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16
I ndia is likely to ink Rs 40,000 crore contract with Russia for five S-400 Triumf air defence missile systems before summit level talks between President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in October. The air defence missile systems can detect and destroy hostile targets, including air- craft, missiles and drones at a range of more than 400 kms and flying at an altitude of more than 35 kms. China has already started the process of induction of this Russian-built system. Beijing had signed a Government to Government deal for six S-400 missile systems in 2014. If the Indian contract comes through, the delivery of the systems will begin within 54 months from the date of signing, sources said here on Monday. Price negotiations between India and Russia were in the final stages, said sources, adding the proposed deal had figured during Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s talks with her Russian coun- terpart during her visit to Moscow last month. The two countries had signed an agreement in prin- ciple for the S-400 Triumf deal in 2016. Since then, negotia- tions were on between the official delegations of two defence ministries. The S-400 is an upgraded version of the S-300 systems. The missile system is manu- factured by Almaz-Antey and is in service in Russia since 2007. China was the first for- eign country to opt for this advanced air defence system and signed a contract for six such systems worth over three billion dollars. Turkey has also shown interest in the Russian missile system. The S-400 surface to air missile system comprises associated battle man- agement system of command post and launchers, acquisition and engagement radars besides all terrain transporter-erector- launcher vehicles. The Triumf system can fire three types of missiles and will enhance the air defence capa- bilities of India on the western border facing Pakistan and northern border with China. The missile air defence system can also detect and destroy incoming medium range ballistic missiles. The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) had given the approval for procurement of this air defence system in 2015. Putin- Modi summit in Goa in October 2016 gave the nod for a Government to Government deal for it. T he Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress has won about 35 per cent of seats unopposed in the panchayat elections scheduled for May 14 as Opposition candidates either were prevented from filing nominations or were forced to quit the poll battle. There has been pouring complaints of rampant pre- poll violence and obstruction in filing of nomination papers that had led to multiple law suits. As the time for withdraw- al of nomination ended on Saturday, the total number of seats won by Mamata Banerjee’s outfit — aided and abetted by her “seasoned gen- erals” like Anubrata Mondal, Subhendu Adhikary, et al — stood around 20,000 against the total number of 58,692, sources said. In 2013, the Trinamool had won over 10 per cent of the seats unopposed. Ten years before that, it was the Left that had won 11 per cent of the pan- chayat seats without contest. Trinamool goons’ violence and obstruction in filing nom- ination papers by aspiring Opposition candidates in Bengal had left more than 500 people injured and at least seven others dead. Not satisfied at the feat, Trinamool president of Birbhum district Anubrata Mondal said, “Even on the election day, people will see how Unnayan (Bengali equivalent for development) will stand on every road to greet them and the Opposition parties.” In Birbhum, not a single Zilla Parishad seat could be con- tested by Opposition parties. Apart from Mondal, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s Nandigram spearhead, former MP and present Minister Subhendu Adhikary had also announced a 5-crore reward for “any district party unit which will give him a Opposition-free board.” Reacting to the develop- ment, CPI(M)’s State secre- tary Suryakanto Mishra on Monday said, “In Bengal democracy has rotted. All elec- tion is won here with arms and muscle. Let us rely on the peo- ple. They will ultimately bring us justice.” Congress’ Adhir Chowdhury said winning 35 per cent seat unopposed amounted to “giving birth to chicken without eggs being hatched”. Earlier the BJP, which had paraded its injured candidates and workers in Delhi last week, said democracy is being mur- dered in Bengal by armed goons of the Chief Minister. “Was it not the same Mamata Banerjee, who had in 2011 said that she controlled goondas? Now, we can see what meant by that statement,” said Arunabha Ghosh, a senior advocate and a Congress leader. A fter a video went viral on the social media showing a teenage girl being molested and disrobed by a pack of youths in Bhartua village in Kako block of Jehanabad in Bihar, police swung into action and arrested four culprits on Monday. At least eight youths molested and stripped the minor while a few of them merrily filmed the gruesome act on their mobile phones. The girl was seen calling the molesters “brothers” and plead- ing with them to let her go. Police reached the spot after identifying a motorbike with its registration number and arrested four culprits. Patna Zonal Inspector General of Police Nayyar Hasnain Khan said, “Four peo- ple have been arrested in con- nection with the case. Faces of two youths have been matched with people in the video and other two were making the clip. Other four to five people have been named by them. Search operation is underway.” A Special Investigation Team led by Jehanabad SP has been constituted to arrest the culprits, said the Patna Zonal IGP on Monday. The SIT has filed an FIR under Sections 376 (rape), 511 (punishment of offences punishable with life) of the IPC and Section 8 (sexual assault) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO). The cyber- crime cell of the police has deleted the video from the social media. H izbul Mujahideen on Monday received a major jolt as security forces shot dead two terrorists, including top a commander who was on the list of most wanted terrorist — Sameer Ahmed Bhat, alias Sameer Tiger. The two were gunned down in fierce gunfight in Drabgam village of South Kashmir’s Pulwama district. A civilian too was killed when clashes erupted in the area as scores of people held protests and attempted to help terrorists break the cordon. Two Army soldiers were injured in the gunfight. Sources said on a specific input security forces cordoned off Drabgam village on Monday morning where Sameer, alias Tiger, was hiding along with his bodyguard Aqib Wani. Tiger had been active in the area for several years and security forces claim that he was involved in a number of killings, including last week’s fatal assault on BJP worker Ghulam Nabi Patel. During the initial bout of firing, two soldiers, including an offi- cer, were injured. Security forces described Tiger’s killing as a major success against Hizbul Mujahideen. I n a major revamp of the Mehbooba Mufti-led BJP- PDP alliance Government in Jammu & Kashmir, Assembly Speaker Kavinder Gupta and seven others were sworn-in as Ministers on Monday. Gupta is the new Deputy Chief Minister in place of Nirmal Singh, who submitted his resignation late on Sunday night. . BJP State unit chief Satpal Sharma and MLAs from Kathua and adjoining Sambha, Rajiv Jasrotia and Devinder Kumar Manyal, respectively figured in the BJP list of Ministers. Eight new Ministers were administered oath of office and secrecy on Monday. Detailed report on P6 H aryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal on Monday said that the State Government is making an arrangement for generating bio-gas from cattle dung and would also assist those gram panchayats who intend to set up gas plant in their villages. Manohar Lal while addressing the people after launching ‘GOBARDHAN’ (Galvanizing Organic Bio Agro Resources Dhan) scheme at national level from Karnal said that the objective of the scheme is to convert waste into gold by generating income for rural households from waste. Union Minister for Drinking Water and Sanitation, Uma Bharti, Union Minister of State for Drinking Water and Sanitation, SS Ahluwalia and Minister of State for Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs, Karan Dev Kamboj were also present on this occa- sion. The Chief Minister said that there are about 450 gausha- las and nandishalas in the state with strength of about 3.41 lakh cattle. While thanking the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Minister Uma Bharti for selecting Haryana for the launch of this scheme, the Chief Minister said that Prime Minister has given several schemes to the country and he has an objective behind every scheme. This scheme would not only ensure cleanliness but also help to double the income of farmers, said he. Manohar Lal said that 'GOBARDHAN' scheme has been conceptualize with an aim to convert waste into bio energy, gas and compost which would not only benefit the people but also maintain clean- liness in the villages. The Chief Minister while assuring Uma Bharti for the effective implementation of this scheme in the state said that the schemes which are launched from Haryana are always suc- cessful. We would get the scheme implemented successfully in the state and also send its report to the Centre, he added. While referring to the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao Scheme launched by Prime Minister from Panipat on January 22, 2015, Manohar Lal said that this campaign was also launched from Haryana and as a result of the effective implementation of this programme, the sex ratio in the state has increased from 850 to 914 and our target is to take this figure beyond 950. He added that Gram Swaraj Campaign has been launched in the state from April 14 to May 5 under which eight pro- grammes are being organised successfully. Scientists and representa- tives of 14 states were present on the occasion of launch of the scheme at Karnal. Lalu cries political con- spiracy after shifted out from AIIMS; AIIMS files complaint against Lalu's marauding supporters F our persons, including three school children, were killed while 15 others were injured — many of them seriously — when a school bus collided with a dumper in Charkhi Dadri district on Monday. The collision was so fierce that the front of the bus belong- ing to BSVN School at Bigova village, got completely shattered. The bus was on the way to drop the children back to their homes after school hours when the accident occurred. Few children were referred to the PGIMS in Rohtak in critical condition while others were admitted to the civil hospital in Charkhi Dadri town. According to the official figures till late evening, three kids and bus conductor had died due to the accident. The police said that the dri- ver of the dumper managed to flee the spot abandoning his vehicle. He has been booked under Sections 279 (rash dri- ving), 304 A (causing death by negligence), 337 (causing hurt by act endangering lives) and 427 (mischief causing damage) of the Indian Penal Code. In the past, around 40 peo- ple had lost their lives in sep- arate accidents involving school buses in Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. The road accident in Charkhi Dadri has once again raised questions regarding safe- ty of school kids in buses. F or lowering the din of cel- ebrations, the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) on Monday made it mandatory for the marriage palaces to limit the music vol- ume to the precincts of its palaces. Taking into consideration the matter relating to the noise generated by the playing of DJ system and other loud musical instruments in the open lawns of the marriage palaces con- tributing to the ambient air noise pollution, the Board has issued the advisory to the mar- riage palace owners and he DJ operators asking them to con- trol the “noise pollution” in the marriage palaces. The advisory was issued after the Board held a meeting with the Punjab State Marriage Palaces Associations and the DJ operators to apprise them about the noise pollution “generated by the playing of DJ systems and other loud musical instruments in the open lawns leading to var- ious ill effects on humans and animals”, said PPCB chairman Kahan Singh Pannu. “The high volume DJ sys- tems and other musical instru- ments in the open lawns of marriage palaces contribute to the ambient noise pollution which cause impulsive increase in the ambient air noise levels beyond the permissible stan- dards leading to inconvenience to the general public having deleterious effect on health of living beings and psychological well-being of the people,” point- ed Pannu adding that that was why the Board has decided to issue the advisory to all the marriage palace owners that DJ and any other loud sound pro- ducing musical systems shall be installed and played only inside the halls of marriage palaces. He added that the marriage palace owners and the DJ oper- ators have been advised “in pub- lic interest to set up and play DJ and other loud sound produc- ing musical systems only inside the halls of marriage palaces and the sound level of the DJ or loud speakers systems be kept at a level that it does not become available beyond the boundary limits of the marriage palaces”. The copy of advisory has also been sent to the Principal Secretary for Department of Science, Technology and Environment, the state Director General of Police, and all Deputy Commissioners, for necessary action. Besides, the Chief Engineers or Senior Environmental Engineers and Environmental Engineers of all Regional Offices of the Board have also been given the copy with a request that the same be handed over to all the marriage palace owners and DJ owners for information and necessary action. Pannu pointed that the noise has been defined under the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981, as an air pollutant which may tend to be injurious to the human beings and other living creatures if the levels of noise in the ambient air exceed the prescribed standards. “To maintain, regulate and control ambient air noise, the Union Government has notified the Noise Pollution (Regulation and Control) Rules, 2000, under the provisions of Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, and has prescribed the ambient air noise standards,” he added. Pannu further pointed that the Punjab Government, vide notification dated February 26, 2014, has notified the compre- hensive guidelines for the reg- ulation of noise or sound pol- lution and maintenance of ambient air quality standards.

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India is likely to ink Rs 40,000crore contract with Russia for

five S-400 Triumf air defencemissile systems before summitlevel talks between PresidentVladimir Putin and PrimeMinister Narendra Modi inOctober.

The air defence missilesystems can detect and destroyhostile targets, including air-craft, missiles and drones at arange of more than 400 kmsand flying at an altitude of morethan 35 kms.

China has already startedthe process of induction of thisRussian-built system. Beijinghad signed a Government toGovernment deal for six S-400missile systems in 2014. If theIndian contract comes through,the delivery of the systemswill begin within 54 monthsfrom the date of signing,sources said here on Monday.

Price negotiations betweenIndia and Russia were in thefinal stages, said sources,adding the proposed deal hadfigured during DefenceMinister Nirmala Sitharaman’s

talks with her Russian coun-terpart during her visit toMoscow last month.

The two countries hadsigned an agreement in prin-ciple for the S-400 Triumf dealin 2016. Since then, negotia-tions were on between theofficial delegations of twodefence ministries.

The S-400 is an upgraded

version of the S-300 systems.The missile system is manu-factured by Almaz-Antey andis in service in Russia since2007. China was the first for-eign country to opt for thisadvanced air defence systemand signed a contract for sixsuch systems worth over threebillion dollars. Turkey hasalso shown interest in the

Russian missile system.The S-400 surface to air

missile system comprisesassociated battle man-

agement system of commandpost and launchers, acquisitionand engagement radars besidesall terrain transporter-erector-launcher vehicles.

The Triumf system can firethree types of missiles and willenhance the air defence capa-bilities of India on the westernborder facing Pakistan andnorthern border with China.

The missile air defencesystem can also detect anddestroy incoming mediumrange ballistic missiles. TheDefence Acquisition Council(DAC) had given the approvalfor procurement of this airdefence system in 2015. Putin-Modi summit in Goa inOctober 2016 gave the nod fora Government to Governmentdeal for it.

���� �������� *=;*� �

The Mamata Banerjee-ledTrinamool Congress has

won about 35 per cent of seatsunopposed in the panchayatelections scheduled for May 14as Opposition candidates eitherwere prevented from filingnominations or were forced toquit the poll battle.

There has been pouringcomplaints of rampant pre-poll violence and obstruction infiling of nomination papers thathad led to multiple law suits.

As the time for withdraw-al of nomination ended onSaturday, the total number ofseats won by MamataBanerjee’s outfit — aided andabetted by her “seasoned gen-erals” like Anubrata Mondal,Subhendu Adhikary, et al —stood around 20,000 againstthe total number of 58,692,sources said.

In 2013, the Trinamoolhad won over 10 per cent of theseats unopposed. Ten yearsbefore that, it was the Left thathad won 11 per cent of the pan-chayat seats without contest.

Trinamool goons’ violence

and obstruction in filing nom-ination papers by aspiringOpposition candidates inBengal had left more than 500people injured and at leastseven others dead.

Not satisfied at the feat,Trinamool president ofBirbhum district AnubrataMondal said, “Even on theelection day, people will see howUnnayan (Bengali equivalentfor development) will stand onevery road to greet them andthe Opposition parties.”

In Birbhum, not a singleZilla Parishad seat could be con-tested by Opposition parties.

Apart from Mondal, ChiefMinister Mamata Banerjee’sNandigram spearhead, former

MP and present MinisterSubhendu Adhikary had alsoannounced a �5-crore rewardfor “any district party unitwhich will give him aOpposition-free board.”

Reacting to the develop-ment, CPI(M)’s State secre-tary Suryakanto Mishra onMonday said, “In Bengaldemocracy has rotted. All elec-tion is won here with arms andmuscle. Let us rely on the peo-ple. They will ultimately bringus justice.”

Congress’ AdhirChowdhury said winning 35per cent seat unopposedamounted to “giving birth tochicken without eggs beinghatched”.

Earlier the BJP, which hadparaded its injured candidatesand workers in Delhi last week,said democracy is being mur-dered in Bengal by armedgoons of the Chief Minister.

“Was it not the sameMamata Banerjee, who had in2011 said that she controlledgoondas? Now, we can seewhat meant by that statement,”said Arunabha Ghosh, a senioradvocate and a Congress leader.

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After a video went viral onthe social media showing a

teenage girl being molestedand disrobed by a pack ofyouths in Bhartua village inKako block of Jehanabad inBihar, police swung into actionand arrested four culprits onMonday.

At least eight youthsmolested and stripped theminor while a few of themmerrily filmed the gruesomeact on their mobile phones.The girl was seen calling themolesters “brothers” and plead-ing with them to let her go.

Police reached the spotafter identifying a motorbikewith its registration numberand arrested four culprits.

Patna Zonal InspectorGeneral of Police NayyarHasnain Khan said, “Four peo-ple have been arrested in con-nection with the case. Faces oftwo youths have beenmatched with people in

the video and other two weremaking the clip. Other four tofive people have been named bythem. Search operation isunderway.”

A Special InvestigationTeam led by Jehanabad SP hasbeen constituted to arrest the

culprits, said the PatnaZonal IGP on Monday.

The SIT has filedan FIR underSections 376 (rape),511 (punishment ofoffences punishable

with life) of the IPCand Section 8 (sexual

assault) of the Protection ofChildren from Sexual OffencesAct (POCSO). The cyber-crime cell of the police hasdeleted the video from thesocial media.

#��� �����!���� 4>�9� �>

Hizbul Mujahideen onMonday received a major

jolt as security forces shot deadtwo terrorists, including top acommander who was on thelist of most wanted terrorist —Sameer Ahmed Bhat, aliasSameer Tiger. The two weregunned down in fierce gunfightin Drabgam village of SouthKashmir’s Pulwama district.

A civilian too was killedwhen clashes erupted in thearea as scores of people heldprotests and attempted to helpterrorists break the cordon.Two Army soldiers wereinjured in the gunfight.

Sources said on a specificinput security forces cordoned

off Drabgam village on Mondaymorning where Sameer, aliasTiger, was hiding along with hisbodyguard Aqib Wani. Tiger

had been active in the area forseveral years and security forcesclaim that he was involved in anumber of killings, including

last week’s fatal assault on BJPworker Ghulam Nabi Patel.During the initial bout of firing,two soldiers, including an offi-cer, were injured.

Security forces describedTiger’s killing as a major success against HizbulMujahideen.

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In a major revamp of theMehbooba Mufti-led BJP-

PDP alliance Government inJammu & Kashmir, AssemblySpeaker Kavinder Gupta andseven others were sworn-in asMinisters on Monday.

Gupta is the new DeputyChief Minister in place ofNirmal Singh, who submittedhis resignation late on Sunday night. .

BJP State unit chief SatpalSharma and MLAs fromKathua and adjoining Sambha,Rajiv Jasrotia and DevinderKumar Manyal, respectivelyfigured in the BJP list ofMinisters. Eight new Ministerswere administered oath ofoffice and secrecy on Monday.

Detailed report on P6

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Haryana Chief MinisterManohar Lal on Monday

said that the State Governmentis making an arrangement forgenerating bio-gas from cattledung and would also assistthose gram panchayats whointend to set up gas plant intheir villages.

Manohar Lal whileaddressing the people afterlaunching ‘GOBARDHAN’(Galvanizing Organic Bio AgroResources Dhan) scheme atnational level from Karnal saidthat the objective of the schemeis to convert waste into gold bygenerating income for ruralhouseholds from waste.

Union Minister forDrinking Water and Sanitation,Uma Bharti, Union Minister ofState for Drinking Water andSanitation, SS Ahluwalia andMinister of State for Food,Civil Supplies and ConsumerAffairs, Karan Dev Kambojwere also present on this occa-sion.

The Chief Minister said

that there are about 450 gausha-las and nandishalas in the statewith strength of about 3.41 lakhcattle.

While thanking the PrimeMinister Narendra Modi andUnion Minister Uma Bharti forselecting Haryana for thelaunch of this scheme, theChief Minister said that PrimeMinister has given severalschemes to the country and hehas an objective behind everyscheme.

This scheme would notonly ensure cleanliness but alsohelp to double the income offarmers, said he.

Manohar Lal said that'GOBARDHAN' scheme hasbeen conceptualize with anaim to convert waste into bioenergy, gas and compost whichwould not only benefit thepeople but also maintain clean-liness in the villages.

The Chief Minister whileassuring Uma Bharti for theeffective implementation of thisscheme in the state said that theschemes which are launchedfrom Haryana are always suc-

cessful.We would get the scheme

implemented successfully inthe state and also send itsreport to the Centre, he added.

While referring to the BetiBachao Beti Padhao Schemelaunched by Prime Ministerfrom Panipat on January 22,2015, Manohar Lal said that thiscampaign was also launchedfrom Haryana and as a result ofthe effective implementation ofthis programme, the sex ratio inthe state has increased from 850to 914 and our target is to takethis figure beyond 950.

He added that Gram SwarajCampaign has been launched inthe state from April 14 to May5 under which eight pro-grammes are being organisedsuccessfully.

Scientists and representa-tives of 14 states were presenton the occasion of launch of thescheme at Karnal.

Lalu cries political con-spiracy after shifted out fromAIIMS; AIIMS files complaintagainst Lalu's marauding supporters

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Four persons, including threeschool children, were killed

while 15 others were injured —many of them seriously —when a school bus collidedwith a dumper in CharkhiDadri district on Monday.

The collision was so fiercethat the front of the bus belong-ing to BSVN School at Bigovavillage, got completely shattered.

The bus was on the way todrop the children back to theirhomes after school hours whenthe accident occurred. Fewchildren were referred to thePGIMS in Rohtak in criticalcondition while others wereadmitted to the civil hospital inCharkhi Dadri town.

According to the officialfigures till late evening, threekids and bus conductor haddied due to the accident.

The police said that the dri-ver of the dumper managed toflee the spot abandoning hisvehicle. He has been bookedunder Sections 279 (rash dri-ving), 304 A (causing death bynegligence), 337 (causing hurtby act endangering lives) and427 (mischief causing damage)of the Indian Penal Code.

In the past, around 40 peo-ple had lost their lives in sep-arate accidents involving schoolbuses in Himachal Pradeshand Uttar Pradesh.

The road accident inCharkhi Dadri has once againraised questions regarding safe-ty of school kids in buses.

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For lowering the din of cel-ebrations, the Punjab

Pollution Control Board(PPCB) on Monday made itmandatory for the marriagepalaces to limit the music vol-ume to the precincts of its palaces.

Taking into considerationthe matter relating to the noisegenerated by the playing of DJsystem and other loud musicalinstruments in the open lawnsof the marriage palaces con-tributing to the ambient airnoise pollution, the Board hasissued the advisory to the mar-riage palace owners and he DJoperators asking them to con-trol the “noise pollution” in themarriage palaces.

The advisory was issuedafter the Board held a meetingwith the Punjab State Marriage

Palaces Associations and the DJoperators to apprise them aboutthe noise pollution “generatedby the playing of DJ systems andother loud musical instrumentsin the open lawns leading to var-ious ill effects on humans andanimals”, said PPCB chairmanKahan Singh Pannu.

“The high volume DJ sys-tems and other musical instru-ments in the open lawns ofmarriage palaces contribute tothe ambient noise pollutionwhich cause impulsive increasein the ambient air noise levelsbeyond the permissible stan-dards leading to inconvenienceto the general public havingdeleterious effect on health ofliving beings and psychologicalwell-being of the people,” point-ed Pannu adding that that waswhy the Board has decided toissue the advisory to all themarriage palace owners that DJ

and any other loud sound pro-ducing musical systems shall beinstalled and played only insidethe halls of marriage palaces.

He added that the marriagepalace owners and the DJ oper-ators have been advised “in pub-lic interest to set up and play DJand other loud sound produc-ing musical systems only insidethe halls of marriage palaces andthe sound level of the DJ or loudspeakers systems be kept at alevel that it does not becomeavailable beyond the boundarylimits of the marriage palaces”.

The copy of advisory hasalso been sent to the PrincipalSecretary for Department ofScience, Technology andEnvironment, the state DirectorGeneral of Police, and allDeputy Commissioners, fornecessary action.

Besides, the ChiefEngineers or Senior

Environmental Engineers andEnvironmental Engineers ofall Regional Offices of theBoard have also been given thecopy with a request that thesame be handed over to all themarriage palace owners and DJowners for information andnecessary action.

Pannu pointed that thenoise has been defined underthe Air (Prevention and

Control of Pollution) Act, 1981,as an air pollutant which maytend to be injurious to thehuman beings and other livingcreatures if the levels of noisein the ambient air exceed theprescribed standards.

“To maintain, regulate andcontrol ambient air noise, theUnion Government has notifiedthe Noise Pollution (Regulationand Control) Rules, 2000, under

the provisions of Environment(Protection) Act, 1986, and hasprescribed the ambient air noisestandards,” he added.

Pannu further pointed thatthe Punjab Government, videnotification dated February 26,2014, has notified the compre-hensive guidelines for the reg-ulation of noise or sound pol-lution and maintenance ofambient air quality standards.

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Private schools and otherunaided educational insti-

tutes in Chandigarh will hence-forth have to declare theirincome and expenditure everyyear and will not be able toraise the fee arbitrarily or anytime during the academic ses-sion.

In a gazette notification,the Union Territory (UT) divi-sion of the Home Ministry alsosaid no part of income from theprivate schools shall be divert-

ed to any individual in the trustor school management com-mittee and it cannot indulge inprofiteering or charge capita-tion fee.

The notification came afterthe central government decid-ed to extend to Chandigarh, anUnion Territory, the PunjabRegulation of Fee of UnaidedEducational Institution Act,2016 with certain modifica-tions.

