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VIJAYAWADA, SUNDAY, AUGUST 29, 2021; PAGES 10+16 `5

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VIJAYAWADAWEATHER

Current Weather ConditionsUpdated AUGUST 28 , 2021 5:00 PM

ALMANAC

TODAY

Month & Paksham:

Shravana & Krishna Paksha

Panchangam

Tithi : Saptami 23:24

Nakshatram: Krittika Full Night

Time to Avoid: (Bad time to start

any important work)

Rahukalam: 4:55 pm - 6:28 pm

Yamagandam: 12:16 pm - 1:49 pm

Varjyam: 5:07 pm - 6:55 pm

Gulika: 3:22 pm - 4:55 pm

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FFoorreeccaasstt:: Partly cloudyTemp: 33Humidity: 75%Sunrise: 6:01 amSunset: 6:32 pm

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

The Andhra Pradesh governmentis putting in place an Online LegalCase Monitoring System (OLCMS)to effectively deal with the hugenumber of cases piled up in vari-ous courts.

Using the AP High Court'sApplication Protocol Interface(API), the new online system willhelp various government depart-ments to promptly respond to dif-ferent petitions as and when theycome up. A dashboard is alsobeing created to monitor the caseson a real-time basis, official sourcestold PTI.

Simultaneously, offices of allgovernment pleaders will be auto-mated and cases properly indexed

to facilitate ease of monitoringand response.

The AP government is fightinga whopping 1.94 lakh cases in theHigh Court and the SupremeCourt. Every day, on an average,

450 new (writ) petitions, runninginto at least 40,000 pages, are beingfiled against the government.

There are at least 8,000 contemptof court cases pending againstgovernment authorities. All this isproving to be a Herculean task forthe administration to overcome,according to officials.

State Chief Secretary AdityaNath Das recently conducted abrainstorming session withAdvocate General SriramSubramaniam, law secretary andother top bureaucrats to find a wayto appropriately deal with themounting litigation.

The OLCMS is the outcome ofthe Chief Secretary's meeting, offi-cials said.

Senior IAS officer Babu Ahamed

has been appointed as the nodalofficer at the state governmentlevel to oversee the entire process.

Each department will hence-forth appoint a nodal officer toexclusively monitor all pendingcourt cases pertaining to therespective departments.

Alerts will be sent out to thedepartments on the court cases duefor hearing, counter-affidavits to befiled, contempt cases and suchmatters, the sources said.

The neighbouring Telangana gov-ernment is currently implementinga similar system in five departmentslike Municipal Administration,Revenue and Finance, where thecaseload is high.

PNS n NEW DELHI

The Enforcement Directorate(ED) on Saturday said it hasattached assets worth over Rs 363crore of a jewellery firm in amoney laundering case linked toan alleged fraud against publicsector enterprise MMTC.

Forty-five immovable proper-ties of MBS Jewellers PrivateLimited, MBS Impex PrivateLimited, Sukesh Gupta, AnuragGupta, Neetu Gupta, VandanaGupta and their other groupentities have been provisionallyattached under various sections ofthe Prevention of Money Laun-dering Act, it said in a statement.

The ED case against theaccused was made out on thebasis of a Hyderabad CBI Anti-Corruption Bureau FIR andchargesheet (filed in 2014) againstSukesh Gupta and others for"defrauding" MMTC Limited.

PNS n CHENNAI

Defence Minister Rajnath Singhdedicated to the nation the indige-nously built Coast Guard Ship‘Vigraha’ in Chennai on Saturday.

Stating that the country has"great scope" to become an indige-nous ship-building hub, RajnathSingh pointed out that the Centrehas introduced policies to help thedomestic industry become worldclass.

In his address at an event to ma-rk the commissioning of the 'Vig-raha,' the last of the sevenOffshore Patrol Vessels (OPVs),here, he said in the next two years,the expenditure on securityaround the world will reach USD2.1 trillion.

"Most of countries do not even

have this level of budget for awhole year. And it is expected toincrease manifold in the next fiveyears. In such a situation, today wehave great scope to make full useof our capabilities, take advantageof policies, and move towardsmaking the country an indigenousshipbuilding hub,” the DefenceMinister said."

He continued: "I am happy tosay that considering these possi-bilities, the government hasalready brought out such policieswhich help our domestic industry,be it public or private sector enti-ty, to become world class players."

On ICGS Vigraha, he said "fromits design conception to develop-ment, the ship is completelyindigenous."

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

The Andhra Pradesh govern-ment has dispensed with theexisting grading system in theSecondary School Certificate(SSC) Public Examinations andreintroduced the system of award-ing marks by way of a compre-hensive evaluation system.

This was done considering thedifficulties being faced for admis-sion and recruitment, since alarge number of students aresecuring similar grades, the gov-ernment said.

Awarding of marks is beingimplemented from the SSC-2020examinations onwards for iden-tification of merit for admissionand recruitment.

It may be mentioned here thatfor the SSC batch of 2020 nogrades were awarded due to theexams being cancelled on accountof Covid-19.

To this effect B Rajsekhar,Principal Secretary, SchoolEducation issued a GO (GO RTNo. 55) on Friday.

The grading system for the SSCPublic Examinations was intro-duced in March 2010, the ideabehind it being reduced stress forstudents and putting an end to themad race for ranks.

The decision was hailed by aca-demicians who were in favour ofcontinuous evaluation of stu-dents by taking a number ofsmall tests throughout the yearinstead of a single test at the endof the academic year.

VKL GAYATRIn VISAKHAPATNAM

After a long time, the OccupancyRate (OR) in the Andhra PradeshState Road Transport Corporation(APSRTC) across the State hasincreased, crossing 75 percent onaverage.

After the Covid-19 restrictionswere relaxed and the private oper-ators increased tariff, people areopting for RTC buses for their reg-ular journeys.

Meanwhile, with the onset ofSravana Masam (one of the mostauspicious months in the Hinducalendar) and a large number ofauspicious days for marriages inAugust, the Corporation is register-ing over 75 percent OR at almostall its depots across the State.

After Covid-19 restrictions wererelaxed, the Corporation has not

resumed hired bus services so far.Officials say that they will be sur-prised if the Corporation does notresume hired bus services alsofrom September 1 onwards consid-ering the increase in OR and rev-enues.

In line with the night curfewrestrictions, the Corporation isnot operating night services.

Meanwhile, due to the skyrock-eting prices of fuel, private trans-porters like auto-rickshaws, cabsand others have increased theirfares drastically. The minimumcharges in the auto-rickshaw andcabs have risen by Rs 15 and more,but the Corporation has main-tained the earlier fares.

PNS n HYDERABAD

In a fresh complaint against AndhraPradesh government, TelanganaState has written to the Krishna RiverManagement Board to ensure that itsneighbour does not use Krishnawaters from Handri Neeva project.

Telangana Irrigation DepartmentEngineer-in-Chief C Muralidharexplained in his letter yet again thatSrisailam project was mainly a hydelpower generating project as perBachawat Tribunal.

The Tribunal did not allow diver-sion of Krishna waters outside thebasin, he reminded. With the diver-sion of water from HNSS to outsidethe basin, Telangana projects whichare within the basin would suffergreat loss, the Muralidhar said.

“It was grave injustice to divert

Krishna water to areas 700 km awayat the cost of Telangana areas whichwere right on the bank of Krishnariver,” he said.

The Engineer-in-Chief said thatthe Brijesh Kumar Tribunal statedthat Tungabhadra high level canaland other projects would divertwaters outside the basin and henceno allocations were being made.

Now the Andhra Pradesh gov-ernment’s action would tanta-mount to violating the Tribunalaward, he said.

When Telangana was objectingto the HNSS project that wouldtake surplus waters beyond thebasin, the AP irrigation depart-ment has now increased the diver-sion from 3,850 cusecs to 6,300cusecs which was even worse, theEngineer-in-Chief said.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

The Andhra Pradesh StateDisaster Management Authority(APSDMA) on Saturday said alow pressure has formed overnorth-west and adjoining west-central Bay of Bengal off AndhraPradesh and south Odisha.

According to APSDMA, underthe influence of the cyclonic cir-culation over north-west Bay ofBengal off the West Bengal coast,a low pressure area has formed.The associated cyclonic circula-tion extends up to mid tropos-pheric level and is tilting south-wards with height. “Under theinfluence of this low pressureand cyclonic circulation, fairly

widespread rainfall activity,including heavy rainfall in parts ofcoastal Andhra Pradesh andRayalaseema, are likely to occur

on Saturday and Sunday,” theAPSDMA.

IMD Meteorological Centre,Amaravati director S Stella saidthat heavy rainfall is likely to occuron Saturday at one or two placesover North Coastal AndhraPradesh and Yanam, SouthCoastal Andhra Pradesh andRayalaseema. “Thunderstormsand lightning are likely to occurat one or two places over NorthCoastal Andhra Pradesh andYanam, South Coastal AndhraPradesh and Rayalaseema. Squallyweather wind speed 40-50 kmphgusting to 60 kmph likely to pre-vail along and off Andhra coast,”she said.

SNCN ACHARYULUn HYDERABAD

A seemingly innocuous messageinviting people to attend a pro-gramme marking the 12th deathanniversary of former chief minis-ter late YS Rajasekhara Reddy onSaturday created a buzz in politi-cal circles, with motives beingattributed to the event.

This was despite the message,sent on behalf of the late YSR’s wifeYS Vijayalakshmi, or Vijayamma asshe is addressed, clearing sayingthat the programme was “purelynon-political” and the invitationwas being sent to “members of hisCabinet, his political colleagues,friends, media friends and well-

wishers”.However, questions were heard

about the motive behind the pro-

gramme – after all, this was the firsttime that Vijayamma would beorganising such a programme, that

too as a public function and inHyderabad.

Since the demise of YSR, thefamily has traditionally gathered atIdupulapaya on his death anniver-sary and paid tributes at the latechief minister’s samadhi.

However, being the honorarypresident of YSR Congress Party,which is in power in AndhraPradesh, Vijayamma organising aprogramme in Hyderabad that tooafter her daughter YS SharmilaReddy launched the YSR TelanganaParty against the wish of her broth-er and Andhra Pradesh ChiefMinister YS Jaganmohan Reddy ledto the buzz in political circles.

State to put in place system tomonitor litigation in real-time

APSRTC buses back in favour of passengers

Buzz over Vijayamma’s ‘non-political’ function

Low pressure to bring heavy rains TS, AP and TN

only states withexcess rainfallthis monsoon

2

In Covid infected, singleCovaxin dose same as 2 PNS n NEW DELHI

A single dose of Covaxin in pre-viously Covid-19-infected indi-viduals elicits a similar antibodyresponse as obtained with twodoses of the vaccine in those with-out a previous history of the dis-ease, according to an ICMR study.

"If our preliminary findings areconfirmed in large studies, a singledose of BBV152 vaccine may berecommended to previously con-firmed SARS-CoV-2 infected indi-viduals so that the naive individu-als could attain the larger benefit ofa limited vaccine supply," it said.

SSC PUBLIC EXAMS

Comprehensiveevaluation systemreintroduced

TS alleges diversionof HNSS water by AP

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh commissions the indigenously-built Coast Guard Ship‘Vigraha’ in Chennai on Saturday.

No outages in facilitylinking Aadhaar withPAN, EPFO: UIDAI

Police ‘lathicharge'protesting farmers

near Karnal, 10 hurt

Around 10 people were injured on

Saturday as police allegedlylathicharged a group of farmers

disrupting traffic movement on ahighway while heading towards Karnal

to protest against a BJP meeting.Besides Haryana Chief MinisterManohar Lal Khattar, state BJP

president Om Prakash Dhankar andother senior leaders of the party were

present at the meeting. The statepolice drew severe criticism for the

action against the farmers, and severalroads and highways, including tollplazas, were blockaded at different

places in protest. The affected routesincluded the Fatehabad-Chandigarh,Gohana-Panipat, Jind-Patiala highw-ays, Ambala-Kurukshetra, the Delhi

highway near Karnal, Hisar-andigarhand Kalka-Zirakpur national highways.

India's new Covidcases jump to

two-month high

India on Saturday reported 46,759

new coronavirus infections, themost in nearly two months, as

cases surged in the southern state ofKerala after a big festival. The South

Asian country's total COVID-19 casesreached nearly 32.7 million and deaths

rose by 509 to 437,370 in the last 24hours, government data showed.

Kerala, which last week celebrated alocal festival, accounted for 70% of the

new cases. India administered morethan 10 million vaccine doses in thepast 24 hours, a national record that

Prime Minister Narendra Modi called a"momentous feat" for the countryahead of fears of another surge in

infections.

NCB cracks down ondrug peddlers in

Mumbai; actor held

The Narcotics Control Bureau

(NCB) nabbed sevenpersons, including two

Nigerians, during a drive to flush outthe suppliers and peddlers of

Mephedrone (MD) drug in Mumbaiand neighbouring suburbs, an official

said on Saturday. During the drive,launched on Thursday, two NCBofficials sustained injuries while

conducting a raid in Navi Mumbai, theofficial said, adding the NCB team

recovered a commercial quantity ofMD from the accused persons."Arrest

of TV actor Gaurav Dixit in a drug caseon Friday was also part of the

operation," he said, adding Dixit wasremanded in NCB custody till Monday.

In brief

ICGS ‘Vigraha’ joinsCoast Guard fleet

ED attaches Rs 363 crassets of Hyd-basedjewellery firm

C PRADEEP KUMARn VIJAYAWADA

The APSRTC has incurred aloss of Rs 2,800 crore during theyear 2021 from March 2020-21and this loss has come down toRs 1,300 crore from April 2021to August of Financial Year2022, said RTC officials onSaturday.

Every year, the RTC wouldoperate buses to the tune of 150crore km; however during theyear 2021, the corporationcould ply only 75 crore km dueto lockdown and curfew.

PNS n NEW DELHI

The Unique IdentificationAuthority of India (UIDAI) onSaturday said there have been nooutages in its Aadhaar-PAN/EPFO linking facility, which isauthentication-based, and assert-ed that all its services are "stable".

The comment came amidreports of UIDAI system outagesin linking Aadhaar with PAN andEPFO. The reports said that theglitch had left Aadhaar users in alurch, even as EPF and PANlinking deadline looms.

Covid cost to RTCwas Rs 4,000 crore

File picture of members of the YS family paying tributes to former chief minister YSRajasekahra Reddy on his death anniversary at his samadhi at Idupulapaya.

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Move for easy vehicleregistration

Guj to challenge HC order on

‘Love Jihad' ActBhati misfires,

out of final in Paralympics

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P5

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VIJAYAWADA | SUNDAY| AUGUST 29,2021 vijayawada 02

EGG

RATES

VIJAYAWADA 550

HYDERABAD 400

VISAKHAPATNAM 470

RREETTAAIILL PPRRIICCEE `̀55..5500

`̀//110000

CHICKEN

RATES

Dressed/With Skin `210

Without Skin `275

Broiler at Farm `130

`̀//KKGG

(IN HYDERABAD)

NAVEENA GHANATE

n HYDERABAD

Telangana, Andhra Pradeshand Tamil Nadu are the onlythree states in the country toreceive excess rainfall this year.As per data from the IndianMeteorological Department,Tamil Nadu received 29 per-cent excess rainfall, whileTelangana received 23 per-cent and AP received 20 per-cent rainfall between June 1and August 27.

Pan-India rainfall betweenJune 1 and August 28 was defi-cient by 10 percent due toweak monsoon.

Telangana normally receives568.5 mm rainfall, while thisyear it received 697.4 mm.Likewise, Andhra Pradeshreceived 417.4 mm against anormal of 348.9 mm.

India received only 623.4mm of rainfall, against 689.4mm in this period.

According to Skymet weath-er, “Only one region, the southpeninsula is surplus with 4percent. Central India is defi-cient by 14 percent, Northwestby 13 percent and east andNortheast India is deficient by9 percent”.

At least 11 States and UTsreceived deficient rainfall,while 23 States received nor-mal rainfall. This is defectivebecause favourable weathersystems in the form of a lowpressure formed in the Bay ofBengal or an off-shore troughin the Arabian Sea, along thewest coast, were largely absent.Furthermore, the low pressuresystems, formed this month,

were not strong enough.Standardised Precipitation

Index (SPI), which is used toforecast possible droughts, isnegative in India, indicating

increasing dryness during themonsoon period. SPI valueindicates values are negativemoderately dry for Srikakulamand mildly dry in

Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram,Nellore and Prakasam. InTelangana, SPI values are mild-ly dry for Nagarkurnool,Medak and RangaReddy.

Fortunately or unfortu-nately we all have cometo a situation where 'cau-

tion' and 'precautions' havebecome the watchwords of'normal' life. Covid-19 hascaused inestimable damageto human life, shatteringnorms in sphere. Despite reel-ing under the impact of thepandemic, the governments inmany states, includingTelangana, are readying toreopen schools. At this point,nobody knows at what cost.Reopening schools implies alot. Students will not be airlift-ed from homes to schools.They will take crowded buses.Apart from enough number of

buses, schools need to beequipped with everything thatprevents Covid infection so asto shield students completely.That is a tall order.

We are yet to overcome theimpact of the second wave andthe third way is said to beround the corner. Are we pre-pared to cope with theimpending third wave? Whatsteps have been taken to shieldthe future citizens of Indiafrom the virus? Just reopeningschools is not enough. Theauthorities should have takenall precautionary steps beforeannouncing the reopening ofschools. We have had a badexperience of opening schools

and closing them immediate-ly after the surge of the secondwave.

It is a fact that virtual class-es have had a negative psycho-logical impact on students,with everyone glued to smartphones or laptops for hourstogether during classes. Thegovernments had madearrangements to make onlineclasses trouble-free and ten-sion-free. During the last twoyears schools have been virtu-ally abandoned, with evenbasic staff not attending totheir duties due to fear ofCovid.

As education has become alucrative business, many edu-

cational institutions do notflinch from admitting stu-dents into different courseseven if they do not have thecapacity to accommodatethem. Most of the classroomsare overcrowded. For a class-room that can accommodate20 students, double the num-ber is admitted. It means stu-dents will never have properspace among them, let alonesocial distancing norms ofkeeping alternate seats vacant.

