16
S itting on a mat spread out- side classrooms of Government Boys’ Higher sec- ondary school in RS Pura, a group of women, hit by the cross border firing from Pakistan, are staring at a bleak future. They are camping here for the last five days and with the rising mercury levels they are getting ‘restless’ and ‘dehydrat- ed’. “More than Pakistan firing now we fear heatwave condi- tions. How we can survive and for how long under the blazing heat conditions?” one of the elderly women told The Pioneer in Dogri dialect. Each one is holding a water bottle provided to them by the volunteers visiting the camp to lend them a helping hand. The children too were given packets of glucose, juice and snacks to cope with the sweltering heat. “We are able to spend time during the day by sitting in the company of each other and moving around but we find it hard to spend night in the relief camp. In the absence of elec- tricity we struggle a lot. We have no other option but to resign to our fate. Where do we go and seek justice. “We have been facing these hardship for past several years and no Government till date has solved our problems. Our children continue to suffer. They cannot attend their class- es on regular basis and then they are left behind in the com- petition,” said a woman. “Politicians promised us special status at par with LoC residents, special recruitment drive for unemployed youth but till date we continue to wait for their final announcements,” said Krishna Devi claiming she has lost all hopes of receiving any Government help in her lifetime. The biggest worry on the mind of these women is how to survive and sustain themselves in the coming months. “The crop of the season is gone, now we have to prepare ourselves for the next crop. If we do not cultivate our fields, how we can sow seeds and reap rich har- vest,” said Joginder Kaur sitting among another group of women in the school ground. Continued on Page 4 D espite the southward movement of global crude oil prices, petrol and diesel prices in India are continuously rising. However, the Government claims that a “holistic approach” is being planned to bring down the fuel prices to a satisfactory level. “We plan a ‘holistic strategy’ to find long-term solution to spike in petrol and diesel prices triggered by a spurt in inter- national rates,” Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said on Monday. The global crude oil prices receded to the lowest levels of $74.49 per barrel on Monday from record high of $80 per barrel earlier this month, but the petrol price gained 0.08 to reach 86.08 per litre in Mumbai on Monday. It rose by 15 paise per litre to 78.27 in Delhi on Monday. After ending a 19-day pre- Karnataka poll hiatus to resume daily price revision on May 14, petrol prices have been increased in the range of 3.59-3.83 per litre across Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai, while diesel prices were increased by 3.09-3.47 per litre, according to data from Indian Oil Corporation. In a bid to get a big relief from oil price hike, an SBI report has suggested that States can cut petrol price by 2.65 per litre and diesel by 2 a litre if they decide to forego potential additional gains out of high crude oil rates. “Our analysis shows that at the current crude prices and extending our analy- sis to 19 States (overall con- sumption share is 93 per cent), the States could have gained at least an additional 18,728 crore of revenue (in 2018-19),” said SBI’s Ecowrap report. Continued on Page 4 F our years after Sunanda Pushkar was found dead under mysterious circum- stances in room no 345 at the Leela Palace Hotel, The Pioneer accessed the detailed report of the Vigilance Enquiry, which was ordered by the Delhi Police Commissioner in 2016. As per the detailed report, the Investigating Officer (IO) lift- ed the bedsheet, bed covers and some eatables from Pushkar’s room ten months after the incident. Sunanda Pushkar, wife of Shashi Tharoor, was found dead on January 17, 2014. However, as per the vigilance enquiry, which is part of the ongoing investigation, clearly mentions that the mobile phones and laptop of Sunanda were taken to Dubai by her son, Shiv Menon after her last rites. The Delhi Police seized her lap- top on January 25 and her three blackberry phones on January 30. These were handed over to the Delhi Police by Shiv Kumar Prasad, Shashi Tharoor’s con- sultant. Highly placed sources said the vigilance report men- tions that it is one of the five shortcomings as some of the data was found to be deleted from Sunanda’s phone. One of the key shortcom- ings mentioned in the Vigilance Report is that the Special Investigation Team (SIT) is yet to establish the source of the Alprax tablets. The probe team is yet to match the alprax tablets with the batch numbers of the recovered alprax tablets seized from the crime spot. Among the other short- comings, sources said that the report submitted to the then Police Commissioner, Alok Kumar Verma, stated that Sunanda was found dead on January 17. However, the crime team seized her Apple laptop only on January 25. This indi- cates that the laptop was seized eight days after the crime was reported to the Delhi Police. On the other the three Blackberry phones, each hav- ing a Delhi number, a Kerala number and a Dubai number were recovered by the Delhi Police after 13 days. Continued on Page 4 E xternal Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Monday said talks with Pakistan cannot take place as long as there are funerals taking place on the Indian side due to constant shelling, ceasefire violations and infiltrations. Denying there is any space for comprehensive dialogue with Pakistan unless it shuns terrorism and violence, Sushma said while all other mechanism of engagement will remain active with Pakistan particu- larly to talk about terrorism, no direct talks can take place unless there is complete full stop on terror activities from the Pakistan side. “We are always ready for talks with Pakistan but with a caveat that terror and talks can- not go together. There cannot be a comprehensive dialogue till Pakistan shuns terror,” Sushma said while addressing a Press conference at the com- pletion of four years in power of the Narendra Modi-led NDA Government. Jab seema par janaze uth rahe hon, to baatcheet ki awaaz acchi nahi lagti (when funerals are taking place at the borders, then the talk for a dialogue is not appropriate,” Sushma said. The Minister also hit out at Pakistan over its Gilgit-Baltistan Order 2018 (GBO) relating to administrative control over Gilgit-Baltistan, saying Pakistan always distorts history. “Pakistan tries to teach us history and geography. It is one country which does not believe in rule of law and I would just say one thing to their answer ‘look who’s talking’,” she added. Pakistan’s Cabinet on May 21 approved GBO 2018 with a design to incorporate the dis- puted region as its fifth province. While talking about the work of the NDA Government in these four years, Sushma said there has been “unprecedented outreach and unparalleled out- comes” at the global stage. She said her Government has made efforts to renew India’s ties with all countries and special efforts have been made to clear rough edges with China. Continued on Page 4 A major political uproar broke out over the alleged malfunctioning of a large number of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) in Palghar and Bhandara-Gondia Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra, and Kainara Lok Sabha and Noorpur Assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh. However, the EC has rejected the allegation of large-scale malfunctioning of EVMs. Over 54 per cent polling was recorded in the Kairana Lok Sabha constituency, while 61 per cent votes were cast in the Noorpur Assembly con- stituency. While 46.50 per cent of 17.31 lakh voters in Palghar constituency exercised their rights till 6 pm, only 38.65 per cent of 17.6 lakh electorate in Bhandara-Gondiya con- stituency voted till 5 pm. Authorities indicated that the final polling percentage might at best touch 45 per cent. NCP leader and former Union Minister Praful Patel claimed that almost 25 per cent of EVMs malfunctioned in the bypoll to Bhandara-Gondia Lok Sabha seat, while Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut said those in power were contesting elections while keeping the “key and remote of EVMs in their hands”. Patel sought to know why EVMs from Surat in Gujarat were used in the bypoll when similar machines were available in Maharashtra. In Uttar Pradesh, SP spokesperson Rajendra Chaudhary claimed that 140 EVMs were tampered in Noorpur Assembly segment, and similar reports had come in from Kairana Lok Sabha seat. A total of ten Assembly seats, including two in Karnataka and four Lok Sabha seats, went to polls across the country. RLD spokesperson Anil Dubey said there were reports of EVMs’ malfunctioning in both the constituencies, espe- cially in areas of RLD-SP influ- ence. “We (RLD and SP) are going to meet the CEO to lodge a formal complaint in this regard,” Dubey said. The Election Commission, however, termed the reports of ‘large scale’ failure of EVMs as “exaggerated projec- tion of reality”. “The Commission allo- cates sufficient reserve of EVMs and VVPATs for every general election and bypolls. It is pertinent to mention that during commissioning of EVMs and VVPATs, apart from EVMs and VVPATs required for deployment at every polling station, adequate number of reserve EVMs and VVPATs (around 20-25 per cent) are prepared to replace any defec- tive machine on poll day at the polling station,” it said. It said the reserve EVMs/VVPATs are kept with sector officers, who replace the defective EVMs/VVPATs. Since each sector officer is entrusted with only 10-12 polling stations, the time taken to replace any EVM/VVPAT is normally less than 30 minutes. “The replacement of defec- tive EVMs/VVPATs during actual polls is a normal process and does not vitiate the integri- ty or credibility of the poll process in any way whatsoev- er,” the statement read. The EC rejected reports that polling was cancelled in 35 booths in Bhandara-Gondiya LS constituency in Maharashtra. “Reports emerg- ing in some quarters about EVMs/VVPATs failing in 25 per cent booths in the same con- stituency are incorrect,” it said. Refuting the Opposition charge, Power Minister Shrikant Sharma said, “The Government has asked the EC to ensure free, fair and peace- ful elections. The Opposition’s allegations are baseless, and sensing their defeat they have started playing gimmicks and talking things which are untrue. As far as EVMs are concerned, I am also getting complaints, and the EC will look into it.” Continued on Page 4 T he Railways has let down the Government’s flagship Swachchh Bharat Programme, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) has virtually conveyed this in a letter to the Ministry of Railways. Expressing unhap- piness over untidy stations, the PMO has asked the railways to spruce up all the railway sta- tions by October 2 when the Swachchh Bharat Abhiyan would be celebrated in a mas- sive way. Sources said the PMO has asked Railways to rejig the station cleanliness programme and do a proper implementa- tion. The Indian Railways net- work has about 12,500 trains and about 7,000 railway sta- tions carrying about 25 million passengers every day. A senior railway official confirmed that the PMO has expressed its unhappiness over the implementation of the cleanliness drive on the station premises. The Railway Board has conveyed an urgent meet- ing of all the Zonal General Managers to discuss the mea- sure to be taken to achieve the objective under the Swachchh Bharat Abhiyan “PMO has been independently and close- ly monitoring all the develop- mental projects of the Railways through drones. They get image on their own and follow up with the concerned depart- ment,” the official said. The Railways had announced that October 2 will not only be celebrated as Rashtriya Swachchhta Diwas, but also as ‘Vegetarian Day’. However, the second decision has been deferred out of fear that it may create controversy. Continued on Page 4 New Delhi: Former President Pranab Mukherjee will address members of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) at its headquarters in Nagpur on June 7. The invitation was extended to the former President to address RSS work- ers in Nagpur and he has accepted it, an RSS leader said. The Shiksha Varg — edu- cation wing of the RSS — will organise the concluding session of a 25-day camp in which Mukherjee would be the chief guest. Mukherjee and Mohan Bhagwat, the RSS head, will speak to over 600 newly- recruited cadre who will demonstrate what they learned at the camp. Mukherjee, 82, demitted office of President in July last year, and has been a Congressman for decades hav- ing worked closely with former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi as well as Rajiv Gandhi. The RSS chief has met Mukherjee thrice during his tenure as President. PNS

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Page 1: 0 .&$- ˇ.˘ ) = * #%5’5#’6 2# 34˘$ 3%12A4/14-%7 6/-#5#4 2%2 ... · resume daily price revision on May 14, petrol prices have been increased in the range of 3.59-3.83 per litre

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Sitting on a mat spread out-side classrooms of

Government Boys’ Higher sec-ondary school in RS Pura, agroup of women, hit by the cross border firing fromPakistan, are staring at a bleak future.

They are camping here forthe last five days and with therising mercury levels they aregetting ‘restless’ and ‘dehydrat-ed’. “More than Pakistan firingnow we fear heatwave condi-tions. How we can survive andfor how long under the blazingheat conditions?” one of theelderly women told The Pioneerin Dogri dialect.

Each one is holding a waterbottle provided to them by thevolunteers visiting the camp tolend them a helping hand.

The children too were

given packets of glucose, juiceand snacks to cope with thesweltering heat.

“We are able to spend timeduring the day by sitting in thecompany of each other andmoving around but we find ithard to spend night in the reliefcamp. In the absence of elec-tricity we struggle a lot. Wehave no other option but toresign to our fate. Where do wego and seek justice.

“We have been facing thesehardship for past several yearsand no Government till datehas solved our problems. Ourchildren continue to suffer.They cannot attend their class-es on regular basis and thenthey are left behind in the com-petition,” said a woman.

“Politicians promised usspecial status at par with LoCresidents, special recruitmentdrive for unemployed youthbut till date we continue to waitfor their final announcements,”said Krishna Devi claiming shehas lost all hopes of receiving anyGovernment help in her lifetime.

The biggest worry on themind of these women is how tosurvive and sustain themselvesin the coming months. “Thecrop of the season is gone, nowwe have to prepare ourselvesfor the next crop. If we do notcultivate our fields, how we cansow seeds and reap rich har-vest,” said Joginder Kaur sittingamong another group ofwomen in the school ground.

Continued on Page 4

����� �#7�-#512

Despite the southwardmovement of global crude

oil prices, petrol and dieselprices in India are continuouslyrising. However, theGovernment claims that a“holistic approach” is beingplanned to bring down the fuelprices to a satisfactory level.“We plan a ‘holistic strategy’ tofind long-term solution tospike in petrol and diesel pricestriggered by a spurt in inter-national rates,” Oil MinisterDharmendra Pradhan said onMonday.

The global crude oil pricesreceded to the lowest levels of$74.49 per barrel on Mondayfrom record high of $80 perbarrel earlier this month, butthe petrol price gained �0.08 toreach �86.08 per litre inMumbai on Monday. It rose by15 paise per litre to �78.27 inDelhi on Monday.

After ending a 19-day pre-Karnataka poll hiatus toresume daily price revision onMay 14, petrol prices have

been increased in the range of�3.59-3.83 per litre acrossDelhi, Kolkata, Mumbai andChennai, while diesel priceswere increased by �3.09-3.47per litre, according to datafrom Indian Oil Corporation.

In a bid to get a big relieffrom oil price hike, an SBIreport has suggested that Statescan cut petrol price by �2.65 perlitre and diesel by �2 a litre if

they decide to forego potentialadditional gains out of highcrude oil rates. “Our analysisshows that at the current crudeprices and extending our analy-sis to 19 States (overall con-sumption share is 93 per cent),the States could have gained atleast an additional �18,728crore of revenue (in 2018-19),”said SBI’s Ecowrap report.

Continued on Page 4

�� ���� �� �#7�-#512

Four years after SunandaPushkar was found dead

under mysterious circum-stances in room no 345 at theLeela Palace Hotel, The Pioneeraccessed the detailed report ofthe Vigilance Enquiry, whichwas ordered by the Delhi PoliceCommissioner in 2016. As perthe detailed report, theInvestigating Officer (IO) lift-ed the bedsheet, bed covers andsome eatables from Pushkar’sroom ten months after theincident.