"Provided further thatevery unaided educationalinstitution shall (a) upload

income, expenditure accountand balance sheet on its web-site; (b) not charge any kind ofcost from the parents; (c) dis-close complete fee structure atthe beginning of the academ-ic year in the booklet issued,along with the admission form,by the schools and also be post-ed in its website (d) not raisethe fee any time during the aca-demic session," the gazettenotification said.

It was signed by addition-al secretary in the home min-istry P K Srivastava.

Being a union territory,Chandigarh comes under thedirect administrative control ofthe home ministry.

The notification also said

no part of the income fromunaided educational institu-tion shall be diverted to anyindividual in the trust or soci-ety or company or school man-agement committee or anyother person.

The savings, if any, aftermeeting the recurring andnon-recurring expenditure andcontributions to developmen-tal, depreciation and contin-gency funds may be utilised forpromoting the unaided educa-tional institutions concerned.

A private school or insti-tute shall be competent to fix itsfee and it may also increase thesame after taking into accountthe need to generate funds torun the institution and to pro-

vide facilities necessary for thebenefit of the students.

However, the increase infee will not exceed eight percent of the fee of the previousyear, it cannot indulge in prof-iteering and it cannot chargecapitation fee, the notificationsaid.

A regulatory body, witheducation secretary of theChandigarh administration asits chairperson and comprisingfive other members, will be setup to monitor the activities ofthe private schools and unaid-ed academic institutes.

If any private school orinstitute violates the provi-sions of the rules for the firsttime, it will be punishable with

fine, which may extend to Rs60,000 in the case of primarylevel, Rs 1,00,000 in the case ofmiddle level and Rs 2,00,000 inthe case of secondary andsenior secondary level.

If any private school orinstitute violates the provi-sions of the rules for the secondtime, it shall be punishable withfine of Rs 1,20,000 in case ofprimary level, Rs 2,00,000 formiddle level and Rs 4,00,000for secondary and senior sec-ondary level.

For violating the provi-sion the third time, the regu-latory body shall direct theauthority concerned to with-draw its recognition or affilia-tion.

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Celebrating 50 years of its continued excellence in education,MCM DAV College for Women on Monday hosted its annu-

al convocation. Jubilation marked the ceremony as over 1050 grad-uates and postgraduates received their degrees during the cer-emony.

Anurag Singh Thakur, Member of Parliament was the ChiefGuest while the Guest of Honour was R.K. Popli, Director PublicRelations, Chandigarh.

Principal of the college, Dr. Nisha Bhargava presented theannual report which provided glimpses of the achievements ofthe college during the academic year, including academic, sportsand cultural. Thakur gave them the mantra of 'Never give up' tolive by, which even Justice Mehr Chand Mahajan espoused, andmotivated the students to hold the baton of India's developmentand bring about qualitative change in the society and in the livesof those who do not have a voice. On this occasion, 55 facultymembers were also felicitated for their academic endeavoursincluding publication of books, research projects, paper pre-sentations at international level and completion of doctorate.

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National Bank forAgriculture and Rural

Development (NABARD) hasextended a record financialsupport of Rs 15,787 crore foragriculture and rural devel-opment in Haryana during thefinancial year 2017-18.

The support was extend-ed for providing financialassistance to farmers, ruralartisans, creation of ruralinfrastructure and procure-ment of foodgrains in thestate, said an off icialspokesman.

Refinance support of Rs7,975 crore was provided to the

banks in the state to meet shortterm and long term creditneeds of farmers for carryingout crop production and cap-ital formation in agricultureand rural economy, he said.

In addition, NABARDdisbursed Rs 508.27 crore tothe State Government todevelop rural infrastructuresuch as roads, bridges, drink-ing water schemes and irriga-tion schemes.

To enable the StateGovernment agencies in theprocurement of food grains,NABARD sanctioned Rs 3,900crore to HAFED and HSWCin the Kharif and Rabi mar-keting seasons of 2017-18.

NABARD also sanctioned aterm loan of Rs 55 crore forestablishing a Mega Food Parkat IMT Rohtak to HAFED, headded.

Giving more details, thespokesman said that to give aboost to the socio-economicdevelopment sector, NABARDsanctioned two watersheds inPanchkula district, 25 FarmerProducer Organisations(FPOs) and 51 Farmers clubsacross the state. Awarenesscampaigns on water conser-vation were organised in 4,953villages of the state throughvolunteers.

In order to empower ruralartisans and to give marketing

exposure, NABARD spon-sored 84 artisans to theSurajkund InternationalCrafts Mela 2018. TheRegional Office also releasedgrant assistance of Rs 14.11crore for strengthening ofbanking information tech-nology and for capacity build-ing as also financial inclusion,said he.

To promote start ups indifferent areas of agriculture,NABARD has sanctioned anAgri Business IncubationCentre at Chaudhary CharanSingh Haryana AgriculturalUniversity (CCSHAU), Hisarwith grant assistance of Rs11.75 crore, he added.

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Himachal chief minister JaiRam Thakur has laid the

foundation stone of develop-mental projects worth Rs 120crores in Kullu district duringlast two days.

Addressing a public meet-ing at Manu Rangshala, Manaliin Kullu district on Mondayafter launching ‘Senior CitizensInitiative’ of District Red CrossSociety, Thakur said the stategovernment was committedfor the welfare of the senior cit-izens and would ensure thatthey lead a respectable life.

He said that under thisscheme medical facilities wouldbe provided to the senior citi-zens. He said that on case of anymedical emergency ambulancewith doctor and other para-medical staff along with med-icine would visit the old personand provide them treatment.

The chief minister alsolaunched Mobile App for per-mits of ‘Rohtang Pass’ for thesmooth plying of vehicle toRohtang Pass. He also laidfoundation stone of‘Beautification of Mall RoadManali’. Under this schemethe historic Mall Road wouldbe beautified and would also bean added attraction of thetourists.

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Haryana Government hasdecided to adopt startup

ranking framework issued bythe Department of IndustrialPolicy and Promotion (DIPP),Government of India to under-take an exercise to assess stateon key areas of interventionsthat are germane to a healthystartup ecosystem.

The Chief MinisterManohar Lal has approved aproposal in this regard.

“It has been decided to cir-culate this framework to all thedepartments to provide docu-mentary evidence to Electronicand Information TechnologyDepartment regarding any ini-tiative taken by them againstseven parameters definedunder this framework,” said anofficial spokesman.

He said that the StateGovernment has launched theEntrepreneur and startup pol-icy during the Digital HaryanaSummit, 2017 with an aim totransform the state into aresourceful and inventive start-up hub, by supporting andassisting the new-age innova-tors and entrepreneurial talentsacross Haryana.

This initiative would helpbring to fore progress made bythe state for promoting startupecosystem, foster competitive-ness and propel the State towork proactively and facilitateto identify, learn and replicategood practices, the spokesmansaid.

He said that the frame-work is spread across sevenareas of interventions with atotal of 38 action points andoverall score of 100 marks.

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The government agencies inHaryana have procured

more than 78.91 lakh metrictonnes (MT) of wheat, surpass-ing the last year’s procurementof 74.25 lakh MT in the State.

While the state agencieshave so far procured over 78.91lakh metric tonnes, the tradershave procured 441 metric tonnesof wheat in the state, said aspokesman of Haryana Food,Civil Supplies and ConsumerAffairs Department.

Giving details of the wheatprocured by government agen-cies, he said that over 32.04 lakhMT has been procured byHaryana State Co-operativeSupply and MarketingFederation Limited (HAFED),whereas Food, Civil Suppliesand Consumer AffairsDepartment has purchasedmore than 23.37 lakh MT wheat.

He said that FoodCorporation of India has pur-chased over 9.55 lakh MT wheatand Haryana Warehousing

Corporation has purchased over13.94 lakh MT.

District Sirsa is leading inwheat arrival where over 10.27lakh MT of the wheat crop hasbeen procured followed by dis-trict Karnal, which recordedmore than 8.57 lakh MT wheatarrival, said a spokesman.

Similarly, over 7.14 lakhMT wheat have been procuredin Jind, more than 6.82 lakh MTin Kaithal, over 6.49 lakh MT inFatehabad, over 5.61 lakh met-ric tonnes in Kurukshetra, over5.15 lakh MT in Hisar, he added.

The spokesman further saidthat the Haryana StateCooperative Supply andMarketing Federation has so farpurchased over 1.44 lakh met-ric tonnes of mustard during thecurrent purchase season.

As many as 75,974 farmershave so far been benefited withthis purchase. Around 32,432.90MT of mustard has been pur-chased in Bhiwani, 6,190.42MT in Charkhi Dadri and3,836.60 metric tonnes inFatehabad, he added.

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Haryana Government onMonday clarified that in

case no candidate is foundsuitable for appointment ingroup A and B category posts,the vacancies reserved for Ex-Servicemen (ESM) of a partic-ular category will be filledfrom amongst the same cate-gory candidates.

For instance, if suitablecandidate belonging toScheduled Castes of ESM cat-egory is not available, then thepost can be filled up fromamongst the candidates ofScheduled Castes, said an offi-cial spokesman.

The same criteria would befollowed in other categories, he

said.A letter in this regard was

issued by the Chief Secretary’soffice to all AdministrativeSecretaries, Head ofDepartments, DeputyCommissioners among othersenior officers.

The spokesman said thatgovernment had prescribedfive per cent horizontal reser-vation in class I and II postswide Welfare of Scheduled

Castes and Backward ClassesDepartment instructions datedFebruary 22, 2017.

A clarification had beensought by some departmentsand organisations that in a sit-uation where no ESM candi-date is found suitable as to howis the reservation to be applied.

The same issue was raisedin context of horizontal reser-vation for Group C and D postsand government had clarifiedvide instructions dated July 2,2010 and instructions datedMay 23, 2014 that in a situationwhere no ESM candidate isfound suitable, the vacanciesreserved for ESM of a particu-lar category will be filled fromamongst the same vertical cat-egory candidates, he added.

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Punjab Rural Developmentand Panchayat

Department’s panchayat secre-taries and other employeeshave announced to end theirstrike after approval of theirgenuine demands by the StateGovernment.

The state Minister in-charge Tript Rajinder SinghBajwa, in the presence of thetop officials of the department,held a meeting with the repre-

sentatives of the PanchayatSamiti and the Zila ParishadEmployees Association anddecided to approve thedemands of the employees.

After the meeting, theMinister offered a glass of juiceto the protesting employeeswho immediately called offtheir strike.

The Panchayat Samiti andZila Parishad employeesincluding Panchayat Secretary,Superintendent, PanchayatOfficer, Tax Collector, Samiti

patwari and other employeeswere on strike due to theirdemands related to variousissues.

As per the decision takenby the Panchayat Minister andthe Department officials, thepending salaries up to March31, 2018, would be releasedwithin a month.

To pay the salaries of theemployees of Panchayat Samitiand Zila Parishad employeesthrough the government trea-sury, the case for approval

would be sent to the FinanceDepartment within a monthand to implement pensionscheme for the employees ofPanchayat Samiti and ZilaParishad who were recruitedfrom January 1, 2004, to July 8,2012, the case would be sent tothe Finance Department forapproval within a month, saidthe spokesperson.

Spokesperson said thatanother important issue relat-ed to the promotion ofPanchayat officers and super-

intendent to the post of BlockDevelopment Officers, theefforts would be made to com-plete the entire process withina month as the Minister hadalready directed the officers andthe process is on the fast track.

It was also decided toinclude the representatives ofemployees associations in thedelegation which would takeup various issues with theFinance Department relatedto the demands of the employ-ees.

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Haryana Chief MinisterManohar Lal on Monday

said that so far, 4.55 lakh com-plaints have been received onthe CM Window, out of which3.5 lakh have been redressed.

“The CM Window wasstarted to resolve the problemsof the people of the state,” saidthe Chief Minister after inau-gurating the newly built bus-stand at Karnal.

He said the people ofKarnal lodged 22,444 com-plaints at CM Window out ofwhich 21,533 had been suc-cessfully settled till date. About600 complaints are still pend-ing and out of these, 350 lackcomplete details, said he.

The Chief Minister said thepresent government is strivinghard for the betterment of thestate and the opposition cannotraise any big issue against us.

In 2014, the state’s budgetaggregated Rs 60,000 crore,whereas now it has been almostdoubled to Rs 1.15 lakh crore

in 2018, he added.

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The Chief Ministerannounced that open gymswould be established in 100parks of the state to enablepeople to keep fit and healthy.

In this series, 401vyayamshalas will be inaugu-rated on May 5. Out of these,12 are located in Karnal, saidhe.

It was due to the initiativeof the Prime MinisterNarendra Modi, that yoga gotrecognition at the interna-tional level and June 21 wasbeing observed asInternational Yoga Day. Yogashould be performed by everyindividual to keep the balancebetween mind and body, headded.

The Chief Minister alsosaid that players from Haryanahad brought laurels in sportsat the international level. ThePrime Minister had given theslogan ‘Fit India’ and everyone

should keep one’s bodyhealthy.

We can manage to savecrores of rupees to be incurredon medical services if wemaintain good health. Keepingthis in view, the government isexpanding the base of gyms,parks and stadias, he said.

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Manohar Lal said that theprocess for setting up 18 med-ical colleges has already beenset in motion and four suchcolleges will soon be estab-lished in the state.

He said that these medicalcolleges will produce 2,000doctors every year.

Kalpana Chawla MedicalCollege had been established inKarnal.

The present governmentplans to open one medical col-lege in every district to meetthe shortage of doctors.Doctors will soon be recruitedin the Kalpana Chawla MedicalCollege, he added.

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Punjab Government onMonday decided to give

Rs 68.44 lakh compensationfor the damage of wheatcrop in the area of 793acres.

Taking a serious note ofthe substantial loss to stand-ing Rabi wheat crop due tovarious incidence of fireacross the State, the ChiefMinister Capt AmarinderSingh has directed thePunjab State PowerCorporation Limited(PSPCL) and the RevenueDepartment to immediate-ly assess the damage and

disburse the compensation,said state FinancialCommissioner Revenue,Vini Mahajan.

She said that the StateGovernment is fully alive tothe urgency of awardingcompensation to the farm-ers whose standing wheatcrop has been gutted by fire.

In compliance with thedirections, RevenueDepartment is extendingcompensation regardingdamage caused to the wheatcrop by fire due to reasonsother than electrical shortcircuit or sparking, she said.

Mahajan said that theDepartment has already

sanctioned compensationworth Rs 3.05 lakh for casesof Mansa and Tarn Tarandistricts involving damagein 220 kanals.

Besides, cases of 15 dis-tricts involving damage to550 acres of land are underprocess which involvessanction of more than Rs 46lakh, she said adding thatcompensation to the tune ofRs 8,000 per acre is pro-vided in case of loss to cropdue to fire caused byunknown reasons.

Principal Secretary,Local Government, AVenuprasad, who also holdsthe charge of PSPCL chair-

man-cum-managing direc-tor, informed that PSPCLcompensates loss of cropson account of fire due toshort circuiting or sparkingof electrical fitments.

Venuprasad said that asper the reports receivedfrom the field offices up toApril 27, 2018, the com-pensation is to be paid byPSPCL for 243 acres which

tentatively works out to beRs 19.44 lakhs. The amounthas been sanctioned and isin the process of disburse-ment to the farmers, hesaid.

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The issue of “deletion” ofSikh chapters from the

Punjab School EducationBoard’s history books hasbecome a hot potato with theruling Congress and the SAD-BJP combine continue toengage in war of words overthe issue on Monday.

While the Chief MinisterCapt Amarinder Singh coun-tered the opposition parties’“unfounded claims” with hardfacts pointing that the deci-sion was taken in 2014 duringthe Akali’s regime, the SAD setthree-day deadline for thegovernment on the issue.

Meanwhile, SAD’s ally —the Bharatiya Janata Party —finally break its silence toslam the ruling party anddemanding to revert the deci-sion of deletion of chaptersbesides tendering an unqual-ified apology to assuage thefeelings of the people.

Chief Minister, taking onthe Opposition over the issueof Sikh Gurus in school his-tory books, trashed their “vile”allegations while warningthem against harming thestate’s interests by playing pol-itics on an issue involving reli-gious sentiments and sensi-tivities.

Mincing no words in lam-basting the SAD presidentSukhbir Badal for his baselessstatements on the issue, CaptAmarinder said that it had thepotential to disturb the peaceand harmony of the state.

AT the same time, he alsocondemned the principal

opposition — Aam AadmiParty (AAP) — for joining thevilification campaign againstthe government without both-ering to verify the facts of thematter.

Lashing out at the partiesand their leaders for theirshameless and reckless state-ments, Capt Amarinderexpressed shock at their bla-tant efforts to mislead the peo-ple of the state. “In theprocess, they are also playingwith the careers and lives ofschool children by draggingthem into a needless contro-versy,” he added.

Countering the opposi-tion’s “unfounded” claims,Capt Amarinder pointed outthat it was during the Akalisregime, in 2014, when thedecision to realign the cours-es with the NCERT syllabuswas taken. Further, the SGPCwas party to all the discussionson the issue since his govern-ment took over in March lastyear, he said.

“It was on January 9, 2014,that an expert committee wasproposed to be set up to dis-cuss the issue of realignmentand to finalise the historysyllabus from Class IX to XII,”said the Chief Minister,adding that the subject wasdiscussed by the committeeover a series of meetings heldthereafter, with inputs takenfrom the Director (NCERTAssistant professor).

He said: “The syllabus,thus, finalized was uploadedon the Board’s website inMarch 2014. The SGPC hadthen objected to the syllabus

finalized for Class IX in 2015,while there was no consensusachieved on the course forother classes. Eventually, afterre-doing the syllabus, thebooks for Classes IX and Xwere published by the Boardin 2016, and those of ClassesXI and XII were decided to bepublished in 2018.”

Chief Minister furtherdisclosed that soon after tak-ing over the state’s reins, hisgovernment had written to theSGPC in March 2017 for dis-cussion on the issue of theHistory course realignment,given the sensitive nature ofthe subject.

“In response, the SGPChad deputed Prof ParamveerSingh of Panjabi University,Patiala, who attended all themeetings held to deliberate onthe matter,” said CaptAmarinder, flaying SGPCchief Gobind SinghLongonwal for “deliberatelyhiding the real facts on theissue for the sake of promot-ing his vested political ambi-tions”.

Capt Amarinder said thatcontrary to what was beingwillfully wrongly projectedby the Opposition as well asthe SGPC, his governmenthad taken every precaution, inthe process of the syllabusrealignment, to ensure thatthere is no dilution of Sikhreligious history in the coursestudy.

Nailing the Opposition’slies on the issue, the ChiefMinister said that Class XIhistory book they were citingand quoting in support oftheir allegations had not evenbeen printed yet. “Theircharges that the chapters onthe Sikh Gurus were missingfrom the books were an obvi-

ous lie which they were tryingto peddle as a truth with theirfalse propaganda,” he added.

Capt Amarinder made itclear that the entire history ofthe Sikh Gurus has beenretained in the realigned syl-labus, with no cutting orpruning done. The chaptersand materials on Sikh historyhad been organized in a morecohesive format for ease oflearning, across Classes XIand XII, he added.

Following the realign-ment, the entire period fromGuru Nanak Dev to GuruGobind Singh, and martyr-dom of the four Sahibzadas,are now being taught in ClassXI in a coherent manner, hesaid, adding that the history ofthe four Sahibzadas had beenincorporated on his personalrecommendation, he said.

In fact, also on his per-sonal suggestion, the Class Xhistory has now incorporatedinformation on the SargarhiBattle and the noted SikhGeneral Sham SinghAttariwala, he added.

Clarifying that the entireperiod of Sikh history is nowbeing taught at the secondaryand senior secondary levels,the Chief Minister pointed outthat the outline of any syllabusprepared by a Board orUniversity is based on themesand not chapters. The chaptersare created by printers andpublishers as per their ownchoice and convenience, hesaid, trashing the Opposition’sclaims on reduction in chap-ters on the Sikh Gurus.

“I have personally soughta detailed mapping of the oldsyllabus of Class XI in newsyllabus for Class XII andalso of the old syllabus ofClass XII in new syllabus for

Class XI. Both clearly showedthat not a single piece ofinformation on the Sikh his-tory or the Sikh Gurus hadbeen dropped in the processof realignment,” he said.

Capt Amarinder pointed,“What is more, to ensure thatthere is no mutilation of Sikhhistory and culture, the gov-ernment has handed over thetask of printing of these booksto the PSEB, which was earli-er not involved in the process,leaving it to the private pub-lishers to print the books andsell them at exorbitant prices.”

With PSEB taking over theprinting of history books, notonly has the cost come downto less than one-fourth but theauthenticity of the content isalso assured, he said.

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SAD on Monday decidedto hold a meeting of its corecommittee on May 3 to for-mulate an action plan to forcethe Congress government tore-insert all 23 “deleted” chap-ters related to the era of theSikh Gurus back into thetwelfth standard history bookof the Punjab SchoolEducation Board (PSEB).

SAD president SukhbirBadal, presiding over a partymeeting, took serious notice ofthe Congress government’sefforts to belittle and insult therich glorious history of theSikh Gurus as well as attemptsto cover up this perfidythrough lies and skullduggery.

Former EducationMinister Daljit Singh Cheemasaid that instead of admittingthe “gross mistake”, banningthe new book and reprintingthe Class XII book with theold chapters, Chief Minister

was trying to deceive Punjabisby stating that these chaptershad been shifted to the edu-cation board’s Class XI histo-ry book.

“The entire syllabus aswell as chapter wise contentsof the Class XI book are avail-able on the internet and it doesnot contain 23 detailed chap-ters on the era of the SikhGurus. It has only five chaptersdevoted to Sikh history whichmerely give a brief overview ofthe period and are not adetailed and focused study ofthe great Gurus. This makes itclear that EducationDepartment officials have mis-led the Chief Minister who hasgone by their word instead ofordering an inquiry into theentire issue,” Cheema added.

“It is of prime importanceto re-induct all deleted chap-ters in the Class XII historybook as it occupied greateremphasis in a student’s careercompared to Class XI. We willcome out with an action planto ensure the contributionsmade by our great Gurus arenot ignored in the land oftheir birth and the Congressgovernment does not succeedin its bid to remove our his-tory from our history books,”he added.

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Slamming the Congressparty and its government ledby Capt Amarinder Singh fordeletion of chapters pertain-ing to Sikh history fromschool history books, BJP hasasked Capt Amarinder andEducation Minister to revertthe decision of deletion ofchapters and tender anunqualif ied apology to

assuage the feelings of thepeople.

BJP national secretaryTarun Chugh said that theCongress was continuing withits agenda of imposing andpatronizing British slaveryand left ideology even after 70years of independence.

“The Congress govern-ment is playing with the sen-timents of the people as it ishell bent on hitting the orig-inal culture and pride ofIndian history by ignoring ordeleting chapters related toSikh Gurus from the historybooks meant for school stu-dents,” he said.

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Lashing out at the Akalisover the disinformation cam-paign unleashed by them onthe issue of school historybooks, Punjab SchoolEducation Minister OP Sonidemanded SAD presidentSukhbir Badal’s resignationin the wake of the ChiefMinister’s detailed rebuttal tohis baseless allegations.

Capt Amarinder had notonly taken on Sukhbir’s chal-lenge but had gone a stepahead to expose the lies hehad been branding about forthe last couple of days, saidSoni, adding that the detailedmapping of the syllabus ofClasses IX and XII released bythe Chief Minister clearlyshowed that there was nodeletion or dilution of the his-tory of the Sikh Gurus in theschool syllabus.

Soni expressed shock atthe brazen attempt of theAkalis to politicize a sensitiveissue like religion, saying thatthe Badals had once againproved that they could stoop

to any lows to promote theirvested personal interests.

Further ridiculing theAkalis for seeking to take ahigh moral ground aboutschool text books after allow-ing such books to be used topromote vulgarity during theirown regime, Soni recalled2013 controversy surroundingschool books by private sup-pliers, said to have been hand-picked by the then EducationMinister Sikander SinghMaluka.

“Those books had to bewithdrawn after they werefound not only to be full oferrors but to be making vul-gar and sexist remarks aboutwomen,” he pointed out.

Given the fact that thosebooks had been approved bya panel of five officials of theerstwhile SAD-BJP regime,the Akalis were the last peo-ple who could be said to bequalified to judge the qualityor standards of any schoolbooks, said Soni.

Soni said that the incidenthad also exposed the total lackof quality control on text booksby private publishers, who hadbeen entrusted with the task ofprinting of all History books,and were selling these books atexorbitant costs.

The Captain Amarindergovernment had, for the firsttime, handed over the task ofprinting the History books tothe PSEB, which was earliernot involved in the process,the Education Minister point-ed out, adding that thisreflected the government’scommitment to ensuring thatthere is no mutilation of Sikhhistor y or culture. Theauthenticity of the contentwill now be ensured with thismove, he added.

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The Indian National Lok Dal (INLD)and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP),

which recently announced their alliancefor 2019 parliamentary and assemblypolls in Haryana, have geared to joint-ly launch ‘Jail Bharo Andalon’ from May1 in Bhiwani to press for the demandof construction of Sutlej Yamuna Link(SYL) canal.

