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VIJAYAWADA, WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 9, 2020; PAGES 12 `3

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RNI No. APENG/2018/764698

*Late City Vol. 2 Issue 308*Air Surcharge Extra if Applicable

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{

Covid tests to be made availableat all government hospitals in APPNS n VIJAYAWADA

Chief Minister YSJaganmohan Reddy onTuesday instructed officials toensure that Covid-19 testsare available at all governmenthospitals — from PrimaryHealth Centres to districthospitals — and their focusshould be on conductingmore number of tests.

During a videoconferencewith district collectors and SPsas part of Spandana, the ChiefMinister said that effortsshould be made on creatingawareness among the publicover Covid tests and make thetests available at all govern-ment hospitals.

Reiterating that we have tolive with Covid, the ChiefMinister instructed authoritiesto be vigilant and take timelyaction. He directed the offi-cials to make best use of 104call centre in creating aware-ness and also ordered thedistrict Collectors to monitorthe calls handled by thehelpline and also conductmock calls.

Jagan instructed the districtCollectors to focus on the testresults, without the occur-rence of any delays. Truenatand RTPCR tests resultsshould be done within 24hours of sample collectionand in rapid tests, the resultsshould be given within 30minutes of sample collection,he said. Jagan also directed theofficials to strictly place theprimary and secondary con-tacts of the positive casesunder home quarantine.

Besides this, he instructedofficials to provide a medicalkit with all the required med-icines for those in home iso-lation and told the JointCollectors to monitor thesupply of the kits.

He told the officials toexpedite the recruitmentprocess of medical profes-sionals exclusively for Covidduty. So far, the State govern-ment has taken a decision torecruit additional medicalstaff of about 17,000 for thetreatment of Covid-19patients. Besides these, thegovernment took a decision torecruit 11,000 trainee nurses.Further, the officials told that16 new teaching hospitals willbe established and the tenderprocess shall commence fromnext month. Rhea Chakraborty arrested

by Narcotics Control Bureau PNS n MUMBAI

The Narcotics Control Bureau(NCB) on Tuesday arrestedRhea Chakraborty after ques-tioning her for three days inconnection with drugs-relatedallegations in her boyfriend andactor Sushant Singh Rajput'sdeath case. "Rhea has beenarrested and due process ofinforming the family has beencompleted," said deputy direc-tor of NCB, KPS Malhotra.

She was taken to a publichospital here for medicalcheck-up and COVID-19 testssoon after her arrest.

Rajput, 34, was found deadat his Bandra apartment hereon June 14. Before entering thevehicle along with NCB offi-cials, Rhea waved at the assem-bled media persons at the anti-drug agency's office in southMumbai.

Clad in black, Rhea reachedthe NCB office at Ballard Estate

around 10.30 am on Tuesdayand was also seen carrying abag with her, while entering theoffice.

The 28-year-old girlfriend ofSushant Singh Rajput had inrecent TV interviews deniedthat she consumed drugs.

Rhea was recently interro-gated by the CBI probe team,camping at the DRDO guesthouse in Mumbai's westernsuburb Santacruz and also

questioned by the EnforcementDirectorate in connection witha money laundering case.

NCB recently arrested herbrother Showik Chakrabortyand Sushant's manager SamuelMiranda on drug supplycharges. Sushant Singh Rajput'sfather had filed an FIR againstRhea Chakraborty in Patna,accusing her of driving his sonto suicide and misappropriat-ing his money.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

A single judge bench of theAndhra Pradesh High Court,presided by M SatyanarayanaMurthy, on Tuesday reservedthe order on a writ petitionfiled by former Intelligencechief AB Venkateswara Rao,seeking protection against thearrest by the police.

The writ petition came afterthe former Intelligence chief,who faces accusation of irreg-ularities during the purchaseof surveillance equipmentfrom Israeli firm RT InflatableObjects and awarding the con-tract to Akasam Advancedon Company, owned by hisson, apprehended arrest.

B Adinarayana Rao, coun-sel for ABV, informed thecourt that the petitioner has afundamental right to dignity,privacy under Article 21 of theConstitution. He said that theapprehension of the petition-er that police will take high-handed action was genuine.

Senior counsel said thatsome junior IPS officers, withselfish motives and in anattempt to please the ChiefMinister, are out to createprejudice against the petition-er. Adinarayana Rao quoted atweet by a senior IAS officerfrom the CMO as to how theIAS and the IPS officers werebehaving.

Pvt hospitals continue to fleece Covidpatients, govt looks the other wayPNS n VISAKHAPATNAM

The State government appearsto have completely turned ablind eye to the fleecing ofCovid patients by private hos-pitals that give scant regard totreatment cost fixed by thegovernment.

Going by the action taken— or lack of it — the state gov-ernment is confined to onlyissuing stern warnings thatlicences of such hospitalswould be revoked.

In open violation of govern-ment’s instructions, privatehospitals are asking Covidpatients who need oxygen orcritical care to deposit Rs 1.5lakh advance.

Though there is a tsunamiof complaints flowing fromthe various sections of societyagainst the fleecing the

patients with inflated bills inthe guise of personal protec-tive kits and a host of othercharges, the district adminis-

tration along with police is stillnot taking action against theerring hospitals.

Kanaka Raju, a septuage-narian resident of MVPColony, said “Instead of prop-er and regular counselling ofCOVID-19 patients and theirfamily members on the statusof the infection and the out-come, the front office staff arein a regular mode of asking todeposit more money for fur-ther treatment. In most hos-pitals, no CCTVs arrange-ments are in place in thepatient treatment area formanagement, facilitation, andscreening of footage by theauthority as and whenrequired.”

Health wing topersuade Covidsurvivors todonate plasma

The Andhra Pradeshhealth department will

personally contact and per-suade people who recoveredfrom Covid-19 to donateplasma to save lives.

"The health departmentcall centre will call the recov-ered patients and tell themabout the plasma donationprogramme and convincethem to donate plasma tosave other people's lives,"said Health CommissionerKatamneni Bhaskar.

The department has read-ied a list of 37,000 peoplewho beat the disease, makingthem eligible to donate plas-ma for cr it ical Covidpatients.

"The database of eligibledonors has been preparedand is currently being sharedwith the blood banks whichhave the facility to collectand store plasma," saidBhaskar. The move is aimedat treating Covid patientsmore effectively and the YSJaganmohan Reddy govern-ment will launch a plasmadonation campaign soon.

As part of the campaign,the state government willreward each donor with atoken amount of Rs 5,000.

Amid Covid, 8 CETs start todayEven as authorities in

Andhra Pradesh are busyfighting the battle against coro-navirus, the EducationDepartment has announcedthe dates of eight commonentrance tests (CETs) foradmissions to various courses,starting from Thursday toOctober 5.

"The entrance tests arescheduled to be held fromSeptember 10, starting withAndhra Pradesh IntegratedCommon Entrance Test (APICET), which will be held infour sessions on September 10

and 11," Education MinisterAdimulapu Suresh said.

ICET offers admission tocourses such as MCAand MBA.

Andhra PradeshE n g i n e e r i n gC o m m o nEntrance Test (APECET) is scheduledfor Monday next andE n g i n e e r i n gAgricultural and MedicalCommon Entrance Test(EAMCET) betweenSeptember 17 and September25. Suresh said AP PGCET will

be held on September 26, fol-lowed by AP Post Graduate

Engineering CommonEntrance Test (PGE-

CET) fromSeptember 28 to 30.“AP EducationC o m m o nEntrance Test (APEDCET) and AP

LawCET will be heldon October 1 and AP

Physical EducationCommon Entrance Test(APPECET) from October 2to 5," said the Minister.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Days after a six-decade oldchariot of the famous SriLakshmi Narasimha templein Antarvedi in EastGodavari district was guttedin a fire on the interveningnight of Saturday and Sunday,no arrest has yet been made.

"Nobody has been arrest-ed yet in the chariot case. Weare still investigating," a dis-trict police official told IANS.

The cause of the chariotgoing up in flames is notknown as yet even as thelocals suspect some foul play.

"We are investigating thecase from multiple anglessuch as some unidentifiedperson throwing a burningcigarette butt into the chari-ot room and also the possi-bility of some miscreantsaiming to procure honeyfrom the honeycomb right ontop of the chariot," he said.

No arrests yetin Antarveditemplechariot blaze

ABV moves HC, seeksprotection from arrest

CBI should implead inAmaravati scam: A-Gl AP Govt asks HC to order Centre to get CBI probe casePNS n VIJAYAWADA

The AP government onTuesday requested the stateHigh Court to direct theCentre and the CBI to probethe alleged scams that hadtaken place in Amaravati dur-ing the previous TDP regime.

A d v o c a t e - G e n e r a lSubrahmanyam Sriram madethe request on behalf of theState government during thehearing on a petition filed bythe Telugu Desam Party lead-ers seeking to quash the inves-tigation by a SpecialInvestigation Team (SIT) of thepolice.

The A-G told the HighCourt that the state govern-ment had already written tothe Central government askingfor a CBI inquiry into the scamcommitted by the previousregime.

He requested the court tomake the Central government,CBI and EnforcementDirectorate parties in the pre-sent writ petition and directthem to implead in the case.

Sriram argued that the elect-ed government of the day has

the power to review its admin-istrative policies and there wasno constitutional bar for that.

The government had consti-tuted SIT in accordance withthe provisions of CRPC andthere is no violation of law, hesaid.

5

Eye on 2024, Naidu relies on ‘inclusive expansion’

2

‘India scaling up production of active pharmaingredients’

2

Four more added to Priyanka's advisory council

Covaxin likely to hitmarkets in early 2021New Delhi: Covid-19 is raging like awild fire across thecountry, makingIndia the secondworst hit countryafter the US.

But there is abright spot amidthis mayhem —India's first indige-nous Covid-19 vac-cine, Covaxin developed byBharat Biotech, may belaunched in early 2021.

Covaxin has successfullycompleted Phase 1 trialsand the Centre has given itsapproval for Phase 2 ofclinical trials fromSeptember 7.

Speaking to IANS, Sanjay

Rai, Professor,C o m m u n i t yMedicine, andPrincipal Investigatorfor Covid-19 vaccinetrial at AIIMS, said:"Phase 1 trial hasbeen successfullycompleted. Phase 2trial is most likely toget completed some-

time in October. Afterthis, the Phase 3 trial willbegin. Covaxin may belaunched in early 2021(after completion of all trialstages)."

In the first phase of theCovaxin trial, around 375participants were studiedacross 12 locations.

INDIAN MEDIA MUST GO GLOBAL, THEWORLD IS LISTENING TO US: PM MODI

Veteran Telugu stage and film actor JayaprakashReddy died of heart attack at his residence in

Guntur on Tuesday. He was 74 and is survived byhis wife and a son, family sources said.Jayaprakash Reddy collapsed inside thebathroom on Tuesday morning and breathed hislast. The actor, popularly known as JP, began hiscareer as a school teacher. His passion for actingdrove him towards the stage and he played varied roles in countlessdramas. He then attracted the attention of Telugu film industry and avariety of roles came his way.

KANNADA ACTRESS SANJJANAAARRESTED IN DRUGS CASE

Kannada actress Sanjjanaa Galrani has been taken for questioning as theBengaluru police widened its probe into the illegal drug market and its

alleged links to the Kannada film industry. The questioning of theactor comes days after the arrest of another Kannada actress,Ragini Dwivedi, on drug peddling charges. Searches wereconducted at the home of Ms Galrani this morning by theCentral Crime Branch of Bengaluru Police after getting asearch warrant from a court. She has been taken to theoffice of the Central Crime Branch for questioning.Ragini Dwivedi was arrested on Friday after herhome was searched the same morning.

China has passed "an extraordinary and historic test" with its handling of thecoronavirus, President Xi Jinping said Tuesday at a triumphant awards

ceremony for medical professionals decorated with bugle calls and applause. Thenation's propaganda machine has churned out praise for China's Covid-19response, reframing the public health crisis as an example of theagility and organisation of the Communist leadership. Xi doled outgold medals to four "heroes" from the medical field in front ofhundreds of applauding delegates on Tuesday, all wearing facemasks and strikingly large red flower pins. "We have passedan extraordinary and historic test," Xi said, praising thecountry for a "heroic struggle" against the disease.

CHINA PASSED ‘EXTRAORDINARY ANDHISTORIC’ CORONAVIRUS TEST: XI JINPING

JAYAPRAKASH REDDY NO MORE;LEAVES BEHIND A HUGE VOID

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that not only Indian products, but India'svoice too is becoming more global with the world paying more attention to the

country. Inaugurating Patrika Gate in Jaipur and releasing two books authored byPatrika Group Chairman Gulab Kothari through a video conference, PMModi said Indian media also needs to go global at a time when thecountry enjoys a "very strong presence" at almost every internationalbody. "Our newspapers and magazines should have global reputation.We should reach digitally across the world in this digital age. Indianinstitutions should give away literary awards like they are givenin different parts of the world. This is the need of the hourand necessary for the country," he said.

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VIJAYAWADA | WEDNESDAY | SEPTEMBER 9, 2020 vijayawada 02

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

The YSRCP government'snegligence led to the recordrise of Coronavirus casesacross the State, alleged TDPchief N Chandrababu Naidu.The government's indifferentattitude was the reason forloss of control as AndhraPradeshhas now recordedone lakh cases in just 10 dayswhile its first one lakh casestook nearly 138 days, hepointed out .

Addressing a video confer-ence with party people's rep-resentatives and senior lead-ers, Naidu said that over 13per cent of the country's cur-rent infections were beingreported in Andhra Pradeshindicating the alarming rateof Coronavirus spread in theState and alleged that thatpeople's health was now put

in ser ious r isk.He pointed out that dis-

charged patients from quar-antine centres were not beinggiven Rs 2,000 as promisedby Chief Minister YSJaganmohan Reddy.

Naidu expressed concernover the abnormal delay insupply of oxygen cylinders atCovid hospitals and lament-ed that ventilators were not

being fitted in the ICUs togive proper treatment to thep a t i e n t s .

He alleged that the govern-ment was not fulfilling itspromise of granting Rs15,000 for conducting thelast rites of Covidvictims andnot a single rupee was paidtowards the promised Rs 50lakh compensation to the

kin of Covid front line work-ers, who died while discharg-ing their duties .

Stating that the neighbour-ing States were not opting foranti-farmer reforms, Naidusaid that the YSRCP regimewas trying to say goodbye totheir right to free power,which they had won after a40-year long agitation.

PNS n TIRUPATI

TTD Executive OfficerAnilKumar Singhal on Tuesdayreviewed the activities of theSV Anna Prasadam Trust athis chambers in the TTDadministrative building onT u e s d a y .

He said 35.45 lakh foodpackets worth Rs3.08 crorewere distributed amongmigrant labourers, the poorand needy of Tirupati andstranded pilgrimsduring thelockdown.TTD off icialsinformed that the Trust so farhas 5,68,421 donors of which21,732 donors had contributedRs27 crore during the lock-

down period.They told the Executive

Officer that the trust had sup-

plied grocery and other mate-rials worth around Rs 1 croreto the Chittoor district admin-

istration for facilitating 5,000 patients every day at theCovid Care Centresin Tirupati.

The Executive Officerdirected officials concerned toconsider the proposals to pro-vide Anna Prasadamat TTDtemples located in otherregions like Rishikesh duringBrahmotsavams as is beingdone at Tirumala andT i r u p a t i .

Additional executive officerAV Dharma Reddy, JEO PBasant Kumar, CE M RameshReddy, FACAO O Balaji,Additional FACAO RaviPrasadu and others participated in the reviewmeeting.

The gradually unfoldingdrama being played outin Andhra Pradesh has

all the ingredients of a thrillernovel — with the main playerin the Opposition makingmoves with eyes fixed onthe 2024 Assembly elec-tions.

Understandably, themoves being made byTDP supremo NChandrababu Naidu aremost intriguing, quite deftand consequently, most inter-esting. This is understand-able, considering his experi-ence and political sagacity.

Undoubtedly, Naidu is play-ing a risky game and even ifone move backfires, he maylose the battle and also the warin the sense that the TDP maycede its position as the princi-pal opposition party in thestate. For now, Naidu isputting into practice the the-ory of inclusive expansion totake the wind out of YSRCPsails.

Taking advantage of its posi-tion in power, the YSRCP isstrengthening its base acrossthe state. Helped by the pop-

ulist schemes beinglaunched by the YSJaganmohan Reddygovernment, the YSRCPis concentrating on

weakening theTDP so that there is little

possibility of its main polit-ical rival unseating it in thenear future.

This may not happen in theimmediate future, but anti-incumbency factor is alwaysaround the corner.

Losing power to its mainpolitical rival YSRCP has hada devastating effect on theTDP.

Out of power, the party isliterally struggling to survive,and the situation is such thatit is just two MLAs away fromlosing the position of the prin-cipal opposition party.

In neighbouring Telangana,the ruling TRS successfullypulled the rug from theCongress feet and deprived itof the principal opposition

position. Chief Minister YSJaganmohan Reddy wouldhardly be blamed for replicat-ing this, just to settle oldscores.

Four of its 23 MLAs havealready deserted the TDP, hav-ing suddenly found deepadmiration and love for Jaganand his brand of develop-ment.

Not that the TDP can com-plain — it had played thesame game with the YSRCPwhen in power and had in fact

rewarded four MLAs of thethen Opposition party withCabinet berths.

It’s most unfortunate thatsuch a practice is allowed totake place on an increasinglyregular basis by ‘admirers ofdemocracy’, but that is a sub-ject for another column.

Weakened, and facing pos-sible ignominy of losing theLeader of the Opposition post,Naidu is now adopting the the-ory of inclusive expansion byencouraging two other ‘like-

minded’ (in the sense ofopposing the ruling party)political parties to expandtheir base among particularsections of society.

Towards this end, Naidu istrying to influence theCongress and Jana Sena toexpand their base and rebuildtheir image.

The Congress had enjoyed

the support of the predominantReddy community in undivid-ed AP during its rule of near-ly four decades. Most of theCongress chief ministers camefrom the Reddy community.

In fact, it was often heard inNew Delhi that one can't imag-ine Andhra Pradesh without aReddy chief minister!

The disastrous decision tobifurcate AP led to a completerout of the Congress in theresiduary State, at around thesame time it lost power at thecentre.

Now it’s struggling toremain relevant by waging awar against BJP-led Centralgovernment.

According to the politicalstrategy adopted by Naidu,there is a need of creating adivision in the Reddy commu-nity which has stood behindthe YSRCP. Being a party thatenjoyed the support of theReddy community earlier,Congress has the best chance

of making some forays intothis vote block, thereby haltingthe onward march of theYSRCP.

Several leaders, includingformer chief minister N.Kirankumar Reddy and KotlaSuryaprakash Reddy (son offormer chief minister KotlaVijayabhaskar Reddy), are like-ly to be entrusted this task ofwooing the Reddy and Dalitcommunities on behalf of theCongress, since they were con-sidered the backbone of theparty in its heydays.

Naidu is well aware that theKapu community also plays acrucial role at the hustings andthat film actor and Jana Senasupremo Pawan Kalyan has asizeable following among theKapus. This is despite the factthat the Jana Sena failed to bageven one seat in the districts thathas a predominant Kapu pres-ence like East Godavari, WestGodavari, Krishna and Guntur.

Pawan Kalyan has a fair

idea of the extent of his pop-ularity among the Kapus, andhas been concentrating onthe community with an eye onthe next elections. The JanaSena chief has also alignedwith the BJP so that this castebase remains intact, whilesending signals to one and allthat he enjoys the support ofthe Union Government,unlike any other politician inthe state. Naidu is well awareof these factors, and drivingthese two powerful sections —the Reddys and the Kapus —away from the ruling YSRCPwill be his priority in thedays to come.

While it may not be easy forNaidu to influence voters awayfrom the ruling party, he isplaying the waiting game,with 2024 as the prize.

Only time will tell if Naidu’sploy of helping the Congressand Jana Sena strengthenwould pay off in the long run,or boomerang on him.

M D RATNA KUMAR

Senior Journalist

According to the political strategy adopted

by Naidu, there is a need of creating a

division in the Reddy community which has

stood behind the YSRCP. Being a party that

enjoyed the support of the Reddy

community earlier, Congress has the best

chance of making some forays into this

vote block, thereby halting the onward

march of the YSRCP

PIN

POINT

Eye on 2024, Naidu relies on ‘inclusive expansion’

TTD Executive Officer Anil Kumar Singhal addresses a review meeting in Tirupation Tuesday. Additional executive officer AV Dharma Reddy and JEO P BasantKumar are also seen

35.45 lakh food packets worth Rs 3 cr distributed during lockdown

Govt's apathy leads to rise in Covid cases, alleges Naidu

l NTPC Simhadri, in a pressrelease, said Nano concrete, abrainchild of the Grand AshChallenge, is an innovativeconstruction aggregate thatreplaces regular stone with 76%fly ash, a key derivative of thermalpower generation. With this,research and development atNTPC has earmarked scope foruse of hundred per cent powerindustry by-products

PNS n VISAKHAPATNAM

Standing up to its prioritiSedcommitment towards greenpower, devising ways to use itsby-products, NTPC, Simhadri,has developed a first of its kind,unique model building usingNano Concrete Aggregate(NACA) to demonstrate theimmense potential of fly ashutilisation.

NTPC Simhadri, in a pressrelease, said Nano concrete, abrainchild of the Grand AshChallenge, is an innovativeconstruction aggregate thatreplaces regular stone with76% fly ash, a key derivative ofthermal power generation.With this, research and devel-opment at NTPC has ear-marked scope for use of hun-dred percent power industryby-products.

Resolving the poignant eco-logical concern of ash dispos-

al, the aggregate is exemplaryof the alternate resource devel-opment the environmentneeds right now.The product iscast as stone, broken in jawcrushers through multiplephases of aggregate, making itideal for better bonding.Attaining better compressivestrength than regular con-struction material throughhydration chemistry, no ther-mal energy is required for astronger composition.

In line with the SustainableDevelopment Goals, its com-position requires minimumusage of water and sand ascompared to a regular stoneaggregate.