After the second wavepeaked, claiming a lot ofhuman lives, oxygen plantswere opened in most of thehospitals. Now everything saidto be 'right'. Restrictions on

cinema halls have been lifted.Ultimately, students, whetherthey go to schools or cinemahalls, will be exposed to thevirus. Are all the schools orclassrooms spacious enoughto accommodate students asper the prescribed norms?Except for a few private andgovernment schools or col-leges, most of the education-al institutions are in a badshape. They operate in privateand congested buildings withno proper ventilation in theclassrooms. In this patheticcondition, if schools and col-leges are allowed to open,and students attend classes;will there be a shield to pro-

tect them from the deadlyCovid, particularly the Deltavariant that is spreading fast?So, pragmatic steps arerequired to prevent incalcula-ble damage.

Even nations that have thebest of medical facilities arecautious in this regard. Inspite of massive vaccinationand spacious schools, theyare protective of students'lives. There is strict implemen-tation of Covid norms.Medical experts are warningthat the new wave is slow inspread, but will be massive inits impact. The rising Covidcases Kerala is indicative ofthis.

All told, the vaccination ofIndians leaves much to bedesired. Against this back-ground, if schools and collegesare opened, where is the guar-antee that nothing untowardwill not happen? Opening ofeducational institutions canwait. The spread of the virusmust be contained first. Forthat to happen, a well-plannedstrategy is needed. As studentsare engaged with virtual class-es, there is no urgency in dri-ving them to schools or col-leges without making the insti-tutes completely safe.

Rajeswara Prasad Buddhavarapu

Senior journalist

Can ill-equipped schools, colleges shield students from Covid-19?

Continued from page 1

The study was published inthe Indian Journal of MedicalResearch on Saturday.

India's first indigenousCOVID-19 vaccine Covaxin,codenamed BBV152, wasapproved by the governmentfor emergency use in January.Two doses are given with agap of four to six weeks.

The study was undertakento examine SARS-CoV-2 spe-cific antibody responses afterday zero (baseline, before va-ccination), day 28 plus/ minustwo days post-first dose(month 1) and day 56 plus/minus two days post-firstdose (month 2) of BBV152 ina group of healthcare profes-sionals as well as frontlineworkers.

The antibody response ofindividuals with confirmedpre-vaccination SARSCoV-2infection was compared withthose individuals withoutprior evidence of infection.

As a part of the study,blood samples were collectedfrom 114 healthcare profes-sionals and frontline workerswho received Covaxin dosesfrom inoculation centresfrom February to May 2021.

"Overall, good vaccine-induced antibody responseswere seen in prior SARS-CoV-2 infected individuals,except in two, who receiveda single dose of BBV152 vac-cine that was similar to anti-body responses seen after atwo-dose vaccination courseadministered to infection-naive individuals," the studystated.

The study offers evidencein support of public health-oriented and immunological-ly sustained vaccine strate-gies.

TS, AP and TN only stateswith excess rainfall this yrCountry gets 10% deficit rainfall, 23 States get normal rains

Continued from page 1

"We will replicate theTelangana model and extend itto all the departments. Wehave already test-checked theAPI and will roll out theOLCMS in the next few days,"a top official said.

Two days ago, the ChiefSecretary issued a note to all

Special Chief Secretaries,Principal Secretaries andSecretaries of all governmentdepartments, directing them toconvene a monthly meetingwith their respective heads ofdepartments on court matters.He asked them to communi-cate the minutes of the meet-ing to the Chief Secretary'soffice immediately thereafter.

"The government has takenthe court cases issue very seri-ously. Apart from hamperingthe regular administration, thelitigation is many a time caus-ing embarrassment to the gov-ernment as well as individualbureaucrats. The onus is on usto avoid this through swiftaction," a Special ChiefSecretary observed.

Continued from page 1

Further, for the first time in thehistory of Indian defence, con-tract for not one or two, butseven vessels has been signedwith a private sector company,Larsen and Toubro Limited, henoted.

"And more importantly,within seven years of signingthis agreement in 2015, notonly launch but also the com-missioning of all these sevenvessels has been completedtoday," he said.

The 98-meter vessel, with acomplement of 11 officers and110 sailors, has been designedand built indigenously byLarsen & Toubro Ship BuildingLimited.

It is fitted with advancedtechnology radars, navigationand communication equip-ment, sensors and machinerycapable of operating in tropi-cal sea conditions, a Defencestatement said.

ICGS Vigraha can carry one

twin-engine helicopter andfour high-speed boats forboarding operation, search andrescue, law enforcement andmaritime patrol.

The ship is also capable ofcarrying pollution responseequipment to contain oil spillat sea, it said.

The vessel is armed with a40/60 Bofors gun and fittedwith two 12.7 mm StabilisedRemote Control Gun with firecontrol system, it said, addingthe OPV will be based atVishakhapatnam in AndhraPradesh.

Be it the navigation systemor communication equipment,sensors or other installedequipment, all these are notonly going to meet the needsof today, but the future for along time to come, Singh said.

Referring to the fact that the'Advance Light Helicopter'manufactured by HAL canalso be operated on this ship,Singh said it is a symbol of howthe government, coast guard,

and public and private sectortogether can protect theintegrity and sovereignty of thiscountry.

Vigraha, on the one hand,means free from any kind ofbondage and on the otherhand, "it has also been inter-preted to mean the specificbondage of one's duty andobligations," Singh said.

"Ram is Ram because he isbound by his Dharma (duty)....it is my firm belief that thisVigraha of ours, completelyfree from the shackles of anykind of challenges, and havingspecific bonds of service andduties to the nation, willbecome a successful watchdogof the coastal borders of ourcountry," he said.

With the inclusion of thesestate-of-the-art vessels, thecapability of the Indian CoastGuard has increased tremen-dously and its growth journeywhich began with a modest 5-7 small boats, has today grownto over 20,000 active personnel,

over 150 vessels, and a fleet ofover 65 aircrafts, the UnionMinister said. "Along withthat, I have been told, most ofthe Coast Guard platforms areindigenous, which makes thejourney much more fulfill-ing." "Along with increasing itscapability, the coast guard iscontinuously enhancing thecapability of our nation also. Itis the result of this augmenta-tion in the security capabilitiesthat we have not suffered anyterrorist accident by sea routesince the 2008 Mumbai attack,"he said.

He hailed the force' contri-bution to other countries.

During the fire on the heavycargo tanker 'New Diamond' in2020 and the cargo ship'Express Pearl' this year, it hadprovided active and timelyassistance to Sri Lanka, hesaid.

"Had you not done this, Ithink the consequences wouldhave been unimaginable,"Singh said.

Continued from page 1

According to sources closeto Vijayamma, she is expectingabout 2,000 to 3,000 who wereclose to YSR to attend.

On the dais would be formerPCC president and presentTRS MP D Srinivas, formerAssembly Speaker and presentTRS MP KR Suresh Reddy,former AP Legislative councilChairman A Chakrapani, for-mer MP Vundavalli ArunKumar who was close a asso-ciate of the late YSR and for-

mer MP and the ‘soul’ of thelate leader KVP RamachandraRao.

From the family, Sharmilawill be alongside her mother,but it is not clear if Jagan wouldbe attending.

Some people who are closeto Jagan believe he would notbe attending.

People close to Vijayammasay that the reason for con-ducting this programme isbecause it will be 12 years sinceYSR’s death (Pushkaram).

However, some leaders say

that the real intent is to pro-mote Sharmila in Telangana.

The programme is thebrainchild of a very seniorjournalist who is working as anadvisor to the YSRTP leader-ship, if sources are to bebelieved.

The theme of the pro-gramme is "refreshing thememories of YSR" and thesceptics say that this indicatesthe motive behind the event.

Meanwhile, sources said thatthe venue may be changedfrom Shilpa Kala Vedika.

Low pressure to bring heavy rains

Continued from page 1

The minimum fare in RTCbuses is still Rs 5 for fourstages and Rs 10 for anotherfour stages. With this, amajority of commuters inboth urban and rural areas areopting to travel in RTC buses.

There are 129 bus depotsin the State and the Corpo-ration is currently utilisingthe services of over 8,000buses every day.

“Yes, this month, almost alldepots in the State have reg-istered excellent occupancyrates. OR has crossed 75 pe-rcent and the revenue inflowhas improved. With this, thedepartment has decided tore-start the hired bus servicesalso from September 1onwards,” APSRTC ExecutiveDirector (Operations) Brah-mananda Reddy said.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

State Survey Settlement andLand Records Commissi-oner Siddartha Jain onSaturday said that 1.26 lakhsq km would be surveyed asper the ‘YSR JaganannaSasvatha Bhu Padakam’.

Jain said that as part of thissurvey, all types of land in theState will be surveyed by hy-brid methodology using dro-nes, CORS Network andGNSS receivers. The RFP/tenders were submitted forJudicial Preview.

He said that for perform-ing surveys of the large scalemapping (agricultural land)by hiring drone / aerial pho-tography as an end-to-endsolution.

Jain therefore appealed toall stakeholders to submit anysuggestions, comments,objections regarding thisprocess on or before 5 pm onSeptember 7.

APSRTC buses backin favour of passengers

Covid cost to RTC was Rs 4,000 croreContinued from page 1

The APSRTC would gener-ate a revenue of about Rs5,000 crore a year after oper-ating 150 crore km. Since itcould only operate about 75crore km, it could generateonly Rs 2,200 core with a rev-enue deficit of Rs 2,800 dur-ing the year 2021.

During the current year(2022) from April till date theRTC could generate Rs 900crore against Rs 2,200 crorebecause it could not operateall services due to Covidrestrictions and imposing ofcurfew.

Before Covid, theAPSRTC generally operated

10,600 buses per day; howev-er, due to Covid curfew andother restrictions, theCorporation could operateonly 8,000 services.

The revenue generationper month was Rs 450 crorewith an average of Rs 13crore to 14 crore per day, butcurrently Rs 10 crore wasbeing generated due to onlyday time service.

“If night services areallowed, things will be backon track,” APSRTC ExecutiveDirector (Operations) KSBrahmananda Reddy.

He said that occupancyrate has also improved andthey have been followingCovid protocols strictly.

In Covid infected,single Covaxin...

Continued from page 1

In a statement issued onSaturday, UIDAI emphasisedthat all its services are "stableand functioning fine".

"There have been no out-ages in its Aadhaar-PAN/EPFO linking facility,which is authentication-based facility," it added.

UIDAI explained that as itwas going through an essen-tial security upgrade in itssystems in a phased manner over the last week, some

intermittent service inter-ruptions were reported onlyin the enrolment and mobileupdate service facility at a fewenrolment or update centres"which too is working finenow, after upgradation".

UIDAI went on to say thateven though the system hasstabilised, it is monitoring thesame to ensure that no incon-venience is caused to resi-dents."It may be noted thatmore than 51 lakh residentshave been enrolled in last

nine days since the beginningof the upgradation process onAugust 20, 2021, at an aver-age of 5.68 lakh enrolmentper day," UIDAI said.

While, it added, authenti-cation transactions havetaken place as usual on anaverage of more than 5.3crore authentications per day.The Aadhaar-issuing bodysaid the reports on UIDAIsystem glitch in linkingAadhaar with PAN/EPFOwere "not accurate".

No outages in facility linking Aadhaar with PAN...Continued from page 1

On Sunday heavy rainfall islikely to occur at one or twoplaces over North CoastalAndhra Pradesh and Yanamand Rayalaseema.Thunderstorms and lightningare likely to occur at isolatedplaces over North CoastalAndhra Pradesh and Yanam,

South Coastal AndhraPradesh and Rayalaseema.Squally weather wind speed40-50 kmph gusting to 60kmph likely to prevail alongand off Andhra coast.

On Monday heavy rainfallis likely to occur at one or twoplaces over North CoastalAndhra Pradesh and Yanam.Thunderstorms and lightning

are likely to occur at one ortwo places over North CoastalAndhra Pradesh and Yanamand South Coastal AndhraPradesh. On Tuesday, heavyrainfall is likely to occur at oneor two places in these places.Likewise, these areas will seethunderstorms and lightningTuesday and Wednesday,Stella said.

State to take technology ...

Continued from page 1

The FIR said that the accuseddefrauded the MMTC in pur-chase of gold bullion under thebuyer's credit scheme.

"Sukesh Gupta, in activeconnivance with few officialsof MMTC Hyderabad, contin-uously lifted gold withoutforex cover and without ade-quate security deposits. Hisdues were consistently mis-reported to the MMTC headoffice and without squaring offthe existing losses, his firmscontinued lifting gold fromMMTC for their personal gainand thereby caused a loss ofpublic money to the tune of Rs504.34 crore (including inter-est up to May 31, 2021 of Rs277.52 crore) to the MMTC,"the ED alleged.

"Sukesh Gupta colludedwith various officers ofMMTC Hyderabad and paint-ed a wrong picture of his

accounts and kept on liftinggold to carry on its business asusual," the agency said.

"While MMTC ultimatelysuffered a massive loss, thebusiness of Sukesh Guptaflourished and ran with hugeprofit," it claimed.

On the basis of his businessprofile, the ED said, he tookloans and struck real estatedeals and grew his business inthe name of various relatedcompanies.

"All through the investiga-tion, the conduct of SukeshGupta has been evasive andnon-cooperative and he hasfailed to discharge the burdenof proof imposed on himunder the PMLA," it said.

In a separate case registeredunder the provisions of theForeign ExchangeManagement Act (FEMA),the ED said it also slapped apenalty of about Rs 222 croreon the MBS group.

ED attaches Rs 363 cr assets ofHyd-based jewellery firm

Continued from page 1

Initially implemented forstudents from Classes VI toX, the eight-grade patternfrom A1 to D2 by definingthe range of marks for eachgrade to arrive at the gradepoints to facilitate the decla-ration of grades as well as theresults, was later extended upto 10th Class (SSC) till March2019.

ICGS ‘Vigraha’ joins Coast Guard fleet

Govt to survey1.26 lakh sq kmland in the state

Buzz over Vijayamma’s ‘non-political’ function Comprehensiveevaluationsystem...

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Andhra Pradesh reported1,321 fresh Covid-19 cases,1,499 recoveries and 19deaths in 24 hours ending 9am on Saturday.

The number of active casesdropped by 197 to 14,853, ahealth department bulletinsaid. The State covid-19 chartshowed a total of 20,10,566positives, 19,81,906 recover-ies and 13,807 deaths.

Chittoor reported 225, EastGodavari 218, Krishna 153,West Godavari 142, SPS Nel-lore 139, Guntur 128 and Pra-kasam 118 fresh cases in 24hours. While Kadapa dis-trict reported 67, the remain-ing five districts added lessthan 40 new cases each. Chit-toor had five fresh fatalities,Krishna four, Nellore andPrakasam three each, EastGodavari, Guntur, Kurnooland Srikakulam one each.

AP reports1,321 cases

VIJAYAWADA | SUNDAY | AUGUST 29, 2021 vijayawada 03

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Andhra Pradesh Governor andChancellor of Sri VenkateswaraVeterinary University (SVVU),Biswabhusan Harichandan,has stressed the role of veteri-narians in doubling the incomeof farmers as the livestocksector plays an important rolein India’s economy and animalhusbandry is an integral com-ponent of the country’s agricul-ture sector which supportsthe livelihood of more thantwo-thirds of the rural popu-lation.

Participating in the 10thConvocation of the Tirupati-based SVVU in virtual modefrom Raj Bhavan here onSaturday, Harichandan He saidthe veterinarians should becommitted professionally andmorally to disseminate theirknowledge to the communityas a whole to improve the qual-ity of life of the small and mar-ginal farmers in rural areas.

"The ‘National EducationPolicy 2020” (NEP 2020) aimsto transform India’s educationsystem by 2040 with accessi-bility, equity, quality, afford-ability and accountability asits principles, the Governorsaid.

He further said that he washappy to know that the finalyear BVSc students of the uni-versity are conducting perfor-mance evaluation of the RythuBharosa Kendras (RBKs) in the

State, during their internshiptraining programme. AndhraPradesh stood first in the fish-eries sector in India by con-tributing 7.4 percent to theState’s GDP and providentdirect and indirect employ-ment to 14.5 lakh people.Considering the importance ofthe fisheries sector, theGovernment of AndhraPradesh had announced a sep-arate Fishery SciencesUniversity in West Godavaridistrict.

The Governor congratulat-ed the winners of Gold medals,research scholars, post-gradu-ate and graduate students whoreceived their degrees at theconvocation.

Dr AK Srivastava, Memberand Ex-Chairman,Agricultural ScientistsRecruitment Board, New

Delhi, who participated in theconvocation as the chief guest,said that Andhra Pradeshstood first in poultry produc-tion and was the highest eggproducer in the country.

The fisheries sector in thecountry was growing at 10 per-cent and India stood third inthe world, he said.

Dr K Sarjana Rao, Directorof Research and Dr G VenkataNaidu, Director of ExtensionCentre of Sri VenkateswaraVeterinary University felici-tated Governor Harichandanwith a memento, on behalf ofthe University.

Dr V Padmanabha Reddy,Vice–Chancellor, RP Sisodia,Special Chief Secretary toGovernor, A Shyam Prasadand Joint Secretary to theGovernor also participated inthe Convocation.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Telugu Desam Party (TDP)took part in 'padayatra' pro-grammes across the State onSaturday, in response to the callgiven by Leader of theOpposition N ChandrababuNaidu, to protest against therising prices of petrol, dieseland essential commodities.

The TDP activists launchednovel protests like pulling four-wheeler vehicles with ropesand carrying motorcycles onrickshaws and bullock carts.They raised slogans againstthe Jaganmohan Reddygovernment for nottaking measures torescue the poorfamilies from theprice rise.

The TDPprotests were heldin all the 175Assembly constituen-cy segments in the State.The police placed many TDPleaders under house arrestand intensified vehicle check-ing only to prevent theOpposition activists fromreaching their protest venues.

Holding placards and raisingslogans, the TDP leadersasserted that their protestswould continue until theJaganmohan Reddy regimetook concrete steps to bringdown the prices. Like otherStates, the AP Governmentshould take steps to rescue thepoor families from the doubleimpact of Covid pandemic

and price rise.The police denied permis-

sion to the TDP bike rally atKotabommali in Srikakulamdistrict. TDP State president KAtchannadiu and MPRammohan Naidu took up apadayatra up to Kotabommalirythu bazar. The TDP leadersraised slogans against theYSRCP government’s indiffer-ence to keep the prices undercontrol.

The TDP organised a 'mahadharna' at the Dharna Chowkin Vijayawada in which MLA

Gadde Rammohan, for-mer MLA Bonda

UmamaheswaraRao and otherstook part. In theV e m u r uAssembly seg-ment, former

minister NakkaAnanda Babu led

a protest pro-gramme and a bicycle

rally. Former MLAChintamaneni Prabhakar rodea bullock cart in Denduluru tosymbolically indicate how thepeople were not able to bearthe fuel costs to drive theirmotor vehicles.