Sunanda Pushkar, wife ofShashi Tharoor, was founddead on January 17, 2014.However, as per the vigilanceenquiry, which is part of theongoing investigation, clearlymentions that the mobilephones and laptop of Sunandawere taken to Dubai by her son,Shiv Menon after her last rites.The Delhi Police seized her lap-top on January 25 and her threeblackberry phones on January30. These were handed over tothe Delhi Police by Shiv KumarPrasad, Shashi Tharoor’s con-sultant. Highly placed sourcessaid the vigilance report men-tions that it is one of the fiveshortcomings as some of the

data was found to be deletedfrom Sunanda’s phone.

One of the key shortcom-ings mentioned in theVigilance Report is that theSpecial Investigation Team(SIT) is yet to establish thesource of the Alprax tablets.The probe team is yet to matchthe alprax tablets with thebatch numbers of the recoveredalprax tablets seized from thecrime spot.

Among the other short-comings, sources said that thereport submitted to the thenPolice Commissioner, AlokKumar Verma, stated thatSunanda was found dead onJanuary 17. However, the crimeteam seized her Apple laptoponly on January 25. This indi-cates that the laptop was seizedeight days after the crime wasreported to the Delhi Police.

On the other the threeBlackberry phones, each hav-ing a Delhi number, a Keralanumber and a Dubai numberwere recovered by the DelhiPolice after 13 days.

Continued on Page 4

"��� �� ���� �#7�-#512

External Affairs MinisterSushma Swaraj on Monday

said talks with Pakistan cannottake place as long as there arefunerals taking place on theIndian side due to constantshelling, ceasefire violationsand infiltrations.

Denying there is any spacefor comprehensive dialoguewith Pakistan unless it shunsterrorism and violence, Sushmasaid while all other mechanismof engagement will remainactive with Pakistan particu-larly to talk about terrorism, nodirect talks can take placeunless there is complete fullstop on terror activities fromthe Pakistan side.

“We are always ready fortalks with Pakistan but with acaveat that terror and talks can-not go together. There cannotbe a comprehensive dialoguetill Pakistan shuns terror,”Sushma said while addressinga Press conference at the com-pletion of four years in powerof the Narendra Modi-ledNDA Government.

“Jab seema par janaze uthrahe hon, to baatcheet ki awaazacchi nahi lagti (when funeralsare taking place at the borders,then the talk for a dialogue isnot appropriate,” Sushma said.The Minister also hit out atPakistan over its Gilgit-BaltistanOrder 2018 (GBO) relating toadministrative control overGilgit-Baltistan, saying Pakistanalways distorts history.

“Pakistan tries to teach us

history and geography. It is onecountry which does not believein rule of law and I would justsay one thing to their answer‘look who’s talking’,” she added.Pakistan’s Cabinet on May 21approved GBO 2018 with adesign to incorporate the dis-puted region as its fifthprovince.

While talking about thework of the NDA Governmentin these four years, Sushma saidthere has been “unprecedentedoutreach and unparalleled out-comes” at the global stage. Shesaid her Government has madeefforts to renew India’s ties withall countries and special effortshave been made to clear roughedges with China.

Continued on Page 4

����� �#7�-#512

Amajor political uproarbroke out over the

alleged malfunctioning of alarge number of ElectronicVoting Machines (EVMs) inPalghar and Bhandara-Gondia Lok Sabha seats inMaharashtra, and Kainara LokSabha and Noorpur Assemblyseats in Uttar Pradesh.However, the EC has rejectedthe allegation of large-scalemalfunctioning of EVMs.

Over 54 per cent pollingwas recorded in the KairanaLok Sabha constituency, while61 per cent votes were cast inthe Noorpur Assembly con-stituency. While 46.50 per centof 17.31 lakh voters in Palgharconstituency exercised theirrights till 6 pm, only 38.65 percent of 17.6 lakh electorate inBhandara-Gondiya con-stituency voted till 5 pm.Authorities indicated that thefinal polling percentage mightat best touch 45 per cent.

NCP leader and formerUnion Minister Praful Patelclaimed that almost 25 percent of EVMs malfunctioned inthe bypoll to Bhandara-GondiaLok Sabha seat, while ShivSena leader Sanjay Raut saidthose in power were contestingelections while keeping the

“key and remote of EVMs intheir hands”. Patel sought toknow why EVMs from Surat inGujarat were used in the bypollwhen similar machines wereavailable in Maharashtra.

In Uttar Pradesh, SPspokesperson RajendraChaudhary claimed that 140EVMs were tampered inNoorpur Assembly segment,and similar reports had comein from Kairana Lok Sabhaseat. A total of ten Assemblyseats, including two in

Karnataka and four Lok Sabha seats, went to polls acrossthe country.

RLD spokesperson AnilDubey said there were reportsof EVMs’ malfunctioning inboth the constituencies, espe-cially in areas of RLD-SP influ-ence. “We (RLD and SP) aregoing to meet the CEO tolodge a formal complaint inthis regard,” Dubey said.

The Election Commission,however, termed the reports of ‘large scale’ failure of

EVMs as “exaggerated projec-tion of reality”.

“The Commission allo-cates sufficient reserve ofEVMs and VVPATs for everygeneral election and bypolls. Itis pertinent to mention thatduring commissioning ofEVMs and VVPATs, apart fromEVMs and VVPATs requiredfor deployment at every pollingstation, adequate number ofreserve EVMs and VVPATs(around 20-25 per cent) areprepared to replace any defec-tive machine on poll day at thepolling station,” it said.

It said the reserve

EVMs/VVPATs are kept withsector officers, who replacethe defective EVMs/VVPATs.Since each sector officer isentrusted with only 10-12polling stations, the time takento replace any EVM/VVPAT isnormally less than 30 minutes.

“The replacement of defec-

tive EVMs/VVPATs duringactual polls is a normal processand does not vitiate the integri-ty or credibility of the pollprocess in any way whatsoev-er,” the statement read.

The EC rejected reportsthat polling was cancelled in 35booths in Bhandara-GondiyaLS constituency inMaharashtra. “Reports emerg-ing in some quarters aboutEVMs/VVPATs failing in 25 percent booths in the same con-stituency are incorrect,” it said.

Refuting the Oppositioncharge, Power MinisterShrikant Sharma said, “TheGovernment has asked the ECto ensure free, fair and peace-ful elections. The Opposition’sallegations are baseless, andsensing their defeat they havestarted playing gimmicks andtalking things which areuntrue. As far as EVMs areconcerned, I am also gettingcomplaints, and the EC willlook into it.”

Continued on Page 4

� � !� ��,� ���#7�-#512

The Railways has let downthe Government’s flagship

Swachchh Bharat Programme,the Prime Minister’s Office(PMO) has virtually conveyedthis in a letter to the Ministryof Railways. Expressing unhap-piness over untidy stations,the PMO has asked the railwaysto spruce up all the railway sta-tions by October 2 when theSwachchh Bharat Abhiyan

would be celebrated in a mas-sive way.

Sources said the PMO hasasked Railways to rejig thestation cleanliness programmeand do a proper implementa-tion. The Indian Railways net-work has about 12,500 trains

and about 7,000 railway sta-tions carrying about 25 millionpassengers every day.

A senior railway officialconfirmed that the PMO hasexpressed its unhappiness overthe implementation of thecleanliness drive on the station

premises. The Railway Boardhas conveyed an urgent meet-ing of all the Zonal GeneralManagers to discuss the mea-sure to be taken to achieve theobjective under the SwachchhBharat Abhiyan “PMO hasbeen independently and close-ly monitoring all the develop-mental projects of the Railwaysthrough drones. They getimage on their own and followup with the concerned depart-ment,” the official said.

The Railways hadannounced that October 2 willnot only be celebrated asRashtriya Swachchhta Diwas,but also as ‘Vegetarian Day’.However, the second decisionhas been deferred out of fearthat it may create controversy.

Continued on Page 4

New Delhi: Former PresidentPranab Mukherjee will addressmembers of the RashtriyaSwayamsevak Sangh (RSS) at its headquarters in Nagpuron June 7. The invitation wasextended to the formerPresident to address RSS work-ers in Nagpur and he hasaccepted it, an RSS leader said.

The Shiksha Varg — edu-cation wing of the RSS — willorganise the concluding session of a 25-day camp inwhich Mukherjee would bethe chief guest.

Mukherjee and MohanBhagwat, the RSS head, willspeak to over 600 newly-recruited cadre who willdemonstrate what they learnedat the camp.

Mukherjee, 82, demittedoffice of President in July lastyear, and has been aCongressman for decades hav-ing worked closely with formerPrime Minister Indira Gandhias well as Rajiv Gandhi.

The RSS chief has metMukherjee thrice during histenure as President. PNS

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With seven fresh cases ofdengue, the total number

of people affected by the dis-ease has reached at 34 this year,according to a data released bythe South Delhi MunicipalCorporation (SDMC) onMonday. While the figure forchikungunya has risen sharplyto 30 with 12 new cases report-ed last week.

Out of seven new cases ofdengue, four patients werediagnosed belong to neigh-bouring states. On the otherhand the total number of peo-ple affected by malaria standsat 10.

Meanwhile taking precau-tionary measures, all the threecorporations have already start-ed a number of initiatives toprevent mosquito breeding,including creating awareness byusing various media, deployingmore dengue breeding check-ers, and desilting of drains, theofficial said.

Concerned over increasingnumbers of vector-borne dis-eases at the beginning of thisyear, South Delhi MunicipalCorporation (SDMC)Commissioner Dr P K Goelhad issued an advisory last

month on prevention and con-trol of vector-borne diseases inDelhi. Goel has called for pre-vention of mosquito breedingby source and made it clear thatthe reduction is the only effec-tive tool for prevention andcontrol of these diseases. TheCommissioner also launchedhelpline numbers.

However, many of the res-idents of all these zones such asWest, South, Central andNajafgarh Zone said thatdespite several complaints andrequests but the district healthofficials had done nothing toreduce breeding.

Rajesh Singh, a resident ofOld Rajapuri (Uttam Nagar)said that he dialled helplinesnumbers many times but it wasnot answered.

Some of the residents saidthat they called on these(helpline) numbers one weekago but still their problemswere not addressed. “The fail-ure of the corporation to dealwith the mosquito related com-plains may create an adversesituation. Officials generallynote address of the complaintsand then forget to act. I havenever seen any dengue breeding checkers in this area,”said Sanjay Ahuja, a resident

of Dwarka.All the three municipal

corporations have reportedbreeding of mosquitoes fromnearly 19205 households inthe national capital this year tillMay 26, according to the civicbodies, which are grapplingwith rising number of cases ofthe vector-borne diseases.Among the areas falling underthe three municipal corpora-tions, the cases of breedingreported were from areas ofnorth, south and east corpora-tions are respectively 5749,9972 and EDMC 3484.

The civic bodies haveissued 24,084 to various peopleand establishments after mos-quitogenic conditions werefound in their houses orpremises. At least 1,730 pros-ecutions have also beenlaunched after breeding wasfound, the report said.

According to municipalhealth officials, domesticbreeding of mosquitoes is oneof the main factors responsiblefor people contracting thesevector-borne diseases. “The rampant growth of‘hyacinth’ in Yamuna Riverand drains spread across thecity is also a matter of concernas it provides a favourable

breeding ground for Culexmosquitoes. However, after theflood and irrigation depart-ment swung in action, themajority of these plant hasbeen removed,” he said. Theofficial said that the similar isneeded in Yamuna riverthroughout the season.

A senior official of theEast Delhi MunicipalCorporation said that the mainproblem in controlling breed-ing is that the domestic breed-ing checkers (DBCs), who go toinspect houses, are often deniedentry by people, so we areunable to check the growth ofvectors inside houses.

The total number of thepeople affected by dengue was9,271in 2017 and the numbersof malaria and chikungunyacases recorded in 2017 stood at1,142 and 940 respectively. Ofthe 9,271 dengue cases, 4,726patients were from Delhi, while4,545 had come to the city fromother states for treatment.

Dengue and chikungunyaare caused by the Aedes Aegypti mosquito,which breeds in clean water.The female Anopheles mos-quito, which causes malaria,breeds in both clean andmuddy water.

�� ++��������� �#7�-#512

Delhi Chief Minister ArvindKejriwal and Union

Minister for Housing andUrban Affairs Hardeep SinghPuri flagged off the JanakpuriWest- Kalkaji Mandir section ofthe Magenta Line on Mondayevening from the NehruEnclave Metro Station. Thetwo then took a train to HauzKhas Metro Station.

Senior Delhi Metro RailCorporation official said thatthe 24.82 kilometre long cor-ridor is the longest stretchopened as part of Delhi Metro’sPhase 3 so far. “It consists of 16stations and will provide Metroconnectivity to the nationalcapital’s arterial Outer RingRoad. The corridor will alsoconnect the airport’s domesticterminal with Metro servicesfor the first time. Passenger ser-vices on this section will com-mence from 6 am on Tuesdaymorning.”

Speaking on the occasion,Hardeep Singh Puri said,“Delhi Metro now has a net-work of 277 kilometres. ByDecember this year, it willreach the 380 kilometre mark.”

Arvind Kejriwal said, “Icongratulate the Delhi Metro’sengineers and the people ofDelhi for the opening of thisline. This line will bring morecomfort for the people and willimprove the traffic situation.”

After the Janakpuri West -Kalkaji Mandir section opens,16 new stations willbe added to theDelhi MetroMagenta Line network. Ofthese 14 will be undergroundand 2 will be elevated. The sta-tions are; Janakpuri West, DabriMor, Dashrathpuri, Palam,Sadar Bazar Cantonment,Terminal 1 — IGI Airport,Shankar Vihar, Vasant Vihar,Munirka, RK Puram, HauzKhas, IIT, Panchsheel Park,Chirag Delhi, Greater Kailash,Nehru Enclave. The total num-ber of stations of the DelhiMetro Magenta Line networkwill now be 25. The other 9 sta-tions that are already opera-tional are, Kalkaji Mandir,Okhla NSIC, Sukhdev Vihar,Jamia Millia Islamia, OkhlaVihar, Jasola Vihar ShaheenBagh, Kalindi Kunj, Okhla BirdSanctuary and BotanicalGarden.

With the Janakpuri West -Kalkaji Mandir section ofMagenta Line opening, inter-change facilities will be avail-able at several stations of thenetwork. The interchange sta-tions would be Hauz Khas(Yellow Line), Janakpuri West(Blue Line), Kalkaji Mandir

(Violet Line) andBotanical Garden(Blue Line).

