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LIFE

VIJAYAWADA, WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 24, 2021; PAGES 12 `3

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RNI No. APENG/2018/764698

*Late City Vol. 3 Issue 103*Air Surcharge Extra if Applicable

Established 1864Published From

VIJAYAWADA DELHI LUCKNOW BHOPAL RAIPUR CHANDIGARH

BHUBANESWAR RANCHIDEHRADUN HYDERABAD

{

VIJAYAWADAWEATHER

Current Weather ConditionsUpdated february 23 , 2021 5:00 PM

ALMANAC

TODAY

Month & Paksham:

Magha & Shukla Paksha

Panchangam

Tithi : Dwadashi: 06:05 pm

Nakshatram: Punarvasu: 01:17 pm

Time to Avoid: (Bad time to start

any important work)

Rahukalam: 12:29 pm – 01:56 pm

Yamagandam: 08:08 am – 09:35 am

Varjyam: 09:17 pm – 10:53 pm

Gulika: 11:02 am - 12:29 pm

Good Time: (to start any important work)

Amritakalam: 10:48 am – 12:27 pm

Abhijit Muhurtham: NIL

FFoorreeccaasstt:: SunnyTemp: 36/21Humidity: 50%Sunrise: 06:37 amSunset: 06:21 pm

5

Sympathy factormakes way for senti-ments in TS by-polls

and MLC polls

2

Sensex, Nifty endmarginally higher;ONGC rallies 6 pc

8

PM warns against

dangers of climate

change

NO REASON TO KEEP 22-YEAR-OLD INCUSTODY: DISHA RAVI GETS BAIL

Disha Ravi, the 22-year-old climate activistarrested February 13 in connection withthe "toolkit" case and charged with sedition

and conspiring against the country, was grantedbail by a Delhi court on Tuesday -- subject toprovision of two sureties of `1 lakh each andconditions that include not leaving the countrywithout informing the court. "Consideringscanty and sketchy evidence on record, I do notfind any palpable reason to breach rule of bailfor a 22-year-old girl who has absolutely nocriminal antecedent," the judge said, adding, "...sedition cannot be invoked to minister towounded vanity of the government".

AIRTEL, QUALCOMM TEAM UPFOR 5G PUSH IN INDIA

Telecom operator Bharti Airtel and USchipmaker Qualcomm announcedcollaboration for accelerating 5G in India.

Airtel recently became India's first telco todemonstrate 5G over a live commercial networkin city, underlining the company's technologycapabilities. "Through Airtel's network vendorsand device partners, Airtel will utilise theQualcomm 5G RAN Platforms to roll-outvirtualised and Open RAN-based 5G networks.Airtel is committed to driving the success of O-RAN and is working with QualcommTechnologies to explore and implement the O-RAN approach for India," according to company.

DUBAI RESTAURANT SERVES ‘MOSTEXPENSIVE BIRYANI' WITH 23 CARAT GOLD!

Biryani, with its Mughal origin, spells royaltyin every grain. The rice-based dish with richingredients and deep-set flavours imbued in

the juicy meat is something that gets us droolingin every bite. Biryani is undoubtedly one of themost celebrated Indian dishes and is everyone'sfavourite too. It is true that we don't mind payinga little extra for scrumptious foods, but how farcan you go to pay for a lavish platter of biryani?Will you be willing to pay a whopping amount ofINR 20,000 for it?! We don't know about you butthis Dubai restaurant certainly expects its patronsto pay this much for their special biryani meal,which it says is ‘Dubai's most expensive biryani.

MEETING AT PM'S OFFICE OVER COVIDSITUATION AMID SURGE IN CASES

Ameeting was held at the PM’s Office toreview the coronavirus situation in thecountry amid a surge in cases over

the past few days, and amid concernsmutated strains - those that originatedabroad and in India, are more infectious -may be circulating in the country. Thespike in Covid numbers in some statescomes as 240 new strains of the virushave emerged across the country; DrShahshank Joshi, a member ofMaharashtra's Covid Task Force, said thatthe new strains could be the reason for anincrease in cases in that state.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

In a significant move, the StateCabinet on Tuesday approveda proposal to provide guaran-tee to AMRDA to raise fundsto the tune of Rs 3,000 crore todevelop trunk and LPS infra-structure in Amaravati.

The decision by the Cabinetassumes significance as thegovernment had come underbitter criticism from Amaravatifarmers who accuse it ofremaining indifferent to theirdemand to roll back the threecapital proposal. The farmershad also approached the HighCourt which is hearing theirpetitions.

“Our Government is com-mitted to the development ofAmaravati and to protect theinterests of the famers who hadoffered their lands. Farmerswere never keen on for a dia-logue with the Government.However we are committed toprotecting their interests,” saidMinister Perni Venkatramaiah,who briefed the media on theCabinet meeting.

The State Cabinet meet-ing , chaired by Chie fMinister YS JaganmohanReddy, also approved thewelfare scheme calendar for

the year 2021-22 and gave itsnod for providing financial

assistance to women ofEconomical ly Backward

Caste (EBC) besides takingother key decisions. TheCabinet also decided tomove a resolution in theupcoming budget session ofthe Legislature against theCentre’s move to privatisethe Visakhapatnam SteelPlant (VSP).

SNV SUDHIRn VIJAYAWADA

The Andhra Pradesh govern-ment on Tuesday choseLiberty Steel India Limited asits Joint Venture partner forconstruction and develop-ment of YSR Steel Plant inKadapa district.

The state Cabinet, whichmet here under the chairman-ship of Chief Minister YSJaganmohan Reddy, alsoapproved alienation of3,148.68 acres of land inJammalamadugu mandal forthe integrated steel plant at therate of Rs 1.65 lakh per acre,according to Information andPublic Relations MinisterPerni Venkataramaiah.

The AP government estab-lished the YSR SteelCorporation Limited fordevelopment and operation ofa new steel plant in Kadapadistrict. The YSCL had issued

RFP in November last yearinviting potential partners fora JV to develop the integrat-ed steel plant in Kadapa. SBICaps was appointed as trans-action advisor.

Government sources saidthat at least seven domesticand globally reputed compa-nies had evinced interest inthe JV by responding to the

Expression of Interest (EoI)issued by YSCL. However, it isnot immediately known howmany have actually bid for theJV.

Upon the recommenda-tions of the SBI Caps, the StateGovernment agreed to pickLiberty Steels India Ltd as itsJV partner.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

DGP Gautam D Sawang onTuesday congratulated policeofficers and other governmentpersonnel who ensured thatthe gram panchayat electionswere conducted in a peacefulatmosphere and there was nocause for complaint duringthe four phases of the polls.

Sawang said that the dedi-cated performance of eachand every police personnel,who contributed in duty man-agement, service spirit, punc-tuality, precautionary mea-sures and coordination with alldepartments helped ensurethe smooth conduct of thegram panchayat elections.

The State police chief saidthat compared to the clashesduring 2013 gram panchayat

elections, there were only minorskirmishes reported this year.

SUMIT ONKA n VISAKHAPATNAM

Claims that valuable minereserves, including gold andgemstones, are available in thedisputed area of Andhra-Odisha border along theEastern Ghats resurfaced evenas the border dispute intensi-fied after the villagers casttheir vote in the recently heldgram panchayat elections con-ducted by AP.

The Odisha governmentofficials and leaders are said tobe threatening the villagers tostop the welfare schemes pro-vided to them by their govern-ment if they participate in AP-related activities.

The border dispute is nowbeing heard in the Supreme

Court as the Odisha govern-ment filed a contempt of courtpetition against AP govern-ment for holding elections inthe disputed villages.

Politicians from Odisha alsoallege that the AP governmentis showing interest in the areabecause of the mine reserves.However, the AP governmenthas in the Supreme Court stat-ed that elections are beingconducted in the villages fordecades and they are part of itsterritory.

The villages are located atthe bottom of the hills whereNALCO is mining bauxite.This also fuels the speculations.

According to locals, there isa mountain which they refer toas 'Suna (gold) Pahad' andone can find several precious

gemstones including 'Cat's Eye'.The villagers also believe thatthe place has reserves of goldand silver.

"The region has reserves ofgold, silver, diamond, bauxiteand other minerals," said

Rajesh Hantala, a resident ofKotia Panchayat.

Apart from this, the localssay that areas like Nuagaon,Ralegada are rich in eight to 10types of mineral resources.

However, the mines depart-

ment is yet to confirm the pres-ence of these natural wealth asclaimed by the locals.

The disputes over 21 of total22 villages on the border ofVizianagaram and Koraput dis-trict of Odisha could not beresolved as the Supreme Courthas granted status quo in Ma-rch, 2006. Tension between thetwo state governments flaredup when officials of both thestates visited Kotia village lur-ing them with welfare schemes.

According to election con-stituency, Kotia comes underSalur Assembly of AndhraPradesh and Araku parlia-mentary constituency whilethe same area comes underPotangi Assembly and KoraputParliamentary constituency ofOdisha.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Based on the report submittedby Anti Corruption Bureauofficials, the Government onTuesday suspended 16employees of the EndowmentsDepartment who were dis-charging duties at the SriDurga Malleswara Swamitemple atop Indrakeeladri.

The five-day probe by theACB officials into allegationsof irregularities in the templeadministration and other keydepartments had wound up onMonday. During their inquiry,the ACB officials found manyirregularities in variousdepartments and submitted apreliminary report to the Stategovernment. The ACB found

irregularities in departmentsresponsible for ladduprasadam, tickets, sareecounter, tollgate, tonsuring,provisions and engineering.

Based on the preliminaryreport, EndowmentsCommissioner P Arjun Raoissued suspension orders to 16employees of various depart-ments in the Durga temple onTuesday.

Acting on the orders of theEndowments Commissioner,the temple Executive OfficerMV Suresh Babu suspendedsix superintendents and 10clerical staff. Of the suspend-ed staff, eight belong to saree,prasadam and annadanamdepartments.

PNS n DEHRADUN

The Uttarakhand govern-ment has issued a notificationauthorising officials to declare"presumed dead" 136 peoplestill missing after the flashflood in Chamoli districtover two weeks ago.

Sixty-eight bodies have sofar been recovered after theFebruary 7 disaster possiblytriggered by an avalanche. Adevastating f lash f looddemolished a 13.2 MW hydelproject along the river besidescausing extensive damage tothe NTPC's Tapovan-Vishn-ugad hydel project alongDhauliganga. About 35 peo-ple were feared trapped insidea tunnel in Tapovan. Thedebris and sludge has onlybeen removed from a portionof the tunnel.

Uttarakhand Health Sec-retary Amit Singh Negi saidthat the presumption of deathcan be made by officials inthe affected district only incase of missing people who inall likelihood have died buttheir bodies have not beenfound. Normally the missingare declared dead only whenthey are not traced for sevenyears after the incident.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

The AP High Court has rese-rved its orders on a petitionchallenging the scheduleissued by the poll panel forelections to Urban LocalBodies across the state.

Arguments on the petitionwere completed on Tuesday.

Attorneys on behalf of thepetitioners, Vedula VenkataRamana and Veera Reddy,argued that the poll panel didnot have the power to startfrom where the election processwas kept on hold due to lock-down and said that it shouldgive candidates a fresh oppor-tunity to file nominations.

Govt picks Liberty Steel as JVpartner for Kadapa steel plant

Cabinet clears guaranteeto develop Amaravati infran Other major decisions include approving welfare calendar, EBCNestam, resolution in Assembly against VSP privatisation

Jagan tellsMinisters to winmunicipal pollsVijayawada: During a chit-chat with his colleaguesafter the Cabinet meeting,Chief Minister YSJaganmohan Reddy askedthem to work hard toensure even better resultsthan that of the gram pan-chayat polls in the upcom-ing municipal elections.

He pointed out that neverin history had any partybagged 80 percent of thegram panchayats in thestate. Jagan emphasised thathis government was readyto face any elections.

Cabinet approves sub-panelreport on Kakinada SEZ land Vijayawada: The StateCabinet that met on Tuesdayhas approved the Cabinetsubcommittee report on thecontroversial land acquisi-tion for the Kakinada SEZ.

The subcommittee rec-ommended return of 2,180acres given by the farmers toKakinada SEZ, which waspromised by Chief MinisterYS Jaganmohan Reddy dur-ing 2019 polls.

Also, the State govern-ment decided to providecompensation of Rs 5 lakh tothe farmers whose landswere utilised.

I&PR Minister PerniVenkatramaiah clarified thateven the Divis Labs unit waspermitted on ‘Zero Waste’policy, where any sort ofwaste must be treated with-in the factory premises.

Commitment, chivalry of copsensured smooth polls: DGP

HC reservesorders on ULBpoll schedule

Amidst tension, claims of gold reserves on AOB

16 Durga templestaffers suspended

136 missing inUttarakhand flashflood to be‘presumed dead’

35 file papers for twoCouncil seats in APPNS n VIJAYAWADA

In all, 16 candidates havefiled nominations forEast-West GodavariTeachers CouncilConstituency while19 others have filedpapers for theK r i s h n a - G u n t u rTeachers CouncilConstituency till the end ofdeadline for filing of papers onTuesday.

According to the ChiefElectoral Officer, the deadlinefor the withdrawal of nomina-tions is February 26. The elec-tions for filling two vacanciesin the Andhra Pradesh

Legislative Council will beconducted on March 14, as per

the schedule announcedby the Election

Commission ofIndia early thismonth.

The elections arenecessitated as the

tenures of TDPTeachers’ Constituency

MLCs AS Ramakrishna(Krishna - Guntur) and RamuSurya Rao (East & WestGodavari) will come to an endon March 29.

Polling will be conductedfrom 8 am to 4 pm on March14 and counting of votes isscheduled for March 17.

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vijayawada 02VIJAYAWADA | WEDNESDAY | FEBRUARY 24, 2021

EGG

RATES

` 47, 840 (10 gm)

` 650

GOLD

` 75, 700 (1kg)

` 1300

VIJAYAWADA 405

HYDERABAD 405

VISAKHAPATNAM 472

RREETTAAIILL PPRRIICCEE `̀44..0055

SILVER

VIJAYAWADA

BULLION RATES

`̀//110000

CHICKEN

RATES

Dressed/With Skin `162

Without Skin `185

Broiler at Farm `112

`̀//KKGG

(IN VIJAYAWADA)

In present-day politics,does death of a sitting leg-islator from a con-

stituency also signify theend of the sway of theparty holding that seat?The answer seems to bein the affirmative, goingby the reversal of for-tunes in certain by-pollsin TS and the sentimentsattached to the upcomingby-polls to the NagarjunaSagar Assembly constituency.

By and large, it appears thatby-polls are considered to benot good tidings for partiesthat hold the seats concerned.The outcomes of certain by-polls in Telangana since itsformation have not beenencouraging for parties hold-ing those seats. FourAssembly seats viz. those ofNarayankhed (P Kista Reddy-Congress ), Palair (R VenkataReddy -Congress ), HuzurNagar (N.Uttam KumarReddy - Congress ) andDubbak (S. Ramalinga Reddy-TRS) have seen by-polls in

Telangana so far. Except forHuzurnagar, all theother three by-polls

were necessitated bythe sudden deaths ofsitting members, andthe parties holding

those seats lostthem. The ruling

Telangana Rashtra Samitihad a mixed bag, consideringit won three seats and lostone!

Now, what would happenin Nagarjuna Sagar by-polls?Had TRS decided to field aperson from the deceasedmember's family, the influ-ence of opposition candidateJana Reddy may have out-weighed the sympathy factor.

One more by-election isimpending at Vemulavada ofthe combined Karimnagardistrict of Telangana. Its sit-ting member (TRS)Chennamaneni RameshBabu, whose citizenship hasbeen challenged in the courtof law, is awaiting judgmentsoon. By-election will be

inevitable in the event of hisdisqualification as he ispresently holding Germancitizenship! Since there is nochance to cash in on votersympathy, it may be difficultfor the ruling party to retainthe seat.

Bringing PV's daughterinto electoral fray is simplytaking a leaf out of the copy-book of Chandrababu Naidu.During the last Assemblyelections in TS, Naidu pittedSuhasini, daughter of formerminister Nandamuri HariKrishna, against TRS in

Kukatpally seat with view tousing the influence of NTR'sfamily on voters. But thepolitical ploy of Naidu did notyield the desired results!Naidu had to face criticismthat he had made her a scape-goat, following TDP’s defeatby 46,000 votes!

If the TRS manages to dowell in MLC polls by usingthe clout of PV, it may givethe pink party a chance toreplicate the same result inthe Nagarjuna SagarAssembly constituency, wherethe by-poll was necessitated

by the demise of ruling partylegislator and formerCommunist leader NomulaNarasimhaiah. He was floorleader of the CommunistParty of India (Marxist ) ear-lier and joined TRS in post-bifurcation scenario. ButCongress is on a strong wick-et, considering the influenceof former CLP leader K. JanaReddy. Actually TRS hadtried its level best to pick its

candidate from Jana Reddy'sfamily with a view to embar-rassing the Congress partyand blight its electoralprospects. But Jana chose notto trouble his party.

In the previous election,BJP gave TRS a big shock inthe same constituency bydefeating its candidate.

The TRS, by picking VaniDevi, former prime ministerPV Narasimha Rao’s daugh-ter, for the Mahabubnagar-Rangareddy- HyderabadGraduates' constituency seatin MLC polls, has madethings dif f icult for theCongress. In the Graduates’constituency, youth are pre-dominant and they areunhappy with the govern-ment's attitude on the recent-ly announced recruitmentprocess. Whether PV's lega-cy will work for the rulingparty is moot question.

Ruling TRS is eying votesof Congress’ sympathisers.PV’s credentials on the T-fac-tor are known. He assisted

former prime minister IndiraGandhi, who had outrightlyrejected the demand forbifurcation of unified AndhraPradesh, following people'ssentiments linked to the con-tinuation of unified statewhich she underlined duringher historic address inParliament on 21stDecember, 1972.

In contrast, the TRS tookbirth on the basis of separatisttheory and the pink party hadcrit icised those who itbelieves have been calloustowards Telangana region,including PV. In the presentchanged circumstances, theTRS has to garner votes byusing the clout of PV. TRS haspinned its hopes on theBrahmin community for apositive vote, and is expect-ing such voting to lap upBJP's votes as the latter's can-didate also hails from thesame caste. Vani's visit to theTelangana martyrs memorialat Gun Park has been ques-tioned by some sections as

her family had made no con-tribution in two stages of T-movement!

It may be recalled herethat Telangana martyrSrikantha Chary's motherSankaramma was givenAssembly ticket earlier, butshe lost to a mighty Congresscandidate. Many persons whohad taken part in the T-stirhad found fault with TRSleadership for fielding her inAssembly seat, instead ofal lotting her a seat inLegislative Council thatwould have assured her afull term in the legislature.Public view is that she wasmade a scapegoat in electoralpolitics. Some sections inTelangana society are surethat Vani may go theSankaramma way.

In any case, TRS will haveto go the extra mile for suc-cessful implementation of itstwo pronged strategy: bag-ging Nagarjuna Sagar seat inby-polls in addition to thisMLC seat!

M D RATNA KUMAR

Senior Journalist

Bringing PV's daughter into

electoral fray is simply taking a leaf

out of the copybook of Chandrababu

Naidu. During the last Assembly

elections in TS, Naidu pitted

Suhasini, daughter of former

minister Nandamuri Hari Krishna,

against TRS in Kukatpally

PIN

POINT

Sympathy factor makes way for sentiments in TS by-polls and MLC polls

DSP, constable 1st amongcops to get Covid vax jab PNS n VIJAYAWADA

DSP I Chenchi Reddy andConstable B Nagendra Naikwere given the Covid vaccina-tion shot as part of Covid vac-cination drive for frontlineworkers that began on Tuesdayat AR Grounds in the presenceof District collector A MdImtiaz and Vijayawada PoliceCommissioner B Srinivasulu.

On the occasion, theCollector said that till now,36,000 health workers andfrontline workers have beengiven Covid vaccination.

Police personnel have beenproactive during the Covidcontainment process and vac-cination for them began today.Imtiaz said that the first phaseof the vaccination programmebegan on January 16 for thehealth workers and in the sec-

ond phase, vaccination is beinggiven to frontline workers thatform the revenue, police,municipal and other depart-ments.

The Collector said that dueto gram panchayat polls, the

police personnel had post-poned their vaccination pro-gramme post-elections. “Covidvaccination is completely safeand there are no side effectsfrom the vaccination,'' saidthe collector and added that

the vaccination was approvedfor vaccination after a series oftests and research,” he said.

The Collector appealed to allthe people to take the vaccinewhen they get their turn with-out fail and be safe. The peo-ple who took the first vaccineshot will get the second shotfrom February 25 onward, hesaid.

Police CommissionerSrinivasulu said that arrange-ments have been made toadminister Covid vaccine to allthe police personnel within tendays. Due to gram panchayatelections the vaccinationprocess for the police wasdelayed and the details of thepolice personnel are entered inthe website and accordingly,they will be given the first vac-cine shot, said the PoliceCommissioner.

Rear Adm Sobti takes charge of Eastern FleetPNS n VISAKHAPATNAM

Rear Admiral Tarun Sobti tookover the Command of theEastern Fleet, the Sword Armof the Eastern NavalCommand, from Rear AdmiralSanjay Vatsayan on Tuesday.

The change of guard tookplace at an impressive ceremo-ny held on February 23 inNaval Base, Visakhapatnam.

Rear Admiral Tarun Sobtiwas commissioned into theIndian Navy on July 1, 1988and is a specialist in navigationand direction. The Flag Officeris an alumnus of the NationalDefence Academy,Khadakwasla, CollègeInterarmées de Défense, Paris,France and College of NavalWarfare, Mumbai.

During his illustrious careerspanning 32 years, he served asNavigating Officer of INSKirpan, commissioningNavigating Officer of INSMysore, Direction Officer onINS Viraat and ExecutiveOfficer of missile destroyerINS Delhi.

Rear Admiral Sobti's seacommands include those ofmissile vessel INS Nishank,missile corvette INS Kora andmissile destroyer INS Kolkataof which he was the commis-sioning Commanding Officer.