In Anantapur, the TDP lead-ers held a dharna and formerminister Kalva Srinivasulu leda padayatra from Uddehal toBommanahal.

TDP MLC B Tech Raviasked whether the Oppositionleaders had no right or free-dom to express their protest onthe burning problems.

PNS n KAKINADA

Telugu Desam Party (TDP)leaders and activists took outrallies and organised demon-strations in East Godavari,West Godavari, Guntur andPrakasam districts on Saturdayin protest against the rise inprices of essential commoditiesand petroleum products.

In response to the call givenby the TDP State committee,TDP leaders and activistsorganised protest programmesin all the 19 Assembly con-stituencies in EG district. TheTDP activists organised a novelprotest by cooking food on theroad using firewood. The TDPcadre pulled the motorcyclesand rode bullock carts to reg-ister their protest against thespiralling prices.

Mayor Sunkara Pavani,MLAs NimmakayalaChinarajappa, AdireddyBhavani, MLC YanamalaRamakrishnudu, and seniorleaders V Konda Babu, PilliAnanta Lakshmi and AdireddySrinivas were among thosewho participated in variousprogrammes.

TDP leaders said that afterabout two years of lull in thecadre, the TDP activists tookpart in in massive protest pro-grammes. The TDP State com-mittee’s call to organise protestdemonstrations against the

hike of essential commoditiesand petroleum productsevoked a massive responsefrom the TDP cadre and aswell as the people, TDP lead-ers claimed.

In Guntur district, the TDPactivists, led by former minis-ter Nakka Ananda Babu,staged a dharna at MRO officein Vemuru. The TDP activiststook out a huge rally fromLodge Centre to Shankar Vilascentre. Former ministerPrathipati Pulla Rao, GunturParliamentary constituencypresident, former MLA TSravana Kumar and GunturWest constituency in-chargeKovelamudi Ravindra tookpart in the programme. InTenali, a massive dharna, ledby former minister AlapatiRajendra Prasad, was organ-ised. Similar protest rallies and

demonstrations were held atvarious places includingVinukonda, Narasaraopet andPedakurapadu.

In Prakasam district, mas-sive rallies and demonstra-tions were held in Ongole,Bapatla, Chirala, Addanki,Parchur, Singarayakonda,Kanukuru, Kanigiri, Giddalurand Markapuram towns. Theactivists pulled motorcycleswith ropes as part of the protestprogrammes.

In West Godavari district,similar protests, led by TDPParliamentary party presidentThota Sitamahalakshmi, wereheld in Narasapuram. TheTDP activists organised the‘Vanta Varpu’ programme bycooking food on the road andpulling the auto rickshaw withropes. Similar protests wereheld in Eluru as well.

PNS n VISAKHAPATNAM

The Parliamentary StandingCommittee on Defence visitedthe Eastern Naval Command(ENC) on Saturday. Jual Oram,Chairman of the StandingCommittee on Defence alongwith his 18-member delegationcomprising Members ofParliament, officials from LokSabha Secretariat and theMinistry of Defence werebriefed about the role and oper-

ational activities of the ENC.The team interacted with Chiefof Eastern Naval Command,

Vice Admiral Ajendra BahadurSingh. The Committee mem-bers were taken on a guided tourof indigenously built StealthMulti-role Frigate INS Satpura.The team also visited variousfacilities of Naval Dockyard, andreviewed the operational pre-paredness of the Indian Navy onthe eastern seaboard. The mem-bers paid homage to the Navalpersonnel who made thesupreme sacrifice, in the line ofduty to the nation at the

‘Smaram Sthal’ memorial inNaval Dockyard.

Later, the team visited theNaval Science andTechnological Laboratory(NSTL). The team was briefedby Director NSTL Dr. YSreenivas Rao. The memberswitnessed the facilities of thelab and reviewed ongoingmajor research and develop-ment activities including inno-vations and indigenisation pro-jects of the lab.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Opposition Leader in theLegislative Council YanamalaRamakrishnudu on Saturdayasserted that Andhra Pradeshwould not have been boggeddown in the present financialcrunch if the ruling YSRCPleaders did not resort to indis-criminate looting of publicwealth and natural resources.

Ramakrishnudu said thatunder the leadership of ChiefMinister YS JaganmohanReddy, the YSRCP leadersplundered sand, wine, mine,land and all visible and invis-

ible resources in the State. Asa result, the government wasshowing negative growth andzero development despitebringing massive loans of Rs 2lakh crore in the past twoyears. It was also failing to paythe salaries and pensionspromptly to the employeesand retirees.

In a statement here, theTDP leader pointed out that ifthe looted wealth of the rulingparty leaders was diverted tothe AP treasury in a transpar-ent way, the State would havebeen saved from getting neck-deep in debts. With its irre-

sponsible expenditures andlarge scale corruption, theJaganmohan Reddy regimehad pushed AP people into adebt trap.

Ramakrishnudu said thatthe AP financial situation wasturning from bad to worsewith each passing day. APhad come to stand for 'AppulaPradesh' (AP). TheGovernment was not evengiving welfare benefits todeserving sections. The Staterevenue was just Rs 1.50 LakhCr during 2018-`19, whichincreased to Rs 1.78 lakh croreduring the Jaganmohan Reddygovernment in 2020-`21. Butstill, the economic growth waszero. They took about 57 over-drafts in 2019-`20.

Ramakrishnudu said that

the Jaganmohan Reddy gov-ernment had achieved 'nega-tive growth rates' in two yearswhen compared with the pre-vious TDP regime. The Stategot -5.2 percent growth rate inthe industrial sector, -7.04percent in services, -6.6 per-cent in per capita income and-6.2 percent in GSDP underthe YCP rule. The revenuedeficit went up from Rs 13,899crore in 2018-19 to Rs 35,540crore in 2020-`21. All this wasbecause of the inefficient, arro-gant, vengeful and excessive-ly destructive regime ofJaganmohan Reddy.

PNS n VISAKHAPATNAM

For the first time in the State,the Integrated TribalDevelopment Agency (ITDA),Paderu, has taken up a newstudy called ‘HabitationProfile’ across the Agencyarea. There are 11 Agencymandals in the district and theITDA, Paderu, is the largest ofthem.

As part of the study, the offi-cials would prepare a profile ofevery habitation, covering allfacilities including health, edu-cation, roads, supply of essen-tial commodities, drinkingwater facilities, populationand transport facilities.

Paderu ITDA ProjectOfficer R Gopala Krishnadirected the officials of engi-neering, revenue, education,roads and buildings, ICDSand Velugu departments toprepare the Habitation Profilewithout missing any aspect ofthe habitation.

While preparing the profilesof habitations, the officialswill cover all aspects related tomedical facilities, roads, drink-ing water supply, population,education facilities, rationshop, animal husbandry andhousing facilities in all the 244village panchayats in the 11mandals, the Project Officersaid.

PNS n TIRUPATI

In a remarkable gesture, theISO certification committeemembers lauded the mainte-nance of the colleges run bythe Tirumala TirupatiDevasthanams (TTD). Thecommittee met TTD JEO SadaBhargavi at TTDAdministrative Building hereon Saturday.

Speaking on the occasion,the committee membersexpressed immense satisfac-tion over the quality of educa-tion being imparted to stu-dents, maintenance of build-ings, office, classrooms, hos-tels, kitchen, growing of trees,solid waste management andother facilities. They also com-plimented that the executionof Covid protocol measures inthe classrooms and hostelsare commendable.

It may be recalled that the

TTD-run SPW DegreeCollege, SPW PG College andSV Arts and SV GovindarajaSwamy Colleges have appliedfor NAAC recognition a cou-ple of months ago. Followingthe application, a team of ISOCertification Committeemembers visited all these threecolleges on Saturday.

The JEO informed themthat apart from imparting aca-demic knowledge, the stu-dents were being trained onthe importance of maintainingclean and green environs in allthe TTD-run colleges.

She said necessary mea-sures would be taken to over-come hindrances if any.

ISO Committee MDSivaiah, Directors Mounika,Dr Vijaya Lakshmi, certifica-tion Head Uma Devi andDevasthanams EducationalOfficer Govindarajan werealso present.

PNS n VISAKHAPATNAM

All trade unions, politicalparties, workers of variousindustries and also from theunorganised sector, respond-ed to the call given by theVisakha Ukku ParirakshanaPorata Committee to partic-ipate in the 10 km HumanChain on August 29.

Demanding that the Uniongovernment drop the propos-al to privatise theVisakhapatnam Steel Plant(VSP), the committee hasdecided to conduct a 10 kmHuman Chain fromAganampudi toAkkireddypalem from 8 amto 10 am.

All the trade unions, asso-ciations, workers from bothorganized and unorganisedsectors, except BJP all thepolitical parties haveexpressed their support tothe protest and announcedthat they would participate inthe human chain pro-gramme.

The Ukku ParirakshanaPorata Committee onSaturday said that over 10,000workers would participate inthe protest.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Five members were elected asVijayawada co-opted membersat a special general body meet-ing chaired by city MayorRayana Bhagyalakshmi onSaturday. They are NandepuJagadish (SC), TapparamalliJamalapurnamma (BC-D),Musunuri Subba Rao (OC),Syed Aleem (BE-E) and GSubhashini (SC) MinisterVelampalli Srinivas Rao, MLCKarimunisa and MLA MalladiVishnu, VMC Commissioner VPrasanna Venkatesh were pre-sent on the occasion, congratu-lated and honored the five co-opted members.

Speaking on the occasion,Minister Srinivas Rao said that

steps were taken for the devel-opment of Vijayawada city andthe government was doing jus-tice to the people of all commu-nities in appointing the co-opted members. Justice would bedone to those who had served

the party. The YS JaganmohanReddy-led government was giv-ing high priority to theMinorities. He said the State gov-ernment had taken steps tocontain Corona and the corpo-rators in the city should take

steps to ensure that everyone intheir division was vaccinated byvisiting the ongoing vaccinationprocess in all the secretariats inthe city.

MLA Vishnu said thatVijayawada would be trans-formed into Corona-free citywith the support of all by takingthe vaccine shot. He appealed tothe people to go for vaccinationduring the ongoing drive.

Mayor Bhagyalakshmi saidthat as per a circular issued bythe Election Commission,Commissioner and Director ofMunicipal Administration,Government of AndhraPradesh, five co-opted memberswere elected on the basis ofnomination in a Constitutionalmanner.

TDP protests against price riseRallies, demos mark agitation

No progress in State despite massive loans: Yanamala

Governor asks vets to help bolster income of farmers

ISO panel lauds upkeep of TTD-run colleges

5 co-opted members appointed in VMC

Parliamentary panel briefed about ENC’s activitiesThe Committeemembers were takenon a guided tour ofindigenously builtStealth Multi-roleFrigate INS Satpura.

10KM humanchain today tooppose VSPprivatisation

Award for industrialist Sidda SudheerPNS n ONGOLE

Industrialist Sidda SudheerKumar has received the World’sGreatest Brands & Leaders 2019-20 award.

Noted media house Asia Onemagazine and RS Media and GulfCooperation Council Groupselected Sudheer Kumar for thesixth edition of the award.Sudheer Kumar is the son of for-mer minister Sidda Raghava Raoand Managing Director of JyothiGranite Exports India Limited.

Sudheer Kumar received theaward at a programme held inDelhi on Friday through the

business e-summit zoom App.Speaking on the occasion,

Sudheer Kumar said that he wasproud of winning the prestigiousaward. “The award has enhancedmy responsibilities. I thank theAsia One Media, URS, GulfOperation Council, CNBC andTV 18 for selecting me for theaward,” he said.

Asia One Magazine URSMedia representative Siva Ramsaid that Sudheer Kumar wasselected for the award for hisleadership qualities, using mod-ern technology, development ofthe industry and leading theindustry successfully.

Govt keen to shiftExecutive seat toVizag, says BotsaPNS n VISAKHAPATNAM

Minister for MunicipalAdministration and UrbanDevelopment BotsaSatyanarayana has said that theOpposition Telugu DesamParty (TDP) is against the pro-posal for makingVisakhapatnam the ExecutiveCapital of Andhra Pradesh.The Opposition party isknocking the legal doors tostall the shifting of theExecutive seat of the govern-ment while the UttarandhraRakshana Charcha Vedika isbluffing the people, he alleged.

Addressing the media inVizianagaram on Saturday,the minister said that the TDPleaders were trying to appeasethe people by setting up a tem-porary forum, but the peoplewere not ready to fall for theircheap tricks. Unable to digestVisakhapatnam as ExecutiveCapital of the State, TDP lead-ers were creating hurdles. But,the government was very keen

to develop Visakhapatnam asExecutive Capital, BotsaSatyanarayana said. Duringthe TDP regime, the NorthCoastal AP districts weregrossly neglected and the pre-sent government was trying tobalance the development cov-ering all the regions, he added.

Chief Minister YSJaganmohan Reddy was verykeen to develop the threeregions in view of the futurechallenges. However, fearingtheir existence, TDP forceswho were unable to digest thedistribution of development,went to the courts against theimplementation of the threecapitals' decision and createdlegal hurdles.

Talking about theVisakhapatnam Steel Plant(VSP) issue, the minister saidthat the State government wasfighting against the Centre’sdecision to privatise theVisakha Steel Plant and vari-ous other issues related toNorth Andhra region.

‘Habitation profiles’ in Paderu

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Minister for EndowmentsVelampalli Srinivasa Rao has saidthat the government is sincere inresolving the issue of theBrahmamgari Matham. The min-ister has further said that the YSRCongress Party (YSRCP) govern-ment is working for the develop-ment of all communities.

Speaking at an event organisedin Vijayawada on Saturday on theoccasion of the formation of theAndhra Pradesh Viswa BrahminSangham, Srinivasa Rao said that

the government had conductedtalks with the heirs ofBrahmamgari Matham. Therewas no corporation for the devel-opment of the Viswa Brahmincommunity. Chief Minister YSJaganmohan Reddy had set upthe Viswa Brahmin Corporation,fulfilling the promise given tothem.

The minister promised toresolve the issues of ViswaBrahmins by taking them to thenotice of CM Jaganmohan Reddy.

AP Viswa Brahmin Sanghampresident Pavuluri Hanumantha

Rao said that there were 25 lakhViswa Brahmins in AP but theirproblems never were due towhich APVBS was formed.APVBS official spokespersonVinukonda Subba Rao allegedthat the government had appoint-ed Tholeti Srikanth as chairmanof Viswa Brahmin Welfare Boardbut he misused Rs 16 lakh funds.He wanted the government totake stern action against corrup-tion.

APVBS working presidentManoharachari and Chairman AGovardhan Sastry also spoke.

Brahmamgari Matham issuewill be resolved: Velampalli

VIJAYAWADA | SUNDAY | AUGUST 29, 2021 vijayawada 04

PNS n GUNTUR

Tension prevailed atNarasaraopet rural police sta-tion for some time on Saturdaywhen the police detained TeluguDesam Party (TDP) leader DrChadalavada Aravinda Babuand three activists of the partyfor raising objection to theinstallation of the statue of for-mer chief minister late YSRRajasekhara Reddy statue adja-cent to that of TDP founder NT Rama Rao at Palapadu village.

Police said that the TDPactivists attempted to stop thepreparations being made bythe YSRCP leaders to install theYSR statue. On a complaintlodged by YSRCP leaders, thepolice took into custody fourTDP activists on Friday nightand shifted them to theNarasaraopet rural police sta-tion.

TDP Narasaraopet con-stituency in-charge Dr.Chadalavada Aravinda Babu,along with a large number ofTDP activists, went to the ruralpolice station on Saturdaymorning and demanded therelease of the TDP activists.

The TDP activists staged a

dharna in front of the police sta-tion demanding the release ofthe party workers. The policedetained Aravinda Babu andsome other TDP activists.Heated arguments took place

between the police and TDPleaders. However, the policelater released Aravinda Babu, PRami Reddy, K Ramesh, KBrahamaiah and VemulapalliNarasaiah.

PNS n GUNTUR

Home Minister MekathotiSucharita has said that villagesare benefiting from thePradhan Mantri Gram SadakYojana (PMGSY) scheme.

Addressing a seminar on thePMGSY, organised as part of the

75th Azadki Amrit Mahotsavprogramme here on Saturday,the Home Minister said that thescheme was introduced 20 yearsago and it was helping in thedevelopment of rural areas.The objective of the scheme wasto connect the villages.

The Engineer-in-Chief said

that the roads were being con-structed linking villages withthe highways with the PMGSYfunds. He said that since theroad connectivity wasimproved to rural areas, thefarmers were able to transporttheir produce to the marketyards easily.

PNS n KADAPA

Deputy Chief Minister S BAmzath Basha has reiteratedthat the Y S JaganmohanReddy government is commit-ted to providing houses to allpoor people who do not havea roof over their heads.

Participating in the'Navaratnalu-Pedalu AndarikiIllu' programme held in theYSR Auditorium here onSaturday, he handed over titledeeds to 495 beneficiaries.

Speaking on the occasion,he said that the government isworking with the aim of mak-ing the dream of owning ahouse true to the homelesspoor. He alleged that manyirregularities took place inallocating house sites duringthe erstwhile TDP regime.“The YSRCP government istaking up the process of pro-viding houses and house sites

to the poor in a transparentmanner. All the eligible poor,irrespective of caste, religionor creed, are being allocatedhouse sites and houses,” hesaid.

Basha said that the Stategovernment had set a target ofconstructing 30 lakh housesfor the poor. The governmentpurchased land by spendingcrores of rupees to allocatehouse sites to the poor, he said.

“The government has pur-chased 110 acres of land atNanapalle, near here, anddeveloped it as a beautiful lay-out. The government is notonly allocating house sitesbut also constructing housesfor them,” he said.

Amzath Basha said that allother states in the countrywere not implementing thewelfare schemes due to theCoronavirus crisis but the

Andhra Pradesh governmentwas implementing all the wel-fare schemes.

MLA Ravindranath Reddyrecalled that former chiefminister late Y S RajasekharaReddy had distributed over30,000 house sites to the poorand constructed over 15,000houses. Now, his son Y SJaganmohan Reddy is emulat-ing his father in providinghouses to the homeless poor,he lauded.

“The government is spend-ing up to Rs 25,000 crore onthe education sector for thebright future of students.Several schemes are beingimplemented to eradicatepoverty,” the MLA said.

Mayor Suresh Babu, deputymayors Mumtaz Begam,Nityananda Reddy, sub-collec-tor Prudvi Tej and MROSivaram Reddy were amongthose who were present.

