PNS n VIJAYAWADA

There seems to be no respitein sight for senior IPS officerAB Venkateswara Rao, whohas been in the wilderness forthe past one year.

After his initial suspensionperiod ended in August lastyear, the Jaganmohan Reddygovernment extended it byanother six months.

No wonder the senior IPSofficer has alleged harass-ment, humiliation, and vic-timisation by the present dis-pensation. Venkateswara Raowas suspended in Februarylast year and will be unable toresume duties at least tillnext month, an entire year.

His contention that hecan’t be suspended on thegrounds of corruption whenthe said purchase of theequipment which the stategovernment had cited foraction against him never tookplace has fallen on deaf earsof the powers-that-be.

2

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RNI No. APENG/2018/764698

*Late City Vol. 3 Issue 69*Air Surcharge Extra if Applicable

Established 1864Published From

VIJAYAWADA DELHI LUCKNOW BHOPAL RAIPUR CHANDIGARH

BHUBANESWAR RANCHIDEHRADUN HYDERABAD

{

Idols' desecrationtakes political

colour!

2

Need to leverage

Indian IT industry’s

prowess: Trai

8

Vax not for peopleallergic to any of its

ingredients: SII

5

HYDERABADWEATHER

Current Weather ConditionsUpdated January 19 , 2021 5:00 PM

ALMANAC

TODAY

Month & Paksham:

Paush & Shukla Paksha

Panchangam

Tithi : Saptami: 01:14 pm

Nakshatram: Revati: 12:36 pm

Time to Avoid: (Bad time to start

any important work)

Rahukalam: 12:27 pm – 01:50 pm

Yamagandam: 08:16 am – 09:40 am

Varjyam: NIL

Gulika: 11:03 am - 12:27 pm

Good Time: (to start any important work)

Amritakalam: 09:56 am – 11:43 am

Abhijit Muhurtham: NIL

FFoorreeccaasstt:: SunnyTemp: 28/17Humidity: 29/17 56Sunrise: 06:49 amSunset: 06:04 pm

INDIAN-AMERICAN LIVED IN AIRPORT FOR 3MONTHS DUE TO COVID FEAR, ARRESTED

KERALA TEEN ALLEGEDLY RAPED, ABUSEDBY MULTIPLE MEN; 20 ARRESTED: POLICE

WITHDRAW ‘DISCRIMINATORY’ POLICYFOR INDIAN USERS: GOVT TO WHATSAPP

BIDEN ADMIN SAYS IT WON'T LIFT TRAVELBANS DESPITE TRUMP STATEMENT

A36-year-old Indian-origin man who wastoo scared to fly due to the coronaviruspandemic and lived undetected for nearly

three months in a secure area of Chicago'sinternational airport has been arrested, USauthorities said.Aditya Singh lives in a suburbof Los Angeles, California, was arrested onSaturday for living in a secure area atChicago's O'Hare International Airport sinceOctober 19, the Chicago Tribune reported onSunday. Mr Singh has been charged withfelony criminal trespass to a restricted area ofan airport and misdemeanour theft, the report said. Prosecutors saidthat Singh arrived at O'Hare from Los Angeles on October 19.

A17-year-old girl from Kerala has beenallegedly sexually abused andharassed by more than 30 men over

the past few months, police said, addingthat seven rape cases have been filedbased on her accounts since 2016. Someof the accused in this case are believed tobe known to the girl and her mother. Themother claims she was unaware of theincidents; she will be questioned, copssaid.In November, the teenager fromMalappuram was traced by the police afterher mother had filed a missing complaintfrom Palakkad, about 330 km from state capital Thiruvananthapuram.

The government has asked WhatsApp towithdraw any change in the messagingapp's privacy policy for users in India,

people with direct knowledge of the matterhave said. The centre has written to theFacebook-owned app's global CEO WillCathcart detailing concerns over informationsecurity of users, they said. India isWhatsApp's biggest market. "...The new policyof WhatsApp proposes to share the metadata ofusers' chat with business accounts with otherFacebook companies. It would create ahoneypot of information about users with Facebook group which cancreate security risks and vulnerabilities for users," those in the know said.

US President-elect Joe Biden'sspokeswoman quickly dismissedDonald Trump's announcement

Monday that a Covid-19 ban on travelersarriving from much of Europe and Brazilwould be lifted, underlining the fractioustransition of power. "On the advice of ourmedical team, the Administration doesnot intend to lift these restrictions on1/26," tweeted Jen Psaki, Biden's presssecretary."In fact, we plan to strengthenpublic health measures aroundinternational travel in order to furthermitigate the spread of COVID-19."

C PRADEEP KUMAR n VIJAYAWADA

In a setback to the State Gov-ernment, the AP High Courton Tuesday struck down thecriminal cases filed by StateCID in connection with thealleged insider trading in landtransactions at Amaravati.

The High Court ruled thatthere was no scope for insid-er trading in the land transac-tions at Amaravati.

The court, after hearing thearguments from both sidessaid that Sections under IPCwere not applicable to insidertrading. It struck down thecase filed by the CID.

The CID had filed casesagainst several people consid-ered close to the main oppo-sition Telugu Desam Party inthe State stating that they hadpurchased lands in Amaravatias they were privy to informa-tion from the ChandrababuNaidu Government that thearea was being developed as

state capital.The state government

argued that the leakage ofinformation to a select fewpeople about the capital cityamounted to insider trading.

MARTHI SUBRAHMANYAMn VIJAYAWADA

A communique by the BJPcentral leadership has landedthe party’s Andhra Pradeshunit, which has just about star-ted gathering steam, in a fix.The BJP central leadership hasplaced the responsibility ofmobilising funds to meet officeexpenses and sustain theiractivities squarely on the stateunits.

The communiqué said that

the party’s central leadershipwould not release funds to st-ate units to meet office or pollexpenses and advised them tomobilise funds on their own.

Accordingly, is understoodto have given a ball-park figureon how much the units shouldgenerate.

According to BJP sources,the party’s central leadershiphas decided to suspend thefinancial support to units instates where the party is not inpower.

Hitherto, the central leader-ship used to meet the pollsexpenses of units too, apartfrom daily and recurringexpenses like rent, salaries foroffice workers etc.

Regarding unforeseenexpenses, the practice was theparty leadership would meetthe expenses first and later cla-im reimbursement. The centralleadership has rung down cur-tains on this practice too.

According to a communi-qué from central leadership tostate units where the party isout of power, the latter wereasked to meet their ownexpenses and also the expens-es for the next elections to theAssemblies and Lok Sabha.

For the BJP AP unit, thiswould be a rather difficulttask, especially after bifurca-tion of the State as manyindustrialists from AP havemade Hyderabad their base.

The BJP AP unit is depen-dent on donations from theseindustrialists. The industrial-ists who have business inter-ests in Andhra Pradesh havelong had a “working rela-tionship” with either theYSRCP or the TDP.

Neera TandenOffice of Management

and Budget

Dr Vivek MurthyUS Surgeon

General

Vanita GuptaAssociate Attorney

General, Dept of Justice

Uzra Zeya Secretary to State for

Civilian Security

Mala AdigaPolicy Director, FirstLady Dr Jill Biden

Garima VermaDigital Director,

Office of the First Lady

Sabrina SinghFirst Lady’s Deputy

Press Secretary

Aisha ShahPartnership ManagerWhite House Office

Sameera FaziliDy Director,

US NEC

Bharat RamamurtiDy Director,

White House NEC

Gautam RaghavanDy Director, Office of

Presidential Personnel

Vinay ReddyDirector of

Speechwriting

Vedant PatelAsst Press Secretary

to the President

Sonia AggarwalSr Advisor for ClimatePolicy and Innovation

Vidur SharmaCovid-19

Response Team

Tarun Chhabra Sr Director of

Technology and NS

Sumona GuhaSenior Director for South Asia

Shanthi KalathilCoordinator for

Democracy and HRReema Shah

Dy Associate Counsel

Neha GuptaAssociate Counsel

JOEBILATIONWILL WEISSERTn WASHINGTON

Back when the election wastightening and just a weekaway, Joe Biden went big.

He flew to Warm Springs,the Georgia town whose ther-mal waters once broughtFranklin Delano Rooseveltcomfort from polio, andpledged a restitching ofAmerica's economic and pol-icy fabric unseen since FDR'sNew Deal.

Evoking some of thenation's loftiest reformshelped Biden unseatPresident Donald Trump butleft him with toweringpromises to keep. And he'll betrying to deliver against thebackdrop of searing nation-al division and a pandemicthat has killed nearly 400,000Americans and upended theeconomy.

Such change would behard to imagine under anycircumstances, much lessnow.

LALIT K JHAn WASHINGTON

US Vice President-elect KamalaHarris on Mondayacknowledged the challengesthat lie ahead after January 20when Joe Biden will be swornin as the 46th President of theUnited States, saying it is notgoing to be easy.We're going into Wednesdayknowing that we're ready to dothe work, and we've got a lot ofwork to do. It's not going to beeasy, Harris told reporters atMartha's Table in Anacostiahere on Monday, observing theNational Day of Service.As we have discussed, Joe hasoutlined our plan forvaccinations, our plan forrecovery, and in particular relieffor working people, for families.And there is a lot to do. Some

of them say that ours areambitious goals, but we dobelieve with hard work and withthe cooperation andcollaboration of the members ofthe United States Congress thatwe can get it done, Harris saidin response to a question.

It's not going to be easy,says Kamala Harris

Jagan ask Shah tosupport his plans

VENKAT RAM REDDY LAKKADIn HYDERABAD

A festive atmosphere prevailedin Pothireddypeta village ofHuzurnagar mandal in

Karimnagar district as newsreached the village of theappointment of a son of the soilas the speechwriting directorfor United States President-elect Joe Biden.

Villagers are on cloud nineafter hearing the news aboutCholleti Vinjay Reddy'sappointment.

Vinay Reddy’s fatherNarayana Reddy, a doctor by

profession, had migrated toAmerica in 1970. Vinay Reddywas born and brought up inAmerica. However, the familyhas not completely cut its rootsfrom Telangana and still owns

three acres and a house in thevillage of Pothireddypeta.

Narayana Reddy, who didhis schooling in the village,pursued MBBS in Hyderabad.

Pothireddypeta celebrates White House post for one of its own

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

The Andhra Pradesh HighCourt on Tuesday reservedits orders on the pleasregarding the GramPanchayat elections in theState even as it rejectedimplead petitions filed byteachers and employees.

HC quashes case:No insider trading

DGP Gautam Sawang, who is facing criticism from all quarters allegedly for failing to curb attacks on Hindu temples,took everyone by surprise on Tuesday by offering Rs 10,000 as donation for the construction of Ram Mandir at Ayodhya.

The DGP responded to BJP leader Purighalla Raghuram who approached him seeking donation for the temple onTuesday. The irony is that BJP state president Somu Veerraju demanded Sawang’s removal as DGP, while party state

secretary S Vishnuvardha Reddy alleged that DGP office has become the party office of YSRCP.

PAGE 2: Muslim woman asks community to donate liberally for Ram temple at Ayodha

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Gudivada II Town Sub-Inspector P Vijay Kumarended his life by suicidelate on Monday.Colleagues and familymembers suspect that anextramarital affair with abeautician could be thereason for his extremestep.

According to reports,Vijay Kumar hanged him-self from a ceiling fan at hisresidence. It is said thatrecently he got married butwas staying with a beauti-cian. Vijay Kumar whohailed from Eluru, WestGodavari District and wasa 2012 batch.

The S-I had married awoman from Eluru threemonths ago, but allegedlycontinued his relationshipwith the beautician.

The body was shifted toGudivada GovernmentArea Hospital for postmortem. Police have regis-tered a case and are inves-tigating.

The S-I’s family mem-bers alleged that VijayKumar as he was unable tocope with the pressureexerted by the beauticianpressure to continue hisrelationship with her.

YSRCP will faceCong fate if Yatra

is stopped: BJP

Told to raise funds, AP BJP finds going tough

Sub-inspectorends life overlove affair

A year on,ABV’s woesfar from over

HC reservesorders on SECplea over localbody election

SNV SUDHIRn VIJAYAWADA

Chief Minister Y SJaganmohan Reddy onTuesday met Union HomeMinister Amit Shah in Delhi.

During the one-hour 25minute long meeting, Jagansought the Centre’s help on awide range of issues — fromaccepting the revised cost esti-mates of the Polavaram projectas per 2017-18 rates, issuingre-notification for the shiftingof the High Court fromAmaravati to Kurnool as partof State Government’s plan ofdecentralisation of governanceto Special Category Status andhelping AP with funds tobridge the revenue deficit.

Tuesday’s was Jagan’s secondmeeting with Amit Shah in thelast two months.

According to sources, Jagandiscussed at length his plans tohave the capitals in the state;the proposal having been stuckin legal tangles.

Since the Chief Ministerwas accompanied by newly-appointed Additional

Advocate-General Jasti NagaBhushanam to Delhi, specula-tions are rife that the letterJagan wrote to the ChiefJustice of India alleging polit-ical bias by a sitting SupremeCourt senior judge came upprominently for discussionduring the meeting.

Jagan is said to have soughtthe Centre’s cooperation andsupport to shift the executivecapital to Vizag and HighCourt to Kurnool. Jagan alsoreportedly discussed thealleged insider trading by theTDP leaders that took place inAmaravati.

The YSRCP Governmenthas already written to theCentre seeking a CBI probeinto the Amaravati land scam.

The Central Government isyet to respond to Jagan’s plea.

Notably, CBI comes underAmit Shah’s ministry.

Jagan had also said to haveapprised Amit Shah about theongoing tussle with the StateElection Commissioner (SEC)Nimmagadda Ramesh Kumar.

PAGE 2

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vijayawada 02VIJAYAWADA | WEDNESDAY | JANUARY 20, 2021

In a state like AndhraPradesh, it is defi-nitely very hard to

draw the attention ofpeople with just an ide-ological strength base,some theories and plau-sible preaching! But it'svery easy to reach sectionsof its people as protagonistsof religion, region and caste.Political parties often chooseto go for a blame gameagainst their rivals, hoping toget political fruits. It's a two-pronged strategy to get polit-ical mileage and put detrac-tors on the defensive.

Political rivalry betweenthe YSRCP and the TDP inAndhra Pradesh has nowassumed religious overtones,following police ‘findings’with regard to the string ofincidents involving desecra-tion of shrines, mainly idolsin Hindu temples. The find-ing that the ‘miscreants’included political activists

has given ammuni-tion to both parties,which are out to fixeach other.

The Ramatheerthamincident, which

took place inVizianagaram had, sent

shock waves across the state,jolting the administration toaction. For many years, agentprovocateurs did not whip upreligious passions, thoughcaste conflicts have at timesresulted in fury and flamesdisturbing social harmony.Even during the surchargedatmosphere post demolitionof the Babri Masjid atAyodhya in December 1992,the state was by and largepeaceful, unlike several statesthat witnessed widespreadand spontaneous ‘reactions'to that infamous incident.

But now the YSRCP haslaunched a political tiradeagainst the Telugu DesamParty, which is paying back

the ruling party in its owncoin. So, observers see a dis-tinct possibility of polarisa-tion of votes on the basis ofreligion during the upcomingbypoll for the Tirupati LokSabha constituency. Thebypoll has been necessitatedby the sudden death of pre-sent member belonging toYSRCP Balli DurgaprasadRao. BJP has jumped into thepoll fray without consultingJana Sena, its friendly partyheaded by actor Pawan

Kalyan, causing embarrass-ment to the latter. BJP's pro-posed Rath Yatra against‘growing attacks on Hindutemples all over the state’ hasincreased political heat.Probably influenced by thewidely perceived reason forBJP's rise at the Centre,almost all right-of-centre par-ties are falling back on out-right Hindutva or Hindutva-like idealogy to impress vot-ers and grow their individualvote banks.

AP DGP Gautam Sawang's'confirmation' that some TDPand BJP leaders wereinvolved in the attacks ontemples has drawn severecondemnation from variousquarters, including the twoparties. Interestingly, thesame DGP had previouslybrushed aside the argumentregarding possible political

conspiracy and asserted thatthe attacks were the handi-work of ‘senseless miscreants’.Naturally, YSRC cadre acrossthe state welcomed the 'star-tling revelations' of the DGP,though others question thepropriety of the DGP’s disclo-sure of the ‘findings’ muchbefore the completion ofenquiry by SIT. In retrospect,how can the DGP bluntopposition leaders’ taunt thathe should shed his uniformand join YSRC?

The lack of surveillancecameras in many templeshas complicated matters forthe authorities. Still, theGovernment appears to bevigorously trying to nab theculprits. What happened inthe case of the demolition ofBabri Masjid in December1992? Will people have faithin a system if an organisedcrime could not reach thestage of punishment?

The YSRCP, when it was in

the Opposition, hadexpressed its displeasure atthe functioning of the PoliceDepartment after a youthattacked then oppositionleader YS Jaganmohan Reddywith a sharp knife (used incockfight) at Visakhapatnamairport. To lay it on thick,Jagan then evinced no inter-est in getting treatment fromlocal doctors under thesupervision of AP police cit-ing his apprehension thatthe police might do harm tohim. Jagan then travelled toHyderabad for treatment inthe neighbouring state.Earlier, in another incident,he had warned AP police per-sonnel at the same airport of‘dire consequences’. He squat-ted on the runway alongwith other leaders protestingthe behaviour of policetowards him.

Coming back to the immi-nent polarisation ahead of theTirupati bypoll, it appears

that BJP is strategically push-ing its hidden agenda todelete the very concept ofSpecial Category Status fromthe minds of people. Whatthe saffron party is trying towish away is that in 2014 itwas then BJP prime ministe-rial candidate Narendra Modiwho made the crucialannouncement regardingSCS on the hallowed soil ofTirupati during campaigningfor the General Election. It isa different matter that BJPleaders, including Modi, maybecome voiceless if peoplecall them out during cam-paigning tomorrow.Meanwhile, it pays for thesaffron party to take anaggressive stand on itsHindutva agenda in AP. For,the emergence of ‘rulingclasses’ such as Reddy,Kamma & Velama havechanged the political dynam-ics in the state, with religionreceding to the background.

M D RATNA KUMAR

Senior Journalist

For many years, agent provocateurs

did not whip up religious passions,

though caste conflicts have at times

resulted in fury and flames disturbing

social harmony. Even during the

surcharged atmosphere post

demolition of the Babri Masjid, the

state was by and large peaceful.

PIN

POINT

Desecration of idols takes political colour!

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PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Former TDP leader PothulaSunitha has been electedunopposed for the vacantMLC seat for which theElection Commission ofIndia had issued the notifica-tion recently. However, theresults will be formallyannounced after a few days asper the poll schedule releasedby the ECI.

As the last date for filing ofnominations ended onTuesday and no other paperswere filed, the victory ofSunitha is but a mere formal-ity.

Sunitha was elected to theCouncil on behalf of theTDP, but had resigned inOctober following a com-plaint lodged by her partyseeking her disqualificationafter she voted against theRule 71 motion despite awhip being issued.

Sunitha elected

unopposed to Council

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

A Muslim woman has appealedto members of the communi-ty to come forward and donateliberally for the construction ofRam temple at Ayodhya.

Zahara Begum, trustee of theTahera Trust, recalled that allcommunities, especiallyMuslims, come forward tomake arrangements to cele-brate Vinayaka Chavithi,Dasara and Ram Navami byoffering donations, thus reflect-ing the unity in diversity syn-onymous with India. Sheappealed to Muslim communi-ty to come forward and coop-erate in all possible manners,including donating liberally,

for the construction of Ramtemple at Ayodhya.

Zahara Begum appealed toMuslims to donate throughNidhi Samarpana during theNidhi Sekarana programmefor the building of RamaTemple at Ayodhya.

She said that Muslims candonate anything upward ofRs10 as per their convenience.

Zahara Begum said thatwhile working in villages,sometimes most remote andsome advanced, for over 10years, she noticed that Hindushave helped by donating landto build masjids, idgahs andgraveyards. She stated thatnon-Muslims had donated agood extent of cultivable landto Muslims.

Zahara Begum said thatIndia is known for its spiritu-ality, heritage, multiple tradi-tions, multicultural ethos andlanguages and there is no othercountry in the world like India.She said that people of allcommunities includingMuslims have freedom ofeverything in India.

Give liberally for Ramtemple, Muslims told

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Five police officers fromAndhra Pradesh have beenawarded the Antrik SurakshaSeva Padak-2020 for discharg-ing their duties efficiently inNaxal-affected places in thestate.

DGP Gautam Sawang onTuesday handed over theAntrik Suraksha Seva Padak2020, awarded by the Centralgovernment, to these fivepolice officers.

The police officers whoreceived the medal from the

DGP were DIG Palaraju(Technical), DIG Kranti RanaTata (Anantapur Range), DIGRajasekhar Babu (Law andOrder), Bhaskar Bhushan (SPNellore) and Vishal Gunni(SP Guntur Rural).

5 top cops awardedfor taking on Naxals

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

A belligerent BJP state gener-al secretary S VishnuvardhanReddy on Tuesday cautionedthe ruling YSRCP, saying thatit would meet the same fate as

of the Congress if it tries to stophis party’s Rath Yatra pro-posed from February 4.

Talking to reporters here,Vishnuvardhan Reddy saidthat YSRCP leaders were rat-tled by the announcement of

BJP’s Rath Yatra from KapilaTheertham to Ramatheertham.“Going by their nervousness,police will create hurdles forthe Yatra,” the BJP leader said.

“Come what may, we willtake out the Rath Yatra. Going

by the utterances of the YSRCPleaders ever since the ann-ouncement of the Yatra weexpect police and the rulingparty to create hurdles. I don’tknow why they are so rattled,”he said.

Continued from Page 1

Venkateswara Rao, who hispeers and detractors call ABV,was the additional DGP over-looking the intelligence oper-ations in the ChandrababuNaidu regime.

He had always facedintense criticism from YSRCPleaders, especially from a keyaide of Chief Minister YSJaganmohan Reddy and partyRajya Sabha Member VVijayasai Reddy.

When in Opposition,Vijayasai Reddy never missedany opportunity to criticiseABV. He alleged that ABVworked for the political inter-ests of Chandrababu Naiduand also accused him of lur-ing the then 23 YSRCP MLAsinto the TDP fold.

ABV wielded immensepower and influence duringthe TDP term. In fact, duringhis stint as the intelligencewing boss, ABV was said tohave enjoyed more powerthan a DGP who is the StatePolice chief.

It was no surprise that assoon as Jagan stormed topower, ABV was transferredfrom the Intelligence opera-tions and not given any post-ing. After making him sit idlefor months, ABV was sus-pended, pending inquiry, onthe grounds of corruptionduring the TDP regime.

While the inquiry was stillon, a Review Committee inApril last year recommendedextension of his suspensionby another six months.

“On January 18, 2021, theReview Committee reviewedthe suspension of ABV andrecommended that the sus-pension be extended for fur-ther period up to 180 dayswith effect from August 6,2020 or till further orderswhichever is earlier,” theGovernment order said.

