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VIJAYAWADA, MONDAY NOVEMBER 11, 2019; PAGES 12 `3

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RNI No. APENG/2018/764698

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VIJAYAWADA DELHI LUCKNOW BHOPALRAIPUR CHANDIGARH BHUBANESWAR

RANCHI DEHRADUNHYDERABAD

K’taka bypollsto be held onDec 5BENGALURU: KarnatakaAssembly bypoll dates wereannounced on Sunday byChief Electoral Officer (CEO)of Karnataka Sanjeev Kumar.A total of 15 Assembly con-stituencies in Karnataka aregoing to bypolls on December5. The counting of the voteshas been scheduled forDecember 9. The Model Codeof Conduct (MCC) wouldcome into force from Monday(November 11), the Karnatakachief electoral officerannounced. The date for filingnominations for the bye-elec-tions to the 15 Assembly seatsin Karnataka are fromNovember 11-18, said thechief electoral officer (CEO).

Pay hike forTS staff soonHYDERABAD: The stategovernment is all set toannounce salary hike for itsemployees very soon.

Chief Minister KChandrasekhar Rao onSunday directed the PayRevision Commission (PRC)headed by retired IAS officerCR Biwal, to submit thereport within 10 to 12 days.

KCR had constituted thefirst PRC to make recom-mendations on revised payscales to employees in May2018.

The commission was askedto submit its report withinthree months from the date ofassumption of charge.

However, the commissionfailed to submit the reporteven after 18 months.

The pay scales of the stategovernment employees werelast revised with effect fromJuly, 2013, with monetarybenefit from June 6, 2014, thedate of formation ofTelangana State.

As per the convention, thepay scales of the employeeswere due for revision witheffect from July 1, 2018.

Kashmirturned into aprison: DMK CHENNAI: The main oppo-sition DMK on Sunday con-demned the Centre for whatit called "turning Jammu andKashmir region into a hugeprison' and demanded therelease of all those arrested,including former ChiefMinister Farooq Abdullah.

The M K Stalin-led party,which has all along beencritical of the Centre's actionon the Jammu and Kashmirissue here, demanded that theCentre "respect the sensitiv-ities of the people."

A resolution adopted at itsgeneral council meet herecondemned the Centre forabrogation of Article 370 andbifurcation of the region.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Andhra Pradesh ranks fourthand Telangana sixth in respectof suicides by those dependenton the agriculture sector, withMaharashtra topping the list,according to data released bythe National Crime RecordsBureau (NCRB) for the year2016.

NCRB statistics put the totalnumber of suicides committedby farmers and agriculturalworkers in 2016 at 11,379.AP's share in the suicides is7.06 per cent, while that ofTelangana is 5.66 per cent.

In all, 730 males and 74females took the extreme stepin AP, whereas 572 males and73 females took their lives inTelangana.

Maharashtra topped the listin terms of suicides by thosedependent on agriculture sec-

tor with 3,661 suicides, fol-lowed by Karnataka (2,079),Madhya Pradesh (1,321),Andhra Pradesh (804),Chhattisgarh (682) andTelangana (645).

In 2016, the total number ofsuicides was recorded at1,31,008. Of these, 4.6 per centof the deaths were reported

from AP and 6.9 per centfrom Telangana.

Maharashtra, Tamil Naduand West Bengal achieved thedubious distinction of occupy-ing the first three positions interms of suicides. Maharashtraaccounted for 17,915 suicides,while Tamil Nadu and WestBengal accounted for 15,812

and 13,451 suicides respective-ly.

The following is the break-up of suicides by land-owningfarmers, tenant farmers andagriculture workers in thatorder: Andhra Pradesh - 124,115 and 565 and Telangana490, 142 and 13.

The NCRB statisticsput the total numberof farmers andagricultural workerscommitting suicide in2016 at 11,379. TheAP's share in thesuicides is 7.06 percent, while theTelangana share is5.66 per cent

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Chief Minister YS JaganmohanReddy has condemned theheinous crime of rape andmurder of the six-year-old girlon Thursday night in Chittoordistrict. The Chief Minister hasordered the police to arrest therapists at the earliest andpromised stern action againstthe accused according to thelaw. The police are searchingfor the accused based on thedrawing of him.

The six-old-year girl wasallegedly raped and murderedon Thursday night inKorabalakota town in AndhraPradesh's Chittoor district.According to reports, the girlwent to attend a wedding inKorabalakota town under BKothakota block along withher parents on Thursdayevening.

Mudivedu Sub-Inspector ofpolice M Sukumar said that thegirl was last seen with her par-ents at 10 pm. The parentsthought that she must be play-ing somewhere and later whenthey could not find her untilthe function was over, theparents started looking forher.

When she couldn't betraced, they called the

Mudivedu police and lodged amissing complaint. DeputyCommissioner of Police (DCP)Ravi Manohar Achari, Sub-Inspector Ashok Kumar alongwith Circle Inspector (CI) ofMudivedu, rushed to the spotand started the search. In themorning, the body of the girlwas found behind the bushesnear the wedding hall,

Sukumar said.The body of the six-year-old

was found with her clothespartly removed from her bodyand there were scratches onher face. Some empty liquorbottles were also found nearher body. Her body was sent tothe government hospital atMadanapalle for post-mortem,which confirmed that the girlwas raped.

Police informed that theyare examining the CCTVfootage. Service clues teamand dog squads have beenpressed into service to look forthe accused. A case has beenregistered under Section 302(murder) of the Indian PenalCode.

CHITTOOR MURDER

A sketch of the accused released by the police officials based on the CCTV footage

The six-old-year girlwas allegedly rapedand murdered onThursday night inKorabalakota town inAndhra Pradesh'sChittoor district

PNS n MUMBAI

Maharashtra Governor BhagatSingh Koshyari has asked ShivSena to indicate "willingnessand ability" to form govern-ment in the state hours afterthe BJP gave him a negativeresponse on the matter. Earlierthis evening, the party said itwould not stake claim to formgovernment. "If the Shiv Senawants to insult the mandate ofthe people and form govern-ment with the support of theNCP and Congress, they haveour best wishes," the BJP said.Minutes later, Sena's SanjayRaut said the state will have aSena Chief Minister "at anycost". Without spelling any-thing out, Sharad Pawar'sNationalist Congress Partysaid it would "support a stablegovernment".

The BJP on Sundayannounced that it would notform government inMaharashtra in view of the allyShiv Sena's stand to not join

them in the efforts.Announcing the BJP's deci-

sion, Maharashtra BJP presi-dent Chandrakant Patilaccused the UddhavThackeray-led party, which isadamant on its demand for arotational chief ministership, of"disrespecting" the popularmandate secured by the BJPand the Sena in recent assem-bly polls.

"The mandate of the peopleof Maharashtra was for theBJP-Shiv Sena alliance. Senahas, however, disrespected the

mandate, hence we have decid-ed to not stake claim to formgovernment. We haveinformed our decision to gov-ernor Bhagat Singh Koshyari,"Patil told reporters outsideRaj Bhavan.

He wished "good luck" to theSena if it wanted to form thegovernment with the help ofopposition Congress and NCP.

The BJP and the Sena hadtogether won 161 seats in the288-member House, wayabove the halfway mark of 145.

Uddhav Thackeray

Shiv Sena invited to stake claimin Maharashtra as BJP refuses

PNS n WASHINGTON

In a temporary relief to thou-sands of Indians living inAmerica, a US court hasrefused to strike down, for thetime being, an Obama-era rulethat allowed spouses of H-1Bvisa holders to work inAmerica.

The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows theUS companies to employ for-eign workers in specialty occu-pations.

A 2015 rule issued by USPresident Donald Trump's pre-decessor Barack Obamaallowed work permits for cer-tain categories of H-4 visaholders, primarily spouses ofthose having H-1B work visaswaiting for their Green Card,

to work in the US.Indians, in particular

women, were the greatest ben-eficiary of this rule, which hasbeen challenged by several USworkers with the currentTrump administration sup-porting their cause, saying thatit wants to rescind the rule.

A three-judge bench of the

US Courts of Appeals for theDistrict of Columbia Circuit onFriday sent the case back to alower court noting that it is"best to remand" to give the dis-trict court an opportunity tothoroughly assess and finallydetermine the merits in thefirst instance.

"Accordingly, we reverse the

district court's grant of summa-ry judgment and remand forfurther proceedings consistentwith this opinion," the federalcourt said in its order on thelawsuit filed by Saves JobsUSA.

Saves Jobs USA comprises ofAmerican workers who claimthat they have been laid off dueto the policy of the Obamaadministration to provide workpermits to H-4 visa holders.

By making H4 visa holderseligible for lawful employment,the Department of HomelandSecurity (DHS), which over-sees immigration, sought to"ameliorate certain disincen-tives that currently lead H1Bnon-immigrants to abandonefforts to remain in the USwhile seeking (lawful perma-

nent resident) status, thereby,minimising disruptions to USbusinesses employing suchworkers", the court said.

It noted that the governmenthas explained that H1B non-immigrants and their familiesoften face long delays in theprocess of obtaining perma-nent residence, and H4 visaholders' inability to work dur-ing these delays leads to "per-sonal and economic hard-ships" that worsen over time,"increasing the disincentivesfor H1B non-immigrants topursue lawful permanent res-ident status and thus increas-ing the difficulties that USemployers have in retaininghighly educated and highlyskilled non-immigrant work-ers".

Spouses of H-1B holders can continue to workA 2015 rule issuedby Trump'spredecessorBarack Obamaallowed workpermits for certaincategories of H-4visa holders

PNS n KOLKATA

Cyclone 'Bulbul', which bar-relled through the coastal dis-tricts of West Bengal beforehurtling towards Bangladesh,claimed at least 10 lives andaffected at least 2.73 lakh fam-ilies in different parts of thestate, official reports said onSunday. The severe cyclonicstorm, which brought in itswake heavy rain coupled withgale wind till early Sunday,uprooted hundreds of treesand snapped cables in the cityand in the coastal districts ofNorth and South 24 Parganas

and East Midnapore, bring lifeto a near-halt.

State Disaster Managementminister Javed Khan said that2,473 houses were destroyedand 26,000 were partially dam-aged in the coastal districtsalong the Bay of Bengal, withthe fishing towns of Bakkhaliand Namkhana being amongthe worst-affected areas.

Suvarnaraju

PNS n LUCKNOW

The Sunni Central Waqf Boardon Sunday said a decision onwhether to accept a 5-acre landfor building a mosque inAyodhya will be taken at itsmeeting likely on November26.

In a unanimous verdict, theSupreme Court on Saturdaypaved the way for the con-struction of a Ram Temple atthe disputed site at Ayodhya,while directing the Centre toallot a 5-acre plot to the SunniWaqf Board for building amosque.

UP Sunni Central WaqfBoard Chairman, ZufarFarooqui told PTI that he wasgetting diverse views onwhether to take the land.

"Board's general body meet-ing is expected on November26 in which it will be decidedwhether to take 5-acre land asdirected by the Supreme Courtor not," he said.

"The meeting was earlierscheduled on Nov 13 but itwas postponed and is nowexpected on Nov 26. Iam getting diverse viewson taking the land but

I personally feel negativity canbe won only with positivity,"Farooqui said.

He said some persons areadvising that land should notbe taken for the Babri mosquebut "I think it will increase neg-ativity."

Noting that he had advocat-ed for mediation to resolveAyodhya issue, Farooqui said,"Though mediation did notsucceed my views are clear."

"Some persons are alsoadvising that the land should

be taken by Waqf boardand an educational insti-tution, with a mosque

established in itspremises," he said.

ACCEPTING 5-ACRE LAND FOR MOSQUE

UP Sunni Central Waqf BoardChairman, Zufar Farooqui

Sunni Waqf Board todecide on 26 Nov

PNS n HYDERABAD

The 37-day-old indefinite strikeby the transport employees inTelangana pressing variousdemands would be intensifiedfrom November 11, the unionsannounced on Sunday.

TSRTC-Joint ActionCommittee leaderEAshwathamaReddy said theagitating employees would holdprotests in front of the residencesof MPs, MLCs and MLAs of theruling TRS across the state onNovember 11 and on November12 three union leaders wouldlaunch an indefinite fast here.

On November 13, they wouldlodge a complaint with theNational Human RightsCommission and NationalCommission for Women in

Delhi, over alleged repression ofthe employees since the launchof strike.

He said they would organise"Sadak Bandh" on November 18and hold road blockades acrossthe state.

The union leader urged the

state government to respect theTelangana High Court directiveand invite the RTC workers fortalks.

Nearly 48,000 employees ofthe corporation have been on anindefinite strike from October 5

across Telangana, demandingmerger of RTC with the govern-ment transport department, payrevision, among others.

Taking a tough stand on thestrike, Chief Minister KChandrasekhar Rao had saidunder no circumstances wouldthe RTC be merged with thegovernment.

Terming the stir as "illegal," hehad said it caused immenseinconvenience to the public.

Meanwhile, the protestingemployees took out rallies at dif-ferent places and raised slogansagainst the TRS government.

Condemning Saturday'spolice action on the employeesand others who took part in the'Chalo Tank Bund' protest acrossthe state, he said there was nomaoist participation as alleged.

PNS n NEW DELHI

A hands-on approach ofHome Minister Amit Shah,who telephoned several chiefministers over the last twodays to ensure peace in runup to and after the verdict inthe Ram Janmabhoomi-BabriMasjid land dispute case,paid off as there was noreport of any untoward inci-dent from anywhere in thecountry, officials said.

Shah, who cancelled sever-al engagements on Saturdaywhen the Supreme Courtdelivered the verdict, waspersonally closely monitoringthe law and order situationacross the country over thepast few days so that nocommunal flare up takesplace after the judgement onthe century-old dispute ispronounced.

The home minister hastelephoned several CMs,especially of the states consid-ered to be sensitive.

Shah helpedsecuritycoordination

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

In a shocking incident, aman was killed during anargument for two rupees inEast Godavari district, policesaid.

The incident occurred lateon Saturday in Valasapakalavillage under Kakinada ruralblock. According to police,Suvarnaraju (24), a construc-tion worker, had gone to acycle shop for inflating hiscycle tyres. As he did not havetwo rupees to pay, there wasan argument with shopowner Samba.

The worker allegedly man-handled Samba for abusinghim. Enraged over this,Samba's friend Appa Rao,who was present nearby,picked up an iron rod and hitSuvarnaraju on his head.

Locals rushed Suvarnarajuto Kakinada governmentgeneral hospital, where hedied while undergoing treat-ment. The police registered amurder case against Sambaand Appa Rao. Police pickedup Samba while the mainaccused is on the run.

Dispute overRs 2 claimsman’s life

Agitating employeeswould hold protests infront of the residencesof MPs, MLCs andMLAs of the ruling TRSacross the state todayand tomorrow threeunion leaders wouldlaunch an indefinitefast here

Ashwathama Reddy

TSRTC staff' Sadak Bandh on Nov 18

CYCLONE BULBUL

10 killed, 2.73 lakhfamilies affected in WB

"If the Shiv Senawants to insult themandate of thepeople and formgovernment with thesupport of the NCPand Cong, they haveour best wishes," theBJP said

{

Current Weather ConditionsUpdated November 10, 2019 5:00 PM

ALMANAC TODAY

Month & Paksham:Kartik& Shukla PakshaPanchangamTithi : Chaturdashi: 06.01 pmNakshatram: Ashwini: 07:18 omTime to Avoid: (Bad time to start

any important work)Rahukalam: 07:46 am – 09:11 amYamagandam: 10:35 am – 11:59 amVarjyam: 02:58 pm - 04:42 pm07:00 pm - 07:14 amGulika: 01:24 pm - 02:48 pmGood Time: (to start any important work)

Amritakalam: 11:30 am - 01:14 pmAbhijit Muhurtham: 11:37 am - 12:22 pm

VIJAYAWADAWEATHERFFoorreeccaasstt:: Partly Cloudy Temp: 33/22Humidity: 76%Sunrise: 06.18Sunset: 05.41

CM Jagan promises sternaction against culprits

AP ranks fourth in termsof farmer suicides: NCRB

VIJAYAWADA | MONDAY | NOVEMBER 11, 2019 vijayawada 02

SEELAM AROZIEn VIJAYAWADA

Even as the world is shrinkinginto a global village in theknowledge era powered byEnglish, the Andhra Pradeshgovernment has embarkeditself on a challenging task ofintroducing English Mediuminstruction from Classes I toVIII (initially up to Class VI)in all government schools,including MPP and ZPSchools, from the academicyear 2020-21.

The government's initiativehas received varied responsefrom stakeholders - parents,teachers, people's organisa-tions and political parties.However, the concept hascaught the fancy of parents ofchildren from lower incomegroups. Forty-two-year-oldTeegada Lavanya, a domestichelp, is happy about theprospect of introduction ofEnglish Medium instruction ingovernment schools fromClasses 1 to VI. Though herfamily's income of about Rs20,000 per month is just suffi-cient to the wolf at the door,she, along with her husband, adaily wage labourer at a confec-tioney, ensured one of herchildren studied in a privateEnglish medium school.

Asked why she did not sendher daughter to a governmentschool where everything comes

free, Lavanya said: "My son,who studied in a Telugu medi-um school, is struggling tounderstand lessons after joininga polytechnic. Moreover, thesedays everything is in Englishlanguage. Those who study inEnglish medium schools havean advantage over others in jobrecruitments." This sums up thepublic opinion on Englishmedium instruction in gov-

ernment schools. Almost agree-ing with her, AgrivarapuSatyanarayana, a watchman atan apartment complex in thecity, said, "my daughter is study-ing in Class VIII at a municipalcorporation school in the city.Though English medium wasintroduced in some municipalschools, I didn't change herschool because it is close to myhouse. Now, I regret my deci-

sion." Asked why he was feelingsorry, he said children studyingin English medium schoolshave more general knowledge.

Middle class people have adifferent story to tell. Whilethey welcome the move, theystill prefer private schools. KHari Prasad, State head of a topgeneral insurance company,and his wife K Jyothi say stud-ies at government schoolsmean a lot many things apartfrom the medium of instruc-tion. "Firstly, governmentschools don't have properinfrastructure like toilets.Secondly, teachers don't takepersonal care of students.Finally, there is no accountabil-ity for government teachers.They don't bother if we askthem to take extra care oftheir wards if they are lagging

behind," they said in unison.On the other hand, teachers

of government and aidedschools hail the decision.Headmistress of CSI PrimarySchool at Pothireddipalli inNuzvid mnadal of Krishnadistrict, Y Prameela Devi wel-comed the decision saying,"English language is the vehi-cle of making a career.Exposing children to Englishearly in life will equip themwith tool to withstand compe-tition later in their lives."

State Teachers Union (STU)AP president Ch JosephSudheer Babu said the govern-ment's decision will be helpfulto students but expressed theopinion that parallel Englishmedium schools or parallelclasses in the same school inboth the media should beopened. Both parents andstudents should be given anoption to study in the mediumof their choice, he said.

He called that former ChiefMinister late YS RajasekharaReddy had introduced paral-lel English medium sections atModel Schools. "We have tolearning a lesson from ourneighbouring States Karnatakaand Tamil Nadu where TeluguMedium schools are present. IfTelugu medium schools aretotally dispensed with in ourgovernment schools, the verysurvival of Telugu languagewill be at stake," he concluded.

ROW OVER ENGLISH MEDIUM

HC UPADHYAY n HYDERABAD

The nation has just witnessedone of the worst, violent clash-es between two indispensablelimbs of the law. The free-for-all and ghastly incidents weretriggered on November 2 andtheir impact is still being felt inthe country's capital and else-where. Undoubtedly, these inci-dents deserve to be condemnedin one voice.

Many people think that thewar between advocates andpolice was ignited by a scufflebetween the two over a trivialissue of parking a lawyer's car inan area reserved for police vehi-cles. If that was really the case,the matter would have beenresolved immediately with theintervention of senior lawyers,judicial officers, and police offi-cials. Even if we consider the factthat from both the sides at thattime tempers were runninghigh and therefore, the wisesense did not prevail, it is hardto believe what prevented therespective sides from honouring

the orders of the Bar Council ofIndia (BCI) and the Delhi HighCourt as well as the ChiefJustice of India (CJI).

While the blame game hascontinued till today, the pattern,timing and sequence of eventsright from Day One till todayclearly suggest that the violencebetween advocates on the oneside and police on the other wasnot at all spontaneous butmeticulously pre-planned.Consider this: the apex courtwas to deliver some most sen-sitive judgments, including theone on Ram Mandir in just afew days. The Tukde Tukde andAzadi gangs, with overt andcovert support of oppositionparties, including Congress,Communists and the lone wolfAIMM, have never spared anyopportunity to take to streetsand ultimately to the courts andmedia with the sole aim ofpainting the government of theday and other arms ofConstitution in black and there-by convey to the rest of theworld that all is not well in India.However, every time these anti-

national elements adopted suchmeans, they have miserablyfailed.

Going by the track record ofseparatist and divisive elements,there is not even an iota ofdoubt that in the latest unsavoryepisode they are once again atthe very same old game. Toimpersonate a policeman or alawyer, no training at theNational School of Drama(NSD) is needed. That is whyneither the police are able torecognise the persons whoposed as cops and shot at a cou-ple of lawyers nor the so-calledlawyers who manhandled thepolicemen.

