2

Narendra Modilikely to spendnight at BelurMath

No need topanic about oilprices: Pradhan

5

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‘ALL ANDSUNDRY’

Amaravati: A fit case for the Centre to intervene

Published From VIJAYAWADA DELHI LUCKNOWBHOPAL RAIPUR CHANDIGARHBHUBANESWARRANCHI DEHRADUNHYDERABAD

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VIJAYAWADA, SUNDAY JANUARY 12, 2020; PAGES 12 `3

DRDO chairman Satish Reddy calls on Chief Minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy atthe latter’s residence at Tadepalli in Amaravati Capital region on Saturday.

COURTESY CCALL

India moved a step closer to getting an indigenous fighter jet for itsnavy with the developmental Light Combat Aircraft Naval (LCA-N)

Tejas MK1 on Saturday (January 11, 2020) successfully making anarrested landing on Indian Navy aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya. Theimportant milestone proved the indigenously developed nichetechnologies specific to deck basedfighter operations. The success willlead to India developing andmanufacturing the Twin Engine DeckBased Fighter for the Indian Navy.

TEJAS LANDS ON INS VIKRAMADITYA,ACHIEVES A UNIQUE MILESTONE

GADKARI: 1.5L PEOPLE DIE IN 5 LAKHACCIDENTS EVERY YEAR IN INDIA

SULTAN OF OMAN, 79, WHO RULEDCOUNTRY SINCE 1970, DIES Oman's ailing Sultan Qaboos bin Said, one of the

Middle East's longest serving rulers who maintainedthe country's neutrality in regional struggles, died onFriday and the Gulf state's high military council beganthe process to choose his successor. Three days ofofficial mourning have been declared with flags flown athalf-mast for 40 days, for the Western-backedQaboos, 79, who had ruled since taking over in abloodless coup in 1970 with the help of formercolonial power Britain.

Every year, around 1.5 lakh people are killed in five lakh accidents thattake place across the country, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said, and

expressed remorse that his ministry could not reduce these numbersdespite taking several measures. He was speaking inNagpur at a Road Safety Week function on Saturday."Five lakh accidents take place in the country everyyear and around 1.5 lakh people are killed. The GDPloss is two per cent. Besides, 62 per cent of thosekilled in road accidents are in the 18-35 agegroup," Gadkari said.

IAF OFFICER ARRESTED FORPOSING AS AMIT SHAH ON PHONE Madhya Pradesh Special Task Force (STF) has arrested a senior

Indian Air Force officer for allegedly posing as Union Home MinisterAmit Shah in a phone call to state Governor Lalji Tandon to facilitate hisfriend's appointment as the vice-chancellor of a medical university, anofficial said on Friday. Indian Air Force Wing Commander Kuldeep Bagh-ela, currently posted at the IAF headquartersin Delhi, was arrested along with his Bhopal-based dentist friend Chandresh KumarShukla, who had posed as Shah's PA duringthe phone call, the official said.

12

THE LEADERWHO RAISED

VOICE FORTELANGANA

AT 14

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Chief Minister YS JaganmohanReddy on Saturday chaired ameeting with Ministers andrepresentatives belonging tothe BC community and tooksome important decisions thatwill enhance the living stan-dards of the BC and nomadiccommunities in the State.Discussions were also held ona report that was submittedbefore elections by a researchcommittee for BackwardClasses (BC) headed by JangaKrishnamurthy.

The meeting decided towork for the uplift of neglect-ed and abandoned nomadiccommunities in the State. Inorder to promote the livingstandards of these communi-ties, the government decided toestablish corporations under

three categories - one for BCswith population ranging from10,000 to one lakh, another forthose with population between

one lakh and 10 lakh and thethird for those who number 10lakh or more.

Continued on Page 3

Government plans threecorporations for BC uplift

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Reminding the YSRCP presi-dent that he had supported thecapital at Amaravati, BJP APpresident KannaLakshminarayana on Saturdaysaid that Chief Minister YSJaganmohan Reddy was tryingto relocate the state capitalunder the excuse of decen-tralisation of administration.

Alleging the relocation ofthe state capital was a con-spiracy hatched by Jagan,Lakshminarayana said that hevehemently condemn the stok-ing the fires of regional unrest.

The BJP leader said hisparty was committed to decen-tralised development, but notto administrative decentrali-sation.

Lakshminarayana said theissue was not confined to peo-ple of 29 villages around

Amaravati. "Amaravati is notmerely a problem of the farm-ers of the capital region, but ofover 5 crore people of thestate," he remarked.

He asked the governmentnot to look into the issue ofstate capital at Amaravati fromthe perspective of the farmers.

BJP MP GVL NarasimhaRao said that the party's polit-

ical resolution on the state cap-ital at Amaravati should not belinked to the Centre.

Though the previous TDPregime chose Amaravati asthe state capital against the rec-ommendations ofSivaramakrishnan Committee,all parties extended their sup-port to the state capital loca-tion, Narasimha Rao said.

Earlier, the BJP core com-mittee had resolved that thestate capital should remain inAmaravati.

Continued on Page 3

Chief Minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy chairs the meeting on BC welfare at hiscamp office in Tadepalli on Saturday.

Decentralisation claim is only apretext to shift state capital: BJP

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

YSRCP MLA DwarampudiChandrasekhar Reddy onSaturday heaped abuses onformer chief minister NChandrababu Naidu and JanaSena supremo Pawan Kalyan,using unprintable languagewhile referring to protests inAmaravati region by farmers,going so far as questioningtheir parentage.

Referring to the TDP's busyatra, the controversial MLAalleged that naidu embarkedon the yatra only to protectinterests of his benami-holders.

Calling him an "old man", heasked the YSRCP rank and fileto work hard in local bodyelections to ensure the rout ofthe TDP is through and com-plete. He asked them to sensi-tise people on the misdeeds ofNaidu.

Chandrasekhar Reddy didnot spare Nara Lokesh fromhis vitriolic criticism, askingYSRCP cadres to teach the for-mer minister a lesson.

Calling Pawan Kalyan a"package star", the MLAaddressed him in second per-son in a show of utter disregardand said: "How shameful is itto call yourself a leader?"

Continued on Page 3

Dwarampudi loses it, abuses Pawan, Naidu

Kanna Lakshminarayana

The BJP leader saidhis party wascommitted todecentraliseddevelopment, but notto administrativedecentralisation.

Dwarampudi Chandrasekhar Reddy

Dwarampudideserves a soundthrashing: Jana Sena HYDERABAD: Jana Senaleaders on Saturday warnedKakanada city YSRCP MLADwarampudi ChandrasekharReddy to "hold his tongue" orthey would be forced to thrashhim. They warned him ofserious consequences if he didnot tender unconditionalapology to their party presidentPawan Kalyan within 24 hours. Responding to vitriolic remarksagainst Pawan Kalyan and TDPsupremo N Chandrababu Naiduby the MLA, the Jana Senaleaders said that the MLA withhis unparliamentary languageagainst the two leaders put thewhole society to shame.

Continued on Page 3

AP High Court gets four new judgesPNS n VIJAYAWADA

Four new judges have beenappointed to the AndhraPradesh High Court.

President Ram Nath Kovindhas given his approval for theappointment of Justice RavuRaghunandan Rao, JusticeBattu Devannd, JusticeNainala Jayasurya and JusticeDonadi Ramesh. The Centrehas duly issued a notificationin this regard.

With this, the number ofjudges in the AP High Courthas reached 19. The SupremeCourt Collegium on July 25recommended to the Centrethe appointment of four judgesunder the advocate quota.

Justice Raghunandan Raowas born on June 30, 1964. Hewas a student of HyderabadPublic School and later earneda graduate degree in Law from

Osmania University in 1988.He worked as AssistantGovernment Pleader (AGP)from 1993 to 1994 and in 1995he became the Special AGP tothe Advocate General.

Justice Battu Devanand wasborn in Gudivada on April 14,1966. After completing hisschool education from AGKSchool in Gudivada, he did hisIntermediate, BA courses atANR College in the sametown.

Continued on Page 3

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

A day after it was launched byChief Minister YSJaganmohan Reddy, the theAmma Vodi scheme hascaught the attention of thepeople of the state.

People are heard discussingthe scheme at every nook andcorner; the conversation most-ly on ways to draw the moneydeposited in the savings bankaccounts of mothers to enablethem to pay fees for theirwards' education.

The scheme entails deposit-ing Rs 15,000 in the bankaccounts of mothers to ensurethat their children's educationshould not be a burden on thefamily.

The state governmentdeposited Rs 6,400 crore in thebank accounts of over 43-lakh mothers in the New Year.

However, people are seenstanding up in serpentine

queues in front of banks todraw the amount to celebratethe Sankranti festival.

Queues stretching up to 1km in front of the banks are acommon sight in AP thesedays.

Some of the Internet-savvyyoungsters are posting imagesof such queues on socialmedia.

Amma Vodi beneficiariesin celebration mode

Are we livingin India orAfghanisatan?:YS ChowdaryPNS n VIJAYAWADA

Bharatiya Janata Party MP YSChowdary courted contro-versy on Saturday saying thatit was becoming increasing-ly difficult to live in thiscountry.

"There is no use living inthis country. It is better to liveas a refugee in another coun-try," Chowdary said, andcalled upon the people toexpress their disgust at thehigh-handedness of cops.

Addressing a press confer-ence here, the Rajya Sabhamember said the incident inwhich policemen had beatenup women protesters andarrested them at Ongole inPrakasam district had lefthim shocked.

Continued on Page 3

Ready to take PoK: Army ChiefPNS n NEW DELHI

While maintaining that bothNorthern and Western fron-tiers are equally important forIndia, Army chief GeneralM.M. Naravane on Saturdaysaid whenever governmentgives the go-ahead, his force isready to take away Pakistanoccupied Kashmir.

Making it clear that accord-ingly rebalancing of deploy-ment of the forces and

weapons are being carried out,the General commenting onPakistan occupied Kashmir

said: "If Parliament wants thatarea should be taken we willdefinitely do so and action willbe taken accordingly."

The Indian Army chief 'scomments came at the annu-al press conference, where hesaid there was a parliamentaryresolution that entire erstwhileJammu and Kashmir is part ofIndia. Whenever the govern-ment directs it will be done.

Naravane stressed: "If that bethe mandate so be it."

NMDC lined up to mine multibilliondollar diamond deposits in MPn NEW DELHI

State-owned miner NMDC ispoised to win a multibillion-dollar contract to explore andmine diamonds at a large pro-ject abandoned by globalminer Rio Tinto, a leading localgovernment official, reportednews agency Reuters.

Madhya Pradesh has askedNMDC to explore the Bunderdeposits, which could containmillions of carats of diamonds,Neeraj Mandloi, principal sec-retary at the state's Mineral

Resource Department said.The state government last

month awarded a smaller por-tion of the deposit to EsselMining & Industries, part of

Indian conglomerate AdityaBirla Group, Mandloi said.That area was valued at about$9 billion, according to esti-mates by Rio Tinto and the

state government. "Our geo-logical survey has shown thatthe entire area, which haslargely remained unexplored, isrich in diamonds," Mandloisaid of the Bunder depositabout 500 km (300 miles)southeast of New Delhi, addingthat its output could be in thebillions of dollars.

"We have requested NMDCto do a composite role ofexploring and mining and thecompany has shown a prelim-inary interest."

Continued on Page 3

Madhya Pradeshhas asked NMDC toexplore the Bunderdeposits, whichcould containmillions of carats ofdiamonds

PNS n HYDERABAD

AIMIM president AsaduddinOwaisi on Saturday claimedthat citizenship granted on"religious basis" was "antithet-ical" to the Constitution, whichwas enough reason to opposethe controversial CAA. He wasresponding to comments ofHome Minister Amit Shah thatopposition was spreading false-hood on the legislation and that

the Act was meant to give citi-zenship and not take it away.Owaisi also said if a law pro-vides citizenship to six groupsbut "excludes one," then it isonly meant to deny citizenship."If a law confers citizenship on6 groups but excludes one,then its a law to deny citizen-ship, Shah sb may not like theConstitution, but he has towork within its limits.

Continued on Page 3

M M Naravane

Citizenship on religious basis‘antithetical’ to Constitution: Owaisi

Assembly specialsession on capitalissue on Jan 20PNS n VIJAYAWADA

The AP government is set toconvene a special session ofthe state legislative Assemblyon January 20 to table theHigh-Power Committeereport on state capital.

According to sources, thesession would discuss thestate capital issue and decen-tralisation of administration.Prior to the session, on Jan-uary 18, the Cabinet will di-scuss three capitals proposal.

Incidentally, the governm-ent has totally ignored theprotests in the capital regionnot issuing a single statement.

2 women injuredin capital protestsVIJAYAWADA: A womansuffered a fracture in one ofher hands, allegedly afterbeing struck by a lathi blowwhen the police were dis-persing protesters atMandadam on Saturdaymorning. Later in the day,another woman, identified asYarremaneni Sree Lakshmi,was injured in similar cir-cumstances in the Capitalregion on the 25th day ofprotests against the threecapital proposal.

Continued on Page 3

With theappointment of thefour judges under theadvocate quota, thenumber of judges inthe AP High Court hasreached 19

Current Weather ConditionsUpdated January 11, 2020 5:00 PM

ALMANAC TODAY

Month & Paksham:Paush & Krishna PakshaPanchangamTithi : Dwitiya: 08:11 pm Nakshatram: Pushya: 11:49 amTime to Avoid: (Bad time to start

any important work)Rahukalam: 04:32 pm- 05:55 pmYamagandam: 12:24 pm – 01:47 pm

Varjyam: 11:36 pm - 01:05 am

Gulika: 03:09 pm - 04:32 pmGood Time: (to start any important work)

Amritakalam: NILAbhijit Muhurtham: 12:02 pm - 12:46 pm

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Project TATA trains cops to keep abreast with techPNS n VIJAYAWADA

Prakasam DistrictSuperintendent of PoliceSiddharth Kaushal launchedProject TATA (Trainings &Activities for TechnologyAdoption), a first of its kindinitiative in the country.

The main aim of the projectis to strengthen police person-nel i.e; from constable toSI/CI/DSP-level officer by con-ducting a series of workshopson technology adoptions andapplications to modernise thepolice force.

Trainings and activities willbe introduced in order toadopt various technologyapplications like CDR (CallDetail Records), which areused to track details oftelecommunication call ormessage generated by a phonedevice, CCTNS (Crime andCriminal Tracking NetworksSystem) in which the informa-tion of the each and every caseis uploaded online so that anypolice across the country canaccess the data to identify thecriminal, IPDR (InternetProtocol Detail Report), whichis used to collect and recorddata generated by IP used ser-vice, CIG (CriminalIntelligence Gazette) in whichthe data of the missing persons,unidentified bodies, inter-statecriminal gangs and stolen vehi-cles are available in the CIG.

Surveillance and intelligencerelated applications make the

police force future ready. TheSP said: "We are also develop-ing technology adoption cen-tre in the headquarters, whichwould function like a trainingcentre and also as a cybercrime

laboratory. We are doing thisproject in partnership withthe district administration byprocuring 100 computers andwe are also preparing softwareapplications from different

sources and various vendorsand we are going to be contin-uously able to conducting allsorts of training from basic tointermediate to advance andeventually we are striving tobecome Number 1 district inthe country in terms of capac-ity building in technologyapplication and adoption".

As a part of the projecttechnical tools workshop onapplications like Enterprisesearch, Court checker, e-Challan search and Googletimeline was conducted earli-er. Now, they are focusing onCCTNS (Crime and CriminalTracking Networks System), abasic application, which wasintroduced across the countryafter 2008 Mumbai attacks tointegrate the criminal intelli-gence and information, this isthe first of its kind initiativeand this has been appreciatedby the DGP and we will con-tinue on this path". "Fromnow, police personnel would betechnically trained and able tobring down the crime rate, pre-vent crimes and keep an eye onanti-social elements and willprosecute cases faster to reducecorruption and increase trans-parency", he said.s

Police personnel being trained in technology at a workshop organised in Ongole on Saturday

l The main aim ofthe project is to

strengthen policepersonnel i.e; from

constable toSI/CI/DSP-level

officer byconducting a series

of workshops ontechnology

adoptions andapplications tomodernise the

police force

l Trainings and activities willbe introduced in order to adoptvarious technology applicationslike CDR (Call Detail Records),which are used to track detailsof telecommunication call ormessage generated by a phonedevice, CCTNS (Crime andCriminal Tracking NetworksSystem) in which theinformation of the each andevery case is uploaded onlineso that any police across thecountry can access the data

PNS n SAN FRANCISCO

Google parent companyAlphabet's Chief Legal OfficerDavid Drummond has decidedto quit following potentiallyinappropriate workplace rela-tionship with a subordinate.Drummond joined Google in1998 and worked 18 years as thecompany's top lawyer, workingclosely with co-founders LarryPage and Sergey Brin, who alsomoved on, handing over thereins of the company to SundarPichai.

In a filing with the USSecurities and ExchangeCommission (SEC) on Friday,the company said: "On January

10, 2020, Alphabet Incannounced that DavidDrummond has informed thecompany that he will be retir-ing from Alphabet from January31, 2020".

"With Larry and Sergey nowleaving their executive roles atAlphabet, the company is enter-ing an exciting new phase, andI believe that it's also the righttime for me to make way for thenext generation of leaders",read Drummond's internalmemo obtained by CNBC.

"As a result, after careful

consideration, I have decided toretire at the end of this month".

In a startling revelation inAugust 2019, a former Googlelawyer claimed that "blatantwomanising and philandering"was commonplace among someGoogle executives and the com-pany's chief legal officerDrummond, who had an affair

with her - resulting in a babyborn in 2007 - cheated on her.

Writing in a post on Medium,Jennifer Blakely saidDrummond was well awarethat their relationship was inviolation of Google's new pol-icy, which went from "discour-aging" direct-reporting-linerelationships to outright ban-ning them.

Google has been hit by a cou-ple of high-profile sexualharassment cases in the recentpast. The company reportedlypaid $105 million to AndyRubin and another former exec-utive of Indian-origin AmitSinghal as exit package afterthey were accused of sexualharassment in 2014.

CAPSULE

JEO briefs traineeIAS officers on TTD activities

Massive rally takenout against CAAVIJAYAWADA: A massive rallywas taken out in whichhundreds of minorities tookpart to protest against theCitizenship Amendment Act(CAA) and the National Registerof Citizens (NRC) at Tadipatri inAnantapur district. As a part ofthe protest, Muslim womenparticipated in large numbers inthe rallies across the districtand demanded that the Centralgovernment withdraw theamended CAA and theproposed pan-India NRC.

TIRUMALA: JEO P BasanthKumar briefed the trainee IASofficers on various activities ofTirumala TirupatiDevasthanams (TTD) with aPowerPoint presentation. Thebriefing session was held atAnnamaiah Bhavan in Tirumalaon Saturday. The JEO informedthe team of trainee IAS officersabout darshan,accommodation, reception,tonsuring, laddu prasadam,annaprasadam, parakamani,sanitation and Srivari sevaactivities with relevantinformation. Later, they visitedAnnaprasadam Complex,Laddu Complex andKalyanakatta Complex to studythe activities in the respectiveareas. DEO and Liaison OfficerRamanaprasad, Kalyanakattadeputy executive officerNagaratna and others were present.

Google CLO quits over ‘inappropriate relationship’l Google has so far terminated 48 people over sexual harassment in 2019, says Sunder Pichai

Jennifer Blakely said Drummond wasaware that their relationship was inviolation of Google's new policy,which went from "discouraging"direct-reporting-line relationships to outright banning them

Indian-American astronaut may get a chance to go to Moonl Raja Chari inherited the value of education from hisfather Sreenivas V Chari, who immigrated from HyderabadIANS n NEW YORK

An Indian-American will beamong astronauts, who may geta chance to go to the Moon orMars following his graduationfrom NASA's programme totrain astronauts for those mis-sions and the International SpaceStation.

Raja Chari was among the 11astronauts, who received silverpins on Friday marking theirgraduation at the Johnson SpaceCentre in Houston after twoyears of gruelling training. Afterthey go into space they willexchange their silver pins for goldin a NASA tradition. He is thethird Indian-American astro-naut.

Explaining the Artemis pro-gramme in which he will partic-ipate, Chari said in an interviewto IANS: "We're trying to get tothe Moon to stay by 2024, andwe have the technology to dothat. We're working on gettingthe resources to do that, and it'sgonna take a lot of work, it's notgoing to be easy".

The Artemis programmeaims at putting a man and awoman on the Moon in 2024,establish sustainable MoonMissions by 2028 and ultimate-ly send astronauts to Mars.

About his next step, Charisaid: "We won't be assignedmissions for a while but in themeantime we'll be helping allaround Johnson Space Centre

with different officesthat are workingon getting us tothe Moon".

He said thathis guidingprinciple isasking each daythe question,"What did I do tohelp us get to theMoon today?" and beingable to answer it. He inherited thevalue of education from hisfather Sreenivas V Chari, whoimmigrated from Hyderabad, hesaid.

