amarinder quits amid turmoil in cong. - e-learning adda
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MAGAZINE A 8 PAGES
‘Defaming Telangana
govt. may invite
sedition charge’
page 6
Indianisation of our
legal system is the need
of the hour, says CJI
page 8
France recalls envoys
to Australia and U.S.
over submarine deal
page 11
CSK takes on MI as IPL
2021 resumes in
the UAE today
page 16
In a day of high political drama, the Congress high command forced the resignationof Punjab Chief MinisterAmarinder Singh on Saturday ahead of a Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meeting convened by the AICC.The fi�nal decision on thenew Chief Minister was leftto party president SoniaGandhi.
According to party sources, former Punjab Congresspresident Sunil Jakhar is afront runner as the Congresswants to appoint a Hinduleader as Chief Minister, afterappointing Navjot Singh Sidhu, a Jat Sikh, as the PCCchief.
Capt. Amarinder handedover his resignation to Governor Banwarilal Purohitahead of the CLP meeting —widely seen as a move to remove him — citing continuedhumiliation by the Congressleadership over the past twomonths.
“I was humiliated threetimes by the Congress leadership in the past twomonths… They called theMLAs to Delhi twice and nowconvened a CLP here inChandigarh today,” saidCapt. Amarinder, after submitting his resignation letterto the Governor.
He added that he had in
formed Ms. Gandhi in themorning that he would resign. Before meeting the Governor, Capt. Amarinderheld discussions with a fewMLAs and MPs at his offi�cialresidence.
“Apparently they (Congress high command) do nothave confi�dence in me anddid not think I could handlemy job. But I felt humiliatedat the manner in which theyhandled the whole aff�air,” hesaid. “Let them appoint whothey trust,” he said, taking adig at the party leadership.
Capt. Amarinder said hewould decide his future political course of action in consultation with his supporters
who had stood by him for over fi�ve decades.
Lashing out at PunjabCongress president NavjotSingh Sidhu, Capt. Amarinder dubbed him as antinational, dangerous, unstableand incompetent.
He added that he wouldfi�ght “tooth and nail” anymove to make the formercricketer the Chief Minister.
Amarinder slams Sidhu
Capt. Amarinder said therewas no question of him supporting Mr. Sidhu, who “wasclearly mixed up with Pakistan”.
“We have all seen Sidhuhugging Imran Khan and
General Bajwa, and singingpraises for the PakistanPrime Minister at the opening of the Kartarpur Corridorwhile our soldiers were being killed at the borders every day,” Capt. Amarindersaid.
He pointed out that the excricketer had attended Mr.Imran Khan’s swearingin ceremony even after he (CaptAmarinder) categoricallytold him not to.
He said Mr. Sidhu was “adisaster” for Punjab and thecountry. “I cannot allowsuch a man to destroy us,” headded.
Amarinder quits amid turmoil in Cong.
VIKAS VASUDEVA
CHANDIGARH
Leadership issue: Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh submitting his resignation toGovernor Banwarilal Purohit at the Raj Bhavan in Chandigarh on Saturday. * PTI
■ He felt ‘humiliated’ after MLAs
were summoned to Delhi again
■ Sunil Jakhar is front runner
for the Chief Minister’s post
■ 40 MLAs are believed to have
written to AICC against the CM
In one of the biggest defections in West Bengal afterthe 2021 Assembly election,former Union Minister andtwotime BJP MP fromAsansol Babul Supriyo onSaturday joined the Trinamool Congress.
Mr. Supriyo visited theoffi�ce of Trinamool Congress general secretaryAbhishek Banerjee hereand joined the ruling party.
On July 31, Mr. Supriyoannounced on social mediathat he would resign as MPand stay away from activepolitics. He later said hewould continue as MP.
The BJP earlier receiveda blow when Mukul Royquit the party and returnedto the Trinamool. At leastfour MLAs of the party havejoined the Trinamool infour months. After joiningthe Trinamool, Mr. Supriyotold journalists that a “greatopportunity” has been extended to him by the partyleadership and he has decided to take it up.
Speculation is rife in political circles that Mr. Supriyo may be nominated to theRajya Sabha by the Trinamool as replacement for Arpita Ghosh who had quitthe Upper House onWednesday.
“It was with great disillusionment that I had an
nounced that I will quit politics. A great opportunityhas been extended by Didi[Mamata Banerjee] andAbhishek Banerjee and Iam happy to accept that,”he said.
Mr. Supriyo lost the 2021Assembly poll from Tollyganj on the BJP ticket. Hehad to resign as Union Minister of State during theCabinet reshuffl�e in July.Since then, he had been expressing discontent towards the party leadership,saying he was not givenenough responsibility.
“I was expecting something more after seven yearsas a Union Minister of State.Then diff�erences startedgrowing with the party,” hesaid. “Mamata Banerjeeneeds no campaign but ifthe party considers me, Iwill be happy to campaignin Bhabanipur,” Mr. Supriyoadded.
MP Babul Supriyo quitsBJP, joins TrinamoolFour MLAs defected in past 4 months
Shiv Sahay Singh
Kolkata
Babul Supriyo
A school friend of exPMlate Rajiv Gandhi, Capt.Amarinder had literallyforced the Gandhis in 2015to declare him the chief ofPradesh CongressCommittee. Until then, hewas a goto person for theGandhi family. A Page 9
Turbulent tieswith Gandhis
Captain Amarinder Singhhas said that he wouldexercise his politicaloptions, but observersbelieve he does not stand astrong chance if he breaksaway from the Congress,unless he is off�ered aleadership role by anotherpolitical party.A Page 9
Captain facesa tough battle
CONTINUED ON A PAGE 8 CONTINUED ON A PAGE 8CLASSIFIEDS ON A PAGE 17
With a change of guard inPunjab, the question that isbeing asked is if Chhattisgarh is going to be the nextCongressruled State thatmay see a leadershipchange. In Rajasthan too,the issue of Cabinet expansion is pending. A Page 9
Is Chhattisgarhnext in line?
A day after Chief MinisterUddhav Thackeray stirredpolitical circles in Maharashtra by referring to Union Minister of State for RailwaysRaosaheb Danve as a “futurecolleague”, Shiv Sena MPSanjay Raut on Saturday saidthe party chief was referringto the possibility of leadersfrom the Bharatiya JanataParty (BJP) defecting to theMaha Vikas Aghadi (MVA).
“We need to understandwhat the Chief Minister said.He meant that some people
from the BJP might come tothe Maha Vikas Aghadi. Weare not going anywhere. Thisgovernment will complete itsfi�veyear term,” Mr. Raut saidafter meeting Mr. Thackeray
at his offi�cial residence.“There are many people
in the State, including thosefrom the BJP [who would liketo join the MVA]. They cango anywhere... to any of thethree parties that form theMaha Vikas Aghadi government,” he said.
On Mr. Danve’s plans tomeet Mr. Thackeray, the Sena MP said the senior BJPleader was a friend of theparty and a Union Ministerhailing from the State.
“A number of railway projects are pending in theState. He should meet the
Chief Minister if he has beencalled. It is very important tohave good relations with theCentre,” he said.
Pravin Darekar, Leader ofthe Opposition in the StateCouncil, said the Sena, theCongress and the NationalistCongress Party were greedyfor power and therefore continued to employ pressuretactics. “It could be the ChiefMinister’s ploy to pressurehis allies as he is beingforced to change his decisions on every matter. Butthe BJP will not allow him touse us,” the BJP leader said.
Sena plays down ‘future colleague’ remarkParty MP Sanjay Raut says Maharashtra CM hinted at BJP leaders defecting to MVA
Sanjay Raut
Staff Reporter
Mumbai
Traders and business associations in Nagaland haveasked the State government to clarify if it feels thecollection of “taxes” byarmed groups is legal.
The business community in the State said theyhave had enough of payingmultiple “taxes” to at least10 armed groups. Shopsand business establishments had shut down inthe State on Thursday inprotest. These groups include the IsakMuivah faction of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland, orNSCN (IM).
“We have asked the government to clarify if suchtaxes are legal or illegal. Ifit says this is illegal, it hasto control this with thehelp of resources and manpower at its disposal. If thegovernment says it is legal,we have to increase theprices of commodities manifold for our survival,”said Khekugha Muru, thechairman of the Confederation of Nagaland Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CNCCI).
Traders oppose‘taxes’ by Nagaarmed groupsSPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
GUWAHATI
CONTINUED ON A PAGE 8
Govt. schools help parentsbattle COVID crunchNEW DELHI
Reeling under fi�nancial stress
induced by the pandemic,
parents are withdrawing
children from private schools
in the NCR and moving them
to government schools to
ease the burden of fees.
CITY A PAGE 4DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD
IN BRIEF
Hindutva’s pull is intact,but Jats want moreALIGARH/HATHRAS
As the Bharatiya Janata Party
faces the Jat challenge in
western Uttar Pradesh, the
message from the ground in
Aligarh and Hathras districts
is mixed. While many still
swear by the ruling party,
others feel it has let down a
vote bank known to be loyal.
STATES A PAGE 6DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD
CMYK
A ND-NDE
DELHI THE HINDU
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 20212EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
Two men were arrested aftera quarrel broke out betweenthem in Shahdara’s Seemapuri on Friday night, the police said on Saturday.
Legal action has been taken against the duo who belong to diff�erent communities, the police said. Theyhave ruled out any communal angle in the incident.
DCP (Shahdara) R. Sathiyasundaram said that a call
was received from KalandarColony in Seemapuri wherein the caller stated “Do sa-mudayon mein jhagda horaha hai, need police [A fi�ghtbroke out between two communities, need policehelp]”.
3 admitted to hospitalThree persons were admitted to Guru Teg BahadurHospital.
“It was revealed that aquarrel broke out between
two neighbours — Veeru, 32,and Shezhad, 22, — over a trivial issue of verbal abuse.Both were found to be drunkat that time. Later, Veeru’ssisterinlaw, Pushpa, 35,came out in his support andone Meenakshi (another
neighbour) joined Shezhad,”Mr. Sahiyasundaram said.
The police said that a caseunder Section 160 (punishment for committing aff�ray)of the Indian Penal Code hasbeen registered againstShehzad, Meenakshi, Veeruand Pushpa. Both Shehzadand Veeru were arrested under Section 107/151 of the Criminal Procedure Code and areport in a noncognisablematter has been lodgedagainst the four persons.
Three persons admitted to hospital; police rule out communal angle in incident
Staff Reporter
NEW DELHI
Two held over drunken brawl in Seemapuri
<> The quarrel broke
out between Veeru
and Shezhad over
a trivial issue
R. Sathiyasundaram
DCP (Shahdara)
Two persons have been arrested for allegedly running a friendship scamwherein they duped innocent women on the pretextof sending them gifts fromabroad and asked them topay Customs clearance, thepolice said on Saturday.
DCP (Outer) ParvinderSingh said the accused havebeen identifi�ed as Damodarand Rehmat Khan.
The police said the matter came to light on August24 when a woman, a resident of Rani Bagh, approached them and statedthat she befriended oneJeams, who claimed to befrom the U.K., on Instagram. He asked her to payhis agent ₹�60,000 on thepretext of sending gifts toher. He claimed theamount was required forCustoms clearance. However, even when she paid thesum, no goods were eversent to her, the police said.
It was found that the money had gone to a bank account but the address attached to it was fake. Withthe help of technical andhuman surveillance, thepolice arrested the accused. Iit was revealed thatthe accused would lure women on social media byposing as men from foreigncountries and then promise to send a gift even ifthe women denied.
2 arrested forduping womenin ‘friendshipgift scam’Staff Reporter
NEW DELHI
CMYK
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THE HINDU DELHI
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2021 3EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
CITY
Published by N. Ravi at Kasturi Buildings, 859 & 860, Anna Salai, Chennai-600002 and Printed by S. Ramanujam at HT Media Ltd. Plot No. 8, Udyog Vihar, Greater Noida Distt. Gautam Budh Nagar, U.P. 201306, on behalf of THG PUBLISHING PVT LTD., Chennai-600002. Group Editorial Officer: Krishna Prasad. Editor: Suresh Nambath (Responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act).
Regd. DL(ND)-11/6110/2006-07-08 ● RNI No. UPENG/1986/49939 ● ISSN 0971 - 751X ● Vol. 11 ● No. 38
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Timings
DELHI
SUNDAY, SEP. 19
RISE 06:08 SET 18:22
RISE 17:46 SET 04:14
MONDAY, SEP. 20
RISE 06:09 SET 18:20
RISE 18:19 SET 05:15
TUESDAY, SEP. 21
RISE 06:09 SET 18:19
RISE 18:50 SET 06:12
Union Minister HardeepSingh Puri and Chief MinisterArvind Kejriwal jointly inaugurated the NajafgarhDhansaBus Stand extension of theGrey Line of Delhi Metro viavideoconferencing here onSaturday.
The opening of the 1.5kmcorridor makes the Grey LineMetro accessible to a sizeablechunk of population living inOuter Delhi. Mr. Kejriwalsought to emphasise that theextension may seem shortbut it will cater to denselypopulated areas.
Delhi’s Transport MinisterKailash Gahlot, Ambassadorof Japan in India Satoshi Suzuki, Managing Director, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation(DMRC), Mangu Singh andseveral other dignitaries andoffi�cials were present at thevirtual function.
Passenger services on thissection commenced at 5p.m., DMRC offi�cials said.
With the opening of this
section, the DwarkaDhansaBus Stand Grey Line has become a 6.1kmlong corridorwith four stations, includingan interchange at Dwarka.The Grey Line will provideseamless connectivity fromNajafgarh and Dhansa BusStand to diff�erent parts of thecity, the government said.
“It is a moment of great delight for all the people of Outer Delhi, especially the residents of Najafgarh,” Mr.Kejriwal said. “So far, theroute of Delhi Metro was ending at the Delhi Gate region of
Najafgarh. There are about50 villages in the area fromwhere a huge number of people come to inner Delhi towork. All these people had tocross the Phirni Road Chowkto get to the metro station,which would result in a hugetraffi�c jam at the Chowk.”
Ease of movement“Now that the metro servicehas been extended to theDhansa Bus Stand, peoplewon’t need to cross thechowk and stand in the traffi�c. The extension may be just
1.5kmlong but it is very signifi�cant for the residents,”the Chief Minister said, adding that a large number ofpeople who come from Jhajjar, Haryana, to work in Delhiwill also benefi�t from it.
The Dhansa Bus Stand metro station, the Delhi government said, is the fi�rst ever underground station of theDelhi Metro network to havean entire underground fl�oordedicated to parking.
The Delhi government, Mr.Kejriwal said, had put forth aproposal with regard to theGrey line, which the Centreapproved.
Delhi BJP president AdeshGupta took a swipe at Mr. Kejriwal for allegedly taking credit for a project which wasoriginally planned by theCentre. “First delay the project, then take credit for someone else’s work! Wow, Arvind Kejriwal, well done!Thanks to Modiji for the commencement of the Najafgarh– Dhansa Bus Stand MetroRail Corridor!” he tweeted.
Metro’s NajafgarhDhansa BusStand section opens for publicThe corridor will cater to densely populated areas in Outer Delhi, says Kejriwal
Special Correspondent
New Delhi
The NajafgarhDhansa Bus Stand section on the Grey Line wasopened via videoconferencing on Saturday. * PTI
Delhi University offi�cials willhold a series of meetingswith college principals to fi�nalise the cutoff� schedulewhich is likely to be releasedby next week, offi�cials saidon Saturday.
The university plans to release its fi�rst cutoff� on October 1 to accommodate students who are appearing forimprovement or compartment exams, they added.
Professor Rajeev Gupta,chairman of the university’sadmission committee said,“We will fi�nalise the cutoff�schedule very soon. October1 is a tentative date for thefi�rst cutoff�. We plan to release the cutoff� on that day.We will be holding meetingswith college principals andnodal offi�cers to fi�nalise theschedule.”
He said they plan to release a cutoff� schedule for atleast fi�ve cutoff�s by nextweek.
A college principal, requesting anonymity, saidthey have started holdingmeetings at their level toanalyse the cutoff� trend.
Another principal saidthey are yet to receive thedata of applications from theuniversity and will decideaccordingly.
2.87 lakh applicantsMost of the principals wereunanimous in saying that thecutoff�s are going to be higher this time, with more students scoring above 95% thisyear in the Central Board ofSecondary Education(CBSE) Board exams.
Over 2.87 lakh students
have applied for Delhi University’s undergraduatecourses, down from 3.53lakh applications last year,with the maximum aspirantsfrom the CBSE.
Over 2.29 lakh applicantsare from CBSEaffi�liatedschools, followed by Boardof School Education Haryana (9,918), Council for the Indian School Certifi�cation Examination (9,659) and UPBoard of High School and Intermediate Education(8,007).
Offi�cials to hold a series of meetings to fi�nalise schedule
Press Trust of India
New Delhi
The university will accommodate students who are appearingfor improvement or compartment exams. * FILE PHOTO
DU fi�rst cutoff� likely on Oct. 1
A Delhi court has framedcharges of rioting, arson andproperty damage againsttwo men for allegedly settinga shrine on fi�re, vandalisingand looting houses andshops during the riots lastyear.
As per the chargesheet,while accused Gaurav allegedly put a shrine on fi�re witha petrol bomb in Delhi’s Bhajanpura, accused PrashantMalhotra looted and vandalised shops, houses, and vehicles in the same area on February 24, 2020.
Additional Sessions JudgeVinod Yadav framed chargesunder requisite sectionsagainst the two accused. The
two pleaded not guilty andclaimed trial in the case.
According to the police,both the accused were partof a riotous mob. Their calldata record (CDR) locationhas also been found to be atthe Bhajanpura intersectionand in nearby areas wherethe alleged incident tookplace.
The case was registeredon the complaint of an assistant subinspector and thetwo were arrested on April3, 2020. They were, however, released on bail by thecourt 10 days later, according to the fi�nal report.
Their location was found to be at the alleged incident sitePress Trust of India
New Delhi
Police conducting a fl�agmarch in riothit northeastDelhi. * FILE PHOTO
Delhi riots: 2 charged with settingshrine on fi�re, damaging property
44 new virus infectionsreported in CapitalNEW DELHI
The Capital reported no new
COVID19 death in 24 hours
and the total number of
deaths stood at 25,085, as per
a Delhi government bulletin
released on Saturday. Also, 44
new cases were reported,
taking the total cases to
14,38,469. The test positivity
rate stood at 0.06%.
IN BRIEF
Pain ofPartitionin letter
and spirit Many of us know what‘long COVID’ is but have little idea about the term‘long Partition’. Over theyears, the trauma that Partition caused to 20 milliondisplaced Indians hasspurred the imagination ofmany artists and writers.Decades have not diminished Saadat Hasan Manto’s Toba Tek Singh thatcaptured the madness ofthe idea of Partition.
Years later, historian Vazira F.Y. Zamindar exploredthe stories of many reallifevictims of Partition in herseminal work The LongPartition and the Makingof Modern South Asia(Penguin/Viking).
One of them was Ghulam Ali, a havildar in theBritish Indian Army. Posted in Rawalpindi at thetime of Partition, he choseto serve in India as his family home was in Lucknow. But as riots broke outin Rawalpindi, he couldnot cross the border andcontinued to serve in Pakistan. He worked as a‘limb fi�tter’ in the Limb Fitting Wing of the Army andthe title stuck to his name.
When things becamenormal, the Pakistan Armydecided to discharge himas he originally opted forIndia. But the Indian government didn’t accepthim and he was deported.
He had to spend time in aHindu refugee camp in Lahore where most considered him an Indian spy.After a long legal battle, Indian diplomats in Pakistanagreed to grant him a restricted visa to the countryon humanitarian grounds.
Recently, writer SachinGarg came up with a novelised version of the story ofGhulam Ali.
In Hindu Refugee Camp,Lahore (Grapevine), Sachin has built on the limited information available inZamindar’s book to createan imaginary narrative thatunravels through the letters exchanged betweenGhulam Ali and his belovedZahira Raza.
In 2016, Sachin recounts, he attended a Dastangoi performance calledDastan-e-taqseem-e-Hindin Lucknow where the performers narrated true stories about the Partition.“They must’ve narrated seveneight stories but thestory of Havildar GhulamAli ‘Limb Fitter’ struck achord with me for severalreasons.”
The next year, when Sachin decided to write abook on the subject, he approached Dastangoi performer Ankit Chadha forhis sources. It led him toZamindar’s account. “Itried contacting Ms. Zamindar but could not getthrough to her. I approached some other Partition historians but theyconfi�rmed that Ms. Zamindar is the only source ofGhulam Ali’s story. Hence,I had to base my researchto only what she had written about him,” saysSachin.
However, he adds, hedid ample research aboutother aspects of the story.“I had to read up about women’s lives in Muslim households in the 1950s. Thebook also captures the history of courtesan culture inLahore and how it evolvedin the 19th and 20th
century.”Sachin also visited La
hore, Karachi, and Islamabad to gather the Pakistaniperspective on the Partition and how they view it.
The book, he maintains,
is part historical romance,part social commentary,and part kickinthethroatstorytelling.
Sachin feels there is something about reading someone else’s letters andthat led him to use the exchange of letters format totell the compelling story.“It makes us feel we are eavesdropping into someone’s private life and itfeels a lot more real.” Also,he says, Zamindar wrotethat Ghulam Ali sent lettersto diff�erent authorities.
For Sachin, whose literary journey started as ablog writer, the emotionalhook of the story is thatthere was a man and a woman, who were separatedby a border for no fault oftheirs. “The story startswith the man being on thebrink of death, as he is broken physically and emotionally. His beloved liveswith her maternal grandmother and her sister, andis a working woman in amaledominated world,fi�ghting to make a place forherself. Where will fatelead both of them?”
On how the ‘Limb Fitter’remained largely unnoticed, Sachin says, in thebigger scheme of things,Ghulam Ali was just a number in a very large data set.
One of the major challenges for Sachin wascreating the world of Zahira. “She lived in an allwoman household. I tried torecreate the women’s banter that I had seen as achild during weddings. Iwanted to keep the womenreal and have clear motivations for the way they behave,” says the writer wholeft his corporate job to bea fulltime writer.
Partition memories arealways haunting and Sachin feels the book, his seventh, will resonate withthe young reader. “Be itHindus or Muslims, we’reall emotional about our religion. Politicians use thisto manipulate us and keepus busy in fi�ghting amongeach other, so that wedon’t ask real questionsabout topics like education, healthcare and infrastructure. This was as truethen as it is today.”
Anuj Kumar
CMYK
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DELHI THE HINDU
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CITY
The COVID19 pandemic haseff�ected an exodus of a diff�erent kind. Several childrenstudying in private schools inthe National Capital Regionhave moved to governmentschools as their parents, reeling under fi�nancial diffi�cultiesbrought about by consecutivelockdowns, have not beenable to aff�ord the school fees.
Given their precarious fi�nancial position, parents sayfree education will help easethe burden of school fees at atime when education hasmoved online and privateschool education has becomea luxury they can no longeraff�ord.
Vijay Verma, a photographer living on rent in Indirapuram, said at the start of thepandemic, getting throughthe month on his salary wasimpossible despite cuttingdown on expenditure. Withtwo personal loans and ahome loan to pay off�, he decided to shift his son, whohad just completed Class Xfrom a private school, to a government school in MotiBagh. His son, an avid football player, he said, did notprotest as the government
school had a reputation of encouraging football players.
“For over a year now, myson has not attended footballpractice as schools have beenclosed. What has made itworse is that we have nowshifted to Greater Noida andto attend school, my son hasto leave home at 6 a.m. tomake it to the fi�rst class at 8a.m. His school is approximately 40 km away. This isimpacting his studies but wecannot aff�ord to stay closer tohis school,” Mr. Verma said.
At Happy Model Senior Secondary School — a budgetschool in Gurugram’s SheetlaColony, which mostly catersto lower middle class familiessuch as migrant workers, autorickshaw drivers, vegetablevendors and rickshaw pullers— almost onefourth of thestudents, mostly in the primary wing, have withdrawn.
The school’s director, Gaurav Arora, attributed thetrend to a host of factors, themost compelling being the inability of the parents to paythe dues due to loss of livelihood or salary cuts. Mr. Arorasaid the school had a strengthof around 750, but 200oddstudents had left over thepast one year.
“The sudden lockdown
pushed many families tohandtomouth existence dueto loss of livelihood and cut insalaries and they decided toshift their children to government schools to avoid payinghefty fees for online classes.Also, there were families whowithdrew their children tokeep them at home for thefear of the pandemic or theycould not aff�ord smartphonesfor online classes. Besides,many migrants who left fortheir homes during the lockdown are yet to return,” said
Mr. Arora. The school management off�ered several concessions to the parents, suchas 2050% discount in fees,fl�exibility to pay the dues ininstalments and also waivedthe annual charges to discourage them from withdrawing their kids.
More girls exitingAt the school that charges amonthly fee ranging from₹�1,500 to ₹�3,500 for diff�erentclasses, Mr. Arora said themajority of students who left
been able to send them backto school yet. “I have still notcleared the dues at theschool, so I cannot secure admission in another one. As ofnow, they are not studyingbut as the pandemic situationgets better, I hope to startearning again and get themadmitted to a governmentschool nearby,” said Ms. Kumari. She added that even fora government school, sheneeds to pay admission feethat she cannot aff�ord yet.
Some parents who haveopted to make the shift fromprivate to governmentschools feel that in juniorclasses, in the online education mode, there is not muchdiff�erence in the quality ofthe two. Yogesh Dutta, a resident of Jahangirpuri whoused to set up stalls at weeklymarkets, said that due to theclosure of markets, he wasforced to take his son out of aprivate school.
“My son is in Class III.Learning through the mobilephone in private school is similar to that in a governmentschool. My son sits with thephone and listens to theteacher at home. Why shouldI pay money for a privateschool when schools areshut?” he said.
were girls. “I saw this trend inour school. Also, my wife, ateacher at a governmentschool, told me how girlsfrom good private schoolstook admission in herschool,” he said.
Confi�rming the trend ofgrowing admissions in government schools, GeetaArya, Principal, GovernmentSenior Secondary School(Boys), said the studentstrength in her school hadgone up to 1,183 from 977 ayear ago. “We still have fi�vedays to go before the admission process for the presentsession ends. We are expecting to touch the 1,200markthis time.”
Ashwini Kumar, SchoolCadre Lecturer, Fine Arts,said: “Compared to privateschools, the charges in government schools are almostnil and this is the main reasonfor the exodus.”
In some cases, fi�nancialburden has forced students tostay out of schools as well.Manju Kumari, who works asa domestic help in GreaterNoida, said she was forced topull out her two daughters,studying in Class IX and ClassII, and son, a Class 1 student,from a private school duringthe lockdown and she has not
Govt. schools help parents battle COVID crunchReeling under fi�nancial stress, families are withdrawing their children from private schools to ease the burden of fees
Jaideep Deo Bhanj
Ashok Kumar
NEW DELHI
Focus on learning: Students at a government school in AdarshNagar in north Delhi. * SUSHIL KUMAR VERMA
Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Saturdaylaunched a mobile musicclassroom and recording studio, dubbed as “music bus”,at Delhi governmentrunSchool of Specialised Excellence (SoSE) in performingand visual arts.
“SoSE in performing andvisual arts is a special school
where students interested indiff�erent visual art forms willbe taken. This school will befor Classes XIXII and most ofthe subjects will be related toarts,” an offi�cial said.
Classes for the fi�rst batchof students at this school willbegin later this year and thebus will be stationed at theschool, he said. “From here,with a team, including musicteachers, the bus will go to 15
other government schools.Students in those schools willbe given a chance to showcase their talent and teacherswill help them too,” the offi�cial added.
Interested students fromthese schools will be then selected to SoSE in performingand visual arts.
More than 5,000 studentsstudying in governmentrunschools are expected to bene
fi�t from it. Under this project,a bus has been transformedinto a moving music class, ahighquality music recordingstudio and a performingstage. The bus studio isequipped with a Smart TV,which will be used to sharedigital educational music videos on issues related to socialemotional health andwellbeing, the governmentsaid.
Young talents will be picked from tours to governmentrun schools
Staff Reporter
New Delhi
Sisodia inaugurates ‘music bus’ at govt. school
The best part about travel isthat it stays with you long after the last suitcase has beenunpacked and put away. Ihad been thinking of ChiangMai, a beautiful and somewhat hilly region in Thailandwhere we spent a marvellousfew days in a lychee orchardsome years ago. And, as ithappens, while I was wondering when travel would bepossible again, I found that anew restaurant in town had adish called ‘Chicken ChiangMai’.
