12
T he Centre on Saturday allowed operation of Metro trains from September 7 and public gathering up to 100 people from September 21 with strict social distancing norms. But cinema halls and swimming pools will continue to remain shut. The schools and colleges will be shut up to September 30, but the Centre has allowed 50 per cent of teachers and non-teaching staff to come to institutions from September 21 for the conduct of online and tele-counseling. The Ministry of Home’s new Unlockdown-4 Guidelines said that students from 9th standard can visit the campus- es with the consent of parents from September 21 to meet the teachers. The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has con- vened a virtual meeting with all metro companies on September 1 to discuss the standard operating procedures (SOP).The SOPs says cus- tomised entry/exit will be allowed at each station to con- trol footfall. The Metro train operation will be starting only in graded manner and intake of passen- gers as well as their entry to the platforms will be “controlled.” The CISF will also be part of these procedures, especially in handling the passenger movements. The guidelines said that open-air theaters will be allowed to start from September 21. “Metro rail will be allowed to operate with effect from 7th September 2020 in a graded manner, by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MOHUA)/ Ministry of Railways (MOR), in consulta- tion with MHA. In this regard, Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) will be issued by MOHUA. “Social/ academic/ sports/ entertainment/ cultural/ reli- gious/ political functions and other congregations will be permitted with a ceiling of 100 persons, with effect from September 21. However, such limited gatherings can be held with the mandatory wearing of face masks, social distancing, pro- vision for thermal scanning and hand wash or sanitizer,” said the guidelines. The MHA said extensive discussions took place with States on the opening of schools and colleges. Though classes will be not conducted till September 30, partial activ- ities will start from September 21. The Centre has asked the States to develop opening up procedures on this regard. “After extensive consulta- tion with States and UTs, it has been decided that schools, col- leges, educational and coaching institutions will continue to remain closed for students and regular class activity up to 30th September 2020. Online/distance learning shall continue to be permitted and shall be encouraged,” the guide- lines said. I ndia on Saturday crossed over 3.53 million coronavirus cases, with average 72,000- 76,000 cases per day during the last four weeks. It took 15 days from 2.5 million cases on August 14 to cross 3.5 million marks. Now the third-most-affect- ed country by total cases, sec- ond by active cases, and fourth by death toll, the latest coron- avirus trends over the last four weeks are extremely worrying. With this rate of the spike, India is expected to pip Brazil to the second spot by September 10. The States that have been worst affected by a total tally of cases are Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh. The States that have reported the biggest 24-hour jump in active cases are Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Odisha and Telangana. Maharashtra on Saturday reported a single-day highest spike of 16,867 coronavirus cases which pushed its case tally to 7,64,281. With 328 new fatalities, the death toll due to the pandemic reached 24,103. The earlier highest one-day increase in the num- ber of patients was 14,888 on August 26. There are 1,85,131 active cases. 11,541 patients were dis- charged during the day, taking total recoveries to 5,54,711. In State capital Mumbai, 1,432 new cases and 31 deaths were reported. The total number of Covid-19 cases in the city rose to 1,43,389 and death toll to 7,596. An IPS officer who was part of the Mumbai Police's team which was probing actor Sushant Singh Rajput suicide case has tested positive for coronavirus infection. With most of the medical equipment such as coronavirus testing kits and masks available at cheaper rates in the market, the Centre has informed the Maharashtra Government that it would discontinue their sup- ply from October. Pune city reported 1,972 new cases and 32 deaths. T he Delhi High Court has held that annual and devel- opment charges cannot be taken from the parents of stu- dents “during the pendency of the present lockdown”, when schools are yet to reopen. The prima facie opinion was expressed by Justice Jayant Nath in his order of August 25 while hearing a plea moved by the parents’ association of a pri- vate school, which started tak- ing the annual and develop- ment charges along with the tuition fees from July. The court restrained the school from taking the annual and development charges from the parents for the month of July till further orders. It also issued a notice to the Delhi Government and the school, seeking their stand on the plea of the parents’ associ- ation, which was represented by advocate Gaurav Bahl. A ctress Rhea Chakraborty was grilled by the CBI for seven hours on the second consecutive day on Saturday over her alleged role in the cir- cumstances leading to Sushant Singh Rajput’s death. A day after she was questioned for 11- long hours by the CBI, Rhea — who has been accused by Sushant’s family of abetting the actor’s death — arrived at the Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO)’s guesthouse at Santa Cruz’s Kalina area for ques- tioning at 1.30 pm for the sec- ond day of questioning. Her questioning went on seven- long hours. Around 8.30 pm, Rhea stepped out of the DRDO guesthouse along with her brother Showik, who was grilled for the third consecutive day and drove her to Juhu res- idence, in her car. She was accompanied by an escort vehi- cle of the Mumbai police. After Rhea lodged a com- plaint with the Santa Cruz police station against some media persons on Friday night for allegedly trying to enter her residence, the Mumbai police had provided her protection and escort to take her for ques- tioning at the DRDO and bring her back from there after seven-hour-long grilling. Her brother Showik, who had also accompanied Rhea, was questioned separately for the third consecutive day. Meanwhile, Goa-based hotelier Gaurav Arya, whose name has figured in drug- related issues involving Sushant, Rhea and others, will appear before the ED for ques- tioning on Monday. A “rat hole” tunnel, at least 25 feet deep and 170 metres long, has been detected by the Border Security Force (BSF) along the International Border in Galar village of Samba sec- tor in Jammu frontier. The tunnel, which origi- nated from the Pakistani side of the International Border, was detected by one of the patrol parties of BSF during its special anti-tunnel drive late on Friday, sources said. The detection of this under-construction tunnel has already created a flutter in the security grid. Senior BSF offi- cers of Jammu frontier and other Central agencies also visited the spot to take stock of the ground situation on Saturday. High alert has been sound- ed in the entire border belt to ascertain whether the same under-construction tunnel has been used by the terrorists to sneak inside the Indian terri- tory with help from the Pakistani Rangers. Addressing a Press confer- ence in one of the border out- posts in Samba sector on Saturday, BSF Jammu Frontier Inspector General NS Jamwal told reporters, “BSF was receiv- ing various inputs about the existence of tunnels in Samba border area. In view of the prevailing security scenario in recent times, the BSF Jammu had launched a special anti-tun- neling drive along the International Border of Jammu region”. He said, “On August 28, 2020, a vigilant BSF patrol party during an anti-tunneling drive, while carrying out in- depth scanning of area, sus- pected a place at International Border in Samba district and detected a tunnel of approxi- mately 25 feet deep and about 3-4 feet in diameter in Indian territory near border fencing in Galar area”. New Delhi: Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who was admitted to AIIMS here on August 18 for post-Covid care, has recovered and is likely to be discharged in a short time, hospital authorities said on Saturday. “He has recovered and is likely to be discharged in a short time,” the AIIMS said in a statement. Dehradun: Uttarakhand BJP president Bansidhar Bhagat on Saturday said he has tested pos- itive for Covid-19. Taking to Twitter, Bhagat himself announced his test result and asked all those who came in contact with him last week to undergo Covid-19 testing. C hhattisgarh Sports and Youth Welfare Minister Umesh Patel on Saturday laid out a road map to promote sports in the state while inter- acting with prominent sportspersons and coaches in the state through video-con- ferencing. Marking the ‘National Sports Day’, Patel said Chhattisgarh has been selected under the ‘One State-One Game’ scheme by the central government for development of archery for Olympics 2024. The state will carry out the selection of talent and impart training. The Sports Authority has been constituted. For hockey, an astro-turf stadium is coming up at Jashpur while a stadium in Patan-Marra is under construction. A Judo Academy has been established at Durg while ‘Mallakhamb’ is being provided in Narayanpur district. To promote sports activities in rural areas, ‘Rajiv Yuva Mitan Clubs’ are being set up, said the Minister. Patel said the Covid-19 spike has brought the sports activities to a standstill. This year's State Sports Awards cer- emony has been postponed. The Minister promised that all assistance will be provided to the players. Hockey players Padma Shri Saba Anjum and Renuka Yadav, badminton player Ishan Bhatnagar, swimmer Shivash Sahu, archer Itwari Raj and oth- ers were present. Ishan has been selected for national bad- minton. Across the state, sev- eral events marked the birthday of the legendary Dhyan Chand. RNI Regn. No. CHHENG/2012/42718, Postal Reg. No. - RYP DN/34/2013-2015

˘ ˇ ˆ ˆ˙˝ ˛ ˚ ˇ ˜ ˇ · 7 hours ago · Her questioning went on seven-long hours. Around 8.30 pm, Rhea stepped out of the DRDO guesthouse along with her brother Showik,

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Page 1: ˘ ˇ ˆ ˆ˙˝ ˛ ˚ ˇ ˜ ˇ · 7 hours ago · Her questioning went on seven-long hours. Around 8.30 pm, Rhea stepped out of the DRDO guesthouse along with her brother Showik,

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"��� �2���2345�

The Centre on Saturdayallowed operation of Metro

trains from September 7 andpublic gathering up to 100people from September 21with strict social distancingnorms. But cinema halls andswimming pools will continueto remain shut.

The schools and collegeswill be shut up to September30, but the Centre has allowed50 per cent of teachers andnon-teaching staff to come toinstitutions from September21 for the conduct of onlineand tele-counseling.

The Ministry of Home’snew Unlockdown-4 Guidelinessaid that students from 9thstandard can visit the campus-es with the consent of parentsfrom September 21 to meet theteachers.

The Ministry of Housingand Urban Affairs has con-vened a virtual meeting with allmetro companies onSeptember 1 to discuss thestandard operating procedures(SOP).The SOPs says cus-tomised entry/exit will beallowed at each station to con-trol footfall.

The Metro train operationwill be starting only in gradedmanner and intake of passen-

gers as well as their entry to theplatforms will be “controlled.”

The CISF will also be partof these procedures, especiallyin handling the passengermovements. The guidelinessaid that open-air theaters willbe allowed to start fromSeptember 21.

“Metro rail will be allowedto operate with effect from 7thSeptember 2020 in a gradedmanner, by the Ministry ofHousing and Urban Affairs(MOHUA)/ Ministry ofRailways (MOR), in consulta-tion with MHA. In this regard,Standard Operating Procedure(SOP) will be issued byMOHUA.

“Social/ academic/ sports/

entertainment/ cultural/ reli-gious/ political functions andother congregations will bepermitted with a ceiling of 100persons, with effect fromSeptember 21.

However, such limitedgatherings can be held with themandatory wearing of facemasks, social distancing, pro-vision for thermal scanningand hand wash or sanitizer,”said the guidelines.

The MHA said extensivediscussions took place withStates on the opening ofschools and colleges. Thoughclasses will be not conductedtill September 30, partial activ-ities will start from September21. The Centre has asked the

States to develop opening upprocedures on this regard.

“After extensive consulta-tion with States and UTs, it hasbeen decided that schools, col-leges, educational and coachinginstitutions will continue toremain closed for students andregular class activity up to30th September 2020.Online/distance learning shallcontinue to be permitted andshall be encouraged,” the guide-lines said.

"��� �2���2345

India on Saturday crossedover 3.53 million coronavirus

cases, with average 72,000-76,000 cases per day during thelast four weeks. It took 15 daysfrom 2.5 million cases onAugust 14 to cross 3.5 millionmarks.

Now the third-most-affect-ed country by total cases, sec-ond by active cases, and fourthby death toll, the latest coron-avirus trends over the last fourweeks are extremely worrying.With this rate of the spike,India is expected to pip Brazilto the second spot bySeptember 10.

The States that have beenworst affected by a total tally ofcases are Maharashtra, TamilNadu, Andhra Pradesh,Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh.The States that have reportedthe biggest 24-hour jump inactive cases are Maharashtra,Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka,Odisha and Telangana.

Maharashtra on Saturdayreported a single-day highestspike of 16,867 coronaviruscases which pushed its casetally to 7,64,281. With 328new fatalities, the death toll due

to the pandemic reached24,103. The earlier highestone-day increase in the num-ber of patients was 14,888 onAugust 26.

There are 1,85,131 activecases. 11,541 patients were dis-charged during the day, takingtotal recoveries to 5,54,711. InState capital Mumbai, 1,432new cases and 31 deaths werereported. The total number ofCovid-19 cases in the city roseto 1,43,389 and death toll to7,596.

An IPS officer who waspart of the Mumbai Police'steam which was probing actorSushant Singh Rajput suicidecase has tested positive forcoronavirus infection. Withmost of the medical equipmentsuch as coronavirus testingkits and masks available atcheaper rates in the market, theCentre has informed theMaharashtra Government thatit would discontinue their sup-ply from October. Pune cityreported 1,972 new cases and32 deaths.

"� ��2���2345

The Delhi High Court hasheld that annual and devel-

opment charges cannot betaken from the parents of stu-dents “during the pendency ofthe present lockdown”, whenschools are yet to reopen.

The prima facie opinionwas expressed by Justice JayantNath in his order of August 25while hearing a plea moved bythe parents’ association of a pri-vate school, which started tak-ing the annual and develop-ment charges along with thetuition fees from July.

The court restrained theschool from taking the annualand development charges fromthe parents for the month ofJuly till further orders.

It also issued a notice to theDelhi Government and theschool, seeking their stand onthe plea of the parents’ associ-ation, which was representedby advocate Gaurav Bahl.

����&������ � 006�5

Actress Rhea Chakrabortywas grilled by the CBI for

seven hours on the secondconsecutive day on Saturdayover her alleged role in the cir-cumstances leading to SushantSingh Rajput’s death. A dayafter she was questioned for 11-long hours by the CBI, Rhea —who has been accused bySushant’s family of abettingthe actor’s death — arrived atthe Defence Research &Development Organisation(DRDO)’s guesthouse at SantaCruz’s Kalina area for ques-tioning at 1.30 pm for the sec-ond day of questioning. Herquestioning went on seven-long hours.

Around 8.30 pm, Rheastepped out of the DRDOguesthouse along with herbrother Showik, who wasgrilled for the third consecutiveday and drove her to Juhu res-idence, in her car. She wasaccompanied by an escort vehi-cle of the Mumbai police.

After Rhea lodged a com-plaint with the Santa Cruzpolice station against some

media persons on Friday nightfor allegedly trying to enter herresidence, the Mumbai policehad provided her protectionand escort to take her for ques-tioning at the DRDO and bringher back from there afters e v e n - h o u r - l o n g grilling.

Her brother Showik, who

had also accompanied Rhea,was questioned separately forthe third consecutive day.

Meanwhile, Goa-basedhotelier Gaurav Arya, whosename has figured in drug-related issues involvingSushant, Rhea and others, willappear before the ED for ques-tioning on Monday.

������������� ,�00

A“rat hole” tunnel, at least 25feet deep and 170 metres

long, has been detected by theBorder Security Force (BSF)along the International Borderin Galar village of Samba sec-tor in Jammu frontier.

The tunnel, which origi-nated from the Pakistani side ofthe International Border, wasdetected by one of the patrolparties of BSF during its specialanti-tunnel drive late on Friday,sources said.

The detection of thisunder-construction tunnel hasalready created a flutter in thesecurity grid. Senior BSF offi-cers of Jammu frontier andother Central agencies alsovisited the spot to take stock ofthe ground situation onSaturday.

High alert has been sound-ed in the entire border belt toascertain whether the sameunder-construction tunnel hasbeen used by the terrorists tosneak inside the Indian terri-tory with help from thePakistani Rangers.

Addressing a Press confer-ence in one of the border out-posts in Samba sector onSaturday, BSF Jammu FrontierInspector General NS Jamwaltold reporters, “BSF was receiv-ing various inputs about theexistence of tunnels in Sambaborder area.

In view of the prevailingsecurity scenario in recenttimes, the BSF Jammu hadlaunched a special anti-tun-neling drive along the

International Border of Jammuregion”.

He said, “On August 28,2020, a vigilant BSF patrolparty during an anti-tunnelingdrive, while carrying out in-depth scanning of area, sus-pected a place at InternationalBorder in Samba district anddetected a tunnel of approxi-mately 25 feet deep and about3-4 feet in diameter in Indianterritory near border fencing inGalar area”.

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New Delhi: Union HomeMinister Amit Shah, who wasadmitted to AIIMS here onAugust 18 for post-Covid care,has recovered and is likely to bedischarged in a short time,hospital authorities said onSaturday. “He has recoveredand is likely to be dischargedin a short time,” the AIIMS saidin a statement.

Dehradun: Uttarakhand BJPpresident Bansidhar Bhagat onSaturday said he has tested pos-itive for Covid-19. Taking toTwitter, Bhagat himselfannounced his test result andasked all those who came incontact with him last week toundergo Covid-19 testing.

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Chhattisgarh Sports andYouth Welfare Minister

Umesh Patel on Saturday laidout a road map to promotesports in the state while inter-acting with prominentsportspersons and coaches inthe state through video-con-ferencing.

Marking the ‘NationalSports Day’, Patel saidChhattisgarh has been selectedunder the ‘One State-OneGame’ scheme by the centralgovernment for development ofarchery for Olympics 2024.

The state will carry out theselection of talent and imparttraining. The Sports Authorityhas been constituted.

For hockey, an astro-turfstadium is coming up at Jashpurwhile a stadium in Patan-Marrais under construction. A JudoAcademy has been establishedat Durg while ‘Mallakhamb’ isbeing provided in Narayanpurdistrict. To promote sportsactivities in rural areas, ‘Rajiv

Yuva Mitan Clubs’ are being setup, said the Minister.

Patel said the Covid-19spike has brought the sportsactivities to a standstill. Thisyear's State Sports Awards cer-emony has been postponed.The Minister promised that allassistance will be provided tothe players.

Hockey players Padma ShriSaba Anjum and RenukaYadav, badminton player IshanBhatnagar, swimmer ShivashSahu, archer Itwari Raj and oth-ers were present. Ishan hasbeen selected for national bad-minton. Across the state, sev-eral events marked the birthdayof the legendary Dhyan Chand.