Still to be fair, we should notlose sight of the fact that manyAssociations of Advocates, right

from those at the national levelto those at the Taluka level, areinfested with anti-national andseparatist elements. Theyact as front organisationsof political parties andextremist outfits. Thelatter could appropri-ately fit in the def-inition of 'urbannaxalites'.

Such elements,taking undueadvantage ofConstitutional provi-sions and liberal atti-tude of authorities,have infiltrated allspheres of organised labour andprofessions such as teaching,medical and legal. It is such I'llmotivated elements that incite

members of the respective asso-ciations to breach limits ofdecency and professionalismand indulge in unlawful activi-ties at the slightest provocation.The end result is lawlessness,anarchy and loss of reputation ofthe country as a whole, whichsuch elements would celebrate.

However, credit must begiven to the judiciary and theapex statutory body of lawyersfor having risen to the occasionas soon as the clashes between

policemen and lawyers erupt-ed. The Bar Council of India,Delhi High Court and the

Supreme Court of Indiawasted no time in

taking cog-nizance of the

matter and all of themactively engaged in the

fire-fighting exercise, whichhas contained the skirmish-es to a great extent.

Indeed, the sordid storyhas much to convey.

Unfortunately, most of us onlyfocus our attention on theaspects such as hooliganism,inaction of police higher-ups

and the vows of litigant publicwhich are the fall-out of the inci-dents. Still, to know the realgenesis of the issue, we shouldtake a deep totalitarian view andshun myopic approach. Then,there will not be any difficultyin identifying the 'others' allud-ed to in this sordid story.

SC explains its earlier judgement

The Supreme Court of India,while explaining its earlier judg-ment in Lalit Kumar Sharma vs.State of Uttar Pradesh, 2008 (5)SCC 638, has held that a secondcomplainant under Section 138of Negotiable Instruments Act(NI Act) is maintainable for thedishonored cheque issued inpursuance to the compromisearrived at the Lok Adalat con-cerning the dishonour of acheque.

A division bench, compris-ing Justice Indira Banerjee andJustice M R Shah, in aJudgment in Arun Kumar vs.Anita Mishra held that sincethe award passed by a LokAdalat was on par with the

decree of a civil court and thata fresh cause of action hadarisen after the dishonour ofthe cheque issued by therespondent following a settle-ment, a complainant underSection 138 of NI Act wasmaintainable. The Court citedits earlier judgment in KNGovindan Kutty Menon vs.CD Shaji, (2012) 2 SCC 51 tobuttress its conclusion and setaside the High Court order.

TSHC not happy with RTCshifting stand

At a time when the TSRTCemployees' strike has enteredthe crucial stage, the State HighCourt has rebuked the officialsfor their lackadaisical attitudeand filing affidavits with incon-sistent stand.

The High Court will also hearthe PIL plea relating to privati-zation of 5,100 routes.

Meanwhile, as many as 17employees have committed sui-cide. This gory fact in itself suf-fices to arrive at an amicablesolution to the much draggedon issue.

LEGAL ROUNDUP

Many people think that the warbetween advocates and police wasignited by a scuffle between thetwo over a trivial issue of parking alawyer's car in an area reserved forpolice vehicles

POLICE & OTHERS VS LAWYERS & OTHERS

Investors revertto yellow metalPNS n HYDERABAD

Amidst continuing efforts toend the ongoing trade warbetween US and China, withUS President Donald Trumpfinding himself in a soup overalleged diversion of moneyearmarked for charitable pur-poses by a Trust set up after hisname, the yellow metal closedat US dollars 1,461.35 (perounce), much lower than theprevious week. Silver tooslipped to dollars 16.90. Otherprecious metals viz. platinumand palladium closed at dol-lars 886 and 1,744.50 respec-tively.

Other economic parame-ters, except Brent and Crudeoil, remained strong. US dol-lar stood at Rs.71.29, whileBritish pound was equal toRs.91.18. Similarly, Euroclosed at Rs.78.65 and SaudiRiyal at Rs. 19.03. UAEdirham, Kuwaiti dinarand Omani rial closedat Rs.19.43.Rs.234.90 andRs.185.39 respec-tively. Thee x c h a n g eparity ofC a n a d i a ndollar, Francand Australian dollar was atRs.53.96, Rs.71.56 andRs.48.95 respectively. Similarly,Singapore dollar closed atRs.52.49.

Gold MCX closed atRs.37,687 (per 10 gms) whilesilver MCX closed at Rs.43,872 (per kg). Sensex andNifty 50 closed at 40,323.61and 11,908.15 points respec-tively. Similarly, Brent closedat the higher level of dollars62.61 (per barrel).

In local markets, this wasthe last week of festival season.During the week, gold (24carats) recorded a decline ofRs.730 and closed at Rs. 38,220(per 10 gms). Ornamentalgold followed suit and closedin the range of Rs.36,320 -36,420. Silver (0.999) toodeclined by Rs.2,500 andclosed at Rs.43, 900 (per kg).The hefty decline in silverprice could be attributed to thedecline in gold price because

the white metal was chosen asan alternative to gold, whoseprice was traveling northwardin recent times. With thedecline in gold price, investors

have reverted to the yellowmetal, causing drop indemand and conse-

quently its price.

COMMODI-TIES

The senti-ment in prin-cipal whole-

sale com-m o d i t ymarkets ind i f f e r e n t

localities of Hyderabad andSecunderabad continue to befrom moderate to strong.

Ginger, garlic, chilli, edibleoils, rice and wheat of allvarieties remained unchangedduring the week, while com-mon pulses such as tuar daal,moong daal, urad daal andmasoor daal recorded a smallappreciation.

The recent heavy rains causeddue to cyclone has caused large-scale damage to crops of paddy,onion, tomato and other vegeta-bles. Consequently, prices ofthese commodities have sky-rocketed.

The sentiment in commonvegetables turned moderate.The NECC wholesale egg pricein the twin cities closed at Rs.386 (per 100) or Rs. 13 lowerthan the closing price in the lastweek. Varanasi recorded thehighest price of Rs.457, whileHospet registered the lowest ofRs. 380 in the country.

WEEKLY MARKET REVIEW

In local markets,this was the lastweek of festivalseason. Duringthe week, gold(24 carats)recorded adecline of Rs.730and closed atRs. 38,220 (per10 gms).

Mixed response to govt’s move

VIJAYAWADA: Jana Sena chief Pawan Kalyan has said that if the topofficials taste the sweetness of Telugu language, they will not take thedecision to wind up Telugu medium in government schools. He hasresponded to this issue through a tweet. He found fault with the Stategovernment for introducing English Medium all of a sudden. He feltthat scrapping of Telugu Medium instruction at government schools isridiculous. Pawan suggested to the State government to learn fromthe Telangana Government how to respect the mother tongue.

Take cue from TS: Pawan

Lioness dies atAnimal RescueCenterPNS n VISAKHAPATNAM

Lioness Sudha died inAnimal Rescue Center due tomulti-organ failure here onSunday. Indira GandhiZoological Park officials saidSudha was rescued fromAjantha Circus on September4 from where it was receivedand housed at Animal RescueCentre, Visakhapatnam. Theanimal outlived its life spanand died due to multiple-organ failure in old age.

On Friday, a tigress died atthe Animal Rescue Centre .Named Sita, the tigress isknown to have outlived its lifespan before passing awaydue to multiple-organ failure.

G RAVI KIRANn VIJAYAWADA

All Opposition parties areworking unitedly by synchro-nizing their protests againstthe State government over sandcrisis. While CPM is planninga two-day 'Akali Yatra' by con-struction workers onNovember 11 and 12, CPI haschalked out a protest pro-gramme to be held onNovember 12.

TDP supremo will observe aday-long Deeksha onNovember 14 and Jana Sena haslined up two-day programme todistribute food to workers onNovember 15 and 16. All thesesteps are being taken by theOpposition to bring pressure onthe State government to rollback its New Sand Policy andcontinue the free sand policy ofthe previous government.

The ruling YSRC has beentrying to mitigate the crisis thathas arisen due to floods asclaimed by it. Chief Minister YSJaganmohan Reddy hasreviewed the sand crisis twotimes in the last one week anddecided to bring in a law againstthe sand mafia.

As the floods are presently onthe wane, he asked the officialsto see that there should not beany scarcity. The governmenthas asked the District Collectorsto set up a toll-free number sothat the people can clear theirdoubts over the online system

for booking sand. However,there is no tangible improve-ment in the ground realitydespite all these measures.

Though the police are yet togrant permission for Naidu'sDeeksha on Nov 14, the TDPChief is keen on going aheadwith it at any place inVijayawada.

CPM leader Ch Babu Raosaid, "Building workers havelost their livelihood. Some ofthem had even committed sui-cide. But, the government is notbothered about their problem.The New Sand Policy is a fail-ure. Sand is not available forcommon people, but it is freelyavailable in the black market.The Chief Minister shouldcome out of his mindset andchange the situation."

CPI State Secretary RamaKrishna demanded that thegovernment revert to free sandpolicy immediately. All theOpposition parties attendedthe round table meeting con-ducted by TDP on Saturday andextended their support toNaidu's hunger strike. AllOpposition parties seem tohave sunken their differences tounite for a common cause ofbringing pressure on the gov-ernment to implement the freesand policy of the previous gov-ernment.

Sand crisis unites oppositionparties in fight against govt

TDP supremoChandrababuNaidu willobserve a day-long Deeksha onNovember 14and Jana Senahas lined up aseries ofprogrammes innext few days

PNS n VISAKHAPATNAM

A free medical camp wasorganised by the devotees ofSatya Saibaba in Pinakota trib-al village in the connection withthe ensuing 94th birth anniver-sary celebrations of Bhagawan.The camp was organised underthe aegis of VempalanagarBhajana Mandali of Sathya SaiSeva Samithi, Peda Gantyada atAnantagiri mandal ofVisakhapatnam.

The programme was inaugu-rated by SG chalam, state pres-ident, Sri Sathya Sai SevaLrganisation, Andhra Pradesh.Chalam and other office bear-ers presented 500Amrutakalasams(each set ofamrutha kalasam consists of 10kgs of rice, dal, washing andbathing soaps, salt, cooking oil,

coconut oil, vegetables, blanket,saree, lungi, towel, mosquitonet, steel cutlery, mat, pillows,cutlery set, umbrella, bag anda bucket etc) to 500 needy trib-al families.

A grand baby shower func-tion for 45 pregnant womenwas also organised by thewomen wing of the organisa-tion. The women volunteerspresented saree, blouse, ban-

gles, kumkum, turmeric, flow-ers, sweets, fruits, vibhuthi,and protein powder to thewomen.

The mega integrated medicalcamp was also organised andpatients were examined by ateam of expert doctors from SriSathya Sai Medical serviceswing led by Dr GVS Rao, doc-tors from Visakhapatnam steelPlant and Visakha Eye Hospital.All the doctors were assisted byover 200 seva dal ( both menand women volunteers includ-ing youth). About 626 tribalswere treated by doctors andpara-medical team. Patientsfrom various in and around vil-lages which included monthsold infants to senior citizenswere checked. All the patientswere given required medicinesalso free of cost.

Free medical camp benefits over 500 families

A woman undergoes checkup at the health camp in Pinakota village on Sunday

‘Ijtema'concludesamid tightsecurityPNS n ONGOLE

About 15,000 Muslims tookpart in special prayers as the'Ijtema' concluded in the cityon Sunday. Prakasam DistrictSuperintendent of PoliceSiddharth Koushal heldmeetings with Muslims overarrangements for the two-dayprayers which ended onSunday.

Speaking on the occasion,Koushal said the volunteersappointed by the organisers,in coordination with thepolice, had done an excellentjob by making the event suc-cessful without an untowardincident. The SP said onceagain Prakasam district stoodas a symbol of communalharmony. CIsBalamuralikrishna, SrikanthBabu, Lakshman,Venkateswarlu, Subba Raoand MD Feroz, Marine CIsChench Rama Rao, SrinivasaRao and others were present.

PNS n VISAKHAPATNAM

NTPC Simhadri receivedSwarn Shakti award for safety(Operation and Maintenance),on the occasion of NTPCRaising Day celebrations inNew Delhi on Saturdayevening.

The award was handed overby the Minister of State Newand Renewable Energy andMinister of State, SkillDevelopment andEntrepreneurship, R K Singh,Secretary, Ministry of Power, SN Sahai and CMD of NTPCGurdeep Singh to RED, South,

P P Kulkarni and CGM, NTPCSimhadri. This has beenawarded in respect to theinnovative safety measuresdeployed at the station withparamount priority, achievingthe 'zero accident' target.

Techniques range from educa-tional and management con-trol like discussing CFSTobservations, safety perfor-mance through LEAD andLAG indicators, issuance ofzone-wise Safety Certificates,screening of safety films andsongs, safety induction aswell as creation of a 'SafetyPark' to other engineering andenforcement measures.

These include, use of'Hydraulic Platforms' for heightworks, safety challan system,safety clearance for contractor'sbills, CCTV network monitor-ing among others.

NTPC Simhadri wins Swarn Shakti Award

Railways winSr Women'sT20 CupPNS n VIJAYAWADA

Railways defeated Bengal by8 wickets in the finals of theAll India Senior Women'sT20 tournament at Dr.Gokaraju Laila GangarajuACA Cricket Complex atMulapadu on the city out-skirts on Sunday. Bengalscored 121/6 in 20 overs(Rumeli Dhar 48, Richa 24,Ekta 2/14, Swagatika 2/24)and lost to Railways whichmade 123/2 in 18.1 overs . VDurga Prasad, Secretary,Andhra Cricket Associationpresented the Cup to MithaliRaj, Captain of the team.

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VIJAYAWADA | MONDAY | NOVEMBER 11, 2019 vijayawada 03

4G SIMs

AP saves Rs 33 crthrough reversetendering PNS n VIJAYAWADA

The State government has savedRs 33.76 crore in thereverse tender-ing for pro-curement of4G SIM cards.The Rs 199 planper month in theopen market isnow availablefor Rs 92.04 permonth for GramVolunteers andV i l l a g e / W a r dSecretariat functionar-ies. The Government of AndhraPradesh has saved Rs 33.76 croreof public money in the reverse ten-dering for procurement of 4GSIMs.

The Jaganmohan Reddy-ledYSRC government procured 4GSIM cards for distribution amongthe Village/Ward Secretariat func-tionaries and Gram Volunteers.The Rs 199 postpaid plan (permonth) in the open market is nowavailable for Rs 92.04 per monthfor Gram Volunteers andVillage/Ward functionaries, there-by saving an amount of Rs.107 permonth. The Andhra PradeshTechnology Services (APTS),which floated the tenders forprocuring 4G SIMs, opened thefinancial bids on November 6.Reverse auction was conducted onNovember 7 with the lowest quot-ed price as the opening price. TheL1 price quoted for procurementof 4G SIMs is Rs 121.54 crore

(based on themonthly postpaidplan for threeyears. Taking this

amount as the opening price, theAPTS has conducted a reverseauction for the bidders).

After the reverse auction, thesuccessful bidder quoted Rs 87.77crore (based on the postpaid planfor 3 years), which is Rs 33.76crore less than the L1 price quot-ed originally. The number of the4G SIMs procured stands at2,64,920. When translated thisamount on a monthly basis, thepostpaid plan is available at Rs92.04 per month.

The plan offers unlimited freenational and local voice calls, 100free SMSs per day and free data ofMinimum 1 GB per day at 4Gspeed (After 1 GB limit FUP isapplicable). In the open market,the same postpaid plan is availableat Rs.199 per month. Savings tothe government w.r.t. L1 quotebefore reverse auction is 27.8%.and the savings to the governmentw.r.t. Open Market Price is 53.6%.

State Congress leaders andcadre are famous for cre-ating hungama whenev-

er somebody from the partyhigh command comes to thestate. They indulge in jostlingjust to catch the attention ofthe party's brass in Delhi.They ignore party and person-al discipline. Let alone statelevel leaders, even chiefs oflocal units behave in a ques-tionable manner, suggestingno one has full control overeither leaders or cadre.

All of this happened recent-ly when AICC general secre-tary as well as Rajya Sabhamember and oppositionleader Ghulam Nabi Azadcame to Hyderabad to addressthe media concerning thestate-wide protest pro-grammes against the BJP-ledNDA government.Authorities at Gandhi Bhavanarranged a presser of GhulamNabi Azad at the meetinghall on the first floor. Asexpected, the big hall waspacked with Congress leadersand cadre. It turned out to bea mess, just like a meeting ofthe party's cadre. Media per-sons found it difficult to getplace to sit in the hall.Another irritant was that com-

mitted scribes had to toleratea section of media personnelwho had come to the venueonly because Gulam NabiAzad was around. TheCongress cadre raised slo-gans in favour of the partyduring Azad's press meet. Inresponse, Azad suggested thatthey should show their enthu-siasm in strengthening theparty, but few got to hear him.On top of that, some beatreporters chose to ask ques-tions on a particular subjectwhich was in no way relatedto the state. These scribeshad no scruples to pose irrel-evant questions at the cost ofothers. Reporters who hadgone to Gandhi Bhavan inright earnest had enough ofthose who make guest appear-ance at Azad's press meets!

The curious case of Malas and Madigas in AP

The social status of Malasand Madigas in Andhra

Pradesh has come to the foreonce again with the HighCourt upholding the constitu-tion of separate corporationsfor each of these communities.The peculiarity about thesetwo castes is that they are pre-sent in the lists of bothScheduled Castes andBackward Classes. That is,their religion decides theirsocial status. For instance, if aMala or a Madiga is a Hinduor a Neo-Buddhist, theRevenue Department treatshim as an SC and issues SCcertificate to him.Alternatively, if he is aChristian, he is treated asbelonging to BC 'C' Group.

Now, the larger question is:For whom are these corpora-tions constituted? Is it for SCMalas/Madigas or BC

Malas/Madigas? Or, is it acase of inclusive approach todevelopment of both thesecommunities. While the eligi-bility criteria for determiningbeneficiaries of the sops to bedoled out by the corporationslook hazy, it is imperative forthe State government to adopta prudent approach to the sen-sitive and peculiar social sta-tus of these communities. Theidea is that there should be noscope for subjectivity; else, itcould stir a hornet's nest.

Sound businessdespite RTC strike

The day-to-day business inthe canteens and shops at BusStations did not experience theheat of the RTC strike inalmost all the regions of ruralTelangana districts. The BusStations that connect townsand main roads registeredgood business. Since the fre-quency of buses during thefestival season was low, tradershave used to the hilt theopportunity presented by the

prolonged RTC strike to swelltheir businesses during thepast fortnight. Particularly inMahabubnagar district, busi-ness in canteens and tea stallspeaked, say enthusiastictraders. Even though there arechances of private jeeps andvehicles being operated asalternative passenger vehiclesto the buses, their starting andalighting points need to be atthese Bus Station limits inmany towns. Business inGadwal, Wanaparthi,Nagarkurnool andNarayanpet, among otherareas, has been on the rise.

Daily episodes The 38-day-long TSRTC

strike has seen many twistsand turns, not unlike those inthe episodes of various serialsand soap operas. Many unex-pected events and shockingdevelopments have takenplace. While Chief Minister KChandrasekhar Rao waspushed into adopting a defen-sive position, RTC employeessurprised everyone by show-

ing their unusually strongopposition to KCR. The HighCourt has pulled up seniorIAS officers for presentinginsubstantial records. Despitethe twists and turns, the end,like in soap operas, is not allthat clear as of now with boththe warring sides in no moodfor a compromise.

Leaders show their presence

Come what may, the lead-ers of Congress party in ruralareas of Telangana districtshave used the opportunity ofmaking their presence felt inthe protracted RTC stir. Asseniors and experiencedpoliticians, they pulled offsuccessfully the Collectoratestorming exercise. The arrestswere systematic as in severalplaces they informed powersthat be about their move-ments to suggest the spotwhere they could be takeninto custody. Even for theChalo Tank Bund pro-gramme, these leaders metic-ulously planned their arrests,house arrests or whatever.The best part was the augustpresence of many senior lead-ers after a long gap.

REPORTERS’

D ARY

Irritants at Azad's press meet

The govt procured4G SIM cards fordistribution amongthe Village/Ward

Secretariatfunctionaries

and GramVolunteers

Vijayawada Marathonevokes good responsePNS n VIJAYAWADA

Scores of fitness enthusiasts tookpart in Vijayawada Marathonheld in the city on Sunday. Themarathon was held in three cat-egories - 5K, 10K and 21K. It wasorganised by Tadaparti Deepakwith the objective of promotingpublic health and the develop-ment of Amaravati.

Youths, students, women, chil-dren and senior citizens notonly from the city and the Statebut also from other states partic-ipated in it. The organisers stoodon either of the Bandar Road tocheer the participants.

Flagging off the marathon,Krishna District Collector MDImtiyaz said the marathon aimedat promoting health for all peo-ple in the health capital ofAndhra Pradesh. Events like thiswould help in spreading the

importance of walking and jog-ging. He said by making minorchanges in lifestyle and havingbalanced diet one can stay fit.

