Vol. 13 No. 264 | Pages 24 | `̀ 5.00NEW DELHI, Thursday, August 6, 2020 www.mailtoday.in / www.mailonline.in

https://twitter.com/mail_today https://facebook.com/mailtoday

10,800 DELHIFIRMS GIVENTAX NOTICES

SEE PAGE 18

GC MURMUQUITS AS J&KLT. GOVERNOR

SEE PAGE 2SEE PAGE 3

SC says truth mustcome out as CBI

probes SSR death

Every heart is illuminated.It’s an emotional momentfor the entire country. Waitof centuries has ended. Agrand temple will now bebuilt for our Ram Lalla whohad been living under a tentfor many years.

‘‘

‘Foundation FROM TENT TO TEMPLE: 30 YEARS

OF LEGAL AND POLITICAL BATTLES

of India’s unity’

PM Narendra Modi performsgroundbreaking ritual for RamTemple as RSS chief MohanBhagwat and others celebrate,in UP’s Ayodhya on Wednesday.

PM Narendra Modi performsgroundbreaking ritual for RamTemple as RSS chief MohanBhagwat and others celebrate,in UP’s Ayodhya on Wednesday.

- NARENDRA MODI, PM

So many had sacrificed, theycouldn’t be here physically.Advani ji must be at his homewatching this. There aresome who should have comebut could not be invitedbecause of the current coronavirus situation.

- MOHAN BHAGWAT, RSS CHIEF

Glorious chapter for India, says PM as he performshistoric Bhoomi Pujan for Ram Temple in Ayodhya

Ram Mandirdigitalbillboard atNew York’sTimes Squareto mark thelaying of thetemple’sfoundation.

sent by devotees fromacross the world in 1989laid. 40-kg silver brickused for the symbolic foundation laying by PM.

construction willtake at `300 crore.

`104 crore makeover for Ayodhya Rlystation on the model of Ram Temple.

� Soil from 2,000 pilgrimage sites, water from100 rivers brought for the rituals. 175 guestsincluding Governor & CM of UP, besides RSS chief.

9 bricks

REPORTS ON

PAGES4-9

‘‘

3.5 years

AP

2 NEWS Mail Today, New Delhi / Chandigarh, Thursday, August 6, 2020 Mail Today, New Delhi, Thursday, August 6, 2020

India Today Group V-C ‘MostInfluential Woman’ of 2020Top honour for media’s Gold Standard

By Mail Today Bureauin New Delhi

INDIA Today Group Vice-Chairperson Kalli Puriehas been conferred upon theprestigious ‘Impact MostInfluential Woman Award’for the year 2020.

This is the 9th edition of theaward and she has been part ofthe list seven times and hasmade it to the top-5 twice.

These awards are given torecognise and acknowledge theimmense contribution, inspiringleadership and remarkable bodyof work of some of the trailblazing women achieversfrom the Indian advertising,media and marketing industry.

The awards jury was chairedby Sam Balsara, Chairman,Madison World, and also hadother distinguished members,including Animesh Kumar,Chief People Officer, Zee Enter-tainment; B. Srinivasan, MD,Vikatan Group; Delna Avari,Founder, Delna Avari & Consul-tants; Ferzad Palia, Head,Youth, Music and EnglishEntertainment, Viacom18;Gurmit Singh, General Man-ager, Quora; Partha Sinha,President, Response, TOIGroup; Punitha Arumugam,Founder, Arumugam & Consul-tants; Rana Barua, CEO, HavasGroup; Ravish Kumar, HeadRegional Entertainment Clus-ter, Viacom18; Shalini Kamath,Founder & CEO, SK & Associ-ates; Tarun Katial, CEO, Zee5India; and Vikram Chhachhi,Principal, Global Consumer

Markets, Heidrick & Struggles.The winners were selected on

parameters such as contribu-tion to their respective roles,size of the business theyhead/lead, impact on their workon the profession/industry andother notable achievements.

Speaking on the achieve-ment, Kalli Purie said, “I wouldlike to thank exchange4mediafor awarding me the ‘MostInfluential Woman of the Year’.

This award will always be veryspecial to me, coming in thetime of Corona, which hastested every imaginable aspectof my leadership and character.Because the award is for influ-ence, I would like to dedicate itto my team that produces theGold Standard of Journalism,which gives the India TodayGroup and me this power. I amdeeply grateful to all of them.”

Her contribution to the media

ecosystem has been exemplary.With the electronic mediachanging at an unprecedentedpace, the India Today Groupunder her leadership has beenable to carve out a niche foritself distinctly in the industry.

The pioneering spirit demon-strated by her transcends thebarriers of media platforms –the Digital First News YouTubeDiamond for the Lallantop.comand the 20th straight year

undisputed reign of Aaj Takhave been nurtured under herleadership, and so has the mul-tiplatform Digital Constella-tion of the ‘TAKs’. Her mostsuccessful experiments in themedia space include India’sfirst Hindi News HD Channel –Aaj Tak HD, and the foray ofIndia’s biggest News Brand‘INDIA TODAY’ into TV asIndia Today TV.

Among the many hats shewears, she is also the source ofinspiration behind some of thebiggest IPs like the India TodayConclave, Agenda Aaj Tak,Sahitya Aaj Tak and MindRocks.

In the recent past, Kalli Puriewas also honoured with the‘Outstanding Media & Enter-tainment Award’ at the annual‘21st Century Icon Awards’ inLondon as well as ‘India’s MostPowerful Women in Media’award at the famed ‘Conflu-ence Excellence Awards’ at theBritish Parliament.

A graduate from Oxford Uni-versity, the UK, in Politics, Phi-losophy & Economics, KalliPurie is also pursuing Manage-ment Program from HarvardBusiness School in Boston, USA.Her acumen in being able tomake the India Today Group astellar and fast rising multi-media platform has been glob-ally recognised.

Clockwise fromleft: Nawal Ahuja, Co-Founder,Exchange4media;Sam Balsara,Chairman,Madison World;Anurag Batra,Chairman &Editor-in-Chief,BW BusinessWorld; and KalliPurie, Vice-Chairperson,India TodayGroup.

BIG ‘IMPACT’

THE one year of abrogation ofArticle 370 and 35-A was markedwith stoic silence, desertedstreets and total shutdowndespite no call given by any sepa-ratist organisation. While localBJP Units organised flag hoistingceremony in different locations inKashmir Valley, but largelyAugust 5 remained lacklustre. Atleast two minor incidents ofstone pelting were reported inRainawari on August 5.

Mehbooba Muftis daughter ltejaMufti called it a black day for Kash-miris.

Despite the stringent & unofficial cur-few, a handful of PDP workers managedto stage a protest in Srinagar today. Thenumber might seem insignificant butsymbolises how tough it is for the peopleof J&K to peacefully protest.

Meanwhile, former CM Omar Abdullahtook potshots at the Centre. He tweeted,“BJP displaying its hypocrisy. They cangather & celebrate. The rest of us can’teven meet to discuss what’s happeningin J&K.” While Waheed Para of PDP saidsilence of the people of valley should notbe misconstrued as there isresentment within. Wednesdaymasked a year since Article 35-A and Article 370 were revokedand Jammu and Kashmir(J&K)were divided into two union ter-ritories (UT) of Ladakh andJ&K by the BJP government onAugust 5, 2019.

Most political leaders, whowere detained after the twoconstitutional provisions thatoffered limited autonomy toJ&K were revoked have steeredclear of mentioning the issueafter their release severalmonths later.

Mehbooba Mufti, the PDPpresident, and former chief min-ister, continues to be detainedunder the Public Safety Act(PSA) in her residence, which

has been declared as a sub-jail.On July 31, Mehbooba Mufti’sPSA was extended by threemonths. She along with Farooqand Omar Abdullah wereamong the three former ChiefMinister’s detained after theabrogation of Article 370.

However, senior party leaderNaeem Akhtar has report-edly said that his partywill use all demo-cratic, constitu-tional and peace-ful means toresist the‘onslaught’ onKashmir.

Analysts believethe Mufti’s seem-ingly uncompro-

mising stand is aimed at salvagingher image and that of her partythat was sullied due to the PDP’salliance with the BJP in 2014.

They say the PDP is in a disar-ray as many of its leaders havejoined JK Apni Party (JKAP)floated by the former PDPleader and minister, Altaf

Bukhari, which many believehas the backing of the

BJP, after the removalof Article 370.

Omar Abdullahbroke his silence onJuly 27 for the firsttime in an article hewrote in a newspa-per. He said that hewon’t contest assem-

bly elections till

statehood is restored in J&K.He said there was no constitu-

tional, legal, economic or securityjustification for what was done toJ&K on August 5, 2019. Hisfather, Farooq Abdullah, report-edly said the changes werebetrayal of trust reposed by thepeople of Jammu and Kashmirwhen the state acceded to theUnion of India. He hoped thatthe Supreme Court would renderjustice by striking down therepeal of Article 370.

Earlier, when the Centreannounced the new domicilelaw in the UT, Omar seemedmore concerned about its tim-ing than the law itself, whichhas caused great anxiety inKashmir.

By Kamaljit Kaur Sandhuin Srinagar

Stoic silence in thestreets of Kashmir

A view of an empty street in Srinagar on Wednesday.

J&K L-G Murmuresigns, amidstrong buzz hemay become India’s next CAGA LACKLUSTRE day of August 5turned into news frenzy withreports of GC Murmu, the firstLieutenant Governor putting inhis papers. He is likely to fill inas India's new auditor, the CAGsources told India Today.

Sources said Murmu resignedon August 5. He left at 12:30 pmfrom Srinagar and reachedJammu in afternoon after he issaid to have resigned. He is tak-ing a morning flight to Delhi,sources said.

Though the decision said tohave taken people of J&K bysurprise, sources say it hasbeen in offing for sometime.

Rajiv Mehrishi is turning 65 onAugust 8, which leaves littletime for government to find areplacement. Sources saidMehrishi name in reckoning as

replacement for incumbent LG.His name was amongst frontrunners when UT was firstannounced but it did not mate-rialise.

But, current circumstances,sources say, could lead to apossible swap. “Ideally wewere expecting the develop-ments post August 15, but ageand time both were factorshere.”

Officials in Home Ministry andRashtrapati Bhawan remaintight-lipped over development.

The post of the ComptrollerAuditor General, (CAG) is fallingvacant as incumbent RajivMehrishi turns 65. The constitu-tional post cannot be leftvacant.

While the provision bars a CAGfrom taking office of profit butpost of Governor is constitu-tional, hence paves way for thecurrent change in guard.

—Kamaljit Kaur Sandhu

Rajiv Mehrishi may replace him

Despitethe stringent& unofficial

curfew, a handfulof PDP workers

managed to stage a protest

ONE YEAR OF ART 370 ABROGATION IN J&K

3NEWSMail Today, New Delhi / Chandigarh, Thursday, August 6, 2020 Mail Today, New Delhi, Thursday, August 6, 2020

IN line with the Indian MeteorologicalDepartment’s (IMD) prediction, heavyrain and high-velocity rains lashed Mum-bai for a second consecutive day onWednesday. Maharashtra chief ministerUddhav Thackeray’s office has appealedto citizens to remain indoors.

According to inputs, wind speed gush-ing up to 106 kilometre/hour was reported

from Mumbai’s Colaba area on Wednes-day. This was way more intense than whatMumbai had to face during the recentcyclone Nisarg. While a photograph of theBSE sign over the landmark BombayStock Exchange toppled over went viral,huge metallic panels from Jaslok Hospitalin upmarket Mumbai were seen flying inthe air in another viral video.

Many homes lost their roofs that weremade of tin shed. Navi Mumbai too wit-nessed chaotic scenes with cranes top-pling over in the Jawaharlal Nehru PortTrust Area. As many as six complaints ofwalls and houses collapsing in variousparts of Mumbai were brought to theattention of the Brihanmumbai Munici-pal Corporation but no injuries have beenreported yet. In addition, 141 complaints

of trees being uprooted in different partsof Mumbai came to light. A video of a treefalling on Western Railway tracks andsparks flying around with loud noise nearWankhede stadium also went viral.

Railway services too could not escapethe wrath of incessant rain as rainwaterinundated tracks. The Central Railwayline between CSMT and Kurla has been

temporarily shut along with Harbour linebetween CSMT and Vashi. Authoritieshave arranged for shelters near railwaystations for stranded commuters. Total 15teams of the NDRF were deployed acrossMaharashtra to engage in rescue opera-tions as the IMD issued fresh red alert.

—Inputs from Sahil Joshiand Saurabh Vaktania in Mumbai

Cyclone-like mayhem in Mumbai

SC wants truth to be outas CBI starts SSR probe By Aneesha Mathurand Munish Pandey in New Delhi

THE investigationin the SushantSingh Rajputdeath case washanded over to theCentral Bureau of

Investigation (CBI), theCentre told Supreme Courton Wednesday.

Solicitor-General TusharMehta, who is representing theUnion of India in the case, saidthat the Bihar government’s rec-ommendation has beenaccepted by the Centre andinvestigation in the Sushantdeath case has been transferredto the CBI. Senior advocateMukul Rohtagi for Bihar govern-ment said that they welcomedthe decision. At the SupremeCourt hearing, Sushant’s familylawyer Vikas Singh said that theevidence is being tampered withby Mumbai Police.

He also said that the MumbaiPolice must cooperate withBihar Police. Meanwhile, thelawyer for Maharashtra govern-ment, R Basant, said that theallegations against the MumbaiPolice are politically motivatedand that the Bihar Police haveno jurisdiction to register anFIR. He said that there has beenno FIR filed in Mumbai till now.He said that the Bihar Police hasno right to sit in judgement ofMumbai Police’s investigation.

The court said that the Mum-bai Police have registered a caseof unnatural death and the FIRin Patna has raised other issuesas well. The court also said thatthe case has hogged too much ofmedia time and attention, andthe quarantining of a police per-sonnel does not send a goodmessage. Meanwhile, theSupreme Court has askedMaharashtra government, Bihargovernment, the Centre andSushant’s family to file theirreplies within three days.

The Maharashtra governmenthas also been asked to file areport on the state of their inves-tigation. The next hearing in thecase will be held next week. Thetransfer of investigation to theSupreme Court was recom-

mended by Bihar chief ministerNitish Kumar on Tuesday morn-ing. Bihar Governor PhaguChauhan had also consented toa CBI probe into Sushant SinghRajput's death case on Tuesdayevening. Sushant was founddead in his Bandra apartment inMumbai on June 14.

ED SUMMONS RHEAOn Wednesday, the Enforce-

ment Directorate (ED) sum-moned Rhea Chakraborty in themoney laundering case. She hasbeen asked to appear on Friday.Earlier, the ED had lodgedmoney laundering case againstRhea and her family. Sushant’sfamily had accused Rhea of tak-ing `15 crore from the late actor.They said that it should beinvestigated as to how much ofthat money has been defraudedby Rhea and her associates.