According to Delhi MetroRail Corporation (DMRC),commuters on the networkwill save both time and moneywith the full Magenta lineopening. One of the biggestadvantage would be for dailycommuters between Gurugramand Noida, who will now beable to travel between the twocities in just 50 minutes. That’sa reduction of 30 minutes.That’s because instead ofchanging at Rajiv Chowk andboarding the Blue Line, DelhiMetro commuters can nowinterchange from Hauz Khasand use the Magenta Line toreach Botanical Garden inNoida.

An infographic by DelhiMetro suggests that by usingthe Magenta Line to travel

between Qutub Minar andKalkaji Mandir, people cansave �20 and approximately 21minutes of their time. FromHauz Khas to Kalkaji Mandir,commuters will save 48 min-utes of their time and �10!

According to DMRC, com-muters on the network will saveboth time and money with thefull Magenta line opening. Theexact base fare for the DelhiMetro Magenta Line has not

yet been provided by DMRC,but watch this space for theupdate once the information ismade available.

Delhi Metro Magenta Linewill operate 24 trains which willeventually go up to 26. This isapart from the operatingreserves. The frequency oftrains during peak hours will be5 minutes 15 seconds and dur-ing lean hours it will likely be6 minutes. On Sunday, services

will start at 8:00 AM from theterminal stations, ie. JanakpuriWest and Botanical Garden.

In addition, services fromintermediate stations (Terminal1 IGI Airport, RK Puram,Hauz Khas, Kalkaji Mandirand Jasola Vihar ShaheenBagh) will also start from 8 AMonwards on Sundays. The fre-quency of trains may be revisedby Delhi Metro after studyingthe traffic patterns.

����� �#7�-#512

On plea seeking ban on useof loudspeakers in

mosques for allegedly causingnoise pollution, National GreenTribunal (NGT) soughtresponse of the Centre and oth-ers on Monday. A bench head-ed by acting NGT ChairpersonJustice Jawad Rahim issuednotices to the Ministry ofHome Affairs, Delhi PollutionControl Committee (DPCC),police and others while seekingtheir replies before June 26.

The tribunal was hearinga plea filed by NGO AkhandBharat Morcha alleging thatillegal use of loudspeakers atmosques adversely affected thehealth of residents living intheir vicinity.

The plea, filed throughadvocate Rahul Raj Malik, hadalleged that the activities ofsome mosques were in viola-tion of the Environment(Protection) Act, 1986 and the

Noise Pollution (Regulationand Control) Rules, 2000,adding that authorities have nottaken any action despite severalcomplaints.

It has claimed that theseplaces of worship were locatedin silent zones housing schoolsand hospitals and noise fromtheir loudspeakers surpassedthe laid down decibel levels.

The petition referred tothe NGT’s September 2017order which directed the Delhi Government and theDPCC to ensure that religiousplaces in East Delhi strictlyadhere to the guidelines ofnoise pollution.

The tribunal had askedthe DPCC to take appropriateaction against the places ofworship in case any violationwas found by authorities.

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The Central Board ofSecondary Education

(CBSE) announced that theresults of Class X examinationswill be declared on Tuesday.

“Results of CBSE class 10examinations for 2017-18 to bedeclared by 4 pm on 29th ofMay, 2018” tweeted AnilSwarup, Secretary to SchoolEducation and Literacy,Ministry of Human ResourceDevelopment (MHRD).

“The results will bedeclared on May 29 at 4 pm,”said an official from the CBSE.

The board exams weremarred by controversy thisyear with question paper leaksbeing reported from Delhi-NCR, Haryana and Jharkhandof Class X mathematics paper,but the HRD Ministry haddecided against conducting are-examination in the “interestof students”.

This was the first batch toappear for the Class X boardexaminations after the CBSEdecided to junk the Continuousand Comprehensive Evaluation(CCE) and reintroduce theboard examination.

Over 16 lakh studentsappeared for Class 10 exams thisyear. In Delhi, about 110707 stu-dents appeared in privateschools while 155387 studentswere from Government andGovernment aided schools.

�� ++��������� �#7�-#512

Seven persons, includingthree juveniles, were arrest-

ed on Monday for allegedlystabbing a man donned asGoddess Kali to death aftermaking fun of him.

The adult accused wereidentified as Naveen (20),Aman Kumar Singh (20),Mohit Kumar (25) and SajalKumar Maheshwari (19), saidPolice.

Police recovered the deadbody of a man with multiplestab injuries on the chest, faceand head was found from theNSIC jungle on the interveningnight of May 22 and 23.Thedeceased was identified as Kalualias Kalua. After the post-mortem, the body was handedover to his brother for the lastrites.

Police informed that thedeceased Kalu, an orphan, was

raised in a “dharamshala” nearKalkaji Mandir and he used todance and roam around witheunuchs.

“He was a devotee of “MaaKali” and on Tuesdays andSaturdays, used to project him-self as the goddess, wearing ablack salwar suit with a redchunni and anklets,” saidChinmoy Biswal DeputyCommissioner of Police(Southeast).

“On the night he was killed,Kalu was dressed as the god-

dess,” said Biswal.The police questioned sev-

eral persons. On the basis of atip-off, the accused, includingthe juveniles, were apprehend-ed from Govindpuri on sunday,the DCP added.

During interrogation, theaccused told the police thatthey had consumed liquor andwere near the NSIC junglemain gate when they saw Kalupassing by. Seeing his attire,they started mocking him.

As Kalu told them not tomake fun of him, the accusedcaught hold of him, forciblytook him inside the jungle andstarted beating him up. Theythen stabbed him with a Swissknife, the police said.

The deceased succumbedto his injuries on the spot andthe accused fled on theirmotorcycles. Five motorcycleswere also recovered by thepolice at the instance of the

accused.One of the accused,

Naveen, is pursuing his grad-uation through correspondencefrom the Delhi University. Heis a first-year commerce stu-dent.

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Enraged over alleged barginginto their houses by the staff

of Uttar Pradesh PowerCorporation Ltd (UPPCL) inabsence of male members, vil-lagers took out a huge proces-sion and staged a massive dhar-na at Chief Engineer’s office inRDC Raj Nagar.

Residents of Rahispur village, in sector-23 of Sanjay Nagar residential local-ity, have accused Uttar PradeshUPPCL officials of allegedlyharassing their women in theirabsence.

In a memorandum to thechief Engineer UPPCL, thelocal residents alleged that inthe name of random checkingto catch any irregularity orpower theft, the UPPCL super-visory level staffers barged intohouse and inspect every cornerof rooms in the absence of malemembers.

The memorandum statesthat the supervisory level staffers go for the check-ing at about 11 am when male members are out for theirjobs.

“This time the women arecommonly engaged in cleaning the houses and wash-ing themselves also. At thattime the UPPCL staffers knocktheir gate and barged into theirhouses without taking their

permission. They used toinspect every corner of thehouse as of the women havehide precious items. They oftenfille forms and informedwomen that they have foundpower theft in their connection.When the male membersreached home after days work,they were informed about thedevelopment,” stated the mem-orandum.

Present among the pro-testers were local councilorManoj Chaudhary, Zaker Saifiand other councilors repre-senting the villagers.

“When power meters aredisplayed outside home, whatis the need for the officers tobarge inside their houses. Thevillagers are angered over barg-ing in their house in absence ofmale members,” memorandumstated.

“They have given a gener-al complaint to me, I haveasked them to give the specif-ic instance of such nature. I willask my men when specificinstance is given to me.Regarding indiscriminatepenalizing, I have asked thesupervisory staff to excludesuch families which maintainone or two buffaloes but if overa dozen buffaloes are found, itmeans it is the business, theneither they obtain a commer-cial connection or pay thepenalty.

�� ++��������� �#7�-#512

In the mid of politics and gov-ernance over the Rivers

Ganga and Yamuna, a Delhisocial worker Sanjeev Arorahas taken the daunting task ofdelivering Ganga Jal right onyour doorstep, and that toowithout any cost.

Arora was given the title of‘Gangaputra’ recently by a bat-tery of saints who also togeth-er released a book authored byhim on the River Ganga.

He was christened asGangaputra by Maham-andelshwar Swami PragyaNand Maharaj,Mahamandelshwar Swami

Martandya Puri, Swami PremaNanad Ramayani among oth-ers.

With a dedicated teamSanjeeev Arora visits at everyinterval without any financialsupport from anyone and putin efforts to clean the riverwhich he term is lifeline of thecountry. “From nurturing civil-isation to give food to wash oursins, this mighty river hasgiven and will keep on sharingits joy with us till the universeexists.

After realising the potentialof river Ganga I did a lot ofresearch, then wrote a bookand have vowed to provide freeof cost the holy water to any-

one who demands for scaredpurpose,” Arora said.

While the Indian PostalDepartment has launched ascheme to deliver Ganga Waterat a cost to citizens, the ‘Ganga-putra’ is developing a mobileapp and a toll-free numberwhere any citizen in DelhiNCR can ask for the sacredwater to be delivered at theirdoorsteps.

A resident of West Delhiarea, Arora authored the booktitled ‘Mokshdayani GangaMaiyya’ released by saints. “Igot the opportunity to releasemy work in the presence of sev-eral great souls,” said Arorawho last week gave a copy of his

work to Union Minister NitinGadkari, the Minister inchrageof Clean Ganga scheme.

An RSS worker for morethan two decades, Arora alsoruns an NGO IndraprasthaSanjeevni and a dedicated fanclub for former supercop lateKPS Gill. “His passion towardslooking after the need of theseniors and poor is muchappreciated.

His readiness to help any-time anyone in this fast mov-ing city has earned him sever-al laurels both at city andnational level,” says RashmiMalhotra about `Gangaputra’.Malhotra is an officer bearer ofthe NGO run by Arora.

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(1) The Executive Engineer (E) PWD DHC& ND/CENTRAL, Ground floor MSO Bldg,New Delhi on behalf of President of Indiainvites ONLINE item rate bids from theapproved and eligible contractors regis-tered with CPWD in appropriate compos-ite category or those of appropriates listof MES, BSNL, Railway and other stateGovt. Department dealing with buildingsand Roads and other experienced non reg-istered contractors, who satisfy the crite-ria of execution of similar works, Providedthey meet Eligibility Criteria as stipu-lated in the NIT:- of the following work(s):- which shall be received by E-Tendering.

N/W:- Addition/Alteration in ElectricalInstallation at CBI Branch, Room No.249 & 228 at Tis Hazari Court, Delhi.NIT No: 62/EE(E)/PWD DHC &ND/Central/2018-19Estimated Cost: Rs. 655777/-Earnest Money: Rs. 13116/- & period ofcompletion*One Month, Last Date andtime submission of Tender upto 3:00 PMon 05-06-2018The tender forms and other details can beobtained from the website:

http://govtnrocurenient.delhi.gov.in atTender I.D. NO. 2018_PWD_ 151383 _1

(2) The Executive Engineer (E),PWD DHC & ND/Central, Ground Floor,MSO Bldg., I.P. Estate, New Delhi- 110002invites on behalf of President of India,Online item rate tenders in two bid systemi.e. (i) Prequalification bid (ii) Price bid, from thespecialized agency for Comprehensivemaintenance of 3 Nos. screw chiller ofYork Make installed at Extension Courtwhich shall be received by E-Tendering

N/W:- R.M.O. Specialized Electrical &Mechanical Services of Delhi High Court,Delhi. (SH:- Comprehensivemaintenance of 3 Nos. screw chiller of YorkMake installed at Extension Court).

NIT No: 63/EE(E)/PWD DHC &ND/Central/2018-19Estimated Cost: Rs. 4111788/-Eamest Money: Rs. 82236/- & period ofcompletion*Twelve Months, Last Date andtime submission of Tender upto 3:00 PMon 05-06-2018The tender forms and other details can beobtained from the website:http://govtprocurement.delhi.gov.in atTender I.D. NO. 2018_PWD_151438 _1

(3) The Executive Engineer (E), PWD DHC& ND/Central, Ground Floor, MSO Bldg.,I.P. Estate, New Delhi-110002re-invites on behalf of President of India,Online item rate tenders in two bid systemi.e. (i) Pre qualification bid (ii) Price bid,from the specialized agencies havingexperience in the work of Routinemaintenance & Operation of DigitalDisplay system which shall be receivedby E-Tendering for the work:-

N/W:- R.M.O. Specialized Electrical &Mechanical Services of Delhi HighCourt, New Delhi.(SH:- Routine main-tenance & Operation of Digital Displaysystem).

NIT No: 40/EE(E)/PWD DHC &ND/Central/2018-19Estimated Cost: Rs. 862008/-Earnest Money: Rs. 17240/- & period ofcompletion*Twenty Four Months, LastDate and time submission of Tender upto3:00 PM on 06-06-2018The tender forms and other details can beobtained from the website:http://govtDrocurement.delhi.gov.in atTender I.D. NO. 2018_PWD_ 151454_1

DIP/Shabdarth/0579/18-19

NOTICE INVITING e-TENDERS

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Now bodies of deceasedpatients cannot be held as

hostage by private hospitals innational Capital even if theirfamilies cannot pay the bills.According to the draft advisory proposed by the DelhiGovernment, private hospitals "cannot hold hostage"bodies of patients, who die dur-ing treatment there, even iffamilies are unable to pay thedue before the last rites.

Delhi Health MinisterSatyendar Jain, however, saidthe proposal does not imply that the bills would bewaived, as hospitals can takelegal action in case the pay-ments are not made later by thefamilies.

"Body of any deceasedpatient cannot be forcibly with-held by a hospital and deniedto the family for want of pay-ment of due bills. There has tobe dignity in death. A bodycannot be held hostage just for

bills. After death, a bodybelongs to the society, andfinal rites must be performed,"said Satyendar Jain addressinga Press conference.

The draft advisory hasbeen prepared on the basis ofrecommendations of a nine-member expert panel, headedby Director-General of HealthServices Kirti Bhushan, whichwas set up by the ArvindKejriwal Government onDecember 13 last year, afterallegations of excessive chargesand unfair employment prac-tices by a few private facilitieswere reported.

"The draft has been put inpublic domain, inviting sug-gestions and objections for aperiod of 30 days. After that, wewill implement the policy withrevisions," said Jain.

The minister said that thedraft also proposes that doctorsat private hospitals and nursinghomes should preferably onlyprescribe drugs from theNLEM (National List of

Essential Medicines) list andpatients should be consultedbefore administering drugs inthe non-NLEM category.