His prestigious staff andoperational appointmentsinclude those as Joint Directorof Staff Requirements and JointDirector of Personnel at NavalHeadquarters and CaptainWork-Up at Local Work-Up

Team (East).Rear Admiral Sobti also

served as the Naval Attaché atthe Embassy of India, Moscow.Prior assuming command of

the Eastern Fleet, the FlagOfficer was DeputyCommandant and ChiefInstructor of Indian Navy'spremier officer training estab-

lishment Indian NavalAcademy at Ezhimala.

Over the past 12 months, theEastern Fleet under the com-mand of Rear Admiral SanjayVatsayan has maintained highlevel of combat readiness andundertaken various operationalmissions including OperationSamudra Setu towards repatria-tion of Indian citizens, MissionSAGAR providing HumanitarianAssistance to friendly foreigncountries and Malabar 20.

His tenure also saw the com-missioning of INS Kavaratti, theindigenously built P28 classASW corvette. He would betaking over as the DeputyCommandant of the prestigioustri-services institution NationalDefence Academy atKhadakvasla, Pune shortly.

AP's Covid tallyat 8,89,409 with70 new casesPNS n VIJAYAWADA

Andhra Pradesh reported 70fresh Covid-19 cases, 84recoveries and one death inthe 24 hours ending 9 am onTuesday. With the addition ofthe new infections, the tallywent up to 8,89,409, accord-ing to the latest bulletin.

Recoveries rose to 8,81,666while the toll mounted to7,168, it said. The active casesnow stood at 575, it added.

Chittoor once againreported the highest numberof 18 new cases while allother districts added lessthan 10 each. Visakhapatnamreported one Covid-19 fatal-ity in a day.

HC reservesorders on ULBpoll scheduleContinued from Page 1

Counsel for the petitionersquestioned how the notifica-tion, which was stalled forabout a year, could be reinstat-ed. Several petitions have beenfiled in the High Court seek-ing fresh notification.Advocates on behalf of thepetitioners stated that therewas nothing in the law or theConstitution to start the elec-tion process from where it wasput on hold.

Counsel appearing for theState Election Commissionsaid that the process hadresumed from where it hadstopped. The SEC has issuedorders to candidates allowingthem to return their nomina-tions if they are not subjectedto threats, harassment andtemptation. Counsel for thepoll panel argued that once theprocess had begun, it could notbe revoked and reopened.

Cabinet clears guarantee to...Continued from Page 1

Perni Venkatramaiah saidthat the new scheme ‘EBCNestam’ will be implement-ed from the coming finan-cial year, under which thegovernment will providefinancial assistance of Rs45,000 to each woman ben-eficiary aged between 45-60years at a rate of Rs 15,000per annum for a span ofthree years.

The Cabinet also dis-cussed the implementationof welfare schemes, whichare to be taken up during2021-22, and approved thecalendar.

The C abinet a l soapproved the decision tocomplete the investigationwithin 100 days on thosecaught red-handed in theACB cases, from the existingtwo year duration. TheGovernment has decided toamend the law to allowaction to be taken againstAnti-Corruption Bureauofficials if an inquiry is not

held before that deadline.Perni Venkatramaiah said

that earlier, 300 sq. f t .TIDCO houses were givenfor Rs 2.65 lakh each where-as this Government is givingit for Rs 1 only.

The previous governmentcharged Rs 3.65 lakh for365 sq. ft. while the presentregime is allotting the samehouse for Rs 3.40 lakh, hesaid.

The 465 sq. ft. houseswere allotted for Rs 4.65lakh each while it is nowbeing given for Rs 4.15 lakh.The State will bear the bur-den of Rs 5,579 crore inwake of the above decisions,he said.

The Cabinet also decidedto allocate five percent ofland in private layouts to thepoor and serious action willbe initiated against thoseviolat ing the rules, theMinister informed.

Fur ther, the C abinetapproved the allotment ofnew fire stations and per-sonnel in Kadapa and

Chittoor districts and alsogave a nod to upgrade PHCsto 50-b ed hospita l s inPenumur u andKarvetinagaram of Chittoordistrict.

To that extent, the medicaland non-medical staff willbe recruited. The Cabinetapproved the recruitmentof additional teaching andnon-teaching staff for thenewly established degreecollege in Kovvur.

Also, the Cabinet approvedsetting up of MultipurposeFacility Centres in villageswith Rs 2,718 crore and allo-cated 165 acres in EastGodavari district to MaritimeBoard for operations.

The allocation of 2,700vehicles for door-to-doorgarbage collection in munic-ipalities was also approved atthe Cabinet meeting, wherethe Chief Minister directedthe authorities to beautifyevery municipality withinthree to six months, withbest practices like the SuratMunicipality.

Cabinet...Continued from Page 1

He said that the previous gov-ernment failed to keep up thepromise of giving back thelands to the farmers.

Farmers who have giventheir lands or Kakinada SEZhave been agitating to get theirland parcels back or highercompensation in lieu. The landacquisition for Kakinada SEZbegan way back in 2005 whenthe then YS Rajasekhara Reddygovernment was in power.

The former Congress gov-ernment had identified around10,000 acres of land inThondangi and U Kothapallimandals for the SEZ. Though7,400 acres of land wasacquired for the SEZ, another2,600 acres still remains to beacquired.

While the farmers in the2,600 acres did not give theirlands, those farmers who gavetheir properties voluntarily arenot happy with compensationand demanded their land back.

Jagan, after coming topower, constituted a Cabinetsubcommittee to study theissue.

Govt picks Liberty Steel as JV...Continued from Page 1

The proposed steel plant willhave a capacity of up to threemillion tonnes per annum forproducing high grade steelproducts.

The state governmentalready signed a memoran-dum of understanding withNMDC for supplying therequired 4.5 million tonnes ofiron ore every year for the pro-posed steel plant.

The Minister told reportersafter the Cabinet meeting thatLiberty would spend Rs 10,802crore on building the steelplant.

The Cabinet also approvedto issue Letter of Authorisation(LOA) to YSCL MD to pro-ceed further on JV proce-dure.

UK-based Liberty SteelGroup is part of the diversifiedGFG Alliance, owned byIndian-origin metals tycoonSanjeev Gupta.

The State governmentplanned to set up an integrat-ed steel plant at SunnapuRallapalli and Peddanandluruvillages in Jammalamadugu

mandal of Kadapa district andallotted land to an extent of3,295 acres. Chief Minister YSJaganmohan Reddy had laidthe foundation for the steelplant in December last year.The Government envisagedsetting up the steel plant witha capacity to produce 3 MTPAhigh grade steel products at acost of Rs 16,500 crore.

According to the govern-ment, the plant would providedirect and indirect employ-ment to about 25,000 people.The state government pooled3,148.68 acres of land spreadover two villages for the inte-grated steel plant, which wouldnow be alienated to the YSRSteel Corporation for Rs 1.65lakh an acre.

The YSR Steel Corporationset March 31, 2024 as the com-mercial operation date forphase-1 of the project, inwhich it has been targeted toproduce one MTPA of crudesteel finished products.

The plant would use the lat-est green technologies in steel-making to enable sustainableproduction, an official of theYSRSCL said.

"Linkages for other rawmaterials like limestone,dolomite, quartzite, ferroal-loys, are under progress andwe will enter into contractswith suppliers before thescheduled commissioning ofthe project," the official added.

With a total rolling capaci-ty of 20 million tonnes, 200+manufacturing locations glob-ally across 12 countries LibertyGroup’s product rangeincludes iron ore and cokingcoal, recycled steel as well assemis, long and flat steel prod-ucts and value added services.

The London based LibertyGroup has been looking atIndian industry and inFebruary last year, announcedits foray into the Indian steelindustry with the acquisitionof Adhunik Metaliks and itsarm Zion Steel in Odisha forabout Rs 425 crore.

The London-based firm hadalso acquired a steel plant inNellore owned by Chennaibased RKKR steels.Significantly both the Indianbusinesses of the UK-basedfirm were acquired under thebankruptcy process.

16 Durga temple...Continued from Page 1

The suspended templeemployees were identified asK Srinivas Rao, (Prasadam,preparation, saree depart-ment Superintendent) KSrinivas Murthy,(Annadanam department),A Amrutha Rao and K HariKrishna (main store super-intendent), P Bhagya Jyothi(sanitation superintendent),K Srinivasa Rao (leasedepartment superinten-dent).

G Yeshwant (lease depart-ment), B Nageswara Rao(saree department) ChChennakeswara Rao (sareedepartment), MS PrakashRao, (sanitary department) PRavi Kumar, record assistantdarshanam tickets, KRamesh, record assistantArjitha Seva, P Rambaburecord assistant photocounter, J Edukondalu atten-der ticket counter, RaviPrasad, Superintendent andPadmavathi, senior assistant.

Commitment,chivalry of cops...Continued from Page 1

He said that binding over ofknown criminals, clamp-down on money launderingand special surveillance bythe Police and the SpecialEnforcement Bureau to pre-vent distribution of liquor allcontributed to the successfulconduct of election.

He said that the exampleof this is the apparent changeseen in Anantapur,Prakasam and Nellore dis-tricts.

The DGP said that theState Election Commissionerand the Chief Minister alsolauded the services of theState Police Department inconducting the elections ina peaceful atmosphere,except for sporadic incidentsthat were dealt with effec-tively due to the quickresponse by the cops.

Sawang said that thepolice, who are the frontlinewarriors, have sacrificed andpostponed their vaccinationprocess in view of the impor-tance of elections in a demo-cratic country.

He said that a majority ofthe people enthusiasticallyand freely exercised theirright to vote in a free envi-ronment without any unto-ward incident.

Sawang also said that itwas remarkable that the elec-

tions concluded without re-polling being resorted to,anywhere in the state. Hestated that there was fear thatthere will be an atmosphereof conflict and despite vari-ous myths among the people,the police department over-came them all and conduct-ed polls peacefully.

The DGP further said thatthe peaceful conduct of grampanchayat election is a testa-ment to the remarkable evo-lution and performance ofthe State Police Department.

He stated that as many as70,000 police personnel per-formed tireless duties in eachphase and performed trans-parent duties without suc-cumbing to any pressures,protecting the people, givingthem courage and confi-dence. The DGP said that thepolice department had effec-tively planned despite theshort time available for theconduct of elections.

The police boss stated thatthe police assisted the elder-ly, the disabled and the sickby carrying such voters ontheir hands at many pollingstations and assisted them incasting their vote.

"Khaki proved to be notonly harsh, but also that ithas a heart full of humanitythat played its part in thepreservation of democracywonderfully," Sawang said.

vijayawada 03VIJAYAWADA | WEDNESDAY | FEBRUARY 24, 2021

Krishna district Collector A Md Imtiaz is felicitated by the Panchayat Raj department officials for the successful and peacefulconduct of four-phases of gram panchayat elections.

JOB WWELL DDONE!

Empty slogan, empty coffers arehallmark of Jagan regime: TDP

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Telugu Desam Party MLC PAshok Babu on Tuesday accusedthe Visakhapatnam-based SaradaPeetham of sheltering criminalsand corrupt elements with theactive support from its ‘fakeSwamiji’. Ashok Babu demandedthe State Government explainwhy Z+ security was accorded toa Swamiji who he alleged “wascarrying out nefarious activitiesfrom his peetham with totaldisrespect to the Hindu dharma”.The Jagan regime should explainwhether high level security wasbeing given to this Swamiji forjoining hands with the YSRCPleaders in their corruptionactivities, he said. In a statementhere, the TDP leader alleged thatthe 'fake Swami' has turned the

Visakha Sarada Peetham into adumping place for money earnedthrough corrupt means by rulingparty leaders. The ruling partyMinisters and MLAs were onlytrying to spread misinformationcampaigns in order to cover theirfailures and criminal politics, hesaid. “Neither the Chief Ministernor the Endowments Minister

reviewed the security beingprovided at the temples so far,”Ashok Babu said. The TDP leadertermed it as unfortunate that theYSRCP leaders have turnedtemples and peethams intocommercial centres meant toserve their political interests. “Itwas Chandrababu Naidu whoupheld the sanctity of theTirumala temple and brought to itTelugu Ganga water, whereas, theJagan Reddy gang had tried toundermine the hill temple andeven attempted to reduce theSeven Hills to only Two Hills,”the TDP MLC stated.Ashok Babu accused YSRCPleaders of causing disrespect tothe Tirumala temple by resortingto propagation of other religionsin the SVBC, TTD tickets and thepink diamond issues.

Ashok Babu targets security to ‘fake Swamiji’

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Three persons died while 20others sustained injurieswhen the van in whichthey were travelling lostcontrol, hit a tree and over-turned at Parvatipuram vil-lage in Vinukonda mandalof Guntur district onTuesday.

The deceased were iden-tified as Bheemudu (50),Srinivas (7) and driverUmesh Kumar Naidu.According to sources, thevan was carrying 30 peopleand when it reachedParvathipuram village, thedriver lost control andrammed into a tree. Asmany as 20 of the 30 pas-sengers travelling in thevan were said to be labour-ers.

The victims were fromEmignur town of Kurnooldistrict and were on theirway to Guntur in search oflivelihood. The injured wererushed to the Vinukondahospital for treatment.

TDP leader GVAnjaneyulu visitedVinukonda hospital andspoke to the injured. He saidit was very unfortunate thatthe vehicle carrying agricul-ture labour who were goingto earn their livelihoodwere involved in thetragedy. The TDP leaderfurther demanded that thegovernment pay Rs 15 lakhto the kin of each deceased.

PNS n VISAKHAPATNAM

The Fourth IndustrialRevolution (Industry 4.0) ismerging the digital and biolog-ical worlds using light to senseand interface humans andmachines, said AustralianNational University School ofPhysics Professor ChennupatiJagadish here on Tuesday.

He participated as chief guestand delivered a lecture duringNational Science Week cele-brations organised by GITAMDeemed to be UniversityInstitute of Science. Dr Jagadish

and his team of specialists aredeveloping new and excitingtechnologies in the field ofoptoelectronics.

While sharing his researchoutput he mentioned that semi-conductors have played animportant role in the develop-ment of information and com-munications technology, solarcells, solid state lighting andnanowires are considered asbuilding blocks for the next gen-eration electronics and optoelec-tronics.

He said that development ofimproved solar cells and the

technologies based on neuralnetworks suitable to addressdiseases such as Alzheimer’sdisease. He informed that in the

future nanowire solar cells willplay a key role to charge mobilephones and other devices with-out using power sockets. He wasinformed about the uses of ter-ahertz radiation in the fields ofbiomedical, industrial, telecom-munication and in fundamen-

tal science.GITAM Deemed to be

University Vice-Chancellor ProfK Sivaramakrishna stressed thatthe faculty need to contribute toteaching, research and consul-tancy in order to achieve high-er recognition for GITAM.

Industry 4.0 merging digital, biological worlds: Prof

PNS n VISAKHAPATNAM

The Vizag police on Tuesdayarrested six persons in threeseparate incidents for theirinvolvement in the propertyoffenses and recovered thestolen items from them.

Four of them were held oncharges of picking pocketsduring the padyatra led byVijayasai Reddy in protestagainst the VisakhapatnamSteel Plant privatisation deci-sion.

DCP (Crimes), V SureshBabu said that the policearrested four persons – PDPrasad, I Balaji, K Ravi Kumarand K Srinivas – who had cutthe pockets of the peoplewho had taken part in therally and stole over Rs 3 lakh

in cash. Based on the com-plaint from the victims, thepolice registered a case andnabbed the four and recov-ered Rs 2.8 lakh in cash fromthe gang.

In another incident, theNew Port Police nabbed a

habitual offender for stealingmachinery spares fromGangavaram Port areas. Theaccused was identified as YAppalaraju. The police recov-ered over Rs 1.45 lakh worthof stolen machinery itemsfrom the accused. The policesaid that one A Gopi, workingas Maintenance Contractorkept the machinery items in aroom. Appalaraju had brokenopen the lock of the room andstole the machinery.

A 30-year-old L Tirupathiwas arrested for stealing anauto-rickshaw that was parkednear a hotel at the Surya Bagharea in the city. Based on theCCTV footage at the location,the police identified theaccused and recovered thestolen auto-rickshaw.

Four held for picking pocketsduring Vijayasai’s padyatra

He said development of improvedsolar cells and the technologies based on neural networks suitable to address diseases such asAlzheimer’s disease

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Telugu Rythu state presidentMarreddy Srinivasa Reddy onTuesday accused the police andelection officials of committingserious irregularities in theannouncement of the Pulikondapanchayat election result in thePathikonda segment in Kurnooldistrict. Srinivasa Reddy saidthat the RDO, Circle Inspectorand other officials with supportof the DSP have entered thecounting centre and unilaterallyannounced the result in favour ofthe YSRCP. YSRCP MLA KangatiSridevi has violated the electioncode by tampering with thecomplaint paper given by theTDP against three wardcandidates. Addressing a pressconference here, the TDP leader

said that the three wardcandidates of the YSRCP hadmore than three children eachwhich would make themdisqualified as per the norms.The TDP made a formalcomplaint before the electionauthorities but the YSRCPleaders later struck off thecontents in the complaint.Srinivasa Reddy said that thelocal RDO and the CI along witha lot of paramilitary forces camethere to the counting centre. The

police went a step further andbooked cases against 50 to 60families who supported the TDP.False charges of attacking thepolice were booked againstthem. The TDP said that thepolice committed these extremeviolations at the midnight hours.They became part of the YSRCPmodus operandi to delay theelection result till midnight andthen manipulate the result bycreating terror among the TDPcadres.

Pulikonda panchayat polls outcome flawed: TDP leader

“Police committed extreme violations at the midnight They became part of the YSRCPmodus operandi to delay the election result tillmidnight and then manipulate the result bycreating terror among TDP cadres, said Mareddy

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

TDP spokesperson Syed Rafion Tuesday accused theYSRCP Government of mak-ing 'empty promises' to theweaker sections and the back-ward classes without releas-ing any funds to welfare cor-porations set up for them toprovide assistance for theirlivelihood.

Rafi asserted that the ChiefMinister was chanting theslogan of social justice onlyfor political benefits in thecoming municipal electionsin the State. “The YSRCP isdoing a lot of social injusticeto the SC, ST, BC and MuslimMinorities by diverting thefunds of their welfare corpo-rations,” he said sarcastically.

Addressing a press confer-ence here, the TDP leaderdeplored that the chairmenand directors of these welfarecorporations were reduced tobeing just figureheads with-out funds and powers. EvenDeputy Chief Ministers andMinisters from the weakersections do not have any sayin governance or administra-tion, Rafi alleged. He said thatcountless Advisers whobelong to the CM's caste,were ruling the roost every-where.

The TDP leader said thatthe welfare benefits reachedonly 10 percent of Rajakas,Darzis, Nayi Brahmins andfishermen communitieswhile the remaining 90 per-cent were shown an emptyhand. “The Dulhan benefitand Rs 10 lakh assistance forMuslim youth studyingabroad were withdrawnimmediately after Jagan cameto power,” Rafi alleged.

He called upon the peopleto see through the “ulteriorplans” of Jagan to betraythem. All sections of societyshould join hands to defeatthe YSRCP candidates in themunicipal polls, Rafi said.

CPI asks PM to reconsiderdecision on VSPprivatisationPNS n NEW DELHI

CPI general secretary D Rajahas written to Prime MinisterNarendra Modi, requestinghim to reconsider the govern-ment's decision to privatisethe Visakhapatnam SteelPlant.

Earlier this month, theCabinet Committee onEconomic Affairs (CCEA)cleared the privatisation ofRINL, popularly known asthe Visakhapatnam SteelPlant or the Vizag Steel Plant,triggering an uproar amongits employees.

"We strongly oppose thedisastrous proposal of yourgovernment to implement100 per cent strategic disin-vestment in VisakhapatnamSteel Plant (RINL) by way ofprivatisation. VisakhapatnamSteel Plant is a Navaratnacompany under the Ministryof Steel, Government ofIndia.

“Over 50 years ago, 23,000acres of farm land wereacquired to set up the steelplant. Farmers were not paidtheir money properly. Nowthe land is worth lakhs ofcrores of rupees. If the presentmove is allowed, a privatecompany will take over thesteel plant and grab the land,"Raja said in his letter toModi.

He alleged that theGovernment has made noeffort to explore all possibil-ities to run the plant. No iron-ore mine has been allotted tothe Visakhapatnam SteelPlant, he said, adding that allprivate steel plants get iron-ore mines and pointing outthat lakhs of people aredirectly and indirectly work-ing for the steel plant.

"People of AndhraPradesh, political parties andtrade unions have beenopposing the disastrous moveof privatisation. Even thestate government headed byYS Jaganmohan Reddy,pointing out that the plantstands as a testimony to thewill of the Telugu people, hasasked the Union governmentto reconsider its decision,” hewrote.

"While opposing the pri-vatisation of the steel plant,our party – the CommunistParty of India – demands thatthe government cancel theapproval of the CabinetCommittee on EconomicAffairs for privatisation of theVisakhapatnam Steel Plantand immediately allot iron-ore mines," Raja said.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Minister for EducationAdimulapu Suresh has saidthat the first tranche of infra-structure work for 15,700schools in the state under'Mana Badi - Nadu Nedu' willbe completed in the comingmonth. Addressing a pressmeet here on Tuesday, theminister said that till date,works worth Rs 2,570 crorehave been completed. He stat-ed that the reverse tenderinghas saved Rs 245 crore on thepurchase of fans, furnitureand green boards.

The Minister said that thesecond phase of Nadu-Neduwould start April 1.

Chief Minister YSJaganmohan Reddy hadlaunched the 'Mana Badi -Nadu Nedu' scheme to createinfrastructure in 15,700schools in the state as part ofa pre-poll promise.

“In 45,000 schools, workwas carried out in three phas-es. Sanitation work has been100 per cent completed andinstallation of ceiling fans toohas been completed,” Sureshsaid.

He explained that 66 percent of the work on shelves hasbeen completed, 89 per cent ongreen boards, 46 per cent of thepainting works, and 39 percentof the drinking water facilitiesrequirement has been metwhile 50 percent of the SmartTV works has been completed.

The Minister clarified thatthe rest of the work would becompleted by the end of Marchas per the target set by CM YSJaganmohan Reddy.