Prominent state leaders of INLD-BSP combine will participate during ‘JailBharo Andolan’ to protest against theBJP led Central and State Governments’inaction on the SYL canal issue andwould demand its construction.

The INLD-BSP, during their jointprotest, will also raise the issues includ-ing implementation of Swaminanthanreport, construction of Dadupur Nalviirrigation project, compensation forfarmers affected due to damage tostanding wheat crops due to fire inci-dents, loan waiver for farmers.

The very next day, the alliance part-ners will meet on May 2 at Kurukshetraduring the INLD’s state executive com-mittee meeting to chalk out a strategyto launch an agitation against theManohar Lal Khattar Government inHaryana.

“The INLD-BSP has geared up forthe statewide protest ‘Jail Bharo

Andolan’ which will begin from May 1in Bhiwani. The party leaders andworkers of INLD and BSP will courtarrest to raise the issues related to thefarmers,” said Leader of opposition inHaryana Assembly and INLD’s seniorleader, Abhay Singh Chautala onMonday.

Hitting out at the ruling BJP,Chautala said that the BJP led Centraland Haryana Governments are delib-erately delaying the construction of SYLcanal. We will launch ‘Jail BharoAndalon’ from Bhiwani to raise ourdemand and will hold the protest inother districts also, he added.

Abhay Chautala has written to allsarpanches, panches, traders’ associa-tions and farmers organizations urging

them to extend their support to party’s‘Jail Bharo Andalon’.

After the agitation at Bhiwani, the‘Jail Bharo Andolan’ will be held on May4 in Yamunanagar, May 8 in Nuh, May11 in Sirsa, May 15 in Narnaul, May18 in Kurukshetra, May 22 inFatehabad, May 25 in Palwal and May29 in Kaithal.

Upping the ante against the rulingBJP on SYL canal issue, the INLD hadorganized Kisan Sammelan in thenational capital on March 7.

Last year also, the INLD had helda series of protests including blockingthe national highway near Ambala andfour other highways in Haryana, anoth-er protest at Haryana-Punjab borderand at Jantar Mantar in the national cap-

ital to demand construction of SYLcanal.

About INLD’s executive committeemeeting to be held on May 2, Chautalasaid that BSP state leaders will alsoattend this meeting. The INLD-BSP willchalk out strategy to launch an agitationagainst the ruling BJP on the issues ofdeteriorating law and order situation,scams and BJP’s anti-farmer and anti-people policies, said he.

The incidents of heinous crimesagainst children are increasing inHaryana and unfortunately, the StateGovernment has failed to curb suchincidents. The INLD-BSP combine willdiscuss this issue at the meeting on May2, he added.

Eyeing political revival after beingout of power since 2005, the INLD hadrecently announced to join hands withthe BSP for 2019 crucial polls.

The INLD had already announcedthat on return to power in Haryana, theloans of the farmers would be waivedoff and the agriculture related electric-ity bills would not only also waived buttheir domestic bills too would behalved.

The party has also promised imple-mentation of Swaminathan report,withdrawal of denotification order ofDadupur Nalvi irrigation project andconstruction of SYL canal.

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Haryana Transport Minister KrishanLal Panwar on Monday said that bus-

stands located in the middle of towns willbe shifted out and developed in a mod-ern way in the state.

Besides, 650 new buses will be addedto the fleet of Haryana Roadways, includ-ing 150 mini-buses, in 2018-19, saidPanwar while addressing a gathering afterinauguration of the new bus-stand in thepresence of Chief Minister Manohar Lal,in Karnal

The Minister said that 150 buses,including Volvo, will also be started tofacilitate the passengers the comfort ofair-conditioned travel at nominal rates.The department has got fabricated 40

such buses on pilot basis and this projecthas been successful, he said.

As many as 600 new buses had beenadded to the fleet of Haryana Roadwaysin 2017-18, he added.

Panwar said 22 training schools hadbeen made operational in the state.

He also said Volvo buses plyingbetween Delhi and Chandigarh wouldstop at Karnal to facilitate the passengers.The department is also consideringbuilding new bus-stands in Faridabad andGurugram where facilities like mallwould also be provided, the Minister.

The bus-stands of Gurugram,Faridabad, Panipat, Sonipat andFatehabad are also located in the middleof the town and efforts are being madeto shift them out, Panwar added.

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Union Minister for DrinkingWater and Sanitation, Uma

Bharti on Monday said that asolution has been found for theplastic and polythene waste asit can be utilized for the con-struction of roads.

The Union Minister wastalking to the mediapersonsafter the launch of CentralGovernment’s GOBARDHANscheme from Karnal inHaryana.

Bharti said the scheme

focused on managing and con-verting cattle dung and solidwaste from farms and fields touseful compost, biogas andbio-CNG.

Bio-gas plants from cattledung will be set up at individ-ual or community level and alsoat the level of self help groups(SHGs) and NGOs likeGaushalas. This will help inkeeping the villages clean andgenerate energy while increas-ing the income of farmers andcattle herders, she said.

It will encourage the farm-

ers to start looking at dung andother waste not just as waste butas a source of income, sheadded.

The Union Ministerexpressed the confidence that asHaryana had done best in theBachao–Beti Padhao campaign,it would also be in the forefrontin the implementation of theGOBARDHAN scheme.

In response to queries inrespect to the declining groundwater level in some areas ofHaryana and Punjab, she saidthat some of these areas had

come under the dark zone andwe are hopeful that Haryanawould work to emerge out ofthis problem.

She further said that PrimeMinister i has called for achange in the country and thischange should also be accept-ed. While referring to SwachhBharat Abhiyan, she said thatfew areas have become hundredper cent free from open defe-cation. But we have to takethese areas towards ODF plusso as to make these areas clean-er, she added.

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Heat wave continuedunabated in Haryana and

Punjab on Monday withNarnaul being the hottestplace in the two states, record-ing a maximum of 44.3degrees Celsius, which wasfive notches above normallevel.

Chandigarh, the jointcapital of Punjab and Haryanasettled at maximum temper-ature of 40 degree Celsius,three degrees above normalwhile Punjab’s holy cityAmritsar recorded maximumtemperature at 42.1 degreeCelsius, up by five degreesfrom normal.

A Met official said thattemperature levels settled

above normal in various partsof the region.

In Haryana, Hisar andBhiwani recorded a high of42.7 degrees and 41.8 degreesrespectively.

Karnal and Ambala set-tled at maximum of 39.5degrees and 39.4 degreeCelsius respectively.

In neighboring Punjab,Patiala and Ludhiana record-ed respective maximum tem-peratures at 41.2 degrees and41.4 degree Celsius.

The union territory ofChandigarh settled at mini-mum temperature of 23.1degrees, which was twonotches above normal. Theminimum temperaturerecorded in Ambala was 26.2degree Celsius, Hisar 23.2degrees, Karnal 23.8 degreeCelsius, Amritsar recorded20.8 degree Celsius, Ludhiana21.4 degrees and Patiala 25degree Celsius.

According to the MetDepartment forecast, light tomoderate rain is likely at a fewplaces on May 2 and 3 inPunjab and Haryana.

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To have a first-hand knowl-edge of the ground realities

aimed at carrying out reformsin the jail department, PunjabJail Minister Sukhjinder SinghRandhawa has convened ameeting of the higher officialsas well as al l JailSuperintendents on May 1,Tuesday.

The meeting would see theattendance by the higher offi-cers of the department includ-ing ADGP Jails, IG Jails, DIGsof ranges and all the jail super-intendents.

Spokesperson said that theMinister, after assuming thecharge, had visited PatialaCentral Jail recently and wouldbe apprised of the functioningof the entire departmentthrough the meeting whichwould be held at Markfedoffice in Chandigarh.

The meeting was called aday after four mobiles, 31 cig-arette packets, illicit liquorwas found in inside thepremises of Amritsar CentralJail.

However, instances ofrecovering mobile phones andother prohibited materialshave come to light time andagain from the jail inmates.Only recently, the jail author-ities had recovered 1,790 bun-dles of cigarettes, 32 packets oftobacco and two mobilephones during a search oper-ation.

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Taking strong notice of vio-lence in the name of cow

vigilantism, Punjab AnimalHusbandr y, Dair yDevelopment and LabourMinister Balbir Singh Sidhuon Monday said that thesekinds of nefarious activities onthe name of cow protectionwould not be tolerated in thestate.

If anyone found indulgingin taking law in his hands, hewould have to face sternaction according to the law,said Sidhu after the meeting ofofficers of Animal Husbandryand Labour Department.

Sidhu said that if anyonefound guilty of harming theinterest of the farmers on thename of cow protection, suchany social elements would bebrought to book.

Prior to this, Sidhu

reviewed various ongoingschemes and projects of therespective Departments andinstructed the concerned offi-cials to complete the projectsin stipulated time.

He said that theDepartment will developindigenous breed of Sahiwalcows because this breed ismore familiar in this atmos-phere. “If we are successful inproducing 30 to 32 kilogrammilk from a cow every day, itwould be helpful in manyways to enhance the income ofthe farmers,” he said whileadding that the StateGovernment is committed toprotect the rights of the dairyfarmers.

Sidhu also directed theofficials to speed up distribu-tion of funds. “I will reviewthe compliance of the ordersin a separate meeting in fewdays,” he said.

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Haryana Space ApplicationCentre (HARSAC) has

developed a mobile applicationfor reporting of crop residueburning cases in the state.

“Any officer or official oranybody from the public wouldbe able to use this app forreporting the incidence of cropresidue burning anywhere inHaryana,” said an officialspokesman

The application could bedownloaded by using link(hrsdi.in-Active Crop FireLocation - > Download AFL),he said.

He added that the initiativewould minimize the toxic smogin or around the state andthereby would minimize therespiratory diseases due to this.

Recently, the stateEnvironment Department hadinitiated action to prevent theburning of wheat residue in the

fields. So far, 35 cases have beenregistered in the state and apenalty of Rs 27,500 has beenimposed on the farmersengaged in burning of cropresidues.

Last year, 1,147 cases ofburning of wheat remains werereported in which Hisar, Jind,Karnal, Sirsa and Sonipat wereahead with burning cases of201, 117, 251, 174 and 193respectively.

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The final push for the battleof Karnataka, where

Congress is seeking an encoreand BJP is trying hard toregain its Southern basin thatit won in 2008 but lost in 2013,is set to commence fromTuesday when Prime MinisterNarendra Modi would starthis whirlwind poll campaignto give his party a leg-up in theneck-and-neck contest.

Pre-poll surveys suggestthat the contest may be atouch-and-go affair with boththe major parties — Congressand BJP — making all-outefforts to surge ahead of eachother and inch towards themajority figure of 113 seats.The third party in the fray JDS,which had 40 seats in the out-going Assembly, expects toplay the role of a king-makerin the State.

BJP, which sees Karnatakapoll as a high test of its pop-ularity and the last nail on thecoffin of Congress ahead of

2019 Lok Sabha polls, hashinged its hopes on Modi’ssway with the Karnataka elec-torate. Modi is expected toaddress a minimum of 16 pub-lic rallies at district levels rightupto the end of campaignuntil May 10.

BJP has high expectationsfrom the Prime Minister tobring about an all-importantswing of one or two per cent byway of his aggressive cam-

paigning which could take theparty ahead in the race to thetouch line.

Besides Modi, BJP chiefAmit Shah and Uttar PradeshCM Yogi Adityanath - will alsocriss-cross the state to create afavourable wave in favour ofthe party. While Shah hasbeen almost camping in thestate for last one month, UPCM may address 15 to 20 ral-lies in the state.

Modi may be focusing onthe “divisive politics” playedout by the Congress in the stateby recommending thatLingayats - constituting 17 percent - be accorded minoritystatus away from Hindu reli-gion.

With just about 12 days togo for the Assembly polls inKarnataka, as Siddaramaiah’sLingayat card has queered thepitch for the BJP, the saffronparty is taking the battle to theChief Minister’s own turfthrough aggressively wooinghis castemen - the OtherBackward Classes (OBC) -andseeking to puncture his AHIN-DA credentials. AHINDA is aKannada acronym for minori-ties, backward classes andDalits.

JDS has some tacticalunderstanding with the BJPwhich may be extended in thepost-poll scenario. TheCongress, however, is confidentthat it would return to poweras anti-incumbency is notweighing heavily against theSiddaramaiah Government.

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Taking a dig at Pakistanwhich had been resorting

to repeated ceasefire violationsin the past few months, PrimeMinister Narendra Modi onMonday said our tradition,culture and history are an evi-dence that we have never beenthe aggressors.

“We have never attackedany country,” Modi said whileaddressing the gathering at anevent to celebrate BuddhaPurnima organised by theUnion Ministry of Culture incollaboration with theInternational BuddhistConfederation (IBC).

Modi said that India madeno distinction between reli-gions and had no history ofattacking other countries orschools of thought.

“India has never had a his-tory or tradition of attackingothers’ ideology or country. We

have also never tried to createa distinction between reli-gions,” he said. While speakingon the teachings of the Buddha,Modi said all ideologies whichorginated in India were basedon humanity. In today’s world,humanity and compassion hadbecome even more relevant,Modi said.

He said the teachings ofthe Buddha were based onhumanity and the country wasproud the philososphy hadoriginated here. Indian reli-gions never force anyone tocome and join them, neitherthey show kindness to onlythose who are in the fold, theyare for everyone, Modi added.

The prime minister offered“Sangh Dana” (donation) toBuddhist monks from coun-tries such as Japan, Sri Lankaand Vietnam who were presentat the event.

He also presented theVaishakh Sammaan Prashasti

Patra to the Central Institute ofHigher Tibetan Studies,Sarnath, and the All IndiaBhikshu Sangha, Bodh Gaya.A conglomerate of Buddhistinstitutions has come togetherto showcase the various facetsof Buddhist traditions.

“The teachings of LordBuddha are extremely relevantin the 21st century. His was alife devoted to alleviating suf-

fering and removing injusticefrom society. His compassionhas endeared him to millions.Buddha Purnima greetings toeveryone,” Modi had earliertweeted.

Buddha Purnima is tradi-tionally celebrated in majorityof East Asia to commemoratethe birth of Gautam Buddha,who later became the founderof Buddhism.

����� 9.:�(.;<�

Black Cat’ commandos of theelite counter-terror force

NSG are set to be deployedsoon in Jammu and Kashmir tohelp security forces in dealingwith encounters and hostage-like situations, officials said onMonday.

The Ministry of HomeAffairs is examining a propos-al to deploy a contingent of theNational Security Guard(NSG) commandos in theKashmir Valley so that theycan join the Indian Army, theCRPF and the State policewhen a high-risk militancyrelated incident takes place.

“We are planning to deploythe NSG in Kashmir. They aretrained to deal with terrorists

and hostage-like situations.We are mulling over it,” an offi-cial told PTI requestinganonymity.

Director General of Police,

Jammu and Kashmir, S P Vaidhad also said recently that hehas been working on the pro-posal. “Hope I will be success-ful,” he had said.

This is not for the first timethat the NSG commandos,popularly know as ‘Black Cat’,would be deployed in Jammuand Kashmir. The commandosof the elite force have beendeployed in the Valley in thepast too.

Their special skills of car-rying out house interventionand hostage rescue can act as“clincher” during a terror siege,the official said.

Home Minister RajnathSingh, during a recent NSGevent in Telangana, had said thegovernment is planning as tohow the force’s role could be“enlarged” vis-a-vis the newsecurity challenges faced by thecountry, as these commandoscan play a “big role” in opera-tions such as those where ter-

rorists take a human as shieldand enter civilian premises.

The move to deploy NSGcommandos in Kashmir comesin the wake of increasing inci-dents of encounters wheresecurity forces have lost manysoldiers during high-risk houseintervention operations indensely populated localities.

The NSG commandos,when allowed, would getopportunities to test theirskills and it will be a force-multiplier for anti-militancyforces deployed in Jammuand Kashmir, another officialsaid.

Normally, a small NSGteam comprises five comman-dos led by a non-commis-sioned officer along with bombexperts and crack marksman.

����� 9.:�(.;<�

The Parliamentary StandingCommittee on External

Affairs, headed by CongressMP Shashi Tharoor andincluding Rahul Gandhi, willvisit border areas in Sikkim andArunachal Pradesh next monthto take stock of the situationfollowing the Doklam crisiswith China, sources said.

The panel has been lookinginto various aspects of theIndia-China military standoffat Doklam and has been briefedseveral times on the issue by theformer and current ForeignSecretary Vijay Gokhale.

“The panel will visit the

border areas in two statesSikkim and Arunachal Pradeshto see the ground realities andtake stock of the situation onborder in these two states,” asource said.

The idea is to get a first-hand experience of the situa-tion on the India-China borderin the two states and to see, orif possible visit, areas whereincursions have happened,another source said.

The panel, which may alsouse a chopper to get an aerialview, could also interact withtop security and defense offi-cials deployed there, sourcessaid. Troops of India and Chinawere locked in a 73-day stand-

off in Doklam in the Sikkimsector from June 16 last yearafter the Indian side stoppedthe building of a road in thedisputed tri-junction by theChinese Army.

Bhutan and China have adispute over Doklam.

Earlier, foreign ministryofficials had informed the 31-member parliamentary panelthat Bhutan was firmly withIndia on the issue.

During the discussions,Congress president Gandhiquestioned foreign ministryofficials on China’s objectiveand why Beijing chose Doklamto create a confrontation,sources had said.

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Days before Prime MinisterNarendra Modi visits

Kathmandu, Nepal’s Chargéd’Affaires (CDA) to India,Bharat Kumar Regmi, onMonday said both sides areworking on the agendas tomake the visit a successfulone. Modi is scheduled to visitKathmandu on May 11-12.

Modi’s visit to Kathmanducomes just over a month afterNepal PM KP Sharma Oli’s visitto New Delhi. It was Oli’s firsttrip abroad after taking over asNepal’s new PM.

Regmi said Modi’s visitwill provide opportunity tothe leaders of the both sides tohave wide ranging discussionsfor better understanding. Nepallooks forward to welcomingPM Modi.

The dates for his visit willbe announced soon. Agenda isbeing prepared for the meet-ings. Both sides are working inclose consultation to make thisvisit successful.

This visit will provide anopportunity for the leaders athighest level to have discus-sions at wide ranging subjectsand give opportunity for betterunderstanding, strengtheningrelationship which is multifac-eted and multidimensional,”Regmi said.

Modi’s Nepal visit is seen asa “trust building” trip tostrengthen relations betweenthe two countries that hascome back to track after a briefdisorientation. In Nepal Modiis likely to travel to Janakpurand lay foundation of the 900MW Arun III HydroelectricPower Plant.

�� �� 9.:�(.;<�

The Opposition on Mondaydemanded a probe into the

alleged incident of police aspi-rants in Madhya Pradesh hav-ing caste categories written ontheir bare chests.

While Congress presidentRahul Gandhi accused the BJPGovernment of “knifing” thenation’s heart with its “casteistattitude”, BSP chief Mayawatialleged that the “criminal act”is the new and fresh example ofBJP Governments’ “new foundlove” for Dalits for their polit-ical gains. The NCP asked thePrime Minister’s Office (PMO)to probe the incident, calling it“shameful”.

Taking to Twitter, Rahulput out a picture of two youthswith the words ‘SC’ and ‘ST’written on their chests respec-tively. An inquiry has beenordered after photos showedaspirants for the post of policeconstables with their caste cat-egories written on their barechests in Madhya Pradesh’sDhar district.

Slamming the BJP overthe issue, Rahul tweeted, “BJPGovernment’s casteist attitudehas knifed the heart of thecountry. By writing SC/ST onthe chest of youths in Madhya

Pradesh, they have attacked thecountry’s Constitution.

“This is BJP/RSS thought.This same thought sometimesties a vessel around the neck ofDalits, or a broom on theirbodies, and stops them fromentering a temple. We willdefeat this thought,” he tweet-ed. He however, did not spec-ify if he was referring to theBJP-led government at theCentre or the BJP governmentin that state.

Lashing out at the BJP,Mayawati claimed the inci-dent was just a fresh exampleof the saffron party’s new foundlove for Dalits. Mayawati alsoquestioned the “silence” of topleaders including the PrimeMinister on the issue.

“This is the new and freshexample of BJP governments’new found love for Dalits fortheir political gains,” Mayawati

said in a statement released inLucknow. “Does it suit the BJPand company, and the primeminister himself, to remainsilent, (and) not to condemnsuch a casteist incident,” sheasked.

Mayawati demanded that

the officials responsible for theincident be punished whilethe Centre needed to issuestrict orders to check recur-rence of such incidents any-where in the country.

Describing the process as“insensitive”, NCP Lok SabhaMP Supriya Sule said this actdeserved strong condemna-tion. “The PMO should probethe incident,” she added along-with her father and party chiefPawar. “It is extremely shame-ful that during police recruit-ment in the BJP-ruled MadhyaPradesh, the candidates weremarked as SC, OBC, ST ontheir chest,” NCP MP SupriyaSule tweeted.

����� 9.:�(.;<�

The troops of the Indian andMalaysian armies on

Monday kickstarted ‘ExerciseHarimau Shakti 2018’ in KaulaLumpur, a statement by theIndian Army said.

This is the first-ever jointArmy exercise between thearmies of India and Malaysia.

The first phase of thetwo-week long exercise beganwith the formal handing overof the Regimental Flag to theMalaysian Army, signifyingmerging of the two contingentsunder one commander.

First day of the exercisealso saw briefings to the jointcontingent on Malaysian coun-try brief, exercise settings andsecurity aspects.

The day ended with afriendly volleyball match,which the visitors could final-ly won after a stiff competition.

“Both armies stand tohone their tactical and techni-cal skills in counter-insurgencyand counter- terrorist opera-tions under the UN mandate.Due emphasis will be laid on

increasing interoperabilitybetween forces which is crucialfor success of any joint opera-tion,” the statement said.

The conduct of such exer-cises in future would enablemutual capacity enhancementand assist in building strongbonds of friendship and coop-eration between India andMalaysia, the statement added.

Lt Col Irwan Ibrahim,commanding officer of the 1stRoyal Ranger Regiment ofMalaysian Army, welcomedthe Indian contingent andwished the Indian andMalaysian troops for a suc-cessful and mutually beneficialjoint exercise.

����� 9.:�(.;<�

External Affairs MinisterSushma Swaraj on Monday

assured help to a 14-year-old girlfacing visa issues for her travelto London after being selectedto represent India at a globalconference.

A woman named ArpitaTiwari, in a tweet, said the girl,Isha, studying in a Governmentschool in an underprivilegedcommunity in Delhi’s SangamVihar, has been selected to rep-resent India for the conferencein the British capital city.

She has her tickets bookedfor May 3 but is unable to trav-el as her visa clearance isdelayed, Tiwari said.

“We will definitely help. Ihave asked my office to get intouch with you,” Swaraj said.

The Union Minister alsoassured assistance to a woman,who said her brother had goneto Kuwait for some office workand she later lost contact withhim.The person of contact hastold her that her brother metwith an accident and has beenunconscious in a hospital there.

The woman sought Swaraj’shelp to locate her brother andshift him back to India.

�� �� 9.:�(.;<�

Prime Minister NarendraModi has reportedly sum-

moned Chief Minister ofTripura Biplab Kumar Deb formaking a series of controversialstatements. Deb may be meet-ing Modi and BJP presidentAmit Shah here on May 2,sources said.

The Chief Minister hadrecently stated that the inter-net and satellite communica-tion existed during theMahabharata era. He also ques-tioned the crowning of DianaHayden as Miss World in 1997.

On Monday, he reportedlyadvised the youth of his Stateto not run after politicians forgovernment jobs and, instead,milk cows and open pan shops.

“There should be a cow inevery house. Why run after

netas for Government jobs?Milk is being sold at Rs 50 perlitre. Graduates should getcows and milk it to earn Rs 10lakh in 10 years. Instead of run-ning after political parties,”the Chief Minister reportedlysaid at an event. A day earlier,the chief minister reportedlysuggested that only civil engi-

neers are fit for Civil Services.He also advised that mechan-ical engineers should not aspireto be civil servants.

The controversial com-ments have been made eve asModi had cautioned party lead-ers to not to give “masala” tomedia and not to speak out ofturn.

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Taking on Prime MinisterNarendra Modi’s claim of

achieving 100 per cent villageelectrification, senior Congressleader P Chidambaram termedthe statement as a “completejumla” and accused Modi oftaking credit for the work doneby UPA. “That is a jumla again,

a complete jumla,”Chidambaram said address-ing the Youth Congress nation-al executive meeting. The for-mer finance minister alsoalleged that the governmentwas “destroying” jobs and theeconomy and said unemploy-ment will be the “number oneissue” against the presentregime in 2019 elections.