The plush dining place inVasant Vihar is called KikoBa, and it specialises in PanAsian cuisine, focusing onthe food of Japan, Thailandand China. I had a mix of cuisines, and came to the conclusion that the food wasrather good, indeed.
The chicken Chiang Mai,for instance, had a sauce thathad been prepared with a bitof curry powder (which isreally a mix of spices), powdered coconut milk and afew aromatic herbs. Thechicken had soaked in thesauce, and the outcome wasa dish that brought to mindthe happy ambience ofChiang Mai.
The restaurant (62, BasantLok Market, tel: 9811000589)has an interesting menu,with a focus on various kindsof grills, including the Japanese robatayaki, which is alipsmacking form of barbecued food. I had some dishesfrom their takeaway menu,and while most were delightful, it made me realise thatthere is nothing quite like agrill that comes off� a sizzlinghot plate.
I was happy with theopening dish — spinach gomai, a traditional Japanesesalad, which had been givena tasty tweak. KikoBaturned the blanched spinachleaves into little rolls andtossed them in a nutty dressing. I enjoyed it, and happily
mopped up the sauce after Iwas done with the spinach.
Another dish that I discovered in Thailand — and haveloved it ever since — is stirfried morning glory. A dish oflightly sautéed greens, thishad the distinctive aromas ofgarlic and basil — fl�avoursthat I am greatly fond of.Then came the clay potmushrooms — stir fried andfl�avoured with Sichuan pepper and vegan soy sauce. Imoved to the main course —prawns tossed in a butterygarlic sauce. The prawnswere juicy, and the sauce wassinfully delicious.
The dish that didn’t workfor me was the pork rib. Ithad been marinated withblack pepper, star anise, Sichuan pepper, cinnamonpowder and ginger powderbut sadly there was too muchof everything —including,alas, salt. The toff�ee pudding
was nothing to write homeabout either.
The rates are somewhathigh — varying between ₹�450and ₹�950 for the takeawaymenu. The full menu includes dishes such as Scottish salmon carpaccio(₹�800), crispy squid (₹�750),steamed tofu and asparagus(₹�800), grilled avocado(₹�700) and slow braised lambchops (₹�1,300).
The food celebrates tradition, fl�avour and craftsmanship with a modern and refi�ned twist, the restaurant’sconsultant chef VaibhavBhargava tells me. “It takesyou through a culinary journey,” he says.
In these gloomy times, it isgood to know that new restaurants are opening up in thecity. It tells us that if we continue to take care, we will beatthis persistent virus. Meanwhile, stay masked, folks.
FOOD SPOT
KikoBa serves a mix of cuisines, focusingon food from Japan, Thailand and China
rahul verma
Savoury delights:Butter garlic
prawns atKiko-Ba.
A culinaryjourneyacross Asia
Weather WatchRainfall, temperature & air quality in select metros yesterday
Temperature Data: IMD, Pollution Data: CPCB, Map: INSAT/IMD (Taken at 18.00 Hrs)
Forecast for Sunday: Heavy/very heavy rainfall likely at isolatedplaces over Gujarat, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Gangetic WestBengal, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Pu-ducherry and Karaikal. Thunderstorm accompanied with light-ning likely at isolated places over east Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand,coastal Andhra Pradesh, Yanam, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry
city rain max min city rain max min
Agartala.............. 25....32.7....25.2 Kozhikode....................—....33.1....25.5
Ahmedabad...........—....32.5....26.3 Kurnool .......................—....34.3....24.3
Aizawl................ 0.6....26.2....19.2 Lucknow................... 0.2....33.6....25.7
Allahabad..............—....34.1....25.4 Madurai ..................... 16....34.2....24.2
Bengaluru .......... 1.2....30.8....21.0 Mangaluru ................ 0.4....30.4....24.2
Bhopal ............. 26.2....28.0....22.0 Mumbai .......................—....32.2....25.6
Bhubaneswar.... 35.7....32.4....24.8 Mysuru ........................—....33.0....21.2
Chandigarh ...........—....34.7....25.4 New Delhi ...................—....34.4....24.6
Chennai ................ 9....35.1....25.0 Patna ........................ 17....32.6....24.9
Coimbatore ...........—....31.8....23.8 Port Blair.................. 0.1....30.6....24.0
Dehradun ........... 0.2....31.3....24.7 Puducherry ............... 6.6....33.0....23.6
Gangtok................—....22.8....16.7 Pune............................—....30.3....20.1
Goa.......................—....31.6....24.6 Raipur .........................—....32.2....23.6
Guwahati ........... 0.1....30.8....25.5 Ranchi .........................—....31.7....23.3
Hubballi ................—....30.0....21.0 Shillong.......................—....23.1....16.9
Hyderabad ............—....30.2....24.4 Shimla.........................—....27.8....18.9
Imphal ..................—....27.2....21.5 Srinagar.......................—....31.9....17.0
Jaipur ................... 2....30.2....24.3 Thiruvananthapuram.........—....31.7....25.4
Kochi ................. 0.2....30.8....26.0 Tiruchi......................... 9....33.1....23.8
Kohima .................—....25.0....17.6 Vijayawada ..................—....35.2....26.4
Kolkata ................. 4....30.7....27.1 Visakhapatnam .............—....35.8....26.0
(Rainfall data in mm; temperature in Celsius)
Pollutants in the air you are breathing Yesterday
CITIES SO2 NO2 CO PM2.5 PM10 CODE
In observation made at4.00 p.m., Srinagar,Jammu & Kashmir recordedan overall air quality index(AQI) score of 289indicating an unhealthylevel of pollution. Incontrast, Prayagraj, UttarPradesh recorded a healthyAQI score of 22
Ahmedabad..... ..6 117 123 ....31 ...34 ....*
Bengaluru ....... 11 ...— .88 ....97 ...90 ....*
Chennai .......... 17 .17 .39 ....78 ...64 ....*
Delhi .............. 18 .42 .76 ....74 .101 ....*
Hyderabad ...... 32 .21 .19 ....50 ...89 ....*
Kolkata........... 14 .21 .28 ....55 ...68 ....*
Lucknow ......... ..8 .81 ...— ....50 ...68 ....*
Mumbai .......... ..6 .27 .77 ....27 ...66 ....*
Pune............... 28 .17 110 ....42 ...35 ....*
Visakhapatnam 16 .59 .44 ....55 .115 ....*
Air Quality Code: * Poor * Moderate * Good (Readings indicate average AQI)
SO2: Sulphur Dioxide. Short-term exposure can harm the respiratory system,
making breathing difficult. It can affect visibility by reacting with other air
particles to form haze and stain culturally important objects such as statues
and monuments.
NO2: Nitrogen Dioxide. Aggravates respiratory illness, causes haze to form by
reacting with other air particles, causes acid rain, pollutes coastal waters.
CO: Carbon monoxide. High concentration in air reduces oxygen supply to
critical organs like the heart and brain. At very high levels, it can cause
dizziness, confusion, unconsciousness and even death.
PM2.5 & PM10: Particulate matter pollution can cause irritation of the eyes,
nose and throat, coughing, chest tightness and shortness of breath, reduced
lung function, irregular heartbeat, asthma attacks, heart attacks and premature
death in people with heart or lung disease
Terming the vicinity of theunderconstruction Ashramunderpass a “chaos”, Leader of the Opposition in theDelhi Assembly RamvirSingh Bidhuri on Saturdayaccused the Delhi government of turning a blind eyeto commuters’ woes.
The leader questionedthe consecutive deadlines
that were missed for thecompletion of the project.This comes a day after Public Works Department Minister Satyendra Jain soughtto issue an assurance thatthe construction of the underpass would be completed within two months.
“Despite being such animportant road, it is totallyneglected by the government,” Mr. Bidhuri alleged.
BJP blames govt. for delayin Ashram underpass workSpecial Correspondent
New Delhi
In Hindu Refugee Camp,Lahore, writer Sachin Garg has
built an imaginary narrativearound the tragic story of
Ghulam Ali ‘Limb Fitter’
Story to tell: SachinGarg feels the bookwill resonate withyoung readers.
* SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
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STATES
OBITUARY & REMEMBRANCEOBITUARY & REMEMBRANCE
DEATH
REMEMBRANCE
As the Bharatiya Janata Partyfaces the Jat challenge in western Uttar Pradesh, the messagefrom the ground in Aligarh andHathras districts is mixed. Whilethere are many who still swearby the ruling party for providingsuraksha, bijli aur sadak (safety, electricity and roads), thereare others who feel the party haslet down a vote bank that isknown to be loyal.
Jats constitute around 18% ofthe population here and theirvotes become a decisive factor in40 to 50 seats. At present, thereare 14 Jat MLAs in the Assembly,most of whom are from the BJP.
Demand for MSPIn the milletpotato belt, organised khaps and sugarcane pricesare not dominant factors but thedemand for the MSP law is as resonant as in the Muzaff�arnagarMeerut belt.
“The farmers have to sellwheat and millet at a much lower rate than the MSP in the openmarket. Cold storages are overfl�owing with potatoes becausethe market rate is lower than the
input cost,” said Surendra Singh,a farmer from Iglas.
A crosssection of Jat farmersthat The Hindu spoke to felt thatthe region mostly had smallfarmers who could not aff�ord tospend days at protest sites, butthe anguish was no less.
The sense was if the government could provide them guaranteed MSP, they would notneed the crutches of Kisan Credit Card and PM Kisan SammanNidhi.
There are others like Ram Naresh Singh, a farmer from Lodhawho attended the PM’s rally earlier this week , and is happy withthe ‘double engine’ government.“Had you attended a rally duringthe previous regime, you wouldnot have left with the gold chainin your neck. This governmenthas given us security, electricityand roads. What more do youwant?” he asked. Religious polarisation is evident in conversa
tions. Bhoop Singh, anotherfarmer, said they voted for theBJP on “the issue of Hindutva”and the party has “lived up to itspromise on the Ram temple and[abrogation of ] Article 370.”
Rahul Singh, a young graduate from Aligarh Muslim University from Khair said the upcoming university in the nameof Raja Mahendra Pratap Singhwould give the community asense of parity with the Muslims.
With senior Samajwadi Party(SP) leader Azam Khan cited asthe prime example, “controllingthe Muslims,” is being touted asthe main success of the BJP.“During the reign of BSP and SP,cow theft was a common problem. Now nobody can dare doit. With the gaushala schemefi�nding roots in the region, theageing cows have found ahome,” said Dharmendra Singh,an advocate.
Gordhwaj Singh, the youngscion of the Mursan estate, whois a contender for the BJP ticketfrom Sadabad, said as somebodywho had large tracts of agricultural land, he didn’t see any problem with the farm laws.
“Small farmers have suff�eredbecause of the selfseeking attitude of some big farmers in thisregion. If the government policies help small farmers to be independent, what is the harm?”asked Mr. Singh, the greatgreatgrandson of iconic jat ruler, RajaMahendra Pratap Singh.
Hindutva pull intact, but Jats want moreAmid religiouspolarisation,agrarian issues stillresonate with thecommunity
Anuj Kumar
Aligarh/Hathras A crosssection of Jat farmersfeel that the region mostly hadsmall farmers who could notaff�ord to spend days at protestsites but the anguish was noless. * SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
Telangana Rashtra Samithi(TRS) working president andMunicipal Administrationand Urban Development(MA&UD) Minister K.T. RamaRao on Saturday said the government will not hesitate tofi�le sedition cases againstpersons who were trying todefame Telangana’s growthand belittle the achievements with false fi�gures andallegations.
In response to criticismfrom both the Congress andthe BJP, “which have taken acriticism route loaded withpersonal abuses targetingChief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao”, he said, “Wedon’t mind if they abuse uspersonally, but if they try todefame Telangana, we won’thesitate to fi�le seditioncases.”
Drug chargesRidiculing Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee(TPCC) president RevanthReddy for repeatedly targeting him as the “brand ambassador for drugs”, he said
he was ready for a drug analysis test to prove his innocence. Mr. Reddy should alsoensure that Congress leaderRahul Gandhi takes the sametests, Mr. Rao added. Referring to the “chargesheet”fi�led by the Congress at theGajwel ‘Dalita Girijana Dandora’ meeting on Friday, hesaid those who were “involved in criminal cases focus on fi�ling chargesheetsonly”, hinting at Mr. Reddy.
Mr. Rao also ridiculed theBJP’s criticism against theTRS for not celebrating September 17 as the State’s Liberation Day. He said the party’s stand was clear and itwould recognise June 2(when Telangana State wasformed) as Liberation Day.
Govt. will not hesitate tofi�le sedition casesagainst Oppn.: Minister‘Stop defaming Telangana with false data’
R. Ravikanth Reddy
Hyderabad
K.T. Rama Rao
The purported balancingact on the part of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the partyled LeftDemocratic Front government in Kerala on the controversy over the “narcoticjihad” remark by Pala Bishop Mar Joseph Kallarangatthas apparently not gonedown well with a section ofthe Muslim community.
The Samastha Kerala Jamiyyathul Ulema has assailed the LDF governmentover the visit of Ministerfor Cooperation V.N. Vasavan to the Bishop’s houseon Friday. The visit was togive a clean chit to theBishop who made the remark and was “shamefuland deplorable”, an articlepublished on Saturday inthe Suprabhatham daily,the mouthpiece of the Samastha, said. The articleseeks to know whether thevisit to “sing Hallelujah tothe controversial preacherof hatred at Pala” was partof the government’s offi�cial stand.
The Samastha is traditionally close to the IndianUnion Muslim League, acoalition partner in theOpposition United Democratic Front, unlike its rival, the All India Sunni Jamiyyathul Ulama led byKanthapuram A.P. Aboobacker Musliyar, who has acosy relationship with theLDF.
The Bishop had allegedthat jihadists were trapping women of other religions through “love” and“narcotic” jihad.
Muslim bodyfl�ays Keralagovt. stand
Mohamed Nazeer
KOZHIKODE
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NEWS
FROM PAGE ONE
“The government of Punjabmeans the security of India,and if Sidhu is made the faceof the Congress for chief ministership, I will fi�ght him atevery step,” he added.
Later in the evening, afterthe CLP meeting, Congressleader and party’s Punjabobserver Ajay Maken saidtwo resolutions were passedat the meeting, which wasattended by 78 MLAs of the80.
“In fi�rst resolution, thecontribution of Capt. Amarinder Singh towards theparty and for Punjab wasappreciated and also presented an expectation thathis guidance will continueto be there in the future aswell. In the second resolution, the Congress presidentwas authorised to select theCLP leader. Whosoever shedecided will be acceptableto all,” he said.
With several rounds ofmeetings during the pastfew months failing to dousethe infi�ghting, the Congressleadership late on Fridaynight announced the PunjabCLP meeting, as yet anotherattempt to resolve the turmoil in the Punjab unit.
Congress president SoniaGandhi is learnt to have spoken to the Chief Minister, after nearly 40 MLAs wrote tothe central leadership ex
pressing “lack of faith in theleadership of the Chief Minister in fulfi�lling the party’s2017 Assembly election promises.”
They also said that hardlyanything was being done towards fulfi�lment of the 18point programme issued bythe party high commandand demanded a meeting ofthe CLP.
“The AICC has received arepresentation from a largenumber of MLAs from theCongress party, requestingto immediately convene ameeting of the Congress Legislative Party of Punjab. Accordingly, a meeting of theCLP has been convened at 5p.m. on September 18 atPunjab Pradesh CongressCommittee offi�ce,” AICC incharge of Punjab aff�airs Harish Rawat said in a tweet lateon Friday, taking many legislators by surprise.
In the past few monthsthose who had raised thebanner of revolt againstCapt. Amarinder includefour Ministers — SukhjinderRandhawa, Tript RajinderBajwa, Sukhbinder Sarkariaand Charanjit Channi — besides some MLAs.
The disgruntled leaderspointed out that the Capt.Amarinderled governmenthad failed to resolve severalissues.
Amarinder quits amidturmoil in Congress
Mr. Supriyo was elected tothe Lok Sabha from Asansolin 2014 and 2019.
The defection comesweeks before the crucialBhabanipur bypoll where
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is contesting.
Interestingly, the BJP hadnominated Mr. Supriyoamong the star campaigners for the seat.
MP Babul Supriyo quitsBJP, joins Trinamool
Chief Justice of India N.V. Ramana on Saturday said theordinary Indian felt out ofplace in courts, where proceedings were lengthy, expensive and in English. Besides, judgments were eithertoo long or technical or managed to be both, he said.
The CJI was speaking at anevent organised by the Karnataka Bar Council in Bengaluru to pay tribute to the lateJustice M.M. Shantanagoudar of the Supreme Court.
He said it was time thecourts woke up from theircolonial stupor and faced thepractical realities of Indiansociety.
“The need of the hour isIndianisation of our legal system,” Chief Justice Ramanasaid.
Simple deliveryRules and procedures of justice delivery should be madesimple. The ordinary, poorand rural Indian should notbe scared of judges or thecourts or think twice beforeapproaching the courts. “Heshould be able to speak the
truth,” Chief Justice Ramanasaid.
Instead, multiple barrierscontinued to thwart the citizen’s way to the courts. “Theworking and the style ofcourts do not sit well withthe complexities of India,”he said.
The systems, practicesand rules of courts were foreign and sourced from ourcolonial days. They did nottake care of the practical
realities of India.“When I say Indianisation,
I mean the need to adapt tothe practical realities of oursociety and localise our justice delivery systems. For example, parties from a ruralplace fi�ghting a family dispute are usually made to feelout of place in the court.They do not understand thearguments or pleadingswhich are mostly in English,a language alien to them.
These days judgments havebecome lengthy, whichfurther complicates the position of litigants. For the parties to understand the implications of a judgment, theyare forced to spend moremoney,” he said.
For whom do the courtsfunction, the CJI asked. Forthe litigants, who are the“justice seekers”. They arethe ultimate benefi�ciaries,the top judge said.
“The simplifi�cation of justice delivery should be ourpressing concern. It is crucial to make justice deliverymore transparent, accessibleand eff�ective. Proceduralbarriers often undermine access to justice,” the CJI said.
The Chief Justice said bothjudges and lawyers had tocreate an environmentwhich was comforting forthe litigants and otherstakeholders.
Alternative mechanisms The CJI said alternative dispute mechanisms such asmediation and conciliationwould go a long way in reducing pendency and unnecessary litigation and saveresources.
Chief Justice Ramana quoted former Chief Justice ofthe U.S. Supreme Court Warren Burger, “The notion thatordinary people want blackrobed judges, welldressedlawyers in fi�ne courtroomsas settings to resolve theirdisputes is incorrect. Peoplewith problems, like peoplewith pains, want relief andthey want it as quickly andinexpensively as possible.”
CJI calls for ‘Indianising’ legal system ‘It is time the courts woke up from colonial stupor and faced the practical realities of Indian society’
Krishnadas Rajagopal
New Delhi
Catching up: Chief Justice of India N.V. Ramana at an event to pay tribute to the late JusticeM.M. Shantanagoudar at the Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru on Saturday. * MURALI KUMAR K.
The Maharashtra AntiTerrorism Squad (ATS) on Friday night arrested a manfrom the Jogeshwari area inthe western suburbs ofMumbai for his allegedlinks with a terror modulebusted by a special cell ofthe Delhi Police four daysago. According to offi�cials,the man’s name came upduring the investigation.
The man, identifi�ed asZakir, was arrested by theATS on Friday night andwill be taken to Delhi for interrogation. The arresttakes the total number ofpeople held in the case toseven.
ATS offi�cials, however,did not divulge the detailsabout Zakir.
The special cell of theDelhi Police arrested sixfrom diff�erent locations,claiming a plan was beinghatched to conduct strikesat diff�erent locations.
The Pakistanbased module involved the name ofgangster Dawood Ibrahim’s brother Anees Ibrahim.
One more heldin Pak. terrormodule case
Staff Reporter
Mumbai
The National InvestigationAgency (NIA), which was given the mandate to take upcases of cyberterrorism overtwo years ago, should beprovided with additional infrastructure and domain experts to probe such off�encesmore effi�ciently, accordingto experts.
“While there are severaldesignated laboratories forforensic analysis of evidence, domain expertsequipped with all necessarystateoftheart tools shouldbe involved from the inception of investigation. Evidence collection in the fi�eldof cybercrimes requires analtogether diff�erent skill set,”said an offi�cial.
Team investigationNavneet Rajan Wasan, former Bureau of Police Researchand Development DirectorGeneral who also headed theNIA, stressed the concept ofteam investigation, which is
prevalent in many countries.Referring to the ransomwareattack on a pipeline networkin the U.S. in May, he saidsuch crimes were investigated there by teams comprising police offi�cers and experts in the respective fi�elds.
“However, there is no enabling provision in the Indianlegal system which empowers a domain expert to beformally part of the evidencegathering team. In the absence of such a provision,the prosecution is suscepti
ble to charges of evidencetampering in case a domainexpert is involved by anyagency, as the Criminal Procedure Code authorises onlythe police to collect evidence,” he said.
Mr. Wasan said domainexperts were also essentialfor effi�cient handling of thetools deployed for probingsuch off�ences. During theUPA regime, investigatingagencies had sent proposalsfor inducting experts and fora provision of adequate man
power training from time totime. A proposal was alsoraised for setting up an institute of excellence for theexperts.
Given that crossborderprobe often became necessary in cybercrime cases, Mr.Wasan said the system ofjoint probe, by investigatorsfrom India and the countriesconcerned, should also beadopted.
Mutual legal assistanceA detailed proposal alongwith a draft Bill had earlierbeen sent to the then UPAgovernment for legislationon mutual legal assistance incriminal matters, to enablespeedy collection of evidence from abroad. However, another offi�cial said, itwas yet to see the light of theday.
The NIA was empoweredto probe cases of cyber terrorism under the NationalInvestigation Agency(Amendment) Act, passed byParliament in July 2019.
NIA needs infra, specialists: expertsEvidence collection in the fi�eld requires an altogether diff�erent skill set, they say
Diff�erent skill set: The National Investigation Agencyheadquarters in New Delhi. * SUSHIL KUMAR VERMA
Devesh K. Pandey
NEW DELHI
A journalist was arrestedand another was booked atthe Ambala Cantonmenthere for allegedly mentioning an “incorrect place” ofarrest of a suspected terrorist in a news report,prompting the Oppositionto attack the Haryana government for “suppressing”the freedom of the press.
The case against reporterSunil Brar and news editorSandeep Sharma of DainikBhaskar was registered onThursday under diff�erentsections of the Indian PenalCode, the police said. Mr.Brar was taken into custodyon Friday. Eff�orts are on tonab Mr. Sharma, they said.
A suspected terrorist wasarrested by the Punjab Police on Wednesday over analleged tiffi�n bomb plotfrom Mardon Sahib villageof Ambala. The newspaperheadline on the following
day stated, “Punjab policeclaims arrest of terrorist atCantt near IOC depot”.
The daily published a correction the next day on thelocation from where the suspected terrorist wasarrested.
Station House Offi�cer,Ambala Cantonment, VijayKumar said the case againstthe journalists was registered as they published thenews without any authentication. Journalist Sunil andSandeep Sharma have created fear among the massesby publishing false news, headded.
Opposition parties, including the Congress, theINLD, the Haryana Democratic Front and the BSP,criticised the arrest.
Congress leader RohitJain said the arrest was inviolation of a SupremeCourt order. He said the police had not issued notice before the arrest.
Journalist arrestedfor ‘incorrect report’Search on for another: Ambala police
Press Trust of India
Ambala
Seven girls, aged between 12and 20, drowned in a pondon Saturday in Latehar district of Jharkhand during“karma puja”. Chief Minister Hemant Soren and localMP Sunil Singh expressedshock over the incident.
“The Deputy Development Commissioner of thedistrict has been asked tohold an inquiry,” DeputyCommissioner Abu Imransaid.
According to district offi�cials, the incident occurredat Bukru village under theShregada panchayat of Balumath block when a group of10 girls had gone to the village pond to celebrate kar-ma puja, a tribal festival ofthe State.
Offi�cials said that whentwo girls started drowningin the pond and shouted forhelp, fi�ve others jumped in
to save them and alsodrowned. Four girls died atthe spot while threebreathed their last on theway to the Balumath healthcentre, they said. Amongthe dead were three sisters,Rekha Kumari, 18, ReenaKumari, 16 and Luxmi Kumari, 12. The others wereidentifi�ed as Sushma Kumari, 12, Pinku Kumari, 18, Sunita Kumari, 20, and BasantiKumari, 12. The girls werestudying in local schoolsand colleges.
Mr. Soren tweeted:“Shocked to hear about thedeath of seven girls due todrowning during Karma dalipuja at Shregada panchayatin Latehar district. May Godgrant peace to the departedsouls and give courage tothe bereaved families tobear the loss.”
Villagers blocked the BalumathChatra road in protest.
Three of the victims are sisters
Special Correspondent
Patna
Inconsolable kin: Family members of the girls who drownedin a pond at Bukru village in Latehar district on Friday. * PTI
Seven girls drown inJharkhand’s Latehar
Days after the IncomeTaxDepartment searched premises linked to Bollywoodactor Sonu Sood, the agencyon Saturday issued a statement, without naming him,claiming it had detected taxevasion of over ₹�20 crore sofar.
“The Income Tax Department conducted a searchand seizure operation on various premises of a prominent actor in Mumbai and also a Lucknowbased group ofindustries engaged in infrastructure development. A total of 28 premises spread over Mumbai, Lucknow,Kanpur, Jaipur, Delhi andGurugram have been covered in the search opera
tion,” it said.According to the agency,
during the searches on thepremises of the actor and hisassociates, incriminating evidence pertaining to tax evasion was found.
“The main modus operan-di followed by the actor hadbeen to route his unaccounted income in the form of bogus unsecured loans frommany bogus entities,” saidthe department.
“Investigations so far haverevealed use of 20 such entries, the providers of which,on examination, have accepted on oath to have givenbogus accommodation entries. There have been instances where professionalreceipts have been camoufl�aged as loans in the books
of accounts for the purposeof evasion of tax,” it said.
The agency said these“bogus” loans were used formaking investments and acquiring properties. The charity foundation incorporatedby the actor on July 21, 2020,had collected donations of₹�18.94 crore from April 1,2021, till date, of which it
spent around ₹�1.9 crore towards various relief workand the balance of ₹�17 crorewas found lying in the foundation’s bank account.
“Funds to the tune of ₹�2.1crore have also been raisedby the charity foundationfrom overseas donors on acrowdfunding platform inviolation of FCRA [ForeignContribution (Regulation)Act] regulations,” said theagency.
The simultaneous searches on the Lucknowbased infrastructure group, in whichthe actor had entered into ajoint venture real estate project and invested substantialfunds, resulted in detectionof tax evasion and irregularities in the books of account,said the IT Department.
₹�20cr. tax evasion by actor: IT Dept.Agency releases statement without naming Bollywood star Sonu Sood
Sonu Sood
Special Correspondent
New Delhi
The Supreme Court has taken strong objection to disgruntled participants of government tenders turningtheir ire into subjects of “public interest litigation (PIL)”petitions in constitutionalcourts.
A Bench of Justices S.K.Kaul and Hrishikesh Roy noted how unsuccessful partiesof a tender process approachthe courts with their “ima
ginary grievances”.“Attempts by unsuccessful
tenderers with imaginarygrievances, wounded prideand business rivalry, to makemountains out of molehillsof some technical/procedural violation or some prejudice to self, and persuadecourts to interfere by exercising power of judicial review, should be resisted,”the apex court observed inits judgment on September17.
“The enlarged role of thegovernment in economic activity and its correspondingability to give economic ‘largesse’ was the bedrock ofcreating what is commonlycalled the ‘tender jurisdiction’,” the court explainedhow tender cases startingcrowding court dockets.
The law, to promote transparency, had allowed parties to approach the HighCourts directly.
The judgment reiterated
that the power of judicial review in a tender process waslimited.
The judgment came in anappeal fi�led by Ufl�ex Ltdagainst the Madras HighCourt order of April 29, giving Tamil Nadu governmentfour months’ time to fl�oat afresh tender for productionand supply of holograms tobe pasted across the caps ofbottles of liquor sold by theTamil Nadu State MarketingCorporation (TASMAC).
