16
C ongress president Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday made his resignation public through an emotional four- page letter that he put out on tweeter in which he took moral responsibility for the party’s rout in the Lok Sabha polls asserting that accountability is critical for the future growth of the party. “As president of the Congress party, I am responsi- ble for the loss of the 2019 elec- tion. Accountability is critical for the future growth of our party. It is for this reason that I have resigned as Congress president. Rebuilding the party requires hard decisions and numerous people will have to be made accountable for the failure of 2019. It would be unjust to hold others account- able but ignore my own respon- sibility as president of the party,” he said in the letter shared on his Twitter account. Signing off his letter, he said, “Thank you to the thou- sands of Indians, both at home and abroad, who have sent me letters and messages of support. I will, of course, continue to fight for the ideals of the Congress party with all my strength. I am available to the party whenever they require my services, input or advice. To those who support the Congress ideology, especially our dedicated and beloved karyakarta, I have absolute faith in our future and the utmost love for you.” While Rahul will officially continue to be the president of the party till his resignation is accepted by Congress Working Committee (CWC), there was speculation that veteran Moti Lal Vohra may be given inter- im charge till the process of electing a new party president is completed. Vora, 90, is cur- rently Congress general secre- tary in-charge of administra- tion. According to the Congress constitution, the party’s senior- most general secretary will take over as its interim chief in case of a resignation by the incumbent. In his letter, Rahul said it had been an honour to serve the party whose values and ideals have served as the lifeblood of this beautiful nation. “It is an honour for me to serve the Congress party, whose values and ideals have served as the lifeblood of our beautiful nation. I owe the country and my organisation a debt of tremendous gratitude and love. As president of the Congress, I am responsible for the loss of the 2019 election. Accountability is critical for the future growth of our party. It is for this reason that I have resigned as Congress presi- dent,” Rahul stated. Rahul said the Congress didn’t fight a political party in the 2019 election, rather it fought the entire machinery of the Indian state, every institu- tion of which was marshalled against the Opposition. Leading the grand old party in two general elec- tions, Rahul noted that he per- sonally fought Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the RSS and the institutions they have cap- tured. He further said this capture of power will result in “unimaginable levels of vio- lence and pain for India,” while alleging that the PM’s win does not negate the “breadth of corruption alle- gations against him”. Asserting that it was now crystal clear that India’s once cherished institutional neu- trality no longer existed, he said, “The stated objectives of the RSS, the capture of our country’s institutional struc- ture, is now complete. Our democracy has been funda- mentally weakened. There is a real danger that from now on, elections will go from being a determinant of India’s future to a mere ritual. “This capture of power will result in unimaginable levels of violence and pain for India. Farmers, unemployed youngsters, women, tribals, Dalits and minorities are going to suffer the most. The impact on our economy and nation’s reputation will be devastating. The Prime Minister’s win does not negate the breadth of corruption alle- gations against him; no amount of money and propa- ganda can ever hide the light of the truth.” Rahul urged the CWC to entrust a group of people with the task of finding a new president as it would not be proper for him to do so. C hief Minister Raghubar Das on Wednesday said that in last four and half years 546 new industrial units were brought to reality with an investment of Rs 70,961 crore in the State. These units, 120 of which have started working, will provide employment to 1.3 lakh people. The CM holding the review meeting of Industries and Mines and Geology departments, said here on Wednesday that 99 units of food processing will become functional in four months. Das said that the textile industry also is booming in Jharkhand. At least six garment manufacturing units have start- ed operating out of Jharkhand and they have provided employment to at least 9000 people, he added. “Deoghar will soon have a Plastic Park and Nirsa in Dhanbad will come up with a leather and footwear park,” he said. The Government, Das said, will encourage small industries in the rural areas in a bid to pro- mote entrepreneurship in the vil- lages of Jharkhand. This initia- tive, he said, will provide liveli- hood to the residents of rural areas and make them financial- ly self-reliant by giving a fillip to the rural economy. Besides, hor- ticulture, bee-keeping, handi- craft and honey production will also act as easy and effective mediums of economic growth in rural areas, Das added. “Jharkhand is among the top four states in the country in ease of doing business. The single window system and additional facilities provided to investors will boost investment in our state. The air cargo at Birsa Munda Airport in Ranchi will also make business easy for industrialists,” he said. After coming to power here in December 2014, the Raghubar Das-led NDA Government in Jharkhand has been taking initiatives to boost investment in the State with the mantra of development through business. The State organized its maiden Global Investors Summit, Momentum Jharkhand in 2016 and sealed investment deals worth over Rs.300 lakh crore. The Government also laid the red carpet for food industries and held a special Food Processing Investors’ Summit in 2015. In the past four years, the State has also held road shows across India and several other countries in a bid to lure investors to Jharkhand. Barhi block in Hazaribag will be the nodal point of the Amritsar-Kolkata Industrial Corridor, he said, adding that Adityapur will have an Electronic Manufacturing Cluster worth Rs.185 crore. Besides, Dumka will soon get a stone cluster and an agri- culture implement cluster, he added. “We will organize a Bamboo Artisan Conclave in Dumka in 2019 in a bid to encourage the local artisans. A Terracotta Training Centre will also be set up in Ramgarh and Dumka,” said Das. Several top bureaucrats of the State, including Development Commissioner Sukhdeo Singh, Additional Chief Secretary K K Khandelwal, Principal Secretary to Chief Minister, Sunil Kumar Barnwal and Industry Secretary K Ravi Kumar attended the meeting on Wednesday. I n its bid to give a major boost to farmers across the coun- try impacted by the delayed onset of the southwest mon- soon and scanty rainfall, the Modi Government has raised the minimum support price (MSP) of paddy, a key kharif crop, by 3.7 per cent from 1,750 to 1,815 per quintal for the 2019-20 crop season. The MSP for paddy (grade A) saw an increase of 65 per quintal. Paddy is the main kharif crop, the sowing of which begins with the onset of southwest monsoon. Despite a below-normal monsoon last year, there was a record rice output of 115.63 million tonne due to increased support price. This year too, the rice output is likely to be on the higher side. Due to delayed rains, the total area sown to kharif crops was down at 146.61 lakh hectares till last week as against last year’s 162.07 lakh hectare, as per Agriculture Ministry data. The MSP of tur (arhar), moong and urad pulses also have been raised by 125, 75 and 100, respectively, for the 2019-20 crop season. The MSP of arhar increased from 5,675 to 5,800 per quintal; moong from 6,975 to 7,050 per quin- tal and urad from 5,600 to 5,700 per quintal. The decision was taken at the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday which approved the hikes in MSP. The move will lead to increased investment and pro- duction through assured remu- nerative prices to the farmers. The increase in MSP for kharif crops is in line with the principle of fixing the MSPs at a level of at least 1.5 times of the all India weighted average cost of production which was announced in the Union Budget for 2018-19. After the CCEA meeting, Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said the monsoon has been delayed this year and it is worrisome for the farmers as well as the Government. “But according to the weather department’s forecast, the situ- ation would improve and the monsoon would be normal,” Tomar said. As per Cabinet decision, the minimum support price, which the Centre guarantees to pay to farmers, has also been raised in case of groundnut by 200 a quintal and soyabean by 311. In addition, medium cotton MSP has been raised by 105 quintal and long cotton MSP by 100 a quintal. The highest percentage return to farmers over their cost of pro- duction is for bajra (85 per cent) followed by urad (64 per cent) and tur (60 per cent). The MSP for jowar has been increased by 120 per quintal from 2,430 to 2,550, and ragi by 253 per quintal from 2,897 and 3,150. The move comes against the back- drop of the need to promote cultivation and consumption of nutri-cereals. Besides, India celebrated 2018 as the National Year of Millets and the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) Council has approved India’s proposal to observe an International Year of Millets in 2023. As many as 26 out of the total 36 subdivisions of the country are facing deficient rainfall, with the overall mon- soon deficit standing at 28 per cent. Rains have been below normal in West Uttar Pradesh and Haryana, where the deficit is more than 60 per cent. The country has so far received 138 mm rainfall against the normal of 191.6 mm. As on July 3, the monsoon is yet to cover Punjab, Haryana, and parts of Uttar Pradesh. Tomar said the Centre has increased the MSP of kharif crops for 2019-20 in line with the principle of fixing MSPs at a level which is at least 1.5 times the cost of production, which was announced last year. The MSP mechanism pro- vides a price guarantee to the farmers for their produce. This is implemented across the country as nearly 86 per cent farmers are in small and mar- ginal category. E nvironmental degradation by illegal and unregulated coal mining has taken place in Meghalaya, the Supreme Court held on Wednesday and direct- ed the State to deposit 100 crore with the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) for restoration work. It said however that Meghalaya has very limited sources of revenue and allowed it to transfer 100 crore from the Environment Protection and Restoration Fund. A Bench of Justices Ashok Bhushan and KM Joseph said the CPCB, as directed by the National Green Tribunal (NGT), will utilise the amount of 100 crore only for restora- tion of the environment. “The allegations of envi- ronmental degradation by ille- gal and unregulated coal min- ing were fully proved from materials on the record, including the report of the experts, report of the Meghalaya State Pollution Control Board, the report of former High Court Judge BP Katakey committee, which all proved environmental degra- dation of water, air and sur- face,” the Bench said. G iving momentum to year- end Assembly election preparations, the State BJP on Wednesday fixed the target of enrolling 50,000 new mem- bers for each of its party law- makers, along with party assigning new role for its MLAs and leaders on water conser- vation in State. All 43 MLAs of party have been asked to enroll 50,000 new members from their respective Assembly segment within 25 days. The membership drive will run from July 6 to 30. Apart from assigning new task to its lawmakers, the party has set a target to make 30 lakh new members across the State within the deadline. The party claims to have 25 lakh members in State. At the BJP legislature party meet held at Chief Minister Raghubar Das’ residence, the senior party leaders discussed ways on strengthening party ahead of Assembly election. The meeting chaired by Chief Minister Raghubar Das, State BJP president Laxman Gilua and party organisational secre- tary Dhrampal Singh was attended by 30 MLAs. The remaining 13 MLAs who could not make it to the meeting had pleaded their excuse for not attending the meet. BJP MLA from Chhatarpur and party chief whip in Assembly Radha Krishna Kishore said, “All the party MLAs have been given the tar- get to make 50,000 new mem- bers. The MLAs have to head the membership drive in their respective areas.” The BJP MLA exuded confidence that the party will achieve the target as it has strong cadre at mandal and booth-level. In those Assembly seg- ments where the party has no MLAs, the task has been given to respective District presi- dents to carry out the mem- bership drive. The membership drive will run in both online as well offline mode, with mem- bers being given a format which will have all necessary details of the new members. The party MLAs and district units have been asked to make members from all sections of society irrespective of caste, religion, profession and age group. BJP national president and Union Home Minister Amit Shah is going to visit Jharkhand this month to assess member- ship drive performance. Madhya Pradesh’s former Chief Minister and party national in-charge of membership drive Shivraj Singh Chouhan last month had visited Jharkhand and held marathon round of meeting with senior leaders on membership drive. The party apart from focus- ing on membership drive has also given the task to work on water conservation. From July 7 to September 15, BJP all MLAs, MPs, ministers, district presidents will actively work in water conservation in their areas. Chief Minister Raghubar Das will volunteer his partici- pation in water conservation drive. Kishore claimed that the party leaders have been asked to work on water conservation as it the need of the hour. Kishore said, “Jharkhand receives sufficient rainfall every year, but due to its topography the rain flows to sea. Through water conservation ground water can be recharge which will help in solving water crisis in the State.”

˘ˇ ˆ - The Pioneer · In his letter, Rahul said it ... Sunil Kumar Barnwal and Industry Secretary K Ravi ... is yet to cover Punjab, Haryana, and parts of Uttar Pradesh. Tomar

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Page 1: ˘ˇ ˆ - The Pioneer · In his letter, Rahul said it ... Sunil Kumar Barnwal and Industry Secretary K Ravi ... is yet to cover Punjab, Haryana, and parts of Uttar Pradesh. Tomar

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Congress president RahulGandhi on Wednesday

made his resignation publicthrough an emotional four-page letter that he put out ontweeter in which he took moralresponsibility for the party’srout in the Lok Sabha pollsasserting that accountability iscritical for the future growth ofthe party.

“As president of theCongress party, I am responsi-ble for the loss of the 2019 elec-tion. Accountability is criticalfor the future growth of ourparty. It is for this reason thatI have resigned as Congresspresident. Rebuilding the partyrequires hard decisions andnumerous people will have tobe made accountable for thefailure of 2019. It would beunjust to hold others account-able but ignore my own respon-sibility as president of theparty,” he said in the lettershared on his Twitter account.

Signing off his letter, hesaid, “Thank you to the thou-sands of Indians, both at homeand abroad, who have sent meletters and messages of support.I will, of course, continue tofight for the ideals of theCongress party with all mystrength. I am available to theparty whenever they requiremy services, input or advice. Tothose who support theCongress ideology, especiallyour dedicated and belovedkaryakarta, I have absolutefaith in our future and the

utmost love for you.”While Rahul will officially

continue to be the president ofthe party till his resignation isaccepted by Congress WorkingCommittee (CWC), there wasspeculation that veteran MotiLal Vohra may be given inter-im charge till the process ofelecting a new party presidentis completed. Vora, 90, is cur-rently Congress general secre-tary in-charge of administra-tion.

According to the Congressconstitution, the party’s senior-most general secretary will

take over as its interim chief incase of a resignation by theincumbent.

In his letter, Rahul said ithad been an honour to servethe party whose values andideals have served as thelifeblood of this beautifulnation.

“It is an honour for me toserve the Congress party,whose values and ideals haveserved as the lifeblood of ourbeautiful nation. I owe thecountry and my organisation adebt of tremendous gratitudeand love. As president of the

Congress, I am responsible forthe loss of the 2019 election.Accountability is critical for thefuture growth of our party. It isfor this reason that I haveresigned as Congress presi-dent,” Rahul stated.

Rahul said the Congressdidn’t fight a political party inthe 2019 election, rather itfought the entire machinery ofthe Indian state, every institu-tion of which was marshalledagainst the Opposition.

Leading the grand oldparty in two general elec-tions, Rahul noted that he per-

sonally fought Prime MinisterNarendra Modi, the RSS andthe institutions they have cap-tured. He further said thiscapture of power will result in“unimaginable levels of vio-lence and pain for India,”while alleging that the PM’swin does not negate the“breadth of corruption alle-gations against him”.

Asserting that it was nowcrystal clear that India’s oncecherished institutional neu-trality no longer existed, hesaid, “The stated objectives ofthe RSS, the capture of ourcountry’s institutional struc-ture, is now complete. Ourdemocracy has been funda-mentally weakened. There isa real danger that from nowon, elections will go frombeing a determinant of India’sfuture to a mere ritual.

“This capture of powerwill result in unimaginablelevels of violence and pain forIndia. Farmers, unemployedyoungsters, women, tribals,Dalits and minorities aregoing to suffer the most. Theimpact on our economy andnation’s reputation will bedevastating. The PrimeMinister’s win does not negatethe breadth of corruption alle-gations against him; noamount of money and propa-ganda can ever hide the lightof the truth.”

Rahul urged the CWC toentrust a group of peoplewith the task of finding a newpresident as it would not beproper for him to do so.

����� )' $12

Chief Minister RaghubarDas on Wednesday said

that in last four and half years546 new industrial units werebrought to reality with aninvestment of Rs 70,961 crorein the State. These units, 120 ofwhich have started working,will provide employment to 1.3lakh people. The CM holdingthe review meeting ofIndustries and Mines andGeology departments, said hereon Wednesday that 99 units offood processing will becomefunctional in four months.

Das said that the textileindustry also is booming inJharkhand. At least six garmentmanufacturing units have start-ed operating out of Jharkhandand they have providedemployment to at least 9000people, he added. “Deogharwill soon have a Plastic Parkand Nirsa in Dhanbad willcome up with a leather andfootwear park,” he said.

The Government, Das said,will encourage small industriesin the rural areas in a bid to pro-mote entrepreneurship in the vil-lages of Jharkhand. This initia-tive, he said, will provide liveli-hood to the residents of ruralareas and make them financial-ly self-reliant by giving a fillip to

the rural economy. Besides, hor-ticulture, bee-keeping, handi-craft and honey production willalso act as easy and effectivemediums of economic growth inrural areas, Das added.

“Jharkhand is among thetop four states in the countryin ease of doing business. Thesingle window system andadditional facilities provided toinvestors will boost investmentin our state. The air cargo atBirsa Munda Airport in Ranchiwill also make business easy forindustrialists,” he said.

After coming to powerhere in December 2014, theRaghubar Das-led NDAGovernment in Jharkhand hasbeen taking initiatives to boostinvestment in the State withthe mantra of developmentthrough business. The Stateorganized its maiden GlobalInvestors Summit,Momentum Jharkhand in2016 and sealed investmentdeals worth over Rs.300 lakhcrore. The Government alsolaid the red carpet for foodindustries and held a specialFood Processing Investors’Summit in 2015. In the pastfour years, the State has alsoheld road shows across Indiaand several other countries ina bid to lure investors toJharkhand.

Barhi block in Hazaribagwill be the nodal point of theAmritsar-Kolkata IndustrialCorridor, he said, adding thatAdityapur wil l have anElectronic ManufacturingCluster worth Rs.185 crore.Besides, Dumka will soon geta stone cluster and an agri-culture implement cluster, headded. “We will organize aBamboo Artisan Conclave inDumka in 2019 in a bid toencourage the local artisans. ATerracotta Training Centrewill also be set up in Ramgarhand Dumka,” said Das.

Several top bureaucratsof the State, includingDevelopment CommissionerSukhdeo Singh, AdditionalChief Secretar y K KKhandelwal, PrincipalSecretary to Chief Minister,Sunil Kumar Barnwal andIndustry Secretary K RaviKumar attended the meetingon Wednesday.

����� .��/.012

In its bid to give a major boostto farmers across the coun-

try impacted by the delayedonset of the southwest mon-soon and scanty rainfall, theModi Government has raisedthe minimum support price(MSP) of paddy, a key kharifcrop, by 3.7 per cent from�1,750 to �1,815 per quintal forthe 2019-20 crop season.

The MSP for paddy (gradeA) saw an increase of �65 perquintal. Paddy is the mainkharif crop, the sowing ofwhich begins with the onset ofsouthwest monsoon. Despite abelow-normal monsoon lastyear, there was a record riceoutput of 115.63 million tonnedue to increased support price.This year too, the rice output islikely to be on the higher side.

Due to delayed rains, thetotal area sown to kharif cropswas down at 146.61 lakhhectares till last week as againstlast year’s 162.07 lakh hectare,as per Agriculture Ministrydata.

The MSP of tur (arhar),moong and urad pulses also

have been raised by �125, �75and �100, respectively, for the2019-20 crop season. The MSPof arhar increased from �5,675to �5,800 per quintal; moongfrom �6,975 to 7,050 per quin-tal and urad from �5,600 to�5,700 per quintal.

The decision was taken atthe Cabinet Committee onEconomic Affairs (CCEA)chaired by Prime MinisterNarendra Modi on Wednesdaywhich approved the hikes inMSP. The move will lead toincreased investment and pro-duction through assured remu-nerative prices to the farmers.

The increase in MSP forkharif crops is in line with theprinciple of fixing the MSPs ata level of at least 1.5 times of theall India weighted average costof production which wasannounced in the UnionBudget for 2018-19.

After the CCEA meeting,Union Agriculture and FarmersWelfare Minister NarendraSingh Tomar said the monsoonhas been delayed this year andit is worrisome for the farmersas well as the Government.“But according to the weather

department’s forecast, the situ-ation would improve and themonsoon would be normal,”Tomar said.

As per Cabinet decision,the minimum support price,which the Centre guarantees topay to farmers, has also beenraised in case of groundnut by�200 a quintal and soyabean by

�311. In addition, mediumcotton MSP has been raised by�105 quintal and long cottonMSP by �100 a quintal. Thehighest percentage return tofarmers over their cost of pro-duction is for bajra (85 percent) followed by urad (64 percent) and tur (60 per cent).

The MSP for jowar has

been increased by �120 perquintal from �2,430 to �2,550,and ragi by �253 per quintalfrom �2,897 and �3,150. Themove comes against the back-drop of the need to promotecultivation and consumption ofnutri-cereals. Besides, Indiacelebrated 2018 as the NationalYear of Millets and the Food

and Agriculture Organisation(FAO) Council has approvedIndia’s proposal to observe anInternational Year of Millets in2023.

As many as 26 out of thetotal 36 subdivisions of thecountry are facing deficientrainfall, with the overall mon-soon deficit standing at 28 percent. Rains have been belownormal in West Uttar Pradeshand Haryana, where the deficitis more than 60 per cent.

The country has so farreceived 138 mm rainfallagainst the normal of 191.6mm. As on July 3, the monsoonis yet to cover Punjab, Haryana,and parts of Uttar Pradesh.

Tomar said the Centre hasincreased the MSP of kharifcrops for 2019-20 in line withthe principle of fixing MSPs ata level which is at least 1.5 timesthe cost of production, whichwas announced last year.

The MSP mechanism pro-vides a price guarantee to thefarmers for their produce. Thisis implemented across thecountry as nearly 86 per centfarmers are in small and mar-ginal category.

����� .��/.012

Environmental degradationby illegal and unregulated

coal mining has taken place inMeghalaya, the Supreme Courtheld on Wednesday and direct-ed the State to deposit �100crore with the Central PollutionControl Board (CPCB) forrestoration work.

It said however thatMeghalaya has very limitedsources of revenue and allowedit to transfer �100 crore fromthe Environment Protectionand Restoration Fund.

A Bench of Justices AshokBhushan and KM Joseph saidthe CPCB, as directed by theNational Green Tribunal(NGT), will utilise the amountof �100 crore only for restora-tion of the environment.

“The allegations of envi-ronmental degradation by ille-gal and unregulated coal min-

ing were fully proved frommaterials on the record,including the report of theexperts, report of theMeghalaya State PollutionControl Board, the report offormer High Court Judge BPKatakey committee, which allproved environmental degra-dation of water, air and sur-face,” the Bench said.

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Giving momentum to year-end Assembly election

preparations, the State BJP onWednesday fixed the target ofenrolling 50,000 new mem-bers for each of its party law-makers, along with partyassigning new role for its MLAsand leaders on water conser-vation in State.

All 43 MLAs of party havebeen asked to enroll 50,000 newmembers from their respectiveAssembly segment within 25days. The membership drivewill run from July 6 to 30.

Apart from assigning newtask to its lawmakers, the partyhas set a target to make 30 lakhnew members across the Statewithin the deadline. The partyclaims to have 25 lakh membersin State.

At the BJP legislature partymeet held at Chief Minister

Raghubar Das’ residence, thesenior party leaders discussedways on strengthening partyahead of Assembly election.The meeting chaired by ChiefMinister Raghubar Das, StateBJP president Laxman Giluaand party organisational secre-tary Dhrampal Singh wasattended by 30 MLAs. Theremaining 13 MLAs who couldnot make it to the meeting hadpleaded their excuse for notattending the meet.

BJP MLA from Chhatarpurand party chief whip inAssembly Radha KrishnaKishore said, “All the partyMLAs have been given the tar-get to make 50,000 new mem-bers. The MLAs have to headthe membership drive in theirrespective areas.” The BJP MLAexuded confidence that theparty will achieve the target asit has strong cadre at mandaland booth-level.

In those Assembly seg-ments where the party has noMLAs, the task has been givento respective District presi-dents to carry out the mem-

bership drive. The membershipdrive will run in both online aswell offline mode, with mem-bers being given a format whichwill have all necessary details of

the new members. The partyMLAs and district units havebeen asked to make membersfrom all sections of societyirrespective of caste, religion,

profession and age group.BJP national president and

Union Home Minister AmitShah is going to visit Jharkhandthis month to assess member-

ship drive performance.Madhya Pradesh’s former ChiefMinister and party nationalin-charge of membership driveShivraj Singh Chouhan lastmonth had visited Jharkhandand held marathon round ofmeeting with senior leaderson membership drive.

The party apart from focus-ing on membership drive hasalso given the task to work onwater conservation. From July7 to September 15, BJP allMLAs, MPs, ministers, districtpresidents will actively work inwater conservation in theirareas. Chief Minister RaghubarDas will volunteer his partici-pation in water conservationdrive.

Kishore claimed that theparty leaders have been askedto work on water conservationas it the need of the hour.Kishore said, “Jharkhandreceives sufficient rainfall everyyear, but due to its topographythe rain flows to sea. Throughwater conservation groundwater can be recharge whichwill help in solving water crisisin the State.”

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After a series of campaignsto enforce discipline

amongst traffic offenders, espe-cially helmetless bikers throughfines and awareness session,city traffic police are nowworking on various other waysto educate riders along withtaking fines.

A Traffic Department offi-cial said that though they aretaking fine at major roads, yetpeople seem to pay fine andthen again repeat the sameoffence and not wearing hel-met has become their habit.They are now tying up withlocal NGOs like Rotary Cluband Lions International sothat the offenders can be edu-cated rather than just takingfines.

