postnoon e-paper for 25 december 2012

HYDERABAD’S FIRST COMPACT AFTERNOON NEWSPAPER

city eventsTUESDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2012

AROUND THE CITY: YOUR GUIDE TO THE TWIN CITIES

Christmas SpecialsTruffles Cafe has Christmas SpecialPlatters, with dishes includingparmesan potato pancakes with sourcream and Goan pancakes with icecream egg nog.Where: Truffles Cafe,

Plot No. 376, Road No. 10 , Jubilee Hills

When: December 24-25Contact: (040) 2355 0105

Christmas brunchThere is a Christmas Day TurkeyBrunch at Marriott Hotel andConvention Center. European-inspired Ginger Bread House startedfrom December 15. Where: Okra,

Hyderabad Marriott Hoteland Convention Center

When: December 25,12.30pm to 4pm

X’mas, New Year treatBarbeque Nation is converted into aChristmas village to resemble thebirthplace of Jesus. An exotic varietyof vegetarian and non-vegetariandishes will be served. Where: Barbeque Nation,Banjara Hills & Jubilee HillsWhen: December 21-January 1

7pm onwardsContact: (040) 6456 6693

(040) 6429 2237

Inertia Photography Photography exhibition on India by

Lona Lohan till December 31.Where: Rajiv Gandhi Airport,

ShamshabadWhen: Up to December 31

11am to 7pmContact: (040) 6625 0000

Art exhibitionArtist M Narayan’s work is on display.Narayan graduated from the KenSchool of Art. He has participated inover 30 solo exhibitions and isknown for his rural depictions. Where: Shrishti Art Gallery,

Road no. 15, Jubilee Hills When: Up to January 2Contact: (040) 2354 0023

Painting exhibitionMemories Of Another Day is an exhi-bition of paintings by artist KondaSrinivas. He works with acrylic andoils on canvas, specialising in semi-

abstract landscapes. Where: Icon Art Gallery,

Banjara Hills When: Up to December 25

from 11:30amContact: (040) 3241 1554

Bulls art exhibitionA group exhibition by Avijit Roy, HRDas, Laxman Aelay, Nagesh Goudand Sreekanth Kurva on the animalbull and its characteristics. Where: Aalankritha Art GalleryWhen: Up to January 2

11am to 7pmContact: www.alankritha.in

Christmas carolsChristmas carols will be sung byGlobal Edge school till the end ofDecember at The Lobby.

Where: Novotel & HICC Complex,PO Bag No 1101, Cyberabad Post Office, Near Hitec City

When: December 3-31Contact: (040) 6682 4422

Concert for a CauseApna watan, MS Foundation &Hyderapals are presenting Soundsfrom England. The money collectedwill go to the MS school for under-privileged children. The passes areavailable at Goethe-Zentrum.Where: Vidyaranya High SchoolWhen: January 5,

6pm onwardsContact: (040) 2335 0473

AlexanderJaya Prakash Reddy is performing a100 minute solo. He plays a retiredarmy officer who wants to help

people with their problems by starting a helpline. Where: Ravindra Bharathi,

Public Gardens,Nampally, H-01, Abids

When: January 6,7pm to 9pm

Contact: (040) 2324 9045

Photo competitionAlliance Francaise, Hyderabad, isconducting a photo competition. Thetheme is Professions of the world.The winning entries will be sent toParis.Where: http://hyderabad.afindia.orgWhen: December 3 to January 6

Pochampally IKAT melaPochampally Handloom Park isorganising IKAT Mela, exhibitinghandloom products like hand madebed & home linen and dress materi-als, among others. Where: The National Small

Industries Corporation (NSIC) Exhibition Center Radhika Theater Road, Kamalanagar, Kushaiguda

When: December 21 to 31from 10am to 9:30pm

Contact: 95429 76567

Christmas hampersTaj Krishna is giving out Luxury SantaHampers and Deluxe Santa Hampers,which include Remy Martin Xo,Lagavulin 16, luxury Canali tie, andRose petal jam to name a few. Where: Taj Krishna When: OngoingContact: (040) 6666 2323

DINING

GAS BOOKING IVRS NO HP 9666023456Indane 9848824365

BSNL Complaints 198HMWS & SB Complaints 155313

POLICE CONTROL ROOMHyderabad 27852435Traffic Control Room 27852482DCP Traffic 23234065, 23243499FPollution Control Board 23887500

ELECTRICITYGeneral Complaints 155333Breakdown Section 23431178

23431179

MUNICIPAL CORPORATION

Commissioner & Spl Officer 2326226624166666R

ENC 23225267Engineering 23220418MCH Tankbund 23225397Emergency MCH Circle I&II 24525842MCH Circle III 24736912MCH Circle IV 23326975MCH Circle V 23326976MCH Circle VI MCH Complaints 1100Head Office 23225397

IVRS CUM MANUAL ENQUIRYPHONE NUMBERS(TRAIN & RESERVATION)RAILWAYSRail Nilayam 27833169, 27824216Railway Information 131Reservations 135Recorded Information 1345Enquiry (IVRS) 1331, 1332, 1333

WATER SUPPLYComplaint Cell 155313Sewerage Complaint 23307328Hyd. Water Supply 23313163

HOSPITALGeneral Hospital, Sec-bad 27505566Niloufer Hospital, Red Hills 23314095NIMS, Director, Punjagutta 23390933Osmania General Hospital 24600146Railway Hospital, Lalaguda 27001134Apollo, Jubilee Hills 23607777Care Hospital, Banjara Hills 30418888Care Hospital, Nampally 30417777Care Hospital, Musheerabad 30419000Care Hospital, Sec-bad 30416666Kamineni Hospital, LB Nagar 39879999

BLOOD BANKSBlood Bank,Narayanguda 27567892Chiranjeevi Blood Bank 23559555Blood Bank Mediton Goal 23226624Red Cross, Vidyanagar 27633087ADRM Blood Bank 27035588Mythri Charitable Trust 27550238NTR Memorial Trust 30799999Care Banjara Hills 30418296

30417445

AMBULANCESApollo 23548888, 23607777Kamineni 24022222Medwin 23202902, 23204616Smile Line Dental Hospital 23747979Red Cross 27627973Niloufer Hospital 23314095Gandhi 23320332

AIRLINES

Airport Director 27903785, 27906001For Air India Flight Information Toll free(from any network) for IC Flights

18001801407And for All Flights: 1800227722Air India has revised its flight timings.For more information call (Toll free)18001801407, 1800227722 from BSNL/MTNL 04023430334 from otherlines and mobile Website; www.airindia.in

TOURISM OFFICESAP Tourism, Hyd 23262152/53/54Sec-bad 27893100Dept of Tourism 23453110India Tourism 23261360AP Tourism information Centre (24x7) 23450444, 23455999

UK VISA OFFICEVFS India Pvt Ltd Building, 8-2-542/A,Sunil Chamber, Road No. 7

Beside Meridian School, Banjara Hills-34. Working hours are from 8 AM to1 PM And 2 PM to 3PM.

MUSEUMSSalar Jung Museum 24523211AP State Museum 232431300/7641Nizams Museum 24521029

Helpline

Readers’ viewsWe invite you to write to

us comments, suggestions,viewpoint or just about

anything [email protected]

or #1246, Level 3, Jubilee Casa,

Road No 62, Jubilee Hills,Hyderabad – 500 033

or even by way ofa call on 4067 2222

CHAI WALLAH ART SHOWThere is an exhibition of paintings by Vijay Gille at At ICONART gallery

on Chai wallah and other stories. The preview is on December 27 at6.30pm. The painting exhibition will go on till January 12 from 11.30am

to 7pm at the gallery.

BangaloreMax 27Min 16

Partly cloudy.

ChennaiMax 30Min 25

Partly cloudy.

MumbaiMax 34Min 23

Sunny, clear skies.

New DelhiMax 20Min 7

Mostly clear skies.

22°CA mix of clear and

cloudy skies.

15°CA mix of cloudyand clear skies.

21°CA mix of cloud

and sun.

29°CA mix of sun and

cloud.

Weather for HyderabadEvening Overnight Morning Afternoon

AN ARTIST’S PROTEST: An artist painted this recently at Tank Bund for the victim of the gang rape in Delhi thatshocked the entire nation. SRINIVAS SETTY

ART

SHOWS

MISCELLANEOUS

HYDERABAD’S FIRST COMPACT AFTERNOON NEWSPAPER

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2012 HYDERABAD WWW.POSTNOON.COM WEATHER: A MIX OF CLOUDY AND CLEAR SKIES; 22°C 32 PAGES `3

HIGHER, FASTER, STRONGER

POSTNOONwishes its

readers

ARABIC TEACHERCAUGHT SODOMISING PUPILS

REPORT ON P3

For keen followers of spo rts, 2012 was an exce -pti onal year. Shockers,tou ghies, tender tusslesand what-have-we werethe order of the year innearly all sports. Here wehave listed for you thesporty, sporting moments,best and worst, and thoseof farewell as well.

P14&15P9

COP INJURED IN DELHIPROTESTS DIES A 47-year-old Delhi Police constable, who suffered serious injuries during violent protests at India Gate onSunday, died today after battling for lifein a Delhi hospital. Subhash ChandTomar was on ventilator since hisadmission at Ram Manohar LohiaHospital on Sunday evening.

The column that teaches everyonesomething new about the way theCity functions.

1 Congress in a spot over floorleader post.

After Kaleru Venkatesh’s suddenexit from the Congress, the partyseems to be undecided on whomto appoint to the floor leader’spost. This indecision has made itthe butt of many jokes.

2 Pay and park in murky territory.

The paid parking in the City hascome under the scanner, as no oneseems to have a clue as to howmuch revenue is generated bythese parking lots.

3 TRS turns its attention toHyderabad.

Buoyed by its latest successes, theTRS has decided to consolidate itsposition in the City and is planningits activities carefully.

4 Waiting for more womancabbies in the City.

For safety and peace of mind,many would prefer a woman cab-bie to ferry them late at night.

5Sonu Sood loves his cricket,but won’t give up acting.

It was once his first love, but act-ing has eclipsed his fondness forcricket, Sonu Sood tells Postnoon.

Begging racketsLast year we had reported how there

were around six major organisedbegging gangs in the City. Of the48,000 beggars on the streets ofHyderabad, around 10,000 were chil-dren. A large number of the beggar‘leaders’ also encouraged crime likeburglary and prostitution. Theyremained in the good books of thetraffic police by giving a cut of theirearnings to lower level officers andhelping them clear the area during VIPvisits. Some also diversify into sellingtrinkets at traffic signals. The problemhas shown no signs of reducing, eventhough the cops keep tabs on beggars.

DECEMBER 25, 2011

Teenaged biker ‘beatenup’ by traffic copA teenaged biker, who got into a

heated argument with a trafficpoliceman last night, was allegedlybeaten up at the end. It is said thatMohd Abdul Hameed was ridinghome when he was stopped atAmberpet-Kacheguda Road forjumping a signal. He was issued achallan, but the youth objected.The constable on duty attacked him.

Two held for stealingbikes, phonesThe Alwal police have arrested

two people — Mohd Fazal, 35,and his brother-in-law ShaikMahmood, 30, both residents ofBalanagar — and recovered twostolen bikes, four mobile phonesand `15,000. They are wanted intheft and snatching cases in differ-ent parts of Cyberabad police com-missionerate areas.

History-sheeter arrestedin MalakpetThe Malakpet police have arrested

a rowdy-sheeter, Mohd Mushtaq,on Monday from his home in OldMalakpet. Mushtaq is reportedlyinvolved in nine criminal cases andhe was externed from the City for aperiod of six months. However, hewas later found roaming around theCity with lethal weapons on his per-son, forcing the cops to arrest him.

Collector on Direct CashTransfer SchemeHyderabad district collector

Murtuza Ali Razvi has directedofficials to create awareness amongthe beneficiaries of Direct CashTransfer Scheme for opening theirbank accounts. In the “Mee Kosam”programme, the Collector advisedbeneficiaries to avoid middlemenand open bank accounts, while link-ing them with Aadhar cards.

LAST YEAR... HERE POLITICS

NEWS BRIEFS

5THINGS WELEARNT TODAY

There’s norecord of how

much each contractor pays theGHMC, how muchself help groups payand how manyillegal parkinglots exist.

RTI ActivistSee page 5

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2012

2City YESTERDAY’S QUESTIONWILL SACHIN’S EXIT AFFECT INDIA’S ODI PERFORMANCE?

YES (A)

NO (B)

TODAY’S QUESTIONDO YOU AGREE WITH BOTSA’S STATEMENT ON WOMEN?A) YES B) NO

To vote visit www.postnoon.com

46%

54%

INKESHAF [email protected]

Buoyed by the recentback-to-back victories inthe employees’ unionelections at the GHMC

and at the APSRTC, the TRS hasnow shifted its focus tostrengthening the party in theCity.

The party does not have anyrepresentation in the GreaterHyderabad MunicipalCorporation and City Assemblyseats owing to many reasons.The only time the TRS had itsrepresentation from Hyderabadwas in 2004, when party candi-dates T Padma Rao and NNarasimha Reddy won theGeneral Elections fromSecunderabad and Mush -eerabad constituencies respec-tively. But the party could notretain these seats afterward.Lack of party cadres and organ-isational structure, as well asthe absence of strong leaders,led to their unseating.

Keeping all these things inmind, TRS president KChandrasekhara Rao held areview meeting with party lead-ers from the City on Monday aspart of the party’s Nagarabataprogramme.

The meeting revolvedaround constitution of commit-tees at various levels in order tostrengthen the party. The TRSchief directed the party leadersto constitute basti-, locality- and

division-level committees byinviting pro-Telangana peopleinto the party fold.