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The BJP is viewing the by-election to be held in

Kerala’s Chengannur Assemblyconstituency on May 28 as agolden opportunity for layingthe foundation for its goal ofcapturing power in the Statebut several issues that the partyis facing in the national levelranging from Kathua rape-murder to the petro-price riseare troubling its campaigners.Still, the party believes that itcan beat the adversities throughsystematic campaigning.

The State BJP leadershipwas almost certain of victory inthe by-election, necessitatedby the death of CPI(M)’s sittingmember KK RamachandranNair on January 14, when it hadlaunched its campaigning inthe constituency many weeksago by being the first party tofinalize its candidate, formerState party chief PS SreedharanPillai.

With the close connec-tions he has been keeping withthe Chengannur electorate forthe past several years, Pillai isseen as a formidable candidateeven by the enemies especial-ly as he had surprised both theCPI(M)-led LDF andCongress-headed UDF bypolling 42,682 votes in thesame seat in the 2016 election

as against the party’s negligiblescore of 6,062 votes in 2011.

Despite the challenges theparty has been facing due to thescathing criticisms from itsopponents over demonetisationand the alleged problems in theimplementation of GST, apartfrom the routine attacks overthe so-called ‘communal poli-tics, the party and its SanghPariwar associates had beenable to carry out a confidentcampaign so far.

However, the situation haschanged drastically for the BJPfollowing the eruption of theKathua gangrape-murder andUnnao rape scandals, which areissues that can have seriousrepercussions in a constituen-cy like Chengannur which isknown for the conservative

outlook of a large section of theelectorate, including Hindus.

The national BJP leader-ship has reportedly given strictinstructions to the State lead-ers regarding the bypoll inChengannur by making it clearthat it will be satisfied by noth-ing less than victory. Therewere even reports that therecould a total revamp of theState leadership if the party failsto produce a second MLA inthe State with this bypoll.

But senior State party lead-ers are now complaining thattheir task has become harderwith the eruption of seriousissues in the national level.They are finding it difficult tobeat the attacks by the LDF andthe UDF against the party andthe Central Government it

leads over issues like Kathua,Unnao, the fuel price hike andthe frequent controversialstatements from certain lead-ers.

“The LDF and UDF arecurrently focusing on issueslike Kathua. The Left hasalready launched a viciousdoor-to-door campaign usingsuch issues. Our workers arecountering this effectively butthe opponents are sure to stepup the offensive in the comingdays. We have to win this per-spective war,” said a seniorBJP leader who liked to keepanonymity.

He, however, aired confi-dence that the situation isbound to change as election-eering picks up momentumonce again in the coming dayswith national leaders descend-ing on the constituency. “Weare determined to win this by-poll and win we will. The windhere is in our favour. The smallhindrances have to be over-come,” he added.

The fact that Chengannuris witnessing a tough triangu-lar battle will work out inSreedharan Pillai’s favour, BJPleaders say. They are confidentthat a large section of theChristians, who constitute 20percent of the electorate, aresupportive of the party candi-date. “Pillai is a well-respected

man here. We don’t ignorethat fact,” said Ajith Kumar, anLDF campaigner.

Another problem the BJPfaces in Chengannur is the hic-cups in the party-led NDA sys-tem in the State with its biggestally Bharath Dharma Jana Sena(BDJS), a political party of theoutfits of several majoritycommunity organizations ofKerala, deciding not to haveany cooperation with it till thedemands it has put forth to BJPleadership are met.

The BDJS had at a meetingof its State council held onSunday decided to keep off theNDA’s electioneering inChengannur till the BJP’snational leadership addressedits grievances, which are main-ly related to the alleged promiseof positions in Central corpo-rations and boards though thatparty is claiming that the issuesrelate to problems within thealliance.

BDJS president ThusharVellappally, however, deniedplans for quitting the NDA.“The other two fronts havemany times expressed theirwillingness to welcome us. Butwe are still part of the NDA,” hesaid, adding that he was con-fident that the national BJPleadership would soon find“solutions to the problems wehave raised”.

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Do you want Swarnandhraor Scam-Andhra? If you

want Swarnandhra, supportModi-Babu jodi. Apart fromSpecial Status, I will implementall other promises made inReorganisation Act and morealso, if necessary”, NarendraModi told Andhra peoplebefore Lord Venkateswara inhis first public meeting held atTarakarama Stadium of SVUniversity at Tirupathi on 30thApril, 2014 as part of electioncampaign.

At the same place, on thesame day of 2018 after fouryears, TDP national presidentand Chief Minister of AndhraPradesh, Chandra Babu Naidu,after playing Narendra Modi’sTirupathi Public Meetingspeech, Naidu questioned thePrime Minister about his nonimplementation of promisesin “letter and spirit” as wordgiven to Andhra people. “Is itwrong to question Modi for hismischief ”, Naidu asked thepublic.

“BJP has colluded with atainted party, YSR Congress todo injustice to 5 crore people ofAndhra Pradesh. Our fightwill continue against themuntil justice gets delivered andthere is no compromise onthat”, Naidu said, while launch-ing first election public meet-ing.

“Final victory is ours. Wewill decide next PrimeMinister. Give us 25 MP seats.We know how to get things tobe done. We are demanding forjustice. Even Modi didn’t like tomention our State name in hislast budget”, Naidu objected.

While unmasking thebetrayal of the Prime MinisterNarendra Modi, exactly fromthe same venue at the abode ofLord Balaji in Tirupati, on thesame date, Telugu Desam Party(TDP) held a large public meet-ing “Nammaka Droham–KutraRajakeeyalapai Dharma PorataBahiranga Sabha” (Fight againstBetrayal and Collusion Politics- Public Meeting) on Mondayto remind Narendra Modi ofhis promises.

As four years gone by andnone of the promises got ful-filled, the revolted Naidu hasplayed the voice of “betrayal ofpromises” given to 5 crore

people of the State by the then2014 Parliamentary Elections’NDA Prime MinisterialCandidate and the presentPrime Minister, NarendraModi. “2014 “NaMo” was notNamo Venkatesha.

Modi has betrayed theAndhra people. TDP has beenrelentlessly fighting against thecentre for the rights of peopleof AP, demanding it to fulfilassurances made in RajyaSabha including SpecialCategory Status and provisionsof AP Reorganisation Act.Recently on 20th April 2018 inAmaravati, we observed a daylong hunger strike “DharmaPorata Deeksha”.

Resonating the sentimentsof people of AP, TDP has beencontinuously staging protests invarious forms against the cen-tre on doing injustice toAndhra Pradesh. TDP MPsfearlessly staged protests inside

and outside parliament andeven outside Prime Minister’sresidence demanding justice toAndhra Pradesh. The partyhas been organising cycle andbike rallies in constituenciesacross the state making publicaware of injustice done to AP”,Naidu said.

Nara Lokesh, State’s PR,RD and IT Minister, whileaddressing public, he said, “noaddress for BJP. It can’t evenwin 10 sarpanch seats.Expecting Special Status andother support, TDP alignedwith BJP in 2014 and gave twoMP seats and five MLA seats.Though four years lapsedNarendra Modi has done noth-ing to the State.

But, he cheated Andhrapeople. Now he going with 420Y.S. Jagan to ditch again thepeople. We will teach them alesson with 25 MP seats toTDP”.

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In a major revamp of theMehbooba Mufti led BJP-

PDP alliance Government inJammu & Kashmir at least onethird strength of the Council ofMinistry was recasted with anoutgoing speaker of the StateAssembly Kavinder Guptaswitching sides with the sittingdeputy Chief Minister ProfNirmal Singh at a simple cer-emony here on Monday.

Out of the existing strengthof the Council of Ministers (25)eight new Ministers, six fromthe BJP and two from PDP,were administered oath ofoffice and secrecy by theGovernor NN Vohra in con-vention centre.

Prof Nirmal Singh had ear-lier tendered his resignationlate Sunday evening after theparty high command gave itsnod to induct fresh faces in thecouncil of Ministers to shore upparty’s dented image in the eyesof the electorate.

Soon after attending theoath ceremony Kavinder Gupta

advised alliance partner PDP toadhere to the coalition dharmathan playing politics.

BJP National GeneralSecretary Ram Madhav, whowas present during the simpleoath ceremony along withChief Minister MehboobaMufti and party Vice PresidentAvinash Rai Khanna, laterannounced that Prof NirmalSingh will be speaker of theState Assembly.

Defending the decision ofthe party high command toreshuffle the BJP team Madhavtold reporters here in the partyheadquarters, “it is a routinepractice and the aim behindbringing in new faces is to giveopportunity to new faces in theparty as well”.

He said the allianceGovernment has completedthree years in office and BJPunder Dr Nirmal Singh workedhard to implement partys’developmental agenda and nowthe new team would carry for-ward the same with new zeal.

He emphatically counteredmedia assessment that the BJP

has surrendered before thePDP to stay in power.

“Nobody has surrendered,”said Madhav while replying toa query on BJP’s surrenderbefore PDP on amnesty tostone-pelters in view of attackson security personnel in theKashmir Valley.

“We are acting very toughagainst all forms of terror eitherthey are on streets in the shapeof stone pelters or in forests asterrorists,” said Madhav duringthe jam packed press briefing.

Responding to some toughquestions on rift between thealliance partners, Madhav said,“all is not well between the two

parties is something I havebeen hearing for the last threeyears”. He said, “No coalition iseasy, we are in coalition andworking together to try toaddress the issues of the State.

There will be hiccups butour party and our leaders arecompetent to handle thoseissues and we are confident thattogether we will be able todeliver on all those promisesmade in the common mini-mum programme or agenda ofgovernance.”

“There will be no leniencywith those who obstruct oursecurity forces from perform-ing their duties,” said the BJP

national general secretary dur-ing persistent quizzing.

On a question regardingnewly inducted PDP MinisterMohammad Khalil Band soonafter administering oath seek-ing dialogue with Pakistan to

restore peace in the Kashmirvalley, Madhav said, “what’snew in it? Even the ChiefMinister is saying the samething.”

“They have their ownviewpoint and the

Government of India willreview the situations and takethe decision on such calls on itsown but not on the basis ofanybody’s viewpoint,” headded.

Earlier, Governor NN

Vohra also administered theoath of office and secrecy tostate BJP Chief and most pop-ular BJP legislator Sat Sharma,DK Manyal, Rajiv Jasrotia andShakti Parihar. Sunil Sharma(MoS Transport departmentwith independent charge) waselevated to the cabinet rank.PDP’s Mohd Ashraf Mir andMohammad Khalil Band werealso inducted into the cabinet.

PDP dropped sitting RuralDevelopment,Panchayati Rajand Law Minister Abdul HaqKhan to allow two fresh facesto be inducted in the councilof minister. PDP filled onevacancy created after the ousterof Finance Minister Dr HaseebDrabu. Resignations of ProfNirmal Singh, Bali Bhagat,Priya Sethi, Abdul Haq Khanand Sunil Sharma were accept-ed by the Governor onMonday.

The Oath ceremony wasattended by senior ministers,Chairpersons and Vice-Chairpersons of variousBoards and Commissions;Members of Parliament;Legislators, B.B. Vyas, ChiefSecretary Dr. S.P. Vaid, DGP;senior Civil and Police officers,political leaders and prominentcitizens of the State.

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Union Minister of State forSkill Development Ananth

Kumar Hegde said Congresspresident Raul Gandhi doesdrama and called the Congressparty a drama company.Addressing an election rally atBelagavi in Karnataka onSunday he attacked Rahul overhis visits to temples and muttsduring his election campaign inpoll bound Karnataka.

He said it is only now(during elections) that RahulGandhi has realised that a reli-gion called “Hindu Dharma”exists. “Today, Rahul Gandhihas remembered that there isalso a Hindu dharma in ourcountry and that’s the reason hehas started visiting templesand mats “he said sarcastical-ly attacking Congress president.

“He (Rahul gandhi) doesnot even know how to taketeertha (holy water given todevotees at temples).

Just because someoneadvised him, he goes to templesand mats with Kaavi (saffron)clothes wearing Rudrakshmalas (bead garlands)...tomosques donning (skull) capwith chicken feather, andchurches wearing a cross. It isonly a drama, nothing else,” he

added. Hegde known for his con-

troversial outbursts landed himin trouble. His remark on con-stitution had led to a majorissue in the parliament and hehad to tender un conditionalapology. The party also had dis-

associated from his statement.Hegde a popular MP fromUttara Kannada in Karnatakahas involved in many contro-versies. His earlier remarkslinking Islam to terrorism hadalso set off a controversy. Theminister said as long as there isCongress, there is no future forthe country.

“They are people who dodrama. They don’t have hon-esty. They don’t know aboutvisiting religious centres withdevotion. They just want to gothere because others go.

This drama companyshould not be there in thecountry in the days to come,”he said. Hegde said theCongress only indulges in loot-ing the country and dishon-ouring religion.

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With a demand to givenational status to Sardar

Patel’s birthplace – Karamsad,a group of people initiatedindefinite fast on Monday.

Karamsad is situated inKheda district of Central partof Gujarat and locals in the vil-lage want the ModiGovernment to give nationalprominence. According tothem they were not against anyGovernment, but by givingnational status ideology ofSardar would reach to morenumber of people.

The body formed by localsin Karamsad — SardarHitrakshak Samiti — had metPrime Minister two years agowith their demand. Bipin Patel,one of the members of thecommittee said thatGovernments across the partyline are making promises butdidn’t give special status toSardar’s birthplace. Patel saidthat they had made represen-tation to Gujarat Chief Ministeralso.

“The committee is notfighting with anybody. Oursole motive is Sardar’s birth-place should get nationalimportance,” said Ramesh Patelwho has also set on fast. Thefirst proposal to get Nationalstatus for Karamsad was madein the year 1995, along withPorbandar, the birth place ofMahatma Gandhi. WhilePorbandar was accorded the

status but Karamsad neverconsidered. The villagers hadalso met Prime MinisterNarendra Modi in 2002 whenhe was Gujarat CM.

Jumping in the on-goingcontroversy Leader ofOpposition in GujaratAssembly Paresh Dhananiblamed ruling BJP saying thatthe saffron party only usedSardar’s name to get votes andit is not interested in preserv-ing Sardar’s heritage.

Patidar Anamat AndolanSamiti (PAAS) convenerHardik Patel also supported thefast agitation by some residentsof Karamsad saying that he andhis organization also want spe-cial status to Sardar’s birthplace.

Reacting on the issueGujarat’s deputy Chief MinisterNitin Patel said that alreadyboth state as well as central gov-ernments said have done forthe monuments related toSardar Patel not only inKaramsad but at other placestoo. State urban developmentdepartment did wonderfulwork at Karamsad and reno-vated buildings related toSardar Patel, he added.

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In Jammu & Kashmir, threecivilians were shot dead by

unknown gunmen in northKashmir’s Baramulla districtlate this evening.

A senior police spokesmansaid that the gunmen firedupon the three persons nearIqbal Market Khanpora in thedistrict.

He said the trio sustainedserious bullet wounds and

died instantly on the spot.The slain civilians were

identified as Asif AhmadSheikh, Haseeb Ahmad Khanand Mohmmad Asgar who areall residents of Kakar Hamamin Baramulla district.

After the attack, securityforces launched a cordon-and-search operation to nab theattackers.

Police have initiated theinvestigations into the case. Nomilitant outfit has claimed theresponsibility for the killings.

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-?�����������������'��������������$��������������������Lucknow: Bahujan Samaj Party(BSP) chief Mayawati firedfresh salvo at the BharatiyaJanta Party (BJP) claiming thatthe party could go to anyextent for vote politics.

She said that incident inMadhya Pradesh’s Dhar dis-trict, where aspirants for the postof police constables reportedlyhad their caste categories writ-ten on bare chests, was yetanother example of the saffronparty’s new found love for Dalits.She questioned the “silence” oftop leaders including the primeminister on the issue.

“This is the new and freshexample of BJP governments’new found love for Dalits fortheir political gains,” Mayawatisaid in a statement released herereferring to the Dhar incident.The BSP chief, in her statement,asked why top BJP leaders had

not condemned the incident.Does it suit the BJP and com-pany, and the prime ministerhimself, to remain silent, (and)not to condemn such a casteistincident, she asked.

Mayawati demanded theofficials responsible for theincident should be punishedwhile the Centre needed toissue strict orders to checkrecurrence of such incidentsanywhere in the country.Referring to the Dhar incidentas a “criminal act”, Mayawatisaid it was because of thecasteist and spiteful attitudetowards the Dalits, Tribals andbackwards that they wereforced to convert as the Unacase in Gujarat had shown. TheBJP needs to realise that besidesself-respect, Dalits are also vig-ilant towards their interests.

PNS

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BJP national president AmitShah took a dig at Congress

president Rahul Gandhi formeeting fodder scam convictand RJD chief Lalu Prasad atAIIMS in Delhi.

Addressing an electionrally at Kolar in KarnatakaBJP chief said, “during UPAregime Rahul had torn theordinance which could havesaved now fodder scam convictLalu. As 2019 is approaching itseems Congress can’t win with-out Lalu ji’s support, and todayhe (Rahul) met Laluji (inAIIMS).” Contrary to reportsShah made it clear thatLingayat strongman and BJPState president BS Yeddyurappawill be the Chief Minister ifparty is voted to power.

He also vehemently reject-ed the report which appearedin some section of the mediasaying that BJP will ditchYeddyurappa after the elec-tions. Congress is using this asa weapon and many Congressleaders are campaigning usingthis as an opportunity to hit atBJP. He said “Yeddyurappa hasbeen announced as the ChiefMinisterial candidate inKarnataka and he will take thehelm after the Assembly polls.Some quarters opposed to theBJP are spreading this rumour,but Yeddyurappa will remainour leader in this State,’’ he said.

He also said such reportswere unfounded as the partyhad already announced him asthe Chief Ministerial candidateand if it goes back on the

undertaking it will be the ques-tion of the credibility of theparty. “The BJP wave is here inKarnataka. There are no tidingsin favour of Congress.

“We will come to power onour own majority,’’ he claimed.Shah also said pacifying therebel party workers at Varuna

constituency in Mysuru wherethe BJP had denied ticket toYeddyurappa’s son BYVijendra, it was the decisiontaken by the party to attackCongress party and its dynastypolitics. However he saidYeddyurappa junior will comeup the ladder in the party as hehad bright future.

“No one denied ticketsamong top BJP leaders. It wasa collective decision. Let therebe no groupism in BJP as weare an organised party,’’ hesaid in an appeal to partyworkers in Mysuru district.After denial of ticket toYeddyurappa’s son Vijendrafrom Varuna constituencyangry supporters ransackedthe BJP office in Mysuru andother places. It was

Yeddyurappa after the highcommand’s decisionannounced the news in a rallyat Nanjanagudu and he had toface the wrath of the partyworkers.

Congress party using thisas major issue and some of theand cabinet colleagues ofSiddaramaiah who are con-testing are saying that BJPwould dump Yeddyurappa afterthe elections.

This is as a strategy open-ly asking Lingayats not to votefor the BJP. Lingayats a domi-nant community in Karnatakawith over 17 percent of thepopulation has decisive major-ity in over 65 constituenciesacross the state.

In another developmentPrime Minister Narendra Modi

will hit the campaign trail inpoll bound Karnataka fromTuesday. The party is depend-ing on Modi’s charisma andAmit Shah’s strategy to make itCongress Mukth Karnataka.

The party has alreadynamed Yeddyurappa as thechief ministerial candidate andhe is fighting tooth and nail tomake sure congress is defeated.

Prime Minister NarendraModi, who launches his latestelection campaign for May 12election in Karnataka fromTuesday by addressing a pub-lic rally at Santhemaranahalli inChamarajanagra Taluk, is thethird Prime Minister to visitthis district after Late IndiraGandhi and Rajiv Gandhi.According to party sourcesModi during his tour will takepart in 15 rallies across theState. Meanwhile once againKarnataka Chief MinisterSiddaramaiah has alleged thatboth BJP and JD(S) and part-ners and have secret pact.Talking to reporters,Siddaramaiah said in Belagavithat he can prove that BJP chiefAmit Shah and JD(S) leaderHD Kumaraswamy travelledtogether to Delhi to meet sev-eral leaders.

Siddaramaiah said hewould make the proof of Shah-Kumaraswamy visit and meet-ings public at an appropriatetime. In response toSiddaramiah’s claim, the JD(S)has released “fake” documentto “prove” the Karnataka CMtravelled with BZ ZameerAhmed Khan, who ditchedJD(S) to join the Congress.

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At a time when her partyTrinamool Congress is

engaged in a dogfight with theBJP over the upcoming StatePanchayat elections, BengalChief Minister MamataBanerjee is likely to meet PrimeMinister Narendra Modi inDelhi when she will visit thenational Capital to attend themeeting of a committee thatwill be chaired by him. Thecommittee has been set up tocommemorate the 150th birthanniversary of MahatmaGandhi.

Notwithstanding thefrontal war Banerjee had of latedeclared against the saffronparty to dislodge it from powerthe Bengal Chief Minister islikely to raise some demandsfor her State “if they meet in thesidelines of the meeting,”sources said adding howeverthat no one-on-one meetinghad yet been scheduled.

Mamata will set out forDelhi on Wednesday andreturn to Kolkata the next daysources said making chances ofseparate meeting slim.

Her meeting with thePrime Minister apart, theBengal Chief Minister is alsolikely to meet a number ofOpposition leaders apparentlyto discuss the formation of ananti-BJP Federal front thoughState Trinamool leaders wouldnot dwell much on the issue.

“It all will depend on

whether leaders like TelenganaChief Minister KChandrashekhar Rao, hisAndhra counterpartChandrababu Naidu or forthat matter other non NDAleaders are available in Delhiduring the period when ourleader will visit the place,” asenior leader said.

On whether she will alsomeet Sonia Gandhi or RahulGandhi, TMC leadersremained non committal say-ing “Mamata Banerjee takesher decisions depending uponthe situation. It is upon herwhether she will meet theCongress leaders now.”

Incidentally Congress andthe Trinamool Congress areengaged in a bitter battle inBengal with the Congressaccusing the TMC of reducingBengal into a goonda raj.

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ASpecial Investigation Teamof the Goa Police Crime

Branch on Monday interrogat-ed former Chief Minister andCongress MLA DigambarKamat in connection with a�35,000 crore illegal miningscam. Kamat who appearedbefore the SIT officials onMonday and was grilled forseveral hours, but refused tocomment to the media after thequestioning by the officials.

An SIT official informallytold reporters that Kamat hadbeen summoned to be ques-tioned over some key decisionsand file notings made by himduring his tenure as ChiefMinister from 2007-2012,when the mammoth scam isalleged to have occurred andillegal mining was at its peak.

“We had some clarifica-tions to seek from the formerChief Minister about the deci-sions and his notings on fileswhich were moving in themines ministry,” the officialsaid on condition of anonymi-ty. Apart from holding severalkey portfolios, Kamat was alsoin-charge of the mines portfo-lio as Chief Minister.

Mining in Goa was stoppedboth by the state government,as well as the Union Ministryfor Environment and Forests in2012, following a �35,000 croreillegal mining scam, which wasunearthed in 2012 by the JusticeMB Shah commission ofinquiry appointed by the UnionMines Ministry.

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Telangana Chief Minister KChandrasekhar Rao’s visit

to Chennai on Sunday to callon DMK president MuthuvelKarunanidhi and to hold dis-cussions with the party’s defacto chief MK Stalin has setpolitical grapevine in the Statein full swing.

Since Karunanidhi (95) isnot in the best of health,chances of the TRS chief dis-cussing political issues with thegrand old man of India politicsdo not arise. The TRS does nothave any presence in TamilNadu and hence there is nopossibility of Rao discussingState politics with Stalin, withwhom he had a luncheon meet-ing for more than 90 minutes.

TKS Elangovan, MP andDMK spokesman told thisnewspaper that Rao’s visit toChennai was only a courtesycall, there is more to it than thatmeets the ordinary eyes. “Raocame to Chennai to pay hisrespects to our leader DrKalaignar and there is nothingbeyond that. Talks about theDMK joining a Third Front orFederal Front which is beingplanned by TRS is not correct,”said Elangovan.

But there are reports thatRao has come with a mission

to Chennai. His target was tominimise the power ofCongress. Rao discussed thepossibility of curtailing thenumber of seats to be allocat-ed to the Congress by theDMK during the 2019 LokSabha elections, said a sourceclose to the DMK leadership.“The Congress was allocatedten seats by the DMK duringthe 2004 Lok Sabha electionsand the party won all the seatsit contested in Tamil Nadu.During the 2009 Lok Sabhaelection, the DMK was forcedby the Congress to part with 15seats and it won eight seats,”pointed out the source.

He said that by the 2014Lok Sabha election, the DMKand the Congress had fallen outbecause Karunanidhi was upsetwith the Congress leadershipfor not helping his daughterKanimozhi in the 2G Spectrumscam. Kanimozhi, a RajyaSabha member, was arrested bythe CBI in May 2011 and wasin Tihar Jail for 193 days. Theindifference of the Congress

towards the arrest of his daugh-ter made Karunanidhi partways with the Congress byMarch 2013 . In the 2014 LokSabha election, the Congresshad to fight alone and theparty was wiped out in theState. It could poll just 4.3 percent votes. The DMK too drewa blank as the AIADMK underJayalalithaa walked away with37 of the 39 seats at stake fromthe State.

