfall andthunderstorms in parts ofMadhya Pradesh, too, wherethe monsoon activity hasremained subdued so far.

In north India, a sultryweather prevailed in Delhi,Punjab and Haryana as the axisof the monsoon trough, whichwas active over the region lastweek, shifted southwards.

The trough is now passingGanganagar and Pilani inRajasthan, through Gwalior inMadhya Pradesh and Banda inUttar Pradesh, towards

Beharampur in West Bengaland Mizoram and Meghalaya.

Under its influence, sever-al areas in Rajasthan werelashed by rain since Sunday.Jaipur, Tonk, Bhilwara andPilani recorded 34.8, 7, 2 and3.1 mm rainfall, respectively, inthe past 24 hours till Mondayevening, according to the localmeteorological centre.

Several areas in the Statereported waterlogging. In Jaipur,a car got stuck on a flooded road.Locals rescued the driver and theother occupants of the car.

More than 800 villages in 15districts have been inundated inUttar Pradesh due to swelling ofSarayu and Rapti rivers, stateminister Anil Rajbhar said.

He said embankments hadbeen breached in Gonda,

Azamgarh and efforts were on toseal them. As many as 188 med-ical teams and 16 disasterresponse and provincial con-stabulary teams have beendeployed for rescue operations.

The flood situation in Assamimproved on Monday as thewater receded from many areas,though one more person lost hislife in the deluge.

This year, floods and land-slides have damaged roadsand other infrastructure atseveral places and claimed 136lives in Assam, according toofficial estimates.

The number of flood-hitpeople decreased by 4.65 lakhsince Sunday but around 3.89lakh people in 17 districts are stillaffected, the Assam governmentsaid in a bulletin.

�� ��������?����)�� ����%�����������3�������# �������������!�� ���?��:���� �� ������"�� � �� % ����?�� ���/�� �������� ���:�$�����% � � �!"

2�%���%���������������� ���%�� ���>�<�%��������

"�2� ������%�������=���%��������� �����������

��&�4!33"�� �#�� 3$� $ ����� �8�3D&"�3$3$"�-������&�B��&��&5&"&"�4�3����$-��&������3#)��3$&

�3�&�8&��3$�!3���� �! 4&� $���&�"&!#)&

Page 5: 6! & 3˜ 11’ ˚ * ; 1˚ , * ˚ ˚ /.˚˚%,. 1’. .% / , 1 1.˚, · establish a 40 kg silver brick for the symbolic start of the con- ... ing 14,095 active ones. Of the new cases,

�����*-���������� �!�"���#�$ !������" %��&'&' � ���2�������� ��,���0

Bengaluru: Allaying fears abouthis health after testing Covid pos-itive, an upbeat Karnataka ChiefMinister BS Yediyurappa onMonday assured people that therewas “nothing to worry about” andhe would be discharged from thehospital soon.

“There is nothing to worryabout. I will be discharged soonand start work,” said Yediyurappain Kannada in a video messageplayed in all the local news chan-nels across the state.

Yediyurappa, 77, and hisdaughter B.Y. Padmavati who alsotested positive, are under treatmentat a private hospital here thoughthey are asymptomatic with mildsymptoms of the virus.

Assuring the people that hewas doing fine, the Chief Ministersaid doctors had conductedrequired tests and observed nocomplications.

“I will recover soon. I am intouch with all officials sinceSunday to ensure that the govern-ment works are not affected. I alsospoke to senior officials earlier in

the day,” he said.Yediyurappa also thanked BJP

President J.P. Nadda, UnionFinance Minister NirmalaSitharaman, former PrimeMinister and JD-S supremo H.D.Deve Gowda, his son and formerChief Minister H.D.

Kumaraswamy, oppositionCongress leader Siddaramaih andseers of mutts for praying for hisspeedy recovery.

He also urged people to wearmasks and maintain social dis-tancing to prevent the spread of thedisease.

In a related development, stateHome Minister Basavar Bommaiand new Bengaluru City PoliceCommissioner Kamal Pant have

decided to undergo self-quaran-tine, as they in contact withYediyurappa on Friday andSaturday. IANS

"��!������������ ������������!����������#�$�%0���������������� '.1�

As 962 new persons were diagnosedwith Covid-19 on Monday, Chief

Minister Pinarayi Vijayan gave a pieceof his mind to all including HealthMinister KK Shylaja over the everincreasing number of pandemic cases inthe State.

Monday saw two persons suc-cumbing to Covid-19 in Kerala. TheChief Minister was upset over theincrease in the number of patients in theState which had declared that Covidcurve has been flattened.

“Initially all of us were working withdedication and commitment. But thatwas lost midway and a sense of com-placency has set in. All of us are equal-ly responsible for the present situationas we threw caution to wind. We werecarried away by the praise showered onus by other countries which were com-peting against each other to wax elo-quence on us,” said Vijayan as ministerShylaja and other officials sat grim faced.

Out of the 962 persons tested pos-

itive on Monday, 801 contracted the pan-demic through local transmission, hesaid. “There were 55 expatriates and 85persons from other States who testedpositive today while 40 patients couldnot furnish details of the source fromwhere they contracted the disease,”said Vijayan.

The only positive news from thefield was the number of persons whomade recovery from the ailment. “815persons got cured on Monday.Thiruvananthapuram continued to bethe city with highest number of Covid-19 patients (205) followed by Ernakulam(106) and Alappuzha (101),” he said.

The number of hotspots shot up to506 while the Chief Minister said he hadentrusted the covid-19 management tothe State Police who would take stringentmeasures to eliminate the pandemic.

The responsibility of marking thecontainment zones too have been hand-ed over to the State Police. The ChiefMinister said the police has been askedto mark and monitor the containmentzones.

������ ���* ��,�

Karnataka Governor VajubhaiVala has tested negative for

coronavirus, three days after meet-ing Chief Minister B.S.Yediyurappa who was diagnosedpositive on Sunday, an official saidon Monday. “The Governor hasundergone a corona antigen testand tested negative,” said a com-munique from the Raj Bhavan.

The Chief Minister, alongwith Home Minister BasavarajuBommai, had called on the

Governor last week to discuss theCovid situation in the state andmeasures being taken to containthe pandemic spread.

“The Governor's ADC andPersonal Secretary Tejas Bhattihave also undergone antigen tests,and were found to be negative,”the communique said.

Yediyurappa, 77, and daugh-ter B.Y. Padmavati who also test-ed positive, are under treatment ata private hospital though they areasymptomatic with mild symptoms.

������ ���* ��,�

Six persons, including a womanworking at the official resi-

dence of Karnataka ChiefMinister BS Yediyurappa here,also tested positive for coron-avirus, an official said on Monday.

“As Yediyurappa and hisdaughter Padmavati tested posi-tive, all staffers and others at hisofficial residence and home-office are being tested as prima-ry and secondary contacts. Ofthem 6, including a gunman,cook, maid, driver, housekeeperand a policeman on securityduty tested positive so far,” an offi-

cial of the chief minister's officetold IANS.

Yediyurappa's official resi-dence 'Cauvery' and the adjacenthome-office 'Krishna' are locatedon Kumara Krupa road in thehigh security area of the city cen-tre.

The asymptomatic chief min-ister and daughter are undertreatment at the privately-runManipal Hospital in the city'seastern suburb.

“A team of doctors and nurs-es from the state-run hospitalrushed to Yediyurappa's resi-dence and home office to test thestaff and those frequenting theplaces on duty.

2������%�� ���������������������$����������������

<&" -#��88�F��� :����44&���&���83� � D&�43��53�3$�D �#�

!������������"��������������������

� ���0�������� > �

After scoring 92 percent marksin his class 12th examinations,

Inderjit Singh Gill, has now set hiseyes on the prestigious UPSCexaminations to realise his dreamof becoming an IAS officer. Sincechildhood he had tutored hismind to crack the prestigiousexamination at all costs.

Inderjit is not the only onewho is nurturing dreams of mak-ing it big in life.

Eklavya, currently workingas office assistant in the CentralUniversity Jammu is also prepar-ing to crack an entrance exami-nation for the post of J&K Bankassociate.

After discontinuing her stud-ies in 2016, another bright studentfrom the Valmiki community,Radhika Gill is planning to take anadmission in the governmentdegree college to pursue her grad-uation studies.

These youngsters representthe fourth generation of theValmiki community living inJammu since 1957.

After the Abrogation of

Article 370 and 35-A last year theyclaimed all the doors closed by thesuccessive State Governmentshave been thrown open by the BJPled Narendra Modi Governmentin one go.

“We have seen difficult timesin the past, my father was work-ing as a sweeper when i was a kid.He worked hard and rose to thelevel of supervisor in JammuMunicipal Corporation. Now, Iwant to become an IAS officer andmake my parents, my communi-ty proud”, Inderjit Singh told ThePioneer.

Inderjit, is currently livingwith his parents and three othersiblings in Valmiki colony inGandhi Nagar area of Jammu.

Radhika told The Pioneer, “I

discontinued my studies afterpassing class 12 examination.There was no future for us whenArticle 370 was there. Now it hasbeen abrogated and i have alreadyreceived my Domicile certificate,she added. “I can apply for gov-ernment jobs as per my qualifi-cation and also pursue higherstudies”.

Eklavya told The Pioneer,“after my graduation I startedworking as office Assistant in theCentral University Jammu. Now ihave applied for a J&K Bank postand also filing forms for otherposts advertised by the J&k gov-ernment to try my luck. I feelempowered now”, he added.

There are around 13 coloniesin Jammu district alone but none

of them have been regu-larised by the govern-ment till date.

President of theValmiki Community inJammu, Garu Bhatti toldThe Pioneer, “the deci-sion of the BJP govern-ment to Abrogate Article370 and 35-A has infusednew lease of life among

the deprived members of thecommunity”.

He said , “an estimated num-ber of 150-200 youth are studyingin different graduate and postgraduate courses in Jammu andKashmir and now with theissuance of Domicile certificatesthey can all compete in the com-petitive examinations and securetheir berth”. Previously, despiteacquiring degrees majority ofyouth could not apply for a gov-ernment job or take admission inthe professional degree courses.

In 1957, the then PrimeMinister of Jammu and KashmirBakshi Ghulam Mohammad haddecided to bring in Safai karam-charis (sweepers) from otherStates.

���������������� '.�' �

Opposing the new educationpolicy (NEP) introduced by

the Central Government ongrounds that the State was notconsulted and the issue was notdiscussed in Parliament beforegiving clearance, BengalGovernment has formed a six-member committee to ponderover the new scheme and table itsown report.

Contradicting Prime MinisterNarendra Modi’s assertion that thenew education was discussed anddebated over the last five years atvarious levels before being intro-duced, Bengal Education MinisterPartho Chatterjee on Mondaysaid “though the Prime Minister

claimed that the new educationpolicy was discussed extensively atvarious levels neither the issue wasdiscussed in Parliament nor theState Government was taken intoconfidence ...particularly wheneducation is in concurrent list.”

A number of serious questionshave been raised in the aftermathof the central declaration he said,adding “questions are being raisedas to why Madhyamik (Class X)board exam has been done awaywith in the new scheme of things,why Bengal was not represented inthe central advisory team that pro-posed such a sea change in thenational education system andwhy there is such a vehementtrend towards centralization in thenew system.”

Informing that the StateGovernment had formed its owncommittee which would discussthe worth of the new system andsubmit a report, Chatterjee whoearlier called the NEP a “copypaste” of the western andAmerican model said the reportwould then be sent to the Centre.

“We have formed a team ofadvisors which will review theNEP and submit a report to theState Government which will thenconsider sending it to the Centre,”Chatterjee said. The report is to besubmitted by August 15.

The team comprisesTrinamool Congress MP ProfessorSougato Roy, Jadavpur UniversityVice Chancellor Suranjan Das,Rabindrabharati Univeristy Vice

Chancellor Sabyasachi BasuRoychowhdury, educationist vet-eran educationists Pabitra Sarkarand Nrisinghaprasad Bhaduri andState syllabus committee chiefAvik Majumdar.

Apart from this theGovernment will also consult var-ious academic associations likeCalcutta University TeachersAssociation (CUTA), JadavpurUniversity Teachers’ Association(JUTA) etc. Besides “private indi-viduals and other institutions mayalso send in their views by August15,” Chatterjee said.

According to inside reportsthough the State Government seescentral encroachment in the NEPit is willing to gauge the generalview as the “BJP Government has

very cleverly cloaked dirty fangs ofthe NEP by some velvety cover likecredit banking system etc.

According to a JUTA member“what seems to get lost from thevision amid the hype is the elementof dangerous centralization interms of original research … onewonders whether critical evalua-tion would be allowed by theNational Research Foundationever.”

In fact the JUTA said “the NEP2020 seeks to replace the inclusive,democratic, progressive, idea ofIndia by a narrow, sectarian, andbigoted notion, driven by the com-pulsion to propagate the divisiveideology of a particular politicalparty… It has set back educationin India by at least a century.”

0���������������� 1����

109 deaths and 5,609 new Covid-19 patients in the last 24 hours.

This is what the medical bulletinissued by the Tamil NaduGovernment said on Monday. TheState saw the highest number offatalities till date on a single daywhile 5,800 persons were dis-charged following recovery fromhospitals across the State.

As on Monday, there were56,698 Covid-19 patients in TamilNadu. The day also saw 56, 278 per-sons getting tested through 122 lab-oratories across Tamil Nadu. Thedeath toll in Tamil Nadu till datereached 4,241.

While the situation in Chennairemained stable with theMetropolis testing 1,021 newpatients, Chengalpet (331),Kancheepuram (322) andThiruvallur (332) , the three neighboring districts remainedproblematic without showing anyabatement.

��0���������������� '.1�

Days of the coffee and tea shops in thecountry’s airports charging exorbi-

tant rates for the hot beverages are overthanks to an initiative by a lawyer basedin Kerala’s Thrissur city.

Shaji Kodankandathu, a lawyer byprofession who is also a social activist hadtaken up the cudgels for the general pub-lic in this regard. Shaji asked the CochinInternational Airport Authority of IndiaLtd (CIAL) Airport about the reasonbehind the unbelievable prices chargedby the shops for tea and coffee. “A cupof coffee costs �200/- while a cup of teacosts �150/- and there is no justificationfor these prices. The airport authoritiescould not give any convincing reply tome questions,” Shaji told The Pioneer.

He said he had to give up meals andeven snacks while waiting to catch flightsafter the security check in. “I am not thatrich to spend �500 for a cup of coffee anda banana fry. Its only because of time con-straint that I travel by flight and theauthorities should not squeeze me,” hesaid.

When Shaji failed to get any responsefrom the Airport Authority of India, he

wrote to Prime Minister’s Office statingall the details. “I was surprised when Ireceived a letter from the PMO sayingthat all my concerns have been taken intoconsideration and the AAI have beeninstructed to sell tea, coffee and snacksat affordable rates,” said Shaji.

The lawyer said that there are thou-sands of passengers among the flyers whowould not be able to afford the tea andcoffee being sold at the shops on the air-port. “What we need is a cup of black teaor coffee and a samosa or something likethat bat affordable rate. There is nothingwhich prevents these shops from sellingthese items at this rate,” said Shaji whoalso disclosed that he has seen hundredsand hundreds of passengers starving atairport because they cannot afford suchhigh rates.

“Its not exotic or exquisite tea or cof-fee that they sell at these airports. Mostpeople do not react to such over pricingbecause it is a time consuming process.But Ill react because it is a matter of sur-vival for me,” said Shaji.

He said airports all over the countrymay have to sell the hot beverages andsnacks at the rate specified by CoffeeBoard or Tea Board.

��� � > �

The whereabouts of an Indian Armyjawan,who went missing late Sunday

evening from near Kulgam, could not betraced in the last 24 hours by the jointteams of security forces combing the areainch by inch across South Kashmir dis-tricts.

He was currently visiting home onaccount of Eid holidays.

The day-long searches conducted inthe South Kashmir belt of Kulgam,Shopian and Anantnag could not yielddesired results.Meanwhile, the familymembers had issued a passionate appealto the suspected abductors to release theirson without causing any harm to him.

According to a statement issued bythe Indian Army, “Rifleman ShakirManzoor of 162 Battalion (TA), is miss-ing since 17:00hrs yesterday. His aban-

doned burnt car has been found nearKulgam. It is suspected that the soldierhas been abducted by terrorists. Searchop in progress”.

The burnt car, which belonged toManzoor, was found from Rambhamaarea of neighbouring Kulgam district.

In May 2017, a young, unarmed armyofficer was kidnapped by terrorists whenhe was attending a family wedding inShopian. The bullet-riddled body ofLieutenant Ummer Fayaz was recoveredthe next day 30 km from the weddingvenue.

The 22-year-old had joined theRajputana Rifles five months before. Hewas believed to be the first Kashmiri offi-cer to be murdered while on leave in hishome state since 1991.

In June 2018, another soldierAurangzeb, who went home to Poonchfor Eid, was abducted and killed.

����@1,�������� ���� ������������ �������>�A�%� � ������� �����6

"���B ��/ ����< %%�C�D �$�%�����C�D�����2�� � %���� � ����������� ���< %%�C�D

�� �&&��� )�&���A"�-�4���! � &�B �������"&����

�� �������-�����������> �

The total number of coron-avirus positive cases

Monday crossed 22,000 markwhile 11 patients died takingthe total death toll due toCovid-19 to 407 in Jammu &Kashmir.

According to the mediabulletin, out of 590 new posi-tive cases, 157 were reportedfrom Jammu division and 433from Kashmir division, takingthe total number of positivecases in Jammu and Kashmir to22,006.

Also 11 Covid-19 deathshave been reported; 02 from

Jammu division and 9 fromKashmir Division.

Moreover, 905 moreCovid-19 patients have recov-ered and discharged from var-ious hospitals, 160 from JammuDivision and 745 fromKashmir Division.

According to the dailyMedia Bulletin, out of 22006positive cases, 7567 are ActivePositive, 14032 have recoveredand 407 have died; 30 inJammu division and 377 inKashmir division.

The Bulletin further saidthat out of 662941 test resultsavailable, 640935 samples havebeen tested as negative tillAugust 3, 2020.

=������&�>,������$��� +����������� ����������

"������������������� $���������$������������

Jammu: Ahead of the first anniversary of Abrogation of Article370, 35-A, the District Magistrate of Srinagar has decided toimpose strict curfew restrictions on August 4th and 5th of Augustwith immediate effect to prevent violent protests.

According to the order signed by the District Magistrate,Srinagar, “Superintendent of Police, Srinagar has reported thata series of inputs have been received suggesting that separatistand Pakistan sponsored groups are planning to observe August5, 2020 as 'Black day', therein apprehensions of violation actionor protests are not ruled out.There are specific inputs about vio-lent protests endangering public life and property”.

“Complete restrictions on public movement under Section144 to be in place”, the order stated. Medical emergencies andmovement of staff on Covid-19 duty with pass/valid cards shallbe exempted from above restrictions, the District Magistrate ordersaid. PNS

��#���� ��� ���E) �� ����������������

���������#�������$�����%&�'

?@A/�9��� ������� +��+�����-!*����� ���

Amaravati: In a shocking inci-dent, three Covid-19 patientswere allegedly shifted to a hos-pital in a garbage vehicle inAndhra Pradesh'sVizianagaram district.