The ED also questioned thehouse manager of Sushant onWednesday, in connection withthe money laundering caselodged against Rhea. IndiaToday TV has learnt thatSamuel Miranda’s statementwas recorded under the PMLA.Miranda, the house managerand alleged aide of Rhea, is anaccused in the case. Sushant’sbrother-in-law and IPS officer,OP Singh, says if Miranda iskept in custody informally for aday, then he will spill the beansabout Rhea, who was allegedlycontrolling Sushant’s life.Miranda was recruited by Rheaand was looking after theemployees and house expenses.

—Inputs from Rohit Singh inPatna, www.indiatoday.in

By Vidya in Mumbai

Trees fall, houses collapse, trainsstuck in heavy rain, strong winds

52,509 FRESH CASESACROSS INDIA TAKE TOTAL

TO 19,08,254

857 MORE DIE, TOLL

NOW 39,795

1,076 NEW CASES IN DELHI,

TOTAL NOW 1,40,232

11 MORE DIE, TOLL

RISES TO 4,044

C VID-19

PANDEMIC

� Noted singer SP Balasubrahmanyam

tested positive forCovid-19 on Wednesday.

Commuters make way through a waterlogged road in Mumbai on Wednesday.

Rhea Chakraborty is not in touch with us. She is absconding, sheis not coming forward. We don’t have any information about herbeing in touch with even Mumbai Police. How will Patna Policeinvestigate the case in Mumbai, because four of our officials areforced to remain in hiding, fearing they will be quarantined?

‘

’

THE SUSHANTDEATH CASE

—GUPTESHWAR PANDEY, BIHAR DGP

AS the case of Sushant SinghRajput’s death has been trans-ferred to CBI, the Bihar Police,who were also investigating thecase, are out of the picture.Bihar IPS Vinay Tiwari (SP, Patna— Central), who landed in Mum-bai to investigate the case, was“forcibly quarantined” for 14days. BMC has said that Tiwariwill have to get tested for thecoronavirus if he wants to leavebefore his quarantine is over.

Senior officials of BMC saidthat if Tiwari has to leave with-out completing his quarantine,he will have to undergo test forCovid-19. If he is negative he willbe allowed to go. BMC’s Addi-tional Municipal Commissioner,P Velrasu, advised Tiwari toconduct his work throughonline platforms like Zoom, etc.

—By Mustafa Shaikh in Mumbai

BIHAR COP HASTO TAKE COVIDTEST, SAYS BMC

NEW TWIST INDISHA SALIAN’SSUICIDE CASESUSHANT Singh Rajput’s ex-man-ager Disha Salian’s post-mortem report has revealedthat she had suffered injuries toher head and had multipleother unnatural injuries. Dishalived on the 14th floor of abuilding in Mumbai, fromwhere she was said to havejumped off. India Today TV hasaccessed the post-mortemreport of Salian, which detailsinjuries on her body.

The important point in thepost-mortem report is aboutsexual assault. Her father, SatishSalian, wrote a letter to theMumbai Police, claiming that“news of his daughter’s rapeand murder are cooked up”.

—By Divyesh Singh andMustafa Shaikh in Mumbai,

inputs from www.indiatoday.in

PTI

K ASIF

File photo ofSushant

Singh Rajput.

4 NEWS Mail Today, New Delhi / Chandigarh, Thursday, August 6, 2020 Mail Today, New Delhi, Thursday, August 6, 2020

‘INDIA STARTS AGLORIOUS CHAPTER’

Foundation of

Ram Temple

laid, Ayodhya

sees massive

celebrations

By Aishwarya Paliwal in Ayodhya

LIT diyas, street side rangoli,flags atop every house, that'sthe way Ayodhya residentswelcomed Ram Lalla intotheir homes and hearts. Everynook and corner of the temple

town was reverberating with LordRam's name, hymns played overloudspeakers, sadhus and saintsfrom across the country made theirway to Ayodhya.

Streets, temples and houses were sani-tised every two hours coupled with regularwater sprinkling keeping in mind the pan-demic scare.

Nestled in a by-lane, a few kilometres

from the famous HanumanGarhi temple was the site wherethe groundbreaking ceremonywas held, where 175 guests hadgathered including RSS chiefMohan Bhagwat and UP CMYogi Adityanath.

In a departure from the usualpractice of chanting ‘Jai ShriRam’, Prime Minister NarendraModi on Wednesday began hisaddress in Ayodhya with thechant of ‘Jai Siya Ram’, a call forboth Sita and Ram.

PM called the event a historicoccasion. “I am grateful to wit-

ness history being made. Croresof Indians cannot believe thatthis day has come. The entirecountry is in the spell of LordRam,” he said.

He laid down a silver brick tomark the foundation ceremonyof Ram Temple in Ayodhya.

The images which crores ofIndians saw on their televisionscreens made many emotional.Two brothers whose familydevoted their life for stitchingclothes for Ram Lalla, had tearsstreaming down their eyes whilewatching the ceremony.

For many residents this was adream come true. 80-year-oldSavitri Devi, told India TodayTV that she believes she is luckyto be alive to see this day. Herfamily believes it was Savitri'sdetermination to see the con-struction of the temple thatkept her alive.

In Hindu tradition, prasad isserved after pooja and thePrasad, just like the event, wasspecial and one-of-its-kind.

Speaking after performing themain rituals of the bhoomi pujanceremony at the Ram Janmab-hoomi Sthal, Modi said, “Agrand temple will now be builtfor our Ram Lalla who had beenstaying in a tent for decades.Today Ram Janmabhoomibreaks free of the cycle of break-ing and getting built again that

had been going on for cen-turies.”

In a conversation with Aaj Tak,Chief Minister Yogi Adityanathsaid, “Some of these people arechanting the name of Lord Ramnow were also responsible forremoving the idol of Ram Lalla.They wanted to do the shilanyas200 metres away from the actualspot.” He added, “Lord Ram isfor everyone. People shouldnever try to divide the societyusing his name. We have onlytried to unite people throughLord Ram.”

The Rashtriya SwayamsevakSangh and other like-mindedorganisations worked for nearly30 years to fulfil the resolve of agrand Ram temple in Ayodhya,said RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat.

By Aishwarya Paliwalin Ayodhya

KESAR from Kashmir, car-damom, cashew and raisinsfrom Kerala, and ghee fromKarnataka were the mainingredients used for making1.25 lakh laddoos that were dis-tributed on the occasion ofRam Mandir’s bhoomi pujanceremony in Ayodhya onWednesday.

The Prasad, just like theevent, was special and one-of-its-kind.

A team of 100 persons, whooriginally hail from Karnataka,were given the tough task toprepare the prasad. Twenty-

four hours before the cere-mony, they had prepared51,000 laddoos with set a tar-get of making 1 lakh more inthe next 24 hours.

As the city of Ayodhya wasdecked up like a bride for thepooja which was attended byPrime Minister Narendra Modi,special emphasis was also laidon the quality of laddoos thatwere to be served as prasadafter the ceremony.

A team of 100 caterersworked hard at the Amawatemple barely 2km from theHanumangarhi temple.

It took half an hour to make a100-gm laddoo, the weight ofeach piece, one of the catererstold India Today.

Kashmiri kesar, Keralacashew for laddoos

For locals, it was adream come true

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath at thefoundation stone laying ceremony in Ayodhya on Wednesday.

Prime Minister Narendra Modiperforms Bhoomi Pujan at the site of Ram Temple in Ayodhya onWednesday.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi offers prayers atHanumangarhi in Ayodhya on Wednesday.

Mail Today, New Delhi, Thursday, August 6, 2020 5

Beingbuilt intune withlaw, RamTemple definesIndia’s spirit of socialharmony and people’szeal. It will be atestimony to ideals ofRam Rajya...

‘

’— RAM NATH KOVIND, PRESIDENT

Thebuilding ofRam templein Ayodhyais much morethan a religious affairand the structure willstand as a tribute to thebest of timeless humanvalues.

‘

’— M VENKAIAH NAIDU, VICE PRESIDENT

The cons-ecration ofthe Ramtemple byPM NarendraModi at Lord Ram’sbirthplace has writtena golden chapter in thehistory of our cultureand civilisation .

‘

’— AMIT SHAH, UNION HOME MINISTER

Theconsec-ration of aRam templeat Ayodhya byPrime MinisterNarendra Modi is ahistoric moment thatbrings joy and pride to all.

‘

’ — J P NADDA, BJP CHIEF

TheRashtriyaSwayam-sevak Sanghand other like-minded organisationsworked for nearly 30years to fulfil theresolve of a grand Ramtemple in Ayodhya.

‘

’— MOHAN BHAGWAT, RSS CHIEF

Thelaying offoundationstone for aRam temple byPM Narendra Modimarks the beginning ofa new era. This new erais of dedicated servicefor public welfare.

‘

’— YOGI ADITYANATH, UTTAR PRADESH CHIEF MINISTER

NEWS

1.5 Lladdoos made

from Kesar fromKashmir, car-

damom, cashewand raisins from

Kerala, gheefrom Karnataka.

`104 crmakeover for

Ayodhya railwaystation on themodel of Ram

temple

By Aishwarya Paliwalin Ayodhya

THE temple town of Ayodhyagot a facelift and in abouttwo years, the Junction toowill be transformed into anew temple-like railway sta-tion.

The budget for the samehas been increasedfrom Rs 80 croresearlier to 104 croresnow. Officials saidthe project hasbeen expedited.

Railway minis-ter Piyush Goyaltweeted on Sun-day: “For the croresof devotees visitingthe Ram temple, Rail-ways is redeveloping theAyodhya station under theleadership of Prime MinisterNarendra Modi.”

The current Ayodhya sta-tion was earmarked for rede-velopment a few years ago.The redevelopment hasn'tbegun yet, but officials saywork will start soon. The ideais to complete this redevelop-

ment before the temple con-struction gets over. The newdesign will add a host ofamenities besides increasingcapacity to handle morecrowd.

The redevelopment is beingdone in two phases. While thefirst phase will see the devel-opment of the platform

areas, the second will seethe erection of the new

station building withamenities like moretoilets, dormito-ries, ticketing andcirculating areasetc.

This revamp willbe done in antici-

pation of theincreased footfall the

city will see once thetemple is built in 2023-24.

Once built, the station isexpected to span one lakhsquare feet.

The redevelopment is alsoin line with PM's vision ofpositioning the religioustourism sector as a majorengine for job creation and adriving force for economicgrowth.

Ayodhya Jn toget makeover,budget hiked

Temple may be ready by Feb ’24By Rahul Shrivastavain Ayodhya

THE Bhoomi Pujan for theRam Temple in Ayodhya isdone but does the templetown’s most famous deity geta permanent residence?

Sources in the Shree RamTeerth Kshetra, the commit-tee formed by the governmentfor temple construction afterthe Supreme Court order, saidthat the temple may takealmost three-and-a-half yearsfrom foundation to Shikhar orthe top.

VHP member Champat Rai,the key organiser in the com-mittee, says that the clearingand foundation work is goingto start soon. Those familiarwith the work on say thatmonsoon season is not themost suitable for levelling andfoundation work. And theprocess may be slow.

Rai stated that the plinthlevel and the ground floor con-struction may take almost 18months. One of the membersof the design team says thatthe toughest part of a templeis the plinth and ground floorconstruction. However thecommittee is confident thatmost of the large pillars andslabs for the ground and plinthlevel are ready with carvingat the VHP karyashala.

The next two floorsare expected to takesomething betw-een 14-18 months.The next six mon-

ths are going to be dedicatedto finishing touches and theshikhar or the top which isgoing to be 161-feet-high. Infact there will be five domes tothe temple which may take alot of time.

Even the Lord’s temple hasto comply with local and

municipal rules. Thedesign of the temple

is now ready to besubmitted to theAyodhya Develop-ment Authority

for clearance. The temple com-mittee has already puttogether almost Rs 2 crore levywhich has to be paid for get-ting clearances.

The Covid-19 spread hasthrown a spanner in the works.The committee has decidedthat no government fundswould be accepted for the con-struction of the temple. TheVHP has almost 35 years expe-rience in fund raising for RamTemple. The parishad wasplanning a huge public out-

reach for collecting funds forthe temple. There was a prop-osal to reach out to 10-15 crorepeople for donations.

But the exercise is runningbehind schedule due to thepandemic. The parishad iswaiting for the spread curve todip a bit.

However, the final decisionon the timeline rests on theBJP and RSS top brass. If onegoes by the three-and-a-halfyear deadline, the temple maybe ready by February 2024.

The exteriorof how theRam Templewill look aftercompletion.

VHPis planning a

huge public out-reach for collectingfunds for the temple

Whilethe first

phase will seethe development ofplatform areas, thesecond will see the

erection of newstation build-

ing

The temple should beconstructed on the

foundation of mutual loveand brotherhood. Through

‘sabka saath’ and with‘sabka vishwas’, we need to

achieve ‘sabka vikaas’.

Ram Mandir will be a modernsymbol of our culture, eternal

faith, national spirit andcollective will power whichwill inspire generations to

come.

‘‘

‘‘

— NARENDRA MODI, PRIME MINISTER

The new design will add a host of amenities besidesincreasing capacity to handle more passengers.

By Ram Kinkar Singh in New Delhi

COLOURFUL lights andsaffron flags adornedtemples in the nationalcapital and chants of JaiShri Ram rent the air asdevotees thronged them

to perform special puja on theoccasion of ground-breakingceremony for a Ram temple inAyodhya.

At a Chattarpur temple, devoteesstarted arriving around 6 am, just afterthe morning puja ended, temple’sadministrator Kishor Chawla said. “Apuja has been going on non-stop forthree days. The ‘Ram darbar’ has beendecorated. A replica of ‘shila’ (founda-tion stone) has been prepared and itwill be sent to Ayodhya along withother material,” he said.

Thirty-two pandits performed a spe-cial puja amid beating of dholaks andtambourines and recital of bhajans.Considering the restrictions due toCovid-19, only a limited number of peo-ple are allowed at any giventime. A self-dispenser machinehas been installed for ‘prasad’distribution, Chawla said.

Alankar Yadav, a 57-year-oldresident of Chattarpur, clappedvigorously as the loudspeakersblared Ram dhun. “It’s a dreamcome true. I am lucky that I amalive to see this day,” he said.

Anukriti Bansal, 41, drove tothe temple in the middle of rainto have darshan of ‘Ram lalla’. “Icould have watched it on televi-sion, but I chose to come hereand spend some time listeningto ‘Sunderkand’,” she said.

Delhi BJP unit chief AadeshGupta, along with his Dalit sup-porters, witnessed LIVE stream-ing program of the bhoomipujan and lit 101 diyas in ValmikiMandir at Mandir Marg.

At the Jhandewalan temple inKarol Bagh, people startedtrickling in as early as 5 am.Vinod Gandhi, the manager ofthe temple, said the entirepremise has been decoratedwith colourful lights and recitalof the Ramayan has been goingon for the last 24 hours.