With a high specific gravi-ty in the range of 1.8 to 1.9gm/cc, it exhibits low porosi-ty with water absorption. As a

result, use of stone for con-struction and land for ash dis-posal is also minimised, lead-ing to an ultimate solution fornatural resource conservation.

Even at just 50% penetrationinto the natural stone marketin India, it is critical to under-score the scope for 107 milliontonnes of NACA, capable ofconsuming 81.5 million tons ofgenerated fly ash.A highlypractical construction substi-tute for terrains with scarceand dwindling naturalresources, the innovation iscapable of revolutionizing themarket dynamics.

Such accurate technologicalapplications illuminate theroad ahead for conglomeratesto take that major leap towardsan optimistic ecological andindustrial co-existence.

NTPC Simhadri develops building using fly ash

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

A man died under suspiciouscircumstances due to allegedpolice harassment at Repalle inGuntur district. According toreports, police reportedly usedthird degree on KotariRaghavendra (36), whohails fromChuttugunta ofGuntur city, whileinterrogating atRepalle polices t a t i o n .However, theydenied the newsand claimed thatRaghavendra wasarrested for cheating sev-eral traders. They furtherclaimed that Raghavendra wassuffering from AIDS and dia-betes, hence, they shifted him toRepalle government hospitalwhere he died while undergoingtreatment.

Addressing a press conferenceat Bapatla in Guntur district onTuesday, Deputy Superintendentof Police ASrinivasaRao said thatRaghavendra died due to illnesswhile undergoing treatment in

the government hospital atRepalle. Police of Repalle regis-tered a case against Raghavendrabased on a complaint lodged bya trader Tunuguntla Kishore.The accused Raghavendra hadcheated four traders by collect-ingmoney from them and tried

to collect money from colddrink shop owner

Chanti at Peteru vil-lage iinRepallemandal bythreatening him.But Chanti, alongwith villagers,

handed over thea c c u s e d

Raghavendra to police.Police had taken him

into custody and observed thathe was not taking food due to ill-ness so they shifted him to hos-pital suspecting Coronavirus.The government hospital doc-tors conducted tests and foundhim to be suffering from AIDSand diabetes. So, they startedtreatment but he died whileundergoing treatment. DSPSrinivasaRao said that policeregistered a case and conductinginquiry into his death.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

It is deplorable that the gov-ernment was attempting to cre-ate the largest slum in the Stateat Amaravati by allotting 1,960acres for 55,000 house sites, dis-closed Joint Action Committeeleader ofAmaravatiParirakshanaSamithi(ASP) MallikarjunaRao andMahila JAC leader DrSailajaand Dalit JAC leaderChilakaBasavaiah.

Referring to the allotment of55,000 house sites in 1,960 acresof Amaravatiregion,MallikarjunaRao saidhere on Tuesday that one couldimagine what type of slum itwould become if two lakh peo-ple started living in 1,960 acres.He said that the governmentshould honour the packagepromised to farmers and alsohonour the CRDA Act.

Mahila JAC leader DrSailajasaid that it was not proper toallot house sites to the poor inthe capital region without givingthem ready houses. The govern-

ment should immediately com-plete the half built housesinAmaravati and hand themover to the poor, she demand-ed.

DrSailaja said that it was notproper to say that the JAC wasagainst the allotment of housesites to the poor.Dalit leaderChilakaBasavaiah wondered asto how the government wouldprovide employment to the twolakh people, who would begiven house sites in Amaravati.Already, people living inAmaravati lost their livelihood,he pointed out.

Pawan demandsjustice for Gandikotareservoir displacedPNS n VIJAYAWADA

Jana Sena Party founderpresident PawanKalyansaid that justice should berendered to the evacueesunder the Phase-II ofGandikota reservoir pro-ject in Jammalamaduguconstituency of Kadapadistrict. Pawan in a state-ment on Tuesday said thatit is unfortunate that peo-ple of 16 villages, includ-ing Tallaproddatur village,which will be submerged,have been vacated forceful-ly.

He said it was painfulthat villagers have beenshifted hastily without pay-ing compensation andrehabilitation measures.When the evacuees stageda protest stating that theywill vacate only after thepayment of compensationand providing rehabilita-tion facilities, police battal-ions have been deployed toquell the agitators.

Pawan pointed out thatit was not fair for the gov-ernment resorting to lathi-charge and terrorising theevacuees. He recalled thathe had met Vamsadharaproject evacuees whiletouring in Srikakulam dis-trict as part of the 'PorataYatra.

Allocation of house sites topoor in Amaravati opposed

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Minister for TransportPerniVenkataRamaiah (Nani)has said it is happy to find peo-ple, who completed graduationand PG, are joining the policedepartment.

He said earlier candidateswith SSC qualification used tojoin as constables. The ministerwas the chief guest of the pass-ing out parade of 215 constables,who completed nine monthstraining at the Police TrainingCentre in Machilipatnam, onTuesday.

He said police play an impor-tant role in the maintenance oflaw and order in the State. Hesaid constables and SI selectionsare being conducted in a trans-parent manner in the State. Hesuggested to candidates, whocompleted the training, to con-tinue the pledge they have madewhile joining the duty in thepolice department.

The minister and ADGPSridhar Raoreceived the guard

of honour. Speaking on theoccasion, Sridhar Raosaid ChiefMinister YS Jaganmohan Reddyhas given green signal to recruit1,870 constables after theYSRCP came to power. He saidso far 1,500 selected candidateshave completed training, includ-ing 455 women cops, who wereselected in 33 per cent reserva-tions quota.

He said the State governmentgives priority for the empower-ment of women in the State andappealed to trained constables tomake use of modern technolo-gy to check crime against thewomen and ensure safety topeople. He said law is the best

friend of police and they shouldalways remind it. He said con-stables would get good name tothe police department by per-forming their duties withoutbias.

Police Training Centre inMachilipatnam is one of thereputed institutes in the Stateand so far five batches have com-pleted training. The inmatesgets training in IPC, CRPC, per-sonality development, policeadministration, law and order,crime, investigation, forensicand others. Besides, other sub-jects like communication skills,fundamental rules, spokenEnglish, how to check crimeagainst women and other sub-jects are taught during the train-ing.

Sports and games are the reg-ular itinerary in the institute.Krishna District Superintendentof Police M RavindranathBabu,Police Training Cetre principalASP Satyanarayana and otherofficials attended the passing outparade.

Mystery over deathof accused in hospital

Cops told to make use oftechnolgy to curb crime

l Naidu said that over 13 per cent of the country's current infectionswere being reported in Andhra Pradesh indicating the alarming rate ofCoronavirus spread in the State and alleged that that people's health wasnow put in serious risk. He pointed out that discharged patients fromquarantine centres were not being given Rs 2,000 as promised by ChiefMinister YS Jaganmohan Reddyl The TDP chief expressed concern over the abnormal delay in supply ofoxygen cylinders at Covid hospitals and lamented that ventilators werenot being fitted in the ICUs to give proper treatment to the patients. Healleged that the government was not fulfilling its promise of granting Rs15,000 for conducting the last rites of Covid victims and not a singlerupee was paid towards the promised Rs 50 lakh compensation to thekin of Covid front line workers, who died while discharging their duties.

Minister participates in passing out parade of constables

Referring to theallotment of 55,000house sites in 1,960acres of Amaravatiregion,MallikarjunaRao said that one couldimagine what type ofslum it would becomeif two lakh peoplestarted living in 1,960acres

RoFRpatta distribution on October 2PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Stating that distribution ofRoFRpattas to tribals in 35scheduled zones would takeplace on October 2, GandhiJayanti, Chief Minister YSJaganmohan Reddy directeddistrict collectors to ensurecompletion of identification ofboundaries, installing marking

stones, taking photographs ofbeneficiaries standing in theirallotted sites and record thedetails and file then in Weblandand ROFR database. The ChiefMinister was speaking during aSpandana videoconference withdistrict collectors and SPs.

Officials informed him that abiometric attendance system isbeing implemented in village/

ward secretariats and everyemployee would work from theoffice. Attendance would betaken for village volunteers inSecretariats at least three days ina week and they can be presentin the secretariats as per theirconvenience.

The Chief Minister said thatJoint Collectors should monitorthe village volunteer system

and fill the vacant posts. Districtcollectors and JCs should mon-itor and ensure time-boundimplementation of welfareschemes and this would be ameasure of their performance,he said. The Chief Ministerdirected district Collectors tovisit village/ ward secretariatstwice a week and the JointCollectors four times in a week.

VIJAYAWADA | WEDNESDAY | SEPTEMBER 9, 2020 vijayawada 03

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Chief Minister YSJaganmohan Reddy has direct-ed officials to focus on com-pleting the Nadu-Neduworksin schools by September 30without any compromise inquality.

During the Spandana videoconference here on Tuesday,he instructed the DistrictCollectors and Joint Collectorsto monitor the quality ofNadu-Nedu works and said tospeed up the works. Thoughinitially only a set of nineworks were included underNadu-Nedu, now one anoth-er work of construction ofkitchen sheds was also includ-ed. The works should be com-pleted by month end asschools are likely to bereopened on October 5.

Officials informed that slabwork has to be done in 1,085toilets and 55,607Anganwadiswould berevamped under Nadu-Neduinitiative. In this context, as22,979 Anganwadis are beingoperated in rental spaces, offi-cials were told to shift theminto permanent buildings.Also for 12,018 centres, theallocation of land has to be

done and 1,200 new buildingswere almost completed.Officials have been instructedto complete works by the endof this month.

Taking a serious note on theirregularities of sand miningand illegal transportation, theChief Minister ordered offi-

cials to take stern actionagainst those involved, irre-spective of their social status.

YSR Aasara will belaunched on September 11,with a budget ofRs 6,700crore to benefit 90 lakhwomen of various self-helpgroups. The Chief Minister

said the State has signedMoUs with Amul, HUL,Procter & Gamble,ITC,Reliance, Jio and AllanaGroups aimed at providingsustainable livelihood towomen and giving businessopportunities to utilise theirmoney effectively. Officialswere told to focus on associ-ating the banks with womenentrepreneurs to have secureloans for maximising theirbusiness outcomes.

Deputy Chief Minister AllNani, Ministers BotsaSatyanarayana, AdimulapuSuresh, other officials wereamong those present at theSpandana-programme.

CM fiat to officialson Nadu-Nedu works

Taking a serious note on theirregularities of sand mining andillegal transportation, the ChiefMinister ordered officials to takestern action against those involved,irrespective of their social status

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

The TDP received a setbackin Prakasam district as itssenior leader and formerZPTC member Chinta RamaRao has joined the rulingYSRCP. The TDP leader issaid to be a close associate oflocal MLA Gottipati RaviKumar. Rama Rao is fromVellalacheruvu inSantamagulurumandal ofPrakasam district.

He has joined the YSRCP,along with 400 families thatsupport him. He joined theparty in the presence ofMinister BalineniSrinivasaReddy at an event organisedin Vijayawada.

Speaking on the occasion,Rama Rao said that imple-mentation of welfare schemesand development activities byChief Minister YSJaganmohan Reddy attractedhim to join the party.

He said that he wouldstrive to strengthen the partyin Prakasam district. Formermarket yard chairpersonBollineni Ramakrishna,senior leadersOotlaNageshwaraRao, ChintaSridhar, S RammohanRao,PamidiKoteshwaraRao, BMalleswari, BC leaders BKondalu,KoteswaraRao andothers accompanied RamaRao. They, too, resigned fromthe TDP and joined theYSRCP on the occasion.

TDP leader fromPrakasam distjoins YSRCP

TDP has no right to speakon razing of temples: BJPPNS n VIJAYAWADA

The TDP has demolishedmany temples during theKrishna Pushkarulu, did theparty forget about Hindutva atthat time, questioned BJP Statepresident SomuVeeraraju.Addressing the media here onTuesday, he said that the TDPhas no right to speak aboutdemolition of temples in theState.

He pointed out that NChandrababu Naidu, whodemolished the temples, didnot build at least one temple inthe five years of his tenure."Where was Chinarajappawhen the temples were demol-ished when their party was inpower, hequestioned. How canRajappa now speak on theAntarvedi incident, he flayed.

The BJP State president said:"I addressed a letter to ChiefMinister YS Jaganmohan

Reddy urging him to order foran investigation with the sittingjudge on the Antarvedi inci-dent."

"For five years, Naidu hascreated a hype stating thatAmaravatiwould be developedas a world-class capital.Everyone should ask Naiduwhy Amaravati was not built.Naidu should explain what hehad done with the Rs 7,200

crore given by the Centre forthe capital city construction, heasked.

BJP State presidentSomuVeerarajupointed out that NChandrababu Naidu,who demolished thetemples, did not buildat least one temple inthe five years of histenure. "Where wasChinarajappa whenthe temples weredemolished when theirparty was in power,he questioned

Gang of thieves heldPNS n VISAKHAPATNAM

With the arrest of three men ofa burglary gang on Tuesday,Vizag police claimed to havesolved over 58 propertyoffences the gang had commit-ted in four districts of northAndhra.

The gang was striking hous-es at their will in Vizag city,Vizag Rural, Vizianagaram andWest Godavari districts.

The police have recoveredover 1,240 gms of gold orna-ments worth Rs27.18 lakh,over 1,700 gms of silver orna-ments worth Rs1 lakh and overRs1.69 lakh cash, all togetherRs29.95 lakh from the gang.

City police chief ManishKumar Sinha said that thearrested have been identified asBathulaPrabhakar alias RahulReddy (24), a native of WestGodavari district, PedapatiNaveen (21), a resident ofVizag city andKuppaTavitiRaju (28), a nativeof Vizianagaram, used toreceive the stolen propertyfrom Prabhakar and Naveen.

Of late, some unidentified

persons broke into the houseof Bishop K Rajendra Singhlocated at Paradesipalem areain Vizag city and decamped

with over 500 gms of gold jew-ellery and Rs2 lakh cash (alltogether Rs13 lakh) in betweenAugust 16 and 17 when theinmates were not in the resi-dence.

Based on a complaint, policeformed special teams to iden-tify and nab the propertyoffenders. The CCTV footageretrieved from houses gaveclues to the police about thegang and they managed to nabthe prime accused in the bur-glary case Prabhakar nearGnanapuramrailway station inVizag city. Their arrest led torecovery of the stolen proper-ty from his residence atGopalapatnam area in the city.

The police also nabbedPrabhakar's associates Naveenand TavitiRaju. Prabhakar con-fessed that they were involvedin over 58 property offencesand stolen over Rs34.21 lakhworth property.

The police managed torecover 87 per cent of thestolen property in the over 58cases and the investigation ison to recover the remainingproperty.

n The police haverecovered over 1,240gms of gold ornamentsworth Rs 27.18 lakh,over 1,700 gms ofsilver ornaments worthRs 1 lakh and over Rs1.69 lakh cash, alltogether Rs 29.95 lakhfrom the gang

n City police chiefManish Kumar Sinhasaid that the arrestedhave been identifiedas BathulaPrabhakaralias Rahul Reddy (24),a native of WestGodavari district,Pedapati Naveen (21),a resident of Vizag cityand KuppaTavitiRaju(28), a native ofVizianagaram

Patients on ‘Doli' now a

regular sight in AgencyPNS n VISAKHAPATNAM

In the absence of road con-nectivity to the villages intribal pockets inVizianagaram, patients, evenexpecting mothers, being car-ried on makeshift stretchershas become a regular sight.

On Tuesday, a tribalwoman was carried in amakeshift stretcher for eightkm from her home to getambulance service.MellikaChunnammi, a resi-dent of Poimala village underSalurumandal inVizianagaram district.

The routes connecting theirvillagers are so bad, leavefour wheelers but two-wheel-ers can't travel on the hillyand slippery pathway.Thewoman was admitted to thePrimary Health Centre atMakkuva in Vizianagaramdistrict and she is availingtreatment.

The patient's relatives andothers said owing to lack ofroad connectivity to their vil-lage, those faced with a med-ical emergency have no otheroption than to carry thepatients like bundles.

Chunnammi has been suf-fering from fever and othersickness for the past few daysand there were no medicalfacilities in and around her

village and she was carried ina sling to get the vehicle toreach hospital. It was not thefirst such incident in thenorth Andhra region. Therewere over 10 incidents report-ed in the past one year.A fewweeks ago, a pregnant womanM VenkataKumari ofChodepalli area underKoyyuruMandal inVizagAgency had to be car-ried in a makeshift stretcherall the way to get a medicalconvoy (ambulance), whichwas over two kms from hervillage.

Expressingconcern overthe Doliincidents, CPMleaders BLokanathamand K Surendrasaid that thesuccessivegovernmentfailed to createbasicinfrastructure intribal pockets

Govt ties up with Hondan To open second Safety Training

Education CentrePNS n VISAKHAPATNAM

The second 'Road SafetyTraining' Centre exclusivelyfor learner licence appli-cants of Visakhapatnam wasopened here on Tuesday. Ina bid to check the roadfatality incidents by impart-ing safe driving education tothe motorists, this is a jointinit iat ive by HondaMotorcycle and ScooterIndia Pr ivate L imited(HMSI) and AndhraPradesh TransportDepartment.

In order to sensitise appli-cants coming for LearnerLicense Registration (LLR)on driving rules and regula-tions, road signs and drivers'dut ies on road, theTransport Department ofhas given responsibility toHonda to initiate a pre-Learner Licence Registration

programme for two-wheel-er and four-wheeler learnerlicence applicants of the city.

Honda's skilled instruc-tors will train all learnerl icence appl icants atRegional Transport Office,Vuda Colony, Marripalem,Visakhapatnam, with allsafety measures and socialdistancing norms.A learnerlicence is issued to an indi-vidual after test ing hisknowledge on driving rulesand regulations through the-oretical and practical tests.

Now, Learner LicenceAppl icants ofVisakhapatnam will get freeRoad Safety AwarenessTraining by Honda and itwill provide a two-hour freeof cost training to all learn-er licence applicants of thecity while ensuring socialdistancing and safety mea-sures in the new normal.

Officialsgrease palmsof fake ACBsleuthsPNS n VIJAYAWADA

The Anti-Corrupt ionBureau (ACB) sleuths con-ducted raids on the govern-ment offices across the Stateto probe into collection ofmoney from officials byfake ACB officers. The ACBofficials lamented that itwas pathetic to know thatsome district level officerspaid bribe to fake ACB offi-cials on receiving threaten-ing calls. It shows that theyadmitted themselves as cor-rupt officers.

The ACB officials onTuesday questioned offi-cers concerned about pay-ing bribes to the fake ACBofficers under which theyquestioned two officersfrom Srikakulam districtJohn Viklif, DEE, R&B,Amudalavalasa, and GRGupta, Panchayat Raj engi-neer, Srikakulam. Theyreportedly paid Rs 50,000 tothe fake officers.

On the otherhand,Sankar Reddy, JointChief Inspector ofFactories, Visakhapatnam,admitted that he paid Rs5,00,000 to fake ACB offi-cials through his attender VSrinivasaRao.

Covaxin may be launched in early2021, says AIIMS docterContinued from Page 1

From July 20 onwards, AIIMSbegan human trials of Covaxinon 100 healthy volunteers agedbetween 18 and 55 years. InPhase 1, the blood samples col-lected from the volunteerswere monitored for side effects.

Covaxin is an "inactivated"vaccine, which injects doses ofthe virus that have been killed,aiming to prompt the body tobuild antibodies, and in this

process the virus does notpose a threat.

On a comparison of Covaxinwith Russia's Covid-19 vaccine,Rai insisted that Covaxin isbetter placed than the Russianvaccine.

He added that Covaxin andthe Oxford University-AstraZeneca vaccine candi-date in India are technically atthe same level in the clinicaltrials stage, though the Oxfordvaccine has reached Phase 3

clinical trials in Britain, Braziland South Africa.

India on Tuesday reported75,809 new Covid-19 casesrecorded in the last 24 hours,while the death toll mounted to1,133, the highest single-dayspike in fatalities so far.

India is now the the secondworst hit country by Covid-19after the US with 42,80,442coronavirus cases since thefirst was reported on January30. The US has recorded

63,00,431 cases and 1,89,206deaths so far.

Queried on the level of sat-isfaction with the vaccine tri-als in progress, Rai said he iscontent with the progress madeso far, but declined to share thecontent of the report on Phase2 trials so far.

Rai added that all rules andregulations are being followedwhile conducting Covaxinclinical trials, and nothing isbeing done in rush.

HC reserves orderon ABV plea...Continued from Page 1

Counsel said that the petition-er does not want a blanket pro-tection and the court mayimpose conditions. He assuredthe court that the petitionerwill not interfere with thewitnesses and course of inves-tigation.

Responding, Advocate-General SriramSubrahmanyam in his argu-ment stated that the writ peti-tion was clearly an abuse ofprocess of law. Unwarrantedand unverified allegationswere being made against theIPS officers without any basisand without any facts, hecountered.

The Advocate-General alsosaid that when the petitionersays that the IPS officers want-ed to please the Government,perhaps it was the conscienceof the petitioner speaking.

Without the IPS officersbeing impleaded, withoutextending the courtesy ofopportunity of hearing tothose unnamed officers, thepetitioner has disentitled him-self to any relief, Sriram said.Even in the litigation againsthis suspension, he did notimplead any of those againstwhom he made allegationsand he repeats the same con-duct here, he said.

Quoting the petitioner thathe won’t interfere with theinquiry, the Advocate-Generalsaid the petitioner’s ability toalter the narration of witness-es is recorded and it shall beplaced before this court if itwanted.

The petitioner’s reference tothe past conduct of the CID inthe social media posts regard-ing the High Court was unten-

able, Sriram said.The writ petition for the

relief is unprecedented on thebasis of an apprehensionwhich is completely baseless,he said.

“The petitioner’s contentionthat there was no financial lossto the State and therefore nocase is liable to be registered isincorrect. He can’t get thatinsurance in this case. Theprovisions of the IPC do notmandate that cases can be reg-istered only if financial loss iscaused. The petitioner wassupporting procurement ofequipment which was opposedby senior IPS officers and hewas pursuing the project evenafter the election code wasimposed without disclosinghis son’s interest in the deal. Heis not entitled to the relief,” theAdvocate-General said.