Rao too has no love lost forthe Congress and knows wellthat the Grand Old Party has tobe reined to ensure that theproposed Federal Front gets anupper hand post-elections.Though the Congress and theDMK have restored theiralliance, Stalin is not well dis-posed towards the party. SThirunavakkarassar, presidentof the TNCC does not lose asingle opportunity to claimthat the Congress is the secondlargest party in Tamil Nadu anddemands a minimum of 20seats for the 2019 Lok Sabhapolls. “The intention ofChandrasekar Rao is to makethe DMK tough in its dealingswith the Congress. The partywould be a partner of theDMK-led alliance but it wouldnot get more than a six seatsfrom the DMK,” said theobserver.

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Nearly 300 Dalits, includingfamilies of four Dalit youth

who were flogged by self-styledcow vigilantes for allegedlyskinning a dead cow near MotaSamadhiaya village in UnaTaluka embraced Buddhism.

The incident of Dalit flog-ging occurred in July 2016which had drawn attention ofentire nation. Three sons anda nephew of Balubhai Sarvaiyawere flogged and paradednaked near Mota Samadhiyalavillage on the allegation ofskinning dead cow. On Sundaythey all converted to Buddhismalong with their families andother Dalits in the area situat-ed in Gir Somnath district.

For conversion processBuddhist monks came. Besides,people from Maharashtra toocame to attend the occasion.According to Sarvaiya, he andother Dalit took the step out offrustration as they didn’t wantto be part of the communitywhich did not value humans.He also claimed that aspromised by the state govern-ment neither gave jobs of hissons nor allotted land to his

family.Interestingly four days

ahead of conversion process,Sarvaiya had also lodged apolice complaint saying that hisfamily got threat for change offaith and hence he should begiven police protection.

After the incident of Dalitflogging, top political leadersincluding Rahul Gandhi, thenGujarat Chief MinisterAnandiben Patel, couple ofUnion Ministers, Dalit leaderMayavati among other visitedMota Samadhiyala village.Moreover, Jignesh Mevani tooemerged as Dalit leader postthis incident and went on tobecome MLA. RadhikaVemula, mother of RohithVemula, a Dalit student whocommitted suicide at aUniversity in Hyderabad hadalso visited the village alongwith JNU student leaderKanhaiya Kumar.

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Apost put out by a formerjournalist-turned-social

activist on Facebook vowingthat “at least 400 policemenwould be killed to avenge themurder of 40 comrades” in twoseparate encounters inGadchiroli district last week,caused a major stir in theMaharashtra police force onMonday, with the top brassordering probe into the threathanded publicly by the activist.

In his post uploaded on hisFacebook page late on Saturdayafternoon, Pune-based activistRaosaheb Dokhe dubbed thetwin anti-naxal operations as“fake encounters” and saidthose killed in the two opera-tions were not actually Maoists.“It is my challenge that 400policemen would be killed toavenge murder of 40 com-rades by the Government,”Dhoke stated.

“Lal salam....... GadChirolit40 Maowadi (naxalwadi) Tharmarlyachi dawndi sarkar pitataahe.. te sarwa maowadi hoteka...? kiti police mele..? nahimhanajech te assal maowadinavte...fake encounter madhe40 Comrade ..sarkarneMarle........yacha badala jarurghetla jaeel..khun ke badalekhun....40 chya badlyat 400

police thar marle atil.....cha-lange... .Fadnavis Govt....thodiwat bagha...tumche bhavishyafar waeet aahe...........lal salam,”Dhoke stated in a Marathi postput out on Facebook at 3.57 pmon April 28.

The translation of theMarathi post reads thus: “LalSalam...The Government hasgone to town claiming that ithad killed 40 Maoists. Were allthe people killed in theencounters Maoists?. Howmany policemen were killed?They were definitely notMaoists. In the fake encounters,40 comrades were killed by theGovernment.

The killings would defi-nitely be avenged. Therewould be blood in return ofblood. To avenge the elimina-tion of 40 comrades, 400policemen would be killed. Itis a challenge. I ask theFadnavis government to waitfor a while (for the killings ofpolicemen)....Your future ispretty bad. Lal Salam”.

Confirming that he hadtaken cognisance of theFacebook threat, Maharashtra’sDirector General Police (DGP)Satish Mathur told “ThePioneer” on Monday evening:“Yes. We have taken cogni-sance of the Facebook post. Ihave asked Special DIG to look

int0 the matter”.When contacted over

phone, a somewhat defensiveDhoke confirmed that he hadindeed put out the Facebookpost, but he said that whatev-er he had stated in his postwere his “thoughts” and “con-cerns” and that he had not saidthat he would himself avengethe killings of Maoists.

“I am not a Maoist. Nor doI posses any weapon. I am justan activist. Whatever I statedin the Facebook post were mythoughts.

I just expressed my con-cern over what happened inGadchiroli district last week. Ihave not said that I wouldavenge the kill ings inGadchiroli district” Dhoketold this newspaper.

In elaboration, Dhokesaid: “I am a Dalit. I used to bea journalist. I became anactivist later. I have seriousconcern for Dalits. But I am anunarmed person.

I have no money. I amfinding it to make both endsmeet”. Meanwhile, seniorpolice officials have alreadyswung into action and aretrying to ascertain theantecedents of Dhoke. It maybe recalled that 40 Maoistswere killed in two separateoperations.

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In an assessment submitted soon afterthe Bharatiya Janata Party’s resound-ing victory in the Uttar Pradesh elec-tion of 2017, the now controversialCambridge Analytica observed that

the Congress needs emphatic wins inKarnataka, Madhya Pradesh andChhattisgarh to send out a clear messageof change to the rest of India, giving it“winning momentum” in the 2019 LokSabha poll. Unsurprisingly, these are pre-cisely the States where the Congress is wag-ing a no-holds-barred war with the BJP.

Titled, ‘Indian National Congress:Data-Driven Campaign — The Path tothe 2019 Lok Sabha’, the study advises theCongress to make “radical changes to itscampaign methodology and infrastruc-ture if it is to reverse the formidable polit-ical current running against it. A ‘busi-ness-as-usual’ approach — or even a sub-stantial increase in campaign spendusing the same traditional methods —simply will not cut it”.

Regaining the initiative calls for an in-depth understanding of the Indian people,what they really think and feel, what moti-vates and drives their behaviour, andtheir propensity for change; an invigorat-ed leadership, brand identity and visionwhich captures the imagination of adynamic but polarised and disillusionednation, and offers a new narrative of hopeand change; and effective, nimble andhighly targeted communications capabil-ity which cuts through the noise withcoherent, credible and consistent messag-ing which reaches audiences and has ameasurable effect on their attitudes andbehaviour.

Achieving this will require a robustdata-driven campaign. CambridgeAnalytica claims that its ability to model,segment and micro-target the populationwith personalised messaging catapultedDonald Trump to the White House, a factacknowledged by Hillary Clinton. Itassures that it can do the same for theCongress in the coming 18 months, at bothnational and State level, as it is accom-plished in “behaviour change” campaigns.

The study shows a good grasp of theIndian political firmament. Of the eightState elections in 2018, Karnataka, MadhyaPradesh and Chhattisgarh are identifiedas most significant, especially in thenational campaign. The Congress’ rout inthe 2017 Uttar Pradesh elections hasincreased the stakes in Karnataka, whichit won with a large majority in 2013, andfared well in by-elections in 2017.

The Karnataka Assembly election willfocus around the Cauvery water-sharingdispute, drought relief, farm loan-waivers,imposition of Hindi (strange) and the fateof minorities and “oppressed” communi-ties (read Scheduled Castes). It notes that

while some issues are state-specific, oth-ers like poverty and religious or caste con-flict apply across the country. It’s amazinghow charges of religion and caste-basedprejudice have reverberated across thenation in recent months.

Analytica adds that the BJP, aware ofKarnataka’s importance, had begun strate-gic research in all 224 constituencies in2017, to identify issues, candidates andwinning prospects. In Uttar Pradesh, theparty waged a ‘smartphone battle’ using bigdata and social media, and will use it ona larger scale in the technological capitalof India, by launching Whatsapp groupsto create echo chambers in all regions ofthe State. The Congress must regain theinitiative by ensuring that its campaign isfully data-driven and its communicationis digitally-focused.

Madhya Pradesh, with 90 per cent

Hindu and 20 per cent tribal population,has a large number of jobless, well-edu-cated youth, and agricultural workers.The BJP has held the State since 2003, butcurrently faces challenges, mainly due tofarmer unrest. The farmers’ movement(2017) showed the power of social mediaand mobile technology in mobilisingmovements and ideas in the countryside.Analytica believes that the Congress hasa real chance in Madhya Pradesh andshould conduct a deep study to under-stand the grievances and motivations ofthe electorate and then micro-targetpeople in rural areas.

Chhattisgarh is resource-rich and fastdeveloping State, but has the lowest livingstandards and infrastructure develop-ment. Over 80 per cent is rural and farm-ing population are unhappy. Though theBJP has been in power since 2003, the

Congress has a better chance here, havinglost recent elections very narrowly. Also,the decline in Maoist activity will stimu-late higher voting in previously lowturnout areas. Cambridge Analytica sug-gests that the Congress must collect datato understand the issues that will give it theedge in a 93 per cent Hindu State, and alternational attitudes in 2019.

The 2014 general election was a dis-aster for the Congress; it won just 44 seatsand lost even the Opposition status. It suf-fered loss of reputation due to allegationsof corruption, disunity, sycophancy andnepotism, and the growing wealth gap andeconomic disparity. For 2019, CambridgeAnalytica said that by November 2017, itwould undertake a comprehensive reviewof the Congress’s existing communicationscapability to project factors that willdetermine success in the pan-Indian con-text. It would complete a Data GapAnalysis, “designed to extract maximumvalue from your data assets, leveragethird-party data, and use these resourcesto enable data-driven marketing andresearch”.

Between end-2017 till 2019, a complexNational Data Infrastructure Project willhelp mount a powerful national campaignaround “actionable” groups (that share sim-ilar characteristics and can be targettedaccordingly) within the population so thatthe Congress can develop a strategic com-munications plan tailored to the issues andconcerns of each target audience.

The strategy will highlight the top-ics, policies and even the media channelsthat are best suited to resonate with dif-ferent audience groups and segments ofsociety, thus enabling the Congress totake the right message to the right peo-ple, in 2018 and beyond, and make themgo and vote (Get Out The Vote).Cambridge Analytica says it can give aspecial edge, as it did for PresidentTrump, by predicting how voters thinkand behave, so they can be targetted:“Crucially, we will also identify whichvoters are likely to support the INC”.

For the Congress, 2019 represents anexistential challenge. Cambridge Analyticasays it must rebrand and reorganise orstruggle to survive as a major political insti-tution. For a preliminary report, this is acompetent analysis. However, after the datamisuse scandal burst in London andWashington, and the Government ofIndia demanded information on the useof citizen’s data, it is unclear if the Congressor other political parties will use, oradmit using, the firm in the State andnational elections.

Certainly, the advice to use high volt-age campaigns to grab eyeballs across thecountry — stifling dissent, anti-ScheduledCaste bias, film Padmavat, Kathua murdercase, judges appointments, impeachmentof the Chief Justice of India, et al — havepushed the BJP on the back foot. It mayhave recovered in each case, but it is yetto seize control of the narrative.

(The writer is Senior Fellow, NehruMemorial Museum and Library; the viewsexpressed are personal)A

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Sir — This refers to the editorial,“Watch your mouth” (April 30). Itwould be prudent for all thosewho matter in the BJP, includingthe Prime Minister, to talk less andwork more. The more the mem-bers indulge in talk, the more theyspit venom, much to the detrimentof the party. If they do not exer-cise control over their tongue, theymay naturally lose control onthemselves, with the result that theparty will lose control in variousStates. Leaders are elected to gov-ern the States and not to give ser-mons to the people. If absolutepower is the reason for the lead-ers to indulge in bad-mouthing,well, they can expect ‘shocks’sooner than later.

VS Jayaraman Chennai

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Sir — Every year, May 1 isobserved as Labour Day. The ideabehind this day is to gain as muchas one can — for oneself and notspend the day watching televisionor playing games. As we celebratethis day today, we must ponder:Have we done something of valuefor our labour class or tried toresolve their problems?

Our labourers are faced withcountless problems, such as pover-ty, illiteracy, food and water crisesamong others. A vast majority ofthem as also daily-wage workersremain outside the field of labourlaws, which means that they haveno paid holidays, no job security,no medical coverage, no pensionor provident fund, no limit on

working hours and are paid noovertime. In India the problem iseven complex as child labour hasbecome a growing phenomenon.It has its root in the socio-econom-ic environment of the country.

India became a member of theInternational LabourOrganization right soon afterindependence in 1947. However,there is not much change visible.When we look at the present sit-uation, implementation of theLabour law is zero. People must beheld accountable.

Jubel D’CruzMumbai

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Sir — This refers to the article,“Resetting India-China ties” (April30) by Abhishek Pratap Singh.Indian Prime Minister NarendraModi and Chinese President XiJinping, during their informal two-day relation-building summit inWuhan, have once again fulfilledthe formality of cordial talks with their commit-ment to cooperate in areas ofcounter-terrorism. However, it wasonly a few days ago when Chinadefended its all-weather friendPakistan against Prime MinisterModi calling it a “rouge nation”, a“terror-export-factory”. Bilateraldeclarations between India andChina are, thus, simply formal oneswith no practical value. China hasneither ever condemned nor willever condemn Pakistan for its ter-ror-activities against India.

Madhu AgrawalDelhi

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Research is the backbone of thehigher education system anduniversities. Functions of high-

er education include teaching,research and extension. Teaching andresearch are expected to consume 80per cent of the time and efforts ofteachers as well as students. In fact,research can be the single mostimportant criterion for judging thequality of any university.

If teachers are not involved inresearch, they won’t be able to updatethemselves. Consequently, theywould be delivering same lecturesyear after year. However, I must addthat research does not always meandoctoral research or research leadingto an award of a degree. Teachers atthe undergraduate level may be

involved in action research or short-term research to test their ownunderstanding about different areasof teaching.

During the mid-1970s, theUniversity Grants Commission(UGC) made it compulsory for allteachers to earn a doctoral degree toget promoted and to get salaryincrements. Since then, every teacherhas earned a PhD degree, and as aconsequence, has become eligible toextra increments.

If we look at the rate of award ofPhD degrees, the maximum numberof them must have been awardedduring the late 1970s. Every eligiblesupervisor got their scholars regis-tered in double digits. In fact, somesupervisors had more than 50 schol-ars registered with them. Some of thelesser known universities awardedmost of the PhD degrees.

I don’t think even one per cent ofthose registered for PhD were deniedtheir degree because they did not haveresearch acumen or their work was notup to the mark. And ever since, therehas not been any break in this process.

It will be anybody’s guess that either theUGC never reviewed its decision or itdid not have any understanding of theprocess and, hence, expected out-comes from its decisions.

It is a fact that Indian research hasbeen under criticism time and again.A report said, “Indian PhD is not worththe paper on which it is printed.”Nothing could be more damaging tothe Indian higher education. Instead ofdefending the degrees awarded by ouruniversities, we must take such com-ments seriously. Universities with non-functional libraries and laboratorieswith no supplies are awarding PhDs inbulk, that too in major subjects.

Once I had the occasion to read aPhD thesis in which the scholar waspleading to pass the right of childrento primary education. This, more thana year after the Right of Children to Freeand Compulsory Education Act waspassed in 2009. One wonders what hasthe UGC been doing to maintain thequality of research?

On a lighter note, a seniorteacher once mentioned that doctor-al degree is the easiest degree to be

obtained/awarded. Once a scholarhas been able to find a guru, he/shecan rest assured that the degree willbe awarded. The supervisor approvesthe research proposal and alsodefends it at the Board of Studies orResearch Council, as the case may be.If the supervisor is a senior person,chances of rejection of the topic isunlikely. Once the topic is approved,the supervisor makes sure that thecandidates’ presentation is not reject-ed. Finally, the thesis, approved by thesupervisor, is submitted.

There was a provision maderecently to prepare a pre-submissionpresentation by the candidate andalso a viva-voce. But again, rejectionshave been rare. In any case, the nameof the examiner is submitted by thesupervisor. In academia, peer review issacrosanct; and we boast of it but inIndia, we have made a mockery of peerreview. A thesis is rarely rejected. Weknow the reasons. The UGC too mustknow. If it does not, it must do someexercise to find the truth.

In a number of Western universi-ties, the supervisor does not sign the

thesis and certify that the work of thescholar is genuine. How is it possiblefor the supervisor to certify that thework of the scholar is genuine and notcopied from any other source? Thesupervisor is not expected to haveaccessed all the sources that the schol-ar accesses as a researcher of thatarea/topic. However, in most Indianuniversities, the supervisor is also oneof the examiners. These are age-oldprocesses and we stick to it. More reput-ed universities have done away withthese processes. The supervisor neithersigns the thesis nor is he/she theexaminer. Is it not time we reconsiderour processes?

In fact, the whole process ofawarding doctoral degree needsreconsideration and revamping butI will put the case of distance edu-cation universities and rest my case.In 2009, the UGC came out with aregulation and made all distance edu-cation universities ineligible forawarding doctoral degrees. Nothingcould be funnier than this. Theword and the institution named‘university’ incorporates in it, the act

of research. How can a university bemade ineligible to award doctoraldegree and be justified to be calleda university?

The open university is among thetop five research universities in the UK.The Indira Gandhi National OpenUniversity first decided not to promoteresearch during the early years of itsestablishment. The ill-effects of thisdecision can be seen now and laterwhen it decided to start researchdegree programme.

The UGC is posed with majorroadblocks. In fact, open universitiesshould be the best platform to promotenon-conventional research and alsoretain researchers, who otherwise can-not go to regular universities. Here isa message for the Chairman, UGC DPSingh: Better late than never. If we wantto see some of our universities in thebest 200 list, reconsider your researchnorms and guidelines and also linkfunding to good research output.

(The writer is Professor of Educationat the Indira Gandhi National OpenUniversity, New Delhi. Views expressedare personal)

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India is neither a signatory to the1951 Refugee Convention norto the Protocol Relating to theStatus of Refugees that came toforce in 1967. Still, refugees con-

tinue to pour and the country hasmore than 3,00,000 refugees from 30different countries. The number ofillegal refugees may be much more.

According to reports, about 11lakh Rohingyas have already reachedBangladesh and many may try toinfiltrate into India. The UN termedit as “ethnic cleansing” of Rohingyain Myanmar while the Army overthere said that military action isagainst terrorists and that they are notaverse to civilians. UnqualifiedRohingya refugees are unacceptableas they are regarded as a burden onthe economy. A majority of theBuddhist community in Myanmarconsiders Rohingyas as illegal Bengalimigrants. No citizenship rights weregiven to the Rohingyas and numer-ous restrictions were imposed onthem. Rohingyas are Sunni Muslimsand have fought for an independentcountry in the past. In 1947 and 1971,they struggled to join East Pakistanand Bangladesh respectively.

Rohingya Muslims have alsoconstituted a few terrorist organisa-tions, including the RohingyaSolidarity Organisation, the Harkat-al Yaqin, the Arakan Rohingya andSalvation Army (ARSA) to wage warand establish an independentMuslim state. Unfortunately, a fewMuslim terrorist organisations, espe-cially in Pakistan, started assistingthese terrorist outfits. BesidesPakistan, few Muslim organisationsin the Middle East also pumpedpetro dollars into the coffers ofRohingya terrorist outfits.

In fact, the present crisis erupt-ed when the Myanmar Army tookreprisal of the attack on August 25,2017, by ARSA terrorists on 30 policeposts and one Army base in whichabout 12 security personnel werekilled. Before this major assault, Ro-hingya terrorists also attacked Gov-ernment offices in 2016 and killed ab-out nine police personnel. Prior tothese attacks, they also killedBuddhists and Hindus who wereresiding in the area of their control.Intelligence sources claim that whenthe Myanmar Army took control ofthe Rohingya dominated areas, massgraves of Hindus and Buddhists wereunearthed.

ARSA was formed by a Pakistaniresiding in Saudi Arabia; and asRohingyas were living below thepoverty line in Myanmar as well as inBangladesh, they were vulnerableand were exploited by Islamic extrem-ists. The Islamic State (IS), which hasput a massive hate material on theInternet, was able to recruit a few

Rohingya Muslims who went to Syriaand Iraq to fight in conjunction withthe IS. There are also reports that theIS and the Lashkar-e-Tayyeba are try-ing to recruit Rohingyas staying inJammu while the Al Qaeda in theIndian subcontinent has also support-ed the Rohingyas.

Aqa Mul Mujahidin, the terror-ist outfit of Rohingya Muslims, haslinks with the Inter-Ser vicesIntelligence (ISI) in Pakistan, Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and LeT. Thereare also reports that the Rohingyas,settled in Jammu illegally, helped ter-rorists of JeM in the reconnaissanceof the Army camp in Sunjuwan. JeMattacked the Army camp on February10 in which six Indian Army person-nel were martyred.

India shares a porous borderwith Bangladesh and, hence, it isexpected that a large number ofRohingya Muslims will cross theborder. This is hazardous. Accordingto official figures, about 40,000Rohingya refugees have alreadyentered the country while analystsbelieve that the actual number ismuch more. Both Bangladesh andIndian security personnel claim thatRohingya Muslims are a big threat tothe security of the region as a largenumber of young Rohingyas arethoroughly radicalised. The camps ofRohingya refugees are in Chittagongarea of Bangladesh which is infamousfor Islamic extremism and secession-ist activities. In the past, terroristsfrom the North-East took shelter in

this region before and after terroristattacks in India. After Sheikh Hasinacame to power, these terrorist campswere destroyed.

Unfortunately, a large number ofNGOs, working with the Rohingyas,have Islamic extremist leanings andinculcate radicalism in them. As thisis the election year in Bangladesh, thepresent Government is not wantingto take any action against Islamic ter-rorists. China is also augmenting itsinfluence in Rakhine Province as wellas in Bangladesh by assisting it in thegargantuan Rohingya refugee prob-lem. China, which wants to keep for-eign powers away from the Rakhinestate, is silently trying with Myanmarand Bangladesh to solve the refugeeproblem amicably with an ulteriormotive of enhancing its influence andkeeping India away from both itsneighbours. Hence, India has to bevery cautious. On the one hand, itmust boost its influence. On the other,it must see to it that China does notincrease its sway, thereby mitigatingIndia’s position.

Myanmar and Bangladesh signedan agreement in November last yearto facilitate the return of Rohingyarefugees but the Accord did notdeliver desired results. The presentGovernment, on the basis of analysisof intelligence agencies, stated in theSupreme Court that a few Rohingyarefugees have terrorist backgroundand were active in Delhi, Jammu,Hyderabad and Mewat. It is impor-tant to note that Rohingya Muslims

have settled in Jammu where non-Kashmiris are not allowed to settle.Second, their helpers settled them inHindu populated Jammu and not inthe Valley. Rohingya refugees are scat-tered in several places across thecountry. This will make their repatri-ation very difficult.

The Government of India hastaken the righteous decision to notbow down to international pressureand instead, to repatriate Rohingyarefugees. The Government shouldnow be firm in dealing with biasedMuslim organisations, NGOs, humanright activists and hypocrites who donot think before criticising theGovernment. India has limitedresources and huge population.Hence, people have full right onresources. Second, India is alreadyfighting with terrorism at severalplaces, including Pakistan-sponsoredterrorism as well as Left WingExtremism. Hence, India cannotafford a large number of radicalRohingyas in diverse parts of thecountry.

New Delhi very rightly chalkedout a long-term plan to deal the cri-sis. India sent 7,000 tonne of reliefmaterial to Bangladesh under opera-tion Insaniyat and also sanctioned $25million to Myanmar for the develop-ment of infrastructure in RakhineState so that Rohingya refugees canreturn back to their homeland. Indianauthorities are also negotiating withofficials in Myanmar to pave the wayfor the return of the Rohingyas.

Rohingyas do not have citizen-ship rights, Myanmar authoritieshave formulated a very stringent ver-ification criteria and because oftheir past history, there exists severeanti-Rohingya sentiments inMyanmar. Hence, it will be difficultto repatriate them. It is, therefore,important for Indian security agen-cies to enhance vigilance on the bor-der areas.

Several Rohingyas have obtaineddocuments like Aadhaar card, pancard and even voter-ID cardsthrough fraudulent means.Unfortunately, there are a few NGOsand so-called human rights activistswho go out of the way to assist theseillegal immigrants and render assis-tance in their illegal settlement withulterior motives. They may start alegal battle; raise slogans and organ-ise demonstrations in favour ofRohingyas and, hence, make theirdeportation difficult.