Tender: SC objects to PIL pleas by bidders
Unsuccessful participants approach courts with ‘imaginary grievances’, it says
Legal Correspondent
NEW DELHI
Eminent English authorRuskin Bond, Hindi writerVinod Kumar Shukla andsix others were on Saturday selected for the SahityaAkademi Fellowship.
The National Academyof Letters said in a statement that the generalcouncil of the Akademi announced its highest honour, the Fellowship. Theothers who received theFellowship are SirshenduMukhopadhyay (Bengali),M. Leelavathy (Malayalam), Bhalchandra Nemade (Marathi), TejwantSingh Gill (Punjabi), SwamiRambhadracharya (Sanskrit), Indira Parthasarthy(Tamil).
Earlier in the day, politicianwriter M. VeerappaMoily and poet ArundhathiSubramaniam were amongthe 20 authors who received the Sahitya Akademi Award for 2020 at a ceremony. While Mr. Moilyreceived the prestigiousaward for his epic poetrySri Bahubali Ahimsadigvi-jaya in Kannada, Ms. Subramaniam won it for herpoetry collection WhenGod is a Traveller inEnglish.
The other winners inpoetry include Harish Meenakshi (Gujarati), Anamika(Hindi), R.S. Bhaskar (Konkani), Irungbam Deven(Manipuri), RupchandHansda (Santali) and Nikhileswar (Telugu).
Akademiawards presented
Press Trust of India
New Delhi
A brief encounter brokeout between militants andthe police in Srinagar onSaturday afternoon.
“Terrorists fi�red on apolice team when it waslaunching a cordon operation in Noorbagh area. Itseems they managed to escape from the spot,” InspectorGeneral of P. VijayKumar said.
He said the terroristsdropped one pistol andone AK47 before fl�eeing.
The police have rushedreinforcements, includingCRPF personnel, to widenthe cordon operation.“The search is on in thearea,” the police said.
Shootout inSrinagar, armsrecovered
Special Correspondent
Srinagar
The Assam police on Saturday gunned down twomembers of a new extremist group in a regionwhere peace was said tohave returned.
Special DGP G.P. Singhsaid a camp of the UnitedLiberation of Bodoland(was busted in the Ultapaniarea in Kokrajhar district.
Two cadres have beendeclared dead after an exchange of fi�re, he said.
Two of Assamextremistgroup killed
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
GUWAHATI
According to the CNCCI,traders in Nagaland end uppaying 1213 taxes whiletheir counterparts elsewhere only pay the Goods andServices Tax.
They say the State’s traders are struggling becausethey cannot sell beyond theMRP and the “taxes” are eating into their profi�t margin.
A traders’ body in Dimapur, Nagaland’s commercial
hub, said the unresolved Naga political issue – peace settlement with NSCN (IM)and the other groups – is thecause of the taxation problem.
The groups have justifi�edtheir “taxes” as they claimto run parallel governments. The traders have notrefused to pay but havebeen insisting on “onegroup, one tax”.
Traders oppose ‘taxes’by armed groups
CMYK
A ND-NDE
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THE HINDU DELHI
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NEWS
Workers’ portal crosses 1 crore registrationsNEW DELHI
The Labour and Employment
Ministry’s portal for
unorganised sector workers
crossed 1 crore registrations
on Saturday, less than a
month since it was launched,
Labour Minister Bhupender
Yadav said. The eShram
portal was launched on
August 26 and had registered
1,00,12,263 registrations as
on Saturday. Mr. Yadav noted
via a tweet that the portal
would “help provide social
security to all our workers”.
Nagaland allpartygovernment named UDAGUWAHATI
Nagaland’s Oppositionless
government has been named
United Democratic Alliance
(UDA). The nomenclature was
approved at a meeting of all
the MLAs at the State
Banquet Hall in Kohima on
September 18. The ruling
coalition of Nationalist
Democratic Progressive Party
(NDPP), the Bharatiya Janata
Party and two Independent
MLAs had inducted the
Opposition Naga People’s
Front (NPF) into the
government on August 16. It
was then called the Nagaland
United Government.
Following his resignation,citing ‘humiliation’ by theCongress high command,the twotime Chief Ministerof Punjab, Captain Amarinder Singh made it clear thathe would explore and exercise his political options atan appropriate time.
The 79yearold Capt.Amarinder said he would decide his future politicalcourse of action in consultation with his supporters whohave stood by him for overfi�ve decades. “There is always an option, and I willuse that option when thetime comes…at the momentI am still in Congress,” hesaid after submitting hisresignation.
However, political observers believe that the Congress stalwart does not standa strong chance if he breaksaway from the Congress unless he is off�ered a leadership role by some other pol
itical party. “The only way Capt. Ama
rinder can survive is by joining another party. Floating anew party won’t be an easytask. His best bet could bethe Bharatiya Janata Party.Capt. Amarinder has a moderate image and is an acceptable leader among Hindusin Punjab. He has been invoking his military background, national security issues, targeting Navjot SinghSidhu on his Pakistan con
nection — it all blends wellwith the BJP line,” said Ashutosh Kumar, professor withpolitical science departmentof Punjab University.
“Floating a new party isnot easy, but if he fl�oats anew party it is unlikely tohelp him although it shalldamage Congress’s electoralprospects. Also as Congressin Punjab is facing antiincumbancy and especiallyCapt. Amarinder has beenfacing charges of ‘not having
been seen on the ground’and the government beingrun by bureaucrats is a baggage that he will have to carry all along,” he added.
Ronki Ram, ShaheedBhaghat Singh Chair Professor of Political Science atPanjab University, pointedout that if Capt. Amarinderhad the support of a substantial number of MLAs hewouldn’t have resigned.“Floating a new party maynot be feasible. Also, joiningany other party is not an easy option unless he is off�ereda CM position,” he said.
Capt. Amarinder on Saturday ruled out quitting politics and said that as an Armyman, he had a lot of will andwould remain active in theupcoming Assembly elections in Punjab. “I am nothanging my boots,” he declared. He also rejectedclaims by the Congress leadership that he had lost theconfi�dence of the MLAs,terming it a lame excuse.
Captain faces a tough battleFloating new outfi�t unviable and joining another party is not easy, say analysts
VIKAS VASUDEVA
CHANDIGARH
Captain Amarinder Singh speaking to presspersons aftersubmitting his resignation in Chandigarh on Saturday. * PTI
As Captain Amarinder Singh(retd) stepped down fromthe Punjab Chief Minister’spost after feeling “humiliated,” it seems to have put apause to a rather tumultuous relationship he has hadwith the Gandhi family inthe past six years.
A school friend of formerPrime Minister Rajiv Gandhiand known for his proximityto the Gandhi family, Capt.Amarinder had literallyforced the Gandhis in OctoberNovember 2015 to declarehim the Punjab PradeshCongress Committee (PCC)chief, a position that eventually made him the party’schief ministerial face in 2017.
Until then, Captain Amarinder was a goto person forthe Gandhi family. In 2014,when Ms. Gandhi asked several senior leaders to contestthe Lok Sabha polls, CaptainAmarinder was her choiceagainst former Finance Minister Arun Jaitley fromAmritsar.
Post his victory, Ms. Gandhi appointed him the deputyleader of the party in theLok Sabha.
But Capt. Amarinder hadalways his eyes set on Punjab and kept pushing for thePCC chief ’s post. A year later, when in 2015, when theparty was reluctant to replace the incumbent PCCchief, Partap Singh Bajwa,the then party vicepresident Rahul Gandhi’s appointee, the Captain exploredthe idea of fl�oating his ownparty.
In an authorised biography of the Punjab stalwart,Captain Amarinder Singh:The People’s Maharaja,biographer KhushwantSingh noted that Ms. Gandhiwas open to naming Capt.Amarinder as the PCC chief
but her son, Rahul, wasn’tkeen.
During a tense meeting inOctober 2015, Mr. Gandhiasked the Punjab leader if hehad decided to fl�oat his ownparty. “What you’ve heard isabsolutely correct,” the biographer quotes Capt. Amarinder as telling Mr .Gandhi.
While the Captain gotwhat he wanted and handsomely won the 2017 Assembly elections, the equations between him and theGandhi family changedforever.
In June this year, whenNavjot Singh Sidhu raisedthe banner of revolt, Capt.Amarinder had come to Delhi but couldn’t meet theGandhis in his fi�rst visit.
In contrast, party generalsecretary Priyanka GandhiVadra had organised a meeting between Mr. Sidhu andMr. Gandhi at the latter’s residence around the sametime.
Before Capt. Amarindercould fi�nally meet Ms. Gandhi in the fi�rst week of July, hehad to twice ‘explain’ his government’s performance before the Mallikarjun Khargepanel that was set up to resolve the infi�ghting in the
Punjab unit.Though Capt. Amarinder
had strongly opposed theappointment of Mr. Sidhu asthe new PCC chief, arguingthat both the party and thegovernment cannot be headed by Jat Sikhs, the highcommanded simply overruled him.
All India Congress Committee (AICC) leaders, dealing with the issue, insist thatthere had been no politicalinterference by the highcommand and Harish Rawat, the AICC incharge forPunjab, had publicly acknowledged Capt. Amarinder’s stature.
However, they alsoclaimed that many PunjabMLAs had ‘bluntly’ told Mr.Rawat that the party won’twin next year’s Assemblypolls under Capt. Amarinder. Several MLAs also complained to the Kharge panelabout “the Chief Minister’sinaccessibility and completecontrol over the administration by bureaucrats”.
Leaders of the AmarinderSingh camp, however, argued that the Gandhis wereno longer comfortable withhim because “he was far tooindependent minded”.
Even in 2015, he explored the idea of fl�oating his own party
Sandeep Phukan
New Delhi
Diff�ering voices: A fi�le photo of Congress leader Rahul Gandhialong with Captain Amarinder Singh in Patiala.
Amarinder had tumultuousties with the Gandhi family
After the change of guard inPunjab to end the leadershiptussle, the question that isbeing asked in Congress circles is if Chhattisgarh is going to be the next State thatmay see a leadershipchange. On September 17,when Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel wasposed this question, heplayed it down.
“Our incharge P.L. Puniahad made a statement in thisregard and that statement isfi�nal,” he told presspersons
in Raipur, referring to AICCState incharge saying therewas no discussion on leadership change when the Stateleaders met former partychief Rahul Gandhi in Au
gust. But the issue is far fromover though the circumstances are completely diff�erent from Punjab, whereCapt. Amarinder Singh faceddissidence from party MLAs
while Mr. Baghel enjoys thesupport of a majority of theCongress MLAs.
But Mr. Gandhi is keen onhonouring a commitment hehad made to Mr. Baghel’s colleague and Health MinisterT.S. Singh Deo, that hewould be made Chief Minister after twoandahalfyears.
The deadline for the rotation was June 16 but neitherhas the high command beenable to decide nor has Mr.Baghel expressed his willingness to step down. Many believe that Mr. Gandhi’s proposed visit to Chhattisgarhhas been delayed becausethe high command hasn’tbeen able to decide on theleadership issue.
Is Chhattisgarh going to be next?Party yet to decideon a change ofleadershipSpecial Correspondent
New Delhi
There was a time when it waseasy to slip into a lengthyconversation about politicswith even rank strangers inKolkata — and this was not avery long time ago. But today, when you ask peopleabout the September 30 byelection in the city’s Bhabanipur constituency, whereWest Bengal Chief MinisterMamata Banerjee is contesting to seek entry to the StateAssembly, many of them excuse themselves saying they
are “nonpolitical”.Their hesitance is under
standable: the outcome ofthe election is a foregoneconclusion and it is redundant to express an opinion,that too at a time when it iswise not to publicly takesides unless you belong to apolitical party.
Bhabanipur — or Bhowanipore — is as diverse as an Assembly seat can get. It maylie in the heart of Kolkata butit could pass off� as miniIndia. A large chunk of its population is made up of nonBengalis: Sikhs, Gujaratis,Marwaris, Marathis and Biharis. Many say this was whyMs. Banerjee, after registering successive victories from
Bhabanipur in 2011 and 2016,chose to contest the 2021election from Nandigram instead: she feared the nonBengali votes would all go tothe BJP following the aggressive campaign by Prime Minister Narendra Modi andHome Minister Amit Shah.
Her party, the TrinamoolCongress, insists that shestood from Nandigram onlyas an assurance to the electorate there, after local partyheavyweight Suvendu Adhikari switched over to the BJP.She, however, lost to Mr. Adhikari by a slender marginand is now once again seeking reelection from Bhabanipur, which has been vacatedfor her by the 2021 victor, her
party’s SovandebChattopadhyay.
“I stick to my business, Iam not interested in politics,” says a Sikh vendor outside the Bhabanipur gurdwa-
ra, selling knickknacksrelated to his religion, suchas steel bangles and headscarves. Across the roadfrom his stall is a hoarding, inGurmukhi, appealing to Sikh
voters to vote for Bangal dibeti — Bengal’s daughter. Ms.Banerjee paid a visit to thegurdwara earlier this week.
While her opponents arepolitically lightweight — theBJP’s Priyanka Tibrewal andthe CPI(M)’s Srijib Biswas —and her victory may be certain, the Trinamool is nottaking chances. Hoardings,in diff�erent languages, havemushroomed all over Bhabanipur, asking people to votefor their ‘own daughter’.Campaign meetings have begun, and party workers arealready going door to door.
“Mamatadi faces no challenge. Her BJP opponent lostthe 2021 election from Entally and her CPI(M) opponent
had failed to win even thecouncillor election in 2015. Ifanything, she is more popular than ever,” says Shubhankar Roychoudhury, generalsecretary of the Bhowanipore Durgotsab Samity — aprominent Durga Puja committee. “And you knowwhat’s going to be our themefor this year’s puja? It will beKhela Hobe [the Trinamool’swar cry during the Assemblyelection] — only that ours isintended to promote sportsafter India’s [impressive] performance at the TokyoOlympics.”
Hitesh Doshi (namechanged), a KolkatabornGujarati who runs a boutiquein Chakraberia, a part of the
constituency, also agreesthat Ms. Banerjee’s popularity has only soared in the pastfew months. “Earlier, shewas in people’s minds, nowshe seems to be in theirhearts. Her welfare schemes,especially Duare Sarkar [government at the doorstep],are turning out to be a bighit. This election is just a formality,” he says.
Adds teaseller Sailen Gupta, whose ancestors hail fromKanpur and who runs a stallnearby: “The BJP has no presence in this area. The localTrinamool men know eachof us by our names and faces.They stand by us in times ofneed. The BJP has no suchpeople here.”
For most voters in Bhabanipur constituency, byelection only a formalityMamata seeksentry to Assemblyfrom constituency
Poll fest: Hoardings, in diff�erent languages, have mushroomedall over Bhabanipur. * SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
Bishwanath Ghosh
KOLKATA
Weeds growing on the domeof Safdarjung Tomb haddamaged the monument,which required urgent carefrom the ArchaeologicalSurvey of India (ASI), historian S. Irfan Habib said onSaturday.
Sharing a photo of the18th Century monument taken earlier this week, Mr.Habib said in a tweet the“dome has developedcracks, with weeds growingall over it”.
Later he told The Hinduthat the ASI had neglectedseveral monuments. He saidweeds tended to grow during the monsoon but it wasvital to clear them soon asthey could lead to cracks.
Asked to respond to Professor Habib’s assertion, anASI spokesperson said:“The ASI is aware of thedamage and the remainingportion of repairs will soonstart as per our team’s assessment. Conservationwork at monuments is aroundtheyear job and pre
sently also the work is goingon, but due to the rain inDelhi it got a bit delayed.”
The spokesperson saidrepair and conservationwork at the monument wasongoing in 201920, but wasstopped due to the lockdown and shortage of workers caused by the pandemic.
“There is no damage. Only grass has come up on thedome which needs to becleaned.”
Weeds growing on it, says Irfan Habib
Special Correspondent
NEW DELHI
The Safdarjung Tomb hasdeveloped cracks with weedgrowing all over it. * TWITTER
‘Safdarjung Tombneeds urgent care’
On Saturday, Congressleader andThiruvananthapuram MPSashi Tharoor said theCongress neededpermanent leadership at thenational level. If RahulGandhi desired to make acomeback as president, heshould not delay it any
further, he added. Mr. Tharoor said nobody
in the Congress wouldventure to speak against theimmense contribution ofSonia Gandhi to the party.However, her presidentshipwas currently an interimarrangement. The partyneeded a permanentpresident at the nationallevel to revitalise the party.
‘We need permanent chief ’Special Correspondent
Thiruvananthapuram
DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD
28 Muzaff�arnagar policepersonnel transferredMUZAFFARNAGAR
A total of 28 police
inspectors, including 11
station house officers, posted
in Muzaffarnagar for more
than three years, have been
shifted to other districts, an
official said on Saturday.
According to Preetinder
Singh, DIG, Saharanpur
range, the order came on
Friday on the directive of the
Election Commission, which
stated that police officers
cannot remain posted in the
district going to polls if they
have served in the same
place for at least three years.
The police personnel were
transferred to Shamli and
Saharanpur districts.
IN BRIEF
CMYK
A ND-NDE
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DELHI THE HINDU
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NEWS
SUDOKU
Solution to yesterday’s Sudoku
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“Since Didi has announcedit herself, we will defi�nitelyreceive the money,” saidDeepali Das, one of the keyorganisers of the community Durga Puja at the BakparaSporting Club in the economically backward Duttabad area of the BiddhanagarMunicipal Corporation inGreater Kolkata.
There is a festive buzz inthe air as West Bengal ChiefMinister Mamata Banerjeehas said that puja committees would receive a cash incentive of ₹�50,000 for preparations. This is the secondyear that the State government has off�ered the grant.
Ms. Das is particularly excited as the club is holding a“mahila” Durga Puja, withwomen taking care of all thepreparations. Previously,women only had a smallrole, she said. Earlier this
month, while announcingthe protocols for celebratingthe festival amid the COVID19 pandemic, the ChiefMinister said that there were1,500 women’s Durga Pujacommittees entitled to receive the cash incentive.They are a part of the36,000 community Durgapujas in West Bengal.
Masumi Naskar, presidentof the Arjunpur Taltala Amra Sobai club, is happy thatartist Bhabatosh Sutar willdesign their puja pandalthis time.
“Of course, having the puja organised entirely by women is very encouraging,”she added.
Broader rolesWomen have have been taking on broader roles in thepujas recently. Be it the lonewoman artist from Kumartuli, Kolkata’s famous potters’ colony, who crafts
idols, or the group of allwoman priests performing pujas this year, more and morewomen are coming to thefore in organising the megacultural event.
The State government’sinitiative in recognising themahila Durga puja as a separate category is perceived tobe part of the TrinamoolCongress’s political strategyof reaching out to more women and creating groups ofbenefi�ciaries among them.It has been seen over thepast few years that womenvoters have overwhelminglysupported the TrinamoolCongress.
“In the 2021 Assemblypolls, the Trinamool Congress got 52% of the femalevotes and 44% of the malevotes,” psephologist andProfessor of political scienceBiswanath Chakrabortysaid. He also said that thetrend of giving sops to wo
men voters in West Bengalwould continue till the LokSabha polls of 2024.
In the past decade, many
of the Trinamool’s fl�agshipschemes have been aimeddirectly at benefi�ting women. Kanyashree, a condi
tional cash transfer forschoolgoing girls was agreat hit in the party’s fi�rstyears in government. The
scheme provides ₹�750 amonth for every schoolgoing girl till Class 12, and₹�25,000 when she passesClass 12. Another scheme,Rupashree, provides₹�25,000 for the marriage ofa girl child.
Medical insuranceBefore the 2021 Assemblyelections, the West Bengalgovernment announced theSwastha Sathi Scheme, amedical insurance schemeof ₹�5 lakh per household,with insurance cards issuedin the name of the femalehead of the household. Thisscheme, too, generated ahuge response.
But the biggest draw hasbeen the Lakshmir Bhandarscheme, in which every woman whose family has nogovernment job is entitledto receive ₹�500 (in the general category) and ₹�1,000 (inthe reserved category) every
month. For weeks, womenacross the State queued upoutside camps for enrollingin the scheme.
Preliminary estimates bythe State government suggest that nearly 2 crore women have signed up for it,making it the biggest cashrollout scheme in West Bengal.
Durga Puja is not only thelargest cultural carnival inWest Bengal but also intrinsically associated with politics in the State.
The Left Front government tried to keep a distance from the religiosity ofthe puja, but it did not shyaway from selling Communist literature at puja pan-dals.
Over the past few years,the pujas in Kolkata haveseen the Trinamool and theBharatiya Janata Party leadership competing to inaugurate pujas in Kolkata.
Trinamool’s successful outreach to women shines anew with Durga PujaThe party’s appeal seems set to grow with its strategy of promoting ‘mahila pujas’ and off�ering cash incentives to organise West Bengal’s biggest cultural carnival
More agency: Women are being encouraged to take on diverse roles in the organisation ofDurga puja celebrations across West Bengal. * FILE PHOTO
Shiv Sahay Singh
Kolkata
In a Valley riven by decadesof confl�ict and loss, amusical fi�lm of less than sixminutes is seeking to bridgethe divide betweenKashmir’s Muslims andPandits.
The 5.53minute AeSavere by a KashmiriMuslim fi�lmmaker, DanishRenzu, has an earnestmessage to the displacedPandits: “return to yourroots in the Valley”.
With 1.18 lakh viewswithin a month of thevideo’s release online,director Renzu, whoserecent movie The Illegalmade a mark on Netfl�ix, saidthe protagonist of hismusical short Viraat Dulari,played by actor SoniRazdan, shows thedisplaced community theway forward.
“Dulari returns toKashmir after threedecades. Pandits should
return and settle back intheir culture, which isotherwise dying. Theyshould return to their roots.This is the right time toreturn and live in harmony,”Mr. Renzu told The Hindu inan interview. The videoshows pensive sadness gripDulari as she drives homethrough narrow alleys of theold city in Srinagar with hergrandson.
Mr. Renzu, 35, a residentof Srinagar, belongs to ageneration of KashmiriMuslims which has nomemory of Pandits as theirneighbours or friends. Hisonly memory of Pandits wasvisiting empty houses in theneighbourhood in the1990s.
“I saw these dilapidatedPandit houses in theneighbourhood. They had
left behind all thebelongings. My onlymemory was of thebelongings but not theowners. That was aheartbreaking memory.People need to acknowledgewhat happened (in the1990s) and move on to thenarratives that takes thestory forward and notbackward,” he said.
Points of viewMr. Renzu has already doneseveral projects withKashmiri Pandit writer,Sunayana Kachroo, also amigrant. “People should seeall the point of views. ThePandits’ narrative is alsoimportant as othernarratives from Kashmir.Being a Kashmiri Muslimand a fi�lmmaker, it wasimportant to highlight theplight of Kashmiri Pandits.My coartist Kachroo alsolost her home. It was veryimportant for me to bringthat on screen,” he added.
CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC
A musical bridge across Kashmir’s bitter divide
Peerzada Ashiq
Srinagar
Filmmaker Danish Renzu’s short fi�lm urges Pandits to return, reclaim their heritage
Poignant moment: A still from Ae Savere. * SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
The Health Ministry hasfl�agged the emerging challenge in 11 States across Indiaof serotype 2 dengue, whichit said is associated with“more cases and more complications” than other formsof the disease.
Health Secretary RajeshBhushan presented this information on Saturday, whileparticipating in a highlevelmeeting with Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba to reviewand discuss the strategy forCOVID19 management andresponse.
Highlighting the rise ofdengue cases, Mr. Bhushansuggested that States undertake early detection of cases;operationalise fever helplines; ensure adequatestocking of testing kits, larvi
cides and medicines and deploy rapid response teamsfor prompt investigation andpublic health actions such asfever survey, contact tracingand vector control.
He added that alertingblood banks for maintaining
adequate stocks of blood andblood components, especially platelets, is also required.“States have been asked toalso undertake IEC (information, education, communication) campaigns regardinghelplines, methods of vector
control, source reduction athomes, and symptoms ofdengue,” he said.
COVID protocolV. K. Paul, Member (Health),NITI Aayog, and other senioroffi�cials also attended themeeting. The Cabinet Secretary, speaking about the COVID19 situation, noted thatwhile new cases of infectionswere coming down across India, “there is no room forcomplacency”. He stressedthe need to strictly enforceCOVIDappropriate behaviour, said a release issuedby the Central governmenton Saturday.
Drawing examples fromother countries that sawmultiple peaks of COVID19,Mr. Gauba expressed concern over certain pockets inthe country reporting high
test positivity and advisedState health administratorsto undertake granular analysis of their COVID19 trajectory, ramp up their health infrastructure, undertakestocking of essential medicines and augment humanresources.
According to the release,the Health Secretary saidthat, currently, 70 districts in15 States are a cause for concern as 34 of these districtshave positivity exceeding10%, and in 36 districts, positivity is in the range of5%10%.
“In view of the forthcoming festival season, Stateswere directed to ensure allnecessary precautions andeff�ective enforcement foravoidance of mass gatheringand congested closed spaces,” said the release.
Serotype 2 dengue is a challenge: govt.Health Ministry says it is associated with more complications than other forms of the disease
Special Correspondent
New Delhi
Under treatment: Dengue patients at Netaji Subhash ChandraBose Medical College in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh. * PTI
The global communityshould make it clear to theTaliban that internationalassistance and recognitionis conditional on a moremoderate policy that includes allowing girls to go toschool, said child labour activist and Nobel peace prizewinner Kailash Satyarthi.
Mr. Satyarthi, who wasappointed one of 17 globaladvocates for the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDG) by UNSecretary General AntonioGuterres on Friday, calledfor the UN General Assembly (UNGA) this month toraise the issue of children inAfghanistan, along with other discussions on the situation in the country.
“If children are not giveneducation, particularly girlson an equal footing, thenthere are many more chances of perpetual exploitation,injustices and violence,” Mr.Satyarthi told The Hindu inan interview, after his appointment by the UNSDGwas announced.
Uncertain timesMr Satyarthi’s concernscome as the Taliban government announced on Saturday that it was reopening secondary schools, but calledonly boys and male teachersback, indicating that the Islamist group may not letgirls and female teachers return.
“This present [Taliban]regime, if they are really inpower, cannot remain in iso
lation. They have to get fi�nancial support, they haveto get political and diplomatic support, and theyhave to get recognition frommany countries and fromthe international community. I’m hopeful that they willbe moderate for girls andwomen, and only then theinternational communitywould extend their helpinghand,” said Mr. Satyarthi,who is organising a specialconference of “[Nobel] Laureates and Leaders” on theissue of child labour duringthe UNGA on September 22.
International agenciesnow estimate that the situation in Afghanistan couldadd to the already growingnumbers of children forcedinto labour or traffi�cked forsexual or commercial exploitation due to the coronavirus pandemic that has ledto economic and job lossesworldwide.
According to the International Labour Organisation(ILO), the numbers have increased to 160 million estimated child labourers in2021, the fi�rst such rise inmore than two decades.
According to Mr. Satyarthi, the numbers, if unchecked, would mean that
the UN Sustainable Development Goals that mandate every country to “eradicateforced labour, end modernslavery and human traffi�cking and secure the prohibition and elimination of theworst forms of child labour,including recruitment anduse of child soldiers, and by2025 end child labour in allits forms,” (UN SDG 8.7) cannot be realised.
Rescuing childrenA “Global Slavery Index”survey used by ILO also saidthat India has the highestnumber of men, women andchildren in “modern slavery”, a term the Modi government has objected to,calling for the use of “forcedlabour” instead.
“Diff�erent governmentsagree with some phrasesand terminologies andwords and some other governments are very sensitive about it. But the realityis that the government hascollaborated with us at theState level, at local levels inrescuing girls and boys being traffi�cked and who arebonded labour. And that is,in the broader defi�nition,the contemporary form ofslavery,” Mr. Satyarthi said.
Nobel Laureate says child labour situation is worsening
Suhasini Haidar
NEW DELHI
Global push must to protectrights of Afghan girls: Satyarthi
The second day of the online auction of mementosgifted to Prime Minister Narendra Modi saw the priceof sports gear of Olympicand Paralympic medalwinners reach ₹�10 crore on September 18.
The eauction on pmmementos.gov.in, which wasstarted on September 17 andwill go on till October 7, includes javelins of TokyoOlympic gold medallist Neeraj Chopra and Paralympicsgold winner Sumit Antil thatwere gifted by the athletesto the Prime Minister. Bothjavelins started with a baseprice of ₹�1 crore and received bids of ₹�10 crore eachas on September 18 evening.The asking price for the boxing gloves worn by 2020Olympics bronze medalwinner Lovlina Borgohainalso reached ₹�10 crore,starting with a base price of₹�80 lakh.