A video, which shows threepersons boarding the trolley inNellimarla town, has gone viralon social media, prompting theauthorities to order a probe.

The incident reportedlyoccurred on Saturday when anambulance did not reach toshift three members of a fam-ily to the hospital.

They had undergoneCovid-19 tests on Wednesdayand it was on Friday that theywere found positive. Localsalerted 108 ambulance andrequested that they be shiftedto hospital. However, theambulance did not reach thelocation, forcing the residentsto arrange a trolley fromNellimarla Nagar Panchayat.

Local officials ordered aprobe into the incident.Primary Health Centre medicalofficer Gayatri Devi said theambulance was sent immedi-ately after learning about thepatients from volunteers butbefore the vehicle could reachthere the local residents mobi-lized a trolley from the munic-ipal body.

Nellimarla Nagar

Panchayat Commissioner J. R.Appala Naidu said the vehiclewas being used to carrySodium Hypochlorite andother items for burying theCovid-19 victims.

Vizianagaram DistrictMedical and Health Officer DrRamana Kumari said she hadordered a probe into the inci-dent. Former chief minister N.Chandrababu Naidu said hewas appalled over the treatmentmeted out to the patients.“Appalling! Three Covid-19patients in BC Colony,Jarjapupeta in VizianagaramDist were taken to the hospitalin a garbage vehicle',” theTelugu Desam Party (TDP)chief tweeted.

“Don't know about coron-avirus, but the helpless patientsmight contract other dangerousdiseases. Why are they notbeing treated like humans?,”Naidu asked. IANS

�������������������������������������������$����'�����

Bengaluru: After logging morethan 5,000 Covid-19 cases aday for the past several days,Karnataka saw a drop in infec-tions with 4,752 new cases inthe last 24 hours, raising thestate's tally to 1.39 lakh, said ahealth official on Monday.

Similarly,Bengaluru hasalso witnessed lesser number ofcases with 1,497 infections ascompared to 2,000 cases on adaily basis.

With the new infections,the city's tally breached 60,000mark to settle at 60,998, out ofwhich 36,290 are active.

Among other places,Mysuru accounted for 372infections, followed by Ballari(305), Bagalkote (209),Dharwad (191), Kalaburagi(170), Koppal (157) andShivamogga (155) among oth-ers.

98 more patients have suc-cumbed to the virus, raising thestate's toll to 2,594.

However, on a positivenote, record 4,776 morepatients have been dischargedin the last 24 hours, 2,693 inBengaluru Urban alone, raisingthe total number of recoveriesto 62,500.

Of the 1.39 lakh cases inthe southern state, 74,469 areactive. IANS

� 3'!� 44)3)'!#� 5+%5%+�'�65 (%)7& �&*%�)73)+%7&"��5)8'59�%'!&*�%7&5%�8%+)3'!� 44)3%5�'9'&5)�%:)�#')+�&*%�'8($!'73%�;'##%7&�)88%+)'&%!9�'4&%5�!%'57)7<

'( $&�&*%�6'&)%7&#�45 8: !$7&%%5#�($&�(%4 5%�&*%�:%*)3!%

3 $!+�5%'3*�&*%5%�&*%�! 3'!5%#)+%7&#�8 ()!)=%+�'�&5 !!%945 8�&*%�8$7)3)6'!�( +9

'F��(���&&��! )���"�38� $�"� !-�5��&���������

������ *,

Raksha Bandhan broughtsome cheer back to markets

in Agra as people ventured outof their homes to buy sweetsand gifts for relatives and sisters.

Shopkeepers reported brisksale of 'rakhis' early Mondayand flower garlands for specialpujas. “Tempo is high rightnow, more so because of theAyodhya festivities beginningtoday,” said priest of the SriMathuradheesh temple PanditNandan Shrotriya.

“Though the scare ofCovid-19 is writ large every-where, still people are nowmoving out and thronging themarkets. More roadways busesare ferrying people to theirhomes in rural areas. Though

restrictions are in place, manypeople have chosen to visitGovardhan and Vrindavan, ingroups, in their private vehi-cles,” said Jugal Kishor Pandit.

However, with 29 freshcases, Agra's Covid-19 tallyhas risen to 1,870, with 100deaths. The principal of the SNMedical College Dr Sanjay Kalaand half-a-dozen staff reportedpositive on Sunday evening.Kala has been home quaran-tined. The number of activecases is 292.

Mathura reported 32 freshcases in the last 24 hours, withMainpuri (20), Firozabad (26),Etah (18), Kasganj (5). Thehealth department has startedscreening people in mohallasand crowded locations in theinterior of the city.

Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh JalShakti Minister MahendraSingh has tested positive forCOVID-19, hours after theState BJP President SwatantraDev Singh and two other leg-islators were confirmed to havecontracted the virus.

Apart from MahendraSingh, eight other state minis-ters -- Yogendra Upadhaya,Devendra Pratap Singh,Rajendra Pratap Singh,Dharam Singh Saini, ChetanChauhan, Upendra Tiwari,

Raghuraj Singh and Jai PratapSingh -- have tested positiveand are undergoing treatment.

Cabinet Minister KamalRani Varun, who tested positivefor coronavirus last month,died on Sunday at the SanjayGandhi Post Graduate Instituteof Medical Sciences(SGPGIMS) in Lucknow.

The families of two moreMinisters, Satish Mahana andBrijesh Pathak, have also beeninfected with the virus. IANS

'������� �������8��

,�(������$"��$�6� $)��5�&&�6�5(��3����(&��� $� )��

Agartala: Ruling BJP MLA inTripura and former StateHealth Minister Sudip RoyBarman on Monday defiedorders to go into quarantineafter visiting a Covid CareCentre (CCC) and distributingfruits among the Covid patientshere on Sunday.

Barman in reply to theWest Tripura DistrictMagistrate (DM) SandeepMahatme's letter, said: “Somevested interested persons aretrying to put me intentionallyin the quarantine centre so thatI can easily come in contactwith others who have testedpositive for the coronavirus,which could be hazardous tomy health.”

He also wrote that he hadneither clinically or otherwisetested positive for COVID-19,nor was he a symptomatic orasymptomatic patient.

The BJP MLA told themedia that an FIR was regis-tered against him on Monday.

Barman became the Healthand Family Welfare,Information Technology andScience and TechnologyMinister after the BJP-ledalliance government came topower in Tripura in March2018. IANS

�� 8#����>%� �"&4 &�G#���$� $&3�"&��

Page 6: 6! & 3˜ 11’ ˚ * ; 1˚ , * ˚ ˚ /.˚˚%,. 1’. .% / , 1 1.˚, · establish a 40 kg silver brick for the symbolic start of the con- ... ing 14,095 active ones. Of the new cases,

Indian analysts seem indiffer-ent to the threat of India los-ing the railway line from Iran’sChabahar port to Afghanistanand Central Asia and suggest

that New Delhi should focus on tieswith Arab countries that provideenergy security and jobs to millionsof Indians. The view that Indiamust choose between the SunniArab world and Shia Iran is myopicand contrary to established Indiandiplomacy. Certainly, lakhs of IndianMuslims annually visit Saudi Arabiafor hajj/umra but the lockdownimposed in March revealed thatthousands of citizens visit Karbalaand Najaf that are sacred to the Shias.Many work in Iran. Indeed,Commander Kulbhushan Jadhav(retd) is believed to have beenabducted from Chabahar andpushed across the border intoPakistan.

The stalemate in India-Iran tiesis due to US sanctions that covercountries engaging with Tehrancommercially. India secured anexemption for the Chabahar port,which may not cover the railway, andstopped buying the light Iraniancrude suited to its refineries after thesix-month grace period ended. Thefreeze on its oil revenues seriouslyhurt Iran’s economy, forcing it to seekways to end its economic and diplo-matic trauma.

Tehran moved cautiously, leak-ing “news” about a $400 billion dealwith China, which seemed crediblegiven Beijing’s huge investmentsacross the globe. An unverified 18-page document gave the details of a25-year Iran-China agreement thatChinese President Xi Jinping hadproposed during a visit to Iran inJanuary 2016. It mentioned a $280billion investment in Iran’s oil andgas industry and $120 billion acrossvarious sectors. Beijing wouldreceive crude oil and gas at discount-ed prices for 25 years.

New Delhi was alarmed at thepossibility of China funding the rail-way and depriving India of its cov-eted alternate route to Afghanistanand Central Asia, bypassingPakistan. Envoy GaddamDharmendra rushed to meet IranianSpeaker Bagher Ghalibaf and ViceMinister of Roads and President ofthe Railways, Mohsen PourseyedAghaei, to salvage the Chabahar-Zahedan (and possibly Zarang) line.Also at stake is a free trade zone toserve the landlocked Central Asianstates. Further, the Farzad-B gas fieldwas discovered by ONGC Videsh in2012 but its development has been

stuck in wrangling over Iran’sdesire for two pipelines asopposed to India’s insistence ona single pipeline. This is pure-ly a commercial dispute andTehran needs to be reasonable.

But for Chabahar and relat-ed projects, India will have topioneer some deft diplomacy tobreak the deadlock betweenWashington and Tehran orsacrifice its regional ambitionsforever. It is no secret thatIslamabad is now firmly inBeijing’s sphere of influence; itsdeafening silence on the treat-ment of Uyghurs in Xinjiangand refusal to bring its citizensback from Wuhan after thepandemic in order to saveChina’s face leave no scope fordoubt on this score. India didnot blame China but rushed tobring its students back fromWuhan; now, the Chineseaggression in Ladakh has dra-matically altered the situation.

An independentBalochistan offers a way out. Atthe time of the Soviet invasionof Afghanistan in 1979,American scholar SeligHarrison had the prescience torealise that the turmoil inKabul would bring Pakistan’sBaloch problem to the forefront(In Afghanistan’s Shadow:Baluch Nationalism and SovietTemptations, 1980). Till hisdeath in 2016, Harrison urged

Washington to support Balochindependence in pursuit of itsown interests in the region butsuccessive administrationsfrom Nixon-Kissingerremained invested inIslamabad.

Now, the China-Pakistanaxis has eroded Washington’srelationship with its non-NATO ally. Baloch resistance toIslamabad’s unceasing atrocitiesand resentment against theChina-Pakistan EconomicCorridor (CPEC) thatencroaches upon their landand resources give America anopening. For, Balochistan is thegeostrategic region withoutwhich Pakistan is just a land-locked landmass, of no useeven to the Army that controlsit.

As Italian scholar Valeria FPiacentini observed in 1945,Balochistan is at the cross-roads of two “axes”, east-westand north-south, of threemacro-regions: Asia, Africaand the Mediterranean basin.It forms the hinge between theIndian sub-continent, CentralAsia and the Euro-Asiaticsteppes and the Iranian plateau;as also the link between regionsthat gravitate towards theIndian Ocean and its western“sea routes”, the Persian Gulfand the Red Sea.

This is why London want-

ed Balochistan to be part ofPakistan and nudged MAJinnah after the Khan of Kalatproved obdurate. Balochistanwas annexed in 1948. TheCIA-MI6 operated fromBalochistan to overthrow thethen Iranian Prime Minister MMossadegh after he nation-alised the Anglo-Iranian OilCompany. Washington usedBalochistan for its proxy waragainst Soviet forces inAfghanistan and opened waragainst the Taliban.

Gwadar Port, China’s bigprize and raison d’être for theCPEC, belongs to Balochistan.Chabahar is part of the sameMakran coastline. If USPresident Donald Trump canbe persuaded to see the Balochquest and Iran as potentialallies, that could take the entireMakran coast away from China(depriving it also of the militarybase it is building in Jiwanipeninsula off Gwadar). Itwould put a powerful brake onChina’s relentless acquisition ofports and bases across theIndian Ocean littoral.

Iran is a catch for Beijingbecause like Pakistan, it canjoin the Belt and Road Initiative(BRI) by land and sea, giving itaccess to staggering geostrate-gic space. Tehran could linkBeijing with Ankara, whichoffers access to the

Mediterranean Sea and thenations of North Africa,Central Europe and Europethat comprise its littoral. TheMediterranean Sea opens intothe Atlantic Ocean via theStrait of Gibraltar; this couldbring Beijing closer toWashington than ever envis-aged by the State Departmentor Pentagon. Beijing inChabahar would also haveaccess to the Arabian Sea,Strait of Hormuz and Sea ofOman, besides a shortcut to itsmilitary base in Djibouti. AUS-friendly Balochistan andIran would end this dream run.

Interestingly, in June 2020,Moscow arrested Valery Mitko,president, Arctic Academy ofSciences, for allegedly givingChina information about sub-marine detection, a reflectionof Moscow’s anger at Chineseambitions in the Arctic region.Washington has also arrestedcitizens in prestigious institu-tions working covertly forChina. It should investigatewhether the tales of Russianinterference in the 2016 and2020 presidential electionsoriginated from “friends” ininstitutions that received lavishChinese funding. PerhapsRussian President VladimirPutin has signalled as much.

(The author is a seniorjournalist. Views are personal)

)��������������)������������������������������������������������� ����������� *���������� ������� � *�����(����

���� ��� ������ ���� �� ���� ������������������(+� �� )����� ,��� !�����-�����������&�.),!-&�/�������������������������������������������������������)����&�������������������������������������������(������������������������0���������������(���������������������������122���������������������3���������(���������������������������������������(

������(������������������������������������&���������������������������������������������� ����������������������),!-������������������������������� �����������������

,��������������������������(+���� ���������������������������),!-��������%),�#(4����������� �������� ����������5����6���� �������(��������������������7��������������8$�������������� ������������ ��� ������������� ��9���������������:���������������������� ��)����&���������������9������������������������������������������(������� ��������������),!-�����������������������������)����&�����(�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������)��������;���������������<�������422����������������������������������������������������������������(���������),!-&����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������<������������������������������������������� �*����������,�������,��������������� �,�&�������=������������ �,����������������0������������������������������������������ ��������������������������),!-�=�������(������������������������������������������������������(���������(�����,��������������������������������������������)���������������������������������������,����$������5������������������ ����(��������������� �� �,��� � �� �����44������� ������������� ������������������������������������������������������������������� ��������)����������������><��������0����������������������������������?����������������������� ��������),!-���� �����������<������������������������������������)����������������� �

����*���������������������������� ������������$������#��������� �����������(����� ������ ��� ��� ������ �����������

�����������������������������������)�����������������������������������������,�������������������������������������������������������������*���������������������������������������������;��������������� �����������@������������������������� ����������*����������������������� ����������$������@����������������#���&������ ����������������������

%�����(<���������������.$�������(�������A������/����*����������� �����(�����*����($�������B�������*�������.*$B*/���������*������������������������������������������ ������������ ������������� ������������������(���������������� ����C���������#����4DE���������������)���������(���,������������������������*����������$����������� ����������(������������������������ ������������������ �����������������������@����������*������.@�*/�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������(����������(�������� ��������������������� ������������������������������������������������������)�������������������������(���������� ����<������������������������������������������*����������� �����������������������(���� ����������<�-���.�<-/���������������������������������� ��������������A��������$���������%��������������������������������������������� ���������������������������,�*��������� ���&��������������������������������&�������������������������A�������������� ��������������)������������������ ����������������:���������������������������������������������� ��������������*��������������������&������#������������������������������������������(�������������� ����������������������������������#����������������)��������������������������������������������������(����(�����������������*��������������������������������������������"����$������#��� ��������������������������������������� ����������������������)��� ��������7�������������8����� ��������������������������(����������������������������������������������������#�$���&�@����������� .$@�/��������������������� �������������������� ���������������������������������#������������������4EF+�

;��*���������������������%����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������!��������������� ��?����������*������ �������������������������������������������������������������������������������<�������&��������(��)����&���(����������� ������������)������������������������������������������� ����� ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������G,(��������?����������G,��������������������� ���������������,����*����,��������������������(���������������������,�������,�����������������������������������(�����������������(���������5�� ����������������� ������)��������&��<�����������G,���������������� ���������������� ������������������������������������������������)�*������������������)�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������>,�����������(�������������������������������������������)������ �������������������������������� ������� �������������������(�����������������������������������������������������?�����������������������)�����������*��������)�����-�����������������������H����������������G,���I������������������(���������������������������������7���(��������8������������������*����&���������������������������������������������� "�������������������(�����@�*�;�� ������������� ����������*���������������������������������� ������������ ��������������������������������#��� ����������@����������������������������<��������� �����������*������ �� �������������������������������$������������������������ ���������������?���������� ��������������$@�������������������������������������������������������������+24J�������������� �������������*����$������C�I��������������� �������������������

&������!��

��������� �

Sir — It is unfortunate that morethan 85 people died and manyothers were taken ill due to theconsumption of spurious liquorin Punjab. The sale of illicitliquor is a thriving business notonly in Punjab but in manyparts of the country. In fact, Indiaremains one among the countrieswith the highest number of alco-hol-related deaths. And whenev-er such a tragedy unfolds,Governments react by imposinga ban on the sale of liquor. Theyfail to either bring tighter regu-lations or crack down on dens,which operate without a licenceas they fulfil a demand whilemaking huge profits.

People take to illicit liquoras they cannot afford to buylicensed brands. Spurious liquordoes not attract taxes or dutiesand, thus, comes cheap. ThePunjab Government must set aprecedent by constituting aSpecial Investigation Teamwhich must track down all boot-leggers in the State. The UnionGovernment, too, must come upwith a multi-pronged plan tocurb the sale and consumptionof toxic alcohol.

Ramesh G JethwaniBengaluru

��������������

Sir — This refers to the editor-ial, “New curriculum” (July 31).

The new National EducationPolicy (NEP) promises a trans-formational shift, infusing anelement of joy and purpose inlearning. The new guidelines, if

implemented, will offer stu-dents a flexible academic jour-ney where they can pick andchoose instead of remainingconfined to set patterns. The

loftier goals are to mainstreamabout two crore out-of-schoolchildren. Before and after 1947,matriculation was the require-ment for entrance to higher edu-cation in colleges. Then, 10+2streams brought more changesbut NEP, 2020, promises themuch-needed reforms. Thoughchallenges remain, the new NEPcan be a game-changer as itpromises to bestow flexibility,improve the skills of the studentsand grant more autonomy toeducational institutions.

Abhijit RoyJamshedpur

������������������

Sir — This refers to the editori-al, “New curriculum” (July 31).NEP, 2020, is an exercise infutility. It wasn’t debated inParliament. Increasing the tenureof undergraduate courses makesno sense as postgraduate pro-grammes have been watereddown. The only redeemable fea-ture is that it does not disturb thethree-language formula system.