The National List ofEssential Medicines of India2011 (NLEM 2011) is a list ofmedicines, prepared by the Ministry of Health, whichare considered essential inIndia.

"The draft advisory wouldbe implemented by amendingthe Delhi Nursing HomesRegistration Act, and eventu-ally, it would mean that a pri-vate hospital or a nursing homecould lose its licence to oper-ate in Delhi, in case it violatesthese norms," Jain said.

The members of the panelinclude the then IndianMedical Association presidentDr K K Aggarwal, DelhiMedical Council president DrArun Gupta, former presidentof Delhi Medical AssociationDr R K Gupta, and experts, andsenior bureaucrats.

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Delhi Congress chief AjayMaken on Monday alleged

that the number ofGovernment school students inthe national Capital whopassed CBSE Class XII examhas dropped during AAP rule.

"During Congress rule,1.47 lakh students passed fromGovernment schools. My chal-lenge is that like previous yearthis year also you could notbreak this record. Do not lie,see how number of studentspassing from private schoolshas increased while those fromgovernment schools has gonedown," Maken said in a tweetaddressing Delhi ChiefMinister Arvind Kejriwal.

In support of his claim,Maken tweeted the number ofstudents who passed fromGovernment schools com-pared to private school in thelast few years.

The data tweeted by theDelhi Congress Chief showed

that 1.47 lakh students hadpassed CBSE Class XII exam ascompared to 76,000 from pri-vate schools, in 2013-14. In2017-18, the number of stu-dents who passed from gov-ernment schools was 1.09 lakhwhereas the number was 91,000in case of private schools.

As the CBSE declared ClassXII results on Saturday, Delhiwas third in terms of pass per-centage afterThiruvananthapuram andChennai. Deputy ChiefMinister Manish Sisodia hadclaimed that the DelhiGovernment schools had apass percentage of 90.64,against last year's 88.27 percent.

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In a major policy decision, theNew Delhi Municipal

Council (NDMC) on Mondayannounced the e-auction ofthree premium hotels, includ-ing Taj Mansingh, for a licenceperiod of 33 years.

As per official statementissued by the NDMC, the lastdate for the submission of bidsfor Taj Mansingh with 292rooms, The Connaught with 85rooms and Hotel AsianInternational with 38 rooms isJune 7 and the auction will beconducted on June 19, 20 and21, respectively. The auctionwill be carried out byGovernment machineryMSTC, an e-commerce plat-form of the Government of

India. "The NDMC announces

the launch of e-auctions oflicence rights of an iconic 5-starhotel property situated at 1,Mansingh Road, another hotelproperty situated at 37,Shaheed Bhagat Singh Marg

and a tourist lodge situated at1, Janpath Lane.All the threeproperties are located at theheart of New Delhi and haveexcellent connectivity to majordemand centres and trans-portation hubs," the officialstatement read.

Incidentally, in 2017, thecouncil decided to auction theiconic Taj hotel over dues of Rs526 crore. The decision on TajMansingh, taken at a specialmeeting of the NDMC chairedby Chief Minister ArvindKejriwal, brings to an end a six-year-old tug of war between theNDMC and the Tata Group,which has operated the land-mark property for nearly fourdecades.

Taj Mansingh, the five starproperty owned by the coun-cil, was given to Tata's IndianHotels Company Limited(IHCL) on lease for 33 years.The lease expired in 2011 andthe company was given ninetemporary extensions sincethen on various grounds.

The NDMC, under the

administrative control of theMinistry of Home Affairs hadgot the nod to auction the hotelin March 2015 but the man-agement of Taj Mansingh Hotelremained with IHCL as theywent to court.

It may be noted that,NDMC had also selected SBICap, which was the Centre'sadviser for coal blocks auctions,to be its transaction advisor forthe auction. However, theprocess got delayed with theTata's moving court.

In November 2016, IHCLhad moved the SC against aDelhi High Court order allow-ing the NDMC to auction thehotel, arguing there was noneed to do it as it generatesgood revenue for the civicbody.

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The Delhi Congress onMonday lashed out at the

Kejriwal Government for fail-ure to rein in the water mafia.It also accused the Aam AadmiParty Government of shieldingwater tanker mafia instead ofcontrolling the menace. TheGovernment has increased thenumber of tankers whichpoints to corruption and amajor scam, it alleged.

"The Congress will start amonth-long "Jal Satyagraha"agitation from June 1 in all theAssembly constituencies ofDelhi, protesting against theAAP Government for failure toprovide clean drinking waterand controlling tanker mafias,"Delhi Congress chief AjayMaken said.

Maken told The Pioneerthat the AAP Governmentended the GPS tracking systemstarted by the Congress regimein 2016 to monitor the move-ment of water tankers and tocontrol the tanker mafia when

it awarded the contract toDIMS.

Maken said the summer of2018 was heading for a worsewater crisis than in 2017 anddrinking water in areas wherepiped water supply networksare not in existence and defi-cient areas are being sup-plied/supplemented by deploy-ing water tankers, but theshocking fact is that the dailydeployment points of thesetankers have been reduced by53 per cent to 7,768 comparedto 16,668 points in the previousyear.

Quoting the SummerAction Plan 2017-2018 of DJB,Maken said the number of

tankers' filling stations wasalso reduced by 15, from 176 in2017 to 161 in 2018 throughearlier the Government used toinstall water ATMs and E-Piaos but no such arrangementhas been made for this acutesummer.

"The statistics of differenttypes of complaints received bythe DJB in the last two yearsduring April-October monthsfrom its five zones give outshocking figures. He said 'NoWater Complaints' in 2016were 79258 which jumped to84307 in 2017 while WaterContamination complaints rosefrom 25069 in 2016 to 37223 in2017. The number of SewerBlockage Complaints rose from64141 in 2016 to 1,08584 in2017," he said.

Maken also said that thecomplaints of contaminatedwater received increased inalmost all the divisions of theDJB. East Division of DJB wit-nessed 163 per cent while thetotal complaints receivedincreased by 12,154.

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Private security guards inuniform may soon be

allowed free ride in publicbuses plying in the nationalCapital on condition of guard-ing the women and childrenpassengers from harassment byco-passengers.

In its bid to strengthen thesecurity net in public transportacross national Capital, DelhiChief Minister Arvind Kejriwalhas reportedly accepted theproposal put forth by CentralAssociation of Private SecurityIndustry (CAPSI). Thus, allow-ing Security Guards andSupervisors to travel free inpublic buses in Delhi while

travelling to and from theirplace of duty to help keep tapon crime against women andchildren.

"This concession shall begiven to security guards inuniform while going and com-ing from the places of theirduty only. These securityguards while commuting, shallact as eyes and ears of the DelhiGovernment and ensure thatwomen and children are notharassed in any manner by co-passengers. They will immedi-ately inform police if any suchact is committed," CAPSI saidin a statement.

Further, each securityguard would be provided witha special kind of badge to

ascertain their identity as pro-tectors of citizens.

"Each security guard shallbe given a special badge so thatpublic may recognise him/ heras protector of citizens. TheChief Minister appreciated thesocial responsibility characterof the CAPSI and wanted us toorganise security training tostudents of the 12th class in allschools. The DelhiGovernment will sign a MoUto commence these pro-grammes at the earliest. TheDelhi government will alsolaunch the publicity campaignto popularise its partnershipwith CAPSI for 'YatriSuraksha'," said CAPSI chair-man Kunwar Vikram Singh.

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Ending a year-long acrimo-nious relationship with

Odisha Chief Minister NaveenPatnaik, Kendrapara’s sus-pended Member of ParliamentBaijayant Panda on Mondayresigned from the BJD, leadingto speculation the industrial-ist turned politician could jointhe BJP.

In his three-page-long res-ignation letter to BJD presidentNaveen Patnaik, Panda said hewas “hurt and unhappy” thatmembers of the ruling partydid not attend the funeral of hisindustrialist father BansidharPanda who passed away onMay 22.

“It has plumbed theabsolute depths of inhumani-ty when neither you nor any-one from the BJD turned up topay their last respects to myfather Dr Bansidhar Panda,who as everyone knows was avery close friend, supporter andassociate of Biju uncle (BijuPatnaik) for decades,” Pandasaid in the letter to Patnaik.

The four-time MP, repre-senting the party, also saidthat he was heartbroken to findout that several BJD leaderswere “restrained” from attend-ing the funeral service.

Panda was elected to RajyaSabha twice from 2000 to 2009and later to Lok Sabha fromKendrapara segment in 2009

and 2014.“It is with deep anguish,

hurt and sorrow that I havedecided to quit the kind of pol-itics into which our BJD hasdescended,” he said in the let-ter.The ruling BJD, however,preferred not to comment onthe content of the resignationletter before completion of DrBansidhar Panda’s 11th dayrituals.

Confirming receipt ofPanda’s resignation letter toPatnaik, the BJD vice-presidentDevi Prasad Mishra said, “Yes,Panda’s resignation letter hasreached the BJD president.The CM has already expressedhis deep condolence over DrBansidhar Panda’s demise. Asthe MP’s family has beenmourning, the party will notgive any statement on his res-ignation now. We will put forthour view on the matter at anappropriate time.”

Panda was suspended fromthe BJD on January 24, 2018 forallegedly indulging in anti-party activities.

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The Tamil Nadu Govern-ment on Monday issued

orders closing the coppersmelter plant in Thoothukudiowned by the Vedanta Group,a week after 13 people werekilled in police firing duringprotests against continuedfunctioning of the unit.

The Government ordersaid it has been brought to thenotice of the government thatTamil Nadu Pollution ControlBoard (TNPCB) did not renewthe “Consent to Operate” to thecopper smelter plant inThoothukudi by its order ofApril 9 this year and subse-quently on May 23, the PCBhas also issued directions forclosure and disconnection ofpower supply.

Meanwhile, Deputy ChiefMinister O Panneerselvam onMonday called on the demon-strators who were injured inpolice firing at Thoothukudi.Panneerselvam paid thesolatium declared by theGovernment and assured theinjured that their medicalexpenses were be borne by theGovernment.

The State Government hadincreased the compensation

amount to be paid to the 13persons who lost their lives inthe police firing from �10 lakhto �20 lakh. While the injuredactivists thanked the DeputyChief Minister for the cashcompensation paid by theGovernment, they demandedthe immediate closure of thecompany.

“The Deputy ChiefMinister was kind to us. Heasked about our health condi-tion and assured us that theGovernment would increasethe cash compensation if themedical bills exceed theamount given to us. But ourplea to him was to shut downthe Sterlite Copper once andforever,” said Selvan, one of theinjured agitators undergoingtreatment at ThoothukudiGovernment General Hospital.

Another injured activistasked Panneerselvam to findout the authority who issuedorders to the police for firing.He told her to wait till the judi-cial enquiry is over and assuredher that exemplary actionwould be taken against the con-cerned people.

Later speaking to journal-ists, Panneerselvam said alllegal measures would be takento close down the factory onceand for ever. “You all know thathow our Honourable Amma(read late J Jayalalithaa) orderedthe closure of the factory dur-ing her tenure as ChiefMinister.

“But the Sterlite Coppermanagement approached theSupreme Court and got per-mission to reopen the compa-ny. Now, we have ordered theclosure of the factory throughthe Tamil Nadu PollutionControl Board. No stoneswould be left unturned to getthe permanent closure of thecompany,” assured the DeputyChief Minister.

Thoothukudi, which wasin a grieving mood since thepolice firing has returned tonormalcy. Meanwhile a war ofwords had have eruptedbetween the principal opposi-tion DMK and the BJP. Whilethe DMK and its allies havebeen blaming the AIADMKand the BJP for the unfortunateincidents which caused thedeath of 13 persons in policefiring, the BJP has been tellingthat the DMK, AIADMK andthe Congress are responsiblefor the current state of affairs.

On Monday, the DMKworking president MK Stalinused his social media page todeclare that he would siege theSterlite factory with peoplefrom ten districts.

“Shoot me if you can,”Stalin challenged the author-ities. Pat came the reply fromthe BJP who fielded TiruppatiNarayanan, party spokesmanNarayanan asked Stalin: “Willyou allow shooting of peoplewho allowed the Strerlite fac-tory?”

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From Page 1This, the sources told The

Pioneer, hints that the DelhiPolice SIT, which was initiallyhandling the case, was lax incollecting the evidence.

The sources said one of theglaring shortcomings is that thecrime team, headed by SHOSarojini Nagar police stationdid not seize the medicinefrom the crime scene onJanuary 18, 2014, a day afterSunanda’s death. It was only 48hours later that the police teamtook the medicines from thehotel room 345 on January 19.

Sources said these short-comings were noticed when theDelhi Police registered a case ofmurder on January 1, 2015, ayear after the woman wasfound dead.

The other shortcoming wasthat the complete CCTVfootage was not taken from theLeela Palace Hotel. Sourcestold The Pioneer, “Grabs ofCCTV footage were taken bythe Delhi Police team. Thesetoo were taken in differenthard discs.” CCTV footage ofthe main porch of the LeelaPalace Hotel for January 15 isavailable till 5:44 pm and thenof January 21 from 12:12 to12:18pm.

The first Delhi Police teamdid not take hold of the CCTVfootage of the main porch ofthe date, January 16, a daybefore the death.

Moreover, the sources saidthat even on the day ofSunanda’s death, CCTV footage

of the corridor is available till11.57pm and later the footageseized by the Delhi Police isavailable for January 19.

In the light of the in-depthreport detailing the shortcom-ings of the local police in han-dling the case, the Delhi PoliceVigilance Enquiry report hadasked from the PoliceCommissioner to conduct ameeting with a newly consti-tuted medical board andexperts from the ForensicScience Laboratory (FSL). Themeeting must be conducted toestablish the exact cause ofdeath. The report alsodescribed how the visceralremnants which were sent tothe US on September 16 in2016 must be again discussedwith the US courts.

Meanwhile, the trial courtreserved hearing on June 5 fortaking cognizance on DelhiPolice chargesheet, accusinghusband Shashi Tharoor.Additional Public ProsecutorAtul Srivastava said the causeof death was “poisoning” andit was confirmed by AIIMS andFBI. He was responding to thequestion asked by AdditionalChief Metropolitan MagistrateSamar Vishal. Adding further,the Prosecutor also said therewere 12 injuries on Sunanda’sbody and further investiga-tion on this aspect was goingon.

The Delhi Police producedtwo emails of Sunanda show-ing her tendency to commitsuicide. “I have no desire to

live...All I pray for is death,”Sunanda Pushkar wrote in ane-mail to her husband ShashiTharoor nine days before shewas found dead in Hotel Leelahere, police told the court.Police team headed by seniorofficers Manishi Chandra andVKPS Yadav was present incourt.