Speaking to Postnoon, partysenior leader Dr VijayaramaRao said that the party hasdevised strategies to strengthenit from grassroots level.“During the meeting, we havediscussed threadbare the stepsrequired to be taken to strength-en the party in the GHMC. Wehave already appointed in-charges for all 150 divisions ofthe GHMC and are in the pro-cess of constituting various

basti-level committees. Thesecommittees will also have vari-ous affiliated committees inorder to provide representa-tions to all communities,” hesaid. Rao also said that theparty had undertaken a 40-dayprogramme to organise various

activities in order to strengthenthe organisational structure ofthe party. Accepting that thelack of organisational structurehad lead to the party’s defeatduring the 2009 General andlocal body elections, he said thatthey would be focusing ondrawing all pro-Telanganaactivists and residents into theparty. “The City has many sepa-rate Telangana supporters. Wewill reach out to them and askthem to join hands with us inour fight to achieve the separatestate,” he said.

TRS all set to conquerHyderabad

The party, which has no representation in the GHMC, plans to set up committees at various levels to strengthen its position in the City.

Fact SheetGHMC divisions 150

Assembly seats 24

Lok Sabha MP seats 5

FILE PHOTO

city TUESDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2012 3

CIVIC

CRIME

Mohd [email protected]

Ayoung Arabic teacher wascaught in the act ofsodomising his students at

a school in Habeebnagar. He wasstripped, beaten black and blue,and handed over to the police byenraged parents and locals.

The incident happened at theArabic school in Aghapura nearChar Khandil of Habeebnagartwo days ago. Abdul Wahid, 20,and his father, Omer, are fromBihar and had set up an Arabicschool in Aghapura with thelocals’ support two years ago.

Recently, a six-year-old boyfrom the school fell sick andshowed symptoms of trauma.He would not, however, tell hisparents what caused his state.They took him to a doctor who,after examining him, said he had

injuries on his private parts andit appeared to be a case of sexualabuse. After a lot of cajoling, theboy sobbed out the story ofrepeated sodomising by histeacher, Abdul Wahid.

The boy revealed that theyoung teacher would select a boyfrom the class and ask him to staybehind for special class. After theothers were gone, the teacherwould take the boy to his roomand sexually abuse him. In thiscase, the boy, shocked at the

assault, screamed. The teacherbeat him up, threatening that if hesaid a word to anybody he wouldbe killed. After the enraged par-ents confronted the school offi-cials and were about to lodge apolice complaint, Omer and hisson settled the matter by payingthe parents `30,000 hush money.

But soon after, another eight-year-old boy also suffered thesame situation. It came to lightthat many other boys had suf-fered the same but kept silent,afraid of complaining.

This time, the teacher wascaught red handed by a witnesswho, with the help of parents andlocals, caught Abdul, strippedhim, and beat him. He was brand-ed with a knife and handed overto the police. The police have reg-istered a case and have taken himinto custody. He is now undergo-ing treatment.

RAHUL [email protected]

Flouting rules in theGHMC begins at the streetlevel. The issue of parkinglot auctions began in 2010,

when the responsibility of publicparking lots, earlier manned bycontractors or self help groups(SHGs), was handed over to therespective zonal commissioners.Prior to this, there was no tendersystem or auction system fol-lowed as the previous contractorswere given responsibility of theparking lots.

What followed was a consis-tent decline in revenue genera-tion for the GHMC, and a ‘free-for-all’ system of parking poli-cies in the City. Furthermore, thedelayed construction of themulti-level parking system atKhilwat and the Metro Rail’spresence in the City have addedto vehicular parking woes in thetwin cities.

For starters, in 2010, theGHMC had identified 162 park-ing lots in the City. It was origi-nally 192. Thirty were removed

from the initial total of 192 at therequest of the traffic police. Atotal of 59 parking lots wereleased out under open bidding.The rest were handed over to selfhelp groups through a drawinglots system. The open biddingsystem exposed the deep-rootedcorruption that existed withinthe corporation, as 21 parkinglots alone managed to raise morethan `57 lakh, as against the `45

lakh received by the corporationthe previous year for the entireCity’s parking lots.

“Now, however, the systemhas become chaotic again.Briefly, there was a private agen-cy from Bangalore that wasawarded the Basheerbagh andMG Road parking lots’ contract.There is no record of how mucheach contractor pays the corpora-tion, how much self help groups

manage to pay and how manyillegal parking lots exist withinthe City,” said an RTI activist.

The GHMC had identifiednine illegal parking lots thatwere working under theGHMC’s banner but had no con-tract awarded to them.Furthermore, the parking policyhas become so negligent thatcontractors charge `5 instead of`3 for two-wheelers and `10instead of `7 for four-wheelers.What is even more surprising ishow private establishments, likemalls and theatres, continue tocharge a parking fee, violatingthe corporation’s parking policy.

“Yes, we have received com-plaints about private and com-mercial establishments charging

parking fee and we will conducta special drive to look into thismatter,” said a member of theestates division in the GHMC.

An RTI filed by Mahendar ofITMD, which is yet to be repliedto, questions a similar problem inKukatpally and Chandanagarareas. “A parking lot contractoris only given a 1km stretch, butthese people have occupied morethan 2km stretches as their ownbeat. And there is no guaranteewhether he/she is a contractedworker with the GHMC,” hesaid. Once the RTI query isreplied to, Mahendar plans totake it up with the Lokayukta.

The heart of the matter, how-ever, is in the actual amountreceived by the corporationannually from the parking lots.“Just like the 2010 revelation,where everybody knew howmuch was eaten away beforereaching the corporation, thistime too, a lot of corruption ishappening behind the parkinglots system. Which is why thereare no factual records or detailsof the money being generated,”said a leading RTI activist.

POSTNOON [email protected]

Aman was found mur-dered in Chattaba zaaron the night of

December 21, which, inciden-tally, was his birthday.

His bike and mobile phoneremain to be traced, but hisfamily members insist thatthey know who the killers are.

The victim, Syed Shakir Ali,31, (in pic) was working inAustralia. He came back to theCity, where he had under his

care a widowed mother, twobrothers, a sister, a wife anddaughter. Shakir wanted to takehis wife and daughter to UAE.

On the night of December20, Shakir reportedly met andbefriended one Tahir, who waslast seen with him. Shakir lefthome on his bike, but neverreturned. His chopped bodywas found in a gunny bag onthe side of the road in ChappalMarket the next day.

The victim’s family allegedthat Tahir, a resident of Yak uth -pura, and Kareem Khan, whohappens to be a City dossiercriminal with the Mirchowkpolice station, had murderedShakir. Kareem was reportedlyclose to Shakir’s wife, whichwas why the latter wanted toshift his family from the City.An interrogation of all the sus-pects would reveal the truth,says his mother. But police areplaying games, she said.

Parking system goes haywireWith no records on illegal and leased out parking lots, no one seems to be sure of how much

revenue the GHMC gains from paid parking in the City.

The issue of parkinglot auctions began in2010, when theresponsibility of public parking lotswas handed over to thezonal commissioners.

The 20-year-old teacher would ask astudent to stay backfor special class, andafter the rest had left,he would sexuallyabuse the child.

Arabic teacher caughtsodomising pupils

Dark deeds in a school has benumbed the parents and locals, who want toshut down such unregistered schools and keep a watch on the goings on.

CRIMEMan murdered on

his birthdayPolice are allegedly playing games, trying toprotect the killers, family members believe.

A paid parking lot in the City.

RAHUL RAMAKRISHNA

city TUESDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2012 4GHMC

Md [email protected]

It’s almost a month sinceKaleru Venkatesh (extremeright), Congress floor leaderat the GHMC, sent his resig-

nation letter. But the party is yetto accept it and appoint a leaderin his place. Kaleru is said tohave been weaned away byYSRC with the promise of anAssembly ticket.

To the Congress leadership itwas a shock. But sitting over theresignation has made the partythe butt of jokes among theCongress corporators. ‘Kaleru isfloor leader for life,’ derided aparty corporator.

The trouble is that theCongress party itself is not sureabout how to handle itsestranged partner, the MIM. Theparty is in a mess, directionlessand not able to assert its rights.

Deputy Mayor, G Raj Kumar

(right) is trying hard to take upthe lead but being an official des-ignate, and not official floor lead-er, he failed to convince themayor to conduct the generalbody meeting which is held inabeyance.

According to some party corporators, not acceptingKaleru’s resignation means thateither the leadership consideredhim to be an important leader orit was buying time to make surethat no other corporator leavesthe party in the hope of getting

the floor leader’s post. “Was he so important a per-

son for the party? asks a con-

tender to the top post in GHMC. Sources say that there are

some eight to 10 contenders forthe floor leader’s post. Most ofthem come from the Assemblyconstituencies of Sherilingam-pally, Musheerabad andKhairatabad.

If half of the contenders aremale, almost all of the other halfare women corporators.

“The nomination will

be based considering various fac-tors from leadership qualities tosocial awareness,” said DeputyMayor Raj Kumar.

He will be meeting DanamNagender, the City in-charge athis residence along with otherstanding committee members todiscuss the future course ofaction.

Sources say that the decisionwill be taken on, who would bethe next floor leader.

ANUBHA K [email protected]

The recent Delhi rape case hasraised many questions aboutwomen’s safety in our country,

specially for the women who travel lateat night due to professional commit-ments. Unfortunately though, the Statehas not yet woken up to the need of sin-gle women in the City who need ade-quate safety measures at all times. Socialcommitments, late night shifts and par-ties force today’s independent women tocommute late at night.

However, other cities like Mumbaihave understood the need for empower-ing women and have introduced cabsmeant exclusively for women. But theState government is yet to come up withsuch steps for women here.

“The idea of cabs for women can be

really helpful for the safety and securi-ty of women in the City. In addition tothe safety and security, it can also pro-vide employment opportunities towomen from low economic back-grounds. However, the City and eventhe State government has not yetencouraged the growth of professionalwomen drivers,” said Ravi Kumar aprivate cab driver in the City.

Meanwhile, many cab owners have adifferent view on the issue. “UnlikeDelhi and Mumbai there are very fewwomen here who prefer to join this pro-fession. In addition to it not many cabowners prefer to hire women cabbies asthey feel women are not good drivers.Many cab companies feel women are notreliable drivers and the risk of the vehi-cle being damaged and accidents ishigh,” said R Reddy of Pushpak cabs.

“We work in shifts and women arenot keen on taking up such jobs. We alsoneed to take extra care for the security ofwomen cabbies. If it is night time weneed to take extra care for the cabbie aswell as the passenger,” said Venkateshof Kiran cabs.

The willingness to adapt to changeseems to be rather low in the City. Let’shope like Mumbai and other cities wecan see more women cabbies on the roadand bring a change in a profession that ispredominantly a male-dominated one.

SECURITYCity aloof to the need

for women cabbiesSecurity for women is still low on City’s priority.

Cong unsure how to handle mess

The nominationwill be based

considering variousfactors from lead-ership qualities tosocial awareness.

Raj KumarDeputy mayor

The party has not yet accepted the floor leader Kaleru Venkatesh’s resignation and is still struggling to win back its estranged partner — the MIM.

There are eight to 10contenders for thepost. Most of them arefrom the Assemblyconstituencies ofSherilingampally,Musheerabad andKhairatabad.

Cities like Mumbai haveunderstood the need forempowering women andhave introduced cabsmeant exclusively for them.But the State govt is yet tocome up with such steps.

classifieds TUESDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2012 5

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HEALTH/CLINIC

CLASSIFIEDS

Union Home MinisterSushilkumar Shindehas convened a meet-

ing of chief secretaries anddirectors general of police ofall the States on January 4 tospecially discuss the issue ofatrocities on women.

The meeting is the falloutover the rage all over the coun-try, especially in the nationalcapital, after the heinous crimeand rape perpetuated on a 23-year-old girl in a bus by sixpeople, which sparked offspontaneous protests by theyouth, including a large ofgirls for the past few days.

The protestors have beendemanding the need for mak-ing death penalty for theaccused in rape cases and alsothere was mounting pressure

for the need fore convening aspecial session of Parliamentto discuss this sensitive issueand initiate appropriate statu-tory measures.

As a matter of fact, the

spontaneous outrage all overthe country, especially in NewDelhi which was virtuallyunder siege by demonstratingyouth, has forced even PrimeMinister Manmohan Singh toaddress the nation appealingto the agitators to remain calmand peaceful as the govern-ment was taking all requiredmeasures to provide securityand protection for women.

Thus, gauging the enormi-ty of the situation and prob-lem, Union Home Minister hasconvened the meeting of theChief Secretaries and theDGPs of all the States to elicitsuggestions and measures tonip in the bud crime againstwomen by providing themwith needed protection andsecurity. NSS

It is learnt that the TDP was planning tosend two representatives again, for the all-party meeting scheduled for December 28

on the Telangana issue in Delhi. The party senttwo representatives also earlier. It is learnt thatthe party chief N Chandrababu Naidu wasplanning to send one representative each from the Seemandhra and Telangana regionsto the meeting.

As Naidu has not given any indicationabout his opinion on the meeting so far, partyleaders were in a quandary. However, partycircles say that based on what he had said dur-ing his conversations and party meetings, heappears to be in favour of sending two repre-sentatives. It is learnt that Naidu has decidedto hold a meeting of senior leaders before themeeting and take a final call. Naidu is himselfin a bit of confusion as voices were raised fromthe Rayalaseema region also this time.

NSS

TDP’s two to attendall-party meet on T

With a height, physique and voiceworth dying for, Sonu Sood sure isevery woman’s fantasy and could beevery man’s, ahem, nightmare — tillone spoke with him. Here’s what thegentle giant had to say to his fans.

‘Hyderabad mymost favourite’

SYED [email protected]

What makes you, a busyfilmstar, take time out toplay cricket?Sonu: Cricket was always myfirst love. I got into engineer-ing during the course of myeducation and destiny got meinto acting, but yes, cricketerit is, that I wanted to be.