He said that the depart-ment has pamphlets on traf-fic awareness designed to edu-cate people against the dangerof not wearing helmets apartfrom increased penalty as perdirective of the Government.

“Due to manpower crisis,we cannot continue awarenessalongside checking drive andthe idea is to take the help ofNGOs to educate people. Weoften see that youths are car-rying helmets on the handle oftheir bikes. We are also teach-ing them on ways to wear thehelmet and remain safe,” saidthe official.

Traffic police, along withTata Steel subsidiary Jusco’s

safety wing, are educatingoffenders and making themrealise the hazards of igno-rance of rules.

As part of the initiativeZimmedaar NagrikZimmedaar Shaher, the SafetyDepartment of Jusco, hasbeen conducting a RoadSafety Awareness Campaignnear JUSCO Corporate Officeand at the N Road TrafficSignal, Bistupur.

Sukanya Das, a seniorofficial of corporate commu-nications department ofJusco, said that they havecarrying drive to educate peo-ple about road safety rules.“From time to time, we con-duct drives to spread aware-ness.

We also have short filmson road safety, which arescreened for public as well as

school students.” The short films have the

desired impact, with one bikersaying it was scary and othersspeaking of how the pain-choked voice of a road acci-dent victim had shatteredthem.

The film talks about whyone should avoid using amobile phone while crossinga road, the need for car dri-vers and passengers to wearseat belt, the importance ofnot driving while drunk, whyone should wear a helmet andrespecting road rules.

An traffic official saidthat the department has pam-phlets on traffic awarenessdesigned to educate peopleagainst the danger of notwearing helmets apart fromincreased penalty as perdirective of the Government.

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GAIL Gas Limited has rolledout opportunities to part-

ner in building the CNG infra-structure in the Seraikela-Kharsawan and WestSinghbhum districts. The com-pany is motivating land own-ers and individuals to collabo-rate for developing these twoDistricts by setting up CNGStation on Dealer OwnedDealer Operated ( DODO)Model.

A.K Jana, chief executiveofficer, GAIL Gas said thatpeople in these districts willhave a better quality of life bycreating CNG infrastructure,which will promote the usageof cheaper and cleaner fuel-CNG. Partnering with thecompany will also be an oppor-tunity for those in possessionof land to join hands withGAIL Gas.

As per this opportunity, theentire plot owned by a privateowner shall be developedexclusively for setting up ofCNG station, like petrolpumps, and allied commercialactivities. The selection processwill be as per guidelines devel-oped by the company. Afterselection of the site, applicantdesirous of setting up CNG sta-tion as dealer will enter into along term agreement with com-pany for 10 or more years onlease basis.

CNG equipment (com-pressor/ cascade/ dispenser,etc.) for the CNG Station shallbe installed and commissionedby GAIL Gas while adhering toall the statutory rules/guide-lines related to fire and safety.On the other hand, the dealerwill arrange all the permissionsto setup CNG Station includ-ing change of land use, neces-sary clearance, license, etc. atown expense and cost. Theday-to-day operation of theequipment as well as of CNGretail outlet including dis-pensing of gas and generalmaintenance shall be theresponsibility of the appointeddealer.

The dealer shall be paidcommission by GAIL Gas asper the sales achieved based onthe fixed dealer commission.

The details of the oppor-tunity is also available on web-site www.gailgas.com.

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Several trains, traveling viaTatangar, have been hit fol-

lowing heavy rains in Mumbaialong with derailment of agoods train. The derailment ofa goods train took place lastnight in South East Ghat sec-tion of Mumbai railway divi-sion under Central RailwayZone.

Garden Reach, the head-quarters of Kolkata-basedSouth Eastern Railway, notifiedcancellation of 12810 Howrah-Mumbai Mail today. Anothertrain 12262 Howrah-Mumbai(CSMT) Duronto Express wasalso cancelled today. Both thetrains run via Tatangar railwaystation.

SER had also announcedcancellation of 12222 Howrah-

Pune Duronto Express on July4. But, later took back theorder. The train will run asusual from Howrah on June 4,said a railway spokesperson.

Station director H KBalmuchu said a separatecounter was opened at theTatanagar railway stationtoday for helping passengersto refund tickets. "We havebeen informed that situationwas improving in Mumbai.Hence, tomorrow's trains forMumbai will run as perschedule," he said.

Meanwhile, another cir-cular issued by SER this after-noon announced cancella-tion of several trains till July31 in view of safety relatedwork in Rourkela-Bilaspur-Jharsuguda sections.

Some of the trains which

will remain cancelled includeSambalpur-Rourkela MEMUPassenger, Jharsuguda-Sambalpur MEMU Passenger,Rourkela-Sambalpur MEMUPassenger Rourkela-Jharsuguda MEMU Passenger,Jharsuguda-Hatia Passenger,Tatanagar-Bilaspur Passengerand Sambalpur-JharsugudaMEMU Passenger.

Located on the Howrah-Mumbai main routeTatanagar is an importantstation. Several importanttrains travel via Tatanagar,including the high-profileRajdhani Express andDuronto Express.

The station sees a dailytraffic of 90 mail, express andpassenger trains, besides afootfall of more than 60,000passengers.

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Deputy Commissioner,Garhwa, Harsh Mangala,

recalled the suspension of eightemployees after holdingdepartmental proceedingsagainst them. The timing of thedecision in suspension ordepartmental proceedings isgiven great importance. Also, ifany employee is suspended fora long period of time except forserious reasons, it is not onlyunnecessary for the workerbut also it is the wastefulexpenditure of the Governmentto pay the living allowance

without work, said Mangla.Departmental proceedings

are being completed while sus-pending all such cases wherepeople were suspended forover two years.

Till now, a total of 4Panchayat Secretaries and fourother government servantshave been recalled from sus-pension of work so that theirpayable amount is utilised.

Whose suspension arerecalled included ShailendraKumar, clerk, Sidheshwer NathSingh, clerk, Pratima Kumari,clerk, Mohar Lal Yadav, peonand panchayat sewak Yugal

Kishore Sinha, Santosh Paswan,Dukhi Baitha and RamkeshGond.

The DC also informed thatthe payment of total fourmonths pension under sever-al pension schemes has beenpassed from treasury. All pen-sioners should update theiraccount with the concernedbank. If any trouble, contactyour BDO or DeputyCommissioner, DC added.

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With a change in climate,district health depart-

ment is undertaking awarenessdrive among mass includingstreet vendors, tyre shops,coconut sellers and the teastalls apart from rag pickers asprecautionary measures againstdengue.

Use insect repellent, wearlong-sleeved shirts and longpants, and control mosqui-toes inside and outside yourhome. Avoid dengue by pre-venting mosquito bites, said DrArjun Prasad Civil Surgeon(in-charge) Bokaro.

Amidst door-to-doorawareness programmes beinginitiated by the National UrbanHealth Mission, we are press-ing out health workers into ser-vice for mass awareness. Weare also concentrating on thevendors. We are instructingthem to cover their goodswith plastic sheets to preventmosquito breeding, he said.

“We have sought publicsupport in controlling themenace of vector-borne dis-eases and also sent a letter tothe civic body for participatingin the campaign to fightagainst it,” he added.

Dengue fever (DF) is aviral disease transmitted byinfected mosquitoes. DF caus-es severe, flu-like symptomswith high fever and extrememuscle and joint pain. Denguehemorrhagic fever (DHF) anddengue shock syndrome (DSS)are less common but moresevere forms of the disease.DHF or DSS initially presentwith very similar symptoms toDF. The disease then pro-gresses to a stage where theblood vessels become perme-able causing a breakdown ofthe circulatory system, fluidloss, and possibly death, hesaid.

Civil Surgeon said, fewpeople generally use mosqui-to repellents at night but dueto changes in climatic condi-tions, they must use it duringthe day hours too as the Aedesmosquito bites in the daytimetoo.

Precautionary measuresare being taken to controldengue in the district. This isnot the time for fogging,because the smoke actuallyhits the trees where the mos-quitoes sit, and at this time,they are not found there.Though, we will send ourteams soon for fogging and toconduct surveys in the city aswell as villages, he said.

Speaking about the signsand symptoms of dengue amedical expert of heathdepartment said, most peopleinfected have found mild or nosymptoms, about one amongfour people infected withdengue will get sick.

Mild symptoms of denguemay be confused with other ill-nesses that cause fever and flu-like illness, he said.

When the disease getswidespread, many private clin-ics start testing dengue. Theygenerally do the NSI-slide testand show an alarming rate inincrease of dengue. But, that isnot true. The elisa test is themost accurate, and the slidetest number dramatically dropswhen elisa test is done, said themedical expert.

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In a major breakthroughagainst cyber crime,

Jharkhand Cyber Cell busted ainterstate racket of fraudsterswho hijacked people’s bankaccount using informationfrom the ANYDESK APP.

Addressing a press meet onWednesday, Ranchi SeniorSuperintendent of Police, AnishGupta, said Ranchi policearrested two cyber criminals ina case of �25,000 fraud throughthe Anydesk App. Arrestedpersons had used the App towithdraw money from theaccount.

The arrested fraudstersinclude Vivek Kumar Mandalfrom Jamtara and AmirKhusro, a resident of Deoghar.Police have recovered 20 Debitcards, 20 fake SIM cards, 5mobile phones and �15,000cash from the criminals, headded.

Gupta said that in anattempt to control increasingnumbers of cyber crime in theState, Jharkhand Cyber Cellconstituted a SpecialInvestigation Team to investi-gate the cases of fraudulentwithdrawal of cash from cus-tomers’ accounts.

Narrating the whole storyabout busting the gang, Guptasaid that this was done from thebusinessman—a resident ofKanke Road, SatyendraKishore. “On June 4, a call froma cyber criminal on the mobileof businessman Kishore camein the name of SBI Bank’sChief Manager Amit KumarMishra. The fraudster asked

Kishore to log in to InternetBanking Account in the YonoApp Account. After that, anapplication called Anydesk wasasked to be downloaded andthe online SBI asked to log inanywhere.

After that, the messages ofSBI continuously on the regis-tered mobile number inSatyendra’s bank account start-ed coming. Then, the cybercriminal asked Satyendra toshare his profile password onthe Yono app,” he added.

“After sharing the profilepassword, other bank accountsof Satyendra were alsoinquired. The person whocalled Satyendra on this matterwas suspicious and thenSatyendra went to the bank andsaid the manager to talk to him.The caller refused to come tothe bank.

But by then the criminalshad to withdrawn �25,000through the App. Satyendra

gave information about thewithdrawal of money and fileda case at Gonda Police Station.Cyber Cell started investigationof the case. During the opera-tion, Cyber Cell found that themoney was transferred to VivekKumar Mandal’s Paytmaccount.

To catch the culprits, theSIT started raids. After whichMandal was arrested fromFatehpur in Jamtara and on hisinformation, the police arrest-ed Khusro, a resident of Palajoripolice station in Deogarh dis-trict.

He was also involved in thiscrime with discretion. But thekingpin of the gang SushantaDas, resident of Jamtara run-ning the racket from Kolkata isstill at large,” said Gupta.

Appealing bank accountholder through media the SSPsaid that never disclose aboutthe bank account details to any-body.

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DPS, Ranchi applauded thehigh achievers of AISSE on

Wednesday.The occasion waspresided over by Chief GuestAmitabh Kaushal, Secretary ofFood, Public Distribution andConsumers Affairs depart-ment.

The Chief Guest presentedthe certificates to the studentsfor their stupendous perfor-mance. Students, who secured90 per cent and above, werefelicitated. The students whoachieved full marks in any ofthe subjects were also appreci-ated.

Kaushal commended theschool system and lauded theprestigious prodigies for bring-ing laurels to the Institution. Hementioned even those studentswho could not make it to thetop and motivated them towork with more dedicationand focus going forward. Heconcluded with a momentous

message, never to give up evenif the circumstances are notfavourable. He asked them tokeep striving towards the goaland eventually they would suc-ceed.

Principal Ram Singh com-mended the students for theirexceptional academic accom-plishments. He infused themwith vigour and enthusiasm toscale greater heights and not tobe satisfied by their achieve-ments.

He talked about the Abilitytests conducted at DPS and howit would help the students to pre-pare for the competitive examsalong with the regular course. Heasked the students to aspiremore, dream high and achieve

excellence in the coming years.The school acknowledged

the efforts of the students andblessed them to do well in thecoming years through the felic-itation ceremony. It was indeeda spectacular display of talentand fervour.

The presence of proud par-ents made the occasion all themore exceptional.

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Aworker died in an accidentat Bokaro Steel Plant (BSL)

on Wednesday morning.According to the eyewitnesses,Krishna Ram (51) posted asMulti Skilled Technician inOperation Garage and CBRSdepartment at Bokaro SteelPlant today reported for duty atMES-2 in General Shift.

He was on the mainte-nance work of Dozer; sudden-ly he met with an accident. Atabout 10.30 AM Ram acciden-tally came down under theDozer, said an eyewitness.

Ram was immediatelyrushed to the hospital with thehelp of co-workers where doc-tors declared him broughtdead, said M K Dhan Chief ofCommunication BSL.

BSL managementmourned the demise of Mahto;an inquiry committee was set-up by the management toinquire into the incidence lead-ing to the death of Ram, hesaid.

According to the compa-ny’s norms the next kin of thedeceased will get the help, saidDhan.

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Page 3: ˘ˇ ˆ - The Pioneer · In his letter, Rahul said it ... Sunil Kumar Barnwal and Industry Secretary K Ravi ... is yet to cover Punjab, Haryana, and parts of Uttar Pradesh. Tomar

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With the rise in the num-ber of cases of vector

borne diseases, the State hassounded an alert for Dengue,Chikungunya and JapaneseEncephalitis (JE) here, offi-cials from the State VectorBorne Disease ControlProgramme (SVBDCP) saidon Wednesday.

“We are running door todoor awareness campaignsacross Jharkhand. Our teamsare destroying mosquito larvaefound in houses and informingthe residents of ways to preventspread of Dengue andChikungunya,” said Dr. V NKhanna, In-Charge of SVBD-CP.

According to figures withSVBDCP, in the past one week,the number of Dengue caseshas increased from 26 to 32.Besides, three newChikungunya and JE caseshave come to light inJharkhand. “We tested 428samples for Dengue and 32 ofthem were positive. Out of the423 samples tested forChikungunya, 13 were positive.We also tested 375 samples forJapanese Encephalitis and 15 ofthem were positive,” saidKhanna, adding that the threefresh cases of JE were all report-ed from East Singhbhum dis-trict.

Meanwhile, the StateHealth Department has askedthe Civil Surgeons of all the 24districts in Jharkhand to imme-diately hospitalise any personwho complains of symptomssimilar to that of JE, health offi-

cials said. “There is no JE alertas such, but we are taking allpossible precautionary mea-sures to detect and treat thecases as early as possible,” saidKhanna.

Since rural areas are moreprone to JE infections, thehealth department has askedCivil Surgeons to pay specialattention to villages in theinteriors and make necessaryarrangements for treatment atthe nearest hospitals. Khannasaid that the Encephalitis whichcaused the deaths in the neigh-bouring state was differentfrom the JE cases reported inJharkhand. “The AcuteEncephalitis Syndrome orChamki fever, which causedthe deaths in Bihar, is moredangerous than JE. Jharkhandis safe,” he said.

Out of the total 15 JE casesreported in Jharkhand thisyear, four were from Ranchi,two from Ramgarh, four fromEast Singhbhum and one eachfrom Dhanbad, Giridih,Gumla, Dumka and Saraikela.By now, JE has claimed twolives in Jharkhand, both inState capital Ranchi.

Jharkhand this year hasalso witnessed an all time highnumber of Swine Flu cases. Atleast 57 cases were reported thisyear, which is 14 times morethan the number of casesreported in 2018. The latestSwine Flu case was reported inRanchi this week.

One Hitesh Kumar, whoworked in the Merchant Navyin South Korea, died of SwineFlu in capital Ranchi onJanuary 25.

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Chief Minister RaghubarDas today said that the

State has a large number ofunorganised labourers and theGovernment is running a num-ber of schemes for them. Whileholding the review meeting ofLabour, Employment andTraining department, the CMsaid that the labourers areunable to take benefit of thoseschemes because they are notregistered. The CM said officersshould help them register forbringing change in their lives.It will also stop migration.

The CM said thatGovernment is providing thelabourers benefit of severalschemes including insurance,medical, stipend etc.“Construction labourers arealso being equipped with bicy-cles, safety kit and related tools.Labourers, working in urbanareas should be registered onthe spot and a group leadershould be selected from them.Forms for further registrationshould be given to the groupleader and for the registrationwork they will be paid hono-rarium.

Take list from Road andBuilding Construction

Department and by puttingcamps register them. Start busfacility for labourers as well,” hesaid.

The CM instructed to call10 labourers from all districtsin September and inform themabout the Government

schemes, which are being runfor them. They will be entrust-ed with the responsibility ofregistering labourer of theirown area. He also instructed tostart a toll free number forlabourers.

Das said that labourers

will be given � 3,000 as pensionunder Prime Minister ShramYogi Man Dhan Yojna. � 5 lakhin case of death in an accidentand �1 lakh for natural deathwill be given.

They will also be givenbenefit of Ayushman BharatScheme. Golden Card will beprovided to all beforeSeptember 25. Departmentshould also take care of thepeople provided employmentin Sharm Mela.

Department SecretaryRajiv Arun Ekka informedthat before 3.59 lakh labourerswere registered now the num-ber is 5.19 lakh. Constructionworkers have been providedbenefit of schemes worth 188crore. 156270 labourers havebeen provided tools worth�36.70 crore. Bicycle were dis-

tributed worth 21.87 crore to67646 labourer. 16.45 crorewere given as stipend to 62601labourers. Safety kit worth20.38 crore to 207487 labour-ers and �92.58 crore spent onother schemes. So far 13.03lakh unorganised labourershave been registered. 262625labourers have been given ben-efit of schemes worth 5.39crore. 117875 labourers arebeing given benefit of PrimeMinister Shram Yogi MandhanYojna.

Additional Chief Secretarycum DevelopmentCommissioner Sukhdev Singh,Additional Chief Secretary KKKhandelwal, PrincipalSecretary to Chief Minister Dr.Sunil Kumar Barnwal along-with others were present on theoccasion.

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Jharkhand IAS OfficersWives’ Association (JIA-

SOWA) media incharge RichaSanchita today said that theorganisation is trying to pro-vide quality education to stu-dents studying in rural areas.JIASOWA is working with aconstant commitment to theoverall development of society.On the occasion of distributionof scholarship among studentshere on Wednesday, she said

that the students have beenprovided books, bench-desk,computer, inverters and batteryin their study room for prepa-ration of competitive exami-nations.

Sanchita said that only aneducated society can make aprosperous State and informedthat JIASOWA distributedscholarship and assistancefunds for the needy students.BTech final year studentNagesh Kumar has been givenscholarship in the tune of Rs

2.8 lakh per year since 2016.Similarly, class 3 studentsMithilesh Kumar and BhanuKumar have been providedwith Rs 42,320, Class one stu-dent Kajal Verma has beengiven Rs 12,800, Class 4 studentVivek Prasad and class 3 stu-dent Shivam Prasad have beengiven Rs 15,400 for payment ofeducation fees

JIASOWA members SaritaPandey, Mili Sarkar, RanjanaSwarup, Gurmin Singh, RichaSanchita, Secretary Manu Jha,

Jyoti, Stefy Teresa Murmualongwith others were presenton the occasion.

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State Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP) said on Wednesday

that the Opposition partieshave once again started theirdrama on the name of GrandAlliance; however in realitythey have lost their hold in theState.

Criticising the Oppositionparties State BJP SpokespersonPratul Shahdeo said that aconstituent party of the GrandAlliance Jharkhand VikasMorcha (JVM), became deplet-ed in the last election. “Itssupremo Babulal Marandi hadbeen badly defeated inKoderma with more than fourand half lakh votes. This wasthe fifth election defeat ofBabulal ji. No former ChiefMinister has such a record. Ifexceptions left he won very fewelections after leaving BJP.What has happened to him andJVM, it is not hidden to any-one,” he added.

Shahdeo said that the sec-ond component of the allianceis Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD).“Former State RJD Chief,Annapurna Devi, along withthe other senior leaders joinedBJP just before the Lok Sabhaelection after that, the remain-ing leaders in the RJD formeda separate party. Congress con-tested seven seats in the lastelections and won only inChaibasa and badly defeated inall remaining six seats.

Jharkhand Mukti Morcha(JMM) Supremo, Shibu Soren,on whose name the party usedto get vote in the entire State,also lost the election. Theseexamples clearly show that theGrand Alliance no more existsin Jharkhand,” he added.

Speaking on the pollprospect of the Oppositionparties Shahdeo said that theGrand Alliance is nothing buta group of disappointed anddefeated leaders. “In the lastelections, the alliance was infull swing to win all the 14 seatsbut for the first time in the his-tory of Jharkhand, the BJPwon more than four lakh votesin 4 out of 14 seats. It showsthat the people of Jharkhandhave given full support to theCentral Government Policiesand development works of theRaghubar Government in theState. The goal of winning the65 plus seats of the NDA in theforthcoming Assembly elec-tions is sure to be fulfilled,” headded.

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The ambitious project ofState government for socio-

economic empowerment ofadolescent girls and youngwomen of the State, TejaswiniYojana was rolled out in all the17 targeted districts onWednesday.

The scheme was launchedby women and child devel-opment and social securityminister Lois Marandi whourged the concerned officialsto work hard to make thisscheme a success and said,“The programme has alreadybeen implemented in two dis-tricts Ramgarh and Dumka

and is now being rolled out atother 15 districts as well. Itcovers the girls from the ageof 14 to 24 years and helpthem become socially andfinancially empowered.”

She added, “If imple-mented properly, this schemewill change the State. The dis-trict social welfare officersshould identify such areaswhere the malnutrition levelis high and implement thisproject there so that in thenext five years we are able tocreate a healthy, malnutri-tion free Jharkhand.”

A � 540 crore worth pro-ject funded by World Bankaims to benefit at least 10 lakh

girls of the State by 2022.While World Bank is funding70 percent of the entireamount, State governmentwill bear the remaining 30percent.

The scheme is beingimplemented in all exceptseven districts where gov-ernment’s Sabala Yojana isalready functional.

Department secretaryAmitabh Kaushal said, “Theprogramme will focus on fourmajor issues of the State,child marriage, education ofgirl child, distress migrationand malnutrition. The officersshould closely monitor theoutcome of the project so

that we can do mid coursecorrection if needed.”

He added, “Because therollout of the programmehas been delayed due to var-ious reasons, we will have todo more work in less time.”

The project includes for-mation of around 12,000Tejaswini clubs where thegirls at village level will cometogether for group activitiesand skill training.

"The project providesthree kind of skill training tothe girls including life skilltraining, financial literacyand education," said directorof the implementing bodyJharkhand Women

Development S ociety(JWDS), DK Saxena.

The life skill trainingincludes informing girlsabout various issues like theirrights and protection, devel-opment programmes andgovernment schemes, healthand nutrition and hygiene,which will help in overallphysical and mental wellbeing of the girls, thus ensur-ing better nutrition of thenext generation as well.

In financial literacy, thegirls will be informed aboutbanking, loans and ways onhow they can be financiallyindependent through entre-preneurship.

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Adistrict level programme forsuccessful implementation

of Jal Shakti Abhiyaan was car-ried at Shyama PrasadMukherjee University onWednesday. The programmewas organized under the ongo-ing Jal Shakti Abhiyan fromJuly 1 till September 15. DeputyCommissioner, Rai MahimapatRay inaugurated the programmealongwith, Deputy DevelopmentCommissioner Diyanshu Jhaand other representatives.

Ray highlighted the issue ofacute water crisis in the State. “JalShakti Abhiyan is an initiativethat has been started by PrimeMinister Narendra Modi. We areworking in sync with this initia-tive. Action Plans for water har-vestings have been made by theDeputy DevelopmentCommissioner. Hopefully, theproblem of water will reduce inthe coming days,” he said.

Municipal Commissioner,Manoj Kumar pointed out thefailure of water managementdespite measures taken by theadministration for curbing this

problem. Conservation of wateris the responsibility of every indi-visual. “The Jal Shakti Abhiyanshould be made every man’sagenda. This time water is beingsupplied to the tanker at 300points in Ranchi, even after thisthe situation is bad. Ranchireceives more rainfall comparedto other states.

Thus, proper water man-agement systems must beemployed for conserving waterin the state,” said Kumar.

He further talked about thesteps that the administration isabout to take for ensuring waterharvesting in the city. “Themunicipal corporation has alsoidentified several apartments inthe city where water harvestingcan be carried out. In addition tothis plantation will be done nearponds. Dysfunctional handpumps will be converted intowater harvesting structures,” saidKumar.