Arguing for taking cog-nizance and summoning ofTharoor, police told the courtthat Sunanda’s death was due topoisoning and 27 tablets ofAlprax were found in her roombut it was not clear how manypills she had consumed.

Sunanda’s mail and mes-sages on social media havebeen taken as a “dying decla-ration”, said Police, adding thatthe reason for death was poi-son and need of further probeon the injury marks on thebody.

The Congress leader hasbeen charged under sections498 A (husband or his relativesubjecting a woman to cruelty)and 306 (abetment of suicide)of the Indian Penal Code.Under section 498A, the max-imum punishment is up tothree years of imprisonment,while jail term up to 10 yearsis prescribed under section306.

According to prosecutionsources, the chargesheet hasmentioned that Pushkar wasallegedly subjected to mental aswell as physical cruelty.Tharoor has not been arrestedin the case yet.

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From Page 1Another middle age

woman Rajni Devi said, “Weare facing numerous hardshipsbut the biggest of them all ishygienic toilet facility”.

She complained despiteaccommodating such a largenumber of border migrants inthe relief camp the local author-ities have failed to ensure reg-ular cleanliness of toilets.

She appealed to ChiefMinister Mehbooba Mufti todirect local officers to rushadditional manpower to ensuremaintenance of toilets in therelief camps.

Pointing towards childrenloitering in the school ground,she claimed, “Look at thesekids. They are the worst suf-ferers. They cannot study herein this environment and wecannot do anything about it. Ifthey will continue to face thesehardships how can they con-centrate on their studies andcompete with rest of the chil-

dren. They are bound to sufferfor none of their faults.”

At present an estimatednumber of 1 lakh bordermigrants across three districtsof Jammu,Samba and Kathuahave been affected by the crossborder firing from Pakistan.Several major towns in the areahave been left deserted by thelocal residents due to intensivemortar shelling on civilianareas. According to fieldreports no fresh firing in theborder areas was reported sinceWednesday afternoon.

Mehbooba on Friday visit-ed the border areas of R S Pura,Samba and other places ofJammu province which havebeen severely hit by the crossborder shelling of past fewdays. She interacted with theaffected people and took an onthe spot appraisal of their dif-ficulties and demands.

Interacting with the people,the Chief Minister said she isdeeply distressed and

anguished due to the continuedflare up on the borders andsought an immediate end to itto save the people of borderareas from more losses of life,property and peace. Sheappealed the leadership ofPakistan to respect the senti-ment of Ramzan and respondpositively to Ramzan ceasefireannounced by the Centrerecently.

This, she said, has led peo-ple of the State to heave a sighof relief and now the need is toextend this gesture to bordersas well for which she askedPakistan to respond positively.

She reminded people thatcomplete peace prevailed alongthe borders in the State formore than a decade after theceasfire at borders reached at in2003.

Responding to thedemands of the local people,Mehbooba announced that herGovernment would examinethe demand of raising a bat-

talion of JK Police comprisingof youth exclusively from bor-der areas. She also assuredthem that her Governmentwould look into their demandof bringing people living inareas along InternationalBorder (IB) at par with those ofLoC areas in terms of facilities,perks or any incentives.

The Chief Minister alsoassured the people that stepswould be taken to constructBorder Bhawans in urban areasfor the people of border areaswhere they can stay during thedifficult times.

She said her Governmenthas already got the loss to live-stock included in the compen-sation package by the Centre.

Responding to otherdemands, Mehbooba said thelocal hospital at RS Pura wouldbe inducted with more facilitiesin terms of equipments andmanpower and also the localveterinary unit would be pro-vided more facilities.

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From Page 1The Railway Board had

proposed that no non-vegetar-ian food will be served onOctober 2 in 2018, 2019 and2020 when the CentralGovernment planning a specialcommemoration of the 150th

birth anniversary of MahatmaGandhi. The Railways will alsoissue tickets with watermark ofMahatma Gandhi’s image onthat day.

Following the PMO mis-sive, sources said the RailwayBoard decided to undertake amassive exercise covering allthe stations and trains. In a firstof its kind exercise in the coun-try, the Railways has under-taken a “clean train competi-tion” involving 200 pairs oftrains to start with. Thesetrains also include premiumtrains like Rajdhani and

Satabadi express. The result ofthe ongoing exercise to evalu-ate the cleanest train will be outnext month.

The trains are being com-pared with each other and willbe given rating on variousparameters of cleanness. Thecleanliness assessment willinclude checking on boardfacilities --condition of toilets,equipment, tools, manpower,vestibules, doorways, dustbin,linen, pest management, water-ing, waste management, onboard housekeeping staff andon arrival at stations.

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From Page 1It added States earn addi-

tional revenue of Rs 2,675crore over and above theBudget estimates for every$1/barrel increase in oil prices.“Given that these revenue ifforegone will not impact statesfiscal position, we estimatethat on an average, States cancut petrol prices by Rs 2.65/litreand diesel by Rs 2/litre, if theentire revenue gain was to beneutralised. This is the mostplausible scenario under thecurrent circumstances,” thereport said.

The Government hadraised excise duty on petrol byRs 11.77 a litre and that ondiesel by 13.47 a litre in nineinstalments between November2014 and January 2016 to shoreup finances as global oil pricesfell, but then cut the tax justonce in October last year by Rs2 a litre.

*���������� :::

From Page 1To say that EVMs mal-

functioned due to excessiveheat is shocking, the seniorNCP leader said, and demand-ed re-polling soon in thebooths where the votingmachines failed.

“In developed countrieslike the US, Germany, Franceand Japan, the use of EVMswas stopped and they revertedto ballot papers,” he said.

Patel, who lost from theBhandara-Gondia constituen-cy in the 2014 Lok Sabha elec-tion, said his party has raisedthe issue of the faulty EVMswith the Election Commission.He also pointed out that theVoter Verifiable Paper AuditTrail (VVPAT) machines,which eject slips to confirm thevoter’s choice, were not func-tioning.

“As and when re-pollingtakes place, will we be able tocount every slip?” he asked.

Meanwhile, Raut toldreporters in Mumbai thatmanipulating EVMs is now atrend. “Earlier, there used to bebooth capturing and bogus

voting. Now, some people holdthe key and remote control ofEVMs in their hands and con-test elections,” he said.

“This is a warning bell forthe country. This EVM scam istaking place because you (BJP)are in power. That is why out-dated EVM machines arebrought in,” the Sena leadersaid. Maharashtra PradeshCongress Committee chiefAshok Chavan said over 250EVMs and VVPATs had mal-functioned, which was a sus-picious development and thisshould be probed.

The BJP candidate for thePalghar Lok Sabha seat,Rajendra Gavit, demanded thatthe polling time be extended inview the faulty EVMs in somebooths.

Gavit’s poll representativesubmitted a memorandum toelection officials in Palghar,seeking extension of the pollingtime due to malfunctioning ofEVMs and VVPAT machinesin some booths.

The counting of votes willtake place on May 31.

In Bhandara-Gondia, the

BJP and the NCP have lockedhorns in the bypoll, being heldafter the resignation of BJP MPNana Patole.

Patole, a leader of the pow-erful OBC Kunbi community,had switched side from theCongress to the BJP and waselected as an MP from the con-stituency in Vidarbha in 2014by defeating Patel.

The NCP, which has alliedwith the Congress, has fieldedformer BJP MLA MadhukarKukde, against BJP’s HemantPatle, who belongs to the Powarcommunity and is also a for-mer legislator.

In Palghar, the bypoll wasnecessitated following the deathof BJP’s Chintaman Wanaga.The BJP’s bickering ally ShivSena has fielded the late MP’sson Srinivas in a bid to garnerthe sympathy vote.

The BJP has put up formerCongress Minister RajendraGavit. The Bahujan VikasAghadi (BVA) led by Vasai-Virar strongman HitendraThakur is also in the fray withthe nomination of its ex-MPBaliram Jadhav.

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From Page 1“During their informal

meeting in China last month,President Xi Jinping told PMModi that `if you feel ouractions are going against Indianfeel free to pick up phone andtalk to me.’ That is the level oftrust and mutual confidencesuch informal meetingsincrease,” Swaraj said.

EAM said the Governmenthas reached out to 186 out of192 nations so far andincreased India’s stature in theglobal forum. She said sinceMay 2014 till February 2018foreign investment worth $2.93billion has come to India whichis 43 per cent increase from theprevious Government’s records.She also mentioned India’smembership in three exportcontrol regimes out of foursince this Government came in2014.

Talking about India’s standon the American sanctions onRussia, Iran and North Korea,the Minister said India sup-ports on United Nations movedsanctioned and not nay coun-

try specific sanctions. Talkingabout India’s relations with theUnited States of America andthe present situation on H1Band H4 visa to allow spouses towork, she said efforts are on toprevent President DonaldTrump from taking any stepthat hits the interest of Indians.

She said the Government ismaking all efforts to bringback fugitive businessmanVijay Mallya from UnitedKingdom.

She said while the Indianbanks consortium has won acase against Mallya in UK,efforts are now to expedite hisextradition. Swaraj said PrimeMinister Narendra Modi hadeven raised the issue of Mallya’sextradition with his Britishcounterpart Theresa May dur-ing his visit for theCommonwealth Heads of Statemeeting recently.

“PM told May that UKcourt’s asking about the con-ditions of Indian jails is just notright as these are the same pris-ons where British had jailed ourleaders like (Mahatma) Gandhiand (Pandit Jawahar Lal)Nehru,” Swaraj said. Mallya’sdefense lawyers are relyingheavily on a UK court orderthat refused extradition to afugitive to India on the groundsthat conditions of Indian jailsare bad.

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Beijing: The SCO-AfghanistanContact Group Meeting washeld here today during whichIndia underlined the securitychallenges posed by terrorismimposed from beyond the bor-ders of the war-torn country.

The Indian delegation wasled by Additional Secretary(Multilateral Diplomacy)Gitesh Sarma at the secondmeeting of SCO-AfghanistanContact Group, the Ministry ofExternal Affairs (MEA) said.

“The meeting discussedissues on three agendas, name-ly the current situation ofAfghanistan and its neigh-bouring regions, the reconcil-iation process in Afghanistan

and role of SCO, and measuresfor cooperation between SCOand Afghanistan,” the MEAsaid in a statement.

India shared its perspec-tives on the security situationin Afghanistan, including secu-rity challenges posed by ter-rorism and extremism imposedfrom beyond its borders,extended support to the peaceoffer made by the President ofAfghanistan to the armedopposition for talks in Februarythis year and the need for anAfghan-led, Afghan-ownedand Afghan controlled nation-al peace and reconciliation inan environment free of terrorand violence, it said. PTI

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UPA chairperson SoniaGandhi, accompanied by

her son and Congress presidentRahul Gandhi on Monday leftfor abroad for a medical check-up but not before the latter tooka jibe at the ruling party’ssocial media activity. The BJPresponded with its own tongue-in-cheek remark saying thepeople expected Rahul to enter-tain from the foreign shorestoo.

Rahul urged the BJP’s‘social media troll army’ not toget worked up as he wasaccompanying his motherabroad for a medical check-up.“I’ll be out of India for a fewdays, accompanying Sonia ji toher annual medical check up.To my friends in the BJP socialmedia troll army: don’t get tooworked up...I’ll be back soon!(sic),” the Congress presidentwrote on Twitter.

In response, the BJP tweet-ed that they wished Sonia well,but did not miss to point outthat the people of Karnatakawere awaiting the formation ofa Cabinet so that theGovernment could start serv-

ing them. The BJP furthersaid: “Everyone on social mediahopes that you will keep usentertained from there too.”

According to sources,Rahul will return within aweek as he is scheduled toaddress a rally at Mandsaur inMadhya Pradesh on June 6 tocommemorate the firstanniversary of police firing onfarmers there. Sonia will stayabroad for a longer period.

Some of the key decisions,including the allocation ofministerial portfolios inKarnataka after a Congress-JD(S) Government led by HDKumaraswamy was formed inthe southern State last week,have been put on hold.

Rahul held deliberationswith party leaders before leav-ing to decide on the portfoliosfor the party’s legislators inKarnataka, but the discussionsremained inconclusive.

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New Delhi: The SupremeCourt on Monday agreed tohear on Friday a plea againstalleged rampant culling of straydogs in Sitapur district of UttarPradesh following deaths ofseveral children in the area overthe past few months.

The plea was mentionedfor urgent hearing before abench of Justices L NageswaraRao and M M Shantanagoudarwhich said it would hear thematter on June 1. The petitionhas sought a direction to UttarPradesh government to ensurethat no more killings of com-munity dogs take place in theState as an after-effect of deathof 13 children in the past sevenmonths. PTI

New Delhi: Former UP chiefministers Mulayam SinghYadav and his son AkhileshYadav on Monday moved theSupreme Court seeking “appro-priate time” for vacating theirofficial residences allotted bythe Uttar Pradesh Government.

The top court had on May7 held that former ChiefMinisters of Uttar Pradeshcannot retain Governmentaccommodation after demit-ting office and said that aChief Minister was at par witha common man once his or herterm ends. The two formerChief Ministers had earliermoved the UP Government’sEstate Department seeking twoyears’ time to vacate their offi-cial residences. PTI

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India and Pakistan onMonday discussed issues like

boundary violations by fisher-men, enhancement of co-oper-ation in maritime search andrescue besides ways to combatpollution at sea during themeeting of the Coast Guardchiefs of the two countrieshere. India stressed the need fora standard operating procedure(SOP) for early release of fish-ermen on humanitariangrounds, who inadvertentlyviolate maritime boundary.

Incidentally, a meetingbetween the two chiefs slated inOctober last year was called offamid tension over the arrestand sentencing to death ofKulbhushan Jadhav on chargesof spying by Pakistan.

The meeting on Mondaywas between Coast Guard chiefRajendra Singh and a four-member Pakistan MaritimeSecurity Agency (PMSA) led byits Director General RearAdmiral Zaka-u-Rehman. Hewas accompanied by directoroperations of PMSA, an official

each from Pakistan Ministry ofDefence and ministry of for-eign affairs. Two membersincluding a defence attachéand a political secretary atPakistan High Commissionalso took part in the delibera-tions.

“A lot of focus of the meet-ing was on (violation of mar-itime boundary by) fisher-men,” Singh later said addingthe two sides also discussed toenhance cooperation in thearea of search and rescue oper-ations and cooperation in thefield of (maritime) pollution.