A year on,ABV’s woesfar from over

Continued from Page 1

One of the buyers of the landKilaru Rajesh moved courtchallenging the CID cases. Healleged that there were nocomplaints from any personwho had sold their lands atAmaravati and asked how thegovernment could file caseswithout any complaint fromthe sellers.

It’s nothing but a witch-hunt by the JaganmohanReddy government, advocatePosani Venkateshwarluargued on behalf of the peti-tioner.

It now remains to be seenwhether the JaganmohanReddy government movesthe Supreme Court againstthe High Court order.

Continued from Page 1

A division bench headed byChief Justice Arup KumarGoswami and Justice CPraveen Kumar heard thereview petition filed byState ElectionC o m m i s s i o n e rNimmagadda RameshKumar challenging the sin-gle-judge bench’s order sus-pending the election sched-ule for Gram Panchayatelections in February.

Senior advocateAdinarayana Rao, appear-ing for the SEC, stressedthat the situation was grad-ually returning to normalafter the turmoil createddue to the Coronaviruspandemic. “There areabsolutely no hurdles toconducting the local bodyelections,” he said.

Adinarayana Rao point-ed out that the SEC wouldnot get any personal bene-fits by conducting the elec-

tions in February, exceptfulfilling a Constitutionalobligation. He argued thatthe vaccination process,which had just begun,would not be any hurdle inthe conduct of local bodies.

Counsel also brought tothe notice of the HighCourt that the courts couldnot intervene in the electionprocess once the schedule isannounced. “This was theSupreme Court order in thepast,” he pointed out.

The notification for thefirst phase of gram pan-chayat elections is sched-uled to be released onThursday. It is expectedthat the High Court willdeliver its judgment byWednesday.

The bench also refused toallow the implead petitionsfiled on behalf of the StateGovernment employeesand teachers challengingthe election schedulereleased by the SEC.

HC reserves orders...

Continued from Page 1

It’s not known how theywould respond to donatingfunds to the BJP.

By themselves, the BJP lead-ers in AP are not financiallystrong. In fact, 80 percent ofthe party workers and leaders,including MLCs and ZPTCs,are from the upper middleclasses. Only a few leaders arefrom the business class.

Two BJP MPs from AP —Satyanarayana Chowdary andCM Ramesh — have the abil-ity to raise funds, but they arelukewarm to the idea, given thefact that they have not beengiven any prominence in theparty.

Incidentally, SatyanarayanaChowdary funded the TDPpoll expenses in 2014 and also

prior to that. After he crossedover to the BJP, a function hallhe owns in Vijayawada is beingused to run party activities.

TG Venkatesh, another MP,is lending financial support toBJP activities in Kurnool dis-trict. No other political leaderhas been making a notablefinancial contribution to theparty activities.

The general feeling amongBJP AP leaders is that mobil-isation of funds in the State isnot going to be easy.

A senior party leader whowished to remain anonymousadmitted to receiving orders inthis regard but ruled outmobilisation of funds to meetthe out of turn expenses.

He however denied the cen-tral leadership has fixed targets

to raise funds. The situation in Telangana

is not as critical as that in AP,thanks to the party being rep-resented by Union minister GKishan Reddy, three MPs,MLAs, MLC and several ind-ustrialists who crossed overfrom the TDP or Congress.

Moreover, industrial hub,IT hub and real estate hub arelocated in Hyderabad and thisis the sector where the moneyis. Businessmen are nowadaysquite happy to donate to theBJP, especially following itsperformance in Dubbaka andthen the GHMC elections.

Besides, many traders fromthe north have been conduct-ing businesses in Hyderabadsince long and are consideredto be sympathetic to the BJP.

Told to raise funds, AP BJP...

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

AP's coronavirus tally rose to8,86,245 as 179 cases wereadded afresh in 24 hoursending 9 am on Tuesday.

A health department bul-letin said the total recoverieswent up to 8,77,443 after231 more patients got cured.The Covid-19 toll rose mar-ginally to 7,142 followingone fresh death. Active casescame down to 1,660.

In 24 hours, Chittoor dis-trict reported 40 fresh cases,Krishna 35 and Guntur 24.Seven districts reported lessthan 10 new cases and threeothers added between 10 and20.

Continued from Page 1

He and his wife Vijaya Reddyvisit the village every sixmonths and meet relativesand old friends.

Thirupathi Reddy, VinayReddy’s grandfather, servedas the sarpanch of Pothired-dypeta village for 30 years.While Narayana Reddymigrated to the US, his elderbrother Raji Reddy andyounger Prabhakar Reddyare settled in Hyderabad.

Cholleti Kishan Reddy, aclose relative of Vinay Reddy,expressed happiness over theappointment of Vinay Reddyas Biden’s speechwriter.

The entire village, in fact,is elated after hearing the

news, he said, wishing thatthe son of the soil bringsmore accolades to the villageby achieving higher posi-tions.

Vinay Reddy, who wasborn and brought up inAmerica, had visited the vil-lage in his childhood.

According to a post fromthe Moritz College of Law, ofwhich he is an alumnus,Vinay Reddy served asBiden’s chief speech writerduring his second term asVice President to BarackObama, as deputy speech-writer for the Obama-Biden2012 re-election campaignand was also the speech-writer for the Biden-Harristransition.

Continued from Page 1

He's setting out withDemocrats clinging to razor-thin House and Senate controland after having won an elec-tion in which 74 million peo-ple voted for his opponent.

And even if his administra-tion accomplishes most of itstop goals in legislation or exec-utive action, those actions aresubject to being struck downby a Supreme Court now con-trolled by a 6-3 conservativemajority.

Even so, the effort is soonunderway. Washington is brac-ing for dozens of consequen-tial executive actions startingWednesday and stretched overthe first 10 days of Biden'sadministration, as well as leg-islation that will begin work-

ing its way through Congresson pandemic relief, immigra-tion and much more.

Has Biden promised morethan he can deliver? Not in hisestimation. He suggests he canaccomplish even more than hepromised.

Some Democrats say Bidenis right to set great expectationswhile realising he'll have tocompromise, rather than start-ing with smaller goals and hav-ing to scale them back further.

You can't say to a nation thatis hungry, uncertain, in someplaces afraid, whose economyhas stalled out ... that you hadto slim down the request oftheir government because youhave a narrow governing mar-gin, said former MassachusettsGov. Deval Patrick.

Continued from Page 1

A discussion about the prevail-ing political situation in thestate, especially the increase inattacks on Hindu temples andTDP chief N ChandrababuNaidu’s strategy to take upHindutva agenda also come upfor discussion, sources said. He

also discussed funding for thePolavaram project and sever-al other sops promised by theCentre to AP.

It may be noted that the BJPcentral leadership on its parthas been maintaining friend-ly ties as per the federal spiritwith YSRCP.

However, it has given a clearroadmap to the party’s stateunit leaders to take on theJaganmohan Reddy govern-ment. The BJP also needsYSRCP’s support in the UpperHouse of Parliament to passcertain key and crucial legisla-tions.

Jagan ask Shah to support his...

JOEBILATION

No insidertrading overCapital: HC

179 freshcases in AP

Pothireddypeta...

Not goingto be easy... Continued from Page 1Asked if she felt safe going tothe inauguration, she said, I amvery much looking forward tobe sworn in as the next vicepresident of the United Statesand I will walk there to thatmoment proudly with my headup and my shoulders back .Kamala Harris and the futureSecond Gentleman of the USDoug Emhoff participated in aservice event at Martha's Tablein Anacostia on Monday,packing food into plastic bagswhich will be distributed. Thecouple were seen packing bagswith the list laid out for themtwo potatoes, two oranges, amacaroni and cheese, etc.

Muslims help makearrangements tocelebrate VinayakaChavithi, Dasara andRam Navami byoffering donations.

YSRCP will face Congress fate, warns BJP

vijayawada 03VIJAYAWADA | WEDNESDAY | JANUARY 20, 2021

SHORT TAKES

SUMIT ONKA n VISAKHAPATNAM

Even as the National RoadSafety month began fromJanuary 18, the lack of TraumaCare Centres (TCCs) alongthe National Highway inAndhra Pradesh remains to bea concern, which is killing thegolden hour, the time durationin which an accident victim canbe saved.

In AP, there are about 13trauma care centres in 13 dis-tricts and all of them areattached to the district hospi-tals and none is located on theNH. Moreover, none of themfalls in the Level-1 category.

The TCCs being located inthe busy areas is also blockingthe movement of the ambu-lances. For instance, the ambu-lances often get stuck in traf-fic jams while heading to KGHTrauma Care Centres.

The total road network ofAP is about 1.46 lakh km.While the National Highwaycover 2,949 km in the state,42,511 km come under theState Highways and 1.01 lakhkm under the district roads.

"With the absence of thetrauma centres along the NH-16 and state highways, KGHospital in Vizag city, RIMSHospital in Srikakulam andvery a few other hospitals have

been receiving over 40 accidentcases in a day. There are noambulances at the accidentprone stretches identified onthe Highways. A majority ofthe accidents come to KGHospital after the GoldenHour," said a traffic police.

"In majority of the cases, theaccident death cases could beprevented if the victims arebrought within one hour whatwe call golden hour. So, wehave taken up a pilot project toidentify the points where thetrauma units could be set upand improve the coordinationamong the hospitals," saidAndhra Pradesh NeuroScientists Association secretaryMV Vijay Sekhar.

"A pilot project has beentaken up to improve the trau-ma care facilities along theNational Highway in AndhraPradesh. Given the number of

road mishaps, there are a veryfew government hospitalsequipped trauma centres.Consequently, the accident vic-tims are succumbing toinjuries, though they are pre-ventable with enough traumacentres," he said.

The Ministry of Health andFamily Welfare had floated ascheme named "CapacityBuilding for developingTrauma care Facilities inGovernment Hospitals onNational Highways" from 2014with the objective to bringdown preventable deathsbecause of road accidents to 10per cent by developing a pan-India trauma care network inwhich no trauma victims has tobe transported for more than50 kilometres and a designat-ed trauma care facility is avail-able at every 100 km on thenational highways.

‘Golden hour’ lost due to lack of of trauma care centres along NH

PNS n VISAKHAPATNAM

Use of drones to oversee roadsafety along the NationalHighways in Andhra Pradeshon lines of a pilot projectundertaken by MaharashtraPolice along the Mumbai-Pune Expressway could beexplored, suggested formerunion secretary EAS Sarma tothe AP Road & Transportdepartment on Tuesday.

In a letter to MT KrishnaBabu, Principal Secretary toGovt of AP, Sarma shared theletters issued by two publicspirited citizens of Vizag,Bhagavanudu and HanumantaRao to the District Collectorand the Commissioner ofPolice, Visakhapatnam aboutthe possible use of drones tooversee road safety.

In view of the frequentoccurrence of accidents onthe National Highway passingthrough Visakhapatnam dis-trict, the suggestions made byBhagavanudu andHanumanta Rao deserve aserious consideration.

"I understand that the useof drones for highway safety

is being experimented in dif-ferent parts of India. Forexample, the Kanpur policeare also trying out drones tomonitor and prevent trafficaccidents as per reports," hesaid. He suggested the APRoad Transport departmentto get in touch with theMaharashtra and UP police toget their feedback so that theshortcomings in their respec-tive schemes may beaddressed and the schemeimproved upon.

While the application ofdrones is certainly a positivedevelopment, some othersfeel that it is too expensiveand not as effective as it isbeing made of.

However, he also high-lighted the negative side of theuse of drones and enclosed apress release on the draftregulations issued by theUnion Ministry of CivilAviation on deployment ofdrones and these regulationswill have to be kept in view asthe indiscriminate use ofdrones may interfere withthe air traffic, posing newthreats to air safety.

Experts moot use of drones alongNH on lines of UP, Maharashtra

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

As the sand scarcity continuesto hit the construction sectorin Andhra Pradesh, realtors areseriously considering usingartificial or manufactured sandas an alternative.

Artificial or manufacturedsand is made out of rocks by theartificial process and it differsfrom river sand in its proper-ties and nature. It is obtainedfrom specific hard rock (gran-ite) using the first quality tech-nology and it has all the desiredproperties of sand. It does nothave any silt materials or organ-ic impurities which are best-suited for concrete construc-tion. This makes it an idealalternative for natural sand.

With the increasing accep-tance of manufactured sand asa solid alternative, the demandfor this material is increasingday-by-day owing to severalfactors, explained the realtors.Some representatives of theConfederation of Real Estate

Developers' Associations ofIndia (CREDAI) - AndhraPradesh, in Vizag said: "Eventhough, we are happy with thenew sand policy, sand scarcitystill continues to haunt realtorsin Andhra Pradesh. We have toopt for manufactured sanddue to the scarcity to completethe works on time, said aCREDAI member.

"The construction materialprices have skyrocketed andscarcity of sand is further com-pounding the problem. Therehas been a 15 to 20 per centincrease in costs. For instance,the price of steel witnessed anincrease of 15,000 per tonne.Steel was earlier available at Rs40,000, but now costs over Rs55,000. Likewise, the costs of allother materials have skyrock-eted in the last few months," hesaid.

In view of the shortfall indomestic supply, the develop-ers are planning to opt for nat-ural sand from neighbouringstates.

Realtors mull use of artificial sands to meet demand

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

TDP MLC P Ashok Babu onTuesday demanded that thestate government announcea true people-friendly sandpolicy immediately to pre-vent the State economy fromslipping into a deeper crisisand to create confidenceamong the builders and con-struction workers.

Ashok Babu asked as towhy Chief Minister YSJaganmohan Reddy was notable to sacrifice just Rs 750crore for the sake of free sandpolicy which would reviveconstruction industry worththousands of crores. Lakhs of

construction labourers,plumbers, electricians,painters and people depen-dent on this sector will bebenefitted, he said.

"Sand is just a goldengoose for the CM, Ministersand some MLAs and theydon't have any concern forthe suffering of the commonpeople, he alleged.

Addressing a press confer-ence, the TDP MLC saidthat not just realtors anddevelopers, but masons andworkers were also hit badlybecause of the policy beingimplemented by YSRCP.

"Construction costs wentup by 30 to 35 percent. The

coolies were also demandinghigher wages saying that theywere unable to meet endsbecause of high rates ofessential commodities. Theworkers regret that theycould not save anything asliquor, which was available atRs 60 to Rs 70 in the past, wasnow priced at Rs 150 to Rs200. The sand crisis had thushit all sectors of the Stateeconomy," he said.

He said that the AP totalbudget came to Rs 2 lakh crorebut Jaganmohan Reddy wasnot willing to sacrifice Rs 750crore for the sake of providingfree sand to breathe new lifeinto the construction industry.

Unveil people-friendly sand policy to save construction industry: TDP

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

TDP supremo and formerChief Minister N ChandrababuNaidu on Tuesday alleged thatthe YSRCP government led byYS Jaganmohan Reddy hadturned the state into a hub ofviolence by resorting to a seriesof murders and atrocities. Hesaid that the 'DharmaParirakshana Yatra' wouldbegin on January 21 covering700 villages in the segments ofTirupati Parliamentary con-stituency and added that theYatra would be held for 10 days.

TDP chief deplored that theChief Minister and theMinisters were not behavinglike elected people's represen-tatives but they were behavinglike rowdies to terrify people.

Even the people were pub-licly questioning the behaviourand attitude of the ruling partyMIAs, he said.

Interacting with the leadersof Tirupati Parliamentary con-stituency via video-confer-ence, the TDP Chief allegedthat over 2,000 farmers havecommitted suicides in just 20months, 400 atrocities havebeen committed on women,physical attacks have beenmade at 1,350 places and over16 TDP activists have beenmurdered. Gangi Reddy wasmurdered at Tamballapalli anda Dalit youth Om Pratap diedunder suspicious circum-stances in Punganur, he added.

"An YSRCP MLA threat-ened none other than theDistrict Superintendent ofPolice in a public meeting andchallenged the SP to come fora debate. A woman MPDO,who was harassed by anotherruling party MLA, staged aprotest in the police stationsitself in the midnight," Naidusaid.

Naidu bemoaned that theotherwise peaceful districts -Chittoor and Nellore also havebeen witnessing attacks andatrocities. "Over 15 miscreantsattacked a TDP leaderVenkatesh in Sullurupeta withknives yesterday," he said.

"A sub-inspector of police,who raided the gambling denof a minister committed sui-cide, but it is being suspectedthat he was murdered, a sui-cide or a suspicious death," theTDP chief said.

"Punganur Dalit youth justquestioned the governmentabout cheap liquor brands

being sold under theJaganmohan Reddy regime.Soon, he met with a suspiciousdeath. Weavers' leaderNandam Subbaiah was lured tothe spot and then murderedjust for exposing corruption inhouse sites. Nandyal residentsAbdul Salaam's family threwthemselves under a speedingtrain. Abdul Sattar attemptedsuicide in front of the SP officeitself. These were all examplesof the YSRCP's atrocious rule.CM Jaganmohan Reddy andthe DGP were responsible forall this violence," he alleged.

YSRCP turned state into aviolence hub, alleges Naidu

Dharma ParirakshanaYatra will be held for 10days from Jan 21. It willcover 700 villages inthe segments of Tiru-pati LS constituency,says Naidu

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Tension prevailed at Gollapudifor a while as senior TDPleader and former MinisterDevineni UmamaheshwaraRao tried to stage deeksha atNTR statue here on Tuesday.The police controlled the situ-ation by arresting the leader andfoiled his proposed deeksha.

The TDP and YSRCPrushed to the spot raising slo-gans against each other whichlead to a tense situation.

The TDP leader emerged atthe place suddenly covering hisface with mask and wearingcap and rushed towards theNTR statue to start deeksha ashe announced last night,responding to Civil Supplies

Minister Kodali VenkateswaraRao's absurd comments that hewould thrash Rao at his houseitself. The former Minister wasseen running towards the NTRstatue but the police surround-ed him and whisked away tothe police station, amid slogansby the TDP activists.

The TDP activists led byformer MLA Tangirala Soumyaprevented the vehicle in whichthe former Minister was beingtaken to the police station,while the party activists squat-ted on the road and demandedthe release of senior TDP leader.

Earlier, the police barricad-ed the road leading to the for-mer Minister's house and didnot allow the TDP activists togo to his house. The police also

detained TDP MLC BuddhaVenkanna in his house herewhen he was going toGollapudi to extend solidaritywith Rao.

Police said that prohibitoryorder under Section 144 ofCrPC and Police Act 30 wereclamped at Gollapudi as a pre-cautionary measure and noprogramme would be allowedto be conducted. The formerminister was not given permis-sion to embark deeksha atNTR statue, Police clarified.

Speaking to the media,Gannavaram MLA VallabhaneniVamshi said that Nani dared foran open debate on a TV channelwith the TDP leader but he want-ed to embark deeksha which wasnot proper.

Cops arrest Devineni, foil attempts to stage deeksha

PNS n VISAKHAPATNAM

The DIG (Visakha Range),LKV Ranga Rao, said that theyarrested six persons in connec-tion with the Paleswaram tem-ple case at Santhabommali inSrikakulam district.

The DIG said that the oldNandi idol that was replaceda couple of years ago in thetemple with a new one, wasplaced under a tree on thetemple premises.

Due to the recent incidentsof attacks on religious places,some persons took discardedNandi to a nearby villagesquare and placed in on apedestal which was construct-ed for installing the statue of apolitician. Some of them

clicked the photos of the Nandiand uploaded on social mediaand it had gone viral creatinga little unrest in the village.

Based on the CCTVfootage, 11 persons have beenidentified and six have beenarrested. The VRO has lodgeda complaint against 22 personsand a majority of them isbelieved to be associated witha political party.

The investigation into theincident revealed that theaccused persons committedthe crime with an intention tocreate communal disharmony.

Speaking about Ramatheerth-am incident in Vizianagaram dis-trict, the DIG said that six teamshave been deployed and effortswere on to nab the culprits.

Six arrested in Nandiidol relocation case

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

The Anti-Corruption Bureauofficials on Tuesday caught aDeputy Executive Engineer ofIrrigation department foraccepting Rs 1.5 lakh.

The accused officer,Rayana Srinivasa Rao, DyExecutive Engineer, RiverConservancy Sub-Division,Krishna Central Division,Vijayawada has demandedbribe of Rs 1,50,000 for giv-ing permission for de-castingof sand in the lands taken onlease by him at Gajjulalankavillage in Kolluru mandal,Guntur district.

One Bhattu Vijaya Sagar,hailing from Challapalli inKrishna district, lodged acomplaint stating thatRayana Srinivasa Rao, hasdemanded a bribe of Rs1,50,000 for giving permis-sion for de-casting of sand inthe lands taken on lease byhim at Gajjulalanka and for-warding the clearance letterto EE, Krishna CentralDivision, Vijayawada foronward submission to Asst.Director, Mines & Geology,Guntur.

The Guntur Range ACBofficials laid a trap and caughtthe Deputy ExecutiveEnigineer red-handed in hisoffice located at PWDCompound besides PWDGrounds, Vijayawada, whenhe was accepting the bribefrom the complainant.

The tainted amount wasrecovered and relevantrecords were seized fromhim. He was arrested andproduced before the SpecialJudge for SPE & ACB Cases,Vijayawada and the case isunder investigation.

Irrigation Dy EE lands in ACB net

YSRCP’s tirade leaves BJP cadre confusedMARTHI SUBRAHMANYAMn VIJAYAWADA

The BJP rank and file fail todecipher whether the YSRCP isan allied party or a foe to theBJP because of the piquant sit-uation that has arisen due to thealliance between the YSRCPand BJP at the national level andlack of it at the state level. TheBJP has been strongly using itsHindutva card, in the backdropof attacks on shrines, and itscadres are perplexed at thetirade launched by the YSRCPMinisters against it for the pastone week failing to come togrips with the situation.

The cadres are confusedwhether the YSRCP is an alliedparty or a rival party.Alternatively, whether the

tirade was launched againstthe BJP only to rein in the TDP,which is out to use theHindutva card of late, to limitthe fight between the YSRCPand the BJP? The Jagan govern-ment stepped up attack on theBJP following DGP GoutamSawang's statement that theBJP was also behind the attackson temples along with the TDP.

The statement sparked angryreaction from the BJP whichdemanded the scalp of the DGPand accused the government ofencouraging attacks on temples.By questioning the payment ofRs 5,000 honorarium to pastorsonly to encourage religious con-versions, the BJP sought to woothe Hindu voters to its side.

But the onslaught of theYSRCP left the BJP gasping for

breath. Earlier, Kodali Nani,minister in Jagan Cabinet,called the BJP more dangerousthan virus, but Somu Veerraju,party AP unit president, chosenot to respond to it.

In a fresh onslaught, minis-ters Vellampalli Srinivasa Rao,Botsa Satyanarayana, AvantiSrinivas and others startedquestioning the very policies ofthe BJP. When ChandrababuNaidu was the CM, KamineniSrinivas of the BJP was aCabinet member. The YSRCPpointed out that the BJP min-ister enjoyed his post as the thenBabu regime went about demol-ishing some temples fixing theBJP in a piquant situation.