The staff distributed specialprasad to devotees after thepuja. The temple had alsoplanned a diya lighting event inthe evening.

Vinod Mishra of the BirlaMandir in central Delhi said thetemple had sent its soil to Ayod-hya which will be used in theconstruction of the Ram temple.Saffron flags adorned the wallsof the temple and colourfulbulbs hung from its dome. Devo-tees performed puja amid non-stop Ram bhajan and kirtan.Mishra said the administrationhas not allowed large gatheringsas per the Covid-19 protocols.

A festive atmosphere pre-vailed at the Vishwa HinduParishad (VHP) headquartersat RK Puram, once the nervecentre of the Ram Janmab-hoomi movement, as seniorleaders of saffron outfits gath-ered to watch the live telecastof the ground-breaking cere-mony for a Ram temple in Ayo-dhya on Wednesday.

In 1984, a ‘Dharm Sansad’ (reli-gious conclave) of Hindu seers

Mail Today, New Delhi / Chandigarh, Thursday, August 6, 2020 Mail Today, New Delhi, Thursday, August 6, 2020 6 NEWS

Temples acrossCapital weredecorated asspecial ritualsmarked grandbhoomi pujanin Ayodhya

AYODHYA TO DELHI TEMPLE RUN: FROM

was held in Delhi where it wasdecided that the VHP willundertake the activities relatedto Ram Janmabhoomi, jointgeneral secretary of VHP Suren-dra Jain said.

VHP stalwart Ashok Singhalwas among those who spear-headed the movement. In thenext few years, the headquartersserved as a centre of initial dis-cussions among prominent lead-ers of the movement.

“Ashok Singhal ji used to havediscussions with a close group of15-20 persons over how toachieve the goal of Ram templein Ayodhya, at the meditationhall of this building,” Jain said.

On Wednesday, a giant LEDscreen was installed in an openarea of the VHP headquarters atSankat Mochan Ashram, whereproceedings of ‘bhoomi pujan’

were watched by a gathering oflocals, New Delhi MP MeenakshiLekhi and several leaders andmembers of the outfit.

As the prime minister raisedthe slogan of Jai Siya Ram inAyodhya, the audience at theVHP headquarters too burstinto loud chants of ‘Jai ShriRam’. Many sat with foldedhands and calls of ‘Jai ShriRam’ were heard periodically,as the bhoomi pujan telecastprogressed.

“Whatever happened in Ayod-hya, you can feel its pulse at thisoffice that was a centre of themovement for Ram temple inAyodhya,” said Jain.

A ‘yagna’ was performed at theVHP headquarters and was fol-lowed by kirtan and LIVE tele-cast from Ayodhya.

— With inputs from PTI

Diyas, sweetsand havans in city’s temples

Prasad being distributed at the Valmiki Mandir in Delhi.

People watch livetelecast of RamTemple’s ground-breaking ceremony, inDelhi on Wednesday.

PHOTOS: QAMAR SIBTAIN

CITY CELEBRATES WITHFIREWORKS, COLOURSBy Sushant Mehra in New Delhi

NOT JUST Ayodhya, anatmosphere of joy resonatedon the day of Ram temple’sground-breaking ceremonyin the national capital aswell. In many places acrossDelhi, it seemed like Diwaliwas being celebrated.

While some chose toworship Lord Ram in theirhomes, some sang hymnsand some organised puja tomark the occasion. At someplaces, some people even

played Holi and usedfireworks in celebration.LIVE telecast was screenedat Sri Ram Mandir inLaxmi Nagar and VivekVihar. Thousands of diyaswere lit at the Birla Mandir.

BJP MP Pravesh Vermabuilt a grand Ram gateoutside his governmentresidence at Windsor Place,which was decorated withlights. A large banner of theRam Temple was alsoplaced outside his house.The saffron-coloured flagwas installed as well.

People playwith coloursas theycelebrateRamTemple’sfoundationlayingceremony,in Delhi onWednesday.

PANKAJ NANGIA

Mail Today, New Delhi, Thursday, August 6, 2020 7NEWS

Congratulations tothe entire country onthe occasion of bhoomipujan. May India showthe path to the world intimes to come. Jai ShriRam! Jai Bajrang Bali.

‘

’— ARVIND KEJRIWAL, DELHI CHIEF MINISTER

BJP displaying itshypocrisy. They cangather & celebrate. Therest of us can’t evenmeet to discuss what’shappening in Jammuand Kashmir.

‘

’— OMAR ABDULLAH, FORMER J&K CM

Today is a historicday and we can all feelthe joy of this moment.The grand Ram templeis also the temple of thecountry... a celebrationof India’s pride...

‘

’— RAVI SHANKAR PRASAD, UNION MINISTER

Lord Ram holds aunique place in ourculture & civilization.His life teaches us theimportance of truth,justice, equality of alland compassion...

‘

’— ASHOK GEHLOT, RAJASTHAN CHIEF MINISTER

Celebrations at Ravana templein Noida to mark bhoomi pujan

‘MUST PRESERVE UNITY TILL LAST BREATH’

OPPN DIVIDEDOVER BHOOMIPUJAN EVENTBy Anand Kumar Patel in New Delhi

THE OPPOSITION parties werea divided house on the occa-sion of the ground-breakingceremony for Ram Templeconstruction in Ayodhya onWednesday. Former CongressPresident Rahul Gandhipraised Lord Ram as an epit-ome of tolerance and justice.

Samajwadi Party leaderAkhilesh Yadav and BahujanSamaj Party supremoMayawati were guarded intheir response. AIMIM chiefAsaduddin Owaisi wasextremely critical of PMNarendra Modi leading thebhoomi pujan ceremony.

‘Secular’ credential of theopposition parties was atstake on the day PM NarendraModi laid the foundationstone of Ram Temple in Ayod-hya. The opposition leadersfailed to put up a united voiceagainst the BJP on the issueand voices in different toneswere heard.

Former Congress presidentRahul Gandhi was careful inhis response. He was allpraise for Lord Ram. In histweet, the Congress leadersaid, “Lord Ram representssupreme human qualities and

is the ultimate soul of human-ity deep-rooted inside us.”

“Ram is love, he can neverbe identified with hatred,Ram is compassion as he cannever be cruel, Ram is justiceas he can never be identifiedwith injustice,” he added.There was no mention of RamTemple or the ground-break-

ing ceremony in Rahul’stweet as against the state-ment put out by CongressGeneral Secretary PriyankaGandhi Vadra. In her tweet,she had lauded the construc-tion of Ram Temple.

But Priyanka’s rivals in UttarPradesh were guarded intheir response and stoppedshort of welcoming the tem-ple construction. SamajwadiParty chief Akhilesh Yadav inhis tweet said, “Jai Mahadev,Jai Siya-Ram, Jai RadheKrishna, Jai Hanuman; Let allbe filled with welfare fromLord Shiva, Lord Ram’s fear-lessness and the unfetteredgesture of Lord Krishna.”

By Abhishek Anand in Greater Noida

AT THE Bisrakh village of thecity, a handful of devoteesgathered at the temple of Ravanaand celebrated the bhoomi pujanof Ram Mandir in Ayodhya.Ravana is said to be born in theBisrakh village and it has a one ofits kind temple dedicated to the‘Rakshas Raja’.

The priest of the templeAshokanand Maharaj saidRavana is incomplete withoutLord Ram as he is the one whogave him moksha (salvation). Ahandful of soil from the Ravana’stemple was also sent to Ayodhyafor the ground-breaking ceremony.Soil from various temples andcities, related to thelegendary epic Ramayanawas sent to Ayodhya forthe bhoomi pujan.

“At this occasion,when Ram Lalla is

going to get his home after 500-year-long struggle, we the residentof Ravana’s village of Bisrakh, areextremely delighted. We haveorganised religious ceremonies atthe Ravana’s temple to celebratethe homecoming of our LordRam,” said Ashokanand.

Asked why the residents of thevillage worship Ravana and whythey are celebrating, Ashokanandsaid, “Hinduism is a religion ofdiversity. Fear of god is not aconcept in Hinduism. It’s allabout karma. God is everywhere,in all living and non-living things,in the good, in the bad and in allof us. Ravana was a devotee ofLord Shiva, and he wasn’t a badperson till he started misusing hispowers. He became so powerful

that he had everythingsans salvation. He knew

that the only personwho could bring himto salvation is LordRam.”

By Indrajit Kundu in Kolkata

HINDU-MUSLIM-SIKH-ISAAI,aapas mein hain bhai bhai!Mera Bharat mahaan, mahaanhamara Hindustan, said a mes-sage shared by West BengalChief Minister Mamata Banerjeeon the day Prime MinisterNarendra Modi laid the founda-tion stone for the grand Ramtemple in UP’s Ayodhya.

“Our country has alwaysupheld the age-old legacy ofunity in diversity, and we mustpreserve this to our last breath!”the CM posted on social media.

The Trinamool Congress chief,

however, refrained from directlycommenting on the events inAyodhya or the PM’s participa-tion. In fact, the TMC leader-ship has maintainedsilence on the 2019Supreme Court ver-dict paving way forthe constructionof a temple inAyodhya.

QuestioningBanerjee’sstance, BengalGovernorJagdeep Dhankartweeted, “Longwait over, thanks tohistoric judicial ver-dict. Appeasement

silence stance resonates. RamSita in our Constitution.”

The West Bengal governmenthas enforced a total lockdown in

the state on Wednesday aspart of its weekly-Covid

containment strat-egy. BJP supportersgathered outside aparty office innorth Kolkata’sDumdum parkarea and con-ducted a havan tomark the occa-

sion. “We have organ-

ised a havan. Letpolice do their job but

let me clarify, the date for

today’s foundation stone layingceremony was announced well inadvance. We don’t think theBengal CM believes this state isa part of India. She wants tohurt the sentiment of Hindus.Every person has the right todefend his religion,” a local BJPleader who had organised theevent told India Today TV.

In West Midnapore district,police arrested a few BJP sup-porters for flouting lockdownnorms and congregating toorganise a puja next to a partyoffice in Midnapore town.

In Kharagpur, BJP workersclashed with police after a fewparty workers were arrested forviolating the lockdown.

Lord Ram representssupreme humanqualities and is theultimate soul ofhumanity deep-rooted inside us.

‘

‘

— RAHUL GANDHI, CONGRESS LEADER

A mandir or amasjid cannot be asymbol of anynation, today’sevent & a PM par-ticipating in it justmake it Hindutva’ssuccess...

‘

‘

— ASADUDDIN OWAISI, AIMIM CHIEF

MamataBanerjee

Ravanais incomplete

without Ram, saidthe temple priest

Priests perform puja at the Ravana templeat the Bisrakh village in Greater Noida.

8 Mail Today, New Delhi / Chandigarh, Thursday, August 6, 2020 Mail Today, New Delhi, Thursday, August 6, 2020 NEWS

RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat at the event in Ayodhya. (Right) Fireworks light up the night sky to celebrate the Ram Temple event, in Jodhpur.

PM Narendra Modi and UP CM Yogi Adityanath visitHanumangarhi in Ayodhya on Wednesday.

(Right) Members of Gayawal Pandas community light earthenlamps to celebrate the event in Ayodhya.

GROUNDBREAKING!Diwali comes early across country as people light lamps, offer

prayers to celebrate Ram Temple Bhoomi Pujan in Ayodhya

Mail Today, New Delhi, Thursday, August 6, 2020 9NEWS

(Above) Women of Muslimcommunity shower flowerpetals on an artist dressed asLord Ram, to celebrate thegroundbreaking ceremony ofthe Ram Temple in Ayodhya,organised by Yuva SanskritikManch in Bhopal.

(Above, right) Indians takeout a tableau on ‘Ayodhya’sShri Ram Mandir’ around theUS Capitol Hill to celebratethe groundbreaking occasionof the temple, in Washington.

(R) PM Narendra Modi’smother Hiraba watches thelive telecast of thefoundation-laying ceremonyof Ayodhya’s Ram Mandir.

UP CM Yogi Adityanath and Yoga guru Ramdev greet each other during the functionahead of the inception of Bhoomi Pujan, in Ayodhya.(Left) Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu offers prayers on the occasion of the BhoomiPujan for Ayodhya’s Ram Temple, at Upa-Rashtrapati Nivas in Delhi.

A priest performs ‘Maha Aarti’ to celebrate the event, at Pushkar in Ajmer as devotees light earthen lamps at Ramchandra Ji Temple in Jaipur.

PHOTOS: AGENCIES

10 Mail Today, New Delhi / Chandigarh, Thursday, August 6, 2020 Mail Today, New Delhi, Thursday, August 6, 2020 COMMENT

HUMOURDAILY

Nothing ever fatigues but doing what I do not like.

— Jane Austen

If it’s the Psychic Networkwhy do they need a phonenumber?

—Robin Williams

If you cannot laughat yourself, I can doit for you.

SO FUNNY

ACCORDING to a recent report, halfof Gen Z young men believe that“feminism has gone too far”.For those of us who have been activeon social media for the last 10 years,this is nothing new.

The question is, why? We aresupposedly living in a progressivesociety.

Male politicians and celebrities areregularly criticised, but the criticismis usually targeted at their intellect orpolicies. It is rare to see a male figurethreatened or being told a variationof, “you’re only saying this becauseyou’re ugly”.

By banning feminist voices whilstpromoting anti-female hate, these sitesare reinforcing the idea that it isacceptable to degrade and threatenwomen for voicing an opinion you donot agree with.

They are allowing a culture ofpunishment to form, where the rebukeis more important than the reason forit. Where the aim is not to suggestanother way of thinking, but to leavewomen afraid. In short, it is becominga how-to guide for abusive males.

Abuse againstwomen onlinea serious issue

DAY IN NUMBERS

AROUND THE WORLDTHE INDEPENDENT

ON MISOGYNY IN SOCIAL MEDIA

`42 Lloss faced by

Maharashtra govtas many ShramikSpecial trains runempty in a month

`27 k crworth of

investment made inKarnataka sinceMarch, ensuring

46,000 jobs

Sites ban feminist voiceswhile promoting hate

” ”

[GI tag] can be issued forgoods originating in the territory where a given quality is attributable to its geographical origin.

— AMARINDER SINGH, Punjab CM,asking PM Modi not to allow

geographical indication tagging ofbasmati to Madhya Pradesh

DAY IN WORDS

Discernment is good, andintegrity, and justice. Justice. Justice is so important for me;if anyone’s notbeing treatedfairly.

[Willian] is a good footballer.He is calm and humble and itwill be sad if I don’t see himagain as a team-mate

— ANTONIO RÜDIGER, Chelsea centreback, on his teammate

Willian’s transfer

— KATY PERRY,singer, on what

values shewants to pass

on to her unborndaughter

““

THE symbolically pow-erful bhumi pujan atthe site of the pro-posed Ram Mandir inAyodhya on August 5marks the beginning of

a three-pronged electoral strat-egy by Prime Minister NarendraModi. Each prong of the trishulhas a short-term and long-termstrategic objective.

