ˆ˘ ˆ˙˝˛˚ ˜ ˇ ˘ ˇ ! · The 978 crore mission, ... 1989 and 2017. The committee ... that struck Uttar Pradesh on Sunday. The maximum casualties Bundelkhand region where 13

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Three-time Delhi ChiefMinister Sheila Dikshit, 81,

who died on Saturday due tocardiac arrest, was cremated onSunday at Nigambodh Ghatnear the Yamuna River with fullState honours.

Union Home Minister andBJP president Amit Shah, DelhiChief Minister ArvindKejriwal, his deputy ManishSisodia, Power and HealthMinister Satyendar Jain, formerCongress president SoniaGandhi, her daughter andCongress general secretaryPriyanka Gandhi as well andother Congress veterans, col-leagues, workers and admirerswitnessed the last rites bravingheavy rain and gusty winds.

A large number of leaders,including BJP stalwart LalKrishna Advani and formerExternal Affairs MinisterSushma Swaraj and former

Prime Minister ManmohanSingh paid homage to Dikshit ather Nizamuddin East residence.

Dikshit’s body was taken tothe Congress headquarterswhere top party leaders, includ-ing Manmohan Singh, chiefministers Ashok Gehlot andKamal Nath, paid their respects.Later, the body was taken to theDelhi Pradesh CongressCommittee office, the city unitwhich she was heading at thetime of her death.

Former Jammu andKashmir Chief Minister OmarAbdullah too visited Dikshit’sresidence. From there, Dikshit’sfinal journey to NigambodhGhat began in a van with hersister Rama Dhawan at her side.

The truck carrying the cas-ket moved slowly as the roadwas packed with supporterswho chanted ‘Jab tak suraj chandrahega Sheila ji ka naam rahega’and Sheila amar rahe amid lightrain. The cremation was doneusing the CNG method that was

installed at the ghat during hertenure as Delhi CM.

Madhya Pradesh ChiefMinister Kamal Nath andsenior leaders Ahmed Pateland Raj Babbar were amongothers who joined the emo-tionally charged crowd.

Vinod Singh (56), a partyworker who was standing out-side DPCC headquarters, try-ing to get in to pay homageamid unprecedented gathering,claimed that he worked withDikshit in Delhi Assemblyelections. He said he can neverforget the love and warmth ofthe former CM. “The nationalCapital is renovated by her.Everything that you can seehere, it all became possiblebecause of her extraordinaryefforts during her 15 years asDelhi CM,” he said.

Friends, relatives and sup-porters remembered Dikshitas an affable person who gavethe best advice in hour of need,a concerned chief minister who

cared for everyone and a leaderabove party politics.

“She was still working andtrying to revive the party. Shehas left us but will be remem-bered for her extraordinaryworks for the party and for peo-ple of Delhi. She was a dedi-cated leader. She kept motivat-ing party workers, a soft-spokenand a fighter,” said AshishGupta, a DPCC post-bearer.

Earlier, paying homage toDikshit, Sonia Gandhi said theCM was a friend and like anelder sister to her. Her demisewas a big loss to the Congressparty, she said.

As the longest servingwoman CM who steered herparty to victory for three con-secutive terms in 1998, 2003and 2008, Dikshit ushered inan era of all-round develop-ment that transformed Delhiinto a world class Capital.

She also initiated greenreforms in public transport

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Once again holding tam-pered electronic voting

machines responsible of herparty’s electoral defeat at thehustings and indicating that shewould eventually lead the “bal-lot-versus-EVM” battle till itslogical in 2021 Assembly elec-tions, Bengal Chief MinisterMamata Banerjee on Sundaygave a call to dump EVMswhich her own TrinamoolCongress Government wouldattempt at doing so in nextyear’s local polls to begin with.

Speaking at a mammothTMC martyr’s day rally,Mamata attacked the BJP formanipulating the EVMs sayingthe 2019 general elections was“not a history but a mystery” toher. “I have no hesitation todeclare that the Lok Sabhaelection was not a history as isclaimed by the BJP but mys-tery” thanks to the manipulat-ed EVMs, Mamata saidreminding how the advanced

countries like “America,England, Germany and Francehave returned to the old ballotboxes.” She declared “ourGovernment will write to theState Election Commission tohold the municipal and ruralelections with ballot papers. Wewill start ballot paper onceagain giving a new direction toelectoral politics.”

The TMC was stunned bythe BJP in the April-May gen-eral elections when the Bengalruling party came down froma whopping tally of 34 seats in2014 to 22 seats this timeround conceding 18 out of 42seats to the saffron outfit.

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After destroying thousandsof acres of standing crops,

affecting lakh of people, andkilling around 150 people inBihar and Assam, the flood furyis now looming over Kerala.

The Indian MeteorologicalDepartment (IMD) predictedheavy rainfall in six districts ofKerala in the coming days. TheKerala State DisasterManagement Authority(KSDMA) has issued a “RedAlert” for Kasargod, Idukki,Kannur, Wayanad, Kozhikode,and Malappuram.

A “Red Alert” denotes like-lihood of very heavy toextremely heavy rainfall.Orange Alert means a warningto “be prepared to face any sit-uation arising out of severeweather condition”. Fishermenhave been advised not to ven-ture into the sea due to therough weather.

As many as 38.66 lakhanimals including 21.47 lakhpoultry, 1.79 lakh hectare ofcrops, 48 lakh population and3,705 villages are affected in 27districts in Assam flood. InBihar, 69.76 lakh people in 12of the 30 districts, 25 lakh ani-mals have been hit by thecalamity.

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India’s second moon mis-sion Chandrayaan-2 seeking

to explore the uncharteredLunar south pole by landing arover will be launchedonboard its most powerfulrocket GSLV-Mk0III-M1 fromhere on Monday, a week afterthe lift-off was aborted due toa technical snag, said theIndian Space ResearchOrganisation (ISRO).

The �978 crore mission,which has been rescheduled forMonday after scientists cor-rected the glitch in the rocket,will be launched at 2.43 pmfrom the second launchpad atSatish Dhawan Space Centrehere, over 100 km fromChennai.

ISRO scientists, who abort-ed the previous launch with 56minutes left for the countdownto end on July 15, have takenquick remedial action based onan analysis carried out by a teamset up to look into the snag andannounced the rescheduledlaunch three days ago.

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The next edition of India’smega defence exhibition -

the DefExpo - will be held inLucknow in 2020 with partic-ipation of major global anddomestic military firms, theDefence Ministry announcedon Sunday. It will be for the firsttime Lucknow will host theexhibition in which delegates ofa number of leading countrieswill participate.

The theme of the DefExpowill be ‘India: the emergingdefence manufacturing hub’and it will be focused on ‘dig-ital transformation of defence’,the ministry said. Officials saidmajor global and domesticmilitary firms will showcasetheir latest weaponry and plat-forms at the exhibition, eyeinga slice of the lucrative militarymarket in the country which isthe world’s biggest armsimporter. “The 11th biennialedition of DefExpo India- 2020is scheduled to be held for thefirst time in Uttar Pradeshcapital Lucknow. It offers anexcellent opportunity for theIndian defence industry toshowcase its capabilities andpromote its export potential,”the ministry said. The previousedition of DefExpo took placein Thiruvidanthai nearChennai in April 2018.

Officials said the DefExpo Continued on Page 4

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Blaming Congress andSamajwadi Party forinciting land grabbing in

Uttar Pradesh, Chief MinisterYogi Adityanath said that theland grabbers would be bookedunder the NSA and the farm-ers who had been denied theirrights would be allowed to liveon the land of their ancestorswithout any fear.

The announcement wasmade in Umbha village inSonbhadra district where theCM had gone to meet the fam-ily members of those who wereshot dead on July 17 by thecohorts of the village pradhan.“The opposition leaders areshedding crocodile tears today,but the fact is that the mal-practice started in 1955 whenthe Congress was in power inUP. The land records were ille-gally changed in 1989 and thentoo, the Congress was in power.

And now, the Congressleaders are pretending as if theirhearts beat for the poor,” Yogisaid. He announced that acommittee had been constitut-ed to examine revenue recordsof the same land and howownership changed in 1955,1989 and 2017. The committeehad been asked to submit itsreport within 10 days, headded.

Yogi said the land belong-ing to tribals was transferred in1955 to the trust of the thenCongress MLC. The investiga-tion committee will also inves-

tigate that. In 1989, the land oftrust was transferred in thename of a family. Yogi said it allstarted in 1952-53. “The mainaccused is a Samajwadi Partyworker. Apart from this, hisbrother is a BSP leader. All ofthem have been misusingpower. Cases were filed againstthe poor by misusing powerand actions were taken infavour of the then ruling party,”the Chief Minister said. Headded that the land mafiawould be taken to task under

NSA. “The district adminis-tration has been directed thatthe land on which the peopleworking should be allowed tocultivate that land in this vil-lage. Within one month, all thevillagers will be given govern-ment accommodations. Houseswill be provided to ScheduledCaste, Adivasi and Musharcaste people within a year.Toilets, electricity connections,gas connection, widow pensionand divyang pension will alsobe provided to eligible people.

Ration cards will be madeavailable to everyone. The newtehsil will be created and twonew development blocks willalso be created,” he said.

He said that families of thevictims had been paid Rs 18.50lakh while Rs 2.50 lakh hadbeen given to those injured. Healso handed cheques to somemembers of the bereaved fam-ilies there and inspected thesite. “The incident was tragicand I wanted to come after theincident. However, due to cre-

mation of the deceased, I couldnot come. The government isfully committed to preventingre-occurrence of this kind ofthe incident,” the ChiefMinister said. On the occasion,state BJP president Swatantra DevSingh, MLC Kedarnath Singh,Chief Secretary Anup ChandraPandey, Director General ofPolice (DGP) OP Singh,Additional Chief Secretary(Information and Tourism)Awanish Kumar Awasthi andothers were also present.

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At least 35 people lost theirlives and 13 were injured in

thunder storm and lightningthat struck Uttar Pradesh onSunday.

The maximum casualtieswere reported fromBundelkhand region where 13people died due to lightningand house collapse in Jhansi,Jalaun, Hamirpur andChitrakoot districts.

Official sources here saidthat seven people each died inKanpur and Fatehpur, followedby five in Jhansi, four in Jalaun,three in Hamirpur, two inGhazipur and one each inDeoria, Kushinagar, Jaunpur,Ambedkar Nagar, Pratapgarh,Kanpur Dehat and Chitrakoot.

Of the injured, 10 were inJhansi and three in Deoria.

Around 20 houses alsocollapsed in the heavy rain andlightning.

Chief Minister YogiAdityanath expressed grief overthe death of people in thenatural calamity and directedthe districts concerned to pro-vide all assistance, includingmedical treatment, to theinjured.

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The long trail of nexusbetween bureaucrats-land mafia-Revenue

department officials and thelocal feudal lords is behind thekilling of 10 Gond tribals inUmbha village of Sonbhadrathat in the last several decadesdispossessed the tribals fromseveral thousand acres of landin the district.

The Supreme Court orderfor survey settlement in late1980s on the petition of aGandhian non-governmentalorganisation, Vanvasi SevaAshram, has failed to give reliefto the tribals. The NGO hadfiled the petition seeking that thetribals be given the title rights ofthe land in their possession.

The locals allege that thelands belonging to poor tribalfarmers were seized by landmafia due to an unholy nexuswith bureaucrats. TheWednesday’s massacre inSonbhadra’s Ghorawal tehsil, inwhich 10 tribal farmers werekilled, was the outcome of onesuch case where revenuerecords were fudged at thebehest of the local land mafiato claim more than 600 bighasof land worth over �48 crore.

A retired IAS officer, whohas served in the Mirzapurdivision, said, “The mutation of600 bighas of land in favour ofvillage pradhan Yagya Dutt bythe District Magistrate ofSonbhadra emboldened him tophysically take possession ofthe land and this precipitatedthe situation.”

He said in the last over sixdecades, none of the districtmagistrates of Mirzapur haddared to do this.”

The Robertsganj tehsil wascarved out as a separate districtfrom Mirzapur and namedSonbhadra in 1988. The districtfalls in Mirzapur division.

Swaraj Abhiyaan, a partyheaded by Yogendra Yadav,said, “The frauds committed bythe district revenue authoritiesamply prove that Sonbhadrahas of late become the mostsought-after place for corruptbureaucrats, politicians andmafia to buy land at throwawayprices.”

In village Umbha, just a fewhundred yards from the spot ofWednesday’s killings, anotherhuge chunk of land measuring600 bighas in village Vishambriwas usurped by senior officialsof the Chakbandi departmentof the UP government.

“The tribals hadapproached a local lawyer tofile a case to unravel the rack-et. On the instructions of thecourt, a subsequent enquiryrevealed that Chakbandi offi-cials (Land Consolidationdepartment) had fudged rev-enue records in which theowner of the land was shownas a dead person. When the realowner (a tribal) was producedin court, the conspiracy wasunmasked resulting in an reg-istration of

FIR against 27 Chakbandiofficials,” said Dinkar Kapoor,a member of the state commit-tee of Swaraj Abhiyaan.

He said in another case offraud, revenue records relatingto 14 bighas of land on thehighway near a cement facto-ry owned by a big corporatehouse, were fudged by akanoongo (lower rung officerof the Revenue department).

“The kanoongo tamperedwith the revenue records and reg-istered the land in the name of histwo sons (in back date), who werenot even born on the date of reg-istry,” Dinkar Kapoor said.

In fact, officials who weresupposed to enforce ForestRights Acts (FRA) and SurveySettlement in favour of tribals,

blatantly cheated the poorfarmers for years. Former BJPMP from Sonbhadra ChhoteLal Kharwar, after the killingon July 17, said in a statementthat “behind the killings over aland dispute, a corrupt lobby ofbureaucrats played a key role”.

Kharwar also named someIAS officers who allegedlybribed the revenue officers andgot the land registered in thename of his family members.The IAS officer later sold theland to gram pradhan YagyaDutt, the prime accused in thekilling of 10 tribal farmers.

The former MP said that afew months back, in February2019, Yagya Dutt had attempt-ed to take forcible possession ofthe land from tribal farmers.However, the local administra-tion and police slept over thecomplaint of the tribal farmers.

Over a hundred civil suitsrelating to fudged revenuerecords are pending in differ-ent courts of Sonbhadra.

“During settlement surveyinitiated by the Supreme Courtin the mid 1980s, fraudulententries were made in revenuerecords in favour of local mafiaand government officials.Instead of giving possession totribals, as per the survey, the

land was sold at throwawayprices, somewhere around�1000 per bigha, to bureau-crats, politicians, corporatehouses and mafia. At presentthe price per bigha rangesfrom �5 lakh to �7 lakh,depending on the location ofthe plot,” said Dinkar Kapoor.

Kapoor alleged under thecover of survey settlement andLand Consolidation depart-ment, the tribals have been sys-tematically dispossessed oftheir land by the nexus of cor-rupt bureaucrats, land mafiaand Revenue department. Healleged that the tribals hadbeen cheated repeatedly by therevenue and forests officialsand successive governmentshad done nothing substantial inbreaking the nexus of bureau-crats and land mafia.

“When Pandit Nehru camehere in 1954 he was spell-bound by the natural beauty ofSonbhadra and had said thatthis place should be called theSwitzerland of India. However,as years passed by, this placehas now turned into a den ofcorruption and environmental-ly degraded land due to ram-pant stone and sand miningand power and cement plants”said Dinkar Kapoor.

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The way the Yogi Adityanathgovernment handled the

Sonbhadra massacre, the feel-ing in political circle is that theBharatiya Janata Party will-ingly gave space to Congress,allowing Priyanka GandhiVadra to hog limelight, whichin turn would galvanise theparty at the grassroots level.

Senior ruling party leadersare silent on this question.One of them smiles and saysthat won’t it help BJP ifCongress emerges powerful inUttar Pradesh because BJPalways favours multi-corneredelectoral fight.

“There is no doubt thatSamajwadi Party and BahujanSamaj Party will contest elec-tions separately. Both the par-ties have their dedicated votebanks. If Congress emergesstrong in the next year-and-a-half, it will help BJP,” the senior

leader said, hinting that ChiefMinister Yogi Adityanath hasalready blamed Congress gov-ernments of 1955 and 1989 forthe massacre.

The argument of this leaderis supported by the way the Yogigovernment imposed pro-hibitory orders under Section144 of the Criminal ProcedureCode in Sonbhadra and allowedPriyanka to hog limelight.

The prohibitory orderswere issued the day Priyankareached Varanasi and beforethat leaders of some politicalparties had already visitedUmbha village where the mas-sacre took place.

Lenin Raghuvanshi ofPeople’s Vigilance Committeeon Human Rights (PVCHR)said that Sonbhadra administra-tion imposed Section 144 CrPCon July 19. Before that the gov-ernment had allowed politicalleaders, civil activists and jour-nalists to visit Umbha village.

“Left leaders had gone thereand met the family members ofthe victims. Even Congressleader Ajay Kumar Lallu hadvisited the village on July 18, aday after the massacre tookplace. But when the administra-tion came to know aboutPriyanka’s visit, prohibitoryorders were issued on July 19,”Raghuvanshi said.

Sonbhadra DistrictMagistrate Ankit KumarAgarwal in his order said thatprohibitory orders were issuedfor two days because “Wereceived intelligence input sug-gesting that anti-social elementare active in the area. Visit ofVIPs and political leaders couldaggravate the situation further.So we decided to imposeSection 144.”

The whole issue has rejuve-nated Congress, which wasalmost in a moribund in UPafter Lok sabha elections. Partyleaders held dharna across the

state in support of Priyanka.The BJP leaders played

their role cleverly. ChiefMinister Yogi Adityanath andhis deputy Dinesh Sharma inseparate media interactionsblamed Congress for the mas-sacre.

“The seeds of discontentwere sown in 1955 when gramsabha land was given to a soci-ety. In 1989, the said land wasregistered in the name of anindividual. In 1955 and 1989Congress was in power. Had thethen Congress governmenttaken steps, the massacre ofpeople in 2019 could have beenprevented,” Yogi said.

As the war of wordsbetween Congress and BJPintensified, Congress lawmak-er Aradhana Mishra ‘Mona’said, “The said land was sold in2017 to the gram pradhan whoopened fire killing 10 people.Whose was in government atthat time Yogiji.”

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The popularity of NarendraModi and Yogi Adityanath

can be seen at Kanwar Yatrathis year as devotees wearing T-shirts bearing images of thePrime Minister and the ChiefMinister show the craze ofthese leaders among the people.

“The T-shirts having Modiand Yogi pictures are much indemand during Sawan this year.People carrying kanwar are pre-ferring T-shirts with pictures ofthese two leaders,” said ShyamBabu, a trader in Meerut.

This year’s Kanwar Yatrahas got full government support.Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath

has allowed DJ during the yatraand has asked officials to makepreparations of Kanwar Yatra onthe line of Kumbh Mela.

The Kanwar Yatra startedon July 17 and will continue forthe full month of Shravan

The CM has directed the

authorities to make all arrange-ments for smooth conduct ofthe Kanwar Yatra. He has askedofficials to shower flower petalsfrom helicopter on devoteesand also monitor the crowdedareas during the yatras. He saidthat DJs would not be bannedduring the yatra but theyshould only play bhajans.

As this year Bakra Eid andlast Monday of Shravan andKanwar Yatra fall on the samedate (August 12), the ChiefMinister has asked officials totake proper security measures,including no illegal slaughteringon Kanwar Yatra route andinstallation of CCTV cameras incrowded areas.

Lucknow (PTI): Hittingout at Chief Minister YogiAdityanath for claiming that themain accused in the Sonbhadraclash was a Samajwadi Partymember, the opposition partyon Sunday said the ChiefMinister was levelling allegationsagainst it only to hide his failures.

Talking to PTI, SamajwadiParty spokesperson RajendraChaudhary denied the chargethat the main accused in theclash over a land dispute thatclaimed the lives of 10 Gondtribals on Wednesday had anyconnection with his party.

“Yogi Adityanath is trying tohide his failures by indulging insuch useless talks. How can theBJP shrug off the responsibilityas regards the crime committedin Sonbhadra? Law and orderand the safety and security ofpeople are the responsibilities ofthe state government,” he said.

Claiming that the rulingBharatiya Janata Party did notwant the world to know aboutthe anarchy prevailing in UttarPradesh, Chaudhary said, “It(BJP) is unable to run the gov-ernment in the state. The pieceof land over which the clash tookplace was in dispute for years.The affected people hadapproached the officials duringthe tehsil diwas and thana diwas,but their grievances wentunheard.”

Reacting to the ChiefMinister’s statement that themain accused in the incidentwas an active member of the SP,he said, “Adityanath is makingincorrect statements. Yagya Duttdoes not have any connectionwith the SP.” Later, in a statementissued by the party, Chaudharysaid that SP leaders and partyworkers will participate in a‘Sonbhadra kooch karoabhiyaan’ to register theirprotests over the death of 10 per-sons in the clash.

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Adelegation of RashtriyaLok Dal led by its state

president Masood Ahmad metthe families of the victims ofSonbhadra massacre onSunday and criticised theBharatiya Janata Party govern-ment, police and administra-tion for the laxity whichclaimed the lives of the inno-cent tribals

Later speaking to news-men, Ahmad demanded �50lakh as compensation, allot-ment of 20 bigha land and jobto a member of each family ofthe victim.

He also demanded a policeoutpost in Umbha villagewhere the massacre took placeand that the remaining land behanded over to the gram sabha.

“The police and adminis-tration tried all tested measuresto stop us but in vain. We metthe family members of the vic-tims and came to know theinsensitivity of DistrictMagistrate, SDM,Superintendent of Police, SHO,lekhpal and tehsildar and otherofficials. All these officials kepttheir eyes closed till the mas-sacre took place,” the RLDstate chief alleged. Ahmedclaimed that he was told by thefamilies of those injured in theincident that they were charged�20,000 by the doctors of dis-trict hospital.

“It is a matter of shame andthe chief minister cannotescape from his responsibility,”he said.

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Congress general secretaryPriyanka Gandhi Vadra,

by being the first big leader totake up the cause of the trib-al victims in Sonbhadra dis-trict and getting detained forit, has effectively seized theissue, making Akhilesh Yadavand Mayawati look like mar-ginal players in UP politics.

The laid back attitude ofthe Samajwadi Party and theBahujan Samaj Party, even afterthe humiliating defeat in the2019 Lok Sabha elections, hasbaffled political observers.

On the other handPriyanka, who as Congressgeneral secretary in-charge eastUP, could not save RahulGandhi’s Amethi Lok Sabhaseat, has taken up leadership inthe Sonbhadra issue.

The SP, to be counted as‘also ran’, did send a team of itslow rung leaders who were alsodetained. Nobody, includingthe local people, took the noticeof that effort and it wasPriyanka Gandhi Vadra whocontinued to occupy the topslot in the media.

The other big oppositionleader of UP, Bahujan SamajParty chief Mayawati, who islicking the wounds inflicted bythe Income Tax Department byattaching Rs 400 crore worthbenami property her brother inNoida, is as usual sitting on ahigh pedestal.

Barring the incidents ofkilling of Dalits in Fatehpur dis-trict of UP in 2001 and gang-rape

in Badaun in May 2014, she hasnever taken the trouble of visit-ing the families of the victims.

She is not known to playagitational politics. What isAkhilesh Yadav’s excuse? Ofcourse, he has given formalstatements and the SP hasforced a Rajya Sabha adjourn-ment, but these efforts comeacross as mere formalities. Theparty does not seem to beeager to be seen actually fight-ing to seek justice for the vic-tims of Sonbhadra.

A senior SP leader admit-ted: “We should have donewhat was done by PriyankaGandhi.”

Incidentally, both Priyankaand Akhilesh Yadav took for-eign holidays around the sametime. When Akhilesh Yadavwas abroad for 15 days, he did-n’t put out a single tweet.Priyanka’s Twitter accountremained active with tweets onUttar Pradesh affairs in Hindias if she was sitting in Lucknow.

“If you scan the media

coverage of Priyanka GandhiVadra in the last six weeks, itappears that she is the tallestopposition leader of UttarPradesh,” said a leader of theSamajwadi Party.

The ruling Bharatiya JanataParty, waiting for the opportu-nity to break the oppositionranks, added to the profile ofPriyanka Gandhi Vadra bydetaining her and not lettingher meet the families of theSonbhadra victims.

She had recently written toChief Minister YogiAdityanath, asking the UP gov-ernment to reduce her securi-ty cover to prevent the incon-veniences caused to the public.The BJP state unit was all toohappy to share this letter withthe media.

It is clear that the BJP isencouraging Priyanka’s foraysinto Uttar Pradesh to furtherdivide the opposition. A four-cornered contest is all that theBJP needs for the by-election to14 UP Assembly seats.

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�)8>-�?��.��$�.��.�Lucknow (PNS): Congress general secretary Priyanka

Gandhi Vadra on Sunday took a dig at Uttar Pradesh ChiefMinister Yogi Adityanath’s visit to Sonbhadra, saying “know-ing one’s duty is good”. She said the UP government had actedonly after the Congress came out in strong support of the trib-als. In a tweet on Sunday, Priyanka said, “I welcome UttarPradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s visit to Sonbhadra.It may be late, but standing with the affected people is the dutyof the government. Knowing one’s duty is good.” She added,“Umbha has been awaiting justice since a very long time. Hopethe affected people of Umbha will get justice and their fivedemands will be fulfilled.”

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Muzaffarnagar: Narcoticsworth �35 lakh were seizedfrom a truck in neighbouringShamli district and two menwere arrested, police said onSunday.

During interception, 500kg toda (weed husk) was seizedfrom the vehicle in Jhinjhanaarea on Saturday, police said.

Preliminary investigationrevealed that the substancewas being smuggled fromRajasthan’s Udaipur to UttarPradesh and was supplied tothe dhabas here, Kairana CircleOfficer Rajesh Kumar Tiwarisaid. UP Police announced areward of �10,000 for the policeteam for its good work, headded.

A case has been registeredunder the Narcotic Drugs andPsychotropic Substances(NDPS) Act against fiveaccused including Akram, headof Baseda village inMuzaffarnagar district who isabsconding, the CO said.

Two accused — Shaukeenand Shamoon— have beenarrested while the hunt for theother three is on, the circleofficer said. PTI

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The encounter in KrishnaNagar and the arrest of

three criminals on Sunday pre-sented a new challenge beforethe police — to deal with theworking style of underworldand change of guard in a gangof criminals.

The police woke up to thestunning revelation after theyrummaged through the pagesof crime history of severalwanted criminals of the city.Their search led them to thehistory of Tinku Kapala akaKamal Kishore, who master-minded the dacoity at RKJewellers and loot of two inno-cent persons.

Tinku was a small-timegoon and indulged in pettycrimes until he came under the‘tutelage’ of Avinash Tripathiaka AT. “Avinash, along withTinku Kapala and PawanDubey, had executed the mur-der of Shyam, who was thenephew of RK Jewelers ownerRajeev Kumar, in Barabanki in2007. Avinash and Dubey weresent to jail while Tinku Kapalafled taking advantage of hisparole some time back. The jailterm to Avinash and Dubeycame as a blessing in disguisefor Tinku, who started steeringthe gang,” sources said.

They said Tinku broad-ened his reach and executedloots and robberies in Bihar

and other states too. “He usedthe network of AvinashTripathi to spread his tentaclesin other districts besides UttarPradesh. They also executedtwo bank robberies in Motipurpolice station area ofMuzaffarpur, Bihar,” thesources said.

According to a long list ofcases registered against TinkuKapala, he and his aides alsoexecuted two loots in Koregaonpolice station area ofMaharastra. He has as many as20 cases registered against himat different police stations inLucknow. “Tinku Kapalashowed cruelty to the hilt at thetime of execution of dacoity atthe jewellery store on March 2

and his aim was to eliminateRajeev. He and his aides hadentered the shop two times. Inthe hurry, they had droppedthe bag at the spot and due tothis they had to make off witharticles worth much less,” cir-cle officer (Crime), DeepakSingh said.

It surfaced that Tinku andhis aides were to loot a petrolpump and a plywood trader inthe city. “The concerned per-sons have been informed andgiven adequate security cover,”ADG, Lucknow Zone, RajeevKrishna said.

He said Tinku Kapala hadbeen declared absconding andthe police teams had launcheda manhunt for him.

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Three dreaded criminalswere nabbed following apolice encounter in the

wee hours of Sunday. Theywere said to be involved inthree different sensationalcases, including dacoity at RKJewellers in Krishna Nagarwhere they had gunned downtwo persons and criticallyinjured the jeweller, RajeevKumar. Those arrested wereidentified as Ajay Gupta akaTinku Pahadi of Saadatganj,Laiq of Alambagh and MohakShastri of PGI locality. They aresaid to be members of gang runby infamous gun-toting des-perado Tinku Kapala, who ison police radar after his namewas disclosed by the above-named accused.

Two police constables SunilRai and Akhilesh Kumar alsosustained bullet injuries in theexchange of fire between thepolice and criminals. The newsthat three criminals were rid-ing the same bike despite inten-sive police checking and recov-ery of .32 bore pistol from thepossession of those arrestedgave uneasy moments to thecops. ADG, Lucknow Zone,Rajiv Krishna said eight teamswere formed under the super-vision of the IG, LucknowRange, following after 4-5 lootincidents executed with simi-lar modus operandi in the city.The robbers opened fire with-out any second thought.