The BJP sources admit thatit would serve as an ideologi-cal blow to the party.

The YSRCP put the BJP onthe defensive why the state BJPfailed to mount pressure on theCentre to order a CBI probeinto the attacks on templeseven three months after thestate government issuing a GOordering a CBI probe into theattacks. The YSRCP allegedthat the BJP has been drivingwedge between various reli-gions creating bad blood onlyto make its presence felt. Theruling party ministers allegedthat the BJP failed to bring atleast a single rupee towards theflood relief to benefit the flood-hit in the state.

Minister Vellampalli Srinivas,who said that the JaganGovernment could not be coweddown like the previous Baburegime to threats, has vowed to set-

tle accounts of those who createcommunal bad blood. He daredSomu Veeraju to go and lodge acomplaint with the Centre as thegovernment was afraid of none.The BJP cadres were shockedand confused at the ministerthreatening the BJP to complainagainst the YSRCP governmentwith the Centre. The BJP seniorsanalyse the situation as that theministers would not mustercourage to criticise the BJPunless they have the green sig-nal from the CM.

The seniors are not able tounderstand the government onone hand criticising the state BJPand on the other maintainingcordial ties with the Centre. Apolitical confusion has arisen asthe BJP is not able to decidewhether the BJP is an ally or a foe.

TDP hails HCverdict on ‘insider trading’PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Telugu Desam Party seniorleader Alapati RajendraPrasad on Tuesday askedwhether Chief Minister YSJaganmohan Reddy wouldtender his resignation fol-lowing recent AndhraPradesh High Court's orderdismissing the charges of'insider trading' in theAmaravati capital city lands.

Rajendra Prasad assertedthat it was evident that all theallegations levelled by theChief Minister and hisMinisters on the Capital citylands were baseless and false.

The High Court orderhad proved that the rulingYSRCP had deliberatelyhatched a conspiracy todestroy Amaravati with utterdisregard for the futureprospects of AndhraPradesh.

HYDERABAD: The mother of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YSJaganmohan Reddy’s mother YS Vijayamma and his sister YSSharmila on Tuesday appeared before the special sessions court forthe trial of MP and MLA cases at Nampally in a case registeredagainst them in the year 2012 for conducting a road show inviolation of election code at Parakal in Warangal district. The sessionjudge of the court directed the other accused in the case formerKonda Surekha and her husband Muralidhar Rao to appear before iton January 27 of this month. Both YS Vijayamma and YS Sharmilatold the court that they came to attend the proceedings of the courtfrom Bengaluru. They also pleaded before the court that they werenot guilty of the charges slapped against them by police concernedand added that they were ready to fight the case and face the trial inthe case. On the other hand, Konda Muralidhar Rao And his wifeKonda Surekha told the court they were not able to depose beforethe court due to the death of the mother in law of their daughter.Theadditional Public Prosecutor of the Court Banala Ajay Kumar hasrepresented the authorities concerned in the case. The Parkal policeslapped sections 188 and 391 of IPC and section 127 ofRepresentation of People’s Act.

Vijayamma, Sharmila appearbefore Nampally court

VIJAYAWADA: The services of Sonti Venkata Ramamurthy, who wasthe first generation civil servant and who had initially proposedPolavaram project, was remembered. Attending the 57th deathanniversary of Sonti Ramamurthy at Bapatla on Tuesday, BapatlaAgricultural College Associate Dean Dr G Ramachandra Rao saidthat Sonthi Ramamurthy was the first Indian to serve as the ChiefSecretary to Government of Madras Presidency and first-generationcivil servant who brought name and fame to all Telugu people.He said that the present Polavaram project was also Ramamurthy'sbrainchild and he put in untiring efforts and diligently pursued theproject. He further said that Ramamurthy also served as Governor ofthe Bombay Presidency. He mentioned that Ramamurthy wasinstrumental in solving the country's food problem during the pre-independence days. He was honoured as Knight Commander of theIndian Empire by the British.

VIJAYAWADA: As many as 41 tribals belonging to Yenadi families ofChindepalli Tribal Colony in Tirupati, Chittoor district, receivedpermanent housing plots from the State government under YSRJagananna Illa Pattalu Scheme. The community outreach model ofSOS Children's Villages of India, brought children of 23 eligiblefamilies, out of 41 families, under its direct care in 2016. The NGOhas transformed the Yenadi tribal community into a self-reliant one,securing parental care for their children. The household income hasincreased sustainably, the community has broken itself free from theclutches of moneylenders and the school dropout rate has beenbrought down from 90 per cent to 0 per cent. There has been nochild marriage, which used to be very common, since last two years.

VISAKHAPATNAM: The AP Higher Education Regulatory andMonitoring Commission (APHERMC) fixed the fee structure for allPG courses for the block period 2020-21 to 2022-23 in private un-aided professional institutions for MBA and MCA, M.Tech and M-Pharma. APHERMC had held a meeting in December to determinethe fee structure for all PG courses. If other amount is charged underany other head or guise (donations), the same would amount tocharging of capitation fee and in that case the institution shall beliable to be prosecuted under Section 9 of Andhra PradeshEducational Institutions (Regulation of Admissions and Prohibition ofCapitation Fee) Act, 1983 (Act No. 5 of 1983) apart from imposingappropriate penalty under the APHERMC Act, 2019 and theAPHERMC Rules, 2019 as amended subsequently from time to time.The fee is an all-inclusive annual fee, including like tuition fee,affiliation fee, cost of identity card, medical fee, inter college/interuniversity sports, games & cultural meet fee, computer/internet fee,college magazine and student activities, student health care scheme,student welfare fund, study tour, alumni fund, sports and games fee,examination fee including stationery, maintenance and amenities fee,extracurricular activities fee, development fee. The same fee shallcontinue for the students admitted during the block period of 2020-21 to 2022-23 till they complete the course.

Ramamurthy who envisonedPolavaram remembered

Tribals of Chindepalli gethouse site pattas

Government fixes fees for PG professional courses

VIJAYAWADA | WEDNESDAY | JANUARY 20, 2021 Telangana 04

RAJESH JAIN NIDARKAR

n HYDERABAD

The Pradhan Mantri KisanSamman Nidhi Yojana (PM-KISAN) will bring smiles onfaces of farmers, thanks to theCentre as the cash assistance ofRs 6,000 per annum is likely tobe increased to Rs 10,000 perannum. However, it has notbeen officially announced.

The Union Ministry ofAgriculture has sought theviews of the States on thedecision to increase as per theverbal instructions of PrimeMinister Narendra Modi. Aletter was also sent toTelangana and AndhraPradesh in that regard.However, the Centre hasdecided to remove the farmers,who are currently payingincome tax from the list ofKisan Samman beneficiaries’list. The decision will benefita large number of farmers, it islearnt.

Currently, the KisanSamman scheme is applicable

only to those farmers, whoown five acres of agriculturalland. However, this limit willbe increased in the revisedguidelines. Union Minister ofFinance Nirmala Sitaramanwill present the Union Budgeton February 1, 2021. Duringthat time, Kisan Samman willgather the views of all theStates and release new guide-

lines for the implementation ofthe scheme. Launched byPrime Minister NarendraModi on February 24, 2019,this ambitious scheme has sofar benefited 11.50 crore farm-ing families across the country.In all, 51,17,791 families inAndhra Pradesh and 34,81,656families in Telangana are on thebeneficiaries’ list.

The Prime Minister is takingother crucial decisions in theagriculture sector to achievethe goal of doubling theincome of farmers. As part ofthis, the Kisan Sammanscheme was launched for farm-ers. Right now, the scheme pro-vides financial assistance of Rs6,000 to farmers.

The Central government isdepositing money into farm-ers' bank accounts in threeinstalments at the rate of Rs2,000. In this budget, the Modigovernment has decided toprovide more financial facili-ties to farmers. Among themis a proposal to increase PMKisan assistance, said a seniorofficial with key responsibili-ties in the agriculture depart-ment.

A recent survey conductedby the Central governmentfound that small farming fam-ilies are also struggling tomake their ends meet as thereis no income. The Centre hasidentified the need for morefinancial assistance as the con-

dition of farmers has becomemiserable. Narendra Modicalled on the Central and Stategovernments to come forwardwith a joint venture and a newidea to support farmers insuch difficult situations. Aspart of this, an additional Rs3,000 was distributed to thefarmers. Kisan credit cardswere also handed over.

Union Finance MinisterNirmala Sitharaman will pre-sent the budget proposals forthe financial year 2021-22 toParliament on February 1. Inthis context, the governmentwill announce an increase incash assistance to farmersunder the PM-KISAN scheme.

PNS n SANGAREDDY

BJP national general secretaryTarun Chugh on Tuesdayalleged that Chief Minister KChandrasekhar Rao has beendeceiving people in the nameof 'Bangaru Telangan ' byindulging in large scale cor-ruption and promoting nepo-tism.

Addressing the workingcommittee members of BJPMahila Morcha here onTuesday, he said 'BangaruTelangana' was only for theChief Minister and his familymembers.

He lambasted the TRS gov-ernment for failing to fulfil anyof the promises it had made inthe election manifesto. "In thecorruption-ridden govern-ment, unemployment hasbeen increasing and KCR hasfailed to provide two lakh

jobs as promised during theelections.

Chugh exhorted the womenwing of the BJP to disseminateinformation about pro-poorpolicies and programmes ofPrime Minister NarendraModi, which the TRS govern-ment had failed to implement.

Expressing satisfaction at themanner the BJP has been strik-ing roots in the State, he saidthe party workers must fan outin all nooks and corners of theState deliver PM's message of"Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas" sothat no section of the societywas left out in the developmentprogrammes and policies.

Targeting his attack on thegovernment, he said, inTelangana all sections of peo-ple were feeling frustrated andhave been looking for a newwave, which the BJP haspromised to deliver in theState.

n The Centre has decidedto remove the farmers,who are currentlypaying income tax fromthe list of KisanSamman beneficiaries’list. The decision willbenefit a large numberof farmers, it is learnt

n BJP national generalsecretary Tarun Chughlambasted the TRSgovernment for failingto fulfil any of thepromises it had made inthe election manifesto

Centre likely to hike Kisan aid

‘Bangaru Telangana' onlyfor CM’s kin, alleges Chugh

BJP national general secretary TarunChugh addresses the workingcommittee members of BJP MahilaMorcha in Sangareddy on Tuesday

PNS n MEDCHAL

Minister for Labour ChamakuraMalla Reddy said that the gov-ernment was positive towardsthe poor and Chief Minister KChandrasekhar Rao was work-ing resolutely for the develop-ment of the poor.

On Tuesday, the minister,along with Medchal-MalkajgiriDistrict Collector SwetaMohanty, held a review meetingat the Collectorate with officialsof the respective departmentson double bedroom houses andvarious development works inthe district.

Speaking on the occasion, theminister said that the govern-ment has taken the constructionof double bedroom houses veryseriously to realise the dream ofthe poor.

The minister directed theauthorities to hand over double

bedrooms to all those who areeligible. The minister alsodirected the authorities toensure that the double bed-rooms at Jawaharnagar are spe-cially built for the physicallychallenged are handed over tothem.

How many applications havebeen received from urban andrural areas of the district? Howmany of them have been iden-

tified as eligible? How is theprogress of double bedroomstructures? He asked the officialsconcerned.

The minister explained thatthere was a delay due to theCorona and the authoritiesshould take steps to expedite thepresent works by arrangingmeetings with the contractorsconcerned and expedite theworks.

2BHK houses realisingdream of the poor: Minister

Minister for Labour Chamakura Malla Reddy interacts with Medchal-MalkajgiriDistrict Collector Sweta Mohanty at a review meeting in the Collectorate on Tuesday

Dantewada (Chhattisgarh) MLA Devti Karma at Vemulawada temple in RajannaSircilla district on Tuesday

P ANAND KUMAR

n NARSAPUR

Chairperson of State Women’sCommission Vakati SunitaLakshma Reddy has vowed towork to resolve women’s prob-lems and to extend them eco-nomic and social justice.

Speaking to The Pioneer hereon Sunday, she said that shewould live up to the expecta-tions of Chief Minister KChandrasekhar Rao whoappointed her as the chairper-son of the women’s body.

Women encountering prob-lems can contact theCommission by dialling thetoll-free number 181, or candrop a postcard explaining theirproblem. The Commissiontakes up some cases on a suomoto basis. Anybody can alsocome to the Commission’s officeto lodge a complaint.

She said that she received atotal of 15 complaints so far eversince she took over as the

Chairperson. Most of them arerelated to domestic violencecases. She assured them toinfuse confidence among themby taking suitable action indomestic violence cases.However, she said that somewomen are not freely comingforward to complain in a major-ity of the domestic violencecases for fear of losing their hon-our.

She assured such women tokeep their information confi-dential and extend all kind ofsupport to them.

The victims of domestic vio-lence would receive all kind ofsupport from the governmentlike providing them protectionand helping them avail loanfacility from various institutionsto enable them to start cottageindustries. She said that theCommission would sensitisewomen of self-help groups,who in turn sensitise women,on the services being providedto them by the Commission.

Sunita Lakshma Reddy vowsto resolve women’s problems

PNS n RAJANNA SIRCILLA

Dantewada (Chhattisgarh)MLA Devti Karma, who vis-ited the Vemulawada temple,along with her family mem-bers, was accorded a tradition-al welcome by the temple offi-cials. Vemulawada police pro-vided an additional securityfor the MLA, who arrived at

the temple with the Z Plus cat-egory.

Speaking on the occasion,she said, “I wanted to have adarshan of the Lord atVemulawada temple for a longtime, but could not visit thetemple due to unavoidablecircumstances. But, at last, Iperformed pujas and offeredprayers to the presiding deity.”

Dantewada MLAat Vemulawada

PNS n PATANCHERU

CBI officials conducted a raidon the Patancheru regional PFoffice following a complaintthat a bribe was demandedfrom a PF subscriber. Searcheswere conducted from 3 pm onMonday till 1 am on Tuesday.

Bharat Reddy, who works asa senior social security assis-tant in the office, was found tohave taken a bribe of Rs 3,000during the raids by the author-ities. Authorities had to workhard to track down the bribemoney taken by the employee.

A case was registered againstBharat Reddy after they final-ly found the money during theinspection. Panchanama wasconducted and he was takeninto custody at 1 am and a casewas registered and he wasshifted to the CBI office.Anofficial on condition of

anonymity said that details ofthe arrest would be communi-cated to the press from the CBIoffice.

Known as the largest indus-trial hub, Patancheru, employsmillions of people in variousindustries in the region. ThePF accounts related to all ofthem are maintained at thePatancheru PF office. HMS

leader Ishwar Prasad allegedthat the PF staff and officialswere making lakhs of rupees incollusion with the employersfor not maintaining the PFaccounts of industry employ-ees and workers in accordancewith the government rules.

Many clients have com-plained that they have to paybribes to officials for with-

drawing the money from thePF account and transfer theaccount. When this reportertried to contact PF RegionalOffice Commissioner KrishnaShankar seeking an explana-tion on the allegations but hewas not available.

CBI raids Patancheru regional PF officePNS n WARANGAL RURAL

An all-party meeting of theLibrary Association inWarangal Rural district washeld in Geesugonda town onTuesday under the chairman-ship of Bochhu Vinay. Anawareness seminar was con-ducted on the management oflibraries, condition of thestaff and the rules and regu-lations of the Covid on thepremises of the library.

District directors PuttapakaKumaraswamy, KampaRajeshwar Reddy, Warangalrural district DEO Vasanthi,adult education officerRamesh Reddy, panchayatsecretary Suman, districtlibrary secretary Sarita, librarystaff and others were presenton the occasion.

Seminar onlibrary mgmt

PNS n KARIMNAGAR

CPI State secretary ChadaVenkat Reddy launched theState-wide ‘Palle Palle CPI’ atChinna Mulkanur village inChigurumamidi mandal ofKarimnagar district on Tuesday.

Venkata Reddy hoisted theparty flag at the bus stand tokick off the programme. It wasconducted at Indurti, Ogulapur,Gagireddy Palle, Sundaragiri,Chigurumamidi, Rekonda andBommanapalli villages in thedistrict.

He alleged that ChiefMinister K Chandrasekhar Raohad given many promises to thepeople in the elections, but waswasting time with vociferouswords without fulfilling them.He criticised the Chief Ministerfor misleading the people by notgiving double bedroom houses,three acres to Dalits, unemploy-ment benefits and pensions.

The TRS, which took part inthe bandh against the anti-farmer laws brought by theCentre, demanded that the TRSclarify its stance on those laws.

He said that the CPI hadlaunched a the state-wide cam-

paign in the villages to find outthe problems of the people andwould carry out more strugglesin the future for the redressal ofgrievances.

He called upon on the partyleaders and workers to be pre-pared for the agitation againstthe anti-people policies of theCentral and State govern-ments.

CPI district secretaryPonaganti Kedari, assistantsecretary Koyada SrujanKumar, Praja Natya Mandali

state president and secretariesPalle Narsimha, KannamLakshminarayana, StateCouncil members AndeSwamy, Boini Ashok, GoodemLakshmi, zonal secretaryNagelli Lakshma Reddy, assis-tant secretaries Jeela Sampathand Ande were present on theoccasion.

Chinna Swamy, DistrictCouncil members TeralaSatyanarayana, Boini Patel,Kasireddy Manikantha Reddyand others participated.

Chada launches ‘Palle PalleKu CPI’ in Karimnagar dist

HMS leaderalleged that thePF staff weremaking lakhs ofrupees incollusion withthe employersfor notmaintaining thePF accounts ofemployees

CPI State secretary Chada Venkat Reddy launches ‘Palle Palle CPI’ at ChinnaMulkanur village in Chigurumamidi mandal of Karimnagar district on Tuesday

PNS n KARIMNAGAR

Artistes have the power to influ-ence society, opined DistrictCollector K Shashanka. He wasthe chief guest at theGovernment Employees'Cultural Festival, which wasstarted at the CollectorateAuditorium on Tuesday.

The Collector inauguratedthe programme by lighting thetraditional lamp. Speaking onthe occasion, he said thatthe role of artistes inthe Telanganamovement andduring the inde-pendence wascommendable.

Many, whoexhibited theirskill in culturalprogrammesduring theirschool and collegeeducation, havemoved away from it alltogether after getting ajob.

He said that cultural compe-titions are being organised toinspire the employees. He saidthat everyone should participate

i ncultural

activities andachieve perfection.

Each employee was asked tocontinue their extracurricularactivities during the Sundays

and holidays. The song renderedby the Collector on the occasionattracted the attention of theaudience. Karimnagar PoliceCommissioner KamalasanReddy said that music has thepower to melt rocks. Additionalcollectors Shyam Prasad Lal,Narsimha Reddy, DRO VenkataMadhava Rao, PD Mepma,DEO Janardhan Rao, DWOSharda and others participated.

Artistes have power toinfluence society: Collector

n Women encounteringproblems can contactthe Commission bydialling the toll-freenumber 181, or candrop a postcardexplaining theirproblem. TheCommission takes upsome cases on a suomoto basis. Anybodycan also come to theCommission’s office tolodge a complaint

CBI officials at Patancheru regional PF office

(Top) A ballet being staged to markthe Government Employees' CulturalFestival in Karimangar on Tuesday

(Bottom) Collector K Shashankalighting the lamp to inaugurate thecultural programmes

PNS n HYDERABAD

Former IAS officer NarendraLuther passed away of age-related ailments early onTuesday. A civil servant,author and columnist, Lutherwas active till the very last,serving as the president of theSociety to Save Rocks,Hyderabad.

After his retirement, heturned towards his passion —writing on Hyderabad historyand culture and the rulers ofthe erstwhile Princely State.

Luther won several awardsfor his work in Urdu andsome of his books and articleswere translated into a numberof Indian and foreign lan-guages. He had also producedmany acclaimed documen-taries, including India's firstfull-length animation film onQuli Qutb Shah and the mythof Bhagyamati

Born in Rawalpindi in pre-sent-day Pakistan, Luther’sfamily came to India duringthe partition. He was 15 at thattime.

After his MA in PoliticalScience, Luther was selected

for IAS in 1955 and after dis-trict training inVisakhapatnam, posted toGudur.

It was from then his associ-ation with Hyderabad and itshoary history began.

Recalling Luther’s contribu-tion, Telangana Chief MinisterK. Chandrasekhar Raoexpressed condolences to thebereaved family.

Luther is survived by hiswife Bindi, son Rahul, daugh-ter Sandhya and grandchil-dren. The funeral was heldlater in the day at theVaikuntha Mahaprasthanam,Whisper Valley, Jubilee Hills.

Former IAS NarendraLuther passes away

PNS n NEW DELHI

The country has so far vaccinat-ed 631,417 frontline workersusing two shots manufacturedlocally, one licensed fromOxford University andAstraZeneca and another devel-oped at home by Bharat Biotechin partnership with the state-run Indian Council of MedicalResearch.

The drive started onSaturday, with 30 millionhealthcare and other front-lineworkers first in the queue, fol-lowed by about 270 million peo-ple older than 50 or deemed athigh-risk because of pre-exist-ing medical conditions.

The health ministry saidIndia inoculated more people

on its first day than the UnitedStates, Britain or France. But itsaid it expected a greater num-ber of volunteers, especially inmajor states such as TamilNadu and Punjab, lagging otherstates.

Vinod K. Paul, who heads agovernment committee on vac-cine strategy, told a news con-ference health workers whofailed to take vaccine doses setaside for them were not fulfill-ing their "societal responsibili-ty". "Please understand thewhole world is clamouring forvaccines," said Paul. "If ourhealthcare workers, our doctorsand nurses, if they are decliningto take it, I feel sorry," he said."I plead with them, on behalf ofthe government, because we

don't know what shape thispandemic will take going for-ward." India, the world's biggestmanufacturer of vaccines,announced it will begin export-ing shots on Wednesday.

On Tuesday it reported10,064 infections, the fewest inseven months, taking the totalto 10.58 million. Deaths rose byan eight-month low figure of137, taking the overall tally to152,556.

Some doctors have expresseddoubt about the Bharat Biotechvaccine, which was givenapproval for emergency usewithout efficacy data from late-stage clinical trials. The govern-ment says it is safe and effective.Paul said he received his ownshot of the it on the first day.

Frontline workers urged to get vaccinated to meet target

PNS n NEW DELHI

People who are severely aller-gic to any ingredient ofCOVID-19 vaccine 'Covishield'are advised not to take it,Serum Institute of India said.

According to the fact sheetfor the vaccine recipient by theSerum Institute of India, oneshould not get the Covishieldvaccine if the person had asevere allergic reaction after aprevious dose of this vaccine.

The ingredients ofCovishield vaccine are "L-Histidine, L-Histidinehydrochloride monohydrate,Magnesium chloride hexahy-drate, Polysorbate 80, Ethanol,Sucrose, Sodium chloride,Disodium edetate dihydrate(EDTA), Water for injection,"Serum Institute said.

The fact sheet for the vaccinerecipient on the website of thevaccine major is to help therecipient understand the risksand benefits of the Covishieldvaccine.