PNS n ONGOLE

A burka-clad woman alleged-ly stole a four-day-old infantgirl from the Area hospital inMarkapuram on Saturday.

Doctors told the mediathat a woman named Komaligave birth to a baby girl fourdays ago in the hospital.They said they had informedthe parents that the infantwas suffering from jaundiceand advised phototherapy.

Markapuram CI B T Naiksaid that a nurse took the girlfrom Sriramulu, father of theinfant, and asked him to waitoutside the phototherapyroom. A little later, he cameto the phototherapy roomwhere he was told by themedical staff that his infantgirl was missing from theward.

The hospital officials andthe police examined theCCTV footage and noticed awoman with a veil takingaway the infant girl from thehospital.

The CI said that based onthe CCTV footage, investiga-tion was expedited. He saidthat four police teams wereformed to investigate andnab the culprit. This is thefirst time such an incidenttook place in the hospital,doctors said.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

The Andhra Pradesh StateRoad Transport Corporation(APSRTC) is implementingthe SBI corporate salary pack-age to its employees to providemore insurance benefits.Under the package, the insur-ance benefit to its employeeswill be increased from Rs 30lakh to Rs 40 lakh in case ofthe death of an employee.The families will get Rs 10 lakhmore as per the new insurancepackage.

The APSRTC MD and Vice-chairman Dwaraka Tirumala,after a careful study of insur-ance facilities of various banksand companies, opted for theSBI corporate salary package

for the staff. The RTC employ-ees, who disabled permanent-ly due to the accident, wouldget insurance cover of Rs 30lakh. On payment of only Rs200 every month, the APSRTCemployees would get theinsurance facility and it wouldgive a lot of protection to over50,000 employees.

Besides, other facilities willbe provided to the APSRTCemployees. The salary schemecame into effect from July 12,2021 and it was announced bythe RTC on Saturday.

The RTC Employees’ Unionhailed the decision of theRTC. Union president YVRao and general secretary PDamodar hailed the decisionof the APSRTC.

Govt committed to housingfor the poor: Amzath Basha

Tension as cops detain TDP men

4-day-old babygirl stolenfrom hospital

75-m-long Tricolour demonstratedKAKINADA: The activists of CITU here on Saturday demonstrated a75-meter-long National Flag at Bulusu Sambhamurthy statue.Maharshi Bulusu Sambamurthy Trust president Mohammad JawaharAli and Kakinada Eye Bank founder Badam Balakrishna garlanded thestatue of Sambamurthy and paid tributes. Later, AithabattulaRameswara Rao launched the demonstration of the 75-meter-longNational Flag on the occasion of India celebrating the 75thIndependence Day. The 75-m National Flag attracted a large numberof people.

TTD chief visits ancient templeKAKINADA: Chairman of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) Y VSubba Reddy on Saturday paid a visit to Kakinada. He visited the1,000-year-old Swayambhu Sri Bhavannarayana Swamy temple atSarpavaram villag in Kakinada Rural and performed special pujas.Kakinada Rural MLA and Agriculture Minister Kursala Kannababu helda meeting at his residence to mark the arrival of TTD Chairman.Subba Reddy and many other dignitaries participated in the meeting atRamanayyapeta on the occasion.

Boy drowns in Ogeru streamGUNTUR: A 14-year-old boy drowned in the Ogeru stream atChilakaluripet on Saturday. Police said that five boys entered thestream for a swim. While they were swimming in the stream, thewater level increased heavily and Gogulamudi Sanny (14) was sweptaway. He was studying in Class IX at Sarada ZP High School. MLA VRajani alerted the officials. The NDRF teams were pressed into serviceto trace the boy.

Woman, daughter murdered GUNTUR: In a gruesome incident, a woman and her daughter were bru-tally murdered by miscreants in their house at Nagarjuna Nagar inSattenapalli town on Saturday. Police said that the deceased - Padmavati(55) and Pratyusha (30) - were stabbed to death in their house byunidentified miscreants. The mother-daughter duo was found in a poolof blood. The police suspect that land dispute might have led to the dou-ble murder. The police registered a case and shifted the bodies to thegovernment hospital for a post-mortem examination.

2-yr-old boy drowns in water pitHYDERABAD: A two-year-old boy drowned in a water pit whileplaying near his house in Rajendra Nagar on Friday night.According to the police, the boy, Abubakar, was playing alone whenhe slipped and fell into the pit filled with rainwater, according to KKanakaiah, Inspector. The family members, who realised thatAbubakar was missing for a quite long time, began searching in thesurroundings and found his body in the water pit. They rushed himto a hospital where doctors declared him dead. Following acomplaint from Abubakar's father Abdul Rahi, the Rajendranagarpolice have booked a case and are investigating.

SHORT TAKES

Governor greetsCM on 25thwedding annivPNS n VIJAYAWADA

Andhra Pradesh GovernorBiswabhushan Harichandanextended his best wishes toAP CM YS JaganmohanReddy on Thursday. On theoccasion of the 25th weddinganniversary of AndhraPradesh Chief Minister YSJaganmohan Reddy and hiswife YS Bharathi, he took toTwitter to send his greetingsto them.

Harichandan tweeted, say-ing, "I convey my greetings to@ A n d h r a P r a d e s h C MSri@ysjagan and YS BharathiReddy on their 25th weddinganniversary. I pray to LordJagannath & Lord Balaji toshower their blessings onthem for a long, healthy,happy and prosperous life.

PMGSY put villages on pathof progress, says Sucharita

Prakasam cops reuniteminor girl with mother

APSRTC staff to getbetter insurance cover

PNS n GUNTUR

Narasaraopet MP L SriKrishnadevarayulu soughtthe help of NABARD inestablishing an aqua process-ing unit in Bapatla.

The MP, along with MLAN Shankar Rao and DCCBChairman RSitaramanjaneyulu, called onNABARD ChairmanChintala Govindarajulu onSaturday.The NABARDChairman responded posi-tively to the MP’s request toset up an aqua processingunit in Bapatla. He promisedto release Rs100 crore for theestablishment of the process-ing unit.

MP urges NABARD to set upaqua processing unit at Bapatla

PNS n AMARAVATI

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)leader Lanka Dinakar has saidthat according to the CAGreport for the month of May,the financial position ofAndhra Pradesh is in a precar-ious condition.

In a press release onSaturday, he said the budget-ed debt for the financial year2021-22 is estimated at Rs37,029.79 crore, while theState government borrowed Rs22,427.76 crore in the first twomonths alone. “It is deplorableto take 60.57% of the total debtdue in the first two months ofthe year. Borrowings in themonths of June and July need

to be verified and It seems theremaining 10 months will bea tough period for the State.

It has been observed thatdebt has risen due to lowerrevenue collection of Rs 15,000crore in the last two months.The average capital expendi-ture till May was around Rs5,000 crore, while the actualcapital expenditure incurred isonly Rs 2,000 crore duringthese two months..

“If State Finance MinisterBuggana Rajendranath Reddydoes not open his eyes, theState's economic situation willdeteriorate further. There is adanger of the State's financialsituation going out of control,”Dinakar said.

PNS n KAKINADA

The East Godavari districtpolice launched a ‘No AccidentDay’ special drive on Saturday.The event was organised underthe supervision of district SP MRabindranath Babu.

District SP M RavindranathBabu directed the officials totake steps to prevent road acci-dents in line with the ‘NoAccident Day’ conducted acrossthe district last Tuesdayachieved the expected resultsthrough a special drive.

The district police, whichfound that there was no roadaccident in the district onSaturday.

Flexis have been set up forthe awareness of the public andmotorists.

Police officers stopped thedrivers wearing seat belts andhelmets, thanked them respect-fully and handed over flowers.

Awareness programmeswere conducted to warnmotorists that negligence andspeeding could be fatal and thattheir lives could be in danger.Triple riding and strict enforce-ment of helmet rule werestressed.

‘No AccidentDay’ observedin E Godavari

State’s financialposition precarious,says Lanka Dinakar

PNS n ONGOLE

The timely action taken byPrakasam district policehelped reunite a teenage girlwith her mother.

Superintendent of PoliceMalika Garg said here onSaturday said that M UshaRani of Ponnalur inPrakasam district, works inthe MadambakkamMunicipality in Chennai, ini-tially lodged a complaint withthe local police station inSelvaneru stating that herdaughter M Monisha(17) lefthome on August 23. Whenthere was no response fromthe Chennai police, she wentto her native village Ponnalurand lodged a police com-plaint there.

Acting swift ly, the

Ponnalur police registered azero FIR as the incidentoccurred in Chennai.

Kandukur CI Sriram con-ducted a preliminary investi-gation and obtained fulldetails of the girl. With thehelp of the IT core team, thepolice found the girl's loca-tion near Nellore andSullurpet.

CI Sriram spoke to thepolice at Vakadu police andChittamur. Later, theChittamuru SI went to theplace where the girl was stay-ing and brought her toPonnalur safely and offeredcounselling to her. Later, thepolice handed over the girl toher mother on August 27.

The girl's mother thankedthe SP and other police offi-cers for their help.

Cops arrest man forcheating women onmatrimonial sites PNS n HYDERABAD

The Rachakonda Cybercrimepolice on Saturday arrested aman on charges of cheating awoman of Rs 10 lakh througha popular matrimony site.Police, who said he had cheat-ed several woman using mat-rimonial sites, recovered Rs 3.2lakh, cheque books andmobile phones from him.

The arrested person was PBala Vamshi Krishna, 35, aresident of Khammamand native ofV i j a y a w a d a .According to thepolice, VamshiKrishna, who earlierworked for a softwarefirm, lost his job, allegedlydue to his addiction to bettingon horse races. His wife toodivorced him. To meet hisfinancial needs, he posted hisprofile in matrimony sites andcheated four women posing asan NRI in 2020.

"He collected several lakhsfrom the victims on the pre-text of marrying them andsending gifts and processing

visa among others. He waspreviously arrested by theHyderabad, Cyberabad andRachakonda police," an officialsaid adding that after beingreleased from prison, he post-ed fake profiles in variousmatrimony sites with thename 'Sai Pranav' fromHyderabad. During this, hefound the profile of the victimfrom Choutuppal andexpressed interest to marry

her. "Later, he contactedher over phone and

told that after theirmarriage, he wouldmove along with herto the United States.

For this, he insistedthat she open an inter-

national bank account andcollected her documentsincluding PAN card andAadhar, apart from collectingRs 90,000 from her as process-ing fee," the official said.

Later, he took her YONOSBI internet banking creden-tials and verified her loan eli-gibility and found a pre-approved loan of Rs 8 lakh onher name.

PNS n HYDERABAD

The Secunderabad Court onSaturday remanded founder of'Q Channel' TeenmaarMallanna to 14 days of judicialcustody in Chanchalgudaprison after hearing a petitionfiled by noted astrologerSannidhanam LakshmikanthSharma.

Lakshmikanth Sharma ofMaruti Jyotishalayam inMadhura Nagar Colony ofSecunderabad lodged a com-plaint with the police officialsagainst Teenmaar Mallannaaccusing the latter of threaten-ing him. Responding to thecomplaint, ChilakalagudaPolice on Friday night arrest-ed Teenmaar Mallanna andproduced him before theSecunderabad court onSaturday.

Counsel for TeenmaarMallanna, Umesh Chandraargued before the court sayingthat it was objectionable forthe police to file cases underSection 306 (abetment to com-mit suicide) and Section 511of the Indian Penal Code(IPC) seeking punishment forattempting to commit offencespunishable with life imprison-ment or other imprisonment.

The complainant did not makeany suicide attempt, the coun-sel pointed out.

The Chilakalaguda Policesought the court to sendTeenmaar Mallanna intopolice custody for seven days.However, the judge said thathe would look into all theseaspects and ordered judicialremand for the accused for 14days.

Umesh Chandra is going tofile a petition seeking bail forTeenmaar Mallanna.

On April 22, Lakshmikanthlodged a complaint with theChilakalaguda Police accusingTeenmaar Mallanna of resort-ing to threatening him. Heclaimed that some fake indi-viduals visited his MarutiJyotishalayam at the behest ofTeenmaar Mallanna and caus-ing him inconvenience to himby spreading false news abouthim. The police served noticeson Teenmaar Mallanna twice,but the accused did notrespond to the notices.

Mallanna remanded for 14days in Chanchalguda jail

Two Maoists surrenderPNS n HYDERABAD

A CPI (Maoist) dalam membersurrendered beforeBhadrachalam ASP, Dr VineethG, at Cherla in BhadradriKothagudem district onSaturday.

The Maoist, Musaki Budrialias BR of Rampur in Bijapurdistrict of Chhattisgarh Stateserved as a guard in the protec-tion team of the MaoistTelangana State CommitteeSecretary, Haribhushan, whodied recently, the ASP informedthe media persons. Budri usedto carry an SLR weapon. Shewas suffering from anemia andhad a young son. The policedepartment would makearrangements for her treatment.She decided to quit the Maoistparty as the party leadershipharassed her and failed to pro-vide proper treatment to her,Vineeth said. Her husband,Somadal alias Somanar was anarea committee member of thebanned CPI (Maoist) party, theASP said while appealing to himto surrender to the police to leada peaceful life. He also appealedto the members of the Maoistparty and militia to surrender topolice either through their rel-atives or through local policeofficers and join mainstream life.

VIJAYAWADA | SUNDAY | AUGUST 29, 2021 nation 05

Preparations have started indifferent temples of

Mathura for Janmashtamicelebrations, slated forAugust 30. “While cooking ofPrasadam to be offered tothe principal deity in Hindushrine of Janmasthan, hasstarted, sites for the settingup cloak room have been

selected,” said Kapil Sharma, secretary Shri Krishna Janmasthan SevaSansthan. Due to COVID-19 norms, it has been decided to give up thepractice of distribution of Prasadam to every visiting devotee, this year,authorities at Shri Krishna Janmasthan stated. Sharma said cloak-rooms at selected four sites – (Rupam cinema, in front of GovindNagar police station, Galteshwar temple Tiraha and Radha Park nearGalteshwar temple) around Janmasthan – would be completed byAugust 29. Officials said that to avoid inconvenience to pilgrims, infor-mation about various arrangements made by Shri Krishna JanmasthanSeva Sansthan would be communicated through loudspeakers.

Preparations for Janmashtamifete begins in Mathura

Vaccination andration distribution

centres set up inschools in the nation-al capital will still beoperational after theyreopen for classes 9to 12 from September

1, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Saturday. Following amarked improvement in the COVID-19 situation in the city, the Delhigovernment on Friday announced that schools for classes 9 to 12, col-leges and coaching institutions will reopen from September 1. "There areplenty of classrooms and no dearth of space. Vaccination and ration dis-tribution will continue in schools where it is underway," Kejriwal said,responding to a question on the subject. "Since students of only fourclasses are being called in the first phase, space will not be a majorissue. The vaccination area will be kept separate from where studentsare allowed," he told reporters on the sidelines of an event here.

Vaccination in schools to beginfrom September 1, says Kejriwal

Ayush system ‘very helpful’ inboosting immunity: President

PDP president MehboobaMufti Saturday alleged the

police did not allow a meetingof the party's youth wing inAnantnag and also "roughedup" its members. Mehbooba, aformer chief minister ofJammu and Kashmir, also said

the Centre wants to justify its "iron-fist approach by branding allKashmiris as perpetrators of violence". "PDP youth is not beingallowed to conduct a meeting in Bijbehara today. The gates leadingto Mufti sahab's grave have been locked & blocked with barbedwires. Can @JmuKmrPolice explain why were these young menroughed up?" Mehbooba said on Twitter. The PDP president saidpreventing the PDP youth from holding a meeting in South Kashmir“reinforces GOIs (Government of India's) strategy of not allowingany meaningful political engagement especially the one that involvesKashmiri youngsters”.

Mehbooba Mufti alleges copsfoiled PDP youth wing meeting

INDIA CORNER

PNS n NEW DELHI

An Ayurvedic poly-herbal for-mulation, NEERI-KFT, haspotential to not only slow downthe progression of chronic kid-ney disease but also restore nor-malcy in functional parametersof the vital organ, a team ofresearchers has claimed.

In a review published in thelatest edition of Saudi Journalof Biological Sciences, theyconcluded that "phytopharma-cological evaluation of NEERI-KFT suggests that it exhibitssubstantial potential againstoxidative and inflammatorystress induced apoptosis byexerting antioxidant, nephro-protective and immunomodu-

latory effects...in the patientsassociated with renal dysfunc-tion or chronic kidney disease(CKD)".

The NEERI-KFT, a herbalmedicine extracted from plants,has been found to correctoxidative as well as inflamma-tory stress known for reducingbody's immunity, said theauthors after drawing data onthe formulation for kidney ail-ments from more than five elec-tronic databases such as ScienceDirect, Google Scholar, Elsevier,PubMed, Springer, ACS publi-cation from published databasebetween 2000 and 2020.

The study, 'A systematicreview on nephroprotectiveAYUSH drugs as constituents

of NEERI-KFT' not only exam-ined the impact of the herbalextract of NEERI-KFT pre-pared by the AIMILPharmaceuticals, but alsodwelled in detail on the adverseevents of modern medicine

used for the management ofkidney ailments.

The study also highlightedthe herbal drug's efficacy inreducing "serum creatinine,blood urea, and serum uric acidas compared to placebo group"

and described "its well-tolerat-ed effect with no adverse hema-tological or biochemical abnor-malities occurred to any sub-jects during clinical trial".

"It can be suggested thatNEERI-KFT can be an alterna-tive and complementary ther-apy at end-stage renal disease(ESRD) or complete loss ofkidney function where fre-quent dialysis of renal trans-plant remains only a singleoption for continued survivalCKD patients," researchersnoted.

KK Sharma, MD of theAIMIL Pharma attributed thisto the "more than 20 differentpotent herbs like Haridra,Varuna, Shirish, Gokhru,

Punarnava and Anantamul toname a few in the formulationwhich are known for theirnephrocorrective, anti-inflam-matory and antioxidant prop-erties and reparative regener-ation of kidney cells". It wasafter a string of stringent teststhat this formulation wasdeveloped to provide relief tokidney patients, he said.

Professor K N Dwivedi fromBHU felt that the herbal ingre-dients in NEERI-KFT areloaded with many anti-oxi-dants besides medicinal valueswhich not only strengthenkidney but liver also. "This isa very unique drug and wehave found it very effective inour study also," he added.

