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MONEY 8US BEATS CHINA TO BECOME

INDIA'S TOP TRADING PARTNER

ANALYSIS 7A TRICKY

ROAD AHEAD

SPORTS 12JITENDER ENSURES

PLACE IN INDIAN TEAM

HYDERABAD, MONDAY FEBRUARY 24, 2020; PAGES 12 `3

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HYDERABAD DELHI LUCKNOWBHOPAL RAIPUR CHANDIGARH

BHUBANESWAR RANCHI DEHRADUNVIJAYAWADA

TWISTS AND TURNS

TRUMP DINNER INVITEHOTS UP TELUGU POLITICS

With KCR among select CMs invited and Jagan apparently ‘ignored',

speculations are rife over BJP's changing equations with TRS and YSRCPL VENKAT RAM REDDYn HYDERABAD

The guest list at the dinnerPresident Ram Nath Kovind ishosting for the visiting USPresident Donald Trump onFebruary 25 at RashtrapatiBhavan has heated up politicspertaining to Telugu states.

For once, the reasons arecertainly not cooked up!

Telangana ChiefMinister KChandrasekharRao is among theselect ChiefMinisters who havebeen invited for thedinner by thePresident. For rea-sons that cannot be fath-omed, the names of otherprominent Chief Ministers,including AP ChiefMinister YSJ a g a n m o h a nReddy, do not as-yet figure in theguest list.

This has

touched off a flurry of politi-cally sensitive speculations thatit could be due to the "chang-ing equations" of the BJP withTRS and YSRCP for variousreasons. Political circles andrumour mills are abuzz overthe factors that possibly couldhave contributed to the Centreadopting different yardsticksfor the CMs of Telugu states, let

alone the other uninvit-ed CMs among those

of 28 states. It is widely

believed in politicalcircles that TRS andYSRCP are 'secretfriends' of BJP.There are strong

reasons for this.Both TRS

a n d

YSRCP extended completesupport to all the initiativestaken up by the NDA-I govern-ment between 2014 and 2019,especially demonetization,GST, election of President andVice President of India etc.Both the parties supportedabrogation of Article 370 afterthe NDA-2 government tookover in May 2019.

Besides, YSRCP went a stepahead and supported the con-troversial CitizenshipAmendment Bill in Parliamentand voted in favour of it. TRS,on the contrary, vociferouslyopposed CAA Bill inParliament and voted against

it in both the Houses.On top of that, KCR recent-

ly came down heavily on theBJP-led NDA government fortaking up controversial issueslike CAA, NPR and NRC,while ignoring 'real issues' fac-ing people like economic slow-down, unemployment etc.KCR even expressed his incli-nation to lead an anti-CAAagitation across the country byinvolving like-minded parties.

No wonder, BJP leaders,both at national and state lev-els, have since been attackingKCR relentlessly for his anti-CAA stance.

HYDERABADWEATHER

Current Weather ConditionsUpdated February 23, 2019 5:00 PM

ALMANACTODAY

Month & Paksham:Phalguna & Shukla PakshaPanchangam:Tithi: Pratipada: 11:14 pmNakshatram: Shatabhisha: 04:21 pmTime to Avoid: (Bad time to start

any important work)Rahukalam: 08:08 am – 09:35 amYamagandam: 11:02 am – 12:29 pmVarjyam: 11:30 pm – 01:17 amGulika: 01:56 pm - 03:23 pmGood Time: (to start any important

work)Amritakalam: 08:21 am – 10:08 amAbhijit Muhurtham: 12:06 pm – 12:52 pm

Forecast: SunnyTemp: 32/18Humidity: 37%Sunrise: 06.38Sunset: 06.20

Aday before US President Donald Trump's visit to Ahmedabad, amakeshift VVIP entry gate erected outside the newly-built cricket

stadium in Motera area here collapsed due to gusty winds on Sundaymorning, an official said. The entire incident was recorded by abystander and aired on local television channels. The makeshift entrygate was made of welded steel rods and covered in flex banners. Aftersometime, a portion of another makeshiftgate structure at the stadium's mainentrance also collapsed due to the windyweather, another official said.

ENTRY GATE AT MOTERA STADIUMCOLLAPSES AHEAD OF TRUMP’S VISIT

CURRY LEAVES HELP TO CONTROL BLOOD SUGAR LEVELSCommonly known as 'kadi Patta' in India, the local Indian curry leaves

which are easily found in every household serve not just as an ingredientfor cooking but also benefit our health. According to a report published inthe Krishi Jagran, curry leaves are effective in controlling blood sugar levels,diabetes management, maintenance of gastrointestinal health and manymore. According to a health expert`s report in Krishi Jagran, regularconsumption of curry leaves is known to lower the bloodsugar levels as they come fully packed with antioxidantsthat help in the prevention of conversion of starch to glucosethus controlling the diabetes levels.

WOMAN SI ALLEGES RAPE BY POLICE INSPECTORAwoman sub-inspector has lodged a complaint in Miranpur town here

that she was raped by a police inspector on the pretext of marriage.She has been taken for a medical examination and a case wasregistered against Inspector Sandeep Chouhan on Saturday, SHO H NSingh said, adding that an inquiry isunderway. According to the FIR, it isalleged that the woman, who is a residentof Miranpur, was raped by the accusedpoliceman who also extorted Rs 5 lakhcash as ‘engagement gift' from her.

The US on Sunday said that the political controversy around First LadyMelania Trump visiting a Delhi school was baseless. As per the ruling

party in Delhi, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), the names of DelhiChief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his deputy ManishSisodia were dropped from Melania Trump's visit to aschool which runs Delhi government's 'happinesscurriculum'. The First Lady chose the school for itsunique curriculuma which was introduced by Sisodiatwo years ago to reduce stress among schoolchildren.

MELANIA TRUMP'S SCHOOL VISITNOT A POLITICAL EVENT: US

US President Donald Trump here with great expectationsAttempt to position himself as a statesmanPNS n NEW YORK

President Donald Trump leftfor India on Sunday with greatexpectations of a record recep-tion.

He told reporters beforeleaving leaving the WhiteHouse, "I hear it's going to bea big event. Some people saythe biggest event they've everhad in India. That's what thePrime Minister (NarendraModi) told me, this will be thebiggest event they've ever had."

At the Joint Base Andrews,he boarded the Air Force Oneat about 10 a.m. local time(8.30 p.m. Indian StandardTime) for take-off to RamsteinAir Base in Germany fromwhere he will head to

Ahmedabad after a scheduled90-minute stopover.

Trump is scheduled to arrivein India on Monday. He hadearlier tweeted, "Look so for-ward to being with my great

friends in INDIA!"Trump, who had last visited

India in 2014 as a real estatebusinessman, returns asPresident this time.

Drunk driving: Threekilled in car accidentPNS n HYDERABAD

What was intended to be aweekend party turned tragicfor a techie and his friends lateon Saturday night due toalleged drunk driving. Theaccident, which took place atKarmanghat area ofSaroornagar, claimed threelives and left one personinjured.

According to sources, thefriends, identified as Vinayak,an employee of Accenture,Sainath, Kalyan and Sairam, allaged between 25-30 years andresidents of Champapet, wereheading back home after par-tying when the mishapoccured. The vehicle was beingdriven by Vinayak.

"After drinking at Bhavanibar in Gorramguda area, theyleft the place around 1:20 amand the accident occurred at

around 1:50 am. While pass-ing through Karmanghat area,Vinayak lost control over thewheels due to over-speeding,crashing the vehicle straight

into the wall of a shop on theroadside. Nobody had seatbelt on, except Kalyan. Speedwas easily above 80 kmph.

The mangled remains of the car

PNS n HYDERABAD

In a midnight tragedy, threelabourers died and five otherswere injured when a mound ofearth fell on them while theywere erecting pillars on a pri-vate paper mill's premises inKumram Bheem-Asifabad dis-trict of Telangana, police havesaid.

The incident happened ataround 11 pm on Saturdaywhen 12 labourers were con-structing the pillars for a boil-er at the unit, a senior policeofficial.

Two of the dead agedbetween 25 and 38 werenatives of Jharkhand and theother hailed from Lucknow.

The injured five, rescued bythe police and fire depatment

personnel, have been hospi-talised, the official said.

The workers were engagedin digging a boiler at SirpurPaper Mills private limited inKaghaznagar on Saturday.

The medical condition ofthe injured is learned to becritical.

PNS n HYDERABAD

An ATM machine, reported-ly containing Rs 2.27 lakh, wascarried away by some personsfrom Rudraram village ofPatancheru Mandal inSangareddy district during theearly hours of Sunday.

The ATM centre had twocash dispensing machines, ofwhich one was taken away bythe men. Inspector ofPatancheru police P Nareshsaid that some people foundthe ATM machine missing onSunday morning and report-ed the matter to the police.

"After going through CCTVfootage, police realised that themachine was taken away at2.17 am. Police have request-ed the people to inform themif the ATM machine is foundabandoned anywhere.

ATM machinestolen

PNS n NEW DELHI

National Highways Authorityof India (NHAI) on Sundaysaid it has collected Rs 20 crorefrom 18 lakh defaulters whoentered the FASTag lanes atelectronic toll plazas onNational Highways withoutthe tag.

Rolling out the electronictoll collection programmeacross India in December, theMinistry of Road Transportand Highways had said thatdouble toll charge would becollected from the vehiclesentering FASTag lanes withoutthe tag.

In order to give primeimportance to existing FASTagusers, dissuade defaulters andfurther encourage adoptionof FASTags by national high-

ways commuters, vehicleswithout FASTags entering theFASTag lane are being chargeddouble the toll fee, NHAI saidin a statement.

"Till now, a total number of18 lakh vehicles defaulted byencroaching FASTag lanesacross India has resulted in adouble charge cash toll accu-mulation of about Rs 20 crore,"it said.

RFID based FASTag, anelectronic toll collection systemimplemented by the NHAI,has proved to be instrumentalin easing the lives of com-

muters on national highwayswithin two months of itsnationwide implementation,it said.

Over 1.55 crore FASTagshave been issued through mul-tiple Point of Sale (PoS) loca-tions. NHAI has been observ-ing increased sale rate ofFASTags which is a clear indi-cation of this digital systembeing accepted well, the state-ment said. As a result, FASTagtransaction has crossed a land-mark count of 4 million perday, it added.

The implementation ofFASTags across the country hasmet with the desired responseso far, it said adding the adop-tion of FASTags also meansthat it has brought in themuch-needed transparency incollection at toll booths.

ENTERING FASTAG LANES

NHAI collects Rs 20 crfrom 18 lakh defaulters Gangster Ravi

arrested inS.AfricaPNS n BENGALURU

Fugitive gangster Ravi Pujarihas been arrested in SouthAfrica and being brought toIndia by a team of officials,including senior IPS officersfrom Karnataka, a top policeofficial said on Sunday.

Pujari, wanted in manycases including extortion andmurder in different parts ofthe country, includingKarnataka, and been on therun for over 15 years, wasdeported to Senegal in WestAfrica following his arrestand later extradited.

Cong asks PM Modi if he wouldraise H-1B visa with Trump PNS n NEW DELHI

Ahead of US President DonaldTrump's visit, the Congress onSunday asked whether PrimeMinister Narendra Modiwould raise with him the issueof easing H-1B visas, restora-tion of GSP status and securi-ty concerns over Taliban.

Congress chief spokesper-son Randeep Surjewala askedwhy Prime Minister Modi issilent about "India First" asPresident Trump talked of"America First".

He also asked whether Modiwould ensure cheaper oil forIndia after it stopped buyingoil from Iran in view of sanc-

tions and if Indian steelexports would get a boostafter India commits to USD 3billion defence purchases.

"Trump Government'srestrictive immigration poli-cies have hit H-1B visas.Indians get 70 pc of 85000 H-1B Visas.

Rescue personnel at the site of mishap

3 labourers buriedalive in mudslide

2

2

2

2 2

TRUMP TO SPEND 15 MIN IN ‘HRIDAY KUNJ’PNS n AHMEDABAD

In his maiden visit to India, USPresident Donald Trump willspend his first 15 minutes at"Hriday Kunj", whereMahatma Gandhi stayed for 13years and also took the famouspledge at the beginning ofDandi March.

In his short stay, Trump willget "sand carpet" welcome inplace of red carpet as per theguidelines of the Ashram.

Trump is expected to arriveat the Ashram around 12.30p.m. on Monday directly fromAhmedabad international air-

port before attending the"Namaste Trump" at theMotera stadium. He will beaccompanied by First LadyMelania Trump, daughterIvanka Trump, son-in-lawJared Kushner and a galaxy oftop US official.

The US President will offera "Sutmala" on the photo-graph of Mahatma Gandhi atthe Ashram before PrimeMinister Narendra Modi willbrief him about "Hriday Kunj"and introduce a sizable collec-tion of manuscripts ofGandhi's writings during hisstay here.

‘Baahubali’ avatar draws 60,000 likes PNS n NEW DELHI

A video showing "Baahubali"Trump fighting enemies on bat-tlefield, riding a chariot withMelania along with his childrenTrump Jr and Ivanka on hisshoulders, has netizens insplits.

It all started after ameme page on Twittershared the morphedvideo on the song'Jiyo re Baahubali'with PresidentDonald Trump'sface superimposedon the actor Prabhas'

face, who played the lead char-acter in the blockbuster that didbusiness of about Rs 2,800 crore.Melania (face swapped withSivagami) and the video also fea-tures Prime Minister NarendraModi as a character.

The one minute 21 secondlong clip was put out by an

unverified Twitter accountidentified as 'Sol'.

More than 13 lakhpeople watched thevideo which was likedby more than 60,000people. Around 16,000people retweeted this

tweet.2

Cong asks PMModi if he...

Here withgreat...

Continued from Page 1

"Now, Rejection Rate forIndia has increased from 6 pcin 2015 to 24 pc in 2019,especially for IT profession-als. Post 10 million peoplegala event, Will PM Modi askfor easing H-1B visas," heasked on Twitter.

Surjewala said as US pre-pares to sign a deal withTaliban on February 29, whatabout India's red lines.

"Have we forgotten IC-814 hijacking and release ofterrorist Masood Azhar inKandhar, who's JeM thenattacked Parliament andPulwama? As gala bashunfolds, Will Modiji raiseour National Security con-cerns," he said. The Congressleader said continuing since1974, the US removed Indiafrom Duty Free Imports i.eGSP (generalised system ofpreferences) on 5 June, 2019.

Continued from Page 1

He and First Lady MelaniaTrump are accompanied by a12-member official delegationthat includes his daughterIvanka and son-in-law JaredKushner, who hold the title ofsenior adviser to the president.The visit, 19 days after hisacquittal on impeachmentcharges by the Senate and theearlier controversy over astandoff with Teheran follow-ing the killing of Iranian mil-itary leader Qasem Soleimaniwith is Trump's first forayabroad and is an attempt toposition himself as a statesmanadmired by millions.

Trump is probably morepopular in India than in theUS if the Pew Research opin-ion poll that showed 56 percent of Indians having confi-dence in him is to be taken asa measure of his popularity.

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HYDERABAD | MONDAY | FEBRUARY 24, 2020 hyderabad 02

HC UPADHYAY n HYDERABAD

From the kid-glove treatmentmeted out by both the govern-ment and the judiciary to seri-al law-breakers squatting onpublic roads of Delhi and of late,elsewhere in the country, peo-ple have had enough!

Dismayed at the submissiveattitude of the Constitutionalauthorities to Shaheen Baghprotestors whose fundamentalright to vent protests is recog-nised at the cost of millions oth-ers, law-abiding citizens arefinding themselves unsecuredand helpless.

Clearly, such an indifferenceto the rights of non-protestorsis nothing but the breach ofConstitutional obligation bythese Constitutional bodiesupon whom rests the duty toprotect the rights of 'all' the peo-ple, and not just those of a groupof protestors. And, see the toneand tenor of protests! Theyhold the national flag in theirhands, but shout slogans like:Bharat Tere Tukde Honge, Wewant Azadi and even PakistanZindabad and HindustanMuradabad. Certainly, by nostretch of imagination, such

venomous utterances could becalled as lawful protests.

The two months' journey ofanti-CAA, NPR and NCR hasnow assumed alarming propor-tions. Now the new pitch is 15crore Muslims versus 100 croreHindus, wherein the Muslimsare exhorted to affront Hindusphysically so as to overpowerthe latter.

Earlier, in shameless opendefiance to the Constitution,these anti-national, communalelements, with the help of ter-rorists and extremist of all huesfrom within and outside the ter-ritories, have dumped the law-fully passed statutes by pass-ing unlawful resolutions insome state legislatures.These acts are, indeed,insult to the Constitutionand Constitutionalbodies likeParliament and theoffice of thePresident of Indiawhich are instru-mental in passing thelaws.

In fact, the situationhas reached its boilingpoint. We are at the crossroads.Jihadi and terrorist forces arehell-bent upon creating a civil

war like situation in the coun-try which is evident from theprovocative speeches of theTamasha managers. Therefore,before the law-abiding peopleare constrained to take law intheir hands, the governmentmust act firmly, quickly and

decisively, though it shouldhave done so quite earlywhen the Tamasha ofShaheen Bagh com-

menced. Still, if for thereasons best

known to thegovernment, it

maintains stoic silence,the President should

invoke his powers anddismiss the worthlesscentral government, dis-solve Parliament andstate legislatures and

impose President Rule. Such course of action is need-

ed to protect the Constitution

and its cherished ideology. For,if the nation has to survive, itsConstitution must survive!

SC on bail petitions A division bench of the

Supreme Court, comprisingJustices A.M Khanwilkar andDinesh Maheshwari, has depre-cated the unduly long delay indisposing of the bail petitions bythe courts.

Dealing with appeals againstthe High Court order inMotamarri Appanna Veeraraju@ MAV Raju. vs. State of WestBengal, the court, while express-ing its displeasure at keeping thebail petition pending sinceAugust 2008 and just extendinginterim orders from time totime, observed :

"... the application for bail oranticipatory bail is a matter ofmoment for the accused andprotracted hearing thereof may

also cause prejudice to investi-gation and affect the prosecu-tion interests which cannot becomprehended..."

Delhi bar protests The Bar Association of Delhi

High Court advocates cameout with a resolution to abstaincourt work in support of JusticeDr. S.Muralidhar, whose trans-fer order to Punjab & HaryanaHigh Court has been issued.

For decades, the power oftransfer has been considered asthe sole prerogative of theappointing authority. Theappointing authority may,depending on the exigencies ofwork, transfer an employee. Inseveral cases, this stand has beentaken by the courts and thesame has been vindicated by thehigher courts.

But now, strangely enoughthe Delhi High Court's repre-sentative body has opposed thetransfer of one of its long serv-ing judges on the speciousgrounds of lack of transparen-cy and arbitrariness. This is,indeed, transgressing the mutu-ally drawn limits by the judicia-ry and the bar. Therefore, suchpractice needs to be nipped inth bud.

Of mood and adjourn-ment

Though it may soundstrange, it is true that the Punjab& Haryana High Court has con-sidered the ' mood of the court'as 'sufficient cause' to grantadjournment to a lawyer.

After Justice Rajiv NarainRaina dismissed four petitionsin quick succession, the coun-sel for the next case, KS Sidhugot alarmed and when his casewas called out, he pleaded for anadjournment stating that itappeared the mood of the courtwas not good. The court oblig-ed Sidhu, but added that all thefour dismissed cases wereworthless. According to it, thecourt may grant adjournment ifsufficient cause is shown.

Pride of Telangana The Telugus in general and

the people of Telangana in par-ticular have a reason to rejoice.

Ms. Saritha Komatireddy,daughter of Geetha Reddy andHanumanth Reddy, has beenappointed as a Judge in the USdistrict court in New York.

She is a prosecutor and teach-es Law in the Columbia LawSchool, New York. Both her par-ents hail from Telangana.

LEGALROUNDUP

The two months' journey of anti-CAA,NPR and NCR has now assumed alarmingproportions. Now the new pitch is 15crore Muslims versus 100 crore Hindus,wherein the Muslims are exhorted toaffront Hindus physically so as tooverpower the latter

When shall we stop pampering the outlaws!