He argued that therefore,there was no legal basis for thepetitioner to get any relief inthis case as prayed for with aninjunction against arrest for alltimes to come.

After hearing the argu-ments, the single judge benchextended the interim orderand reserved the final order.

Continued from Page 1

The less privileged are themost affected as they cannotpull strings to get their kinadmitted to major hospi-tals. The political andadministrative class is con-sciously turning a blind eyeto reality that hits us all inthe face each morning andthrough the 24 hours of dayand darkness.

Moreover, people comingfrom neighbouring stateslike Odisha expecting bettertreatment are simply endingup paying more than Rs 5lakh overall. “Private hospi-tals fleece middle-class pro-fessionals, while the poor areat the mercy of a toxic cock-tail of luck and divine inter-vention. To add insult toinjury, unnecessary tests, notonce but twice, confining tobed seems the order of theday. In fact, the tests pad upthe bill. By this standard,billing is the essence of med-icine today.

Pvt hospitalscontinue to...

Covid tests to be made...Continued from Page 1

So far, there are 11 teachinghospitals across the State,and with the new ones, a totalof 27 teaching hospitals willbe available across the State.The officials were alsoinformed to accelerate theprocess of identifying land forUrban Health Clinics.

Deputy Chief Minister KaliKrishna Srinivas, MinistersBotsa Satyanarayana andAdimulapu Suresh, and offi-cials were among those at theSpandana programme.

Govt topersuade Covidsurvivors...Continued from Page 1

According to the HealthCommissioner, the southernstate is spending an amountof Rs 15 crore per day in over-all coronavirus arrangements,including treatment, patients'food, accommodation, testsand medicines, among oth-ers. On average, AP is testing65,000 to 70,000 samples perday. The state on Mondayreported 8,368 new coron-avirus cases, taking the over-all tally to 5.06 lakh.

Amid Covid, 8 CETs start...Continued from Page 1

As many as 2.7 lakh studentshave applied for EAMCET,with a majority sitting in theexam for admissions to var-ious branches of engineeringcourses, followed by medicaland agricultural courses.

ICET received applicationsfrom 64,884 students, fol-lowed by 37,167 for APECET.

As the eight entrance testswould be held under the shad-ow of coronavirus pandemic,the department is makingarrangements for their safeconduct. "Keeping the stu-dent's safety in view, the num-ber of examination slots havebeen increased to accommo-date fewer number of studentsin each slot," he said.

Likewise, all the examina-tion centres will be sanitisedwith sodium hypochloride foreach session, with the provi-sion of hand sanitisers, gloves,face masks, and thermal scan-ners for ensuring a safe envi-ronment.

CBI shouldimplead in...Continued from Page 1

Asking the High Court todismiss the TDP’s petition, theA-G said the petitioners werethe ‘proxies of the accused’who are likely to be investigat-ed by the SIT in the landscams.

“They have no locus standiin the case, as there is no vio-lation of their fundamental orstatutory rights,” Sriram said.

He said the petitioners hadfailed to demonstrate how thestate government’s orders inthis regard will affect thempersonally.

“Also, they could notdemonstrate to the court vio-lation of any Constitutionalprovisions in this matter,” theA-G added.

He brought to the notice ofthe court that the state govern-ment has written to it (HighCourt) requesting for allot-ment of a designated court forthe functioning of the SIT andthat it is still waiting for aresponse to the request.

Continued from Page 1

The chariot was stored in a tallroom, closed on three sidesand open on one. When notused, it was covered withpalmyra leaves on the openside.

Police are probing if some-one tried to take the honey bysmoking out the bees from thehoneycomb during which aspark could have fallen on thepalmyra leaves setting themablaze and gutting the chariot.

Making things more diffi-cult for the police, the surveil-lance cameras were not func-tioning when the fire broke outaround midnight.

Antarvedi temple is famousfor its 'Theerdham' (templefair), drawing thousands ofpeople from both West andEast Godavari districts andbeyond.

Known as the secondVaranasi, Antarvedi temple is

vividly mentioned in theHindu scriptures and is asso-ciated with sage Vasishta andothers.

The Tirumala TirupathiDevasthanam runs an accom-modation facility in the village.

Adorned with lakhs of

coconut trees, Antarvedi islocated in the lush greenKonaseema region of EastGodavari district, 200 km eastof Vijayawada, 130 km fromKakinada and 57 km south-west of Bhimavaram.

No arrests yet in Antarveditemple chariot blaze

VIJAYAWADA | WEDNESDAY | SEPTEMBER 9, 2020 region 04

Govt hospitals complain of faulty equipment, refer patients to pvtPNS n HYDERABAD

The condition of GovernmentHospitals treating Coronapatients in Khammam andJanagoan districts is worse thatthe patients are forced to go outand approach private diagnos-tic laboratories to get the CT-scan done to check conditionof their lungs as the CT-scanmachine in several govern-ment hospitals went out oforder.

The government hospital atJanagoan has 100 beds. The hos-pital treats Coronavirus patientstoo. While some of them under-go treatment in home isolationconditions, the others who visithere to receive treatment arebeing advised to get their CT-scan done from private labora-tories as the machine at the hos-pital was out of order.

The patients would have topay Rs 3,000 to get the testdone. In fact, a medical officer

of the hospital owns a privateclinic with CT scan facility. Thegovernment hospital referspatients to the hospital. Thusthe medical officer is cuttingthe hay while the sun shines.

The CT-scan machine is notworking in government hospi-tal at Khammam district head-quarters too. Out of over 100Coronavirus patients, 20 are inICU. The style of working of

the medical officers can begauzed if the CT-scan machineis not working in such hospi-tal. Sometimes, immediate test-ing of CT-scan was necessaryfor more serious patients. The

patients are expressing theirimpatience over the style offunctioning of the hospital asthey were forced to pay fromtheir pocket for the test.

In spite of bringing the issueto the notice of the Medical andHealth Minister EatalaRajender, the CT-scan machineat the hospital was not repaired.In fact, medical equipment atmany government hospitals isstated to be out of order.

In some community healthcare centres, even X-raymachines were out of order.The technicians working thereor doctors are stated to be handin glove with the private labo-ratories and refer the patientsto private diagnostic labs.

In some hospitals, evenCoronavirus diagnostic kitsare being siphoned off to pri-vate diagnostic laboratories.Some doctors take them totheir private clinics and usethem there.

Gandhi Bhavan becomes venue for wordy duels, clashesPNS n HYDERABAD

The historic Gandhi Bhavan,state head quarters forCongress party which oncebecame a hub political activi-ty and the nerve centre forpolitical strategy, has nowbecome the venue for wordyduels and clashes among theparty men.

Many a political heavyweight has worked their strate-gies from this place and wentto capture power in the state.

All prominent leaders of theCongress gathered at GandhiBhavan on Tuesday to chalkout strategy for the forthcom-ing GHMC elections. TPCCpresident N Uttam KumarReddy was presiding the meet-ing.

Tempers ran high at themeeting and sparks flew. Theirate Congress leaders resortedto fist cuffs among themselves.

It all began with the severewordy duel taking placebetween official spokespersonsof the TPCC Dasoju Shravanand Niranjan.

They crossed all bordersand resorted to heaping abus-es on each other lashing out

their vitriolic tongues. Theyeven went to the extent ofassaulting each other.

However, TPCC presidentintervened and pacified theclashing official spokesper-sons. For the time being thecontroversy apparently died

down. September 8 is the birth-day of Dasoju Shravan. As hewent to the Gandhi Bhavan, allCongress leaders conveyedtheir greetings. But in amoment the situation turnedfor worse leading to altercationbetween two of the official

spokespersons. The contro-versy soon was on the lips ofeveryone in the party.

Clashes between Congressleaders and the party rank andfile were not new. Earlier, vet-eran Congress leader VHanumantha Rao clashed with

a leader of the party. How the Congress high

command will respond onseries of clashes by the partymen is stirring a lot of interest.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister KChandrasekhar Rao passedcritical remarks on the futureof the Congress at the TRSLegislature Party meeting heldon Monday.

He predicted that the TRSflag would flutter atop of theGHMC pocketing at least 104seats in the 150-seat GHMCelections. He quoted a surveyordered by the TRS to endorsehis views.

Predicting the future of theCongress and the BJP, hedubbed the Congress as veryweak in the Greater Hyderabadlimits and ruled out it winningsignificant number of seats.However, the BJP is likely tobag a seat or two more improv-ing its previous tally.

PNS n HYDERABAD

TPCC Chief N Uttam KumarReddy called upon the partyleaders to break the conspira-cies of the TRS party by wag-ing fight on bogus votes anddemilitation. Exuding confi-dence on victory in GHMCelections, Uttam said that theTRS government totally failedin municipal administration.

While participating in ameeting held to chalk out anaction plan to win GHMC

elections on Tuesday atGandhi Bhavan, Uttam KumarReddy said that the TRS is try-ing to benefit in the GHMCelections with the bogus votes.As part of it, the votes areenrolled differently at differentdivisions. The voter list total-ly in defective manner, hesaid.

Uttam asked the leaders toinitiate steps to see the delim-itation process done perfectly.He asked the Congress leadersto visit all houses using the ser-

vices of all Congress commit-tees in all 150divisions. Thepeople are against the TRS rulein GHMC and are lookingtowards Congress and the vic-tory of Congress certain in theGHMC elections, Uttam said.

AICC secretary Bosu Rajusaid that the leaders have towork in coordination aimingto win the elections. The seniorleaders V Hanumantha Rao,Marri Shashidhar Reddy, FerozKhan, Niranjan and otherswere also present.

TPCC Chief N Uttam Kumar Reddy addresses his party men at Gandhi Bhavan on Tuesday

Uttam exudes confidence of Cong victory in GHMC polls

‘TRS trying to win civicpolls with bogus votes’PNS n HYDERABAD

TPCC working president andMalkajgiri MP A RevanthReddy has alleged that TRSand MIM are trying to win theGHMC elections throughdelimitation and bogus votes.He said that delimitation mustbe based on total populationdivided by seats. However,the limitation process is asthey wished.

TPCC conducted a meetingto chalk out an action plan onGreater Hyderabad elections atGandhi Bhavan on Tuesday.

After participating in themeeting, Revanth Reddy saidthat 15,000 to 30,000 votes arethere in some divisions and70,000 to 80,000 in some divi-

sions in Old City. The Congress party must

be alert when the delimitationprocess takes place. TheGHMC mayor post isreserved for BC women thistime. The party has to exam-ine whether the governmentwould change the divisions ornot. The legal team should beready during the electiontime to approach the courtwhenever the need arises.The party has to preparemanifestos for every divisionseparately. The campaignmust be done on the assur-ance didn't implemented bythe government. The partyhas to set up a special set upto recognize bogus votes,Revanth Reddy suggested.

Chief Minister condoles actor Jayaprakash Reddy's deathPNS n HYDERABAD

Telangana Chief Minister KChandrashekhar Rao onTuesday condoled the deathof noted film actorJayaprakash Reddy. The ChiefMinister, who conveyed hiscondolences to the membersof the bereaved family saidReddy acted in several filmsin a variety of roles and alsowon people's admiration as atheatre artiste.

Reddy died of heart attackat his residence in Guntur inAndhra Pradesh on Tuesday.

He was 74 and is survivedby wife and a son, familysources said.

‘RTC will come out of crisis soon’n TS to establish 30 heavy motor vehicle driving institutesPNS n HYDERABAD

On the completion of oneyear as Minister, Puvvada AjayKumar said that TSRTC willcome out of crisis very soon.

He said that seeing thegrowth in the occupancy ratioin the recent days even duringthis Covid crisis, TSRTC willovercome all problems andcome out of it soon.

The Minister said that it isproposed to decentralise thetraining activity in TSRTCand establish another 30 heavymotor vehicle driving traininginstitutes (DTIs) at each rev-enue district headquarters, inaddition to the skilled develop-

ment centres at ZSTC,Hakimpet and Warangal toimpart quality training withthe course contents confiningto the regulations of the MVRules and Act. As many as 30driving training centres arebeing set up for training in dri-ving and this will also over-

come the shortage of skilleddrivers/manpower in the auto-mobile sector.

The Minister thanked all theemployees of TSRTC andTransport Department for sup-porting and co-operating withhim and wished that this willcontinue in future.

Opposition leadersexpress intolerancePNS n HYDERABAD

CLP Leader Mallu BhattiVikramarka expressed intoler-ance over allotting only sixminutes time to the Congressparty to speak in the House.

He expressed anger over theargument of the governmentthat the Speaker allotted timebased on the number ofCongress members present inthe House. "People elected 19Congress MLAs. However,KCR purchased CongressMLAs and is now stating thatthe Congress party has nomembers," Bhatti said andquestioned what oppositionwould speak in 6 minutes.

"How to raise the issuespeople are facing, when theSpeaker starts ringing the bellright from the second minute,"Bhatti asked.

It may be recalled that theSpeaker gave six minutes timeto Bhatti to speak on resolu-tion appealing the Centre toconfer Bharat Ratna award toPV on Tuesday. After six min-utes, the Speaker asked Bhattito stop his speech. Irked withthe Speaker's act, Bhatti arguedsaying that he cannot concludehis speech within six minutes.

Later, the Speaker gave achance to Minister KT RamaRao. After KTR's speech, theSpeaker asked Bhatti to com-plete the speech within oneminute.

While speaking at Gun Parkalong with party MLAs-Komatireddy Venkat Reddy, DSridhar Babu, Seethakka, JaggaReddy and MLC Jeevan Red-dy, the CLP leader demandedthe state to revive the mediapoint in the Assembly.

ONLY 6 MIN IN THE HOUSE

Sanjay calls ‘KCR 8th Nizam’PNS n HYDERABAD

Terming the Chief Minister KChandrasekhar Rao as '8thNizam', Telangana BJP ChiefBandi Sanjay Kumar allegedthat KCR is describing Nizamas a great one forgetting thefact that Nizam killed TS peo-ple using Razakars.

He questioned whether theChief Minister KCR and hisson Minister KT Rama Raoreceived any lathi injuries dur-ing the Telangana movement.He alleged that KCR speaksdifferently before elections andafter elections by enacting dif-ferent dramas at different timesto deceive Telangana people.He alleged that KCR is destroy-ing the history of Telangana by

making friendship withAIMIM.

Alleging that KCR adoptinga two-tongue attitude onTelangana Liberation Day,Sanjay said that KCR is notconducting September 17 asTelangana Liberation Day cel-ebrations officially.

Reminding that KCR's crit-icism against the then ChiefMinister K Rosaiah duringTelangana movement for notconducting Liberation Dayofficially, Sanjay asked KCR totell as to why the latter is main-taining silence on LiberationDay celebrations.

He said that he has been vis-iting historical places to tell thehistory of Telangana martyrs tothe present generation. Healleged that KCR is trying tohide the Telangana martyrshistory intentionally for votebank politics.

As part of his two day tourof the places where Razakarsresorted to atrocities, Sanjayvisited Bairanpally village inSiddipet district.

Covid scare in Assemblyas employee tests +ve PNS n HYDERABAD

Despite Assembly SpeakerPocharam Srinivas Reddy, tak-ing all the precautionary mea-sures by allowing only the per-sons with Coronavirus nega-tive reports inside theAssembly premises, one ofthe employees working in theAssembly tested positive onsecond day of the House cre-ating flutter among otheremployees.

The employee, who wastested positive issued entrypasses to hundreds of people.He was on duty even on thefirst day of the Assembly ses-sion. The employee wasallowed into the Assemblypremises as he was tested test-ed negative for Coronavirustwo days ago. He underwentCoronavirus test on Tuesday

with the developed symptomsin his body. With the resultbeing positive for Coronavirusinfection, other employees arescared that they might havecontracted the Coronavirus asmany of them took passesissued by him. However, theAssembly authorities focusedon finding the persons whowere in contact with theCoronavirus patient. Theauthorities directed severalemployees, who were in con-tact with him to home quar-antine themselves.

DMHO orders enquiry intocomplaint against YashodaPNS n HYDERABAD

District Medical and HealthOfficer, Hyderabad orderedfor an enquiry into a com-plaint regarding alleged foulplay on death of Group IIofficer Swetha Reddy.

The patient had undergonea C-section operation afterwhich she died at YashodaHospital at Malakpet. As perthe order, Dr P JayamaliniSPHO UHNC, Malakpet andDr P Veena, Medical officerUPHC Shalivahana Nagarare appointed as enquiryoff icers for conductingdetailed enquiry into the

incident. The two-member doctors

committee was asked to sub-mit detailed report and opin-ion along with case sheet,bills, doctor notes and othersdocuments within three daysto take further action.

The DMHO ordered theenquiry based on the com-plaint filed by MujahedMohiuddin Khudri,President of Telangana StateAll India Anti-CorruptionCommittee.

As per the complaint, Rs29 lakhs rupees was chargedand provided treatment todead body of Swetha Reddy.

TPCC leaders Dasoju Shravan and Niranjan abusing each other during a party meeting at Gandhi Bhavan on Tuesday

11,691 discharges, 10,601 fresh cases in APPNS n HYDERABAD

For the fifth day in a row,Andhra Pradesh saw morenumber of coronaviruspatients getting cured thanthe addition of new cases,though the 10,000-plus posi-tives daily has become a regu-larity.

In the 24 hours ending 9 amon Tuesday, 11,691 Covid-19patients were discharged fromhospitals in the state uponrecovering from the infectionwhile 10,601 fresh casesincreased the overall tally to5,17,094.

The number of active casesdropped further to 96,769 aftera total of 4,15,765 patients gotcured so far and another 4,560died, including 73 in the last 24hours, the latest bulletin said.

A record 70,993 samples were

tested in 24 hours, taking thestate's gross to 42.37 lakh, witha positivity rate of 12.20 per cent.

The recovery rate furtherimproved to 80.40 per cent andthe mortality rate fell margin-ally to 0.88 per cent from 0.89per cent.On Tuesday, five dis-tricts reported new cases inexcess of 1,000 each withPrakasam topping with 1,457,followed by East Godavariwith 1,426.

Prakasam district crossedthe 30,000 total cases mark andnow has the highest number of14,570 active cases in the state,ahead of East Godavari(13,561).

Vizianagaram district, whichwas the last of 13 districts inthe state to enter the Covid-19chart where the first case wasreported on May 7, crossed the25,000 mark and now has9,085 active cases.

In the 24 hours ending 9 am onTuesday, 11,691 Covid-19 patientswere discharged from hospitals inthe state upon recovering from theinfection while 10,601 fresh casesincreased the overall tally to5,17,094

VIJAYAWADA | WEDNESDAY | SEPTEMBER 9, 2020 nation 05

SHORT READS

UP govt suspendsAllahabad SSPLucknow: Chief Minister YogiAdityanath suspendedAllahabad SeniorSuperintendent of PoliceAbhishek Dixit on Tuesday forhis failure to control crime andcorruption and maintain lawand order, said Additional ChiefSecretary (Home) AwanishKumar Awasthi. Dixit is alsocharged with not following theinstructions of the government/headquarters properly and isaccused of promotingcorruption, a home departmentspokesperson added. Thespokesperson said the SSP didnot act on governmentinstructions for foot patrollingand increasing security of banksand business establishmentsagainst incidents of robbery.There was a steady increase inpending crime cases in Allahabad in the past three months,the spokesperson said, addingthe government instructions onsocial-distan cing were also notfollowed properly in the district,for which the high court hadalso expressed its displeasure.

Newly-wed coupleshot dead by woman'sfather, brother

MP: BJP leader fromGwalior joins Cong

BHOPAL: BJP leader fromGwalior Satish Sikarwar joinedthe Congress along with severalof his supporters in thepresence of the party's MadhyaPradesh unit chief Kamal Nathon Tuesday. Expressing confidence about winning all 27 seatsin the bypolls that are yet to bescheduled, the former chiefminister said voters of theseconstituencies may not supportKamal Nath or the Congress butthey will definitely support thetruth. After inducting Sikarwarand his supporters in the party,Nath said not only people, buteven BJP workers wereunhappy with the ruling regime.

Four killed as cargotruck rams car in TNCuddalore(TN): Four peopleincluding two women werekilled and five others injuredwhen a cargo truck rammedinto a SUV on a highway nearhere on Tuesday, policesaid. The fish laden Keralabound van from Parangipettaiherelost control after it brushedpast an oncoming two-wheeler and within momentsrammed into the sports utilityvehicle that was behind themotorcycle. In the impact, twowomen, aged 32 and 27 and a15 year old girl, who travelledin the SUV besides a man whowas seated next to the driver inthe van died on the spot,Deputy police Superintendent(Thittakudi), N Venkatesan said.

DEHRADUN: woman and herhusband were shot dead inUdham Singh Nagar district ofUttarakhand allegedly by herfather and her brother, whowere against the marriage,police said on Tuesday. Theincident took place in Kashipurarea of the district on Mondaynight, they added. The victims,Nazia and Rashid, had elopedin June and got married againstthe wishes of the woman'sfamily, Additional Superintendent of Police, Kashipur, RajeshBhatt said. Nazia's father hadcreated a ruckus at Rashid'shouse after the marriage andeven threatened to shoot thenewly-weds if he spotted themin the Alli Khan mohalla, wherethe two families live, Bhatt said.

Deepak Kochharin ED custodytill Sep 19

Man bookedfor threateningUP ministerMoti SinghPNS n PRATAPGARH (UP)

Police have booked a manhere for allegedly threateningUttar Pradesh cabinet minis-ter Moti Singh in a video clipthat has been widely sharedon social media.

In the video, the man canbe heard saying, "Mai seedheMoti Singh ka encounterkarunga (I will do encounterof Moti Singh)", amid clap-ping and cheering by a groupof people gathered around.

"In the video shared onsocial media, one person,Chandan Yadav, who is sur-rounded by around 50 otherpeople, is heard saying thatSabhapati Yadav is his mater-nal uncle. He threatened cab-inet minister Moti Singh andmade objectionable remarks,"Superintendent of PoliceAnurag Arya said.