How difficult was it todecide between Tollywoodand Bollywood, consider-ing that you do more workin Tollywood but are essen-tially from Bollywood?Were you torn between loy-alty for the place that youdwell in and the one thatyou earn in?Sonu: I could have playedfor Tollywood too. It is justthat Bollywood approachedme first and I said yes tothem. It doesn’t really matterthough, for we are on thesame platform.

You excelled with both balland bat in the match. Whichare you better at, bowling orbatting? Which to you likebetween the two?Sonu: Bowling has alwaysbeen my preference of the

two. In this new format, onegets to do both and I enjoyeddoing both in this match.

You are a self-proclaimedfitness freak? Does crickethelp exercise?Sonu: Yes, it does, even if itis a different form of exerci -se. I am into a lot of cardioand muscle building. But theparticular muscles that painthe next day after a game ofcricket — especially whenone plays after a long time —indicates that those musclesgot exercised during thegame.

What other games do youplay?Sonu: Football.

What would you take ifoffered between a century,5-wicket haul and 100-dayrun of one of your movies?Sonu: Considering that act-ing is my profession, 100-day run of my movie is wel-come. To beat monotony,cricketing achievementsprove very exciting.

When are you more ner-vous, on the field or whenin front of the camera?Sonu: I have spent enough

years in my profession not tofeel nervous in front of thecamera anymore. Whileplaying cricket too I don’tget nervous, I am excited,you could say.

What do you enjoy more,cricket or acting? If you hadto sacrifice one for the other,which would you forgo?Sonu: Now I enjoy actingmore.

What do you like mostabout Hyderabad?Sonu: Hyderabad is mymost favourite city. I love the roads and the peoplehere... it generally has a goodfeel about it and it is a citythat has given me the mostso I have a very strong emotional bond withHyderabad.

Any particular message foryour Tollywood fans?Sonu: I would like to takethis opportunity to thank thepeople over here for all thelove and motivation theyhave given me. Whatever Ihave achieved is because ofthem and I show my grati-tude by leaving Bollywoodassignments to be able to doTollywood ones.

I would like to take thisopportunity to thank thepeople over here for all thelove and motivation theyhave given me. Whatever Ihave achieved is because ofthem and I show my grati-tude by leaving Bollywoodassignments to be able to doTollywood ones.

INTERVIEW

WOMEN’S SECURITY POLITICS

Shinde calls for DGPs meet

city TUESDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2012 6

CHRISTMAS CHEERThe devout madetheir way to variouschurches in the twincities to attend midnight and morning Mass onChristmas. After theservice, friends andfamily got together,heading home for a traditional lunch.Postnoon takes a look.

FESTIVALN SHIVA KUMAR AND S BALAKRISHNA

BusinessTUESDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2012

8MITSUBISHI OFFICES INSPECTED OVER RECALLDozens of transport ministry officials inspected Mitsubishi Motors’offices across Japan on Tuesday after the automaker last weekwidened a recall to about 1.7 million vehicles.

THUS SPAKE

All our revenue is being taken away bythe centre for servicing the debts thatwere incurred by the previous regime.We are not left with a single paisa. Whyare you (centre) punishing us for faultswhich are not ours,

MAMATA BANERJEE,WEST BENGAL CM

A lawsuit is seeking to stop Instagramfrom changing its terms of service,saying the Facebook-owned smart-phone photo-sharing service isbreaching its contract with users. Theclass action lawsuit filed Friday by theSouthern California-based Finkelsteinand Krinsk law firm called on the fed-eral court to bar Instagram fromchanging its rules. “Instagram is tak-ing its customers property rightswhile insulating itself from all liability,”the law firm said in the filing, whichalso demanded that the service payits legal fees. Last week, Instagramtried to calm a user rebellion byapparently backing off the changes,due to come into effect from January.

INSTAGRAM SUED

General Motors will recall 119,000 USvehicles because some of them maybe missing a backup hood latch, theUS automaker said in regulatory fil-ings. GM did not say whether it wasaware of any accidents or injuries as aresult of the defect, which affects cer-tain Chevrolet Colorado and GMCCanyon vehicles from the 2010 to2012 model years. “If the primaryhood latch is not engaged, the hoodcould open unexpectedly,” GM wrotein the recall notice to federal safetyregulators. “During vehicle operation,this could obstruct the view of thedriver and increase the risk of a crash.”

GM RECALLS 119K TRUCKS

NUMEROLOGY

$16.8 bnhas been secured by Russian oil firmRosneft in two loan agreements tofinance the acquisition of Britishgiant BP’s 50-percent stake in the

TNK-BP joint venture.

GENERAL INSURANCE

PRUDHVI RAJU [email protected]

While life insurancecompanies arestruggling hard toget back their old

glory, the general insurance sec-tor is showing an unprecedent-ed growth of 18-19 per cent witha market size of `55,000 crore(2011-2012). The major driversfor the growth are increase inautomobile sales and raisingawareness on importance ofhealth insurance in the society.With ever increasing medicalexpenses and the potential risk

of taking away the entire sav-

ings, the people are increasinglylooking to opt out for health

insurance. “The automobile and health

insurance sectors are growing ataround 20 per cent and 30 percent respectively for last fewyears. The emergence of stan-dalone insurance companiesalso pushed the market size andcontributed for its growth in lastfive years,” said said AmitBhandari, vice president(Health underwriting andClaims), ICICI Lombard.

“Only five per cent of theIndian population boughthealth insurance which includesboth retail sales and corporateemployee sales. However,

around 21 per cent of popula-tion is covered under variousstate government schemes andRashtriya Swasthya BimaYojana.

“On the other hand, there isalso need to expand this tocover all the below poverty linepeople which may push theinsurance cover to 50 per cent ofthe population in next fiveyears. The potential ofuntapped market in both retailinsurance and governmentfunded health insurance willpush the sector to grow by 25per cent YOY in next 10 years,”he envisioned.

Talking about challenges, hesaid, “There is a need for insur-ance companies to bring outinnovative products. Forinstance, in any health insur-ance, the monthly premiumgoes waste if nothing happensto the insured during theinsured period. Like life insur-ance, we need to introduceproducts where part of the pre-mium paid by the customershould be returned if there is noclaim during the period.

“There are also around 8-10per cent fraudulent claimswhich push companies to beskeptical and scrutinise claimswhile processing them. Thismay be troublesome to genuinecustomers.

“If such claims areapproved, the insurer has nooption but pass on the costs tothe customers, which willincrease their premium,” headded.

TEHRAN: Iran has warnedChina it could cancel a much-delayed $5-billion offshore gasexploration contract in the Gulf,a news agency said on Monday.

“There is a possibility of can-celling the contract” signed in2009 to develop the South Parsgas field -- which holds aroundeight percent of the world’s gasreserves -- Mehr news quotedoil ministry spokesman AlirezaNikzad as saying.

China has for years aimed tostrengthen its economic rela-

tionship with sanctions-hit Iran,by filling the investment voidleft by departing Western com-panies.

But Iran has accused Chinaof failing to fulfil its commit-ment and delaying its contractu-al obligations.

South Pars, a huge offshorenatural gas field shared betweenIran and Qatar, holds around 14trillion cubic metres of gas, andIran plans to use the “phase 11”project to fill its first-ever lique-fied natural gas plant.

Mehr named China NationalPetroleum Corporation (CNPC),the Asian giant’s largest oil andgas producer and supplier, asthe company contracted for theproject.

Iran suspended a $16-billioncontract with China last year forthe North Pars gas field, sayingthe decision to let the Chinesedevelop North Pars rested ontheir effectiveness in developingSouth Pars.

Nikzad said that should theSouth Pars contract be can-

celled, the development of theoffshore gas field would behanded over to Iranian contrac-tors.

“The Chinese side has statedit is not inclined to be part of theproject’s development,” citingthe “high risk” involved in off-shore exploration, Nikzadadded.

He said that a deal for anoth-er gas field would instead bediscussed “in the near future,”without giving any details.

AFP

Awareness powers growthThe automobile and health insurance sectors are growing at double digit rates.

CONTRACT DELAYIran may scrap $5 bn China dealIran had suspended a $16-billion contract with China last year for another gas field.

Number powerGeneral Insurance Industrysize:`55,000 crore (2011-2012)

Motor insurance: 42 per cent

Health Insurance: 30 per cent

Fire and Property Insurance(Factory Insurance): 15 per cent

Marine Insurance: 3 per cent.

Travel Insurance: less than 1per cent

Normalcy returns toManipur valleyIMPHAL: Normalcy returned toManipur valley today following suspension of ongoing ‘indefinitegeneral strike’ till December 26 mid-night, called against the allegedmolestation of a film actress by aNaga militant and lifting of indefinite curfew in view of theChristmas festival. Markets openedand transporters resumed services.

Nigerian drug-peddlerarrested in GoaPANAJI: A Nigerian national wasarrested here Monday with almostthree kg of charas (hashish), worthapproximately half a million rupeesin the international market, policesaid. Anthony Chike, 32, was nabbedin a raid with 2.93 kg charas, whichhe was allegedly delivering to a cus-tomer in a secluded area near theAguada central prison.

Don’t detain womenafter sunset: HCMUMBAI: Rapping police forillegally detaining and arresting awoman after sunset, the BombayHigh Court has directed theMaharashtra Director General ofPolice and City PoliceCommissioner to issue instructionsto all police stations to not arrest ordetain any woman after sunset andbefore sunrise.

Fog hits about 40 flightschedules in DelhiGADCHIROLI: Schedules ofaround 40 flights were hit today asdense fog enveloped the IndiraGandhi International Airport herefor the third consecutive day, caus-ing inconvenience to passengers. As many as 29 domestic and inter-national flights were delayed byhalf-an-hour to five hours and 10were cancelled, airport sources said.

NEWS BRIEFS

nationTUESDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2012

9

MLA’S EX-SECY RESCUEDA man, stated to be a former privatesecretary of a Jharkhand MLA, wastoday brought back by the policefrom the legislator’s house here fol-lowing a complaint to the police byhis wife. “The person, Vikas Pandey,has been brought safely from theMLA’s house. We could say anythingabout the matter only after takingstatements from both Pandey andthe MLA,” SSP Saket Kumar Singhtold reporters here. He was replyingto a query on reports that thewoman had complained to thepolice that the MLA had allegedlykidnapped her husband. Pandey isnow under the protection of thepolice, the SSP added.

Veteran Congress politicianVirbhadra Singh was sworn-in asHimachal Pradesh’s Chief Ministerfor a record sixth term here onTuesday. Governor Urmila Singhadministered the oath of office tothe septuagenarian, who hasbeen chief minister for more than16 years, at the historic Ridgehere. He first assumed office April8, 1983, replacing Thakur Ram Lal.Belonging to the erstwhile prince-ly state of Rampur Bushahr,Virbhadra Singh entered politicsat the age of 28.

‘HAL CAPABLE OF MAKING TOP-END FIGHTERS’The signing of a contract worth around USD 2.2 billion between India andRussia for licence production of 42 Su-30MKIs marks a significant step in theHindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL)'s preparedness to manufacture fighteraircrafts indigenously, a top official has said.

DELHI BUS RAPE AFTERMATH

NUMEROLOGY

VIRBHADRA SWORN IN

$2.2 bnis the worth of defence deals

between India and Russia includ-ing licenced production of 42

Su-30MKIs.

Pick at the airport, -

RAIPUR: A CRPF troopershot dead four fellow per-sonnel and injured anotherat a camp in Dantewada dis-trict, police said Tuesday.

The incident occurredaround 1 am at a CRPF campof 111 battalion at Aranpurvillage, around 60 km fromDantewada town.

The trooper, Deep KumarTiwari, was mentally dis-turbed for quite some timeand he opened fire on five ofhis colleagues without anyreason, district superinten-dent of police NarendraKhare told IANS on thephone. Tiwari has beenarrested, he said.

Three of the paramilitarytroopers, who were shot at,died on the spot while thefourth succumbed to injurieson the way to the hospital,Khare said.

A fifth trooper is in a criti-cal condition and has beenreferred to a governmenthospital in Jagdalpur, head-quarters of the Bastar region,he said.

The four CRPF personnelwho were killed were identi-fied as Chandan Singh,Ramesh, Purshottam andAniruddha Singh.

Aranpur lies in a thicklyforested area and comesunder the Maoist insurgen-cy-hit zone in the state. IANS

CRPF trooperkills four

colleagues

NEW DELHI: A 47-year-oldDelhi Police Constable, who suf-fered serious injuries duringviolent protests at India Gate onSunday, died today after bat-tling for life in a city hospital.

Subhash Chand Tomar wason ventilator since his admis-sion at Ram Manohar LohiaHospital on Sunday evening.

“With deep regret, we haveto inform you ConstableSubhash Chand Tomar suc-cumbed to his injuries at 6:40AM today,” Delhi PoliceCommissioner Neeraj Kumarsaid.

Tomar, a graduate in arts,hailed from Meerut in UttarPradesh. He was posted inKarawal Nagar area and wascalled for maintaining law andorder at India Gate area duringthe protests on Sunday over thegangrape of a 23-year-old girlon December 16 here.

Tomar, who joined the policein 1987, was found lying injuredon Tilak Marg and was rushedto the hospital.

As a mark of respect, theDelhi Police decided that all per-

sonnel will donate one day’ssalary to Tomar’s family.

Police had already arrestedeight persons, including anactivist of Arvind Kejriwal-ledAam Aadmi Party, earlier andcharged them with attempt tomurder in connection with theinjuries caused to Tomar. PTI

Constable injuredin protests dies

CHHATTISGARH

PANAJI: In the back-drop of the Delhi gan-grape case, notedsinger-songwriter RabbiShergill feels thatwomen-loving culture isabsent in the Northernpart of our country, anda push is needed on part of thegovernment to bring a changein this attitude.

“Up North, we don’t partic-ularly have a women-lovingculture. Women have to thinktwice while going out,” Shergilltold PTI. However, in Goa andMaharashtra, they have a nicewomen-respecting culture, henoted.