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Page 2: ˘ ˇ ˆ ˆ˙˝ ˛ ˚ ˇ ˜ ˇ · 7 hours ago · Her questioning went on seven-long hours. Around 8.30 pm, Rhea stepped out of the DRDO guesthouse along with her brother Showik,

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One doesn’t really have to watch thelatest web series on the OTTplatform to know that Neena Gupta

is a great actor. In a career of nearly fourdecades and movies like Swarg, Yalgar andBadhaai Ho under her belt, she has onceagain given a performance that is great. InMasaba Masaba where she pairs up withher daughter in a fictionalised version oftheir lives, she shines beautifully. Here, onegets to see her insecurity as an actor, herstruggle as a mother who wants the bestfor her daughter and makes her strong andindependent in a dog-eat-dog world ofentertainment and fashion. Her excitementon meeting Farah Khan for a role is notonly cute and sweet, it is amusing as well.Another scene that really brings a smile is

�What is your role in Aye MereHumsafar?

I play Pratibha Devi Kothari, abusinesswoman who has lost herhusband. However, she has to step out ofthe house to earn in order to bring up mychildren. I pound masalas at home andsell it to people.

The show is set in Rajasthan and theseries shows how tough it is for a womanwith no husband support to standindependently. But this is what I do sinceI want the best for my children.�The show has a message. What is it?

Through my character, the showwants to let women know that there is aneed to stand independently. While theshow is set in Rajasthan, the series is astory on women across India. Thosewomen who get married off at an earlyage and unfortunately lose theirhusbands, need to stand on their ownand be financially independent likePratibha Devi does. The othermessage is women don’t have tothink about what the society has tosay. Just because she is a womandoesn’t mean that she has to live therest of her life at home. She can livewith dignity and work as well.�How did you get on board theproject?

I got my first project Diya Aur BaatiHum from Shashi Sumeet Production.Due to the present pandemic, it was notpossible for me to go for auditions butwe did have a few calls back and forthand zoom meetings. Saying yes to thisshow is like coming back home. I wastold that both Shashi and Sumeetdecided that they were looking forPratibha Devi, they were in agreementthat I would be a perfect role to play asthe mother. All I was told that I wouldplay an independent woman, this wasenough for me.

The production house had given memy first show, there was no way I wouldturn them down. Also, the show is to beaired on Dangal TV. I have only heardgood things about this channel. On dayone of the shoot Shashi ma’am came onthe sets and told me that she had got herPratibha Devi. It was great to get so muchlove and respect.�Did you think that Bhabho wouldbring you so much fame — Diya AurBaati Hum?

Not at all. When I had started to playthis character, I had not fullycomprehended the character. It took metime to understand the role. However, asthe show progressed and got feedbackfrom the channel, Shashi ma’am andSumeet sir on how to play this character

and how to behave. This helped me playthis role so well. I owe the fame ofBhabho to the team, they were the onethat made her so big. To give an example.I was in Chandigarh for a shoot and amother with her son had come to metme. She said: ‘Bhabho iske sar par haanthrakhdo, yeh bhi Suraj ban jayega’. Theymade Bhabho a Goddess.�You took a small break, what kept youbusy?

I had been working non-stop for nineyears. I was never able to spend time withmy children during their schooling all

through. But then my son came inClass XII and I told him that Iwould be there for him. For this Itook a break. Now, that the examsare over, I am back at work.�How did your journey begin?

I come from a very mediocreRajasthani family. I always tried toearn extra so that I could help myfamily financially. My brother woulddo the same. I used to take up stageshows. Today, with God’s grace I amwhere I am. I am thankful for this.Now, I have a house in Boravali,Mumbai.�You were very young, only 11,was it tough to act at such a youngage in films?

Actually, I used to play around onthe sets. I didn’t realise what was

happening. Most times, I would bescolded for prancing around when I

should have been busy getting readysince I was the heroine. The film was

about child marriage. Balika Vadhu isinspired from this film. The film was ahit and I ended up doing 55 movies as alead. I have done films with KiranKumarji, Govinda, Asif Shiekh, Jagdeepji,Rakesh Roshanji to name a few. Yourwork and honesty always pay.�How do you choose your projects?

I take up roles that my gut tells meto take up. If I feel right about thecharacter that I am being offered, I neversay no to it.�Were there never any Bollywoodplans?

Like I said, I come from an ordinaryMarwari family. They had to sacrifice alot to let me work in films. I neverrealised that I would end up doing TVshows as well. My parents told me thatI needed to restrict myself to this onlyand not go beyond.�What next?

For now, I am concentrating ondoing this show. I hope the viewers willlike the series. I request people to watchthe show that goes on air on August 31,2020 at 7 pm from Monday to Friday.

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So this was the one with 20million negative views tothe trailer! One wonders

why such hullabaloo becausefor such a strong reactionthere needs to be somethingbig that is bad or somethingthat is good. Sadak 2 is neither.It is a rippleless movie on atwisted, 90s subject withMahesh Bhatt trying hard togive life lessons on familialbetrayal, superstition and faithin dhongi babas.

All that is fine, but itseems Bhatt has not movedwith the times because Sadak2 , despite the toweringpresence of Sanjay Dutt andthe arresting beauty andhistrionics of Alia Bhatt, not tomention the wasted role of

Aditya Roy Kapur who is atbest a sidekick of a sidekick inthe film, the movie really has

no story of worth to tell.Alia Bhatt is an activist

heiress on the run, all the way

to Mt Kailash if you please, andshe carries with her the weightof a quickly sewn together

intrigue of Godmen andrelatives who are after her lifefor no apparent reason.

Why they want her killed isnot convincingly told in theroad trip where Dutt is fightinghis ghosts after losing hisoriginal Sadak wife to anaccident and living with theagony of having buried astillborn child.

Mahesh Bhatt has beenstorytelling with much morechutzpah, better music and anunderstanding of an issue butin Sadak 2 he is jaded, all overthe place, almost directionlessand somehow gives you thefeeling of having lost his wayon a Sadak he so well-definedlast time round.

No need to get too hassledabout this one. It is not worthtoo much of a reaction, whichis sad because Alia is good asusual, so is Dutt with hisveteran looks and acting skillsas he knows them.

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how she haggles with the sabziwala for �3 for pyaz (notkanda) — a typical Dilliwala attitude.

Despite the disclaimer that the series is a fictionalaccount of the mother-daughter, there is relatability if

one is from the fashion andentertainment industry. For theothers, they can take heart and beentertained in the six-episodeseries of 32 minutes each as itprogresses giving a sneak peek inwhat their life would actually havebeen — the drama, to be judgedand under scrutiny all the time.

While this is Masaba Gupta’sfirst stint as an actor, even thoughshe had judged a show — MTVSupermodel of the Year last year onMTV India channel, she appearsat ease here. Her relaxed demeanorand rather good performancecould be due to the presence of hermother.

The other starcast that needsa mention here are Neil

Bhoopalam and Rytasha Rathore.Bhoopalam as the broodinginvestor in House of Masabafashion, is interesting to watcheven though he doesn’t have manydialogues. Rathore, who playsMasaba’s onscreen BFF, is great.

She is funny and thefriendship between the two comesout so naturally, it is amazing.Another actor who needs amention is Amairah Awatanyewho plays little Masaba Gupta. Sheis cute. There are places wheredirector Sonam Nair has put in herplace of the grown up Masaba, itis endearing.

Overall, an interesting watch,especially Neena Gupta.

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Page 3: ˘ ˇ ˆ ˆ˙˝ ˛ ˚ ˇ ˜ ˇ · 7 hours ago · Her questioning went on seven-long hours. Around 8.30 pm, Rhea stepped out of the DRDO guesthouse along with her brother Showik,

RAIPUR | SUNDAY | AUGUST 30, 2020chhattisgarh 03

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel and Assembly Speaker Dr Charan Das Mahant inspect the underconstruction residential quarters for MLAs at Sector 24, Nava Raipur, Atal Nagar, on Saturday. Construction of RajBhavan and residence of Chief Minister and officials are also in progress. Pioneer Photo

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v. Æ~ {|yyw Providing Street Light& Pole in centre dividerat Bishrampur townon Katni-Gumla RoadNH-43, Dist. Surajpur (C.G.)

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Durg, Dated: 24.08.2020

e- Procurement Tender Notice

1st CallOnline tenders in form ‘‘A’’ percentage rate basis are invited on

behalf of Governor of Chhattisgarh dated 14-09-2020 :-

Note-

1- General Conditions, detailed NIT, Tender documents & otherinformation of the above construction work downloaded fromthe Eprocurement web portal or departmental websitehttp://eproc.cgstate.gov.in.

2- NIT No. & Name of the Work should be essentially mentioned onthe envelope through the Registerd Post/Speed Post in this office.

OFFICE OF THE SUPERINTENDING ENGINEER PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT, DURG CIRCLE DURG (C.G.)

G- 83377/4 Ryp/Dtd 29.8.20

NIT No. Name of work P.A.C.(Rs. Inlacs.)

115/Durg(Durg)/2020 CONSTRUCTION OF 6.0 x 2 SPANSLAB CULVERT AT KHAMHARIYANALA NEAR GOWTHAN VILLAGEKHAMHAIYA DISTT. DURG

49.96

118/Durg(Bemetara)/2020 Construction of 6.0 m triple spanslab culvert on Nallah at Km 2/2 onBawanlakh - Aandu Road

50.00

120/Durg(Bemetara)/2020 Strengthening of Matiya - AchholiApproach Road Length = 2.85 Kmincluding Culverts

79.99

121/Durg(Bemetara)/2020 Construction of Cement ConcreteRoad for Khairjhitykala Main Roadto Nahar Par Road, Km 1/2 to 2/6(100m) = 1.50 Km (ProposedLength 0.90 Km) (Part - 1) &Cement Concrete Road for TenduaNawapara from Bharat Gond'sHouse to Rameshwar Patel's HouseApproach Road Length 1.50 Km(Proposed Length 1.10 Km)(Part - 1)

158.79

Superintending EngineerP.W.D., Durg Circle Durg (C.G.)

Tel. 0788-2210876

STAFF REPORTER nRAIPUR

Anti-national forces andthose ranged against the

poor are spreading hatred andinfusing the venom of vio-lence in India while the influ-ence of ‘tanashahi’ (dictator-ship) over ‘lokshahi’ (democ-racy) is on the rise, InterimCongress President SoniaGandhi said on Saturday.

Sonia Gandhi wasaddressing the foundationstone laying ceremony of thenew Chhattisgarh Assemblybuilding at Nava Raipur, AtalNagar, through the virtualmode.

She added that thefounding fathers of thecountry would have neverdreamt that after 75 years ofindependence, theConstitution and democracywould be in danger.

With unrealistic thoughtsdominating in every sphere,freedom of expression is indanger and the degradation ofdemocratic institutions isunderway, she added.

Sonia Gandhi said thecountry is at a crossroad as

new challenges are beingthrown at democracy.Attempts were made in thepast also to derail the country.

"Anti-national and anti-poor forces and those rulingthe country combined arespreading hatred and incitingviolence among the people.They want all the people from

different cross-sections ofsociety to keep mum, thuswanting to suppress the voiceof citizens."

Sonia Gandhi extendedher best wishes on the foun-dation stone laying ceremonyand said: “Today is an impor-tant day and all of us shouldtake a pledge to protect the

foundation of democracy.Decisions, when in power,should be taken in the interestof the person standing at thevery end. Parliament andState Assemblies are pillarsand temples of democracywhich should exist. It is notbuildings which can protectthe Constitution.”

Former CongressPresident Rahul Gandhi saidin his message: “TheChhattisgarh government isworking with total responsi-bility towards the people. Thedecisions taken are ensuringmoney in the hands of farm-ers, workers and poor people.Hope this public oriented

work will continue.”Parliamentary Minister

Ravindra Choubey read outRahul Gandhi's message.

Chief Minister BhupeshBaghel said in his address thathis government is working tomake Nava Raipur a populat-ed zone. Construction ofhouses for cabinet ministers,

officers as well as employeeshas already commenced. Dueto Covid-19 pandemic therehas been a delay.

"The ParliamentarySecretaries have beenallocated residences at NavaRaipur."

Assembly Speaker DrCharan Das Mahant said the

Assembly is not just abuilding but a temple ofdemocracy. All MLAs shouldtake a pledge to furtherstrengthen the democraticforces in the country.

Leader of OppositionDharamlal Kaushik, cabinetministers and MLAs attendedthe event.

Anti-national forces spreading venom: Sonia GandhiRAIPUR: The new Assembly building will be built at a costof `270 crores and spread over 51 acres at Sector 19, behindthe Secretariat and the Head of Department buildings. Themain building will be of 52,497 square metres, said PublicWorks Department Minister Tamradhwaj Sahu.

He said the concept of building has been kept akin toNorth and South Avenue in New Delhi. Before the newbuilding, a ‘Rajpath’ like road will be constructed, which willconnect the ‘Mahanadi’ (Secretariat) and ‘Indiravati’ (Headof Department) buildings. One can walk and arrive at theState Assembly.

It would be most modern in facilities and communica-tion technology. A modern library and auditorium will alsobe constructed.

The House will have seating capacity for 200 MLAsbesides a Speaker’s Gallery, Officers’ Gallery, a VIP Gallery,a Press Gallery and a Public Gallery.

It would have chambers for Speaker, Chief Minister andMinisters, Leader of Opposition, Deputy Speaker, ChiefSecretary and Assembly officials, meeting halls and staffchambers.

It would have a hospital for allopathy, homeopathy andayurvedic systems of medicine, a post office, a railwayreservation counter and a bank.

STAFF REPORTER n RAIPUR

The Chhattisgarh Assemblyon Friday approved by voice

vote a resolution brought byChief Minister Bhupesh Baghelto include Chhattisgarhilanguage in the 8th Schedule ofthe Constitution.

Tabling a governmentresolution on the last day of thefour-day Monsoon session,Baghel said Chhattisgarhi hasbeen given the status of a StateLanguage.

But even after 20 years ofChhattisgarh's formation, itslanguage has not been includedin the 8th Schedule of theConstitution.

This was necessary todevelop a language, he said.

Baghel pointed out that for ayear literary figures, poets andwriters held seminars on theissue. In 2007 a private resolu-tion to include the language in

the 8th Schedule was tabled inthe House which was alsopassed through voice vote.

The previous governmenthad sent a proposal to theCentral government to includethe language in the 8thSchedule. Several other regionallanguages had been included butnot Chhattisgarhi, he said.

Baghel said the governmentis promoting culinary andlifestyle festivals. Even officersand employees are learning thelanguage.

He said that when Odisharesidents meet, they speak inOdia, Maharashtrians inMarathi and those from AndhraPradesh in Telugu.

He urged all members tosupport the resolution.Members including AjayChandrakar, Sangitha Sinha,Dharamjeet Singh and DrRaman Singh participated in thediscussion.

STAFF REPORTER nRAIPUR

The ChhattisgarhAssembly has passed the

‘Chhattisgarh Private SchoolsFee Regulation Bill 2020’ byvoice vote under which acommittee of parents will beformed to decide the fees ofprivate schools.

Tabling the Bill onFriday, the concluding day ofa four-day Monsoon session,Education Minister DrPremsai Singh Tekam said ithad been brought to resolvethe complaints lodged byparents.

To regulate the fees, threecommittees will be constitut-ed: one each at the school,district and state levels.

The school fees commit-tee will be chaired by the

District Collector. It will havea nodal officer nominated bythe Collector and one parenteach of students from pri-mary, middle, high and high-er secondary levels as mem-bers. The school principalwill be Member Secretary.

The Minister said thedistrict level fees committeeunder the Collector will haveone accounts or treasury offi-cer, one educationist, onelawyer, two parents from theprivate school and two

private school managers asmembers.

The District EducationOfficer will be MemberSecretary of the panel.

The state level fees com-mittee Chairman will be theSchool Education Minister.The committee members willbe the Commissioner orDirector Public Instructions,Finance Controller withoffice of Director PublicInstructions or JointDirector, Finance.

The School EducationDepartment Secretary will beMember Secretary.

If the Bill is violated, andproved in a court, it will leadto a fine for the first violation.This will total Rs 50,000 ordouble of what was chargedas fixed fees, whichever ismore.

Subsequent violationswill invite a fine of Rs 1 lakhor four times the amount ofwhatever is charged,whichever is more.

The state panel will final-ize the policy for chargingfees by private schools andother committees will fix thefees based on the guidelines.

All private schools willtable the fees proposed beforethe school committee forapproval, which must decidewithin a month.

STAFF REPORTER nRAIPUR

Heavy rains batteredseveral parts of

Chhattisgarh over the lasttwo days, creating a flood-like situation in some areasin at least four districts andcausing rivers, includingthe Mahanadi, to flowabove the danger mark,officials said on Saturday.

According to theRevenue and DisasterManagement departments,the state received 1,047.3mm average rain bySaturday.

Bijapur district with2,008.3 mm got the maxi-mum rains while Surgujawith 726.0 mm received theleast, an official pressrelease said.

Nearly 12,000 houses invarious districts were

partially or completelydamaged due to the inces-sant rainfall and thousandsof people were shifted torelief camps, it said.

Chief MinisterBhupesh Baghel chaired ameeting on Friday nightwith all District Collectorsand Superintendents ofPolice (SPs) through

video-conferencing toassess the situation and takestock of relief measures, anofficial said on Saturday.

"Flood-like situationhave been created in manydistricts due to incessantdownpour, which has sentrivers and rivulets in spate.Settlements in low-lyingareas have been inundated

in several urban areas," theofficial quoted Baghel assaying.

The Chief Minister toldofficials to ensure properarrangements for food,drinking water and healthfacilities to the affectedpeople.

He also ordered timelyevacuation of the people

stranded in flooded areas.During the meeting,

officials said that Raipur,Janjgir-Champa, Bilaspur,Durg and Raigarh districtswitnessed a record rainfallbetween Thursday andFriday while there isflood-like situation in partsof Jangir-Champa, Raigarh,Rajnandgaon andBalodabazar-Bhataparadistricts.

According to theDisaster ManagementDepartment, Jangir-Champa district received111.3 mm rainfall on Fridayand Raipur 947.9 mm.

Other districts whichsaw heavy rainfall onSaturday are Bilaspur(124.9.5mm), Dantewada(134.01 mm), Sukma(1,213.8 mm), Balodabazar(108.9 mm) and Raigarh(119.3 mm).