Minorities more securein India, says VenkaiahPV KONDAL RAOn WARANGAL

Vice-President M VenkaiahNaidu on Sunday said theimportance of mother tongueshould be carried forward in thewake of spurt in western cultureand foreign language expansion.The Vice President was address-ing the gathering at AVVCollege in Warangal on Sunday.

Speaking on the occasion,Venkaiah Naidu urged theUnion and State governmentsto link employment up to alevel with the local languagesto promote the use of mothertongue in the country. Hecalled for promoting the use ofIndian languages in the admin-istration, saying, this will notonly bring the administrationcloser to the people but alsohelp in preservation of our richlinguistic heritage.

Quoting Sardar Patel, the VPsaid, "Unless a child understandsthe language of instructionproperly, he would not be ableto understand the subject beingtaught in that language. It should

focus on overall development ofthe students by impartingmorals, ethics and age-old civil-isational values of the country.Children should be taught to berespectful towards girls andwomen from an early age."

The Vice-Presidentexpressed concern over theoccurrence of Nirbhaya kind ofincidents even in the presentday. Highlighting that Indianculture shows great respectfor women, Venkaiah Naidu

said it was evident from the factthat all rivers in the countryhad been named after women.

The Vice-President furtheradvised the students not to for-get their parents, motherlandand mother tongue. The VicePresident said that he hasimmense affection towardsWarangal city and added thatthe district's interest towardsliterary expansion and cultur-al grandeur was laudable.Recollecting that the name ofWarangal makes him remem-ber the great literary personslike Dasharathi and Kaloji, theVice President said theWarangal-born PV NarsimhaRao had ruled the country.

The Vice President, duringhis address, affirmed that themother tongue would continueto play a key role in the educa-tion and all spheres. PanchayathRaj Minister Errabelli DayakarRao, Planning Commissionvice-chairman Vinod Kumar,Chief Whip Vinay Bhaskar,East MLA NannapuneniNarender and others graced theoccasion.

Unless a child understands the language of instructionproperly, he would not be able to understand thesubject being taught in that language

M VENKAIAH NAIDU, Vice President of India

Demand for goldsubstantially highPNS n HYDERABAD

With the frightening news ofCovid19 (novelcoronavirus)spreading rapidly to many morecountries, the demand for goldhas recorded substantially high.The yellow metal marchedahead during the week endedSaturday. Gold appreciated sig-nificantly and closed at US$1,643 (per ounce). Silver fol-lowed suit and closed at US $18.44 (per ounce).

The exchange rates of for-eign currencies vis-a-visIndian Rupee (INR) were: US$ Rs.71.87, Euro Rs.77.96,British Pound 93.13,Canadian Dollar Rs. 54.36,Swiss Franc Rs.73.47,Australian Dollar Rs.47.60,Kuwaiti Dinar Rs.233.89,Hongkong DollarRs.9.23, UAE DirhamRs.19.57, Saudi RiyalRs. 19.17,Singapore DollarRs.51.42 andOmani RialRs. 186.33.

Other eco-nomic para-meters were: Brent $ 57.94(per barrel), Crude oil Rs.3,982, Platinum and Palladiumclosed at US dollars 973 (perOz.) and 2,714 (per Oz.)respectively, while CopperMCX closed at Rs 431.90(perkg). Gold MCX stood at Rs.42,588(per 10 gms) and SilverMCX at Rs.52, 492 (per kg).Sensex and Nifty 50 closed at41,170.12 and 12,080.90 pointsrespectively.

At home, the internationaluptrend in precious metals wasreflected and the prices zoomedto the historic high. Thedemand for jewellery wasimpacted by about 55 percentdue to higher prices. Theupcoming marriage season isunlikely to infuse life in the jew-ellery market because home-makers would prefer to fall backon old jewellery to meet thedemand for marriage season.

During the week, standardgold (24 carats) appreciated by

Rs.2, 330 and closed at Rs.42,150 (per 10 gms). Ornamentalgold too moved in tandem,and was quoted in the range ofRs.40, 040- 10,140. Silver(0.999) recorded an apprecia-tion of Rs.2, 100 and closed atRs.48, 300 (per kg).The senti-

ment in gold and silver jew-ellery market is likely to

remain strong.

COMMODITIES

The sentiment inprincipal whole-

sale commoditymarkets in thetwin cities wasfrom moderateto strong.

Rythu Bazars and the com-modity markets located inBegum Bazar, Kishangunj,Mukthyargunj, RisalaAbdullah, Mir Alam Mandi,Dilsukhnagar, Kukatpally,Bowenpally, General Bazarwitnessed a moderate trend.Most of the commodities,including chillies, coriander,turmeric, tamarind, methi,mustard, rice, wheat, jawar,maize, ragi, ginger etc; eitherremained steady or remaineddivergent within narrow mar-gins. Among vegetables,potatoes, sweet potatoes,tomatoes, Kandha and carrotsremained unchanged, whilecabbage, cauliflower, ribbedgourd, snake gourd, lady's fin-ger, cucumber and Frenchbeans, along with other leafyvegetables, recorded a margin-al decline. In Hyderabad, theNECC wholesale egg pricedeclined by Rs.71 and closedat Rs.340 (per 100).

WEEKLY MARKET REVIEW

Gold appreciatedsignificantly andclosed at US$1,643 (per ounce).Silver followed suitand closed at US $18.44 (per ounce)

KTR to launchPattanaPragathi inMahbubnagarPNS n MAHBUBNAGAR

TRS working president andIT Minister KT Rama Raowill launch Pattana Pragathiprogramme inMahabubnagar town onMonday. On the occasion, theMinister will attend variousprogrammes and will layfoundation stone for munic-ipal vegetable and meat mar-ket in Mettugadda.

The Minister will alsoinaugurate the newly-widened road and mediannear the rail-way stationand inau-gurate thep l a y -ground atthe Boys'GovernmentCollege. He willalso be visiting the Pathakotaslum and launch swachhautos at the municipal office.

Later, the Minister willinteract with municipal coun-cillors, ward committeemembers and officials atWhite House Function Hall.

“No politics for four years," isnow the gyan that is making

the rounds in the districts thesedays, thanks to top leaders of theruling Telangana Rashtra Samiti.Ministers taking part in thePanchayat Sammelans are assertingthat in view of the 'non-electionseason' everyone should concen-trate on attaining developmentalgoals as per the state government'smicro-level planning. Avoid polit-ical leanings is their mantra now!Awareness meetings concerningthe Panchayat Raj Act and the newMunicipality acts are reflectingthese aspects in detail. Public rep-resentatives and Ministers are elab-orating on non-political conceptsto help realise development at thegrassroots level of democracy.

Energy Minister JagadeeshwarReddy was the first member of theCabinet to focus on this subject. Hecalled upon sarpanches and pub-lic representatives in rural parts notto have any political leanings while

executing developmental pro-grammes in their respectiveregions. His opinion is supportedand affirmed by all the ministerswho now feel progress is the onlyslogan to carry forward in the non-election hour.

Peg in bar vis-à-vis that in compound

Although the Andhra Pradeshgovernment says it is committedto introducing prohibition in aphased manner, the presumedlength of time for that to happenhas given rise to a skewed marketwhich makes palpable discrimina-tion among tipplers. While brand-ed versions of liquor are freelyavailable for 'glassmates' at bars,people from disadvantaged sec-tions with less expensive options

have to contend with whatever isavailable at the government-runliquor shops. Should they embold-en themselves, be it Dutch courageor whatever, and ask for theirfavorite brands, the stock reply thehapless boozers get is 'adi ledan-di' (we don't have it). Staffers atliquor outlets express their help-lessness when customers get tooinquisitive.

The new government's initia-tive was initially welcomed evenby tipplers. Now some of themsmell a rat as the shops are keep-ing their favorite brands awayfrom them. For those frequent-ing the 'compound', it may havebeen OK if they were not availableat all. What is heartburning isthat those very brands are freelyavailable in bars!

‘Protocol' run over by ‘red bus'

After all, 'red bus' showed itsstrength and emerged victorious. Italso ran over 'protocol' issue success-fully. Union Minister of State forHome Affairs G Kishan Reddy hadcriticized the TRS government andHMRL authorities for their failureto observe 'protocol' during theopening ceremony of the JBS toMGBS stretch of the Metro Rail cor-ridor on February 7. Kishan was

sore because the programme washeld in his Lok Sabha constituency.However, Telangana AnimalHusbandry Minister TalasaniSrinivas Yadav succeeded in givingit a different colour. He made itseem like an issue between KishanReddy and Talasani and no wonderit continued that way for a few daysas a mutual fight. That fight endedwith the entry of 'red bus'. Kishan'scomments suggesting that Telugupeople were familiar only with 'redbus' until Prime Minister NarendraModi introduced them to trains(made during Union RailwayMinister Piyush Goyal's visit toTS) drew criticism on social media.The very next day the 'red bus' ranover the 'protocol' issue. KishanReddy himself chose not to raise theissue of protocol thereafter. A

senior scribe commented thatKishan might have not known thepower of 'red bus'; hence, the slip ofthe tongue. After all, theGovernment itself had changed thecolor of red bus for obvious reasons.

State and IPUnion Minister Piyush Goyal

asked TS IT Minister KT Rama Raoas to how the state was involved inIP (intellectual property) of thepharma industry. At the recentBioAsia event, during CEO con-clave, KTR raised a concern that "InIndia, when it comes to IP andenforcing IP, there are grey areas …that state and Center sometimes aredisjointed and disconnected, whichapparently is hurting further invest-ments coming into R&D". Whilethe relations of state and Center

have always been discussed, Piyushsought to know how the statecame into picture. KTR thenpointed that the DCGI works withthe investor or industry to conferIP and then state actually gives per-mission to manufacture. Whenthis is disjointed, in fact when agentleman spoke to me and saidthere are 30 IP infringement casesfiled in the last few years. This isa huge number for one organiza-tion. Then Piyush said that IPdepartment is trying to reorientitself and proposed to ask DPIIT tocome out with a framework wherethe state and Center come at legal-ly binding agreement to work aspartners and in support of eachother in promotion of industry sothat they can get stable, simple andpredictable regulatory framework.

(Contributed by P V Kondal Rao, Ch Pradeep,

K Venkateswarlu andNaveena Ghanate)

REPORTERS’

D ARY

For a change, politics takes a back seat

Gangster Raviarrested...Continued from Page 1

He had jumped bail inSenegal last year after beingarrested there.

(We are) coming with himfrom Senegal. Now in Paris.(We are) coming by AirFrance and (would be) there(in India) by midnight, thepolice official, part of theteam, told PTI.

Pujari, who hails fromKarnataka, was likely to bebrought here by Mondaymorning, police sources said.

The National InvestigationAgency, the Central Bureauof Investigation and theResearch and Analysis Wingwould join the investigation,the sources said.

According to police, thegangster, facing over 200cases including murder andextortion, was arrested inJanuary last year by theSenegal authorities afterremaining elusive.

Despite efforts of Indianofficials to get him extradit-ed then, a local court hadgranted him bail and Pujarilater fled to South Africa.

Police sources on Sundaysaid the gangster was nabbedfrom a village in a joint oper-ation by the South Africanand Senegal police.

Drunk driving:3 killed in ...Continued from Page 1

The impact was so much thatit killed Vinayak, Sairam andSainath on the spot, whileleaving Kalyan with multipleinjuries," said the police. Thepolice have registered a caseand moved the bodies forpostmortem examination.The injured person has beenhospitalized.

The car had multipleunpaid challans from 2018amounting to Rs 6,375, all forover-speeding and dangerousdriving.

Trump dinner invite hots up Telugu politicsContinued from Page 1

Despite all this, KCR has got aninvite to attend the dinner forTrump, along with select CMsfrom BJP-ruled states andstates having coalition govern-ments with BJP on board.

Political circles are now con-vinced that BJP, notwithstand-ing KCR's rhetoric, still consid-ers TRS to be its 'good friend'and that it has no confidencein YSRCP, despite Jagan's over-tures to the Centre. Their rea-soning is that without PrimeMinister Narendra Modi'sapproval, no Chief Ministerwould have got an invite fromthe Rastrapati Bhavan for the

dinner. Apart from KCR, theothers invited are the ChiefMinisters of Maharashtra,Odisha, Tamil Nadu,Karnataka, Assam, Haryanaand Bihar. One more juicyspeculation doing the roundsis that Trump has evincedinterest in meeting KCR, fol-lowing a suggestion from hisdaughter Ivanka Trump whowas given memorable recep-tion in Hyderabad during hervisit to the city to attend theGlobal EntrepreneurialSummit three years ago. Untillate in the night on Sunday,there was no official commu-nication from the RashtrapathiBhavan or the Chief Minister's

Offices of AP and TS over whoall got the invite, though thenames of KCR, UddhavThackeray of Maharasthra,Manohar Lal Khattar ofHaryana, Naveen Patnaik ofOdisha and B S Yediyurappa ofKarnataka were 'leaked' to themedia on Saturday.

Apart from Jagan, the namesof Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwaland West Bengal CM MamataBanerjee also do not figure in thelist of invitees, triggering debatesin political circles of those states.Sources in TRS confirmed thatKCR got an invite and that hewould be leaving for Delhi onTuesday. There was no confir-mation from AP government

sources on Jagan getting inviteuntil late in the night on Sunday.

As things stand, Trump,accompanied by wife MelaniaTrump and a high-level dele-gation, will be accorded civicreception in Ahmedabadaround noon on February 24.From Ahmedabad, he willtravel to Agra, before arrivingat the national capital for themain leg of the visit.

On the morning of February25, Trump and the US FirstLady will be accorded a ceremo-nial welcome at the forecourt ofthe Rashtrapati Bhavan. Fromthere, they will go to Rajghat topay homage to the 'samadhi' ofMahatma Gandhi.

3 labourersburied alive...Continued from Page 1

Sources said that thedeceased were identifiedRaghunathram, ChotaBaniya and Ranjith belongingto Jharkhand. The injuredwere Mallu Ravidash, SantoshRam, Harikan Ram,Rampraneeth and SanjayRam of the similar state.They were recruited by acontractor of SPM on con-tract basis few months back.

Raghunathram, ChotaBaniya and Ranjith died andfive other received majorinjuries when they weretrapped under the debrisaround midnight.

The five were rescued bymembers rescue team andpolice who rushed to thespot upon learning about theincident. ASP YVSSudheendra is monitoringrescue operations and oxygenis being supplied to those whowere trapped. Efforts were onto bring out the laborers. Theinjured were rushed to a gov-ernment hospital inMancherial. Their medicalcondition is serious, accord-ing to the sources. The man-agement imposed restrictionson entry of pressmen to thespot of the mishap.

HYDERABAD | MONDAY | FEBRUARY 24, 2020 hyderabad 03

Buildings wear a colorful look after an Art Foundation, with a view to infuse dignity, paints some buildings near RamanaiduStudios in Jubilee Hills with bright colors

COMMUNITY AART

RIMEORNERC

Child run over byfather's car, dies HYDERABAD: An 18-month-oldtoddler was run over by the cardriven by her father accidentallyat Chandrayangutta on Sunday. The incident happened when thevictim, Huda Sarri, 18, daughterof Khaled Sarri, came out of thehouse to see off her father onSunday, while her father was tak-ing the car to drop few relativeswho had come to attend a func-tion at his house. "Khaled Sarridid not notice the girl in front ofthe car's wheel and run over her.The girl sustained seriousinjuries and rushed to a hospitalwhere the doctors declared thatthe girl was brought dead," saidChandrayangutta sub-inspector SVenkatesh. The police on inform-ation registered a case underSection 304 (A) of IPC and areinvestigating. The body of thegirl was shifted to OsmaniaGeneral Hospital mortuary andhanded over to the familymembers after autopsy.

Journalist founddead in HussainSagar lakeHYDERABAD: A 43-year-oldman's dead body, lateridentified as anews reporter,was fishedout ofHussain Sagarlake onSunday. Thevictim, identified as V Prabhakar,a reporter from a Telugu dailynewspaper, committed suicide byjumping in Hussain Sagar lakeafter he was noticed missing byfamily members since Saturdayevening 7 pm. "He did not returnback to home till Sunday. I triedto call his mobile number but it isswitched off. I even went to myfather’s office at Road no 1,Banjara Hills and enquired abouthim and the security guardschecked and informed me thatmy father didn’t come to office. Isearched and enquired about myfather at surrounding places andwith my relatives and hiscolleagues, but I did not get anyinformation about my father," saidthe daughter in her complaint.The family is being questionedabout his death and a case wasbooked under Section 174 CrPC.

Study: Hyd spends most money on commercial interiors K RAMYA SREE n HYDERABAD

A study undertaken by a lead-ing AI-driven tech platformfor expert ser vices hasunveiled interesting trendsand insights about the spend-ing capacity of users of homeand office interior servicesacross Indian cities. This studyby Sulekha is based on visitsand searches by nearly 31,000users across Indian cities thatlanded on Sulekha.

It is learnt that in the pastone year, there is a 12 per centincrease in users availing inte-

rior services across metrocities. Bangalore, Ahmedabadand Hyderabad are the topthree cities who spend the

most on home interior ser-vices.

According to the study,users from Hyderabad are

willing to spend an average ofRs 6.24 lakh to Rs 60 lakh onhome interiors.

When it comes to spendingmoney on commercial interi-ors, the people of Hyderabadare spending an averageamount of Rs 63 lakh to Rs 10crore on office interiors.

Closely behind Bangalore, theIT sector occupies almostthree-fourth of the total officespace on offer.

Founder and CEO ofSulekha Satya Prabhakar said,"Beautifying homes has alwaysbeen a part of Indian cultureand it is very interesting for us

to note the diverse spendingtrends across Indian cities.Interestingly, Mumbai isamong the cities that spendthe least on home interiors butwhen it comes to office/com-mercial interiors, they arewilling to splurge. The cost ofinterior services is on parwith the real estate costs inMumbai. On the other hand,Chennai residents are tradi-tional and spend a smallersum for both home and officeinteriors. Although metrosare shelling out more, theTier II cities are also quicklycatching up with the trend."

Users from Hyderabad are willing to spend an average of Rs 6.24 L to Rs 60 L on homeinteriors. When it comes to spending moneyon commercial interiors, they are spending Rs 63 L to Rs 10 crore on office interiors

Rachakonda under tight security coverPNS n HYDERABAD

The Rachakonda Police, aspart of expanding its commu-nity CCTV network, hasinstalled 60 surveillance cam-eras covering eight residentialcolonies in Peerzadiguda inMedipally.

The cameras were inaugu-rated by Labour Minister ChMalla Reddy in the presence ofRachakonda Police Commis-sioner Mahesh M Bhagwat.These cameras have beeninstalled by following the stan-dard technical specificationswith an estimated project costof Rs 12 lakh. Officials saidthat these cameras wereinstalled at strategic locationscovering the entry and exits,main routes and crime-pronespots of the residential local-ities. Till date, 354 communi-ty CCTV cameras and 5,420cameras under the Nenu Sait-ham initiative have been ins-talled in Medipally.

In the recent past, three sna-tching cases, a house burgla-ry and a robbery case was det-ected with the help of footagesfrom the CCTV cameras inBoduppal and Peerzadiguda,the police said.

Mahesh Bhagwat said cam-eras have become an impor-tant aspect of modern day

policing and many sensation-al cases have been detectedwith the help of footages. "Thelocal residents and the com-muters using the roads will feelsafer with the installation ofthese cameras. Responding tothe appeal, residents had comeforward and donated towardsthe initiative," he said.

In his address after inaugu-rating the cameras, MallaReddy appreciated the policefor the initiative wherein cit-izens with the help of localpolice are taking measuresfor a secured society. "Camerasplay a pivotal role in policingand are very helpful in solvingseveral cases. They help inspeeding up the investigationby providing technical evi-dence to the law enforcingagency and delivering justicefaster," he said.

PNS n HYDERABAD

The Vice President of India, MVenkaiah Naidu asked thepolice forces to be alert andvigilant against security threats.

Addressing the closing cer-emony of the 20th All IndiaPolice Band Competition inSecunderabad on Sunday, theVice President said that forcesinimical to India are trying tocreate disturbance in country."Our neighbouring country ispromoting and abetting terror-ism and some people areencouraging the violence," hecautioned and asked the peo-ple and police to foil such evildesigns.