Numbers gameThe first obviously is to coalesce the

majority vote. The Bihar and West Ben-gal assembly elections in 2020 and 2021respectively are the short-term targets.The Uttar Pradesh assembly election in2022 and the Lok Sabha poll in 2024 arelonger term objectives. All these havethe same aim: build on the BJP’s corevote base.

Consider the math. The BJP has 180million members. Assume an average oftwo voting adults per family. Thattranslates into 360 million captive vot-ers who are likely to be eligible to vote.(Over 911 million Indians were eligibleto vote in the 2019 general election,according to the Election Commissionof India, of whom 610 million voted.)Thus the BJP has a lock on over 35 percent of all eligible voters even beforecampaigning starts.

But that may not be enough. If theOpposition comes together, the BJPneeds a minimum vote share of 42-45per cent to win a majority in the LokSabha and stay in power. The NDA hasatrophied: the JD(U) is a pale shadow;the Akalis are in disarray; and thePaswans are too small to matter.

To ensure a clean majority in 2024, theBJP knows it has to also win a share ofthe moderate Hindu vote that tradi-tionally favours “secular” national orregional parties. In 2019, the BJP won37.36 per cent vote share. In 2024, it willhave to increase that significantly in the

absence of strong allies and the possi-bility of Opposition consolidation.

The construction of the Ram Mandirhas been carefully timed: it is expectedto be ready to admit its first devoteesthree months before the 2024 LokSabha poll. The optics will worry theOpposition. Congress leader PriyankaGandhi-Vadra has already hedged herparty's bets by declaring: “Ram is ineveryone.” Opposition parties know theemotive impact of the Ram Mandirbeing constructed “after 500 years of ahistorical wrong.” The BJP, however, istaking nothing for granted. Hence theother two prongs in its trishul strategy.

The second prong is time-tested: wel-fare benefits. Modi has turned India intoa quasi-welfare state. The poor willreceive food grains from over 50 lakhration shops at between `one and twoper kilogram from any state in India, notjust from the state where the ration cardwas issued. Free gas cylinders (and sub-sidised refills) have transformed thelives of rural households. Electricity ispatchy but available where it never wassince and before independence.

A question of opticsToilets may have been converted into

storerooms in some villages but in manypoor homes sanitisation has vastlyimproved.

Direct benefit transfers of subsidiesinto Jan Dhan Yojana bank accounts ofseveral hundred million Indians whonever had bank accounts has removedmiddlemen siphoning off cash. Ayush-man Bharat health insurance that givespoor families medical cover of up to `5lakh has been a boon in tier 2 and tier 3towns where health care remains rudi-

mentary as the Covid-19 pandemic hascruelly exposed.

The combination of Ram and welfareis what the BJP believes will not onlydeliver it a third term in office at theCentre but victories in the crucialstates of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh aswell as make further inroads into WestBengal. There is a fly in the ointmentthough: the faltering economy. Modiknows that polarisation and welfaremay not be enough to guarantee vic-tory. The third prong in the BJP’s strat-egy, however, is the most vulnerable. Ifthe distressed economy doesn’t recoverquickly, the BJP could still face thewrath of the jobless on the one handand over-taxed middle-class profes-sionals on the other.

The weakest linkThe Modi government’s macro-eco-

nomic management has been abysmal.India has regressed on many fronts.The country is more protectionist thanit has been for nearly 30 years. Over-regulation has antagonised globalinvestors. One company alone,Reliance Industries, has attracted moreFDI in calendar 2020 than the rest ofIndia put together.

The economy is likely to shrink by 5per cent in 2020-21. Unless there is aquick bounce back in the second half ofthis fiscal, the economy could put awrench in the BJP’s electoral strategy.The idea that the economy does notmatter to the majority of voters is sim-ply not true. A new generation of 18-to-23-year-olds will vote for the first timein 2024. All of them are zoomers, bornafter 2000. For them education and jobsmatter as much as the Ram Mandir andsocial welfare benefits.

It is this demographic slice of newIndia that the BJP needs to capture inBihar, in UP, in West Bengal and in therest of India. Ayodhya is a powerfulforce multiplier. But the rising force lieswith the young Indian.

—The writer is an author and publisher. TThhee vviieewwss eexxpprreesssseedd

aarree ppeerrssoonnaall..

by MinhazMerchant

Sculptors resume work on sculptures at a workshop, during unlock 3.0, in the heritage town ofMamallapuram, Tamil Nadu, on Wednesday.

DREAMING BUDDHAPTI

Ram Mandir andBJP’s poll tests

11Mail Today, New Delhi, Thursday, August 6, 2020

BOOMTOWN RAPARAVIND GOWDA

SPOT LIGHT

CHIEF MinisterBS Yediyurappais out of actionfor at least 15days as he testedpositive for

Covid-19. The Cabinetexpansion planned inAugust is now postponedindefinitely, intensifyingunrest among aspirantsand disgruntled leaders. Discontent has been brewing in

the party in the state unit for twomonths, as Yediyurappa hasbeen accused of neglecting partyloyalists while expanding theCabinet. The CM wanted toappoint at least three powerfulBJP leaders to the Cabinet. Butnow their waiting period hasbeen extended. A section of theBJP, led by Deputy Chief Minis-ter Laxman Savadi, was in NewDelhi to bring the growing dis-content among the state leadersto the notice of the party’s cen-tral leadership. There are sixberths in the Council of Ministers

– three loyalists and three legisla-tors – who switched sides to jointhe BJP and played a crucial rolein installing Yediyurappa as theCM – shortlisted to be sworn inas ministers. However, the loyal-ists are against inducting thethree turncoat politicians intothe Cabinet.

This prompted the CM toappoint 22 legislators to variousboards and corporations to try

and appease them. Several of them expressed dis-

satisfaction, contending thatthey were fit for ministerial jobsand not as chairman of boardsand corporations.

So far, three of them have notassumed charge; they feel theyare too senior to handle such‘junior’ assignments.

Yediyurappa then tested posi-tive while five senior ministers, in

his close network, were in-homequarantine. The chief ministerhas declared he will continue tofunction from the hospital.

The delay in the Cabinet expan-sion is bound to impact the polit-ical landscape. The CM’s aideshave requested the ministerialaspirants to wait for anotherthree weeks.

The writer is a publicist, filmscribe and political journalist.

Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa; (above left) Deputy CM Laxman Savadi

Indisposed, CM sparks discontent

THE BJP may deny that itopposes dynastic politics butmakes exceptions in the casesof regional leaders such as CMYediyurappa.

Last week, the BJP appointedYediyurappa’s second son BYVijayendra as the vice-presi-dent of the state unit.

Vijayendra has been waitingin the wings for several years.In the 2018 Assembly polls, hehad identified a constituencyfor himself in Mysuru; cam-paigned extensively and indi-

rectly declared himself as theparty’s candidate. At the lastmoment, the party deniedhim a ticket because it feltthat the BJP, which opposeddynastic politics, could be sub-jected to public criticism.Besides, Vijayendra’s elderbrother BY Raghavendra isalready an MP from Shimoga.

Undeterred, Vijayendra con-tinued to work for the BJPhoping for a party ticket atleast in the next Assemblyelections.

Now, he is being seen as asuccessor to Yediyurappa atthe state level.

BY Vijayendra

THE abrupt transfer ofBengaluru City Commis-sioner of Police BhaskarRao was not only surpris-ing but shocking. Notmany people expected thegovernment to transfer anofficer, who was perform-ing exceptionally well,especially during Covid-19.While senior IAS officersand healthcare expertstook credit for controllingthe pandemic in the city inMarch and April, equalcredit goes to Rao, whowas effective in ensuring a

complete lockdown. Thenew police commissioneris Kamal Pant.

It was a year ago thatRao became Commissionerfor Bengaluru, soon afterthe BJP formed the govern-ment.

While the governmentmaintained that his trans-fer was routine, as the offi-cer had completed oneyear in office, civil societyfelt otherwise. There havebeen instances of policecommissioners servinglonger tenures in the city.

UNPLANNED CHANGEOF GUARD FOR POLICE

Former commissioner Bhaskar Rao with Kamal Pant(left) the new Bengaluru police commissioner

THE one-week lockdown ofBengaluru in mid-July hasemerged as one of the majorreasons for the sudden spike inCovid-19 positive cases in thehinterland. An estimated50,000 people, especially dailywage workers, and unemployedpeople, left Bengaluru for theirhometowns ahead of the lock-down in July.

Now, it is believed that thesepeople have spread the pan-demic to many districts.

Data shows that Bengaluruaccounted for a bulk of the

Covid-19 positive cases untilJune 21 (44 per cent casesacross the state were from thecity). The city’s share increasedto 67 per cent by June end.However, following the one-week lockdown, Bengaluru’scase burden reduced to 28 percent by the end of July whileother districts experienced aspike. Kalaburgi district regis-tered a rise of 408% in positivecases. Udupi saw a 129%increase, Ballari a 259% whileBelagavi witnessed a 158% risein the number of cases.

COVID SPREADING TOTHE HINTERLAND

Tough times for movie hallsFILM exhibitors in Karnatakaare facing an uncertain future,with many of them planning toshut down the theatres perma-nently or convert them intoalternative uses. All the moviescreens (240 multiplex screensand 615 single screens) havebeen shut since the end ofMarch following the outbreakof Covid-19 in the country.

Though the govern-ment has proposed toopen the theatreswith a maximumoccupancy of 25

per cent (to maintain social dis-tancing), theatre owners find iteconomically unviable. Majorityof the single screen theatresare located outside Bengaluruand 150 of them have alreadyannounced closure. Filmscreening is a risky businesswhile ticket prices vary depend-ing on the language. Theatre

owners have to increase theticket prices to recover

the cost of screening amovie with just 25 per cent occu-pancy.

The rise of Jr.Yediyurappa

THE ecologicallyfragile WesternGhats in Kar-

nataka continues to faceunprecedented threatowing to developmentworks. In the latest move,the Regional Expert panelhas approved the widen-ing of the Kumta-SirsiRoad, which passesthrough the SharavathiValley Wildlife sanctuary,habitat for endangeredspecies like the elusivelion-tailed macaque andtigers. The 67-km roadbetween the two townshas already witnessed arecord number of wildlifedeaths.

Ticketprices may goup to recover

costs

He had been waitingin the wings

The almost empty roads ofBengaluru in the lockdown

Celebrated wildlifephotographer andbig cat specialistShaaz Jungrealised the powerof nature while hewas tracking themelanistic leopard.

THE PICTURES of Saya(Shadow)going viral meansnothing,” says Shaaz Jung, aprofessional wildlife photogra-pher, cinematographer and big

cat specialist, who, after tracking anddocumenting leopards for 10 years inNagarhole National Park, became anovernight sensation with his pictures ofSaya, a melanistic tiger.

He explains why he sounds dismissive of thepictures being shared by the who’s who of theceleb world. “These pictures should meannothing because we live in a digital age wherethe power of social media is huge. I clickedthese two and a half years back and today,there is a story which is packaged well. Theinternet needs something every day and foundthis. The photographer’s job is to be at theright place at the right time and click the pic-ture.” He gives credit to the forest departmentfor working to ensure that enthusiasts can geta glimpse of these animals and the locals forsafeguarding the forests against the fire.

He has grown up amidst the jungle as his par-ents ran a wildlife lodge close to Bengaluru.Jung, who is related to three royal families, —the Pataudis, the Nawab of Hyderabad andBhopal — first heard about Saya in 2015.“Melanism in leopards takes place becausethey lack the gene which regulates colour. He isdouble recessive which means he has an abun-dance of melanin and that is why he is black. It

is not a different species, as many believe,” hesays of the leopard which many have comparedto Bagheera from The Jungle Book. What madethe find unusual was that melanistic leopardsare usually found in extremely thick and densejungles, like Malaysia, where they’ve been doc-umented with trap cameras. “What made Sayavery unique was that he was thriving in a forestwhere he didn’t belong against the odds of nat-ural selection,” says Jung. Thereare several reasons which makesthe survival of a melanistic leop-ard in South India difficult. “Forsix months, the forest is dry,making it next to impossible forhim to camouflage and hunt.Moreover, a black coat ensuredthat he absorbed heat so, insummers you would see himbecoming thin and extremely

Mail Today, New Delhi, Thursday, August 6, 2020 Mail Today, New Delhi, Thursday, August 6, 2020 12 ART AND CULTURE ART AND CULTURE 13

POINTVantage

sleek where his ribs wouldshow,” he explains. However,Saya was aware that he was dif-ferent. “These animals perceivecolour differently. It comes fromthe heightened sense of aware-ness that its survival dependson it. This made him twice asaggressive. He often courtedseveral females at the same time

— something which was neverseen before,” says Jung. Sincehis black coat made him mucheasier to be spotted by prey,Saya used the shadows to hisadvantage, sometimes lyingcompletely flat and almost life-less in shade — which has beencaptured by Jung for a NationalGeographic documentary, The

Real Black Panther.Tracking the melanistic leop-

ard taught Jung the art of beingpatient. “We spent hours in thepark in search of him and we feltlucky if we saw Saya once aweek. This sighting could last 15seconds or couple of minutes orif he was on a tree, a couple ofhours. There was always an ele-

ment of luck and that is thebeauty of wildlife. It is unpre-dictable and that is what drawsme to it. Wildlife writes its ownscript,” says Jung thoughtfully.

Jung, an Economics graduate,gave up a corporate career infavour of staying in the jungle, ashe believes he was not cut out forit. “I was creative. I loved being in

By Rewati Rau

ART show inaugurationsover wine and cheese are athing of the past. So are dis-cussions over your favouritepiece of artwork. But thatdoesn’t stop people fromenjoying art in the confines oftheir home. That is whySunaina Anand, director, ArtAlive Gallery, decided tokickstart the art season withthe Collectors Weekend.Every alternate Friday, thegallery’s website will show-case works of different sets ofartists.

The series started with theworks of five Masters of Con-temporary Indian Art— SHRaza, Krishen Khanna, SaktiBurman, Jogen Chowdhuryand Thota Vaikuntam. SaysAnand, “The idea is to keepthe whole energy of art alive.The term, new normal, hasbecome so common and oneis now thinking of ways tonormalise things. The artseason has started andinstead of opening a physicalshow I thought of doingthis.” Anand plans to getartists across different gen-res and also young and prom-ising artists.