STAFF REPORTER n RAIPUR

With 1,157 fresh casesdetected on Saturday,

the total number of Covid-19positive cases found so far hasexceeded 28,000 inChhattisgarh.

Also, 709 patients weredischarged from hospitalsupon their recovery whileeight deaths of Covid-19patients were recorded, push-ing the total fatalities to 259,Health Department officialssaid in the daily report.

A 45-year-old man fromTamnar Raigarh was detectedCovid-19 positive and wasadmitted in the Raigarh dedi-cated Covid hospital onAugust 28. He died onSaturday.

A 38-year-old man ofNuapada in Odisha wasadmitted in NarayanaNHMMI Hospital Raipur withbreathlessness on August 25.He was detected Covid posi-tive and died on August 26,the report said.

A 53-year-old man fromRajatalabf who was sufferingfrom chronic liver disease wasadmitted in NHMMI Raipuron August 19 with breathless-ness. He died on Friday afterCovid pneumonia and multiorgan failure.

A 30-year-old man fromRimsa Durg who died in aroad accident on August 27was brought to AIIMS Raipur.He was detected Covid posi-tive.

A 76-year-old man fromMahasamund who had fever,cough and breathlessness wasadmitted in Medishine

Hospital Raipur on August 23.He had acute respiratory dis-tress, pneumonia in bothlungs and was detected Covidpositive. He died on Saturday,the report said.

A 35-year-old Covid posi-tive man from IndiranagarRajnandgaon was admitted inGandhi Nursing HomeRajnandgaon and was latershifted to a government med-ical college Rajnandgaon andthen to AIIMS Raipur. He diedon Saturday.

A 60-year-old Covid posi-tive woman from Balod whohad kidney disease was admit-ted in Dr BR AmbedkarMemorial Hospital Raipur onAugust 25. She died onSaturday, the report said.

A 48-year-old man fromRaigarh who was sufferingfrom breathlessness respirato-ry distress was admitted inAmbedkar Hospital on August20. She was detected Covidpositive and died on Saturday.

So far 28,390 persons havebeen detected corona positivein Chhattisgarh while 15,818have been discharged fromhospitals. Currently, there are12,313 active cases in the state.

Assembly backs resolution toinclude C’garhi in 8th Schedule

Pvt docs to assist in ICUs,OTs in govt district hospitalsRAIPUR: To deal with the shortage ofdoctors in Chhattisgarh in the face ofthe corona pandemic, the state govern-ment has decided to run ICUs andoperation theatres at Covid centers withhelp of doctors in the private sector.

The Health Department haswritten to all Collector-cum-SupervisorOfficers and asked them to callmeetings of district IMA (IndianMedical Association) members andinform them about the decision.

“The numbers of Covid-19 patientsand their complications are constantlyincreasing. In such circumstances thereis urgent need of running operationtheatres and ICUs in Medical Collegesand Covid centers of various districts,”the letter said.

Under the Epidemic Control Act1897 and the Chhattisgarh EpidemicDisease Covid-19 Regulation 2020, theCollectors have been directed tosummon IMA members at district leveland take their support, officials said. IfICUs and operation theaters functionin district hospitals, it will reduce theburden on the Raipur Medical Collegeand AIIMS Raipur, the officials added.

Heavy rains batter many parts of C’garh

Parents to decide school feesThe state panel will finalizethe policy for charging feesby private schools and othercommittees will fix the feesbased on the guidelines

Over 28K Covid casesin C’garh, 8 more death

Page 4: ˘ ˇ ˆ ˆ˙˝ ˛ ˚ ˇ ˜ ˇ · 7 hours ago · Her questioning went on seven-long hours. Around 8.30 pm, Rhea stepped out of the DRDO guesthouse along with her brother Showik,

����������������*������ *������+ ,-.�/-/-

Lucknow: A case of double murder in a high-secu-rity zone has sent shock waves across the state capi-tal. The wife and son of a senior railway officer wereshot dead in the posh Guatampalli area on Saturday,police said.

Their bodies were recovered from their residencein Railway Colony. Police and forensic department offi-cials reached the crime scene and have started inves-tigations. The double murder in Lucknow's high-secu-rity zone has sent the police department into a tizzy.

Senior police officials including Director Generalof Police HC Awasthi reached the spot.

Prima facie, the police are denying the possibili-ty of it being a case of loot. IANS

Malappuram (Kerala): For Kerala healthauthorities, Saturday brought good newsas a 110-year-old woman tested negativefor Covid-19 and was discharged from thestate-run Medical College near here.

Pathu (110) thus became the oldestCovid patient to recover in the state.Previously, the state also saw two elderlyCovid patients, aged 105 and 103 years,recovering and returning home.

“Pathu had turned Covid positive OnAugust 18 after she contracted the diseasefrom her daughter. She will be underobservation at her home now,” the healthauthorities said. IANS

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In a second back to back antiterrorist operation in South

Kashmir district of Pulwama,a joint team of security forcesearly Saturday morninggunned down three HizbulMujahideen terrorists whileone sepoy of the Indian Armyattained martyrdom duringthe gunfight.

According to a policespokesman, “On a specificinput regarding presence of ter-rorists in village Zadoora areaof Pulwama, a joint cordon andsearch operation was launchedby Police, 50RR and182/183BN CRPF late Fridaynight. During the search oper-ation, as the presence of ter-rorists got ascertained theywere given the opportunity tosurrender, however they fired

indiscriminately upon the jointsearch party, which was retal-iated leading to an encounter”.

In the ensuing encounter,03 terrorists were killed andtheir bodies were retrievedfrom the site of encounter.

Police spokesman said theterrorists were identified as

Adil Hafiz, Arshid Ahmad Darand Rouf Ahmad Mir, all res-idents of Pulwama.

They were all affiliatedwith proscribed terror outfitHizbul Mujahideen, headded.As per police records,Adil Hafiz was involved incase FIR No. 112/2020 per-

taining to attack on naka partyat Prichoo Bridge in which onepolice personnel was martyredand another was injured.

During the said encounter,one Army jawan also receivedcritical injuries who was shift-ed to hospital for treatmentwhere he succumbed to his

injuries and attained martyr-dom.

Later, the army paid abefitting tribute to SepPrashant Sharma.

In a solemn ceremony atBB Cantt, Lt-Gen BS Raju,Chinar Corps Commander andall ranks paid homage to thebraveheart.

Sep Prashant Sharma was23 years old and had joined the26 Mechanised InfantryBattalion of the Army on 21Nov 2016. He was presentlyserving with 50 Rashtriya RiflesBattalion. He belonged toVillage Khanjapur ofMuzaffarnagar District in UttarPradesh and is survived by hisparents.

The mortal remains of SepPrashant Sharma were takenfor last rites to his native place,where he would be laid to restwith full military honours.

Lucknow: Sixty-two morepeople died of Covid-19 inUttar Pradesh pushing thedeath toll to 3,356, while 5,684new cases took the state's infec-tion tally to 2,19,457, accord-ing to an official statementissued here on Saturday.

The latest Covid-19 deathsreported include seven fatalitieseach in Kanpur and Prayagrajand four in Bareilly, the state-ment said.

Lucknow, Gorakhpur,Hapur and Amroha eachreported three Covid-19 fatal-ities, while Varanasi, Ayodhya,Kushinagar, Basti, Unnao andBijnor each reported two coro-navirus deaths, it said.

Of the fresh Covid-19cases, 664 were in Lucknow,followed by 367 in Gorakhpur,306 in Prayagraj, 300 inKanpur, 190 in Shahjahanpur,188 in Moradabad, 182 inVaranasi, 150 in Ghaziabad,141 in Saharanpur, 123 each inBareilly and Rampur, 121 inGautam Buddh Nagar, 119 inJhansi, 113 in Meerut and 107in Aligarh, according to thegovernment statement.

The count of active Covid-19 cases in the state now standsat 53,360, it said. So far,1,62,741 Covid-19 patients in

the state have recovered fromthe disease and have been dis-charged, the statement said.

Meanwhile, Uttar PradeshChief Minister Yogi Adityanathon Saturday directed officials toramp up Covid-19 testing to1.50 lakh per day.

The testing is crucial intackling the menace of corona,hence the efforts should betowards augmenting it on a reg-ular basis, he pointed out.

Presiding over a high-levelUnlock review meeting at hisofficial residence, Adityanathsaid providing proper Covid-19treatment to the patients is acommitment of his govern-ment.

The chief minister askedthe DMs and CMOs to hold

two meetings everyday andstressed the need of compul-sory use of masks and adher-ence to social distancingnorms.

Adityanath said the train-ing of medical staff to operatemedical equipment should beemphasised upon and the staffconducting High Flow NasalCannula (HFNC) machinesshould be given priority.

He said communicationwith the home isolated patientsshould be maintained to getfeedback on their conditionand the CM helpline can alsobe used for this purpose.

Adityanath also asked tointensify contact tracing, sur-veillance and door-to-door sur-vey works. PTI

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Himachal Pradesh ChiefMinister Jai Ram Thakur on

Saturday visited the strategicAtal Tunnel, earlier known asRohtang tunnel, constructed atan altitude above 10,000 feet withan outlay of �3,500 crore. He saidit would be inaugurated byPrime Minister Narendra Modinext month. The Chief Ministerreviewed the progress work ofthe tunnel with officials of theBorder Road Organisation(BRO), an official statementsaid. He directed the BRO offi-cials to expeditiously give finaltouch to the tunnel, so that itcould be made ready for inau-guration by Prime MinisterModi by the end of September.

The tunnel is extremely sig-nificant from the military logis-tics point of view, he added.

Thakur said the PrimeMinister has shown keen inter-est in early completion of thismega project, which would notonly be important from thestrategic point of view, but wouldalso give boost to tourism activ-ities in Lahaul-Spiti districtbesides creating employmentand self-employment avenues inthe area.

He said that by cutting throughthe Pir Panjal range, the tunnel hasreduced the distance between Manaliand Leh by 46 km. He said the AtalTunnel would be a boon to the res-idents of Lahaul who remain cut offfrom the rest of the country for near-ly six months in winters due to heavysnowfall. The ambitious AtalTunnel would provide all-weath-er connectivity to Leh and theforward areas of Ladakh. TheChief Minister said that for all-weather connectivity up to Leh-Ladakh, additional tunnelswould have to be built on the 475km Manali-Leh route so that thehigh passes do not impedemovement due to heavy snow-fall. A 13.2 km long tunnelwould have to be built to nego-tiate the 16,040-feet highBaralacha Pass and another14.78 km-long tunnel would berequired at the Lachung La Passat 16,800 feet and the third7.32-km long tunnel would berequired at Tanglang La Pass at17,480 feet.

The Chief Minister said thatsnow galleries have also beenbuilt at the approach road to theAtal Tunnel from the Manaliside, and this would ensure all-weather connectivity. He saidthat bridges on the approach

road to the tunnel from the northportal (on Lahaul side) and thesouth portal have also beencompleted. Thakur said the tun-nel has several user-friendly fea-tures which include an emer-gency escape tunnel that hasbeen built under the main tun-nel. This would provide anemergency exit in case of anyuntoward incident, which mayrender the main tunnel unusable.

While the tunnel was orig-inally designed as 8.8 km long,fresh GPS readings taken by theBRO after the work on it wascompleted showed that it is 9 kmin length. It would be the world'slongest tunnel at an altitude of10,000 feet.

Chief Engineer of BRO, BrigK.P. Purshothaman, assured theChief Minister that the projectwould be completed within thestipulated time period.

He said the tunnel also pro-vides telephone facility at every150 metres, fire hydrant at every60 metres, emergency exit atevery 500 metres, turning cavernat every 2.2 km, air qualitymonitoring at every 1 km, andbroadcasting system and auto-matic incident detection systemwith CCTV cameras at every 250metres

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It may be recalled about theincident that took place on

January 20 in Ramsnehi Nagar,Ramghat Road, Quarsi. Theson of grocer businessmanDinesh Sharma was kidnappedfor ransom by Jitendra Kumar ofKasganj, who used to live as atenant in Dinesh Sharma'shouse.

Police arrested the accusedfrom Agra and recovered thechild safely. Lakhs were lootedin daylight by miscreants livingin the neighborhood of X-raytechnician's house in Gulistanancolony near FM tower locatednear the same police station.There have been many suchincidents in district. Even afterthis, the need of verification oftenant is not considered.

The city has a population ofabout 12 lakhs. Of these, morethan one and a half lakh peoplelive on rent, out of which morethan half are living withoutpolice verification. Police haveseen such cases even during theinvestigation of criminalsinvolved in several criminalincidents.

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The survey for doubling ofMoradabad-Chandausi-

Bareilly-Aligarh route has start-ed. Based on the report, theRailway Board will approvedoubling. And then the workwill start. This will save 1 hourin reaching Aligarh. Right nowit takes 3.50 hours fromMoradabad.

After doubling, the numberof trains and goods trains willincrease on this route. DivisionalRailway Manager Tarun Prakashtold media person that a thirdline is also being surveyedbetween Bareilly to Roza to runmore and more goods trains.Approval will be given onlyafter the report.

The work of doublingbetween Laksar-Haridwar willbe completed by October.Doubling from Roza to Sitapurwill be completed by March2021. 80 percent of the electri-fication work in the division hasbeen completed.

The names will be written infour languages ??at Uttarakhandstations: DRM said that theRailway Board has decided towrite the names of the stationsof Uttarakhand in English,Hindi, Urdu and Sanskrit.

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Gujarat recorded its highestSingle-day spike of 1,282

new COVID-19 cases onSaturday, taking its total countto 93,883, state health depart-ment said.

With 13 deaths, the tollrose to 2,991, it said.

A total of 1,111 patientswere discharged in the day, tak-ing the number of recoveries to75,662, the department said ina release.

Gujarat's COVID-19 caserecovery rate now stands at80.59 per cent, it said.

A total of 74,234 tests wereconducted in the last 24 hours,which comes at the rate of1,142.06 tests per day per mil-lion population.

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As many as 792 villages in 16districts of Uttar Pradesh

have been affected by floods,with the Sharda and the Saryurivers flowing above the dangermark at some places in thestate, a government officialsaid on Saturday.

The flood-affected districtsin the state are Ambedkarnagar,Ayodhya, Azamgarh, Bahraich,Ballia, Barabanki, Basti, Deoria,Farrukhabad, Gonda,Gorakhpur, Kushinagar,Lakhimpur Khiri, Mau,Shahjahanpur and Sitapur.

According to the office ofthe relief commissioner, of 792villages hit by the deluge, 437villages are completely flooded.

The Sharda river was flow-ing above the danger mark atPalia Kalan in LakhimpurKheri, while the Saryu river

was flowing above the dangermark at Ayodhya, Elgin Bridgein Barabanki and Turtipar inBallia.

Chairing a meeting ofsenior officials of the stategovernment, Chief MinisterYogi Adityanath on Saturdaysaid relief work in flood-hitareas should be conducted infull steam.

Ration kits and medicalfacilities should also bearranged in flood-affectedareas, he said and asked offi-cials to conduct an early surveyof the damage to the crops andcompensation payment.

Backward Class Welfareand Divyanjan EmpowermentMinister Anil Rajbhar onSaturday said the chief minis-ter has issued instructions toensure constant patrolling ofembankments and assertedthat all embankments aresafe.

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Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant onSaturday claimed that coronavirus cases in

the coastal state were on the rise since GaneshChaturthi and this was because people violat-ed safety norms during the festival.

There has been a spike in cases, as peopledid not wear masks or follow social distanc-ing norms during the festivities, Sawant said.

“We have noticed that the number ofCOVID-19 cases have increased after GaneshChaturthi. Daily count was hovering around150 cases per day before the festival, but nowthere has been a rise,” Sawant said.

Urging people to practise social distanc-ing, the chief minister said he took precau-tionary measures during his daily work rou-tine.

The chief minister was addressing peopleafter flagging off Arogya Express vans at hisAssembly constituency Sankhalim on Saturday.

The coastal state has so far recorded16,006 COVID-19 cases and 175 deaths.

Guwahati: Assam Education Minister HimantaBiswa Sarma said on Saturday that classes forstandard 12 and final year of undergraduate pro-grammes will commence on September 15 in aninformal and experimental way.

Speaking at a press conference here, he saidthese informal classes will be on till September30, but it will be discontinued if any student orteacher tests positive in between.

“The principals or heads will make four-fivesmall groups, which will come and interact withteachers in informal classes,” Sarma said.

“In little primary or middle-primary schools,the kids are now coming once a week for col-lecting mid-day meals.

From September 15, they will come twice aweek and the teachers will hand over a studymaterial along with a question paper for sub-mitting it in the next week,” Sarma said.

The teachers will evaluate the answer sheetsin front of the students and will give tasks for thenext week, he added.

“The teachers will have to come fromSeptember 1 and will oversee proper sanitisationof their institutes. We are arranging funds for thesame and it will be sent to them within the nextfew days,” Sarma said. PTI

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#��������������9����������������9�����#��������:�'���� Chennai: Tamil Nadu has achieved a recovery rate of 85.45 per

cent with 3,49,682 people having been cured of coronavirus, the“highest” in the country, Chief Minister K Palaniswami said hereon Saturday. The state's mortality rate was a “very low” 1.7 per cent,he said. In his video-conference meeting with District Collectorson Saturday to review the lockdown being enforced to contain thespread of coronavirus, Palaniswami said his government had sofar spent �7,162 crore towards controlling the pandemic, treatmentand relief measures.

“I wish to point out that Tamil Nadu has the highest recoveryrate of 85.45 per cent (3,49,682 cured) in the country and the deathrate is a very low 1.7 per cent,” he said. As of Friday, Tamil Nadu'soverall tally of coronavirus cases stood at 4.09 lakh. So far 7,050related deaths have been recorded. Currently, there are 58,840 bedsin COVID hospitals, 77,223 beds in COVID-19 special centres, and26,801 beds with oxygen facilities. Apart from these, there are 4,782beds in Intensive Care Units and 5,718 ventilators have also beenkept ready, he said. PTI

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They say “Every blood donoris a life saver”. The unprece-

dented times of COVID-19has however made regularblood donors wary of going tohospitals and donation campsfor fear of contracting theinfection.

