ˇ # - dailypioneer.com · of housing and urban affairs on wednesday. indore (4,659.09 points)...

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In a big twist during the hear-ing of the Rafale review peti-

tion in the Supreme Court, theGovernment on Wednesdayalleged that documents relatedto the fighter jet deal wasstolen from the DefenceMinistry and threatened toprosecute The Hindu newspa-per under the Official SecretsAct (OSA) for publishing arti-cles based on them. However,the court said if an act of cor-ruption has been committed inthe Rafale deal, thenGovernment cannot take shel-ter behind the OSA.

Those who put documentson the Rafale deal in the pub-lic domain are guilty under theAct as also contempt of court,Attorney General KKVenugopal said before a three-judge Bench headed by ChiefJustice Ranjan Gogoi. However,the AG did not answer to thequestions of the judges, why noaction was initiated and he saidthat he will get back toGovernment and inform thestatus to the court on the nextdate of hearing on March 14.

Unruffled by the Centre's

stand, the writer and Hindupublishing group chairman NRam said nobody would getany information from thenewspaper on the confidentialsources who provided the doc-uments.

“You may call it stolendocuments...We are not con-cerned. We got it from confi-

dential sources and we arecommitted to protecting thesesources. Nobody is going to getany information from us onthese sources. But the docu-ments speak for themselvesand the stories speak for them-selves,” Ram told PTI.

While publishing articlesbased on stolen documents

amounts to violation of theOfficial Secrets Act, entailingmaximum punishment of up to14 years, the contempt lawattracts six months jail as alsoa fine of �2,000. An investiga-tion into the theft is on, the AGsaid on a day the newspaperpublished another article on thefighter jet deal.

The Bench, also includingJustices SK Kaul and KMJoseph, was hearing a batch ofpetitions seeking a review of itsDecember 14 verdict dismiss-ing all the pleas against the deal.

Former Union MinistersYashwant Sinha, Arun Shourie,and advocate PrashantBhushan, who had jointly filedthe petition, alleged the Centresuppressed crucial facts whenthe SC decided to dismiss thebatch of PILs. When Bhushanreferred to articles written byRam, Venugopal said the write-ups were based on stolen doc-uments. An FIR has not beenregistered so far into the theftof documents, he said.

The first write-up appearedon February 8 andWednesday's edition hadanother article aimed at influ-encing the court's proceedings

which amounted to contemptof court, he said. The newspa-per published the documentsby omitting the word “secret”on top, he said, seeking a dis-missal of the review petitionsand raising objections toBhushan's arguments based onthe articles.

On behalf of Sinha, Shourieand himself, Bhushan said thetop court would not have dis-missed the plea for an FIR andthe probe, had critical facts notbeen suppressed. Venugopalsaid the documents relied uponby Bhushan were stolen fromthe Defence Ministry and aninvestigation into the matterwas underway.

The CJI said hearingBhushan did not mean the topcourt was taking on record thedocuments on the Rafale deal.Justice Gogoi asked Venugopalto tell the court what action hadbeen taken on theft of docu-ments on the aircraft deal. TheAG submitted that the docu-ments were marked secret andclassified. He also told the SCthat the Rafale case pertains todefence procurement whichcannot be reviewed judicially.

Continued on Page 4

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The Supreme Court onWednesday said it intends

to pass the order soon onwhether to refer the RamJanmabhoomi-Babri Masjidland dispute case for mediationand asked all the parties con-cerned for the names of possi-ble mediators for reaching anamicable settlement.

A five-judge ConstitutionBench headed by Chief JusticeRanjan Gogoi and comprisingJustices SA Bobde, DYChandrachud, Ashok Bhushanand SA Nazeer reserved theorder on whether or not torefer the Ayodhya land disputefor mediation.

Hindu bodies exceptNirmohi Akhara opposed thesuggestion of the court to referthe matter for mediation, whileMuslim bodies supported thesuggestion.

Solicitor General TusharMehta, appearing for the UP

Government, said the SCshould refer it for mediationonly when there exists an ele-ment of settlement.

Senior advocate CSVaidyanathan, appearing forRam Lalla Virajman, told theBench that mediation has notyielded any result in the pastdespite repeated attempts.

There is no dispute thatLord Ram was born inAyodhya but the dispute iswhat is the Ram Janmasthan(place of birth), he said, addingthat he issue of Janmasthancannot be mediated.

BJP leader SubramanianSwamy told the SC, “PVNarsimha Rao Governmenthad in 1994 made commitmentto apex court that if ever foundthat there was a temple, landwill be given for temple con-struction.”

“It is not only about prop-erty. It is about mind, heart andhealing, if possible,” the Benchsaid.

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A57-year-old CentralIndustrial Security Force

(CISF) Sub-Inspector (SI) diedand several files were gutted ina major fire at the office of theMinistry of Social Justice at thefifth floor of the 11-storeybuilding that houses severalGovernment offices at CGOComplex on Wednesday.

According to Atul Garg,Chief Fire Official of Delhi FireServices (DFS), a call wasreceived about the fire at 8.34am following which 25 fire ten-ders were rushed to the spot.

“The fire was broughtunder control at 10.50 am.Initial probe suggests thatshort-circuit caused fire in thebuilding. However, the exactreason would be ascertainedafter investigation,” said Garg.

CISF Sub-Inspector andshift-in-charge MP Godaradied in the fire on the fifth floorof Pandit Deendayal AntodayaBhawan, previously known as

Paryavaran Bhawan.“Godara, a former Air

Force personnel, first noticedthe smoke coming out of thefifth floor and reached thespot with other CISF personnelto start evacuating the area. Butduring the evacuation process,he inhaled toxic gasses and fellunconscious. He was taken toAIIMS, where he died duringtreatment,” said spokespersonof CISF.

“The autopsy had alreadybeen conducted and body hasbeen sent to his native villagein Rajasthan,” said VijayKumar, the DeputyCommissioner of Police(DCP), South district.

Godara, a resident ofChuru district in Rajasthan,had joined CISF in 2008. He issurvived by two sons and wifewho live in Churu.

Ministry officials said 80per cent of the entire B1 wingof the building has been guttedin the fire and several files havebeen destroyed.

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Three cities in MadhyaPradesh bagged top

awards of SwachchhSurvekshan 2019announced by the Ministryof Housing and UrbanAffairs on Wednesday.Indore (4,659.09 points)retained the cleanest citytag for third straight year ina row, Bhopal (3,793.68)cleanest Capital and Ujjain(4,244.47) cleanest city inthe category of mediumcity (3-10 lakh popula-tion). The second and thirdpositions in the categorywere grabbed byAmbikapur (4,394.09) inChhattisgarh and Mysuru(4,378.54) in Karnataka.Chhattisgarh is India’s BestPerforming State followedby Jharkhand andMaharashtra. Meghalayais on the bottom.

The New DelhiMunicipal Council area(4,190.52) was given the‘Cleanest Small City’award, Uttarakhand’sGauchar was adjudged the‘Best Ganga Town’. Theawards were conferred byPresident Ram NathKovind at an event in thenational Capital onWednesday.

Continued on Page 4

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Commuting will becomeeasier for the people of

Delhi-National Capital Region(NCR) especially from theGhaziabad and Noida as theDelhi Metro is set to openDilshad Garden to New BusAdda on Red Line on March 9.Noida City Centre to NoidaElectronic city on Blue Linemay start on March 9, but theDMRC is likely to take a finaldecision soon.

Prime Minister NarendraModi is likely to inaugurateboth the sections on March 8.

Both sections of the DelhiMetro have already been grant-ed the nod by theCommissioner of Metro RailSafety (CMRS).

The completely elevatedBlue Line section with six sta-tions — Sector 34, Sector 52,Sector 61, Sector 59, Sector 62and Noida Electronic City —will immensely benefit thepeople of Noida and connectthe satellite city with Delhi.

This City Centre to NoidaElectronic City extension hasmade the Blue Line corridorDelhi Metro’s second longestMetro corridor after the 59kilometre long Majlis Park-Shiv Vihar corridor of Phase 3.With this extension, the Blue Line is 56.46 kilometrelong.

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Chhattisgarh Chief MinisterBhupesh Baghel made a

scathing attack on PrimeMinister Narendra Modi onWednesday and alleged thatcountry’s borders had becomeunsafe during BJP regime.

Addressing a farmers’ rallyat Dhamtari on Wednesday, hesaid “Prime Minister wasaddressing an election rallywhen Abhinandan was in cus-tody of Pakistan while UnionHome Minister Rajnath Singhwas strengthening party’s boothlevel organisations atGorakhpur.”

“We are not asking howmany terrorists were killed,but why Pulwama happenedand jawans lost life. Nation isin crises as its borders are notsafe. When former prime min-ister Lal Bahadur Shastridefeated Pakistan, he gave theslogan ‘Jai Jawan Jai Kisan’,Indira Gandhi divided Pakistaninto two and forced around90,000 Pakistani soldiers tosurrender. No one raised afinger then. But today ques-tions are being asked to Modi,”

he remarked.“When Taj Hotel was

attacked in Mumbai the thenhome minister Shivraj Patilwas forced to resign for chang-ing suits. But when Pulwamahappened, PM Modi was doingphoto-shoot at Jim CorbettNational Park. Should not sucha PM put down his papers?”Chief Minister asked.

On BJP party presidentAmit Shah’s claim that 250terrorists were killed in the airstrikes by Indian Air Forceacross LoC, Baghel said, “It

seems he had counted bodiesby visiting Pakistan. Country isbeing misled so everyone needsto remain alert. PM had notcalled all party meeting andtime has come to fight both theinternal and external enemies.”

Replying to Baghel’s slur,BJP national vice presidentRaman Singh said, “PrimeMinister Modi has shown thecountry how to give befittingreply (to Pakistan). PM will notgo to border and stand there.Earlier, also Congress has neverdone it.”

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Prime Minister NarendraModi will interact with

beneficiaries of ‘Jan AushadhiCentres’ through video-con-ferencing at 12.00 noon on theoccasion of Jan Aushadi’ Dayon Thursday.

The interaction will bedirectly relayed throughDoordarshan centres at all theJan Aushadhi Centres.

At capital city Raipur, thebeneficiaries would be linkedfor direct interaction atKhandelwal Polytechnic, situ-ated near LaxminarayanTemple on Stadium Road, Kota.

BJP national general sec-retary Arun Singh said, “BJPnational president Amit Shahhas directed the party workersand public representatives to

publicise the programme.”The Prime Minister Jan

Aushadhi Scheme is providinghigh quality vital medicines tocrores of poor and middleclass people at cheaper rate.There are more than 5000 cen-tres across 650 districts in thecountry.

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In a stepped-up counteragainst those doubting

Indian Air Force (IAF) strikeagainst ‘terrorist camps’ inBalakot in Pakistan , the BJP onWednesday claimed that theOpposition was rallying aroundterror exporting countryPakistan even as a UnionMinister sought a surgicalstrike against the Governmentcritics within India engaged in“insulting Army”.

The slugfest between theBJP and the opposition, par-ticularly the Congress, thatkicked off following February26 IAF strike in Pakistan keptgenerating more heat with theBJP accusing them of speakingin the language of Pakistan.

Taking a dig at theCongress, BJP spokesperson GVL Narasimha Rao said seeingthe “cries and the critical com-ments” of the Congress and itspolitical friends, one is leftwondering if they have been hitby the strike that “killed anunprecedentedly large numberof terrorists” in Pakistan’s ter-

ritory.He said in a statement that

“irresponsible” comments byvarious Congress party leadersover India’s air strike on terrorbases in Pakistan show theirdesperation and frustration atthe unprecedented success ofthe Indian armed forces andtheir valour.

It was a travesty that theCongress and its allies were“rallying behind the terror-exporting Pakistan”, he said.

Rao said India and its braveforces are brimming with con-fidence and are celebrating therising power and stock of a‘New India’, while the Congressand their political friendsappear to be feeling threatenedof their political future in a ris-ing India.

Meanwhile UnionMinister VK Singh said peoplewant India to emulate Israel intargeting terrorists but it can-not happen because theOpposition in that country,unlike India, does not questionand “insult” their Army whenit carries out tasks like‘Operation Munich’.

In a Facebook post, heattacked Government critics,including Opposition mem-bers, students leaders, activistsand media, and called for a“surgical strike” within India,claiming if it does not happen,then the “robbers are ready toloot”.

The former Army chiefcalled student leaders accusedof involvement in “anti-India”protests as “jonk” (leeches)and took aim at the media forreferring to terrorists as “mil-itants”, claiming such things donot happen in Israel. It is hightime that the country followedIsrael, he said.

In a tweet, Singh also useda mosquito metaphor to referto the debate on casualty fig-ures of terrorists, asking if hewas expected to sit and counthow many he killed at night or“sleep in comfort”.

“There were a lot of mos-quitoes at 3:30 am at night. So,I used Hit (mosquito repellent)on them. Now, should I sit andcount how many mosquitoes Ikilled or sleep in comfort,”Singh tweeted.

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The Congress onWednesday launched a

fresh attack on Prime MinisterNarendra Modi over the Rafaleaircraft deal, alleging that hemisused his office to “benefit”Dassault Aviation and that acase under the prevention ofcorruption law is made outagainst him. Alleging that the“trail of corruption” in thefighter jet deal “begins andends with” Prime Minister,Congress President RahulGandhi claimed there “is nowenough evidence” to prosecutehim.

Leading the party’s attackon the Modi dispensation overthe deal, Rahul also alleged“destruction of evidence” and“obvious cover-up” after thegovernment told the SupremeCourt that crucial files per-taining to the fighter jet dealwere “stolen”.

“There is now enough evi-dence to prosecute the PM inthe Rafale Scam. The trail ofcorruption begins & ends with

him. That crucial Rafale filesincriminating him are nowreported “stolen” by the Govt,is destruction of evidence & anobvious coverup,” he said onTwitter, using the hashtag“FIRagainstCorruptModi”.

The Congress chief ’s attackcame on a day when the gov-ernment said in the SupremeCourt that documents relatedto the Rafale fighter jet dealhave been stolen from theDefence Ministry and threat-ened with action under theOfficial Secrets Act for pub-lishing articles based on them.

The party which has beencontinuously targeting theCentre on Rafale deal, theparty alleged corruption andmalfeasance in the fighter jetdeal and said the time hascome to lodge an FIR againstPrime Minister NarendraModi. “The corruption andmalfeasance in Rafale deal isout in the open. PM Modi mis-used his office to give benefitsto Dassault Aviation andcaused loss to the public exche-quer,” Congress chiefspokesperson Randeep

Surjewala said at AICC Pressconference.

“It is now crystal clearthat blatant and massive cor-ruption has taken place in theRafale deal. It is undoubtedlyestablished that Modi mis-used his office as PrimeMinister to grant undue ben-efit to Dassault Aviation andcaused a loss to public exche-quer,” he said.

Surjewala said that theIndian Negotiating Team(INT) to finalise the purchaseof the fighter aircraft was side-lined and National SecurityAdvisor Ajit Doval finalisedthe negotiation at the behest ofthe Prime Minister’s Office(PMO). He claimed the gov-ernment bought the fighter air-craft at a much higher rate thanwhat was negotiated by theUPA and also waived bankguarantee.

The government’s claimof buying the 36 aircraft at�59,000 crore is wrong and theINT has put the figure at�64,000 crore, he claimed,accusing the government ofmisleading Parliament.

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In a first of its kind, theMinistry of Housing and

Urban Affairs (MoHUA) hasprepared the ‘ModelGuidelines for Developmentand Regulations of RetirementHomes’ for senior citizenswho aspire to spend theirretired life independently in asafe, secure and dignified envi-ronment.

Among others the guide-lines suggest standards andnorms for building design,green building principles, liftsand staircases, corridors, ser-vices standards and living envi-ronment to be provided tosenior citizens in retirementhomes along with the basicamenities; medical and fitness,safety and security.

A resident of retirementhomes will be any person whois 60 years of age and above.

The guidelines suggest settingup a task force in States andUnion Territories to imple-ment it effectively. “A promot-er can build and manage theretirement homes or engage a‘service provider’ or ‘retire-ment home operator’ for man-agement of retirement homes,”it said.

Providing the details ofthe guidelines, Union Housingand Urban Affairs (MoHUA)minister Hardeep Singh Purisaid the guidelines addressthe special needs and protectthe rights of senior citizensand retirees l iving inRetirement Homes. “TheGuidelines provide option tosenior citizens and familymembers, who are willingand can afford to purchase aliving space for their par-ents,” Puri added.