Suresh said that from April1 this year, work on 'Mana Badi

- Nadu Nedu’ phase-II will bestarted and it is scheduled tobe completed by November.“As per the directions of theChief Minister, we are givinghigh priority to quality in theworks to keep the check intactfor 10 to 15 years,” the Ministersaid.

He claimed that the YSRCPgovernment is giving high pri-ority to education under whichthousands of crores of rupees

are being spent. The ministersaid that tiles are being used forflooring in schools. Granite isalso used in some schools.

Suresh said that admissionsin degree colleges haveincreased in the current acad-emic year as compared to lastyear. He stated that more than40,000 more students wereadmitted to 1336 public, pri-vate and aided degree collegesthan last year.

`2,570 cr spent onNadu Nedu: Minister

As per thedirections of the CM, we are giving highpriority to qualityin the works tokeep the checkintact for 10 to15 years, Sureshsaid.

PNS n VISAKHAPATNAM

TDP and YSRCP supportersclashed at Mettavalasa in G.Sigadam mandal on Tuesdaydisputing the gram panchayatelection result.

Supporters of both the par-ties received injuries in theincident, police said. To stopthe matter from getting out ofhand, the police imposedSection 144 in Mettavalasa.

Gram panchayat electionswere held in Mettavalasa pan-chayat election in the fourth

phase. Initially, the pollingofficials late on Sunday haddeclared C. Lakshmi, asarpanch candidate backed bythe TDP, winner. However,they later announced thatYSRCP-backed candidate K.Asiritalli emerged victoriousafter recounting of votes. Thisled to TDP supporters cryingfoul and resorting to protests.

Their protest was counteredby YSRCP supporters and soonenough, tempers frayed and aclash ensued.

According to sources, sever-

al police personnel and 32activists of both the partieswere injured, and several bikes,auto-rickshaws and cars werealso damaged.

Earlier, tension had alsoprevailed at Chillapeta Rajamvillage in Ranasthalam mandalof Srikakulam district onMonday as the YSRCP andTDP activists clashed after theresults of the panchayat elec-tions were declared.

The TDP-backed candidatethere won by a margin of 40votes.

Tension in Srikakulamvillage over election result

Three dead,20 hurt asvan ramsinto tree

WORK ON 'MANA BADI - NADU NEDU' PHASE-II TO START ON

APRIL 1 AND IS SCHEDULED TO BE COMPLETED BY NOVEMBER

PNS n HYDERABAD

Four people were killed andtwo others grievously injured intwo separate road accidents inTelangana on Tuesday.

Two jewellery shop owners,who were carrying gold orna-ments worth Rs 1 crore in a car,were killed and two othersincluding the driver of thevehicle were grievously injuredwhen the car in which theywere travelling lost control and

overturned near Ramagundamin Peddapalli district.

The police officials, whoarrived at the accident spothave shifted the injured to thehospital. The deceased, whoown a Jewellery shop inNarasaraopet of Guntur districtin neighbouring AndhraPradesh prepare gold orna-ments in order and supplythem to jewellery shops in dif-ferent parts in the two Telugustates.

They were on their way toMancherial to supply the goldornaments to a local traderwhen the accident occurred.

In another accident, twopeople were killed when aspeeding truck hit them atAbdullapurmet on the out-skirts of the city on Tuesday.

The victims, both construc-tion workers, were travelling ona two-wheeler from their vil-lage to Bandaraipura when theaccident took place.

Four dead, two injured inseparate road mishaps in TS

PNS n HYDERABAD

Seven militia members of thebanned Communist Party ofIndia (Maoist), who wereallegedly involved in 18 caseswere arrested in Mulugu dis-trict and explosive materialsseized from their possession,police said on Tuesday.

Police took up combingoperation in Pamunuru forestarea on Monday and foundsome armed men plantingexplosives with intention to killpolice personnel, they said.

After seeing the team, theytried to escape, but policenabbed seven of them, Mulugudistrict superintendent of

police Sangram Singh Patilsaid.

On interrogation, theyrevealed that they have beenworking as militia membersfor the CPI (Maoist) party forthe last few years, the SP said.

They assisted the naxals intheir activities by providingfood and shelter and inform-ing them about police move-ment in the area.

They were given training bythe naxals on how to handleand plant land mines andspikes in order to kill policepersonnel and also regularlyprovided with explosive mate-rial and spikes, police sourcessaid.

Accordingly they plantedlandmines in several areasnear their villages and indeep forest area in order totarget police personnel and todeter their movement,sources said.

As per the directions ofsenior leaders of TelanganaState committee of CPI(Maoist) party, militia mem-bers were going to assemble inPamunuru forests to plantland mines for killing policecombing teams, when theywere caught, police said.

Police seized nine crudeland mines besides detonators,electric wires, batteries andother items from two places.

7 Maoist militia membersarrested; explosives seized

Stamp released as tribute to lateEashwari BaiPNS n HYDERABAD

A postal stamp was releasedas tribute to the late legisla-tor and philanthropistEashwari Bai at a programmeconducted in Shilparamam'sSampradaya Vedika in HitecCity on Tuesday.

The event, organised by theEashwari Bai Memorial Fund,headed by Congress leaderand daughter of J EashwariBai, J Geeta Reddy, saw theattendance of the VicePresident of India VenkaiahNaidu as the chief guest.Bandaru Dattatreya, theGovernor of HimachalPradesh was present as theguest of honour.

J Geetha spoke about howfinancial independence foryounger children was theidea that was honoured bythe Eashwari Bai MemorialTrust. Jana Reddy said thepostal service is to be appre-ciated for taking this oppor-tunity to celebrate EashwariBai.

VIJAYAWADA | WEDNESDAY | FEBRUARY 24, 2021

telangana 04

PNS n HYDERABAD

TDP candidate for graduates'MLC elections L Ramana hasalleged that the land, drugand sand mafia were ruling theroost in the state. Speakingafter filing his nomination as aTDP candidate for Hyderabad-Rangareddy-Mahbubnagar dis-ricts graduates' constituency onTuesday, he said that the MLCelections are held apolitically.

If he is sent to the UpperHouse, he claimed that he

would voice the problems ofvarious sections of society.

He claims to have the expe-rience of working as an MLAtwice, MP and Minister.Claiming to be in politics formore than 27 years, he appealedto voters to give their mandateto him. He also pointed outhow Mahabubnagar,Rangareddy and Hyderabaddistricts witnessed develop-ment doing TDP regime.

PNS n MULUG

Mulug district collectorKrishna Aditya on Tuesdayasserted that Rs 2 crore havebeen sanctioned for minimedaram jatara scheduled tobe held from February 24 to28.

Speaking to the media atCollectorate, Krishna Adityasaid, "Necessary arrangementsare being made for the conve-nience of devotees.'

The collector said that thegovernment laid emphasis onproviding drinking water facil-ities, road transport facilities,electricity and darshan facili-ties and added that as many as150 sanitation workers havebeen deployed for cleaningthe premises.

Keeping in view the hugeturnout of devotees from var-

ious districts in Telangana andadjoining districts ofChhattisgarh, MaharashtraMadhya Pradesh and Odishastates, we have set up five newsheds for the convenience ofdevotees, he said.

The collector stated that Rs18 lakh have been allotted forsetting up infiltration wells,taps and sheds for changingdresses and Rs 15 lakh for lev-elling sand in Jampanna vaguto avoid casualties when devo-tees take holy dip.

"Rs 13crore allocated toinstall signboards at MedaramJunction. Rs 25 lakh allocatedfor electrification works and Rs30 lakh for TW. Rs 10 lakhhave been allocated for policebandobust arrangements, Rs 9lakh for endowments and Rs 5lakh for protocol arrange-ments," the collector said.

ITDA project officerHanmanthu Zandenga,Additional Collector AdarshSurabhi, DPRO and otherswere present at the event.

All set for mini Medaram jatara

ML MELLY MAITREYI

n HYDERABAD

Things are falling in place forthe Telangana Government’snew Information TechnologyPolicy for 2021-26 to decen-tralise the IT and ITeS and takeit to tier II and III towns withthe Centre sanctioning thenew Regional Ring Road pro-ject around the State capital.

The in principle approvalgiven by the Union Ministry ofRoad Transport and Highwaysfor the 340-km Regional RingRoad around the State capitalto be taken up in two phaseslinking 20 towns around Statecapital has come as a shot inthe arm for the State govern-ment’s Growth in Dispersion(GRID) policy.

The IT department sourcesare enthused that the RRRfrom Sangareddy toChoutuppal, once ready, will

facilitate their plans to take ITand ITeS units to smaller townsfor equitable development.

With employment genera-tion, townships and othersocial infrastructure facilitieswill come up, apart from giv-ing a boost to agriculture and

its allied activities like coldchains, food processing units,etc,.

In August last year, towardsthe end of Telangana State’s firstfive -year IT policy period, theState Government approvedthe GRID policy to offer incen-

tives to the IT companies beingset up in areas other thanHitech City and Cyberabadwhich are in the Western sec-tor on the city.

One of the incentives underthe GRID policy was to pro-vide affordable infrastructurefor the IT companies to helpthem spread to all the foursides of the city.

The government said that ITParks would be established inthe eastern part of the city inand around Uppal, Mallapurand Nacharam. Some big com-panies like Infosys, Genpact,some medium and small scaleenterprises set up operations inthe eastern part of Hyderabad.

The new IT policy, which isbeing fine tuned and likely tobe finalised in April this year,will train its sight on mid-scaleand small companies andattract them to set up facilitiesin tier II and III cities.

MARTHI SUBRAHMANYAM

n HYDERABAD

Will Vani Devi, daughter of for-mer PM PV Narasimha Rao,fulfil Chief Minister KChandrasekhar Rao's dreamby getting elected to theLegislative Council by win-ning from the Hyderabad-Rangareddy-Mahabubnagargraduate constituency? According to allegations, theTRS has fielded her from a los-ing seat. Even Vani's familymembers nurse the same feel-ing.TRS supremo KCR, after initialvacillations, gave ticket to VaniDevi surprising everyone. Thedecision boosted the morale ofthe party workers. Earlier, theprediction was zero winningchances for the TRS from theseat. The MLC polls took a newturn with the TRS fielding itscandidate. The contest has nowbecome three-cornered withTRS fielding candidate. Earlier, the fight was limited toBJP's Ramachander Rao andindependent nominee ProfNageshwar. Now the equationhas drastically altered. The TRSstrategy worked in changing thepoll equation. Political circlesare however, agog whetherKCR's decision is right orwrong. Vani Devi is going to splitBrahmin community votes.

Ramachander Rao is also pop-ular among advocates and stu-dents. His ABVP background isa plus factor for him. Majorityof the alumnus of OU will votefor him. As a BJP leader, he isaccessible to all. The BJP, follow-ing its victory in GHMC pollsis rearing to go. It is implement-ing its action plan by appoint-ing former deputy mayorSubash Chander as the con-stituency in-charge. In comparison, many feel thatVani's candidature has beensuddenly imposed. Moreover,she has no rapport with thepeople as her rivalRamachander Rao has in hiscommunity, observers feel. Sheis a stranger to many voters. Shehas no other identity except thatof being PV's daughter. Theburden of ensuring her victoris squarely on TRS MLAs, sinceKCR has himself fielded her.Many feel that her credentials

as PV's daughter will help heronly to an extent.Acting as per a strategy, KCRfielded her to deflect publicattention from the anti-estab-lishment wave, which was clear-ly perceptible in the GHMCpolls. His idea was that the peo-ple would discuss about herfamily background forgettingeverything else. KCR was suc-cessful in shocking the BJP byfielding her. The TRS circles are however,discussing how far the PV fam-ily card will help her in sway-ing the results in favour of TRS. The BJP and the Congress,which saw through the TRSstrategy, had been launching ascathing attack on the TRSalleging that TRS had made hera sacrificial goat by fielding herfrom a losing seat, instead ofsending her to either RajyaSabha or giving her an winningMLC seat.

Bodhan MLA condemnsArvind's allegations NIZAMABAD: Bodhan legislator Shakeel on Tuesday sought anexplanation from Nizamabad MP Arvind as to how the TRS governmentwas related to issue of fake passports which is under the purview of theCentral government. Condemning the allegations levelled against thegovernment by the MP here on Tuesday, he claimed that there were noRohingyas in Bodhan and accused the MP of politicising fake passportsissue. Stating that the Central government issues the passports, hedenied any relation whatsoever to the Telangana government in the issueof passports. He turned tables on the BJP MP questioning what theCentre has been doing when Rohingyas living under the same roofobtained 32 passports. Rohingyas received fake passports in Bodhanwith the help of the Aadhaar cards obtained in other states. He advisedthe MP to stop driving a wedge between various religions and focus ondevelopment. He offered to quit from politics if Arvind were to be re-elected MP.

BoM employees stage protest,want vacancies filledHYDERABAD: Around six thousand employees of the Bank ofMaharashtra working in around 1,900 branches across the countrystaged demonstrations with a demand for filling posts like part-timesub staff, sub staff and clerks. The agitation was organied under theaegis of All India Bank Employees' Association (AIBEA). In astatement, the General Secretary of All India Bank of MaharashtraEmployees Federation (AIBOMEF) Devidas Tuljapurkar said that thetemporary part-time sub staff were working in more than 1,100branches and added that more than 600 branches of the bank hadtemporary sub staff. He also said that since last five years, the bankhad not filled up vacancies which fell vacant due to the death,retirement, resignation or promotion in clerical cadre and thevacancies arising out of branch expansion and increase in business. He said that as per their estimates, more than 1,000 clerks wereneeded to be recruited to man the branches of the bank properly. He alleged that the bank was outsourcing jobs even in core activitieswhile noting that it is inviting fraud risk by doing so in the process.He also alleged that the Bank management was taking all HR and IRdecisions unilaterally by setting aside age-old practice of bi-partisandespite the strong objection by the employees' union. He said thatthey were holding a dharna on February 26 in front of 32 zonaloffices besides holding another dharna before Lokmangal HeadOffice of the bank on March 6 next month. He also said that theywould observe a day-long nationwide strike on March 12, 2021.

SHORT TAKES

RRR to give a fillip to newIT Policy of Telangana

‘Mafia’ ruling the roost in TS: TDP

CCTV cams vital forcontrolling crime: MLAPNS n PATANCHERU

Patancheru MLA GudemMahipal Reddy on Tuesdaysaid that CCTV cameras playa key role in controlling crime.

Inaugurating CCTV cam-eras set up by under the aus-pices of the gram panchayats inBonthapally andVeerannagudem villages ofGummadidala mandal, theMLA said that a single CCTVcamera is equivalent to 100policemen.

He said that the CCTVfootage were playing crucialrole in cracking several cases.

Stating that the use of CCTVcameras has increased tremen-dously in recent times, he saidthat efforts were being made toset up community CCTV cam-eras in the entire constituency.

He advised the donors tocome forward for the noblecause of setting up CCTVcameras in rural areas.

Launches CC road worksLaying foundation stone for

the construction of CC road inVeerannagudem village takenup at an estimated cost of Rs 15lakh, Mahipal Reddy said thatthe creation of infrastructure inrural areas was a top priority.

MP Praveen VijayabhaskarReddy, ZPTC Kumar Goud,DSP Bhimreddy, CI LaluNayak, village sarpanchesNaveen Srinivas Reddy andMamata, public representativeBonthapally Veerabhadra, tem-ple committee chairmanBhadrappa, TRS party zonepresident Narender Reddy andother officials were present onthe occasion.

Private teachers' body prez filesnomination for Graduates’ MLC pollsPNS n HYDERABAD

President of Telangana PrivateTeachers' Association, SheikhShabbir Ali, has decided tocontest the graduate MLCelections with the aim to fightfor the rights of teachers of theprivate schools, who havebeen badly hit by the lock-down, in the state. During thelockdown period the schoolsstayed closed and the teacherswere not given their salaries,forcing many to switch profes-sion to feed their families.Situation has not muchimproved now, though theschools have partially openedtheir gates to the students.

40-year-old Shabbir Ali,who teaches Hindi in a privateschool, has filed his nomina-tion for graduate MLC elec-

tions on Monday fromWa r a n g a l - K h a m m a m -Nalgonda graduate con-stituency. The bike rally, lead-ing to his nomination, beganat N2G College in Warangaland ended at the Collectoratein Nalgonda.

He said that during theentire lockdown period,induced by the pandemic, heand his association pleadedwith the managements of theschools to pay salaries to theteachers, but hardly anyonepaid salaries to them. As aresult they had to suffer andlook for other jobs to feed theirfamilies. His aim is to questionall the school authoritiesregarding salaries and ensurethat the teachers get theirdues, if he wins the graduateMLC election.

PNS n PEDDAPALLI

The fourth accused in thedouble murder of highcourt lawyers, Bittu Srinu,was presented before judgein the Manthani court onTuesday.

Tension prevailed in theregion on account of thepolice presenting the accusedbefore the judge.

Meanwhile, the policeincluded the name ofLachchaiah as the fifthaccused in the FIR as he con-ducted recce on the move-ments of Vaman Rao.

The police registered acase against him on a com-plaint lodged by Vaman Rao'sfather.

Tension prevailed near theManthani court as a group oflawyers protested in front ofthe court demanding thatthe government institute aCBI probe into the case.

4th

accused indouble murdercase presentedin court

ANUSHA PUPPALA

n HYDERABAD

Telangana State Human RightsCommission (TSHRC) onTuesday issued notice toDistrict Education Officer(DEO) Rangareddy and in-charge Principal of GlendaleAcademy International Schoolto appear before theCommission on February 24,2021 by 2 pm failing which theCommission would issue war-rant against them.

The Commission has issuednotice to the above authoritiesto discuss the matter in whichGlendale Academy issuedTransfer Certificate (TC) toClass 9 student right before thefinal examinations.

Glendale Academy inBandlaguda illegally gaveTransfer Certificate (TC) to aClass 9 student in January2021 stating that the parentsquestioned the school author-ities for removing the studentsfrom the online classes.

The parents approachedTelangana Human RightsCommission (HRC) for helpbecause the student was givenTC just one month before herfinal examinations of class 9.

According to the report ofRangareddy DEO, MandalEducational Officer, alongwith the father of the child andtheir advocate, visited theschool and had talks with themanagement of GlendaleAcademy International.

The management agreed toallow the child to write Class9 final examinations scheduledto be held in March 2021 andto resume the online classes,provided parents of the childpaid cleared the dues fromNovember 2020 and gave anapology letter.

However, the school expectsthe parents to accept theTransfer Certificate after thefinal examinations of Class 9.

The report also shows thatparents were ready to pay thefees from November 2020 andwere ready to give an apologyletter to the school manage-ment but they are not willingto accept the TransferCertificate (TC) after the finalexaminations as they wanttheir child continue his Class10 education in the sameschool. The DEO in herreport, clearly stated that to themaximum extent, MEO triedto persuade both the parties,but in vain.

According to the Commiss-ion, there is a need to hear thecontentions of all the parties -Meenu Salooja, the in-chargePrincipal Glendale Academy,DEO and the parents of thechild. Hence, the Commissionissued notice to DEO and in-charge principal of GlendaleAcademy to appear before theCommission on Wednesday by2pm without fail. Deviation ofthe order of the Commissionwill result in issuance of war-rant, the commission said.

Boy given TC: TSHRCsummons DEO,Glendale Academy

PNS n HYDERABAD

The state government hasdecided to pay dry seasonallowance to MGNREGAworkers from February 1 toJune 30 because of harshsummers. The workers areentitled to get 20 per cent forFebruary, 25 per cent forMarch, 30 per cent each forApril and May and 20 percent for June.

The government is likely totake suitable measures in thisregard. The allowance will bepaid to the workers as theylose wages due reduced work-ing hours in summer.

MGNREGAworkers to getdry seasonallowance

Will PV family name help VaniDevi win Council election?

PNS n HYDERABAD

Describing privacy as a humanright, Microsoft CEO SatyaNadella on Tuesday said he ishoping for a global regulationon safety and privacy of datathat would make sure that techproducts and services are safeto use. In a virtual interactivesession with Telangana IT andIndustries Minister KT RamaRao in BioAsia 2021, Nadellasaid the COVID-19 pandem-ic across the globe accelerateddigital transformation.

"So I look forward to aworld where we do have, justafter all we have food safetylaws we have drug safety laws,there will be similarly I thinkrules and regulations (ondata). Hopefully there is aglobal norm around," he saidreplying to query on whetherthe security and privacy con-cerns can be regulated.

"One thing that I wouldhope for is that we don't frag-ment.We are able to whether

on privacy or safety, bringtogether a set of global rulesthat will allow all of us to bothcomply and make sure that weknow what we build is safe touse," Nadella said.

He saidregulations are inplace and initiatives such asGeneral Data ProtectionRegulations (GDPR) arespreading worldwide. He sug-gested that companies shoulddesign and build productskeeping in mind the privacy ofthe user and no lackadaisicalattitude in this regard shouldbe tolerated.

PNS n HYDERABAD

The Cyberabad police, afterhaving asked the RegionalPassport Officer to cancel 72Indian passports obtainedfraudulently by someBangladeshi nationals andseeking Look-Out Circularsfrom the Foreigners RegionalRegistration Officer in whathas come to be called the'Bodhan passport scam', arrest-ed eight persons in all as ofTuesday, Cyberabad PoliceCommissioner VC Sajjanartold media persons here.Sajjanar said that a specialteam had been set up to expe-dite the investigations into thescam.

Investigations so far revealedthe role of four Bangladeshis,a Bengali resident, and anoth-er agent. Two Special Branchofficers who assisted themhad also been arrested.

The Commissioner of Policesaid that 32 passports with thesame address were issued and

a total of 72 fake passports hadbeen detected. The police werelooking into questions such ashow many of them had crossedthe country with such pass-ports and how many moremanaged to obtain passports.The Police claimed that therewere no Rohingyas among theaccused.

Sajjanar said he hadinformed the immigration andregional passport authorities

about the racket. The accusedpersons had been remanded.With the permission of thecourt, they would be taken intocustody and prosecuted.