"In the process of keepingoneself healthy, one can under-stand one's responsibility to thesociety and enhance awarenesson environment," he added. Dr.Jaganmohan Reddy fromHyderabad emerged victoriousin 21K marathon by completingthe distance in one hour and 26minutes.

The marathon washeld in 3 categories -5K, 10K and 21K. Itwas organised byDeepak with anobjective of promotingpublic health

People participate in the marathon in Vijayawada on Sunday

PNS n VISAKHAPATNAM

Indian Naval Ship Kiltan, anindigenously designed P28class anti-submarine warfarecorvette from the IndianNavy's Eastern Fleet, arrived atJakarta on Sunday. It will staythere till November 12. Thevisit is part of the EasternFleet's good-will deploymentto the ASEAN and Indo-Pacific. The visit coincideswith the commemoration of70 years of diplomatic relationsbetween India and Indonesia.

During the visit to Jakarta,there would be interactionsbetween personnel of boththe navies aimed at sharingbest practices and experiences.The ship will participate invarious professional interac-tions and events with theIndonesian Navy which willinclude operational discus-sions, VBSS drills, sports fix-tures as well as social interac-tions. The ship will also beparticipating in PASSEX withthe Indonesian Navy on

November 13. India has tra-ditionally enjoyed warm rela-tions with Indonesia due toshared historical and culturalheritage going back thousandsof years. India-Indonesia rela-tions have shown an upswingin recent times. Strong defensecooperation is a vital compo-nent of the comprehensivestrategic partnership betweenIndonesia and India.

Defence cooperation hasattained a soaring trajectorythrough an increased numberof ships/ aircraft/ military del-egation visits, exercises andtraining exchanges.

Indian Naval ship inJakarta to boost ties

VIJAYAWADA | MONDAY | NOVEMBER 11, 2019 region 04

A Sikh pilgrim performs during a rally as a part of Guru Nanak Devji's 550th birth anniversary celebrations in Visakhapatnam on Sunday

RELIGIOUS FFERVOUR

PNS n HYDERABAD

The Telangana State RoadTransport Corporation is staringat a serious financial crisis withtotal outstanding payments ofcorporation amounting up to Rs2,209 crore and cumulative loss-es at Rs 5,269.25 crore.

In a counter-affidavit filed byTelangana State government toHigh Court on Sunday, ChiefSecretary SK Joshi stressed thatthe government has beenunable to fulfill the demands ofagitating TSRTC employeesdue to the poor financial statusof the public road transport cor-poration. The government haspresented a detailed report ofvarious debts and losses of thecorporation to HC in itscounter-affidavit.

According to state govern-ment's report, TSRTC's out-standing dues towardsEmployee Provident Fund areRs 788 Crore. Rs 500 Crore hasto be paid to Employees CreditCooperative Society. Rs 452Crore has to be paid towardsMotor Vehicle Tax for the years2017-18 and 2018-19, besidesseveral other dues.

In addition to the above lia-bilities, the TSRTC has incurredcumulative losses of Rs 5,269.25crore as of 31st August 2019. "Ifthe corporation continues tooperate in losses like this, howare they going to service theiroutstanding loans of Rs

1,786.81 crore to banks andother organisations. The RTCemployees unions are fullyaware of it and cannot feignignorance. One of the underly-ing factors for this financialmess is the irresponsible con-duct of the unions. The mannerin which they resorted to go onstrike is tainted with malafidesand to coerce the management,and to diminish the image ofthe government, thereby to

bargain in an illegal manner,"stressed CS in the counter filedto HC.

Government also presentedin the report that 2609 buseshave to be replaced urgently, forwhich around Rs 750 crores isrequired immediately. By March2020, another 476 number ofbuses are due to be replaced,highlighting that TSRTC finan-cial stress will only further risein the coming days.

Kin of RTC workersquestion legislators' rolePV KONDAL RAOn WARANGAL

The role of MPs and MLAs,representing the politicallyvolatile north Telanganaregion, on the eve of the RTCstir is thoroughly exposed bythe families of striking RTCworkers in districts.

They questioned why thelegislators were not evenextending solidarity to thestruggles of the RTC and askedwhy they were not prevailingupon the Chief Minister tosecure the resolving of issueshighlighted by the RTC JAC.

On Sunday, the RTC JACmembers came down heavilyon the government for carryingout repressive measures on theRTC March on Tank Bund.Police's high handedness inthe March was seriously ques-tioned by the JAC members inthe districts and it was with thedelayed tactics of the govern-ment the morale of the employ-ees was sagging day by day.

"The MLAs and MPs repre-senting the part could havetaken up the task of influenc-ing the CM to resolve thedemands amicably and thiseffort could have helped theemployees get some support",Swamy, a JAC member said.

The RTC employees in thedistricts like Warangal and

Karimnagar were quite criticalover the way with which theMinisters and Legislators alongwith MPs undertaking theirprogrammes without showingany concern towards the RTCstir. "They are keen on becom-ing Binamis to the leaders atstate level and becoming a partof the land grabbing acts" theRTC JAC members alleged.

Accusing the Warangal MPPasunuri Dayakar of becominga puppet in the hands of oneRam Mohan Rao, a Binami ofthe state's highest authority ,the RTC JAC membersdemanded that the people'srepresentatives come to the aidof the workers rather thansuccumbing and dancing tothe tunes of state's head.

Even certain MLAs actsduring the time of RTC stirwere viewed seriously by theRTC JAC members inWarangal. The trivial acts andcontroversial moves of the sta-tion Ghanpur MLA Dr T

Rajaiah was termed as a"Nero's act" at an hour of ten-sion of the RTC employees.

"The legislator dances andbeats to the drums but neverhears the wailing employees andmeets them though he seeksvotes of us," lamented Pushpa,wife of a driver of RTC in thestation Ghanpur segment.

The RTC employees expresstheir wrath on certainMinisters in the districts asthey were simply ignoring themajor issue of RTC stir andtaking part in programmespertaining to CMRF chequedistribution. Even the role ofChief whip DasyamVinayabhaskar was questionedby the RTC JAC members inHanamkonda.

They say the MLA on hiselevation as the Chief whip hasalmost forgot the leanings hegot with the working class. Hisbrother Vijayabhaskar was ourleader and he took our supportduring the statehood struggle.

RTC STARING AT A FINANCIAL CRISIS

The RTC employees express theirwrath on certain Ministers in thedistricts as they were simply ignoringthe major issue of RTC stir and takingpart in programmes pertaining toCMRF cheque distribution

According to state government'sreport, TSRTC's outstanding duestowards Employee Provident Fund areRs 788 cr, Rs 500 cr has to be paid toEmployees Credit Cooperative Society

Cong to approach NHRC over police ‘excesses’PNS n HYDERABAD

Telangana Congress has decid-ed to participate actively inRTC JAC's activities to take onthe state government out rightand make the RTC JAC's pro-grammes a big success. CLPleader Mallu BhattiVikramarka has given a call tothe party cadre to participate inthe RTC JAC's programmesrigorously.

The party has also decidedto lodge complaint with theNational Human RightsCommission and NationalWomen Rights Commission inregard to police excess duringRTC JAC's 'Chalo Tankbund'programme.

Telangana Congress leadersMallu Bhatti Vikramarka, KJana Reddy,

V Hanumantha Rao, TPCC

working presidents PonnamPrabhakar, Jetti KusumaKumar, AICC Secretaries SASampath Kumar and ChVamshi Chand Reddy, TPCCleaders Vinod Reddy, Indira

have participated in the RTCJAC's meeting held atEmployees Union office atVidyanagar on Sunday.

Later speaking to the media,Bhatti said that the Congress

will lodge a complaint with theNational Human RightsCommission and NationalWomen Rights Commissionunder the leadership of SASampath Kumar. He asked theCongress cadre to stage dhar-nas before the residences ofTRS MLAs, MPs, Ministersand other public representa-tives along with RTC workerson November 11 demandingthe latter to extend their sup-port to the RTC workers. Bhattiasked the cadre to participatein the RTC JAC's deekshas tobe held on November 12 beforedepots extending solidarity tothe RTC workers. He alsoasked the party cadre to makethe RTC JAC's 'Sadak Bandh'and 'Vanta Varpu' programs tobe held on November 18.

Bhatti condemned the pre-ventive arrests and house

arrests of the RTC workersleaders, Congress leaders. Heannounced that the Congressparty would take on the gov-ernment out right to settlewith it. He lamented that thehuman rights were being vio-lated and the police behavingatrociously towards women.

He said that the partyappointed a committee underthe aegis of AICC Secretary SASampath Kumar. Ch VamshiChand Reddy and others willbe members of the committee,he explained. He said that thecommittee will lodge a com-plaint with the NationalHuman Rights and NationalWomen Rights Commissionson the issues taking place in thestate. He asked the RTC work-ers and others to furnish thedetails if they have any to theSampath's committee.

n Decides to actively participate in RTC JAC's programmes

File Photo

Sex racket bustedin Janagoan PNS n JANAGOAN

The police have busted a sexracket in the town and arrest-ed eight people, including 6women. Later, the arrestedwere sent to remand.

According to Janagoan cir-cle inspector Mallesh Yadav,some persons took houses onrent on Yashwantpur road andGirni Gadda area to live alongwith their family members.

But, movements of thewomenfolk in the householdcaused suspicion among thelocals who tipped the policeleading to the police conduct-ing raids on the houses. Thepolice kept an eye on theactivities in the householdsand caught six women andtwo customers red-handed onThursday.

The arrested include KeertiMalleeswari of Kachiguda inHyderabad, B Sujata of

Malkajgiri in yderabad, GadeJaswanta of Raghunadhapallein Janagoan district,Manipuram Buchchamma ofKodavaturu village.

The accused have beenrequisitioning women fromHyderabad andRajamahendravaram in APand clandestinely runningthe sex racket. Taking advan-tage of the innocence of thepoor women, the organisersof the flesh trade are pushingthem into prostitution.

Two others who were alsoarrested were A Anjaneyuluand G Narender. Three morewomen have been detained inconnection with the case. Thepolice have been investigatingthe case. The police advisehouse owners to check back-ground of people before lettingtheir house in. They appeal tothe people to contact thepolice in case of any suspicion.

Incentives for inter-caste couples enhanced PNS n MANCHERIAL

Incentives for inter-caste mar-ried couple have beenincreased five times to Rs 2.50lakh and the revised intensiveswere applicable with effectfrom November 1 this year.The government has hiked theincentives to encourage inter-caste marriages.

The district records 13 inter-caste marriages till Oct 31 dur-ing the current fiscal year. Thecouples have submitted theirapplications in social welfareoffice. The revised incentivesare applicable to them from

November 1. Earlier, inter-castecouples used to derive benefitunder Kalyana Lakshmi withthe approval of elders as the

financial benefits under thescheme are almost double thanRs 50,000 being given to inter-caste married couples as incen-

tive. The incentives were only Rs10,000 in 2011 and enhanced toRs 50,000 in 2012. The inter-caste couple should apply in the

social welfare deputy director'soffice along with relevant doc-ument proof. The officials con-duct an enquiry and send a listto the government for sanctionof incentives.

The documents required arecouple's photos, caste certificatesduly certified by tahsildar, doc-uments confirming the age ofthe couples, certificate issued bythe officials who conducted thewedding ceremony, first mar-riage certificate issued by gazetteofficer, couples bank accountdetails, details of witnesses to thewedding, Adhar card, rationcard particulars and so on.

Govt trying todivert attention,says RTC JACPNS n KHAMMAM

The leaders of RTC JAC andseveral mass organisationssupporting the strike onSunday came down heavilyon state government fortrying to divert the attentionof the public from the primeissue of RTC Strike.

The CPI ML new democ-racy leader Ranga Raoalleged that the intentions ofthe government are nowbecoming clear as the policetook up the charge andbranded the SaturdayMarch being participated byoutlawed organisations.

The leaders of JAC inKhammam said that thegovernment was trying toterrorise the employees ini-tially and the supporters ofthe movement in the laterperiod. Since the RTCworkers and employeesstood firm and were con-tinuing their agitation

unabatedly, the governmentseemed taking a stand ofterrorising them with wieldwarnings, the JAC leaders ofKhammam alleged.

On Sunday the employ-ees and their supportersincluding communist par-ties and the CPIML wingshave extended solidarity tothe struggle of the RTCemployees and they say theywould stand with the work-ers till they achieve thedesired results. The employ-ees need not be perturbedwith the repression that isbeing unleashed at the cru-cial hour, the CPM leader,T h a m m i n e n iVeerabhadram affirmed.The other mass organisa-tions supporting the stiralso expressed their soli-darity to the stir once againand asserted they wouldfight it out long with all theorganisations in the comingdays.

Woman found dead PNS n SIDDIPET

A-21-year-old woman, whohas been missing for the pasttwo months, was found deadunder suspicious circum-stances on Kista Sagar roadnear Vikas School in Siddipettown on Sunday morning.The deceased was identifiedas Dubbu Sravanthi, daugh-ter of Mallesham. Mallesham,a native of Venkatapur villageand resident of IndirammaColony in Siddipet, runs anauto rickshaw for a living.Sravanthi was married toone Tanneru Kankaiah, anative of Ponnala. However,he divorced her five monthslater as she was having anaffair with another man.Since then, Sravanthi hadbeen living with her parentstill two months ago.

Mallesham said Sravanthiwent missing two months agoand that they had no com-munication with them. Hefiled a case in Rural PoliceStation, and Mallesham saidthey could not trace her. Asthe news of the unidentifieddead body of a woman spreadin the area, A case has beenregistered.

Nilgai fawnrescued inMedak forest areaPNS n MEDAK

A Nilgai fawn, which acciden-tally fell into an open agricul-ture well, was rescued by Forestdepartment staff at Tonigandlavillage of Ramayampet Mandalin Medak district on Sunday.M e d a kDivisionalF o r e s tOfficer MP a d m a j aRani saidthe localfarmers saw thefawn in the open well whichwas full of water.

Following the information,the DFO said she immedi-ately sent her staff to rescuethe fawn. After providingtreatment, the DFO said theyreleased the Nilgai fawn inthe forest area close to thelocation where it was found.

The amount hasbeen hiked byfive times to Rs 2.50 lakh andthe revisedicentives wereapplicable witheffect from Nov 1

GRAFT CHARGES

G RAVI KIRANn VIJAYAWADA

The officials of Police andTransport departments areunder the State government'sscanner with charges of cor-ruption flying thick and fastagainst them. Officials of boththe departments are allegedlycollecting bribes from com-mercial vehicles like quarry lor-ries, sand lorries, and privatetravels buses. In Chimakurti ofPrakasam district, many lorryowners have sold away theirvehicles, unable to pay EMIsapart from greasing the palmsof officials.

At a meeting held recently,Minister for MunicipalAdministration & UrbanDevelopment BotsaSatyanarayana directly enquiredthe SP of Vizianagaram districtover the allegations of collectingbribe from sand lorries by thepolice. This has become a hottopic for discussion amongpolitical circles.

Already, a few unscrupulouspeople are learnt to be sellingsand in the black market by col-luding with the transport andpolice officials. In Chimakurti if

Prakasam district, where high-volume granite business is well-known across the country, thepolice are charged with collect-ing bribes from truckers trans-porting chips and slabs. Manytruckers stopped transportationof granite, opposing the attitudeof police and transport officials.

Officials of the Transportdepartment, it is alleged, seek a

bribe of Rs 15,500 per vehicleper month. But, recently, theyhave increased the 'unofficial tax'to Rs 18,000. Frustrated overthis, the vehicle owners stoppedtransportation of granite.

Later, after discussions withthe officials, the bribe was fixedat Rs 16,500 instead of Rs18,000. However, only 70 to 80of the total 200 vehicles are ply-

ing even after the deal wasstruck. N Venkateswara Rao, avehicle owner, said: "Already,real estate business has beenexperiencing a slump for the

last four months due to crip-pling of construction on accountof sand crisis. At the same time,

even our business is down.Transport officials can stopour vehicle in the name of anyrule if we do not pay them

bribes. After considering allthese factors, many of us haveleft the business selling away ourvehicles."

Like this, the locations, wherecommercial vehicles are run-ning, transport officials are col-lecting unofficial tax. "We can-not blame all the officials forthis, but most of them are cor-rupt, G Ramesh, a LorryOwners' Association leader said.

G Rajendra Prasad, a builder,said, "Every sand lorry that hasbeen put up for sale, is payingmoney to the police. Despite theChief Minister's warnings, thesand business is thriving inblack market. A few vehicleswere seized by the Krishna dis-trict police at Chandarlapadunear Nandigama. But, why arethey lax in other areas?".

According to sources, officials of boththe departments have beencollecting bribes from commercialvehicles like quarry lorries, sandlorries, and private travels buses

Transport, police officials under scanner

VIJAYAWADA | MONDAY | NOVEMBER 11, 2019 nation 05SHORT READS

Jawan commitssuicide at SSB campin UP's MaharajganjMAHARAJGANJ (UP): A soldierof the 66th Battalion of theSashastra Seema Bal hasallegedly committed suicide byshooting himself with his gunat the Hardidali camp in UttarPradesh's Maharajganj district,police said on Sunday.The incident happened onSaturday night and the victimwas identified as BasherAhmad (32), a resident ofJammu and Kashmir, they said.The reason behind the suicideis yet to be ascertained, thepolice said, adding that aninvestigation was underway.

56-yr-old man, Tajikwoman held forsmuggling gold

Religious processionon Milad-Un-Nabi willnot be prohibited: UPLUCKNOW: Prohibitory ordersin Uttar Pradesh after theSupreme Court's judgment onAyodhya will not affect thereligious procession taken outon Milad-Un-Nabi, a seniorpolice officer said on Sunday.He, however, made it clear thatno other processions will beallowed in the state. Theprohibitory orders will notaffect traditional programmes,including Julus-e-Mohammadi,Inspector General Law andOrder Praveen Kumar told PTI.Milad-Un-Nabi is celebrated asthe birth anniversary of ProphetMohammad. "We will not letany new tradition start andthose trying to take out 'Vijayor gum (grief)' procession willnot be allowed.

2017-18 ‘terrible' choicefor new GDP base year:Jairam Ramesh

MP: 5 cops suspendedfor chatting onWhatsApp during dutyJABALPUR: Five policemenwere suspended after they werefound chatting on WhatsAppwhile on duty in sensitive areasof Madhya Pradesh's Jabalpurcity on the day of the SupremeCourt's verdict in Ayodhyacase, an official said onSunday. The five personnel, allsepoys, were deployed in somesensitive city areas on Saturdayin view of the apex court'sjudgment in the RamJanmbhoomi-Babri Masjid landdispute in Ayodhya. Jabalpur'sSuperintendent of Police AmitSingh said when he conducteda surprise inspection in thoseareas, he found five policemenbusy chatting on social mediaplatform WhatsApp.

NEW DELHI: Congress leaderJairam Ramesh on Sundaycriticised the BJP government'splan to revise the base year tocalculate the gross domesticproduct growth from thecurrent 2011-12 to 2017-18,saying it was a "terrible" idea.Citing a media report in thisregard, Ramesh asked if it wasonly to make Modi 2.0government look good on GDPgrowth rates. He suggestedthat 2018-19 should be madethe GDP base year as 2017-18was "an abnormal year withnotebandi (demonetisation) andhasty GST". "Government wants2017-18 as new GDP baseyear. Terrible idea! It was anabnormal year with notebandi& hasty GST. Is this only tomake Modi Sarkar 2.0 lookgood on GDP growth rates?" hetweeted.

NEW DELHI: A 56-year-oldman and a Tajik woman werearrested at Delhi airport inseparate incidents for allegedlytrying to smuggle in gold worthabout Rs 50 lakh, according toa statement issued on Sunday.The man was intercepted afterhis arrival from Auckland toDelhi via Bangkok on Saturday,it said. A detailed personal andbaggage search of thepassenger resulted in therecovery of different golditems, two diamond studdedgold rings, all were worn byhim, and 12 gold barsconcealed in a black handbag,the statement said. All thesegold items weighing 627 gramsand having a market value ofRs 26.76 lakh were seized, andthe 56-year-old man wasarrested, the statement issuedby the customs departmentsaid. On Friday, a 44-year-oldTajikistan national who arrivedfrom Istanbul to Delhi wasintercepted by the customsofficials, it said. A detailedpersonal search of thepassenger resulted in therecovery of gold items,weighing 650 grams.

PNS n KOLKATA

On the back foot since theNRC in Assam left out over 12lakh Hindus, mostly Bengalis,the Supreme Court verdict onAyodhya land dispute has pro-vided the BJP in West Bengalfresh ammunition to polarisethe state's electorate ahead ofthe crucial 2021 assembly polls.

The apex court on Saturdaycleared the way for construc-tion of a Ram temple at the dis-puted site in Ayodhya, anddirected the Centre to allot a 5-acre plot to Sunni Waqf Boardfor building a mosque.

The BJP which stormed intoMamata Banerjee's fortress ear-lier this year by bagging 18 ofthe 42 Lok Sabha seats -- rid-ing on issues of TMC's allegedpartisan approach and the

promise to filter out illegalimmigrants --- faced immenseflak when the final NRC inAssam left out Bengali Hindusin large numbers.