The model guidelines spec-ify ‘basic rights of resident of

retirement home’ and also pre-scribe the model tripartite

agreement.The model guidelines

would enable states and unionterritories (UTs) to establish

transparency and account-ability with customised redres-

sal of issues pertaining toexclusive housing projects forsenior citizens like retirementhomes.

Officials of MoHUA saidthat the idea of elderly peopleliving independently, undercustom-tailored circum-stances, is quite normal in theWest, but is still a relativelynew and a cutting-edge con-cept in India.

The population of seniorcitizens is expected to grow to17.3 crore by 2025 — morethan double in a little over onedecade — and will furtherincrease to about 24 crore by2050. The population share ofsenior citizens will increase to19% in 2050 from 8%in 2015and it is expected that by theend of the century, senior cit-izens will constitute nearly34% of the total population ofthe country. There were 7.6crore senior citizens in 2001.

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The Delhi High Court onWednesday refused to

accept the request of SwanTelecom promoter ShahidUsman Balwa and others tospare them from the task oftaking care of the trees whichthey were directed to plant asa penalty for failing to file ontime their response on the EDand CBI’s appeals challengingtheir acquittals in 2G cases. Theaccused persons said that totalcost of planting and nurturing16,500 tress till rainy seasonwill cost �6.27 crore.

After the accused cited the“excessive” cost involved, JusticeNajmi Waziri said they will haveto plant and nurture the treestill rainy season and they canbear the expenses as they residein posh areas of Mumbai with“fancy addresses”. However, thecourt agreed to reduce thenumber of trees to be plantedby Balwa and businessmanRajiv Agarwal. Balwa andAgarwal, who were earlierasked to plant 3,000 trees, willnow have to plant 1,500 trees.

Advocate Vijay Aggarwal,appearing for Balwa andAgarwal, submitted that theywelcome the court order forplantation of trees and wereready to comply with it butsought modification of theFebruary 7 order to the extentof sparing them from the workof nurturing as the cost ofdoing it was very high.

The court had earlierdirected Balwa, director ofKusegaon Fruits and VegetablesPrivate Limited Rajiv Agarwal,and firms — Dynamic Realty,D B Realty Limited and NiharConstructions Private Limited— who were acquitted in theED case, to plant 3,000 treeseach in Delhi’s South Ridge for-est area. It had also asked ARaja’s erstwhile private secre-tary RK Chandolia, Asif Balwaand Agarwal to plant 500 treeseach in South Delhi.

New Delhi: The NIA onWednesday arrested an accusedNazir Mir from Pulwama inconnections with a case relat-ing to grenade attack on PoliceStation Maksudan in Jallandhardistrict of Punjab.

The NIA probe hasrevealed that the attack washandiwork of Kashmir-basedterror outfit Ansar Ghazawat-ul-Hind (AGH), an affiliate ofAl Qaeda. Two accused andresidents of Pulwama--FazilBashir Pinchoo and ShahidQayoom were earlier arrestedin this case.

The arrested accused AmirNazir Mir is a resident ofDadsara, Awantipora underPulwama district of Jammuand Kashmir.

On September14, 2018,four grenades were hurled atthe building of police stationMaksudan in which one policepersonnel was injured. Initially,the FIR was registered onSeptember 14 last year at policestation Division Number-1,Jallandhar. Subsequently, thecase was taken up for investi-gation by NIA and re-registeredas RC-39/2018/NIA/DLI.

Arrested accused Pinchooand Qayoom were pursuingtheir B.Tech (Civil) from St.Soldier Group of Colleges,Jalandhar. Two other accusedpersons involved in the attack--- Rauf Ahmed Mir and UmarRamzan, both residents ofPulwama were killed in anencounter with security forcesin South Kashmir onDecember 22, 2018.

Amir Nazir, is a key accusedas he procured and facilitateddelivery of four grenades usedin the attack on the directionsof Ansar Ghazwatul Hind ChiefZakir Musa. Nazir was theactive link between arrestedaccused and Musa.

Nazir has been taken ontransit remand to be producedbefore the Special NIA CourtMohali for obtaining his PoliceCustody for interrogation, aNIA spokesperson said. PTI

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Upset at the ‘distasteful’statements made by politi-

cians in reference to peoplewith disabilities, particularlyduring election season, dis-ability rights’ crusaders havewritten to the ElectionCommission to direct the polit-ical fraternity to use respectfullanguage for PwD and also tohighlight provisions ofDisability Act in the event ofcontravention.

Though they had beenobjecting to such ‘abuses’ timeand again, the trigger point towrite to the top poll watch dogcame following Prime MinisterNarendra Modi’s remarksagainst dyslexia at an eventwhere he co-related the neu-rological condition with one ofhis political rivals.

Citing various suchinstances where elected repre-sentatives ‘belittled’ the sector,Dr Satendra Singh, disabilityrights activist and member,Delhi State Steering Committeeon Accessible Elections said ina letter that the use of such lan-guage during election cam-paigns to deride political oppo-nents is unpardonable. “Insuch sweeping remarks, politi-cians deem persons with dis-

abilities as being unfit to holdthe government post,” he said.

He felt that the non-actionof the Commission in suchincidents (2014 elections andpresent) can be considered asan apathy. “Such apathy can beinterpreted as acceptance - bythe perpetrators, the public,and - worse - the marginalizedvoters with disabilities. If leftunchallenged, slurs persistsand grows, as we saw the dis-turbing trend being continuedtill now despite Section 92(a) ofthe Rights of Persons withDisabilities Act, 2016 havingprovision of imprisonment ondisability abuse,” he said.

Such statements are pun-ishable under specific sectionsof the Indian Penal Code andthe RPWD Act 2016 withimprisonment for a term whichshall not be less than sixmonths, but which may extendto five years and with fine”, saidJamshed Mistry, a lawyer, whoworks for social causes.

The National Platform forthe Rights of the Disabled(NPRD) too expressed its dis-may at the Prime Minister‘disregarding’ the value of thedisabled people even when hewas the one who had equateddisability with divinity andcoined the term “divyang”.

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New Delhi: India onWednesday said its first meet-ing with Pakistan to finalise themodalities for Kartarpur cor-ridor would be held at theIndian side of the Attari-Wagahborder on March 14.

The announcement came aday after Pakistan said it wouldsend a delegation to India onMarch 14 to discuss a draftagreement for setting up of thecorridor to facilitate visa-freevisit of Sikh pilgrims to theGurudwara Kartarpur Sahib.

The first meeting betweenIndia and Pakistan to discussand finalise the modalities forKartarpur corridor would beheld at Attari-Wagah (Indianside) on March 14, the Ministryof External Affairs said in astatement. PTI

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The Centre has warned itsemployees of consequences

if they go on strike on March13 to protest against the NewPension Scheme (NPS), thePersonnel Ministry has said inan order.

It has been brought tonotice that the National JointCouncil of Action (NJCA) hasdecided to organisedharna/demonstrations infront of Jantar Mantar, NewDelhi, and across the countryon March 13 in order to protestagainst the NPS, the ministrysaid.

Citing existing rules, theorder said instructions prohibitgovernment servants from par-ticipating in any form of strike,including mass casual leave, goslow, etc., or any action thatabet any form of strike/protest.

“Any employee going onstrike in any form would face

the consequences which,besides deduction of wages,may also include appropriatedisciplinary action,” it said.

All officers have been

requested to not sanction casu-al leave or any other kind ofleave, if applied for, during theperiod of the proposed strikeand ensure that the willingemployees are allowed hin-drance-free entry into the officepremises, the order stated.

The ministry has alsosought a report from all divi-sional heads in case employeesgo on strike. They have beenasked to forward the reportindicating the number anddetails of employees absent onthe day of the strike, it said.

The Personnel Ministryhas asked officers concerned ofthe Central Industrial SecurityForce (CISF), which guardsmajority of important govern-ment buildings, to ensure strictvigil on all entry gates and ifnecessary, deploy extra securi-ty personnel for the purpose.

There are around 48.41lakh Central Governmentemployees.

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Experts from ISRO will startreceiving training for the

‘Gaganyaan’ project at theToulouse Space Centre inFrance from this month,French space agency CNESsaid Wednesday.

The experts will also betrained at CADMOS, the cen-tre for development of micro-gravity applications and spaceoperations, and the MEDESSpace Clinic in France, it said.

For further cementing tiesin this area, the space agenciesof India and France signed anagreement to build a constel-lation of satellites for mar-itime surveillance intended toidentify and track ships in theIndian Ocean.

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chhattisgarh 03RAIPUR | THURSDAY | MARCH 7, 2019

STAFF REPORTER n RAIPUR

Chhattisgarh topped the list of''Swachh States' in the entire

country. The 'SwachhtaSarveshan-2019' rankingsannounced in New Delhi onWednesday declared Chhattisgarhthe best state in terms of cleanli-ness and sanitation.

President Ramnath Kovindhanded over the award toChhattisgarh State UrbanAdministration and DevelopmentMinister Shiv Deharaia.

The survey also declaredAmbikapur as the second cleanest(Swachhta) place in the entirecountry. Bhilai Nagar secured11th Spot. Receiving the award,Deharia said that it is a proudmoment for the entire State.

He added that this time the

State has performed remarkablywell and the State will strive to dowell in the coming years as well.

The minister said that 28towns of Chhattisgarh had figuredin various categories of the'Swachhta Sarveshan-2019' rank-ings, which is itself a tribute to theefforts of the state administration.

Bhilai Mayor and MLADevendra Yadav and UrbanAdministration DepartmentSpecial Secretary AlarmelmangaiD and other senior officers werealso present at the award function.

Ambikapur bagged the 15thspot in the year 2017 and 11thranking in the year 2018. Raipurbagged the award in the above 10lakh population category townsfor being the fastest developingcities in the 'Swachh' category.

Swachhta Sarveshan: C’garh best performing state

Chhattisgarh bags top honours in 'Swachh' states ranking: President Ramnath Kovind hands over award toMinister Shiv Deharia

Ambikapur bags second spot, Bhilai 11th ranking

STAFF REPORTER n DHAMTARI

Chhattisgarh Chief MinisterBhupesh Baghel on Wednesday

claimed that BJP’s tally in the recentlyconcluded assembly elections wouldhave come down to three had therebeen no triangular contest.

Only Raman Singh, Brijmohan andVidyaratan Bhasin could have succeed-ed in retaining their respective assem-bly seats, he further claimed.

Baghel was addressing ‘AabharRally’ of farmers here at district head-quarters.

Without naming former chief min-ister Ajit Jogi and his outfit JCC (J),Baghel said there was a ‘B’ team of theBJP in the recently concluded assemblyelections which saved it from a moreshameful defeat. “The person who wasresponsible for the formation of BJPgovernment for three consecutiveterms was not in the Congress this timeand that was why we succeeded in

securing an impressive 2/3rd majorityin the state assembly,” he said.

Citing the achievements of theCongress government in past twomonths, he said his was not a ‘Jumla’government like that of BJP’s. His gov-

ernment fulfilled the major promisesmade in the poll manifesto, he said.

“We are bound to fulfill the aspira-tions of ‘Annadatas’ (farmers) who haveextended their support to us with a vastmajority, he added.


Former chief minister RamanSingh in a tweet took a dig at

Chhattisgarh government fortaking loan from the ReserveBank of India (RBI) for the sixthtime in last two months.

Congress immediately coun-tered it through a set of tweets,claiming exploitation of the statefor the last 15 years by the BJPhad led to such a financial situa-tion.

Singh in a tweet said theCongress government in thestate adopted a policy of “Takeloan and drink Ghee”, pointingout in the last two months it hastaken loan six times from theRBI.

Ultimately the people wouldhave to bear the cost of theseloans, he said, alleging the policyof the government was neither infavour of the people nor thestate.

Congress replied to Singh’scharges through its official twit-ter handle.

“For the last 15 years thestate was exploited, making it anICU patient. If immediate andproper treatment is not done, thecondition may turn more criti-cal. Therefore, special measureshave been taken by the govern-ment to manage the situation sothat the state attains a healthystatus.”

The other tweet raises per-sonal allegations against the for-mer chief minister and urgeshim to remain “healthy andmentally fit.”

BJP takes dig at govt’s borrowingspree, Congress hits back

Triangular fight saved BJP fromgreater humiliation: Baghel


The National Mineral DevelopmentCorporation (NMDC) on

Wednesday signed a memorandum ofagreement (MoA) with the GeologicalSurvey of India for sharing of aero-geo-physical data (magnetic) for mineralexploration in Madhya Pradesh, addingone more milestones in the field of min-eral exploration.

The signing of this MoA with the GSIwill be a historic step for the country asthe processed data may provide clues ofhidden deposits, the NMDC said in apress release.

The MoA was signed by M.Mahadevan, Executive Director (RP&S)on behalf of the NMDC and Dayanand,DDG and HoD, AMSE, GSI in the pres-ence of P.K.Satpathy, Director(Production); T.R.K. Rao, Director(Commercial), NMDC and senior offi-cials of NMDC, GSI, NRSC-ISRO, NGRIand Osmania University, Hyderabad.

With its expert team of geologists,the NMDC was identified as a nodal

agency by ministry of Mines for special-ized mineral exploration works.

The data procured from part of ‘obvi-ous geological potential (OGP Block-2)’in Madhya Pradesh will be processedjointly by the NMDC-Centre ofExploration Geophysics, OsmaniaUniversity, Hyderabad for obtainingmore diamondiferous areas/targets in the

18 diamondiferous blocks allocated tothe NMDC through Gazette by GOMP.

All the Aero-Magnetic anomalymaps would be generated by the NMDC-CEG by using Geosoft. Oasis MontageSoftware will be used for Kimberlitesearch by the NMDC.

The NMDC has already identified 45target areas for drilling for diamondifer-

ous kimberlites in Madhya Pradesh.The NMDC has also identified iron

bearing areas in Sidhi- Singrauli Block inMP. Recently, the NRSC and the NMDChave developed a mobile app to collectfield data with location and field photoand catalogue to collect geological infor-mation and for viewing in “BhuvanPortal”.

Panel headedby retired judgeto review casesagainst tribalsRAIPUR: The Chhattisgarhgovernment has formed ahigh level committee head-ed by retired judge A.K.Patnayak to review casesregistered against tribals inNaxal-infested areas of thestate.

The committee headedby Patnayak, includes advo-cate general of Chhattisgarh,additional advocate general,additional chief secretary,home affairs, secretary, trib-al development, directorgeneral (DG) jails and Naxaloperations in-charge, direc-tor general of police anddivisional commissioner,Bastar.


Chhattisgarh Bharatiya Janata Party wentinto a huddle on Wednesday to review

preparation for the visit of party nationalpresident Amit Shah on Thursday.

Shah will address party’sbooth level workers at a func-tion scheduled at BalbirSingh Juneja Indoor Stadium,Raipur at 2.30 pm.

The Bharatiya JanataYuva Morcha will take out abike rally from the airport tothe venue of Shah’s functionas per the programmechalked out by the party.

BJP national general sec-retary and Chhattisgarh in-charge Anil Jain and nationalvice president Raman Singh and other seniorleaders participated in the meeting held atEkatma Parisar, BJP Divisional Office,Raipur.

Briefing the media after the meeting,former chief minister Raman Singh said theparty held several rounds of meetingsincluding that of cluster-level and core-group to outline the party’s basic strategy for

the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in thestate.

However, the final strategies pertainingto how to win all the 11 Lok Sabha seats inthe state, how to reach all the 90 state assem-

bly constituencies, whatsteps are to be taken for elec-tion campaigning and otherfiner details will be finalisedat the meeting with Shah onThursday. Raman added,“BJP has always been suc-cessful in every examination.Irrespective of favourable orunfavourable results, theparty workers continue towork with dedication. Thistime the target is big andpeople of the country has

made up their mind. Once again, they willelect Narendra Modi as Prime Minister.”

On the election for the party’s state chief,BJP state president Dharamlal Kaushik said,“The party has already started preparationsfor the Lok Sabha elections. Within four daysthe model code of conducts for elections willbecome effective. After which election forparty president will not be possible.”

Shah to address BJP workers today

Shah will addressparty’s booth level

workers at afunction scheduled

at Balbir SinghJuneja Indoor

Stadium, Raipur


Commerce and Industriesminister Kawasi Lakhma on

Wednesday laid emphasis on set-ting up small scale industries forfood processing and value addi-tion to generate employment inBastar region, which has abun-dance of agriculture and forestproduce.

He was addressing a seminaron ‘Bastar Division LevelIndustrial Development’ atKumharand-based ShahidGundadhur Agriculture Collegeauditorium, Jagdalpur.

Those who would showinterest in setting up these indus-tries in the region will be provid-ed all assistance, he added.