The Bulla Ki Jaanasinger partly attributedthis women-hatingbehaviour to historicalreasons.

“In Delhi and sur-rounding areas, wenever had women

respecting culture may bebecause of historic reasons. Wehad to suffer so many invasionswhere foreign men would takeaway women. Now those rea-sons have vanished and werequire a great push on thepart of the government tobring a change where womenare respected,” Shergill saidhere.

We don’t have a woman-loving culture in North

The public isresponsible for

this because theybeat him up so badly.Can they returnmy father?

DeepakTomar’s son

Police had already arrested eight persons, including an activist of AAP,

in connection with the incident.

People across the globe celebrate Christmas. In Palestine it is celebrations, as after years of strife it has been recognised asa nation, while in Connecticut, the US, where the school shooting happened, it was a solemn occasion where peopleremembered the victims and prayed for them. AFP

WorldTUESDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2012

10TED JR WON’T RUNA son of late political icon Edward Kennedy said Monday hewill not run for the US Senate in Massachusetts — the samestate his father represented for nearly five decades — USmedia reported.

STUDENTS ATTACKEDA disgruntled man drove a car intoa group of students during theirlunch break in north China'sHebei province, injuring 13 of them,officials said today.The man mowed down 23 studentsof Fengning No 1 MiddleSchool with his car in ManchuAutonomous County of Fengning inHebei province, state-run Xinhuanews agency reported.

An "irresistible" Iowa dental assis-tant fired for threatening herboss's marriage — even thoughshe turned away his advances —has lost her discrimination law-suit. Melissa Nelson, who is mar-ried with children, had worked forJames Knight for 10 years beforehis wife complained about hisinfatuation with her. Nelson toldthe court that she had seenKnight as a father figure and aman of "integrity" who generallytreated her with respect. Butabout nine years into the job,Knight started to complain thather clothes were "distracting"because they "accentuated herbody," and he sometimes askedher to cover up with her lab coat.

THE CURSE OF BEING SEXY

NUMEROLOGY

65passengers were on a Myanmar

plane when it crash-landed near anairport in eastern Shan state on

Tuesday, the airline said. One personwas killed and 11 others were

injured.

Only justice andpeace in the Holy

Land can reestablishbalance and stabil-ity in the regionand in the world.

Patriarch Fuad Twaltold a crowd packedinto the St Catherine

church, which adjoinsthe Church of Nativity in

Bethlehem.

Syrian regime’s days arenumbered: USDAMASCUS: Peace envoyLakhdar Brahimi held "constructive"talks in Syria with President Basharal-Assad, as Washington warnedMonday that his regime's days arenumbered. As jihadists seized anarea populated by the embattledleader's Alawite community, theopposition accused Damascus ofcommitting a "massacre".

The odd couple starJack Klugman dies at 90LOS ANGELES: Jack Klugman,the television star who portrayed aslovenly sportswriter on The OddCouple and a tough medical exam-iner on Quincy, ME, has died. Hewas 90. Klugman's attorney LarryLarson said the actor died peaceful-ly at his home in the Northridgeneighborhood of Los Angeles.

AFP

First Israeli university inWest Bank recognisedJERUSALEM: Defence MinisterEhud Barak on Monday confirmed agovernment decision to officiallyrecognise the status of the firstIsraeli university established in theoccupied West Bank. "DefenceMinister Ehud Barak tonight orderedGeneral Nitzan Allon to proclaimthe university college of Ariel a uni-versity," the ministry said.

Instagram caught inlegal hassleSAN FRANCISCO: A lawsuit isseeking to stop Instagram fromchanging its terms of service, sayingthe Facebook-owned smartphonephoto-sharing service is breachingits contract with users. The classaction lawsuit filed Friday by theSouthern California-basedFinkelstein and Krinsk law firmcalled for a ban on Instagram.

NEWS BRIEFS

WASHINGTON: US firearmsales have sky-rocketed sincethe Newtown school massacre,as debate over gun control ragesand enthusiasts fear certainassault weapons and high-capacity magazines could bebanned.

President Barack Obamabasically has put gun enthusi-asts on warning, Larry Hyatt,owner of a gun shop inCharlotte, North Carolina, toldAFP, referring to efforts to out-law some firearms in the wakeof the Newtown shooting.

A semi-automaticBushmaster AR-15 assault riflewas used in the Sandy HookElementary School massacre inwhich a disturbed local young

man shot dead 20 young chil-dren, six adults and his motherbefore taking his own life.

"We have been in businessfor 50 years, and we have seen

(fear-based buying) before,"Hyatt said. "But this is moreintense because the presidentgot in the media and basicallysaid, 'if you want a gun, you bet-ter get it now.'"

That means bigger businessfor an already huge industry:the gun and ammunition manu-facturing industry in the UnitedStates groups about 300 compa-nies with combined yearly salesestimated at around $7 billion.

Florida, the most heavilyarmed state, rocketed this weekto a new record: onc million. AFP

Gun sales sky-rocket in US

.223-caliber Bushmaster rifle, oneof the weapons used by AdamLanza, the person behind the

Newtown school massacre.

MYANMAR JAPAN

BETHLEHEM

REVERSE PSYCHOLOGY

As debate over gun control rages, enthusiasts fear certain assault weapons could be banned.

MERRY CHRISTMAS FOR SOME, TEARY FOR OTHERS

Google's working on a cheap Nexustablet and now looks like Acerwants a share of that pie too. Thecompany is working on a $99Android tablet that'll compete withChinese products that dominatethe market right now. Indian elec-tronics companies such asMicromax sell tablets for that priceas of now and the entrance of big-ger players at the price segmentwill be a threat for them. In mostwestern markets only eReadersfrom companies like Amazon andNook are available at that range.


Nokia is allegedly working on atablet that'll run on Microsoft'sWindows 8 operating system. The tablet is expected to releasedin Q1 2013 and will come with adock that has a battery built in,much like Asus Transformer line.The tablet will compete withMicrosoft's Surface tablet whichuntil recently was sold onlythrough Microsoft stores. Themodel Nokia is currently workingon, will run on an ARM chip,which means that users will notbe able to install desktop apps.The company is also working on a full-fledged Windows 8device that’ll run on Intel chip forfuture release.

CHEAP IS GOOD

LUMIA TABLET?

North American AerospaceDefense Command providesaerospace warning, air sovereign-ty, and defense for US andCanada. But every year onDecember 25, it also tracks Santaand they have been doing sosince 1955! This year however,they have competition as Googlehas set up their own Santa track-ing website and both of themshow Santa in different locations.If that doesn't prove Santa isn'treal what will right? If you stillwant to go ahead and track thedude who gets you the gifts,head over tohttp://www.google.com/santa-tracker/ or http://www.noradsan-ta.org/en/track.html.

Coming soon?

Technology 11APP CENTRAL

APPS TO GET YOU HIREDThe apps most encouraged by IT

Apps most feared and hated by IT

Mobile apps have become an unavoidablepart of day-to-day life. Whether it’s appsfor monitoring sleep, helping you train,finding restaurants or logging sleepinghours, there's an app for them all.However, as we populate our devices withthese items are we likely to get in troublewith our employer? Check out whichapps are likely to please the bossand which will see you packingup your desk!

FIRED?HIRED

OR

THE MOST ‘BLACKLISTED’ APPSApps named

and shamed byemployers

THE MOST ‘WHITELISTED’ APPS

Apps mostencouraged by

employers

APPS TO GET YOU FIRED

METRO RAIL WORK

CommentTUESDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2012

12HIGH-FLYING THOUGHTSGerman filmmaker Werner Herzog is taking a rare turn in front of thecamera as a cold-blooded murderer in the new thriller Jack Reacher, por-traying a character he calls "the epicenter of evil." Imposing, glowering,menacing, you fit the bill, Herzog, you fit the bill.

The elite gang of urbanplanners, technocratsand bureaucrats maygive me a thumbs-down, yet I declare

that metro rail work, the currentfad among the so-called devel-opment, is a crime against people of the city where its coming up.

It is from experience, not outof table wisdom that I say this.For three years I was one amongthe millions who inhaled tons ofdust, suffered noises intolerable,survived perils from overheadrailwork in Bangalore. If Iescaped unhurt it is not becauseof the system’s safety measures,but of my guardian angel.

And when I came toHyderabad, I thought I wouldhave no more of this nuisance.But no. Here, right down thebuilding I live they have begunuprooting whatever little green-ery there was on the medianand have started work withthose infernal machines. Thewhole road is a mess: waterpipelines underneath roadshave been punctured bydrilling at some places, inundating stretches the road.Not to speak of the noise andthe dust, the perennial trafficjam, which create a hell-like sit-

uation not for a day, or a week,but for years.

Overhead metro rail in con-gested cities of India is an insultto the people. Whoever heard ofcutting across overcrowdedstreets for propping up rail?Instead of streamlining roadtraffic and using other measuresto road travel efficient, thesemonstrous constructions arebuilt above our heads.

In India citizens’ rights arenot widely discussed, nor is thejudiciary alert enough to guardthem. We are the aam aadmi whoare born to suffer ignominiesshowered on us from all sides.

Aam aadmi philosophy is chaltahai. What then can you expect?Did we ever think why a filmfan who pays inflated ticket rategets ill-treated by security andpolicemen? Do we ever thinkwhy the customers of a bar getabused like dirt while it is theywho pay the producers and thegovernment? Do we ever thinkthose johnnies who sit in robesin schools and call themselvesprincipals have no business to‘interview’ parents and kids?Endless are the ill-treatmentsIndians suffer each day andendless is his patience.

I often wonder if it is

patience that makes an Indian apacifist, or is it fear? Are we notpoltroons? The reality is yes; ifyou think me an outspoken per-son, blame the catch-line of thiscolumn: it’s hard talk.

It is time we claimed com-pensation for health hazards weface from public constructionworks such as the metro rail:allergies, asthma, noises deafen-ing and maddening But whymust we take it all? Let us claimcompensation for health hazards posed by metro railworks and tell them they can’ttreat us like guinea pigs.Anybody with me?

And these be our leaders that have been sworn in to serve us,protect us... insensitive men who speak without thinking,

who show no sliver of culture, or let’s say they have culture, but aculture that’s illogical, unreasonable and antediluvian. Botsa

Satyanarayana says the victim of the Delhi bus rape had no busi-ness roaming the streets at twelve in the night. And look how with

full of art and humour he drives his point: “Just because Indiaachieved freedom at midnight does not mean that women can ven-ture out after dark.” And why is that, sir? Are they in any way lesserbeings than men, who are above possibilities of assault? Then why

was the boy who was with her, who tried to protect her, savagedand in trauma? And you show the gall to call this incident a ‘minor’

one and despite that the protesters should be glad that Sonia

Gandhi deigned to see them? Where’s the compassion, sir, or is itreserved only for the poor, whom the political and government fra-ternities including you have managed to keep them so despitemore than half a century of freedom, while you and your ilk saunterin flawless white, wearing flashy watches and glittering rings ofstones and gold, zooming about in shiny SUVs and go back to themevery five years and shower promises and get back to your old badways once the job is done and the day is won? And Mr Sushil KumarShinde, is it too much to ask on the protesters part for a meetingwith you? And on what grounds have you compared Maoists to law-ful citizens of India, who are up in arms because you, and your gov-ernment failed in your duties? So who are we to go to if we thinkyou are doing a shoddy job and we feel unsafe?

Shame on you, Botsa

EDITORIALS

READERS’ VIEWSWe invite you to write to us comments, suggestions, viewpoint or just about anything to [email protected] or#1246, Level 3, Jubilee Casa, Road No 62, Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad – 500 033 or even by way of a call on 4067 2222. Editor: Dean Williams

Ignorance isthe curse of

God; knowledge isthe wing where-with we flyto heaven.

William Shakespeare Playwright

HARD TALKPK Surendran

WHERE’S RECOMPENSEFOR HEALTH HAZARDS?

Pak gallerydefies dictators

DAMON [email protected]

It may not seem the mostobvious setting, but asquat building over-

looking a slum is home to one ofPakistan's leading galleries,

which for 30 years has defieddictatorships and fundamental-

ists to champion cutting-edgeart. Rohtas Gallery was foundedin 1981, at the height of militaryruler General Zia-ul-Haq's mar-tial law, as Pakistan was under-

going a programme ofIslamisation that imposed

Draconian restrictions on cultureand entertainment. With all butthe most insipid forms of visual

art officially banned as "un-Islamic", architect Naeem Pashaand a group of friends decided

Pakistan's artists needed a spaceto express themselves freely.

"Abstract art was un-Islamic,"Pasha told AFP. "Calligraphy,

landscape without even a crowor a goat or anything living in it,insipid crayon portraits of your

gardener that the expatriateswould take home and say 'this is

what Pakistanis look like' —they were allowed. "But we did

what we had to do, and weshowed nudes, we showed

abstracts, we showed every-thing." Maintaining the gallery's

commitment to showing pro-gressive art meant a delicategame of cat-and-mouse with

Zia's powerful intelligence agen-cies — and taking advantage of

Cold War rivalries. Diplomatswould vie with each other forinvitations to exhibition open-

ings at Rohtas' tiny originalvenue. "The American ambas-

sador would make sure he camebefore the Soviet ambassador

and the Soviet ambassadorwould try to beat him to it

because they wanted to showthey supported art," Pasha

explained. AFP


13OUT FOR FARTSAn American federal employee has been formally reprimanded for excessiveworkplace flatulence in a five-page letter outlining the dates and times he let itrip. The Maryland man, in a missive delivered on December 10, was accused of"releasing the awful and unpleasant odour", reports The Smoking Gun.

DID YOU KNOW...

Assochamsurvey said the $100-billion Tata

Group was perceived to be India’sbest-known global brand within and

outside the country. “Ratan Tataoccupies the well-deserved iconic

status. He has taken the group fromlargely an Indian family-owned

business house into a professionallymanaged global conglomerate,” the

survey said.