Expressing need to furtherimprove the image of Indianpolice, Naidu called for mea-sures to make policing morepeople-centric.

"Police station is the firstpoint of contact for people indistress and policemen shouldbe seen as people's friend insuch a situation," he saidemphasising that any personwho wants to seek police helpshould not hesitate to go to apolice station.

This is necessary to ensurethat public confidence in thesystem was always maintained,Naidu added.

Stating that smart policing isthe need of hour, Naidu calledfor modernizing police forcesby embracing technology andinnovative approaches to tack-le the crimes involving tech-nology. He wanted all the

Police personnel to be trainedin fields such as forensics,cyber crimes and onlinefrauds.

In this regard, he welcomedthe Government of India'sumbrella scheme of"Modernisation of PoliceForces (MPF)" aimed at sup-porting police forces forweapons, Forensics equipment,Information Technology,Communication, Training,etc. On the occasions, the VicePresident lauded the services ofall police forces in maintaininglaw and order in the country,and also for protecting thecountry from internal threats.

He also asked the policeforces to keep physically fit bypracticing sports and Yoga.Describing many benefits ofYoga for forces, he said thatYoga relieves stress, provides

succour and prepares youmentally to face any eventual-ity in life.

Talking about the role ofmusic in people's lives, the VicePresident said that it was capa-ble of touching the heart andsoul. He said that music wasuniversal and has no religionor region. "It unites people,builds a bonding and pro-motes peace," he said.

As many as 22 police bandteams consisting of 1400 per-sonnel from State Police, UTPolice Forces, and CentralParamilitary Forces took partin the competition in streamssuch as Brass, Pipe Band, andBugle calls. The Vice Presidentawarded the winners of thecompetition and also releaseda Coffee Table Book of RailwayProtection Force on this occasion.

Telangana State police band team takes part in the closing ceremony of 20th AllIndia Police Band Competition at Secunderabad on Sunday

‘Forces inimical to India aretrying to create disturbance'

Residents fume as GHMC social media goes for tossNAVEENA GHANATE n HYDERABAD

The unintended consequenceof transfer of IAS officers inGreater Hyderabad MunicipalCorporation has denied acces-sibility of GHMC official socialmedia accounts to the netizens.

The entire mechanism ofreacting to online complaintsfrom residents in social mediahas come to stand still. Res-idents of Hyderabad expressdissatisfaction that their com-plaints were pending or closedwithout addressing the issue.

Despite repeated directionsto the civic body officials fromMA&UD Minister KT RamaRao to make use of the socialmedia actively, the newlyappointed IAS officers and thecommissioner himself is notactive on social media. GHMCCommissioner's handle haslast tweeted in August, 2019,which was evidently by the pre-vious GHMC commissionerDana Kishore. The new com-missioner has not got his handson to it yet.

A resident, Vikas tweeted,"The GHMC leadership@CommissionrGHMC is lazy.

After recent shuffle in ZC posts,we hardly notice a ZC active onTwitter. At least none fromWEST zone after @harichan-danaias madam left. Bizarremoment for so called IT Hub.No official mechanism setup.Hope this is rectified."(sic)

Netizens are requesting theofficials to handle the accountsactively. A handle which goesby the name Civil Khan said,"Please do provide twitteraccount addressees of all#GHMC & Dc's, ZC's#Telangana MC's & Collector'sindividual twitter addresses tocommunicate various issues

addressed by many of ourCitizens. This will help us toregulate our grievances." (sic)

The only active GHMC han-dle is Central EnforcementCell. The cell is all aboutimposing fines and penalitiesover flexis, banners and hoard-ings. Nobody is paying heed tocitizens complaints raisedonline.

The GHMC Online handleresponds to the requests but noone acts. Netizens are asking ifthere is any other way to followup on GHMC Online's stan-dard inconvenience regrettedwill inform concerned officer

response' as no action is beingtaken.

A user Suresh Kochattil said,"This is the standard line usedby GHMC. I don't think theperson handling the Twitteraccount is aware of any otherline. Try tweeting that GHMCis doing a fabulous job and youwill get the same reply :"Inconvenience caused isregretted. Will inform con-cerned officer."

A netizen AVS KrishnaChaitanya said, "GHMC replieswith same answer whenever wecomplain but nothing learntfrom our complaints".

Despite repeateddirections to thecivic body officialsfrom KTR to makeuse of the socialmedia actively, thenewly appointedIAS officers are notactive on socialmedia handles

PNS n HYDERABAD

Two years into inception withalmost all three corridors beingcompleted, yet the issue offares of Metro continues tosurface.

An online petition was float-ed requesting the TelanganaChief Minister K Chandras-ekhar Rao to reduce the faresof Metro trains. The onlinepetition titled, 'reduce metrorail charges…' reads, "L & T iscollecting more charges, violat-ing the norms of the agree-ment entered with the stategovernment. The agreementspecified clearly minimumtraveling charges of Rs 8 and

maximum of Rs19. But, theyare collecting minimumcharges of Rs 10 and a maxi-

mum of Rs 60. People are find-ing it difficult to travel daily tomeet their necessities."

The petition said that evenafter getting commercial landfrom state government andviability gap fund from Centralgovernment, L & T is collect-ing more charges from thepeople, by violating the normsof the agreement.

It was started on Saturday byCPIM Greater Hyderabad andhas garnered 79 signatures.

Likewise, even Congressleader Revanth Reddy duringrecent GHMC council meetingearlier this month raised theissue of fares.

Revanth Reddy said, "Whenthe maximum ticketing priceis Rs 19, the L&T HyderabadMetro Rail Limited is collect-

ing Rs 60, the remaining needsshould be transferred to theGHMC".

The senior Congress leaderasked the GHMC officials tocollect the money from ticketsand malls taken up by L&T asproperty taxes.

However, L&T HMRL andgovernment have taken a samestand on Metro charges.Officials state that as per theCentral Metro Act, the conces-sionaire as MRA gets the rightto decide the initial fares andsubsequent revision of fares isdecided by Fare RegulatoryAuthority. Act prevails overagreements and it is settledprinciple of law.

Metro fares continue to be bone of contention

GIS: HMDA could lead the country

201 personsbooked fordrunk drivingPNS n HYDERABAD

The Cyberabad Police caught201 persons during drunkand drive checks conductedon Friday and Saturday night.Of those caught are 124 per-sons driving two-wheelers, 11auto rickshaws, 65 four-wheelers and one truck dri-ver. The highest of 54 personswere caught by the Madhapurpolice while Shadnagar policecaught only one person.

The vehicles of those per-sons caught were seized andthey have been asked toattend counselling session.They will be chargesheetedand have to appear before thecourt, the police said.

PNS n HYDERABAD

With GIS becoming corefoundation of the vision of new India, HMDA ispotential role model for thecountry.

A Urban GeographerKevin Haynes pointed thatHMDA has a fantastic GISdepartment. He tweeted said,"India needs to adopt GIS.And foreigners need to learnfrom Indians. I hope to be apart of this #geospatial trans-formation happening inIndia". Principal secretaryArvind Kumar responded tothe user to take this forward.Kevin pointed that he is veryinterested in learning fromand assisting the Telanganagovernment build GIS andremote sensing capacity.

Several schemes annou-nced in Union Budget willdirectly benefit from the useof GIS. Meanwhile VLPraveen Kumar, technicaldirector HMWSSB respond-ing to the tweet said,"HMWSSB has great plans toadopt and utilise GIS to opti-mise its operation. We are inthe process of digitising theentire asset base of waterpipelines, sewer lines, reser-voirs etc. and have done to agreat extent with the activecooperation of our MD".

GHMC strives for 100% literate city PNS n HYDERABAD

The Mayor of Greater Hyd-erabad Municipal CorporationBonthu Rammohan has urgedthe corporators and legislatorsto participate in a literacy sur-vey to make Hyderabad a 100per cent literate city in line withthe CMKCR's call fromFebruary 24 to March 4.

The survey identified 5,704habitats in 150 wards which aredivided in blocks.

Nearly 8,681 people wereemployed with one enumera-tor per block. One supervisorhas been allotted to each ward,

the deputy municipal commis-sioner has been appointed asthe nodal officer for each cir-cle and the respective UCDdeputy project officer for mon-

itoring the survey process inthe ward. The city has 40,000self-help groups and 13 hun-dred slum level federations.These societies have been pre-

pared to survey 100 per cent ofhouseholds. Enumerators andwizards were trained at the cir-cle level to educate them aboutthe process of registering theilliterate details of each home.

Survey registers and profileswere handed over to enumer-ators. Resource persons fromthe slum level federations, selfhelp groups and educatedoffice bearers are appointed asenumerators. The mothertongue of the illiterate citizenswill be collected. The literatesin the family or literate neigh-bours will educated the illiter-ate people. Four Army personnel

from TS, AP felicitatedPNS n HYDERABAD

Four Army personnelpresently ser ving inTelangana and AndhraPradesh were felicitated at theSouthern CommandInvestiture Ceremony con-ducted at the iconic Gatewayof India, Mumbai.

Lieutenant General C PMohanty, General OfficerC ommanding- in-C hie f ,Southern Command, pre-sented gallantry and distin-guished awards to a total of51 Army persons and 22units of Southern Commandfor their outstanding contri-bution in various fields.

The personnel fromTelangana and AP felicitatedwere: Bar to Sena Medalawarded to Major GirishSharma, Sena Medal ofArmed unit and VishishtSeva Medals to MajorGeneral Raju K Subramani(Retd) of EME Corps, MajorGeneral Manjinder Singh,YSM of Madras Regimentand Brigadier Rajiv Kumar ofEME Corps.

The Army Commandercongratulated the awardeesand recipients of unit cita-tions and exhorted all ranksto emulate the awardees andgive their best to make thenation proud of its Army.

Four Army personnel presently serving in TS and AP were felicitated at theSouthern Command Investiture in Mumbai on Sunday.

Annual Azad Tek Festin MANUU from todayPNS n HYDERABAD

In connection with NationalUrdu Science Congress, Mau-lana Azad National Urdu Var-sity students from polytechnicand industrial training insti-tute are organising the 7thannual Azad Tek Fest onFebruary 24 and 25.

The fest will be inaugurat-ed by Prof Ayub Khan, ProVice-Chancellor, and Dr.NakulPrasar, Director, VigyanPrasar, New Delhi, will be the

chief guest. Around 40 proje-cts of polytechnic and 20 fromITI will be the part of exhibi-tion and students will exhibittheir innovative projects andposter presentation apart fromMANUU smart Hekhaton du-ring the event, said Dr MohdYousuf Khan, coordinator.

National Urdu ScienceCongress is scheduled to beheld on February 25 and 26with the theme 'Promotion ofScience in Urdu language', apress release said.

PNS n HYDERABAD

Congress MP from MalkajgiriA Revanth Reddy on Sundayannounced the launch of'Patnam Gosa' programmefrom February 24. He said thatthe programme will belaunched from Bhudevi Nagarlocated in Malkajgiri con-stituency.

Addressing the media here,the Congress MP said, "Thestate government had cheatedthe people of Telangana bymaking false promises. Tobring people's problems to thenotice of state government, Iwill launch 'Patnam Gosa'fromFebruary 24."

"To gain benefits from theupcoming GHMC elections,the state government is hatch-ing a conspiracy to deceivepeople in the name of PattanaPragathi programme. The gov-ernment has launched the pro-gramme to atone its sins," theMP said.

Taking potshots at the stategovernment for allegedly fail-ing to construct 2BHK unitsfor the poor, Revanth Reddysaid, "Over 30 lakh people inthe state are eligible for doublebedroom houses and over 10lakh people are eligible for2BHK units in Hyderabad.The construction of 2BHKunits in the state came to a haltas the government had failedto clear bills amounting to Rs900 crore to contractors," heclaimed

"The Chief Minister hadassured that the governmentwould complete the construc-tion of 2BHK units within one

year after coming to power.KCR even said that he won'task for votes if the 2BHKunits were not constructed ina stipulated time. However, thestate government had con-structed few houses, whereas itassured to construct 2 lakh2BHK units," the MP said.

"The Congress is not againstconstructing 2BHK units inErravalli and giving Rs 10lakh each to the families ofChintamadaka village. Theonly doubt is whether KCR isa Sarpanch of Erravalli orMPTC of Chintamadaka toconfine to those villages"? hequestioned.

Though the government hasRs 1.50 lakh crore Budget, it isnot clearing the bills amount-ing to Rs 900 crore to the con-

tractors, he said and added thatTRS MPs were allegedly col-lecting commissions from2BHK units.

Demanding the state gov-ernment to complete RajivSwagruha houses constructionimmediately, Revanth Reddysaid that singer GoretiVenkanna's songs on formationof Telangana were beingrealised. He further slammedthe state government for divert-ing the Central funds meant forthe construction of houses forpoor. "I will bring the issue tothe Central government'snotice. I don't why UnionMinister from Telangana GKishan Reddy is not reviewingit," he asked. He urged the peo-ple to understand the relationbetween TRS and BJP.

HYDERABAD | MONDAY | FEBRUARY 24, 2020 hyderabad 04

Karimnagar MP Bandi Sanjay participating in the 'Fit India Cyclothon', organised by Academy Heights Public School, on Sunday

FITNESS GGOALS

The state government had cheated people by making false promises. To bring people'sproblems to the notice of state government, I will launch 'Patnam Gosa' from February 24,said MP Revanth Reddy

Malkajgiri MP Revanth Reddy addressing the media in city on Sunday

Revanth Reddy to launch ‘Patnam Gosa' today

L VENKAT RAM REDDYn HYDERABAD

The Telangana state govern-ment has pegged the growthrate at 10 per cent for theupcoming financial year (2020-21), the lowest since the forma-tion of state in June 2014.Telangana stood in numberone position in the country forfive years since 2014 by achiev-ing the growth rate of 21 percent as per the report by theComptroller and AuditorGeneral of India (CAG).

The state could achievearound 9.5 per cent growth ratein the current fiscal (2019-20)so far with the help of realestate and transport sectors. Infact, the Stamps andRegistrations Department andthe Transport Departmenthave saved the governmentfrom 'financial collapse' withdecent earnings even in thetimes of economic recession atpresent.

If not for these two depart-

ments, the Telangana growthrate could have slipped intonegative, according to officialsin Finance Department. ChiefMinister K ChandrashekharRao has been holding a seriesof meetings with ChiefSecretary Somesh Kumar andtop officials of FinanceDepartment at PragathiBhavan for the past three daysto finalise Budget proposals for2020-21.

The Chief Minister is

believed to have asked officialsto draft Budget proposals forupcoming Budget (2020-21),expected to be presented toLegislative Assembly in thefirst week of March, keeping inmind that the growth ratewould be 10 per cent and not21 per cent, which TS hadachieved for the past five years.

Thanks to real estate boomin the state since its formationin 2014, the Stamps andRegistration Department has

been contributing higherincome to state exchequer year-on-year with increased proper-ty registrations across the state.

The Stamps and RegistrationDepartment, which con-tributed just Rs 1,276 crore inthe first year of formation ofstate in 2014-15, increased thesame to Rs 3,102 crore in2015-16, Rs 3,821 crore in2016-17, Rs 4,202 crore in2017-18, Rs 5,344 crore in2018-19 and is set to earn Rs6,146 crore in 2019-20.

Similarly, the TransportDepartment, which con-tributed Rs 1,617 crore in2014-15, has increased thecontribution to Rs 4,024 crorein 2018-19, in the form of vehi-

cle registration tax and othermotor vehicle taxes. However,with the decrease in motorvehicle sales this year due torecession, the income fell to Rs3,714 crore. Despite this, thesector contributed secondhighest income among all othersectors to the government.

Sales tax remains the majorrevenue contributor to thestate government. However,sales tax growth rate hasadversely affected for the pasttwo years. Sales tax growth ratewas highest at 19.37 per cent in2017-18, which dipped to 15.31per cent in 2018-19. It has nowhit a low of just 6 per cent tillJanuary 2020 in the current2019-20 fiscal.

Govt pegs state's growth rate at 10%l According to CAG report, state achieved 21% annual growth rate for the past five years

The Stamps and Registrations Departmentand the Transport Department have saved the government from 'financial collapse' with decent earnings even in the times of economic recession at present

PNS n HYDERABAD

Telangana Congress on Sundayalleged that invitation to ChiefMinister K ChandrashekharRao to attend the dinner to behosted by President Ram NathKovind for his US counterpartDonald Trump proves that BJPand TRS are two sides of samecoin.

"President RamnathKovind invited only8 Chief Ministersacross the nation.However, not asingle ChiefMinister fromCongress-ruledstates has beenextended invitation.Even Delhi Chief MinisterArvind Kejriwal didn't get invi-tation for dinner with Trump,"said TPCC official spokesper-son Indira Shobhan.

It may be recalled that theChief Minister KChandrasekhar rao receivedan invitation from PresidentRam Nath Kovind to attend adinner at Rashtrapathi Bhavan

in New Delhi onFebruary 25. Among

those invited are theChief Ministers of

Maharashtra, Odisha,Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Assam,Haryana and Bihar. ChiefMinister K ChandrashekharRao will be leaving for Delhi onFebruary 25 afternoon.

US President Donald Trumpis scheduled to arrive inAhmedabad on an Air Forceplane at 11 am on February 24where the Prime Minister willbe attending him.

Take suo motu action againstMIM, BJP leaders: CongressPNS n HYDERABAD

Congress senior leader V Hanumantha Rao appealedto the Chief Justice ofTelangana High Court to takesuo motu action againstAIMIM spokesperson WarisPathan and Telangana BJPspokesperson K RaghunandanRao for making 'inflammatory'statements which would vitiateatmosphere in the country.

He addressed a letter to theTelangana High Court ChiefJustice Raghavendra SinghChowhan in this regard onSunday. He urged TelanganaCJ to take note of such state-ments of MIM and BJP lead-ers which would incite and

instigate the people of both thecommunities to indulge incommunal clashes resultingin bloodbath.

Condemning the remarks ofWaris Pathan, VH said that hefeel such threats do not workin India. Last week during a

rally, Pathan had said that 15crore Muslims would domi-nate 100 crore (apparentlymeant Hindus). In reference toShaheen Bagh protests , VHmentioned Pathan's statementthat "We have sent our moth-ers and sisters in the front andsitting covered inblankets…only our lionesseshave come out and you arealready sweating, imagine whatwill happen if we (15 croreMuslims) will come togetherand dominate 100 crore,remember it". VH said that hewas surprised at the stoicsilence of AIMIM chiefAsaduddin Owaisi, theAIMIM president who waspresent at the meeting.

President RamnathKovind invited only 8Chief Ministers across

the nation. However, not asingle Chief Minister fromCongress-ruled states hasbeen extended invitation. EvenDelhi Chief Minister ArvindKejriwal didn't get invitation for

dinner with Trump— INDIRA SHOBHAN

TPCC official spokesperson

‘BJP, TRS two sides of same coin'

RC Khuntia eyes to consolidatehis position?K VENKATESHWARLUn HYDERABAD

Telangana Congress Affairsin-charge RC Khuntia seemsto be trying hard to continuein the existing position.According to sources, Khuntiais not only trying hard to con-tinue in the position but alsowants the existing TPCC lead-ership to continue.

It is said that some partyleaders are rallying behindKhuntia and are supportinghim to continue in the exist-ing position. The reason?Khuntia will continue in hisposition if the existing TPCCleadership is continued. Thiswill help Khuntia and TPCCleadership vice versa, thesources said.

According to a Congresssenior leader, Khuntia has toprepare a report on the TPCCleadership performance as anin-charge general secretary.However, Khuntia is not show-ing any interest in this regard.On the other hand, party highcommand is also not showingany special interest onTelangana party conditions.

"The party is depending onthe feedback of few leadersfrom the state. Interestingly,the high command is alsogiving a chance to meet AICCpresident Sonia Gandhi orRahul Gandhi to a few leadersfrom the state. With this affect,the party high command is notin a position to learn theground realities in the stateregarding the party," said the

leader. It may be recalled thatsome leaders like KomatireddyRajagopal Reddy criticised RCKhuntia stating that the partywill not be developed if the lat-ter is continued as the in-charge general secretary ofTelangana Congress.