A hockey stick signed bymembers of the Indian wo
men’s team that placedfourth in the Olympics andthe racket of bronze medalwinning badminton playerP.V. Sindhu reached ₹�9 croreeach on the second day ofthe auction.
Among the 1,330 mementos being auctioned to benefi�t the Namami Gange Mission are portraits of Mr.Modi, replicas of buildings,many shawls and stoles andother small objects gifted tothe Prime Minister. This isthe third edition of the eauction, with the last oneconducted in 2019.
Olympians’ javelins,gloves get ₹�10 crore bidsSpecial Correspondent
New Delhi
Lovlina Borgohain’s gloveshad a base price of ₹�80 lakhbefore the bids shot up.
The lower and upper limitson airfares will remain for 15days at any given time andthe airlines will be free tocharge without any limitsfrom the 16th day onwards,the Civil Aviation Ministrysaid on Saturday. Since August 12, this rollover periodwas of 30 days and the airlines have been chargingwithout limits from the 31stday onwards.
In a fresh order issued onSaturday, the Civil AviationMinistry explained thechange in rule: “If the cur
rent date is September 20,then the fare band shall beapplicable till October 4.Any booking done on September 20 for travel on orafter October 5 shall not becontrolled by fare bands. Onthe following day, that is, ifthe current date is September 21, then the fare bandshall be in force till October5 and for travel on or afterOctober 6, the fare bandsshall not be applicable”
India had imposed lowerand upper limits on airfareswhen services were resumed on May 25, 2020, afterthe lockdown.
Limits on airfares to stayfor 15 days at a given timePress Trust of India
New Delhi
President Ram Nath Kovindon Saturday said the COVIDpandemic hit the country’seconomy hard and that thegovernment had taken various fi�scal measures to alleviate distress.
Mr. Kovind was speakingat the valedictory ceremonyof the National Academy ofAudit and Accounts for theIndian Audit and AccountsServices (IA&AS) trainee offi�cers here.
The past 18 months havebeen very trying for the
country, the President said.The government was tak
ing fi�scal measures for thewelfare of the poor, he said.These are often fi�nancedthrough money that may besaid to have been borrowed
from our children andgrandchildren, he added.
“We owe it to them thatthese scarce resources areput to best possible use andare most eff�ectively used forthe welfare of the poor,” hesaid, adding that the Comptroller and Auditor Generalof India had a very important role in the eff�ort.
Mr. Kovind said audit engagements provided a unique opportunity of gaininga deep understanding of thesystem and the CAG was in agood position to suggest improvements.
President lauds govt.’s fi�scalmeasures amid pandemicPress Trust of India
Shimla
Ram Nath Kovind
CMYK
A ND-NDE
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THE HINDU DELHI
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WORLD
France on Friday recalled itsAmbassadors to the UnitedStates and Australia in a ferocious row over the scrappingof a submarine contract, anunprecedented step that revealed the extent of Frenchanger against its allies.
President Emmanuel Macron recalled the envoys after Canberra ditched a dealto buy French submarines infavour of U.S. vessels, Foreign Minister JeanYves LeDrian said.
Mr. Le Drian said that thedecision was made to “immediately” recall the twoFrench Ambassadors due to“the exceptional seriousnessof the announcements madeon September 15 by Australiaand the United States”.
The abandonment of theoceanclass submarine project that Australia andFrance had been working onsince 2016 constituted “unacceptable behaviour amongallies and partners”, the Minister said.
“Their consequences affect the very concept wehave of our alliances, ourpartnerships, and the importance of the IndoPacifi�c forEurope,” he added.
U.S. President Joe Bidenannounced the new AustraliaU.S.Britain defence alliance on Wednesday, extending U.S. nuclearsubmarine technology toAustralia as well as cyberdefence, applied artifi�cial intelligence and undersea capa
bilities. The pact is widelyseen as aimed at counteringthe rise of China. The moveinfuriated France, which losta contract to supply conventional submarines to Australia that was worth $36.5 billion when signed in 2016.
In close contact: U.S.A White House offi�cial expressed “regret” over theFrench envoy’s recall but added “we will continue to beengaged in the coming days
to resolve our diff�erences, aswe have done at other pointsover the course of our longalliance”.
State Department spokesperson Ned Price said in atweet that Washington understood France’s positionand was in “close contact”with Paris. He added that theissue would be discussed “atthe senior level”, includingat the United Nations General Assembly next week,which both Mr. Le Drian andU.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will attend.
Pentagon spokespersonJohn Kirby meanwhile acknowledged that telephonetalks earlier between U.S.Defence Secretary LloydAustin and French counterpart Florence Parly showed“that there is still much workto do in terms of our defencerelationship with France”.
The French Ambassadorrecalls from the UnitedStates and Australia — key allies of France — are unprecedented. Withdrawing envoysis a last resort diplomatic
step taken when relationsbetween feuding countriesare plunged into crisis buthighly unusual betweenallies.
‘Aff�ects vision’“I am being recalled to Parisfor consultations,” FranceAmbassador to the U.S. Philippe Etienne wrote on Twitter. “This follows announcements directly aff�ecting thevision we have of our alliances, of our partnerships andof the importance of the IndoPacifi�c for Europe.”
Paris sees itself as a majorpower in the IndoPacifi�cdue to overseas territoriessuch as New Caledonia andFrench Polynesia which giveit a strategic and militaryfoothold unmatched by anyother European country.
France had made no eff�ortto disguise its fury even before the recalls and onThursday Mr. Le Drian accused Australia of backstabbing and Washington of Donald Trumpera behaviourover the submarines deal.
France recalls envoys to Australia, U.S.Furious Paris calls American and Australian behaviour ‘unacceptable between allies and partners’
Agence France-Presse
Paris
Strong stance: France’s Ambassador to Australia Jean-PierreThebault at Sydney Airport on Saturday. * AP
The Mayor of Del Rio, Texas,declared a state of emergency on Friday after more than10,000 undocumented migrants, many of them Haitians, poured into the border city in a fresh test ofPresident Joe Biden’s immigration policy.
Del Rio Mayor Bruno Lozano said that the migrantswere crowded in an areacontrolled by the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol(CBP) beneath the Del RioInternational Bridge, whichcarries traffi�c across the RioGrande river into Mexico.
Video footage showedthousands under andaround the fl�yover, adults
and families. Many were Haitians hoping to stay in theUnited States as their country suff�ers after a large earthquake and continuing political turmoil, Mr. Lozano said.
Hundreds continued tofl�ow into Del Rio on Friday,
boosting up the number thatMr. Lozano put at 10,503 under the bridge late on Thursday. The White House remained silent on the issue aspolitical pressure mountedon Mr. Biden to address theinfl�ux.
Del Rio Mayor declares state of emergency; WH stays silent
Agence France-Presse
Del Rio
For a better future: Haitian migrants crossing a dam to enterDel Rio, Texas, on Friday. * AP
10,000 migrants cross into U.S.
Russia’s elections commission said on Saturday that ithad recorded foreign interference in its ongoing threeday parliamentary elections.
The polls, which culminate on Sunday and comeafter an unprecedentedcrackdown on Kremlin critics and dissenting voices, allow Russians to cast theirballots online.
The elections commission said that it had recorded “three cyberattacks” onits resources “from foreigncountries”.
“Yesterday, we recorded
three targeted attacks fromabroad,” said the head ofthe commission’s centre forinformatisation, AlexanderSokolchuk.
‘Powerful attack’He said two of the attackswere aimed at the commission’s website, while a thirdwas a DDoS attack.
“The attack was quite powerful,” the Interfax newsagency cited Mr. Sokolchukas saying. He added that“preparations” for furtherattacks “are under way fortomorrow”.
Mr. Sokolchuk did notname the countriesinvolved.
Russia claims foreigninterference in election3 cyberattacks recorded, says poll body
Agence France-Presse
Moscow
Against the backdrop of thetroop withdrawal from Afghanistan, the top U.S. military offi�cer is meeting inGreece with NATO counterparts this weekend, hopingto forge more basing, intelligence sharing and otheragreements to prevent terrorist groups from regroupingand threatening Americaand the region.
Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs ofStaff�, said the meeting of NATO defence chiefs will focusin part on the way ahead.
Gen. Milley, U.S. Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin andAmerican intelligence offi�cials have warned that alQaeda or the Islamic Stategroup could regenerate inAfghanistan and pose athreat to the United States inone year to two years.
The U.S. military has saidit can conduct counterterrorism surveillance and, if necessary, strikes in Afghanistan from “over the horizon”— meaning from assets basedin other countries.
But they have made itclear that surveillance fl�ightsfrom bases in the Gulf are
long and provide limitedtime in the air over Afghanistan. So they have talkedabout seeking basing agreements, overfl�ight rights andincreased intelligencesharing with nations closer to Afghanistan, including someneighbours.
Gen. Milley said he will betalking to his military counterparts “to see what thepossibilities are and thenbring them back” to U.S. defence and diplomatic leaders for additional discussions. Then, he said, offi�cialswill see what they can turninto a reality.
After Afghanistan pullout, U.S.seeks NATO basing, intel pactsTop U.S. military offi�cer to meet NATO counterpart in Greece
Associated Press
Athens
Yemen’s Houthi rebels onSaturday said they executed nine people for their alleged involvement in thekilling of a senior Houthioffi�cial in an airstrike bythe Saudiled coalitionmore than three years ago.
The public executionsby fi�ring squad were carried out in the rebelheldcapital of Sanaa, accordingto the IranianbackedHouthis.
The nine were amongmore than 60 people theHouthis accused of involvement in the targeted killingof Saleh alSamad in April2018. Former PresidentDonald Trump was also accused. Also accused weretop Western, Israeli andGulf offi�cials. The Houthisaccused the nine of spyingfor the Saudiled coalition.
Houthi rebelsexecute 9 overoffi�cial’s killing
Associated Press
Sanaa
Two leading candidates tobecome Japan’s next PrimeMinister denied on Saturdaythat they had toned downtheir stances on nuclearenergy and gender issues toattract conservative backingin a tight ruling party leadership election this month.
The election for leader ofthe Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) pits Vaccine Minister Taro Kono, 58, againstformer Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida, 64; Sanae Takaichi, 60, a former InternalAff�airs Minister from theparty’s most conservativewing, and Seiko Noda, 61, aformer Minister for GenderEquality.
The winner of the September 29 party poll to succeed Prime Mininster Yoshihide Suga is almost certainto become premier because
of the LDP’s Lower Housemajority. Surveys of votersshow Mr. Kono is their topchoice. But the socialmediasavvy, U.S.educated formerForeign and Defence Minister also has an image as amaverick that worries manyelders in the LDP.
Long seen as a critic of nuclear power, Mr. Kono rejected the suggestion that hehad fl�ipfl�opped. “What I’vebeen saying about an exitfrom nuclear power is decommissioning quickly nuclear power plants that are
reaching retirement and gradually exiting nuclear energy,” he said in a televised debate. “We should stop theuse of coal, increase energyconservation and renewableenergy and nuclear powercan be used to fi�ll the gap.”
Mr. Kishida, a more traditional LDP consensusbuilder saddled with a bland image, was asked whether hehad backpedalled over allowing married couples tohave separate surnames. Japanese law does not permitthat option. Asked about theimpression that he had earlier favoured the change, Mr.Kishida said he recogniseddiversity but that questionsremained as to how to treatchildren’s names under anew system. “At least considering the broad understanding of the people, Ithink that discussion is necessary now,” he said.
Japan PM candidates deny toningdown their views to attract votesReuters
Tokyo
Taro Kono
Girls were excluded from returning to secondary schoolin Afghanistan on Saturday,after the country’s new Taliban rulers ordered only boysand male teachers back tothe classroom.
The hardline Islamistgroup ousted the U.S.backed government lastmonth, promising a softerbrand of rule than their repressive reign in the 1990s,when women were mostlybanned from education andwork. But the diktat fromthe Education Ministry wasthe latest move from thenew government to threatenwomen’s rights. “All maleteachers and studentsshould attend their educational institutions,” a statement said ahead of classesresuming on Saturday.
The statement, issued lateon Friday, made no mentionof women teachers or girl
students. Secondaryschools, with students typically between the ages of 13and 18, are often segregatedby sex in Afghanistan. During the COVID19 pandemic,they have faced closures andhave been shut since the Taliban seized power.
Primary schools have already reopened, with boysand girls mostly attendingseparate classes and somewomen teachers returningto work. The new regime hasalso permitted women to goto private universities,though with tough restric
tions on their clothes andmovement.
In a further sign that theTaliban’s approach to women and girls had not softened, they appeared tohave shut down the Ministryof Women’s Aff�airs and replaced it with a departmentnotorious for enforcing strict religious doctrine duringtheir fi�rst rule. In Kabul onFriday, workers were seenraising a sign for the Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice atthe old Women’s Aff�airsbuilding.
Girls excluded as secondaryschool reopen in AfghanistanMale teachers and students should attend, a statement said
Agence France-Presse
Kabul
New lesson: Boys attending class at a school in Kabul. * AFP
The U.S. military has admitted that it killed up to 10 civilians, including seven children, in an August 29 dronestrike in Kabul, whose target,Zemari Ahmadi, was initiallymistaken for a member ofthe ISISK (Islamic State,Khorasan) terror group. TheU.S. had targeted the groupbelieving it was going to carry out strikes on Kabul airport, days after the grouphad claimed responsibilityfor an attack, killing 182 evacuees and U.S troops at theairport.
“I am now convinced thatas many as 10 civilians including up to seven childrenwere tragically killed in that
strike,” Commander of U.S.Central Command, KennethF. McKenzie Jr., told reporters via videolink at a Pentagon press conference on Friday. “Moreover, we nowassess that it is unlikely thatthe vehicle and those whodied were associated withISISK or were a direct threatto U.S. forces,” he said, off�ering his “profound condolences” to the family andfriends of those killed.
Tragic outcome “But it was a mistake and Ioff�er my sincere apology. Asthe combatant commander, Iam fully responsible for thisstrike and its tragic outcome,” Gen. McKenzie said.The U.S. is considering mak
ing reparations to the victims’ family, he said.
Following the drone operation, Chairman of the JointChiefs of Staff� Mark Milleyhad described the attack as a“righteous strike”, comments he walked back on Friday, calling the incident“heart wrenching” and committing to being fully tran
sparent about the event.Several American media
organisations had questioned the Pentagon’s position soon after the attack. Secretary of State AntonyBlinken was asked about iton Tuesday at a Senate committee hearing on Afghanistan and had said he did notknow if Ahmadi was an
ciated Press. The nephew,Ahmad Naser Haideri, hadreceived a medal for his service with special Americanforces and had, along withhis uncle and others, appliedfor special visas to the U.S.
A secondary explosioncaused after the attack was,as per Gen. McKenzie, a propane tank behind the carand not, as per the initialconclusion, from explosivesstored in the boot of Ahmadi’s car.
“That is not enough for usto say sorry,” Zemari’s brother Emal Ahmadi reportedlysaid. “The U.S.A. should fi�ndthe person who did this.” Mr.Emal’s threeyearolddaughter, Malika, was amongthose killed in the strike. Mr.Emal is seeking fi�nancialcompensation for the familyand relocation to a thirdcountry, as per reports.
ISISK operative or an aidworker and that the administration was reviewing it.“Well, see, you’d think you’dkinda know before you off�somebody with a Predatordrone…” Senator Rand Paultold Mr. Blinken during thathearing .
Ahmadi, who was about3740 years old and workedfor an American NGO, Nutrition and Education International, was killed by a hellfi�remissile shortly after hepulled into his driveway. Ahmadi had moved to the passenger seat of the his whiteToyota Corolla, allowing his11yearold son to drive thecar fully in, an event otherchildren in the house hadcome racing out to see, asper reports. The missilekilled him, seven childrenand his adult son and nephew, according to the Asso
U.S. admits Kabul drone strike killed civilians It was a mistake and I off�er my sincereapology, says General McKenzie
What remains: A person inspecting the wreckage of the car inKabul. Ten civilians were killed in the drone strike. * AFP
Sriram Lakshman
Washington
Iran will not allow the Islamic State group to establish apresence on the country’sborder with Afghanistan,President Ebrahim Raisiwarned on Saturday
“We will not allow terrorist organisations and IS toset up next to our borderand strike other countriesand the region,” Mr. Raisisaid as he wound up a visitto Tajikistan. “The presenceof IS in Afghanistan is dangerous not only for Afghanistan but also for the region,” he said.
The Taliban took Afghanistan’s capital on August 15.Iran, which shares a 900kilometre border with Af
ghanistan, did not recognisethe Taliban during their fi�rststint in power. But Tehranhas appeared to soften itsstance towards the Sunnimilitia in recent times.
The Islamic republic hasstressed that the Talibanmust be “part of a future solution” in Afghanistan. Afghanistan’s new rulers haveformed a government composed entirely of Talibanand belonging almost entirely to the Pashtun ethnicgroup. “A government belonging to only one ethnicor political group cannotsolve Afghanistan’s problems,” Mr. Raisi said on Saturday, calling for a government with representationfor all Afghans.
Iran won’t allow IS presenceon Afghan border: Raisi ‘Taliban must form inclusive govt.’
Agence France-Presse
Tehran
CMYK
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DELHI THE HINDU
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Gut and brainExtreme premature infants
carry high risk of brain
damage. A new study from
Vienna finds a connection
between gut microbiome and
brain damage. An excess of
Klebsiella in the gut was found
to be associated with high
presence of certain immune
cells and also neurological
damage in premature babies.
This study suggests a way to
prevent this damage.
Gauging Alzheimer’sIn Alzheimer’s disease,
amyloid plaques build up in
the person’s brain for nearly
two decades before the first
signs such as forgetfulness are
exhibited. Now an algorithm,
published in a paper in
Neurology, by using data from
a single PET brain scan of the
amyloid and the person’s age,
can yield an estimate of how
much longer it will take for the
symptoms to manifest.
On September 14, WHO DirectorGeneral Dr. TedrosGhebreyesus highlightedvaccine inequity globally,particularly in Africa, whenhe revealed that of the nearly6 billion doses administeredglobally, only 2% of thosehave been in Africa; about80% have been administeredin high and uppermiddle income countries. Less than3.5% of people in Africa havebeen fully vaccinated so farcompared with 54% of the total population in the U.S.
“This doesn’t only hurtthe people of Africa, it hurtsall of us. The longer vaccineinequity persists, the morethe virus will keep circulating and changing, the longerthe social and economic disruption will continue, andthe higher the chances thatmore variants will emergethat render vaccines less effective,” the WHO Chief said.
Vaccine inequity betweenhigh and lowincome countries is striking. More than75% of all vaccines have beenadministered in just 10 countries. According to UnitedNations Development Programme (UNDP), 60.1% ofthe people in the highincome countries have beenvaccinated with at least onedose as on September 15,while in the lowincomecountries, it is just 3%.
The WHO has set an ambitious target of vaccinating atleast 10% of the populationof every country by September, at least 40% by the endof the year and 70% globallyby the middle of next year.
But according to the WHO,eight in 10 African countriesare likely to miss vaccinatingat least 10% of the populationby the end of this month.
“Fortytwo of Africa’s 54nations — nearly 80% — areset to miss the target if thecurrent pace of vaccine deliveries and vaccinations hold,”according to Africa’s WHOregional offi�ce. Just nine African countries, includingSouth Africa, have alreadyreached the global target setfor September and threemore countries are set tomeet the target before theend of this month. In contrast, almost 90% of highincome countries have alreadyreached the September target of at least 10% vaccination, and more than 70%have already reached theyearend target of 40%.
Promises unkeptIn June, the G7 nations promised to share 870 milliondoses to COVAX but releasedjust 100 million. Just about4% of all vaccines producedworldwide have been channelled through COVAX.
According to GAVI, as onSeptember 15, COVAX has sofar shipped over 272 millionvaccines to 141 countries.Though highincome countries had promised to donatemore than 1 billion doses,less than 15% of those doseshave materialised, says theWHO. Instead of increasingsupplies to make up for theshortfall, vaccine supply toCOVAX is only going to witness a further reduction.
On September 9, Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, WHO’s Africa
director said that for a variety of reasons including thedemand for booster doses inthe highincome countries,vaccine supply to Africathrough COVAX will be 25%(about 150 million doses) lessby the end of the year. As aresult, Africa will face a shortage of almost 470 milliondoses in the global yearendtarget of fully vaccinating40% of its population. COVAX will be supplying onlyabout 470 million doses bythe end of the year, suffi�cientto vaccinate just 17% of thepopulation.
In August, Africa receivedalmost 21 million vaccinedoses through COVAX.Another 95 million doses areexpected during September.WHO expects more vaccinesupplies through COVAX andadditional supplies from theAfrican Union, which is directly purchasing vaccines
from manufacturers. AfricanUnion member States hadcome together to pool theirpurchasing power.
Reneging on deal In endMarch, the AfricanUnion placed an order topurchase 220 million dosesof Johnson & Johnson’s singledose vaccine, with the potential to order an additional 180million doses. In addition,South Africa entered into abilateral deal with J&J to procure 31 million vaccine doses; the fi�ll and fi�nish activitiesof the vaccine are in SouthAfrica.
If initially J&J did not guarantee any supply to eitherSouth Africa or the Africancontinent, just 9 million doses were set aside for SouthAfrica after a protest. Yet,shockingly, while only asmall quantity of the 9 million was supplied to South
wasted millions of doses.Even while many countriesin Africa and elsewhere areyet to vaccinate even thehealthcare workers, over 15million doses have beenthrown away in the U.S. sinceMarch 2021. The US had already binned more than1,82,000 vaccine doses bythe end of March.
Over 0.8 million doseswere wasted in the U.K. InAugust alone, nearly 0.1 million doses were binned asyounger people were advised not to take the AstraZeneca vaccine. This was following reports of rare bloodclotting events related to theAstraZeneca vaccine.
The reason why the U.S.wasted over 15 million doseswas because the priority wasto vaccinate people whenthey show up without prioritising eff�orts to reduce wastage. Even the new advisoryfrom CDC urges doctors “notmiss any opportunities tovaccinate every eligible person who presents at a vaccination site, even if it meanspuncturing a multidose vialto administer vaccine without having enough peopleavailable to receive eachdose.”
As per a 2019 paper fromthe WHO, there is 1520%wastage in the case of 10dose vials. But the amountwasted can be reducedthrough targeted action. Afew States in India reportedhuge vaccine waste initiallybut quickly turned the tablein April — they not only hadzero wastage but also extracted additional dosesfrom the given supply.
Africa, J&J exported doses toEurope instead. After a renewed protest and globaloutrage, J&J backed down,and began supplying vaccines to South Africa and theAfrican Union.
The same pattern is nowplaying out in India. About40 million doses of the vaccine that will be producedeach month by Biological E,a Hyderabadbased company, are likely to be exportedto Europe and the U.S. “Thedecision on where they willbe exported, and at whatprice, is under the purviewof J&J completely,” MahimaDatla, the Managing Directorof Biological E confi�rmed toNature magazine.
“We demand that any J&Jvaccine doses made in Indiabe supplied on priority to theIndian government, the African Union, and the COVAXFacility. Developing coun
tries with large unvaccinatedpopulations are witnessing afrightening rise in infectionsand deaths from COVID19.J&J must prioritise them,” Indian Civil Society Organisations said in a letter to the Indian government and J&J.
Exports bannedStrive Masiyiwa, African Union’s special envoy recentlysaid: “We are not asking fordonations. We want to buyvaccines and that means wewant access to purchase.” Hewanted countries that haveimposed restrictions on vaccine exports to lift them.“That would give us vaccinesimmediately,” he said.
Serum Institute hadstopped supplying to COVAXsince endFebruary, andAdar Poonawalla in a statement on May 18 said: “Wecontinue to scale up manufacturing and prioritise India. We also hope to start delivering to COVAX and othercountries by the end of thisyear.”
Though low vaccinationcoverage seen in many African countries is primarilydue to lack of vaccine supply,vaccine hesitancy too has arole to play. “While manyAfrican countries have spedup COVID19 vaccinations asvaccine shipments rampedup in August, [as on September 2] 26 countries have usedless than half of their COVID19 vaccines,” the WHOsays.
Wasted dosesBesides additional doses required for booster, the highincome countries have also
As U.S. approves booster shots, just 3.5% vaccinated in Africa According to the WHO, eight in 10 African countries are likely to miss vaccinating at least 10% of the population by the end of this month
R. Prasad
According to a report byCentral Pollution ControlBoard of India, for the year20182019, 3.3 million metrictonnes of plastic waste aregenerated by Indians. Thebad news is that this maywell be an underestimationof the problem. Anotheralarming statistic is that of allthe plastic waste producedin the world, 79% enters theenvironment. Only 9% of allplastic waste is recycled. Accumulation of plastic wasteis detrimental to the environment and when thiswaste fi�nds its way into thesea, there can be majorharm to aquatic ecosystems,too.
Researchers from Department of Material Engineering, Indian Institute of
Science, Bengaluru (IISc)have found a way to make asubstitute for singleuse plastic that can, in principle helpmitigate the problem of accumulating plastic waste inthe environment.
Agricultural stubbleWhile plastic waste causes
one type of pollution, agricultural stubble burning isresponsible for air pollutionin several States. In Delhi, forexample, the air quality index dips to indicate “severe”or “hazardous” level of pollution every winter, and thisis due in part to the burningof agricultural stubble in the
surrounding regions. Indranil Chakraborty, a
Research Associate workingin the labs led by Suryasarathi Bose and Kaushik Chatterjee, has, along with coworkers, developedpolymers using nonedibleoil and cellulose extractedfrom agricultural stubble.These polymers can bemoulded into sheets havingproperties suitable for making bags, cutlery or containers. The material so made isbiodegradable, leakproofand nontoxic.
Simple processNonedible Castor oil wasused in this process of making the polymer which involves allowing them toreact with the cellulose anddiisocyanate compound.“All precursors are mixed in
toluene solvent and heatedat 80 degree for 8 hours.Then [we] poured the solution mixture in a tefl�on sheetand allowed the toluene toevaporate. After 12 hours,nice polyurethane sheet isobtained because of thecrosslink between the functional groups present in theprecursors,” explains DrChakraborty, in an email toThe Hindu. The sheets arethen moulded in compression moulding to make thearticles such as a bag or pieces of cutlery.
“We already used castoroil for our experiment. Currently, we are doing thesame experiment with othernonedible oils such as jatropha oil and neem oil,” headds.
The sheets of polymermade were subjected to a
leaching test and were alsotested for thermal stabilityand were found to holdagainst the tests. These preliminary tests suggest that thematerial can be used forfood packaging. Furthertests are on to establish thesheet as foodgrade.
Tuning fl�exibilityIn order to obtain sheetswith properties like fl�exibility suitable for making diff�erent articles, the researchersplayed with the proportionsof cellulose to nonedible oil.The more cellulose they added, and less nonedible oil,the stiff�er was the material,so that it was more suitableto making tumblers and cutlery. The greater the proportion of oil, the more fl�exiblewas the material and it couldbe moulded into sheets for
making bags. While Indranil Chakrabor
ty designed the experiment,synthesised the sheet, andmoulded it to make the articles, Pritiranjan Mondal characterised the material. Thegroup has already fi�led a provisional patent.
“As the material is biodegradable and nontoxic, weare planning to use the material for healthcare applications also,” says Prof. Chatterjee. “We are in discussionwith various companies fortechnology transfer.”
“Given the surge in the usage of single use plastics andthe challenge of managingthe landfi�lls choked withSUPs, such alternativescould bring paradigm shiftespecially in packaging sector, the largest consumer ofSUPs,” says Prof Bose.
IISc researchers fi�nd a way to substitute for singleuse plasticsBy combining nonedible oils and cellulose extracted from agricultural stubble, the researchers made biodegradable, multiuse polymer sheets
Shubashree Desikan
Models: Bag, cutlery and tumbler made using biodegradable,material developed at IISc, Bengaluru. * SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
Primitive eyesIn fish, the pineal organ uses
two proteins known as opsins
present in a single cell to
detect colour. Lampreys –
jawless fish that retained
many primitive vertebrate
features – use a two-cell
system. Researchers
hypothesise that the one-cell
system may have evolved from
the two-cell system.