At present the 2014Industrial Policy is effectivewhich will be changed by theyear end.

“State government led byChief Minister Bhupesh Baghelhas decided to form the new pol-icy after holding discussion with

industrialists, so that it becomeseasy to implement it,” he said.

“Government is layingemphasis on providing maxi-mum employment to youth, sosmaller cottage industries arebetter option. The industrialistsshould also come forward toestablish ancillary units linked toupcoming Nagarnar Steel Plantbeing established by the NMDC,”minister said.

Lakhma said, “On the indus-tries department website, the linkis available where the industrial-ists can register their sugges-tions.”

“Works for setting upDhurvagaon and Sukma foodprocessing centres have beencompleted. At Kondagaon, themaize processing unit is beingestablished at a cost of Rs 105crore. The work is in progress at

faster pace,” he said. Ministerannounced a residential trainingcentre for youth at Jagdalpur andDurg for those showing interestin establishing industries inmemory of former prime minis-ter Rajiv Gandhi. Governmentwill bear the complete expensesof training. Commerce andIndustries Department PrincipalSecretary Manoj Kumar Pinguaalso addressed the gathering.


Kondagaon District CollectorNilkanth Tekam was on

Wednesday awarded a cash prizeof Rs 5 crore for “exemplaryworks” done for the overall devel-opment of the district as perparameters of the Niti Aayog.

Niti Aayog’s Chief ExecutiveOfficer Amitabh Kant handedover the award to the district col-lector.

Kondagaon was adjudged sec-ond aspirational district among115 competitors across the coun-try.

In the field of health andnutrition the Kondagaon district

stood first while in overall rankingit stood second.

The judgment was done by theAyog keeping in view the perform-ance of aspirational districts for

the month of November andDecember.

The performance was judgedon the basis of 49 indicators whichinclude health, education, agricul-ture, water resources, physicalstructure, financial managementand skill development.

Union Government has ear-marked 115 districts as aspira-tional districts all over the country,which includes 10 from the back-ward state of Chhattisgarh.

Special attention is being givenfor an overall development ofthese districts and a delta rankingis provided to them in order topromote competiveness in achiev-ing the goal of development.

Kondagaon collector getsaward from Niti Aayog

Kawasi outlines roadmap for job creation in Bastar


The National Students’ Union ofIndia (NSUI), a frontal organisa-

tion of the Congress, staged a protesthere on Wednesday against growingunemployment in India underNarendra Modi-led Union govern-ment.

The organisation staged a sit-innear Rajiv Gandhi Chowk to registertheir protest against alleged failure ofModi government to provide employ-ment to youth.

Modi had breached the pollpromise made in 2014 general elec-tions that two crore employmentwould be generated per year for theyouth of the country, they alleged.

The NSUI activists led by theirstate president Akash Sharma alsopolished shoes of passerby as a sym-bolic gesture to show lack of employ-ment opportunities in the country.

State vice president BhaveshSharma, state spokesperson TusharGuha, district president AmitSharma, general secretary HemantPal were prominently present duringthe protest.

Kondagaon adjudged second aspirational district inNiti Aayog ranking across the nation

NSUI protests againstgrowing unemployment

NMDC signs pact to explore mineral resources

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With tension escalatingalong the Line of Control

(LoC) as the Pakistan Army istargeting civilian areas andIndian Army posts using heavyartillery guns, India onWednesday warned that anyfurther “provocation or mis-adventure” will invite “direconsequences.” The stern mes-sage issued by the Indian Armyin New Delhi came after con-tinuous ceasefire violations byPakistan in which at least threecivilians were killed and severalothers hurt in the last one week.

Nearly 400 ceasefire viola-tions along the LoC havealready taken place this year,including 60 in the last oneweek since the Indian air strikesagainst terror camps inPakistan on February 26. Theceasefire violation figure for theentire last year stood at 1,629while 860 such incidents tookplace in 2017.

The Indian Army’s state-ment said, “Post our warning tothe Pakistan Army NOT to tar-get civilian areas, the overall sit-uation along the LoC remainsrelatively calm. In the last 24hours, the Pakistan Armyresorted to intense and unpro-voked firing with heavy calibreweapons in selected areas ofKrishna Ghati and Sunderbani,targeting Indian posts andcivilian areas with mortarbombs and heavy artillery

guns. The same was effective-ly retaliated by the IndianArmy. There have been nocasualties on the Indian side.”

It further said, “We wouldreiterate that as a professionalArmy we are committed toavoid civil casualties, especial-ly along the LoC. All actionstaken by our defence forces aretargeted towards counter ter-rorism and terrorist infra-structure, away from civilianareas, to avoid civilian casual-ties. We are maintaining strictvigil along the LoC andInternational Border (IB). Anyfurther provocation or misad-venture by Pakistan will beresponded in a befitting man-ner with dire consequences.”

The situation is particularlygrim in Poonch and Rajourisectors, south of Pir Panjalranges, with the Pakistan Armyusing heavy artillery guns to hitIndian positions and civilianareas. This is for the first timein many years that the PakistanArmy has used heavy and longrange guns thereby escalatingtension along the LoC.

In fact, both the sides hadrefrained from using long rangeguns for the past 15 years or so

to avoid aggravating the situa-tion.

However, the PakistanArmy for the past few weekshas started using heavy artilleryguns instead of small arms fir-ing from medium and lightmachine guns, besides mortars.

In strong retaliatory action,Indian Army is learnt to have“flattened” several bunkers and“strategic structures” of thePakistan Army besides causinggrievous injuries to large num-ber of soldiers on their side.

However, there was noofficial confirmation from theIndian Army authorities till lateTuesday evening about theexact number of fatal injuriesinflicted on the Pakistani sideof the border.

According to Defence PROLt Col Devender Anand(Jammu), Pakistan initiated“unprovoked” ceasefire viola-tion around 11.30 a.m by usingmortars and small arms firingalong LoC in Nowshera sectorof Rajouri on Tuesday.

The firing continued forover two hours in which oneIndian jawan received injures.Late in the evening Pakistanresorted to heavy shelling inKrishna Ghati sector ofPoonch.

Meanwhile, fresh scaling oftensions had a direct fall out onthe carvan-e-Aman peace busservice between Poonch-Rawalakote.

The same was cancelledamid continuous exchange offire on Monday. Cross Loctrade, however, went onsmoothly with 34 truck loadsreaching here in the TradeFacilitation centre while onlythree trucks crossed Chakan-da-Bagh crossing point onTuesday.

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Congress chief RahulGandhi reached out to

JD(S) supremo HD DeveGowda to finalise the alliancedeal, making Karnataka thefourth State after Bihar,Maharashtra and Tamil Naduwhere the Congress will take onthe juggernaut of NarendraModi in the Lok Sabha polls.

Rahul and Gowda had ameeting at the latter’s resi-dence where the seat-sharingagreement was discussedthreadbare. The outcome islikely to be announced by thisweekend. In the two-hourmeeting, Rahul and Gowdabroadly discussed seat sharingin Karnataka, prevailing polit-ical situation in the countryand the need for Oppositionunity.

Sources said it was decid-ed that the Congress wouldcontest 18-19 of the total 28seats and the JD(S) will get therest. Gowda, who has beendemanding at least 13 seats,scaled down his claim to ten.

“Rahul discussed aboutseat sharing in Karnataka.This is the first such discussionbetween the two parties.Earlier, I had asked for 12seats. At the meeting, Irequested Rahulji to give atleast 10 seats to the JD(S),” saidGowda.

“Some issues which werenot discussed at the meetinghave been left to me andAICC’s general secretary inKarnataka KC Venugopal tofinalise. We will announce ourdecision by March 10,” saidJD(S) national general secretaryDanish Ali.

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Punjab Chief Minister CaptAmarinder Singh on

Wednesday written to the UnionHome Minister Rajnath Singhseeking the immediate restora-tion of the historic materialsremoved from the library of SriDarbar Sahib, Amritsar, duringOperation Bluestar in 1984.

Seeking the UnionMinister’s intervention in thematter, the Chief Minister saidthat a delegation of some rep-resentatives of the SikhOrganizations CoordinateCommittee from the UnitedKingdom met him recently todiscuss some issues of concernto Resident Indians and SikhCommunity Diaspora of UK.The subject of the materialtaken from the Golden Templewas among them.

“Punjab Government isalready considering these issuesraised by the delegation atappropriate levels, but the mat-ter of restoration of the historicmaterial to Sri Darbar Sahibrequired urgent intervention ofthe Union Ministry of HomeAffairs,” said Capt Amarinder,in his letter.

The Chief Minister point-ed out that most of the historicoriginal valuable materials ofSikhism were taken away by thesecurity forces in June 1984,

and no account of that hadbeen given so far. “Sikh com-munity has been raising thismatter time and again. Even thePunjab Government has beenrequesting the Government ofIndia to intervene to ensurethat these historic materials,wherever available, should berestored to Sri Darbar Sahib,Amritsar,” he wrote.

He also sought Rajnath’sindulgence in the matter to sortout the issue at the earliest, say-ing that it would go a long wayin meeting the long-pendingdemand of the community.

He also extended all assis-tance and cooperation thatmay be required by theGovernment of India to resolvethe matter.

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From Page 1Referring to the aerial

combat with Pakistan last week,he said the country needs theRafale jet to defend itself "fromF-16 fighter planes that recent-ly bombed us". "Without Rafalehow can we resist them," hesaid, adding that two squadronsof Rafale fighter jets are com-ing to India in flyaway condi-tion and the first one will be inby September. He also said thatalthough MIG 21 of 1960sperformed beautifully againstF16, Rafale fighter jets wereneeded.

The Bench, which will hearthe review petitions further onMarch 14, was told byVenugopal that every state-ment of the apex court made inthe Rafale case may be used todestabilise either theGovernment or the Oppositionand therefore court shouldrefrain from making it. Thehigh voltage hearing saw theBench showering several trickyquestions to the AG who wasbuttressing that the stolenmaterials cannot be relied torevisit the judgment dismissingthe pleas and it was necessaryto determine the sources whoprovided the sensitive docu-ments.

The Bench askedVenugopal "if an act of cor-ruption is committed in Rafale

deal, will Government takeshelter behind Official SecretsAct? I (CJI) am not saying it iscommitted, but if it is thenGovernment cannot take shel-ter behind OSA." It further saidit has been settled in a catenaof judgments that even if stolendocuments are cited, and ifthey are found relevant, thecourt can look into them. Atone point, Justice Josephreminded the AG that therewere many reports appeared inBofors case also and thosewere not treated under OSA.

Opposing the plea for CBIenquiry into the Rafale deal,Venugopal said any order to theeffect would be damaging tothe country as the recent inci-dents have shown how vulner-able is the scenario in which thecountry was trying to meet itsdefence requirements.However, the Bench said theissue of national security didnot arise in the case as allega-tions were of grave crime ofcorruption.

The Attorney General wentahead with his submissionsand said, "certain issues are out-side the purview of judicialreview." Do we have to come tothe court to justify when wedeclare war, when we declarepeace? Do we have to come andseek permission of the courtevery time?" he asserted.

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From Page 1Ahmedabad bagged

‘Cleanest Big City’, DelhiCantonment as CleanestCantonment area, followed byMeerut Cantonment. Raipurnamed ‘Fastest Moving BigCity’. Mathura-Vrindavanbagged the tag of the ‘FastestMoving Medium Cities’.

According to survey,Gujarat is the Fastest MoverState while Punjab is the BestPerforming State in Sanitation.Madhya Pradesh is the BestPerforming State in Solid WasteManagement. Dhule(Maharashtra), Karimnagar(Telangana), Rajamundry(Andhra Pradesh), Katni(Madhya Pradesh ), Yavatmal(Maharashtra) were the worstperformer cities in theSwachchh survekshan.

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The prestigious Lal BahadurShastri National Academy

of Administration (LBSNAA)is now in its 60th (diamondjubilee) year of its existence inthis hill station. On September1 this year, it will complete 60years in Mussoorie.

On April 15, 1958, thethen Home Ministerannounced in the Lok Sabha aproposal to set up a NationalAcademy of Administrationwhere training would be givento all the recruits of the CivilServices. The Ministry ofHome Affairs decided to amal-gamate the IAS TrainingSchool, Delhi and the IAS StaffCollege, Shimla to form aNational Academy ofAdministration at Mussoorie.The Academy was set up in1959 and was called the'National Academy ofAdministration'. Its status wasthat of an 'attached office' of theGovernment of India under theMinistry of Home Affairs. InOctober 1972, its name waschanged to "Lal BahadurShastri Academy ofAdministration" and in July1973, the word "National" wasadded and the Academy isnow known as the “LalBahadur Shastri NationalAcademy of Administration"

It was on September 1,1959 that the academy wasestablished in Charleville, thefirst hotel to have been built inthis hill station, around 1870.Over the years, many new

buildings have been added tothe old ones of the hotel. Theacademy was shifted fromMetcalfe House to Charlevilleacquired by the government.

September 1959 was indeeda very special time forMussoorie, especially for the pic-turesque Happy Valley just a fewkilometres away from the busyLibrary Point (Gandhi Chowk).The Tibetan government inexile was just settling down inHappy Valley. The young DalaiLama with his followers hadarrived in the summer. As forLBSNAA, its address ofCharleville, at the Happy Valleyend of The Mall Road holds astrong sense of history goingback to the mid-nineteenth cen-tury. Charleville was a grandlandmark of Mussoorie and hasbeen mentioned in several oldaccounts of foreign travelers tothe Queen of Hills.

The main building of thehotel was built by GeneralWilkinson in 1854 on theChajauli Estate. In 1861, theproperty was purchased byHobson, a retired manager ofMussoorie Bank who started

the hotel.In March 1905, the

Princess of Wales (later QueenMary) visited Dehra Dun andMussoorie. In Mussoorie, shestayed at the Charleville Hotel,the only hotel in India to be sohonoured.

In the year 1984, the mainblock of the academy was gut-ted in a fire, destroying the his-toric building of Charleville.Some historic records werealso destroyed in this fire. Aformer probationer, who isnow a senior officer , says “Wehad great times in the loungeof the old Charleville building.It had a small balcony outsidefrom where you could see thevalleys beyond with the viewof a temple on top of a hill.Below the lounge was a love-ly old library. It had a niceplace for sitting and readingwith a lovely view on theother side”.

The most fascinating storylinked to the Charleville Hotelis that of famous author andpoet Rudyard Kipling’s stay atthis hotel in the summer of1888, when he was twenty

three years old. AmongKipling’s unpublished papersin the Library of Congress,there exists an album of pho-tos which has two pictures ofCharleville Hotel. One was aphoto of the hotel’s office.Kipling had written, “And therewere men with a thousandwants/And women with babesgalore /But the dear little angelsin Heaven know/That Wuzzlernever swore”. Wuzzler was thepatient, long-suffering man-ager of Charleville.

The academy in the HappyValley area is a place worthseeing. Its campus is pic-turesque and the entire ambi-ence has a sense of history aswell as grace. The LBSNAAhas lent dignity and prestige,over the past six decades, tothe beautiful hill town ofMussoorie . This Academystands for values envisioned bySardar Vallabhbhai Patel andfurther amplified by LalBahadur Shastri. Long beforeour independence, and at theheight of the colonial admin-istration, the British PM DavidLloyd George, had comparedthe civil services to the steelframe.

After independence, withthe ushering in of democracy,new challenges came up, andthe services moulded them-selves to serve the best inter-ests of the people and thecountry. The civil serviceslargely have been able to live upto the high standards.

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State Congress is likely todeclare the names of the

candidates for the five LokSabha seats from Uttarakhandbefore the Congress presidentRahul Gandhi’s proposed visitto the State on March 16.

The Congress presidentwould address a rally at ParadeGround in the city on March 16to kick start the election cam-paign of his party inUttarakhand. Ahead of thevisit of Rahul Gandhi, theCongress circles are agog withspeculation that the partymight declare the names of thecandidates for all the five LokSabha seats next week. The in-charge of the State Congress,Anugrah Narayan Singh, isexpected to submit the panel ofthe candidates prepared bythe state screening committeeto the parliamentary screeningcommittee of the Congress onMarch 9. The Congress presi-dent Gandhi has convened ameeting of the state unit pres-idents of the party on March 9.It is expected that the PradeshCongress Committee (PCC)president Pritam Singh wouldhold discussion on the proba-ble candidates for the five par-liamentary constituencies ofthe State during the meeting.

The screening committeefor selection of candidates forUttarakhand is headed byAnugrah Narayan Singh. Theco-in-charge of CongressRajesh Dharmani, StateCongress president PritamSingh, the leader of theOpposition in the StateAssembly Indira Hridayeshand the national general sec-retary (organisation) VenuGopal are the members of thecommittee.