RatnapriyaVia email

' & ' ( ) � * + , - � ' & � � + � "

���(�����������(���4�5&633(753�0"� !-8 3$&&���H 2��&�� !-% 3$&&���H $���)���753�0"� !-8 3$&&�0

������������������ �!�"���#�$ !������" %��&'&'

*�

���$%�����������

#$)*+,$ ?1.=

4���#�8�5�$�6&�8&��#�"&"��3��&&���&���!35��G#&����$"���$����83�&$� �!��!! &�������53#!"���(&��&��(��$�53�����B�-�4�3��1� $��� ��B3#!"�8#����83B&�4#!�6��(&�3$���&�!���&�@����6 � 3$�

�@��I�������������� �����������J��-�4 !����337�D&�-3$&�������� )����3��& ��38 $ 3$��6#��8&38!&��&��8 �� $)�4 �&��)� $���3$&�$3��&�7���&�4!�(� ��#$4� �7�

�3& 5K $)�"��&"

�6&! &D&�������&�I��#�8J�8!�$��3� $���!!�� ��&!4� $��3�&�( $"34�&�&�)&$5-�B�-��3�53$� $#&�3��3!"�3$�3�344 5&7� $"�����@�B�-���&� �&� 5�$�8&38!&���"6&��&��B�(&�#87

� 6��%8 35'&�!%'+%5K�� 8�>��&��1!-6#�$�

� 4 7 = # 5 . 9 <

; < 9 9 < ) � 9 4 � 99 : < � < # . 9 4 )���������� ��������������

�&43�&���&���� D�!�34���&�,�4�!&�+&������& ���5G# � A� 3$�8�35&���B&$�����3#)����$-��B �����$"��#�$�7��B��� $�������"#� $)���&� $ � �!�-&����34��� A�

B�&$���&�$" �$� ��;3�5&�I ;J� $ � ��&"���8�383��!�43���&��5G# � � 3$�34����� ��)&�����A��4�3�������#!� D �� 3$� I� J� 43�� $"#5� 3$� 4�3�� ����A��� 3$B��"�7 553�" $)��3���&�1 *����&��&4&$5&�%�35#�&�&$���3��"I�%�J�" �5��"&"���&�8�383��!��4�&��8�3���5�&"�"&! 6&�A�� 3$��� !!�����7���&$���&��% �*3D&�$�&$��5��&��383B&��� �� ��#&"���,&G#&���43��%�383��!�43����&��5G# A� � 3$�34������"D�$5&"�D&�� 3$��34�,1 � $�����7 ��8&����&�"&! D&�-��&��������� �5��4��B&�&��3�6&��#8A8! &"� $�4!-�B�-�53$" � 3$��$"���&�6�!�$5&�����B&�&��36&���$#4�5�#�&"�6-�� �7���&�,;%�B���B ��"��B$�6��&"3$����&83���6-���&� $ ���-�34��&4&$5&��B� 5���&83��A&"!-�5��� &"�3#��������&�&$����- $)������L��&�8� 5&�6 "34�� �B���$3$A53�8! �$����� ��B��� $53�8!&�&��$"�$3� $� ��&� 8�&�5� 6&"� 43����M� -&�� �)� $7� $"� ��&� �� A*3D&�$�&$��� )$&"��$�$�&�A*3D&�$�&$��!� )�&&�&$�I* J� $������43�����4 )��&��+&��������8� 5&��! )$&"��3��&�&��! &��L $53�8!&�&M�344&�7��&! D&�-�34���&�4 ����6��5�34����,�4�!&�� �5��4��B��� �3�6&�53�8!&�&"�B �� $����3$�����$"���&�6�!�$5&����B �� $�����3$����4�3����&"��&�34�� )$ $)�34���&�* 7���&��)�&&�&$��8#����! "�3$��&�3� ) $�!�8�383��!��3���$#4�5�#�&�����,�4�!&�B��A8!�$&��6-�� �7�

�:�5�!-��B3�"&5�"&�� $�3���&�8�35&������&��#! $)*3D&�$�&$������!�$"&"�3$���&� $" )&$3#��6# !"&��$3B

�3��&&����&� $ � �!!-�8�3+&5�&"��&G# �&�&$�7���&� ��1� &4�����!�����$3B�53$4 ��&"�������$�3�"&��43���$3��&����� )���13�6��� �5��4��I�1 J���&+���'� ��4�3��� �B���6& $)�4���A���5(&"7�$���$#���&!!�� ;� $ � ��&"���8�3A83��!�43������ ��)&�����A�4�3��� � $�������$"���& $ ���-� ���� !!�8�&8�� $)��3�8!�5&��$�3�"&��43������&+��'� �B ���� �� $�����7��#� $)���&� $�&�D&$ $)����-&����$" �������5G# �&"�+#���4 D&�,�4�!&�4 )��&��+&���3#��34���&���3�"&�&"��$"��������33�������8�&$3�&$�!�53��7�<&����&� �3$-� �������53$4 ��&"�+ $)3 ����� ����&����&&��� $+#6 !�� 3$�3$���&���� D�!�34���&�43�& )$A��"&�,�4�!&��6#�43#$"�$3��&��3$��3��88!�#"���&��&+������&� $" )&$3#�A!-�"&� )$&"��$"�6# !��� )���13�6��� �5��4�7�

'5)+'#'7��'>'7��� ����

/��������������������>!%&&%5#& 6) 7%%5?<8')!"3 8�

&���������������� !&�8&38!&�63-53��1� $&�&�8�3"#5����5&!!8�3$&��(&��� $�1� $��B !!�53$� $A#&����� �!&��83$�3���34���&%�7��3�B3$"&��1� $�� ���#�6 $)� ���$3�&����#�7

���!%'+%5K.���� 6"#!!��

'����%����� ����$%$����� ���������� �������������������#������������������� ��������9��

���������$��������������������������/����������������/.�����$���������������0'!'������ /B�� �/B��#8�$�$"���"

B��$&"������ #)#�����B�� $�#�8 5 3#��43����&���3$&A!�-A $)�34�,����&�8!&7��� ��"��&����6&&$�4 :&"� $��553�"�$5&B ���3" ��@��53$D&$ &$5&7

� 7<5%##�!%'+%5K� )D +�-��/ $)�

Page 7: 6! & 3˜ 11’ ˚ * ; 1˚ , * ˚ ˚ /.˚˚%,. 1’. .% / , 1 1.˚, · establish a 40 kg silver brick for the symbolic start of the con- ... ing 14,095 active ones. Of the new cases,

&�������������

� ��� @��������������A� ��B����C�������@� ���������@�-�� ��������,����� ����

,.�������1�,�� ����"����D��������@����������

�������0�1��-��

-.�� �E��. ����0�. ������1�,������@ �����������@������@�������������� ������ �� ���- �0��"�D���1�,����@������������������������

�-.)��47=9<)�-.)��

The innocuous-sounding statement of theGeneral Secretary of the Shri RamJanmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust,

Champat Rai, that the construction of the Ramtemple, whose foundation will be laid by PrimeMinister Narendra Modi on August 5, will becompleted within three-and-a-half-years, haspolitical overtones which no one can miss.

“We will try to complete the construction bythree years but we have six months extra in casewe fail to meet the deadline because of any even-tuality. But, mark my words, the temple will beready with its pristine grandeur by the end of2023 or early 2024,” Rai had said when announc-ing that Modi would be the chief guest of theground-breaking ceremony for the Ram temple’sconstruction.

For those who need it to be spelled out, thetiming of the completion of the temple is cru-cial — end of 2023 or early 2024. The Lok Sabhaelections are expected by March 2024. This meansthat the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) would againuse the Ram temple to play the Hindutva cardand propel the party towards victory. This timethe BJP will go to the masses saying “jo kaha, wohkiya (we did what we said we would do).” Thecommon refrain of BJP leaders and campaign-ers will be,“We promised the people that the Ramtemple would be built in Ayodhya and we ful-filled that promise.” I would not be surprised ifthe party takes a miniaturised model of the Ramtemple across villages or puts up such modelsbefore the Model Code of Conduct comes intoplay in every gram Sabha. The process has alreadybegun as the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) hasasked for funds from the people for temple con-struction. The VHP has set a target of reachingover 10 crore families in five lakh villages acrossIndia with an appeal to donate at least �100 vol-untarily for the temple’s construction. It is set tostart from Uttar Pradesh (UP) and will thenspread out across the country.

The VHP’s plan does not end here. The RamJanmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, the templetrust which is entrusted with the task of con-structing a temple at the Ram JanmabhoomiComplex, in collaboration with the VHP, plansto kick-start the ‘Akhand Bharat Week’ after thebhoomi pujan (ground-breaking ceremony).The week will be celebrated from August 16 toAugust 23 when the Parishad volunteers will goto the villages and tell the masses about the RamMandir construction and how this temple willensure the “akhandata” (integrity) of the coun-try.

The BJP has always used the temple issueto meet its political aims. It has always found amention in its election manifesto, whose nomen-clature has changed with the passage of time, TheBJP election manifesto is now called ‘SankalpPatra’. After the famous Rath Yatra carried outby Lal Krishna Advani along with PramodMahajan in 1989 from Somnath to Ayodhya, withNarendra Modi accompanying the yatra fromSomnath till the border of Gujarat, the BJP sawthe potential of the issue to propel the party togreat political power.

When the yatra was stopped in Samastipurin Bihar by the then Lalu Prasad Governmentand Advani was arrested, the whole of India wasdrenched in the spirit of Hindutva. The rath wasstopped on October 23, 1990. This set off a string

of events that shaped the country’s pol-itics in years to come. Advani’s arresttriggered massive protests across thecountry, sparking communal riotsacross several towns, especially innorth India. Hundreds of Kar Sevaks(voluntary workers) marched towardsAyodhya to liberate the RamJanmabhoomi. Exactly a week afterAdvani’s Rath Yatra was stopped — onOctober 30 — as many as 28 Kar Sevakswere killed in police firing while try-ing to storm the Babri Masjid. Evenbefore the Kar Sevaks had enteredAyodhya, then Uttar Pradesh ChiefMinister Mulayam Singh Yadav hadclaimed that “parinda bhi par nahi maarsakta (not even a bird can enter there).”Mulayam Singh still justifies the policeaction.

The events that unfolded thenonly benefited the BJP as its politicalclout grew exponentially and it grabbedthe opportunity with both hands. In the1991 election, for the first time the partygave the slogan of “Mandir wahinbanayenge (we will build the templethere only)” but it was only in 1996, thatfor the first time, the BJP mentioned theRam Mandir in its manifesto.

The party reiterated its commit-ment to facilitate the construction of amagnificent Ram temple at theJanmasthan (birthplace) in Ayodhyaafter coming to power as “this is thedream of millions of people in our land.The concept of Ram lies at the core oftheir consciousness.”

The words remained the same inmanifesto after manifesto and in 2019it said: “We reiterate our stand on theRam Mandir. We will explore all pos-sibilities within the framework of theConstitution and make all necessaryefforts to facilitate the expeditious

construction of the Ram Temple inAyodhya.”

That commitment was fulfilled inNovember 2019 when the SupremeCourt paved the way for the construc-tion of the Ram temple in Ayodhya andallowed the construction of a mosque,which incidentally will come up 30 kilo-metres away from the complex wherethe original mosque stood.

With the completion of one aim,the BJP has already got ammunition forthe elections — which is powerful andemotive. And the subsidiary propscan come from more communal pitch-es like cow vigilantism and the anti-cit-izenship law protests. Emotion is a veryimportant quotient for winning orlosing elections in a democracy.Corruption, religion, nationalism, casteet al are some of the issues which havean emotive appeal and can unite peo-ple in no time. This is not limited toIndia only. Even in the US, the slogan“America First” did wonders for DonaldTrump. Similarly, in 2019, Balakotsupplied the required emotive quotientin the form of nationalism and the BJPand Modi swept the Lok Sabha polls.The BJP has already made the construc-tion of the Ram temple a political issue.Ayodhya city has been painted in saf-fron hues. Students of the arts facultyof Saket Degree College have drawnpictures of Ram, Laxman and charac-ters of the Ramayana on the wallsaround the city — not even leaving thewalls of the Sulabh Shauchalaya toiletcomplex.

In the backdrop of the COVID-19guidelines, people have been asked notto go to the Ram Janmabhoomi sitewhere the main function will be held.But the BJP has plans to put up LEDscreens all across Ayodhya so that peo-

ple can witness the ground-breakingceremony and watch the PrimeMinister lay the foundation stone of thetemple on August 5. They argue that itis natural for people to want to witnessthis historic moment at the RamJanmabhoomi Complex but because ofCOVID-19 guidelines they cannot beallowed entry there, hence they canwatch it on big screens near theirmohallas (localities).

The VHP has done its part and hasasked people across India to decoratetheir homes, mohallas and mandirs andwatch the live telecast of the grand cer-emony together while singing bhajans(hymns). Milind Parande, SecretaryGeneral of the VHP, had issued a state-ment saying that the live telecastsshould be accessible to the communi-ty on big screens or at auditoria.“People should decorate their houses,neighbourhoods, villages, markets,monasteries, gurdwaras and ashramsand distribute prasad and also lightlamps after sunset,” the VHP leader hadsaid in that statement. “Use all meansof publicity to make this grand pro-gramme available to more and morepeople in society,” he had further said.The paraphernalia is ready. The BJP andits right-wing organisations are all setto milk the situation for political gains.The Unlock 3.0 guidelines may haveasked people to desist from organisingreligious functions but the BJPGovernment and the party are ready forsuch a big event. After all, it is all pol-itics. And an investment made todaywill hold good later. One wonders ifCOVID-19 management could be pur-sued with such intent. Lord Ram wouldhave wanted that.

(The writer is Executive Director,News, Lucknow edition)

9���:������������������$����� $���������+���������������$����� ��������������������.-.;<'������$��������������������������� ��

��$��� *"8 . ) � 9 � 4 ; 7 0 =

-�������������������

/0,))1 #B<)

>#") $)�8&38!&�43����&�8���� ����" ����5� 3$�4�3���&�6#� $&��������$"��B� 5�� ���3�5!&���#8���&)����!-��&� ��)&�34���5 ���������!�D&�-�����!&4�

�.#0$211��51=<)?<<

;.,���./����.������

���.����/%������.����

������*�.;����

1.%���.��.;�����

��%���/�1,�1 ��K�

����.;������.,�� ,�<�����7�����.'�/ �� ���1�.�/� ,�

�N%�1�����< ,1������7���/�� �/�

�� ������� , �< �> � �

% ,�<��.��� * ���/�����

, ���%����.%� <����

�����= �1 ,�� ���

%,.%�������% ,�<�.� ,�/�

=1�.,<�

����������������������&������ ���� &�����(�������������������������������� ��������������������8#������������������� ,�����

#��*������������������������������������ ��� ����������)�������������������-������B������������������*�������������� ��������7������������ �8=����(��� ����������?����������� �������������7;�������;�����8����G,�������� ����7������ ��������������G�������������8#������������������������������������ �����������������������������(�����������(�� ����� ����� ��� ��� ���� �� � �������� �� ��� 4J��������

)������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ ������� �����������������,�����*�����������$������������#����&��� ������������ (����������������������������������������������&�7����8<������&������������#������������)������������������"�����������������&�*���������������)���� ��������������������������������#����� ������������������������ ����� ����������������� �������������K7����������������������&������ ���� &������������������������������������� ��������������������8

,���� ����������������� �����������(����������� �������-����-����������������� ��������������������������������������������(����� ������������ +2������� �#���������������������������� ��B����������������� ������������ ������������������������������������ ����������� ��������������������=�����(��������������������� �� �����<�������������������������������� �����������������(� ������ ������#� �����������������������������������������������������������������������(������������������������������������ �

#� ���������������������������������������)������ ������������ ����������������(���(����������� ����"���� �����������7�������������8�����������,������������������������� ����������������������#����� �������&������ �,���� �����������������(������������������������������������������������������������(,�����������������������������������������������)���������������5����B�����������������B�������������������������������#� �������������������������� ����������������

5���������������������&�������������������(���������������������������)� �����������������4L������� ���(������������������������,��������������������������,������<��������������������������������� ������������

=�������������������������(��������������������������������������������������������������(���������������������#������������������������4D���������������������������������������������������������,���������������������)����-���������������������������������� �����������?������������������������� ������������� �������������

<��������#����� ���������������#��������������������� ��� ��&����������� ��������� ����������� �������������������I����������������������� ��������������������������������������������������������� ����������������������� ���������������

)����������� ������������������������������������ ������ �� �� ������� �������� ���� ���� �� ������B�� ��� ��������������������������������������� ��� �������������� ���������?�����������������&���������� �?� �����������������B�����������������������������G,>5 ������������&����������� ����"�� �������������������� ��������B����� ��������� �������?��4F��(����� B������������?��������������"�����������

#� ����������(����������� ���������� ���������������������������������������������� �������-����-���������&����� ������ ������������ �������������� ����������=&������������������"����?���&���������>?������������������������������������������:������������������������������������ �����������������������9�����������(����(�����(�������������������������������������������� �

.����� ������ ��� ���� �� ������ ������ ��� ������� ����!��!� ��� "���#�/

The seeds of the Public InterestLitigation (PIL) germinated inIndia during the time of Justice

Krishna Iyer in 1976 and subse-quently in 1979, when the inhumanconditions of 50,000 undertrial pris-oners led to their release. The idea thatemerged in a movement that wassteered by Justice PN Bhagwati wasto ensure speedy justice as a funda-mental right, which was never with-in the reach of the poor and theunderprivileged.

From being a potent weaponmeant to check the failures of the leg-islature and the executive, the PILslowly and steadily became a domain

to nurture and pursue private inter-ests. It offered a political theatre forguerrilla warfare in a layered style. Itsoon became the Frankenstein’s mon-ster that could make the legislatureand the executive shiver. And thisyear, the PIL industry wants toachieve its final goal and that is to dic-tate terms to the Supreme Court (SC)of India.

There has been so much degen-eration that Justice Arijit Pasayatunderscored that the ‘P’ in PIL standsfor politics, paisa, publicity or privateinterest. This position has been ade-quately reiterated by the SC in theAshok Kumar Pandey case. However,the litany of frivolous petitions overa period of time has become so bigthat PIL activists have started issuingintegrity certificates to serving andretired judges and bureaucrats.

“Why is your shirt not buttonedand why are your collars open?” theChief Justice of India (CJI) asked aPIL lawyer in the ongoing proceed-ings in Court No 1, following themurder of eight policemen on dutyand the subsequent encounter of

Uttar Pradesh’s (UP) notorious gang-ster Vikas Dubey and his associatesby the police.

The single-member commissionof enquiry appointed by theGovernment of UP was undone fol-lowing certain PILs filed before theapex court. This was done even afterthe SC has ruled in the BharatiTamang and State of West Bengal VsCPDR cases that a PIL for seeking acommission of enquiry is maintain-able only in exceptional circum-stances.

It was further qualified in theZahira Habibulla Sheikh andCommon Cause Vs Union of Indiacase that such “exceptional circum-stances”, justifying a relief-seekingcourt-appointed enquiry, arise onlywhere deficiency in a probe is visibleor there is prima facie evidence ofabuse of power, which casts anydoubt on the independence of thecommission. The SC further held thateven in such cases, a third party canseek remedy through a PIL only whenthe allegations of such abuse ofpower or deficiency in enquiry are

borne out of records, as laid down inthe Rajiv Ranjan Singh Lalan case.