“We examined 900 CCTVfootages and zeroed in on 40criminals due to intelligenceinputs and surveillance,” hesaid. The ADG said as thesecriminals had also opted for a

similar said modus operandi,we put them on radar. “Theyopened fire without anyprovocation or challenge,” hepointed out. He said theaccused confessed to havegunned down a bank’s securi-ty guard (Deshraj) and anemployee of RK Jewellers(Guddu Patwa). JewellerRajeev was also injured in thefiring on March 2 last.

The ADG said that thosearrested were involved in arecent bank dacoity inMuzaffarpur, Bihar. He

announced a cash prize of Rs75,000 for the team consistingof policemen and SHOs ofNaka, Alambagh and KrishnaNagar besides incharge of anti-dacoity cell Santosh Awasthi.

Earlier, the accused hadlooted a shop-owner (Lalit) ofNaka and opened fire at himon January 12. Besides, theyhad shot dead a shop-owner(Sonu Yadav) in Gomti Nagaron May 25 but failed to com-mit loot.

The accused told thepolice that their mentor Tinku

Kapala, Avinash Tripathi,Pawan Dubey and others wereinvolved in the murder ofRajeev Kumar’s nephew inBarabanki in 2007. The policefound jewellery worth Rs 80lakh and claimed that it waslooted after the murder ofRakesh Narayan Mehra andLata Mehra in Gomti Nagar in2013. “We have found somedocuments from the houses ofthe accused and they belong tothe Mehras’ murder case. Weare verifying the same,” thepolice said.

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Ahuge rush of devotees isexpected in Lord Shiva

temples on the first Monday ofShrawan month (July 22).Mahant Devya Giri ofMankameshwar Temple saidthey were expecting over onelakh devotees on the firstMonday of Shrawan. The tem-ple gates will open at 12 am and‘Jalabhishek’ will be performedwith the Gomti water. “We haverequested the district admin-istration and traffic depart-ment to make necessaryarrangements,” she said.

The other ancient Shivatemples of the city where hugerush of devotees is expected onMonday are Buddheshwar,Koneshwar, Siddhnath and RajRajeshwar temples.

According to litterateurand noted Lucknow chroniclerYogesh Praveen, ‘ShrawanSomwar’ is significant becauseMonday is associated withLord Shiva.

The ancient temples in thecity are several thousand years’old. “Buddheshwar temple wasassociated with Lord Buddhaand hence the name. The tem-ple was rededicated to LordShiva. Siddhnath temple onNadan Mahal road has a ‘laat’deep inside the ground. Thetemples came under the attackby Mughals, but this ‘laat’could not be retrieved,” henoted.

“Koneshwar temple wasestablished by RishiKondeshya. Right fromNeemsar Mishra to the old areaof the city, there were neemtrees under which ‘rishi-munis’had established their ashrams.The ashrams were converted

into temples,” he pointed out.Women devotees said

‘Shrawan’ has special signifi-cance for them. Nitika Garg, aresident of New HyderabadColony, said ‘Shrawan’ cele-brations were linked withwomen.

“The celebrations are allabout ‘shringar’, applying hennaand enjoying the beauty ofnature. Women get togetheraway from the tedious workthat they carry out and singsongs,” she said.

Amrita Sinha, a housewiferesiding in Gomti Nagar, saidthat ‘Teej’ functions resulted in

bonhomie amongst women.“We look forward to Mondayswhen we keep fast and visittemples. The month brings thebest of festivals such asRakshabandhan and HariyaliTeej,” she said. She added that‘Shrawan’ also put restrictionson eating certain food items.

Meanwhile, the trafficdepartment on Sundayannounced diversions forMonday. No traffic will beallowed to move from Ekka-Tonga crossing in Daliganj toHanuman Setu tri-crossingthrough Mankameshwar band-ha. It will be diverted towards

IT crossing and Daliganj Pul.No traffic will be allowed

on the Nadwa-Mankameshwarbandha ramp. Traffic will notbe allowed to move towardsMankameshwar temple, andwill be diverted towardsHanuman Setu and then direct-ed towards bandha road.

No traffic will be allowed tomove from Buddheshwarcrossing towards Buddheshwartemple, and will be divertedtowards the service lane andthen towards the overbridgeafter which the vehicles canhead to their respective desti-nations.

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Police are mulling narco testof the family members of

Midland Hospital managerVishwajeet Singh Pundeer ifthe report of forensic testremains inconclusive.Vishwajeet had died undermysterious circumstances athis house in Gomti Nagar onJuly 17. On Sunday, the policeassisted a team of ForensicScience Lab in reconstructionof the crime scene. The reportwill be submit in a week’s time.“If the report remains incon-clusive, we have the option ofnarco test of Vishwajeet’s fam-ily members,” SP (North)Sukirti Madhav said. He addedthat the police had no details ofthe FSL findings.

On Sunday, a team of fourforensic experts from themedico-legal division recon-structed the crime scene. Theexercise started at 5.10 pmand lasted till 6 pm. Sourcessaid a dummy was droppedfrom the balcony. The dummyalso got stuck in tree branch-es. The height of the victim wasfive feet and 11 inches while he

weighed 78 kg. Vishwajeet fellfrom a height of over eight feet.

The dummy was alsopushed from the balcony ofVishwajeet's home, the sourcessaid. They said the pattern ofinjuries in both the cases didnot match with that sustainedby the victim. The FSL teamalso drew flak for using a 20-kg dummy instead of the oneweighing 78 kg.

Vishwajeet was allegedlyfatally attacked at his house inGomti Nagar on the interven-ing night of July 16 and 17 andwas later declared broughtdead due to excessive bleedingin a hospital. Immediately afterreaching the spot, the GomtiNagar police had claimed thatit was an accidental death as thevictim fell over pointed irongrill around his house.

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The ‘light & sound show’ atthe Residency will begin

from Independence Day. Asenior ASI official said thedate had been chosen with theright ambience of patriotismwhich the monument creates.

The visitors will have to bein possession of separate entrytickets for the show which willbe held in the evenings. “Theshow will definitely add to thepopularity of the monument.There is a marked area on theground of the monumentwhere this show will be held

and the fee amount will go theTourism department,” he said.

The show, which earlierwas a regular feature at themonument, was discontinuedover a decade ago. However, ithas has been revived by theTourism department. The offi-cial said that Residency with itsruins was the reminder of thebattles which were fought dur-ing the First War ofIndependence.

The Residency complexwas set up on the banks of theGomti river in 1775 by NawabAsafuddaulah after the shiftingof the capital from Faizabad to

Lucknow. The main buildingwas a three-storeyed one witha ‘tahkhana’. It was construct-ed during the reign of NawabSaadat Ali Khan and was usedby the Resident and the ChiefCommissioner of Awadh till1857.

The ruins of the Residencyremind of the historic seize ofthe British stronghold by theAwadh forces in 1857 underthe leadership of Begum HazratMahal, wife of Nawab Wajid AliShah, Maulvi Ahmad-ulla Shahand several Taluqdars with thefull cooperation of the peopleof Awadh.

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National Botanical ResearchInstitute (NBRI) has come

with a technology of turningtemple waste flowers intoherbal gulal. NBRI director SKBarik said they would soon beapproaching major templesacross the country and smallentrepreneurs to share thetechnology.

The NBRI director saidthat with this technology, theywould be able to make gulalusing zero chemicals. “Both thecolours and binder are plant-based. We have that in fourcolours, including yellow, pink,beetroot colour and red,” hesaid. He added that the templescould install the machine intheir premises and utilise thefloral waste productively.

Asked as to why they choseto make herbal gulal out of thetemple flower waste, he said:“The herbal gulal which we hadmade earlier was from freshflowers. This will be from flo-ral waste which consists ofmainly marigolds. We decidedto make herbal gulal becausethere was a gap between thesupply and demand. Templescan make herbal gulal throughthe year and sell the same at thetime of Holi.”

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Central Institute forSubtropical Horticulture

(CISH) is providing guidancefor management of waste incity parks and and convertingit into wealth. CISH directorShailendra Rajan they hadhelped the residents of ViratKhand-2 in developing aunique park known for wasteconversion into wealth.

“The members of theassociation started practisingconversion of organic materi-al in the park in 2008. Principalscientist Ram Awadh trainedthem for preparing differenttypes of compost, includingNADEP and high-quality ver-micompost,” Rajan said.

The park is spread over inan area of 8,000 square metrewith not only ornamentalplants but also dozens ofmango varieties, vegetablesand spices are being cultivat-ed for consumption by thesociety members.

“The most interesting factis that they grow all thesecommodities without usingany chemical fertiliser or pes-ticide. Organically producedproducts are shared by thesociety members. This is oneof the sustainable systems

wherein cowdung dumped indifferent parts of Gomti Nagaris welcomed by the membersand they convert it into high-quality manure which is regu-larly sold at Rs 5 a kg. Themanure is used by gardenlovers in Gomti Nagar even asseveral people come from dis-tant colonies,” he elaborated.

Garden lovers easily getthis organic manure and theyare ready to pay the price forit. “The returns from sale aremaking the park sustainable.They have no budget con-straints in maintaining orna-mental plants and intercultur-

al operation required for beau-tifying the area. About adecade back, the park mem-bers developed NADEP com-post structures and pits for ver-micompost where they dumpthe waste organic matter for itsconversion into compost. Theyare not using any fertilisers butthe plants are healthy and dis-ease-free because they makeorganic pesticides using simplethings like cow urine andleaves of certain plants,” hesaid.

The principal scientistworked constantly with mem-bers of the association for over

a decade. “They know how tocontrol insect pest using cheapand self-made organic pesti-cide. This is one of the uniqueparks of the country which isself-sustainable. Several veg-etables are grown and they takeadvice of scientists and usegood quality seeds. Sometimesthe fruiting in vegetables is asight to see and everybody feelshappy as they are consumingorganically produced vegeta-bles,” said Rajan..

He added that the park wasnot only beautified but certainparts were being utilised forgrowing vegetables also.

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Lucknow DevelopmentAuthority (LDA) and

Lucknow MunicipalCorporation will launch a jointdrive to remove garbage andsolid waste from vacant resi-dential plots in the city tomaintain hygienic conditionsand prevent a possible outbreakof diseases. The move comes inthe wake of the directives of theWaste Solid ManagementCommittee constituted by theNational Green Tribunalrecently. LDA secretary MPSingh said the officials hadstruck an agreement with LMCto start an exercise to removegarbage from vacant plots. Theexercise would begin fromGomti Nagar Extension area onMonday and later cover otherresidential places, he added.The main reason for involvingLMC is that the civic authori-ty has the powers to imposepenalty as the LDA adminis-tration has been deprived ofthis power. The drive will becarried out with private part-ners’ participation.

The LDA officials willidentity the places while thecivic authority will ensure quickand disposal of garbage andspraying of insecticides in thevacant plots. The private part-ners will transport the garbageto the dumping grounds. Thereare scores of vacant residentialplots where locals dumpdomestic solid waste, leading tounhygienic conditions. As aresult, the plots get flooded with rainwater andact as breeding grounds formosquitoes.

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��&�$�A ‘Geoheritage Walk’ to

spread the message of conserv-ing natural heritage was organ-ised by Birbal Sahni Institute ofPalaeosciences, Society of EarthScientists, LU’s department ofGeology, Directorate Geologyand Mining (DGM) and oth-ers on Sunday morning todraw the attention of policy-makers regarding the urgentneed to conserve geoheritage.Geoheritage refers to signifi-cant geological features likeunique fossils, distinctive rocksand landscapes such as lakes,glaciers, coasts, mountains,hills, craters, water bodies, etcthat provide vital informationpertaining to Earth’s history,evolution and climatic manifes-tations. A large number ofgeoscientists, earth and envi-ronment lovers and studentsparticipated in the walk carry-ing slogans and banners dis-playing the importance of geo-heritage sites and the need forits conservation for future gen-erations. BSIP directorVandana Prasad said therewere various rich geo sites in

the state. “There is a differencebetween archaeological andgeoheritage sites. The geoher-itage sites are more than 10,000years’ old. While the archaeo-logical sites are under protec-tion, the geoheritage sites haveyet to be preserved,” she point-ed out.

�� (&��&��Groundwater Week cele-

brations will conclude withprize distribution at GannaSansthan on Monday. Studentssubmitted photographs of

water wastage at various placesin the city under the topic‘Capture water wastage’ on thefifth day of the programme atRegional Science City. “Thepurpose of this event is to cre-ate awareness about savingwater. Through their presenta-tion, the students conveyed amessage to save every drop ofwater and also presented vari-ous methods for taking care forwater used in our daily activi-ties,” the organisers said. Thestudents raised their hands forwater conservation in rural

areas too. An awareness pro-gramme was organised for thestudents in rural areas at SatyaNarayan Inter College inNigoha. Former director ofGroundwater departmentAshok Kumar and ex-hydrol-ogist NC Saxena explained dif-ferent methods of groundwaterconservation to the students indetail. Collage and slogan con-tests were also held in whichabout 250 students took part.It was followed by a ‘nukkadnatak’ contest in which eightteams from different schools

presented their views ongroundwater conservation andrainwater harvesting. A puppetshow was also organised on theimportance of water and itsconservation.

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scan and voluson S8 ultra-sound was inaugurated atVivekananda Polyclinic andInstitute of Medical Sciences.Doctors said that the depart-ment of Radiology had in 2002started providing single-sliceCT scan facility to patients. “Itwas upgraded to SiemensSomatom Emotion 16-slice CTscanner in 2012. Now, we haveupgraded to the 64-slice CTscanner, which is a highlyadvanced machine with moresophisticated features. It bringsan unparalleled level of flexibil-ity and mobility to routine CTexaminations. It also enableshigh-quality angiographyscans, neuro-imaging as well asCT endoscopy besides ensur-ing patient comfort anddecreased radiation exposure,” the doctors said.

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In a bid to ensure safety andsecurity of passengers, Uttar

Pradesh State Road Transporthas made it mandatory for allthe drivers of long-distancebuses to undergo breathanalyser test before departure.

Managing director ofUPSRTC Raj Shekhar said thatall the regional managers andmanagers of bus stations hadstarted breath analyser testthrough machines.

“As of now, we have 36breath analyser machines inmajor regions and with routechecking squads. Looking intothe need for more breathanalyser machines at all the busstations, with All RMs and withall route checking squads, theUPSRTC headquarters hassanctioned the budget andissued instructions for purchaseof 250 more breath analysermachines. All the machines

will be purchased in the nexttwo weeks and to start thechecking in all the long-routebuses in three phases,” he said.

This, he said, would help inchecking and preventing drink-ing habits of the drivers, if any,as it could prove hazardous forthe passengers of UPSRTCbuses. “All the RMs and ARMshave been issued instructionsand they have conductedawareness camps at all the bus

stations about safe drivinghabits and safety of passengers.As a major punishment, if anydriver of UPSRTC bus is foundto be in an inebriated condition,he will be suspended forthwith.If any contractual driver isfound to be tipsy during check-ing, he will be removed fromservice with immediate effect. Passengers’ safety is thetop priority of UPSRTC,”Shekhar said.

%��$��A 23-member delegation of City Montessori

School comprising students and teachers ofKanpur Road branch and Aliganj Campus I leftfor Mauritius to participate in ‘Quality YouthInitiative Summit’. Prior to their departure, thedelegation was bid farewell by the teachers andparents. Mauritian Society for Quality ControlCircle and World Council for Total Quality andExcellence in Education are jointly organisingthe international event from July 22 to 27. It willbe attended by students and quality expertsfrom around the world. Student members of thedelegation are Ananya Patel, Rimi Patel,Shashwat Patel, Shiva Patel, Shivangi Patel,Yashasvi Patel, Rahul Arora, Shringarika Gupta,Suhani Tripathi, Jyothsna Gurnani, LavanyaSisodiya, Ayushi Kesarwani, Jahnvi Shukla,Harsh Singh Verma, Shreyash Kumar Singh,Priyanshi Kishor, Anshika Gupta, KashishNigam, and Tumul Shukla.

&�$(�� )�� Speaking at the World Unity Satsang,

organised at City Montessori School’s GomtiNagar auditorium on Sunday, founder-directorof CMS Bharti Gandhi said that God had cre-ated humans because he loved their existenceand his creation. “God never likes indulging inany kind of violence. People must be very care-ful while speaking, behaving or doing any inhu-man act,” she said.

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In a tragic incident two chil-dren were drowned in a

pond in Ekoni village under theKaundhiyara police stationhere on Sunday. On gettinginformation about the matter apall of gloom descended on thevillage and their family mem-bers who were shell-shockedwere inconsolable. The policeafter conducting the necessaryformalities handed over thebodies of the children to theirrespective families.

According to a reportreceived here, Durga, popular-ly known as Guddu (10), son ofSamarjeet, was a student of aprimary school in class IV andAdarsh popularly known asSonu, son of Sugreev, a studentof the same school in class V.They were good friends andneighbours. On Sunday bothDurga and Adarsh along withdozen other children went to apond situated nearby in the vil-lage and decided to cool them-selves there in view of the sul-try weather. They along withother children went inside thepond for a dip. However sud-denly they slipped, went intothe area where the water wasdeep and were drowned. Onhearing their cries for help, alarge number of villagers gath-ered there to rescue them,

brought both of them out fromthe pond but by unfortunatelythat time both Durga andAdarsh had died. On beinginformed their parents rushedthere and were shell-shockedon seeing their bodies. Onbeing informed the policereached the spot and conduct-ed a preliminary investigation.After preparing the ‘panchna-ma’ report, the police handedover their bodies to their par-ents so that they could performtheir last rites.

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Perturbed over beingscolded by his mother, a 12-year-old boy committed suicideby hanging himself in FaqrinTola locality under theKadadham police station in theneighboring Kaushambi dis-trict here on Sunday. However,the family members performedthe last rites without informingthe police.

As per the reports receivedhere, Sultana, a resident of anarea under the aforesaid policestation, is a labourer by profes-sion and used to earn his liveli-hood by doing odd jobs. Hisson, Gulfam (12), went to hismother and demanded moneyfor something. However, hismother refused to give him asshe had no change with her atthat time. But Gulfamremained adamant and askedher to give it to him. As a resulthis mother got angry andrebuked him due to whichwhich he got upset. He thenentered his room, bolted thedoor from inside and thenhanged himself from its ceiling.When Gulfam did not comeout from his room for a longtime, his father became suspi-cious and peeped inside it andwas taken aback on findinghim hanging from the ceiling.

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%�� (��)�� 1*��A 20-hour countdown for

the launch began at 6.43 pmSunday, ISRO announced.Chandrayaan-2 comes 11 yearsafter ISRO’s successful firstlunar mission Chandrayaan-1which scripted history by mak-ing more than 3,400 orbitsaround the Moon and wasoperational for 312 days tillAugust 29, 2009.

“Chandrayaan 2 is ready totake a billion dreams to theMoon now stronger than everbefore! Join us for the launchon Monday 22 July, 2019 at2:43 PM IST,” ISRO had tweet-ed on July 18 while announc-ing the rescheduled launch. Onthe eve of launch, ISROChairman K Sivan said allpreparations were on and theglitch had been rectified.

“Whatever technical snagwe observed on July 15 hasbeen rectified. The vehicle is ingood health... The (pre-launch)rehearsal has been successful-ly completed,” he told reportersat the Chennai airport on briefa stopover enroute here.

The 43.43m tall three-stagerocket dubbed ‘Baahubali’ forits ability to carry heavy pay-loads would blast-off carryingChandrayaan-2 and inject thespacecraft into Earth orbitabout 16 minutes later. Afterlift-off, the 3,850 kgChandrayaan-2, comprising anorbiter, lander and rover, willundergo 15 crucial manoeuvresbefore landing on the Moon,expected by the first week ofSeptember, Sivan said.

Scientists would make softlanding of the lander in theSouth Pole region of the Moonwhere no country has gone sofar, the ISRO chief said.

Billed as the most complexand prestigious mission under-taken by the ISRO since itsinception, Chandrayaan-2 willmake India the fourth countryto soft land a rover on the lunarsurface after Russia, the UnitedStates and China. About 16.20minutes after the lift-off, theGSLV rocket will injectChandrayan-2 into 170 km x39059 kms Earth orbit. Fromthen onwards, the mission willwitness a series of manoeuvresby scientists to carry out differ-ent phases of the mission overthe next 48 days.

Subsequent to the resched-uling of the launch, the spaceagency has tweaked the orbitalphases, increasing Earth-boundphase to 23 days as against 17days planned orginally.

At the end of the Earth-bound phase, the orbit of thespacecraft will be finally raisedto over 1.05 lakh km beforenudging it into the LunarTransfer Trajectory taking it tothe proximity of Moon in thenext two days. Then graduallyover the next few days it will bebrought to 100 X 100 km cir-cular orbit when the lander willseparate and after another fewdays of orbiting it will make asoft landing at a chosen placeon the Lunar surface. The softlanding of the lander - Vikramcarrying rover ‘Pragyan’, one ofthe toughest phases of the mis-sion and described by the ISROchief as “15 minutes of terror(filled moments), would beattempted between September6-8. “Chandrayaan-2 is thenext leap in technology as weattempt to soft land close toSouth Pole of Moon. The softlanding is extremely complexand we will experience approx-imately 15 minutes of terror,” hehad said earlier. The mission,which carries a total of 13payloads, including three fromthe Europe, two from the USand one Bulgaria, seeks toimprove understanding of theMoon which could lead to dis-

coveries that will benefit Indiaand humanity as a whole.

A Laser RetroreflectorArray (LRA) of US spaceagency NASA is among thepayloads and is aimed atunderstanding dynamics ofEarth’s Moon system and deriv-ing clues on Lunar interior.Sivan Sunday saidChandrayaan-1 revealed thepresence of water moleculesand similarly there were possi-bilities of the latest missionreturning successful scientificexperiments. “It is because ofthese reasons thatChandrayaan-2 has attractedattention not only from theIndian scientists but also fromglobal scientists,” he said. ISROencountered the snag on July15 when the liquid propellantwas being loaded into the rock-et’s indigenous cryogenic upperstage engine. Veteran scientistsheaped praise on ISRO forcalling off the launch ratherhurrying into a major disaster.President Ram Nath Kovindwas present here on July 15 towitness the launch. The launchof Chandrayaan-2 had missedits date earlier too when it wasfixed for the first week ofJanuary. But it was shifted toJuly 15.

��$��sector successfully accomplish-ing the shift from pollutingvehicles to a CNG based fleet.Kejriwal, who handed Dikshither first electoral defeat indecades, was among the first tounderscore the importance ofthe CM’s contribution.

After announcing that theDelhi Government would hosta State funeral for her, hewrote, “Only last month I hadmet her for nearly an hourwhen she came with her party’sdelegation to submit a memo-randum on several issues.” Atthe end of the meeting, Iwished her good health, notknowing that this would be mylast meeting with her,” he said.

On Saturday, PrimeMinister Narendra Modi visit-ed her residence and wasaccompanied by Delhi BJPchief Manoj Tiwari. As thelongest serving woman ChiefMinister who steered her partyto victory for three consecutiveterms in 1998, 2003 and 2008,Dikshit ushered in an era of all-round development that trans-formed Delhi into a worldclass capital. She also initiatedgreen reforms in public trans-port sector successfully accom-plishing the shift from pollut-ing vehicles to a CNG basedfleet.

2 �3��(�� at Lucknow is likely to be heldbetween February and Aprilnext year. The governmenttried to project the 10th editionof the biennial event as the firstserious attempt to transformIndia into a hub of militarymanufacturing and pursue itsgoal of achieving a turnover ofRs 1,70,000 crore in militarygoods and services by 2025 bypromoting the domesticdefence industry. “The exhibi-tion will also highlight emer-gence of Uttar Pradesh as anattractive destination for invest-ment in the defence sectorand act as a platform foralliances and joint ventures inthe defence industry,” the min-istry said.

The northern state has astrong defence industrial infra-structure. It has four units ofHindustan Aeronautics Ltd atLucknow, Kanpur, Korwa andNaini (Prayagraj), nine ord-nance factory units and one

production facility of defencepublic sector undertakingBharat Electronics Limited atGhaziabad. One of the twoDefence Industrial Corridors(DICs) of India is also plannedin Uttar Pradesh. The otherDIC is proposed in TamilNadu. Last year, Lucknow hadsent a proposal to the defenceministry to host the Aero India— considered Asia’s largestaerospace exhibition. However,the government decided to notshift it from its traditionalvenue of Bengaluru. The AeroIndia took place in Bengaluruin February. The ministry saidthe DefExpo will provide anopportunity to the major for-eign manufacturers to collab-orate with the Indian defenceindustry and help promote the‘Make in India’ initiative ofPrime Minister NarendraModi. “Ministerial level delega-tions from the foreign countriesand visitors from all over thecountry as well as abroad areexpected to visit DefExpo andwitness India’s emergence as amajor manufacturing hub pro-viding attractive opportunitiesfor co-development and co-production of defence equip-ment and systems not only forour defence forces but also forexport to the world,” the min-istry said.

*+ ,�$��$$��Experts, however, said

Mamata’s call for return ofballot system was an attempt totone up the befuddled partyrank and hammer home thepoint that TMC lost the pollsnot because of loss of popularsupport but because of theBJP’s manipulation of EVMs.“She wants to pull the support-ers out of this despondency andget them going,” political expertBN Chakrabarty said. Stumpedby a stunning saffron upsurgeand confused by the ongoingcut-money movement led bythe BJP in villages Banerjeedirected her party men to starta counter-agitation demandingthe black money the BJP lead-ers had earned during demon-etization and implementationof the Ujjwala scheme.

Post 2019 general electionsthe villagers led by BJP sup-porters had been raiding thehouses of lower-level TMCleaders demanding back the cutmoney they had extorted allthese years to help get thebenefit of government schemes.

As a counter measureBanerjee directed her partymen to “catch the BJP leadersand take from Rs 15 lakh eachthat their party earned duringdemonetization and imple-mentation of Ujjwala Yojna.”

Saying that she can sub-stantiate her claims with doc-umentary evidence she said, “Ihave documents to show howthe BJP distributed Ujjwalascheme in the villages ofMurshidabad and other placesin lieu of money.”

She said, “today the BJP israising the cut money issue butwhat about those thousands ofcrores of rupees that they spentto win the elections. Fromwhere this money come? Whogave them this money?” addinghow after the elections thecountry was experiencing asteep inflation. “There is asteep rise in petro prices andessential commodities after theelections,” she said adding therewas a relation between thecash that was used by the BJPin the polls and the price rise.

Attacking the NarendraModi Government for destroy-ing the Indian federal system byusing the investigating agencies

against the opposition Banerjeesaid “whenever you raise somequestion they will send CBI,ED to your house. Today inBengal they are targeting thefilm stars like Prasenjit andRituparna Sengupta with agen-cies,” alleging “the actors arebeing told to join the BJP” toescape Delhi’s wrath.Wondering which side the Leftand the Congress were in thestruggle against the BJP shesaid “I don’t want your (CPIM,Congress) support. I just onlywill advise you not to get pur-chased by the fascist forces,” shesaid. Banerjee asked the partymen to restart a movementagainst the BJP from July 26-27saying “I will personally startvisiting the districts from thismonth.”

�� As per data provided by the

Assam State DisasterManagement Authority(ASDMA), 42,864 animalsincluding poultry in Dhemajidistrict; 20,600 in Lakhimpur;19,800 in Biswanath; 34,500 inSonitpur; 3.87 lakh in Darrang,1.13 lakh in Nalbari, 1.51 lakhin Majuli, 11.7 lakh in Barpeta,3.97 lakh in Kamrup, 4.16 inMoarigaon, 2.75 lakh inGoalpara, 6.10 lakh in Dhubriand 3.69 lakh in South Salmaradistrict are affected due toflood. Over 100 big animalswashed away in the flood sinceJuly 13. Around 90 per cent ofrhino habitats -- the KazirangaNational Park and the PobitoraWildlife Sanctuary -- are underwater and 129 animals havebeen reported to die so far. Atleast 68 camps in KazirangaNational Park are inundated.The water has started recedingfrom the Kaziranga Park. The430-square kilometre Park is aWorld Heritage site spreadacross two districts, Golaghatand Nagaon. It is primarilyknown for being home to amajority of the world’s greatone-horned rhinoceroses, butit is also a tiger reserve, and haslarge populations of elephants,buffalo and deer. The floodreport of the Assam govern-ment further say that as perreport, 1113 hectare crops inLakhimpur, 1293 hectare inBiswanath, 4166 hectare inSonitpur, 13711 hectare inDarrang, 9602 hectare inBaksa, 16377 hectare inBarpeta, 2537 hectare inBongaigaon, 20269 hectare inDhubri, 10089 hectare inKamrup and 100849 hectare inmorigaon have been damagedso far. “As many as 3024 villagesincluding 197 villages inDimaji, 695 in Dhubri, 55 inLakhimpur, 52 in Biswanath,44 in Sonitpur, 201 in Darrang,674 in Barpeta, 133 inBongaigaon, 151 in Nagaon,260 in Golaghat, and and 143in South Salmara has beeninundated,” said the floodreport. In Bihar, significantnumber of casualties have alsobeen reported from Araria,Madhubani, Purnea, Sheoharand Darbhanga districts.However, the situationremained grim as the Bagmatiriver in Bihar continued to flowabove the danger mark at var-ious places at Sitamarhi andMuzaffapur, and though theKamala Balam river levelsshowed a falling trend, it wasstill above the danger mark inMadhubani. In Punjab, flood-like situation prevailed in atleast 12 villages in Sangrur dis-trict, after an embankment ofthe swollen Ghaggar river col-lapsed, damaging the newlyplanted paddy crop in over4,000 acres of land. In Kerala,the India MeteorologicalDepartment has sounded ared alert.