‘Hunar Haat' to return inPrayagraj next month

PNS n MUMBAIA court here on Tuesdayremanded Deepak Kochhar,husband of former ICICIBank CEO Chanda Kochhar,in the custody of theEnforcement Directorate(ED) till September 19 in amoney laundering case.

Deepak Kochhar wasarrested here on Mondayunder sections of thePrevention of MoneyLaundering Act (PMLA) inconnection with the ICICIBank-Videocon money laun-dering case probe.

Officials had said DeepakKochhar was placed underarrest as the agency wants toput him under custodialinterrogation to obtain moredetails about some fresh evi-dence gathered in this case,that was filed under the crim-inal sections of the anti-money laundering law inJanuary last year.

PNS n NEW DELHI

'Hunar Haat', theMinority AffairsMinistry's initia-tive to generateemployment formaster artisans,will make a come-back on October 9in Prayagraj with the theme of“local to global” and a focus onindigenous Indian toys.

After a gap of about sixmonths due to the coronaviruspandemic, the next 'HunarHaat' will be organised inPrayagraj from October 9 to 18and more than 30 per cent stallswill be for artisans who prepareindigenous toys, MinorityAffairs Minister Mukhtar AbbasNaqvi said.

The artisans will also beextended help through variousinstitutions for attractive pack-aging of 'swadeshi toys', he said.Naqvi said here that every cor-ner of the country has a tradi-tional and ancestral legacy ofindigenous toys.

This legacy, which was on theverge of extinction, has got aboon after Prime MinisterNarendra Modi pitched for'swadeshi toys', the ministersaid. The Indian toy industryhas got a tremendous boost after

Modi advocated “vocal for localtoys”, he said in a statement.Naqvi said that every corner ofthe country is endowed withvarious kinds of indigenoustoys made with wood, brass,bamboo, glass, cloth, paper,clay, etc. 'Hunar Haat' will be anenormous platform, providingmarket and opportunities tomaster artisans who preparethese indigenous exquisite toys,he said.

Prime Minister Modi's appealto get “vocal for local toys” willhelp the Indian toy industry togain dominance in the toy mar-ket.

'Hunar Haat', which has pro-vided employment and employ-ment opportunities to morethan 5 lakh Indian artisans,craftsmen, culinary experts andother people associated withthem in the last five years, hasbecome a credible brand of rareexquisite indigenous handmadeproducts, Naqvi said.

PNS n NEW DELHI

The Army on Tuesday saidChinese troops fired shots inthe air and attempted to closein on an Indian position ineastern Ladakh a day earlier asit rejected charges by China'sPeople's LiberationArmy(PLA) that it trans-gressed across the Line ofActual Control (LAC).

The remarks by the Armycame after the PLA late onMonday night alleged that theIndian troops crossed the LACand "outrageously fired" warn-ing shots near the Pangong lakein eastern Ladakh.

The use of firearms alongthe LAC marks a serious esca-lation in border tensions as theprevious instance of shotsbeing fired at the de-facto bor-der was in 1975. India andChina exchanged accusationsjust four days after DefenceMinister Rajnath Singh and hisChinese counterpart Gen. WeiFenghe held talks in Moscowon ways to ease tensions at theborder. They met last Friday onthe sidelines of a ShanghaiCooperation Organisation(SCO) meet.

In a statement, the Indian

Army said that at no stage theIndian troops crossed the LACor resorted to use of any"aggressive means", includingfiring, as alleged by the ChinesePLA.

"At no stage has the IndianArmy transgressed across theLAC or resorted to use of anyaggressive means, includingfiring. It is the PLA that hasbeen blatantly violating agree-ments and carrying out aggres-sive manuveres, while engage-ment at military, diplomaticand political level is inprogress," the Army said.

"In the instant case onSeptember 7, it was the PLAtroops who were attempting to

close-in with one of our for-ward positions along the LACand when dissuaded by own(Indian) troops, PLA troopsfired a few rounds in the air inan attempt to intimidate owntroops," the statement added.

It further said that despitethe "grave provocation", Indiantroops exercised "greatrestraint" and behaved in amature and responsible man-ner.

The Army termed the state-ment issued by the WesternTheater Command of the PLAas an attempt to mislead theirdomestic and internationalaudience.

"The Indian Army is com-

mitted to maintaining peaceand tranquility, however isalso determined to protectnational integrity and sover-eignty at all costs," the Armysaid.

"India, while is committed todisengagement and de-esca-lating the situation on the LAC,China continues to undertakeprovocative activities to esca-late." Senior Colonel ZhangShuili, a spokesperson of PLA'sWestern Theater Command, ina statement on Monday nightalleged that Indian troops againillegally crossed the LAC and"outrageously fired" warningshots on Chinese border patrolsoldiers who were about tonegotiate. Chinese troops wereforced to take countermea-sures to stabilize the situation,he said without elaborating.

The Indian troops crossedthe LAC at the west section ofthe China-India border intothe Shenpao mountain regionnear the south bank ofPangong lake, he alleged.

Separately, the Ministry ofExternal Affairs termed asfalse reports in Chinese mediaattributing some comments toNational Security Advisor AjitDoval.

Chinese troops fired shots inair, tried to close in: Army

Oppn to put up joint candidatefor RS deputy chairman postPNS n NEW DELHI

The Congress on Tuesdaydecided that the oppositionwill put up a joint candidate forthe post of Rajya Sabha deputychairman and it will reach outto various parties in thisregard.

The decision comes ahead ofthe Monsoon Session ofParliament starting September14 and was taken at theCongress Parliamentary strat-egy group meeting chaired byparty chief Sonia Gandhi.

The post had fallen vacantafter Harivansh's term ended.He has since been re-elected tothe Upper House as a memberfrom Bihar.

The meeting was attendedby party's leaders in both hous-es including Rahul Gandhi,former Prime MinisterManmohan Singh and Leaderof Opposition Ghulam NabiAzad and leader of Congress

party in Lok Sabha AdhirRanjan Chowdhury.

Congress deputy leaders inboth houses and chief whipsand party's whips also attend-ed the virtual meeting.

This was the first time thatsome of the letter-writers, whohad demanded an overhaul ofthe party, came face to facewith the Congress leadershipafter the CWC meeting.

The Congress strategy groupdecided to raise the issue ofrestoration of the Question

Hour in both houses duringthe session.

The Congress also decidedto raise the issue of the han-dling of the COVID-19 pan-demic in the wake of rise indaily number of cases andIndia taking the second spot intotal cases in the world, besidesthe effect of lockdown.

The party will also raise inboth the houses the issue ofChinese aggression at the bor-der and the current situationthere.

Rlys generated over 8L man-days of work under GKRAPNS n NEW DELHI

The Railways has generatedmore than 8 lakh man-days ofwork in six states, includingBihar and Rajasthan, under arural public works schemelaunched in June this year totackle the impact of COVID-19 on migrant workers, theministry said Tuesday.

The Garib Kalyan RojgarAbhiyaan was launched withan initial funding of Rs 50,000crore. The Railways is execut-ing various works under it,including construction andmaintenance of approachroads for level crossings, devel-opment and cleaning of siltedwaterways, trenches anddrains, and maintenance ofapproach roads to railway sta-tions.

"Indian Railways has gener-ated 8,09,046 man-days ofwork till September 4, 2020,under Garib Kalyan Rojgar

Abhiyaan in six states viz.Bihar, Jharkhand, MadhyaPradesh, Odisha, Rajasthanand Uttar Pradesh.

“Piyush Goyal, Minister ofRailways and Commerce &Industry is closely monitoringthe progress made in theseprojects and generation of workopportunities for the migrantlabours of these states underthis scheme. Around 164 rail-way infrastructure projects arebeing executed in these states,”

the ministry said in a statement.Till September 4, it added,12,276 workers had beenengaged in this programmeand the payment of Rs 1,631.80crore has been released to thecontractors for the projectsbeing implemented.

The Railways has appointednodal officers in each districtas well as in the states so thata close coordination is estab-lished with the state govern-ment.

PNS n NEW DELHI

The Union Health Ministry'stelemedicine service platform'eSanjeevani' has completedthree lakh tele-consultationstill now, the government said onTuesday.

The platform supports twotypes of telemedicine services -- doctor-to-doctor througheSanjeevani and patient-to-doctor through eSanjeevaniOPD. It has provided essentialhealthcare at a critical timewhen conventional medicine isperceived to be risky owing tothe nature of the coronavirusdisease, the health ministrysaid. On August 9, UnionHealth Minister Harsh Vardhanhad described as "landmarkachievement", the nationaltelemedicine service complet-ing over 1.5 lakh teleconsulta-tions.

The platform reached doublethat number within a monthsince then. One lakh of thesetele-consultations were held inthe last 20 days, the ministrysaid. The Doctor-to-DoctoreSanjeevani service is an impor-

tant pillar of the AyushmanBharat Health and WellnessCentre (AB-HWCs) pro-gramme, it said.

Launched in November lastyear, it aims to implement tele-consultation in all the 1.5 lakhhealth and wellness centres ina 'hub and spoke' model byDecember 2022, the ministrysaid.

Owing to the COVID-19pandemic, the health ministryrolled out the second tele-con-sultation service —'eSanjeevaniOPD' — enablingpatient-to-doctor teleconsulta-

tion on April 13 this year . This has proved to be a

boon in containing the spreadof coronavirus infection whilesimultaneously enabling provi-sions for non-COVID essentialhealthcare, it said.

ESanjeevani has been imple-mented by 23 states so far andothers are in the process ofrolling it out, the ministry said,adding that Tamil Nadu alonehas contributed 97,204 consul-tations on the eSanjeevaniOPDapp while Uttar Pradesh is insecond position with 65,173total consultations.

‘eSanjeevani' gets 3L consultations

PNS n NEW DELHI

Six members of a particularlyvulnerable tribal group ofAndaman and Nicobar Islandstested positive for COVID-19,the Health Ministry said onTuesday. Responding to a ques-tion, Health Secretary RajeshBhushan said all the six peoplehave recovered and returned totheir island.

"There are five particularlyvulnerable tribal groups(PVTG) -- some in Port Blairand others across differentislands in the archipelago. OnePVTG has shown positivity.Six were positive, all have recov-

ered and returned to theirisland," he said. In Nicobaresetribe which is not a PVTG, thereare still 15 active cases.

Particularly vulnerable tribal

group is a classification createdwith the purpose of enablingimprovement in the conditionsof certain communities withparticularly low development

indices. Bhushan also elaborat-ed on the situation of the otherparticularly vulnerable tribalgroups in the archipelago.

"Another tribe is Jarawa. Thereare less than 200 Jarawas. Theywere tested and no one has beenfound positive. From anothertribe, Ongees, all were found neg-ative. Sentinelese and Shompenare cut off and confined to theirislands and no report of death orvisible symptoms has beenreceived from them," he said.

Presently, there are 312 activecases of COVID-19 inAndaman and Nicobar Islands.The archipelago has recorded atotal of 2,997 cases and 50deaths due to the infection.

Andaman & Nicobar IslandsCOVID-19 tally rises to 3,359PNS n PORT BLAIR

Twenty-seven more peo-ple have tested positive forCOVID-19 in Andamanand Nicobar Islands, takingthe coronavirus tally in theunion territory to 3,359, anofficial said on Tuesday.

Of the 27 new cases, 20 weredetected during local contacttracing and seven were airportarrivals, the official said.

All passengers coming fromthe mainland have to manda-torily undergo rapid antigentest for COVID-19 at the air-port here on arrival, he said.

At least 50 people recoveredfrom COVID-19 in the last 24-hours, the official said, adding

that the total number of recov-eries in the union territory hasrisen to 2,997.

Of the total 3,359 COVID-19 cases, 312 are active as2,997 have recovered fromthe disease and 50 peoplehave died of the infection, theofficial said. A total of 39,708samples have been tested forCOVID- 19 till Monday, theofficial added.

PNS n DEHRADUN

The Uttarakhand governmentwill present its master planworth Rs 424 crore for the beau-tification of Badrinath andexpansion of facilities for devo-tees around the Himalayantemple to the Prime Minister'sOffice (PMO) on Wednesday,official sources said here.

The master plan for the beau-tification of Badrinath was pre-pared on the lines of Kedarpurireconstruction at the behest ofPrime Minister Narendra Modi,who is also personally monitor-ing the progress of projectsalready under implementationat Kedarnath. UttarakhandTourism secretary DilipJawalkar will make a presenta-tion on the master plan at thePMO on Wednesday in thepresence of Chief SecretaryOm Prakash, official sourcessaid. Development works

around the famous temple areto be carried out in three phas-es, said Chamoli DistrictMagistrate Swati S Bhadouriyawho recently gave final touch-es to the master plan at a meet-ing with officials concerned.

The beautification of theShesh Netra and Badrish lakesnear the temple is to be taken upin the first phase of the imple-mentation of the master plan,the temple and areas close to itwill be beautified in the secondand a path connecting the tem-ple directly with the SheshNetra lake will be built in thethird phase, Bhadouriya said.

BSF appehendsBangladeshi cattlesmuggler from MaldaPNS n KOLKATA

Border SecurityForce has appre-hended aB a n g l a d e s h inational when hewas allegedly try-ing to smugglecattle to then e i g hb ou r i ngcountry through a river routein Malda district, a BSF state-ment said on Tuesday.

Acting on specific input,BSF personnel at Sovapur out-post reached the midstream ofthe Ganga on a speedboat onMonday night and found aman swimming towardsBangladesh border holding onto a rope in which threebovines were tied to.

The border guards inter-cepted the man and broughthim and the cattle to the riverbank. During questioning the

man said, he hailed fromChapainawabganj inBangladesh and had crossedover to India about one monthback.

The BSF handed over theBangladeshi national and thecattle to Shamsherganj policestation. An FIR has beenlodged by the BSF to investigatethe matter in detail, the state-ment said.

The cost of the seized cat-tle is estimated at about 'Taka'1,20,000 in Bangladesh market,the statement said.

Badrinath beautificationmaster plan worth overRs 400 cr submitted

4 more added to Priyanka'sadvisory councilPNS n LUCKNOW

Congress interimPresident Sonia Gandhihas appointed four addi-tional members to theadvisory council ofPriyanka Gandhi Vadra,party General Secretaryin-charge of UttarPradesh.

The newly-appointed mem-bers are Rakesh Sachan,Acharya Pramod Krishnam,Harendra Malik and BegumNoor Bano.

Last year Sonia Gandhi hadset up an advisory council —whose 18 members includedAjay Rai, Ajay Kapoor,

Mohsina Kidwai, P.L. Puniaand R.P.N. Singh, among oth-ers — for the AICC generalsecretary. In February, threemore members — VivekSingh, Mohd Muqeem andVinod Chaturvedi — had beenadded to the advisory council.

Vivek Singh passed away inMay this year.

‘6 from particularly vulnerable tribal groupof Andaman Islands tested Covid positive’

Even as China accused Indiantroops of intimidatory firingon Monday, ForeignMinister S Jaishankar will

meet his Chinese counterpart WangYi face to face in Moscow for the firsttime after the standoff. The meet-ing will take place on the sidelinesof the Shanghai CooperationOrganisation (SCO) foreign minis-ters’ conclave, hot on the heels ofDefence Minister Rajnath Singh’sconversation with his counterpart,Gen Wei Fenghe, at the same plat-form. Pessimism surrounds theoutcome of the Wang-Jaishankarmeeting though Jaishankar hasbeen signalling to Chinese leadersthe big picture of India-China rela-tions and India’s terms for a reset. Hisemphasis on the need for India tobe more proactive and take risks arereflected in some recent Indian mil-itary, diplomatic and economicactivities that connote capabilitiesand confidence. Diplomacy is thepath India has chosen to secure itsobjective of restoration of status quoante. Jaishankar, who says he knowsWang for a long time, acknowledgesthe situation on the LAC is very seri-ous and requires “deep conversa-tions” at the political level.

India launched a blitzkrieg ofevents along the LAC prior toSingh meeting his counterpart.CDS Gen Rawat was exceptionallyvocal over the military option,including a two-front war if diplo-macy failed and the utility of Quad.COAS Gen Naravane, on his thirdvisit to Ladakh, was in Chushul atthe scene of recent action. Chief ofAir Staff, Air Chief MarshalBhaduria, inspected air bases in theeast and Foreign Secretary HarshShringla, in his first public address,highlighted the Galwan clash result-ing in casualties for the first time in42 years of peace and tranquility onthe border. Indian forces carried outtheir first proactive military opera-tion on their own side of LAC on thesouth bank of Pangong Lake byoccupying heights that gave themdomination in the Chushul area. Abattalion of Vikas regiment, com-prising exiled Tibetans, wasemployed in the pre-emptive oper-ation, messaging to China the dor-mant Tibet issue. A company com-mander of this special force waskilled due to an old mine and hisfuneral was attended by RamMadhav, general secretary of the BJP.About the proactive operation, thereis confusion over location and con-trol of contested heights at Helmet

and Black Top. The Army justsaid it occupied ground toimprove its defences.

After the meeting of DefenceMinisters on expected lines,China accused India of crossingLAC at Chushul and demandedIndian troops be withdrawn.India blamed China for multipleintrusions and urged the restora-tion of status quo ante. But bothsides stressed the determinationto continue talks. Central toChina’s complaint is Indian vio-lation of Chinese LAC at Galwanand Chushul without admittingit is the original sinner of multi-ple intrusions by violating borderprotocols and unilaterally alter-ing status quo. Stung by the ban-ning of 117 more apps (nowaggregate of 224 banned apps),for the first time China accusedIndia of colluding with the USagainst Chinese companies. Itformally charged US with med-dling in the border dispute.

While US officials have beenaccusing China of bullying India,President Donald Trump himselfhas been non-committal by call-ing the standoff “very nasty” andwanting to do something to helpboth countries. He did not thinkthat China was bullying Indiathough he noted that China wascertainly “going for it.” After thepartisanship Prime MinisterNarendra Modi displayed inendorsing Trump at Houston(and Ahmedabad) for the nextPresident, a video of which is theTrump vote-catcher amongIndian Americans, Trump’s cleanchit to China is problematic.

The use of Tibetan troops inoperations, when high altitudeLadakh Scouts regiments areavailable, is by design India’sbelated psy war. It has the poten-

tial to reignite India’s Tibet pol-icy, which in 1950 ignoredChina’s illegal occupation ofTibet. India’s much-touted aban-donment of the One China pol-icy has nothing to do with Tibetbut more with Taiwan and HongKong. Chinese Foreign Ministryspokeswoman Hua Chunyingsaid: “We firmly oppose anycountry providing conveniencefor the Tibetan secessionist forces’separatist activities.” The GlobalTimes accused India of playingthe Tibet card and noted thatChina’s national strength, includ-ing its military strength, is muchstronger than India’s and thatwhen it comes to ultimate com-bat capability, the Indian side willlose. Eighteen weeks after the ini-tial intrusions, the Indian Armycarried out its maiden proactiveoperation at Chushul heightsand unnerved the PLA.Dominating ground in othersectors should have been takenup much earlier. Many officersare demanding that the militaryoption be utilised to imposecosts on China now that the forcebuild-up is being completed.Three additional divisions, tanksand artillery are amassed alongLAC with reserves in depth.China has made matchingdeployment, including locatingits J20 frontline fighter, at Hotan.IAF is ideally suited for deter-rence by punishment in case mil-itary force is used to evict intru-sions.

The one intrusion that PLAcovets most is Depsang whichwas not covered by the failed “dis-engagement” dialogue. InSeptember 2013, it had occupiedthe same area and withdrewafter talks and India’s counter-intrusion at Chumar. The PLA at

Depsang poses a direct challengeto the strategic Daulat Beg Oldiemilitary garrison and air base,which it views as a threat to G219, the Aksai Chin highway toLhasa. While a counter-intrusionalong the 1,590 km LAC inLadakh will be feasible and notbe escalatory like military actionto push back at Depsang or anyother intrusion, neither is advis-able as long as the door to diplo-macy is open. The militaryoption must remain the lastresort notwithstanding the lastpublic pronouncement of the for-mer acting US Undersecretary ofState for South Asia and CentralAsia, Alice Wells : “India’s broad-ening strategic horizons overthe past two decades have result-ed in a shift away from a passiveforeign policy to one thatadvances its interests more vig-orously.”

Jaishankar had a long stint atBeijing and then as ForeignSecretary. He enjoys the fullconfidence of his Prime Minister.His understanding of Chinaunder President Xi Jinping andthe Chinese Communist Party issharp and realistic. He is con-vinced that since diplomacyworked to get China to withdrawfrom Depsang, Chumar andDoklam, it can work again. Giventhe escalatory firing by PLA andoccupation of positions close toIndia’s —creating a new frictionpoint —coupled with rash state-ments by Global Times, theChinese have raised the stakes forJaishankar.

(The writer, a retired MajorGeneral, was Commander IPKFSouth, Sri Lanka and foundermember of the Defence PlanningStaff, currently the IntegratedDefence Staff.)

Several years ago, the fiery Kangana Ranautappeared on the cult Bollywood talk show calledKoffee with Karan hosted by producer Karan

Johar. To paraphrase from that outing of hers, shesaid that if a film was ever to be made about her life,Johar would be the antagonist. Over the past fewyears, we have seen how that has played out. First,there was the story about nepotism and howBollywood promotes its own, and while the Indianfilm industry epitomises nepotism, it really is not veryunique in that regard. Anywhere in the world or inIndia, nepotism is a byword in politics and industry.

So when popular Bihari actor Sushant Singh Rajput allegedly committed suicide,Kangana was one of the first to climb onto the bandwagon to accuse the nepotismof Bollywood of pushing a young actor over the edge before quickly jumping on tothe murder conspiracy theory. And then from a crusader, she appeared more andmore like a headline-grabber. She has written utterly shameful tweets against men-tal health, questioning the very concepts of psychology, and taken on the Shiv Sena,a partner in the Maharashtra alliance government, with several party spokespersonsattacking her. There is no doubt that with little to no formal media training and revert-ing to type, Shiv Sena leaders come across as uncouth, sexist goons while attack-ing Kangana, who is playing her pro-BJP card well and using it to give ammunitionto the Central party’s relentless attack on its one-time ally. So she has been givenY plus category security by the Central Government to make a point, never mind thecosts this will involve or the purpose it will serve. That possibly will not save heroffice from being demolished by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC)which is controlled by the Shiv Sena, an act that, if the Sena goes ahead with, willallow the once-plucky Kangana to play the victim yet again.