The deadly COVID-19,which the world has not seenin the last century, has led to apotentially ominous downsidei.e. sharp decline in blooddonations. A significant impacton blood availability due toreduced voluntary blood dona-tion is seen across India duringthe pandemic which hasalready caused a health crisis.

At the Post GraduateInstitute of Medical Educationand Research, Chandigarh,there is a growing concernover the decreasing bloodreserves due to the blood sup-ply chain being disturbed amidthe COVID-19 (Coronavirus)pandemic.

“Various challenges havebeen hampering voluntary

blood donation during theCOVID-19 crisis. More than 85percent of the blood supplyused to come from voluntaryblood donors at PGIMERbefore the pandemic hit thecountry,” says Dr Ratti RamSharma, Head, Department ofTransfusion Medicine (BloodBank), PGIMER while talkingto The Pioneer.

Blood banks are dependenton voluntary blood donations,he says adding that “During thenormal times, the daily bloodcollection was between 200-250units and even more than thatsometimes. But now the col-lection has reduced by 50 per-cent and come down to 100-150 units per day here.”

“As per the demand on adaily basis, more than 200units are being issued by theblood bank. At present, we havestock to meet the daily demandbut given the current circum-stances and sudden surge inCOVID-19 cases, we foresee ascenario where it could becomedifficult to maintain inventoryfor daily supplies,” Dr Sharmaadds.

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Prime Minister NarendraModi on Saturday said the

Government is committed tothe development of drought-prone Bundelkhand region andaround 500 projects worthover �10,000 crore have beensanctioned for improving wateravailability. In his address afterthe virtual inauguration of col-lege and administration build-ings of Jhansi-based RaniLakshmi Bai CentralAgricultural University, aprominent institute of theBundelkhand region, the PMModi said that India has con-trolled the spread of crop-threatening migratory pestdesert locusts by usingadvanced technologies, includ-ing drones, and ensured therewas not much crop damage.

Observing that the benefitof water from three rivers,Ken, Betwa and Yamuna, wasnot reaching the Bundelkhandregion, Modi said the pro-posed Ken-Betwa river linkingproject has the potential tochange the fortune of the areaand the Centre is in discussionwith both Uttar Pradesh andMadhya Pradesh on this issue.Besides water projects, Modisaid thousands of crores worthof projects are being imple-mented in this region, includ-

ing Bundelkhand Expresswayand Defence Corridor, thatwill create job opportunities.

PM Modi stressed on theneed to promote greater use oflatest technologies in the farmsector. Modern technology ishelping deal with the challengesrelated to agriculture. Oneexample of it was how theGovernment used technologyto minimise damage caused bylocust attack in about 10 Statesrecently,” he said.

“In May, the Bundelkhandregion had faced locust prob-lem. ...I was told the regionfaced the locust attack after 30years. Not only Uttar Pradesh,

more than 10 states faced thelocust problem,” the PM saidwhile talking about the locustattack in Bundelkhand.

Talking about the stepstaken to minimise the prob-lems faced by the people dur-ing the coronavirus pandemic,the PM said free rations arebeing provided to crores ofpoor and rural families inUttar Pradesh.

Around 10 lakh poorwomen in Bundelkhand havebeen given free gas cylindersduring this period. UnderGarib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyan,over 7 hundred crore rupeeshave been spent in UP so far,

under which employment wasprovided to lakhs of workers.

After the inauguration, thePrime Minister interacted withuniversity students and askedabout ways to address certainchallenges like reducing importof edible oils and increasingfood processing, especially infruits and vegetables.

Modi asked a studentwhether awareness amongfarmers can be created aboutmicro, drip and sprinkler irri-gation in the drought-proneBundelkhand region. Duringthe interaction, the PrimeMinister stressed on promotingrecycling of water and rainwa-ter harvesting through innov-ative and less costlier technol-ogy in the region.

Invoking Rani LakshmiBai’s Quote that “I will not givemy Jhansi”, the Prime Ministergave a clarion call for ‘MeriJhansi- Mera Bundelkhand’and urged the people of Jhansiand Bundelkhand to makeAtmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan asuccess.

The Prime Minister notedthat Agriculture has a majorrole to contribute in ‘MeriJhansi- Mera Bundelkhand’Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan.He said self-reliance inAgriculture targets at makingFarmers both- producer as wellas entrepreneur. PM said in line

with this spirit, several historicagricultural reforms were taken.Just like other industries, nowFarmers can also sell their pro-duce anywhere in the country,wherever they fetch betterprices.

Rani Lakshmi Bai CentralAgricultural University startedits first academic session in2014-15 and is offering bothunder-graduate and post-grad-uate courses in agriculture,horticulture and forestry. It iscurrently operating from theIndian Grassland and FodderResearch Institute, Jhansi as themain buildings were gettingready.

Speaking on the occasion,Agriculture Minister NarendraSingh Tomar said the inaugu-ration was long awaited and willbenefit farmers not only in theBundelkhand region but theentire country. There is scopefor promoting organic farmingin the region towards which thegovernment is working, he said,and added that the governmentis working towards doublingfarmers’ income by 2022.

Uttar Pradesh ChiefMinister Yogi Adityanath saidsetting up of a central agricul-tural university in Jhansi willbenefit the drought-proneBundelkhand region and helpfarmers become self-reliant.

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As the Monsoon Session ofParliament is set to start

from September 14, it will be a‘new normal’ for the MPs inview of the ongoing Covid-19pandemic.

Union Health Minister DrHarsh Vardhan on Saturdayinstructed the Health Ministryto develop standard operatingprocedures (SoPs) for theMembers of Parliament (MPS)and the Legislative Assemblysessions comprising Covid pro-tocols and preventive mea-sures.

The directions were givenby the Union Health Ministerduring the 20th meeting of thehigh-level Group of Ministers(GoM) on COVID-19. TheGoM was briefed on the cur-rent status of Covid-19 in thecountry.

The direction for framingSoPs came a day after LokSabha Speaker Om Birla saidthat MPs will be requested toget themselves tested forCOVID-19 at least 72 hoursbefore the start of the MonsoonSession of Parliament.

Besides MPs, all those whoare expected to enter theParliament premises, includingofficials from ministries, rep-

resentatives from the mediaand staff of Lok Sabha andRajya Sabha secretariats, willget tested for the coronavirusbefore the start of the session,Om Birla had said.

The GoM also expressedconcern over the forthcomingfestival season and advisedeveryone to adopt safe andCovid-appropriate behaviour.Vardhan expressed satisfactionat the various coordinatedefforts of the CentralGovernment and those of thestates and union territories.

It was noted that despitebeing resource constrained anddensely populated, timely lock-down and rapid augmentationof infrastructure by India haveenabled the cases per millionand deaths per million toremain considerably lowercompared to other countries.

Dr Sujit Singh, DirectorNCDC (National Centre forDisease Control) presented adetailed report on surveillanceefforts undertaken in Indiaduring the pandemic throughthe IDSP (Integrated DiseaseSurveillance Programme) net-work. He highlighted the chal-lenges faced and the learningsfrom the various States.

He also threw light on thetrajectory of COVID in some

States and elaborated on theirresponse and management.

The major concern areasin the country were high-lighted. It was mentioned thatthere needs to be continuedattention on promotion ofwearing of masks, physicaldistancing and respiratory eti-quette.

Dr Vinod K Paul,Chairperson of theEmpowered Group-1 on theMedical Emergency manage-ment plan, apprised the GoMof the process of a Covid vac-cine development in Indiaand around the world. Hestated that 29 candidates,including 2 Indian ones, are inClinical Trials out of which 6are in Phase III. In India,Bharat Biotech’s vaccine can-didate based on inactivatedvirus procured by ICMR is inPhase II trial along with ZydusCadila’s candidate which isbased on viral DNA.

The Oxford vaccine can-didate developed by SerumInstitute of India is already inPhase III trial in Maharashtraand some other States. RajeshBhushan, Health Secretary,apprised the GoM of theefforts made by the HealthMinistry towards mentalhealth during the pandemic.

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Healthcare systems aroundthe world need to devel-

op ways of supporting peoplein the community who arerecovering from Covid-19,researchers have said as theynoted that more than one-third of the people who havebeen severely ill with the dis-ease could have long-termsymptoms, some of themdebilitating.

The top three could befatigue, breathlessness and

psychological distress,observed the researchersbased on their study, results ofwhich have been published inthe Journal of RehabilitationMedicine.

“Although COVID-19starts as an acute infection ofthe lungs, it can develop intoa “multi-system illness” leav-ing people with symptomsthat can last for months andyears - including breathless-ness, fatigue, weakness, pain,cardiac problems, cognitiveand psychological problems,”said the study by experts from

the University of Leeds, LeedsTeaching Hospitals NHSTrust, Leeds CommunityHealthcare NHS Trust andNHS Leeds ClinicalCommissioning Group.

Dr Manoj Sivan, AssociateClinical Professor at theUniversity of Leeds and aConsultant in rehabilitationmedicine in the NHS Trustssaid: “It has been estimatedthat to date, 23 million peopleworldwide have been infectedby the disease. Most will haveexperienced a mild illness buta sizeable minority, up to onemillion, will have after-effectsthat will last for many monthsand possibly years.

“We know from previousoutbreaks of Spanish flu,SARS and Ebola that up to athird of survivors can sufferfrom long term problems,particularly chronic fatiguethat has implications on fam-ily life, work and health econ-omy.

“With COVID-19, there isan opportunity to interveneearly, provide timely special-

ist rehabilitation, and ensurepeople have the best func-tional recovery and return totheir vocation as early as pos-sible.”

People who have beenseverely ill with Covid-19were screened after they wererecovered.

The screening identifiedsymptoms that need to beurgently assessed by relevant

specialist healthcare profes-sionals in secondary or pri-mary care services. Servicesinclude respiratory medicine,pulmonary rehabilitation,physiotherapy, occupationaltherapy, psychology or com-bined multidisciplinary clin-ics.

Dr Ian Clifton, HonorarySenior Lecturer at theUniversity of Leeds and

Consultant in RespiratoryMedicine, added: “One of thechallenges we face is thatCOVID-19 is a new diseaseand we do not yet know thecourse that people will followas they recover. It is essentialthat recovery services haveinput from a range of special-ties, so expert help is on handwhen and where it is needed.”

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The National InvestigationAgency (NIA) arrested

Lashkar-e-Tayyaba (LeT) ter-rorist Shabeel Ahmed afterbeing deported from SaudiArabia late last night. Ahmedis linked to 2007 Glasgow air-port attack mastermind KafeelAhmed.

Shabeel is the cousin of theUK airport attack plotter Kafeel.Ahmed was also wanted inIndia in a case registered by theDelhi Police Special Cell in 2015and was declared a proclaimedoffender by a Delhi court inJuly, 2016, NIA officials saidwithout revealing much abouthis deportation citing involve-ment of foreign relations.

In India, the role of Ahmedcame under scrutiny after theSpecial Cell busted a major AlQaeda in Indian Subcontinent(AQIS) network with the arrestof Cuttack-based cleric AbdulRehman and others inDecember 2015, they said.

Rehman had told the secu-rity agencies that he had metAhmed in Bengaluru in 2009,shortly after the latter hadreturned from the UK afterserving a prison term in con-nection with the 2007 attack inthe UK in which a person waskilled.

Ahmed is said to havemoved from Bengaluru toSaudi Arabia in 2010-11 andwas staying there since then.

Another AQIS suspect SyedMohammed Zishan Ali,believed to be married toAhmed`s sister, was broughtfrom Saudi Arabia in August2017.

The NIA will subject thealleged LeT operative to sus-tained interrogation and also

take him to places likeBengaluru to unravel his larg-er network in the country.Ahmed is a big catch and hisquestioning will be crucial forthe anti-terror probe in whichofficials of the sister agencieswill also take part, they added.

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Students unions on Saturdaymounted pressure on the

Government to stall the con-duct of NEET and JEE entrancetests beginning next week withthe AISA writing to ChiefMinisters to invoke the StateDisaster Management Act andthe Congress-backed NSUImembers sitting on a hungerstrike.

The All India StudentsAssociation (AISA) urged theChief Ministers to invoke theState Disaster ManagementAct to postpone or cancel theNEET and JEE exams sched-uled next month.

“Students who are appear-ing for exams conducted by theCentral Government are resi-dents of your State, and itbecomes your Government’sprerogative to safeguard theirhealth and interests. It was awelcome step by few state gov-ernments to file a review peti-tion in Supreme Court askingit to review its order-demand-

ing holding of exams.However, it is more importantfor your government to standby your students, as you arewell aware of the threat of pan-demic and havoc it has had onthe lives and livelihoods ofmany families,” the letter toCMs states.

Also three leaders of theCongress-affiliated NationalStudents Union of India(NSUI) sat on indefinitehunger strike at Panaji Goademanding that JEE and NEETexaminations be postponed.The leaders, including NSUI’s

Goa unit chief Ahraz Mulla,Prasenjeet Dhage and NaushadChawdhari who also demadedthat college fees be waived by60 percent in view of theCOVID-19 situation.

While some of the protest-ing States like Jharkhand haveopened up their public trans-port to facilitate students andparents movements for thepurpose of exams, all eyes areon the Supreme Court which islikely to take up the matter ofStates’ on Monday as Six stateshave appealed for postpone-ment of the NEET and JEE.

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The Supreme Court is sched-uled to pronounce on

August 31 its verdict on thequantum of sentence to beawarded to activist-lawyerPrashant Bhushan, convictedfor contempt of court over histwo tweets against the judicia-ry.

A bench headed by JusticeArun Mishra will pronounce itsverdict against Bhushan, whofaces simple imprisonment ofup to six months or with a fineof up to Rs 2,000 or with both

as punishment underContempt of Court Act.

On August 25, the topcourt was urged by senioradvocate Rajeev Dhavan toshow “judicial statesmanship”and not make Bhushan a “mar-tyr” by punishing him for con-tempt over his tweets criticis-ing the judiciary, after theactivist-lawyer rejected freshsuggestions from the court foran apology.

As the top court reservedits verdict on the sentence tobe awarded to Bhushan,Justice Arun Mishra, who

presided over a three-judgebench, at the fag end of thenearly three-hour-long hear-ing had asked why he cannotseek an apology and whatwas wrong in using this word.

Justice Mishra is demit-ting office on September 2.

The apex court on August14 had held Bhushan guilty ofcriminal contempt for his twoderogatory tweets against thejudiciary saying they cannotbe said to be a fair criticism ofthe functioning of the judi-ciary made in the public inter-est.

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The EnforcementDirectorate has busted ille-

gal Chinese betting apps host-ed on websites operating out ofIndia and froze �46.97 croreheld in four HSBC bankaccounts of the racket worthover �1,300 crore.

The ED conducted search-es on Friday at 15 locationsspread across Delhi, Gurgaon,Mumbai and Pune in a moneylaundering case on the regis-tered offices of the companies,their Directors and CharteredAccountants involved in ille-gally running Online BettingAPPs from websites which arehosted from outside India ledto the seizure of 17 Hard disks,five laptops, phones and crucialincriminating documents.

During the searches, EDhas identified multiple bankaccounts mostly held withHSBC Bank. Analysis of twoaccounts of DokypayTechnology Private Limitedrevealed that, in the last year,the account has seen collectionof �1,268 Crore out of which�300 crore came via Paytmpayment gateway and around�600 Crore was transferredout via Paytm payment gate-way.

Account analysis ofLinkyun Technology revealeda similar pattern. Outwardforeign remittances for pay-ments to the extent of �120crore from these accounts wasalso revealed.

Large unexplained finan-cial transactions are also seenwith other Indian companiesthat are running OnlineChinese Dating APPs forIndian customers. There is asuspicion that, apart fromindulging in banned activitieslike online betting, this net-work of companies with theirreliance on online wallets andtheir lax regulatory systems

could have been used forhawala transactions as well.ED is in the process of obtain-ing information from onlinewallet companies, HSBCBank and Registrar ofCompanies.

The ED had initiatedinvestigation underPrevention of MoneyLaundering Act (PMLA)based on the FIRs lodged byCyber Crime Station (CCS) ofHyderabad Police under var-ious IPC Sections relating tocheating and criminal con-spiracy besides provisions ofthe Telangana State GamblingAct 2017, Prize Chits &Money Circulation SchemeAct against DokypayTechnology Private Limitedand Linkyun TechnologyPrivate Limited and others.

Three persons werearrested by Police Yan Hao,24, working as Manager ofBeijing Tomorrow PowerCompany, permanent resi-dent of Room 1009, WestFlourishing road, Haidain distreet, Beijing, China; DhirajSarkar and Ankit Kapoor.

“These accused wereadopting a novel modusoperandi for doing onlinebetting scam, the ED said ina statement.

The PMLA proberevealed that, with the help ofsome Indian CharteredAccountants, some Chinesenationals floated multipleIndian Companies. Initiallydummy Indian Directors wereused to incorporate the com-panies and, after some time,Chinese nationals travelled toIndia and took Directorshipin these companies. Somelocals were hired and used toopen Bank Accounts withHSBC Bank and open tradeaccounts with online walletsnamely Paytm, Cashfree,Razorpay and the like, theagency said.

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Sweden: At least 10 peoplewere arrested in southernSweden and several police offi-cers were injured in violencewhich broke out after an anti-Muslim Danish politician wasblocked from attending aQuran-burning rally, policesaid Saturday.

Protesters threw stones atpolice and burned tyres on thestreets of Malmo late Friday,with violence escalating as theevening wore on, according topolice and local media.

The demonstration ofabout 300 people was con-nected to an incident earlier inthe day in which protestersburned a copy of the Islamicholy book, police spokesmanRickard Lundqvist told Swedishtabloid Expressen.

Between 10 and 20 pro-

testers were arrested late Fridayand “have all been released,”police spokesman Patric Forstold AFP.

The violence had subsidedby Saturday morning.

