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JOURNALISM OF COURAGESINCE 1932

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfsviedahCqz3UCHWtF_pN4llWaNFQ9ZzTzqSwgmZ7t0GYZpQ/viewform

BUSINESS AS USUAL

BYUNNY

DA ILY FROM: AHMEDABAD , CHAND IGARH , DELH I , JA IPUR , KOLKATA , LUCKNOW, MUMBAI , NAGPUR , PUNE , VADODARA

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 5, 2020, NEW DELHI, LATE CITY, 14 PAGES `6.00 (`8 PATNA & RAIPUR, `12 SRINAGAR) WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

SUKHBIRSIWACH,ASADREHMAN,SHAJUPHILIP&ALIFIYAKHANCHANDIGARH,LUCKNOW,THIRUVANANTHAPURAM,PUNE,AUGUST4

WHENEVER HE felt he wasstruggling to keep upwith thedemandsofhisjobandprepara-tion for competitive exams,PradeepSinghsays, itwashisfa-therwhomotivatedhimto staythe course. On Tuesday, in hisfourth attempt, the 29-year-oldson of a Sonipat farmer rankedfirst in theUPSCexam.

Atotalof829candidateshavequalifiedforthecivilservices,in-cluding the IAS, IPS and IFS. Allthe top three rank-holders —Singh,JatinKishoreandPratibhaVerma, respectively— are serv-ingofficials.WhileSinghisares-identofHaryana,KishoreisfromDelhi and Verma, an IIT-Delhigraduate, is fromUttarPradesh.Last year, Singh had ranked

260 in theUPSC exam, andwasundergoingtrainingasanIndianRevenue Service officer. Kishoreis a 2018-batch officer of IndianEconomic Service and currentlypostedasAssistantDirectorintheMinistryofRuralDevelopment.

Singhsayswhilehehopedtodowell, the first rank surprisedhim. Father Sukhbir Singh,whoowns eight acres in Sonipat’sTewri village, credits it all to hishardwork,asdoestherestofhisfamily — his mother, elderbrotherwhohasadegreeinme-chanical engineering and ayounger sisterwho is anMSc inmathematics."Forthefirstthree-fouryears,

Pradeep studied at a privateschoolinthevillagebutin2000,wemoved to Sonipat town toensurebetterstudiesforthechil-dren," Sukhbir says. WhileSukhbirhimselfhasbeenvillage

sarpanch twice, his grandfatherand grandmother also held thepostearlier.In2008,Sukhbirsays,Pradeep

toppedhis school inClass12ex-ams.Afterthat,hedidB.Techand,in2013,wasselectedasinspectorfor the Excise and TaxationDepartment.Whilehehadtakencoachinginitially,Singhthistimepreparedonhisown.As an IAS officer, Singh said,

“Iwilltrytodosomethingforthepoorandcontributetothedevel-opmentof thecountry."Congratulating Singh,

Haryana Chief MinisterMonahar Lal Khattar tweeted

that he hoped the 29-year-oldwouldbeaninspirationforotheryouthsof thestate.Verma,26,whorankedthird,

said the news is yet to sink in.One of four children of govern-ment school teachers, theSultanpurresidentsaidherfam-ily and friends had contributedthemost inher “journey”.Having done BTech in

Engineering Physics from IIT-Delhi in 2015, she worked at atelecommunications companyfor two years but then left. “Iwanted to experience how theprivate sector works, but my

CONTINUEDONPAGE2

PAGE1ANCHOR

Top-rankerPradeepSinghwithhis family inSonipat. PTICIVILSERVICESEXAM:TWOFROMDELHIINTOP4.PAGE3

Farmer’s son, IIT graduate, fireman: UPSC success stories

Thebanksof theSarayu inAyodhyaare lituponTuesday inpreparationfor theAugust5bhoomipujan . PremNathPandey

Ceremony starts at 12.30 pm, PM tooffer prayers to idol, address gatheringAVANEESHMISHRAAYODHYA,AUGUST4

THEUTTARPradeshInformationDepartmentonTuesdayputouta detailed itinerary for thebhoomipujanceremonyfortheRamtempleatAyodhya,startingwith prayers being offered toLord Ganesha at 12.30 pm byPrimeMinisterNarendraModi.Thiswillbefollowedbywor-

ship of themain shilamade ofsilver,theworshipof thelandonwhich the templewill be built,and prayers to other eightsmaller shilas, including thekoormshilaorshilaofaturtle.Thelast will be right under wheretheidolofRamLallawillbekeptat the temple.Between “exactly” 12.44pm

and12.45pm,alotusflowermadeof “fiveelements”anddecoratedwithnine stoneswill be kept on

the koormshila—marking the“pratishthapayami(installation)”.Modiisscheduledtoarriveat

Lucknowairportat10.35amandfly down to the Saket DegreeCollege helipad in Ayodhya at11.30am.HisfirststopwillbetheHanumanGarhi templewhere,afteraseven-odd-minutestay,hewill reach Ram JanmabhoomiareabynoonandofferprayersatthemakeshiftRamLallatemple.

CONTINUEDONPAGE2

JOURNALISM OF COURAGESINCE 1932

KERALAGOLDCASE:N.I.A.TEAMTOTRAVELTOUAEPAGE6

THEWORLD

MASSIVEBLASTINBEIRUT,10DEAD,HUNDREDSINJUREDPAGE12

‘Govt,bureaucracyregressing,needtoembracemarket-basedeconomy’

155DAYSSINCEPANDEMICBEGAN

KEYSTATESTOWATCH■Maharashtra■Delhi■TamilNadu■Karnataka■AndhraPradesh

7 DAYS EARLIER:

2.25NOW:

2.10

7 DAYS EARLIER:

8.56NOW:

8.89

DETECTED TODAY

52,050RECOVERED TODAY:

44,306

TOTALCASES4,50,1961,38,4822,63,2221,39,5711,66,586

DOUBLINGRATE**31.1993.1928.2615.459.99

SURGEIN24HOURS8,9688055,6094,7527,822

7-DAYAVGGROWTH*2.31%0.77%2.55%4.66%7.21%

TRACKING INDIA’SCOVIDCURVE

CASES:18,55,745TESTS: 2,08,64,750 | DOUBLING RATE: 22.13**

RECOVERED: 12,30,509DEATHS:38,938

*CompoundedDailyGrowthRateover last7days **Calculatedover7-daygrowth

DataasonAugust3, releasedbyUnionMinistryofHealth, ICMRandstates.Oftendailynumbers includedatafrompreviousdays.Assuch, trendsbasedondailynumbersare indicative,notdefinitive

CASE FATALITYRATIO

Deaths as a ratio ofpositive cases (in %);indicator of progressin averting deaths

Positives againstnumber tested

(in %); indicator ofthe spread of disease

Becoming sick vsrecovering; more

recoveries for 14 daysmay signal the peak

POSITIVITY RATE DAILY IN, DAILYOUT

PRIMEMINISTERTOATTENDBHOOMIPUJANFORRAMTEMPLE

Ayodhya breaks ground todayTempleworkwill set inmotionriseofnewtownshipNavyaAyodhyaandpilgrims’ corridor

LIZMATHEWNEWDELHI, AUGUST4

L K ADVANI, themanwho con-verted a local legal dispute intoa national movement for theconstructionof theRamTempleand infused itwith the politicalcapitalthatcatapultedtheBJPtopower,willnotbepresentwhenPrimeMinister NarendraModi

laysthefounda-tion stone forthe temple inAyodhya onWednesday.“Destiny

made me per-form a pivotaldutyintheformof theRamRathYatra,” AdvanisaidonTuesday,the eve of the

ground-breaking ceremony. Ayear after the Palampur resolu-tion of 1989, in which the BJPadoptedthebuildingofatempleat thebirthplaceof LordRam inAyodhya as its political plank,Advani led the Yatra that gal-vanised themovement for thetemple and split Indian politicsinto a deep and bitter secular-communaldivide.“Sometimes significant

dreams in one’s life take a longtime to fruition, butwhen theyare finally realised, the wait

CONTINUEDONPAGE2

Not in Ayodhya,Advani saysRath Yatra washis pivotal duty

‘Dreamgettingfulfilled’

Trump bars firms onfederal funds fromhiring H-1B workersAASHISHARYANNEWDELHI, AUGUST4

US PRESIDENT Donald Trumphas signed an executive orderbarringagenciesrunningonfed-eral funds from replacing USworkers or green card holderswithH-1B visa holders or otherforeignworkers. The executiveorder also bars agencies receiv-ing federal funding from con-tracting or subcontracting theirwork to foreigncountries.H-1B visas, most often used

by Indian and Chinese compa-nies,aregenerallyapprovedforaperiodof threeyearsforanindi-vidualbutmanysuchvisahold-

erschangeemployers toextendtheirUSstay.

CONTINUEDONPAGE2

After backlash, Vivo allset to pull out of 2020 IPLSHAMIKCHAKRABARTYKOLKATA,AUGUST4

TWODAYSafter the IPL govern-ing council decided to continuewithVivoastheT20tournament’stitle sponsor, theChinese smart-phonemakerisallsettopullout—atleastforthe2020editionstart-ingnextmonthintheUAE.

Confirmingthedevelopment,a BCCI official told The IndianExpressthatanofficialstatementonthewithdrawalwillbeissuedin“acoupleofdays”.Theparting ofways, tempo-

raryandbymutualconsent, fol-lows a public backlash after thecouncil decided Sunday to holdthe IPL from September 19 to

CONTINUEDONPAGE2

EXPRESSNETWORK

EBRAHIMALKAZI,GRANDOLDMANOFINDIANTHEATRE,DIESPAGE6

MOSTINDIANITcompa-nieshavehintedthattheywouldliketoreducetheirdependenceonH-1Bvisas.Thelatestorderwillmainly impactthejobprospectsof independentITconsultantsandwork-ersfromIndia.

TechiesontheradarE●EX

PLAINED

BASHAARATMASOODSRINAGAR,AUGUST4

EVEN AS security has beensteppedupontheeveofthefirstanniversaryof theabrogationofJammu and Kashmir's specialstatus under Article 370, asarpanchwas critically injuredin a militant attack in Kulgamdistrict onTuesday. Twopolice-menwere injured in a separateattack inPulwama.

Accordingtopolice,militantsbarged into the house ofsarpanchArifAhmad,inAkhranvillage of Kulgam district, onTuesdayeveningandopenedfirefromclose range. “Hehas abul-letinthechest...Hisconditionre-mains critical,” said DrMohammad Iqbal, MedicalSuperintendent of theGovernmentMedicalCollege inAnantnag where Ahmad hasbeenadmitted.BJP spokesperson Altaf

Thakur confirmed to The IndianExpress thatAhmadwas associ-ated with his party and con-demnedthe“barbaric attack”.Sincethepanchayatelections

in December 2018, twosarpanchs have been killed inmilitant attacks in SouthKashmir.Inaseparateattack,militants

lobbed a grenade on SpecialOperationsGroup(SOG)person-nel in Wanpora village of

CONTINUEDONPAGE2

J&KONEYEARAFTER

AUGUST5AN EXPRESS SERIES

Before anniversary of split, J&K sarpanchshot at, Farooq calls parties for a meeting

THEEDITORIALPAGE

NEXT,INTHEVALLEYPAGE8

DU prof Apoorvanandquestioned over riotsMAHENDERSINGHMANRAL&ARANYASHANKARNEWDELHI, AUGUST4

THE DELHI Police Special Cellquestioned Delhi UniversityProfessor Apoorvanand forabout five hours onMonday inconnectionwith the NortheastDelhi riots. The police laterseizedhisphone.Apoorvanand was sum-

moned for questioning as theSpecial Cell (NewDelhi Range)claimedtohavefoundlinkswiththe students’ outfit, Pinjra Tod,and with a WhatsApp group

calledthe‘DelhiProtestsSupportGroup(DPSG)’.A senior police officer told

The Indian Express: “The profes-sor, who teaches Hindi at DelhiUniversity, was summoned onAugust 1. Hewas questioned atLodhi Colony (onMonday), ini-tiallybyanACP rankofficer andthen theDCP(SpecialCell).

CONTINUEDONPAGE2

‘Probemustfocusontherealinstigators’

AASHISHARYAN,PRANAVMUKUL&PRABHARAGHAVANNEWDELHI, AUGUST4

THE UNCERTAINTY is frustrat-ing,saysDheerajKumar.The33-year-old chef had to return toHamirpur in Himachal Pradeshlast month after the café inMumbai,whereheworked,shutdown. After rising up the ranksin the city’s booming foodbusi-ness over the last 16 years,Kumar isnowamongagrowingnumberof employees laidoff inthewakeoftheCovidlockdown.Fromfood toaviation, and IT

to hospitality, the decimationcausedbytheeconomicdistressisechoingacrosstheservicessec-tor,whichisestimatedtoemployover33percentoftheemployedpopulation and contribute over55percent totheGDP.

While agriculture has beenresilient,andmanufacturingac-tivityrekindledbyunlockdowns,muchoftheservicessectorisstillstruggling as physical contact isan intrinsic prerequisite for abusiness to get back on track.Eateries that opened after re-strictions were eased haverecordedminimal footfalls, ac-cording to trade bodies, withrestaurants allowed to operateonly till 9pmuntil recently, and10pmfromJuly31.Moreso,theysay, because around two-thirdsofrevenuesformostrestaurants

CONTINUEDONPAGE2

THE JOBCUTSA N E X P R E SS S E R I E S

LOCKDOWN SLOWDOWN

Recruiters to trainees,veterans, the servicessector bears brunt

ENSECONOMICBUREAUNEWDELHI, AUGUST4

VIRALACHARYA,formerDeputyGovernorof theReserveBankofIndia, who quit in July 2019, sixmonths before his term wasscheduled to end, said onTuesday that central bankerswhoworked“tactfully”withthegovernment in the last decadedidnotproducebetteroutcomes.Hisexit,andthatofRaghuram

Rajan, Urjit Patel and ArvindSubramanian, should be seen asa“formofdissent”whichhelpsinstrengthening the institutionalframework and protecting theRBI’s autonomy, Acharya said inanIdeaExchangeonlineinterac-tionwithTheIndianExpress.“Weshouldnotinterpretex-

its as aproblem. Inmyview,weshould interpret exits as a formofvoice,asaformofdissentthatthe system requires to have theright public debates and get tothe rightpath…Inmyview, the

government and the bureau-cracy are stuck in the oldmodeof functioning even though theIndianeconomyisnolongerthenationalisederaeconomy.Theyare regressing… they need toembrace amoremarket-basedeconomy…,”hesaid.Responding toaquestionon

whether the RBI’s communica-tionwiththegovernmentcouldhavebeenbetterandthoseatthehelm could have built allies inthegovernmentsystem,hesaid,“…to everyonewho sayswedonotknowhowtoworktactfully,wedonotknowhowtocommu-nicate,wedidnotbuildallies,wedidnotbringeveryoneonboard,my question is when thingswerebeingdoneinthatmanner,do you have evidence to showme that the next 10 years of

CONTINUEDONPAGE2

Exits are a form ofdissent, nudgesystem onto rightpath: Viral Acharya

Ex-RBIdeputygovernoratthe IdeaExchangesession

AUGUST4

WATER TANKERS hosed roads,policemenransecuritydrills,themayordistributed1lakhdiyasasAyodhya prepared towelcomethe PrimeMinisterWednesdayfor thebhoomipujanof theRamtemple, a singleact ithopeswillbury its turbulentpastandstartanewjourney.Frozenintimeeversincethe

dispute over the RamJanmabhoomi-Babri Masjidfound itsway to the courtroomandthetemplemovementgath-eredsteam,Ayodhyaiswearyofitspastandpresent.Many here were born after

that December day in 1992when kar sevaks tore down theBabri Masjid within five hours,deepeningthecommunaldividein the country even as it cata-pulted theBJP topower.Yetthetown’sfutureislinked

to the construction of the tem-ple,startingwiththebhoomipu-janWednesday.Becausenowit’s

CONTINUEDONPAGE2

EXPRESSINAYODHYARAKESHSINHA,whoreported on the demolitionof the BabriMasjid onDecember 6, 1992, forTheIndian Express, returns toAyodhya for August 5

New Delhi

THESECONDPAGE2 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHEINDIANEXPRESS,WEDNESDAY,AUGUST5,2020

Ceremony startsHewill thenmoveon for the

bhoomipujan.Aftertheevent,hewouldaddress thegatheringbe-foreleavingforthehelipad.AyodhyaDIGDeepakKumar

said the citywasunder tight se-curity andprotocols bothof SPGsecurity and Covidwill be fol-lowed. All roads leading toAyodhyaareblocked,withentryallowedafterproperchecking.OnTuesday,prayerswereof-

fered to thenishan (flag) of LordHanuman,reveredastheprotec-tor of the city. Prakash Sharma,formernational convener of theBajrangDalandoneoftheorgan-isers, said prayerswere also of-feredatRamLalla.StartingTuesday,alllocaltem-

ples startedanAkhandRamayanrecitation with temples andhomes being lit. The samewillcontinueAugust5night.OnMonday,ChampatRai,the

generalsecretaryoftheShriRamJanmabhoomi Teerth KshetraTrust set up tobuild and run thetemple,said175peoplewouldat-tendthebhoomipujan.Among the invitees are BJP,

RSS and VHP leaders, UttarPradesh Governor AnandibenPatel, Chief Minister YogiAdityanath, andTrust presidentMahant Nritya Gopal Das. ThePM, RSS chiefMohanBhagwat,Patel,AdityanathandDaswillbetheonlyonesonthemaindais.Raisaidduetothepandemic,

theyhadtorestrictboththeinvi-teelistaswellasnotallowanyoneabove 90 years of age. “Itmightcausepain to someandwehavepersonallycalledthemandaskedfor forgiveness. We have alsogivenattention to the age factor.Howcansomeonemorethan90years of age come?How can KParasaranji (the advocatewhofought theAyodhya case for theHinduside)comefromChennai?HowcanAdvanijicome?”Rai said soil frommore than

1,500holyplacesandwaterfrom2,000suchsites,includingrivers,has reached Ayodhya. Theseplaces,accordingtotheTrust, in-cludeHaldighatiandChittorFort(linked to Maharana Pratap),Golden Temple in Amritsar,VaishnoDevi inJammu,theSattiChaura ghat in Kanpur and thefort of Nana Sahebnearby (bothsites that figured in the 1857mutiny), Ravidas Temple inVaranasiandallthe'Jyotirlings'.

H-1B workersThe new order could nega-

tively impact companies suchasInfosys, TCS, andWipro,whichbidheavilyforcontractsfromfed-eralagenciesacrosstheworld.Infosys, for example, had in

2019setupaUSsubsidiarytofo-cus onwinning servicing con-tractsfromhealthcareandrelatedprojectsfromtheUSandCanada,among other countries.WiproandTCS,too,haveUSsubsidiaries,which focus onwinning federalgovernmentcontracts.AccordingtodatafromtheUS

Department of Labor, 1,800-2,000,orabout3percent,ofallH-1Bvisas approvedeachyear areemployedbyfederalagencies.TheUSgovernmenthasacap

of85,000H-1Bvisasforeachyear.Of this,65,000visasareissuedtohighly skilled foreignworkers,whiletherestcanbeadditionallyallotted tohighly skilled foreignworkerswhohaveahigheredu-cationormastersdegreefromanAmericanuniversity.Workers placed in federal

agencies comemostly from theH-1Bholderswhodonothaveahigher educationdegree fromaUSuniversity.Theneworderwas triggered

by an announcementmade bythe federally-ownedTennesseeValleyAuthoritythatitwouldout-source20percentof its technol-ogyjobstoforeignapplicants.This action, theWhiteHouse

said, couldresult in job losses forup to 200 “highly-skilledAmericantechworkers”.Theout-sourcingcouldalsoleadtopossi-

ble leakingof sensitiveuserdataandtheftofintellectualproperty,itsaid.TheneworderissuedMonday

isseenasanextensionof anear-lier one by the administration,whichhadbarred entry of non-immigrantworker visas till theendof 2020. Theadministrationhad also said that some workvisas, includingH-1B andH-2Bvisas,wouldremainsuspended.Inhisexecutiveorder,Trump

called formore scrutiny of jobs,especially thosewhere the gov-ernmentistheemployer.Suchagencieswillalsounder-

takeanauditofthecontractsandsub-contracts awarded in 2018and2019andcheckwhetherthejobs offered to foreignworkerscouldhavebeendonebydomes-tic workers. The heads of suchagencieswillalsoassesstiftheac-tionresultedinUSnationalsecu-ritybeingcompromised.TheWhite House also said

thattheUSDepartmentofLaborwould “finalize guidance topre-ventH-1Bemployersfrommov-ingH-1Bworkers to other em-ployers’ jobsites”.

J&K sarpanchPulwamadistrict. Police sourcessaidtwopolicemenwereinjuredintheattack.“They received splinter in-

juriesandarestable,”apoliceof-ficer said. The two have beenidentified as Head ConstableKhurshid Ahmad and SpecialPoliceOfficer(SPO)IshfaqAhmad.National Conference presi-

dentFarooqAbdullahannouncedthat hewas calling ameeting ofmainstreampolitical leaders athisresidenceWednesday.Itisun-likelytohappenasmostofthepo-liticalleadersarestillunderhousedetention.Moreover,whiletheadminis-

trationhas lifted thecurfewthatwasimposedonMonday,restric-tionson“movementofmorethanthree persons” remain in place.Additionally, there is “completelockdown”incontainmentzones.SpeakingtoTheIndianExpress,

Abdullah confirmed he had“plannedameeting tomorrow”.“But you see, they have alreadystationed(security)vehiclesout-sideourhouses.Isthisthegovern-ment?”hesaid.Sources said Abdullah has

called senior leaders of the PDP,PeoplesConference,Congressandsomesmallerparties.“Yes,wehave receivedan in-

vite fromFarooqsahib,” saidPDPleader Waheed Parra. “SinceMehboobaji is under detention,we have asked Fayaz (AhmadMir)Sahib(RajyaSabhamember)toattendthemeeting,butwearenotsureif itwillbeallowed.”The Peoples Conference

spokesperson,AdnanAshraf,saidparty chief Sajad Lone had re-ceivedan invite. “Sajad sahibhasalreadybeen toldhe can’tmoveout of his house till August 6,”Ashrafsaid.“Ifallowed,hewoulddefinitelyattendthemeeting.”Theproposedmeetingwould

have been the first assembly ofmainstreampoliticalleaderssinceAugust5lastyear,whenthecen-tralgovernmentabrogatedJ&K'sspecial status. OnAugust 4 lastyear,themainstreamleadershadassembled at Abdullah’s resi-denceandvowedto“standunitedintheirstruggleforsafeguardingidentity, autonomy and specialstatusof thestate”.But some political leaders

questioned the timing of themeeting. “Farooq sahib knowsthat the governmentwouldnotallowthismeetingonAugust5,”said a seniormainstream leadersaid. “He shouldhave called themeetingafterafewdays.”In anotherdevelopment, the

administrationliftedthe48-hourcurfew imposedonMonday, cit-inga"reviewof the incident-freesituationonAugust4".TheAugust3orderhadcitedinputs“suggest-ingthatseparatistsandPakistan-sponsoredgroupsareplanningtoobserve5thAugustasBlackDay”.

WITHNAVEEDIQBAL

Delhi riotsHewas askedabouthis associa-tion with a WhatsApp groupformed inDecember 2019. “Wehave not found incriminatingposts fromhis side, but hewasaskedabouthisassociationwithother groupmembers. Hewasalso askedwherehewasduringtheNortheastDelhiriotsandtheviolenceinandaroundtheJamiacampus inDecember, andabouthis associationwith Pinjra Todand the Jamia CoordinationCommittee(JCC).”AnilMittal, theDelhi Police

Additional PRO, confirmed thatApoorvanand had been ques-tioned “in a case relating to theNortheastDelhiriots”,andthathisphonewastaken.Sourcessaid15-20members

of the WhatsApp group havebeenquestionedsofar--mostre-centlyformerJNUstudentleaderUmarKhalid,whosephonewasalsoseized.Apoorvanand toldThe Indian

Expressthatwhilethepolicewere“courteous” in theirquestioning,their“narrative”thatpeoplewhosupported theanti-CAAprotest-erswere“oneofthemainsourcesofviolence”intheriotswas“wor-rying”. “I do appreciate and re-spect the right and intent of thepolicetolookintoallprobabilitieswhile investigating theviolence.Thepolicehaveeveryrighttoseekcooperation of any citizen in itspursuitof truth,”hesaid.“(But) It isworrying to see a

narrative getting credence thatone of themain sources of vio-lencewerethepeoplewhoweresupporting the protesters.Protests,evenchakkajam,cannotbe treated as violence. And vio-lenceonthemcannotbeseenasareactiontothis,”hesaid.Hesaidit“wouldnotservethe

causeof justice if the instigationofviolenceagainsttheprotestersbypowerfulpoliticalleadersisig-nored”. “I hope that the focus oftheinvestigationwouldbeonthereal perpetrators of the violencewhich, in fact, targeted andde-

stroyed the protests and alsocausedlossoflivelihoodandlivesof thepeopleofDelhi,”hesaid.Following the February riots,

anFIRwasregisteredonMarch6,basedoninformationprovidedbyan “informer” to Sub-InspectorArvindKumar. In theFIR,Kumarsaidtheinformerhadtoldhimtheviolencewas a “premeditatedconspiracy”andnamedseveral.The casewas transferred to

theSpecialCell;theunithassinceinvoked the stringent UAPAagainst several people.Nineteenpeople have been arrested, in-cluding15under theUAPA.Fourhavegotbail,while15are still injail. The 15 include Pinjra Tod’sDevangana Kalita andNatashaNarwal,whoare alsopart of theWhatsAppgroupinquestion.

Services sectorcomefromcustomerscomingfordinner.According to Federation of

HotelandRestaurantsAssociationofIndia(FHRAI),whichrepresents10,000 hotels and restaurants,only 20per cent of itsmembershave reopened -- and, 20-30percentoftheseareplanningtocloseagainbecauseofnon-feasibleop-erations.The Sagar Ratna chain of

restaurants,whichemploys7,000people fromacross the country,especially fromAssam, OdishaandBihar,hasseen35-40percentof itsworkforce goback to theirhomestates.“Wearearemakingdowithwhateverwehave left.Wehavelandlordssupportingusby reducing or foregoing rents,”saysRoshanBanan,managingdi-rector, addingthat thegrouphasnotrecoveredeven10percentofitsearningsbeforethelockdown.Thechainisnowconsidering

borrowing from institutionallenders. “Wehave salaries, elec-tricitytoworryabout.Wearetalk-ingtolendersandintheprocessofarranging funds...mainly for op-erationalcosts,”saysBanan.The hit taken by restaurants

hashad a ripple effect on the70

lakhpeopleemployedbytheseg-ment, such as Kumar fromHamirpur.“IhaveahouseloantopayonwhichIhavesoughtanex-tension. My mother has beensendingmoneyfromhersavingsbecausemy salarywas heavilycut,”Kumarsaid.It's not just restaurants and

cafes, food-delivery platformsZomatoandSwiggydecidedtoletgoof1,641staffersinMay.The IT sector witnessed

growthover thepast sixmonthsbutwith joblossesasbusinessespreparedforanuncertainfuture.According toOxfordUniversity'sTheOnline Labour Index (OLI),which provides an online gigeconomyequivalent to conven-tionalmarketstatistics,Indiaisthelargest overall supplier of onlinelabourandhometo34percentofonlineworkersacrosstheglobe.But for Nadiya Begum, 26,

who worked as an HR profes-sional with ITC Infotech inBengaluru, the loss of her jobcamewith a twist of irony. Shehadbeenworkingwiththecom-pany since last November and,when the pandemic struck,nearly 35 of her 58 teammem-berswereaskedtoresign.“SinceIhadon-boardedmany

employeesinthepastsixmonths,mynumberislistedasarecruiteronmanyjobportals.Imaginetheironywhen some people, whohadalsolosttheirjobsduringthepandemic, started callingmeuptoaskif Icouldhirethem.IcouldnottellthemevenIwasjobless.”Begumsaysshehadusedher

savings,aboutRs1.5lakh,duringhermarriage last year. Andnow,sheisdependentonherhusband.Intheaviationsector,whichis

globally oneof theworsthit, theshutdownofdomesticpassengerflights in India for almost twomonthshashadacascadingeffecton ancillary sectors such as air-ports, groundhandling, groundtransportation,etc.For instance, a 24-year-old

customer service trainee for aground-handling company at

Ahmedabad airport, who ob-tainedhisdiploma inhospitalitylast June, has found his careergrounded.“Iamreconsideringmyplansseeingthataviationmaynotrecover soon. For the first twomonthsIreceivedjusthalfofmysalaryandthenIwassentonleavewithoutpay,”hesays.In June, thefirst fullmonthof

domestic flight operations sinceresumption on May 25,Ahmedabadairportrecorded1.05lakh domestic passengers -- 86per cent lower than June 2019.Thiswasinlinewithcountrywidenumbers, according to theAirportsAuthorityof India.India’s largest airline IndiGo

recently announced that itwaslayingoff10percentofits27,000-strongworkforce.Expertssaythemove isworrying because thecompanyhas the strongest bal-ancesheetamongitspeers.Inarecentresearchreporton

emergingmarkets,ratingagencyS&P says it expects the Indianeconomy to contract sharply in2020andtheservicessectortobe"severelyaffected".

Viral AcharyaIndia'sgrowthhavebeengreat?”He said hewas “fundamen-

tally questioning this thesis”.“…when the central bank toedtheline,andthewaytodowastostrikebackdoorcompromises,theway to move forward was toagree to relaxations, recognisingthat therewere political shorttermpressures, inmy view,weare paying the cost of that rightnow,”hesaid.AccordingtoAcharya,thecon-

flictbetweenthegovernmentandtheRBI arosebecauseof the for-mer’s push for opening liquidityandcredittapstoboostshorttermgrowth,disregardinglongertermgoalsofastablefinancialsystem.“Whyarewenotabletotakethenecessary expenditures andtransfersthatperhapsneedtobemadetohouseholdsinthemidstof Covid, is becausewehavenothadanopendebateaboutthefis-

cal situation of the country. Anumber gets announced as thereal deficit and everyone ishappy…everyone in thesystemsaysohhowcanwequestionthereal official statistics of the gov-ernment. Butwhen theyarenotright, theyarenotright. Iwanttofundamentallydisagreewiththethesisthatthosewhoagreehavebeen able to pave a better out-comeforthecountry,”hesaid.AcharyalefttheRBIonJuly23

2019,whileUrjitPatelhadquitasthe RBI Governor onDecember10,2018,almost10monthsaheadof his term. Rajan announced inJune2016—aboutthreemonthsbeforehistermwastoend—thathewillnotbetheRBIGovernoraf-terSeptember4,2016.Patel and Acharya both re-

signed to stall attempts by thegovernment toweaken the cen-tralbank,andrulesgoverningsur-plustransfertothegovernment.Acharya, presently the C.V.

Starr Professor of Economics inthe Department of Finance atNewYorkUniversitySternSchoolof Business, said tensions be-tween the government and thecentralbankarisebecausethefor-mer focuses on short termgoalswhereas the RBI’s approach islongterm.“Thisexcessivefocusonshort

termgrowthnumberscansortofcapturethemindsof theauthor-ities because that’s their singleminded focus, that we have togeneratehighgrowthintheshortrunbecausethenwecansaythatIndia is growing at 8%, 9%, 10%.And that can create pressure tokeepmonetary policy accom-modative,openupliquiditytaps,”hesaid.Overthelastdecade,thisshort

termapproachhas gone “spec-tacularlybad”,asseeninthecaseof discomsdebtwhichhavenotbeenmeaningfullyresolvedoverthelastdecade,hesaid.

VivoNovember 10 in the UAE, andcontinuewith its China-linkedsponsors.Vivo acquired the IPL title

sponsorship forRs2,199crore in2018inafive-yeardeal.“We(BCCIandVivo)satafter thegoverningcouncilmeetingandagreedonaone-yearmoratorium.Wewillalsoseeiftheircontractcanbeex-tended by one year after 2023.This issuewill be settled amica-bly,”theBCCIofficialsaid.An IPL councilmember, too,

confirmedthedevelopment.“WewillissueanewRFP(RequestForProposal).Theprocesswillbeverytransparent,”themembersaid.Onthepossibilityofgettinga

newsponsor in sucha short pe-riod,amidtheCoviddistress,an-othercouncilmembersaid:“TheIPL is the game’smost saleableproduct.Also,becauseofthepan-demic, people are stayinghome,whichmeansmore eyeballs onTV. So ifwecanpresentour caseproperly, we will have takers.Already, they (senior boardoffi-cials)areintalkswithacoupleofpeople,”hesaid.TheIPL'sdecisiontocontinue

with its China-linked sponsorscame amidst calls fromvarioussectionstoboycottChineseprod-uctsinthewakeofborderclashesthatledtothekillingof20Indiansoldiers.Following the IPLmove, for-

mer J&K CM and NationalConference leader OmarAbdullahtweeted:“Chinesecell-phonemakerswillcontinueasti-tlesponsorsoftheIPLwhilepeo-ple are told to boycott Chineseproducts. It’snowonderChina isthumbingitsnoseatuswhenweare so confused about how tohandle Chinesemoney/ invest-ment/sponsorship/advertising.”TheConfederationofAllIndia

Traders (CAIT) said that it haswritten toUnionHomeMinisterAmit Shah and External AffairsMinister S Jaishankar, opposingtheBCCI’sdecision.TheRSSaffil-iate, Swadeshi Jagran Manch,called on fans to consider boy-cottingtheleague.