While the actor is entitled to her opinions, it would be prudent for her to remem-ber that the past can come back to haunt you. Her actions today, that make her looklike a pawn, will be judged by many in the future and while she has in the past raisedsome very valid points against the extreme nepotism in the film industry, where atalentless child of a superstar gets breaks that others would not, that model itself isbeing broken by new streaming platforms and more choices. Bollywood itself willnot survive the Coronavirus pandemic in any recognisable shape or form. The actionsof the television media in amplifying some of the wilder allegations raised by Kanganaand others of her ilk have also been shameful and must be questioned. This entireaffair will leave India, the Indian media and Bollywood scarred for years to come.

That the current talks diplomacy on Ladakh is justa meaningless charade was more than evidentfrom the Chinese mouthpiece, Global Times, which

warned India against doing “a handstand on the edgeof a cliff” or underestimate Beijing’s hitback capabili-ties. This came soon after its troops fired in the airunprovoked at Pangong Tso, claiming the push camefrom India. It looks alarming because this comes dayswithin Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’s meeting withhis counterpart Wei Fenghe in Moscow on the side-lines of this year’s edition of the Shanghai CooperationOrganisation (SCO). Alarming because China had ini-

tiated that meeting. But used to tradeoffs on the talks table following intimidation andsalami-slicing on the ground, it had not bargained for India’s toughness on status quoante. Or that it would resolutely hold ground. And though India has emphasised that itwould like to settle the border issue within the framework of diplomacy and dialogue,the fact that Chinese troops are still stationed within our artillery range in the south ofPangong Tso should remind us that it will never back down on that count. And till weaddress the historicity of a fluidic Line of Actual Control (LAC) and insist that percep-tional differences over it be replaced by marking it on the ground, we will be back tosquare one. Till we establish the centrality of the boundary issue in negotiations, theeyeball-to-eyeball conflicts will only escalate. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar wasright when he indicated that talks would be needed at a deeper level of political engage-ment but it is unlikely that China would bend in those discussions, too. Unless it getssomething in return. As the Doklam standoff near the trijunction with Bhutan has showedus, the summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinpingensured just a temporary withdrawal of troops and within a year, the Chinese rampedup their positions, encircling claim lines so tightly that they could heave down militari-ly. And while Beijing realises that it needs to keep a transactional engagement with Indiato protect its strategic interests, it will never reconcile to losing the strategic advantagein Ladakh because of the DSDBO road that allows India troop parity in this sector. Besides,China wouldn’t want the Indian shadow over the Karakoram, particularly between Gilgit-Baltistan in the west (Pakistan-occupied Kashmir), where China is heavily invested inthe China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), and Aksai Chin in the east. It certainlydoesn’t want Indian troops in the higher ridges and won’t let go of the spurs it has wrest-ed post-Galwan. Besides, it sees India as the proxy of the US and will continue to beoffensive on that count. The combined US-India strategy to counter it along maritimeroutes and halt its digital monopoly by denying technological access in both marketshas already aggravated its anxieties. And while President Donald Trump may not be overt-ly confrontational with China given trade dependencies and instead try to claim creditas a mediator between the two Asian powers, India has to be prepared to bear the bruntof Xi’s belligerence and hegemonic ambitions.

In fact, China intends to stretch India along the Himalayan border as just a day before,it announced how it never recognised the “so-called ‘Arunachal Pradesh’”, and reiter-ated its claim it was actually “south Tibet” and part of its territory. The statement camein response to the Indian Army’s question asking if five civilians who went missing fromArunachal Pradesh days ago were in the custody of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA).This “abduction” could lead to a potential flashpoint and over time there could be moreof maximalist rhetoric and territorial imperialism. China has been consistent in its expan-sionist designs in the northeastern State, issuing stapled visas to its residents in 2009,implying they were not Indian citizens. Incursions have been consistent over the decadewith some even claiming it had built temporary bridges. And these, too, it has justifiedwith the old argument of “a differing perception of the alignment of the LAC, as in manyother areas.” In March 2019, China destroyed 30,000 world maps printed for exportfor not mentioning Arunachal Pradesh and Taiwan as part of Chinese territory. And inApril 2020, Beijing’s Sky Map showed parts of Arunachal Pradesh within its interna-tional borders. India has got to be more than just vigilant, it now needs to be proactive.It is watching the Malacca Straits, a key strategic and economic transit corridor for China,it has upgraded the Quad initiative with US and Japan, and begun talking to Central Asianand southeast Asian nations debt-trapped by China’s Belt and Road Initiative. But apartfrom these, it should now drive a hard bargain with China over an Asian split costingthe latter its greater ambitions vis-à-vis the US. And yes, we should get vocal about join-ing the chorus on Tibet.

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

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

op nionVIJAYAWADA | WEDNESDAY | SEPTEMBER 9, 2020

06

High stakes for JaishankarThe Minister’s understanding is sharp and realistic. He is convinced that since

diplomacy worked to get China to withdraw from Doklam, it can work again

It (Jacob Blakes’) is an incredible family. And what they've endured, and they just do it with such dignity and grace.

California Senator —Kamala Harris

India has a strong presence on every international platform. In such a situation, theIndian media also needs to go global.

Prime Minister—Narendra Modi

The environment is filled witha quiet acceptance of the pre-vailing circumstances and con-ditioning but there is sincerityof moving ahead despite thespirit, to strive for a beginning.

ActorAmitabh Bachchan

S O U N D B I T E

Of security & demons

There is no Star Trek like control room in the film industry where everybody is sitting, doping and and conspiring against people.

Author—Chetan Bhagat

Within days of its Defence Minister meeting Rajnath Singh, Chinaviolates talks spirit by pushing troops in Ladakh, again

Kangana has become Bollywood’s bete noire but the Y-plus security makes her a pawn in a larger political game

ASHOK K MEHTA

EIGHTEEN WEEKSAFTER THE INITIALINTRUSIONS, THE

INDIAN ARMYCARRIED OUT ITS

MAIDENPROACTIVE

OPERATION ATCHUSHUL HEIGHTS

AND UNNERVEDTHE PLA.

DOMINATINGGROUND IN OTHERSECTORS SHOULDHAVE BEEN TAKEN

UP MUCH EARLIER

Fulfil GST promise

Sir — This is with reference to thearticle, “The GST quagmire,” pub-lished on September 8. In a rarecovenant of faith, the Centre andStates arduously evolved a consen-sus over the Goods and ServicesTax (GST) spread over a decadeand more. The then chairpersonof the GST Council and UnionFinance Minister had assured theStates that in case of a gap in theGST compensation fund, theCouncil shall decide the mode ofraising additional resources,including borrowing from themarket. The GST compensationto States was already rearing up asan issue because of an ailingeconomy and the pandemicensured that revenues from theimposition of cess started dwin-dling from August 2019. TheCentre had to dive into the excesscess collected during 2017-18and 2018-19.

It is sad that at the very firstsign of distress, the Centre hasresorted to “babuspeak” andreneged on its guarantee. It wouldrather let the States fend for them-selves. The GST, being more thanmere maths, is a quintessence offederal architecture. Any negationthereof weakens the radial ties in

the wheel of governance. A throw-back to the post-Raj days, whenpayment of privy purses wasopposed by many members,Sardar Patel in the Constituent

Assembly on October 12, 1949,reminded them that this was asmall price to pay for the integra-tion of India. When GST is beingtouted by the Government as a

crowning achievement, the Centreought to walk the extra mile touphold the federal spirit.

R NarayananNavi Mumbai

Salute to DRDOSir — Let us salute the Ministryof Defence and the DefenceResearch and DevelopmentOrganisation (DRDO) for suc-cessfully test-firing the firstHypersonic TechnologyDemonstrator Vehicle (HSTDV),making India the fourth countryin the world after the US, Chinaand Russia to develop and test thetechnology that will pave the wayfor missiles that will have thecapacity to travel at six times thespeed of sound. The DRDO hasdemonstrated its capabilities foruse of the highly-complex tech-nology that will serve as thebuilding block for the next-gen-eration hypersonic vehicles inpartnership with the industry.The HSTDV is an unmannedscramjet demonstration aircraftfor hypersonic speed flight. Themost significant part of this dreammission is that apart from beingused as a vehicle for hypersonicand long-range cruise missiles, theHSTDV can also be used for civil-ian applications, including thelaunch of satellites at a low cost.

M PradyuKannur

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

Regulate crypto currencies soon

The crypto currency was first launched in 2008 whenthe Bitcoin hit the markets as the first internet-basedcurrency. It is issued by private firms and individ-

uals and is neither backed by any security nor anyGovernment guarantee. Crypto currency is tradedthrough exchanges and the price depends only ondemand as supply is constant. Consequently, the ReserveBank of India (RBI) has continuously warned crypto cur-rency users and traders about the risks associated withthis new system. In fact, the Central Bank issued a cir-cular in April 2018 stating that it did not recognise thecurrency as a legal tender and it would not provide anyservices, financial or otherwise, to entities engaged incrypto trading.

However, on March 4, the Supreme Court struckdown the RBI’s circular and final directions are awaitedfrom the Central Bank and the Government in the mat-ter. Though there are about 20 exchanges in India whichdo business in crypto currency, the trading is still cloudypending the RBI’s final announcement on the matter.

The issues that need examination are many. First,is crypto currency a legal tender? If so, how will the trans-actions using crypto currency be monitored andbrought under the tax ambit? Second, can an internetcurrency be treated on par with sovereign currency?Third, if crypto currencies are not recognised as legaltender and they are just commodities, then rules on com-

modity reading should apply. So, who will control andmonitor the exchanges? Fourth, their value is demanddriven and there is no mechanism to protect investors.Fifth, as cross-border transactions using crypto curren-cy as a medium of exchange are possible, how will Indiaplug anti-national activities?

Sixth, there is scope for money laundering usingcrypto currency, considering the fact that developednations like the US and UK have already recognised thecurrency. So it may not be possible for India to do awaywith it totally. However, if crypto currency is to be usedin the mainstream economy, either as a currency or acommodity, then the Government/RBI should first bringin regulatory measures before these digital products makefurther inroads into the system and become a parallelblack economy.

M RaghuramanMumbai

Send yyour ffeedback tto:letterstopioneer@gmail.com

An uttam future for UP

CONTRARY TO ALL OF THE LIES,

JOE BIDEN WANTS TO SURRENDER

OUR COUNTRY TO THE VIRUS?

—US PRESIDENT

DONALD TRUMP

IF I COULD GET A VACCINE TOMORROW, I’D DO IT.

IF IT COST ME THE ELECTION, I’D DO IT.

WE NEED A VACCINE AND WE NEED IT NOW.

—FORMER US VICE-PRESIDENT

JOE BIDEN

POINTCOUNTERPOINT

From being called an Ulta Pradesh (upsidedown State), Uttar Pradesh is making aquantum leap towards becoming an Uttam

Pradesh (good State). And in this endeavour, itis being helped by the fact that UP ranked num-ber two in the State Business Reform Action Plan2019: Ease of Doing Business (EODB). This is upfrom the 12th rank UP got in 2019, testifying thatit has emerged as the second-best State in Indiawhere investors are happy to contribute.

This was made possible because the BJPGovernment was able to do away with red tapism.It also signifies the fact that the UP Governmentis making great strides towards fulfilling PrimeMinister Narendra Modi’s dream of an AatmaNirbhar Bharat and Chief Minister YogiAdityanath is implementing all schemes meantto achieve this goal efficiently.

This 10-place jump in one year in the EODBrankings released by the Union Government isa big achievement indeed as UP has left severalleading States like Gujarat, Telangana, Rajasthan,Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra behind. UP hasimplemented 186 out of the 187 reforms in theState Business Reform Action Plan that were sug-gested by the Department for Promotion ofIndustry and Internal Trade (DPIIT). Whatmakes this achievement even more special is thefact that this year’s exercise was completely basedon user feedback. The jump in ranking indicatesthat entrepreneurs have been receiving the truebenefits of the reforms introduced by the UPGovernment. These reforms were spread acrossseveral areas such as labour regulation, online,single window, access to information and trans-parency, land administration, construction per-mit, commercial disputes, inspection enablersand so on.

More than 20 departments such as Invest UP(Udyog Bandhu), the Labour Department, thePollution Control Board, Commercial Tax,Power, Stamp and Registration, Excise, FoodSafety and Drug and many others were part ofthis journey. Successful implementation of the“Nivesh Mitra” in UP, too, has been instrumen-tal in UP achieving this EODB. In a period oftwo years, “Nivesh Mitra” received around2,29,936 No-Objection Certificate (NoC) appli-cations, out of which it disposed of over 94 percent of them. The Nivesh Mitra Portal received18,120 grievances from entrepreneurs, of which17,752 have been successfully resolved at an out-standing resolution rate of 98 per cent.

The success in the UP Government’s work-ing lies in its efforts to impart transparency andthe use of technology for Business-to-Government (B2G) interactive procedures. TheYogi Government has been successful in improv-ing the EODB by introducing variousInformation Technology-driven modules andNivesh Mitra is one such. Its success lies in thefact that it has now become an integral and effi-cient part in bridging the gap between industri-al demands and expectations and Governmentmachinery.

Maximum approval of the State BusinessReform Action Plan and higher user feedback sat-isfaction record on the Nivesh Mitra portalplayed a critical role in achieving the EODB. Inorder to make Government working more effi-cient and competitive, the EODB system has beenimplemented at the district level. Initiatives likethe monthly ranking of all 75 districts on theEODB parameters shall further result in creat-ing a conducive business environment.

Where UP stands today was not achieved in

one day and efforts in this direction areon since Yogi Adityanath took chargeas the Chief Minister of the State. Thebig push came in February 2018 whenthe UP Government organised anInvestors’ Summit in which memoran-da of understanding (MoUs) worth`4.68 lakh crore were signed. Thecontours of the simplified norms ofinvestment took shape then, which werereflected in two ground-breaking cer-emonies through which 371 projectswith an investment of about `2 lakhcrore were made. These projects arelikely to generate over five lakh jobs.

The foundation of the DefenceIndustrial Manufacturing Corridor inBundelkhand is another aspect ofincreased industrial development in theState. This corridor will be built withan investment of ̀ 50,000 crore and willcreate employment for five lakh people.The project got a fillip when the UPGovernment, in collaboration with theDefence Ministry, organised the coun-try’s largest Defence Expo 2020 inLucknow. More than 100 agreementswere inked, which included 71 MoUs,13 product launches, 18 technologytransfer agreements and six importantannouncements. Besides, over 100pacts were made.

UP’s own Uttar PradeshExpressway Industrial DevelopmentAuthority (UPEIDA) signed 23 MoUswith various enterprises, inviting invest-ment for the UP Defence IndustrialCorridor. In all, over 200 MoUs weresigned during the Defence Expo 2020.

That the Government wants to giveimpetus to industrial development isreflected in the Government’s OneDistrict One Product (ODOP) scheme,under which the Government dis-bursed loans of more than `8,875

crore. Apart from this, training and freetool kits were distributed to 6,000 arti-sans/handicrafts men. This indirectlyhas given employment to more thanfive lakh people.

The ODOP scheme was launchedin 2018 by Adityanath to promote thelocal artisans and local products. Thescheme has now been adopted by theUnion Government and Prime MinisterNarendra Modi calls it the “Vocal forLocal” scheme. The primary objectiveof this is to focus on a particular prod-uct and raise its quality to compete inthe international market.

Investment in any State depends onthree parameters — power supply,communication and transport. UP hasmade a quantum jump in all three. Thepower supply across the State hasimproved considerably while a networkof roads has been laid connecting thewestern part of the State with the east-ern region. The construction of thePurvanchal Expressway is a testimonyof the Government’s resolve to improveconnectivity. Construction of this six-lane, 341 km-long PurvanchalExpressway is in progress and will beopened for public use by early next year.

The expressway would havebecome functional by November butbecause of the COVID-19 pandemic,the launch has been rescheduled. Therewould be 11 interchanges for entry/exiton the expressway and in order to con-nect it to Gorakhpur, the constructionof the around 92 km-long GorakhpurLink Expressway is in progress.

Even the rugged Bundelkhand isgetting its share of highways. The con-struction of the 297 km-longBundelkhand Expressway at a cost of`14,849 crore is under way, which willconnect the Bundelkhand region with

Delhi via the Agra-LucknowExpressway. This is not all. TheGovernment has even started a projectto construct a Ganga Expressway thatwill connect Meerut with Prayagraj.

If there is a network of roadsacross UP, can air connectivity be farbehind? Till 2017, only two cities of UPwere connected by air but now thisnumber has gone up to 12. Besides,construction of Asia’s largest JewarInternational Green Field Airport inNoida is going at a fast pace in collab-oration with Zurich AirportInternational AG.

Any industrial exercise alwaysleads to job creation. This is evident inUP as with an investment of about `3lakh crore through the first and secondground-breaking ceremonies and othermeans, more than 33 lakh people havegot direct and indirect employment.Besides this, the BJP Government hasgiven Government jobs to three lakhyouths in three years. Of this 1.5 lakhpersonnel were recruited in the policeforce. After the registration of over10lakh youth for skill development train-ing, more than 8.48 lakh youth havebeen trained and more than three lakhyouth have been employed so far. Infact, UP was awarded a gold medal byASSOCHAM for being the best State inskill development.

The efforts put in by Adityanathunder the guidance of Modi havestarted showing results. It is just a mat-ter of time before this State will becomeone of the best States of India not onlyon the issue of governance but also onimparting education, health servicesand providing jobs to the people.

(The writer is Member, LegislativeCouncil, and vice-president, UP unit ofthe BJP).

It is just a matter of time before this State becomes one of the best in India not only on theissue of governance but also on imparting education and health services

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

An unusualelection

KALYANI SHANKAR

The Bihar poll will be the first digital one heldamid the pandemic and will be fought through

virtual rallies and on social media

VIJAY BAHADUR PATHAK

THIS 10-PLACEJUMP IN ONE YEAR

IN THE EODBRANKINGS

RELEASED BY THEUNION

GOVERNMENT IS ABIG ACHIEVEMENT

INDEED AS UP HASLEFT SEVERAL

LEADING STATESLIKE GUJARAT,

TELANGANA,RAJASTHAN,

TAMIL NADU ANDMAHARASHTRA

BEHIND. UP HASIMPLEMENTED 186

OUT OF THE 187REFORMS IN THESTATE BUSINESSREFORM ACTION

PLAN THAT WERESUGGESTED BY THE

DEPARTMENT FORPROMOTION OFINDUSTRY AND

INTERNAL TRADE.WHAT MAKES THIS

ACHIEVEMENT EVENMORE SPECIAL IS

THE FACT THATTHIS YEAR’S

EXERCISE WASCOMPLETELY

BASED ON USERFEEDBACK

The forthcoming Bihar elections are unique in many ways.This will be the first digital poll held amid the pandemic andthis time, the elections will be fought through virtual rallies

and door-to-door campaigns as well as on social media. The BJPis far ahead of the others because of its experience in the virtu-al mode. It will indeed be a big achievement if the digital experi-ment succeeds in a backward State like Bihar. There are manyother firsts in the November polls. The absence of former BiharChief Minister Lalu Prasad is a big loss for the Opposition alliance,as they lack a charismatic leader. His rustic charm and jokes thatkept the crowds at his rallies in splits will be missed. He madethe poor and oppressed believe that they were the real rulers withhim at the helm. It was he who created the Muslim-Yadav (MY)vote bank. Unfortunately for his allies, Lalu is in jail serving hissentence in the fodder scam. In 2015, Lalu played a big role bystitching up the grand alliance, which won big. Though his sonand political heir, Tejashwi Prasad Yadav is quite mobile and artic-ulate but he is yet to establish himself as a leader.

In the absence of any tall leaders in the alliance, he is the chiefministerial face. The RJD’s social media accounts are now fullof images of Tejashwi meeting people in flood-hit areas. The RJDhas its own problems, as the ongoing sibling rivalry is a hindranceto unity in the party. Moreover, senior leaders like RaghuvanshPratap Singh are unhappy and thinking of moving to other par-ties.

Another first is the migrant labour issue. They have becomethe new vote bank. The Opposition believes that the Nitish KumarGovernment has not done enough for them. The whole countrysaw the plight of millions of migrant labourers walking back totheir villages because of the mishandling of the lockdown and theissues associated with it by both the Central and StateGovernments. It is estimated that at least two million migrant labour-ers have returned to their homes in Bihar. The unemployment ratein Bihar is 46.6 per cent, the highest in the country.

The third is the impact of Covid. This will be the first Assemblypoll in the midst of the pandemic. Bihar has recorded over 1.2lakh Coronavirus cases so far. The Government claims that aroundone-lakh tests are being done daily after a slow start, and the num-ber of positive cases has declined. The Opposition parties dis-pute this and have alleged that the State Government is tamper-ing with data.

Fourth, it will be the first time that the CPI(ML) has made anelectoral pact with the RJD. Both the CPI and CPI(M) have in thepast contested elections either with the RJD or the Janata Dal andthis time they will be part of the Opposition alliance. Given thedemography of Bihar, backward caste voters hold the key to power.Other Backward Classes (OBC) constitute 45 per cent to 50 percent of the population in Bihar, whereas the upper castes, Muslimand Scheduled Castes account for around 15 per cent each. Biharvotes on caste lines.

Fifth, the recent death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput (SSR)has become a poll issue. Politicians will not even hesitate to usethe untimely death of a young actor for their benefit and the SSRcase is a shining example.

Meanwhile, the election fervour is at a fever pitch with majorparties beginning their virtual campaigns since Monday. The NDAand the Grand Alliance are the two major groupings. The BJP, JD(U)and the RJD are the major triangular forces of Bihar politics todaybut no political party is in a situation to form a Government onits own.