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The exit of Congress-JD(S)coalition Government

seemed imminent when thetrial of strength in theKarnataka Assembly takesplace expectedly on Monday.

While 11 Congress rebelMLAs released a video onSunday claiming they wouldnot attend the Assembly pro-ceedings, two independentMLAs have petitioned SupremeCourt to direct the Speaker towind up the vote of confidenceprocess 5 pm on Monday.

The KumaraswamyGovernment, on the edge forlast one month, had on July 19defied the two deadlines set byGovernor Vajubhai Vala toprove its majority on the floorof the House.

Hoping for some kind ofrelief from the Supreme Court,the ruling coalition, mean-

while, was making last ditchefforts to win back unrelentingrebel lawmakers.

Kumaraswamy and theCongress had moved theSupreme Court on Friday,accusing the Governor of inter-fering with the Assembly pro-ceedings when the debate onthe trust vote was underwayand sought clarification on itsJuly 17 order, which they said,caused hindrance in issuingwhip to the legislators.

The Assembly wasadjourned till Monday after theGovernor's 1.30 PM deadlineand the second one to concludethe confidence motion processby Friday itself was ignored,prolonging the instability andsuspense on the possible sur-vival of the coalitionGovernment.

As the first deadline nearedon Friday, the ruling coalitionquestioned the Governor's

power to issue such a direction,with Kumaraswamy citing aSupreme Court verdict that aGovernor cannot act asombudsman of the legislature.

The Governor's secondmissive was dismissed as a"love letter" by Kumaraswamy,who criticised Vala for talkingabout horse-trading now"when it had been happening"for the last several days.

However, before adjourn-ing the House on Friday,Speaker Ramesh Kumarextracted a "commitment" fromthe coalition that the motion ofconfidence would reach final-ity on Monday, even as hemade it clear that it would notbe prolonged further under anycircumstances.

If the ruling coalition triesto delay the proceedings onMonday also, all eyes will be onthe next move by the Governor,who has been keeping the

Centre posted on the curiousups and downs in the state.

The "delay" in completingthe trust vote process was seenas an attempt by the rulingcoalition aimed at buying timeto woo back rebel MLAs, herd-ed down in a Mumbai hotelallegedly by the BJP to protectthem from poaching by the rul-ing coalition, whose resignationhas pushed the government tothe brink of collapse.

There are about 13 MLAsof the Congress and the JDSwho have resigned from theassembly and are apparently nomood to go to the rulingalliance as the Congress hasaccused the BJP of horse trad-ing and conspiring to destabi-lize the state coalition govern-ment of the state.

BJP State president BSYeddyurappa on Sundayexpressed confidence thatMonday would be the last day

of the Kumaraswamy led coali-tion Government.

“As Siddaramaiah, Speakerand Kumaraswamy have saidthat they will seek majority onMonday, I am 100 per cent con-fident that things will reach aconclusion.

"The SC has clearly said inits order that under no cir-cumstances should the 15MLAs staying in Mumbai becompelled to attend the currentassembly session", he said.

It has clearly stated that itis left to them (MLAs) whetherthey want to attend it or not,"the former chief minister said.

He emphasised that whiphas no value in such a situation,which the ruling party leaderstoo know. As Yeddyurappa hascalled the meeting of party'slegislature party on Monday,Congress held a detailed strat-egy session in a hotel atBengaluru on Sunday.

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Rajya Sabha member D Rajawas selected unanimously

as the general secretary of theCommunist Party of India(CPI) on Sunday. The veteranleader, who replaced SSudhakar Reddy, is the first onefrom Dalit community to headthe party.

Reddy stepped down dueto health reasons and therecently concluded CPI’sNational Council decided toselect Raja.

Asserting that the party'sfight against "retrograde" forceswould continue, Raja said,"The country is going througha critical period under the fas-cist regime of Prime MinisterNarendra Modi. The Left mighthave lost seats in the Lok Sabhaelection and might have beenreduced to a smaller force inParliament, but it does notmean that we have shrunkwithin the country or our ide-ological and political influ-ence has shrunk."

Raja said the Left partieswould continue to fight againstthe "retrograde policies" of thepresent government. "The BJPgovernment may have won theelectoral battle but not thesocial or the political one. Wewant all communist parties tocome together. We will have torework our strategies. That'swhat our parties are trying todo," he said.

Doraisamy Raja (70), pop-ularly known as D Raja wasunanimously chosen as Reddy's

successor at a three-day meet-ing of the CPI NationalCouncil, the top decision-mak-ing body of the party, earlierthis week.

Reddy, who stepped downas the CPI general secretarydue to ill health, was also pre-sent at the press conference.Raja hailing from Tamil Naduwas National Secretary of CPIfor past 15 years and becameRajya Sabha MP in 2007 andreelected on 2013. His 12 yearlong tenure in Rajya Sabha isending on July 24. His wifeAnnie Raja is also a CPI leaderand is general secretary ofCPI's women's wing NationalFederation of Indian Women(NFIW).

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In the seven phases Lok Sabhapolls, a record 18,02,646 eli-

gible personnel were enrolledand 10,84,266 voted throughthe Electronically TransmittedPostal Ballot System (ETPBS)or e-postal ballots.

According to the ElectionCommission (EC), a record60.14 per cent military andparamilitary personnel andthose deployed in Indian mis-sions abroad used the e-postalballot to vote in the Lok Sabhaelections. The ETPBS is a flag-ship IT programme of theElection Commission thatempowers people eligible tovote but posted far away fromtheir homes to vote electroni-cally.

In a statement issued onSunday, the Commission saidthat in contrast, the voting inthis category was only 4 percent in 2014. According to theEC, over eight lakh servicemore voters were enrolled forthe 2019 elections compared to13,27,627 in 2014.

Of the total, 10,16,245 werefrom Defence Ministry,7,82,595 from Home Ministry(Central Armed Police Forces);3,539 from External AffairsMinistry and 267 from statepolice.

Persons working in para-military forces and the militaryand government officialsdeployed in diplomatic mis-sions outside India are classi-fied as Service Voters.

The EC said the record vot-ing was possible because ofETPBS, which was among oneof its kind initiatives adopted bythe poll panel this year.

Enabled through the ded-icated portal https://www.ser-vicevoter.eci.nic.in online reg-istration, the service voters forthe first time were sent postalballots electronically one way tosave processing time, resourcesand avoid human errors.

"A total of 18,02,646 postalballots were dispatched elec-tronically using the flagship ITprogramme ETPBS. In return,10,84,266 e-postal ballots werereceived indicating 60.14 percent turnout," the EC statementsaid.

The poll panel said ETPBSwas a fully secured system, hav-

ing two security layers."Secrecy of voting is main-

tained through the use of OTP(One Time Password) and PINand no duplication of castedETPB is possible due to theunique QR Code in the portalhttps://www. etpbs.in.," the ECsaid.

The Commission said thepurpose of the online systemwas to create convenient andeasy-to-use online system fordefence personnel to becomeService Voters.

"With the motto ''no voterto be left behind'', ETPBS hasempowered and ensured all eli-gible service electors with theirconstitutional power to votewhile performing their duty forthe nation," the Commissionadded.

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Lok Janshakti Party MP fromBihar’s Samastipur

Ramchandra Paswan died onSunday afternoon following abrief illness. He was 57.

Ramchandra Paswan, theyounger brother of UnionMinister and LJP chief RamVilas Paswan, breathed his lastat 1.24 pm at the Ram ManoharLohia Hospital here.

He was admitted to thehospital last week after suffer-ing a heart attack.

The body will be kept at hisresidence in New Delhi and onMonday, at the LJP office inPatna for paying last respects.He will be cremated in theBihar capital on Mondayevening. He is survived by hiswife, two sons and a daughter.

"With profound sadness, Iam informing that my dearestand youngest brotherRamchandra Paswan, MP LokSabha has passed away today at1.24 pm in Dr RammanoharLohia Hospial, Delhi," RamVilas Paswan said.

"The body will then betaken to Patna, where it will bekept at Lok Janshakti Party'soffice there from 11 am to 3 pmfor paying

the last respects. He will becremated at 4 pm in Patna," hesaid. President Ram NathKovind, Vice President MVenkaiah Naidu, PrimeMinister Narendra Modi andLok Sabha Speaker Om Birla

were among those who con-doled his death.

Ramchandra Paswan was afour-time MP and was firstelected in 1999.

He was re-elected to theLok Sabha in 2004 and thenagain for the third time in 2014.

In May 2019, he was elect-ed to the Lower House ofParliament from Samastipur inBihar for the fourth time on aLJP ticket.

"Sad to hear of the passingof Shri Ram Chandra Paswan,MP (LS) from Samastipur,Bihar. He remained committedto serving those at the grass-roots and contributed much tothe well being of the people ofBihar. Condolences to his fam-ily, constituents and col-leagues," President Kovind

tweeted. The vice-presidentsaid, "I express my condo-lences on the untimely demiseof Union minister Ram VilasPaswan's brother and LokSabha MP Ram ChandraPaswan ji."

Modi said Ram ChandraPaswan worked tirelessly forthe poor and downtroddenand spoke about rights of farm-ers and the youth.

"Shri Ram ChandraPaswan Ji worked tirelessly forthe poor and downtrodden.

At every forum he spokeunequivocally for the rights offarmers and youngsters. Hissocial service efforts were note-worthy. Pained by his demise.Condolences to his family andsupporters. Om Shanti," thePM tweeted.

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Lauding the heroes of theKargil war, Defence

Minister Rajnath Singh onSunday said he will do his bestto ensure that no harm comesto the pride and honour of thesoldiers. Addressing a gather-ing of war veterans, Kargil warwidows and others at an eventheld here to commemorate 20years of Operation Vijay, Singhalso asserted that people's "faithin armed forces has increased".

"Whatever we can do tohonour our martyrs is less. Wehonour them and salute thewar widows present here. Wefeel proud of our soldiers," hesaid. He also shared his expe-riences of visiting Drass onSaturday, where he paidhomage to fallen soldiers at theKargil War Memorial.

"I can only say this from my

side that I will do my best andwhatever is possible to ensurethat no harm comes to the hon-our, pride and esteem of ourjawans," the defence ministersaid to a thunderous applause.He also said a man could com-promise with other things, butnot with his pride and honour.

"That pride ('swabhiman')could be personal, social ornationalistic ('rashtriya swab-himan'). It was with this senseof pride that 18-year-olds and20-year-olds had embraced thegallows during the freedomstruggle," Singh said.

During his Kargil visit, hewas given a detailed presenta-tion on Operation Vijay, thedefence minister said.

Operation Vijay was thename given to India's limitedwar against Pakistan after theneighbouring country infil-trated in 1999.

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Bangladesh Home MinisterAsaduzzaman Khan will

visit India on August 7 duringwhich he will hold bilateraltalks with Home Minister AmitShah, who is expected to flagissues like illegal immigrationand anti-terror cooperation,officials said. Khan will havebilateral talks with the HomeMinister on August 7 whenissues concerning both thecountries will be discussedthreadbare.

India is expected to taketough stand on the issue of

unabated illegal immigrationfrom Bangladesh.

Anti-terror cooperation,movement of illegal immi-grants, and smuggling of cattle,arms and ammunition and afew other issues are expected tobe discussed in Shah's dialogue

with Khan. Radicalisation ofyouths and Rohingya refugeesissues may also figure in thetalks. The delegation-level talkswill also be attended by topinternal security officials ofIndia and Bangladesh.

During the delegation-leveldialogue, steps to be taken tostrengthen the existing mech-anism to check movement ofillegal immigrants and smug-gling of cattle, narcotics andother items through the porousIndo-Bangla border will figureprominently, another officialsaid. India shares a 4,096-km-long border with Bangladesh.

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After unveiling full bodyprotectors for the women

troopers in the CRPF, the para-military has now decided toinstall over 500 sanitary paddispensers and incineratorsacross the formations acrossthe country to help them inensuring personal hygiene withease.

The Union Home Ministryhas sanctioned funds to theCRPF to procure and install theequipment for the combatisedwomen in the Force.

As many as 288 sanitarypad vending machines and asmany incinerators to scientif-ically dispose off used sanitarynapkins will be installed in theCRPF campuses.

The Ministry has alsoauthorized the CRPF to acquire783 steel frame stands for dry-

ing clothes for all its six 'mahi-la' battalions, 15 special anti-riot units of the Rapid Action

Force and training institutions. With an outlay of

�2,10,69,000 these equipment

will be installed as one sanitarypad vending machine costs�25,000, a burning machine

about �40,000 and a cloth dry-ing stand �3,000, officials said.

The acquisition of the theseequipment will help the forcein ensuring better living andoperating conditions for theover 8,000 women personnel inits ranks. The budgeting forgender-sensitive facilities isexpected to be extended toother paramilitary forces aswell as the Union HomeMinistry has been pitching infor the inclusion of women inall the paramilitary forces.

The idea for gender sensi-tive budgeting and creation ofan enabling environment forwomen in uniformed rankswas first mooted during the'National Conference forwomen in Police' in 2016. Theconference was organised bythe Union Home Ministry inthe national capital.

IPS officer Renuka Mishra,

currently an AdditionalDirector General (ADG) inUttar Pradesh police, had con-ducted a study a few years backflagging the issues of health,privacy and challenges beingfaced by women personnel inpolice forces.

Mishra was an Inspectorgeneral with the border guard-ing Force Sashastra Seema Balat its headquarters during herstudy on the issues being facedby the women in the uni-formed ranks including in thepolice and paramilitary forces.

The CRPF had on Fridayunveiled the country's firstprototype of a full body pro-tector for women personnelwhich it has jointly developedwith the Defence Institute ofPhysiology and Allied Sciences(DIPAS, an entity of DefenceResearch and DevelopmentOrganisation (DRDO).

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The Modi Government hasunderlined its priorities in

the first 50 days of its secondterm, setting sights on makingIndia a $5 trillion economy andhitting the ground running onspurring growth.

Two persons in the knowof the government policy mak-ing said the dispensation trulyfeels that transformativechanges can be brought aboutonly through economic growthand inclusive development.

Prime Minister NarendraModi was sworn-in on May 30

after the BJP won 303 seats —the first time since 1971 that anincumbent governmentreturned to power with such athumping mandate.

The government was offthe blocks on day one and setthe ball rolling on manifestopromises such as pensionschemes for farmers, smalltraders and unorganised work-ers, extension of PM-KISAN toall farmers, and setting up of aJal Shakti Ministry, say politi-cal observers.

Just days after coming topower, the government speltout its key priorities in the bud-

get which was focused on lay-ing the foundation for makingIndia a $5 trillion economy anddoubling farmers' income, thetwo persons in the know of thegovernment's policy makingsaid.

Finance Minister NirmalaSitharaman, in her budgetspeech, said in the current fiscal, India's economywill grow to become $3 trillion economy, sixth largestin world.

The minister had empha-sised the need for structuralreforms for achieving $5 tril-lion economy.

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Jammu: The 20th batch com-prising 4158 pilgrims including1137 women and 260 sadhusSunday left Bhagwati Nagarbase camp here to offer prayersat the 3,880 metre high holy caveshrine of Amarnath in southKashmir Himalayas, officialssaid.

As many as 2,59,889 yatrishad visited the cave shrine,housing the naturally formedice-shivlingam, till Saturdayevening since the commence-ment of the annual 46-day yatraon July 1. The pilgrimage isscheduled to end on August 15,coinciding Raksha Bandhan fes-tival, they said.

A fleet of 156 vehicles car-rying the latest batch, which alsoincluded 19 children, left theBhagwati Nagar base campunder tight security arrange-

ments in the early hours Sundayand will be reaching the twinbase camps of Pahalgam inAnantnag district and Baltal inGanderbal district later in theday, the officials said.

While 2139 pilgrims includ-ing 751 women and 16 childrenare registered for Baltal route, therest of 2019 pilgrims including386 women, three children and260 sadhus are heading forPahalgam to undertake the yatrafrom there.

The yatra is going onsmoothly from both the tracks— traditional 36-km Pahalgamand shorter 14-km Baltal route,the officials said. As many as2,85,006 lakh pilgrims had paidobeisance at the shrine last year,while the number of pilgrimswas 2,60,003 in 2017, 3,20,490 in2016 and 3,52,771 in 2015. PTI

Agartala: Tight securityarrangements have been madefor Tripura panchayat elec-tions and more than one thou-sand polling booths have beenidentified as “sensitive”, asenior police officer has said.

Elections to the three-tierpanchayat polls in Tripurawould be held on July 27.Ballot papers would be used inthe rural polls.

Tripura State Rifles (TSR)personnel and 17 companiesof BSF and CRPF would bedeployed in all the 1,848polling booths of which 1,172have been identified as sensi-tive, Deputy Inspector Generalof Police (DIG), Arindam

Nath told a press conferencehere on Saturday.

The DIG said 17 cases ofpoll violence have been regis-tered in the state till July 20.

The BJP has won 85 percent of the seats uncontestedin the panchayat polls inTripura.

“Of the total 6,646 seatscomprising gram panchayats,panchayat samities and zillaparishads, the BJP has won5,652 seats uncontested,” sec-retary of the state ElectionCommission (SEC), PrasenjitBhattacharya has said.

Polling will now be heldfor around 850 gram pan-chayats, 85 panchayat samities

and 80 zilla parishad seats,Bhattacharya said.

Tripura has a total 591gram panchayats having 6,111seats, 35 panchayat samitieswith 419 seats and eight zillaparishads having 116 seats, hesaid.

Altogether, 12,03,070 vot-ers, including 6,16,893 maleand 5, 86,176 women willexercise their franchise at 2,623polling stations between 7 amto 4 pm on the polling day.

“White ballot paperswould be used for gram pan-chayat polls, pink ones forpanchayat samities and greenpapers for zilla parishads,” theSEC secretary said. PTI

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Srinagar: In a statement likelyto give way to a controversy,Jammu & Kashmir GovernorSatya Pal Malik on Sundayasked militants to stop killinginnocent people, includingsecurity personnel, and rathertarget “those who have lootedthe wealth of Kashmir for years”.

“These boys who havepicked up guns are killing theirown people, they are killingPSOs (personal security officer)and SPOs (special police offi-cers). Why are you killing them?Kill those who have looted thewealth of Kashmir. Have youkilled any of them?” Malikasked, speaking at a tourismfunction in Kargil of Ladakhregion.

However, the Governor wasquick to add that guns couldnever be the solution and citedthe example of LTTE in SriLanka.

“The government of Indiawill never go down before agun,” he said, asking the mili-tants to not take the route of vio-lence.

Taking a veiled dig at main-stream politicians, he said theseleaders talk a different lan-guage in Delhi and different onein Kashmir.

“They should speak in onelanguage at both places andneed not scare us,” he said.

The Governor was speakingat the inauguration of KargilLadakh Tourism Festival-2019

at Khree Sultan Cho SportsStadium Kargil.

The Governor said the twindistricts of Kargil and Leh havehuge tourism potential and saidmore such tourism festivalswere needed.

He said the Kargil Airport'sexpansion work will begin soonand that �200 crore has beensanctioned for it. This will notonly provide round-the-yearconnectivity but also give anew dimension to the tourismsector in the region, Malik said.

The Governor said the stateadministration is committedfor the holistic development ofLadakh division and concretemeasures were being pursuedtowards this goal. PTI

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Agartala: The Border SecurityForce (BSF) on Saturday saidthe force has thwarted anattempt of at least 12 RohingyaMuslims to enter into Indianterritory through Tripura fromBangladesh.

Two men, five women andas many children had tried toenter Sipahijala district, about50 km from here.

“Our troops thwarted theirattempts to enter into our ter-ritory through Futia village inthe international border onThursday. We have successful-ly prevented their entry. Theyare still on the zero line,” BSF

Deputy Inspector General C LBelwa said.

A company commander-level flag meeting was held twodays back on this with BorderGuards Bangladesh (BGB)which was followed by a bat-talion commander-level meet-ing, he said.

“We have seized biscuitsand soft drinks from their(Rohingyas') possession, whichwere manufactured inBangladesh. These were pro-vided by the World FoodProgramme, at Cox's Bazarrefugee camp in Bangladesh,”he said. PTI

4-��5��$��-�6��.��#�� Thiruvananthapuram/Kochi:

Kerala Chief Minister PinarayiVijayan Sunday urged theCentre to take all possibleefforts to secure the release ofIndian nationals including fourKeralites on board a British-flagged oil tanker seized by theGulf country in the Strait ofHormuz.

In a letter to ExternalAffairs Minister S Jaishankar,he asked the ministry to sharethe details of the personsaboard the ship so that theirfamilies could be helped.

“I request that all possibleefforts to ensure the safety ofthe crew be made and the rel-evant details of persons may beshared with the state govern-ment so that their family mem-bers can be contacted and wecan be of help in their hour ofcrisis,” Vijayan said in the let-ter, the copy of which wasreleased to the media here.

Congress MP Hibi Eden,

representing Ernakulam con-stituency, also sought urgentintervention of the Centralgovernment for release of theIndian nationals.

Eden visited the family ofDijo Pappachan, a crew mem-ber on board the seized tanker,

here.Family of Pappachan hail-

ingfrom Kalamassery here saidthe tanker owners haveinformed them that Dijo wasonboard the seized oil tanker.

Asked about the reportsthat two more people from

Ernakulam district wereamong the crew, Eden saidthere was no official informa-tion so far.

Minister of State forExternal Affairs VMuraleedharan had said onSaturday diplomatic efforts

were on to secure the release ofIndian nationals on board thetanker.

“We are waiting forresponse from Iranian author-ities,” Muraleedharan had toldreporters in Kuthiran inThrissur district Saturdayevening.

India had said Saturdaythat it was in touch with Iranto secure release of the Indianson board the British-flagged oiltanker seized by the Gulf coun-try in the Strait of Hormuz.

“We are ascertaining fur-ther details on the incident.Our Mission is in touch withthe Government of Iran tosecure the early release andrepatriation of Indian nation-als,” External Affairs MinistrySpokesperson Raveesh Kumarhad said in response to a ques-tion on the detention of Indiancrew members along with theoil tanker Stena Impero byIranian authorities.

According to a mediareport, 18 Indian nationals areamong the 23 crew membersof the British-flagged oil tankerseized by Iran amid fresh esca-lation of tensions in the Gulfregion.

The Stena Impero wasseized on Friday by the IranianRevolutionary Guard.

Iran's seizure of a British-flagged oil tanker was alleged-ly due to a collision with anIranian fishing boat, Iran'sofficial news agency IRNAhad said.

“There are 18 Indian andfive crew members fromRussia, the Philippines, Latviaand other countries on boardof Stena Impero. The captainis Indian, but the tanker is UK-flagged,” the news agency quoted AllahmoradAfifipour, director general of Ports and Maritime Affairsof Hormuzgan province, assaying. PTI

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It was in 1998 when SheilaDikshit was asked by the

Congress president SoniaGandhi to take the reins of ahighly divided Delhi PradeshCongress Committee (DPCC).She accepted the challenge andtook on the then formidable cityunit of the BJP and ensured vic-tory for her party. Congress wasbrought back to power andtherein started her dream run asthe Chief Minister of Delhi.Credited with transforming thelandscape of the nationalCapital, she ushered in an era ofgood governance with publicparticipation.

Before being pitch forkedinto the conundrum of Delhipolitics, she had served asMinister of State in PrimeMinister’s office during RajivGandhi regime. When she tookover the charge of DelhiCongress from veteran Dalitleader Chaudhary Prem Singh,she was billed as a rank outsider.She proved her detractorswrong and defeated the com-bined might of BJP with lead-

ers like former chief ministersMadan Lal Khurana, SahibSingh Verma, Sushma Swaraj,former Chief ExecutiveCouncillor Prof VK Malhotra,Prof OP Kohli and JagdishMukhi. It was a momentous vic-tory for Congress led by SheilaDikshit despite leaders likeSajjan Kumar, Jagdish Tytler andSubhash Chopra, owing alle-giance to HKL Bhagat trying todestabilize her.

During her tenure as ChiefMinister, Delhi Congress unitsaw many chiefs but the DPCChad became synonymous toDikshit as he had a major say inorganisational matters. Since2013, the Congress, once in apole position, was relegated tothe third position in everymajor election that it contestedin Delhi. Congress was effec-tively finished in 2013 with theemergence of Aam Aadmi Party(AAP). She bowed out of theDelhi political scene after heruninterrupted rule from 1998-2013 came to an end as she losther Gole Market Assembly con-stituency to Arvind Kejriwaland Congress being pushed tothird spot with just eight

Assembly seats.Arvind Kejriwal led AAP

won a landslide in 2015 DelhiAssembly elections andCongress was vanquished fromthe national capital territory. Forfirst time since 1993, the grandold party had failed to win evena single seat in Delhi Assemblyelections.

Dikshit was away from thefight in 2015 and the reins ofDelhi Congress were with herformer minister Arvinder SinghLovely. After Congress failed toregister its presence duringmunicipal polls under the stew-ardship of former UnionMinister Ajay Maken, the AllIndia Congress Committee(AICC) once again turned toSheila Dikshit to revive the for-tunes of the party.

She was brought back againto head the DPCC in 2018 withthe specific mandate to revivethe party. She fought a spiritedelection and brought backCongress to 2nd position in fiveout of seven Lok Sabbha seats inthe city.

Despite Congress puttingup an improved show in the LokSabha elections, her detractors

in the party were after her. Shehad to contend with the Delhiaffairs in-charge PC Chackowho did not like her decision todissolve block and district levelcommittees. While she was bat-tling for life at Fortis Escortshospital, Chacko issued a terse-ly worded order to criticise her‘unilateral action’ and revived allthe block and district levelCongress committees that weredissolved by Dikshit. She did notlive to fight her last political bat-tle and breathed her last onSaturday at 3.55 pm.

With her passing away,Delhi Congress has lost itstallest leader. On Sunday SheilaDikshit’s body was taken to theDelhi Pradesh CongressCommittee’s office for the lasttime, the place that was centralto her politics since 1998.

Emotional party workersbid her final adieu and every-body present there had tearsrolling down their cheeks. Manywaxed eloquent about her affa-ble nature and easygoing nature.With Sheila Dikshit (81), goneto her heavenly abode, the pol-itics of Delhi Congress wouldnever be the same again.

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Interpersonal skills and theability to iron out differences

through talks were SheilaDikshit’s strongest qualitiesand also key to her long stintas Chief Minister, DelhiCongress leaders said.

Dikshit, one of Congress’stallest leaders and a three-timeDelhi chief minister, passedaway on Saturday and hermortal remains were con-signed to flames on Sunday,with colleagues, party workersand admirers braving heavyrains and gusty winds to bidher final farewell. Known as awarm and affable politician,Dikshit could get along wellwith politicians from all par-ties for which she drew wide-spread respect.

Haroon Yusuf, who was aMinister in Dikshit’s Cabinetfrom 2001 to 2013 and han-dled portfolios like transportand food and civil supplies,said she loved to serve foodand would often invite herCabinet colleagues for break-fast when many issues wouldbe resolved.

“Delhi has its own limita-tions and she was aware of it.She never adopted the

approach of confrontation.Instead she believed in per-suasion that helped her getwork done whenever it wasstuck with the Centre or withthe bureaucracy,” Yusuf, whois the acting president of theDelhi Congress, said.

Dikshit was the presidentof the Delhi Congress and the81-year-old had served as chief

minister for 15 years from1998-2013.

He recalled how despitehaving difference of opinionwith the Lieutenant Governoron some issues as chief min-ister, she never let it come outin the public. Veteran DelhiCongress leader and five-timeMP Jai Prakash Agarwal saidshe had the ability to iron out

differences when views onany subject varied.

Agarwal, who served asthe Delhi Pradesh Congresschief during Dikshit’s tenure asCM, recalls how she would callhim up the next morning if thetwo had difference of views ona certain subject.

“Either she would call meto her residence or office orshe would come down to meetme and sort out the difference,whatever it may be. She had

the ability to forget things...Shehad a big heart,” Agarwal said.

“She never brought thesituation to a level where strik-ing a dialogue with anyonewas not possible,” he said.This quality helped her beDelhi chief minister for 15years. Even bureaucrats werehappy with her way of work-ing, Agarwal said.

Haroon Yusuf recalledformer Delhi chief ministerSheila Dikshit as someone

who loved to host people forbreakfast, and advised himthe same when an officer post-ed under his department was“difficult” to deal with.

Yusuf, who was a minis-ter in Dikshit’s Cabinet from2001-13 and handled portfo-lios like civil and food suppliesand transport, went to herwith a concern over the offi-cer who was known for notperforming. I went to Dikshitwith a request to give meanother officer. She (Dikshit)said nothing can be done asshe had already spoken to theLieutenant Governor, who haddenied the request,” Yusufsaid.

The former Delhi chiefminister said there was nooption but to get the workdone through the concernedofficer. “She told me to invitethe officer for breakfast thenext day,” Yusuf said.

The trick worked, theCongress leader recollectedand he along with the officercould execute different pro-jects. Yusuf said Dikshit her-self hosted people, includingher Cabinet colleagues, forbreakfast. “She loved to servethe breakfast herself,” herecalled.

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Former Delhi Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) president Mange RamGarg passed away at a city hospital on Sunday morning. The

demise of Garg, 83, was mourned by senior party leaders alongwith Prime Minister Narendra Modi who described him as a partyman with deep connect with Delhi who selflessly served its peo-ple.