Rasmus Paludan, who

leads the far-right Danish anti-immigration party Hard Line,was due to travel to Malmo tospeak at Friday’s event, whichwas being held on the same dayas weekly prayers for theMuslim sabbath. AFP

Dubai: The president of theUnited Arab Emirates hasissued a decree cancelling a lawon boycotting Israel and allow-ing trade and financial agree-ments between the two coun-tries, the UAE official newsagency WAM reported onSaturday.

The decree from UAEPresident Khalifa bin Zayed AlNahyan aims at “supportingbilateral cooperation in order toarrive at (the establishment) ofbilateral relations”, the agencysaid.

The announcement comesas El Al Airlines plans to oper-ate Israel’s first direct flightbetween Tel Aviv’s Ben GurionAirport and the UAE’s capitalAbu Dhabi, carrying an Israelidelegation and top aides to U.S.President Donald Trump, whobrokered an Aug. 13 accord to

normalise Israel-UAE ties.Trump’s senior adviser Jared

Kushner will be among theU.S. officials on the El Al flightdeparting on Aug. 31 at 10 a.m.(0700 GMT), a U.S official said.

The Israel-UAE deal awaitsnegotiations on details such asopening embassies, trade andtravel links before it is official-ly signed.

There are no official airlinks between Israel and theUAE, and it was unclearwhether El Al would be able tofly over Saudi Arabia, which hasno official ties with Israel, to cutdown on flight time.

In May, an Etihad Airwaysplane flew from the UAE to TelAviv to deliver supplies to thePalestinians to use for the novelcoronavirus epidemic, markingthe first known flight by a UAEcarrier to Israel. AGENCY

Beijing: Chinese President XiJinping has called for buildinga “new modern socialist” Tibet,constructing an “impregnablewall” against separatism in thesensitive Himalayan region and“sinicisation” of the TibetanBuddhism, the official mediareported on Saturday.

Xi, also the GeneralSecretary of the rulingCommunist Party of China(CPC), in his address to theseventh Central Symposiumon Tibet Work, said that effortsmust be made to build Tibetthat is united, prosperous, cul-turally advanced, harmoniousand beautiful, Xinhua newsagency reported.

Underlining the need tofully implement the CPC’s poli-cies on governing Tibet for anew era, Xi, in a comprehensiveaddress on the Himalayanregion, called for efforts to builda “new modern socialist” Tibet.

He told officials attendingthe two-day symposium that

they should make efforts to“ensure national security andenduring peace and stability,steadily improve people’s lives,maintain a good environment,solidify border defence andensure frontier security,” thereport said.

Tibet, officially referred toas the Tibet AutonomousRegion (TAR), remaineddeeply devoted to Buddhismwhere the Dalai Lama isrevered as the spiritual headdespite his self-exile to Indiasince 1959 after China tookcontrol of the region in 1950.It also shares borders withIndia, Bhutan and Nepal.

President Xi said that thework in Tibet must insist onmaintaining the unity of themotherland and strengtheningnational unity as the focus.

“It is necessary to strength-en the education and guidanceof the masses, extensivelymobilise the masses to partic-ipate in the struggle againstseparatism, and form animpregnable wall for main-taining stability,” he said.

While Beijing views theDalai Lama as a separatist and“splittist” who seeks to splitTibet from China, the 1989

Nobel Peace Prize laureate sayshe only seeks greater rights forTibetans, including religiousfreedom and autonomy.

The 14th Dalai Lama fledto India in 1959 following acrackdown on an uprising bythe local population in Tibet.India granted him politicalasylum and the Tibetan gov-ernment-in-exile is based onDharamsala in HimachalPradesh since then.

Xi also spoke of “sinicisa-tion” of the Tibetan Buddhism.

“It is necessary to dig out,sort out and publicise the his-torical facts of the exchangesand integration of all ethnicgroups in Tibet since ancienttimes, guide the people of allethnic groups to see the direc-tion and future of the nation,deeply realise that the Chinesenation is a community of des-tiny, and promote exchangesand integration of all ethnicgroups,” Xi said.

“Sinicisation” broadlyrefers to bringing non-Chinesecommunities under theChinese culture and politicalsystem being pursued by theCPC under the broad defini-tion of socialism with Chinesecharacteristics. PTI

Washington: Kamala Harris is“not competent” to be president,US President Donald Trump hassaid as he launched an attack onthe Indian-origin senator’s cre-dentials for the top post.

Addressing his supportersat a Republican campaign rallyin New Hampshire on Friday,Trump said he would supportseeing a female president in theUS but suggested that hisdaughter and senior WhiteHouse adviser Ivanka Trumpwould be a better candidate forsuch a role.

Harris, 55, was a presiden-tial aspirant until last yearbefore she dropped out of therace because of lack of popularsupport. Harris returned topolitical limelight after JoeBiden, the Democratic Party’spresidential candidate, pickedher as his running mate in theNovember 3 election.

Born to a Jamaican fatherand an Indian mother, Harrisis the first Indian-Americanand first Black woman to bepicked by a major Americanpolitical party for the top post.

“You know I want to seethe first woman president also,but I don’t want to see a womanpresident get into that positionthe way she’d do it, and she’s notcompetent,” Trump said.

“She’s not competent,” hesaid amidst applause from hissupporters, a few of whom

screamed Ivanka Trump, at anelection rally on Friday.

“They’re all saying, ‘wewant Ivanka’. I don’t blameyou,” he said responding to hissupporters.

This was Trump’s first elec-tion rally after he formallyaccepted the nomination of theRepublican Party on Thursdayfor the presidential election.

Trump said Harris with-drew from the DemocraticParty’s presidential race beforeprimary season kicked off asher popularity dropped downto single digit.

“How about her? Sheerbeauty? What a beauty though.They pick a woman who startsoff...She (Harris) starts off (herpresidential campaign) sort ofstrong. She’s one of thefavourites. Within a period ofa few months, she goes down,down 15, 12, 11, nine, eight,five, three, two,” he said, under-lining the popularity downslideof Harris in the few monthsafter her highly impressivecampaign launch.

“Then she goes, I’m goingto leave because I’ve decidedthat I want to leave. I want toleave. She left (the race ofpresidency) because she would-n’t have gotten any votes. Shewas terrible. And this would beyour president possibly. I don’tthink so. I don’t think so,”Trump said, speculating onthe possibility that Harris couldemerge as a Democratic pres-

idential candidate in 2024. Attacking Biden, Trump

said he is running on the mostextreme, far left platform of anynominee in American history.

“And of our foreign adver-saries who are devising a planto destroy the United Statesfrom within all they have tolook, is that the Biden-Harris(ticket),” he said.

Hours before Trump deliv-

ered his acceptance speechfrom the South Lawn at theWhite House, Harris allegedthat the president’s policieshave been “a reckless disregard”for the danger a pandemicwould pose to American lives.

She said Trump has “failedat the most basic and importantjob of a President of the UnitedStates. He failed to protect theAmerican people”. PTI

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Washington: Indian-originSenator Kamala Harris, the USDemocratic Party’s vice-presi-dential candidate, has pledged torejoin the Paris climate agree-ment and re-enter the Irannuclear deal to restore “ourplace in the world” and win backthe “trust and support” of theUS’s Asian and European alliesif her party wins the Novemberpresidential election.

Kamala Harris, 55, is therunning mate of Democraticpresidential candidate Joe Biden.At a virtual fundraiser on Friday,she was asked how a Biden-Harris administration wouldrestore the “trust and support ofour European and Asian allies.”

In response, Kamala Harrisslammed President Donald

Trump and pledged to “rejoin”the Paris agreement on ClimateChange and “strengthen and re-enter” the Iran nuclear deal.

“Joe Biden and our admin-istration is gonna have a mas-sive job to repair the damagedone by Donald Trump and hisadministration, and to restoreour place in the world,” she said.

In 2017, Donald Trumpannounced his decision to with-draw from the Paris deal, say-ing the accord would have costAmerica trillions of dollars,killed jobs, and hindered the oil,gas, coal and manufacturingindustries.

In 2018, Trump pulled outof the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.

“Part of our strength when,when we as a country, histori-

cally, walk into that roomaround the globe. Part of thestrength of our standing it’’s notjust about our military it’s notjust about our economicstrength. It’s about the fact thatfolks believe that when we saysomething we mean it,” theSenator from California said.

“We are loyal to our friendsthat we keep our word, includ-ing when we make commit-ments, be it to NATO or to theParis agreement that we will fol-low through. And DonaldTrump, he just doesn’t get it. Imean it’s such an extension ofhis character as a human beingI believe that he doesn’t under-stand the importance of integri-ty and consistency in one’’sword,” Ms Harris said. PTI

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#,)������!�� ��������"!������������� ��� ���������� ��Moscow: Belarus, shaken by

three weeks of massive protestsagainst its authoritarian presi-dent, on Saturday cracked downhard on the news media, deport-ing some foreign journalistsreporting in the country andrevoking the accreditation ofmany Belarusian journalists.

Two Moscow-basedAssociated Press journalists whowere covering the recent protestsin Belarus were deported toRussia on Saturday. In addition,the AP’s Belarusian staff weretold by the government thattheir press credentials had beenrevoked. “The Associated Pressdecries in the strongest termsthis blatant attack on pressfreedom in Belarus. AP calls onthe Belarusian government toreinstate the credentials ofindependent journalists andallow them to continue report-ing the facts,” said LaurenEaston, the AP’s director ofmedia relations. AP

Bamako: Tensions mounted onSaturday between Mali’s mili-tary junta and the country’slongtime political oppositionafter the coup leaders failed toinvite prominent oppositionfigures to a planned forum onthe country’s political future.

The meeting ultimatelywas cancelled and the juntaleadership instead met withimam Mahmoud Dicko, anopposition leader who onFriday urged the junta to speed

up the transition to civilian ruleso the West African countrycould avoid further crushingfinancial sanctions.

“I ask them to be part ofthe solution and not anotherproblem,” he said.

Only a week earlier, theopposition coalition known asM5-RFP that includes Dickohad publicly backed the coup,with thousands of their sup-porters taking to the streetsafter the junta’s overthrow of

President Ibrahim BoubacarKeita. M5-RFP had led sever-al months of demonstrationscalling for his resignation threeyears before his final term wasdue to end. In a statement lateFriday, one M5-RFP leadersaid the alliance regretted notbeing invited to take part inSaturday’s planned discussionsbetween the junta and variouspolitical actors. AP

����������� ������������"���(����������������Beijing: At least 17 peopledied on Saturday when arestaurant in northern Chinacollapsed, state media said,with rescuers pulling dozens ofsurvivors from the rubble andsearching for others believed tobe trapped.

The two-storey buildingused for banquets came downin the morning in Xiangfencounty, in Shanxi province,according to broadcaster

CGTN.Xinhua news agency

reported that “45 people havebeen brought out, of which 17were dead, seven seriouslyinjured and 21 slightly injured.”

Rescuers in orange overallsand hard hats combed thecrumbled ruin of the building,images on the CGTN websiteshowed, with a decorativepainting seen on one of the fewwalls still intact. AFP

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Washington: In the span of 48hours, two Black men in UScities hundreds of miles apartwere shot by police in episodesthat set off a national conver-sation about the need for offi-cers to open fire on peoplewalking away from them.

The Jacob Blake shootingin Kenosha, Wisconsin, andthe killing of Trayford Pellerinin Lafayette, Louisiana, twodays earlier have thrust intothe spotlight a thorny andlong-running legal issue thathas on several occasions goneall the way to the US SupremeCourt.

And the Blake shooting hasraised a host of other questions,including why the officer feltthe need to shoot him seventimes in the back at close

range, and the prudence ofpolice opening fire with chil-dren nearby.

Wisconsin authorities areinvestigating those questions asthey weigh charges against theofficer in a case that has reignit-ed national protests over racialinjustice.

The shootings come less than three months afteralmost daily clashes betweenpolice and protesters inresponse to the death of GeorgeFloyd after a Minnesota officerknelt on his neck for severalminutes.

Laws governing the use ofdeadly force differ from state tostate, and past shootings ofpeople who were fleeing fromofficers have played out differ-ently across the country. AP

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Kenosha (US): Family mem-bers of Jacob Blake, a Blackman who was paralyzed after aKenosha police officer shothim in the back, are leading amarch and rally Saturday to callfor an end to police violence.

Event organizers said thedemonstration would include amarch to the Kenosha CountyCourthouse and speeches bymembers of Blake’s family, Lt.Gov. Mandela Barnes, U.S.Rep. Gwen Moore and othercommunity leaders.

“We are heartbroken andenraged, but we are steadfast inour demand for justice,” TanyaMclean, a Blake family friendwho helped organize the event,said in a statement. She saidBlake’s shooting is not an iso-lated incident, but part of a“brutal, racist system.” AP

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The centre in a letter to thestates has promised it

would clear their goods andservices tax (GST) dues despitethe massive shortfall in GSTcess collection amid the coro-navirus pandemic, a situationthat has been described as “anact of God” by FinanceMinister Nirmala Sitharaman.The government in the lettersaid it wants to stay clear of“avoidable borrowing at thecentral level when it could bedone at the state level” as cen-tral revenues are under “greatstrain” due to the pandemic.

The Union FinanceSecretary and the Expenditure

Secretary will hold an onlinemeeting on September 1 toanswer queries of the states ontwo options that the centre hasproposed - the first being stateswon’t have to service debt orrepay it from other sources, andthe second being states won’thave to repay the principalamount from any othersources.

The central Governmenton Saturday wrote to States sug-gesting options of borrowingmoney to make up for the�2.35 lakh crore shortfall inGST revenues expected in theongoing fiscal.

Two days after first sug-gesting to states to borrowmoney to make up for theshortfall at the GST Councilmeeting, the Finance Ministrywrote to State Governmentssaying they could borrow eithervia a special window it willfacilitate through the RBI orraise debt from the market.

While the Centre has rea-soned its recommendations on

premise that it is already sad-dled with a large borrowingrequirement given the slow-down in revenue collectionsdue to a slump in the economy,non-BJP ruled states such asPunjab, Kerala, Delhi and WestBengal have already stated thatraising debt is not an option foralready stretched state finances.

In a letter to finance sec-retaries of all states and unionterritories, Union FinanceSecretary Ajay Bhushan Pandeysaid while additional borrow-ing by the Centre influences theyields on central governmentsecurities (G-secs) and hasother macro-economic reper-cussions, the yields on statesecurities do not directly influ-ence other yields and do nothave the same repercussions.

“Hence, it is in the collec-tive interest of Centre andstates and in the interest of thenation and of all economicentities including the privatesector, not to do any avoidableborrowing at the central level

when it could be done at thestate level,” Pandey wrote in theletter. Compensation paymenthas been an issue since August2019 with GST collections fal-tering.

In the current fiscal, thecompensation requirement ofstates has been estimated at �3lakh crore, of which�65,000crore would be funded fromthe revenues garnered by levyof cess.

This leaves a shortfall of�2.35 lakh crore.

The Centre has estimatedthat of this �2.35 lakh crore,�97,000 crore compensationrequirement is due to GSTrollout and the remaining is onaccount of the impact ofCovid-19 on the economy.

In the GST Council meet-ing on August 27, FinanceMinister Nirmala Sitharamanhad said that Covid-19 is an“Act of God” and it was neces-sary to differentiate betweenGST shortfall and the pan-demic-related shortfall.

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There should not be a furtherdelay in appointing mem-

bers of the National ConsumerDisputes RedressalCommission (NCDRC), theSupreme Court has said, askingthe Centre to complete theprocess soon.

A bench of Justices LNageswara Rao, Hemant Guptaand S Ravindra Bhat made theobservation while extending

the term of an NCDRC mem-ber who is scheduled to retireon Sunday. “The finalisation ofthe selections and appoint-ments of members of NCDRCdoes not brook further delay,”it said. “We hope and trust thatthe appointments to theNCDRC shall be made soon.”

The apex court was con-sidering a plea by the NCDRCmember who has filed anapplication seeking a direc-tion for extension of his servicetill the regular appointmentsare made. Attorney General KK Venugopal submitted thatthe recommendations madeby the selection committeewere under the consideration ofthe appointments committee ofthe cabinet (ACC).

The top court said as theapplicant was due to retire onAugust 30, the term of hisappointment was extended fora month.The apex court hadearlier expressed its displeasureover pending vacancies in theNCDRC and said the issue hadto be addressed urgently.

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In a tweet, Tesla CEO ElonMusk solved a mystery

involving a 27-year-oldRussian, an insider at anunnamed corporation and analleged million-dollar paymentoffered to help trigger a ran-somware extortion attack onthe firm.Prosecutors declinedto name the target, but Muskwas happy to oblige.Accordingto the billionaire, the schemetook aim at the electric carcompany’s 1.9 million-square-foot factory in Sparks, Nevada,which makes batteries for Teslavehicles and energy storageunits.”This was a seriousattack,” Musk tweetedThursday night, responding toa Tesla blog post that detailedthe brazen scheme.DefendantEgor Igorevich Kriuchkov triedto recruit a fellow Russianspeaker who worked at theplant, according to a criminalcomplaint filed in US DistrictCourt in Nevada.

Reaching out to theunnamed worker via WhatsAppin July, Kriuchkov allegedlyflew to the United States with aRussian passport on a touristvisa and sought to entice theworker to betray Tesla.Kriuchkov allegedly took theworker, who he’d he’d first metin 2016, on a road trip to LakeTahoe before offering the per-son $ 1 million to plant malwareon computer systems at “VictimCompany A”. Kriuchkov float-ed the scheme at a Reno area baron August 3 after the two drankheavily until last call, the com-plaint says. But the plant work-er informed Tesla, which con-tacted the FBI and won theemployee’s cooperation. In sub-sequent meetings monitoredand recorded by federal agents,Kriuchkov laid out a scheme tohave the worker infect Teslacomputers with a program thatwould steal valuable data beforescrambling plant systems withransomware, according to thecomplaint.

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The GST Network onSaturday started providing

auto-drafted input tax credit(ITC) statement GSTR-2Bwhich would assist the taxpay-ers in determining their ITCliability.

GSTN handles the IT back-bone of Goods and ServicesTax (GST).

GSTR-2B will be generat-ed on GST portal for every reg-istered person on the basis ofthe information furnished byhis suppliers and will be madeavailable for each month, on

the 12th day of the succeedingmonth, GSTN said in a state-ment.