The Congress has decided to hold 100 virtual rallies. However,it has not developed a strong State-level leadership. Party work-ers and leaders in Bihar squarely blame the State leadership forthe Congress’ poor prospects.

The JD(U) is strengthening itself by inducting several partyhoppers and so is the other camp. Jitan Ram Manjhi, former BiharChief Minister and the chief of Hindustani Awam Morcha Secular(HAM-S) had recently joined the NDA. Sharad Yadav, who wasexpelled by the party for anti-party activities, is likely to return tothe JD(U). Even though, the BJP president JP Nadda had recent-ly asserted that the NDA would contest the forthcoming poll inBihar unitedly, the LJP president Chirag Paswan, the son of RamVilas Paswan has been attacking Nitish.

The voters, too, are going to follow new the guidelines of theGovernment. These include the use of masks, gloves, sanitisers,thermal scanners and adhering to social distancing norms. TheElection Commission proposes to implement strictly all these reg-ulations. Bihar is important for political parties as it has 40 LokSabha seats. It is too early to predict poll results, as there couldalways be election upsets but for now it is advantage BJP-JD(U)alliance because of a weak and splintered Opposition and lack ofcharismatic leaders.

(The writer is a senior journalist)

India went into lockdown mode inMarch and people in almost all sec-tions of society have been facing

socio-economic difficulties since then.The almost insurmountable challengein front of policymakers has been tobalance lives and livelihoods. Theuncertainties of the lockdown entwinedwith health and safety concerns disrupt-ed the market that faced a supply anddemand shock. These issues resulted ina historically low Gross DomesticProduct (GDP) growth rate of -23.9 percent in the first quarter of the currentfinancial year, with industrial growthshrinking by 40 per cent. However, itis expected to pick up in the subsequentquarters as stated by the Reserve Bank

of India (RBI) and the World Bank. Theeconomic consequences of the pan-demic and local lockdowns have beenwell-discussed and are surfacing in theGDP and industrial production num-bers.

However, there is another side ofthe issue which is quietly creeping upand that is the social consequences aris-ing out of the lack of skill training.Certainly, this social and educationalconsequence will translate into eco-nomic adversity over a period.According to the All India Survey onHigher Education (AISHE), India’sgross enrolment ratio was 27.4 per centfor 2017-18. This is not a great figureas compared to the other developingcountries. This is further battered by thepossible decline in enrolment this yearowing to constrained access to educa-tional institutions and infrastructure formany unprivileged students, particular-ly in rural India. Given the contagion,the Indian education regime had to shiftgear to the online mode. Thanks to theinternet that, at least, served an option

for continuing education. But the ques-tion is: Is this viable on the ground? Willour students contribute to the humancapital and participate in the her-culean task of reviving the Indianeconomy? The presence of internet anddigital infrastructure along with theirsignificant (about 50 per cent) penetra-tion in the country have come today asa boon for education and for impart-ing training to aspirants. In this back-drop, the Pradhan Mantri e-VidyaProgramme was launched, which uni-fies all efforts related to digital, onlineand on-air education. Furthermore, top100 universities were permitted tostart online courses from May 30without any fresh approval from edu-cation regulators. States, such asKarnataka, too, announced policies foronline education.

However, there exist certainunprecedented challenges for movingtowards online education, which is theneed of the hour. It has not onlychanged the way students from KG topost-graduation learn, but also has sig-

nificantly altered the methods andmaterials of teaching for educators andparents. The fundamental constituentto enable online education is digitalinfrastructure, including high-speedinternet and supporting devices (desk-top, laptop, tablet or mobile phone).These prerequisites of online educationhave further expanded the gap betweenthe upper and middle class and urbanand rural populations of the country interms of access to education even afterpromulgation of the Right to Education.

Education and skill training havealways been a two-way communicationand feedback process that may not bedone in the online mode as effectivelyas it can be done in classrooms and lab-oratories. It is difficult to imagine stu-dents learning biology, physics andchemistry without actually experi-menting in laboratories. It is quiteimportant to differentiate knowledgeand skill in this context. Knowledge canbe delivered and learned from literature.However, skill-imparting needs exper-iment and experience that may not be

feasible in the online mode of learning.India, as an industrialising nation,

cannot afford to have an engineer withbookish knowledge of a combustionengine without having the skill todesign and operate it. Historically, theindustry-academia gap has alwaysexisted in India. A McKinsey report hadflagged the issue, a decade ago, that justa quarter of engineers in India wereactually employable. Now, the onlineeducation model producing graduateswith lack of skills may aggravate theemployability issue further. This maylead to a deteriorated human capital andunderemployment in the economydue to the fact that a large pool of thepresent unskilled human capital com-ing out of the online pedagogy will jointhe workforce in the future, faceemployability challenges and take alonger period to be skillful and join theproductive workforce of the nation.

Given the necessity of the onlineeducation system, at present, we mustacknowledge and address these issues,challenges and the consequences asso-

ciated with it. The lack of digital infra-structure in rural and unprivileged sec-tions has posed implementation chal-lenges on the ground, leading to socialinequalities. However, the major worrylies in the outcome of this new regimeof online education system in terms ofskill and lack of employability of thehuman capital that will have the greatresponsibility of putting the Indianeconomy back on its growth trajecto-ry with equitable development.

It is high time we think aboutbridging the gap between rural andurban digital infrastructure for onlineeducation and imparting employableskills. The National Education Policy(NEP) aims to reform the educationsystem by 2030 in a push towards anAtmanirbhar Bharat. One hopes thatthe NEP bridges the gap between theindustry and the academia in terms ofemployable skills and gives an equallearning and growth opportunity to all.

(The writer is a Senior ResearchScholar, Department of ManagementStudies, IIS, Bengaluru)

The challenges of online pedagogy and skillsIndia, as an industrialising nation, cannot afford to have an engineer with bookish knowledge of an engine without the skill to design it

SWAPNIL SONI

VIJAYAWADA | WEDNESDAY | SEPTEMBER 9, 2020

www.dailypioneer.com

F O R E I G N E Y E

COVID-19 gave us a glimpseof a less work-drivensociety, but it will takedetermination to avoid areturn to the old normal. Itwill need an alternativepolitics of prosperity: Onethat gives priority to well-being over economic growthand is willing to challengethe consumerist vision ofthe good life.

(The Guardian editorial)

A TOUGH CHANGE

VIJAYAWADA | WEDNESDAY | SEPTEMBER 9, 2020 money 08

CAPSULE

Next startup rankingto be released on September 11NEW DELHI: Ministry ofCommerce and Industry willrelease the next edition ofranking of states and unionterritories (UTs) based on theirstartup ecosystem onSeptember 11, an official said.The rankings are based on theinitiatives taken to develop thestartup ecosystem forpromoting buddingentrepreneurs. The rankingframework covers sevenpillars and 30 action points,including policy support,incubation centres, seedfunding, angel and venturefunding and easier regulations."The ranking is ready. It will bereleased on September 11,"the official added. The startupranking framework aims torank the states/UTs forestablishing a robustecosystem for supportingstartups.

HIL supplies 114.2 tonnes DDT to ZambiaNEW DELHI: State-owned HIL(India) Ltd has supplied 114.2tonnes of organochlorineinsecticide DDT to Zambia fora malaria control programme,the Union ministry said onTuesday. "This is the lastphase of dispatch out of the307 tonne order received fromZambia's healthy ministry,"HIL Chairman and ManagingDirector S P Mohanty said inan official statement. HIL, thesole manufacturer of DDTglobally, is exporting theproduct to many Africancountries. Mohanty said HILrecently supplied 20.6 tonnesof DDT to South Africa, whilethe supply of 129 tonne toZimbabwe is in progress, hesaid. "India is committed tomanufacture and supplyquality products at reasonableprices to the Southern Africanregion, which will strengthenour bilateral relationship," theministry added.

Rupee settles 25 pslower at 73.63against US dollarNEW DELHI: The rupeedepreciated 25 paise andsettled at 73.63 (provisional)against the US dollar onTuesday amid rise in demandfor the American currencyfrom banks and importers. Atthe interbank forex market, therupee started off on a tepidnote at 73.63 and finallyclosed at 73.60 against thegreenback, down 25 paiseover its previous close. Thelocal unit traded in a range of73.37 and 73.64 per US dollarduring the session. OnMonday, the rupee had settledat 73.35 against the US dollar.Meanwhile, the dollar index,which gauges the greenback'sstrength against a basket ofsix currencies, rose 0.43 percent to 93.11.

India's hiring outlookbleakest in 15 yrs: SurveyPNS n NEW DELHI

India is witnessing the weak-est hiring sentiment in 15years with just 3 per centcompanies planning to addstaff in the next three months,a survey of over 800 employ-ers said on Tuesday.

According to ManpowerGroup Employm-ent OutlookSurvey, that covered 813 firmsacross India, Indian employersreport cautious hiring plans forthe final quarter of 2020.

As per the survey, 7 per centof employers anticipate anincrease in payrolls, 3 per centforecast a decrease and 54 percent expect no change. Oncethe data is adjusted to allow forseasonal variation, the outlookstands at 3 per cent, it said.

"Hiring sentiment is theweakest since the survey began15 years ago, remaining rela-tively stable when comparedwith the previous quarter, butdeclining by 16 percentagepoints in comparison withthis time one year ago," thesurvey said.

The strongest hiring pace isrecorded in the small-sizedorganisations followed by themedium-sized and large-sizedfirms. From a region perspec-tive, north and east regionsindicate a more positive out-look compared to the west and

south, the survey said."Post the 'right sizing' exer-

cise aligning themselves tothe current market demands,organisations are now lookingat improving productivity, newforms of employee engage-ment, getting furloughedemployees back and imple-mentation of technology," saidSandeep Gulati, GroupManaging Director ofManpowerGroup India.

These factors are influenc-ing the employment trends thisquarter, he added.

Gulati further said that "thegovernment is also trying toease the burden on corporateIndia by providing varioussops from production-linkedincentives to changes in thelabour law and leniency on taxreturns. We hope to see theimpact of these reforms in the

subsequent quarters".The survey further said that

nearly 44 per cent of employ-ers reported that they mayreturn to pre-COVID-19 hir-ing within the next ninemonths whereas 42 per centare unsure about returningback to normalcy from the hir-ing perspective.

When asked about existingmembers of the workforcethat have been placed on a jobretention or furlough scheme,42 per cent of companies sug-gest they plan to bring themback with reduced hours, how-ever, 3 per cent indicate thesestaff will be let go. Globally,employers in 22 of the 43countries and territories sur-veyed by ManpowerGroupexpect to add to payrolls in theperiod up to the end ofDecember 2020. ‘India scaling up production

of active pharma ingredients’PNS n WASHINGTON

India, a global hub for gener-ic drugs, has launched a newscheme to boost production ofactive pharmaceutical ingredi-ents that are greatly dependenton the Chinese supply chain,according to NITI Aayog CEOAmitabh Kant.

Speaking at the 14th AnnualBioPharma and HealthcareSummit, he said India is nowgearing up for innovation in itspharmaceutical ecosystemfocusing on speedy and scaledup delivery of new vaccinesand personalised medicines.

He said that India haslaunched a new scheme toboost production of activepharmaceutical ingredientsthat are greatly dependent onthe Chinese supply chain.

"We are planning to docomplete manufacturing inIndia," he said at the virtualsummit organised by the USA-India Chamber of Commerceon Friday.

The day-long virtual sum-mit was attended by majorplayers from the US pharma-ceutical sector, whose com-bined annual research and

development budget is morethan USD 45 billion.

Relations between the USand China, the world's leadingmanufacturer in a number ofsectors, have deteriorated afterthe coronavirus outbreakspread across the world fromthe central Chinese city ofWuhan. President DonaldTrump has squarely blamedBeijing for allowing the virusto spread across the world thathas led to the death of overeight lakh people and triggeredan unprecedented globalhealth crisis.

Bilateral tension betweenWashington and Beijing hasalso spiked over security con-cerns and human rights viola-tions in Xinjiang and Tibet.

This has led to a number ofcountries looking at India as asubstitute to China for theirmanufacturing bases and keycommodity production.

Kant said the Indian govern-ment is committed to achieveits 'Pharma Vision 2020', whichaims to make the country aglobal leader in drug discovery,innovation, and drug manu-facturing.

India is working towardsrobust innovation landscapeawareness, innovation facilita-tors such as human capitalinvestment in research anddevelopment, safety-legal envi-ronment, regulatory environ-ment to provide truly worldclass biopharma research, hesaid. The government has car-ried out far-reaching reformsto streamline the clinical trialand regulatory approvalprocess to facilitate drug dis-covery in partnership withthe private sector, he said.

Bio incubators have been setup to monitor and nurturescaling of technologies. Indiais developing world class clin-ical trial infrastructure toincrease the number of bedsper thousand population.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Fitch Ratings on Tuesdayslashed India's FY21 growthprojection to (-) 10.5 per cent,from (-) 5 per cent estimatedearlier, saying the continuedspread of the virus and impo-sition of sporadic shutdownsacross the country has disrupt-ed economic activity.

In the first quarter of currentfiscal India's gross domesticproduct (GDP) contracted bya massive 23.9 per cent.

Fitch said India recordedone of the sharpest GDP con-tractions in the world in theApril-June quarter, but notedthat growth should reboundstrongly in the July-Septemberperiod amid re-opening of theeconomy. However, there aresigns that the recovery hasbeen sluggish and uneven, itsaid.

In its September update ofGlobal Economic Outlook,Fitch said, the deepest reces-sions were in India, the UK andSpain, countries that saw par-ticularly large shocks in dailymobility data on visits to retail

and recre-ation venues,and wherel o c kd ow nswere strin-gent and long- l a s t i n gthroughout2Q20.

It said multiple challengesare holding back growth recov-ery, both in the short andmedium term.

"New cases of the coron-avirus continue to increase,forcing some states and unionterritories to re-tighten restric-

tions... The con-tinued spread ofthe virus andthe impositionof sporadics h u t d o w n sacross the coun-try depress sen-

timent and dis-rupt economic activity," Fitchsaid.

It further noted that thesevere fall in activity has alsodamaged household and cor-porate incomes and balancesheets, amid limited fiscal sup-port.

Also a looming deteriorationin asset quality in the financialsector will hold back credit pro-vision amid weak bank capitalbuffers. Furthermore, highinflation has added strains tohousehold income and supply-chain disruption and exciseduties increases have causedprices to rise. It projected infla-tion to slow amid weak under-lying demand, easing supply-chain disruption and a goodmonsoon.

"We have slashed our GDPforecast for this fiscal year to -10.5 per cent, a huge revisionof - 5pp (percentage points)compared to the June GEO. Weexpect the shortfall of activityrelative to our pre-virus forecastto be 16 per cent by early 2022,"Fitch said.GDP growth is like-ly to be (-) 9.6 per cent in July-September, (-) 4.8 per cent inOctober-December and 4 percent in January-March quarterthis fiscal, as per Fitch projec-tions.For the next fiscal, Fitchestimated Indian economy togrow 11 per cent, while for2022-21 growth would be 6 percent.

PNS n NEW DELHI

The Supreme Court's decisionto allow telcos to pay outstand-ing dues over 10 years will notbe enough to help VodafoneIdea to stabilise its position,while Jio and Airtel are expect-ed to strengthen their marketshares through subscribergains, Fitch Ratings has said.

It further said another tariffhike of at least 20 per cent isprobable in the next 12months.

Vodafone Idea's plan to raisefunds through a mix of equityand debt is "unlikely" to restoreits competitive position andreverse subscriber losses, as theamount would not be sufficientfor capex, it argued.

"We believe Vodafone Idea

will gradually lose market sharegiven its weak balance sheetand limited financial flexibili-ty," a Fitch release said, addingthat Jio and Bharti, on the otherhand, are expected to gain

market share on the SC verdict.Industry tariffs are expected

to rise as users adopt higher-price 4G plans.

"We expect Jio and Bharti toincrease their combined rev-

enue market share to 75-80 percent from around 70 per centin the next 12-18 months, atthe expense of Vodafone Idea,which will likely lose 50 mil-lion-70 million subscribers inthe next 12 months; it lostabout 155 million subscribersin the last nine quarters," it said.

Reliance Jio could snap upmore than half of VodafoneIdea's subscriber losses, withthe balance going to Bharti, therelease added.

While Jio had postedEarnings before Interest TaxDepreciation and Amortisation(EBITDA) growth of 55 percent, and Bharti reportedIndian mobile EBITDA growthof 35 per cent in the first quar-ter of the current fiscal,Vodafone Idea's numbers

remained stagnant, coveringonly half of its interest cost.

"Vodafone Idea's auditorexpressed material uncertain-ty over the company's ability tocontinue as a going concern,which, the auditor said,depends on successful negoti-ations with Vodafone Idea'slenders to waive their rights torepayment after breaches ofcovenants under its bankloans," Fitch Ratings said.

At June end, it had a cashbalance of USD 470 million(about Rs 3,454 crore) whichwas well short of short-termdebt maturities and guaranteesof USD 3.6 billion (about Rs26,450 crore).

"It has so far paid about USD1.1 billion of its total unpaiddues of USD 8.9 billion, and it

will need to pay around USD1-1.2 billion a year duringFY2021-2031," it said.

The Supreme Court's latestruling will allow Bharti Airtelto pay the remaining outstand-ing dues in 10 annual paymentsof about USD 600 million(about Rs 4,410 crore) startingMarch 2022 instead of a lumpsum.

Bharti's FY21 Indian mobileEBITDA is likely to improve by30-40 per cent on the back ofimproved margins followingtariff hikes and 5-6 per centsubscriber growth.

Fitch expects Jio's FY21mobile revenue to increase by45-50 per cent, driven by high-er monthly average revenue peruser (ARPU) and subscriberaddition of about 40 million.

Dues payment over 10 yrs not enough to aid VIL: Fitch

Indian economy to contract10.5 pc in FY2021: Fitch

PNS n BRUSSELS

The European Union's exec-utive commission is propos-ing its experienced Latvianvice president, ValdisDombrovskis, to take over thepost as trade chief of the blocfollowing the resignation ofIreland's Phil Hogan.

EU Commission PresidentUrsula von der Leyen madethe announcement as shenamed European Parliamentheavyweight Mairead McGu-inness as the new financialservices commissioner to fillIreland's seat at the table.

Dombrovskis now fills avital post in dealing with theUnited States, China and post-Brexit Britain, with all threedemanding near daily atten-tion. “I am looking forward towork on all those issues,"Dombrovskis. It also meansvon der Leyen limited herreshuffle in the Commissionand with McGuinness shenarrowed the gender gap inthe Commission, which nowstands at 14 men and 13women.

EU namesDombrovskisas its newtrade chief

PNS n NEW DELHI

Markets regulator Sebi onTuesday added the NationalStock Exchange (NSE) to thelist of entities that can under-take e-KYC Aadhaar authen-tication. The regulator, in May, hadcome out with a list of eightentities permitted to use e-KYC (Electronic-Know YourCustomer) Aadhaar authen-tication.

Central DepositoryServices (India) Ltd (CDSL),National SecuritiesDepository Ltd (NSDL), BSE,CDSL Ventures, NSDLDatabase Management, NSEData and Analytics, CAMSInvestor Services andComputer Age ManagementServices were the eight enti-ties that were allowed to usee-KYC Aadhaar authentica-tion.

In a circular issued onTuesday, Sebi said, "NationalStock Exchange of IndiaLimited shall undertakeAadhaar authentication ser-vice of the UIDAI subject tocompliance of the conditionsas laid down in this regard."

Sebi allows NSEto undertake e-KYC Aadhaarauthentication

PNS n MUMBAI

Budget carrierGoAir has oper-ated over 200charter flightsfrom SaudiArabia to vari-ous domesticairports as partof repatriationefforts and has flown morethan 37,000 passengersbetween June 10 andSeptember 4, the airline saidon Tuesday.

The Wadia Group-promot-ed private carrier had com-menced the repatriation flightson June 10 and graduallyramped up its operations witha combination of VandeBharat Mission flights andprivate international charters.

GoAir has flown a total37,016 passengers from threecities of Saudi Arabia --Dammam, Riyadh and Jeddah-- to 11 Indian airports, oper-ating 203 charter servicesbetween June 10 and

September 4, an airlinespokesperson said.

According to the airline,charter operations fromDammam commenced fromJune 10, while these servicesfrom Riyadh started operatingfrom June 11. However, ser-vices from Jeddah started onlyfrom July 30, it added.

"We are pleased to havesuccessfully completed therecord 200 charter flights fromthe Kingdom of Saudi Arabiain 87 days as part of the repa-triation efforts, be it VandeBharat Mission or interna-tional private charters," saidKaushik Khona, ChiefExecutive Officer, GoAir.

PNS n NEW DELHI

National Skill DevelopmentCorporation and professionalnetwork LinkedIn on Tuesdaysaid they have joined hands toprovide access to free LinkedInLearning resources for impart-ing digital skills to youth forenhancing employability.

Under the partnership, 10free LinkedIn Learning paths,consisting of 140 courses for arange of in-demand tech jobs,will be made available for freeon eSkill India digital platformuntil March 31, 2021.

LinkedIn will also provideperiodic labour market insightsbased on its economic graph ofmore than 69 million membersin India. This will include in-demand skills, emerging jobs,and global hiring rates toNSDC to better understand theskilling ecosystem.

According to LinkedIn data,Indian professionals with dig-ital skills were 20 per cent morein demand than professionalswithout digital skills in 2020.

LinkedIn is the world's

largest online professional net-work.

"With this in mind, theLinkedIn and NSDC collabo-ration aims to enable a future-ready digital workforce by pro-viding access to free learningresources aligned with 10 in-demand jobs in today's digitaleconomy", NSDC stated. The10 free LinkedIn Learningpaths will help India's youthdevelop the skills needed forthose jobs, it added.

Each learning path includesvideo content designed to helpjob-seekers develop core digi-tal skills needed for an in-demand tech role, covering arange of skills from entry-level digital literacy toadvanced product-based skills.

Given the need for adaptableand transferable skills in thecurrent times, LinkedIn is alsomaking available for free, threeadditional soft skills learningpaths on the eskill India por-tal, the statement said.