In the current show, the aes-thetic vision of Raza is beau-tifully captured in the mas-ter’s recurrent and mosticonic symbol of the Binduwhile Sakti Burman’s distinctstyle plays out on the canvasas he draws inspiration frommythology, experience andhistory. Caught betweenimagination and desire andconstantly being navigatedthrough personal experi-ences, Krishen Khanna'sexpressionist brush tech-nique offers a glimpse ofmany untold stories. JogenChowdhury’s practice, deeplyrooted in understanding thesocio-political fabric of soci-ety is depicted by bold brushstrokes that dominate hismonochrome canvas. On theother hand, Thota Vaikun-tam’s art comes to life show-casing the vibrant colours ofTelangana through his grace-ful feminine characters.

VASANT Valley Schoolrecently organisedthe 17th Laissez Faire,an annual Inter SchoolCompetition hostedby the Social ScienceDepartment for stu-dents of Class XI andXII. The focus this yearwas on giving studentsan eclectic platform tointegrate the knowl-edge they’ve acquiredacross various domainsof Social Sciences andapply it to currentissues such as theCovid-19 pandemic.

These were furtherreinforced throughinteractions withpeers and by absorb-ing diverse views ofrenowned speakers. P. Sainath, FounderEditor of the People'sArchive of Rural Indiaand a MagsaysayAward winner, spokeabout , ‘Migrant Cri-sis’, and Dr ShamikaRavi, DirectorResearch BrookingsInstitution, high-lighted the ‘Social andEconomic Impact ofthe Pandemic on Ruraland Urban Poverty’.

They responded topertinent questionsraised by students.There were four mainevents: The Quiz, EcoOnline, Psynergy andBiz Bash, in whichover 200 studentsfrom 22 schools fromdifferent parts of thecountry participated.

AN ECLECTIC PLATFORMFOR YOUNG IGNITED MINDS

(Left) Thota Vaikuntam’s painting; SH Raza’s Nisha

by Saimi Sattar Bagheera

nature. I was a people’s person. Iwanted to use my language skillsto raise awareness,” he recalls. Heheaded to his family lodge, saw aleopard which reignited his loveaffair with the forest which hadbeen brewing since childhood.“While tracking leopards I discov-ered new corners of the jungleand different species. I started

learning more from animals thanhumans. I could have neverunderstood the lessons I learnt bybeing in nature’s lap. I changedand was aware of my surround-ings. I became a better person.That’s what made me stay on,” hesays. He started guiding peopleon safaris. “It was a beautifulexperience when people who’dnever seen an elephant or a leop-ard or never switched off the carto listen to the birds did so for thefirst time. They came upset dueto their environment and I justloved watching the way theytransformed during their stay.”

Jung keeps on going back tothe forest as it makes him feelinsignificant. “It is important tofeel small because that keeps usgrounded. I come to the cityand I see materialism and eco-nomic growth being prioritisedat the cost of environmentaldamage,” he says and pointsout that Nature is way morepowerful than we credit it to be.“I see the human race down onits knees due to a tiny organ-ism. That’s the power of nature.This organism has destroyedeconomies and completelychanged who we are,” says Jungwho elaborated on the conceptat a webinar organised byWeWork recently.

But there are lessons to belearnt. “We should emerge as awiser and a stronger race fromthis pandemic. But mostimportant, as a more educatedrace, that values nature.”

WEEKEND WITHTHE MASTERS

Speakers at theLaissez Faire eventheld at VasantValley School

(Clockwise from top):Bhogeshwara, the elephant,in his full glory; Shaaz Junggave up his corporatecareer in favour of wildlife;face to face with Saya and aleopard climbs a tree.

Sakti Burman’swork MirrorMirror

Students exchanged notes with a panel of renownedspeakers at Laissez Faire, an inter-school competition hosted

by the Social Science department of Vasant Valley School The

Shadow ofBagheera

135 dead, and 4,000 injured after blasts in Lebanese capital

LEBANESE res-cue workers dugthrough the man-gled wreckage ofbuildings onWednesday look-

ing for survivors after amassive warehouse explo-sion sent a devastatingblast wave across Beirut,killing at least 135 peopleand injuring nearly 4,000.

Officials said the toll wasexpected to rise after Tuesday’sblast at port warehouses thatstored highly explosive material.

The blast was the most power-ful ever to rip through Beirut, acity still scarred by civil warthree decades ago and reelingfrom an economic meltdownand a surge in coronavirus infec-tions.

It sent a mushroom cloud intothe sky and rattled windows onthe Mediterranean island ofCyprus, about 100 miles (160km) away.

President Michel Aoun said2,750 tonnes of ammoniumnitrate, used in fertilisers andbombs, had been stored for sixyears at the port without safetymeasures.

He told the nation the govern-ment was “determined to inves-tigate and expose what hap-pened as soon as possible, tohold the responsible and thenegligent accountable, and tosanction them with the mostsevere punishment.”

An official source familiar withpreliminary investigationsblamed the incident on “inac-tion and negligence”, sayingnothing was done” by commit-tees and judges to order theremoval of hazardous material.

Ordinary Lebanese, whohave lost jobs and watchedsavings evaporate inLebanon’s financial crisis,blamed politicians who haveoverseen decades of state cor-ruption and bad governance.

“This is a catastrophe forBeirut and Lebanon.” Beirut’smayor, Jamal Itani, toldReuters while inspecting dam-age he estimated ran into bil-lions of dollars.

A man wearing a protectivemask stands across the roadfrom the damaged grain silos ofBeirut’s harbour on Wednesday.

ISRAEL SAYS IT HAS NOROLE IN EXPLOSION

ISRAEL has denied havinganything to do with thehuge explosion in Beirut,adding that the countrywas ready to give humani-tarian and medical assis-tance to Lebanon.

The huge explosion in portwarehouses near the citycentre has killed at least135 people, injured over4,000 and sent shockwavesthat shattered windows,smashed masonry andshook the ground.

“Israel has approachedLebanon through interna-tional security and diplo-matic channels and hasoffered the Lebanese gov-ernment medical andhumanitarian assistance,”a written statement fromIsraeli Defence MinisterBenny Gantz and For-eign Minister GabiAshkenazi said.

The offer comesafter two weeksof heightened

tensions between the rivalneighbours, which involveda series of border clashesbetween the Israeli DefenceForces (IDF) and Hezbollahon Israel’s northern frontier.

Earlier this month, Israelaccused Hezbollah of tryingto send gunmen across theUN-demarcated Blue Lineand said it held theLebanese governmentresponsible for what it

termed an attempted‘terrorist’ attack.

There have beennumerous simi-lar border spats.

—Daily Mail

A street in Beirut on Tuesday.

By Col Vinayak Bhat in New Delhi

THE MYSTERIOUS blast at theBeirut port that has killedover a hundred people hasput the lens of suspicion on aship impounded with 2,750tonnes of ammonium nitratein 2014 raising questions onauthorities.

It’s still unclear what trig-gered the explosion but theunloaded ammonium nitratefrom the ship dumped in awarehouse at the port afterbeing confiscated is beingseen as the cause of the blastthat could have beensparked by excessive heat.

The Merchant Vessel Rhosuscalled on Beirut Port report-edly somewhere in mid

October 2013. Not much isknown about the activities ofthis ship.

Lebanese President MichelAoun has said that leavingthe ammonium nitrateunchecked for six years wascompletely unacceptable.

The ship owned by a Russian

born Cyprus citizenGrechushkin Igor was travel-ling under a Moldovan flag.

After a proper inspection, itwas found to be carrying2750 tons of ammoniumnitrate, considered highlydangerous cargo.

The vessel was impoundedwith the crew staying on thevessel until the proceedingswere completed.

The available satelliteimages of Beirut Port indi-cate that the MV Rhosus wasimpounded on 03 May 2014.

The ship, however, is notobserved after 09 Dec 2017on satellite images.

This indicates that the dangerous cargo wasunloaded and possiblyallowed to leave the port.

Ammonium nitrate led to blast?

Beirut port after the blast.

BEIRUT BLEEDS

14 Mail Today, New Delhi, Thursday, August 6, 2020

A woman who was injured in Tuesday’s blast in Beirut.

Casualties are expectedto rise even further

Italso offered

to give medicalassistance to Beirut

FRENCH President EmmanuelMacron is travelling toLebanon on Thursday tooffer support for thetroubled country aftera massive, deadlyexplosion that hasdrawn global pledgesof medical and humani-tarian aid.

Macron’s officesaid that the

French leader will meet withLebanese political leaders.

It provided no furtherdetails. Lebanon is a former French protec-torate and the coun-

tries retain close politi-cal and economic ties.France is also sending

several tons of aidand emergencyworkers afterthe explosion.

—AP

French President Macronwill travel to Beirut today

PM Narendra Modiexpressed shock at the

loss of lives in the massiveexplosion that rockedBeirut and said India’sthoughts and prayers arewith the bereaved families.W RLDLY

ISE

The US stands ready to assistLebanon. We will be there to help.It looks like a terrible attack.They seem to think ... it was abomb of some kind, yes.

‘

‘

— DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT

TRACING THE MISSINGRelatives gathered at the cor-don to Beirut port seeking infor-mation on missing relatives,Lebanon’s MTV footage showed.

The intensity of the blastthrew victims into the sea whererescue teams tried to recoverbodies. Many of those killed

were port and custom employ-ees and people working in thearea or driving through duringthe Tuesday evening rush hour.

The Red Cross was coordinat-ing with the Health Ministry toset up morgues because hospi-tals were overwhelmed, Kettanisaid. —Reuters

EmmanuelMacron

Mail Today, New Delhi / Chandigarh, Wednesday, August 2, 2017 Mail Today, New Delhi, Thursday, August 6, 2020 15COFFEE BREAK

TWO PAGES OF ASTROLOGY, PUZZLES AND GENERAL KNOWLEDGE

ARIES Apr 14-May 14

Wisdom will dawn on you

after a long struggle to bring

positive changes into the

relationship. You feel it is worth the

wait as this new chapter begins.

CANCER July 16-Aug 15

An emotional churning isindicated and you would do

well to settle everything there andthen. You may not get the rightmoment later to get your point of view heard.

LEO Aus 16-Sep 15

You could find yourself in achallenging situation and mayneed to fight back to prove

your worth to your beloved. This cantake up a lot of energy but victory isindicated.

SCORPIO Nov 16-Dec 15

You could feel restless andunsatisfied with the way

things are going. Your lover will do the best to help and see that you arecomfortable.

AQUARIUSFeb 12-March 13

In spite of your best effortsyour lover may be

unresponsive and this could have anegative influence on you. It might bebetter to have a heart to heart talk.

SAGITTARIUSDec 16-Jan 13

Being spiritually inclined, youwould like to share this

wavelength with your love partner.Once this is done, you will be quitehappy and contented.

GEMINI June 16-July 15

You may not be in the right

frame of mind to take an

important decision and will need help

from a loved one for this. No harm in

this as it is for your betterment.

TAURUS May 15-June 15

Your confidence level will beat an all time high. You are

going to put into practice somechange you had thought of to makeyour relationship run more smoothlyand calmly.

VIRGO Sep 16-Oct 15

Tension and misunderstanding can be expectedtoday as you struggle to find

your place and battle with demons yousee in a relationship that is very rocky.

LIBRA Oct 16-Nov 15

Your charming manner islikely to win you lots ofadmirers and keep you in a

cheerful mood. An encounter can turnout to be very happy to add to yourgood mood.

PISCES Mar 14-Apr 13

Raring to go, you haveyour lover with you and

are ready to explore the world. Thereis chance of going on a long journey tosee a new place.

CAPRICORNJan 14-Feb 11The going will be good. Youand your sweetheart will

pay a lot of attention to each other,understanding the nuances that areinherent, enabling a better future.

By Dr Ajai Bhambi

Co

ffee

Bre

ak

Difficulty Rating

Cross out numbers to create blanks. No digit canappear in a row or column more than once. No twoadjacent squares can be blacked out. All the squaresleft unblacked must be connected — vertically or horizontally — to form a single shape.

SCRABBLE GRAMS

DAILY JUMBLE MINI SUDOKU SUDOKU X

CODEWORDSUDOKU

Difficulty Rating

Difficulty Rating

Difficulty Rating

Difficulty Rating

KAKURO SUDOKU CLASSIC HITORI

*Datesbased

on VedicSun Signs

Mail Today, New Delhi / Chandigarh, Wednesday, August 16, 2017 Mail Today, New Delhi, Thursday, August 6, 202016 COFFEE BREAK

by Manisha Koushik

FOCUSFOCUSASTROASTRO

ARIES Mar 21-Apr 20

Your will adopt a balanced approachin financial matters. Due to this youwill enjoy prosperity and will remain

satisfied. It is a day of earning for showroomowners and retailers.

TAURUS Apr 21-May 20

You will be able to implementfinancial plans. The money

situation will remain favourable. It is aday of making money for freelancers andcontractors.

GEMINI May 21-June 21

It is advisable to save money,

although necessary expenses will

have to be incurred. Do not blindly trust

anyone, particularly at workplace.

CANCER June 22-July 22

Profit is possible duringproperty relatedtransactions. You will clear

the obstacles to advance in career bygiving expensive gifts to someoneinfluential.

LEO July 23-Aug 23

You will not face money relatedproblem. Investments made in the

past are giving excellent returns. There ispressure to complete the work in limitedperiod.

VIRGO Aug 24-Sep 23

The struggle to save money willcontinue. The workingconditions will remain

satisfactory. You will be ready to take on additional work responsibilities.

LIBRA Sep 24-Oct 23

Before discussing anything tothe senior, get a sense of his orher mood. You will get rid of

health problems. Finances may remaintight due to loan liabilities.

SCORPIO Oct 24-Nov 22

Financial worries will end withbonus or salary increment. Youwill be able to stay healthy while

following a disciplined lifestyle. You will tryto maintain harmony and peace atworkplace.

SAGITTARIUS Nov 23-Dec 21

Full price can be recovered in lieu ofdefective goods. You have an answerfor adverse working conditions

operating at workplace. Regular heath routineswill keep you away from diseases.

CAPRICORN Dec 22-Jan 21

Investments made in the pasthave started generating profits.Old love affair may rekindle. You

will get proper guidance regardingmaking progress in career.

AQUARIUS Jan 22-Feb 19

Businessmen are playing theirinnings cleverly. That is why theywill be able crack ambitious deals.

Mutual understanding and spontaneity inlove shows promising future.

PISCES Feb 20-Mar 20

Time is lucky for both money andlove. Your capabilities will be well-

known in your profession. You will have apleasant time with friends. You will put effortsto cheer up your stable but boring love life.

KEN-KENEach row & column must contain numbers 1 to 4 (easy) or1 to 6 (difficult). The numbers within the heavily outlinedboxes must combine to produce the numbers in the top-left corner.