However, the PIL action contin-ued. The first round was followed byobjections to the appointment of aparticular retired judge of theSupreme Court even after the CJIcleared the name. The “bias” of theretired bureaucrat in the commissionwas mocked. The SpecialInvestigation Team (SIT) constitutedby the State under the AdditionalChief Secretary was challenged. Valueand virtue certificates from an invis-ible, point-based human rights cur-riculum were exchanged and exhib-ited before the Bench.

How far should the court go tosatisfy the petitioners — especiallywhen they have no track record ofrepresenting the public at large in anymatters of grave concern — and thosewho attack the reputation of retiredjudges, whose contribution to thelegal system for decades is in the pub-lic domain?

How did the apex court deal withsuch frivolous petitions in the past?In the Mathews Nedumpara case, the

SC in 2019 initiated suo motu con-tempt proceedings and, after takinginto consideration the objectionableconduct of the petitioner, includinghis acts of filing frivolous petitions,sentenced him to three months’ jailand a suspension of the sentence if heundertook that he would never brow-beat a judge. He was additionallybarred from practising before the SCfor one year.

Further in the case of SurazIndia Trust v Union of India, the courtruled that the petitioner be preclud-ed from filing any case in public inter-est before any court in this countryand imposed a penalty of �25 lakh.

When one thought that the SC-appointed commission would final-ly get to work on why the mockery ofrule of law in the gory death of police-men should not be repeated, anoth-er bunch of petitions was filed, thistime based on a media article. ThePILs again questioned the integrity ofa commission that collectively bringsto the table 150 plus years of serviceto the nation.

Should these petitions and their

consequent dismissal, as bland as itmay appear, soaked in the semanticsof apology, not be considered onemore assault on the mutilated bodiesof the policemen who died on duty?

Keeping aside differences onpolitical or ideological leanings, mis-givings or otherwise concerning thejudiciary, the police force and thegraver grouse we have developedtowards the criminal justice system,we need to pause and introspect.

The commission is expected, asper the terms of reference, to enquireinto the nexus between the criminalsand the police/establishment andmake suggestions to ensure suchevents do not recur in the future.

How long do we wait for thecommission to function and makeappropriate recommendations to fixa broken system? A system in whicha history-sheeter with more than 60heinous offences was out on bail.

A system in which “insiders”appeared to have tipped off the crim-inals. A system in which there is nospeedy trial or regular hearings. A sys-tem in which the criminals run a

racket from within the jails. A systemin which the families of policemenmurdered are looking at a long andhard road to justice. A system inwhich endless aspirations for the ideaof justice are only soaked in the bodyof hope. Just because hope is the onlyfeeling stronger than fear and it is withthat hope that we look up to Court No1 to dispense justice now.

It is time to move beyond sim-ple dismissals and imposition ofcosts. In spite of settled laws, thetyranny of frivolous petitions is notjust obstructing the functioning of theapex court by eating up precious timeand resources but is mocking at thevery idea of justice. It is time to ensurethat just because the highest court hasopened its doors to justice, it cannotbe converted into a platform forenabling the agenda of one particu-lar section of activist lawyers. It is timeto act against those misusing the PIL,which is considered the most impor-tant tool in delivering speedy justiceto the underprivileged.

(The writer is a SpecialCorrespondent of The Pioneer)

0��������������� ���$�������������������� ��������������� ���������������� ����������������������� �������� ��������� ������������������������ �������������� ����������

2 '42.A).�:=1=

���������� �!�"���#�$ !������" %��&'&'

���(�����������(���

Page 8: 6! & 3˜ 11’ ˚ * ; 1˚ , * ˚ ˚ /.˚˚%,. 1’. .% / , 1 1.˚, · establish a 40 kg silver brick for the symbolic start of the con- ... ing 14,095 active ones. Of the new cases,

������*����������� �!�"���#�$ !������" %��&'&'

9)499.='9)499.='';45<�

,�,.��������������������� ����F ��&�� $)#�B��C�� �6�6-�&!&8��$�����" &"��&D&��!�B&&(���4�&�� �B���63�$������&�/���3# ��O337O33�344 5 �!���� "���&� � �$&!&8��$��5�!4�$��&"� D �B��&#���$ �&"�3$�/#$"�-�6&5�#�&�&���"�"&D&!38�&$��!�8�36!&�������! � �&"�� ���6 ! �-��3�4&&"7��&�P33��� "� D @��53$" � 3$���""&�&� 3���&"�G# 5(!-� $��&5&$�"�-��"&�8 �&�4&&" $)���� ���$5&�$"� $���D&$3#����&���&$��7

� ,������������F�-������1 ����������� 7+ 7��>3�$��#�&����&�3���&�$�� ���83! � 5 �$�B�3B3$���&��36&!�%&�5&�%� P&� $�����43��� ���3!&� $���&��� � ��8�3D $5&@��8&�5&�8�35&�������" &"��)&"������ ��4�� !-�$$3#$5&"�3$�3$"�-7�#�&����&�43��&��!&�"&��34���&�� $!-�1���3! 5�/35 �!�&�35��� 5��$"���63#��%���-I/��%J������&"���&��36&!�B ����D "��� �6!&�34���&�8�3A�� � ���!��&���$ 3$ ���%���-�I��%J��4�&���&�8� ���&!8&"�43�)&���&�����*33"�;� "�-�8&�5&��)�&&�&$�7

�� ,���� �������0�� �� ����0��������0�@���2��@ 5&��'$+%5+'!%�B��C����&��/��D-� �� $D&�� )�� $)��$� $5 "&$� $�B� 5��"3)������5(&"���L13! $'�&8&�$ 5(����$"A $M�"#� $)���'A��"&�3$����� 3$�"#� $)�������4#$"�� �&�������&���D-�/&�!�#�&#�� $�;!3� "�7���&���D-�� "� $�������&�&$��83��&"�3$�B ��&�������344 5 �!��6&5��&�B��&�34���&�D "&3�3$�/#$"�-7'�&8&�$ 5(� ����43��&��/�$;��$5 �53���&���G#���&�6�5(�B�36&)�$�($&&! $)�"#� $)���&8!�- $)�34�L��&�/����/8�$)!&"��$$&�M�6&43�&�)��&���3�8�3�&���35 �!� $+#�� 5&��$"�83! 5&6�#��! �-7��&�8!�-&"�� ��4 $�!��;�)��&� $�>�$#��-�����7�

����.E����-�������������� ���,�� -����� 8%����&�$#�6&��34�$&B53$4 ��&"�5��&��34���&53�3$�D �#�� $���!-�4&!!�6&!3B����43����&�4 ����� �&� $���B&&(�B �������5��&���&) ��&�&"�3$3$"�-���553�" $)��3��&�!�� $ ���-�4 )#�&�7������6� $)����&�3��!�$#�6&��34�5��&�� $���!-��3���������$"�"&������3�������7

���� > � � � �

Afghan forces retook a prisonin the country’s east on

Monday afternoon, following anhours-long gunbattle a day afterthe facility was targeted by ISISin an attack that killed 29 peo-ple. The prison is believed tohold hundreds of ISIS members.

The attack highlighted thechallenges ahead forAfghanistan, even as US andNATO forces begin to withdrawfollowing a US-Taliban peacedeal struck earlier this year.

Afghan Defence Ministryspokesman Fawad Aman saidthe prison in Jalalabad, the cap-ital of Nangarhar province,located some 115 kilometers (70miles) east of Kabul, was takenback in the afternoon — 24hours after it came under attack.The fighting had also left at least50 wounded, he said.

Even as Afghan troopsretook the prison, IS militantscontinued to fire on Afghansecurity forces from a nearbyneighborhood. Sporadic gun-fire rang out from nearby res-idential buildings in centralJalalabad, an area of high secu-rity near the provincial gover-nor’s office.

As security forces swept

through the prison, they foundthe bodies of two Taliban pris-oners apparently killed by theIslamic State group, showingthe tensions between the twomilitant factions battling eachother in eastern Afghanistan.

The 29 dead included civil-ians, prisoners, guards andAfghan security forces, saidAttaullah Khogyani, the provin-cial governor’s spokesman.

After the fighting was over,Afghan forces held up a blackIS banner captured during thebattle. From behind windows

with bars, several Taliban pris-oners peeked out at reportersand media crews at the scene.

The attack began Sunday,when an Islamic State suicidebomber drove a car laden withexplosives up to the prison’smain gate, detonating thebomb. Islamic State militantsopened fire on the prison’sguards and poured in throughthe breach.

The IS affiliate inAfghanistan, known as IS inKhorasan province and head-quartered in Nangarhar

province, later claimed respon-sibility for the attack.

However, some of the 1,500prisoners there escaped duringthe fighting. Khyogyani saidabout 1,000 prisoners who ear-lier escaped had been found bysecurity forces across the city.It wasn’t immediately clear ifany prisoners were still at large.

The attack came a dayafter authorities said Afghanspecial forces killed a seniorIslamic State commander nearJalalabad. Several hundred pris-oners in Jalalabad are believedto be Islamic State members.

The fighting ended afterthe final attackers, holed up inthe nearby residential complex,were killed, said Aman, thedefense ministry’s spokesman.He said 10 IS attackers werealso killed in the operation andthat the assailants killed fiveprisoners, including two mem-bers of the rival Taliban, beforethe raid ended.

While the Islamic Stategroup has seen its so-calledcaliphate stretching across Iraqand Syria eliminated after ayearslong campaign, the grouphas continued fighting inAfghanistan. The extremistsalso have battled the Taliban inthe country, whom the U.S.

overthrew following the 2001American-led invasion afterthe Sept. 11 attacks.

The Taliban’s politicalspokesman, Suhail Shaheen,told The Associated Press thathis group was not involved inthe Jalalabad attack. The U.S.struck a peace deal with theTaliban in February. A second,crucial round of negotiationsbetween the Taliban and thepolitical leadership in Kabulhas yet to start.

The Taliban had declared athree-day cease-fire startinglast Friday for the majorMuslim holiday of Eid al-Adha.The cease-fire expired at 12a.m. Monday, though it wasn’timmediately clear if it would beextended as the U.S. pushes foran early start to intra-Afghannegotiations that have repeat-edly been delayed sinceWashington signed the peacedeal with the Taliban.

“We have a cease-fire andare not involved in any ofthese attacks anywhere in thecountry,” Shaheen said.

The Taliban also haddenied being involved in asuicide bombing in easternLogar province late Thursdaythat killed at least nine peopleand wounded 40.

���� 1.%��� *��

ANorwegian cruise ship linehalted all trips and apolo-

gised on Monday for proce-dural errors after an outbreakof coronavirus on one shipinfected at least 5 passengersand 36 crew. Health authoritiesfear the ship also could havespread the virus to dozens oftowns and villages alongNorway’s western coast.

The infections on the MSRoald Amundsen raise newquestions about safety on allcruise ships during a pandem-ic even as the devastated cruiseship industry is pressing toresume sailings after chaoticallyshutting down in March.

The Hurtigruten cruiseline was one of the first com-panies to resume sailing afterthe pandemic hit, startingcruises to Norway out of north-ern Germany in June with asingle ship, then adding cruis-es in July to the Arctic archi-pelago of Svalbard.

The 41 people on the MSRoald Amundsen who testedpositive have been admitted tothe University Hospital of NorthNorway in Tromsoe, north of

the Arctic Circle, where the shipcurrently is docked.

“A preliminary evaluationshows that there has been a fail-ure in several of our internalprocedures,” Hurtigruten CEODaniel Skjeldam said in a state-ment. He added the companythat sails along Norway’s pic-turesque coast between Bergenin the south and Kirkenes in thenorth is “now in the process ofa full review of all procedures.”

It has contacted passengerswho had been on the MSRoald Amundsen for its July

17-24 and July 25-31 tripsfrom Bergen to of Svalbard,which is known for its polarbears. The ship had 209 guestson the first voyage and 178guests on the second. All othercrew tested negative.

But since the cruise lineoften acts like a local ferry,traveling from port to portalong Norway’s western coast,the virus may not have beencontained onboard. Some pas-sengers disembarked along theroute and may have spread thevirus to their local communities.

�@��� *���=

The World HealthOrganization (WHO)

warned on Monday that theremight never be a “silver bullet”for the new coronavirus,despite the rush to discovereffective vaccines.

The WHO urged govern-ments and citizens to focus ondoing the known basics, such astesting, contact tracing, main-taining physical distance andwearing a mask in order to sup-press the pandemic, which hasupended normal life around theglobe and triggered a devastat-ing economic crisis.

“We all hope to have anumber of effective vaccinesthat can help prevent peoplefrom infection,” WHO direc-tor-general Tedros AdhanomGhebreyesus told a virtual pressconference.

“However, there’s no silverbullet at the moment — and

there might never be.”“For now, stopping out-

breaks comes down to thebasics of public health anddisease control.

“Do it all,” he urged.The novel coronavirus has

killed nearly 6,90,000 peopleand infected at least 18.1 mil-lion since the outbreakemerged in Wuhan in Chinalast December, according to atally from official sources com-piled by AFP.

CHINA MISSION

The WHO began pressingChina in early May to invite inits experts to help investigatethe animal origins of Covid-19.

The UN health agency sentan epidemiologist and an ani-mal health specialist to Beijingon July 10 to lay the ground-work for a probe aimed at iden-tifying how the virus enteredthe human species.

Their scoping mission isnow complete, said Tedros.

“The WHO advance teamthat travelled to China hasnow concluded their mission tolay the groundwork for further

joint efforts to identify thevirus origins,” he said.

“WHO and Chineseexperts have drafted the termsof reference for the studiesand programme of work for aninternational team, led byWHO. “The international teamwill include leading scientistsand researchers from Chinaand around the world.

“Epidemiological studieswill begin in Wuhan to identi-fy the potential source of infec-tion of the early cases.

“Evidence and hypothesesgenerated through this workwill lay the ground for further,longer-term studies.”

The pair have not yetreturned to the WHO’s Genevaheadquarters for a debriefing.

Scientists believe the killervirus jumped from animals tohumans, possibly from a mar-ket in the city of Wuhan sell-ing exotic animals for meat.

Chinese officials said earlyin the outbreak that the virusmay have spread from a mar-ket in the city, which sold liveand wild animals, but no fur-ther confirmation of that hasbeen revealed.

��������� � /��*�.�

The United States is in a newphase of the novel coron-

avirus outbreak with infec-tions “extraordinarily wide-spread” in rural areas as well ascities, White House coron-avirus experts said on Sunday.

Coronavirus cases contin-ue to surge in some parts of thecountry and the public healthofficials are trying to workwith governors to tailorresponses for each state.

“We are in a new phase,”said Dr. Deborah Birx. “What

we are seeing today is differentfrom March and April. It isextraordinarily widespread” inrural as well as urban areas.

“To everybody who lives ina rural area: You are notimmune or protected fromthis virus,” Birx said on CNN’s“State of the Union.”

Birx, the White House taskforce coordinator, said peopleliving in multigenerationalhouseholds in an area that isexperiencing an outbreakshould wear masks inside thehome to protect the elderly orthose with underlying condi-

tions. Admiral Brett Giroir, anassistant Health and HumanServices secretary, continued tostress the importance of wear-ing masks.

“If we don’t do that, and ifwe don’t limit the indoorcrowded spaces, the virus willcontinue to run,” he said onNBC’s “Meet the Press.”

“We are very concernedand this is a very serious point.”

The coronavirus, whichfirst appeared in China, hasinfected 4.6 million people inthe United States and killedmore than 155,000 Americans,

according to a Reuters tally.Birx said federal officials

have been working on indi-vidual reports for each stateexamining community trendsand hospital records. “Each ofthese responses have to bedramatically tailored,” she said.

She said what she wit-nessed as she visited 14 statesover the last three weeks gaveher cause for concern.

“As I traveled around thecountry, I saw all of Americamoving,” Birx said. “If youhave chosen to go on vacationinto a hot spot, you really need

to come back and protect thosewith comorbidities and assumeyou’re infected.”

If people wear masks andavoid crowds, Giroir said, itgives the same outcome as acomplete shutdown.

“That’s why we’re going toall the states, we’re on localradio, we give specific instruc-tions to every governor bycounty, what they need to dowhen we start - when thosecounties start tipping yellow,because that’s the time whenyou have to stamp it down,” hesaid.

����� ' �� ���

Nepal’s Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli andthe ruling party’s executive chairman

Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ on Mondayheld informal consultations for two hours to sortout their differences, but the talks remainedinconclusive, party sources said.

The two leaders held a marathon three-hourlong meeting on Sunday but failed to agree ona power-sharing deal.

“Sunday’s talks were positive and on Monday also the talks were held in the samedirection,” a party leader close to the PrimeMinister said.

During Monday’s meeting, Prime MinisterOli was accompanied by his close confidanteSubash Nembang, who has been working as amediator to resolve the differences between thetwo warring factions.

Prachanda was accompanied by seniorleader and former Prime Minister Jhala Nath Khanal.

As the Standing Committee meeting hasbeen postponed indefinitely, the two leaders weremaking efforts to decide a fresh date for themeeting of the party’s 45-member powerfulbody, sources said.

Prime Minister Oli postponed the crucial

Standing Committee meeting on July 28 for theninth time.

While Oli stood for calling the Secretariatmeeting to resolve the differences, Prachandasaid that it would be inappropriate to call theSecretariat meeting as the Standing Committeemeeting that was put off on July 28 is yet to beover, My Republica newspaper reported.

“The meeting between the two top leadersof the NCP ended inconclusive as both the sidesstood adamant in their demands,” the paper said.

Citing party insiders, the paper said thatPrime Minister Oli wants the Secretariat meet-ing to resolve the key issues of intra-party dis-pute as he now commands a majority in thenine-member body after Vice Chairman Gautamstood in his favour.

Prachanda, who is backed by MadhavNepal, believes that the Standing Committeecould take decisions favourable to him as theirfaction commands a comfortable majority, thepaper said.

Gautam had proposed that Oli be allowedto stay as prime minister for the remaining termof the House of Representatives (HoR), that is, two-and-a-half years, and chair-man of the party until the unity general con-vention that Oli has proposed to hold by mid-December.

���� � /��*�.�

President Donald Trumpsaid White House coron-

avirus task force leader DrDeborah Birx hurt the Trump administration whenshe said widespread virus infec-tions in urban and ruralAmerica mark a “new phase”for the pandemic.

It was a rare rebuke of Birx.Trump accused her of taking“the bait” by responding toHouse Speaker Nancy Pelosi

who told ABC’s “This Week”that she had lost confidence inBirx because Trump appointedher and the president has beenspreading disinformation aboutthe virus.

Trump, in a tweet onMonday, described Birx’sresponse to Pelosi as “pathetic”.

On CNN’s “State of theUnion”, Birx said her commentsare driven by data and that shewould stake her 40-year careeron using data to implement pro-grammes to save lives.