He said: "One thing fromIndia that he brought with himwas that school and education isa privilege, it's not a right. Andthat was something that was very,very much enforced in ourhouse and we never took forgranted the fact we got to go toschool".

He added: "I knowthe sacrifices it took

for him to be able toafford to help uswith schooling.And I think that'sprobably thebiggest difference

that he made".Chari graduated

from the US Air ForceAcademy with bachelor's

degrees in astronautical engi-neering and engineering sci-ence and went on to earn a mas-ter's degree in aeronautics andastronautics from the presti-gious Massachusetts Institute ofTechnology. He also graduatedfrom the Navy's Test Pilot School.

An accomplished test pilot, heis a colonel in the US Air Forceand served as the commander ofthe 461st Flight Test Squadronand as the director of the F-35Integrated Test Force.

There hasn't been a morefit case for the Centre tointervene than the one

prevailing in Andhra Pradesh.The Centre has to intervene

and firmly tell the JaganmohanReddy Government that itcannot shift the capital fromAmaravati. Not five years afterthe State came into existence,nearly Rs. 5,000 crore spent onbuilding it and after thou-sands of farmers invested heav-ily in the capital region in thejustified hope of reaping richrewards.

The Centre cannot shrug offits responsibility by hidingunder the technicality that theprevious Government failed tosecure Parliament's approvalprior to the issuance of agazette notifying Amaravatias the capital. This would betantamount to turning a blindeye to the historical fact thatthe Prime Minister himself

endorsed Amaravati by layingthe stone for the capital.

It would also raise the ques-tion whether Narendra Modiwould do an encore atVisakhapatnam, the executivecapital, if requested.

The Jaganmohan ReddyGovernment has fast-trackedthe capital shifting armed withthe fig-leaf of unconvincingreports of the GN RaoCommittee and the BostonConsulting Group. These werepresented post-facto of theGovernment's pre-meditateddecision to serve as an alibi incourts of law to show that duediligence had preceded theaction.

A Cabinet meeting in thethird week of January and aspecial Assembly session onJanuary 20 are all that stand inthe way of Andhra gettingthree capitals in place of one.

The Centre needs to bereminded that it is a stakehold-er in building the capital and

has solemnly committed itselfto funding construction of theSecretariat, the Assembly, theRaj Bhavan and the HighCourt and has already given asum of over Rs 2,500 crore.

It cannot now turn itselfaway from the utter obduracybeing displayed by the StateGovernment in the face ofnumerous facts and soundreason being voiced againsttinkering with the capital.

Chandrababu Naidu hasundoubtedly committed blun-ders by letting go of

Hyderabad, the joint capital forten years, so very early in histenure and, of course, not get-ting the notification issued forAmaravati. These have provento be as disastrous to Andhraand to his personal image ofbeing canny politician as his"two eyes" theory vis-à-visAndhra and Telangana aheadof the State's bifurcation in2014.

The BJP, in its part, is moral-ly obliged to prevent fruition ofthis failed idea of multiplecapitals because it had strong-

ly pressed the UPAGovernment to compensateSeemandhra for the losses itwould suffer due to bifurcation.The saffron party had its waybecause the AP ReorganisationBill could not be passed with-out its support in the RajyaSabha. All this happened afterthen BJP leader M. VenkaiahNaidu met Congress presi-

dent in the Central Hall ofParliament. BJP is now send-ing signals of being week-kneed party in AP, perhaps outof political compulsions causedby overwhelming opposition tothe Citizenship AmendmentAct (CAA) and the NationalRegister of Citizens (NRC).

On the economic front too,can the Centre realisticallyexpect India to become a 5 tril-lion dollar economy if Statesspend money on unproductiveprojects like multiple capitals,turn back foreign investorsand international banks as inAndhra or building a newSecretariat complex as inTelangana after demolishingthe existing one? Do thesecontribute to the creation ofwealth or permanent employ-ment?

Jaganmohan Reddy and histeam seem so obsessed withthe idea of punishing "realtors"belonging to ChandrababuNaidu's caste and teach the

TDP a lesson that they appeardisinclined to ponder oversuch larger issues of economy.Visakhapatnam undoubtedlyhas several qualifications tobecome a capital but it is cutout for loftier goals like serv-ing as a hub for informationtechnology, tourism, filmindustry and, above all, aninvestment destination.Mumbai should never try tobecome New Delhi.

Among the innumerablenegatives held out againstAmaravati is that it wouldturn into crowded city likeHyderabad with so many'hubs' crammed into it. But, sowould Vizag which may haveabundant government landand ready-made built up areabut very little by way of trans-port infrastructure. Large partsof the City are owned by theRailways and Port Trust whichhave pushed pollution-causingindustries to one side of thehills and residential houses to

the other. Laying new roadsand building new houses,offices and more railway sta-tions to cater to the addition-al demands of a capital willmake Vizag no different fromHyderabad. Creation of allthis infrastructure would costthe same as the proposed seedcapital in Amaravati and thejudicial capital in Kurnool.Vizag is growing organicallywith Gangavaram Port beingof recent origin, a new steelplant in the private sector onthe way and an airport atBhogapuram.

By harassing farmers whohave given up over 33,000acres of land and re-locatingthe employees once againwould little purpose beyondsettling political and casterivalries. The JaganmohanReddy Government is re-open-ing old wounds in Rayalaseemaand giving an impetus for cre-ation of a third Telugu-speak-ing State.

The Jaganmohan Reddy government has fast-tracked the capital shifting armed with thefig-leaf of unconvincing reports of the GN RaoCommittee and the Boston Consulting Group.These were presented post-facto of thegovernment's pre-meditated decision to serveas an alibi in courts of law to show that duediligence had preceded the action

S NAGESH KUMARFormer Resident Editor,

The Hindu

‘ALL ANDSUNDRY’ Amaravati: A fit case for the Centre to intervene

Indian expat sets worldrecord for 1,000 songsin as many daysIANS n DUBAI

A Dubai-based Indian expathas completed her record bid tosing 1,000 songs in 1,000 days,with all songs written, composed,sung and recorded entirely byher, a media report said.

Swapna Abraham, 48, hasbeen recognised by the GoldenBook of World Records for fourawards, including the "quotidi-an feat of composing, producingand publishing a song 'live'incessantly for 1,000 days fromApril 8, 2017 to January 2, 2020",the Gulf News report said onFriday.

She is also going to apply tothe Guinness World Records for"the most number of songs in adigital album".

In reality, she has sung morethan 1,000 songs a day as she alsosung an additional song forchildren over the 1,000 consec-utive days - plus a third, fourth,or fifth song on many of the days.Once she even managed tocomplete 22 songs in one day.

Abraham, who works for amanagement consulting firm inDubai, said she wanted to endher decades-long music career bysinging 1,000 songs in 1,000 days.

"After doing music profession-ally for 24 years and publishing22 albums, I still felt I was veryunfulfilled as a musician, as an

artist. I couldn't understandwhat it was".

"So I made a decision to giveup music for good and almostimmediately after that I toldmyself I want to do one morevery difficult thing and then I willgive it up. And that's when Idecided I would do a song a dayfor 1,000 days", Gulf News quot-ed Abraham as saying.

IANS n NEW YORK

For many men diagnosed withtestosterone deficiency, losingweight can help increase testos-terone levels, say researchers,adding that, specifically a low-fat diet may be associated witha small but significant reductionin testosterone.

"We found that men, whoadhered to a fat restrictive diethad lower serum testosteronethan men on a nonrestrictivediet", said study researcher Jake

Fantus fromUniversity ofChicago in theUS. "However,the clinical sig-nificance ofsmall differencesin serum T acrossdiets is unclear",Fantus added.

For the study, pub-lished in the Journal ofUrology, the research teamanalysed data on more than3,100 men from a nationwide

health study (theNational Health and

Nutrition Examination Survey,or NHANES).

All participants had available

data on diet and serum testos-terone level. Based on a two-daydiet history, 14.6 per cent ofmen met criteria for a low-fatdiet, as defined by the American

Heart Association (AHA).Another 24.4 per cent of

men followed a Mediterraneandiet high in fruits, vegetables,and whole grains but low in ani-mal protein and dairy products.

Only a few men met criteriafor the AHA low-carbohydratediet, so this group was exclud-ed from the analysis. The aver-age serum testosterone levelwas 435.5 ng/dL (nanogramsper decilitre).

According to the study,serum testosterone was lower in

men on the two restrictivediets: Average 411 ng/dL forthose on a low-fat diet and 413ng/dL for those on theMediterranean diet.

The associations were adjust-ed for other factors that canaffect testosterone, includingage, body mass index, physicalactivity, and medical condi-tions. After adjustment, thelow-fat diet was significantlyassociated with reduced serumtestosterone, although theMediterranean diet was not.

“We found that men, who adhered toa fat restrictive diet had lowerserum testosterone than men on anonrestrictive diet”, said studyresearcher Jake Fantus fromUniversity of Chicago in the US

Low-fat diet may lower testosterone levels in men

l Swapna Abraham,48, has been recognisedby the Golden Book ofWorld Records for fourawards, including the“quotidian feat ofcomposing, producingand publishing a song'live' incessantly for1,000 days from April 8,2017 to Jan 2, 2020”

VIJAYAWADA | SUNDAY | JANUARY 12, 2020 vijayawada 03

CAPSULE

‘Gow puja' in AP, TS on January 11

Detained TDPleaders freed

VIJAYAWADA: The TTD isplanning to conduct ‘Gow puja'under the aegis of HDPP atselect locations in AndhraPradesh and Telangana onJanuary 11 and 12. 'Gow puja'will be performed at temples in10 locations in each district onJanuary 11 and the next day atall district headquarters ofTelugu States. Meanwhile, theTTD is taking up 'Gow puja'campaign in Tamil Nadu andKarnataka States also in a bigway.

VIJAYAWADA: Police freed theTDP leaders, who were keptunder house arrest, on Saturday.Former minister AmarnathReddy, MLC G Sreenivasulu,former MLA M Sugunamma,former TUDA Chairman GNarasimha Yadav and otherswere kept under house arrest atvarious places in the morningahead of the JAC proposed'Amaravati Parirakshana' rally inTirupati. However, in theafternoon, police freed them andaccorded permission for the rallywith conditions up toKrishnapuram Thana but refusedto allow it further to Nalugu KallaMandapam. However, the TDPleaders have been saying thatthey will go up to Nalugu KallaMandapam as planned earlier.

PNS n AMARAVATI

Farmers from capital villages ofAmaravati region met Ministerfor Municipal Administrationand UrbanDevelopment BotsaSaryanaraya at hisresidence here onSaturday andnarrated theirproblems andfears regardingthe shifting ofCapital. The minis-ter assured the farmersthat every promise made bythe previous government tothem will be fulfilled.

Farmers appealed to theminister to give back the lands

that were not in use for theCapital Region. Moreover,farmers mentioned the prob-lems with the government'sdecision on cancellation of reg-

istration of assigned landspurchase.

S a r y a n a r a y aassured that thegovernment willstand by its wordand said it wascommitted to the

development ofAmaravati region. He

also stated that in casefarmers, who gave their lands

for Amaravati had any requests,they would be considered byChief Minister YS JaganmohanReddy.

PNS n AMARAVATI

The Jana Sena Party (JSP) atits State executive committeemeeting at Mangalagiri onSaturday discussed manyissues, including the stand tobe taken on the Capitalconundrum and the prepara-tions for the local body elec-tions.

A proposal has been madeto have a tie-up with a keypolitical party instead of goingit alone in the elections. It islearnt that the Jana Sena exec-utive members expressed theview that instead of havingtruck with ruling parties likeTDP and BJP, the Jana Senashould sail with another keyparty. While most executivecommittee members favouredalliance with the TDP, JanaSena president Pawan Kalyanis yet to make his stand clear.

However, he is learnt tohave expressed the view thatthe YSRCP had won the gen-eral elections in 2019 as theJana Sena went it alone. Manyparty leaders had felt that asonly one MLA seat was wonby the party, it should now tryand cash in on the people'sopposition to the YSRCP inthe ensuing elections.

The continuing alliance ofJana Sena with Left partiesalso came for discussion dur-ing the meeting. However,there was no unanimity in theparty over this. Many mem-bers had expressed their per-sonal views on the issue.

Some party leaders opinedthat the party should begin itscampaign by taking on

YSRCP in the local body elec-tions as they assume the con-ditions are ideal for their vic-tory.

It may be recalled that theTDP had lent its support toPawan Kalyan's 'long march'in Visakhapatnam, which wastaken out in protest against

sand scarcity on account ofwhich many constructionworkers had committed sui-cide. Reciprocating this ges-ture, Jana Sena leaders hadgiven their support to TDPpresident N ChandrababuNaidu's Deeksha inVijayawada over the same

issue. However, there is noformal alliance between boththe parties. As the TDP maynot raise any objection toforging an alliance with JanaSena, the chances of these twoparties coming together arehigh.

Jana Sena executive paneldiscusses Capital conundrum

Pawan rushesto DelhiAMARAVATI: In a surprisingdevelopment, Jana Sena chiefPawan Kalyan left for Delhieven as the State executivecommittee was in progress inMangalagiri. He is learnt tohave rushed to Hyderabad andfrom there reached Delhi onSaturday afternoon. He islearnt to have got anappointment with Union HomeMinister Amit Shah. Now, alleyes are on Pawan Kalyan'ssudden visit to Delhi.

Pawan Kalyan addresses the executive party meeting of the Jana Sena at the party’s state office in Mangalagiri on Saturday

Lone MLAskips partymeet to watchbull races AMARAVATI: Lone MLA of theJana Sena Rapaka Varaprasadis hobnobbing with Minister forCivil Supplies Kodali Naniwatching bull races inGudivada as the Jana Senaheld its extensive meeting hereon Saturday. The Jana Senaleaders say that Varaprasad,who was conspicuous with hisabsence at the meeting,wantonly abstained from themeeting. Later speaking to themedia, Varaprasad remarkedthat he did not watch bull racesso far justifying his absence atthe meeting. He remarked thatthe three Capitals decision ofJaganmohan Reddy is correct.He advised farmers of theCapital Development Region tomeet the Chief Ministerpersonally rather thanprotesting on streets. Heclaimed that he has theindependence to voice hisopinion in the Jana Sena Party.

‘Naidu begged forfunds for Capital butnot for cyclone-hit’PNS n NEW DELHI

YSRCP Rajya Sabha MPVijayasai Reddy on Saturdayfound fault with TDP chief NChandrababu Naidu andLokesh on the TDP's stand onAmaravati.

In a tweeted message, he sus-pected that Chitti Naidu(Lokesh) might have advisedhis father to beg for funds, ban-gles and rings to raise funds forthe Capital Region's farmersstir. It may be recalled that NChandrababu begged for fundsrecently, while taking part in thefarmers agitation in the CapitalRegion.

Naidu, who remainedunmoved when the State reeledunder the impact of severecyclonic storms, is surprising-ly agitated over the injustice

rendered to the Capital Region'sfarmers and mobilising funds,what a surprise, he remarked.

In another tweet, right fromthe beginning Naidu's behav-iour was as such that he lootspublic money as if it is his ownproperty. If the scene reverses,he dubs his problem as that ofpeople's problem.

Capital regionfarmers meet Botsa

PNS n HYDERABAD

All bus and railway stations arebursting at seams with home-bound travellers for Sankrantito celebrate the festival in theirnative places. Some others pre-fer to travel by private busesunmindful of costs. Majority ofthose who settled in Hyderabadare bound for their nativeplaces in Andhra Pradesh.

Bus stations are milling withpeople intending to travel tonative places in AP, includingGuntur and Vijayawada, inalmost all districts that includeEast and West Godavari,Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaramand Prakasam districts.

Many have started for theirnative places from Fridayonwards leading to heavy traf-fic jams at Toll Plazas and onnational highways. Those whoprefer to be in their native placeat least one day beforeSankranti are willing to takeprivate buses. The nationalhighway near Vijayawada hasreported major traffic jam.

Thousands of people livingin Hyderabad are bound fortheir native places like Karim-

nagar, Nalgonda, Warangal andMahbubnagar leading to traf-fic jams on the Rajiv Rahadariand the national highway.Meanwhile, all roads leading tothe Shamshabad airport areabuzz with activity. The num-

ber of travellers to AP outnum-ber those travelling to their des-tinations in Telangana.

Joy of visiting their home-towns made people patient inspite of inordinate delays at TollPlazas due to traffic snarls.

l A proposal has beenmade to have a tie-up

with a key politicalparty instead of going

it alone in the electionsl It is learnt that theJana Sena executivemembers expressed

the view that instead ofhaving truck with

ruling parties like TDPand BJP, the Jana

Sena should sail withanother key party

l While most executivecommittee membersfavoured alliance with theTDP, Jana Sena presidentPawan Kalyan is yet tomake his stand clearl Some party leadersopined that the partyshould begin its campaignby taking on YSRCP in thelocal body elections asthey assume theconditions are ideal fortheir victory

Continued from Page 1

He alleged that PawanKalyan was being remote-controlled by ChandrababuNaidu.

Referring to Pawan Kalyan,Chandrasekhar Reddy feltthat the capital should beimmediately relocated toVisakhapatnam and bena-mi-holders of ChandrababuNaidu should be exposed. Hedemanded the government toput the TDP chief, Lokeshand Pawan Kalyan behindbars.

Bus, railway stationsbursting at the seams

Bus stations are milling with peopleintending to travel to native places in AP,including Guntur and Vijayawada, and indistricts like East and West Godavari,Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram andPrakasam districts

NMDC lined up to mine...Continued from Page 1

Madhya Pradesh, the onlydiamond mining region inAsia, could be among theworld's top ten diamond pro-ducers, studies have shown.

Rio Tinto spent about $90million over 14 years on theBunder project, located in aforested area that is home totigers and other wildlife.

The company had plans toinvest up to $500 million butpulled out of the projectafter legal battles with greenactivists and delays inobtaining environmentalpermits.

NMDC already mines inthe neighbouring Majhgawanmine at Panna, MadhyaPradesh, where the companyhas extracted about 1 millioncarats of diamonds, accordingto the company's website.

2 women injuredin capital protestsContinued from Page 1

The injured women werehospitalised. Police on Saturdaystopped a man trying to immo-late himself during a protestagainst the three capitals pro-posal, at Tulluru in theAmaravati Capital region.

The protester, identified asJohnny, poured kerosene onhimself and was stopped by thecops before he could light a fire.

Sree Lakshmi was rushed tothe Ayush Hospital inVijayawada in a '108' ambu-lance. The other protestersalleged that the police hit herwith batons in the stomach.

Meanwhile, tension grippedVelagapudi when womenobstructed the police fromentering a house to arrest a manaccused in attack on MacheralMLA at Chinnakakani recent-

ly. The women had a heatedargument with the police whowent there without a warrant.When the situation went out ofcontrol, the police beat a retreat.

On Saturday, the policedeployed additional forces asthe farmers intensified theirprotests. The protesters raised'Jai Amaravati' slogans.However, the police foiled theirattempt to take out rallies say-ing that protest programmeswere banned as Sections 144and 30 were in force in the area.

Elsewhere, a man takingphotographs mingling with theprotesters was caught hold of byfarmers. When asked who hewas, he gave inconsistent repliesbut finally confessed that he wasa Special Branch constable andwas under instructions from thepolice to take snaps of theprotests.

State plans 3corporations...Continued from Page 1

It was decided to providebenefits like housing, pen-sions, ration cards and finan-cial assistance for caste-basedoccupations for the support ofnomadic and unrecognisedcommunities with a popula-tion below 10,000.

The Chief Minister wantedanother meeting for the upliftof these people. He said theMinisters and legislators, BCcommunity leaders and hewould also participate in themeeting. Jaganmohan Reddydirected the officials to takesuggestions from them in theupcoming meeting. MinistersBotsa Satyanarayana,Mopidevi Venkataramana,Anil Kumar Yadav, DharmanaKrishnadas andSankaranarayana, and repre-sentatives of BC communitywere among those present.

AP High Court getsfour new judgesContinued from Page 1

He obtained the BL degreefrom Andhra University. Hebegan his career as advocateas junior to MK Seetaramaiahin 1989. He worked as AGPat the High Court from 1996to 2000. Justice Devanandalso worked as legal advisorto BSNL and various insur-ance companies.

Justice Nainala Jayasuryawas born in Tadepalligudemof West Godavari district in1968. He had his schooling atTanuku before completingIntermediate and graduationin Rajahmundry. JusticeJayasurya did his graduationin Law from VelagapudiDurgabai Siddhartha College

of Law in Vijayawada. Hepractised Law at the AP HighCourt from 2009 to 2014.Justice Nainala Jayasuryaworked as counsel forAPSTC, STC, HUDA andother public sector units.

Justice Donadi Rameshwas born in 1965 atKamanapalli in Chittoor dis-trict. After doing his SSC atNanjanpeta, he completedIntermediate and B.Comcourses at SV Arts College inTirupati. He began his careeras advocate by working asjunior to reteired judgeJustice PS Narayana. JusticeRamesh worked as counselfor Rajiv Vidya Mission andSarva Siksha Abhiyan in HighCourt.