BCCIsourcessaidthataccord-ing to the IPL's sponsorship con-tracts,amutualagreementtopartways“willsparebothpartiesalotof technicalandlegalhassles”.Apart from Vivo, the IPL’s

Chinese connections includePaytm, with investment fromAlibaba,asofficialumpirepartner.Dream 11, the online fantasyleaguepartner,andSwiggy,anas-sociate sponsor, are linked to in-ternetgiantTencent.Thelatestmove,however,ap-

pears tohave taken the IPL fran-chisesbysurprise.One franchiseofficial described themove as“shocking”. “The IPL is a hugebrandandareplacementwill beavailable, but the sponsorshipamountmaynotbeonaparwiththeexistingone,”saidtheofficial.TheBCCIsharesthebroadcast

revenueofIPLwiththefranchisesona50:50ratio,apartfromhand-ing over 10-20 per cent of theothersponsorshiprevenue.InanIPL away from home, with in-creasedoverhead expenses andwithout gate receipts, franchisesare alreadywalking a financialtightrope. “Wewoulddowell tojustbreakeven,”saidtheofficial.

UPSCheartwassetonbeingacivilser-vant. Living in Sultanpur, I haveseenhowdistrictmagistratesandothercivilservantscanmakeadif-ferenceinsociety."Advising people to keep off

distractions like socialmedia iftheywanted togiveashotat theUPSC,Vermasaidshealsowantedtoworkfortheempowermentofwomen.Oneofthemostinspiringsto-

ries of the results todaywas ofJayantMankale,whosuffersfrom70%lossofvision,andranked143.Thiswasthe27-year-old'ssecondattempt;heranked937earlier.Amechanical engineer fromBeed,heworkedfortwoyearsinPune,duringwhichtimehedevelopedarareeyeillness.Mankale,whowas raisedby

hismother after his father diedwhenhewas10,sayshereliedonYouTubevideosandradiotopre-pare.For Ashish Das, 32, an em-

ployeeofKerala'sFireandRescueServicesDepartment, itwas hisfifth attempt at the UPSC. Heranked291.Posted at the Pathanapuram

FireStationinKollamdistrict,Dassaid,"Ihadneverbeenatopscorerinschoolorcollege.Ididnothaveanymajorplanabouthigherstud-ies.Aftermygraduation,Ialsodidahotelmanagementcourse."With his wife, a nurse, and

theirseven-month-olddaughterin SaudiArabia,Das saidhekeptattempting the UPSC to "gainsome competency to attemptsuchexams".Hesaysheneverat-tended regular coaching, just afewclasseshereandthere.Inthefirst threeattempts,hedidn'tgetthrough the preliminary stage,and inthe fourthreachedthe in-terview round. "This time, I ex-pectedtomakeittothefinallist."Das's father Yesudas runs a

cold storage unit,whilemotherRosammaretiredasahelperfromaprivateschool.Hesayshisjobasa firemanhas taught him to beprepared. "Wedon’t knowwhatthenextchallengebeforeusis."Among the top rankerswas

Abhishek Augustya, 27, fromJammu,whocameinatNo.38inhis fifth attempt at the UPSCexam. The sonof a governmentschool teacher, theNIT Srinagar2014graduate is a serving auditandaccountsofficer.J&K saw13 candidates clear

theUPSCexamTuesday, includ-ing a 23-year-old economicsgraduate fromKupwara, ame-chanicalengineerfromAnantnag,and a doctor fromBhaderwah.Another three qualified fromLadakh.Of the total qualified candi-

dates, 304 are from the generalcategory,78fromEWS,251fromOBC,129 fromScheduledCastesand67fromScheduledTribes.WITHENS,SRINAGAR,DELHI

FROMPAGEONE

Ayodhya breaks ground today

Advani says Rath Yatra was pivotal duty

going todrawmore andmorepeople, driven by faith, belieformerecuriosity.The temple work will set

in motion the rise of a newtownship, Navya Ayodhya,over 500 acres near ManjhaBaretha along the Faizabad-Gorakhpurhighway.Officialssay theplanhasbeenaroundfor three years, but is nowpoised to take off with ChiefMinisterYogiAdityanath tak-ing personal interest.Resorts near the Saryu,

luxury hotels, apartmentcomplexes, proximity to theproposed Ram statue,planned as the tallest in thecountry, and its linking to thetemple site via a pilgrim cor-ridor are part of the plan totransform the landscape.Ayodhya’s first mayor

RishikeshUpadhyaysaysheis

goingtopushforgrantofher-itage status to the existingtown. While it is too con-gested for any new interven-tion, ithas tobepreserved,hesays,givenitsculturalandhis-torical significance.As chief of the Ayodhya

municipal corporation – thecivic bodies of Ayodhya andFaizabadweremergedtocre-ate a single entity andUpadhyaybecamemayor fol-lowingelections inNovember2017 – he plans a heritagewalkway through the oldtown.For now, he hopes to exe-

cute plans for sewers anddrains within the extendedmunicipal limits, estimated tocost Rs 600 crore and Rs 324crore, respectively.Navya Ayodhya is now a

priority and Upadhyay says it

will bea reality in fiveyears.And given that it expects a

sharp rise in pilgrimnumbersinthenearfuture,theRailwaysmachinery, too, is moving totransformtheAyodhyarailwaystation, completewith a tem-ple-lookdesign.The pandemic has led to

extensionofdeadlines,butsta-tionsuperintendentMahendraNathMishra sayswork is un-derway for thenewstation.Itwillhavesixplatforms,he

says, as against the existingthree, and therewill bemod-ernfacilitiesforpassengers.Theelectrification plan for greateroperational efficiencyand linecapacity isalsomoving.While there are great ex-

pectations here, there’s alsoconcern. Of matters morepressing, jobsfortheyouth,forinstance.

Vishwa Hindu ParishadspokespersonSharadSharmasays the commencement oftemple construction meanstheirmovement has reachedits goal, a journey that beganin 1984. He says the VHPwillnow resume itswork againstconversion and focus on so-cial empowerment.Whilehesays the future is

“Sundar Ayodhya, SwachhAyodhya, Vikasit Ayodhya”,heacknowledges theconcernover lack of employmentopportunities.“Samajkirozi-rotisarkarke

karyasepoortihogi(livelihoodissueswill have tobe resolvedvia government works),”Sharmasays.Ayodhyaisalreadylooking

beyond August 5, at a futurethat has, on the ground here,alwaysseemedelusive.

becomes very worthwhile.One such dream, close tomyheart is nowgetting fulfilled,”the92-year-oldAdvani said inastatementissuedonTuesday.Thestatementcamewhen

it was still not clear whetherAdvani had been officially in-vited forWednesday's BhumiPujan.VHPleaderssaidhehadbeen advised to stay awaygivenhisageandtheCovid-19pandemic.“Prime Minister Shri

Narendra Modi is laying thefoundation for the construc-tion of Shri Ram Mandir inAyodhya,thebirthplaceofShriRam. It is indeed a historical

andemotionaldaynotonlyformebut forall Indians,”Advanisaid.“A grand Mandir for Shri

RamatRamJanmabhoomihasbeen a desire andmission forthe Bharatiya Janata Party,”Advani, who also issued avideostatement, said.“Destinymademeperform

apivotaldutyintheformofRamRath Yatra from Somnath toAyodhyain1990,whichhelpedgalvanise theaspirations,ener-gies andpassions of countlessparticipants,”Advanisaid.“On this auspicious occa-

sionIwanttoexpressmygrat-itude to the scores of Saints,

leaders andpeople fromIndiaandtheworldoverwhomadevaluable contributions andsacrifices in the RamJanmabhoomiMovement,”hesaid. The Rath Yatra triggeredcommunalviolenceacrossthecountryandcontributedtothecircumstances that led to thedemolitionofthe16thcenturyBabriMasjidmosque in 1992.But on Tuesday, Advani ex-pressedhappiness thatdue tothe decisive verdict of theSupreme Court in November2019, the construction of thetemple was beginning in “anenvironmentof tranquility”.“This”, he said, “will go a

longway instrengthening thebond between Indians. ShriRam occupies an esteemedplace in India's cultural andcivilisationalheritageandisanembodiment of grace, dignityand decorum. It is my beliefthatthistemplewill inspireallIndiansto imbibeHisvirtues.”Theveteran,whoisstill fac-

ingtrial inthedemolitioncase,said he believed the templewould “represent India as astrong, prosperous, peacefuland harmonious nationwithjustice for all and exclusion ofnonesothatwecantrulyusherin Ram Rajya, the epitome ofgoodgovernance”.

WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

J&K:OneyearaftertheabrogationofArticle370NEWEPISODEEVERYDAY

In today’sepisodeof the3Thingspodcast,wetakea lookat thechangesthat J&Khasseensincethe lastyear

DOWNLOADAPP

THIS ISHOWRAMTEMPLE IN AYODHYAWILL LOOK LIKE AFTERCOMPLETION

ThenewdesignwasfinalisedinameetingoftheRamJanmabhoomiTeerthKshetraTrust,thebodyformedtofacilitateconstructionofRamtemple,onJuly18

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IndianExpress★★★★★■4.6

New Delhi

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI, AUGUST4

A DAY before the Ram TemplebhumipujaninAyodhya,formerUnion minister Vijay GoelTuesdaydefacedtheBabarRoadsignboard in Central Delhi, de-manding that it be called 5AugustMarg instead.Goel, the former Delhi BJP

president,saidhehaswrittentoUnionHomeMinisterAmitShahand the New Delhi MunicipalCouncil (NDMC) to rename theroadnearBengaliMarket."Babarwasaninvaderwhoat-

tacked Hindustan and demol-ishedRamMandir.ThePMisgo-ingtoperformagroundbreakingceremony for a grand temple inAyodhya tomorrow. At such atime, it will be an appropriatemovetorenameBabarRoadas5AugustMarg,"Goelsaid.Goel, alongwith some sup-

porters,wenttothehigh-security

Lutyens' Delhi where the sign-boardisplaced.Hepastedablackcrossoverit,andunderneathputanewposterwhichread5AugustRoad. Goel also said he wouldstartwriting5AugustMargonhisletterheadandallhiscorrespon-dence henceforth, and launch asignaturecampaign.Lastyear,the

Hindu Sena had blackened theBabarRoadsignboard inBengaliMarket.TNMeena, senior engineer

(roads) at NewDelhiMunicipalCouncil (NDMC),said,“WegottoknowthatsomegrouphadpastedastickeronBabarRoadboard,butwehaveremoveditnow.”

3THEINDIANEXPRESS,WEDNESDAY,AUGUST5,2020

THECITYWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

ASTHASAXENANEWDELHI, AUGUST4

THENUMBERofactiveCovid-19casesinDelhicamedowntolessthan 10,000 on Tuesday, ac-counting for 7% of the totalnumberofcases.Congratulatingresidents, Delhi Chief MinisterArvind Kejriwal tweeted:“Active cases left in Delhi lessthan10,000 today.Delhi isnowat 14th position in terms of ac-tive cases. Number of deathshave come down to 12 today. Iamproudofyou,Delhiites.Your‘Delhi model’ being discussedeverywhere. Butwe shouldnotgetcomplacentandtakeallpre-cautions.”The ‘Delhimodel’ also drew

praise from South KoreanAmbassador to India ShinBongkil. In avideomessage, hesaid, “I amvery impressedwiththe Delhi model. Actually, theKoreanmodel is3Ts—test, trace

andtreat.DelhiModelistestandhome quarantine, which is avery effective and wise meas-ure… Iwould like to congratu-late the Delhi government forthis achievement.”The CM responded: “Happy

that our Delhi model is being

recognised across the globe. IwanttothanktheSouthKoreanAmbassadorforhisencouragingwords. All nations coming to-gether to defeat Covid is theneedof thehour.”Thecapitalreported674fresh

cases and12 fatalities in the last

24 hours, taking the tally to1,39,156 and the death toll to4,033. Close to 90% of those in-fected with Covid have recov-ered, with 972more recoveriesbeingreported.Atpresent,thereare 9,897 active cases, of which5,461 are under home isolation.The city has 13,578 beds ear-markedforCovidpatients,outofwhich10,624arevacant.Delhiisamong the 24 states/UTs thathave conductedmore tests per

millionthanthenationalaverage.As per data shared by the

Union Health Ministry, thehighesttestingaveragepermil-lionpopulationisreportedfromGoa with 84,927, followed byDelhiwith57,855 testspermil-lion. The national testing aver-age per million is at 15,119.Ministry officials said there are28 states and union territorieswhich have positivity less than10%, which indicates that the

testing strategy is on the "righttrack”.Thecapitalperformed4,108

RT PCR/TrueNAT/CBNAAT and5,187 rapid antigen tests in thelast24hours.Overthelastthreedays, the number of rapid anti-gen tests (RAT) have comedown. Last month, the DelhiHigh Court askedwhy the gov-ernment was choosing RAT,which has a high rate of falsenegative results, over the RT-PCR testingmethod.Meanwhile, Delhi Health

MinisterSatyender Jainsaidthethird round of the serologicalsurvey,whichwassupposedtobe completedbyAugust 5,willbe extended: “There were fewholidays in between due towhich the survey will be ex-tended for a day or two.”An official said three dis-

tricts have completed collect-ingsamples. Thesurveyresultsare expected to be released af-ter 10 days.

DELHIMODELDISCUSSEDEVERYWHERE,PROUDOFDELHIITES:KEJRIWAL

Day before mandir event, Goeldefaces Babar Road signboard

In Gurgaon, prep lagsfor dengue, malaria

VIRAL WORKOUTAstaffersanitisesequipmentatagyminGhaziabad’sSahibabad,adaybefore its reopening,onTuesday.PraveenKhanna

VijayGoelnext to thedefacedsignboard

ARANYASHANKARNEWDELHI, AUGUST4

JATIN KISHORE (26) andHimanshu Jain (23) fromDelhihavesecuredAllIndiarank2and4 respectively in the UPSC civilservicesexamination2019.Bothare alumni of Delhi University,and both cracked the exam intheir secondattempt.Kishore, a resident of East of

Kailash, completed schoolingfromBirlaVidyaNiketaninPushpViharbefore joiningStStephen’sCollege for BA in Economics. Hecompleted MA in EconomicsfromDelhiSchoolofEconomics.While his father is a Deputy

CommissionerintheIncomeTaxDepartment, his mother is aschool teacher. “After complet-ingmypost graduation, I took agap of one year, duringwhich Iprepared for IES. I’mnowwork-ing with theMinistry of RuralDevelopment.ThelasttimeIap-peared for theUPSCexam, Ihadnotattemptedenoughquestionsintheprelims.Ididn’tmakethatmistake this time. I also tried tostudyconsistently,”hesaid.“Since I am from Delhi, I

would prefer the AGMUT(Arunachal Pradesh- Goa-Mizoram-Union Territories)cadre . Overall, I’m interested inworkingoneducationandenvi-ronment-relatedissues,”hesaid.A native of Hodal in Palwal

district of Haryana, Jain hadmovedwithhisbusinessmanfa-therandhomemakermothertoDelhiwhenhewas15.“IstudiedEconomics(Hons)fromHansrajCollege. After my BA, I startedpreparing forUPSCbut couldn’tcrack it the first time”hesaid.Heisinterestedinjoiningthe

Haryanacadreashisfirstprefer-encesinceheisfamiliarwiththeissuesof thestate.

Rank 2 & 4: Both fromDU, on 2nd attempt

HimanshuJain(L); andJatinKishore

SAKSHIDAYALGURGAON,AUGUST4

DESPITE THEongoingmonsoonseason,Gurgaon’s CivilHospital,whichhasbeenfocussedontest-ingandtreatingCovid-19patientsoverthelastfourmonths,isyettosetupawardtotreatcasesofvec-tor-borne diseases such asdengueandmalaria,whichtendtosurfaceduringthisseason.Although fogging and

Gambusia fishes, which con-sumelarvaeofmosquitoes,havebeen introduced to preventmosquito breeding, the provi-sions to admit and treat thosewho contract vector-borne in-fections have suffered neglectamid theCovidoutbreak.“The ward earlier used to

treat those with vector-bornediseaseshadtobeconvertedintoan isolation ward due to theCovidoutbreak.Weareworkingon alternate arrangements andfiguring out space for award to

treat dengue and malaria pa-tients,” said Civil Surgeon DrVirenderYadav.ACivilHospitalseniorofficial

said anonymously that thehealth department had onTuesdayafternoonzeroed inonthehospital’sbasementtosetupthe ward. However, the base-mentispronetoinstancesofwa-terlogging each time there is aheavydownpour.SpeakingtoTheIndianExpress

onTuesdayevening,DrYadavalsoconfirmedthatanalternatefacil-ityisbeingsetupinthebasement.“Weare providing the facility inthebasement. Thewardused tobelocatedthereearlieraswell,butwateraccumulationhadbecomeaproblem.We are in talkswiththePublicWorksDepartment toresolvethis,"saidDrYadav.“It should be ready within

theweek.Mostcasesstartcom-ing after August 15, with thepeak usually in September. Thewardwill definitelybe readybythen,” said theofficial.

Ahealthworkercollects swabsampleataCovidcentresetupataschool inDaryaGanjonTuesday . AbhinavSaha

TOTAL CASES

1,39,156Total Vacant

HOSPITAL BEDS 13,568 10,595VENTILATORS 1,216 832

Dailycases Recoveries Deaths TestsAug3 805 937 17 10,133Aug4 674 972 12 9,295Total 9,897* 1,25,226 4,033 10,83,097

*Total active cases

CORONAVIRUS IN THECAPITAL

Active cases in city dip below 10,000

ASHNABUTANINEWDELHI, AUGUST4

RINKU DEVI (33), a domestichelp, isworriedhowshewillgeta newphone for her three chil-drenwho study in classes IX, XandXII at agovernment school,once she rejoins work. Withschoolsshutamidthepandemicandonlineclasses resumingaf-tersummerbreak,Devisaidherchildren are oftenmarked ab-sent as their classes take placeat the same time.“I have not been going to

work because of coronavirus,

but I will soon, and I take thephonewithme.With rent andliving expenses, I cannot affordanother phone now... argu-mentsoftenbreakoutbetweenthe children over the phone aswell...,” she said.While she earns Rs 6,000 a

month working at one home,her husband, a tailor, is out ofwork. The family lives in LajpatNagar.The situation finds an echo

among several lower incomefamiliesinthecity,withchildrenfacing trouble accessing onlineclassesbecauseof lackofregularaccess toadequate internetand

devices that support suchclasses.Raju Kumar (37), an auto

driver who lives in Khanpur,hadonlyonephoneand itwas-n’t working. He was worried

how his children, in classes VIandVIIIatagovernmentschool,would be able to study.“Initially, I gavemyneighbour’snumber to the school so mychildren could access assign-mentsandclasses thatarehelda fewhourseveryweek.Afterapoint, it became inconvenientfor them. So I had to buy an-other phone,” he said.After working overtime,

makingRs1,000adayandbor-rowingmoneyfromrelatives,heeventuallycollectedRs8,000tobuyasmartphone.“Now,IneedRs 500 for a SIMand recharge...OnceIgetthat, theycanresume

their classes,” said Kumar, whowas without a job during thelockdown and used to earnaroundRs6,000untilMarch.At Nehru Place, known for

reasonabletechproducts,shop-keepers said there has been ariseindemandforsecond-handphones and tablets, but theproducts areoutof stock.Ram (29), who works at a

mobile store, said, “Many peo-ple come looking for secondhandphonesbutwedon’thaveany at themoment as no one issellingoldproducts.”For some, buying a second-

hand phone is an expensive af-

fair too. Afsana (30), a residentof Trilokpuri, said, “It would bebetter ifnormalclassesbeginasnoteveryonehassmartphones.”Whileher18-year-olddaughterdroppedout inclass IX,her twoother children are in classes Vand XI in a government school.Theycouldn’t attendclasses forafewdaysasAfsanawasunableto recharge thephone.“My husband, a rickshaw

driver, is theonlyearningmem-ber and just aboutmanages Rs200-250 a day. This goes to-wards food and paying rent... ifanything is left, it goes inrecharge,” she said.

SEVERAL LOWER INCOME FAMILIES AT LOSS

With just 1 phone, siblings struggle with online classes

0-50 Good

ANANDVIHARSatisfactory

0 500

57AQIPM:10

SIRIFORTSatisfactory

0 500

SHADIPURSatisfactory

0 500 500

51-100 Satisfactory 101-200 Moderate 201-300 Poor 301-400 VeryPoor 401-500 Severe

DWARKA- SECTOR8Satisfactory

0

60AQIPM:10

74AQIPM:10

62AQI

Pollutant:OZONE

Centre’shousingschemeforurbanpoorNew Delhi: The Centreplanstostartasubsidisedrental housing schemefor the urban migrantpoorworkingatfactoriesand construction sitesacrossDelhi,byprovidingone-two bedroom unitsin vacant government-funded housing or con-structing dormitories onempty land. The schemeis called the AffordableRental HousingComplexes (ARHCs), asub-scheme of thePradhan Mantri AWASYojana - Urban. It waslaunched in July.According to DurgaShankar Mishra, secre-tary of the Ministry ofHousing and UrbanAffairs, theseunits are tobe set up under a PPPmodel by a business orgroup for 25 years.Delhi has around22,000government-fundeddwelling units andFaridabad has around1,000.

HChearspetitionsoverDU’sOBENew Delhi: During thehearingonpetitionschal-lenging the online openbook examination (OBE)for Delhi University finalyear students, the DelhiHigh court was told bythepetitionersinthecasethat the OBEwas imple-mentedwithoutany“ap-plication of mind” as allstudents were “lookedthroughthesameprism”even as there are stu-dents with no internetaccess stuck in contain-ment zones and floodedareas. JusticePratibhaMSingh adjourned thematter for Wednesday,when the university’scounsel isexpectedtore-spond. ENS

BRIEFLY

AtNehruPlace,shopkeeperssaytherehasbeenanincrease indemandfor second-handphonesandtablets,butproductsareoutof stock

SOMYALAKHANI&SUKRITABARUAHNEWDELHI, AUGUST4

ONTUESDAY,asnewstrickledinthatDelhiPoliceconstableFirozAlamhad secured the645thAllIndiaRank(AIR)inthecivilserv-ices exam, the 29-year-oldwasmostly incommunicado. Alam,deployedwiththePCRunit,washome in UP’s Azampur Dehpawithhis parents, trying towraphisheadaround the fact thathewill be the first “officer” in hisfamilyandvillage.“This wasmy sixth and last

attempt;thenewsisnotsinkingin. My parents studied till classVI and can only read Urdu. Nooneinmyvillagehasclearedtheexam before. When I joinedDelhi Police in 2010, I sawDCPsandotherhigh-ranking IPSoffi-cersanddecidedIwanttobelikethem.WhenIwasonduty,Ionlyconcentratedonthat,butif Ihadspare time, I would go throughnotes onmy phone. My dreamstartedwithmyjob,” saidAlam.Apart from proud parents

andfriends,anothermanbeam-ingwithjoyonhearingthenewswas ACP Jitendra Kumar (56),one of the few people whosecalls Alam took. “When he firstjoinedthePCRunitundermein2018 and I found out about hisattempts at cracking the civilservices exam, it remindedmeof my own youth. I joined theforce as a sub-inspector andwantedtobeanIPS.MaybeIdid-n’t get the rightguidance, orgottoobusywithwork...but Ineversat for theexam. IwantedAlamtocrack itnomatterwhat.He ishard-workingandheneverusedexam prep as an excuse to getout of work; in turn, wemadesurehegotleaveseasily,”hesaid.TwoDelhi Police probation-

ers, and two children of policepersonneltoocrackedtheexam.DelhiCommissionerofPoliceS

N Shrivastava tweeted: “Veryhappy to share that at least fivesuccessfulCivilServicesaspirantscome fromDelhi Police family.Heartiest congratulations toVishakha d/o ASI Rajkumar (6rank),Navneetd/oInspectorMann(33),ACPNatisha(37),ACPGarima(459)andConstableFiroz(645).”On Tuesday, ASI Rajkumar

was at DCP Dwarka’s officewhen he got a call from hisdaughter Vishakha (26) abouttheresult.“Therehasbeenstressathomelatelybecauseweknewthe result is due in adayor two.She called and said she rankedsixthacrossIndia... Iamsoproudof her, she studied so hard forthis,” he said. Late afternoon,DCPDwarkaAntoAlphonsemetVishakhaathisoffice.ACPNatishaMathur,undergo-

ingpolicetrainingandscoredAIR351lastyear,securedrank37thistime: “This was my fourth at-tempt, I relied heavily on self-study... Iamatthetrainingschoolandcan’t gohomeandcelebratewithmyparents due to Covid. Ihad to break the news over the

phone, theywereoverwhelmed.NotonlyamIthefirstofficerinthefamily, I amalso the first gradu-ate.”ACPGarima (26), toocracked

theexamandgotrank459.Herfa-therisanassistantsub-inspector.Garima,whohailsfromSisanavil-lage in Haryana’s Sonepat, hadbeenpreparingfortheexamsinceshe completedherundergradu-ateinPhysicsfromDU.“Itrulybe-lieveinservingthepublicthroughcivilandpoliceservice,”shesaid.Navneet Mann (25), who

ranked 33rd, said her fatherSukhdev Mann, an inspector,played a big role: “I’m seekingpersonalgrowththroughpublicservice inwhichmy father hasbeenakeymotivator.Ihaveseenhimworkinthefieldforsomanyyears andhandledifficult situa-tionsverycalmlywithalotofpa-tience,” she said. This was hersecondattempt.

ConstableFirozAlam;ACPNatishaMathur;ACPGarima;NavneetMann,daughterof inspectorSukhdevMann;Vishakha,daughterofASIRajkumar

Five from ‘DelhiPolice family’ tojoin civil services

New Delhi

ANANDMOHANJNEWDELHI, AUGUST4

THEDELHI High Court Tuesdaysaid “resistance of the Delhigovernment” to the courtmon-itoring the progress made inrampinguptestingwas“incom-prehensible”. The observationsweremadebyabenchof JusticeHima Kohli and JusticeSubramoniumPrasad on a pleabyadvocateRakeshMalhotraonthe issue of ramping up Covidtests in thecapital.Additional standing counsel

Satyakam informed the court

about a common order passedby a coordinate bench of theHighCourttourgethattheissuebeingconsideredbythepresentcourt had attained finality andno further proceedings wereneeded. He said the court “maydropthepresentproceedingsforthe reason even onmerits, it isapparent theDelhi governmenthasmadesincereeffortstobringdown the infection in the cityandensureadequatetestingkitsareavailable”.Thecourt,however,declined

to close thematter and exam-ined a status report filed bySatyakam,whichstatedthatthe“Delhi governmenthas neitherdiscouraged nor inhibited thescopeof theRT-PCRtestingand

has in fact conducted 5,24,481RT-PCR tests till July 30, whichworks out to 27,604 RT-PCRtests per million (i.e. double ofthe national average of 13,647tests permillion)”.Thecourt,whilementioning

thepreviousordersithadpassed

in thematter, stated it has been“constantly monitoring as tohow the testing of Covid-19 in-fectionis beingconductedtoen-surethereisspeedyandaccuratedetection of the infection andsteps are taken to arrest itsspread”.“In the above background,

the resistance of the Delhigovernment to this courtmon-itoring the progress made inrampingupthetestingisincom-prehensible when admittedly,this is not an adversarial litiga-tionandispurely intheinterestof the citizens of Delhi that allgovernment departments andagencies act in tandem andwork collectively to deal withthe Covid-19 pandemic. The

technical plea taken by theGNCTD on themaintainabilityof an application in a disposedof matter would have engagedthis court had it been a routinelitigation between two privateparties. This is not so here,” thecourt said.Thecourtalsostateditiswell

settledthatinpublicinterestlit-igations, it can monitor stepstaken by the respondents/au-thorities toensure itsdirectionsarebeing implementedin letterandspirit:“Thehistoryof thein-stantcaseshowsthiscourtintheinstantwritpetitionismonitor-ingstepstakenbyauthoritiesforconducting tests to identifyCovid-19 patients to ensure thepandemicdoesnot spread.”

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI, AUGUST4

OF THE 15,000 taxpayers regis-teredwith the government un-der GST, whose returns wereanalysed by the government,10,800orovertwo-thirdpaidei-therlowertaxornotaxbetweenJanuaryandMarchthisyear.This, the government said,

wasdespitetaxpayerscollectingtax from people as part of pay-ments.Thegovernmenthasnowsent notices to all defaulters toclear dues within 15 days, andhassaidthatevaluationof7lakhcompaniesregisteredunderGSTwill bedone in the future.Of thedefaultingcompanies,

the top sector was properties,leasing and rental followed bymiscellaneousservices.Delhi has faced a significant

shortfall in GST and VAT collec-tionsincethepandemichit.Theassessment of collections be-tween January andMarchdonerecently, however, has revealedthat collections had dipped byRs 2,015 crore. In 2019, the gov-ernmentcollectedRs5,792croreas tax returns between JanuaryandMarch, which dipped to Rs3,777crore thisyear.“Around 15,000 taxpayers

were analysed and nearly 970taxpayers have not filed returnsfor 2020-21 from January toMarch at all. The Delhi govern-ment has also found that thisyear, nearly 10,800 companiespaid lesser or zero tax fromJanuary toMarch. Taking cog-nizance of these findings, theDelhi governmenthasprepareda list of defaulters... Delhihas tillnow evaluated 15,000 compa-niesbutinthefuture,evaluationof 7 lakh companies registeredunder GST will be done. TheDelhigovernmentwilltakestrictaction against all the defaulters

aftertheevaluation,”astatementissuedbythegovernmentsaid.Since March, government

revenue has been hit, but hasseenanupwardtick.InApril, thegovernmentgotRs240crore,fol-lowedbyRs494croreinMay,Rs762 crore in June and Rs 1,300crore in July. However, thesehave beenwell belowwhat thecitywasbringing in lastyear.In July 2019, the city got

Rs3,500crore incollections.Theyear before that, collectionwasRs 4,078 crore. The governmenthas also issued notices to 111liquorcompaniesthatdidnotpayVATbetweenJanuaryandMarch.“Iappealtoallthosewhohave

not deposited the full tax to im-mediately deposit the amount.This is publicmoneywhich thecompanies have collected fromthepeoplebutdidnotdeposit tothe government. TheDelhi gov-ernmentwill take stringent ac-tionsagainstthecompanieswhowill not deposit the full amountof tax,” Deputy Chief Minister

ManishSisodia,whoisalsothefi-nanceminister,said.A government spokesperson

said two defaulting companieswere identifiedandasked topayRs 10 crore as pending amountlastweek.“Thedepartmentisalsoanalysingthetaxpaymentprofileofsuchtaxpayersalongwiththeiroverall taxprofile inthepreviousquarters,”thespokespersonsaid.The state trade and taxesde-

partmentalso conducted searchoperationsagainstdefaulters,in-cludingmarbleandgranitecom-panies and bulk taxpayers, lastweek to collect Rs 20.70 lakh astaxfromthem.“In one case, the company’s

officewas sealed. In the secondcase,thecompany’spaperswereconfiscated. The Delhi govern-ment also acted againstmove-ment of goodswithout carryinge-waybills.FromJune23,around140vehicleshavebeendetainedandtaxandpenaltycollecteduptoapproximatelyRs1crore,” thestatementsaid.

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THECITY4 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHEINDIANEXPRESS,WEDNESDAY,AUGUST5,2020

ASHNABUTANINEWDELHI,AUGUST4

CROWDEDBUSstopsandmanypeoplewithoutmasks have be-comeacommonsightinthecap-ital, despite social distancingmeasuresandCovidprecautionsstill inplace.At AnandVihar bus terminal

on Tuesday afternoon, severalpeople could be seen jostling toget into buses—which are onlyallowedtoferry20passengerstoensuresocialdistancingamidtheCovid pandemic. Amajority ofcommuters were not wearingmasksduetothe“hotweather”.WithCovidcases in thecapi-

tal seeing a dip over the lastweeks, officials at bus stops saidthere has been a noticeablechangeinbehaviourandtheyarefinding it difficult tomanage thesituation due to the sheer num-berofpeopletakingbuses.ACISF constable stationed at

the bus terminal said, “Wehavetriedeverything.Earlier,weusedtostoppeopleontheroadandtellthem towearmasks, but theywouldwear it for awhile, walk

aheadandtakeitoff again.”Pointing to the foot over-

bridgeneartheterminal,hesaid,“Around 70-80 people use it.How do we control suchcrowds?”Manyonthebridgedidnot have a mask on and com-

plained that it is “difficult tobreathethroughthem”.A police sub-inspector said,

“Weissuee-challansifweseeve-hicles carrying toomanypeopleorpeoplewithoutmasks... but itbecomes difficult tomaintain

decorumanddistance.”Several commuterswho got

off buses at Anand Vihar alsorushed to catch shuttles and au-tos. AshuWahlia (40), an autodriver, who had a gamcha tiedaround his face as amask, said:

“People are already tiredwhiletravelling.Manyhavechildrentotakecareof. So ifweask themtowearmasks,theygetangryatus.”Similarconcernswereechoed

byauthoritiesatbusstopsinSaraiKale Khan. VedPrakash, a homeguard,said,“Wearedoingwhat-everwecanfromourend—ask-ingpeopletowearmasks,tellingthemtomaintaindistance.Butithastocomefromwithin,wecan-not keep forcing it. Ever sincecaseshavegonedowninthecity,peoplehavebecomemorecasualaboutsocialdistancing.”Prakashaddedif theMetroserviceswerefunctioning,busstopswouldnothave tobear all the crowd.DelhiMetro has been shut since thelockdownwasimposedinMarch.Meanwhile,with the capon

travellers inbuses,many strug-gledtofindaspot.Nanak(36),adaily wager waiting with hiswife and two children for a busto Mathla in UP, said, “We arewaitingforaprivatebus.Wewilltrytomaintaindistanceonceweget in. My children are young.We have masks for them, buttheykeeptakingitoff as it isun-comfortable.”