CRYPTIC CROSSWORD

ACROSS3 How Ned and Peter

reformed (8) 7 Ill-will shown when Alice is

given a thousand (6)8 Ed’s showing pride now

that he was in the chair (8)9 Is unable to or can lead the

singing? (6) 10 That hero, Dennis, has a

way to wear one down (5)14 Courtiers show their

rank (4) 15 Little Norman is up

to par (4)16 If you want to be

pronounced holy, stay lessin bed (7)

17 It’s so festive in that cafe,Terry! (4)

18 No palace has one sobeautiful (4)

19 Prevent Ted from goingback to meet the queen (5)

23 Let’s face it! I’ve to havegas! (6)

24 A verse about Public Rela-tions in the East? You cankeep it! (8)

25 Right! I send it out to have

it washed - lightly, though! (6)

26 Changes hats - has a restthen breaks off (8)

DOWN

1 They hang on for praise inTasmania (9)

2 That’s right! Sid had his debutinterrupted (9)

3 About today - let this serve asa symbol for it! (9)

4 It’s almost ceased and howthis has comforted! (5)

5 Why it takes 500 to keep it soneat (4)

6 Some old bird seen at twoparties (4)

11 They may be flighty but theydon’t miss much! (9)

12 I’m all done with grins! I’msanctioning it! (9)

13 They shed a tear when yousling off at their figures (9)

20 You have to make a choicewhen Lee gets 100 to tea (5)

21 You pass out on seeingsprings? (4)

22 It’s the same in a flat-top (4)

SUDOKUFill in all the squares in the grid so that each row, column and each of the 3X3squares contains all the digits from 1 to 9. Solutions are below.

Difficulty Rating Difficulty Rating Difficulty Rating

TODAY’S SOLUTIONS

HITORI CRYPTIC CROSSWORDKAKURO

SUDOKU SUDOKU CLASSICMINI SUDOKU

QUICK QUIZ: 1. Pittsburgh; 2. Max ArthurCohn; 3. Warhol superstars; 4. The Factory; 5. Valerie Solanas; 6. The VelvetUnderground; 7. Prince; 8. 58

CODEWORD

Scrabble and scrabble tiles are registered trademarks. Allrights in the game are owned in the USA by Hasbro Inc., inCanada by Hasbro Canada Inc., and elsewhere by J.W. Spear &Sons Limited., a subsidiary of Mattel, Inc

SCRABBLE GRAMSSUDOKU X

KEN-KEN

1. Warhol initially pursued a

career as a commercial

illustrator. Which Pennsylvania

city was he born and raised in?

2. Who taught young Warhol

silk screen printmaking

techniques in Manhattan?

3. Warhol promoted a collection

of personalities and is credited

with coining the expression ‘15

minutes of fame’. What are these

personalities called?

4. Name his NY studio that

became a well-known gather-

ing place and brought together

distinguished intellectuals and

wealthy patrons.

5. On June 3, 1968, a radical

feminist writer shot Warhol and

Mario Amaya, art critic and

curator, at Warhol’s studio.

What’s her name?

6. In the late 1960s, he managed

and produced an experimental

rock band. Name this band.

7. In the Andy Warhol Diaries, he

recorded how excited he was to

see two musicians together at a

party in the mid 1980s. One was

Billy Idol; who was the other?

8. Warhol died in Manhattan on

February 22, 1987. How old was

this American artist?

QUICK QUIZ

Andy Warhol wasborn on August 6,1928.

17Mail Today, New Delhi, Thursday, August 6, 2020 INTERACTIVE

LETTERS�Social mediaspace seems to begetting too abusiveOF LATE, it has become anunpleasant fad for some socialmedia users to target celebritiesand post unsavoury commentsabout them.

Most often these commentsare found to be irritable andrepugnant, and often celebritieslose their cool and are forced tostoop to the level of these peoplewhose only aim is to get public-ity and pose as a ‘hero’ in thesocial media domain.

In recent times we have seenIndian superstar and Bollywoodicon Amitabh Bachchan beingtargeted by some, commentingunsparingly on the legendaryactor and that too using immod-est and indelicate comments.What these ‘commentators’ for-get is that by using deragotaryremarks just for public stuntthey themselves are gettingdegraded in front of the publicand losing their very honour.

Freedom of expression is per-mitted but then many do notunderstand that being abusiveand passing provocative com-ments does not come under thisright. A response to such cheapcomments often leads to furtherconflicts, that at times can evenlead to legal procedures andcourt battles.

Let us learn from ‘Big B’, whooften responds even to provoca-tive comments in a decent and awise manner.

—M PRADYU, Kannur

�A year on, thesituation in J&Kdoesn’t look goodON THE completion of one yearof the abrogation of Article 370,hindsight seems to suggest thatit was an exercise in futility.

The Centre has forcefully keptcomplete control over the newly-created Union Territory. Almostall of J&K’s politicians andactivists are kept under deten-tion, and therefore forcing themto accept the abrogation of Arti-

1) ROCK ON PARTYKING! (CLASH OF CLANS8TH ANNIVERSARY)

The video has gained 8.9million views within daysof being uploaded.

2) KURTA PAJAMA(TEASER) NIRVAIRPANNU | R NAIT |AFSANA KHAN | NEHA MALIKSinger: Nirvair Pannu;Female Vocal: AfsanaKhan; Lyrics: R Nait; Music: Mr Rubal; Mix / Master: B Sanj

3) PYAR NAAL —ANUSHKA SEN &DARSHEEL SAFARY |VIBHOR PARASHAR

Play DMF presents PyarNaal by Vibhor Parasharft. Anushka Sen &Darsheel Safary.

4) BYN: HOW TO TOPMATHS ONLINE TESTFEAT. VIDYA BALANThe video has gainedmore than 700K viewswithin a day of its upload.

5) READY FORHOSPITAL| CHOUDHARYFAMILY | VIVEK C |KHUSHI PUNJABANThis video has gainedbout 3 million viewswithin hours of its upload.

YOUTUBE QUESTIONMail Today poll

BLOGS

‘IT’S AN EMOTIONALROLLERCOASTER’KATY Perry says beingpregnant during a pan-demic is “an emotionalrollercoaster” but hermental health battle overthe past few years hashelped her. The 35-year-old singer is expectingher first child with fiancéOrlando Bloom, 43, butadmitted that the Covid-19global health crisis hasmade her pregnancyextra challenging. Shesaid, “Every day youroptions change, and youdon’t know what's what.Especially being pregnantin a pandemic, it’s anemotional rollercoaster.”

contactmusic.com

The Capital’s hospitality sector is staring at an uncertain future with hotels continuing to remain

closed for over four months in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. Is it time for the hotels to open up?

YESTERDAY’S RESPONSE

YESTERDAY’S QUESTION

75%YES NO

25%

WRITE TO THE

EDITORYou can now email your opinionto letters@mailtoday.in

JOHNSON ASKS RYANTO PLAY HAWKMANDWAYNE ‘The Rock’ Johnsonhas ordered Ryan Reynoldsto play Hawkman in ‘BlackAdam’, after the ‘Dead-pool’ had denied reportsthat he was going to star inthe film. Ryan had taken tosocial media to denyreports that he is to star asthe comic book characterin the DC Extended Uni-verse movie, but ‘The Rock’insists he has no choice. Inresponse to Reynolds,Dwayne tweeted: “You AREplaying Hawkman andthat’s that.”

contactmusic.com

With this the Centre’s initiativeto bring peace in the J&K hasbeen exposed and it seems tohave failed miserably. The gov-ernment will do well to rethinkthe situation.

—BHAGWAN THADANI, Mumbai

�India will nowbecome the world’sspiritual hubWITH the laying of the founda-tion stone of Ram Mandir by thePrime Minister, we are remindedof the traditions of our ancientIndian culture of treating theworld as one family, ‘VasudevKutubhkam’ and all remainhappy ‘Sarve Bhavantu Sukhi-nah’. From the life of MaryadaPurushottam Ram, we can learnmany lessons especially to bemodest and respect everyone inall sections of society. Behaving indignified manner with boatmenand tribals is important examplewhich needs to be followed eventoday. Teachings of Ram are forevery human being and not forany particular community. There-fore, all should now join to makeIndia a spiritual hub in the world.

—SUBHASH VAID, Delhi

cle 370 which proves that theCentral government is beingauthoritarian and relying on forceto curb those opposed to the law.

This is no way for a democracyto function. The government willdo well to realize that more forcecan’t bring an everlasting solu-tion because he who is convincedmuch against his will be of thesame opinion still!

BJP supporters celebrate before the Bhoomi Pujan ceremony ofthe Ram Temple in Ayodhya, in New Delhi, on Wednesday.THE WAIT IS OVER

PANKAJ NANGIA

PHOTO FOR REPRESENTATION

There has been a rise in the cases ofcar thefts in the National Capital

during the lockdown, particularlyas the metro remains shut. Should

the cops in the city look into thismatter urgently?

Mail Today, New Delhi / Chandigarh, Thursday, July 23, 2020 Mail Today, New Delhi, Thursday, August 6, 2020 18

The Centre will sooncome up with an exclusiveR&D policy for the pharmasector. If a scientist in agovt institute inventssomething that iscommercially viable, weshould reward him.

‘QUOTE OF THE DAY

`406 croreis net profit of Canara Bank in Q1compared with `651 cr loss last year.

NUMBER OF THE DAY

Maruti Suzuki said it haslaunched the S-Cross

model with a petrol engine,priced between `8.39 lakh &`12.39 lakh. The model, whichwas earlier available in diesel engine only, now comeswith 1.5 litre petrol powertrain.

mybiz — PD VAGHELA, SECRETARY, DEPT OF PHARMACEUTICALS

‘

Zydus Cadila’sCovid vaccineclears firsthuman trials

By Ashutosh Mishra in New Delhi

THE Delhi government onWednesday issued notices toas many as 10,800 companiesfor tax evasion. All of thesecompanies collected tax fromcitizens but have failed to payfull tax to the government.

Around 970 of these compa-nies have paid no tax to thegovernment from January toMarch this year. All the default-ers have been served noticeunder the GST Act to pay taxesthat are due within 15 days.

Delhi deputy chief ministerand finance minister ManishSisodia said the governmentwill take stringent actionagainst the tax defaulters ifthey do not comply immedi-ately.

Sisodia on Tuesday held ameeting with the officials ofthe department where it wassaid that around 15,000 compa-nies were analysed, followingwhich the Delhi governmentsent tax evasion notices.

Till now around 15,000 com-panies out of around 7 lakhcompanies registered underGST have been evaluation andfurther vetting will be con-ducted. Companies who havedefaulted on GST returns willface action, Sisodia said.

Along with these companies,111 liquor companies have alsobeen issued notice as theyhave not paid VAT.

The Delhi government hasstarted issuing notices to thedefaulting 10,800 taxpayersand in case they fail to file theirreturn within the prescribedtime (15 days), the departmentwill proceed with furtheractions.

GST collections in Delhi haddipped from January to Marchby approximately Rs 3,777crore due to the economic cri-sis triggered by the pandemic.

Delhi govtpulls up 10,800companies fortax evasion

By Mail Today Bureau In New Delhi

THE proportion of income taxreturns picked up for scrutinyhas fallen to 0.25 per cent ofthe total ITRs filed in assess-ment year (AY) 2018-19, from0.55 per cent in AY 2017-18, theFinance Ministry has said.

I-T department is changingits role from just enforce-ment to facilitating bettertaxpayer services.

As part of this exercise thenumber of cases selected forscrutiny has come down dras-tically over the years, theministry said in a tweet lateon Tuesday. Official datareleased showed the numberof income tax scrutiny caseswas 0.71 per cent in AY 2015-16, 0.40 per cent in AY 2016-17.

Tax scrutinycases dip

GST collection not passedon to the govt

By Mail Today Bureau in New Delhi

AJAY Tyagi was on Wednesday given an 18-month extension, till February 2022, as thechairman of markets regulator SEBI, accord-ing to a Personnel Ministry order.

The Appointments Committee of the Cabi-net headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modihas approved extension of Tyagi's term for 18months, with effect from September 1 2020up to February 28, 2022, it said.

Tyagi, a 1984 batch IAS (retired) officer ofHimachal Pradesh cadre, was appointed asthe SEBI chairman in March 2017 for threeyears.

He was earlier this year given a six-monthextension till August. Prior to joining as thechief of the markets regulator, Tyagi wasAdditional Secretary, Department of Eco-nomic Affairs under the Finance Ministry.

He was then handing the portfolios of capitalmarket, investment, infrastructure and cur-rency and coinage divisions.

Tyagi did his graduation in Electrical Engi-neering and post graduation in computer sci-ence. He holds a Masters in Public Adminis-

tration from Harvard University. The Centre had earlier started a search

process to find a new chairman of the Securi-ties and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) andhad called for applications from interestedcandidates before February 10.

At the time Sebi’s whole-time memberMadhabi Puri Buch, whose tenure was to endin April was reported to be a contender forthe top post.

The other names doing the rounds were N SVishwanathan, deputy governor, RBI, andInjeti Srinivas, secretary, ministry of corpo-rate affairs.

However, after Ajay Tyagi’s three-year termended in March he was given a six monthsextension.

The 62-year-old was eligible for reappoint-ment as according to rules, a person can holdthe chairman’s position until the age of 65.

Ajay Tyagi gets 18-month extension as Sebi chief

By Mail Today Bureau In New Delhi

INDIAN pharmaceu-ticals major ZydusCadila said onWednesday itsCOVID-19 vaccinecandidate was found

to be safe and well-toler-ated in an early-stagehuman trial.

The company will now start amid-stage trial of the vaccinecandidate, ZyCoV-D, in over1,000 healthy adult volunteersfrom Thursday to test its effec-tiveness, it said in a regulatoryfiling.

The doses of the vaccineadministered to healthy volun-teers in the phase I clinical trial,which began on July 15 has beenwell tolerated, Cadila Health-care, the listed entity of thegroup, said in the filing. Thesafety of the vaccine candidatewas endorsed by an independ-ent data safety monitoringboard.

Zydus Cadila chairman PankajR Patel said, “the phase I dosingto establish the safety of ZyCoV-D is an important milestone. Allthe subjects in phase I clinicaltrial were closely monitored in aclinical pharmacological unit for24 hours post dosing for safetyand for 7 days thereafter and thevaccine was found to be verysafe. ”

“We now begin the phase IIclinical trials and look forwardto evaluating the safety andimmunogenicity of the vaccinein a larger population,” headded.

Last month, Zydus hadreceived approval from the offi-cial authorities to start humantrials for its COVID-19 vaccinecontender - the second Indianpharmaceutical firm to get anapproval amid a surge in novelcoronavirus infections world-wide.

T HE company gotthe approval a fewdays after India'sfirst indigenousCOVID-19 vaccine

candidate COVAXIN, developedby Hyderabad-based BharatBiotech in collaboration withIndian Council of MedicalResearch and National Instituteof Virology, was cleared forhuman clinical trials by the DrugController General of India.Human clinical trials for theCOVAXIN vaccine candidatehave been initiated across thecountry in 375 volunteers andinstitutions such as AIIMS havebeen roped in to carry out thetests. Zydus plans to completelate-stage trials for ZyCoV-D byFebruary or March and couldproduce up to 100 million dosesa year initially, the company’schairman had said earlier.