Shortly after, panic grippedpeople in Bengal, with theBanerjee-led TrinamoolCongress (TMC) employingthe "anti-Bengali" rhetoricagainst the BJP and tilting thescales in its favour to an extent.

At least 11 people reported-ly died or committed suicide inthe state due to fear of exclu-sion from the National Registerof Citizens (NRC) -- a docu-ment containing names of gen-uine Indians.

With Saturday's apex courtverdict, however, the BengalBJP hopes to consolidateHindu votes before the 2021assembly elections.

According to state BJPsources, it was the Ram Mandirissue in early nineties that hadhelped the saffron party, for thefirst time in Bengal, to bagaround 16 per cent votes.

"During the nineties, wefailed to keep up the momen-tum and vote share dropped to4-5 per cent. But now thepolitical ground is fertile for us,having bagged 18 seats and

40.5 per cent votes in LokSabha polls. The Ayodhya issuewill further strengthen ourmass base," a senior state BJPfunctionary told PTI on thecondition of anonymity.

Pointing out that thepromise of Ram Mandir wasthe only constant in BJP'smanifesto from 1996 to 2019,another state leader said theparty had been committed tocause of Hindus and Hindureligion.

"After NRC was publishedin Assam, some opposition

parties like the TMC tried tobrand us as 'anti Bengali' and'anti- Hindu'. We were on aback foot for a while, but thisAyodhya case victory has pro-vided us with much-neededammunition to secure votes inthe state," he claimed.

West Bengal BJP presidentDilip Ghosh said the Sanghparivar's three-decade-old fightfor the Ayodhya site finallyended in its victory.

"We do not want to get intopolitics over Lord Ram. But thefact is that the BJP and the

Sangh parivar have been fight-ing for a cause over the lastthree decades. So if there arebrownie points to be made, itis quite natural that the BJPwill earn it," Ghosh main-tained.

A section of saffron campleaders felt that the silence ofthe TMC on the issue provid-ed the party with a freshopportunity to charge theTMC as a "pro-muslim party".

"Why is that neither theTMC nor Mamata Banerjeehave said anything on thematter? They should clear theirstand. Actually they are appre-hensive that welcoming theverdict might anger theirMuslim vote bank -- theirmainstay," state BJP generalsecretary Sayantan Basuclaimed.

PNS n AURANGABAD

Three persons including aminor boy were killed whilethree others seriously injuredwhen a car hit a stationarytruck in Bihar's Aurangabaddistrict on Sunday morning,police said.

The incident occurred onNH 2 near Kushaha Morunder Madanpur police sta-tion area when a car carryingsix persons hit a stationarytruck, in which two personswere killed on the spot andfour others seriously injured,Madanpur police stationSHO P K Saini said.

One injured person diedwhile being taken to hospital,the SHO said.

The deceased have beenidentified as Anup Kumar(12), Pintu Rai alias Anil Rai(35) and Yash Kumar (25),Saini said and added that allthe persons (both deceasedand injured) belonged toRohtas district.

The occupants of the carwere returning to Rohtasfrom Jamshedpur, he said.

PNS n NEW DELHI

As someone who has battledsuicidal thoughts, veteran bas-ketball player JamesDonaldson knows a thing ortwo about depression faced bysports persons across theglobe.

The 62-year-old English-American, who played 14 sea-sons in the NBA and severalleagues across Europe, hasadvised the sportspersonsdealing with mental healthissues to stay away from cellphones and social media.

From multiple Olympicgold medallist swimmers IanThorpe and Michael Phelps tocricketers such as England'sAndrew Flintoff and MarcusTrescothick, sportspersonsfrom across the world havebattled depression.

Star Australian all-rounderGlenn Maxwell had recentlyjoined that list of athleteswhen he decided to take abreak on mental grounds.

"Sports is one of those occu-pations where there is a lot ofstress and expectations.Players have this pressure ofperforming at the highestlevel, it can become too much,"

said the 7-foot-2 Donaldsonon the sidelines of an eventorganised by Sukarya, awomen-centric NGO.

"We live in an age where somuch of our lives are on socialmedia platform, so we hearcriticism more than everbefore, from fans and all thesenegativity becomes too muchafter a while.

According to state BJP sources, it wasthe Ram Mandir issue in early ninetiesthat had helped the saffron party, for thefirst time in Bengal, to bag around 16per cent votes

PNS n NEW DELHI/ALLAHABAD

The Minority Affairs Ministryis working on a war footing toestablish 'Hunar Hubs' in everystate in the next five years totrain and encourage indige-nous artisans and craftsmen,Union minister MukhtarAbbas Naqvi said on Sunday.

The ministry has sanctioned100 'Hunar Hubs" or skill cen-tres in different parts of thecountry in the first 100 days ofthe second Modi government,he said in New Delhi on thecompletion of “Hunar Haat”organised at North CentralZone Cultural Centre inAllahabad, Uttar Pradesh.

Training will be provided tomaster artisans, craftsmen andtraditional culinary expertsaccording to modern needs inthese centres, the MinorityAffairs Minister said.

Naqvi said that more than300 master artisans and culi-nary experts, including a largenumber of women, from var-ious parts of the country, par-ticipated in “Hunar Haat” inAllahabad.

Besides these master arti-sans, about 100 people associ-ated with each of these artisansalso received employmentopportunities, he said.

More than 10 lakh peoplevisited at “Hunar Haat” inAllahabad and business worthcrores of rupees took place forhandmade, rare exquisiteproducts, a statement said.

Naqvi said that all the“Hunar Haats”, to be organisedin 2019 and 2020, will bebased on the theme of “EkBharat Shresth Bharat”.

The next “Hunar Haat” will

be organised at the Trade Fairin New Delhi (November 14 to27) and then Mumbai(December 20 to 31), the min-ister was quoted as saying inthe statement.

In the coming days, “HunarHaat” will be organized inDelhi, Gurgaon, Mumbai,Bengaluru, Chennai, Kolkata,Lucknow, Ahmedabad,Dehradun, Patna, Indore,Bhopal, Nagpur, Raipur,Hyderabad, Puducherry,Chandigarh, Amritsar, Jammu,Shimla, Goa, Kochi, Guwahati,Ranchi, Bhubneshwar, Ajmeramong other places, he said.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Prime Minister NarendraModi and Home MinisterAmit Shah spoke to WestBengal Chief Minister MamataBanerjee separately on Sundayand assured her of all helpfrom the central governmentin rescue and relief operationsin areas affected by cycloneBulbul.

The home minister said 10teams of the National DisasterResponse Force had beendeployed in West Bengal andsix teams in Odisha.Additional 18 teams of NDRFhave been kept on standby, headded.

"Reviewed the situation inthe wake of cyclone conditionsand heavy rain in parts of

Eastern India," the prime min-ister wrote on Twitter.

Modi said he also spokewith Banerjee regarding thesituation arising due to cycloneBulbul.

"Assured all possible assis-tance from the Centre. I prayfor everyone's safety and well-being," he said.

Shah too wrote on Twitterthat he has been closely mon-itoring the situation as cycloneBulbul hits eastern India.

"We are continuously intouch with central and staterelief agencies.

Have spoken to CM@MamataOfficial and haveassured all possible help. I prayto almighty for those who arebraving out this adverseweather," he said.

PNS n AYODHYA

The temple town of Ayodhyawas buzzing with activities onSunday as devotees flocked tovarious temples, a day after theSupreme Court gave its land-mark judgement ending thedecades-old RamJanmabhoomi-Babri Masjiddispute.

The areas nearHanumangarhi and Naya Ghatwere busy from the morningitself, as people from differentwalks of life arrived here to payobeisance to Lord Ram and hisardent devotee Hanuman.

The relief that was prevalentin the temple city the previousday seems to have transformedinto a sense of joy.

People in the Rikabganj areaof the city and other partscould be seen going throughnewspapers to understand thenuances of the Supreme Courtjudgement, and also ascertain,what people in other parts ofthe country feel about theAyodhya verdict.

Sandeep Singh, who worksas a manager at a hotel inAyodhya, said, "It was a rareSunday for the Ayodhyawaasis(residents of Ayodhya) as SunGod and son of Wind God(Lord Hanuman) smiled pro-

fusely and generously on them.This Sunday holds special sig-nificance for us, as we woke upto a new and transformedSunday, with a feeling of reliefthat the lingering issue ofAyodhya dispute has beenresolved once and for all."

Shops selling utensils, mate-rials used in the puja, idols andpictures of gods and goddess-es, and eateries were open.

Owners of a sweet shop inthe vicinity of Hanumangarhitemple, Anoop Saini andVaibhav Gupta, were seenbrowsing through pages ofnewspapers and discussing theoutcome of Saturday's judge-ment.

"After the judgement infavour of Ram Lalla, we knewthat we will fall short of gar-lands, so we had ordered addi-

tional garlands from Varanasiand neighbouring cities,"Anoop Saini said.

He added that Ayodhya willnow grow in the right direc-tion. "I am sure that Ayodhyawill see its golden era in com-ing days. This is the best exam-ple of Satyamev Jayate," he said.

Jaipur residents AwadheshSharma and Kajormal Sharmasaid they felt proud and blessedto have been in Ayodhya whenthe Supreme Court deliveredits judgment.

Settling the fractious issuethat goes back more than acentury, the Supreme Court onSaturday backed the construc-tion of a Ram temple by a gov-ernment trust at the disputedsite in Ayodhya, and ruledthat an alternative five-acreplot must be found for amosque in the Hindu holytown.

Delivering a unanimous ver-dict on a case that has longpolarised the country andfrayed the secular tapestry ofIndian society, a five-judgebench of the apex court head-ed by Chief Justice of IndiaRanjan Gogoi said the faith ofHindus that Lord Ram wasborn at the site was undisput-ed, and he is symbolically theowner of the land.

PNS n BANIHAL/JAMMU

Thousands of commuterswere stranded as theJammu-Srinagar Nationalhighway was again blockedby a massive landslide inRamban district on Sundayafternoon, only hours aftertraffic resumed on the route.

Traffic on the highway,the only all-weather roadlinking Kashmir with rest ofthe countr y, resumedaround 3 am on Sundayafter remaining suspendedfor over 13 hours followinga massive landslide nearMahar -- two kms short ofRamban town.

Road clearing agenciesworked hard to ensure earlyopening of the road, but thefresh landslide, coveringaround 100 metres of theroad with debris, playedspoilsport, officials said.

The landslide struck nearDigdole and at least 12hours are needed to makethe arterial road traffic-worthy. Men and machineshave been pressed into ser-vice to clear the debris, theysaid.

IMPACT OF CYCLONE BULBUL

Modi, Shah speak to Mamata,assure central help

Jammu-Srinagarhighway againblocked bylandslide

3 killed, 3injured in Biharroad accident

James Donaldson

‘Stay away fromphone, social media’

Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi

Training will beprovided to masterartisans,craftsmen andtraditional culinaryexperts accordingto modern needsin these centres,the Minority AffairsMinister said

Star Australian all-rounder GlennMaxwell hadrecently joinedthat list of athleteswhen he decidedto take a break onmental grounds

People in the Rikabganj area of the cityand other parts could be seen goingthrough newspapers to understand thenuances of the Supreme Courtjudgement, and also ascertain, whatpeople in other parts of the country feelabout the Ayodhya verdict

Temple town buzzes with intense activity A DAY AFTER TOP COURT'S AYODHYA VERDICT

Minority Affairs Ministry to establish‘Hunar Hubs' in every state: Naqvi

Ayodhya verdict to give BJP political heft in Bengal

PNS n BANIHAL/JAMMU

Traffic on the Jammu-SrinagarNational Highway resumedon Sunday after remainingsuspended for over 13 hoursfollowing a massive landslidein Ramban district, officialssaid.

The highway, the only all-weather road linking Kashmirwith the rest of the country,was cleared of debris around3 am, paving the way forresumption of traffic, the offi-cials said.

A massive landslideoccurred on the highway nearMahar, two kms short ofRamban town, around 2 pmon Saturday forcing the closureof the strategic road withinhours after it was thrownopen for traffic after remain-ing closed for two days due toheavy snowfall and multiplelandslides.

While light motor vehicleswere allowed to move on thehighway from both Jammuand Srinagar sides this morn-ing, the movement of heavy

vehicles was restricted to one-way and only Kashmir-boundtrucks carrying essential com-modities are being cleared, theofficials said.

Kashmir valley and highaltitude areas of Jammu regionincluding Jawahar Tunnelalong the highway experi-enced first major snowfall ofthe season on Thursday andFriday.

Meanwhile, the Mughalroad, which connects borderdistricts of Poonch andRajouri in Jammu region withsouth Kashmir's Shopian dis-trict, remained closed for thefifth day on Sunday, the offi-cials said.

PNS n MUMBAI

In a veiled dig at Maharashtra'sacting chief minister DevendraFadnavis, Shiv Sena MP SanjayRaut on Sunday used a Hindiverse to imply that the BJPleader is a new entrant in thebig game of politics.

The BJP and its ally ShivSena are locked in a bitter tus-sle on sharing the chief minis-ter's post, resulting in a stale-mate over government forma-tion in the state.

Hitting out at 49-year-oldFadnavis without taking hisname, Raut in a tweet said, "Jokhandaani raees hain wo mizajrakhte hain narm apna,tumhara lehja bataa rahaa hai,tumhari daulat nayi nayi hai"

(those rich by hereditary havea soft temperament, your toneshows your wealth is newlyacquired).

The Rajya Sabha memberlast week also quoted words ofa Hindi poet on his Twitter

handle to take aim at the BJP.Fadnavis, who started his

political career in the 1990s,while resigning as the chiefminister on Friday, blamedally Shiv Sena for the deadlockover government formationafter the recent Assembly polls.

After quitting, Fadnavis,who was the youngest mayor ofNagpur and represented theNagpur-South West Assemblyseat since 1999, said it was ashock for the BJP when theShiv Sena chief UddhavThackeray declared soon afterthe results that "all optionswere open for the Sena toform the government".

On the Shiv Sena's con-tention that the two parties haddecided before the Lok Sabha

polls that the chief minister'spost will be shared for two-and-half-years each, Fadnavissaid no such decision wastaken in his presence.

Later, Thackeray stronglycountered Fadnavis' claim andsaid there will be no talkswith the BJP unless it accept-ed that the two allies haddecided to share the chief min-ister's post.

Thackeray said he will fulfillthe promise made to his father,late Bal Thackeray, to install aShiv Sena chief minister in thestate.

In the October 21 stateAssembly polls, the BJP won105 seats, Shiv Sena-56, NCP-54 and the Congress won 44seats.

Delhi has wonbattle againstdengue: KejriPNS n NEW DELHI

Less than 1100 cases ofdengue and no deaths due tothe mosquito-borne diseasehave been reported so farthis year in the city, DelhiChief Minister ArvindKejriwal said on Sunday. Ina video message posted onTwitter, he said this was anachievement in comparisonto 2015 when over 15,000dengue cases had beenrecorded and 60 people haddied in the national capital.Kejriwal lauded residents'efforts in following the '10-hafte, 10-baje, 10-minute'campaign launched by himon Sep 1. It required peopleto look for stagnant water inand around their homes forten minutes at 10 AM everySunday for ten weeks anddispose it off .Congratulating Delhiites "forwinning the battle againstdengue," the chief ministersaid: "I am proud of youDelhi. There are more than100 countries affected bydengue.

Traffic resumes onJammu-Srinagar NH

Akhileshtargets BJPover Moody's PNS n LUCKNOW

Attacking the BJP, SamajwadiParty supremo Akhilesh Yadavon Sunday said Moody'sInvestors Service cut India'scredit rating outlook from sta-ble to negative as it expectedthat in future too economicgrowth will be less and risk willrise more.

"Moody's Investors Servicehas cut India's credit rating out-look from stable to negative asit expected that in the futuretoo, economic growth will beless and risk will increase,"Akhilesh said in a tweet inHindi. "Actually, under thefailed BJP government, agri-culture and farmers are dying,as are the product and servicessectors," he added.

MP Sanjay Raut

Sanjay Raut quotes Hindi verseto take dig at Devendra Fadnavis

For more than 100 years, the ratio ofHindu population in the Indian sub-continent has been declining. The

dip, from 75.1 per cent in 1881 to 72.9 percent in 1901, in British India created a para-noid reaction that Muslims would outnum-ber Hindus. This myth has been repeatedafter every census ever since. The share ofHindus in free India continued to drop, from84.1 per cent in 1951 to 79.80 per cent in2011, and the paranoia is now being usedby Islamophobes to rile up Hindus for polit-ical reasons.

Of India’s 1.3 billion people, Muslimsconstitute only 15 per cent. Because of thestaggering gap in these numbers, it isabsurd to think that Indian Muslims wouldever exceed Hindus. It is, however, true thatIndia’s 200 million Muslims possess pendu-lum-swinging voting firepower, especially inminority-dominated areas.

Across India’s eastern borders, theHindu growth rate paints a surprisingly dif-ferent picture. Bangladesh is facing a reversemigration. Hindus have been moving backto Bangladesh from India since PrimeMinister Sheikh Hasina recaptured powerin 2009. Confirmation of this trend camefrom no less a person than Shahriar Kabir,a journalist and pro-India man who is wide-ly known as an anti-Islamist activist inBangladesh. “Over the past 10 years, 250,000Hindus have returned to Bangladesh. Therehas been no new migration to India. As aresult, the Hindu population has risen by 2.5per cent.” India’s previous External AffairsMinister Sushma Swaraj also acknowl-edged the trend. “About the demographicchanges in Bangladesh, as per statistics of theBangladesh Bureau [of Statistics, which com-piles demographic data] in 2011, there were8.4 per cent Hindus in the country, whichhas risen to 10.7 per cent in 2017,” she toldIndia’s Parliament.

Influx raises questions: This suddensurge in the Bangladeshi Hindu population,which had been on a free fall since BritishIndia’s Partition in 1947, has fuelled wildspeculation in Bangladesh: Pro-India Hasinahas imported Bengali-speaking Hindusfrom India to fill key administrative posi-tions in an attempt to tighten her grip on thenation. Hindus had been historically deniedtop government jobs since the Pakistan daysbecause they were suspected to be sympa-thetic to India. But now they seem to beubiquitous. They all too often appear on tele-vision and in newspapers as governmentspokesmen. This phenomenon has caughtpublic attention.

“The calculation of the percentage hereis not clear to me. How did the Hindu pop-ulation growth surpass that of the Muslimsin the last few years? Can we assume that agreat number of Hindus migrated toBangladesh from India over the last fewyears?”asked Masud Kamal, senior news edi-tor, Banglavision, a satellite TV channel inDhaka. The questions have merits. Research

shows the trend defies logic. Astudy, Hindu Population Growthin Bangladesh: A DemographicPuzzle, concluded that “Hindushave lower fertility, higher mor-tality and higher internationalout-migration rates thanMuslims.” Given the demo-graphic characteristics, the nat-ural Hindu growth rate trailsthat of the Muslim. Because ofthis anomaly, the rumour mill isin overdrive as to why theHindu population suddenlysoared in Bangladesh and howHindus so quickly captured somany top jobs. Sceptics dismissthe influx as a hoax, arguing theGovernment fabricated thenumbers to appease India. Butthey fail to explain the surge inHindu high officials, giving cre-dence to the Hindu import the-ory.

No official explanation hasbeen offered. This silence maybe too costly. In the event thehereditary frictions between thetwo communities again flare up,genuine Bangladeshi Hinduscould be targetted by Muslimmobs on suspicion that they are“imported Hindus.” The specu-lation surrounding the Hinduinflux reflects a deep-rootedsuspicion that marks Hindu-Muslim relations, a legacy ofIndia’s age-old caste system.Most of the Bengali Muslimsdescended from oppressed-and-

resentful-lower-caste Hinduswho converted to Islam,rebelling against their higher-caste Hindu oppressors. Thereis still bad blood between theupper and lower castes, orHindus and Muslims.

India’s paranoia: The para-noia towards Bangladesh and itsmajority Muslim populationruns high among some of theelite in India. Some Hindus,especially those in West Bengal,who share a common languageand a rich culture withBangladeshis, accuse theirneighbour of tacitly harboringanti-India terrorism. They alsosound a false alarm, saying ille-gal migration into India ischanging its religious demo-graphics.

This rant reflects the centu-ry-old fear that Muslims wouldsomehow outnumber Hindusand re-establish the Muslimempire in India. It is this fearthat drove Hindutva guru VDSavarkar to oppose a Muslimcountry next to Hindustan. Thenationalist BJP is using thisanxiety against neighbouringBangladesh to galvanise publicsupport.

Bangladesh, the land of 163million Bengalis, including 12per cent Hindus, is India’s mostfriendly neighbour. Still, it hasconcerns about several bilater-al matters, including a fiercely

contentious assertion by Delhithat there are 40 millionBangladeshis illegally living inIndia and that they must bepushed back. This issue spoiledthe talks in Delhi in Augustbetween Bangladesh’s HomeMinister Asaduzzaman Khanand his Indian counterpart AmitShah. The matter became soacrimonious that the two sidesfailed to issue a customary jointcommunique after the talks.