Besides, the Congress hasalso appointed observers for allthe five Lok Sabha seats. Theparty has nominated the for-mer minister Tilak Raj Behedas the observer for Tehri, the

deputy leader of the Congresslegislature party Karan Mahraas the observer for Pauri, theformer Minister DineshAgarwal as the observer forNainital, senior leaderMahendra Pal Singh as theobserver for Haridwar and the

former minister SurendraSingh Negi as the observer ofAlmora.

Queried over the selectionof the candidates, the PCCchief Pritam Singh said that theprocess for selection is goingon. “It is for the party to decide

when to declare the names,” hesaid. He claimed that the rallyof Congress president inDehradun would be a historicone, given the overwhelmingsupport the party is enjoyingamong the people of the State.Meanwhile, the State Congresshas started to gear itself up tomake the rally to be addressedby Rahul Gandhi a huge suc-cess in terms of turnout. Thestate party leaders said that incase, the rally turns out to be awell-attended one, it wouldsilence the critics who say thatthe party is lagging far behindthe ruling BJP in the prepara-tion of the poll. The state partyheld a meeting at RajivBhawan-the state party office-on Wednesday to discuss thenitty gritty of the public meet-ing to be addressed by RahulGandhi. In course of the meet-ing, the party assigned respon-sibilities to different leaders tomake the rally a big success.

The probable names-Among the Congress probablesfor the LS poll from the State,the name of the former ChiefMinister Harish Rawat is doingthe rounds. He is expected tocontest from Haridwar andUdham Singh Nagar-Naninitalseats.

Similarly, the contention ofthe PCC president PritamSingh and his predecessorKishore Upadhyaya is alsoquite strong from Tehri seat.From Almora-Pithoragarhreserved seat, names of theRajya Sabha MP PradeepTamta and Sarita Arya are incirculation. The former StateCabinet Ministers-GaneshGodiyal, Rajendra SinghBhandari and Surendra SinghNegi-are being cited as thefront runners for the Garhwalseat. Leader of the Oppositionin the State Assembly, IndiraHridayesh and senior leaderTilak Raj Behed are also said tobe eager to throw their hats forNainital-Udham Singh Nagarparliamentary seat.

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North Korea is restoringfacilities at a long-range

rocket launch site that it dis-mantled last year as part of dis-armament steps, according toforeign experts and a SouthKorean lawmaker who wasbriefed by Seoul’s spy service.

The finding follows a high-stakes nuclear summit lastweek between North Koreanleader Kim Jong-Un and USPresident Donald Trump thatended without any agreement.

South Korea’s NationalIntelligence Service providedthe assessment about theNorth’s Tongchang-ri launchsite to lawmakers during a pri-

vate briefing Tuesday. NorthKorea didn’t immediatelyrespond in its state media.

An article from 38 North, awebsite specialising in NorthKorea studies, cited commercialsatellite imagery as indicatingefforts to rebuild some structuresat the site started sometimebetween February 16 and March2. Dismantling parts of its long-range rocket launch facility wasamong several steps the Northtook last year when it enterednuclear talks with the US andSouth Korea. North has carriedout satellite launches at the sitein recent years, resulting in UNsanctions over expert claimsthat they were disguised tests ofbanned missile technology.

Islamabad: Pakistan must takestrict measures, including actionagainst banned outfits by May,to avoid economic sanctionsover the non-implementation ofFinancial Action Task Force(FATF) recommendations, thefinance secretary has warned.

Last year, the Paris-basedFATF, an international terrorfinancing watchdog, finalised areport with 40 recommenda-tions for de-listing Islamabadfrom its ‘grey list’. Pakistan wasplaced on the list for failing tocurb anti-terror financing.

Arif Ahmed Khan wastalking to reporters afterattending a meeting of a sub-committee of the PublicAccounts Committee (PAC)

on Tuesday. Dawn reportedthat he said “the country had toproceed against the bannedoutfits in the light of FATF rec-ommendations”.

Khan expressed apprehen-sions that Pakistan might faceeconomic sanctions if the FATFrecommendations wereignored and not implemented.The Finance Secretary saidPakistan had to take strictmeasures to implement theFATF recommendations.

The InternationalCooperation Review Group ofFATF that reviewed Pakistan’saction plan in recent meetingswas not satisfied with theprogress on milestones set forJanuary 2019. PTI

I s l a m a b a d : J a i s h - e -Muhammed (JeM) whichclaimed responsibility for thePulwama attack does not existin Pakistan, the military’sspokesperson has said, daysafter Foreign Minister ShahMahmood Qureshi admittedthat the terror outfit’s chief ispresent in the country.

The already sour relationsbetween India and Pakistanhave worsened after Pakistan-based JeM claimed responsi-bility for the February 14Pulwama attack that left 40CRPF personnel dead.

Director General Inter-

Services Public Relations (ISPR)Major General Asif Ghafoorwhen asked if the two countrieswere close to war after theattack told CNN, “We were Iwould say close to war becausewhen they (India) violated theairspace under token aggres-sion, we went for response.”

“Along the LoC we wereeyeball-to-eyeball. There ispresence of troops at the LoCfor decades. But post the Indianaggression and our response,the safeguards have been takenby both side,” Ghafoor said onthe situation along the LoC.

He said troops had been

increased “because it is natur-al as part of military planning.When the situation gets hotthere are safeguards. Thosesafeguards are in place on bothsides.” After the Pulwamaattack, the IAF carried out acounter-terror operation, hit-ting what it said was a JeMtraining camp in Balakot, deepinside Pakistan on February 26.

The next day, Pakistan AirForce retaliated and downed aMiG-21 and captured its pilotWing CommanderAbhinandan Varthaman whowas handed over to India onFriday. PTI

Washington: The US is “veryclosely” following the reportsthat Pakistan misusedAmerican-made F-16 fighterjets against India in the recentaerial confrontation betweentheir air forces, according to atop State Department official.

The Indian Air Force onThursday displayed parts of anAMRAAM beyond visualrange air-to-air missile as evi-dence to “conclusively” provethat Pakistan deployed US-

manufactured F-16 fighter jetsduring an aerial raid targetingIndian military installations inKashmir after India’s anti-ter-ror operation in Balakot.Pakistan has said that no F-16fighter jets were used.

The US State Departmenthas said that America is seek-ing more information fromPakistan on the potential mis-use of American-made F-16fighter jets by it against Indiain violation of the end-useragreement.

“We’ve seen those reportsand we’re following that issuevery closely,” US StateDepartment DeputySpokesperson Robert Palladinotold reporters at his biweeklynews conference on Tuesday.

He was responding to ques-tions that Pakistan has violatedthe end-user agreement on F-16fighter jets that it procuredfrom the United States. “I can’tconfirm anything, but as a mat-ter of policy, we don’t publiclycomment on the contents ofbilateral agreements that wehave in this regard involving USdefence technologies nor thecommunications that we havewith other countries about that.“So, we’re taking a look andwe’re going to continue to takea look. I’m going to leave it atthat,” Palladino said. PTI

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Islamabad: The US has revisedits visa policy for the Pakistanicitizens by slashing the visavalidity from five years to 1year, according to a mediareport. In an official notifica-tion issued by the Americanembassy here on Tuesday, theUS said that an additional feewill also be charged for H(Temporary Work Visa), I(Journalist and Media Visa), L(Intercompany Transfer Visa),and R (Religious Worker Visa)visas, the Express Tribunereported. PTI

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The episode that began with theattack on a CRPF convoy inPulwama on February 14 endedwith the repatriation of WingCommander Abhinandan

Varthaman to India on March 1, withouttriggering an India-Pakistan war. While thisis all to the good, relations between the twocountries will remain tense and furtherserious confrontations cannot be ruled out.This is because the two main causes of theircontinuing hostility will remain —Pakistan’s desire to annex Kashmir andIndia’s demand for an end to the cross-bor-der terrorist attacks that Pakistan has beenconducting against it for almost 40 yearsnow.

Pakistan’s obsession with Kashmirstems not only from the region’s fabled beau-ty but its strategic importance. ControllingKashmir, Islamabad can bring its armouredand infantry formations unopposed toJammu & Kashmir’s borders with Punjaband Himachal Pradesh, and launch theseagainst Delhi. Any such offensive has nowto contend with the Indian forces stationedalong the international border between thetwo countries in Jammu and the Line ofControl in Kashmir. This is why India can-not part with Kashmir — besides the fun-damental reason of the latter being an inte-gral and inalienable part of this country.

Control over Kashmir will enablePakistan to launch a three-pronged attackagainst India — from the Sind-Rajasthanand Punjab borders as well as Kashmir, andit will push some of its Army formationsclose to Delhi. This strategic considerationis supplemented by its pathological hatredtowards India, which routed it in the 1971war that led to Bangladesh’s liberation.

Pakistan’s fixation with gaining con-trol over Kashmir is also a result of itsstrategic doctrine which aims at India’sbalkanisation. In his book, India: A Studyin Profile, Lieutenant-Colonel JavedHassan (who retired as a Lieutenant-General) contended that “India washostage to a centrifugal rather than a cen-tripetal tradition.” Holding that India “hada historical inability to stay as a unifiedstate”, he identified Punjab, Jammu &Kashmir, Tamil Nadu and six north-east-ern States (strangely leaving one of theseven sisters out), as being completelyalienated from mainstream India.

Hussain Haqqani, who refers to thisbook in his Pakistan: Between Mosque andMilitary, wrote that Hassan felt that “withsome encouragement, the alienated regionscould become centres of insurgencies thatwould, at best, dismember India, at [the]least, weaken India’s ability to seek region-al dominance for years to come.” Hassan’sbook is most significant as it resulted froma study of the Pakistani Army’s Faculty ofResearch and Doctrinal Studies, Commandand Staff College, Quetta. It was publishedand distributed by the Services Book

Club, Rawalpindi. None of thiscould have happened withoutsanction from the top, which,in turn, indicated that it artic-ulated — at least was in syncwith — official policy. Further,Haqqani points out in a foot-note in his book, that in sever-al conversations with him,Lieutenant-General HamidGul, who was director-gener-al of Pakistan’s notorious Inter-Services Intelligence from 1987to 1989, referred to an opera-tional plan to encourage cen-trifugal forces in India thatexisted when he was director-general of military intelligencefrom 1984 to 1987.

Haqqani further states thatafter the United States hadagreed to support the Afghanjihad against Soviet occupationof Afghanistan and Americaneconomic aid had started pour-ing into Pakistan, the latter’sPresident, Zia-ul Haq, wanteda forward policy drawn upregarding India. Haqqani alsosays that a conversationbetween Zia and Lieutenant-General Akhtar AbdulRahman led to the implemen-tation of a policy combiningclandestine operations to weak-en India with the pretence ofseeking durable peace,throughout the years Zia was inpower as well as subsequently.

As can be seen, it is being

followed even now. What canIndia do? A war? It can end inIndia’s victory, defeat or a stale-mate. Defeat is impossible giventhis country’s enormous mili-tary superiority over Pakistanand the valour of its uniformedpersonnel. A victory is possiblegiven India’s superiority onland, sea and air, and India diddefeat Pakistan comprehen-sively in the 1971 war which ledto the liberation of Bangladesh.It, however, then had completesupport of the Soviet Unionunder the Indo–Soviet Treaty ofPeace, Friendship andCooperation which, underArticle IX, provided for imme-diate “mutual consultations”to remove any “attack or threatthereof ” that either countrymay face and the taking of“appropriate effective measuresto ensure peace and security oftheir countries.” Thus, theSoviet Union sent ships of itsPacific Fleet to counter war-ships of the United States’Seventh Fleet which entered theBay of Bengal to tilt the balancein Pakistan’s favour. India isunlikely to receive the samekind of support from Russiawhich is now reaching out toPakistan. Besides, even if Indiawins a comprehensive victory,it will not end terrorism fromPakistan. The 1971 war did not.Pakistan was back to promot-

ing terrorism and insurgency inIndia within 10 years of that.

Things might be different ifthis country annexes Pakistan,which the world will not allow.It is one thing for countries notto condemn — or even tacitlyendorse — an attack on the JeMterrorist-training camp atBalakot, and, quite another forthem to allow India to swallowPakistan. Equally, Pakistan maynot rattle its nuclear-tippedmissiles over an Indian aerialattack on a target inside it butwill certainly do so if Indiantroops get, say, within 50 kilo-metres of Islamabad.

Most likely, a war will endin a stalemate. Besides notending terrorism, it willimpose a heavy cost in termsof human lives, public and pri-vate assets destroyed and eco-nomic disruption. Instead of it,one needs a coherent long-term policy and a clear blue-print to fight terrorism, pro-viding for diplomatic and eco-nomic pressure on Pakistan,sound intelligence gathering topre-empt terror strikes inIndia and terror attacks inPakistan itself. Whipping upjingoism and war hysteriaonly diverts attention fromthis essential task.

(The writer is ConsultantEditor, The Pioneer, and anauthor)

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Sir — The Prime Minister’sremark made during his recentvideo-conference with students,when one of them was explaininghow her project could help dyslex-ic children, was insensitive. Onewonders whether our leader iseven aware of how those diag-nosed with dyslexia have achievedgreatness in their lives, examplesbeing Alexander Graham Bell,Lewis Carroll, Leonardo da Vinci,John Irving, Pablo Picasso and LeeKuan Yew, to name a few.

The Prime Minister hasmocked the differently-abled,marking a new low in our politi-cal discourse. When the Rights ofPersons with Disabilities Act talksabout non-discrimination andrespect for persons with disabili-ties, activists are well within theirrights to demand an uncondition-al apology.

Bidyut Kumar ChatterjeeFaridabad

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Sir — Kudos to team India forregistering its 500th win in theOne-Day International (ODI)

cricket match after achieving anexceptional victory in the secondODI, played against Australia atthe Vidharbha CricketAssociation Stadium, Jamtha.

Indian skipper Virat Kohli,who scored his 40th ODI centu-ry, must be lauded for taking theteam to a handsome total of 250runs on a tricky pitch despite earlydismissals of Indian openers anda failed middle order.

The Indian bowling team,too, did a good job. KuldeepYadav, Kedar Jadhav andRavindra Jadeja bowled excep-tionally well and gave strongbreakthroughs to the Indian teambut the wicket of Marcus Stoinistaken by Vijay Shankar in the lastover was the most notable andadmirable.

Tushar AnandPatna

��Sir — This refers to the editori-al, “Encashing Pulwama” (March1). The killing of over 40 CRPFjawans in Pulwama was deadlyand the Government gave a jus-tifiable response to it. There isnothing wrong with theGovernment taking credit forthe airstrikes. After all, prevailingpolitics is not niskarma seva but

the art of the possible.During the 1971 war, Indira

Gandhi milked the situation to thehilt and romped home in the nextLok Sabha election. In 1979, for-mer US president Jimmy Carterhad to pay a price for the botched-up operation of releasing thediplomatic staff from the USEmbassy in Tehran, Iran, and hecould not get a second term. In2011, President Barack Obamaordered the assassination ofOsama bin Laden. With the mis-sion being successful, he wasvoted for a second term.

SC PandaBhubaneswar

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Sir — It is shocking that a sectionof people is demanding proof forthe airstrikes. One must supportthe acts of our defence forces whoensure that we are safe in everycorner of this country. Thisdemand for proof is embarrass-ing and indirectly gives our ene-mies an advantage.

ShashikantVia email

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The Union Government, State Governmentsas well as local self-governments aregrappling with the Herculean challenges

of urban sanitation. Indeed, while the word“urban” should imply modern sanitation facil-ities, the fact remains that 68 per cent of urbanhouseholds in India do not have access to asewage network and 85 per cent of the liquidwaste generated goes untreated. This often resultsin the contamination of groundwater and sur-face water which in turn manifests as water-borne diseases like diarrhoea and jaundice, theleading cause of child fatalities. Hookworms,which can spread through open defecation, causeanaemia and weight loss among women, besidesseverely impacting productivity, the well-beingof the households and the community.

In order to take this challenge head on, the2008 National Urban Sanitation Policy (NUSP)had initiated a framework for cities to prepareCity Sanitation Plans (CSPs) under theirrespective State strategies. But as policy mak-ers and other stakeholders often report, eachcity, town and slum presents its own complexset of challenges. Whether it is the lack of pipedwater, toilets or sewage treatment mechanism,the entire value chain of providing good san-itation — imperative for national health — hasbeen under severe stress and requires uniquesolutions and collaborations.