Deputy DevelopmentCommissioner, Divyanshu Jha inthe event urged people to takepart in the Jal Shakti Abhiyan. Hesaid, “Two districts of the Statehave been selected under the JAl

Shakti Abhiyan where work hasto be done for recharging thegroundwater level. RanchiDistrict Administration musttake this seriously and carry outthe implementation of the cam-paign in a planned manner byvisiting villages, wards etc.”

Several problems related toconservation of water were dis-cussed in this program.Information regarding preven-tion of wastage of water, recharg-ing the groundwater level, waysfor directing rain water to reser-voirs was given to the studentsand officials present in the audi-torium.

At the same time, it was alsotold how to work in the districtand the state under the hydelpower campaign.

Plantation in the campus ofDr Shyama Prasad MukherjeeUniversity by DeputyCommissioner, Ranchi,Municipal Commissioner,Ranchi, Senior Superintendent ofPolice, Ranchi, DeputyDevelopment Commissioner,Ranchi, Deputy Mayor, Ranchiand other eminent persons wasconducted on the occasion.

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The Jharkhand StateBuilding Construction

Corporation Ltd. (JSBCCL)was formed under the StateBuilding ConstructionDepartment with the aim tooffer sustainable, innovativeand cost effective services inthe State. Secretary of build-ing construction departmentcum managing director ofJSBCCL, Sunil Kumar spokewith The Pioneer about thecorporation’s mission, vision,ongoing work, future plansand challenges.

What are the work andobjectives of the corpora-tion?

The corporation is anundertaking of the State gov-ernment and is engaged inbuilding construction pro-jects of various departments.Currently we are implement-ing construction under vari-ous schemes across all the 24districts of the State. The

objectives includes every-thing, right from preparingDPRs to evaluating it, select-ing execution agencies andimplementing the schemesin time bound manner ensur-ing good quality construction.

JSBCCL is ver y protechnology. What have beenthe best practices adapted byJSBCCL to ensure timelyand quality construction?

The process of e-tender-ing has been introducedwhich helps streamlining pro-curement, save money andmaintain transparency. Themanagement information sys-tem is open for general pub-lic along with the stakehold-ers on the website so they cansee the works too.Implementation of GPS track-ing and geo fencing capabil-ities is also being exploredwhich will establish time tar-get for employees and mobilef leets . The works andaccounts management sys-tem covers the entire cycle ofa construction project right

from inception to completion,online.

How did the corpora-tion deal with the problemof re tenders and reducedthe time of DPR clearance?

A major change webrought about was to includeclearance from all the depart-ments at the DPR preparationstage. We now get everythingexamined in the beginningfrom IT department, drinkingwater and sanitation, elec-tricity and others. The tech-nical feasibility of DPR isalso checked.

What are the upcomingprojects undertaken byJSBCCL?

We have four new hospi-tal buildings with 500 bedscapacity coming up inPalamu, Dumka, Hazaribagand Jamshedpur with the bud-get of Rs. 2000 crore alongwith two new medical collegesin Koderma and Chaibasa.The work on construction ofa number of university build-

ings including Bindo BihariMahato University, RakshaShakti University, NilamberPitamber University and manydegree colleges, model col-leges and women’s colleges isongoing. The corporation isalso constructing a number ofbuildings for school educationand literacy departmentincluding 57 Balika AwasiyaVidyalaya, 89 girls’ hostels, 23model schools, 11 primaryteacher’s training centres andmore.

A number of projects oftourism, art, culture, sportsand youth affair departmenthave also been undertaken

by the corporation. Can youshed some light on that?

We are developing touristspot at Patratu Dam whichwill include pathway andwater sports facility. Work isalso being done at Hundrufalls, Panchaghagh Falls andJonha falls.

The development work isongoing at Ulihatu andDombari Buru, places relatedto Birsa Munda. Apart fromthis development of religioustourism spots includingDeoghar, Rajrappa and MaaChhinnamastika temple isalso being done.

What have been theachievements of the corpora-tion? How many projects havebeen completed?

The corporation has suc-cessfully tender 470 schemesand completed 288 schemes forvarious departments.

Some of the departmentswhose schemes have beencompleted are health, highereducation, agriculture, schooleducation and tourism.

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Rejuvenating party cadresahead of year-end

Assembly election, the StateCongress leadership hasplanned State-wide demon-stration protesting againstthe poor medical facilities.The State Congress on July 6,will hold demonstration infront of Civil Surgeons officeprotesting the poor medicalfacilities.

State Congress presidentAjoy Kumar said, “All activeCongress members wearingblack badges, party flags andplacards will took out a marchagainst State Government’snegligence to improve healthcondition in State. TheCongress workers will latersubmit a memorandum torespective Civil Surgeons(CS).”

Kumar further said thatthe memorandum submittedto the CS will consist of slewof demands for improvingmedical facilities atGovernment run hospital and

medical colleges. The StateCongress president claimedthat if the State Governmentfails to address their demandsthey will intensify their agita-tion in future.

Echoing the views ofKumar, State CongressCommittee spokesperson,Rajiv Ranjan Prasad said, “Thepresent government lacks theimmediate policy, mechanismto tackle with any emergencysituation. The condition ofGovernment hospitals andState medical colleges is poor.The government hospitals andmedical colleges suffer fromacute shortage of staffs.” TheCongress leader claimed thatlast year in the same season,many malnourished childrendied due to poor medicaltreatment.

According to Congressleadership the State medicalcolleges, Government hospi-tals and Primary HealthCentres have shortage of doc-tors and para medics’ staff.Chances of people especiallychildren falling ill due to water

logging and unhygienic con-ditions is high in these sea-sons. “Last year many peoplewere affected due to dengueand chikungunya. This yeartoo there is chances of spreadof such diseases as civic bod-ies have failed to lift garbagefrom different locations,” saidPrasad.

Sources said StateCongress demonstrationagainst poor health conditionsis to energize party workersahead of Assembly elections,after party’s debacle in LokSabha elections. In Lok Sabhaelection, the Congress formingan alliance(Mahagathbandhan) with fourparties contested against NDA.The Congress had contestedseven seats, but the party man-aged to win only Singhbhumseat. Sources said that even inSinghbhum, the charisma ofCongress candidate GeetaKoda played major role thanCongress workers groundwork in ensuring her victory.

Sources said that apartfrom Congress poor show in

Lok Sabha elections infightingwithin State Congress is alsocause of concern for Stateleadership. By holding State-wide demonstration againstthe State Government, theCongress wants to give a mes-sage of unity among partycadres and workers.

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MECON signedMemorandum of

Understandings (MoU) withdifferent foreign companiesand institutions on varioussubjects during METEC 2019the International MetallurgicalTrade Fair organized from June26 to June 29 in Dusselford,Germany.

During METEC-19,MECON signed MoU withTenova Metals, DeutschlandGmbH on June 27, for mutualcooperation in the area ofSecondary Metallurgy that isVD, VAD, VOD and RH sys-tems. MECON also signedMoU with Zhejiang TengyEnvironment Technology onJune 28 for mutual cooperationin the area of Flue GasDesulphurization system forpower plants.

Several business meetingswere organized duringMETEC-19, with global keyplayers of Iron and SteelIndustry, to discuss latestadvancements in the area ofIron and Steel Industry

MECON also co- orga-nized a networking event inMETEC 2019 to strengthen thepartnership with global CGmanufacturers and steel play-ers to provide fillip to thegrowth of Indian Steel Industry.MECON’s active participationin this international event hasstrengthened its footprint inInternational market.

An ‘India Steel Pavilion’

was organised at the exhibition,under the aegis of Ministry ofSteel (MoS), wherein MECONalong with other participatingCenter Public SectorEnterprises (CPSE) under MoS,namely Steel Authority of IndiaLimited, National MineralDevelopment Center (NMDC),Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited(RINL), Kedremukh Iron OreCompany Limited (KIOCL)and Manganese Ore IndiaLimited (MOIL), showcasedIndia’s metallurgical growthstory and explored global tech-nological developments.

The India Pavilion wasinaugurated on 25th June, 2019by Consul General of India,Frankfurt, Pratibha Parkar.Thereafter, to solicit potentialinvestors to setup and expandmanufacturing bases in India,MECON co- organised a sem-inar on ‘Opportunities inIndian Steel Industry’. Whilesetting the context of the sem-inar, Chairman cum ManagingDirector (CMD) Atul Bhatt,gave a presentation on theimmense opportunities in theIndian steel industry andstressed on the importance ofmake in India drive ofGovernment of India (GoI), forpromoting domestic manufac-turing of the capital goods forsteel sector in India. He high-lighted the opportunities ema-nating from National SteelPolicy-2017 which sets a targetof 300 MT crude steel by 2030-31 from present level of about138 MT.

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Aday after Prime MinisterNarendra Modi had

slammed those in the party whooften cross the line publically withtheir misdeeds, a Bharatiya JanataParty MLA in Satna onWednesday vowed to get one ofthe party leaders released from jaileven if bloodshed was requiredfor the same.

The saffron party MLA,Ramkhelawan Patel said thisduring a protest organised againstthe arrest of party leader RamSushil Patel who was arrested bypolice on charges of assaultingChief Municipal Officer ofRamanagar municipalityDevratna Soni. Soni was seriouslyinjured in the assault by Patel andhis supporters.

Meanwhile, addressing aprotest rally in Satna onWednesday, MLA Patel said, “Wewould make Patel (Ram Sushil)is released from jail.” “Iske liye BJPko khoon bhi bahana pada toparty iske liye taiyar hai (For this,if bloodshed was required, theparty was ready for the same).”

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Ashoka Garden policebooked six persons,

including two women for adowry death; a 22-year-old

married woman on June 2 hadcommitted suicide by con-suming poisonous substance ather residence in IndustrialArea and it was found that thedeceased was harassed by her

h u s b a n dand in-laws. According to thepolice, the deceased MadhuAhirwar committed suicideafter she was harassed by herhusband, his brother, sister

and parents. Police have arrested

deceased’s husband VikramAhirwar while other wentabsconding.

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Page 5: ˘ˇ ˆ - The Pioneer · In his letter, Rahul said it ... Sunil Kumar Barnwal and Industry Secretary K Ravi ... is yet to cover Punjab, Haryana, and parts of Uttar Pradesh. Tomar

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Threat posed to stability ofPunjab due to drug smug-

gling in the backdrop of recentdrug haul of more than 500 kgof heroin on Atari border, rainhavoc in Mumbai, indecentadvertisements, crime againstwomen and installation of astatue of Bharat Ratna recipi-ent Bhupen Hazarika weresome of the issues raised in theRajya Sabha on Wednesday.

Raising the issue of drugmenace in Punjab, PratapSingh Bajwa(Congress)termedit as narco-terrorism andsought strict action againstsome officers of para-militaryforces and the local police act-ing in connivance with thedrug mafia. He also said ahigh-level probe was orderedlast year into drug smugglingbut it was yet to be made pub-lic and urged the EnforcementDirectorate to seek the report.

Bajwa termed the officersallegedly involved in the drugracket as "black sheep".

He also said the 532-kgseizure of heroin three daysback was one of the highest inthe past few years and calledfor immediate steps to checkdrug and arms smuggling. Hecautioned that the state hadwitnessed 15 years of terrorismwherein thousands of peoplewere killed. The Congressleader suggested theGovernment could take help of

countries like the United Statesand Israel who have experiencein fighting drug cartel.

For his part, responding toconcerns raised by SamajwadiParty (SP) member Ram GopalYadav, Information andBroadcasting Minister PrakashJavadekar said "more effectivesteps" are needed to deal withobscenity and vulgarity inadvertisements in the media.He said as many as 6,700 com-plaints have been dealt withand agreed with Yadav that theissue was important.Chairman M Venkaiah Naidualso said the issue is serious.

Drawing the attention ofthe house to indecent adver-tisements, Yadav demandedregulation on such promo-tions to protect culture frombad influences. The SP saidthere was a rise in obscenityand vulgarity in advertise-ments shown in electronic aswell as print media, includingmagazines.

He said it was even diffi-cult to watch news shows ontelevision along with the fam-ily because of such advertise-ments shown during breaks.

The senior SP membersaid the country was movingtowards a "moral crisis" and thespread of nudity and alco-holism was on the rise.According to him, vulgaritywas responsible for the increas-ing crime against women.Earlier, his party colleague,

Jaya Bachchan also raised theissue of rising crime againstwomen and gender inequality.

Mumbai floods due tomonsoon was raised by MajeedMemon(NCP), who said it was"shameful" that such seriousproblem occurred every yearadding havoc took place due tonegligence of civic officials.Even though Mumbai's munic-ipal corporation is the richestcivic body in the country witha budget of Rs 30,000 crores butno steps are taken to find per-manent solution, he said.

Memon also expressedconcern over the death of 27people on account of acci-dents due to wall collapse andpot holes dotted roads. He alsosaid there are reports thateven mega Bollywood starAmitabh Bachchan could notleave his house due to thefloods.

Birendra Prasad Baishya(AGP)demanded that lateBhupen Hazarika's statueshould be installed inParliament complex. ShwaitMalik (BJP) expressed concernover burning of crop residuesin some states, includingPunjab and Haryana, leadingto spread of diseases besidescausing air pollution.

In his mention, Ripun Bora(Congress) asked theGovernment to stop privatisa-tion of 64 oilfields managed byONGC and Oil India. Bids havebeen invited for the oilfields.

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Congress MP ManishTewari on Wednesday

raised the issue of decliningdefence allocation in the UnionBudget in the Lok Sabha evenas neighbouring China, hesaid, has raised its defencespending.

The MP hoped that thenew Finance Minister NirmalaSitaraman, who has also beenDefence Minister, would takecorrective steps in the upcom-ing Budget

"China is spending moreon defence. Their defencespending has grown over theyears," Tewari said in the Lok

Sabha during the Zero Hour.Citing a Parliamentary

panel report, he said, the coun-try's defence expenditure wasreduced to 1.60 per cent of theGDP in 2017-18. It furthercame down to 1.52 per cent inthe interim Budget for 2019-20.

Among other issues, for-mer Union Minister RamKripal Yadav and BJP MPfrom Patliputra, Bihar,demanded that Patna univer-sity, which has completed hun-dred years, should be declareda Central University. He said ithas been a long-pendingdemand by the people of thestate.

Raising the issue of deathof construction workers inPune and Mumbai, GirishBapat , BJP MP from Pune,said there is an urgent need toimplement DevelopmentControl (DC) Rules so thatthey are brought under thesafety net.

Last week, 40 constructionworkers died in Pune and 20 inMumbai. Since constructionworkers are part of the unor-ganised sector, they don't comeunder the safety net, he added.

CP Joshi , BJP MP fromChittorgarh, said theRajasthan government hasfailed to implement farm debtwaiver as promised, forcingfarmers to commit suicide.

The Congress hadpromised to implement farmdebt waiver in 10 days of com-ing to power but they havefailed to do so, he said.

Gaurav Gogoi, CongressMP from Kalibor, Assam,raised the issue of financial dis-

tress of PSUs in the country.The House has discussed thepoor financial health of state-owned BSNL and MTNL, hesaid, adding, India Post too isunder stress.

India Post has made a lossof �15,000 crore, he said, urg-ing the Government to devisea plan and mechanism torevive such PSUs and makethem financially viable.

Hansraj Hans, BJP MPfrom Northwest, raised thematter of drug abuse and deathof sanitation workers in manyparts of the country. The MP,a noted sufi singer, also regaledthe house with some of hiscompositions.

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Opposition members in theLok Sabha on Wednesday

rushed to the Well of the Houseafter DMK member TR Baaluraised objections over a tweet byPuducherry Lt Governor KiranBedi.

The DMK members werealso backed by the Congress andAAP on the issue. This is for thefirst time that Opposition mem-bers have entered the well of theHouse in the new Lok Sabha.

Leader of the DMK in LokSabha Baalu cited a tweet byBedi and said it "belittled" stateMPs. He also sought govern-ment's reply on this.

Speaker Om Birla inter-rupted him, saying Bedi holds aconstitutional post and Baalucould give the statement inwriting.

Baalu was, however, unsat-isfied with this. He was alsojoined by other MPs.

With the Speaker unrelent-

ing, DMK members also joinedBaalu and protested against thetweet.

DMK MPs also rushed tothe Well of the House. DMKMPs were also joined byCongress members.AAP's loneMP Bhgawant Mann also joinedthem in the Well.

Parliamentary AffairsMinister Pralhad Joshi said theissue cannot be discussed dur-ing Zero Hour and membershave to submit a motion for dis-cussion on this as Bedi holds aconstitutional post.

Defence Minister andDeputy Leader of the HouseRajnath Singh intervened inthe matter. Rajnath also askedthe opposition to move themotion if they wanted a discus-sion on this issue.

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BJP and Trinamool Congress(TMC) members took on

each other in the Lok Sabha onWednesday after BJP's LocketChatterjee accused the rulingparty in West Bengal of killingpeople for chanting 'Jai ShriRam' and of taking "cut money"— a term used to describebribery allegations against ChiefMinister Mamata Banerjee.

TMC leader SundipBandopadhyay sought deletionof her comment on "cut money"from the records. The clashbetween the two sides prompt-ed Speaker Om Birla to say:"Don't make this house theBengal assembly."

He assured that he wouldexamine the records and take adecision.

Mamata Banerjee hasreportedly asked her party mento return the "cut money",which refers to "commission"illegally taken from ordinarycitizens for the delivery of gov-ernment services and schemes.

Chatterjee had on Tuesdaytargeted Mamata Banerjee in astatement in the Lok Sabha.

On Wednesday, Chatterjeesaid Lord Shri Ram signifiesnoble thought and honesty andthe state of West Bengal shouldbe run by people who believe inthese.

"Shyama PrasadMookerjee's Bengal is burning.Whoever is chanting Jai ShriRam, TMC goons are killingthem," she said, as TMC mem-bers tried to shout her down.

Separately, another BJPmember from West Bengal,Arjun Singh, raised the issue ofcows being smuggled toBangaladesh.

"Cow smuggling is rampantin West Bengal and this is hap-pening with the support of thestate government. The smug-gling takes place through theBangladesh border in return forfake currency and drugs," hesaid.

Singh said CCTV camerasshould be installed along theborder to ensure that this is

stopped.Speaking during the Zero

Hour, B Mahtab (BJD)demanded that the Centre con-duct investigation into the deathof Dr Shyama PrasadMookerjee.

Mahtab said that WestBengal assembly had passed aresolution to conduct aninquiry into the death ofMookerjee, which was alsomoved to the Centre.

"The mysterious disap-pearance of Netaji SubhashChandra Bose is being investi-gated. I urge upon the new dis-pensation at the Centre toinvestigate the death of ShyamaPrasad Mookerjee," Mahtabsaid, amid thumping of desk byBJP members in the lowerHouse.

While taking a large num-ber of questions from the first-time women MPs, Speaker alsosought law makers to desistfrom taking up issues whichcome in the purview of the stategovernments and instead focuson central subjects.

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The Modi Government onWednesday accused the

Opposition of adopting doublestandards on the issue ofEVMs, saying leaders fromtheir parties had become ChiefMinisters and Prime Ministersthrough the same votingprocess.

"If people of this countryelect Narendra Modi, thenEVM is faulty. What is thislogic?" Law Minister RaviShankar Prasad asked theopposition members, whilereplying to the debate on elec-toral reforms in Rajya Sabha.

"This hypocracy and dou-ble standards impinge upon thepolity of the country," Prasadadded. He also pitched for'one nation one poll' and urgedthe Opposition to consider theproposal with an open mind.

The minister said the gov-ernment will write to theElection Commission to havea single voter list for assembly,panchayat and general electionsin the country. Prasad said thatthe government has taken var-ious measures to improve the

electoral funding system andthat it was ready to considerany other suggestions.

Replying to a short dura-tion debate on electoralreforms, Prasad counteredopposition charges related tomisuse of media, social mediaand electoral bonds during therecently concluded generalelections. "Time has come forone nation one poll. We shouldconsider this proposal with anopen mind," he said, and hopedthat some conclusion couldbe achieved after discussion.

On aspersions related toEVMs and demand for return-ing to ballot papers, the min-ister said that post 1999, asmany as four general electionsand 122 assembly electionshave been held using EVMs.He said Manmohan Singhbecame the prime ministertwice based on elections heldwith EVMs. Similarly, manyopposition leaders likeAkhilesh Yadav, Mayawati andMamta Banerjee became CMsunder EVMs.

The minister said theCongress recently won threeassembly polls in Madhya

Pradesh, Rajasthan andChhattisgarh. He asserted nota single complaint has beenreceived regarding vote beingcast to a particular candidatethrough the EVM and it gettingtransferred to some other can-didate.

On opposition charge ofcrediting itself with achieve-ments of defence forces duringelection campaign, the minis-ter said "Why national securi-ty should not become a plankfor election discourse?"Regarding allegations of man-aging media and social media,Prasad said: "Stop insultingthe voters of this country andtry to acknowledge yourdefeat."

The minister said the gov-ernment would not allow themisuse of data by foreign pow-ers and said legislation in thisregard has been in the works.He also highlighted that BJP-led NDA has returned to poweron various schemes and pro-grammes for the welfare of thepoor.

On electoral funding,Prasad said the government hastaken many steps in the past

three years to improve the sys-tem and the corporates havebeen asked to give donationonly through cheques.

Earlier, participating in thedebate, Derek O'Brien (AITC)said the time has come to formlaws for electoral reforms in thecountry while pointing out tovarious issues like "misuse" ofdata by political parties in theelections. Bhupender Yadav(BJP) said the time has come tohold Parliament and assemblyelections simultaenously andurged members of all parties toconsider it.

Senior Congress memberKapil Sibal charged that BJPincurred huge expenditure onpublicity and misused socialmedia during the recent gen-eral elections. Ram GopalYadav of SP demanded that "weshould go back to ballot paper"as people do not have faith onEVMs. He sought one voter listfor panchayat, assembly andgeneral elections.

Satish Chandra Misra ofthe BSP said his party oppos-es use of EVMs to conduct elec-tions as they can be manipu-lated.

����� .��/.012

Union Law Minister RaviShankar Prasad on

Wednesday said that anElection Commission (EC)proposal to put a ceiling onexpenditure incurred by polit-ical parties during polls on thelines of candidates is underexamination of theGovernment. A candidate canspend between �50 lakh and�70 lakh, depending on theState he/she is contesting theLok Sabha election from. For allStates, except ArunachalPradesh, Goa and Sikkim, acandidate can spend a maxi-mum of �70 lakh on cam-paigning.

In a written response to LokSabha, Prasad said the poll

watchdog has proposed thatthere should be a ceiling onparty's expenditure in all elec-tions on the lines of a cap onexpenditure for candidates. "Theproposal is under examinationof the Government," he said.

Based on a March 2015consultation on political financeand a Law Commission reporton electoral reforms, theElection Commission had inApril 2015 issued an outcome

paper which had recommend-ed that like individual candi-dates, there should be a ceilingon expenditure made by polit-ical parties.

The EC had told the gov-ernment that there was a 'gen-eral agreement' among partici-pants who were part of the con-sultation on electoral reforms.

At present, while there is aceiling on campaigning fund forindividual candidates in elec-toral fray, there is no such capon the money political partiescan spend for electioneering.

"The ceiling on expendituremust include the period beforethe announcement of elections,when political parties engage inwidespread mobilisation andelectioneering," the EC paperhad said.

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Inclusive education (IE),wherein children with dis-

abilities go to mainstreamschools rather than specialschools, under the Centre'sSarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA)continues to remain a distantdream with a UNESCO reportpointing out that three-fourthsof such kids in the age of fiveyears and one-fourth between 5and 19 years do not go to anyeducational institution.

Indicating prevalent genderdiscrimination in education,the 2019 "State of the EducationReport for India: Children withDisabilities" report pointed outthat the number of girls withdisabilities in schools was"fewer" than boys. The reportwhich has been prepared byTata Institute of Social Sciences(TISS) and commissioned byUNESCO, talks in detail aboutchallenges such as inadequateallocations, delays in releasingfunds and under-utilisation ofallocation.

Data from the 2011 censushave been studied, according towhich there are 78,64,636 chil-dren with disability in Indiaconstituting 1.7 per cent of thetotal child population.

"The number of childrenenrolled in school drops signif-icantly with each successivelevel of schooling. There arefewer girls with disabilities inschools than boys with disabil-ities in schools.

"Significant gaps thereforeremain, even though successiveGovernment schemes and pro-grams have brought large num-bers of children with disabilitiesinto schools," the report said.

It said only 61 per cent ofCWDs aged between 5 and 19were attending an educationalinstitution compared to theoverall figure of 71 per centwhen all children are considered.

"Around 12 per cent ofCWDs dropped out of school,which is comparable with theoverall percentage of dropoutsamong all children. 27 per centof CWDs never attended any

educational institution, asopposed to the overall figure of17 per cent when the entirechild population is taken intoaccount," it added.

It said a large number ofchildren with disabilities donot go to regular schools but areenrolled at the National Instituteof Open Schooling (NIOS).