+�+������������������& �.�������� =>?@9�������������������/5* ������� ����#�)5$#�*'#�G)!!%+�7%'5!9���������6% 6!%��'&!%'#&���"��87�)74%3&%+�

9� ��$����$�������A������� ������%�

���:)5$#�H%I&5' 5+)7'5)!9�;)+%#65%'+E��-��I6%5&#

? �����%����0�����$� ��������$� �������������$����

F% �������������%����� �� �����%� �.������������������ ���������������%�

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla:Two NASA astronauts returnedto Earth on Sunday in a dra-matic, retro-style splashdown,their capsule parachuting intothe Gulf of Mexico to close outan unprecedented test flight byElon Musk’s SpaceX company.

It was the first splashdownby U.S. astronauts in 45 years,with the first commerciallybuilt and operated spacecraft tocarry people to and from orbit.The return clears the way foranother SpaceX crew launch asearly as next month and pos-sible tourist flights next year.

Test pilots Doug Hurleyand Bob Behnken arrived backon Earth in their SpaceXDragon capsule namedEndeavour, less than a dayafter departing theInternational Space Station andtwo months after blasting offfrom Florida.

AP

����/����������"&�&����������0�������!��������12����

������������� ��������������������������� ������������������ ������ �������%�%���� �������)���% ������� ��� ���������� ��

?��#� ������ �� ���/����%��������������� ��!���� �?��#�� ���������� ��

Page 9: 6! & 3˜ 11’ ˚ * ; 1˚ , * ˚ ˚ /.˚˚%,. 1’. .% / , 1 1.˚, · establish a 40 kg silver brick for the symbolic start of the con- ... ing 14,095 active ones. Of the new cases,

����$�*!���������� �!�"���#�$ !������" %��&'&'

����� ��������

India’s manufacturing sectoractivity contracted at a slight-

ly faster pace in July as demandconditions remained subduedamid prolonged closures, fol-lowing which firms reducedboth staff numbers as well aspurchasing activity, a monthlysurvey said on Monday.

The headline seasonallyadjusted IHS Markit IndiaManufacturing PurchasingManagers’ Index (PMI) stoodat 46 in July, down from 47.2 inJune. This is the fourth straightmonth of contraction for theIndian manufacturing sector.In April, the index had slippedinto contraction mode, afterremaining in the growth terri-tory for 32 consecutive months.In PMI parlance, a print above50 means expansion, while ascore below that denotes con-

traction.“Latest PMI data from

Indian manufacturers shedmore light on the state of eco-

nomic conditions in one of thecountries worst affected by theCovid-19 pandemic,” said EliotKerr, Economist at IHS Markit.

The survey results showeda re-acceleration of declines inthe key indices of output andnew orders, undermining thetrend towards stabilisation seenover the past two months, Kerrsaid. He further noted that“anecdotal evidence indicatedthat firms were struggling toobtain work, with some oftheir clients remaining in lock-down, suggesting that we won’tsee a pick-up in activity untilinfection rates are quelled andrestrictions can be furtherremoved”.

As per the survey, outputcontracted at a slightly fasterpace than in June as demandconditions remained subduedwith some businesses stillclosed amid lockdown exten-

sions.Moreover, export orders

also witnessed a decline. Surveyparticipants commented thatinternational clients were hes-itant to place orders while theduration of the pandemicremained uncertain.

Deteriorating demand con-ditions led Indian manufac-turers to continue cutting staffnumbers during July. On thecost front, manufacturersreported another decrease ininput prices during July, thesurvey said adding that sub-dued demand for most goodsmore than offset the inflation-ary effects of shortages in someraw materials, the survey said.

However, despite the ongo-ing negative impact of COVID-19, sentiment towards futureactivity improved for the sec-ond month running, the surveysaid.

���� �.'<.

Global shares edged up onMonday as investors

weighed risks from rising coro-navirus cases against evidenceof a recovery in industrialactivity in China and Europe.

U.S. Secretary of StateMike Pompeo’s weekend com-ments that President DonaldTrump plans to take action ona what he sees as a broad arrayof national security risks pre-sented by software connectedto the Chinese CommunistParty caused market jitters inAsia.

Pompeo’s remarks fol-lowed reports that Microsoft isin advanced talks to buy theU.S. Operations of TikTok,which is owned by the Chinesecompany ByteDance and isseen as a source of nationalsecurity and censorship con-cerns by the Trump adminis-tration.

Market sentimentimproved in European tradingafter so-called PMI surveys ofindustry showed activity inthe sector picked up markedlyin July as lockdowns continuedto ease.

����� ����<.,'

Technology giant Microsofthas said it will continue

talks to purchase the popularChinese-owned video-sharingapp TikTok’s American busi-ness after its India-born CEOSatya Nadella and PresidentDonald Trump had a conver-sation.

The statement fromMicrosoft came days afterTrump said that he could usethe emergency economic pow-

ers or an executive order to banTikTok in the US over nation-al security issues.Redmond-headquartered Microsoft, in astatement on Sunday, said thatfollowing a conversationbetween Nadella and Trump, itis prepared to continue dis-cussions to explore a purchaseof TikTok in the US. “Microsoftfully appreciates the impor-tance of addressing thePresident’s concerns. It is com-mitted to acquiring TikToksubject to a complete security

review and providing propereconomic benefits to the US,including the US Treasury,”the statement said. Microsoftwill move quickly to pursuediscussions with TikTok’s par-ent company ByteDance in amatter of weeks and will com-plete these discussions in anyevent by Sep 15, it said.”Duringthis process, Microsoft looksforward to continuing dia-logue with the United StatesGovt, including with thePresident,” the company said.

����� ��������

Gold prices rose by �185 to�54,678 per 10 gram in the

national capital on Mondayamid rupee depreciation,according to HDFC Securities.

In the previous trade, theyellow metal had closed at �54,493 per 10 gram.Silver alsojumped �1,672 to �66,742 perkg from �65,070 per kg in theprevious trade.

New Delhi: With economicdisruptions set for a long hauldue to Covid-19 pandemic,India could see its fiscal deficitthis year to balloon to over 6.8per cent of Gross DomesticProduct , brokerages analysingthe first quarter deficit num-bers have said.

The Controller General ofAccounts on Friday said thatcountry’s fiscal deficit hasexpanded to 83 per cent ofBudget Estimate in the April-June quarter primarily due tolower tax collection and high-er expenditure for Covid-19relief.According to a report onIndian economy by EmkayGlobal Financial Services, loweconomic activity and lower taxcollections coupled withexpanded expenditure inschemes like Mahatma GandhiRural Employment GuaranteeAct, PM-KISAN and extensionof Pradhan Mantri GaribKalyan Yojana till November,2020 has created a scenariowhere the deficit would widen.

The current expansion (indeficit), the brokerage said, isprimarily due to low econom-ic activity in the last twomonths (e-way bill 7 per centlower than last year in June-end) and an extension of thetax filing deadline to Aug’20.

“Capital spending hassurged 40% due to ways andmeans advances for FCI (highprocurement) and road spend-ing (base effect due to lowspending in Q1FY19 due toelections); excluding these two,spending has declined by 4%,”Emkay has said in its report.

The fiscal deficit is thetotal amount by which thegovernment’s expenses for ayear exceeds its revenues.

The concern on the deficitcomes from the trend wit-nessed in the first quarter ofcurrent fiscal. Lower net rev-enue receipts and elevatedexpenditure has pushed the fis-cal deficit to 83 per cent ofbudget estimate in the threemonth period of April-May.

New Delhi: Concerned overthe rise in use of margarine inhotels and restaurants, UnionMinister Nitin Gadkari hasraised the issue with PMNarendra Modi and suggestedthat the Govt needs to havecontrol over the sale of mar-garine as it is adversely affect-ing health of the people andcausing financial loss to dairyfarmers. “Gadkari had recent-ly written to PM Narendra

Modi regarding thematter.”Taking immediate cog-nisance of the demand, thePrime Minister’s Office direct-ed the FSSAI which immedi-ately issued clarification, direc-tives and future course ofaction to control the use of themargarine in edible items,”according to an official release.

Margarine has a negativeimpact on human health due tothe presence of large amounts

of trans fat in it. Its use hasincreased significantly in hotelsand restaurants.”This is affect-ing adversely the health of thepeople and the sale of the but-ter made from the cow milk,fetching financial loss to thefarmers. The Govt needs tohave control over the sale ofmargarine,” the Minister forRoad Transport and Highwaysand Micro, Small and MediumEnterprises (MSMEs) said.

����� ��

The Sensex crashed 667points while the Nifty

closed below the 10,900-markon Monday as investorsremained in selling mode forthe fourth straight session amidfrothy valuations and mount-ing Covid-19 cases.

A depreciating rupee andgrim macroeconomic data fur-ther sapped risk appetite,traders said. The 30-share BSESensex, which opened in thered, stayed in the negativezone throughout the session toclose at 36,939.60, down 667.29points or 1.77 per cent.Similarly, the NSE Nifty tum-bled 181.85 points or 1.64 percent to end at 10,891.60.

The Sensex has now lost1,553.35 points in four days,while the Nifty has shed 408.95points. Kotak Bank was the toploser in the Sensex pack inMonday’s session, slumping4.41 per cent, followed byIndusInd Bank, Axis Bank,ONGC, HDFC Bank, BajajAuto and Reliance Industries(RIL).

Only six index con-stituents closed with gains --Titan, Tata Steel, SBI, L&T,HCL Tech and PowerGrid,spurting up to 3.15 per cent.

According to

traders, massive selling in indexmajors RIL and HDFC duodragged the key indices lower.

Further, foreign fund out-flows and concerns over theunabated rise in Covid-19 casesacross the world kept investorson edge, they added.

The rupee too sank 20paise and settled below the 75per US dollar mark.

On the macro front, India’smanufacturing sector activitycontracted at a slightly fasterpace in July as demand condi-tions remained subdued, PMIdata showed.

The headline seasonallyadjusted IHS Markit IndiaManufacturing PurchasingManagers’ Index (PMI) stoodat 46 in July, down from 47.2 inJune.

This is the fourth

straight month of contractionfor the Indian manufacturingsector.

“As virus cases continuedto rise and with the uncertain-ty regarding rate actions by theRBI, markets succumbed to themomentum slowdown visiblein the last couple of trading ses-sions. Losses were led by finan-cials.

New Delhi: Mondol has been withNTPC for over 35 years and has heldseveral key leadership positions acrossmultiple business units.

Mondol joined NTPC as 9th BatchExecutive Trainee (ET) in 1984. He hasvast experience and comprehensiveknowledge of the power sector and hasworked in both power plant and cor-porate functions. He started off his jour-ney with the project execution and com-missioning of 3X500 MW units atRamagundam and 4X210 MW units atKahalgaon.

Mondol as a strategic planner hasled several initiatives at NTPC. In 1998,Shri Mondol joined CorporateCommercial where he worked towardsdeveloping commercial & marketingstrategies, execution of domestic andinternational Power PurchaseAgreements (PPAs), formulation ofTariff Regulations with CERC, partici-pation in Ultra Mega Power Plant(UMPP) bidding, etc.

Mondol was also associated with theGovernment of India where he repre-sented NTPC for the formulation of var-ious policies and statutes including theElectricity Act 2003, the NationalElectricity Policy, the Tariff Policy andthe Competitive Bidding Guidelines.

He joined Corporate Planning in2012 as head of Strategic PlanningDivision and was also responsible forperiodic review of Business Plan,

Organisational Restructuring, identify-ing risks of the company and its miti-gation through comprehensiveEnterprise Risk Management Policiesetc. Shri Mondol took charge as BusinessUnit Head (BUH) of Khargone inMarch 2015 and was responsible for exe-cution of 1320 MW Green Field PowerProject involving land acquisition, Rightof Use, Right of Way, R&R plan, ProjectPlanning & Construction, BoundaryManagement with the local adminis-tration, State Government and otherstatutory authorities.

Before his appointment as Director(Commercial), he has worked as RED-WR1, RED (DBF & Hydro), ED(PP&M) and ED (Commercial).

Hyderabad: Sumit Deb hasassumed charge as Chairman-cum-Managing Director ofNMDC Limited on 01August,2020. Prior to assuming therole of CMD, NMDC, SumitDeb was Director (Personnel)and succeeds N BaijendraKumar, IAS, who has superan-nuated from the services of theCorporation yesterday.Hebrings with him vast knowl-edge gathered through hisextensive experience at RINL&NMDC. He aspires to helpNMDC reach new heights andlevels of success.

He joinedNMDC asGeneral Manager

(Commercial) in 2015, later hewas then promoted asExecutiveDirector (Personnel &Administration) at NMDC.In

2019 heassumed charge asDirector (Personnel) and washeading various functions ofPersonnel& Admin, HumanResource Development, Law,Corporate Communications,CSR,Rajbhashaand has given anew dimension to company’svision & objectives.

Sumit Deb is a graduate inMechanical Engineering fromOrissa University ofAgriculture and Technology,Bhubaneshwar. Prior toNMDC,he waswithRashtriyaIspat NigamLimited (RINL). He joined asa Management Trainee andworked with RINL for about 25

years accumulating rich anddiverse experience in the steelindustry.

He has worked in differentregions of the country, dealingwith heterogeneous mix ofboth external as well as inter-nal customers and handling thedomains of HR, marketing &distribution.

Shri Deb has diverse expe-rience in man power & suc-cession planning, training &development and other HRfunctions. He also has experi-ence in the marketing and dis-tribution of steel &iron ore,sponge iron, pellets and dia-monds.

3�� ��������������� ���1�!�����! ���%����A������������;����������%/���������������,���� �'/�.1'/������

����� ��

The Indian rupee onMonday slid 20 paise to

close at 75.01 to the US dol-lar, weighed down by lack-lustre equities and concernsover continuous surge inCovid-19 cases in the coun-try.

Starting off the sessionon a weak note, the domes-tic unit swung between ahigh of 74.88 and a low of75.03. It finally ended at75.01, registering a loss of 20paise against the greenback.The dollar index, whichgauges the greenback’sstrength against a basket ofsix currencies, rose 0.11 percent to 93.45. Forex tradersattributed the rupee fall to ahost of reasons like strongerdollar, muted domestic equi-ties and rising Covid-19cases dragged the local unitdown.

On the domestic equitymarket front, the BSE Sensexplunged 667.29 points or1.77 per cent to end at36,939.60; while the NSENifty slumped 181.85 pointsor 1.64 per cent to settle at10,891.60.

Brent crude futures, theglobal oil benchmark, fell0.64 per cent to USD 43.24per barrel.

Foreign institutionalinvestors bought sharesworth �7,818.49 crore onMonday, exchange datashowed.

Meanwhile, the numberof cases around the worldlinked to Covid-19 hascrossed 1.80 crore and inIndia, the number of infec-tions has topped 18-lakhmark.

� �+���� *������������"-C*��&����D

*3D��$&&"���3���D&�53$��3!�3D&����!&34����)�� $&��*�"(�� �B� �&���3�%4��$������$�����

����B<)C���"�

� ���2���@��� ��

��������������042 �������5�����0 67.

5�3�34�C�� !!�53$� $#&�" �5#�� 3$���3�6#-� (�3(� $��/��4�&����"&!�A��#�8���!(�

�����8����������!��������938 �"389

�����!�����������3����������*�������4 ��������5���)��

/�35(��#8�3$� )$��34� $"#��� �!�&53D&�-��&-&��3$�/���!(�

New Delhi: Informa Markets in India, formerly UBM India, inassociation with Jewellery NET, will hold its debut “Jewellery &Gem Virtual Exhibition” on August 19-20. The virtual show willsee participation from Maharashtra, Delhi, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu,Telangana, UP, J&K, Karnataka, West Bengal. Yogesh Mudras,MD of Informa Markets, said, “The show will be a leading-edgeweb-based platform that will ensure a grand display of luxury,variety of jewellery, insights, markets trends and networkingopportunities all configured through the touch of a fingertip.

2���������6�/���7������18�� ���������$��9":�;

Page 10: 6! & 3˜ 11’ ˚ * ; 1˚ , * ˚ ˚ /.˚˚%,. 1’. .% / , 1 1.˚, · establish a 40 kg silver brick for the symbolic start of the con- ... ing 14,095 active ones. Of the new cases,

���������� �!�"���#�$ !������" %��&'&'

�3!!-B33"��5�3��������� �������&"��3�&�B3�"�34�B �"3��3$��35 �!�&" ���$"��� "����� �@��533!��3�6&�( $"7

������33(��3$���)�����B�&�&��&�����&"����3$35��3�&�8 5A�#�&�34��&��&!47�$���&�8�3�3A)��8�������� ���&&$��83�� $)���B&���� ���B ���L533!M�B� ��&$�3$ �7�/�&�53�8!&�&"��&��!33(�B ��B $)&"�&-&! $&���$"�(&8���&���� �38&$7

����&�5�8� 3$����&�B�3�&�L�@��533!��3�6&�( $"7M

������3$���������38&$&"�#8�63#���3B���&�1.=�A��� $"#5&"!35("3B$�����6&&$��$�L&�3� 3$A�!��3!!&��53���&�M�43���&�7

/ $)&��,����. ����#$D& !&"��&��&D&$����!6#���� �4�&���$�& )��A-&���6�&�(7

��&���A���5(��!6#�� ��53AB� �A�&$��$"�53A8�3"#5&"�6-����$"-7���!�3�����53!!�63��� 3$��B ��1��$5&���&�,�88&�����$ &!�1�&���

�$"��&��"�#)��&���/-@�� 7� 4�&����4 D&A-&���!&)�!

6���!&�B ����&��43��&�!�6&!��1���&!&3$�$�&��� $�&$�����$"-��3!"�,3!! $)/�3$&��������&����4 $�!!-�43#$"�4�&&"3�B ����� ���&53�"@��&!&��&7

L�8#��&D&�-�� $)�53#!"� $�3��� ��8�3A+&5�7���B����3�4�&&A $)�43���&�6&5�#�&�" "�)&����5��$5&��3

�&�!!-�" )� $��$"B� �&�4�3���-�&����34��&����7�

B����6!&��3�&�!!-�)&����!3�

34��� $)��344�34��-�5�&�����&�!!-#�&��#� 5������B�-��3�&�5�8&��$"�&�!�M����$"-��� "7

E0�������,���.������������.��,� ����&�����$ ���������������������,0����C�5��.

�������&����$�����C�� ���������������������+�������$�����C�6�$�������.��$�������,����,�������$�����F ���&G.����+�������&���������,� ���,�������������&���,��������������������������� ������C%H1����)��:$���

5���$���������������� �����

��� �$��*

E1��$����������.��,��A�������%������6&&$�3D&�����&&��3$���������554'7�0*'7 8���&"��B�-7����0���������B�3�53A�����&"�B �����&�!��&��5�3�� $�� �!�����&!&��&�������$� $�&�&�� $)�$&5"3�&������&��&5�!!��B3�( $)B ���� �7

/�&�38&$&"�#8�3$���&�63$"��&�����&"�B �����4�$�3$���&��&��34���& ��4 !�����������������$"�����&"��3B���&�#�&"�3�5�!!�� ��L8�8�M�3�L"�"M7�$���&�4 !����4�$�8!�-&"�,�"� (�@�4���&�7

L�$&D&��""�&��&"�� ����� �����!B�-��""�&��&"�� ����8�8��3��"�"7��&B3#!"�+#����� !&7��&�&�6&��B�&$�4 �����&��� ���$"�5�!!&"�� ��"�"� $��&�"�34�4&&! $)B& �"��63#�� ����&)�D&��&���6 )�#)7��B !!��!B�-��&�&�6&��� ����"�"�M,�"� (���� "7

The first set of crew memberscomprising the technical

team, directors, cinematogra-phers, production designers,music director and assistants ofGaurang Doshi Productions’web series 7th Sense went toDubai recently.