SNAPSHOTS
Scent of feelingsScent activates different areas
of the brain. A research team
has now found that scents,
processed by structures of the
olfactory senses, work
together with the brain’s
reward and aversion system.
Hence, scents affect those
regions responsible for
emotions. The study,
published in the journal
Cerebral Cortex, may explain
why smell plays a role in
memory retrieval.
The introduction of the humanities and social scienceshave added value to technological institutions such asthe fi�ve (originally started)IITs at Kanpur, Kharagpur,Mumbai, Chennai, and Delhi. This is an outstanding example of what can be done iffaculty members with expertise in the humanities are added and encouraged to off�ercourses there. They add values to the entire institutionand through them to the nation itself. Study of the humanities and social sciencesnot only adds values but is away of understanding thecomplexity of society, its culture and developing a historical perspective. It makes thestudents take on a more socially conscious attitude,which lasts through their career as technologists.
An outstanding example isthe recruitment of the lateProfessor Usha Kumar as afulltime faculty member atIIT Kanpur (IITK) and off�ering of courses in the humani
ties, and encouraging students and the faculty to takethese courses and take semesterlong projects. Many didso and found these useful later in their profession aswell. Such semester projectsleft a deep impression onthese young minds andpaved the way to the paththey took in their future careers. This has come to beknown as the Usha KumarModel. Exemplifying thismodel, IITK set up a highschool in its campus to helpits employees, but also admits students from the Kanpur city. In addition, IITK iscurrently off�ering relief services to the city’s poor people.
The alumni, current faculty and students at IIT Delhi(IITD) work closely with thelocal eye hospitals and eyespecialists. One of its earlieralumni initiated “Project Prakash”, which off�ers free eyecare facilities (cataract surgery, spectacles and drugsfor the needy ) in Delhi and
its neighbourhood. ProjectPrakash is an ongoing project, and several current students of IITD take part in it.Also, on a diff�erent note, itwas from an alumnus of IITDthat the project called SPICMACAY or the Society for theAppreciation of ClassicalMusic, Arts and CultureAmong Youth got initiated,which has now spread acrossthe country, off�ering annualevents. SPICMACAY hasmade students and the general public aware of and appreciate the musical heritagethat we in India can be proudof.
Study of SanskritLikewise, at IIT Bombay(IITB) in Mumbai, the recruitment of professors inthe humanities (ancientmathematics, languages andother themes) has triggeredsome students to discover‘the wonder that was India’.Some students went on tolearn and study Sanskrit. Totheir delight and pride, theyrealised why Sanskrit iscalled the perfect languagethat humans have created inthe world, and how many‘modern’ languages are derived from their parent, Sanskrit. Some other studentswho did not think highly of‘pandits’ who publish yearlycalendars in a variety of Indian languages, with data oneclipses, periodic extra
months, and draw horoscopes for people who wishto have them. This practicethat has been going on forcenturies, using traditionalmethods of calculations.Some students at IITB decided to test this accuracy by using their laptop computersand appropriate programming software. Guess what?They found the results tocoincide with what the pandits have been doing all theseyears! Also, thanks to the values they had learnt as students at IITB, several of itsgraduates now do not lookdown upon the illiterate andpoor customers, but runtheir profi�tmaking companies, each with a humaneand human touch.
Similarly, at IIT Madras(IITM), based in Chennai,one of its alumni decided tostart his own public healthinitiative at a town nearPune, which off�ers its services to the local population. Faculty members and students
at IITM have been workingregularly with the M S Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) in seawater studies and on forestations.IITM biology group interactsclosely with the local medical centres and doctors.They also work with the KRMuniversity and interact withthe Cancer Centre of theKRM University nearby,working with cancer specialists. Further, they collaborate in research with the Diabetes Foundation Madras,working with its diabetologists.
The oldest of all the IITs,the one at Kharagpur(IITKGP) has been off�ering itstechnology to the local medical personnel and doctors,since its very beginning. Ithas recently also come outwith technological devicesand products.
Black fungusAt the newest of them all located in Hyderabad, IIT Hyd
erabad (IITH), interactionwith the LV Prasad Eye Institute has led to the production of corneal tissue of theeye and a hydrogel that canbe used to replace the human corneal tissue. It is nowmarketed to a company inBengaluru. Most recently, itsscientists have devised anoral liquid solution that cantreat patients suff�ering fromblack fungus that has recently aff�ected a large number ofpeople during the pandemic.The scientists are now readyto transfer their technologyto suitable pharma partnersfor largescale production.Also, at IITH, the introduction of a ‘Design Centre’ hasled to some remarkable results from performing artistsand designers. The studentsat this centre are delighted inlistening to, learning andpractising music and performing arts. In addition,IITH also has been supporting Hyderabad’s SPICMACAYgroup, by off�ering fundingsupport and its auditoriumwhen needed.
The government is keenon establishing a dozen moreIITs in the coming years. Establishing the humanitiesand social sciences divisionsin each of them is thus clearly needed in order that theytoo contribute to the welfareof the nation.
Humanities, social sciences essential in tech institutionsStudying the humanities off�ers a way tounderstand the complexity of society
Gearing up: IIT Madras students work with M.S. SwaminathanResearch Foundation on seawater studies. * VELANKANNI RAJ B
SPEAKING OF SCIENCE
D. BALASUBRAMANIANWhy do we makerepeated eye contactwhile talking?
When two peopleconverse, their eyesmeet in moments of“shared attention”, withtheir pupils dilating insynchrony, according toa Dartmouth study(PNAS).
According to leadauthor Sophie Wohltjenat Dartmouth, when twopeople converse, eyecontact signals thatshared attention is high— that they are in peaksynchrony. As eyecontact persists, thatsynchrony thendecreases. “We think thisis also good because toomuch synchrony canmake a conversationstale. An engagingconversation requires attimes being on the samepage and at times sayingsomething new. Eyecontact seems to be oneway we create a sharedspace while also allowing
space for new ideas,” shesaid in a release.
According to thisstudy, eye contact ismade when two peoplein conversation arealready in sync, and, ifanything, eye contactseems to then help breakthat synchrony. Eyecontact may usefullydisrupt synchronymomentarily in order toallow for a new thoughtor idea.
The researchersstudied pairs ofDartmouth students whowere in conversation for10 minutes by makingthem wear eyetrackingglasses. Theconversation was audioand video recorded. Theresearchers looked athow pupillary synchronyincreases and decreasesaround instances of eyecontact. They found thatpeople make eye contactas pupillary synchrony isat its peak. Pupillarysynchrony thenimmediately decreases,only recovering againonce eye contact isbroken. The data alsodemonstrated acorrelation betweeninstances of eye contactand higher levels ofengagement.
Question Corner
Meeting eyes
Readers may send theirquestions / answers [email protected]
CMYK
A ND-NDE
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THE HINDU DELHI
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FAQ
The story so far: The Centre on Wednesday approved aproductionlinked incentive scheme for the automobileand drone industries with a budgetary outlay of ₹�26,058crore. This tranche is part of the overall plan for 13sectors highlighted during the Budget announcementsfor 202122, with a total outlay of ₹�1.97 lakh crore.
What is the scheme laying stress on?
■ The incentive scheme for the auto sector aims to bluntthe impact of costs involved when investing intechnologies that could power vehicles in future. Whileexisting players — in addition to new entrants — may availthemselves of the benefi�t for fresh investments, theincentives are available for what the government refersto as ‘Advanced Automotive Technology products’.These include technologies for battery electric vehiclesand those that use hydrogen fuel cells.
How relevant is the plan for the auto sector?
■ The Indian auto sector was once slated to emerge asthe thirdlargest auto market, after the U.S. and China, by2020. After peaking at annual sales of 3.3 millionpassenger vehicles in FY19, as per fi�gures from theSociety of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), thesector witnessed a decline to 2.77 million units thesubsequent year. Likewise, twowheelers peaked at 21.2million in FY19 before dipping to 17.4 million. Then, thepandemic struck, resulting in factory lockdowns andnegative consumer sentiment. In 2020, the country wasranked fi�fth. Global interest in the Indian market has
waned. General Motorsexited India in 2017.Pushed by cumulativelosses of about $2 billion,Ford last week announcedits decision to shut shopin the country.
Given that thepandemic — withresultant semiconductorsupply shortages andcontainer availabilityissues — had only furtherdampened the prospectsof the sector, automotiveveterans such as MarutiSuzuki chairman R.C.
Bhargava and TVS Motor chairman Venu Srinivasan hadrecently urged the government to act and protectindustry interests. In this backdrop, the scheme aims toinject some verve into the sector, especially with a nudgeto technologies that help lower fossil fuel emissions. Thegovernment expects the scheme would lead to freshinvestments of more than ₹�42,500 crore, incrementalproduction worth over ₹�2.3 lakh crore and creation of anadditional 7.5 lakh jobs.
Are only newer fuel technologies eligible for it?
■ Yes. The move to clean technologies came even aselectricvehicle (EV) maker Tesla had urged the Centre tocut duties on imported vehicles. Incentivising localproduction could translate into more investments in thissegment. Also, India has become increasingly keen toreduce dependence on oil imports and bring downpollution, even as it strives to meet commitments underclimate change agreements. With most vehiclemanufacturers betting on buyers’ preference forpersonal mobility following the pandemicinducedhygiene restrictions, the government would likely wantto take advantage of the mood and boostemissionfriendly EVs; but it is still a challenge forvehicleowners to make a full recharge of batteries asquickly as they would refi�ll a petrol/diesel tank. EVs areseen as not being suited to longdistance driving, giventhe power storage technologies currently in place as wellas the poor spread of the charging network. According toa December 2020 report by the India Energy StorageAlliance, EVs were set to grow from 3.8 lakh units in thecountry in FY20 to about 63 lakh by 2027. The fi�guresindicate that the total EV count was a small fraction ofjust the passenger vehicles sold in India. Further,charging stations numbered 1,800 as of March, accordingto the Society for Manufacturers of Electric Vehicles. AGrant ThorntonFICCI report estimates that the countrywould need about 4 lakh charging stations by 2026 thatwould meet the needs of two million EVs. Traditionalfuel stations numbered about 77,215 as on May 1, 2021,according to government data.
What can customers expect?
■ The announcement aims to off�er benefi�ts to thesupply side of the equation. The industry, including theSIAM, has been demanding a cut in the GST rate from28% applicable to the average passenger vehicle to aidcustomers. The government recently said it was open to“tinkering” with the rate for automobiles. In November2020, Tamil Nadu announced a 100% waiver of road taxon EVs for two years. Earlier that year, the Centre revisednorms for FAMEII. These factors, coupled with therelentless climb in the cost of traditional fuels, likelyspurred the EV count on Tamil Nadu roads to double to14,300 in eight months till August this year.
Auto boost Will the productionlinked incentivescheme for the auto sector help theelectric vehicle segment grow?
The scheme aims toinject some verve intothe sector, especiallywith a nudge totechnologies that helplower fossil fuelemissions. Thegovernment expects itwill lead to freshinvestments of morethan ₹�42,500 crore
K. Bharat Kumar
Driving the old out: The scheme will blunt the impact of the cost of investment in technologies that can power vehicles in future. * GETTY IMAGES/ISTOCKPHOTO
The story so far: The Union Cabinet on Wednesdayapproved a set of fi�nancial relief measures to help majortelecom companies in trouble. Companies such asVodafone Idea and Bharti Airtel have seen their businesshit hard by fi�nancial demands made by the governmentand cutthroat competition. In 2019, the Supreme Courthad ordered telecom companies to pay dues worth over₹�1.4 lakh crore to the government, which they are yet tocomplete.
Why are telecom companies in trouble?
■ Telecom companies traditionally paid a fi�xed fee topurchase spectrum under lease from the government.Since 1999, however, apart from the spectrum licencefees, they have also had to share a certain proportion oftheir adjusted gross revenue (AGR) with the government.The government and the telecom companies havedisagreed on what counts as AGR. Companies haveargued that the government cannot classify theirnontelecom revenues as AGR and demand a share of it.The dispute landed in court and eventually ended infavour of the government with the Supreme Courtordering companies to pay all their accumulated AGRdues. The order put immense stress on the balance sheetsof the companies which were already in trouble owing toan intense price war.
What are the concessions off�ered by the government?
■ The Centre has off�ered the companies a fouryearmoratorium on spectrum and AGR dues to relieve themof their fi�nancial stress. They can now opt to pay these
dues and the interest accumulated on them at the end ofthe moratorium period. If a company is unable to pay theaccumulated dues by the end of the moratorium it cannegotiate with the government to give it an equity stake inlieu of the accumulated dues. Moreover, the governmenthas eased its policy stance in order to decrease the futureliabilities of the companies. It has declared that they donot have to share with the government revenues that theyreceive from nontelecom sources. Further, to makeinvestment in telecom companies easier, the Centre hasallowed 100% foreign direct investment without the needfor government clearance. It has also eased bankguarantee requirements against licence fee and doneaway with penalties imposed on late payment of fees.
Will the measures help telecom companies?
■ The relief measures announced by the government are
expected to free up cash from the balance sheets of thecompanies. The hope is that they will use this cash toinvest in expanding and strengthening their business,thus becoming more capable of paying back their dues. Itshould be noted that the government has not agreed towaive off� dues that companies already owe thegovernment or the dues that will arise over the next fouryears. Analysts, however, see the government’s decisionto waive off� charges on future nontelecom revenues assignifi�cant because it puts to rest the twodecades longcontroversy in the telecom sector over what counts asAGR. Sceptics of the plan believe that it will not relievethe pain of the companies like Vodafone Idea, which hasa total debt of nearly ₹�2 lakh crore. In fact, according toanalysts, the government’s off�er to convert the spectrumand AGR dues of the companies into equity may causeVodafone Idea to come under government control. Thisrisk could deter investors from infusing fresh capital intothe company.
Are telecom tariff�s set to rise?
■ A major reason for the crisis in the telecom sector hasbeen the intense competition. This has led to theoverwhelming supply of telecom services, in turn leadingto lower prices that have made India a country with oneof the lowest telecom tariff�s in the world. So, somebelieve the government should let troubled telecomcompanies like Vodafone Idea to fail and exit the market,just as other telecom companies have done in the past.This will cause supply to drop and prices to rise. The lastmajor increase in tariff�s came in December 2019. Afurther rise in tariff�s is expected as the companies try toboost their average revenue per user to match the risingcosts.
Can the telecom industry get out of the rut? How will the government’s relief package impact the sector? Is there clarity on spectrum licence fees and dues?
Prashanth Perumal J.
Timely relief: Companies such as Vodafone Idea and Bharti Airtel have been hit hard by the government’s demands. * REUTERS
The story so far: The Union Cabinet onWednesday approved a ₹�30,600crore backstopfacility for guaranteeing securities to be issued bythe National Asset Reconstruction Company Ltd.(NARCL), the socalled ‘bad bank’ that is beingset up to help aggregate and consolidatelenders’ nonperforming assets (NPAs) or badloans.
What is a ‘bad bank’, and specifi�cally
the NARCL?
■ A ‘bad bank’ is a fi�nancial entity set up toacquire NPAs from banks and resolve them.The bank, which sells the stressed assets to thebad bank, is now relieved of the burden of thebad loans and can focus instead on growing itsbusiness by advancing fresh loans to borrowersrequiring credit. The cleaner balance sheet alsomakes it relatively easier for the lender to raisefresh capital, if required. The NARCL, which is beingset up by lenders and will be 51% owned by publicsector banks, proposes to take over the fully provisionedstressed assets of about ₹�90,000 crore in the fi�rst phase.The minimum size of each NPA to be acquired will be₹�500 crore as the focus is on resolving bigticket badloans. The longerterm goal for the NARCL is to helpresolve NPAs worth ₹�2 lakh crore, with the remainingassets with lower provisions expected to be transferred ina second phase.
How will the NARCL operate?
■ The ‘bad bank’ will acquire assets by making an off�erto the lead bank of a group of lenders of an NPA. FinanceMinister Nirmala Sitharaman said the NARCL would makea 15% cash payment to the banks based on a valuationand the rest would be given as security receipts. Thesereceipts, in turn, would be guaranteed by thegovernment’s ₹�30,600crore backstop facility. To assistthe NARCL, public and private banks together would setup an India Debt Resolution Company Ltd. (IDRCL) that
wouldmanage theacquired assets andtry to improve their valuefor fi�nal resolution. And on completion of resolution, thebalance 85% of value, being held as security receipts,would be given to the banks.
Why is the Centre providing a backstop?
■ Given the large volume and individual sizes of theseNPAs, a backstop from the government helps lendcredibility to the resolution process and provides forcontingency buff�ers. The guarantee, which will be validfor fi�ve years, would be invoked either at the time ofresolution or liquidation to cover the shortfall (if any)
between the face value of the securityreceipts and the actual realisation. The
Union government’s guarantee willalso enhance liquidity of these
receipts, which are tradable. Also,given that there would be a poolof assets, it is likely that therealisation of value in manycases would exceed theacquisition cost, obviating theneed to draw down on theguarantee.
What lies ahead for the
banking industry?
■ The government expectsthat the setting up of the twin
entities, the NARCL and theIDRCL, with adequate capital
and its guarantee, will incentivisequicker action on resolving
stressed assets, thereby helping inbetter value realisation. As the
holders of these stressed assets andsecurity receipts, banks stand to receive
the gains accruing from a successfulresolution process. In a bid to disincentivise
delay in resolution, the government has alsoproposed that the NARCL pay a guarantee fee to the
Centre, which would increase with the passage of time.Critics of the bad bank concept, however, contend thatthe government’s role in guaranteeing some part of theNPAs could lead to laxity on the part of bankers inassessing risk and thus creating fresh dodgy loans.Separately, a January 2020 Bank for InternationalSettlements working paper on ‘Bad bank resolutions andbank lending’, in fact, found that “bad bank segregationsare eff�ective in cleaning up balance sheets and promotingbank lending only if they combine recapitalisation withasset segregation”. The study, based on data covering 135banks from 15 European banking systems over the period200016, observed that neither recapitalisation nor assetsegregation used in isolation “would suffi�ce to spurlending and reduce future” NPAs.
Will the new fi�nancial entity help to solvethe problem of nonperforming assets or bad loans?
Suresh Seshadri
Burden eased: The ‘bad bank’ will help aggregate andconsolidate lenders’ nonperforming assets or bad
loans. * GETTY IMAGES/ISTOCKPHOTO
What is the need for a ‘bad bank’?
The story so far: On his recent visit to India ahead of theUN Climate Change conference in Glasgow, U.S. SpecialPresidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry said he had notreceived any assurance that India was working to raise itsambition to cut carbon dioxide emissions. Mr. Kerry is trying to build momentum, under the Paris Agreement framework, for countries with high CO2 emissions to committhemselves to a target date when they will reach net zero,meaning when they will achieve nil manmade emissionsor ensure removal of such emissions to achieve neutrality.India, as the country with the third largest emissions, isunder pressure to come up with a higher ambition on cutting CO2 emissions. The net zero concept, according tothe United Nations, has appealed to 130 countries thathave either committed themselves to carbon neutrality by2050, or are considering that target.
What is India doing to lower emissions?
■ India is working to reduce its emissions, aligned withthe goal of less than 2°C global temperature rise, seen inits headline pledge to cut the emissions intensity of GDPby 33%35% by 2030 over the 2005 level. But it has not favoured a binding commitment towards carbon neutrality.It is also not aligned with the more ambitious goal of 1.5°Ctemperature rise. Among the contentious issues it faces isheavy reliance on coal. According to the InternationalEnergy Agency’s India Energy Outlook 2021, coal accountsfor close to 70% of electricity generation. Cutting greenhouse gases which heat the atmosphere and contribute toclimate change involves shifting power production awayfrom coal, greater adoption of renewables, and transform
ing mobility through electric vehicles. India is praised bysome for its renewables target: scaling up power from renewables such as solar and wind to 450 GW by 2030.
In recent comments, after the discussions with Mr. Kerry, Union Environment Minister Bhupendra Yadav said netzero was not the only goal of national policy. Moreover,domestic political opinion favours room for some growthin CO2 emissions before peaking. The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) provides for common, but diff�erentiated, responsibilities of nations, favour
ing countries like India.Some politicians support anet zero target as it can putIndia on a green development trajectory, attractinginvestment in innovativetechnologies.
How are other big
countries pursuing
net zero?
■ As the largest emitter ofGHGs, China told the UN in2020 that it would move tonet zero by 2060. Its
pledge to peak CO2 emissions before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality three decades later is among the most highprofi�le commitments. To operationalise this goal, China’sState Council has issued a guideline on the transition to agreen and lowcarbon circular economic development system, focusing on industrial production, logistics, infrastructure, consumption, innovation, and enabling policies.But changing winds in global politics, resumed U.S. leader
ship of the climate campaign, and likely taxes on unsustainably produced export goods could infl�uence Chinesepolicies. The U.S., as the second biggest emitter with largehistorical emissions, returned to the Paris Agreement under President Joe Biden with an ambitious 2050 net zeroplan. Its Department of Energy announced two programmes that are also expected to boost employment:slashing the current cost of solar power by 60%, and putting up 30 GW of off�shore wind power by 2030. The European Union (EU) memberstates have committed themselves to reducing emissions by at least 55% by 2030 over1990 levels. In July, the EU published a climate law thatbinds the bloc to its 2030 emissions target and carbonneutrality by 2050.
Why do some analysts see net zero as controversial?
■ Although a global coalition has coalesced around theconcept, an increasingly vocal group views it as a distraction, useful only to score political points. Carbon neutrality looks to nascent technology to suck out CO2 from the atmosphere. Youth movements and some scientists call thisprocrastination, since it enables the fossil fuel industry tocontinue expanding. Many fossil fuel companies supportnet zero goals.
What are India’s choices?
■ Getting a stronger economic dividend for the same volume of CO2 emitted by reforming energy, industry andbuildings, and achieving higher energy effi�ciency in allsectors can slow emissions. State governments must bepart of such a climate plan, and climate governance institutions must be set up at the national and State levels.
Why is it diffi�cult for India to get to net zero? What are the hurdles? How contentious is the issue of heavy reliance on coal? What is India’s stand?
G. Ananthakrishnan
India is working toreduce its emissions,aligned with the goalof less than 2oCglobal temperaturerise, but it does notfavour a bindingcommitment towardscarbon neutrality
CMYK
A ND-NDE
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DELHI THE HINDU
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PROFILES
It was around 10.30 p.m.on September 10 whenthe then Gujarat ChiefMinister, Vijay Rupani,received a call from the
BJP’s powerful national general secretary B.L. Santosh,conveying the party highcommand’s desire to eff�ect achange of guard in the State.The next morning, Mr. Santosh and the Gujarat BJP incharge, Bhupender Yadav,landed in Ahmedabad to prepare the ground for thechange.
The next day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressedvia videoconference an eventto inaugurate the Patidarcommunity’s social servicescampus on the outskirts ofAhmedabad. Chief MinisterRupani and senior Patidarleaders from the State, including Union MinistersMansukh Mandaviya andParshottam Rupala, werepresent inperson. As soon asthe Prime Minister’s speech,in which he talked about thehuman values that providesolution to the menace of terrorism and tragedies like theSeptember 11 terror attacksin the U.S., was over, Mr. Rupani drove to the Raj Bhavanin Gandhinagar to hand overhis resignation to the Governor, ending his fi�veyear tenure as Chief Minister.
Mr. Rupani was installedas Chief Minister in 2016 in adramatic manner when thethen BJP chief Amit Shah,currently Union Home Minister, had thrown his weightbehind him. After Mr. Rupani’s resignation, State BJPchief C.R. Paatil announcedthat the party’s legislaturewing would meet the next
day to select the new ChiefMinister. “The successorwould be announced tomorrow, but I am not in therace,” Mr. Paatil, who emerged as a power centre in theBJP’s State politics after hewas appointed the partychief in 2020, said in astatement.
On September 12, at the
party’s headquarters that resembles more like a farmhouse than a political centre,State leaders and central observers, N.S. Tomar andPrahlad Joshi, presided overthe legislature party meetingin which all legislators andparliamentarians were present. In the meeting, Mr. Rupani was asked to name hissuccessor from a sealed envelope that was handed tohim by the observers.
High command decision When Mr. Rupani announced that the party highcommand had decided topick Bhupendra Patel as theleader of the BJP legislativeparty, the fi�rsttime legislatorwas sitting on the sixth or seventh row in the conferencehall. After his name was announced, he was asked to goto the dais, where the topleaders were sitting.
The buzz in the politicalcircles is that while Mr. Patel
was going to Gandhinagar toattend the party’s meeting,he received a call askingwhether he would be thenext Chief Minister. Cluelessof what was about to come,‘Bhupendrabhai’ apparentlystarted laughing on thephone.
Before his name was announced, the 59yearoldleader’s main political identity was that he was the MLAfrom Ghatlodia, a seat earlierheld by Anandiben Patel, theformer Chief Minister, who isnow the Governor of UttarPradesh. Mr. Patel is a protege of Ms. Anandiben, whois popularly called Ben in theState’s political circles. It wasMs. Anandiben who ensureda ticket for Mr. Patel in the2017 Assembly election,when she was the sitting legislator.
Born on July 15, 1962, Mr.Patel studied in Ahmedabad.He has long been associatedwith the RSS. Mildmanneredand softspoken, Mr. Patelnever had any previous ministerial experience or heldany key positions in the Stateparty organisation.
Before contesting for theAssembly election, his careerlargely stayed limited to Ahmedabad city. He was thechief of Memnagar Municipality, a western Ahmedabadlocality that was subsequently merged with the municipalcorporation when the civicbody’s boundaries were expanded in 200708. Later, hebecame a municipal councillor and was made the chairman of the standing committee, the main decisionmaking body of the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation,in 201015, when Ms. Anandiben was a Minister in the Mo
di administration. In 2015, hewas made the chairman ofAhmedabad Urban Development Authority (AUDA), apowerful body responsiblefor overseeing and sanctioning construction worksacross the suburbs of the city, when Ms. Anandiben wasthe Chief Minister.
A builder by profession,Mr. Patel has kept a low profi�le within the party andstayed away from controversies, qualities that politicalanalysts believe may havehelped him earn the attention of the BJP high command. “He is lowprofi�le, buthas a good understanding ofthe State. Also has exposurein both AMC and AUDA inAhmedabad, which is thecommercial capital of theState,” said BJP Rajya Sabhamember Narhari Amin, whoearlier served as CongressDeputy Chief Minister in the1990s in the Chimanbhai Patel government.
He is a disciple of AkramVignan Movement, a spiritual stream that was foundedby one Ambalal Patel, knownas Dada Bhagwan. Mr. Patel’sanointment suggests that theparty leadership wanted aPatidar face ahead of the Assembly election but someone without any independent political base. The partyseems to have banked upontwo factors while catapultinghim to the Chief Minister’schair: fi�rst he is a Patidarleader and has strong association with the community’ssocial services outfi�ts in Ahmedabad and second, he is abuilder by profession andhas a long experience in civicand urban management sohe can ensure that main cities such as Ahmedabad, Surat, Rajkot, Vadodara andothers remain bastions of theBJP in the coming election,say analysts and BJP insiders.
“In Bhupendrabhai, theparty has found a grassroots
leader who rose from thecadre base in the State,” saidYamal Vyas, a spokesman ofGujarat BJP. According tohim, Mr. Patel is a noncontroversial personality whosedevelopment works in AMCand AUDA are wellknownamong the cadres.
The Patel clout The Patidars, who make uproughly 15% of the State’spopulation, hold a huge swayover the economy with theircontrol over lucrative sectorssuch as private education,rural and urban cooperativebanks and dairies.
Nitin Patel, who was theDeputy Chief Minister in theRupani government, alsofound Bhupendra Patel a“good” choice. “He is a goodleader. He is my neighbour.We have worked togetherand have known each otherfor decades,” said Mr. NitinPatel, a party veteran whowas seen by many as a poten
tial successor to Mr. Rupani. On September 16, Mr. Pa
tel’s government was swornin by Governor AcharyaDevvrat. What surprised many was that no Minister whoserved in the erstwhile Rupani administration found aslot in the new government.Out of the 25 members, including the Chief Minister,only a handful have previousministerial experience. Thisincludes Rajendra Trivedi,who was a Minister in theAnandiben government; Kiritsinh Rana, who served inthe government of NarendraModi; and Raghavji Patel,who served in the Shankarsinh Vaghela government inthe mid1990s.
The message the BJP’scentral leadership wants tosend is clear. They want theGujarat government to startafresh and face the electionas a new team. BhupendraPatel would lead them fromthe front.