Yet, while challenges are unique in the localcontext, solutions have had their implicationsfor the broader sanitation ecosystem. Finally,there was a dire need to explore new approach-es since most households in India depend onon-site sanitation facilities such as septic tanksand pits vs centralised sewerage systems,where safe management of human waste,which includes its safe containment, transport,treatment and disposal, was essential.

It was against this backdrop of searchingfor new complementary approaches that theNational Policy on Faecal Sludge and SeptageManagement (FSSM) was formulated. TheFSSM approach — an end-to-end managementof faecal waste collected in pit latrines and/orseptic tanks — can be applied to arrest harm-ful impacts of poor sanitation in cases wherethe provision of sewerage system is unfeasibleor takes longer time.

As recognition for FSSM as an innovativeapproach grew, Odisha, which had embarkedon its own sanitation journey, also rolled outpilot projects in two small towns — Angul andDhenkanal in early 2015 under Project Nirmal.The idea was to demonstrate sustainable san-itation solutions for communities. This pilotprogramme was implemented with supportfrom the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation(BMGF), Arghyam, Centre for Policy Researchand Practical Action. Since then, the initiativehas been scaled up to nine other towns underthe Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and UrbanTransformation (AMRUT) by 2016.

However, implementation at such a grandscale required augmentation of internal capac-ity. This was achieved through a technical sup-port unit comprising Ernst & Young with sup-port from BMGF, which helped steer clear thegrassroot implementation of the interven-

tions and stitched a collaborationbetween various stakeholders. Today,FSSM has been integrated with theState’s policy plans and set of opera-tive guidelines for Urban Local Bodies(ULBs) to implement FSSM interven-tions across the sanitation value chain.

Six septage treatment plants(SeTPs) were commissioned onOctober 26, 2018, and six others arein progress, which together will caterto 60 per cent of the State’s urban pop-ulation. All these SeTPs are based onlow energy-consuming technologies toensure minimal operation and main-tenance cost. Recently, Odisha decid-ed that all ULBs will adopt the FSSMapproach and will set up septagetreatment facilities. Much more nowneeds to be done to ensure quickgrounding of such initiatives to achieveuniversal coverage of safe humanwaste disposal in all urban areas.

While the FSSM framework andtechnology speaks of innovation,equally important has been a deliber-ate approach to roll out capacity-building interventions among ULBsand build community participationin all programmes. The capacity-building efforts have includedstrengthening of various grassroots-level institutions such as the SlumSanitation Committee, WardSanitation Committee and CitySanitation Task Force (CSTF) toensure community ownership in san-itation service and people-centricsanitation service delivery systems in

the ULBs.ULB officials, Community Based

Organisations (CBOs) and communi-ty leaders have also come together tocreate community engagement mod-els in urban sanitation. FSSM case stud-ies show how community organisationsand vulnerable groups have been inte-grated, not as beneficiaries but as keystakeholders and partners in the imple-mentation and involvement of commu-nities in the processes.

For example, in Bhadrak munic-ipality, CBOs like the Mahila ArogyaSamitis (MAS) and women’s groupsare working to promote improved san-itation and FSSM practices at the wardlevel, particularly, among the urbanpoor. In Cuttack, a male SHG of san-itary workers from a vulnerable com-munity is being engaged for Operationand Maintenance (O&M) of cesspoolemptier vehicles in the municipal cor-poration.

The involvement of such groupshas helped the Government improveon-ground sanitation services througha linkage between livelihood and effi-cient FSSM services provided bymembers of the community itself.Significantly, the State has also seenhow the involvement of communitymembers in various ways boosts con-fidence and ensures dignity of thecommunity members, who becomepart of these programmes and who aresubsequently looked upon as rolemodels in their community.

The sanitation challenge in India

is complex and large in scope andscale. The FSSM roll-out in Odishaand other States is a testament of com-mitment at multiple levels of theUnion Government, StateGovernment, ULBs, global organisa-tions and most importantly, localcommunities, who have taken it uponthemselves to collaborate and “own”these initiatives. FSSM also shows usthat an innovative solution is feasible,can be customised to address the com-plex local challenge in sanitation andcan also be scaled by using the rightframework and protocols.

Finally, FSSM has shown a wayforward where multi-organisation,multi-stakeholder, sanitation enhance-ment programmes can be carried outsuccessfully. A recent study by theWater and Sanitation Programme ofthe World Bank estimated that inad-equate sanitation costs India theequivalent of 6.4 per cent of its GrossDomestic Product.

At the same time, experts haveconsistently pointed out that citiesdrive economic growth. The caveathere is this: It is the cities with goodsanitation which will drive econom-ic growth. Indeed, it will be nirmalshahars (clean cities) that will be aproxy for economic growth in humanhealth and well-being. FSSM’smomentum must be maintained.

(The writer is commissioner-cum-Secretary, Housing and UrbanDevelopment Department,Government of Odisha)

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As the month of March scriptsthe final chapter of winter, onecannot help but notice how

this year was climatically differentfrom other seasons in the precedingyears. The intermittent rainy daysthis year helped fight bad air daysand were instrumental in bringingthe pollution levels down.

This is indeed a miracle consid-ering the fact that winter seasons areusually air pollution nightmares.Healthy rains in the northern plains,coupled with ample snowing in thehills somewhat marked a thankfuldeparture compared to last year whenthe Himalayan mountains, especiallythe foothills, bore a dry appearancedue to the absence of proper snowfall

in March.With a winter that is signing off

on a positive note, can we gingerlyexpect the summer of 2019 to treat uswell? Maybe not if some reports bymeteorological offices are to bebelieved from across the world. Withthe imminent advent of the summers,experts in the weather offices and lab-oratories have started making well-researched scientific predictions onwhat the summer has in store for us.Though these have no direct bearingon how India will fare during thehottest months, they do give a gener-al idea of what is in store for mankindglobally.

Climate forecasters in the UnitedKingdom warned that 2019 is expect-ed to be one of the hottest years of alltime. The British meteorological officeestimated that average global temper-atures for 2019 will be 1.10C abovepre-industrial levels, putting it amongthe five hottest years ever. In fact, it isuncomfortably close to the record-breaking 2016, when temperatureswere 1.15C above the 1850-1900 peri-od. The predictions were based on theworsening impacts of climate change

caused mainly by spiralling green-house gases. Britain by itself experi-enced a hot summer in 2018 with theyear’s average temperatures around0.96C above pre-industrial levels.

Predictions for India are notpromising as well. The combinedeffect of climate change and an evolv-ing El Niño could make 2019 thehottest year ever. In fact, the past threeyears from 2015 to 2017 happened tobe the warmest ever recorded. Andalthough the current year started offwith a moderate La Niña phenome-non, which generally has a coolingeffect on global climate, it is going toend up being the fourth warmest year,

clearly showing a warming trend.In fact, the 20 warmest years on

record have occurred in the last 22years. This trend also sits in perfect-ly with the emission rates of green-house gases (GHGs), which were at arecord high in 2018, according to theWorld Meteorological Organisation.

According to climate scientistsfrom the Pennsylvania State University,the combination of human-causedwarming and a natural upswing intemperatures increases the odds thatany new El Nino year will be thewarmest ever. Many weather forecast-ers around the world, including theIndia Meteorological Department

(IMD), had predicted the developmentof an El Niño phenomenon by the endof 2018. This has already made win-ters in India warmer than usual andif the trend continues into the springof 2019, it will mean that the summers,too, will witness soaring temperatures.

Another major indicator of thewarming trend due to climate changeis ocean heat content (OHC). The year2018 recorded a new high in terms ofOHC since observations began in1940. There is more heat stored in theearth’s oceans today than at any timein the last 78 years. When GHGs trapheat in the atmosphere, some of it getsconverted into surface temperature but90 per cent of it gets assimilated intothe oceans. Therefore OHC is a muchbetter indicator of climate change thansurface temperatures. So how willIndia cope with this temperaturespike? Although it’s clear that nothingas such can be done to register animmediate impact, much can be doneto prevent worse summers.

The green house gas (GHG)emissions are the main culprits behindthe rising number of hot days. This canbe curtailed by bringing a decisive dif-

ference in the usage of fossil fuels,which contribute heavily to GHGemissions. Thermal power plants andvehicular fuels are the main bulksource of GHG and sadly enough,India is unable to ramp up the alter-native energy sources so that they canreplace the polluting thermal energyand fossil fuels.

Although on the face of it, wors-ening climate seems to be the primafacie reason for soaring tempera-tures, the real anthropogenic reasonscannot be overlooked. The numerousclimate conferences or climate scien-tists’ predictions are only a pointlessexercise if the same are not translat-ed into action in the form of meaning-ful reduction in GHG levels. The timehas come for the Government to startassessment of the efforts based onGHG level monitoring. This alone willensure that further time and moneyis not wasted and effective progress isclocked in protecting the environment.If this is not done, we will soon haveonly one season all throughout theyear — summer.

(The writer is an environmentaljournalist)

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In a scathing attack on themahagathbandhan, Prime

Minister Narendra Modi saideven though the Oppositionparties are working very hard toremove him from power, he isworking on a different front andthat is to rid the country of ter-rorism, corruption, other evils,etc.. Addressing a pre electioncampaign at Kalaburagi inKarnataka on Wednesday, hewas at his sarcastic best in tak-ing the mahaghatbhandan.Addressing a rally he said “Thework of the "milawati maha-gathbandhan" (AdulteratedGrand Alliance) is to removeModi. But they should opentheir ears and be clear that thecountrymen understand every-thing and everybody. They arecoming together to removeModi and Modi is workinghard to eradicate terrorism.Terrorists, poverty and corrup-tion should go from the coun-try. Towards this goal, I amworking," he told while address-

ing a rally here.The Prime Minister, with-

out taking the name, attackedGandhi family and said politi-cians who are bothered abouttheir families' welfare are not lik-ing new India's new policy andwant a helpless Government tofulfill their vested interests.

Modi also said he is notafraid of Pakistan and the cor-rupt when the blessings of 125crore people is with him.

"The politicians who areonly concerned about theirfamilies and interests, are notliking the new policy of newIndia. To fulfill their own vest-ed interests, they want a help-less Government," he said.

Modi also came down heav-ily on JD(S)- Congress collationGovernment in Karnataka ledby chief minister HDKumaraswamy and said peoplehave to pay a heavy price for the

small mistake they have com-mitted . He also called thisGovernment as helplessGovernment Modi said some-times people have to pay aheavy price for small mistake forhaving a helpless Government,but hoped people do not wantsuch Government at the centreafter experiencing the same inKarnataka.

"Karnataka has a 'Mazboor'(helpless) Government but Ihope you don't want such aGovernment at the Centre.Sometimes we have to pay aheavy price for a small mistake.The people of Karnataka mustbe experiencing the same," hesaid.

"There are some suchGovernments. They think bytransfering money into theaccounts of farmers, Modi willhog all limelight. To avoid this,this Karnataka Government hasstabbed the backs of the people.This power-intoxicatedCongress and remore-con-trolled Chief Minister (HDKumaraswamy) so far not given

the list of farmers to us," he said.He also expressed disap-

pointment that despite his goodintentions to deposit moneyunder Pradhan Mantri KisanNidhi programme, he is unableto do so because of the hurdlescreated by the coalition gov-ernment in Karnataka.

"They are not pained at themoney directly going into theaccounts of the farmers, whichis not giving any scope for themiddlemen to benefit from,and hence they are creatingobstacles," he said.

The real purpose ofmilawati mahaghatbandhanand Congress is to win votes bymaking false promises to farm-ers. Modi said KaranatakaGovernment made falsepromises of waiving off farmloans and thereof betrayedinnocent farmers.

"They (KarnatakaGovernment) made falsepromises of waiving off farmloans for all farmers for votes.They have betrayed innocentfarmers," he said.

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The campaign of the NationalDemocratic Alliance in

Tamil Nadu for the upcomingLok Sabha election commencedon Wednesday atKancheepuram near Chennaiwith an electrifying speech byPrime Minister Narendra Modi.

But while the PrimeMinister was inaugurating mul-tiple development projects min-utes before the rally, the DMDK,a prospective ally of theAIADMK-led front was in “mul-tiple talks” with the DMK for abetter deal. Sudheesh, brother-in-law of Vijayakanth, reportedlycontacted Durai Murugan, theDMK treasurer with a request toinclude the DMDK in the UPA.This was disclosed by Murugan

himself while speaking toreporters and this has put theDMDK as well as the NDA in atight spot.

The Prime Minister in his 30minutes long speech lambastedthe Maha Ghatbandhan formedby the Opposition parties bydescribing it as a platform builton hate Modi campaign. “TheOpposition’s hatred forNarendra Modi is reaching newlevels. There is a competitionamong the leaders of variousOpposition parties in abusingand hating Modi. Who willabuse Modi more is the theme ofthe contest. Someone will makefun of my poor origins, someonewill make fun of my parents,some others are making fun oflower caste origin,” thunderedModi. The Prime Ministerpointed out that the ate Modi

campaign reached new level theother day with a Congress leaderspeaking of killing him. “I am notbothered about it. For me,mycountry stands first and thepeople are my strength, Everydrop of my blood in my veinsand every second of my life hasbeen dedicated to the 130 croreIndians. A strong and powerfulIndia is my life’s mission,” said thePrime Minister addressing therally which was attended byleaders of all constituent partiesin the AIADMK-led front.

Modi came down heavily onthe Congress for insulting andhumiliating former Congresschief and Chief Minister of theState K Kamaraj. “Congress hsthis habit of insulting strongregional leaders. People of TamilNadu would not forget howKamaraj was humiliated andinsulted by the Congress. Whatwas his crime? He spoke for peo-ple and democracy. He spokeagainst dynasty and corruption.The Congress got a democrati-cally elected Government underMGR dismissed,” said the PrimeMinister.

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Raiganj and Murshidabadseem to have emerged as

two bones of contention hin-dering the alliance talks

between the CPI(M) andCongress in Bengal. Enjoyinga sizeable presence in these twoLok Sabha constituencies, boththe parties have refused tobudge, sources said.

While CPI(M) general sec-retary Sitaram Yechury onWednesday said his party hadalready made its position clear onthe issue, the Pradesh Congressleaders led by PCC presidentSomen Mitra are known tohave expressed their “final view”about the two seats to partypresident Rahul Gandhi. ThePCC leaders met the Congresspresident on Wednesday.

Gandhi is known to havetold them that he would talk toYechury on this issue. The seatsare currently held by CPI(M)MPs Md Salim and BadruddozaZaman. The Congress holdsMalda North and South,Behrampore and Jangipur.

Kancheepuram (TN):AIADMK leaders K Palani-swami and O Panneerselvam onWednesday heaped praise onNarendra Modi, saying the 'capa-ble' and 'efficient' Prime Ministeralone can ensure the country'ssafety and sought a successiveterm for him.

In a grand NDA rally head-ed by Modi and attended bycoalition partners, includingPMK and outfits like PuthiyaTamizhagam, Chief MinisterPalaniswami, who is the jointcoordinator of the rulingAIADMK, said Modi was theonly "capable" person to rule the

country. Panneerselvam, theAIADMK coordinator andDeputy Chief Minister, said thecoming Lok Sabha polls was afight between "dharma andadharma" and said his alliancewas fighting to uphold dharma.

"The only man capable ofruling this country is the PrimeMinister. If we are living safelyhere, it means the credit goes tohis administrative skills,"Palaniswami said. The safety of130 crore Indians was importantand Modi had the qualificationto ensure that, Palaniswamisaid. PTI

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Indians are as scared ofNarendra Modi as they

would be of star bandit GabbarSingh of Sholay, Bengal ChiefMinister Mamata Banerjeesaid on Wednesday whilelaunching a scathing attack onthe Prime Minister for tryingto create war hysteria ahead ofthe hustings by “distractingpeople’s attention from hisfailures to bombs, missilesand guns.”

Banerjee told a gatheringat Howrah, how instead ofconcentrating on the realissues facing the country, thePrime Minister was diverting

the popular attention towardsexternal threats.

Referring to Indian armedforces’ success in handlingthreats emanating fromPakistan, Banerjee said, “Weare with the Army, we are withthe Navy, we are with the AirForce, we are with the civili-sation, peace, culture, unitybut we are not with ModiBabu. None is with him. Infact, people are now afraid ofModi Babu as they used to bein context of Gabbar Singh.”

Attacking the PrimeMinister for showering newprojects Banerjee said “who ishe to launch new projectswhen his Government haspassed its expiry date.

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Lucknow: Several members of the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Rashtriya Lok Dal,including former MP SarikaSingh Baghel, joined the BJPhere on Wednesday in thepresence of its State presidentMahendra Nath Pandey, theparty said.