Delhi is going through a cit-izenship verification process todetect non-citizens and hasalready classified nearly twomillion of its long-term residentsas stateless. India’s ForeignMinister SubrahmanyamJaishankar has assured that thecitizenship verification drill isIndia’s internal matter; it will notaffect Bangladesh. Modi hasreassured his Bangladeshi coun-terpart Hasina twice, first at theUnited Nations in Septemberand then in Delhi in October.

What’s behind migrationpolitics? Why did Shah pushKhan for a treaty to deport ille-gal migrants? Why did not theHasina-Modi joint statementinclude the assurance? Therewas no mention of the migra-tion issue at all, a lapse that rais-es suspicions about India’s realintentions. One possible reasoncould be that the BJP nowunderstands the folly of

“Operation Pushback” but stillmust appease its militant saffronwarriors, who want a Muslim-free India. During his electioncampaign, Narendra Modi toldthe migrants in States borderingBangladesh to keep their “bagspacked,” ready to be sent home.But his administration waiteduntil his re-election in 2019 tobring up the deportation issuewith Bangladesh, the mostdensely populated nation onearth and less than five per centthe size of of its neighbour.

India’s anti-Bangladeshparanoia appeared so incendi-ary that it once caught theattention of an American diplo-mat. During a discussion inKolkata with visiting USEmbassy Dhaka’s political offi-cer Denise Rollins, Dilip Mitra,additional director-general ofthe state police for railways, list-ed a lengthy litany of complaints.He was convinced India’s archrival Pakistan had taken overBangladesh; that Pakistan’s mil-itary intelligence agency, backedby Islamic zealots, controlledBangladesh’s army and its spyagency, all of which were work-ing to make India “bleed from1,000 cuts.” On top of all this, hebelieved, illegal immigrationfrom Bangladesh across aporous border was sharplyincreasing the Muslim propor-tion of West Bengal’s population.He vowed to flee the Statebefore the demographic changeoccurred.

Despite all the railingagainst Bangladesh, its peoplestill keep close ties with WestBengal. Nahida RahmanShumona, counsellor at theDeputy High Commission forBangladesh in Kolkata, esti-mated roughly 30 per cent ofBengalis have roots inBangladesh and wish to seetheir neighbour prosper. ManyBangladeshis come to Kolkatafor medical care and go shop-ping in the city’s vibrant marketsand name-brand stores.

The mistrust of someHindus towards Bangladesh isdisturbing. It can only harm theoften-testy relations betweenthe two countries. If the migra-tion issue festers, business com-munities on both sides will gointo hibernation. An economicnosedive will destabiliseBangladesh and India will facean influx of refugees. Keepinglines of communication open isessential to successfully manag-ing the bilateral relationship.

( Khasru is author ofBangladesh Liberation War:

How India, US, China and theUSSR Shaped the Outcome.

His new book, One ElevenMinus Two, Prime Minister

Sheikh Hasina’s War on Yunusan America, will be published

shortly.)

There is a problem with both sides of thenarrative in the media nowadays. Theyboth are so extremely wedded to their

views that they refuse to even concede a pointto their opposition. And that becomes relevantwhen it comes to social media as well. Thesuspension of a prominent lawyer on Twitterhas several commentators of an allegedly “lib-eral” nature hopping up and down screamingcensorship and calling for the platform to beeither monitored by the Government orrescinding the suspension of the lawyer. The

user himself has filed a petition in court demanding that Twitter reinstate himand asked, ironically given his positions on several issues, for support from theIndian Government. One can rest assured that this is unlikely to happen. However,this brouhaha raises a pertinent point. While all internet services have their spe-cific “Terms of Service” under US law, when they start serving a critical func-tion in another country and another jurisdiction, who is liable for what? Who deter-mines hate laws and freedom of speech?

Is Twitter commentary protected by the US’ First Amendment or is freedomof expression restricted as per the Indian Constitution? Frankly, these are unlike-ly to be answered by the courts in India in this particular case though increas-ingly it is becoming apparent that the Indian Government is reining in the WildWest. Foreign technology companies have so far operated on Indian soil withimpunity, and the companies themselves, while being asked to bend, appear tobe keeling over, fearful that access to 1.25 billion consumers might be cut off.A few things have to be kept in mind. India does not, as mentioned, have absolutefreedom of expression with some ridiculous provisions in the penal code as wellas the hysterical concept of criminal defamation. India might have a right to pri-vacy but it has been a nation paranoid about security issues since the Sikh mil-itancy and frankly, the entrenched security establishment has no idea how todeal with technology. Switching en masse to another service by those of a cer-tain persuasion will not help either since that will be like moving from one echochamber to another, but most likely any alternative service will have to adhereto Indian rules. That said, it would be good if Twitter, Facebook and other ser-vices were more open about their arbitration processes of dealing with suspen-sions and content takedowns. As for those on social media, while criticising theGovernment is warranted quite often, making fun of those of the opposite per-suasion is trolling, no matter how smartly you wrap it.

Revered variously as MaryadaPurushottam Sri Ramchandra Raja ofAyodhya, the Imam-e-Hind as Allama

Iqbal designated him, and a founding pillarof the Oriental civilisation, the status of SriRam as the central deity of the Hindu pan-theon has always been beyond question.Regardless of whether a temple built at theplace of his birth was demolished and amosque built in its place, it was almost uni-versally believed that this was indeed theplace of the God-King’s birth. In fact, till

recently Thailand’s Capital was called Ajutthia, referring to Ayodhya — suchwas the Indic influence of the epic Ramayana. To that extent it would havebeen a travesty of the faith of generations had the Supreme Court permittedany structure other than a shrine to Sri Ram to be built on that site. Collectivehistorical memory being an integral part of any civilisational ethic, it is not sur-prising that the local populace around the town of Ayodhya has fought for over400 years to regain the spot where Ram lalla or the infant Ram was born.Apart from physical clashes between Hindu and Muslim armies, the adventof the British colonialists dragged the matter to the courts where the issuehibernated for more than a century. A closure proved elusive and the case gotfurther complicated by the mysterious appearance of idols of the infant Godin 1949, shortly after Independence. So powerful was the collective histori-cal memory that a mass movement to reclaim the site, launched by the BJPin 1989, gained massive traction once the then party supremo LK Advani ini-tiated a Rathyatra from Somnath in Gujarat to liberate the Babri Masjid. Althoughthe yatra could not complete its proposed journey, it aroused passions acrossthe country, reinstating Lord Ram’s place as the most venerated member ofthe Hindu pantheon. It also gave India an alternative political narrative and birtheda national consciousness.

Given the convoluted history and labyrinthine logic of the arguments tabledby both sides, only a well-considered and voluminous verdict could have paci-fied the claimants. Even though Saturday’s judgment has been widely wel-comed, there are indications that not everyone is satisfied. Some are reiter-ating that nothing short of restoration of the mosque will be acceptable, know-ing well that such talk will only stir a massive communal bloodbath. Fortunately,most responsible organisations on both sides of the religious divide have beenmore restrained and their followers have not bitten the bait of provocations.The Government’s tough measures in anticipation of the negative role of agentsprovocateurs have so far kept a tight lid on people wanting to engineer riotsand destroy India’s unity and integrity. Even residents of Ayodhya are tired ofbeing circumscribed by a political context that doesn’t help their aspirationsand have been seeking closure. With jobs and education on their mind, anentire generation, be it Hindu or Muslim, born under the shadow of the dis-pute is ready to cast away what has become a beast of burden. The Ayodhyaverdict is truly a paean to India’s legendary spirit of tolerance and socio-reli-gious diversity. That a multi-religious Bench could deliver a unanimous ver-dict in 40 days is a tribute to the strength of our judicial system as well as ourpolitical sagacity, too. The Supreme Court must be appreciated for strippingdown the complexity of religiosity to the titular nature of the suit and creatinga multi-representative trust to decide on the roadmap ahead. Not only that, ithas said categorically that the allotment of land, all of five acres, for the con-struction of the mosque should happen simultaneously and within the perime-ter of Ayodhya. Even the Sunni Waqf Board’s counsel Zafaryab Jilani high-lighted that the operable parts of the verdict had upheld the secular nature ofour polity, such as that classifying the act of demolition itself as illegal. Nothingand nobody must be allowed to damage this legendary resilience and demo-cratic foundations. Finally, let us hope that with the restoration of our civilisa-tional core, it isn’t used as a justification for historical corrections that are guid-ed by narrow political considerations. Lord Rama wouldn’t like that maryadato be tampered with.

Return of maryadaP A P E R W I T H P A S S I O N

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op nionVIJAYAWADA | MONDAY | NOVEMBER 11, 2019

06

Politics of influx

BZ KHASRU

The mistrust of some Hindus towards Bangladesh is disturbing. If the migrationissue festers, business communities on both sides will go into hibernation

Censorship of hate?

That a multi-religious Bench could deliver a unanimousverdict is a tribute to our judicial system and political sagacity

Following the suspension of a prominent lawyer’saccount, liberals ask if Twitter is wrong

Good news for nation Sir — The verdict by the SupremeCourt on the Ram temple issue,stating that a temple must be con-structed at the disputed site and theMuslims must be compensatedwith five acres of land at a promi-nent place in Ayodhya, is goodnews. The court also asked theCentral Government to formulatea scheme within three months toimplement this ruling, in order tobring the curtains down on a dis-pute that had been hanging fire forseven decades. Hopefully, all stake-holders will abide by the judgmentof the five-judge Bench in thehugely sensitive case, revolvingaround the dispute over 2.77 acresof land in Ayodhya, that has dom-inated political discourse sincethe 1980s. Hindu groups wantedcontrol of the land, saying a tem-ple existed there, but Muslimgroups claimed there was no proofthat a temple existed there. Now,hopefully this ruling will put to restall communal tensions that havebeen simmering in the countryand peace will prevail in India.

R DavidNoida

Focus on developmentSir — No well-meaning Indian

can find fault with the SupremeCourt’s ruling on the vexedAyodhya issue.

The court, in one stroke, has set-tled the matter and all parties

must respect the verdict andabide by it.

The temple-mosque issue hasheld the development of the coun-try to ransom for long as politi-

cians of all hues have been play-ing divisive politics on the issue.Now, hopefully the NarendraModi-led Government at theCentre will focus on the develop-

ment of the nation, peace in thecountry, preventing the degrada-tion of the environment andrestoring the sinking economy.

Kapil SharmaGhaziabad

Show some maturitySir — Now that the much-await-ed decision by the Supreme Courton the Ayodhya dispute is out, onecan only pray that all sides willabide by the ruling. I agree withwhat the Prime Minister said thatthis “verdict shouldn’t be seen asa win or loss for anybody. Be itRam bhakti or Rahim bhakti, it isimperative that we strengthen thespirit of Rashtra bhakti.”

I am glad that almost all polit-ical parties across the countryhave hailed the verdict with onevoice. Even the NationalCommission for Minorities chair-person Ghayorul Hasan Rizvi saidthat the Muslims are happy withthe ruling and slammed the SunniWaqf Board for wanting a review.It’s time the Board shows maturi-ty and accepts the ruling.

Arif MohammadHyderabad

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

Why the objection to Z-plus security?

This refers to the report “Sonia, Rahul, Priyanka takenoff SPG cover” (November 9). The Narendra ModiGovernment withdrew the SPG security cover of

Congress president Sonia Gandhi and her children, RahulGandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, and downgraded themto the Z-plus security provided by the CRPF. The elite forcewill now guard only the Prime Minister. According to theHome Ministry, the call on the withdrawal of the SPG coverwas taken after periodical review of the threat perceptionto the Gandhis. The family will be without SPG protectionfor the first time in 28 years. They were included in the VVIPsecurity list following an amendment in September 1991in the SPG Act of 1988. Under Z-plus security by CRPF, theywill have commandos from the paramilitary force in closeproximity, besides guards at their homes and wherever theytravel in the country.

Given the amount of security that they will still contin-ue to have, the Congress Party is unnecessarily protestingremoval of the super-costly SPG cover from the family mem-bers of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. The decisionof the Home Ministry stands justified because of the reluc-tance shown by Sonia, Rahul and Priyanka in availing theSPG security cover, evidently to hide their private visits inIndia and abroad. Sonia, Priyanka and Rahul did not availof the bullet-proof cars provided at Government-cost on at

least 50, 339 and 1,892 occasions respectively between 2015and 2019. They did not take the SPG security posse alongwith them during their foreign visits 2,478 and 143 timesrespectively in the said period. Rahul preferred privacy tosecurity when he did not take SPG security on 143 out ofthe total 156 visits he undertook since 1991. Thus estab-lishing that the SPG cover for them was just a status-sym-bol rather than a necessity. For these reasons, it was sheerwastage of public money to provide the SPG brigade to them.The Home Ministry’s decision to trim their security coverto Z-plus will provide them both security and privacy.

Madhu AgrawalDelhi

Send yyour ffeedback tto:letterstopioneer@gmail.com

Of course I would love to bethe year-ending numberone. But as always, it's notmy personal goal. I didn'tfollow that thing.

Tennis ace —Rafael Nadal

Please respect the SC verdicton #AyodhyaCase. Accept itwith grace. Our countryneeds to move on from thisas one people. Jai Hind.

Actor—Farhan Akhtar

The (Ayodhya case) verdict bythe Indian Supreme Court willput more pressure on thealready suppressed Muslimcommunity.

Pakistan Foreign Minister — Shah Mehmood Qureshi

I thank Imran Khan for understanding Indian sentiments and working for theconstruction of the KartarpurCorridor within the timeframe.

Prime Minister—Narendra Modi

S O U N D B I T E

POINTCOUNTERPOINT

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

Relating researchto the country

VINAYSHIL GAUTAM

The roots of R&D have to be Indian assumptions,environment-friendly methodologies and techniqueswhich can work in the infrastructure available here

The quality of research by Indians is well recognised. It is equal-ly true that path-breaking research in Indian institutions, in prac-tically most domains of study, is few and far between. This

includes science, technology, medicine, maritime studies and more.This poverty of range and depth is not always a factor of resourcesor autonomy. There are many factors which have contributed to it,not the least being the intellectual conditioning and orientation of anoverwhelmingly large number of so-called ‘intellectual’ leaders. Orientedand bred in Anglo-Saxon scholastic traditions or traditions ofUS/Canadian Universities, these front line leaders have inherited aworld view and academic orientation which they perpetuate throughtheir choice of research themes and methodologies.

Most of the Central Government institutions with specific spe-cialisation, such as science, technology, medicine and managementare not short of money or talent. Yet somehow, the chemistry betweenthe objectives of the institutions and the efforts of the personnel havenot resulted in the alchemy, which makes for referable fundamen-tal contribution to the chosen domain of knowledge. Nor does it,often enough, significantly, contribute to the Indian domain of appli-cation. Very often, an aspiring Indian academic, in an immigrationmode, goes abroad and does significant work. But he chooses afield which is usually a subset of his supervisor’s domain of inter-est or a theme which puts the spotlight on the reprehensible con-ditions in post-colonial territories. In the academic and media net-work, rooted in the traditions of the English-speaking world, this isthen universally disseminated and quoted. The issue is not simplyof scholastic communication but it has serious ramification on thenature and terrain of research. Consider the canvas of recognitionin Indian academic institutions. Almost universally a publication ina foreign journal is more appreciated and better rated than a publi-cation in any Indian journal, even if it be refereed. The prepositionis simple, in our dominant value, things foreign are by and large moredesirable than anything Indian. The careers of significant quotablepersonalities in knowledge domain, or for that matter in any domain,are a testimony to the fact that, very often, recognition in India fol-lowed recognition abroad. Be it cinema (Satyajit Ray) literature andpoetry (Rabindranath Tagore) or even renowned economists, theyall made their careers through foreign recognition and reaped theharvest in India. This is even more common in the science and tech-nology domain. Operationally the lateral entrants in these fields, likeanywhere else, stand testimony to how careers shape up.

This is also true of several other Asian and African countries inareas of fundamental or applied research. The problem is, as notedabove, linked with the methods used in research and sources select-ed for information. Obviously if research is to be carried out on Salseeds and leaves or Neem seeds or Google or Nux Vomica or forthat matter any other such produce, it cannot be on western assump-tion or western methodologies. The roots of research have to beIndian assumptions, environment-friendly methodologies and tech-niques which can work in the infrastructure available. The plain truthis, there is hardly any research on research methods. Further, it doesnot adequately establish a co-relation with the infrastructure avail-able or the delivery mechanisms which enable laboratory results tobe transferred to field conditions.

These are important concerns which cannot be overlooked whileworking on the theme of pushing the boundaries of knowledge andtheir application in India. The labour conditions which produce goodsand services in various parts of the country are significantly differ-ent from what works elsewhere. Even on populist issues like gen-der equity, sloganeering is one thing, the reality can be different.

Women are very much apart of the productive process in Indianethos. It is not only the woman who steps out of the house to earn,who can be termed productive. Even the person who runs the house-hold is extremely productive because, irrespective of everything, some-body has to run the household. If the family person doesn’t run it,somebody has to be hired for it. That becomes a routine outgo. Hence,the assumption of some economists that only when one goes outof the household and earns is one productively employed, is an erro-neous one. A person can be in the household and yet be of eco-nomic support to the family. Attributing value to certain modes ofproduction, selectively, is not the scientific way forward. One hasmerely to look at the assumptions to check whether what is paint-ed as “outcomes” are worthwhile or not. Reflecting on the assump-tions is an essential pre-requisite for authenticating the veracity ofthe findings. Unfortunately for everyone concerned, social scienceresearch also has its moorings in Western ethos. Thus it is that theentire scientific method becomes topsy-turvy. Often convoluted con-clusions are pandered generously in the name of research. This sit-uation requires a priori examination.

(The writer is a well-known management consultant)

I’ve lived in Berlin for 30 years —but have never gone near theWall or what’s left of it. I spent

so long trying to escape over it thatI can’t bear to be near it. Like mostWest Berliners on that night inNovember 1989, I sat at homealone watching East Germans floodthrough the gates at BornholmerStraße on TV.

I found that moment bitter-sweet: Having finally managed toescape the East in 1985, abandon-ing my family and friends, it fell justfour years later, producing revela-tions about my life as an EastBerliner just four years earlier alongwith the rubble.

I had grown up in EastGermany near Karl-Marx-Stadt(now Chemnitz), but at the age of28 I was granted permission to leave;East Germany had signed up to theHelsinki Accords, which made ittheoretically possible for citizens toapply to emigrate to the West. Inreality, though, the process wastortuous and opaque: You had toapply in person every year and usu-ally your application would be

declined without explanation.The first time you applied,

you were immediately blacklisted bythe SED (the East GermanCommunist Party), making it dif-ficult to get things like jobs and flats.If, years later, your permission didfinally come it came without warn-ing and you were given just fourweeks to settle your affairs and go.

So on December 6, 1985 myparents drove me and my then-hus-band to Friedrichstraße Station,which straddled the Berlin Wall,with platforms in both the East andthe West. My parents were verypolitical, both members of the SED.My father was a head teacher andmy mother worked as a typist for theparty’s Agricultural Department.They were dedicated to EastGermany and couldn’t comprehendwhy I was leaving. It really broketheir hearts. They left us at the cav-ernous glass departures hall atFriedrichstraße station, which wecalled the “Tränenpalast” (the Palaceof Tears). In a very narrow corridor,the GDR authorities stripped me ofall my papers, making me official-

ly stateless, and I wasfree to go.

As artists in theEast, my ex-husbandand I couldn’t exhibitor publish our work,we weren’t allowed tostudy and we wereunder constant sur-veillance. We knewnothing about WestBerlin. All informa-tion about the westernhalf of the city wassuppressed: on ourmaps, West Berlin wasjust a blank whitespace in the middle ofEast Germany. Whenwe arrived we drovethrough the city — it was Christmasand the bright lights made me sodizzy that, on my first night, I did-n’t sleep a wink. For months after-wards I had a recurring nightmarethat I was visiting my parents inKarl-Marx-Stadt, and when I wentto get the train back to the West thedoor of the station was locked.There was, of course, joy at having

left, particularly having the freedomto paint and draw and the fact I hadaccess to proper artists’ materials forthe first time, rather than having topaint on old sheets stretched over abed frame. But there were things Istruggled with in the West.

People seemed so uptight tome. Because almost no one in theEast had their own phone, if you

wanted to talk tosomeone you justturned up at their flat.Sometimes friendswould knock on thedoor at three in themorning and youwould pull on yourclothes and head outwith them for a drink.I had also never expe-rienced sexism beforeI left East Germany.When I had my firstjob interview in WestBerlin as a windowdresser, they said theyliked me but I was 28so would probably getpregnant soon, and

gave the job to a man. It took memonths to find work. Although wewere free, the Stasi continued towatch us. I later discovered that theyhad tapped my phone calls backhome to my family; one time an oldfriend from Karl-Marx-Stadt turnedup at my door saying that he hadbeen given permission to visit theState Library in West Berlin and

could he borrow 10 marks. It turnedout he was also working for the Stasiand wanted to check on me and myhusband’s whereabouts. Not that wehad done anything particularlyseditious — we just wanted the free-dom to do our work. But in EastGermany you didn’t need to domuch wrong to attract the attentionof the secret police.