Being irresistible canlead you to be firedA dentist’s assistant faced a prettyunique situation when she wasfired by him for being irresistible.In order to preserve his marriageand prevent himself from tryingto have an affair with her, he onbeing found out by his wife firedher. When the decision was takento court, the dentist’s take wasupheld. The sacking did not con-stitute unlawful discriminationbecause it was motivated by feel-ings and emotions and not gen-der, the Supreme Court ruled.

Workplaces arediverse places,

today more thanever, and what is

acceptable to oneperson may be

offensive toanother. If your

office has a diversity program,

consider attend-ing it, and if it

doesn't, be thecatalyst who

brings one toyour workplace,

suggests Lankton-Rivas.

Listen carefullybefore jumpingto conclusions,sit down with the person with whomyou're in conflictand try to understand theissue fully.During theconversation,

make sure youacknowledge histo enhance yourcomprehension,Lankton-Rivassuggests.

TOO HOT TO HANDLE

WORK CONFLICTS

PERSONAL ACCOUNT

workplaceParty on my

mindWhat does it feel

like to be workingon the last week of

the year when mostof your friends are

planning a reunion,a long vacation or

late night parties? Itsucks. But then, it’s

not all that bad considering that life

won’t changemuch even as

we enter 2013.

HEMANTH [email protected]

Come December, there’salways a sense of obli-gation to make plansfor the New Year and

perhaps it’s the toughest timefor a workaholic. Unlike somecompanies, whose businessesare aligned with their counter-parts in US and Europe, most ofthe people working in themedia, banks and emergencyservices do not have the privi-lege to even consider taking along vacation in the last week ofthe year.

In the end, you end upbeing a spoilsport when youconvey your reluctance to jointhe family or friends reunion.“But we have been planningthis for months. It’s not likeyour company will go bankruptif you don’t take a leave forNew Year,” your friends taunt.

Perhaps,some people whowork six days a week and formore than 350 days a year can-not think of what life’s likewhen they are expected to goon a (long) holiday.

The idea of ‘fun’ for worka-holics is a utopian dream whichceases to exist when you arefacing a certainty of deadlinesand December is unusuallycramped with way too manydeadlines. When you look backat the year and how fast timeflew by, you begin to wonder ifyou had any fun, if there’ssomething like that at all, whileworking throughout the year.The fact that you have had toforgo important events at home,birthdays, meeting yourfriends, and several other par-ties throughout the year, is itselfa parameter of how work has

shroud-ed your life.

You cannot resistit because you enjoy what youare doing and there’s always asense of responsibility to neverlet people down who haveentrusted you with a job. Now,all this comes with a price. Wecall it time.

A gentleman once told me,‘There’s never time for anythingin life. You have to make it forthings which are important foryou.’ He had a point. So, I endup working long hours and tryto keep people who matterhappy. Voila, that’s fun, albeit ina different sense.

It sucks to be away from somany people who expect you tobe part of their lives at this spe-cial time of the year and yourmind always veers into a dreamabout your friends might be

doing in a different part of theworld. But then, it’s not all thatbad considering that life won’tchange much as the clockstrikes twelve on December 31.The next day, if you hadn’t beenout the previous night, thequestion you have been dread-ing looms large – so what wereyou upto last night? And whatyou answer shall invariablysum up what sort of a personyou are. And then, as you try toget over the hangover, life goeson… just as it did the previousday, the previous year. The onlydifference will be that, you’llhave grown a little older, a littlewiser before you drag your-selves to the cubicle and thenyou realise you are back in theroutine where your life is inad-vertently dependent on thecode, numbers, words andeverything else you do on yourcomputers. That’s what gettingback to work, which you love,feels like. It’s a party that lastsall year.


16A TREAT FOR FOODIESEnjoy a lavish spread of Christmas spe-cialties like roast turkey, yule log, specialdesserts and unlimited beverages atMarigold, Hotel Green Park.

FASHION FIESTA

spotlightDEEPAK DESHPANDE

Day 3 of Blenders Pride Hyderabad International Fashion Week 2012had a slew of celebrities turning up at the do. Actresses Payal Ghosh,Kashmira Shah and Tanvi Vyas were seen sashaying down the ramp.

HIGH ON

STYLE

1

6

4 5

2 3

5

6

Karamjit, Anu,Charmi

Maryam, Fabiha

Mohakk Nand,Avasafaei, Sahibani

Kashmira Shah

Panchami RaoNagarajan

Meera Chopra

1

2

3

4

6

5

RESEARCHERS UNCOVER GENETIC CAUSE OF ECZEMAResearchers have uncovered a genetic cause of a type of eczema mostcommon in infancy that also affects millions of adults around the worldwith dry, itchy and inflamed skin lesions. The findings may open the wayto new therapies for the syndrome which has no known cure.health


17

For awinning

smileIn India, most peopleare either unaware ofthe need for a regulardental check-up, haveno access to it or cannot afford it.

There was a high preva-lence of chronic inflam-matory periodontal dis-ease among the popula-

tion in rural Andhra Pradesh,most of which was untreated,according to a study conductedby the department of periodon-tology, Eastman DentalInstitute, London. The study,published in PubMed, conclud-ed that preventive oral health-care would be a wise decision inrural areas.

This is not the story of onedistrict alone. A survey con-ducted by the Indian MarketResearch Bureau across Indiarevealed that only 51 per centpeople surveyed brushed theirteeth regularly. Nearly 56 per

cent did not know that theirtoothbrush had to be changedregularly and 65 per cent wereunaware of the impact of theirdiet on dental health.

One of the main reasonsmany people sideline or neglecttheir oral health, apart fromlack of awareness, seems to bemoney.

MONEY MATTERS“In India, 75 per cent of the peo-ple don’t have insurance at all.They don’t go to the dentistunless and until there is asevere problem and the paindisturbs their day-to-day activi-ties,” said Salahuddin Faruqui,dental surgeon at Salahuddin’sdental clinic at Tolichowki,comparing the scenario withUS, where a child is taken for itsfirst dental check up at sixmonths of age and citizens have100 per cent medical insurance.

Dental problems during

childhood are very common.Salahuddin said if there is themilk tooth has a cavity, parentshere often neglect it becausethey think it will anyway fall togive way to a permanent tooth,and go to the dentist only dur-ing the final stages of cavity. “Ifa milk tooth is extracted atseven years of age, there is agap of five years between grow-ing of permanent tooth andextraction. (In the meantime)the gap gets closed, so the per-manent tooth comes out in adifferent place. Eating habit isdisturbed and braces have to beput to adjust that,” he said.

If we don’t intervene at theright time, unwilling to spendon dental care, the cavity andbacteria are transmitted to thepermanent tooth, he said.

DO IT RIGHT!“A tiffin-box left overnightstinks and forms fungus. Same

with our mouth,” said TanujaKhurana, clinical endodontist atPearly Teeth Super SpecialityHospital, Vikrampuri. “Most ofthe patients I see do not havethe habit of brushing at night.Almost 99.9 per cent of peoplein India do not have this habitand we haven’t inculcated it inour children.”

Tanuja said the rightmethod of brushing can beexplained to children only ifthey go to a dentist, adding thatnine out of 10 people would nothave visited a dentist even atthe age of 35. She said that mostpatients come in the last stageof their dental problem andcomplain that the treatment isexpensive.

“All other problems likestomach ache and acidity start with our mouth,” she said, insisting on a dentalcheck-up and cleaning, at leastonce a year.

DENTAL HEALTHCARE

Olay UV MonitorMake sure you're cov-ered with the latestinformation and helpfultools to protect yourskin from sun damage.This ultra-handy UV

monitor is the only app that lets youcheck UV levels and weather condi-tions, with up-to-the-minute info. Itthen helps you find the right SPF mois-turiser for your skin.

Lyme diseaseLyme disease or borreliosis is an infec-tious disease. It is caused by bacteria ofthe genus Borrelia. The disease is car-ried by ticks. It is the most commontick-borne infection in the UnitedStates. Although Allen Steere realisedin 1978 that Lyme disease was a tick-borne disease, the cause of the diseaseremained a mystery until 1982. It cancause joint swelling, rashes, and neuro-logical disorders.

98% atoms are replacedby the bodyThe body does its ownextreme makeover regu-larly. 98 per cent of theatoms in the body arereplaced yearly.Researchers in the 1950smade the discovery by feeding their subjects radioactive atoms and usingradiation detectors.

Maurice Ralph HillemanMaurice Ralph Hilleman was anAmerican microbiologist who spe-cialised in vaccinology and developedover 36 vaccines, more than any otherscientist. Of the 14 vaccines routinelyrecommended in current vaccineschedules, he developed eight: thosefor measles, mumps, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, chickenpox, meningitis,pneumonia and Haemophilusinfluenzae bacteria.

NEWS BRIEFSAPP-LY YOURSELF HOUSECALL DID YOU KNOW? PIONEERS

Fact filen Most Indians avoid going to

the dentist till the problembecomes unbearablebecause they want to avoidincurring dental expenses.

n According to the NationalOral Health Programmewebsite, 95 per cent of theIndian population suffersfrom gum disease and justtwo per cent visit the dentist.The scenario is worse in ruralIndia, with only two per centdentists available for 72 percent of the population.

n A study conducted by theJournal of Indian Society ofPedodontics and PreventiveDentistry revealed that 35 percent of the Indian childreninterviewed had never visiteda dentist as compared to 11per cent of American childrenin the past 12 months.

DEEPASHRI [email protected]

health TUESDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2012 18

Iwas sitting in the emergencydepartment when my assis-

tant asked me to see a 25-year-old woman who had injuredher ankle.Assistant (A): Patient had a falland injured her ankle. Shall Isend her for an X-ray?Myself (M): What happened?A: She had a fall yesterday. Andnow has increased pain andswelling so she came here.M: So, what do you think is theproblem?

A: I don’t know? That is why Ineed an X-ray.Myself to patientM: What happened?Patient (P): Yesterday whilewalking I twisted my ankle. Wecame here since the pain hasincreased.M: Did you fall down? Howdid you go home?P: No, my husband prevented

my fall. We walked home.M: How far is your home fromthe place of accident?P: About half a kilometer. Itwasn’t very painful or swollenat that time.M: Let us examine the ankleand foot.Findings — no pain on bonyends but pain and swelling ontissues in between.M: What is the diagnosis? (to

my assistant)A: Fracture or sprain?M: It is sprain 100 per cent.A: How do you know?M: Do you know of someonewho has walked half a kilome-ter after fracturing the ankle?Also, she didn’t fall down,came a day after the injury andhas no bony tenderness.

Subsequent X-rays con-firmed my diagnosis and I told

my assistant, “The art ofmedicine is in taking in detailsand then doing a thoroughexamination before coming to aconclusion. In today’s world,this art is slowly dying and weshouldn’t make that mistake.”My assistant nodded happily.

The writer is a consultantorthopaedist at Oxygen Hospitals,Vikrampuri. You can contact him

on 7702446000.

Dr Ganesh Chunduri

THE ART OF MEDICINEDoctors’ Corner

HAVANA: Cuban scientists aretrying to cure cancer with ahomeopathic drug manufac-tured from the venom of scorpi-on, according to participants atan annual symposium held inthe country.

The symposium of ServingLife, held Sunday at the CamiloCienfuegos General Hospital inthe central city of Sancti Spiritus,showcased its research into scor-pion venom with a new drugcalled Vidatox 30 CH, reportedXinhua.

The homeopathic drug fromthe venom of the blue scorpion(Rhopalurus junceus), anendemic species in the westernpart of Cuba, can be used totreat a wide range of cancerssuch as those of the breast, liver,brain, prostate and lung, partici-pants of the symposium said.

Vidatox, produced by Cuba'sEntrepreneurial Group for Bio-Pharmaceutical and ChemicalProductions (Labiofam), canhelp increase survival rates ofcancer patients, prevent thespread of cancerous cells andimprove the quality of life.

About 18,000 people die ofcancer in Cuba every year,according to official figures.Over 27,000 cancer cases arediagnosed each year, the officialdaily Juventud Rebelde (RebelYouth) cited Sunday MosesSantos, a specialist in internalmedicine, as saying.

The disease has become theleading cause of death amongchildren aged five to 10, oncolo-gist Jorge Alvarez said.

To combat cancer, Cuba alsomarkets four cancer vaccinesdeveloped by the Havana Centerfor Molecular Immunology(CIM) and exports them to 26countries in Latin America, Asiaand Africa. The vaccines aredivided into "supportive drugs"used to reduce harmful effects ofradiation and chemotherapy,and "specific drugs" designed tofight tumors. IANS

Cancer curefrom venomof scorpion?

RESEARCH

PARIS: Scientists in theUnited States on Sundayoffered a molecular-levelexplanation for how aChinese herbal medicineused for more than 2,000years tackles fever and easesmalaria.

The herb is an extract ofthe root of a flowering plantcalled blue evergreenhydrangea, known inChinese as chang shan and inLatin as Dichroa febrifugaLour.

Chang shan's use datesback to the Han dynasty of206 BC to 220 AD, accordingto ancient documents record-ing Chinese oral traditions.

In 2009, researchers madeinsights into its active ingre-dient, febrifuginone, whichcan be pharmaceuticallymade as a molecule calledhalofuginone.

They foundthat halofugi-none pre-

vented production of rogueTh17 immune cells whichattack healthy cells, causinginflammation that leads tofever.

A study published in thejournal Nature on Sundayfound halofuginone worksby hampering production ofproteins for making "bad"Th17 cells, but not the "good"ones.

Specifically, it blocksmolecules called transferRNA (tRNA), whose job is toassemble a protein bit by bit,in line with the DNA codewritten in the gene.

As for malaria, halofugi-none appears to interferewith thesame pro-tein-assem-bly processthat

enables malaria parasites tolive in the blood, the studysaid.