The vaccine maker also saidthat the vaccine recipientshould also tell the healthcareprovider about all the medicalconditions before getting theCovishield vaccine including,"if you have ever had a severe

allergic reaction (anaphylaxis)after any drug, food, any vac-cine or any ingredients ofCovishield vaccine".

The recipients should alsomention to the healthcareprovider, if they have fever, ifthey have a bleeding disorderor are on a blood thinner andalso if they are immuno-com-promised or are on a medicinethat affects your immune sys-tem, it added.

The fact sheet also says thatif a person is pregnant or plansto become pregnant or isbreastfeeding she should tellthe healthcare provider beforetaking the jab.

VIJAYAWADA | WEDNESDAY | JANUARY 20, 2021 nation 05

An offence has beenregistered against threepersons in Maharashtra's

Palghar district for allegedlytransporting cattle into the statein a cruel manner, police said onTuesday. The police intercepted atruck at Khanivade toll nakaon Mumbai-AhmedabadHighway on Sunday and found 250 cattle,including goats and sheep,which were being transported in inhuman conditions fromRajasthan, an official said. While the truck driver managed to escapethe scene, the police caught hold of the cleaner, the official said,adding that one of the goats had died in the vehicle. The police haveseized the animals worth Rs 8.40 lakh and also confiscated thetruck, he said. An offence under section 429 of the IPC and relevantprovisions of the Cruelty to Animals Act has been registered againstChenna Khan, Gulam Khan and the truck owner, it was stated.

INDIA CORNER

Three booked for transportingcattle in cruel manner

Aweek after he met with a tragicaccident, Union AYUSH MinisterShripad Naik said he would be

discharged from Goa MedicalCollege and Hospital (GMCH) nearhere in four to five days.Naik (68),the Union Minister of State forDefence and AYUSH, was admittedto the GMCH on January 12 after hemet with an accident while on hisway back to Goa from neighbouring Karnataka. Speaking to PTI,Naik said with everyone's blessings and by God's grace, he hasrecovered from the tragic accident."I am seeing this day after a longtime. I appeal to people not to crowd at the hospital to meet me. Iwill be discharged in four to five days and after that, I will meeteveryone," he said. Naik urged his well-wishers to pray for hisrecovery from wherever they are without visiting the hospital.The Union Minister, who has been recovering well atthe GMCH, greeted the hospital staff and doctors, as he wasbrought out of his ward on a wheelchair on Tuesday.

PNS n SURAT

Thirteen migrant labourersand a year-old-girl fromRajasthan who were sleepingby the roadside in Gujarat'sSurat district were among 15dead after a dumper truckran over them on Tuesday,police said.

Those killed include eightwomen and a migrant workerfrom Madhya Pradesh, policesaid. While 12 of them died onthe spot, three died duringtreatment at a hospital, policeadded.

Except for the 19-year-oldworker from Madhya Pradesh,all the other deceased werefrom villages in Banswara dis-trict in south Rajasthan, policesaid.

The tragedy took place nearKosamba village, around 60km from Surat, police said. Thetruck driver, who apparentlylost control over the vehicleafter hitting a sugarcane ladentractor, has been booked undersections of the IPC and MotorVehicles Act, police said.

The truck driver and thevehicle's 'cleaner' were alsoinjured in the accident and arebeing treated at a hospital.

The truck ran over themigrant construction workerson the Kim-Mandvi roadshortly after midnight, Surat

SP Usha Rada said.The truck driver lost control

over his vehicle after dashingagainst the tractor and veeredoff the road onto the pavementwhere the workers were sleep-ing, she said.

"The truck was on its way toMandvi from Kim. The driverlost control of the vehicle afterit hit sugarcane hanging out ofthe tractor trolley coming fromthe opposite direction.

"The truck's front windowpane shattered on impact,which blocked the driver'svision. The truck then veeredoff the road and crashed intothe sleeping labourers," shesaid.

Three workers injured in thetragedy are being treated in anearby hospital, the policeofficial said.

The deceased were identfied

as Rahul Mahida (19),Manisha Mahida (19), VanitaMahida (17), Sangeeta Vasunia(27), Champa Panda (16),Naresh Panda (25), RajilaMahida (25), Vikesh Mahida(27), Shakan Vasunia (21),Mukesh Mahida (25), LilaMahida (22), Anita Mahida(40), Dilip Vasania (20),Shobha Vasania (23) and one-year-old girl Tejal Mahida.

Except Rahul Mahida, anative of Madhya Pradesh, allother victims were fromRajasthan, police said.

Prime Minister NarendraModi announced that ex-gra-tia of Rs two lakh from thePrime Minister's NationalRelief Fund would be given tothe next of kin of each personkilled in the accident and Rs50,000 would be given to eachinjured.

COVID-19 vaccination resumes in Mumbai, Pune after 2 daysPNS n MUMBAI

After a gap of two days, theCOVID-19 vaccination driveresumed in Mumbai andPune on Tuesday morning,but unlike the first day, therewas hardly any rush of ben-eficiaries for taking jabs in themetropolis.

A doctor at a vaccinationcentre in Mumbai said theresponse was slow in themorning, but the process was

gradually picking up.The inoculation drive

resumed at nine centres inMumbai and 28 centres in theneighbouring Pune district,officials said.

The Maharashtra govern-ment had suspended theinoculation process onSunday and Monday due tosome problems in the Co-WIN app, created by theCentre for managing registra-tion for the vaccination.

On the first day of the vac-cination on Saturday, only1,923 out of 4,000 registeredbeneficiaries got the doses inMumbai, as per the BMC.

On Tuesday, the vaccina-tion process started around 9am at all the centres inMumbai, as per BMC offi-cials.

However, unlike Saturday,there was hardly any rush ofregistered beneficiaries at thevaccination centres.

14 migrant workers, baby girlcrushed to death by truck

PNS n NEW DELHI

Future climate change willcause an uneven shifting of thetropical rain belt -- a narrowband of heavy precipitationnear the Earth's equator --leading to increased floodingin parts of India, a new studywarns.

The study, published in thejournal Nature ClimateChange, examined computersimulations from 27 state-of-the-art climate models, andmeasured the tropical rainbelt's response to a future sce-nario in which greenhouse gasemissions continue to risethrough the end of the currentcentury.

According to the research, anorthward shift of the tropicalrain belt over the eastern Africaand the Indian Ocean could

result in "intensified floodingin southern India," and mayimpact global biodiversity andfood security by 2100.

The scientists, includingthose from the University ofCalifornia (UC) Irvine in theUS, said this "sweeping shift" ofthe rain belt was disguised inprevious studies that provideda global average of the influ-ence of climate change.

However, they said climatechange caused the atmosphereto heat up by different amountsover Asia and the NorthAtlantic Ocean.

The current study highlight-ed the drastic alterations tocome over future decades inIndia by isolating the responsein the Eastern and WesternHemisphere zones.

"In Asia, projected reduc-

tions in aerosol emissions,glacier melting in theHimalayas and loss of snowcover in northern areasbrought on by climate changewill cause the atmosphere toheat up faster than in otherregions," said study co-authorJames Randerson from UCIrvine.

"We know that the rain beltshifts toward this heating, andthat its northward movementin the Eastern Hemisphere isconsistent with these expectedimpacts of climate change,"Randerson said.

According to the scientists,the study combined the engi-neering approach of system'sthinking with data analyticsand climate science to revealsubtle manifestations of glob-al warming on regional rainfallextremes.

Vax not for people allergic to any of its ingredients: SII

Climate change may intensify floods

Will be discharged from hospitalin four to five days: Naik

Police have arrested two womenNaxals, including a key cadrecarrying a reward of Rs 8 lakh

on her head and wanted for attackson police personnel, inChhattisgarh's Bijapur district, anofficial said on Tuesday. Joint teamsof the District Reserve Guard,Special Task Force and District Forcenabbed the two rebels on Monday,the police official said.Korsa Mase alias Shanti (24) wasapprehended from her native place Padeda under Gangaloor policestation area, while Sunita Karam (20) was nabbed from Cherla roadin Pamed police station limits, he said.Mase, a member of companyno.1 of the Mad division of Maoists and carrying a reward of Rs 8lakh on her head, was allegedly involved in several Naxal incidents,including attacks on police teams and damaging public property, hesaid.

Chhattisgarh: Two women Naxalsarrested in Bijapur

Asample of a dead crowfrom Red Fort hastested positive for bird

flu and orders have beenissued to restrict the entryof public into themonument, officials said onTuesday. Around 15 crowswere found dead in thepremises of Red Fort a fewdays ago. A sample from adead bird was sent to a Jalandhar-based laboratory for testing,Rakesh Singh, the director of the Delhi government's animalhusbandry department said. Entry of public into monument hasbeen restricted till January 26 as a precautionary measure, hesaid.On Saturday, samples from a dead owl in the Delhi zoo hadtested positive for avian influenza.

Red Fort shut till Jan 26; sampleof crow tests positive for bird flu

PNS n NEW DELHI

Union Home Minister AmitShah on Tuesday praised therole of the Delhi Police dur-ing the coronavirus pandem-ic and said the policeforce has beenp r o v i d i n gexemplar yservices topeople of thenational cap-ital. He alsosaid that thepolice force tackled the north-east Delhi riots last year andbrought back peace to the city.“Be it tackling the northeastDelhi violence, or the lock-down announced after theoutbreak of coronavirus, orthe unlocking process, or themovement of migrant work-ers, the Delhi Police has pro-vided exemplary services tothe people,” Shah said at anevent held at the Delhi Policeheadquarters here.

The minister said the DelhiPolice has a very large area ofresponsibility as various keyinstallations come under itsjurisdiction that includeRashtrapati Bhavan,embassies of a large numberof countries, headquarters ofmany key organisations, sci-ence centres, among others.

Shah praisesrole of DelhiPolice duringpandemic

PNS n MALAPPURAM(KERALA)

A 17-year-oldgirl, who recent-ly disclosed that she hadallegedly been sexually abusedby 38 persons, is stillundergo-ing psycho-social counselling,police said on Tuesday.

The girl was being coun-selled at the state-run NirbhayaCentre here and there was noplan to send her back home,considering her safety, thepolice said.

Based on the girl's disclosurein November last, a total of 29cases had been registered so farand 20 persons arrested in thisconnection, a top police offi-cial said.

"We have registered 13 and16 cases separately. Of thetotal 40 accused, 20 havealready been arrested andweare on a hunt to trace 20more accused,"district policechief Abdul Karim U told PTI.

Of the arrested 20, 15 wentout on bail and five wereremanded, he said.

He said mother was thelone close relative the victimhad and it was not safe to sendthe girlback home.

"The victim continues toundergo counsellingat theNirbhaya centre. Ifhigher-upsseek any report from us in thisregard, we will object to send-ing her back home to join hermother due to safety reasons.We take into considerationhermental condition also," theofficer added.

The teenager's ordeal cameto light during a counselling

session at the Nirbhaya cen-tre recently, police said.

The girl had been sexual-ly abused in 2016 when shewas 13 and then a year later.

After the second incident,she was sent to the ChildHome and allowed to go withher mother about a year ago.

According to the police, thegirl was missing for sometimeafter she was released fromChild Home and was traced toPalakkad in December lastand brought to the Nirbhayacentre.

Girl sexually abused by 38 stillundergoing counselling: Cops

PNS n NEW DELHI

The BCCI on Tuesdayannounced a Rs 5 crorebonus for the Indian crick-et team after the AjinkyaRahane-led side won thefourth and final Test againstAustralia to clinch the series2-1 and retain the Border-Gavaskar trophy.

India chased down 328 inthe f inal Test to endAustralia's 32-year unbeat-en run at the Gabba,Brisbane. BCCI PresidentSourav Ganguly andSecertary Jay Shah tweetedwithin minutes of eachother to make the annouce-ment of a bonus.

"Just a remarkablewin...To go to Australia andwin a test series in this way..will be remembered in thehistory of indian cricketforever ..Bcci announces a 5cr bonus for the team ..Thevalue of this win is beyondany number ..well done toevery member of the tour-ing party," Ganguly tweeted.

BCCI announcesRs 5 crore bonusfor Indian team

PNS n NEW DELHI

The Centre's new farm laws aredesigned to "destroy" the agri-culture sector, Congress leaderRahul Gandhi alleged onTuesday and asserted that theonly solution to the farmers'issue is to repeal the legisla-tions. At a press conference,Gandhi also released a book-let highlighting the "plight" offarmers in the wake of theCentre's three farm laws.

He alleged that the laws willput the entire agriculture sec-tor in the hands of "three tofour crony capitalists".

The Centre's new farm lawsare "designed to destroy" theagriculture sector, the formerCongress chief said.

"I support the protesting

farmers 100 per cent and everysingle person in the countryshould support them as theyare fighting for us," he said.

There is just one solutionthat these three laws will haveto repealed, Gandhi said whenasked about the impasse intalks between the governmentand the protesting farmers.

Hitting back at BJP presidentJ P Nadda for his tweets earli-er in the day criticising him,the Congress leader said itwas an "attempted distrac-tion". The farmers know that itwas Rahul Gandhi who stoodup in Bhatta Parsaul and overthe land acquisition issue, notBJP leader Nadda, he said.

"I am not afraid of anyone,neither of (Prime MinisterNarendra) Modi nor of anyoneelse. I am a clean person, theycan't touch me. They can shootme, but can't touch me. I am apatriot and I protect my coun-try, and I will keep doing it," hesaid.

Thousands of farmers, most-ly from Haryana and Punjab,have been protesting at sever-al border points of Delhi since

November 28 last year,demanding a repeal of thethree laws and a legal guaran-tee to the minimum supportprice (MSP) system for theircrops.

Enacted in September lastyear, the three laws have beenprojected by the Centre asmajor reforms in the agricul-ture sector that will removemiddlemen and allow farmersto sell their produce anywherein the country.

However, the protestingfarmers have expressed theirapprehension that the newlaws would pave the way foreliminating the safety cushionof the MSP and do away withthe "mandi" (wholesale mar-ket) system, leaving them at themercy of big corporates.

PNS n NEW DELHI

The National Green Tribunalhas formed a five-memberexpert committee and direct-ed it to submit a report on theammonia gas leak incident atIFFCO plant in Phulpur inUttar Pradesh.

A bench comprising NGTchairperson Justice A K Goeland Justice S K Singh consti-tuted a committee comprisingrepresentatives of the Ministryof Environment and Forests,Central Pollution ControlBoard (CPCB), UPPCB, IITKanpur and DistrictMagistrate of Prayagraj.

The tribunal also directedthat an interim compensa-tion of Rs 2.5 lakh each be paidto the victims.

The District Magistrate,Prayagraj, may extend alllogistic support for function-ing of the Committee, theNGT said, adding that thepanel may meet physically orby video conferencing andundertake visit to the site.

The committee has beenasked to give report on caus-es of the gas leak, extent ofdamage, steps taken for com-pensation to victims and resti-tution of damaged propertyand environment.

Committee told to submit report

PNS n NEW DELHI

The Supreme Court Tuesdaysought a report from a com-mittee, set up by the NGT, onits recommendations forimproving the water quality ofthe Yamuna river and theextent to which the authoritieshave implemented them.

The NGT, on July 26, 2018,had constituted the monitor-ing committee comprising itsformer expert member B SSajwan and former Delhi chiefsecretary Shailaja Chandra onthe cleaning of the Yamunaand had directed it to submitan action plan in this regard.

A bench headed by ChiefJustice S A Bobde took note ofthe submission of amicus curi-

ae and senior advocateMeenakshi Arora that theNGT-appointed panel hasbeen monitoring the cleaningof Yamuna water.

In the proceedings con-ducted through video confer-encing, the bench, also com-prising Justices L NageswaraRao and Vineet Saran, askedthe committee to submit itsreport on recommendationsmade by it for improving thequality of water of Yamunaand the extent to which theyhave been implemented.

Earlier, the top court hadtaken suo motu cognizance ofcontamination of rivers byeffluent in the country andhad decided to take up the pol-lution of Yamuna river first.

SC seeks report from panel on cleaning of river Yamuna

PNS n NEW DELHI

The Ministry of Educationon Tuesday announced relax-ation in admission criteria forNITs and centrally fundedtechnical institutions by waiv-ing off requirement of 75per cent marks in class12.

"C onsider ingthe decision takenfor IIT JEE(Advanced) andin line with thedecision taken forthe last academicyear, it has been decidedto waive off the 75% marks (inclass 12 exam) eligibility cri-teria under Joint EntranceExamination (Main) for thenext academic year 2021-2022in respect of NITs, IIITs, SPAs

and other CFTIs, whoseadmissions are based on JEE(Main)," Union EducationMinister Ramesh Pokhriyal‘Nishank' tweeted.

In the wake of COVID-19outbreak, the Central Seat

Allocation Board (CSAB)had last year relaxed

norms for admis-sions into NationalInstitute of Tech-nology (NITs) andCentrally FundedTechnical Insti

tutions (CFTIs). Asper the relaxation,

NITs will admit under-graduate students based ontheir performance in JointEntrance Exam-Mains (JEE-Mains) and will discount theclass 12 board examinationmarks in selection process.

MoE announces relaxation in admission norms for NITs

‘Farm laws designed to destroy agriculture’

AMMONIA GAS LEAK

Impeachment is essentiallysymbolic, but the sort ofsticky symbolism with amoral dimension that stands

the test of time. History booksthat transcend time and lives bearthe impeached person’s namewith an unflattering asterisk oftransgression. Only threePresidents of the United States(US), out of the 45 that preced-ed Joe Biden, were tainted withthis blot, with Donald Trumpgoing down in posterity as theunique one, with two impeach-ments! The Constitution of theUS describes acts that are deemed“treason, bribery, or other highcrimes and misdemeanours” tobe impeachment-worthy. Beyondthe legality of formal convictionin a classic justice sense,impeachment is tantamount toabuse of public and constitution-al trust, with possible intersectionof legal criminality, subsequent-ly. But the man whom the usual-ly reserved Dalai Lama suggest-ed had a “lack of moral principle”,i.e. Trump, remains brazen andunrepentant.

Others like Richard Nixon,who had faced a near-certainprospect of getting impeached,had resigned from office justbefore impeachment. The othertwo impeached US Presidents,Andrew Johnson and BillClinton, had in hindsight consid-erably less deleterious and viola-tive portents to democracy ascompared to the ingloriousnessof Trump’s acts. Andrew Johnson,arguably a racist himself who hadsucceeded the colossus of democ-racy, Abraham Lincoln, wasimpeached for a technicality ofviolating the Tenure of Office Actwhen he removed a federalappointee without consulting theSenate. History reflects thatimpeachment as more of a par-tisan act that seized upon anunacceptable presidential actionbut perhaps not warranting theburden of impeachment.Similarly, Bill Clinton had per-jured himself by lying to theinvestigators about his relation-ship with Monica Lewinsky, asalso encouraging the WhiteHouse staff to toe the said line.The undeniable dereliction andmisconduct was perhaps stillshort of breaching the high railsof “treason, bribery, or otherhigh crimes and misdemeanours”.The fine difference was illustrat-ed by a rival Republican Senator,Susan Collins, who agreed thatClinton had conducted himselfdisgracefully, but perhaps short of

a crime, when she still votedagainst the impeachment bystating: “In voting to acquit thePresident, I do so with gravemisgivings for I do not meanin any way to exonerate thisman.” Bill Clinton was visibly,and admittedly, embarrassedand repentant.

Trump was, on the otherhand, first impeached for theabuse of power and obstruc-tion of Congress. He hadallegedly pushed Ukraine tosnoop into the commercialaffairs of his ultimate nemesis,Joe Biden, and therefore enlist-ed a foreign power in corrupt-ing the democratic elections.Trump had also withheld mil-itary funds from theUkrainians in order to coercethem to do so. But Trump’smisdemeanours had continuedwith his denialist approach byfurther ordering the ExecutiveBranch to not comply with theCongressional subpoenas forthe trailing documents andtestimonies. However, unlikethe bipartisan expressions thatsurrounded the Clinton orNixon build-up, Trump hadmanaged to polarise and dividethe nation into extremitiesthat ensured that, barring oneRepublican Senator, all hadacquiesced blindly to Trump.The second Trump impeach-ment was unprecedented in its

seriousness of accusativeimport, “incitement for insur-rection”. The self-interest ofRepublicans, which was inplay to defend Trump duringthe first impeachment on par-tisan lines, was equally visiblein the second impeachment,with 10 Republican Senatorsdisassociating themselves fromsupporting Trump, owing toworse consequences in repeat-ing their partisan decision.The Joint Chief of Staff hadissued an internal memo thatsought to remind the uni-formed fraternity of their solefidelity to the Constitutionand alluded to the potentialdisruption of the Biden inau-guration as “against the law” —further suggesting the grave-ness of the unconstitutionali-ty that Trump was accused of.

The weight of the 10Republicans who bolted out ofthe Trump bandwagon is muchmore than its arithmetical sig-nificance, as it is about theassertion of bipartisan courage,democratic values and basiccommon sense. In many ways,this internal dissenting notehas allowed the Republicans ofabsolve and permanentlycleanse themselves ofTrumpism, post-January 20,2021. While the impeachmentprocess was rushed throughthe last days of Trump’s presi-

dency, its necessity is contex-tualised to the public healingof the shame of “coup” andoffering a restorative opportu-nity and agenda for bipartisanpolitics hereinafter. The singu-lar Republican who had yield-ed to the dictates of his person-al conscience in voting againstTrump’s first impeachment,Mitt Romney, noted evocative-ly in Trump’s second “coming”that there must be “meaning-ful consequences” when aPresident incites an attackagainst the Congress and, moreimportantly, against all knowntenets of democracy.

Opinions now abound thatthe new President, Biden, neednot federally prosecute Trumpand sustain the divisive andinflammatory ‘Donald Trumpshow’ to linger, irate passionsand sustain dangerous rumours.Trump’s descent into indefensi-ble infamy and notoriety that had toyed withreckless ideas like attackingIran before elections, imposingquasi-martial law or actuallytriggering social unrest by insist-ing upon his allegations of“fraudulent elections”, “can’t playin the hands of these people”,“elections that were stolen” andsuchlike, has already broughtthe US to the unthinkable brinkof anarchy and civil war. Theisolation of Trump among his

own party leaders and ostensi-ble loyalists has shifted gearsfrom private murmurs behindclosed doors to open calls forintrospection within. The trig-gers for the much-neededcourse correction have not beenthe legality, but the loss ofmorality, surrounding Trump’sindefensibility. In a shifting signof times, Republican leaderMitch McConnell had freedRepublican Senators from toeing any party line and,instead, urged them to “votewith their conscience”; the subliminal writing on the wallfor Trump is unmistakable.Indeed, Trump will be expect-ed to continue his slanderousrants, unsubstantiated false-hoods and desperation to retainthe centre-stage but the loss ofmoral high ground for theRepublican Party, going for-ward, will drop Trump from theonly political anchorage thatsustains his relevance. It is notthe electoral triumphs, unchal-lenged dominance or legality inthe court, but the diminishmentof morality as captured in this symbolic impeachment thatended a destructive streak and individual.