Dwarampudi loses it, abuses Pawan Kalyan, NaiduDwarampudi deserves a sound thrashing: Jana SenaContinued from Page 1

The YSRCP leaders are becomingarrogant as they are living underthe false notion of their strength,the Jana Sena leaders alleged. When women of Amaravati capitalregion were shedding tearsexpressing anxiety over the futureof their children, why did ChiefMinister Jaganmohan Reddy'smother YS Vijayalakshmi and his

sister Sharmila Reddy preferredsilence, they wondered. They predicted that JaganmohanReddy would soon land behindbars. The Jana Sena leaders opinedthat if the proposal of three capitalcities for AP is realized, it wouldtake the state backwards in termsof development. They said thatexecutive, legislative and judicialcapitals of the state should remainat one place wherever the

government decides. Takingexception to ministers in the statecapital abusing the farmers of thecapital region, they sought to knowfrom the government whatprevented it from taking actionagainst former Chief Minister NChandrababu Naidu if he hadindulged in insider trading. TheJana Sena would contest all seatsin local body elections, they said. Jana Sena leaders on Saturday

warned Kakanada city YSRCP MLADwarampudi Chandrasekhar Reddyto "hold his tongue" or they wouldbe forced to thrash him. Theywarned him of seriousconsequences if he did not tenderunconditional apology to their partypresident Pawan Kalyan within 24hours. Responding to vitriolicremarks against Pawan Kalyan andTDP chief Naidu by the MLA, theJana Sena leaders said that the

MLA with his unparliamentarylanguage against the two leadersput the whole society to shame. The YSRCP leaders are becomingarrogant as they are living underthe false notion of their strength,the Jana Sena leaders alleged. When women of Amaravati capitalregion were anxious over the futureof their children, why are Chief YSVijayalakshmi and Sharmila mum,they wondered.

‘Are we living in India...Continued from Page 1

"Are we living in India orAfghanisatan?" Chowdaryasked. He said that the YSRCPgovernment has lost the con-fidence of women in the firstsix months of its coming topower.

In a tweet, he objected toimposition of Section 144 inAmaravati. In another tweet,he said he had met PresidentRam Nath Kovind inHyderabad and brought tohis notice the problems beingfaced by farmers' inAmaravati.

Citizenship onreligious basis...Continued from Page 1

Citizenship on religious basis isantithetical to our Constitution &that's reason enough to opposeit," Owaisi tweeted. According tothe act, members of Hindu, Sikh,Buddhist, Jain, Parsi andChristian communities, whohave come from Pakistan,Bangladesh and Afghanistan tillDecember 31, 2014 and arefacing religious persecutionthere, will not be treated asillegal immigrants but givenIndian citizenship.

Decentralisation isonly a pretext: BJPContinued from Page 1

The seed capital, Secretariat,Raj Bhavan, Assembly, theoffice of the CM and all wingsshould function fromAmaravati, Narasimha Raosaid. At the core committeemeeting, Narasimha Rao isbelieved to have stated that theBJP has got nothing to do withAmaravati. However, someleaders taking part in the meet-

ing are learnt to have opposedhis remarks.

His critics in the party corecommittee meeting are said tohave commented, "How can amainstream national politicalparty like the BJP remain alooffrom Amaravati project?" Theywere reported to have asked theparty leaders how can the statecapital, for which PM Modi haslaid the foundation stone, berelocated elsewhere.

PLEA TO APPOINT CBI JD

Shah gives nod toVijayasai's request PNS n NEW DELHI

Union Minister for HomeAmit Shah on Saturdayresponded favourably to arequest from YSRCP RajyaSabha MP Vijayasai Reddy toappoint a person, who does notbelong to Andhra Pradesh asthe CBI Joint Director. TheMP's request assumed signif-icance as the previous incum-bent Lakshminarayana wasaccused of creating problemsfor Jaganmohan Reddy.

Amit Shah ordered appoint-ment of a person from out ofthe State as JD for AP. Heresponded thus to a letterwritten by Vijayasai Reddy. Inhis letter, Vijayasai Reddyaccused Lakshminarayana ofmalafide intention and creat-ing problems for Jagan andsuspected repeat of suchappointments this time too.Hence, to escape punishmentfor his omissions and commis-sions during the past five years,Chandrababu Naidu is tryingto get appointed as CBI JointDirector an official, who hadworked underLakshminarayana, the MPalleged. Levelling serious alle-gations against Chandrababuin the letter, the MP allegedthat Lakshminarayana, actingon Chandrababu's orders, hadcreated hurdles for Jagan.Alleging close relationsbetween Chandrababu andLakshminarayana, he said thatthe head of a media organisa-tion had issued directions toLakshminarayana, the thenJD of the CBI.

Furthermore, he contendedin the letter that the JointDirector was in contact withNaidu over landline and posedproblems to Jagan at the behestof Naidu. He pointed out howan internal enquiry wasordered againstLakshminarayana by the CBIfor his objectionable conduct.He reminded thatLakshminarayana had triedto contest the Assembly polls

on TDP ticket and ultimatelycontested on the ticket of JanaSena, which he called thestrategic partner of the TDP.

The current incumbent JointDirector JD Krishna has hispolitical ties in AP and takingdecisions influenced by theopinions of former JointDirector Lakshminarayana, hesuspected . On the other hand,another aide ofLakshminarayana - HVenkatesh - is lobbying withauthorities to get posted to APas the Joint Director, heobserved. Venkatesh is tryingto create an impression that hehails from Karnataka fromnot AP, but his parents are ofAP origin. Therefore, he hasstrong roots in AP and goodmonetary relations with theprevious incumbentLakshminarayana. He servedas the SP during the tenure ofLakshminarayana as the CBI JD.

Levelling seriousallegationsagainstChandrababu inthe letter, the MPalleged thatLakshminarayana, acting onChandrababu'sorders, hadcreated hurdlesfor Jagan

PNS n SHIMLA

Lack of modern equipment toclear snowbound roads hasthrown normal life out of gearin many parts of HimachalPradesh with no power andwater supply, more than threedays since heavy snowfall hit thestate.

The Himachal Pradesh gov-ernment does not have a singlesnow cutting machine to clearsnow accumulated on the roads.

Admitting that they lack state-of-the-art equipment, chief sec-retary Anil Kumar Khachi toldPTI that the state administrationwill have the machines by nextwinter season.

Many parts of the middle andhigher hills are also without elec-tricity and water sinceWednesday's snowfall.

SDMA Director-cum-Special

Secretary (Revenue) D C Ranasaid power and water supplywould soon be restored.

Though 440 machinesincluding 381 earth movers, 16

bulldozers and 43 tippers are onthe job to clear snow from theroads, they have not managed tofully clear the path as manyroads remain blocked.

As per data provided by aState Disaster ManagementAuthority (SDMA) official onFriday evening, as many as 835roads in various parts including642 in Shimla zone are still cutoff for motorists.

Khachi said, “Men andmachine are on the job but it isnot easy to clear snow immedi-ately as it takes time because wehave our limits.” On Fridayevening, an elderly person losthis life after slipping on a snowcovered road in Shimla city.

Besides, several people wereseen skidding on the road out-side Chief Minister Jai RamThakur's official residence,sources said.

VIJAYAWADA | SUNDAY | JANUARY 12, 2020 nation 04

SHORT READS

2 drunk airpassengers createruckus on flight CHENNAI: Two inebriatedpassengers bound for Malaysiawere on Saturday deplanedfrom a private airliner after theyallegedly created ruckusonboard the flight ahead of itstake off from the airport here.The plane resumed its journeyafter a delay of about one hour,airport sources said. Airlineauthorities said the twopassengers were drunk andcreated ruckus inside theaircraft asking for more drinksto be served. The cabin crewthen complained to the pilotwho decided to taxi the planeback to the bay. Later, thedisruptive passengers wereoffloaded from the plane andhanded over to airport police.

Rajasthan withdrawstemporary barlicences JAIPUR: The Rajasthangovernment has reversed itsdecision granting temporarybar licenses to hotels andrestaurants along major roadsin the state. A notification ofchanges in bar license ruleswas issued was last weekwhich paved way for hotels andrestaurants located in 30-feet-wide roads getting temporarybar licenses. The decision wasopposed by severalorganisations and activists whoalleged that it will encourageliquor consumption. ChiefMinister Ashok Gehlot held ameeting with officials on Fridayand directed them to withdrawthe notification. He also askedthe officials to prepare a planfor effective reforms andtransparency in the excisesystem, according to a release.

Guj: Five killed inblast at gas companyVADODARA: At least fivepersons were killed and severalinjured in a blast at an industrialand medical gas manufacturingcompany in Padra taluka ofGujarat's Vadodara district onSaturday, police said. Theexplosion took place at around11 am at Aims IndustriesLimited near Gavasad village inPadra, an official from Vadupolice station said. While fivepersons died on the spot,several were reportedly injuredand have been rushed to anearby hospital, he said. Thefire brigade has been pressedinto service, he said, addingthat relief and rescue operationsare underway.

PM Modi, Defenceminister silent onPak's barbarism: Cong

Guj: Coast Guardrescues ailing Burmeseman from ship

NEW DELHI: The Congress onSaturday attacked the Modigovernment over the killing oftwo Army porters in Jammu andKashmir's Pooch district by thePakistan Army, alleging thatPrime Minister Narendra Modiand Defence Minister RajnathSingh are silent on thebarbarism of that country.Referring to reports thatPakistan, in a BAT (BorderAction Team) attack in Pooch,killed two Army porters anddecapitated one, Congress' chiefspokesperson RandeepSurjewala asked why is theModi government "silent" onPakistan's barbarism. The BATgenerally comprises specialforces personnel of the PakistaniArmy and terrorists. Pakistanisoldiers beheaded a porter whilethe prime minister and theDefence Minister are "silent",Surjewala said also questioningmedia's silence on the issue. "Isthe news of martyrdom runtaking into account thegovernment in power?" he said.

PORBANDAR: The Indian CoastGuard evacuated an ailingBurmese national from amerchant vessel off Porbandarcoast in Gujarat, an officialrelease said on Saturday. A CoastGuard ship carried out themedical evacuation of Myanmarnative Myo San from MV FortuneWing on Friday evening,following an alert from theMaritime Rescue Co-ordinationCentre Mumbai (MRCC), itstated. "On receiving theinformation, ICG ship C-445sailed out at 1 pm for medicalevacuation, which was carriedout 78 nautical miles offPorbandar coast at 6.45 pm," therelease said. San wasdisembarked at Coast Guard jettyand handed over to a local agentat the midnight in a stablecondition, after which he wasshifted to Rajkot, it said.

PNS n KOCHI

Two luxury apartment com-plexes were reduced to piles ofrubble in seconds on Saturdayafter authorities detonatedexplosives filled in the struc-tures, complying with theSupreme Court order to bringdown the four unauthorisedbuildings in Maradu munici-pality here.

The two high rises--HolyFaith H2O and the twin towersof Alfa Serene Apartment--weredemolished using controlledimplosion method at 11.18 amand 11.46 am respectively.

The two other apartments--Jain Coral Cove and GoldenKayaloram-- will be broughtdown on Sunday, in compliancewith the Apex Court order.

Explosives fixed in the pillarson various floors of the twobuildings tore through theirsteel frames, pulling down thestructures and sending thick

plumes of dust in the air.When the dust settled sever-

al minutes later, all thatremained of the high rises washuge pile of concrete, steel anddirt. Thousands of peoplewatched the demolition fromoutside the demolition zone.

Authorities expressed satis-

faction over the drive onSaturday, saying the entire exer-cise of demolition was almostnear perfect.

"No harm to any human lifeor animal life has taken placeand no perceptible damage toany property has taken place,"Kochi city police commission-

er Vijay Sakhare said after vis-iting the sites along withErnakulam District Collector SSuhas to take post demolitionassesment.

The 60-meter high 19 storey"Holy Faith H2O was levelled inseconds in a spectacular implo-sion at 11.18 am.

"H2O.. it was perfectly done.Not a single debris fell in thewater body," Suhas said.However, some portion of theAlfa Serene twin towers, fell inthe backwater.

"We had deliberately plannedthat some portion of the build-ing (Alfa) should fall in the

water. That was basically to pro-tect the surrounding buildings.Adjacent buildings have beensaved, protected completely,"the district collector toldreporters.

Residents, who were evacu-ated from the 200 meter radiusof the structures, were allowedto visit their homes and assessif any damages have occured totheir buildings in the demoli-tion.

Sakhare said the implosionwas delayed by 15 minutes"because of the obvious reason"that Section 144 was not com-pletely enforced in the area.

PNS n THIRUVANANTHAPURAM

Kerala Chief Minister PinarayiVijayan on Saturday metJawaharlal Nehru UniversityStudents Union presidentAishe Ghosh and said thewhole country was with themin their protest against the feehike in the institution andCitizenship Amendment Act.

Vijayan met Ghosh atKerala House in New Delhi,expressed solidarity with theirprotest and also gifted her abook, 'Halla Bol: The Deathand Life of Safdar Hashmi' bySudhanva Deshpande.

Ghosh had suffered headinjuries during the January 5attack on JNU students in thecampus by a group of maskedassailants.

"The whole country is withthe JNUSU in their fight forjustice. Everyone knows aboutyour protest and also aboutwhat has happened to you inthe fight for justice," Vijayantold Ghosh after enquiringabout her health and that ofother students, who wereinjured.

In a Facebook Post, theCPI(M) veteran wrote thatthe JNU students were fight-ing an "epic battle" against theSangh Parivar.

"Sangh Parivar was hopingto overcome the dissentingvoices from JNU using mus-cle power. However, the JNUhas put up an uncompromis-ing fight against them.

Aishe Ghosh has been lead-ing this battle with her injured

head," Vijayan said.Ghosh, after meeting

Vijayan, thanked the people ofKerala for standing with JNUwhen the campus was underattack.

"Comrade Pinarayi has saidgo ahead and that is the inspi-ration I take and we will takethis fight ahead.

Whether it is the fight forrolling back the fee hike oragainst the CAA, I would liketo thank, again and again, thepeople of Kerala who stood byus during all these attacksthat we are continuously fac-ing," Ghosh told the media.

Ghosh reached KeralaHouse after her daily check upat the All India Institute ofMedical Sciences (AIIMS).

Violence had broken out atthe JNU on January 5 night asa group of masked people,allegedly belonging to theABVP, the students wing of theBJP, armed with sticks attackedstudents and teachers besidesdamaging property on thecampus, prompting the admin-istration to call in the police.

PNS n THIRUVANANTHAPURAM

Kerala Governor ArifMohammed Khan has comeout against the CPI(M)-ledLDF government's anti-CAAadvertisements in the frontpage of national dailies andsaid spending public moneyfor political campaigning was"thoroughly undesirable."

The state sponsored adver-tisement, published on Friday,claimed that "the state wasleading the efforts to protectconstitutional values" and itsassembly was the first to passan unanimous resolutionagainst the controversialCitizenship Amendment Act(CAA).

Khan, who was in Delhi,told television channels thatspending public money for apolitical campaign was "thor-oughly undesirable."

"..public money is beingused to campaign against a lawwhich has been passed byParliament. Sounds bit strangeto me..," Khan said.

The governor said it would

not have been a problem if theadvertisement was given by apolitical party.

The Kerala government hadpublished in three nationaldailies that the state had taken"bold initiatives to addressthe apprehensions of the pub-lic" and had stayed theNational Population Registerdrive that could lead to theNRC (National Register ofCitizens).

The state, which also leadsin the Human Developmentindex, is ranked first amongstates in poverty eradication,health standards, education,gender equality and realisingnovel ideas, the advertisementclaimed.

PNS n NEW DELHI

The CRPF has transferred theDIG-rank officer, accused ofthrowing hot water on a jawanwho served it to him at a train-ing centre, to the Manipur andNagaland sector with imme-diate effect, officials said onSaturday.

Official sources said whilethe transfer has been donepending a detailed probe intothe incident, the CRPF head-quarters, in its order on Friday,extended "best wishes to theofficer for a successful tenurein the new assignment".

Deputy Inspector General(DIG) D K Tripathi, accordingto the order, has been trans-ferred out to the Manipur andNagaland sector from his cur-rent posting in Mokamaghat,Bihar.

The purported incident tookplace early this month at theCentral Reserve Police Force(CRPF) recruit training centrein Bihar's Rajgir district. Thejawan, constable Amol Kharat,is reported to have sufferedscalding injuries to his face andchest.

Officials said the DIG has

been transferred after a pre-liminary inquiry report into theincident was submitted by anInspector General-rank offi-cer. A full investigation into the

incident was underway.The contents of the prelim-

inary inquiry report were notimmediately known but offi-cials said a recommendationfor a detail and full probe wasmade.

When asked as to why thetransfer order extended goodwishes to the accused officer,sources said it was a "standardformat for issuing transfer andposting orders".

DIG Tripathi had earliertold PTI that as the inquiry wasunderway, it will not be prop-er on his part to comment onthe "one-sided story" in circu-lation.

PNS n THANE

Police have registered a caseagainst a brick kiln owner andhis supervisor for allegedlyforcing a group of tribals intobonded labour at a village nearBhiwandi in the district, an offi-cial said on Saturday.

The accused were identifiedas Jolly Naik Seth and supervi-sor Madhukar Pawar, bothfrom Anjur village in the dis-trict, the official said.

A tribal man from a hamletin Wada taluka of neighbour-ing Palghar district had lodgeda complaint against the duo atNarpoli police station in Thanedistrict on Friday evening, afterwhich the offence was regis-tered.

The complainant said thatafter paying some advanceamount, Naik took him andsome other villagers, including

women and children, to hisbrick kiln for work inNovember 2019.

The complaint further saidthat although they were madeto carry out strenuous work forlong hours, the wages paid tothem were low. The owneralso thrashed and abused theworkers, it alleged.

Police registered the caseagainst the duo under IPC sec-tion 323 (voluntarily causinghurt), under the ScheduledCastes and the ScheduledTribes (Prevention of Atrocities)Act, 1989 and various sectionsof the Bonded Labour System(Abolition) Act, 1976.

PNS n VADODARA

BJP national general secretaryRam Madhav on Saturdayalleged that the violence inDelhi's Jawaharlal NehruUniversity (JNU) was an act ofa small number of "terroristLeftist students", who havebeen hampering studies andresearch of thousands of stu-dents there for decades.

He called the January 5 vio-lence in JNU as "conspiracy ofLeftists and their supporters".

"Since decades, thousands ofstudents have been tortureddue to the terror of Leftists inJNU. The violence seen now isthe culmination of the samething. A few, small number ofterrorist Leftist students havealways been hampering therights of thousands of stu-dents to study and conductresearch in JNU," Madhavalleged.

Masked people armed withrods and sticks had stormed inthe JNU campus on the nightof January 5 and assaulted stu-dents and faculty, and van-

dalised property, leaving sev-eral people injured.

Leftist outfits and the RSS-affiliated Akhil BharatiyaVidyarthi Parishad (ABVP)have blamed each other for theviolence.

When questioned about thesituation in Jammu andKashmir, Madhav claimed nor-malcy was returning to theunion territory, with internetbeing restored "to a greatextent" and local leaders indetention being released.

He claimed that only "20-25"leaders are yet to be releasedand this would happen in aphased manner.

"People are living a normallife in Jammu and Kashmir.There were two major restric-tions there, one being internetwhich is about to be removed.To a great extent, mobile ser-vices have been restored. Mostof the leaders under detentionare out. And I believe govern-ment will release the remain-ing 20-25 leaders in phases," he

claimed.He said there was no need to

have a special discussion on J-K as it was not like "any otherterritory" in the country.

The BJP leader said thatallowing foreign delegations inthe restive region was part of aneffort to remove "misunder-standing being spread" acrossthe world about J-K.

"Everybody will be allowedto visit there as per the situa-tion," he said when asked aboutthe opposition leaders notbeing allowed to visit the UT.

Praising the Narendra Modigovernment, Madhav claimedthat "90 per cent people" weresupporting the decisions ofthe Centre, like removal ofArticle 370 in J-K, the Ram

Mandir issue and theCitizenship (Amendment) Act(CAA).

He asserted that the CAA,which is at the centre ofprotests across the nation, wasnot discriminatory.

"Citizenship is not a separateAct. Everybody has the right toacquire citizenship after ful-filling certain requirements.An amendment has made itpossible for particular sectionsto get citizenship at the earli-est. But people are being mis-led by false propaganda," headded.

"A few people who cannottake on Modiji politically areusing terrorism and lies tocreate disturbance in the coun-try," Madhav said.

When questioned about the situation inJammu and Kashmir, Madhav claimednormalcy was returning to the unionterritory, with internet being restored"to a great extent" and local leaders indetention being released

JNU attack an act of ‘terroristLeftist students': Ram Madhav

Pinarayi meets AisheGhosh in Delhi

In a FacebookPost, the CPI(M)veteran wrotethat the JNUstudents werefighting an "epicbattle" againstthe Sangh Parivar

DIG who threw hot wateron jawan shunted

The contents ofthe preliminaryinquiry report werenot immediatelyknown but officialssaid arecommendationfor a detail and fullprobe was made

Admitting that theylack state-of-the-art equipment,chief secretary AnilKumar Khachi toldPTI that the stateadministration willhave the machinesby next winterseason

With no snow cutting machines, HP roads unmotorable

PNS n NEW DELHI

Senior BJP leader Vijay Goelon Saturday accused the AamAadmi Party and the Congressof being hand-in-glove andsaid the two parties may forgean alliance for the upcomingDelhi assembly elections.