BHUPENDRA PATEL
The CM who came
from nowhere A leader from the powerful Patidar community with experience inconstruction and urban management, the onetime MLA will leadthe BJP to the 2022 Gujarat Legislative Assembly election
Mahesh Langa
CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC
No Minister whoserved in the Rupaniadministration founda slot in the new25-member Cabinetof Bhupendra Patel,sworn in on Sept. 16
CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC
In Focus
B Born on July15, 1962, Mr.Patel grew upin Ahmedabadand has longbeenassociatedwith the RSS
B Beforecontestingpolls to theAssembly, hiscareer waslargely limitedtoAhmedabadcity, where hewas amunicipalcouncillor andthe chairmanof thestandingcommittee ofthecorporation
B In 2015, hewas made thechairman ofAhmedabadUrbanDevelopmentAuthority, apowerfulurban body,whenAnandibenPatel was theCM
In July this year, Britain’sEmma Raducanu wasjust another worried
teenager awaiting her Alevel results. Three months later, her purse is $2.5 millionheavier, she was on two different American breakfasttelevision shows on thesame day and attended theMet Gala, rubbing shoulderswith the who’s who of NewYork. Now, she has an A inMaths, but also a shiny USOpen Grand Slam trophy.
After a summer when theEnglish football team cameagonisingly close to creatinghistory at the EuropeanChampionship, it was Raducanu’s explosive run at theUS Open that galvanised thenation. “We are taking herHOME,” she tweeted afterher victorious fi�nal match.
Breakout runBut Raducanu thought itwas she who would be goinghome. She was playing thequalifying rounds at the USOpen and had her fl�ight tickets booked for home because she didn’t expect tolast a week longer. Fromthen on, Raducanu played10 matches and the breakout run fi�nally culminatedin her lifting the title: making her the fi�rst qualifi�er —male or female — to win aMajor in the Open Era.
The win has brought hera bevy of distinctions: she isthe fi�rst British woman towin a Grand Slam title sinceVirginia Wade in 1977. At 18,she is the youngest cham
pion since Maria Sharapovain 2004. But this was onlyRaducanu’s second GrandSlam main draw appearance. No woman in theOpen era had ever won insuch a few attempts.
Raducanu’s achievementneeds to be seen in tandemwith the experience she has— which is close to nothing.She has not won a WTA tourlevel match yet. This meansshe was neither accustomedto the tour grind of the sport— managing schedules,training regimes and timezones — nor to playing anddefeating seasoned pros.But at the US Open, sheplayed 20 nearly fl�awlesssets of tennis, consistentlyhacking through her competition, right from a playerranked 285 till the reigningOlympic gold medallist Belinda Bencic.
It was so fl�awless thatnone of her 10 opponentsmanaged to even win a setagainst her. In fact, onlyonce did she lose more than
four games in a set. Her US Open run mirrors
her meteoric rise into prominence earlier in the yearat Wimbledon. She enteredthe tournament as a wildcard and reached the fourthround.
She became a suddensensation, thrust under thespotlight of the All EnglandClub. But in her fourthround, trailing a set, Raducanu retired after havingtrouble in breathing. She later admitted that the occasion and pressure mighthave gotten to her.
Playing styleRaducanu is a clean ballstriker and her game is agood mix of power and precision. Relentless and aggressive baseline hitting hasbeen her goto method toeke out errors from the opponent.
In the fi�nal against LeylahFernandez, a formidableplayer who staged more upsets in the runup to the title
bid, she was able to quicklyturn defence into attack,taking the ball early and redirecting it at will.
Every match Raducanuplayed seemed to unlock anew dimension of her game.“I’ve started sliding, which Ididn’t know I could do untilnow,” she said a few days before the fi�nal.
She slid at the fi�nal, too,facing a breakpoint andneeded a medical timeout.It was eerily similar to whathappened at Wimbledon,but this time, in a clear indication of how much she hasgrown, Raducanu remainedunfazed, returned andserved out an ace to lift thechampionship.
Raducanu’s Twitter biosimply reads “london|toronto|shenyang|bucharest”.She was born in Toronto to aChinese mother and Romanian father and the familymoved to England when shewas two. Her mixed heritage, coupled with her win,has sparked a debate onmulticulturalism in the United Kingdom. It is being seenas a strong repudiation ofthe antiimmigrant wavethat spurred the Brexit votein 2016.
From Wimbledon to theUS Open, Raducanu rosefrom 338 in ranking to 23. Itremains to be seen how wellshe will deal with pressuresof a diff�erent kind — from being one of the favourites atupcoming tournaments tonavigating the immensecommercial attention thatbeing a teen star inevitablybrings.
EMMA RADUCANU
The new teen sensationThe 18yearold is the fi�rst British woman to win a Grand Slam title since 1977
Preethi Ramamoorthy
ILLUSTRATION: J.A. PREMKUMAR
The truth shall set youfree, says Sister TeenaJose, citing verse 8:32
of St. John’s Gospel, responding to a question onwhat the cornerstone of herlife was as a member of theCatholic religious order,Congregation of the Motherof Carmel.
A busy lawyer practisingin Ernakulam, the nun cameout openly against a remarkby the Bishop of Pala (nearKottayam in central Kerala)Joseph Kallarangatt thatthere was a case of ‘narcoticjihad’ going on in the State.The allegation was that people belonging to a particularreligious community weretrying to entice the youngthrough sale of narcotic substances. The issue wasraised in line with the ‘lovejihad’ allegations.
Sr. Teena’s defi�ance wasrare within the Church hierarchy. She says that as afather of the family, theBishop should have advisedhis children to be aware ofthe danger of the use of addictive substances andwarned them against theloss of a precious period oftheir lives instead of usingthe church and the pulpit tospread a negative imageabout a community throughthe use of the word ‘jihad’.
But she’s not botheredabout what responses heropen criticism would generate. “The words of Jesushave inspired me and provided sustenance to a fi�ghting spirit,” she says.
She took up various duties under her congregationbefore deciding to pursue adegree in law. She enrolledas a lawyer after her graduation in law and has beenpractising since 2008.
Sr. Teena’s move to pursue a law degree followedthe death of a former woman member of St. Mary’sBala Bhavan in Ernakulam,of which she was incharge.The young married womanwas found dead under suspicious circumstances inher home. She had a youngchild. The case was not properly investigated, feels Sr.Teena.
Sr. Teena comes from afamily of seven children —fi�ve brothers and two sisters. Her elder sister, AnnieJaise, is also a member ofthe same congregation. Sr.Teena recalls how her fatherwas staunchly against herjoining a religious order butshe gradually convincedhim that she wanted tochoose a life of service
through her religious calling. She says it took abouttwo years to convince herfather that she wanted tojoin the congregation afterpassing the SSLC (10th) examinations in 1972.
Pluralistic societyShe points out that the Indian Constitution allowseach religion to be free. It isalso a fact that there are intercaste and interreligiousmarriages taking place inthe country. It is the fact of apluralistic society. The Indian example has been highlighted as one of toleranceand harmony across theworld, she says, to highlightthe impact of the statementby the bishop.
She is convinced that India does not belong to a particular community. All areguests here, who have comefrom diff�erent parts of theworld. The call for harmonyis all the more strong on thatbasis, she maintains.Though Kerala is described
as ‘God’s own country’,there is a lot of deformityand anxiety in society now,she adds.
Sr. Teena is “surprised”how the bishop could comeout so openly against a community even as the churchhad not come out in supportof T.J. Joseph, a Professor ofMalayalam at Newman College in Thodupuzha, inIdukki district, after he wasbrutally attacked by a groupof Islamist extremists in2010.
The college authorities,backed by the church, puthim through hard times andthe victim’s wife killed herself in despair, Sr. Teenasays. She had also joined thedemand in September 2018for action against BishopFranco Mulackal of Jalandhar, who was accused of sexually abusing a Catholicnun.
At 68, Sr. Teena recallshow the women religiouscommunities are under thedispensation of the churchhierarchy. Pointing out thehardships, she said nunsfrom her own congregationwere asked to give up claimson a convent and related institutions in Njarakkal, nearKochi, which they had builtover 60 years. The churchauthorities did not side withthe nuns despite courtorders.
Irrespective of the consequences, Sr. Teena is determined to fi�ght on for theright causes. She says shehas always sided with thevictims as “Jesus hastaught”.
SR. TEENA JOSE
For the cause of victims
The Catholic nun comes out openly against Pala Bishop’s ‘narcotic jihad’ remark
K.A. MARTIN
ILLUSTRATION: SREEJITH R. KUMAR
ILLUSTRATION: R.RAJESH
CMYK
A ND-NDE
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THE HINDU DELHI
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BUSINESS
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UNESCO’s framework forethical AI would have a farreaching impact on the entire gamut of AI activities,including development, application, ethicality, dataprivacy, and regulation,said Padmashree Sha-grithaya, VP, Analytics &Artifi�cial Intelligence – India, Capgemini in an interview. Excerpts:
What are the challenges
involved in building
impartial AI platforms?
■ Artifi�cial Intelligence (AI)systems attempt to mimichuman intelligence. The systems are taught throughsharing enormous data ofpast human actions to learnfrom. While this is useful toreduce the human interference in repetitive decisionmaking, this approach iswrought with inherent challenges of bias and discrimination. How to identify, segregate, correct and feedthem back to the algorithmto ignore or systematicallyadjust for the same, is one ofthe biggest challenges.
Is acquiring user consent
adequate, while accessing
personal data?
■ The general view is thatthe more information wehave about individuals, onecould build sharper algorithms to target them for off�ers, recommendations,treatments etc. Recommendation (through data fi�ltering) algorithms have, of late,come hugely under the radar for ethical reasons.
There is a lot of talkaround it, for infringing onpersonal, sensitive information and its negative impact.The question is, where todraw the line on how muchinformation about an individual would be tantamountto infringing on sensitivepersonal data.
What key aspects can help
avoid gender bias?
■ Bias in AI is a key topic ofconcern. In fact, gender biashas been a focal point. It isimportant to address thissystematically through theAI development lifecycle,starting from scoping, all theway to proving that it has indeed been taken care of. Developers should ensure thatthe scope is neither myopicnor intended to bring in anyintersection disparity... additionally, keeping in viewthe overall societal impactthe outcomes may have.
Data collection, curationand the methodology involved will play a key role toensure fairness and ethicaloutcome. Accountabilityand ownership have to bewelldefi�ned. Importantly,all these elements have to bepart of a regulatory andcompliance framework.
Are technology developers
sensitive to these issues?
■ There is still a great degreeof ignorance about how AIcan impact our lives. Wehave been seeing rigorouscampaigns in recent years tocreate awareness about sensitivity issues and also tobring about changes in leadership mindset. But still, alarge ground needs to be covered. We should have legal
frameworks that support aholistic inclusion of coders,developers, and decisionmakers.
UNESCO is working on a
framework for ethical AI...
■ UNESCO’s framework forethical AI will have farreaching impact in the AIspace. The idea is to have aholistic and evolving framework of values, principlesand actions that can guidesocieties in dealing responsibly with the known and unknown impact of AI on humans and society at large.
Through this, UNESCOaims to have a global commitment by individual countries to view AI via ethicallenses. The framework willimpact areas such as sensitivity to privacy and inclusion; transparency, fairnessand nondiscrimination; accountability through participation; mindset change thatsupports a sustainable AI environment and a balancebetween business growthand promotion of values.
What can make search
engines more secular,
neutral and unbiased?
■ Search engines have thepower to shape user behaviour. Though the entire cycle of collecting, indexingand ranking content is automated, still it is prone to misuse and unintentional bias.For search engines to be secular, neutral, unbiased andconfl�ictfree, their searcheshave to be objective, basedon continuous learning of algorithms and they should beintelligent enough to off�erthe right search outputs.
Ambiguities can be resolved to ensure human values and societal benefi�tsthrough a stakeholder partnership [of ] AI providers,developers, endusers, regulators, compliance agencies,industry experts, and searchengine providers.
INTERVIEW | PADMASHREE SHAGRITHAYA
Bias in AI is a key topic of
concern: Capgemini VP‘UNESCO framework to have far-reaching impact’
Mini Tejaswi
<> How to identify bias
and feed them back
to the algorithm to
ignore is one of the
biggest challenges
Businesses that default onfi�ling summary return andpaying monthly GST willnot be able to fi�le GSTR1sales return of the succeeding month, from January 1.
The GST Council, at itsmeeting in Lucknow onSeptember 17, had decidedto take measures to streamline compliance, includingmandatory Aadhaar authentication, for businessesto fi�le refund claims.
These would help prevent revenue leakage dueto evasion of Goods andServices Tax (GST).
The Council decided toamend Rule 59(6) of theCentral GST Rules with effect from January 1, to provide that a registered person shall not be allowed tofurnish Form GSTR1, if hehas not furnished the return in Form GSTR3B forthe preceding month.
‘GSTR1 barredfor returnsdefaulters’
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA
NEW DELHI
The demand for luxury second or holiday homes hasrecovered after a lull sincedemonetisation of 2016 following pandemicrelated dynamics such as workfromhome (WFH) and living awayfrom crowded residentialareas, according to somereal estate developers.
Luxury villa developerssaid demand had risenthreefold compared with thepreCOVID period.
The niche segment hadbeen witnessing price appreciation of 512% as high networth individuals were acquiring prime property inscenic locations in search ofhealth and wellness awayfrom COVID19 hotspots,they added.
“We did extremely well
last year with our luxury villa project Tata Prive in Lonavla/Khandala,” said SanjayDutt, MD & CEO, Tata Realty& Infrastructure Ltd. “It wascompletely sold out. Theprice bracket is ₹�4₹�6 croreper home.”
“We have seen a price increase of 5% this year andthe next year, prices will
again rise by 7% as peopleare now looking for new,wellness homes,” he said.
Amoda ReserveSouthPark, a luxury villa projectdeveloped by Kalpataru Ltd.in Lonavala has also attracted the rich. Some buyershave made their secondhomes as primary homes,working remotely to avoid
the pandemic. Here, luxuryhomes are priced between₹�4 crore and ₹�20 crore.
“Holiday homes are witnessing a strong demand asmore and more people seekthe relative safety of lesscrowded spaces,” said ParagMunot, MD, Kalpataru Ltd.
“The emerging culture ofWFH and improved teleconnectivity are incentivisingpeople to make these homestheir permanent abode,” hesaid. “Enhanced aff�ordability due to interest rate softening and various schemes isalso a key decision enabler.”
“The secondhome market appears to be on a gradual upswing,” said ShvetaJain, MD Rental Services, Savills India. “A safe homeaway from pandemic hotspots appears to have become a key consideration.”
‘Demand for luxury secondhomes surges after hiatus’Work-from-home, safety concerns spur sales in niche segment, say realtors
Lalatendu Mishra
MUMBAI
Light on pocket: Home loan aff�ordability on softer rates alsospurred purchases, says Parag Munot. * G.P. SAMPATH KUMAR
Google abused the dominant position of its Androidoperating system in India,using its ‘huge fi�nancialmuscle’ to illegally hurtcompetitors, the country’santitrust authority found ina report on its twoyearprobe seen by Reuters.
Alphabet Inc.’s Google reduced ‘the ability and incentive of device manufacturersto develop and sell devicesoperating on alternative versions of Android,” says theJune report by the Competition Commission of India’s(CCI) investigations unit.
The U.S. tech giant toldReuters in a statement itlooked forward to workingwith the CCI to ‘demonstrate how Android has ledto more competition and innovation, not less.” Senior
CCI members will reviewthe report and give Googleanother chance to defend itself, before issuing a fi�nal order, which could include penalties, said another personfamiliar with the case.
The 750page report fi�ndsthe mandatory preinstallation of apps “amounts to imposition of unfair conditionon the device manufacturers” in violation of competition law, while the companyleveraged the position of itsPlay Store app store to protect its dominance.
Google abused Androiddominance: CCI report‘It also leveraged position of Play Store’
Reuters
NEW DELHI
The travel industry’s full recovery depends on speedyvaccination and buildingconsumer confi�dence, RituMehrotra, regional manager,South Asia at Booking.comtold The Hindu. Her comments come even as the sector is getting back on trackafter being hit by the secondwave of the pandemic,
“We are cautiously looking up. Travel... will continue to play an importantrole in people’s lives. Withvaccine rollouts in India,we’ve witnessed pentup demand in travel in the pastfew months. We are seeing alittle bit of travel optimism,especially after the secondwave of COVID,” she added.
Demand is now returning
and even though some restrictions continue, peoplehave started to travel andthis trend would continue togrow if there were no freshwaves, Ms. Mehrota said, adding that even though thecompany was seeing someinitial cheer in the market,there was a long way to gofor recovery.
Vaccination, she added,would play a key role. “In India, around 20% of peoplehave been vaccinated andthere is a long way to go.”
Domestic travel has beenthe driving force for Boo
king.com in India and globally, too. For domestic andleisure travel, the fi�rm is seeing ‘strong’ growth evencompared with 2019 levelsin India, along with an uptick in international travel.
“We are seeing searchesfor destinations like Maldives, U.K., France.” She, however, added that corporatetravel might not return asquickly as leisure travel has.
“People are still looking atleisurely getaways. Domesticdestinations such as Leh,Manali, Udaipur, Lonavala,continued to be in demandover the past few months.There is still a lot of enthusiasm for road trips, but nowwe’ve seen a healthy mix.For example, people arenow also travelling from Delhi to Goa,” she said.
‘Consumer confi�dence, paceof jabs key to travel recovery’Seeing a little bit of optimism returning: Booking.com
Yuthika Bhargava
NEW DELHI <> There is still
enthusiasm for road
trips, but now there
is a mix. People are
now travelling from
Delhi to Goa
Indian hopes of a revivalwere dashed as Harri Helio
vaara and Henri Kontinensealed the decisive doublesfor host Finland with a 76(2),76(2) victory over Rohan Bopanna and Ramkumar Ramanathan on the second day oftheir Davis Cup World Grouptie at the Espoo Metro Arenaon Saturday.
With Finland having wonboth the singles on the opening day through Otto Virtanen and Emil Ruusuvuori,against Prajnesh Gunneswaran and Ramkumar respectively, the onus was on Indiato keep the tie alive.
Hoping to capitalise on 26yearold Ramkumar’s big
game on the indoor court,the Indian team brought himfor the doubles in place of Divij Sharan, who has surprisingly played only two doublesmatches in Davis Cup so far.
Ramkumar did combinewell with Bopanna, but theFinnish pair handled the tiebreak with assurance andauthority to tilt the tie in itsfavour. “They played a muchhigher level together. In thetiebreaks, they were a betterteam,” conceded Bopanna after the match.
Both teams did not face abreakpoint in the fi�rst set,and the host took an earlylead in the tiebreak by hammering a return winner onBopanna’s serve. The Finnishteam took a 61 lead beforeBopanna retrieved a facesaving point with a backhand re
turn winner. Into the secondset, there was more resolve inthe Indian team as it brokefor a 20 lead, but Bopannadropped his serve in the next
game that saw the team’shopes of a revival evaporate.
Kontinen and Heliovaarafaced four breakpoints in theeighth game, but survived to
stay on course for the tiebreak in which they wereonce again effi�cient.
Tough rallyThe Finns won a tough rallyto go up 62 that brought thefans to their feet. The doublesrubber was sealed on thenext point after an hour and38 minutes.
In the inconsequential reverse singles match, Prajneshbeat the 489thranked PatrikNiklasSalminen 63, 75 in abattle of lefthanders.
India will go back to theWorld Group playoff� nextyear.
The results: Finland bt India31 [Harri Heliovaara & HenriKontinen bt Rohan Bopanna &Ramkumar Ramanathan 76(2),76(2); Patrik NiklasSalminenlost to Prajnesh Gunneswaran36, 57].
Finland clinches doubles, seals the tie against IndiaKontinen and Heliovaara upped their game in the tie-breakers against Bopanna and Ramkumar
DAVIS CUP
Kamesh Srinivasan
Combining well: Heliovaara and Kontinen dashed India’s hopesof a revival with a straightset win. * FINNISH TENNIS ASSOCIATION
Five months ago, as he lay atPatiala’s Columbia Asia Hospital, T. Santhosh Kumar didnot realise that the next fewmonths would undo all thehard work he had done inthe previous four years. Hewas down with COVID, alongwith some 15 athletes, andhad to be in hospital for twoweeks.
Sleepless nights
“I’ve had many sleeplessnights thinking how I hadmissed a golden chance ofgoing to the Olympics. COVID took it all away,” San
thosh, who was fi�fth in the2018 Jakarta Asian Games,told The Hindu after winningthe 400m hurdles gold at the60th National Open athleticschampionships at the NehruStadium here on Saturday.
“Still, I’m happy I’m alivebecause I’ve seen COVIDtake away many lives.”
Santhosh would not haveeven made it to Warangal forthe Armyman had fi�nishedsixth in the recent Servicesmeet.
“Thankfully, I got an entrythrough Tamil Nadu with oursecretary Latha helping megain an entry as I had thequalifi�cation time to compete here,” said the 23yearold from Madurai.
Santhosh beat Serviceschampion Dhaval Utekar onthe way to gold for a doubleas he had helped Tamil Naduto the mixed relay gold onFriday. “I’m confi�dent ofcoming back strongly in timefor next year’s Asian Gamesin the hurdles and relays,” hesaid.
R. Vithya Ramaraj, whohad missed the Olympics after being hit by the coronavirus at the camp, won the women’s 400m hurdles in apersonal best 58.47s for herthird gold here.
Services’ S. Siva, the national record holder(5.30m), broke the meet record as he won the pole vaultwith 5.12m.
The results (fi�nals):
Men: 800m: 1. MohammedAfsal (Services) 1:48.39; 2. Ankesh Chaudhary (Services)1:48.58; 3. Krishan Kumar (Services) 1:48.77. 400m hurdles: 1.T. Santhosh Kumar (TN) 50.79s;2. Jashanjot Singh (Rly) 51.32;3. Dhaval Utekar (Ser) 51.49.Pole vault: 1. S. Siva (Ser) 5.12mMR, OR own 5.10m; 2. ParshantSingh (Har) 4.95; 3. Sakthi Mahendran (TN) 4.70. Discus: 1.Kirpal Singh (ONGC) 59.58m; 2.Gagandeep Singh (Ser) 58.32;3. Abhinav (Har) 56.18. 50kmwalk: 1. Resham Midhun (Ser)4:29:47.00s; 2. Sanabam Singh(Ser) 4:33:32.00; 3. Anjani Kumar (Ser) 4:35:29.00.
Women: 800m: 1. HarmilanBains (Pun) 2:03.82s; 2. Chanda(Del) 2:05.35; 3. Rachna (Har)2:07.00. 400m hurdles: 1.
Vithya Ramaraj (TN) 58.47s; 2.Nanhi (Har) 1:00.06; AyanaThomas (Pol) 1:00.08.
Triple jump: 1. B. Aishwarya(Rly) 13.55m; 2. Rebu Grewal(Har) 13.51; 3, Bhairabi Roy (Rly)13.12. Javelin: 1. Sharmila Ku
mari (Rly) 51.80m; 2, K. Rashmi(Rly) 50.36; 3, Shilpa Rani (Har)47.83.
Heptathlon: 1. Akshatha(Kar) 4939 pts; 2. Sowmiya Murugan (Rly) 4893; 3. Sonu Kumari (Har) 4889.
Santhosh Kumar back on winning trackVithya, who also fought COVID, wins third gold; double for Harmilan, Aishwarya
ATHLETICS
Stan Rayan
WARANGAL
Triumphant: Vithya Ramaraj winning the women’s 400mhurdles for her third gold of the National Open athletics. * AFI
Sadio Mane scored for theninth straight time againstCrystal Palace and reached100 goals for Liverpool to sethis team on its way to a 30win in the English PremierLeague on Saturday.
The Senegal forward gotto the milestone at Anfi�eldby converting from closerange in the 43rd minute after Mohamed Salah’s headerfrom a corner was parriedout by Palace goalkeeper Vicente Guaita.
Of Mane’s century ofgoals for the Reds, whichhave come in 224 games, 10have been scored against Palace.
Robert Lewandowskiscored yet again in BayernMunich’s 70 rout of promoted Bochum in the Bundesliga on Saturday. Lewandowski stretched his scoring runto 19 consecutive gamesacross all competitions forBayern.
The results: Saturday: Premier League: Wolverhampton0 lost to Brentford 2 (Toney28pen, Mbeumo 34); Burnley0 lost to Arsenal 1 (Odegaard30); Liverpool 3 (Mane 43, Salah 78, Keita 89) bt Crystal Pa
lace 0; Manchester City 0 drewwith Southampton 0; Norwich1 (Pukki 35) lost to Watford 3(Dennis 17, Sarr 63, 80); AstonVilla 3 (Cash 66, Digne 69og,Bailey 75) bt Everton 0.
LaLiga: Rayo Vallecano 3(Trejo 9pen, Ciss 78, Falcao81) bt Getafe 0; Atletico Madrid 0 drew with Athletic Bilbao 0.
Serie A: Genoa 1 (Criscito90+7pen) lost to Fiorentina 2(Saponara 60, Bonaventura88); Inter Milan 6 (Martinez 6,Skriniar 30, Barella 34, Vecino54, Dzeko 63, 68) bt Bologna 1(Theate 86).
Bundesliga: Bayern Munich7 (Sane 17, Kimmich 27, 65,Gnabry 32, Lampropoulos 43og, Lewandowski 61, ChoupoMoting 79) bt Bochum 0;Mainz 0 drew with Freiburg 0;Augsburg 1 (Niederlechner 80)bt Borussia M’Gladbach 0; Arminia Bielefeld 0 drew withHoff�enheim 0; Cologne 1(Modeste 54) lost to RB Leipzig 1 (Haidara 71).
Friday: Premier League:Newcastle 1 (SaintMaximin44) drew with Leeds 1 (Raphinha 13).
LaLiga: Celta Vigo 1 (SantiMina 64) lost to Cadiz 2 (Lozano 38, Espino 43).
Serie A: Sassuolo 0 lost toTorino 1 (Pjaca 83).
Bundesliga: Hertha Berlin 2(Ekkelenkamp 61, Bauer 79og) bt Greuther Fuerth 1(Hrgota 57og).
Mane leads Liverpool Lewandowski stars in Bayern’s win
Ton up: Sadio Mane reached a century of goals for Liverpoolwith this strike against Crystal Palace. * AFP
EURO LEAGUES
Associated Press
Liverpool
Brazilian football legendPele, 80, was briefl�ytransferred back to anintensive care unit onFriday after suff�eringbreathing diffi�culties but isnow stable, said the AlbertEinstein Hospital in SaoPaulo, where he underwentsurgery earlier this month.
The transfer was atemporary “preventativemeasure,” the hospital saidin a statement, adding thatthe sporting great was latertransferred to“semiintensive care” as hecontinues to recover fromsurgery for a suspectedcolon tumour.
“He is currently stable,”it added.
Pele briefl�yback in ICUAgence France-Presse
Sao Paulo
CMYK
A ND-NDE
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DELHI THE HINDU
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 202116EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
SPORT
Hope the IPL is sparedfrom desert storms in
the Middle East.There is no Sachin Tendul
kar to triumphantly batthrough the blustery, dustymaze.
Legends will be legendsand Sachin will be Sachin.The fact of the matter is thata signifi�cant chunk of matches, including the playoff�games and the fi�nal, of IPL2021 will be played in theseparts.
The IPL, suspended owingto COVID19 striking the tournament in May this year, is allset to resume.
And the two most successful teams in IPL history,Mumbai Indians (8 pointsfrom 7 matches) and ChennaiSuper Kings (10 from 7) willmeet on Sunday night in Dubai to kickstart the tournament resumption.
Could help pacemenThe surface for the game between the two topfour teamscould lend encouragementfor pacemen in terms ofbounce and seam movement. Mumbai Indians has
signed up the pacy KiwiAdam Milne who has been inblazing form recently. AndCSK has been bolstered bythe return of Aussie seamerJosh Hazlewood.
The game will witness twowily captains, M.S. Dhoniand Rohit Sharma, matchingwits and skills. The duelcould go down to the wire.
A fresh venue, plenty ofnew faces, and the secondhalf of IPL 2021 already has adiff�erent feel to it.
Several English playershave pulled out with the Ashes looming, and a few othershave fi�tness concerns.
Then there is this controversy surrounding Virat Kohli’s shock relinquishment ofthe T20I captaincy after theT20 World Cup.