(The writer, a military veteran, is a former Lt Governorof Andaman & Nicobar Islandsand Puducherry. The viewsexpressed are personal.)

Even as India and China are locked in a bitterborder standoff in eastern Ladakh for over eightmonths, and both the countries have held sev-

eral rounds of military and diplomatic dialogue inorder to resolve the standoff but without making anysignificant headway, reports have emerged that Chinahas built a village comprising 120 houses five kminside the disputed territory in Arunachal Pradesh.The provocative development, which ostensibly per-tains to November last year, was detected by satel-lite images taken by Planet Labs. This is the samearea where the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) haddetained five locals last year. The village is on thebanks of the Tsari Chu river in the Upper Subansiri

district and China has all along disputed India’s ownership claim over the area. Itis feared that China wants to maintain pressure on India by opening several frontsalong the 3,488-km Line of Actual Control (LAC), stretching from Ladakh in the westto Arunachal Pradesh in the east. The development has understandably rung alarmbells in India’s security establishment and the Opposition has also rolled up its sleevesto take on the Government. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi trained his guns on PrimeMinister Narendra Modi on the issue of national security after the development wasreported. “Remember his promise — ‘Mai desh jhukne nahi dunga’,” Rahul wroteon Twitter. Randeep Surjewala, another Congress leader, also slammed the PrimeMinister, asking: “…Where is the ‘56-inch chest’?” Returning the fire, BJP presi-dent JP Nadda said that the scion, his party and family had repeatedly lied on theissue of China: “When will Rahul Gandhi, his dynasty and the Congress stop lyingon China? Can he deny that thousands of km, including the one in Arunachal Pradeshhe is referring to, was gifted by none other than Nehru to the Chinese? Time andagain, why does Congress surrender to China?” The BJP chief added: “Does RahulGandhi have any intention to cancel the Congress party’s MoU with China and theirCommunist Party? Does he intend to return the Chinese largesse to trusts controlledby his family? Or will their policies and practices continue to be dictated by Chinesemoney and MoU?”

For its part, the Government has “taken note of the construction” along the bor-der and ramped up its infrastructure development projects. The Indian security estab-lishment maintains that the coming up of this village is in violation of several agree-ments between the countries. The pacts clearly say both countries to “safeguarddue interests of their settled population in the border areas” and “strictly respectand observe the LAC”. This piece of land was apparently under Chinese occupa-tion since 1965 but, as disputed territory, no country should change the status quoas per international law. “If this is true, it is clear that the Chinese have altered thestatus quo by converting a disputed area into a permanent settlement of Chinesenationals. What does the Government have to say about these startling facts?”Congress leader P Chidambaram said. If the Government’s claim that it is Indianterritory is correct, it should unequivocally take up the matter with Beijing and getthe settlement removed. Earlier on June 15-16, 2020, Indian and Chinese troopshad clashed on the Galwan valley ridges at a height of nearly 14,000 ft; at least 76Indian soldiers were reportedly injured in addition to the 20 dead. Indian interceptsalso revealed that the Chinese side suffered 43 casualties.

Gabba forever!

One month ago, editorials across newspapers werebemoaning the state of Indian cricket. An almostfull-strength Indian cricket team was bowled out

for 36 runs in Adelaide and, despite drawing the white-ball matches three-all, many feared the worst in theforthcoming Tests. After all, India’s talismanic batsmanand captain Virat Kohli was headed home to be withhis wife for the birth of their first child. Injuries had begunto take their toll even before the first match and, givenAustralia’s strict two-week quarantine rules, flying inreplacements at a moment’s notice was actually impos-sible. Foreign commentators, always quick to slam India,predicted a whitewash. Yet, somehow in an incredibleshow of resilience and extraordinary leadership and bats-

manship by stand-in captain Ajinkya Rahane, India won the second Test at Melbourne,the best possible gift they could have given Indian cricket fans heading into the start ofthe new year after what had been a truly woeful 2020 for almost everyone. In and ofitself, that was a great story of redemption, coming back from Indian cricket’s worstmoment in contemporary history to win handsomely. Many compared that moment tothe heroics of VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid at the Eden Gardens two decades ago.But that was a simple redemption story; this play needed a third act. An act that beganwith the first match of the new year in Sydney, where a brave Indian second-inningsrearguard performance prevented the hosts from winning the Test.

But the play ended in Australia’s fortress of the Gabba in Brisbane, a ground wherethe home team had not lost in over three decades. And India playing essentially their sec-ond XI, giving a part-timer Washington Sundar — who had not played a first-class matchin three years — his first cap and boasting a bowling line-up with just five caps amongthem. On top of that, a young batting line-up was facing an experienced Australian pacebattery and a spin bowler playing his hundredth Test. India’s heroics at Melbourne andSydney were commendable, but most Indian cricket fans thought that a draw at the Gabbawould be a great result. The last Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series will remainetched in the minds and memory of the cricket aficionados as the ultimate decider thattested the resilience, composure and physical fitness of the players. The young and large-ly inexperienced Indian team battled it all in this Test series, within themselves and withthe world outside: Issues with facilities, racial slurs, losing key players at crucial junc-tures, injury after injury, issues with bubble life for multiple months et al. However, theactions of one of India’s former heroes, Rahul Dravid, in shaping this new Indian teamunder his tutelage as the coach of India’s ‘A’ team must not be dismissed. There was asense of resilience in this team that ‘The Wall’ himself would have been proud of. Notonly did Washington Sundar and Shardul Thakur play the most unexpectedly pleasantseventh-wicket partnership, keeping India in the game in the first innings, Shubman Gill,Cheteshwar Pujara, the senior man whose body faced blow after blow, and finally RishabhPant, the Delhi boy whose abilities have been openly questioned and in whose persever-ance in the team many allegations of favouritism have been thrown at India’s manage-ment, a young India found its new cricketing heroes. This is more than a redemptionstory, this is more than a coming-of-age story; this is an epic, a story for the ages. TheIndian cricket team’s grit and determination, particularly by a group of inexperienced youngmen is a story for the ages. When India won the 2011 World Cup at the Wankhede Stadium,they got an open-top bus ride through Mumbai and while COVID-19 protocols might meanthat this team cannot get one, make no mistake, they truly deserve it.

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

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

op nionVIJAYAWADA | WEDNESDAY | JANUARY 20, 2021

06

Remove Chinese hamlet

The 2020-21 Australian tour will remain etched in thememory of Indian cricket fans as long as they live

The Govt, Opposition trade barbs over reports of a villagehaving come up in a disputed area of Arunachal Pradesh

Indefensibility of amorality

BHOPINDER SINGH

BJP’s poll gimmickSir — The decision of the CentralGovernment to observe thebirthday of Netaji SubhasChandra Bose that falls onJanuary 23 as “Parakram Diwas”from now on is a political stuntwith an eye on the forthcomingWest Bengal Assembly elections.

It is a move to appease vot-ers in West Bengal. Netaji is ourreal hero who fought for the free-dom of the nation and floated theAzad Hind Fauj to fight forIndia’s independence. TheGovernments latest move reeksof dirty politics as the BJP or theNDA Government did not havetime to remember Netaji duringthe last six years. But the peopleof Bengal are wise enough to notfall into such traps and vote judi-ciously on the basis of the workdone and schemes floated by theGovernment.

We, as responsible citizens,must rise to the occasion andshow the door to such politiciansand parties. The BJP must stopfooling and misguiding peopleand should concentrate on realissues like unemployment, mal-nutrition, poverty, illiteracy,health and so on.

Bhagwan Thadani Mumbai

Audience verdict is final Sir — It refers to the editorial‘OTT Tandav’ (January 19). Itseems that such controversiesserve the interests of both the filmmakers and political parties asthese give the much-needed pub-licity to a web series and also helpthe political parties in polarisingsociety. The films, as well as seri-

als, are called the mirror of soci-ety, reflecting exactly what’s hap-pening. The flip side is thatmoviemaking is a professionalline where the raison d’etre hap-pens to be the business alone.

The fact that every movie orserial has to undergo scrutiny asper the guidelines laid down bythe Information andBroadcasting (I&B) Ministry

before release notwithstanding,one or the other controversykeeps raising its ugly head everynow and then. It is really disap-pointing and shows that suchcontroversies are politically moti-vated. We, as audiences, shoulduse our wisdom to judge what isoffensive and what is not.

Azhar A Khan Rampur

Respect the Tricolour Sir — It is very unfortunate thatevery year after the RepublicDay and Independence Day cel-ebrations, hundreds of flags arestrewn on pavements and streetsand people keep stomping onthem. We must remember thatthe national flag is our pride andwe must respect the symbol ofdemocracy, freedom and broth-erhood.

Similarly, we must respect ournational anthem and nationalsong. It is often seen that evenwhen the national anthem isbeing played on radio or televi-sion, many people don’t stand upto pay respect. They are busy talk-ing on their mobile phones orchatting with their friends. TheIndependence Day and RepublicDay represent the true spirit ofindependent India and mark thepatriotic fervour of all Indianswho celebrate these events withgreat enthusiasm. By disrespect-ing our national symbols like theTricolour, we inadvertently disre-spect our freedom fighters, ourConstitution and our nation.

Jubel D’CruzMumbai

Pride justifiable, but don’t go overboard

This refers to the editorial ‘Diaspora power' (January19). It is heartening that President-elect Joe Bidenhas appointed as many as 20 Indian-Americans in

the US Administration, with 17 of them at various posi-tions in the White House — 13 out of 20 also happento be women. Leading the charge is, of course, Vice-President-elect Kamala Harris. But from finance and man-agement to health, law to Press relations, foreign pol-icy to national security, those who trace their roots toIndia have found space.

This is indeed a reflection of how well the Indian-Americans have done in that country. It also reflects theirtalent and acumen and, more importantly, none of theseappointments have raised any eyebrows. But even asIndia takes justifiable pride in the achievements of theseindividuals, it is important to remember that all thosewho are in the new administration are American citizens.Their first loyalty is to the US Constitution andAmerican national interests as defined by the Presidentwho has appointed them. Yes, their presence will enhanceunderstanding of India in the administration and is sym-bolic of close ties. But these individuals have their own

varied social and political influences and worldviews.India would do well to cultivate them, as it would cul-tivate any US official at high levels, but respect their iden-tity beyond their Indian roots. India must look forwardto further strengthen ties with America and keep the rela-tionship dynamic and in the best interests of both thenations. The world is keenly watching.

N Sadhasiva Reddy Bengaluru

Send yyour ffeedback tto:letterstopioneer@gmail.com

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

The characters that are myfavourite are not liked by people much. I am not sayingthat the audience is wrong. It's just that my likes and dislikes are different.

ActorNawazuddin Siddiqui

I have finally managed to see the daylight, thanks to blessings from everyone and God. I am likely to bedischarged from the hospitalin four to five days.

MoS Defence Shripad Naik

The EU has planned to startraising and allocating in thenext few months the main partof the $906 billion recoveryfund to bail out the bloc'seconomies hit by COVID.

EU commissioner (economy)Paolo Gentiloni

S O U N D B I T E

Though only three US Presidents have been tainted with the blot,Donald Trump is the only one who has faced two impeachments

I am terribly sorry because it is not nice to say goodbye to the coach. It's my decision and I take responsibility for this decision.

Polish FA president

Zbigniew Boniek

A tricky situation

YOU MAY WIN MANY ELECTIONS BUT I VOW FROM THIS

HOLY LAND OF NANDIGRAM THAT I WILL NEVER ALLOW

THE BJP TO ENTER BENGAL.

—WEST BENGAL CHIEF MINISTER

MAMATA BANERJEE

I TAKE A VOW TODAY THAT IF I CANNOT DEFEAT HER

(MAMATA) IN NANDIGRAM BY A MARGIN OF HALF A

LAKH VOTES, I WILL QUIT POLITICS.

—BJP LEADER

SUVENDU ADHIKARI

POINTCOUNTERPOINT

Forced conversions are not new in the subcon-tinent. Reports regularly pour in from Indiaas well as Pakistan about illegal conversions

of women/girls through force, deceit or other meth-ods which are in contravention of the law of theland. The issue was highlighted after the UttarPradesh (UP) Government brought a legislationtermed the Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion ofReligion Ordinance, 2020, that is meant to stopforceful conversion of women/girls from other reli-gions to Islam, which the Right-wing sympathis-ers call the “Love Jihad Act.” Around the sametime in Pakistan, a report claimed that about 1,000women/girls are converted to Islam every year inthe country.

It is the minority community which faces thebrunt of an interfaith marriage, when it goes wrong.In India, Muslims who are in a minority, accountfor 15 per cent of the population while minorityHindus make up 1.60 per cent of the total popu-lation of Pakistan. Likewise, the Christian popu-lation comprises of 1.59 per cent of the total pop-ulation of the Islamic Republic. Both the countriesare facing the problem of conversion of non-Muslim women/girls. Sometimes this change offaith is coerced and many a time it is by mutualconsent. But in both the cases sparks fly, creatinga law and order problem.

Human Rights activist and advocate inPakistan’s Supreme Court, M Shoaib Ashraf says:“There is no law to stop forced conversion in ourcountry. But it is also true that Islam does not allowconversions for the sake of marriage. This is con-sidered exploitation of the faith. One has to con-vert out of the love for the religion and not for anyother reason.”

However, the Indian Constitution upholds thatthe right to marry is a component of the right tolife which comes under Article 21. It states: “Noperson shall be deprived of his life and personalliberty except according to the procedure estab-lished by law.”

Delivering a historic judgment in the Hadiyaand Shefin Jahan case, Justice DY Chandrachudof the Supreme Court of India said: “The choiceof a partner whether within or outside marriagelies within the exclusive domain of each individ-ual. Intimacies of marriage lie within a core zoneof privacy, which is inviolable. The absolute rightof an individual to choose a life partner is not inthe least affected by matters of faith. TheConstitution guarantees to each individual the rightto freely practise, profess and propagate religion.Choices of faith and belief as indeed choices in mat-ters of marriage lie within an area where individ-ual autonomy is supreme.

“They form the essence of personal libertyunder the Constitution. Matters of belief and faith,including whether to believe, are at the core of con-stitutional liberty. The Constitution exists for believ-ers as well as for agnostics…Matters of dress andof food, of ideas and ideologies, of love and part-nership are within the central aspects ofidentity….Society has no role to play in determin-ing our choice of partners.”

The courts in both the countries are workingeffectively to protect the rights of citizens when itcomes to forced conversions. Recently, while hear-ing a case pertaining to a 14-year-old girl who hadconverted, the Lahore High Court gave a judgmentthat religion is a matter of heart and conviction andthe court cannot adjudicate on such matters.

While delivering the verdict thecourt said: “What one believes in his orher heart is not a judicial matter.” Thesedecisions hold good when an interfaithmarriage carries the purity and virtuewhich the institution of marriage espous-es. However, incidents of forced conver-sions are galore and sometimes they takea political hue.

On August 21, the Meerut policerecovered the bodies of Priya and herdaughter Kashish. They were allegedlykilled by Shamshad. Priya, a divorcee,befriended Shamshad on a social net-working site where he impersonatedhimself as Amit Gurjar — a Hindu.When Priya came to know about thetruth she protested. In another case theBudaun police arrested Asif who posedas a Hindu man called Rajkumar andbefriended Neha. A year later he alleged-ly killed her when she came to know ofthe truth.

But then, there are cases of true lovewhere a person converts to another reli-gion freely or wants to marry out of theirown community/religion of their ownfree will. For instance, take the case ofMuskan (Pinki) who married Rashid inDehradun in July 2020. They dulyinformed the Superintendent of Police asrequired under the UttarakhandFreedom of Religion Act, 2018. But bothRashid and Muskan were arrested underthe new law when they paid a visit toMoradabad in UP. Muskan was pregnantat that time and later she alleged that shelost her baby because of police atrocity.

In the last two months, as many as86 people have been named in 16 FirstInformation Reports (FIRs) since thenotification of the new Ordinance in theState. Out of these, 79 are Muslims, whohave been slapped with charges of entic-ing a woman/girl and forcing her to con-vert to Islam. In one case 26 people,

including five women, were booked inEtah for allegedly converting a 21-year-old woman by force. In Mau, 16 peoplehave been named in an FIR whereas inSitapur, 14 were booked in another suchincident.

However, in Pakistan there is no lawto stop forced conversions. “In theabsence of legislation explicitly banningand criminalising forced conversionfrom minority religions to Islam, theaffected families (mainly Hindus, Sikhsand Christians) have to use other laws,including those against kidnapping,forced marriage, child marriage and rapeof minors to penalise the offender,” saysTahira Abdullah, a social activist.

Ashraf says that in the absence of alaw in Pakistan, if the victim claims shehas converted on her own, there is littlethat can be done to prove her wrong.“We cannot determine what is behind theconsent. If a girl from a poor family con-verts to marry a man from a rich back-ground, there is no way to know whethershe has converted out of love or if she hasbeen lured. But this should also in a waybe considered an unlawful thing as someform of coercion has always been used,”he says.

Jibran Nasir, advocate and lead cam-paigner at Never Forget Pakistan andtrustee Elaj Trust, says: “Young girls arekidnapped and converted and video mes-sages are circulated in which the girl saysthat she is happy after being converted.We argue in court that girls do not nec-essarily scream or shout, for us toknown that it is a forced conversion.Forced conversion is a crime whether onewho is coerced openly admits it or not.”

The coerced conversion, especiallyof young Hindu and Christian girls inSindh and Punjab province in Pakistan,continues unabated in absence of explic-it laws criminalising it. According to data

provided by the Centre for Social Justice,Pakistan between 2013 and 2020 thehighest number of cases of allegedforced conversions were in Punjab (52per cent) followed by Sindh (44 per cent).“A clause on forced conversion, insert-ed into a draft law by Hindu legislators,was actually removed before enactmentin Sindh province and it has repeatedlyfailed enactment in the nationalParliament, despite clear directives fromthe Supreme Court of Pakistan),” saysAbdullah.

Ashraf seconds her claims saying thatthe term forced conversion is very vaguein Pakistan. “It denotes some form offorce being used — whether verbal, phys-ical or psychological like threats to fam-ily. When the same person is brought tocourt and they say they have convertedof their own will, there is not much thecourt can do about it,” he says.

In Pakistan on the insistence of thefamily, the court can send the person tosome safe place so as to give them sometime and space to review their decision.The courts have no criteria to determineif force was used except if the person tellsthe judges that there was no coercion.Experts opine that the courts can onlygive decisions based on legal provisionsand not beyond.

Despite the judiciary protecting theinstitution of marriage and privacy of aperson, the issue of interfaith marriagehas been used by political parties andorganisations in both India and Pakistanto further their personal interests. Thissituation emerges as a blot on a civilisedsociety and should end as it often leadsto violence and religious clashes.

(Banerjee is Executive Director,(News), The Pioneer, Lucknow, India whileLubna is Freelance Journalist and HumanRight activist, based in Karachi. The viewsexpressed are personal).

Islam does not allow conversions for the sake of marriage. One has to convert out of love for thereligion and not for any other reason. But still forced conversions take place in India and Pak

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

Unite for the sakeof the nation

KALYANI SHANKAR

It is high time the Opp stood united andformed a strategy to keep the Govt on its

toes in the Budget Session

BISWAJEET BANERJEE

LUBNA NAQVI

DESPITE THE JUDICIARY

PROTECTING THE INSTITUTION

OF MARRIAGE AND PRIVACY OF A PERSON, THE ISSUE OF

INTERFAITHMARRIAGE HAS BEEN USED BY

POLITICAL PARTIES AND

ORGANISATIONS IN BOTH INDIA AND PAKISTAN

TO FURTHER THEIR PERSONAL

INTERESTS. THIS SITUATION

EMERGES AS A BLOT

ON A CIVILISEDSOCIETY ANDSHOULD END AS IT OFTEN

LEADS TO VIOLENCE AND

RELIGIOUSCLASHES

The forthcoming Budget Session of Parliament is likely to be a bois-terous one, with a lot of controversial issues expected to be raisedby the Opposition. Although Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad

Joshi has stated that the Narendra Modi Government is ready to faceall the issues, the Opposition is sharpening its knives. This Parliamentsession is important as it is the first one of the year. Though it is beingheld amid the COVID-19 pandemic, all protocols will be in place toprotect the members. The Parliament session will commence on January29 and conclude by April 8, with a recess of 20 days between February15 and March 8. President Ram Nath Kovind will address the cus-tomary joint session on January 29. This will be followed by the plac-ing of the Economic Survey the next day and on February 1, the UnionBudget will be presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. Itwill be her third consecutive one. Budget making in the middle of araging pandemic is a difficult process and breaking the age-old tradi-tion the Finance Ministry will not print the Union Budget for 2021 andwill go paperless. All eyes are on the Government as the Budget wouldshed light on how the Centre allocates the funds to different sectors.Almost all the pillars of the economy are affected and it is going to bea challenge to balance revenue and expenditure. Sitharaman haspromised to build a “stronger economy” and stated that the Budgetwill be an unprecedented one, as never before in living memory hasa Government faced a situation “where tax collections are strugglingto keep up with the budgeted number” and “the demand for goodsand services is sluggish.”

The Opposition has enough ammunition to attack the Governmentwith, including the COVID vaccination drive, the ongoing farmers’ agi-tation, the struggling economy, China’s aggressive postures, price rise,the job loss scenario, the continuation of the Citizenship (Amendment)Act (CAA) agitation, the plan to construct a new Parliament building,allegedly at a budget of `20,000 crore and so on. A senior Congressleader claims that though the political parties stayed away from thefarmers’ agitation but in Parliament, they will be vocal about their sup-port to the growers. The Opposition plans to question the Governmenton employment generation, reverse migration, the border impasse withChina and Indo-Pakistan relations, the Government’s handling of thepandemic and the vaccination drive that was kicked off on January16. Plus, weak States would seek more financial assistance to dealwith the pandemic and the Health Ministry and other important sec-tors need more allocation of funds. The Finance Minister has said: “TheBudget would take note of all the inputs received from the health sec-tor to take this forward.”

The Government is also getting ready with some key legislationlike the Personal Data Protection Bill, pending Bills from last year, includ-ing the DNA Technology (Use and Application) Regulation Bill, theMaintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens (Amendment)Bill, the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Bill and theDam Safety Bill.

However, the big question is whether the highly dividedOpposition will be effective in cornering the Government in Parliament?There is no leader tall enough to unite them, although Congress chiefSonia Gandhi tries to hold a meeting before the Parliament sessioneach year. However, the Congress is undergoing a crisis with a sec-tion of leaders questioning the Gandhi family. The party has boughttime with the promise of an AICC session in early 2021. Accordingto senior Congress leader Anand Sharma, there will be floor coordi-nation. There are speculations that the non-BJP, non-Congress Oppositionmight unite under Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar.