Giving details, Sajjanar saidthat a total of 72 passports hadbeen obtained on the basis offake addresses, of which 42passports were recommendedby ASI Mallesh. The mainaccused has been identified asParimal Bain from Bangladesh,the Police Commissioner said.The passports were found tohave been obtained through aservice administrator inBodhan.

According to the affidavit,Rs 10,000 to Rs 30,000 wastaken from each of them.Twenty-five agents, an immi-gration officer and three policeofficers have been arrested.Parimal Bain claimed to havecome to India illegally by sea.It was found that there were 36passports with only five phonenumbers.

Satya Nadella batsfor global regulationon privacy of data

Four Bangladeshis, 2 copsheld for passport fraud

Uttam asks youthto agitate against‘Communal BJP,Corrupt TRS'PNS n HYDERABAD

TPCC president N. UttamKumar Reddy has exhortedthe members of YouthCongress to launch agita-tions against the communalBJP government at the Centreand corrupt TRS govern-ment in the State.

Addressing the two-daytraining camp of YouthCongress held here at TRRMedical College complex inPatancheru on Tuesday,Uttam Kumar Reddy saidthat the Youth Congress hasalways served as a backbonefor the Congress party.

Stating that the Congressparty had always won elec-tions and retained poweronly when Youth Congresswas stronger, he said that amajority of successful politi-cians across the countrybegan their careers fromYouth Congress and there-fore, it is often referred to asthe launching pad for a goodpolitical career.

Uttam said that the respon-sibility of Youth Congresshas increased due to the spe-cial circumstances prevailingin the country, especially inTelangana.

PNS n HYDERABAD

Former India all-rounder YusufPathan on Tuesday inaugurat-ed the 26th centre of CricketAcademy of Pathans (CAP)here, with an aim to provideworld-class coaching to bud-ding cricketers of the city.During the occasion, Yusufinteracted with the trainees andshared his experiences of play-ing cricket in Hderabad, aCAP release said.

"The aim of CricketAcademy of Pathans is to pro-vide world-class cricket coach-ing and the best-possible infra-structure to facilitate and helpthe budding cricketers of thecountry," said Yusuf, a Directorof CAP.

Yusuf Pathanlaunches cricketacademy in Hyd

VIJAYAWADA | WEDNESDAY | FEBRUARY 24, 2021 nation 05

In a major shock to the BJP,the NCP on Tuesdaymanaged to elect its mayor

for the Sangli MirajKupwad MunicipalCorporation, which was ruledby the saffron party.The NCP's DigvijaySuryawanshi was elected asthe mayor of the civic body,after five BJP corporatorsvoted in favour of him. "There are 78 members in the civic body.During the election, the NCP candidate bagged 39 votes, while theBJP's Dhiraj Suryawanshi got 36 votes," the NCP's district presidentSanjay Bajaj said. At least five BJP corporators voted in favour of theNCP candidate, while two abstained from voting, he said. Earlier, theBJP's strength in the civic body was 43, while the NCP's was 34, hesaid, adding that the party managed to adjust seven votes in theelection. Umesh Patil of the Congress has been elected as thedeputy mayor, he said.

INDIA CORNERMaharashtra: Jolt to BJP as NCP wins mayoral election in Sangli

Lakha Sidhana, who iswanted in connection withthe violence in Delhi on

Republic Day, on Tuesdayattended a public meeting inPunjab's Bathinda in supportof the ongoing farmers'agitation against the Centre'sagri laws. A video clip showedhim seated on the dais. Thegangster-turned-activist hadgiven a call for the public meeting in Bathinda's Mehraj village lastweek. There was speculation whether Sidhana would take part in thepublic meeting as he is wanted by the Delhi Police for his alleged rolein the violence that broke out during a tractor parade called by farmerunions on January 26 demanding the repeal of the agri laws.Thousands of protesters had clashed with the police during theviolence. Many of the protesters reached the Red Fort and enteredthe monument, and some of them even hoisted religious flags on itsdomes and a flagstaff at the ramparts.

R-Day violence accused Sidhanaattends public meeting in Bathinda

The Uttar Pradeshgovernment on Tuesdaysaid there is a provision of

giving Rs 50 lakh ex-gratia tofamilies of all government,corporations and otherdepartment employees whodied due to COVID-19 whileworking for prevention andtreatment of the virus. TillOctober 26, 2020, families of19 personnel who died due to the virus have been given the amountof Rs 50 lakh each. In a written reply to a question by SamajwadiParty member Mohd Faheem Irfan in the state assembly, ChiefMinister Yogi Adityanath said the ex-gratia provision of Rs 50 lakh isfor all employees of government, semi-government, corporations,autonomous institutions, contractual workers, working for theprevention and treatment of COVID-19.

Covid death: Ex gratia provision forfamilies of govt employees in UP

An elderly man and his twominor grandsons havebeen killed by a herd of

wild elephants near the SanjayTiger Reserve in MadhyaPradesh's Sidhi district, aforest official said on Tuesday.The incident took place onMonday night in Haikivillage, about 85 km from thedistrict headquarters, she said.After the herd of elephants entered the village, Gorelal Yadav and hisgrandsons Ramkripal (12) and Ramprasad (13) rushed out of theirhouse to move to a safer place, the tiger reserve's sub-divisionalofficer Jaya Tripathi said. The jumbos, however, caught hold of thetrio and banged them on the ground with their trunks. The threevictims died on the spot, the official said. Later, angry residents ofthe village, which is situated close to Chhattisgarh, staged a blockadeon the Tilwari-Janakpur Road in protest.A probe is underway into theincident, the official said.

PNS n KHARAGPUR (WB)

Warning against the dangers ofclimate change and naturaldisasters like the one inUttarakhand recently, PrimeMinister Narendra ModiTuesday asked the IITs todevelop disaster resilient infra-structure that can withstandtheir effects.

Addressing the 66th convo-cation of IIT (Kharagpur), theoldest of Indian Institutes ofTechnology, he gave the stu-dents the mantra of "Self-3""self-awarness, self- confidenceand selflessness" in order tobecome startups for bringingabout a change in the lives ofpeople.

He also spoke of the need formaking available safe, afford-able and environment friend-ly energy to people through ini-tiatives like the InternationalSolar Alliance.

"Climate change is a majorchallenge as natural disastersdestroy infrastructure. Indiadrew the attention of the worldto the issue of disaster manage-ment. "You can see what hap-pened recently in Uttarakhand.We should focus on developingdisaster resilient infrastruc-ture that can withstand natur-al disasters," he said.

The prime minister referredto the global Coalition forDisaster Resilient Infrastructure(CDRI), which he announced

at the UN Climate ActionSummit in 2019.

The CDRI envisages partner-ship of national governments,UN agencies and programmes,multilateral development banks,financing mechanisms, privatesector, and knowledge institu-tions to promote the resilienceof new and existing infrastruc-ture systems to climate and dis-aster risks to ensure sustainabledevelopment.

He hailed the role played bythe IITs in developing technol-ogy to battle COVID-19, andsaid the hallowed institutesshould now work fast on find-ing futuristic solutions to otherhealth care problems.

"You represent the aspira-tions of 130 crore people ofIndia," he said, while address-

ing the convocation virtually.Noting that the needs and

aspirations of the 21st centuryIndia have changed, Modi saidIITs also need to transformfrom being just IndianInstitutes of Technology toInstitutes of IndigenousTechnologies.

"You have to become startupsto bring about a change in thelives of people. You have to workon Self 3-- self- awareness, self-confidence and selflessness. Youshould recognise your potentialand move forward, move aheadwith full confidence, moveahead with selflessness," he toldthe students.

Underscoring the need forclean and affordable energy, theprime minister said India pre-sented to the world the concept

of International Solar Alliance.He said the cost per unit of

solar power was very little inIndia. However, it was still agreat challenge to reach it topeople's homes.

"Can you do somethingabout reaching solar cookers tohomes using 'chulha' (earthenovens)," he asked.

He said before the coronavirusstruck people used to keep onlymedicines at their homes.

"Things have changed. Theynow keep machines that mea-sure blood pressure, machinesthat measure blood oxygen. Ahuge market has emerged forpersonal health care equip-ment," he said while speakingabout research and innova-tion in the field.

He said IIT students canmake use of PM Research FellowScheme and the Startup IndiaMission for idea incubation.

The prime minister spokeabout the government liberal-ising regulations on geospatialdata to allow private companiesto conduct survey and map-ping without prior govern-ment approvals and sharing thedata for various everyday appli-cations, from logistics andtransport to road safety and e-commerce.

He said the decision will pro-vide a huge impetus to DigitalIndia and was a step forward inthe direction of realising thevision 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat'.

PM warns against dangers of climate change

PNS n NEW DELHI

The prestige of India's healthsector and trust in it hasincreased manifold across theglobe after it successfullyovercame the trial by fire duringthe COVID-19 pandemic lastyear, Prime Minister NarendraModi said on Tuesday andasserted that time has come totake accessibility and affordabilityin healthcare to the next level.Addressing a webinar oneffective implementation of theUnion Budget's provisions in thehealth sector, he said the budgetallocated to health this year isunprecedented and shows thegovernment's commitment toprovide better healthcare. Modi said his government istaking a holistic approach tohealthcare and is not justfocused on treatment but alsowellness.To keep India healthy,the government is working onfour fronts simultaneously --prevention of illness andpromotion of wellness, providingcheap and effective treatment tothe poorest of the poor,increasing quality and quantity ofhealth infrastructure andhealthcare professionals, andworking on mission mode to

overcome obstacles, Modi said.The prime minister said it is timeto take accessibility andaffordability in healthcare to thenext level for which use ofmodern technology is beingincreased, he said. "Last year wasin a way like 'agnipareeksha' (trialby fire) for the country andparticularly for the health sector. Iam happy that the country'shealth sector was successful inthis 'agnipareeksha'. Wemanaged to save so many lives,"he said while crediting theachievement to combined effortsof the government and privatesector. The prime ministerrecalled how, within a fewmonths, the country could set upa network of 2,500 labs and howit could reach a milestone of 21crore tests from a mere dozentests. Modi said the pandemichas taught a lesson which is notjust to fight the virus but preparethe country for any such futuresituation. "From medicalequipment to medicines, fromventilators to vaccines, fromscientific research to surveillanceinfrastructure, from doctors toepidemiologists, we have to payattention to all so that thecountry is better prepared for anyhealth disaster in future," he said.

India's health sector overcame trialby fire during Covid, says Modi

PNS n NEW DELHI

Petrol price onTuesday nearedthe Rs 91 perlitre mark inthe nationalcapital anddiesel crossedRs 81 a litre, as fuel prices werehiked again after a two-daypause.

Petrol and diesel prices wereraised by 35 paise per litreeach, sending retail rates to anall-time high, according to aprice notification of state-owned fuel retailers. Theincrease pushed petrol price toRs 90.93 a litre in Delhi and toRs 97.34 in Mumbai. Diesel -the most consumed fuel in thecountry - now comes for Rs81.32 a litre in the national cap-ital and for Rs 88.44 inMumbai.

Fuel prices had risen for 12straight days before hitting atwo-day pause button onFebruary 21 and 22.

The increase follows a spurtin oil prices in the internation-al market, on which India isdependent to meet its 85 percent of crude oil needs.

Brent oil crossed USD 66 a

barrel onTuesdayas USo u t p u twas slowto return

after a deepfreeze in Texas

shut production last week.Petrol prices have been raisedby Rs 4.63 per litre in Februaryand by Rs 7.22 in 2021. Dieselrates have gone up by Rs 4.84a litre in February and by Rs7.45 in 2021. Petrol price hasalready surged past the Rs100-mark in some places inRajasthan and MP, which levythe highest value-added tax(VAT) on the fuel.

Retail pump prices differfrom state to state dependingon the local taxes (VAT) andfreight. The increase in fuelprices has been criticised bythe opposition parties such asthe Congress that said that theModi government should havecut excise duty to ease con-sumer pain.

The Modi government hadraised taxes to scoop out thebenefit that arose from inter-national oil rates plunging toa two-decade low in April/Maylast year.

PNS nTHIRUVANANTHAPURAM

Opposition Congress onTuesday demanded a judicialprobe into alleged deep seafishing contract between theKerala government and a USfirm, a day after authoritiesdecided to cancel a controver-sial MoU signed between thecompany and a state-ownedcorporation.

The party rejected as 'inad-equate' the government'sreported directive for an inter-nal probe under the aegis ofadditional secretary T K Joseinto the pact between EMCCInternational and KeralaShipping and InlandNavigation Corporation

Alleging a conspiracy involv-ing Chief Minister Pinarayi

Vijayan and his two cabinetcolleagues over the project,Leader of the Opposition in theassembly Ramesh Chennithala

claimed the probe wouldnot be adequate to bring outthe truth. "The bureaucraticinquiry that has just been

announced is not at all ade-quate. A judicial probe shouldbe carried out to bring out thetruth completely," he told apress meet here.

Not just the MoU betweenEMCC and the KSINC, but theRs 5000 crore worth main

project agreement with thecompany should also be can-celled at the earliest and thefour acre land allotted to themat Pallippuarm should takeback, he said.

The senior Congress leadersaid there were indicationsthat the EMCC was not theonly company behind the deal.

"But, some major monopo-lies are also there behind thescreen. It is doubtful whethersome online food distribution-companies are also involved init," Chennithala said.

He also said the Congress-led United Democratic Front(UDF) would extend supportto the 'coastal hartal' ,announced by various unionsand outfits on February 27 asa mark of protest against thealleged deep sea fishing con-

tract.The front would also take

out a march through thecoastal areas explaining thefishermen community aboutthe issue, he added.

Vijayan on Monday direct-ed the officials concerned tocancel the EMCC-KSINC dealand probe the circumstancesunder which such an MoU wassigned.

The step was taken report-edly to avoid further controver-sies, with the opposition level-ling fresh charges and bringingout what they term as 'evi-dence' almost every day.

EMCC International IndiaPrivate Limited president Shiju

Varghese came out againstthe cancellation of the agree-ment, asking on what basis itwas done.

Cong demands judicial probe into EMCC deal

PNS n BENGALURU

The opposition parties onTuesday held the BJP govern-ment in Karnataka responsiblefor the blast at a quarry site inChikkaballapur district, whichleft six dead, saying it did not payattention to safety aspects evenafter a similar recent incident.

Congress state unit chief DK Shivakumar said, "The blastin Chikkaballapur which killedsix people occurred due to theirresponsible government."

Pointing out that theChikkaballapur blast was thesecond such incident in the lastone month, he sought to knowhow many innocent liveswould the government sacri-fice. "At the time of the explo-sion in Shivamogga, I hadstressed on a safe system forhandling and transporting

these explosives and strictadherence to the rules and reg-ulations but this government,which is caught with its owninternal problems could notpay attention."

He also termed the state-ment on action against theguilty as 'ridiculous.'

Former CM Siddaramaiahcame down heavily on the gov-ernment, saying "theChikkaballapur explosion with-

in a month of the Shivamoggagelatin explosion is a testamentto the government's inaction,irresponsibility and collusion inthis illegality and corruption."

"Dear Chief Minister, whomare you protecting? masses or

the corrupt people?" theCongress stalwart asked andalleged that those who werekilled in the blast did not dieof explosives but maladminis-tration of the CM.

Karnataka oppn alleges govtpatronage to illegal quarrying

PNS n JAMMU

An Army jawan was killedin an accidental firing dur-ing training here onTuesday, a defencespokesman said.

"Gunner Sayan Ghoshof Artillery Regiment suf-fered fatal injury due to afiring accident while carry-ing out live firing trainingat the field firing range (inAkhnoor sector)," thespokesman said.

The incident occurredaround 10.30 am. Thespokesman said furtherdetails are being ascer-tained.

Jawan killed in‘accidental’firing in Jammu

PNS n NEW DELHI

A plea in the Delhi HighCourt on Tuesday sought thata standing order of Ministryof Home Affairs which man-dates inclusion of an advocate'sdetails in an accused's crimi-nal dossier be declared as"illegal and arbitrary".

A bench of Chief Justice DN Patel and Justice Jyoti Singhissued notice to the MHA,Delhi government, UP gov-ernment and the police of bothstates seeking their stand on aplea by a businessman whohas contended that due to thestanding order several lawyersdeclined to represent him afterhe was allegedly implicated ina false case by the police.

The petitioner, a formerlawyer, has also sought com-pensation of Rs 10 crores forbeing allegedly "wrongfullyarrested, kept in illegal custodyand brutally beaten for the

purpose of extortion".In his plea, filed through

advocate Dibyanshu Pandey,the petitioner, SaurabhAgarwal, claimed that a fakecase of recovery of stolen goodswas made against him after herefused to accept the allegedextortion demands made bythe police officers of SamaipurBadli PS in north Delhi.

Agarwal, in his plea, hasalso alleged that he was kept inpolice custody "for the pur-pose of extortion", despitebeing remanded to judicialcustody by a magistrate.

He has further alleged thathe was initially "attacked andcaptured" by 7-8 persons at gunpoint from Ghaziabad andthen taken to the police station.He has claimed that his shopwas searched, but no stolenitems were recovered fromthere and after he was againbrought back to the station hewas allegedly beaten up there.

Plea in Delhi HC against MHA order

PNS n MUMBAI

Maharashtra Forest MinisterSanjay Rathod, who was notseen in public after his namewas linked to the death of awoman in Pune, visited a tem-ple in Washim district onTuesday and later dismissedthe allegations against him.

Talking to reporters after vis-iting the Pohradevi Temple inWashim, Rathod claimed "dirtypolitics" was being played follow-ing the woman's "unfortunate"death. The Shiv Sena leader

also expressed confidence thattruth will come out following aprobe into the matter.

The opposition BJP in thestate, however, demandedremoval of Rathod as ministerand a comprehensive probeinto the woman's death.

The 23-year-old womandied after falling from a build-ing in Hadapsar area of Puneon February 8. Some socialmedia posts and the BJP ear-lier alleged that Rathod wasconnected to the death of thewoman. On Tuesday, the min-

ister travelled by road from hisresidence in Yavatmal to thePohradevi Temple in neigh-bouring Washim, where hesought blessings and took partin rituals.

A large number of Rathod'ssupporters thronged the venue,in apparent violation of thesocial distancing norms.

Later, in a brief interactionwith media, Rathod said heand the Banjara community, towhich be belongs, are painedby the woman's death andshare her family's grief.

Maha minister denies link towoman's death, visits temple

PNS n LUCKNOW

The Uttar Pradesh ChiefMinister's Covid Care Fundreceived Rs 412 crore throughvarious sources till July 23 last

year, the state Assembly wastold Tuesday. "In the ChiefMinister Relief Fund-CovidCare Fund, Rs 412 crore wasreceived through varioussources including through the

District Magistrates," the chiefminister said in a written replyto a question in the stateAssembly.

The question was asked bySamajwadi Party MLA Sanjay

Garg who had sought to knowabout the amount received inthe Chief Minister's care fundand the District Magistrates'care fund between January1 toJuly 23 last year.

PNS n NEW DELHI

A plea in the Delhi HighCourt on Tuesday sought thatfact-finding reports by variousextra judicial bodies like theDelhi Minorities Commission(DMC) on the riots in thenational capital last year bedeclared as having no stand-ing in law.

A bench of Chief Justice DN Patel and Justice Jyoti Singhissued notice to the Centre,Delhi Police and various extrajudicial bodies, includingDMC, seeking their stand onthe petition by a lawyer whoseschool was burnt down in thenorth-east Delhi riots inFebruary last year.

Communal clashes had

broken out in north-east Delhion February 24, 2020 afterviolence between theCitizenship (Amendment)Act (CAA) supporters andprotesters spiralled out ofcontrol leaving at least 53people dead and around 200injured

The petitioner has con-tended that since the chargesheet has been filed in theFIRs lodged in connectionwith the burning down of theschool, the fact finding reportsby extra judicial bodies wouldinterfere with the due processof the trial.

He has sought that thereports be removed from pub-lic domain and be declared ashaving "no value in law".

PNS n NEW DELHI

The Union Home Ministryhas directed a phased closureof two special and temporaryCOVID care centres in thecity in view of "continuousdecline" in coronavirus cases,officials said on Tuesday.

While the Sardar VallabhBhai Patel COVID hospitallocated in the DelhiCantonment area is man-aged by the DRDO, theSardar Patel COVID CareCentre operational in southDelhi's Chhattarpur area ismanaged by the ITBP.

As per a directive accessedby PTI, the Ministry of HomeAffairs (MHA) has asked theDefence Research andDevelopment Organisationto "close down" the facility runby it and directed the ArmedForces Medical Services(AFMS) to withdraw theirhealth professionals manningthis centre and ordered thesame with "immediate effect"to the ITBP for theChhattarpur facility. The twofacilities will be closed inphases. Those admitted willbe discharged gradually andno new admissions will bemade now, a senior homeministry official said.

Plea in HC againstreports by extrajudicial bodies

MHA directsclosure of twospecial DelhiCovid centres

‘UP CM Covid Care Fund got `412 cr till July’

Petrol nears `91-markin New Delhi, crosses`97 in Mumbai

Man, his two grandsons killed bywild elephants in Sidhi

ongoing three Ds —Disengagement, De-escalationand De-induction. In the past,contradictory informationwould be leaked by theGovernment and military offi-cials even as independent jour-nalists claimed they had theirown sources, all of which ledto mammoth confusion. Lastweek Lt Gen Joshi, who waspilloried over last year’s mul-tiple intrusions, explained howthe disengagement deal cameabout following an audacioustactical operation by stealth toseize strategic heights onFinger 4 and on Kailash rangeon August 29/30 to turn thetables on the PLA. That theseoperations were on the Indianside of the LAC does notdiminish their brilliance.

Elaborating, Lt Gen Joshisaid placing tanks at Rezanglaand Rechinla on Kailash rangewas the game-changer intoreviving stalled talks and forc-ing the PLA to withdrawingfrom Finger 4 to beyondFinger 8. He noted that thewithdrawal plan was in writ-ing for the first time and thatthe talks would resume.