OutsideSeemapuribusdepotonTuesday.PraveenKhannaDeputyCMManishSisodia,whoisalsoDelhi’sFinanceMinister,warnedofstringentactionagainst thecompanies thatdonotdeposit the full taxamount

TOP5DEFAULTINGSECTORS

Sector Numberof %outofDealers 10,800

Properties, Leasing&Rental 1,051 9.73%Services (Misc) 954 8.83%Consulting 590 5.46%Retail 355 3.29%Electronics 354 3.28%

Tax defaulters newworry for Delhi govt

The litigation is intheinterestofDelhi’s citizensandisnotadversarial:HC

Social distancing still in place but crowdedbus stops make a comeback in capital

Delhi govt counsel says testing matter canbe closed, HC asks why resist monitoring

New Delhi

5THEINDIANEXPRESS,WEDNESDAY,AUGUST5,2020

GOVT&POLITICSWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

DELHICONFIDENTIAL

PRADHAN TESTS POSITIVEON TUESDAY, anotherminister in the Union cabinet testedpositive forCovid-19.Ministerof PetroleumandNaturalGasDharmendra Pradhan tweeted, “After showingCovid-19 re-latedsymptoms, I gotmyself testedandmyreporthascomepositive;ontheadviceofdoctors Ihavebeenadmittedinthehospital.”Pradhan is thesecondcabinetminister to testpos-itive;heandHomeMinisterAmitShaharegettingtreatmentat the same hospital. Two other Union ministers — RaviShankar Prasad andBabul Supriyo—are in isolation as theyhadmetShahbeforehe testedpositive.

SPEED BREAKERAT Ameeting of the Committee on Subordinate LegislationinParliamentHouseonTuesday,theMPsaskedofficialsfromtheDelhi trafficdepartmentandNHAIwhythere isnocoor-dinationbetweenthemonspeed limit signboards in thena-tional capital. Themembers said that different speed limitscreateconfusion.Rulingoutauniformspeedlimitforallroads,the officials are learnt to have told theMPs that there are 34surveillancecamerasattrafficjunctionsand100speedcheck-ingcamerasacrossthecity,buttheyareonapilotproject.Theofficialsarealsolearnttohavesaidthatadequatemeasuresareinplace toavoidwronglypenalisingdrivers.

PLEA FOR WITHDRAWALAS THE August 10 deadline for suggestions on the EIA draftapproaches,20lawcollegestudentcouncilsandlegalaidclin-ics,150lawstudents,70otherstudentcouncilsandclubsand1,600 students havewritten to the EnvironmentMinistry towithdrawthedraftnotification.Ina22-pageletterdraftedbythe legal aid clinic of Jindal Global Law school, the studentshave listed their objections and suggestions. Tomake suretheyareheard, theyhavealso sent the letter to thePMOandregistered their complaintswithmygov.in.

MANOJCGNEWDELHI,AUGUST4

EVERSINCEthe1980s,theprojecttobuildaRamtemplehassplitthepolitical establishment but asPrimeMinister NarendraModiheadstoAyodhyaforthebhoomipujanWednesday, ninemonthsafteraunanimousSupremecourtverdictclearedthedecks,thereisa significant recalibration in theOppositionranks.The Congress invoked faith

and humanity, from PriyankaGandhiVadraunderliningthein-clusive,all-encompassingnatureof Ram to Kamal Nath hostingHanumanChalisa at home andannouncing that hewould send11 silver bricks for the construc-tionof thetemple.The remaining Opposition

parties, especially those fromUttar Pradesh and Bihar, sug-gested that it was time to“moveon”.Aftermuch thought, sources

said, the Congress entered thebhoomi pujan discoursewith astatement from Priyanka, inchargeofUP.Shesaidthe“world,particularlytheIndiansub-conti-nent,hasadeeprootedandindeli-ble cultural imprint of the epicRamayana…(which is) lumi-nouslyetchedinourcultural,spir-itualandreligiousmemory.”She referred to “Ramkatha”

manifesting itself in “immeasur-able forms”North to South, EasttoWest. “Ram belongs both toSabri as also to Sugriv. Rambe-longs toValmiki as also toBhasa.RambelongstoKambanasalsotoEzhuthachan. Ram belongs toKabir, to Tulsidas and to Raidas.

Rampersonifies each one of us.Mahatma Gandhi’s RaghupatiRaghavRajaRambestowsdivinewisdomand equanimity.WarisAli Shah says, Rab is Ram,”shesaid.On tomorrow’s event, she

said: “Let Lord Ram shower hisblessingsothatthisfunctionbe-comes a celebration of nationalunity, fraternity and culturalaffinity.”Rajasthan Chief Minister

AshokGehlotsaidtheevent“isanopportunity for the PrimeMinistertoshowcourage”andaskpeople to resolve to end the“stigmaofuntouchability…treatDalits, Adivasis, backwardswithequality.”TheBhupeshBaghelCongress

government inChhattisgarh an-

nounced it will include theRampalareaintheBastardistrict,whereitsaidRamhadestablisheda shivling andperformed rituals,andRamaram inSukmadistrict,where he had worshippedBhudevi, among the places itplans to develop as part of theRamexiletourismcircuit.Gujarat Congress Working

PresidentHardikPatelannouncedhe andhis familywill donate Rs21,000 towards the constructionof the temple. KamalNathwel-comed the construction of thetemple and pointed out that itsfoundationhadbeen ledby lateprimeministerRajivGandhi“whohad opened the RamJanmabhoomi temple sitein1985”.TheotherOppositionparties

may not have mirrored theCongress but were guarded intheir response while the Leftstoodout.CPMgeneralsecretarySitaram

Yechury told The Indian Expressthat theparty’s Politburohas al-ready said that “the takeover ofthe bhoomi pujan ceremony atAyodhyabytheUPadministrationalongwith the Central govern-ment involvementat thehighestlevel of the PrimeMinister goesagainst both the SupremeCourtverdictandtheletterandspiritoftheConstitutionof India.”“Thebhoomipujangottrans-

formed into a government func-tionwith full involvementof theUP government and the Uniongovernment.ThePrimeMinister’sparticipation has raised serious

questionsaboutthesecularchar-acter of the State and theConstitution,”saidCPIgeneralsec-retaryDRaja.Both theparties said that the

Covidpreventiveprotocol stipu-latedbytheUnionHomeMinistryrules out such religiousgatherings.The Trinamool Congress did

not react despite requests forcommentandtheRJDquestionedthetimingofthebhoomipujan.ItwasitspatriarchandarchitectLaluPrasad Yadav, who as ChiefMinisterofBihar,hadstoppedLKAdvani’s RamRathYatra in1990andhadhimarrested.“After the Supreme Court’s

verdict,everybodyknewthatthetemple was going to come.Wheneverwe think of Ram,wego back to the imagination ofMahatmaGandhi...hisRamisnotsimplyDashrath’sson.In1909,hesaid Ram is god Jehova, Shiv,Khuda,Vishnuetc etc.With thatkindof imagination, if you actu-allywantedtopaytributetoLordRam, the bhoomi pujan shouldhave waited. Because you arestrugglingwithhospitals, strug-glingwithinstitutionalcare,peo-ple are dying in the pandemic,”said RJD leader andRajya SabhaManojKumarJha.SaidSamajwadispokesperson

Rajendra Chaudhary: “TheSamajwadi Party believes thatsincetheSupremeCourthasgivenitsdecision,aRamtempleshouldbebuiltthere.”Hesaid“thereisnopolitical challenge. Yeh religiouskaamhai.This is neither apoliti-calworknorapoliticalchallenge.”MulayamSinghYadavwasthe

chief minister of UP when inOctober1990, thepolice opened

fire at karsevakswhohad gath-eredinAyodhyaonthecallgivenbytheVHPandtheRSS.Calling it a “passing phase,”

BSP’s Lok Sabha MP KunwarDanish Ali said: “One thing isclear:asoftoday,nopoliticalpartywantstoantagoniseHindusenti-ment. The hardcore RSS andHindutva ideologyhave createdanatmospherethatifyouaretalk-ingagainstHindutva, it is seenasyou are talking againstHinduism...Sopeopleareafraid.”“Wehave no views.Wehad

opposed the destruction of themosque. Now it is over and theCourthadordered.Whatwehavegottosayinthisnow,”DMKleaderand Rajya Sabha MP T K SElangovansaid.Lok Sabha MP and AIMIM

chief AsaduddinOwaisi, on theotherhand,hitoutatOppositionparties.“Whenever it comes to the

realissuesoftheMuslimcommu-nity,whetheritistheBabriMasjidor educational andpolitical em-powerment, all secular partieshavebeenintellectuallypoliticallydishonest,”hesaid.Referring to Priyanka’s state-

ment, Owaisi said: “Why don’tyou completely adopt theHindutva ideology in toto?...In1986,RajivGandhiwastheprimeminister when locks wereopened. In 1989, shilanyaswasdone. Buta Singh was HomeMinisterandNDTewaritheChiefMinister. OnDecember 6, 1992,(whenBabriMasjidwasdemol-ished), P VNarasimha RaowasPrimeMinister.Thisisthehistoryof how the Congress Party de-ceived Muslims on the BabriMasjidissue,”hesaid.

GARGIVERMARAIPUR,AUGUST4

EVENASpreparationsfortheRamTempleinAyodhyaareunderway,the Congress-led ChhattisgarhgovernmenthasplannedtospendmorethanRs15croretodevelopanexistingtemple,believedtobethe birthplace of Lord Ram'smother Kaushalya, while "pre-servingitsoriginalform".Work on the temple, which

ChiefMinister Bhupesh Baghelwantstobeasbeautifulas"citiesinmythological tales",will beginlater inAugust.Thebhoomipoo-jantookplaceonDecember22.Thetemplestandsinthemid-

dleofalakeinChandkhurivillage,25kmfromRaipur.Dedicated toKaushalya, it is accessed by abridge called Hanuman Pul,whichhas a statue of Hanumanover it. Posters declaring the sig-nificanceof the temple arehungatthecourtyard,whichopensintoasmallsanctumcontainingidolsofKaushalyaholdingababyRam."Nooneknowswhentheidols

appeared.Thetemplehasalwaysexisted, though itwas damagedmany times and rebuilt," saidRajeshDhiwar,avillagerwhosatat the entrancewith a bottle ofsanitiser.The Baghel government has

plannedaRs137-croreprojecttoenhancetourismbydeveloping9outof51spotsacrossthestatere-lated toRam. The spots, consid-ered to be part of theDandakaranyaforestwhereRam,SitaandLakshmanspenttime,arepartofRamaVanaGamanPath.Thetemple,saidtohavebeen

builtinthe8thcentury,wasreno-vated in1973.TheCongressgov-ernmenthasdecidedtorefurbishitintoatouristdestinationintwophases.TheBJPhas takenadigat the

RamaVanaGamanPath,withBJPleaderBrijMohanAgarwalsaying,"Peoplewhohave stood againstLord Ram, contested in courtsagainsthisexistence,aresuddenlyshowing their devotion to him.Thereisnothinghappierforus."Baghel, whowent tomoni-

tor thework at the temple andpray along with his family onJuly29,hasclaimedthattheBJPwhilecelebratingthebirthplaceofRamhasignoredhismother'sbirthplace.

HAMZAKHANJAIPUR,AUGUST4

THE SPECIALOperationsGroup(SOG) of Rajasthan Police haswithdrawn the sedition chargefromthethreeFIRslodgedincon-nectionwiththeallegedattemptto topple theAshokGehlot gov-ernment. The cases have nowbeen transferred to the Anti-CorruptionBureau(ACB).Thedevelopmentcomesdays

afterGehlot appeared tomakeaconciliatorymove,sayingthathewill welcome back the rebelCongressMLAs if theparty lead-ership “forgives them”. A keygrouse of former Deputy CMSachinPilotthattriggeredthere-bellionwithinRajasthanCongresswas the FIRs being filed by SOGundertheseditioncharge.Whileit didnotnamePilot, itwas seenastargetinghim.Sources alsopointedout that

theSOG’smovetodropthesedi-tionchargewasaimedatprevent-ingNIAfromtakingoverthecases.TheRajasthanHighCourtwas

hearing a petition by rebelCongressMLAfromSardarshahar,BhanwarLalSharma,whosoughtquashingoftheFIRagainsthimoritstransfertotheNIA.OnTuesday,SOG told the bench of JusticeSatish Kumar Sharma that it isdropping sedition charges andtransferringBhanwarLal’scasetotheACB.Inalowercourt,atthehearing

onthebailpleaofSanjayJain,oneof the accusednamed in the FIRalong with Sharma, the SOGTuesday said that “based on theinvestigationconductedsofar,nooffenceunder IPC124Ahasbeenfound” and investigation underThePreventionofCorruptionActis active.Hence, the files and thecase are being transferred to theACB,SOGtoldthecourt.On July 17, SOG lodged two

FIRs based on complaints byCongress chief whip MaheshJoshi.BothwerelodgedunderIPCsections124A(sedition)and120B(punishmentforcriminalconspir-acy).While one didn’tmentionanynames, theothermentioned

Sharma, Jain, and oneGajendraSingh— Congress claimed it isJodhpurMPandUnionministerGajendraSinghShekhawat.“Wesaid that IPC124A is not

atallmadeout intheFIRandtheinvestigating agency admitted itin court today and that they arecancellingit,”saidSharma’scoun-selSwadeepSinghHora,whorep-resentedhiminthehighcourt.“Sonowthequestionarises,somanyteamsweresent(bySOGtoNCR)and such abig dramawasbeingdonewhen theyknew fromdayonethatoffence isnotmadeout.Sohowmalafideit is.”Another case, lodgedon July

10under the same IPC sections,was also being investigated bySOG. Itwas in connectionwiththis FIR that SOG sought timefromPilotforastatement.Inastatement,SOGsaidsedi-

tion charges are being droppedfromallthreeFIRsandtheyarebe-ingtransferredtoACB.

LEFTQUESTIONSFORMAT, TIMING;OPPPARTIESHAVEDECEIVEDMUSLIMS,SAYSOWAISI

Rambelongs to all is Congress refrain,finds an echo across Opposition

RITUSHARMA,VAIBHAVJHA&ADITIRAJA,AHMEDABAD,VADODARA,AUGUST4

TWENTY-FOURpeople,including18women, fromRoonvillage ofSojitra taluka in Anand districtwent toAyodhya in 2002 as karsevaks.Ofthem,sixwomenwerekilled in the S-6 coach of theSabarmatiExpressat theGodhrarailwaystationonFebruary27,in-cluding Jayantibhai Patel’s 56-year-old mother Champaben,whilefourwereinjured.Hismotherhadgonewithhis

aunt,whoisnow62anddoesnotwish tobe identified. She recallshowsheheldher sister-in-law’shandwhenthefireengulfedtheircoach. “Laterher (Champaben’s)griploosened...SomehowIman-aged toescape through thewin-dow,”shesays.Thetrain-burningincident,in

which59passengers,mostlykarsevaks,died, ledtocommunalri-otsacrossGujarat,inwhichnearly1,200 people,mostlyMuslims,werekilled.“No one reserves anyhatred

abouttheliveslost...webelieveit

isbalidan(sacrifice)forLordRam.Iamveryhappywiththetempleconstruction and that joywouldhave been doubled if this pan-demic was not there,” saysJayantibhai’s auntas sheplans tolightdiyasonWednesdaytomarkthe‘bhoomipujan’ inAyodhya.Jayantibhai, 58, a farmer, has

no regrets aboutnotbeingat thesiteonWednesday.“Eveniftherewasno coronavirus, itwould bedifficult to accommodate every-one,”hesays.“Once this Covid gets over, I

will certainly visit Ayodhya onedaywithmy two sons for dar-shan,” says NavinchandraBrahmbhatt (65) fromVadnagarinMehsanadistrict,whosewifeNeerubenwas killed in the firewhen theywere returning fromAyodhyaafteradarshan.The VHP,whichwas behind

the templemovement andwasalleged tobe responsible for theviolence that followed the train-burningincident,hassplit.Mahesh Shah ,57, a former

Bajrang Dal Sahyojak fromAhmedabad, escorted80peoplefrom different areas ofAhmedabad, including Odhav,Ramol,KhokhraandAmraiwadi,

forahawanorganisedatAyodhyaaspartof themobilisationforthetemple. They were in the S-6coachontheirreturnjourney,and19of themdiedatGodhra.NowwithformerVHPleader

Pravin Togadia’s AntarrashtriyaHindu Parishad (AHP) as its cityunitsecretary,Shah’sregretisthatTogadiahasnotbeeninvited“butthosewho are associatedwiththeBabriMasjidlikeIqbalAnsariare”. “I survived the February 27incident,Ibelieve,onlytoseethisday,”hesays.FormerVHPleaderNeerajJain,

whowastheconvenoroftheBJP’slegalcellanddefendedseveralac-cused in the 2002 riots, says, “Iwent there in 1990 and later in1992tobepartofthehistoricmo-mentwhenHindusdecidedtore-claimthetemple...Eachoneofushadpickedupastoneandjoinedin the effort to bring down the(Babri)Masjid.” Jain, who nowheads theHindu JagranManch,sayshewillvisitthetemplewhentheconstructioniscompletetoof-fer “ice-creamandgulab jamun”toLordRama—twosweet itemsthathegaveupasavowforRamMandir. FULLREPORTONwww.indianexpress.com

DIVYAANEWDELHI,AUGUST4

ADAYaheadofthebhoomipujanatthetemplesiteinAyodhya,AlokKumar,thecentralworkingpresi-dentoftheVHP,defendedthepar-ticipation of Prime MinisterNarendra Modi in the event,addingthattheCongressitselfat-tendsDussehrafunctionswhileallpartiesinthecountryholdiftar.“EveryyearonDussehraday,

SoniaGandhi, RahulGandhi, thePMand President go to the RedFort Ramlila and participate inRavandahan.Allthesepeoplegiveiftarparties,andattendeventstomark Buddha Purnima andMahavir Jayanti.This isacountrythat celebrates all religions, notnegatesthem,”hesaid.Kumar said every party has

“come to understand ki wohHindukibhaavnakaapmankarkechunaavnahinjeetsakte(thatthey

can’twin electionswhile insult-ingHindusentiments)”.Hecred-ited both theModi governmentandthemandiragitationinwhichtheVHPplayedapart for this. “Ithas brought about a situationwhennobody tries to keep dis-tancefromHinduism,particularlyatthetimeofelections.”Sayinghewasproudofbeing

at the helmof theVHP at amo-ment like this, Kumar said theyhopedtonurtureitintoadriveforHindu renaissance, including allcastesandclasses.ToensureDalitswere not ignored in the templeconstruction, he said the VHPwent tomajor Valmiki templesamongotherstocollectsoilforthebhoomipujan.“Thisisnotaddingonemoretemple,weareworkingtowards social renaissance.WeexpectHindu society to visit itsAhilyas, Shabris (characters be-longingtolowercastesintheepicRamayana) again and that castedifferencesvanish.”

Jaipur: The BSP and BJPMLA Madan DilawarTuesday filed separateappeals before a divisionbench of RajasthanHighCourt, challenging thesingle-judgebench’s rul-inginthematterpertain-ing to the merger of sixBSP MLAs with theCongress.The bench of Justice

Mahendar Kumar Goyalon July 30 issued noticesto the Speaker and thelegislators, asking themto reply by August 11.However, it did not staythemerger.BSP’s counsel Dinesh

KumarGargsaidthedivi-sion benchwill hear theappealWednesday.ENS

BJP MLA, BSPchallengesingle-judgebench ruling

SPGvehicles inAyodhyaonWednesday.PMNarendraModiwill attendthebhoomipujanonAugust5. PremNathPandey

AVISHEKGDASTIDARNEWDELHI,AUGUST4

GOINGBY the traffic projectionsoftheRailways,theRammandirislikely to transform theAyodhyatown into apilgrimage centre asbigasVaranasiorPrayagraj.Officials in the Lucknow

DivisionofRailwayssaidthefoot-fallinAyodhyastationisestimatedtojumpatleast12timesfromthepresent 5,000 per day after theRamtempleisopenedtothepub-lic, bringing it on a par withVaranasiandPrayagraj.Along with Ayodhya, the

nearbyFaizabadstationwillbearthe increased load andAyodhyawillbecomealocalrailhub,asperthe plan of infrastructure aug-mentationbeingexecuted.AftertheNovember2019ver-

dict on theRamtempledispute,theplanforasecondphaseofsta-tiondevelopment inagreenfieldprojecthasbeenconceivedonthe

southsideoftheAyodhyastationwitha50-yearperspective.The Railways, which has

sought land from the UttarPradeshgovernmentfordevelop-mentofaround1lakhsqmofad-ditional space,wants to create anewstationonaparwiththelargestations in India. The concept ofthegreenfieldprojecthasameni-tieslikesojournforpilgrimsetc.Thisisinadditiontotheongo-

ing first phase of the redevelop-ment of the existing station. TheRailwaysonSundayreleasedpic-turesoftheredevelopedstation’sdesign. The redevelopmentwillbe completeby June2021and isestimatedtocostRs104crore.“Weexpect passenger traffic

to growsignificantly inAyodhyain the coming years. Alongwithredevelopmentofthestation,wehaveundertakenmassive infra-structureaugmentationtherethatwill result inmore trains to andfromAyodhya,” Rajiv Chaudhry,General Manager, Northern

Railway,toldTheIndianExpress.Officialssaidplanswereexpe-

ditedaftertheSupremeCourtver-dict.Itisexpectedthatthepilgrim-agecircuitofAyodhyaalongwithBharatKund, Shrigvraverpur—aspot near Prayagrajwhere LordRam is believed to have taken aboat tocross theriveronhiswayto South India—andChitrakootDhamwill attract ahuge flowofpilgrims.Tocater to this, small stations

there, likeAcharyaNarendraDevNagar andRamghatHalt,will beincludedinthelargerplantodis-tribute the traffic load, turningAyodhyaintoarailhub.“Thetraf-fic loadof Prayagraj is servedbynot just themain station but byseveral satellite stations aswell.We expect the traffic here to bemorethanPrayagraj,”saidaseniordivisionalofficial.PresentlyAyodhyaisonalter-

nateroutebetweenLucknowandVaranasi and is single line fromBarabankitoZafrabad(238km).

BJP leaderUmaBhartiatSarayuGhat inAyodhyaonTuesday.PremNathPandey

It’s not about adding onemore temple, but Hindurenaissance: VHP

Chhattisgarhgovt to developtemplededicated toRam’s mother

Rlys readies plan to boostAyodhya station infra

Rajasthan SOGdrops seditioncharge, transferscases to ACB

Sacrifice for Ram: Kar sevakswho survived Godhra blaze

New Delhi

6THEINDIANEXPRESS,WEDNESDAY,AUGUST5,2020

EXPRESSNETWORKWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

SANTOSHSINGHPATNA,AUGUST4

BIHAR CHIEF Minister NitishKumaronTuesday saidhis gov-ernment has recommended aCBI probe into actor SushantSinghRajput’sdeath.Nitish tweeted inHindi, “The

state governmenthas sent a rec-ommendationforaCBIprobeintothecaselodgedbySushantSinghRajput's fatherKKSingh regard-inghisdeath.”OnJuly25,Rajput’sfatherhad

filedanFIR inPatnaagainstactorRheaChakrabortyandfiveothers,accusingthemofabetmenttosui-cide,cheating,criminalbreachoftrust, criminal intimidation andwrongfulconfinement.Nitish said his government

tookthedecisiontorecommendaCBI probe after Rajput’s familymadeaformalrequest.The decision comes even as

Chakraborty filed a plea in theSupremeCourt,seekingthetrans-fer of the case against her toMumbai. TheBihar governmenthasalsofiledacaveatinthematter.Meanwhile, the Bihar Police

hasaccusedtheMumbaiPoliceofnotgiving“anycooperationinin-vestigation”.Bihar DGP Gupteshwar

Pandeysaid,“MumbaiPolicehadnot been cooperatingwith us.Theyquarantinedour IPS officerwhowas sent tomonitor the in-vestigation. Our four-memberPatna teamhadnot beenable todoanythingsubstantial.Nowthata CBI probe has been recom-mended,Mumbai Policewouldhavetocooperate.Wewillalsoco-operatewiththepremierinvesti-

gatingagency.”Almost all political parties in

Bihar havewelcomed the stategovernment'sdecisiontorecom-mendaCBIprobe.Deputy CM and BJP leader

Sushil Kumar Modi thankedNitishforthemove,whileLeaderoftheOppositionintheAssemblyTejashwiPrasadYadav said, “Wearesatisfiedthatthestategovern-menthasmadeCBIproberecom-mendationinSushant'scase...”Senior Congress leader Prem

ChandraMishra said, “Whilewewelcome the decision, NitishKumarshouldensurehisrecom-mendation for a CBI probe intoSushant'scaseisimplemented.”

Bengaliwomen faceonlineabuses, probeonKolkata: Police have initiated aninvestigation after receiving acomplaint over Bengaliwomenbeingtargetedonsocialmedia.Rajput’s death has triggered

manydebates in India,with sev-eral people on socialmedia tar-geted Bengali women and in-dulgedinnamecalling.Somealso describedBengali

womenas“witcheswhoperformblackmagic”. ENS

MOHAMEDTHAVERMUMBAI, AUGUST4

THE SUPREME Court onWednesdaywillhearapleafiledbyactorRheaChakraborty,seek-ing that the FIR registeredagainst her in Bihar in connec-tionwithSushantSinghRajput’sdeathbetransferredtoMumbai.OnJuly25,Rajput’sfatherhad

filedanFIR inPatnaagainstactorRheaChakrabortyandfiveothers,accusingthemofabetmenttosui-cide,cheating,criminalbreachoftrust, criminal intimidation andwrongfulconfinement.On Tuesday, Chakraborty’s

lawyer, reacting to Bihar ChiefMinister Nitish Kumar’s recom-mending a CBI probe intoRajput’sdeath,said,“Thepetitionfiled by Rhea Chakraborty inSupremeCourt thatBiharPolicehadnojurisdictiontoinvestigatethe case will continue to beheard.TherecannotbeatransfertoCBI of a case thathadno legalbasisforBihartogetinvolved.Atthemost (whatcouldhavebeenregistered in Bihar) is a zero FIRtransferable toMumbaiPolice.”Aseniorofficersaidtheywill

hearwhattheBiharPolicehastosay in the Supreme Court and“willplay itbytheear”.Theoffi-cer, however, said that in thepast,MaharashtraChiefMinister

Uddhav Thackeray and stateHomeMinister Anil Deshmukhbothhavesaidthat theMumbaiPolice is capable enough to in-vestigatethecase,andthereisnoneedto transfer it to theCBI.Also on Tuesday,

Maharashtra TourismMinisterAadityaThackerayissuedastate-mentdenyinganylinkswiththecase. “Therehasbeenunneces-sarymudslinging personally onme and Thackeray family inSushant’ssuicidecase.Thispolit-icalgrouseisbecauseoftheirde-spondency.Thisattemptofplay-ingpoliticsoversomeone'sdeathisablotonhumanity,”hesaid.Meanwhile, theprobeof the

BiharPoliceSIT sent toMumbaitoinvestigateRajput’sdeathhascometoahalt.On Sunday, Patna City

(Central) SP Vinay Tiwari, wholedtheteam,wasputintohomequarantine by the BMC and theother threemembers of the SITwereaskedtoremainindoorsonMonday. Tiwari’s “selectivequarantine” led to his superiorofficer,PatnaIGPSanjaySinghtowrite to BMC commissioner toseek a clarification. “Until theBMC replies and in light of thehearing in the SupremeCourt, Ihave ordered the other mem-bersoftheinvestigationteamonMondayalso tostay indoors.”

--WITHENS,MUMBAI

SushantSinghRajput

For the grand old man of Indian theatre, the world was a stageDIPANITANATHPUNE,AUGUST4

IN THE early decades of the re-public, as Indiawasbuilding in-stitutions,theNationalSchoolofDrama (NSD) in Delhi washeaded by Ebrahim Alkazi.“Whenhefirstcametowork,hefoundthebathroomswerefilthy.Heputupanoticesaying, ‘Pleasedon't throw paan spit in thesinks’.Nobodybotheredand,af-ter two days, he camewith de-tergent and amop and cleanedtheplacehimself. Thestaff thenrealisedthathemeantbusiness,”said theatre directorMKRaina.“He said to me, ‘Remember, ifyoudogoodwork,muckwillbethrown at you. You don't standback.You lead fromthe front.”

AlkazipassedawayinDelhi'sEscorts hospital on Tuesday. Hewas94.Theentire theatrecom-munity of India would bemourninghisdeath.“Hewascomfortableandnot

inanykindofpain.Hehadaverygoodconstitution.Hehadheartfibrillationandhisbreathingwasuneven, so his body could notmaintain it due to his age,” saidAmal Allana, Alkazi’s daughteranda formerchairpersonNSD.Alkazi, who was born in

Pune, trained at the RoyalAcademy of Dramatic Arts inLondon, and produced and di-rected awide range of plays inMumbai andDelhi. Hewas stillinhistwentieswhenhereceivedawards such as the BritishDrama League Award forWorkof OutstandingMerit, and the

BBC Award for Broadcasting.Later,hewashonouredwiththeKalidas Award, the Padma Shri,Padma Bhushan, and Padma

Vibhushan.“Modern Indian theatre has

been touched and shaped byhiminwaysdifficulttocount.He

was a genius, a colossus,” saidAnuradhaKapur,aformerdirec-tor of NSD. Theatre in India hastraditionally been an art formthat has been passed on infor-mally in a group or by a guru.With NSD, theatre became forthe first time a discipline thatwas to be mastered with aca-demicprecisionandtechniques.Among Alkazi’s students

were Om Shivpuri, SudhaShivpuri,UttaraBaokar,SurekhaSikri,BVKaranth,RatanThiyam,Naseeruddin Shah, Om Puri,Rohini Hattangadi, Kirti Jain, MKRainaandAnupamKher.“Iusedtodoashetoldme.He

wasaguidewhoheldourhandsand taught us towalk. Iwant togo to Delhi for his last rites butcannot due to the restrictionsimposed by the Covid-19 pan-

demic,” saidBaokar.Alkazi’s directorial produc-

tionsalignedwiththeambitionsof acountry inmotionandrein-forced its quest for a culturalidentity.Thestoriesweredrawnfromhistoryandmythologybutpresented to internationalstandards.Inpublicimagination,Alkazi

wasacreatorofgrandspectacles—AndhaYugatFerozShahKotla,which was attended byJawaharlal Nehru, and Tughlaqat Purana Qila — but he was aproponent of intimate theatre.AshadhKaEkDinwas staged inthe aangan of NSD’s old prem-ises in Kailash Colony, whileWaiting for Godot andOedipusRex were performed for audi-ences of about 80 at RabindraBhavan.

“Hepreferred toplay to inti-mateaudiencesandwasnot in-terested in numbersmore than300.Hefelt that intimateshowsofferedthemostpowerfulexpe-riences,” Feisal Alkazi, themas-ter's son and a theatre directorhimself, said.After leaving NSD in 1977,

Alkazi established Art Heritagein Delhi with his wife RoshanAlkazi to encourage artists andscholars, and mounted morethan500exhibitions.Until before the pandemic

put a stop to performances,Alkazi'sMeghdoottheatrewasabustlinghubofplays,music,anddance in the capital. TheworldwasastageforAlkaziand,whenitwasn’t, hebuiltone.

FULLREPORTONwww.indianexpress.com

EBRAHIM ALKAZI1925-2020

HEAVY RAIN BATTERS MUMBAIMumbaiandits suburbswitnessedtheseason’smost intenseshowers, recordingover260mmrainfall in24hours tillTuesdaymorning.Therainspellswereaccompaniedbyhigh-speedwindsandthunder insouthMumbaiandthesuburbs.GaneshShirsekar

KAUNAINSHERIFFMNEWDELHI, AUGUST4

ALMOST SIX months into thepandemic, the country haswit-nessed a significant shift in themanufacturing of ventilators,with the share of domesticallymanufactured ventilators cur-rentlymore than96per centbyvolumeand90percentbyvalue,theCentre saidonTuesday.Health Secretary Rajesh

Bhushanalsohighlightedthesig-nificantriseindomesticsharehasalsoresultedinadropinthepro-curement price due to competi-tive pricing of domestic ventila-torsthatcurrentlyrangebetweenRs1.5lakhtoRs4lakhperunitascomparedtoimportedventilatorsthatcostaroundRs10-20lakh.However,theCentreempha-

sised that only 0.27 per cent ofthe total active cases were onventilators across the country.“At no point, the country hasreached the one percent markon patients being put on venti-lators,”Bhushansaid.Accordingtotheofficialdata,

more than 1,8000 ventilatorshave been supplied to variousCentral and state governmentCovid-19 facilities across 700hospitals. The Centre said thatoutofthe60,000ventilatorsthat

willbeprocured,50,000arebe-ingfundedbythePMCaresfund.“The domestic capacity of

manufacturing ventilatorswasinsignificant. In2019, the Indianventilatorsmarketwas roughly8,510 units and its annual valuewasRs444crore; 75per centofthemarketshareofventilatorsinIndiawaswith importedequip-ment...TherewasanexponentialdemandinMarchandexportre-strictionsinmanyventilatorpro-ducingcountries,”Bhushansaid.“…InMarch…in India, even

thosewhoweremanufacturingthe ventilators,were importingcomponents… four monthsbacksweweredependentonven-tilators that cost Rs 10-20 lakh.Nowthecountry’sentrepreneursand innovators, have not onlystarted producing the compo-nentsbutmanufacturingtheven-tilators…outofthe60,000venti-lators that are now beingprocured,Make in India ventila-torsshareis96percentbyvolumeand90percentbyvalue,”hesaid.Meanwhile,thegovernment

said that 36WhatsApp groupshavebeencreated,onegroupforeach state and Union territory,consisting of doctors, suppliers,and government officials forhandholding and resolving anyissuearisingoutof theuseof theventilators.