“Mange Ram Garg ji had a deep connect with Delhi and thatwas seen in the manner in which he selflessly served the peo-ple of the city. He played a pivotal role in strengthening BJP inDelhi. His demise is saddening. My thoughts are with his fam-ily and supporters. Om Shanti,” Modi tweeted.

BJP National president and Home Minister Amit Shah saidthat he was all along his life worked dedicatedly to the serviceof the people. “From the time of Jansangh till date he was serv-ing people of Delhi. His sudden demise is a big loss which can-not be compensated,” he said.

Delhi BJP president Manoj Tiwari said that Mange Ram Garggreatly contributed in the expansion of the party and for the rais-ing the problems of the people is unparalleled and this was thereason why BJP has won many elections.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has also condoled thedemise of Garg. He died around 7.30 AM at Action Balaji Hospitalin Paschim Vihar, north Delhi. He was not keeping much welldue to age-related issues. Garg’s mortal remains were taken tohis residence in Ashok Vihar from where it was taken to DelhiBJP office at Pant Marg, said party leaders.

A large number of party leaders and workers gathered at theDelhi BJP office to pay their condolences. Garg had pledged hisorgans to the ‘Dadhichi Deh Dan Samiti’ for which his body willbe taken to Lady Hardinge Medical College hospital at 1 pm, fam-ily members said.

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Mumbai: Maharashtra ChiefMinister Devendra Fadnavis onSunday said he was the ChiefMinister of not only the BJPbut also the allies in the StateGovernment and exuded con-fidence that he would returnfor a second-term to the toppost.

The post of Chief Ministerhas been a bone of contentionbetween the BJP and the ShivSena and leaders from both theparties have spoken out ofturn on it.

“I am Chief Minister of notonly the BJP but also the ShivSena, RPI, Rashtriya SamajPaksh (all allies in the state gov-ernment). People will decidewho will be the next chiefminister. You need not worry.Our work will speak for us,” hetold party workers at the stateexecutive meeting held here.

“I have already said thisthat I will return,” Fadnavissaid.

“Some people are raking upthe issue of the Chief Minister'spost. Don't fall into this trap.There are people from bothparties who speak unnecessar-ily,” he said.

Meanwhile, Shiv Senaleader and Rajya Sabha MPSanjay Raut Sunday eveningsaid there was no disputebetween the two parties regard-ing the chief minister's post.

“There is no dispute overthe chief minister's post

between the Shiv Sena and BJP,”he told PTI, but refused to elab-orate.

Raut also refused to com-ment on Fadnavis' statementthat he was the “chief ministerof the BJP and the Shiv Sena”and that he would return to thetop post after the state polls.

Recently, there was alsotalk of Yuva Sena chief AadityaThackeray being the Sena's pickfor the chief minister's post.

In response, Thackeray hadsaid, “It is the people who willhave to decide whether I amready to occupy the post or not.I can't talk about it as this is theonly thing which is not in myhand.”

Thackeray was speakingto a news channels Friday dur-ing his 'Jan Ashirwad' yatra innorth Maharashtra.

The two parties are expect-ed to fight on equal number ofseats, and some Sena leadershave routinely stressed that“equal power sharing” alsomeant sharing the chief min-ister's post for identical tenures.

Fadnavis said the 2019Assembly polls in the statewould be fought in alliance(with the Sena and other par-ties) and discussions on seat-sharing would be held soon.

Allaying fears that influx ofleaders from other parties intothe BJP would put old-timersat a disadvantage, Fadnavissaid it was about inducting

good people from other outfits.“If they wish to join us, our

people shouldn't be disturbed.Eight-five per cent of (BJP)candidates in the (2019) LokSabha polls were our people,”he said.

He told workers not to becomplacent post the massivemandate the BJP got in the LokSabha polls, as the Assemblyelections in the state would bea different battleground.

“Since the battleground isdifferent, our strategy will alsohave to different. Don't becomplacent and take people forgranted,” he said.

The chief minister told thegathering that they should besatisfied with the developmentcurrently on under the leader-ship of Prime MinisterNarendra Modi instead ofvying for posts.

He asked partymen not toseek tickets or recommendnames as the criteria for nom-ination was fixed, adding that“we will fight each seat to win”.

“The Congress' national,state and Mumbai presidenthave been defeated in the LokSabha polls. The NCP presidentaccepted defeat even beforethe election and the VanchitBahujan Aghadi also suffereddefeat. Defeat doesn't meaninsult. Let us train our oppo-nents on how to function as theopposition for 10-15 years,” hesaid. PTI

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One person was killed and 14others were rescued on

Sunday afternoon when firebroke in an old dilapidatedbuilding located behind TajMahal Hotel on Merry WeatherRoad at Colaba in southMumbai. Two persons, includ-ing a fireman, were injured inthe mishap.

Though the cause of the firehas not been established yet,informed sources attributed themishap to a possible electricshort-circuit.

The fire, which broke out ina third floor flat of ChurchChember Building at around12.10 pm, spread to stair case ofthe second floor of the groundplus three-storey structure. “Thefire was confined to electricwiring, electric installation, fur-niture, household articles inresidential flat on 3rd floor withLoft in an area aboutapprox.5000 sq.ft and staircase

of the 2nd floor,” a senior fireofficial said.

One Sham Iyer (54), a resi-dent of the flat where fire brokeout, went back inside the flatafter his family members ramout, to extinguish and gottrapped in the blaze, before thefire brigade arrived on the scene.

During the subsequentsearch of the flat, Iyer was foundwith critical burn wounds on hisback. Iyer was rushed to GTHospital, when he was declaredupon arrival. Another injuredresident, identified as one YusufPunawala is undergoing treat-ment at the Bombay Hospital.

A fireman Bhurmal SantoshPatil from Mandvi Fire Stationsuffered suffocation whileundertaking rescue operation.He was treated inside an ambu-lance near the mishap site andallowed to go.

The fire brigade personnelbattled with fire and smoke forthree hours, before bring the sit-uation under control. They usedfour fire fighting jets, four fireengines, two Turn Table Laddersand one Angus ladder in theoperation.

Of those rescued, five per-sons – including two girls and aboy — were brought out in asuffocated state from the loft ofthird floor, while two otherswere rescued with the help ofAngus Ladder — a 45 feet man-ual extension. Three personswere brought down from thebuilding with the help of a TurnTable Ladder, while the remain-ing persons were rescued safe-ly by firemen from the staircaseusing breathing sets.

Mumbai: BJP working presi-dent JP Nadda on Sunday saidthe country has changed underthe Narendra Modi-ledGovernment which has brought“good days” in the last fiveyears.

He said when the BJP saysit aims at a “Congress-muktBharat” (India free ofCongress), it means it wants acountry free of corruption.

“'Achhe din ayenge' (gooddays will come) and 'Deshbadal raha hai' (the country ischanging) were the slogans ofthe BJP's campaign in 2014. Wewould like to remind the peo-ple that good days have arrivedand the country has alreadychanged in the last five years,”he said, addressing the BJP'sMaharashtra state executivecommittee meeting here.

At the meeting, he high-lighted the Modi government'sachievements in health sector,poverty elevation, infrastruc-ture, agriculture and ruraldevelopment.

Prime Minister NarendraModi has changed the “politicalculture” of the country, he said.

He said when the BJP saysit wants a 'Congress-muktBharat', it means a countryfree of “corruption and com-mission”.

“By saying Congress-mukt,we don't mean the party assuch. 'BJP-yukt' means devel-opment-oriented. It meansfocus on service and develop-ment and work at the grassrootslevel and not work for self-pro-

motion,” Nadda said.“Modi's victories in 2014

and 2019 are a rejection of thevote bank and caste politics,” hesaid, adding that “look global-ly, act locally”, should be themotto of BJP workers.

Before 2014, India's imageabroad was that of a corruptcountry which suffered for-eign policy paralysis and lackeddirection, he claimed.

“Now, people of Indian ori-gin abroad and those living herefeel proud to be Indian,” he said,pointing out that Modi hasbeen conferred awards for hisachievements by countries likethe UAE, Israel, Russia andSaudi Arabia.

The Modi government'scleanliness drive was mocked,but the prime minister wasgiven the 'Champion of theEarth' award by the UnitedNations, he said.

Nadda asked BJP workersto focus on strengthening theparty at the booth level.

Earlier, newly-appointedstate BJP chief ChandrakantPatil urged the party workers tofocus on poll preparations forall 288 assembly seats in thestate.

“Let's leave the alliancetalks and seat-sharing to ChiefMinister Devendra Fadnavisand party chief Amit Shah. Let'sstrengthen the BJP at the booth-level in the state. Even if ourallies contest particular seats,our booth structure will ensuretheir victory. Let's focus onlyon this,” he said. PTI

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Jammu: Nearly 500 elderlyVillage Defence Committee(VDC) members and SpecialPolice Officers (SPO) inKishtwar district of Jammu &Kashmir will be replaced soon,a senior police officer said onSunday.

The step is part of a strat-egy to counter terror activitiesin the hilly district which wasrattled by the killing of BJP statesecretary Anil Parihar and hisbrother Ajeet Parihar onNovember 1 last year, followedby the assassination of seniorRSS leader ChanderkantSharma and his security guardinside a health centre on April9.

The decision was takendespite reservations expressedby former Chief Minister

Mehbooba Mufti over armingof civilians in Chenab valley.

“Keeping in view the pre-sent security scenario inKishtwar town and the over-staying of SPOs in the district(Kishtwar), an overhauling isbeing done. A process to replace352 VDC members and 117VDC SPOs who are above theage of 60 years has been set intomotion,” ,” the officer said.

The SPOs, who have over-stayed at a particular placehave also been replaced. Besidesthis, 9 VDC SPOs have beendisengaged from the VDC rollsfor non compliance of orders,the officer said.

In response to the recentlyheld SPOs recruitment, he saida list of around 85 meritoriouscandidates was sent to police

headquarters for final approval. The VDCs were setup in

the mid-1990s with an aim tostrengthen the security ofHindus living in remote andmountainous areas of Doda,Kishtwar, Ramba, Rajouri,Reasi, Kathua and Poonch dis-tricts of the region.

The members of thesecommittees not only guard theidentified villages along theborder, but also the infrastruc-tural installations in and aroundthem.

Kishtwar along with sever-al other districts of Jammuprovince were declared terror-ism free over a decade ago butafter the recent killings, theauthorities have taken varioussteps to counter attempts by ter-rorists to gain a foothold in the

Chenab valley.Inspector General of Police,

Jammu, M K Sinha recentlysaid at least 10 local militants-

- eight belonging to HizbulMujahideen and two affiliatedto Lashker-e-Toiba-- wereactive in the district.

Describing the reportedplans of the Centre and theJammu and Kashmir adminis-tration to arm civilians in thesensitive Chenab valley as“alarming”, Mufti, who is alsoPeoples Democratic Party(PDP) president, had warnedthat the move would have “dan-gerous consequences”.

She said similar experi-ments of arming civilians underthe anti-militancy grid in the1990s had led to completechaos and the wounds inflict-ed upon the general masseswere still fresh.

“Reports about the admin-istration trying to arm civiliansunder the garb of creatingVDC in Chenab valley are dis-turbing and alarming especial-ly at the time when the gov-

ernment has to be inclusive toavoid further alienation ofyouth across the state,” Muftihad said in a statement onSaturday.

On Friday, police regis-tered a case against formerPDP MLC Firdous Tak andsome other party leaders afterthey staged a demonstrationagainst the state administrationfor strengthening VDCs in thedistrict.

Mufti dubbed the FIR “falseand frivolous” and demandedits immediate rollback.

“The party leaders haverepresented the sentiments andaspirations of the people but itseems that the local adminis-tration are working under pres-sure from a particular politicalorganisation. The registration of

the case only speaks about thesorry state of affairs in Chenabvalley,” she said.

On July 17, a three-mem-ber delegation of senior BJPleaders led by former deputyChief Minister Nirmal Singhmet Governor Satya Pal Malikat Raj Bhavan in Srinagar anddemanded the strengthening ofthe security apparatus includ-ing VDCs and provision ofmobile bunkers in Chenab val-ley region.

They expressed concernregarding growing threats to thesafety and security of people,illegal encroachments on forestland, and incidents of bovinesmuggling in the region.

The Governor had assuredthe delegation due considera-tion of its demands. PTI

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Kolkata: In a first of its kind inthe country, a township forchildren suffering from AutismSpectrum Disorder (ASD) iscoming up in the outskirts ofthe city and will become oper-ational by 2023.

The India Autism Center(IAC), a community-based ini-tiative will have the capacity toaccommodate 4,000 people asits residents, including the fam-ilies of those having autism,managing trustee and IACchairman Suresh Somani saidon Saturday.

The centre would be locat-

ed on a 53 acre plot at Sirakolin adjoining South 24 Parganasdistrict and would be con-structed at a cost of �350 crore,Somani told PTI.

ASD is a complex neu-rodevelopment disorder whichaffects the behaviour of a per-son and the ability to processinformation. It affects a widevariety of areas like socialinteraction, social communi-cation and speech.

“It is a genetic disorder andthe level of awareness andknowledge is still low in thecountry”, he said. PTI

Purnea: The Bihar Police hasseized 200 cartons of Indian-made foreign liquor (IMFL)worth around �10 lakh andarrested two persons in thisconnection in Purnea district,an officer said on Sunday.

The consignment wasseized on Saturday during vehi-cle checks at Dalkhola check-post, upon receiving a tip-off,that a truckload of liquor fromneighbouring West Bengal wasbeing smuggled into Biharthrough NH 31,Superintendent of Police VishalSharma said.

The cargo was meant to be

delivered at an address inBihar's Saran district, he said.

Two persons identified asShamshul Haque and JahangirAlam, residents of Alhapurvillage in West Bengal's NorthDinajpur district were arrested.

Sharma said that �17,500in cash and two mobile phoneswere also seized from their pos-session.

The accused have beenbooked under relevant sec-tions of the Bihar Prohibitionand Excise Act 2016, and pro-duced in the court, which sentthem to judicial custody, hesaid. PTI

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Aizawl: Darthawma, the lonesurviving Mizo member ofSubhash Chandra Bose's IndianNational Army (INA), died ofmulti-organ failure in southMizoram's Lunglei on Sundaymorning, his family said.

He was 99. The freedomfighter's last rites were per-formed at Lunglei, 170 kmfrom here, this afternoon.

It was attended by repre-sentatives from the districtadministration, Army, para-military forces, non-govern-mental organisations and Ex-Servicemen.

He is survived by six chil-dren, 19 grandchildren and 28great grandchildren.

Darthawma had joined theArmy Medical Corps of theBritish Indian Army onNovember 27, 1940 during theWorld War 2 and was capturedby the Japanese Imperial Armyin early 1942 during his post-ing at Malaysia's Penang Island.

He joined the INA in May1942 to fight against the Britishcolonial rule.

Two years after joining theINA, Darthawma was capturedby the British in 1944 but wasreleased from Lucknow Jail onJanuary 15, 1945 following theintervention of MahatmaGandhi.

The Indian Governmentawarded him the 'TamrapatraAward' in 1972 for his role inthe struggle for Indian inde-pendence. PTI

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Kolkata: West Bengal BJP pres-ident Dilip Ghosh dared ChiefMinister Mamata Banerjee onSunday to name the CBI offi-cers, who had allegedly threat-ened TMC leaders to join thesaffron camp.

Addressing the Martyrs'Day rally here on Sunday,Banerjee, who is also theTrinamool Congress (TMC)supremo, alleged that centralagencies were threatening lead-ers and elected representativesof her party to “get in touch”with the Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP) or face a jail term in chitfund scams.

She, however, did not nameany central agency.

The Central Bureau ofInvestigation (CBI) and theEnforcement Directorate (ED)are separately probing twomulti-crore-rupee Ponzi schemecases in West Bengal.

Ghosh said the chief min-ister was “trying to malign theCBI” as she was afraid of theinvestigations being conductedinto the chit fund scams.

“Today, she (Banerjee)alleged that CBI officers hadasked her party workers to getin touch with the BJP or faceimprisonment in connectionwith the chit fund scams. I chal-lenge her to name the CBI offi-cers, who threatened her partyleaders.

“If she is unable to nameany officer, she should refrainfrom making baseless allega-tions,” he said at a press con-

ference here.Reacting to Banerjee's alle-

gation that the BJP was luringTMC MLAs with Rs two crorein cash and a petrol pump,Ghosh said none of them, noteven the chief minister, had sucha high “market value”.

Banerjee alleged on Sundaythat the saffron party was try-ing to “replicate Karnataka'shorse-trading model” in Bengalby offering Rs two crore in cashand a petrol pump each to herparty MLAs.

“None of the TMC MLAshas such a high market value.Even if they stand idle on theroad, no one would be inter-ested in buying them. Not evenBanerjee has such a high mar-ket value,” the state BJP chiefsaid.

Responding to the TMCsupremo's statement that aprobe would be ordered toascertain if state BJP leaderswere taking commissions toextend the benefits of theCentre's Ujjwala scheme to thebeneficiaries, he said the alle-gation was bereft of truth.

“She has been saying this forthe last few years. Why didn'tshe take any action in the mat-ter all this while? No BJP leaderis involved in any scam. Paying'cut' money to TMC leaders,however, has become a way oflife in Bengal,” Ghosh asserted.

He claimed that the rallyorganised by the TMC annual-ly witnessed the lowest turnoutin its history this year. PTI

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Indian teams put up stupen-dous performance at the 60th

International MathematicsOlympiad (IMO) and 30thInternational BiologyOlympiad (IBO) 2019, by win-ning one gold medal, seven sil-ver medals and two honourablementions.

At the IMO held at Bath inthe United Kingdom, PranjalSrivastava (Bengaluru,Karnataka) won a gold medal,Ritam Nag (Kolkata, WestBengal), Anubhab Ghosal(Kolkata, West Bengal), BhavyaAgrawalla (Indore, MadhyaPradesh) and Ojas Mittal (NewDelhi) bagged silver medals.Soumil Aggarwal (New Delhi)received an Honourable men-

tion. India finished 15th at theIMO.

At the IBO-2019 at Szeged,Hungary between July 14 andJuly 21, 2019, three of the fourIndian students bagged Silvermedals, while one studentreceived an HonourableMention.

Those who won silvermedals were: Hardik Gupta(Agra, Uttar Pradesh),Arunangshu Bhattacharyya(Surat, Gujarat) and SuryadeepMandal (Bankura, WestBengal). Akshay Gupta(Vadodara, Gujarat) receivedan Honourable Mention.

In all, 112 countries par-ticipated in the IMO-2019,while 72 countries took part inthe IBO.

The IBO competition con-sists of a theoretical and anexperimental examination,each of six hours duration.Homi Bhabha Centre forScience Education (HBCSE), anational centre of the TataInstitute of FundamentalResearch (TIFR) is the nodalcentre in the country for all theScience Olympiads (Physics,Chemistry, Biology, Astronomyand Astrophysics and JuniorScience) as well as theMathematical Olympiad. TheHBCSE is responsible for theselection and training of theteams representing India atthe international Olympiads.

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In the Union Budget 2019-20 present-ed by Finance Minister NirmalaSitharaman on July 5, theGovernment levied a new surchargeon individuals, Association of

Persons (AOP) and trusts with an annualincome between �2 crore and �5 crore fromthe existing 15 per cent to 25 per cent andon individuals/AOS/trusts with income anincome more that �5 crore from the exist-ing 15 per cent to 37 per cent. Post the hike,the effective incidence of tax will be 39 percent on earners between �2 crore and �5crore and 42.7 per cent on those earningin excess of �5 crore.

This revised tax surcharge has led toa hue and cry. While wealthy Indian resi-dents argue that this move will act as a dis-incentive to wealth generation, foreignportfolio investors (albeit those, who areregistered in India as AoP or trusts) see thisas a deterrent to attract foreign investment.Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) opinethat this move will be come as a setbackat a time when the Government is keen oninvesting �100 lakh crore in infrastructureto fulfill the dream of making India a $5trillion economy by 2024-25. Argumentsin this context are amusing.

There is no dearth of wealth genera-tion in this country, which is mostly con-centrated in a few hands. According to a2018 Oxfam Report released at the WorldEconomic Forum (WEF) in January 2019,“Indian billionaires saw their fortunesswell by �2,200 crore a day last year, withthe top one per cent of the country’s rich-est getting richer by 39 per cent as againstjust three per cent increase in wealth forthe bottom-half of the population.”

Indeed, this has been possible underthe existing policy environment, whichincludes the policies on taxation. A slighttweaking of the policy (read: Extra tax onthe super-rich), which is expected to yield�12,000 crore (equivalent to less than aweeks’ addition to wealth by the billion-aires), is unlikely to make even the slightest dent on the pace of their wealthgeneration.

Put simply, consider a person earningin excess of �5 crore per annum, say �10crore. Per se, an effective tax @42.7 per centmay appear to be high. But look at theabsolute numbers: After paying �4.27crore as tax, he/she will still be left with�5.73 crore or close to �50 lakh permonth. This is a substantial amount forleading an extraordinarily good life (withall amenities at their best) and yet save agood sum to take care of future needs evenunder adverse financial circumstances.

In recent years, we have seen Indianbillionaires donating a portion of theirwealth to welfare trusts with the intent ofusing the money to help the poor. They dothis towards the fag end even as most oftheir life span is spent accumulatingwealth, which may even involve fleecing the

consumers (including poor)by charging higher prices andother unfair practices. Theimpact of such belated “philan-thropic” steps could at best belimited.

So, the real issue is one ofhighly inequitable distributionof the fruits of development.Ironically, successiveGovernments (Modi 1.0included) have only focussedon increasing the size of thecake, thinking that the benefitswill automatically trickle down.But facts on ground zero speakotherwise.

Asking the super-rich togive a little extra is a modeststep in the direction of reduc-ing inequalities. However, thereis an urgent need to nab those,who are currently evading thetaxman. And this number con-tinues to be huge.

According to the‘Household Survey on India’sCitizen Environment &Consumer Economy’ (ICE 360°survey) by the People Researchon India’s Consumer Economy(PRICE) for the year 2015-16— when seen in juxtapositionwith the income tax data forthat financial year — for everyperson with an income morethan �5 crore paying tax, thereare 13 people earning thatmuch but they don’t pay.

Bringing the latter under thetax net is a big challenge thatthe Modi Government mustaddress (if this is not done, thenthe former will have a reasonto grudge).

The resultant boost to taxcollection will help theGovernment fund the gallop-ing expenditure on buildinginfrastructure. Physical: Rail,road, highways, port, airportand waterways among others.Social: Schools, colleges, hospi-tals and wellness centers amongothers. Besides it can also funda host of welfare schemes suchas toilets, homes, electricity, gasconnections, subsidised foodand mid-day meals for schoolkids.

Money spent in this man-ner can contribute to genera-tion of widespread demand(both by way of creating morejobs as well as augmentingcapacity of the people to spendmore) and in turn spur growth.It will also help in reviving apotent engine of growth, name-ly ‘private consumption’, whichhas been sagging for the lastcouple of years even as theGovernment has relied mostlyon boosting ‘public expendi-ture’.

Had the surplus moneyremained with a few rich, thiswould be of little help in boost-

ing demand as there are inher-ent limits to spending byany/group of individuals. Evenif those few were to deposit themoney in a bank, who lends itto industries and businesses,the impact will be much lessthan if it gets distributed amongmillions of people under wel-fare schemes or as wages toworkers employed on projectsundertaken by the Governmentwith additional tax.

Another potent way ofhelping the poor is for indus-trialists to cut prices, which willleave more money in the handsof the former. This will beinclusive development in thetrue sense of the term insteadof the current focus on“tokenism” such as corporatesocial responsibility (CSR) orphilanthropic initiatives.

In so far as the FPIs areconcerned, the Governmentneeds to follow a policy of tax-ing all wealthy people “uni-formly”, irrespective of wherethey come from. Merelybecause a wealthy person isfrom a foreign land, he/shecan’t be spared the levy ofadditional surcharge. Thiswould have been outright dis-criminatory. Besides, it willhave unintended implicationsof Indian residents movingtheir funds to foreign shores

and bringing back (‘round trip-ping’ as it is known in commonparlance) to benefit from thelower tax incidence on FPIs.

Only 40 per cent of theFPIs registered as AOP or trustare affected by the increase insurcharge (as they are treatedas individuals for taxation pur-pose) even as the balance 60per cent registered as corpo-rates need not worry. The for-mer had chosen that route toavoid the hassles of registeringa company; besides escapingthe minimum alternate tax(MAT) that the latter has topay. Having decided to go forAOP/trust, they should livewith its pluses and minuses.They can’t do cherry picking;

Even so, for AOP/trustearning more than �5 crore, thehike in surcharge will increasethe effective tax on long-termcapital gains from 12 per centto 14.2 per cent; whereas onshort-term capital gains, thiswill be 21.3 per cent, up from17.9 per cent. This isn’t the kindof blow that ought to affect for-eign inflow. NirmalaSitharaman has rightly dis-missed the demand for roll-back or any dilution of the extratax on super-rich in her reply todiscussion on the Finance Bill.

(The writer is a policy analyst)

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Sir — This refers to the editori-al, “Breather for Jadhav” (July19). Pakistan can proclaim thatit has been vindicated by theInternational Court of Justice(ICJ) but there is a pregnant mes-sage though in the court’s direc-tive, ordering Pakistan to reviewthe death penalty awarded toKulbhushan Jadhav in 2017.

This also reflects on theconduct of military courts andtheir rough-and-ready justice.While the court has stayedJadhav’s execution pending areconsideration of his convictionand sentence, the exhaustivelist of remedies requested byIndia has not been entertained— ie, our request to annul themilitary court verdict, appeal forthe release and safe passage ofJadhav and plea for a retrial incivilian courts.

The ICJ verdict did notacquit Jadhav as it did not havethe jurisdiction to examine theevidence for and against theaccused. Now that the ICJ hasruled on this matter, India andPakistan must move forwardwith maturity and avoid hyper-bole, which may cause hin-

drance in the judicial process.India must now build on thisreluctant yet affirmative actionshown by Pakistan and, thus,secure an honourable release ofJadhav.

KS Jayatheertha Bengaluru

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Sir — Lok Sabha Speaker OmBirla must be complimented forbringing several positive changesin the working of the House. Evenmembers in the Opposition are

happy with his conduct. Birla istrying to make the Lok Sabhafunction in truly ‘Indian style’ byconducting proceedings in Hindirather than traditional till-nowEnglish. He has even asked themembers to not talk when pro-ceedings of the House are on, say-

ing it was unacceptable. It is to behoped that his efforts to enforcestrict discipline will make theHouse more productive.

Madhu Agrawal Delhi

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Sir — This refers to the editori-al, “Breather for Jadhav” (July19). The verdict given by theInternational Court of Justice(ICJ), directing Pakistan to“review and reconsider” the con-viction and death sentence ofKulbhushan Jadhav is surprising.While the court admitted thatPakistan had violated both theVienna Convention and theInternational Covenant on Civiland Political Rights, it did notannul the death sentence given toJadhav by a military court. Giventhe strained relationship betweenIndia and Pakistan, it will be dif-ficult to release Jadhav. But Indiamust put all efforts, includingusing the diplomatic channel, tosecure his release.

SK GuptaVia email

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India has emerged as the fastest growingeconomy in the world. It believes in forg-ing multilateral relations and not in uni-lateral favouritism. Equivocally, it doesnot agree to a uni-polar or bi-polar world

order. It believes in mutual growth by meansof cooperation in all fields with as many coun-tries as possible, given that understanding ismutual.

Towards this, the country has been part ofmultilateral forums that are growth oriented.Being one of the key players in the South Asianas well as the Indian Ocean region, India hasbeen engaging with many Asian and littoralcountries on a regular basis. It realised theimportance of East Asian countries in the 1990sand, thus, started active dialogue process withmembers of the Association of South East AsianNations (ASEAN). Putting the Indian perspec-tive for the Indian Ocean region — of mutualgrowth in a secured environment as a priori-ty — India also has a shared vision, the SecurityAnd Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR),with all its oceanic neighbours.

Through the “neighbourhood first” poli-cy, India has been according top priority toSouth Asia and countries in the adjoiningregion. Out of the 10 ASEAN countries,Myanmar is the only one which shares its bor-ders with four Indian States and, hence, is ofgreat importance as it acts as a bridge to theASEAN-India future relationship.

India shares a long land border of over1,600 kms with Myanmar and a maritimeboundary in the Bay of Bengal. Four North-eastern States, viz, Arunachal Pradesh,Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram, share aboundary with Myanmar. Both nations sharea heritage of religious, linguistic and ethnic ties.

Present relations with Myanmar Trade cooperation: India is the fifth

largest trading partner of Myanmar — its thefifth largest destination for exports and thesixth largest source of imports. The agricul-ture sector dominates trade, particularly thesupply of beans and pulses ($809million,2016-17) and timber ($ 156 million) to India.Indian exports to Myanmar include sugar andpharmaceuticals among others. Bilateral tradebetween the two countries has been growingsteadily and reached $1.257 billion as ofJanuary 2018.

Defence cooperation: Defence tiesbetween the two countries continues tostrengthen. Exchanges of high-level visits,enhanced training cooperation, capacity build-ing and support in provision of specificequipment and technology have led to amore wholesome relationship between the twoand the development of better understandingin matters related to mutual security concerns.

Disaster relief: India has always respond-ed promptly and effectively in rendering assis-tance following natural calamities in Myanmarlike Cyclone Mora (2017), Komen (2015),earthquake in Shan State (2010), CycloneNargis in 2008 and the recent outbreak ofinfluenza virus in Yangon in July-August 2017.