At present, India has no refugeepolicy, the country must formulate adetailed refugee policy so that illegalimmigrants can be handled proper-ly. In a nutshell, India is not respon-sible for the present exodus. Hence,the Government must resist pressure—international as well as national —and not allow Rohingya refugees tosettle in India. Several of them mayturn jihadists or may work as ‘lonewolf ’ and carryout terrorist activities.

(The writer is member, UnitedServices Institute of India, and Institutefor Defence Studies and Analyses)

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Factoring delays and someother reasons, as many as

356 infrastructure projects inthe country, each worth �150crore or above, have shown costoverrun of �2.19 lakh crore,according to a report releasedby the Government.

Generally, Ministry ofStatistics and ProgrammeImplementation (MSPI) mon-itors all infrastructure projectsworth �150 crore and above. Asper the report, about 356 out oftotal 1,304 projects reportedcost overrun, which is 258times escalation. “Total origi-nal cost of implementation of1,304 projects was �16.21 lakhcrore and their anticipatedcompletion cost is �18.41 lakhcrore, which reflects overallcost overrun of �2.19 lakhcrore which means 13.56 percent of original cost,” said theMinistry's latest report forJanuary 2018.

The report further said, theexpenditure incurred on these

projects till January 2018 is�6.61 lakh crore, which is 35.92per cent of the anticipated costof the projects. “Of the 1,304projects, 6 have reported com-pletion and 9 new projectshave been initiated duringJanuary. While 15 projects areahead of schedule, 305 are onschedule, 258 are delayed, 356projects are showing cost over-run and 94 projects are show-ing both time and cost over-run with respect to originalimplementation schedules,” the

report added.However, it also said the

number of delayed projectsdecreases to 223 if delay is cal-culated with reference to latestrevised schedules of comple-tion. “For 726 projects, whereoriginal/anticipated commis-sioning date has not beenreported, all concerned havebeen requested to provide theoriginal/anticipated commis-sioning date so that these pro-jects can be monitored forcompletion vis-a-vis the tar-

geted dates,” it added.Of the 258 delayed pro-

jects, 51 have overall delay inthe range of 1-12 months, 56projects (13-24 months), 83projects (25-60 months) and 68projects (61 months andabove).

The report attributes thetime overrun to a host of issues,including delay in land acqui-sition, forest clearance, equip-ment supply, fund constraint,Maoist incursion, legal casesand law and order situation.

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Market continued its win-ning run for a third

straight session, with the BSEbenchmark Sensex rising 191points to a near three-monthhigh of 35,160, led by intensebuying mainly in banking andIT stocks amid positive globalcues and high optimism oncorporate earnings.

Also, the broader NSENifty gained over 47 points tobreach the psychological10,700-level.

Market sentiment also gota boost after the Reserve Bankon Friday further liberalisedexternal commercial borrowing(ECB) policy by includingmore sectors in the window, ina bid to facilitate easy access tooverseas funds by the India Inc.

A higher opening inEuropean markets and positiveAsian cues, following lastweek's historic North-SouthKorea summit, too fuelledoptimism.

The gains on domesticbourses were led by financialand technology stocks asinvestors widened their expo-sure ahead of key corporateresults.

“Market continued its win-ning streak led by positiveglobal cues and RBI's ease inrules for FPIs to invest inbonds. PSU banks outper-formed in expectation of sta-bility in yield while volumegrowth in bond market willprovide relief to rupee,” VinodNair, Head of Research, GeojitFinancial Services Ltd, said.

Quarterly results so farhave been better, contrarian betIT industry is gaining investors'attention owing to improvingmacros and strengthening dol-lar, he added.

The January-March quar-terly results posted by compa-nies so far are largely in linewith market expectations.

Meanwhile, the Mortgagelender HDFC today reported28.63 per cent rise in consoli-

dated net profit at �3,961.17crore for the quarter endedMarch 31, 2018.

Driven by realty, capitalgoods, IT and banking stocks,the Sensex reclaimed the35,000-mark at the outset to hita high of 35,213.30 before end-ing at 35,160.36, up 190.66points, or 0.55 per cent. This isits highest closing for theSensex since February 1 whenit had ended at 35,906.66.

The gauge had climbed468.43 points in the previous

two days.For the 50-share NSE Nifty,

the close came in at 10,739.35,higher by 47.05 points, or 0.44per cent, after shuttlingbetween 10,759 and 10,704.60.

Main indices - Sensex andNifty - remained well abovetheir key levels of 35,000 and10,700 levels points, respec-tively throughout the session asinvestors were optimistic aboutupcoming results from morecompanies.

Domestic financial institu-

tions continued to hold groundand retail investors built upmore bets amid a firming Asiantrend.

Domestic institutionalinvestors (DIIs) picked upshares worth a net �633.71crore on Friday. Foreign port-folio investors (FPIs) exited,pulling out shares amountingto �759.21 crore on a net basis,showed provisional data.

Metal, realty, capital goods,healthcare, power, PSU andauto sector stocks were othermajor winners of the day.

In the Asian region, HongKong's Hang Seng rose 1.74 percent. Taiwan up 0.99 per cent,while Singapore rose 1.03 percent. Financial markets in Japanand China were shut today forpublic holidays.

Key indices in Europe werein a better shape in their earlysession. Frankfurt's DAX wasup 0.22 per cent and Paris CAC40 gained 0.23 per cent.London's FTSE edged up 0.50per cent.

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Mortgage lender HDFC onMonday posted a 28.63

per cent rise in its consolidat-ed net profit at �3,961.17 crorefor the fourth quarter endedMarch 2018.

The company had a netprofit of �3,079.33 crore in theJanuary-March quarter of2016-17.

Total income during thequarter grew 17.78 per cent to�21,248.79 crore as against�18,040.59 crore in the year-ago period, HDFC said in aregulatory filing.

For the entire 2017-18 fis-cal, its net profit rose 47 percent to �16,254.96 crore from�11,051.12 crore in 2016-17.

On standalone basis,HDFC posted a 39.23 per centrise in net profit at �2,846.22crore in the reported quarter ascompared to �2,044.2 crore inthe year-ago period.

Total standalone incomeduring the quarter grew 13.14per cent to �9,633.89 crore asagainst �8,514.51 crore in year-ago three months.

Total income for the fullfiscal 2017-18 grew to�69,141.67 crore from�61,087.63 crore in 2016-17.

HDFC in a statement saidthe net interest income for thequarter ended March 31, 2018stood at �3,211 crore comparedto �2,852 crore in the corre-sponding quarter of the previ-ous year, representing a growthof 13 per cent.

HDFC's gross non-per-forming loans as on March 31,2018 stood at �4,019 crore. Thisis equivalent to 1.11 per cent ofthe loan portfolio.

The non-performing loansof the individual portfoliostood at 0.64 per cent while thatof the non-individual portfoliostood at 2.18 per cent, it added.

Net interest margin for theyear ended March 31, 2018 was4 per cent, it added.

HDFC's total individualloan disbursements grew by 29per cent during the year endedMarch 31, 2018. The averagesize of individual loans stood at

�26.4 lakh.On an assets under man-

agement (AUM) basis, thegrowth in the individual loanbook was 18 per cent and thenon-individual loan book was17 per cent.

The growth in the totalloan book was 18 per cent.

As on March 31, 2018,individual loans comprise 73per cent of the AUM.

As on March 31, 2018, theloan book size stood at Rs3,59,442 crore as against Rs2,96,472 crore in the previousyear. HDFC's board hasapproved raising up to Rs85,000 crore through issuanceof debt securities.

“The board approvedissuance of redeemable non-convertible debentures(secured/unsecured) and orhybrid instruments (not in thenature of equity shares) up to

Rs 85,000 crore on a privateplacement basis,” HDFC said ina BSE filing.

HDFC's board alsoapproved re-appointment ofKeki Mistry as the managingdirector (designated as vicechairman and chief executiveofficer) of the Corporation fora period of 3 years.

DFC has sought members'approval for both the propos-als in its annual general meet-ing scheduled for July 30, 2018.

The company's board rec-ommended a final dividend of�16.50 per equity share of a facevalue of �2 each for 2017-18.

In a separate fling, HDFCannounced appointment ofUpendra Kumar Sinha andJalaj Ashwin Dani as indepen-dent directors (additionaldirectors) on the board for aperiod of 5 years with effectfrom April 30, 2018, subject tothe approval of the members atthe ensuing AGM.

It also announced resigna-tion of Non-Executive DirectorDM Sukthankar andIndependent Director DNGhosh from the board witheffect from April 30.

Shares of HDFC settled1.44 per cent higher at�1,884.65 per scrip on the BSE.

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The Government is not considering cutting exciseduty on petrol and diesel yet as rates have not

touched levels that could trigger such an action, saidEconomic Affairs Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg.

State oil firms have not revised petrol and dieselprice for almost a week now. This after petrol pricehit a 55-month high of �74.63 a litre and diesel ratesclimbed to a record high of �65.93.

In an interview to PTI, Garg said oil prices canimpact the government's fiscal maths if they result ina spike in rates of domestic cooking gas (LPG) - theonly commodity that is subsidised now.

“Otherwise there is no direct subsidy any longer,” he

said. “Indirect subsidy/impact comes, if crude oil pricesreach a certain level (and) there might by some rethinkabout excise duty etc. That's not happened so far.”

Without indicating the level of oil prices that couldtrigger an excise duty cut, he said, “If the level (of pricesnow) does not go up, there is no reason (for exciseduty cut).”

Every rupee cut in excise duty on petrol and dieselwill result in a revenue loss of �13,000 crore. Asked ifthere is any thinking of cutting excise duty or askingPSU oil firms to hold rates till elections in Karnataka,he said, “We have not seen anything (on it).”

The Central Government levies �19.48 a litre ofexcise duty on petrol and �15.33 per litre on diesel.State sales tax or VAT vary from state to state. In Delhi,

VAT on petrol is �15.84 and �9.68 a litre on diesel.The government is hoping that geopolitical ten-

sions would ease and US shale oil would help ease oilprices that are near three-year high.

“Fundamental reasons, to my mind, don't existfor oil prices to go up further from both demand andsupply situation,” Garg said.

The recent spurt may have been because of stockdrawdowns, trade tensions and geopolitics aroundSyria and Korea.

“I think demand-supply situation is also turningalright. I think those (geopolitical issues) are also get-ting out of the way. So I don't expect prices to go upfurther and that's why I said ideally it should comedown,” he said.

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The Government plans toencourage whistle-blowers

to inform it about suspiciousactivities at corporates and isworking to link Aadhaar detailsof stakeholders with filingsmade under the companieslaw, Union Minister PPChaudhary has said.

Embarking on multi-pronged efforts to clamp downon illicit fund flows, the cor-porate affairs ministry hasalready struck off the names of2.26 lakh companies from theofficial records for not carryingout business activities for longbesides ordering probes into

the affairs of many such enti-ties.

“We would also encouragethe whistle-blowers to comeforward to inform the govern-ment, concerned authoritiesabout any suspected activities,if they come to know about anysuch wrong things,” Chaudharytold PTI in a recent interview.

The Minister of State forCorporate Affairs said linkingof Aadhaar details with com-pany filings would help ascer-tain the authenticity of theindividuals concerned.

The ministry aims to tack-le the issue of bogus identitiesin filings of the companies atthe MCA 21 portal and the step

to link Aadhaar details is pro-posed to be taken to deal withthe “menace of shell compa-nies, suspected to be used forlaundering illicit funds”, hesaid.

Filings under theCompanies Act are submittedto the ministry through MCA21 portal.

According to Chaudhary,the ministry has already askedindividual stakeholders toobtain Aadhaar at the earliestfor “integrating their detailswith MCA 21”.

“The idea is to have a sys-tem in place which would helpin identifying the stakeholderswhose names come up in thefilings made through MCA 21.

“Aadhaar number alongwith the filings would helpascertain the authenticity of theindividuals,” Chaudhary, whoholds Minister of State for Law

and Justice portfolio, said.In recent times, there have

been rising instances of cor-porate misdoings and quite afew cases have been referred fordetailed probe by the SeriousFraud Investigation Office(SFIO).

The SFIO comes underthe corporate affairs ministry.

Chaudhary said the min-istry and markets regulatorSebi are vigilant to safeguardthe interests of the investors.

“As far as educating theinvestors is concerned, theinvestors are advised to exercisedue diligence before consider-ing investment in any compa-ny,” he added.

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Asurvey conducted recently among ClassX students in Delhi found that over one-fifth have non-alcoholic fatty liver disease

(NAFLD). One of the primary reasons for thisis the increased consumption of junk food andlittle to no physical activity. There is need to cre-ate awareness about the high waist circumfer-ence and waist-to-hip ratio which are the mainmarkers for children at risk.

The NAFLD inflames the liver because ofexcessive fat deposits. It can lead to scarring ofthe liver, cirrhosis and eventually liver failure.The damage it does is akin to that caused byexcessive consumption of alcohol.

Speaking about this, Dr KK Aggarwal,president, Heart Care Foundation of India, said:“Lifestyle diseases are on the rise among chil-dren. This is an alarming situation as they areexposed to unhealthy habits right at that youngage, including eating junk and lack of exercise.No medicine can cause NAFLD and there maybe no signs of this condition worsening. It is achallenge treating children as at their age, theyare bound to be influenced by their immediateenvironment, which starts right at home.Parents and guardians need to lead by exampleas this is the first step to resolving the issue.”

In non-obese children, a warning sign towatch out for is excessive central fat in the waistand abdominal region. This central obesity isoften associated with ectopic fat deposits (stor-age of triglycerides in tissues other than adiposethat is meant to store fat) in the liver.

Adding further, Dr Aggarwal, who is also theGroup Editor of IJCP, said: “The good news isthat NAFLD can be reversed through lifestylechanges in the early stages. Children should begiven a balanced diet and home-cooked food.All sources of empty calories such as chocolatesand biscuits should be omitted from the diet.Apart from this, it is also imperative to makeexercise a priority rather than an option.”

The 25th MTNL Perfect Health Mela 2018to be organised in October this year will focuson some of these aspects concerning children.It also happens to be the silver jubilee year ofthe mela.

Some tips from HCFI.�Eat a healthy plant-based diet rich in fruits, veg-etables, whole grains and healthy fats.�If you are overweight or obese, reduce the num-ber of calories you eat each day and get moreexercise. If you have a healthy weight, work tomaintain it by choosing a healthy diet and exer-cising.�Exercise most days of the week. Try to get atleast 30 minutes of physical activity every day.�There are reports to indicate that cinnamon(dalchini) can help improve lipid profiles andNAFLD due to its antioxidant and insulin-sen-sitizer properties.

The liver plays a vital role to purify the blood, helps in diges-tion and fights infection. The rising cases of liver diseasescan be serious and even fatal. The liver can be damaged due

to the inflamed cell, bile flow can be obstructed, cholesterol canaccumulate, blood flow to the liver may be compromised and livertissue can be damaged by chemicals and minerals, or infiltratedby abnormal cells, like cancer cells.

�"���" Some of the early signs of the liver disorder include abdominal pain,abnormal stools and flu-like symptoms including fatigue, nausea,vomiting, muscle or joint pain and fever. Patients can also expe-rience loss of appetite, swelling of abdomen and/or legs, bleedingand bruising more easily, dark urine, jaundice and sensitivity tomedications experiencing stronger side effects

��� ����������� ������From the beginning of the condition to advanced liver disease,

the damage progresses in these four stages:Stage 1: Initial stage of liver disease includes inflammation

of the liver or bile duct. This cause abdominal pain as the bodytries to fight the infection. The symptoms are treatable.

Stage 2: Fibrosis of the liver damages or scarring from the firststage begins to block the normal blood flow of the liver.

Stage 3: Cirrhosis of the liver, this chronic condition, createspermanent scarring that blocksthe blood flow. It causes seri-ous conditions that increase theseverity of the liver disease andis recognised as one of the lead-ing causes of death in the US.Doctors focus treatment onmanaging the symptoms inorder to prevent it.

Stage 4: Advanced liverdisease signals the end of allnormal liver function.Symptoms of liver failureinclude vomiting, diarrhoeaand fatigue as well as thesymptoms from stage 3. Whilethe progression from cirrhosisto failure can take years, thedamage is irreversible andeventual leads to death.

����� � The key to treating liver disease is to diagnose the condition

as early as possible. The in depth diagnosis involves medical his-tory and physical examination of the patient. In alcohol abusedpatient, it becomes little difficult to trace the medical history. Bloodtests are crucial in assessing liver inflammation and function.

�� � Some of the important blood tests that monitor liver inflam-

mation and cell damage, kidney function and blood clotting func-tion include Liver Functions Tests (LFT), Renal Function Tests(RFT), Complete Blood Count (CBC), PT INR and AmmoniaBlood test. Patients might also require to get an ultrasound donethat can provide information about the appearance and the bloodflow of the liver, and CT and MRI scan to determine changes inthe liver in advanced cases of liver disease. The viral infection teststhat are also considered for the diagnosis includes Hepatitis B andHepatitis C tests.

����"���Treatment for liver disease depends on the diagnosis. The liver

is one of the few organs in the body that can repair and regener-ate itself. Some liver problems can be treated with lifestyle modi-fications, such as losing weight and lowering one’s cholesterol. Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is managed almost exclusive-ly by modifying your diet and exercise routine. Alcohol is direct-ly toxic to liver cells and can cause liver inflammation, referred toas alcoholic hepatitis. In chronic alcohol abuse, fat accumulationoccurs in liver cells affecting their ability to function.

Other liver problems may be treated with medications or mayrequire surgery. Treatment for liver disease that causes or has ledto ultimately liver failure may require a liver transplant.

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��������������Also known as Karela in Hindi, Bitter Gourdcomes studded with vitamins A, K, C, B2, B3, Magnesium

as well as other nutrients. Its regular consumption guaranteesreduction in blood sugar levels. It also strengthens immunity,is good for liver functioning, aids in constipation and is greatfor treating skin troubles likeacne and pimples. 30 mlbitter gourd juiceextract isrecommended on adaily basis. Excessconsumption of bittergourd juice may causeabdominal pain anddiarrhoea. Pregnant womenshould also avoid taking too much bittergourd or its juice as it may stimulate the uterus and lead topreterm labour.

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On the occasion of WorldAsthma Day today, SRLDiagnostics has brought out

a survey naming dust as the biggestcause of respiratory allergies amongIndians, with men suffering morefrom allergen reactivity than women.

The analysis was done on diag-nostic test reports of five years from2013 to 2017, with a sample size ofmore than 63,000 patients who hadundergone blood IgE level checks forallergens known to cause allergicasthma across the country.

While the analysis did not seesignificant zonal variation in allergenreactivity, it was observed thatpatients in younger age groups of lessthan 30 years suffered more. Aninteresting find of the study was thatacross various geographies in India,as an individual allergen, cockroachwas the No 1 yielding more than 60per cent abnormal results.

Speaking on the findings, Dr BRDas, advisor and mentor of R&D,SRL Diagnostics, said: “An allergicreaction can range from mild tosevere, but irrespective of that, it isimportant that people know theirallergic triggers so that these can beavoided.

“Since lab testing of allergy hasimproved tremendously over the lasttwo decades, a simple blood test canthrow up report on multiple aller-gens. As we know, asthma can becaused or worsened by many aller-gens. In our analysis, conducted fromthe data gathered from our labora-tories across India, we identified sev-eral allergen triggers for asthma.Mites hidden in the dust were themost common cause of allergy-induced asthma,” he added.

Allergic reaction is responsibleup to 90 per cent of childhood asth-

ma and around 50 per cent of adultasthma. It is the result of the bodies’reaction to environmental allergenslike dust, pollen, grass, insects,domesticated animal dander etc.which can trigger asthmatic symp-toms.

Peculiarly, even food can causeallergic asthma in children. In aller-gy, the body mistakenly identifies anotherwise harmless allergen as aninvader and reactively triggers theimmune system to produce IgEclass of antibodies and release vari-ous chemicals like histamine. Thiscan cause nasal congestion, runnynose, itchy eyes or skin reactions andin some people, asthmatic attacks.”

A recent study titled IndianStudy on Epidemiology of Asthma,Respiratory Symptoms and ChronicBronchitis (INSEARCH) estimatedthat in India, out of the 18 millionwho suffer from asthma, 2.05% areless than 15 in age.

Stressing the need for a thoroughallergy diagnostics, SRL Diagnostics’CEO Arindam Haldar said: “Whilewe know that the rising pollutionlevel is adding to the severity of res-piratory disorders, research showsthat it also worsens asthma symp-toms. As a preventive step, thoseexposed to pollution should under-go tests to ascertain the allergens they

are sensitive to,” he added.Out of 300 million people who

suffer from asthma worldwide, about1/12th live in India. The studyincluded data from five major cate-gories- Trees/Pollens, Food Products,Animals and Insects, Fungi, Dustand Grass. Across the spectrum,allergens were seen to be triggeringasthma. The following were found tohave maximum positivity:

�Trees/ pollens: Parthenium (Alsoknown as congress grass or ragweed)�Food: Wheat�Mold/Fungi: A. fumigates (themost common airborne saprophyt-ic fungi, which is known to cause dis-eases in immune-deficient peopleand allergy in immune competent)�Dust: House dust mite D. farinae�Grass: Bermuda grass�Animals and Insects: Cockroach,Cow dander

Across all spectrums, menwere found to have the highestallergen reactivity, while dust aller-gy was found to be the major causeof asthmatic trigger. While there isnot much variation in the percent-age positivity for dust allergy,eastern India showed the highestinclination for the same at 59%,followed by South and West India,respectively.

��������

India has the fourthhighest number ofmalaria cases and deathsin the world as per recentreports. About 95% of thepeople are at risk. Most casesare reported from States like Chhattisgarh,Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha.There is an urgent need to document casesand take integrated action at the earliest.

However, there are many challengesbefore this can be achieved. What is need-ed is a large-scale detection of cases andmajor awareness campaigns.

Symptoms of severe malaria includethe following: Fever and chills; impairedconsciousness, prostration, or adopting aprone position; multiple convulsions;deep breathing and respiratory distress;abnormal bleeding and signs of anemia;and clinical jaundice and evidence of vitalorgan dysfunction.

�"����� ��������������������Do not let water stagnate in your

house and the surrounding areas.Mosquito cycle takes 7-12 days to com-plete. So, if any utensil or container thatstores water is cleaned properly once ina week, there are no chances of mosqui-to breeding.

�Use mosquito nets/repellents innight may not prevent malaria becausethese mosquitoes bite during the daytime.

�Wearing full sleeves shirt andtrousers can prevent mosquito bites.Mosquito repellent can be helpful duringthe day.

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The good news is thatthere are several thingsthat one can follow to

keep the blood pressure incheck without going on medica-tion. However, if this is the routethat one wants to take, itis important that onefollows one of theseremedies regularly.

One of thefirst things is tostop yourselffrom reaching forthe salt shaker.Avoid putting saltin salads and dahi.The salt in the vegeta-bles will be enough withoutone having to compromise onthe taste. Avoid eating processedfoods as well.

Potassium is an importantmineral as it helps the body getrid of sodium and eases pres-sure on the blood vessels. Someof the fruits and vegetables that

one can eat are: Leafy greens,tomatoes, potatoes and sweetpotatoes, melons, bananas, avo-cados, oranges and apricots.

Stress always causes bloodpressure to spike. Studies say

that listening to calmingmusic can help relax

your nervous sys-tem.

People withlow calcium oftenhave high bloodpressure. Formost adults, the

calcium recom-mendation is 1,000

mg per day. Forwomen over 50 and men

over 70, it’s 1,200 mg per day.Eat tofu and beans.

If you’re overweight, loseweight as it can make a big dif-ference to the heart’s health.

Quit smoking. The chem-icals in tobacco are said to dam-age blood vessels.

India is home to 200 million highblood pressure patients that

means one in every three havehigh BP or hypertension. Here are

a few home remedies that canhelp reduce it, sayROSHANI DEVI

To prioritise health needs of the ruralpopulation, India hosted the 15thWorld Rural Conference in New

Delhi recently. The event, in collaborationwith Niti Ayog’s National Rural HealthMission, highlighted the need for rural andremote healthcare.

In context of delivering pri-mary healthcare in far-flungareas and remote access, sever-al workshops were conductedfocussing on bringing ruralhealthcare to the forefront ofhealthcare policy.

“The National Rural Health Missionaddresses issues around rural healthcareinfrastructure and human resource devel-opment. India being largely rural, itshealthcare needs have to be addressedurgently. Active participation of all stake-holders, NGOs, health workers and pol-icy makers is required to revolutionise theprimary health care structure in the rural

areas,” Dr Raman Kumar, AFPL presidentsaid. The event screened short films andart festivals to inspire healthcare workersand celebrate their work at the grassrootslevel. Until now over 1,000 abstracts andscientific programme proposals have

been received in the landmark event.Global doctors visited some ruralhealthcare centres.