Though the BJP is close to getting a majority in the Rajya Sabha,the strategy is to divide the Opposition to get even controversial leg-islations passed. That was how the NDA Government managed to getlegislation like the triple talaq, the CAA, repeal of Article 370 in Jammuand Kashmir, passed. The Opposition should change its strategy ofwalkouts, rushing to the Well of the House and so on and instead focuson participating in debates and raising issues so that the Governmentis forced to answer questions. The lawmakers should fulfil their dutyof scrutinising the Budget and keep the Government on its toes. Theway a responsible Opposition would function is to use the QuestionHour, Calling Attention Motions and debate on the President’s addressto hold the Government accountable. On its part, the Government, too,should take the Opposition into confidence. Sadly for the nation, bothbelieve in confrontation. With elections to five States on the horizon,all the parties will play to the gallery. It is a matter of concern that thecountry lacks a strong and vigilant Opposition because a vibrant democ-racy needs one. The Opposition parties should show a united face inParliament. When the late Rajiv Gandhi won 403 seats in 1984, theOpposition with a dozen vocal leaders, highlighted the Bofors Scamsuccessfully, which led to his ouster. So it is not the numbers that mat-ter but the strategy to deal with the Government that is important. Itis high time the Opposition stood united and formed a strategy to keepthe Government on its toes.

(The writer is a senior journalist. The views expressed are personal.)

Nearly 10 months after thenationwide lockdown began,India is now in the process of

reopening its schools, albeit, in aphased manner, with all COVID pro-tocols in place. However, most Statesthat have decided to reopen schoolsare only allowing grade 10 and 12 stu-dents to attend classes. The youngerchildren are still confined to theirhomes and online classes will contin-ue till it is deemed fit to open allschools fully, from nursery to grade12.

It is a sad fact that many childrenfrom vulnerable communities inIndia depend on schools for one

square meal a day. The Mid-DayMeal (MDM) scheme was the reasonmany went to school. The closure ofschools hit underprivileged childrenthe most, because not only were theyhungry, they did not have a smart-phone, laptop or internet connectionto continue their education online,unlike their privileged counterparts.

According to a study by OxfamIndia, as many as 80 per cent ofIndian students were unable to accessonline schooling during the lock-down and many might not evenreturn to classrooms when theyeventually reopen for everyone.

Many of these children were thefirst in their family to attend schooland get an education. Their parentsand grandparents never got a chanceto do so because of various socio-eco-nomic reasons. By cutting off or lim-iting access to education, the pan-demic has effectively worsened exist-ing inequalities and hampered theeconomic growth of low-incomefamilies. In a country where over halfthe population is below the age of 25,lack of access to education is a

deterrent which will prevent childrenfrom becoming contributing andproductive members of society.

Government data suggest thatdespite having 600 million internetusers, only 20 per cent know how toleverage the same. If one glancesthrough the latest National FamilyHealth Survey (NHFS), over 60 percent women in 12 States and UnionTerritories have never used the inter-net, which begs the question: Howwill their children study online?The absence of digital literacy pro-grammes in the country is a glaringgap, which came to the forefront oncethe schools shut down and educationwent online. According to a TelecomRegulatory Authority of India survey,Bihar — a State where child traffick-ing for sex and cheap labour is ram-pant — has the lowest number ofinternet subscribers in the countrywith just 32 people in every 100 hav-ing access to it.

Yes, the lockdown wasannounced to curb the spread of ahighly contagious virus. But even asIndia began to “unlock” in phases,

schools continued to remain shut.Earlier, daily wage earners, whowere working in the informal sector,with no social security went to workknowing that their children were safeat school. Now, because of the pan-demic, their children accompanythem to work sites. They are pickingup the trade. They are struggling liketheir parents and their chance tobuild a different life is being snatchedaway from them. In addition to this,their parents no longer have steadyjobs. Hence, they are struggling tomake ends meet, are no longer beingpaid and are having to resort to bor-rowing funds from moneylenders,friends and other family members.

Several organisations which areworking against child labour havereported that moneylenders arecharging alarmingly high interestrates. They also report that severalpeople are having to borrow moneyfor their daily needs such as food andwater. A lot of these people areextremely poor and are sufferingfrom some form of debt bondage.They are mostly Dalits, who have

spent the majority of their lives inservitude and salvery.

They often borrow money butare unable to pay the same back and,therefore, have to “work off ” thedebts. Often this means that theirchild is also put to work. Take theexample of 12-year-old Rahul fromGaya, Bihar, who has been complete-ly deprived of any learning opportu-nity in his village since the pandem-ic began. As a result of the same, hehas fallen into the trap of child traf-ficking. Before the pandemic began,his father, under duress, gave consentto a trafficker, because of whichRahul was employed in a bangle fac-tory in Jaipur. He was lucky enoughto have been rescued (in Jaipur)before being taken to the factory. Heand 29 other minors from the samedistrict were rescued from a luxurybus that was engaged in transportingchildren all the way from Gaya toJaipur. All the 30-odd students wereenrolled in different schools and wereregular with their classes before thelockdown was imposed. Now theyremain unoccupied, bored and vul-

nerable to predatory traffickers. The United Nations’ policy brief

on the impact of COVID-19 on theworld’s education system points tothe fact that the closure of schoolsand other learning spaces has impact-ed up to 99 per cent of students in lowand middle-income countries. Itwarns that the effects on child labourand trafficking could be enormous.According to the InternationalLabour Organisation (ILO), 152million minors worldwide areinvolved in child labour, of which 73million are involved in slavery, bond-ed labour, dangerous work and sex-ual exploitation. It is feared that inpoorer countries, many childrenwill completely lose their connectionto education and will not return toschool at all, as they have to con-tribute to their family income. Theyhave started believing that theirfamily can no longer afford to edu-cate them and most of the time thisis true. India has the highest numberof child labourers. According to theCensus 2011, there are 10.13 millionchild workers. The ILO’s 2016 data

indicates that there are 23.8 millionchild labourers in India. Schools andprogrammes for children, such asprotection centres or youth clubs, arealso currently failing in their functionas early warning systems. The pan-demic has effectively hidden fromsight occurrences of domestic vio-lence in families as well as attemptsby local child traffickers or money-lenders to recruit children as work-ers. The focus must now be toensure the safety of students andteachers. All stakeholders must putin place protocols for reopening ofschools even for the younger chil-dren. There has to be an extensiveassessment on the learning loss anda well thought out plan to bridge thegap and schemes to retain students.The Government will also have toarrange for funds required to equipboth schools and students in ruralIndia to continue their learningjourney.

(The writer is ExecutiveDirector, Center DIRECT, Human

Liberty Network. The viewsexpressed are personal.)

Reopen schools for younger children soonBy cutting off or limiting access to education, the pandemic has worsened existing inequalities and hampered the economic growth of poor families

SURESH KUMAR

VIJAYAWADA | WEDNESDAY | JANUARY 20, 2021

www.dailypioneer.com analysis

VIJAYAWADA | WEDNESDAY | JANUARY 20, 2021 Money 08

MONEY MATTERS

European car sales plunged bynearly a quarter last year as thepandemic provoked the worst

crisis ever to hit the capital-intensiveindustry. New car registrations sankby 23.7 per cent, or 3 millionvehicles, to 9.9 million units,according to new figures releasedTuesday by the European AutomobileManufacturers Association. It said lockdowns and other restrictions“had an unprecedented impact on car sales across Europe.” Allmajor markets recorded double-digit declines, down 32.3 per cent inSpain, 28 per cent in Italy and 25 per cent in France. Germanysuffered a more contained 19 per cent drop. December sales werejust 3.3 per cent lower than the previous year, but performancevaried drastically between markets. Italy and Spain both had double-digit dips, Germany gained 10 per cent while Spain was flat.

Drug firm AlembicPharmaceuticals onTuesday reported a 24.92

per cent rise in its consolidatednet profit to Rs 292.57 crorefor the December quartermainly on account of robustsales. The company hadposted a net profit of Rs234.19 crore for the

corresponding period of the previous financial year, AlembicPharmaceuticals said in a regulatory filing. The consolidated revenuefrom operations of the company stood at Rs 1,314.33 crore for thequarter under consideration. It was Rs 1,209.13 crore for the sameperiod a year ago, it added."It was another good quarter for thecompany led by strong growth in the India formulation business. TheAPI Business continued to perform well in the current quarter,"Alembic Pharmaceuticals Managing Director Pranav Amin said.Shares of Alembic Pharmaceuticals were trading at Rs 1,055.20 per

scrip on the BSE, down 1.39 per cent from its previous close.

State-run engineering firm BharatHeavy Electricals Limited(BHEL) said it has won Institute

of Chartered Accountants of India(ICAI) National Award 2019-20 forexcellence in financial reporting. Theaward was received by SubodhGupta, Director (Finance), BHELfrom Arjun Ram Meghwal, Union Minister of State for ParliamentaryAffairs and Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises. The last timethis recognition was granted to BHEL by ICAI, was in the year 1981-82. Notably, an independent jury unanimously selected BHEL in the‘Infrastructure and Construction Sector' category, for the award forFY 2019-20 after screening at various levels. Conferred by ICAI, thishonour is accorded in recognition of the highest degree ofcompliance with accounting standards, statutory guidelines,regulations and disclosures, manifesting exemplary excellence inpresentation of financial statements.

BHEL wins national award forexcellence in financial reporting

European car sales suffer worstplunge ever in pandemic

Shares of Maruti SuzukiIndia on Tuesday gainedmore than 2 per cent

after the firm increased theprices of select models by upto Rs 34,000 to offsetadverse impact of risinginput costs.The stockjumped 2.24 per cent to Rs7,990 on the BSE. At the

NSE, it gained 2 per cent to Rs 7,990.30. The country's largestcarmaker Maruti Suzuki India on Monday said it has increased theprices of select models by up to Rs 34,000 to offset adverse impactof rising input costs. The company is increasing the prices owing toan increase in various input costs... The new prices are effective fromJanuary 18, 2021, Maruti Suzuki India said in a regulatory filing. Theprice change varies across models and ranges up to Rs 34,000 (ex-showroom-Delhi), it added.

Alembic Pharma Q3 net profitup 25 pc to Rs 293 crore

Maruti shares gain over 2 pc as

co hikes prices of select vehicles

PNS n NEW DELHI

Increasing R&D investment toexpand technology develop-ment capabilities and leverag-ing Indian IT industry'sprowess to serve requirementsof Indian and global telecomplayers can help in movingtowards Aatmanirbhar Bharat(self-reliant India), Trai chair-man PD Vaghela said onTuesday.

Speaking at the 15th IndiaDigital Summit, TelecomRegulatory Authority of India(Trai) Chairman PD Vaghelaoutlined some of the stepsthat can be taken to make"speedy progress and to makeIndia self reliant" in the telecomspace. "We need to increaseinvestment in research anddevelopment (R&D), this isvery important...To be selfreliant in the technology space,which is critical for economicand statistical perspective, weneed to transform from con-sumer to producer of technol-ogy," he said.

To upgrade and expandtechnology development capa-bilities, investments need to bemade in the complete ecosys-tem, including research, inno-vation, standardisation, prod-

uct development, testing andcertification, he added.

This requires a completeoverhaul of the existing prac-tices and policies and industry-academia linkages need to beestablished, he said.

"The commercial researchinnovations standardisationand product development needto be incentivised. Such inno-vation can also focus on meet-ing developing countries'requirement in the most effec-tive manner and this will openvast market for such productsfor India," he added.

Vaghela said India's ITindustry capability can beleveraged to build, operate andmaintain software productsthat can serve Indian as well as

global telecom industry, at areasonable price.

"We all know that the max-imum value addition is in thetechnology development,designing of products and ser-vices over the life cycle.Keeping in view India'sstrength in these areas, globalcompanies have already start-ed to establish their R&D cen-tres in India. India has poten-tial to be a global leader in tele-com software developmentand servicing space," he added.

Government and regulatorscan play a major role inencouraging digital innova-tion and incentivising thedevelopment of digital technol-ogy for the benefit of society,he noted.

Vaghela said there is a needto push indigenous telecomproducts in India amid thebooming growth in mobileand fixedline broadband aswell as rise of Industry 4.0 anddigital automation.

"India has launched a seriesof market reforms in the lastfew years that form the foun-dation for enhancing India'sappeal as a manufacturingbase. With the skill base inIndia that includes telecommu-nication also and the scale ofdomestic market and technol-ogy orientation, India presentsan attractive option for globalmanufacturers," he added.

Highlighting the growingconsumption of data, Vaghelasaid the role of data centresattains equal importancetowards becoming self reliantin the digital space. "...WhileIndia has taken a major leap inthe digital space during the lastsix seven years, a lot is requiredto be achieved. And we all haveto work together. This is onearea where we can become selfreliant very fast if the govern-ment, industry and academiacome together and come outwith solutions to the some ofthe challenges, which we arefacing," he added.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Shares of IT firm Mindtreejumped 6 per cent onTuesday after the companyreported a 65.7 per cent risein its consolidated net profitfor the December 2020 quar-ter. The stock gained 5.96 percent to Rs 1759.70 on BSE.

On NSE, it jumped 5.79per cent to Rs 1,760.Mindtree on Monday report-ed a 65.7 per cent rise in itsconsolidated net profit to Rs326.5 crore for the December2020 quarter, and said its dealpipeline continues to behealthy and strong.

The Bengaluru-basedcompany had posted a netprofit of Rs 197 crore in theyear-ago period. Its revenuegrew 3 per cent to Rs 2,023.7crore in the quarter underreview, from Rs 1,965.3 crorein the year-ago period.

"We have been working onimproving our operationalparameters since last year. Ona quarter-on-quarter basis,there has been a progressmade that has helped us interms of improving our mar-gins," Mindtree ChiefFinancial Officer VinitTeredesai said during anearnings briefing.

PNS n MUMBAI

Equity benchmark Sensexsoared 834 points on Tuesday,tracking strong gains in indexmajors HDFC twins, ICICIBank and Reliance Industriesamid an upbeat trend in glob-al markets.

The 30-share BSE indexended 834.02 points or 1.72per cent higher at 49,398.29.

Similarly, the broader NSENifty surged 239.85 points or1.68 per cent to 14,521.15.

Bajaj Finserv was the topgainer in the Sensex pack, ral-lying around 7 per cent, fol-lowed by Bajaj Finance, HDFC,L&T, ICICI Bank, Sun Pharmaand NTPC.

On the other hand, TechMahindra, ITC and M&Mwere the laggards.

According to Binod Modi,Head-Strategy at RelianceSecurities, having seen massivepullbacks in last two tradingdays, domestic equities wit-nessed sharp rebound mainlyled by strong cues from glob-al markets.

"Positive statement fromJanet Yellen about possibility of

acting big to support economybolstered confidence amonginvestors globally," he said.

US President-elect JoeBiden's nominee for treasurysecretary, former FederalReserve chair Janet Yellen iscalling on Congress to domore to fight the recession toavoid an even worse downturn.

In the testimony preparedfor her confirmation hearingon Tuesday before the SenateFinance Committee, Yellensaid more aid is needed to getcoronavirus vaccines distrib-

uted -- key to ending outbreaks-- to reopen schools and helpfamilies struggling with joblosses stay fed and housed.

Elsewhere in Asia, boursesin Hong Kong, Seoul andTokyo ended with significantgains, while Shanghai was inthe red.

Stocks exchanges in Europewere also trading on a positivenote in early deals.

Meanwhile, the global oilbenchmark Brent crude wastrading 1.22 per cent higher atUSD 55.42 per barrel.

Sensex zooms 834 pts; Niftyreclaims 14,500 level

Mindtreeshares climb6 pc as netprofit jumps

PNS n NEW DELHI

The Indian government hasasked WhatsApp to withdrawthe recent changes in the pri-vacy policy of the messagingapp, saying unilateral changesare unfair and unacceptable.

In a strongly worded letter toWhatsApp CEO Will Cathcart,the Ministry of Electronicsand Information Technologysaid India is home to thelargest user base of WhatsAppglobally and is one the biggestmarkets for its services.

The proposed changes to theWhatsApp Terms of Serviceand Privacy Policy, without giv-ing users an option to opt-out,"raise grave concerns regardingthe implications for the choiceand autonomy of Indian citi-zens," it wrote. The ministryasked WhatsApp to withdrawthe proposed changes andreconsider its approach toinformation privacy, freedomof choice and data security.

WhatsApp had on January16 delayed the introduction ofthe new privacy policy afteruser backlash over sharing ofuser data and information withthe parent company, FacebookInc. Stating that Indians shouldbe properly respected, the min-istry said, "any unilateralchanges to the WhatsAppTerms of Service and Privacywould not be fair and accept-

able." With over 400 millionusers in India, the changes willhave a disproportionate impacton the country's citizens, it said.

It asked WhatsApp to pro-vide details of the servicesprovided by it in India, cate-gories of data collected andpermissions and consentssought.

Also, WhatsApp has beenasked to explain if it conducts

profiling of Indian users on thebasis of their usage, as well asexplain difference between theprivacy policy in India andother countries.

WhatsApp has also beenasked to provide policy ondata and information security,privacy and encryption.

It has also been asked todetail data sharing with otherapps and if it captures informa-tion about other apps runningon the mobile phones of theuser. Besides, complete techni-cal architecture and serverhosting data of Indian usershave been asked to be fur-nished along with details ofaccess to a third party.

The changes "enableWhatsApp, and otherFacebook companies, to makeinvasive and precise inferencesabout users which may not bereasonably foreseen or expect-ed by users in the ordinarycourse of assessing these ser-vices, the ministry said.

The updated terms wouldenable WhatsApp to collect"highly invasive and granularmetadata" such as time, fre-quency and duration of inter-actions, group names, pay-ments and transaction data,online status, location indica-tors as well as any messagesshared by users with businessaccounts. "The collection andonward sharing with Facebookcompanies, of sensitive person-al data of individuals portendsan ecosystem where any mean-ingful distinction betweencompanies and WhatsApp willcease to exist," it said.

"This approach has thepotential to infringe on corevalues of data privacy, userchoice and autonomy of Indianusers," it said.

WhatsApp had earlier thismonth begun asking its 2 bil-lion users worldwide to acceptan update of its privacy policyif they want to keep using thepopular messaging app.

India asks WhatsApp to drop move for changes in privacy policy

PNS n BEIJING

Profit at state-owned compa-nies that dominate China'sbanking, oil and most otherindustries rose by as much as25% last year as the countryrecovered from the coron-avirus pandemic, the govern-ment said on Tuesday.

Total revenue for national-level companies rose 2.2% over2019 to 30.3 trillion yuan ($4.7trillion), according to PengHuagang, secretary general ofthe State-Owned AssetsSupervision andAdministration Commission.

Speaking at a news confer-ence, Peng said profit rose2.1% to 1.4 trillion yuan ($215billion).

The ruling CommunistParty has built up such“national champions” over thepast two decades, but theirmonopolies and multibillion-dollar subsidies prompt com-plaints by the public that theyare a waste of money andgouge consumers with highprices.

Peng's agency oversees 97companies directly under theCabinet including PetroChinaLtd, Asia's biggest oil produc-

er; China Mobile Ltd, theworld's biggest phone carrierby number of subscribers, andIndustrial and CommercialBank of China Ltd, the world'sbiggest bank by assets.

SASAC companies alsodominate air travel, insurance,securities, shipping, internetaccess, power generation, con-struction, nuclear power tech-nology and coal and steel pro-duction.

Chinese industries benefit-ed from the economy's rela-tively early reopening startingin March after the ruling partydeclared victory over the virusthat emerged in the central city

of Wuhan in late 2019.Total economic activity

rose 2.3% in 2020, possiblymaking China the only majoreconomy to grow while theUnited States, Europe andJapan struggled with risinginfections. Growth accelerat-ed to a two-year high of 6.5%over a year earlier in thethree months ending inDecember. Profit at 24national-level state companiesrose by more than 25% over2019 and two had profit ofmore than 100 billion yuan($15.4 billion), Peng said,without identifying them orgiving other details.

Profit at Chinese state industryrises with virus recovery

PNS n NEW DELHI

Amazon on Tuesday said it haspartnered with Startup India,Sequoia Capital India andFireside Ventures to launch anaccelerator programme to helpearly-stage startups take theirbrands to global audiences.

The Amazon Global SellingPropel (AGSP) programmehas been designed to supportearly stage startups (raisedfunding in post seed to pre-series A stage, if funded) in theconsumer products space tolaunch in international mar-kets and create global brandsfrom India through Amazon'sGlobal Selling programme.

As part of the StartupAccelerator, Amazon has con-stituted a mentorship board

consisting of Amazon leadersfrom India and across theworld, VCs and senior leadersfrom Startup India.

The application process willbe open for about three weeks,following which 10 startupswould be chosen for the accel-erator.

The programme will featurea six-week 1:1 mentorshipmodule for the shortlisted par-ticipants where they will get to

interact with Amazon leadersfrom India and worldwide andget firsthand knowledge onbuilding and scaling upexports business through e-commerce, Abhijit Kamra,Director - Global Trade atAmazon India, said.

Amazon will provide thesupport for these startups tolaunch their products world-wide through its exports pro-gramme Amazon GlobalSelling, he added.

These startups will then getan opportunity to showcasetheir business proposition topartner VC firms SequoiaCapital India and FiresideVentures and three of themwill get a chance to win a totalequity free grant of USD50,000 from Amazon.

Amazon partners with Startup India,others to boost e-commerce exports

PNS n NEW DELHI

Homegrown auto major TataMotors on Tuesday said it hasreceived 98 patents last yearunder its accelerated drive forengineering excellence andinnovation.

These patents predomi-nantly relate to the megatrendof CESS automobiles, thecompany said in a statement.

The patents also encom-pass an eclectic mix ofimprovements in automo-tive electronics, noise vibra-tion and harshness, conven-tional and advanced power-train systems, and crash safe-ty under various categories ofindustrial designs, copyrightsand notarisations, the state-ment added. The company"accelerated its drive for engi-neering excellence and inno-vation in 2020 by filing 80and receiving 98 patents in2020", it said. "At TataMotors, we have a rich histo-ry of introducing innova-tions that develop to becomeindustry benchmarks," TataMotors Chief said.

Tata Motorsreceives 98patents in 2020

PNS n NEW DELHI

Global property consultantJLL on Tuesday said its IndiaCEO and Country HeadRamesh Nair has quit thecompany and announced theappointment of Radha Dhir asthe new CEO.

"India CEO Ramesh Nair isleaving JLL to pursue oppor-tunities outside the firm. Heis succeeded by Radha Dhir,an experienced financial ser-vices executive, who has heldsenior leadership positionsin Deutsche Bank India andYes Bank," JLL said in a state-ment. Dhir was previouslyGroup President at Yes Bank,where she was Head ofMultinational CorporateBanking. Prior to that, shewas Managing Director, Headof Global SubsidiaryCoverage Group, DeutscheBank India, and a member ofthe Deutsche Bank IndiaExecutive Committee.

Nair, who joined JLL as ananalyst in 1999, became CEOof the India business in 2017.

Anthony Couse, CEO, JLLAsia Pacific, said: "RameshNair has been a great asset toJLL in his two decades withthe firm."

Welcoming Dhir as thenew CEO, Couse said: "I amconfident that by bringing ina leader from outside of realestate, whose skills and exper-tise complement those of ourexisting management team,we will be able to take thebusiness to the next level."