Development cooperation: India hasextended development assistance to Myanmaron generous terms and our assistance portfo-lio is now over $1.75 billion. Projects includethe Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit TransportProject (KMMTTP); the Trilateral HighwayProject, which is an East-West corridor con-necting the North-east with Myanmar andThailand; the Rhi-Tiddim road; assistance forborder area development in Chin State and theNaga Self-Administered Zone.

Ongoing projectsAccording to a statement issued by the

Indian Embassy in Myanmar, “The landmarkLand Border Crossing Agreement between

India and Myanmar, signed on May 11, 2018,has been brought into effect with the simul-taneous opening of international entry-exitcheckpoints at the Tamu-Moreh and theRihkhawdar-Zowkhawtar border betweenMyanmar and India.”

The idea is to have better connectivity byall means. Like India, Myanmar, too, does notsupport China’s Belt and Road Initiative(BRI). Infrastructure cooperation between thetwo can counter Chinese debt-orientedapproach to run over countries. Similarly, theIndia-funded Kaladan Multi-Modal TransitTransport Project (KMMTTP), a $484 millionproject connecting the eastern Indian seaportof Kolkata with Sittwe seaport in Rakhine State,Myanmar, by sea will allow sea access for land-locked Northeastern States of India via theKaladan River in Myanmar.

As far as air connectivity is concerned,there is hardly any direct flight to Yangon fromany Indian city.

Way forwardAir connectivity: With the Indian aviation

sector emerging as one of the fastest growingindustries, it is bound to prosper in the nearfuture. Investment in North-east aviationsector will not only connect local people bet-ter but also will offer faster and convenient pas-sage to travelers from the eastern neighbour-hood. Improved infrastructure and air connec-tivity is the need of the hour.

Bus services: Other than developing bet-ter trade opportunities at the two border open-ing points (mentioned earlier), we can alsoimprove bus services to connect local vil-lagers/commuters to deepen the culturalbond.

Port connectivity: There is a need toactively pursue the timely construction ofports. Deepening of port-to-port serviceswill provide a much shorter sea route to theeconomically vibrant Southeast Asian regionand help boost trade.

Medical tourism: India, in particularDelhi and Mumbai, has grown as as a promi-nent exporter of speciality health services fornations across the world. Similarly, for the EastAsian countries, the North-east can become amedical tourism hub.

Educational tourism: Many studentsfrom Myanmar prefer studying in Chinabecause of its proximity. China, too, hasmade a few concessions for the students likeeasing visa rules for Myanmar. Comparatively,India, too, has affordable and well-reputed edu-cational institutes — not only in metropolitancities but cities in the North-east as well. Butwe must give a boost to this sector so as toattract students from Myanmar and otherSouth East Asian countries and, hence, helpyoung minds grow, thus ensuring a long last-ing relationship in the years to come.

Defence interaction: Camps of insurgentgroups operating in the North-eastern borderareas often hamper the timely completion ofconnectivity projects as well as the economicgrowth of the region. Joint operations againstsuch groups can be conducted to rein in theproblem.

In conclusionEver since Myanmar underwent a politi-

cal transition, it has been “opening up”, whichhas helped the country grow to emerge as a‘new player’ among the established team of oldplayers in the region. The democratisation,along with economic reforms, has unleashednew opportunities for India, which is deter-mined to make up for lost time. With a cre-ative blend of diplomacy and culture, India-Myanmar relations can only scale new heightsin the days to come. We need to ‘Act East’ usingthe ‘SAGAR’ vision to have credible and reli-able relation with this strategically importantneighbour, which is a key link between Indiaand ASEAN partnership.

(The writer is a senior research fellow at theIndia Foundation)

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Poet Robert Browning hadonce said, “Ah, but a man’sreach should exceed his grasp,

or what’s a heaven for.”Unfortunately, grasping excellenceseems to be absent from the DNAof not just an average Indian buteven those who excel. Of course, wesimply refer to this as the ‘chalta hai’culture that permeates almost everyaspect of our life — be it social, cul-tural or professional.

Take the recent performance ofthe Indian cricket team at theInternational Cricket Council (ICC)World Cup held in the UK. Notonly was it the odds-on favorite towin but apart from a couple of hic-cups, the team played a superlative

game of cricket and got into thesemi-finals as the top team.Therefore, the Indian team’s loss toNew Zealand was not only unex-pected but shocking, given the rel-atively modest total that it confront-ed despite the loss of its front linebatsmen scoring in single digits.

It goes without saying thatdefeat and victory are part and par-cel of sports and one cannot butadmire the manner in which thefans accepted the unexpected knockout gracefully — undoubtedly asure sign of growing maturity.

Interestingly, both the coachand the captain accepted responsi-bility for the loss with equanimity.Captain Virat Kohli even went onto make the point that “45 minutesof bad cricket put you out of thetournament.” Coach Ravi Shastriechoed the captains’ sentimentsand said, “Walk out with yourheads held high. Be proud. Those30 minutes can’t erase the fact thatyou guys have been the best teamin the last couple of years… Onetournament, one series and that,too, 30 minutes of play can’t decide

that…”Undoubtedly, both made an

excellent point but there’s a catch:It wasn’t really the “30 or 45 min-utes” that mattered but the mannerin which the team played for therest of the time in the game subse-quently. While the batsmen did putup a fight, it was just not compara-ble to the manner in which theEnglish recovered from similar cir-cumstances to go on and win the

trophy. Clearly, there was an excel-lent display of skill, acumen, sheergrit and above all, exemplary deter-mination.

Therefore, such a mindset onthe part of the Indian team reflectsnot just its unwillingness to acceptany weakness but what is worse iscomplacency that is totally uncalledfor, given that loss and complacen-cy make strange bedfellows.

Obviously, it is here that our

DNA is at play, for that allows us toaccept the selection of some play-ers for reasons other than form andtheir inability to deliver underpressure. Moreover, it isn’t as if thiscame as a complete surprise tothose involved in team selection.This is exactly what they are paidto foresee but they preferred toignore. It is this very fact that makesthe “45 minutes bad cricket” answerglib and utterly dishonest.

That brings us to the largerquestion: Do we, as a country —and not just in sports — hope toprogress, to become a “greatpower”? And if we do, can it bedone without focussing on the verylynchpins of excellence, meritocra-cy and integrity?

While historical, religious andsocio-economic disparities maywell have forced us to adopt caste-based reservation policies as anecessity, these very moves havebeen detrimental to the promotionof meritocracy. Instead of provid-ing equal opportunity and inclu-siveness, the state has promoteddivisiveness and a culture of enti-

tlement. Wherever we have beenable to avoid these pitfalls, resultshave been overwhelmingly positive.

Take the Army for instance,where apart from regional quotasfor each State to ensure diversity,only merit counts in selection.Surely, that must have an exceeding-ly important part to play in ensur-ing that their performance, over theyears, has been outstanding.

Though, it must be added thatdefeat here is wholly unpalatable.Surely, it behooves our politicalleadership not to accede to protestsby those wanting to be included inthe reservation pie, such as the Jats,Gujjars and Marathas. Instead, theymust push us towards a more equi-table and just society that placesgreat value on skills, integrity andmerit. Without this transformationin attitude we will only continue togrope for leftovers in the under-growth.

(The writer, a military veteran,a consultant with the ObserverResearch Foundation and SeniorVisiting Fellow with The PeninsulaFoundation, Chennai)

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Scheme NAV 1Yr%DSP World Gold Fund-Reg(G) 13.93 24.73DHFL Pramerica Global 19.20 15.80Equity Opp Fund(G)ICICI Pru Growth Fund-1(DP) 11.35 14.76SBI Banking & Financial 18.33 14.56Services Fund-Reg(G)Kotak World Gold Fund(G) 9.88 13.94HDFC Top 100 Fund(G) 494.15 12.99HDFC Equity Fund(G) 665.75 12.96ICICI Pru Banking & Fin 65.70 12.79Serv Fund(G)SBI Tax advantage Fund-II(G) 36.54 11.93SBI Tax Advantage 24.88 11.86Fund-III-Reg(G)ICICI Pru Value Fund-15(G) 10.74 11.76Reliance US Equity 15.95 11.62Opp Fund(G)Edelweiss ETF - Nifty Bank 3028.2611.51Sundaram Fin Serv 43.23 11.20Opp Fund(G)Franklin India Focused 41.19 11.13Equity Fund(G)Baroda Banking & Fin 23.78 10.81Serv Fund(G)ICICI Pru Growth Fund-2(DP) 12.20 10.41ICICI Pru Value Fund-18(G) 11.31 10.34SBI LT Advantage 13.53 10.27Fund-III-Reg(G)Reliance Multi Cap Fund(G) 95.68 10.14Mirae Asset Emerging 52.13 9.73Bluechip-Reg(G)Tata Large & Mid Cap Fund(G) 203.57 9.36Reliance Large Cap Fund(G) 34.31 9.09ICICI Pru Value Fund-16(G) 10.87 9.03Mirae Asset Tax Saver 17.52 9.00Fund-Reg(G)Invesco India Financial 57.41 8.88Services Fund(G)ICICI Pru Value Fund-17(G) 10.51 8.80ICICI Pru Value Fund-9(G) 12.48 8.62Franklin Build India Fund(G) 41.39 8.52ICICI Pru Value Fund-14(G) 10.69 8.42Mirae Asset Large Cap 50.53 8.08Fund-Reg(G)Reliance Banking Fund(G) 282.02 8.01ICICI Pru Infrastructure Fund(G) 50.65 7.97SBI Focused Equity 141.81 7.92Fund-Reg(G)Franklin India Feeder - 32.46 7.80Franklin U.S. Opportunities Fund(G)ICICI Pru US Bluechip 27.72 7.73Equity Fund(G)Tata India Tax Savings 18.06 7.59Fund-Reg(G)SBI LT Advantage 13.92 7.43Fund-II-Reg(G)ICICI Pru Value Fund-13(D) 10.33 7.38HDFC Equity Opp 10.36 7.29Fund-Sr 2-1126D-May 2017(1)-Reg(G)ICICI Pru Value Fund-11(G) 12.09 7.18Kotak Tax Saver Scheme(G) 43.60 7.15DSP World Mining Fund-Reg(G) 8.81 6.95Tata Large Cap Fund(G) 220.78 6.89SBI Large & Midcap 216.52 6.73Fund-Reg(G)HDFC Sensex ETF 4021.38 6.68IDFC Sensex ETF 394.72 6.64Sundaram World Brand 15.51 6.58Fund-Sr II-Reg(G)Sundaram World Brand 15.69 6.54Fund-Sr III-Reg(G)ICICI Pru NV20 ETF 54.33 6.32HDFC Index Fund-Sensex(G) 340.42 6.18Tata Index Fund-Sensex Plan(G) 94.49 6.12SBI Magnum Equity ESG 104.21 6.01Fund-Reg(G)Tata Infrastructure Fund-Reg(G) 54.85 6.01Aditya Birla SL Focused 59.46 6.00Equity Fund(G)Aditya Birla SL Global Real 19.71 5.99Estate Fund(G)UTI Infrastructure Fund-Reg(G) 52.70 5.98SBI Technology Opp 65.03 5.96Fund-Reg(G)BNP Paribas Large Cap Fund(G)89.19 5.93DSP India T.I.G.E.R 90.48 5.90Fund-Reg(G)DSP Tax Saver Fund-Reg(G) 47.17 5.82ICICI Pru Sensex Index Fund(G) 11.91 5.70SBI Infrastructure Fund-Reg(G) 15.18 5.54Axis Nifty ETF 1171.46 5.53HDFC Nifty 50 ETF 1192.90 5.43IDFC Nifty ETF 117.64 5.40ICICI Pru Multicap Fund(G) 286.98 5.38Reliance Index Fund - 18.87 5.31Sensex Plan(G)UTI Nifty Index Fund-Reg(G) 74.65 5.21ICICI Pru Bluechip Fund(G) 41.66 5.20SBI Magnum Multicap 48.40 5.18Fund-Reg(G)IDFC Nifty Fund-Reg(G) 23.63 5.13HDFC Index Fund-NIFTY 104.01 5.0350 Plan(G)Edelweiss Emerging 12.77 4.99Markets Opp Eq. Offshore Fund-Reg(G)Tata Index Fund-Nifty Plan(G) 69.05 4.97Canara Rob Equity Tax 64.02 4.93Saver Fund-Reg(G)SBI LT Advantage Fund-I-Reg(G)13.39 4.83ICICI Pru Technology Fund(G) 58.78 4.81Aditya Birla SL Digital India 52.46 4.77Fund(G)Tata Banking & Financial 19.22 4.76Services Fund-Reg(G)Aditya Birla SL Intl. Equity 21.41 4.74Fund-A(G)IDBI Banking & Financial 10.51 4.68Services Fund-Reg(G)SBI Nifty Index Fund-Reg(G) 98.13 4.65Kotak Standard Multicap 34.82 4.60Fund(G)HDFC Growth Opp Fund-Reg(G) 110.93 4.53

SBI PSU Fund-Reg(G) 10.36 4.52ICICI Pru Nifty Index Fund(G) 110.34 4.49ICICI Pru Large & Mid 317.55 4.49Cap Fund(G)Aditya Birla SL Sensex ETF 357.42 4.44SBI Magnum TaxGain'93-Reg(G) 139.07 4.37Reliance Index Fund - 19.11 4.35Nifty Plan(G)Tata Digital India Fund-Reg(G) 14.87 4.34Tata Mid Cap Growth Fund(G) 132.13 4.33IDBI Nifty Index Fund(G) 21.07 4.31BNP Paribas Long Term 37.87 4.30Equity Fund(G)ICICI Pru Global Stable 15.30 4.29Equity Fund(G)Sundaram Select Focus(G) 179.02 4.29Canara Rob Bluechip 24.73 4.26Equity Fund-Reg(G)Franklin India Index 90.42 4.21Fund-NSE Nifty(G)Aditya Birla SL Index 111.88 4.17Fund-Reg(G)SBI LT Advantage 9.99 4.16Fund-V-Reg(G)ICICI Pru LT Equity 370.02 4.09Fund (Tax Saving)(G)L&T India Large Cap 27.11 4.01Fund-Reg(G)Canara Rob Equity Diver 131.63 3.93Fund-Reg(G)SBI BlueChip Fund-Reg(G) 39.07 3.89Axis Bluechip Fund(G) 29.04 3.79Tata India Pharma & 8.76 3.70Healthcare Fund-Reg(G)Kotak Infra & Eco Reform 19.94 3.69Fund(G)Kotak Equity Opp Fund(G) 116.48 3.60DSP World Agriculture 16.35 3.54Fund-Reg(G)Kotak US Equity Fund(G) 16.77 3.49HDFC Focused 30 Fund(G) 76.25 3.46DSP Equity Fund-Reg(G) 38.25 3.42SBI LT Advantage 10.34 3.37Fund-VI-Reg(G)Axis Multicap Fund-Reg(G) 11.53 3.32ICICI Pru FMCG Fund(G) 233.23 3.28HDFC TaxSaver(G) 507.68 3.19DHFL Pramerica Large 168.00 3.12Cap Fund(G)Invesco India Infrastructure 16.65 2.97Fund(G)Reliance Vision Fund(G) 511.46 2.96Aditya Birla SL Equity Fund(G) 703.12 2.90Aditya Birla SL Frontline Equity 220.84 2.87

Fund(G)Baroda Large Cap Fund(G) 14.28 2.73Invesco India PSU Equity 17.24 2.68Fund(G)Reliance Value Fund(G) 72.03 2.66Kotak Bluechip Fund(G) 229.52 2.64Aditya Birla SL India GenNext 80.94 2.53Fund(G)UTI Banking and Financial 97.86 2.53Services Fund-Reg(G)Franklin India Technology 158.85 2.30Fund(G)Reliance Growth Fund(G) 1072.26 2.28Sundaram Infra Advantage 31.60 2.22Fund(G)DSP US Flexible Equity 25.16 2.19Fund-Reg(G)Sundaram Large and Mid Cap 33.26 2.09Fund(G)Axis Midcap Fund(G) 35.37 2.08Franklin Asian Equity Fund(G) 22.47 2.02Mirae Asset Healthcare 9.94 1.97Fund-Reg(G)SBI LT Advantage 12.54 1.96Fund-IV-Reg(G)DSP Equity Opportunities 212.73 1.89Fund-Reg(G)BNP Paribas Multi Cap Fund(G) 45.81 1.89Reliance Power & Infra Fund(G) 96.60 1.83Kotak India EQ Contra Fund(G) 51.33 1.83DSP Global Allocation 12.34 1.70Fund-Reg(G)ICICI Pru S&P BSE 500 ETF 149.66 1.66ICICI Pru Value Fund-10(G) 11.29 1.62JM Large Cap Fund(G) 66.08 1.54UTI Mastershare-Reg(G) 119.19 1.50ICICI Pru Growth Fund-3(DP) 10.28 1.48Reliance Focused 45.69 1.48Equity Fund(G)Canara Rob Consumer 37.94 1.44Trends Fund-Reg(G)Aditya Birla SL CEF-Global 23.52 1.44Agri-Reg(G)Franklin India Taxshield(G) 556.11 1.41JM Tax Gain Fund(G) 16.66 1.31Principal Focused 62.49 1.30Multicap Fund(G)DHFL Pramerica LT 14.16 1.29Equity Fund-Reg(G)Sundaram Value 10.51 1.28Fund-VIII-Reg(G)Reliance Japan Equity Fund(G) 12.50 1.13

Aditya Birla SL Banking & 28.72 1.13Financial Services Fund-Reg(G)Axis Long Term Equity Fund(G) 44.54 1.12UTI Dividend Yield Fund-Reg(G) 62.45 1.10UTI Focussed Equity Fund-IV(G) 9.28 1.08UTI LT Adv Fund-IV(G) 9.99 1.07ICICI Pru LT Wealth 10.55 1.05Enhancement Fund(G)DSP Focus Fund-Reg(G) 22.76 1.04DHFL Pramerica Tax Plan(G) 30.76 0.98DHFL Pramerica Large 12.34 0.98Cap Fund-2-Reg(G)Parag Parikh Long Term 24.86 0.97Equity Fund-Reg(G)SBI Magnum Comma 35.74 0.86Fund-Reg(G)ICICI Pru Bharat 10.05 0.80Consumption Fund-3-(G)UTI LT Adv Fund-V(G) 9.17 0.78ICICI Pru Smallcap Fund(G) 24.58 0.74IDBI India Top 100 Equity 23.56 0.73Fund(G)Reliance Pharma Fund(G) 140.18 0.72Sundaram Value Fund-II-Reg(G) 15.40 0.69Sundaram Value Fund-III-Reg(G)16.03 0.58Franklin India Bluechip Fund(G) 448.71 0.57Sundaram Global Advt(G) 16.80 0.57ICICI Pru Nifty Low Vol 30 ETF 87.16 0.52UTI LT Equity Fund (Tax 83.70 0.51Saving)-Reg(G)UTI Focussed Equity Fund-I(G) 12.88 0.49L&T India Value Fund-Reg(G) 34.92 0.41DSP A.C.E. Fund-Sr 2-Reg(G) 9.55 0.38Sundaram Select Small Cap 13.67 0.38Series-III-Reg(G)Sundaram Select Small 13.70 0.35Cap Series-IV-Reg(G)Invesco India Largecap Fund(G) 28.17 0.32ICICI Pru Bharat Consumption 9.95 0.30Fund-1-(G)ICICI Pru Focused Equity 29.33 0.27Fund(G)UTI MEPUS 105.35 0.25HDFC Infrastructure Fund(G) 15.98 0.25Canara Rob Infrastructure 44.03 0.23Fund-Reg(G)Reliance Consumption Fund(G) 61.66 0.22Axis Capital Builder 10.01 0.20Fund-1-Reg(G)ICICI Pru Exports & Services 56.06 0.14Fund(G)DSP A.C.E. Fund-Sr 1-Reg(G) 9.60 0.13DSP 3Y Close Ended 14.42 0.12Equity Fund-Reg(G)

Edelweiss Large Cap Fund(G) 35.00 0.11Principal Multi Cap Growth 137.12 0.06Fund(G)Sundaram Select Small Cap 9.51 0.04Series-V-Reg(G)Franklin India Equity Advantage 77.58 -0.01Fund(G)Sundaram LT Tax Adv 14.16 -0.02Fund-Sr II-Reg(G)Mirae Asset Great Consumer 32.96 -0.04Fund-Reg(G)DSP Top 100 Equity 202.60 -0.04Fund-Reg(G)Sundaram Select Small Cap 9.30 -0.07Series-VI-Reg(G)SBI Equity Opp Fund-Sr 15.65 -0.09I-Reg(G)Reliance Quant Fund(G) 24.78 -0.11Franklin India Opportunities 72.28 -0.16Fund(G)Principal Tax Savings Fund 200.69 -0.20Invesco India Growth 32.90 -0.21Opp Fund(G)JM Multicap Fund(G) 31.21 -0.22Baroda Multi Cap Fund(G) 95.76 -0.23DHFL Pramerica Diversified 13.02 -0.23Equity Fund-Reg(G)UTI Core Equity Fund-Reg(G) 60.09 -0.36Principal Personal Tax 188.01 -0.37saver FundICICI Pru Value Discovery 142.13 -0.41Fund(G)L&T Business Cycle 15.10 -0.44Fund-Reg(G)UTI Value Opp Fund-Reg(G) 59.24 -0.52Sundaram Value 8.49 -0.53Fund-VII-Reg(G)SBI Small Cap Fund-Reg(G) 49.68 -0.58Edelweiss Multi-Cap 14.27 -0.63Fund-Reg(G)IDFC Large Cap Fund-Reg(G) 31.69 -0.66Kotak Emerging Equity 36.96 -0.73Scheme(G)Reliance Tax Saver 52.57 -0.76(ELSS) Fund(G)Edelweiss Large & Mid 30.68 -0.77Cap Fund-Reg(G)Sundaram Value 8.84 -0.77Fund-IX-Reg(G)Invesco India Contra Fund(G) 46.03 -0.78Tata Resources & Energy 13.68 -0.78Fund-Reg(G)

VII-Reg(G)Principal Global Opportunities 28.75 -6.09Fund(G)Tata Equity P/E Fund(G) 129.90 -6.18Templeton India Value Fund(G) 238.36 -6.24Aditya Birla SL Resurgent 9.24 -6.29India Fund-4-Reg(G)L&T Emerging Opp 9.34 -6.29Fund-II-Reg(D)Kotak Small Cap Fund(G) 67.36 -6.33Aditya Birla SL Equity 388.17 -6.33Advantage Fund(G)Reliance Small Cap Fund(G) 37.11 -6.35DHFL Pramerica Euro 13.27 -6.62Equity Fund(G)DSP Small Cap Fund-Reg(G) 51.54 -6.65Aditya Birla SL Midcap Fund(G) 271.95 -6.73HDFC Mid-Cap Opportunities 51.13 -6.85Fund(G)Edelweiss Eur Dynamic Equity 10.89 -6.90Off-shr Fund-Reg(G)Motilal Oswal Long Term 16.57 -7.02Equity Fund-Reg(G)Edelweiss Mid Cap 25.14 -7.10Fund-Reg(G)Sundaram Mid Cap Fund(G) 437.12 -7.22Aditya Birla SL Dividend 151.39 -7.26Yield Fund(G)L&T Midcap Fund-Reg(G) 125.03 -7.43L&T Emerging Opp 9.01 -7.44Fund-I-Reg(D)UTI MNC Fund-Reg(G) 181.88 -7.58UTI Mid Cap Fund-Reg(G) 93.77 -7.73Baroda Mid-cap Fund(G) 8.57 -7.85Aditya Birla SL Resurgent 10.91 -7.93India Fund-3-Reg(G)Motilal Oswal Midcap 23.49 -7.9530 Fund-Reg(G)Kotak India Growth 9.13 -8.38Fund-Sr 5(G)Aditya Birla SL Emerging 13.62 -8.53Leaders Fund-4-Reg(G)Aditya Birla SL Mfg. Equity 12.11 -8.74Fund-Reg(G)SBI Consumption Opp 105.89 -8.81Fund-Reg(G)IDFC Sterling Value 47.19 -8.95Fund-Reg(G)Franklin India Smaller 50.18 -9.50Cos Fund(G)Sundaram Emerging 8.85 -9.56Small Cap-Sr-IV-Reg(G)UTI India Consumer 23.82 -9.57Fund-Reg(G)Sundaram Select Micro 12.53 -9.79Cap-Series VIII-Reg(G)Sundaram LT Tax Adv 9.02 -9.79Fund-Sr IV-Reg(G)Sundaram Select Micro 12.45 -9.95Cap-Series IX-Reg(G)Sundaram Emerging Small 8.59 -9.95Cap-Sr-III-Reg(G)IDBI Midcap Fund(G) 9.97 -10.02UTI LT Adv Fund-VII(G) 8.25 -10.19L&T Emerging Businesses 22.67 -10.27Fund-Reg(G)IDFC Equity 9.29 -10.50Opportunity-5-Reg(G)DHFL Pramerica Midcap 16.90 -10.53Opp Fund-Reg(G)IDBI Small Cap Fund(G) 8.86 -10.60IDFC Focused Equity 34.54 -10.70Fund-Reg(G)Reliance Capital Builder 7.37 -10.76Fund-IV-D(G)Sundaram Emerging Small 7.75 -10.77Cap-Sr-I-Reg(G)Sundaram Select Micro 12.28 -10.93Cap-Series X-Reg(G)UTI LT Adv Fund-VI(G) 8.02 -10.95Tata India Consumer 15.83 -11.03Fund-Reg(G)Sundaram Emerging 7.98 -11.09Small Cap-Sr-II-Reg(G)Aditya Birla SL Resurgent 11.37 -11.59India Fund-2-Reg(G)Aditya Birla SL Pure 47.76 -11.59Value Fund(G)Invesco India Feeder - 10.04 -12.04Invesco Pan European Equity Fund-Reg(G)DSP World Energy Fund-Reg(G) 12.69 -12.21Sundaram Small Cap Fund(G) 74.48 -12.81Reliance Capital 7.10 -13.01Builder Fund-IV-C(G)Aditya Birla SL Small 31.70 -13.50Cap Fund(G)Sundaram LT Tax Adv 7.75 -13.51Fund-Sr III-Reg(G)Sundaram Select Micro 8.82 -15.36Cap-Series XII-Reg(G)Sundaram Select Micro 9.13 -15.68Cap-Series XI-Reg(G)Aditya Birla SL Resurgent 7.72 -15.90India Fund-7-Reg(G)Sundaram LT Micro Cap 9.36 -16.86Tax Adv Fund-Sr III-Reg(G)Sundaram Select Micro 7.97 -17.37Cap-Series XIV-Reg(G)Sundaram LT Micro Cap 7.71 -17.84Tax Adv Fund-Sr V-Reg(G)Aditya Birla SL Emerging 11.50 -17.86Leaders Fund-7-Reg(G)Sundaram LT Micro Cap 7.91 -17.88Tax Adv Fund-Sr IV-Reg(G)Sundaram Select Micro 7.30 -18.77Cap-Series XVI-Reg(G)Sundaram LT Micro Cap 7.21 -18.82Tax Adv Fund-Sr VI-Reg(G)Sundaram Select Micro 7.78 -18.95Cap-Series XV-Reg(G)Sundaram Select Micro 6.92 -19.15Cap-Series XVII-Reg(G)UTI Transportation & 84.28 -28.07Logistics Fund-Reg(G)

Franklin India Equity Fund(G) 567.92 -0.83Sundaram LT Tax Adv 13.05 -0.92Fund-Sr I-Reg(G)BNP Paribas Mid Cap Fund(G) 30.67 -0.94DSP Midcap Fund-Reg(G) 52.14 -0.99IDFC Core Equity Fund-Reg(G) 43.38 -1.18Edelweiss Long Term 45.26 -1.22Equity Fund (Tax Savings)-Reg(G)IDFC Tax Advt(ELSS) 53.81 -1.30Fund-Reg(G)Canara Rob Emerg Equities 89.69 -1.43Fund-Reg(G)BNP Paribas Focused 25 9.45 -1.45Equity Fund-Reg(G)Aditya Birla SL Intl. Equity 17.92 -1.47Fund-B(G)Reliance Capital Builder 7.38 -1.49Fund-IV-B(G)Edelweiss Gr China Equity 27.44 -1.56Off-Shore Fund-Reg(G)ICICI Pru Bharat Consumption 9.67 -1.63Fund-2-(G)Invesco India Midcap Fund(G) 45.68 -1.68Edelweiss Tax Advantage 39.61 -1.70Fund-Reg(G)SBI Healthcare Opp 107.81 -1.75Fund-Reg(G)Invesco India Tax Plan(G) 49.19 -1.76UTI-Nifty Next 50 ETF 272.21 -1.86Sundaram Value Fund-X-Reg(G) 8.79 -1.95Franklin India Prima Fund(G) 915.19 -2.13UTI Focussed Equity Fund-VI(G) 9.39 -2.15ICICI Pru R.I.G.H.T Fund(G) 41.21 -2.32DSP Equal Nifty 50 Fund-Reg(G)9.58 -2.45Sundaram Smart NIFTY 11.30 -2.45100 Eq Weight Fund-Reg(G)L&T Equity Fund-Reg(G) 79.83 -2.46Motilal Oswal Focused 25 21.35 -2.47Fund-Reg(G)Sundaram Multi Cap Fund-Sr 9.67 -2.56I-Reg(G)UTI Focussed Equity Fund-V(G) 8.96 -2.66Sundaram Diversified Equity(G) 96.98 -2.73IDBI Nifty Junior Index Fund(G) 20.10 -2.74ICICI Pru Midcap Fund(G) 91.16 -2.76Axis Focused 25 Fund(G) 27.56 -2.79ICICI Pru Nifty Next 50 23.59 -2.82Index Fund(G)UTI Nifty Next 50 Index 9.47 -2.91Fund-Reg(G)IDBI Diversified Equity Fund(G) 20.12 -2.94UTI LT Adv Fund-III(G) 12.80 -2.94SBI Equity Opp Fund-Sr 15.00 -2.97IV-Reg(G)Principal Dividend Yield Fund(G) 50.21 -3.05Invesco India Feeder - Invesco 12.57 -3.13Global Equity Income Fund(G)Templeton India Equity Income 45.44 -3.16Fund(G)JM Value Fund(G) 30.46 -3.18Principal Nifty 100 Equal 68.47 -3.23Weight Fund(G)Axis Emerging Opp 11.65 -3.32Fund-1-Reg(G)ICICI Pru Value Fund-8(D) 10.15 -3.33DSP Natural Res & New 30.70 -3.33Energy Fund-Reg(G)Aditya Birla SL Infrastructure 30.41 -3.34Fund(G)Tata Ethical Fund(G) 149.21 -3.57Reliance Capital Builder 9.34 -3.63Fund-IV-A(G)HDFC Capital Builder Value 278.24 -3.97Fund(G)Motilal Oswal Multicap 35 25.31 -3.97Fund-Reg(G)SBI Contra Fund-Reg(G) 102.43 -3.98UTI Healthcare Fund-Reg(G) 78.12 -4.04Axis Emerging Opp 11.17 -4.12Fund-2-Reg(G)SBI Magnum Midcap 68.09 -4.14Fund-Reg(G)SBI Magnum Global 160.48 -4.18Fund-Reg(G)ICICI Pru Dividend Yield 15.94 -4.21Equity Fund(G)Edelweiss ETF - Nifty 100 267.24 -4.22Quality 30Aditya Birla SL Tax Relief '96 29.55 -4.28(ELSS U/S 80C of IT ACT)(G)Aditya Birla SL Tax Relief '96(G) 29.55 -4.28L&T Tax Advt Fund-Reg(G) 52.13 -4.28UTI Equity Fund-Reg(G) 135.51 -4.30Sundaram Rural and 38.96 -4.34Consumption Fund(G)IDFC Multi Cap Fund-Reg(G) 88.67 -4.38Kotak Global Emerging 15.82 -4.45Mkt Fund(G)IDBI Focused 30 Equity 9.57 -4.49Fund-Reg(G)Kotak India Growth 9.06 -4.58Fund-Sr 4(G)L&T Large and Midcap 44.90 -4.61Fund-Reg(G)Principal Emerging 98.69 -4.62Bluechip Fund(G)Aditya Birla SL MNC Fund(G) 700.89 -4.64IDFC Equity 7.65 -4.85Opportunity-4-Reg(G)Aditya Birla SL Global 12.75 -4.90Emerging Opp Fund(G)Baroda ELSS 96(G) 42.79 -5.00IDFC Infrastructure Fund-Reg(G)14.55 -5.27HDFC Small Cap Fund-Reg(G) 40.14 -5.29Tata Value Fund-Sr-1-Reg(G) 9.48 -5.32L&T Infrastructure Fund-Reg(G) 15.10 -5.45Aditya Birla SL Resurgent 8.98 -5.47India Fund-5-Reg(G)JM Core 11 Fund(G) 8.42 -5.48IDBI Equity Advantage 24.81 -5.59Fund-Reg(G)Sundaram TOP 100-Sr 11.88 -5.62VI-Reg(G)Invesco India Multicap Fund(G) 44.79 -5.76Sundaram TOP 100-Sr 11.66 -5.96

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Asian Development Bank(ADB) has lowered the

inflation forecast for India dur-ing the current financial year to4.1 per cent, on the back of gainin rupee and cut in the coun-try’s GDP projection.