Herbal drug can help damaged kidney recover: Study

PNS n NEW DELHI

A m i d t h e c ont i nu e dinfighting in the PunjabCongress, AICC generalsecretar y Harish R awatSaturday said he would visitthe state soon as he briefedformer par ty pres identRahul Gandhi on the situ-ation.

Rawat apprised Gandhiof the latest developmentsas factions supporting ChiefMinister Amarinder Singhand state unit presidentNavjot Singh Sidhu engagedin a war of words.

"I have briefed him onwhatever the situation inPunjab is," Rawat, also thein-charge of party affairs inthe state, told reportersafter meeting Gandhi here.

"In the next two-threedays, I will visit Punjaband will meet party leaders.I will also meet Punjabchief minister AmarinderSingh and PCC chief NavjotSingh Sidhu," he said.

The Punjab Congressfinds itself as a divided lota few months ahead ofassembly elections, with

Singh and Sidhu being atloggerheads. The infightingrefuse to die down evenafter the former cricketerwas appointed the PCCchief.

Sidhu has also urged theparty leadership to givehim freedom in decision-making, telling them thathe does not want to be adummy party chief.

He said this after one ofhis advisers -- MalvinderSingh Mali -- had to quitfollowing pressure from thechief minister's camp overhis alleged controversial

remarks on Kashmir.After this, some dissi-

dent ministers and MLAshad met Rawat at Dehradunand demanded the chiefminister's removal.

However, Rawat made it

clear that the next assemblyelections would be foughtunder Singh's leadership.

The chief minister's campalso sought action againstSidhu over Mali's remarkson Kashmir and Pakistan.

Punjab Congress crisis: Harish Rawatto visit state soon with word from Rahul

PNS n NEW DELHI

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi took a swipe at the ruling BJPon Saturday over reports of its income rising by 50 per centthrough electoral bonds and asked people about the increase

in their earnings."BJP's income rose by 50%. Andyours?" he wrote on Twitter.

Gandhi also shared a reportby an NGO, Association forDemocratic Reforms(ADR), that said the saffronparty's income rose by 50per cent in 2019-20 with abulk of donations comingthrough electoral bonds.

The Congress has opposedthe electoral bonds, alleging

that it helps the party in power.

Rane disrespected PM’s directives on ‘JanAshirvad Yatra’: Raut

‘PM motivatedscientists todevelop Covid vax’ PNS n JABALPUR

Prime Minister NarendraModi motivated scientists anddoctors to conduct medicalresearch which led to thedevelopment of an anti-coro-navirus vaccine in India,Union minister VirendraKumar Khatik said onSaturday.

“It is for the first time thatwe need not have to dependon any other country to pro-cure vaccines to fight againsta virus," the Social Justice andEmpowerment Minister toldreporters.

Khatik is in Jabalpur tolaunch the BJP's 'Jan AshirwadYatra', which is aimed at reach-ing out to the masses.

“Prime Minister NarendraModi took the initiative tomotivate scientists and doctorsto conduct medical researchwhich led to the developmentof an anti-coronavirus vaccinein the country,” he added.

In contrast, anti-polio vac-cination in India was launchedthree to four years after vacci-nation against polio almost gotcompleted in many countries,he said. “As of now, around 60crore anti-COVID-19 shotshave been given in the coun-try," he said.

Speaking on Centralschemes, the minister said aroadmap titled "Amrit Kaal"worth Rs 100 lakh crore hasbeen drawn under the leader-ship of the prime minister forthe next 25 years to make Indiaself-reliant by strengtheningthe roads, industry and railwayinfrastructure.

PNS n KOLKATA

Case was lodged against aprofessor of the CalcuttaUniversity for allegedly threat-ening on social media to killChief Minister MamataBanerjee, police said onSaturday.

The case was registeredagainst Arindam Bhattacharya,a professor of the ZoologyDepartment, by the Hare Streetpolice station on the basis of acomplaint filed by PhD schol-ar Tamal Dutta, a senior policeofficer said.

Bhattacharya was bookedunder IPC sections 505 (1B)(with intent to cause, or whichis likely to cause, fear or alarmto the public), 506 (threat be tocause death or grievous hurt)and 120B (punishment ofcriminal conspiracy), saidMurlidhar Sharma, the jointcommissioner of police(crime).

The professor is yet to betaken into custody, police said.

When contacted,Bhattacharya told PTI, "I did-n't make any commentsagainst the chief minister. Thecomplainant is a TrinamoolCongress supporter. I am wait-ing for the police to take stepsand only after that I will seeklegal advice on this."

During a conversation onFacebook Messenger, a friendtold the professor, "Before theelections you had written in aWhatApp group that youwanted to kill the chief minis-ter. That time you went to theTMC leader's house to saveyourself..."

In reply, he wrote in Bengali,

"Akhono hatya korte chai... Pachata kutta ami noi... Amioshikkhito birodhi (I still wantto kill.. I am not a footlickingdog. I am against those whoare illiterate)."

Battacharya said it was apersonal conversation betweenhim and a friend which wasmade public on social media.

"This conversation hap-pened sometime back. I havenot threatened the chief min-ister or anyone and it is clearin the message," he said.

Bhattacharya, a professorof Zoology for 17 years, saidthe police complaint waslodged against him as part ofa conspiracy so that he loses hisjob.

"I am scared and tormented.I feel helpless and insulted.Never dreamt of facing suchhumiliation in my life. I cansense that this is a conspiracyagainst me so that I eventual-ly lose my job," he said.

Bhattacharya was served anotice to appear before the

investigating officer onSaturday afternoon.

"I have nothing to do. Letthe police arrest me. Let therebe another AmbikeshMahapatra," he said.

In April 2012, Chemistryprofessor AmbikeshMahapatra of JadavpurUniversity was arrested forallegedly forwarding a car-toon, lampooning the chiefminister.

The TMC-backed WestBengal College and UniversityProfessors Association con-demned Bhattacharya's com-ments.

Dutta, who lodged thepolice complaint, told PTI thata professor cannot make suchremarks.

"I went through the com-ments and found them to bequite dangerous. A professorcannot make such comments.That is why I approached thepolice and after consultingthem, I lodged a complaintwith the Cyber Cell," he said.

CU prof booked for allegedlythreatening to kill Mamata

MP: MAN STITCHES WIFE'S PRIVATE PARTS OVER SUSPECTED INFIDELITY

Jailed MP man who strayed into Pak set to return

PNS n SINGRAULI (MP)

Suspecting his wife of infidelity, a55-year-old man allegedlystitched her private parts inMadhya Pradesh's Singraulidistrict, police said on Saturday.The incident took place in Railavillage under Mada police stationarea, around 30 km from thedistrict headquarters, on August

24, additional superintendent ofpolice (ASP) Anil Sonkar said.The accused, who is a quack,suspected his 52-year-old wife ofhaving an extramarital affair withanother man, the official said. Theman stitched his wife's privateparts over suspicion of infidelity,he said, adding that the victimwas admitted to the districthospital, where she underwent

treatment for her injuries. Themiddle-aged couple have childrenwho are married, the official said.A case under sections 323(voluntarily causing hurt), 324(causing hurt by dangerousweapons or means), 498(detaining with criminal intent)and other relevant provisions ofthe IPC was registered atBandhora police post, he added.

PNS n SAGAR

A 57-year-old man, who waslodged in a Pakistani jail afterinadvertently crossing into theneighbouring country, will returnto his home in Madhya Pradesh'sSagar district next week, a seniorpolice official said on Saturday. Prahlad Singh, a resident ofGhoshi Patti village underGourjhamar police station, about46 km from here, will be handedover to India at Wagah border on

August 30, Sagar'sSuperintendent of Police (SP) AtulSingh said. The man had gonemissing from his home 30 yearsago, and in January, 2014, theMadhya Pradesh governmentfound out that he was lodged in ajail in Pakistan, the official said. The police initiated the process ofidentification and correspondencefor bringing him back fromPakistan in 2014, he said. The SPsaid that he received informationon Friday that Pakistan will be

handing Singh over to India, and apolice team and his family areleaving for Amritsar to bring himback. It is yet to be ascertainedhow and when the man crossedover to Pakistan, the official said.Meanwhile, Singh's family hasclaimed that he was mentallyweak and they came to know thathe was lodged in a jail in Pakistanafter identifying his face on a tele-vision programme in 2014,Gourjhamar police station in-charge Arvind Singh Thakur said.

President Ram NathKovind said on Saturday

that the Ayush system ofmedicine has proved to bevery helpful in boostingimmunity, especially duringthe second wave of COVID-19, and that its popularityover the past two decadeshas helped improve thefinancial condition offarmers and forest-dwellers.Speaking at a function after

laying the foundation of the first Ayush university of Uttar Pradeshhere, the president said, "In the fight against COVID-19, especially inthe second wave, Ayush system of medicine played an importantrole in increasing the immunity of people and making them free ofinfection." "The tribal society has a rich tradition of knowledge ofherbs but in the last two decades, the popularity of the Ayushsystem of medicine has increased all over the country.

PNS n AHMEDABAD

Gujarat Chief Minister VijayRupani on Saturday said thestate government is firm onstopping forcible religiousconversion through marriageand wil l approach theSupreme Court against thehigh court's order stayingseveral sections of the GujaratFreedom of Religion(Amendment) Act, 2021.

On August 19, the GujaratHigh Court had stayed sec-tions 3, 4, 4A to 4C, 5, 6 and6A of the amended Act pend-ing further hearing, sayingthat they shall not operatemerely because a marriage issolemnised by a person ofone religion with a person ofanother religion without forceor by allurement or by fraud-ulent means and such mar-riages cannot be termed asmarriages for the purposes ofunlawful conversion".

Talking to reporters ,Rupani said, "The state gov-ernment is firm. Hindu girlsare made to elope, and later

forced to undergo religiousconversion. (Law against)love jihad (was brought) inthis very context, to takestrong action (against suchactivities). The state govern-ment will certainly approachthe Supreme Court againstthe high court's order stayingsect ions of the GujaratFreedom of Religion(Amendment) Act, 2021),and wil l do al l that isrequired."

He was speaking on thesidelines of an event organ-ised in the state capitalGandhinagar to celebrate the125th birth anniversary ofGujarati poet JhaverchandMeghani, who was also giventhe title of "Rashtriya Shayar."

The 2021 law, whichpenalises forcible or fraudu-lent religious conversionthrough marriage, was noti-fied by the BJP governmenton June 15 this year. The orig-inal Act was in force since2003 and its amended versionwas passed in the Assembly inApril.

Last month, the Gujaratchapter of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind filed a petition in theHC, claiming that some of theamended sections of the newlaw were unconstitutional.

Among other sections,which mainly deal with reli-gious conversion throughmarriage, the high court hasalso stayed the operation ofsection 5, which according tothe BJP government, is the"core" of the entire Act and astay on it effectively stays theentire legislation.

The government onWednesday told the highcourt that section 5 has noth-ing to do with marriage perse. A stay on section 5 wouldactually stay the applicationof the entire law itself, and noone would approach theauthorities for seeking per-mission before getting con-verted, the government hadsaid.

However, the HC onThursday turned down thestate government's plea seek-ing rectification of its order.

Section 5 of the Act man-dates that religious priestsmust take prior permissionfrom the district magistratefor converting a person fromone faith to another.

PNS n MUMBAI

Union minister NarayanRane's "egotist and revengefulattitude" has forced the BJP onbackfoot, Shiv Sena MP SanjayRaut said on Saturday andalleged the Konkan strongmanwas not following the direc-tives of Prime MinisterNarendra Modi vis-a-vis the'Jan Ashirvad Yatra'.

Addressing the party work-ers in Nashik, Raut hit back atRane over the latter's state-ment that he will "digout" "old cases" say-ing the Sena hasthe "Kundli" (arecord) of Rane,a former ShivSainik, and canopen a "san-dook" (box).

Rane wasarrested andreleased on bail onTuesday late at nightover his "would haveslapped" comments againstMaharashtra Chief Ministerand Shiv Sena presidentUddhav Thackeray.

One of the FIRs againstRane was registered in Nashik.

"Besides Rane, other(newly-inducted) Union min-isters from Maharashtra-Bharti Pawar, Kapil Patil,Bhagwat Karad are also tour-ing various areas as part of the'Jan Ashirvad Yatra'. Butinstead of following PMModi's directives to propagatethe work of the Central gov-ernment, Rane has been tar-

getting the Sena, UddhavThackeray and the MVA gov-ernment. Rane and his presentparty, the BJP, will have tointrospect. The BJP will soonrealise its mistake (of induct-ing Rane). It is already onbackfoot due to Rane's attitudeof revenge and ego which willbring the BJP down," he said.

Referring to Rane's threat ofdigging out old cases, Rautasked, "Don't we have his'Kundli'. Be prepared when we

open our 'sandook' (box)".Rane's 'JanAshirvad Yatra' is

currently tour-ing the coastalK o n k a nr e g i o n ,including theSindhudurgdistrict, his

stronghold. Raut also

spoke about theone-on-one meeting

between Leader ofOpposition DevendraFadnavis and Thackeray, say-ing the CM must have toldFadnavis what he needed todo.

"We have political differ-ences with BJP. If BJP wants toshoot us over Rane's shoul-ders, we are ready. We had dif-ferences with (NCP chief)Sharad Pawar also but todaywe are together," he said.

Besides the Sena, the NCPand the Congress are the twoother constituents of the MahaVikas Aghadi (MVA) govern-ment.

‘Love Jihad' Act: Gujarat tomove SC against HC order

Rahul takes dig at BJP overreports of 50% income rise

On August 19, theGujarat High Court had stayed sections 3,4, 4A to 4C, 5, 6 and6A of the amended Actpending further hearing

VIJAYAWADA | SUNDAY| AUGUST 29,2021money 06

MONEY MATTERS

The Automotive SkillsDevelopment Council(ASDC) and Hero

MotoCorp have joined handsto bridge the digital skill gap atthe country's auto dealershipsand build their capacity in thiscritical growth driver.As per the Memorandum of

Understanding (MoU), thepartners would train the

dealership staff in an apprenticeship model. "We are extremely happyto partner with Hero MotoCorp, as it will allow us to reach a largenumber of youth, who can be skilled and subsequently gainfullyemployed in the industry. It is also important that the youngergeneration in the country put in their hearts to the jobs that they areperforming in addition to their hands and minds," ASDC PresidentNikunj Sanghi said in a statement. Hero MotoCorp Head of Sales andAfter Sales Naveen Chauhan noted that through this strategicpartnership, the company would work with ASDC to upskill and reskillthe workforce in the automotive industry. "The industry has witnessedthe advent of new technologies in the recent past and this trend willcontinue in the future as well. As the automotive industry is a largeemployer, there will be an increased demand of skilled manpower inthe industry. To meet this demand, the gap between the skill availableand skill required will have to be bridged," he added. ASDC is anindustry-led initiative promoted by ACMA, SIAM and FADA jointlywith NSDC and the Government of India to enhance the skill of theautomotive industry to compete with international standards.

ASDC, Hero to bridge digitalskill gap at auto dealerships

India is fast progressing indiscussions on differentfree-trade agreements

(FTAs) with countries,including the UK and theUAE, to further enhance tradeand investment ties,Commerce and IndustryMinister Piyush Goyal said onSaturday. Under an FTA, twotrading partners reduce oreliminate customs duties on

the maximum number of goods traded between them. Besides, theyliberalise norms to enhance trade in services and boost investments.Goyal said India is engaging for such pacts with economies havingtransparent rule of law and with whom India can have confidencethat it will get a fair deal and reciprocal benefits. "We are fastprogressing in our discussions with the UK, with the UAE and otherGCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) countries. Canada and Australia arereally on a fast track," Goyal said while addressing the JITO TradeMahakumbh. The minister also stated that recently, he haddiscussions with the USA's Charge'd Affairs in Delhi Atul Keshap,and both agreed to aspire for a USD 500-billion trade between thecountries at the earliest possible time. The world is looking for atrusted partner and that partner is India's business community, headded. He added that whether it is FDI (foreign direct investment),forex reserves, foodgrain reserves, agriculture production ormanufacturing; all sectors are on a growth path.

We are fast progressing inFTA discussions, says Goyal

Vedanta Ltd on Saturdaysaid its board will meetnext week to consider and

approve the first interimdividend for 2021-22. "...theboard of directors of thecompany (the “Board”) onWednesday, September 1,2021, will consider andapprove the first interim

dividend on equity shares, if any, for the financial year 2021-22,"Vedanta Ltd said in a filing to BSE. Vedanta Ltd, a subsidiary ofVedanta Resources Ltd, is one of the world's leading diversifiednatural resource companies with business operations in India, SouthAfrica, Namibia, and Australia. Coal India arm holds Covidvaccination drive *Coal India arm Bharat Cocking Coal Ltd (BCCL)has organised a special vaccination drive against Covid-19. Held atAmbedkar School of Martial Arts, Jagjeevan Nagar, Dhanbad, thecampaign has benefitted a large number of people especially 250safaiKarmies of BCCL with the first dose of COVISHIELD, the coalministry said in a statement. Safai Karmies have been the backboneof BCCL's fight against COVID-19 right from the beginning, it added.

Vedanta to consider 1st interimdividend for 2021-22 next week

PNS n NEW DELHI

To ensure seamless transfer ofpersonal vehicles across states,the road transport ministry hascome up with a new registra-tion mark for new vehicles -Bharat Series (BH-series).

In this regard, the govern-ment has notified a new vehi-cle registration regime that willfree vehicle owners from re-reg-istration process when theyshift from one state/union ter-ritory to another. "This vehicleregistration facility under'Bharat series (BH-series)' willbe available on voluntary basisto defense personnel, employ-ees of central government/ stategovernment/ central/ state pub-lic sector undertakings and pri-vate sector companies/ organ-isations, which have their officesin four or more states/unionterritories," the Ministry ofRoad Transport and Highways(MoRTH) said in a statement.

This scheme, it said, willfacilitate free movement ofpersonal vehicles acrossstates/union territories of Indiaupon relocation.

The statement further saidthat an IT-based solution for

vehicle registration is one sucheffort as "one of the pain pointsin the vehicle registrationprocess that needed attentionwas re-registration of a vehiclewhile moving to another state".

The format of BH-seriesregistration mark will be YYBH #### XX. YY denotes theyear of first registration, BH iscode for Bharat Series, #### isthe randomised four digitnumber and XX are two alpha-

bets. The MORTH through a"notification dated 26th August2021, has introduced a newregistration mark for new vehi-cles i.e.

'Bharat series (BH-series)'.A vehicle bearing this registra-tion mark shall not requireassignment of a new registra-tion mark when the owner ofthe vehicle shifts from one stateto another", the statement fur-ther explained.