"The biggest group ofCWDs enrolling with NIOSover the years has been thosewith learning disabilities. Whilethere has been a drop in enrol-ment of students with locomo-tor and visual impairments,there has been a rise in thosewith multiple disabilities.

"The percentage of childrenattending schools is the lowestamong those with multiple dis-abilities, mental illnesses andmental retardation," the reportsaid as it acknowledged thatinclusive education is complexto implement and requires a fineunderstanding of diverse needsof children and their familiesacross different contexts.

"India has made consider-

able progress in terms of puttingin place a robust legal frame-work and a range of pro-grammes and schemes thathave improved enrolment ratesof children with disabilities inschools.

"However, further measuresare needed to ensure qualityeducation for every child toachieve the goals and targets ofagenda 2030 and more specifi-cally Sustainable DevelopmentGoal 4," it said.

According to the UNESCOreport, the attitude of parentsand teachers towards includingCWDs into mainstream educa-tion is also crucial to accomplishthe goal of inclusive educationbesides accessibility to physicalinfrastructure, processes in theschool, assistive and ICT tech-nology and devices being essen-tial resources. It recommendedamending the Right ToEducation (RTE) Act to betteralign with the Right of Personswith Disabilities (RPWD) Actby including specific concernsof education of such children.

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The Union Cabinet onWednesday gave its approval

to the proposals for leasing outthree major airports —Ahmedabad, Lucknow andMangaluru — of the AirportsAuthority of India (AAI)through public-private partner-ship (PPP) with Adani Group.Earlier this year, the Adani grouphad won the bids to operate thethree airports for a period of 50years. Gautam Adani led grouphad also won the bids to oper-ate the Jaipur, Guwahati andThiruvananthapuram airports,owned by the AAI.

The AAI had chosen thewinner on the basis of the "per-passenger fee" offered by the bid-ders. Principal Spokesperson ofthe Government of IndiaSitanshu Kar said on Twitter,"Cabinet approves proposal forleasing out of three airports viz.#Ahmedabad, Lucknow and

Mangaluru of AirportsAuthority of India throughPublic Private Partnership.

Cabinet meeting chaired byPrime Minister Narendra Modialso approved the long standingdemand of paramilitary officersfor upgrading their cadre.Cabinet "approved the propos-al for Grant of Organised Group'A' Service (OGAS) to Group 'A'Executive Cadre Officers ofCentral Armed Police Forces(CAPFs) and extension of ben-efit of Non-Functional FinancialUpgradation (NFFU) and Non-Functional Selection Grade(NFSG)," said Government instatement.

Several writ petitions werefiled in Delhi High Court byGroup 'A' Executive CadreOfficers of CAPF for grant ofOGAS status and consequentialbenefits of NFFU and NFSG.

The Cabinet also approveda bill that bars commercial sur-rogacy and allows only close rel-

atives to act as surrogates toneedy infertile couples for "altru-istic" reasons. The Surrogacy(Regulation) Bill, 2019 propos-es to regulate surrogacy in Indiaby establishing a NationalSurrogacy Board at the centrallevel and State Surrogacy Boardsand appropriate authorities inthe state and Union Territories,official sources said.

"The proposed legislationwill ensure effective regulationof surrogacy, prohibit com-mercial surrogacy and allowethical surrogacy to the needyinfertile Indian couples. "Whilecommercial surrogacy will beprohibited, including sale andpurchase of human embryoand gametes, ethical surrogacyto the needy infertile coupleswill be allowed on fulfillmentof stipulated conditions. It willalso prohibit exploitation ofsurrogate mothers and childrenborn through surrogacy," anofficial said.

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Page 6: ˘ˇ ˆ - The Pioneer · In his letter, Rahul said it ... Sunil Kumar Barnwal and Industry Secretary K Ravi ... is yet to cover Punjab, Haryana, and parts of Uttar Pradesh. Tomar

China has managed to tame the wildTibetan yaks, according to Xinhua.“Under the touch of the petite scien-

tist Yan Ping, the tall and powerful black yak,weighing over 400 kg, is as obedient as a lamb,”a report said. The news agency added,“Unlike other yaks, this one has no horns.”Yan, who works for the Lanzhou Institute ofHusbandry and Pharmaceutical Sciences,explained, “The Ashidan yak has no hornsand has a mild temperament, easy to keep andfeed.” How metaphorical this is.

Beijing seems to have developed someexpertise in taming humans and nations, too.The Taiwan News reported how “Manila kow-tows to Beijing, cedes Exclusive EconomicZone (EEZ) in South China Sea.” The once-wild President of the Philippines, RodrigoDuterte, is said to have ceded “ground in theSouth China Sea through an ‘informal’ and‘undocumented’ [agreement] with PresidentXi Jinping.” The Taiwanese newspaper notedthat many citizens of the Philippines were“already concerned over the Government’sunwillingness to safeguard the territory of thecountry’s EEZ.” The article concluded that thismakes the Duterte Government appear evenweaker in protecting the nation’s maritime ter-ritory. But it is not only the Philippines, whichhas been tamed and has accepted Beijing’s dik-tats. India’s northern neighbour, Nepal,seems to have fallen in the trap, too.

Newsgram, an independent media agency,recently pointed out that it is the NepalGovernment in Kathmandu, which forceslocal journalists to avoid critical reporting onChina, the largest investor of the Himalayanland-locked nation. Anil Giri, the foreignaffairs correspondent for The KathmanduPost, told Voice of America that “journalistsare discouraged from covering Tibetan affairsto mollify China and that Government offi-cials shy away from commenting on China-related issues. China sponsors junkets forNepalese journalists and that’s why probablywe don’t see a lot of criticism about China’sgrowing investment in Nepal, Chinese doingbusiness in Nepal and China’s growing polit-ical clout in Nepal.”

The lamb-lamb attitude in Kathmanduwas clear in an incident that took place recent-ly at the Tribhuvan International Airport inKathmandu. The Himalayan Times reported:“Man labelled Dalai Lama’s agent, deportedto the US.” Apparently, the Nepal immigra-tion mistook a Tibetan called Penpa Tsering,holding a US passport and arriving fromAmerica with his homonym as former rep-resentative to the Dalai Lama in the US. Nepaliofficials argued that the man was “on China’smost-wanted list.” In Dharamsala, the formerTibetan representative observed: “It clearlyshows that the Chinese Government’s pres-sure on Nepal is working.”

Nepalese Home Minister Ram BahadurThapa affirmed that the deportation was onlyan act “of honouring the ‘One-China’ policy.”A few weeks earlier, two members of Nepal’sParliament, Ekwal Miyan and Pradip Yadav,

had to apologise for havingattended the Seventh WorldParliamentarians’ Conventionon Tibet, which was held inLatvia’s capital Riga betweenMay 7 and 10, after Beijing pres-surised Kathmandu.

In a joint Press statement, thetwo MPs declared that they“happened to inadvertentlyattend the conference …due towrong information …when theywere on a private visit to Turkey,Switzerland and Latvia.” Theyhad even given their speeches bymistake! This shows how Chinacan today dictate terms to “small”countries like Nepal.

At the same time, Xinhuaproudly reminded its readersthat in the summer of 1921, “adozen of Communist Party ofChina (CPC) members wereforced to leave a small buildingin the French concession area ofShanghai and boarded a boat onthe Nanhu Lake in Jiaxing,Zhejiang Province, concludingthe first National Congress of theCPC. …Since then, the [commu-nist] party has managed to leada vulnerable country to movecloser towards the world’s centrestage.”

The news agency asserted:“The Chinese nation has stoodup, grown rich and is becomingstrong. …Socialism with Chinesecharacteristics have maintainedstability and vitality in the tide ofglobal changes.”

The Tibetans, who havebeen tamed more than 60 yearsago, are an easy prey. A couple of

weeks ago, a Tibetan Minister inthe Central TibetanAdministration (CTA) inDharamsala was denied visa toattend a conference in Mongolia.Karma Gelek Yuthok, Minister ofReligion and Culture, was toattend the Asian BuddhistConference in the Mongoliancapital, Ulaanbaatar. The Ministercould only say that it was “theclearest sign yet of China’s aggres-sive campaign of underminingcore democratic freedoms acrossthe world.”

On the Roof of the World,China has now all the cards inhand to nominate its own 15thDalai Lama. Gyaltsen Norbu,the Panchen Lama, selectedand groomed by Beijing, hasbeen elected as the president ofthe Tibetan branch of theBuddhist Association of China.Gyaltsen Norbu recently visitedThailand. On his return toBeijing, he affirmed: “We arefortunate to be in the era of thedevelopment and the rise ofNew China and thank theCommunist Party of China forleading the Chinese people inachieving the tremendous trans-formation of standing up, grow-ing rich and becoming strong.”

In other continents, too,nations have to kowtow, thoughthey are slowly waking up to thefact that all is not rosy. The exam-ples of Sri Lanka and theMaldives are often cited, but thereare some in Africa too.

The Ethiopian BusinessReview recently had a cover-

story: “Africa falling into debt-trap” while The African Exponent,an online outlet for Africannews, dared to write: “HorrorAwaits African Leaders as ChinaWithdraws Debt Funding.” Itexplained: “After an impressiverun of a good relationship withChina, scooping up at least $9.8billion between 2006 and 2017,making it Africa’s third-largestrecipient of Chinese loans, thegood ‘friendship’ between the twocountries seems to have come toa snag.” The reporter noted thatin September, China promisedanother $60 billion in aid andloans to the continent: “Xi Jinpingpromised the money wouldcome with no political stringsattached.”

But all good things have anend. When Uhuru Kenyatta, theKenyan President, visited Chinain May, “the atmosphere thatgreeted him was unfamiliar to theChina of old. Questions wereraised about corruption, as wellas the figures and sums [thatKenya] had proposed.” Kenyattadid not like it.

The Chinese even wantedto know if he planned to standfor office again in 2022: “It waslike talking to the World Bank,”observed an aide to the Kenyanleader. All this, as well as therecent events in Hong Kong,show that the taming ofhumans or nations cannot betaken for granted; nobodyremains a lamb forever.

(The writer is an expert onIndia-China relations)

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Sir — This refers to the editori-al, “Zaira’s choice” (July 3). It isindeed shocking that a young andtalented girl like Zaira Wasim hasdecided to leave the film indus-try. She came into Bollywoodamidst cut-throat competitionand performed under a lot ofpressure. May be she was not ableto cope with industry pressuredue to her age. Nevertheless, it isher choice to call it quits and wemust respect her decision. Butone thing that was unwarrantedof her was to drag religion intothis issue. Bollywood has aplethora of actors, producers anddirectors, who are Muslims andhave helped define the industry’smost secular atmosphere.

Bal Govind Noida

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Sir — This refers to the article,“The deep slumber of variedopinions” (July 3) by KalyaniShankar. The Congress findsitself on the horns of a dilemma.It may all be very well forCongress chief Rahul Gandhi to

resign and insist that the partyshould find a “successor” but evenafter almost five weeks, the stale-mate continues. This because noone in the party — either singlyor collectively — is willing or evenhas the gumption to “bell the cat”,lest he/she should be perceived asbeing “disloyal” to the Nehru-

Gandhi family. Any number ofmeetings, discussions or confab-ulations on this matter will not“produce” a name; unless thatname is already announced open-ly either by Rahul Gandhi or UPAchairperson Sonia Gandhi.

NS RajanBengaluru

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Sir — It is disturbing that somepeople are castigating wicket-keep-er MS Dhoni for Team India’s lossin the World Cup to England.Dhoni batted at an average strikerate of 135.48, which was the sec-cond-highest strike rate of the

match. Dhoni’s role in the Indianteam is currently that of a finisherand a finisher’s job is to win thematch with explosive battingtowards the end. Dhoni has beenconsistent in doing this.

Tushar AnandPatna

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Sir — This refers to the article,“Improving India’s tax compli-ance” (October 26, 2018) by a free-lance contributor, Navneet Anand.The writer had erroneously quot-ed figures from a report publishedby a leading newspaper and hadsaid: “Out of the 2.8 lakh charteredaccountants, who advise companiesand individuals on tax matters, onlyabout one-third or one lakh paidtaxes.” The actual number, as stat-ed by ICAI is: “Out of a total of2,69,350 charted accountants,2,45,507 filed their returns, whichis nearly 91 per cent of the totalnumber. Among these, approxi-mately 8,000 CharteredAccountants are above the age of70, who may or may not be fillingreturns, depending upon theirincome.” The oversight is regretted.

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Page 7: ˘ˇ ˆ - The Pioneer · In his letter, Rahul said it ... Sunil Kumar Barnwal and Industry Secretary K Ravi ... is yet to cover Punjab, Haryana, and parts of Uttar Pradesh. Tomar

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In its bi-monthly monetary policy report,announced on June 6, the Reserve Bank ofIndia (RBI) reduced the repo rate/the pol-

icy rate (rate at which the RBI lends money tocommercial banks) from the subsisting 6.0 percent to 5.75 per cent. Together with a reduc-tion of 0.25 per cent, each notified in the pre-vious two reviews (February and April ), it hascut the rate by 0.75 per cent in less than sixmonths.

In another significant move, the RBI haschanged its policy stance from hitherto being“neutral” to “accommodative.” Whereas a neu-tral stance carries with it the possibility ofreduction as well as increase (it may even con-note no change), an accommodative stanceunambiguously points towards a rate cut infuture reviews.

That the above decisions represent theunanimous view of all members of theMonetary Policy Committee (MPC) — asinformed by RBI Governor, Shaktikanta Dasduring a Press briefing while announcing thepolicy — they reinforce the assessment that theinterest rate, henceforth, will be on a downward trajectory.

After a long wait, it is encouraging that theRBI is being seen as accommodative of the con-cerns of the industry and trade even as thecountry’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP)growth plummeted to an all-time low of 5.8 percent in the fourth quarter of last year, endingMarch 31, 2019 (during 2018-19, the growthdecelerated to 6.8 per cent — the lowest dur-ing Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s firstterm). This is in sharp contrast to the intran-sigent attitude of the banking regulator undersimilar circumstances in the past.

During the four-and-a-half years of Modi1.0, despite inflation, as represented by theConsumer Price Index (CPI) remaining with-in the target range of four per cent (+/-2 percent) on either side, the RBI refrained frommaking any positive moves to lower the policy rate.

Prior to January 2015, the RBI, under thethen Governor, Raghuram Rajan, followed ahawkish policy. Consequently, the interestrate had reached a high of eight per cent.Thereafter, even as the Government succeeded in bringing the inflation to a low of4.2 per cent in October, 2016, the policy ratewas lowered to 6.5 per cent (of the 1.5 per centcut during that period, the banks transmittedonly up to two-third to the borrowers by way of corresponding reduction in the lend-ing rate).

In his very first policy review announcedon October 4, 2016, former RBI Governor, UrjitPatel, who took over from Raghuram Rajan,reduced the rate from the then prevailing 6.5per cent to 6.25 per cent. However, in the sec-ond review (December, 2016), he kept the rateunchanged at 6.25 per cent despite inflationstaring at 3.6 per cent in November, 2016,which was significantly lower than the targetrate. In the February, 2017 review, too, the pol-icy rate was kept unchanged even as the CPIcontinued its downward trajectory to 3.4 percent in December, 2016 and further down to3.2 per cent in January, 2017.

During the fiscal 2017-18, infla-tion was in the 2.0-3.5 per cent rangeduring the first half and 4.2-4.6 percent during the second half — this waswell within the target range. Yet, dur-ing that period, only once ie, August2017 review, the rate was reduced to6.0 per cent. During the first half of2018-19, the rate was upped by 0.5 percent in two rounds — 0.25 per centeach in June 2018 and August 2018respectively. This despite inflationduring the first half registering 4.7-5.1per cent — though slightly higher thanprevious year — but well within thepermissible six per cent on the upperside of the band.

The above trends clearly pointtowards the RBI’s obsession withinflation management even as it wascompletely oblivious to the overarch-ing need to push growth, that too ata time when the economy was strug-gling to cope with the sudden disrup-tion caused by the twin reform mea-sures viz, demonetisation (November2016) and the Goods and ServicesTax), implemented from July 1, 2017.

Or else, how does one explain itsunwillingness to go soft on the poli-cy rate even when the inflation waswell within the range set by none otherthan the central bank itself? In fact, ina bid to lend some legitimacy to whatit did, it even erected a facade of infla-tionary expectations, which was notwarranted (in fact, the upside risk toinflation — as anticipated by theMPC — was not borne out by facts onground zero as amply demonstratedby the CPI consistently keeping low allthrough).

Here, it needs to be recognisedthat the relationship between inflationand interest rate is tenuous. To under-stand this, let us assume that inflationis higher than the target range. Goingby the RBI’s logic, the policy rateought to have been increased. Willthat help in reining in inflation? Theanswer will be an emphatic no.

About 50 per cent of the CPIincludes food items. It will be fallacious to argue that higher cost ofcredit will prompt people to reducetheir demand (this is largely a func-tion of the calorie intake apart fromthe fact that normally no one ever bor-rows money to finance purchase offood). Food inflation is mainly afunction of supply. If there is disrup-tion in supply, then price will rise, irre-spective of whether the interest rate islow or high.

On the other hand, if supply ismanaged well, then inflation can betamed (this indeed has been the casefor most part of the period under dis-cussion) even with low interest rate.The same logic applies even to non-food items, though to a lesser extent.

Likewise, if inflation rises due toincrease in international prices ofcrude oil (India sources about 83 percent of its requirement from import,even as the price is determined byfluctuations in the global demand-supply balance), there is little that ahard interest rate policy can do to mit-igate its effect.

Now, with a looming threat of aflare-up in the Persian Gulf (courtesythe stand-off between the US and Iranover the nuclear issue and the decision

of the OPEC countries — fully sup-ported by Russia — to cut supplies by1.2 million barrels a day), the pricecould be heading for a sharp increase.

There is no way that India’s mon-etary policy could help mitigate itsadverse impact. The only way theGovernment can succeed in combat-ing this is by increasing domestic pro-duction of oil (besides gas), therebyreducing its dependence on import ofthese essential items. But the result ofsuch a strategy will only be availablein the long run.

The message is loud and clear:The RBI should avoid being glued totargetting inflation all the time.Instead, interest rate policy should bedovetailed to propel growth. If the rateis lowered alongside pumping liquid-ity in the system, this will help indus-tries and services, hamstrung by lowdemand, to improve their utilisationrates and even go for fresh investment,giving a boost to growth.

Unlike Prime Minister NarendraModi’s first term, when growth wasled primarily by heavy capital expen-diture by the Government, in the pre-sent scenario, a big boost to privateinvestment and consumption is need-ed to revive the sagging numbers. Thiscalls for a lower interest rate regime.The RBI has done well by recognisingthis and even handing out a cumula-tive cut of 0.75 per cent in less thansix months. It promises more bycommitting to a change of stance to‘accommodative.” Hopefully, this trendwill be sustained.

(The writer is a New Delhi-basedpolicy analyst)

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It’s that time of the year whenMumbaikars roll up their sleevesand take on the wrath of monsoon

as their offices, homes, streets and evenhospitals get inundated with floodwater. The extent of water logging thisyear has been such that even depart-ed souls have not been spared.Ambulances and hearse vans could notferry the dead to the cremation ghatsor cemeteries, owing to neck-deepwater on the roads. This annual trialeither by fire, or water in this case, isnow part of the lives of denizens ofMumbai. No amount of year-roundwork seems to liberate the city dwellersfrom this retribution by mother nature.

At the time of writing this article,around 32 people were confirmed dead

in the worst ever floods the financialcapital of the nation experienced in thelast decade. After the city went throughnearly 16 inches of rain in the past fewdays, several parts of the boomingmetropolis became inundated in waist-deep water. This led to the local trainand bus services being disrupted. Evenschools and colleges were closed downas 50 flights were cancelled from theMumbai airport.

The maximum city seems to bereceiving a maximum dose of rain-related disasters annually. The pressingquestion is: Why is this scenariorepeated year after year? The answer liesin the indiscriminate alteration done tothe environment and ecology of the cityand its surrounding regions.

The city’s ability to absorb mon-soon rains has been weakened due tothe construction boom that hasdestroyed much of its mangrove forests— trees that once helped drain the sea-sonal waters. Most flooded areas arenear the banks of the city’s Mithi River,the 11-mile seasonal river that belongsto the wetlands where the trees oncegrew. Rising sea levels with the rainhave also contributed to the flooding.

Of late, the city has also witnessedphenomenal overcrowding, which hasled to immense loss of life in urbanareas. Unprecedented and uncon-trolled growth is the main cause for thebooming population. This is the baneof most Indian cities, which are grow-ing at an unprecedented rate. From apopulation of 2.86 million in 1950,Mumbai is now home to more than 21million people and by 2030, it isexpected to have a population ofalmost 28 million. Built along the coast-line on a series of islands, the city is sur-rounded by water: In mudflats, lakes,creeks, rivers and the ever-present

coastline. Given the astronomical landprices in many parts of the city as alsothe extreme scarcity of land, it is no sur-prise that Mumbai has sacrificed itsecology for development.

Real estate projects, industry andState infrastructure, including rail-ways, roads and the airport, have builtover and choked the city’s water net-works at various strategic points. Theresult — every monsoon the city isflooded. Mudflats, wetlands, flood-plains, mangroves and wooded vege-tation once slowed down the flow of thestorm water. But that is non-existentnow, thus exposing the people to the

raw end of nature’s fury.The mangrove’s complex root sys-

tems and the branching architecture oftrees acted as a natural barrier to reducethe force of water flow. But now, theyare built over. Garbage clogs the water-ways almost everywhere. Most chan-nels and waterways that connect waterbodies have been built over, too, thuspreventing streams from easily reach-ing the sea — forcing them to spreadout into low lying areas, adding to thesevere flooding problem.

Mumbai’s extensive wetlands andmudflats, which had connected partsof the city since the early 19th centu-ry, are nowhere to be seen now. Theirpresence will retain rainwater and letit soak into the ground, recharging thewells and ground water table. Today,with nothing but concrete all around,the city’s land surface does not allowwater to soak into it. Especially duringintense periods of rain, devastation isextreme — at least 5,000 people arebelieved to have perished in the infa-mous floods of 2005 and the econom-ic damage was estimated at 30 billionrupees ($690 million).

Sadly, neither the State

Government nor the people haveunderstood the severe cost they arepaying each year even as the risks arebuilding up. With virtually no bar onmigration and no infrastructuresupport in place to handle the del-uge of humanity flowing intoMumbai, the per square km popu-lation level is reaching unimaginablelevels. So is the threat factor of livesbeing lost in case of a solid naturaldisaster. How will this spiralling sit-uation get under control? The answersquarely lies in regulating the con-struction industry first.

Be it rainwater harvesting or ecofriendly construction, the real estatesector of Mumbai is not known foreither and therein lies the problem. Fora city on the edge of an ecological apoc-alypse, the attitude is rather casual. Thishas to be discarded forthwith as natureis going through its cycle in a calculat-ed manner and if the city does not wantto get crushed under its inevitableweight, it better set the wrongs right andgive due credit to the environment bytaking care of it.

(The writer is an environmentaljournalist)

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The Government is commit-ted to the disinvestment of

national carrier Air India andthe plan is to make it more oper-ationally viable before disin-vesting it, Civil Aviation MinisterHardeep Singh Puri told theRajya Sabha Wednesday.

Replying to supplemen-taries during Question Hour,the minister said there hasbeen a steady improvement infinances of Air India and theairline is set to make profit dur-ing the current financial year.

He said Air India is cur-rently making a revenue of �15crore everyday.

“Our plan is to revive AirIndia, make it more opera-tionally viable and then to dis-invest it. So far as Air India isconcerned, the Government iscommitted to the privatisa-tion of Air India. Let there beno ambiguity on that,” he said.

Puri said the costing andoverall calculations of an Airlinedepends on a large number offactors, including external fac-tors like closure of Pakistan airspace, but should end the cur-rent year in profit after whichit will be disinvested.

“There has been a steadyimprovement in Air India’sfinances. It has been my expec-tations that in the currentfinancial year, we are hoping tomake profit. But, the year that

has concluded the figure shallshow a loss,” he said.

The Minister said in April,the airline has improved butthere are certain external fac-tors, like closure of airspace ofPakistan, that have affected itsprofitability.

“Our expectations is that inthe coming months, in thecurrent year, we will make aprofit and turn Air Indiaaround and then privatise theairline,” Puri said.

“It is customary for situa-tions like this for employeesand stakeholders in the processto put pressure on the govern-ment. We have increased theAir India profitability by 7crore revenue per day. We aredoing all that we can,” he said.

The Civil Aviation minis-ter also rejected as “motivated”certain news reports that theairline did not have enoughfinances and was unable to payup salaries upto this October.

He said there is an overalldebt of �59,000 crore and therewas a proposal to retire �29,000crore into a special puposevehicle when an attempt wasmade to privatise Air India.

“Now when Air India’s alter-native mechanism is established,we will take a view on these.