"Our new results solved amystery that has puzzledpeople about the mechanismthat has been used to treatfever from a malaria infec-tion going back probably2,000 years or more," saidPaul Schimmel, who headedthe team at the ScrippsResearch Institute inCalifornia.

Halofuginone has beentested in small-scale humantrials to treat cancer and mus-cular dystrophy. Drug engi-neers also eye it as a potentialtool for combatting inflam-matory bowel diseaseand rheumatoidarthritis, which arealso autoim-mune dis-eases. AFP

TRADITIONAL MEDICINES

Scientistsexplained theproperties of anancient Chineseherb at a molecular level.Its extracts havebeen used inhuman trials totreat cancer andmuscle dystrophy.

Revealed: Chinesemedicinal herb secrets

EntertainmentTUESDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2012

19

Gopichand getsengaged

Gopichand is soon goingto tie the knot with

Reshma, who happens to beSrikanth’s niece. The couplegot engaged in a low keyaffair on Sunday. The wed-ding is expected to takeplace mid 2013. Meanwhile,Gopichand is simultaneous-ly shooting forChandrasekhar Yeleti’supcoming action adventure.

Srivas set to directMohan Babu

Srivas, who had previouslymade Lakshyam and Rama

Rama Krishna Krishna, is all set todirect a film starring Mohan Babuin lead role. Vishnu Manchu isgoing to produce the film under24 Frames Factory banner.Contrary to the rumours, bothVishnu and Mohan Babu haveclarified that Sunil is not a part ofthis film, a remake of Welcome.

Simbu, Anirudh croon fora Telugu film

Madhura Sreedhar’s upcomingfilm Backbench Student is in

the news for all the good reasons.Mahat Raghavendra, Piaa Bajpaiand Archana Kavi are going toplay the lead role. The latest newsis that Madhura Sreedhar andMahat Raghavendra have man-aged to convince Tamil actorSimbu and music directorAnirudh Ravichander to sing inthe film.

CINE BYTESIN THE CITY

TOLLYWOODCalling

Gazal Somaiah

Actress Ga zalSom ai ah,

who pl a yed acam eo in UuKodathara

Ulikki Padathara, is all setto make her debut as a lead

actress in an upcomingTelugu film starring ShivaBalaji. A native of Coorg,

Gazal spent most of her lifein Hyderabad before shemoved to Mumbai to join

Shiamak Davar Institute ofPerforming Arts. Before sheturned 20, she had already

become an instructor at thisinstitute, apart from beingpart of Dhoom 2, Rab Ne

Bana Di Jodi and few stageplays. Then, she went on to

share the stage withShiamak Davar on variousstage shows including the

closing ceremony ofCommon Wealth Games in

2006 which were held inMelbourne. In 2010, she wascrowned as the first runnerup at Dabur Gulabari Miss

Fresh Face of Hyderabadbeauty pageant. Later, a

chance meeting withLakshmi Manchu got her asmall role in Uu Kodathara

Ulikki Padathara which washer debut film in Telugucinema. Apart from her

upcoming film with ShivaBalaji, the actress, who’s cel-ebrating her birthday today,

is on the verge of signingtwo more films in near

future.

Entertainment TUESDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2012 20PLAYING FIELD

Waiting for qualityfilms: Zarine Khan

Actress Zarine Khan, whowas last seen in

Housefull 2, is waiting forquality work to come herway and that may meansome time before she isseen on screen again. “Iwill hopefully start twofilms next year. So I thinkmy fans won’t have to waitmuch longer,” the 28-year-old said. “After Housefull2, I got a lot of offers but Ibelieve in doing qualitywork rather than quantity.”she added. IANS

Ayushmann eyes singer’s role

After displaying his vocal abili-ties with hit song Paani da

rang in debut movie Vicky Donor,actor Ayushmann Khurrana iskeen to play a singer on-screenand sing for himself. The 28-year-old, said: “I would love to play asinger in a film. Something likewhat Ranbir Kapoor played inRockstar. It would be amazing. If Iget to sing in a movie for myselfand get to exploit my talent, thenwhy not?” he added. IANS

Sunny Leone set fordebut stage performance

Indo-Canadian star Sunny Leonewill set the stage on fire as she

performs in the capital for thefirst time on New Year’s Eve. The31-year-old, will perform at HotelLalit, Barakhamba road,December 31, reads a statement.“This is Sunny Leone’s first livedance performance in India. Weare looking forward to Studio169’s red carpet party, and wehope to make it India’s grandestNew Year’s Eve,” IANS

CINE BYTES

One of the A-listactresses, she

has somegood projects

in hand like Chennai Expresswith Shah Rukh Khan and

Rana” with southern superstarRajinikanth. “I think there are

two ways to look at it.Everybody doesn’t get to doeach and every film. I don’t

compete with others; I competewith myself. I have been an ath-

lete, a sportsperson; so I knowhow to be competitive in a

healthy way,” Deepika said.This year she had only one

release, the commercially suc-cessful Cocktail. She says it isdifficult to predict what will

work at the box office. “Many atime, a most predictable filmdoesn’t work, while the least

expected films click at the boxoffice. So everything is in the

hands of the audience. I don’tdemarcate any film. If a film

does well and gets into the `100crore club, well and good. But Iwant the audience to appreciate

my quality of work,” she said.Her forthcoming film is Race

2, in which she has teamed upwith Saif Ali Khan yet again

after working with him in hitslike Love Aaj Kal, Aarakshan andCocktail. She hopes movie buffs

appreciate their chemistry in thefast-paced thriller. “Saif is fun to

work with. We have worked infour films together and I share a

comfort level with him. Themost exciting part is that all thefour films are completely differ-

ent from one another.” “He is a very spontaneous

actor. You never know what toexpect from him. The audience

have liked our chemistry beforeand, hopefully, they will appre-

ciate it again in Race 2,” she saidand clarified that they never

planned to work together; “itjust happened”. Race 2 is a

multi-starrer with big nameslike Anil Kapoor and John

Abraham vying for theirspace.Race 2 may be a sequel to2008 hit Race, but for Deepika itis “an independent film”. “Yes,there is a flow in the story but I

joined the crew in Race 2; so itdoesn’t affect my work any-

way,” she added. Race 2 also fea-tures Jacqueline Fernandez andAmeesha Patel and is slated for

a January 25 release. IANS

DeepikaPadukone, uses

the spirit ofsportsmanship

while working infilmdom and says

she knows how tobe competitive in

a positive manner.

how to becompetitive

healthy way

I know

in a

Entertainment TUESDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2012 21


Violent movies areinfluential: Jamie Foxx

Actor Jamie Foxx feels Holly wo -od cannot ignore the harsh re a -

lity that violence in movies influ-ences real life attacks. The actor isamong many who have cometogether for an ad demanding aplan against gun attacks. “We can-not turn our back and say that vio-lence in films doesn’t have a sort ofinfluence, it does,” Foxx said. PTI

Saldana adopts puppy

Actress Zoe Saldana has donea noble cause this Christmas

by adopting a puppy. The 34-year-old rescued a scraggly

white pooch from a shelter lastweek introduced it to her fans

on Twitter. She wrote, “MeetMugsy!!! Rescued her last

week — my best friend namedher. “She’s adorable and super

smart.” IANS

Harry Styles a favourite wi th girls since the age of 6

One Direction star HarryStyles was a hit with girls

even when he was just six yearsold, according to his childhoodfriends. The 19-year-old singer’sfriends have revealed that at pri-mary school he had a quite fewdifferent girls on the go, report-ed Daily Star online. PTI

TICK OFF THE LIST

CINE BYTES

Actress EmmaRoberts saysworking withJennifer Aniston

in the new movie We’reThe Millers was a dreamcome true.

Roberts, 21, whorecently shot the comedyfilm alongside the formerFriends star and JasonSudeikis, said she lovedteaming up with Anistonfor the movie, reportedContactmusic. “JenniferAniston is a genius. I’vebeen such a fan of hers forso long, so to get to workwith her was one of thosedream come true, check-off-my-list kind of thingsthat I’ve always wanted,”she said.

“I think we all worked

together really well and Ithink there was a goodchemistry between us. Webecame friends outside ofwork, so it translatedwell,” she added.

After achieving adream by getting to workwith Aniston, Roberts nowhopes to film a movie withstars like RachelMcAdams and ChanningTatum.

“I would really love towork with RachelMcAdams, I love her. I’mobsessed with all themovies she’s been in and Ilove The Vow, so ChanningTatum too. I love both ofthem, I think they’re sogood in that movie. I criedlike a baby,” she added.

PTI

ROBERTSis a dream come true:Jennifer AnistonWorking with


24

ACROSS1 Common military

address4 Alternative to mink9 Stubborn animals14 ‘Med’ or ‘law’

lead-in15 Watch introduced in

195016 Nautical direction17 Very well off20 Acquired family

member21 Feeling badly about22 Foster child?23 Con’s plan26 Colour29 ‘Don’t give up!’30 Some hims singing

hymns31 Sting’s instrument32 To whom Muslims

pray33 Burst suddenly35 Did a carpenter’s job38 Hospital room object39 Mountain spine40 Accelerates, as a hot

rod41 Approaches42 Wizened woman45 Abbr on a toothpaste

box46 Swiss breakfast cereal48 Ripped or zipped

49 Oater choker51 ‘That’s my feeling

too’52 Dill dish57 Prevent, as danger58 Get connected to the

Web59 Centimeter-gram-

second unit60 Badlands formations61 Set of cultural values62 One way to hide the

gray

DOWN1 Support for a fracture2 One with pressing

business?3 ‘No fooling?’4 One-dish meal5 Lend a hand6 Mercedes rival7 Floral neckwear8 In-crowd actors?9 Actress Van Doren10 Fairy tale’s second

word11 Journey over a con-

siderable distance12 ‘... __ he drove out of

sight’13 Future ham’s home18 ___ segno (from the

repeat sign, in music)

19 Marcher’s syllable23 Barkin or Burstyn24 Night-sky light25 Sticks together27 Package delivery org28 ‘Warm’ or ‘cold’

ending30 ___ mater31 Soft, white cheese32 Fender products33 Arboreal lemur34 Precursor to riches35 Give consideration to36 Lothario’s comments37 Gauge face38 It supports women41 Unlikely find in a

haystack42 Rapid-growth

environment43 Blood carrier44 Costanza of reruns46 Sheds feathers47 ‘For indoor ___ only’48 Director Burton50 Gumbo pod51 Presses for payment52 Nonstick cooking

spray53 ‘___ been working on

the railroad ...’54 Hospital bed55 Disgusted reply56 Sound like a pigeon

KAKURO QUICK CROSSWORD

PREVIOUS PUZZLE ANSWER

How to playkakuroKakuro is a populargame similar to sudokuin some ways. But is alsosuitably different. Thekey question: ‘How doyou play kakuro?’, wellhere are the rules ofkakuro. The answer: Thekakuro grid, unlike insudoku, can be of anysize. It has rows andcolumns, and dark cellslike in a crossword. And,just like in a crossword,some of the dark cellswill contain numbers.Some cells will containtwo numbers.

However, in a cross-word the numbers refer-ence clues. In a kakuro,the numbers are all youget! They denote thetotal of the digits in therow or column refer-

enced by the number.Within each collection

of cells — called a run— any of the numbers 1to 9 may be used but,like sudoku, each num-ber may only be usedonce.Let’s have anexample to explain thisconcept more clearly:

In the imageabove, which shows asection of a kakuro puz-zle, you will see thenumbers ‘26’ and ‘14’ inthe top row. Look at the14. This means that thetotal of the three cellsunderneath must sum to14. Therefore 9, 4, 1could be the answer, orperhaps 7, 4, 3 and so

on... So, how do you work

out the actual combina-tion? Well, this is donethrough elimination andcross-referencing. Forinstance, as you workout the answers forother kakuro clues, thiswill naturally limit thevalid combinations, andhence the answer forthis particular run.

Note the second cellin row two — it containstwo numbers, 30 and11. The 30 refers to thevertical run underneaththe number 30 and the11 refers to the two cellsto the right, horizontally,of the number 11.

Play & Winvoucher from VENKEY’S VEG Restaurant, Nampally


SUDOKU


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for 26-12-2012 As per Hindu panchang

for 26-12-2012

ARIESMarriage talks will go on smoo -t h ly and end favourably. Finan -cial assistance expected frombank will get sanctioned. Work -load will increase and with ittension. Avoid anger and get-ting emotional. Some willattain a powerful position.

ARIES: Three of Pentacles– Upgrade your skills and learnsomething new. This is the only wayyou can move ahead in your careerand not get stuck in any one job.

GEMINI: Queen of Swords– You may be feeling lonely and ye -arn for some good company. But be -ing the intellectual type, you’re cho o -sy about who you want to spend on.

LEO: King of Wands – Thisis a perfect meeting point of yourcreative and intellectual urges. Bothare getting an equal share of yourtime and attention.

LIBRA: The Sun – You’rebright and cheerful and this happydisposition wins you many friends.People even come to you for advicebecause you seem so practical.

TAURUS: Queen of Wands– You’ve created an atmosphere ofcomfort and are on the right path towhat exactly you need at this pointin time. Avoid mental tension.

CANCER: Death – Thisdoes not mean physical death. Itmeans a change in perception, whichis so deep that it alters your very wayof living life and thinking.

VIRGO: King of Swords –You’re cut and dried and this mightwork best in the office space wherepeople may be trying to take advan-tage of you. It won’t work at home.

SCORPIO: The Tower – Bigchanges are on the way. It may berelated to the job and may evenbring about changes in your livingsituation. Keen an open mind.

CAPRICORN: Ten of Pent -a c les – Finances are in focus. They’redoing extremely well and you needto figure out ways to protect whatyou earn. Consult a good tax man.