According to the notifica-tion, the motor vehicle taxlevied by the state and unionterritories at the time of regis-tration in respect to BH-seriesnon-transport vehicle will be 8per cent in case of vehicles cost-ing up to Rs 10 lakh, 10 percent in case of vehicles costingbetween Rs 10-20 lakh and 12per cent in case of vehicles cost-ing above 20 lakh.

It further said that 2 per cent

extra charge will be levied fordiesel vehicles, while electricvehicles will be charged 2 percent less tax.

In case, where the vehiclebears BH-series registrationmark, the motor vehicle taxshall be levied electronically.

The new rules also calledCentral Motor Vehicles(Twentieth Amendment)Rules, 2021, shall come intoforce with effect fromSeptember 15, 2021. The reg-istration mark for BH-seriesvehicle will be generated ran-domly through the portal.

Currently, a person isallowed to keep vehicle for amaximum of 12 months in anystate other than the state whereit is registered. The owners hasto get such vehicles re-regis-tered before the expiry of 12months.

At present, a passenger vehi-cle owner for re-registration ofvehicle has to take no objectioncertificate from the parent statefor assignment of a new regis-tration mark in another state.

Also, the assignment of newregistration mark is done afterthe road tax on prorata basis ispaid in the new state.

n WASHINGTON

The Biden administration isforecasting that this year's bud-get deficit will be $555 billionlower than it estimated back inMay, helped by an economythat is rebounding more quick-ly than had been expected. Buteven with the improvement,the administration said Fridaythat it is forecasting a deficit of$3.12 trillion for the budgetyear that ends September 30.That would be the secondlargest deficit in history,exceeded slightly by last year's$3.13 trillion deficit.

And for the next decade, theadministration never sees theannual deficits falling below $1trillion. For the 2022 budgetyear, which begins October 1,the administration is projectinga deficit of $1.54 trillion. Thenon-partisan CongressionalBudget Office forecasts an evenlower deficit of $1.15 trillionnext year. However, the CBOforecasts are based on currentlaw and do not take intoaccount what the impact willbe of two massive spendingbills that have yet to passCongress, a bipartisan measureof around $1 trillion in spend-ing on traditional infrastruc-ture projects such as roadsand bridges and a $3.5 trillionmeasure backed only by

Democrats to offer expandedhealth care, pre-school andjunior college education andclimate change initiatives.

Even with the added infra-structure and social spending,the Biden administration saidFriday that it sees the deficitsover the next decade coming in$684 billion below its earlierforecast. However, thatimprovement would still leavedeficits over the next decadetotalling $12.49 trillion.

In the last two years, deficittotals have worsened as thegovernment approved trillionsof dollars in support for indi-viduals and businesses caughtin an economy reeling fromthe coronavirus pandemic.

Last year's deficit of $3.13trillion surpassed the previous

record-holder of $1.4 trillionset in 2009 during the Obamaadministration, when the gov-ernment was spending heavi-ly to deal with a severe reces-sion after the 2008 financialcrisis. The administration'sMid-Session Review said muchof the improvement in thedeficit forecast for this yearstemmed from a strong eco-nomic rebound, reflecting theimpact of President Joe Biden'seconomic policies.

The review upgraded theadministration's economicforecasts to show an economyexpanding this year by 7.1%,when measured from thefourth quarter of last year.That is up from the adminis-tration's previous projection ofgrowth this year of 5.2%.

US projects $3.1 trillion budgetdeficit for this yr, down $555 bn

n HONG KONG

From the Great Wall to the pic-turesque Kashmir valley, Asia'stourist destinations are lookingto domestic visitors to getthem through the COVID-19pandemic's second year.

With international travelheavily restricted, foreigntourists can't enter many coun-tries and locals can't get out. Inthe metropolis of Hong Kong,glamping and staycations havereplaced trips abroad for atleast some of its 7.4 million res-idents. Across the Asia-Pacificregion, international touristarrivals were down 95% in thefirst five months of the year,compared to the same periodbefore the pandemic in 2019,according to the UN WorldTourism Organization.

New variants of the virusloom — a constant threat toany recovery in even domestictourism. Warnings of a possi-ble third wave in India worry

Imraan Ali, whose houseboaton Kashmir's Dal Lake is hisonly source of income.

“Since we are expecting agood influx of tourists, we

don't want that to be affected,"he said.

INDIA CAUTIOUS ASOUTBREAK RECEDES

Tourists are returning to thevalleys and mountains inKashmir, as infections in theHimalayan region and nation-

wide come down after a dead-ly second wave earlier thisyear.

The “shikaras,” or tradition-al Kashmiri houseboats, areback on the calm waters of DalLake as Indians travel at home.India is reporting about 30,000new coronavirus cases a day,down from a peak of 400,000in May but still enough formany countries to restrict trav-elers from India.

Nihaarika Rishabh said sheand her husband were relievedto finally get away from theirhome in the city of Agra fortheir honeymoon, after theirwedding was postponed duringthe second wave. The vacationin Kashmir has helped calmtheir nerves after months of thepandemic, she said.

Ali, the houseboat owner, ishappy that the number of vis-itors has gone up.

“We have been sufferingfrom past two years," he said.“Our livelihood depends on

tourism.” But mountainous areas like

Kashmir have seen an uptick ininfections as the number of vis-itors rises, fueling worriesabout a third wave.

BANGKOK'S BUSTLEGOES QUIET

Erawan Shrine in the center ofBangkok once bustled withforeign tourists and locals mak-ing offerings day and night.Today, it is eerily quiet. Only ahandful of people buy incenseor flowers from the vendorswho set up stalls outside.

“We are still here because wedon't know what else to do,”said one, Ruedewan Thapjul.

As Thailand battles a pun-ishing COVID-19 surge withnearly 20,000 new cases everyday, people who depend ontourism struggle in what wasone of the most-visited cities inthe world, with 20 million vis-itors in the year before the pan-demic.

Asian tourism sees ups, downs in 2nd year of pandemic

PNS n BHUBANESWAR

The Odisha Cabinet on Fridayapproved an electric vehiclepolicy that aims at promotingsuch automobile manufacturingand the adoption of pollution-free transport.

Odisha Electric VehiclePolicy, 2021 got the go-aheadduring the meeting chaired byChief Minister Naveen Patnaik."The objective of the policy is toachieve adoption of 20 per centelectric vehicles of all automo-bile registrations by 2025 and topromote manufacturing of suchvehicles and its components,including battery, in the state.This also aims at facilitatinginnovation, research & develop-ment," Chief Secretary SCMahapatra said. He stated that

it is now necessary to reducevehicular pollution and carbonemission.

"It is high time to reduce theemission by curbing the use ofvehicles that consume fossilfuel and accelerating the pace ofadoption of electric vehicles," he

said. Various incentives will beavailable for industries for man-ufacturing electric vehicles andfor individuals for purchase,another official said, adding thatinterest subvention in loans,waiving of road tax and regis-tration fees were also proposed.

PNS n REDMOND (US)

Microsoft says it has fixed aflaw in its cloud computingplatform that cybersecurityresearchers warned couldhave enabled hackers to takeover a cloud-based databaseproduct used by many bigcompanies.

The company said Fridaythere's no evidence the poten-tial opening was exploitedby malicious actors or thatany customer data wasexposed.

The cybersecurity firmWiz, led by former Microsoftemployees, said it discoveredwhat it called an “unprece-dented critical vulnerability"in Microsoft's Azure cloudplatform and notified thetech giant earlier in August.Microsoft paid the firm abounty for the discovery andsaid it immediately fixed theproblem.

If exploited, the flaw couldhave affected “thousands oforganisations, includingnumerous Fortune 500 com-panies," according to a blogpost from Wiz, which is basedin Israel and California.Microsoft said Friday it affect-ed only a subset of customers

using the product.Microsoft has already been

in the hot seat over the hackof its Exchange email serversdisclosed in March andblamed on Chinese spies. Itscode was also abused to riflethrough the emails of US offi-cials in an earlier hack pinnedon Russian intelligence agentsand more commonly associ-ated with the software compa-ny SolarWinds.

The cloud platform vulner-ability disclosed this week,while apparently causing noharm, raised concerns aboutthe security of cloud servicesprovided by the tech industry,which businesses and govern-ments increasingly rely on.

After a White House cyber-security summit Thursday,Microsoft pledged it wouldinvest $20 billion in cyberse-curity over the next five yearsand make available $150 mil-lion in technical services tohelp local governmentsupgrade their defences.

Federal lawmakers earlierin the year insisted thatMicrosoft swiftly upgradesecurity to what they say itshould have provided in thefirst place, and without fleec-ing taxpayers.

PNS n DEHRADUN

Sugar mills in Uttarakhandowe sugarcane growers duesworth Rs 231.45 crore, thestate assembly was informedon Friday.

This was stated by sugar-cane development ministerYatishwaranand in theassembly in reply to a ques-tion by BJP MLA DeshrajKarnawal.

Iqbalpur sugar mill owessugarcane growers anamount of Rs 179.30 crore,Libbarhedi sugar mill Rs18.83 crore and Laksar sugarmill Rs 33.32 crore, theminister said.

Microsoft fixes cloudplatform vulnerability

Sugar factoriesowe dues worthRs 231.45 cr tocane growers

PNS n NEW DELHI

Bank accounts under PradhanMantri Jan Dhan Yojna(PMJDY) have increased to 43crore with total deposits overRs 1.46 lakh crore, the financeministry on Saturday said asthe government's flagshipfinancial inclusion schemecompletes seven years of imple-mentation.

The PMJDY was announcedby Prime Minister NarendraModi in his Independence Dayaddress on August 15, 2014and was simultaneouslylaunched on August 28 to fos-ter financial inclusion. Thisnational mission was launchedto ensure people have access tofinancial services, namely,banking, remittance, credit,insurance, pension in anaffordable manner.

As on August 18, 2021, thenumber of total PMJDYaccounts stood at 43.04 crore.Of this, 55.47 per cent (23.87

crore) Jan-Dhan account hold-ers are women and 66.69 percent (28.70 crore) holders arein rural and semi-urban areas,the finance ministry said in astatement. During the firstyear of the scheme, 17.90 crorePMJDY accounts were opened.

Out of total 43.04 crorePMJDY accounts, 36.86 croreor 85.6 per cent are operative,and the average deposit peraccount is Rs 3,398, as per thestatement.

Increase in average depositis another indication ofincreased usage of accountsand inculcation of saving habitamong account holders, it said.

Total RuPay cards issued toPMJDY account holders roseto 31.23 crore. For accountopened after August 28, 2018,the free accidental insurancecover on RuPay cards increasedfrom Rs 1 lakh to Rs 2 lakh.

On this occasion, the PrimeMinister tweeted, "Today we

mark seven years of#PMJanDhan, an initiative thathas forever transformed India'sdevelopment trajectory. It hasensured financial inclusion anda life of dignity as well asempowerment for countlessIndians. Jan Dhan Yojana hasalso helped further transparen-cy." Appreciating the untiringefforts of all those who haveworked to make PMJDY a suc-cess, he said, their efforts haveensured the people of Indialead a better quality of life.

Finance Minister NirmalaSitharaman, while underliningthe importance of the scheme,said the journey of PMJDY ledinterventions undertaken overa short span of 7 years has ineffect, produced both transfor-mational as well as direction-al change, thereby making theemerging financial inclusionecosystem capable of deliver-ing financial services to the lastperson of the society-the poor-est of the poor.

Jan Dhan accounts swell to 43 crore

New ‘BH' series to facilitateeasy registration of vehicles

Odisha govt approves policy topromote manufacturing of EVs

sundaymagazine

spirituality 7VIJAYAWADA, August 29, 2021

A MAN IS MADE BY HISBELIEFS. AS HE BELIEVES.

SO HE BECOMES— LORD KRISHNA

HIDDENSOULSPRAMOD PATHAK

Krishna Janmashtami is being celebrated for the sec-ond year in succession under the threat of Corona.To make things worse the possibility of a third wave

still haunts us. The birthday celebrations of Lord Krishna,then, is again going to be a low-key affair. Same Precautions,and same Corona protocols need to be observed. But shouldthat dampen our spirits? Remember Lord Krishna’s centralmessage to Arjuna. Fight the battle. Pandava Prince was ina dilemma, reluctant to pick up his bow and arrow. LordKrishna then chose to recite the Gita to arouse the fightingspirit of the Kshatriya Prince. The message was clear. Fight,not flight. Life is a Kurukshetra where you face challengesin the form of Kauravas. The pandemic also is like a battleof Kurukshetra for the entire humanity. A battle that mustbe fought. The initial response to avoid and escape took aheavy toll while we tried to live with one shut down afteranother. Doubts and depression got the better of us. But wenow realise that wishing coronavirus away was not the beststrategy. It is time to brace for the fight. With all our resourcesand all our might. This is the lesson that Lord Krishna deliv-ered to Arjuna who was in complete distress seeing the famedwarriors of the enemy camp. Let us recapitulate the lessonsof Gita. In this war of attrition, we all are like Arjuna, fullof doubts and anxieties. Let us take clues from the eternalwisdom and prepare to take the battle to the enemy’s camp.We need to muster courage, sharpen our wit and garner ourresources to fight the Corona. That is what Lord Krishnaexhorted. Gita offers the most practical lessons for facing life.Life is full of challenges and we can face those only with thegrace of God. But to get that we must believe in him andhave full faith. Initially, Arjun was in doubt and this madehim avoid the fight. The Gita lesson begins from this. Lordtries to enlighten him that running away is not the answer.Doubts make people shy away from challenges but they arenot aware that by not fighting you are losing the battle evenbefore it has begun. So, fight you must, not thinking of theoutcome that is not in your hands. During the pandemic wesaw many people give up the fight even before it started. Theoutcome was disastrous. Lord Krishna says do your karmaand dedicate it to Me. The rest will be taken care by Him.Thinking of the outcome weakens the resolve. We need tofight and leave the result to the Lord. But we must under-stand that Lord Krishna has never said that fight withoutpreparation. This is the misconception that many nurse. Beingbrave doesn’t mean throwing caution to the winds. That isfoolhardiness. Fighting with full preparedness is needed. Thisis what we must do while facing the challenge of Corona.Many thought that following Corona protocol was a sign ofweakness. Certainly not. Bravery is making full use of yourarsenals and face the attacks of the enemy. It is an objectiveassessment of the challenge. Focus on the strengths but don’tlet the weaknesses come in the way. All battles are strategicchallenges to be met with grit and wit. The battle againstCorona is no different. Let us revisit the Gita and face thethreat that Corona has posed.

Pathak is a professor of management, writer, and an acclaimed public speaker. He can be reached at ppathak.ism@gmail.com

Lord Krishna states in the Gita thatthis world appears upside downto a casual onlooker. (15.1-4)

What it means is that this world isillusury, that is what attracts us is notgood for us, and what repels is bene-ficial for us. A few examples will clar-ify. Let us take food items. To what arewe attracted? The answer is: what istasty, which may not necessarily benutritious. And we stuff ourselveswith such food articles and evenbecome obese. What do we wish to see?What titillates and even scares us. Suchprogrammes have the highest viewer-ship. Even children are guilty ofindulging in such pleasures. What dowe wish to hear and talk about most?Gossip is the most common pastimefor many. I can go on but the messageis quite clear. We suffer from illusionin a big way.

Obviously, we are forever makingmistakes, big ones, and suffer greatlyas a result. What will you say to a per-son glorifying drinking, even produc-ing so-called scientific evidence to sup-port what he indulges in withoutrestraint. This lusty behaviour is notlimited to only drinking but extends toeating harmful foods, watching con-sciousness lowering programmers,engaging in illicit affairs, etc. It is nowonder that Lord Krishna has repeat-edly warned us in the Gita about thisvery dangerous enemy — lust. In theverse no. 16.21, He specifically men-tions that lust is a door to hell; it caus-es ruination of the soul.

Anger is a close second. In theverses 2.62 and 63, the Lord states,“Due to non-fulfillment of lust, angerresults; from anger foolishness (closedmind) results; from foolishness bewil-derment (inability to take right discus-sion based upon experience) results;from bewilderment loss of intelli-gence occurs; and by the loss of intel-ligence a person is doomed. In spite ofsuch clear warning, we get angry anddo not even try to restrain ourselves.

The third door to hell is greed. Thisenemy in limitless. Even very wealthypersons fall prey to this weakness andeven end up in jail. Haven’t we beentold that need is limited only but greedhas no limits.

What are we seeing these days ina highly developed Western country?The country is divided in two due tohate being fanned for political rea-sons. And what does such hate do?The hatemongers may end up indemonic species. (16.19) Yes, it is eas-ier to unite the masses by hate thanby love, but why don’t we see the con-sequences of such attempts. All theseby themselves are horrible, but whenwe are smitten by ahamkar (ego) weleave ourselves no chances of redemp-tion. On top of it, we, small souls,

consider ourselves big. What canexplain endless thinking on any mat-ter? Why don’t we seek help, whichis available. Others don’t see our prob-lems the same way as we do; they arelikely to be more objective aboutthem.

But the real solution is in takingshelter of God. Because this illusion(maya) of seeing the world upsidedown is very difficult to overcome.(7.14) But it is not impossible to pro-tect ourselves from being hopelesslyillusioned. God can help. Those whotake His shelter are able to transcendthis maya. (7.12) Wise persons, there-fore, take shelter of God, and are ableto transcend this maya.

Bishnoi is a spiritual writer and can bereached at spiritual@ajitbishnoi.com

Krishna was born on theeight day (Ashtami) of theKrishna Paksha (dark fort-night) in Shravana orBhadrapada, which over-

laps with August or September of theGregorian calendar. Krishna enteredthis world as Paramatma.

The planetary system was automat-ically readjusted so that everythingbecame auspicious. Rivers, lakes trees,and nature, everything was extremelypleasant. To welcome the supreme per-sonality of Godhead, the waning moonbecame full moon in jubilation. Therewas celebration everywhere.

The asuras or people having asuramentality think of the lord as a com-mon man who was born and who died,but it would be ignorance to think so.Firstly, the lord was not afraid to beborn in the prison of Kamsa. Second,although the lord is all-pervading, hehad appeared from the womb ofDevaki. Third, he was born with allgems well decorated. Fourth, Vasudeva’sworshipable deity was born as his son.In this transcendental jubilation,Vasudeva mentally collected ten thou-sand cows and distributed themamongst the brahmanas as a transcen-dental festival

Krishna was born in the jail ofMathura. There was complete terrorand chaos during his birth. He wasappearing as the son of Devaki andVasudeva to fulfil their desire. The Lordthen decided to leave the residence ofVasudeva and Devaki, in the prisonhouse of Kamsa. Yogmaya, took birthas the daughter of Yashoda. By hergrace, the guards fell asleep, the prisondoors flung open and Vasudeva wasable to leave the prison house and savethe child from the hands of Kamsa.