“With the participation of over50 nations, this conference hosts allmajor health delivery systems with

an emphasis on supporting and pro-moting rural healthcare, developing

young MBBS doctors into leadershiproles and draws them into the primary andcomprehensive community healthcaredomain. The concept of family doctorsshould be promoted in rural areas as it willnot only save patient time but also curbtreatment costs. Educating rural masses onhealth is our next agenda,” said organis-ing secretary Dr Pratyush Kumar.

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Acoordinated double sui-cide bombing by the

Islamic State group hit centralKabul this morning, killing atleast 25 people, including eightjournalists, officials said.

An AFP photographer anda cameraman for a local TVstation were among the fatali-ties, the police said.

At least 45 people werewounded in the twin attacks,according to Kabul policespokesman, HashmatStanekzai, who also added thatfour policemen were amongthose killed.

The attack was the latest ina relentless string of deadlylarge-scale bombings andassaults that have struck Kabuland elsewhere in Afghanistanso far this year.

And as the Afghan capitalreeled from Monday’s assault,

a suicide car bombing a fewhours later in the southernprovince of Kandahar killed 11children, a police spokesmansaid.

In a statement posted on anIS-affiliated website, the IslamicState group said two of itsmartyrdom seekers carried outthe double Kabul bombings,targeting the headquarters ofthe “renegade” Afghan intelli-gence services.

The blasts took place in thecentral Shash Darak area, hometo NATO headquarters and anumber of embassies and for-eign offices — as well as theAfghan intelligence service.

Stanekzai, the policespokesman, said the first sui-cide bomber was on a motorbike. The second explosionwas meant to hit those rushingto the scene of the attack tohelp the victims of the firstblast, he added.

The second attacker was onfoot, in a crowd of reportersthat had rushed to the scene ofthe first attack, pretending to beone of the media, thespokesman said. The bomberthen detonated his explosiveswhile still among the reporters,Stanekzai said, adding that the

attacker obviously intentional-ly targeted the journalists.

Agence France-Presse saidthe news agency’s chief pho-tographer in Kabul, ShahMarai, was among those killed.AFP said Marai died in a blastthat struck journalists whohad rushed to the scene of the

earlier suicide attack.A local media watchdog,

the Afghan Journalists SafetyCommittee, said eight Afghanjournalists were killed and sixwere wounded. The groupstrongly condemned all attacksagainst journalists.

Sediqullah Tawhidi, an

official form the committee,said a cameraman form thelocal TOLO TV also wasamong those killed. Police offi-cer Jan Agha said all the jour-nalists died in the second blast,which also wounded two policeofficers. Survivors and wit-nesses recounted scenes ofmayhem.

Jawed Ghulam Sakhi, a28-year-old a taxi driver said“when the explosion happened,everywhere was covered withdust and fire, it was so horrif-ic scene” with bodies and bodyparts “thrown about on thestreet and the pavement.”

“I saw journalists coveredwith blood, this time they tar-geted the media,” Sakhi added.

Masouda, a young womanwho was with her husbandnearby, assailed the authorities.Her husband was woundedand was taken to the WazirAkbar Khan hospital.

“I don’t know who isresponsible for all these attacks,every day we lose our lovedones and no one in this gov-ernment is taking responsibil-

ity for the killing of these inno-cent people,” she said.

Afghan President AsharfGhani strongly condemned theattacks. The presidential palacereleased a statement sayingthat attacks targeting innocentcivilians, worshippers insidethe mosques, national anddemocratic processes, reportersand freedom of speech all arewar crimes.

The US Embassy also con-demned the “savage bomb-ings” in Kabul and reiterated itssupport for the Afghan peopleand Ghani’s government intheir fight against terrorism.”

“We extend our deepestcondolences to the families,friends, and colleagues of all thevictims, including a number ofbrave journalists among thedead and injured,” it said,adding that “where media arein danger, all other humanrights are under greater threat.”

Kabul chief of policeDawood Amin said the areathat was hit was quickly sealed off and authorities wereinvestigating.

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After the massive Facebookdata scandal, it has now

come to notice that Twitter hadalso sold users’ data to aCambridge Analytica researcherwho collected the data of near-ly 87 million Facebook userswithout their knowledge andpermission, The SundayTelegraph reported.

According to the report,Twitter sold public data access“for one day” in 2015 toAleksandr Kogan, then a psy-chology researcher withUniversity of Cambridge, and hiscompany Global ScienceResearch (GSR).

“GSR paid for one day ofaccess in 2015, Twitter said, andscooped up a ‘random sample’ ofpublic tweets covering a periodbetween December 2014 andApril 2015. Twitter added that it ‘did not find any access’ toprivate information,” the report noted.

Kogan reportedly said theTwitter data had only been used

to create “brand reports” and“survey extender tools” and that he had not violated Twitter’spolicies.

However, “the most imme-diate concern is that GSR couldtheoretically have correlatedFacebook and Twitter data. Still,this shows just how compre-hensive the data collection was,”technology portal Engadgetreported.

The quiz app “thisisyour-digitallife” developed by Koganand his firm GSR, collected datafrom millions of Facebook userswithout their consent in 2014-2015 which was later shared withthe British political consultancyfirm Cambridge Analytica.

The leaked data was said tobe inappropriately used byCambridge Analytica in activi-ties connected with US PresidentDonald Trump’s election cam-paign in 2016.

Twitter, however, said it hadbanned GSR and CambridgeAnalytica from buying data orrunning adverts on the websiteand that no private data had been

accessed. “Twitter has also made the

policy decision to off-boardadvertising from all accountsowned and operated byCambridge Analytica.

“This decision is based onour determination thatCambridge Analytica operatesusing a business model thatinherently conflicts with accept-able Twitter Ads business prac-tices,” The Telegraph reported, cit-ing a Twitter spokesperson.

In a first interview after theFacebook data scandal brokeout, Kogan told CBS News ear-lier this month that he was notsure whether he ever readFacebook’s developers’ policy.

“The idea that we stole thedata, I think, is technically incor-rect. I mean, they created thesegreat tools for developers tocollect the data.

“And they made it very easy.I mean, this was not a hack. Thiswas, ‘Here’s the door. It’s open.We’re giving away the groceries.Please collect them’,” Kogan toldthe TV show host.

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US President Donald Trumpsuggested on Monday that

his summit with North Koreanleader Kim Jong Un be held in the truce village thatstraddles the border separatingthe two Koreas.

“Numerous countries arebeing considered for theMEETING, but would PeaceHouse/Freedom House, on the Border of North & South Korea, be a moreRepresentative, Important andLasting site than a third partycountry? Just asking!” Trumptweeted.

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Bangladesh Prime MinisterSheikh Hasina on Monday

urged the UN SecurityCouncil to press Myanmar totake back hundreds of thou-sands of its Rohingya nation-als even as she called on Indiaalong with Russia, China andJapan to play a stronger role inresolving the refugee crisis.

Hasina has sought contin-ued and mounting pressure onMyanmar from UN SecurityCouncil members “so thatthey(Myanmar) take their cit-izens back to their country(and) that’s what we want” asthe high-powered team led byUNSC President Gustavo

Adolfo Meza Cuadra met her.“They want to go back to

their own country. So theSecurity Council can play avery pivotal role,” she said.

“We expect countries likeRussia, China, India and Japanto play a major role in resolv-ing the Rohingya crisis,” thepremier’s press secretaryIhsanul Karim quoted her assaying after a visiting high-powered UN Security Councilteam met Hasina at her office.

The 15-member UNSCcurrently does not includeIndia, Japan and China butHasina reiterated her call formounting pressure from NewDelhi as well the other threecountries to tackle the crisis inview of their stake and influ-ence in Myanmar.

External Affairs SecretaryVijay Keshav Gokhale earli-er this month said New Delhiwould extend full support toany efforts for resolving theRohingya crisis, reiteratingIndia’s appreciation forBangladesh’s humanitariangesture for the forcibly dis-placed people. The delegationcomprised of envoys from the15-member council as they

met the premier a day aftervisiting crammed Rohingyacamps in southeastern Cox’sBazar where about 700,000Rohingyas took refuge sincethe Myanmar militarylaunched a crackdown on theethnic Muslim community inRakhine state last August.

The Security Council metthe Bangladesh premier aheadof their scheduled visit toMyanmar for meetings withState Counsellor Aung SanSuu Kyi, military commander-in-chief Min Aung Hlaing andgovernment leaders.

“Myanmar should act inaccordance with the deal itsigned with Bangladesh (inJanuary 2018) for repatria-tion of the Rohingyas (but) therepatriation of the Rohingyapeople will have to be ensuredunder the UN supervision,”Hasina said.

When asked if UN super-vision meant the deploymentof peacekeepers, Hasina said,“Not exactly, well, that the UNwill decide” but insisted thatMyanmar must also imple-ment the Kofi AnnanCommission’s recommenda-tions.

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Myanmar’s Aung San SuuKyi received a UN

Security Council delegationon Monday in the highest-leveldiplomatic visit since the startof the Rohingya crisis, whichwill include a brief tour of vio-lence-hit Rakhine state.

Suu Kyi, the de facto leaderof mainly Buddhist Myanmar,has been pilloried overseas forher failure to speak up for theMuslim Rohingya or publiclycondemn the army for drivingthem out of the country.

On Monday, she chaired ameeting of 15 UN delegates,according to a Ministry ofInformation photograph, asthe UN tries to put more pres-sure on Myanmar to allowrefugees to return safely.

The UN delegates willtravel by helicopter Tuesdayover the scarred landscape ofnorthern Rakhine state, thescene of an army campaignstarting last August that drovearound 700,000 of the minor-ity into neighbouringBangladesh.

Their visit to Myanmarcomes after an emotionally-charged stay in Bangladeshwhere Rohingya refugees tolddelegates of their trauma. Asthey left Bangladesh, delegatessaid they would pressMyanmar to ensure the safereturn of those who fled. ���� -.�>@

Missile strikes overnight incentral Syria killed at least

26 pro-regime fighters, most ofthem Iranians, a monitor saidon Monday.

The Syrian Observatoryfor Human Rights said themissiles struck a military basein the province of Hama lateyesterday, in an assault it saidbore the hallmarks of an Israelioperation.

“At least 26 fighters werekilled, including four Syrians,”the monitor said, adding thatthe main target of the missilestrike was the base of theregime’s 47th Brigade.

“The others are foreignfighters, a vast majority ofthem Iranians,” said RamiAbdel Rahman, the head of theBritain-based war monitor.

“Given the nature of thetarget, it is likely to have beenan Israeli strike,” he said, addingthat strikes also hit an air basein nearby Aleppo provincewhere surface-to-surface mis-siles were stored.

Syrian state media late yes-terday had denounced a “freshaggression” following reportedraids by “enemy missiles”.

Israeli Intelligence MinisterYisrael Katz told army radio onMonday morning that he was“not aware” of the latest strikes.

But, he said, “all the vio-lence and instability in Syria isthe result of Iran’s attempts toestablish a military presence there. Israel will notallow the opening of a north-ern front in Syria.”

The latest strikes cameamid heightened tensions inSyria after Damascus and itsally Iran accused Israel onApril 9 of conducting deadlystrikes against a military basein the centre of the country.

At least 14 soldiers, includ-ing seven Iranians, were killedin the strike on a military basein Homs province.

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Amonster wave off Portugalhas produced a world

record for a Brazilian surfer.The World Surf League

says Rodrigo Koxa has riddenthe biggest wave ever surfed. Atthe group’s Big Wave Awards inSanta Monica, California, onSaturday, it said its judgesdetermined that a wave Koxasurfed at Naraze, Portugal, onNov. 8 was 80 feet (24.38meters) high.

That overtook the previousrecord of 78 feet (23.77 meters)set by American GarrettMcNamara in 2011.The groupsays it awards “the surfer who,by any means available, catch-es the biggest wave of the year... not only did Koxa win thisyear’s honor, but he now holdsthe Guinness World Record forthe biggest wave surfed.”

Koxa described the awardas “a dream come true.”

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An oak tree sapling, plantedby US President Donald

Trump and his French coun-terpart Emmanuel Macron hasmysteriously vanished, themedia reported.

The sapling was a gift fromthe French President during hisState visit last week, reportsABC News. The two headsplanted the sapling on April 23in the South Lawn.

But now, less than a week

later, photos show an off-colour, pale patch of turf wherethe sapling once stood.

The White House did notimmediately respond to ABCNews’ request for comment.

The sapling came fromBelleau Wood in northeastFrance, where about 2,000American soldiers died in aWorld War I battle. The disap-pearance of Macron’s gift hasbecome an internet sensationwith mounting speculationabout the tree’s fate.

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The mighty mango is not known as theking of fruits for no reason. The

tempting bright orange pulp, the tangyand sweet taste along with the aroma cansweeten any day and add richness to adish. Since it is a seasonal fruit, Indiansmake the most of it during the hot sum-mer months that the 500 odd varieties areavailable. So mangoes make an appear-ance everywhere — desserts, beveragesand even the main course.

Cafes and restaurants in the city arenot far behind and add their own specialtwist to the seasonal fruit by creating anarray of mango-based dishes to theirmenu. Amuse House has incorporatedOlive oil poached salmon with mango sher-ry reduction (mango pulp can be blend-ed with reduced sherry brandy and sea-soned with salt and pepper) and Mangoand mascarpone tart (sliced mangoassembled as rose petals over a mascar-pone and cream cheese filled tart shell).They use Alphonso and Safeda due totheir fibre-less and smooth, creamy tex-ture. For Karma Kismet, in desserts it’sPilabel chai chocolate and mango textureand a mango-based cocktail called NRI.The restaurant uses the Alphonso vari-ety as its delicious tropical sweet tasteblends well with intense taste of chai andchocolate. Tama Brewery and WorldKitchen have kept it simple with Mangochicken tikka salad (mix chicken tikka,mango, asparagus, mango salsa, iceberglettuce and malden sea salt with soyahoney chili for dressing).

Going a step further, Fatty Bao hasundertaken a Colour Me Mango food fes-tival where people can relish mangosmoothie, pudding, mousse and peachsangria. In Monkey Bar’s MangoUnchained festival, Mango falooda is pre-sented like an ice cream sandwich wherethe mango ice cream, falooda sev, sabjaseeds and tutti frutti are layered withchocolate cake. Other than this, there isMango chaas, Mango lassi kulfi, MangoNutella shake and cocktails like M passion(Old Monk, mango juice, passion fruitand a dash of bitters), Mango-rita (tequi-la, mangoes and fresh kiwi rimmed withpowdered chili), Mango Mule (mangopuree, fresh sweet line juice topped withfizzy ginger ale), Mango-colada (Bacardi,mango puree, pineapple juice andcoconut cream).

Chef Kalyan, pastry chef Fatty Baoand Monkey Bar, said, “Mango puddingis predominantly made in SoutheastAsia and we have taken inspiration fromThailand for this where tapioca coconutpudding with fresh mangoes is quite pop-ular. I made a mango pudding withcoconut ice cream topped with gels togive contrast and textural balance to thedessert. The mango cremo has Japaneseinfluence in terms of ingredients such assesame and matcha. Cremo meanscreamy texture and I have used blacksesame sponge and green tea crumbleswhich are predominant in Japanese cui-sine.” The chef informed us that mangocremo and mango pudding are the hot-sellers.

Summer in our country for foodiesis synonymous with the mango season.When asked the reason behind mango-

based dishes becoming afavourite with customers, chefDeepankar Khosla, KarmaKismet, said, “Mangoesare the ultimate Indiansummer treat. Theheat, dust and glareof an Indian sum-mer is exhaustingand draining.Nature offers deli-cious compensa-tion in the form ofluscious mangoes.”Arvind KumarBharti, head chef,Amuse House, said,“Mangoes come invarieties and flavours,ranging from tangy tosweet. The raw mangoescan be used to create tangyand refreshing dips and chut-neys. The Alphonso variety can beused to create purees which are perfect-ly balanced in sweetness. For maincourse dishes, it is used as a fruit-basedsauce or chutney or salsa.” He believesthat mangoes add a fresh value to the dishand its creamy texture. Its perfect level ofsweetness helps in making it a excellentaccompaniment for dishes.

And it is not just the flavour, there arehealth benefits of the fruit as well.Mango is a natural antioxidant. ChefSumit Kalra, Tama Brewery and WorldKitchen, said, “Mango is high in copper

and along with that it helps in improv-ing vision. It is the tastiest naturalweapon against dehydration and sweat-ing.” He feels mangoes lend thickness andaroma to the dishes.

Indulge in Mango Mojo at ShangriLa’s Eros Hotel’s Novelé, where there is amille feuille of cheese and crumble lay-ered with fresh Alfonso mangoes coupledwith edible gold and mango candy wrap-per. This dish is like a talisman of man-goes. To augment this dish, there is a

quick frozen mango but-termilk dome which is

flambéed on the table.Being a seasonal

fruit, the markets areflush with mangoes.Mango-based dishes canbe taken a notch higher byusing it with a dash of creativi-ty. Said chef Khosla, “Owing tothe diverse and rich flavour, fra-grant sweetness, and succulent tex-ture of this magical fruit it can be usedin limitless ways. Fresh and raw man-goes can be used chutneys, salsa, sal-ads and desserts. Mango puree can beused with different elements to formsauces or used in preparing differentdesserts.”

According to chef Kalra,due to the aroma, consisten-cy in the flavour and variousheath benefits; mango can be

used in different drinksand recipes. “We use kacha

aam (raw mango) for prepar-ing chutneys and are serving

mango sauces with various salads.Apart from this, we are working ondifferent mango based

mocktails/cocktails.” Across the country mangoes are

used in various dishes such asMamidikaya pappu (raw mango dal) inAndhra Pradesh, prawn curry in Goawhereas Gujaratis add sweetness to theirpickles in the form of aam chunda.Mangoes can be added in tacos and otherglobal delicacies as well. So, we are say-

ing one can begin a meal withmangoes (starters) and end itwith this fruit as well (dessert).

Bon Appetit!

The MeToo campaign following therevelations of sexual harassment bytycoon Harvey Weinstein has had an

effect on the Cannes film festival as well.Participants will be given fliers warning“Proper Behaviour Required” as part of ananti-sexual harassment campaign at theMay 8-19 event.

The top women’s rights official for theFrench government announced that shereached a deal with Cannes organisers forthe campaign. It will include writtenwarnings urging appropriate behavior anda hotline for victims and witnesses toreport abuse.

Secretary of State for Women’s AffairsMarlene Schiappa noted that Cannes isone of the places where disgracedHollywood film producer HarveyWeinstein allegedly raped and harassed

women. Schiappa’s office says the Frenchgovernment is urging other festivals andevents to join the effort.

Film festivals have been soul-searchingsince the Weinstein scandal, rewritingcodes of conduct and redoubling genderequality efforts.

The setting up of an anti-sexual harass-ment hotline at the film festival in May isan important measure to prevent sexualharassment. “We have set up a partnership

with the Cannes film festival to tackle sex-ual harassment,” Schiappa said. The tele-phone hotline is for victims or witnesses toreport aggressors. “One of the rapes thatHarvey Weinstein is accused of happenedat Cannes, and so the festival cannot notact,” the minister said. Schiappa is presum-ably referring to the allegation of rape madeby actor Asia Argento, which she allegedoccurred during the festival in 1997.However, Weinstein has been accused of anumber of instances of inappropriatebehaviour at the festival, including byactors Alice Evans and Judith Godrèche.

Weinstein has denied all allegations ofnon-consensual sexual activity. Schiappasaid the measures were being establishednot just to protect actors but all peopleworking in or around the film industry.

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From the early years, Kolkataremained the initiator in theaesthetic propagation of print-

making and it has produced someof the finest works in the history ofthis artform. The 20th century sawthe rise of some prominent print-makers from the city where thebenchmark had already been estab-lished in the first half of the last cen-tury during the colonial period.Post-Independence, India saw theart of print-making at its zenith,complying with a language of itsown.

Paula Sengupta and her steeringcommittee recently created a phe-nomenal study in art history withthe International Print Biennale inDelhi. Among all the works thatwere unveiled, four Bengal print-makers stood out for their strengthof composition, their devotion to thevery process of print-making, theirpassion for the medium as a pow-erful recording of reality in the timesthey belonged to.

History says print-making inIndia began in the 1700s. In thejournal, Arts News and Views,Sarmishta Maiti writes, “An albumcalled Twelve Views of Calcutta waspublished in the 18th century thatwas a compilation of prints. The tra-dition was further enhanced withthe settlement of various foreignartists on the banks of the HooghlyRiver who were mostly engraversand etchers. Throughout the 18thand the 19th centuries, India triedto adopt and assimilate print-mak-ing as a part of its indigenous cul-ture of art in an attempt to make ittruly its own.”

���"������������"#�� Maiti also adds that the journey

of print-making in the eastern partof India developed around thesocio-political conscientiousground. The artists’ deep concernfor contemporary society and itsmalice got introspected and repre-sented in their works of art.Chittoprasad was one of the mostsocially involved artists of the lastcentury. His main area of expressionwas through caricatures, sketchesand prints and he is probably mostremembered for his depictions of

the Great Famine of 1943. He com-bined satire, mock elements and thetouch of sensibility to invoke thevariable layers of thought process awork of art is able to execute, withminute detailing that took the real-istic appeal of the prints to a high-er order of aesthetics.

������������������The great master Chittoprasad,

who died in poverty, did stunningsurreal portraits of workers andpeasants — his portrait of a fisher-man is one that draws attention tothe capacity of man to forget theunforgettable. Whether pen orbrush and ink, his strokes give us thepain and deprivation of the under-

privileged during the 1940s. We alsoknow he was a caustic critic of thehypocrisy of the political class in hiscartoons.

A member of the CommunistParty, it is the simplicity of the por-trait and the ethos of the subject thatdraw attention to his devout social-ist principles. His magnificent oeu-vre included paintings in colour and

posters in which the worker andpeasant emerge as heroes. In hisdepiction of portraits taken from theeveryday idiom of labour, he standsapart as an extraordinary artist.

��"����"������ �Somnath Hore was more than

an artist. He was a witness to thehuman drama but his expressionwas artistic. Hore was the head ofthe print-making department,College of Art, Delhi. He won theNational Award for a colour etchingcalled Birth of a White Rose, 1961.To see the etching so many yearshence is to be invited into the king-dom of a master, who loved his

medium. This print personifies hisdeep knowledge of compositionand the alchemy of natural, abstractas well as cubist schematic elements;and his ability to balance monoto-nes and colour viscosity printingfrom the same plate.

Hore explored the technicalitiesand virtuosity of print-making. Heused to tell the students to work ondifferent permutations and combi-nations in just one plate in order tolearn the vocabulary of printmak-ing. He was fascinated by the tex-tures and visuals that could be pro-duced through different processessuch as lithographs, etchings, mono-prints and woodcuts.

���B���������� Rural Bengal in woodblock

printing was what Haren Das couldcreate magic with. Through trueindigenous appeals to the mundanesentiments of society’s rural roots,Haren Das transcended simplifieddepictions of village scenes to cre-ate prints with a story-telling modeof narrative — his coloured etchingis a telling tale of a rural riverinerhythm.

It was Ibrahim Alkazi, the notedtheatre personality, and princely col-lector who had arranged Das’ ret-rospective at Art Heritage, NewDelhi, and established him as amajor print-maker more than twodecades ago. He could also executewood engravings, linocuts, etchingsand cave reliefs with equal ease. Heheaded the graphics department,Government Art College Kolkata,from 1947 to 1979. The institutionhad a tradition of printmaking.

Das had the technical compe-tence that was unbelievably com-plex. Both in black and white andcolour woodcuts, he excelled indepicting the lifestyle and culture ofrural folk. He seemed to sanctify thesimplicity of their lifestyle. There areelements of documentation in hisprints. But the visual and aestheticharmony of his prints is manifold.

"� ���� �"��� "Master of mystic symbolism,

Dipak Banerjee, his 1966 etching onpaper is worthy of scrutiny. Banerjeethe mentor and the master usedmake his own colours with dyesmade from herbs and vegetables. Hewas influenced by tantric symbol-ism, and his understanding of geom-etry gave his works a cohesive for-mula of perfection in which hisworks withstood the formulae oftime and space.This work in theshow is a reflection of his under-standing of cold and warm tones,the fluidity of lines and their lineargraphics. Trained in Paris, his workpersonifies his understanding ofIndian mystical philosophy and theinner rhythms of minimalist moor-ings to create works that stood asiconic indentations in the world ofetchings and linocuts.

Seher founder Sanjeev Bhargavamay have opened the doors in the

Capital some 15 years ago toCarnatic vocalists singing devo-tional pieces in a Hindustani idiom;but the concert on Buddha Purnimanight by Bombay Jayashri was def-initely unique. In her words, “WhenI was invited by IGNCA to sing onBuddha Purnima, I had no idea ofhow the concert would be, and I wasthinking how I would compile theappropriate compositions. I thenrealised that all the Saints, not justThe Buddha, say the same things,that Truth is universal.”