On the other hand, rumorsare doing rounds that that thepresent TPCC chief N UttamKumar Reddy, who admittedwith close associates that hehad already informed partyhigh command that he is notinterested to continue in thepost, has changed his mind onquitting from the post.

According tosources, someparty leaders arerallying behind RCKhuntia and are supportinghim to continue in the existingposition

Marine Krishi Udan to airlift shrimp from Vizag airportSUMIT ONKA n VISAKHAPATNAM

In a big boost to the shrimpfarming in Andhra Pradesh,SpiceJet will introduce dedicat-ed freighter services fromVizag and Chennai to Suratand Kolkata/Durgapur fromFebruary 26 under MarineKrishi Udan scheme.

Andhra Pradesh, the leadingproducer of farmed shrimp inthe country, accounts for 60%of the national production.Tweeting about its new service,SpiceJet stated that shrimpseason in the country startsfrom mid-February and con-

tinues till mid-June. Shrimpseeds are sent from major pro-ducing centres like Vizag,

Chennai and Puducherry toWest Bengal and Gujarat forfurther farming and breeding.

Hence, introduction of a ded-icated freighter service onthese routes would go a longway in fulfilling the Budget-2020 plan of Krishi Udanscheme.

Shrimp hatcheries facemany problems in transportingthese seeds in the absence ofdedicated cargo flights leadingto high mortality of shrimpseed, causing heavy losses.SpiceJet's move will greatlyimprove the logistics and con-nectivity, helping shrimp farm-ing grow in the country.

India is the largest shrimpexporter to the United States.SpiceJet is the country's largest

regional airline operating 49daily flights under UDAN anda pioneer in 'Livestock KrishiUdaan', exporting livestockfrom India to UAE.

Welcoming the decision, theAndhra Pradesh Chambers ofCommerce and Industry,Director, Nekkanti Mahesh,said "This would really help totransport sea food perishingwithin three to four days.Farmers here can send goodquality seeds to Gujarat."

He also suggested that theair cargo facilities toHyderabad or Delhi should beintroduced to tap the hugepotential of tuna fishing mar-

ket. Japan and the US are themain international marketsfor tuna exports. He said iftuna fish could be exported tothese countries using air cargo,the sea food business wouldsee a boom.

However, he mentioned thatthe air cargo operators shouldgive a thought on the cost fac-tor, as the airport handlingcharges and other ancillarycharges up the input cost toomuch. "Most of the marineproducts are being ferried onwater in a frozen condition.The chilled sea food could besent through air cargo if thecost is reasonable," he said.

‘Wild life’ quiz for TS, AP students todayPNS n VIJAYAWADA

WWF-India, Hyderabadoffice, is organising 'VanaVigynana Vinoda', a wildlifequiz in Telugu for AndhraPradesh and Telangana forestarea tribal schools. This initia-tive is being held in associationwith the Andhra Pradesh andTelangana Tribal WelfareDepartments and ForestDepartments.

The programme has foundsupport from State Bank ofIndia, Srinivasa Farms,Efftronics, Malaxmi Group,Valluripalli Foundation, NCC,Maple Soft, Clove

Technologies, RHI and manyother individual donors.

This is the country's firstregional language quiz onwildlife and nature. The quizbegan with a teacher orienta-tion programme where teach-ers were explained about theaim of the quiz. School-levelelimination round was con-ducted to select the top threestudents, who represent theirschool as a team at the district-level. In the recently conclud-ed district-level rounds, onedistrict-level team has beenselected from five agency areasto compete at the AndhraPradesh state-level.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Heralding the grand finale ofthe annual Brahmotsavamsof Sri Kapileswara Swamy,majestic 'Trishula Snanam'was performed on Sundaymorning in which TTD JEO PBasant Kumar and a largenumber of devotees took part.

Earlier, a traditionalSnapana Thirumanjanam wasperformed to 'Trishula' (tri-dent) the weapon of SriSkandamurthy.

Speaking after the Agama rit-ual heralding the end of theannual Brahmotsavams, BasantKumar said devotees werehappy on arrangements beingmade by TTD. Brahmotsavams

final event of 'DwajaAvarohanam' was held onSunday evening. Deputy exec-utive officers Subramanyam,superintendent BhupathiRaju, temple inspectors ReddySekhar and Srinivas Naik andothers participated.

TTD has spent Rs 5 lakhsfor civil engineering worksand Rs 6 lakhs for illumina-tion. TTD served AnnaPrasadam to 500 devoteesdaily during Brahmotsavamsand for thousands during theVahana Sevas besides drink-ing water, milk and butter-milk.. In all, four tonnes offlower Meereen was used forVahana Sevas and temple dec-oration.

‘TRISHULA SNANAM'

Grand finale toBrahmotsavams

PNS n HYDERABAD

Do not go for third partyapplications and always checkfor app permissions whileusing Android smartphones,said research experts whoidentified a new version of theGinp banking Trojan.

The Kaspersky researchershave identified the new ver-sion, which was first discov-ered by the company’s analystin 2019.

“The new resurfaced versioninvolves a highly unconven-tional function to insert faketext messages into the Inbox ofa regular SMS app. These mes-sages appear under the guise ofreputable vendors informingusers about an undesired

event, for example blockedaccount access. To preventthis, the user is requested toopen the application. Oncevictims do that, the Trojanoverlays the original windowand asks them to input the cre-dentials for a credit card or abank account. As a result,their payment details are hand-ed over to cybercriminals”researchers said.

Alexander Eremin, theSecurity expert at Kasperskysaid that the rate at which itevolves and acquires new capa-bilities is concerning. “Whilethis attack has so far only beenseen in Spain, based on our pre-vious experience, this Trojancould begin to emerge in othercountries as well. Android users

need to be on alert,” he said. Experts advise users to only

download apps from the offi-cial Google Play StorePayattention to what permissionsapps requests–they shouldn’tbe asking for access toSMSInstall an antivirus solu-tion on your phone, likeKaspersky Antivirus andSecurity for Android.

In Hyderabad, there hasbeen a 62.43 percent rise incyber crimes in 2019 andwhile releasing data of crimes,the police even treated it as aseparate category. As many as1,400 cyber crimes were com-mitted in Hyderabad com-missionerate alone in 2019, amajor jump from the 401crimes recorded in 2018.

'Trishula Snanam' being performed at Tirumala on Sunday in which TTD JEO P Basant Kumar and a large number of devotees take part

Beware of third party apps: Experts

Slow pace of works irkCorporatorsPNS n WARANGAL

The general body meeting ofthe Greater WarangalMunicipal Corporation witnessed some ugly scenesas Corporators questionedthe authorities over the tardypace of development worksin their respective divisions.

The Corporators venttheir ire at the officialmachinery for the slowpace of works in certainareas. Though the electedbody and executive mem-b ers assure d t heCorporators of all possiblesteps to speed up theworks, many of the elect-e d repre s e nt at ivesexpressed their reluctanceto visit their respectivedivisions on the eve ofPatt ana Pragat h i pro-grammes.

Reacting to this, PamelaSathpaty , GWMC com-missioner assured that theongoing developmentworks would be imple-mented on a war footing.

Placementdrive on Feb 26PNS n NIZAMABAD

Telangana University place-ment cell is conducting cam-pus recruitment for its finalyear students on 26thFebruary at 9.30 am in TULaw College campus.

The final year students ofTelangana University campusand its allied colleges are eli-gible to participate in therecruitment drive. SriChaitanya EducationalInstitutions is conducting theplacement drive. Final yearstudents studying linguistics,arts, science and social sci-ences students could utilisethe opportunity.

HYDERABAD | MONDAY | FEBRUARY 24, 2020 nation 05

Navy's MiG-29K jetcrashes off Goa coast,pilot ejects safelyPANAJI: A MiG-29K aircraft ofthe Indian Navy crashed intothe Arabian Sea off the Goacoast on Sunday morning, theNavy said. The pilot ejectedsafely, a Navy spokesman said,adding that an inquiry has beenordered into the incident. Theaircraft was on "routine trainingsortie" when it crashed off theGoa coast around 10.30 am, hesaid. "The pilot of the aircraftejected safely and has beenrecovered. An enquiry toinvestigate the incident hasbeen ordered," the spokesmansaid in a tweet. The twinengine, single-seater aircraftdeveloped a "technical snag"due to which it crashed, hesaid. The aircraft had flownfrom the INS Hansa base atVasco in South Goa. This is thesecond mishap of MiG-29Kaircraft in Goa in the last threemonths.

Naveen Patnaik filesnomination for re-election as BJD chiefBHUBANESWAR: Odisha ChiefMinister Naveen Patnaik onSunday filed nomination papersseeking his re-election as theBJD president — the post hehad been holding since theregional outfit was formed onDecember 26, 1997.Accompanied by senior leaders,MPs and MLAs, Patnaikarrived at the stateheadquarters of the Biju JanataDal, a party he founded andnamed after former CM and hisfather Biju Patnaik, andsubmitted papers beforereturning officer P K Debfor the February 26 elections,party sources said. This is forthe eighth consecutive timePatnaik filed his papers for theBJD's top post. He is the loneleader to have filed nominationfor the post, they said.Organizational elections areheld in the BJD everythree years, in accordance withthe party's by-law.

Ahmedabad gets ready to say ‘Namaste’ to US PrezPNS n AHMEDABAD

The Ahmedabad city of Gujaratis gearing up to welcome USPresident Donald Trump on hisvisit here on Monday when hewill participate in a roadshowwith Prime Minister NarendraModi and jointly address agathering at the 'NamasteTrump' event at a cricket stadi-um.

Officials and security agen-cies are giving final touches topreparations for the USPresident's visit to the city.

Even as there is uncertaintyover Trump's visit to SabarmatiAshram during his roadshow,all preparations have been donein anticipation of this arrivalthere with Modi, officials of theashram said.

The Sabarmati Ashramserved as the epicenter of thecountry's freedom struggle dur-ing Mahatma Gandhi's staythere.

As per the plan, Trump andModi will embark on a 22-kmroadshow from theAhmedabad airport, where theUS President will be accordeda grand welcome.

After the roadshow, boththe leaders will reach the newly-built cricket stadium in Moteraarea of the city.

Authorities believe over onelakh people are expected to lineup along the route of the road-show, which has been named as'India Road Show' by theAhmedabad MunicipalCorporation.

The city civic body is leavingno stone unturned to make theroadshow a memorable experi-ence for the dignitaries as wellas the people of Gujarat.

"Hello Ahmedabad, Come,bea part of the 22 km long megaIndia Road Show. Lets showcasethe best of Indian culture anddiversity to the world. #NamasteTrump," AhmedabadMunicipal Commissioner VijayNehra said in a tweet on

Sunday. The civic body hasinvited artistes from almost allthe states to perform during theroadshow.

There will be separate stagefor each state at regular distanceon the route and artistes fromdifferent states would performon these 30-odd stages.

After the roadshow, Trumpand Modi would reach the sta-dium at Motera for the'Namaste Trump' event, where

the two leaders would addressa gathering of around 1.10 lakhpeople.

The cricket stadium atMotera is the world's largestwith a capacity to accommodate1.10 lakh spectators.

It has been completely rebuiltafter demolishing the old one,which was built in 1982 with aseating capacity of 49,000 spec-tators.

Ahead of the address byTrump and Modi, a mega cul-tural programme will be held atthe stadium where noted singerKailesh Kher and many otherartistes have been invited toentertain the crowd.

The city police earlier saidmore than 10,000 security per-

sonnel, to be led by 25 seniorIPS officers, will be deployed forthe roadshow and the 'NamasteTrump' event.

The massive deployment willbe in addition to officials of theUnited States Secret Service,and personnel of the NationalSecurity Guards (NSG) andthe Special Protection Group(SPG) guarding the events.

The police will be using theanti-drone technology to neu-tralise any suspicious drone onthe route, officials said, addingthat an anti-sniper team of theNSG will also be stationedalong the route.

India looks forwardto welcoming USPresident Trump:Prime Minister

Prime Minister NarendraModi on Sunday said India

looks forward to welcoming USPresident Donald Trump. TheUS president is on a visit toIndia from February 24 to 25."India looks forward towelcoming @POTUS@realDonaldTrump. It is anhonour that he will be with ustomorrow, starting with thehistoric programme inAhmedabad," Modi wrote onTwitter. The prime ministerwas responding to tweet byGujarat Chief Minister VijayRupani, which said that "entireGujarat speaks in one voice —#NamasteTrump.

PNS n AHMEDABAD

Preparations are on in fullswing at the SabarmatiAshram here for the visit of USPresident Donald Trump onMonday, even as an officialconfirmation on it is stillawaited. Trump and PrimeMinister Narendra Modi willparticipate in a roadshow fromthe Ahmedabad airport onMonday. The two leaders willlater address the 'NamasteTrump' event at a newly-builtcricket stadium in Motera areahere, according to the sched-ule announced by the Gujaratgovernment.

A state government officialsaid preparations were alsogoing on at the SabarmatiAshram, a place closely asso-ciated with Mahatma Gandhi,even as they await an officialconfirmation from theMinistry of External Affairs onthe US president's visit to theplace.

"Preparations are under-way. It will be officiallyannounced soon," said statetourism secretary MamtaVerma, who was on a visit tothe ashram to oversee thearrangements.

An official confirmation isexpected from the Ministry of

External Affairs "within a fewhours", she said.

The ashram's secretary,Amrut Modi, said they are pre-pared to welcome the USPresident if he visits the place.

The ashram's area around'Hriday Kunj', which was thehome of Mahatma Gandhiand his wife Kasturba Gandhifor 12 years between 1918and 1930 during the freedomstruggle, was being given spe-cial attention.

A large cut-out of PrimeMinister Narendra Modi wasplaced outside the ashram.Security has also been tight-ened with several police per-sonnel and sniffer dogsdeployed

in and outside the premises.Gujarat Chief Minister VijayRupani on Friday said theWhite House will take a call onTrump's Sabarmati Ashramvisit.

Rupani's statement came inthe backdrop of speculationthat the US president will notvisit the ashram.

Meanwhile, preparationswere underway on the route,leading up to the ashram,which will be part of the road-show, as per the plan shared bythe Ahmedabad MunicipalCorporation.

Stages have been erectedalong the road where culturalshows will be held by variousartistes.

AHMEDABAD: Over 10,000policemen from different partsof Gujarat have been deployedat strategic locations inAhmedabad as part of theelaborate security arrange-ments for US PresidentDonald Trump's visit here onMonday, officials said.

The massive police deploy-ment is in addition to officialsof the United States SecretService, and India's eliteNational Security Guards(NSG) and Special ProtectionGroup who would also beguarding the US president'svisit. The Secret Service agentsalong with other US security

personnel have already arrivedwith their equipment andvehicles in at least four cargoplanes during the last oneweek.

Trump and Prime MinisterNarendra Modi will take partin a 22-km roadshow from theAhmedabad international air-port and then proceed for the

'Namaste Trump' event at thenewly- built Sardar PatelStadium in the city's Moteraarea, where over one lakhpeople are expected to bepresent.

Police will be usingthe anti-drone tech-nology to neutraliseany suspicious droneon the route, officialssaid, adding that an anti-sniper team of the NSGwill also be stationedalong the roadshowroute, starting from theairport till the Moterastadium via Indirabridge.

Massive security cover in place

The city civic body is leaving no stone unturned to make the roadshow a memorable experience for the dignitariesas well as the people of Gujarat

UNPRECEDENTED STEPS IN DELHINEW DELHI: ITC Maurya,the hotel where US PresidentDonald Trump will check-inon Monday, has been broughtunder an unprecedented secu-rity cover with anti-sabotageteams involving the Army andparamilitary conductingchecks on the routes to betaken by the visiting dignitary.

Security agencies are alsoworking in close coordinationwith the US Secret Service, offi-cials said. Anti-drone detach-ment of NSG, snipers, eliteSWAT commandos, kite catch-ers, canine units, sharp shoot-ers on high-rise buildings andParakram vans have also beendeployed along the routes andareas in and around the hotelwhere Trump will be staying,

they said. Police personnelfrom six districts have beendeployed for the securityarrangements and nearly 40companies of Central ArmedPolice Forces have beenpressed into action. Hundredsof high-definition CCTV cam-eras with night vision havebeen installed across the SardarPatel Marg where hotel ITCMaurya is located to monitorthe situation round-the-clock,the officials said.

Five years ago, whenTrump's predecessor BarackObama visited the nationalcapital, the Delhi Police hadrented 605 CCTV camerasand spent more than Rs onecrore in hiring, installing andlater removing them.

CAPSULE Ahead of budget session,Thackeray meets DyCM, PawarPNS n MUMBAI

Ahead of the budget session ofMaharashtra Assembly, ChiefMinister Uddhav Thackerayheld a closed door meetingwith NCP president SharadPawar and Deputy ChiefMinister Ajit Pawar at hisofficial residence here onSunday. The leaders arrived ata consensus on communicat-ing to the Centre about "objec-tionable parts" of theCitizenship Amendment Act(CAA), the NationalPopulation Register (NPR)and the National Register ofCitizens (NRC), a senior stateleader said.

This comes against the back-drop of Thackeray's recentstatement that he had no prob-lems with the NPR and

nobody should be afraid overthe CAA. The Sena's standappeared at variance with thatof the NCP and the Congress,which are its alliance partnersin the Maharashtra VikasAghadi government. Themeeting, held at the CM's offi-

cial residence 'Varsha' onSunday, focused on two issues- implementation of the CAA,NPR and the National Registerof Citizens (NRC) in the state,and the budget session begin-ning on Monday, the leadersaid.

Preserve, conserve India's biodiversityPNS n NEW DELHI

Describing the biodiversity ofIndia as a "unique treasure" forthe entire humankind, PrimeMinister Narendra Modi onSunday urged people to pre-serve and conserve it.

Addressing his monthly'Mann ki Baat' radio address,the prime minister referred toTamil poetess Avvaiyar to drivehome his point.

"What we know is just ahandful of sand. What we donot know is like a universe initself," he said quoting her.

Similar is the case with thebiodiversity of this country, theprime minister pointed out.

"The more you know, themore you realise the magni-tude of what you do not know.Our biodiversity too is aunique treasure for the entirehuman kind. We have to pre-serve it, conserve it and explore

further," he said. The primeminister said the traditionsand the legacy we have inher-ited teaches us compassiontoward all living beings andboundless love for nature.

To join the culture of hospi-tality, every year numerous

species of birds from across theworld come to India.Throughout the year, India ishome to many migratoryspecies. "We are told that morethan 500 varieties of birds flyin from varied regions," hepointed out.

He informed that recently,biologists discovered a newspecies of fish whose habitat iswithin the caves of Meghalaya.It is believed that this fish is thelargest among aquatic speciesfound under the surface ofcaves. "It a matter of joy thatIndia, and especiallyMeghalaya, is home to a rarespecies. It lends a new facet toIndia's biodiversity. We aresurrounded by many such mys-teries, which are still undiscov-ered. To discover such a phe-nomenal enigma calls for fiercedetective passion," he said.

In his address, the primeminister also referred to the'Hunar Haat' organised by theMinistry of Minority Affairs atthe Rajpath. Last week Modimade a surprise visit to theHaat where he interacted withpeople, had litti-chokha forlunch and enjoyed a hot kulhadof tea.

l Says Modi in Mann ki Baat

AAP eyeing UP pollsafter Delhi sweepPNS n LUCKNOW

After registering a thumpingvictory in the Delhi elec-tions, the Aam Aadmi Partyis eying the Uttar PradeshAssembly polls scheduled in2022 and said that it will seekvotes in the name ofDelhi's developmentmodel.

A A Ps p o k e s p e r s o nand Rajya Sabhamember SanjaySingh claimedthat the BJP's"Gujarat model"was nothing com-pared to his party's Delhidevelopment model.

He said workers will reachout to the people in UP andtell them about party's devel-opment agenda and schemes.

"We have started makingground in politically sensitiveUttar Pradesh. We are surethat the 2022 election will be

contested on developmentagenda, and we will seek votein the name of Delhi's devel-opment model," Singh said.

"The Delhi elections hasproved that people are dis-carding politics of hatred andpreferring politics of develop-

ment. In the Delhi polls,15 MLAs belong to

UP and they will begiven responsibil-ity in the state tostrengthen partybase," he added.