In those time, Kamsa’s atrocitieshad crossed all limits. Because ofKamsa’s disturbances, the vedic ritual-istic ceremonies had almost stopped.But on occasion of the lords birth theBrahmanas were very happy andpleased to perform their rituals withpeaceful minds.

When Lord is all powerful thenwhy do bad practices still exist in thisworld? Why are wrong doers not pun-ished immediately? Many such ques-tions comes in our mind. “Why do badthings happen to good people?” Toanswer all this, let us go to the dungeonof Kamsa where he had incarceratedDevaki and Vasudeva under the mostatrocious conditions.

Their marriage was such a joyousoccasion until that ominous voicefrom the sky announced that theeighth child of Devaki would be thecause of Kamsa’s death. Heaven dramat-ically changed to Hell! Kamsa had hissword at Devaki’s throat but Vasudevaintervened with the assurance thatevery child of Devaki would be hand-ed over to him, unconditionally. Kamsa

relented. When Vasudeva faithfully pre-sented his first son, Kirtiman, to Kamsathe tyrant king returned the infant say-ing that he was mainly concerned aboutthe eighth child.

All was well on the home front, tillthe sage Narada planted the seed of mis-trust in Kamsa’s heart by warning himnot to trust that hidden heavenly voicebecause any child of Devaki could behis killer. The enraged tyrant lost alltraces of reason and consideration. He

ordered his soldiers to arrest Devakiand Vasudeva and brutally murderedtheir first born innocent child.

Devaki and her husband remainedcompletely undaunted. They had everyreason to default. Instead, withunshakeable faith and determinationthey decided to perform their sacredduty of producing more offspringunder the most harrowing conditionsof Kamsa’s dungeon.

People seldom talk about the

untold miseries of pregnant women. Itis not uncommon to suffer from preand postnatal depression. Who couldever imagine Devaki’s horrific anxiety,moment by moment, as she advancedin each of her pregnancies. She dread-ed that moment when her demoniacbrother would come and dash her newborn helpless son to death on the dun-geon walls. Kamsa paid no heed to herpleading nor could Vasudeva’s interven-tion prevail upon him.

Contrary to all expectations, thisdivine couple never complained.Neither did they question God norblame Him for their deplorable predica-ment. Vasudeva stood by Devaki’s sidelike a pillar of fortitude, constantlyenkindling hope within her heartwhilst reminding her of their uncon-ditional commitment to the will ofdivine Providence.

Devaki conceived for the seventhtime — it was Sankarshan (anothername of Balarama). However, onenight, Devaki was shocked to noticethat there was no embryo in herwomb. Kamsa thought it was a miscar-riage. But, in reality, Krishna hadarranged (through His all powerful‘yogamaya shakti’) for Sankarshan to bemysteriously transferred to Rohini’swomb. It was indeed a transcendentalmiscarriage. So far, Vasudeva andDevaki’s marital track record looked likea tragedy — six sons slaughtered byKamsa and a seventh miscarriage. Theodds were overwhelming but thisstaunch couple did not permit fear orsuperstition to get the better of them.Their hearts were sold out to that pre-cious eighth child who must be born,and conceive they did.

On the eighth night of the wan-ing moon, a son appeared at mid-night. It was Krishna, who was fullyattired and ornamented and moreeffulgent than innumerable suns.Devaki’s and Vasudeva’s joy knew nobounds!

Then came another severe test!Krishna desired to be taken to

Gokula and exchangedwith the daughter of

Nanda and Yashoda.His heart torn withgrief, Vasudeva exe-cuted that instruc-tion, too, withouthesitation or delay.

Also to clearsome pending

Karmas of past birthand to nullify them in

the current birth, ahuman being goes through

the so-called ups and downs oflife. If one surrenders to Lord

Krishna, one will experience the easeof going through the testing time andin this way, they will pay back theirbad karma and come out of the badsituations of their life. In conclusion,when bad things happen to good peo-ple they clear their pending past birthkarma and also it brings out the bestin them so that wonders happen

Let us pause for a moment andponder upon the selfless sacrifice andsurrender of that incomparable cou-ple, Vasudeva and Devaki, on thismost auspicious occasion of ShriKrishna Janmashtami.

The writer is a spiritual guru at InternationalSociety for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON)

Lessons fromBhagavad Gita

The Covid-19 pandemic hasbecome an opportunity inadversity for online busi-

nesses. Multiple new onlinestart-ups have mushroomedduring this critical time. Same istrue of online relationships.People have found their soul-mates through different onlinedating apps. However, in thesetwo new ventures of love andwork, it’s not easy to manage theaffairs simultaneously. Bothbeing online, there is no limit onworking hours. Balancing thesetwo could be overwhelming.Here are few tips to sail thesetwo boats:l Establish boundaries: Withtime being the limiting con-straint, you need to set bound-aries in a manner that youronline work hours do not clashwith your online relationship. Itis well established statisticallynow that an online love relation-ship might fall prey to obliviongradually if one doesn’t practicebasic tenets of a real physicalrelationship in order to spice upthe virtual relationship. Same isnot true of a business relation-ship in modern virtual world.Both require commitment.Allowing an overlap on a regularbasis would neither be good foreither of them.l Set clear goals: Every rela-tionship that is meant to lastmust have a foundation that canweather all storms and yet flour-ish. Same is true of an onlinebusiness as also an online loverelation. For committing tothem you need to have a clear

objective. Just as the former’sgrowth is measured by growingamount to the credit part of theBalance Sheet, the latter’s growthis measured by the amount oftrust and faith. Just as a clearvision empowers the idea ofgrowth in an online businessventure, the idea of meetingdefinitive goals to improve youronline love relationship empow-ers it. Both can’t be achievedunless there is a goal.l Don’t expect result soon:Every profit requires an invest-

ment. Nothing can be rated as asustained growth if it happensovernight. Even the richest ofthe Treasuries in world wouldend up emptying its coffers ifthere is no revenue generation.Just as you maintain patiencebefore yielding profits in a busi-ness, must you also maintainpatience in an online love rela-tion. Spice it up by texting, writ-ing letters, saying random ‘ILove You’s’, meet physically asoften as possible and showingcommitment. That is the best

one can do before giving therelationship time to yield results.It sure will turn out to be a for-midable one in time.l Set commitment levels forboth: All of us have prior com-mitments as we live in a society.With the world on digital plat-form unified by the Internet andbogged down by the Pandemic,this line of maintaining a bal-ance between commitments isfast becoming obliterated. Suchis the gravity of obliteration thatone may not even realise theactual cost one may pay eventu-ally! Do not keep wondering asto what hit you. For either of therelationship might be sacrificedat the alter of this obliteration.So, one must have commitmentlevels for both in a manner thatone’s commitment doesn’t costthe others’.l Take care of your health: Ifone were to wonder how keep-ing healthy will assist you in bal-ancing your online work withonline romance then pause andponder — doesn’t the sameprinciple apply when you areconducting your work physicallyand also living together physi-cally? If you are to respond inaffirmative, then you mustappreciate that same principleapplies to the e-world. Well, youneglect your health and you willnot be good for either an onlinebusiness or an online love rela-tionship. Please know that yourrelationships are only as good asis your health.

The writer is a life coach andmotivational speaker

Both being online, it’s not easy to manage the two simultaneously,says ANAMIKA YADUVANSHI, as shares tips to sail the two boats

Virtual love-work balance Only those who take the shelter of God are able to transcendthe worldly maya, writes AJIT KUMAR BISHNOI

All starts from him and ends in him. As we celebrate Janmashtami,let's rejoice Krishna in our hearts, writes RADHANATH SWAMI

KRISHNA’S GRACE

IF ONESURRENDERS TO LORD

KRISHNA, ONE WILLEXPERIENCE THE EASE OF

GOING THROUGH THE TESTINGTIME AND IN THIS WAY, THEYWILL PAY BACK THEIR BADKARMA AND COME OUT OFTHE BAD SITUATIONS OF

THEIR LIFE

World upside down

sundaymagazine

97Krishna's grace

VIJAYAWADA, August 29, 2021

We have been accustomed to sit-ting in our rooms while dis-cussing how it is time toswitch to a bigger apartment, abetter job or confining our-

selves to our rooms with our air conditionerson their maximum cooling temperature.Enjoying the rain while we shoot up our lap-tops seems like a regular day in our routinelives. However, what we fail to notice is the factthat a bigger apartment is costing deforestation,the air conditioner emitting carbon footprintand the untimely monsoons — a sign showingthe catastrophic consequences of our actions.Climate change has been impacting the nationsacross the globe and reaching an irremediablestate by the passing day. With temperatures ris-ing, glaciers melting and floods causingdestruction by sudden advances in the shore orconnected regions, the concern only seems tobe amplifying.

It’s time to realise that something thatseemed “a little off ” has grown into a full-blown calamity with casualties more than justthe environment and the lush green covers.Most of the people are not acknowledging theconcern, tagging it as a side-issue as they turn ablind eye; however, the truth lies far away fromit.

CLIMATE CHANGE: A REAL THREAT?

Climate change has been growing evidentevery day and causing the temperatures to fluc-tuate. From scorching heat and pollution play-ing a role in the air quality index deterioratingand causing breathing health issues, the con-cerns are on a rise. One of the major factorsplaying an evident lead in the entire problem isthe increase in greenhouse gases contributingto greenhouse effect that is growing intense.The effect is making the heat of the sun gettrapped in the earth’s atmosphere and skyrock-eting the temperatures to a whole new level.

The change is hitting India along with oth-ers as well and resulting in tragic consequenceswith flora and fauna, businesses, economy andmore playing a part as the collateral damage ofthe anthropogenic activities. Our country isblessed by numerous environmental covers andterrains including glaciers, high mountains,long coastlines as well as massive semi-aridregions thus, making it a hotspot for climatechange. There is no doubt that global warmingis adversely affecting the Indian ecology, asbacked by many surveys. In fact, India hasalready made it to the top 10 most affectedcountries in the Global Climate Risk Index2021 as per a report published byGermanwatch. The report further states howvulnerable people in developing countries suf-fered the most from extreme weather eventslike storms, floods and heat waves, while theimpacts of climate change are visible aroundthe globe. The threat of climate change is asreal as it gets and is seen moving graduallytowards the D-day.

FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO CLIMATE

CHANGE

We, as a society, have been ignoring thesigns of global warming warnings overthree decades, which has further led tothis adversity brewing on an exponentialscale. Human interference has been one

of the major factors contributing to the globalchallenge of confining the effects of globalwarming and minimising its impact. Other fac-tors include:l fuel emissions due to exploiting naturalgasesl overusing resources that take hundreds andthousands of years to get renewedl excessive residue of carbon footprintsl the agricultural practices using both com-mercial and organic fertilisers along withincrease in livestock farming and others

These combined with an inexhaustible listof other factors are bringing an age of disrup-tion and adding to global warming. The factorsare not only a result of human initiations andinterruptions but are further being triggeredintensely to cause more havoc by the day.

HOW IS IT IMPACTING THE WORLD?

Human intervention has resulted in puttingthe entire ecosystem and the life forms sustain-ing in it in a tough spot. Our activities have ledto the temperatures shooting up and the oceanand the land along with our atmosphere to getaffected. The cryosphere, the water bodies andthe environmental covers are depleting due tothe increase in anthropogenic activities withthe impact growing irreversible if not interrupt-ed with an emergent series of action. Climatechange is giving rise to several issues such as icesheets turning to water, marine heat waves,heavy precipitation, floods, tropical cyclones,permafrost and ecological droughts becomingmore frequent than ever.

Turning away from the consequences ofour activities in the past millennia is settinginto motion a series of catastrophic events suchas intensifying the global water cycle and theseverity of wet and dry events. The conspicuouseffects are becoming more evident and thusrequiring us to take significant steps to curb theproblems.

THE UNPOPULAR FACT

One of the lesser-known aspects of climatechange is that it impacts us physiologically,eventually affecting our psyche as a by-productand causing more damage than we, as acommunity, realise. The rise inglobal temperature reflectsupon the fact that people’sbodies, as suggestedscientifically, can-not handle heatbeyond wetbulb tem-pera-tures; a

combined measure of heat and humidity — ofaround 35° Celsius, or about 95° Fahrenheit.Researchers across the globe have workedrelentlessly to draw evidence that shows whenheat taxes people’s bodies, their performance onvarious tasks, as well as overall coping mecha-nisms, suffer.

This further accelerates negative traits,including fuelling aggression, lower cognitiveability and plummeting productivity. The glob-al weather station data also portrays how thehuman survivability limit has been briefly sur-passed at least a dozen times in the last fourdecades at sites along the Persian Gulf andespecially in the Indus River Valley in India.These facts give us all the more reason to acturgently and bring a reform to immediateeffect. The need of the hour is to serve asdevout environmentalists and not onlyacknowledge the threat to our planet but alsoresolve it tout de suite.

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF CLIMATE FINANCE

Climate finance revolves around the factthat there is a need for strategic planningwhen working on minimising the impact ofglobal warming. It helps the nations to reducegreenhouse gas emissions such as by fundingrenewable power like wind, solar or hydrogen.Furthermore, it enables the people of theaffected regions to adapt to the situation suchas droughts while allowing them to earn andproduce food via effective methods etc.Climate finance is responsible for strengthen-ing their communities and providing them alittle bit of stability amidst the chaos.

Public and private finance in this area alsoplays a critical part as it helps the countries seta green economy while making them have aninclination towards workable systems built onrenewable sources, meanwhile eliminatingexploitation of the exhaustible ones. The factthat as a country we have a long way to go,only makes climate finance more important atthe moment. India has been working on mak-ing it to the list of developing greeneconomies, but the road to that passes

through a hydrogen-led ecological system.Utilising green hydrogen to curb the

carbon footprint and holdingsummits such as India’s

Climate Summit toeducate people

about the prob-lem and dis-

cuss effec-tive

strate-gies

and possible solutions, is the way ahead.

INDIA RECOMMENDED TO ADAPT A HYDRO-

GEN-LED ECONOMY

There has been an evident increase in theglobal energy consumption and thus the direneed to harness alternative energy sources thatare not just green, but also renewable and plen-tiful. One such source with a substantially high-er energy output per unit mass is hydrogen.

Hydrogen, used as a fuel in the production,transport and energy storage. It has the poten-tial to play a crucial cross-cutting role in thefuture low carbon economy, with applicationsacross the industrial, transport, and power sec-tors. There has been a growing appreciationthat complete electrification of our currentenergy systems could be prohibitively expensiveand technologically challenging, given theimportant storage, flexibility, chemical, andheating attributes of current fossil fuels. Basedon this, the experts have predicted that thehydrogen demand could increase five-fold by2050, with use in the industry sector being themajor driver. In power, hydrogen could be acost-effective way of providing inter-seasonalstorage in a highly variable renewable electrici-ty system from 2040. Scaling up the use ofdomestically produced hydrogen can signifi-cantly reduce energy imports.

Hydrogen development is at its nascentstage and there’s a lot of uncertainty surround-ing its safety. Therefore, it’s imperative tounderstand the legal and regulatory require-ments, investment cases, financing structures,operational requirements, revenue stream,sharing and other elements that need to beconsidered to formulate an effective acceptablecommercialisation model. A gradual transitionwith adequate policy and safety standards willhelp build confidence among stakeholders andprovide a conducive environment for aHydrogen based economy. To accelerate theadoption of hydrogen technologies in India, astep-change in government policy and businessactions is required.

PLANNING AHEAD

Forming a blueprint and administering theimplementation of robust strategies to elimi-nate the challenges of climate change, is becom-ing imperative for a developing country likeours. The emphasis should switch from “what’swrong” to “how to make it right with immedi-ate effect.” With India planning to take a steptowards a green hydrogen economy, settingother initiatives in motion along with climatepanels hosting summits and creating awarenesswill lead to a better tomorrow. Climate changemight be obstructing our path to a liveabletomorrow, but there are still amends we canmake as a community and lessen the blow. Allwe need is the determination to make things

better and the realisation of the fact that,Richard Branson (Entrepreneur, Adventurerand Environmentalist), put forth: ‘There isno planet B. We have to take care of theone we have.’

The writer is The Summit Chair;Chairman Environment Committee,

PHDCCI; Managing Director, GeenstatHydrogen India Pvt Ltd, a distinguished

Scientist and a speaker at the‘International Climate Summit 2021’

All starts from him and ends inhim. As we celebrate Janmashtami,

let's rejoice Krishna in our hearts

The great gift ofhuman beings is thatwe have the power of

empathy— Meryl Streep

F R O M T H E I N S I D E

There is a lot of uncertainty as towhen and if at all the third wave ofCOVID-19 will hit the country

Third encounter

It is about time we realise that something that seemed “a little off” has grown into a full-blowncalamity with casualties more than just the environment and the lush green covers. However, thereare still amends we can make as a community and lessen the blow, writes DR. JP GUPTA

CLIMATE CHANGE: OBSTRUCTING THEPATH TO A LIVEABLE TOMORROW?

ONE OF THE LESSER-KNOWN ASPECTS OFCLIMATE CHANGE ISTHAT IT IMPACTS US

PHYSIOLOGICALLY,EVENTUALLY

AFFECTING OURPSYCHE AS A BY-

PRODUCT ANDCAUSING MORE

DAMAGE THAN WE, ASA COMMUNITY,

REALISE. THE RISE INGLOBAL TEMPERATURE

REFLECTS UPON THEFACT THAT PEOPLE'S

BODIES, ASSUGGESTED

SCIENTIFICALLY,CANNOT HANDLE HEAT

BEYOND WET BULBTEMPERATURES; A

COMBINED MEASUREOF HEAT AND

HUMIDITY — OFAROUND 35 DEGREE

CELSIUS, OR ABOUT 95DEGREE FAHRENHEIT

The third wave is imminent, said anexpert. We are heading towardsachieving endemicity, said another.There are several such claims andassumptions made by eminent

experts and doctors. However, the fact of the matter is that

nobody has yet been able to fully understandthe nature of the virus, which is why many doc-tors believe that it will take us at least anoth-er year, if not more, to draw concrete conclu-sions.

Scientists worldwide are on the go. They arechasing the virus’ evolution and its mutantswith a few winning streaks. But a silver liningin the dark clouds of what seems to be a never-ending pandemic is that the country might beentering an endemic stage.