The Bollywood producer isall set to shoot two web seriesin the UAE, with this one beingthe first. With some of the finestactors such as R Madhavan,Ronit Roy, Chunky Pandey,Ameesha Patel, Prateik Babbarand Tanuj Virwani, amongothers, the big ensemble mur-der mystery promises to be cap-tivating, keeping viewers on theedge while bringing out theirinner detective. “The serieswill not only intrigue and excitebut will also create history,” saidGaurang.

The next web series Line ofFire comprises of two seasonsand boasts of stars such asPrakash Raj, Jimmy Shergill,Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub,Tanuj Virwani, Vijay Raaz,Tannishtha Chatterjee, KabirSingh, Sana Saeed, Manu Rishiand Tanvi Azmi.

“I am thrilled and excitedas the action has began. I amalso thankful to the UAEGovernment for making theprocess so seamless. It hasdone a good job in controllingthe spread of the virus and hasbecome an inspiration for theworld. Our team would be tak-ing all the precautionary mea-sures,” commented Gaurang.

He added, “This wouldindeed be the first web seriesfrom Bollywood to be entirelyshot in UAE. Bringing togeth-er a stellar star cast after fivemonths of lockdown seemslike a milestone. The team isexcited to start shooting againand be back at work,” addedGaurang.

The entire cast and crew forboth the web series consists ofover 100 members. The crew of7th Sense also features actorslike Elli AvrRam, AashimGulati, Sana Saeed, AhsaasChanna, DibyenduBhattacharya, Sajjad DelaFroozand Manuj Sharma. It is beingdirected by Karan Darra.

(The first series will startfilming from August 20.)

As they pull the curtain back andinvite listeners into their home,

the former US President BarackObama joins First Lady MichelleObama in The Michelle ObamaPodcast for an intimate conversationabout the challenges we all face, thelegacy (and the world) they hope toleave behind for Sasha and Malia, therelationship between young peopleand politics, and the President’seternal optimism.

Excerpts from the show’s firstepisode:

On why Michelle fell in lovewith Barack

Michelle Obama: You knowthat at the core of everything youhave done politically, what I knowabout you as a person and one of thereasons why I feel in love with youis...

Barack Obama: It wasn’t just mylooks... but that’s okay...

Michelle: You’re cute you know...But no, one of the reasons I fell inlove with you is because you areguided by the principle that we areeach other’s brother’s and sister’skeepers. And that’s how I was raised!

On quarantining togetherMichelle: Like most Americans

we’ve been spending a lot of timetogether in quarantine.

Barack: You don’t seem toohappy about that the way she said it,right?

Michelle: It’s just a fact.Barack: [Laughs]Michelle: There wasn’t a judg-

ment. We’ve been together...Barack: I’ve been loving it.Michelle: Yeah, I’ve been having

a great time. But we’ve had someinteresting conversations becausethese are some crazy times.

On why Obama became a com-munity organiser

Barack: I think I figured outonce I got to school that if I am chas-ing after my own success, that some-how, I am going to end up alone andunhappy.

Michelle: Yeah.Barack: That’s why I ended up

going into community organising.When I thought about how I wasgoing to spend my life, what Ilooked at was what those civil rightsworkers had done and the freedomwriters had done. I thought, you

know, that looks like hard work butit never looks like lonely work.

On political apathy in youngpeople

Michelle: The only thing thatworries me, and I agree in terms ofthe hope that I feel when I look atyoung people — just how they wereraised, the values, their exposure, thequestions that they have, the changein the economy that’s forcing themto ask a certain set of questions —that give me hope. But the thing thatI worry is that I hear, I think, toomany young people who questionwhether voting, whether politics isworth it.

Barack: Well, partly becausethey have been told. The message issent every day that governmentdoesn’t work. They take for grantedall the things that a working govern-ment has done in the past...

Michelle: Yeah.Barack: In some ways, we’re still

living on the investment that wasmade by that greatest generation.

Michelle: I always joke, and I’vealways said one of the challenges ofbeing President... Like you don’t havea marketing budget, you know?

Barack: Yeah.Michelle: There’s really no struc-

ture to market government, right?Barack: Right.Michelle: The average young

person knows far more about thecereal they’re eating, and the car theyare driving than they do about whatgovernment actually does for thembecause they don’t have marketingbudgets. There isn’t a jingle...

Barack: [Laughs] The only timethey know about what governmentdoing is when...

Michelle: Is when it doesn’twork, right?

Barack: So we’re getting a goodlesson in that right now.

On raising daughters and ide-alistic young people

Michelle: When it comes tofathers raising their girls, I do thinkthat the average father today doesbelieve that their girl can be anythingshe wants to be and they are deliv-ering those messages around the din-ner table.

Barack: Right.Michelle: There is a different

way of parenting. But what we did-n’t do... We delivered those messagesat the dinner table but we didn’t takethem to the board room. We didn’tchange our workplaces; we didn’tchange things outside the home.

Barack: We didn’t institution-alise...

Michelle: We didn’t institution-alise the values that we’d been teach-ing this generation of kids. So now,they are growing up. They are leav-ing the dinner table and they aregoing out into the world and going,‘The world doesn’t look like what Iwas taught back home.’ You know,this isn’t right.

Barack: Young people are ide-alistic as they have ever been. I thinkthey are more idealistic now thanthey were when I was growing up.The difference though is that ideal-ism that they feel as if they can chan-nel it outside of governmental struc-tures and outside of politics. Theproblem is, again we’re getting a pret-ty good lesson in this right now,there’s some things we just can’t doby ourselves or even groups of us cando by ourselves. As general propo-sition: We can’t build infrastructureby ourselves, we can’t deal with apandemic by ourselves.

(The podcast can be streamed on Spotify.)

The recent Netflix series, IndianMatchmaking, has taken netizens inIndia by storm. Perhaps, a good

measure of the show’s success is the largenumber of memes that it has spawned.Not all of that attention has been approv-ing, however. The show has been heavi-ly criticised. There’s been a lot of talkonline about how the series captures theworst of Indian culture — colourism,casteism, and patriarchy. There are somewho “can’t believe” that a “horrible”institution like arranged marriage isbeing celebrated through a Netflix orig-inal instead of being definitely laid to rest,as it surely should be.

Since I couldn’t connect to most ofthe arguments online and the condem-nations therein to the show itself, I wascompelled to ask — did we watch thesame show? Sure, the show isn’t perfect.It’s not even brilliant. But neither in theshow nor in its contestants could I see anymalice or immorality. But then why didsome viewers find it deplorable?

For the sake of contrast, and to putmy surprise in context, let me share withyou my own responses to the show.

Quite simply, I found IndianMatchmaking to be mostly hilarious andsometimes, heartwarming. The stand-outfeature of the series was its cast. Morethan the spicy editing and high-budgetproduction, it’s the people featured in theshow that creates the magic. They’re alldelightfully strange, and convincingly andcompellingly real. This is not the careful-ly-curated cast of an average realityshow. It is a bunch of human beings outand about in all their glorious variety.They are not at all self-conscious or apolo-getic about their conversations and instating about what they desire in theirfuture partner or damaad/bahu. Everyonein Indian Matchmaking gave me a plen-ty of laugh-out-loud moments, someraised eyebrows, and even some collec-tive gapes and gasps. Well, not to forgetsome silent smiles.

All of the show’s participants are nav-igating the deep and sometimes not-very-still waters of an arranged marriage. Oncamera, no less. They’re figuring out whatthey’re looking for in a partner, what kindof a person would fit beautifully withthem, and what they value not justtoday, but likely, for many years to come.And in the process, they’re figuring outthe most about themselves. We even seesome of the participants grow as peoplethrough the course of eight episodes, los-ing some of their hardness, looseningsome of their knots. It’s difficult not to feela sense of camaraderie.

My guess is Sima Taparia, the match-maker in the show, feels it too. She seemsto be looking out for her clients and real-ly wants them to be happy. Throughoutthe eight episodes of the series, Mumbai-based Sima more than a few cartwheelsin her attempts to get her clients the hap-piness that they desire. Impressively, shedoesn’t seem to be worried about whather clients will think once the show isaired and they see her plain-spokendescriptions of them. As the show pro-gresses, Sima emerges as a character her-self and a supremely relatable one. In sev-eral scenes, she reminds me of the olderwomen in my life, many of whom arethose no-nonsense, straight-forward aun-ties, who apparently have joined the manygroups that have a ‘gaze’ (I am complete-ly stumped by this term ‘aunty gaze’,which is supposed to be right up therealongside ‘the male gaze’ and the ‘Westerngaze’, but that’s a conversation for anoth-er time).

In other words, Sima seems to be apart of the real, current world. A big partof that comes from how matter-of-fact sheis about her profession. She doesn’t haveany judgements about what her clientswant in their partners or sons anddaughters-in-law. ‘You want a girl from

an industrialist family?’ ‘Sure.’ ‘You wantsomeone good looking?’ ‘No problem.’‘You want a guy who has his career planfirmly in place?’ ‘Got it.’ ‘You’re lookingfor someone with a progressive mindset?’‘I might not be able to find you that per-son, but I know someone who can.’

Much like how Sima doesn’t quit inthe face of her clients’ demands, viewershaven’t been able to stop watching (oreven ‘hate-watching’) her and her clientsin action, if Indian Matchmaking’s rank-ing on Netflix and all the buzz it has cre-ated online are an indication. But as wesaw, not all of that buzz was the happykind. So, to return to the questions thatset off this article, why did some viewersfind the show deplorable? Did we evenwatch the same show?

I believe a part of the answer reallyis that we didn’t. A recent tweet againstthe show was in reference to Sima aunty’salleged penchant for telling young womenthat they have to adjust, be flexible andcompromise, in order to find a groom.The allegation itself is strange. Becausein the show Sima tells almost every oneof her clients, including the rich guys, thatshe is setting them up for someone inIndia and hence, they will have to adjustaccordingly. The netizens bashing the

show for celebrating patriarchal mindsetswere either unable to see this fact or sim-ply considered what it actually meant asirrelevant. Both of which indicate thatmost people expressing disgust or dismayaren’t really responding to the show at all.Logically, then, what actually happensdoesn’t matter to their responses.

On another note, I am also bewil-dered at the bad rep that things like‘adjusting’, ‘flexibility’ and ‘compromise’seem to have. They are like ‘dirty words.’It only takes a moment of looking at ourown relationships to acknowledge thatadjusting, being flexible and compromis-ing could actually be sometimes prettyvaluable in any relationship, be it withfriends, family, colleagues, and even inthose fleeting bonds with co-passengersin a cramped public transport from thepre-COVID days. In the delectable khich-di of human relationships, being adjust-ing is actually an essential ingredient.Without that, we’d all be individualgrains of dal and rice that do not fit intoeach other’s daily lives. To hammer thepoint home, are there any mythical crea-tures, who, even after being in a dreamrelationship, have not adjusted, been flex-ible or made space for some compromise?Did the authors of such arguments notlook at their own experiences or relation-ships before giving away such gravedenouncement? Or worse still, have theynever understood the sweet nothings ina relationship? My mind is boggled.

The idea of mythical creatures in per-fect, adjustment, flexibility, and compro-mise-free relationships, actually brings usto the next part of the answer. A lot ofpeople who found Indian Matchmakingimmoral, also have a deep discomfortwith the idea of arranged marriages. It isstrange when you think about it. As Simaaunty rightly pointed out, in India, we saymarriage and love marriage. In otherwords, arranged marriages are muchmore common in India than love mar-riages and this has been the case for thelast several decades at least (going by whatour grandparents and parents rememberand report on the issue). So surely, mostof the marriages we see around us arearranged ones. Some of them are unhap-py from the beginning, some start offhappy and then sour over time, for rea-sons perhaps unknown even to those cou-ples. Many arranged marriages around us,however, are actually doing quite alright.Some of them are even resounding suc-cesses, healthy and happy and deservingof being the #goals. What then explainsthis strong discomfort with arranged mar-riages?

For the most part, I think it’s an actu-al inability to see these marriages for whatthey actually have been, much like theinability to actually see how IndianMatchmaking transpires in its eightepisodes. Most of us are woefully blindto the marriages of our parents, grand-parents, friend’s parents, or even ourfriends, siblings, and cousins. We don’tknow what makes these marriages tick,and what works and what doesn’t. Wedon’t know what makes for a happy mar-riage nor what breaks one. And perhaps,most regrettable of all, we don’t want tofind out. We have either accepted theridiculous, outlandish ideas of romanceand marriage fed to us through films or,conversely, we are passionate defendantsof the equally non-existent 50-50 mar-riages, mythically-free of adjustmentand flexibility.

In other words, we are satisfieddefending ideological notions of howone ought to find a partner when they“don’t know” them or “love” them. “Whyare you going for an arranged marriage,you’re good looking and progressive, youcan find someone on your own!” is howit goes. They have no interest in lookingat what marriages ought to be like and inobserving what happens and often suc-ceeds in practice. This may be our state.Notably, it isn’t where most of the partic-ipants of Indian Matchmaking are comingfrom. Many of them explicitly state,they’ve tried dating and it didn’t work forthem. So now they’re looking to trysomething different. In several responsesto the show, this choice, and the processof looking for a partner through match-makers or arranged marriages, has beenlabelled everything from un-empoweredand regressive to straight-out bigoted. Thisis astounding. It is also true of most ‘pro-gressive’ responses to the show.

But consider this — if those who havethe choice not to (and here I’m not talk-ing only about the participants of theshow) choose arranged marriages as theway to find their partner, they must bedoing so after having learnt somethingabout the process of dating, and aboutthemselves in it. They must also haveobserved successful marriages aroundthem, many of which might be arranged.Surely then, when they choose arrangedmarriages, they are acting from experienceand from some kind of knowledge. Toexplain their choice as bigoted, or worsestill, ignorant, betrays a deliberate blind-ness. Most notably, it demonstrates theexpectation for people to root their choic-es not in knowledge or experience, but inslogans — “How is this progressive?”

What’s so regressive, netizens?0��������3����������#.�$��$�$<.$=���������������������������������������� ���&��=���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� �����������������������&�����/$<.�$ <$/+>7$)#+,

�+1��$!1$0$,#���� ����������������������� ������������4����7�����������������$�������������������������D�����������������$������ ��D��������������������� ������������%� ���������

,� �� = � !&�"���$��!!A�����5���� $�$&B�B&6�&� &����� ����7���&��&���!�$"�� $��#6�

��$%�����$%

Page 11: 6! & 3˜ 11’ ˚ * ; 1˚ , * ˚ ˚ /.˚˚%,. 1’. .% / , 1 1.˚, · establish a 40 kg silver brick for the symbolic start of the con- ... ing 14,095 active ones. Of the new cases,

Lung cancer is usually a neglect-ed entity in the universe ofCancer management in India.

It is not one of the first diagnosis inthe mind of the primary doctors,neither is it a top priority in the can-cer treatment centers. Even when wetalk about awareness, we restrictourselves to breast and gynecolog-ical cancers in women and to headand neck cancers in men but con-veniently forget lung cancers

One of the main reasons for thisstep-motherly treatment towardslung cancer is usually the dismalprognosis associated with it. Oncethe diagnosis of lung cancer is con-firmed, everybody, including thetreating doctors, condemn thepatient to a life span of under a yearand feel that there is not much pointtreating such patients.

It is a fact that lung cancer is thebiggest cause of cancer relateddeaths in the world. In fact, in 2018,1.8 million deaths across the globewere attributable to lung canceralone. In India alone, 60,000 patientsdied due to lung cancer in in thatyear.

But sometimes we have to readbetween the lines to understand thestatistics.

It is important to understandthat the large number of deaths thatare associated with lung cancer arebecause they are usually detected inadvanced stages. This can make ahuge difference to survival rates inpatients of lung cancer. Early stagelung cancer, if treated diligently andfor its complete duration, has a sur-vival rate of more than five years inmost cases. However, a stage fourlung cancer patient will not be able

to survive more than an average ofsix-eight months.

So, it is important for us tounderstand the causative factorsand early signs and symptoms oflung cancer to detect it early and alsorealise what is the best possible treat-ment for it.

Causes:�Cigarette smoking is the

biggest cause of lung cancer. Itssmoke contains more than 4,000chemicals, most of which have beenidentified as causing cancer agents.A person who smokes more thanone pack of cigarettes every day hasa 20-25 times greater risk of devel-oping lung cancer than a non-smoker.

�Passive smoking, or second-hand smoke, can be another bigcause of lung cancer.

�Air pollution from motorvehicles, factories, and other sourcesalso contribute to incidences oflung cancer, and many expertsbelieve that prolonged exposure topolluted air is similar to prolongedexposure to passive smoking possessrisk of developing lung cancer.

� Chemical exposure:Accidental or Occupational expo-sure to asbestos or radon alsoincreases the risk of lung cancer.Asbestos is a commonly associatedwith cement industry.

�Lung diseases, such as tuber-culosis (TB) and chronic obstructivepulmonary disease (COPD), alsocreate a risk for lung cancer. A per-son with COPD is at four to sixtimes greater risk of lung cancer andthis is when there no exposure tocigarette smoking.

Symptoms to look out for:�Cough�Difficulty in breathing�Spitting or coughing blood�Chest pain�Hoarseness or problems

of swallowing.Prevention & screening for

early detectionPrevention is primarily focused

on smoking cessation. Smokers whowish to quit obtain benefit frommany different strategies, includingnicotine replacement therapy withpatch or gum, counseling, and sup-port groups. Smokers who do notwish to quit, but are told that theymust, often will relapse if they canever quit at all.

The US Preventive Services TaskForce (USPSTF) has recently recom-mended and amplified the followingrecommendations regarding screen-ing:

Adults between 55 and 77 yearsof age with a history of at least 30pack years of cigarette smoking,either currently smoking, or whohave quit in the past 15 years, andwho have discussed the risks andbenefits of CT screening with theordering physician and have under-gone documented smoking cessationcounseling should undergo annuallow-dose CT scan screening.

Such testing has shown that therisk of fatality from lung cancer isreduced by 15 per cent -20 vis-a-visthose receiving only an annual chestX-ray.

Remember, it is in our hands toprevent and detect lung cancer. Thelater the lung cancer is detected, theworse is the prognosis, shorter thesurvival and less effective the treat-ment. Hence, be alert and if you feelthat your body could be showing anysigns of a lung discomfort, consultyour doctor today to preempt anychances of developing a fatal disease.