SAGITTARIUS: Three ofWa n ds – Creativity is at its peak. Youfind solutions to seemingly nonnego-tiable problems at work, and yourseniors are mighty impressed.

AQUARIUS: Five of Penta -cles – There is some sort of misery ordisappointment indicated. Things ma -y not be going to plan. You need tostick it out through this rough patch.

PISCES: Judgment – Youwill eventually get what is due toyou. You may not need to do muchto get it. Just go with the flow of lifeand it will come your way.

TAURUSPoliticians need to avoid unwa -n ted discussions. Women willget good support from parentsand achieve what they wantedto. Administrative abilities willimprove. A marriage is to takeplace in the family or may bein that of your cousins.

GEMINIYour value and respect are setto increase. Blood relatives willextend support. Help throughother region people likely. Busi -nessmen will win over traitorsand succeed. Superiors will besurprised over work executingcapabilities of employees.

CANCERBusinessmen will improve byusing their own experience.New contracts will be signedand they will march ahead witha determination. Employeesneed to work hard to earnrecognition. Artists will see anincreased income.

LEOPoliticians will be taken intoconfidence by the high com-mand. Employees will have aco-operative atmosphere in theoffice both from colleagues andsuperiors. Businessmen will getincreased cutovers by adoptingvarious attractive schemes.

VIRGOTension likely because of bloodrelatives. You might face delayin selling old property and the -re are chances that the dealmay not be attractive. You getthe expected help. Unexpectedfortune likely. Politicians' differwith the high command.

LIBRAIncome will increase. Chancesof friendship with political VIPs.Speculative transactions willyield decent gains. Chances ofspouse’s health getting affect-ed; take good care. Debt prob-lems and tension through newenemies likely; be alert.

SCORPIOInflux of relatives and friendswi ll make all family memberscheerful. Some have brightchances to buy a vehicle.Power ful posts for some VIPslikely. You might be facing criti-cism at workplace but nevermind and stay cool.

SAGITTARIUSNewlyweds will be blessed withan offspring. Some will comple -te construction of their hou seand shift into it very soon. Sup -port from paternal relatives willincrease and your influence isset to improve. Broken friend-ship/ relationship will resume.

CAPRICORNDelayed work will now getcompleted. Benefits throughfriends and relatives likely. Becareful while driving as a minoraccident likely. Chances of dis-appointment and rift likelythrough blood relatives. Tripswill be more tiresome.

AQUARIUSPoliticians will be in the lime-light. Housing plan will getapproved. Written-off dues willbe received to your surprise.You will clear an old age prob-lem with a shrewd decision.Employees might have moreworkload and mental tension.

PISCESA strong financial position like-ly. You will complete most ofthe work at a good speed. Mi -nor clashes with spouse andhealth problems likely. Employ -ees will be capable to comple -te even difficult work with min-imum effort and earn respect.

AGNES

NON SEQUITUR

PEARLS BEFORE SWINE

POOCH CAFE

BoggleCOMMENTATOR ELABORATE TORMENT

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PREVIOUS SOLUTIONS


One ‘bad ‘ trip?

Seth Rogen and BarbraStreisand’s Guilt Trip is off

to a rough start. The road-trip comedy made just $5.3million on its opening week-end, keeping the movie outof the top five for the week-end box office. With a $40million budget, the film willhave to turn things around atthe box office to earn a prof-it. Written by Dan Fogelmanand directed by AnneFletcher, The Guilt Trip hasreceived mixed reviews.

Spike Lee not happy withDjango Unchained

While Quentin Tarantino’sDjango Unchained has been

largely celebrated by critics, thereis one person who is less thanhappy with the film. FilmmakerSpike Lee has spoken out againstit for the portrayal of slavery. “Ican’t speak on it cause I’m notgonna see it,” Lee said. “All I’mgoing to say is that it’s disrespect-ful to my ancestors. That’s justme...I’m not speaking on behalf ofanybody else.”

CINE BYTES

Ashton Kutcher& Mila Kunis

HOLIDAY TIME

De Niro wantedCooper’s real mum for‘Silver Linings Playbook’

Movie veteran Robert DeNiro originally wanted

Bradley Cooper’s real motherGloria to portray his onscreenwife in the film Silver LiningsPlaybook. De Niro spoke todirector David O Russell abouthis casting ideas. He thoughtshe would be perfect becausethe Coopers hail fromPhiladelphia the same town asthe movie family. IANS

Just days after making it official and filingdivorce papers from Demi Moore, AshtonKutcher was spotted out with Mila Kunis onSaturday night. The former That 70s Show

costars visited Fruitzen Frozen Yogurt in CedarRapids, Iowa – the actor’s hometown, wherethey are spending the holidays. Kutcher, 34,filed for divorce on Friday following a sepa-ration from Moore than lasted over a year.The divorce papers – which were filedin Los Angeles Superior Court – citedirreconcilable differences as thereason for the dissolution ofthe couple’s marriage.

holiday in Iowa

Entertainment TUESDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2012 27WEDDING BELLS

Justin, Gomez get cosy

Justin Bieber and SelenaGomez have sparked rumours that

they are back together after theywere spotted kissing over the week-end. The pair were seen getting closein an airport in Salt Lake City, Utahfollowing a holiday ski trip. Asreported by AOL, the on-again, off-again couple went skiing with OneDirection’s Harry Styles andrumoured girlfriend Taylor Swift.

Miley gets praise fromPharrell Williams

Miley Cyrus is reportedly getting allkinds of personal on her next

album. Hip-hop producer and record-ing artist Pharrell Williams says her

upcoming work is “powerful” andunexpected. “Her sound right now is

her personality," Williams said. TheN.E.R.D alum is producing Miley’s

upcoming album, giving her a newsound.

CINE BYTES

Lady GaGa’s ‘Fame’ has beenunveiled as the most popular

perfume in the UK. The BornThis Way star’s fragrance wasnamed the best-selling celebrityscent of 2012 by The Frag ranceShop. The first scent wasreleased in Septem ber, and soonbecame one of the most sought-after celebrity perfumes.

Fame most popular perfume in UK

BUNTONLIKELY TO WED

IN SPRING

Singer Emma Bunton has reportedlydecided to marry fiance Jade Jones

during spring next year.Bunton,36, has been in a relationship with Jones for over

a decade and has two sons — Beau, 5, and one-year-old Tate — with him."Jade thinks it will benice to set the date and choose the perfect venueover Christmas," dailystar.co.uk quoted a sourceas saying."They should be ready to send invites

over New Year, and it looks like it will be aspring wedding," the source added. IANS

sports TUESDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2012 28LEAGUE CRICKET

ASIAN CHAMPIONS TROPHY

HYDERABAD TRACK WORK

Castle Town, Field Smasher,Greek Star and Win And EnjoyPleased when the horses excer-cised here this morning:

Sand Track 800 Metres:Three Double Eight (app) 1-3,600/46.5 Easy. Aoura AouraAoura (app) 57, 600/44 ovedwell. 2y.Field Smasher (rb)2y.Greek Star (SAi Vamshi) 58,600/44 They moved together.2y.Elora (rb) 1-2, 600/47 Easy.Win And Enjoy (Joshi) 57,600/43 Moved well.

Sand Track 1000 Metres:Always Bullish (Imran Khan) 1-17, 800/1-0, 600/46 Easy.Castle Town (Joshi) 1-12,800/57.5, 600/43.5 Moved well.Garibaldi (Kuldeep Singh) 1-17.5, 800/1-2, 600/47 Easy.

Sand Track 1200 Metres:Drayton (Imran Khan) 1-33,1000/1-16, 800/1-1, 600/46Easy. Devils Advocate (rb) Smri -thiman (rb) 1-33.5, 1000/1-18.5,800/1-3, 600/48 They movedfreely. Golden Palace (KuldeepSingh) 1-28.5, 1000/1-12.5,800/57.5, 600/44 Moved well.

Sand Track 1600 Metres:Dauntless (rb) 2-4.5,1600/600 in1-16 Easy.

Noted on Monday24/12/2012.

Sand Track 800 Metres:Combined Force (P.Venkat)2y.Golden Arrow (Joshi) 1-3,600/47 They moved freely.

Sand Track 1000 Metres:Aoura Aoura Aoura (rb) 1-15,800/59 60/45 Moved well.

Sand Track 1200 Metres:Alexnder Square (rb) 1-33.5,1000/1-18, 800/1-2, 600/47Easy.Mock Race 1200 Metres:Rose Queen (Mukesh Kumar)Sanjaa (Akshay Kumar) SilverLid (Ajit Singh) Wunderbar(Nitin Singh) Handsome Hawk(Sai Vamshi) 2y.Galiant (A.ImranKhan) Oscar Royal (DeepShanker) Heros Choice (K.Anil)Zero Tolerance (Henrique)2y.Ancillary (A M Togrolu) 1-14,1000/1-0.5, 800/49, 600/36.5Sanjaa and Handsome Hawkmissed the jump and finished inthe above order.

Castle Town pleasesCooch Behare Trophy

Karnataka 629/5 decl vsHyderabad 316 (Vamshivardhan30, P.S. Chaitanya Reddy 64,G. Rahul Singh 77, B. Anirudh43, Shreyas Gopal 6/76) and 5 forno loss (following on)

Brother John of God HCA U-14

QUARTER FINALSRound 1

HPS Begumpet 188 (R.Suraj Goud 40, Suraj Saxena 54, Rohith 5/22) lost toKhammam 190/6 (Rohith 64,Dinesh Paul 30).

Nizamabad 87 (Vijay 6/20) lostto St Peters 88/1 (Vijay 51 n.o.,Shiv Datta 31 n.o.).

Little Flower 65 (A. Varun Goud 4/14, Ankith Singh 3/15)lost to Gowtham Model School66 for no loss (MSR Charan 31n.o.).

St Patricks High School 111(Srinadh 4/21) lost toKarimnagar 112/1 (Aakash 52,

Siddarth 51 n.o.).

Mahesh Vidya Bhavans 201/9 (P.Shantan Reddy 91, KamalKumar Chudary 43, VamshiSrivasthav 3/44, C. HiteshYadav 3/33) lost to All Saints202/3 (Vamshi Srivatsava 30, P.Sai Vikas Reddy 32, IbrahimSiddiqui 63 n.o., G MadhuKumar 57).

A2- 3 two daysRaju CC 181 (Babu 64, Akshay4/32, Mansoor 4/18) lost toOurs CC 182/4 (Abdul Rehman37, Saurav Kumar 39 n.o.,Vedanand 31 n.o., Chitanya3/37).

A4 - 11 one day

Secunderabad Club 128 (C.V.Anand 75, Suri 3/23) bt SNGroup 54 (C.V. Anand 3/17,Amar 6/21).

Amberpet 257 (P. SandeepKumar 52, Ramakrishna 37,Jitender Goud 39, Shabbu 46,Zahed 3/51, Rehanth 3/60) bt StMarys 110 (D. Arvind 7/14,Srikanth Kesari 3/40).

Shreyas scalps six

DOHA: India overcame first halfjitters to score a 2-1 victory overarch-rivals Pakistan in a nail-bit-ing league match and qualify forthe final of the Asian ChampionsTrophy hockey tournament here.

Rupinder Pal Singh (36thminute) and Chinglensana (51st)struck for India while Pakistan'slone goal came from the stick ofMohd Waqas (57th) at Al RayyanStadium last night.

The victory over Pakistanwas India's fourth on the trot inthe six-team tournament afterthey had comprehensively beat-en China (4-0), Japan (3-1) andOman (11-0) respectively in theirearlier round robin leaguematches.

India play Malaysia in theirlast league match tomorrow.They are on top of league tablewith 12 points while Pakistanand Malaysia are both on sevenpoints after four matches each.

After a barren first half, thegame came alive soon after theinterval. Youngster DanishMujtafa sprinted past a host ofdefenders and entered the circlebut was stick-checked byPakistan defender in front of thegoal, leading to Malaysianumpire Lingam Karuppusakysignal the only penalty stroke ofthe match just a minute into thesecond session.

Rupinder Pal Singh convert-ed it for the first goal of thehotly-fought match (1-0).

Youngster Chinglensanamade use of a gem of a pass fromGurwinder Chandi to enhancethe lead through a field effort inthe 51st minute (2-0).

Pakistan replied throughtheir third penalty corner. Indiangoalie stopped the shot, butMohd. Waqas collected therebound which was shoulderhigh and tapped in (1-2). TheIndians protested for high ball,but the umpires stood theirground.

Shortly after Pakistanreduced the margin, India suf-

fered on account of a yellow cardto vice-captain Raghunath butmanaged to hold on to the leadtill the end.

Pakistan did not give up, andeven got a penalty corner at thehooter time, but Indian defencestood to their task.

Indian upfront were foundwanting on many occasions andthey wasted all the four penaltycorners they obtained.

Pakistan held upper hand inthe first quarter but individualgame spoilt their show. India justcreated one chance in the firstquarter when young Chinglensa -na hit from the left flank for adeflection in the circle. PTI

India defeat PakistanCLIMBLING HIGH

A participant takes part in the Hyderabad Climbing Championship. TheGreater Hyderabad Adventure Club (GHAC) in association with theIndian Mountaineering Foundation South Zone (IMF- SZ), organized thefirst ever Hyderabad Climbing Championship (HCC) 2012, in AndhraPradesh at Shamirpet.

DOPING TROUBLE

MADRID: Spanish cyclist Rob -erto Heras has reclaimed his cr -own for the 2005 Tour of Spainafter the Supreme Court confir -med the overturning of a positi -ve doping test in the race. Hera -s, who rode alongside Lance Ar -mstro ng in the US Postal Serv -ice te am from 2001-2003, testedpositive for banned substanceEPO, or erythropoietin, in the20th stage of the 2005 Vuelta.

The Spanish cycling federa-tion imposed a two-year ban in2006 after finding he had takenthe substance, a hormone thatregenerates red blood cells.