The biggest change for mewhen the Wall fell was that I couldsee my family again. My sister-in-law came over and visited me inWest Berlin and was disappointedby how modestly I lived — I was awindow dresser and an artist andearned very little. Where was myvideo recorder, she wanted to know.Where were my fitted wardrobes?

I went straight over to our townnear Chemnitz to visit my motherand father, although my mother wasvery sick by then. They were still sadthat I’d left, but we talked everythingthrough and the best point wecould reach was to begrudginglyagree that neither the East nor theWest were perfect.

The fall of the Wall meant that

the Stasi files were opened up andI was able to apply to the new StasiRecords Agency to view all of thefiles that had been kept on me.

I’d been part of a large artists’circle in the East and my first soloshow at a local youth club was a sellout. My files, though, revealed thatthe Stasi had paid the director of theclub to buy the drawings to keep myartists’ circle together so they couldkeep spying on us all, hoping, I sup-pose, that our subversive meetingsand publications would lead to oneof us doing something really trea-sonous. I was devastated. But whatreally broke my heart was theamount of fellow artists and friendswho had informed on me. I cut outanyone that had betrayed us.

Thirty years on, Berlin is stillchanging so fast that I sometimeswonder how long I’ll have a placehere. But I’ve been in the Westlonger than I ever lived in the Eastand I don’t see myself as EastGerman anymore. I suppose, final-ly, I feel like a West Berliner.

(Courtesy: The DailyTelegraph)

‘I still can’t bear to be near the remains of the wall’I fled the East for West Berlin and found out that my ‘friends’ had been informing on me to the Stasi, recalls Fanny Melle

VIJAYAWADA | MONDAY | NOVEMBER 11, 2019

www.dailypioneer.com

THE SANGH PARIVAR AND THE BJP ARE LEADING THECOUNTRY TOWARDS HINDU RASHTRA. WE DON’T NEED

DONATION (OF LAND). DON’T PATRONISE US. —AIMIM CHIEF

ASADUDDIN OWAISI

SOME PEOPLE ARE SUFFERING FROM THE DISEASE OFTALIBANI MINDSET. THESE PEOPLE HAVE NO TRUST INTHE CONSTITUTION OR JUDICIARY OF THE COUNTRY.—UNION MINORITY AFFAIRS MINISTERMUKHTAR ABBAS NAQVI

What are netas afraid of?

Abig hue and cry has been raised byCongressmen over the withdrawal of SPG(Special Protection Group) security cover

for Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and PriyankaGandhi Vadra, alleging that it is an act of polit-ical vendetta. One wonders what the brouha-ha is all about, because they will still get Z plussecurity, which means that they will have com-mandos from the CRPF in close proximity,besides guards at their homes and where everthey travel in the country. Officials of the UnionHome Ministry say the decision to downgradetheir security was taken only after getting reportsfrom multiple Intelligence agencies that therewas no security threat to the family.

And even if it is “political vendetta” as isbeing claimed by the red-faced Congressmen,the question which needs to be considered iswhether public figures really need such highsecurity at all?

It is my belief, that if public figures do notindulge in misdeeds, they will hardly face anydanger from anyone and will not need securi-ty. That is my personal experience. When I wasa Judge of the Allahabad High Court (1991-2004) I would almost daily go for morning walksfor several miles on public roads without anysecurity guard (I only carried a cane to ward offstray dogs). I never received any threat from any-one, though I sometimes even confirmed deathsentences. I would go daily from my residenceto the High Court and back in a car without anysecurity. When I was appointed Acting ChiefJustice of Allahabad High Court in August 2004,on leaving my residence in my car, I saw a police-man on a motorcycle in front and a Gypsy vehi-cle with half-a-dozen policemen with automat-ic rifles behind my car. I asked my secretary, whowas travelling with me, who these people were.He said they were there to provide me securi-ty cover. I said I didn’t need any security andasked them to leave. My secretary replied thatunder the police regulations a Chief Justice orActing Chief Justice must have security. So I hadno choice in the matter, as the police, and I too,were bound by the rules.

Shortly after I became Chief Justice ofMadras High Court in November 2004, I wentby train from Chennai (the principal seat of theHigh Court) to Madurai, where a new Bench ofthe High Court had been set up. A huge con-tingent of policemen was at the Madurai rail-way station to receive me. From the station, Itravelled to the Madurai High Court Benchpremises by car. I saw policemen posted every100 or 200 yards throughout this 10 mile route,saluting me. In the evening I called theInspector-General of Police (Southern Range)and told him that he should not have postedthese policemen at the railway station and enroute to the High Court premises. I told him thatthe police force was for the protection of the cit-izens of the country. Making half the police forceof Madurai stand throughout the 10 mileroute, saluting me, meant that it had giventhieves, cut-throats and other anti-social ele-ments a field day as the common man was leftunprotected. I said I had no ego problems withnot being accorded that kind of importance andsecurity and requested the officer not to do thisagain.

The first Prime Minister of India, PanditJawaharlal Nehru, used to jump into the jostlingcrowd without security and yet there was neverany threat to him. The famous Chief Ministerof Tamil Nadu, K Kamaraj, always refused anysecurity cover and so did Bidhan Chandra Roy,the famous physician-Chief Minister of WestBengal. This was because at that time mostpoliticians were upright. The need for securityarose only thereafter when politicians startedindulging in misdeeds like corruption. Allegedly,it is widely perceived that the Congress party istotally corrupt and looted hundreds, if not thou-sands, of crores of rupees and took them to for-eign banks or other secret havens abroad.Though technically Manmohan Singh, as thePrime Minister, was the head of the UPAGovernment, it is well known that he was onlya figurehead and the real ruler was SoniaGandhi.

In fact, Manmohan admitted this himself,first when I attended a reception given to himby the then Cabinet Secretary BK Chaturvedi,and second when I went to him to seek pardonfor Devinder Pal Singh Bhullar, a chemical engi-neering professor who was a convict in the 1993Delhi bomb blast case, who I thought had beenwrongly convicted (the exact words used byManmohan were, “Justice Katju, I am not a freeman”).

Scam followed scam during the UPA rule,not of just crores but of lakhs of crores of rupees.Though there may not be direct evidence, thereis overwhelming circumstantial evidence thatSonia was the main beneficiary of this loot. Sheand Rahul were the be-all and end-all in theCongress Party and all other Congressmen werenon-entities. Sonia had evidently been taughtby her mother-in-law Indira Gandhi that theNehru-Gandhi family were the royals who hadthe divine right to rule India.

Everyone in the Congress party had toblindly accept their leadership and they treat-

ed other Congressmen with disdain. One proofof this contempt for other Congressmen waswhen the Assamese Congress leader HimantaBiswa Sarma (who later joined the BJP in viewof his ill-treatment by the top leadership of thegrand old party) went to meet Rahul. He couldget an audience only after a long wait, and then,too, only for a few minutes, during which theGandhi scion was feeding his dog.

Indira Gandhi, and thereafter her descen-dants, treated Indians as gullible fools, whowould accept the rule of the “royal” family, nomatter what misdeed they committed. Whyshould the Gandhi family then get any securi-ty, far less SPG security? What is so great aboutSonia, Rahul and Priyanka that their lives mustbe protected even at a huge cost to the exche-quer? Except for the arrogance that they belongto a royal family, what do they contribute to thecountry?

They have no ideas about solving the prob-lems of massive poverty, unemployment, farm-ers distress, child malnourishment, lack ofhealthcare and so on which India faces. And isIndia a feudal despotism in which only one fam-ily must rule, like the Stuarts, Bourbons and theRomanovs ?

Congressmen say that the Nehru-Gandhifamily is indispensable because it is the only gluewhich can keep the party together. This itselfindicates the ideological bankruptcy of the party.Apart from its oft-touted profession of secular-ism, which really means its desire to get the votebank it cultivates consciously, what does theCongress stand for? Nothing. And its deeds showthat its rule was tainted by corruption.

And if they have done no misdeed, theyshould openly say so. They should refuse heavysecurity, like upright Congress leaders in theearly years after Independence such as PanditNehru, Kamaraj and BC Roy did.

(The writer is a former judge of the SupremeCourt of India.)

If public figures do not indulge in misdeeds, they will hardly face any danger fromanyone and will not need any security cover, be it SPG or Z+

MARKANDEY KATJU

THE FIRST PRIMEMINISTER OF INDIA,

JAWAHARLALNEHRU, USED TOJUMP INTO THE

JOSTLING CROWDWITHOUT

SECURITY AND YETTHERE WAS NEVER

ANY THREAT TOHIM. THE FAMOUS

CHIEF MINISTER OFTAMIL NADU, K

KAMARAJ, ALWAYSREFUSED ANY

SECURITY COVERAND SO DID BC ROY, THE

CHIEF MINISTER OFWEST BENGAL.

THIS WAS BECAUSEAT THAT TIME

MOST POLITICIANSWERE UPRIGHT

VIJAYAWADA | MONDAY | NOVEMBER 11, 2019 money 08

CAPSULE

Iran says oil fieldfound with 53 blnbarrels of crudeTEHRAN: Iran has discovereda new oil field containing 53billion barrels of crude,President Hassan Rouhanisaid Sunday, a find that wouldincrease Iran's provenreserves by over a third. Thefield covers 2,400 squarekilometres (926 square miles)and is located in Iran'ssouthwestern province ofKhuzestan, Rouhani said in aspeech aired on state TV."This is a small gift by thegovernment to the people ofIran," he said. The 80-metredeep field stretches nearly 200kilometres from Khuzestan'sborder with Iraq to the city ofOmidiyeh, Rouhani added. Thefind would add around 34percent to the OPEC member'scurrent proven reserves,estimated by energy giant BPat 155.6 billion barrels ofcrude oil.

Affle Q2 profit up51% at Rs 16 crNEW DELHI: Mobileadvertisement firm Affle Indiaon Saturday posted 51 per centjump in consolidated net profitat Rs 15.58 crore for thequarter ended September 30,2019. The company hadclocked a profit of Rs 10.3crore in the same period a yearago. Total income during thequarter under review increased42 per cent to Rs 85.35 crorefrom Rs 60.27 crore in thecorresponding quarter of 2018-19. "The growth in Affle'sconsumer platform businesswas well supported by theoverall consumer trends ofgreater time spent acrossconnected devices, increasedadoption of online paymentsand consistent growth in digitalmarketing spends across keyindustry verticals including e-commerce, food, travel,transport, entertainment/OTT/gaming, healthcare,BFSI/fintech, telecom andothers," company's Chairman,MD and CEO Anuj KhannaSohum said in a statement.

Govt may extend duty onimports of glassNEW DELHI: The governmentmay extend existing anti-dumping duty on imports ofclear float glass as thecommerce ministry hasrecommended for continuationof the levy. Continuation of theduty was recommended by theministry's investigation armDirectorate General of TradeRemedies (DGTR) afterconcluding a probe into it. Thedirectorate has said there is alikelihood of dumping andinjury to the domestic industry,if the existing anti-dumpingduties are allowed to cease. Due to this, theauthority is of the view thatcontinuation of duty is requiredagainst Pakistan, Saudi Arabiaand United Arab Emirates.

FPIs invest over Rs 12K crin first week of NovemberPNS n NEW DELHI

Overseas investors remainednet buyers in the domestic cap-ital markets with an investmentof over Rs 12,000 crore in thefirst week of November asmarket sentiments improvedfollowing economic reforms bythe government.

The latest depositories datashowed that foreign portfolioinvestors (FPI) infused a net Rs6,433.8 crore in equities and Rs5,673.87 crore in debt segmentbetween November 1-9.

This took the total netinvestment in the domesticmarkets (both equity and debt)to Rs 12,107.67 crore.

The latest inflows come aftertwo consecutive months offoreign investments. InOctober, FPIs invested a net Rs16,464.6 crore while inSeptember they had put in Rs6,557.8 crore.

However, Umesh Mehta,head of research at SamcoSecurities termed the FPI pur-chases "half-hearted" sayingthat they invested "an averageof Rs 550 crore per day thisweek which is nothing com-

pared to their aggressive pastpurchases which tally aroundRs 1,500-2,000 crore per day.”

"It seems that FPIs are feelingleft out and have joined the herd;clearly visible through theirhalfhearted purchases in Indian

markets. FPIs are currently nib-bling a few shares just to main-tain their asset allocationweights in the portfolio towardsIndian equities," Mehta said.

Himanshu Srivastava,senior analyst manager

research at MorningstarInvestment Adviser India said,mainly the domestic factor ledto the foreign inflows.

"Measures announced by thegovernment to boost domesticeconomy and foreign invest-ment like abolishing super-richsurcharge, cutting corporatetax and recapitalisation of bankshas started to pay dividends.Besides, stock markets touchingnew all-time highs and betterthan expected earnings growthwould have also encouragedinvestors," he added.

Additionally, US Fed's ratecut on October 30 for thirdtime this year coupled with areprieve in the US-China tradewar, has helped increase risk-appetite among globalinvestors, who are now lookingat emerging markets such asIndia for their investments,Srivastava said.

Harsh Jain, co-founder andCOO at Groww said,“We arebeginning to see steady inflowsfrom FPIs since a few weeks.However, the recent down-grade of India by Moody'scould affect inflows temporar-ily but not for the long term."

The latest inflows come after twoconsecutive months of foreigninvestments. In October, FPIs investedRs 16,464.6 crore while in Septemberthey had put in Rs 6,557.8 cr

No claimants fordormant Swissaccounts of IndiansPNS n NEW DELHI/ZURICH

No claimants have come for-ward for about a dozen dor-mant Swiss bank accountslinked to Indians, leaving thefunds lying in these accounts atthe risk of getting transferred tothe Switzerland government.

The Swiss government beganmaking details of dormantaccounts public in 2015 to allowtheir claimants submit necessaryproof to get access to thosefunds, which included at least 10accounts linked to Indians.

These included someaccounts linked to Indian res-idents and nationals from theBritish rule era, but ironicallynot a single dormant accountlinked to an Indian has beensuccessfully claimed in thelast six years, as per the recordsavailable with the Swissauthorities. The claim periodfor some of these accountswould expire next month,while a few others can still beclaimed till the end of 2020.

Incidentally, some of theaccounts linked to Pakistanresidents have have beenclaimed since then, as is thecase with several otheraccounts linked to residentsfrom other countries includingSwitzerland itself.

The list included close to2,600 dormant accounts whenit was first made public inDecember 2015, which hadaround 45 million Swiss francs(over Rs 300 crore) lyingunclaimed since at least 1955.There were also nearly 80safety unclaimed deposit boxes

when the list was first madepublic for claims from the realowners or their heirs.

More accounts are beingadded every year since thenafter they become dormantunder the Swiss banking lawsand the list now includes near-ly 3,500 accounts.

While Swiss bank accountshave been a matter of heatedpolitical debate for many yearsin India due to suspicion thatthey were being used to hoardalleged black money, it has alsobeen suspected that peoplelinked to the erstwhile prince-ly states had stashed somefunds in banks in Switzerland.

Under global pressure overrecent years, Switzerland hasopened its banking systemfor regulatory scrutiny fromabroad and it has also enteredinto pacts for automaticexchange of information onfinancial matters with a largenumber of countries, includ-ing India.

More accountsare being addedevery year sincethen after theybecomedormant underthe Swissbanking lawsand the list nowincludes nearly3,500 accounts

100 Indian CEOs, Deepika Padukone to visit Davos PTI n NEW DELHI

Over 100 Indian CEOs, sever-al political leaders and selectBollywood stars includingDeepika Padukone will be inthe Swiss ski resort town ofDavos in January for the 50thanniversary of the WEF AnnualMeeting to discuss whatrequires to make it a 'cohesiveand sustainable world'.

The annual jamboree of therich and powerful from acrossthe world is expected to beeven a bigger affair this timebecause it would be its 50thanniversary and there are indi-cations that several top globalleaders might be present.

While the official list ofpublic figures would beannounced closer to the sum-

mit, slated for January 20-24,2020, speculation is aboundthat US President DonaldTrump as well as RussianPresident Vladimir Putin bothmight be there after both ofthem skipped last year's Davos.

Geneva-based WEF hasselected 'Stakeholders for aCohesive and SustainableWorld' as the theme for its 2020annual meeting, which willbring together 3,000 globalleaders.

The WEF has said the 2020meeting aims to give a concretemeaning to "stakeholder capital-ism", assist governments andinternational institutions in track-ing progress towards the ParisAgreement and the SustainableDevelopment Goals, and facili-tate discussions on technologyand trade governance.

Those who are registeredfrom India include industryleaders Gautam Adani, MukeshAmbani, Rahul and Saniv Bajaj,

Kumar Mangalam Birla, NChandrasekaran of Tata Group,Sajjan Jindal, Uday Kotak,Rajnish Kumar of SBI,Anand Mahindra, SunilMittal, Ravi Ruia,Pawan Munjal,Nandan Nilekani andSalil Parekh of Infosys,Ajay Piramal,R i s h a dP r e m j i ,A j a yS i n g h ,P i r o j s h aGodrej andTulsi Tanti.

Film starD e e p i k aPadukoneis also reg-istered asfou n d e r

of Live Love LaughFoundation, which aims toreduce the stigma, spread

awareness and change theway people look at mentalhealth.

The foundation hasbeen instrumental in cre-

ating a platform wherepeople seek help for them-selves or their loved ones,

find comprehensivek n o w l e d g e ,connect withprofessionalsand find com-fort knowingthat they arenot alone intheir battlewith issuesspecificallystress, anxi-

ety and depression.Among others from the Indian

film industry, Shahrukh Khanand Karan Johar have been inDavos for the WEF annual meet-ings in the recent years.

Among global business lead-ers, Michael Dell of Dell, JamesDimon of JP Morgan, Deloitte'sPunit Renjen, IBM's GinniRometty, Facebook's SherylSandberg, Nokia's Rajiv Suriand UBS' Axel Weber areexpected to be participate.

WEF Founder and ExecutiveChairman Klaus Schwab hassaid people are revoltingagainst the economic 'elites'they believe have betrayedthem, and the efforts to keepglobal warming limited to1.5°C are falling dangerouslyshort.

Geneva-based WEF has selected'Stakeholders for a Cohesive andSustainable World' as the theme forits 2020 annual meeting, which willbring together 3,000 global leaders

Aramco's record IPO starts November 17AFP n RIYADH

Saudi Aramco's much-antici-pated initial public offering willbegin on November 17, thecompany's prospectus said,without revealing the size of thestake sale or the pricing range.

The 658-page document,released just before midnightSaturday, said the final shareprice will be determined onDecember 5 -- a day after thesubscriptions close -- in whatis expected to be the world'sbiggest IPO.

After years of delays andfalse starts, Aramco officialslast week announced a sharesale on the Riyadh stockexchange for the world's mostprofitable company, whichpumps 10 per cent of theworld's oil.

The prospectus said the state

giant will sell up to 0.5 per centof its shares to individualinvestors while it has still notdecided on the percentage forlarger institutional investors.

"The targeted percentage ofoffer shares allocable to indi-vidual investors will be up to

0.5% of the shares," theprospectus said.

The document also high-lighted risks including thepotential for terrorist attacks,the possibility of antitrust leg-islation and climate changeconcerns that could reduce

global demand for hydrocar-bons.

But investors in Saudi Arabiaappear to be salivating at theprospect of owning a piece ofthe company -- seen as thekingdom's crown jewel -- in theIPO.

It would be the world'sbiggest if it eclipses Chineseretail giant Alibaba's USD 25billion listing in 2014.

The prospectus named ahost of international bankinggiants -- from Citibank toCredit Suisse and HSBC -- thatit has hired as financial advisorsand bookrunners.

Saudi Arabia is pulling outall the stops to ensure the suc-cess of the IPO, a cornerstoneof Prince Mohammed's ambi-tious plans to steer the econo-my away from oil by pumpingtens of billions of dollars intoa host of megaprojects andnon-energy industries.

The government has report-edly pressed wealthy Saudibusiness families and institu-tions to invest in the IPO, andmany nationalists have labelledit a patriotic duty.

The prospectussaid the stategiant will sell upto 0.5%of itsshares toindividualinvestors while ithas still notdecided on thepercentage forlarger institutionalinvestors

Govt's go-ahead for 4medicaldevice parksPTI n NEW DELHI

The government has givenapproval for setting up fourmedical device parks with aview to support Make inIndia initiative and provideworld-class products ataffordable price for treat-ment.

The four parks will be setup in Andhra Pradesh,Telangana, Tamil Nadu andKerala, sources said, addingthat Uttarakhand and Gujarathave also approached theCentre for a go-ahead forsuch parks.

These parks will providenecessary infrastructure,where companies can easilyplug and play, sources said.

This will not only cutimport bill but will also helpin easy access to standardtesting facilities and reducecost of production, they said.

The project of AndhraPradesh Medtech Zone forcreation of Common FacilityCentre (CFC) forSuperconducting MagneticCoil Testing and Researchwas given in-principleapproval recently.