The high-level meetingtook place under the provisionsof the Memorandum ofUnderstanding (MoU) signedbetween the two agencies in2005. This annual meeting is asignificant link between thetwo maritime agencies foraddressing various and the twoService heads from IndianCoast Guard and PakistanMSA also have a hotline linkbetween them for regularexchange of information onnon-military maritime issues asper the MoU between the two

governments, Indian officialssaid.

During the meeting, theIndian side reiterated the needfor instituting SOP for imme-diate release andrepatriation ofthe fishermen who cross theInternational MaritimeBoundary Line (IMBL) inad-

vertently.Further, expeditious

exchange of the informationabout the apprehension of fish-ing boats and fishermen bybothsides was also recognised toensure safety of the fisher folks.

Appreciating the need forcollaboration for preservation

and protection of marine envi-ronment, both sides agreed toexplore opportunities for coop-eration in the field of oil spillresponse at sea in line with theMoU signed recently by Indiawith the South AsianCooperative EnvironmentProgramme.

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With the objective ofenabling the troops to

target enemy bunkers andtanks even in total darkness,the Defence AcquisitionCouncil (DAC) on Mondayapproved the procurement ofthermal imaging (TI) nightsights for the rocket launchersused by the Army.

Nod was also given fordesign and development of theLong Range Dual BandInfrared imaging search andtrack system(IRST) for SU-30MKI aircraft. The IAF willfinally procure 100 such sys-tems. The total cost of the twocontracts is worth over �6,900crore.

The night sights for thearmy will be bought throughestablished Indian vendors, in

effort to boost indegenisation,the Ministry officials said afterthe DAC meeting chaired byDefence Minister NirmalaSitharaman.

The TI sight for 84mmrocket launchers will be used bytroops in operations to facili-tate accurate and continuousengagement of moving andstatic enemy targets anddestruction of field fortifica-tions (bunkers) during hours ofcomplete darkness. The nightsight will enable troops todetect and recognise enemytanks and soldiers’ movementduring night and engage themwith greater efficiency.

Also, the effect of camou-flage and concealment will bedrastically reduced as rocketlauncher detachments will be

able to ascertain location ofenemy taking cover behindfoliage and thin-walled con-structions with greater ease.

As regards IRST, officialssaid the system will be able tooperate in day and night con-ditions and substantiallyenhance the capabilities of theaircraft.

The defence ministry alsosaid: “In the last eight monthsalone, the DAC has pursuedmodernisation of the armedforces with greater vigour andhas accorded major thrust onindigenisation. Approvals forprocurement of equipmentvalued at approx �43,844 crore,have been accorded, of which,�32,253 crore would be Made-in-India, through the indige-nous route.”

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Union Home MinisterRajnath Singh on Monday

issued directions to completethe recruitment process forraising two New BorderBattalions of Jammu &Kashmir Police by March,2019. The MHA has approved�105 crore for the two battal-ions that would be raised fromthe people living within 0 - 10km of InternationalBorder/Line of Control. Singhalso directed that compensa-tion for live-stock killed incross-border firing may beincreased to �50,000 from�30,000 presently.

Five India ReserveBattalions (IRB) are also beingraised with 4,690 youth recruit-ed. They will start joining nextmonth. Also, 6,689 SPOs havebeen appointed out of a total of10,000 new posts sanctioned.“The possibility of filling up ofthe vacancies of SPOs fromBorder living community maybe explored,” the MHA saidafter Rajnath Singh reviewedthe progress of the Departmentof Jammu & Kashmir Affairs ata high level meeting in theMinistry of Home Affairs here.

In view of 1,252 ceasefireviolations by Pakistan duringthe current year, the HomeMinister called for expeditingconstruction of bunkers along

the International Border (IB)and Line of Control (LoC) toprotect the border residents.The MHA has approved �415crores for construction of morethan 14,000 bunkers in Kathua,Samba, Jammu, Rajouri andPoonch districts. Work on con-struction of 1,431 communityand more than 13,000 individ-ual bunkers will commencefrom July, said the statementissued by MHA

Home Minister expressedsatisfaction that there has beena significant drop in stone-pelt-ing incidents since theGovernment announcedSuspension of Operations dur-ing the Ramzan.

Of the Prime Minister’sDevelopment Package worth�80,068 crores, nearly 63,000crores have been sanctioned for63 projects pertaining to 15Central Ministries. More than�24,000 crores (31 per cent)have been released and over�20,000 crores (26 per cent)utilised. 13 projects have beencompleted/substantially com-pleted.

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Under pressure from theBJP, Karnataka Chief

Minister HD Kumaraswamyon Monday said he is commit-ted to waive farm loans or elsehe will retire from politics.

The JD(S) leader, who wassworn-in as Karnataka ChiefMinister last week after theCongress extended uncondi-tional support to his party,said he is ready with the guide-lines on farm loan waiver,details of which will be dis-closed on Wednesday. He wasspeaking to reporters here aftermeeting Prime MinisterNarendra Modi.

During his meeting withthe PM, the CM flagged theissue of shortage of coal for theState’s thermal power plants. “I

discussed current problemsespecially shortage of coal forthree thermal plants at Raichur,Yaramaras and Bellari in thestate. I requested him to ensuresufficient coal supply to thesethermal power plants. The cur-rent availability of coal in thestate is sufficient to operate theplants for 15 days.”

On farm loans, he said: “Ihave clearly said that I willwaive farm loans. I hadpromised during election thatI will do it in 24 hours. That istrue. At least you should givetime to breathe. Today, I havelimitations.”

Kumaraswamy asked: “If Idon’t do it, have clearly said thatI will retire from politics and Iwill resign as chief minister.Why cannot you wait for sometime.

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BJP president AmitShah, along with five

Cabinet Ministers, met topfunctionaries of the RSShere on Monday to discussvarious polices of the ModiGovernment, including theformulation of the much-awaited education policy.

The coordinationmeeting of the Sangh, itsaffiliates, the BJP and thegovernment was chaired byRSS joint general secretaryKrishna Gopal.

The meeting was heldover several roundsbetween the ministers andrepresentatives from theRashtriya SwayamsevakSangh’s (RSS) SewaSamooh (social workwing), Shiksha Samooh(education wing), SamajikSamooh and VicharSamooh (ideological issueswing). Besides Shah, partyvice-president VinaySahasrabuddhe, generalsecretary Ram Madhav andsecretary (organisation)Ram Lal were present inthe meeting. TheGovernment was repre-sented by the five ministers— Rajyavardhan Rathore,JP Nadda, Maneka Gandhi,Mahesh Sharma andPrakash Javadekar.

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Roads in Cantonment areaswould remain open for

public for the next one monthand the Army will take a callthereafter whether to continuewith the move depending onwhat feedback it gets from allthe stakeholders for the month-long exercise.

The Army’s move onMonday comes a day afterDefence Minister NirmalaSitharaman assured that thedecision to open roads forcivilians in military canton-ments will be reviewed follow-ing protest by several Armywives citing security issues.

There as 70 Army canton-ments in the country. Thedecision to open the roadswas taken last week after rep-resentations from MPs andcantonment board representa-tives.

Clarifying its position, theArmy said some roads wereunilaterally kept closed forvery long periods and a reviewwas essential. A number of iter-ations were carried out with allstake holders where viewsexpressed by all concernedwere deliberated upon.

After giving due thought tothe likely implications on theopening of roads, a considereddecision was taken to openroads in military areas for onemonth and thereafter reviewthe nature of traffic passing

through these areas. Decisionon opening or closure of roadswill be taken after a feedbackfrom Local Military Authorities(LMA) on whether roads canbe opened for civil traffic,completely, selectively or as inthe past.

There seems to be someapprehension in the minds ofmilitary personnel and theirfamilies that the opening ofroads may lead to a security sit-uation or traffic congestion. Itis clarified that this is a delib-erate, calibrated and moni-tored exercise.

The aim of opening roadsin Cantonments is to stream-line the process of closurewhere required after carryingout assessment of the nature oftraffic moving throughCantonments by following dueprocedure.

A freehand has been givento the LMA to close and con-trol access to the Cantonmentswhen there is actionable intel-ligence input or in case ofemergencies. A simplified pro-cedure will shortly be issued tojointly address the needs of thelocal public and the militaryestablishment, officials said.

They also said some goodpublic schools and ArmyPublic School also exist inCantonments. Children fromcivilian background are study-ing in these schools and cannotbe denied access. Hence, alarge number of roads haveremained open to civilian traf-fic, even before the orders foropening other roads were pro-mulgated. Therefore, access toadditional areas withinCantonments has now beenallowed.

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The by-elections forMaheshtala Assembly seat

on Monday passed off peace-fully almost without any majorruckus that was witnessed inthe recently conducted pan-chayat elections causing 30deaths and leaving more than500 injured.

Barring for a few minorincidents the elections to theAssembly seats in the south-eastern fringes of Kolkatapassed off peacefully, ElectionCommission sources saidadding the constituency hadreported about 72 per centpolling by 5 pm. Electionswere to take place till 6 pm.Elections were conductedamid tight security with anunprecedented 10 companies

of central forces pressed intoservice. One company waskept as a reserved force,sources said.

A traditional Left bastionin 2011 CPI(M) lost to theTrinamool Congress by 26,000votes. The margin howeverwas reduced to 12,000 in 2016when the Congress supportedthe Marxists. While the Leftpolled about 80,000 votes theBJP got 14,000 votes in the lastelections.

“We will win the seat by acomfortable margin becausethe people will vote forMamata Banerjee and notme,” TMC candidate and localmunicipal chairman Dulal Dassaid. The BJP which has comeup as a strong contender forthe principal Opposition sta-tus has fielded Sujit Ghoshwhile CPI(M) contesting withthe support of the Congresshas f ielded PrabhatChowdhury.

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Voters in Kerala’sChengannur Assembly

constituency braved heavy pre-monsoon showers and strongwinds to exercise their fran-chise in large numbers in thecrucial by-election on Monday.

According to the ElectionCommission, 74.6 per cent ofthe total 1,99,340 voters in theconstituency exercised theirfranchise till the close of pollingat 6.00 PM while later estimatessaid the actual turnout might beabove 76 percent when thefinal figures came. Chengannurhad recorded a voter turnout of74.36 percent in the 2016Assembly election.

Candidates and campaignmanagers of each of the threemain political fronts claimedthat the increased voter turnoutwould work out in their favour.However, observers said it wasdifficult to predict the outcomeof the bypoll on the basis of theturnout considering its crucialnature. Counting of votes will beheld on May 31.

Voters had turned out inlarge numbers at almost all thebooths in the 11 local adminis-tration areas in the first twohours of polling that had start-ed at 7.00 AM Monday thoughrecurring showers threatened toaffect turnout. The Electioncommission had made arrange-ments for voters to stand inqueues without gettingdrenched.

More than 15 percent of thevoters had exercised their fran-chise when the first two hoursof polling had passed and bynoon, the voter turnout hadcrossed 36 percent despite theintervening spells of moderate

to heavy downpour in severalareas. The ChengannurMunicipal area had witnessedheavy rains at the start ofpolling.

Responding to newsmen’squeries about the LDF’s confi-dence level, its candidate SajiCherian of the CPI(M), whovoted at Booth No 77 at theSNDP High School atMulakkuzha along with hisfamily on Monday morning,said, “We are sure to retain theseat. Also, we will get a betterwinning margin than that of the2016 election.”

Nothing less than victorycan satisfy the Left as the bypoll

is being seen as a referendum onthe rule of the LDF governmentthat had taken charge over twoyears ago. For the same reason,the Left, especially the CPI(M),had made the development ini-tiatives of the Governmentheaded by Marxist ChiefMinister Pinarayi Vijayan thepivot of campaigning.

The bypoll in Chengannurwas necessitated by the death onJanuary 24 of CPI(M)’s sittingmember KK RamachandranNair who had wrested the seatfrom the UDF by defeatingCongress’s PC Vishnunath by amargin of 7,983 votes.Chengannur, known as a UDFfiefdom traditionally, had elect-ed the front’s candidates in fiveelections since 1991.

UDF candidate DVijayakumar of the Congressalso expressed confidence aboutwinning the bypoll. “We haveno doubts. The people’s verdictwill be in UDF’s favour. My vic-tory is certain – 101 percent,”Vijayakumar, a popular nativeleader of Chengannur, said aftervoting along with his family at

Booth No 97 at the GovernmentHigh School at Puliyoor.

NDA’s candidate PSSreedharan Pillai, a formerState BJP chief who hadincreased the alliance’s votes inChengannur by almost seventimes in the 2016 election com-pared to what the party hadpolled in 2011, said, “The NDAis winning this seat this time.The bypoll result will be anindication of a huge change inKerala’s politics.”

Victory is inevitable forthe UDF also as it has to provewrong its critics who have beenblasting it for not performing asan effective Opposition despitethe many serious charges theGovernment, especially in con-nection with the failures of theHome Department looked afterby the Chief Minister, has beenfacing from its initial days.

The BJP-led NDA is alsolooking for a win inChengannur because the partysees the bypoll as its chance toexpand its influence in theState with the objective of cap-turing power.

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Several tribal organisationsacross the region on

Monday threatened to boycottthe Congress in the comingelections, if the party highcommand failed to suspendformer Rajya Sabha MPRenuka Chowdary.

Participating in a dharnaprogramme, Lambada andBanjara tribal organisationsdemanded immediate actionagainst the senior Congressleader for allegedly cheating atribal leader.

Supporting Bhukya Kalavati,the widow of Dr BhukyaRamachandra Naik, a surgeonand Congress supporter fromWyra in Khammam district, theLambada rights’ organisationstate president RavichandraChouhan asked the Congress toprove its commitment to thetribals who have been support-ing the party for decades, by tak-ing serious action againstChowdary. Other leaders whoparticipated in the rally anddharna advised the Congress notto antagonise tribals by not tak-ing action on Chowdary.

Speaking to media persons,Kalavati reiterated her allegationthat Chowdary took �1.10 crorefrom her husband, promising toget him a ticket to contest fromthe Wyra Assembly constituen-cy in 2014 elections. She allegedthat the ticket was not allotted toher husband and when he soughtthe money back, Chowdaryrefused to return it. She said herhusband had borrowed themoney to pay Chowdary, andwas under immense pressure torepay the debts, which led to hisuntimely death last Novemberat the age of 48. Chowdary hasdenied any wrong doingterming the allegations as “total-ly baseless, unsubstantiated andpolitically motivated”.

A case was registered fol-lowing an order by High Courtin Hyderabad on the com-plaint of Kalavati. The secondadditional judicial magistrate ofKhammam has issued sum-mons to Chowdary and sevenothers to present before thecourt on July 12.