Addressing a press confer-ence here, Goel said the AAPand the Congress are on thesame page on issues like cor-ruption, protest againstCitizenship Amendment Act(CAA) and National Registerof Citizen.

In the run up to the 2013assembly elections, ChiefMinister Arvind Kejriwal hadclaimed he had 375-page evi-dence against then Congressgovernment, but all knowwhat action he took aftercoming to power, Goel, who isalso a Rajya Sabha MP, said.

In Delhi, the Congress andthe AAP "instigated riots" onthe issue of CAA, Goel said,adding that both parties aremisleading the people ofDelhi. Congress's Delhi unitchief Subhash Chopra has dis-missed any possibility of analliance with the AAP for the

assembly polls, asserting hisparty will win a "clear major-ity" on its own and form thenext government in the city.

The Delhi Assembly elec-tions will be held on February8 and results declared onFebruary 11.

Senior BJP leader Vijay Goel

Senior BJP leader Vijay Goel

The DelhiAssemblyelections will beheld on February 8and resultsdeclared onFebruary 11

Kerala Guv comes outagainst LDF govt'santi-CAA ads

Thousands of people watched thedemolition from outside the demolitionzone. Authorities expressed satisfactionover the drive on Saturday, saying theentire exercise of demolition wasalmost near perfect

Brick kiln owner bookedfor forcing tribals intobonded labour

AAP-Cong colluding,may tie up for polls

2 illegal luxury apartments in Keralabrought down; SC order implemented

VIJAYAWADA | SUNDAY | JANUARY 12, 2020 nation 05

PNS n KOLKATA

Prime Minister Narendra Modiis likely to spend Saturday nightat Belur Math, the headquartersof Ramakrishna Mission, in theneighbouring Howrah district,officials of the Mission said.

If Modi spends the night atthe Math, probably he will bethe first PM of the country to doso.

Former PM Indira Gandhiand a number of other primeministers had paid a visit to theMath several times, but neverstayed overnight there.

As per the earlier itinerary,Modi was scheduled to spendSaturday night at the Raj Bhavanhere.

"There is a slight change inthe schedule. Earlier, the PMwas not scheduled to stay here.But now we have been told bythe Special Protection Group(SPG) in-charge of his securitythat the PM may spend thenight in our Math.

"If he stays here he will behosted at the International GuestHouse inside the Math premis-es," a senior official of theMission told PTI.

The decision of the PM'sspending the night there at theMath could have been takenconsidering the fact that thebirth anniversary of SwamiVivekananda, founder of theRamkrishna Mission, falls onSunday, the official said.

"As told by the SPG, the PMmay meditate probably at theSwamiji's temple here at theMath tomorrow in the morning

before leaving for his pre-sched-uled programme," he said.

A prayer meeting is alsobeing organised at the Math onSunday morning and the PMmay attend it, the official said.During his visit to the Math, thePM is scheduled to meet pres-ident Swami Smarananandaafter paying his respect to SriRamakrishna, Sri Saradha Deviand Swami Vivekananda, hesaid.

"The PM will be given prasadwhen he arrives here. And if hestays at night he will be givenbhog. There will be no specialtreatment. The bhog and prasadwill be the same we serve toother bhakts (devotees)," theofficial said.

The enitre Math will be takenover by the SPG group and nocommon visitor will be allowed

to get inside the premises, hesaid.

"From this evening, the SPGwill be in total command of theMath. They will be taking all thedecisions whether to allow anyvisitor inside the premises ornot," the Mission official said.

The camaraderie and mutu-al respect between Modi and theRamkrishna Mission order,founded by Swami Vivekanandain 1897, goes back to mid six-ties when a teenager Modiinspired by the teachings ofVivekananda had arrived at theMission Ashram, Rajkot branchin Gujarat and expressed desireto join the order.

Swami Atmasthananda, wholater went on to become fif-teenth president of theRamakrishna Math and theRamakrishna Mission, then

heading the Rajkot branch in1966, had advised him thatsanyas was not for him and heshould work among people andnot in seclusion.

During those days, Modiused to regularly meetAthmasthanandaji Maharaj andsought his spiritual guidance.

Although Modi after spend-ing some time there went back,but the relationship with SwamiAtmasthananda and theRamkrishna Mission remainedintact. Whenever Modi used tovisit Kolkata, even during hisdays as Gujarat chief minister, hewould travel to the RamkrishnaMission.

In 2013, during his tour toBelur Math, he went toRamkrishna Mission and hadsought blessings fromAthmasthananda.

Oppn's falsehood on CAA create’s anarchy in country: ShahPNS n GANDHINAGAR

Union Home Minister AmitShah on Saturday alleged thatthe falsehood being spread bythe Opposition parties againstthe Citizenship (Amendment)Act (CAA) has created anar-chy in the country.

Shah also dared Congressleader Rahul Gandhi, WestBengal Chief MinisterMamata Banerjee, Delhi ChiefMinister Arvind Kejriwal andthe Communists to show himany provision in the CAA,which would take away the cit-

izenship of Muslims in thecountry.

"The opposition does nothave any other issue, so theyare spreading misinformationand falsehood on CAA. Thishas resulted in anarchy in theentire country," Shah said.

His statements comes inthe wake of violent protests inparts of India over the CAA,the National Register ofCitizens (NRC) and theNational Population Register(NPR).

Shah was speaking at theinauguration of various pro-

jects of the Gujarat Policehere.

"Persecuted minorities haveto come to India to save them-selves. However, the previousgovernments did not give anyfacilities to these migrantsthinking that it would makeothers unhappy," he said.

"Rahulbaba, Mamata,Kejriwal andCommunistsa r espread-i n glies

that CAA will take away thecitizenship of Muslims. I chal-lenge them to show me anysuch provision in the Act," saidShah.

"I urge the BJP workers tovisit every household and bust

the lies and misinformationbeing spread against the CAA.Since there is no option toModiji in politics at present,the opposition is resorting tofalsehood," he said.

"We have the power to

make people understand thetruth. After our campaign isover, people of the countrywill understand the impor-tance of the CAA," Shah said.

He also said that there wasno violence in Kashmir afterthe abrogation of Article 370and not a single person hasdied there due to it.

"Some leaders from theopposition had claimed in theParliament that there will bebloodbath (if special status ofKashmir is revoked). Suchstatements are on record. Butpeople gave a befitting reply

to such leaders. Not a singleperson has died there eversince Article 370 was abro-gated," the BJP chief said.

Praising the Gujarat HomeDepartment and the statepolice force for effectivelytackling crime, he said max-imum use of technology canbe made by the governmentsto curb crime.

Shah had earlier served asthe minister of state for homein Gujarat when presentPrime Minister NarendraModi was chief minister ofthe state.

NARENDRA MODI LIKELY TOSPEND NIGHT AT BELUR MATH

The PM will be givenprasad when hearrives here. And if hestays at night he willbe given bhog. Therewill be no specialtreatment. The bhogand prasad will bethe same we serve toother bhakts(devotees)

NIRBHAYA CASE:

SC to hear curative petitions of 2 death-row convictsPNS n NEW DELHI

A five-judge bench of theSupreme Court will hear onJanuary 14 curative petitions oftwo of the four death-row con-victs in the Nirbhaya case.

A bench of Justices N VRamana, Arun Mishra, R FNariman, R Banumathi andAshok Bhushan will hear thecurative petitions filed by VinaySharma (26) and MukeshKumar (32) at 1.45 pm onTuesday.

Curative petitions are decid-ed in-chambers by the judges.It is the last and final legal rem-edy available to a person.

Mukesh Kumar and VinaySharma had filed curative peti-tions in the apex court onThursday.

Two other death-row con-victs, Akshay Kumar Singh (31)and Pawan Gupta (25), againstwhom death warrants havebeen issued by a Delhi court,have not filed curative petitions.

A 23-year-old paramedicstudent, referred to as Nirbhaya,was gang-raped and brutallyassaulted on the interveningnight of December 16-17, 2012,in a moving bus in south Delhiby six people before beingthrown out on the road. Shedied on December 29 at Mount

Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore.A Delhi court had on

Tuesday issued death warrants

against the four convicts andsaid they would be hanged onJanuary 22 at 7 am in Tihar jail.

The Supreme Court had in2017 upheld the capital pun-ishment awarded to them by

the Delhi High Court and atrial court.

One of the six accused in thecase, Ram Singh, allegedlycommitted suicide in TiharJail.

A juvenile, who was amongthe accused, was convicted bya juvenile justice board and wasreleased from a reformationhome after serving a three-yearterm.

On July 9, 2018, the apexcourt had dismissed the reviewpleas filed by three of the con-victs in the case, saying nogrounds had been made out bythem for review of the 2017verdict.

The Supreme Court had in2017 upheld the capitalpunishment awarded tothem by the Delhi HighCourt and a trial court.One of the six accused inthe case, Ram Singh,allegedly committedsuicide in Tihar Jail

CDS a ‘very big step'towards integration:Army chief NaravanePNS n NEW DELHI

Army Chief Gen M MNaravane on Saturday termedthe creation of the post ofChief of Defence Staff a "verybig step" towards integrationof the three forces and saidthe Army will ensure its suc-cess.

He also asserted that alle-giance to Constitution shouldguide "us in all times"."Justice, liberty, equality andfraternity as enshrined inConstitution must guide us,"he said.

Addressing a press confer-ence, Gen Naravane said thefocus of training will be onpreparing the Army for futurewars which will be network-centric and complex.

"We are prepared to dealwith challenges along north-ern border," the Army chiefsaid when asked about Chinaenhancing military infra-structure.

"We are initiating rebal-ancing of preparedness alongnorthern border, includingmoving advanced weaponsystems," he said.

Asked about PoK, he said,"As far as Pakistan-occupiedKashmir is concerned, manyyears ago there was a parlia-mentary resolution on it thatentire J&K is part of India. IfParliament wants that areashould also belong to us, if weget orders to that effect, thendefinitely we will take action

on it."He said the focus will be on

integration within the Armyand among the three services.

"The formation of the CDSand the creation of a depart-ment of military affairs is avery big step towards inte-gration. We on our part willmake sure that this is a suc-cess," the Army chief said.

"Integration will also bewithin the Army and theintegrated battle group is justone example of that. But I alsowant to assure everyone thatin this process of integrationwe will take everyone along.Nobody will be left behind,"he said.

Integration willalso be withinthe Army andthe integratedbattle group isjust one exampleof that. But I alsowant to assureeveryone that inthis process ofintegration wewill takeeveryone along.Nobody will beleft behind

Goa Congslams govtover UPconman

SHO among four suspended for dereliction of dutyPNS n NOIDA

A station house officer (SHO)and three sub-inspectors of apolice station in Greater Noidahave been suspended for dere-liction of duty in connectionwith a loot-and-murder case,officials said on Saturday.

SHO Manoj Pathak, SIsVeerpal Singh Tomar, RajendraKumar and Maan Singh ofBisrakh police station weresuspended on Friday nightafter a probe by Circle Officer(Greater Noida 3) RajeevKumar Singh into their laxapproach in the case, a policespokesperson said.

Also, a sub-inspector incharge of Cherry Countypolice post in Greater Noida(West) has been taken off dutyand sent to police lines for"unsatisfactory" workapproach, the spokespersonadded.

The case pertains to privatefirm employee GauravChandel.

Chandel, a resident of 5thAvenue Gaur City, was return-ing from work in Gurgaon onthe night of January 7. Around10.30 pm, he called up his wifeto inform her that he was at

Parthala Chowk and wouldreach home in five minutes.

Around 4 am on January 8,he was found unconsciousalong a service road betweenParthala Chowk and HindonVihar while his SUV, wallet,laptop and other belongingswere missing, in a suspectedloot-and-murder case. He wasrushed to a private hospitalwhere doctors declared himdead, the police said.

Chandel's family alleged thatafter 45 minutes since his callthey panicked and started call-ing on his number but he didnot respond. Then they alongwith a few neighboursapproached the local CherryCounty police post where nohelp was provided to them.

Later, they reached Bisrakhpolice station where they

requested to put Chandel'sphone on surveillance but theofficials there kept dilly-dally-ing the matter, citing the casedid not fall in their jurisdiction,and two crucial hours werewasted.

Protests have been carriedout in Greater Noida (West)with several demanding'Justice for Gaurav Chandel'over the week.

Earlier on Friday, InspectorGeneral (Meerut Range) AlokSingh and CommissionerAnita Meshram visited GaurCity and met with Chandel'sfamily.

Meanwhile, the IG RangeMeerut has directed all policestations to immediatelyrespond to such cases and filea case irrespective whether itfalls in their jurisdiction or not.

Help familes ofmishap victims:Priyanka gandhiPNS n NEW DELHI

Congress leader PriyankaGandhi Vadra on Saturdayexpressed sadness over thedeath of several people in aroad accident in UttarPradesh's Kannauj and calledfor all possible help for theaffected families.

At least 10 people died andseveral others suffered seriousburns when a private sleeperdouble-decker bus burst intoflames after colliding with atruck in Uttar Pradesh'sKannauj district, an officialsaid on Saturday.

There were 45 passengers,including three staff, in the busthat was on its way to Jaipurfrom Farrukhabad when theaccident occurred on the GTroad near Chhibramau, 168km west of Lucknow, onFriday night.

"The accident in Kannauj isvery sad. May god give

strength to the bereaved fam-ilies. Uttar Pradesh Congresspresident Ajay Lallu is there atthe site of the accident andproviding support to thoseaffected," Priyanka Gandhisaid in a tweet.

"In this difficult time, everypossible help should be pro-vided to the affected familiesand travellers," the Congressgeneral secretary in-charge ofUttar Pradesh said.

‘Priyanka was in Rajasthan,didn't have time to wipe tears’PTI n LUCKNOW

A day after Congress generalsecretary Priyanka GandhiVadra visited Jaipur on a pri-vate visit, BSP presidentMayawati slammed her forpaying no heed to Kota hos-pital tragedy.

Over 100 infants have diedin the government-run hos-pital in Kota.

"...the Congress leader fre-quently comes to UttarPradesh to shed crocodiletears. But in Rajasthan duringher private visit yesterday shedoes not consider it appro-priate to give a little time towipe the tears of children'smothers in Kota even thoughshe is also a mother and thisis most unfortunate," the BSPsupremo said in a tweet inHindi.

She said unlike theCongress, BJP and other par-ties, the BSP does not adoptdouble standards to do cheappolitics on any issue.

"Under such an atmos-

phere, along with other par-ties, the Congress is also notready to change itself and itslatest example is the case ofdeath of a large number ofinnocent children due to gov-ernment negligence inCongress ruled Rajasthan'sKota hospital," she added.

Priyanka Gandhi had visit-ed Jaipur on Friday to attenda wedding ceremony.

PNS n PANAJI

Goa Pradesh Mahi laCongress Committee onSaturday condemned thestate government's failure tokeep track of the conman,who posed as a UttarPradesh minister andenjoyed status of a stateguest for 12 days.

Speaking to the mediahere, GPMCC presidentPratima Coutinho said theincident reflects gross neg-ligence on the state gov-ernment's part, as it leftloopholes in the protocoldepartment.

Earlier this week, the Goacrime branch arrested SunilSingh and four of hisaccomplices after he wascaught impersonating as aminister in the UttarPradesh government.

The accused was evenassigned a personal securi-ty officer and a governmentvehicle for 12 days before hisarrest.

The state governmentshould investigate if anyBJP leader from UttarPradesh was involved inthe offence, Countinhodemanded.

Records of all state guestsshould be examined to findout if similar instances havetaken place in the past, sheadded.

Under such an atmosphere,along with other parties, theCongress is also not ready tochange itself and its latestexample is the case of deathof a large number of innocentchildren due to governmentnegligence in Cong ruledRajasthan's Kota hospital

— MAYAWATI, Former Chief Minister of UP

Chandel, a resident of 5th Avenue GaurCity, was returning from work inGurgaon on the night of Jan 7. Around10.30 pm, he called up his wife to informher that he was at Parthala Chowk andwould reach home in 5 minutes

‘Chhapaak'declared tax-free inRajasthanPNS n JAIPUR

Bollywood actor DeepikaPadukone's film 'Chhapaak'has been declared tax-free inRajasthan.

The film has been facingthe wrath of a certain sectionof people after Padukone vis-ited the Jawaharlal NehruUniversity in Delhi to expresssolidarity with the studentswho were attacked by amasked mob on January 5.

The decision to declarethe film tax-free in Rajasthanwas taken on Friday night.

"The move of exemptingthe film from tax has beenwelcomed by people. Thefilm will educate people,"Chief Minister Ashok Gehlottold reporters on Saturday.

'Chhapaak', directed byMeghna Gulzar, presents thestory of acid attack survivorand activist Laxmi Agarwal.

Persecuted minorities have to come toIndia to save themselves. However, theprevious governments did not give anyfacilities to these migrants thinking that itwould make others unhappy,"

— AMIT SHAHUnion Home Minister

PNS n BENGALURU

South India contributes tomore than 50 per cent Indiasales to Lamborghini and hasemerged as one of thestrongest markets, said anofficial on Saturday."Today, Bengaluru or the

Southern region is contributingmore than 50 per cent of ourbusiness in India. In this part ofthe country, the customers aremore evolved and they are look-ing at collecting these supercars," Lamborghini India headSharad Agarwal said.

Agarwal said the Southernmarket is growing much fasterthan rest of India, owing to theinvestments coming to the SouthIndian states and by virtue of IThubs being located in Bengaluru,Hyderabad and Chennai.

"All these regions are attract-ing more foreign direct invest-ment (FDI) vis-a-vis rest of thecountry, this is reflecting also inthe business. Bengaluru is def-initely important and strategicfor us," said Agarwal.

The importance of Bengalurufor the Italian car maker can beunderstood from the fact that a

city-based buyer was the onlyIndian to buy one of the 63 lim-ited edition Aventador SVJ 63cars.

Another Bengaluru buyerwas the first Indian to buy lim-ited edition SVJ 900 car.

"We have seen an increase inthe number of super car afi-cionados in India, reflected inthe strong demand across theLamborghini product lineincluding the limited editionsuper sports cars," said Agarwal.

Lamborghini has three show-rooms in India, Delhi andMumbai and Bengaluru which

serves the entire South Indianmarket including Hyderabadand Chennai.

However, Agarwal could notshare Lamborghini sales for2019 as the company's head-quarters in Italy is yet to declarethe numbers.

"Though the super luxurycar industry sales declined by 20per cent in 2019 and the over-all auto industry sales alsodeclined, Lamborghini had ahealthy double digit sales growthlast year in India," said Agarwalwithout sharing the numbers.

Giving a hint at Lamborghini

India's clientele, Agarwal saidmost of the Italian supercarbuyers are entrepreneurs whoalways had an aspiration ordream to buy the Italianmachine. Lamborghini retailsthree models worldwide, sportsutility vehicle Urus, Huracanand Aventador, under multiplevariants, all of which are avail-able in India.

All Lamborghini cars aremade at one single factory inItaly, to be exported as com-pletely built units (CBU) acrossthe world. By the time the carsare imported in India, Agarwal

said their price shoots up by 3.5times, including taxes andduties. Lamborghini price rangein India starts at Rs 3.10 croreand rises beyond Rs 5.13 crore,depending on the model andlevel of customisation for itsthree cars. On Friday, MatteoOrtenzi, chief executive officer,Automobili Lamborghini, AsiaPacific and Agarwal threw openits renovated showroom inBengaluru on Lavelle Road,opposite St. Mark's Church andlaunched Huracan Evo Spyder model in the SouthIndian market.

VIJAYAWADA | SUNDAY | JANUARY 12, 2020 money 06

CAPSULE

Lupin gets 2observations fromUSFDA for NagpurNEW DELHI, Jan 11 (PTI)Drug firm Lupin on Saturdaysaid it has received twoobservations from the UShealth regulator following theinspection of its Nagpurmanufacturing facility. A PAI(Prior Approval Inspection)was carried out by the UnitedStates Food and DrugAdministration (USFDA) at thecompany's Nagpur oral soliddosage manufacturing facilitybetween January 6-10, 2020,Lupin said in a filing to BSE."The inspection closed withtwo 483 observations," Lupinsaid. The USFDA issuesobservations by means ofForm 483 notifying acompany's management ofobjectionable conditions at thefacility inspected. "We arecommitted to meeting thehighest quality standards andare committed to fullcompliance with CGMPregulations at all ourmanufacturing facilities.