SADAFMODAKMUMBAI, AUGUST4

A SPECIAL court sent DelhiUniversity associate professorHany Babu, arrested on July 28as an accused in the ElgaarParishadcase,tofurthercustodyof the NIA for three days tillAugust7,whilerefusingtograntseven-day custody as wassought. Thecourtobservedthattheprogressof theinvestigation"revealsvariousdevelopments".Theagencyalsoclaimeditre-

covered letters “voluminous” innature from electronic articlesseizedfromBabu,anditrequiredfurthercustodyoftheprofessortoconfront him. The NIA alsoclaimedhewasusingvariousso-cialmediaaccountsfor“commu-nicationwithother co-accused”,suspects as well as members/sympathisersofbannedoutfitCPI(Maoist).“Disclosureanddataex-traction of said socialmedia ac-countsarependingandthepres-ence of accused is required forconfrontation,”theNIAstated.His partner Jenny Rowena

saidwhen she sought the hashvaluesofseizedelectronicitemsto ensure therewasno tamper-ing, theofficialsrefused.LawyerSusan Abraham, representingBabu, opposed the NIA plea forfurther custody stating that hevoluntarilycametoMumbaiaf-ter being summoned by theagency andwas questioned forfive days. The court did not ac-cept thecontention.

Bihar govt recommends CBIprobe into Sushant death

Jammu: The CBI on Tuesdaylaunched searches at the officesand residential premisesof vari-ouspublicservantsin11locationsacross Jammu and Kashmir inconnectionwith large-scale ille-gal constructions and encroach-mentof landat thetourist resortofPatnitopinUdhampurdistrict.Areleasesaidtheagencyhas

recovered “incriminatingdocu-ments,hugeinvestmentinFixedDeposits and immovable prop-erties”andfurtherinvestigationswere inprogress.It has been alleged that the

publicservants“havingjurisdic-tionoverlandinPatnitop,incon-spiracywith the owners of ho-tels/ guest Houses/ resorts, etc,allowed illegal construction/ il-legaluseofthesaidlandinviola-tionof law, leadingto loss to thegovernment”. ENS

SC to hear Rhea pleaseeking transfer ofFIR to Mumbai

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI, AUGUST4

TheNIA has arrested twomorepeople in connection with theKeralagoldsmugglingcase,offi-cials saidTuesday.Thosearrestedwereidentified

asSharafudeen(38),aresidentofMalappuramdistrictandShafeeq(31)fromPalakkaddistrict.NIA claimed their names

cropped up during the interro-

gation of arrested accusedRameesKT,whosaid theywerehis aides. It said the decision toarrest them was taken after“theirrolesintheconspiracyandpursuant smuggling of goldthroughdiplomaticbaggagead-dressed to theUAEConsulate”.The agency produced

Sharafudeen and Shafeeq onTuesday before the NIA SpecialCourt, Ernakulam which re-manded them to four days ofNIAcustody.

Sofar,NIAhasarrested12per-sonsinconnectionwiththecase.Meanwhile,ateamofNIAof-

ficersispreparingtoleavefortheUAE to investigate the links ofthose arrested here and to seekthehelpofthatcountry'sauthor-itiesinnabbinganaccusedinthecase who is absconding. “Weneed to probe how this wholeracket worked in UAE. The au-thorities there are equally con-cernedasUAEdiplomatic cargowas being used for this.We are

getting all cooperation fromthere,” anNIAofficer said.Notably,NIAhasinvokedter-

ror charges in the case and sus-pects thenetworktobefundingterroractivties.OnSunday,theagencyhadan-

nounced that it arrested sixpeo-ple inthecase, includingPopularFront of India memberMuhammadAli, whohad beenchargedwith chopping off thehandofaprofessorinErnakulamdistrictbutwasacquittedin2015.

HARIKISHANSHARMANEWDELHI, AUGUST4

WITHTHEdemandforunskilledworkunderNREGAatahigh,theMinistry of Rural Development(MoRD)hasspent72%of itstotalbudget for this financial year inthe firstquarter itself.OftheRs1,22,398.43croreal-

located to theministry for2020-21, it spent Rs 87,611.41 crore inApril-June.In contrast, according todata

available on the ControllerGeneralofAccounts'site,themin-istryspent29%ofitsbudgetaryal-location in the first quarter of2019-2020,39%inthefirstquarterof 2018-19, and 32% in the firstquarterof2017-18.The increasedpaceof spend-

ing comes in thebackdropof anunprecedented spike in the de-mand for unskilledwork underNREGA,duetotheCovid-19pan-demic.Inthefirstfourmonthsofthis

financial year (April 1-August 4),5.36 crore households availedNREGAwork. This ismarginallylowerthanthefull-yearfigurefor2019-2020(5.48crore),butmorethan the annual figure for anyotherfinancialyearsince2013-14.Infact,ifthepresenttrendcontin-ues, the number of householdsavailingNREGAwork could ex-ceedlastyear'stotalbytheendofthismonth.AsofAugust4,over163crore

persondayswere generatedun-

derNREGAduringthecurrent fi-nancialyear,whichisover58%ofthe 280.65 crore persondaysplannedfortheentireyear.Data available on theNREGA

portal shows that Rs 45,253.65crorewas spent under the ruraljobguaranteeschemefromApril1 to August 4, against the Rs61,000 crore allocated in thebudgetpresentedonFebruary1.Whilethegovernmenthadal-

located a lower amount forNREGA this financial year, it an-nounced a Rs 40,000 crore in-crease in allocation as part of itseconomicpackageinresponsetothepandemic.While NREGA is its biggest

scheme,theministryalsoadmin-isters thePradhanMantriAwaasYojana (Grameen) and PrimeMinister Gram Sadak Yojana,amongothers.TheMoRDhasemergedasthe

top spender in the first quarter.Only six otherministries havespentover27%oftheirannualal-location in the first quarter:Ministry of Consumer Affairs,Food and Public Distribution(43%);MinistryofChemicalsandFertilisers (36%); Ministry ofPetroleumandNaturalGas(36%);Ministry of Health and FamilyWelfare(32%);MinistryofLabourand Employment (30%); andMinistryofRailways(28%).Overall,thegovernmentspent

Rs8,15,943.78crore, or27%of itstotalbudgetofRs30,42,230.09for2020-21; the corresponding fig-ureforlastyearwas26%.

NREGS surge:ministry spends72% of budget infirst quarter

Patnitop case:CBI searchesoffices, homes ofJ&K officials

Elgaar Parishad:DU prof sent tofurther 3-dayNIA custody

Rise in market shareof domesticallymanufacturedventilators: Govt

KERALAGOLDSMUGGLINGCASE

NIA team to travel to UAE for further probe

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI, AUGUST4

ADVOCATEPRASHANTBhushanTuesdayrefusedtotenderanapo-logy for alleged remarks againstthe judiciary in an interview toTehelka forwhichacaseof crimi-nalcontemptwasinitiatedagainsthimand themagazine’s formereditorTarunTejpalin2009.Instead, he issued a “state-

ment...tothecourt”,seekingtoex-plainhisremarks.Apressnotebyhisofficesaida

SupremeCourtbenchheadedbyJusticeArunMishra,which tookup the case Tuesday, told SeniorAdvocates Rajeev Dhavan andKapilSibal,appearingforBhushanandTejpal, respectively, that“thejudgeswantedtoputanendtothemattertoprotectthedignityofthecourt and of the judges”. “Theytherefore asked theparties to is-sue statements tendering theirapologies.Mr. PrashantBhushanrefused to tenderanapologybutagreed to issue the following st-atement,”thenote,forwardedbyAdvocateCherylDsouza,added.Bhushan, it said, had stated,

...“inmy interview to Tehelka in2009Ihaveusedthewordcorrup-tioninawidesensemeaninglackofpropriety.Ididnotmeanonlyfi-nancialcorruptionorderivinganypecuniary advantage. If what Ihave said caused hurt to any ofthemor to their families in anyway, I regret the same. I unre-servedlystatethatIsupportthein-stitutionofthejudiciaryandespe-ciallytheSupremeCourtofwhichI amapart, andhadno intentiontolowertheprestigeofthejudici-

aryinwhichIhavecompletefaith....Iregretifmyinterviewwasmis-understoodasdoingso...”The court’s order after the

hearing said “explanation/apol-ogy submitted byMr. PrashantBhushan/ RespondentNo.1 andMr. Tarun Tejpal/RespondentNo.2,havenotbeenreceivedsofar.In casewedonot accept the ex-planation/apology,wewill hearthematter.Wereservetheorder”.Soonafter it tookupthemat-

ter,thebench,alsocomprisingJu-sticesBRGavaiandKrishnaMur-ari,toldDhavan“wearealwaysforfreedomof speech”andthere isa“thinlineyoumayhavecrossedbe-tween freedomandcontempt”.Thehearinglaterwentoffcamerawith the judgesspeakingtoDha-vanandSibaloveraWhatsAppcall.ThestatementfromBhushan’s

officesaidthat“thecourthoweverreassembledintheafternoonandwhenJusticeMishraindicatedthathemaypassanorderholdingthatanystatementofcorruptioninthejudiciarywouldamounttopersecontempt, he was told by Dr.Dhavan,thatsuchafindingcannotbe and should not be renderedwithouthearingtheparties”.

Bhushansaidhesupportsthe judiciaryandespeciallytheSC ‘ofwhichIamapart’

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI, AUGUST4

THESUPREMECourtTuesdayob-servedthat“elderlypeopleshouldbegivenpriority”inadmissionsingovernmenthospitals consider-ingtheirvulnerabilitytoCovid-19.Italsosaidthatpensiontotheeld-erlyshouldbedisbursedontimeand caregivers in old agehomesacross the country be providedwith personal protective equip-ment(PPE)duringthepandemic.“In event of any complaint

madeby the elderly people, thehospitaladministrationconcernedshalltakeimmediatestepstorem-edy their grievances,” a benchheadedbyJusticeAshokBhushanand also comprising Justice RSubhashReddysaidafter formerUnionministerAshwaniKumartold thecourt that theelderlyarenotgettingpriorityingovernmenthospitals irrespectiveof their ca-pacitytopayfortreatment.Kumar, on whose plea the

court onDecember 13, 2018, is-suedcertaindirectionsregardingthe elderly population, Tuesdayhighlightedtheneedforcareandprotectionforthissectionduringthepandemic.Hesubmittedthattheolder people living alone aretheworstsufferersandnotabletogetmedicines,masks, sanitizersandotheressentialgoods.Healsopointed out that caregivers ofthese people are untrained andnotequippedwithPPEs.Taking note, the SC directed

“thatalloldagepeoplewhoareel-igibleforpensionshouldberegu-larlypaidpensionandthoseiden-tified older people should beprovided necessarymedicines,masks,sanitizersandotheressen-tial goods by respective States”.“As andwhenany individual re-quest ismade, the sameshall beattendedtobytheAdministrationwithallpromptness,” itsaid.Thebenchorderedthat“care-

giversof…oldagehomesshouldbeprovidedpersonal protectionandappropriatesanitizationsho-uldalsobeundertakenintheoldagehomes”.ItaskedstatestoreplytotheavermentsmadeinKumar’sapplicationwithinfourweeks.HearingKumar’spetition,the

SChad in 2018 said someof thegovernmentschemesfortheold“are comparatively dated” and“it is high time that theGovernment of India has arelookattheseschemesandper-hapsoverhaulthemwithaviewtobringabout convergenceandavoidmultiplicity”.

2009CONTEMPTCASE

Bhushan refuses toapologise: Regretif misunderstood

Elderly shouldbe given priorityin govt hospitals,says apex court

New Delhi

EXPRESSNETWORK 7WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHEINDIANEXPRESS,WEDNESDAY,AUGUST5,2020

SCHOOL OF PLANNING ANDARCHITECTURE: VIJAYAWADA

(An institution of National Importance under the Ministry of Human Resource Development,Govt. of India) S.No. 4/4, ITI Road, Vijayawada – 520 008, Andhra Pradesh, India

Advt.No.SPAV/DTCP/2020 Dated 03.08.2020WEB NOTICE

Applications are invited for GIS Specialist, Research Associateand Research Assistant on purely temporary and contractualbasis. The application can be downloaded from institute’swebsite and filled application may be sent to recruitmentdtcp@spav.ac.in on or before 14.08.2020. For further details regard-ing qualifications, remuneration etc, please refer the SPA Vijay-awada website www.spav.ac.in. Sd/- Registrar

Si 6 4

To,1. Satishwar Prasad Uniyal S/o Ruparam Uniyal, R/o THDC Colony,Banjarawala, Dehradun,UK.

2. Alok Singh Negi, S/o

Take notice that O.A. No. 558/2015 was pending before the DebtsRecovery Tribunal, Lucknow against you for recovery of debts ofRs. 11,45,028/- filed by Applicant Bank which has been transferred toDebts Recovery Tribunal, Dehradun in view of change of jurisdiction inpursuant to establishment of new DRT at Dehradun on 16th February2017 videGazetteNotification S.O. 454(E) dated 15.02.2017, S.O. 784(E)dated 23.02.2018 and corrigendumGazetteNotificationS.O.816(E) dated27.02.2018. The above referred case was re-numbered as T.A. No.07/2019 and was listed before this Hon’ble Presiding Officer on23.07.2020Whereas, it has been shown to the satisfaction of the Tribunal that it is

not possible to serve you in ordinary way. Therefore, this notice is given byway of this publication directing you to appear in person or through yourduly authorized agent or legal practitioner before the Tribunal on09.09.2020 at 10.30A.M.Take notice that in case of default of your appearance on the specified

day and time before the Tribunal, the case shall be heard and decided inyour absence.NOTE: For appearance in person or through legal representative on thenext date of hearing through V.C., contact the Registrar on Mobile No.95600-72676 or through e-mail on the official e-mail ID of the DRTdrtdehradun-dfs@gov.in, at least three days in advance along-with detailsof e-mail ID as well as whatsapp enabled mobile number. So that V.C. linkcould be provided in advance to participate in the hearing throughV.C.

thGiven under my hand and seal of this Tribunal on this the 28 day ofJuly, 2020.

Ajay Singh Negi R/o 150, Nehru Colony,Dehradun, UK. Second Address : 123, Nawada Majri, PO NehruColony,Dehradun,UK.

SUMMONS UNDER SUB-SECTION (4) OF SECTION 19 OF THE RECOVERY OFDEBTS AND BANKRUPTCY ACT, 1993, READ WITH SUB-RULE (2A) OF RULE 5

OF THE DEBT RECOVERY TRIBUNAL (PROCEDURE) RULES, 1993 ASAMENDED FROM TIME TO TIME)

PUBLICATION NOTICEIN T.A. No. 07 OF 2019

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DEBTS RECOVERY TRIBUNAL, DEHRADUNGovernment of India, Ministry of Finance, Deptt of Financial Services

Dy. No. 29 Date : 28.07.2020The Jammu & Kashmir Bank Ltd. V/s Deepak Uniyal & Ors.

By order of TribunalSd/-

Registrar, Debts Recovery Tribunal, Dehradun

SHUBHAJITROYNEWDELHI, AUGUST4

ONTHEeveof the first anniver-saryofthewithdrawalof JammuandKashmir’sspecialstatusun-der Article 370 and its bifurca-tion into Union territories,Pakistan on Tuesday released anewpoliticalmapwhichdepictsJ&K as a disputed territory, andclaims the regions of Sir Creekand the erstwhile state ofJunagadhinGujarataspartof itsterritory.Reactingsharplytothemove,Indiacalleditan“exerciseinpolitical absurdity”.

“We have seen a so-calledpoliticalmapofPakistanthathasbeenreleasedbyPrimeMinisterImran Khan. This is an exerciseinpolitical absurdity, layingun-tenable claims to territories inthe Indian State of Gujarat andour Union Territories of Jammu&KashmirandofLadakh.Theseridiculous assertions have nei-ther legal validity nor interna-tionalcredibility.Infact,thisneweffort only confirms the realityofPakistan’sobsessionwithter-ritorial aggrandisement sup-ported by cross-border terror-ism,” theMEA said in anofficialstatement. The map was un-

veiled by Pakistan PrimeMinister Imran Khan, whoclaimedthatitnegatesIndia’s“il-legal action” of August 5, andthatithadbeenendorsedbythefederal cabinet. This map willnow be officially used inPakistan’scurriculum,Khansaid.Themapdepictstheentirety

of JammuandKashmir as adis-putedterritorywhilealsoincor-porating Siachen as part ofPakistan. It does not show anyborders in the east of Kashmir,where China illegally occupiedAksai Chin. It also incorporatesSirCreekintoPakistaniterritoryaswell as parts of the erstwhile

princely stateof Junagadh.The map also shows the

Federally Administered TribalAreas as being part of KhyberPakhtunkhwaprovince.ThePakistancabinetalsoap-

provedthedecisiontorenameamajor road in Islamabad asSrinagarHighway.Theroadwaspreviously called KashmirHighway.This is not the first time

Pakistan has tried to portrayJunagadh as part of its territory.The 2012 Atlas of IslamicRepublic of Pakistan also por-trayed Junagadh as a separateterritory.

India hits back at newPakmap:‘An exercise in political absurdity’

SHUBHAJITROYNEWDELHI, AUGUST4

TWODAYS after the fifth roundofmilitary-level talks to resolvetheborderstandoff attheLineofActualControl,ChinaonTuesdaysaidthatthetwosides“shouldal-waysplacetheboundaryissueinanappropriateposition”inbilat-eral relations and “avoid differ-encesescalatingintodisputes”.Whiletherewerenospecific

details about the latest roundoftalks between Indian andChinesemilitary commanders,the Chinese side reiterated itsposition aswas spelt out by theChineseambassador lastweek.Chinese Foreign Ministry

spokesperson Wang Wenbinsaid in Beijing, “We also believethat stronger solidarity and co-operation between China andIndia...willnotonlyinjectstrongimpetus into our respective de-velopment, but also add stabil-ity andpositiveenergy toworldpeace and prosperity. The twosides should always place the

boundary issue in an appropri-atepositioninbilateralrelationsandavoiddifferencesescalatinginto disputes. It is hoped thatIndiawillworkwithChinainthesamedirection and jointly safe-guardbilateral relations...”While responding toaques-

tiononwhether India isconsid-eringmeasurestopreventtradepartners, mainly in SoutheastAsia, from rerouting Chinesegoods to Indiawith little addedvalue, Wang said, “China hasnoted relevant reports. ChineseproductsexportedtoIndiameetthedemandof India’s domesticmarket…Practical cooperationbetween the two countries ismutually beneficial . It is not inIndia’s own interest to sabotagethispatternof cooperation.”Thiscameonadaythe China

Study Group (CSG), led byNational Security Advisor AjitDoval, reviewedthediscussionsof the fifthmeetingonAugust2of the Corps Commanders atMoldo and approved the nextsteps in the disengagementprocessontheLAC inLadakh.

BASHAARATMASOODSRINAGAR,AUGUST4

THE JAMMU and Kashmir ad-ministration has reserved 4 percent seats in professional col-leges across theUT for studentsfrom Ladakh for the academicyear 2020-21. The decision hasbeen taken as Ladakh doesn’thaveanymedicalorengineeringcolleges.Ladakh, comprising Leh andKargildistricts,wascarvedoutofthe erstwhile state of Jammuand Kashmir. According to the2011 census, Leh had a popula-tion of 1,47,104 andKargil had apopulationof 1,43,388.Thereservationdecision was

taken at a review meetingchairedbyJ&KChiefSecretaryBV R Subrahmanyam. An officialreleasesaidthemeetingwasin-formed that reservation in pro-fessionalinstitutionsisgovernedby the Jammu and KashmirReservationActandRules,whichhavebeenamendedafterthere-organisation of Jammu and

Kashmir, and that the Act andRulesdonotapply toLadakh.“Twenty four seats fromen-

gineering colleges and 35 seatsfrommedicalcollegeswillbede-ductedfromthetotalnumberofavailable seats (of J&K) and thereservation for the residents ofJ&K will be calculated on re-maining seats...”the releasequoted Subrahmanyam as say-ingsaid.However,severaltermedthe

reservation a “lollipop to calmtheir anger”.“This is eyewash,” said Sajad

Hussain,apoliticalandsocialac-tivist fromKargil. “We the peo-pleofKargilwereopposedtothecreation of aUT... There is angerin Ladakh and the governmentis trying to pacify people by an-nouncing this reservation, it isnotgoing towork.”PoliticaloutfitsinKargilhave

called for a complete shutdownonWednesday to demand forthe restorationof the statehoodto JammuandKashmir.People in Leh too said the

reservationwastoolittletoolate.

4% seats in professionalcolleges reserved forLadakh students: J&K

SHAJUPHILIPTHIRUVANANTHAPURAM,AUGUST4

INTELLIGENCE AGENCIES haveprima facie identified oneof theIslamic Statememberswho at-tacked a prison inAfghanistan’sJalalabad as Ejas Kettiyapurayil,hailingfromKasaragodinKerala.Sourcessaidfamilycircleshad

identified Ejas from the photo-graphsshowntothem.However,noofficialconfirmationcouldbemadeatthisstage,sourcessaid.Ejas, a doctor by profession,

joined Islamic State in 2016alongwithhiswifeRahaila,thenthree months pregnant, andtheirtwo-year-oldchild.Also,hisbrother Shihaz, amanagementgraduate, joined the IS alongwith his wife Ajmala, a physio-therapist.Sources said theywere part

of the Kasaragod module ofIslamic Statewhich hadmovedto Nangarhar province ofAfghanistanin2016afterhavinggonemissingfromKasaragodinMay-Junethatyear. “Ejaswas intouchwiththefamilyevenafterreachingAfghanistan. Theyhad

sharedthenewsaboutthebirthoftwobabiesofEjasandShihaz,”a sourcesaid.Their father Abdul Rahman,

a Gulf returnee, could not bereached.A close relative said, “They

(the family) had considered thetwo sons as lost forever. Earlier,therehadbeenrumoursthattheyouths died in Afghanistan.Weare not keen on the issue aswethought them to be deadmuchearlier,’’ he said.Militants affiliatedwith the

Islamic State group stormed aprison ineasternAfghanistan ina daylong siege that left at least39peopledead,includingtheas-sailants, and freednearly400oftheir fighters before securityforces restored order, a govern-ment official saidMonday. It isunclear if Ejaswasamongthosekilled.TheIslamicStatepresencein

Keralahadcometotheforewiththe disappearance of youthsmainly fromKasaragod in2016.The NIA had then identifiedAbdul Rashid, an engineer andeducation activist, as the leaderof this ISmodule.

-WITHAPINPUTS

Kerala man may beamong IS group whichstormed Afghan jail

SHUBHAJITROYNEWDELHI, AUGUST4

TWOMORE Indian nationals ofthe sevenwhowerekidnappedbysuspectedTalibangunmen—in Afghanistan in May 2018 —havebeenreleasedandreturnedto the country on Tuesday, theMinistry of ExternalAffairs saidinastatement.Seven Indiansworkingwith

Indian power firm KECInternational Limitedwere kid-napped in northern BaghlanprovinceonMay6,2018,andsixof them have been released sofar. TheMEA statement came adayafter IndianandAfghanpo-litical leaders and diplomatsspoketoeachother.Theissueoftheir abduction has been a partof the conversation betweenleadersandofficialsofbothsidesin the last twoyears.In a statement on Tuesday,

theMEA said, “Two Indian na-tionals,whowerereleasedfromcaptivity in Afghanistan on 31July 2020, returned to India to-day... Six Indian nationals havenow been released so far fromcaptivity… We thank theGovernment of the IslamicRepublicofAfghanistanfortheirconstant and unwavering sup-portinsecuringthereleaseoftheIndians.”The sevenmenwerework-

ingonpowerprojectsrunbytheAfghan governmentwhen theywereabducted.OneofthemwasfreedinMarch2019whilethree

morewerereleasedlastOctober.Whilenogrouphadclaimed

responsibility and the Talibanhas not said anything on the is-sue so far, Baghlan GovernorAbdulhaiNematihad,soonaftertheabduction,saidthataTalibangroupwasbehindtheabduction.Nemati was quoted as sayingthatAfghanauthoritieshadspo-kenwith the Taliban group, vialocal people, and had been toldthat the KEC employees hadbeenmistaken for governmentstaff.According to local reports,

the KEC employees were ab-ducted by armedmen in Bagh-e-Shamal village of the provin-cial capital Pul-e-Khomri,whiletheywere travelling to the areawhereKEChasacontract toop-erateanelectricity substation.OnMonday, PrimeMinister

Narendra Modi and AfghanPresidentAshrafGhanihaddis-cussedtheevolvingsecuritysit-uation in the region against thebackdrop of a spike in terroristviolence inAfghanistan.Thetwoleadershadaphone

conversation and exchangedgreetingsontheoccasionofEid-ul-Azha.GhanithankedModifortimely supplyof foodandmed-ical assistance to meetAfghanistan’srequirements,ac-cording toanofficial statement.The phone conversation co-

incidedwithameeting inKabulbetween Afghan NationalSecurity Adviser HamdullahMohib and Indian ambassadorVinayKumar.

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICECHANDIGARH,AUGUST4

CLAIMING THAT the playbookusedinRajasthanbytheCongressleadersagainsttheirowngovern-mentisbeingreplicatedinPunjab,state party chief Sunil JakharTuesdaysaidhewillwritetoAICCpresident SoniaGandhi seeking“strictaction”againstthe“brazenindiscipline” of Rajya SabhaMPsPartapSinghBajwaandShamsherSinghDullo.Targeting their own party’s

government in Punjab over thespurious liquor tragedy that hasclaimed111lives,BajwaandDulloMondaytermedita“clearcutfail-ure”onpartofstate’sadministra-tionandpetitionedGovernorVPSingh Badnore for a CBI and EDprobe into the alleged “illegal”liquortradeinthestate.Jakhardescribedthemoveas

a “copy-paste job” ofwhat hap-penedinRajasthaninJanuaryaf-ter thedeathsof 107 infantsoverwhich, thendeputy chiefminis-ter Sachin Pilot had targetedhisown government. “Had actionbeen taken against Pilot then it-self,what is happening today inRajasthantodaycouldhavebeenavoided,”saidJakhar.Hesaiditwastimeto savethe

Congress fromthe“pettymachi-nations”of thelikesofBajwaandDullo, who have “no shame” inbitingthehandthatfeedsthem.He saidhewouldurge Sonia

Gandhi for “strict action” againstthetwoMPswhowere“disgrace-fullyexploiting”atragedyto“fur-ther” their own political ambi-tions. Such “back-stabbing”members should be shown thedoor before they cause seriousdamage, he added. Jakhar de-scribedtheactionsofthetwoMPas amanifestation of their “des-peratedesiretograbthehighseatofpowerbyhookorbycrook.”“Howmanytimesinall these

yearsdid theyask for expeditingtheCBI inquiry into the sacrilege

cases(whichhassincebeentakenover by Punjab Police) or the EDprobe into drugs, launcheddur-ingtheerstwhileSAD-BJPgovern-ment?”heasked.From Sutlej Yamuna Link

canaltothegrantforPunjab,GSTrefunds, Covid aid and themostrecentanti-farmerordinances,thetwoMPshadstudiouslychosento“keepquiet” in theUpperHouseoneverymatterof importancetoPunjab,hesaid.Meanwhile, Bajwa claimed

thathewas forcedtoraise the is-suewith theGovernor ashehadnot heard from Chief MinisterCaptAmarinderSingh.“As a result of his conscious

decision to ignore us and theliquormafia,117innocentindivid-ualsweremurderedincoldbloodfor the greed of a few. WouldJakharhavepreferredthatweig-noreorglossoverthesedeathsinthe name of party discipline? Ihavenot barteredawaymycon-scienceforaseat,”saidBajwa.He said that it would have

beenmoreappropriatefortheCMtohavevisitedthefamiliesof thedeceased.“The CMhad the arrogance

andtheaudacitytopubliclycom-mentinapressconferencethathedoes not read our communica-tionsandthattheywerenotwor-thyofresponse,”headded.“Had Jakhar shown the

couragetoquestiontheCMonhisconstantignoranceoftheseissues,livesmayhavebeensaved…Theweak-kneed and spineless lead-ership shownby Jakhar has leftthe Congressworkers in Punjabdemoralised,”hesaid.

(Left)PartapSinghBajwa;ShamsherSinghDullo

CALLFORCBIPROBEINTOHOOCHDEATHS

Bajwa, Dullo copyingPilot’s playbook, strictaction needed: Jakhar

MEA: 2 more Indiansreleased from captivityin Afghanistan, return

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEJAMMU,AUGUST4

THE J&K administration Tuesday de-cidedtoallowallplacesofworshipintheUTtoreopenfromAugust16.Pointingoutthatthiswillbesubject

toobservanceofSOPs,whichwouldbeissued separately, an order issued byChief Secretary and Chairman of theState ExecutiveCommittee of DisasterManagement,ReliefRehabilitationandReconstruction Department BVRSubrahmaniyamsaid“religiousproces-sionsandlargereligiousgatheringsshall,however,remainstrictlyprohibited’’.Apartfromthis,schoolsandcolleges,

cinemahalls, swimmingpools,amuse-mentparks,spas,theatres,bars,audito-riums and assembly halls will

remainshut.Themovementof individuals forall

non-essentialactivitieswillremainpro-hibitedbetween10pmto5amandforthis, theDistrictMagistrates shall issuespecificprohibitoryordersunderSection144ofCrPC.Liquor shopswill re-

openacrosstheUT.Private hospitals, e-

commerce and courierservices, all agriculture,horticulture, animal hus-bandryandrelatedactivi-ties; home deliveries byrestaurants and hotels;banking and financialservices and services ofplumbers,techniciansandelectricianshavealsobeenallowed.

Corps of Signals salutes its following Signallers who left us fortheir heavenly abode during themonth of Jul 2020.(a) 15726407M Sigmn Rahul Singh(b) 15674087L Hav T Satya Prakash M(c) 15696123L Nk Peeyoosh Kumar Singh

On behalf of the Corps, we sincerely pray to Almightyfor peace to departed souls & strength to the bereavedfamilies to bear this irreparable loss.

OBITUARY

LAC standoff: Chinasays avoid differencesescalating into disputes

J&K: Places of worshipcan reopen from Aug 16

New Delhi

8WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

NEXT, IN THE VALLEYAyearago, J&Kchangedirreversibly.Restoringrights,democraticpolitics,people'svoicearekeytoroadahead

AYEARAFTERtheBJP-ledNDAgovernmentmadeArticle370redundant,with-drewthespecialstatusofJammu&Kashmir,andbifurcatedthestateintotwoUnionterritories,thefaitaccomplihasseepedin.TheUnionterritoryofJ&Kmaybecomea state again, but therewill be no turning back the clock onArticle

370.For theBJP, itwas the fulfilmentof a long-standing ideologicalpromise to“integrate”theMuslim-majoritystatewiththerestof thecountry.Byallaccounts, themovehasbeenmetwithacquiescence, ifnotsupport,acrossthecountry—nonationalpoliticalpartyhasprominentlyprotestedtheCentre’smove,noranyregionalpartiesoutsideJ&K. Inthepastyear, therehasbeennovisibleoutpouringofprotest in J&K,nomajormilitantstrikes.Thatdoesnotmean,ofcourse,thattheseven-decade-oldproblemhasbeenresolvedorthatthepeoplehaveacceptedthechangesimposedonthem.Thereality is, theyhavenotyetbeenallowedtoexpressthemselvesthroughinstitutionsofrepresentationorgovernance.Indeed,whatbeganasadeparturefromdemocraticnorm—theNDAgovernmentdecidedonthestate's futurebycuttingoutthepeople, theirpolitical leadersandeventheBJP’sownallies—hasplayedoutovertheyearintheimprisonmentofpoliticalleadersandhundreds ofoth-ers, effectivelyerasing thedegreesof differencebetween themainstreamandseparatistsandthoseinbetween.Curbsonthepress,routinelycallingjournaliststothepolicestation,deepenthedistrust.Whilemany leaders havebeen released since, thedetentionof former chiefminister

MehboobaMufti under thePublic SafetyActhas justbeenextendedby threemonthsandmanyothers continue tobe inofficial andunofficial detention. The lockdown imposedonAugust5lastyearhasseguedintoasecondlockdown,inducedbytheCOVID-19pandemic.Even though2Ghasbeen restored, theunavailability of high speed internethasmade lifeandworkdifficult, for businessmenwhoneed to communicatewithpartners outside thestate, forthoseapplyingfor jobsandcollegeseats, tothosetryingtodownloadinformationonthepandemic.Students, too,havesuffered.Thereisanairofuncertainty.Militancycon-tinues—localyoungmenareeasyrecruitsevenascross-borderinfiltrationhascomedown.Except for thedecisiontomakenewdomicile rules inkeepingwiththeabrogationof

35A that defined “permanent residents”, and thedelimitationexercise, the governmenthasappearedunclearonaroadmapahead. It shouldbeclearto it that thecontinuingpo-liticalvacuumintheValleycanonlycausedamage.There isa limit tohowmuch,orhowlong,panchayatsfromaflawedelectioncanbeproppedupinplaceofanelectedAssembly.Though theElectionCommission tookexception tohis comments, LieutenantGovernorGCMurmuwasrightinsayingthatelectionscouldfollowthecompletionofdelimitation.The governmentmust expedite the restoration of political processes in J&K. Itmust re-leaseMehboobaMufti andotherswhoare still indetention. Itmust restoreall freedomsguaranteedundertheConstitution,includingtherighttofreespeech,whichinthisdayandage, includesaccesstothe Internet.Most importantly, itmustset thestagefor thepeopletoelect their representatives.