“After all, Air India is aviable airlines and it has someprized assets and when we gofor disinvestment, we will alsotake care of this. But, the press

report was motivated in orderto put pressure on the govern-ment not to disinvest in AirIndia,” he noted.

Air India by itself and manyof its operational assets are veryprized assets and the Narimanheadquarters are a case in point,he said. Responding to anoth-er query on rising airfares, theminister said the disruption orthe uncertainty caused onaccount the cessation of oper-ation of Jet Airways in so far asthe domestic air travel is con-cerned has been almost com-pletely corrected.

“In so far as the interna-tional airfares are concerned,we have for a three-monthperiod allocated the slots toother domestic carriers.

“In so far as the domesticsectors are concerned, airfareson the trunk sectors like Delhi-Mumbai which is on an aver-age �5,100 has not increasedover a 20 year period. That wasthe fare in 2001, that was thefare in 2011 and now,” he said.

As far as international sec-tor is concerned, he saidbecause Jet Airways used wide-bodied aircraft and some of theothers do not possess wide-bodied aircraft which they arein the process of acquiringand for a three-month periodslots of Jet have been given tothem and the resolutionprocess on Jet Airways pro-ceeds have to be seen.

����� �,��'2

Equity benchmarks Sensexand Nifty ended modestly

higher Wednesday after avolatile session as investorslooked ahead to the UnionBudget for further cues.

Extending its gains for thethird session, the 30-share BSESensex settled 22.77 points, or0.06 per cent, higher at39,839.25. Similarly, the broad-er NSE Nifty edged up 6.45points, or 0.05 per cent, to11,916.75.

Investors are keeping theirpowder dry ahead of Budget2019-20, to be presented Friday,and are expecting measures tospur growth and revivedemand, traders said.

Risk sentiment was alsoaffected after data showed thatthe country’s services sectoractivity in June contracted forthe first time since May 2018.

Top gainers in the Sensexpack included IndusInd Bank,ITC, L&T, M&M, PowerGrid,Asian Paints and SBI, endingup to 3.79 per cent higher.

On the other hand, TechMahindra, Vedanta, Infosys,Yes Bank, Tata Motors, TCS,HCL Tech and Maruti were thetop losers, shedding up to 1.44per cent.

Global equities turned jit-

tery after optimism surround-ing the US-China trade trucewas offset by the Trumpadministration proposing toslap tariffs on certain EUimports.

“Market will be volatileahead the big event and profitbooking is natural at this highlevel. However, underlyingtrend of the markets seemspositive in expectation ofrevival in growth led by actionsto boost infrastructure, invest-ments, housing and bring arelief to rural distress.

“A spur in safe haven assetindicates investors’ fear in theglobal market and FIIs are onrisk off mode,” said VinodNair, Head of Research, GeojitFinancial Services.

Sectorally, the BSE realty,capital goods, power, FMCG,industrials, energy and financeindices ended up to 0.76 percent higher.

IT, teck, consumerdurables, healthcare, auto andutilities slipped up to 0.86 percent. Broader midcap andsmallcap indices rose up to 0.26per cent.

Bourses in Shanghai, HongKong, Tokyo and Seoul endedon a negative note, while equi-ty markets in Europe weretrading in the green in earlysession.

����� .�/.012

Th eNational

Company LawA p p e l l a t eT r i b u n a l(NCLAT) onWe d n e s d ayreserved itsorder overadmission ofcontempt peti-tion fileda g a i n s tR e l i a n c eGroup Chairman Anil Ambaniand its other officials by minor-ity shareholders alleging non-payment of dues by RelianceInfratel.

A two-member bench,headed by NCLAT ChairmanJustice S J Mukhopadhaya, saidit will decide whether the con-tempt petition filed by HSBCDaisy Investments (Mauritius)and others should be admittedas Reliance Communications(RCom) is a now goingthrough insolvency proceed-ings. Reliance Infratel, againstwhich also the contempt peti-tion has been filed, is part ofRCom.

The counsel appearing forresolution professional saidthat as RCom was goingthrough insolvency proceed-ings and was under the mora-torium period under the IBC,it cannot pay money.

In May this year, the

Mumbai bench of the NationalCompany Law Tribunal(NCLT) started the corporateinsolvency resolution process ofRCom, which has a total bankdebt of over �50,000 crore.

HSBC Daisy had movedthe appellate tribunal overalleged default of payment of�230 crore by Reliance Infrateland stated that the companyhas not fulfilled an undertak-ing given by it.

As per the consent terms ofthe agreement among RelianceInfratel, HSBC Daisy and oth-ers, recorded by the NCLAT inits order dated June 26, 2018,the Anil Ambani-owned firmwas to pay the amount in thefollowing six months.

After the six-month peri-od ended, HSBC Daisy andnine other minority share-holders holding 4.26 per centstake in Reliance Infratel filedthe contempt plea.

����� .��/.012

India’s trade deficit, differencebetween imports and

exports, has widened duringthe past three years with asmany as 25 major countriesincluding South Korea, Japan,Germany, Iraq and SaudiArabia, Parliament wasinformed Wednesday.

Commerce MinisterPiyush Goyal said in a writtenreply to the Lok Sabha thattrade deficit depends upon rel-ative fluctuations in the importsand exports of different com-modities due to the global anddomestic factors such asdemand and supply, currencyfluctuations, cost of credit, andlogistics costs.

The increasing trade deficitin spite of positive growth ofexports is mainly due to high-er imports of products such ascrude oil, electronic goods, ironand steel, chemicals, coke, fer-tilisers, and machinery, he said.

These products contributeover 70 per cent share in totalimports in 2018-19.

Trade deficit with Korea,

Japan, Germany, Iraq and SaudiArabia increased to $12 billion,$7.9 billion, $6.25 billion,$20.58 billion and $22.9 billion,respectively, in 2018-19.

The minister added thatthe government has taken sev-eral steps to boost India’sexports and minimise theimpact of trade deficit.

The steps include improv-ing ease of doing business,scheme for development oftrade-related infrastructure,and scheme to mitigate disad-vantage of higher cost of trans-portation for export.

India’s overall trade deficit,including both goods and ser-vices, has increased to $103.63billion in 2018-19 from $84.45billion in the previous financialyear.

“As per Foreign TradePolicy 2015-20, the govern-ment aims to increase India’sexport of merchandise andservices from $465.9 billion toabout $900 billion by 2019-20and to raise India’s share inworld exports (goods and ser-vices) from two per cent to 3.5per cent,” he said.

��� � �,��'2

Birla Group patriarch B KBirla passed away in

Mumbai on Wednesday at theage of 98, his family said.

A doyen of the Indianindustry, Birla had been suf-fering from age-related ail-ments. Birla was the chairmanof Century Textiles andIndustries and had been activein business since the age of 15.

He was instrumental in aslew of business initiatives,starting with his stint as thechairman of KesoramIndustries, they said.

He is survived by hisdaughters Manjushree Khaitanand Jayshree Mohta, who runKesoram Industries andJayshree Tea and Industriesrespectively. His wife SaralaBirla predeceased him in 2015.His only son Aditya VikramBirla had died in 1995.

The sources said Birla’sbody would be brought to hishouse at Birla Park in Kolkataand the cremation will takeplace on Thursday.

His grandsonKumarmangalam Birla had

taken him to Mumbai due tohis failing health.

The seat of the Birla broth-ers in Kolkata — Birla Building— will remain closed onThursday as a mark of respectto B K Birla.

Born in 1921, Birla was theyoungest son of philanthropistGhanshyam Das Birla. By thetime he was 15, he was alreadyactively associated with a largenumber of companies andeventually became the chair-man of Kesoram Industries.

He focussed on the indus-tries such as cotton, viscose,polyester and nylon yarns,refractory, paper, shipping,tyrecord, transparent paper,spun pipe, cement, tea, coffee,cardamom, chemicals, ply-wood and MDF Board.

����� .��/.012

The Delhi High CourtWednesday asked RBI and

Enforcement Directorate (ED)to respond to a plea allegingthat online payment platformPayPal was operating “illegal-ly” without the central bank’sauthorisation.

A bench of Chief Justice DN Patel and Justice C HariShankar issued notice to theReserve Bank of India (RBI),ED and Paypal Payments PvtLtd (PayPal) and sought theirstand on the PIL before thenext date of hearing onSeptember 18.

Abhijit Mishra, a financialeconomist, has claimed in hisplea that “Paypal is operating asa payment and settlements sys-tem in blatant violation of thePayments and SettlementsSystems Act”.

He said PayPal does notfigure in the list of authorisedpayment system operators pub-lished by RBI on May 27, 2019.

According to the PIL, filedthrough advocate Payal Bahl,PayPal’s services are being usedby various online travel, cloth-

ing and food websites or apps,including Yatra, Makemytrip,Bookmyshow, Dominos Pizzaand Myntra.

In his petition Mishra hasalleged that PayPal was also“operating as a foreignexchange dealer in contraven-tion of the Foreign ExchangeManagement Act (FEMA)”.

PayPal through its unau-thorized operation “has unmon-itored and unauthorized accessto the personal informationsuch as Aadhaar, PAN, etc of thepublic”, he claimed.

Such access to the person-al information of the public wasa violation of Article 21 of theConstitution of India, the plea

contended and sought direc-tions to PayPal to “immediate-ly stop its allegedly illegal andunauthorized operations”.

It has also sought probe byinvestigative agencies againstthe directors, management andofficers of PayPal for allegedmalpractice and violation ofprovisions of Article 21 of theConstitution of India, Paymentsand Settlements Act, FEMAand Prevention of MoneyLaundering Act (PMLA).

Mishra has also soughtdirections to RBI and ED totake action, including imposi-tion of fines and penalties,against PayPal for the allegedviolations.

����� .��/.012

Four payment system oper-ators have yet to comply

with the RBI’s 2018 circularon data localisation, while 72others have complied with it,the Lok Sabha was informedon Wednesday.

The Reserve Bank ofIndia (RBI) had in April 2018issued a circular on ‘Storageof Payment System Data’advising all system providersto ensure that within a peri-od of six months, the entiredata relating to payment sys-tems operated by them isstored in a system only in India.

“As per RBI, out of 76operational authorized non-bank payment system opera-tors (PSO), 72 have com-plied with the requirementsof this circular. The remain-ing 4 entities are yet to com-ply and are being monitoredby RBI for full compliance,”Minister for Electronics andIT Ravi Shankar Prasad saidin a written reply.

����� .��/.012

The Supreme CourtWednesday agreed to hear

on July 8 the DoT plea chal-lenging an order of telecom tri-bunal, TDSAT, which stayed itsdemand of �1,626.89 crore fromBharti Airtel Ltd. The demandwas made for the completion ofamalgamation of Bharti DigitalNetworks Pvt Ltd, formerlyknown as Tikona DigitalNetworks Pvt Ltd, with itself.

The Telecom DisputesSettlement and AppellateTribunal (TDSAT) had takennote of Bharti Airtel’s pleaagainst the DoT demand forspectrum fees and stayed it.

A bench comprising ChiefJustice Ranjan Gogoi and JusticesDeepak Gupta and AniruddhaBose took note of the plea by theDepartment of Telecom (DoT)for an urgent hearing and post-ed the matter for July 8.

Bharti Airtel said recentlythat it has completed the amal-gamation.

In March 2017, Airtel hadannounced its decision toacquire 4G business of TikonaNetworks, including broad-band spectrum and 350 sitesacross five telecom circles, forabout �1,600 crore.

Tikona had 20 MHz spec-trum in the 2,300-MHz band,with second largest ecosystemof 4G devices in Gujarat, east-ern UP, western UP, Rajasthanand Himachal Pradesh circles.

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Bengaluru: Congress inKarnataka, battling a crisiswithin after two party MLAsresigned, on Wednesday exud-ed confidence that one of themmay withdraw it while notingthe other had not yet sent hisletter to the Speaker.

Speaking to reporters,Congress Legislature PartyLeader Siddaramaiah also reit-erated his charge that the BJPwas conspiring to topple theCongress-JD(S) coalitionGovernment and that PrimeMinister Narendra Modi andHome Minister Amit Shahwere also involved in it.

He ruled out any 'reverseoperation' from Congress to tryand poach BJP MLAs like its'Operation Lotus', a strategyadopted by the party in 2008 toshore up its numbers in theAssembly by makingOpposition MLAs resign andseek re-election on the saffronparty ticket.

The announcement of res-ignations by Vijayanagara MLA

Anand Singh and Gokak MLARamesh Jarkiholi on Mondayhad dealt a double blow to the13-month old wobblyCongress-JD(S) coalitionGovernment led by HDKumaraswamy.

"Only Anand Singh hasgiven (resignation), we aretalking to him. He may with-draw," Siddaramaaih said inMyusuru.

Asked whether he was ableto contact Singh, he said "no,we have contacted him throughsomeone else and he has spo-ken to him."

"He (Singh) has given rea-sons like JSW Steel land issueamong others, but all thosecannot be reasons (for resig-nation). Lets talk is what I havecommunicated to him... wewill convince him," he said,adding that disgruntlementamong MLAs may be due tovarious reasons, but AnandSingh did not resign because hewas not made Minister.

Singh, who sent in his res-ignation to the Speaker onMonday, had said he decided toresign over various demands,including creation of a separateVijayangar district and cancel-lation of the nod for sale of

3,667 acres of land to JSW Steelin mine-rich Ballari district.

However, he had appearedto have not shut the doors fully,saying he would "wait foranswers" (from the govern-ment to his demands) whenasked if he would withdraw theresignation.

Maintaining that RameshJarkiholi has not resigned,Siddaramaiah said his resigna-tion has not reached theSpeaker, but was only report-ed in the media.

Speaker Ramesh Kumarhimself has said he has notreceived it," Siddaramaiahnoted.

The Speaker too said onlyone legislator has sent in hisresignation to him and hewould act on it in accordancewith rules, while he was notaware of the second MLA's res-ignation.

Indicating his displeasureabout Singh handing over acopy of his resignation toGovernor Vajubhai R Vala,the Speaker said an MLAshould have a sense aboutwhom to submit the resigna-tion, in what way it should bedone and who has the respon-sibility to dispose it. PTI

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Patna: The king of fruits camein the eye of a storm in Biharon Wednesday when a fancyvariety of mango and itssaplings were gifted to mem-bers of the bicameral legislatureby the State Government.

The goodwill gesture, how-ever, did not go down well withthe Opposition, which accusedthe Nitish Kumar Governmentof trying to divert the attentionof the members of the legisla-ture from its failure to check theoutbreak and spread of theacute encephalitis syndrome(AES).

The Digha Maldah man-goes and its saplings werehanded over to each memberwhen a debate on the agricul-ture budget was underway inthe assembly.

Explaining the spirit

behind the move, AgricultureMinister Prem Kumar toldreporters: "The Digha Maldavariety mangoes — specialty ofour state — and its saplings arebeing distributed to encourageits plantation".

Many legislators of theRashtriya Janata Dal and theCongress combine refused toaccept the gift and allegedthose who accepted it would be"cursed" by the families ofmore than 150 children who

lost their lives to AES lastmonth.

"This government is insen-sitive. It watched callouslywhen more than 100 childrendied," RJD legislator BhaiVirendra said. "It is still notdoing the needful for thosechildren who survived the dis-ease but are suffering fromextreme debility."

"I refuse to accept this pre-sent from the government thataims to shut the mouths ofMLAs on this vital issue,"Virendra said.

Bihar has been strugglingwith an AES outbreak since thebeginning of June. More than150 children have died of thedisease so far.

Former chief ministerRabri Devi, who is also theleader of the Opposition in the

legislative council, said: "Themangoes being distributed bythe government carry the curseof the families who have losttheir children to brain fever.Anybody who accepts this giftwill be, similarly, cursed."

Congress MLC PremChandra Mishra echoed simi-lar sentiments. "Anybody whoconsumes these mangoes thatare being distributed to distractthe members of the legislaturefrom important issues will suf-fer from indigestion".

Asked why the fruits werenot sent to the families of deador afflicted children, the agri-culture minister replied indig-nantly: "We will do that. Fruitswill be sent to the affected fam-ilies as also the saplings. Themedia can verify this at a laterstage."

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Mumbai: Central leadershipof the Congress has acceptedthe resignation of AshokChavan as the president of theMaharashtra unit, a seniorleader disclosed Wednesday.

He said Chavan's replace-ment would be announced ina day or two.

A meeting took place inNew Delhi on June 29 withRahul Gandhi and AICC gen-eral secretary in charge ofMaharashtra, MallikarjunKharge, where party leadersfrom the state, includingChavan, were present.

In the meeting, Chavanreiterated his offer to quitowing moral responsibility forthe party's worst-ever defeat inthe Lok Sabha polls, he said.

The Congress had wonjust one out of total 48 seats inMaharashtra. "Chavan said he

wished to be relieved of thepost so that he can concentrateon Nanded from where he wasdefeated," the leader said,adding that Chavan's replace-ment will be announced in aday or two.

Balasaheb Thorat, who isthe Congress' Legislature Party(CLP) leader and MLA fromSangamner in Ahmednagardistrict, is the frontrunner forthe post. "The meeting wasconvened with an objective todiscuss the party's prepara-tions for the Assembly elec-tions due later this year," hesaid.

On the issue of alliancewith Prakash Ambedkar-ledVanchit Bahujan Agadhi(VBA), Gandhi asked theMaharashtra leadership to takea decision in the interest of theparty, the leader added. PTI

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Gandhinagar: Ahead of theJuly 5 Rajya Sabha bypolls fortwo seats in Gujarat, the StateCongress has decided to shift itsMLAs to Mount Abu, a popu-lar hill station in adjoiningRajasthan, said party leaders onWednesday.

The main Opposition partysaid its MLAs will take part ina brainstorming session atMount Abu to chalk out astrategy for the ongoing Budgetsession of the Assembly anddenied the move was linked tothe bypolls.

Party sources said Congresslegislators will leave for MountAbu this evening and stay theretill the early morning of July 5.

Voting for the bypolls, inwhich MLAs constitute theelectoral college, is scheduled tostart at 9 am Friday.

Congress chief whip in theAssembly, Ashvin Kotwal,claimed the decision to shift theMLAs to Mount Abu has noth-ing to do with the bypolls.

He denied suggestions thatthe move is prompted by fear of

any "poaching" attempt by theruling BJP ahead of the voting.

However, Congress MLADhavalsinh Zala claimed theparty is reeling under the fearof cross-voting by some of itsMLAs.

Zala is a staunch support-er of disgruntled CongressMLA Alpesh Thakor.

Both have openly criticisedtheir party's move to shiftMLAs out of Gujarat anddeclared they will not go to thehill station with other col-leagues.

Notably, the Congress hadshifted 44 of its MLAs to aresort in Bengaluru to thwart apossible "poaching" attempt bythe BJP ahead of the 2017Rajya Sabha polls.

According to Kotwal, allparty MLAs have "unanimous-ly" decided to hold a brain-storming session at Mount Abuto chalk out a strategy for theongoing budget session of theAssembly.

"There is no question of anyfear or pressure. Since there is

no sitting of Assembly tillMonday, all the MLAs haveunanimously decided to utilisethis mini vacation and hold aworkshop at Mount Abu.

"We will brainstorm andexchange ideas to chalk our ourstrategy for the upcomingdebates in the Assembly on thebudgetary allocations," Kotwalsaid. Kotwal, however, admittedthat one or two party MLAsmay vote for BJP candidatesduring the bypolls.

"Both Zala and Thakor arestill our MLAs. We have notsuspended them yet. Barringone or two MLAs, all legislatorsare with us and will not engagein cross-voting," said Kotwal.

Thakor even refused togive a guarantee that he willvote for Congress candidates,claiming he has not received thewhip issued by the party for thebypolls.

"I have not received partywhip yet. I can only say that Iwill cast my vote on July 5. Onlytime will tell whom I havevoted for," said Thakor. PTI

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Mumbai: Congress leaderVijay Wadettiwar onWednesday demanded that acase of culpable homicide beregistered against a Shiv SenaMLA's firm, which construct-ed Tiware dam that gotbreached and claimed the livesof at least 11 persons so far.

The Tiware dam inChiplun taluka of Ratnagirideveloped a breach lateTuesday night, which causeda flood- like situation in sevendownstream villages. Twentythree persons are feared deadand bodies of 11 have beenrecovered so far.

"The dam was construct-ed 19 years ago by Khemraj,the firm run by Shiv SenaMLA Sadanand Chavan,"Wadettiwar said in a pressconference.

"The fact that the damdeveloped cracks in less thantwo decades and breachedresulting in a loss of innocentlives shows that the work wasmired in corruption and irreg-ularities," he said.

The Leader of Oppositionin Maharashtra LegislativeAssembly said that last year

locals had complained to thedistrict administration thatthe dam had developedcracks.

"This year, the dam wasrepaired and still there was abreach. Why were the com-plaints of locals not takenseriously?" he asked.

Wadettiwar said the lossof lives was due to the gov-ernment's apathy and negli-gence, and demanded resig-nation of Water ResourcesMinister Girish Mahajan.

"The minister only knowshow to breach other politicalparties, but doesn't know howto prevent breach of dams," healleged.

The Congress leader alsodemanded that a case underIPC section 302 (murder) befiled against the governmentsince the problem in the damwas brought to the notice ofthe administration, but noaction was taken.

There are reports thatDhamna dam in Shelud inJalna district has developedcracks, he said adding that thegovernment should take quickaction. PTI

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Jammu: Amid tight security,the fourth batch of 4,694 pil-grims including 791 womenWednesday left the BhagwatiNagar base camp here to payobeisance at the 3,880 metrehigh cave shrine of Amarnathin south Kashmir, officials said.

The pilgrims, including 24children and 70 sadhus, willreach the twin base camps ofPahalgam in Anantnag district

and Baltal in Ganderbal districtlater in the day.

Over 20 thousand pilgrimshave so far offered prayers at theshrine, housing the naturallyformed ice-shivalingam, sincethe commencement of the 46-day yatra on July 1 from thetwin routes — the traditional36-km Pahalgam track inAnantnag and the shorter 14-km Baltal route in Ganderbal.

Of the latest batch, theofficials said, 2,642 pilgrimsincluding 412 women, ninechildren and 47 Sadhus areheading for Pahalgam basecamp while 2,052 pilgrimsincluding 379 women, 15 chil-dren and 23 Sadhus have pre-ferred the Baltal route.

The yatra is scheduled toend on August 15 coinciding theRaksha Bandhan festival. PTI

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The West Bengal BJP hasalleged that the TMC

Government was planning tomaliciously prosecute “20 ofour leaders through false cases,”so as to thwart the rise of thesaffron outfit in West Bengal.

Senior BJP leader Mukul

Roy on Wednesday quotedfrom a “Government circular”issued by the State IB to vari-ous district SPs to implicate 20BJP leaders in various falsecases.

“The IB has named 20leaders like our State partypresident and MP Dilip Ghosh,general secretary Rahul Sinha,

MPs Rupa Ganguli, LocketChatterjee, SamikBhattacharya, Sayantan Basu,Jayprakash Majumdar, ArjunSingh, Pratap Banerjee andothers and sent a directive tothe district SPs to this effect,”Roy told reporters in Kolkata.Though there was no reactionfrom the TMC.

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Bengal Chief MinisterMamata Banerjee has once

again written to Prime MinisterNarendra Modi requesting himto hasten the process of renam-ing West Bengal as “Bangla”which was unanimously passedin the State Assembly threeyears ago and sent to the Centrefor its approval.

The Chief Minister’srequest came soon after UnionHome Minister NityanandaRai telling parliament that theprocess of renaming WestBengal or Paschimbanga hadnot been taken up as it need-ed the constitution to beamended.

The Chief Minister report-edly wrote to the PrimeMinister to take into accountthe sentiments and aspirationsof the people of Bengal andchange the name of the Statecurrently named as West Bengalor Paschimbanga into Bangla.

The BJP, however, is oppos-ing renaming the State consid-ering the “historical facts and

the factors leading to it —which the present name signi-fies.”

Replying to a question fromMP Ritabrata BandopadhyayRai had on Tuesday said thatthe name had not been changedbecause the procedure requiredconstitutional amendmentwhich was again done takinginto consideration a number ofrelevant factors.

The West Bengal Assemblyhad passed a resolution on July26 last year renaming the Stateas “Bangla” and had sent it tothe Union Home Ministry forits clearance. The proposal forrenaming the State had comefor the first time in 2011 whenit was renamed Paschimbangaby the State Assembly.However, as the proposal wasturned down by the Centre, anew initiative was taken in2016 by the Mamata BanerjeeGovernment which preferredthree names — Bengal inEnglish, Bangla in Bengali andBangal in Hindi only to berejected by the Centre onceagain in July last year.

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Page 10: ˘ˇ ˆ - The Pioneer · In his letter, Rahul said it ... Sunil Kumar Barnwal and Industry Secretary K Ravi ... is yet to cover Punjab, Haryana, and parts of Uttar Pradesh. Tomar

Emerging from the sea,they clamber up thebeach for a brief period,dig nesting holes in thesand, lay eggs en masse

and then vanish into the oceans asmysteriously and suddenly as theyhad first appeared. Some 45 to 60days later, the hatchlings emergeand make their way uncannilytowards the sea, hazarding preda-tors and poachers.