Several theoriesThere are several theoriesdoing the rounds, but perhaps the Indian captainwants to create a little spacefor himself to spend with hisfamily.
And T20I is the formatthat can be done away witheasily, given Kohli’s passionfor Tests and the signifi�canceof the ICC ODI World Cup.
The whispers of Anil Kumble getting back the India
coach’s job is growing by theday, but then the Indian legspinning legend is genial bynature and not someonewho carries old wounds.
Immediate jobKumble’s immediate jobthough, as the coach of Punjab Kings, will be to lift theside from its current positionof 6 points from 8 matches.
With the infl�uential DawidMalan opting out, it has
roped in Aiden Markram.Delhi Capitals is at the top
of the table with 12 pointsfrom 8 games.
The side has powerfulstrokemakers, a fi�ery paceduo in Kagiso Rabada andAnrich Nortje, and a potentmix of domestic and foreigntalent.
Kohli, A.B. de Villiers andthe muchmatured GlennMaxwell have formed a formidable batting force for
Royal Challengers Bangalorethis season.
RCB, in the top four, hasalso brought in WaninduHasaranga, the Sri Lankanlegspinner with a potentgoogly.
Given its position on thetable, Rajasthan Royals hasplenty of heavy lifting to do.
But then, its bighitting English import Liam Livingstone is in terrifi�c form.
The team has also signed
hitter Sherfane Rutherfordfor Jonny Bairstow.
Given that the UAE is 90minutes behind India, thematches beginning at 7.30p.m. IST will be commencingat 6 p.m. local time.
And the team batting fi�rstmay have to bat in twilight,not the easiest time to sightthe ball, for a considerablelength of time.
UAE brings its own sets ofchallenges.
up West Indian swashbuckler Evin Lewis and SouthAfrican wristspinner Tabraiz Shamsi, adding another dimension to its attack.
Change in fortunesKolkata Knight Riders tooneeds a change in fortunes.Will canny Kiwi swing bowler Tim Southee, in for PatCummins, provide it?
And Sunrisers Hyderabadhas bought West Indian hard
Fresh venue, plenty of new faces provide a diff�erent feel to Part2Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings, the two most successful teams in IPL history, will kickstart the season’s resumption in Dubai tonight
S. Dinakar
IPL 2021
Familiar rivalry: Rohit and Dhoni will try to outwit each otheron Sunday. * TWITTER@MIPALTAN
The Indian women’s teammade a disappointing startto its tour of Australia, suffering a 36run loss in a 50over warmup match hereon Saturday.
Opener Rachael Haynes(65), Meg Lanning (59) andBeth Mooney (59) camegood as Australia posted achallenging 278 for nine after batting fi�rst at the IanHealy Oval. Poonam Yadavwas the most successful Indian bowler with three for28 in six overs.
In reply, India could onlymanage 242 for seven in its50 overs with Pooja Vastrakar (57) emerging as thetopscorer.
The 21yearold India roo
kie Yastika Bhatia (41) displayed her resilience, negotiating a barrage of shortballs from the 18yearoldDarcie Brown before beingdismissed by leftarm spinner Sophie Molineux. Yastika’s 42ball innings contained seven boundaries.
With India slipping to 106for fi�ve, Pooja and DeeptiSharma (49 not out) tried tostage a recovery but couldn'ttake the team home.
The two teams meet inthe ODI series opener onTuesday (Sept. 21).
The scores:
Australia Women 278/9 in50 overs (Rachael Haynes 65,Meg Lanning 59, Beth Mooney59, Poonam Yadav 3/28) bt India Women 242/7 in 50 overs(Pooja Vastrakar 57, DeeptiSharma 49 n.o., Yastika Bhatia41, Stella Campbell 3/38).
India women lose tour opener
Press Trust of India
BRISBANE
INDIA IN AUS
Pooja’s knock went in vain.* FILE PHOTO
India head coach Ravi Shastri says he has no regretsabout organising the booklaunch, widely perceived tobe the reason for a COVID19outbreak that forced thecancellation of the fi�fth Testagainst England inManchester.
“I have absolutely no regrets because the people Imet at that function werefabulous. It was good for theboys to get out and meet different people rather thanconstantly being in theirrooms,” said Shastri in an interview to The Guardian.
“At the Oval Test, youwere climbing stairs used by
5,000 people. So to point afi�nger at a book launch?” heasked. “There were about250 people there and noone got COVID19 from thatparty.”
Reduce bilateral T20sShastri also strongly feelsthat bilateral T20 seriesshould be reduced to easethe relentless internationalcalendar.
“I would like to see lessand less bilateral T20s. Lookat football. You have the Premier, Spanish, Italian andGerman leagues. They allcome together (for Champions League). There arefew bilateral football (friendlies) now.”
Did not get COVID19at book launch: Shastri‘No one got the virus from that party’
Press Trust of India
London
His tenure set to end afternext month’s T20 WorldCup, India head coach RaviShastri conceded that therewould be a bit of “sadness”,but added that he has nodoubts he is going out at theright time, having “overachieved” during his stint.
Shastri’s fi�rst stint as headcoach began in 2017 beforehe was reappointed in 2019.
Speaking to The Guar-
dian, the 59yearold saidwinning the T20 World Cupwould be “special” but feltthat the team had alreadydone “special things” in histime.
“I believe so because I’veachieved all I wanted. Fiveyears as No. 1 (in Test crick
et), to win in Australia twiceand to win in England.”
India was ahead 21against England when thefi�fth Test was called off� aftera COVID19 outbreak in theIndian camp.
“We’ve also beaten every
country in the world in theirown backyard in whiteballcricket. If we win the (T20)World Cup, that will be theicing on the cake. There isnothing more. I believe onething — never overstay yourwelcome.”
‘I have achieved all I wanted’Shastri says he would love to sign off� with an ICC trophy
Press Trust of India
London
Perfect timing: Shastri feels he is going out after having‘overachieved’ during his stint. * AP
RCB captain Virat Kohlibelieves that Sri Lankan
replacements, leggie Wanindu Hasaranga and pacerDushmantha Chameera, addgreat value to the side.
“Hasaranga and Chameera have played so muchcricket in Sri Lanka — theyknow how to play in pitcheslike these (in the UAE). Theirskillset will defi�nitely be ofhuge help to us in Dubai, asthey understand how hotand humid these conditionscan be, and how the pitcheswill play,” Kohli said, at theRCB ‘Blue Jersey’ virtual unveiling event on Saturday.
Hasaranga, Chameera,Singapore batsman Tim David and England leftarmseamer George Garton weresigned by RCB ahead of thesecond leg of the IPL. They
replace the unavailable FinnAllen, Scott Kuggeleijn, KaneRichardson, Daniel Samsand Adam Zampa.
Washington Sundar, ruledout due to an injury, hasbeen replaced by mediumpacer Akash Deep.
“Kane Richardson andAdam Zampa, who werewith us in the fi�rst leg, madea decision not to play in thesecond leg, for reasonswhich are totally understandable. The guys coming inblend into our team culturevery well. Our core group ofplayers are motivated. WhenI stepped out to practice yesterday after quarantine, I feltlike we never went away atall,” Kohli said.
In its opening match ofthe second leg, against KKRon Monday, RCB will don a‘Blue Jersey’ to pay tribute toCOVID19 frontline warriors.
Hasaranga, Chameera add value: KohliRCB skipper says the Sri Lankan bowlers’ skillset would be of huge help
Ashwin Achal
Salute to heroes: Kohli with the jersey paying tribute to frontline workers. * TWITTER/RCBTWEETS
Coming off� a long tour of theUnited Kingdom, Delhi Capitals captain Rishabh Pantsought to get acclimatised tothe UAE’s extreme heat byspending time on the balcony of his hotel room duringthe mandatory quarantine.
However, it was still notcomfortable when he did hisfi�rst training session on Friday ahead of IPL’sresumption.
Pant said that he is currently focusing on gettingused to the conditions in theUAE.
“It’s pretty hot here in theUAE. I was trying to sit onthe balcony during my quarantine period as much aspossible to get used to theconditions. But, it still feltquite hot when I took part inmy fi�rst practice session
here. I’m just trying to getused to the conditions nowand hopefully, I will be fullyacclimatised to the conditions in 23 days,” Pant saidin a release issued by DC.
The wicketkeeperbatsman said that the team willlook to continue its brilliantperformance from the fi�rsthalf of the IPL 2021 season.
Delhi Capitals is currentlyat the top of the table with 12points from eight matches.
“Our ultimate goal is towin the trophy, but we aregoing to focus on our process. Hopefully, we can continue to play the way we didin the fi�rst half of the seasonand go on to win the IPL thisyear,” said Pant.
“It’s really nice to meeteveryone after coming out ofquarantine. It’s been greatmeeting the teammates herein training.”
Trying to get used tothe conditions: PantPress Trust of India
Dubai
Aiming high: Skipper Pant wants Capitals to continue theirperformance from the fi�rst half. * TWITTER@DELHICAPITALS
CMYK
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THE HINDU DELHI
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CASTE NOBAR 38/164cm 9LPA MNC Ban-galore looking for educated girlcontact 9980224560 [email protected]
SAIVA PILLAI, 43, Legally Divorced /no issues, well to do AffluentBusinessman. Seeks Bride preferablyVegetarian. Contact: 99441 37308.
INTERCASTE Parents ( F- Brahmin/M- Agamudaiyar) only son- 31yrs, Fair,6 ft, Good Looking, B.E.,M.Tech fromNIT Trichy, Lead Engineer, MNC Ban-galore, 20 Lakhs P.A, Parents retiredGovt. Officials upper Middle Class,Living in Madurai, looking for compa-tiable well educated ,Engineering Gra-duates from educated Hindu Family.E-mail: [email protected]/Whatsapp: 9442087581 with photoand details. Caste no Bar.
TELUGU BERI CHETTIAR 38/181cmsB.Tech,M.B.A 12lakhs/PA Seeks suit-able Tamil/Telugu Chennai girl.Veg preferred Ct 9444559768/04442859960
SAIVA PILLAI 35yrs/173cm, miri-gaserisham BE, businessman/fair,clean habits/divorcee,no issues/well settled family, seeks veg oreggterian bride aged below 33.9698635206. [email protected]
BRAHMIN, 40, Associate Project Man-ager HCL Technologies Madurai.Seeks any Brahmin Girl, Ph:9487851429
TAMIL HINDU Bride above 50 for aWell Settled Person in Chennai Mu-daliar Whats app 7395951839.
HINDU DKV Pallan, age 39/167cm,Manager Nationalized Bank, Seekssuitable Bride. Ct.No. 8056371995.
29/177, PH.D, 40000pm Well Set-tled, Own House Seeks Fair Bridefrom any Caste/ Religion. SendBHP. 9789847577 / [email protected]
BE., GENERAL Manager at Ahmedabad,Gujarat. Native near AvinashiTirupur dist. Age 38, Kongu Vel-lalar Gounder, Ht 5.5.Enough prop-erty. Salary above 1lakh, only sis-ter married. Caste no bar. Seeks asuitable girl.Cont− 9979898674,[email protected]
MADHAN B.E, 33/176cms, Poosam Sai-va Vellala Pillai (Veg) Rs 73 lacsPA,Netherlands. Seeks Bride fromSaiva Vellalar, willing to goabroad. WA 09840516190.
HINDU NADAR, 32, Tall , Handsome,SW Engineer, Dubai Onsite earning 45Lakhs Per annum, well settled Familyseeks suitable Bride. Ct: 94438 60983,94429 84922
SCAD AGE 49 (First Marriage) Govt.Job Salary 40000/− seeks Bride agebelow40. Ct: 9884184869
32/175CM, BANGALORE based Mudaliarboy, MS, employed in MNC, from cul-tured family seeks educated bride.Contact 9448084856 or 080−48530820or email:[email protected]
SAIVA PILLAI 33, 5 foot 8 inch,fair and handsome, BE (Telecom),Officer Indian Army tech branch,18 lacs PA, son of retd army offi-cer looking for affable and welleducated girl. Equal and sub casteno bar. 9448307862.
Hindu Family seeks suitable matchfor their Son 29/5.7/BE/Software Engr/Fair/Sc-Caste No Bar/well settled Fa-mily. Seeks Bride from Educated andwell Settled Family. Cont No9448603539/9845401461.
SAIVA PILLAI/DESIGAR Visagam 30/179, MCA, MBA, Software EngineerChennai 7 Lacs/p.a. seeks SuitableEmployed Bride from Same Sect. Mail:[email protected]/ 9791442322
MUDALIAR 29 BE 170cm Swathi Chen-nai seeks BE working bride.Geetham 9884858014 6383394272
BERI CHETTIAR 29 MD Dr 180cm OwnsHospital Chennai seeks Dr. BrideCNB Geetham 9884858014 6383394272
HINDU NADAR 38, B.Sc, Chennai. Sal−1 lakh, Looking Alliance for Remar-riage. Already Have 2boy kids,Aged 9& 8. Need loving & caringBride.No expectations,religioncaste etc., Brokers please Avoid.9840075677
HINDU YADAVA Tamil 37/168, BE,working as a Manager in Singapore.Looking for good family backgoundand well educated Bride. Ct: 9487377332. email: [email protected]
INTER−CASTE, INTERFAITH (F−CSI, M−Saiva Pillai) Parents, Daughter−Kumbha (Aquarius), Poorattathi,26, Fair, 165, Good Looking, BE &PGDM from Reputed Institutes, Man-ager, 25 Lakhs PA, Parents are Se-nior Officers in Govt., Upper Mid-dle Class, Lives in Chennai, Look-ing for Compatible Well EducatedMatch from descent Hindu/Christianfamily, Contact : [email protected] or WhatsApp 88381 25737with photo and details.
MUDALIAR: 25/165, V.Fair, MBBS,MS, Doing, Chennai, Elite Family,Seeks Groom − Doctor / Eng −7305810258
DOCTOR GIRL in chennai 32 seekstamil speaking Hindu affluent edu-cated groom. Caste no bar Ct:9884202884
ASST. PROF. TULUVA VELLAL MUDALIARGood looking Girl 33, Uthirat-tathy, Meenam, Ph.D(Physics), Fami-ly Seeks Alliance from First andUnmarried Bachelor Bridegroom Aged33 − 36 Yrs, Employed, Caste NoBar. Contact : After 7 PM :7550245659
MUDALIAR 25 B.E, MBA, 162cm, GoodLooking, well Settled Family SeeksGroom, CNB.Ct: 8778514465/7200866346
MUDALIAR 34/PURAM/164/ B.E/Divorcee/ (with in Month) seekssuitable Profesnlyqualified. Casteno bar. 9600050102/[email protected]
RICH MUDALIYAR/PILLAI 22/B.E.,OwnEngineering Colleges ,Arts & Nurs-ingColleges well settled familyseeksRich Groom Profiles Ct:7200067015
AD 25/163 BHMS Doctor Pvt. Hospi-tal seeks Tamil−cultured Well−Edu-cated Settled Dr./Engr/Govt./BankOfficer Groom with Age 30 & Below.9444220872
HINDU PILLAI 28/167 MS EmployedNetherland seeks suitable groomworking in Europe.Caste no bar9884721659
HINDU MUKKULATHORE, Magam Star, 26/170cm, HR Analyst Bengaluru, SeeksProfessionally Qualified, FamilyOriented Bridegroom from Hosur/Ben-galuru/Europe with any of the be-low Compatible Stars − Bharani,Thiruvathirai, Poosam, Swathi,Anusam, Thiruvonam, Sadhayam, Uthi-rattathi, Pooram, Hastham. SubCastes/Intercaste acceptable #09663313500.#[email protected].
HINDU NADAR 25/ 163 Pooram M.ArchFair Seeks Educated well Employed/Business. Ct: 94444 31363
HINDU NADAR Pooratadhi 22/165 BE(MBA) Fair seeks Educated ChennaiBased Wellsettled Family.9840366663
VELLALAR PILLAI / Mudaliar Barani33/162 Govt Dr. MD(Ped) 3rd yearseeks suitable groom. 9944227062
VANNIYAKULAKSHATRIYA, AGE 27.BE,MHRM, 165, Belongs to Chennaibased a reputed business familyseeks well educated, Business withclean habits from elite affluentfamily. Mob: 9444147147
VANNIYAKULAKSHATRIYA, AGE 29. M.ScPsychology, 174, Belongs to Chen-nai based a reputed business fami-ly seeks well educated, Businesswith clean habits from elite afflu-ent family. Mob: 9445093070
HINDU VANNIAR 37/160 thiruvathiraiMBBS DGO Govt Wheetish seeksprof. groom 7812876681,8754390535
HINDU RAJAKULA AGAMUDAYARgirl, US Citizen, 25 / 170 cm, Fair,MSfrom Princeton University, Employed,seeks equally Qualified Groom fromthe same Community, currentlyworking and Residing in the US.WhatsApp No: +001 6154984448,[email protected]
TN GOVT Group A officer 54/163goodlooking unmarried Hindu AD Pil-lai from CNB good groom below 60Govt/ Professional [email protected]
HINDU Adi-Dravida Hastham Kanni26/154 BE IT Analyst,TCS Chennaiseeks suitable Govt/Public sector UnitGroom from Same Caste. 9444155781
26, FAIR, affluent, M. S. in U.S,working in a reputed firm,seeks awell settled groom. CNB. 9489935653
36 YRS, kallar ,Govt. Doctor,Trichy, ayiliyam seeks suitablebridegroom, 9787621432.
THONDAI MANDALA Saiva Vellalar, 28yrs, III year MD (Anaesth), GovtCollege, Chennai, slim, wheatishbride, middle class nuclear fami-ly, seeks Groom, preferably MD/MS/DNB/ME/MTech/MBA from an instituteof repute. Sub sects no bar. Con-tact: 95009 51000, [email protected]
FOR HINDU, Pillai, from businessfamily, homely, slim, beautifullooking girl, 30yrs, MCom, ThulaRasi, Visaka natchatram, divorcee(no issue), seeking alliance fromPillai/Mudaliar/Kongu VellalarGounder community groom below 36years, Employed/Business and di-vorced. Please contact 9843498759/ 9489494759
HINDU PALLAN Pooratadhi 31/155BE, MBA MNC Well Settled AffluentFamily OwnHouse Chennai seeks suitable Groom.Caste NoBar.9445005139
VISHWAKARMA THIRUVATHIRAIM.Sc, I.T 39/169 well settled in Ben-galuru seeks well educated and em-ployed groom. Ct: 9945765276.
BANGALORE BASED Pillai ParentsSeeking Tamil Pillai/Mudaliar work-ing professional grooms for daugh-ters independent working elder1975 born Simham pooram Sudha-Jadagam MCom BEd teaching 2.5LPAyounger 1978 MSc Manager Pvt 9LPAcontact 8951867021
HINDU SC. AD, Mesham, Bharani,33yrs B.E. MBA, SBI Manager. SeeksSuitable Educated Groom. Ct:8056104103
AFFLUENT, BEAUTIFUL 25/5ft 4inch,IIM−MBA 18LPA Iyer Haritha Revathiseeking affluent educated groom 26−29 well placed within India7760845544
FAIR GOOD looking 36/160 never mar-ried Dentist (not working) seekmatch from Doc/Engr/MBA/Grp−1 offi-cer, age 36−43, tall, fair, FC/BC,Metro city/abroad. Contact8076012583.
MUDALIAR,27/160, GOOD looking, BE,SWE, L&T Info, 40000.PM, Well todo Family, CNB. 7299576644,7299576666
Hindu SC-AD Simmam Pooram-2, 29/160,B.Tech,SoftwareEngineer,chennaiseeks EducatedGroom.Ct:9677233756
KONGU VELLALAR Gownder 24yrs, BE,MBA, Senior Analyst, Pvt. Chennai.Seeks Groom in same Caste.8667377680
TAMIL VISWAKARMA 39/150,Thiruvonam/ Rich/ ME. seeks suitableSame Caste Groom. 9486320982.
PILLAI/MUDALIAR, 25 B.E KettaiWorking in Leading MNC, ReputedBusiness Family Seeks Alliance.9840093322
DKV 27/167 Fair BE. TCS Chennai,Parents Hindu/CSI. Seeks Groom Dr/Er. Govt Employee. Ct: 8056143638
Muslim Boy 27/5’9”, B.E (Aero), Asst.Manager (L&T) Chennai, Looking forWorking Girl (MNC) Contact:9841866594.
MENON GIRL, Pooradam 30/160 MBA(FI-NANCE AND HR), CUB seeks EducatedEmployed Groom. Contact :9486681889
WANTED BRIDE for Iyer Boy, 35yrs,Athreyam, Magam. IT Professional(DELL, Bangalore).Ct: 9566221968
HINDU, SC, Adidravidar, 33, M.Tech, Civil Engineer, Thiruvonam,Magaram, Working in Dubai. Ph:9600382674
MUDALIAR,30/170, HANDSOME, BE.MBA−IIM, Bank Job,17Lac PA, Affluentfamily,50Cr, CNB.7299576644,7299576666
WANTED Fair Looking Graduate bridefor re-marriage for a Bridegroom, Age40, Working at Bank, Caste No Bar.Contact: 76958-45119. (Coimbatorebased is preferable).
HINDU KARUNEEGAR, Vegetarian, 45Divorced, Citizen of Canada. Ct6383401504 Email: [email protected]
BE (CS) MBA 33, 165cm HandsomeUthiradam Magaram First Marriageclean habits Private, Manager Goodincome, Property living ChennaiFr. Agamudayar Hindu Mr. VellalarChristian both are Rtd Supts TNGovt middle class / inter caste nobar FC, BC only seeks good look-ing, affadable, suitable girl be-low 28yrs well settled or businessfamily preferred Parents in Siva-ganga 90438 20970
HINDU SC AD 33 5’11" BE MBA IIM Ex-ecutive State Head Reputed MNC 40Lakhs P.A Divorcee (within shortperiod)Father GOVT.SERVICE (Rtd )seeking bride from educated em-ployed /unemployed / first mar-riage (preferable) / second mar-riage( without issues) from goodfamily caste religion language noBAR Contact −9791174943
REDDIYAR 40 MBA Accounts ManagerSalary 50K, First Marriage SeeksSuitable Bride. 99623 04406
TAMIL VISWAKARMA, 39/170,Thiruvonam/ Rich/ CA/ MNC. 70,000seeks same Caste Bride. 9486320982.
VANNIAR BOY 32 Magam, BE, SWE,Chennai Rs 65Kpm, Limping inR.Leg, Seeks Graduate girl. Ct:9789297542
RICH HYDERABAD Brahmin + Pillaicaste no bar 36/B.E own Govt.Contractor 500Crs Familyseeks richBride : 9884300680
HINDU, B.E, MBA, Manager, workingin Central Govt. company, 45, seeksalliance from any graduate girl. Noexpectations. caste no barContact: 9489302145
NAIDU CHENNAI Age 47 68Kgs/174cms(Divorce) seeks bride, Caste NoBar. Contact: 8754478892
NAIDU, MAGHAM, 31/176, Handsome,B.Arch Architect / Business, Chen-nai, Affluent Educated & Well set-tled family, seeks well groomed,Educated & Pleasant looking Bridefrom descent & Broadminded familywith Traditional values − Doctors/ Engineers /Any degree. 9884876246
BRAHMIN IYER, 31/178cm Postgradu-ate SWE, Chennai 25L/per Annumseeks Any Brahmin Iyer Girl.Ct:9840864534
IYER,VADAMA, 40YEAR. Self EmployedChartered Accountant. Right legslightly short. He can walk anddrive vehicle normally. Need suit-able Bride. Call 9994934568
IYAR 30 Atreya Thiruvonam Tall,Fair,Handsome BCom MBA Well em-ployed Chennai Wanted Goodlookingqualified employed Girl 9340045460/6380357575
IYER GROOM 35/179Cm Thiruvonam/Mag-aram, B.Sc, Diploma in SoftwareTesting, Sr.S/W Engr IBM Chennai,Seeks well Educated Bride.Ct:9962185123
ASTASHASRAM, IYER, Ashwini, Apr.1976, MS, well settled Seeks educated1st Marriage Iyer brides only. BHP :[email protected]
RICH HYDERABAD Brahmin + Pillai36/B.E own Govt.Contractor 500CrsFamilyseeks rich Bride : 9884300680
HINDU SC,AD Magam 39/172 Diplo-ma Private Chennai seeks SameCasteHomely Bride. Contact: 97109 40735
59, FAIR, Educated, Well Settled.Seeks Good Looking, Issueless Wid-ow/Divorcee. Ct: [email protected]
PILLAI 35/ BE Uthirattathi WIPROBangalore 65000pm. CT: 9994059345,9994169345.
1975 born Unmarried US Citi. HinduCNB. Colorado Spiritual [email protected]
YADAVA,TELUGU 32 yrs,168 cm,M.Tech85K pm Chennai good networth seeksqualified fair bride 9677003920
NAIDU, 35/178, BE., MBA., Business-man, seeks caring bride,9444691469/9445110208
NAIDU GAVARA 36/162 wheatishPunarpoosam (1) Raghu, Kethu BEWeb Designer, BOSCH-Coimbatore.10-12L, Father Retd.Professor seeksbride with Preferred Degree - BE/MCA/MBA,Employed preferred.Subcaste nobar. CT: 94894-66070, 94861-85436.
KAMMANAIDU MANOJ A 30/176cm, Ay-iliyam, B.Sc Nautical Science Ma-rine Job Seeking Bride with Pleas-ing Personality. [email protected]
NAIDU 33/178CM B.Tech MBA ARCHI-TECT Only 2 Months Mutual DivorceNo Children.Only Son Well SettledFamily.Seeks Bride below 32Ct:9176667276
REDDIAR 51/179 ITI Self EmployedWorkshop Puram 1st Marriage, seeksbride from decent family prefer-ably Vegetarian from Chennai/1stMarriage. Caste No Bar. Divorcee/widow without issue acceptablePh.08618571193
KAMMA 47/175 unmarried younglookMCA Manager IBM Chen 20Lpa seeksEducatd Fc/Bc pref.Bride.9025627013
TELUGU BRAHMIN 6000 NIYOGIKoundiya − 33 yrs, 172 cms BE −Asst Mgr (4.2 L PA) Seeks SuitableAlliance Subsect No Bar. Ct:9620999580
HINDU BTech Software MNC BLORE23 LPA 28 yrs Bharadwaja GothramStar Chaitra - seeks Telugu/Kannada/Tamil spkng Employed Girl - Late Fa-ther Tamil Iyengar, Mother TeluguKshatriya Raju, Central Govt Em-ployee- [email protected]
MUSLIM ALLIANCE only. Married/ Un-married. Best Rib matched.7200176211
JOB VACANCY AT Shree SharadaHospital, Sulthan Bathery, Wayanad,Kerala. Ophthalmologist(MS/DNB) with2-3 years experience in phacosurgery.Contact: 9497402648HOME NURSE required between age 23to 40 years Salary will not be aconstraint for right candidate.Contact − 9840245195 / 9566066391
OUR EXPORT and Retail Businesslooks for Investing /Working part-ner on Monthly Profit sharing.6381095123.
Financer / Investor for prop, project,NPA agent cont.7703886032.
BIG − LOAN Rs. 10Cr − 150Cr @ 3.5%− 6% P.A with freebe Process forLAP, Flexible Projects, Business,Takeover, Sick units. Contact:7200418844 Mail: [email protected]
INVESTMENT FOR Real Estate sitewww.truehomes24.com, 8825553678
SM FOR Delhi based, fair, Chris-tian (CNI) girl, MBBS−MS, 5’−3",32yrs, surgeon in a reputed hospi-tal, issue less, divorcee (shortstay) #08699771394.
HINDU - SC 32 yrs/156cms, MBBS-MD-Pathologist, Kadagam/Ayilyam-I,Caste No Bar / seeks unmarried Bride-groom MD, MS, IAS, IPS, GRP : I offi-cers Contact : 9342289964.