“It is expected that GSTR-2B will help in reduction intime taken for preparingreturn, minimising errors,assisting reconciliation andsimplify compliance relating tofiling of returns,” it said.

Jaipur: Rajashthan HousingCommissioner Pawan Arorasaid a large number of peopleplanted saplings at City Park,Mansarovar by registering on

Mandal’s RHB Green app.People came in two slots from8am to 10 am and from 4 pmto 6 pm in the park.

PNS

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The economic impact ofCovid-19 on India’s GDP is

expected to be anywhere inbetween 17 per cent and 30 percent during Q1FY21.

According to leading econ-omists, the measures to curbthe pandemic heavily dentedmanufacturing, services andother sectors apart from agri-culture during the quarter.

The country had observedmobility restrictions as man-dated under the lockdownmeasures for the better part ofthe first quarter of FY21.

It was only on June 1 thatpartial unlock measures were

implemented.However, a contraction at

this scale has not been wit-nessed since the quarterly seriesbegan in the late 1990s.

In financial parlance, aGDP contraction not only indi-cates the economy’s movementtowards a recession, but alsounderlines the reduction inpurchasing power along withlower taxes for the government,higher defaults on debt andfalling Capex spends.

“We estimate a contractionof 17 per cent in Q1FY21 GDPas a direct result of lockdown,supply side constraints, and lowto nil activity in non-essentialmanufacturing and services.While a robust growth in agri-culture during this period isgoing to provide some cushionto the GDP growth, it will beinsufficient to substitute the

downfall arising out of thecontraction caused in the man-ufacturing and services sector,”Sunil Kumar Sinha, PrincipalEconomist, India Ratings &Research, told IANS.

“Local or regional or week-end lockdowns and healthrelated concerns of the gener-al public are continuing to actas hindrances towards nor-malcy of economic activityand the eventual sustainabilityof growth.

“Given the evolving situ-ation, there is an urgent needto prop-up demand in theeconomy which had been lan-guishing from even beforethe Covid-19 related lock-down, otherwise supply sidemeasures announced so farwill soon run into difficultydue to lack of demand,” Sinhaadded.

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After company law, theGovernment has now set

out to decriminalise variousoffences under the GST lawsto improve ease of doingbusiness and ensure bettercompliance.

As part of the changesbeing considered by theFinance Ministry, a group ofofficers has been constitutedby the Central Board ofIndirect Taxes and Customs(CBIC) to hold stakeholderconsultations and get inputsfrom the industry.

A final proposal will thenbe moved to the Cabinet.

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Page 8: ˘ ˇ ˆ ˆ˙˝ ˛ ˚ ˇ ˜ ˇ · 7 hours ago · Her questioning went on seven-long hours. Around 8.30 pm, Rhea stepped out of the DRDO guesthouse along with her brother Showik,

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Tom Banton’s explosive 71off 42 balls proved to be in

vain for England as the firstTwenty20 international againstPakistan was abandoned as ano result because of rain inManchester.

The opener smashed fourfours and five sixes in an enter-taining knock featuring lustyhitting and unorthodox scoops,helping England score 131-6 in16.1 overs before it started torain at Old Trafford on Friday.

Pakistan never got to bat inwhat would have ended upbeing an unsatisfactory five-over match, with the ground-staff unable to get the wet out-field in a fit state to play.

England will be concernedthat Banton’s departure sparkedthe loss of four wickets for 14runs in 19 balls before the stop-page.

Before that, opener JonnyBairstow was out for 2 andDawid Malan made a run-a-

ball 23 after Pakistan won thetoss and decided to field firstunder floodlights belowgloomy skies.

England had scored just34-1 after six overs, the team’slowest powerplay total since the2016 World Twenty20 final.

Imad Wasim (2-31) andShadab Khan (2-33) werePakistan's best bowlers inManchester, where there wereno spectators because of coro-navirus restrictions. The othermatches in the series are onSunday and Tuesday. Englandwon a rain-affected test series1-0.

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Two cricketers among a total of13 COVID-19 cases and all-

rounder Suresh Raina’s pulloutowing to “personal reasons” causedquite a bit of turbulence for theupcoming IPL on Saturday withChennai Super Kings being theworst hit franchise.

Raina, who retired from inter-national cricket earlier this month,decided to “return home for per-sonal reasons" as his team CSKgrappled with 13 confirmedCOVID-19 cases in its camp. Thetournament starts September 19and will be played across three citiesin the UAE.

“Thirteen personnel have test-ed positive of which 2 are players.All the affected personnel as well astheir close contacts are asympto-matic and have been isolated fromother team members. They arebeing monitored by the IPLMedical Team,” the BCCI pressrelease stated without naming thefranchise.

The two players who have test-ed positive include a white-ball T20specialist seamer for India and atop-order India A batsman. TheBoard did not reveal any names.

The BCCI stated that a total of1,988 RT-PCR COVID-19 testswere carried out between August 20and 28 across all participant groups

in the UAE.The ones tested include players,

support staff, team management,BCCI staff, IPL operational team,hotel and ground transport staff.

“As per the IPL 2020 Healthand Safety Protocols, testing on allparticipants will be conducted reg-ularly throughout the IPL 2020Season,” it further stated.

All positive cases need to gothrough a 14-day quarantine peri-od following which they will haveto return two negative RT-PCR testsbefore being allowed inside the bio-bubble for the tournament.

Raina’s pullout came as a shock-er and so far, it is being attributedto his desire for some downtime

with his young family in these test-ing times. The player is yet to issuea formal statement on his reasonsfor coming back.

“Suresh Raina has returned toIndia for personal reasons and willbe unavailable for the remainder ofthe IPL season. Chennai SuperKings offers complete support toSuresh and his family during thistime,” CSK tweeted CEO KasiViswanathan’s statement.

CSK’s quarantine period inDubai has already been extendedtill September 1.

“Suresh’s absence will be a bigblow for the CSK and also, he is oneof the biggest draws in IPL. But inthese times, if any player doesn’t feel

100 per cent and has some otherpressing priorities, any teamrespects that and CSK is no differ-ent,” a senior IPL official privy todevelopment in CSK camp told PTIon conditions of anonymity.

While it couldn’t be officiallyconfirmed but speculation was rifethat a family tragedy coupled witha spike in COVID-19 cases in theteam might have disturbed theformer India left-hander whoretired on August 15 alongside hisskipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

Amid all this, there was somegood news as well with RajasthanRoyals fielding coach DishantYagnik recovering from COVID-19to join the squad in Dubai.

He has completed his 14-dayquarantine along with two negativereports as he joined the squad inDubai.

While it is understood that thehigh-profile event is not underthreat as of now but one franchisebecoming a “COVID-19 hotspot”is slowly becoming an issue forother teams as well as the BCCI.

“If there are 13 cases from onlyone franchise then it is an issue forsure for everyone. The biggestaspect will be whether foreigncricketers will now start being pan-icky as they are more touchy aboutthese issues,” an official said.

“We need to keep a tab on play-ers’ mental health,” he added.

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India’s sporting heroes werebestowed the annual nation-

al awards in an unparalleledonline ceremony amid theCOVID-19 pandemic duringwhich athletes logged in frommultiple cities to be honouredby President Ram Nath Kovindon Saturday.

This year a whopping 74winners were picked for thenational honours, including anunprecedented five RajivGandhi Khel Ratnas and 27Arjuna awardees. Of these, 60attended the virtual ceremonyconducted across 11 SportsAuthority of India (SAI) centresin various cities.

Cricketers Rohit Sharma(Khel Ratna) and Ishant Sharma(Arjuna) missed out due to theirIPL commitments in the UAE,while star wrestler VineshPhogat (Khel Ratna) and bad-minton player SatwiksairajRankireddy (Arjuna) had to pullout of the ceremony after test-

ing positive for the dreadedvirus. The other three KhelRatna winners — TT playerManika Batra, Paralympic gold-medallist MariyappanThangavelu and women’s hock-ey captain Rani Rampal —attended the ceremony.

While Batra logged in fromPune, Thangavelu and Rampaljoined from Bengaluru.

President Kovind applaud-ed as names of the attendingawardees were called out andtheir achievements were cited asis the convention. Missing, how-ever, was the grandeur of theRashtrapati Bhavan’s DurbarHall.

“This is the first awards cer-emony in COVID times duringwhich the President has partic-ipated,” Sports Minister KirenRijiju said at the beginning ofthe ceremony.

The athletes can look for-ward to enhanced cash awardsthis year. The prize money forthe Khel Ratna was increased toRs 25 lakh from the previousamount of Rs 7.5 lakh thismorning.

Arjuna awardees, 22 of whoattended the ceremony, weregiven Rs 15 lakh, which is Rs 10lakh more than the previoussum. The Dhronacharya(Lifetime) awardees, who were

earlier given Rs 5 lakh, wereawarded Rs 15 lakh, while theregular Dhronacharya camewith Rs 10 lakh instead of Rs 5lakh per awardee.

Dhyanchand Awardeeswere given Rs 10 lakh instead ofRs 5 lakh.

The strict COVID-19 pro-tocol meant that for the firsttime in 44 years' history of theawards, the winners, guests anddignitaries did not gather at theDurbar Hall to be recognised fortheir excellence.

President Kovind congrat-ulated all the winners and exud-ed confidence that India canachieve its goal of finishingamong top-10 countries in the2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

“My heartiest congratula-tions to all the award winners!All of you, through your perfor-mance, have provided unforget-table moments of collectivesuccess to all Indians,” Kovindsaid in his address during theceremony, which lasted littlemore than hour.

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No 1-ranked NovakDjokovic and formertop-30 member Vasek

Pospisil would be the co-presidents of a new groupthey are trying to set up torepresent men’s professionaltennis players.

A letter emailed to play-ers — and obtained by TheAssociated Press on Friday —pushes the formation of aProfessional Tennis PlayersAssociation, abbreviatedPTPA.

Sent around shortlybefore Monday's start of theUS Open, the letter says itsobjective is “to solicit supportfrom players to form an asso-ciation with a mandate to pro-mote, protect and representthe interests of its players ...And protect the future oftennis.”

Tennis players never havehad a union the way NorthAmerican team sports do.Each player is considered anindependent contractor.

“Unlike many other pro-fessional sports, men’s profes-sional tennis has never had arepresentative body that is

represented for players byplayers,” the email said.

The men’s tennis tour isorganised by the ATP; thewomen’s tennis tour is run bythe WTA. Djokovic is thepresident of the ATP PlayerCouncil and Pospisil has beena member for two years, buthe tweeted Friday night thathe was resigning.

“It has become clear that,

as a player council memberwithin the current structure ofthe ATP, it is very difficult, ifnot impossible, to have anysignificant impact on anymajor decisions made by ourtour,” Pospisil wrote.

There was talk earlier thisyear, prompted largely bytweets from 20-time GrandSlam champion RogerFederer, about the possibility

of merging the men's andwomen’s tours.

This proposal would setup something just for menranked in the top 500 in sin-gles and top 200 in doubles.

“The goal of the PTPA isnot to replace the ATP but toprovide players with a self-governance structure that isindependent from the ATPand is directly responsive to

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Naomi Osaka pulled out ofthe Western & Southern

Open final Saturday because ofa left hamstring injury, giving thetitle to Victoria Azarenka in awalkover.

The tournament announcedOsaka’s decision about 90 min-utes before the championshipmatch was supposed to begin inLouis Armstrong Stadium at thesite of the U.S. Open.

The Western & SouthernOpen normally is held in Ohiobut was moved to New York thisyear because of the coronaviruspandemic as part of a two-tour-nament "controlled environ-ment.”

The U.S. Open startsMonday. One of Osaka’s twoGrand Slam titles came atFlushing Meadows in 2018. “I’msorry to have to withdraw todaywith an injury,” Osaka said in astatement released by theWestern & Southern Open.

“I pulled my left hamstringyesterday in the second settiebreak and it has not recoveredovernight as I had hoped. Thishas been an emotional week and

I want to thank everyone for theoutpouring of support.” Osaka, a22-year-old who was born inJapan and is now based in theU.S., brought the push for racialjustice to the tennis tour by say-ing she was not going to play inher semifinal, joining athletes inthe NBA, Major League Baseballand other sports in sitting out thisweek in reaction to the policeshooting in Wisconsin of a Blackman, Jacob Blake. Osaka’s stanceprompted the tournament tosay it was taking a “pause” to backthe cause and scrapping allscheduled matches for Thursday.

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England batsman OlliePope will be out of action

for up to four months afterdislocating his left shoulder inthe third and final cricket testagainst Pakistan.

Pope landed awkwardly

Monday after diving to pre-vent a boundary on Day 4 ofthe drawn match. Englandwon the series.

The timing of the injurymay help Pope.

“It is hoped that Pope willreturn in time for England'swinter tours of Sri Lanka and

India starting in the early partof 2021,” the England andWales Cricket Board said in astatement on Friday.

The 22-year-old Pope leftthe field immediately andwill undergo an operation inthe next couple of weeks.

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In a first, sportspersons receive national honours virtually

player-members’ needs andconcerns,” the email said.

The letter said thePTPA would be governedby board of trustees with upto nine members, electedannually.

The trustees wouldappoint two co-presidentswith two-year terms— andthat first leadership duowould be Djokovic, a 33-year-old from Serbia whoowns 17 Grand Slam singlestrophies, and Pospisil, a 30-year-old from Canada whowon the 2014 Wimbledondoubles title and is current-ly No 92 in singles.

Among the areas thePTPA would look into,according to the email: ATPand tournament rules andregulations, revenue shar-ing, disciplinary actions,pensions, travel, on-sitefood and amenities, insur-ance and medical care.

There would be a duesstructure with players pay-ing an amount based ontheir ranking — from ahigh in singles of USD 1,500for those from 1-50 down toUSD 75 for those in spots401-500, and a high in dou-bles of USD 1,000 for those1-30.

The total fees listed inthe letter would bring in

USD 317,500 each year.The email asks players

to sign a letter backing thePTPA, and says “if a signif-icant number of playerssupport this initiative wewill move forward” withwriting bylaws and propos-ing a board of trustees.

At least one player is onthe record as saying he'llsign on: 2016 Wimbledonrunner-up Milos Raonic.

“Players have had plen-ty of time to think andreflect and take a look atcertain parts which theymay not be happy with anddiscuss," Raonic said Fridayafter reaching the Western& Southern Open final.

“A lot of us were kept inthe dark by our leadershipfor six months. We were dis-appointed with manythings. I voiced my opinionon many things, such as ...Executives in other sportstaking pay cuts to supportus. As tennis players, weweren’t making a dime formonths and months. ...Lower guys weren’t makinga dime,” Raonic said.

“But our executiveswere staying home and did-n’t feel it necessary to takeany pay cuts. I pushed forthat on every single phonecall we had.”

Page 9: ˘ ˇ ˆ ˆ˙˝ ˛ ˚ ˇ ˜ ˇ · 7 hours ago · Her questioning went on seven-long hours. Around 8.30 pm, Rhea stepped out of the DRDO guesthouse along with her brother Showik,

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Pandemic has resulted into chal-lenges for all. The pressure toperform has increased amidstall the changing businessrequirements. Many organisa-

tions are restructuring, and a few peopleare losing their jobs. Airbnb recently hadto let go 25% of their staff. Sometimes awhole unit is shutdown but many timesit is downsizing by a percentage. Peoplejudged to be lower in performance arebeing let go.

But who judges your performance?The buck usually stops with your manag-er. In the post-pandemic world whenyou are working remotely this is evenmore so. Now, there is a limited opportu-nity to showcase your work beyond yourmanager and chances are that he/she hasmore influence on your career.

What if you are working for a micro-manager? It was tough to please themanager even when you were in office.Now the manager may feel even moreinsecure when you are not in front ofhis/her eyes and suspects or even blamesyou of shirking work and taking thingslightly. Manager is under pressure to per-form and may believe that you are onewho is letting him/her down. In the postpandemic world, as the manager may bethe only tether with which you are con-nected to the organisation, you do notwant to be in this situation. So how doyou handle a micromanager and comeout as a winner not just a survivor?

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A tough manager may not necessari-ly be a micromanager. A manager whopushes you to do more may also not be amicromanager. A workaholic managermay not be the micromanager you sus-pect him/her to be. Consider the follow-ing to determine if you are working for amicromanager.

● Decision making: A micromanag-er likes to keep all the decision making tohimself/herself. The manager wants youto come up with options for him/her tomake the choice. Each option needs to bedeveloped to a certain level for their con-sideration, multiplying your work. Themanager will remind you about the lastdecisions he/she took and the impact itmade and make you feel incompetent tomake decisions of your own.

● Find faults: When the managerreviews your work, he/she will find faultsfirst. A micromanager will not take thetime to acknowledge the improvementsfrom last time, he/she will highlight theproblems and start working on it them-selves. He/she do not trust you to do agood job. Instead of helping you becomebetter by providing feedback, he/she willsend you the final copy, asking you tolearn from your “mistakes”. The managerbelieves he/she is better than any of theteam members.

● Frequent Updates: The managerseeks frequent updates / reports onprogress. He/she expects you to slackoff, expects problems in your work, giveyou less time than required for the jobbecause he/she believes that he/she willhave to work on it anyways. If youspend more than 10% of your timemaking reports for your manager, itmay mean that you are working for amicromanager.

● Create Dependence: The managerkeeps critical connections/knowledge/information to themselves and create a

dependence on himself/herself. Themanager believes that you cannot betrusted with more or that you may not beable to handle it. The manager will makeyou feel that you still have a long way togo and without his/her help, you may notbe able to take a step.

● Create Undue Pressure: Since themanager is the critical piece in any work,he/she may be overwhelmed. He/she willcome to review your task only close tothe deadline and then find faults in itrequiring you to work outside of officehours to make the changes. And stillhave the audacity to tell you that, ‘Youshould know better’ and that he/she hasto work hard just because he/she has todeal with your incompetence. Themicromanager keeps on the edge.