Dhir will join JLL onJanuary 25. She will be amember of the Asia PacificExecutive Board, and willchair the India LeadershipCouncil.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Gold gained Rs 198 to Rs48,480 per 10 gram in thenational capital onTuesday following arally in internationalprecious metal prices,according to HDFCSecurities.

In the previous trade,it had closed at Rs 48,282

per 10 gram. Silver alsomarched higher by Rs 1,008 toRs 65,340 per kilogram from

Rs 64,332 per kilogramin the last trade.

In the interna-tional market, bothgold and silver werequoting gains at

USD 1,843 perounce and USD 25.28

per ounce, respectively.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Local commerce platformDunzo on Tuesday said it hasraised a fresh round of USD40 million (about Rs 292.7crore) in capital from a clutchof investors including Googleand Lightbox, among others.

The funding round sawparticipation from new andexisting investors, includingGoogle, Lightbox, Evolvence,Hana Financial Investment,LGT Lightstone Aspada, andAlteria, among others, a state-ment said.

"This capital stems from ayear of robust growth amidstthe pandemic. In the comingyear, the local commerceplatform will focus ondeploying its playbook forsustainable growth across itsfastest-growing cities suchas Mumbai, Chennai andPune," it added.

With a gross merchandisevalue (GMV) growth of 2Xover the past year, Dunzo isnow about USD 100 millionannualised GMV business,the statement said.

Dunzo raisesUSD 40 mn infunding fromGoogle, others

Gold gains Rs 198;silver jumps by Rs 1K

JLL India CEO, CountryHead Ramesh Nair quits

Need to leverage Indian ITindustry’s prowess: Trai

Rules

ARCHIE

GARFIELD

SUDOKU

REALITY CHECK SPEED BUMP CROSSWORD

GINGER MEGGS

NANCY

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

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

Yesterday’s solution

CALVIN AND HOBBES

FUN

ouTuber Bhuvan Bam,who has become India’sfirst independent digi-tal content creatorwhose channel ‘BB KiVines’ has crossed a

record 3 billion collectiveviews reach and cross 20million subscribers, says:“These growing numbersare indicative of the thingsI’m probably doing right.”

Commenting onachieving this milestone,Bam tells a news agency:“I feel extremely grati-fied and thrilled for allthe love and validationI’ve received so far.Everyone knows beinga digital influencer or aYouTuber wasn’t myplan to begin with, butthings just fell intoplace by chance andhere I am today, over-whelmed with the mag-nitude of appreciationfrom viewers. Thesegrowing numbers areindicative of the thingsI’m probably doing right

and I hope I can continueto entertain people while

also creating an impactsocially,” says an elated

Bhuvan.Having created iconic

characters like Bhanchoddas,Sameer Fuddi, Titu mama,and others, Bam is now alsogearing to release his latestand most awaited series —Dhindora — that the artisthas diligently shot for,despite the pandemic.

Bam has been known forempowering youth by creat-ing realistic, impactful andthought provoking contentfrom a very ‘real’ conversa-tional lens.

His videos touch uponsubjects related to the life ofan urban teenager that needcontemplation and uninhib-ited discussion. The empa-thetic nature of these videosthat come with a dose of rib-tickling humour has beenthe most appealing factor forviewers, keeping themhooked to watching thisfast-rising digital phe-nomenon. The year2021 also saw BamlaunchingYouthiapa 2.0which is an expan-sion of his home-grown merchan-dising brand.

ctor Jared Leto sayshe enjoyed workingwith director ZackSnyder on his ver-sion of JusticeLeague, known as

the Snyder cut.The actor will reprise the

role of the Joker in the SnyderCut of Justice League.

“He’s (Snyder) a warrior.He’s a madman. I really lovehim,” said Jared Leto, reportscontactmusic.com.

"With every character Iplay — I don’t know if it’sbecause I work so intently andI tend to dig really deep andput a lot of time and energyinto it — but when I’m doneplaying with them, done play-ing the parts, I do miss them alittle bit,” Jared Letoadded.Leto had played the

Joker in the 2016 release,Suicide Squad. He loves the

chance to play the part of theDC Comics villain again.

“You do all this work andthen you’re done, so it is niceto revisit things. You know,parts like the Joker, likeSparma (his role in ‘The LittleThings’), what’s really greatabout those roles is they canbe intense and dark, but there’salso a lot of freedom andabandon there,” said Leto.

“And that’s really fun for me,it’s fun for the other actors, it’sfun for the crew. With both ofthose roles, there was lots oflaughter on the set and a lot ofjoy because you would impro-vise and say something reallyfunny. So it’s always quite a lotof fun when you can hear peo-ple cracking up on the otherside of the camera, and I likethat quite a bit,” he added.

ollywood starElizabeth Olsensays she oncethought of changingher surname anddistance herself

from the success of her familybecause it was insanity growing upin the spotlight.

“It was insanity. There weretimes when my sisters wouldalways be spotted and I would bein the car with them and itwould really freak me out. It hashelped me navigate how I wantto approach my career,” said theactress, whose older sisters areMary-Kate Olsen and AshleyOlsen.

The actress added that she‘always had this need to provemyself to everyone around methat I work really hard’, adding: “I

couldn’t walk in a room without everyonealready having an opinion.”

Elizabeth opened up on the fears ofnepotism.

“The thing about nepotism is the fearthat you don’t earn or deserve the work.There was even a part of me when I was alittle girl that thought if I’m gonna be anactress I'm going to go by Elizabeth Chase,which is my middle name. And then, onceI started working, I was like, ‘I love myfamily, I like my name, I love my sisters.Why would I be so ashamed of that?’ It’sfine now,” she said.

The actress said fame has made hermore of a homebody.

“Fame has also made me someone whois more of a homebody than maybe Iwould like to be but I know where not togo. If I could do whatever I wanted for theday, I’d start with the gym, then I’d go tothe grocery store, because it’s my favouritething,” Elizabeth told The Sun.

9

Vijayawada Wednesday January 20, 2021what’s brewing?

I'm probably doing things right: Bhuvan Bam on

crossing 20M subscribersctor-filmmaker RajeshTailang, who has direct-ed a short film duringlockdown titled TrivediJi, has said that hewould like to direct a

feature film once in his life.“I haven’t planned to direct a

feature film yet, but I want tomake at least one feature film inmy life,” said Tailang, whileinteracting with a news agency ata special screening of Trivedi Jiin the city.

Tailand has his YouTube chan-nel named Theatre Talkies, aboutwhich he said: “We make shortfilms for the channel. I do apoetry show on it called ‘ChandPe Chai’. Annup Sonii hosts ashow on different stories called‘Suni Unsuni: Stories with AnupSoni’. I made a few documen-taries on it as well. It’s my sev-enth short film. I decided tomake films because sometimes

we get some time off from act-ing projects, so in that peri-

od I wanted to do somecreative work.”

Trivedi Ji, directedby Rajesh Tailang andwritten by VartikaTiwari and Tailang,tells the story of awoman stuck in her

apartment during the Covid-19pandemic and trying to surviveon depleting food supplies andconversations with her aloe veraplant.

Despite being shot on a phoneand with limited resources, theshort film boasts of impressivecinematography and editing.Vartika Tiwari’s committed per-formance tells the anxiety, con-fusion, and depression that manyfelt during lockdown.

Talking about how he decidedto make the film, Tailang said:“We made this film during lock-down, when all of us were literal-ly under house arrest. At thattime, lead actress of this filmVartika (Tiwari) wrote a post onFacebook, and I decided to makethe film from that post. I talkedto her about the film. Thenthrough video calls, I did remotedirection. She shot herself andthat’s how we made the film. Iam going to send this film to twoto three film festivals and later itwill stream on YouTube.”

Talking about his upcomingprojects, Tailang said he is work-ing on the film Pagglait, and willstart shooting for two new webseries.

“I am also a part of a film butI am not allowed to talk about

it,” he added.Pagglait is a comedy drama

written and directed by UmeshBist. The film is produced byShobha Kapoor, Ekta Kapoor,Guneet Monga and Achin Jainunder the banners Balaji MotionPictures and SikhyaEntertainment.

The film features SanyaMalhotra, Shruti Sharma, SayaniGupta, Sheeba Chaddha,Ashutosh Rana, Rajesh, andRaghubir Yadav in key roles.

Rajesh Tailang: Want todirect one feature film

Jared Leto calls Zack Snyder a‘Madman' for good reason

Y A

A H

Elizabeth Olsen: Nepotismcreates fear that you don't

deserve the work you get

AlekhyaHarika

The format ofevery other video

content creation is dif-ferent from that of

movies. The rigid sched-ules, the busy sets and thebustle of the crew can beintimidating for those notfamiliar with them.

This bubbly Telugusweetheart of the masses,

betterknown as

Dethadi Harika,was seen in the

Tamil remake ofSandeep Reddy Vanga’s

Arjun Reddy. She playsthe role of a nurse in thismovie, and says she lovedthe experience. “I had afriend recommend me tothe co-director of ArjunReddy, who directed theTamil version. They werelooking for Teluguactresses for a naturallook. They thought I wasthe right fit, and I got theproject,” she said. “Theexperience was amazing,everyone was so profes-sional! They didn’t evenwaste a single second dur-ing the shoots, and theywere so kind to everyone,”

she adds. Harika says shelearnt a lot from her expe-rience there. She adds, “Ilearnt to be punctual andhow to work better. Iwould definitely love toact in many more movies,in Telugu, Tamil andMalayalam.”

SejalKumar

One ofIndia’s top

YouTubers, SejalKumar has made a

name for herself for hervlogs and lifestyle videos.In 2018, she starred inEngineering Girls, a web-series in which she sharesthe screen with KrithikaAvasti and Barkha Singh.

She says itwas a very

interestingexperience for her

to be a part of a full-fledged production.

“I’ve always produced myown content and beingdirected by someone elsewas a great learning expe-rience. I was really hon-oured to be a part of aTimeliners production. Itwas great working withBarkha and Krithika, theyhave more acting experi-ence than me and we gotalong very well, theyhelped me figure out a lotof things.”

The 27-year-old con-tent creator says that sheis on the lookout for bigproductions. “YouTube is

my first priority, but I’malways on the lookout forinteresting projects thatsuit me. I’d love to domore such projects!”

The manbehind the Chicago

Subbarao personaUdbhav Raghunandan,does not attempt todraw a line betweencontent creation andfilmmaking. He makesa distinction betweenthem, but believes attheir core, they sharethe same goal. “For me,at a basic level, it’s alldifferent forms of sto-rytelling. Through myYouTube channel, Itried to tell storieswoven around myexperiences.” The maindifferences he noticesfrom his entry intofilms is the conve-nience of being able tofocus on just acting,without the pressure towrite scripts and getediting done as hewould for YouTube.

There might be simi-larities that overshadowhow different both

forms of media are, butwhen it comes down toit, big productions are acompletely differentballgame fromYouTube creations.“For movies and webseries, we narrate sto-ries at a bigger level fora longer time. It boilsdown to the writing. Tograb viewers attention,there has to be com-pelling writing. InYouTube, I tried con-necting with my audi-ence in a much shorterspan of time. Whenthey relate to it, itbecomes shareable con-tent that will reachmore people.”

When asked what hewould choose betweenYouTube and movies,he said “YouTube was astepping stone for meto get into movies. Inever wanted to be aYouTube content cre-ator, but it just hap-pened.”

Though his dreamwas always to be in themovies, he does notundermine YouTube’spower as a platform.“Whichever medium,content should be thepriority. There shouldbe effort behind it, andsubscribers or the audi-ence should not betaken for granted.”

SHREYA SRIKONDA

ur very ownYouTube talents areall set to show offtheir talent on thebig screens. In the

south, not many talentedartists could make it to thebig leagues without properconnections. One way topass by these barriers isthrough YouTube! Manypopular YouTube sensationsare now foraying intomovies in a seamlesstransition. The best part isthat they are familiar facesto the audience, most ofwhich have been acquaintedwith the YouTuber creatorfamily from the early stages.The mid 2000s saw YouTubecontent boom that camewith the platform beingeasily accessible and agreat place to show offall kinds of talent.Making full use ofthisopportunity,talented

youngsters started makingcontent about relatablethings in their daily life thatcould reach other youngpeople. From “Don’t youhate it when…” to “Tenthings I like about...”, almostevery relatable topic hasbeen covered by YouTubers.From the popularity thatthey got from the initialboom, YouTubers becamelocal celebs, inspiring manyothers to join the ranks.The content creatorfamily grows everyyear with moreinnovative ideas,biggerproductionvalueand

more tailored scripts. So it’snot a shocker that thenext thing on many ofthese YouTubers’lists is movies! O

YouTu

bers

turn

to

the

big

scre

ens!

Ravi

Ravi Teja is another youngYouTube content creator who’smade his recent foray into movieswith Kiran Abbavaram’s SebastianP.C 524. He says that in YouTube,the crew is smaller, there’s notime restriction, and you’re fullyaware of how the script is. In big-ger productions, two minutes ofcontent can take up a whole day.Speaking on what got him startedon his journey, he says “YouTubewas a way to gauge the Teluguaudience’s response to us as con-tent creators. We experimentedwith genres and styles to see whatworked best, while making aname for ourselves in the com-munity. Movies make me reallyhappy, though.”

Ravi makes a choice based onhis comfort with his audience. Hesays that if he had to choosebetween movies and YouTube,he’d pick the latter! “I’d chooseYouTube, it’s easier to communi-cate with the audience and tounderstand what they expect ofus, and they’ll tell you if theydon’t like the content. So I likethat open communication thatonly YouTube can provide.” Hehopes to do more movies and hasa lot of exciting projects lined up!

Sri VidyaMaharshi

The actress whorose to fame withwitty, relatable contenton ChaiBisket’sGirlFormula says thatit was a very organicprocess for her alongwith other YouTubers.“Having a bunch ofvideos online can eas-ily help as a portfolio,secondly you haveyour own dedicatedviewership who willcome to a moviebecause they want towatch you.” On apractical level, shesays, her YouTubecareer helped her

understand a lot morethings about movie-making than a new-comer would have.When asked abouthow she adapts to thedifference in responsi-bility, budget andtimeline, she says, “I

think it depends onhow much you believein the role, I’ve had tolet go of a little bit ofmy inhibitions to real-ly get into the charac-ter someone else haswritten for me.” She’sworking on a web-series for now, takingit slow and figuringout how the filmindustry works, as shesays she’s only workedwith friends so far.“I’m not very medi-um-specific, I’m finewith whatever plat-form, as long as there’sscope for me to pre-sent myself in the bestway possible,” shesays.

Harsha Chemudu

Known by themoniker Viva Harsha,this actor/comedian isone of the best knownTelugu internet person-alities. He speaks indetail about howYoutube has reachedcontent saturation.Harsha shot to fame forhis role in the 2013Viva video by SabarishKandregula whichwould be fresh in yourmemory if you’re aboveten years old.

The video was justthe right mix of funny,relatable and clever, soin the initial boom ofYouTube, fresh Telugu

content was receivedvery well.

The YouTube starsays that his goal was tobe an actor right fromthe beginning. “We hada lot of scripts ready,we don’t know why wechose to do Viva or

why it took off the wayit did.” He explains howthe huge increase in theamount of content outon YouTube is leadingto lesser quality.

His advice to thoseplanning to explorecontent creation: “Don’tplan to make a viralvideo, it can’t be pre-dicted. If the content isgood, then it will makeits way around, it’s likemagic, it just happens.”

The YouTuber hasgone on to play pivotalroles in several filmsincluding Colour Photo,Bhanumathi &Ramakrishna and alsohas a talk show to hiscredit.

ccording to GrandView Research’sMarket AnalysisReport ofIndustrial Hemp2020-2027, the

global industrial hemp mar-ket size is expected to regis-ter a revenue-based CAGRof 15.8 per cent over theforecast period, a sharp risefrom USD 4.71 billion in2019.

The expanding market ofindustrial hemp is driven bythe growing demand forhemp oil and fibres in foodand beverage, automotive,construction, textile indus-tries and personal care.Additionally, low prices ofcrop encourage farmers todiversify their crop options,

subsequently, increasing thenumber of producers.Further, increasing aware-ness regarding the dietaryadvantages of its oil, coupledwith the growing demandfrom the personal care andcosmetics industries isexpected to drive the marketgrowth.

Unlike popular belief,hemp does not have psy-chotropic effects on thehuman body. In fact, its seedhas many healthy benefitsand is actually 33 per centprotein. The small, brownseeds are rich in fibre, pro-tein, and healthful fattyacids, including omega-6and omega-3s. Their antioxi-dant properties may reducesymptoms of numerous ail-ments in addition toimproving the health of the

heart. The nutritional powerand hardiness of hemp seedcould significantly addressthe global protein needs andstarvation problems.

Raw hemp seeds are oneof the richest sources ofcomplete protein as it ispacked with 33-37 per centpure digestible protein. Onlyalgae such as marine phyto-plankton, AFA blue-greenalgae and spirulina exceedhemp in protein.Additionally, 47 per cent of ahemp seed is composed ofgood fats, a vital composi-tion of omega-3 and omega-6. Here are a few benefits ofhemp seeds:

May control the risk ofheart disease

Hemp seeds contain goodamounts of the amino acidarginine, which produces

nitric oxide in the body. It isa gas molecule that makesblood vessels relax anddilate, which leads to con-trolled blood pressure and areduced risk of heart disease.According to Pub Med,increased arginine intakecoupled with decreased lev-els of C-reactive protein(CRP) and high levels ofCRP is linked to heart dis-ease in the majority of peo-ple.

Helpful in skin disordersA balance of omega-6 and

omega-3 fatty acids in thehuman body are significantto the immune system andhemp seeds are a goodsource of these fatty acidswith about a 3:1 ratio ofomega-6 to omega-3. Hempseed oil relieves people fromdry skin, itchiness, inflam-mation and thus, reduces theneed for skin medication.

A source of plant basedprotein

Plants often lack theamino acid lysine which iswhy complete proteinsources are rare in the plantkingdom. Hemp seeds areconsidered a complete pro-tein source as they provideall the essential amino acidsand contain high levels ofarginine and glutamic acid.

Helps control stress andanxiety

Cannabidiol or CBD isconsidered a cannabinoidwhich is leaf extract of thecannabis plant. CBD isknown to have benefits onstress, seizure disorders,anxiety and pain relief. (The writer is the co-founderand CEO of Hemp Horizon)

Healthy side of hempUnlikepopularbelief, hempdoes not havepsychotropiceffects. Infact, its seedhas manyhealthybenefits, saysROHITSHAH

UdbhavRaghunandan

aving wrappedup the firstschedule of theupcomingthriller-dramaMayday, Asia’s

numero uno YouTuberand avid rapper,CarryMinati aka AjeyNagar released his 6th rapsingle titled Vardaanacross all major streamingplatforms. The inspira-tional track dishes out lifelessons for youngteenagers embarking ontheir grown-up journey.Ajay is seen touchingupon a plethora of emo-tions that an averageteenager experienceswhilst transitioning fromthe adolescent to theadulting stage, right fromseeking validation fromfamily and peers abouttheir choices to sacrificingdreams and passions dueto lack of access to theright kind of educationand guidance. With thistrack, he assumes thename of a true modern-age motivational coachencouraging his legion offans to fervently pursuetheir calling and takeinspiration from his per-sonal life story.CarryMinati states, “2020got me thinking about a

lot of things, including myearly teenage years andhow I climbed the ladderof success despite all theodds and the backlash.Last year was quite dis-heartening in a lot ofways, so I thought I wouldkick start 2021 on a moreencouraging note by giv-ing out a strong positivemessage. This track is adedication to all the youngminds out there to not payheed to the opinions ofthose who don’t matter.This is my story of the tri-als and tribulations I facedon the journey of pursuingmy passion and I hope myhumble effort will inspirethe youth in some way.”CarryMinati started mak-ing videos on YouTubewhen he was 10. At 21, hehas over 28 million sub-scribers on YouTubewhich is among the high-est in South Asia. In 2019,he was the only Indian tobe listed in the TimeMagazine’s ‘Top 10 NextGeneration Leaders’ andonly Indian to collaboratewith and interview TomCruise and Henry Cavillto help promote their filmMission: Impossible-Fallout.

The music for the singlewas composed by

CarryMinati’s older brother Yash Nagar a.k.a.Wily Frenzy. He says,“2020 was like a doomyear that ruffled quite afew feathers. For Carryand me personally, whenthe YouTube vs TikTokrow happened, it was suchan emotional moment butthen we didn’t take defeatand created Yalgaar as aretort. We decided thatthis year, it will be no dif-

ferent and we will not shyaway from being our mostauthentic selves and fuelthe spirit of those whoseek some motivation togo the unconventional waywith our track Vardaan. Ihope this track inspireslisteners to heal and getback on track with theirlives, as in the end, it’s allabout rising above thestorm like a warriorphoenix!”

CarryMinati drops newrap single Vardaan

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sport 11VIJAYAWADA | WEDNESDAY | JANUARY 20, 2021

An amalgamation of fascinating lifestories that scripted one of the mostmemorable moments in the histo-

ry of Indian cricket.The men who humbled Australia in

their own backyard, defying odds andnaysayers, are not the ones staring fromthe billboards in manic metro cities butshy, quiet and unassuming characters fromthe suburbs and the hinterlands.

These are strong character artists ofan author-backed film rather than megastars with bulging biceps of 200-crore pot-boilers.

Pioneer Sport presents back stories ofthe magnificent bunch which gave Indiancricket ‘a win to remember’ for ages tocome.

RISHABH PANTRourkee has always been known for

its finest engineering college, now an IIT

but this is also the hometown of RishabhPant, son of school owner parents. Therewas a time that on occasions a young Pant,accompanied by his mother would reach

Delhi in wee hours of morningon weekends to attend trainingat the famed Sonnet Club andbefore the crack of dawn rest atthe Gurdwara before heading tothe ground. He played an IPL gamedays after his father Rajendra’ssudden demise.

M O H A M M E DSIRAJ

Son of an auto-rickshawdriver from Hyderabad’sLancer. He lost his fatherduring the tour butdecided to stay for theteam and miss thelast rites. He got amaiden five for inhis debut seriesand was allchoked up whilededicating the featto the memory of his father.The youngster handled racistabuse from Australian fanswith the same resolve.

NAVDEEP SAINI

Son of a bus driver from Karnal, heused to play tennis ball matches for

`1000. Delhi first-class player SumitNarwal brought him for the Ranji

Trophy nets where then captainGautam Gambhir picked himfor tournament-proper. It wasmet with stiff resistance fromnone other than Bishan SinghBedi who protested that a play-er outside Delhi domicile wasbeing picked. This led toGambhir putting his foot down

and he never misses an opportu-nity to remind the detractorswhat Saini seemed capable ofeven at that time.

SHUBMAN GILLThe heir apparent of Virat

Kohli was born in a Punjab vil-lage called Fazilka to an afflu-ent farmer family. His grand-father had prepared a pitch inthe farming field for his dear-est grandson before hisfather decided to shift to

Mohali so that his son’s crick-eting ambitions got wings. He

was a member of the India U-19 WorldCup team. Recently, on his Instagram

account, he had voiced his support forongoing farmers’ protest.