The AAPleader said the

party will soonlaunch a member-

ship drive in the state.Attacking Chief Minister

Yogi Adityanath, Singhalleged that "gundaraj" (hooli-ganism) and "arajakta" (anar-chy) were at its peak in UttarPradesh, and attempts weregoing on under the presentdispensation to "harm"democracy.

PNS n NEW DELHI

A 4000-year-old urban settle-ment has been unearthed by ateam of the Benaras HinduUniversity in Varanasi, whichexperts say is one of the craftvillages mentioned in ancienttexts.

The Benaras HinduUniversity's Department ofAncient Indian History,Culture and Archaeologywhich did a preliminary surveyof the site in Babhaniyav vil-

lage, 13 km from Varanasi, saidthey had found remnants of

one of the settlements thathave been mentioned in vari-

ous literature surrounding theholy city.

Initial survey of the site inBabhaniyav village in Varanasidistrict has found a temple dat-ing back to the 5th Century ADthrough 8th Century AD, pot-teries which are 4000-year-oldand walls which are 2000-year-old, said Professor A KDubey of Department ofAncient Indian History,Culture and Archaeology,BHU.

"On the basis of the surface

materials at the site we can saythat the structure is anywherebetween 3500 to 4000-year-old," said Dubey, who is part ofthe team which will excavatethe site from February 23.

He said that it gains signifi-cance because of its proximityto

Varanasi, which according tolegend was founded by theHindu deity Lord Shiva 5,000years ago, though modernscholars believe it to be around3,000 years old.

BHU team unearths 4000-yr-old crafts village in Varanasi

Health Ministry mulling to increaselegal age for tobacco consumptionPNS n NEW DELHI

The Union Health Ministry ismulling to increase the legalage for tobacco consumptionfrom 18 to 21 years as part ofits efforts to strengthen theprovisions of the Cigarettesand Other Tobacco Products

Act (COTPA). A legal sub-group constituted by the min-istry for suggesting legalreforms for tobacco controlheld its meeting recently andhas submitted its recommen-dations to the ministry.

The committee, besidesincreasing the legal age of

tobacco consumption, hasalso recommended increasingthe fine amount for violationof rules and introducing aprovision of tracking andtracking mechanism to checkillicit trade of cigarette and tobacco products, an offi-cial said.

Will preside over WB State Universityconvocation as Chancellor: GuvPNS n KOLKATA

After being prevented fromattending the annual convoca-tion of two top state universities,West Bengal Governor JagdeepDhankhar on Sunday said hewould be presiding over thegraduation ceremony at WestBengal State University(WBSU). Dhankhar, who isalso the chancellor of all state

varsities, said he would discussways to improve the perfor-mance of the WBSU with VCand the faculty members on theoccasion. "Would be presidingas Chancellor Convocation ofthe West Bengal State Universityon February 25, 2020. TheUniversity since its inception in2008 had its first convocation in2017," Dhankhar wrote on hisofficial Twitter handle.

NARENDRA MODI, TRUMPTO VISIT SABARMATI ASHRAM

Walls” and the US PresidentDonald Trump seem tohave some sticky fixationthat goes beyond the con-tentious Mexico-US border

“wall”, the cost of building which would beabout $25 billion. The recent case is the muchhumbler 400-metre-long and seven-feethigh wall in Ahmedabad. Trump’s visit to thiscity has led to an estimated drain of `100crore. The said amount will be spent onresurfacing and constructing new roads, onsecurity imperatives, for transport andrefreshments of over 1,00,000 guests in the“world’s largest stadium”, transplanting trees,flower arrangements, cultural extravaganzaas also the “contentious” wall-column thatseems to have caught public attention for itsostensible purpose.

Clearly, this wall-column hides a slumcluster of some 800 families that dot theunavoidable road stretch — from the airportto the main venue. It does have some secu-rity angle, given the heavy population den-sity along the road, which typically neces-sitates a smooth passage for the presidentialentourage. But it is essentially a “beautifica-tion” move that is neither unique to Indianor necessarily unwarranted in the contextof sprucing any location in preparation ofsuch events. It is certainly a sad reflection ofthe reality that besets any urban dwelling.However, the efforts towards putting fortha “picture-perfect” view is par for course inany civic engagement.

The Government cannot be faulted forprojecting a certain ambience and opera-tional flawlessness, especially as the event isaimed to enhance “magnificence” of anemerging India (with the inauguration of the“world”s largest stadium). Putting the bestfoot forward in terms of visuals is the norm,not the exception. But it certainly is tanta-mount to glossing over some reality thatalways lurks in the midst of any city, be itAhmedabad, New Delhi or evenWashington, DC. State visits are necessari-ly and deliberately over-sanitised andbedecked from all aspects of the diverse real-ity that always exists in proximity. The majes-tic drive from the Rashtrapati Bhawan to thesplendorous Janpath, all the way up to theIndia Gate, or even to other parts of LutyensDelhi, does not reflect the socio-economicdiversity, reality and depravity of some otherparts of the capital that is spared the caval-cade of such dignitaries.

The recent phenomenon initiated by theModi Government of showcasing differentcities across the country (beyond Delhi) isnovel as it willy-nilly facilitates a modicumof development therein. Many cities havebenefitted from the spotlight — be itVaranasi during Japanese Prime MinisterShinzo Abe’s visit or Chennai, which host-ed Chinese Premier Xi Jinping. Ahmedabad,which had previously hosted Xi and is againprepping for the next high-profile foreignvisit, may be benefitting disproportionate-

ly from such visits along with thePrime Minister’s political con-stituency of Varanasi. But again,as the son-of-soil of Gujarat andthe “people’s representative” ofVaranasi, he thought he is enti-tled to that bias.

Similar “walls” had come upat various places in Beijing dur-ing the 2008 Olympics. Chinahad strategically used this occa-sion to announce its “arrival” onthe global scale. At that time, theChinese had spent over $130million to just restore and painttheir building-temple complex-es that dotted the five-mile axison the main Olympic zone.Much later, Rio de Janeiro hadto face much criticism for its“walls of shame” that sprung upto divide the shiny new Olympiccity in 2016 from the typical Riode Janeiro shanties that populat-ed the city. A five mile long high-way from the airport was cov-ered with a 10 feet “wall” thatwas painted with welcomingmurals. Everyone knew that itcovered the inequities that besetthe Brazilian reality.

Later, activists derided suchmoves as Potemkin displaysand used the facade afforded bysuch “walls” to post expressionsof cynicism and revolt againstthe Government. But then, thealternative of leaving the realityin its naked sores is, perhaps,equally untenable and unhelp-ful, considering the larger stakes

and ambitions involved in host-ing such events.

The CommonwealthGames (CWG) in Delhi in 2010had led to thick bamboo “cur-tains” being planted aroundsqualid clusters. Beyond thepolitical blame-game, the eventselectively and successfully high-lighted New Delhi’s gleamingnew airport, swanky metro,wide roads with streetlights —an important infrastructuralchange that did alter the face andperception of the city.

In India, outside Delhi, thearchitectural development andapproach of the city centre fromthe airport is such that it wouldentail many improvisations,sprucing up and even theinevitable “walls” from an aes-thetic, practical and securityperspective. A lot of publicemotions is unnecessarily rakedwith debates on such “walls”,which could be more meaning-fully directed at the more sub-stantive part of the visit ie, theagreements, compromises andexchanges that take place, whichhave a long-term impact inaffecting people’s lives.

While there can never be auniversally-agreed formula todetermine how much is “toomuch” on such “walls,” commonsense suggests that an element ofbeautification and relatedrequirements does require asemblance of “cover-up.” On

the contrary, the public eye onthe ball should remain focussedof the inked papers, determi-nants and agreements (withTrump, even disagreements)that fructify or don’t, pursuantto this visit. Puerile debate andpassion on “walls” have a ten-dency to hijack the larger nar-rative at stake.

It is, perhaps, more perti-nent to criticise the waste-of-moment captured in the famoustea ceremony on the swings onthe banks of Sabarmati inAhmedabad when PrimeMinister Narendra Modi host-ed Xi, when at that verymoment, the People LiberationArmy (PLA) was involved in aface-off with the Indian armedforces at the border. Charmoffensives have limited “utility”and the classical Atithi DevoBhava (Guest is God) has verylimited resonance with hard-nosed businessmen like Trumpor Xi.

Hindi Chini Bhai Bhai (Indiaand China are brothers) of the1950s is a lesson not to be for-gotten as is the memory of theUS Naval fleet sailing into theBay of Bengal in the 1971 Indo-Pak war. The minor “walls” in2020, though not very elegant,ought not to be the substantiveconcern of the day.

(The writer, a military veter-an, is a former Lt Governor ofAndaman & Nicobar Islands)

Ever since the Maharashtra AghadiGovernment assumed power as anunlikely coalition of divergent ideologies

— the Shiv Sena, the National Congress Party(NCP) and the Congress — there has beenmuch speculation about its lastability.Particularly, the BJP, which lost out the powerrace despite being the single largest partybecause of its refusal to accommodate the ShivSena, leaves no opportunity to rile up the inher-ent tensions in the alliance. Which is why Chief

Minister and Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray’s flip-flop on some of the mostcontentious issues like the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the NationalPopulation Register (NPR) feathers the split theory considering both the Congressand NCP are vociferously against them. But when both NCP chief Sharad Pawarand Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut have assured that the alliance government willlast five years, it points to a rationalisation of politics at the grassroots level. Sothe three parties, realising each needs the other to stay relevant, have success-fully dissociated the local contexts from the national one. And although they havebeen long-standing foes for over a quarter of a century over local issues, they aredesperate to prop each other up to stay in governance.

The Shiv Sena, being ideologically on the Rightist end of the spectrum, can-not disown the moorings of what made it. It has already successfully rewired nation-alism as a definition of Marathi pride. But not quite sure about its run in a conve-nient arrangement, it doesn’t want to exactly burn bridges with the top BJP lead-ership. To expect it to discard its Right-wing face completely would be wishfulthinking. So though he had initial reservations on the CAA, Uddhav is siding withPrime Minister Narendra Modi’s interpretation of it not being against Indian Muslims.The NCP and the Congress are against the exclusionary intent of the CAA, whichviolates the Constitutional guarantee of equality of all religions. Similarly, Uddhav,while vociferously opposing the profiling-based National Register of Citizens (NRC),is going soft on the NPR, although that is largely being seen as a precursor to theNRC. By walking the thin line, Uddhav is also publicising that he is with the Centreon issues that wouldn’t hurt his State. Also, he probably wants to peg the CommonMinimum Programme (CMP) on development rather than bringing in the nation-al debate on Hindutva versus secularism. The illusion of calm within the Aghadiwas blown off earlier with the Sena favouring an NIA probe into the Elgar Parishadcase and NCP-Congress expressing strong dissatisfaction over it. His visit to Ayodhyaand the Veer Savarkar issue was hugely discomforting for his partners, too. Butsuch uneasy equations will continue and each party will clench their teeth andfists, knowing the importance of keeping the Government intact. The Sena knowsthe role of the Congress and the NCP in getting it the chief ministership. The NCPknows it can encash its role as the mediator from both sides. Letting go of theGovernment and risking the desertion by its regional leadership are the last mis-takes the Congress would want to commit. If the alliance is to stay though, it isin the best interest of all three parties to stick to the CMP and not peak out of turn.Else, they could fall to the hawkish plans of the BJP, which loses no opportunityto embarrass the Sena among its core voters. And if they do not budge, they willturn the BJP’s dream of the Aghadi crumbling under its own weight into a reali-ty. Unless its back channel diplomacies are making the Sena leaders have second thoughts.

Donald Trump’s victory in the 2016 USpresidential election will most likely berepeated in November this year, consid-

ering the rate at which things are moving withthe Democrats. It isn’t surprising, therefore,that Governments across the world, no mat-ter what their personal views on Trump, hitchtheir wagons to his train. But unlike other prag-matic leaders, Prime Minister Narendra Modiand Trump appear to have a genuine bond,at least in public. The sight of the two menholding hands at the “Howdy Modi” event in

Texas dominated world media. It gave heartburn to Opposition politicians notonly in India but to other leaders across the world, too. While parents teach theirchildren that they should not look at friendships as quid pro quo arrangements,the fact is that India and the US need to leverage the relationship of the two lead-ers into something much more concrete. Of course, the strengthening of India-US defence collaboration is something that started under former Prime MinisterVajpayee’s tenure and was reinforced by the UPA Government under ManmohanSingh. The Modi Government is building on that edifice. India will be buying moreAmerican hardware, including helicopters and air defence systems but the sig-nature deal that Trump wants is in trade, which seems to be very far away atthe moment. America wants access for its dairy products but India is under-standably wary of cattle fed with hormones and animal matter over there. Besides,there’s also the need to protect Indian dairy farmers as we are the largest milkproducer in the world. On the other hand, India wants access to American mar-kets under favourable terms and the US has said that is only for “developing”nations and as a member of the G-20, India is hardly “developing.”

Irrespective of the failure to clinch a trade deal worth just a few dollars —one of the reasons why he is not bringing his key economic aide —Trump’svisit will also need the ruling Government to do some tough answering. His appear-ance today with Modi will take place under conditions when our Governmenthas failed to pass the “religious” test. The Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA),which calls for a religion-based code of identity, the National Register of Citizens(NRC) and the National Population Register (NPR), have put the nation on theboil, with protests refusing to die even two months after they started. TheGovernment’s principle of challenging the very Constitution that called for “equal-ity” of all religions by considering some to be less “Indian” than others, has ledto several nations, even the UN, expressing concern over its authoritarian ways.The lockdown and detentions in Kashmir have caused much discomfort in theUS, even among key Senators, who fear a subvention of democracy in the nameof “Hindu India.” Allegedly, Trump has vowed not to miss this opportunity toaddress the issue and is bound to raise it both during his public remarks andcertainly in private. He needs Pakistan to keep the Taliban in leash and will needto be seen as pushing some margins in Kashmir. If only as an arm-twisting tac-tic or to rile up Modi’s insecurities at a time when he wants to be seen as a heftyglobal leader. But we are hard-nosed, too, about business. So treat this as spec-tator sport; one of the biggest shows that India has ever seen. We could all laughabout the “10 million people” gaffe but there will be more people than Trumphas ever seen greeting him. But nothing of substance might come out of it.

Stop interfering

Sir — It is untenable that China hasraised objections to Union HomeMinister Amit Shah’s visit toArunachal Pradesh, claiming thatit is in violation of its territorial sov-ereignty and sabotaged mutualtrust with India. New Delhi hasdone well to stand its ground,pointing out that ArunachalPradesh is an “integral and inalien-able” part of India and Indianleaders routinely travel to the Stateas they do to any other State.

It has become a habit forBeijing to make unwarranted nois-es when anyone visits the eastern-most part of the country. It did soeven when the Prime Minister wasthere to lay the foundation stonefor a tunnel under the critical Selamountain pass. But why does itkeep raising objections to it? Beinga totalitarian regime, it neverallows “personal freedom” to flour-ish. But unlike China, India is ademocratic country and individ-ual freedom, culture, religions andso on are always protected here.This is why India has always takenrecourse to “polite diplomacy” tomake its point.

The Chinese outburst islinked to its frustration. One of

the major concerns for China isthe ongoing infrastructural pro-jects undertaken by our countryover there. Beijing maintains thatuntil a settlement on the borderissue is achieved, no one can visit

Arunachal. But do we have to payheed to it? We are a sovereignrepublic and none can tell uswhere Indians can travel.

TK NandananChennai

Unaddressed issues

Sir — This refers to the editori-al, “Message of Shaheen Bagh”(February 19). The protest at

Shaheen Bagh is the longestagainst the CitizenshipAmendment Act (CAA). TheSupreme Court has done well toappoint mediators to open theroad blockade. The Government,too, has made it clear that it isready to negotiate. But it is dis-heartening that it took the initia-tive to end the logjam only aftera long wait, when the court inter-vened. Further, the Government’ssole interest is to get the roadvacated. Shaheen Bagh became amajor challenge for it with itspeaceful and civil character. Whatabout finding a solution to theconcerns raised by the women?

NiharikaVia email

Respect orders

Sir — Indeed, protests are meantto serve a wake-up call fordemocracy. But it is important forShaheen Bagh protesters to con-sider the disruption they havecaused. They must abide by theSupreme Court’s orders.

AshokVia email

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

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op nionHYDERABAD | MONDAY | FEBRUARY 24, 2020

06

Misplaced enthusiasm

BHOPINDER SINGH

We should focus on the inked papers, determinants and agreements that fructify or don’t,pursuant to Trump’s visit and not on ‘walls’ which are of little consequence in policy

The rule of law is the mostfundamental feature ofmodern constitutions andits success depends onhow judiciaries respond toemerging challenges.

Chief Justice of India—SA Bobde

We feel love, humour, empa-thy, compassion, hatred...butin overall behaviour of ours,because of education and ourupbringing, we know to differ-entiate between good and bad.

Actor—Riteish Deshmukh

S O U N D B I T E

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

Tourism has opened up new vistas

kMan’s itinerant exploits introduced him to the won-ders of travelling, which have continued since earlytimes. In recent years, it has become much more

affordable and convenient for humans to exploreunknown territories. More and more people are sheddinginhibitions and embarking on pleasure trips to localesacross the country. Foreign tours, too, have become com-mon. Exploring new places and appreciating the beautythat nature opens out for guests form the crux of anyexcursion. Although many travellers love seeing famousmonuments, exploring new cultures often providesworthwhile travel experiences. Getting to know about thelocal people and their lifestyles helps a holiday-maker getan in-depth knowledge of the region. Local food being afundamental component of a destination’s attributes, eat-ing traditional food and cuisine is an integral part of thetravel experience.

This is why tourism has opened up new vistas thathave enhanced the joys of travelling. The mountains, rivers,the sea and the beaches — all have been given the much-needed tourism “makeover” to make them attractive forvisitors. Exploiting the nature’s bounties, the Governmentand other stakeholders have showcased the uniquenessof their land to increase tourism footfalls. Attaining thestatus of an industry by itself, tourism has gradually

evolved as the chief economic lifeline for many States.However, it is quite disappointing to have the same placesin the State featuring as “exotic locales” for years at astretch with travel operators making no efforts to promotenew destinations to hold the interest of tourists. Therehave been several instances of foreigners touring Goa ontheir own “discovering” scenic spots that even the localsare not aware of. “Stale” itineraries are the undoing of asystem of tourism promotion that refuses to shed the tried-and-tested methods. The need of the hour is to have inno-vations guiding the grandiose schemes.

Pachu MenonMargao

CHARMOFFENSIVES HAVELIMITED ‘UTILITY’

AND THECLASSICAL ATITHI

DEVO BHAVA(GUEST IS GOD)

HAS VERY LIMITEDRESONANCE WITH

HARD-NOSEDBUSINESSMEN LIKE

TRUMP OR XI.LOOK AT

AGREEMENTS,COMPROMISES

AND EXCHANGESINSTEAD

Send yyour ffeedback tto:letterstopioneer@gmail.com

Alliance pressure

Nationalism and the slogan,Bharat Mata Ki Jai, are beingmisused to construct a mili-tant and purely emotional ideaof India that excludes millionsof residents and citizens.

Former Prime Minister—Manmohan Singh

Trump is show business and in Modi, he has found a kindredsoul. But will anything meaningful come out of his visit?

The Sena doesn’t want to burn bridges with eitherits State allies or the Central BJP leadership

It’s showtime

Decolonisation is a processthat has to be guided by theneeds of communities.People’s concerns are variedand it is our collective respon-sibility to amplify their voices.

UN chief—Antonio Guterres

A tricky road ahead

THEY SAY WE’VE KEPT OUR WOMEN IN FRONT. ONLY THELIONESSES HAVE COME OUT AND YOU’RE SWEATING.

WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF ALL OF US COME TOGETHER.—AIMIM LEADER

WARIS PATHAN

IT APPEARS PER SE BOTH THE AIMIM AND THE BJP HAVE COME TOGETHER AND CHALKED OUT A DIVISIVE AGENDA. —MAHARASHTRA PCC GENERAL SECRETARY SACHIN SAWANT

POINTCOUNTERPOINT

As US President Donald Trump visitsAhmedabad-Agra-Delhi today, the spec-trum of expectations remains variegated.