Karnataka CanaraBank ATM served500s instead of 100sBENGALURU: A Canara Bankautomated teller machine(ATM) served Rs 500 noteswhen customers wanted towithdraw Rs 100 notes inKarnataka on Wednesday,sparking a public rush towithdraw Rs 1.7 lakhrupees,an official said onSaturday. "The ATM cashhandling agency made a goofup. Instead of loading the Rs100 notes, they filled that traywith Rs 500 notes, leading toRs 1.7 lakh being withdrawn,"Kodagu superintendent ofpolice Suman D. Pennekarsaid. Pennekar said whenevera customer tried to withdrawRs 100, the ATM served a Rs500 note for some time whenthe ATM malfunctioned inMadikeri town of Kodagudistrict. Madikeri is 268 kmsouthwest of Bengaluru."Somebody brought it to thenotice of Canara Bank.

JK admin committedto encourage youngentrepreneursJAMMU: The Jammu andKashmir administration iscommitted to encourageyoung entrepreneurs to starttheir business units andprovide all facilities forstrengthening the existingindustry in the Union Territory,Commissioner Secretary,Industries and Commerce,Manoj Kumar Dwivedi hassaid. "The administration is forsustainable development of allthe sectors and we are hopefulthat the industrial sectorwould attain new heights incoming years," Dwivedi saidwhile interacting withrepresentatives of theFederation of Indian Industries(FII) and Bari Bari BrahmanaIndustries Association here onFriday. He also said theadministration is cognisant ofthe issues faced byindustrialists and the samewould be resolved in duecourse of time.

No need topanic aboutoil prices:PradhanPNS n KOLKATA

Union Petroleum andNatural Gas ministerDharmendra Pradhan saidon Saturday that the there isno need to panic about oilprices owing to present ten-sions between Iran and theUS. "The government hastaken a position to wait andwatch and there is no need topanic," he said on the side-lines of a CII event here.

There are tensions in thePersian Gulf due to geo-political reasons, the unionminister said.

"There is no dearth ofcrude oil in the global mar-ket. Yes there has been somespike in oil prices, but for thelast two days it is subdued",Pradhan added.

PNS n WASHINGTON

The Boeing CEO who wasousted last month for the com-pany's botched response to twocrashes and the grounding of itsbest-selling plane will walkaway with $62.2 million, thecompany disclosed Friday.

Boeing said, however, thatDennis Muilenburg will not getadditional severance or a 2019bonus, and will forfeit stockawards worth $14.6 million.

Muilenburg, who spent morethan 30 years at Boeing, alsohas unexercised stock optionsthat he has held since 2013 andthat are worth more than $18.5million at Friday's closing price.

Muilenburg was fired in late

December after failing to getthe company's 737 Max jetlin-er back in the air. Boeing boardChairman David Calhoun willtake over as CEO on Monday.He is a former General Electric

and Nielsen executive with areputation as a turnaroundspecialist. Calhoun, 62, willget a base salary of $1.4 millionbut potentially several millionmore in bonuses and stockawards, including $7 million ifhe gets the Max back in service.The Max was grounded lastMarch after crashes inIndonesia and Ethiopia killed

346 people. It has taken farlonger than Boeing expected tofix the plane. This month,Boeing will halt productionuntil it is clear when changes tothe plane will be approved byregulators. Muilenberg wasnamed CEO in 2015 andpresided over a rapid rise in theChicago-based company's stockprice. The shares have dropped

26% in the last 10 months, how-ever, as the Max's recoverystalled.

Months before Muilenburg'souster, some lawmakers andrelatives of passengers whodied in the Max crashes hadasked him to resign or take acut in pay.

At a congressional hearing inOctober, Muilenburg parriedquestions about his compensa-tion by saying it was set byBoeing's board. A few dayslater, he announced he wouldnot take a bonus for 2019 —that he would walk away from“tens of millions” of dollars asa signal that he was takingresponsibility for correctingproblems with the Max.

Former Boeing CEO gets $62.2 mn, but no bunusMuilenburg, who spent more than 30years at Boeing, also has unexercisedstock options that he has held since2013 and that are worth more than$18.5 million at Friday's closing price

PFC ceases to beamong five largestcreditors of IL&FSPNS n NEW DELHI

IL&FS will seek directionsfrom the NCLAT for removalof Power Finance Corporation(PFC) as one of the top fivecreditors, due to the transfer ofwind power assets.

In its October 15 Order, theNCLAT had directed, "Takinginto consideration the natureof the case, we are of the viewthat five largest creditorsshould be also impleaded asparty Respondents to theseappeals".

The five largest creditors ofthe IL&FS Group wereimpleaded as respondent par-ties in the appeals, including,State Bank of India, Bank ofIndia, Bank of Baroda,IndusInd Bank Limited andPower Finance CorporationLimited. At this juncture,IL&FS has noted that PFC wasimpleaded as one the 'fivelargest creditors' owing to itsexposure to 5 of the WindSPVs, amongst other entitiesin the IL&FS Group.

With effect from October15, 2019, IL&FS Group'sshareholding in inter alia the5 Wind SPVs stands trans-ferred to ORIX. Pursuant tosuch transfer of IL&FS Group'sshareholding in the Wind

SPVs (and consequent reduc-tion in aggregate debt of theIL&FS Group), PFC ceases tobe one of the 'five largestcreditors' of the IL&FS Group.

In terms of the letter datedNovember 1, 2019 PFC hadrequested the IL&FS Group totake necessary steps towardsremoving PFC as a respondentparty to the captioned appeals.

The five largestcreditors of the IL&FSGroup were impleadedas respondent parties inthe appeals, including,State Bank of India,Bank of India, Bank ofBaroda, IndusInd BankLimited and PowerFinance CorporationLimited

Lamborghini sales highest in south India

ITPCL debt hit suffers due to TN utilityPNS n NEW DELHI

The debt restructuring effortsfor IL&FS Tamil Nadu PowerCompany Limited (ITPCL) isbeing hindered due to overduepayments from the Tamil NaduGeneration and DistributionCorporation Limited(TANGEDCO). According toan IL&FA document, therestructuring efforts as well asthe recovery to lenders ofITPCL is being hindered onaccount of the overdue pay-ments from the Tamil NaduGeneration and Distribution

Corporation Limited(TANGEDCO). ITPCL, whichis implementing a 2,600 MWthermal power plant in TamilNadu has entered into powerpurchase agreements with theTANGEDCO and PTC IndiaLimited (PTC) (collectively thePPAs). An aggregate amount ofapproximately Rs 1,706 crore(inclusive of the late paymentsurcharge till November 30,2019) is overdue fromTANGEDCO and PTC.

The failure on part ofTANGEDCO and PTC torelease these amounts due and

payable to ITPCL (in spite ofrepeated requests and numer-ous engagements by the IL&FSmanagement) has caused severecash flow and operational chal-lenges and has been hinderingthe efforts of the lenders and theIL&FS Group to prepare andimplement a feasible restruc-turing proposal for ITPCL. For(ITPCL, an "Amber" entity, thenew board is considering a debtrestructuring proposal underthe' Prudential Framework/orResolution /Stressed Assets'issued by the Reserve Bank ofIndia on June 7, 2019.

Steel Ministry looks at $70bninvestments in eastern regionPNS n KOLKATA

Union Minister DharmendraPradhan on Saturday saidthe steel ministry is lookingat an aggregate investment ofUSD 70 billion in the easternregion of the country throughaccelerated development ofthe sector. Launching the'Purvodaya' programme here,Pradhan said the underde-veloped districts in WestBengal, Chhattisgarh, north-ern Andhra Pradesh,Jharkhand and Odisha haveto be taken forward for devel-opment of the steel sector.

The eastern region withrich mineral resources has agreat potential for develop-ment of the steel industry, hesaid, adding that Bihar needsto be included in the list.

According to the NationalSteel Policy announced in2017, the government is aim-ing at a total productioncapacity of 300 million tonneby 2030 and out of which,around 200 million tonne isenvisaged from the five east-ern states, he said.

Addressing an event organ-ised by CII, Pradhan, minis-ter of petroleum, natural gasand steel, said the region hasrich deposits of coal, iron ore

and bauxite. "As much as 90million tonne of steel is pro-duced in the east, out of thetotal production volume of140 million tonne in thecountry," he said.

The steel ministry's addi-t ional secretar y RasikaChaube said the easternregion has a "natural advan-

tage and potential" to con-tribute to India's target ofachieving an economy ofUSD five trillion within 2024-25, adding that the sector hasthe capability to act as a cat-alyst. She said the 'Purvodaya'programme would alsoaddress the logistics andinfrastructure bottlenecks in

the eastern region. It alsoseeks setting up of greenfieldplants and expansion ofbrownfield ones and con-structing of clusters near thedemand centres, Chaubeadded.

"Task forces have also beenset up for setting up pilot pro-jects under the aegis of thesteel ministry and inter-min-isterial consultations will beheld for the proposed clus-ters," she said.

Coal India chairman andmanaging director Anil Jhasaid the miner has beenfocusing on minimising theimports of the fuel.

"For this, we are looking toproduce 900 million tonnes ofcoal by 2023-24 from thecurrent level of 607 milliontonnes," Jha said.

SAIL chairman A KChaudhary said the companyhas a strong presence in theeast with five steel plantshaving production volumeof 20 million tonnes whileIndian Oil Corporation chair-man Sanjiv Singh said theexpansion of the gas and oilpipelines will boost demandfor steel consumption.

"Oil and gas has a stronglinkage with the steel sector,"he said.

According to the National Steel Policyannounced in 2017, the government isaiming at a total production capacity of300 million tonne by 2030 and out ofwhich, around 200 million tonne isenvisaged from the five eastern states

Not bound by right of first refusal: MurugappaPNS n CHENNAI

Fifty-nine year old US basedtechnology consultant ValliArunachalam and a member ofthe Murugappa Group cate-gorically said she or her fami-ly members are not legallybound by any right of firstrefusal clause that may bethere in the agreement betweenshareholders of AmbadiInvestments Limited.

The Ambadi Investments isthe family holding company ofthe promoters of the Rs 37,000crore industrial conglomerateMurugappa Group which isnow caught in the midst of agender bias controversy.

She also declined to com-ment whether she would also

like the group to consider heror her sister as a candidate forthe post of Executive Chairmanafter the incumbent M.M.Murugappan retires.

"As we have consistentlystated, we have offered theshares to the family. Our lastcommunication to them sometime back on this subjectrequested for a time boundresponse," Arunachalam said.

"We are not legally bound byany right of first refusal. Theoffer of shares to the family wasonly out of respect and defer-ence to what we believe wasour father's wish,"Arunachalam added.

Queried whether she is opento sell the stakes to outsidersArunachalam said: "While wehave offered the shares to the

family consistent with what webelieve is our father's wish, wehave clarified that it is only ourpreference to do so."

Arunachalam, a doctorate innuclear engineering, is allegingthe group promoters have agender bias against womengetting into family business andhence she and her sister weredenied a board berth in

Ambadi Investments after theirfather M.V. Murugappan'sdeath in 2017.

She has laid two demands tothe other branches of theMurugappa group family -give a board berth to her or hersister Vellachi Murugappan orbuy her family 8.15 per centstakes in Ambadi Investmentsat a fair value. She said her fam-ily also holds stakes in thegroup's listed companies.

Arunachalam said after herfather's demise, her familydoes not have a board repre-sentation in AmbadiInvestments. Murugappan wason the Ambadi Investments'board since 1969 until some-time in 2016, when he resigneddue to health reasons.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Shareholder proxy advisoryfirm InGovern has petitionedSebi to force promoters ofSterling and Wilson Solar Ltdto provide an exit offer tominority shareholders allegingfailure of promoters to keep thepromise made in the IPO doc-ument.

Sterling and Wilson Solar Ltdgot listed on the BSE and theNSE on August 20, 2019, afterpromoters belonging to theShapoorji Pallonji Group madean offer for sale of shares. "Theoffer for sale of shares resultedin promoters raising Rs 2,850crore through the IPO,"InGovern Research Servicessaid in a report. "While theobjects of the IPO were to

enable the promoters to repayloans amounting to Rs 2,563crore to SWSOLAR within 90days of listing, the company hasreceived only Rs 1,000 crore onDecember 31, 2019, i.e., 133days after listing." This non-ful-filment of obligations by thepromoters as per the objects ofthe offer has resulted in a lossof over 60 per cent in invest-ment value for IPO investors asstock price has fallen from theissue price of Rs 780 to Rs 310,resulting in a loss of Rs 1,700crore for public minority share-holders, it alleged. Sterling andWilson Solar hit back at theproxy advisory firm contendingthat the report is "malicious,misleading, defamatory" andcontains "factually incorrectand unverified statements".

Sterling and Wilsonpromoters mustprovide exit option

Edible oil prices riseby 15% in a monthPNS n NEW DELHI

The prices of crude palm oil(CPO) have gone up to 15 percent in last one month afterIndia imposed restrictions onimports on refined palm oilfrom Malaysia.

On the Multi CommodityExchange (MCX), all CPOfutures traded up on Friday,while the CPO price inJanuary expiry futures con-tract rose to Rs839.80 per 10 kg.A month ago onDecember 10,the CPO priceon MCX wasRs 731.40 per10 kg whichmeans theCPO priceshave gone up by15 per cent in thelast one month. With palmoil imports steadily rising,there has been an increase inthe prices of all edible oils.

According to the retail priceavailable on the website of theUnion Ministry of ConsumerAffairs, the price of mustardoil in Delhi has increased byRs 12 per kg in the last onemonth. The price of mustardoil was Rs 124 per kg onDecember 10, 2019 in Delhi,which rose to Rs 136 per kg on

January 10, 2020. At the sametime, the price of palm oil hasincreased from Rs 91 a monthto Rs 105 a kg in Delhi. InDelhi, the price of soya oil hasincreased from Rs 106 to Rs122 per kg in a month.

At the same time, in termsof wholesale price, the price ofcrude condensed mustard oilin Jaipur was Rs 954 per 10 kgon Friday, which was Rs 905per 10 kg on December 10,

2019. Soya oil price inMadhya Pradesh-

based BenchmarkMandi, Indore,was Rs 945 per 10kg on January 10,2020 as againstRs 860 per 10 kg

a month earlier.The price of

refined palm oil(RBD) (refined bleached

and deodorized) was Rs 890per 10 kg at Kandla Port inGujarat on Friday, which wasRs 810 per 10 kg in December.The price of Suryamukhirefined at Kandla Port was Rs960 per 10 kg on January 10,2020 from Rs 860 per 10 kg amonth ago.

The price of RBD palmoleinin Malaysia was $800 pertonne (FOB) on Friday, whichwas $710 per tonne inDecember.

While we have offered the shares to the family consistent with what we believe is our father's wish, wehave clarified that it is only ourpreference to do so

MINORITY SHAREHOLDERS

special 07VIJAYAWADA | SUNDAY | JANUARY 12, 2020

If one thought that film fetivals wereonly for those who were looking atserious cinema, they could not havebeen more off the mark. TheInternational Kids Film Festival

(IKFF) in its 3rd edition is a unique inter-national film festival hosted by schoolsacross the globe.

This year, India, the UAE, England,France, Mexico, South Africa and SaudiArabia were some of the countries thatwere part of the festival. The aim of thisfestival is to provide an opportunity for stu-dents to watch some of the best of inter-national children’s films. The reason forthis festival was from two perspectives.

“The first, literacy leads to read andwriter. But more content is being createdand consumed in an audio-visual manner.The kids are not going to read and writeas much as we did. For me to expose chil-dren to good content is basics to educa-tion. Film festival is an opportunity for kidsto watch some fanstastic films. We hadfilms from 35 countries in 25 languages.Around 100 films were shortlisted from800,” Syed Sultan Ahmed, MD & ChiefLearner@LXL Ideas, says

The other aspect, he tells you, was toteach the children about the world. Oneof the biggest change has been worldmigration. How do we prepare childerento this? “We have to expose them to worldissues, cultures and languages,” Ahemd tellsyou.

“Sadly, the kind of films that childrenare watching is commerical content. Goodchildren’s films are available at film festi-val. Here, we are taking the festival to thechildren — to 9,000 schools out of which

7,500 are Government schools inKarnataka, Telangana, Assam and AndhraPradesh. The whole idea is to show themgood cinema,” Ahmed says.

The two-month global event includ-ed film screenings, filmmaking masterclasses and be part of world’s largest stu-dents filmmaking competition making itis learning process as well.

Some of the films that were screenedat the festival were Maestro, Cup of Tea, 3Feet, A Day in the Park, Dog Gone andAthleticus Gym Keeper. The films weredivided on the basis of age: two-five yearcategoty, six-eight category, nine-11 cate-gory, 12-14 categoty and 15-17.

“Traditionally literacy meant our abil-ity to read and write as all knowledge wasin books, in today’s world of screens, lit-eracy has a new definition — read, writeand create. The big challenge today is thatchildren across the world are exposed tovery low standards of films and content.The best films that are made for childrenare not easily accessible to them. There isa big need to expose our children to goodfilms, real world issues, cultures and sto-ries,” Ahmed says who has introduced theconcept of film pedagogy by creatingschool cinema and this film festival.

He opines that this film festival is agreat opportunity for children to watch thebest of world cinema right in their schools,learn the art of film-making and makefilms to participate in the world’s largeststudent film-making competition. TheSchool Cinema App gives students andtheir families an opportunity to watchworld cinema at their homes.

“This platform is a great example of

the change that needs to be made in oureducation system. It is exciting, relevant,scalable and affordable — all the qualitiesthat a good learning programme shouldhave,” Ahmed says.

He tells you that while these filmswereabout different issues and topics, one com-mon theme was respect: Respect for theself, respect for other cultures, respect forothers views and thoughts, respect for theenvironment, respect for labour andrespect for the Arts.

A film that was much appreciated was3 Feet that is directed by Giselle Geneyfrom Colombia. “The film which is inSpanish is about a 10-year-old boy wholoves football, goes through the moun-tainous town of Pamplona in Spain everymorning in the company of his bestfriend (his soccer ball), playing with it

before theschool day begins and getting hisshoes dirty. Every day, he is scoldeddur-ing the inspection of uniforms by histeacher Ramón, and forced to polish hisshoes, while others enjoy their rest.Everything changes the day the teacherdecides that not only will he punishGonzalo during the break, but he will alsotake away his best friend forever,” Ahmedsays.

The event also saw the presence of twochild jury members — Akshyat Sharmaand Anant Gokhale along with directorsof School Cinema film, Saving Green —Shivani Monga and Najmus Saqib.

Not only this, the jury that chose thefilms not only had eminent personalitieslike Anna Nikina-Ruohonen, Ambassador,Education Innovations, HundrED Finland,Jaya Bachchan, MP, Manisha Koirala,

actor and John Edmond, festival Director,Qurrnsland Film Festival, it consited ofchildren aged nine to 17. These childrenwere from cities like Delhi, Hyderabad,Bengaluru and Mumbai.

Neha Jain, head of Films @LXL Ideas,said that one highlight of the last one yearhas been ‘Make Cinema’ — the filmmak-ing competition for students. “We were for-tunate to watch some lovely films made byyoung, amateur filmmakers who hadclearly put their heart and soul in theirfilm. Our winners of Make Cinema 2018as well as our Child Jurors from last yeargot the wonderful opportunity to travel toItaly and participate in the 50-year-oldGiffoni Film Festival. We also hostedyoung people from Giffoni last year, andwill be doing the same this year as well. Wewill also be having two of the winners ofMake Cinema from Kyrgyzstan. They willbe visiting schools in India and interact-ing with students here. Moreover, our otherMake Cinema winners from 2018 get tobe on the Child Jury this year,” she added.

The IKFF would not have been com-plete without the support and love of themany people and organisations it receivedover the last three years. The AustralianConsulate in India is one of them. Theybrought in five films from Australia as wellas a chance to meet a talented filmmaker.

“I would also like to thank our won-derful Film Festival partners Children'sFilm Festival Seattle, Providence Children'sFilm Festival, Busan International Kids &Youth Festival, Giffoni Film Festival,Boston International Kids Film Festivaland Rolan International Childrens FilmFestival Armenia,” Jain said.

The 3rd edition of International KidsFilm Festival was held in the Capitalrecently hosted by schools in 40-pluscountries targeting over 2 millionstudents and their families.SHALINI SAKSENA brings you a report

LITTLEONES70MM

LITTLEONES70MM

CHILDREN AREEXPOSED TO FILMS

THAT ARE PROMOTEDBY MARKETERS ANDEND UP MISSING OUT

ON QUALITY FILMSMADE AROUND THE

WORLD WITHPOWERFUL

MESSAGES. THE IKFFIS AN ATTEMPT TO

BRING TO THE FORESUCH FILMS THATDESERVE TO BE

WATCHED— SYED SULTAN AHMED

M E A N I N G F U L K I D S Z O N E

BIOSCOPEWALAIndia: 2018: 91 minsDirector: Deb Medhekar

It is a story of Rehmat Khan, a manfrom Kabul, Afghanistan who used toshow films to children through hisBioscope. After fleeing to India, Rehmatbefriends a little girl named Minnie who isof the same age as his own daughter.