!��#� ��� �/� �������%���� �/��� ��%F���%��� ���=�/����/�� �% ���;�� ��%

���������BGA� ��%

#4�$� #�,�,.� ��/�Q��,

������������� ���������

1��� 0� �������������������������

?��=���������3��The human body is a complex machine. It is a network of dif-

ferent organs, bones, muscles, and systems. Owing to the factthat the functioning of the human body is multi-faceted, one needsto ensure regular health check-ups.

In case there is any disorder, it can be detected at an early stageand eliminated as soon as possible before it reaches a dangerousand incurable stage or starts to affect the other parts of the body.

Most people are more concerned about their outwardappearance. If they look good and are robust from outside, theyconsider themselves to be healthy. However, you never know what’shappening inside. You won’t even get to know about some graveunderlying disease till it turns into someone serious and leaves agreat impact on your health.

Basic health check-ups need to be regularAs we start growing old, our body becomes home to numer-

ous diseases. Health issues and problems start as early as whenyou are in your 20s and 30s. Some of the most common check-ups that need to be conducted are checking blood pressure lev-els, twice a year dental check-ups and cleaning, cholesterol andlevel of glucose, and regular blood tests. It is important that youconsult a doctor to get regular check-ups and screenings and ifyou’re a woman to get a yearly pap smear.

The older you are the more you need to be checked regu-larly

Once you step into your 40s, in addition to all the tests whichare required at the age of 20, you need to check for some age relat-ed and genetic diseases like diabetes, blood pressure and choles-terol tests. Women especially need once a year gynaecological tests

like mammograms and papsmears. In addition, they also getmenopause which also mightneed a doctor’s visit. And as youget into your 50’s and 60’s youneed to check at least one a yearBone Density Scan, stool occultblood test and tests for visualand hearing impairment.

Here are some reason whyregular check-ups can help you.

Awareness of personalhealth: Regular appointmentswith your doctor can keep youaware of your body’s health. Thisawareness will enable you totake better care of yourself andtake the correct lifestyle mea-sures to maintain your overallhealth.

Prevention of serious con-ditions: By going for regularcheck-ups, your doctor will be

able to catch early signs of potential illnesses and take correctivemeasures. It can also allow your doctor to catch any changes toyour body which may be indicative of a medical condition. Thisway, you will be able to treat the condition before it escalates.

Encourages healthy habits: You will be encouraged to main-tain healthy practices. Such practices include a good diet, regu-lar exercise, and stress management. Without regular healthappointments, there is less motivation to maintain your generalhealth, so healthy habits that maintain your cholesterol, BMI, andstress levels will be neglected.

Keeps your body in good shape: In addition to encouragingyou to maintain healthy lifestyle habits, regular check-ups will alsohelp keep your body at its best. This is because your doctor willprovide suggestions to keep your body in its best shape. As a result,you will feel fit, healthy, and energised.

Maintains a strong immune system: Individuals who go forregular health check-ups are less likely to get sick. This is becausethey maintain healthy habits that facilitates a strong immune sys-tem.

Cost saving: Some people avoid going for check-ups becausethey believe that it is too expensive. In reality, it can be signifi-cantly cost-saving in the long-run. This is because check-ups reducethe risk of developing more severe illnesses that are more costlyto treat. It can also prevent the need for expensive and risky surgeries.

5$�&���&�,�����&��� �� +>�����$���

�� ���������������� �����$���&��

�,��������������������+�

���� ����������C�.� ����������$���

�� ����� ���$ ��&�����$���

���$���� ���$������� �����,�

���� �� �������

������� "���()*��� ����������� �!�"���#�$ !������" %��&'&'�������+�,��,-��+����+����������,- ,�� ���.��� ���� ,����� ��/��-���0�����, ���+,-��.*1)#234�5� ���5����,�5,5������� ��

,- ,���0�,��5���,-�� �� ,����.��� ���� ,����0�,��� ,��� 5,�,-���� �&'''

,������,���6-�/�,�5����������,���� ����� ,- ,�5��0��+�,-����5,�7'�� �5����

,-���0,/� �

<��$+����

@�������������Fennel seedsare pale green or brown incolour. They are highlyaromatic and flavourful herbsused in cookery. They areused to treat some commondigestive ailmentsi n c l u d i n gh e a r t b u r n ,i n t e s t i n a lgas andbloating.

F e n n e lseeds alsoreduce inflam-mation. Thismay help sootheswelling or irrita-tion in the intestinesand improve digestion.

Some people eat fennelseeds as mouth fresheners.Chewing fennel seeds canalso help in getting rid of bad

breath as they increase theproduction of saliva therebywashing out the bacteria.They also help to relievemorning sickness.

The antioxidants andother antimicrobial

properties infennel seedshelp treat ahost of haira i l m e n t s .Some ofthese include

d a n d r u f f ,scalp itchiness,

hair breakage andhair fall.They also contain

nitrites, compounds known tolower blood pressure levels.The fiber content in them alsohelp in lowering the cholestrollevels.

With online classesand work fromhome becoming

the new normal, the screentime has increased manifoldfor both adults and children.This often result inincreased eyestrain therebyresulting inheadaches.

Not onlythis, dry anditchy eyes arealso no excep-tion, more sobecause of thechanging weather.Here are a few homeremedies that will help relaxyour eyes and headaches.

First, while working onlaptop/computer, oneshould take breaks every 20minutes. This will give youreyes the much needed relaxand will eliminate the risk of

headache.Second, blink often.

While working/studying onthe the devices, we oftenforget to blink, this increas-es the pressure on the eyes

and can lead to dryand itchy eyes.

Also the chang-ing weatheracts as a cata-lyst toincrease dry-ness in eyes.

T h i r d ,splash your

eyes with coldwater atleast two-

three times a day.Fourth, use ice packs.

Ice will help reduce the dis-comfort and eliminateheadaches. Take two icecubes, wrap them in a toweland place them on your eyesfor around 10 to 15 mins.Repeat it daily.

If you are spending most ofyour time studying or

working on computer, thendry, itchy eyes and headachesare common. ROSHNI DEVI

shares home remedies thatcan help relieve the pain

����������

The outbreak and spread ofCOVID-19 has left most of us

panic-stricken. And the pandemichas wrecked havoc across the world.COVID-19 is a viral infection andhumans have no natural immuni-ty to viruses. The research commu-nity is perplexed because of its ever-evolving mutations.

Currently, the conventionaltreatment of Covid 19 infection isbeing done with some anti-viralmedicines and antibiotics. Whilethese anti-viral medicines werefound to have had some effect onSARS and MERS infections earli-er, which were caused by similarviruses, so far there is no definiteinformation that they are havingan effect on COVID-19 cases.

Boosting immunity is exactlywhat is required in the battleagainst this disease- to prevent, aswell as help sick patients recoverfrom this contagion.

This is where homeopathyhas a distinct advantage, and canbe deployed to effectively combatthe pandemic. Historically,homoeopathy has an excellenttrack record in the treatment ofe p i d e m i c s / p a n d e m i c s .

Homoeopathic medicines are safeto use, and we can expect very lit-tle, if any, side-effects as can beexperienced by using other sys-tems of medicine.

In homoeopathy, an agent isused to treat the same symptomsin a diseased human being that itcan produce in a healthy one.Thus, the homoeopathic arsenalagainst any disease already exists,and it is only a question of match-ing the symptoms of the contagionto the known symptoms of a med-icine which is the most similar.Thus, the reaction time betweendiagnosis and treatment is reduced

dramatically. COVID-19 is basically a res-

piratory infection which initiallyaffects the upper respiratory tract;if allowed to progress, it settles inthe lungs (lower respiratory tract),causing pneumonia and fibrosiswith a poor prognosis. Due to this,any and all treatment should betargeted as such. In the treatmentof COVID-19 positive cases, so farwhatever information is available,does not provide anything new inthis virus, except for the fact thatit is more aggressive in its progres-sion, and prognosis is fatal inimmune compromised and elder-ly patients.

Historically, the practice hadtremendous success in treatingviral diseases, such as the commoncold and different types of flu,dengue, measles, mumps, rubella,chicken pox and even the odd caseof rabies, using homoeopathy — itis important that this treatmentoption is tried for building theimmunity of the population toeffectively combat the virus.

!��#� ��� ������������������&���������2����������3���B �;������� �

������*������ ��

� � � � � � � � � � � �

�33�� $)� ��#$ �-� ����&�8�&! � $��-��� &!"� $���&�6���!&��)� $���1.=�A��7��,%, �%�� ��,>��&!!��-3#��3B��3�3&38���-�5�$��&!8�8�&D&$����&�53$��) 3$

Monsoons are here and oily skin is apart and parcel of the rains. More so,

because of the changing weather. Thereare many reasons for oily skin. Sebaceousglands produce sebum to keep your skinsoft and moisturised. When too muchsebum is produced, skin appears oily andthis can also lead to acne and other skinproblems.

Hormones and genetics are the mainfactors for oily skin. As sebaceous glandsmature with age, sebum productionincreases on the skin layer, and the high-er the androgens present in the body, themore sebum is funnelled through thepores. This sebum sits on the surface of theskin layer and makes it oily. When excessof these oils get trapped in the pores andcombine with dead skin cells and bacteria,it gives rise to pimples and blackheads.

There are many skin care tips youshould follow for oily skin during this mon-soon:

�To control excess oil from the skin isto cleanse it and keep it clean at all times.Cleanse your face twice or thrice daily torid it of all the accumulated dirt and oilbuild-up which leads to clogged pores, acneand other problems.

�Use serums only when you want totackle different skin problems. If your skinfeels dehydrated, then use a hydratingserum in your skincare routine; for bright-ening and anti-ageing effect, use a serumwith brightening and anti-ageing proper-ties.

�Exfoliate oily skin once or twice aweek.

�Oily skin needs regular moisturisingand hydration. Exposure of skin of mois-ture will only further encourage the seba-ceous glands to produce more oil to com-pensate. Hence apply an oil-free, non-comedogenic, water-based moisturiserregularly on your skin.

�While doing makeup, always use aprimer, it aids in keeping sebum under con-trol. It also keeps your makeup on for alonger time.

�Use an alcohol-free toner almostevery day. Using a toner daily will help ineliminating excess oil and banishing dirtfrom your skin.

�Use a basic mask or a peel once aweek on your skin. Best face mask for oilyskin is one that contains charcoal ormoroccan clay that keeps skin calm andclear.

�Layering on sunscreen is an essentialpart of the day time oily skin care routinein this season. Always use a mineral-basedproduct which contains Zinc or TitaniumDioxide that absorbs oil from the skin.

�Never sleep with your makeup on.This will clog pores and increase other skinproblems.

�Use a face mask regularly. Apply it atleast two or three times in a week. Use amask that contains kaolin and bentoniteclay as it helps absorb excess oil.

!��#� ��� ����%�� ��������%�� ��E�� ����� �!������ ���%��

�����������%����������������/��/����<9������

$�����������������

�%��<"+�?0&�'2'�??+��������������$�����������������

CUT THE?&7

DEEP BREATH

+�����������������

.���������������������������&���������,

������������ ����������&� � ������� ������$��������$��� �������� ��

�&��C�<��$�&�����& � �����,����

����&���$���,������ �����������������������������,��������,���$����������

���

TAKE A 7 ��$��$�������

�������$� ����$��$��������������������

�����<"+!>�>'��'+�

������� �������������%� ���������������

$������%������������������

��A-&��A3!"�B3��$�B���#55&��4#!!-���&��&"��$"

5#�&"�B ������&$ )$�!&� 3$�34��&�8�$5�&������/,�&" 5�!13!!&)&��3�8 ��!��$",&�&��5��1&$��&�I/,1�,1J� $�'����$(#!���#�7��

,�"���I$��&�5��$)&"J5��&��3�/,�1�,1�B ��53�8!� $���34��6"3� $�!�8� $43���B3�B&&(�7�/�&���"�$33��&���-�8�3��7��3B&D&����&�B���� �6&� 5��$"�B���3$��&���&$��43����&����&�43���&�!�����B3�-&���7

�D�!#�� 3$���#5����,1%��1�� 6"3�&$��$"�$"3�538 5��!����3#$"�B&�&8&�43��&"�3$��&���$"���&B���" �)$3�&"���D $)��5-�� 5�!&� 3$�34���&�8�$5�&��7/�&�#$"&�B&$���#�)&�-�&5&$�!-���$"���!��)&�5-���34��:��:��5��B���$3�&"�3D&���&�" ���!���8&5��34���&8�$5�&��7�

� ��38���3!3) 5�!&:�� $�� 3$�34���&�&:5 �&"������&D&�!&"����#5 $3#�5-���"&$3���34���&8�$5�&��7��� ��8�� &$����"��6&$ )$��#�3#��B� 5��B��" �)$3�&"�8�3�8�!-�&��!-��$"�&�3D&"��#55&��4#!!-7��&�G#�! �-�34�! 4&�83��A8�35&"#�&�&�� $��)33"�����$"���&53$� $#&����&���&$��43���&�" �6&�&���!3$&7

��������

Page 12: 6! & 3˜ 11’ ˚ * ; 1˚ , * ˚ ˚ /.˚˚%,. 1’. .% / , 1 1.˚, · establish a 40 kg silver brick for the symbolic start of the con- ... ing 14,095 active ones. Of the new cases,

������ ���������� �!�"���#�$ !������" %��&'&'

����� ���

Skipper Azhar Ali and hisdeputy Babar Azam will be

aiming to move up the ladder inthe ICC Test rankings whenPakistan take on England in thethree-match series starting onWednesday.

According to latest rankings,Azhar, presently 27th amongbatsmen, will be hoping toregain the form that lifted himto a career-best sixth inDecember 2016, while Babarwill be hoping to progress froma career-best aggregate of 800rating points.

Babar is currently sixth afterhaving occupied a career-highfifth place in February. Asad

Shafiq (18th) and Shan Masood (33rd)are other Pakistan batsmen to haveenjoyed higher rankings in the past butwill have to contend with a sharp bowl-ing attack in order to move up again.

In the bowling department, pacerMohammad Abbas (13th) and experi-enced leg-spinner Yasir Shah (24th),who have in the past, been ranked thirdand first, respectively, and left-arm fastbowler Shaheen Afridi (32nd) areother Pakistan players to watch.

For England, Stokes displacedWest Indies captain Jason Holder fromthe top of the all-rounders’ list duringtheir last series and formerly top-ranked Broad rose to third position inthe bowlers’ list, currently led byAustralia fast bowler Pat Cummins.Stokes is also England’s top-rankedbatsman in fourth position, with cap-

tain Joe Root (ninth) and opener RoryBurns (17th) their next batsmen on thelist. Dom Sibley (35th), Jos Buttler(44th) and Ollie Pope (46th) get achance to build on recent progress inhome conditions, as do fast bowlersMark Wood, Sam Curran and JofraArcher, ranked close to each other from36th to 39th positions.

In the WTC points table, Englandmoved up to third position after theseries against the West Indies andcould potentially leapfrog Australia tosecond place, while Pakistan have thechance of overtaking New Zealand tofourth position.

Apart from the 2-1 win over theWest Indies, England drew a five-match series against Australia 2-2 andwon a four-match series against SouthAfrica 3-1.

����� �.��.�

Former batsman Jonathan Trotthas been appointed England’s

batting coach for the upcomingthree-Test series against Pakistan,starting Wednesday.

The 39-year-old, who scored3835 runs in 52 Tests between2009-2015 for England, will bejoined by former New Zealandspinner Jeetan Patel andWarwickshire seamer GraemeWelch, the ‘BBC’ reported.

Trott, who played 68 ODIs andseven T20 matches, has scored18,662 runs in first class cricket.

England and Pakistan willlock horns in a three-match Testseries starting Wednesday at theOld Traford in Manchester, fol-lowed by the next two games in theAgeas Bowl in Southampton.England won the recently-con-cluded three-Test series, that markthe resumption of internationalcricket, against West Indies 2-1.

����� 1����

India on Monday pulledout of the Women's

World Team SquashChampionship scheduledto be held in KualaLumpur, Malaysia fromDecember 15 to 20 due to“lack of preparation time”and “uncertainties” abouttravelling amid theCOVID-19 pandemic.

SRFI secretary gener-al and former nationalcoach Cyrus Poncha saidthe decision was takenafter consulting with thetop players.

“Due to uncertaintiesregarding guidelines forthe safe travel of our ath-letes and staff for nation-al & international tourna-ments (yet to be obtainedfrom the Ministry ofYouth Affairs & Sports(MYAS) & SportsAuthority of India (SAI)),coupled with lack ofpreparation time andmatch readiness of ath-letes, and after consultingour top players, the SRFIhas decided to withdrawfrom the championship,”he said in a press release.

The WSF and SquashRackets Federation ofIndia (SRFI) have beenconstantly monitoringthe scenario arising out of

the global health crisis.Considering the

August 15 deadline, theSRFI had requested theWSF for an extension forregistration which wasnot given, the releasesaid.

“The SRFI is alsowaiting for guidelinesfrom the Ministry ofYouth Affairs & Sports(MYAS) & SportsAuthority of India (SAI)for international partici-pation with top prioritybeing safety and securityof the players and staff forany international event,”it said.

The coronavirus casecount continues to rise inthe country withMumbai, Delhi andChennai — all majorsquash centres — badlyhit by the virus, makingresumption of trainingdifficult.

“As the situationdevelops and improves,SRFI in consultation withthe Sports Ministry andSAI will take necessarysteps for resuming sportin the country in compli-ance with the SOPs thatwould be brought outalong with any furtherdevelopment required forsquash,” the governingbody said.

����� ��������

India have been handedrelatively easy draws in

the twice rescheduledThomas and Uber CupFinals slated to be heldfrom October 3 to 11 inAarhus, Denmark.

The Indian men’s teamhas been placed in GroupC alongside 2016 champi-ons Denmark, Germanyand Algeria, while thewomen's side has beenclubbed with 14-time win-ners China, France andGermany in group D in thedraw which was staged atBWF headquarters inKuala Lumpur on Monday.

Both the men's andwomen's team are seededfifth in the tournament,according to the BWFrelease.

Indonesia, 13-time for-mer champions, and six-time former winner Japanwill headline as the topseeds for the Thomas Cupand Uber Cup respective-ly.

The prestigious eventwas originally scheduled tobe held from May 16-24but was postponed toAugust 15-23 before final-ly rescheduling it inOctober due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.

No tournament has

been possible since BWFhad shut down their WorldTour and other sanctionedtournaments following thecompletion of the All-England in March due tothe global health crisis.

BWF Chief OperatingOfficer Stuart Borrie said:"We acknowledge the manydisruptions this year toour calendar but we wouldlike to assure you that theBWF continues to monitorthe ongoing developmentssurrounding COVID-19and to plan for a safe returnto international bad-minton.

“We trust everyonewithin the badmintoncommunity is keeping safeand well and preparing forthe return to internationalcompetition.”

In Thomas and UberCup Final, the top twoteams in each group at theend of the group stage willmake it to the knock-outround.

The Indian men’s andwomen’s teams had failedto reach the knockout stagein the last edition in 2018.

The Indian women’steam had lost to championChina in the semifinalstage in the 2016 edition ofUber Cup. They alsoreached the semifinal in the2014 New Delhi edition.