A STEP AT A TIMETheOxfordvaccinehassparkedmuchhope,but it’s tooearly to

pronouncevictoryagainst thecoronavirus

ITISHEARTENINGthatthePune-basedSerumInstituteofIndiahasreceivedthecoun-try’stopdrugregulator’sapprovaltoconductlate-stagehumantrialsfortheOxford-AstraZenecaCOVID-19vaccinecandidate.Thevaccinehasshownencouragingresultsinearlytrials. Itsmildsideeffectsaugurasafevaccine.Butscientistshaverightlyad-

visedthetemperingofhopewithcaution:Large-scale trialsarerequiredtoascertain if thevaccineactuallyprotectsagainstthepathogen.Theimmunesystemhastwowaystodefendthebodyagainstpathogenslikethecoro-

navirus—byproducingantibodies thatdisablean infectiousagentandbymanufacturingTcellsthathavealongmemoryof suchagents.Earlyresearchhassuggestedthatantibod-ies fade awaywithinmonths of contracting the coronavirus. However, a robust T cell re-sponse canprevent the infection from recurring. TheOxford-AstraZeneca vaccine is de-signedtotriggerbothkindsof reactions.ButwedonotknowhowprotectivethememoryintheTcells,inducedbythevaccine,willbeagainstthecoronavirus.Moreover,thetrialswereconductedonvolunteersaged18-55.Theefficacyofthevaccineinolder,andmorevulner-able,people isstillnotknown.AccordingtotheWHO,morethan150vaccinecandidatesareundergoingtrialsindiffer-

entpartsof theworld.Threeof them—theOxfordvaccine,thevaccinebeingdevelopedbythepharmamajorModernaintheUSandthecandidateoftheChinesefirm,SinovacBiotech—havereachedthethirdstage.Thesetestsareusuallythemostextensivebeforeavaccineisgivenregulatoryapproval.TheOxfordvaccine,forinstance,wasadministeredtoalittlemorethan1,000people inthe initial trials. Itwill reportedlybetestedonmorethan30,000peo-ple indifferentpartsof theworld—1,600of theminIndia—inthefinalphase.TheUSFDAlistsmorethan20caseswheretheresultsofthePhase3trialsdivergedfromtheinitialtests.Moreover, thoughvaccine researchhasmadeenormousprogress from the1950s,whenthousandsofchildrendevelopedamilderformofpolioafterbeinginoculated,therearerea-sonstobecautiousevenafteraCOVIDvaccineentersthemarket.In1999,arotavirusvaccinehadtoberecalledafteritcausedadversereactions.Itwouldalsobeworthrememberingthatfluvirusesmutate.Wearestillsomewayawayfromvictoryagainstthecoronavirus.

AGE OLD RUSEBCCIprodsyoungplayers tocomecleanonage-fudging.

But itmaytakemorethanthat

T HEBCCIHASfinallybestirreditselfonanage-fraudincricketafterRahulDravid,involvedascoachandmentortosuccessivebatchesofnational juniorteams,sawthemenace first-hand. Thecricketboardhas comeupwithavoluntarydeclarationschemethatallowsplayerstoownupandresumeplayingintheir

authentic agegroup. It's thegentlestprodpossible for aproblemthat is fiendishlywide-spreadacrossIndiaandworse,onethattheBCCIhasletslidealltheseyears,evenasIndianU19teamsbrazenlywentaboutwinningWorldCups.However,while theBCCImight, in its paternalistic largesse, excuse this behaviourby

makingboysplayinthecorrectagebracket, theyareinnopositiontoforgivewhat isa le-gal infringement—lyingonoath.Makingfakebirthcertificatesisaseriouscrimeandim-plies perjury committed by parents or coaches in front of amagistrate.While the BCCIclaimsthat250playerswerebannedlastseason,theboardhasleft it tothebirthregistrarauthorities to initiateaction intotheveryactof tamperingofficialdocuments.AgefudgingpointstoadeeperproblemofethicsamongthoseaspiringtoplayforIndia.

Noamountof inspirationalmentoringcanoffsetthevalues,orlackofthem,ataformativestage.Going forward,bothdopingandmatchfixingcanget rationalised in these impres-sionableminds. It’s a tad naive of the BCCI to leave it to cheating players to grow a con-scienceintheabsenceofaneffectivedeterrentorsurepunishment.Theywillneedtoen-forcestrictdocumentverifications foreveryplayer.Evenoneplayerwhocheatsandgetsawaywith it in the IndianU19teamdeniesopportunity tohundreds.

Ram, I will not find you there

Pratap BhanuMehta

Vinay Sahasrabuddhe

ThistempleisthefirstrealcolonisationofHinduismbypoliticalpower.Ifeelchainedlikeneverbefore

TEMPLE AS TURNING POINTRamtemplemovementhasrestructureddiscourse,recastpolity

RAM. YOU CAN be properly addressed justwiththatname.Anyproclamationannounc-ingyourtriumph, likeJaiShreeRam,dimin-ishesyou.Thenecessityofproclaimingyourvictory implies you could have been de-feated. I must alsomake a confession. Youwere the radiant and intimate presence inmy life: The ground of our Being. Youwerethe Mind and the Senses. You were theVirtues. You were Compassion andDivination.Yournamewasutteredinthean-guish of suffering and the ecstasy of libera-tion.Youwerethehouseholder, theson, thebrother,thedisciple,thefriend.Youweretheking, but also the renouncer. You wereDharma.Youwereoccasionallycruelandun-just. But your anguish seems to recogniseyourowncruelty.Youweredivine.Butyourequivocations were human. Youwere thelast Refuge Iwoke to, and slept to, the reas-suranceTulsigaveus:“Raghuvartumkomerilaaj, sada sadamain sharan tehari, tum hogarib nawaz (I seek protection in you, pro-tectorof destitute souls)”.Today, those who waged war in your

name will consecrate your temple atAyodhya. They aredescribing this as theul-timate act of devotion to you, the ultimateobeisancetoyoursovereignty.Theyare,theysay,reclaiminghallowedground,desecratedby barbarous invaders. They are describingthis as a cathartic overcomingof Hinduhu-miliation. They are describing this as a newrenaissance for RamRajya. Youwill nowbethe symbol of a community united instrength, full of anewfoundpride. Itwill besaid,secretly,thisisrestoringwholenesstoabrokenculture.But I know Iwill not find you there. This

is because what is being consecrated is amonumenttoaviolent,collectivenarcissism.You know a temple to you is dangerous orsuperfluous. Superfluous if we understandyour truemeaning; dangerous if we arro-gantly emulate you. Valmiki described youinhumanformas“narachandrama”(moonamongst men). Your greatest chroniclercould see right through you. He had themoon’s blemishes inmind. You are admit-tedly an epitome of sacrifice. You gave up akingdom, to honour an unjust promise ofyour father. It is puzzling that our itihasa is

aboutchildrenfulfillingtheunjustpromisesof their father and setting off a chain of de-structiveeventsinitswake.IntheRamayanaandMahabharata,thereisnotasinglefather,from Shantanu to Dhritarashtra to Arjuna,wherethechildrendon’thavetopay for theunjust choices of the father. Yours did too.ThenthereisValiwhoyouslayedlikeacow-ard,Shambukawhosepenancechallengingthe caste order you unjustly punished, andSitawhosetruthhadtobesacrificedtoopin-ion.Youcouldreconciletheseblemishesbe-causeyouweredivine.Youcouldsinandstillredeemthem.“SvargatashambukasamstutaRam,” as it goes in the beautiful NamaRamayana (you sent Shambuka to heavenwhowasapparentlygrateful toyou).But we mortals cannot worship your

morals. We humans have to have a lessermorality, sincewecannot redeemthoseweslay or banish. Vali, and Shambuka and Sitawillrequirejusticehere,noteternalredemp-tion. Sowe cannot emulate yourmaryada(integrity). It was appropriate to you. Nowonder your greatest devotees,Madhusudhan Saraswati, Tulsi, Gandhi,never felt theyneeded a temple to discovertheirmorality.Perhaps we are consecrating a higher

principle.“ShuddhaBrahmaParatparaRam”as the first line of Nama Ramayana goes—thepurestBrahmana.Butthatneverneedsatemple. The beautiful Shiva-Uma-Rama oftheRamrahasyaUpanishadcannot take theformof a singular representation. In conse-cratingyouatAyodhya,theywanttodislodgethedifferentformsinwhichyouresideinourinner citadel, one no invader has been ableto breach, and replace it with a new Teflondiety,manufacturedbyapoliticalmachine.So the temple is dangerous or unneces-

sary. You know this temple is founded onsomething akin to an act of terrorism, therazing down of a mosque. You know thistemple is not a product of piety, but retalia-tionandrevenge foraneventcenturiesago.Kings and invaders of years pastmust haverazedmanytemplestothegroundandtheylikelydestroyedatempleatAyodhyatoo.Butthat is neither here nor there. History is aslaughterhousethatnodivinityofanystripehas been able to redeem. All we can do is

snatch snippets of a fragile justice here andthere. It is the ultimate hubris to think thatwe need to protect you rather than you toprotectus.Revengedoesnothelp. Past conflicts are

being used as pretexts to reconfigure con-temporary power. The forces thatwill con-secratethistempleconvertedyournameintothe very opposite of what it signifies. TheymadeRamsynonymouswithrevenge,withan insecurepride,withabloodcurdlingag-gression, violence towards others, a coars-eningofculture,andtheerasureofeverylastshredofgenuinepietyinpublicdevotionandpublic life.Theywill sayRamisanationalsymbol,a

symbolofHindupride.Butdidyouconsenttobeingconvertedtosomethingasbanalandnasty as the symbol of an ethnic national-ism?Youredeemedyourdevotees,thoseyouwronged, but your opponents as well. Butthis temple is amonument to exclusion, abrutemajoritarianismsubordinatingothers.Lookatthemen,bothpoliticalandspiritual,who speak in your name, and the blood,power and intimidation they have on theirhands. Your namewill be used to shore upthe coarsest forms of personalised power;theentireliturgyisadisplayof themostcor-rupt ofmonarchical power, in a democraticgarb.IunderstandthatsomanyofmyfellowHinduswillexperiencethisasagreatcathar-sis, as theweight of historybeing lifted. Butdeepdownweneedtoask:Howdidwebe-come so insecure thatwe need a cowardlyvictoryof razingdownamonument tosati-ate out collective narcissism? And is this akindof insecuritythatisneversatiated,itex-pands its circle until it colonises all senti-ment? This temple is the first real colonisa-tion of Hinduism by political power. I feelchained likeneverbefore.Youcametoearthtolightenits load;this

temple burdens us with evil. Like the lastgenuine devotee of Ram inmodern India,Gandhi,wecanonlymourninsilence,asourgarib nawaz forsakes us. Your radiant pres-ence is gone. Only the oppressive yoke ofzealotry remains.

Thewriter is contributingeditor,The IndianExpress

THEBHOOMIpujanofthegrandRamTempleattheveryplaceofbirthofRamatAyodhyaisahistoriceventformultiplereasons.WhiletheBJPnationalexecutiveresolutiondemandingconstructionof aRamTemple atAyodhya atthe1988Palampursessiongaveabigimpetusto the cause, the campaignwas truly amassmovement.Themootquestioniswhetherthechanges triggered in the Indianpolity by theRamJanmabhoomimovementaregoingtobeinstitutionalised.The answer to this questiondepends on

several factors: First,whetherpoliticalpartieswouldrefrainfromvotebankpolitics;second,if theMuslimcommunitywould choose theHamid Dalwai approach or go for theAsaduddinOwaisiway; third,whether theopinion-makingclassessticktotheirtraditionaloutlookwhile analysing identity politics orshowopennessandamendtheirapproaches.These factors are important because the

RamJanmabhoomimovementwasnot con-finedtotheconstructionofagrandRamtem-ple.Thedemandforthetemplehadbecomeapowerfulsymbolofthepublicunrestagainstapoliticsofappeasementandminority-ism,in-dulged in for electoral gains by theCongressandothers. TheCongress took anotherwisedividedHindu society almost for granted. Itwas seen as afraid of being viewedas sidingwith theHindus, evenat the cost of showingabsolutedisregardforajustifiedHinducause.Acaseinpointwastheneedlesshesitationfirst,and later, strong opposition from the then

PrimeMinisterJawaharlalNehrutothepartic-ipationofPresidentRajendraPrasadatthein-augurationofthereconstructedSomnathtem-ple in the 1950s. While Nehru wasapprehensive about the “wrong signals” thePresident’s participationmaygive, the latterwent aheadwhile remindingNehru that asgovernment “we are neither irreligious noranti-religion”.Butsadly, theCongresscontin-uedwith its disregard towards all issues re-lated toHindusentiments. This emboldenedMuslimcommunaliststohijackthepolity.Keyguidingprinciplesof theConstitution

becamevictimsof this perverse secularism.TheconstitutionalpositionontheabrogationofArticle370andcommoncivil codecontin-uedtobeviolatedfordecades,ironically,inthenameof secularism.Apolitics of “hurt emo-tions”resultedintheendlesspamperingofmi-norities,eventuallygivingimpetustothemo-bilisationofHindusasHindus.The Ram Janmabhoomi movement

achievedatleastthreethings.First,thebrazen-nesswithwhichminority politics was in-dulged in earlier is no more to be seen.Remembertermssuchaspseudo-secularism,minorityappeasement,andminority-ismthatLalKrishnaAdvanicontributedtothepoliticallexicon?Today,thenumberofoccasionswar-rantingtheuseofsuchtermshasbeendrasti-callyreduced.ThisisbecauseofthedeterrencecreatedbytheRamJanmabhoomimovement.TheRamtemplemovementhas also cre-

ated consciousness aboutHindu ethos. For

decades,moves like changing the name ofAllahabad,Mughal Sarai railway station orNewDelhi’s Aurangzeb Roadwould havecausedahugebrouhaha.Today,thereareonlyfeeblemurmurs.Nehrucouldaffordtoopenlyoppose Rajendra Prasad’s Somnath pro-gramme,hisgreat-grandchildrencannoteventhinkofsuchamove.Going beyond the temple, everyHindu

must realise that unless castediscriminationisabolishedlock,stockandbarrel,acommonconsciousnessandHinduunitywill remainachimera.Muslimsmustrealisethatitiswrongtoseethetemplemovementasanti-mosqueoranti-Muslims.TheIndianethos,withspiri-tual democracy at its core, cannever acceptrulers imposing theirwayofworshipbyde-stroyingotherplacesofworship.Thedestruc-tion of Ram temple by Baburwas a historicwrong,whichisbeingcorrectedtoday.In this context, LokmanyaTilak’sdescrip-

tionof Shivaji’sattackonAfzalKhaniseduca-tive.Tilakwrote:“ShivajikilledAfzalKhanbe-cause he was an impediment in his pathtowardsSwarajya.Hedidn’tkillhimsimplybe-causehewasMuslim.Hadthatbeenthecase,Shivajiwouldn’t have sentAfzal Khan’swifesafelyandhonourablybacktoVijapurafterpre-sentinghersomeornaments.Allhavetoworkforthenation,disregardingcasteorreligion.”

Thewriter ispresident, the IndianCouncil ofCulturalRelations, anda

RajyaSabhaMPof theBJP

They will say Ram is anational symbol, a symbol ofHindu pride. But did youconsent to being converted tosomething as banal and nastyas the symbol of an ethnicnationalism? You redeemedyour devotees, those youwronged, but your opponentsas well. But this temple is amonument to exclusion, abrute majoritarianismsubordinating others. Look atthe men, both political andspiritual, who speak in yourname, and the blood, powerand intimidation they have ontheir hands. Your name will beused to shore up the coarsestforms of personalised power;the entire liturgy is a displayof the most corrupt ofmonarchical power, in ademocratic garb. I understandthat so many of my fellowHindus will experience this asa great catharsis, as the weightof history being lifted.

FOUNDED BY

RAMNATH GOENKA

B E C A U S E T H E T R U T H I N V O L V E S U S A L L

§ §

THEINDIANEXPRESS,WEDNESDAY,AUGUST5,2020 WORDLYWISEIt’s clear that preventionwill never be sufficient.That’swhyweneedavaccine thatwill be safe.

— LUC MONTAGNIERTHEEDITORIALPAGE

WRITTEN ASSURANCETHEASSAMAGITATIONleadershavegivenawrittenundertakingtogiveupall furtherag-itationalprogrammespendingcompletionofnegotiations.Theagitationleaders’assuranceto the government, however, did not cover“theblockadeoncrudeoil,”whichisexpectedtocontinue.Theassurancewascontainedinaletter addressed toMDTyagi, DevelopmentCommissionerofManipur, in theabsenceoftheManipurChiefMinisterDorendra Singh,who left for Imphal thismorning. The letter,which is a reversal of the agitators’ threat oflastnightthattheywillresumetheagitation,wassignedbytheAll-AssamStudentsUnion

generalsecretaryBhriguPhukan,andtheAll-AssamGanaSangramParishadconvener,AtulBora.

INDIA WARNS USINDIAHAS CONVEYED to theUnited Statesgovernmentitsconcernoverworseningcom-mercial relationsbetweenthe twocountriesand expressed the fear that theUS levies onIndianimportscouldhavepoliticalrepercus-sions. This is understood to have been con-veyedtotheUSAmbassador,RobertGoheen,bytheCommerceSecretaryASGill.WhathassouredtraderelationsnowistheUSinsistenceonthelevyofcountervailingdutiesonanum-

ber of products and the rashof duty investi-gations in regard to Indian products under-takenbytheUSDepartmentofCommerce.

PRINCE CHARLES’ VISITPRINCECHARLES,THEPrinceofWales,willpay a 13-day visit to India fromNovember24. Beginning his visit in Delhi, PrinceCharleswill subsequentlytourmanyindus-trial and rural areas. The prince, who hasserved in both the Royal Air Force and theRoyal Navy and is the Colonel-in-Chief oftheRoyalRegimentofWales, isexpectedtotake an interest in the three wings of theIndiandefence forces.

AUGUST 5, 1980, FORTYYEARSAGO

Going beyond the temple,every Hindu must realisethat unless castediscrimination is abolishedlock, stock and barrel, acommon consciousness andHindu unity will remain achimera. Muslims mustrealise that it is wrong to seethe temple movement asanti-mosque or anti-Muslims.

New Delhi

9THEINDIANEXPRESS,WEDNESDAY,AUGUST5,2020 WHATTHEOTHERSSAY

“As throughout this pandemic, the challenge for the authorities is tocommunicate in such a way as to maximise the positive effects on health, whileminimising other harms, including the social divisions created by thepandemic’s differential impact on different groups.” —THEGUARDIANTHE IDEASPAGE

WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

Ayodhya is sacred not onlyfor Hindus. At least five ofthe Jain Tirthankaras camefrom Ayodhya. The city ofSaket in Buddhism isAyodhya only, whereBuddha was believed to havelived for several years.Sikhism’s connection withAyodhya is much deeper.Guru Granth Saheb vividlydescribes Babur’s invasionsand iconoclasm.

The second exileAugust5ceremonymaygladdenmanyhearts.Butwill itgladdentheheartof thedeity?

ASISITdowntowriteontheeveofAugust5,2020,mymind goes back toDecember 6,1992. Iwas inmyJamiahome,comfortableinthebelief thataftermanyyearsinforeignclimes I had returnedhomewhere the re-mains of my loved ones were in nearbykabristans.Forme,gharwapsimeantjustthat.Iwatchedasstrokebystroke,karsevaks

didwhattheyhadto—youthsdonningor-angeheadbandsstoodatopthedome,theirpickaxesheldupfortheTVcameras,beforestrikingthe16th-centurystructure.Leadersreached the spot to be seen and to cheer-leadthemobs.Asenseof triumphwasvis-ibleonthethreefacesthatareetchedinmymind — L K Advani, Uma Bharti, MurliManoharJoshi.Cut to 2020. Twenty-eight years later,

theyaretoooldandvulnerabletoinfectiontohelplaythefirststoneoftheRamMandir.Iwonderwhattheymustbefeelingnow,sit-tingsequesteredintheirhomes.IqbalAnsari,son of the original litigant HashimAnsari(nowdeceased),hasalsobeeninvited.Iwillattend,hesays.GayatriDevi,wholivescloseby,will also go but for a different reason—togivepeacetothesoulofherhusbandwhofellto“andhadhund”policefiringduringthedemolition.IalsorecallDecember7,1992,thedayaf-

ter, when I tried to drivemyself towork.Jamiawas thena sleepyplace, a universitycampuswhichwasidentifiedasa“Muslim”institution.Nearmyhouse,Iwasstopped.Itwas in front of a gurdwarawhere randomgroups of youngmendid not askmy reli-gionorharmmebutwarnedmeof“khatra”andaskedmetoturnback.AsIdroveback,IthoughtofJamia’ssilver

jubilee,whenMahatmaGandhi,JawaharlalNehruandMaulanaAzadsatonawoodenstage, alongside Jamia’s founders ZakirHusain, Mohammad Mujeeb and AbidHusain,andlaudedthesecularcharacterofan institution that called itself JamiaMilliaIslamia. Each stroke of the pickaxewas ablow to that secular character,whichwasthecredoofeachpersonpresentthere.With the razing of Babri, Muslims

stepped on the roadwhichwould lead adecade later toGujarat 2002, to lynchings,pogroms,riots,killings,incarceration,totheAyodhya judgment in 2019 and finally, theBhoomiPujan.Epithets and phrases race through the

mind. “Ye topehli jhanki hai/ KashiMathurabaqi hai”. Shahjahan’s TajMahal or RajputHindutempleTejoMahalaya?QutubuddinAibak’s QutabMinar or Vishnu Stambh?More jingles— “desh ke ghaddaron ko/golimarosalonko”.Throughthiscacophony,thecountrywillwitness the grand ceremonywherepoliticalandreligiousleaders,wear-ingprotectivemasks,willassembletohon-ourthedeityanddevourprasadthalis.Ramchandra Gandhi, grandson of the

Mahatma,wroteasmallbookonSita’srasoi

afterhevisitedthesiteandsawalowlybe-lan and chaklamarking the spot.Wherewasthisrasoi?Whatisreal,whatismyth-ical? It’s all astha, we are told. Either youbelieveoryoudon’t.Justwatchyourwordsand actions. A slight slip can get youstampedasanti-national,especiallyifyouareaMuslim.AllamaIqbalwasaMuslimandamong

the tallest intellectuals Indiaproduced.HispoemRamspokeofRamasanexaltedbeing.Heactually calledhim Imam-e-Hind. First,hepraisesIndiaasthebirthplaceofphiloso-phers, mystics and thinkers: Labrez haisharaabehaqeeqatsejaameHind/SabfalsafihainkhittaemaghrebkerameHind(Thecupof Hind/Overflows with wine of Truth/Philosophers ofWest are its devotees). YeHindiyon ke fikr e falak ras ke hai asar/RiffatmeinaasmaansebhioonchahainaameHind(It is the high calibre of herphilosophers/Whichmakeshernamesoarhigherthantheskies).HaiRamkewujoodpeHindostankonaaz/Ahlenazarsamajhteyhainusko ImameHind (Hind isproudof theex-istence of Ram/Thediscerning eye seen inhim,anImam).KhushwantSinghlovedIqbalandoften

quoted this poemas amark of the India ofhis dreams. In his book,Need For A NewReligion In India,whichhededicatedtome,hewrote: “Whatmattersmost iswhetherornot Indiawillcontinuetoremainasecu-larstatecommittedtosocialismorbecomeaHindu Rashtrawearing a secularmaskwithanagendaof itsown, includingbuild-ing amammoth RamMandir at Ayodhya,preservingtheRamSetuandotherrelicsas-sociatedwithHinduism. The choice is be-tween an India of the dreamsofMahatmaGandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru on the oneside(secular),andthoseofVirSavarkarandGuruGolwalkarontheother (Hindutva)…WehavetochoosebetweenremainingwhatweareoropttobecomeaHinduRashtra.”From Allama Iqbal to Kaifi Azmi and

hundredsofUrdupoets,Muslimsandnon-Muslims,havewrittenonRam.TheAugust5 ceremonymaygladdenmanyhearts butletme ask:Will it gladden theheart of thedeitywho is the ostensible raisond’être ofit all? Once again, it is the poet (who Platocalled the unacknowledged legislator ofmankind)whosaysitall.KaifiAzmiwroteapoem that seems to have beenwritten fortomorrow. Doosra Banwaas was aboutBhagwanRam returning to Ayodhya afterthedemolition.Helookswithanguishatthedead,theburning,thelootingandtherazedstructure. Before entering aholyplace, it iscustomary to do ablutions, forMuslimswuzu, forHindusashnaan.ButwhatdidtheBhagwando?PaaoonSaryumeinabhiRamnedhoeybhi

natthe/Kenazaraayewahankhoonkegehredhabbe/PaaoondhoyebinaSaryukekinareyse utthe/Ramye kehte huey apne dwarey seutthe/Rajdhani ki fiza raas nahin aayimujhe/ChheDecember komila doosra ban-waasmujhe. (In the SaryuRamhadbarelywashedhis feet/With bloody blotches thewaterwasreplete/FromtheriverbankaroseRamwithoutwashing his feet/Saying thisfromhishomehedid retreat/Theairofmycapitalcityhasturnedvile/OnDecember6,Iamsentencedtoasecondexile.)

Thewriter is formermember,PlanningCommission

EVERYNATIONHAS its sacred spaces andeveryreligionitssacredplaces.Culturedeter-mines the sacredness of physical andmeta-physical spaces. Cultures are the soul of na-tions. Nations create their sacred identitiesaroundculturalmanifestationslikelanguage,history,religion,andmorals.Duringtherevo-lutionyears inFrance, onlyhalf of itspopula-tionspokeFrenchandonly12percentspokeit “correctly”.TherenownedAmericanhisto-rianEugenWebernarrateshowFrancetoiledin the aftermathof the revolution througha“traumatic and lengthyprocess” forwhathedescribesas“self-colonisation”.ThateffortledtothecreationofthemodernFrenchstateandgave birth to notions of “French superiorityovernon-Europeancultures”.TheodorHerzlwasthevisionaryfounder

of the Zionist movement in the early 20thcenturythatlaidthefoundationoftheJewishstateofIsrael.Herzlwasnon-religious.ButheunderstoodthatJudaismwasaninseparableaspect of Jewish personal and public exis-tence.Jewishhistoryislargelylinkedtoitsre-ligion.That’swhyHerzlalwaysrespectedre-ligion.ThefirstZionistCongress,heldatBaselin France in 1903 under Herzl’s leadership,had a special announcement on the invita-tion— “Yesh Achsanya Kshera” —meaning,“there is a Kosher restaurant in Basel”.“Sabbath lives in the hearts of the people”,Herzl declared at the Congress and rejectedthe British offer for a Jewish homeland inKenya,invokingaPsalmfromtheJewishBookof Psalms: “If I forget thee, O Jerusalem! Letmyrighthandforget itscunning.”All religions have sacredness attached to

spaces andplaces. The Romanian scholar ofreligion at theUniversity of Chicago,MirceaEliade, had coined the term “hierophany”,meaning the sacredness attached to placesbrushedbyGod’spresence. For the Jews, theWailingWallinJerusalem,believedtobelongto the temple built by Solomon in 10th cen-turyBCEissacred,whileitisJerusalemfortheChristians,becauseofitsassociationwithJesus—fromchildhooduntilaftertheresurrection.ForMuslims,Meccaissacredasthebirthplaceof theProphet.EventheGreekstillattachsa-crednesstoclassicalGreeksitesliketheshrineofApolloatDelphior the templeatEphesus,theancientGreekcity,nowinTurkey.InthehistoryofSemiticreligions,thereare

manyinstancesofsacredplacesbeingdefiledandrestored.WhetheritwasduringtheearlyBabylonianconquestsoftheGreekcitiesortheRomanconquests of the Jewish lands, or themedieval religious wars between theChristians and the Muslims, called theCrusades— the sacredplaces have all alongbeenatargetof thevictors.As thefortunesofthecrusadingpartieschanged,sodidthefor-

tunesofthosesites.Mosquesbecamechurchesand cathedrals turned intomosques. Some,like theHagia Sophia cathedral in Istanbul,which has been turned into a functioningmosquerecently,standtestimonytothesecon-questsof thesacredtothisday.Non-SemiticlandslikeIndiatooweresub-

jectedtoinvasionsofscaredspacesduringthemedievalconquests.Countless templesweredestroyed and converted. But hierophany inIndiaisnotaboutjustthephysicalspacesasso-ciatedwith thedivinepersona—theyare fartoomany—butabout thevaluesandmoralstheyrepresent.PlaceslikeAyodhyarepresenta universal sentiment of sacredness, notmerely becauseof their associationwith theepicRamayanaanditsheroRam,butalsobe-causeofavaluesystemthattheyrepresented.Therestorationof thetempleatAyodhya

mustbeseeninthecontextofthissacrednessof a value system that is at the core of thiscountry. Ramand theRamayana are hugelypopular across Asia. Robert Goldman, theSanskrit professor from the University ofCalifornia, observes that “Fewworksof liter-atureproducedinanyplaceatanytimehavebeenaspopular,influential,imitatedandsuc-cessfulas thegreatandancientSanskrit epicpoem,theValmikiRamayana.”Ramisagodtomany.ButthesageValmiki

presents himboth as an avatar of Vishnu aswellasanidealhumanbeing.“Whoisthemostaccomplishedman on earth at the presenttime?”,heasksNarad,explainingtheword“ac-complished”as“onewhoknowsthesecretofreligion, onewhoknowsgratitude, truthful,onewho is ready to sacrifice his self-interestevenwhenindistresstofulfilareligiousvow,virtuousinhisconduct,eagertosafeguardtheinterestsofall,strong,pleasinginappearancewith power of self-control, able to subdueanger,illustrious,withnojealousyforthepros-

perityofothers,andinwarabletostriketerrorintheheartsofGods.”Narad’sreplywas“Ram,thesonofDashradh”.Valmiki goes on to describe Ram as

“Vigrahavan Dharma” and “MaryadaPurushottam”—theepitomeofDharmaandmorals.ForGandhi,Ramwastruthfulness.HisRamRajyameant“peoplefirst”.Rambecamegreat notwhenhewas ruling, butwhenhewasstruggling.Power, forhim,wasanobjectofworship.TwophrasesValmikiused tode-scribe Ram’s rule were — “RaamoRaajyamupaasitva” (Ramworshipped hiskingdom); and “AaraadhanaayaLokasya”(worshipof thepeople).Ayodhya is sacrednotonly forHindus.At

least five of the Jain Tirthankaras came fromAyodhya. The city of Saket in Buddhism isAyodhyaonly,whereBuddhawasbelievedtohavelivedforseveralyears.Sikhism’sconnec-tion with Ayodhya is much deeper. GuruGranthSahebvividlydescribesBabur’s inva-sionsandiconoclasm.ThetenthguruofSikhs,GuruGobindSinghledanarmytoAyodhyatosupport BabaVaishnavdaswhowas fightingto reclaim theRam Janmabhoomi from theMughals.SantKabir,whoneverbelievedinidolworship, declared “Raambina nahi tham”—thereisnoplacewithoutRam.That’swhyRamManoharLohia,therenownedSocialistleader,calledRamthegreatestunifier.ThePrimeMinisterwillbelayingthefoun-

dationofthosegreatvalues,hiddeninthefab-ulous tale of Ayodhya that has formillenniabeen “treasured as the commonproperty ofevery Hindu — as well as that of manyMuslims, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, andChristians”, as historianWilliamDalrympleputsit.

Thewriterisnationalgeneralsecretary,BJP,anddirector, IndiaFoundation

UNFAIR TO BEIJING

THIS REFERS TO the editorial, “OneCountry, One System” (IE, August 3). ItunfairlycommentsonChina’s internalaffairs and sends wrongmessages tothe public. The Hong Kong NationalSecurity Lawwill not change theprin-ciple of "One Country, Two Systems",HongKong’s capitalist systemand thehigh degree of autonomy it enjoys. Ittargetsafewcriminalsbutprotectsthemajorityofpeople,ensuresstabilityandimprovesthebusinessenvironment.It'snecessary topostponeelections toen-sure the health and safety of HongKong’s people and ensure that theprocess is fair. China never engaged inaggression or expansion. It's absurd tolinkHongKong’saffairstothisground-lessaccusation. There shouldbeno in-terferenceintoChina'sdomesticaffairs.