MY GRANDPA IS AN ALIENCroatia: 2019: 79 minsDirectors: Drazen Zarkovic, Marina AndreeSkopThe life of a little girl named Una turnsupside down when her grandfather isabducted by aliens. In the basement ofher house she accidentally finds out thatgrandpa is himself an alien whose ship fellon Earth a long time ago. His pilot, agrumpy little robot, stayed here as well.The two of them have less than 24 hoursto find grandpa and save him.

AMUIndia: 2017: 30 minsDirector: Akkta Panwar

The film that explores the life of a 5-year-old girl as she transitions frommoving away from the city with hermother into her grandmother’s ancestralhouse in a small town in Rajasthan.

Her only escape is her imaginaryfriend, Seema. It is a film that explores achild’s imagination amidst strained adultrelationships around her.

APPLES AND ORANGESIndia: 2018: 23 minsDirector: Rukshana TabassumIn the fantastical country of Fruitistan, thepeople are divided — not so differentfrom the world we live in. In this landwhere people who eat apples and thosewho eat oranges don't get along, Tulipand Daisy become friends. Theirfriendship soon turns sour when theydiscover that one of them is an Appler andthe other an Orangee. Can their friendshipsurvive?

A CELEBRATIONCanada: 2019: 11 minsDirector: Mahsa RazaviA short drama about 8-year-old Ada livingwith her mother in Toronto, as they try tostay out of trouble and make ends meet .Ada tries to convince her newlyimmigrated mother to celebrateThanksgiving by cooking a turkey.However, as Ada sets to celebrateThanksgiving like a “true Canadian”, shediscovers what it means to be animmigrant family.

A FIELD GUIDE TO BEING A12 YEAR OLD GIRLAustralia : 2017: 20 minsDirector: Tilda Cobham-Hervey

This is a film about 12-year-old girls,made by 12-year-old girls, for 12-year-oldgirls, or anyone that has been a 12-year-old girl, or will be a 12-year-old girl, orwishes they were a 12-year-old girl.

A still from the film Maestro, a two-minute French moviewithout any dialogues; Below: Team IKFF

sundaymagazine

1109Dynamics of Indian education

Calcutta. Second city of the Britishempire, India’s most importanturban centre, Paris of the East,melting pot of all races, pride ofBengalis, cradle of the renaissance,

city of palaces! Day and night, multitudes pass through the

streets-flowing like a stream. Alongside ancientpalanquins from mythical king Mandhata’stimes, bullock-carts and pedestrians, run ultra-modern electric trams, buses and motorcarswhile aircrafts fly above, casting shadows onher expanse. Spectacles dangling on theirnoses, shod in fancy shoes and with fashionablehairstyles, the cane-wielding kapure-babus —the upper class gentlemen with social capitaland recognition only on the outside; impecca-bly attired in western clothes over their swarthyforms; the great specimens of ingo-bongos orthe anglophile Bengalis; donning curious hatsand a variety of dresses the Parsis, Gujeratis,Marathis, Sikhs, Pathans, Kabulis, Nepalis,Bhutanese, Punjabis, Mongols, Japanese,Chinese and Marwaris among a variety ofhuman specimens from the entire East;English, Scotch, Irish, French and Americansamong aggressive specimens of western races,and alongside these, half-naked Oriyas, andcompletely naked groups of Naga mendicants… such a curious kedgeree of humanity is notto be found anywhere in the world. At one sidecolourful mansions reach out to the sky, and intheir shadows lean mud walls of cottages plas-tered with dung cakes — a rare sight anywhereelse. On one flank of the street, like wealth per-sonified, are welldressed, nonchalant, vehicle-riders, blessed sons of Lakshmi — the Goddessof Wealth — ignorant to the sorrows andscarcities of the world, and on the other side,right there in the dust of the street, lying onblankets riddled with holes, worshippers ofpermanent destitution, hooded-eyed, skin-and-bones bands of poor beggars, gasping their lastand waiting for death. And right in front oftheir drooping eyelids, beating huge drums —the dhaaks and dhols — and blowing trumpets,wafting flowery perfumes, their kilted scarvesand drapes billowing, pass bands of the groom’sparty of a marriage ceremony. Where else canone see such a crooked smile on the lips of des-tiny? Life and death live here together, likethorn and blossom on the same branch.

It was about Calcutta that acclaimed poetSatyendranath Dutta said:

Ei Kolikata-Kalikakhsetra, kahini ihar sobarsruto,

Bishnu chakra ghurechhe hethae, Mahesherpadodhule e puto

Hindur kali achhen hethae, MusalmanerMoula Ali,

Chari koney sadhu pir charijon muskil asancherag jali

Sakal dharma milechhe hethae samanyaermantra-surey

Swagata sadhak-bhakta-brinda maraterBaikunthapurey

Roughly translated it reads: ‘This Kolkata— Kalika’s ground, everyone has heard its story,

Bishnu’s discus spun here — Mahesh’s feetmade it holy. Here’s the abode of the Hindus’Kali, and Maula Ali of the Musalman, Four pirsand sadhus at four corners, light the lamp ofredemption, All religions have merged here, ina tune of hymn and harmony This earthly par-adise welcomes, every worshipper and devotee.’

And truly Calcutta on first acquaintancelooks like a city which is a pilgrimage for sad-hus, a place for religious practice of devotees,and an abode of the sacred. Hindu temples ofKali, Tara, Mahadev, Sani, Jagaddhatri, Sitala,Buddhist viharas, Jain shrines of Pareshnath,Christian churches, mosques of Muslims arescattered all over — holding their heads upagainst the smoke swathed sky — a diversity ofstyles of different ideologies. At every step, atemple or the other with their crowds of devo-tees draws the attention of pedestrians. Scenesof religious rituals and routine prayers beingoffered morning and evening abound, amidstthe blowing of conches, the clamour of visitors.By observing the polished floors, the brightgold ornaments of the deities, and the softnessand signs of indulgence in the bearings of tem-ple attendants, it does not take time to realisethat most of the Hindu gods and goddesses arewell-off.

But without a sharp eye, no one would beable to decipher the extent of wrongs, theextent of vileness and brutality concealedbeneath this outward shield of religiosity.Despite Chitteswari of Chitpur at one end andKalikadebi of Kalighat at the other keepingwatch on the domain of Calcutta, every daySatan and his sinful followers enter the city inhordes, pulling wool over their divine eyes.

Poet Satyendranath says: Ei Kolikata byagrhobahini chhilo he ekoda

bagher basa Bagher moton manush jahara tahaderi chhi-

lo jawa o asha! (‘This Kolkata on a tiger rides, ‘twas once a

tiger’s den Those men who were tiger-like,would come and go often!’)

Just as in those times there were peoplewho were like tigers, this day too there is nodearth of tigers in human garb in Calcutta.Rather the legions of these tiger-people havegrown. But they are more tiger-like in theircruelty and beastliness rather than in vigourand energy. These tigers and tigresses are scat-tered all across the city — through the day theymove about in groups amongst us. Always alertand waiting for prey, like an invisible pesti-lence. We don’t know them, but they have everybit of information about us at their fingertips.When at night the curtain of deepest darknessdescends on the heart of Calcutta, these tigersand tigresses employing trickery, attack usunawares. Tigers of the wild crave human flesh,but these human tigers want the substance ofour souls. And once someone’s soul comes intotheir clutches, he cannot be saved. Easy-goingparents from villages, you send your naive chil-dren to Calcutta to become worthy humans.But often, under the influence of these tigersand tigresses, their humanity is drained andthey return home transformed into a beast or a

ghost. No one should be fooled by the outward

sheen, the glamorous beauty, the light andlaughter, the mock-religiosity, the crowds attemples, churches and mosques of Calcutta.How much darkness has congealed at thelamp’s base — today we will reveal some ofthose secret scenes. We spend our lives cradledby this Calcutta; our lives, our deaths, our mar-riages are in sync with the rhythms of thisCalcutta, our hearts are full with pride and wefeel honoured being residents of Calcutta. Yethow many among us have seen the true face ofCalcutta? How many of us dare to roam aboutin the silence of the deepest night amongstCalcutta’s scary and impassable forest ofpalaces? How many are interested to knowabout the romances unfolding, the fascinatingincidents, the tragedies being played out

around us each day? What is the value of areport in the morning newspaper? Bravinggreat dangers, time and again avoiding theknives of hoodlums, in the spirit of adventure, Ialone, like a creature of darkness, just a shortand stout stick on my person, have regularlyroamed the streets of Calcutta from evening tillthe end of night. Without bothering aboutmoral corruption, I have entered evil and for-bidden places with no hesitation. My longexperience cannot fit into these pages. Here Iwill provide some glimpses, some hints. If read-ers enjoy, then in future I will try to describedifferent facets of Calcutta in greater detail.

Excerpted with permission from CalcuttaNights (Raater Kolkata), a 1923 book by

Hemendrakumar Roy, translated into English byRajat Chaudhuri, Niyogi Books, `295

A book that offers a contemporarydiscourse on practically every aspect of

education and education system

F R O M T H E I N S I D E

What is important isto believe in

something sostrongly that you’renever discouraged— Salma Hayek

Be practical than perfectIt is best to stay practical rather thango overboard in search of perfectionand reject all available options

Vijayawada, January 12, 2020

BABUS, BORDELLOS,AND GASLIT NIGHTS

Calcutta Nights was written almost a hundred years ago and first published in Bengali as Raater Kolkata(by Hemendrakumar Roy) in 1923. Much of this book is set in a time which stretches back even further tothe first two decades of the twentieth century. Calcutta was still the capital of British ruled India then — abustling metropolis with a dark underbelly, where untold dangers lurked behind the glamour and shine,writes RAJAT CHAUDHURI in the introductory chapter of his book.

NO ONE SHOULD BEFOOLED BY THE

OUTWARD SHEEN, THEGLAMOROUS BEAUTY,

THE LIGHT ANDLAUGHTER, THE MOCK-

RELIGIOSITY, THECROWDS AT TEMPLES,

CHURCHES ANDMOSQUES OF

CALCUTTA. HOW MUCHDARKNESS HAS

CONGEALED AT THELAMP’S BASE — TODAYWE WILL REVEAL SOME

OF THOSE SECRETSCENES

Pictures from an earlier exhibition of 96 photographs by Bourne & Shepherd (27 prints) and Johnston & Hoffmann, mostly of Calcutta (long, long before it was renamed Kolkata) as it looked in the high noon of the British Raj in late 19th and early 20th century. The exhibition was held by the Victoria Memorial Hall in 2018

A young Hemendra Kumar Roy with his wife Renuka; Courtesy: The Roy family archives

sundaymagazine

books 09IF ONE CANNOT ENJOY READING ABOOK OVER AND OVER AGAIN, THERE

IS NO USE IN READING IT AT ALL— OSCAR WILDE

Vijayawada, January 12, 2020

Change is coming to thetranquil town of Karuthupuzha,nestled deep within the lushKerala countryside. Paachu Yemaan, theInspector of Police, who has terrorised thetown for decades has retired. Desperate tofind him something to do, his wife, Sharada,and the good-hearted Barber Sureshan decidethat ex-Inspector Paachu’s post retirementproject will be the reforming of the towndrunk, Joby. What the two good Samaritanshaven’t counted on is the chain ofextraordinary events that their project is aboutto set in motion.

THE TOWN THATLAUGHED

Manu BhattathiriAleph, `599

Witnessing estrangement andbetrayal within her own familymakes her perceptive and

intuitive beyond her years. Complicatedmarital relationships, humiliation unheard ofand a pledge of revenge, all culminating in awar — her ordeal seemed neverending. Yetshe stands up to it all — never succumbing,never breaking. One of the mostunforgettable characters of the Mahabharata,Draupadi shows what a woman is capable of.

DRAUPADI: THE TALEOF AN EMPRESSSaiswaroopa Iyer Rupa, `295

The Gopi Diaries is a seriesof three books for childrenabout a dog called Gopi. Toldin Gopi’s voice, the first book, ComingHome, begins with Gopi going to his newhome, and tells the story of how he settlesdown with his loving, human family. HowGopi sees the world around him and what hethinks of the people in his life give the storya truly unique flavour. Written in SudhaMurty’s inimitable style, these are bookschildren and adults will treasure as thesimple stories talk of basic values even whentold from a dog’s perspective.

THE GOPI DIARIESSudha Murty

HarperCollins, `299

India is awaiting a new nationaleducation policy (NEP); the lastone was prepared in 1992. TheMinistry of Human ResourceDevelopment (MHRD) appointed

a Committee under the Chairmanshipof former Cabinet secretary TSRSubramanian in October 2015 to pre-pare the draft of NEP. This Committeesubmitted its report in April 2016. Thisfive member Committee had fourretired bureaucrat and only one acade-mic member; the author of the presentbook under review, Professor JS Rajput.Subsequently, MHRD appointed amore-broad-based Committee underthe Chairmanship of eminent scientistDr K Kasturirangan. Its report, submit-ted in May 2019, was made available topublic domain on the same day, andMHRD invited public comments onthis draft as well. It has received numer-ous inputs from every section of thesociety. Hopefully, these would help thegovernment to take a comprehensiveview of the changes required in educa-tion policy.

The last four-five years have seeneducation issues being seriously dis-cussed and deliberated upon at everystage and level throughout the country.During this period, the writings ofProfessor JS Rajput in print media, inEnglish and Hindi as also his lecturesand books have contributed in enhanc-ing the relevance of such interactionsand their output. The Book ‘TheDynamics of Indian Education’, releasedon August 1, 2019 by the Vice Presidentof India, M. Venkaiah Naidu, is oneamongst these.

Every family wishes to know moreabout education, good education, andquality education. The demand now isno more only for ‘education and school’,but for “good quality education; imbuedwith skill acquisition; in a good School”.Just some sixty years ago, people werereluctant even to send their children toschools, and had to be particularly per-suaded to send girls to schools. The atti-tudinal transformation itself is a greatachievement. India needs to evolve avisionary, futuristic and pragmatic edu-cation policy that could respond to thenational requirements and aspirations ofthe young and aged in a fast-changingglobalised world. These are the criticaltimes for the country to have a freshlook on its education system andrevamp it on modern lines. Our educa-tion systems must remain deeply rooted

to culture, and simultaneously commit-ted to new knowledge.

A cursory perusal of the topics con-tained in the book clearly indicate thatthe author — a veteran educationist —has dexterously explored the vast canvasof critical concerns that form the basisof educational change and transforma-tion. These require regular dynamicinputs based upon experiences gainedand the future vision to remain relevant.Education systems just cannot affordstagnation at any stage over even a shortperiod. The content of this book clearlyappreciates our Post-Independenceachievements in education. We havenear total enrollment in schools, in spiteof over-threefold increase in the popula-tion!

The book also brings forth how theancient Indian tradition of knowledgeacquisition, and dissemination receivedwidespread acclaim across the seven-seas; we were the Vishwa-Guru! Wemust aim to rise to that pedestal again.

Ancient India contributed not only inphilosophy and spirituality, it con-tributed in sciences, mathematics,Astronomy and every other relevantarea. The objective was “welfare of oneand all — Sarva Bhut Hite Ratah”. Thedistinguishing features of Indian tradi-tion of knowledge generation, creation,dissemination and utilisation emergevery clearly in this book.

It pleads for restoration of respectfulbonds amongst the State and intellectu-als, and particularly to give school teach-ers their due. The author articulates hisanguish and pain in the context of dete-rioration in quality of education, loss ofthe credibility of teacher education insti-tutions, and reports on the increase ofunethical instances in schools and uni-versities. However, it also indicates howthe system could be enthused with newinspiration and dynamism through adynamic reform process.

The author firmly believes thatsocial cohesion and religious amity are

two major responsibilities before theeducation system. He is known to haveinitiated a movement to let every childbe familiarised with the basics of all thereligions. Children should know thecommonalities and learn to respect dif-ferences wherever these exist. No ritualsand dogmas are to be taken up inschools. That shall remain familyresponsibility. India is globally respect-ed for its valued tradition of acceptanceof diversity and presents a rare exampleof various religions co-existing togetherfor ages!

It also emerges from this book thatteacher preparation must be basedupon the educational philosophies ofTagore, Sri Aurobindo, SwamiVivekananda, Mahatma Gandhi, andseveral other Indian luminaries. It isnow globally recognised that everycountry should develop its own educa-tion system, that borrowed and trans-planted systems only bring disaster anddisconnect with culture, history and

heritage. So finally education must be‘rooted to culture and committed toprogress’!

The neglect of right curricularapproach to India’s history, heritage andculture has resulted in an unprecedent-ed in an all round decline in values,morals and ethics. The moral crisesoften makes lakhs of children suffer forno fault of theirs. Leakage of boardexamination papers causes immeasur-able misery and pain to children andfamilies. If the system fails to preventsale of teacher training degrees, it wouldbe impossible to prevent quality deterio-ration through other means and mea-sures. The need for creating ‘educationalleadership’ at each stage hardly needsoveremphasis in a system that has torespond to innumerable diverse situa-tions. It clearly emerges that India mustpay more attention to its education sys-tem, particularly to public school educa-tion system, giving due priority toteacher preparation. It would; ipso facto;

enhance the quality of higher education,research and also innovations and entre-preneurship.

This book contains 97 chapter titles,spread over 314 well-printed pages. Onewonders why the contents of this bookwere not arranged in around a dozenchapters, dealing the major issues in oneplace. Even in the present format, someeight to ten sections could have beencreated at the editing stage. This book isa significant addition to the contempo-rary discourse on practically everyaspect of education and education sys-tem. It is full of practical experience,epistemological comprehension as alsoof the finer philosophical inputs wher-ever necessary. It could be a treasuredhandbook for every section; from pro-fessors of education to school teachersand concerned parents. Professor Rajputis known for his regular writings inHindi and English, and also for lecturesand talks. This book is one moreinstance of his commitment to educa-tional change and transformation.

The reviewer teaches political scienceat the Dyal Singh College of Delhi

University

In his book, The Dynamics of Indian Education, the author has explored the vast canvas of criticalconcerns that form the basis of educational change and transformation, writes SUDHIR SINGH

THE DYNAMICS OFINDIAN EDUCATION

Professor JS Rajput, Yash Publishers, `995

Evolving a dynamic education system

Tiny birds of differentcolours and sizes wouldflock in the nest, farabove the ground, atop

a tree, in the midst of woods,which could withstand rains andwinds; birds per force fleeingfrom the prying eyes of hunterswould reach the Nest. Theywould flip and chirp and flaptheir frail and weak wings,unsure of flying back. One hadto “vitalise these little birds bystrengthening their wings andavoid the hunters — men”.

The nest would have allkinds of birds — good and bad,heroes and villains, shapes andshades of different feathers.They would be nurtured withcompassion and spirit of co-existence. In time, they wouldfly away. This inspiring and loftyidealism was what made MadamAgatha, a nun who left themonastery, and hostel warden tostart and run The Cuckoo’s Nest,the first English novel, by Sethu(A Sethumadhavan), one of thebest among contemporaryMalayalam fiction writers. He isequally at ease and adept andevocative in English as evidentfrom this novel.

The novelist has always beena strong promoter of feminism,be it his stories or novels, andalways empathised to the extentof clearly taking sides. So is it inThe Cuckoo’s Nest, where theyoung and desolate inmates areempowered to live gloriously,“like a mother bidding goodbyeto her daughter, a mother birdwatching her tiny ones flyingaway , flapping and spreadingtheir wings…. Never to return”.Madam Agatha had trained herinmates to “dream the mountainand not the valley”.

The message of optimism iscommendable as narrated in anexcellent and convincing man-ner for emulation. The reader ismoved by the manner in whichtotal darkness and gloom in thelives of nearly a dozen inmatesof the Nest was overcome intobright sunshine by empoweringthe girls through a model chari-table institution, run entirely ondonations from well-wishers,

known and unknown. Madam Agatha stands out as

a colossal and influential charac-ter in the novel and she is able toweather the storm and rains andoccasional cyclones holdingonto her Nest firmly with prag-matic and high ideals musteringsupport from well-meaningquarters and close friends andshe is the profile of intent andstrong will, having walked out ofthe monastery (when even sur-vival itself is not easy).

There is another character,Kadambari, who has come fromDevagiri , a small town in TamilNadu, where she was an adopteddaughter, but had to leave homeafter a gruelling experience.Kadambari has another motherin Madam Agatha and she is

finally given to shoulder theresponsibilities of the Nest.Other characters in the novel areprofiled to represent the oppres-sive circumstances in whichyoung females are made to suf-fer agonies. In portraying them,the novelist has put his narrativeexcellence into perfection witharresting readability, as is hiswont.

The profiling also attainsuniversality and pan-Indianappeal transcending geographi-cal and psychological barriers.Each character, be it, Col. AnnieFernandez, the crippled armydoctor, Sarala, Secretary of Nest,Karuppayya, security guard, whoare not inmates per se but closelyassociated, is etched indeliblyand stands out. Residents of

Nest, Lisie, Gouri, Sabeena,Ranjini, Apoorva, Kamakshi-Kamalakshi (twins), Didi,Parveen Singh, Seetha etc are allfrom different backgrounds andfaiths (But Nest is strictly secularin every sense) and each one’stale of woes is touching.