“NSDC is facilitating onlineacquisition of skills throughnew-age platforms to create atechnically competitive work-force. Our collaboration withLinkedIn reflects our com-mitment to advance digitalcompetencies and skills ofyoung professionals," NSDCCEO & MD Manish Kumarsaid.

PNS n NEW DELHI

E-commerce giant AmazonIndia on Tuesday said it isadding five sort centres andexpanding eight such existingfacilities in the country tostrengthen its capacity ahead ofthe festive season.

The five new sort centreswill be launched inVisakhapatnam, Farukhnagar,Bengaluru, Mumbai andAhmedabad, a statement said.

Apart from these new build-ings, Amazon India will alsoexpand eight existing sort cen-tres to increase its overall sor-tation area to more than 2.2million square feet, across 19

states, it added."With this expansion,

Amazon India will strengthenits delivery speed and connec-tivity for customers and sellers,ahead of the festive season," thestatement said.

Amazon's sort centres seg-regate customer packagesbefore they are shipped todelivery stations. The sortationhappens based on the locationand mode of transportation of

the package to customers. Akey element of Amazon's logis-tics network, these sort centresleverage and automation toincrease the speed of trans-porting packages for customersand sellers in the country.

"By expanding and investingin the sort centre network, weare positioned to ensure con-tinued customer and sellerdelight, ahead of the upcom-ing festive season. This expan-sion will create hundreds ofopportunities for individualsand ancillary industries espe-cially during this time wheneconomic growth is a priorityfor the country," Amazon IndiaDirector Abhinav Singh said.

PNS n NEW DELHI

.State Bank of India is plan-ning to launch a loan product,SAFAL, primarily focussedon organic cot-ton growerswho don't haveany credit his-tory, said a topofficial of thec o u n t r y ' slargest lender.

The bank isusing ArtificialIntelligence (AI) and MachineLearning (ML) in a big way forgenerating business, SBI man-aging director C S Setty saidspeaking at a Fintech confer-ence organised by Federationof Indian Chambers of

Commerce and Industry."We want to go beyond this

so-called retail segment andreach out to... like farmers.Today I am not only giving

crop loans... Weare about tolaunch a prod-uct called Safeand Fast Agri-culture Loan .There is a com-pany whichbrought all theorganic cotton

growers and created a databaseon the basis of blockchain,"Setty said. He further said thatany buyer of this cotton acrossthe world can check whetherthe farmer actually is growingthe organic cotton.

SBI planning to launch ‘SAFAL'for organic cotton growers

Amazon to add 5 sort centres, expand8 existing units ahead of festive season

NSDC, LinkedIn partner to impart free training

GoAir operates over200 charter flightsfrom Saudi Arabia

or those who arefans of serials ontelevision, theDamera sisters area household namewho made a name

for themselves for their girl-next-door looks. Sirisha,the younger of the two, saysher debut into acting wascompletely accidental. Shetells us, “My sister is an artist,while I was pursuing myunder graduation, my sisterasked me if I’d be interestedin acting, when I agreed, Idid a small role in DD in2010. Later, I learnt aboutauditions for Amrutham andwent ahead and gave mine. Ibagged the main lead in theserial, after which I went onto do back to back projects.My debut was completelyaccidental.”

For Sirisha, it was hermother who encouraged herand her sister to take up Arts.Her mother, who was verypassionate about danceencouraged the sibling-duoto take part in all college and

school dance, stage perfor-mances. “My mother wasinterested in dancing andstage performances since herschooling. So my sister and Iwould perform in school andcollege. After my sister gotmarried, I started to receivemore offers since she didn’ttake up many. I wanted topursue my MBA. But becauseof financial issues, I had totake up acting,” she explainswhen asked about her deci-sion to take up acting as aprofession.

If Mogalirekulu proved heras an actor, it’s Ramulammathat got her the never-beforefame. Sirisha, being aTelangana-lad hailing forSircilla in Karimnagar,enjoyed playing the characterfor its raw nature. She says,“My role in Mogalirekuluproved my mettle as anactress. That was my firstbreak, but my career-best hasto be Ramulamma. I enjoyedplaying Ramulamma, it’s apowerful role. I play awoman from a rural back-

ground who is full of massand speaks in pakkaTelangana dialect.”

Asked about the accep-tance from the audience forthe roles she plays on screen,she tells us, “When I go out, Ihad many people coming tome and saying they feel I’mlike a girl-next-door. I likethe variations in my serials. Idon’t like to play the samecharacters.”

Sirisha feels OTT is takinga toll on the TV industry. Sheexplains, “Nowadays, every-one is taking to web series.These shows are beingreleased very often and theshooting process and thetime duration too, isn’t much,and many love watchingthem. Already, many young-sters don’t watch serials, I feelthe rise of OTT could affectthe TV industry. I might takeup a project for OTT if I’mever offered one.”

Like many other artistes,Sirisha too is upset about thedominating number of out-siders in the Telugu small

screen industry. She feels if given a chance,

Telugu people can do won-ders and create ripples here.She says, “It is upsetting thatthe cast in most of the serialsis being hired from otherstates. The production housesor the channels are not eventrying to look for locals. I’munsure about the reasonbehind this, but it will bereally helpful for people hereif we encourage local talent,Telugus too, can do wonders.”

When you think of Ramulamma, actress Vijayashanti is someonewho instantly strikes one's mind. But in the Television industry, if

one takes the name of Ramulamma, it is Sirisha Damera thatstrikes one immediately thinks of. She found her niche in the small

screen industry and established a name for herself from her veryfirst serial. The Telangana-lad speaks to K RAMYA SREE about

her entry into TV, passion for dance, and more...

F

Meet the small screen Ramulamma

out of the

BOX

aving traveledacross India,Shubham Sainihas exploredthe nooks andcorners of the

country. His love for traveland photography urgedhim to create a platformthat is a perfect amalga-mation of his two passions— Photographers of India.Four years in, the social

media page has close tohalf a million followersand is a photographycommunity in the countrythat imparts unmatchedtravel experiences.

The young entrepreneurfeels motorcycles haveevolved from somethingfor mere commuting to anexploration companion.He explains, “The bikingscenario has dramatically

changed year on year inthe last decade. Be it abreakfast or a weekendride or an off-road adven-ture, motorcycles are nowconsidered an ideal travelbuddy by many. The mostexplored terrains, moreoften than not, drive pur-chase decisions for thekind of motorcycles theriders would like to buy.”

This change saw a lotmore women riders hit theroads. He says, “Over theyears, there has been a sig-nificant change in howwomen riders are per-ceived and this change hasencouraged more womenfrom all walks of life toexplore the joys of riding.We have so many rolemodels today who arebreaking stereotypesaround motorcycling andchallenging the norms.Today, I meet a lot morewomen riders when I trav-el around for our photog-raphy tours, many of themtrack racers as well. Ridingclubs, as well as brands,are supporting women rid-ers. This, hopefully, willonly be amplified withmore representation, col-laboration, and inclusivityin mainstream ridingecosystems and culture.”

Taking us through hisjourney, Shubham says, “Ihave been fascinated with

clicking pictures for aslong as I can remember.And as I grew older, I wasdrawn to exploring newplaces. I decided to blendboth my passions andfounded Photographers ofIndia — a community forpassionate travellers andphotographers. I often saypeople earn to travel and Itravel to earn. In fouryears, the community hasgrown to almost half amillion and we have takenover 1,000 travellers withme on off-beat escapades,photography trips, andmotorcycle expeditions.”

Shubham who dreamsto cover Route 66 — thehistoric U.S. route thatruns east-west across theCentral part of the state ofNew Mexico tells us hisbest riding experience.“My best riding experi-ence thus far has been toSpiti Valley, which Iundertook in 2017. It wasin extreme weather — -26Degrees Celsius duringthe month of February —and three of my friendsrode on our RoyalEnfields. It was such anamazing and adventurousride, though we couldn’tmake it to Kaza, we saweverything from huge vul-tures to stones fallingfrom the cliff while wewere riding through them,

nothing was planned onthe trip and we were tak-ing one day at a time. Itwas unforgettable.”

Shubham is a proudowner of a Royal EnfieldStandard (Cast Iron) and aHimalayan. “Although, Ihave a soft spot for myHimalayan and it is myfavourite companion onmost of my offbeat adven-tures,” he signs off.

An all-rounder and multi-faceted Shubham Saini,started off biking at the age of 20 and travelled

over 400 cities across the globe within a span ofjust four years. An entrepreneur, a well-trained

photographer, biker, and avid traveler, Shubhamis one of the youngest community custodians in

the space of motorcycling in India. He talks to K RAMYA SREE on how he has successfully

brought together a community of photographers,videographers, travelers, and independent artists

across various genres of work

H

MOTORCYCLINGHIS WAY ACROSS

THE GLOBE

SHUBHAM FEELSMOTORCYCLES HAVEEVOLVED FROM SOMETHING FORMERE COMMUTINGTO AN EXPLORATIONCOMPANION

WednesdaySeptember 9, 2020

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10

Vijayawada Wednesday September 9 2020 what’s brewing?

FUN

Rules

ARCHIE

GARFIELD

SUDOKU

REALITY CHECK SPEED BUMP CROSSWORD

GINGER MEGGS

NANCY

CALVIN AND HOBBES

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

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

Yesterday’s solution

n a sensational development, theNarcotics Control Bureau onTuesday arrested Bollywoodactress Rhea Chakraborty after atough three-days of grilling tounravel the drugs nexus in the

film industry, officials said.She has been charged under various sec-

tions of the NDPS Act for her alleged role inthe drugs angle which has emerged in theinvestigations into the death of actor SushantSingh Rajput.

Rhea will be taken for a medical testshortly and is likely to be produced before amagistrate through video-conferencing forremand in the evening.

The NCB had interrogated Rhea for sixhours on Sunday, later on Monday for eighthours and again for around five hours onTuesday before placing her under arrest.

I

NCB arrestsRhea, threedays intoquestioning

Swara defends Rhea,says no proof of murder

s part of the on-going war agai-nst drug menacein Karnataka,the City CrimeBranch (CCB)

Police conducted its raidat Kannada actress Sanjj-ana Galrani’s residence inthe up market IndiraNagar area early Tuesday.

This is the secondhigh-profile raid on aKannada actress, afterRagini Dwivedi, who isalready in police custodyfor her alleged role indrug trafficking duringhigh-end parties organ-ised in Bengaluru.

In a statement by theJoint Police Commissio-ner (Crime) SandeepPatil said, “After obtaini-ng a warrant from a cou-rt, a search is being con-

ducted at Sanjjana’shouse for her alleged rolein a drug case.”

Post Bollywood actr-ess, Kangana Ranaut’srevelations about thealleged nexus betweendrug mafia and a sectionof Bollywood biggies,noted Kannada filmmak-er Indrajit Lankesh,about a week back,alleged that the drugmafia had gained its rootin Sandalwood as well.

As a fallout of his reve-lations, the City Police,inquired him and he isalleged to have given 15-20 prominent names ofSandalwood stars, musi-cians and technicianswho are allegedly indul-ging in drugs and whofrequent high-end par-ties organised in the city.

ctor Swara Bhasker haswritten in defence ofRhea Chakraborty,who has been accusedby Sushant Singh Raj-put’s family of abetting

his suicide and misappropriatinghis funds. Swara compared themedia’s treatment of Rhea to theSalem witch trials in the 17th cen-tury. She wrote in The Week thatwatching the narrative aroundRhea unfold in the news, she wasreminded of Arthur Miller’s playThe Crucible, a dramatisation ofthe trials that saw 20 women beingexecuted on suspicion of practis-ing witchcraft. “In recent weeks,I’ve often thought of The Crucibleas I watched the public sentimentaround the death of actor SushantSingh Rajput, ostensibly by suicide,turn from emotional outpouringof grief by fans into a media-fu-elled hysteria and blind certitudethat he was murdered,” she wrote.

She continued that after the ini-tial debate around nepotism,

attention was diverted to Rheaafter Sushant’s father filed an FIRagainst her in Patna. “This led to ashocking slander campaign andhysterical media trial that haspractically declared Rhea to be amurderess, with no proof, basedon contorted facts, rank misinfor-mation and what are now beingproven to be lies,” Swara wrote.

She wrote, “She has been vilifiedand called slanderous names bysocial media ecosystems and#JusticeForSushant ‘warriors’. Sala-cious conspiracy theories abouther have done the rounds and she,her family and staff at her buildinghave been physically hounded byshameless media personnel.” Whi-le there has been no evidence toprove that Sushant was murdered,“evidence that suggests thatRajput’s family has lied is emerg-ing.” “Watching this case play outand turn into a senseless, hysteri-cal, conspiracy-heavy TV soap-likereality-show, one cannot help butwonder at the human condition.”

A A

Actress SanjjanaGalrani's homeraided in drug case

My son wants tobe away from thelimelight: Akshay

ollywood starAkshay Kumarsays his sonAarav wants tohave a lifeaway from the

media glare and create hisown identity.

Aarav was born toKumar and actor-authorTwinkle Khanna in 2002.The couple are also par-ents to seven-year-olddaughter, Nitara.

“My son is very differ-ent. He just doesn’t wantto tell anyone that he’s myson. He wants to be awayfrom the limelight. Hewants to have his ownidentity. That’s what thewhole thing and I under-stand it. So, I let him bethe way he wants to (sic),”

Kumar told host BearGrylls in the upcomingepisode of Discovery’s Intothe Wild with Bear Grylls.

The actor, who will nextbe seen in horror comedyLaxmmi Bomb, said hehas tried to inculcate hisfather’s values in his son.

“He’s (my father was)the only influence I havein my life and I’ve fol-lowed all his rules and allhis things that he hastaught me. And I hopemy son gets that,” Kumaradded. The much-antici-pated episode of theadventure show will pre-miere on September 11on Discovery Plus app at8 pm and on September14 at 8 pm across 12Discovery channels.

B

AP n NEW YORK

Don’t tell Dominic Thiemthe US Open is dimin-ished in any way just

because it’s the first GrandSlam tournament since the2004 French Open without atleast one of Roger Federer,Rafael Nadal or NovakDjokovic in the quarterfinals.

“It doesn’t matter at all ifthe Big Three are here or not,”the No 2-seeded Thiem said onMonday after beating No 15Felix Auger-Aliassime 7-6 (4),6-1, 6-1 in the fourth round atFlushing Meadows.

“Everybody wants theirhands on the trophy,” saidThiem, who won almost half ofAuger-Aliassime’s servicepoints, 46 of 88.

“It doesn’t really matterwho they’re going to beat.”

Djokovic — seeded No 1,unbeaten this season and theoverwhelming favorite — wasdisqualified on Sunday afterunintentionally hitting a linejudge in the throat with a ballafter dropping a game in the

first set against Pablo CarreñoBusta.

Nadal (pandemic con-cerns) and Federer (two kneeoperations) did not enter thetournament at all.

This ends a run of 13consecutive major champi-onships won by a member ofthe Big Three.

“It’s been getting prettyboring,” said DenisShapovalov, the f irstCanadian man to reach theUS Open quarterfinals, “withthese three guys winningevery tournament.”

None of the men left hasever earned so much as oneSlam trophy yet.

The quarterfinals on thebottom half of the draw willbe Thiem against No 21 Alexde Minaur ; and No 10Andrey Rublev against No 3Daniil Medvedev. On the tophalf, where Djokovic used toloom: No 12 Shapovalov vsNo 20 Carreño Busta; No 5Alexander Zverev vs No 27Borna Coric.

Medvedev was runner-up to Nadal last year, losingin five sets. He hasn’t dropped

a set while advancing to thequarter f inals and he’sdropped serve only threetimes.

“I’m playing better everymatch,” Medvedev said. “Ihope this can continue. I’mpleased, actually, with thefact I’ve won all the sets.”

Thiem is the onlyremaining man who has con-tested multiple major finals.He is 0-3, losing twice toNadal at the French Openand to Djokovic at theAustra l ian Open thisFebruary.

11VIJAYAWADA | WEDNESDAY | SEPTEMBER 9, 2020

Melbourne: Former Indian all-rounder Yuvraj Singh is eyeinga stint in the Big Bash Leagueand Cricket Australia is tryingto help him find a team.

No Indian player has everfeatured in the BBL as BCCIdoesn’t allow active players totake part in overseas league.

The 38-year-old Yuvraj hadretired from international anddomestic cricket last year, clear-ing the decks to ply his trade inforeign leagues across the globe.

According to a report inSydney Morning Herald, Yuvraj’smanager Jason Warne of WSports & Media has confirmedthat Cricket Australia is tryingto find a franchise that wouldbe interested in the formerIndian all-rounder.

“We’re working with CA totry to find him a home,” Warnesaid on Monday.

However, as per the report,“interest in Yuvraj from BBLclubs had been modest todate.” PTI

AFP n AMSTERDAM

Nicolo Barella extended Italy’stwo-year unbeaten run as

he scored the winner inMonday’s 1-0 victory away to theNetherlands in the UEFANations League while ErlingHaaland netted twice forNorway in a 5-1 thrashing ofNorthern Ireland.

Italy’s win was slightlyspoiled by news of rising starNicolo Zaniolo injury, who willundergo another serious kneeoperation on Wednesday after

tearing an anterior cruciate lig-ament for the second time ineight months.

Barella’s bullet header infirst half stoppage time wasenough for Roberto Mancini’sside to take all three points inAmsterdam and top spot inLeague A, Group 1.

The Azzurri’s are a pointahead of the Dutch, who areplaying under interim coachDwight Lodeweges followingRonald Koeman’s appointmentat Barcelona, and third-placedPoland following their 2-1 away

win over Bosnia andHerzegovina.

HAALAND OON SSONGIn other matches, Romania

came out on top against Austriain Klagenfurt, with Denis Alibec,Dragos Grigore and AlexandruMaxim on target in a 3-2 victo-ry.

Norway shook off theiropening loss to Austria asBorussia Dortmund strikerHaaland helped tear apartNorthern Ireland in Belfast.

Paddy McNair cancelledout Mohamed Elyounoussi’sfine finish but Haaland, whostruck his first internationalgoal in Friday’s defeat, thumpedin from the edge of the area torestore Norway’s lead.

Alexander Sorloth scoredtwice, the second via an assistfrom Haaland who completedthe scoring on the hour withanother superb finish.

Scotland scraped past aninexperienced Czech Republic2-1 in Olomouc to go top ofLeague B, Group 2.

Melbourne: Spin legend ShaneWarne has urged CricketAustralia to keep the iconicMelbourne Cricket Ground asthe venue for the Boxing DayTest against India later this yeardespite growing Covid-19 casesin Victoria.

The governing body is set toannounce the schedule forIndia’s tour of Australia thisweek which will include fourTests and there are fears thatMCG may lose the Boxing DayTest.

“Cricket is the 2nd biggestsport in the world behind soc-cer(fact) & the biggest day onthe Aust sporting calendar is theBoxing Day test. We must try &do everything possible to keepit at the MCG this year. FYI-The Melb Cup & the AFL GFare the next biggest events inAust !,” Warne wrote on hisTwitter handle.

India’s tour is likely to startwith limited-overs matches (T20series) before the action shifts tothe four-Test series. PTI

PAY HHIKE FFOR PPAK DDOMESTIC CCRICKETERS Karachi: Pakistan Cricket Board on Tuesday unveiled a revampedpay structure for its domestic cricketers, under which the topperformers stand a chance of earning 3.2 million through theseason, a whopping ‘83 per cent more’ than last year. The 3.2million (`14 lakh INR) over the course of the season will include amonthly retainer of 150,000. Ahead of the 2020-21 season, whichbegins on Sept 30, the PCB announced a new pay structure whichwill see even the lowest paid domestic players earn at least “sevenper cent more” than what they received in the 2019-20 season.

MBAPPE TTESTS CCORONA PPOSITIVE Paris: France and Paris Saint-Germain striker Kylian Mbappetested positive for Covid-19 and will miss Tuesday's NationsLeague match against Croatia. The Paris Saint-Germain forwardwas isolated once he found out about his positive test and leftFrance's training camp to return home on Monday evening.

JEJE LLEAVES CCHENNAIYIN FFC Chennai: Indian international striker Jeje Lalpekhlua has left two-time ISL champions Chennaiyin FC after six years, the player andclub confirmed on Tuesday. Jeje, called Mizo Sniper by the club'sfans for his lethal instinct in front of goal, leaves the club as itsleading goal-scorer with 25 strikes to his name. He was pivotal tothe club's ISL title triumphs in 2015 and 2017-18.

LYNN JJOINS MMI TTEAMMATES IIN AABU DDHABI Abu Dhabi: Australian batsman Chris Lynn arrived here onTuesday to join his Mumbai Indians teammates for the upcomingIPL. The four-time champions also informed that Lynn'scompatriot James Pattinson and Kiwi's Trent Boult had joined theside last week.

BILLY SSTANLAKE JJOINS MMELBOURNE SSTARS Melbourne: Melbourne Stars have further boosted their pacestocks for the upcoming Big Bash League with the signing oftowering quick Billy Stanlake from the Adelaide Strikers. Theagreement will see pace bowler Daniel Worrall move to the Strikersin return.

SINGLES

AP n LONDON

James Rodríguez joinedEnglish Premier League club

Everton in an attempt to revivea career that faltered at RealMadrid.

Signed by the Spanish giantafter rising to prominence witha stunning goal for Colombia atthe 2014 World Cup, the attack-ing midfielder couldn’t matchthose highs in Madrid.

“I’ve come here totry to improve, to getbetter,” the 29-year-old James said.

“I’ve also comehere to help the teamto win, to play goodfootball —entertainingfootball.”

A tEverton, he isbeing reunitedwith managerCarlo Ancelotti who notonly signed him for Madrid but

also at Bayern Munich on loanin 2017.

Everton said James joinedon a two-year deal with anoption for an additional season.The reported fee was 20 millionpounds ($26 million).

“James, as everyone knows,is a fantastic player with a lot ofquality and a lot of ability tomake assists for the strikers,” saidAncelotti, who left Bayern laterin 2017 and was hired byEverton last year.