JiRong,Spokesperson,ChineseEmbassy in India

POLITICAL AGENDATHISREFERSTO thearticle, “August5”(IE,August4). Isitmerecoincidence,orawell thought out politicalmove, thatthebhoomipujaninAyodhyawillbeontheday thatmarks one year of the de-cisiontochangetheconstitutionalsta-tusof J&K?AyodhyaandKashmirhavelongbeenanimportantpartof therul-ingBJP’scorepoliticalagenda.Keepingaside themerits of each case, it is veryobviousthatthepartywilltrytoshow-caseboth the constructionof the tem-pleandthefirstanniversaryofabrogat-ingarticle370completelyasapolitical

triumph.Butit is importanttoremem-ber that theseeventshavebeenpoliti-cally contentious.

SanjayChopra,Mohali

JOBS AND STUDIESTHISREFERSTOthearticle, ‘Lipserviceto the Bhasha’ (IE, August 4). The NEPtalksof the“ThreeLanguagePolicy”ac-cording towhich schools have the op-tion of teaching any of the three lan-guagesselectedbyastategovernment.The compulsion of learning in Englishhas been scrapped. Many privateschoolswillcontinuetocarryonteach-ing in English as they are aware of itsglobal importance. At the same time,acquisition of vocational trainingwillhelp students take the lead in the raceforemployment.

AyushiSingh,Agra

LETTERS TO THEEDITOR

AYEARAGO,onAugust5,theIndiangovern-mentabrogatedtheconstitutionalprovisionsguaranteeingautonomytoJammuandKash-mir. The NarendraModi government con-tended that Article 370 impeded develop-ment, engendered corruption, and fannedterrorism. Ending autonomy for J&Kwouldfree its people. That seemed to be the argu-ment,mostlyforinternationalconsumption.Thesubstantive realitywasabout theasser-tionofHindutvapolitics.J&Kwas slicedapart. Grief descendedon

Kashmir and someotherparts of J&K.AsBJPsupporters andothers celebrated across thecountry,secularIndia’sonlyMuslimmajoritystatewasnomore.Kashmirisfelthumiliated.Asthousands,includingtheentiremainstreampoliticalleadership,weredetained,aheavyse-curity clampdownsnuffedoutanychanceoflarge scale protests. Aswith somany otherModi government initiatives, this toowas a“masterstroke”.ThesilenceofKashmiriswassoldasacceptance.The government imposed a harsh lock-

downandblocked all communications. Forsevenmonths,peopleinJ&Khadnoaccesstotheinternet.Thisbecamethelongestinternetshutdown in a democracy.Months beforeCOVID-19becametheworld’scollectivenight-mare, Kashmir’s schools and colleges re-mainedshut.Basichealthservicessuffereddis-ruptions. The economy was a scene ofdestitutionasbusinessactivitygroundedtoahalt.Thepoorestwageworkersekedoutaliv-ingwithassistancefrommercifulneighbours.ForKashmiris,therewasnorecourse.Most

parties inParliamentdelightedinthenation-alisticproject.Eventhosewhoportraythem-selvesaschampionsof states’ rights, justifiedtheunilateraldismembermentofastate.Thevotaries of cooperative federalism couldn’tcontaintheirgleeassupportswelledfortheirdestructionofconstitutionalfederalism.The Supreme Court refused to stay the

government’sconstitutionalsleightofhand.It sat on habeas corpus petitions related topoliticians, business leaders, lawyers andjournalists.Asthisnewspapernotedinare-cent editorial (IE, August 1, 2020, “BarbedWire”),“Incaseaftercaseinvolvingcitizens’fundamentallibertiesandallegedtransgres-sionsbythestate,thecourtsseemtogivethegovernment thebenefitof thedoubt.”Whodoesone turn to?Ayearlater,thefogofperceptionmanage-

mentislifting.SomeofushadwarnedthattheRSSand theBJPwereelevating theirpoliticalinterestabovethenationalinterest.PerhapsitisbecausetheirideaofnationhoodisnotwhatGandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and the otherfoundershadinmind.TheSanghParivarwantsadifferentnation.RepressingKashmiriidentityisfuelforthatproject.Thegovernment concocteda falsenarra-

tiveofArticle370beinganti-development.Onavarietyof development indicators, J&Kwasaheadofmanyotherstates.Thepovertyhead-countwaswell below thenational average.J&K’shumandevelopmentwasabovethena-tional average. Even the terrorismnarrativewas baseless. Article 370 had existed fordecadeswithoutanyterrorisminKashmir.

Over the last year, the PrimeMinister’spromise of development lies in tatters. TheKashmirChamberofCommerceandIndustry(KCCI),inarecentreport,puteconomiclossesin the Kashmir Valley in the past year at Rs40,000 crore. That is about a 50per cent de-clineinKashmir’seconomicoutput(basedon2018-19 state GDP). Can you imaginewhatwouldhappenif India’seconomydeclinesby50percentinayear?For all the talk of ending terrorism, the

numberstellatalenotsignificantlydifferentfromthepreviousyears.DatafromtheSouthAsiaTerrorismPortalwillprovethat. Imagesof an inconsolable three-year old on top ofhisgrandfather’s lifelessbodyshreddedthegovernment’s propaganda. Even so, NewDelhi continues to use an extremely heavyhand in Kashmir. The localmedia is intimi-dated, dissenting voices are silenced, andgovernance, if you can call it that, is out-sourced to an unaccountable security andbureaucraticestablishment.AnewdomicilelawinJ&Kiscreatinganx-

ietiesinKashmiraswellasinJammu.Ladakhisareworriedtoo.Fearsthatthegovernment isworking to change J&K’sMuslimmajoritycharacterarejustified.Initsvisiondocument,the RSS says that, “The state of Jammu &Kashmir,with its oppressiveMuslim-major-itycharacter,hasbeenaheadacheforourcoun-try ever since independence.” Hundreds ofthousandsof newdomicile certificates havealreadybeenissued.Perhaps,theRSSandBJPare in thrall of theChineseCommunistParty.InsteadoflearningfromtheChineseeconomic

model, theModi government is copying theXinjiangmodel.However,KashmirisnotXinjiang.Ithasits

ownuniquehistory andgeopolitical charac-ter.ThecomplicationsofJ&KandLadakhwerelaid bare byChina’s recent intrusions acrossthe Line of Actual Control. SinceAugust lastyear, India’s global image as a pluralisticdemocracyhas takenabeating. Kashmir is abigreasonforthat.Kashmirisinthegripofanundeclared emergency. But this anti-demo-craticvirusisspreadingtotherestofthecoun-try.TheGujaratmodelmayhavebeenamyth,buttheKashmirmodelisarealityanditiscom-ingyourway.For now, Kashmiris feel besieged. Anger

and alienation are bottled up inside. Thosewho seek genuine integration betweenKashmirandtherestofthecountrymustun-derstand that abusive relationships do notleadtolove.AsfarastheRSSandBJParecon-cerned, theirgoal isnot integrationbutcon-trolthroughthemarginalisationofKashmiris.In the short-term, they may succeed.Mainstreampoliticiansaremorediscreditedthanever. Evenorganised separatist politicsis on thewane. However, a new separatismis emerging. It is a separatism of the heartsandminds,especiallyintheyoungKashmiris.Itisthefuturewemustthinkofevenassomeclaimpyrrhicvictories today.

SaifuddinSozisaformerUnionministerandSalmanSozisdeputychairmanoftheAll

IndiaProfessionals’Congress.Viewsarepersonal

Gujaratmodelmayhavebeenamyth,butKashmirmodeliscomingyourway

The heavy hand in KashmirSaifuddin Soz and Salman Soz

IDEASONLINE

ONLY IN THE EXPRESS

●●THEEXILE ISOVER:

AKHILESHMISHRA

●●HISTORYWILLJUDGE:

MRSHAMSHAD

www.indianexpress.com

RamMadhav

SyedaHameed

CR Sasikumar

Ayodhyarepresentsasharedsentimentof sacredness,notmerelybecauseof itsassociationwithRam,butalsobecauseof thevaluesystemit represents

Great unifier,universal hero

New Delhi

ANURADHAMASCARENHASPUNE,AUGUST4

THERE HAS been a drop of 3.4lakh tuberculosis (TB) cases re-ported from January to June thisyearasagainstthesameperiodin2019.Expertsattributethedeclineto the inability of TB patients toavail health services during thelockdownmonths and cautionthatTBcontrolprogrammesmustpreparethemselvesformajordif-ficulties aheadas a consequenceof theCovid-19pandemic.Asagainstatotalof12.50lakh

TBcasesthatwerenotifiedtotheNational TB EliminationProgrammefromJanuarytillJunein2019,thisyear,fromJanuarytillJune, a total of 9.15 lakhTBcaseswere notified. “TB notificationrateshavefallenacrossthecoun-try,”DrKS Sachdeva, deputydi-rectorgeneralandheadofCentralTB Division, UnionMinistry ofHealth and FamilyWelfare, toldTheIndianExpress.While each state has varying

TBburdens, almost all sawadipin notifications from theprivateand government sector. For in-stance,Gujaratreported82,817TBcasenotificationsfromJanuarytoJune in2019. In the sameperiodthisyear,thenumberofTBnotifi-cationswas64,141.Maharashtrareported1,15,082TB casenotifi-cations from January to June in2019 but this year, the figuredippedto78,454TBnotifications.According to Central TB

Divisiondata,therewereatotalof52,766TBnotificationsinAndhraPradesh from January till June in2019.Thisfellto33,781duringthesameperiodthisyear.TamilNadureported58,522TBcasenotifica-tions from January till June lastyear,whichdippedto37,456thisyear.Therewere2,50,843TBcase

notificationslastyearfromJanuary toJune in UP,which camedown to1,74,543 thisyear.

Dr Sachdeva said it was tooearlytogeneraliseastohowmanypersonswith TBmayhavebeenmissedduringlockdownmonths.“Updateddataisawaited.Due

to the impact of the pandemicemergency and larger externalenvironmentalfactors,weantici-pate a reduction, but itmay beprematuretoassessthequantumof decline in TB case findings.However, thenotification/regis-tration is likely to improve in thesubsequentmonthsoncethesit-uationnormalises,”Dr SachdevatoldTheIndianExpress.In2019,theCentralTBdivision

couldreach24lakhTBpatients,asagainst an estimated26.90 lakhpatientsinthecountry.Accordingtoofficials,missingcaseshavere-duced from10 lakh (2017) to2.9lakh lastyear.Missingcasesrefertothedifferencebetweenthees-timatedcasesandthenumberre-ported to theTBprogramme,as-suming an incidence of 199cases/one lakh population asstatedintheIndiaTBreport2020.According to a report in the

Indian Journalof Tuberculosis, inIndia,weekly counts of reportedcases droppedby75per cent inthethreeweeksfollowingthefirstlockdown, compared to anaver-ageof45,875weeklycasesduringthepreviousweeksof2020.DrZarirUdwadia, consultant

pulmonologist at P D HindujaHospital andMedical ResearchCentre,Mumbai,andotherexpertspublishedanewreport,‘‘Covid-19-Tuberculosisinteractions:Whendarkforcescollide’,intheJulyedi-tion of the Indian Journal ofTuberculosis.Itsaidthetworespi-ratory epidemics – Covid 19causedby thenovel SARSCoV-2virusandTB,areboundtocollideandimpactoneanotheradversely.“Theimpactofanovelviralin-

fection, SARS-CoV-2, on an an-cientbacterialdisease,tuberculo-sis, is likely tobedevastating,”DrUdwadia said. “TB is a challengefor the entire health system,”DrSachdevaadmittedandsaidtheyhave takenup several proactivemeasureswiththeonsetofCovid.

FULLREPORTONwww.indianexpress.com

EXPRESSNETWORK10 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHEINDIANEXPRESS,WEDNESDAY,AUGUST5,2020

''IMPORTANT''Whilst care is taken prior toacceptance of advertisingcopy, it isnotpossible toverifyits contents. The IndianExpress (P) Limited cannot beheld responsible for suchcontents, nor for any loss ordamage incurredasaresultoftransactions with companies,associations or individualsadvertising in its newspapersor Publications. We thereforerecommend that readersmake necessary inquiriesbefore sending any monies orentering into any agreementswith advertisers or otherwiseacting on an advertisement inany manner whatsoever.

II ,ShibaNarayanSahoo,S/oSanatanSahoo,R/o564,AkshardhamApartments,Sector 19,Pocket3,Dwarka,NewDelhi-110075herebydeclare that in theSchool records,CBSE records&Aadhar ofmydaughterAditiSahoo,mynamehasbeenwronglywrittenasShivNarayanSahoo.My real nameis ShibaNarayanSahoo.

0070710402-1

II Arti BafnaW/O-RahulMahendraBafnaR/O-B-401,IreoVictory-ValleyGolfCourse-Extn.Road, Sector-67,GurgaonHaryana-122101,HaveChangedmyName toArti Rahul Bafna.

0040543846-6

II,,YYooggeesshh kumar S/oArjun kumarthakurR/o-118-C, Pocket-E,DilshadGarden, Delhi-110095,have toChangedmyNamefromYogeshkumar toYogeshthakur for all futurepurposes

0040543793-2

II,, VinodKrishnanLalithambikas/o-GopalaKrisnanNair R/o-FN-256, Pocket-7,DDA-Flat,Durga-Park,Nasirpur, Delhi-110045.have changedmynametoVinodNair,Permanently.

0040543823-3

II,, Thomson,S/o Late.SohanMasihi,R/o-24-A/1093/1,FIRST-FLOOR,REARSIDEWARD.NO.1St.JOHNSChurchCompound-Mehrauli,NewDelhi-110030.I,have changedmyname,from Thomson toThomsonSohanMasihi,forall,futureproposes.

0040543823-8

II,, Sunil ChauhanS/oSultanSinghChauhanR/o 194,Karehara,MohanNagar,Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh-201007HaveChangedmyName toSunil Dutt Chauhan.

0070710408-1

II,, Shivani SinghR/o 3A/ 40NehruNagarGhaziabadUttarPradesh 201001have changedmyminor daughter’s namefromKaashvi GautamtoShivanyaGautam for allpurposes. 0040543795-1

II,, SeemaGoyalW/oManojGoyalR/o-E-3New-AashiyanaAppatment, Plot-10,Sec-21DFaridabad,Haryana,havechangedmynameSeemaGupta,for all purposes.

0040543846-5

II,, RudraNarayan,S/o Salik RamR/o-757/1/16, prithvi Raj-Marg,F-BLOCK,Gali-no-2,RAJ-Nagar-II,NewDelhi-11007,HAVEchangedmyname toRudraNarayanAgrahari,FORall,FUTUREpurposes.

0040543823-7

II,, RahulMahendraBafnaR/O-B-401,IreoVictory-ValleyGolfCourse-Extn.Road,Sector-67,Gurgaon,Haryana-122101,HaveChangedmyMinorChildNameVivaanBafna toVivaanRahulBafna. 0040543846-7

II,, Parmjeet Singh s/oSantokhSingh r/oPlot no.-23, ChandNagar, TilakNagar, NewDelhi-110018havechangedmyminorson’s name fromHritik Pal toREETDAMANSINGH.

0040543805-1

II,, Nikhil S/O-Hari KumarR/O-WZ-83,First Floor,OmViharPhase-1,UttamNagarNew-Delhi-110059.HaveChangedMyNameToNikhil Hari Kumar.

0040543823-4

II,, Neetuw/oMakhanSingh r/oHouseno.-401, ChandNagar,Delhi-110018 have changedmyname toNAVNEETKAUR.

0040543803-1

II,, Navpreet Singh,S/oDaljeetSinghBhinder R/o-F-52,camero-complex subroto-park,NewDelhi-110010,havechangedmyname,fromNavpreet Singh toNavpreetSinghBhinder,forAll purpose.

0040543823-5

II,,MukeshMittal s/oRameshwarDass r/o 47A,MadanPark, EastPunjabi Bagh, NewDelhi-110026havechangedmynametoMUKESHKUMARpermanently. 0040543807-1

II,, SapnaKumarW/oAnirudhAryaR/oD-1, HauzKhas, Delhi-110016, have changedmynametoSapnaArya 0070710399-1

II,,MohanLal SharmaS/oSh.Jagat RamSharma R/o 287/3,RailwayColony, Shakur Basti,Delhi-110034 have changedmyname fromMohanLal S/oJagat ram toMohanLalSharmaS/o JagatRamSharmafor all futurepurposes.

0040543822-1

II,, Khyali RamMeenaS/oSh.SukhdevMeenaR/o 27/4,RailwayColonyDelhiKishanganj, Delhi-110007havechangedmyname fromKhayali RamMeena toKhyaliRammeena for all futurepurposes. 0040543821-1

II,, KAMALKISHORE,S/OOMPRAKASHSHARMA,H.NO.320/3,MASJIDMOTH,GAUTAM-NAGAR,ANDREWS-GANJ, NEWDELHI-110049,changedmyname toKAMALKISHORESHARMA,permanently.

0040543846-3

II,, KamalMalra s/o lateMangalSinghMalra r/o 2765, Gali No.-4,BaljeetNagar, NewDelhi-110008have changedmynametoKAMALSINGHMALRApermanently.

0040543808-1

II,, Gurpreet KaurD/o LateNirmolak SinghR/o 1b, SujanSinghPark,Model Town,Sonipat, Haryana -131001inform that nameofmy fatherhasbeenwronglywritten ineducational document asSardarNirmolak Singh insteadofNirmolak Singh

0040543794-1

II,, DeepikaW/oOmanshuSharmaR/o 617, SF-2, NitiKhand-2, Indirapuram,GhaziabadUP-201014, havechangedmyname toDeepikaSharma for all futurepurposes.

0040543818-1

II,, GROUSHARANSINGHS/OKASHMIRASINGH,HNO.24,ABCHALNAGAR,NILOTHI EXTENSION,NANGLOI,DELHI-110041. CHANGEDMYNAMETOGURUSHARANSINGH.

0040543846-1

II,, Chander Shaker s/oVishwaNathR/o-D-73A, First-Floor,Panadav-Nagar, Delhi-110092.have changedmynametoChander ShekharSharma,Permanently.

0040543846-4

II,, Anuj SharmaS/oGhanshyamSharmaR/oD-565, NearCentralSchool TagoreGardenExtension, TagoreGarden,Rajouri Garden, Delhi-110027,have changedmyname toAnuuj Sharrma

0070710397-1

II,, AnkushVohraS/o Jatinder PalVohraR/o J-1244, PalamVihar,Gurgaon,Haryana-122017,have changedmyminordaughter’s name fromSaanjVohraaged 8years toKhusheeAVohra 0070710392-1

II,, Anjuli Bahugunaw/o shri AnkitSinghR/O-Houseno.55,Sector-4,ChiranjeevViharGhaziabad(u.p.)201002, havechangedmyname toANJULISINGH. 0040543823-9

II,, AmanKumar S/oAnirudhAryaR/oD-1, HauzKhas, Delhi-110016, have changedmynametoAmanArya 0070710400-1

II,, AkshayKumar S/oAnirudhAryaR/oD-1, HauzKhas, Delhi-110016, have changedmynametoAkshayArya

0070710403-1

II,, AjayKumarMittal S/oNarenderKumarMittal R/o26/18, Block-26, Shakti Nagar,Delhi-110007 changedmyname toAjayMittal

0070710406-1

II,, ANKIT TANWAR S/o BIJENDERTANWARH.NO-225, VILLAGE-ANKHIRSECTOR-21DFARIDABADHARYANA-121001have changedmyname toANKIT. 0040543823-6

II Tarun LaxmichandBadlani,S/OLaxmichandKevalramBadlaniResident-E-1903,M2KVictoriaGardens, AzadpurDelhi-110033, have changedmynametoTarun LakhmichandBadlani.

0040543823-2

II Surjit SinghS/O, Jagbir SinghR/oH. no. 602, vpoKiloi Khas,District Rohtak, Haryanahavechangedmyname toSurjitHooda for all futurepurposes.

0040543813-1

II SantoshW/O, Surjit HoodaR/oH.No. 602, VpoKiloi KhasDistrict RohtakHaryanahavechangedmyname toSantoshDevi for all purposes.

0040543815-1

II RizwanAhmadKhanS/O,Mr.AbrarAhmedKhanR/o F-17/1,FlatNo.-502, NoorApartment,JogaBai Extension, JamiaNagar, Okhla, NewDelhi-110025have changedmynametoRizwanAhmedKhan

0040543796-1

II Ravi Arthi is legallywife ofNo.15425170PSep (ChefMess)Ravi S presently residingatNadupattuVillage,VinnamgalamPost, Arni Teh.,Tiruvannamalai District,Tamilnadu- 632316 havechangedmyname toArthi R forall futurepurposes.

0040543816-1

II RakeshKumar Fulwaria S/ORamLal R/O-F-397,MadipurColonyPaschimviharDelhi-110063. changedmynametoRakeshKumar.

0040543823-1

II PriyankaBhartiW/OSharishKumar,R/OH.NO-705-A/1-C,Ward.No-3,Mehrauli, New-Delhi-110030. HaveChangedmyName toDR. PriyankaBharti. 0040543846-2

IIMeenukumarW/oSujeetKumaarR/o-Flat.No1503,Tower-02, Aims-Golf Avenue-II,Sector-75Noida-201901, haveChangedmyName toMinooSinha for all purposes

0040543793-1

IItt is notified for the informationthatmyoriginal qualifyingexamination certificate ofSecondary School Examinationof year 2011-2013 and roll no.8150117 issuedbyCBSEhasbeen lost. KartikGuptaR/oH-19/165, Sector-7, Rohini, NewDelhi-110085

0050167239-1

IITT,,iiss notified for the informationthatmy,OriginalQualifyingExaminationMarksheetCertificate of,Class-10th, Year-2018, Roll.No.8239654 issuedby,CBSEhasbeen-actually lost.AkarshNagpal s/oVipinNagpal R/o-F-371, SaritaVihar,N.D. 0040543817-1

PPEERRSSOONNAALLLLOOSSTT&&FFOOUUNNDD

Classifieds

PUBLIC NOTICEMy client Davinder Pal Singh Bedi(D.P.S. Bedi) S/o Late Shri. BabaCharan Singh Bedi R/o 11-BPocket C Phase 3 Ashok ViharDelhi- 110052, Declare That LateKailash Kaur and Late KailashBedi D/o Late Shri Baba CharanSingh Bedi, R/o 11-B Pocket CPhase 3 Ashok Vihar Delhi-110052 are the name of one andsame person and both are hissister’s name.

Sd/- URVASHI SHARMAADVOCATE

ENROLMENT NO. UP193/17OFFICE:- CHAMBER NO B-85,

B.G.S BLOCK, TIS HAZARICOURT, DELHI 110054.

PUBLIC NOTICEMy client S. Amar Singh Kataria. son ofLate Sh. Sukha Singh Kataria. residentof House No. A-6/53, Paschim Vihar,New Delhi-110063 have severed his allrelations and disowned his elder sonHarpreet Singh and his family membersfrom all his movable and immovableproperties due to his misconduct,harassment and torture.Any person(s) deals with him and hisfamily members shall do so at his ownrisk and responsibility.

Sd/-(UMESH SHUKLA)

ADVOCATEY-9, LAWYERS CHAMBER,

EASTERN WING, TIS HAZARI,DELHI-110054

PUBLIC NOTICEPublic at large in hereby informed that IKanhia Lal S/O Late Sh. Chhotu Ram.R/O E-599, J.J. Colony, Nangloi,Delhi-110041, have severed all kinds ofrelationship from my son Brij Mohanand his wife Smt. Sapna and debaredthem from my all kinds of movable andimmovable properties. If any persondealing with them shall be doing so athis own risk and costs and I shall not beresponsible for any act or deedcommitted by them.

Sd/-ASHISH KUMAR

AdvocateEnrl. No. D/4012/2018

CH. 109, PATIALA HOUSE COURTSNEW DLEHI-110001

PUNE METROPOLITAN REGIONDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY, PUNE

Short EOI Notice No. 4 for FY 2020-21PMRDA invites short term Emergency Expression ofInterest through offline tendering forProcurement of Medical Equipments for 800 BeddedCovid Hospital (600 Oxygenated beds+ 200 ICU beds)at COEP ground, Shivajinagar, PuneThe Expression of Interest (EOI) document can bedownloaded from the website: www.pmrda.gov.in from 05August 2020 at 15.00 Hrs. onwards.

Last date for offline submission of the proposal is 10August. 2020 upto 11.00 Hrs. Prebid meeting by VC link(https://meet.google.com/prp-shfr-mhm) on 07 August,2020, at 15.00 Hrs.Opening of Technical bid on 10 August 2020 at 12.00 Hrs.Opening of Financial bid on 10 August 2020 at 15.00 Hrs.Detail information and Changes if any shall be available onwww.pmrda.gov.in

(Sd/-) Vivek Kharwadkar, Chief EngineerPune Metropolitan Region Development, Authority, Pune

DIPR/ARN-10799-10801

MUNICIPAL CORPORATION BATHINDA, LOCAL GOVT. PUNJAB, DEPTT, PUNJAB

NOTICE INVITING E-TENDERS Tender Noticeeproc.punjab.gov.in E-Tender No. MCB/2020-21/013

No. 1165/ Dated 03.08.20The Corporation Engineer, Municipal Corporation, Bathinda invites item rate e-tenders on double bid system, for the following works:-

Date and Time Schedule, Sr. No. 1

Note:- For Detailed scope and Terms and condition Please visit our official website www.eproc.punjab.gov.in Agencies may con-tact PIDB Help Desk Mobile No. 0172-2970263, 0172-2970284. In case of any difficulties in participating or Agencies may seeall the terms and condition in the O/o Municipal Corporation, Bathinda during all working days and working hours.No corrigendum shall be sent in newspapers. The corrigendum will be available only on website www.eproc.punjab.gov.in

Sd/-Corporation Engineer,

Municipal Corporation, Bathinda59466/Pb

Sr. Name of Work Estimate Earnest Tender TimeNo. Amount money for Fees Period

(in lacs) contractor

1 33.05 66100/- 1000/- 3 Months

A List of Works for Suppliers And Manufactures

Last date & time of online sale/ Opening of Technical Bid Opening of Financialsubmission of Bidding Document Documents Bidding Documents

24.08.2020 11.00 AM 24.08.2020 12.30 PM 25.08.2020 15.00 PM

Supply, Installation, Testing and commissioning of Gas based Human BodyCrematorium at Bathinda with E.T.P. including Civil Work, Carriage,loading/unloading and training etc.

GIST of e-TenderNIT No: MHCHD/TS/2020-21/45/e-tendering

Dated:-31.07.2020For and on behalf of the Lt. Governor of Jammu and Kashmir state, e-tenders, valid for 180 days, areinvited from the Original equipment manufacturers of Lifts or their authorized dealers/ representativesor Registered/ reputed and experienced firms for the following works-

Government of Jammu & KashmirOFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE ENGINEER MECHANICAL HOSPITAL AND

CENTRAL HEATING DIVISION SRINAGAR

Telefax:- 0194-2496089, Email ID:- xenmhchdk@yahoo.in

1. Downloading of Bids:- The NIT Consisting of qualifying information, eligibility criteria, spec-ifications, Bill of quantities (B.O.Q), Set of terms and conditions of contract and other detailscan be seen from the departmental website www.jktenders.gov.in from 03.08.2020 (18.00hrs) and can be downloaded from 03.08.2020 (18.00 hrs).

2. Uploading: The bidders shall deposit their bids in electronic format on the above web sitefrom 04.08.2020 (10.00 hrs) to 21.08.2020 (15:00hrs ) in two (02) covers.

3. Opening of Bids:- The bids received upto due date and time shall be opened on 22.08.2020at 14.00 hrs or any date convenient to the department in the office of ExecutiveEngineer, MHCHD, Srinagar.

Sd/-Executive Engineer,

MHCHD, Srinagar

Name of Work Est. Cost of Earnest Time of Position ofCost T/Doc. Money Comp- AAA/ Funds

(Rs. In (in (Lacs of letionLacs) rupees) Rs) (in months)

1 2 3 4 5 6

87.00 2000 1.74 2 monthsDesign, Supply, Installation, Testing andCommissioning 04 No. 06 Passenger Liftsat Commercial Shopping Complex, SRTCyard, Anantnag.

No: MHCHD /TS /1992-2002Dt:-31.07.2020DIPK-3754

Available ascommunicated by

intendingDepartment

II AKASHDEEPS/OANILKAUSHAL, R/o-B-206, VIVEK-VIHAR, DELHI-110095havechangedmyname toAKASHDEEPP, permanently.

0040543823-10

In first six monthsof this year, TBnotification dropsby 3.4 lakh cases

New Delhi

CORONAVIRUSDASHBOARD

1,855,745India

314,786Iran

443,813Mexico

327,609Colombia

362,962Chile

516,862South Africa

4,732,418US

2,750,318Brazil

433,100Peru

TOTAL CONFIRMED: 18,340,451 DEATHCOUNT:695,318

Source: JohnsHopkinsUniversity,updatedat11pmonAugust4. JHU’sIndiatallyandHealthMinistry’stally(below)maynotmatchiftheseareaccountedatdifferenttimes.

THEWORLD859,762Russia

TOP 10STATES

INDIA COUNT: 18,55,745 (38,938 DEATHS)

4,50,196Maharashtra

2,63,222Tamil Nadu

59,328Bihar

97,362 UP1,38,482Delhi

64,585Gujarat

78,232West Bengal

1,66,586Andhra Pradesh

68,946Telangana

Have a question on the COVID-19 outbreak andwhat you should/should not do?

Write to explained@indianexpress.com

1,39,571Karnataka

UnionHealthMinistryupdateasof11pm,August4.Somestatesmayhavereportedhighernumbers.Onlystates/UTswithatleastonecaselistedabove.12,30,509 PATIENTSDISCHARGEDIN35STATESANDUNIONTERRITORIES

RESTOFINDIAAndamanandNicobarIslands 830ArunachalPradesh 1758Assam 45,275Chandigarh 1159Chhattisgarh 9779Dadra&NH/Daman&Diu 1274Goa 6816Haryana 37,173HimachalPradesh 2818JammuandKashmir 22,006Jharkhand 13,478Kerala 26,873Ladakh 1485MadhyaPradesh 34,285Manipur 2920Meghalaya 902Mizoram 501Nagaland 2129Odisha 36,297Puducherry 3982Punjab 18,527Rajasthan 44,975Sikkim 688Tripura 5505Uttarakhand 7800

PLASTICFROMusedper-sonal protective equip-ment(PPE)canbetrans-formed into renewableliquidfuels,accordingtoa new study in the jour-nalBiofuels,publishedbythe Taylor & FrancisGroup. The research de-scribesastrategyforcon-verting billions of itemsof disposable PPE fromits plastic state into bio-fuels.Thetransformationintobiocrude,atypeofsyntheticfuel,willnot justprevent thesevereafter-

effects to humankindandtheenvironmentbutalso produce a source ofenergy, the researchersfrom The University ofPetroleum and EnergyStudies said.The researchers call

for PPEwaste to be con-verted into fuel usingchemicalaprocesscalledpyrolysis. This breaksdownplasticathightem-perature–between300-

400°Cforanhour–withoutoxygen.Source: Taylor&FrancisGroup

PAPERCLIP

NEWRESEARCH

A method proposed forconverting PPE into biofuels

ACROSSSECTORSandindustries, theCovid-19pandemichas resulted insalarycutsandretrenchments,andthereareconcernsoverthe stability of future incomes both forsalariedandself employed individuals.The fragility of the economy, dwindling

company revenues, and volatility in themarkets,alongwiththelong,uncertainwaitfor a medical solution to Covid-19 haveraisedanxietyamongindividualswhowanttokeep liquidityathandtomeetany futurecontingency.Formany,thebigdilemmaiswhetherto

continue with their monthlymutual fundinvestments.

Shouldyouinvest inthemarkets?Even as the fall inmarkets has opened a

window of opportunity for investors to in-vestdirectlyinshares,onemustbeverycare-ful about which stock to pick. This makesmutual funds the preferredmodewhen itcomes to taking equity exposure. But thequestion that arises is: should you invest inequitiesatall in these times?There can’t be one answer for all, espe-

ciallyatthistime.Whilethosewhohavecer-taintyof incomecannotonlycontinuewiththeir existing investments but also look toincrease them (as the expenditure compo-nentwouldhavecomedown),forothers,thesituation is tricky.With uncertainty all around— from re-

covery in the economy to the sustainabilityof jobsorsalarylevels—therisksassociatedwithequitieshaveonlygoneup.Thefactthatequity investments are meant for at leastthree to five years, means investors shouldpark only that component of their incomeintoequities,whichtheymaynotrequirefor

thenext fiveyears.Oneneeds to takeaverypragmatic call.Aninvestorwhoisunsureaboutthesus-

tainabilityofherjob,andforeseesthepossi-bilityofafurthercutinhersalary,shouldlooktowardsbuilding liquidity for current times—andequityassetsdonot fit thebill.