Former Hathras MPBaghel joined the BJP, leavingthe RLD, a BJP spokesmansaid.

Vedram Bhati, a three-time MLA and a former UPMinister, quit the BSP andjoined the BJP along with hissupporters, according to theparty spokesman. PTI

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Kalaburagi (K’taka): Congressrebel MLA Umesh Jadhavjoined the BJP at a rally here onWednesday, two days after hequit the Karnataka Assemblymembership, and is tipped totake on Congress veteranMallikarjun Kharge in the com-ing Lok Saba elections.

Jadhav joined the BJPbefore Prime Minister NarendraModi’s address at the rally, in thepresence of state BJP presidentB S Yeddyurappa, former chiefminister Jagadish Shettar and ahost of other party leaders.

“I am happy and proudjoining BJP,” Jadhav said beforeModi arrived on the stage.

He also sought blessingsfrom the people of Kalaburagito make Modi Prime Ministeragain. BJP sources said, Jadhavis likely to be the party’s LokSabha candidate for theGulbarga seat to challengeKharge, a nine-time MLA andtwo-term Lok Sabha memberwho has never tasted electoral

defeat.Jadhav had Monday sub-

mitted his resignation from theAssembly to Speaker RameshKumar.

The Congress has peti-tioned the Speaker seeking dis-qualification of Jadhav alongwith Ramesh Jarkiholi, BNagendra and MaheshKumathali under the anti-defec-tion law.

The four MLAs had keptthe party on tenterhooks forseveral weeks, defying its whiptwice to attend the CongressLegislative Party (CLP) meet-ings on January 18 and February8 and had skipped the early partof the budget session.

After the MLAs refused tofall in line, the Congress hadpetitioned Speaker to disquali-fy them under the Anti-Defection Law.

However, Jadhav along withother three MLAs had attend-ed the session and voted infavour of the finance bill, withan intention not to violate whipand avoid any stringent action.

Jadhav was upset withCongress against the allegeddominance by veteran party

leader Kharge and his sonMinister Priyank Kharge in theregion.

He was against PriyankKharge getting Ministerial berthfrom the region, ahead of sev-eral senior Congress leadersincluding himself.

Jadhav’s quitting theCongress has come after twoother senior leaders, BaburaoChinchansur and MalikayyaGuttedar, from the region quitthe party and joined the BJP,allegedly against dominance ofthe Kharges.

Jadhav is likely to face somehurdles ahead of his candidaturefor the Lok Sabha polls, as apetition to disqualify him wasstill pending before the Speaker.

“The petition to disqualifyJadhav is still pending... Withoutdisposal of this petition his res-ignation cannot be accepted asper law, in my knowledge,”Congress Legislature Partyleader Siddaramaiah said onTuesday.

However, whether to acceptthe resignation or not is ulti-mately left to the Speaker as heis the ultimate authority, he hadadded. PTI

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Thiruvananthapuram: Will‘pre-marital’ or ‘extra-marital’sex lead to the transmission ofdeadly HumanImmunodeficiency Viruses(HIV)? Yes, says the 10th stan-dard biology textbook underthe State syllabus being taughtin Kerala schools.

It is stated in Chapter 4titled “Keeping Diseases Away”of the textbook that HIV canspread through‘premarital/extra marital sexu-al contact’.

To the question, “Whatare the ways by which HIVspreads?”, the text book alsostates that “by sharing the nee-dle and syringe used by AIDSpatients”, “through body fluids”and “from HIV-infected moth-er to foetus”.

The startling fact is that thetext book, prepared by the

State Council of EducationalResearch and Training(SCERT), has been used in stateschools since 2016 and noteacher or school authorities

had pointed out the blunder tillsome netizens uploaded thesnippet from it on social mediaplatforms recently.

After it had gone viral on

social media, several doctorsand experts objected to it.

When contacted, SCERTdirector J Prasad said the print-ing of the new textbook for the

academic year 2019-20 is com-plete now and the blunderwould not figure in the newedition.

“That textbook has beentaught since 2016 and no onehas pointed out the mistake sofar. “When it came to ournotice, we took steps to excludethe portion in new textbookswhich will be distributed to stu-dents soon,” he told PTI.

However, the official wasnot willing to comment furtheron the blunder in a school text-book.

SCERT is concerned withthe academic aspects of schooleducation including formula-tion of curriculum, preparationof textbooks, teachers’ hand-books and teacher training.

It advises the governmenton policy matters relating toschool education. PTI

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Mumbai: The Maratha com-munity in Maharashtra onWednesday threatened to voteagainst BJP and Shiv Sena inthe upcoming Lok Sabha andState assembly polls, saying thetwo parties had failed to fulfiltheir demands.

The decision was taken bymembers of the MarathaKranti Morcha (MKM) at ameeting.

MKM convener MaheshDongre said the Sena-BJPGovernment had failed to ful-fil the promises given to theMaratha community.

“The community is upsetwith the Government. We haveplanned to distribute five crorepamphlets appealing not tovote for Sena and BJP in theupcoming LS polls,” he said.

According to him, theGovernment had assured theMaratha community that casesfiled by the police against over13,000 protesters during thepro-quota stir.

The state had also assuredthat compensation and a gov-ernment job would be provid-ed to the kin of the protesters,

who had committed suicideduring the stir.

On November 30, 2018,the Maharashtra Legislaturehad passed a bill proposing 16per cent reservation in educa-tion and Government jobs forthe Marathas, a declaredsocially and educationallybackward class by theGovernment.

However, the Governmenthad issued a circular putting abreak on issuing appointmentletters to the candidates, whogot selected for theGovernment job under thequota.

Dongre claimed that with-out the contribution ofMarathas, the Shiv Sena wouldnot have spread to the grass-root level.

“The community willteach a lesson to the Sena byshowing the power ofMarathas in the upcomingpolls,” Dongre added.

Despite assurances fromChief Minister DevendraFadnavis, nothing concrete hasbeen done so far, the commu-nity leaders have claimed. PTI

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Mumbai: Dams inMaharashtra have only 32.88per cent water stock of theirtotal storage capacity as ofnow, almost 14 per cent lesscompared to last year, accord-ing to a report of the State waterresources department.

The situation is particularlyworrisome in Aurangabad divi-sion (falling under the aridMarathwada region) wherecurrently the water stock is justseven per cent against 42.67 percent around the same time lastyear, the report said.

The State has 3,267 damsand there was 47.74 per centwater stock in them last yeararound this time.

The State Government has

so far deployed 2,636 tankers tomeet the demand of drinkingwater in rural and semi-ruralareas, Public WorksDepartment ministerChandrakant Patil said onTuesday.

There was less storage indams after last year’s monsoondue to erratic showers in thefirst couple of months of therainy season followed by longdry spells, an official from thewater resources departmentsaid.

He said as of now, theKonkan division has 55.06 percent water stock against 61.20per cent last year, while Punedivision has 46.67 per centstock as compared to 60.26 per

cent in 2018.“The water stock in these

two regions is comparativelybetter,” he said.

Besides, the Nashik divi-sion has 29.79 per cent waterstock as compared to 49.91 percent in 2018 while in Amravatidivision it is 31.48 per centagainst 24.84 per cent last year,the report said.

The Nagpur division has16.74 per cent stock left against24.84 per cent last year, itadded.

The rainfall season inMaharashtra is from June toSeptember every year andwater from dams is used fordrinking, agriculture andindustrial purposes. PTI

Shillong: Meghalaya ChiefMinister Conrad K Sangma onWednesday said the cash-richillegal coal mining business inthe State was a challenge as theGovernment had to balancebetween ecology, economy andthe overall safety.

Speaking on the comple-tion of one year of his coalitionGovernment, that includes theBharatiya Janata Party (BJP), inthe North-Eastern state,Sangma said they were work-ing towards improving theseaspects.

“It will take time but I canassure you that our focuses arein these areas,” he toldreporters.

The December 13 disasterin the East Jaintia Hills district

of the State, in which 15 dig-gers were trapped in a rat-holecoal mine, had attracted angryreactions from across thecountry.

Even, the Supreme Courthad come down heavily on theissue.

Lured by the quick money,the illegal activity has contin-ued in the state in blatant vio-lation of the National GreenTribunal’s order imposing ablanket ban on coal miningand transportation inMeghalaya in 2014.

The Meghalaya CMtermed the coal mine tragedyas “unfortunate” and said a lotof issues have been exposedafter the accident.

“Committees, headed by

the deputy commissioners,have been set up in all the dis-tricts especially to check if anyillegal mining is taking place,”Sangma said.

Considering the gravity ofthe incident, leading agenciesof the country including Army,Navy and NDRF carried therescue operations for months.

Although, the rescuers sawfive bodies, they could manageto retrieve only two highlydecomposed bodies.

On March 1, the team ofrescuers from the Navy andArmy announced to leave theoperation site, 60 days afterlaunching a search operationfor the 15 miners trapped in a370 feet-deep illegal coal minein a remote area. PTI

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Panaji: An Israeli national,who has been booked in nar-cotics cases in Goa, was injuredin an attack by a group of peo-ple at the Anjuna beach nearhere, police said onWednesday.

The incident took placeTuesday night and the Israeli,David Driham, has lodged acomplaint, they said.

The Anjuna police saidDriham, in his complaint filedin the wee hours ofWednesday, accused a localbusinessman and people asso-ciated with him of assaultinghim.

A staff member of thebusinessman has accusedDriham of stabbing him, theysaid, quoting a separate com-plaint.

Driham, 43, has beenbooked under the NarcoticsDrugs and PsychotropicSubstances (NDPS) Act in sev-eral cases in the past and is fac-ing trial. PTI

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Patna: In a veiled criticism ofthe Congress-led Opposition,Bihar Chief Minister NitishKumar on Wednesday assert-ed that there should be no pol-itics on the Pulwama terrorattack and the air strikes on aJaish camp in Balakot that fol-lowed.

Kumar, whose JD(U) is anNDA ally, also underscoredthat there should be dueacknowledgement of the patri-otic upsurge that has followedthe recent events in Jammu &Kashmir and of the fact that therespect for the armed forces hasincreased further.

Such things should not bespoken. There should be nopolitics on this issue whichconcerns national unity andintegrity. The popular senti-ment must be respected, theChief Minister told reportershere.

The the Janata Dal(United) was responding to

queries about a number ofopposition leaders, notablyCongress veterans DigvijaySingh and Kapil Sibal, raisingdoubts on the air strike.

The Opposition leadershave been citing internationalmedia reports which claimthat the IAF operation inBalakot had caused no casual-ties, contrary to claims bysome Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP) leaders that hundreds ofmilitants were killed.

It should be understoodthat the respect for the armedforces has further increased inthe wake of the recent opera-tions. The popular sentiment isalso appreciative of the gov-ernments handling of the cri-sis. This should be kept inmind, the JD(U) national pres-ident said.

Kumar had expressed hisanger over the killing of 40CRPF jawans in the Pulwamaattack on February 14. PTI

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Thiruvananthapuram/Idukki(Ker): Following a series of sui-cides by debt-ridden farmers inKerala, Chief Minister PinarayiVijayan on Wednesday askedbanks to halt recovery pro-ceedings on loans taken bythem in line with the morato-rium announced by theGovernment.

In a meeting held with therepresentatives of the StateLevel Bankers’ Committee(SLBC) here, he said the stategovernment had announced aslew of relief measures, includ-ing extending till December 31the moratorium on repaymentof all loans taken by farmers.

Vijayan also requested thebanks to have an empatheticapproach towards farmers andunderstand the difficultiesfaced by them due to the recentfloods and the resulting croploss, Chief Minister’s Officesaid here in a statement.

“Considering the situation,the banks should cooperatewith the state governmentcompletely. In view of themoratorium, there should beno recovery procedures orother such actions,” he said,adding no banks should beallowed to violate the order.

Asking the banks not todeny fresh loans to farmers to

restart farming in the name ofrepayment dues, Vijayan saidthe Government would pay theinterest of the new loans takenby them for one year.

The SLBC accepted hissuggestion to fix the interest ofthe agriculture loan as 9 percent, the statement said.

Besides the Chief Minister,his Cabinet colleagues T MThomas Isaac, V S SunilKumar, E Chandrasekharan,Kadakampally Surendran andK Krishnan Kutty and chiefsecretary Tom Jose and repre-sentatives of various bankstook part in the meeting.

Meanwhile, Leader ofOpposition RameshChennithala staged a one-dayhunger strike at KattappanaMunicipal maidan in Idukki

district as a mark of protestagainst the alleged governmentinaction to stop farmer suicides.

Hitting hard at theCPI(M)-led LDF Government,Chennithala alleged that theextension of moratorium peri-od was to “cheat” the farmersand the State Government’srelief measures were a “farce”.

He urged Vijayan to writeoff the agriculture loans andconvene a special assemblysession to discuss farmers’issues.

According to officialsources, eight cases of farmersuicides were reported fromhigh range Idukki district alonein the last two months.

One death was reportedfrom Thrissur district, sourcesadded. PTI

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Varanasi (UP): A 21-year-oldwoman, who went missingnine years ago, was rescuedfrom Uttar Pradesh’s Varanasidistrict on Wednesday, policesaid.

A raid was conducted at ahouse in a red-light area ofMaruadih town and thewoman was rescued. Two menand half-a-dozen women havebeen detained, the police said.

The Varanasi crime branchand the local police jointlyconducted the raid and freedthe woman, who had gonemissing at the age of 12 fromher house in Chandauli district,a police officer said. PTI

Jaipur: Seven people, includinga women, were killed and 20others injured on Wednesdaywhen a speeding bus rammedinto the rear of another busparked on the road inRajasthan’s Pali district, policesaid.

The accident took placenear Kainpura crossing appar-ently due to the rush among busdrivers to take passengers onboard, the officer said, Sanderaopolice station inchargeDholaram said.

The speeding bus was enroute to Ahmedabad fromJaipur, he said.

Four persons died on thespot and three others suc-cumbed to their injuries whileundergoing treatment,Dholaram said. He said 19among those injured are in crit-ical condition and were referredto a hospital in Pali from a pri-mary care centre in Rani town.Champa Devi (38), Chunni LalSattar (22), Arjun Singh (22),Poonam Singh (19), Pappu Ram(35), Girdhari Singh (35) andRawal Singh (22) were killed inthe accident, he said. PTI

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Itanagar: The BJP Governmentin Arunachal Pradesh hasannounced a judicial probe intothe large scale rioting, violenceand vandalism during the recentPRC protest that left three peo-ple dead.

In his address to the stateBJP council meeting hereTuesday, Chief Minister PemaKhandu said justice would bedelivered to the bereaved fami-lies and the people responsiblefor unleashing the violencewould be brought to book.

The probe would be carriedout by a committee headed by aretired judge, a CMO commu-nique said on Wednesday.

Protests had erupted inItanagar and adjoiningNaharlagun in late Februaryover the proposed grant ofpermanent resident certificates(PRC) to six non-ArunachalPradesh Scheduled Tribe(APSTs) communities living inthe Namsai and Changlang dis-tricts and to the Gorkhas livingin Vijaynagar.

Curfew clamped in Itanagarand Naharlagun town failed todeter protesters from venturing

into the streets and peltingstones that left 35 people, includ-ing 24 police personnel, injured.

The private residence ofDeputy Chief Minister ChownaMein was set ablaze and theoffice of the Itanagar deputycommissioner ransacked.

Clarifying that the stateGovernment had never intend-ed to move a resolution or a billin the Assembly over the PRC,Khandu said the matter was tobe taken up for deliberationsduring a short-duration discus-sion in the House and to makethe recommendations of theJoint High Power Committee(JHPC) on the PRC public.

“The state government hadplanned to make wider publicconsultation involving all stake-holders, community-basedorganisations, student organi-sations and other bodies,” theChief Minister said.

The issue was “misinter-preted”, causing unrest amongthe students, Khandu said.

A statement was issued onsocial media platforms that thePRC issue would not be taken upfurther, he said. PTI

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Kolkata: West Bengal ChiefMinister Mamata Banerjee willkick off the TrinamoolCongress’ campaign for theLok Sabha polls onInternational Women’s Day onMarch 8, a party leader said onWednesday.

Incidentally, the TMC chiefhad also commenced her party’selection campaign for the 2014parliamentary and 2016Assembly elections on the samedate.

Banerjee is scheduled toparticipate in a rally convenedby the party’s women’s wingfrom Shraddhananda Park toPark Street here on Friday tocelebrate the InternationalWomen’s Day.