Capturing the attention of bothbiologists and laymen, being a partof various mythologies and culturesacross the world, attracted by theastonishing ability of these beingsto migrate across oceans and divethousands of feet deep, as well asother remarkable features of theirlives, sea turtles have become acommon fascination for artists aswell. A travelling exhibition,Arribada: A gathering of stories, cul-tures and interactions with sea tur-tles by WWF-India, in collaborationwith Dakshin Foundation and visu-al artist Aradhana Seth, has drawnattention to the conservation ofRidleys on the Indian coasts (list-ed as endangered species under the

Wildlife Protection Act 1972 andCITES). The focus is on their massnesting phenomenon, in whichthousands of sea turtles are washedashore and killed. These include thegreen, hawksbill, leatherback andOlive Ridleys, which are the small-est in size.

The idea of exhibition germi-nated when Kartik Shanker, ecolo-gist, who has been working close-ly for the cause, and founder ofDakshin Foundation, andAradhana met each other at a for-mal meeting a few years ago in Goa.It’s when they had discussed abouttheir mutual fascination for turtlesand their personal turtle collectionsthat they thought of collaboratingon an awareness project. At anoth-er meeting with Sejal Worah, pro-gramme director at WWF-India,the duo decided to collaboratewith her too as they connected toher for the same reason as them —turtle fascination and collection.Arribada, a Spanish term for massnesting, tells the story of sea turtlesby turtle-inspired artefact collec-tions of the three conservationistsand collectors.

Kartik says that linking a causeto art makes it more recognisablein the public eye: “Such naturalrhythms are mostly thought aboutat very isolated places and consid-ered a subject of reading or docu-mentaries. But when we showcasethem through art curations, sym-bols, cultures and stories, theymight grab more attention andmake an impact. Science or words

don’t work everytime, illustrationscan help too.”

The exhibition, through a set ofaround 24 to 25 boxes, presents sto-ries of conservation, history, culture,biology and people associated withturtle research in the country witheach box. Aradhana, who lends theexhibition its visual language, hasused recyclable material and dis-carded single-use plastic in the con-struction of artefacts. The exhibi-tion, which is at present in the city,will travel next to Bengaluru, fol-lowed by Goa. Kartik tells us, “Itbrings out stories of both hinder-ing and reverence, ecology and con-servation. And of some of our ownturtle heroes. As a charismaticspecies, they are ambassadors fortheir ecosystems, bringing attentionto the need for conservation effortsfor seascapes across the country andthe world. And we aim to representjust that.”

The Olive Ridleys are the onlyspecies exhibiting the phenomenonof mass nesting in India and theirhabitat in India is globally the

largest rookery. Apart from poach-ing for trade or consumption, thereare various other acts and practicesthat indirectly threaten thesespecies. There are threats fromfisheries, bycatch mortality, coastaldevelopments which lead to a lossof boundaries for nesting at beach-es, climate change which alterstheir habitats and marine debris,which includes ingestions, entrap-ment and infiltration in food chain.

As these turtles undertake along distance migration from theoffshore waters of Sri Lanka viaTamil Nadu and Andhra Pradeshto nest in large numbers along thebeaches of Odisha, there have beennumerous turtle walks in Chennaifor over a decade now. Recently,there has been a ban on coastalactivities at Odisha’s GahirmathaMarine Sanctuary in Kendrapara.However, following various viola-tions, the authorities have arrestedover 730 fishermen and seizedaround 90 boats. However, Kartiksays that it is important to alsorecognise and differentiate betweenthose fishermen who intentionallyarrive for trade or consumption ofthe nesting turtles and those whodon’t. “Sometimes they also targetthe wrong community, who areactually not responsible for killingturtles or indulge in poaching.There are also other problems thatmajorly contribute to this — less-ening of boundaries. Turtles main-ly hatch at only five to six kilome-tres away from the coastline andsometimes many coastal develop-ments lead to a loss of these bound-aries. They also need to be con-structed the right way.”

Talking about the exhibition,Ravi Singh, secretary general andCEO, WWF-India, says, “Wehave been engaging with schoolchildren for over four decadesnow to build young leaders ofconservation through pro-grammes and initiatives that areboth educational and engagingand interactive. The arribada is anattempt to take children and oth-ers into the world of turtles andmarine biodiversity and highlightthe need for their conservation.”

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Judgmental Hai Kya alreadyhad the audience bitingtheir nails, and the anticipa-

tion was finally put on brake asthe makers of Kangana Ranautand Rajkummar Rao starrerunveiled the trailer. It wasunveiled simultaneously inDelhi by Rao and in Mumbaiby Ranaut. The film revolvesaround a murder mystery,where both actors are framedas prime suspects. It promisesto be a joyful ride with a dashof craziness. Ranaut playsBobby while Rao ventures intothe role of Keshav, so the filmis bound to keep the audienceintrigued.

Initially named Mental HaiKya, which faced massive back-lash. The change of the title,catalysed by criticism fromIndian Psychiatric Society(IPS), was welcomed without ahint of reluctance. Rao said atthe Delhi launch, “I was total-ly up for it. There are somepeople who had problems withit. We respect their emotions.And if changing the title willbrings some change in thesociety, we are more thanhappy to do that.” He alsoshared that there were othertitles up for consideration, butthe present one was deemedmost relevant. “Judgmentalwas the only title that wasgoing with the film. Therewere a lot of others like senti-mental, temperamental but wethought this one was the best.”

When questioned abouthow controversies before afilm’s release can provokecuriosity, Rao said that the rea-son people watch a film isbecause of the trailer. “If theyconnect with the trailer, andlike the actors or the makers,they would come and watchthe film, and not for any otherreason.”

The actor who has alsoworked with Kangana Ranautin Queen, talked about thechemistry that they share onscreen. “She is a really goodactress and we both supporteach other with out improvisa-tions. We try to bring outevery scene in the best waypossible.” He was also quick todismiss rumours about Ranautfinding his acting better dur-ing the shoot which led to hisscenes being re-shot and said,“We worked like a big team,one big family. Our goal was tomake a good film.”

While people were alreadyintrigued by the title and thefirst look, the trailer furtherpeaked their curiosity. “It’s astory about a lot of things. It’sabout stalking, obsession, love,passion, deceiving and aboutwhat’s false, and what’s true.”Rao is an enthusiastic fan ofthrillers like Gone Girl andWho Done What, and said, “Ithoroughly enjoyed playingKeshav. This is the first timethat I am doing a film like this,and Prakash is a very sensibleand an amazing filmmaker.The way he handled the char-acters and the design of thefilm, it’s one of its kind.”

Rao’s name is synonymouswith versatility and for takingup roles that are unprecedent-ed. Since this is yet anothercharacter which is a far cryfrom stereotypes, he engagedin a lot of sessions with thefilmmaker while preparing forit. “There are many avatars tomy character. Both my direc-tor and writer helped me a lotwith how people would imag-ine it.” His character, Keshavis seen saying something whilehis mind wheeling on anotherparallel, it’s deeply layered. “Asan actor that’s what I want —to play characters that arechallenging and notstraight-forward.”

Never the one to beplaced in a box, he isexperimental and playsroles which have diver-gent persona. He says it’s agreat time to be acting in theindustry right now. “The kindof content we are creating, thekind of stories we are telling,we have fantastic filmmakers.”He mentions that these daysthere is freedom to play withone’s identity and that if thefilm is relatable people woulddefinitely watch it. “I wantto be known as an actorwho tries differentthings and is not

stuck with one image.”While the film is a work of

fiction, he says that people whoare often misunderstood arebeing celebrated through thefilm. There are some peoplewho are pushed to the periph-ery of the society because of theway they think. The film triesto “celebrate their shortcom-ings”.

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For once, the interviewee turnedinterviewer as actor AnupamKher fired the first salvo. To his,

‘Kaisi hain aap?’ (How are you) whenI replied ‘Badhiyan Sir,’ (I am great Sir)he noticed my accent and immediate-ly wanted to know if I was from UttarPradesh. When I nodded a yes andwas inquisitive as to how he guessedthe connection, he further surprisedme with a bright smile and said,“Badhiyan jis tarah se bola aapne,bohot acha laga mujhe. (I liked the wayyou said you are great) That’s the onlyway to speak it.”

The actor, who will be soon beseen in One Day: Justice Delivered, ishappily engrossed in his work andbusy schedules. “My grandfather usedto say that a busy man has time foreverything, I never knew that I wouldbe living it,” said he.

The film traces a special officer ofthe crime branch who investigates andtries to solve the mystery surround-ing the disappearance of some highprofile people who have gone missing.Kher’s role in the film is enriched witha thousand shades as he essays the roleof a retired judge, Justice Tyagi, whowas forced to pass an incorrect judg-ment due to lack of evidence whichallowed the criminals go scot free.After his retirement, he goes back tofind those criminals, tortures and killsthem. Questioning some norms of thejudicial rule book, he asked, “What ifthe theory of a judge is different fromthe judgement that he has to pass? Ifhe knows that the person is guilty yetthe rule book does not allow him topunish him, imagine what he must begoing through.”

The actor said that since it is thefirst time he has essayed a role like thisone, he wanted to do it differently. Hesaid, “There are two shades to mycharacter — a family man and a per-son who hunts, tortures, makes peo-ple confess their crime and finally killsthem.”

The role was indeed very chal-lenging for Kher. He said, “The meth-ods of torture keep changing and arevaried to keep the victims or rather thecriminals guessing. I didn’t want to doit in a very exaggerated or melodra-matic manner. Keeping it naturalaccelerates the challenge. But if I don’tdo it, how will I challenge myself?”

Director Ashok Nanda had earli-er said that Kher’s role in the film issimilar to the one he played in Saransh35 years ago. Citing the difference inboth the roles, Kher said, “Saransh wasa different role altogether. I was 28 andplaying the role of a 65-year-old. It wasa strong character but BV Pradhan (hisrole in Saransh) did not take law in hishands as he can fight with the systembut cannot go against it. Here JusticeTyagi does that.”

Actors don’t just live one life andputting themselves in someone else’sshoes surely transforms them too. Heapprised us as to how various charac-ters have shaped him as a person, “If

I want to be called one of the finestactors, I have to work hard for it. Youhave to work extraordinarily for theordinary to actually become extraor-dinary.” On how difficult it is for himto come out of characters that havebeen engraved on his psyche duringdifferent films, he said, “It is my job.Actors make a big noise about howthey get psychological imbalancedwhile playing a role (laughs).”

The actor, who began his actingcareer in theatre, has been workingback to back in the medium as well.Two of his plays, Kucch Bhi Ho SaktaHai and Mera Wo Matlab Nahi Thawere recently staged at the SpotlightTheatre Festival on the same day. Tothis he proudly said, “Throughout mycareer, I have never done two plays onthe same day. I was basically challeng-ing myself. Kabhi kabhi aapko khud kitaqat ka ehsaas tabhi hota hai jab aapapne aap ko us situation mei daalte hai.(Sometimes you realise your strengthonly when you put yourself in such sit-uations) There is both a chance of afailure and a success. You have to gothrough that test and I am glad Ipassed. I am very proud of myself.”

Talking about his last film, TheAccidental Prime Minister, whichgrabbed several eyeballs and gainedappreciation, he said, “Dr ManmohanSingh’s role was one of most difficultone till date, except for Saransh,which was my first. He is a personawith neutral emotions. His expressionof happiness and sadness are the same.His walking style and voice are verypeculiar. I had to work really hard for

eight months to understand him andshow how he functions through mypersonality.”

Putting himself in the shoes of afigure like Manmohan Singh facilitat-ed in nurturing his own journey aswell, said he. This is his mantra forbeing grounded even while riding thecrest of success. “It is an understand-ing of the person that enables you tofunction in a much deeper and hum-bler way. The more you understandsomebody, the richer you become. IfI understand you and your life, it is anaddition to my life as well. In thatsense, you have to be interested in theother person not only as an actor butalso as a person. I am a people-orient-ed person. I am not aloof. I reach outto people. I feel good when I knowsomeone else. This way, I am not justconfined to myself,” he said.

Despite his long innings, he doesnot believe in a laid-back approach. Hesaid, “The problem is that as yourcareer continues, there is a possibili-ty that you start taking things forgranted and become overconfident. Yeto mai kar hi lunga,(I can do this) it isthe biggest enemy of brilliance. If youare overly competent, you can hard-ly be brilliant. Currently, I am at a stagein my life where I want to do thingswhich make me feel that I have towork really hard.”

The actor is all set to work for hissecond season of New Amsterdam andhis forthcoming film Hotel Mumbai,scheduled to release in July or August.

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Airtel Payments Bank has part-nered with Bharti AXA Life

Insurance to offer the BhartiAXA Life POS Saral Jeevan BimaYojana through its extensive net-work of banking points across thecountry.

The yojana is a pure lifeterm insurance plan, which isaimed at the underinsured anduninsured segments in India.Any individual between the ageof 18 and 55 can enrol for thisproduct without the need toundergo a medical examination.

The consumers are offeredthe option to choose a policycover of either 3 lakh or 5 lakh ataffordable premiums. They alsoget the flexibility of choosing theirpreferred policy term, premiumpayment mode and additionalbenefits such as pay-out of dou-ble the sum assured in case ofdeath due to an accident.

All the savings bank accountcustomers can purchase theyojana through a quick, secureand paperless process at their

banking points. While the policyis initially available at the bank’s25,000 retail outlets, this willsoon be expanded to cover over60,000 banking points.

Anubrata Biswas, MD andCEO, Airtel Payments Bank, said,“We are delighted to partnerwith Bharti AXA Life Insurance.Saral Jeevan Bima Yojana effec-tively complements the existingportfolio of financial inclusionproducts on our banking plat-form, which include PradhanMantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana(PMJJBY) and Atal PensionYojana (APY). This association isa crucial step in our journeytowards building a comprehen-

sive product portfolio fora financially inclusive soci-ety.”

Vikas Seth, MD andCEO, Bharti AXA LifeInsurance, said, “As aresponsible life insurer, wealways try to understandthe needs of customersand provide solutions that

meet their financial requirements.As part of our partnership andstrong synergies of customer-centricity, we are offering anaffordable pure term insuranceplan to the diverse customer baseof Airtel Payments Bank acrossthe country to extend protectioncover to the uninsured segmentof the society and improve theirfinancial security and prosperity.’’

Both Airtel Payments Bankand Bharti AXA Life Insurancewould provide an end-to-enddigital journey with zero docu-mentation and instant confir-mation of policy issuance. The lifecover option will soon be extend-ed up to �25 lakh.

The book, Selfie of Success,authored by Burra

Venkatesham, is a literary tri-umph. It fills the mind withpositive and inspiring affir-mations that can motivate anindividual to take the path ofsuccess. Venkatesham’s mas-terpiece is above and beyondmost books in the same genre.

So far, the ‘success books’spoke only on achieving thedesired visions and plannedgoals regarding wealth, pros-perity, fame, establishmentof business empires, big posi-tions; or tips to achieve any-thing you want in life; com-pleting the objectives; reach-ing the career goals; accumu-lating abundance; the do’sand dont’s etc. But this bookspeaks about success in 360degrees, which is its USP. Itencompasses all the angles ofit, providing various insightsand comprehensive perspec-tive of the world of success.Everyone, who wants to reachsuccess, should read it toknow the unimaginable andfascinating aspects of it.

The book presents a holis-tic view of the success in apoetic and philosophical way,with fluid style. The aspirantcannot so far imagine whatthe side effects of successwill be; and what the sins willbe. The succeeding real lifestories highlight each conceptin a subtle way. It is the mostcomprehensive snapshot ofwhat success is. It’s a book thatbroadens horizons for the

reader right from page one.To conquer anything, onemust first study every facet ofit. Author and IAS officerVenkatesham has studied theillusive pattern of success andemployed it in his personallife with incredible results.The book is unique in manyways. The book has stories ofsome well-known personali-ties from across the world —Mahatma Gandhi to Escobar,Jack Ma to RamojiRao, OprahWinfrey to Michel Jackson,giving the reader greaterinsights.

It is compartmentalisedwell and the reader can eitherread it in one go or in seg-ments, based on the interestor curiosity that the title of thesegment arouses. The lan-guage is simple and easy tocomprehend for all ages.

A must read for its lucidstyle and unique taking, aswell as its comprehensive-ness.

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For the bold and theadventurous, the chal-lenge to climb the high-

est mountain, cross the deep-est sea and to cross the mostdifficult terrain can neverdiminish. Even before technol-ogy got evolved and refined,the quest to conquer nature,the effort to create order fromany form of disorder was thedriving force for many.Archeological excavationshave displayed the elegance ofthought in prehistoric civilisa-tions, where highly evolveddesigns were thought of andexecuted with great accuracy.These civilisations were pock-ets in the wilderness and wereswallowed up sooner thanlater, to be discovered thou-sands of years afterwards, sur-prising us all by their existence.

In this context, it can besaid that the first-known effortto connect the tip of Indianpeninsula to the island nationof Sri Lanka was at the timeLord Ram walked this earth.According to the scripturesthis effort was successful.

The next known success-ful effort to do so was fairlyrecent but only up to theisland of Rameswaram, with-in India, just 35 km short of SriLanka. This was in the timesof the British Raj. Then railwaylines were being laid across thesubcontinent, connecting thehinterland to the ports, toexport the natural wealth ofthe country to run factories inEngland. In this rail networkexpansion, it was proposed tobuild a sea-link from theIndian mainland to the islandof Rameswaram to increasetrade with Sri Lanka, then

called Ceylon. Construction of the

Pamban Bridge or RailwayBridge No. 346, started inAugust 1911 and was complet-ed by December 1913. It waspressed into service inFebruary 1914. It was India’sfirst sea bridge and the longesttill the Bandra-Worli Sea Linkwas opened to traffic someyears ago. It connectsMandapam, the last station onthe mainland to Pamban onthe island of Rameswaram.The railway line was con-structed to the very tip of thisisland, Dhanushkodi, the clos-est point to Sri Lanka. Formost of its length, the 2.058km bridge is like any other

bridge built on piers, with145 spans of 12.1 m steel gird-ers. It is made unique by its68.5 m navigational Scherzerspan, which can be lifted topermit barges and ships pass-ing through the raised bridge.

But being constructed in ahighly corrosive environmenthas taken its toll. Even though,the bridge has a well definedmaintenance protocol, the1964 cyclone and accompany-ing tidal waves washed awaythe train No. 653 approachingDhanushkodi, resulting in lossof life of all passengers, traincrew and staff. The town ofDhanushkhodi, the railwayline to it and a major part ofthe bridge was also swept

away by these waves. Thebridge was reconstructed. In2007, it was again upgraded,when it was converted intobroad gauge, in keeping withthe unigauge policy of IndianRailways. It underwent exten-sive repairs due to corrosionbetween December 2018 toFebruary 2019, includingreplacement of cracked anddamaged members of the nav-igational span. But since thelife of this 105-year-old bridgeis almost over, it is time tobuild a completely newreplacement. Once the newbridge becomes operational,the old one will be demolished.

This job has been assignedto Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd

(RVNL), a mini-ratna CentralPublic Sector Enterprise(CPSE) of the Ministry ofRailways. For the work,�248.97 crore was sanctionedin March 2019 on an out ofturn basis.

The new bridge will be2083 metre long and will beconstructed at a distance of27.35 metre on the northernside of the existing bridge andwill run parallel to it. It will be3 metre higher than the pre-sent bridge, have 100 spans of18.3 metre each and one nav-igational span of 72.5 metrelength, which will be electrical-ly operated to lift vertically. So,the navigational space of thenew bridge will be much

wider. The new bridge alongwith the navigational spanwill not only have doubletrack capacity but it will alsobe suitably built to be preparedfor the future electrification ofthe track.

Since the bridge will belocated in a highly corrosiveenvironment, it is planned tometalise the entire steel super-structure with zinc. With theprovision for the vertical lift ofthe navigational span, sophis-ticated technology andmachinery will be used. Themanual winching of the oldbridge will become a figmentof the memory. Instead, therewill be operators stationed ontop of the towers in the con-trol room who will operate thelift. Thus, they will have com-plete view of the bridge at alltimes.

The access to the controlroom will be both by stairs andelevator. The speed of the liftwill be hydraulically regulatedwith automatic brakes for anyunexpected movement.Automatic lubrication will alsobe done of the bearings, cablesand sheaves. There will be suf-ficient power back up, earth-ing and lightening protectionof the bridge. There will belocking devices for preventionof accidental opening of thespan or movement because ofwind lifting pressure. Allmechanical items will be pro-vided with outdoor maritimeprotection. Toilet facilities anda spare room shall also be pro-vided.

The target date of comple-tion of the bridge is two yearsfrom the commencement ofwork.

The first Deceased DonorLiver Transplantation

(DDLT) has been successfullyperformed at SRM MedicalCollege Hospital, Kattankulathurnear Chennai by doctors fromGleneagles Global Health City.

A 46-year-old male fromAndhra Pradesh was diagnosedwith end-stage liver disease andwas under medical manage-ment initially but this failedlater. Due to the decompensat-ed liver disease status and failureof medical therapy, doctorsadvised the patient for urgentliver transplant. As he did nothave the matching liver donor,he was listed for deceased donorliver transplantation.

The procedure was per-formed as a part of the collabo-ration between SRM andGleneagles Global, following a

MoU signed by them.Dr Vivek Vij, director of

Liver Transplant and HPBsurgery, Gleneagles Global andhis team performed the trans-plant. The patient made remark-able recovery.

Speaking about the partner-ship with SRM, Dr Joy Varghese,director of Hepatology andTransplant Hepatology, said,“The association will seeGleneagles Global, Chennai,

bring its top-notch emergencyservices, which will benefit thelocal residents.”

“Once the patient is diag-nosed with the chronic liver dis-eases, initial treatment of optimalmedical therapy can help themto stabilise but on decompensat-ing, even advanced medicaltherapy does not work and theonly option that we are left withis liver transplantation,” said DrVivek.

The mega-campus placementdrive of Tata Consultancy

Services (TCS), a software servicecompany, was conducted recently.There was a turnaround of 750 stu-dents. The company has surpassedUS technology giant IBM in termsof market capitalisation. In 2015,TCS ranked 64th overall in theForbes world’s most innovativecompanies, making it both thehighest-ranked IT services compa-ny and the top Indian company.Total number of selected studentsfrom various colleges were 175 and16 students from GNIOT group ofinstitution.

The credit goes to RohitPandey, who is the Training andPlacement officer at GNIOT.Pandey is a keen contributor togrooming talent and efficientlychannelising the professional aspi-rations of a number of students. He

has achieved this by organisingentrepreneurship programmes,guidance and counseling sessions,industry expert lectures and cam-pus placements. Keeping abreastwith the latest developments in theindustry, he has managed to notonly remain relevant but has alsocarved a niche for himself. His jour-ney can be best summed up in thephrase, ‘With consistent efforts, onecan scale great heights’ and this isprecisely what he envisions fortalented aspirants.

Hawa Badle Hum campaign waslaunched on Wednesday by BC

Tripathi, CMD, GAIL (India) Ltd. Asquad of specially designed auto rick-shaws fitted with live pollution meterswill ply on the roads of Delhi NCRunder this initiative. The autos withplanters and inspiring messages willurge the passengers to take a pledge andparticipate in a digital contest by sub-mitting their ideas on combating air pol-lution.

The unique initiative under HawaBadlo movement is a campaign thatcomplements the recently launchedweb series Hawa Badle Hassu. The seriesconveys the message that stands for acrusade against air pollution and envi-ronment conservation. It is now avail-able on SonyLiv platforms.

GAIL has been spreading awarenessby inducing behavioural changes toensure a greener and cleaner tomorrow.The movement has been actively work-ing towards educating the Indian mass-es against air pollution through events,short films, contests, pledges etc.

For the last three years Hawa Badlomovement has been able to mobilise col-

lective societal efforts for improving airquality in India. GAIL has been extend-ing full support to the movement. It hasbeen successful in reaching out to morethan six crore Indians. Videos andshort films made under this initiativehave been appreciated by other countriesas well. The movement encourages sus-tainable and environment friendlylifestyle habits such as planting trees,cycling and walking, carpooling, usingpublic transport, conserving energyand using cleaner energy sources likenatural gas for industries, CNG for auto-mobiles and PNG for commercial uses.

Life Insurance Corporation (LIC)has announced its audited figures

for the year ended March, 2019. New business performance has

shown a growth of 5.68 per cent in itsfirst year by posting a highest ever,1,42,191.69 crore.

Pension and Group superannua-tion business have collected 91,179.52crore as new business premiumincome as against 82,807.83 crore in2018 corresponding period showing agrowth of 10.1 per cent.

The corporation collected over3,37,185.40 crore of total premiumincome as compared to 3,17,850.99crore collected during 2018 showinga growth of 6.08 per cent.