ShouldyoucontinuewithyourSIPs?Afall inequitymarketsonaccountofany

adverseglobalordomesticevent,amidsttheongoingpandemicmayjustmakeitunfeasi-bleforaninvestortowithdrawfromhereq-uity portfolio, as thatwouldmean bookinglossesoncapital investment.Since these are times to build liquid re-

serves, one advice is for wary investors tomove their SIPs from the equity to the debtcategory.“Since investorsmay be looking to pro-

tect the capital andmaintain liquidity, theycanmovetheirsystematicinvestmentplansfromequities todebt funds.As the idea is tobuildcontingencyprovisions,thebestsuitedwouldbeultrashort-termfundsandlowdu-ration funds.Within that, rather thantrack-ingpastperformance,investorsshouldgoforschemes that have the highest exposure toAAAratedpapers,andhavealowerexpense

ratio,”saidVishalDhawan,founderandCEOof PlanAheadWealthAdvisors.OtherthanstoppingtheirincrementalSIP

inflows,investorscanconsidertwootherop-tions: if theyareconcernedabouttheircashflowsforthenexttwotothreemonths, theycaneithergoforathree-monthpauseoptionwith theirmutual funds, where themoneywon’tbedebitedfromtheiraccountforthreemonths— or, theymay go for the option ofreducingtheticketsizeof theSIP.So,onecanreduce the SIP amount from Rs 10,000 amonth to say, Rs 5,000 amonth, or a lowersustainable amount.While thiswill reducethemonthly outgo, it will also ensure thatyou continue to derive some benefit fromlowernet asset valuesonaccountof the fallinmarkets.

Whatshouldthe less impactedonesdo?Individualswhoarenottooconstrained

on the income front, and who have seentheirdisposable incomesriseonaccountofthe fall inmonthly expenses,may not onlycontinuewiththeirexistingequitySIPs,butmayevenlooktodirecttheiradditionalsav-ings intoequities.An investment in current times may

meanahigheraccumulationof unitsonac-

count of the drop in net asset value of MFunits–andso,ariseinmarketsatalaterdatewouldbringsignificantgains for investors.The priority, however, in current times

should be to build at least sixmonths' con-tingency funds that are sufficient to meetEMI expenses, school fees, and householdexpenses.

Whatshouldyoudowithyourexistingequity investments?Even as your cash flow constraintsmay

forceyoutocloseyourincrementalmonthlyinvestments in equity schemes, onemustavoidliquidatingthoseinvestmentstomeetexpensesorother liabilities.Onemust lookatone’s investmentport-

folio including fixed deposits, gold, tradi-tionalinsuranceinvestmentplans,debtmu-tual fund investments, and investments insmall savings— and it is advisable towith-draw fromone of them rather than pullingoutof equity schemes.Eventhoughtheyhavebouncedbacksig-

nificantly,marketsarestilltradingaround12percentlowerthanthehighstheyhadhit inJanuary 2020 — andmany investors whowould have started their SIPs 2-3 years agomaystill find their capital in thenegative.Forexample, ifaninvestorstartedherSIP

inaschemetracking theBSESensexand in-vestedtowardstheendofeverymonthoverthelasttwoyears,heraveragecostof invest-mentwould be higher than the current re-demption value, and shemay thus incur alossonhercapital investment.It is important to remember that equity

SIPswillworkforyouifinvestmentsaredisci-plinedandredemptionsareplanned.Sobookyourprofitswhenthemarketsareatahigh,orwhenyourfinancialgoalhasbeenachieved.It is fortimeslikethesethatinvestorsare

advisedtohaveadiversifiedportfolioacrossassetclasses—equities, fixeddeposits,gold,debtmutual funds, small savingschemes—andnot put all their eggs in one basket. It isalso important to seek the advice of a certi-fied financial advisor.

NEXT:SHOULDYOUDIP INTOYOUREPFRESERVES?

11WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

GOPALKATESHIYARAJKOT,AUGUST4

AS THE novel coronavirus has forcedIndians to eatmore home-cooked food—eateries haven’t fully reopened, while theban onweddings and social functions re-mains—itisalsoshowingupinthepatternof edibleoil consumption.On the onehand, imports of palmoil—

thepredominantfryingmediumusedbyho-tels,restaurants/dhabas,canteensandcater-ersaswellasnamkeenandmithaimakers—havefallenbyalmost40%year-on-yeardur-ingApril-June.Ontheother,oilsdirectlyusedinhomekitchens—whether soyabeanandsunflower or indigenousmustard, ground-nut,coconutandsesame—havereportednodecline, ifnot increase, inconsumption.

The groundnut rallyOne example of “consumer-facing”, as

opposedto“institution-consumed”,oilsfar-ingwell in lockdown/unlockdown India isgroundnut. According to the UnionAgriculture Ministry, production of thisoilseedin2019-20,at93.47lakhtonnes(lt),wasmore than theprevious year’s 67.27 lt

and the highest since the record 97.14 lt of2013-14. Yet, it is currently trading inRajkot’s wholesale market at Rs 5,300-5,400perquintal,asagainstRs4,900-5,000ayearagoandthegovernment’sminimumsupport price (MSP) of Rs 5,275. The oil isalso fetchingaroundRs130/kg,up fromRs105-110 lastyearat this time.“Groundnutoilpriceshadbeenrallying

sinceearly this year in linewithotherveg-etableoils.Butunlike,say,palmoil, itscon-sumptionandpriceshaveremainedsteadyeven post lockdown. In Gujarat especially,people had to switch entirely to eating athomeandtheychosegroundnutoil,whichis their traditional cookingmedium,” saysSameer Shah, president of the Jamnagar-based Saurashtra Oil Mills Association(SOMA).But it’snot justoil.Anequallysignificantfactorthatiskeep-

ing groundnut prices firm is exports. In2019-20(April-March), Indiaexported6.64ltofgroundnuts–bothkernelsandin-shell—valuedatRs5,096.38crore,comparedto4.89ltworthRs3,298.33crorethepreviousfiscal. These shipments were mainly toIndonesia, Vietnam, Philippines,Malaysia,ThailandandChina.

An interesting fact about groundnut isthat its importance as anoil sourcehasdi-minished vastly in recent times. Till themid-seventies, groundnut accounted forover50%of India’sedibleoil consumption.But today,more than half of the country’sgroundnut kernels are used for table con-

sumption or exported, leaving little for oilextraction.Thatmakesitmoreofadryfruitthananoilseed.BVMehta,executivedirec-torof theSolventExtractors’AssociationofIndia(SEA),estimatesannualgroundnutoilconsumption at 4 lt, which is hardly 2% ofthecountry’sedibleoildemandandbelowevenother indigenous oils such as cotton-seedandricebran (see table).That situation could, however, change

thisyearwithfarmerssubstantiallyexpand-ingtheareasownundergroundnut.Acreageunder the oilseed in the ongoing kharifplanting seasonhas already touched45.45lakhhectares(lh),upfromlastyear’scorre-sponding30.54lh.Thecoverage inGujarat,at 20.38 lh, is an all-time-high,way abovethenormalplantedareaof15.18lhandsur-passingthepreviousbestof19.72lhforthecrop in 2002-03. The other states to haverecorded a surge in plantings so far areAndhraPradesh(from2.43lhto6.78lh)andRajasthan (5.26 lh to7.06 lh). These figuresare likely togofurther inthecomingdays.

Behind the comebackSo,whataccountsforthiscomeback,es-

peciallyinGujaratwherethecropismainlygrownin theSaurashtra region?

Onereason,ofcourse, ispricesexpectedto remain firm, supported by rising homeconsumptionoftheoilpost-Covidandsteadyexport demand for the kernels. SOMA’sSameer Shah is confident that domesticgroundnut oil rateswill not fallway belowthepresent levelsofRs2,000per15-kgtin.Butpricesapart, therearealsothecom-

parative returns vis-à-vis other crops. InSaurashtra, where themajor groundnut-cultivating districts are Rajkot, Junagadh,Jamnagar and Devbhoomi Dwarka, thecompeting crop is basically cotton.Saurashtrafarmersthistimehavesownjust14.87 lh area under cotton, as against the16.50 lh under groundnut. The latter hasclearlygainedat the former’sexpense.Forfarmers,groundnutcanbeharvested

in 90-110 days by October-November,whereasafullcottoncropcyclecantakeupto 180 days over 3-4 pickings. The shorterdurationgivestheflexibilitytoplantwheat,chana(chickpea), jeera(cumin)orcorianderduring the rabiwinter-spring season. Notonlyaregroundnutcultivationcosts lower,their stems are very good fodder for cattleand buffaloes. Yields per hectare, at 10-20quintals,aremoreorlesssimilarbothforka-pas(rawun-ginnedcotton)andgroundnut-

in-shell. Yields of the fibre crop have actu-ally fallen in the last 5-6 years due to re-peatedpinkbollwormattacks.Whathasreallytiltedthebalance,ontop

of the above, is prices. These, in the case ofgroundnut,hitarecordRs6,000/quintalearlythisyear,overtakingtheaverageRs5,000lev-els for kapas. RegularMSP-based procure-ment by government agencies has furtherboosted farmers’ confidence to plant. TheNationalAgriculturalCooperativeMarketingFederationof IndiaorNafedprocured2.16ltoftheoilseedfromGujaratalonein2016-17,whichroseto8.28lt,4.25ltand5ltinthefol-lowingthreecroppingyears.Gujaratis,incidentally,alsothecountry’s

largestcottonproducer.Butprocurementofkapas through the Cotton Corporation ofIndiahasn’tbeenonthescaleofgroundnutpurchasesundertakenbyNafed.If the monsoon remains normal —

Saurashtra,AndhraPradesh,KarnatakaandTamilNaduhavereceivedexcellent rains–andthereisnodamagefrompestsanddis-eases (whitegrub insect, leaf spotandrustfungi,etc),arecordgroundnutcropisintheoffing.Andthat,accordingtoSEApresidentAtul Chaturvedi, could also restore its sta-tusasanoilseedandnot justdry fruit.

Should you continue your SIP?If youcan,yes.Thoseindistresscanconsiderreducingticketsizesortheoptionto ‘pause’.

Tobuildacorpusforcontingencies,makefreshinvestments indebt funds

Sandeep Singh

AASHISHARYANNEWDELHI, AUGUST4

ONMONDAY, US President Donald Trumpsigned an executive order barring federalagencies fromhiringH-1B visa holders andotherforeignworkers inplaceofUScitizensorgreencardholders.

Whoaregivensuchvisas?AccordingtodatafromtheUSDepartment

of Labor,of 65,000newvisaapplicationsap-provedeveryyear,anaverage1,800to2,000,orroughly3%,areH-1Bvisasgrantedtowork-ersemployedbyfederalagencies.To keep costs in check, federal agencies

intheUS—andvariousothercountries—ei-therhire a largenumberof foreignworkersoroutsourcetheirback-enddatabaseupda-tionandother jobs tobusinessprocessout-sourcingfirmsfromaroundtheworld.Suchjobs in developed countries payminimalwages, which are not lucrative enough foremployable individuals in thesecountries.

Howwill theneworder impact Indianworkers intheUS?Apart from workers hired by federal

agencies, the executive order will also im-pactworkers of Indian companies that areon contract with federal agencies. Biggerfederal agencies such as state-run banksgive the contract for supply and mainte-nanceof theirdatabasesandotherservicestobigger Indiancompaniessuchas Infosys,TCS, orWipro.In2019, Infosys setupaUSsubsidiary to

focus onwinning servicing contracts fromhealthcare andother relatedprojects in theUS and Canada. Beyond the US, theAustralian federal government's Services

Australia chose Infosys last November to“transform the entitlement calculation en-gine for thenation’swelfare system”.Calling the new executive order “ based

onmisperceptions,andmisinformation”,in-dustrybodyNasscomsaidthatsuchameas-ure could slowdown the recovery phase oftheUSascountriesstartunlocking. “Theor-der is particularly coming at a timewhenthereisahugeshortageofSTEMskills intheUS thatworkers on short-term non-immi-grant visas like H-1B and L-1 help bridge,”Nasscomsaid inastatement.

Whatdoesthenewordersay?Theexecutiveorderhascalleduponfed-

eral agencies to stop replacing USworkersandgreencardholderswithH-1Bvisahold-ers or other foreign workers. PresidentTrump has also asked the heads of depart-mentsofall suchagenciesunderthefederalgovernment to review the contracts theygaveout inthetwoprevious financialyears,and the performance of such contracts orsubcontracts.Theheadsofdepartmentswillundertake

anauditof thesecontractsandsubcontracts,andcheckwhetherthejobscouldhavebeenperformedbyUSworkers,andwhetherop-

portunities for domesticworkerswere im-pactedbysuchhiring.

What ledtotheorder?Ever since Trump became President in

2016,theUSgovernmenthadstartedmovingtowards a more conservative work visaregime, alleging that Indian and Chinese ITcompanieshadbeensendingworkersatverylowcost,whichhurttheprospectsof skilledworkers in theUS.The immediate trigger for the executive

order was an announcement by federally-owned Tennessee Valley Authority that itwould outsource 20%of its technology jobsto foreigncountries.This action, theWhiteHouse said, could

result in loss of jobs for up to 200 “highly-skilledAmericantechworkersinTennessee”.Itsaidthiscouldalsoleadtopossibleleakingofsensitiveuserdataandtheftof intellectualproperty,whichinturnwouldbedetrimen-tal tonational security.Inhisneworder, seenasanextensionof

an earlier order inwhich the entry of non-immigrant visa workers had been banneduntil the end of 2020, Trump too has saidoutsourcingof jobsshouldbeavoidedasfaraspossible.

What US job curbs mean for Indian H1-B holders

@ieExplained#ExpressExplainedIf there are questions of current or contemporary relevance that youwould likeexplained, pleasewrite to explained@indianexpress.comE EXPLAINED

THEINDIANEXPRESS,WEDNESDAY,AUGUST5,2020

INDIA’S EDIBLE OILCONSUMPTION (LAKH TONNES)Palm 90Soyabean 40Sunflower 25Mustard 25Cottonseed 10RiceBran 9Groundnut 4Coconut 4Total* 225

Imported 150Domestic 75

*Includes sesame, safflower,maizeandtree-borneoils.

HowCovid-19 has helped the groundnut stage a comeback

EXPLAINED YOURMONEY

PresidentTrumpholdsupthesignedexecutiveorder.AP

Month NewSIPs Outstanding SIPContributions Average ticketregistered* no. of SIPs* (In ` crore) size of SIP (inRs)

Mar ’20 8.49 311.97 8,641 2,770April ’20 7.50 314.07 8,376 2,667May ’20 8.08 320.49 8,123 2,535June ’20 9.13 323.48 7,917 2,447*SIP counts in lakh; Source: AMFI

FALLING SIP CONTRIBUTIONS & TICKET SIZE

In thesetimesofuncertainty,whether tocontinuewithmonthlymutual fundinvestments is thebigquestionformany

New Delhi

12THEINDIANEXPRESS,WEDNESDAY,AUGUST5,2020

THEWORLDWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

UNITEDNATIONS

UNstaffersayssackedforreportingabuseAPOLICYadviser firedbythe UN agency fightingAIDS is appealingherdis-missal for misconduct,saying she was actuallysacked for reporting thatshehadbeen sexually as-saulted by a senior col-league, her appeal docu-ments show. MartinaBrostrom, fromSweden,wasfiredforsexualandfi-nancial misconduct inDecember. Her appeal,whichshesaidwassentinApriltotheGlobalBoardofAppealoftheWHO,whichoverseesUNAIDS, hasnotbeen made public butReuters has reviewed it.Then UNAIDS DeputyExecutive Director LuizLouresdeniesheraccusa-tionthathegropedherinahotel elevator in Thailandin 2015 and tried to draghertowardshisroom.

MartinaBrostromwasapolicyadviseratUNAIDS.Reuters

TOPOFTHEWORLD

USA

Indian-originresearcherkilledwhile joggingA 43-YEAR-OLD Indian-originresearcherintheUSwas killedwhile shewasoutjogginginPlano,asub-urbnearDallas,andpolicehave initiated ahomicideinvestigation,accordingtomedia reports. Accordingto the police, SarmisthaSen, who was based inPlano, Texas, was ran-domlyattackedandkilledwhilejoggingonAugust1near the Chisholm TrailPark.Herbodywas foundlyinginthecreek-areanearLegacyDrive by apasser-by, according to a report.According toDallasnews.com,apersonof interest in the casehasbeen arrested on a bur-glarycharge.PTI

SWEDEN

Outcryaftershootingkills12-year-oldTHE SWEDISH govern-ment vowed Tuesday tofind the perpetrators of adrive-by shooting thatkilleda12-year-oldgirl inwhat authorities said ap-pears tobe the latest vio-lence from suburbanfeuds between criminalgangs fighting over terri-tory. “Ifwedon’t stop thenew recruitment ofyoung people into thecriminal circles, harshmeasureswill notmeananything,” Home AffairsMinisterMikaelDambergsaid. He called the girl’sdeath in StockholmCounty“terribly tragic”.

EGILLBJARNSON&MATTHEWLEEREYKJAVIK,AUGUST4

IN ICELAND, a nation so safe itspresident runs errands on a bi-cycle, US Ambassador JefferyRossGunterhasleftlocalsaghastwith his request to hire armedbodyguards.Gunterhasalsoenragedlaw-

makersbycasuallyandground-lessly hitching Iceland toPresident Donald Trump’s con-troversial “Chinavirus” label forthecoronavirus.Not particularly diplomatic?

Well,Gunterishardlyadiplomatbytraining.He’sadermatologist.But he’s also a contributor toTrump’s campaign, and thatlandedhimthepostinReykjavik.Gunter’sactions,andthoseof

other politically connected USambassadors,highlighttherisksthat comewith the peculiarlyAmericaninstitutionofhandingcoveted diplomatic postings tocampaigndonorsandpresiden-tial friendswho have few otherqualifications. The practice hasincreasedunderTrump.“America is an extreme out-

lierinsendinginexperiencedandunqualified ambassadors,” said

BarbaraStephenson,aformerca-reer foreign service officer, am-bassadortoPanamaandex-pres-ident of the American ForeignService Association, the unionthatrepresentsUSdiplomats.

Presidentialpoliticalsupport-erscanmakefinediplomats,andmanyhave. Apersonal relation-shipwith thepresident andun-derstandingofhisagendacanbean advantage. And those clearly

unfit are expected tobeweededoutthroughtheSenateconfirma-tionprocess.Butstill,somearriveintheirembassieslackingtheabil-itytosidestepcontroversy.InBritain,AmbassadorRobert

“Woody” Johnson faces accusa-tionshetriedtosteergolf’sBritishOpen toward a Trump resort inScotlandandmaderacistandsex-istcomments.In theNetherlands lastweek,

AmbassadorPeterHoekstra,afor-mercongressman,postedapho-tograph of himself visiting acemetery for German soldierskilledduringthetwoWorldWars,includingNazi troopswhooccu-

piedthecountry.Otherambassa-dorsarerunningroughshodovertheirmore experiencedbut lessseniordiplomaticstaff.Gunter, the ambassador in

Iceland, has run throughat leastsevendeputies since takingover,although the StateDepartmentsays four of themwere assignedtoReykjavikforonly30-daytours.But what really raised eye-

brows in Iceland was the em-bassy’s ad looking for armedbodyguards.Thatwasstrikinginacountrythatfor13consecutiveyearshasbeendeemedthemostpeaceful country in the world,according to the Global Peace

Index,publishedbytheInstituteforEconomics&Peace.Somepoliticalappointeeshave

beenaccusedofmorethanbeingundiplomatic.InBritain,Johnson’sactionsregardingthegolftourna-ment have raised questions ofwhetherheviolatedfederalethicsrules.Therehavealsobeenallega-tions hemade racist and sexistcomments to which embassystafferstookoffence. Johnsonhasdeniedanymisconduct.In theNetherlands,Hoekstra

previously irritated his hosts byclaiming falsely that therewereno-go zones in the country be-causeofMuslimextremists.AP

TRUMP’S AMBASSADORS RUFFLE FEATHERS ABROAD

Irksome in Iceland, brusque in Britain? US envoys draw ire

YOSHITASINGHUNITEDNATIONS,AUGUST4

THECOVID-19pandemichascre-ated the largestdisruptionof ed-ucationinhistory,affectingnearly1.6billionstudentsinallcountriesandcontinents,withanadditional23.8millionchildrenindangerofdropping out or losing access toschool next year due to thepan-demic’seconomicimpact,theUNSecretaryGeneral’spolicybriefoneducationsaid.“Education is the key toper-

sonaldevelopmentandthefutureof societies. Itunlocksopportuni-tiesandnarrowsinequalities. It isthebedrockof informed,tolerantsocieties, andaprimarydriverofsustainable development. TheCovid-19pandemichasledtothelargest disruption of educationever,” SecretaryGeneralAntonioGuterressaidinavideostatementlaunching his policy brief on‘EducationandCOVID19’ Tuesday.He said that in mid-July,

schoolswereclosedinmorethan160countries,affectingover1bil-lionstudentsandat least40mil-lion children worldwide havemissedoutoneducation intheircriticalpre-schoolyear.PTI

Massive explosion rocks BeirutREUTERS&APBEIRUT,AUGUST4

A MASSIVE explosion rockeddowntown Beirut on Tuesday,flattening much of the port,damaging buildings and blow-ingoutwindowsanddoors as agiant mushroom cloud roseabove thecapital.Themostpowerfulexplosion

to hit Beirut in years shook theground, leaving some residentsthinking an earthquake hadstruck. Dazed and weeping,someof themwounded,peoplewalkedthroughstreetscheckingtosee if relativeswerehurt.The blast occurred in the

city’s port area. Lebanon’s inte-riorministersaidinitialinforma-tion indicated highly explosivematerial, seized years ago, thathadbeenstoredtherehadblownup. Lebanon-based broadcasterMayadeen cited the country’scustoms director saying tonnesof nitrateexploded.Footage of the explosion

shared by residents on socialmediainitiallyshowedacolumnof smoke rising from the portdistrict followed by an enor-mous blast that sent a ball ofwhitesmokeandfireballintothesky. Those filming the incidentfromhighbuildings in other ar-easofthecitywerethrownback-wardsby theshock.Atleast10bodiesweretaken

to hospitals, a security sourceand a medical source toldReuters.TheLebaneseRedCrosssaid hundreds of people weretakentohospitalsfortreatment.

Lebanese President MichelAoun called for an emergencymeeting of the country’sSupreme Defence Council, ac-cording to the presidency’sTwitteraccount.PrimeMinisterHassan Diab called for a day ofmourningonWednesday.Theexplosionoccurredthree

days before a UN-backed courtis due to deliver a verdict in thetrial of four suspects from theShi’ite group Hezbollah over a2005bombingwhichkilledfor-mer prime minister Rafik al-Hariri and21otherpeople.

Itwasnot immediatelyclearwhat caused the blaze that setoff theblast.

Israel denies roleAnIsraeligovernmentofficial

said Israel “had nothing to do”with theblast.Israel and Lebanon’s

Hezbollahmilitantgrouparebit-ter enemies, and tensions havebeen high following a series ofrecent clashes. Earlier Tuesday,Prime Minister BenjaminNetanyahuwarned HezbollahIsraelwouldnothesitatetostrike

again if it felt itwasnecessary.ButlateTuesday,theIsraeliof-

ficial said Israelwasnot involvedin theBeirut explosion.Hespokeon condition of anonymity be-causehewasnotauthorizedtodis-cussthematterwiththemedia.InternalSecurityChiefAbbas

Ibrahim, touring the port area,said hewould not pre-empt in-vestigations.

‘Fireball’The governor of Beirut port

toldSkyNewsthatateamoffire-fightersatthescenehad“disap-

peared”after theexplosion.“Isawafireballandsmokebil-

lowing over Beirut. Peoplewerescreamingandrunning,bleeding.Balconieswere blownoff build-ings.Glass inhigh-risebuildingsshattered and fell to the street,”saidaReuterswitness.Residentssaidglasswasbro-

ken inhouses fromRaouche,ontheMediterranean city’s west-ern tip, to Rabieh 10 km to theeast. For a long time after theblast,ambulancesirenssoundedacross the city and helicoptershoveredabove.

UN chief: Covidcreated largestdisruption ofeducation ever

CITY’SPORTAREAFLATTENED

10deathsreported,hundredstakentohospitals;Lebanonministersaysblastoccurredatsitewhereexplosiveswerestored

YEWLUNTIAN&BRENDAGOHBEIJING,SHANGHAI, AUGUST4

CHINAVOWEDonTuesdaytore-taliate if the United States per-sistedwith“hostileaction”againstChinese journalistswhomaybeforced to leave in comingdays iftheirUSvisasarenotextended.Chinese foreign ministry

spokesmanWangWenbin toldreportersatadailybriefingthatnoChinese journalist in theUnitedStateshadbeengrantedavisaex-tensionsincetheUnitedStates,onMay 11, limited their stay to 90days,withanoptiontoextend.“TheUShasbeenescalatingits

actions against Chinese journal-ists,”Wangtoldreporters.“TheUSshould immediately correct its

mistakeandstopitsactions.”“If theUSpersists, Chinawill

takeanecessaryandlegitimatere-sponsetosafeguarditsrights,”hesaid.WangdidnotsayhowmanyChinesejournalistswereaffectedorwhat retaliation Chinamightconsider,buttheeditorofChina’sGlobalTimesnewspapersaidear-lierUS journalists based inHongKongwouldbeamongthosetar-geted shouldChinese journalistsbeforcedtoleavetheUS.“Chinesesidehaspreparedfor

theworstscenariothatallChinesejournalistshavetoleave,”Husaidon Twitter. “If that’s the case,Chinesesidewillretaliate,includ-ingtargetingUSjournalistsbasedinHK.” TheGlobal Times is pub-lishedbythePeople’sDaily,theof-ficialnewspaperofChina’srulingCommunistParty.REUTERS

China says will retaliateif US doesn’t stop ‘hostileaction’ against journalists

HURRICANE ISAIAS MAKES LANDFALLTheSeaMountainHighwayinNorthMyrtleBeach,SouthCarolina,wasfloodedasTropicalStormIsaiasspawnedtornadoesanddumpedrainduringaninlandmarchuptheUSEastCoastonTuesdayaftermakinglandfallasahurricanealongtheNorthCarolinacoast,whereitcausedatornadothatresultedinthedeathofoneman.AP

MICHELLENICHOLSUNITEDNATIONS,AUGUST4

NORTH KOREA is pressing onwith its nuclear weapons pro-gram and several countries be-lieveithas“probablydevelopedminiaturizednucleardevices tofit intothewarheadsof itsballis-ticmissiles,”accordingtoacon-fidentialUNreport.Thereportbyanindependent

panel of expertsmonitoringUNsanctions said the countries,whichitdidnotidentify,believedNorth Korea’s past six nucleartestshad likelyhelped itdevelopminiaturized nuclear devices.Pyongyanghas not conducted anucleartestsinceSeptember2017.The interim report, seen by

Reuters, was submitted to the15-memberUNSecurityCouncilNorthKorea sanctions commit-teeonMonday.“The Democratic People’s

Republic of Korea is continuingits nuclear program, includingthe production of highly en-riched uranium and construc-tionofanexperimentallightwa-ter reactor. A Member Stateassessed that the DemocraticPeople’s Republic of Korea iscontinuing production of nu-clearweapons,” the report said.North Korea is formally

knownastheDemocraticPeople’sRepublic of Korea (DPRK).North

Korea’s mission to the UnitedNations inNewYorkdidnot im-mediatelyrespondtoarequestforcommentontheUNreport.North Korean leader Kim

Jong Un said last week therewould be no more war as thecountry’snuclearweaponsguar-antee its safety and future de-spiteunabatedoutsidepressureandmilitary threats.REUTERS

AclassroominaUN-runschoolinGazaCityissanitisedonTuesdayaheadoftheresumptionofclasses.Reuters

N Korea has ‘probably’developed nucleardevices to fit ballisticmissiles: UN report

THEUNSecurityCouncilhasgradually increasedtheseverityof thesanctionsonNorthKorea inaneffort tocutoff the fundingfor itsnuclearprogramme.Butac-cordingtotheUN’sownas-sessment,NorthKoreahasmadeover$2billion lastyearalonethroughcyberat-tacksonbanksandcryp-tocurrency.UNexpertssaythe isolatedcountryhasalsobeenexportingcoal, ille-gallycircumventingthesanctionsput inplacetopreventsuchtrade.

Fundingnukesdespitesanctions

SOSwaswritten insandonthePikelot Island intheFederatedStatesofMicronesia.AP

Where’s Juan Carlos? Spain mulls ex-king’s futureBARRYHATTON&ALICIALEONMADRID,AUGUST4

SPECULATIONOVERthewhere-abouts of formermonarch JuanCarlosgrippedSpainonTuesday,a day after themanwho servedas king for almost four decadesannounced hewas leaving thecountry for an unspecified des-tination amid a growing finan-cial scandal.In a letter published on the

royal family’s website on

Monday,JuanCarlostoldhissonKing Felipe VI he was movingoutsideSpaindueto the“public

repercussions of certainepisodesofmypastprivatelife.”Juan Carlos is the target of

official investigations in Spainand Switzerland, which arelooking into possible financialwrongdoing.His bombshell announce-

ment took most Spaniards bysurprise.Neither the royal fam-ily nor the government dis-closed where the 82-year-oldformerkingwasgoing.Daily newspaper ABC re-

portedTuesdaythat JuanCarlosleft Spain on Sunday and flew

via Porto, in neighboringPortugal, to the DominicanRepublic. The daily LaVanguardia also said he was intheCaribbeancountry,butonlytemporarily.But El Confidencial newspa-

per reported that Juan Carloscouldstill be inPortugal,wherehe spent part of his childhood,or in France or Italy, where hehas family and friends.In thewake of Juan Carlos’s

announcement, some peoplealso called for themonarchy tobeabolished.AP

Embroiled inascandal, JuanCarlosannouncedthathewas leavingSpain.Reuters

Three rescuedfrom Pacificisland after theywrite SOS in sandWellington: Three men havebeenrescued fromatinyPacificisland after writing a giant SOSsigninthesandthatwasspottedfromabove, authorities say.Themenhadbeenmissingin

theMicronesia archipelago fornearlythreedayswhentheirdis-tress signalwasspottedSundayonuninhabitedPikelotIslandbysearchers on Australian and USaircraft, the Australian defencedepartment saidMonday.The men had set out from

PulawatatollonaboatonJuly30and had intended to travel toPulap atollwhen they sailed offcourseandranoutof fuel.Searchers inGuamaskedfor

Australian help. The militaryship, Canberra, diverted to thearea and joined the search. Themenwere found about 190 kmfromwheretheyhadsetout.AP

TheUSembassyinReykjavik,Iceland.AP

After theblast inBeirut, Lebanon,onTuesday.Reuters

Blast stirs upmemories of warin a city that hasseen relativecalm recently

NEWYORKTIMESAUGUST4

BEIRUTSUFFEREDmorethanitsshareofexplosions—carbomb-ings, shelling and airstrikes —duringaprolongedcivilwarandfighting between Israel and themilitantgroupHezbollah.But if the latest explosions

werefoundtohavebeencausedintentionally,theywouldshattera prolonged stretch of relativecalmintheLebanesecapital.Less than aweek ago, Israel

said it had thwarted a raid by a“terroristsquad”fromHezbollah,the Shia group that is part ofLebanon’s government, in a dis-putedborderarea.Israeliofficialssaid there was an exchange ofgunfire,whichHezbollahdenied.Israeli military officials say

Hezbollah has planted manyrocketsinsouthernLebanonthatcould threaten northern Israel.But In recent years, HezbollahhasrefrainedfromkillingIsraeliswhile Israel has largely avoidedkilling Hezbollah fighters inSyria,wheretheyarefightingontheSyriangovernment’s side.BothIsraelandHezbollahhave

sought to avoid awar that coulddevastateLebanonandIsrael.

New Delhi

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ENSECONOMICBUREAUNEWDELHI,AUGUST4

SERUMINSTITUTEofIndia(SII)isexpected tobegin late-stagehu-man clinical trials of theOxfordCOVID-19vaccinecandidatehere“within aweek” after ethics ap-provals,IndianCouncilofMedicalResearch(ICMR)DirectorGeneralDrBalramBhargavasaidTuesday.BharatBiotechandZydusCad-

ila,whichhavebeen conductingearly-stagetestingof theircandi-datesCovaxin andZyCov-Doverthe last 20days, are also startingsecondphasetrials,headded.Eachstageofavaccine’sclini-

cal trial tests its safetyandability

to develop an effective immuneresponse.Whilethefirstphasefo-cussesonsafetyinhealthypartic-ipantsmore, thephase II looksattheeffectiveness.Thethirdphaselooksintotheseaspectsinamuchlargerpopulationthatwouldrep-resentawiderdemographic.The SII vaccine, which is to

conduct phase II/III clinical trialsataround17sites,willdoso“grad-ually,asthesitescleartheir(ethicscommittee applications),” saidBhargavaduringamediabriefing.BharatBiotechhascompleted

itsphaseIstudiesforitsinactivat-edvirusvaccinecandidateat11of12sitesandbegunitsphaseIIstu-dy, the ICMRDG said. Similarly,Zydushas embarkedon the sec-

ondphaseofclinicaltestingforitsDNAplasmidvaccinecandidateat11 sites, Bhargava said, adding“Thatisalsoprogressingwell.”The Central Drugs Standard

ControlOrganisationlateSundayapprovedSII’sapplicationtocon-ducttrialsoftheOxfordcandidate,whichithasbranded‘Covishield’.SII, theworld’s largest vaccinemaker,hasatie-upwithSwedish-BritishpharmagiantAstraZeneca,that developed the vaccinewiththeUniversityofOxford,toman-ufactureitforlow-andmiddle-in-comenations. The vaccine is al-readybeingtestedinSouthAfrica,theUKandBrazil,wherepartici-pantsarebeingadministeredtwodosesnearlyamonthapart.