Singapore targets e-scooters after accidentsPNS n SINGAPORE

Tiny Singapore had embracedelectric scooters in a big way,but deaths and fires linked tothe two-wheelers have prompt-ed authorities to introducetough rules that could put abrake on their runaway success.

The contraptions have poppedup in cities worldwide but pedes-trians in many places have cometo see the silent machines as men-aces, and authorities have beenscrambling to regulate them.

Tens of thousands floodedSingapore, becoming particu-larly popular among com-muters and workers deliveringfood, but apartment firesblamed on charging devicesand the death of an elderlycyclist after a September col-lision stoked public anger.

Last week, officialsannounced a ban on the trendytwo-wheelers on all footpaths.

start with, most riders caughtbreaking the rule will be givena warning but from January,offenders face being jailed forup to three months and fined.

The move surprised

observers after a panel advisingthe government had recom-mended weaker measures, suchas a mandatory theory test --and angered some who havecome to rely on the scooters.

"It is definitely over-regula-tion," Venkata Goruganthu,who rode his e-scooter to hisoffice in the business districtevery day, told AFP.

"There are car accidents andpeople are dying, are we goingto ban cars on the streets now?"The 41-year-old technician willnow have to commute by pub-lic transport, which will takehim 45 minutes -- twice as longas a scooter ride.

But many others approvedof the effort to rein in thescooters, which now numberabout 100,000 in the space-starved country of 5.7 million.

"People are not responsible,they are reckless," VasukieMayandi, a 51-year-old bankworker, told AFP. "They feel theywant to move somewhere fast,but they're not considering oth-ers who are using the same path-way." E-scooters were alreadybanned from Singapore's roadsbut they are now prohibited onall pavements and other foot-paths, and can only be used oncycle paths and a network ofroutes connecting parks.

TRUNDLING INTO TROUBLE

But many othersapproved of theeffort to rein in thescooters, whichnow number about100,000 in thespace-starvedcountry of 5.7million

‘100% FDI in coal miningto help India achieve 300MT steel output target’PTI n NEW DELHI

India's move to allow 100 percent foreign direct investmentin coal mining is a "positivemove" and a good policyenabler towards the country'slong-term ambition of pro-ducing 300 million tonnes ofsteel per annum, a Deloitteofficial has said.

"I think it is a positive moveon the part of the govern-ment... The global macro-eco-nomic environment is soften-ing and it is a step in the rightdirection," Andrew Swart,Global leader, Mining &Metal, Deloitte, told PTI.

In August, the governmenthad allowed 100 per cent for-eign investment in coal miningand contract manufacturing.

"You get a real opportunityto bring in technical skills inthe exploitation of these par-ticular deposits and that'swhere a lot of internationalplayers can add a lot of valueto the sector," Swart added.

There is an opportunity topartner with some of the glob-al miners specifically in thearea of technology transfer, he

said and added that this wouldbe an important step inadvancing the competitive-ness of India's mining sector,particularly in the area ofdigitisation.

Digitisation in mining is animportant productivity leverwith key advances in automa-tion and analytics which istransforming mining, he said.

Maruti cutsproduction for 9thmonth in a rowPTI n NEW DELHI

Maruti Suzuki India (MSI)reduced its production by 20.7per cent in October, making itthe ninth straight month whenthe country's largest carmak-er lowered its output.

The company produced atotal of 1,19,337 units inOctober asa g a i n s t1,50,497 unitsin the year-agomonth, MSIsaid in a regu-latory filing.

Passenger vehicles' pro-duction last month stood at1,17,383 units as against1,48,318 units in October2018, a decline of 20.85 percent, it added.

Production of mini andcompact segment cars, includ-ing Alto, New WagonR,Celerio, Ignis, Swift, Balenoand Dzire stood at 85,064units as against 1,08,462 unitsin October last year, down21.57 per cent.

Production of utility vehi-cles such as Vitara Brezza,Ertiga and S-Cross howeverincreased marginally to22,736 units as comparedwith 22,526 units a year ago.

Glenmarkrecalls over 2lakh cartons ofproduct in USPTI n NEW DELHI

Drug maker GlenmarkPharmaceuticals is recallingclose to 2.17 lakh cartons ofEstradiol Vaginal inserts inthe US market due to faultydelivery system, as per areport by the Americanhealth regulator.

The company's US-basedarm is recalling the lots of theproduct used for providingrelief from menopause symp-tom.

According to the latestEnforcement Report by theUS Food and DrugAdministration (USFDA),Glenmark PharmaceuticalsInc USA is recalling theproduct in various strengthswhich was manufactured atcompany's Goa manufactur-ing facility.

Macroeconomic data,earnings may steer stock mktPTI n NEW DELHI

Key macroeconomic numbersare likely to drive stock in aholiday-shortened week aheadas quarterly earnings season isalmost coming to an end andthe Ayodhya verdict unlikelyto have any major impact onoverall investor sentiments,according to analysts.

Equity markets will be closedon Tuesday for "GurunanakJayanti". Industrial productiondata on Monday, inflation rateon Tuesday and WPI inflationon Thursday would be keenlywatched by market partici-pants amid economic slow-down concerns.

Coal India Ltd, HindalcoIndustries and NMDC areamong the major companiesset to announce their earningsthis week.

Santosh Meena, SeniorAnalyst at TradingBells, saidAyodhya verdict would nothave any impact on equitymarket until any social unrestarise in the country.

"It could have sentimentalpositive impact for incumbentBJP government. Otherwise, itwon't have any major impacton the political front as well.

"Market is in bullishmomentum where thismomentum will continue,"Meena added.

I think it is apositive move onthe part of the

government... The globalmacro-economicenvironment is softeningand it is a step in the rightdirection

—ANDREW SWARTGlobal leader, Mining & Metal,

Deloitte,

arnataka-basedaward winningartist B. Girish Kulkarni show-cased his latest artwork in an exhi-

bition titled ‘Urban Legends’at the Ailamma Art Gallery.Girish’s art has always beenabout people and their rela-tionship with nature. Girishhas won many awards at thestate and national level forhis art on issues concerningthe society.

Speaking to The Pioneer,Girish says, “I have beeninterested in art since mychildhood. I used to sketchduring my school days.People and their surround-ings fascinate me. I thinkpeople have a special rela-

tionship with naturethrough which they searchfor wonder and meaning.”

About his recent exhibi-tion, Girish shares, “UrbanLegends explains howhumans react in differentsettings. This exhibition nar-rates the themes of thematerialistic, mental andspiritual fabric of humanexistence in volatile times.We (humans) worry aboutvarious moments in ourlives. Using mixed media, Itried to portray some ofthose moments here.”

This is not for thefirst time theKarnataka-based artistshowcasedhis work

in Hyderabad. “This is thefourth time I displayed mywork in Hyderabad as it isquite an artist-friendly citycompared to others. Thepeople here recognise talentand always encourage artiststo reach new heights. Alsothe city’s many historic her-itage sites and monumentsalways make me comehere again and again,”Girish shares.

Girish also keepshimself up-to-date with the lat-

est

current affairs to draw inspi-ration for his work. Heexplains, “Basing on theSupreme Court’s historicjudgement about the Ayo-dhya case, I plan to make anart show about the proceed-ings in the case from thebeginning to the verdict.”

I found solace in my seniors who soonbecame my closest friends and encouragedme to be confident and get along withpeople. They helped me understand andcorrect my flaws without being judgemental.I came a long way from being a nobody towinning the award for ‘best junior’

LAXMAN NIKHIL,STUDENT

he ‘spotlight effect’refers to peopleoverestimating theamount of scruti-ny their behaviourcomes under. In

other words, we tend to thinkthere is a spotlight on us atall times — highlighting allour mistakes or flaws con-stantly.

Though spotlight effectand social anxiety are differ-ent things a majority of thosewho suffer from the formermay also suffer social anxiety.Spotlight effect aggravatessocial anxiety and turns itinto a disorder, disruptingthe quality of their life. Thegroups that suffer from thisthe most are teenagers andcollege students.

“People of all ages areprone to the spotlight effect,but it appears to be particu-larly pronounced amongadolescents and young adults.This can be attributed to thefact that people are intenselysocial creatures, and so aheightened concern with howone stands in the eyes of oth-ers is an essential componentof a successful group life,”states psychology.iresearch-net.com, a webpage dedicatedtoward research pertaining topsychology.

“I am often troubled by thethought of people judging me

constantly. Often I feel I amconstantly being judged forthe way I look, be it the way Idress or my weight. Earlier,when I was thin I was oftenasked to gain weight. Nowthat I did, I’m called fat. Thistriggers my anxiety to a pointwhere, irrespective ofwhether or not people com-ment on my body, my mindis already extremely con-scious about the way I look.This is not just the case withmy appearance. I find myselfunable to speak up in largecrowds or voice out my opin-ion because I am constantlyworried about the way theywill perceive me. It comes

down to me judging thevalue of my own perspectiveand opinion,” said B.Poojitha, a student atHamstech.

Spotlight effect amongteenagers is more often thannot induced by external fac-tors, namely the kind of peo-ple they are associated with,most importantly their familymembers. “Social anxiety isinduced in a child by his/herown parents. Nowadays par-ents encourage their child tostay indoors due to constantworry regarding their studies,their safety and so on.However, this results in thechild interacting less with

society resulting in beinginexperienced in dealing withsocial situations and peoplein general which in turnpaves way to social anxiety,”says Dr Purnima Nagaraja,mental health professional atDruthi Wellness clinic.“Another major cause is earlyaccess and inappropriateusage of technology by chil-dren, especially social media,”she emphasised.

When asked about themeasures one can take to getover this anxiety, Dr Purnimasaid, “Once the person isaware that they may be facingsuch a problem, it is advis-able they confide in someonethey are comfortable with. Beit a family member or afriend they can trust.”

Laxman Nikhil, a studentpursuing animation at IACGDilsukhnagar told us abouthis struggles with social anxi-ety. “Back when I was study-ing in an engineering college,I was constantly worriedabout the image I would pro-ject of myself and hence Iwould prefer to stick to thewalls of the room. I lackedthe confidence to introducemyself to strangers. I nevereven liked the way I talked,which now, when I lookback, was just my fear mani-festing into reality.”

Life became less complex

when he finally found peoplein whom he could confide.“For three whole yearsnobody knew who I was, butit all changed when I foundpeople I could connect with.I found solace in my seniorswho soon became my closestfriends and encouraged meto be confident and get alongwith people. They helped meunderstand and correct myflaws without being judge-mental. I came a long wayfrom being a nobody to aperson who would eventuallywin the ‘best junior’ award.”

“Stress management dur-ing childhood, adolescenceand adulthood is very impor-tant. Hence, I often conductawareness programmes in

corporates and schools whereI teach resilience and otherlife skills. Masking depres-sion and a high functioninganxiety has become com-mon,” says Dr. Purnima.

In cases when communica-tion is not the answer, profes-sional help is a must. “If nec-essary they shouldn’t hesitateto approach a psychologist.On an average, I deal with atleast a couple of cases eachday, of which most are usual-ly youngsters.

The therapy is focused oninsight, awareness and accep-tance. We also do cognitivebehavioural therapy (CBT).Parents are also counselled tounderstand and provide sup-port,” she added.

The flip side of

SPOTLIGHTDo you feel you are constantly being judged by your peers andsociety, in general, affecting every move you make. You might besuffering from the spotlight effect, finds ANUSHKA PRADEEP

I am often troubled by the thought of peoplejudging me constantly. This triggers myanxiety to a point where, irrespective ofwhether or not people comment on my body,my mind is already extremely consciousabout the way I look.

B. POOJITHA, STUDENT

Social anxiety isinduced in a childby his/her ownparents. Nowadaysparents encouragetheir child to stayindoors which resultsin the childinteracting less withsociety causing socialanxiety

DR PURNIMA, MENTALHEALTH PROFESSIONAL

Senior artistGirish Kulkarni's

latest art workon display in the

city portraysmoments wherepeople connect

with nature,finds

V SATEESHREDDY

Learning to teachthe right way

ne-sixth of theworld lives inIndia. If youchange India, youchange one-sixthof the world. India

has over 20 crore childrenstudying in 15 lakh schools.Develop the right skills inchildren then their realpotential can be realised,”said Dinesh Victor, MD ofthe SIP Academy, welcomingthe gathering of 115 schoolowners, principals and edu-cators at the one-day confer-ence — Vihaan India —organised by the SIPAcademy, that was held inthe city at hotel Vivantarecently. The topic of theconference was ‘How todevelop skills in children tomake India a true globalleader by 2040’.

The notable educationalexperts who attended theevent included MayaSukumaran, Principal ofGitanjali school at Begumpet,Shankara Chary, Principal ofIndus Universal, SeethaMurthy, Principal of SilverOaks, K. Anandavalli,Principal of DAV school andmany others. The educators

discussed ideas to developskills in students from ayoung age that will be helpfulfor them while applying fur-ther studies in colleges anduniversities and place themahead in the job market.

“Science exhibitions organ-ised in our schools currentlyare art and craft exhibitionsand they are not scienceexhibitions. We need morereal science exhibitionswhich stimulate scientifictemper in young minds,” saidProfessor Dr Arnab

Bhattacharya of the TataInstitute of FundamentalResearch and Founder of‘Chai & Why’, a monthlyforum to enable informal dis-cussions of interesting scien-tific issues outside a tradi-tional academic setting.

In the day-long meet, theeducation experts discussedsubjects concerning the swiftpace at which information isbeing generated and dissemi-nated, the values that need tobe taught to students alongwith academics and so forth.

T

O

K

DRAWING INSPIRATIONFROM NATURE, SOCIETY

I have been interested in art since my childhood. I used tosketch during my school days. People and theirsurroundings fascinate me. I think people have a special relationshipwith nature, through which they search for wonder and meaning

B. GIRISH KULKARNI, ARTIST

Painting by a child picturing India in the year 2040

MondayNovember 11, 2019

Follow us on@TheDailyPioneerfacebook.com/dailypioneer

ilmmaker Brahmanand S.Siingh’s upcoming featureJhalki addresses the issue ofchild labour and trafficking.He says although the film isshown from the perspective

of a child, it is not a children’s film.Rather, the narrative highlights theirsuffering.

“Jhalki is not a children’s film. It is areality many children suffer, owing tothe practice of trafficking and childlabour. But it is an engaging story forchildren because of the treatment of thenarrative. The protagonist of the film isa nine-year-old girl named Jhalki, andwe, as audience, see the world throughher eyes. There is a beautiful folk songthat is dying. We revived it in the film.We also used the hand shadow art —another dying art form. There are ele-ments of fantasy that children have thatwe included,” said the filmmaker, aboutthe film that features two young actors,Aarti and Goraksha, along with BomanIrani, Sanjay Suri, Divya Dutta,Tannishtha Chatterjee and GovindNamdev.

The film shows how a little girl fightsfor her young brother who is a victimof human trafficking and child labour.

The filmmaker says the story alters thegender narrative in Bollywood.

“This story breaks the gender stereo-type and without being preachy estab-lishes a new-age narrative. In the film,the sister is in search of her brother toprotect him from the danger of childlabour and trafficking. From child-hood, boys are told to protect girls —and that is their prime responsibility —because girls are weaker. Jhalki provesthis wrong. The film also shows how,despite facing obstacles, the little girldoes not give up. The film inspires peo-

ple to understand that the worldbelongs to people who do not giveup,” he added.

The poster of the film wasreleased at Cannes FilmFestival earlier this year,followed by screeningat various film festi-vals including NewYork Indian FilmFestival, theBostonInternationalFilm Festival andthe Singapore SouthAsian InternationalFilm Festival.

Asked about theresponse of the globalaudience, Siingh said: “Itis a global issue and thestory is universal, not justhappening in India. Anypoverty-stricken societyfaces the same issue. That iswhy, at every film festival wehave shown the film, the audi-ence has given a positiveresponse and found it relatable.”

The film will release onNovember 14 in theatres as wellas on the mobile digital movietheatre platform PictureTime, fora wider access in rural India.

10

Vijayawada Monday November 11, 2019 what’s brewing?JIM SARBH:

I'm interested in directorsthan production houses

ctor Jim Sarbh made hisBollywood debut with anegative role in Neerjaonly three years ago butthe talented actor hascarved a niche within

that short span of time. He has leftthe audience spellbound with per-formances in Neerja, Padmaavat,Sanju as well as in numerous webshows. Now, he is all set for therelease of his new film House Arreston Netflix.

“House Arrest is a situationalcomedy with a nice sensible pro-

tagonist, who is buffeted aroundby all of these insane people inhis life. I always love this kindof humour. The more the guytries to hold everythingtogether, the more everythingaround him falls apart,because everyone around himseems insane. We got tobring a bit of our insaneenergy to the picture, whichwas fun,” Jim told IANS.

The actor also shareddetails of his character inthe film. “He is a cool guyand is always into girls. It’sall about creating this lifefor himself that looks a cer-

tain way on the outside.However, actually the real

guy is a lot simpler,studious and

inter-

ested in learning things,” he saidabout his role in the film, which isdirected by Samit Basu andShashank Ghosh. The film also fea-tures Ali Fazal, Shriya Pilgaonkarand Barkha Singh, and it streams onNetflix from November 15.

Jim says the Netflix tag attractedhim to the film. “I wanted to workwith Netflix. Also, I wanted to docomedy. I haven’t got a chance to docomedy in films so far. And, I lovedthe script,” he explained, adding:“Platforms like Netflix give a nicespace to reach more people and telldifferent kinds of stories that other-wise would not be told in main-stream (movies) — be it Hollywoodor Bollywood. These platformsallow alternative storytelling, whichis my zone.”

The 32-year-old actor feels if thedirector of a project is good, he willsign the film even if his characterisn’t mindblowing.

“My problem is I really don’t havemuch of an idea about banners andproduction houses. I do believe thescript is the king and I am interestedin directors more than productionhouses, not for any other reasonapart from my ignorance. I hear aparticular director’s name and I feelI should do the film. No matter howI feel about the character, I willmake it work.”

So, who are the directors on hiswishlist? “There are so many —Vikramaditya Motwane, AmitMasurkar, Zoya Akhtar, Reema

Kagti, Nitya Mehra, VishalBhardwaj, Anurag Kashyap,Neeraj Ghaywan, AbhishekChaubey... I can keep going on. Iwant to work with everyone,” he

said.— IANS

A

F

‘Jhalki’ isn’t a children’s film but isabout child labour: BRAHMANAND

FUN TIME

Rules

ARCHIE

GARFIELD

SUDOKU

REALITY CHECK SPEED BUMP CROSSWORD

GINGER MEGGS

NANCY

CALVIN AND HOBBES

l Each row and column cancontain each number (1 to 9)exactly once.

l The sum of all numbers inany row or column mustequal 45.

Yesterday’s solution

fter his impressive actin Brochevarevaruraa,where he played acop, actor-writer

Harsha Vardhan has becomebusy as an actor. Already apart of Trivikram Srinivas’Ala Vaikunthapuramlo, wherehe will be seen in a signifi-cant supporting role, theactor has now landed a keyrole in Chandrasekhar Yeleti’snext with Nithiin. The actor’swork in Yeleti’s earlier filmslike Aithe and AnukokundaOka Roju received ravereviews and his part in thedirector’s new film too has acomic touch.

“It’s an interesting charac-terisation and Yeleti had onlyHarsha in mind to pull it off.Also, there was no way theactor could’ve let it go as it’sonly after Anukokunda OkaRoju he is teaming up withYeleti,” said a source.

That’s not all. We hearHarsha is also onboard for acrucial role in Karthikeya’snext with debutant directorSree. “In the context of thenarrative, it’s the second mostimportant role afterKarthikeya. It’s afull-length role,”

the source added.Harsha is planning to wrap

up his acting assignments byJanuary, post which he wantsto devote attention to thepre-production of his direc-torial venture with SudheerBabu. Said to be a romanticthriller dotted with twistsand turns, amajorchunkof thefilm willbe shotin Italy.

Vijayawada Monday November 11, 2019

RAM CHARANSOUNDED THECLAPPER ANDRANA SWITCHEDON THE CAMERA

A

11

tollywood

VISHAL: ACTION IS SUNDAR'SEDGE-OF-YOUR-SEAT THRILLER

ctor Vishal, whohas headlinedAction, points outthat, in terms ofthe budget, thisfilm is his biggest

till date. “It will look like anRs 150 crore film shot in 200days but in reality it was shotin 89 days in a budget of Rs60 crore. Director C. Sundardeserves credit for it. Everyaspiring director should assisthim for a film as he belongs tothat rare breed of filmmakerswho not only think of thewell-being of the producersbut also never compromise onthe quality of the film. Thefilm is his attempt to give mea milestone film of my career.It will be a visual spectacleand an edge-of-your-seatthriller. The abundance of

action in the movie aside, ithas a good story aided by aninteresting screenplay and agenerous dose of humour,”Vishal said. He was speakingat a promotional event of thefilm in Hyderabad over theweekend.