But Heras took his case to t -he high court of the Spanish re -gion of Castile and Leon, whichlast year overturned the dopingban, reportedly because of irre -gularities in the handling of thetest. The Supreme Court uphel -d that decision, denying an ap -peal by the Spanish state attor-ney and cycling federation. As aresult, Heras "is the winner ofthe race", the cycling body said.

SC overturns’05 test, Herasreclaims crown

sports TUESDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2012 29PAKISTAN’S TOUR TO INDIA

SRI LANKA VS AUSTRALIA

ABHAYA SRIVASTAVA Agence France-Presse

BANGALORE: Police bombsquad officers and sniffer dogssearched Bangalore stadiumMonday as part of a massivesecurity operation for the start ofthe first Pakistan cricket tour toIndia for five years.

Hardline Indian nationalistorganisations including VishwaHindu Parishad and the ShivSena have both threatened tohold protests outside all thevenues for the five-match series,which begins in Bangalore onTuesday evening.

The Indian government hassaid it will issue a record numberof 3,000 visas to Pakistani fansattending the series — the firstsince the 2008 Mumbai attackswhich led to a complete break-down in relations between thetwo countries.

“As the governments of boththe countries have agreed to hold

the bilateral series, no organisa-tion will be allowed to disruptthe match,” Bangalore policecommissioner Jyotiprakash Mirjitold reporters.

An AFP reporter saw bombsquad officers carrying out apainstaking inspection with theirdogs in and around the Chinnas -wamy stadium in Bangalore.

Indian bomb squad officials carry out a routine check outside the M. Chinn -aswamy Stadium on Monday. Police bomb squads with sniffer dogs combedthe stadium as part of a massive security operation. AFP/MANJUNATH KIRAN

ABU DHABI: Rafael Nadalwill make his long-awaitedreturn to tennis after an ago-nising six-month knee injurybattle in the Gulf this week,but has warned he is not expe -cting any title-winning pyrot -echnics.

He joins Novak Djokovicand Andy Murray in the six-player, three-day MubadalaChampionships ahead of hisreturn to the ATP circuit atDoha from December 31.

Nadal hasn’t played sincehis shock second round exit to100th-ranked Lukas Rosol at

Wimbledon in June, missingthe Olympics, the US Open aswell as the Davis Cup finalagainst the Czech Republicwhich his country lost.

Although desperate toplay again, Nadal is equallykeen to play down expecta-tions.

“Abu Dhabi is a test. Mygoal is not this week, notDoha or the Australian Open.My goal is to get fit, recoverall my feelings. The onlything I care about is theknee,” the seven-time FrenchOpen champion said. AFP

MELBOURNE: Australianquick Jackson Bird will make hisdebut in the Boxing Day Testagainst Sri Lanka, selectors saidMonday, while skipper MichaelClarke was given more time toprove his fitness.

Lanky right-armer Bird willline up alongside strike bowlerPeter Siddle with Mitchell Starccontroversially rested as part ofCricket Australia’s rotation poli-cy.

Mitchell Johnson replaces theinjured Ben Hilfenhaus and spin-ner Nathan Lyon retains hisplace as Australia look to make it2-0 in the three Test series afterwinning the opener in Hobartlast week by 137 runs.

Australian coach MickeyArthur said Bird was in greatform and deserved his chance.

“He brings line and length,”Arthur said. “He brings pres-sure, he swings the ball out, he

brings some nice pace, he’s gotall the attributes for a good quickbowler.” Bird built a strong casefor selection with 80 wickets inhis 14 Sheffield Shield matchesfor Tasmania at 17.54 and hassnared 14 of those in two match-es at the MCG at 12.07.

“I’m going to open the bowl-ing so I’m looking forward tothat,” Bird said. “I feel like I’mready for Test cricket.”

Starc misses out despitebowling superbly in Hobart withArthur saying he was being rest-ed ahead of a gruelling 2013schedule. “Mitch is our onequick bowler who stars in allthree forms of the game,” hesaid. AFP

Bomb squad combs venuePolice bomb squad officers and sniffer dogs searched Bangalore stadium as part of a massive

security operation before the start of the first Pakistan tour of India in five years.

Tour hit by coveragedisputeNEW DELHI: Pakistan’s firstcricket tour to India in five ye -ars faced a media blackoutafter international news age -ncies suspen ded coverageover a decision to bar theirphoto counterparts. They saidthey would not be filing anytext or pictures after BCCI re -fused to accredit the internat -ional picture age ncies GettyImag es and Acti on Images aswell as two In dian agencies.“It is regretta ble that the pol -itically-charg ed tour will beaffected by BCCI’s failure torecognise th e long-standingimportance of photographicnews agencies in the flow ofsport and news images everyday,” said News Media Coaliti -on, which represents a groupof media organisations. AFP

India-Pakistan squadsand statisticsFORM GUIDE (MOSTRECENT LISTED FIRST):India: Lost, Won, Won, Won,Lost (3 wins, 2 losses)Pakistan: Lost, Won, Lost,Won, Won (3 wins, 2 losses)

THE SQUADS:India Dhoni (capt/wk), GGambhir, Ajinkya Rah ane,Virat Kohli, Yuvraj, S Raina, ARay udu, Rohit Sharma, R Ash -win, Piyush Chawla, Ishant,Ashok Dinda, P Awana,Bhuvneshwar Kumar, R Ja dejaPakistan: Mohammad Hafeez(capt), A Shehzad, Asad Ali,Junaid Khan, Kamran Akmal(wk), Mohammad Irfan, NasirJamshed, Saeed Ajmal, S Afridi,S Malik, Sohail Ta nvir, UmarAkmal, Umar Amin, Umar Gul,Zulfiqar Babar.

There will never be another playerlike Sachin: SaqlainNEW DELHI: Terming Sachin Tendulkar’s retirementa huge loss for cricket, Saqlain Mushtaq says bowling tothe Indian has always been an “absolute pleasure”. “Theworld of one day cric ket has suffered a huge loss withSachin Tendulkar’s ret irement from ODIs. There will nev -er be another cricketer like Tendulkar,” Saqlain said. “He’sbeen at the top of the game for twenty three years whichis simply amazing and the way he has conducted himselfthroughout his career has been exemplary and a lessonto all young cricketers around the world,” he added. AFP

Wasim, Waqar salute “special”TendulkarKARACHI: Pakistan pace duo Wasim Akram andWaqar Younis Monday paid rich tribute to Indian battingmaestro Sachin Tendulkar, labelling him “the greatestbatsman of this era”. Tendulkar, 39, announced his retire-ment from ODIs on Sunday after scoring 18,426 runs in463 matches with 49 centuries -- all three world recordsfor most runs, matches and hundreds. “I don’t say that abatsman like him will not come but he was the greatestbatsman of this era and to maintain the zeal and fitnessfor 23 years was a big achievement for him,” said Waqar.

CRICKET BRIEFS

COMEBACK TIMEBird to debut, Clarke doubtfulJackson Bird will make his debut in the Boxing Day Test against Sri Lanka

while skipper Michael Clarke is given more time to prove his fitness.

Don’t expect miracles onreturn, warns Nadal

sportsTUESDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2012

30WILSHERE URGES WALCOTT TO STICK WITH ARSENAL Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere has urged England winger Theo Walcott(right) to follow his example by pledging his future to the Gunners.Wilshere, 20, was one of five young British players to sign new deals withthe Arsene Wenger’s squad last week.

Rodgers backs Liverpoolto cope with Stoke STOKE-ON-TRENT, UK:Liverpool manager BrendanRodgers is sure his team can copewith Stoke’s physicality as he pre-pares for Wednesday’s trip to theBritannia Stadium. The Reds are fin-ishing 2012 strongly, with a run offour wins in five matches takingthem to within five points of thePremier League’s top four.

Owen desperate toscore against Liverpool LONDON: Michael Owen is des-perate to break his scoring duckagainst former club Liverpool onWednesday and end an eight-yearwait.

The 33-year-old hit 118 goalsduring his prolific Anfield career butsince leaving for Real Madrid in2004, he has not been able to breakthrough.

Rodgers won’t let newsignings dictate roles LONDON: Liverpool managerBrendan Rodgers insists the playershe brings to Anfield during theJanuary transfer window will not beallowed to dictate the roles they fillin his team. Rodgers is believed tobe set to seal a £12 million swoopfor Chelsea striker Daniel Sturridgewhen the window opens on NewYear’s Day.

Nigeria can’t haveAmeobi: Newcastle bossLONDON: Newcastle boss AlanPardew will not allow striker SholaAmeobi to play for Nigeria at theAfrica Cup of Nations in January.The 31-year-old Ameobi, who onceplayed for the England Under-21side, had been named in Nigeria’sprovisional squad by coach StephenKeshi for the tournament whichstarts in South Africa on January 19.

BRIEFS

PREMIERE LEAGUE PREVIEW

GRAHAM CHASEAgence France-Presse

SUNDERLAND, UK: GarethBarry (blue jersdy right) is confi-dent Manchester City will beable to chase down ManchesterUnited at the top of the table asthe champions prepare to faceSunderland on Wednesday.

The loss to their bitter rivalsin their last encounter increasedUnited’s lead to six points butsecond placed City managed toreduce the deficit to four overthe weekend.

Barry scored in stoppage-time to secure a 1-0 win over astubborn Reading side onSaturday before Uniteddropped two points with a 1-1draw at Swansea on Sunday.

England midfielder Barry,31, acknowledges that United’shome games against Newcastleand West Bromwich Albionover the Christmas period areeasier than City’s trips toSunderland and Norwich.

But City overturnedUnited’s eight-point lead in the

final six games of last season towin the Premier League titleand Barry is adamant Mancini’sside have a similar determina-tion this time around.

“When there’s a little gap it’simportant that you don’t slipany further behind,” Barry said.

“If we can keep chippingaway hopefully we can be thereat the end of the season.

“It’s going to be a bigChristmas and looking at thefixtures, they didn’t fall thatkindly for us, with two awaygames with the distances we’vegot to travel.”

ED AARONSAgence France-Presse

NORWICH, UK: Rafael Beni tez(right) believes Chelsea are sho -wing signs they are capable ofmounting a title challenge as theBlues prepare to face Nor wich atCarrow Road on Wednesday.

Benitez’s side gave their bestperformance of the season onSunday to destroy Aston Villa 8-0 at Stamford Bridge and main-tain the momentum from their

midweek 5-1 victory againstLeeds in the League Cup quar-ter-finals.

Chelsea fell just one goalshort of matching the PremierLeague’s record margin of victo-ry in an impressive display thatsaw seven different players findthe net against a team who hadbeen unbeaten in six matches.

The goal spree against Villaensured the west Londonersmoved back into third place, 11points behind leaders Manches -

ter United with a game in hand.Now interim manager

Benitez expects Chelsea tomaintain the form that has seenthem score 13 goals in just twooutings since losing the ClubWorld Cup final to Brazilianside Corinthians in Japan.

“The main thing is to winour games; you can do it if you see the team improving.With this kind of performanceyou can normally win games,”he said.

LONDON: Swansea defenderAshley Williams (aobve) will notface a Football Associationcharge after Manchester Unitedboss Alex Ferguson slammed theWales star for kicking the ballinto Robin van Persie’s head.

Williams earned a stingingrebuke from Ferguson afterSunday’s 1-1 draw at the LibertyStadium following the secondhalf clash with van Persie.

The United forward waslying prone on the turf followinga foul when Williams kicked theball into the back of theDutchman’s head.

Ferguson called on theFootball Association to ban theSwansea centre-back, who wasbooked for the incident by refer-ee Michael Oliver.

“He (van Persie) could havebeen killed. Williams should bebanned for a long time,”Ferguson said. “It was absolutelydeliberate,” he added.

LONDON: Everton announcedon Monday that they will appealagainst Darron Gibson’s sendingoff in Saturday’s 2-1 win at WestHam.

Former Manchester Unitedmidfielder Gibson was dis-missed by referee AnthonyTaylor for a high challenge onWest Ham’s Mark Noble in theclosing stages at Upton Park.

Hammers striker CarltonCole had earlier been sent off fora similar challenge on Evertondefender Leighton Baines.

Everton’s appeal meansRepublic of Ireland internationalGibson will be able to play in theBoxing Day match against Wiganon Wednesday, with the case dueto be heard the following day.

The Football Association (FA)revealed later on Monday thatWest Ham had appealed againstCole’s red card.

Like Gibson, Cole will havehis appeal heard by the FA. AFP

EPL CONTROVERSIES

Williamswon’t face FA action

Everton seered over card

‘City can overhaul Utd’Roberto Mancini’s team have responded to their 3-2 defeat in theManchester derby earlier this month with consecutive victories.

STEVE GRIFFITHS LONDON: Alex Ferguson hashailed Robin van Persie as themissing piece in ManchesterUn i ted’s title jigsaw as the Pre -m i er League leaders bid to ex -tend their lead at the top agai -nst Newcastle on Wednesday.

Van Persie has made a

superb start to his Unitedcareer after leaving Arsenal in a£24 million move in pre-seasonand the Dutch forward’s haul of15 goals has fired Ferguson’steam four points clear of cham-pions Manchester City headinginto the hectic Christmas pro-gramme.

Van Persie missing piece in Fergie’s title jigsaw

Table ahead of Wednesday’smatches (played, won, drawn, lost,goals for, goals against, points)

Manchester Utd 18 14 1 3 44 25 43Manchester City 18 11 6 1 34 15 39Chelsea 17 9 5 3 36 17 32Arsenal 18 8 6 4 32 18 30Everton 18 7 9 2 30 22 30Tottenham 18 9 3 6 30 25 30West Bromwich 18 9 3 6 26 22 30Liverpool 18 6 7 5 27 23 25Stoke 18 5 103 15 13 25Norwich 18 6 7 5 20 27 25

Benitez eyes title push with resurgence

postnoon e-paper for 25 december 2012

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