Serum Institute to start late-stage human trialsfor Oxford vaccine within a week: ICMR DG

COVID vaccine makersseek more govt support,clarity on guidelinesPRABHARAGHAVANNEWDELHI,AUGUST4

LACKOF clarity on India’s com-mitment to purchase COVID-19vaccinesiscreatingachallengingenvironment for those develop-ingthemhere,accordingtosomeof India’s top vaccine makers.Apart from issueswith funding,ambiguity regarding theparam-eters that these vaccineshave tomeasureuptoherehavealsobeenflaggedasachallenge.“Mostmanufacturers sitting

at this table ...we’redoing this atrisk,”saidMahimaDatla,manag-ingdirectorofBiologicalE,duringa panel discussion on vaccinesmoderated by Telangana IT andIndustriesMinisterKTRamaRaoonTuesday.Datlasaidthereislit-tleclarityontheCentre’s interestinpurchasingCOVID-19vaccinesdevelopedbyfirmslikehers,andthereisn’tenoughfundingtobackthe risk the industry is takingbyworkingonthesenewproductsCountries like theUSandUK

have not only inked purchaseagreementsworthbillionsofdol-lars for vaccine candidates cur-rentlyinlatestagehumanclinicaltrials, somehave also funded re-search anddevelopment for po-tentialvaccinecandidates.Here, save forapotentialpar-

ticipationintheCOVID-19VaccineGlobal Access (COVAX)mecha-nism, there have been no “pullmechanisms” to assuage Indiancompaniesthatmostlyhavecan-didates in pre-clinical stages oftesting,accordingtotheindustry.“TheCOVAXfacilityisoneway

where they’re kind of trying togive you demand certainty butthat (type of action) hasn’t beenforthcoming fromour owngov-ernment, which is a bit disap-pointing...,”saidDatla.“Wedon’tseeanypullmech-

anism because each of us as ofnowaretryingtospendfromourownpockets not even knowinghowmuch of this is going to betaken up later. There has to besomemechanismwhichwouldhelp us ...,” Dr K Anand Kumar,MD,IndianImmunologicalssaid.DrKrishnaElla, CMD, Bharat

Biotech, said an environment toboost developmentof COVID-19vaccines isnot as robustbecausedifferent governmentbodies areworking in silos, adding “There’ssomestrategydiscussionmissing,leadershipismissinginDelhi.”Therearealsoregulatorychal-

lenges like a lack of clear guide-lines for COVID-19 vaccines, in-cludingwhattheirlevelofefficacyshould be. According to Datla,Indiaisstillintheprocessofdraft-ingitsownguidelines.

BRIEFLYRBIMPCstartsdeliberationsMumbai:TheReserveBankof India’sMonetary PolicyCommittee (MPC) Tuesdaybegan its three-day brain-stormingonthebi-monthlymonetarypolicy.

Electronicissueofpolicies:IrdaiNewDelhi:RegulatorIrdaionTuesday allowed life insur-ers to issue life insurancepolicieselectronically.

3senior-levelexitsatCiplaNew Delhi: Three senior-level exits have takenplaceatCipla, includingthatof itsexecutive vice-presidentandCEO for India businessNikhilChopra,headofIndiaprescriptionbusinessNikhilLalwani,andclusterheadofchronicandemergingbusi-nessdevelopmentandport-folioKunalKhanna. PTI

FarleytobenewFordMotorCEOBengaluru: Ford MotorTuesday said its COO JimFarley will succeed JimHackett as CEO and presi-dentonOctober1.REUTERS

HDILreceivessixEoIsMumbai: Troubled real es-tate firmHousingDevelo-pment and infrastructure(HDIL) has received six ex-pressions of interest (EoIs)from suitors, includingAdani Properties, SurakshaAsset Reconstruction andSunteckRealty.Biddersneedto submit a final resolutionplanbySeptember7. FE

KARUNJITSINGHNEWDELHI,AUGUST4

CITYGASdistribution(CGD)com-paniesmaysoonfacecompetitionfrom third parties,with the Petroleumand Natural GasRegulatory Board(PNGRB)settonotifyregulations to allowcompetition to suchcompanies, whichhavethusfarenjoyedexclusivemarketingrights in their respective geogra-phies. Indraprastha Gas Ltd inDelhi,MahanagarGasLtdinMu-mbaiandGujaratGasLtdare theCGDcompaniessettobeaffectedbyopeningupof thesemarkets.

What is thecurrentscenario?Theseplayers currently have

exclusiverighttolay,operateand

expand gas distribution infra-structureintheirrespectivegeog-raphies aswell asmarket bothcompressed natural gas (CNG)and piped natural gas (PNG) intheseareas.TheCentrehaddeci-

dedtograntexclusiv-itytoCGDcompaniestoincentivisethemtoinvest in infrastruc-ture to deliver PNGand CNG widelyacrosscities.

Whatistheproposedchange?

As per the PNGRB proposal,CGD companieswould have toprovideaccesstothird-partyfirmstopay touse their infrastructuretomarketCNGandPNGbasedona transportation tariff set by theincumbentplayersbutregulatedbythePNGRBincaseofdisputes.

Full report onwww.indianexpress.com

How PNGRB proposal aimsto open up gas distributionsector for third parties

ENSECONOMICBUREAUNEWDELHI,AUGUST4

THEWORST for the Indianecon-omyseemstobeover,withseveraleconomic indicatorspointing to-wards a resurgence in economicactivity, evenas risksonaccountofrisingCOVID-19casesandinter-mittent state lockdowns remain,theFinanceMinistrysaidinitslat-esteconomicreviewonTuesday.With India unlocking, the

worstseemstobeoverashigh-fre-quency indicators showan im-provement from the unprece-dented trough theeconomyhadhitinApril2020,theDepartment

of Economic Affairs said in itsmonthlyeconomicreportforJuly.“TheseincludeIndexofIndustrialProduction (IIP), PurchasingManagersIndex(PMI),powergen-eration,productionofsteelandce-ment,railwayfreight,trafficatma-jorports, air cargoandpassengertraffic, e-waybill generationcap-turing inter-statemovement of

goods,consumptionofpetroleumproductsandmotorvehicleregis-trationamongothers,”The report, however, noted

thattheriseinCOVID-19casesandsubsequent intermittent lock-downs make the recoveryprospects fragile and called forconstant anddynamicmonitor-ing.A senior governmentofficialsaidstate-specificlockdownswerehitting the supply chain and thevaluechain, bringinganelementofunpredictabilityineconomicre-vival. Pinninghopeson the farmsector,thereportsaid,agricultureis set to cushion the shockof theCOVIDpandemic on the Indianeconomy in 2020-21. “With the

forecast of anormalmonsoonat102percentof long-periodaver-age(LPA),agriculture,whichcon-tributesabout15percentof totalgross valueadded, is set to cush-iontheshockofCOVIDpandemicon the Indianeconomy in2020-21,”itsaid.Timelyandproactiveexemp-

tions fromCOVID-induced lock-downstothesectorfacilitatedun-interruptedharvestingofrabicropsand enhanced sowing of kharifcrops, itsaid,addingarecordpro-curementofwheathasenabledaflowofaboutRs75,000croretothefarmerswhichwill boostprivateconsumptioninruralareas.“Since September 2019, the

termsoftradehasmovedinfavourof agricultureandhas reinforcedruraldemand.Thishasmanifestedin an increase in rural core infla-tion between March and June2020. As a result, the push forgrowthincomingmonthsappearstobepitchedinruralIndia,”itsaid.Contractioninindustrialactiv-

ity,measuredbyIIPandeightcoreindustries, has eased inMay ascompared toApril,while signsoffurther recoverywerewitnessedinJunewithIndia’sManufacturingPMI improving from30.8 inMay2020 to 47.2 in June 2020.Contractioninoutputandnewor-derswereatmuch lower in June,comparedtoAprilandMay.

SURGINGCOVIDCASES,LOCKDOWNSMAKERECOVERYPROSPECTSFRAGILE:FINMINREPORT

ENSECONOMICBUREAUMUMBAI,AUGUST4

BULLSMADEastrongcomebackafter four consecutive days ofprofit-booking and helped thebenchmark indices gain nearlytwo per cent on Tuesday. TheSensex rallied 748 points to37,687.91andtheNifty50gained204 points to 11,095.25 amidstrong buying support aided bystrongglobalcues.VinodNair, headof research,

Geojit Financial Services, said,“Benchmark indices ended thedaywith gains with positivityemergingposttheRBIdecisiontoapprove the newCEO forHDFCBank. Privatebanks andRIL sup-ported gains in benchmark in-dices. Global cues were alsomostly positive, and aided themarketsfollowingbetterUSman-ufacturingdata.”Thebroadermarketstoowit-

nessed healthy buying interestand endedwith decent gains of1-1.3percent.

Sensex snaps 4-day losingstreak with 748-point jump

‘Scrutiny by I-T Dept reduced to0.25% of total ITRs in AY2018-19’

ENSECONOMICBUREAUNEWDELHI,AUGUST4

SCRUTINY BY the Income TaxDepartment reduced to0.25percent of the total Income TaxReturns(ITRs)inassessmentyear2018-19 after rising to 0.55 percentintheassessmentyear2017-18, the year of demonetisation,data tweeted by the FinanceMinistryonTuesdayshowed.The percentage of ITRs se-

lected for scrutiny had stood at0.40per cent inAY2016-17 and0.71percentin2015-16.“ITDeptis changing-from just enforce-ment to facilitating better tax-payerservices. Incontinuationofthesame,theno.ofcasesselected

for scrutiny has reduced drasti-cally over the years,” a tweet bytheFinanceMinistrysaid.The IncomeTaxDepartment

didnotreleasetheabsolutefiguresfor all-India ITRs but a detailedstate-wise breakup for 33states/UTsshowedthatscrutinyasapercentageofITRsfiledincreasedinAY2017-18,thencamedowninthesubsequentyear.Also,as ITRsfiled increasedinAY2018-19, thescrutiny percentage decreasedacrossthestates.State-wisedata showed that

Telangana’s scrutinypercentageincreased to0.94per centof 1.58lakhITRsfiledinAY2017-18from0.64percentof1.54lakhITRsfiledinAY2016-17. Then the scrutinypercentage forTelangana,which

has11.07 lakhPANholders, camedownto0.5per cent inAY2018-19(1.84ITRsfiled).TamilNadu’sdatashowedthe

scrutinypercentagerisingto0.66percentinAY2017-18(33.77lakhITRsfiled)from0.48percentinAY2016-17 (32.15 lakh ITRs filed). InAY2018-19,thescrutinypercent-agecamedownto0.30percentof40.72lakhITRsfiled.Scrutiny percentage for

Gujaratreducedto0.23percentinAY2018-19fromAY0.44percent,for Delhi to 0.52 per cent in AY2018-19 from0.81per cent inAY2017-18, forUttarPradeshto0.13percentfrom0.45percentandforWestBengalto0.25percentinAY2018-19 from0.59per cent inAY2017-18.

GEORGEMATHEW&SANDEEPSINGHMUMBAI/NEWDELHI,AUGUST4

THERESERVEBankof India(RBI)hasapprovedtheselectionof“in-sider”SashidharJagdishanasthemanaging director and chief ex-ecutive officer of HDFC Bank,India’slargestprivatesectorbank.Jagdishanwas the first name

inalistofthreecandidatessentbythebank’sboardtotheRBI for itsfinal approval.Hehad the strongbacking of retiringMDandCEOAditya Puri, sources said. KaizadBharucha,executivedirectorandhead of wholesale banking atHDFCBank,was thenext choiceandSunilGarg,globalCEOofCitiCommercialBank,wasthird.“Ameetingof theboardofdi-

rectors of the bankwill be con-vened in due course to approvethe appointmentof JagdishanastheMDand CEO of the bank inplaceof AdityaPuri,whoisduetoretire as MD of the bank onOctober26,2020,”itsaidinanex-changefiling.“I’mhumbled by this. I fully

recognise that Puri’s are hugeshoestofill.ButI’mconfidentthatwiththesupportofmycolleagues,theboard,otherstakeholders,andindeedGod’s grace, I’ll be able tolive up to the faith that Puri, theboard,andtheregulatorhavere-posedinme,”Jagdishansaid.Reclusive and media-shy,

Jagdishanisseenashardworking,methodical,meticulousandstick-lerfordiscipline,whoreachesof-ficeby8am.

A chartered accountantwithMaster’s degree inEconomics ofMoney, Banking&Finance fromtheUniversityofSheffield,UK,hewasappointedchieffinancialoffi-cerin2008andcurrentlyheisthegroupheadoffinance,humanre-sources,legal&secretarial,admin-istration,infrastructure,corporatecommunications,corporatesocialresponsibility & the strategicchangeagentof thebank.“Hehasbeenthelinkbetween

theCEOand the business headsover the last two years and hasbeen the strategist and execu-tioner both,” said a source.“Sashidhar has tremendous op-portunitytobuildontheleadthebankhastakeninlasttwodecadesandremainanexampleandenvyof every single banker in India,”saidRaamdeoAgrawal,chairman,MotilalOswalFinancialServices.Knowntobestrongatexecu-

tion, peoplewho haveworkedwithhimsaythat“hecangetintoamazing level of detailing and isverymethodical about his ap-proachwhenitcomestoexecut-inganytaskassignedtohim.”While the financedivisionof

the bank reported to formerdeputyMD of the bank PareshSukthankar, he has beenwork-

ingdirectlywithPurioverthelastcouple of years and has beentravellingwithhim.Somefeelhewas being groomed for the rolefor which the RBI has finallypickedhim.Theappointmentofaninsider

has come as a breather to em-ployees,whofeelthatJagdishan’sappointment will lead to a“smoothtransitionandputatrestany anxiety among the employ-ees’hadoverthenextleader,”saidanofficialwith thebank, addingthatheisknowntobeasoft-spo-kenpeople’sman.

Sashidhar Jagdishan.

ThereportsaidagricultureissettocushiontheshockoftheCOVIDpandemicontheeconomyin2020-21

‘Worst likelyoverasindicatorsshowimprovement’

For first time,global goldprices touch$2,000/ozREUTERSNEWYORK,AUGUST4

GOLDPRICESTuesday surged tothe psychologically importantlevelof$2,000anounceaftertheUSSenate’s topDemocrat said anew roundof coronavirus reliefwasmovingintherightdirection,thoughthesidesremainfarapart.Spotgoldpricesrose$18.5543,

or 0.94per cent, to $1,995.25 anounce.Earlier,spotgoldwasbidat$2,000.11 an ounce. Bullion hassoaredmore than30per cent sofar this year, supportedby lowerinterestratesandsafe-havenbuy-ing on concerns Federal Reservepolicy andgovernment stimulusaredebasingthecurrency.Thebondmarket is skeptical

abouttheprospectsofareboundin economic growth in the thirdquarter.

Mumbai: Mumbai-bornSashi Jagdishan, as he’sknown to friends and col-leagues,was brought up inthequietbylanesofMatunga.While he spentmost of hisschool days in the city, heloved rushing back to hisgrandfather’shouse inmid-townChennaieverytimetheschoolclosedforvacation.Inhisfreetime,Sashien-

joyscookingandlovesexper-imenting in the kitchen.‘Thayirshadam’orthestaplecurdriceremainsafavourite.Everyweekendishisturntocook for family and friends.He also enjoys listening tobothHindustaniandCarnaticmusicandreading.ENS

From bylanesof Matungato CEO’s chair

RBI nod to Jagdishan as HDFC BankMD & CEO; Puri set to retire in Oct

After rising to0.55% inAY2017-18:FinanceMinistrydata

New Delhi

THEINDIANEXPRESS,WEDNESDAY,AUGUST5,2020

SPORTWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

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NADAL TO SKIPUSOPENAfter many thoughts I have decided not to play this year’sUS Open. The situation is very complicated worldwide, theCovid-19 cases are increasing, it looks like we still don’t havecontrol of it.

RAFAELNADALONTWITTER.

CROSSWORD4188

ACROSS1 Ablockhead,our littleGeorge is in themiddleclass (9)

8 Oneof twokeys I found inthekennel (5)

9 It’supto timeincultivation(7)

10 Ithasnobigclientele(6)

11 Easesoff thedownwardpressure?(4,2)

12 Notverybrightbut inchargeof theplayers(8)

15 Showforbearance(8)18Grubbyresidence(6)

20 Haveprospects?(6)

21 GiveallproducingHamlet(7)

22 Alludetoa freer translation(5)

23 Freeof charge(9)

Down2 Compoundapoemabouttheteam(5)

3 Verymuch likesauce(6)4 Oneusedtogetcrackingatbreakfast (3,5)

5 Heputsupthepointsorputs themdown(6)

6 Suchculturewas ingraceconceived(7)

7 Order thewaytogo(9)

11 Timeswhenwomenpropose tobreakwithtradition(4,5)

13 Atimewhenthepopulaceisatcrosspurposes(8)

14 Breakone’s journeyanddon’tgoon(4,3)

16 Acall for repeatedeffort(6)

17 Making jokeswithnobeginning,purelyvisual (6)

19 Shouldproveuncommonlytough(5)

ARIES(Mar21-Apr.20)Somethingstrange ishappeningathome.Justwhat this iscompletelyunclear,

but it seemslikely that it'sall todowiththepast.A littledetectiveworkmight thereforebe inorder.Are thereanymistakesyou'vemadewhichyouhaven'tacknowledged? Ifnot, that's finebut, if youhave,dosomethingabout itnow.

TAURUS(Apr.21-May21)Venus, theplanetwhichheraldsemotionalchanges,is inmanyrespects

verywellpositioned indeed, sotry tomakethingseasier foryourself aswell asothersbybeingmore flexibleover long-termarrangements, especiallyathome.Try tounderstandapartner'spointof view,even ifyoudodisagreewith it.

GEMINI (May22- June21)Otherpeoplemaybestealingyour ideas.Youmayfindthisterribly irritating,

but if youstopandthink foramoment,you'll remember thatimitation is indeedthesincerestformof flattery.Youcanactuallychangeyourattitudescompletely -andoffera rivalyourhelp.

CANCER(June22- July23)Anyonewhobelieves thatyouareaplacidandunambitious

individualmustbe livingonanotherplanet,or justconfusedbythe fact that, at themoment,manyof yourconcernsareprivateandpersonal. Still, it'syourright tobeamystery, ifthat'swhatyouwant.

LEO(July24-Aug.23)Youmayfeel thatyouhavebeenhoodwinkedandmanipulated,but

youmust remember thatpeoplewhohaverenegedonpromisesorcommitmentsmaynothavedoneso intentionally.Theymighthavehad littlechoiceover thematter, andyoucangive themplentyoftimetocomeround.

VIRGO(Aug.24-Sept.23)Ithasbeensaid thatyourperfectionismisatonceyourbiggest strengthand

yourgreatestweakness.Theproblemforyounowis that itwillmeanthatwhileyousucceedbyotherpeople'sstandards,youfail accordingtoyourown.Sometimesyou'remuchtooharshonyourself.

LIBRA(Sept.24-Oct.23)Mars'smagnificentrole inyoursolarchart indicates thatyouare inperpetual

dangerof facinghostility frompeoplewhoblameyoufor theirownshortcomings.Suchresentmentmaybebrushedasidewiththecontempt itdeserves,butyoushouldalsofindtimetosmootha lovedone's ruffled feathers.

SCORPIO(Oct.24-Nov.22)Seriousproblemsonlyarise if yourefusetoalteryourstandoncareeror

professionalmatters. If youacceptwhatevernewresponsibilitiesarepushed inyourdirection,youwillgain inbothconfidenceandexperience. Itwillbeapleasant feelingwhenotherpeople lookuptoyou.

SAGITTARIUS(Nov.23-Dec.22)Youshouldbeawareof justhowfortunateyouhavebeenrecently, for

althoughPluto,whichsignifiesemotionalupset, isadifficultplanet, it isoftenmuchkindertoyouthantoanyoneelse.Nowyoucan look forwardtohelpfuldevelopmentsathome.

CAPRICORN(Dec23- Jan20)Althoughthere isnothingyouwillreceivewithsomuchreluctanceas

advice, it shouldpayyoutolistencarefully.Theremaybemanyhiddenmeanings,and itcouldtakesomeonewithyoursensitivity topick themallup. Ifyoudo, thentheresultswilldefinitelybetoyouradvantage.

AQUARIUS(Jan.21-Feb.19)Youmay allowevents to take theirown course over thenext fewdays, and

wait for certain friends tomakeup theirminds. Thiswillhappenvery soon, but youcan't say exactlywhen. Allyou cando is keep trying tomakepartners see sense.Perhaps you should also comeoff the fence.

PISCES(Feb.20-Mar20)Aboveallelse,youlikepeople tobenicetoyou.However,youhavearemarkable

talent for ignoringobvioussignalsof attraction fromotherpeople.Youshouldbemorealert tosuchemotionalundercurrents in future,otherwiseyou'llmissoutoninterestingpossibilities -andthat'sanunderstatement.

SUDOKU4191

DifficultyLevel5sInstructionsTosolveaSudokupuzzle,everydigitfrom1to9mustappear ineachofthenineverticalcolumns, ineachoftheninehorizontalrowsandineachofthenineboxes.

DifficultyLevel1s=Veryeasy;2s=Easy;3s=Medium;4s=Hard;5s=VeryHard;6s=Genius S

OLU

TIONSUDOKU4190

Givenbelowarefour jumbledwords.Solvethejumblestomakeproperwordsandmovethemtotherespectivesquaresbelow.Selecttheletters intheshadedsquaresandjumblethemtogettheanswerforthegivenquip.A_______ofmyson'sisasontome-LoisMcMasterBujold(4,6)

SOLUTION:GORGE,QUOIN,PUDDLE,FRINGEAnswer:Agoodfriendofmyson'sisasontome-LoisMcMasterBujold

GGEOR ELPUDD

QUINO FINGER

SolutionsCrossword4187:Across:1Doodles,4Crush,7Ibid,8Earnings,10Editorship,12Boards,13Agency,15Drewoneout,18Ding-dong,19Scar,20Pulse,21Yielded.Down:1Drive,2Original,3Sparse,4Contingent,5Urns,6History,9Roadbridge,11Enforced,12Build-up,14Twenty,16Tired,17Anil.

JUMBLEDWORDS

OVERTHEHEDGE byMichael Fry&TLewis

CALVIN&HOBBES byBillWatterson

MARVIN byTomArmstrong

DAYTODAY BYPETERVIDAL

BabarAzam’sscores inEnglandwilldetermine if hecanbeamoderngreat

For a seat at the high tableSANDIPGAUGUST4

LATE LAST year, Babar Azam conqueredAustralia.InBrisbane,hereeledoffahundredsofinelyconstructedthatitmadeyoufeelin-toxicatedjustwatchingit,amidstaviolenton-slaughtofAustralianquicksonalivelysurface.Pakistan slumped to an innings defeat, butAzamwowedthemall.Thehundred,andthe97inAdelaideforan

equallyheart-breakingdefeat,had Australiansrushing for adjectives. TomMoodyraved: “Ifyou thinkKohli is good towatch,havea lookatAzambat.Mygosh,he’ssomethingspecial.”MikeHusseygushed:“Thisguycanbeinthesame conversationwhenwe start talkingaboutthebestplayers intheworld.”England awaits to be conquered.

Expectedly, there’s an unmistakable buzzaroundhim,aconvictionthathecouldbethemostprizedwicket of series evenbefore thefirst ball getsbowled in the three-Test series,startingWednesdayattheOldTrafford.Afeel-ingthataspecialtalentisspreadinghiswingsand soaring to greatness. Only the finest ofbatsmen fromPakistanhavegeneratedsuchanticipation.Ifmuchoftheinitialhypearoundhimwas

aboutstyle,minimalistictechniqueandmelt-ing stroke-play, nowhehasmarried itwithsubstance. Some stats are better than thosechurned out by the Fab Four of this genera-tion. Sincestartof 2018,Babaraverages65.5inTests, compensatinganaveragestartof 23inhis first11Testsandaneternalwait forhismaidenhundred.JoeRoot,KaneWilliamson,Virat Kohli and Steve Smith's correspondingfigures read: 40, 52, 53 and59. There's threehundredsinhislastseveninnings,besidesa97and60.All these runs, staggeringly scoredatthe fastest clip—63 per 100 hundred balls,sevenmorethanKohli, thenextonthelist.Yet,he'dbethefirsttoadmitthatheisim-

perfect, still a fewbadgesaway fromgainingaccess to the rarefied space of greatness. Hestill has the tendency to play one stroke toomany, to drive instinctively from the crease,andtoreachoutfortheball that’spitchedfarfromoff-stump.Minimalismof foot-work isbeautiful when it comes off; horrendouswhen it doesn't. Nodoubt, Englandbowlerswillrelentlesslyprobethosechannels,testing

his discretion asmuch as technique. As hos-tile a bowling firm he had subdued inAustralia, their England counterparts couldaskhimtougherposers.

Multiple challengesJamesAndersoncouldteaseandtaunthim

withswingandguile,StuartBroadwithseam-movementandsmarts, JofraArcherwithrawpace andChrisWoakeswith innocuous cut-tersandwobblers.Theconditions-lovelywhenit'ssunny,sav-

agewhengloomy,will demand thebatsmanblends technical perfectionwith judgedbril-liance.Someofhisfavouritestrokesneedun-friending.Likethepunchontherise thatwassoproductive inAustralia.Or the flick thathesometimespicksoff themiddle-stump.Eventopull isdangerous if thebreeze triflesaboutwiththeDukesball.Morethanhisskillstoadapt,it’saboutthe

discipline. It’snotlikeinAustraliawherema-cho-nessreigns,butaboutreiningthemacho-ness of your batting. It’s both the strokesplayed,andthosenot.He’snotacompletestrangertothecoun-

try.HiscountystintwithSomersetsawthempenaballadforhimandtheirtechniciansup-gradetheclubwebsite'sservercapacitydur-ing livestreamsandaprolificWorldCuptoo.HisonlyTestinningshad68gloriousrunsbe-fore he retired hurt, struck on the armby aStokesbouncer.

Acquaintedhemight be, but he's still farfrom mastering English conditions. Hisfavouritebatsman,Kohli,wouldconcur.IttooktheIndianasecondvisit toasserthiscreden-tials;whileWilliamsonneeded five inningsand Smith 13 to reachhundreds in England.SomeonelikeDavidWarnerhasneverscoredonein13games.Thereisnobetterplaceforakeen young batsman to test the limits of hisgamethaninEngland.Driven as he is, Azamwouldn’t flinch.

Rather thangetting comparedwith thebat-tinggreats,heisonajourneyofself-discoveryandimprovement.Azamhimselfsays:“Agoodperformancedoesn’tmakemehappy,insteadIpushmyself togo further and try toexpandmygame”. His coachMisbah-ul-Haq shedsmorelightintohispsyche:“HebelievesintheworkethicthatifyouwanttobetterKohliyouhavetoworkharderthanhimatyourskills,fit-ness andgameawareness.He isneverboredofgettingruns,heisalwayshungry.”In this regard, it rankles him that hehas-

n’t yet registeredascoreof 150-plus inTests.“When you score a century, you naturallywant togoonandconvert that intoadoubleora triplecentury.This is something Iwouldlike to do during the Test series,” he had re-centlysaidinapressconference.Ifhedoesso,heshallhaveEnglandconqueredbytheendofthesummer.

IstTest: LiveonSonySix:3:30pm

Manchester:BenStokes,whoseemedtowinthesecondTestonhisown,didnotbowlinthethirdTestbecauseofaquadricep injury. He bowled in thenets on Monday, but couldn't onTuesdaybecauseofrain.Englandwillwaituntilaslateaspossibleonhisfit-ness, captain Joe Root said. “We stillneedtoknowabitmoreaboutwhereBen is at,” Root said. “Ben being abletodoeverythinghecandoishugeforthisteamanditshowshowpivotalheis,butifhe'snotfitthereareanumberofwayswecango.” AP

Stokes’s fitnessunder watch

Inhis last5Testmatches,Azamhasscored4hundredsand2fifties. File

Age fraud: Why the processof verification is complexSHAHIDJUDGEMUMBAI, AUGUST4

OnMonday, theBoardofControl forCricketin India (BCCI) announced the launchof theVoluntary Disclosure Scheme. Itsmotive issingular–toprovideanincentiveforplayerswith fudgeddatesof birth,playing in juniorcategories,tocomecleanwiththeassurancethat the governing bodywill not sanctionbansagainstthem. Lastmonth,theAll IndiaTennis Association (AITA), under pressureduetoacaseinChandigarh,madeitcompul-sory for all junior players competing at thenationalstoundergoanage-verificationtest.These are all arguably useful measures incurbinganage-oldproblemacrosssports inIndiaas thedocumentedageof anathlete isoftendifferent fromthereal age.

Cansciencedeterminetheexactage?Upuntil the age of 17 for boys and15 for

girls, science can provide a rough estimateaboutthetrueageofachild,giveortakeayear.“Thesetestsarenot100percentaccurate,andthere’sadisclaimerthatitcanbeoffbyayear,”explainsDrNikhilLatey,aphysiotherapistandsportsscientist. “What thatmeans is, if aboydoes the test and the result saysthatheis15,thenhisrealagecanbeanywherebetween14and16.At themoment, there is no testthat can give the exact age of achild.”The tests provides an esti-

mate of a child’s age, which isthen comparedwith the docu-ment (birth certificate, schoolcertificate, etc) the child or parent has sub-mittedasproof.

What’s themostprominent test?Themostpopularage-verificationtest is

called theTanner-Whitehouse3(TW3),be-ingusedby theBCCI (forupto16years) andalsoproposedbyAITA.

WhatdoesTW3lookfor?It essentially involves an x-ray of the left

wrist to checkwhat stage of bone fusion achild has reached. “You are bornwith over300 bones in the body. For example, yourthigh bone is in three pieces and once you

starttogrow,theseplatesfuse.Onceit’sfusedyourheight is stabilised,”Lateyexplains. “X-rayscanseehowmuchfusionthesegapshaveundergoneandbasedonthat,youcangetanapproximationof theage.”

Bythetimeaboyis17andgirl15, on average, theboneswouldhavefusedcompletely.Butbeforethatage, this test cangiveanap-proximateage.Whatmakesthistest popular is that it is cheaperand quick to conduct. “Thirteenbones are evaluated on the lefthand,” saysDrAshokAhuja, for-merheadofDepartmentofSport

MedicineandScienceattheNationalInstituteofSports(NIS) inPatiala.

Whyisn’tTW3100percentaccurate?Sincethetestdealswithbonefusionand

pubertal growth, it is important to under-stand that people do not start to develop atthe same time and at the same rate. For ex-ample,ifyouhavetwo12-year-oldboysbornonthesamedate,onemighthavehitpubertywhenhewas 11 and the othermay still nothave. Therefore, their x-rayswill show dif-ferentbone fusionratesdespite thembeingthesameage.“We have seen different results even in

identicaltwins,onmultipleoccasions,”saysAhuja.These tests become redundant after the

ageof 17 for boys and15 for girls, because achildat that age is considered tohaveama-turedbodywithcompletebone fusion.

Arethereother typesof tests?Yes. TheMagnetic Resonance Imaging

(MRI) scan is also used on the left wrist.However,unlike theTW3which looksat13bones in the wrist, anMRI will study onlyone, the distal radius. These tests, however,are expensive – approximately Rs 8,000 inIndia, butmuchmoreexpensiveabroad.Additionally,MRI scans do not give spe-

cific results. “Theycanonly tell if thechild isunder 17 or over 17. But TW3 can give youagesofmaybe13-and-a-half, 14, etc. So it ismorespecific,”Ahujaadds.Another potential test is a DNA analysis

tochecktheTelomereLength.Thetelomereis the end of a chromosome, and its lengthdeteriorateswith age. “You can technicallyunderstandsomeone’sagewithit,buttherehas not been enough research in this agegrouptofindconclusiveevidencethatthisisaccurate,” saysLatey.

Howdointernationalsportsbodiescheck?Ahead of each edition of the FIFAU-17

men’sWorldCup, starting fromthe2015, theworld body asked all participating teams toconductMRIscansontheirrespectiveplayers.Theydon’thaveasettestfortheU-17women’sWorld Cup since girls develop by 15. TheInternationalHockeyFederation (FIH),whichholdstheJuniorWorldCupforU-21players,re-quires players “to produce a valid passportshowingnationalityanddateofbirth.”TheInternationalTennisFederation(ITF)

saidinastatementtoTheIndianExpress:“TheITF conducts a number of passport checksforourjuniorcompetitionsbothatthenom-ination stage and on-site as laid out in ourJunior competitionRulesandRegulations.”The International Olympic Committee

(IOC), which holds the Youth Olympics, setthe following requirement: “All the partici-pantsattheYouthOlympicGames(YOG)areaccredited,forwhomaparent/guardiancon-sentformhastobesigned, includingconfir-mation of the accuracy of the informationsubmitted.”

FootballerGouravMukhiwasbannedforsixmonthsbutwas laterallowedtoplayafterhesubmittedcorrectdocuments. File

New Delhi