To be clear, details of with-drawal on the south bank arenot as specific as on the northbank. In the written agree-ment, no mention is made ofRSQA April 2020 though dis-

cussion on other frictionpoints is included. AssumingLt Gen Joshi has been quotedaccurately, the Kailash trumpcard has already been playedas quid pro quo for Fingers. Hesaid no land was ceded toChina, presumably referring tothe Pangong lake sector andnot across the intrusion sites.The field is still wide open —with India’s core concernslocated at Galwan, andDepsang apparently left in alimbo without the toweringKailash heights available as abargaining chip. This round iswin-win for both India — withthe vacation of Fingers — andChina — securing removal oftanks and troops from Kailashrange. But using the Ace ofSpades in the first move is a biggamble though Lt Gen Joshisaid it is not advantage in per-petuity. He called the entireepisode — Indian seizure ofKailash heights and the PLA’swithdrawal from Fingers as aloss of face for China whichhas annoyed the Chinese.

The resumed dialogue onSaturday ended not in a writtenagreement but a joint statementto “push for a mutually accept-able resolution of remainingissues so as to jointly maintainpeace and tranquility in borderareas”. Key questions remain:Final disposition of troop sep-

aration at Galwan, Ghogra-Hot Springs, Demchok andDepsang. At Galwan, Indiantroops were pushed back two-and-a-half km from their tradi-tional patrolling point No 14and a buffer zone created.China regards Depsang a lega-cy dispute and the absence ofeyeball confrontation may prob-ably preclude its inclusion froma friction point. But it is of thehighest strategic sensitivity forIndia’s defence of theKarakoram range and an offen-sive towards Aksai Chin; and ofvital strategic import for Chinafor similar reasons. India couldlikely be left with Chinaensconced along its 1959 claimline, buffer zones predomi-nantly on India’s territory, stale-mate at Depsang, no RSQAApril 2020, de facto loss of ter-ritory and most importantly col-lapse of peace, trust and tran-quility along the border, thebedrock of sound and stablebilateral relations. China, on theother hand, wants decoupling ofborder dispute from bilateralrelations. Depsang will prove tobe a test case.

(The writer, a retired MajorGeneral, was Commander,IPKF South, Sri Lanka, andfounder member of the DefencePlanning Staff, currently theIntegrated Defence Staff. Theviews expressed are personal.)

Nearly a fortnight after tragedy struck in the form of a glacier breach at Joshimath inUttarakhand’s Chamoli district, the State Government has issued a notification todeclare 136 people, who are still missing after the February 7 flash flood, “presumed

dead”. Of the 204 people originally reported missing when the flood hit two hydropowerprojects near the Naina Devi National Park, search and rescue workers have recoveredthe rest of the bodies or fragmented body parts. This move by the Government, whichhas begun the process of issuing death certificates for those missing, would basically

make it faster and easier for the bereaved families toreceive compensation early. Treating the Chamoli inci-dent as an “exception”, the Government decided toinvoke provisions of the Registration of Births andDeaths Act, 1969. Usually, people who go missing ina disaster or natural calamity are declared dead if theyremain untraced for seven years. But this law allowsthe Government to declare missing persons as deadbefore the stipulated seven-year-period. The death cer-tificates for those missing would be made under threecategories: One, locals belonging to Chamoli district;two, those belonging to other districts of the State; andthree, tourists or people from other States.

While the Government’s decision is laudatory in thesense that it would help alleviate some degree of pain being felt by those families who arein the throes of uncertainty and suspense after their kin went missing, the need of the houris for the authorities to address the real cause for the tragedy rather than just treating symp-toms. While there is reportedly no imminent danger in the artificial lake formed in the uppercatchment of the Rishiganga river as the volume of water is less than expected and it’sflowing through a natural channel that has been widened, the focus should be on contain-ing mindless human and construction activity in the fragile ecosystem of the hills. Scientistsare still debating the exact cause that led to the flash floods but there is little doubt that suchdisasters are likely to become more frequent. This could be because of long-term effectsof human activity that brew slowly but lead to tragic developments — such as the climatecrisis — as well as more recent developments, such as the construction of dams to gen-erate electricity in the mountain terrain. Slowly but surely, we are beginning to feel the effectsof climate change. It’s in the interest of our own self and our future generations that weheed these warnings and take timely action. Otherwise, it might be too late.

What the ‘Grand Old Party’ needs to learn from the BJP is not only how to winelections but also how to form a Government or at least dislodge the incum-bent by triggering defections and fanning a rift in the rival camp. With the res-

ignation of Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanasamy ahead of a floor test, the Congresshas lost its only Government in the South. That, too, when crucial Assembly electionsin five States — Assam, Kerala, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal — are roundthe corner. The party’s failure lies not only in losing successive elections but also in itsinability to maintain its hold over places where it has formed the Government. All of thispoints to a weak leadership, demoralised rank and file, lack of planning and coordina-

tion and factionalism. While the BJP has a league ofleaders, including from the Rashtriya SwayamsevakSangh and the Vishva Hindu Parishad, apart from itsown cadres who reach out to various communitiesin a strategic and well-planned manner months aheadof an election, the Congress is literally bereft of sucha “strong line” and its grassroots workers are appar-ently devoid of the confidence needed to win polls.The party still solely depends upon its age-old for-mula of banking on the Gandhi surname for electoralbreakthroughs. However, the plan has now becomeobsolete and the Congress needs to roll up its sleevesand refurbish its image among the voters.

Even as the party tries its best to recuperate from various setbacks with Rahul Gandhi’saggressive campaigning for the upcoming Assembly polls, the party does not have anelected president. Last month, the Congress announced that it will have an elected pres-ident by June 2021. This entails a message: Either the party doesn’t want to lose cru-cial time ahead of polls in conducting internal elections or it is shielding its “Yuvraj”from the ignominy of losing elections, if that happens. Further, most of the Congressleaders still toe the line of the Gandhis and the way important decisions are taken inthe party shows the lack of democracy there. Recently, the party’s highest decision-making body — the Congress Working Committee — had authorised Sonia Gandhito schedule the internal elections after the conclusion of the Assembly polls in five States.With the latest setback in Puducherry, the party’s political footprint has shrunk furtherand it is now in power on its own in just three States — Punjab, Chhattisgarh andRajasthan. For the Congress, the battle ahead is an uphill task. However, if it wants toeven be in the contest, it needs to bring about systemic changes, both within the partyas well as in its strategy of reaching out to the masses. The Congress must also learnfrom the BJP that in order to win polls, it’s more important to make tall promises ratherthan fulfil these on time. Else, it must stay contented with the Punjab civic polls victo-ry. As of now, the BJP seems too formidable for the Congress.

Shaky leadership

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

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

VIJAYAWADA | WEDNESDAY | FEBRUARY 24, 2021

06

Helping handDeclaring those still missing after the Chamoli tragedy

‘presumed dead' is aimed at helping their families

The trump card has already been played as quid pro quo for Fingers. This round is win-win for both India and China

PICTALK

A bicycle rider during a winter snowstorm near Independence Hall in Philadelphia AP

DEPSANG IS OF THE HIGHEST

STRATEGICSENSITIVITY FORINDIA'S DEFENCE

OF THEKARAKORAM

RANGE AND ANOFFENSIVE

TOWARDS AKSAICHIN; AND OF VITALSTRATEGIC IMPORT

FOR CHINA FORSIMILAR REASONS

ASHOK K MEHTA

The Congress has failed to win elections or maintain its hold in several States

Kailash card used,Depsang in limbo

Some questions on disen-gagement from the Line ofActual Control (LAC)need to be asked again:

Why did India withdraw fromthe commanding heights onKailash range without quid proquo like Return Status Quo Ante(RSQA) April 2020 integrallylinked with withdrawal fromDepsang and instead settle forvacation from just north-southbanks of Pangong Tso? Theanswer was located in NorthernArmy Commander Lt Gen YKJoshi’s interviews last week; thedetails follow. For a year now,India has been claiming it has theskill and tenacity in high-altitudewarfare, including Siachen,whereas the People’s LiberationArmy (PLA) — which perhapsfor the first time had occupiedposts on Kailash range since1962 — does not have similar tal-ents. China has imposed addi-tional deployment costs of ̀ 1,000crore, excluding ̀ 20,000 crore inemergency operational acquisi-tions, which is a godsend as innormal course, the transactionswould not have materialised.

To recap: Under the shadowof COVID-19 pandemic, Chinadiverted the PLA on training inXinjiang to intrude at multipleplaces from Depsang toDemchok across 300 km of eastLadakh. India looked like a tube-light bereft of counter-intrusioncontingencies. China pushed theLAC westwards to its 1959 claimline, establishing a buffer zone atGalwan and refusing to discussDepsang. The Galwan clash andan Indian coup de main in thatorder froze and nudged disen-gagement which secured anIndian vacation from dominatingheights on Kailash range over-looking Chinese garrisons atMoldo and Spanggur lake. As inthe first disengagement, it isadvantage China. Beijing hasimposed economic costs, trans-forming the LAC into LoC. WhileIndia has politically withstoodChina’s bullying, the perception inthe neighbourhood about India’sability to be a net security providerhas been cast in doubt.

Still the Government has tobe congratulated for providing,for the first time, critical opera-tional information about the

SOUNDBITEREOPENING SCHOOLS WILL HELP STUDENTS Sir—There is no point in not reopeningschools. There is no substitute for classroomlearning and online education system hasseveral drawbacks. All States must take acue from Uttar Pradesh (UP) which hastaken the lead in announcing the reopen-ing of schools for younger students of class-es one to five. The UP Government has saidschools can open from March 1, and alsoissued a set of guidelines.

While parents are worried, they mustalso understand that staying at home is nosolution. However, it is on the part ofschools and colleges to ensure that socialdistancing is followed and the students aremade to sit at a safe distance from eachother inside classrooms. Further, the schooladministration should distribute soft dis-posable cotton masks to each studentdaily and must place sanitising machinesoutside the entrance and exit of the class-es and at the main entrance of the school.

Staying away from school for long willmake the students lethargic and create sev-eral psychological disorders, especiallyamong the young students. They willdevelop the habit of staying at home andnot going to schools which would provecounterproductive to their mental andphysical development in the long run.Students in the age group of three to 10years will develop fear psychosis and willavoid going to school. They will try theirbest to make excuses and then parents willunderstand the importance of early reopen-ing of schools.

P Senthil | Mumbai

AAP’S MISADVENTURE Sir —This refers to the editorial ‘Harvestingvotes’ (February 23). In the last threeAssembly elections in Delhi, the AAP hasproved its mettle even as there was a strongBJP wave across the country. Now the AAPis looking to expand its base to UttarPradesh, Uttarakhand and other States rid-ing on the farmers’ protest. But the partymust remember that the politics of UP isentirely different and winning the westernregion is the toughest nut to crack. With

parties like RLD, SP and BSP having quitesignificant base among the voters, the AAPventuring into UP elections might proveto be a misadventure for the party.

For the AAP, unlike Delhi, it won’t bea plain contest but a fight where religion,caste, traditional loyalties and other fac-tors will play a crucial role. The AAP madeup its mind to contest the elections in UPlast year itself. Delhi Deputy Chief MinisterManish Sisodia had previously targeted theUP Government regarding the state ofeducation in UP. In December last year,Sisodia conducted a debate programmetitled ‘State of Education—Kejriwal’s DelhiModel versus Yogi’s UP Model’ inLucknow. But the AAP must rememberthat the BJP will leave no stone unturnedto fight anti-incumbency and win the 2022UP elections.

Nischai Vats | Sultanpur

BJP HAS LOST GROUND IN PUNJAB Sir —The BJP has never been a consider-able force on its own in Punjab. But still

the fourth place in the State civic polls isa reflection of the anti-Centre mood thathas gripped the farming community. Forfarmers, the Centre means NarendraModi and the BJP again means NarendraModi. On the other hand, the poor showof the SAD is attributed to its past alliancewith the BJP.

The voters were reluctant to believeboth had “really” parted ways. For theCongress, the massive victory is satisfyingin the sense that there has been no anti-incumbency in the State and it remains thestrongest political party in Punjab. CaptainAmarinder Singh, always seen as his ownman, has strengthened his position in theState though there was a palpable local-level dissent against him. The BJP shouldthink fast to even things even things out.It has lost ground in districts consideredits bastion in Punjab.

Ganapathi Bhat| Akola

Send yyour ffeedback tto:letterstopioneer@gmail.com

It is extremely worrying and alarming that theweekly cases of COVID-19 are surging againin India. The problem is particularly severe in

Maharashtra and Kerala and the StateGovernments are responsible for it. The increasein cases in Maharashtra was witnessed after theMumbai local was thrown open to all categoriesof commuters. These two States have given asevere blow to our fight against the pandemic

and have left the entire nation in the lurch. Withno restrictions on interstate movement, the virusis expected to spread fast and assume giganticproportions.

Further, with new strains of Coronavirusinvading our lives, against which the present vac-cines are ineffective, we need to be very care-ful and take all precautions like wearing masksand sanitising our hands. We must also main-tain social distance that went for a toss recent-ly after the economy was thrown open and var-ious activities restarted. We are not ready to suf-fer another dreaded prolonged pandemic whichcould be even worse. People have already suf-fered a lot; schools, offices and businesses wereclosed for long while daily wage earners havebeen pushed on the verge of extinction. Thosewho fail to follow COVID-related protocols shouldbe put behind bars. Further, the Centre must takestrict action against the States which fail to con-trol COVID.

Ramesh G Jethwani | Bengaluru

Take errant States to taskAny community candemand reservation.That is not wrong.But I feel that onlythose communitiesshould get reserva-tion who deserve it the most, in accordance with the provisions of theConstitution.

Congress leader

— Siddaramaiah

Those who violatesocial distancingrestrictions will notbe eligible for anupcoming batch ofemergency cashhandouts.

South Korea PM —Chung Sye-kyun

I was very affectedwhen my nose broke inthe Bigg Boss. Theybroke my prop's headand threw water on mebut I controlled myanger on the show.

Actor—Rakhi Sawant

We will be able to openschools in July-August2021 but our biggestchallenge will be how to deal with the learning loss.

AAP MLA

—Atishi Marlena

The pink ball tends toswing a lot more thanthe normal red ballthat we play with. Weexperienced that whenwe played one match

in 2019 with Bangladesh. Indian captain

—Virat Kohli

LETTERS TO TTHE EDITOR

Education is not amarket commodity

RAHUL GANDHI WENT TO PUDUCHERRY AND TRUE TO

HIS MIDAS TOUCH, CONGRESS LOSES ITS

GOVERNMENT IN THE STATE!

—BJP LEADER

AMIT MALVIYA

PUDUCHERRY IS A UT AND NOT A STATE. PEOPLE CAN

SEE THROUGH THE BJP’S CORRUPT POLITICS OF

FELLING GOVTS USING MUSCLE AND MONEY, CLEARLY.

—CONGRESS LEADER

GAURAV PANDHI

Unlike other nations, education in India isconsidered a costly affair. Historically,Government spending in education has

been low, with less than four per cent of the GDPspent per annum. This lack of budgetary supportcoupled with an increasing population has result-ed in the cost of education becoming inflated inthe country. However, in India, where a majori-ty of the population finds it hard to make endsmeet, parents and students consider a good edu-cation from a reputed institute a dream worth chas-ing. Inevitably, a good education, be it primary,secondary, higher or professional, has made itsplace in the list of fundamental needs of individ-uals. Considering this, the Government has, timeand again, intervened to regulate and formulatepolicies for promoting quality education across thecountry.

Timely financial support and policy measuresbecome enablers for not only educational institu-tions but students, too. They collectively promotequality education in order to deliver a skilledhuman capital that, in turn, takes the economy ona higher and sustainable growth trajectory. Of late,there have been a slew of reforms in higher andprofessional education, which institutions haveresponded to in different ways. This articleexamines one such reform, its consequences andimpact on the country’s education scene.

The concept of Indian Institutes ofManagement (IIMs) was initiated by JawaharlalNehru on the recommendation of the PlanningCommission in 1960. Subsequently, IIM-Calcuttaand IIM-Ahmedabad were established in 1961with the support of the Ford Foundation, IndiaInc. and the Harvard Business School. This fol-lowed the emergence of other IIMs, and todaythere are 20 in number, including six legacy IIMsand 14 new ones set up after 2007.

The establishment of IIMs aimed to producea skilled workforce equipped with managerial anddecision-making skills required for growingindustrialisation in the country. The need for suchmanagerial skills was felt, especially post-1991,when investment and privatisation buttressed theemergence of corporate giants in the liberalisedIndian economy. Given their role in nation-build-ing, IIMs were declared “institutions of nationalimportance” by the Ministry of Education after thepassage of the IIM Act, 2017. The Act also award-ed autonomy to the IIMs for fee regulations apartfrom selection and removal of the chairperson anddirector, student intake and institute expansion.The Government and bureaucracy cannot inter-vene in the day-to-day and strategic operations ofIIMs.

Exercising this autonomy last year, about halfof the IIMs increased their already exorbitant feesfor the two-year full-time MBA course. Thisincluded IIMs from Lucknow, Calcutta, Bangalore,Jammu, Tiruchirappalli, Sirmaur, Nagpur, Udaipurand Rohtak. The fees increase ranged betweenthree per cent (Rohtak) and 36 per cent (Lucknow),averaging at 13 per cent. There already exists a dif-ference in the fee structure of old and new IIMs,which was further widened by the current hike.With the fee hike in 2020 for the academic year2020-2022, the average fee in old IIMs is ̀ 20.7 lakh,whereas that in new IIMs is ̀ 13.7 lakh. The man-agements of these premier institutions attribute this

hike to inflation and the associatedcost of faculty and infrastructure.However, as such, no quantitativeassessment is provided to justify thisargument. Lack of accountabilitydue to the absence of Governmentintervention leads to more questionsthan answers.

On the other hand, the manage-ment institutions under the ambitof the University GrantsCommission (UGC) and the AllIndia Council for TechnicalEducation (AICTE), are restrictedfrom increasing their fees. In itsnotification dated May 1, 2020, theAICTE had asked the B-schoolsoffering AICTE-approved PostGraduate Diploma in Management(PGDM) programmes not toincrease either admission or tuitionfee for the academic session 2020-21 for existing as well as new stu-dents. These two contrasting stories— fee hike in unregulated IIMs andno fee hike in regulated institutions— make one think. Did autonomyplay a significant role in incentivis-ing the IIMs to hike fees?

Fee hike in premier manage-ment institutions becomes a hurdlefor eligible aspirants to acquiremanagerial skills. This problemwas aggravated by the fee hike coin-ciding with the economic recessionand the COVID-19 pandemic.When the contagion has taken a tollon lives, livelihoods and incomes, anincrease in management educa-tion fees has made it impossible formost aspirants to achieve theirdream of studying at these premierinstitutions. Collectively, the current

scenario compromises the veryfundamental objective of educationin the nation that aims to provideaffordable education to the prospec-tive and existing workforce innation-building.

It is well-known that premiermanagement institutions inviteheavyweight offer letters from cor-porate giants. These huge placementpackages are the primary catalyst forfierce competition among manage-ment study aspirants and even pro-fessionals to get into premier IIMs.The bigger the package offered fora particular IIM, the fiercer the com-petition to get into the institute.Does this higher demand for a par-ticular IIM translate into higher feefollowing the fundamental princi-ples of economics?

In other words, it was worthinvestigating the relationshipbetween placement packages fromIndia Inc. and the fees of IIMs. Tothis end, we collated the averagepackage and fees of all 20 IIMs for2020 and performed a linear regres-sion analysis due to which we dis-covered a significant cyclical rela-tionship between an IIM’s fees andthe packages offered during place-ments. This implied that an IIMattracting a higher salary with alucrative job opportunity was like-ly to charge more than other IIMs.

In the empirical analysis, topIIMs (as per the NationalInstitutional Ranking Framework)like IIM-Ahmedabad, IIM-Bangalore and IIM Calcutta attractextremely high packages (average`26.8 lakh per annum) and they

charge inordinately high fees (aver-age ̀ 23 lakh) as compared to otherIIMs, particularly the new ones.

This resembles the typical pric-ing structure of a market commod-ity wherein the supply-demanddynamic in the market decides theproduct price. Education is not amarket commodity meant to meetan individual’s demand. Therefore,it cannot be left unregulated, espe-cially in terms of pricing or feesstructure. Education serves a larg-er purpose of social uplift andnation-building by generating awell-trained and equipped humancapital.

An inflated fee in premier man-agement institutions leaves most eli-gible aspirants with the only optionof an education loan to fund theirdreams. An education loan poses ademonic challenge of repayment.This burden is carried by the stu-dents during the course of theirstudy and afterwards too. The man-agerially-trained brains coming outwith the burden of liabilities expe-rience constrained freedom and lackof creative thinking. This thwartsproductivity and overall value addi-tion to the economy. It is high timethat policymakers critically observethe amendment in the fee structureof India’s premier managementinstitutions of national interest.Policymakers must curtail unregu-lated fee hike in premier institutions,keeping in mind the followingquestion: How can the objective ofstrengthening the human capitalwith managerial skills and its afford-ability marry each other?

It is high time that policymakers critically observe the amendment in the feestructure of India’s premier management institutions of national interest

MARKANDEY KATJU

HUGE PLACEMENTPACKAGES ARE

THE PRIMARYCATALYST FOR

FIERCECOMPETITION

AMONGMANAGEMENT

STUDY ASPIRANTSAND EVEN

PROFESSIONALSTO GET INTO

PREMIER IIMS. THEBIGGER THE

PACKAGE OFFEREDFOR A PARTICULAR

IIM, THE FIERCERTHE COMPETITION

TO GET INTO THEINSTITUTE. DOES

THIS HIGHERDEMAND FOR A

PARTICULAR IIMTRANSLATE INTO

HIGHER FEEFOLLOWING THE

FUNDAMENTALPRINCIPLES OF

ECONOMICS?