��������� ���������� �The main thing is to take charge of

the situation. Instead of being the victimof circumstances, become the master ofyour own destiny. Not every pointer willwork for your situation as each situationis unique. So, take your pick from thefollowing suggestions.

LOOK INSIDE!Do begin with an introspection and

self-awareness. Does the manager behavethe same with all? Or does he/she reservea special treatment for you alone. Thereare chances that you are the reason for allthe micromanaging that you are getting.

● Observe: Find out what treatmentyour colleagues are getting. It was easierwhen you were in office, but you shouldget some opportunities to observe thebehaviour of your manager towardsother colleagues during staff calls. Youcan also schedule one on one discussionswith some colleagues to discuss experi-ences and compare notes. If others arefacing similar challenges, then it pointsto the fact that you may not be the cul-prit here.

● Seek Feedback: You can also seekfeedback from friendly colleagues. Keepan open mind. Feedback can be ugly, andit may be difficult to accept it. Seek feed-back from at least a couple of people, donot depend on one person’s views. Whenseeking feedback make sure that youseek specific instances and relevantdetails to gain insights from them. If youreceive non-specific feedback that tellsyou that things are generally good thatmay not mean much. People may be shy-ing away from telling you about your

shortcomings. This may mean that youmust work on your team relationships.

If you receive specific feedback aboutcertain elements, then that will becomethe starting point. In the next sectionsyou will see many pointers to help youdeal with specific issues as you work tomakeover your image.

DO EXPRESSYour manager may not even know

about what you are feeling unless youtake the opportunity to talk about it. It isimportant to express your concern in theright way.

● Not a complaint: Do share yourfeelings. The feedback in not about aperson but a situation. It should be howyou felt and how it impacts you. Also feelfree to share what would make you feelbetter.

● Be specific: What was said, whenit was said and what you felt, why youfelt that way should definitely beincluded.

● It is about both: When you share,make sure that it should notcome as you are talking onlyabout his/her behaviour. Beopen to listen. Seek feedbacktoo.

BE DEPENDABLE● Deliver on time, every time: Even

if the manager is not satisfied with thequality of work you deliver, make surethat you are dependable when it comesto timely submission of work.

● Make agreements early in thecycle: Whenever you get a new task,make sure to get an agreement onthe structure/agenda. Seek time todiscuss the plans with your manag-er and get his/her inputs. This will showhim/her that you take your work serious-ly and that you are sincerely trying yourbest. Also, this will help set a boundaryon deliveries and check-ins.

● Regular and consistent reporting:The micromanager wants to feel in con-trol and wants to be sure that things areprogressing. He/she will appreciate thefact that the progress is being sharedwith him/her regularly. Instead of send-ing out a dedicated email on the topic,use the new tools such as Microsoftteams, SharePoint, OneDrive, GoogleDocs or Google drive to create a shareddocument or space where the updatedstatus is available on a regular agreed fre-quency. This may take pressure off andyou will start building some confidence.

● Support in management report-ing: The manager sends out reports tothe leadership team on the progress ofvarious projects. He/she may be using aspecific format for your projects and maybe doing some extra work to convertyour inputs into a report more consum-able by the leadership. If you can provideyour inputs in such a way that the man-ager does not have to rework, that willshow the manager that you are willing togo the extra mile.

BUILD BONDS & STRENGTHENTHE RELATIONSHIP

Human beings want to reciprocate. Ifyou do good to someone, they feel oblig-ated to return the favour. You can readmore about it in The 100/0 Principle: TheSecret of Great Relationships by Al Ritter.

● Seek mentorship and career guid-ance: Regularly connect with the manag-er for discussing career development.

Seek his/her guidance. Connectingmonthly is a good practice. Make sureyou share your personal and professionalaspirations with the manager and seekhelp to make advancements. The manag-er may initially give you a lot of feedback.Some of that will help you understandhis/her perception of your abilities. Seekguidance and make efforts to improve.Be consistent and share these efforts dur-ing your regular reviews.

● Work closely with colleagues:Help your colleagues when they needyou. Support them as they present theirprojects. Seek their help when you needit. The better you are connected to theteam the better it is.

SEEK TO UNDERSTAND THE BIGPICTURE

● Know the why: Your ability torelate to organisational and departmentalgoals will help you refine your work.Make sure that you incorporate theimprovements in the projects/worksbased on your understanding of ‘why’.When you bring these perspectives inyour communication and work, yourmanager will be more confident of yourabilities.

● Align with the how: Eachorganisation has their own values.Make sure that the work you do alignswith those values. For example, if oneof the values is “Customer First” andyou are working on a cost reductioninitiative, make sure that you do notcompromise on this value. You mayhave to work harder to find a way toreduce the cost while delivering better

experience to cus-tomers but in the

long run yourefforts will pay.

Again, make surethat you highlight

what you are doing andexplain the why.

MAKE YOUR MANAGER SUCCESSFUL● Understand any concerns: The

manager may be insecure about some-thing — the overall success of the projector his/her own reputation or his/her owncareer progress. If you proactively under-stand concerns, it will help you under-stand how you can be in alignment withthe manager’s goals. The more you alignto the goals the better your relationshipwith the manager. You can seek someinputs in your one-on-one with the man-ager to understand the top priorities. Incurrent environment, do prefer to havethese calls as video calls where possible.

● Work with stakeholders: Everyproject that has linkages with otherdepartments can only be successful withthe support from other stakeholders. Itwill be great if you can be proactive andseek inputs from other stakeholders asyou work. If you keep them informedand engaged the projects will havegreater acceptability. The manager will bemore confident on your work.

● Get credit to your manager too:Make sure that you highlight the contri-butions of the manager in the success ofthe project. You must never seek to getall the credit yourself. If your managergets his/her due, he/she will feel morealigned and secure with you.

These steps will help you navigatethe situation and develop more align-ment with your manager, try them out!

The writer is an author. She has justpublished Get Your Next Promotion with

SAGE Publications India

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Hit by the coronavirus storm, economies are cluelessand running for cover. Champions of free marketeconomy often quote Adam Smith’s Invisible Hand

doctrine as the panacea for all economic ills. No differentthis time. They suggested that an economy can work in afree market where every one strives for personal interest. Thatwas Laissez Faire, advocated over two centuries ago. Therewere many takers and with collapse of Marxism the worldbecame a global village for free market votaries leading tonew models of disruption and growth. Social Darwinism wasthe new mantra. But, man proposes, God disposes. So onehuge disruption by the nature upset the apple cart.Economies fell like nine pins as the pandemic brought theglobe to a screeching halt. Taken unawares, the free markettheorists were at their wit’s end as the IMF believed that glob-al economy was in distress. With global forecasts project-ing gloom, answers to the loss of livelihoods are hard to find.The big question for humanity is where to find solace. Theobvious answer seems to lie now in the visible hand, withthe invisible one vanishing completely. The control and com-mand structure of Governments that were thought super-fluous appear to be the only silver lining. As the big govern-ment returns, strategies are being worked out for coping withthe current global economic crisis. What to do and how todo are the questions to be addressed. Indian History has someclues. The 1784 famine of Lucknow (then Awadh) had throwna similar challenge to the then Nawab, Asaf-ud Daula. Thefamine persisted for long, affecting both the rich and the poor.There was a great pressure on the Nawab to keep the econ-omy going and protect lives and livelihoods. He decided togo for a huge construction project. But there was a uniqueangle to the project. While the poor labourers would carryon the construction work in the day time, the noblemen andthe rich were asked to demolish the constructed structureat night. This continued and the Nawab could sail throughthe crisis. For those who are interested in history, it was thiseconomic strategy that was behind the construction of thenow famous monument of Lucknow in India, the BadaImambara. Interestingly, this economic prudence of theNawab to stimulate the economy worked much before Keynespropounded his theory. What the Nawab visualised, andKeynes realised 150 years later, was that governmentspending has a catalysing effect on reviving an economyunder distress. Economic stimulation is a process that mustbe initiated by government spending, and once the revivalstarts, the private capitalists start putting in money. It is thisfiscal multiplier effect that pulls out an economy from a reces-sion. It is thus the visible hand that does the trick in timesof a crisis when the invisible hand has failed. Unconventionaltimes call for unconventional approaches. As democracieslike US, European Union and India struggle to revitalise theireconomies, the approach of the Indian Nawab adopted overtwo centuries and a quarter ago makes sense. But it is impor-tant to understand that big governments do not always haveto use the heavy hand. At times it is the big heart that makesthe important difference. The invisible hand theory, then,works in fair weather.

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We are always carrying out actswith our bodies, minds andspeech. In this classification,

the mind and the speech are mentionedseparately, because their functions needto be highlighted. Mind is always busythinking about all sorts of things. It issaid that there are on average 50,000thoughts per day. Even during sleepwhen the brain is active, the mind mustbe too. The speech has been singled outof all the senses, because it makes a bigdifference in our lives. Suppose we speakangrily to someone, we evoke a nega-tive reaction almost instantly. On theother hand, if we appreciate someone,we endear ourselves to that person.

There are two types of acts — mate-rial and spiritual. Material acts are basi-cally in relation to material objects likethe use of hands to do some physicalwork or walk to go to some place.Spiritual acts are in relation to the spir-it, that is either soul or God. Prayer saidto God is one example, and treat oth-ers as equal souls, irrespective of theirbodies is another. (The Gita 13.27)

To start with the material acts, allacts done either by the body or the mindor the speech come to fruition. Mostly,there is a time lag but some acts bringinstant result. Some of the acts come tofruition in future lives. That is what dis-tinguishes horoscopes of different peo-ple. Then, some acts bring smallrewards like a labourer working all daygetting paid meagre wages at the end ofthe day, while a scientist may make animportant discovery and earn mil-lions. What one gets is overseen bydivine authorities. God has set rules,which divine authorities implement.They have no independent jurisdiction.However, it is difficult for us to knowwhat exactly is in store for us. Both the

timing and the type are generallyshrouded in mystery. Material actshave no permanence; we do them andwe are rewarded or punished.

On spiritual acts, Lord Krishna hasspoken about them extensively in TheGita. For example, in the verse #2.40, hehas stated that neither there is waste ofeffort in it nor there is opposite effect.Such acts are only beneficial. He has saidthat even a small spiritual act protectsone from great fear. Such acts are neverextinguished like the material acts.They keep on accumulating to our cred-it. If these acts relate to God, He getsinvolved personally in rewarding thedoer. Of course there are many differ-ent types of spiritual acts, and they allplease God. The Lord has mentionedmany such acts in the twelfth chapterof The Gita (12.13-19). Lord Krishnaspecifically mentions those faithful,who have made Him their shelter, whofollow the nectar of wisdom spoken byHim, are exceedingly dear to Him.(12.20) In another place, the Lordmentions those who preach Hissupreme secret knowledge amongst His

devotees. He states that no other thanthem please Him more. (18.68-69)

God rewards doers of spiritualacts in many ways. They get theirdesired objects. Sanjaya mentions a fewsuch rewards; they get opulence, victo-ry and wealth. (18.78) The Lord doesmention two types of devotion. One isfor material gains like an artharthi (seek-er of wealth) or an artah (distressed per-son). This is ‘sakama’ bhakti. Theother type of bhakti is nishkama inwhich the focus is on gaining liberation.The later one is of course higherbecause getting liberated from thecycle of birth and death is the ultimategain for the small soul.

While material acts may or may notbe rewarded, spiritual acts come underthe exclusive jurisdiction of God. Healways takes note of all spiritual acts.One must remember, God is never adebtor; He does not have to be. He mustreward anyone who pleases Him insome way or other. God is unbelievablygenerous. *���������������������������������������������

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Understanding the com-plexity of the human brainhas been a key scientificquest for a long time.What our ancient sages

talked about thousands of years ago isbeing slowly discovered. For instance,when evolved beings are present, com-munication occurs through anexchange of thoughts or telepathy.Today advanced computers accessingthe brains of people in two separatelocations show that what one personis visualising, another can see — albeita somewhat garbled but clear enoughimage of the ‘thought’ it is.

� ��Over the years the concept of seva

or the act of helping others has beenadvocated in numerous scriptures andreligions. Sikhism, Islam, Christianityand all other religions have preachedthe importance of serving others andgiving to the needy and underprivi-leged. Highlighted in the book, KarmaSutra, the criticality of not just doingseva but also the methods, the reasonsand even the internal progression oneundergoes whilst actually performingthe act of seva, provide much food forthought. It is human nature to starthelping others with the intent of gain-ing societal admiration. This is why wesee many people being publiclyapplauded for their philanthropicefforts. As the person progresses on thespiritual path, the intent behind his or

her seva shifts to becoming more outof a sense of duty and gratitude for allthat he or she has got. And finally, itbecomes a habit wherein the persondoes not even take doership or own-ership for the act. I believe that help-ing others is actually a ‘selfish’ actbecause of the positive karmic debtearned by the blessings and good wish-es of the receiver. So rather thanbeing a selfless act, seva becomes self-ish, albeit in a positive way — the giveralso becomes the taker here! The ulti-mate goal is to rid ourselves from the‘doership’ of the act itself.

But what actually happens insidethe brain when one goes out onto thestreet and feeds people or helps anelderly lady cross the road? The answeris more complex than simply ‘feelinggood’. The spirit which rests inside eachone of us takes a ‘selfie’ in that moment,capturing a wholistic image of whothey are, which becomes better look-ing with each good deed. Almost all ofthe human form thrives on beingappeased by their ‘selfie’ which isactually just their self-esteem (gener-ally at a more physical level than spir-it level). Every act of seva raises the self-esteem and self-impression of theindividual concerned. You could callthis ‘seva mein meva’.

The more we study the humanbrain, the more the data points to thisdirection. Studies show that doing sevareduces the activity in the amygdala,an area that is linked to emotional

responses, especially fear.Neurobiologists also agree that whenwe help others, our brains release oxy-tocin, serotonin and dopamine bring-ing about the feel good factor. Thesehormones have the effect of boostingour mood and counteracting the effectof cortisol (the stress hormone).Moreover, research has found thatengaging in such activities can also dullthe sensation of pain. This doesn’t havejust a singular benefit. Done on a reg-ular basis, a general sense of positivi-ty prevails that further encourages youto perform more acts of seva, leadingyou from the initial phase of doing itto feel good about something you did,to a habit and finally not thinking ofit as your deed at all.

�����We all know that dhyan or medi-

tation has a calming effect and bringsus a sense of peace and internal bal-ance. Advanced meditators have beenthrough lab experiments where theyhave been able to significantly alterbody temperatures, shut off and switchon parts of their body that convention-al science doesn’t believe possible.

However, the impact of meditationon the brain was something relativelylesser known till more recently. Theresults are fascinating. It has beenfound that the brains of experiencedpractitioners of meditation have struc-tural differences from those of others.

There is observable thickening in

the cerebral cortex in areas associatedwith attentional and emotional integra-tion. There is also a significant increasein grey matter density in the part of thebrain associated with self-awareness,compassion and introspection.

The posterior cingulate, which isinvolved in mind wandering, and self-relevance saw a difference too. Thosewho meditate have a higher ability tofocus and very interestingly self-rele-vance that links to self-esteem. This isanother interesting area raised in thebook, Aatma Sutra, where the conceptof self-worship is discussed. While thisis a function of realising the divinitywithin, the journey begins with self-love. What is also shared is that whenwe watch ourselves as doing the ‘rightthings’ such as serving other beings,planting trees or impacting the envi-ronment positively, our self-imagegets positively impacted. This in turnmakes us feel better about ourselvesand therefore raises our levels of self-esteem.

It is therefore no surprise that therewas also a difference in the tem-poroparietal junction in the brain, orTPJ, of meditators. This is associatedwith empathy and compassion… bothindicators of a higher level of spiritu-al evolution. Apart from all the otherpositives, yet another was a significantdecrease in grey matter density in theamygdala, which plays a role in fear,anxiety and stress.

What is quite interesting to knowthat meditation can act as a ‘dampen-er’ for the anti-aging creams andserum market. A powerful side effectof meditation has been found to be itsability to diminish age-related effectson gray matter and reduce the declineof our cognitive functioning therebypotentially making us less prone to ail-ments such as dementia. Now couldthis be a reason why a lot of ourancient yogis are said to be 100s if not1000s of years old. I guess we will justhave to wait for science to discover thistoo.

While scientists today have justabout started to prove the impact ofseva and dhyan on the brain, theunknowns are still far more than theknown. If we were to go by what ourscriptures and texts say, these not onlychange the course of our current life,but also that of future lives and steadi-ly help us along the path of spiritualprogress. These give us the one kindof wealth that we can carry into theafterlife — karmic currency.

So the final question that arises is,what next? The right time to begin, isnow. Just look around you and if theintent is present- many doors willopen!

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The American-German poet, CharlesBukowski’s simple yet astoundinggravestone reads: “Don’t Try”. To

many it might appear to be underestimat-ing, but to a larger audience the two wordsask them to be just natural. Instead ofbreaking a sweat to reap benefits fromsomething that doesn’t raise your eyebrows,Bukowski asks them to wait patientlybecause something innate, will surface.Instincts and innate talent is what Bukowskiasks one to delve into.

Life coaching, streamlined as it sounds,seldom does it converse with the inner con-voluted realms of an individual. Life coach-es are suggested to or consulted by peoplefrom different walks of their lives. A stu-dent. An aspiring entrepreneur. An execu-tive recently promoted in the company’s topbrass seat. To each one their own. Theneeds could be varying per the situationdemanding. But, as history is evident, nomatter how many lessons does one note intheir diary to react in a similar way juxta-posing their situation with someone else’s;when it comes to application, nothing buttheir instincts are in charge of the leashguiding their horses.

As late American business magnate,Steve Jobs voiced: “Your time is limited, sodon’t waste it living someone else’s life.Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is liv-ing with the results of other people’s think-ing. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinionsdrown out your own inner voice. And mostimportant, have the courage to follow yourheart and intuition. They somehow alreadyknow what you truly want to become.Everything else is secondary.”