Dr HK Mahajan, Anaesthesiologist, IndianSpinal Injuries Centre, Vasant Kunj, tells youthat as per the World Health Organisation’sChief Scientist Dr Soumya Swaminathan,India is entering into an endemic stage. “Thissuggests that a population has learnt to live witha virus. There is a low or moderate level oftransmission going on. There are no peaks orexponential growth like pandemic or epidem-ic,” he says.

The high cases, he points out, occur whereimmunity is less, people are not vaccinated ornot infected in the previous waves.

However, as per the experts from NationalInstitute of Disaster Management (NIDM), athird wave is imminent and can hit the coun-try any time between September and October.“It will not be that severe, but paediatric caseswill be more, though not backed up by any sci-entific evidence. In this case, we need to havepaediatrics infrastructure, ICU wards anddoctors and trained nurses to deal with chil-dren getting infected,” says Mahajan.

If the stats are anything to go by, they sug-gest that the country will see cases anywherebetween one lakh and five lakh a day.

“NIDM has predicted three scenarios.One, the third wave may peak in October. Two,three lakh cases per day. Three, if more viru-lent variants emerge, it may peak in Septemberwith five lakh cases per day. Four, it could peakin late October with two lakh cases per day,”adds Mahajan.

All these models, he says, are based on cal-culations and are basically for forecasting andmaking predictions to anticipate the dynam-ics of the pandemic. “How many cases, viru-lency, morbidity and morbidity trends will hap-pen are demonstrated based on mathematicalmodels. In India, these are mostly done byexperts from IIT Kanpur and IIT Hyderabad.They take clues from several warnings indicat-ing an imminent third wave, understand themand prepare for it,” explains Mahajan.

Dr Shuchin Bajaj, Founder & Director,Ujala Cygnus Group of Hospitals, agrees withMahajan and says that with the highest zeropositivity rate and progressively increasing vac-cine coverage, it appears that India is headingfor an endemic stage of the virus. “Kerala,which is seeing very high numbers is current-ly suffering from the third wave because of thelow zero positivity rate, which is less than 40per cent compared to about 70 per cent in theNorthern part of the country. So, with theincreased vaccination coverage, we are alreadyadministering about 50 lakh vaccines a day andwe’re hoping that we will be doing about onecrore vaccines per day to achieve our target ofcomplete vaccination by the end of the year. Wehope that the next wave, if it does come, willbe like the British third wave, which eventhough with increased numbers, it had very lowhospitalisation rates as well as very low deathrates,” says Bajaj.

However, Dr Akshay Budhraja,Pulmonologist, Aakash Healthcare, Dwarka,says that if we go by stats, a third wave won’thappen. “Having said that, no stats or analy-sis can clear this doubt with absolute certain-ty, only time will. The virus is mutating and weare not sure how long the immunity lasts aftervaccination or COVID infection. We don’t evenknow how effective the vaccine will be to newermutant strains in coming times. So, in any casewe must continue to follow the COVID pro-tocol in this time of uncertainty, till we achieveherd immunity, which isn’t far now. It is a mat-ter of eight-10 months,” opines Budhraja.

He adds that we may see a rise in the num-ber of cases but the mortality rate won’t rise likein the second wave. “If at all a third wave hitsus, we will surely emerge stronger than before.Simple reason is more people will be immune.The very reason the number of cases are declin-ing at present,” he says.

The future looks bright. We have so manyvaccine options now and a ramped up vacci-nation rate. “All of the available vaccines areefficacious and safe. We have understood thenature of the virus. Like any other virus, it ismutating, but at a faster rate. The only solutionto this is, increasing the vaccination rate, fol-lowed by an annual booster dose, if required.Only herd immunity can end this. Till then,uncertainty regarding coming waves willremain. It’s a respiratory virus, you cannot erad-icate it completely. It will remain here for livesto come. But you can surely eradicate the dis-ease caused by it,” Budhraja tells you.

Bajaj, too, is of the opinion that once thethird wave hits, we will emerge muchstronger because we are much moreprepared. “We have developed ourICUas well as hospital infra-structure, including oxygensupply. And I think this is ahidden blessing from the pan-demic because we are nowfocusing on ramping up ourhealthcare infrastructure,which will serve us well in thelong term to fight other diseasesas well,” says Bajaj.

The future, he says, holds the samefate as it was with the Spanish flu. “The cur-rent flu virus is apparently a mutation of theSpanish flu virus that happened about 100 yearsago, and then became endemic into the com-

munity and now needs almost yearly immuni-sation and booster shots for those at risk. So,

this COVID virus will also mutate intoa virus that is endemic to the com-

munity and will always be a risk forthose members who are high risklike immunocompromised elder-ly, or very young, and the rest ofthe community wil l s lowlybecome immune to that,” opines

Bajaj.But the high risk community

members, he adds, will definitelyneed yearly boosters to make sure that

they do not suffer. This virus will replace thecommon flu virus which is prevalent now.

“So we will not be fighting against multi-ple viruses. But this will be the predominantvirus that will live with our community until

God forbid the next pandemic comes in,” saysBajaj.

But for that to happen, the vaccination drivealso needs a booster dose. “Only 7.6 per centpeople, that is 10.4 crore people, have been fullyvaccinated. This rate has to be increased sub-stantially. Otherwise cases would increase andthat would need healthcare infrastructure andstaff. This is still compromised and deficient.We also have to expedite the vaccination of kidsand follow COVID appropriate behaviour andjudicious lockdowns,” says Mahajan.

Dr Vineeta Singh Tandon, Consultant,Internal Medicine, PSRI Hospital, New Delhi,says that with the different projections, that mayor may not turn true, what we need is a robusthealth care system that can hold a caseload likethis. What we would need is localised lock-downs in case numbers shoot up and that needsto be implemented strictly by the authorities.

“Fear-mongering does more than good.Third-wave to a large extent depends on mul-tiple factors like people not following COVIDappropriate behaviour, lax vaccination and peo-ple mingling in crowded zones. Vaccinationholds hope and we should focus on this num-ber going up. By all signs, the third wave (if ithappens) should not be as devastating as thesecond one,” says Singh. Future holds promiseand vaccination by all accounts would give usprotection against this virus. It will remainamong us but would reduce its severity, sheadds.

A ray of hope, Mahajan, says that by the endof 2022 we would achieve 70 per cent vaccina-tion coverage in the whole world and thencountries can get back to normal. “Vaccinationis the key to get the herd immunity and henceultimate protection,” he concludes.

special 09VIJAYAWADA | SUNDAY | AUGUST 29, 2021

There is a lot of uncertainty as to when and if at all the third wave of COVID-19 will hit the country.

Amid the ongoing claims, WHO Chief Scientist suggests that India might be entering an endemic

stage. MUSBA HASHMI speaks with experts to understand what awaits us

A THIRD WAVE WON’T COME.HAVING SAID THIS, NO STATS

OR ANALYSIS CAN CLEAR THISDOUBT WITH ABSOLUTE

CERTAINTY, ONLY TIME WILL.THE VIRUS IS MUTATING AND

WE ARE NOT SURE HOW LONGTHE IMMUNITY LASTS AFTER

VACCINATION OR COVIDINFECTION. WE DON'T EVENKNOW HOW EFFECTIVE THE

VACCINE WILL BE TO NEWERMUTANT STRAINS IN COMING

TIMES. IN ANY CASE WE MUSTCONTINUE TO FOLLOW THECOVID PROTOCOL TILL WEACHIEVE HERD IMMUNITY,

WHICH ISN'T FAR NOW. IT IS AMATTER OF

EIGHT-10 MONTHS— DR AKSHAY BUDHRAJA,PULMONOLOGIST, AAKASH

HEALTHCARE, DWARKA

NIDM has predicted three scenarios. One,the third wave may peak in October. Two,three lakh cases per day. Three, if morevirulent variants emerge, it may peak inSeptember with five lakh cases per day.Four, it could peak in late October withtwo lakh cases per day

— Dr HK MahajanAnaesthesiologist, Indian

Spinal Injuries Centre, Vasant Kunj

THIRD ENCOUNTER

Mumbai municipalcommissioner Iqbal Singh

Chahal said today that by 2050, amajor portion of south Mumbai,

including the business districtof Nariman Point and state

secretariat Mantralaya, willgo under water due to the

rising sea level.Speaking at the launch

of Mumbai ClimateAction Plan and its

website at thehands of

Maharashtra

Environment and TourismMinister Aaditya Thackeray onFriday, Chahal said about 70 percent of the city's A, B, C and Dwards in south Mumbai will beunder water due to climatechange. He said that nature hasbeen giving warnings, but ifpeople do not "wake up" then thesituation would turn "dangerous"."Eighty per cent of the areas likeCuffe Parade, Nariman Point andMantralaya will be under water...Means going to disappear," hesaid.The civic chief also said that it is amatter of just 25-30 years as2050 is not too far."We are getting warnings from

nature and if we do not wake up,it will be a dangerous situation forthe next 25 years. And it will notonly be the next generation butthe current generation will alsosuffer," Mr Chahal warned.He said that Mumbai is the firstcity in South Asia that is preparingits climate action plan and actingon it. "Earlier, we used to hearabout climate change events likemelting glaciers, but not directlyaffecting us. But now it has cometo our doorstep," he added.Chahal said that last year for thefirst time in 129 years, a cyclone(Nisarga) hit Mumbai andthereafter in the last 15 months,there have been three cyclones.

Mumbai’s Nariman point will be submerged by 2050

Five people have beenarrested in connection

with the gang-rape of astudent in Mysuru and avicious assault on herfriend, Karnataka DGPPraveen Sood said onSaturday.

A sixth accused is onthe run and the police areworking to hunt himdown, he said.

All five are labourersfrom Tamil Nadu'sTiruppur district, MrSood said, adding that oneof those arrested seemedto be a juvenile; "... a 17-year-old. We are notsure... we are verifying,"he said.

The Karnataka top cop,whose force had been crit-icised for not making anyarrests following the hor-rific events of Tuesdayevening, also said, "It is asensitive case. We havetechnical and scientificevidence."

5 held in Mysuru gang-rape case

scopekaleidVIJAYAWADA | SUNDAY | AUGUST 29, 2021

backpage

The US intelligence commu-nity has failed to reach anyfirm conclusion on the

exact origin of COVID-19 and issplit on whether it leaked from alab in China or emerged innature, even though it does notbelieve the virus was developedas a biological weapon, accord-ing to results of a detailed reviewordered by President Joe Biden.

The Director of NationalIntelligence in a report on Fridaysaid SARS-CoV-2, the virus thatcauses COVID-19, probablyemerged and infected humansthrough an initial small-scaleexposure that occurred no laterthan November 2019 with thefirst known cluster of COVID-19 cases arising in Wuhan,China in December 2019.

However, there was no una-nimity among the intelligencecommunity (IC) on the originsof the coronavirus.

The virus was not developedas a biological weapon. Mostagencies also assess with lowconfidence that SARS-CoV-2probably was not geneticallyengineered; however, twoagencies believe there was notsufficient evidence to makean assessment either way,said the unclassified versionof the report.

The report did not namethe intelligence agencies.

The IC also assesses thatChina's officials did not have

foreknowledge of the virusbefore the initial outbreak of

COVID-19 emerged, it said.After examining all available

intelligence reporting andother information, the ICremains divided on the mostlikely origin of COVID-19. Allagencies assess that twohypotheses are plausible: natur-al exposure to an infected ani-mal and a laboratory-associat-ed incident, the report said.

Acknowledging the receipt ofthe report, Biden in a statementsaid his administration will doeverything it can to trace theroots of this outbreak that hascaused so much pain and deatharound the world so that theycan take every necessary precau-tion to prevent it from happen-ing again.

Critical information about theorigins of this pandemic exists inChina, "yet from the beginning,government officials in Chinahave worked to prevent interna-tional investigators and mem-bers of the global public healthcommunity from accessing it",he said.

To this day, China continuesto reject calls for transparencyand withhold information, evenas the toll of this pandemic con-tinues to rise, Biden alleged.

A World Health Organisation(WHO) team, which visitedWuhan, the epicentre of the pan-demic in central China, conclud-ed earlier this year that the dis-ease most likely spilled overfrom an animal sold at a market.

This conclusion has beenrejected by some scientists.

In May, President Biden askedUS intelligence agencies to assessthe data and produce a reportthat "could bring us closer to adefinitive conclusion" on the ori-gins of the virus.

Four IC elements and theNational Intelligence Councilassess with low confidence thatthe initial SARS-CoV-2 infectionwas most likely caused by natur-al exposure to an animal infect-ed with it or a close progenitorvirus-a virus that probablywould be more than 99 per centsimilar to SARS-CoV-2.

These analysts give weight toChinese officials' lack of fore-knowledge, the numerous vec-tors for natural exposure, andother factors, the report said.

The US military said Friday it had carried out a drone strike against a"planner" of the Islamic State-Khorasan, the group which claimed creditfor the deadly suicide bombing at Kabul airport. "The unmanned airstrike

occurred in the Nangarhar Province of Afghanistan. Initial indications arethat we killed the target," said Captain Bill Urban of the Central Command.

"We know of no civilian casualties," he added in a statement annoucingthe first reported US strike since the attack. The strike, launched from

outside of Afghanistan, came as the airlift of evacuees from Kabul airportcontinued under much-heightened security after Thursday's attack. At

least 78 people were killed, including 13 US troops, when a suicideattacker exploded a bomb in the dense crowd in front of the aiport's

Abbey Gate. Some media reported that fatalities numbered close to 200.US officials said gunmen opened fire after the explosion, adding to the

carnage. The attack was carried out by the violent Afghan arm of theIslamic State group.

‘Killed the target’: US on drone strike against

ISIS after Kabul blasts

‘Intellectuals have a dutyto expose lies of state’

Public intellectuals have"a duty to expose the

lies of the State", SupremeCourt Justice DYChandrachud saidSaturday morning, stress-ing that in a democraticcountry it is important tohold governments respon-sible and guard againstfalsehoods, false narrativesand fake news.

Delivering the 6th ChiefJustice MC ChaglaMemorial Lecture, JusticeChandrachud also cau-tioned against an over-reliance on the govern-ment to provide social,political, economic, cultur-al and, in the current con-text, medical truths; hehighlighted manipulationof COVID-19 data as anexample.

"One cannot rely onlyon the State for truth.Totalitarian governmentsare known for their con-stant reliance on false-hoods to consolidatepower... we see there is anincreasing trend amongcountries around theworld to manipulateCOVID-19 data," Justice

Chandrachud said.His remarks have been

viewed against the back-drop of concernsexpressed by experts,activists and journaliststhat governments mayhave fudged Covid datato hide the truespread of infections.

"The phenome-non of fake newsis on the rise. TheWHO (WorldHealthOrganization)recog-nizedthisduringtheCOVID pan-demic...calling it'info-demic'.Humanbeingshave atenden-cy to getattract-ed tosensa-tionalnews...

which are often based onfalsehoods," he explained.

US INTELLIGENCE

FAILS TO NAILCOVID ORIGINS

Mysore Universitycurbs girls’ movements D

ays after the gang-rape of a student in Mysuru, theUniversity of Mysore has issued a circular prohibiting

female students from moving about its Mansangotriyacampus after 6.30 pm. A similar order has been issuedbarring their entry to the Kukkarahalli Lake campus after6.30 pm. The circular has been issued "on the verbaldirection of the police department", the university said,adding that extra security personnel would patrol thecampus between 6 pm and 9 pm every day. The circularand its "precautions" come on the heel of a shockingcomment by Karnataka Home Minister Araga Jnanendra,who declared the student and her friend "should not havegone (to the scene of the crime)... it is a deserted place...""Around 7-7.30 pm (on Tuesday), they (the student andher friend) had gone there... it is a deserted place. Theyshould not have gone but we can't stop anyone fromgoing... It is a deserted place and no one usually goesthere as no one will be there," the minister told the press.Worse was to follow, with the minister equating theopposition Congress' protests against his horrible remarkto an act of rape; he called it "an inhuman act". "... theCongress was trying to rape me.. they are trying to rapethe Home Minister.

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The rancorous debate over whether returning students should wear masks inthe classroom has moved from school boards to courtrooms. In at least 14states, lawsuits have been filed either for or against masks in schools. In

some cases, normally rule-enforcing school administrators are findingthemselves fighting state leaders in the name of keeping kids safe. Legal expertssay that while state laws normally trump local control, legal arguments frommask proponents have a good chance of coming out on top. But amid protestsand even violence over masks around the United States, the court battle is justbeginning. Mask rules in public schools vary widely. Some states require them;others ban mandates. Many more leave it up to individual districts. Big schooldistricts that want to require masks are in court and battling governors in Florida,Texas and Arizona. Worried parents are suing over similar legislative bans onmandates in Utah, Iowa and South Carolina. Suits fighting mask requirementshave popped up in Missouri, Illinois, Michigan, Kentucky and Montana.

Paralympics: Indian javelin thrower Bhatimisfires in all six attempts, out of final

India's javelinist Ranjeet Bhati bowed

out of Paralympics after failing toregister even a single vailid throw in his

six attempts in the men's class F57 final,here on Saturday. The 24-year-old from

Faridabad had finished fourth at theMoroccan Grand Prix in 2019 andqualified for the Paralympics after

winning gold medals in the state-leveltournament in Gurugram and the

national competition in Bengaluru thisyear. Earlier in the day, Bhavinaben Patelassured India of a silver medal after shebecame the first Indian to enter the final

of a table tennis event in the Paralympicswith a hard-fought 3-2 win over China's

Miao Zhang in a class 4 semifinal.

Thousands in Berlinprotest Covid measures

Thousands turned out in Berlin on Saturday toprotest the government's coronavirus mea-

sures, despite bans against several planned gather-ings. Police banned nine planned demonstrationsfor Saturday, including one from the Stuttgart-based Querdenker movement, the most visibleanti-lockdown movement in Germany. A courtruled in favor of allowing one protest, planned for500 people, on Saturday and Sunday.

More than 2,000 police officers were stationedaround the city to respond to those who showedup despite the bans.

Meanwhile, a counter-protest called the “LoveTrain,” complete with techno music, drew a largecrowd of its own. Those demonstrators supportgovernment restrictions to slow the spread of thecoronavirus. The Saturday protests come amiddebates in Germany about how and whether toimpose restrictions for unvaccinated people, aquestion taking on more urgency as coronaviruscase numbers rise. Similar protests took place inBerlin in early August, which ended in clasheswith police and hundreds of people detained.