TRICHUR BASED Malayale Ezhevagirl Beautiful 35, 5.3 Aayilliam mastersdegree from British University Reputedfamily seek alliance from Professionlsfrom India and Allowed of same status.Ph – 9809233008 ,9605575318
✔ HINDU, 39 Graduate divorcee (No Issues). Seeks Well settledgroom below 43 Caste No Bar.MobileNo 9962572420 , 9597645778
SM4 HINDU, working 39/5’3’ (Di-vorcee with son 10 yrs) lookingfor a professionally qualifiedmatch caste no bar Ct: 9444688566
RC, CHRISTIAN, MBBS MS (OBG), Re-puted School, College, 26 Yrs,Fair, Good Looking, Affluent,Lives in Chennai, Parents well Edu-cated, Father own Industry with200 Employees, Seeks Doctors fromGod fearing family. WhatsApp Pro-file−7550065082, Mail ID :[email protected]
HINDU, SC/AD, Bride − Age 24, MBBSDoctor, Chennai. Seeks: MBBS, MD.Doctor Grooms. Cont: 9710840909
RC MUDALIYAR, 29Yrs, Doctor Girl,Seeks Doctor Groom, IAS, IPS, IFS,Group I. Pillai, Vanniyar No bar,Contact: 94422 10729.
TAMIL VISWAKARMA Govt DoctorBride MD (GM) 31/167 Fair VishagamSeeks Doctors / Govt Officer Bride-groom Ct : 9445964285
CSI NADAR Gynaecologist (MS)32/5.8, Chennai seeks Doctor, B.Ein MNC. 9940543201
WANTED ANGLO-INDIAN BOY forour daughter : Anglo-Indian girl, 24,152, B-Tech, Software Engineer in lea-ding MNC (Trivandrum posting). Weare seeking suitably qualified, wellsettled Anglo-Indian boy from India /settled abroad. Ph: 9745251362 /9447777246.
M.TECH, WELL employed Nair Girl,Middle Class, Vegetarian,Punartham, 25, 165 c.m, Fair (Fa-ther Nambiar, Mother Ezhava, bothPost Graduates). Whatsapp profileto 9847036869.
HINDU EZHAVA Doctor girl MBBS;Doing MD in AIIMS, 156 cm, 21/06/941.09 pm, Progressive family, Seekingalliance from professionals, preferablydoctors. 9847390318, 9446059997,[email protected]
NAIR (VANIYA) girl, 29 Yrs. M.Tech,Gazetted Officer, Scientist, National In-formatics Centre, Delhi (Hq), seekssuitable alliance from well educatedboys. Caste no bar. 9947788789
HINDU NAIR girl, 27, 162 cms, StarAswathy. CA, Employed in audit firm atChennai. Alliance preferred from quali-fied CA‘s. Ph: 7736136221
Suitable Groom for Ezhava CentralGovt Officer, 46 Years, Unmarried,New Delhi, 36 LPA Contact Email Id:[email protected] Girl 41, MDS Chennai,MS USA, working in US as Faculty.Parents settled in Chennai seeks Alli-ance from well Qualified Professionals.Contact 9444769359, 044 22241922.
CSI CHRISTIAN Nadar Girl Fair,Good Looking, 03−04−1986 born /152cm / M.Sc M.Phil, working as As-sistant Professor in a Reputed Wom-en’s College, Mount Road, Chennai.Both Parents Doctors (Private),Suitable Alliance, Employed / Set-tled in Chennai / With CleanHabits from Same Community. Con-tact: 9841182514
CHRISTIAN NADAR, Age 27, Doctor.Groom Wanted. Contact: Kani−9444676645
RC NADAR (Caste No Bar), 31/155,B.Tech, Technical Lead in TCS,Canada. Holding Canadian PR.Contact: 75388 02230.
CSI−NADAR/ 29YRS/ 156cm/ MBBS/ Doc-tor/ Upper Middle Class/ SeeksGroom/ Age 29 − 35/ MBBS, MD, MS/Doctor/ Nadar/ Chennai, Vellore ,India / CT : 9092549049
SC AD CSI 37/147 cm Dip nurse atKuwait 1.5 lacs pm-Seeks suitable per-son Christian/Hindu Medical/Engg tosettle at Kuwait-Ct: 96566425699.
MUSLIM 28/168 MD PEAD Seeks profqualified bridegroom. Ct [email protected]
VEERASAIVAM (ANY Subcaste) Fair,Good looking,25 yrs, Msc B ED,Star−Pooram, looking for Groom, CT−9894832989
VANIYA CHETTIAR Girl Magam 26years /156 cm M.Sc Chemistry Chen-nai Native Rajapalayam seeks Groomfrom Same Caste Well Educated withGood Family Values. Contact:9443415793 / 9486083271
I, DIYANTY Khyriem D/o (L) PhroPathaw R/o Mawlai Phudmuri, Shil-long hereby declare that due tosome bonafide mistake in my pass-port, my name is wrongly reflectedas Dyanti Khyriem instead of mycorrect name Diyanty Khyriem. Thatnow I intend to correct my name asDiyanty Khyriem in the aforesaidpassport. Vide an affidavit swornbefore the Notary Public dated14th Sept 2021 at Shillong.
I, DIYANTY Khyriem D/o (L) PhroPathaw R/o Mawlai Phudmuri, Shil-long hereby declare that due tosome bonafide mistake in my pass-port, my mothers name is wronglyreflected as Million Khyriem in-stead of her correct name MilianKhyriem. That now I intend to cor-rect her name as Milian Khyriem inthe aforesaid passport. Vide an af-fidavit sworn before the NotaryPublic dated 14th Sept 2021 atShillong.
I, DIYANTY Khyriem D/o (L) PhroPathaw R/o Mawlai Phudmuri, Shil-long hereby declare that due tosome bonafide mistake in my pass-port, my husbands name is wronglyreflected as Surjit Singh insteadof his correct name Surjit SinghDhanzil. That now I intend to cor-rect his name as Surjit SinghDhanzil in the aforesaid passport.Vide an affidavit sworn before theNotary Public dated 14th Sept 2021at Shillong.
FINANCE / BANKING
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DIVORCEE
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TAMIL
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CHANGE OF NAME
COMMERCIAL LAND 105000 sqft @prime locality in Pondicherry.9786912637
LAND AVAILABLE For Sale: VacantLand of more than 100 Acres well−connected to Highways, Railways &Ports Available for sale near Ven-gal, Tiruvallur District Suitablefor Logistics, warehousing & Auto-mobile Industry. For more details.Contact: 9840072223 / 9840808566
SELLING
COMMERCIAL LAND
GENERAL
RESIDENTIAL HOUSE
CMYK
A ND-NDE
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DELHI THE HINDU
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 202118EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
SPORT
Premier League: Star Sports3 & SS Select 2 (SD & HD),6.30 p.m. & 9 p.m.
IPL 2021: Star Sports 1 & SSSelect 1 (SD & HD), 7.30 p.m.
Bundesliga: Sony Ten 2 (SD& HD), 7 p.m., 9 p.m. & 11p.m.
TV PICKS
CHENNAI: Cool Rider, who ran aclose third to Akido in the Chettinad Cement Nilgiris 2000Guineas, may avenge his defeat inthe Coromandel Gromor NilgirisDerby Stakes (1,600m), the starattraction of the season to be heldhere on Sunday (Sept. 19). Twotimes carried over amount ofabout ₹�2,80,000 has been addedto the jackpot pool.
1 DELHI RACE CLUB CUP(1,400m), rated 20 to 45, 200
p.m.: 1. Shield Maiden (1) P. SaiKumar 60, 2. Glorious Sunshine(4) Nikhil Naidu 58, 3. BeauteousMaximus (3) Farid Ansari 57, 4.Soul Mate (5) Akshay Kumar 57, 5.Sifan (7) Ishwar Singh 55, 6. UncleSam (9) Ashhad Asbar 54, 7. Brilliant Script (6) D.S. Deora 52.5, 8.Golden Streak (8) Yash Narredu52 and 9. Hadar (2) Rejesh Kumar51.1. GLORIOUS SUNSHINE, 2. SOULMATE, 3. SHIELD MAIDEN
2 BANGALORE TURF CLUB CUP(DIV. II), (1,200m), rated 20 to
45, 230: 1. Charliez Angel (9) A.Ayaz Khan 61, 2. Subjucate (7)Kuldeep Singh 57.5, 3. Choir (2)Ramandeep 56.5, 4. Bossinova (3)Ajeet Kumar 56, 5. Priceless
Treasure (4) Shyam Kumar 54.5,6. Full Of Surprise (6) K. MukeshKumar 54, 7. Wild Passion (10)Shahar Babu 53.5, 8. Mayflower(1) Yash Narredu 52.5, 9. Antigua(8) Ashhad Asbar 52 and 10.Azeria (5) Azfar Syeed 51.1. MAYFLOWER, 2. CHARLIEZ AN-GEL, 3. FULL OF SURPRISE
3 BANGALORE TURF CLUB CUP(DIV. I), (1,200m), rated 20 to
45, 300: 1. Oberon (5) H.M. Akshay 61, 2. Protea (7) C. Brisson61, 3. Pacific (9) Ashhad Asbar60.5, 4. El Politico (6) S. Sunil59.5, 4. Fiat Justitia (1) C. Umesh59, 6. Wild Frank (3) KuldeepSingh 58.5, 7. Empress Eternal (4)Nakhat Singh 57, 8. Epistoiary (2)Koshi Kumar 57 and 9. MajesticCharmer (8) Rajendra Singh 55.5.1. EMPRESS ETERNAL, 2. OBERON,3. PACIFIC
4 ROYAL WESTERN INDIA TURFCLUB LTD. CUP (1,200m),
maiden 3yo only (Terms), 330:1. Cartel (4) C. Umesh 56, 2. MyTriumph (2) C. Brisson 56, 3. Roger O’More (6) Yash Narredu 56,4. Amber Lightning (7) NakhatSingh 54.5, 5. Dashing Beauty (3)P. Trevor 54.5, 6, Lakshanam (5)Nikhil Naidu 54.5, 7. Queen Of
7 COROMANDEL GROMOR NIL-GIRIS DERBY STAKES (1,600m),
3yo (Terms), 500: 1. Akido (5)Nakhat Singh 56, 2. All Attractive(7) P. Trevor 56, 3. Cool Rider (2)A. Sandesh 56, 4. Imperial Blue(8) Akshay Kumar 56, 5. KnottyDancer (9) K. Mukesh Kumar 56,6. Mitsuro (6) Arshad Alam 56, 7.Siege Perilous (3) D.S. Deora 56, 8.Alicia (4) P.S. Chouhan 54.5 and 9.Chashni (1) Nikhil Naidu 54.5.
1. COOL RIDER, 2. IMPERIAL BLUE,3. AKIDO
8 HYDERABAD RACE CLUB CUP(1,600m), rated 40 to 65, 540:
1. Emelda (4) Akshay Kumar 61.5,2. Roman Senator (3) P. Sai Kumar60, 3. Cotton Hall (1) C. Umesh59.5, 4. Dont Dilly Dally (5) FaridAnsari 58.5, 5. Royal Commander(6) Kuldeep Singh 57, 6. Mr Kool(2) Nikhil Naidu 55.5, 7. Inkonito(7) H.M. Akshay 55, 8. Ganton (8)Janardhan Paswan 54.5 and 9.Comanche Brave (9) Nakhat Singh54.
1. MR KOOL, 2. EMELDA, 3. ROMANSENATOR
Jkt: 4, 5, 6, 7 & 8; Mini Jkt: 5, 6, 7 &8; Tr (i): 1, 2 & 3; (ii): 4, 5 & 6; (iii):6, 7 & 8.
Fame (8) Ramandeep 54.5 and 8.Stillwater (1) P. Sai Kumar 54.5.1. DASHING BEAUTY, 2. STILLWA-TER, 3. LAKSHANAM
5 TURF AUTHORITIES CUP(1,400m), rated 60 to 85, 400:
1. Angelino (10) S. John 60, 2.Night Hunt (7) Gaurav Siingh 60,3. Royal Currency (1) Akshay Kumar 59.5, 4. Artistryy (3) IshwarSingh 53, 5. Penang (4) Neeraj51.5, 6. Beethovan (9) YashNarredu 51, 7. Knight In Armour(8) R. Manish 50.5, 8. GloriousTrust (2) Azfar Syeed 50.5, 9.Noble Heir (5) Manikandan 50and 10. Star Elegant (6) Ajeet Kumar 50.1. ANGELINO, 2. NIGHT HUNT, 3.ROYAL CURRENCY
6 NILGIRIS GOLD CUP (1,600m),4yo & over (Terms), 430: 1.
Trafalgar (4) S. John 61.5, 2. BornQueen (6) P. Trevor 57.5, 3. MyOpinion (3) Akshay Kumar 56.5,4. Vachan (5) Nikhil Naidu 54.5, 5.Durango (8) D.S. Deora 53.5, 6.Glorious Destiny (1) C. Umesh53.5, 7. Historian (2) Ashhad Asbar 53.5 and 8. Rambunctious (7)Neeraj 51.5. 1. BORN QUEEN, 2. TRAFALGAR, 3.MY OPINION
Cool Rider for Nilgiris Derby Stakes
Rishab Agarwal and DiegoAugusto Barreto Sanchezof Spain won the doublestitle by beating LeonardoAboian and Valerio Aboianof Argentina 62, 75 in thefi�nal of the $15,000 ITFmen’s tennis tournament.Other results: $15,000 ITF women, Melilla,Spain: Semifi�nals: LuisaMeyer auf der Heide & Chantal Sauvant (Ger) bt EnolaChiesa (Ita) & Sathwika Sama62, 61.$15,000 ITF women, Monastir, Tunisia: Semifi�nals: Sharmada Balu & Sravya Shivani btYuka Hosoki (Jpn) & Ma YeXin(Chn) 26, 62, [105].
Rishab andSanchez tastesuccess
Sports Bureau
Cairo
Raja Rithvik of Telanganahas become a Grandmasterafter crossing the ELO 2,500mark in the Vezerkepzo GMchess tournament inBudapest.
The 17yearold, a 12thstandard student of Bhavan’s Sri Ramakrishna Vidyalaya here, crossed themandatory ELO 2,500markto earn a GM title. Heachieved four rating pointsafter the fourth round in thetournament when he defeated FIDE Master Finek Vaclavof Czechoslovakia.
Rithvik had earned thethird and fi�nal norm in earlySeptember at the First Saturday roundrobin GM tourna
ment. He obtained his fi�rstnorm in 2019 and the second in August.
A native of Warangal,Rithvik has been nurturedby N.V.S. Rama Raju, who also coached the likes of GMDronavalli Harika.
Rithvik has the rare distinction of earning two GMnorms within 20 days.
“I am delighted to get thiscoveted title for which I havebeen working hard. I amgrateful to coach Raju sir,”Rithwik said.
“The GM title is a hugemotivation and should makeme think big, including chasing my ultimate goal of becoming a World champion.”
Telangana Chess Association president K.S. Prasadwas among those who congratulated Rithvik.
Raja Rithvik becomes a GMCHESS
Raja Rithvik.
V.V. SUBRAHMANYAM
HYDERABAD
Commonwealth Gamesbronze medallist Mo
hammad Hussamuddin posted another convincing victory to reach the 57kgquarterfi�nals in the Nationalboxing championships at theInspire Institute of Sports(IIS), Vijaynagar, onSaturday.
Services’ Hussamuddin,
the 56kg champion in theprevious edition at Baddi in2019, defeated Sahil ofChhattisgarh 50 in a prequarterfi�nal bout. He willface Rushikesh Goud of Maharashtra on Sunday.
World youth championSachin, who caused a hugeupset on Friday by defeatingWorld championship medallist Gaurav Bidhuri,thumped Jobison Yengkopam of Manipur 50 to advance to the last eight.
Important results:
48kg: Barun Singh (SSCB) btHeli Tana Tara (Aru) 50; ShivKant (Pun) bt Irfan Khan (Asm)40; 51kg: Bhim Pratap Singh(Raj) bt Subhashbhai Rathod(Guj) 50; Ashish Insha (RSPB)bt Rama Krishnan Balasundara(TN) 50.
54kg: Roshan Zamir (Goa) btSuraj Bhan (Raj) 32; 57kg: Rohit Mor (Del) bt Lalllawmawma(Miz) 50; Rushikesh Goud(Mah) bt A. Sameer (SPSB) 50;60kg: Parvinder Poonia (Tri) btPrabhu Murali (TN) 50; Hari
vansh Tawari (Mah) bt PawanGurung (Utk) 41; 63.5kg: ShivaThapa (Asm) bt Ankit (Del) 50;Anikit Narwal (RSPB) bt Raj Kumar Pramanik (Jha) RSCR2;71kg: Nishant Dev (Kar) bt Ashish Kulheria (RSPB) 41; 75kg:Buntee Singh (Del) PriteshBishnoi (Raj) 32.
80kg: Harpreet (Chd) bt Manish Panwar (RSPB) RSCR1;86kg: Sumit Sangwan (Har) btManvendra Singh (Del) 50;92kg: Sanjeet (SSCB) SouravYadav (MP) 50; 92+kg: Narender (SSCB) bt Mohit (Har) 50.
Hussamuddin makes the quarterfi�nalsDowns Sahil 50; Sachin advances with an easy win over Yengkopam
BOXING
Y.B. Sarangi
Red Bull has blamed MaxVerstappen’s fatefully slowItalian GP pit stop on humanerror resulting from a technical directive issued by Formula One’s governing body.
The 11 second stop in lastSunday’s race at Monzadropped championshipleader Verstappen into a position where he and Mer
cedes title rival Lewis Hamilton went wheel to wheel andcollided, retiring on thespot. Verstappen was held tobe predominantly to blameand collected a three placegrid penalty for the nextrace in Russia. “There was arare human error in our pitstop, as a result of the newTechnical Directive but nonetheless something we needto learn from,” Red Bull bossChristian Horner said on theteam website on Friday.
Red Bull blames it onFIA directive
FORMULA ONE
Reuters
LONDON
Mahendra Singh Dhoni was abowlers’ captain in whiteball cricket and his presenceas a mentor for the T20World Cup will immenselybenefi�t Jasprit Bumrah andCo., feels former India opener Virender Sehwag.
“I am very happy that MSaccepted the off�er to be theteam mentor for the T20World Cup. I know many people want that MS shouldagain comeback into themainstream of Indian cricketand being roped in as thementor is the best thing thatcould have happened,” saidSehwag.
Sehwag, who playedalonsgide Dhoni for a decade, said the latter’s corestrength as a captain was hisunderstanding his bowlers’psyche in limited overs for
mat. “As a ’keeper, MS wasexceptional with his understanding of fi�eld placementsand this is something thatwill help the bowling unit inthis World Cup. The bowlerscan pick his brains and getuseful tips on planningagainst a batsman.”
For Sehwag, there can’t bea better ‘mentor’ than Dhoniwhen it comes to youngplayers, who are a bit introvert and need someone toguide them as they try to express themselves on thefi�eld.
Easily approachable“There are always players inany international side, whoare shy and do hesitate to goup to their skipper and strikeup a cricketing conversation.
“MS has been a kind of aperson who is easily approachable and also a perfect troubleshooter foryoungsters.”
‘Bowlers can pick Dhoni’s brains’Talismanic former India captain can also guide ‘introvert’ players, says Sehwag
CRICKET
Thinking leader: Sehwag feels Dhoni’s ability to understand the bowlers’ psyche, and also comeup with good fi�eld placements, will help India a lot. * FILE PHOTO
Press Trust of India
NEW DELHI
Former Bengal leftarmspinner and Mizoram U19head coach Murtaza Lodhgar died of cardiac arrest onFriday in Visakhapatnam,Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) president AvishekDalmiya has confi�rmed.
Lodhgar, 45, was in theport city with the Mizoramcolts, who were set to playthe league phase of VinooMankad Trophy (U19 National onedayers) as BCCI’sdomestic season is set tocommence.
“The tragedy happenedjust after dinner,” Dalmiyasaid. “Murtu bhai (as he wasknown in Bengal circles)along with team’s physiowent out for a walk afterdinner and suddenly feltenormous chest pain andfell on the road.
“The physio and otherteam members immediatelytook him to the hospitalwhere he was declaredbrought dead late on Friday.
“I still can’t believe Murtubhai is no more. It is a personal loss for me as he was oneof the pillars of our familyrun fi�rst division club Rajasthan SC. He was one of themost loved cricketers in ourfraternity and also workedwith our women’s team with
distinction. It’s an irreparable loss,” Dalmiya said.
The CAB is trying to makearrangements so that his family can bring his mortal remains to the city for theburial.
Lodhgar was a powerhouse performer in clubcricket, but due to presenceof domestic giant UtpalChatterjee, he played onlynine Ranji Trophy games inwhich he had 34 wickets.
One of the highlights ofhis short First Class careerwas a fi�vewicket haulagainst Karnataka in the200405 season.
He was regular at the bustling club cricket scene inthe United Kingdom.Friends and wellwisherswill remember him as an eversmiling, humble person.
Mizoram U19 coachMurtaza passes awaySuff�ers cardiac arrest at Vizag
Murtaza Lodghar.* FILE PHOTO: K.R. DEEPAK
Press Trust of India
New Delhi
Second division side DelhiFC held former Indian Super League champion Bengaluru FC (BFC) to a 22 drawin a Group C match of theDurand Cup football tournament at the Mohun Baganground on Saturday.
Despite playing underslushy conditions, BFCopened the scoring in the27th minute through N. Shiva Sakthi.
Strong comebackBut Delhi made a strong comeback after the break andestablished the lead as Willis Plaza struck twice withinfour minutes.
Substitute BidyashagarSingh denied Delhi the
chance of a victory, scoringthe equaliser in the fi�nalquarter.
The result kept BFC, theonly unbeaten side in thegroup, at the top with fourpoints while Delhi continued at the bottom with justone point.
The contest for the twoquarterfi�nal berths thus remained wide open and thetwo qualifi�ers will now bedecided in the fi�nal roundmatches of the group scheduled on Tuesday.The result: Delhi FC 2 (WillisPlaza 58, 62) drew with Bengaluru FC 2 (N. Siva Sakthi 27,Bidyashagar Singh 75).
Delhi FC holdsBengaluru FCWillis Plaza scores twice within four minutes for the former
DURAND CUP
Special Correspondent
KOLKATA
DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD
B The result keeps BFC atthe top with four points
B Delhi continues to be atthe bottom with one point
DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD
Aditi makes the cut inPortland ClassicPORTLAND (USA)
Aditi Ashok quickly made up
for her disappointing start on
the opening day with a
steady even par 72 in the
second round to make the cut
at the 2021 Cambia Portland
Classic here. Aditi, who
carded a fiveover 77 in the
first round, is now Tied57th
and has the two weekend
rounds to improve on her
position as she gets into
rhythm. PTI
IN BRIEF
Gaurika T6, Ridhima T9in Lavaux Ladies OpenPUIDOX (SWITZERLAND)
India's Gaurika Bishnoi logged
her best international result
in a long time with a tied6th
finish at the Lavaux Ladies
Open on the LET Access
Series. Returning to action
after a long time, the
fivetime winner on the
domestic circuit with cards of
717269 finished 4under
and tied for sixth, while
Ridhima Dilawari was tied9th
with rounds of 746970. PTI
Tvesa Malik lies tied11thBORDEAUX
Tvesa Malik carded a modest
1under 70 in the second
round of the Lacoste Ladies
Open de France at the Golf
Club de Medoc here on Friday.
Tvesa, who shot a 69 on the
first day, is now tied11th and
five behind the leader, Celine
Boutier. PTI
Shubhankar in tiedninth spotCROMVORT
India’s Shubhankar Sharma
landed two eagles for a card
of 6under 66 to lie
tiedninth after the second
round of the Dutch Open golf
tournament here.
At 8under, Shubhankar, who
shot a 2under 70 in the
opening round, is four shots
behind leader Kristoffer
Broberg (68, 64), who leads
the field at 12under. PTI
Raninder reelected NRAI presidentMOHALI
Seasoned administrator
Raninder Singh was on
Saturday reelected as the
president of the National
Rifle Association of India
(NRAI) for an unprecedented
fourth term after he beat BSP
MP Shyam Singh Yadav 563
in the elections here. Kunwar
Sultan Singh was elected
unopposed as the secretary
general while Randeep Mann
has been made the treasurer.PTI
Delhi’s Honey Baisoya onSaturday ended a threeyear title drought by claiming a fourstroke win overGurugrambased Veer Ahlawat at the J&K Open here.
Sixtime PGTI winnerBaisoya (67696668), whowas struggling for formthrough the season, totalled 18under 270 for theweek following his classy fi�nal round of fourunder 68at the Royal Springs GolfCourse.
He thus skyrocketedfrom 85th to 22nd place inthe PGTI Order of Merit.
Ahlawat (67717066) also made his presence feltin the last round with ascore of 66 to fi�nish secondat 14under 274.
Baisoya wins
J&K Open Press Trust of India
Srinagar
Honey Baisoya. * FILE PHOTO
Former National championV.M. Ranjeet beat DhruvHirpara 62, 61 in the fi�nalof the ₹�100,000 AITAmen’s ranking tennis tournament at the PradhanAcademy in Gurugram onSaturday.
Ranjeet had beaten Deepender Grewal and AjayMalik in the earlier tworounds without dropping aset.
The young Dhruv didwell to make the fi�nal, as hegot past Sushant Dabas 64,76(4) in the semifi�nals.The results (fi�nal):
V.M. Ranjeet bt Dhruv Hirpara 62, 61.
Semifi�nals: Ranjeet bt Deepender Grewal 62, 75;Dhruv bt Sushant Dabas 64,76(4).
Ranjeettriumphs
Special Correspondent
NEW DELHI
V.M. Ranjeet with hisreward. * SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
Pakistan cricket began confronting its worst fear on Saturday, with the nationalside staring at another era ofisolation from hosting international matches after NewZealand abandoned its tour,citing a security threat.
The All Blacks called off�their fi�rst Pakistan series in18 years with Wellington’sbacking on Friday just before the fi�rst ODI was due tostart in Rawalpindi.
The decision has leftcricketcrazy Pakistan reeling, with the nation still recovering from the 2009 militant attack on the SriLankan team in Lahore thatwounded six players.
Already struggling to convince foreign teams to tour,Pakistan was forced to playhome matches at neutral venues — primarily in the UAE— following the assault.
The decision left a generation of cricket fans growingup having never attended alive game.
Need to work overtimePrime Minister Imran Khan,a former international cricketing hero, and the PakistanCricket Board will now haveto work overtime to avoidanother period of exile.
“With the administrationthey now have in place at thePCB and how closely linkedto the PM it is, there’ll be a
real push to ensure theyhave to play as little as possible in a neutral venue,”cricket writer Osman Samiuddin said.
The fi�rst task will be toconvince England, whichwill decide on Sundaywhether to send its men’sand women’s teams for ascheduled tour to Pakistannext month.
Those tours are to be followed by a series against theWest Indies in Decemberand Australia’s fi�rst visitsince 1998 in February nextyear.
“England are now likelynot to tour. Australia... willalso probably not come. Sothat will be a hit,” Samiuddinsaid.
“And for fans too, they’veonly just started getting usedto going to big games againso for the prospect of that
being taken away, it’s goingto hurt.”
The newly elected chairman of the PCB Ramiz Rajaadmitted Saturday that Pakistani cricket was facing “alot of pressure”, though notfor the fi�rst time — and thatthe nation was resilient.
“Your pain and my pain isthe same, it’s a shared pain.Whatever happened was notgood for Pakistan cricket,”he said.
The PCB bled $200 million in losses during thecountry’s cricket exile.
Now, alongside the upcoming tours, its bids to hostsix international events — including the World Cup andChampion’s Trophy between 202431 — could also bein jeopardy.
Former players say keeping international cricket inPakistan is the key priority.
Pakistan faces another era of isolationNew Zealand’s pull out has left cricketcrazy fans reelingAgence France-Presse
Islamabad
Deserted: Police Elite Force personnel walk in an enclosure atthe Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium after the New Zealand teampulled out of the tour. * REUTERS
Easy for SPJ, KEI
Threewicket hauls byShivam Choudhary andMohit Jangra coupled withShivam Bansal’s unbeaten56 guided SPJ XI to an easysevenwicket win over NegBlues in the R. V. SportsT20 tournament.
In another match, Kanishk(106) and Rajesh (5/12)helped KEI XI score a162run victory over WMTXI.The scores: Neg Blue 97 in20 overs (Parth Bali 52,Shivam Choudhary 3/8, MohitJangra 3/17) lost to SPJ XI103/3 in 10.2 overs (ShivamBansal 56 n.o.); KEI XI 191/5in 20 overs (Kanishk 106,Aditya Mahajan 45) bt WMTXI 29 in 8.2 overs (Rajesh5/12, A. D. Gupta 4/16).
DELHI CRICKET