India will be the main dri-ver to lower the inflation for theSouth Asian region, ADB saidin a supplement to AsianDevelopment Outlook (ADO)2019.

South Asia’s inflation fore-cast for 2019, was revised downfrom 4.7 per cent to 4.5 percent, mainly reflecting loweredforecasts for India, the ADOsupplement said.

The ADO supplement haslowered India’s GDP growth

forecast by 0.2 percentagepoints from April outlook to 7per cent in 2019-20.

“In light of a smaller-than-expected uptick in food infla-tion, a strengthening Indianrupee since October 2018, anda lower GDP growth forecast,this Supplement revises downinflation forecasts for India by0.2 percentage points to 4.1 percent in FY2019 (fiscal endingin March 2020) and 4.4 percent in FY2020 (ending March2021),” ADB said.

As per the ADO supple-ment, inflation projections fordeveloping Asia were revisedup a notch from 2.5 per cent to2.6 per cent in both 2019 and2020, reflecting higher oilprices and several domestic factors.

Price fluctuations for brentcrude oil continue amid vari-ous concerns affecting bothsupply and demand, it added.

Meanwhile, the ReserveBank in its last monetary pol-icy review in June had raisedthe retail inflation forecastmarginally to 3-3.1 per cent forthe first half of the current fis-cal citing reasons of uptick infood prices — mainly vegeta-bles, despite expectations of anormal monsoon this season.

However, the retail infla-tion projection for the secondhalf of 2019-20 has been cut to3.4-3.7 per cent as against RBI’sprevious projection of 3.5-3.8per cent.

The RBI will review themonetary policy in its upcom-ing meeting in early August.

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Market regulator Sebi hasexpanded its probe into

the role of five credit ratingagencies after a forensic auditmandated by the new board ofcrisis-ridden IL&FS flaggedserious lapses and their possi-ble complicity with the formertop brass of the group in giv-ing top ratings despite weakfinancials.

While CEOs of two ratingagencies have already beenforced to go on leave pendingcompletion of the probe on theadvice of Sebi, officials said theregulator is now looking intopossible systemic lapses at allfive rating agencies and alsointo the role of multiple peoplesuspected to have intentional-ly manipulated the rating pro-cedures.

The special audit conduct-ed by Grant Thornton foundthat its review of emailsexchanged by the former keyexecutives of InfrastructureLeasing and Financial Services(IL&FS) group and the top offi-cials of rating agencies showedthat they were aware of theserious liquidity concerns andweakening financials of thegroup.

“However, various strate-gies deployed by the then keyofficials of IL&FS group andcertain favours/gifts providedto rating agency officials sug-gest the possible reasons forconsistent good ratings pro-vided to IL&FS group duringthe period June 2012 to June2018,” an interim report of thespecial audit said.

The report has also high-

lighted instances where CRAshad “initially decided to down-grade the ratings, but a com-bination of tactics employed bythen key employees of IL&FSand favours/gifts extended tokey officials of CRAs resultedin either consistent/good rat-ings or avoidance of ratingdowngrade”.

The new board of IL&FS,which was appointed inOctober last year after massivedefaults by the group post itsdebt burden ballooning to overRs 90,000 crore and suspectedwrong-doings by the formertop management, had man-dated Grant Thornton to carryout a a special audit for all high-value transactions undertakenby IL&FS Ltd and some of itsgroup companies for the peri-od between April 2013 andSeptember 2018.

The audit is aimed at iden-tifying siphoning or misuse offunds, fraudulent transactions,their modus operandi, thequantum of the financial lossand fixing of responsibility.

Grant Thornton was alsoasked to review the ratings pro-vided by various credit ratingagencies (CRAs) to IL&FSTransportation Networks Ltd(ITNL), IL&FS FinancialServices Ltd (IFIN) and IL&FSLtd.

In its interim report, GrantThornton said it appears CRAshad consistently provided andmaintained good ratings overthe years until in July/August2018 when they downgradedratings for the first time forITNL due to a default of repay-ment of commercial papers.

During the review period,

IL&FS Group had availed rat-ing services from Crisil Ltd,CARE Ratings, ICRA, IndiaRatings (a Fitch group compa-ny) and Brickwork.

Officials at the rating agen-cies denied any lapses on theirpart and some even said theinterim report seems to suggestlimited knowledge of the ratingprocess and was based on one-sided information.

A higher rating typicallyhelps a borrower get a lowerrate of interest and is aimed atassuring investors about thecreditworthiness of the com-pany. Besides, it helps create awider borrowing landscape forthe company and is also oftenused as a marketing tool in theform of a better image in deal-ing with customers.

Grant Thornton said itidentified multiple e-mails overthe period from 2008 to 2018which indicate that the IL&FSgroup was under stress or facedliquidity issues since 2015.

The main reasons for theliquidity crunch have beenidentified as a significantincrease in debt in the variousgroup companies, majorlyITNL, high capital require-ment for ITNL and its variousSPVs, decreasing profit ofIL&FS group and support toweaker group companies.

It has also identifiedinstances which suggest thatCRAs had multiple concernsfor the last 6-7 years on theoperations of the IL&FS group,but the ratings assigned bythem remained consistentlyhigh until they were reversed ordowngraded after June-July2018.

��

Air India has stopped givingpromotions for its employ-

ees and recruiting new per-sonnel as the Government pre-pares for the disinvesment ofthe debt-laden airline, an offi-cial said Sunday.

The Government is expect-ed to soon start the disinves-ment process for Air India,which has a debt burden ofmore than �50,000 crore.

For the disinvesmentprocess, the official said the air-line’s books of accounts till July15, have been closed and thosefinancials would be used whileseeking bids.

Promotions and freshappointments have also beenfrozen ahead of the stake salefor Air India, the official added.

The airline has around10,000 permanent employees.

There was no immediatecomment from Air India.Query sent to Civil AviationSecretary Pradeep SinghKharola remained unanswered.

Sources said Air India hasalso asked all department headsto ensure that there is norecovery pending against any ofthe employees.

The message was conveyedto the heads of departments bythe airline’s HR DirectorAmrita Sharan during a con-ference call last week, theyadded.

The Government is look-ing to complete the Air Indiastake sale in the next four tofive months.

Air India is currently mak-ing a revenue of �15 crore

everyday.Efforts to sell 76 per cent

stake in the national carrierfailed to take off in 2018. Thentransaction adviser EY in itsreport had cited the govern-ment retaining 24 per centstake and corresponding rightsand high debt as reasons for thefailure of the disinvesmentprocess.

On July 3, Civil AviationMinister Hardeep Singh Puritold the Rajya Sabha that thegovernment is committed tothe disinvestment of Air Indiaand the plan is to make it moreoperationally viable beforestake sale.

“It (Air India) will be soldwhen the buyer ultimately givesthe cheque and there are cer-tain prerequisites before anysale, those also have to be met.I do expect that to be finishedin 4-5 months but neverthelessto provide for that exigency, wehave not accounted for AirIndia sale proceeds (in bud-geted disinvestment proceeds).

“We will try to finish it offby Diwali, if not before,”Department of Investment andPublic Asset Management(DIPAM) Secretary AtanuChakraborty said on July 7.

In her Budget speech onJuly 5, Finance MinisterNirmala Sitharaman said thatin view of current macro-eco-nomic parameters, theGovernment would not onlyreinitiate the process of strate-gic disinvestment of Air India,but would offer more centralpublic sector enterprises forstrategic participation by theprivate sector.

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The World Bank hasapprised the Andhra

Pradesh government of itsreadiness to finance other pro-jects in the state in spite of itsrefusal to a $300 millionAmaravati project, an officialsaid.

World Bank officials com-municated this to the stategovernment after the $300 mil-lion loan proposal forAmaravati was dropped at thebehest of the Centre, a top offi-cial in the Chief Minister’sOffice said.

“The Washington-basedBank is now not averse toextending loan to AP govern-ment according to the latter’spriorities. The possibility ofincreasing the quantum of loanwas also not ruled out by theBank,” the official said.

He indicated that theGovernment might seek WorldBank assistance for funding theflagship Navaratnalu pro-gramme that was aimed atimproving the living standardsof citizens in tune with theSustainable Development Goals.

World Bank officialsinformed the state governmentofficials that the loan proposal

was dropped mainly due to“non-compliance of its policies,”particularly those related tosettlement of affected people.

Also, alleged rampant cor-ruption and flouting of varioussocio-economic norms werecited as other reasons, theCMO official said.

The IndependentAccountability Mechanism(teams) of the World Bank con-ducted an extensive study inthe field after touring the cap-ital region in September 2017.

The Bank teams found“many irregularities in the ten-der process which were heav-ily loaded in favour of con-tractors.”

They also detected manyirregularities in land pooling,utilisation of verdant agricul-ture land for other purposes,agriculture workers losinglivelihood, serious environ-mental violations, the plan ofthe new proposed capitalaffecting the course of KrishnaRiver and other issues.

The World Bank, based onfield-level investigations,sought an explanation from theCapital Region DevelopmentAuthority over these issues butthe explanation was “unsatis-factory.”

��

Having failed to privatisePawan Hans last fiscal,

the Government has signifi-cantly diluted the terms of salepertaining to employeeretrenchment, asset sale and taxliability to attract bidders thistime around, sources said.

As per the revised terms ofsale proposed by theGovernment, the successfulbidder would be required toretain all permanent employeesfor a period of at least one year,as against two years stipulatedearlier.

The Government has alsodecided to indemnify the buyeragainst �577 crore worth taxliability of Pawan Hans in casean ongoing tax dispute is decid-ed against the company.

The revised terms of salehave also reduced the timeperiod for stripping of assets ofPawan Hans by the buyer totwo years, from three yearsspecified earlier.The relaxationin norms will provide greaterfreedom to the successful bid-der to manage Pawan Hans, thesources said.

The Government had lastfiscal tried to sell the helicopterservice provider but no buyercame forward. TheGovernment holds 51 per centstake in Pawan Hans, which hasa fleet of 43 helicopters. Theremaining 49 per cent is withONGC.

After the new Governmenttook over, it decided to sweet-en the deal by diluting certaincrucial terms of sale in view ofthe concerns raised by poten-tial bidders when Pawan Hanswas first put on the block.

As of April 30, 2019, PawanHans had 718 employees, ofwhich 415 were regular and 303on contract. The company’smanpower comprises 116pilots, 101 aircraft mainte-nance engineers (AMEs), 52executives, 157 technicians and292 other technical and non-technical employees.

The firm posted revenuesof �410 crore in 2018-19, whileemployee cost was about �180crore.

According to the revisedsale terms, the successful bid-der would be permitted toprovide voluntary retirementscheme (VRS) to existingPawan Hans employees as perthe terms specified by theDepartment of PublicEnterprises.

As regards stripping ofassets held by Pawan Hans, thesuccessful bidder would bepermitted to sell, transfer orlease the assets two years afterconsummation of the transac-tion.

The Government on July11 had come out with a freshPreliminary InformationMemorandum (PIM), a docu-ment inviting bids from com-panies having minimum net

worth of �350 crore.The last date for submis-

sion of Expression of Interest(EoI) is August 22, 2019, andthe short-listed bidder will beintimated on September 12.

If the Pawan Hans salegoes through, it would add tothe disinvestment kitty andkickstart the process of pri-vatisation. The Budget has seta disinvestment target of �1.05lakh crore for current fiscal, upfrom �85,000 crore raised lastfiscal.

The Government had firstfloated an offer to sell its 51 percent stake in Pawan Hans inOctober 2017, but in view ofsubdued response from bid-ders, the EoI was withdrawn inApril 2018. At that time, someinvestors had suggested that theGovernment and ONGC shouldsell their stakes together.

Later in April, 2018, the

Government again issued aninformation memorandum for51 per cent strategic stake salein Pawan Hans and had soughtEoI from interested bidders byJune 18, 2018.

On July 2, 2018, ONGCwrote to the Government say-ing its board has resolved thatit would prefer to exit PawanHans simultaneously with theGovernment, following whichthe Centre came out with afresh PIM in August 2018,putting 100 per cent stake inthe helicopter company on theblock.

When the financial bidprocess concluded on March 6,2019, only one investor had putin a “conditional bid”, whichwas not accepted. The PawanHans sale process was then puton hold till the newGovernment took charge postthe general elections.

��

Foreign portfolio investorspulled out around �7,712

crore from Indian equities inthis month so far following the‘super-rich’ tax announced inthe budget for 2019-20, accord-ing to analysts.

FPIs had been net investorsin the equity segment in theprevious five months.

According to the latest dataavailable with depositories, anet sum of �7,712.12 crorehas been pulled out from equi-ties during July 1-19. However,foreign portfolio investors(FPI) pumped in �9,371.12crore in the debt segment dur-ing the period. This has trans-lated into a net investment ofaround �1,659 crore in July sofar into the capital markets(both equity and debt).

He further added that froman investment perspective, thecurrent scenario is clearly“unfavourable” for FPIs toinvest in Indian equities.

��

As many as 345 infrastruc-ture projects, each worth

�150 crore or more, haveshown cost overruns to thetune of over �3.28 lakh croreowing to delays and other rea-sons, a report said.

“Total original cost ofimplementation of the 1453projects was �18,32,579.17crore and their anticipatedcompletion cost is likely to be�21,61,313.18 crore, whichreflects overall cost overruns of�3,28,734.01 crore (17.94% oforiginal cost), “ the Ministry ofStatistics and ProgrammeImplementation’s latest reportfor April 2019 said.

The ministry monitorsinfrastructure projects worth�150 crore and above. Of these1,453 projects, 345 reportedcost overruns and 388 timeescalation.

According to the report,the expenditure incurred onthese projects till April 2019 is�8,84,906.88 crore, which is40.94 per cent of the anticipat-

ed cost of the pro-jects.

However, itsaid the number ofdelayed projectsdecreases to 317 ifdelay is calculatedon the basis of lat-est schedule ofcompletion.

For 749 pro-jects, neither theyear of commissioning nor thetentative gestation period hasbeen reported.

Out of 388 delayed pro-jects, 121 projects have overalldelay in the range of 1 to 12months, 78 projects have beendelayed by 13 to 24 months, 98projects reflect delay in therange of 25 to 60 months and91 projects show 61 monthsand above delay.

The average time overrunin these 388 delayed projects is40.28 months.

The brief reasons for timeoverruns, as reported by vari-ous project implementingagencies, are delays in landacquisition, forest clearance

and supply of equipment.Besides, there are other

reasons like fund constraints,geological surprises, geo-min-ing conditions, slow progress incivil works, shortage of labour,inadequate mobilisation by thecontractor, Maoist problems,court cases, contractual issues,ROU/ROW (right of use/rightof way) problems, law andorder situation, among others,the report said.

It also observed that projectagencies are not reportingrevised cost estimates and com-missioning schedules for manyprojects, which suggests thattime/cost overrun figures areunder-reported.

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Chinese importers are apply-ing to their government to

lift tariffs on some US agricul-tural imports, state mediareported on Sunday, three weeksafter the two sides reached atruce in their trade war.

The unnamed importerswere talking to US suppliersabout potential pricing andhave applied to a Chinese gov-ernment body with oversight oftariffs to lift the levies, the near-ly identical reports in variousmedia outlets said.

The importers were acting“according to the needs of thedomestic market,” the reportssaid. No further details weregiven, such as which productsmight be affected.

The move may be a good-will gesture after the UnitedStates earlier this month wasreported to have removed 110Chinese export items from itsown tariffs list.

The two economic giantshave hit each other with puni-

tive tariffs covering more than$360 billion in two-way tradesince US President DonaldTrump launched a trade war lastyear, damaging manufacturerson both sides of the Pacific. ButTrump and Chinese PresidentXi Jinping agreed to a truce andto revive fractious trade nego-tiations when they met on thesidelines of the G20 summit inJapan on June 29.

The Chinese media outletson Sunday did not cite a specificsource for the reported requestto lift the tariffs on US goods.

The reports come just a fewdays after Trump accusedChina of backsliding onpromises to increase purchas-es of American farm exports.

Following the Osaka sum-mit, Trump announced that, inreturn for Washington’s pledgeto suspend a planned tariffincrease on $300 billion inChinese imports, Beijing hadoffered to buy “a tremendousamount of food and agricultureproduct” from the UnitedStates.

��

The GST Council, chaired byFinance Minister Nirmala

Sitharaman, will meet on July25 and decide on lowering taxrates for electric vehicles, offi-cials said.

The 36th meeting of theCouncil, which will happenthrough video conferencing, isalso likely to decide the valua-tion of goods and services insolar power generating sys-tems and wind turbine projectsfor the purposes of levyingGST.

The Council, which hasState Finance Ministers asmembers, in its meeting lastmonth, had referred the issuerelating to Goods and ServicesTax (GST) concessions onelectric vehicle, electric charg-ers and hiring of electric vehi-cles, to an officers committee.

The recommendations ofthe officers committee is like-ly to be placed before theCouncil on July 25, officialssaid.

To push domestic manu-facturing of e-vehicles, theCentre proposed to the Councilto slash GST rates to 5 per cent

from 12 per cent.GST rate for petrol and

diesel cars and hybrid vehiclesis already at the highest brack-et of 28 per cent plus cess.

The Council will also con-sider tax structure for solarpower projects.

The Delhi High Court hadin May asked the GST councilto take a relook at the taxationstructure following industrypetition.

The Government had ear-lier this year said that for thepurpose of taxing solar powerprojects, 70 per cent of contractvalue would be treated as goods— taxable at 5 per cent, andbalance 30 per cent as services— taxable at 18 per cent.

The solar industry hasbeen pitching for a differentratio for splitting goods andservices for levying GST.

Further, the Council mayalso look at taxation of lotter-ies. In the previous meeting, theCouncil had decided to seeklegal opinion of the AttorneyGeneral for levying GST.

Currently, a State-organ-ised lottery attracts 12 per centGST, while a state-authorisedlottery attracts 28 per cent tax.

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Masked protesters threweggs at China’s office in

Hong Kong on Sunday nightfollowing another massive rally,focusing anger towards theembodiment of Beijing’s rulewith no end in sight to the tur-moil engulfing the finance hub.

The city has been plungedinto its worst crisis in recenthistory by weeks of marchesand sporadic violent con-frontations between police andpockets of hardcore protesters.

The initial protests were litby a now-suspended bill thatwould have allowed extradi-tions to mainland China.

But they have since evolvedinto a wider movement callingfor democratic reforms, uni-versal suffrage and a halt tosliding freedoms in the semi-autonomous territory.

Police have fired tear gasand rubber bullets, while theparliament has been trashed byprotesters as Beijing’s authori-ty faces its most serious chal-lenge since Hong Kong washanded back to China in 1997.

On Sunday tens of thou-sands of anti-government pro-testers marched through thestreets -- the seventh weekendin-a-row that residents have

come out en-masse.Police ordered protesters to

follow a shorter route than nor-mal, but the designated finishline was widely ignored ascrowds headed towards theLiason Office -- the departmentthat represents China’s centralgovernment.

Thousands of masked

demonstrators then seized theroad outside the imposing sky-scraper, erected barricades andbegan targeting the buildingwith eggs, projectiles, laserlights and graffiti.

“We are here to declare thatBeijing is the one violating ourgoverning values and judicialprocedures,” a 19-year-old pro-

tester who gave his first nameas Tony, told AFP.

A man wearing a blackmask and bicycle helmet laterread out a list of demands ona loudspeaker.

“There is no violent pro-testers or rioters, there is onlytyranny, we will protect ourhomeland by any means,” he

said. “We urge the govern-ment to stop leading HongKong towards the brink ofdestruction.”

Police were nowhere to beseen outside Beijing’s officeon Sunday evening, but therewere widespread expectationsamong the protesters therethat riot officers would soonrespond.

Generally the marcheshave passed off peacefully, butsome have been followed byviolence between riot policeand small groups of more hard-core protesters who feel yearsof peaceful demonstrationshave achieved little.

Six weeks of huge protestshave done little to persuade thecity’s unelected leaders -- orBeijing -- to change tack on thehub’s future.

Under the 1997 handoverdeal with Britain, Chinapromised to allow Hong Kongto keep key liberties such as itsindependent judiciary and free-dom of speech.

But many say those provi-sions are already being cur-tailed, citing the disappear-ance into mainland custody ofdissident booksellers, the dis-qualification of prominentpoliticians and the jailing ofpro-democracy protest leaders.

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US President Donald Trumprenewed attacks on

Sunday on four Democraticcongresswomen he launchedxenophobic tweets against lastweek, demanding they apolo-gise “for the horrible (hateful)things they have said.”

“I don’t believe the fourCongresswomen are capable ofloving our Country,” Trumptweeted of ethnic-minorityfirst-term Democrats

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez,Rashida Tlaib, Ilhan Omar andAyanna Pressley.

“They should apologize toAmerica (and Israel) for thehorrible (hateful) things theyhave said. They are destroyingthe Democrat Party, but areweak & insecure people whocan never destroy our greatNation!” the president tweeted.

The comments come aweek after Trump sparked afirestorm of outrage when heattacked the left-leaning law-makers with a series of tweets,saying they should “go back” totheir countries of origin.

The group -- three ofwhom were born in the United

States -- are of Hispanic, Arab,Somali and African-Americandescent.

In a rare move, Trumpwas rebuked by theDemocratic-controlled Houseof Representatives on Tuesdayfor “racist comments” againstthe women, who are known asthe “Squad.”

The following day chants of“Send her back!” broke out atthe president’s “Make AmericaGreat Again” rally inGreenville, North Carolina,when he again attacked thewomen.

To the delight of his thou-

sands of supporters, Trumpdescribed Omar and the otherDemocrats as “left-wing ideo-logues (who) see our nation asa force of evil.”

Trump later said there was“great energy” at the rally butclaimed he was not pleased bythe taunts. “I was not happywhen I heard that chant,” hesaid. “I didn’t like that they didit, and I started speaking quick-ly” to move on with his speech.

Television footage showed,however, that Trump let thechant continue for more than13 seconds, only resumingspeaking as they died down.

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An Iranian tanker held inSaudi Arabia since being

forced to seek repairs at Jeddahport has been released and isreturning to the Islamic repub-lic, a minister said Sunday.

The Happiness 1 tanker“has been released followingnegotiations and is now mov-ing toward Persian Gulf waters,”said transport ministerMohammad Eslami, quotedby state news agency IRNA.

The ship had been forcedto seek repairs in Saudi Arabiain early May after suffering“engine failure and loss of con-trol”, the Iranian oil ministry’sSHANA news agency said at thetime.

The rare docking camedespite escalating tensionsbetween staunch enemies Iranand Saudi Arabia.

“Yesterday, with follow-ups from the ports and mar-itime authority the issue wasresolved,” Eslami said.

“The tanker is movingtowards the Persian Gulf with

the permission of the Jeddahport, towed by two Iranian tugboats.”

Iran’s national tanker com-pany said in a statement that ontop of “political and diplomat-ic negotiations” the tanker’srelease required “the paymentof related costs” demanded bySaudi Arabia.

According to a July 2 reportby Mehr News Agency, Iran paid “over $10 million to Jeddah port for repairs and maintenance” of thetanker.

Saudi Arabia severed diplo-matic ties with Iran in 2016,after its missions in the coun-try were attacked in demon-strations over the kingdomexecuting prominent Shiitecleric Nimr al-Nimr.

They still lack directdiplomatic channels, and Iran’sforeign ministry spokesmanAbbas Mousavi on Sundaythanked “Switzerland andOman as well as related Saudiparties for offering servicesand facilities” to resolve theissue.

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In an audio recording releasedSunday, a British naval officer

can be heard saying the transitof a British-flagged vesselthrough the Strait of Hormuzmust not be impaired underinternational law as Iraniannaval forces warn the vessel tochange course.

The audio, released by mar-itime security risk firm DryadGlobal, shows how the Britishnavy was unable to prevent theship’s seizure by IranianRevolutionary Guard forces onFriday.

The seizure has promptedcondemnation from the UKand its European allies as theycontinue to call for a de-escala-tion of tensions in the criticalwaterway.

In the recording, an Iranianofficer can be heard telling theStena Impero to change course,saying: “You obey, you will besafe.”

“Alter your course to 360

degrees immediately, over,” theofficer says, before saying theship is wanted for security rea-sons.

A British naval officer fromthe HMS Montrose frigatepatrolling the area around theStrait of Hormuz is heard tellingthe Stena Impero, which had acrew of 23 on board, that its pas-sage must be allowed.

“Sir, I reiterate that as youare conducting transit passage ina recognised international strait,under international law yourpassage must not be impaired,intruded, obstructed or ham-pered,” the British officer says.

The British officer then tellsan Iranian patrol boat: “Pleaseconfirm that you are not intend-ing to violate international lawby unlawfully attempting toboard the MV Stena.”

Iranian officials say theseizure of the British oil tankerwas a response to Britain’s rolein impounding an Iraniansupertanker two weeks earlier.

Friday’s incident comes

amid heightened tensionsbetween the US and Iran stem-ming from President DonaldTrump’s decision last year to pullthe US from Iran’s nuclearaccord with world powers andreinstate sweeping sanctions.

The US has expanded itsmilitary presence in the region,while Iran has begun openlyexceeding uranium enrichmentlevels set in the nuclear accordto pressure Europe to alleviatethe pain caused by the sanctions.

Britain’s Defense SecretaryTobias Ellwood reiterated callsfor de-escalation on Sunday inan interview with Sky News.

“Well, firstly we need to tryand de-escalate this. There hasbeen a ratcheting up of tensionsin the Middle East,” he said,before adding that Friday’sseizure is “a hostile act” by Iran.

Ellwood also noted that theBritish Royal Navy “is too smallto manage our interests acrossthe globe” and that this would bean issue for the next primeminister to recognize.