Total policy payouts amounted to2,50,936.23 crore compared to1,98,119.83 crore in 2018, showing anincrease of 26.6 per cent. This includes

a payout of 1,36,597.37 crore for con-ventional claims outgo covering 254.05lakhs claimants FY 19.

The Corporations Gross TotalIncome grew to 5,60,784.39 crore forFY 19 from 5,23,611.11 crore, show-ing a growth of over 7.10 per cent.

Total assets of the corporationstood at 31,11,847.28 crore as com-pared to 28,45,041.82 crore for the cor-responding period last year. Thus,posting a growth of over 9.38 per cent.

LIC’s digital collection havereached 60 per cent, which reflects a38 per cent growth over previousyear.

In the new initiatives undertaken,premium collection has a growth of10.6 per cent. LIC has authorised IDBIbank to collect renewal premium ofpolicy holders through their 1800+branches.

Prithviraj Kothari isappointed as National

President of India BullionAnd Jewellers Association(IBJA) in place of MohitBharatiya for the next fiveyears.

CA Surendra Mehta hasbeen appointed as NationalSecretary and Ketan Kotharias Joint Secretary. Sanjay Jainbecomes Treasurer andNimesh Choksi as Joint

Treasurer.As one of the promoters,

Prithviraj has brought RiddiSiddhi Bullions Limited totop 10 unlisted public compa-nies in India in terms of salesturnover as per BS 1000.

Kothari had served as thePresident of the BombayBullion Association. As a pres-ident, he promoted BombayBullion Association in theinternational markets.

He has contributed in theintroduction of gold ETFs inIndia. Under his vision, RSBLhas successfully launchedIndia’s electronic over thecounter bullion trading sys-tem, RSBL spot.

Kothari is one of thefounding members and direc-tors of the Jain InternationalTrade Organisation (JITO).

IBJA has worked for panIndia operations having offices

in 27 states. It is an adviser toMCX, NSE for spot exchangeand signed MoU with BSE forthe same.

IBJA has been included inNiti Aayog for transformationof gold market. It is co-con-venor for domestic gold coun-cil. RBI recognises its rates forlending against jewellery.Ministry of Finance hasapproved IBJA rate for sover-eign gold bond.

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The US has declared theBalochistan Liberation

Army (BLA) as a global terror-ist organisation, a move decriedas “unjustified” by the separatistgroup fighting Pakistani rule inthe resource-rich Balochistanprovince.

Pakistan in 2006 banned theoutfit and have been urging theUS to do the same.

“The BLA is an armed sep-aratist group that targets secu-rity forces and civilians, mainlyin ethnic Baloch areas ofPakistan,” the State Departmentsaid Tuesday.

The Department of State hasdesignated the BLA as special-ly designated global terrorist(SDGT) outfit and made it acrime for anyone in the US toassist the outfit’s militants andfreezing any US assets they mayhave.

“The outfit has carried outseveral terrorist attacks in thepast year, including a suicideattack in August, 2018 that tar-

geted Chinese engineers inBalochistan, a November, 2018attack on the Chinese consulatein Karachi, and a May, 2019attack against a luxury hotel inGwadar,” it added.

In May this year, five peo-ple, including a Pakistani soldier,were killed after BLA gunmenstormed a five-star hotel in theport city of Gwadar.

Welcoming the US’ move,Pakistan said it hope that theaction will ensure that the BLA’sspace to operate is minimised.

It is important that the per-petrators, organisers, financersand external sponsors includingthose glorifying these acts of ter-ror against Pakistan are heldaccountable and brought to jus-tice,” the Pakistan Foreign Officesaid in a statement in Islamabad.

BLA spokesperson JiyandBaloch in a statement called theUS move “unjustified”.

“The BLA is a moderate,secular and an armed defenceorganisation.

The BLA is resisting on itsmotherland against foreignintruders to protect its people.

The international laws allowany person or nation to act inself defence. US StateDepartment’s ban on BLA isbeyond comprehension andunjustified,” he said in a state-ment.

Meanwhile, the US alsosanctioned Hezbollah opera-tive Husain Ali Hazzima, chiefof the Beirut-based terroristgroup’s intelligence unit.

It also updated its sanctionslist to reflect a name change ofthe Iranian Sunni Muslim ter-rorist group Jundallah to Jayshal-Adl. Jundallah, which wasdesignated as a foreign terroristorganisation in 2010, beganusing the new name Jaysh al-Adland associated aliases in 2012,the state department statementsaid.

Since its inception, thegroup has engaged in numerousattacks that have killed scores ofIranian civilians and govern-ment officials, including aFebruary 2019 suicide bombingand an October 2018 kidnap-ping of Iranian security per-sonnel, it said.

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China on Wednesday lodgeda diplomatic protest with

the UK over Foreign SecretaryJeremy Hunt’s remarks on theunprecedented pro-democracyprotests in Hong Kong, assert-ing that he was basking in theglory of “faded British colo-nialism” and “obsessed” withlecturing others.

UK Foreign SecretaryHunt has been expressingstrong support to the demon-strators in the former Britishcolony protesting against acontroversial extradition law,which the people of HongKong apprehend could be usedto send political dissidentsfrom the territory to mainlandChina for prosecution.

The protest intensified onMonday when demonstratorsstormed the Legislative Council(LegCo) building in the city, leftanti-Beijing graffiti on the wallssuch as “Hong Kong is notChina”, and hung the colonial-era flag.

While recognising that

Hong Kong is part of China,Hunt on Tuesday asserted thatthe 1997 declaration underwhich London handed overHong Kong to Beijing is stilllegally binding.

He warned of “serious con-sequences” if Beijing neglectedits commitments and supresspro-democracy protests.

Britain handed over HongKong to China on July 1, 1997under a “one country, two sys-tems” formula which allowsfreedoms such as freedom ofspeech, right to protest and anindependent judiciary notenjoyed by the people in main-land China.

Reacting to Hunt’s remarks,Chinese Foreign Ministryspokesman, Geng Shuang toldthe media here that “we deploreand firmly oppose Hunt’s wrongremarks. We have made sternrepresentations (diplomaticprotests) to the British side inBeijing and in London. Weurge British side to stop makingsuch wrong remarks and stopinterfere in Hong Kong’s andChina’s internal affairs.”

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The Trump administrationhas dropped a controversial

plan to add a question aboutcitizenship status on the 2020census, marking a major vic-tory for civil rights groupswho argued that such a movewould deter immigrants fromtaking part in the once-a-decade population count.

The Trump administra-tion’s decision comes just daysafter the Supreme Courtblocked efforts to include thequestion, ruling that the gov-ernment’s justification seemed“contrived”.

The White House argued itwould bolster protections forminority voters.

But opponents said itwould deter immigrant house-holds from taking part in thepopulation count.

They said that the citizen-ship question, which has notbeen included since 1950,would drive many immigrantsto avoid answering out of fearof being caught up in Trump’scrackdown on illegal immi-

gration. Commerce Secretary

Wilbur Ross, who originallydirected the Census Bureau toadd the question, said in astatement that he was movingahead with printing the 2020census despite his disagreementwith the court’s ruling lastweek.

“I respect the SupremeCourt but strongly disagreewith its ruling regarding mydecision to reinstate a citizen-ship question on the 2020Census,” Ross said.

“The Census Bureau hasstarted the process of printingthe decennial questionnaires

without the question. My focus,and that of the Bureau and theentire Department is to con-duct a complete and accuratecensus,” he said.

Last week, the SupremeCourt temporarily blocked thecitizenship question and saidthe government had not pro-vided adequate justificationfor it.

President Donald Trumpinitially touted the idea ofdelaying the census to allowtime to provide new legal argu-ments.

In a series of later tweets,President Trump said it was “avery sad time for America”.

“A very sad time forAmerica when the SupremeCourt of the United Stateswon’t allow a question of “Isthis person a Citizen of theUnited States?” to be asked onthe #2020 Census! Going on fora long time,” he tweeted.

The move was welcomedby the opposition Democraticparty leaders.

Nancy Pelosi, Speaker ofthe US House ofRepresentatives, termed thedecision as a welcoming devel-opment for the country’sdemocracy.

“House Democrats will bevigilant to ensure a full, fair andaccurate Census.We will con-tinue to advance strong legis-lation to secure critical fundingto guarantee maximum par-ticipation and inclusion so thatevery person in every com-munity is counted,” she said.

Senate Minority leaderChuck Schumer said the exclu-sion of citizenship questionfrom the census is a victory forthe US democracy and for fairrepresentation of all commu-nities in this country.

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An airstrike hit a detentioncenter for migrants early

Wednesday in the Libyan capi-tal, killing at least 40 people, ahealth official in the country’sUN-supported government said.

The airstrike targeting thedetention center in Tripoli’sTajoura neighborhood alsowounded 80 migrants, saidMalek Merset, a spokesman forthe health ministry. Merset post-ed photos of migrants who werebeing taken in ambulances tohospitals. Footage circulatingonline and said to be frominside the migrant detentioncenter showed horrific images ofblood and body parts mixed withrubble and migrants’ belongings.

The UN refugee agency inLibya condemned the airstrikeon the detention center, whichhouses 616 migrants andrefugees. The Tripoli-based gov-ernment blamed the self-styledLibyan National Army, led byKhalifa Hifter, for the airstrikeand called for the UN supportmission in Libya to establish afact-finding committee to inves-tigate.

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President Donald Trump hasasked the Pentagon to mar-

shal tanks and fighter jets toshowcase America’s militarymight during the July 4thIndependence Day parade,alarming many who feel that heis using the armed forces for his2020 re-election bid.

Unlike other countries, theannual celebration of theAmerican Independence Dayon July 4 is traditionally notmarked by any military parade.Previous presidents have takena low profile at independencecommemorations.

The last time tanks andtroops rolled throughWashington was in June 1991,when 8,000 soldiers marched inthe so-called ‘National Victory Celebration’ markingthe end of the first US invasionof Iraq.

“Big 4th of July in D.C.‘Salute to America.’ ThePentagon and our great mili-tary leaders are thrilled to bedoing this & showing to theAmerican people, among otherthings, the strongest and mostadvanced military anywhere inthe world,” Trump saidTuesday.

The White House and thePentagon have been preparingthis military parade for monthsnow. Trump had expressed hisdesire to have a military paradeon the occasion ofIndependence Day celebrationsoon after his inauguration inJanuary 2017.

According to theDepartment of Interior, thisyear’s annual IndependenceDay celebration on theNational Mall, will featuremusic, flyovers, fireworks, and an address by PresidentTrump.

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Indian-origin Kamala Harrishas surged to the second spot

among more than 20 Democratsvying for their party’s nomina-tion for the 2020 presidentialelection after her standout per-formance in the first Democraticpresidential debate, according toa latest opinion poll.

Harris, 54, the first Indian-origin American Senator, soaredto 20 per cent in the QuinnipiacUniversity survey, while for-mer US Vice President Joe Bidenfell to 22 per cent amongDemocrats and Democratic-leaning voters. It is a significantchange from a Quinnipiac pollreleased last month that showedBiden leading the pack with 30per cent and Harris lingering ina distant fourth place with 7 percent support.

The Quinnipiac survey isthe latest in recent days to showHarris riding a wave of new sup-port following her standout per-formance in Thursday’s debate.

A rising Democratic Party

star and vocal critic of PresidentDonald Trump, Harris, if elect-ed, would be the first womanand woman of colour to be thePresident of the United States.

The Indian-origin Senator,whose mother was born inTamil Nadu and father was anAfrican-American fromJamaica, in January launched hercampaign for the presidentialelection.

A CNN/SSRS poll releasedMonday showed the Californiasenator jumping into secondplace with 17 per cent support.Likewise, a Suffolk UniversityIowa poll found Harris surginginto second in the crucial first-in-the-nation caucus state.

According to theQuinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pea-ack) University National opin-ion poll, Massachusetts SenatorElizabeth Warren follows at 14per cent, Vermont SenatorBernie Sanders is at 13 percent, and South Bend MayorPete Buttigieg gets four percent.

No other candidate tops

three per cent. But among women, Harris

has a slight edge with 24 per centto Biden’s 22 per cent. The raceis similarly close for whiteDemocratic voters, with Bidenat 21 per cent, and both Harrisand Warren at 20 per cent.

“Harris also essentiallycatches Biden among blackDemocratic voters, a historical-ly strong voting bloc for Biden,with Biden at 31 per cent andHarris at 27 percent,” the opin-ion poll said.

“Round 1 of the Democraticdebates puts Harris and formerBiden on two different trajecto-ries, as support for Harris surgesbut continues to slip for Biden,”Mary Snow, QuinnipiacUniversity Polling Analyst, said.

The Indian-origin Senator,whose mother was born inTamil Nadu and father was anAfrican-American fromJamaica, in January launched hercampaign for the US presiden-tial election in 2020 to take onPresident Trump, who is aRepublican.

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APakistani man returningafter performing Umrah

was shot dead on Wednesdayby two gunman due to personalenmity while another personwas killed in the shootout atLahore’s international airport,police said, causing panicamong hundreds of passengers.

Two suspects — identi-fied as Shan and Arshad —opened fire on a man near theairport’s parking area.

He said their target wasZain Ali, a 30-year-old residentof the Lakhodair area inLahore.

He died on the spot,Deputy Inspector General(DIG) Operations AshfaqAhmad Khan was quoted assaying by the Dawn news.

Both the assailants, whohave previous criminal records,have been arrested, the reportsaid.

The suspects had a long-running dispute with Zain,police said.

The second victim of theshooting was a taxi drivernamed Akram, who had norelation to Zain but was struckduring the firing. He was takento a hospital where he suc-cumbed to his injuries.

Two of them were gunned down in the interna-tional arrival lounge of theAllama Iqbal InternationalAirport in Lahore at 10 am(local time).

Khan said that the suspectshad duped Airport SecurityForce (ASF) officials andentered the airport parkingarea with weapons.

The two gunmen did notenter the main terminal’s secu-rity cordon, but the incidentraised concerns as the area isheavily patrolled by police andairport security.

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Pakistan Prime MinisterImran Khan has assets

worth Rs 10.8 crore, land, fourgoats but does not own a per-sonal car, according to detailsreleased by the election com-mission.

The Election Commissionof Pakistan (ECP) on Tuesdaypublicly released the details ofassets of key politicians, includ-ing that of Prime MinisterKhan.

The ECP revealed thatPakistan Peoples Party (PPP)Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari to be the wealthiestamong all the politicians witha net worth of Rs 150 crore andowned two villas in Dubai.

According to the docu-ments released by the electoralbody, Khan, the cricketer-turned-politician, owns assets

worth Rs 10.8 crore. But he hasshown his palatial Bani Galaresidence, which he showed asa gift without declaring itsvalue, The Express Tribunereported.

Khan, the Chairman ofthe Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf(PTI) party in his declaration,stated that he has invested infour foreign currency bankaccounts. In the poundaccount, he has 2,067 pounds,in the dollar account USD329,060, USD 1,470 in anoth-er account while he has noamount in his Euro account.

Khan does not own a per-sonal car but has Rs 24 millionin cash. He has Rs 9.6 millionin two national banks.

He also presented assetsdetails of his spouse, BushraBibi, who owns a house in BaniGala, land in Pakpattan and inOkara.

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Optimism and Effort =Into the semis. This iswhat Jasprit Bumrah

tweeted after he brought in twocrucial breakthroughs towardsthe end of the match againstBangladesh to get the game andmatch point. Indeed, it has beenquite a journey for this pacerwho the skipper says has long sethimself apart from the rest withhis excellence with the arm.

Against Bangladesh, whenMohammed Shami was beinghammered continuously by thelater middle order duo of Sabbirand Saifuddin, it was Bumrahwho prized away Sabbir whenBangladesh was coming danger-ously close to the Indian target.

Bowling Yorkers is one of themost potent and destructiveweapon in Bumrah’s armouryand he uses them for death withutmost precision, 8 times out of10 finding the man and hiswickets and giving India reasonto rejoice. How does he managethe feat, many have continued towonder.

“Everything is preparation. Ido it again and again and againin the nets. So the more you doit, you get decent at it. You can’tmaster it. You’re still trying to getbetter at it. It’s all about repeti-tion. It’s like any other ball. Soyou have to do it again and againand try to replicate in the game,”he insists.

At nets, his intent is as seri-ous as in the match because that’sthe classroom from where he getsall the action in place. VijayShankar would tell you howseriously Bumrah bowls in thenets, hit by his Yorker as if it wasnot nets but realtime match.Kohli seconds it too sayingBumrah bowls in the net as hewould bowl in the match.

Talk about the challenge ofbowling on such slow pitches andBumrah tells you, for him, whatworks is keeping things andplans simple. Analyzing andreading the wicket as soon aspossible is crucial he adds.“Sometimes you can run behindwickets, but I focus on the teamgoal. I keep things simple and notto run behind success. I stay in

the present and focus on theprocess, and eventually I tick allthe boxes, and everything iswell sorted,” he explains.

So what goes into Bumrah’sexcellence? “A lot of preparation.Whenever I practice in the nets,I practice each and every situa-tion, be it with the new ball, beit with the old ball, bowling at thedeath. If I’ve ticked all of theboxes in the net, in the match it’sall about execution and keepinga clear head. All that preparationhelps me in the matches. If thework ethic is good, the executionfeels easier in the game,” hesaid.

Even in the England game,with the new ball it was relative-ly easier. The new ball wasn’tdoing a lot. So the batsmenwere able to score runs. As the

ball gotolder, thew i c k e t

also gotslower. Therewas a lot of sun-

light in the last game, so thewicket would obviously get slow-er and slower.

“That was the plan for us aswell. We knew that, as the ballwill get older, it would get diffi-cult to hit. And you saw theyused a lot of cutters. That’s thenature of the wickets and thatcould be the nature of the wick-ets going forward. The summeris coming now, so the wicketscould get drier. It’s good practicefor us,” he said about the gameand the sweat that the bowlershad put in to win the game.

Bumrah also likes to take hisown decisions around his bowl-ing. “When I’m bowling, I like tomake my own decisions. I havea clear plan. If I have the confi-dence to execute something, I tellmy captain or senior players thatI think this would work and thiscould work according to mybowling. I always think aboutwhat I will want at the end,” heexplained.

For now, he calls himself alearner of the game be it theBumrah of two years ago whocame to England to save India’sfortunes in the ChampionsTrophy or the Bumrah of todaywho has a major hand in steer-ing its successes in the WorldCup. And he has done most ofthe work through bowling pre-cise Yorkers. “I’m still the sameperson, maybe two years older.I always want to keep learning.I want to keep evolving. That hasalways been my game. Theprogress has been good but I amstill learning,” he says with asmile. So now that India hasqualified for the semi-finals, willthe hard working talisman takesome rest and sit out of the gameagainst Lanka? “This is my firstWorld Cup, so I want to play asmany games as possible. I don’tthink I’ve become an experi-enced player that I could say Idon’t want to play some games.I always look forward to playingand the more matches you play,the more you enjoy,” he says witha smile before bidding good byeto join his team-mates for somedressing room celebrations.

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Steady KL Rahul has no intentionof launching a voyage to Planet

Rohit as India start to contemplatethe knockout stages of the ICCMen’s Cricket World Cup.

The versatile batsman hasenjoyed a quietly effective tourna-ment and thinks he would be a foolto try to play like the man ViratKohli described as the best in thebusiness.

India’s victory by 28 runsagainst Bangladesh at Edgbastonguaranteed a place in the semi-finals with a game remaining,against Sri Lanka at Headingley onSaturday.

Rohit Sharma starred againwith his fourth hundred of anincreasingly prolific campaign,prompting captain Kohli to callhim the leading one-day player inthe world.

But the contributions of Rahul

have been deceptively telling andhis opening stand of 180 withSharma represented the best of thetournament for the first wicket.This after the pair added 136 in thehigh-pressure game againstPakistan at Old Trafford.

Rahul’s experience of openingin the longer format has servedhim well after moving up theorder when Shikhar Dhawan wasforced out because of injury — andknowing his own game has been asignificant factor behind his suc-cess.

“You would be a fool to betempted to bat like Rohit becausehe is in a different class,” he said.“He is on a different planet alto-gether when he gets going.

“He made it look really easy

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An octogenarian fan stolethe limelight with her

sheer enthusiasm duringIndia’s World Cup matchagainst B’desh at Edgbastonon Tuesday, forcing skipperVirat Kohli to personallythank her after the 28-runwin which sealed theirsemis berth. CharulathaPatel, 87, attracted all thecameras as she enthusiasti-cally blew her trumpet,cheering for Kohli and hismen from the stands.Notonly Kohli, his deputy andplayer-of-the-match Rohitalso personally thanked theaged lady and showed hisgratitude after India’s win.

Wearing a tricolourscarf and with a bright yel-low vuvuzela and thenational flag in hand, Patelwas spotted celebratingevery moment of India’swin.

Kohli later took toTwitter to show his grati-tude for Patel and otherIndian fans. “Also wouldlike to thank all our fansfor all the love & support &especially Patel ji. She’s 87and probably one of themost passionate & dedicat-

ed fans I’ve ever seen. Ageis just a number, passiontakes you leaps & bounds.With her blessings, on tothe next one,” Kohli tweet-ed. She has also beenpromised tickets for herfavourite team’s remainingmatches by none otherthan captain.“Virat came to

meet me after the match.He touched my feet and Igave him my blessings. Itold him to keep up thegood work and win theWC. I always pray for theteam’s success. From thebottom of my heart, I wishthe Indian team all thebest,” Patel told Times Now.

“Virat said he wouldlook forward to see me inthe rest of the matches. Itold him that I don’t havethe tickets, he said: ‘Don’tworry about it, I will give itto you’,” Patel said, whocame from London.Mahindra Group ChairmanAnand Mahindra has alsooffered to “reimburse herticket cost” if someonehelps in identifying her. 5�����1�������������������"���������(����7����� ���������

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[against Bangladesh] when really itwasn’t anything of the kind. The pitchwas two-paced, up and down, notcoming on to the bat, but from the wayhe played you would not have known.

“We expect it from him and he isdelivering every time. To bat with himis really easy because he takes the pres-sure off you. He keeps getting theboundaries and the scoreboard keepsticking, I just have to keep there withhim. It is great fun. “He has scored themost runs for the team, but everyoneelse has chipped in and we havetalked about that as a team, to keep thecontributions coming from the mid-dle order and at the death.

“Personally, I feel I have beengoing well, but am not fully satisfiedas I haven’t carried on after some of thestarts. When I say ‘convert’ I mean get-

ting to, say, 35 or 45 overs as often asI can because in these conditions it isthe set batsmen who can do the mostdamage.” Rahul, 27, lasted until the33rd over against Bangladesh beforeedging a sharp catch which wicketkeeper Mushfiqur Rahim held well tohis right, but the 77 was his highestscore of the World Cup so far.

“We did enjoy a bit of a celebra-tion after the game,” he said. “We aretwo steps away from winning the tro-phy and that has been a dream we haveworked towards for the past four years.“We put in a clinical performance, webatted and bowled well, and we havethis winning momentum. Now wehave to make sure we keep our headsup and our eyes on what is happening.”

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Rohit Sharma’s knock of 104 againstBangladesh had a total of five sixes and

one of those went on to hit a fan in thestands at the Edgbaston Cricket Groundon Tuesday. This saw Player of the Match,Rohit, meet her and even spend time dis-cussing the injury after the end of thegame. BCCI shared pictures from Rohit’sinteraction with the fan on their officialgroup and wrote: “She is Meena. She washit by a ball when Rohit Sharma hit a six.After the game, she was presented with anautographed hat.”

Page 14: ˘ˇ ˆ - The Pioneer · In his letter, Rahul said it ... Sunil Kumar Barnwal and Industry Secretary K Ravi ... is yet to cover Punjab, Haryana, and parts of Uttar Pradesh. Tomar

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What more is there to sayabout Rohit Sharma? Hehas been simply incredible

in this World Cup.Four amazing centuries in a sin-

gle ICC Men's Cricket World Cup isremarkable. He is now level withKumar Sangakkara for the most-everin a single World Cup, and I thoughthe was exceptional againstBangladesh.

You cannot ask for anythingmore from an opening batsman.Rohit knows when to attack andwhen to build an innings moreconservatively.

In this game he was aggressivefrom the start and his 104 really gaveIndia the momentum early on.Contrast that with the hundred hescored against South Africa in thefirst game, two completely differentinnings, but equally as important.

The determination and willpow-er is incredible. Opening in a WorldCup is so important and he has takenon the responsibility when the teamneeded it.

The way he has stepped upsince Shikhar Dhawan's injury is cru-cial for India, and I've beenimpressed by KL Rahul as well.

He'd got a couple of good starts,but he went on and made 77 against

Bangladesh and I'm sure a hundredis just around the corner. He looksto be gaining in confidence and isbecoming another important play-er at the top of the order.

The great thing about the winover Bangladesh was that it was notjust relying on one man. This game,and much of the tournament hasbeen about teamwork for India.