On March 23 the German Parliament, the Reichstag, passedthe Enabling Act (named euphemistically as ‘An Act to rem-edy the distress of the people and the State’), which enabled

the German Government to issue decrees deviating from the WeimarConstitution and the law. Although no such Enabling Act has beenpassed formally in India, and specifically by our Parliament, yetan undeclared Enabling Act has been in operation for many yearsin our country. The Constitution, with its fundamental rights, includ-ing the rights of freedom of speech, liberty, equality, religious free-dom, and so on, as well as the laws, are flouted openly and withimpunity by various governments, the police and others, while thosewith authority, like the judiciary, the bureaucrats and the police topbrass look the other way. For instance, people like Akhlaq Khan,Pehlu Khan, Tabrez Ansari and so on were lynched and atrocitieswere committed on people from the minority community withimpunity. One Union Minister even garlanded the lynchers and therewas a hue and cry over it in the media. Despite Article 25 of theConstitution which grants religious freedom and despite the crim-inal laws in India against murder and other atrocities, not muchwas done to those who flout the law.

In Delhi, many citizens were attacked and killed during the recentunrest over the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) rally, withthe police remaining silent spectators. Kafeel Khan, Safoora Zargarand others protesting against the CAA were arrested and kept injail for long periods. In Uttarakhand, some legislators of the rul-ing party said during the COVID period that no one should buyvegetables and fruits from sellers of a particular community, whichis a crime under Sections 153A and 295A of the Indian Penal Code.

Religious polarisation and incitement to hatred has risen onan exponential level in the nation yet, no action is taken againstthe perpetrators. Freedom of speech, “guaranteed” by Article19(1)(a) of the Indian Constitution, has largely been suppressedby various means e.g. arresting and chargesheeting those whospeak against the authorities. As regards freedom of the media,which too was “guaranteed” by the Constitution, it too has beenlargely suppressed, by arrests or intimidation of journalists whoare perceived as being anti-establishment and encouragement tothe “godi media.”

Article 21 of the Indian Constitution guarantees individual lib-erty. But despite this provision, liberty exists largely on paper asthe arrest and long detention of social activists like the BhimaKoregaon accused, the protestors against the CAA, the Kashmirileaders after revocation of Article 370, and those who speak againstthe establishment shows. During the ongoing farmers’ agitationthe farmers were attacked with water cannons, batons and teargas, though they were only exercising their Constitutional right ofpeaceful assembly and demonstration which all democracies enjoy.How is it that the authorities can so brazenly and flagrantly floutthe Constitution and the country’s laws? It is because those whowere supposed to uphold the Constitution and the laws, and pro-tect the rights of the people, have largely become accomplicesand subservient to the establishment, although they were meantto be independent and neutral. An Enabling Act is in full force inIndia, even if covertly.

(The writer is a former judge of the Supreme Court of India.The views expressed are personal.)

In India, there are a littleover one million allopath-ic doctors to treat a pop-

ulation of about 1.39 billion,with one State-run hospitalfor about 90,343 people anda single Government hospitalbed for nearly 2,046 people.It depicts a grim scenariowith an overburdened health-care system.

The effects of theCOVID-19 pandemic havebeen devastating for thealready fragmented health-care system. The outbreakclearly highlighted the lack ofresources, facilities and infra-structure and so on. It showedthat the Indian public health-care system required an inte-grated approach whichshould be a combination ofallopathic clinical or curativeservices and preventive ser-vices like naturopathy. This isbecause, an alternative systemof medicine like naturopathy,

with its preventive approach,can help reduce the burden ofdiseases and lessen thehealthcare costs and thegrowing burden on health-care facilities across the coun-try.

According to a 2018 studypublished by ‘Lancet GlobalHealth’, non-communicablediseases (NCDs) are growingin India. The study men-tions that from the year 1990to 2016, ischemic heart dis-ease and stroke made thelargest contribution, that is28.1 per cent of the total mor-tality rate in India, whilechronic obstructive pul-monary disease (COPD) andasthma made the second-largest contribution to thetotal mortality burden in thenation, at 10·9 per cent.

Also, the ratio of cardio-vascular diseases in causingdeaths increased by 34·3 percent from 1990 to 2016, the

study revealed. These figuresrepresent some of the world’slargest health losses, withenormous policy ramifica-tions.

Furthermore, the lack ofadequate facilities and infra-structure is a big problem forthe healthcare system, result-ing in overcrowding in hos-pitals. Many major metropol-itan cities reported an alarm-ing shortage of beds in hos-pital Intensive Care Units(ICUs) and general wardsduring the pandemic.

Despite the poor state offacilities and due to the dif-ficulty in accessing them,out-of-pocket (OOP) expen-diture for healthcare in ourcountry continues to beamong the leading causes ofpoverty for many households.The British Medical Journalpublished a study in 2018stating that 55 million Indiansfell below the poverty line

because of high OOP expen-diture in 2011-2012. In acountry with low per capitapublic spending on health-care, a preventive method oftreatment can certainly makea big difference in the lives ofthe citizens.

In such a situation, thebig question is how cannaturopathy help?

Naturopathy is a preventivemodel of holistic care thataddresses the root cause ofvarious diseases rather thanmerely treating the symp-toms.

Naturopathy is more inte-grated, where everything istaken into consideration, likethe patient’s physical, mental,and emotional health and allthe social and environmentalfactors. According to theWorld Health Organisation(WHO), NCD’s result in thedeaths of over 41 millionpeople annually, with 15 mil-lion people dying between theages of 30 and 69 years. Withthe increasing threat ofNCDs, behavioural andlifestyle changes are reck-oned as the way forward.

Naturopathy, with itsholistic approach, educatesand makes people moreresponsible for their health.The combination of yoga

therapy and naturopathy cansuccessfully treat patients andspread knowledge and aware-ness about health and diseaseamong the public.

Unlike conventionalmedicine, the naturopathictreatment method usuallyinvolves diet therapy, lifestylechanges, yoga and varioustherapies that are often lessexpensive. Since naturopa-thy’s primary focus is toimprove the body’s immuni-ty system to boost physicaland mental health, the needfor expensive, repeated, andsometimes ineffective treat-ment is eliminated.

A major advantage ofnaturopathy is its ability toeliminate the associatedhealthcare costs that comewith adverse reactions to pre-scription drugs. According toa Harvard University studypublished in 2014, about3,28,000 patients in the US

and Europe die from adversereactions to prescriptiondrugs each year.

The naturopathic treat-ment method uses therapiesthat are gentle, non-invasive,effective and do not haveadverse side effects.

Often, economically vul-nerable sections of the soci-ety fail to get the treatmentthey need from public healthfacilities as they are mostlyovercrowded and under-staffed. Even if they manageto get evaluated, it is cursoryand incomplete on account ofthe time constraint underwhich most physicians oper-ate. As a result, the health out-comes of the patients suffer.In such a scenario, naturopa-thy’s modality can be animmense support to theGovernment’s dream of uni-versal health coverage, pro-vided the standardisation ofthe practice happens soon.

Naturopathy is a preventive model of holistic care that addresses the root cause of various diseases rather than merely treating the symptoms

VIJAYAWADA | WEDNESDAY | FEBRUARY 24, 2021

07

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

FIRSTCOLUMN

OUR VERSION OF THEENABLING ACT

Those who were supposed to uphold the Constitutionand protect people’s rights, have become subservient

SWAPNIL SONI

POINTCOUNTERPOINT

Soni andKalyanasundaram are

senior research fellows atthe Department of

Management Studies ofIndian Institute of Science,

Bengaluru.The views expressed

are personal.

Time to blend naturopathy and allopathy for a healthier nation

KR RAGHUNATH

The writer is SeniorChairman, Jindal

Naturecure Institute. Theviews expressed are

personal.

GANESARAMANKALYANASUNDARAM

VIJAYAWADA | WEDNESDAY | FEBRUARY 24, 2021 Money 08

MONEY MATTERS

Bajaj Auto on Tuesday saidit has launched the new

version of Pulsar 180 bike inthe country priced at Rs1,07,904 (ex-showroomDelhi). The 178.6 cc modelgets sporty split seats, blackalloy wheels, LED tail lamp,five-speed transmissiongear box with telescopic antifriction bush in the front

suspension and a five-way adjustable nitrox shock absorber in therear suspension. Currently, 20 per cent of the sports bikingsegment is accounted for by the 180-200cc motorcycles and newPulsar 180 will target consumers looking for a sports vehicle offeringthe best in technology and performance, cementing its leadership inthis segment in India that has been unchallenged for the last 20years, Bajaj Auto said in a statement.

Bajaj launches new Pulsar 180 priced at Rs 1.08 lakh

Hinduja Groupflagship Ashok

Leyland on Tuesdaysaid its customers havebeen able to reduce theoverall cost by 15 percent by utilising thecompany's digitalinitiatives. Thecommercial vehiclemaker's digitalintegration across itsbusiness began in

2017, with the launch of a digital marketplace which included ahost of solutions like iALERT, Service Mandi, Leykart andeDiagnostics. The company has added other digital solutionslike iALERT 3.0- an advanced connected vehicle platform,uptime solution centre and AL Care- a one-stop app forcustomers to manage customers' vehicle needs.

Digital tools helping customersachieve 15 pc overall savings

Telecom operator BhartiAirtel and US chipmaker

Qualcomm on Tuesdayannounced collaboration foraccelerating 5G in India.Airtel recently became India'sfirst telco to demonstrate 5Gover a live commercial net-work in Hyderabad city,underlining the company's

technology capabilities. "Through Airtel's network vendors anddevice partners, Airtel will utilize the Qualcomm 5G RAN Platforms toroll-out virtualized and Open RAN-based 5G networks. Airtel, as aboard member of the O-RAN Alliance, is committed to driving thesuccess of O-RAN and is working with Qualcomm Technologies toexplore and implement the O-RAN approach for India," according toa company statement. The scalable architecture of O-RAN will enablenew opportunities for small and medium-sized businesses tobecome viable players in the deployment of 5G networks, it added.

Airtel, Qualcomm team up for 5G push in India

Private sector lender FederalBank is aiming for an accel-

eration in credit growth into"mid-teen" figures in 2021-22on the back of an economicrecovery, a top official said onTuesday. Its Managing Directorand Chief Executive Officer

Shyam Srinivasan said the increase in virus infections in states likeMaharashtra needs to be watched, but exuded confidence that it willnot affect the overall economic activity, terming it a "minor blip". "Weare looking at a credit growth in the mid-teens levels for 2021-22. Ifyou look at the growth in the third quarter of 2020-21, it will come atan annualised level of 10 per cent," he told PTI. Srinivasan said amajority of the loan segments will grow at over 20 per cent levelsand a few like corporate will also grow around 10 per cent to achievethe credit growth target next fiscal.

Federal Bank aims ‘mid-teen'growth in credit

PNS n NEW DELHI

Companies in India arelikely to offer a 7.7 percent salary increase in2021, one of the highestamong the BRICnations, and higherthan the average actualincrease of 6.1 per centin 2020, says a sur-vey.

Global profes-sional servicesfirm Aon Plc onTuesday released insightsfrom its latest Salary IncreaseSurvey in India, as per which88 per cent of the surveyedcompanies reported that theyintend to increase salaries in2021, as compared to 75 percent companies in 2020,reflecting positive businesssentiment.

The study, that analyseddata across 1,200 companiesfrom more than 20 industriesnoted that while salary incre-ments indicate strong recov-ery, the Code of Wages couldbe a gamechanger.

" W eexpect the incre-ment dynamics for 2021to play out over a longer peri-od of time given the uncer-tainty and potential impact offorthcoming changes," NitinSethi, partner and ChiefExecutive Officer of Aon'sperformance and rewardsbusiness in India, said.

The proposed definition ofwages under the new LaborCodes could lead to addition-al compensation budgeting in

theform of higher pro-visioning for Benefit planslike gratuity, leave encash-ment and provident fund,Sethi noted.

"We expect organisationsto review their compensationbudgets in the second half ofthe year once the exact finan-cial impact of the LaborCodes is known. It is also

possible thatsome of the salary

increments maynot trans-late intoh i g h e rc a s h - i n -hand foremployeesif organisa-t i o n schoose topay higherprovidentfund contri-butions onthe new def-inition ofWages," hesaid. As perthe survey,sectors with

the highestprojected increases include, e-commerce and venture cap-ital, hi-tech/information tech-nology, ITeS, life sciences. Onthe contrary, sectors with thelowest projected increasesinclude hospitality/restau-rants, real estate/infrastruc-ture, engineering services.

PNS n MUMBAI

Equity benchmarks Sensexand Nifty ended marginallyhigher on Tuesday amid highvolatility and tepid cues fromglobal markets.

After gyrating 667.46 pointsduring the day, the 30-shareBSE Sensex ended 7.09 pointsor 0.01 per cent higher at49,751.41.

After a similar movement,the broader NSE Nifty settled32.10 points or 0.22 per centup at 14,707.80.

ONGC was the top gainerin the Sensex pack, rallyingaround 6 per cent, followed byIndusInd Bank, L&T,UltraTech Cement, Titan, SBIand NTPC.

On the other hand, KotakBank, Maruti, Bajaj Auto,HDFC Bank and HCL Techwere among the laggards.

Domestic equities wit-nessed roller coaster ride amidhigh volatility, with metalsand realty indices recordingsubstantial gains, said BinodModi, Head - Strategy atReliance Securities.

"Concerns pertaining toincrease in bond yields andhigher commodity pricesdented investors' sentiments inlast couple of days. However,underlying strength of econo-my and market remainsintact," he added.

Elsewhere in Asia, boursesin Shanghai and Seoul endedon a negative note, while HongKong settled with gains.

Stock exchanges in Europewere also trading in the red inmid-session deals.

Meanwhile, the global oilbenchmark Brent crude wastrading 0.81 per cent higher atUSD 64.88 per barrel.

Sensex, Nifty endmarginally higher;ONGC rallies 6 pc

PNS n NEW DELHI

Indian media and entertain-ment (M&E) sector is expect-ed to witness a strong 27 percent growth in revenue toaround Rs 1.37 lakh crore in2021-22, after contracting 26per cent this fiscal, accordingto ratings agency Crisil.

Segments such as digitaland television (TV) will haverelatively shorter time tobounce-back to pre-pandem-ic levels while print, films,outdoor, and radio wouldtake longer.

Crisil Ratings Ltd DirectorNitesh Jain said advertise-

ment and subscription rev-enues contribute nearly equal-ly to the overall M&E sector'stopline, but since the former

correlates strongly with eco-nomic growth, the pandemichas had a bigger impact on it.

"Next fiscal, with strong

economic rebound on thecards, ad revenue should grow31 per cent on-year and sub-scription revenue around 24per cent," Jain added.

The TV segment – con-tributing around half of thesector's topline – has recov-ered fully and will reporthealthy growth next fiscal. Adrevenue saw a sharp contrac-tion initially, but recoveredswiftly thereafter, aided by air-ing of new content, sportsevents such as the IndianPremier League and a buoy-ant festive season, CrisilRatings Ltd said in a state-ment.

Indian media, entertainment sectorto see 27 pc revenue growth in ’22

PNS n NEW DELHI

Markets regulator Sebi hasslapped a total fine of Rs 1crore on Alchemist InfraRealty Ltd and four individu-als for illegally mobilisingfunds from the public througha collective investmentscheme.

The individuals who havebeen fined are Brij MohanMahajan, Narayan Madhavkumar, Balvir Singh andChandra Sekhar Chauhan.

In an order passed onMonday, the watchdog said thecompany and individuals wereengaged in fund mobilisingactivity from the public, whichwas in the nature of aCollective Investment Scheme(CIS). They had collectedmoney from investors in the

name of developing land.As per the order, the com-

pany had mobilised funds tothe tune of Rs 54.1 crore, Rs449.41 crore and Rs 1,087.68crore as on March 31, 2009,March 31, 2010 and March 31,2011 respectively.

Sebi's Adjudicating OfficerK Saravanan said the three bal-ance sheet figures on recordsestablish with certainty thatthe company was carryingout CIS activities atleast in thefinancial years 2008-09, 2009-10 and 2010-11 whileAlchemist was incorporated inthe year 2008.

"I note that Alchemist wascarrying on unregistered CISactivities at least for threefinancial years," he added.

The total fine is payable bythem jointly or severally.

Sebi imposes Rs 1 crfine on 5 companies

PNS n NEW DELHI

Billionaire Mukesh Ambani'sReliance Industries hasannounced the contours ofcarving out of its oil-to-chem-icals (O2C) business into anindependent unit with a USD25 billion loan from the parent,as it looks to unlock value byselling stakes to globalinvestors like Saudi Aramco.

The reorganisation willenable the focused pursuit ofopportunities across the O2Cvalue chain, improve efficien-cies through self-sustainingcapital structure and a dedicat-ed management team, andattract dedicated pools ofinvestor capital, according to acompany presentation filedwith the stock exchanges.

The O2C business unitholds Reliance's oil refineryand petrochemical assets and

retail fuel business but notupstream oil and gas produc-ing fields such as KG-D6 andtextiles business.

Once completed, RelianceIndustries Ltd (RIL) - thecompany founded byDhirubhai Ambani in the late1960s - will house only theupstream oil and gas explo-ration and production busi-ness, including the KG-D6block, financial services, grouptreasury and the legacy textilebusinesses, and act as a hold-ing company of the group.

The retail business is heldin Reliance Retail VenturesLtd and telecom and digitalventures are nested in JioPlatforms Ltd.

RIL holds 85.1 per cent ofReliance Retail and 67.3 percent of Jio Platforms. The restit had sold to global investorsincluding Facebook Inc andGoogle for over Rs 2 lakhcrore.

The wholly-owned O2Cunit's assets will be funded bythe interest-bearing loan,which will be an "efficientmechanism to upstream cash,including any potential capitalreceipts," in the unit, the firmsaid. RIL will provide a loanof USD 25 billion to the O2Csubsidiary at floating interestrate with the subsidiary havingabout USD 42 billion of assets(28 per cent of consolidatedassets).

Reliance to spin off O2C bizinto separate arm with loan

PNS n NEW DELHI

Huge business opportunitiesare present in Colombia forapparel exporters particularlyin fashion segment and thedomestic industry shouldexplore the areas to boostshipments, AEPC said onTuesday.

The AEPC said it has organ-

ised 'India-Colombia Synergiesin Apparel and Textiles', a vir-tual meeting platform toexplore export opportunities inthe South American nation.

Quoting Indian ambassadorto Colombia Sanjiv Ranjan, itsaid there is a huge potentialfor Indian apparel exporters inColombia, particularly in itsfashion industry with domes-

tic sales of about USD 7 billion."India's apparel exports to

Colombia is just 3 per cent ofits global imports. This doesnot really reflect the strengthof what our sector stands for.We have a huge untappedpotential in this sector whichrequires to be explored andutilised by our exporters," hesaid.

Huge export opportunities for apparel players

PNS n NEW DELHI

The All India PowerEngineers Federation(AIPEF) on Tuesday saidconsumers as well asemployees are beingignored in finalising theElectricity (Amendment)Bill 2021, and demandedthat the draft bill should beput in public domain forfeedback. "The consumersand power sector employ-ees and engineers are beingignored in finalising thedraft Electricity (Amend-ment) Bill 2021," AIPEFspokesperson V K Guptasaid. AIPEF demandedthat the bill be put on thepower ministry websiteand the comments of allstakeholders includingelectricity consumers,power sector employees,workers as well as engine-ers must be consideredbefore finalising draft bill.

Consumersignored inElectricity Bill2021: AIPEF

PNS n NEW DELHI

Gold prices on Tuesdayjumped by Rs 337 to Rs46,372 per 10 grams reflect-ing overnight gains in glob-al gold prices, according toHDFC Securities. The priceof the precious metal hadclosed at Rs 46,035 per 10gram in the previous ses-sion on Monday. Silver alsoshoots up by Rs 1,149 to Rs69,667 per kg, comparedwith the previous close ofRs 68,518 per kg.

Gold jumps Rs 337; silver shootsup by Rs 1,149

PNS n NEW DELHI

Goa Mining People's Front(GMPF) on Tuesday expressedstrong reservations over theviability of mining resumptionin the state via the route of gov-ernment-run MineralCorporation and stressed thatit will only lead to a delay in therestart of mining activities.

Mining in Goa came to astandstill in March 2018 afterthe Supreme Court quashed 88mining leases.

"We are fighting for gettingback our livelihood at the ear-liest by resumption of miningin Goa and the fastest solutionis ideal for getting back ourlivelihood. We see that the ear-liest solution is by legislative

amendments."We do not see Mineral

Corporation being a viablealternative to mining resump-tion in the state of Goa as it willonly delay the resumption ofmining with issues like surfacerights and perpetuity rightsenjoyed by the mine owners...state-run Mining Corporationfor resumption of Goa miningdoes not seem to be a feasiblesolution," GMPF PresidentPuti Gaonkar was quoted assaying in a statement.

PNS n ISLAMABAD

Foreign direct investment inPakistan has seen a 27 per centdecline in the first sevenmonths of the current fiscal,owing mainly to the fall ininvestment from its close allyChina, a media report said onTuesday.

The Foreign DirectInvestment (FDI) in Pakistanduring the first seven years fellby 27 per cent compared tothe same period last fiscalyear, Dawn newspaper report-ed, quoting the State Bank ofPakistan (SBP) as saying.

The SBP, the central bank,on Monday said that the FDIduring July-January FY-21was USD 1.145 billion againstan inflow of USD 1.577bn inthe same period last fiscalyear.

The inflow during January

was USD 192.7 million com-pared to USD 219 million inthe same month of the previ-ous fiscal year, registering a 12per cent decline.

However, the seven-monthdecline was mainly due to adecline in net FDI from Chinaand increase in net outflow toNorway, the report said.

The country-wise detailsshowed that net inflow ofFDI from China was USD402.8 million against USD502.6 million in the sameperiod of last fiscal year.

So far, the net FDI fromChina is the highest in the listof inflows from other coun-tries. The inflows from Chinawere USD 707.2 million dur-ing the seven months but theoutflow of USD 304.4 millionin the same period reducedthe net FDI to USD 402.8 mil-lion.

FDI in Pak down by27% in first 7 months

Mineral Corporation not viablealternative in Goa, says GMPF

PNS n KOCHI

The Marine Products ExportDevelopment Authority(MPEDA) and the NationalCooperative DevelopmentCorporation (NCDC) haveentered into an agreement-to synergise their variousprogrammes in the interestof export-oriented captureand culture of fisheries andallied sectors for bringingbetter value to the stakehold-ers. An MoU was signed byK S Srinivas, Chairman ofMPEDA and SundeepKumar Nayak, ManagingDirector of NCDC, here onMonday evening.