Except in the case ofParveen Singh, who meets witha tragic death due to her intenselove for Salim, all others areenabled in every sense to under-go life in better circumstances.Two instances where the lovers(Sabeena and Seetha) reunitewith their love through socialmedia are motivating andrevealing. Each character has ahistory of pathos and untoldmiseries and they reveal the cur-rent social fabric, which is heavi-

ly skewed against the downtrod-den women. The tale of woes ofeach inmate of the Nest has beendexterously condensed demon-strating the mastery of the nov-elist in his art of storytelling.The weaving around of the plotand characters almost in lyricalstyle in the novel marks Sethu’sdexterity at its best.

“Life is nothing but an open-ended story. Won’t it be better toleave some doubts as they areand make the reader ponder onthem later? After all, aren’t suchclueless riddles the very elementthat makes life interesting?” asksDidi, the wheel chair-boundoptimist Jewish inmate of theNest, with a Third Eye toApoorva, who is in the Nest dueto the quarrel of her Bengali

father and Tamilian mother. Thenovelist reflects: “the writer…..naturally expected his readers tobe reasonably intelligent so thatthey would be able to find out asolution of their own”.

At the end Madam Agathaasks: “Mirror, mirror on thewall, have I failed?” Riposte isthat the story is a brilliant liter-ary work bringing out the divineelements of conveying improve-ment over societal values. Goingby any literary values, TheCuckoo’s Nest is a profoundwork, placing the novelist in thepinnacle of his glorious career.

The reviewer is a noted writerand veteran broadcaster. He wasDDG, Doordarshan, and associ-

ated with several TV channels

The Nest is strongly perchedThe first English novel by the noted Malayali writer A Sethumadhavan, popularly knownas Sethu, is a landmark by its superb craft and theme, says K. KUNHIKRISHNAN

THE CUCKOO’S NESTA. Sethumadhavan (Sethu),

Niyogi Books, `345

NEWARRIVALS

Former Director, NCERT, Prof. JS Rajput presenting his book, The Dynamics of Indian Education, to the President of India, Ram Nath Kovind, in New Delhi

Brain tumours are cate-gorised as primary and sec-

ondary. A primary braintumour is the one which orig-inates in the brain. Many ofthem are benign. A secondarybrain tumour is known asmetastatic brain tumour. Itoccurs when the cancer cellsspread to brain from the anoth-er organs such as lungs andbreast.

Primary brain tumours:These tumours can originate inyour brain and can developfrom:

n Brain cellsn Nerve cellsn The membranes that sur-rounds the brainn Glands

Primary brain tumours canbe benign or cancerous. Inadults, the most common typesof brain tumours are gilomas(which develops from glialcells) and meningiomas (thatdevelops on the membranes ofbrain and spinal cord).

Secondary brain tumours:These consists majority of thebrain cancers. They start fromthe one part of the body andthen spreads of metastasize tothe brain.

The following can metas-tasize to the brain.n Lung cancern Breast cancern Kidney cancern Skin cancer

These tumours are alwaysmalignant as benign tumoursdo not spread from one toanother part of the body.

DOCYARDDR SANCHITA DUBEY

Consultant, Obstetrics &Gynecology

MOTHERHOOD HOSPITAL, NOIDA

It is in the genes

Acongenital disorder (CD), also known as a birth defect, con-genital defect, is a health issue that occurs with the health

of the baby while it is still in the womb. In India, congenital mal-formations and genetic disorders are the third most commoncause of mortality in newborns in urban areas. As medical sci-ence is developing at a fast pace, treatments and follow-up carefor defects have improved drastically over the past few decades.

The severity of the disorders varies depending on its nature.For example, in some cases, the condition may not manifest untilmuch later in life, if ever, and at other times, the disorder is incom-patible with life.

Many congenital conditions are genetic in nature. The riskof genetic problems gets higher in families with a history of thedisorder, and it is also elevated in older parents, as they are morelikely to pass down imperfectly duplicated chromosomes.

Types of congenital disorders:Birth defects can be broken down into three different cate-

gories:nChromosomal Birth Defects (CBD): Babies who have a

problem with one or more of their chromosomes. Chromosomescontain genes, and genes help tell your body how to grow andwork. When there is something wrong with your genes it canresult in Down’s syndrome.

nBiochemical Birth Defects (BBD): A form of defect thatoccurs when there is a problem with the baby’s body chemistry.BBDs prevent the body from properly breaking down food tocreate energy.

nAnatomical Birth Defects(ABD): When a baby is bornwith a body part missing or mal-formed, it’s called AnatomicalBirth Defect. The common typesof ABDs are heart defects, cleftpalate, clubfoot and congenitaldislocated hip.

Causes:Congenital disorders are

caused by genetic factors:nChromosomal defects:

Caused by too few or too manychromosomes, or problems inthe structure of the chromo-somes single gene defects — amutation in one gene causes thedefect.

nDominant inheritance:When one parent (who may or

may not have the disease) passes along a single faulty gene.nRecessive inheritance: When both parents, who do not have

the disease, pass along the gene for the disease to the child.Treatment:nGene therapy: In this therapy, the defective or missing gene

is replaced. Gene therapy is generally used to help treat a raregroup of diseases known as severe combined immunodeficien-cy disease.

nSurgery: Is used to help repair anatomical congenital dis-orders such as severe heart defects.

n Enzyme replacement therapy: When a gene is mutated andis unable to produce the gene product, an enzyme is missing ordefective. One of the ways to treat this is to replace the enzymethat the gene is incapable of producing.

Prevention:A woman can make many alterations in her lifestyle for low-

ering down the chances of having a child with a birth defect. Someof them include:

nQuit smoking.nEat a healthy diet.nMaintain a healthy weight.nKeep folic acid in check.nAvoid exposure to alcohol and drugs during pregnancy.nStay away from foods having chemicals and pesiticides. nTake daily vitamins.

Many congenitalconditions are

genetic in nature.The risk of genetic

problems is alsoelevated in olderparents, as they

are more likely topass downimperfectlyduplicated

chromosomes

PIGWEED: A pigweed alsoknown as bathua is a leafy veg-etable widely eaten during win-ters because of its varioushealth benefits.

Pigweed is rich in nutri-ents, Vitamin A, C, andVitamin B complex.

It also act as a lax-ative and and elimi-nates constipationand other digestiveproblems. Being richin Vitamins, it alsohelps in preventinglung and mouth cancer.

It also act as an anti-septic agent and curesfire burns and scabies.

It purifies the blood andhelp the body to recover fromchronic illness. It also keepsyour cholesterol levels in check.

The leafy vegetable is also

said to help improve immuni-ty because of its nutritiousnature.

W A R M F O O D

A69-year-old Delhi-based man, PrakashAnand (name changed), had undergonea cardiac procedure-stenting in 2016

when he had a severe blockage. Recently,due to the extreme cold conditions in thecity, he suffered from heart problem againand was rushed to the hospital where he wasresuscitated in casualty and taken up forcoronary angiography revealing thrombus inLeft Anterior Descending (LAD) artery. Hislife was saved by doctors with timelyintervention with repeat stenting.

“We also inserted intra aortic balloonpump as a life-saving measure for the patient.He is now recovered and is fit to bedischarged,” said Dr Subhash Chandra,Chairman & HOD, Cardiology, BLK SuperSpeciality Hospital.

Doctors have warned heart patientsespecially those who have already undergonecardiac procedures to take extra care duringwinters. Heart patients should not miss theirroutine medications and protect themselvesfrom the cold weather.

SLIMLINE

The average intakeof added sugar ismore among

women than in men saida survey report undertakenby Indian Council of Medical Research(ICMR)-National Institute of Nutrition(NIN), Hyderabad and sponsored by theInternational Life Sciences Institute -India(ILSI-India).

According to the survey, women takearound 20.2 grams of added sugar in a daywhile men's intake of added sugar is 18.7grams per day.

The other significant finding of thestudy was that the mean intake of addedsugar among metro cities of India, mea-sured in grams per day, was highest inMumbai and least in Hyderabad.

Prof P K Seth, Chairman, ILSA-India said: “The survey shows populationof Mumbai and Ahmedabad with theiraverage intake level of added sugar at 26.3grams and 25.9 grams per day has a muchhigher intake than their counterparts inDelhi (23.2 grams/ day), Bengaluru (19.3grams day), Kolkata (17.1 grams per day)and Chennai (16.1 grams per day).”

The survey measured the intake ofadded sugar by age groups as well. In gen-eral, adults and elderly people were con-suming slightly higher sugar than theyounger ones. The highest intake ofsugar was observed among older adults,36-59 years age group was 20.5 grams perday, followed by elderly ( greater than 60years) 20.3 grams per day.

— IANS

TIPTOPSTUDYCENTRE

There are some peoplewho are allergic to fooditems like nuts, mush-

rooms and are lactose intoler-ant. However, many peoplewho have never had anyallergy in their lifeend up with rash-es all over theirbodies. Mostdoctors willtell you thatallergies can

be triggereddue to any-thing; it can bea fruit you have

consumed or could be asandwich which one ate. Formost of these allergies, one hasto pop pills for a few days orin extreme cases, take anti-allergy injections. But there area few home remedies that onecan follow.

Baking soda is an excellenthome medicine for skin aller-

gy. It helps the skin rash to dry.It also relieves itchiness. Makea paste by mixing half a tea-spoon of baking soda in somewater. Apply on the affected

area and leave it on for afew minutes and

then rinse it off.There are

many plantsknown for theirantibacterial,anti-fungal anda nt i - i r r i t a nt

properties. Hencemaking them an

excellent agent when itcomes to treating some of

the skin allergies. Aloe veraleaf is a good option.

Then there is tulsi. Boilhalf a cup of these leaves tillthe water is reduced to half.Allow it to cool and then dipa clean cloth and apply it onthe itchy skin.

Winters not only bring coughand cold, but also cause

allergies. If you are tired ofpopping pills, try some home

remedies, says ROSHANI DEVI

A12-year-old boy from Uzbekistan,Khusanbek Ozotilla, met with an acci-

dent in his home country at the age of three,wherein he fell from his terrace and sufferedcritical head injuries for which, he wasadmitted at a city hospital inUzbekistan and underwent alifesaving procedure calledtracheostomy (surgicalProcedure that involves cre-ating an opening in the neckin order to place a tube intoa person’s windpipe).Thereafter, the child had a per-manent hole in his neck due towhich he lost his ability to speak and wasnot able to communicate normally.

Childhood is all about talking, learn-ing and exploring the world. However,Khusanbek was deprived of the pleasuresof life as he was unable to speak. Post 10years of not being able to communicate,

Khusanbek’s mother decided to get himtreated at Indraprastha Apollo Hospital.The team of Dr Suresh Singh Naruka,Consultant, Department of ENT,Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals, along with

Dr(Prof) Ameet Kishore, SeniorConsultant Surgeon, ENT,

Indraprastha Apollo Hospitalsand Dr Nishant RanaRegistrar, Indraprastha ApolloHospitals recently carried outthe surgery wherein the tra-

chea of the child was recon-structed.The child was then kept in

pediatric intensive care unit for one dayunder the supervision of Dr NameetJerath, Senior Pediatrician, IndraprasthaApollo Hospitals. Next morning the childwas removed off the ventilator and wasfound that the tube which he carried for10 long years was removed.

DadiKaKehna

Skin changes with every season and weather.There are different care and precautions that

are required to maintain a healthy skin. Winterseason bring party fouls along the way. Cold tem-peratures and low humidity levels can lead tomany skin problems. Cold waves make it dry,itchy and irritated. Cold, blustery conditions canleave skin feeling raw, while indoor heat zapsmoisture from the air and from the skin.

The freezing weather and pollution can takea toll on the skin, and make it dull. Dry skin andrashes is a common problem during these days.So, it is extremely important to take precautionsto avoid rashes and blisters. Even in winters skinget exposed to sunlight. Ultraviolet rays makethe skin dehydrated. These rays can penetratedeeply into the skin from the epidermis right tothe dermis, cause hazardous side effects and leavered patches on the skin.

Apart from dryness of the skin, winter skinproblems can become severe which can lead toskin cracks and flakes. These skinflare-ups canhappen due to use of new and different skincareproducts in certain areas of the body. There aremany severe skin conditions that grow duringwinters such as eczema and psoriasis that aretriggered when skin moisture is compromised.

Due to cold weather many Itchy patches, alsoknown as winter itch, grow in the hidden areasof the body. It isthe result of the cold winter daysthat strips away the natural barrier of your skin,which leads to dry, itchy and irritated skin.Asthe temperature drops, the air holds less mois-ture which draws that moisture out of our skinand makes it dry.

Acne is one of common skin problems dur-ing winters. The main reason for acne in win-ters is sebum, which is a kind of oil which issecreted by the skin. Sebum is secreted as a result

of dry skin during winters. Excess sebum pro-duction can make the cells in skin to stick togeth-er. Which can lead to clogged pores and acnebreakouts on the skin. Dehydration, sun expo-sure and windburn is very common which causechapped skin, which has a severe impact on thehealthy skin. In this season, skin around the nailoften bear the brunt of cold weather and can bepainful cuticles.

Here are few tips for healthy skin during win-ters:

nAvoid dry skin in winter by applying reg-ular massage of oil. It can protect the skin fromfree radicals caused due to exposure to sunlightand locks in the moisture.

nDry skin and rashes are very common dur-ing winters. So modify your facial skin-care reg-imen cream-based cleansers, and apply toners.

nMoisturise your skin frequently, especial-ly your hands after washing up. Use any creamor ointment in the winter for your healthy skin.

nDuring winters eat healthy diet and stayhydrated. Eat foods or supplements that containomega-3 or omega-6 fatty acids, such as fish oiland flaxseed oil.

nDuring this season wearing wet clothes andshoes can further irritate your skin and causeitchiness and rashes. Change out of wet clothesquickly to avoid itchy skin and patches.

The writer is Founder & Director of ILAMED

S A Y N O T O

SKIN PROBLEMSThe freezing weather

and pollution cantake a toll on theskin and make itlook dull. Hence it

is important to takeextra care of it this

season, says DR AJAY RANA

Brain tumour is the 10th leading cause ofmorbidity in India. The incidence of thisdeadly disease is rising and different

kinds of tumours manifest at different agegroups. As per the Globocan 2018 report,issued by the International Association ofCancer Registries (IARC) associated with theWorld Health Organisation (WHO), in Indiaover 28,000 cases new brain tumour caseswere reported annually. Around 24,000patients lost their lives battling this neurolog-ical ailment.

A brain tumour is a collection, or massof abnormal cells in the brain. These tumourscan be cancerous (malignant) or non-cancer-ous.

When a benign or malignant tumourgrows, they cause immense pressure in theskull. This can lead to brain damage and it canbe life-threatening.

What are signs and symptoms of it?Symptoms and signs of brain tumour

depend on the size and location of the tumour.Some tumours can directly affect by invad-ing the brain tissue while some cause pres-sure on the surrounding brain. Major symp-toms of brain tumour include:n Headaches (worsens in the morning).n Vomitingn Blurred vision or double visionn A change in the mental functioningn Seizuresn Weakness of a limb or part of the facen Difficulty in physical movements

RISK FACTORSFamily history: As per the recent study,

only five to 10 percent of cancers are geneti-cally inherited, or hereditary. It’s a rare thatbrain tumour can be inherited but if you havefamily history of the disease then you shouldget health screenings and consult the doctorat regular intervals of time.

Age: Though the frequency of this diseaseis likely to affect people above the age of 55years, but many such cases have also been seenin children in the age bracket of three yearsto 15 years of age, irrespective of the gender.

Exposure to radiations and chemicals:People who have been exposed to ionisingradiations and chemicals have an elevated riskof developing brain tumour.

Almost 28,000 cases of brain tumour are reported in India annually. DR ADITYA GUPTAtells you the risk factors and how to treat the disease

Endoscopic brain surgery is minimal-ly invasive treatment procedure that

allows neurosurgeons to find and treatthe conditions that are deep within thebrain.

During this surgical method, thintubing that transmits the video images ofthe brain is inserted through one or twosmall incisions in the skull or through anopening in the body. This tube likeinstrument is called an endoscope whichcontains a small camera that allows theneurosurgeon to see the problem area ofthe brain.

The ultimate goal is to removetumour without causing damage tohealthy parts of the brain. It has revolu-tionised the treatment method as it pro-vides crystal clear visualisation of tumour.

Early treatment can prevent compli-cations that can occur as a tumourgrows and puts pressure on the skull andbrain tissue. If experiencing any symp-toms then one should consult the doc-tor immediately.

The writer is Director, Neurosurgery, Agriminstitute for neuro sciences, Artemis Hospital

Diagnosis of brain tumour begins with a physicalexam and a look at the patient’s medical history.

After the physical tests, the doctor will recommendfor the further tests which include:n CT scan of the head: These scans helps the doc-tors get a more detailed scan of the body than X-rays.Using a special dye it helps them to view some struc-tures like blood vessels more clearly.n Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI): An MRI isdifferent than CT Scan as it does involve any radia-tions and provides much more detailed pictures of thebrain.n Angiography: This study involves a special dyewhich is injected in the artery. The dye travels to thearteries in the brain. It helps the doctors to see whatthe blood supply of tumour looks like.

Watch those headachesTypes

Diagnosis

Surgery showsthe way

sundaymagazine

health 10Vijayawada, January 12, 2020

BlameAirHigh level of air pollution may be weakening the bones of

Indians, in addition to increasing risk for other health condi-tions like lung cancer, stroke, respiratory diseases, warns

a study that showed that exposure to ambient air pollution,particularly to fine particles, was associated with lower lev-

els of bone mass

Health will be good. This week, everything will cometogether. You are in the right place, doing the rightthing. You are likely to achieve what you have wished-for. The week holds new beginnings that naturallyemerge out of the accomplished cycle. To balance yourenergies, avoid rich food and oversleep. Career may notbe so satisfactory. You will feel uncomfortable in yourwork environment. Your senior may feel that you arenot putting your 100 per cent effort into a project. Yourhonest nature may fetch you displeasure. Avoid anykind of investment or a new deal in business/property.In love, you may be possessive. You may face conflictand difficult phase. However, a balanced approach willwork in your favour.

Lucky number 14Lucky colour MauveLucky day Wednesday

ARIES March 21-April 19

You will enjoy good health and richness in relationships.This week there will be occasions when three generationsof the family will get together. The youngsters mayreceive a gift in form ancestral property, money orinvaluable advice. On the career front, your insight andmental clarity will generate good results. This is a goodtime to act and achieve your target goals. Be alert as newopportunities will knock at the door and you are likely toget promoted. This is the time to pursue newopportunities and draw upon your creativity and mentalability for making more money. Love relations willblossom and may turn into marriage. You will be at easewith your partner, and take important decisions withregard to family. This is a good week for family reunion.

Lucky number 26Lucky colour MagentaLucky day Thursday

TAURUS April 20-May 20

This week your health will be on the next level and sowill be your maturity and intelligence. You will beinclined towards natural ingredients, herbs and spiritualpath. Your views in terms of health are conventionaland practical and that will pay you rich dividends. Onthe career front, clear communication will bringchanges. Travel to a foreign land on account of the jobis likely. Your initiative blends with your people skills,so explore and see where it takes you. Your financeswill improve considerably and you may plan a deal inproperty. On the romantic front, this week is filled withlove. Online love messages will revive your energy andpassion. Singles may find a suitable partner ormarriage proposals.

Lucky number 17Lucky colour Pastel BlueLucky day Saturday

GEMINI May 21-June 20

This week you will find the ups and downs in yourhealth. Mental instability is also the cause of concern.Tension and worry will create a headache and nausea.Guard yourself against cold and coughing, and mostimportantly the liquor. Meditation, yoga and spiritualinclinations are the best way to settle yourtemperament. Career looks promising as new andexciting opportunities will be knocking at the door. Youwill experience the creative spark within you. Those inbusiness may plan to expand their reach. Money maycome from more than one source. On the relationshipfront, there is scope for self-assertion. An awakeninghas occurred and you realise the need to live your lifein a different way, for you and for your loved ones.

Lucky number 8Lucky colour GreyLucky day Saturday

CANCER June 21-July 22

You will be motivated and inspired to do your best thisweek. You will be creative and experience renewedstrength. You need to be adaptable as that will help youbalance the energy levels. Avoid unhealthy food. Career-wise, an alumni meet is indicated. A get together of oldcolleagues or friends will make you happy. You need tocreate a positive feeling among those with whom youshare your ideas. Contracts, paperwork andcollaborations will keep you busy this week. You arelikely to receive an award or an acknowledgement foryour hard work done earlier. In the matter of emotions,you will experience happiness. Singles, will get proposalsof love/ marriage. Some of you may travel on account oflove, to meet your partner.

Lucky number 16Lucky colour RedLucky day Monday

VIRGO Aug 23-Sep 22

Do not ignore your health problems due to workload. Youare in a state of confusion, try not to get carried away by amaterialistic lifestyle. Spiritualism and slow pace of workare the only solutions if you wish to attain good health.Avoid being stubborn and rash in making importantdecisions. Career-wise, you are on the right track. A newjob, salary hike or promotion is indicated. To take a bigdecision, don’t be hesitant about seeking advice. A seniorfemale may come as a helping hand in your professionalgrowth. Financially you will be sound. Your hard work willpave the way for rise in your career. You will taste successon the romantic front. Emotional contentment is likely.Singles will meet their dream partner. Married couples willenjoy perfect harmony and mutual attraction.