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An estimated 54 per cent ofthe 4.71 lakh voters on

Monday exercised their fran-chise in the polling held inRajarajeshwari Nagar Assemblyconstituency, Karnataka ChiefElectoral Officer Sanjiv Kumarsaid. Election to the con-stituency was deferred due tolarge-scale electoral malprac-tices in which one of theaccused is the Congress candi-date Munirathna. BesidesMunirathna, BJP’s MunirajuGowda, JDS’ G HRamachandra and 11 others arein the fray.

Counting of votes will takeplace on May 31.

To ensure free and fairpolls, elaborate securityarrangements were made.

Besides heavy deploymentof forces and route marches asconfidence building measures,121 out of 421 polling stationswere connected with live webcameras, officials said.

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Large-scale protests tookplace across Assam on

Monday against the Citizenship(Amendment) Bill, 2016 witha number groups burning theeffigies of Prime MinisterNarendra Modi, Union HomeMinister Rajnath Singh andChief Minister SarbanandaSonowal, taking out proces-sions and blocking rail androad traffic.

The Asom Jatiyatabadi YuvaChhatra Parishad (AJYCP)burnt the effigies of Modi,Singh and Sonowal at Nalbari.

The members of the AllAssam Sutia Students’ Unionblocked the rail traffic atSarupathar, prompting thepolice to detain a number ofagitators, an official said.

Thousands of slogan-shouting protestors, carryingbanners against the bill,marched through towns acrossthe state, before submittingmemoranda addressed to theprime minister to the respectivedistrict deputy commissioners.

The agitators shouted slo-gans refusing to take the “bur-den of foreigners” and criti-

cised the BJP-led governmentin the state for supporting theCentre’s attempt to amend thebill, which they described as “adestroyer of ethnicity, cultureand language of the localindigenous people of Assam”.

The All Assam Students’Union (AASU) took out pro-cessions at many places acrossthe state against the passage ofthe Citizenship (Amendment)Bill, 2016, which proposes togive citizenship to non-Muslimsfrom neighbouring countries.

AASU chief advisorSamujjal Bhattacharya toldreporters, “There is a continu-ous people’s movement againstthe bill. Organisations, individ-uals and various other forumshave united as the proposed billwill cause a great damage toAssam’s political future and thesurvival of its indigenous peo-ple, their identity, culture andland.” “The Centre shouldimmediately take steps to with-draw the bill from Parliament,”he said, claiming that it soughtto make fundamental alter-ations in the citizenship andimmigration norms by relax-ing the requirements for get-ting Indian citizenship.

The Asom Yuba ChatraParishad, the All BoroStudents’ Union, the All AssamAdivasi Students’ Union, theMissing Students’ Union, theGorkha Students’ Union, theSodou Assam KarmachariParishad, former ULFA mem-bers, the Krishak MuktiSangram Samiti, among others,joined the protests.

The All Assam KarbiStudents’ Union (AAKSU), theAll Assam Adivasi Students’Union (AAASU), the AllAssam Tea Tribe Students’Association (AATTSA) andthe All Assam KarmachariParishad (AAKP) joined anAASU protest march in Tezpur.

Meanwhile, a number ofMLAs of the ruling BJP alsoopposed the bill and said allow-ing citizenship to HinduBangladeshis would pose athreat to the identity of theAssamese people and affectthe interest of the indigenouspeople of the State.

State Cultural AffairsMinister Naba Kumar Doleysaid the issue was related topeople’s emotions and the gov-ernment would not do anythingto harm the interests of Assam.

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The bypoll to JokihatAssembly seat in Bihar

passed off peacefully onMonday with 55 per centturnout. The result of thisMuslim dominated con-stituency will be out on May31 and its outcome is likely tohave impact on the politicalscenario in the State. Thestakes of two top leaders,Chief Minister and JD(U)president Nitish Kumar andRJD leader Tejashwi PrasadYadav, will be tested at thehustings.

The voters by and largewere critical of the policies ofthe Centre and raised theissues ranging from everincreasing petrol prices,unemployment and back-wardness of the region. Theconstituency has 70 per centMuslim voters and they byand large were seemingly insupport of RJD.

But more important thanany party in this Assemblysegment is the importance ofbeing kin of late MohammadTaslimuddin, the fiery andpopular leader and formerUnion Minister who died last

September. Sensing the moodof the public the RJD fieldedTaslim’s younger sonShahnawaz Alam. The JD(U)gave ticket to Murshid Alam,who last time contested onNCP ticket and by his ownadmission facing a number ofcriminal cases.

The JD(U) has morestakes in this bypoll becausethe party has been winningthis seat for four consecutiveterms and a defeat wouldmean its strength will comedown in the Assembly. Notonly that, it would alsoadversely affect the populari-ty of Nitish among theMuslims.

Both the candidates are oftwo alliances: NDA and grand

alliance but the contest isstraight and fight betweenthe two. Only the JD(U) lead-ers including Nitish from theNDA side and Tejashwi fromthe grand alliance have vig-orously campaigned withleaders of other allies keepinga distance. Even from the BJPonly Shahnawaz Husain sym-bolically campaigned. JD(U)sources conceded that BJPwas tactfully kept aside fromthis election because this is aMuslim dominated seat andthe minority community areallergic to the BJP.

Jokihat has an interestingfeature. The seat has been rep-resented by eitherTaslimuddin; five times since1969, or by his son. His eldestson Sarfaraz Alam won thisseat twice on JD(U) ticket till2015. But recently he quit theparty and the Jokihat seat tojoin RJD and contest theAraria Lok Sabha seat fallingvacant due to the demise of hisfather. Alam won and workedhard for his younger brother.Fissures appeared in theJD(U) when the party ignoredits two term MLA ManzarAlam and instead pickedMurshid Alam.

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After proving his majorityon the floor of the House

on Friday, Karnataka ChiefMinister HD Kumaraswamy ofthe Congress-JD(S) coalition isstill struggling to wriggle outdifferences over Ministry for-mation. Even thoughKarnataka Chief Minister whois in Delhi on Monday hasindicated that Ministry for-mation will be over in a day ortwo after he held talks withCongress leaders like GhulamNabi Azad and others withoutCongress president RahulGandhi being there , confusionover birth allocation betweentwo parties still needs to besorted out.

The conflict over sharingimportant portfolios likeFinance, Home, PWD,Revenue, irrigation and othershave been so far not sorted outby the coalition partners andthe Congress ordination com-mittee has not succeeded so farto sort out the issues. Thismade Kumaraswamy to knockthe doors of the Congress lead-

ers in Delhi giving more spec-ulations before it is takingshape. Congress leaders includ-ing former Chief MinisterSiddaramaiah held discussionwith Rahul Gandhi about cab-inet formation. A CongressLeader on condition ofanonymity said that “exercise ison and will continue till we getthe posts we want.”

Speaking to reporters inNew Delhi on Sunday,Congress Legislature Partyleader Siddaramaiah, who waspart of the discussions, hadsaid the Cabinet would beexpanded and portfolios allo-

cated between the coalitionpartners only after RahulGandhi’s return.

“We could not discuss allo-cation of portfolios withCongress president RahulGandhi. Once he returns, wewill discuss with him again. Itwill not take a week... Maybe,three-four days will berequired,” he said.

According to congresssources the Cabinet expansionhas been delayed over differ-ences in the distribution ofportfolios between the coali-tion partners, with a tussle forkey Ministries includingFinance, Public Works, WaterResources and Energy.

The Finance portfolio hasassumed significance for bothparties, given the crop loanwaiver issue. The JD(S) hadpromised in its poll manifestoto waive crop loans within 24hours of coming to power.

Chief MinisterKumaraswamy on Sundayadmitted that “there are someissues on portfolio allocation,particularly the Finance port-folio...” “However, all issues

would be sorted out amicably,”he said.

As part of the agreementbetween two partners theCongress with 78 seats will have22 births and 12 for the JDswhich include Chief Minister inthe 34 member fixed Ministry.Many Lingayat organisationswho are part of the agitation aredemanding plum portfolios tothe Lingayats.

Meanwhile furthering con-fusion JDs supremo HDDevgowda has revealed he hadoffered support for the congressled Government in Karnatakaafter Karnataka gave a frac-tured mandate. In a press con-ference on Monday inBengaluru he said Congressinsisted that Kumaraswamybecoming the Chief Minister.

He said “There was dis-cussion between me, Congressleaders Ghulam Nabi Azad andAshok Gehlot. I told them,you form (the Government), Ihave no problem. They insist-ed that Kumaraswamy becomethe Chief Minister and that it was their high-command’sdecision.”

Amid reports of continueddifferences in the newly-formed JD(S)-Congress coali-tion over portfolio allocationand farm loan waiver, whichhas delayed the expansion ofthe Kumaraswamy Ministry,Gowda indicated it would bedifficult to keep the promise ofrelief to farmers. “How? With37 members (MLAs of theJDS), we have to run theGovernment with the supportof another party. We will alsohave to continue with theirprogrammes. Without theirsupport it is difficult.That iswhy he (Kumaraswamy) said Iwill give resignation, if need be.He was under Congress’ willand not under the will of 6.5crore people. He has calledhimself child of circum-stances,” he said.

Kumaraswamy hadpromised to write of farmloans totalling �53,000 crorewithin 24 hours of coming to power, but has now sought time citing coalitioncompulsions and the need toassess the financial conditionof the State.

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As Kerala sat shocked onMonday over the news of

a gruesome incident of sus-pected honour killing in whicha newly-wed youth was abduct-ed and brutally tortured todeath allegedly by a gang sentby the relatives of his 20-year-old bride, intense protestserupted in Kottayam and else-where over the police’s refusalto take prompt action to findthe youth even after gettingcomplaints on his abduction.

The body of the youth,Kevin P Joseph (26), a residentof SH Mount, Kottayam whowas abducted from the houseof one of his relatives inMannanam by a ten-membergang in the wee hours ofSunday morning, was found onMonday morning in theChaliyekkara stream 20 kilo-meters away from Thenmala inKollam district, the native placeof his wife, Neenu Chacko.

As protests raged in frontof the Gandhi Nagar PoliceStation in Kottayam, VMMohammad Rafique,Superintendent of Police,Kottayam, was transferred foralleged lapses and a Sub-Inspector and Assistant SI weresuspended from service. TheCongress-led UDF and BJPwill called for a dawn-to-duskprotest shutdown in Kottayamdistrict on Tuesday.

According to the police,Kevin was abducted by a ten-member gang comprisingNeenu’s brother Shanu Chackoand his associates fromThenmala. There were marksof brutal torture on Kevin’sbody when it was found fromthe stream. The charge that twopersons in the gang belongedto the CPI(M)’s youth wingDYFI has turned the case intoa huge political issue.

The Gandhi Nagar policehad got three complaints onKevin’s abduction on Sundayitself from Neenu and thegroom’s relatives but they didnot even bother to registerand FIR. Asked about the delay,the police had allegedly told the

complainants that they werebusy providing security toChief Minister Pinarayi Vijayanand the matter would be takenup only after he left Kottayam.

“That is a baseless charge,”said Pinarayi. “It is a veryunfortunate incident. Such anincident should not have takenplace in a State like Kerala. Twopolice teams each fromKottayam and Kollam are look-ing into the matter. The culpritswill be caught without delay.The police chief has been givenstrict instructions in thisregard,” he said.

The police have registered acase against ten persons includ-ing Neenu’s brother Shanu inconnection with the Kevin’sabduction and death and threeof them have already been takeninto custody. Niyas (23) fromIdamon, Kollam, a local DYFIleader, and Riyas (26) were heldfrom Tamil Nadu. A DYFIworker, Ishan, was taken intocustody earlier in the day. Kevinand Neenu, who were in love forthe past three years, had gotmarried at a Registrar’s office onFriday after her family arrangedanother marriage for her.

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An Army jawan and a civil-ian driver were killed and

three other Army personnelincluding an officer wereinjured in two separate terror-ism related incidents in southKashmir’s Pulwama andShopian districts on Monday.

An Army jawan was griev-ously injured during briefexchange of fire between ter-rorists and the Army personnelin south Kashmir’s Kakaporaarea of Pulwama district latelast night. Later he succumbedto injuries in the Army’s baseHospital in Srinagar.

Reports said a civilian cabdriver and an Army man sus-tained grievous injuries afterunknown terrorists attacked

local Army camp by firingindiscriminately towards theCamp leading to critical injuriesto one Army personnel around10 p.m. on Sunday.

The driver critically injuredafter suffering a bullet injury inhis head, following which hewas rushed to a hospital wheredoctors declared him broughtdead.

The civilian was identi-fied as Bilal Ahmad Ganie ofKakpora Pulwama.

A civilian passenger vehi-cle of Tata Sumo make has alsobeen recovered from the spotand is suspected to be used bythe terrorists who managed toescape after attacking the ArmyCamp in the area.

Security sources said thatterrorists attacked 50 Rashtriya

Rifles Camp from Railway Lineside in Kakapora. This trig-gered intense response from theArmy personnel and the heavyexchange of fire lasted about tenminutes.

Local sources informedthat the Tata Sumo civilian dri-ver was alone at the time of sud-den attack on Army Camp.

They said in view of Ramadan’s late night prayersthe people remain out till late hours. However,security sources said the driverwas killed most likely in thecross fire.

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Bengal Chief MinisterMamata Banerjee once

again demanded meaningfulaction by the Centre to controlspiraling fuel prices even as herparty Trinamool Congressthreatened to launch a pro-longed movement beginningTuesday to “bring the NarendraModi Government to senses.”

Showing concern for theimpact the rising petrol priceswas producing on agriculture,transport, and the commonman’s day-to-day life Banerjeetweeted “fuel prices are increas-ing again and again. All arebadly affected: agriculture,transport and common peopleare being forced to bear theburden.”

Wondering as to why theCentre was not taking any seri-ous step to control the risingprices she asked the Centre topull back the increasing petrolprices. “In spite of the of thegrim situation, why isn’t theCentral Government takingany serious steps to find asolution?” she asked reminding“they need to act.”

When contacted seniorBengal Minister ParthoChatterjee said the TrinamoolCongress which had alreadytaken up the issue and hadlaunched protest programmesin districts would start a freshmovement from Tuesday whenparty MP and Chief Minister’snephew Abhishek Banerjeewould hold a day-long sit-in atthe Mahatma Gandhi’s statue inKolkata.

“We along with AbhishekBanerjee will hold a protest sit-in at the Gandhi statue frommorning till evening onTuesday. Even if that fails todraw the Centre’s attention tothe increasing hardships of thepeople we will go for biggermovement,” he said adding theTrinamool will then take up theissue in Parliament.