"We have identified amplescope for working jointly inthe interest of export promo-tion of marine products forbringing better value to the

stakeholders through a vari-ety of activities, includingexport focus, in line with thepolicies of the government,"Srinivas said. Under theMoU, MPEDA and its So-cieties (NETFISH, NaCSA &

RGCA) and NCDC willjointly formulate pro-grammes to provide techni-cal know-how to coopera-tives to upscale infrastruc-ture created for primaryproduction and post-har-vest management in themarine products export sec-tor, a release issued by theMPEDA said here onTuesday. MPEDA and itssocieties will share a list ofall clusters in various stateswith NCDC, which mayapproach the clusters forachieving scale and aggrega-tion with export orientation.

MPEDA ties up withNCDC to bring bettervalue to stakeholders

UNREGISTERED INVESTMENT ACTIVITIES

Organisations project 7.7 pcsalary increase

ast year in September it wasreported that Bollywoodsuperstar Hrithik Roshanwill be making his OTTdebut with the Hindi adapta-tion of the British mini-

series The Night Manager. The serieswas to be streamed on Disney+Hotstarand the actor was reportedly being paida huge sum around the vicinity of Rs 75crore for the same. All was done andthe actor was supposed to start shoot-ing in March. However, latest reportsstate that the actor has backed out ofthe project.

While there has been no official con-firmation yet, reports state that Hrithikwas uncomfortable with the longschedules and had date problems.Therefore the shoot of the series nowstands cancelled and reportedly thecrew of the film is not happy with thelatest developments.

There is a lot of speculation aroundwhy the actor decided to step out of the

project. The actor hasbeen looking to ventureinto the digital spacefor a long time with aproject that wouldappeal to a worldwideaudience and whenDisney+Hotstarapproached him withThe Night Managereverything fell inplace. Hrithik was toplay an Indian ver-sion of the JonathanPine character,essayed by TomHiddleston in theoriginal 2016 limitedseries based on the1993 novel by JohnLe Carre. Bollywoodactress Preity Zintawas to bankroll theseries under her pro-duction house.

9

L

Vijayawada Wednesday February 24 2021what’s brewing?

C fans were struck witha blow on Mondaywhen they learned RyanReynolds will notcameo in the upcomingZack Snyder cut of

Justice League. Rumors hadbeen swirling that Reynoldsmight appear as Hal Jordan, akaGreen Lantern, reprising his rolefrom the 2011 film. Speculationresurfaced after Vanity Fairreported Monday that the end-ing would include a majorcameo. But, alas, it is not hap-pening, the actor said. Replyingto a Twitter user who suggestedReynolds’ Hal Jordan is the bigsurprise allegedly in store,Reynolds said, “It's not me. Butwhat a cool pirate flag to cameoas Hal. Maybe it’s another GL?But for me, the suit stays in thecloset. I mean, computer.”Reynolds’ performance was thehighlight of the otherwise disap-pointing Green Lantern.However, fans were intrigued at

the possibility of the charactergetting an appropriate curtaincall since the actor has beenamong those who have mockedthe film over the years, evenworking jokes about it into theDeadpool films.

A new trailer for JusticeLeague was released earlier thismonth, which did feature a newface: Jared Leto, who is reprisinghis role as The Joker. Thatmoment was, by far, the mosttalked-about section of the near-ly three-minute trailer. For thenew cut, Snyder filmed severalminutes of new footage andassembled cast members BenAffleck (Batman), Ray Fisher(Cyborg) and Amber Heard(Mera) for the new shots. GalGadot (Wonder Woman), JasonMomoa (Aquaman), HenryCavill (Superman) and EzraMiller (Flash) also star in JusticeLeague. (Zack Snyder’s JusticeLeague, which is rated R, hitsHBO Max on March 18.)

Ryan Reynolds won'tappear in Zack Snyder'sJustice League

ctor Adhyayan Suman hasreacted to recent rumoursof suicide. He called thereports shameful and saidhe was in shock, adding thathis mother was shocked to

hear the news, more so because he couldnot respond to her calls as he was in ameeting. Earlier this week, a news chan-nel had reported that Adhyayan haddied by suicide. Asked about the reports,Adhyayan said, “Bhai, agar maine sui-cide kar liya, to ye mera bhoot khadaaapse baat kar raha hai shayad. Bhai yebahut sharmnaak baat hai. (Had I diedby suicide, who is talking to you? Myghost?This is shameful).” Opening up onhow things unfolded the day therumours surfaced, the actor said, “I wasin a meeting when people started callingme. People were nervous as I could notpick calls. Even when my mom called.She was obviously in shock and could

not believe the reports.” He was talkingto paparazzi “This is so wrong! To hearthat your child has died by suicide! Whywould you report this? Why would youwrite such things about me? I am happyin my life and am working hard. I donot need to commit suicide. How canyou cook up such things about some-one? It is shameful!),” he added.Adhyayan’s father Shekhar Suman tookto Twitter and slammed the news chan-nel. “Yesterday @ZeeNews acted unpar-donably irresponsible and sent out apiece of news that devastated me,mywife and my family members .My wifewas inconsolable as they announced thatAdhyayan Suman has committed sui-cide.Adhyayan was in Delhi,” he tweet-ed. He added, “While I’m taking legalaction against them and suing them forsuch a reprehensible act.The mediaought to be more responsible and notjeopardize ppl’s lives and destroy them

for their own vested interest.i request evone to tweet and ban @ZeeNews.”

Hrithik backs out of hisOTT debut with the TheNight Manager adaptation

im Kardashian,40, already toldher oldest childNorth West, 7,about herdivorce from

Kanye West, 43, after filingthe paperwork a week ago,according to one source,and it turns out she’sunderstanding “as much asshe can.” The Keeping Upwith the Kardashians starand rapper had been facingreports of struggles withintheir marriage over the lastyear and have even beenliving in separate states, soonce the doting momtalked about the divorcedecision with her daughter,it was already in the midstof a change.

“The younger kids don’tknow what’s happening,but North does knowwhat’s going on. Kim sather down alone to tell her,but not the younger ones,”one source told a newsagency. “Kim and Kanyebeen living like this for solong. The last year has beenexactly like this wherethey’ve been living separatelives both physically andemotionally, so whetherthere has been paperworkor not, they have not beenliving in a conventional

marital situation.”“This won’t be a change

for the children at all,” thesource continued. “It con-ceivably could be a littleeasier because now thelawyers can handle any-thing. Their relationshiphas been very strained any-way, but they want to try todo their very best of co-parenting.”

“They understand asmuch as they can aboutwhat’s going on for theirages and are doing excep-tionally well,” a secondsource told a news agencyabout North and her sib-lings Saint, 5, Chicago, 3,and Psalm, 1. “Things arenot going to change much.The life they have rightnow. It feels like they’vebeen divorced since lastsummer.”

As far as what the futureliving situation will looklike, a third source told usthat in addition to hisranch in Wyoming, Kanyewould like to have a placein Los Angeles to be closeto his kids as he and Kimco-parent. “Kanye stillwants to build a compoundoutside of LA,” the sourceshared. “That’s probablyhow he’ll see the kids whenhe does come to

California.”“He’s been bouncing

around very discretely forawhile now,” the insideradded. “He hates LA somuch because of thepaparazzi, noise andcrowds. He likes to be iso-lated with a very smallteam around him. That’swhen he’s most creative andhappiest.”

Kim officially filed fordivorce on February 19after almost seven years ofmarriage. Neither one ofthem have spoken publiclyabout the split yet butthings are reportedly “ami-cable”. Kim is also report-edly requesting joint physi-cal, legal custody of thekids and have a healthy sit-uation for their children.

D

K

A

If I died, is it my ghost talking to you?

How Kim K broke news ofdivorce to her daughter

Adhyayan on suicide rumours:

Rules

ARCHIE

GARFIELD

SUDOKU

REALITY CHECK SPEED BUMP CROSSWORD

GINGER MEGGS

NANCY

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

CALVIN AND HOBBES

FUN

.

ducational institutes areresponsible for providing stu-dents with those competenciesor core skills that will allowthem to be satisfied and suc-

cessful in the workplace. Rather thanteaching student’s specific tasks or spe-cialisations, it’s more effective to teachthem some basic competencies whichwill ensure they grow into good citi-zens.

Here are some of the core competen-cies schools should look to inculcate instudents from a very young age:Creative thought: Students should betaught how to think outside the boxand come up with unique solutions toproblems presented to them. There isno cookie-cutter solution to problems,and therefore, students, too, need tolook at problems from various anglesand present solutions that would bestfit.

Critical thinking: Students shouldpossess the skill to be able to take ininformation, analyse it and understandit, rather than taking someone else'sword for it. Especially in the currentday where there is such ease of access

to information, students need to beable to analyse for themselves what iscorrect and what is not.

Collaboration: Almost any job pro-file requires a person to work effective-ly and efficiently along with others.Therefore, students must be taught howto correctly pitch their ideas andreceive feedback from others in a pro-fessional manner. EffectiveCommunication: Using the right tone,language and right kind of communica-tion can prove to be a key factor inhelping students correctly navigatetheir way through life. Good communi-cation skills will also help them buildself-confidence as they progress.

As students become adults, they willbe able to easily adapt, innovate, com-municate and solve issues, makingthem overall changemakers in theworkforce.

(The writer is the MD of The GreenAcres Academy.)

RohanParikh sharessome of the corecompetencies that schoolsshould inculcate in studentsfor them to be adequatelyprepared to enter theworkforce

ne of the mostdesirable conse-quences of Covid-19 has been theincreased all-roundconsciousness for

hygiene. And among severaltypes of hygiene such as per-sonal hygiene, environmentalhygiene etc which impact ourday-to-day lives, food hygienehas naturally emerged as amajor issue for regulators,consumers and above all, foodmanufacturers and companies.

The constant need to bewatchful of what is ingested orgoes inside of our bodies cannever be exaggerated enough.The recent pandemic has onlyfurther highlighted the needfor making food hygiene a pri-ority for all.

There has been repeatedreporting of how the open andunpackaged food sold in thestreets fashionably calledstreet food has in a way beenresponsible for unsafe andunhygienic food consumptionin the country. Particularly inthese times of Covid, if thefood maker doesn't maintain

personal hygiene wears masksand gloves and keeps suffi-cient physical distance fromfellow workers, the food pre-pared is highly risky to con-sume. The unhygienic andunsafe food leads to a viciouscycle of disease and sicknessparticularly impacting theelderly, the sick and the chil-dren, adding to the alreadyhigh burden of disease per-vading in the country.

Yet, the rise in the outbreakof foodborne diseases andsafety cases has continued tobe reported periodically fromdifferent parts of the country.

In fact, unsafe food and waterhave been cited to be thebiggest cause of preventableinfection in India. Not pursu-ing basic food safety practicessuch as wearing an apron,accessing and using tap water,using soap for cleaning uten-sils, and storing food in properrefrigerated facilities is aninvitation to food-borne dis-eases. This also has an eco-nomic cost. It has been esti-mated that food-borne dis-eases cost the country a whop-ping $15 billion.

In India, food-borne dis-eases (FBD) lead to 120,000

deaths each year imposing aburden of over 8 millionDisability Adjusted Life Years(DALYs). In fact, childrenunder five years are at 40%more risk with around 30,000deaths each year. These arefrightening figures which areonly expected to rise furtherin the coming years.

These ongoing measureswere given a new impetuswhen Covid-19 showed upresulting in a new set of guide-lines. In addition to the exist-ing food safety protocols, thefood businesses were directedto ensure that food handlersand workers are made awareof the symptoms of the virusand the risks emanating fromit.

Training programmes onrisk factors, safe food han-dling, social distancing andother protective behaviourssuch as wearing of face mask,handwashing with soap orusing alcohol-based sanitiserswere made mandatory. Inaddition, food premisesincluding areas of food estab-lishment such as preparation,storage and packing areas,equipment and containersbesides toilets and washroomswere to be periodically sani-tised without fail. Thereshould be limited food workers in a kitchen with each worker strictly maintaining personal/social dis-tancing.

(The writer is the directorofBikanervala Foods Pvt. Ltd.)

ctress Nanda Yadav, bestknown for starring inWhy Cheat India, will beseen next in It’s AbuseOnly written and direct-ed by Rochak Sahu. The

trailer is eye-gripping and it keepsyou mesmerised throughout. Theactress has performed out of herskin and surprised us to endlessextent! It turned out to be a veryhard-hitting movie. “Because it issuch an impactful film, we wouldlove to take it to the festival screen-ings. It’s about what happens whentwo strangers who have difficultjourneys have their paths collide. Ican’t share too much informationabout the film and the characters,but it’s sure to leave everyone spell-bound. It’s an edge-of-the-seat

drama. The team was amazing, andeveryone worked extremely hard onthe movie. I am really looking for-ward to the audience’s response. If Icould tell one line about this movie,I would say that truth is strangerthan fiction and there is an under-lying truth to everything,” sharesNanda.

Nanda Yadav made her debutwith the critically acclaimed filmThe Letters directed by WilliamRiead. Not many know that she is atrained Bharatanatyam dancer too.“Working with known and popularactors was a good experience inWhy Cheat India. Emraan Hashmiwas in an altogether different rolein the film. I was playing the role ofan important member of EmraanHashmi’s gang. So once again, it

was a differentcharacter. I hadseen EmraanHashmi’s filmswhile we were incollege and we hada certain percep-tion about him: thathe was more intoromantic films andlove stories, but see-ing him performingsomething serious in acompletely differentlook, standing next tohim felt really good. It wasa wonderful experience,”she shares about her experi-ence while working for theEmraan Hashmi starrer WhyCheat India.

ou can’t really define‘high jewellery’ but youknow it when you seeit! High jewellery con-tains only the finestquality of gems with

distinctive design and exquisitecraftsmanship. With all that, itscost is obviously high but it holdsimmense value! Material, signa-ture style, workmanship, all thisis what describes high jewellery,especially when famous jew-ellery designers combine pre-cious and non-precious sub-stances and make extraordi-nary pieces for the sover-eigns. Recently, YFLOChairperson Apurva Jainand committee membershosted a webinar to dis-

cover the savoir-faire ofBvlgari masterpieces!

Renowned gemsand jewelry expert

Lucia Silvestri atBvlgari and

GiampaoloDella Croce,

HighJewellery

Senior

Director, Bvlgari were invited toshare the distinctive expertise of thetrade name to scout the finest trea-sure of nature and enable themthrough the heritage of the Italianroots and contemporary aesthetics.Special guest Nonita Kalra, writer,consultant and former Editor atHarper’s Bazaar, India, moderatedthe session.

Lucia Silvestri began her careerin Bulgari’s gemmological depart-ment at the age of eighteen andbegan travelling the world, meetingwith the world’s foremost gemmo-logical experts when she was just

20. She shared her journey andlove for gemstones and cre-

ations and mentioned hertravels to India and

affinity with theIndian culture.

When

asked about what sets Bulgari’s highjewellery apart other than theextraordinary color combinationsof the gemstones, Lucia said, “Wealways stay true to our past but wealso look at the needs of today’smarket, the fashion trends and themodern society. Even our crafts-manship is contemporary. We havea great workshop for high jewelryin Rome and a great factory inValenza and they are both equippedwith the newest technologies. Eachartisan in the BvlgariAtelier workson one high jewelry creation at atime all day long for a minimum ofthree months per piece — a perfec-tionist process that can take up to ayear or more.”

Giampaolo Della Croce had beenworking with the Bvlgari for morethan three decades and managesthe storytelling, all the technical,historical information on the jewelsto support the sales of Bulgari HighJewellery.

Adding to the conversation,Giampaolo said “Bulgari high jew-ellery creation is a way to collect avaluable art craft, to enjoy it for alifetime, the most profound gift topass onto your loved ones — onethat will hold its value across theworld and more importantly, onethat your offsprings will derivegreat pleasure from wearing.” Healso added that Bulgari jewelry isan amalgamation of rare preciousstones of the highest quality stan-dards, unique craftsmanship, her-itage and disruptive creativity.

“It’ s important to have the offi-cial certification and documentsthat give the specifications and statethe rarity of the gemstones. Of

course, the craftsmanship ofthe jewellery piece

is crucial. You can have the mostexquisite gemstone, but if it is notset right, it will end up being storedin a safe rather than being worn.High jewellery will not stop being agood investment such as contempo-rary art. It is because jewels haveintrinsic value. The jewellery drivesits value not just from the quality ofthe stones but its unrivalled creativ-ity and celebrated Roman heritage,and this is why its pieces have soldat record prices at prestigious auc-tion houses around the world overseveral decades,” Giampaolo said,when asked about some importantqualities to look for when investingin jewellery.

So, this is some majestic beautyof nature that has given rise tostunning and one-of-a-kind cre-ations along with boundless emo-tions inevitably stirring the heart.

The savoir faireof high jewelleryY

A

O

E

Nanda Yadav looksincredibly good in

It's Abuse Only

Health and hygiene above all

In India,food-borne

diseases leadto 1,20,000

deaths eachyear,

imposing aburden of

over 8 millionDisability

Adjusted LifeYears, saysMANISH

AGGARWAL

Prepping for thefuture

WednesdayFebruary 24, 2021

Follow us on

@TheDailyPioneer

facebook.com/dailypioneer

sport 11VIJAYAWADA | WEDNESDAY | FEBRUARY 24, 2021

PTI n AHMEDABAD

Avirgin Motera strip hasbecome the big talkingpoint as India captain

Virat Kohli prepares the rightpink ball questionnaire to trou-ble a spoilt-for-choice Englandin the day-night third Test start-ing here on Wednesday.

Ahmedabad as a cricketingvenue has been witness to a lot

of cricketing feats in Indiancricket — from Sunil Gavaskar’sfamous late cut to complete10,000 runs in Tests to KapilDev’s best bowling figures of 9for 83 and also him eclipsingRichard Hadlee’s then worldrecord of highest wickets.

On Wednesday, IshantSharma joining Kapil as the sec-ond Indian pacer to play 100Tests would add to the momen-

tous occasion and Kohli scoringa hundred is just what the55,000 odd spectators, whowould be allowed in, mightcrave for.

The refurbished Sardar PatelStadium looks colossal underlights but the first Test match inmany years would mean thateven the home team wouldn’texpect a lot of advantage.

It would prefer a square

turner to go 2-1 up in a high-stakes game but whether it actu-ally gets one remains to beseen.

As senior opener RohitSharma was clear in team’schoice of surface — a turner thathelps Ravichandran Ashwin andAxar Patel just like Joe Rootwould have opted for a green topat the Headingley or the OldTrafford.

There are a few more ques-tions that would demandanswers.

How would the twilightperiod be for the batsmen asJames Anderson feels that theball swings more in that phase?

Will the extra lacquer on the‘SG Test Pink’ make it difficultfor the Ashwin-Axar combowhich wreaked havoc on theChepauk snake pit?

And with a 2:30 pm start,how much will the dew have abearing during the final session?The ball would be difficult togrip at that point for slowbowlers and the pitch, despitegrass being shaved off, mightease out with ball skidding offthe surface.

When there are so manyunknown variables that warrantfactoring, any captain would liketo assess conditions.

Umesh Yadav passing thefitness test was good news forthe Indian camp as KuldeepYadav is likely to be droppedfrom the playing XI.

Umesh, along with Ishantand the now injuredMohammed Shami, had pol-ished off Bangladesh twice insidesix sessions in the inaugural PinkTest match in Kolkata.

But this England team, withJoe Root, Ben Stokes, JonnyBairstow, will pose a far greaterchallenge.

Hardik Pandya has beenkept with the Test team with an

eye on his bowling workload butit’s not known whether the teamthinks that he is Test matchready.

Pandya taking the load of amaximum 15 overs per inningson a turner could provide morebalance to the playing XI and hisbig-hitting can tilt any game inIndia’s favour.

For England, with MoeenAli back home as part of work-load management, Dom Bessis expected to be back along-side Jack Leach in the spindepartment. However,whether Anderson and JofraArcher will have Stuart Broador Mark Wood for company isstill not clear.

Also, talented batsman ZakCrawley could be back in theplaying XI in place of RoryBurns while Jonny Bairstow canreplace Dan Lawrence at num-ber three.

PTI n AHMEDABAD

England skipper Joe Root onTuesday said he is yet to have

“real clarity” on what should behis bowling combination for theday-night third Test and willwait some more before finalis-ing it.

“We’re going to take ourtime with the limited informa-tion we have on this ground andpink ball cricket. You know, weare going to make sure, we giveourselves as much (time) as pos-sible heading into the gamebefore we make a decision,”Root said on the eve of thematch.

The England think tankhas a selection headache both in

bowling and batting depart-ments.

In bowling they have JofraArcher fit and available alongwith veteran pace spearheadJames Anderson, who is back infray after workload manage-ment kept him out of the sec-ond Test. Stuart Broad is also incontention for a spot.

“It’s great to see him(Archer) back bowling again, weare excited. He is a world classperformer and have got all theskills...It’s a very exciting placeto be to have now a battery offast bowlers to choose from,”Root said.

Root hinted that they’reweighing a three-seam optionwith the possibility of playing

both Anderson and Broadtogether as the pink ball willhave “a bit more lateral move-ment”.

“Yeah, they have got achance and as I say it’s a greatselection headache to have...The fact that there might beextra lateral movement willobviously work in our favour aswell,” Root said.

Senior wicketkeeper bats-

man Jonny Bairstow has alsoreturned to the squad and itremains to be seen whether theycan keep in-form Ben Foakesout or play both of them.

“We will get you the squadwhen we’re ready... That’s howwe want to do things. We justwant to make sure, we’re reallysure on everything. When we’reabsolutely ready we’ll give youthe full squad together.”

PTI n AHMEDABAD

Ravichandran Ashwin hasproved to be England’s

nemesis in the first two Testsand, well aware of his abilitiesnow, visiting skipper Joe Rooton Tuesday described the Indiaoff-spinner as a “world-classperformer” in all conditions.

Ashwin has already taken17 wickets in the series so farand is expected to add somemore to his kitty in the thirdTest.