“Although election datesare yet to be announced, butour campaign for the Lok Sabhaelections will begin on March8. During the 2014 Lok Sabhapolls and 2016 Assembly pollsalso, Mamata di had started her

poll campaign on Women’sDay,” a senior leader of theTMC’s women’s wing said.

The purpose of this rally isto create a “new India, unitedIndia and strong India”, theposters of the rally read.

“She (Banerjee) will giveher message for the Lok Sabhapolls. And after the dates areannounced, a full-fledged cam-paign will begin,” the TMCleader said.

Banerjee, who has beenthe prime mover of an anti-Bharatiya Janata Party front,had organised a megaOpposition rally here onJanuary 19, during which shehad given a call to oust theModi Government. The TMC,which is vying to play a majorrole in the formation of the nextgovernment at the Centre, hasvowed to win all the 42 LokSabha seats in the state. Theparty had won 34 seats in the2014 general election. PTI

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Vellore Institute of Technology(VIT) acquires an interna-

tional acclaim. The Universitysets the record, as three of thesubjects made way to the presti-gious Quacquarelli Symonds(QS) World University Rankingsby Subject 2019. Three subjectareas of VIT — ComputerScience and Information System,Electrical and ElectronicEngineering and Chemistry wereranked within the top 550Universities of the world.

While the two engineeringsubject areas were ranked with-in the top 500 universities of theworld, Chemistry emerged in thetop 550 universities of the world.It may be noted that QS is aninternational ranking agencythat takes ‘h index’ and citationsof research publications as cri-teria for subject ranking, besidesperception about the subjectareas by academic and industryleaders. Subject ranking indicatesthe strength of research outputof a University in terms of bothquality and quantity.

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The unrelenting pursuit forexcellence in concert with

conviction for providingworld-class airports by AAIhas been acknowledged withFour AAI airports getting thetop honours in the recentlyannounced ASQ awards. Theairports viz. Ahmedabad,Bhubaneswar, Chandigarhand Indore won nine awardsin different categories.

Airport Service Quality(ASQ) survey is the world-renowned and international-ly established global bench-marking programme measur-ing passengers’ satisfaction,whilst they travel through anairport, conducted by theAirports CouncilInternational (ACI), (a glob-al non-profit organization ofAirport Operators). ASQAwards recognize those air-ports around the world thatdeliver the best customerexperience in the opinion oftheir own passengers.

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The Centre on Wednesdaysaid over 5,000 Jan

Aushadhi stores, which providequality drugs at affordablerates, have been opened acrossthe country and another 2,500will come by 2020.

Also, the Government isplanning to open at least one JanAushadhi store in every block.

The number of PradhanMantri Bhartiya JanaushadhiKendra (PMBJK) in the coun-try under the Pradhan MantriBhartiya JanaushadhiPariyojana (PMBJP) hascrossed 5,000-mark, Ministerof State for Chemicals andFertilisers Mansukh LMandaviya told reporters here.

“By the year 2020, anoth-er 2,500 Jan Aushadhi storeswill be opened in the country.Our aim is to have at least onesuch store at every block level,”

he added.Urging the

people to buythe genericm e d i c i n e sfrom the near-est JanA u s h a d h istores, theminister saidthe medicinessold at thesestores arecheaper and consumers musttake the benefit.

“Health is one sector whichis on priority of our government.Government is continuouslyworking to provide affordabletreatment and medicines atcheaper prices. Today if a patientstarts his/her treatment, 70 percent of money goes on buyingmedicines,” he said.

He further said that thedemand of generic medicine isgrowing and Jan Aushadi stores

across the country are serving10-15 lakh people per day.

The Minster also said thatfor providing further impetusand creating awareness about useof generic medicines, it has beendecided to celebrate March 7,2019, (Thursday) as ‘JanaushadhiDiwas’ across India.

Under the PMBJP, theGovernment provides morethan 800 medicines and 154surgicals through Jan Aushadhikendras.

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The Centre has transferredthe first instalment of

�2,000 each to over 2 crorefarmers so far under the ambi-tious Pradhan Mantri KisanSamman Nidhi (PM-Kisan)scheme, Agriculture MinisterRadha Mohan Singh said onWednesday.

In the Interim Budget2019-20, the centralGovernment had announcedthe PM-Kisan scheme underwhich �6,000 per year will begiven in three instalments to12 crore small and marginalfarmers holding cultivableland up to 2 hectares. Itpromised to give the firstinstalment of �2,000 byMarch.

On February 24, PrimeMinister Narendra Modi offi-cially launched the scheme inUttar Pradesh by transferring

the first tranche amount to overone crore farmers.

“Many states are seriouslyshowing interest to implementthe scheme and sending thedata. So far, over 2 crore farm-ers have been benefitted,” Singhtold reporters.

Some states such as WestBengal, the minister said, arenot keen to roll out thescheme and therefore not pro-viding the data. “To suchstates, I only urge to keep thepolitics aside else the elec-torate will teach them a les-son,” he added.

Asked about a large num-ber of vacancies in top leader-ship positions at the IndianCouncil of AgriculturalResearch (ICAR), Singh saidthe recruitment would be donein a transparent manner now asthe entire process has beendigitised unlike manual processearlier.

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The skyrocketing US tradedeficit hit the highest

level in a decade last yeardespite President DonaldTrump’s global trade offen-s ive, according to aGovernment report onWednesday.

America’s trade deficitwith the world jumped 12.5per cent to $621 billion, theC ommerce Depar tmentreported, as both importsand exports rose to the high-est levels ever.

And the trade gaps withChina, Mexico and theEuropean Union also reachedat all-time highs even thoughWashington slapped tariffson hundreds of billions inimports from its largest trad-ing partners.

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The rupee rallied by 21 paise to close at 70.28against the US dollar on Wednesday on eas-

ing crude oil prices even as the greenbackstrengthened vis-a-vis other major currencies.

Forex traders said heavy buying in domesticequities and robust foreign fund inflows alsopropped up the rupee.

This is the second successive session of gainfor the domestic currency, during which it hasclimbed 64 paise.

At the Interbank Foreign Exchange (forex)market, the rupee opened on a weak note at 70.60.Intra-day, it fluctuated between 70.67 and 70.25,before finally closing at 70.28, up 21 paise overits previous close.

On Tuesday, the rupee had rebounded by 43paise to finish at 70.49 against the US dollar.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, wastrading at $65.61 per barrel, lower by 0.38 percent.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges thegreenback’s strength against a basket of six cur-rencies, rose 0.07 per cent to 96.92.

“Dollar is trading up for the sixth consecu-tive session as the market awaits developmentsin US-China trade talks after the failure of Kim-Trump summit,” said V K Sharma, Head PCG &Capital Markets Strategy, HDFC Securities.

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Steve Smith and DavidWarner's year-long exile

has likely left them hungri-er than ever and theirreturn can spark Australiato World Cup glory, Testgreat Shane Warne saidon Wednesday.

The star pair's banfrom state and interna-tional cricket for ball-tam-pering expires later thismonth and they areexpected to be rushed backinto the Australian sidefor the defence of their titleat the showpiece tourna-ment in England this year.

Both players haverecently undergone elbowsurgery and the greatunknown is how they willperform back on the worldstage, particularly in whatis sure to be a hostileatmosphere in England.

But Warne has nodoubt they will be as goodas ever, benefiting from thebreak rather than theirskills being blunted.

He is talking fromexperience.

Warne was suspendedin 2003 for a year after test-ing positive to banneddiuretic drugs.

Many wrote him off,but the leg-spinning legendquickly bounced back andenjoyed several more yearsplaying at the highest levelwith the Australian team.

"Sometimes having anenforced lay off — likeI'm used to, I had 12months off myself — what

that means is you becomereally fresh," he told FoxSports.

"You freshen yourmind up, you become hun-gry again and realise howimportant cricket is toyou." Warne said bothplayers would also "have apoint to prove" when theyeventually pad up again.

"That's why I reckonAustralia can win theWorld Cup," he said,despite the team's recentpatchy one-day form.

"They'll walk straightback in, they'll be hungry.They'll be a bit nervous inthe first few games butthat'll be good for them,they'll be excited and Iwould expect them to playas good as they alwayshave."

Newly-appointed assis-tant Australia coach RickyPonting echoed similarsentiments recently.

Both players areexpected to feature at theupcoming Indian PremierLeague as they tune-upfor the World Cup.

Smith only returnedto the nets last week fromsurgery in January afterbeing forced to drop out ofthe Bangladesh PremierLeague Twenty20 tourna-ment with a ligament prob-lem.

Warner's injury, sus-tained at the same event,was less serious and hecould play his first gamesince then for his club sideRandwick-Petersham thisweekend.

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Adesperate Indian women's team wouldaim to snap its five-match losing

streak in the second T20 Internationalagainst England here on Thursday.

India suffered a crushing 41-run lossto England in the first T20 of the three-match series here on Sunday.

The loss, India's fifth in a row in theshortest format, meant the W V Raman-coached side has a lot of work to do beforethe T20 World Cup in Australia early nextyear.

India lost all their T20s in NewZealand after winning the ODI series andthings seems to be heading in a similardirection against England.

Chasing England's competitive 160 forfour in the series opener, Indian batterscut a sorry figure to be restricted to 119for six.

After England had put on a compet-itive total, the onus was on India's top-order to do the job but the quartet ofHarleen Deol, skipper Smriti Mandhana,Jemimah Rodrigues and veteran MithaliRaj failed to live to the expectations, seri-ously hurting the team's cause.

The absence of a power-hitter likeHarmanpreet Kaur in the run chase wasfelt immensely. The regular T20 captainis nursing an injury.

It was a rare failure from Mandhana,that too, on her captaincy debut consid-ering the fact that she has been sublimeform off late, plundering runs at will whichearned her the ICC Woman Cricketer ofthe Year award.

In Kaur's absence, ODI captainMithali was expected to play a bigger rolein the three T20s but she failed to seize theopportunity scoring just 7.

And come on Thursday, the 36-year-

old, who is likely to retire from the short-est format before the T20 World Cup inAustralia next year, would like to make astrong statement.

Veda Krishnamurthy, who made acomeback to the team, looked a pale shad-ow of herself, struggling to 15 off 25 balls.

Eventually, it was left to the lower-order to do the job and the likes of ShikhaPandey (23 not out), Deepti Sharma (22not out) and Arundhati Reddy (18) did trybut the asking was too tall.

On the bowling front too, India werenot up to the mark with the likes of Deepti,Arundhati and Radha Yadav leakingruns.

Medium pacer Shikha Pandey (1/18)and leg-spinner Poonam Yadav (0/18)were economical but they would need sup-port from their colleagues to keep Englandbatters at bay.

On the other hand, Tammy Beaumont(62 off 57), skipper Heather Knight (40 off20) and Danielle Wyatt (35) looked ingreat touch as England produced an all-round effort to get the better of the hometeam in the first T20.

H��India: Smriti Mandhana (captain),Mithali Raj, Jemimah Rodrigues, DeeptiSharma, Taniya Bhatia (wicketkeeper),Bharti Fulmali, Anuja Patil, ShikhaPandey, Komal Zanzad, ArundhatiReddy, Poonam Yadav, Ekta Bisht,Radha Yadav, Veda Krishnamurty,Harleen Deol.England: Tammy Beaumont, KatherineBrunt, Kate Cross, Sophia DunkleyBrown, Freya Davies, Georgia Elwiss,Amy Ellen Jones, Heather Knight(c),Laura Marsh, Natalie Sciver, AnyaShrubsole, Linsey Smith, LaurenWinfield, Danielle Wyatt, Alex Hartley.

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Jonny Bairstow made themost of the absence of a

few specialists with a blis-tering early assault to setEngland on the way to afour-wicket victory overthe West Indies in the firstday/night T20 internation-al of a three-match series atthe Darren SammyStadium in St Lucia onTuesday.

Replying to the hometeam's total of 161 for eight,Bairstow led the charge atthe top of the order with hisbest T20I score of 68 off 40balls with two sixes andnine fours. His entertaininginnings ended in the 12thover via a catch on theboundary by CarlosBrathwaite off spinnerAshley Nurse.

Joe Denly (30) andSam Billings appeared tohave finished the job witha 50-run fifth-wicket stand.However both were dis-missed with victory in sightalthough the target wasstill easily attained with

seven balls to spare.Left-arm pacer

Sheldon Cottrell was theCaribbean team's most suc-cessful bowler with three

for 29.England will defend

the early advantage whenthe series heads to St Kittsfor the final two matches of

the T20 contest and thetour on Friday and Sunday.

Nicholas Pooran'spyrotechnic half-centuryhad lifted the West Indiesto a respectable total as thehosts suffered early set-backs, including big-hit-ting opener Chris Gayle,after being put in.

He was one of twowickets to fall to ChrisJordan, the Barbados-bornall-rounder also removingDarren Bravo (28) via aspectacular diving effortoff his own bowling tobreak a 64-run fourth-wicket stand with Pooran.

Tom Curran wasEngland's top wicket-takerthough with four for 36. Hedismissed makeshift open-er Shai Hope and thenShimron Hetmyer beforereturning to york the ram-pant Pooran in the 18thover.

Pooran smashed foursixes and three fours in get-ting to 58 off 37 deliveriesto underline his value in theshortest form of the inter-national game.

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Aprofligate P V Sindhu was onWednesday knocked out ofthe All England

Championship by an industriousSung Ji Hyun of Korea in thewomen's singles opening round.

In men's singles, 2017Singapore Open champion B SaiPraneeth defeated compatriot HSPrannoy 21-19, 21-19 in a pulsat-ing contest

Fifth-seeded Sindhu, who wasbeaten by Sung Ji twice in last threemeetings, lost 16-21, 22-20, 18-21,despite saving as many as eightmatch points in the second andthird game.

Sindhu went into the openerwith an overall record of a 8-6against Sung Ji but the Korean onceagain troubled the Indian in the 81-minute thrilling clash which wentdown to the wire.

Sindhu showed grit in the clos-ing moments of the second andthird game but also committed toomany unforced errors during thematch.

The Indian saved three matchpoints at 17-20 in the second gameto take the match to the decider,during which she saved five matchpoints before suffering her fourthfirst-round loss at the $ 1 millionevent.

Sung Ji will face Hong Kong'sCheung Ngan Yi in the secondround.

"I think I could have not givenher big lead at the starting. It wastoo many points and it was difficultto cover," Sindhu saidafter the loss.

"It was my badluck probably as mymid court smasheswere going to net. Iwas just hitting out butoverall it was good matchand she played well. She has goodanticipations and there were longrallies.

"I had trained enough but it wasjust not my day. Such matcheskeep happening and I have to take

it as a challenge and come backstronger."

The women's doubles pair ofMeghana Jakkampudi andPoorvisha S Ram also fought hardbefore losing 21-18, 12-21, 12-21 tothe Russian combination ofEkaterina Bolotova and AlinaDaveltova.

The opening clash betweenSindhu and Sung Ji turned out to bea thrilling contest.

Sindhu enjoyed a 6-3 lead earlyon but Sung Ji drew level, helped bySindhu's poor judgement.

The Korean kept up the attackand entered the first interval witha lead of 11-8 after the Indian hitthe net.

Sindhu dominated the ralliesafter the breather and drew parity at11-11 with a cross-court smash.

However, the Indian struggledwith her timing and committed toomany unforced errors to allow theKorean a cushion of 16-14.

Sung Ji continued to gatherpoints and clinched four gamepoints. The Korean sealed it withoutmuch fuss when Sindhu struck outagain.

After the change of sides, Sindhufound the going tough with Sung Jigrabbing a 11-8 advantage at thebreak.

After the breather, Sindhu man-aged to make it 13-13 with some pre-

cise returns.Sindhu tried to put pressure on

her rival in the rallies but Sung Jiremained determined and led 18-14.

Sindhu continued to strugglewith her strokes and buried two ofher returns into the net, giving SungJi a lead of 18-14.

Sindhu narrowed the deficit to17-18 before sending another cross-court smash wide. Sung Ji grabbedthree match points after that.

However, the Indian produced arazor sharp cross court return andengaged her rival in the longest rallyof the match to save three points.

Sung Ji hit the net to give a gamepoint to the Indian, who sealed itwith a body smash to roar back intothe contest.

In the decider, the duo engagedin some good rallies but Sung Ji againhad a two-point advantage at theinterval after reeling off four straightpoints.

The Korean kept pushing for-ward, moving to a 15-9 lead at onestage.

A wide shot broke her run ofpoints but Sindhu committed a ser-vice error and followed it up with twomore unforced errors to allow SungJi to lead 18-10.

Sung Ji soon grabbed as many asseven match points with a superbreturn near the net. Sindhu did savefive of them but it just wasn't enough.