LUPIN Ltd on Wednesdaybecame the latest Indiandrugmaker to launch aversion of the antiviraldrug favipiravir to treatCOVID-19 in the world’sthird most affected coun-try.

A slew of generic drugmanufacturers includingCipla Ltd, Sun Pharma andHetero Labs have beendeveloping favipiravirafter India approved it asan as emergency treat-ment for mild to moderateCOVID-19.

Indian hospitals have suf-fered a shortage of criticalCOVID-19 drugs such asremdesivir in recentweeks, but the bottlenecksare expected to ease soonas manufacturers ramp upproduction.

Favipiravir has shownpromise in clinical trials inIndia and Russia, but facesuncertain prospects inJapan, where it was origi-nally developed by FujifilmHoldings, after disappoint-ing clinical studies.

Lupin’s version of thedrug, called Covihalt, willbe priced at Rs 49 per 200mg-tablet, it said.

Lupin toorolls outvirus drug

We now begin the phase II clinical trialsand look forward to evaluating the safetyand immunogenicity of the vaccine in thelarger population.

—PANKAJ R PATEL, Zydus Cadila chairman

‘‘

Mail Today, New Delhi, Thursday, August 6, 2020 19MY BIZMY BIZ

TELECOM company Bharti Airtel onWednesday announced a multi-year strategic collaboration withAmazon Web Services to offer asuite of cloud solutions to busi-nesses in India.

Under the part-nership, AirtelCloud will build anAWS Cloud Prac-tice supported byAWS ProfessionalServices, as wellas develop differ-entiated AirtelCloud productsand capabilities,leveraging AWSservices, Airtel's data centre capa-bilities, and Airtel's network andtelecom offerings, a joint state-ment said. Airtel customers areexpected to benefit from inte-grated sales, consulting, and sup-port approach from both firms.

—MT Bureau

Airtel inks pactwith Amazonfor cloud biz

GERMAN luxury carmaker BMWsaid Wednesday that it swung intoits first loss since 2009 as the coro-navirus pandemic ravaged carsales but said it still hopes turn anoperating profit for the year.

The Munich-based companyreported an operating loss (EBIT)of 666 million euros ($787.6 mil-lion), compared with an operatingprofit of 2.1 billion euros in thesame period of 2019, after sellingaround 25 percent fewer cars year-on-year in the three months to theend of June. The group kept netloss to just 212 million euros, asthe damage was mitigated by anaccounting boost over its car leas-ing business. The company keptits 2020 guidance unchanged, withseveral key caveats including thepotential impact of a second waveof infection and possible new lock-downs or deeper recessions in itskey markets. BMW added thatthe guidiance is based on theassumption that demand in allkey markets will be significantlyreduced in light of the coronaviruspandemic and containment meas-ures. —AFP

BMW skids into first lossin a decade

By David Shepardson &Kate Holton inWashington/London

VIRGINAtlantic Air-ways Ltd isseeking pro-tection fromcreditors in

the United States underChapter 15 of the U.S.Bankruptcy Code, whichallows a foreign debtor toshield assets in this coun-try, according to a courtfiling on Tuesday.

Virgin Atlantic’s filing in U.S.bankruptcy court in the south-ern district of New York said ithas negotiated a deal withstakeholders “for a consensualrecapitalization” that will getdebt off its balance sheet and“immediately position it forsustainable long-term growth.”

In July, Virgin Atlantic said ithas agreed a rescue deal withshareholders and creditorsworth 1.2 billion pounds ($1.57billion) to secure its futurebeyond the coronavirus crisis.

The U.S. filing is an ancillaryproceeding tied to a separateaction filed in a British court,where Virgin Atlantic obtainedapproval Tuesday to convenemeetings of affected creditorsto vote on the plan on Aug. 25.

An airline spokeswoman saidthe restructuring plan wasbefore a British court “to secureapproval from all relevant cred-itors before implementation.”She added the “process is pro-ceeding with the support of themajority of our creditors.”

Bloomberg reported VirginAtlantic told a London court it

By Sankalp Phartiyal,Aditya Kalra in New Delhi

INDIA has banned some mobileapps of Chinese companies suchas Xiaomi Corp and Baidu Inc,three sources told Reuters onWednesday, in New Delhi’s latestmove to hit Chinese companiesfollowing a border clashbetween the neighbours.

India in June outlawed 59 Chi-nese apps for threatening thecountry’s “sovereignty andintegrity”, includingByteDance’s video-sharing appTikTok, Alibaba’s UC Browserand Xiaomi’s Mi Commu-nity app.

Another ban wasimposed in recentweeks on about 47apps which mostly

contained clones, or simply dif-ferent versions, of the alreadybanned apps, the sources said.

Unlike its June move, the gov-ernment did not make its latestdecision public, but there are afew new apps that have made itto that list, including Xiaomi’sMi Browser Pro and Baidu’ssearch apps, the sources said.

It wasn’t immediately clearhow many new apps have beenaffected.

India’s IT Ministry and theChinese Embassy in New Delhidid not respond to a request forcomment. China has previously

criticized India’s decision toban the apps. A

spokesman for Xiaomiin India said thecompany was tryingto understand thedevelopment.

Virgin Atlantic seeksbankruptcy cover

India bans more appsof Chinese companies By Mail Today Bureau

In New Delhi

GOLD prices jumped Rs 1,365 toRs 56,181 per 10 gram in thenational capital on Wednesdayfollowing a strong rally in globalmarket, according to HDFCSecurities. The yellow metal hadclosed at Rs 54,816 per 10 gramin the previous trade.

Silver also depicted a strongtrend as it zoomed Rs 5,972 to Rs72,726 per kg from Rs 66,754 perkg in the previous trade, it said.

In the international market,gold soared to a record high of$2,044.34 an ounce on Wednes-day as a weakening dollar,falling returns on U.S. bondsadded momentum to buying byinvestors seeking a safe storeof value.

As the COVID-19 pandemic hasroiled markets, gold has gainednearly 35% this year and is oneof 2020’s best performingassets.

Kishore Narne, head of com-modity & currency at MotilalOswal Financial Services, saidgold and silver have been thebest performing assets so far

this year with 40 per cent and50 per cent returns, respec-tively, and the uptrend is likelyto continue. With central bankspushing unprecedentedamounts of liquidity, trade warconcerns, geo-political uncer-tainty, rising COVID-19 infectionsand threat of a second wave ofinfections, prices of both pre-cious metals are likely to gohigher, Narne added.

Investors fear economic stim-ulus unleashed in response tothe pandemic will trigger infla-tion, devaluing other assets,and keeping bond yields histor-ically low, which enhances theappeal of non-yielding gold.

Breaking above $2,000 for thefirst time on Tuesday and hittinga new high of $2,044.34 an ounceearlier on Wednesday, spot goldwas up 1.1% at $2,041.09.

Gold prices leap by ̀ 1,365 per 10 gms

Broke British airline looks for $1.5 billion bailoutAirtel

chairmanSunil Mittal

could run of money in Septem-ber if a restructuring deal is notapproved.

Non U.S.-companies useChapter 15 to block creditorswho want to file lawsuits or tieup assets in the United States.

In July, the airline said its pri-vate deal with stakeholderseliminates the need for support

from the British governmentthat billionaire founder RichardBranson had sought. The reor-ganization is expected to becompleted towards the end ofthis summer and be spreadacross the next 18 months.

The airline, 51% owned byBranson’s Virgin Group and49% by U.S. airline Delta, closedits Gatwick base and cut morethan 3,500 jobs to contend withthe fallout from the COVID-19pandemic, which has groundedplanes and hammered demandfor air travel.

“Delta said it supported theplan and was “optimistic” that

it would help Virgin Atlantic“maintain its position” in thetravel market.

Virgin Atlantic said it neededto recapitalize “to not only sur-vive the exigent threats posedby the COVID-19 global pan-demic but to thrive once theimmediate global health crisispasses.” It added in a court fil-ing reservations are down 89%from a year ago and currentdemand for the second half of2020 is at approximately 25% of2019 levels. Virgin Atlantic alsoowns Virgin Atlantic Holidays,a tour operator business andVirgin Atlantic Cargo.

Richard Branson (inset)-led Virgin Atlantic has been hithard by the coronavirus pandemic.

XiaomiMi Browser

Pro & Baidu appson ban list

SENSEX37,687.91

WEDNESDAY’S CLOSE

37,663.33TUESDAY’S CLOSE

11,101.65TUESDAY’S CLOSE

H: 11,225.65L: 11,064.05

6.4011,095.25

WEDNESDAY’S CLOSE

NIFTY

-24.58H: 38,139.96L: 37,550.60

MA

RK

ET

S

BU

LL

ION

1 TATA STEEL 6.33 395.80

2 TITAN 2.85 1,105.50

3 MARUTI 2.61 6,526.85

4 M&M 1.93 614.15

5 AIRTEL 1.83 558.85

% change Price (`̀)TOP GAINERS

% change Price (`̀)

TOP LOSERS

1 POWERGRID -1.35 175.95

2 HDFCBNK -1.30 1,027.85

3 RELIANCE -1.14 2,126.65

4 TECHM -0.62 648.85

5 HCLTECH -0.59 688.10 EX

CH

AN

GE

RA

TEWednesday

(SILVER)

(GOLD)

Tuesday Wednesday

Thu Fri Mon Tues Wed

100

90

80

70

60

Mon Tues Wed

$ YEN

DOLLAR,YEN

Mon Tues Wed

£

EURO,POUND

76

72

68

64

60

Dollar `̀75.12 `̀74.84

Euro `̀88.35 `̀88.82

Pound `̀97.81 `̀98.34

Yen (100) `̀70.81 `̀70.94

GOLD/10 gm `746 ̀ 55,297

SILVER/1 kg `2,110 ̀ 71,907

45,000

40,000

35,000

400

380

350

Thu Fri Mon Tues Wed

¤

20 Mail Today, New Delhi, Thursday, August 6, 2020

PAKISTAN’S Babar Azamunderlined his status as oneof the world’s leading bats-men with a fine unbeatenfifty against England on aninterrupted opening day of

the first Test at Old Trafford onWednesday.

When bad light forced an early close, Pak-istan were 139-2, with Babar 69 not out andShan Masood unbeaten on 46.

But left-handed opener Masood was twicemissed on 45 by England wicketkeeper JosButtler either side of a lengthy rain break, withoff-spinner Dom Bess the unlucky bowler onboth occasions.

The prolific Babar has now reached a half-century in five successive Test innings, withhis previous five matches yielding four hun-dreds.

Former England captain Nasser Hussain,commentating for Sky Sports, said Babarcould be considered alongside players such asIndia captain Virat Kohli.

“If this lad was Virat Kohli, everyone wouldbe talking about it but because it is BabarAzam, no one is talking about it,” said Hussain.

“He’s young, he’s elegant, he’s got all theswagger, he added.

“They keep going on about the ‘Fab Four(Kohli, Australia’s Steve Smith, NewZealand’s Kane Wiliamson and England cap-tain Joe Root) -- it’s the ‘Fab Five’ and BabarAzam is in that.”

When play resumed in the earlyevening after a long rain delay, Root wassoon bowling his occasional off-breaks

in tandem with Bess to try and keep thematch going under grey skies after JofraArcher had pitched short to Babar.

But even with two spinners bowlingand the floodlights on, the umpires stillcalled a halt at 6:12 pm (1712 GMT).

Pakistan were 43-2 when Babar camein to bat after captain Azhar Ali, whohad won the toss, fell lbw for a duck toChris Woakes.

Babar started cautiouslybut after the lunchinterval heunfurled anarray of stylishattacking shots.

He struckexpress pacemanArcher down theground for fourbefore driving Bessfor another boundary tobring up Pakistan’s hun-dred.

Bess, however, should haveremoved Masood for 45 when hetook the left-hander’s outsideedge but Buttler dropped thechance.

Then, following the rain delay,Buttler missed a chance to stumpMasood after the batsmancharged down the pitch.

The mistakes will revive discus-sion about the wicketkeeper’splace in the side with Ben Foakes,arguably a superior gloveman,waiting in the wings. —AFP

21

Sports

MailManchester City signBournemouth’s Ake

Mail Today, New Delhi / Chandigarh, Thursday, August 6, 2020 MAIL TODAY, New Delhi, Thursday, August 6, 2020

Batsman Dismissal R B

Masood batting 46 152

Abid b Archer 16 37

Azhar lbw b Woakes 0 6

Babar batting 69 100

Bowler O M R W

Anderson 8 2 32 0Broad 11 4 24 0Woakes 8 2 14 1Archer 10 3 23 1Bess 9 1 30 0Root 3 0 9 0

Extras: (b 1, lb 6, nb 1) 8Total: (2 wickets; 49 overs) 139Fall of wickets: 1-36, 2-43

PAKISTAN BATTING

ENGLAND BOWLING

SCOREBOARD

Stumps Day 1

England vs Pakistan, Live fromManchester, on Sony Six

from 3.30pm

TV times

STRONG STARTBabar Azam slams incrediblefifty as visitors take chargeon opening day of first Test

Masood also chips in

with 46 runs in the

first innings

Chris Woakes reacts duringthe opening day of the Test.

Babar Azamraises his bat

after scoring ahalf century.

(Left) ShanMasood in

action.

Mail Today, New Delhi / Chandigarh, Thursday, August 6, 2020 Mail Today, New Delhi, Thursday, August 6, 2020 22 SPORTS

By Aditya K Halder in New Delhi

IT HAS been a long wait for the Tokyo2021 Olympics and Paralympics-bound and –probable archers acrossthe country as Sports Authority ofIndia continues with its efforts toresume a national camp soon.

The same has been the situation for sports such aswrestling, swimming, rowing among others with theprocess seeing further delay due to de-recognition ofNational Sports Federations.

In cases of wrestling (a contact sport), swimmingand rowing, (water-based sports), the peculiarnatures of the disciplines has become the impedi-ment in camp resumption. The same excuse doesn’timply to a non-contact sport like archery.

As reported earlier by MAIL TODAY, senior officialsare hopeful of resuming a camp for all elite recurvearchers and para archers by early September inPune.

However the wait isn’t helpful for most of the bowand arrow experts with Olympics and Paralympicsless than a year away.

Despite the setback, para archers are not willing togive up on their Paralympic ambitions and havefound interesting makeshift ways to hone their skills.

Haryana-based recurve archerHarvinder Singh, who securedTokyo quota in the W2/ST cate-gory in Netherlands last year, hasmade the most out of emptywheat farms in his village inKaithal district to shoot arrowsfrom a distance of 50m.

“I thought since farms wereempty after the season for wheatwas over, I could utilise the spacefor training,” the 2018 Para AsianGames gold medallist told thepaper. “Interestingly, manyyoungsters took interest in thegame when they saw me traineveryday and now I have startedtraining them as well.”