Although the agenda of the bilateral meetseems holistic, with a 12-member delegationaccompanying Trump during his two-day visitto India, apprehensions remain regarding thedeliverables coming out of the trip.

Besides, there have been quite a few changesin Trump’s itinerary and agenda, signalling last-minute negotiations, disagreements and possi-bly discontent on either side, on the key issuesof trade. The US has adopted a hard negotiat-ing position vis-a-vis India and has signalled itsunwillingness to retract from that stance. Amongother things, the US has been reluctant to rein-state India’s Generalised System of Preferences(GSP) status and has continued to seek marketaccess for its dairy products.

New Delhi has held out till now, but it isgoing to be difficult to predict the course of nego-tiations in the coming future. If nothing concretecomes out of bilateral trade talks in the fewmonths following Trump’s visit to the country,he could further harden negotiating grounds forthe US, as was the case with China.

Even though many have held that the cen-trepiece of this visit, a substantive/mini-trade dealbetween the US and India, may have collapsed,the political signalling of Trump’s visit is strongfor both the countries. For India, it means a con-tinuation of the growth in strength of Indo-USties with each successive President.

The short, 36-hour stay of Trump is beingutilised in the most effective way, in so far as sig-nalling is concerned. The Ahmedabad “NamasteTrump” event, Agra’s Taj Mahal stopover and thecritically-decisive talks between Prime MinisterNarendra Modi and Trump along with the visitto the Raj Ghat, tie concrete deliverables with cul-tural symbolism.

For the US, as the domestic primaries areheating up, running up to the presidential elec-tions at the end of the year, the timing and thetargetted constituency of the Indian-Americansas vote bank, could draw significant advantagesfor the Republican Party and the Trump admin-istration.

Trump’s tweet that, “We’re not treated verywell by India”, but that he happens to “like PrimeMinister Modi a lot” underscores the comfort-able-uncomfortability of this visit. Both leadersrealise the value of each other’s partnership intimes when China is not the same option for part-nership for either country as they are for eachother.

Trump’s declaration that he is “saving the bigdeal” with India for later and he “does not know”if it will be done before the presidential electionin November, signals two things: First, that theongoing negotiations on trade are a hard bargainfor either side and that neither party is willingto give concessions or cede positions. Second,both sides have desisted from earmarking a dead-line for the finalisation of these negotiations,which speaks of the complex nature of the con-sultations involved.

In the end, the lack of availability of animmediate trade deal to sign for Trump may notbe a pressing irritant. India’s trade surplus withthe US has significantly come down in the last

few years owing to energy imports fromit, which is the sixth-largest source ofcrude oil imports for the country cur-rently. Besides, the US continues to beIndia’s largest trading partner, withbilateral trade expected to cross $150billion for the first time this year.

In the absence of any mega tradedeals, both sides will tether the projec-tion of successful US-India bilateralrelations to defence deals, securitycooperation and a commonly-visu-alised regional order in the Indo-Pacific. As such, defence deals are like-ly to be the highlight of the visit. In par-ticular, the $2.6 billion deal to buy 24Seahawk helicopters from Americandefence manufacturer Lockheed MartinCorporation is going to capture head-lines.

The Cabinet Committee onSecurity headed by Modi recentlycleared the purchase of the 24 heli-copters and the deal is going to bene-fit India as these platforms are expect-ed to boost the Navy’s anti-submarinewarfare operations — an emerging areaof maritime cooperation with the USand a critical component of the Indo-Pacific security resolve. At the level ofthe regional order in Asia, two issueswill be very critical during this visit. TheTrump administration could nudgeNew Delhi to play a larger and strongerregional role in the Indo-Pacific region.

First, the role that New Delhiwould play in the Indo-Pacific regionis of utmost importance to Washington.For a long time, the US and other part-ners of the Quadrilateral securitygrouping view India as a “dithering”member. The US views itself as havingtaken quite a few steps in the Indo-Pacific that haven’t been well recipro-

cated through actions by India. Amongthem, the renaming of the Indo-PacificCommand to pragmatically engageIndia directly in all matters relating tothe Indo-Pacific. Washington viewsNew Delhi as a key player in the US’strategy in the Indo-Pacific.

The Raisina Dialogue held inJanuary in New Delhi witnessed animportant development regarding theIndo-US joint vision in the Indo-Pacific. The US moved to correct apotential disconnection in the Indo-UScommon view by declaring that its ownvision in the Indo-Pacific now includesthe Gulf region, which the US’ Indo-Pacific Strategy Report excluded initial-ly. This small but significant changebuilds a common platform to advancecooperation in the Indo-Pacific regionfor both the countries. However, evenas both countries try to find commonground in the Indo-Pacific to workwith, New Delhi should try to empha-sise certain uncompromising positionsof geopolitics in this vast region. India’sown relation with Iran has to beworked up, despite pressures fromWashington and significant cuts in oilimports from Tehran.

India should deftly employ strate-gic hedging to work with both Iran andthe US. While New Delhi knows thatfor a middle power like it, balancingbetween two major players — the USand China — is going to be much eas-ier than balancing between a majorforce and a regionally-strong yet sub-middle power like Iran. The real chal-lenge of diplomacy for India lies in itsability to navigate successfully withoutcreating hostilities, especially in timeswhen partisan geopolitics has threat-ened to become a diplomatic norm,

beckoning the polarisation that char-acterised half a century before the cur-rent one.

In the continental dimensions ofthe Indo-Pacific, Afghanistan is goingto be a critically-important factor giventhe timing of domestic politics in thatcountry, China’s increasing role inKabul and the US withdrawal lined up.Trump is a known pusher for India’sgreater role in Afghanistan and this visitcould see a diplomatic nudge to NewDelhi to change its role in Afghanistan,if not increase it. President Ghani’sreturn to power in Afghanistan, the US’deal with Taliban to be signed onFebruary 29 and its subsequent with-drawal could be used as diplomatictropes for India to increase its securi-ty role in Afghanistan.

India should be wary that it doesnot cede ground in dealings with thehard negotiators accompanying Trumpand end up doing what doesn’t suit itsnational interests — an Iran yet again.Even if nothing much comes out of theupcoming Trump visit, India shouldprepare for uncompromising negotia-tions. sYet, the visit has the potential tocatapult bilateral ties to a new level andset new grounds for engagements in thefuture. If Modi has initiated the cultureof “informal talks” with China, with theUS it is the “grand events” that mark adistinct note in bilateral relations. Assuch, the Ahmedabad event in thecricket stadium further pushes theidea of a large gathering to welcome vis-iting Heads of State towards a concretediplomatic norm.

(The writer is Deputy Director,Kalinga Institute of Indo-Pacific Studies,Bhubaneswar and Research Fellow,ICWA, New Delhi)

India must ensure that it does not cede ground in dealings with US negotiators accompanyingTrump and end up doing what doesn’t suit its national interests — an Iran yet again

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

Mitigate India’swater stress

The Govt should come up with a comprehensiveroadmap and the States have to step up their

efforts for successfully achieving the JJM target

VIVEK MISHRA

IN THE ABSENCEOF ANY MEGATRADE DEALS,

BOTH SIDES WILL TETHER

THE PROJECTIONOF SUCCESSFUL

US-INDIABILATERAL

RELATIONS TODEFENCE DEALS,

SECURITYCOOPERATION

AND ACOMMONLY-VISUALISED

REGIONAL ORDERIN THE

INDO-PACIFIC. ASSUCH, DEFENCE

DEALS ARELIKELY TO BE THE

HIGHLIGHT OFTHE VISIT. IN

PARTICULAR, THE$2.6 BILLION

DEAL TO BUY 24SEAHAWK

HELICOPTERSFROM AMERICAN

DEFENCEMANUFACTURER

LOCKHEEDMARTIN

CORPORATION ISGOING TOCAPTURE

HEADLINES

India is a water stressed nation with per capita water availabilityof about 1,544 cubic metres. It has been ranked 13th among17 extremely water-stressed countries as listed by the Aqueduct

Water Risk Atlas released by the World Resources Institute (WRI).The country, closely followed by neighbouring Pakistan, was under“extremely high” levels of baseline water stress. As many as 12of the 17 water stressed countries were from the Middle East andNorth Africa (MENA) region and the document warned that climatechange may complicate the crisis in coming years.

A region is said to be water-stressed when the demand exceedsthe available volume of water or when poor quality restricts its use.Alarmingly, both groundwater and surface water in the country areextremely exploited. In a grim reflection of the situation in the coun-try, groundwater levels declined by more than eight centimetres peryear between 1990 and 2014 in northern India.

The rapidly declining per capita water share, source vulnera-bility and growing contamination of groundwater are some of thecauses for serious concern India. Both surface and groundwaterresources are highly exploited and figures released by the Ministryof Jal Shakti paint a dismal picture. About 1,186 of 6,881 ground-water “assessment units” are categorised as over-exploited. It hasbeen reported that India extracts more groundwater than China andthe US combined. Also, the latest report of the Niti Aayog men-tions that 21 cities of the country will exhaust their groundwaterresources soon. Of the States and Union Territories, Chandigarhwas the most water-stressed, followed by Haryana, Rajasthan andUttar Pradesh.

To address these concerns, the Union Government launchedthe Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) which promises water to every house-hold in the country by 2024. In the Union Budget 2020, under thehead of Wellness, Water and Sanitation scheme, (about ̀ 3.60 lakhcrore was approved earlier for the JJM) `11,500 crore has beenallocated for 2020-2021. The main focus this time will be on sourcesustainability and augmentation. Various water conservation mea-sures like rainwater harvesting, renovation or rejuvenation of tanksand lakes, reuse of waste water, development of recharge struc-tures, desalination along with watershed development and inten-sive afforestation will also be undertaken. These measures will notonly enhance the water availability of the country but also ensuresustainability of the available resource. This is a much appreciat-ed step as it was the need of the hour. The Government’s plan isa well-thought-out approach which will focus on the source whichis needed for sustainable management of the resource.

However, the allocated Budget for 2020-21 is just 15 per centhigher than the previous year’s Budget that was around `10,000crore (the allocation for 2019-20 was almost double of that for 2018-19). It is an ambitious target to be achieved in the next five years,given that previously the National Rural Drinking Water Programme(currently subsumed under the JJM) aimed at providing drinkingwater supply in rural areas by 2030 at an estimated cost of ̀ 6 lakhcrore. But the JJM has low Budget allocations with a shorter time-line. Also, the allocation this year is just about three per cent of thetotal Budget sanctioned for the scheme, given that the first year iscritical to impart momentum to this flagship programme. Also, thereare lessons to be learnt from past programmes such as the NationalRural Drinking Water Programme (NRDWP) which has now beensubsumed under the JJM.

The target under the NRDWP was to provide piped water tapconnections to 35 per cent of rural households by 2017 but thelatest figures of 2019 showed that the connections have only reachedaround 18 per cent of the households. The performance of NRDWPwas not very satisfactory and some of the reasons were that thecontribution of States was on the lower side. Also, some Statesfaced paucity of funds for the piped water scheme. Telangana hadto borrow money from banks to operationalise its mission for pipeddrinking water supply from surface water sources (MissionBhagiratha). Another key factor was that the allocated amount usu-ally remained unspent because of late submission of proposals andthe long time taken for implementation of the sanctioned projects.

The Government should come up with a comprehensive roadmap and the States have to step up their efforts for successfullyachieving the mission target. Perhaps 2020 is a crucial year forboth the Centre and the State Governments to overcome the chal-lenges and expedite the implementation process.

(Grover is Fellow and Seth is Research Associate, WaterResources, TERI)

In 1992, while working as a reporterfor an English-language weekly inKarachi, I was assigned a feature on

certain books that were part of the cur-riculum in schools operating in twolow-income areas of the city.

These were not Governmentschools. They were largely run andfunded by “charity organisations”, twoof which were eventually banned by theGovernment in 2003. I managed toacquire two Urdu textbooks that werebeing taught to students between theages of eight and 12. In simple Urdu,the books had chapters on jihad, infi-dels, obscenity and so on. When I askedan active member of one of the chari-ty organisations about the books, hetold me the tomes were not originallypublished in Pakistan. To my astonish-ment, the books were actually reprints

of textbooks that were first authoredand printed in the US in the early andmid-1980s. They were then shipped toPakistan, where they were distributedto various schools and madrasas coun-trywide and to madrasas and schoolsin the villages of Afghanistan near thePak-Afghan border. This was done dur-ing the anti-Soviet insurgency inAfghanistan between 1980 and 1988.Afghan and Arab insurgents were sta-tioned in Pakistan and sustained byfinancial aid and support from the USand Saudi Arabia.

In the March 23, 2002 issue of TheWashington Post, Joe Stephens andDavid Ottaway write that, during theinsurgency, Ronald Reagan’sGovernment spent millions on theprinting of textbooks (in Pashto, Dariand Urdu) “filled with violent imagesand militant teachings, as part ofcovert attempts to spur resistance to theSoviet occupation.” These books weresent to Pakistan with the billions of dol-lars’ worth of “aid” that Pakistanreceived from the US to facilitate theinsurgency.

Stephens and Ottaway add that thebooks “were filled with talk of holy warand featured drawings of guns, bullets,soldiers and mines.” After the Soviet

forces left the region, in the late 1980s,these books became part of the Afghanschool system’s core curriculum.Stephen and Ottaway write that thesame books were also used by the vio-lent Taliban regime that came to powerin Kabul in 1996.

In 2002, just months after the USforces ousted the Taliban from power,an American foreign aid official statedthat a major “scrubbing operation” inPakistan and Afghanistan had beenlaunched “to purge from the books allreferences to killing.” This was brieflycovered by a 2002 issue of Daily News,the now defunct Pakistani Englishnewspaper. The reporter had addedthat, before “scrubbing” the books thatit had circulated, the US was the firstnon-Muslim power to have propagat-ed “holy war” among Muslims toundermine a “common enemy”. This isnot correct.

The first to do so was Germany. OnOctober 14, 1914, a senior cleric inIstanbul — which at the time was thecapital of the Ottoman Empire —declared a “holy war” against Britain,France, Russia and Serbia. He did thiswith the approval of the OttomanSultan and on the behest of Germany.

The bankrupt empire had decided

to become an ally of Germany duringWorld War-I. The Sultan accepted ahefty payment from Germany to bol-ster the ailing Ottoman economy. Healso saw the alliance as an opportuni-ty for the empire to regain the regionsthat it had lost in the 19th century andonwards.

In the April 2011 issue of the jour-nal War in History, historian MustafaAksakal writes that, to anti-Germanforces, the Ottoman jihad proclamationwas understood as “a linchpin of theGerman scheme to revolutioniseMuslim populations in territories ofGermany’s enemies.”

According to Aksakal, the Germanlawyer, historian and archeologist Maxvon Oppenheim was one of the mainarchitects of the “scheme.” A propagan-da organisation, the Nachrichtenstellefür den Orient (The Intelligence Bureaufor the East), headquartered in Berlin,produced and then circulated jihadistliterature among the Muslims of Asianand African territories held by theBritish. The two most prominent textsin this context were a booklet byJewish scholar and founder of ModernIslamic Studies in Germany, EugenMittwoch and a 1915 brochure by theMuslim scholar Salih Ash-Sharif Al-

Tunisi. According to Samuel Krug, inhis essay for the research projectMaking War, Mapping Europe, thebooklet contextualised jihad accordingto contemporary politics, whereasTunisi’s brochure explained it as a bind-ing theological concept. Both texts werepublished in Berlin by the GermanSociety of Islamic Studies.

The fallouts of the two schemes,one by Germany and the other by theUS, were completely different. Due tothe fact that Germany and theOttomans badly lost the war, secularMuslim nationalism and hybrid Leftistideas completely sidelined the jihadistfervour roused by German propagan-da. German and Ottoman defeatsstrengthened secular nationalist narra-tives in Muslim countries and discard-ed theocratic ideas.

On the other hand, as Britishauthor Jonathan Steele demonstrates inhis 2011 book, Ghosts of Afghanistan,even though it was the collapsingSoviet economy that forced Sovietforces to leave Afghanistan and then thestopping of aid to the Government thatit left behind in Kabul, the US andPakistan spun the Soviet departure tomean a “victory of faith against com-munism.” It was this perception that saw

militant propaganda devised by the USto linger in the region. No wonder then,when the US forces invaded Kabul totopple the Taliban regime in 2001, theyfound madrasas still using textbooksthat the US had circulated in the1980s. What’s more, according to aDecember 2014 report in TheWashington Post, despite the fact that,ever since 2002 ,Unicef in Afghanistandestroyed almost half a million of thesebooks, many were still being taught tochildren in areas under the control ofTaliban insurgents.

In 2015, Pakistani soldiers foundsimilar textbooks in seminaries andschools in areas that were once domi-nated by extremist groups. Thesegroups were ousted through a militaryoperation. In other words, until 2015,textbooks authored and published inthe US in the 1980s to glorify “holy war”in the minds of young Muslims werestill being used in various seminariesand schools of the region.

Some commentators suspect manyof these tomes are still out there. Andthey are expected to make a full come-back if (and/or when) the Taliban man-age to return to power after the immi-nent departure of US forces.

(Courtesy Dawn)

The monster that they created still lurksThe Reagan Govt spent millions on printing textbooks propagating jihad and disseminating them in Pak madrasas and schools in the 80s

NADEEM PARACHA

HYDERABAD | MONDAY | FEBRUARY 24, 2020

www.dailypioneer.com

F O R E I G N E Y E

The return of the blue whale,the world’s most majesticocean traveller to southernwaters should serve as ashowpiece for widerpossibilities of conservation.Ecological wrongs can berighted, or at least mitigated,with sufficient will andorganisation. The moregeneral comeback of thewhale, for whichenvironmental campaignersshould take a great deal ofcredit, can be an inspirationfor victories yet to be won.

(The Guardian editorial)

VICTORY OF THEGREEN BRIGADE

SONIAGROVER

NIYATISETH

HYDERABAD | MONDAY | FEBRUARY 24, 2020

CAPSULE

RCom's committeeof creditors to meeton MondayNEW DELHI: RelianceCommunications (RCom) onSunday said a meeting of thecompany's committee ofcreditors is scheduled to beheld on Monday. "The 18thmeeting of committee ofcreditors (CoC) of RelianceCommunications Ltd isscheduled to be convened onMonday, February 24, 2020,"RCom said in a regulatoryfiling. No other details weredisclosed. According tosources, the CoC on Mondaywill put to a vote asset bidsreceived from UV AssetReconstruction Company andReliance Jio from whichlenders are expected torecover around Rs 23,000crore. UV AssetReconstruction Company islearnt to have placed a bid ofaround Rs 14,700 crore, whileReliance Jio has made an offerof Rs 4,700 crore for towerand fibre assets of RelianceInfratel Ltd.

Godrej Propertiessells propertiesworth Rs 3,532 crNEW DELHI: Realty firmGodrej Properties soldproperties worth Rs 3,532crore during the April-December 2019 period, up 12per cent as compared with ayear-ago period. According toan investors' presentation, thecompany's sales bookingsstood at Rs 3,155 crore duringApril-December 2018. Interms of volume, Mumbai-based Godrej Properties soldnearly 52 lakh sq ft area, anincrease of 3 per cent from thecorresponding period of theprevious year. Out of the totalsales bookings of Rs 3,532crore achieved during the firstnine months of this financialyear, the housing segmentcontributed Rs 3,471 crore.

CONVID 19: Airportsto screen passengersfrom 4 more countriesNEW DELHI: Aviationregulator DGCA has orderedscreening of passengers fromfour more countries -- Nepal,Vietnam, Indonesia andMalaysia, as part of efforts toprevent spreading ofcoronavirus. Now, fliers fromas many as 10 countrieswould be screened at Indianairports. Already, passengerstravelling in flights from China,Hong Kong, Japan, SouthKorea, Thailand and Singaporeare being screened at Indianairports in the wake of theNovel Coronavirus 2019(CONVID 19). Cases of thevirus infection have beenreported in many countries,including India.