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Amatch-winning performanceagainst Australia in the second

ODI has boosted his chances ofsecuring a World Cup spot but Indiaall-rounder Vijay Shankar insists heis not losing sleep over his selection.

Captain Virat Kohli handedthe ball to Shankar when Australianeeded 11 runs from the last overand India required two wickets fora win. Shankar dismissed MarcusStoinis and Adam Zampa in threeballs, delivering when it mattered.

"I've said previously also that Inever think about the selection or

World Cup thing because it's a longway off from now. Every game isvery important. I just look to givemy best and win a game for theteam," said the Tamil Nadu all-rounder.

Shankar said the tough final ofthe Nidahas Trophy in Sri Lanka lastyear when he struggled to rotatestrike was a big learning curve forhim and it helped him in pressuresituation today.

"To be honest the NidahasTrophy has taught me too manythings. Actually, I learnt to how tostay neutral after that. Be it high orlow, it doesn't matter. I need to stay

calm and neutral all the time.""I was just ready for the chal-

lenge because I knew I had to bowlthat one over. And I was just telling(myself) after the 43rd-44th over, Iam going to bowl anytime. Maybethe last over and I should be readyto defend a total of 10 runs or 15runs. So, I was mentally prepared forthat."

The young all-rounder saidexperienced Jasprit Bumrah alsoguided him while approaching thefinal over.

"After the 48th over, Bumrahcame up to me and said the ball isreversing a bit. He told me that I

need to hit the right length on thiswicket, where I give myself a chanceto hit the stumps.

"When he said that, I was clearmentally that the only way to defendthose runs is by picking wickets andif I can bowl straighter, (I'll) givemyself a chance to take wickets," hesaid adding that he only bowled thelast over for his club side before this.

Shankar said he would notover-react after taking match-win-ning wickets but is glad that hecould help the team win.

"Just because I got the twowickets in the last over does notmake me feel really high or happy."

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India's Twenty20 skipperSmriti Mandhana on

Tuesday put her weightbehind team's new seambowlers, saying they willdevelop into match-win-ners with time and expo-sure.

While Shikha Pandeyput up a reasonable show inthe series-opener, givingaway 18 runs in her four-over quota, ArundhatiReddy ended up bleeding45 runs as India lost thematch by 41 runs.

India is a spin-heavyattack but Mandhana saidthat does not mean, there isno depth in the fast bowl-ing unit. India hadunleashed the spin-troika ofDeepti Sharma, RadhaYadav and Poonam Yadavin the first match of theseries.

"I do not think we lack

in the fast bowlingdepartment. Jhulan 'di'has a lot of experienceand it is unfair to expecta pace bowler to come inher second match and dothe same thing Jhulan didoes for us," Mandhanatold reporters on the eveof the second T20 againstEngland.

"I think looking atthe pace bowlers, I do notthink depth is not there,we just have to give themenough chances and Iam sure they will producematch-winning perfor-mances."

Mandhana said shedoesn't regret electing tobowl first in the firstmatch, despite thebowlers giving away toomany runs.

"I thought the wick-et was really nice to baton and it did not changemuch. If the wicket is

changing in the secondinnings, then we wouldthink the decision tobowl first was wrong," shesaid.

"Only in bowling, Ithought we gave 10-15runs extra, but sayingthat I thought 160 wasgettable but none of thebatters were able to stayon the wicket for a longerperiod."

Mandhana alsoheaped praise on left-arm spinner RadhaYadav, who had snappedtwo wickets in the firstmatch.

"Radha has donereally well for us in theT20 format in the pastyear. She is young and shegives us more as a batteras well in the middle-order," said Mandhana,who was awarded theICC cricketer of the yearrecently.

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India on Wednesday named a rel-atively young 18-member team to

be led by midfielder ManpreetSingh for the 28th Sultan AzlanShah Cup after several key playerswere ruled out of the prestigioushockey tournament due to injuries.Manpreet will be assisted by a newdeputy in defender SurenderKumar in this year's Azlan ShahCup to be held in Ipoh, Malaysiafrom March 23 to 30.

Apart from India and hostsMalaysia, the other participatingnations are Canada, Korea, SouthAfrica, Asian Games Gold medal-list Japan.

India, which starts its campaignagainst Japan on March 23, will

miss the services of experiencedforwards SV Sunil, AkashdeepSingh, Ramandeep Singh, LalitUpadhyay, besides defendersRupinder Pal Singh, HarmanpreetSingh as well as midfielderChinglensana Singh, who all weresidelined due to injuries.

Two junior players Vishal Antiland Pardeep Singh also missed thecut owing to injuries.

According to a statement fromHockey India, all the injured play-ers will continue their rehabilitationat the Sports Authority of IndiaSouth Centre in Bengaluru.

The 18-member team willhave experienced PR Sreejeshunder the goal post while KrishanB Pathak will be the second custo-dian.

The backline will be spear-headed by vice-captain Surender inthe company of Gurinder Singh,Birendra Lakra, Kothajit SinghKhadangbam and dragflick duo of

Varun Kumar and Amit Rohidas.Skipper Manpreet will man the

midfield alongside young gunsVivek Sagar Prasad, Hardik Singh,Sumit and Nilakanta Sharma.

India's forwardline consists ofMandeep Singh, Simranjeet Singh,Gurjant Singh, Shilanand Lakraand Sumit Kumar.

"It is unfortunate that we willbe missing some key players for the28th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup 2019due to injury," said HI's HighPerformance Director David John.

"It is a relatively young side buteach of these players have tremen-dous potential and have a goodamount of international exposure.It is important to see how they fairin Malaysia as it will show thedepth we possess in the core groupahead of the Olympic Qualificationevents this year," added John, whois currently in charge of the teamin the absence of a full-time chiefcoach.

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The 90m mark is mentioned every-time Neeraj Chopra picks up the

javelin that has pierced through manya records but the Indian star says hewants to steer clear of the pressure ofgetting there and first achieve consis-tency in hitting 87-88m this year.

A record-breaking year behindhim, star Indian javelin thrower NeerajChopra aims to break new grounds inthis "crucial" season leading up to theOlympic Games next year.

"Last year, it was 85-86m I wasconsistent at and this year I want to beconsistent at around 87-88m and ifpossible 90m. I will be happy if I dothat. Consistency is the key,"Neeraj

said from Potcheftsroom, South Africawher he is training right now.

"But I don't put any pressure onmyself that I will have to cross 90m.Every time I go to a competition, I justthink of doing my best."

The dashing six-footer is current-ly training at the North WestUniversity campus in Potcheftsroom.He has been there since January 12 andwill train till the end of this month.

He is set to be exempted from theMarch 15-18 Federation Cup NationalChampionship in Patiala, which willserve as the selection trial for the AsianChampionships in Doha (April 19-24).

"It was a very satisfying last sea-son, I won Gold in two major multi-sporting events and then improved mynational record. This year is very cru-cial, there is the Asian Championshipsand the World Championships(September 28 to October 6), not toforget the Diamond League seriesevents," Neeraj said.

"Obviously, I want to do better thisyear than last year. A better perfor-mance this season will boost my con-fidence going into the Olympic year(next year). I could not do well in theWorld Championships in 2017 andthis time I would like to make amendsof that poor show," he added.

Neeraj had failed to qualify for thefinal round in the 2017 LondonWorld Championships. He could notclear the automatic qualification markof 83m with 82.26m being the best inthe three throws in the preliminaryround.

The likes of world number 3Magnus Kirt of Estonia (personal best89.75m) and World ChampionshipsSilver-medallist Jakub Vadlejch ofCzech Republic (personal best89.73m) are currently training at thesame facility.

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Harry Kane fired TottenhamHotspur into the Champions

League quarter-finals as his win-ning goal at Borussia Dortmundin Tuesday's return leg sealed a 1-0 victory to wrap up a 4-0 aggre-gate success.

On Monday, Spurs coachMauricio Pochettino haddemanded they "finish the job"after beating the Bundesliga lead-ers 3-0 in the first leg at Wembley.

His Spurs side delivered,soaking up everything Dortmundthrew at them in a one-sided firsthalf before Kane's goal just afterthe break killed off the hosts' spir-ited challenge.

"It's always difficult in thesetype of games, you don't knowwhether to defend or attack," saidKane, who singled out Spursgoalkeeper Hugo Lloris for praiseafter a string of key saves.

"They had a few moments. Inthat first half we needed everyone,defenders blocking it, Hugo sav-ing it, that's what ChampionsLeague is about — you needeverybody."

This is the first timeTottenham are in the last eight ofthe Champions League since2010/11 when they bowed out 5-0 on aggregate to Real Madrid.

Needing to score at leastthree goals, Dortmund packedtheir line-up with forwards asMario Goetze, Marco Reus andPaco Alcacer — who have scored30 goals between them — allstarted together for the first timethis season.

Dortmund flew out of thetraps, pounding the Spurs defencewith 10 attempts in the first halfalone, restricting the Londonersto a single Son Heung-min effort,and enjoying 70 percent posses-sion.

"We have showed that wehave the quality, we can build onthe first-half performance, but weneed to score goals," saidDortmund captain Reus.

The Germans harassed Spursat every opportunity and had twoclear chances in the opening 25minutes as Alcacer fired justover, while Lloris snaffled a sting-

ing Reus shot at the secondattempt.

Tottenham's first real chancecame with half an hour gonewhen Son got in behind hismarker Marius Wolf and firedwide with the goal at his mercy.

Lloris then pulled off twosaves at point-blank range beforepalming Goetze's shot over thebar shortly before the break.

�� !��"Having defended doggedly,

Spurs took the lead when Kanescored with his first chance andonly his team's second of thegame.

His run split the hosts' cen-tre-backs, as he latched ontoMoussa Sissoko's pass and curledhis shot past Dortmund goal-keeper Roman Burki.

The video assistant refereeconfirmed Kane was on-side andhis goal on 49 minutes subduedthe crowd at Signal Iduna Parkwho had hoped for a miracle.

With the tempo havingdropped, Spurs' Pochettinobrought on Eric Dier, back frominjury, to beef up the midfield inplace of Harry Winks for the final35 minutes.

Spurs seemed content toabsorb Dortmund's attacks whilecountering on the few opportu-nities they had.

In a bid to boost flaggingconfidence, Dortmund headcoach Lucien Favre brought onChelsea-bound Christian Pulisicand Danish forward Jacob BruunLarsen for the final half an hour.

With Reus tiring, unsurpris-ingly after four weeks out with athigh injury, Thomas Delaneycame on for the Dortmund skip-per with 17 minutes left.

Sissoko attempted to win alate penalty and Kane put the ballinto Dortmund's net but wasflagged for offside as the gamepetered out and home fans start-ed slipping away.

While Spurs go marchinginto the last eight, Dortmund canfocus on trying to prevent BayernMunich winning a seventhstraight Bundesliga title with justgoal difference currently separat-ing the sides.

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Santiago Solari vowed to fight onbut the reign of Real Madrid inEurope is over and their season

effectively is too after they werestunned by a 4-1 defeat at home toAjax on Tuesday.

In seven days, Madrid have beenknocked out of the Copa del Rey, LaLiga's title race and now the last 16 ofthe Champions League, the competi-tion they had come to believe was theirown.

They had won it three times in arow, four times in the last five years,while the last time Madrid failed toreach the quarter-finals was 2010, inCristiano Ronaldo's first year at theclub.

Ronaldo rescued them last seasonin the quarter-finals and then GarethBale won them the trophy, but the for-mer is gone and the latter started onthe bench here, dropped again bySolari.

Solari oversaw an improvementafter Julen Lopetegui was sacked inNovember but his team, 12 pointsbehind Barcelona in La Liga, havewatched their season unravel in aweek.

Madrid president Florentino Perezis now faced with deciding whether itis worth keeping his coach until theend of the season, let alone beyond thesummer.

"I did not come to the club in sucha difficult moment to give up," Solarisaid afterwards.

He could have few complaints.

Ajax were hard-done-by in the 2-1first-leg defeat and dominant at theSantiago Bernabeu, their scintillatingvictory confirming a 5-3 win onaggregate and a place in the quarter-finals. On this evidence, they can gofurther.

Hakim Ziyechand David Neresput them two up athalf-time and theexcellent Dusan Tadicmade it three beforeMarco Asensio gaveMadrid hope. It lastedtwo minutes, as LasseSchone sent a bending free-kick into the top corner beforeNacho was sent off in injury-time.

Bale was on after 29 minutesfor the injured Lucas Vazquez buthit the post and then missed twogood chances. Sergio Ramos was inthe stands, having earned a deliber-ate booking to clear a ban, believingthis tie was already won.

�� &Raphael Varane might have fin-

ished it within five minutes but head-ed onto the crossbar from six yards andinstead Ajax took control.

Toni Kroos, poor all night, wascaught in possession from a throw-inand Tadic skipped free down the right.He pulled back for Ziyech, who guid-ed it with his left foot into the far cor-ner.

Ajax were bouncing as Neres baf-fled Carvajal with a pirouette in the

corner and then Tadic did the same,spinning around Casemiro in midfield

before teeing up the second. Neresrounded Thibaut Courtois andchipped the ball home.

Vazquez and Vinicius Junior bothleft the field injured and in tears, thelatter after an electric run forward. Bale

came on, withAsensio, andraced down theleft but his fin-ish from the

angle clipped thepost.

The fans whis-tled at half-time and

Madrid were no betterafter, creating chances but

lacking composure and con-trol. Karim Benzema shimmied

past Ziyech but curled wide, onlyfor Ajax to add a sumptuous, albeit

controversial, third.They worked it from right to left

and then inside again, where Donnyvan de Beek shifted a last pass to Tadic,who whipped a sizzling shot into thetop corner.

The cheers stopped as referee FelixBrych waited for VAR, with the ballseemingly out for a throw beforeNoussair Mazraoui slid to keep it in.The camera angle was unclear and thegoal stood.

Madrid needed three in 24 min-utes and then two in 20, as Asensioswept in Sergio Reguilon's cross to givethem hope. Erik ten Hag was secondsfrom bringing Schone off but instead,his midfielder bent a free-kick intoCourtois' top corner.

Frenkie de Jong put his first foot

wrong in the 84th minute, giftingModric the ball in the area butBenzema slipped and the chance wentbegging. Nacho was sent off for a clashwith Beek and Madrid were in tatters.

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Indian boxing star Vijender Singhwill make his debut in the

American professional circuit onApril 12 against a yet-to-be-decid-ed opponent and is currently train-ing under Hall of Famer FreddieRoach, who shaped the likes ofManny Pacquiao and Mike Tyson.

Vijender, unbeaten in his 10-bout pro career, will make his USdebut at Staples Center on THEVasiliy Lomachenko-AnthonyCrolla undercard. It will be aneight-round contest and his oppo-nent will be announced later.

The 33-year-old Vijenderrecently relocated his training baseto Los Angles where he is trainingat the 'The Wild Card BoxingClub' under Roach, a 2012

International Boxing Hall of Fame(IBHOF) inductee, his India pro-moters IOS Boxing Promotionssaid in a press release.

In his 32 years as a trainer,Roach is widely regarded as one ofthe best boxing coaches of all time.

Roach has been mentor to 36world champions including thelikes of Tyson, eight-division worldchampion Manny Pacquiao, five-time and four-division worldchampion Miguel Cotto and mul-tiple world champion Oscar de LaHoya. He has also trained formerjunior welterweight championAmir Khan.

Vijender's April 12 bout willstream live in the United States.

"I am thrilled to start my train-ing under such a legendary figurein world boxing," Vijender said.

"Professional boxing in UnitedStates is of the highest level, and Ibelieve Freddie is the right guy tobring the best out of me. I look for-ward to showing the boxing fans anew and improved Vijender Singh,"he added.

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��Real Madrid have con-firmed Vinicius Junior has rup-tured ligaments in his right ankle,with the striker expected out foraround two months.

Vinicius left the field in tearsafter sustaining the injury in thefirst half of Madrid's 4-1 defeat.

A Real Madrid statement onWednesday read: "Vinicius hasbeen diagnosed with a ligamentrupture of the right ankle."

The club did not include atimeframe for recovery but reportsin the Spanish press suggestedVinicius, who has enjoyed animpressive debut season, could besidelined for two months.

The injury will likely meanVinicius is unable to play forBrazil against Panama and theCzech Republic later this month,after he had received his firstcall-up to the national squad.

It could also mean the 18-year-old misses the rest of the campaignfor Madrid, although they have lit-tle to play for after their shockChampions League exit followeddefeats to Barcelona in the Copadel Rey and La Liga. AFP

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