However, the increasing crowdalso meant that it became diffi-cult to maintain social distancingand safety measures for a dan-gerous sport like archery and the28-year-old TOPS athlete had toshift his training ground back tohis home’s courtyard.

In Bikaner, Tokyo-quota winnerand para archer Shyam Sunder,who is training with youngarchers in his locality at amakeshift training centre,revealed that he faces problemswith the requirement of the tar-get board during the lockdown.

However, the 25-year-old madearrangements for it after all thearchers in the locality con-tributed money to buy the boardwhich costs `5,000.

But it’s only a short-term solu-tion as 2017 World Para Champi-

onship gold medallist Shyam explainsa board can’t be used for more than 3-4 months when used from a distanceof 50m regularly; worrying him of hisParalympic medal quest.

“I am certain of winning medal at theParalympics. But if I continue to trainlike this then I can’t guarantee whatwill be the colour of my medal. It’simportant that I start training in aproper facility soon,” said the TOPSathlete.

The situation seems further gravefor wheelchair-bound compoundarcher Rakesh Kumar, who unlikeHarvinder and Shyam is unable totrain outdoors and is forced to shoot

arrows at a close distance in hishome’s courtyard.

However, shooting from a close dis-tance with a compound bow, whichthrows arrows much faster thanrecurve bow, means a target boardcan’t be used for more than a week;forcing the World No. 13 to find otherways to sustain the board.

“Since getting a target board isdifficult for me, I am trying not toshoot a lot and preserve the boardover a long time. Also, I am puttingused tyres from cycles behind theboard to make it thicker,” saidRakesh from J&K’s Katra.

Paralympicsbound archersfind interestingways to trainas national training camp resumptionremains doubtful

EXCLUSIVEMAIL TODAY

NEVER GIVE UP

Shyam Sunder andlocal archers in

Bikaner contributemoney to buytarget board

during lockdown.

Rakesh Kumar (left) makeshis own target board usingtyres after facing shortage

of equipment.

Mail Today, New Delhi, Thursday, August 6, 2020 23SPORTS

I thought since farmswere empty,I couldutilise the space for

training.Interestingly,youngsters took

interest in the gamewhen they saw metrain everyday andnow I have started

training them as well.

‘‘

‘‘

— HARVINDER SINGH, RECURVE PARA ARCHER

I am certain ofwinning medal at theParalympics. But if I

continue to train likethis then I can’t

guarantee what willbe the colour of my

medal. It’s importantto train in a proper

facility soon.

— SHYAM SUNDER, COMPOUND PARA ARCHER

‘Games to be held with COVID’THE Tokyo 2020 Olympics will beheld next year ‘with corona’,according to the Organising Com-mittee’s chief executive ToshiroMuto.

In an interview with the UK’sFinancial Times, Muto said theglobal health crisis will likely nothave disappeared by the time ofthe postponed Games, which havebeen moved to 2021 due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.

These comments come despiterecord daily infection rates inTokyo and struggling economiesworldwide.

Most nations globally also stillhave social and travel restrictionsin place.

“I don’t know what the state ofcoronavirus infections will be nextsummer, but the chance it is athing of the past are not high,”Muto told the London-based daily.

“Rather, the impor-tant thing is to deliveran Olympics for peo-ple who must live withCOVID-19.”

Despite the risingcosts involved, Mutosays he has been reas-sured by the JapaneseGovernment which haspledged to take a higher level ofresponsibility in the preparations.

The decision to postpone wasmade by the Japanese Prime Min-ister Shinzo Abe and Interna-tional Olympic Committee Presi-dent Thomas Bach in March,

although there are still wide-spread doubts about the Gamestaking place successfully.

Muto added: “It was theNational Government

that decided to delay ayear.

“With that, the situa-tion has changed a lit-tle. Furthermore, tohold an Olympics dur-ing corona means the

anti-virus strategy iscrucial – the COVID-19

strategy has to be set atthe national level.”

Muto hopes to have a newbudget in place by October, withthe priority for the OrganisingCommittee to cut costs wherepossible.

A slimmed down Games hasrepeatedly been promised and

there is speculation that eventscould be held behind closed doors.

Japanese companies have collec-tively spent around $3.1 billion tosponsor the Games, with it beingestimated it will cost Japan $25billion.

—Mail Today

Tokyo officialsays the global

health crisis willlikely not have disappeared by the time of 2021

Olympics

THE Sports Authority ofIndia (SAI) on Wednes-day shortlisted 258 ath-letes from across 12sporting disciplines forsupport through TargetOlympic PodiumScheme DevelopmentalGroup, also known asJunior TOPS. The sup-port will be extendedthrough a group/sys-tems approach and amonthly out of pocketallowance of `25,000will be given to everyathlete. Of the 12 disci-plines, 16 athletes havebeen shortlisted in ath-letics, 34 in archery, 27in badminton, four incycling, seven in tabletennis, 70 in shooting, 14in swimming, 11 in judo,36 in boxing, 16 inweightlifting, 5 in row-ing and 18 in wrestling.

—PTI

258 JUNIORATHLETES IN

TOPS LIST

WALES forward GarethBale has been left out ofReal Madrid’s 24-mansquad for the Champi-ons League last-16 sec-ond-leg tie against Man-chester City on Friday.

City won 2-1 in the firstleg in Spain in Februarybefore the coronaviruspandemic caused thecompetition to behalted for almost fivemonths.

Bale, 31, has playedtwice, with only onestart, in 11 Real gamessince football in Spainrestarted in June.

The winners of the tiewill play either Lyon orJuventus in the quar-ter-finals.

All the games in theChampions Leaguefrom the last eightonwards will be playedin Portugal over a 12-day period from 12August with the final on23 August.

Bale joined Real in athen-world recordtransfer of £85m fromTottenham in Septem-ber 2013. He has helpedthe champions win theChampions League onfour occasions.

—Agencies

BBALE LEFALE LEFTTOUT OFOUT OF

MADRIDMADRIDSQUSQUADAD

It is important todeliver an Olympics forpeople who must livewith COVID-19. Theanti-virus strategy iscrucial to host it.

‘

’— TOSHIRO MUTO, ORGANISING COMMMITTE CHIEF

WFI IS STILL WAITING FORWRESTLERS’ GREEN SIGNAL

Families allowed toaccompany players in IPL

By Chetan Sharmain New Delhi

IT seems that the Wrestling Fed-eration of India (WFI) is still in nomood to hold a national camp any-time soon. There were reports thatthe camp might resume in the firstweek of August in Lucknow andSonepat.

However, till date no official isready to give an exact date. Speak-ing to MAIL TODAY, a WFI officialcited rising Coronavirus cases tobe the reason behind the delays.

“We understood that ourwrestlers are still not in favour of it(camp). Our president BrijBhushan Sharan Singh doesn’twant to force anybody to attend itbecause safety of the athletes isparamount,” the WFI official said.

“We will speak to athletes againand take their concern. Somewrestlers have suggested shiftingthe venue of women’s camp toSonepat. So we are discussing allthis and announce the plan very soon.”

When contacted the few Indianwrestlers, they also were cluelessabout the Camp. “No, I didn’t getany information from the federa-tion as yet. I spoke to Kuldeep Sir(coach) and he is also not awareabout of any news on camp. Let’ssee where and when it will takeplace,” Rio Olympic bronze medal-

list Sakshi Malik told the paper.

Two-time Olympic medallist,Sushil Kumar said, “Whatever thefederation decides will benefit theathletes. I have no information ofcamp as if now.”

With all Olympic qualifyingevents postponed to 2021 by theUnited World Wrestling, the onlyevent for Indian wrestlers this yearwould be the World Champi-onships tentatively scheduled forDecember. Both the senior(December 12-20) and junior(December 4-10) Worlds will beheld in Belgrade “to help reducerisk and control the safety of theevents” as per UWW.

THE Board of Control forCricket in India (BCCI) willallow families of players andsupport staff to accompanythem during the Indian Pre-mier League (IPL ) 2020,which is scheduled to be heldin the UAE from September19 to November 10.

The BCCI, in a 16-pageStandard Operating Proce-dure (SOP) document con-taining an overview of safetyand health protocolsaddressed to the franchise,has listed in detail theguidelines to be fol-lowed by familiesduring their stay inthe UAE in thewake of the novel

Coronavirus pandemic.Families of players and

support staff, team ownersand Dope Control TestingOfficers are among the othermembers apart from players,match officials, team doctorswho will be allowed to be inthe UAE in biosecure envi-ronments during IPL 2020.

Players and support staff,both domestic and overseas,will have to undergo 5 Covid-19 PCR tests before enteringthe bio-secure environment

in the UAE. Family mem-bers of the players and

support staff willalso have toundergo the tests.

—Mail Today

Dope testing

officers are tobe part of the UAEcontingent as well

We understood thatour wrestlers are stillnot in favour of it(camp). Our presidentdoesn’t want to forceanybody to attend itbecause safety of theathletes is paramount.

‘

’— WFI OFFICIAL

Gareth Bale

INDIA captainVirat Kohli and hisdeputy Rohit

Sharma retained the toptwo positions in the ICCODI rankings for batsmen,while pacer Jasprit Bum-rah held on to the No.2 spot among bowlers in thelatest list issued onWednesday.

Kohli holds the numerouno status with 871 points,followed by Rohit (855)and Pakistan’s BabarAzam (829), while with 719points Bumrah continuedto be steady at the secondspot in the bowler's list,which is being headed byNew Zealand's Trent Boult.

The batting chart sawsome movement with Ire-land captain Andrew Bal-birnie improving fourplaces to 42nd spot.

—Mail Today

Harvinder Singh (in red)trains in farm field,

inspiring youths in hisvillage in Haryana to

train with him.

Sushil Kumar (right in afile photo) is currentlytraining in Delhi.

Sports

MailArsenal’s loan deal forCoutinho in advance stage

Mail Today, New Delhi, Thursday, August 6, 2020

Published & Printed by Amit Gupta on behalf of G.H. Prints Pvt. Ltd, A-256, Okhla Industrial Area, Phase -1, New Delhi - 110 020. Published at F – 26, Connaught Place, New Delhi – 110 001. Editor: Dwaipayan Bose

RNI No.: DELENG / 2007 / 21922

T.V. Today Network Limited. Printed at The Indian Express (P) Limited Press, A-8, Sector-7, Noida - 201301 andFirst Floor,

Sumit Nagal had set-up a dream clash against RogerFederer at the Grand Slam last year.

YOUNG Indian tennis player SumitNagal is set to compete in his secondGrand Slam main draw after receiv-ing a direct entry into the US Open,which several top players will missdue to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The world number 127 is the lastman to receive a direct entry, accord-ing to the tournament website. It willbe Nagal’s second appearance at theUS Open, starting August 31, and heis the only Indian in the men’s fieldwith Prajnesh Gunneswaran, ranked132, missing out.

“It feels good to make a main drawof a Slam again since I have onlymade one main draw yet. I under-stand the situation is not the samethis year. I am looking to fly to USAafter my challengers in Czech Repub-lic,” Nagal said from Germany before

a training session. Last year, Nagal reached his

maiden Grand Slam at the US Openafter winning all his qualifying round

matches to set up a dreamencounter with the legendary RogerFederer. In the much-anticipatedclash, the 22-year old from Jhajjartook a set off Federer before goingdown 6-4 1-6 2-6 4-6.

Talking about this year, Nagal said,“I don’t have much expectations, Ijust want to go and do what I enjoywhich is playing tennis.”

Nagal said he won’t have to serve aquarantine period after he reachesNew York.

“We are supposed to stay in a bub-ble area and can only go to the hoteland back to the courts. We will haveCOVID-19 tests every second day.”

Three-time US Open champion andworld no. 1 Novak Djokovic headlinesthe field with the likes of Federer andRafael Nadal giving the tournamenta miss. While Federer has withdrawnfrom all competitions this year owingto a knee injury, defending championNadal pulled out due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

—Agencies

Nagal gets direct entry into US Open singles main draw

Says he would‘rather not travel’amid pandemic

are putting in to make it hap-pen.

“All my respects to the USTA(US Tennis Association), the USOpen organisers, and the ATPfor trying to put the eventtogether for the players and fansaround the world through TV.”

With Roger Federer outinjured, two of the three playerscontesting the race to be the all-time highest Grand Slam winnerare sure not to play.

Having expressed reservations,and kept a low profile since hisdisastrous Adria Tour, the indi-cations are that Novak Djokovic

may be coming round to theidea.

He has been seen practising onhard courts in Spain, and isreported to have had the USOpen balls shipped to him forhis training.

Ranking-wise Nadal had littleincentive to play in New York, asunder a temporary new sys-tem he will be able tocontinue counting hishaul of 2,000 pointsfrom winning thetitle last year.

He will surelyturn his atten-

tions to the French Open,which is now due to happen inlate September, although somuch can change between nowand then with events farbeyond the control of the ten-nis world.

The indications are that theUS Open wants to plough on

with no fans, despite the multi-ple logistical challenges it

faces.Aside from Nadaland Barty otherprominent no-shows on themen’s side are

expected to include Gael Mon-fils, Fabio Fognini, StanWawrinka and Jo WilfriedTsonga.

There is also a large questionmark around Wimbledon cham-pion Simona Halep, althoughSerena Williams has declaredher willingness to compete.

If it survives the Italian Openis now meant to be the warm-upevent for Roland Garros,although that will also have togo ahead without fans. Theseare difficult times indeed for aglobal sport like tennis.

—Daily Mail

RAFAPULLSOUT OFUS OPEN

It will be his second

appearance in

New York

TheWorld No. 2

calls the revisedcalendar ‘barbaric’

REIGNING cham-pion Rafael Nadalshocked the USOpen by declaringthat he will notdefend his title

in New York this month.His announcement came

just hours after the claycourt Madrid Open - towhich he had committed -announced that it was notgoing ahead in Septemberdue to the rising number ofCovid cases in the Spanishcapital.

It was easy to conclude fromthat the likelihood that Nadalwould travel to New York, butinstead he swiftly put out astatement saying that he wouldnot go under any circumstances.

He joins women’s world No 1Ash Barty in declining to play,and it is becoming clear that thisis going to be a somewhatdepleted field at Flushing Mead-ows, assuming that the eventgoes ahead at all.

“After many thoughts I havedecided not to play,” said Nadal.“The situation is very compli-cated worldwide, Covid casesare increasing, it looks like westill don’t have control of it.

“We know that the reducedtennis calendar is barbaric thisyear after four months stoppedwith no play. I understand andthank them for the efforts they

— RAFAEL NADAL,DEFENDING US OPEN

CHAMPION

The situation isvery complicatedworldwide, Covidcases areincreasing, it lookslike we still don’thave control of it.

‘

’

World No. 2 Rafael Nadal won the title last year but will not be defending his crown.Meanwhile, the event's organisers confirmed Novak Djokovic (inset) is set to appear .