Flanked by four of her trusteddisciples, the doyenne was definitelyin an elevated mood starting withthe very moving lyrics of SantGyaneshwari — Om NamojiAadhya. “I pray to the PrimevalBeing described in the Vedas; theone that can only be experienced bymerging the Self with the SupremeBeing.” The accompanying singers,Shweta Sriram, Chaitrra Sairam,Vijayshri Vittal and AbhinayaShenbagaraj, with their beautifulmatching cream saris, set the moodof the totally harmonious music theypresented.

The concert was held in theopen, so one was blessed by the lightfrom the radiant full moon, filter-ing through the peepul tree beneathwhich the concert took place. It wasunder a peepul tree that The BlessedOne had enunciated his teachingsome 2,500 years ago. A large screenwith the lyrics of the compositionskept the audience rivetted; the light-ing was soft and muted and a beau-tiful intimate atmosphere was cre-ated by the artistes, aided by theresponsive listeners who sponta-

neously sang along. BombayJayashri, as the recently appointedAmbassador to Earth Day Network,removed inhibitions by inviting heraudience, “I urge you to indulge andjoin us in the singing, so we all feelas one under the beautiful cover ofnature.”

The Kalabhairav Ashtakam,based on Raga Aiman/ Yaman(Kalyani) by Sri Adi Shankara writ-ten in honour of the guardian deityof Kashi, Kala Bhairava, was anappropriate second choice, as theBuddha had delivered his firstteaching after Enlighenment atSarnath, near Kashi. The third piecewas in Raga Kedar, (Hamir Kalyani)Jagadeesha Sudhisha Bhave; a prayerto the Lord of the world, Lord of allLiving Beings. A piece to LordKrishna, Madhurashtakam by ShriVallabhacharya was sung gustily bythe listeners. Nirvana Shatakam byShri Adi Shankara — the lyrics againwere very appropriate for that day,

when The Buddha attainedEnlightenment and Nirvana. Asthe lyrics said, “There’s no intellect,I am neither the observer nor theobserved.”

What was amazing in the con-cert was the inclusive participation,not linked with sectarian or religiousdifferences. The hypnotic chants ofBuddham Sharanam Gatchamiresulted in a few drops of rain, butthis did not deter either the singersor the listeners. The next piece inMishra Pahari Gayati Vanamalichanged the mood somewhat. Beinglighter in feel, it lauded Lord Krishnaon the banks of the river Yamuna,with the mountains in the back-ground, with the rishis worshippingHim with the gently blowing breeze.This piece was composed by ShriSadashiva Brahmendra.

When the rain came down intorrents, most of the audience didnot leave but simply moved in, clos-er to the stage, under the cover of

the benign peepul tree. It wasindeed a moment of spontaneousbonding, with everyone presentbeing linked by the heartfelt musicand uplifting lyrics. The micro-phones being switched off due to therain also did not deter the artisteswho continued the concert, caughtup in the ecstasy of the moment.Kali Maheshwari, in praise of theGoddess, in the traditional con-cluding Bhairavi, was sung with asmuch feeling despite the cascadingrain wetting everyone. BombayJayashri shared “that it was a greatexperience, a wonderful sense oftogetherness was created that wasnot usual at all for me.”

On the violin was LRamakrishna, who kept his inter-ventions wonderfully restrainedgiven the sanctity of the lyrics. Onthe mridangam was N C Bharadwajand on the khanjira was G HariharaSharma. Truly this was a memorableconcert in more ways than one.

Music and craft blendedtogether seamlessly in a

first concert of a three-partmonthly series Under theBanyan Tree on A Full MoonNight which kicked off withperformances by Ujwal Nagar(Hindustani Classical —vocalist), Azeem Ahmed Alvi(North meets South — sitar)and Qutbi Brothers (Sufi Music— qawwali).

The evening began withthe young and talentedHindustani classical vocalistUjwal Nagar setting the moodwith his bandish before mov-ing on to Meera bhajan.Soothing vocals of Ujwalpaved the way for Indian clas-sical instrumentalist AzeemAhmed Alvi’s North MeetsSouth on sitar along with Hafeez Ahmed on the tabla,Sridhar Raghunathan on violin, Vetry Bhupathi onmridangam playing raag kirwani. Azeem, born intosixth generation of classical music, concluded with

recital of Vaishnu Vajanto.As Azeem’s sitar was weav-

ing its magic, it was nature’sturn to bless the event. Rightabove the banyan tree, the fullmoon was in its glory withclouds passing by, a subtlereminder to what was in store.The finale came with celebrat-ed qawwali singers QutbiBrothers who are inheritors of a750-year-old tradition. QutbiBrothers began their first per-formance with Amir Khusro’sMan Kunto Maula and their Sufirenditions seemed to move therain gods and it poured.

After a brief break, themusical setting moved inside theOjas Arts Gallery at 1AQ andmusic enthusiasts witnessed anacoustic qawwali in all its puri-

ty. Qutbi Brothers took the Sufi route to explain thecomposite culture of the country and in their uniquestyle enthralled the audience with timeless Sufikalaam and bhajans.

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Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverdewas delighted that his side "final-ly" wrapped up a 25th La Liga title

with four matches to spare, after aLionel Messi hat-trick secured athrilling 4-2 victory at Deportivo LaCoruna.

Valverde's men completed a leagueand cup double after thrashing Sevilla5-0 in last week's Copa del Rey final,regaining the Spanish crown fromReal Madrid and relegating Deportivoin the process.

"When you chase it for so long yousay 'finally'," he told Spanish televisionon Sunday. "I feel very happy becausein the end the league is very long, itstarts in August... And when springarrives everything is decided, we havepassed everything.

"We've been pursuing it since thebeginning, we have been in the lead,we've finished well, with a big margin...It's the first La Liga that I've won."

The only blip on the Catalans' sea-son was the stunning ChampionsLeague quarter-final loss at Romawhen they blew a 4-1 first-leg lead.

"The elimination (by Roma)marked us a little bit because it wasunexpected, but our trajectory hasbeen extraordinary," added Valverde.

"There is always a small 'but', butwe'll try again next year."

Barca knew they just had to extendtheir record unbeaten streak to 41 LaLiga matches to seal a seventh title in10 seasons, and Philippe Coutinho firedthem into an early lead.

Messi's 38th-minute volley made ittwo, but Lucas Perez pulled one backfor Deportivo before half-time andTurkish winger Emre Colak stunnedBarca with an equaliser midwaythrough the second period.

Barca finally saw off their stubbornhosts, though, as Messi pounced aftera brilliant one-two with Luis Suarezbefore slotting in to complete his 30thLa Liga treble.

The Catalan giants now hold anunassailable 11-point lead over second-placed Atletico Madrid, who have justthree games to play, and are closing inon becoming the first Spanish side to

go through a top-flight season withouttasting defeat.

"We have managed an almost per-fect league campaign, without losing sofar. I hope we can continue," midfield-

er Sergio Busquets said.Andres Iniesta was surprisingly left

on the bench after the midfield greatannounced earlier this week that he willleave the club at the end of the season.

Deportivo had to win to stave offrelegation for another week, butClarence Seedorf 's men were denied anequaliser when Perez was flagged off-side after tapping in from close range.

Messi went close to doubling theadvantage just before the half-hourmark, only for home goalkeeper Rubento pull off an excellent one-handed saveto turn his free-kick around the post.

������������ �������" �Deportivo were causing Barca plen-

ty of problems at the back, though, andcentre-back Fabian Schaer should havelevelled as he headed over whenunmarked inside the six-yard box.

But Messi drilled a curling Suarezcross past Ruben at the keeper's nearpost to score his 30th league goal of thecampaign, before on-loan Arsenalstriker Perez swept home to halve thedeficit just two minutes later.

Despite the close scoreline, Barcawere playing as if the second half wasa pure title party, with centre-backGerard Pique even performing a few'keepie uppies' on the left wing.

Their complacency cost them inthe 64th minute, as Celso Borgesunselfishly squared for Colak to score.

Suddenly the champions-elect weredesperately trying to hang onto theirunbeaten record, as goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen made a smart stopfrom another Schaer header.

But Barcelona showed their class asSuarez and Messi combined to terrificeffect with eight minutes to play — thelatter clipping the ball in off the post.

Suarez again sent the Argentinianracing clear three minutes later, and the30-year-old made no mistake to com-plete a hat-trick.

The 33-year-old Iniesta came on toa standing ovation in the 87th minuteas Barca closed out a successful title-

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Despite a 2-1 victory at BayernMunich in the first leg of the

Champions League semifinals, RealMadrid are worried.

Madrid host Bayern in the sec-ond leg on Tuesday, but theEuropean champions have struggledin decisive matches at the SantiagoBernabeu Stadium and are wary ofmore surprises.

"We have to think about thegood things that we did in the firstleg in Munich and learn from thematch against Juventus at home,"said backup Madrid goalkeeperKiko Casilla, referring to the 3-1loss in the quarterfinals. "If we putall that together and stay focused,we can make history by reachinganother final."

Against Juventus, Madrid won3-0 in Italy in the first leg. There wasa festive atmosphere for the secondleg, which was supposed to be amere formality.

But Madrid were surprised byJuventus from the start, quickly

squandering their advantageby conceding twice in thefirst half and once afterhalftime. The 12-timechampions only escaped anembarrassing homeelimination thanksto a controversiallate penalty fromC r i s t i a n oRonaldo.

"What wehave to do is goout and try towin the match,"Madrid coachZ i n e d i n eZidane said. "That'sgoing to be our goal.We are not going tothink too much aboutanything else. We willtry to score as quickly aspossible and win the

match."Madrid also relinquished their

lead against Bayern in the quarter-finals last season, when they also

won 2-1 in Munich in the first leg.A week later, Bayern sent the

match into extra time. Ronaldo,who got both goals in the first legand one in regulation in the sec-

ond, scored twice in extratime to complete a hat

trick and save Madridfrom elimination.

"I don't knowhow significant thefirst-leg advantagewill be.

“We know whathappened againstJuventus and against

Bayern last year," Zidanesaid. "We will need a hugeperformance. We willneed to play like neverbefore this year to beable to advance. We are

prepared and we are goingto give it all we've got tomake it to the final."

����� 9.:�(.;<�

Athree billion dollar deal is too bigto ignore as authorities target

revamp of the Davis Cup but doingaway with the home and away formatis not "ideal" since it is the DNA of thecompetition, says India's captainMahesh Bhupathi.

The International TennisFederation (ITF) will put to test a pro-posal to create a season-ending WorldCup of Tennis, featuring 18 nations.

The matches will be played overa week at a single venue in the tradi-tional week of Davis Cup final inNovember, abolishing the home andaway format for ties in the elite WorldGroup.

The idea, approved by the ITFBoard of Directors, will be put to vote

in August in Orlando and needs two-thirds majority to become a reality.

The revamp idea has come afterthe ITF struck a deal with investmentgroup Kosmos, founded and run bySpanish international and FCBarcelona footballer Gerard Pique. Itis expected to pump in $3 billion intothe tournament in a 25-year period.

It's being speculated that ITF isunder pressure to get more top play-ers to participate in Davis Cup. Thereare instances when top players, in thewake of an already crammed sched-ule, have skipped ties.

Bhupathi said, Davis Cup was still"relevant".

"Davis Cup is special and all thetop players have committed to it atsome point. Tennis needs to be drivenby innovation and revenue and if thereis a three billion dollar opportunity

there is no way it can be ignoredregardless of the sentiment," Bhupathisaid.

"Top players always play for theircountry when they are fit and healthy.A case in point is Rafa (Rafael Nadal)who just played even when he missedIndian Wells and Miami (Mastersevents). It's not about Davis Cup. If aplayer is injured or tired they miss thebiggest events in the world as well likeyou saw at the London Masters fewyears in a row," he argued.

However, Bhupathi, winner of 12Grand Slam titles, said doing awaywith the home and away ties is not agreat idea.

"It will not be ideal because play-ing at home and dealing with the chal-lenges in away ties is part of the DavisCup DNA that makes the competitionexciting,"Bhupathi said.

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winning campaign in style.

�������� ��������Lionel Messi revelled in

Barcelona's seventh La Ligatitle in 10 seasons, saying histeam were "far superior" to

their domestic rivals duringtheir double-winning cam-paign.

"We have been far superi-or to our rivals, we haven't losta match during the whole sea-son," Messi told Barcelona's in-

house television channel."It's a very special Liga in

that sense, because we haven'tlost a single match. We've hadsome tough times and we'veovercome everything withoutlosing, which is unbelievable."

�� ������ ���� 9.:�(.;<�

Struggling to find rhythm in the ongo-ing season of the Indian Premier

League, defending champions MumbaiIndians and star studded Royal ChallengersBangalore will engage in a fight for survivalwhen they face each other at the MChinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru onTuesday.

After defeating arch-rivals ChennaiSuper Kings in their lastgame in Pune, MI will beriding high on confidenceto take on a strong battingline-up of RCB, which hasthe likes of Virat Kohli, ABde Villiers and BrendonMcCullum.

On the other hand,the heartbreaking back-to-back defeats atthe hands of CSK and KolkataKnight Riders in their homeground have shattered theconfidence of Kohli's boys.They now have to come upwith something different to gettheir hands on the coveted trophy,something they never man-aged in the IPL history.

Despite having anample number ofmatch winners in thesquad, both these sideshave failed to do justiceto their caliber, whichleft them trailing at thebottom half of the table.

They both have man-aged to register just twowins in their sevenmatches this season.Due to a better run rate,Rohit Sharma-led Mumbaiare at sixth, one place aheadof RCB.

Tuesday's encounter atBengaluru will be crucial forboth the teams. A loss at thispoint will make their quest toreach the top four positionseven more difficult for both thesides.

Defending championsMumbai would like to take a cuefrom their last encounter againstRCB. With Rohit Sharma andEvin Lewis firing 94 and 65respectively after losing twowickets in the first two balls ofthe match, MI went on to defeatVirat Kohli's side by 46 runs atthe Wankhede Stadium.

In the batting front,opener Suryakumar Yadavhas been their most impres-sive player, tallying 274runs in seven matches,while others have strug-gled for consistency.

Skipper Rohit, who hasmanaged to score 196 runsin seven games, includingtwo half centuries in theonly two games MI havewon, will try to play yetanother impactfulinnings on Tuesday.

However, it will be interesting to seewhere their skipper bats. Ideally, openingthe innings or playing one-down will givehim the required time to settle down at the

crease.Moreover, the Pandya brothers -

Hardik and Krunal - who are doing goodwith the ball, would also like to replicatethat with their bats, after scoring just 61and 113 runs respectively in their sevengames.

South African all rounder JP Duminy,who came as replacement for KieronPollard in the last game, would be eagerto leave an impact. The South African didnot get to bat in the last match as his side

reached the target withloss of only two wickets.

A major cause of con-cern for Mumbai is theirbowling department. Thebowlers have failed toshine as a unit which hasresulted in the side losingfour close games.

The only relief for them is the emer-gence of young Mayank Markande, the leg-spinner who has bagged 10 wickets fromseven games.

While death-over specialists JaspritBumrah and Mustafizur Rahman

have bagged seven and sixwickets respectively so far,

they are yet to reachtheir full potential.

If Mumbai want tokeep their hopes alive

of a fourth title, thenthe duo has to do

their best torestrict the likesof Kohli, De

Vill iers andMcCullum.

On the other hand, RCB,which finished last in the2017 edition, are strugglingat seventh position aftertwo wins and five defeats.

Adding to the miseryis star batsman AB deVill iers ' health. He

skipped a game againstKKR on Sundaybecause of highfever. RCB wouldbe praying for hisimmediate returnto the line-up.

The formerSouth African

captain has beenin prime formthis season,smashing 68 off30 balls againstCSK and single-handedly defeat-ing Delhi

Daredevils withhis unbeaten 90off 39.

Skipper Kohliwould also want to

produce yet anotherspecial innings, espe-cially after gettingtwo unbeaten knocksof 92 and 68 againstMumbai and KKR

respectively. The sidewill also be wary of the

talent of other batsmenlike Mandeep, McCullum and de Kock.

In the bowling section, apart fromYuzvendra Chahal, others have failed toimpress so far.

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Shane Watson and M S Dhonismashed brutal half-centuries

to power Chennai Super Kings to211 for four against DelhiDaredevils in the Indian PremierLeague here on Tuesday.

Watson (78 off 40) was backto his brutal best after three lowscores and shared a 102-runopening off 66 balls stand withFaf du Plessis (33) after survivinga close lbw call on the first ball ofthe match.

Dhoni (51* off 22) showedhis devastating touch in the lastfive overs which produced 74runs. It was also Dhoni's secondfastest fifty in the IPL.

Delhi opted to field on a goodbatting wicket and Super Kingspounced on the opportunity.

Watson was unstoppableafter Boult almost had himtrapped in front of the stumpswith a pacy inswinger at the startof the match. The visiting teamtook the DRS but the thirdumpire did not have conclusiveevidence to overrule the not outcall of the on-field umpire.

It was also a bit surprising thatthe tournament's leading runscorer Ambati Rayudu (41 off 24)did not open the innings withWatson.

However, the the Watson-DuPlessis duo produced the desiredresult for the Super Kings whoraced to 100 in just 10.2 overs.

Watson, who hit a hundredearlier in the tournament, got

going by depositing Liam Plunkettfor two sixes in the fifth over thateventually leaked 20 runs.

Watson hammered as manyas seven sixes with most of themcoming straight or over square leg.

When the former Australianall-rounder departed, the dan-gerous combine of Rayudu andDhoni got together in the 14thover.

The captain got into the actwith successive sixes off Boult,one over mid-wicket and otherother one from a bottom-hand-ed jab over long on. The thirdone was a whip off Avesh Khanover square, almost going out ofthe ground. He ended up withfive sixes and two fours.

Rayudu too made sure thebig hits coming as he hit fivefours and a six in his cameo. Hisfourth wicket stand of 79 withDhoni came off just 36 balls.

The Super Kings was able tocomplete a third half century ofthe IPL-11 with a double off thefinal ball of the innings.

The Delhi bowlers were allover the place especially theexperienced Boult and Plunkettwho leaked 100 runs in sevenovers.

Dhoni made as many fourchanges in the playing eleven,bringing in du Plessis, KarnSharma, Lungi Ngidi and youngKerala pacer KM Asif.Daredevils on the other handdid not make any changes aftera much needed win againstKKR at home.

����� 9.:�(.;<�

Working on the rigorous requirements offive-day cricket will the biggest challenge

for his team over the next six weeks, feelsAfghanistan coach Phil Simmons ahead of thecountry's inaugural Test in Bengaluru fromJune 14.

After joining Afghanistan in January,Simmons has achieved goal number one byguiding the fast-rising side to its second WorldCup qualification.

Now as the Asghar Stanikzai-led team getsdown to prepare at their 'base' in Greater Noidaand 'second home ground' at Dehradun forthe historic match against India, Simmons hasa tough ask of ensuring a competitive per-formance against the top-ranked Test team.

"These boys have played four-day crick-et with the associate nations and have donewell. But Test matches are going to be a dif-ferent ball game. The boys will realise this verysoon and playing India makes it all the morechallenging," Simmons said.

Afghanistan won the four-day ICC Inter-Continental for the second time in December.

"So it is not like they have no idea aboutthe longer format of the game. Test matchesare all about patience, both in batting andbowling, and let me tell you it is a big adjust-ment. And that is what we need work onmajorly over the next six weeks," saidSimmons.

The one off-Test at the ChinnaswamyStadium will be Simmons' first multi-dayassignment with Afghanistan and he is look-ing forward to it.

"The nice thing I think is that we get to

play in one of the better grounds, in Bangalore.It is one of the better wickets to bat on in India,"said the former West Indies all-rounder whoplayed 26 Tests and 143 ODIs.

Also a former West Indies and Irelandcoach, Simmons said he will be banking moreon his bowlers to trouble India.

"The bowling is surely stronger than ourbatting. But let me tell you even for spinnerslike Rashid Khan, Mujeed Zadran and ZahirKhan, it will be tough to take wickets. The two(Rashid and Mujeeb) are currently playing theIPL, so I am pretty sure they will come backto us as better bowlers.

"Mujeeb has not yet played longer formatfor Afghanistan but I have been following hisIPL campaign. He looks a much improvedbowler. Rashid on the other hand is a thor-ough professional, I know he will keep evolv-ing and keep improving," reckoned the 55-year-old from Trinidad.

On the batting front, he has high hopesfrom skipper Stanikzai, Mohammad Shazad,Mohammad Nadi and Rahmat Shah who allhave scored First-Class hundreds.

"We have to learn to bat for long periods.As you mentioned, it will be all aboutpatience. Just getting used to pressure of a Test

match," said Simmons who sees Afghanistanbecome a solid Test team over the next fewyears.

The opposition captain, Virat Kohli,might be playing country cricket in Englandduring the Bengaluru Test. Simmons saidKohli's absence will not matter much.

"You are playing India, you are not play-ing Virat. If he was injured, we would still beplaying against a formidable India. The onlything is that my players won't be able to playagainst the number one batsman in Test crick-et. So it takes away that from us but as a Testmatch, it doesn't take away anything."

Afghanistan beat the West Indies to winthe ICC World Cup Qualifier in Zimbabwelast month. Simmons, who was sacked fivemonths after coaching the West Indies to the2016 World T20 title, got emotional while talk-ing about the travails of the team he playedfor.

"It is very sad. It is hurtful (that West Indieshad to qualify). But you could see it comingsince the time was I coaching them. Therewere not a lot of things done correctly. We werestruggling and did not play enough gamesbefore the cut-off period for automatic qual-ification."

Simmons was removed as coach follow-ing a fallout with the West Indies CricketBoard (WICB). In fact, top players too havehad longstanding differences with WICB.

"I don't know if top players prefer play-ing T20 leagues over playing for the WestIndies. I think it is a case of board's refusalto select them most times. I don't know whathappened after I left. I am only talking aboutthe time I was coach. I don't know what liesahead," he said.

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Cricket Australia chief executiveJames Sutherland has hoped

that the Board of Control for Cricketin India (BCCI) will agree to play aday-night Test in Adelaide when theVirat Kohli-led side tours DownUnder later this year.

CA released its full summerinternational schedule on Mondaybut could not confirm it will con-tinue its recent tradition of pink-ballTests in the clash at the AdelaideOval from December 6.

The BCCI has been opposed tothe day-night Test innovation start-ed by Australia in 2015, whichSutherland hoped will change afterthe Indian board had recently indi-cated of playing one of the two WestIndies Tests under lights at home inOctober.

"It is our preference that we playIndia in a day/night Test match inAdelaide, but we are still workingthrough this detail and hope to havean answer on this in the comingweeks," Sutherland was quoted assaying by cricket.com.au.

India will begin their Australiatour with a three-match T20 seriesfrom November 21 to 25, and thenplay four Tests in Adelaide(December 6-10), Perth (December14-18), Melbourne (December 26-30) and Sydney (January 3-7).

The newly built Perth Stadiumwill make its debut as a Test venuewhen it hosts the second Test.

The Tests against India will befollowed by three One-dayInternationals (ODI) from January12 to 18.

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Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB)skipper Virat Kohli said they didn't

deserve to win against Kolkata KnightRiders and blamed the sloppy fieldingfor their six-wicket loss which has jeop-ardised their IPL campaign.

RCB slumped to their fifth defeat inseven games after failing to defend 176against KKR on Sunday night.

"If we look back, we didn't deserveto win. I don't think we're trying hardenough, we need to be hard on ourselves.We don't deserve to win if we field likethat. We can't afford to field like that andlet singles go to boundaries. We were justnot good enough tonight."

If RCB lose their next match, theywould put themselves in a precarious sit-uation of winning all remaining games,out of which four are away games.

Kohli said they need to considerevery match as a virtual semi-finalfrom now.

"I can't pin point anything right now,we need to win six out of seven to qual-ify from here. We need to be in thatmindset to take every match as as vir-

tual semi-final from now," he said."There's no room for lapses, com-

placency or hesitation. We need our guysstepping up and hopefully the guys canput up a better show."

Brendon McCullum said it was a bigblow for Royal Challengers Bangalore tomiss the services of AB de Villiers in thecrucial match against Kolkata KnightRiders on Sunday.

"We definitely missed AB de Villiers.He is probably the best player in theworld and one of the best we have seenin the history of the game, so for him tobe absent was a huge blow for us.

"He is a tough customer as well, so

obviously he is pretty ill to not take thefield today," he told reporters in the post-match press conference.

McCullum hoped that de villiersreturns in the next match againstMumbai Indians after recoveringfrom a viral infection. "He is des-perate to get out there, so hope-fully he will be back in the nextgame. He is such a key playerfor us, and such a good leader.A good man to have around,"he added.

Asked whether KKRwere happy not to find deVilliers in the playing list,man-of-the-match ChrisLynn said: "Yeah, it is obvi-ously a couple of smiles onthe bowler's faces.

"We know AB, in the formhe is, is always a dangerousbatsman but we could nottake the foot off the throatbecause Baz (BrendonMcCullum) is such a good striker ofthe ball. [We had] a little half-smile butwe knew we still had a job at hand," Lynnsaid.

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