Lucky number 13Lucky colour GreenLucky day Tuesday

LIBRA Sep 23-Oct 22

You will have an abundance of energy, passion andenthusiasm that will keep you going, surpassing allsetbacks that may come your way. This week you are inperfect health. Protect your privacy and guard yourselfagainst sharp edge instruments as minor injury, cut, orpain is predicted. Prepare yourself for a big change inyour career. A sudden hike may surprise you. Connectwith an official in higher offices may prove fruitful. Investquality time in your thoughts and actions to reap biggerbenefits for yourself. Be optimistic. This week you needto go deep into your soul and look for fears, psychicblocks and personality disturbances that restrict you in arelationship. Don’t allow the intervention of a third partyin love, it may prove harmful.

Lucky number 20Lucky colour Sky BlueLucky day Friday

SCORPIO Oct 23-Nov 21

This week you will find positive energy all around you.Have self-respect and love for yourself. You will beextra careful about your diet, exercise and workingschedule. Your spouse’s help will prove beneficial inmaintaining good health. Overall, your health will begood. On the work front, opportunities may come yourway in an unexpected manner. Posting to a place or adesignation which you dislike is indicated. Travel orunexpected journeys will exhaust you. Making moneythrough work from home, writing or artistic pursuitsare on the card. Love life will be smooth. You have anamiable personality that charms everyone around you.You will be filled with positive energy and will conqueryour partner’s heart.

Lucky number 21Lucky colour YellowLucky day Friday

AQUARIUS Jan 20-Feb 18

Pay attention to your health. You will attract a lot ofattention and radiate charm. This will enhance yourconfidence. Your personality may make some peoplejealous. Be careful, as small negligence may cause a bighole in your pocket. Career-wise, you need to co-ordinateyour long term career objectives with your domesticenvironment. If life feels like a struggle, remember thatperseverance will pay off. Do not attempt to fast trackyour career, else it will take its toll. Remember short cutto success may cause regret. Your relationship is affectedby issues such as fear, anxiety and apprehension.Spending sleepless nights on account of love is indicated.There is a need for intense connections in your life with apartner who shares the same emotional wavelength.

Lucky number 11Lucky colour GoldenLucky day Wednesday

PISCES Feb 19-March 20

You will experience pain, grief and discontentment thisweek. Prevention is better than cure; therefore, a strictdiet and regular medical check-ups are very important.Stay away from any addiction. Minor injury or surgery isindicated. On the career front, you are quick-witted andobservant at work. Due to your upfront and honestnature, your career path will not be smooth and maycause tension. You will have to rely on your practicalsensibilities to argue your case with unlike-mindedpeople. A female counterpart will play an important rolein your career. On the emotional front, pay attention toyour dreams and intuition. Look for areas in your life thatrequire greater wisdom. Secret love may be revealed andwill make you restless.

Lucky number 18Lucky colour TaupeLucky day Sunday

CAPRICORN Dec 22-Jan 19

A minor surgery is on the cards. Be cautious of sharpinstruments and drive your vehicle carefully. This weekyou will be active and alert. This is a good time to focuson the studies and make the best use of your capabilities.A good physical and mental health will boost yourconfidence. In career, you need to control the situation.You are hardworking and determined, but a feeling ofstagnation may obstruct your growth. Increase yourefficiency to attain success. In relationship, you maybecome possessive. This may have adverseconsequences. Sympathetic and caring nature is the needof the hour. Don’t neglect the emotional needs of yourpartner. Avoid harsh and unpleasant words as thesituation might put you in arguments.

Lucky number 15Lucky colour BrownLucky day Thursday

LEO July 23-Aug 22

This week your health will be good. The familyatmosphere will be peaceful and harmonious. A visit to abeautiful, scenic place is likely. It will bring cheer. Youknow what is beneficial for you and must direct yourenergies in a more productive way. In career, youropponents may be more creative than you. You willexperience mental stress on some issues. The positivething is that you are moving towards a brighter phase.You will be busy travelling, but it will be worth your time.On the love front, there is romance in the air, but you arenot prepared. Professional matters will become yourpriority and this might create some worry in the family.You need to balance your life with determination andfocused approach.

Lucky number 23Lucky colour IndigoLucky day Wednesday

SAGITTARIUS Nov 22-Dec 21

YYOOUURRWWEEEEKK

AHEADMADHU KOTIYA

sundaymagazine

tarot 11TRUST IN DREAMS, FOR INTHEM IS HIDDEN THE GATE

TO ETERNITY— KHALIL GIBRAN Vijayawada, January 12, 2020

There was self-created disorder atthe ‘Primal source’, earlier in aperfect equilibrated state, which

when gravitated, differentiated energiesgot excited. Immediately thereafterbegan harmonisation of those energies,which following a course of progressiveevolution, culminated in the manifesta-tion of plural world with all its enormi-ty and diversity. As the cause permeatesthe effect, the imprints of both orderand disorder find presence in our cog-nitive instrument. Given a trigger eitherof the two or both could come intoplay, which primarily depends on howindividual mind is inherently framed. Itis pertinent to note here that humanbeings are born unique, each manifest-ing varying mindset and desire trends,coming as they may as Karmic carry-over from the past. Evidently, it variesfrom person-to-person depending onwhat short of experiences one wouldhave undergone in the past. So, we areall born with a preconditioned mind,which serves as defining principle ofindividual mind. The way it is framed ishow one acts, reacts, or responds.

In many cases, it has been observedthat the ‘sense of order’ is overplayed.

Such characters are often found to havea perfectionist attitude. They wish to beperfect in all their endeavour, preciselyto a point, of course, on their self-defined terms, which may or may notbe in sync with ground realities. Moreoften than not, they remain stuck totheir self-delusional perceptions, andnot open to look beyond for a realitycheck. Until pushed to the wall, theywill keep pursuing their line of think-ing. By the time they realise, the dam-age is done. They wish to go about inlife on their own exclusive terms. Theycan’t digest anything happening to thecontrary. They evaluate others by hisown measures, not realising that every-body is born unique. That often makesit difficult to relate to others on eventerms. In search of perfection, they gooverboard, rejecting options availableone after other. In the process, they failto make timely initiative, and whenthey are left in the run of life, theyresign to fate. Else, they hunt out thosewho may promise extra-terrestrialintervention through some belief drivenpuja.

Here is the case of a person whowished his wife to be perfect. His con-

tinued sermons on what to do or whatnot pushed her off so much that shefinally broke off the marriage. Later,when he started looking for a prospec-tive partner, none would fit into his longcheck list, so thirty years now but withno result. Speculating salary hike infuture as was the trend in a growingeconomy, he opted for housing propertybeyond his means, ignoring the adviceand counsel of elders. As the economytook a down slide, his career growth tra-jectory got adversely affected. He thenrealised that he could no more servicedebt. Even in terms of works, he maynot accept an offer till all his precondi-tions are met. As the economy took adownturn, he lost his job, and thereafterhe has been without job for long.

Let us now look at his astrologicalpointers. Gemini Lagna with mind-sig-nifying Moon there, brings in the ten-dency to live on one’s own exclusiveterms. He may go by his self-definedbeliefs and perceptions. So long as yousing his tune, you remain the bestfriend. The moment you offer a con-trarian view, he may immediately getput off. Also, he has a vacillating mind.

Jupiter in the 5th house brings in aperfectionist streak. Moon favourablyplaced to Neptune brings in a very fine

taste. Saturn beautifully aligned toUranus makes him serious and thor-ough in work, with an eye on even finerdetails. He can’t agree to anything untilit fully satisfies his taste.

But then Moon is opposite Venus. Ifthat would not be enough, the Sun toois locked in adverse formation toVenus. All put together makes him toomuch emotionally touchy and sensitive.He may get over exercised even on triv-ial issues not to his taste, which he mayoverstretch beyond due and keepmulling over them for long. In theprocess, often his priority preferencesget compromised. Added to that is 9thlord Saturn placed adverse to mischie-vous Neptune and Mars, which makeshim self-deluding and moody. Also, itmakes him habitually suspicious. Oncehe gets vexed, he may lose his sense ofreasons and order. On top of that is acluster of 5 planets, which makes him avery complex character. And the resultis there to see.

The writer is an astrologer, vastu consultant and spiritual counsellor. Write to him at

G-102, Bharat Nagar, New Friends Colony, New Delhi-110 025

Tel: 91-11-49848475/9818037273 Email: bharatbhushanpadmadeo@gmail.com

ASTROTURFBHARAT BHUSHAN PADMADEO

Madhu Kotiya is a tarot card reader, spiritual healer, and Founder, MShezaim Institute of Tarot and Divination. Contact details: madhu@indiatarot.com, www.indiatarot.com, M: 9873283331

Better to be practical than perfect

TEAM AGENDA DESK > NAVNEET MENDIRATTA, CONSULTING EDITOR | H LAYOUT AND DESIGN > SATISH CHANDRA JAKHMOLA, SENIOR EDITOR (CREATIVE)

NNooww yyoouu ccaann wwrriittee ttoo uuss aatt ppiioonneeeerr..ffeeaattuurreess@@ggmmaaiill..ccoomm

VIJAYAWADA | SUNDAY | JANUARY 12, 2020 vijayawada 12

Double promotionwas born on February 2nd,1954. I was very active dur-ing my childhood, especiallyin my school days, and madea lot of friends. In fact, myteachers were so happy that I

got double promotion-- from Class IIIto Class V, when I was studying at mynative village Urumadla in Chityalmandal of Nalgonda district. I stud-ied Class I to Class V in my village, butwent to Chityal for Class VI. ForClasses VII to Class IX, I went backto Urumadla High School.

Jailed at 14When I was in Class VI, I participat-

ed in the then separate Telanganamovement actively as a student of theChityal Government High School,which is along the National Highway.Students of the school participated inthe 1969 Telangana movement. Theauthorities put me in Nalgonda jailwhen I was in Class IX, as I got totallyinvolved in the separate Telanganamovement. I was not the only one to beattracted to the movement. Our entirevillage was filled with the spirit ofTelangana. Our movement becamestrong as the Chityal CI and SI werefrom Andhra. They used to beat us.

Later I went to Madugula village topursue Class X. Madugula is the nativeplace of my maternal uncle and formerUnion Minister late Suduni JaipalReddy. Though I could influence someof my school mates and teachers withmy separate Telangana stand, most of thestudents and teachers of the school atMadugula and my uncle Jaipal Reddywere integrationists. Some teachersover there wererelatives ofJaipal Reddy,who had alot of influ-ence onthem. I nevercame under hisinfluence. Theteachers there usedto tell Jaipal Reddy:'Your nephew isspoiling the schoolwith his Telanganamovement.'

After SSC, I joinedNB Science College inHyderabad. I was elect-ed unopposed as thegeneral secretary of thecollege students bodyfrom among Telugu medi-um students. Girish Sanghiwas then elected as presi-dent of the college students'body from among Englishmedium students. I felt greatbecause I was elected as therepresentative of the students'without any student organizationaffiliation.

Back to farmingAfter dropping out during degree

final year, I went back to farming. Later,I started business with rigs for large-scale digging of bore wells.

Early loveAt school, I fell in love with Arundathi,

daughter of one of Jaipal Reddy's closerelatives'. She was studying in the sameschool. Eventually I got married to her,though my uncles forced me to marry oneof their daughters. I succeeded in mar-rying Arundathi with the acceptance ofall.

Exposure to dairy industryI became a close friend of Madhava

Reddy after Nadendla's episode. I usedto participate in political activitiesalong with Madhava Reddy. I tried forticket even in the 1989 elections invain. Later, I got elected as single win-dow chairman during the Congressregime in 1992. I then became the firstpresident of Nalgonda-RangareddyMilk Producers Mutually AidedCooperative Union Ltd. My father alsoworked as chairman of the Nalgonda-Rangareddy MilkCooperative Society.

NTR assured me that he would makeme Andhra Pradesh Dairy CooperativeFederation Development chairmanand fulfilled it too. I took several deci-sions during my tenure for the devel-opment of dairy industry till 1999. I alsobecame National Dairy DevelopmentBoard governing body member, alongwith Revenna Gowda from Karnatakastate.Homemaker

My wife never inter-feres in my

political activi-ties. She is a home-

maker and enjoyspassing time with my

grandsons these days.My political career began with my

stint in Youth Congress at village-levelpolitics. In fact, I could enter bore wells(4.5-inch and 6-inch rigs) businessfrom the Rs. 2 lakh that I got underself-employment scheme while contin-uing in Youth Congress. After I madea mark in this business, former HomeMinister late Alimineti MadhavaReddy too entered rigs business.

I got elected to Urumadla GramPanchayat ward member in 1980.Around the same time, my cousinGutha Mohan Reddy was member ofthe Legislative Assembly and anoth-er cousin Gutha Venkat Reddy wassarpanch of the village.

I joined TDP in 1984 and becameChityal Market Committee vice-chair-man. Later, I became the chairman.My cousin Gutha Mohan Reddy stoodon the side of Nadendla Bhaskar Raoin the 1984 episode. Then electionscame again. Gutha Mohan Reddy lostat the hands of Gaddam RudramaDevi. Earlier, I strove for the victoryof former chief minister late N T RamaRao, who contested electionsfrom the Nalgonda con-stituency.

Neta always Distanced from Left parties, TDP

joined hands with BJP. From 1984 to1999, both CPI and CPM used to takesix Assembly constituencies and twoParliamentary constituencies inNalgonda district. I then got anopportunity to contest the elections forthe first time in 1999 as an MP and gotelected. I used to visit all constituen-cies where there were no party MLAs.

After Madhava Reddy was killed byNaxalites in landmine blast at

Ghatkesar, the party responsibil-ities increased in the district.Then Chief Minister NChandrababu Naidu entrustedme with the responsibilities ofthe district. I was also underthe threat of Naxalites, whoblasted my house inUrumadla twice - 1996 and2000.

I lost the Assembly elec-tions in 2004, but played akey role in district politicsas an opposition leader till2009. I faced a lot of oppo-sition from formerMinister MothkupallyNarsimhulu in TDP.Narsimhulu workedagainst not only me,but also K Jana Reddy

and MadhavaReddy. In the2008 by- elec-tions, I worked

a g a i n s tNarsimhulu and

worked in favor ofTRS candidate Nagesh. I informedChandrababu Naidu and defeatedNarsimhulu in Alair.

During Alair by-elections in 2008,then chief minister late YSRajashekhar Reddy sent then MinisterG Chinna Reddy asking me to extendcooperation to Congress candidate inAlair. YSR asked me to join Congress.But I said no then. When YSR insist-ed, I told him I will join Congressbefore the elections if conditions per-

mit. Unfortunately, in the 2009 gen-eral elections, Chandrababu Naiduallocated the Nalgonda Lok Sabha toCommunists, allocating Khammamseat to Nama Nageshwara Rao. YSRassured ticket from Nalgonda to meover phone. I joined the Congress. Iwon the elections as I got sympathyfrom the voters that Chandrababu didinjustice to me. Even TDP voters casttheir votes to me.

From 2009 to 2014, I played a keyrole in uniting the Congress MPs, whoraised their voice in Parliament for thesake of Telangana state, even thoughthe party high command warned ussaying we won't get tickets in the nextelections. We made high commandunderstand that creation of Telanganais more important than getting tick-ets. Vivek, Komatireddy RajagopalReddy, Ponnam Prabhakar, SircillaRajaiah and Manda Jagannatham par-ticipated. We fought actively. We gotsuspended two times from Parliament.First time, we eight members got sus-pended and second time we got sus-pended during Lagadapati Rajagopal'spepper spray incident in Parliament.At the end, Telangana was created andwe played an important role.

I have known TRS president andChief Minister K Chandrasekhar Raofrom his days in TDP. I worked withhim as in-charges of Nirmal con-stituency in 1996. At that time, KCRtold me that Andhra projects were likeVaishnava temples and Telanganaprojects were like Shiva temples with-out daily prayers. KCR said that cre-ation of separate Telangana was theonly solution to end this discrimi-nation. KCR used to mention myname even when I was in Congressparty. I am now extending my fullcooperation to KCR as he has greatvision and determination to devel-op Telangana.

In 2014, I used to oppose theCongress leaders who imaginedthemselves as chief ministers.Nobody will oppose the fact thatSonia Gandhi accorded Telangana,but the important factor is KCR

made all, including Congress, to fightfor the sake of Telangana. KCR madethe new generation know the impor-tance of creation of Telangana. I leftthe Congress party due to the indis-cipline of its local leaders. I joined TRSas I have respect for KCR and he invit-ed me.

Sonia Gandhi suggested with goodintention, and KCR, who had waitedfor three days in Delhi, too wasinclined to merge the TRS withCongress. But then AICC general sec-retary in-charge Digvijay Singh andlocal leadership spoiled it, giving animpression to the high commandthat the party would come to powerin Telangana. Everybody, includingHanmantha Rao, Mallu Ravi, JanaReddy, Uttam Kumar Reddy, MalluBhatti Vikramarka, KomatireddyVenkat Reddy Damodara RajaNarsimha and a few others were in thefray for Chief Minister post. That time,I made it clear to the Congress lead-ership to invite KCR into the Congressand give the Chief Minister post tohim as he had good vision aboutTelangana development. But nobodylistened to my words then.

Hobbies and interestsI used to enjoy riding my Hercules

cycle with three of my friends from myvillage to Chityal. As theowner of cycle, I used tosit in front and theyused to cycle. Myfather removed theback seat after seeingfour of us ride onecycle. I meet myschool friends evennow when I go toChityal: Bixapathi,Ramakrishna Reddy,Muthyam Reddy usedto go on my cycle.They are all are intouch withme evennow.

THE LEADER WHO RAISED VOICE FOR

TELANGANA AT 14Chairman of

Legislative Council ofTelangana Gutha

Sukender Reddy isone politician who has

straddled theTelangana movements

from the late sixties.In an exclusive

interview to ThePioneer, he shares

how at one pointCongress chief Sonia

Gandhi and TRSpresident

K Chandrasekhar Raoalmost clinched themerger of TRS andCongress and howDigvijay Singh and

some Congressleaders aspiring forCM post played the

spoilsport. That apart,Gutha shares with

KolishettyVenkateshwarlu his

beliefs, likes anddislikes as well as

principles and morefrom his four-decade-

long political careerthat began when he

was just aschool

boy

Supportive family

My son, Amith Reddy, an engineer, worked for 10 years in America and

came back to India. He now has consultancies for various companies

and well settled. If he interested in entering politics, I will allow him. My

daughter, also an engineer, is married. My son's in-laws are contractors.

My son Amith also works with them. My daughter

Swetha Reddy and son-in-law Srikanth Reddy are

also into business. They are also living in

Hyderabad. My father Gutha Venkat Reddy has

three sons and two daughters. My mother

Gutha Saraswathamma died of TB and my

father got married again. I and Jithender

Reddy were born to my father's first wife. My

father's second wife has two daughters and

one son. My younger brother is in village

doing agriculture. Jithender is with Mother

Dairy. My daughter-in-law is Akhila Reddy. I

have two grandsons named Gyan

Rushank Reddy and Aruvamsh

Reddy. My daughter’s children are

Shresta and Srika

In the 80s, political leaderswere sincere and

committed to development.Present-day politics is full of

money power. Even theeducation system changed a

lot. In those days, teachersused to stay in villages. Now

there is no such culture. Inthose days we used to take up

Prabhatha Bheri rally across the village onJanuary 26 and August 15. Teachers used to

conduct cultural and games competitions. I have good name in politics but I never

switched political parties for opportunitiesbut only when I had differences with the

leadership. Even KCR used to say thatleaders have to wait patiently like Gutha. KCR

himself gave MLC ticket to me. So, I tell allnewcomers to be patient.

Shift inpolitics,

education

RAPI

D FI

RE: TRYING MOMENTS: When

Jaipal Reddy, NarraRaghava Reddy died. Thedeath of Madhava Reddycaused me lot of anguish. MANTRA FORHAPPINESS: I try to stayhappy every day and knowthe twists and turns ofpolitics as I have been in

politics for almost 40years. HABITS THAT YOU LIKE: Ihave no particular habits. Iused to watch moviesduring my childhood days,but not now. FAVOURITE COLOUR: Ilike white colour because itkeeps one's mind peaceful.

WHO DO YOU ADMIREMOST: I have worked withformer Chief MinistersNTR, ChandrababuNaidu, YS RajashekharReddy, K Rosaiah, NKiran Kumar Reddy andam now working withKCR. But I like NTR a lotamong all. With former Home Minister A. Madhavareddy

CM KCR welcoming Gutha into the party

i

Sukhendar Reddy with his family-- Wife Arundati, son Amith Reddy, daughter-in-law Akhila Reddy, daughter Swetha Reddy, son-in-law Srikanth Reddy and Grand children