Jobs here refers to the call we have with-in ourselves. One can connect to their dom-inant inner being and can unravel newavenues only if he goes within himself.There are timeless pearls of wisdom inancient scriptures and books to peek into

for valuable lessons and guidance, but in anutshell, during these challenging times, it’sall about ideating ways of how to cope withour day-to-day situation and to find moremeaning in what we are doing. Corporateleaders, good artists, scientists, and busi-nessmen of the bygone era, were visionariesdriven by sheer confidence. However, thisconfidence was ignited by something assimple as a gut feeling to achieve it, for thatis what quenched their burning desire. Topaint the worldly canvas by bringing theirthoughts to existence.

It’s not only the hard work that deter-mines a person’s success, but it’s the inspiredaction that comes from within, especiallywhen a person identifies his innate strengthand vision. Although most of the manage-ment theories deal with quick-fix approach-es, what a corporate leader needs are lessonsof wisdom where they can connect truly totheir inner vision.

As the whole world is gripped by fearand uncertainty, people are losing theirexpectations and faith, and are faced withanxiety, stress and fear. These negative emo-

tions take a toll on our mental health whichin turn affect our immune system. This isthe time where we all need to calibrate our-selves to the strength of our inner wellbeing,which is dominant and inherent in us.Spirituality is nothing but tapping thoseinnate strengths. We usually tend to openour inner world only when the noise of theexternal world subsides. So now, when weare isolated completely, all of the chaos ofthe external world is naturally shut down,and we get ample time to reflect and goback within ourselves. Our mind-madeclutters will slowly wither away, and whenthere’s nothingness, a new world wouldslowly emerge.

It reels us back to learning from howpeople of repute in the ancient times didn’thave professional individuals/life coaches torun to and seek help from during turbulentphases of their careers, but it was thethumping voice within that directed thecourse for them to achieve the unprecedent-ed feat.

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Page 11: ˘ ˇ ˆ ˆ˙˝ ˛ ˚ ˇ ˜ ˇ · 7 hours ago · Her questioning went on seven-long hours. Around 8.30 pm, Rhea stepped out of the DRDO guesthouse along with her brother Showik,

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(������ �����!���������������#�������������������Thialand s currently gripped

by a wave of students’protests. Though initially thedemonstrators raised the ban-ner of revolt against theGovernment of Prayuth Chan-ocha, gradually they are tryingto bring forth an alternative tothe existing political system.The young protesters are vent-ing their ire against the Thairoyalty as well. This is quiteserious as it may emboldenother political actors like thesupporters and sympathisers offormer Prime MinistersThaksin Shinawatra andYingluck Shinawatra. HoweverThaksin’s party, known as ThaiRak Thai Party (TRT), hasbeen banned in the countryafter his political exile in Dubaisince 2008. But Yingluck’s PheuThai Party is fully active inThailand. Moreover, the RedShirt Movement volunteerswho have been rallying behindthe fight against the Bangkokelite might give the protests anew twist.

Today the students arevoicing their rage against thetwo eternal symbols of powerin Thailand i.e. two M’s — themonarchy and the military.But why?

The long held demandsand frustration of the peoplehave finally surfaced, but thistime, the Thai students havetaken the lead. The studentmovement, known as “FreeYouth”, has been able to gath-er thousands at the DemocracyMonument in the heart ofBangkok.

The protesters have out-lined broadly three maindemands: First, the dissolutionof the Parliament i.e. resigna-tion of the PrayuthGovernment and new elec-tion; second, amendments tothe Constitution of Thailand;and third, an end to intimida-tion and persecution of polit-ical opponents.

Apart from other demands,the new movement also high-lights two very striking issues:One is the reversal of a 2019order that allowed two armyunits to be positioned rightunder the King’s own com-mand, and second, anotherlaw passed in 2017 which gavethe King complete control overthe crown’s all property hold-ings. These laws, along withother unpopular initiativeslaunched by the Prayuthregime time and again haveirked the public. The studentsand other youth in Thailandhave really acted as agents ofchange. The movement, start-ed in January, has however wit-nessed slight loss in momen-tum due to the Covid pan-demic.

In fact, there has been amarked decline on the power,prestige and long arm of rev-erence of the Thai Monarchywith the death of truly people’sking Bhumibol Adulaydej in2016. And when the mantlepassed on to his lesser knownand very unpopular son MahaVajiralongkorn, the aura andcharisma around the palaceand the King graduallydeclined. King MahaVajiralongkorn today mostlylives in Germany and he canrightly be called as a King-in-

absentia who simply wantsstability and peace back home.And for these compulsions ofthe King, the nominally civil-ian Government of Prayuth isruling the country with the fullbacking of the armed forces.

Since the coup of 2014, theactivists ranging from the RedShirts to the present have beenaccusing Prayuth of using theThai military’s proximity to themonarchy to enhance his owngrip on power. However,Prayuth and his cronies denysuch allegations; what cementshis closeness with the King isthe sustained stability that hehas guaranteed so far to thecountry. After overthrowingthe popularly electedGovernment of YingluckShinawatra, the men-in-uni-form took over under the lead-ership of Prayuth. And he hasruled the country with theNational Council for Peaceand Order since then to 2019,when he nominally ended thejunta rule, with a blatantlyrigged election to shed hisuniform. And it is very clear toall that the military retains fullcontrol over all political insti-tutions across the country.

Lately, Prayuth is serious-

ly concerned about the grow-ing demonstrations around thecountry, particularly in thecapital city. What is aggravat-ing his problem is the call byanother student group whoissued an unusually clear 10-point demand for reform in thepolitical system. Thousands ofdemonstrators are chanting“Long live democracy” anddemanding the resignation ofPrayuth who took over in 2014coup and to put an end to mil-itary domination in politics. Infact, these students have set anexample by questioning theactual role and powers of themonarchy that used to be ataboo for decades in Thailand.But whsat surprises the inter-national community is howanyone within Thailand daresto question or criticise theKing or the monarchy. It is acountry that zealously guardsthe royalty. Hence, the uniquelaw called “Lese Majeste” is inaction in the country whichleads to severe punishments toanyone who tries to defame themonarchy. This law might landa person who criticises theKing in prison for 15 years. Itis considered one of thestrictest in the world. It has

been increasingly enforcedsince the coming of the Prayuthregime simply to clamp downfree speech and anti-govern-ment protesters. Even the topglobal governance bodies suchas the UN have been repeatedlycalling Bangkok to amendthese draconian laws.

Meanwhile Prayuth haswarned the protesters againstdragging the monarchy into themovement. But what comes asa big relief to the demonstra-tors is that the King has askedthe Government not to bookanyone under the infamous“Lese Majeste” law.

Around the same time,Thailand’s economy is on freefall. It is witnessing the worst-ever economic downturn sincethe Asian financial crisis 2008.The political crisis in Thailandshows the grotesque ineffi-ciency crept long into the civil-military set-up of the country.The student movement mightlead to a showdown betweenthe military-backed PrayuthGovernment and the studentgroups who are demandingimmediate reforms.

International human rightsorganisations such as theAmnesty International say that

the Thai Government is usingthe police forces to suppress thestudents’ movement. And thegroup argue that this appear tobe a new crackdown on free-dom of expression.

Political instability inThailand has its roots in theturbulent past of the country.Many say that Thailand enjoysa “coup season” now and then.Therefore the country has notbeen able to be either governedby a democratic leadership ora full-fledged military regimefor a long time. The power-tus-sle between the urban andelite minority and the poorurban majority is there at theheart of Thai politics. It seemsto be a permanent stalemate forthis middle income group EastAsian nation. Other two factorsthat strongly influence thecountry are — coups as ameans to resolve political cri-sis and the indecisive perenni-al role of the royalty in politics.

Youngsters played key rolesin a multitude of political, eco-nomic and social movementsaround the world. What theylook for and demand is change.Fiercely reclaiming their spacesin public squares, the youngpeople are literally threatening

the very existence and rele-vance of ones who are at thethreshold of power. However,unseating the governors wouldnot herald any immediate solu-tion to the governed, includingthe young. The road ahead forstability and peace could onlybe an earmarked plan for piece-meal engineering i.e. gradualchange. Probably accompa-nied by constitutional amend-ment or change in due courseof time.

The fragile democracy inThailand has always beenunder threat. Its breathingspace is limited. In fact, theassault of assorted collectivistideologies such as militarism,socialism, imperialism, author-itarianism, etc, has carefullyhastened the march of liberal-ism in the 19th, 20th and 21stcenturies all along. AndThailand has not been anexception. Is it leading to anArab Spring kind of scenario inThailand? Like all those protestmovements marked by theabsence of charismatic leadersand a definite agenda and pro-pelled by young anger andsocial media activism, if thecurrent Thai movement quick-ly passes into oblivion, then it

would be very depressing forthe movement itself.

Questioning the King andthe military-backedGovernment of the country hashighlighted the current move-ment around the world. Butthen the protesters need torealise that the deep symbiosisbetween the Thai palace andthe military is still intact.Though the political repre-sentatives who are in powerdisdain the very system theyare running, they are not dis-lodged from the seat of powerby anyone. It indicates howweak and unorganised theopposition political forces arein Thailand. Certainly, the stu-dent activism has altered thepolitical scenario in the coun-try. And it is the right momentfor the Opposition, includingthe Thaksin followers, to rallybehind the youngsters. Thismight force the King and thepower brokers in Bangkok torethink opening of politicaldialogues involving all com-peting forces. This mightrestore the lost democraticheritage of Thailand.

(The writer is an expert oninternational affairs)

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Even as Thaliand is witness-ing an unprecedented open

criticism of King MahaVajiralongkorn, whose much-admired father King BhumibolAdulyadej ruled for sevendecades, the Government ofPrayuth Chan-ocha has beenable to pressurise Facebook toblock in Thailand a group withmore than a million membersthat engages in open discussionabout the Thai monarchy, aninstitution that is staunchlyprotected from criticism bystrict laws.

Protesting students’ opendefiance of the taboos aroundspeaking ill of the monarchyhas infuriated ultra-conserva-tives and the military, who areunlikely to let it go without aresponse. Security forces inrecent weeks already had beentrying to intimidate students

and other activists from hold-ing demonstrations.

With key Cabinet postsstill in the hands of former gen-erals, voices have grown loud-er against the enduring militaryinfluence and Prayuth’s per-formance.

And therefore, PrimeMinister Prayuth Chan-ochahas tried to paint the move-ment as a trigger for politicalpolarisation and has warnedthat it could destroy the nation.“If each side insists on defeat-ing the other politically, ourcountry will collapse,” he toldreporters. “If that happens,just wait and see, everyone willlive on a fiery land, consumedby flames. If that happens I amat a loss for what to do.”

Prayuth said at a newsbriefing following a Cabinetmeeting on August 25 that the

government asked Facebook toblock the page because it vio-lates Thai law. He said the gov-ernment would stand firm onits stance if a legal challenge tothe request is made.

The Thailand Governmentis determined to crack down onthe social media use by the pro-testers as it called them “illegal”online sites. A top official inThailand on August 26 saidthat his country will step upaction against online contentthat breaks its laws, two daysafter forcing Facebook to blocka group that was posting mate-rial critical of the monarchy.

Minister of DigitalEconomy and SocietyBuddhipongse Punnakantatold a news conference that hisdepartment would get a courtorder within 48 hours to blockaccess in Thailand to any web

address deemed to containillegal material.

The platforms would thenhave 15 days to comply or facelegal action.

“We are protecting oursovereignty, which may notmean protecting physical bor-ders in the traditional sense butrather, as I said yesterday, thatwe are protecting our cybersovereignty,” saidBuddhipongse. He declaredthat such attacks “happen fastand are constantly damagingThais.”

Buddhipongse said Thaiauthorities had asked Facebookto close the offending “RoyalistMarketplace” site, and it was upto the tech company’s judge-ment whether to block it onlyin Thailand or globally.

Facebook said that whilepeople in Thailand can no

longer access Facebook group“Royalist Marketplace,” it isstill available in other places,adding that the company plansto “legally challenge” the gov-ernment’s request.

“After careful review,Facebook has determined thatwe are compelled to restrictaccess to content which theThai government has deemedto be illegal,” the companysaid in a statement.

Pavin Chachavalpongpun,a 49-year-old academic whocreated Facebook group“Royalist Marketplace” in April,bemoaned the decision, andquickly set up a similarFacebook group that alreadyhas hundreds of thousands ofmembers.

“I’m furious, you know,because this is something thatI am passionate about. I am

passionate because I just wantto see Thailand becoming moreand more democratic,” Pavin,who lives in exile in Japan, saidin an online interview.

Pavin was not in Thailandwhen the country’s currentPrime Minister, Prayuth Chan-ocha, orchestrated a militarycoup in 2014, when he was thearmy chief. Following the coup,the ruling junta summonedcritics of the government andmonarchy, including Pavin,who decided to remain abroad.

Pavin, who is an associateprofessor at Kyoto University’sCenter for Southeast AsianStudies, said “RoyalistMarketplace” achieved 1 mil-lion members just a few daysago. He criticised Facebook forthe move. “By accepting therequests, whether you like it ornot, you become a part of

that, you become a part of thesupport that you gave to theauthoritarian regime inThailand,” he said.

Facebook acknowledgedthe seriousness of blocking thepage, saying that such govern-ment requests “have a chillingeffect on people’s ability toexpress themselves.” “We workto protect and defend the rightsof all internet users and arepreparing to legally challengethis request,” the company saidin its statement.

Pavin said that after theFacebook group was blocked,he immediately created anoth-er one that is essentially thesame, called “RoyalistMarketplace-Talad Luang.”“Talad Luang” is Thai for“Royalist Marketplace.”

The new group has alreadyattracted more than half a mil-

lion members, with many fromthe original one migratingover. The monarchy is consid-ered sacrosanct in Thailandand any criticism is normallykept private. A lese majeste lawcalls for a prison sentence of upto 15 years for anyone foundguilty of defaming the king.

Earlier, pro-democracyhashtags linked to high schoolprotests were trending on socialmedia with photographs andvideos showing young stu-dents at schools in a number ofcities lined up on playgroundsand giving the salutes duringthe compulsory daily singing ofthe national anthem. The dis-plays of solidarity began inearly August and are a remark-able show of defiance within aneducational system that stress-es obedience to elders.

(With inputs from AP)

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Page 12: ˘ ˇ ˆ ˆ˙˝ ˛ ˚ ˇ ˜ ˇ · 7 hours ago · Her questioning went on seven-long hours. Around 8.30 pm, Rhea stepped out of the DRDO guesthouse along with her brother Showik,

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Couple of years ago, a lady cameseeking guidance on how toimprove her relationship with

husband, which had become sour. Shewas advised to look within, identify andacknowledge her own fault lines, andaddress them before expecting her part-ner to behave. When she began reflect-ing upon herself, she realised that sheimpulsively reacts and responds to exter-nal trigger on instinctive judgment,without applying forethought. Sheworked upon her fault line, and theirrelationship improved.

Later, her aunt gave me particularsof a girl and wished to know about hermarital prospects. After analysing herchart, I confronted the lady: “Is she notmarried yet?” “That is what I wish toknow”, said the lady. “It appears that youare hiding something. From my analysis,it appears that she must have got mar-ried under unusual circumstances tosomeone belonging to another race orreligion.” I countered. “Well, this chartbelongs to the other twin of the girlwhom you had counselled earlier. Theircharts look similar. They were broughtup under similar conditions. How comeone girl had a traditional marriage and

the other one opted for an unconven-tional route?” The lady asked.

Well, what apparently looks similar,at the subtle level there are wide differ-ences, which only a well versedastrologer can figure out. How does itmatter whether it was the case of othertwin? Only parentage and how one isbrought up, will not define a person’smindset. Bear in mind; every being isborn unique, reflects varying desire andmind-trends, coming as it may withindividualistic Karmic carryover fromthe past, and hence the difference.“Please explain astrologically as I under-stand the subject a bit as 7th housemarked with marriage and their lordremains the same in both the cases”, thelady asked.

Well, instead of the 7th house, betterlook at their 7th cusp sub-lord for theanswer. In case of the elder one, the 7thcusp falls at 19 degrees, 31 minutes and5 second in Virgo sign, jointly ruled byMercury as sign lord, Moon as constella-tion lord and Mercury again as sub-lord.Now, Mercury occupies the lunar con-stellation ruled by benevolent Jupiter, theone marked with conventionality, andso, won’t allow breaking established soci-

etal norms. She, therefore, had a tradi-tional marriage with her own caste fel-low.

In case of the younger one, the 7thcusp falls at 22 degrees, 53 minutes and49 seconds in Virgo sign, the sign andconstellation lords remaining the sameas the elder one, the sub-lord is the Sunin debilitation, which occupies the con-stellation owned by erratic Rahu. Rahu isplaced adverse to Mars, which gave herthe courage to take a bold stand. Rahuagain, ill-disposed off to Uranus markedwith unconventionality, made her defysocietal norm. Saying sorry for trying totest me, the lady later revealed that theyounger one ran away with an Englishboy, stayed with him as live-in-partnerfor a year before getting married.

Recently, I had the occasion to coun-sel twin girls the same day. The elderone was receptive and responsive. Theyounger one was stuck to what tempedher in immediate terms, rather than pur-suing the discipline which she had origi-nally pursued. Why such oppositetrends?

Being a question pertaining to per-sonality, here, a look at the lagna cusp ofthe two charts becomes imperative. Incase of the elder one, lagna cusp fell at

20 degrees, 27 minutes and 25 secondsin Gemini sign jointly ruled by Mercuryas the sign lord, Jupiter as the constella-tion as well as sub-lord. Jupiter occupiesits own sign Sagittarius, a dual sign, andis conjunct Moon. Because of being adual sign, though she would be subjectto vacillation by herself, but whenexposed to reason, she will be receptiveand responsive, as would conjunction ofbenefic Jupiter with mind signifyingMoon mean.

On the contrary, the lagna cusp ofthe younger one fell as 25 degrees, 40minutes and 06 seconds in Gemini sign,where the sign and constellation lordremaining the same, the sub-lordbecomes Mercury. Mercury occupies afixed sign Aquarius ruled by Saturn,implying a fixated one track mind, notopen to listening or counsel. Mercury isill-disposed off to mischievous Neptune,which makes her stuck to self-delusionalideas, and not keen for a reality check.Also, it accounts for her insensible rea-soning and judgement. And the result isthere to see.

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