����� ��������

Indian junior men’s hock-ey team core probable

Arshdeep Singh wants totake a leaf out of senior play-er Ramandeep Singh’s bookon how to manage injuriesin his bid to seal a place inthe national side.

The 19-year-old Singhmissed out on the Six-Nation Championship inSpain last year due to a kneeinjury. He is inspired by theway Indian men's hockeyteam forward Ramandeephas dealt with injuries in hisinternational career.

“It was really disap-pointing to miss out on theSix-Nation Championship

in Spain last year. However,I have realized that injurieswill be a part and parcel ofany sportsperson’s career. Ilook up to the wayRamandeep Singh has dealtwith injuries in his career,”Singh said.

“He (Ramandeep)is aninspiration for all younghockey players in India.One needs a lot of determi-nation to come back frominjuries and now I knowhow important it is toensure that I keep checkingon how my body is reactingin every situation,” said theyoung forward in a HockeyIndia release.

Singh, who has attend-ed several junior men’s

national coaching camps,said he has been focussingon his fitness in the last fewmonths.

“The last few monthshave been a huge challengefor all of us. However, I havetaken the time to focus onmy fitness. I know I amclose to receiving an oppor-tunity to play for Indianjunior men’s team in thenear future and I don’t wantto miss the chance due to aninjury.

“I have been practicingyoga to become mentallystronger as well. I have to beabsolutely ready to grab myopportunities wheneverthey are presented tome,”said Singh.

Talking about his futuregoals, Singh said there isnothing bigger than playingfor the country.

“Playing for senior teamis always going to be mybiggest goal. However, Ihave to first perform at thejunior level and get recog-nized as a skilful player. Iwill keep working towardsmy goal in whichever way Ican.

“I am sure one day I willwalk out on the pitch withthe senior Indian team. Iwill work very hard toensure that I get a chance tocontribute to India’s famousvictories in the future.”

����� �.��.�

Former off-spinner Graeme Swannhas slammed selectors for splitting

England's most successful new-ballpairing of Stuart Broad and JamesAnderson during the recently-con-cluded Test series against the WestIndies, saying “you don’t discardblokes with 500 Test wickets lightly”.

England paid the price for dump-ing Broad in the first Test as they lostby four wickets at Southampton.With Jofra Archer missing the secondTest due to a bio-secure breach,Broad returned to take six wickets asEngland bounced back with a 113-runwin.

In the third Test, Broad wasawarded the man of the match afterhe took 10 wickets to cross the 500-wicket mark and also scored a crucial

62 with the bat as England sealed theseries with a 269-run win.

The experienced Anderson, onthe other hand, was included in thefirst Test but rested in the secondmatch before finally joining his long-time partner Broad in the third Test.

“How stupid did it look to breakup England’s most successful bowlingpartnership of all-time when we lostthat first Test match?" Swann, who hastaken 255 wickets in 60 Tests, wasquoted as saying by ‘Mirror.Co.Uk’.

“Jimmy and Broady have formedone of the most -successful bowlingdouble acts Test cricket has known.Why would you want to chuck it outbefore its sell-by date? I can under-stand the attraction of 90mph pace,and both Jofra and Woody are hugeassets.”

“But I’m sorry, you don’t discardblokes with 500 Test wickets lightly,”Swann said.

Broad and Anderson have cap-tured 1,090 wickets between them,with 895 of those scalps coming in the117 Tests they have played together.

“Jimmy and Broady go -togeth-er like Morecambe and Wise orBonnie and Clyde,” Swann said.

Swann, a three-time Ashes win-ner, added that England should notmess with the two experiencedbowlers and give them an equalopportunity to try and make it to the2021 Ashes in Australia.

“You can’t put a price on a bowlerwho runs in with the same passionand ability to make things happen inthe 80th or 90th over of the day as thefirst,” the 41-year-old said.

����� ' , 1�

Pakistan’s head coach andchief selector Misbah-ul-

Haq has not ruled out the pos-sibility of playing two spinnersin the first Test against Englandwhich begins from Wednesdayat Old Trafford.

“We have looked at theWest Indies series and we haveseen that at Manchester andSouthampton conditions aredifferent and we are seeingsome dry conditions and helpfor spinners and reverse swing,”Misbah said during a mediainteraction on Monday.

Misbah also felt that the toporder of both teams would playa decisive role in the series asbowling of both teams was topclass. “England’s batting hasstruggled in these conditions. Itwill be a match between how thetop order of both teams perform.If you can cross 300 in the first

innings your chances of winningare around 75 percent.”

Misbah said that not play-ing at Lord's and Oval, the twohappy hunting grounds forPakistan on previous tours,would not really matter as thepitches and conditions inManchester and Southamptoncould help the visitors.

He conceded that playingthe right combination in the Testwould be a decisive and impor-tant factor in the first match.

“I think I am pretty muchsatisfied with the preparations,we assembled after three monthsand started from zero. It hasbeen a wonderful experience, werequire such camps before amajor series.

“This period was importantfor team bonding and prepara-tions, creating match scenariosand good thing is the team is ingood shape and looking forwardto the series.”

���� � ��������

Birthday boy and iconic Indianfootball team captain Sunil Chhetri

on Monday said talent is not the prob-lem in the country and all stakehold-ers need to ensure that the next cropof players are well looked after.

“Talent is not the problem here.We could have plenty of Olympic goldmedals. I know how hard the AIFFworks to get a bigger pool of players.It is very important to give the youngtalented players the right food, train-ing and so on. When all this is done,it can be a monumental growth,”Chhetri, who turned 36 on Monday,said during the E-Delhi summitorganised by Football Delhi to cele-brate the occasion of his birthday.

All India Football Federation(AIFF) President Praful Patel laudedthe Government of Odisha for settingan example of how a state governmentcan help sports thrive in a particularregion.

“I think states like Odisha need tobe commended. They have activelysupported every sport. That is some-thing that other state governmentsshould follow too,” Patel said.

Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju, AFCGeneral Secretary Dato Windsor John,Jagdish Mitra, Chief Strategic Officer,Tech Mahindra, Football DelhiPresident Shaji Prabhakaran werealso present in the virtual meet, as wastalismanic captain Chhetri.

Patel, during the discussion high-lighted the progress that the All IndiaFootball Federation has made forwardtogether over the last decade.

"We have come a long way.Globally FIFA now acknowledgesthat Indian football has to be support-ed and strengthened for the sport togrow in the region. FIFA and AFChave made it clear that football has tobe commercially viable and it has tosupport the overall ecosystem aroundit,” he opined.

“That is why it is important to pro-fessionalise the sport. The I-Leaguewas the first step towards that. Now,the ISL has taken it further and mademore additions to Indian football.”

Sports Minister Rijiju lauded theAIFF for bringing FIFA events to India(2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup and the2021 FIFA U-17 Women's WorldCup).

“I complement AIFF for engagingwith FIFA to bring this tournament.With such tournaments being hostedin India we will have a brilliant situ-ation where the sport will furthermature," he said. "We will ensure thatthe U-17 Women’s World Cup is oneof the most successful FIFA events inIndia.”

���� ,.�

Genoa secured safety on thefinal day of the longest-everSerie A season, while Lecce

dropped down to the second divi-sion.

Genoa beat Hellas Verona 3-0 tofinish four points ahead of Lecce andensure a 14th consecutive season inthe top Italian league on Sunday.

Lecce lost 4-3 to Parma, Bresciaand Spal had already been mathe-matically relegated.

� ��������� �The coronavirus-delayed season

ended almost 12 months after itstarted on Aug. 24, 2019.

“The longest season in historyends today, in our country's most dif-ficult year in recent memory,” saidVincenzo Spadafora, Italy’s sportsminister. At the start of the lockdownin March, Italy was the epicenter ofthe pandemic in Europe and hasnow registered more than 35,000deaths from COVID-19.

“During those weeks we reallythought that the season should bestopped,” Spadafora said.

“But thanks to the series of pre-cautions we took and the seriousnessof the protocols put in place by theItalian soccer federation, the seasonwas not only able to restart but alsobe completed.”

Due to the virus, the season wassuspended for more than threemonths between March and June.

Juventus sealed a record-extend-ing ninth straight title last weekend.

�� ����@�Antonio Sanabria scored twice

for Genoa, which also got a goalfrom Cristian Romero. Still, it wasa nervous finish with Genoa losing

two players to red cards and endingwith nine men to Verona's 10.

Lecce, which needed to win andhope that Genoa didn't, fought backfrom two goals down to equalize by

halftime. But then AndreasCornelius and Roberto Ingleserestored Parma's two-goal leadbefore Gianluca Lapadula pulled oneback for Lecce.

�����������Udinese beat eighth-place

Sassuolo 1-0, Fiorentina defeatedlast-place Spal 3-1 to finish 10th, andBologna drew 1-1 with Torino.

<�����%�����%��������������������������# ���������2�� ��? ��%���������� ���������%%���������#���������������� ��

GENOA RETAIN SERIE A PLACE �������������������� ������������������&����� ������

��3����883 $�&"%3���6��� $)�53�5�

$" ��)&��&��-�"��B� $��3����R��6&��1#8�4 $�!

!����$����$��������$��������������������

)�����������������,��$���&���$���/�1�������

��%��������������������5��9���

$"�$3���3���(&�8���� $�B3�&$@��B3�!"��G#����1@�� 8

13����5���������+�����&����������+��&�

����� �1��/��,

Pacer Chris Woakes on Mondayis happy staying away from the

spotlight and says he just wants tochurn out match-winning perfor-mances for England.

Woakes’ performances oftengo unnoticed as the likes of StuartBroad, James Anderson and JofraArcher steal the spotlight.

“I honestly really don’t mind.I’m not one for being centre ofattention," Woakes was quoted assaying by ‘Sky Sports’.

"Don't get me wrong, I wantto go out on the field and perform

and I want to make match-win-ning performances for Englandbut it really doesn’t bother meif I’m first choice to writeabout or not, to be brutallyhonest,” he added.

The 31-year-old, whohas 106 wickets from 35Tests, feels while he can't joincompatriots James Andersonand Broad in the 500 wick-ets elite club, he still has a lotto offer.

“My stats have been men-tioned and they’re very good inEngland, I want to keep workingon those, keep improving on

them and making them as goodas they can be,” Woakessaid.

“At my age and where Iam now at 31, it’s unlikelythat I’m going to go on andget 500 Test wickets likeJimmy and Broady but I stillwant to go on and get asmany as I can individually.

“I still feel like I can pro-vide really good services toEngland for many more

years to come so I'm happywith how it works and as longas I continue to be able to rep-resent England then I'll be

happy,” Woakes added.England are in a unique situ-

ation with all their pacers fit to playresulting in an intense competitionbetween the speedsters to start thematch.

“It’s not an easy team to just becemented in. My record inEngland is brilliant, I’m obvious-ly pleased with that.

“I want to keep getting betterand improving myself and everytime I get the opportunity to playfor England, whether it is home oraway, I’m giving 110 per cent andtrying to do my best for the team,”Woakes said.

�3�(&����88-�6& $)��B�-�4�3����&��83�! )��


Brick by Brick

Brick by Brick

Basic Brick Construction - QUIKRETE® 2017 · PDF fileBasic Brick Construction 1 3. 1. 3. Basic Brick Construction

Basic Brick Construction - QUIKRETE® 2017 · PDF fileBasic Brick Construction 1 3. 1. 3. Basic Brick Construction

HIERARCHICAL AND PYRAMIDAL CLUSTERING FOR SYMBOLIC …vlado.fmf.uni-lj.si/info/ifcs06/symbolic/HIPYR.pdf · 1 1 HIERARCHICAL AND PYRAMIDAL CLUSTERING FOR SYMBOLIC DATA Paula Brito

HIERARCHICAL AND PYRAMIDAL CLUSTERING FOR SYMBOLIC …vlado.fmf.uni-lj.si/info/ifcs06/symbolic/HIPYR.pdf · 1 1 HIERARCHICAL AND PYRAMIDAL CLUSTERING FOR SYMBOLIC DATA Paula Brito

Brick Tiles _ Brick Wall Tiles _ Brick Tile Quality _ Brick Tile Specifications - GharExpert.pdf

Brick Tiles _ Brick Wall Tiles _ Brick Tile Quality _ Brick Tile Specifications - GharExpert.pdf

Running head: SYMBOLIC RACISM: PREJUDICE OR CONSERVATISM?web.stanford.edu/dept/communication/faculty/krosnick/Symbolic... · Why Do White Americans 1 Running head: SYMBOLIC RACISM:

Running head: SYMBOLIC RACISM: PREJUDICE OR CONSERVATISM?web.stanford.edu/dept/communication/faculty/krosnick/Symbolic... · Why Do White Americans 1 Running head: SYMBOLIC RACISM:

Design Manual 3 The Full Brick Manual · as cavity brick, solid brick or double brick construction. Figure 1 shows a typical section of full brick walling. Full brick is much more

Design Manual 3 The Full Brick Manual · as cavity brick, solid brick or double brick construction. Figure 1 shows a typical section of full brick walling. Full brick is much more

Brick VS Brick Veneer - UPFRO Associates, Incupfro.com/Library/LibMat/RCT/Brick VS Brick Veneer.pdf ·  · 2008-12-02Brick VS Brick Veneer.Doc 12/2/2008 2:26:00 PM 1 Solid Brick

Brick VS Brick Veneer - UPFRO Associates, Incupfro.com/Library/LibMat/RCT/Brick VS Brick Veneer.pdf ·  · 2008-12-02Brick VS Brick Veneer.Doc 12/2/2008 2:26:00 PM 1 Solid Brick

AVAILABLE FOR LEASE AVAILABLE FOR LEASE · 2020. 9. 25. · RED BRICK RED BRICK RED BRICK RED BRICK RED BRICK RED BRICK RED BRICK RED BRICK RED BRICK RED BRICK RED BRICK RED BRICK

AVAILABLE FOR LEASE AVAILABLE FOR LEASE · 2020. 9. 25. · RED BRICK RED BRICK RED BRICK RED BRICK RED BRICK RED BRICK RED BRICK RED BRICK RED BRICK RED BRICK RED BRICK RED BRICK

Brick World Review 1/2016

Brick World Review 1/2016

BrickGun LEGO® Storage Labels - Bricks 2xN2357 2357 2357 2357 2357 2357 2357 2357 2357 Brick Corner Brick Corner Brick Corner Brick Corner Brick Corner Brick Corner Brick Corner Brick

BrickGun LEGO® Storage Labels - Bricks 2xN2357 2357 2357 2357 2357 2357 2357 2357 2357 Brick Corner Brick Corner Brick Corner Brick Corner Brick Corner Brick Corner Brick Corner Brick

Symbolic Analysis of Large Analog Integrated Circuits…digital.csic.es/bitstream/10261/84973/1/Symbolic analysis.pdf · Symbolic Analysis of Large Analog Integrated Circuits: The

Symbolic Analysis of Large Analog Integrated Circuits…digital.csic.es/bitstream/10261/84973/1/Symbolic analysis.pdf · Symbolic Analysis of Large Analog Integrated Circuits: The

CEMENT SAND SLUDGE BRICK (CSS Brick) PUAN …repository.psa.edu.my/bitstream/123456789/1933/1...cement sand sludge brick (css brick) puan norpishah binti ahmad puan hazruwani binti

CEMENT SAND SLUDGE BRICK (CSS Brick) PUAN …repository.psa.edu.my/bitstream/123456789/1933/1...cement sand sludge brick (css brick) puan norpishah binti ahmad puan hazruwani binti

GLOBAL DISTRIBUTORS DC/DC POWER CONVERTERS1/16 BRICK 1/8 BRICK 1/4 BRICK ~60A/~300W ~60A/~700W 77 ~ 80 81 ~ 82 1/2 BRICK ~16A/~100W 83 ~ 84 FULL BRICK Non-Isolated 1 PAIRUI GROUP INC

GLOBAL DISTRIBUTORS DC/DC POWER CONVERTERS1/16 BRICK 1/8 BRICK 1/4 BRICK ~60A/~300W ~60A/~700W 77 ~ 80 81 ~ 82 1/2 BRICK ~16A/~100W 83 ~ 84 FULL BRICK Non-Isolated 1 PAIRUI GROUP INC

1 Discovery Education streaming: Brick-by-Brick Builders Brick-by-Brick.

1 Discovery Education streaming: Brick-by-Brick Builders Brick-by-Brick.

Textures Unleashed Volume 26: Brick II€¦ · VOLUME 26: BRICK II Brick-151 Brick-152 Brick-153 Brick-154 Brick-155 Brick-156 Brick-157 Brick-158 Brick-159 Brick-160 Brick-161 Brick-162

Textures Unleashed Volume 26: Brick II€¦ · VOLUME 26: BRICK II Brick-151 Brick-152 Brick-153 Brick-154 Brick-155 Brick-156 Brick-157 Brick-158 Brick-159 Brick-160 Brick-161 Brick-162

Clay Brick · 2017-12-13 · IFC (P-1) Pictured on front: Balmoral (Sandmold) 1 CLAY BRICK Visit to see our newest products and colors. CLAY BRICK • THIN BRICK • FACE BRICK •

Clay Brick · 2017-12-13 · IFC (P-1) Pictured on front: Balmoral (Sandmold) 1 CLAY BRICK Visit to see our newest products and colors. CLAY BRICK • THIN BRICK • FACE BRICK •

The Symbolic Representation of Monosaccharides in · PDF fileThe Symbolic Representation of Monosaccharides in the Age of Glycobiology. S. Perez, Page 1 The Symbolic Representation

The Symbolic Representation of Monosaccharides in · PDF fileThe Symbolic Representation of Monosaccharides in the Age of Glycobiology. S. Perez, Page 1 The Symbolic Representation

brick by brick february flyer final version pic 1 · Title: Microsoft Word - brick by brick february flyer final version pic 1.docx Created Date: 1/8/2015 7:04:34 PM

brick by brick february flyer final version pic 1 · Title: Microsoft Word - brick by brick february flyer final version pic 1.docx Created Date: 1/8/2015 7:04:34 PM

ROVs Deep Discoverer (D2) and Seirios · 1 x BRICK 1X1 - White 1 x BRICK 1X2 - White 1 x ANGULAR BRICK 1X1 - Black 6 x ANGULAR BRICK 1X1 - Medium Stone Grey 1 x ROOF TILE 1X1X2/3,

ROVs Deep Discoverer (D2) and Seirios · 1 x BRICK 1X1 - White 1 x BRICK 1X2 - White 1 x ANGULAR BRICK 1X1 - Black 6 x ANGULAR BRICK 1X1 - Medium Stone Grey 1 x ROOF TILE 1X1X2/3,

Textures Unleashed Volume 19: Brick · 2020-03-14 · VOLUME 19: BRICK Brick-007 Brick-008 Brick-009 Brick-010 Brick-011 Brick-012 Brick-013 Brick-014 Brick-015 Brick-016 Brick-017

Textures Unleashed Volume 19: Brick · 2020-03-14 · VOLUME 19: BRICK Brick-007 Brick-008 Brick-009 Brick-010 Brick-011 Brick-012 Brick-013 Brick-014 Brick-015 Brick-016 Brick-017