“Yeah, he (Ashwin) is aworld-class performer. I thinkit’s been quite tricky for every-one but as you mentioned, inparticular, the left-handers isagainst him... Because youknow how skilful he is, howgood his record is against left-handers in world cricket,” Root

said.The 34-year-old Ashwin

has been Virat Kohli’s go-toman in this series. Besides hisnine wickets in the first Testand eight in second, Ashwinhas also scored a century on aChepuak track, where most ofthe specialist batsmen strug-gled against the turning ball.

“So, he is a fine performerat home and guys just have tokeep working hard to try andfigure out how they’re going toscore every run,” Root added.

He also lauded youngwicketkeeper Rishabh Pant forhis batting skills but said hegives the opposition chances.

“We know Rishabh isextremely talented but he willgive you a chance, and we justgot to be ready to take thatwhen it comes,” said Root.

PTI n AHMEDABAD

Arank turner is being antic-ipated at Motera but India

captain Virat Kohli expectspacers to have as big a role asspinners in the day-night thirdTest against England, a side rid-dled with “many weaknesses”according to him.

Both teams have won agame each in the four-matchseries and ahead of third Testhere starting on Wednesday,the talk has been incessantlyfocussed on the nature of thevirgin track at the refurbishedstadium.

Asked if the ball is unlike-ly to swing much in the thirdTest, Kohli said he expects thepacers to be in the game till theball is “nice and shiny”.

“I don’t think that is anaccurate assessment (that bowlwill not swing). The pink balldoes tend to swing a lot morethan the red ball. We experi-enced that when we played forthe first time in 2019 (againstBangladesh),” Kohli said in thepre-match press conference.

Kohli also rejected theassessment that England wouldhave an edge if the pitchfavours pacers.

“...Not really botheredabout what the strengths andweaknesses of the English teamare. We have beaten them intheir home as well, where theball does way more and holdthem out every time so we’renot really bothered with that.It’s just about playing well as ateam,” he said.

“And yeah, there are many,many weaknesses in the oppo-sition side as well, if you arekeen to exploit them. If it’s aseamer friendly track for them

it’s for us as well.“And we probably have,

you know, among other teams,the best bowling attack in theworld so we’re not really both-ered by what the ball mightbring differently to the table.We’re ready for anything thatcomes our way,” he asserted.

Kohli said facing the pinkball is more challenging thanthe red ball irrespective of thenature of the surface.

“It is much more chal-lenging to play with pink ball

regardless of the pitch youplay on. Especially in theevening, if as a batting team,you are starting your inningsunder lights then that one anda half hour is very challenging,”he said.

“Yes spin will come intoplay for sure but I don’t thinkthe new ball and fast bowlerscan be ignored. The pink balldoes bring them into the gametill the ball is nice and shiny,something we are very wellaware of and preparing accord-ingly,” added Kohli.

Talking about the experi-ence his team has gained fromthe two outings, Kohli said:“Last time we experienced thatthe first session is probably thenicest to bat when the sun isout and ball doesn’t do much.But when it starts to get dark,especially during that Twilight,it gets very tricky.

“The light changes, it’s dif-ficult to see the ball and thenunder lights, it is like playingthe first session in the morning.In a normal Test match the balldoes tend to swing a lot (inmorning). So, I think it’s areversal of roles and somethingthat you need to adjust toquite quickly,” he explained.

PTI n JAIPUR

Mumbai rode on skipper ShreyasIyer’s unbeaten 103 to beat

Maharashtra by six wickets in their EliteGroup D game of the Vijay HazareTrophy here on Tuesday.

This was Mumbai’s second successivewin after they had beaten Delhi in thelung-opener.

Opting to bat first, Maharashtraposted 279/9, with centuries from YashNahar (119) and Azim Kazi (104) despiteexperienced Mumbai pacer DhawalKulkarni (5/44) running through theirtop-order.

But it was Iyer, who anchored theMumbai chase and saw them home in47.2 overs.

Chasing 280, Mumbai openersYashasvi Jaiswal (40) and Prithvi Shaw(34) conjured 67 for the first wicket.

Iyer, who walked in at three, was inhis elements and hammered nine bound-aries and one six, in his unbeaten knock,he found able partners in SuryakumarYadav (29), Shivam Dube (47) as they

played their roles to perfection.In other matches of the group, Delhi

beat Pondicherry by 179 runs whileRajasthan lost to Himachal Pradesh byfour wickets.

CHANDIGARH ON TOPKolkata: In Group E clash at EdenGardens, Chandigarh continued theirgiant-killing run in their Elite debut,stunning hosts Bengal by five wickets.

Fresh from their win over neigh-bours Haryana, Chandigarh who wereplaying their second domestic seasonchased down Bengal’s 253/9 with sevenballs to spare to climb up to the top ofthe group table, ahead of Saurashra onnet-run rate.

Saurashtra secured a thrilling one-wicket win over star-studded Haryana atthe 22 Yards Academy in Saltlake.

Hosts Bengal, who made a groupstage exit in the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20s,dropped to third spot with one win anda loss.

Elsehwhere at JU Second Campusground in Saltlake, Jammu & Kashmir

beat Services by three wickets.

UK’S SECOND WINChennai: Opener Jay Bista starred witha 61-ball 71 as Uttarakhand outplayedManipur by seven wickets for their sec-ond consecutive win in Plate Groupencounter.

Sent in to bat, Manipur lost the open-ers by the sixth over and the rest of thebatsmen struggled against a disciplinedbowling attack.

In reply, Bista continued his goodform with a knock of 71 (8 fours, 2 sixes)to follow up his 141 on Sunday againstMeghalaya to set up the win. He added113 runs for the first wicket with KamalSingh (41) and set the platform forUttarakhand’s win.

Assam also notched up their secondwin, beating Arunachal Pradesh by fivewickets to join Uttarakhand at the top ofthe standings with eight points.

In another match, Mizoram wentdown by 29 runs to Nagaland despitetons by Pratik Desai (141) and TaruwarKohli (108).

UNSEEDED ROGERS STUNS 3RD SEED KONTA Adelaide: Unseeded American Shelby Rogers stunnedthird seed Johanna Konta with a display of raw powerin the second round of the Adelaide International onTuesday. Rogers served superbly and was ruthless withher returns to see off the Konta 6-2, 6-2 in 76 minutes.There were no problems for the three other seededplayers in action, all playing their first round matches.Fifth seeded Iga Swiatek, Petra Martic, the sixth seed,and seventh ranked Yulia Putintseva all progressed.

ROBERTSON’S BRACE TAKES RKFC TO TOP Kolkata: Mason Robertson's fine brace helped adominant Real Kashmir FC beat Aizawl FC 3-1 and jumpto the top of the I-League table at the VYBK Stadiumhere on Tuesday. After a defensive error had givenAizawl FC the lead through Lalremsanga in the 26thminute, Lukman Adefemi's strike in the first half and adouble by Robertson in the second powered the SnowLeopards to a thumping win.

INDIA TO PLAY OMAN & UAE IN MARCH New Delhi: The Indian men's team will play twointernational friendlies — against Oman on March 25and United Arab Emirates on March 29, the AIFF said onTuesday. Both the matches will be held in Dubai. As partof preparation for the two matches, the national teamwill assemble in a camp from March 15. The camp willalso be held in Dubai under head coach Igor Stimac toallow the players to acclimatise to the conditions faster.

HALEP PULLS OUT OF QATAR OPEN Paris: World number three Simona Halep has pulledout of next week's Qatar Open, organisers of the WTAevent announced on Tuesday. Her withdrawal followsher Australian Open quarter-final loss to SerenaWilliams. “Unfortunately I've decided to withdraw, Ican't wait to be back in Doha next year,” organisersquoted her as saying on Instagram. She gave no reasonfor her absence from the March 1-6 tournament.

DEEPAK IN Q/F OF STRANDJA MEMORIAL New Delhi: Asian Silver-medallist Deepak Kumar(52kg) advanced to the quarterfinals with a facile win asIndian boxers got off to a mixed start at the 72ndStrandja Memorial Tournament in Sofia. Deepakdefeated Olzhas Bainiyazov 5-0 in his opening bout tomake the last-eight stage. Other winners on Mondayincluded Naveen Kumar (91kg) among men and Jyoti(51kg) in the women's draw. However, Shashi Chopra(60kg), Lalita (69kg) and Sakshi (57kg) lost theiropening bouts to bow out of the competition.

UPUL THARANGA ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT Colombo: Veteran Sri Lanka opener Upul Tharanga onTuesday announced his retirement from internationalcricket after a career spanning 15 years and duringwhich he also enjoyed a brief stint as captain. Tharanga,36, who was at the helm from July to November in2017, last represented the national team during its tourof South Africa in 2019. “I have decided to retire frominternational cricket,” Tharanga wrote on his Twitterhandle. He enjoyed more success in the ODIs, making6951 runs in the 235 matches he played.

INDIA-SSA SERIES IN LUCKNOW FROM MARCH 7New Delhi: The Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association onTuesday confirmed that it will be hosting the eight-match limited overs series between the women's teamsof India and South Africa in Lucknow from March 7. TheODI, all of them day-games, will be played on March 7,9, 12, 14 and 17 and will be followed by the T20matches on March 20, 21 and 24 with the first twogames to be played under lights at the EkanaInternational Stadium. Agencies

SINGLES

PTI n DHAKA

A“patriotic” Mustafizur Rahman onTuesday said he is willing to skip the

upcoming Indian Premier League fornational duty and be available for nextmonth’s Test series against Sri Lanka ifpicked in the squad.

The Bangladesh Cricket Board(BCB) has allowed its players, includingMustafizur, to participate in the IPLdespite the fact that the lucrative T20league is likely to clash with their inter-nationals assignments.

But the left-arm pacer, who waspicked up by Rajasthan Royals for `1crore, has decided to give precedence tonational duty. “I will do what BCB asksme to do. If they keep me in Test squad

(for the tour of Sri Lanka) then I will playTests and if they (BCB) don’t keep mein Test then they know what I shoulddo,” Mustafizur told reporters beforeleaving for New Zealand.

“My first priority is to play for mycountry and if I am picked in the Testseries against Sri Lanka, I will natural-ly play. If I am not picked then BCB willtell me that I am not included. At thatpoint, if I am given NOC to play in theIPL then I will play but patriotism comesfirst for me.”

The Test series in Sri Lanka will befollowed by a three-match ODI rubberin May but the fixtures have not beenfinalised yet.

CLAUSES IN CONTRACTSPremier all-rounder Shakib Al

Hasan’s request seeking a longer stint inthe IPL has left the Bangladesh CricketBoard “disappointed” and it has decid-ed to add new clauses in the players’ cen-tral contracts to avoid a similar situationin future.

Signing the annual contract withnew clauses would ensure the playerscommit themselves to playing forBangladesh. “We will enter into a newcontact with the players (for 2021),” BCBpresident Nazmul Hassan told reporters.

“It will be mentioned clearly whowants to play which format. They haveto inform us. If they have any otherengagement, they have to be clearabout their availability.

PTI n AHMEDABAD

England’s lead spinner Jack Leachsays he is ready for a new role as the

day/night pink ball Test against Indialooks set to bring the seamers back intothe forefront after the tweakers’ dom-ination in the first two matches.

Leach is aware that with the pinkball, which tends to move around a lotmore than the traditional red cherry,his role could change over the next fewdays.

“We want to be adaptable, we feellike we’ve got all bases covered in oursquad so I think it’s going to be a fas-cinating Test match if the ball is mov-ing around, and if so, it might be aslightly different role for me,” Leachwrote in Sky Sports.

“I’ve definitely thought about that— it’ll be a different challenge and I’llbe ready.”

‘Ashwin is world-class bowler’

Eng yet to decide team combination

Leach ready fordifferent challengewith pink ball

‘Credit to Ishant forprioritising Test cricket’

Shreyas’ ton scripts Mumbai second win

Mumbai batsman Suryakumar Yadav celebrates histeam’s win in Vijay Hazare trophy SKY/Instagram

PTI n AHMEDABAD

India captain Virat Kohli onTuesday lauded Ishant

Sharma’s commitmenttowards Test cricket, sayingthe veteran pacer couldhave easily prioritisedwhite-ball cricket to pro-long his career but choseto focus on the longest for-mat instead.

The 32-year-oldIshant is set to becomeonly the second Indianpacer after the legendaryKapil Dev to play in 100Tests when he takes thefield in the day-night

third match on Wednesday.“It’s a great achievement in mod-

ern day cricket. To maintain your bodyand play 100 Tests, it’s rare to see a pacerhave such longevity these days. Hecould have easily prioritised white-ballcricket but full credit to him that he did-n’t,” Kohli said at the pre-match pressconference.

“A lot of people even lose theirmotivation. He has the skills, if he want-ed he could have improved his fourover, 10 over cricket and played in theIPL regularly, or presented himself inT20 and ODIs. But he gave his fullcommitment to Test cricket,” Kohliadded.

Ishant last played in an ODI in2016 and a T20I match in 2013.

Mustafizur ready to sacrificeIPL for national duty

Pacers can’t be ignored in D/N Test: KohliTest of Night Life

3rd Test. Day 1Live from 2:30pm ISTSTAR SPORTS 1 NETWORK

India venture into unknown, England seek answers for‘pink ball turner’ in world’s biggest cricket stadium

ee Studios has signed on RunRaja Run and Saaho fame direc-tor Sujeeth for a new project,which will go in front of thecameras later this year.

The untitled film will be anaction-thriller with a strong emotionalcore, Sujeeth, whose last film was Prabhas-starrer Saaho, said.

“I’m very excited to work with ZeeStudios on this new project. Saaho was anout-and-out action movie. But this time I'llbe playing with the emotional angle too inaddition to the power-packed actionsequences. Can’t wait to kick-start thisone,” the

director said on Tuesday.Shariq Patel, CEO, Zee Studios said that

Sujeeth’s vision and technical expertise willensure the film will be visually mostappealing. “It gives us immense pleasure toassociate with the super talented Sujeethfor the upcoming project. Sujeeth has writ-ten a taut thriller with a very strong emo-tional core and as a studio, we are extreme-ly excited to bring this to life on the bigscreen. His vision and technical expertisewill ensure the film is amongst the mostvisually spectacular films of 2022,” Patelsaid.The cast and crew details of the pro-

ject are under a tight lockand key.

ctress Nithya Menenrecalls how she becamegood friends with co-starAshok Selvan on the setof their rom-com NinnilaNinnila in London. She

sees it as a good sign for the upcom-ing film’s prospects upon release.

“It is like we all friends cametogether for this beautiful film. I amreminded of the days of AlaModalaindi (her Telugu debut).During its making, director NandiniReddy, Nani and I became goodfriends. The film became a big hit. Iwish that Ninnila Ninnila repeats the

feat,” Nithya says.“This film is entirely different

from the kind of movies I have donebefore. It has got so much feel. Weenjoyed ourselves together likefriends while shooting for it. Each ofthe songs released so far has been

received well by the listeners. Ourfilm is going to leave you with asmile,” she promises fans.

The film is directed by Ani IVSasi, son of the late filmmaker IVSasi and Malayalam actress Seema.“This project is indeed the collective

effort of our friendship. We had somuch fun shooting Ninnila Ninnilain London. The output is superb,”says Ani Sasi.

Ninnila Ninnila is slated to streamin Telugu and Tamil languages onZeePlex from February 26.

ctor Simha Koduri, whomade an impressive debutwith Mathu Vadalara in2019, will be teaming upwith Suryakantham direc-tor PranithBramandapally for his

third venture. To be a joint produc-tion venture between Suresh Babu,Madhura Sreedhar and YashRangineni, the film, titled BhaagSaale, was announced on Simha’sbirthday Tuesday. Pranith is direct-ing it from his own script; whileKaala Bhairava has been signed on

to render tunes.Talking to us, Pranith said Bhaag

Saale is a crime-comedy and that hehas been working on the script forover a year. “It revolves around thecharacterisation played by Simha.He will be shown as a street-smartguy who lands in trouble. How heemerges from it is narrated in ahilarious fashion,” the director said.

Pranith added that he is lookingto have the cameras rolling fromMarch third week. “It is aHyderabad-set drama and we areplanning to wrap up the entire

shooting in 45-50 days over multi-ple schedules. The lead heroinehasn’t been finalised. We are search-ing for a new face. The supportingcast comprises Vennela Kishore,Satya and Viva Harsha,” he revealed,and added that the soundtrack con-sists of five songs. “Bhairava hasalready given one tune.”

Isn’t Suresh Babu tough toimpress? He replied, “I’m learning alot of things from him. He gave mea few inputs and we are working onthose scenarios. Yes, it is tough toimpress him but he liked the story.

Also, I was pretty confident whilegiving him the narration. The storyexcited him and hetold us to not toexceed the bud-get.”

—NG

fter her wink act inMalayalam film OruAdaar Love gainednation-wide attention,Priya Prakash Varrier

was flooded with offers fromTelugu but she was waiting for agood story. When Chandra SekharYeleti approached her to be a partof Check, she agreed to it withouteven listening to the story. “I'vewatched his Vismayam in Malayalamas it starred my favourite actorMohanlal. The film helped me under-stand what a great director he is. Sowhen he rang me, I said I’d do it. Theicing on the cake was when he men-tioned the film stars Nithiin, Rakul PreetSingh and was backed by a good pro-

duction house,” the actress, who playsan adventurous girl who appears inthe flashback as Nithiin's love inter-est, informs.

In a media session last week,Yeleti heaped high praise

on Priya, saying that shewould give him the

expression he need-ed in seconds. Didhe commend herperformance onsets as well?“Chandoo sir isneutral with hisexpressions. Youcan’t decide

whether he ispleased with your

performance or not.After giving my shot I

would look at him, onlyto understand nothing. He

would reply with a ‘yeah,ok’ to my queries on

whether I gave a goodshot. So when he

lauded me duringthe interactive

session

withthe media, I

felt very happy; it was a big thing,” shepoints out gleefully.

The actress adds that she prepped forthe part and so, didn’t require prompt-ing while shooting. “I participated in areading session with Chandoo sir andco-director a couple of days before wewent to shoot and rehearsed my linesthoroughly. If I know the meaning ofmy lines, I would be able to reel out theright emotion. That’s what I did. I don’tlike the idea of prompting. I can’t con-centrate if somebody prompts lines inthe background,” she states, addingthat she can understand Telugu com-pletely and can even speak a little.“If I do some more films in Telugu,I will be able to speak fluently.”

Priya intended to catch thefilm in Hyderabad with herfamily but due to her brother’sexam falling on the samedate to that of the film’srelease date (Feb 26),she dropped the pro-gram and instead isplanning towatch it inKochi.”

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tollywoodVijayawada Wednesday February 24 2021

Simha and Pranith teamup for a crime-comedy

Titled Bhaag Saale,the film will mostlyroll from Marchthird week, withdirector Pranithplanning to wrap itup in 45-50 days.While the search forthe leading lady ison, the supportingcast is stacked upwith the likes ofVennela Kishore,Satya and VivaHarsha

aving gone on tofloors last November,the filming of SaiTej’s next, Republic,with Deva Katta hasbeen wrapped up.

The makers took to theirsocial media pages toannounce that the 64-dayshoot witnessed not even asingle positive COVID-19case. “It’s a wrap for #REPUB-LIC shoot: 64 days in total,fortunately with zero COVIDcases!! All made possible bythis Army!! Thank you!#RepublicOnJune4th,” Kattawrote on Twitter tagging a pic-ture of his crew.

Responding to Katta’s post,Tej wrote, “4 months of hustleand focus and we have fin-ished shoot...the effort andhard work of all the peoplebehind the camera and infront of the camera have made

this possible...kudos to thewhole team of #REPUBLICthis one is going to be aspecial movie in mycareer.”

A social drama, thefilm’s narrativerevolves around thethree pillars ofdemocracy-legisla-tive, executive andjudiciary. Sai Tej willbe seen as an IASofficer in the film,while Ramya Krishnais believed to haveessayed the role of aminister.

The satellite and dig-ital rights of the filmhave already beenbagged by ZEE Studios,which will also distributeit theatrically along withproducers J Bhagavan andJ Pulla Rao.

Republic is going to be a

special movie in my career: Sai Tej

I don't like the idea of prompting:Priya Prakash

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n the occasion of Bheeshma Ekadasi Tuesday, Nandamuri Balakrishna released unseenstills of his turn as Bheeshma from the damp squib NTR: Kathanayakudu (2019). “Dadplayed Bheeshma role in a film (1962) of the same name and impressed everyone with

his performance. I'm a big fan of the film and the way dad went about bringing his role to life.It is the reason why we shot some scenes from Bheeshma for NTR: Kathanayakudu but due tolength issues, we had to trim them from the final edit,” the actor said in a statement.

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uperstar Mahesh Babuis the latest celebrity tohave raved Buchi BabuSana’s Uppena, which,in the second week, isstill doing decent busi-

ness. The actor, who has returnedto Hyderabad following a nearmonth-long schedule of SarkaruVaari Paata in Dubai, describedUppena as a timeless film, whilereserving high praise for the direc-tor and composer Devi Sri Prasad.“#Uppena... One word... CLASSIC!

@BuchiBabuSana you’ve made oneof those rare timeless films... Proudof you! The heart of Uppena is@ThisisDSP... it’ll be rememberedas one of the all time great musicscores! This is your best work tilldate DSP... Keep rocking! (sic),” heposted in a series of tweets.

Lauding the lead cast VaisshnavTej and Krithi Shetty, Maheshadded, “It’s really heartwarmingwhen you see two newcomerscome up with stellar perfor-mances.... #VaisshnavTej and

@IamKrithiShetty...you guys are stars!(Sic).”

The actor alsoappreciated the pro-ducers. “And finallyhats off to @arya-sukku garu and@MythriOfficial forbacking a project likeUppena. Like I said it’sone of those timeless films...Proud of you guys! (Sic).”

Chandoosir is neutral with his expressions.

You can't decide whether he ispleased with your performance ornot. After giving my shot I wouldlook at him, only to understand

nothing

Sujeeth and Zee Studiosteam up for an action-thriller

Uppena is a classic: Mahesh

Ninnila Ninnila reminded me of Ala Modalaindi days: Nithya Menen

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