RBI alone cannot contain inflation: RangarajanPNS n NEW DELHI

Former RBI governor CRangarajan has said theReserve Bank alone can notcontain inflation as supplyside shocks are needed to bemanaged by the government.

In a paper titled 'The NewMonetary Policy Framework– What it Means', Rangarajantalked about the limitations ofthe RBI's monetary policy incontaining inflation.

"The inflation mandate asalready mentioned must pro-vide for a range and a timeframe for adjustment which

should not be too short."Nevertheless, monetary

policy must act irrespective ofwhat triggered inflation.Obviously, supply-side man-agement is needed in situa-tions of supply stock and thatshould be the responsibility ofthe government," he said.

Rangarajan said the adop-tion of inflation targeting byIndia has given rise to manydoubts and concerns.

The new monetary policyframework requires theReserve Bank of India tomaintain consumer priceinflation at 4 per cent with a

margin of + or – 2 per cent."Thus in a sense, it is flex-

ible targeting. The amend-ment to RBI Act also providesfor the setting of a MonetaryPolicy Committee which willdetermine the policy interestrate in order to abide by theinflation mandates," he said.

The focus on inflation tar-

geting by monetary authori-ties hardly mean a neglect ofother objectives such asgrowth and financial stability,he noted.

"Does the focus on inflationtargeting by monetary author-ities mean a neglect of otherobjectives such as growth andfinancial stability? Hardly so.

"What inflation targetingdemands is that when infla-tion goes beyond the comfortzone, the exclusive concern ofmonetary policy must be tobring it back to the target level.When inflation is within thecomfort zone, authorities canlook to other objectives," theformer RBI governor said.

The monetary policyframework adopted by Indiaand many other countries iscorrectly described as 'flexibleinflation targeting'.

"This flexibility is extreme-ly important because itemphasizes the uncertainties

against which centralbank have to operate,"Ranagarajan noted. The gov-ernment had in 2016 consti-tuted MPC to set the bench-mark interest rate.

The MPC is headedby the RBI governor.Of the six members,three are nominated bythe government, whilethe remaining three arefrom the RBI. The com-mittee takes decisions basedon majority vote. Eachmember has one vote butthe RBI governor has acasting vote in case of a tie.

money 08

Nevertheless, monetary policy must act irrespective ofwhat triggered inflation. Obviously, supply-sidemanagement is needed in situations of supply stock

and that should be the responsibility of the government—C RANGARAJAN, Former RBI governor

US beats China to becomeIndia's top trading partnerPNS n NEW DELHI

The US has surpassed China tobecome India's top tradingpartner, showing greater eco-nomic ties between the twocountries.

According to the data of thecommerce ministry, in 2018-19, the bilateral trade betweenthe US and India stood at USD87.95 billion.

During the period, India'stwo-way commerce withChina aggregated at USD 87.07billion.

Similarly, during April-December 2019-20, the bilat-eral trade between the US andIndia stood at USD 68 billion.It stood at USD 64.96 billionwith China in the same peri-od.

Trade experts believe thatthe trend will continue in thecoming years also as NewDelhi and Washington areengaged in further deepeningthe economic ties.

An expert said that if thecountries will finalise a freetrade agreement (FTA), thenthe bilateral trade would reachat different levels.

"FTA with US will be verybeneficial for India as the USis the biggest market fordomestic goods and services,"

Federation of Indian Exportorganisations Director GeneralAjay Sahai said.

He said that India's exportsas well as imports are increas-ing with the US, while withChina both are declining.

America is one of the fewcountries with which Indiahas a trade surplus. On theother hand, India has a hugetrade deficit with China.

In 2018-19, India has a tradesurplus of USD 16.85 billionwith America, while it has adeficit of USD 53.56 billionwith the neighbouring country.

The data showed that Chinawas India's top trading partnersince 2013-14 till 2017-18.Before China, UAE was thecountry's largest trading nation.

A top American businessadvocacy group has said that a

free trade agreement betweenIndia and the US is a key toresolving their trade disputes asit will cover biggest irritants inties, including tariffs and mobil-ity of Indian professionals.

Professor at Indian Instituteof Foreign Trade (IIFT) RakeshMohan Joshi said that Indiashould be a bit cautious whilenegotiating a trade pact withthe US in areas, includingagriculture and food prod-ucts, as America is the world'slargest producer and exporterof certain commodities likemaize and soybean.

"A trade deal between theUS and India would furtherincrease the trade between thetwo countries easing tariffrestriction and opening up ofbigger market for products.India is a major exporter ofsteel, steel products and alu-minium products with com-bined exports of USD 22.7 bil-lion last year.

"Steel exports to the UShave continued to decline andit went down from USD 372million in 2017-18 to USD 247million last year. This is only2.5 per cent of our overall USD9.74 billion steel export to theworld," Pawan Gupta, theFounder and CEO of onlinetrade platform Connect2Indiaobserved.

Trade experts believe that the trend will continue in the coming years alsoas New Delhi and Washington areengaged in further deepening theeconomic ties

AC prices to go up by 5 per cent amid coronavirus scarePNS n NEW DELHI

Season for air-condition sales isgoing to start soon, and the sec-tor is bracing for a hike of upto 5 per cent, amid combinedimpact of customs duty hike oncompressors and increasedlogistics costs due toCoronavirus outbreak in China,which is the main supplier.

Amid Coronavirus scare,several manufacturers expect2020 to be a challenging yearfor the industry as they aregoing to airlift component suchas controllers, compressors andother materials from China,Thailand and Malaysia andthe increased logistic costwould put pressure on inputcosts.

According to some makers,the crisis “unfortunately” hascome at a critical time, when

April-June season is knocking,during which the industryaccounts around 40 to 45 percent sale of residential aircon-

ditioners.“There is a shortage due to

Coronavirus and in order tokeep the production up, we are

airlifting the critical compo-nents from China. There is alsoan increase in customs duty oncompressors and others,” Blue

Star Managing Director BThiagarajan said. Blue Star, anair conditioning and commer-cial refrigeration company, has

already increased prices by 3 to5 per cent on various items.

“This is not only because ofCoronavirus. We have to airlift

some components. There is anincrease in custom duty andocean freight also,” he said.

According to Daikin IndiaMD & CEO KJ Jawa, most ofthe Indian companies are"strongly dependent" on Chinanot only for compressors butalso for other components ascontrollers etc. Though produc-tion has been started by someof the vendors, but it would taketime as they require severalclearances from the Chinesegovernment as well from theIndian authorities and wouldnot be easy and “unfortunate-ly the critical period for the ACindustry is March to June.”

"This is unfortunate but whatelse one can do about it," hesaid, adding "this will definite-ly affect the revenue and prof-itability in the short run of theindustry."

‘No need for panic in industry, trade’NEWDELHI: Indian industry andtrade, including pharmaceuticals,are ready to manage the"evolving" coronavirus situationwithout causing any major impacton the supply chain and no majorchallenge is foreseen in the nearterm, according to industry bodyAssocham. Stating that there isno need for panic, AssochamSecretary General Deepak Soodsaid the Indian government andindustry have been reacting in apro-active manner in closecoordination with each other.

"Yes, in a highly integratedeconomy, global supply chain is areality but there are adequatecushions available to deal withtemporary disruptions. "Both theIndian government and theindustry have been reacting in apro-active manner, in closecoordination with each other, toface any economic, technical or

even contractual impact of thecoronavirus on the worldeconomy," he added.He pointed out that so far, there

has been no major disruption insupply chain on the Indianindustry and no major challengeis foreseen in the near term. Soodsaid while India importssubstantial amount of APIs (activepharmaceutical ingredients) to theextent of 60-70 per cent fromChina, there are several domesticand global firms that have set upAPI units in India as well.

MEGA BANK CONSOLIDATION

PNS n MUMBAI

With the deadline of April 1fast approaching for the megamerger of ten public sectorbanks, there seems to be moreodd in the way of meeting thetarget date as a series of regu-latory approvals and clear-ances are still pending, bankofficials said.

Even after Cabinet approvalto the proposed mega mergerplan, officials said, fixation ofshare swap ratio, shareholdersconsent and other regulatoryapprovals are expected to takeat least 30-45 days.

It is believed that the PrimeMinister's Office (PMO) hassought details from theselenders about their financialprojections for the next three tofive years. Details in respect ofNPAs, capital requirement,credit growth and cost savingson account of the mergers havebeen asked for, officials said.

So, chances of the mergerbecoming a reality beginningnext fiscal year seems littleunrealistic at the moment, asenior public sector bank offi-cial said.

Besides, regulatory nods,the Scheme of Amalgamationhas to be laid before Parliamentfor 30 days for the perusal ofthe members. The second-half of the Budget session isscheduled to start on March 2.

Last year in August, thegovernment announced theconsolidation of ten publicsector banks (PSBs) into fourmega state-owned lenders.

As per the plan, UnitedBank of India and OrientalBank of Commerce wouldmerge with Punjab NationalBank, making the proposedentity the second largest pub-lic sector bank.

It was decided to merge

Syndicate Bank with CanaraBank, while Allahabad Bankwith Indian Bank. Similarly,Andhra Bank and CorporationBank are to be consolidatedwith Union Bank of India.

According to a seniorbanker, information technolo-gy integration of Vijaya Bankand Dena Bank with Bank ofBaroda is still in process evenafter 10 months of merger. Inaddition, the HR issues stillcontinues to hamper business,causing inconvenience to cus-tomers.

Moreover, the mega mergerwould create greater distur-bance in the banking systemand will affect the operationespecially loan sanction asthere will be chaos initially forfew months, the official added.

Series of regulatory approvalsand clearances still pending

It is believed thatPrime Minister'sOffice has soughtdetails fromthese lendersabout theirfinancialprojections forthe next three tofive years

NBFCs shouldraise resourceson sustainedbasis: SreiPNS n KOLKATA

Srei Infrastructure Finance,one of the country's leadingNBFCs, on Sunday said thesector, which is passingthrough a liquidity crisis,should be able to raiseresources on a sustained basis.

The government and theregulator, Reserve Bank ofIndia (RBI), should comeout with more clarity forraising medium-to-long-termfunds by the non-bankingfinance companies (NBFCs),the firm's chairman HemantKanoria said.

"The basic raw material forthe non-banking financecompanies and banks, ismoney. The NBFCs shouldbe able to raise resources ona sustained basis for conduct-ing their businesses," Kanoriatold PTI.

In a bid to address the liq-uidity issue, the governmenthas taken some steps throughthe "partial guaranteescheme" for interim funding.

"Raising resources byNBFCs from the public is alimited option and done fromtime to time. It depends onthe profile of the NBFC con-cerned. The main structuralissue needs to be addressed,"Kanoria said.

Talking about the city-based company, he said lend-ing activity is getting affect-ed due to liquidity issues.

"Funding has become veryslow. This has affected credit off-take and flow of loans to infra-structure and the MSME sector.However, equipment finance isslowly picking up," he said.

Lotteries toattract 28 pcGST fromMarch 1PNS n NEW DELHI

A 28 per cent Goods andServices Tax (GST) will belevied on lotteries fromMarch 1, according to a noti-fication.The GST Councilhad in December last yeardecided to impose a singlerate of 28 per cent on state-run and authorised lotteries.

The revenue departmentnotified the GST rate on sup-ply of lotteries and amendedits earlier Central Tax (Rate)notification.Accordingly, theCentral Tax rate for supply oflotteries has been amended to14 per cent and a similar per-centage will be levied by thestates. This will take thetotal GST incidence on lotter-ies to 28 per cent.

"This notification shallcome into force on the 1stday of March, 2020," the rev-enue department notifica-tion said. Currently, a state-run lottery attracts 12 percent GST, while a state-autho-rised lottery attracts 28 percent tax.

‘Test checks’ on telcosAGR dues standardaudit procedure: COAIPNS n NEW DELHI

Terming 'test checks' proposedby the government on telcos'AGR arithmetic as standardaudit procedure, Industrybody COAI has said the DoTneeds to ensure consistencyamong its different circles oncalculation of dues to min-imise any differences.

Cellular Operators'Association of India (COAI)also cautioned that any deci-sion to encash bank guaran-tees will be "disastrous" for thetelecom industry, which onlyhas three private players.

"Any move to encash bankguarantees will precipitate analready precarious situation,"COAI Director General, RajanMathews said. Mathews termedthe 'test checks' being pro-posed by the telecom depart-

ment to examine deviation incalculation of dues by compa-nies as a "standard audit proce-dure". He pointed out thatwhile amounts need to befinalised as soon as possible,operators too should be givena fair opportunity to explain thedeviations in calculation. "Thereshould be consistency amongstall LSAs (Licensed ServiceAreas) of the DoT (Departmentof Telecommunications) onhow the amounts are calculat-ed, so the differences are min-imised," Mathews added.

Govt to sell stake inTHDCIL, NEEPCOPNS n NEW DELHI

The government is keen to sellits stake in THDC India andNorth Eastern Electric PowerCorporation (NEEPCO) tostate-owned NTPC in the cur-rent fiscal, according to asource.

The acquisition is expectedto fetch around Rs 10,000crore to the exchequer.

"The government is keen tocomplete the transactionwhereby the NTPC wouldacquire government's stake inTHDCIL (THDC India Ltd)and NEEPCO this fiscal onlyfor meeting its revised disin-vestment target of Rs 65,000crore for the 2019-20," thesource said.

The government had earli-er proposed to raise Rs 1.05lakh crore from disinvestmentduring 2019-20. However, inthe budget presented earlierthis month, it reduced thedivestment target to Rs 65,000crore.

The government has gar-nered Rs 18,345.06 crore fromdivestments in public sector

undertaking so far, as perDIPAM portal.

"The government wouldleave no stone unturned forconcluding the deal this fiscalitself. Now it is necessary tomeet the disinvestment target.

"This will not happen firsttime. Last year also, PowerFinance Corporation had con-cluded the deal to acquireentire government stake inREC Ltd for Rs 14,500 crore onMarch 28 , 2019," the sourcesaid.

The transaction had helpedthe government meet its disin-vestment target of Rs 80,000crore for 2018-19.

NTPC had engaged SBICapital for evaluation of thedeal. The Department ofDisinvestment and PublicAsset Management (DIPAM)had engaged RBSA Advisorsfor evaluating NEEPCO, andDeloitte for THDCIL transac-tions.

In November last year, theCabinet Committee onEconomic Affairs (CCEA) hadapproved a proposal of thefinance ministry for divest-ment of central government'sstake in THDCIL and NEEP-CO. Later, the NTPC boardapproved the acquisition dealon January 27, 2020.

The governmenthas garnered Rs 18,345 cr fromdivestments inpublic sectorundertaking sofar, as per DIPAM portal

he sixth editionof the Pinkathoncampaign wasorganised onSunday at theKBR Park to pro-

mote the cause for goodhealth and spread awarenessabout breast cancer.

The event witnessed fam-ilies coming together to par-ticipate actively. The atten-dance included babies asyoung as a couple ofmonths old. Some of thewomen did the walk alongwith their babies strapped

to them. Women of all agegroups participated in theearly morning event at thepark.

The walk was a symbol ofall the life ahead of a moth-er and motherhood notbeing the end of life for awoman. The event encour-aged the need to stayhealthy and fit by just walk-ing in the early mornings.

Model and fitness activistMilind Soman participatedin the event enthusiasticallyencouraging women to havefun while they exercise. Themoms were happy to beguided into doing push-upsand squats by Milind beforethe walk began.

“My mother is fit and thatis the reason I am also fit,”he told the crowd. Speakingabout the origins ofPinkathon in an exclusivechat with The Pioneer,Milind said that, “When heused to run an event man-agement company 17 yearsago he thought about howworking out is usually setaside for men and not asmuch for women. So I start-ed Pinkathon to encouragewomen to come together,not for a political or reli-gious purpose, but to cele-brate being a woman. Soonit expanded to many citiesand became quite popular.”“Pinkathon is not just aboutrunning. It’s a tool toimprove one’s mind andbody and do anything whatone wants to,” he added.

When asked about howlong he works out in a day,he replied with a laugh say-ing, “Only for three min-utes.” He continued, “I havenever been to a gym. My setof exercises include plank-ing, push-ups andburpees.”

Whenaskedabouttheexer-ciseregi-menfor preg-nantwomen, hesaid,“Consultingthe gynecolo-gist is the firststep and one hasto work out dur-ing to pregnancyfor a healthy child-birth. Women intheir seventh monthof pregnancy alsorun marathons buteveryone has their

own way of doing it.” Healso said consistent exerciseis necessary to drop thatpost-pregnancy weight.

Milind said that he does-n’t believe in diet plans andhe eats everything. He does-n’t consume supplementsand instead prefers eating

fruits and vegetables. Hisfavourite sweet is

pootharekulu and alsolists Hyderabadibiryani as one of histop favourite thingsabout the city.

It was a firsttime for most ofthe participantsof this edition ofthe Pinkathonwhich they saidthey thoroughly

enjoyed andwould defi-nitely returnfor the nextedition.

heher-e-Ishq,organised its fourthseason at TheChalet in JubileeHills over the week-end. The event was

about the art of storytelling inall types of format, be it graph-ic novels or just individualimages.

Jai Undurti, a writer, sharedinteresting facts with thecrowd, packed in the room, onhow to create a narrative byjust looking at a picture. Heshowed some pictures and nar-rated stories about them. Manyfrom the audience also con-tributing in building storiesabout the same photographs.

Origin stories, historicalevents, mythological storiesand other forms of narrativewere discussed at the event.One image at a time was pre-sented to the audience andeverybody came up with a

story that can go along withthe image.

One of the pictures that wasshown at the event included apainting on the wall of a cave.This sparked a healthy debateon what made prehistoric

humans to create such art. Is itto depict reality as it is showthe fear they felt back then?These were some of the ques-tions that were raised.

Speaking about comics, JaiUndurti said that one can getreally creative with comics.“Our minds tend create ideas bylooking at random stuff. Andthis, when broken down intopanels becomes a comic book,”he said.

“Boredom plays a crucialrole. It is when one is boredthat the mind starts creatingstuff and pushes one to dosomething interesting. It isimportant for a creative personto have a notebook with themat all times to jot down impor-tant ideas,” he added. Sheher-e-Ishq is also going to start acampaign ‘Swachh Virasat’where people can go for a walkthrough heritage monumentswhile cleaning up the garbage.

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T

MondayFebruary 24, 2020

hotojournalistKandukuriRamesh Babu,who is knownfor photosthat are an

ode to womanhood andcapturing the perspec-tives of people leadingtheir lives, has now deci-ded to pay tribute todogs under the theme‘Portraiture ofCompassion’.

Kandukuri is knownfor taking pictures of theunknown and unnoticedaspects of everyday livesof ordinary people.

The photo exhibitionwas inaugurated byAkkineni Amala,founder of Blue CrossHyderabad, over theweekend.

Speaking of his shiftfrom capturing people tostray animals, he said,“Dogs, especially streetdogs, are a special entityof our world. Good, bador worst, whatever their

situation is, they are withtheir being and nothingelse.”

“They bark, bite, yawn,mate and what not, all inthe open. This is whatamused me, as all theseactions are as emotionalas humans and as touch-ing as mankind. This iswhy I treat them as myfellow beings,” he furthersaid.

Thousand of peoplelive on streets withoutbread and butter, andeven without a shelter.Dogs are an extension tohumankind and it is aninevitable consequencethat sometimes dogs andpeople dwell togetherand share a close rapportand friendship. Thisphoto exhibition tries toencompass all of theaforementioned charac-teristics of our furryfriends and shows thevarious emotions of astray.

While in one picture

you find adog sitting amid hugetrees and mountains lostin the nature, in anotherpicture it is portrayed asbeing curious aboutother creatures wander-ing in front of it. Whileanother picture show themiserable life they leadas they search for food ingarbage bins.

“There is a lot work tobe done,” said Amalaafter seeing only one pic-ture of a dog with the earnotch while the rest did-n't have it.

The ear notch is amark through whichpeople can recognise thatthe dog has been vacci-nated and sterilised.

“A pair of street dogscan raise a litter of 2,000puppies in their lifetime,so sterilising one pair ofdogs can reduce theirpopulation by 2,000. So

don’t hesitateto contact GHMC whenyou spot a dog withoutan ear notch in yourcommunity,” she saidstressing on the impor-tance of sterilisation.