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Ukrainians on Sunday went tothe polls to elect a new par-

liament as comedian-turned-president Volodymyr Zelenskyseeks to bring in political new-comers and consolidate power.

Zelensky’s newly-createdparty is expected to win thelargest share of the votes in theearly polls expected to usher ina new era in the country domi-nated up to now by politicianswho grew up in the SovietUnion.

The leader’s party Servant ofthe People -- named after a sit-com in which he played a pres-ident -- is predicted to get rough-ly half of the vote even thoughit barely existed before Zelenskywon a landslide victory in anApril presidential vote.

Zelensky, however, may notsecure a majority and wouldneed to form a coalition, possi-bly with rock star SvyatoslavVakarchuk’s newly-created party

Golos (Voice).After casting his ballot, the

41-year-old leader said he wouldmake a decision about possiblecoalition partners after the resultsof the vote are out.

“We do not see a coalitionwith the old authorities,”Zelensky said in the capital Kiev,wearing a casual blue shirt.

The outgoing parliament,dominated by Zelensky’s prede-cessor Petro Poroshenko, hasbeen hostile to the actor, whocalled a snap election during hisswearing-in as president.

The Ukrainian presidentmust share power with parlia-ment, which will nominate aprime minister and form a gov-ernment.

Many said they voted for theleader’s party. “He was electedbut he can’t do anything. They(lawmakers) constantly put sticksin his wheels and dump hisideas,” Valentyna, an 82-year-oldpensioner told AFP in centralKiev.

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Planes and helicopters joinedmore than a thousand fire-

fighters in central PortugalSunday to battle huge wildfiresin a mountainous region whereover 100 people died in hugeblazes in 2017.

By 9:30 am (0830 GMT),one of the biggest mobilisationsever seen in the area -- includ-ing 1,100 firefighters and 340vehicles -- had been deployedto fight the blazes in the heav-ily forested Castelo Brancoregion, 200 kilometres north ofLisbon, the rescue servicessaid.

The biggest effort -- 760firefighters, 230 vehicles and 11planes and helicopters -- battledto douse flames in the munic-ipality of Vila de Rei, which hadspread nearly 25 kilometres.One seriously injured civilianwas evacuated by helicopter toLisbon, the commander of theCivil Protection for the region,Luis Belo Costa, told a newsconference.

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At least nine persons, includ-ing six policemen, were

killed and around 40 othersinjured in northwest Pakistanon Sunday in a terror strike ona checkpost and a subsequentsuicide blast by a burqa-cladwoman at a hospital where thevictims of the first attack wereshifted.

Both the attacks took placein Dera Ismail Khan district ofKhyber Pakhtunkhwa, a dayafter the first-ever successfulelection was held in the newlymerged tribal areas of theprovince.

Four unidentified armedmen riding two motor-bikesopened fire on two policemen,who were on duty at the KotlaSyedan checkpost, and killed

them, District police chiefSaleem Riaz told the media.

When the bodies of theslain policemen were brought tothe district hospital, a burqa-clad suicide bomber, already sit-ting there, targeted the peoplewho gathered around theambulance, the official said.

Seven people, includingfour policemen, were killed inthe suicide blast, police said.

He said the suicide bomb-ing by a female was first everand unexpected incident in theregion.

According to eye witness-es, the bomber was wearing ahead-to-toe veil. Police alsorecovered hairs and feet of theattacker and sent them forforensic examination.

The Tehreek-e-TalibanPakistan (TTP) claimed respon-

sibility for the attack.The seriously injured peo-

ple were shifted to the CombineMilitary Hospital for medicalcover. The police and civiladministration reached the spotimmediately after the explosion.

Riaz said that 7 to 8 kgexplosive was used in the sui-cide explosion. He confirmedseven fatalities, in both the ter-ror act. The death toll could riseas the majority of the victimswere in critical condition, hesaid.

He said that security checkis done by the police on theentry of people into the hospi-tal. But due to tradition andcustoms of the area females areexempted. He said the suicidebombing by a female was firstever and unexpected incident inthe region.

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The United States said it’sconcerned by reports of

China’s interference with oiland gas activities in the dis-puted waters of the SouthChina Sea (SCS), whereVietnam accuses Beijing ofviolating its sovereignty.

State Department spokes-woman Morgan Ortagus saidin a statement that China’s“repeated provocative actionsaimed at the offshore oil andgas development of otherclaimant states threaten region-al energy security and under-mine the free and open Indo-Pacific energy market.”

Vietnam on Fridaydemanded China remove asurvey ship from VanguardBank, which it says lies with-

in Vietnam’s 200-mile exclu-sive economic zone. China claims the South ChinaSea almost in its entirety andhas rattled smaller neighboursby constructing seven man-made islands in the disputedwaters and equipped themwith military runways andoutposts.

Chinese coast guard vesselsalso have been reported near adrilling rig in the sameVanguard Bank area whereVietnam has contractedRussia’s Rosneft to develop gasfields. “Vietnam has made con-tact with China on multipleoccasions via different chan-nels, delivered diplomatic notesto oppose China’s violations,and staunchly demandedChina to stop all unlawfulactivities and withdraw its

ships from Vietnamese waters,”Vietnam’s Foreign Ministryspokeswoman Le Thi ThuHang said in a statementFriday.

Chinese Foreign Ministryspokesman Geng Shuang ear-lier in the week urged Hanoi torespect China’s sovereign rightsand jurisdiction, “and not totake any move that may com-plicate matters.”

In May 2014, Chinese andVietnamese vessels engaged ina dangerous confrontationwhen China’s national oil com-pany moved its oil platforminto waters Vietnam considersits territory.

Ortagus calls on China to“cease its bullying behaviourand refrain from engaging inthis type of provocative anddestabilizing activities.”

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Pakistan Prime MinisterImran Khan arrived here on

his maiden trip to the US dur-ing which he will hold talks withDonald Trump and reboot bilat-eral ties that were hit after the USpresident publicly criticisedIslamabad, cancelled military aidand asked it to do more to fightterrorism.

Khan, 66, is scheduled tomeet President Trump at theWhite House on Monday dur-ing which the American lead-ership is likely to press him totake “decisive and irreversible”actions against terrorist andmilitant groups operating fromPakistani soil and facilitate peacetalks with the Taliban.

The cricketer-turned-politi-cian arrived here on Saturdayafternoon aboard a commercialQatar Airways flight and isstaying at the official residenceof the Pakistani Ambassador tothe US, Asad Majeed Khan.

He was welcomed at the air-port by his foreign ministerShah Mehmood Qureshi. Alarge number of PakistaniAmericans also welcomed him.

Nawaz Sharif was the lastPakistani prime minister to visitthe US on an official trip inOctober 2015.

During his three-day visit,Khan, in addition to his meet-ing with Trump, is also sched-uled to meet IMF acting chiefDavid Lipton and World BankPresident David Malpass.

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Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’sruling coalition secured a

majority in Japan’s upper houseof parliament in electionsSunday, according to votecounts by public television andother media.

Exit polls indicated Abecould even close in on thesuper-majority needed to pro-pose constitutional revisions.

NHK public television saidAbe’s Liberal Democratic Partyand its junior partner Komeitohad won 64 seats in the upperhouse after two hours of votecounting.

The two-thirds majorityneeded for constitutional revi-sion could be within reach ifthe ruling bloc can gain sup-port from members of anoth-er conservative party and inde-pendents.

Up for grabs were 124seats in the less powerful ofJapan’s two parliamentarychambers.

There are 245 seats in theupper house — which does notchoose the prime minister —about half of which are elect-ed every three years.

The results appeared tomatch or even exceed pre-election polls that indicatedAbe’s ruling bloc was to keepground in the upper house,with most voters considering ita safer choice over an opposi-tion with an uncertain trackrecord.

To reach the two-thirdsmajority, or 164 seats, Abeneeds 85 more seats by his rul-ing bloc and supporters of acharter change.

Opposition parties havefocused on concerns overhousehold finances, such as the

impact from an upcoming 10per cent sales tax increase andstrains on the public pensionsystem amid Japan’s aging pop-ulation.

Abe has led his LiberalDemocratic Party to five con-secutive parliamentary elec-tion victories since 2012.

He has prioritised revitalising Japan’s economyand has steadily bolstered the country’s defenses in thebackdrop of North Korea’s mis-sile and nuclear threats andChina’s growing military pres-ence.

He also has showcased hisdiplomatic skills by cultivatingwarm ties with PresidentDonald Trump.

Abe was hoping to gainenough upper house seats toboost his chances for constitu-tional revision, his long-cher-ished goal before his term ends

in 2021. Abe needs approval by a

two-thirds majority in bothhouses to propose a revisionand seek a national referen-dum.

His ruling bloc already hasa two-thirds majority in themore powerful lower house.

But Abe and his conservative backers face chal-lenges because voters seemmore concerned about theirjobs, the economy and socialsecurity.

The main oppositionConstitutional DemocraticParty of Japan and three otherliberal-leaning parties teamedup in some districts.

They stressed support forgender equality and LGBTissues — areas Abe’s ultra-conservative lawmakers arereluctant to back.

At a polling station in

Tokyo’s Chuo district on Sunday, voters were divided over Abe’s 6 1/2-yearrule.

A voter who identifiedhimself only as a companyworker in his 40s said he chose a candidate and a partythat have demonstrated anability to get things done, suggesting he voted for Abe’sruling party and its candidate, as “there is no pointin casting my vote for a partyor a politician who has no suchabilities.”

Another voter, KatsunoriTakeuchi, a 57-year-old fishmarket worker, said it wastime to change the dominanceof Abe and his ultra-conserv-ative policies.

“I think the ruling partyhas been dominating politicsfor far too long and it is caus-ing damage,” he said.

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An Israeli Minister boastedSunday that his country

was the only one that “has beenkilling Iranians”, after tensionsbetween Britain and Iran rosein the Gulf.

Regional CooperationMinister Tzachi Hanegbi’scomments to public radio werea reference to Israeli strikes inneighbouring Syria againstIranian and Lebanese Hezbollahmovement’s military targets.

But they came after Iranseized a British-flagged tankeron Friday, adding to tensionsbetween Washington andTehran linked to a 2015nuclear deal.

Hanegbi accused Iran,Israel’s main enemy, of seeking

to create “chaos” and “harmfreedom of navigation.” Askedif he feared that Israel wouldnot receive the backing of theUnited States in the case of aconflict with Iran, Hanegbisuggested that Tehran wouldavoid such a scenario.

“Israel is the only countryin the world that has beenkilling Iranians for two years,”he said.

“We strike the Iranianshundreds of times in Syria.Sometimes we acknowledge itand sometimes foreign reportsreveal it.”

He added that the Iranians“understand that Israel meansbusiness.” Israel has carriedout hundreds of strikes in Syriaagainst what it says are Iranianand Hezbollah military targets.

It has vowed to keep Iranfrom entrenching itself mili-tarily there.

Prime Minister BenjaminNetanyahu spoke in a similarvein last week with cadets at thenational security college.

“At the moment, the onlyarmy in the world to fight Iranis the Israeli army,” he said.

Earlier this month,Netanyahu warned that Israelifighter jets “can reach anywherein the Middle East, includingIran”. Iran’s seizure of a British-flagged tanker in the Strait ofHormuz for breaking “inter-national maritime rules” camesome two weeks after Britainseized an Iranian tanker at themouth of the Mediterranean onallegations of breaching UNsanctions against Syria.

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Recently, an article, writ-ten by the chief econom-ic advisor of the

Government of India, Towardsa $5trillion economy, whichwas published in a leadingEnglish daily raised a lot ofquestions and hopes and madeheadlines across global media.However, even after the mediahype, the common manremains as confused as before.The political fraternity mustunderstand that in the 21stcentury, where the averagevoters of India are agedbetween 18-35, a mere enun-ciation of national policyobjectives, which reads like awish-list, would no longerwork out in their favour.

The approach, howeverlaudable, has to be backed bygiving up political and person-al antagonism and animusand must be supported bysubstance and records. Themethods of governance have toprovide a framework in whichthe complete political class,undividedly, can work onnational issues like poverty,illiteracy, disease, pollution,unemployment and numerousothers. Let the politicians bidadieu to personal prejudicesand beliefs that have proved tobe debilitating and costly forthe country to the extent thatSwaraj has become a distantdream.

Today, every Indian, richor poor, hopes for a politicalleader who could act as a rolemodel. The recent past hasturned out to be horrific forthe country as politics hasbecome synonymous with cor-ruption, exploitation and dis-crimination on the basis ofcaste and religion, hypocrisyand double-speak, egoism, lustfor power, and some falsepromises. Some small allianceshave also become tools of bigparties for swinging them backto power, for toppling thestate governments that havebeen formed by a differentparty or for ruining thechances of an opposing partyfrom gaining power. So, it istime that we clear this corrupt,stained image of politics as itneeds to regain its lost respectand faith among the people sothat they don’t lose the remain-ing interest in the govern-ment and their methods.

Can politicians, whoalways claim to be the ‘servantsof people’, not make some sac-rifices for their motherland?Can’t they save their countryfrom sliding down furtherinto the morass of divisionism,ill-will and energy-drainingactivities, returning to co-operation in constructive andconsensual ways? However, isit possible to end the morassand bring back social trans-parency and accountabilitywithout morally educating themasses?

When news channelsshow that the new govern-ment will be building morehouses, creating opportunitiesfor employment in rural areas,making primary educationcompulsory, providing freedrinking water to the citizens,and making India a hunger-free nation in the next fiveyears and so on — the news iswelcomed by all. But onemust first question wherewould the money for theseschemes come from. Howwould these be funded? Also,even though in such casesmoney is usually raised bybroadening the tax-base,would it be possible to makethese benefits reachable tothe deprived masses? Thattoo, without delays or anykind of inefficiency from thebureaucracy, which has led toleakage of the funds. So is itreally possible?

We all wish that thesegoals should be achieved andthat the new governmentattains stability and success.But with a small note of cau-tion — without moral andspiritual cleansing, Swarajwould remain a far-off goal.

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Every week, on an appointed day,a steady stream of women withchildren in tow can be seen

making their way from Yavatmal’sBabhulgaon block towards the angan-wadi centre in Kopara, Maharashtra.As the women of this quiet rural ham-let gather around in the baithak (liv-ing room), the little ones get busyplaying games.

These mothers’ meets are anopportunity for young mothers andmothers-to-be to lean on each otherfor friendship and support. Together,they seek some sound advice onchildcare and indulge in creativeproblem-solving for the well-being oftheir offsprings.

Prabha Sudhkar Navade, angan-wadi worker, conducts the meetingand invites participants to speak oneby one. Gradually, it turns into a full-blown discussion on different aspectsof motherhood. “The meetings takeplace every week so that the womencan exchange notes on the healthproblems that their children face andcollectively offer some practical solu-tions to each other,” says she.

The unique feature of these gath-erings is that the groups have beenformed on the basis of children’s age.For example, expectant women gath-er on the first Saturday of everymonth, mothers of toddlers come onthe third Saturday and so on. “Thisapproach enables them to easilyshare their experiences since theirchildren are going through similarmilestones and difficulties. Very

often they find solutions amongstthemselves by tapping into collectivewisdom,” reveals Navade.

This, indeed, is a sustainableand participatory initiative that notonly helps in building the confidenceof the women but also enables themto safeguard the health of their littleones. For expert opinion and assis-tance, mothers can always reach outto the anganwadi worker or theAccredited Social Health Activist(ASHA).

During the Poshan Pakhwada cel-ebrations, held in March to mark thefirst anniversary of the PoshanAbhiyan, Navade had called a moth-ers’ meet to discuss nutrition, immu-

nisation and other key elements ofchildcare. The participating mothersdiscussed the varied and unpre-dictable food habits of their children.

Aparna, mother of Aditi GaneshMehekar, confessed that earlier shewas unaware that she should give veg-etables and fruits to her childreneveryday. She says, “Also, I had noidea how frequently growing childrenhad to be fed”. Aradhya SantoshPatil’s mother, Seema candidly toldeveryone, “Earlier, my daughter atevery little at home but now she haslearnt to eat everything in the com-pany of other children as they sharefood. Now she also asks me to cooka variety of vegetables.”

Navade is really proud that themothers associated with anganwadihave understood the value of holis-tic, healthy living and achieving all-round growth for young ones.

An hour-and-a-half ’s drive away,in the neighbouring block of Digras,there is a village called Harsul. Theanganwadi worker and her assistantthere have found a unique way toensure that the children are excitedto come to the centre. The healthworkers have transformed the off-white cloth bag, which was used toprovide families with fortified TakeHome Ration (THR), into a craft bagfor the children. Each bag displaystheir I-card and this creates a sense

of ownership among children. It alsoenables friendly competition amongthem. When they come for classes,they take out time to draw, colour ormake something from rough paperand crayons that they have broughtfrom home. When it’s time for themto go back, they neatly put their cre-ations back into their bags.

When the children come alongwith their mothers for weekly meet-ings at the centre or for some specialprogrammes, the anganwadi-tai asksthem to show off their art work. Suchdisplay of talent encourages them tolearn and grow. Not surprisingly, themothers can’t stop gushing.

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It is said that life is all aboutlearning and expanding your

horizons. Business writer TomPeters once said, “A career is aportfolio of projects that teach-es you new skills, gains you newexpertise, develops new capabil-ities, grows your colleague setand constantly reinvents your-self as a brand.” While all thesewords of wisdom define thedepth of learning, simultane-ously there is the debatewhether education ever stops orit continues throughout life.

Our entire life is a learningexperience that never ends.From classroom lectures toreal-life experiences, it is acombination of everything thatdefines your existence. In thecurrent scenario, it is an on-going process where an individ-ual acquires skills and compe-tence in the formal and non-formal learning set-up through-out his life. Today, education isa highly time-dependent andcumulative process thatrequires you to move slowlyand go deeper to make the bestof it.

According to scholars, edu-cation or learning is a part oflife, which takes place at alltimes in all places. The lifelongprocess begins at home withfamily and friends and gradu-ally moves to society, commu-

nities, schools, religious institu-tions and workplaces. The bestpart of this ongoing process isthat you evolve as a betterindividual, who understandsthe deeper meaning of life andexistence. Also, through contin-uous learning one can becomea ‘provider’ rather than justbeing a ‘receiver’. It has beenproven that learning helps indeveloping the business-ori-ented mindset that can result inmaking you a ‘job provider’. Itenhances the understanding ofthe world around us, provide uswith better opportunities andimproves the quality of life.

Master It Faster by ColinRose has described the sixstages of learning that arebelieved to be the key tobecome an effective learner.These stages can be applied toany type of learning, eitherformal or informal. The firststage in this process is ‘motiva-

tion’. It is believed that it isessential for an individual tohave this so that the learningreflects in his personality.Forceful learning is always in

vain. The next stage is called‘acquire’. During effective learn-ing, you are required to read,listen, observe, practice, exper-iment and experience. The

trick is to acquire relevant andmeaningful information anddevelop this into knowledgeand skills. The next stage isdescribed as ‘search’. At thisstage, one needs to search forpersonal meaning in the infor-mation s/he is acquiring. Itoften happens that we find ithard to remember facts withoutunderstanding them or beingable to put them into context.Next comes, the stage of ‘trig-ger’. It is the time when youneed to make notes of every-thing you learn as it is difficultto remember everything. Youneed to examine your knowl-edge to help reinforce what youhave learned. And finally, oneneeds to reflect on the learning.It is necessary to think abouthow and why you learned,including how you felt about aparticular topic or situation.That is how you develop andevolve your skills.

If you are wondering whyit is important, you need tounderstand that it’s also aboutpassion and satisfaction that itoffers. When you are passion-ate about learning, it gives youa kick and an incomparablesense of satisfaction. Also, itskills up your functionality asan individual. From learning anew process at work to using anew app, it is a new world ofknowledge every day thatmakes you an efficient individ-ual. It has been proven thatlearning is becoming an eco-nomic imperative. A technolog-ical change demands strongerand continuous connectionbetween education and employ-ment. And that’s the reasonpeople in the corporate sectorare always striving to learnmore in order to improve theirexistence.

Apart from all this, learn-ing also adds value to your dailylife. It makes it more practical,helps you handle everything —right from home to office andfrom society to nature. In sim-ple words, it makes you an assetto the world. So are you readyto be a part of the process thathas no end?

(The author is the manag-ing director of a companyengaged in bridging the educa-tion gap.)

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From far, it looks like anordinary bird as it moves itsspindly legs to roam around

the grassland in search of a mate.But what makes this Great IndianBustard (GIB) unusual is that thisis the last male left in Gujarat.While some might despair at thenews, others take heart at the birthof an artificially hatched chick inJaisalmer, Rajasthan.

The GIB that lost the battle tobe crowned the national bird ofIndia is fighting another battle,this time around for survival.However, it is not alone as thedecline in bird and animal specieshas been catastrophic as over thelast 100 years more than 500species have been lost instead ofthe nine that would have beenexpected at natural rates.

With less than 130 left in thecountry, the Centre has decided tostep in and has initiated a projectworth �33.85 crore for their con-servation and protection, accord-ing to the Environment Ministry.

India is spending �100 croresover five years to bring fourspecies back from the brink ofextinction. They are the GreatIndian Bustard, the GangeticDolphin, the Manipur Deer andthe sea cow or Dugong. Almost athird of the money under theSpecies Recovery Programme isgoing towards the conservation ofthe GIB, the state bird ofRajasthan.

Arjun Awasthi, project asso-ciate of The Great Indian BustardConservation, Breeding andHabitat Project, Wildlife Instituteof India says, “Power line colli-sions are the biggest issue. Thepower agencies need to install birddiverters. These devices makethe power lines 70 per cent morevisible to the birds and havereduced collisions in Europe andSouth Africa. Other threats to thebustard include loss of their grass-land habitat, predation of theireggs by stray dogs and, in someparts, illegal hunting. My job, assomeone who has worked close-ly with other species of bustardsand other wild birds, is to facili-tate the captive breeding of thebirds and to ensure they have asafe, healthy and enriching envi-ronment to grow in.”

However, the Indian govern-

ment is steadfastly developing aconservation-breeding pro-gramme to improve these num-bers. “This involves radio taggingbustard females, figuring out theirnesting sites, collecting eggs sothat we have one chick in captiv-ity and another in the wild andsetting up a natural breedingpopulation in a captive environ-ment. All of this, with the hope torestore their natural habitat so thatthey can be released in the wild inthe future,” adds Arjun, who hasbeen working on this project forthe last two years in Rajasthan.“The programme has seen successmainly in Jaisalmer. Our effortsare not only focussed on theex-situ (captive breeding)component but there isalso a significant push forthe in-situ (on site; bustardhabitat) conservation.”However, just captive breedingto push up the numbers is notthe end of the process. Arjunhighlights that “the first stepin this whole process is com-pleted but the ultimate goal isto release these birds into placeswhere they can live, safely.” As

always happens in any conserva-tion programme, the attempt is toinvolve people and sensitise them,which is a long drawn process.The issue has also been highlight-ed at WWF.

Asad Rahmani, former direc-tor of Bombay Natural HistorySociety and former chair-man, Department ofWildlife Sciences says,“We shouldn’t be negativeabout the future of the GIB.The Wildlife Institute,Dehradun, has done a com-mendable job. For the last 30 to

40 years, things haven’t gone welland we are now left with very fewbirds but the first step of the con-servation programme inRajasthan has been successful.After breeding them in captivity,we would want to safely releasethem into the wild, in the future.We basically need to have a breed-

ing stock.” He goes on to

add, “These birdscross the border andfly to Pakistan where

they are hunted andpeople proudly post pic-tures of themselves with

the bird as trophies onsocial media platforms.” Ask

him whether people areaware about how serious the

issue is, he says, “The need of thehour is sensitising the new gener-ation to the concern as well.”

There is a larger issue involvedas well which are related to howhuman beings are overtaking theplanet and changing its demo-graphics. Jai Dhar Gupta, environ-mentalist and founder of NirvanaBeing, says, “Threats to mostspecies are caused because of loss

of habitat, which is due to landgrab in the country. Even theinsects that the bustard eats arepoisonous because of the pesti-cides in them. All our environ-ment-related issues are caused bygreed. People like to grab every bitof land available and this isdestroying our eco systems, com-pletely.” A good example of this,he says, was people wanting tobuild a highway through theAravali Hills, which he termed“crazy”. “Everything, from the airpollution to the loss of habitat inthe country is harming our envi-ronment. The bustard almostbecoming extinct, is a visibleexample of the harm being causedand we have literally reached astate of emergency” he conclud-ed. The plan is to successfullycomplete the conservation pro-gramme for the GIB so it is out ofthe danger zone. While theprocess will take some time beforewe can see results, a more holis-tic approach to conserving allcreatures big and small is neededrather than the belief of the sur-vival of the fittest.

If you post a photo onInstagram and no one likes it,

did you really post it? In arecent research, Instagram isexpanding a test to hide howmany “likes” people’s postsreceive as it tries to combat crit-icism that such counts hurtmental health and make peoplefeel bad when comparing them-selves to others.

The Facebook-ownedphoto-sharing service has beenrunning the test in Canadasince May. Now, Facebook saidthe test has been expanded tomany countries. Facebook typ-ically tests new Facebook andInstagram features in smallermarkets before bringing themto the US, if it ever does. Thecompany would not commenton what it’s learned from theCanada test or if it has plans toexpand it to the US any timesoon.

One group that may beaffected from Instagram “influ-encers,” the major, minor ormicro celebrities who use socialmedia to market products andotherwise influence theirhordes of followers. People canstill see how many people liked

their own photos but won’t seecounts for other people’s posts.Rather, they could tap to see alist of all the accounts that likedthe other posts but would haveto count the total manually. It’sa task few people would both-er with. Likewise, though

Instagram isn’t hiding the num-ber of followers on an account,it still requires an extra tap ortwo to find that.

“It makes it hard to findwho the influencers are,” saidRyan Hilton, a 27-year oldCanadian who works in social

media and has been part of theno-likes test for months. “It’shard to know who to followbecause everyone looks thesame.”

Hilton, who has a person-al account as well as one for hisdog, the latter with more than

3,200 followers, added that heunderstands why Instagram isdoing this. Hilton said hisyounger sister, who is in highschool, is “obsessed” with likes.

“It’s mostly for the youngergeneration, people in highschool and stuff,” he said.“There is a lot of pressure. Ifsomeone has 1,000 likes andsomeone has two likes, thatprobably makes them feel notvery nice.”

While Hilton said thechange will probably slow downthe influencer world a little bit,he pointed out that a lot ofyoung influencers now areusing live videos, not static pho-tos, to build their following.Here, likes are still visible.

Guy Avigdor, co-founderand chief operating officer ofinfluencer marketing companyKlear, said many marketers arealso moving toward Story,Instagram’s disappearing videoand photo feature.

“If anything, now is a timefor the industry to adapt moreadequate metrics for measuringinfluencer impact and reducereliance on likes,” Avigdor said.

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The series presents an irreverenttake on what happens when

superheroes, as popular as celebrities,as influential as politicians and asrevered as gods, abuse their super-powers rather than utilising them todo good. The story plots the super

powerful against the powerless as the‘boys’ embark on a heroic quest toexpose the truth about The Seven, and their formidablebacking.

The sci-fi releases on July 26 onAmazon Prime.

After a massive alienartifact lands on the

Earth, Niko Breckinridgeleads an interstellar mis-sion to track down itssource and make firstcontact.

Created by AaronMartin, the series starsKatee Sackhoff, JustinChatwin, SamuelAnderson. It will releaseon July 25 on Netflix.

You may have been born rich or havean illustrious and a wealthy family

legacy but in order to be successful andcreate a unique reputation, you needvision and hardwork, or so believesentrepreneur and philanthropist PriyaJain, who has been listed in the 50 mostinfluential women in India. “In order toattain personal success, you need to setyour own goal, pave your own path,believe in yourself and think through athousand times before taking any deci-sion. And once you have begun your jour-ney, never look back,” said she.

Giver her belief, it was not surprisingthat Priya was one of the 50 women whowere felicitated for being the most influ-

ential Indian women world-wide. These women call coun-

tries like Britain, India,Spain, America, Scotlandtheir home where they

have made a mark intheir own fields.

At the award cere-mony at the House ofLords, BritishParliament, Priya ded-icated her success andaward to her latefather DK Jain, whois considered to be apioneer in the fieldof education.

She added,“Prime MinisterNarendar Modi’snew theorySabka Saath,

Sabka Vikas,Sabka Vishwas (com-pany of all, develop-ment of all and trustof all) has beenguiding the worldleaders. His welfare

measures forMuslims, especially for women

are unparallel in the history of India. Hisvision to create a new India has had aneverlasting impact on me. Also, schemessuch as Ujjwala Yojana, SwachhShauchalya, Mudra Yojana and SkillIndia have changed the mindset of somany people in the country, and especial-ly women.”

The entrepreneur revealed that one ofher major ongoing projects is a bookabout Narendra Modi. She said, “Thebook will not portray his life events andpolitical activities rather, it will be a doc-umented work. It aims to present theviews of beneficiaries of different pro-grammes announced by the PM.”

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Starring AngelaBassett, Patricia Arquetteand Felicity Huffman, thefilm releases on August 2on Netflix.

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Harry Kane scored a stunning 93rd minute win-ner from the halfway line as Tottenham

Hotspur edged Juventus 3-2 in an entertaining pre-season friendly in Singapore on Sunday.

The England captain latched onto Lucas Moura’sshort pass and launched a first-time shot high overa scrambling substitute keeper Wojciech Szczesnyas Spurs rallied past new manager Maurizio Sarri’sItalian champions in front of a delighted NationalStadium crowd.