In the film — shot in vari-

ous picturesque locations inTurkey and Azerbaijan —Vishal plays a commando whois tasked to find out the truthbehind an incident. Comme-nting about performingdeath-defying stunts in thefilm, he added, “The numberof injuries I met with whileshooting for Action is equiva-lent to the number of injuriesI sustained in all my previous26 films combined. For a par-ticular action sequence on abike that weighed a ton, I hada near death experience. It feltlike my career was over but Isaved my face from being hitin the nick of time, injuringmy hand in the process. I alsoreported to the sets the nextday. I will remember theaction I’ve done for the filmall my life.”

He had high praise forKarthikeya Exhibitors chiefAdepu Srinivas aka WarangalSrinu who acquired theTelugu dubbing rights of thefilm, which will hit cinemahalls this Friday. “Any personwith money can produce filmsbut it takes passion for a pro-ducer, like Srinu, to shepherda film the way it has to bedone. Action will collect moreshare in Telugu states than inTamil Nadu,” Vishal said,adding that his friend RanaDaggubati has rapped for asong in the film. “When Iapproached him, he said,‘Buddy I dub for films with alot of difficulty and you areasking me to sing?’ But heeventually did do it out offriendship. The song will beout shortly,” the actor said.

Vishal has found hisaudience in bothTamil Nadu and

Andhra Pradesh, withmany of his movies

raking in lakhs fromboth states.

NAGARAJ GOUDfinds out how Action

might set a milestonein Vishal's career

A

HARSHAVARDHAN getsbusy as an actor

undeep Kishan-starrer A1Express, which went on tofloors last week inHyderabad, apparently has a

Tamil connection. The Pioneer hasreliably learnt the film is a remakeof this year’s Tamil hit NatpeThunai, featuring composer-turned-actor Hiphop Thamizha.

“Sundeep loved the Tamil filmand when he was pondering overhis next film after the successfulNinu Veedani Needanu Nene, he feltremaking Natpe Thunai would bethe best move forward. He loved thefact that it was not a typical under-dog sports drama and decided tofeature in the remake. He gavedebutant director Dennis JeevanKanukolanu, who has been travel-

ling with him for over a year, to tai-lor the script for Telugu audience.After getting impressed with themodifications, he officiallyannounced the film,” said a sourcein the know.

The film will show the story of aninternational hockey player whochooses to leave the sport and stagesa comeback to save the ground of alocal team. A joint production ven-ture between G. Vishwa Prasad,Abhishek Agarwal, Sundeep Kishanand Daya Pannem, the film’s sup-porting cast is stacked with the likesof Murli Sharma, Priyadarshi, RahulRamakrishna and SrinivasAvasarala, while Hiphop Thamizhais the film’s composer.

— NG

A1 Express isremake of Tamil hit

Natpe Thunai

S

nveiling the first look ofSuriya’s next film withdirector Sudha Kongara

on Sunday, the film’s makers alsorevealed that the film has beentitled as Akasam Nee Haddhurain Telugu. Based on the life ofCaptain Gopinath, founder ofthe budget airline Air Deccan,the film is a production ventureof Suriya himself under his 2DEntertainment banner. AparnaBalamurali, Kali Venkat, VivekPrasanna and Paresh Rawal willbe playing supporting roles inthe film.FI

RST

LO

OK U

hether be apart ofpromo-tions orin gener-

al, a celeb tryingto connect withhis/her fans onsocial media hasbecome quite com-mon. While mostfans generally keepit simple, preferringto ask questions on thework and fitness front of theirfavourite stars, there are somewho cross the line. Telugu-Tamilactress Nivetha Thomas hasfaced an uncomfortable situationwhen she went online to interactwith her Instagram followers.Choosing to give some sexistquestions a skip, the diminutiveactress later wrote, “I had a greattime answering some of the funquestions while I avoided ques-tions like ‘Marriage when’, ‘Sayone word about..’, ‘Haveboyfriends’, ‘Will you marry me’,‘virgin?’ and a few more bizarreones. Please realise that you aretalking to a fellow human andhave some respect and dignity.”Needless to say, her response hasput some in their place and manyothers lauded her reaction.

Last seen in the successfulBrochevarevaruraa, Nivetha is

presentlyshooting for

Indraganti MohanaKrishna’s V, where she ispaired opposite Sudheer Babu.She has wrapped up filming forsuperstar Rajinikanth-starrerDarbar, directed by A.R.Murugadoss. She is playingRajini’s daughter in the action-drama.

W

Havesomedignity,NIVETHAadvisesfollowers

ith an aim to encourage new talent, one of theproducers of Anasuya-starrer Kathanam, MuvvaVijay Chowdary, announced a new productionhouse, M Screens. He will be making three filmsunder the banner next year. The first one, to be

directed Rajasekhar Rao, will feature Natakam fameAshish Gandhi, and will roll next month. The second onewill be directed by Smaran Reddy, who assisted NandiniReddy earlier, while the third will be helmed byParasuram’s former assistant R. Sirish. Vijay said he willannounce more details in the coming months.

Kathanam producerannounces 3 films

W

Ashok Galla getsa starry launch

he muhuratof AshokGalla’s debutfilm was heldinHyderabad

on Sunday. Ashok is theson of industrialist andTDP MP, Jay Galla, whois also producing thefilm. The film will bedirected by SriramAdittya. Ram Charansounded the clapper-board for the first shot,as his friend RanaDaggubati switched onthe camera. SuperstarKrishna, who is Ashok’sgrandfather, directedthe honorary first shot.The film will go tofloors from Monday.

Speaking later, JayGalla said his produc-tion house Amar RajaMedia & Entertainmentwould be producing TVcontent as well. “I’vewatched SriramAdittya’s previous twofilms and I liked them.Our film will alsoimpress everyone.Ashok has been drawnto films since his child-hood and has also actedwith Mahesh Babu inNani. He completed hisschooling in Singapore,where he chose dramaas one of his subjects.He has a graduationdegree from Texas Filmand Television,” Jaysaid.

Adittya said he hasbeen travelling withAshok for some time

and he saw a hugepotential in the young-ster. “He is tailormadefor my story and hewould surprise theaudience with his skills.The film is his motherPadmavathi Galla’sdream,” the directorsaid.

On the technicalfront, Tamil musiccomposer Ghibran isonboard to rendertunes, while RichardPrasad is the camera-

man. The likes ofNaresh, Satya and Arc-hana Soundarya formthe supporting castwhile Niddhi Agerwalis the leading lady.

T

A still from Natpe Thunai

sport 12VIJAYAWADA | MONDAY | NOVEMBER 11, 2019

PTI n GROS ISLET

Opening duo of Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhanahammered scintillating half-centuries as the Indian

women’s team notched up a comfortable 84-run win overhosts West Indies in the first T20I.

The 15-year-old Shafali and Mandhana shared arecord 143-run opening partnership as India posted 185for 4 in their stipulated 20 overs at the Darren SammyNational Cricket Stadium.

The visitors then returned to restrict West Indies for101 for 9 to complete the win on Saturday.

Pacer Shikha Pandey (2/22), spin duo of Radha Yadav(2/10) and Poonam Yadav (2/24) claimed two wicketseach, while both Deepti Sharma (1/15) and PoojaVastrakar (1/21) accounted for one wicket.

Put into bat, Shafali, playing only her fifth T20I,smashed six boundaries and four sixes to notch up hermaiden international half-century.

Fifteen-year-old Shafali Verma also became theyoungest Indian cricketer to score a half-century in inter-national cricket, surpassing Sachin Tendulkar’s 30-year-old record.

Shafali achieved the feat at 15 years and 285 days,surpassing batting legend Tendulkar, who had notchedup his maiden Test fifty at 16 years and 214 days.

Mandhana too matched her younger partner,smashing 11 fours in her 46-ball innings as India cruisedto 102 for no loss in 10 overs.

The duo recorded the highest partnership for anywicket by an Indian pair in T20Is, bettering the 130amassed by Thirush Kamini and Punam Raut againstBangladesh in 2013.

Shafali was the first to go when she was dismissedby Shakera Selman in the 16th over.

Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur then produced a 13-ball21, while Veda Krishnamurthy provided the late chargewith a 7-ball 15 to take India to a challenging score.

For the hosts, Selman and Anisa Mohammadsnared two wickets each, while Hayley Mathews conced-ed 39 runs from her four overs and Chinelle Henry bled26 from the only over she bowled.

Chasing 186 to win, West Indies struggled to stitchpartnerships with Shermaine Campbelle top-scoring witha 34-ball 33.

West Indies kept losing wickets on the other end.Campbelle too couldn’t push the pace as her 34-ballinnings had just two fours and a six.

The lower-order then crumbled under pressure asIndia took a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.

AFP n SHANGHAI

Kento Momota won his10th title of a remark-

able year as Japan’s worldnumber one defeated ChouTien-chen to retain hisChina Open badmintoncrown in Fuzhou on Sunday.

Home hope Chen Yufeisimilarly successfullydefended the women’s titlewith a gritty victory overJapan’s Nozomi Okuhara.

Reigning two-timeworld champion Momotabattled past Taiwan’s worldnumber two Chou 21-15, 17-21, 21-18 in a repeat of lastyear’s final.

Chou saved one matchpoint, but handed Momotathe title by hitting into thenet. The Japanese player fellonto his back and screamedin celebration, his fistsclenched.

Momota lost the final ofthe Indonesian Masters inJanuar y to Denmark’sAnders Antonsen and saidthat defeat sparked hisincredible run of titles.

“I was in form in

Indonesia and I was very dis-appointed when I lost,” saidthe 25-year-old, whose haulin 2019 includes anotherworld crown and the presti-gious All England Open.

“I used that as motiva-tion to work harder. I didn’twant to lose another final soI’ve put in a lot of effort.”

The women’s final was asimilarly gruelling affair andlikewise it also went to threegames.

China’s Chen lost thefirst game 21-9 to Okuharabut recovered to lift theFuzhou title for the secondyear in a row by winning thenext two 21-12, 21-18.

It was more disappoint-ment for Okuhara, who hasnow lost all six finals she hascontested this year.

“I tried my best, but itwasn’t enough,” she said.

“It’s very painful toaccept. I’m very disappoint-ed that I lost another final.”

In contrast, this wasChen’s fifth tournament tri-umph this year.

“I feel honoured andproud of myself,” she said.

AFP n AUCKLAND

England snatched the Twenty20 series against NewZealand in dramatic fashion in Auckland on

Sunday, with a super over required to break the dead-lock in scenes reminiscent of the World Cup finalfour months ago.

A Chris Jordan boundary on the last ball of theEngland innings brought the tourists level with NewZealand’s 146 pushing the rain-shortened match intoa tiebreaking super over.

Jonny Bairstow, whose thumping man-of-the-match 47 enabled England to catch New Zealandafter they lost three early wickets, partnered EoinMorgan in a 17-run stand in the match and series-deciding over.

But unlike the World Cup final, when even thesuper over wastied, this time NewZealand finishednine runs short togive England thewin and take theseries 3-2.

Somewhat sur-prisingly, TimSeifert openedtheir super overand was out of sixafter four ballswhile the hard-hit-ting Martin Guptillstood unemployedat the non-striker’send.

In a matchreduced to 11 oversper side because of rain, Guptill and Colin Munrogave New Zealand a flying start after they lost thetoss and were sent into bat.

Guptill peppered the short Eden Park bound-aries with five sixes and three fours and needed only19 deliveries to reach his 50 before being removedby Adil Rashid one ball later.

Munro had four sixes and two fours in his 46off 21 balls.

England were rocked early in reply with TrentBoult removing Tom Banton (seven) and EoinMorgan (17), while Tim Southee accounted for JamesVince (1) to have the tourists at 39 for three afterthree overs.

Sam Curran pulled England back into the gamewith 20 runs off Scott Kuggeleijn's sole over andBairstow belted three sixes off Ish Sodhi in the nextover.

The pair put on 61 in 24 balls before they fellon consecutive deliveries with Bairstow caughtbehind on the last ball of a Jimmy Neesham over andCurran (24) stumped on the first ball of MitchellSantner’s next over.

In the final over of regular play, England need-ed 13 from the last three balls by Neesham whenJordan went to the middle and belted six, two, andfour to set up the tiebreaker.

AFP n PERTH

Ajubilant Kristina Mladenovicand Caroline Garcia led

France to its first Fed Cup titlesince 2003 on Sunday, winninga deciding doubles rubber tocrush Australian dreams 3-2.

In the last tournamentplayed under the current format,the pair kept their focus at PerthArena to overcome AshleighBarty and Samantha Stosur 6-4,6-3, denying the home teamtheir first crown in 45 years.

It was France’s third title andfirst since they beat the UnitedStates 16 years ago, piling moremisery on seven-time championsAustralia who have now lost allnine of the last Fed Cup finalsthey have appeared in.

Mladenovic and Garcia, whowon the 2016 French Open dou-

bles title, bounced back fromgoing an early break down in thefirst set to expose Stosur’s weak-nesses, with the veteran out-of-sorts and making too many mis-takes.

World number one Barty,stunned by Mladenovic in a sin-gles rubber earlier on Sunday,did her best to keep Australia inthe hunt, but the French pairwere clinical, racing to victory astheir team-mates went wild.

“I’m the proudest man onthe planet right now, I’m soproud of my girls and my team.They deserve it because theyfought for a long time for thistitle,” ecstatic France captainJulien Benneteau said.

For Mladenovic and Garciait was sweet revenge after theylost the deciding rubber in the2016 final against the Czech

Republic.“Definitely, it’s lots of emo-

tion to share this with Caroline,”

said Mladenovic.“Three years ago we failed

on the last step of the tie. Today

we just wanted to take this littlerevenge for oursleves and it’s notdescribible how we feel rightnow.”

The final marked the lastFed Cup played under the cur-rent format, with an overhaulnext year seeing 12 nationscompete in a six-day event inBudapest.

That will mean an end tohome ties and the atmospherethey bring, with the 26,951 fansturning up over two days inPerth the second-highest FedCup attendance on record afterRoland Garros (30,000) in 2005.

The doubles clash was set upby Ajla Tomljanovic hauling thehome team back into the tie bybeating France’s PaulineParmentier 6-4, 7-5.

She came on court after40th-ranked Mladenovic upset

Barty 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7/1) in anepic.

Croatian-born Tomljanovic,in her Fed Cup debut forAustralia, had been thrashed 6-1, 6-1 by Mladenovic in theopening singles rubber onSaturday.

But captain Alica Molik keptfaith with her and she bouncedback to beat Parmentier 6-4, 7-5.

“We gave everything today,we fell just a fraction short. Thathappens,” said Molik.

Earlier Barty, who has beenin scintillating form crashed ina classic.

“From my point of view Ifought as hard as I could and Ihope that I did my team proudand all Australians proud. Ifought with everything I hadleft,” said Barty.

PTI n NAGPUR

Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul smashedsublime half-cen-

turies to propel India to 174for five in the series-deciding

third and final T20 Internationalagainst Bangladesh here on

Sunday.It was a maiden T20 half-centu-

ry for Iyer (62 off 33) and the sixth onefor Rahul (52 off 35). Iyer's entertain-ing knock came after he was droppedon 0.

Bangladesh skipper Mahmudullahfollowed the template set in the seriesby winning the toss and opting to field.

India made an unexpected call bydropping a bowler in Krunal Pandyafor middle-order batsman ManishPandey.

The hosts were dealt a body blowin the second over when pacer ShafiulIslam removed their skipper RohitSharma (2), who had made a sublime85 in the series-levelling win in Rajkot.Rohit tried to whip a length ball butonly managed to get an inside edge onto the stumps.

Rahul joined Shikhar Dhawan (19off 16) in the middle and with both thebatsmen under pressure having notmade an impact in the first two games,the situation provided them an idealplatform to deliver.

Dhawan, who has found it toughto accelerate of late, got going with suc-cessive boundaries off Al-AminHossain. Rahul too began his inningsin similar fashion, going for the aeri-al straight drive before punching Islamthrough point.

However, Dhawan could not lastlong after hitting four boundaries,mistiming a slog to be caught in thedeep by Mahmudullah.

India once again could not get toa good start batting first, struggling to41 for two in six overs. It would havebeen three down at that stage if AminulIslam had not dropped a regulationcatch off incoming batsman Iyer atbackward point.

Rahul and Iyer gave a much need-ed boost to the Indian innings with a59-run stand.

Rahul in full flow is always a treatto the eye and that is what the Nagpurcrowd witnessed. He completed his fiftyoff 33 balls before getting caught atmid-off two balls later, leaving India at94 for three in the 13th over.

Iyer, who made a sedate start to hisinnings, went ballistic after Rahul's

departure. He was especially brutalagainst the spinners and hit threesixes over long-on off Afif Hossain.

Iyer, who raced to his 50 off 27balls, ended up hammering five sixesand three boundaries.

Rishabh Pant (6), who has coppeda lot of criticism of late both for his bat-ting and wicket-keeping, disappointedonce again when the team needed himto provide the big hits. He struggled inhis nine ball stay and was eventuallybowled after being deceived by a slow-er one from medium pacer SoumyaSarkar.

Pandey (22 not out off 13), playinghis first game of the series, came upwith welcome boundaries in the deathovers to take the total beyond 170.

With 149 being the average firstinnings score here, Bangladesh willhave to bat really well to chase down175.

AFP n MILAN

Italian teenager JannikSinner admitted he felt

like Roger Federer orRafael Nadal as he baskedin the spotlight afterdefeating top-seedAustralian Alex de Minaurin straight sets to win theNext Gen ATP Finals onhome soil in Milan onSaturday.

The 18-year-oldSinner, an eighth-seeded

wildcard, saved nine breakpoints to win 4-2, 4-1, 4-2 in just over an houragainst 18th-ranked DeMinaur, who also lost lastyear’s final to StefanosTsitsipas.

The tournament,which began in 2017, fea-tures the eight best playersaged 21-and-under on theATP Tour.

And Sinner came in asa late wild card after a sea-son when he rose almost

500 places to break intothe Top 100.

The player from thenorth of Italy, near theborder with Austria, wasbasking in the spotlight atthe hysterical supportfrom the home crowd.

“It’s something differ-ent,” he said.

“I never had this kindof support, even on court.I don’t know if Roger orRafa are still enjoyingthese kind of things.

“I’m young and I’menjoying it.”

“It’s been an unbe-lievable week,” continuedthe 95th-ranked Italian,who beat another top 20ranked player France’sGael Monfils last monthen route to the semi-finalsin Antwerp.

“I was the last one inand tried to take mychances.

“I played better andbetter with each game.”

AFP n LONDON

Novak Djokovic easedto a 6-2, 6-1 victory

against Matteo Berrettiniin his ATP Finals openeron Sunday as he targets arecord-equalling sixthyear-end number oneranking.

The Serbian, a five-time champion at the end-of-season event, was lastweek nudged off the topspot in the rankings byRafael Nadal, who is alsoin the eight-man field inLondon.

Djokovic, who wonthe Australian Open and

Wimbledon this season,must reach the final tostand any chance of dis-lodging Nadal but thereare major questions overthe Spaniard’s fitness.

The second seed sawoff the challenge ofBerrettini in just 62 min-utes, converting five ofseven break points andout-serving his 23-year-old opponent.

E i g h t h - s e e dBerrettini, appearing at

the ATP Finals for the firsttime, went toe to toe withDjokovic at the start of thematch but the Serbianbroke twice to take thefirst set 6-2.

Djokovic romped intoa 4-0 lead in the second setas the Italian continued tostruggle with his servebut was pegged back inthe fifth game as Berrettinibroke for the first time.

The unflappable 16-time Grand Slam champi-

on broke back in the fol-lowing game and servedout to take the set 6-1.

Germany’s AlexanderZverev shocked Djokovicin last year’s final at the O2Arena but the Serbian isthe firm favourite to equalRoger Federer's tally of sixATP Finals titles after can-tering to victory at lastweek’s Paris Masters.

Federer, Nadal andDjokovic were the topthree seeds when they firstcompeted together at thetournament way back in2007 and are still the mento beat 12 years later in thetournament.

Rahul, Iyer take India to 174/5Shreyas maiden T20I fifty, KL’s 52 help Men in Blue recover after Rohit’s early wicket

Shreyas Iyer raises his bat to acknowledge crowd gesture after completing his maiden T20I fifty PTI

Bangladesh's Shafiul Islam, right, celebrates the dismissal of Rohit Sharma during 3rd T20 AP

IT WAS A MAIDENT20 INTERNATIONALHALF-CENTURY FORSHREYAS IYER (62OFF 33) AND THESIXTH ONE FOR

RAHUL (52 OFF 35).IYER, WHO RACEDTO HIS 50 OFF 27BALLS, ENDED UPHAMMERING FIVESIXES AND THREE

BOUNDARIES

Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana run between wickets BCCI/Twitter

Shafali, Mandhanasecure first T20 win

England snatch T20series in super finish

Jimmy Neesham reacts during fifth T20match at Eden Park in Auckland ICC

Momota captures10th title of 2019

Sinner takes Next Gen title

Jannik Sinner reacts during final AP

Novak off the mark

France crush Australian dreams to seal Fed Cup final

French team, from left, Kristina Mladenovic, Caroline Garcia, Alize Cornet, PaulineParmentier, Fiona Ferro and captain Julien Benneteau celebrate on the podium afterdefeating Australia to win the Fed Cup final in Perth on Sunday AP