Yes, Rohit scored a century andwas deservedly player of the match,but everyone chipped in and playedtheir part.

India ended up winning by 28runs, so the contributions of RishabhPant (48), MS Dhoni (35) and ViratKohli (26) were important too.

I think India are in a really goodposition, and the main reason forthat is the burden on Rohit and Viratat the top of the order has beenreduced. We have seen other players,like Rahul and Pant step up, and thatwill be important going forwards.

The same applies to the bowlers,they all played their part, withJasprit Bumrah finishing things offin style.

It was interesting to see them gowith Bhuvneshwar Kumar in placeof Kuldeep Yadav, but that may havebeen down to how good Bangladeshare against spin.

Bhuvi bowled very well, so herewarded the decision to give him ago. The management have beenclear that it was a horses for cours-es selection so I wouldn't be sur-prised to see Kuldeep back involvedin the semi-final.

The good news now for India isthat they are in those semi-finals.They have a final game against SriLanka where they will be looking toget everything right before theknockout stages.

That game could also be decisivein the race for the top seed, depend-ing on what Australia do againstSouth Africa.

I also want to give some creditto Bangladesh, who I felt were real-ly good in this game.

They kept fighting until the endeven though chasing 317 is a big ask,and showed a great deal of spiritagainst a good India side.

Perhaps they are a little tooreliant on Shakib Al Hasan andMushfiqur Rahim, but it really feelslike they have evolved as a team.

India were pushed all the way,and that is where those little contri-butions from the whole team madethe difference.�������H�F�(���#���������������

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Bangladesh all-rounder SoumyaSarkar wants to build on ICC

Men’s Cricket World Cup experi-ences to take his game to anotherlevel.

Head coach Steve Rhodes spokeimmediately after the 28-run loss toIndia at Edgbaston about a core ofwhat he described as ‘middle’ play-ers who hold the key to the next stageof the country’s cricket development.

Soumya, 26, fits the bill havingnow appeared in 51 ODIs and madeenough starts with the bat during thetournament to show that he has thetalent to make a sustained impact atthe highest level.

He threatened the strong Indiaattack as Bangladesh chased a targetof 315, only to fall victim to HardikPandya on 33 in frustrating manneras soon as the medium-pace bowlerjoined the attack.

Although the loss confirmedtheir elimination, Bangladesh haveconfirmed themselves as a force inthe white-ball game with youngertalent backing up the likes of captainMashrafe Mortaza, Shakib Al Hasanand Mushfiqur Rahim.

“Naturally, it is very disappoint-ing to lose this game,” said Soumya.“I think set batters could havechanged the complexion of thegame by going on for longer, but

none of us could do that.“A bigger score from any one of

us would have made things differ-ent and I include myself in thatgroup. It might have changed theresult, but unfortunately it was not

to be.”Soumya had taken only a single

wicket with his medium pace beforethe World Cup, but has added fourmore scalps over the tournamentwith Rohit Sharma his victim this

time. Having bowled well duringjunior cricket, it is an area withscope for improvement that couldmake him even more effective at thehighest level — and an attractivesigning in domestic events aroundthe world.

He also revealed that one ambi-tion is to further his experience byplaying county cricket in England,following the likes of Tamim Iqbaland Shakib who have both beenpopular figures across the shires.

“I would love to play and I real-ly hope that opportunity comesalong,” he added. “It has always beensomething I have wanted to dobecause it would be a great experi-ence in improving my game.

“One of the challenges is to playcricket in different conditions andI have learnt things during theWorld Cup itself about the differentgrounds. Things like the back-grounds, the fast outfields and see-ing the ball at the crease.”

He is now looking forward toone of the sport’s great experiencesby playing at Lord’s on Friday,when Bangladesh finish their cam-paign against Pakistan.

Bangladesh are playing forpride, which burns deeply, but vic-tory for Pakistan could still takethem into the semi-finals.

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Bangladesh head coach SteveRhodes acknowledged the

paucity of cricketing talent in thecountry, saying there is no oneon the horizon to replace long-serving captain MashrafeMortaza.

The 35-year-oldBangladesh captain, whorecently won a GeneralElection to become aMember of Parliament,has expressed his desire tocontinue playing forBangladesh despite thepoor show in the WorldCup. Mortaza wasappointed captain in 2009.

Asked if Mortaza’s presenceis preventing the team fromunleashing a young and moreimpactful fast bowler, the coachlooked helpless after the 28-runloss to India here on Tuesday.

“We’ve also got to have abowler good enough, capableenough to actually replace Mash.Everybody forgets that. We haven’tgot too many of the taller, quick-er bowlers, which, is what we’re

trying to get into Testmatches,” Rhodesaccepted the lack oftalent being a big fac-

tor. “As soon as wefind (good fastbowlers) themand as soon asthey’re start-ing to do well,I’m sure thatwe would

want to getthem in the

team,” he added.There’s no hid-

ing that the coun-try’s favourite cap-tain was well belowhis best and Rhodesthinks that a proudperson like Mortazawill be the first oneto acknowledge that.

“Well, I’m sureMash would be a lit-tle disappointed withthat first over, but Iactually thought itwas a very brave deci-sion to do to pull

one's self of f ,”

Rhodes said referring to the skip-per bowling only the first over ina spell and taking himself off.

The coach would ideally likeMortaza to take a stock of thingsin the coming days.

“Mash is a very proud person,and I’m sure he will look at hisperformances so far and wishthey were a little bit better,” headded.

Rhodes, however, was firmlyagainst the Bangladeshi mediawhich has gone after Tamim Iqbalfor a disastrous World Cup with-out a single impactful perfor-mance.

“We shouldn’t really start cas-tigating or have a go at Tamim.He’s a wonderful player. He playedsome great shots today, and if youknow anything about batting, ittakes one ball to get you out, andit might take one half mistake andyou’re a goner.

“Well, I would say whole-hearted has been his perfor-mances. I thought today was goingto be the day, but sadly, it wasn'tto be. And that 's cricket.Sometimes the harder you try, theworse it gets,” Rhodes lamented.

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Indian skipper Virat Kohli hasdescribed Rohit Sharma as the bestOne-Day player in international

cricket right now after his deputy scoreda record-equalling fourth century in a sin-gle edition of the World Cup.

Rohit’s 104 off 92 balls in the 28-runwin over Bangladesh guided India to theWorld Cup semi-finals here on Tuesdayand in the process he also equalledKumar Sangakkara’s record of scoringmost tons in a World Cup edition.

He is currently the highest run-get-ter in the ongoing mega-event with 544runs from seven innings, including fourcenturies and one 50.

“I have been watching it for yearsnow. He’s (Rohit) the best One-dayplayer around and we are so delighted tosee him. When he plays like that, every-body is happy to see him strike this sowell,” Kohli about his deputy at the post-match presentation ceremony.

The other architect of India's win waspace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah, who,with his toe-crushing yorkers, derailedBangladesh's chase.

“His overs were always going to becrucial, so that's why we stopped himafter four initially,” said Kohli.

“He’s a world-class bowler and he justknows what he’s up against. We can lookto capitalise on situations where we arein a position to score those extra 30 runs.Very happy with the way the team hasplayed so far.”

India became the second team aftertitle holders Australia to enter the semi-finals of the 50-over showpiece.

“It’s good to have qualified on thepoints table now. This will keep us in agood frame of mind going into the semi-finals,” Kohli said.

Against Bangladesh, India went inwith only five bowlers and Kohli said itwas a gamble which they took keepingin mind the size of the ground and com-bination of the team.

“(Five bowlers) Look, we experi-enced that Hardik (Pandya) when putunder pressure has come back really well.He's really looking forward to do stuff forthe team. He has a gut feel of what thebatsman is looking to do.

“I know five bowlers was a gamble,but it was keeping in mind the ground

dimensions. We wanted to play the per-fect combination for the small boundary,”the skipper explained.

Kohli also thanked the cricket-crazyIndian fans who thronged the stadiumin large numbers in every match to sup-port their team. “Thank you — the fanshave been magnificent.”

Player-of-the-match Rohit Sharmasaid he had positive feelings beforegoing to bat but admitted that he was alsolucky to have got a reprieve when he wason nine.Rohit was dropped by TamimIqbal at deep mid-wicket off MustafizurRahman early on in his innings.

“I was lucky (early on)... Fortunefavours the brave. I never think about theshorter boundaries when I bat, becausemy game is all about piercing the field.Once you are set, the idea is to put pres-sure on the bowlers.”

Asked about his personal milestoneof four centuries in a single World Cup,Rohit said: “I thought I just got a 100today. My mantra is whatever has hap-pened in the past is in the past. Those inform have to bat long and get the teamto a big score. I need to focus on the nextgame now.”

Losing skipper Mashrafe Mortazalauded his team’s effort but rued thedropped catch of Rohit, which eventu-ally turned out to be the difference.

“This was a good effort, but we hadto win this match. We could have had abit more luck, but Shakib Al Hasan hasbeen in superb form, and Mushfiq hasbatted beautifully. Rohit’s catch wasobviously disappointing, but those thingshappen in the field,” he said.

He said lack of partnerships did thedamage for his side.

“If one of them could have been 80-90, it could have been a different match,”Mortaza said.

Out of the World Cup, Mortaza nowwants to end on a high with a win againstPakistan in their last league game tomor-row.

“We have played our best, and fanshave been fantastic. Hopefully we will endon a good note,” he said.

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Snubbed twice over forthe ongoing World Cup,Indian middle-order

batsman Ambati Rayuduretired from all forms ofcricket without specifying hisreasons for calling it quits.

The 33-year-old AndhraPradesh batsman was inIndia’s official standbys list forthe big event in the UK butwas ignored despite theinjury-forced ouster of all-rounder Vijay Shankar.

Opener Mayank Agrawalwas brought in on the teammanagement’s insistence andit is learnt, Rayudu was leftquite disappointed by the turnof events.

“...I have come to decisionto step away from the sportand retire from all forms andlevels of the game. I would liketo take this opportunity tothank the BCCI and all theState associations that I haverepresented which includeHyderabad, Baroda, Andhraand Vidharbha,” Rayudu saidin his mail to the BCCI.

“It has been a honour andprivilege to have representedour country,” he added.

Rayudu played 55 ODIsfor India, scoring 1694 runs atan average of 47.05. The play-er, who could never break intothe Test team, was in thespotlight before the WorldCup.

Declared the preferred No4 batsman by captain ViratKohli not many months ago,Rayudu was ignored forShankar in India’s final squadfor the big event.

Chairman of selectorsMSK Prasad had justified themove by saying that Shankarhad “three-dimensional skills”.

Shankar couldn’t make muchof an impact and was eventu-ally forced out by a toe injury.

Rayudu had taken a dig atPrasad’s statement with acheeky social media post.

“Just ordered a new set of3d glasses to watch the worldcup,” he had tweeted at thetime. He was later put in thestandbys list but wasn’t called.

“I would like to thank thecaptains I have played under,MS Dhoni, Rohit Sharma andespecially Virat kohli whoalways had shown great beliefin me throughout my careerwith the Indian team.

“It has been a wonderfuljourney of playing the sportand learning from every upand down it brought up on forthe last 25 years at various dif-ferent levels,” he wrote. Theright-hander earned the rep-utation of being a tempera-mental player owing to sever-al confrontations with fellowcricketers and even matchofficials in the domestic cir-cuit.

Five selectorscombined would nothave made the runsRayudu has in his

career. I feelsad about this

retirement. Pant andMayank got selected

amidst the WCinjuries, and anyone

in Rayudu's placewould have feltequally bad. A

cricketer like himwho has played so

well in the IPL and forthe nation, scoredthree 100’s and 1050's, and despite

that if a player has toretire — it is a sadmoment for Indian

cricket— Gautam Gambhir

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�The pitches have got dryer.Does that help with the extra spinnersthat you have?

Yeah, you saw the last game. So forspinners, they bowled really well, and thewicket is suitable for our spinners. As thewicket, same like last one, so maybe it’svery difficult for them. But if we bowl theright areas, so that would be the key point,and hopeful tomorrow will be the samewicket like the last one we played againstPakistan.�Coming into this tournament did youthink you’d get more wickets like thegame the other day?

Yeah, because at the start of the tour-nament the wicket was very difficult. Thewickets we played first three games, justtotally different. We didn’t realise like thiskind of pitches we can find like in theupcoming games like now and also againstPakistan. First, we think different. Now it’stotally different wicket. We didn’t expectin England these kind of pitches especial-ly, but now I think it’s because of weath-er. It’s a very good wicket for today, espe-cially for us.�What do you think you need to do toturn a close win to an actual win?

We played last four, five games quitewell. I’m happy with the performance ofthe team. But we missed in the last, for thelast game we played against Pakistan andespecially like Bangladesh, because weplayed really well. If we played 50 overs,especially in the batting, so it’s all depend-ing on our batting strength. �All the kids coming in want to be thenext Rashid or the next Mujeeb. Is therea problem that nobody wants to becomethe next Hamid Hassan?

Good question. If you look forwardcricket last two, three years, we’re justdepending on spinners. We played a lot ofcricket in Sharjah especially and Dehradunin India. So we all depend on the spinners,especially when Mujeeb joined the teamin qualifying round before he played aseries against Ireland. He bowled reallywell. But now the problem is here, so if youhave two spinners like Rashid and Mujeeb— I’m not saying every time, he alsobowled too fast. It’s like a medium pacers.So it's very difficult to pick them. So if youhave work on the fast bowlers in the lasttwo, three years, so maybe we have a goodpacers now in this tournament. So this isa problem. Now struggling here in the fastbowling department, especially last game,we missed Hamid Hassan, his injury. It’sa big turning point for me.�You bowled against Afg. If you had thattime again would you still bowl thatover?

Yes, because if you look, we missedHamid Hassan. He bowled only twoovers. If I have Hamid in the last overs, somaybe I just only bowl three or four, fiveovers — only five, four overs. Like we alsohave a spinner option — Sami and alsoRahmat, they’re also good spinners.Samiullah Shinwari bowl really well. Hetook the place of Hamid Hassan.

Hamid is a very hard bowler. He’s veryquick, he’s a 140-plus bowler. So, but it’sbad luck for me, for my team. We missedhim. I bowled last — in every match Ibowled 10 overs, eight overs like this. Thisway I bowled in the end, I just — I haveno option. Only me as a fast bowlingdepartment. This way I bowled in the end,but he did bowl really well. The luck is onthe other side; it’s bad luck for us.

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Former West Indies cricket captain andChennai Super Kings star Dwayne

Bravo on Wednesday met 'Padman'Arunachalam Muruganantham and dis-cussed menstrual hygiene awareness.Inspired by the work of Muruganantham,an entrepreneur who developed cost-efficient sanitary napkins, Bravo chose tomeet him during a private visit to the city,sources said. The ace all-rounder fromTrinidad and Tobago discussed taking thelow-cost pad machine invention to hiscountry to spread menstrual hygieneawareness, sources close toMuruganantham said. Bravo has alsobeen signed up to star in a film to bedirected by National award winning doc-umentary filmmaker Aarti Shrivastava, topromote social awareness regardingwomen's hygiene. He was in Chennairecently during which he sharpened hisshooting skills during a visit to Olympicmedallist Gagan Narang's Gun for Gloryfacility at Sri Ramachandra University. TheCSK star also interacted with children atthe nets of Sri Ramachandra MedicalCollege in Chennai wherein he gave tipsto the children and spoke about how hetook up cricket. "'(

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With both teams out of the semi-final race, Afghanistan will havethe psychological advantage

when they continue the search for theirmaiden victory in the World Cup againstWest Indies, who are looking to restorepride, here today.

Afghanistan beat a star studded WestIndian side comprising power hitters likeChris Gayle, Carlos Brathwaite and ShaiHope twice in the World Cup qualifiers,held in Harare last year.

And now with their fine show againstsome of the big teams in the World Cup,the war-torn nation will fancy theirchances against the West Indies.

For both Afghanistan and West Indies,the tournament has been a case of so nearyet so far.

Afghanistan, who have proved timeand again they can't be written off as min-nows, gave heavyweights India, Pakistanand Sri Lanka a run for their money dur-ing the tournament. All three sides strug-gled against the potent Afghan bowlingattack that boasts the likes of MohammedNabi, Mujeeb ur Rahman and RashidKhan.

For the West Indies, it was heartbreakfor the third time when they came closeto another big scalp against Sri Lanka onMonday. They had earlier squanderedtheir chances of beating reigning cham-pions Australia, followed by CarlosBrathwaite falling just short of what couldhave been a match-winning six againstNew Zealand.

"It is disappointing to come so closeon a number of stages and not get thatwin," West Indies captain Jason Holdersaid after the defeat to Sri Lanka.

Both teams are out of contention forthe semifinals with Afghanistan sitting atthe bottom of the points table and WestIndies at the penultimate spot.

West Indies, the winners of the firsttwo World Cups back in 1975 and 1979,have faced seven straight defeats in thetournament after starting their campaignby demolishing Pakistan in their opening

game. A win in their final match will bea nice way to exit the big stage.

Afghanistan captain Gulbadin Naibwill marshal his troops once again and willhope his spinners weave their magic onelast time before they head back home.

�:���West Indies: Jason Holder (captain),Chris Gayle, Shai Hope, Shimron Hetmyer,Carlos Brathwaite, Sheldon Cottrell,Oshane Thomas, Kemar Roach, AshleyNurse, Nicholas Pooran, Sunil Ambris,Evin Lewis, Shannon Gabriel, DarrenBravo, Fabian Allen.Afghanistan: Gulbadin Naib (captain),Sayed Ahmad Shirzad, Hazratullah Zazai,Asghar Afghan, Rashid Khan,Mohammed Nabi, Mujeeb ur Rahman,Dawlat Zadran, Najibullah Zadran,

Hashmatullah Shahidi, SamiullahShinwari, Rahmat Shah, Noor Ali Zadran,Ikram Alikhil.

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The West Indies might be outof the running for a place in

the World Cup semi-finals butassistant coach Roddy Estwickhas backed them to finish on ahigh.

The side from the Caribbeanclose out their campaign againstAfghanistan at Headingley, hav-ing failed to pick up a win sincetheir opening success againstPakistan.

But Estwick drew parallelswith the Test series in Englandtwo years ago when the WestIndies upset England in Leeds,Shai Hope hitting a brilliant cen-tury to level the series after a bigdefeat at Edgbaston.

He explained: “Walking inhere I remember our backs wereagainst the wall against England(in 2017). We had lost badly atBirmingham.

“Everybody was saying goinginto the final day that we weregoing to lose to England badly aswell. We chased 322 down. Sohopefully with backs against thewall again we can come up withthat kind of performance and wecan finish on a high.

“Obviously we’re not happylosing games. But we started tobuild something and once we canremain patient, we can keepbuilding. Young players are com-

ing through and once that keepshappening then things will get alot better."

When Estwick talks aboutyoung players, one who has real-ly come to the fore has beenNicholas Pooran, talked up byChris Gayle as the future of WestIndies cricket earlier in the tour-nament.

Pooran's century almost gotthe Windies over the line last timeout at Durham against Sri Lanka,that ton his first as a profession-al.

But for Estwick, it has notcome as a surprise to see Pooranemerge, insisting the 23-year-old,who will be back at Headingleylater this summer with Yorkshire,

has always had the potential.He added: "I've always

believed in Nicholas. I went toDubai with him and I saw himplay the best white-ball inningsI've ever seen anybody play. Hegot 148 in a youth World Cupgame against Australia out of 208.

"So I'm not surprised by histalent. What's surprised me is it'staken as long as this to reallycome through. And I hope thathe can build on this now and hecan really cement his place for avery long time."

The Windies have had tocope with a number of injuriesover the course of the tourna-ment, losing Andre Russell mid-way through, while star bowlerKemar Roach missed the SriLanka game through illness.

He is expected to be fit for theclash with Afghanistan, where theCaribbean side will look to per-form better in the crucialmoments of the game.

Estwick added: "Lookingback over the eight games that weplayed, I personally thought weshould have won four of those.We were very, very close.

"We just didn't play the bigmoments well. And hopefully wecan learn from that and we canmove forward and we can planfor the next one."������4�F�(���#���������������

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Imam-ul-Haq says Pakistan willgo all out against Bangladesh on

Friday even if they have no realis-tic chance of reaching the WorldCup semi-finals.

A win for the tournamenthosts would all but ended the1992 champions’ chances of reach-ing the last four — England is outof reach on 12 points while NewZealand have a far-superior net runrate to Pakistan so would likelyprogress even if the two teams fin-ished level on 11 points.

Imam said therewas no despondencyin the Pakistan campdespite the diffi-cult situation.

"We arenot thinkingon the lines ofnot reaching semi-finals," said Imam."Our plan is to playthe semi-final withan all-outeffort and atthe end ifthat doesn'thappen thenwe have toplay positivecricket and endon a high."

Pakistan won just

one of their first five World Cupmatches but bounced back strong-ly with victories against SouthAfrica, New Zealand andAfghanistan to give themselves ashot at reaching the semi-finals.

Imam said the 41-run defeatagainst defending championsAustralia earlier in the competitionwas painful.

“I think the Australia defeathurts me a lot. I was set and play-ing well. I should have won thatmatch for Pakistan,” said Imam.

“We lost four quick wicketsand I think I should have won thatgame and we would have beaten a

big team in the World Cup.”Imam, who scored his

only fifty of the tourna-ment in that match, said hewas disappointed with hisbatting during the tourna-ment.

“I think what expecta-tions I had from myself I

could not do like that,” saidImam, who has so far scored205 in seven innings. “I hadstarts but couldn't score big.

“I am very young so Ihave learned a lot in thisWorld Cup. What mistakes Ihave committed, I have

learned from them and Iam sure that will helpme,” said the 23-year-old.

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Gabriel Jesus and RobertoFirmino scored the goals as

Brazil beat arch-rivals Argentina2-0 on Tuesday to qualify for theCopa America final.

Jesus and Firmino netted agoal apiece in each half to giveBrazil a victory which ensuredLionel Messi’s frustrating wait fora major international tourna-ment title with Argentina con-tinued.

Hosts Brazil will play thewinners of second semi-finalbetween champions Chile andPeru in Sunday’s final.

It was the first time theseage-old rivals had met in amajor competition since Brazilbeat Argentina 3-0 in the 2007Copa final.

English-based Jesus andFirmino were the stars, each cre-ating the other’s goal, althoughcaptain Dani Alves had a majorsay in the opener.

“It was another step towardsour objective. We’re achieving allthe goals that we’re setting our-selves,” said Alves.

“A lot of people doubt us butwe have a lot of faith in ourselves,in our plan, in our hard work.

“We’re reaping the fruits ofthe seeds we’re sowing everyday.”

But it was a miserable nightfor Messi, whose hopes of land-ing a major international honourwith Argentina ended in disap-

pointment once again.He will get another oppor-

tunity next year, though, with thefourth Copa America in the lastfive years, due to be played inArgentina and Colombia.

“We should have been theteam going to the final becausewe deserved it, no doubt aboutthat. But sometimes football isunfair,” complained Argentinacoach Lionel Scaloni.

Brazil took the lead on 19minutes after a piece of individ-ual brilliance from Alves. Hebeat three players on a mazy runbefore sending Firmino cleardown the right with a no-lookpass, the Liverpool forwardcrossing for the unmarked Jesusto tap home.

Argentina almost levelledon the half hour when SergioAguero headed Messi’s free-kickonto the bar, the ball bouncingdown just in front of the linebefore Brazil scrambled it clear.

Messi then burst into life,driving at heart of the Brazildefense and playing in Aguero,who took advantage of a ThiagoSilva slip to make space forhimself but Marquinhos wasquickly across to block theManchester City striker’s shot.

Moments later, Messi beattwo men on the right, won backthe ball with a sliding tackle afteroverrunning it, but then waste-fully shot high and wide.

At the other end, Arthurshot powerfully, but straight at

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goalkeeper Franco Armani.Argentina pushed Brazil

back at the start of the secondhalf and Aguero picked outLautaro Martinez in the boxbut he didn’t catch his left-footvolley cleanly and Alissongathered comfortably. Another

promising attacking moveended with Rodrigo de Paulblazing over from 20 yards.

But Jesus produced a beau-tiful piece of skill, including apirouetting drag-back, beforeteeing up Philippe Coutinhowho should have done better

than shooting over.Moments later, though, a

blocked shot from Martinezlooped over to Messi wholashed a shot from an angleagainst the post, with Alissonbeaten.

Alisson was alert to clutch

a Messi free-kick on 66 min-utes that looked destined forthe top corner.

By then, Scaloni hadalready gone for broke, bring-ing off midfielder MarcosAcuna and sending on speedywinger Angel Di Maria, with

Messi dropping into a deeperrole.

Just as Argentina lookedcapable of finding a way backinto the match, Brazil stungthem on the counter-attackwith Manchester City’s Jesusgetting away from two defend-

ers and teeing up theunmarked Liverpool strikerFirmino for a tap in on 71 min-utes.

Scaloni threw on anotherforward in Paulo Dybala butthere was no way back forArgentina.