“It’s probably one of the best goals of my career.I noticed thekeeper wasoften off of hisline andthought if I geta chance toshoot I will andit just went in,”Kane said in ap o s t - m a t c hinterview.

A youthfulSpurs domi-nated the firsthalf as Juventusstruggled toadapt to theirnew coach’s“S a r r i - b a l l ”tactic of play-ing out fromthe back withshort, quickpasses.

Instead ofmoving the ballforward, Juventus often found themselves defend-ing desperately after being caught in possession asSpurs pressed high up the pitch with the PremierLeague side going on to take a deserved lead on thehalf-hour mark.

Son Heung-min started the move by holding upplay and feeding Troy Parrott for a clear run atGianluigi Buffon in the Juventus goal, with the 17-year-old forward’s low strike parried by the veter-an keeper straight into the path of an unmarked ErikLamela for a routine tap-in.

“It was a very good game, very competitive. Tobe honest, we are still short in our preparations andI wasn’t planning to play this way so early in the pre-season ... We were still hoping to give some play-ers more rest after a long campaign,” Spurs manag-er Mauricio Pochettino said.

“The result was not the most important thingtoday, the performance was and how we continueour preparations for the upcoming season.”

Juventus had more success after the break whenthey increased their tempo and went more direct,and halftime substitute Gonzalo Higuain levelled thescore in the 56th minute with a drilled strike afterexchanging neat passes with Federico Bernardeschi.

Buoyed by the equaliser, Juventus were soonahead when Cristiano Ronaldo arrived late to drivehome Mattia De Sciglio’s cutback four minutes later,leaving to rapturous applause by an adoring crowdwhen he was substituted immediately after scoring.

Spurs were level in the 65th minute, however,when Champions League semi-final hero Lucas firedhome record signing Tanguy Ndombele’s low cross,the French midfielder finding the Brazilian with hisfirst touch after coming on as a substitute.

Kane and Higuain both squandered goodchances to score winning goals in the final 10 min-utes before the England striker prevented the con-test going to a penalty shootout with the most bril-liant of strikes.

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India added another goldenchapter to the 21st

Commonwealth Table TennisChampionships when its mixeddoubles pair of G Sathiyan andArchana Kamath defeatedSingapore’s Peng Yu En Koen-Goi Rui Xuan 3-0 in the finalhere on Sunday.

The Gold count, on thepenultimate day of the champi-onships, stood at three.

This had, in a way, avengedthe earlier loss of A SharathKamal and Sreeja Akula in thesemifinal by the sameSingaporean pair as well as thedefeat of Sharath in men’s sin-gles quarterfinals by Peng.

The Indian pair was on topin the final as they piled on theagony of their rivals, particular-ly on a tired Peng who could notcope with the pressure appliedby the top-seeded duo.

But the second-seededSharath Kamal squanderedthree match points and then thequarterfinal match, shatteringhis men singles medal hope.Though Sharath failed to go pastthe semifinals in mixed doubles,he would definitely rue the sin-

gles loss to the younger legs ofPeng in the quarters.

The other Indians thatmade the grade included top-seeded G Sathiyan, who beatNigerian Bode Abiodun 4-0and Harmeet Desai whoaccounted for fellow IndianSushmit Sriram 4-1. Sanil Shetty

joined Sharath when he wentdown to England’s ThomasJarvis 1-4.

Earlier, the top-seeded HoTin-Tin of England beat theunseeded Archana Kamath, thereigning national champion, 4-1 to enter the women’s singlessemifinals.

But the second-seededMadhurika Patkar and fourthseed Ayhika Mukerjee easily fol-lowed the English woman in thelast-four stages while in amarathon battle, Sreeja Akuladefeated Sutirtha Mukherjee 4-2 even as Madhurika downedKrittiwika Sinha Roy 4-1 and

Ayhika beat Mousumi Paul instraight games.

Archana, who played welluntil this point, was unable tofind her feet against the attack-ing Ho who cashed in on sev-eral unforced errors committedby the Indian. After losing thefirst game, the Bengaluru girlcame back to level 1-1 but losther rhythm from there to losetamely.

Madhurika had a goodmeasure of Krittwika, thenational runner-up and despitelosing a game she punishedher rival when the opportunitiespresented themselves.

Indeed, Krittiwika had aslight advantage in the fourthgame but lost it 10-12 and thenthe steam. However, for Ayhikait was rather easy as Mousumicould not cope with her rival'squick returns and excellentplacements.

Two extended games musthave sapped the energy of bothSreeja and Sutirtha but the for-mer held her nerves despitesquandering five match-points

to romp home winners.The scratch pair of Sharath

Kamal and Sreeja Akula, in theabsence of Manika Batra, hadlittle problem up to the semifi-nals. But once there, the mis-match became more palpablewhen the Indian duo took onSingapore’s Yu En Koen Pangand Rui Xuan Goi, who playtogether more regularly.

In men’s doubles, twoIndian pairs — Sharath andSathiyan and Anthony Amalrajand Manav Thakkar — made itto the semifinals while the twoother pairs that will challengethe Indian domination will bePang Yu En and Chua Shao Hanfrom Singapore and the Englishduo of Samuel Walker andThomas Jarvis, respectively, onMonday.

In women’s doubles, PoojaSahasrabudhe and KrittiwikaSingha Roy, Sreeja Akula andMousumi Paul and SutirthaMukherjee and AyhikaMukherjee entered the semifi-nal while the fourth pair, top-seeded Madhurika Patkar andArchana Kamath went down toSingapore’s Goi Rui Xuan andWon Xin Ru 2-3 (5-11, 8-11, 11-8, 11-7, 9-11).

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PV Sindhu’s hopes of breaking aseven-month title drought camecrashing down as the Indian lost in

straight games to Akane Yamaguchi in thefinals of Indonesia Open BWF Tour Super1000 tournament here on Sunday.

Seven months after becoming thefirst Indian to win the season-ending BWFWorld Tour Finals in December, OlympicSilver medallist Sindhu had an opportu-nity to finally lay her hands on anothercrown only to squander, losing 15-21, 16-21 to the Japanese in a lop-sided summitclash that lasted 51 minutes here.

Playing her first final of the season,Sindhu looked a bit anxious and failed tomatch the brilliance of the 22-year-oldYamaguchi, whom she had beaten in thelast four meetings.

“She played really well and there werelong rallies. I was leading in the first gameby 2-3 points but I made a few mistakesand then she finished it off. If I could havewon the first game, it could have been abit different,” Sindhu told reporters.

“In the second I gave her a huge leadlike 5-6 points and was left to cover it. Butoverall, I think it was a good tournamentfor me and I hope I can take the confidencegoing forward. Next I am playing Japanand I hope to do well there.”

This was Sindhu’s fifth loss toYamaguchi in 15 meetings. The last timethe Indian lost to the Japanese was at thesemifinals of the All EnglandChampionship last year.

The defeat added to Sindhu’s list ofrunners-up finishes, which include Silversat the World Championships, AsianGames, Commonwealth Games, ThailandOpen and India Open last year.

It was Yamaguchi’s third title of theseason after claiming crowns at GermanOpen and Asian Championship.

Prior to this in 2019, Sindhu reachedthe semifinals of Singapore Open and IndiaOpen.

Sindhu had a forgettable start in the

opening game as she lagged 0-3 but soonthe Indian controlled the proceedings,making Yamaguchi run across the courtand finishing with her precise returns totake a 5-4 lead.

Yamaguchi took the lead at 7-7 whenSindhu went wide. But the Indian managedto grab a three-point advantage at the break

after the Japanese went wide twice.Yamaguchi then displayed good

retrieval skills and grabbed three straightpoints when Sindhu miscued her strokes.

A delicate net short took Yamaguchito 12-13 but she again missed the line. TheJapanese levelled par at 14-14 when theIndian went long.

Yamaguchi attacked Sindhu’s longbackhand corner and soon eked out a 16-14 lead. An attacking game helped theJapanese to widen the gap as Sindhu onceagain sent a shuttle wide.

A lapse in backhand defence and thenone shot going long from Sindhu gaveYamaguchi six game points. The Indian

saved one before a smash to a return ofserve helped the Japanese to seal the open-ing game.

In the second game, Yamaguchi madea good start again, moving to a 4-1 leadbefore stretching it to 8-5 with Sindhustruggling to control the shuttle. TheIndian won a few points because ofunforced errors by Yamaguchi.

The Japanese sent one at Sindhu’s bodyduring a flat exchange before entering theinterval with a 11-8 advantage, when theIndian hit out.

Sindhu unleashed a cross court smashand pushed one at the backcourt to leaveYamaguchi off balance, but the Japaneserode on the Indian’s unforced errors tomove to a 15-10 lead.

At 15-11, the duo played a 51-shot rallythat ended with Sindhu making a judge-ment error.

Two unforced errors by Yamaguchitook Sindhu to 13-16 before she moved to15-18. After a treatment on her right knee,Yamaguchi was back on the court and pro-duced a smash to make it 19-15.

The Japanese held four match pointswhen Sindhu went long and she sealed itwith another smash to claim the biggesttitle of her career.

�� )��

Bayern Munich spoiledEden Hazard’s Real

Madrid debut, downing theSpanish giants 3-1 in afriendly in Houston onSaturday despite goalkeep-er Sven Ulreich’s sending off.

Corentin Tolisso,Robert Lewandowski andSerge Gnabry had givenBundesliga championsBayern a comfortable 3-0lead before recent RealMadrid signing Rodrygograbbed a consolation goalwith a brilliant free kick.

That followed Ulreich’sdeparture in the 81st for afoul on Brazilian teenRodrygo outside the area.

Rodrygo, Luka Jovicand Ferland Mendy allmade their debuts forrebuilding Real Madrid —all coming on at halftime asZinedine Zidane changedhis entire side.

Hazard’s first outing ina Madrid jersey since hishigh-priced move fromChelsea had dominated theheadlines.

But despite getting astarting nod he made little

impact at the NRG Stadium— home of the NFL’sHouston Texans, where theEuropean giants producedplenty of lively end-to-endaction from the kickoff.

It needed a stellar dis-play from Bayern goalkeep-er Manuel Neuer to keepReal Madrid at bay.

Bayern led at the inter-val thanks to Tolisso’s 15th-minute strike.

Thomas Muller freedKingsley Coman whosecross made it to Tolisso —who was denied by Real

Madrid keeper ThibautCourtois on his first attemptbut slotted home therebound.

Down a goal with half-time approaching RealMadrid poured it on.

Karim Benzema let agolden chance go begging inthe 43rd, meeting a crossfrom Isco but knocking hiseffort wide.

Neuer came up withanother impressive save inthe 45th, diving to his rightto grab Luka Modric’s effortfrom 10 yards out of the air.

Courtois fended off ablast from Coman in first-half injury time to keepBayern from stretching theiradvantage before the break.

While Real Madridapplied plenty of pressure,Hazard was circumspect,often opting to pass off to hisnew teammates.

The closest the 28-yearold Belgian came to his firstReal Madrid goal was in the39th minute, when he foundspace on the left and bent ashot toward the far post onlyfor Neuer to punch it away.

Zidane’s wholesalechanges at the interval didnothing to further RealMadrid’s cause, even thoughthey controlled possessionearly in the second half.

Lewandowski doubledBayern’s lead in the 67thcontrolling a high ball fromNiklas Sule, turning andfiring into the bottom cor-ner.

Two minutes laterMadrid gave the ball awaydeep in their own end andan unmarked Gnabry wasable to control the ball andfire past Keylor Navas ingoal.

�� )��

Gareth Bale’s agent has branded RealMadrid boss Zinedine Zidane a “dis-

grace” after the Frenchman revealed that theLa Liga giants were ready to offload the Walesstar in a matter of days.

Zidane left Bale out of the Real squad forSaturday’s 3-1 exhibition loss to BayernMunich, and after the match he revealed hehad been dropped because the club were“working on his departure”, adding that hehoped it happens soon, “for everyone’ssake”.

“Zidane is a disgrace, he shows no respectfor a player that has done so much for RealMadrid,” Bale’s agent Jonathan Barnett said.

Asked whether Bale is close to leavingMadrid, Barnett added: “We are working onit”.

After Zidane’s reappointment, Baleplayed 90 minutes in just three of theremaining 11 matches, was left out complete-ly four times and frequently substituted whenhe did play.

He was denied a chance to say goodbyeat the end of last season when he was left onthe bench in a 2-0 loss to Real Betis that sawZidane’s side submerged with boos and whis-tles.

However Zidane insists that his treat-ment of the 30-year-old forward “is nothingpersonal”, even though Bale would be wel-come at some of Europe’s biggest clubs.

“There comes a time when things aredone because they need to be done,” Zidaneadded after the Bayern defeat.

“I’ve not got anything against him. Wehave to make decisions and change things,that’s all there is to it.

“I don’t know if this will happen in 24or 48 hours’ time. The situation will changeand it’s for the best for everyone.”

Bale joined Real Madrid to much fan-fare, a blockbuster transfer fee and a big salarythat may prove to be an obstacle for all butthe richest teams.

He has three seasons left on his deal andhas been linked to Tottenham, ManchesterUnited and Bayern.

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India set up a quarter-final clash withIndonesia despite losing their last

group match to Korea at the BadmintonAsia Junior Championships 2019(Mixed Team Event) in Suzhou, Chinaon Sunday.

Maisnam Meiraba’s great effortwas the silver lining of the day for theIndian contingent in their 1-4 loss butby finishing second to Korea in GroupC, they made it to the last-eight.

On the first day of the continentalevent, India blanked both Mongolia andMacau China by an identical score of5-0.

Manipur’s Meiraba had been insterling form of late and he even wonhis first international tournament at theWhite Night Russian JuniorInternational earlier this month.Meiraba refused to give up and foughtfor 1 hour 32 minutes to subdue Korea’sHyeon Seung Park.

While that was the solitary win ofthe day for Team India, there wereencouraging performances from others.The doubles teams, especially, stood outfor their gutsy displays in a losing cause.

The mixed doubles pair of DingkuSingh Konthoujam and Ritika Thakerfought for 56 minutes before goingdown 21-19, 12-21, 12-21 to Dong JuKi and Eun Ji Lee. Goa’s Tanisha Crastoand Kerala’s Treesa Jolly were equallyimpressive in their 16-21, 21-16, 12-21girls’ doubles loss to Young Bin Ji andEun Ji Lee.

The boys’ doubles combine ofIshaan Bhatnagar and Vishnu VardhanGoud Panjala found Korea’s Dong Ju Kiand Joon Young Kim too strong in their17-21, 15-21 defeat. In girls’ singles,Malvika Bansod suffered a 10-21, 8-21defeat to Ga Lam Kim.

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Opener Shikhar Dhawan on Sundayreturned to India’s limited overssquad after recovering from a

thumb injury while Rishabh Pant waspicked in all three formats for the WestIndies tour as the selectors braced up forlife beyond Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

Former India captain Dhoni, who isat the business end of his illustriouscareer, has made himself “unavailable” forthe West Indies tour but ruled out imme-diate retirement.

Speculations over Captain Virat Kohlibeing rested for the tour were put to restas the batting mainstay will lead Indiaacross formats.

Rookie leg-spinner Rahul Chaharemerged as the lone new face across threeformats for the upcoming overseas assign-ments, while all-rounder Hardik Pandyahas been rested for the tour. Also com-ing back into the ODI squad are ShreyasIyer and Manish Pandey.

Promising batsman Shubman Gill,though, missed out on selection.

The squads for the T20, ODI and Testseries were announced by the MSKPrasad-led selection committee.

A notable inclusion was veterankeeper-batsman Wriddhiman Saha, whois back in the Test squad after undergo-ing a shoulder surgery for an injury, sus-tained during the 2018 IPL.

Saha last played a Test match in SouthAfrica in January 2018.

Rajasthan leg-spinner Chahar has

been rewarded for his consistent show inthe IPL and domestic cricket with a berthin the Twenty20 squad. He is the youngercousin of seamer Deepak, who is also inthe T20 squad.

From the World Cup squad, theprominent player to be dropped is DineshKarthik, while Hardik and Jasprit Bumrahhave been rested as a part of the board’sworkload management programme.

Bumrah, though, is part of the Testsquad.

Quite a few of the players werepicked based on their performance forIndia A recently.

“We have taken India A perfor-mances into consideration. In the longerformat, KS Bharat was very, very close toget selected. We have an unwritten normthat when an established cricketer isinjured, he should get a comeback oppor-tunity. That’s what we have given to Saha,”chief selector Prasad said.

Pant, who was included in India’sWorld Cup campaign after VijayShankar’s toe injury, has been named inthe squad across all three formats.

Dhawan, whose World Cup journeywas cut short due to a thumb fractureduring the second group game againstAustralia, has been declared fit.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar will spearhead

the attack in the shortest format withMohammed Shami joining him for thethree ODIs. Dehli pacer Navdeep Sainihas been included in the limited oversside while Deepak Chahar was picked forthe T20Is.

The selection panel also went for left-arm pacer Khaleel Ahmed for the limit-ed overs leg.

“Rishabh, Wriddhiman and K SBharat are some of the players we will belooking ahead for Test cricket.”

“We had certain plans for the WorldCup but after that we have to give oppor-tunities to youngsters who will go on toplay for long,” Prasad said of the theyoung faces in the limited overs squads.

The young Prithvi Shaw was not partof the squad as he is recovering from aninjury.

The tour will kick off with a three-match Twenty20 series (August 3, 4, 6)and will be followed by a three-matchODI series (August 8, 11, 14). The tourwill conclude with a two-Test series(August 22-26 and August 30- September3).

�B��(�T20Is: Virat Kohli (captain), RohitSharma (vc), Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul,Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, RishabhPant (wk), Krunal Pandya, RavindraJadeja, Washington Sundar, RahulChahar, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, KhaleelAhmed, Deepak Chahar, Navdeep SainiODIs: Virat Kohli (Captain), RohitSharma (vc), Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul,Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, RishabhPant (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, KuldeepYadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kedar Jadhav,Mohammed Shami, Bhuvneshwar Kumar,Khaleel Ahmed, Navdeep SainiTESTS: Virat Kohli (Captain), AjinkyaRahane (vc), Mayank Agarwal, KL Rahul,C Pujara, Hanuma Vihari, Rohit Sharma,Rishabh Pant (wk) Wriddhiman Saha(wk), R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, KuldeepYadav, Ishant Sharma, MohammedShami, Jasprit Bumrah, Umesh Yadav.

�� &*&7��

Ambati Rayudu’s sarcasm-laden‘3D tweet’ might have hastened

his international retirement butchairman of selectors MSK Prasaddefended the recently-retiredHyderabadi’s omission from theWorld Cup squad, asserting that hispanel cannot be accused of bias.

Prasad explained that MayankAgarwal was summoned as areplacement for injured VijayShankar instead of Rayudu becauseopener KL Rahul’s on-field injuryduring the England game hadprompted the team management toseek an opener as “cover”.

However Prasad’s logic ofAgarwal’s inclusion was far fromconvincing as Rahul played threegames (Bangaldesh, Sri Lanka andsemi-final) after that.

After being ignored, Rayuduhad posted a cryptic tweet, whichwas certainly directed at the selec-tion committee, which had termedShankar as a “three dimensionalplayer.

“Just Ordered a new set of 3dglasses to watch the world cup,” hetweeted and was widely believed tobe the reason behind Rishabh Pantand Agarwal’s inclusion as replace-

ments.Rayudu announced his retire-

ment from all forms of cricket justdays after Agarwal’s selection.

“It was a lovely tweet. Verytimely one. I really enjoyed thetweet. It was fantastic. I don’t knowhow it struck him,” Prasad’s answerhad everyone laughing when askedabout Rayudu’s tweet.

However he wanted to clear theair that Rayudu couldn’t be includ-ed purely because of the permuta-tions and combinations and theselection committee didn’t resort toany favouritism.

When Agarwal came in, it wasmore about having a cover forRahul. In fact, he revealed that itwas team management asked for anopener in writing.

“At that juncture, a writtencommunication was given to us onthe back-up opener. We looked atsome of the openers working out oncertain permutations and combina-tions. Some were not in form, oth-ers were injured, so that’s when wewent to Mayank Agarwal. There is

no confusion on this and by the endof the day, all speculations shouldbe clear,” he further added.

But the chairman empathisedwith Rayudu.

“How much emotions any-body (Rayudu) has gone through,the the selection committee hasgone through the same emotions,”Prasad said.

“When we pick any player andhe does well, we feel so happy forhim. Similarly when somebodywho goes out in this way, the selec-tion committee also feels for it. Buthaving said that, with regards to thedecision taken, it has been com-pletely devoid of any bias or anyfavouritism into why we havepicked Vijay Shankar, Rishabh Pantor Mayank Agarwal also,” the for-mer stumper said in his commit-

tee’s defence.While Rayudu has every reason

to be aggrieved, Prasad remindedthat when he had failed a fitness testafter being picked on the basis ofhis T20 performances, his panelhad backed the Hyderabad man.

“I will give you a small exam-ple about Rayudu. When Rayuduwas picked, on the basis of 17-18T20s (2018 IPL performance), wepicked him in ODI side. There wasa lot of criticism but we had somethoughts about him subsequently.

“When he failed the fitness (YoYo) test (before England awayODIs), this selection committee

backed him and we put himthrough a fitness programme for amonth, ensured that he gets fit andcomes into the side.

“Once he came into the side,we backed him but due to certainpermutations and combinations inthe side, we couldn’t pick him,”Prasad reasoned why Rayudu wasoverlooked even after Shankar gotinjured.

But he made it clear that hiscommittee can’t be accused of“bias or favouritism”.

“That (Rayudu’s exclusion)doesn’t make the selection commit-tee or me biased about any partic-ular person. We know how emo-tional Rayudu is, we are also emo-tional. We as ex-cricketers, also feelfor him,” he said.

He explained how Pant andAgarwal came in as replacements.

“The team managementrequested for a left-hander and wehad no other choice than RishabhPant. We are very, very clear onthat. We know what he is capableof. That’s the reason we had tobring in a left-hander, which con-fused many people as to why amiddle-order batsman has beenselected in place of an opener,” hesaid.

�� &*&7��

Retirement is solely Mahendra SinghDhoni’s prerogative but chairman of

selectors MSK Prasad on Sunday clear-ly stated that young Rishabh Pant will be“groomed” as India’s first choice keeperacross formats in the coming days.

Dhoni has not announced his retire-ment from international cricket amidwidespread speculations but has madehimself unavailable for the next twomonths as he will be serving his regimentin paramilitary forces.

Without divulging much on two-time World Cup winning captain’s futureplans, Prasad said that a legend likeDhoni knows when to retire but thefuture course of Indian cricket will becharted by the selectors.

“Retirement is purely individual(decision). A legendary cricketer likeDhoni, he knows when to retire. Whatis the future course of action, that is inthe hands of the selection committee. Idon’t think we need to discuss anythingmore on it. First of all he is not available.Second, we have already started groom-ing youngsters,” Prasad said at the mediaconference.

The former India Test keeper wantsPant to get as many opportunities as hegets ready to fill in the big shoes of Dhoniin the coming days.

“He (Dhoni) is unavailable for theseries. He has expressed his unavailabil-ity. Having said that we had a certainroadmap and plans till the World Cup.Post World Cup, we have laid down a fewmore plans and we thought of giving asmany opportunities as possible toRishabh Pant and and to see, he isgroomed. That is our plan right now andwe did discuss this with him (Dhoni),”said Prasad.

Pant was already the number onechoice in Tests and now with uncertain-ty over Dhoni’s future, he has become thepreferred choice in all three formats.

The 21-year-old is a powerhouse oftalent but at times, his shot selection incrucial moments have been questionedincluding in India’s World Cup semfinalloss to New Zealand.

However, Prasad praised Pant for hisinnings of 32 against the Black Caps afterIndia lost three wickets for five runschasing 240.

“He played well. Especially in thoseconditions, he batted really well,” headded.

�� (��&7�

It indeed was a judgementerror to award six runs to

England from an overthrow inthe World Cup final admittedumpire Kumar Dharmasenabut the Sri Lankan will never“regret” the decision.

Dharamsena had signalledto add six runs to England’stotal, instead of five, whenMartin Guptill’s throw fromthe deep raced to the boundaryropes after being deflected of adiving Ben Stokes’ bat.

The match was stretched toa Super Over which alsoremained inconclusive andeventually hosts England weredeclared champions on betterboundary count, leaving NewZealand players in disbelief.

“It’s easy for people to com-ment after seeing TV replays,”Dharmasena told SundayTimes.

“I agree that there was ajudgment error when I see it onTV replays now. But we did nothave the luxury of TV replaysat the ground and I will neverregret the decision I made.Besides, the ICC praised me forthe decision I made at thattime.”

The TV replays showedthat Adil Rashid and Stokes hadnot completed the second run

when Guptill released the ballfrom the deep.

Dharmasena, who wasstanding as head umpire, con-sulted leg umpire MaraisErasmus and added six runs tothe England total following theincident — four runs for theball reaching the boundaryplus two for running betweenthe wicket.

England needed nine fromthe final three balls. Thischanged to three off two balls.

The 48-year-old added thataccording to the law, there wasno provision to consult thethird umpire on the incident.

“There is no provision inthe law to refer this to the thirdumpire as no dismissal wasinvolved.” he said.

“So, I did consult the legumpire through the communi-cation system which is heard byall other umpires and the matchreferee. And, while they cannotcheck TV replays, they all con-firmed that the batsmen havecompleted the run. This is whenI made my decision.”

Former international

umpires Simon Taufel and KHariharan had also come outand said the officials standing inthe World Cup final erred byawarding six runs.

Law 19.8 of the ICC rules,pertaining to ‘Overthrow orwilful act of fielder’, states: “If theboundary results from an over-throw or from the wilful act ofa fielder, the runs scored shall beany runs for penalties awardedto either side, and the allowancefor the boundary, and the runscompleted by the batsmen,together with the run in progressif they had already crossed at theinstant of the throw or act.”

“One must understand thatthere were too many things onour plate. We had to watch thebatsmen complete the first run,the ball being fielded, how it washandled by the fielder andwhether the batsmen complet-ed the second run. And wherethe throw would come from, thestriker’s end or non-striker’send.”

“In this case, we were allhappy that the batsmen hadcompleted the second runbecause the ball ricocheted offStokes’s bat at the time of himcompleting the second run. So,we assumed that they hadcrossed each other at the time offielder releasing the ball,”Dharmasena said.

�� (��

Pakistan could have separatecaptains and head coaches

for Test and limited overs crick-et following its failure to qual-ify for the World Cup semifi-nals in England.

A well-placed source in thePakistan Cricket Board saidthat when the CricketCommittee meets later thismonth, a proposal to split thecaptaincy and coaching for thedifferent formats would be upfor discussion.

“Since Pakistan has to playeight Tests of the World TestChampionship against SriLanka, Australia, Bangladeshand England before the T20World Cup in Australia nextyear, the PCB is pretty con-cerned about how to improveperformance of the team inTests,” the source said.

Pakistan will be playingonly three ODIs but nine to 10T20s before the T20 Asia Cup

and T20 World Cup next year,prompting PCB to considerseparate captains and coachesfor red and white-ball cricket,”he said.

He said PCB ManagingDirector Wasim Khan metwith Wasim Akram, who is amember of the Cricket

Committee, in London earlierthis month. The former captainand fast bowler had advised theMD that the board shouldretain Sarfaraz and MickeyArthur for the limited overscricket until the T20 WorldCup.

“But the board is now con-

sidering the option of havingseparate captains and headcoaches for Test and limitedovers cricket with the supportstaff i.e., manager, bowlingcoach, batting coach, trainer,fielding coach, physiotherapistremaining the same for all for-mats.”

Pakistan is presently sixthin the ODI rankings and num-ber one in T20s but it is in Testcricket where Sarfaraz andArthur have failed to achieveanything notable in last twoand half years. The Test teamis languishing at number sevenin the ICC rankings having losthome series to Sri Lanka, NewZealand before being out-classed in South Africa.

The source said if theboard decides to split the redball and white ball captains andhead coach positions thansenior batsmen Asad Shafiqand Azhar Ali are likely to bethe top candidates for the cap-taincy.

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� Jadhav retained for ODIs, Kuldeep-Chahal left out of T20 squad

� Hardik Pandya rested, Bumrah tofeature only in Tests

� Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey con-sidered for No 4 spot

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England paceman Mark Woodhas set his sights on recover-

ing from injury in time to play arole in the Ashes againstAustralia.

Wood will be out for up tosix weeks after suffering a sidestrain during last Sunday’s WorldCup final. The 29-year-old won’t

play in next week’s one-off Testagainst Ireland at Lord’s or thefirst Test against Australia whenthe Ashes get under way onAugust 1.

But Durham star Wood stillhopes he can get back to full fit-ness in time for the last two Testsin the five-match series.

“I might make the last cou-ple (of Tests). It all depends on

selection,” Wood told BBC 5Live’s Sportsweek on Sunday.

“My side injury is four to sixweeks, so hopefully I’ll still playa part towards the end of the sea-son, but if not it’s been a fantas-tic summer so far for Englishcricket.

“There’s still plenty more togo and hopefully for me there’sstill a bit more cricket to play.”

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Documents

ˆ˘ ˆ˙˝˛˚ ˜ ˇ ˘ ˇ ! · The 978 crore mission, ... 1989 and 2017. The committee ... that struck Uttar Pradesh on Sunday. The maximum casualties Bundelkhand region where 13