“He’s really excited aboutthe project of the club and thefact we want to improve. Hewas really excited to sign and I

didn’t spend time to convincehim — he was already con-

vinced.”James won the league

title twice at Madrid andBayern but Everton hasnot won the Englishchampionship since1987.

“I’m a winner, I’ma real winner,” James said.

PTI n NEW DELHI

Former New Zealand all-rounder Scott Styris feels

foreign players won’t bemuch affected, but the Indiancricketers will definitely missthe energy while playing infront of empty stands in theupcoming IPL.

“I don’t think there willbe too much of an adjust-ment for the overseas players.A lot of the overseas playersplay in front of small crowdsor even empty grounds on a

regular basis, so they will beused to that,” Styris said inStar Sport’s show CricketConnected.

“But you are right, Indianplayers, I can’t remember. Imean (Virat) Kohli, 10 yearsago, most of those playershave been around longenough now. They won’tstruggle, but they will justwonder where they are andlook for that energy in otherways,” he added.

Former India pacer AjitAgarkar said it will be oddinitially to play in empty sta-diums as in India the crowdcan act as a 12th man for thehome team.

“It might be little odd atthe start, but like Scotty (ScotStyris) said, that energysometimes you get fromcrowds, particularly in India,the IPL has moved to theUAE, but in India, it cansometimes act like a 12thman for the home team,” hesaid.

PTI n DUBAI

Ascore of 150 to160 will be a

competitive one inDubai or AbuDhabi track,reckons RCBcoach MikeHesson, who ishappy to have identifiedhis team’s designateddeath bowlers, an areathat has let them downduring earlier IPL sea-sons.

The length of sideboundaries are big-ger in grounds likeAbu Dhabi and thatwill bring down theaverage team total.

“Here 150-160will be good scoresin some groundsand it will be different.Chinnaswamy (in Bengaluru)

is a great batting wick-et, smaller boundariesand scores (teamtotals) are (on) high-

er (side),” Hesson toldRCB’s YouTubechannel.

He said that oncertain grounds,spinners will comein handy, especiallywhen the surface isa bit skiddy.

“On certaingrounds yes. Itdepends, like AbuDhabi, seamers hadplayed a big rolethere and probably

(the pitch) doesn’t(offer) spin as much as

the other two grounds(Dubai and Sharjah). It

does skid. We need theability to adjust to conditions

on the day as well,” Hessonsaid.

Bowling at the death ingrounds like Abu Dhabi will becompletely different fromChinnaswamy.

“Bowling at the death inAbu Dhabi will be quite differ-ent from bowling atChinnaswamy. The lengthsyou bowl and we have identi-fied our death bowlers,”Hesson said.

Although he didn’t nameChris Morris but Hesson hint-ed that the South African’sinclusion certainly providedRCB with a potent death oversbowling option.

“I think there’s been a lotof talk about finishing theinnings with the ball in the pastand we have got some experi-enced players in that space.Also we can improve on play-ers we already have.... Makethem a year wise.. A yearsmarter,” Hesson added.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Delhi Capitals’ pacer KagisoRanada feels that the team

has the wherewithal to challengeall comers for the IndianPremier League title this season.

Always seen as an under-performing side for much oftheir 12-year history, Delhientered the playoffs last year forthe first time in seven years andbeat SunRisers Hyderabadbefore losing to ChennaiSuper Kings.

“We had a reallygood season, so Iknow that we canchallenge and winthis competitionbecause we camereally close lastseason. So, men-tally I guess thathelps,” Rabadasaid. “But, also, it isa new tournamentso we have to startagain and we’ve got anice group put together, nice

team.”A good start as usual will be

key, the bowler reckoned.“We have to start again and

start the whole process, so hope-fully we can get off to a goodstart but win at the end of theseason – we want to be the mostconsistent team and win attimes when we really, reallyneed to win,” he added.

Rabada, who has 31 wicketsin his IPL career, trained for thefirst time with the rest of theteam on Monday after complet-ing his quarantine.

“It feels good to be run-ning in, and to be withsome teammates as well,” hesaid. “This (situation) isquite unique, not a lot ofpeople get to do this.We’re in the middle of adesert, playing cricket —it’s something that I did-

n’t think I would ever be ableto do. So it’s a lot of fun also.”

Rabada said that thebreak he has got due to the

Covid-enforced freeze on the

cricket calendar has helped himrecharge his batteries.

“It’s been a high volume ofcricket in the past five years forme, but I really enjoyed thebreak at home,” he said. “I feel

quite strong. I think I just needto bowl more, and make sure Ihaven’t forgotten how to bowl.I need to keep up with the bowl-ing practice, but otherwise I feelhealthy.”

No 3 Thiem cruises into last eight,Medvedev sets up all-Russian QF tie

Dominant win

Dominic Thiem pumps his fist after defeating Felix Auger-Aliassime in 4th round

AFP n NEW YORK

Serena Williams had to sum-mon up every last ounce of

strength to depose 15th seedMaria Sakkari in three hard-fought sets on Monday.

The 38-year-old Americanneeded almost two and a halfhours to dislodge her 25-year-old Greek opponent 6-3, 6-7(6/8), 6-3 inside an emptyArthur Ashe Stadium in NewYork.

“She’s such a good com-petitor. It was a really intensematch,” said Williams, who hadbeen dumped out of a USOpen tuneup tournament bythe same opponent last month.

“I felt like she almost

played better today. I was a lit-tle fatigued last time and hadsome cramps. Just felt like I wasable to compete longer,”Williams added.

Williams rallied from two

games down in the decidingset, pumping herself up withloud screams that echoedaround the spectator-free arenaas she broke Sakkari twice toclinch the last-eight spot.

Serena survives scare

150-160 score will be goodon UAE tracks: Hesson

Delhi Capitals can challenge & win IPL-13: RabadaWorkload management will be

key for pacers in hot UAE: ShamiKolkata: Keeping in mindthe hot and humid conditionsin the United Arab Emirates,it will be vital for fast bowlersto manage their workloadproperly as the task at handwouldn’t be easy when the IPLgets underway on September19, feels Kings XI Punjabpacer Mohammad Shami.

The cities of Dubai, AbuDhabi and Sharjah — whichwill host the league this time—are expected to experiencetemperatures of around 35-40degree celsius during the tour-nament.

“Temperature is muchhigher compared to India.There are chances of gettingdehydrated. There will bechances of cramps. So we willhave to keep those things inmind,” Shami said.

“It will be difficult as thewickets here are also different.So workload management isimportant. But it is not thatdifficult that it can’t be man-aged. It depends on us how wemanage our workload,” addedthe 30-year-old, rated as oneof the best pacers in the worldat the moment. IANS

Yuvi eyeingstint in BBL

Indian players will miss energydue to empty stands: Styris

Warne wants BoxingDay Test at MCG

Italy continue unbeaten run James Rodríguezjoins Everton

An elephant whohas become acause celebre

for animal rightsactivists around theworld will be allowedto leave his Pakistanizoo and transferredto better conditions,the animal welfare

group helping with the case said on Saturday. Dubbed the 'world'sloneliest elephant' by his supporters, Kaavan has languished at azoo in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad for more than 35 years.Martin Bauer, a spokesman for Four Paws, said the elephant hasbeen finally given medical approval to travel, most likely toCambodia, where he will find companionship and better conditions.The overweight elephant Kaavan underwent a full medicalexamination at the zoo on Friday, said Bauer. In May, Pakistan'sHigh Court ordered the Marghazar Zoo closed because of itsabysmal conditions blamed on systemic negligence. RescuingKaavan from the zoo's dire conditions attracted the attention ofanimal activists around the world, and celebrities including USsinger Cher, who lobbied for his relocation. "Unfortunately, therescue comes too late for two lions that died during an attemptedtransfer at the end of July after local animal handlers set a fire intheir enclosure to force them into their transport crates," Bauer saidin a statement released on Saturday.

French tourist fined forstealing sand from beach

Loneliest elephant okayedto quit zoo for new life

1L-kg blue whale, largestanimal on earth spotted

Ablue whalewas spottedoff the coast

of Sydney,Australia lastmonth, in what isbelieved to havebeen the thirdsighting of theendangered seacreature in these

waters in over a century. According to officials, the whale mayhave measured more than 25 metres in length and weighedover 100 tonnes. According to Andrew Marshall, an NPWSranger, the mammoth whale was sighted near the beach townof Maroubra. "The blue whale is the largest animal on the planetyet despite its size it could have easily slipped by Sydney'scoast unnoticed," he said. Despite its large size, blue whales aremostly invisible even to experienced whale-watchers, Marshallclaimed. "They are not often seen because they tend to live veryfar out to sea, their populations are widely dispersed and wehave very limited data on its migration and critical habitat." ASydney-based photographer named Sean K, was able to capturephotographs of the majestic blue whale as it swam along thecoast near Maroubra. "I'm speechless but could blurt out amillion things at the same time," the photographer wrote in apost shared on photo-sharing app Instagram.

In yet anothertravel fauxpas, a French

tourist wascaught with twokilograms ofsand in hisluggage that hehad collectedfrom a Sardinianbeach.

According to The Independent, the tourist was fined £890 -approximately Rs 86,633 - by the local Sardinian authoritiesresponsible for the coastal protection in the region. It is saidthat the Italian island's pristine white-sand beaches are highlyprotected, and tourists can face heavy penalties for trying tosmuggle some sand away. Penalties include one to six years injail for theft, "with the aggravating circumstance of havingstolen an asset of public utility", the outlet reports. "Thesebehaviours not only harm the environment but alsocompromise the maintenance of the coastline for thesustainable development of tourism in Sardinia," a pressrelease stated, as quoted by the local media. The island'sidyllic beaches draw tourists from all around the world. It issaid the Sardinian beaches face the threat of both erosion andtourists manually removing the sand. And this is not the firsttime that a tourist has been caught doing it.

Tesla cybertruck fan builds a lookalike

NEW

S

MostRead A

Bosnian fan ofboth Fordtrucks and

Elon Musk's Teslacould not just siton his handswaiting for theelectric carmakerto release itsCybertruck,

expected from late 2021. Instead he came up with his own versionof the futuristic vehicle. It took eight months for IT specialists andengineers at Igor Krezic's Stark Solutions company to disassemblea rugged Ford Raptor F-150 into its smallest parts and thentransform it into petrol-powered vehicle that resembles aCybertruck. The first drive through the streets of the southern townof Mostar drew a lot of attention, Mario Coric, the companymanager, said. "Everybody was watching and half of them thoughtwe made a tank, because people don't know what the Cybertruckis. One girl even stopped and asked if this is the place where theyare producing Tesla Cybertruck," Coric said. Though it may not lookidentical to Cybertruck's functional prototype the pickup capturesits spirit. The owner wanted us to combine two opposite sides —Ford and Cyber — because he is a fan of both Tesla and Ford, sowe merged two souls into one," he said. "This one uses gasolineand Tesla uses electricity. We tried to copy as much as possible butour car is not the same size as the Cybertruck," Coric added.

opular supportingactor Jaya PrakashReddy, who isknown for hisnegative andcomedic roles in a

career spanning more than25 years, passed away onTuesday at his home inGuntur. Aged 74, he suffereda cardiac arrest.

Reddy honed his actingskills in the theatre, whichwas his first love. Impressedby his performance in a playGupchup at Nalgonda in the80s, Dasari Narayana Raorecommended his name toRamanaidu, who later got thesame play performed for himin Hyderabad. The legendaryproducer signed him on forBrahmaputrudu (1988)shortly after. More gigs infilms Bobbili Raja, PremaKhaidi, Chitram BhalareVichitram, JambalakidiPamba and Lorry Driver fol-lowed but a major break-through project eludedReddy.

Mounting interest rates onloans meant that he bid adieuto acting in 1992 to focus onhis career in the field ofteaching. For the next fiveyears, he concentrated onteaching and raising his kids.It was the 1997 filmPreminchukundam Raa thathelped him revive his filmcareer. He received plauditsfor his act as a Rayalaseema-based factionist in theromantic drama. While a dryspell did follow for a year, hissubsequent releaseSamarasimha Reddy turnedthe tide. More villainous gigsfollowed and noughties sawexperimented with comedyroles once again. If Sonthamwas a first step in that direc-tion, the phenomenalresponse to his cameo act inKabaddi Kabbaddi helpedhim to emerge as a sought-after comedian soon.

Directors like EVVSatyanarayana, Sreenu Vaitlaand SS Rajamouli soon start-ed exploring his uncannysense of comic timing andunique dialogue delivery tothe optimum last decade. He

particularly enjoyed a longassociation with SreenuVaitla and Anil Ravipudi,playing supporting roles inall their films. He evendebuted in Tamil last decadewith Dhanush-starrerUthamaputhiran, which wasa remake of Telugu hit Ready.He reprised the village hot-head role in the Tamil ver-

sion as well to great recep-tion. Such was his dedicationto his craft that he evendubbed for his lines in Tamil.

In one of his last inter-views, he expressed his wishto see the revival of the cul-ture of dramas in the Telugustates. His last feature filmwas Mahesh Babu-starrerSarileru Neekevvaru, where

he played a wheelchair-bound role. He even actedand produced a drama titledAlexander. Directed byDavala Satyam, the shoot waswrapped up last year and itsrelease hangs in balance.

He is survived by sonChandra Prakash Reddy anddaughter Vipula, both ofwhom reside in AP.

12

Vijayawada Wednesday September 9 2020tollywood

JAYA PRAKASHWANTED REVIVAL OF THE CULTURE OF DRAMASP

Tel

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trib

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to

JP Megastar Chiranjeevi tweeted, “He is a greatartist. I've last acted with himin Khaidi No150. Hewould often requestfilmmakers not toschedule hisportions during theweekends as itwould clash with histheatre commitments.He even asked me toattend some of his plays but Icouldn't. He is remembered as the firstfactionist in films. He created a separateidentity for himself.”Mohan Babu wrote onTwitter, “His deathpained me. He hasbeen a part of manyfilms from mybanner LakshmiPrasanna Pictures.Despite being busy asan actor, he always madetime for theatre. He believed in helping others.”Nandamuri Balakrishnasaid, “He was a dearcolleague and weshared a close bond.We've done filmslike SamarasimhaReddy andNarasimhanaidutogether. As he camefrom a theatrebackground, he would treat theatre and filmsas his two eyes. His busy schedule in filmsnotwithstanding, he always ensured that heperformed plays.”Nagarjuna wrote onTwitter, “He was a finegentleman mrJaiprakash reddyGaru .. mycondolences to hisfamily and may hissoul rest in peace (sic).”Victory Venkatesh posted,“I am extremely sad tohear about the suddendemise of my dearfriend#Jayaprakashreddygaru. We were sucha great combinationon screen. Willdefinitely miss him. #RIPPraying for his family and loved ones (sic).”Pawan Kalyan stated, “Withroots from theatrebackground, heentertained theaudience withnegative roles,comedy roles and asa character artist. Hewould slip into anyrole with great ease.Despite being busy as an actorin the industry, he never forgot theatre. Hisdeath is a loss to both fields.”Mahesh Babu tweeted, “Saddened by thepassing of #JayaPrakashReddy garu. One of

TFI's finest actor-comedians. Willalways cherish theexperience ofworking with him.Heartfeltcondolences to hisfamily and loved ones.”Prakash Raj posted,“He loved acting. Hebrought alive hisroles in both theatreand films. Thank youfor entertaining uschief.”Ravi Teja wrote, “Verysad to hear about#JayaPrakashReddygaru. I used to fondlycall him Mama. Thisis a huge loss for allof us. Mycondolences to thefamily and loved ones.Rest in peace Mama(sic).”SS Rajamouli wrote,“Shocked & saddenedto know about thesudden demise of#JayaPrakashReddygaru. Had greattimes working withhim. Thanks forentertaining us with yourversatility by portraying some memorablecomedy and villain roles over the decades.May your soul rest in peace (sic).”Allu Arjun said, “Filmindustry lost anotherwonderful artist. Irespected and admiredhis talent. He had aterrific memory andunique voice. He alwayssupported theatre groupsand artists. I still rememberhis request asking me to support theatres and Ihope to do it someday.”Sreenu Vaitla tweeted, “My dear uncle,I haveknown you since the beginning of my career,the warmth and love you had towards me iswhat I will always have in my cherishedmemories. You filled every scene with yourenthusiasm. You always ended our telephonicconversations with ‘Nana we belong here.. webelong to the movies’ this will always stay withme as your blessing. I'm so grateful to haveknown you. RIP Jp uncle you will be missed.My deepest condolences to the family (sic).”VV Vinayak said, “I liked him a lot. I especiallyliked his comic timing more. He has been apart of all of my films and to lose an actor likehim is a personal loss.”Ram wrote, “Dear #Jayaprakashreddygaru..thank you for keeping usentertained..was always in awe of you from theday I met you on the sets of Ready..Rest inpeace now sir.”Genelia Deshmukh posted, “RIP#Jayaprakashreddy garu .. Remembering fondly ourgreat times at shoots.. Was always fun interactingwith you.. Prayers and strength to the family.”

PROMINENT MEMBERS OF THE TELUGU FILM INDUSTRY TOOK TO SOCIAL MEDIA TOSHARE AN OUTPOURING OF GRIEF FOLLOWING THE DEATH OF CHARACTER ACTOR

JAYA PRAKASH REDDY. HERE IS WHAT SOME OF THEM HAD TO SAY:

n many ways, itwas his turn inVenkatesh-starrerPreminchukun-dam Raa thatrevived Jaya

Prakash Reddy’s career inTelugu cinema after his ini-tial spate of films didn’t landhim big offers. Speaking tous, the romantic drama’sdirector Jayanth C Paranjirecalls that he was finding itdifficult to cast the villainopposite Venky when heremembered Jaya PrakashReddy from Bobbili Rajadays. Jayanth was the assis-tant director on BobbiliRaja, where the actor playedthe small role of a tribalchief. “He is a tall guy andheavily built and I know hewas capable of playing thevillain. At that point of time,he was in Guntur, workingas a school teacher anddoing theatre. We asked him to come down toHyderabad and later did amake-up test. He lookedominous in the get-up andwe roped him in shortlyafter,” Jayanth tells us.

The director adds thatJaya Prakash realised he got

a juicy part, prompting himto prep for it. “He spentclose to three weeks in dif-ferent rural pockets ofRayalaseema and picked upthe local slang. He incorpo-rated some of the words intohis lines on sets. He took thecharacter to the next levelwith his skills. On day oneitself I realised that we’vemade the right choice,” thedirector notes, smilinglyadding that as Reddy had anatural flair for comedy, hisexpressions got a little comi-cal in the beginning as hecommenced filming. “I hadto tone it down and remindhim that he was playing themain villain. Once he gotinto the zone of the actor, hesimply aced it.”

Jayanth remembersReddy as one of the fewgenuine guys from theindustry. “He had absolutelyno agenda when he spoke.He said what he felt; henever held back. He wasdown-to-earth and a simplechap. It’s unfortunate that he has passed away. Thedeath news came as a shock to me,” the directorconcludes.

Jaya Prakash Reddy wasone of the few genuine guys

from the industry: JayanthPreminchuku-

ndam Raadirector

Jayanth CParanji recalls

his workingexperience

with JayaPrakash for

Bobbili Raja,Reddy's natural

flair forcomedy, writes

NAGARAJGOUD

I

t the turn of thenew millenni-um, JayaPrakash Reddystarted toaccept comedy

roles, taking people on ajoy ride over the next twodecades of his career.While there are manycomedic gigs of his thatbring an instant smile onthe faces of the audience,his turn in Ravi Teja-star-rer Kick — especially thepolice station scene —stands out. Speaking to us,film’s writer VakkanthamVamsi says, “When I waspenning the cop role, thefirst name that crossed mymind was what if JP garuplays it. There were noother options. He startedexperimenting with hisroles by then. I dropped bythe location at AnnapurnaStudios to see how that

episode was being shot. Hewas a diabetic and hissugar levels dipped thatday. So the shoot was sus-pended after half day’swork, but post (the film)release no one noticed hewas not feeling well in theinitial portions of thescene. The balance episodewas shot in the final leg ofshooting and I was presenton sets this time too. Hewas back in his element

and along with Ravi,brought the scene aliveand made it iconic. In fact,sitting in front of the mon-itor and seeing them goabout it full of beans, wewere cracking up.”

Vamsi, who also gave JPanother memorable funnyrole as Sarkar inOosaravelli, credits JP’sturn in PreminchukundamRaa helping Telugu cinemarealise the importance ofaccents. “Back then in theindustry, the film languagewas spoken in Andhradialect particularly that ofKrishna district. After hisperformance inPreminchukundam Raa,the Seema accent found aplace in the Telugu filmlanguage landscape. Andthe major credit for itshould go to JP garu. Hewas great with the way hereeled dialogues of

Preminchukundam Raa.Over time, due to his otherfilms set in a Seema back-drop, he had become acomplete authority overthe Seema accent.Filmmakers too startedlooking at accents as anasset to storytelling. Nowthe Telangana accent isbeing explored and shortly,I believe filmmakers wouldexplore slangs of differentdistricts as well,” Vamsiexplains.

Vamsi remembers theactor first from his turn inChitram! BhalareVichitram! “It was an inter-esting and a brief role heplayed in the film, yet hemanaged to leave animpact. The film openedalongside megastarChiranjeevi’s Gang Leaderand went on to become ablockbuster,” he states.

— NG

A

Due to JP, Seema accent found a placein the film language: Vakkantham

Swaroop's adventure drama with Matineehe Pioneerwas the firstto informyou thatAgent SaiSrinivasa

Athreya helmer RSJSwaroop has agreed todo his next forMatineeEntertainment (April

27). To this end, thelatest is that the projectwas made official onTuesday, with the pro-duction house indicat-ing that it's an action-adventure drama witha generous dose ofhumour. To be shot inTirupati, the film willroll in December. The

cast is yet to be final-ized.

The untitled film isMatinee’s third pro-duction of the year, asthey are already pro-ducing MegastarChiranjeevi-starrerAcharya andNagarjuna-starrer Wild Dog.

T