“The photos on displayhere are a collection from2010. I didn’t realise thatI had captured about5,000 pictures of strayanimals. When I waslooking through my oldpictures, I came acrossthese photos and felt Ishould celebrate the ordi-nary. Because even strayanimals are a part of ourordinary lives,”Kandukuri said on thereason behind the exhibi-tion.

(The exhibition will beopen till March 2, 2020,

between 9.30 am and6.30 pm at Hamburg

Hall, Goethe Zentrum,Hyderabad)

The word portrait hasbeen made famous by

artistes across the globesince time immemorial.While most shutterbugs

focus on capturingportraits of humans and

their behaviour, aphotojournalist in

Hyderabad has thrownthat convention to the

wind by capturing dogs.Yes, you heard that right.

A portrait of man's bestfriend! Read on as

K RAMYA SREE takesyou through the chronicles

of the lives of doggies

P

Pouring life into storytellingIs one imageenough to

create astory?

MESHAELSALEEMwrites howstories canbe createdeven from

randomobjects atSheher-e-

Ishq

S

Setting fitness goals for womenMESHAEL

SALEEM andUMM E MARIAwrite about thesixth edition ofPinkathon held

at KBR Parkand the

message onfitness it hadfor women,

especiallymothers

GIVING OUR FURRYFRIENDS A SPACE IN

REEL

FITNESS FREAK Celebrity fitness trainer Kris Gethin,

who helped the transformation ofstars like Mahesh Babu, Hrithik

Roshan, John Abraham andRanveer Singh, was in the city to

visit his franchise at Kukatpallyover the weekend. Interactingwith people, Kris exhorted the

youth to exercise regularly to getrelief from stress and be fit.

PAR

TY

10

CITY GUIDE

EVENTS

lAn Inspector Calls, is the Telugu adaptation ofthe original English play by the same name by JB Priestly written in the year. The play revolvesaround the alleged suicide of a young womannamed Shwetha and an unsuspecting familywhich is visited by a mysterious Inspector. The play will be staged at Pheonix Arena onFebruary 28 at 8 pm.

AN INSPECTOR CALLS

GET YOUR EVENT LISTED: To get your eventslisted, send your details along with a poster andcontact number to pioneer.features@gmail.com

FOOD FESTIVALl Hotel Aditya Park, Ameerpet is organising Kebab,Biryani and Paratha Food Festival from February 20 to29 between 7.30 pm and 11 pm.

Phot

os bb

ySV

Char

y

DIMSUM FESTIVAL

Hyderabad Monday February 24, 2020

FUN

Rules

ARCHIE

GARFIELD

SUDOKU

REALITY CHECK SPEED BUMP CROSSWORD

GINGER MEGGS

NANCY

CALVIN AND HOBBES

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

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

Yesterday’s solution

what’s brewing?

lRadisson Hyderabad, Kondapur is organisingDimsum Food Festival until February 28between 7.30 pm and 11 pm.

LAUNCHPARTYGolden Girls Women Club was

launched recently at Air Live,Jubilee Hills. Socialites and

entrepreneurs attended the launch partyand had a gala time over delicious food.

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s he turned a yearolder on Saturday,filmmaker Teja hasannounced two newprojects — RakshasaRaju Ravanasurudu

and Alimelu Manga VenkataRamana. Although he announcedRana Daggubati and Gopichandas his actors, he refused to dis-

close who will spearhead whichfilm. However, a little diggingtold us that Rana, who is awaitingthe release of Hindi, Telugu andTamil trilingual Aranya, will bethe face of Rakshasa RajuRavanasurudu, while Gopi willfront Alimelu Manga VenkataRamana.

A source chips in, “Teja film’swith Rana will be socio-politicaldrama where Rana will be seen inan edgy character with darkshaded. Suresh Babu will shep-herd it under his esteemedSuresh Productions. With theirearlier film, Nene Raju NeneMantri, striking gold at the box-office, the combination will be ahot commodity in the market.On the other hand, Teja’s filmwith Gopi will be a women-cen-

tric family-drama where theleading lady has equal

importance to thatof the leading

man. With his recent films drawing

cinegoers ire for being in tiredand tested zone, Gopi felt that hisrole in Teja’s film will be a wel-come change for him and hisaudience, immediately drivinghim to give his in-principle nod.However, there is a problem onwho will produce it. Followingthe dismal performance ofChanakya, Gopi has recentlyshelved a project of BVSNPrasad’s after it was launched. Sohe is obligated to do a film forthe producer. Simultaneously, hehas given his word to producerslike KK Radhamohan and TGVishwa Prasad. So it remains tobe seen who the actor willchoose.”

The source further adds thatdepending on the immediateavailability of his actors, Teja willtake a call on which film to taketo sets first. — NG

T and MunicipalAdministration andUrban DevelopmentMinister KT RamaRao heaped highpraise on Pressure

Cooker which released lastFriday, calling it “refreshinglybreezy entertainer with a nicemessage embedded in it”. He wasspeaking on Saturday eveningafter watching a special screen-ing of the film at the RamanaiduStudios, Filmnagar.

Recalling his association withone of the film’s directors SujaiKarampuri, who is the CEO ofT-Works and Director(Electronics), T-Fiber Grid, theminister noted that he hasknown the director for 15 yearsafter he had connected to himthrough his blogs. “After the for-

mation of Telangana, I asked himto come down from Bengaluruand work for me. Over thecourse of my journey with him, Igot introduced to his artisticside. He has shown me his pho-tographs which he captureduniquely and had a certain edgeto them. He is a painter as well.On one fine day when he toldme he is making a movie, I wassurprised. I was like, ‘Am I givinghim too much freedom’?” KTRstated, armed with a smile.

He informed that the directorcould make a good film withlimited resources at his disposal.“I was told that he registeredseven-eight titles for his next setof films. I hope he will makemany more movies and continueto make us proud,” he said. Heappreciated the film’s musiccomposed by Sunil Kashyap,Rahul Sipligunj and Harshava-rdhan Rameshwar and leadactors Sai Ronak and PreethiAsrani for acing their roles.

Hyderabad Monday February 24, 2020

11

tollywood

n anunex-pecteddevelop-ment,Vamshi

Paidipally is nolonger attached todirect superstarMahesh Babu’snext.

According tomultiple sourcesin the know, theactor hasadvancedParasuram’s storyand it will be his

immediate next,with Mythri MovieMakers set tobankroll it. His

own productionhouse GMBEntertainment willassociate with the

film as a productionpartner.The development has

come as a bit of shocker, asMahesh had officiallyannounced the projectwith Paidipally while pro-moting his Sankrantirelease SarileruNeekevvaru, saying that hewill start it after a break ofa couple of months.

The film was touted tobe a gangster drama set inVisakhapatnam.

So what went wrong?“The script didn’t shape upto Mahesh’s liking. Theactor endorsed the plotlineand some portions of thescript but overall he feltthere were some issues.Paidipally understood hisMaharshi actor’s concernsand wasn’t in a rush to

push the project now. Hedecided to take more timeto fine tune the script.Meanwhile, Mahesh had aword with Mythri andthey immediately sentParasuram to the actor.The director pitched astory to the actor last yearsuccessfully but withMahesh Babu giving hisword to be a part ofPaidipally’s next, he could-n’t commit to the projectstraightaway. Both decidedto team up some othertime but as luck wouldhave it, it’s happening thisyear itself for Parasuram,”said a source.

With his wish of direct-ing a star of MaheshBabu’s repute set to befruition later this summer,Parasuram has decided toshelve his earlier projectNageswara Rao (tentativetitle) he was supposed todo with Naga Chaitanya

and 14 Reels Plus produc-tion house.

“Chay had no issues assuch with Parasuram opt-ing out. He, in fact, ishappy that the director isrealising his dream. Bothpromised to join forces fora film in the future,” addsthe source.

The source furthermentions Parasuram’s filmwith Mahesh will be lovestory laced with familyemotions, plenty ofhumour and action.

“In short it will be a sig-nature Parasuram film butwith Mahesh headlining,expect it to be a whiff offresh air. The romanticportions have come outvery well and the actor’sfans will be in for a treat tosee lover boy Mahesh aftera long time. The boundscript is in place for thefilm,” concludes thesource.

Paidipally out,PARASURAM IN FOR MAHESH'S NEXT

Though director Vamshi Paidipally wassupposed to direct Mahesh Babu's next heis no longer in the picture, at least for now.NAGARAJ GOUD finds out more aboutthe sudden change in plans

I

he dry spell at theTelugu box-officethis month hasended withNithiin-starrerBheeshma. After

registering a career-bestopening for the actor onFriday, the film consolidatedon its positive word-of-mouthand good reviews onSaturday, emerging as theNo.1 choice for moviegoersduring the weekend. In theprocess, it packed a share ofRs 4 crore from the Telugustates on Saturday.

A trade source adds, “The

film has minted Rs 6.30 crore(approximately) on day-one,while on day two there wasno major dip. Overall, thefilm’s tally for the first twodays stood at Rs 10.30 crorewith overseas figures touch-ing the half-million dollarclub by Saturday. Sunday hasbeen packed to capacity in allcentres across Telugu statesand going by the trend, thefilm, which did a pre-releasebusiness of Rs 19.60 crore inthe Telugu states, will break-even by Tuesday. The makershave already made over Rs 9crore profits from the film

and at the rate at which it isgoing, chances are that theymay get additional revenuefrom overflow. It’s likely thefilm will sail past the Rs 50crore mark in less than 10days.”

While the film has offerednothing new terms of thestory, the way it was pack-aged, the crisp run time, thehumour and the productionvalues are working in itsfavour. Directed by VenkyKudumula, the film is a pro-duction venture of S NagaVamsi under SitharaEntertainments.

Bheeshma opens big

PressureCooker

gets KTR'sthumbs-up

I

TA

espite best efforts from the mak-ers to plug leaks, a video andsome stills of MegastarChiranjeevi from his next withKoratala Siva have been doingrounds since Saturday evening.

This is the latest high-profile film project toface the problem of leakage. The film’s mak-ers have swung into action and managed toremove the video from different platformswhile the pictures continue to go viral. Fansof Chiru though were a happy lot, seeingtheir favourite hero in a commercial avatarafter a gap of three years.

Rumours are doing rounds indicate thatdirector Koratala Siva has asked MaheshBabu to play a key supporting role in thefilm. Yes, it is the same role that was con-ceived with Ram Charan in mind. While wedon’t what know what prompted the directorto consider Mahesh, the news about theactor’s participation in the film, a social-drama, is flying thick and fast. It seems hewas highly impressed with the part. Koratalaand Mahesh’s is a formidable combination,having delivered successful films likeSrimanthudu and Bharat Ane Nenu in thepast. Which is why, the buzz is stronger. Ifindeed this happens, nothing gets biggerthan this.

D

Chiru'slook fromhis nextleaked

Teja picks Rana for a social drama

THE NEWS ISA SHOCKERAS MAHESH

HADANNOUNCED

HIS NEXTWITH

PAIDIPALLYWHILE

PROMOTINGSARILERU

NEEKEVVARU

sport 12HYDERABAD | MONDAY | FEBRUARY 24, 2020

PTI n NEW DELHI

Jitender Kumar sealed his placein the Indian team for theOlympic Qualifiers with a

Silver medal at the AsianChampionship here on Sunday, aresult that could slam the TokyoGames door on veteran SushilKumar.

Two-time Olympic medallistSushil had skipped the continen-tal event citing an injury.

A Gold eluded India on thesecond day of the men’s freestylecompetition with Deepak Punia(86kg) and Rahul Aware (61kg)finishing with Bronze medals.

Up against Kazakhstan’sDaniyar Kaisanov, Jitendershowed tremendous defensiveskill, but was lacking in attack.The Indian lost 1-3 to the defend-ing champion.

However, his performancewas enough to convince thenational federation that he shouldtravel to Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan forthe Olympic Qualifiers, withouta re-trial.

It means that Sushil, who alsocompetes in 74kg, will have towait and see how Jitender fares inBishkek, where the finalists willdirectly qualify for the Tokyo

Games.If Jitender reaches the Gold

medal bout there, it will affect theprospect of Sushil, who has beenstruggling since the 2018 AsianGames.

If Jitender fails to seal anOlympic quota in Bishkek, thelast chance would be through aWorld qualifying event in April.

“I tried one move towards theend but could not execute itproperly, it could have got me theGold. There are improvements inthe my game and it could be seen.This Silver is special. Now I willtry harder to get Olympic quota,”said Jitender.

His attacking moves from adistance were not good enough toget a good grip on his rivals.Largely, he was defending fromstanding position.

In fact, in the semifinalagainst his Mongolian opponent,all three points were scored onpassivity and the bouts lackedflare.

Before that, Jitender had wonhis qualification bout rather eas-ily but just about managed to winhis following bouts against Iran’sMostafa Mohabbali Hosseinkhani(2-2) and Mongolia’s SumiyabazarZandanbud (2-1).

“We will not have trials in anycategory in men’s free style. Wewill see how our wrestlers per-form in Bishkek,” WrestlingFederation of India (WFI) pres-ident Brij Bhushan Sharan Singhsaid.

Much to the disappointmentof the home fans, world champi-onship Silver medallist Deepaklost his 86kg semifinal to Japan’sShutaro Yamada.

His style was identical toJitender’s and his moves from dis-

tance did not yield the desiredresult.

Against Yamada, the onlypoints he scored from a takedownwere removed after a successfulchallenge from his opponent’scamp.

In the fight forBronze against IssaA b d u l s a l a mAbdulwahhab AlObaidi, theIndian looked adifferent man,winning iteasily. Hedefated hisIraqi rivalby technicalsuperiority.

“I had nottrained enough becauseof an injury I sufferedduring training after Iarrived in India fromRussia. I had six stitchedjust above my right eye,”Deepak, who won a Silverat 2019 Worlds, said.

In the non-Olympic61kg category, Rahul,who won a Bronze atthe Worlds in NurSultan, paid the pricefor being overconfi-

dent as his unnecessary chal-lenges cost him dearly.

His movement was terrificand so were his attacks butuntimely challenges resulted inhim losing points in both thequarterfinal and semifinal.

In a fast-paced, high-scoringquarterfinal bout againstUzbekistan’s JahongirmirzaTurobov, Rahul won 11-9, large-ly because of his superior defence.

The Pune grappler lost hissemifinal to Kyrgyzstan’sUlukbek Zholdoshbekov 3-5.

He won Bronze afterdowning Iran’s Majid Almas

Dastan 4-2 in an excitingbout.

In the 125kg,Satender won his

qualification boutbut later lost hisqu ar te r f i n a land repechage

rounds.In the 92kg,

Somveer’s challenge last-ed just 24 secondsagainst his Uzbek rivalAjiniyaz Saparniyazov.

FURY CCRUSHES WWILDER IIN WWBC REMATCHLas Vegas: Tyson Fury reigns again as a heavyweightworld champion after battering Deontay Wilder to astunning seventh-round stoppage in their World BoxingCouncil title rematch. Fourteen months after theirdramatic split-decision draw, Britain's Fury dominatedthe American champion — who had blood drippingfrom his left ear and leaking from his mouth whenreferee Kenny Bayless called a halt as Wilder's cornerthrew in the towel. “The king has returned to the top ofthe throne,” said Fury, who had dropped Wilder in thethird and fifth rounds as he remained unbeaten whilehanding Wilder the first defeat of his career.

NISHIOKA RREACHES DDELRAY BBEACH FFINALMiami: Unseeded Yoshihito Nishioka of Japan ralliedfor a 1-6, 6-4, 6-0 victory over sixth-seeded UgoHumbert to reach the ATP Delray Beach final. Nishioka,apparently refreshed by a second rain delay, roaredthrough the final set to advance to his second careerfinal. He won his only prior title match at Shenzhen in2018.

THIEM TTHWARTED IIN BBID TTO PPASS FFEDERERRio De Janerio: World number four Dominic Thiem ofAustria missed a chance to reach a career-best third inthe ATP rankings with a Rio Open quarter-final loss toItaly's Gianluca Mager. Mager, a 128th-ranked qualifierplaying in only his eighth career tour-level match,defeated 2017 Rio champion Thiem 7-6 (7/4), 7-5 in amatch that was halted on Friday by rain. Had Thiemreached the semi-finals in his 2020 clay-court debut, hewould have overtaken Roger Federer for third inMonday's ATP rankings.

GOA TTO HHOST IISL FFINAL: NNITA AAMBANIMumbai: Margao in Goa will host the final match of thisseason's Indian Super League on March 14, FootballSports Development Limited's founding chairpersonNita Ambani said. The summit clash will be held at 7:30pm on March 14 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium atFatorda in Margao. “Goa deserves to host the ISL final.There is no denying that Goa loves its football and wewould like to bring the most crucial football event to thecity for the people of Goa,” Ambani said.

WINDIES RRECALL RRUSSELL FFOR SSL TT20SColombo: West Indies recalled big-hitting all-rounderAndre Russell for their upcoming T20I series against SriLanka. The 31-year-old Russell, who played a key partin the Windies' 2016 World T20 triumph, last playedinternationally at last year's 50-over World Cup and hasnot featured in a T20I since August 2018. ShimronHetmyer, who along with fellow batsman Evin Lewiswas left out of the ODI squad in Sri Lanka for failing tomeet minimum fitness requirements, is also back in thesquad. The Windies face Sri Lanka in two games inKandy on March 4 and 6.

HANSINI WWINS BBRONZE IIN IITTF EEVENTNew Delhi: In her maiden appearance at anInternational Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) juniorcircuit event, Chennai's table tennis prodigy, MathanRajan Hansini put up an impressive performance bybagging the Bronze medal in the Mini-Cadet Girls'Singles category at the Swedish Junior and Cadet Openin Orebro, Sweden. AGENCIES

SINGLES

BUDAPEST: Indian men’s doublespair of Achanta Sharath Kamaland Gnanasekaran Sathiyan set-tled for a Silver medal at the ITTFWorld Tour Hungarian Openafter losing the summit clash toGerman combination of BenediktDuda and Patrick Franziska.

The Indian pair, whichdefeated top seeds Ho Kwan Kitand Wong Chun Ting of HongKong 3-2 in the semi-finals, putup a strong effort in the summitclash but eventually went downfighting 5-11, 9-11, 11-8, 9-11 tothe 16th seeds German pair in a30-minute showdown onSaturday.

It is Sharath Kamal’s secondmedal from the prestigious tour-nament. He also won a Bronzewith Manika Batra in mixeddoubles. PTI

MARSEILLE: Stefanos Tsitsipas suc-cessfully defended his Marseille titleon Sunday with a straightforwardvictory over Felix Auger-Aliassime.

Greek star Tsitsipas eased to a6-3, 6-4 win to leave Felix still wait-ing for his maiden ATP title afterhis fifth final defeat.

Tsitsipas, who had arrived insouthern France with a 3-4 losingrecord this season, enjoyed anemphatic return to form as heclinched his fifth ATP trophy.

“I did well mentally,” saidTsitsipas. “I didn’t crack when I wasunder pressure.”

Auger-Aliassime would havebeen confident of finally ending hiswait for tournament success aftertwo wins from his three previousmeetings with Tsitsipas, but has stillfailed to even win a set in his five

Tour-level finals.“Playing a final is wonderful,

you have to have that perspective,remember that everything is goingin the right direction despite every-thing,” said Auger-Aliassime.

“It’s heavy, losing every time inthe final. There is a little doubt...when will it be my turn?”

World number six Tsitsipas,the ATP Finals champion, broke inthe third game and saved threebreak points to serve out the open-ing set. The second seed got thebetter of a run of three successivebreaks in the second set to move4-3 in front and only dropped onemore point on serve.

He will now travel to the UAEfor the Dubai C’ships, where he issecond seed behind number oneNovak Djokovic. AFP

Sharath, Sathiyan settle with Silver

Gnanasekaran Sathiyan & AS Kamal posewith the Silver medal Sharath/Twitter Stefanos Tsitsipas celebrates with the trophy after winning the men's singles final AP

Tsitsipas defends Marseille trophy

Jitender ensures place in Indian team for Olympic Qualifiers

Jitender Kumar in action against Kazakhstan Daniyar Kaisanov during 74 kg match PTI