CHETESHWAR PUJARAThe man from Rajkot is not very

expressive but has dealt with adversitybecause of a strong mental make-uplargely due to his coach and father ArvindPujara. He lost his mother while playingjunior cricket but never wavered from hisgoal despite the tragedy. Those hits on thebody and knuckles in Brisbane on Tuesdaywill be the medals he would like to wear

all his life.

SHARDUL THAKURHe comes from Palghar and as a 13-

year-old had hit six sixes for his schoolVivekananda International Borivali in aHarris Shield Match. Who is the most cel-ebrated alumni of VivekanandaInternational? India’s white ball legendRohit Sharma. Both Shardul and Rohithave had the same childhood coach —Dinesh Lad, whose son Siddhesh alsoplays for Mumbai.

WASHINGTON SUNDARThe name Washington was his

father’s tribute to his own mentor PDWashington, who had funded his stud-ies and kits when he was young and facedfinancial hardships. A month after PDWashington’s death, his own son wasborn and he named him WashingtonSundar.

He was a opening batsman back in2016 during U-19 days. But his talent asan off-break bowler came to fore whenRahul Dravid and Paras Mhambrey toldhim to focus on his bowling in order tomake the next grade. But batting remainshis first love and India now has a readyreplacement of Ravichandran Ashwin asand when required.

T NATARAJANFrom the remote vil lage of

Chinnappampatti in Tamil Nadu, the sonof a daily wage labourer at one point intime couldn’t buy bowling spikes. Andthen IPL riches came along but he neverforgot his roots.

He has built a cricket academy in hisnative place and helps talented but needycricketers. His child was born during theIPL but he will now get to see him for thefirst time in next few days and live to tella tale.

AJINKYA RAHANE (CAPTAIN)The everyday man on that Mumbai

local train travelling from Mulund toAzad and Cross Maidan. Rahane issomeone who had a black belt in karateas a teenager, and honed his skills underformer India batsman Praveen Amre.

Did you know that Rahane’s first everfirst-class match was in Pakistan and notIndia? It was in Karachi where Quaid-e-Azam champions Karachi Urbans metRanji Trophy champions Mumbai.

With inputs from PTI

PTI n BRISBANE

They say heroes are ordinary peo-ple doing extraordinary stuff. Ifone wanted to see a Live demon-stration of it, Gabba was the placeto be where Australia’s cricketing

pride and invincibility was torn to shredsby a bunch of Indian rookies who didn’tseem to care for either history or reputa-tions.

A target of 328 lay in front of them andwith all the broken bones and bruised bod-ies in the dressing room, it would have beenperfectly understandable to chase a draw toretain that coveted Border-Gavaskar trophy.

But they wanted more and that’s pre-cisely what they walked away with.

So what if their regular captain was onpaternity leave? So what if their pacespearhead and premier all-rounder were outinjured? So what if the crowd in Sydney hadcaused some mental scars with their racistchants?

So what? Asked a lot which had seenadversity of a more intense kind in their per-sonal lives. They knew all about it and onthe field, they showed how to stand up toit.

On Tuesday, a minefield of talentcalled Rishabh Pant (89 not out off 138balls) channelled his inner Mad Max toscare the daylights out of the Australianswith his breathtaking strokeplay. He could-n’t care less for the history that the hometeam had not lost at ‘Fortress Gabba’ in thepast 32 years.

He was out to change it.Coach Ravi Shastri knew how momen-

tous it was. He would know, he was part ofthe ride and he made no bones about it.

“It is the toughest tour ever. Nothingsurpasses this. After 36 all out, this is unre-al,” Shastri said, admitting that at the endof it all, he had tears in his eyes.

If Shastri’s intense declaration reflect-ed his flamboyance, stand-in captainAjinkya Rahane’s reticence shone through

in his response.“I looked good because everyone con-

tributed,” he said.The highlights package of Pant’s battle

with Nathan Lyon can be enjoyed repeat-edly in times to come as he demolished the100-Test man in company of debutantWashington Sundar (22), who hooked theworld’s best fast bowler, Pat Cummins, fora six.

No one moved from their seats as Pantcut, drove, and paddle-swept to make a state-ment to his detractors while gifting India oneof their finest overseas wins during the dyingmoments of the final session with an off-dri-ven boundary.

While Shubman Gill (91 off 146 balls)announced his arrival on the global stage,Cheteshwar Pujara (56 off 211 balls) sur-passed all the pain barriers en route his slow-est Test fifty that held the game in balancefor Pant to launch a final assault.

The Australian team wouldn’t feel toogood about not being able to win a Testmatch with an opposition that was findingit difficult to field a fit first XI a day priorto the Test match.

Add to it, the visitors were also left quitehurt by the racial slurs directed at the likesof Mohammed Siraj and Jasprit Bumrah by

the crowd during the Sydney Test.The series will be remembered for ages

and the impact that Ajinkya Rahane’s teamhad on the cricketing fraternity and the fansin general will be written in golden wordswhen a fresh history of Test cricket after 2000is written.

In terms of relevance, a series win with-out Virat Kohli, Mohammed Shami,Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwinand Jasprit Bumrah not being available atvarious points, is zillion times more signif-icant than the 2-1 win in 2018-19 when theopposition didn’t have Steve Smith andDavid Warner in its ranks.

First time, people celebrated draws,became empathetic to players with limitedabilities and believed in their team.

The stands were near-about empty at theGabba thanks to the Covid-19 crowdrestrictions but make no mistake that Testcricket seemed well and truly alive and kick-ing.

With its beautiful ebbs and flows, thefifth day was witness to three separateschools of batsmanship, so very dissimilarto each other.

Gill, who is now going to be the “RealDeal”, was free-flowing in his stroke-mak-ing with his “beside the line of the ball” tech-

nique as he rode the bounce to hammerhome the advantage and briefly makeIndia favourites to win the battle.

The two sixes off Mitchell Starc — aslash over backward point and a thump overdeep mid-wicket — will be the ones for thekeeps.

The disdain while thrashing theAustralian bowlers would have made evenSachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli proud.

India have now got Kohli’s heir appar-ent and the 21-year-old is here to stay forthe longest time.

Pujara, on the other hand, saw theAustralian try out the menacing short balltactic. He took a few on the helmet, a fewmore on the chest and other parts and apainful one on the knuckles but remainedunfazed.

Gill and Pujara showed that there aremultiple ways to skin a cat.

If Pujara was ready to duck, sway andcop body blows off Josh Hazlewood andCummins, showing the art of survival, Gill,on his first tour of Australia, was ready tobe the intimidator by bringing the pull shotout of his repertoire.

The duo, during its 114-run stand,showed that very contrasting styles can co-exist without conflict even as fans of both

genres argue who has the more appropri-ate approach for the format.

Even Pant with his cavalier ways wouldhave added his two cents to the debate onvarious styles.

But for the uninitiated, the three distinctschools can be suitably de-constructed —Pujara’s was more of investing in an LIC pol-icy with safe returns while Gill’s approach,with his collars-up, was akin to mutual fundsand Pant would most likely play his gamein high-stakes stock market where winnertakes it all but at times at a heavy price.

While the final day performance is sureto hold a special place but the story of thismatch won’t be complete without a morethan honourable mention of what ShardulThakur and Washington Sundar did on thethird morning and afternoon.

Had that partnership not been there, itwouldn’t have been as easy for India as itseemed in the end. Thakur and Washingtongave hope of a fight, Pujara, Gill and Pant,with their performances, honoured thatfight.

Coach Ravi Shastri was once panned forhis “best travelling Indian team” commentbut after January 19, very few would disagreethat this is the “toughest Indian team onroad”.

PTI n BRISBANE

After playing a key role in India’sbreathtaking and successful run chase

in the series-deciding fourth Test againstAustralia, Rishabh Pant on Tuesday calledthe historic win as the “biggest moment”of his life.

“This is one of the biggest momentsof my life now, and I’m happy that all thesupport staff and all my teammates sup-ported me even when I wasn’t playing,”Pant said at the post-match presentationceremony.

India did not play Pant in either thepreceding ODI or the T20 series. But theyoung wicketkeeper-batsman made animpression in the Test series, playing acombative 97-run knock in the secondinnings in Sydney and again here onTuesday.

“It’s been a dream series. The teammanagement always backs me and tellsme, you are a match-winner and you have

to go win the match for the team. I keepthinking every day that I want to winmatches for India, and I did it today,” Pantsaid.

India skipper Ajinkya Rahane initial-ly struggled to find words but gatheredhimself to praise his courageous team-mates.

“It means a lot to us. I don’t know howto describe this, but our boys showed a lotof character and determination after theAdelaide Test,” Rahane, who led India inthe absence of Virat Kohli, said.

“I’m really proud of each individual.”Australia captain Tim Paine gracious-

ly admitted that they were outplayed by theIndians.

“We were here to win the series, but wehave just been outplayed by a disciplinedand tough Indian side who fully deserve theseries win. We have to look back over a lotof things, and we’ll go through it as a group.

“We have been outplayed by a betterside this series,” he said.

PTI n BRISBANE

Outplayed by an inexperienced andinjury-plagued India, a shocked

Australia head coach Justin Langer onTuesday said one massive lesson that hehas learnt from the setback is to “neverever, ever underestimate” the “reallytough” players from that country.

A visibly shaken Langer laudedIndia for the lion-hearted effort to winthe Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2-1 despiteplaying with a second-string side, espe-cially after being decimated inside threedays in the series-opener in Adelaide.That loss included India’s lowest-ever Testscore of 36 in the second innings.

“It was an incredible Test series andin the end there is always a winner or aloser. Today Test cricket is the winner. It’sgonna hurt us big time. India deservedfull credit. They have been outstandingbut we have learnt lessons from it,” Langertold Channel 7.

“First, you can never take anythingfor granted, second never ever, everunderestimate the Indians. There are 1.5billions Indians and if you play in thatfirst eleven you got to be really tough,don’t you?”

Langer said the fightback after theAdelaide debacle was nothing short ofremarkable especially after injury-forcedouster of big players like Jasprit Bumrahand Ravindra Jadeja.

India found new stars such asShubman Gill, Washington Sundar,Shardul Thakur and Mohammed Sirajamong others who surprised the Aussieswith their never-say-die spirit.

“I can’t compliment India enough.They haven’t gone away after that firstTest match which we won in three days,bowled them out for 30 odd. For themto fight back like they did is amazing,credit to them. The big lesson for us isthat you can’t take anything for granted.India never got away,” he said.

WONDER DOWN

INDIAWONDER DOWN

INDIAIndia does

winning talk,pull off historicTest series win

Down Under

‘Never ever underestimate India’Biggest moment of my life: Pant

HISTORY MAKERSKnow Your Heroes: A few good men and a

We are all overjoyed at the successof the Indian Cricket Team in

Australia. Their remarkable energy andpassion was visible throughout. So wastheir stellar intent, remarkable grit anddetermination. Congratulations to the team!Best wishes for your future endeavours.

—PM NARENDRA MODI

A historic cricketing triumph scripted inAustralia! Congratulations to India's talented youngcricket team for winning the hard-foughttest series. The team showed exceptionalskills and resilience. The nation is proud oftheir achievement.

—PRESIDENT RAM NATH KOVIND

EVERY SESSION WE DISCOVERED A NEWHERO.Every time we got hit, we stayed put &stood taller. We pushed boundaries of beliefto play fearless but not careless cricket.Injuries & uncertainties were countered withpoise & confidence. One of the greatestseries wins!Congrats India.

—SACHIN TENDULKAR

WHAT A WIN!!! Yessssss. To everyone whodoubted us after Adelaide, stand up and takenotice. Exemplary performance but the gritand determination was the standout for usthe whole way. Well done to all the boys andthe management. Enjoy this historic featlads. Cheers @BCCI

—VIRAT KOHLI

Khushi ke maare pagal. This is the newIndia. Ghar mein ghuskar maarta hai. Fromwhat happened in Adelaide to this, theseyoung guys have given us a joy of a lifetime.There have been World Cup wins but this isspecial. And yes,there is a reason Pant isextra special .

—VIRENDER SEHWAG

Well done captain @ajinkyarahane88 thisthis biggest series win I feel.. Without manybig names you guys have showed the wayhow it’s done congratulations @BCCI

—HARBHAJAN SINGH

Test cricket’s heart is beating strongly! Thatwas an extraordinary win @BCCI & afantastic series to watch. Aussies not lost atThe Gabba since 1988. Wow

—STUART BROAD

What a Test match! The depth of IndianCricket is scary. @RishabhPant17 , sweetnumber 17. Well played young man.#testcricket at its very best

—AB DE VILLIERS

Only issue with India beating Australia insuch an INCREDIBLE manner, is that theTest was played in Brisbane. A city thatdoesn't deserve an event so good! Rollingon the floor laughing. Pant — the boy whoturned into a man today in Australia, incricketing terms!

—KEVIN PIETERSON

The Greatest Test series win of all time ...Well done #India you have just shown theway for England to get back those Ashesback later in the year ...

—MICHAEL VAUGHAN

Remarkable. Injuries galore, absent players,& beating Australia at their fortress at theGabba. This has been the most remarkabletest series victory I've watched in myexperience. India's depth of talent, heart andcharacter must forever lift an entire nation.Congratulations.

—IAN BISHOP

Congrats to the Indian cricket team @BCCIThat's one of the best series wins I can everremember on Aust soil & to do it after beingbowled out for 36, plus a depleted squad-shows tremendous character, resilience,courage & belief. Just fantastic@RaviShastriOfc @ajinkyarahane88.

—SHANE WARNE

Speechless !!! Fortress Gabba has beenbreached !! What a great great game of Testmatch cricket . I still have goosebumps .Complete team effort . Jab hausle ho Bulandtoh har mushkil lage aasaan ! #TeamIndiaFlag of India #Merabharatmahaan

—MITHALI RAJ

One of the greatest test series wins ever.Congrats India and well played Australia,what a series #INDvsAUS.

—GOOGLE CEO SUNDAR PICHAI

12

Vijayawada wednesday January 20, 2021tollywood

ctor Varun Tej’snext with debu-tant directorKiran Korrapati,where he plays aboxer, has been

titled Ghani — after hischaracter’s name in thefilm. Varun’s cousin RamCharan unveiled the firstlook and title by taking tohis social media pages onTuesday. “Very nice andpacks a punch !! HappyBirthday @IamVarunTej!!All the best team,” Charanwrote. Flaunting a chiselledathletic figure, Varun isseen punching a boxingbag with concentration atthe extreme end of themotion poster.

A joint production ven-ture between AlluVenkatesh and SidhuMudda, the title is a sportsdrama with commercialbells and whistles. The sup-porting cast is stacked upwith the likes of JagapathiBabu, Suniel Shetty,Upendra, Nadiya andNaveen Chandra whileDabangg 3 girl SaieeManjrekar is making herTelugu debut with the pro-ject. Having resumed lastNovember after theCOVID-19 induced break,Kiran has shot the projectfor 10 days and is now

gearing up for a lengthyschedule (before the pan-demic struck, Kiran shotfor 16 days inVisakhapatnam, where thestory is set).

“The next schedule startsfrom February 15 and willgo on till April 25, witness-ing close to 85 percent ofthe film being wrapped up.Hyderabad and its sur-rounding areas will hostthis leg of filming. Kiranwanted to commence thefresh schedule this monthbut with Varun testing pos-itive last month, he post-poned the schedule. Theactor, in the meanwhile,has started shooting forAnil Ravipudi’s F3,” asource close to the unit tellsus.

The source adds that theremaining portions of thefilm will be filmed in NCRregion and north easternIndia towards the end ofMay in a schedule of 15days, calling it a wrap fortalkie portions.

“The makers, however,are yet to decide on whereto film a couple of songs.”The film will storm into thecinema halls this July. “It ismounted on a lavish scaleand is Varun’s biggest bud-geted till date,” the sourceends.

Varun is boxer

GhaniAfter being shot for 25 days so far,Varun Tej's next with debutantdirector Kiran Korrapati is going intoa non-stop mode, with the freshschedule set to go on for a coupleof months in Hyderabad fromFebruary 15, finds NAGARAJ GOUD

irector GopichandMalineni is smil-ing. His film,Krack, releasedamid other filmslike Master, Red

and Alludu Adhurs emergedas the Sankranthi winner.The box-office share is steadydespite the 50 percent occu-pancy rule and COVID-19concern. But a day before therelease — on January 8th —things were far from rosy ashe understood that the filmwill not have a smoothrelease the next day as pro-ducer Tagore Madhu’s finan-cial issues with some distrib-utors meant that the releasehad to be held back until thesecond show. While Malinenidoesn’t want to delve intowhat exactly transpired, hewants no director to gothrough the pain he endured.“NV Prasad, Vamsi (ofSithara Entertainments) andDamodar Prasad stood byme during this 24-hour win-dow, offering me a great deal

of support,’ he recalls.Malineni also remembers

that he was under tremen-dous pressure to sell the filmto OTT platforms from lastMarch to October last year. “Ialways believed that Krackwas ideal for the big screen asit's filled with mass elements.It is the reason why at onepoint I even tweeted that‘Krack in theatres only’. Thefilm is the biggest hit of RaviTeja’s career while runningonly to 50 percent occupan-cy,” he beams.

He points out that the likesof VV Vinayak, Trivikram,Harish Shankar, BoyapatiSreenu, Vamshi Paidipally,Surender Reddy and AnilRavipudi rang him to appre-ciate the film post the release.“Even megastar Chiranjeevigaru phoned me and spokewell about the film. He addedthat my son looks like a deadringer to me,” Malineni letsout a smile. The director’sson played the role of RaviTeja and Shruti Haasan’s sonin the film.

He assures thatKrack 2 will be madedefinitely but hisnext commitmentis for MythriMovie Makers. Isit true thatBalakrishna willspearhead it?“I’ve penned astory in thelockdown andit is on a levelhigher to thatof Krack. As faras the castinggoes, I will givethe detailsprobably aftera week or 10days,” heshares,adding thatthere aremultipleHindi per-sonalities who are interestedin the remake of Krack. Willhe direct it as well? “Itdepends on who I get as anactor and which production

house is attached to it. Actorslike Akshay Kumar, AjayDevgn and Ranveer Singh fitthe lead part.”

—NG

WITH KRACK PERFORMING WELL AT THETURNSTILE, DIRECTOR GOPICHAND MALINENIIS BACK ON THE SUCCESS TRACK. WHILEASSURING THAT KRACK 2 IS DEFINITELY ONTHE CARDS, HE INSISTS THAT HIS NEXT WILLBE PRODUCED BY MYTHRI MOVIE MAKERS. HEMIGHT ALSO HELM THE HINDI REMAKE OFKRACK IF HE GETS A RIGHT TEAM.

The on-sets work onAdipurush, starringPrabhas and Saif AliKhan, commenced withmotion capture technol-ogy in a studio setup in

Mumbai on Tuesday. With the film involving a lot ofVFX shots, director Om Raut, it isbelieved, is conducting a test shootbefore he launches the film inMumbai on February 2. MostHollywood tentpole movies areshot using motion capture technol-ogy.

Commenting on the latest devel-opment, Bhushan Kumar, who isjointly producing the film along

with Krishan Kumar, Om Raut,Prasad Sutar and Rajesh Nair, saidin an official statement, “At T-Series, we have always encouragednew ideas and concepts and thiscoupled with cutting edge technol-ogy, paves the way for the future offilmmaking. Om and his team arecreating an entire world ofAdipurush with the latest technol-ogy, commonly used in interna-tional cinema but will be exploredin Indian filmmaking for the firsttime. We are proud to bring to ouraudiences — Adipurush.”

Speaking about the project, Rauthad said last year, “It is the story ofPrabhu Ram. It’s one aspect of the

epic saga; it’s my screen adaptationof the epic. There are too manypreparations underway.Fortunately, the research is alreadyin place. From a historical point ofview, the notes are already there.But when you do a screen adapta-tion, there’s a lot of research fromauthenticity, technology points ofview. A lot of storyboards are hap-pening, asset creation, designingthe characters as we speak.”

The likes of Kriti Sanon andKeerthy Suresh are rumoured to bein the race to bag Sita’s role.

To be filmed in Hindi andTelugu, the project has been sched-uled to release on August 11, 2022.

ctor-politicianKamal Haasanon Mondayunderwent a legsurgery at aChennai hospital

and is doing well, hisdaughters Shruti Haasanand Akshara Haasan saidin a statement on Tuesday.

The Makkal NeedhiMaiam chief had onSunday said he would beundergoing a follow-upsurgery on his leg.

Shruti and Akshara tookto Twitter on Tuesday toupdate followers on theveteran actor’s health fol-lowing the surgery, whichthey said was a success.

“We would like to beginby thanking you for youroverwhelming support,prayers, and genuine con-cern regarding our father’srecent medical procedure.We are happy to inform allof you that the surgery wasa success!” the statementread. The surgery was per-

formed at Sri RamchandraHospital in Chennai.

Shruti and Akshara saidthe doctors, attendees andthe hospital managementare taking good care oftheir father.

“He is in good spiritsand working towardsspeedy recovery. He willreturn home in four to fivedays. After a few days ofrest and recuperating fromthe surgery, he shall beready to interact with peo-ple as always.”

The Haasan sistersexpressed gratitude topeople for the love andblessings showered ontheir father.

“We are grateful thatyour good energy will be abig part of your speedyrecovery,” the statementconcluded.

On the films front,Kamal’s next releasesinclude Indian 2 withShankar and Vikram withLokesh Kanagaraj.

Kamal undergoes legsurgery; will be

discharged in 4-5 days

Adipurush motion capture begins

t looks like thefilming of SSRajamouli’s much-anticipated RRRhas reached thefag end, as the

maker on Tuesdayannounced that the climaxportion shoot has begun.“The CLIMAX shoot hasbegun! My Ramaraju andBheem come together toaccomplish what theydesired to achieve...#RRRMovie #RRR (sic),” thedirector posted on Twitter.

His lead actors — Jr NTR

and Ram Charan — used theterms “super excited” and“highly charged” to describeshooting for the sequence,whose filming is going on ata specially erected massiveset in Hyderabad. Accordingto a source, Rajamouli hashired a stuntman SolomonRaju to design the wholesequence with emotionaltones. Raju trained the fight-ers for more than 100 daysso that Rajamouli will notlose time on the sets. Therehearsals of Raju with histeam have been recorded and

Rajamouli picked the bestsequences to incorporateinto the film, the sourceadds.Set in 1920s pre-inde-pendent India, RRR, a pro-duction venture of DVVDanayya, revolves aroundthe fictional exploits of tworeal freedom fightersKomaram Bheem (played byNTR) and Alluri SeetharamaRaju (Charan). The likes ofAjay Devgn, Olivia Morris, PSamuthirakani and Irishactors Alison Doody andRay Stevenson are essayingsignificant roles.

RR

R’s

clim

axsh

oot

kic

ks

off

A

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Was under tremendous pressure to sendKrack directly to OTT last year: Malineni