“Our MPs will take it upthere in Delhi and hold protestsin Parliament,” Chatterjee whoapparently fumbled takingquestions on why the StateGovernment was not taking theinitiative by reducing its owntaxes from the oil prices said“my question is why the Centreis not reducing its taxes. If theydo not increase their prices thenthe prices will not go up here.”

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After brutal lynching of atransgender beggar to

death in Hyderabad and asimilar attack on three trans-gender people in Zaheerabadtown in Telangana police havelaunched a public awarenesscampaign to counter the wildrumours and fake videos onthe social media includingWhatsApp.

One beggar was killed andthree others were injured whena frenzied mob attacked themunder Chandrayangutta policestation limit in Hyderabadmistaking them to be a gang ofchild lifters. Three transgenderswere targatted in Zaheerabad in

a similar manner after therumours and viral videos onsocial media caused panicamong the people.

Hyderabad police havearrested 26 people in connec-tion with Chandrayanguttaincident and issued a sternwarning against those spread-ing the rumours.

Zaheerabad police inspec-tor Satyanarayana said thatseven people were arrested inconnection with the attack onthree transgender beggars intown on the intervening nightof Saturday and Sunday.

In both the incidents time-ly intervention of the policesaved the lives of the victims ofthe attacks.

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President Ramnath Kovindwill give ‘Santokbaa

Humanitarian Award’ worth �1 crore each to KailashSatyarthi, a Nobel Peace Prizelaureate, Kiran Kumar, formerChairman of Indian SpaceResearch Organisation (ISRO)on Tuesday at Surat.

In the grand function tobe held at India’s diamond citySurat Governor of GujaratOP Kohli and Chief MinisterVijay Rupani will remain pre-sent.

This would be Kovind’smaiden visit to Surat afterbecoming the President ofIndia.

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The current Rohingya crisisthat has seized global eyeballsis a self-invited calamity inwhich Rohingya militantsattacked 30 police posts and an

Army base in Myanmar in August 2017,and simultaneously unleashed a reign ofterror on their mild mannered Hinduneighbours. Yet it has taken the otherwisein-your-face Amnesty International ninemonths to finally speak the truth, pos-sibly because Hindus are heathens. It isalleged that ‘new evidence’ has surfaced;the truth is that survivors spoke up inSeptember 2017 itself.

Bleeding heart liberals, who wonderwhy Rohingyas would attack innocentHindu villagers, may recall the anti-British agitation in Kerala’s Malabar in1921, when the Mappilas (Moplahs)turned on their Hindu neighbours forreasons that remain inexplicable to thisday. Yet, India is expected to uncomplain-ingly host at least 40,000 (unofficial esti-mates are higher) unwanted Rohingyasand roughly 20 million unwanted illegalmigrants from Bangladesh.

In a statement released on May 22,Amnesty International admitted what theMyanmar Government had stated inSeptember 2017, viz, that the ArakanRohingya Salvation Army (ARSA)slaughtered dozens of Hindus in the west-ern state of Rakhine (Arakan). The sub-sequent action by the military resulted inlakhs of Rohingyas fleeing the country.Amnesty International’s report is basedon interviews with several Hindus,including survivors, who witnessed thekillings, and other evidence, such as pho-tos of mass graves.

The ARSA, formed around 2012after previous bouts of violence, claimsit targetted only Myanmar security per-sonnel. While the Myanmar Governmentdid not allow human rights activistsaccess to the conflict zone, DavidMathieson, a Yangon-based security ana-lyst who has seen Amnesty’s report, said,“What Amnesty have clearly shown is thegroup was involved in evident atrocitiesagainst Hindu civilians in the earlystages of the ‘area clearance operation’”.

Around 500 Hindu refugees, who fledto refugee camps in Bangladesh and set-tled near two temples at Ukhia in Cox’sBazar, consistently asserted that Rohingyamilitants had attacked them in Myanmar.The nearly 4.36 lakh Rohingya refugeesin Bangladesh claim to be victims ofArmy brutality, but the hostilities wereinitiated by the insurgents. Many Hindurefugees told bdnews24.com that theywere attacked by militants from the‘Kala Party’, faces covered with blackcloth, speaking Rohingya language. Onevictim explained, “The Burmese usual-

ly don’t know the Rohingya language.Though the attackers covered their facewith dark clothes, they seemed to beRohingyas.”

A Hindu who arrived in Bangladeshbefore the conflict was told that his par-ents, sister and a nephew had died whenattacked by militants in Maungdaw’sSabbazar. An elderly man fromChikanchharhi in Rakhine said a terror-ist group entered their village and con-fined nearly 60 persons for six to sevendays, without even water to drink. Theywanted the Government to recognise theRohingyas, “I said we are Hindus and wecannot call ourselves Rohingyas. The vil-lagers fled when the fighting began(with the Army), “We saw from a hill thatour houses were burnt”.

By September 2017 itself, Myanmarofficials began to report the discovery ofmass graves in villages of Maungdawtown, where some of the worst episodesof violence occurred. The bodies ofaround 45 slain Hindus were found inthree mass graves in Yebawkya village; theauthorities held the ARSA responsible.The dead included 17 males, 20 femalesand eight boys, six of whom were under10-years-old. A Hindu survivor from thevillage, who fled to Bangladesh, said thatARSA insurgents took nearly 100 Hindusfrom the village and killed all barringeight women who were forced to convertto Islam and brought to Bangladesh.

These eight women (between the agesof 15 to 25 years) told the authorities thata 500-strong group led by a foreigner

dressed in black and a local named NoruLauk from Khamaungseik village enteredtheir homes in the morning of August 25,and seized their belongings, includingjewellery and mobile phones. The mili-tants announced, “This is not your vil-lage. It is our territory. We are the soleowners of this land. You are all the sameas the Myanmar Armed Forces andpolice members. We will murderBuddhists and all of you who worship thestatues made of bricks and stones.” Theydivided the villagers into two groupsaccording to gender, tied their hands, andtook them to Bawtala village, and slit thethroats of the men, chopped up theirbodies, and threw them in nearby pits.Myanmar security forces found the massgraves on September 24 and 25; nearly192 are still missing.

The converted women were takenacross the border on August 28, and there-after by car to Kutuparlaung refugeecamp, made to live with Muslims andforced to wear burqas. When foreign mediaarrived at the camp, the women wereforced to say that their families were killedby Myanmar soldiers and Rakhine ethnics,or their children’s throats would also be slit.

When a 15-year-old girl was forced tomarry a Muslim named Barbu, the vic-tims managed to convey to a Bangladesh-based Hindu leader, Shaw Phaw NamShaw Mar Raw Ni, that the abductedHindus were being converted to Islam. Hecontacted the Bangladeshi border guardsand went to the camp to rescue the eightHindu women and their children; a

Hindu priest took them to his home. Buton August 30, Bangladesh officials tookthem back to Kutuparlaung Camp andsaid they take care of them; they wereguarded by a Bangladeshi Hindu.

On September 19, one woman man-aged to contact her brother-in-law inMaungdaw town and inform him aboutthe place where the villagers, includingher husband, were killed. A week later,she managed to contact Hindu religiousleader Ni Mal in Sittwe; he suggested thegroup return home with help fromMyanmar security forces. So the womenleft the camp on the pretext of attendinga festival and returned.

In September 2017 itself, IsraelResource News Agency correspondentRachel Avraham lambasted the interna-tional community for not treating allMyanmar refugees equally. While the sit-uation in Rakhine State was defined asa “textbook example of ethnic cleansing”,the Hindus of Myanmar were ignored.The plight of Hindus was nightmarish;armed militants entered Hindu areas andstabbed, shot and raped the residents.The aim was clearly ethnic cleansing ofRakhine state. Intelligence agencies haverepeatedly warned that Rohingya mili-tants have ties with groups like theIslamic State, Al Qaeda, Lashkar-e-Tayyeba and Pakistan’s Inter-ServicesIntelligence (ISI). On what basis do theydeserve rehabilitation in India?

(The writer is Senior Fellow, NehruMemorial Museum and Library; the viewsexpressed are personal)7

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Sir — This refers to the editori-al, “Growth with change” (May28). Prime Minister NarendraModi-led NDA Government hasdone much in the last four years.Of all, socio-political schemeshave had a considerable impacton the middle class and thepoorer sections.

Every party reels under anti-incumbency while nearingtowards an election but it’s a dif-ferent case when it comes to theModi-led BJP. Normal rules ofanti-incumbency doesn’t apply tothe Prime Minister. His intentand integrity remains intact.Schemes like the Pradhan MantriJan Dhan Yojana, PradhanMantri Mudra Yojana, PradhanMantri Ujjwala Yojana amongothers have got immenseresponse from the people.

Allegations that the ModiGovernment is a ‘Suit-boot kiSarkar’ have fallen flat as Modi’spromises have remained sacro-sanct and the narrative of pro-poor and pro-farmer has beenlived upon. Although joblessgrowth and demonetisation havedented India’s economy, therecent GDP figures have shownthat the economy is now back ontrack and foreign investmentshave ascended. Meanwhile, thereis a palpable discontent amongthe people for the BJP but thatsucceeds everytime as it is ableto stitch together a multi-classand a multi-cast alliance.

The report card of the ModiGovernment after four years liesabove distinction and it is goingto get tough for the Oppositionto challenge the Modi juggernaut

amidst a vacuum of a viable alter-native.

Nischai VatsSultanpur

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Sir — This refers to the editorial,“Growth with change” (May 28).Like any other Government inoffice, the Modi-led NDAGovernment too has gone throughseveral ups and downs in the lastfour years. But one thing that hasremained constant is PrimeMinister Narendra Modi’s tower-ing personality and popularity.

However, lack of jobs is a seri-ous concern even as the job mar-ket is turning to be more compet-itive; the economy is witnessingslow growth and farmers are stillunder stress. But no one can for-get that it takes huge amount ofcourage to take crucial policydecisions like demonetisation andGoods and Services Tax.

Besides, several welfareschemes like the Pradhan MantriAwas Yojana, free housing andLPG connections to BPL house-holds are not only noteworthy buthave been a game-changer.

Whenever party leaders havespoken out of turn, Prime MinisterNarendra Modi has come downheavily, asking them to mind theirlanguage. Now the Oppositionhas come together to ensure thedefeat of the BJP and the PrimeMinister himself. This is onlygoing to boost his self-confidenceto chart on the right path and andmove in the right direction.

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The Gowdas cordially invitedWest Bengal Chief Minister andTrinamool Congress (TMC)

chief Mamata Banerjee to the swear-ing-in-ceremony of HD Kumaraswamyin Bengaluru. Then, they created a traf-fic jam and forced Didi to walk all theway to Vidhana Soudha. Banerjee, thefuture Prime Minister of India, had towalk. Who in the Front (if it is secondor third is yet undecided) wanted tohumiliate her? Was it the Gowdas?Should Mamatadi remain in the Frontwith visible signs of a coup emerging?

In the Lok Sabha, MamataBanerjee’s TMC has 34 seats but DeveGowda’s Janata Dal (Secular) has none.If this trend continues in 2019, andgoing by what happened in Karnataka,it is obvious that JD(S) supremo HD

Deve Gowda will be the Prime Ministerbecause he will have fewer seats thanBanerjee. As if to prove this premoni-tion right (yeah it is scary), he has start-ed renovating his House in Delhi.

The Congress is accused of bring-ing lakhs of Bangladeshis to Karnatakaand spending money like water toallegedly get them fake voter-id cardsbesides jobs and homes. This helped itwin many seats, it is said. Yet, DeveGowda bulldozed the Congress’ 78MLAs to install his son, Kumaraswamy,who had only 37 MLAs, on the ChiefMinister’s chair.

Similarly, Didi is accused of bring-ing a huge illegal Bangaldeshi immi-grant vote bank into West Bengal andpampering them like the Congress andthe JD(S) did to their MLAs in 5-starresorts. Of course, instead of resorts,Banerjee gave them entire districts likeMalda, Dhulagarh and Basirhat to playjihad. Will she be rewarded for her hardwork? Not so sure because the Gowdassimply got National Conference chiefFarooq Abdullah and AIMIM presi-dent Asaduddin Owaisi to address theBangladeshis, who morally belong to

the Congress and grabbed an entireState for themselves.

The Congress Government inKarnataka very smartly turned a blindeye to the murder and attacks on BJPand RSS workers. They like their ide-ological opponents to be dead. ButBanerjee has surpassed them, going bythe ‘well-orchestrated’ violenceunleashed on the locals before, after andduring every election in West Bengalever since she became the ChiefMinister. But the Gowdas are smart.They engineered a bloodless coupand in a game of thrones, usurped onethat was not even theirs. VeryGandhian, actually!

‘Games’ remind me of hobbies. Weall know that Didi sells her ‘priceless’paintings to fund her elections and winenough seats to become the ChiefMinister. It was no mean achievement(if you have seen her paintings youwould know) until the Gowdas start-ed showing interest in the race tracks,except that they were the horses. Theydid not even have to fund or win theelections. All they had to do was loiteron the track after the elections and wait

for Sonia Gandhi to come shopping.Has Sonia Gandhi ever bought Didi’spaintings? No, and that greatly rein-forces the theory of a coup.

Then there is the ‘divine’ hand.Remember the Archbishop’s letter call-ing for prayers in churches ahead of2019 elections in the face of a “turbu-lent political atmosphere threateningdemocracy and secularism?”Coincidentally, the call by theArchbishop was made two days beforethe Karnataka election results. A greatand rare example of a secular Church,indeed! Wasn’t a similar letter writtenduring the Gujarat election? Not to beleft behind in the ‘secular’ race, Didieven strongly supported the call forprayer. All their congregations prayedand yet, the Congress was demotedfrom the king to a king-maker. In con-trast, Deve Gowda and his familyorganised year-long prayers in severalHindu temples and the kingmakerbecame the king. This is such a badomen for Didi who simply dislikesHindu gods and goddesses. TheGowdas are so communal. How canDidi compete with that?

There also arises an issue of caste.Karnataka’s leaders love caste and reli-gion more than the nation. There is apossibility that the Gowdas may objectto Didi becoming the Prime Ministeras she has a Brahmin surname. If sheconverts to a secular religion, theproblem can be solved. Fair, socialis-tic and secular politicians, who thriveon creating new religions, will find herto be a worthy aspirant to any post.

Well, coming back to the coup the-ory. As if to add salt to the freshly erupt-ed blisters on Didi’s feet, Sonia Gandhihugged Bahujan Samaj Party chiefMayawati tight but displayed no suchaffection for Didi. After all, Mayawatihas zero Lok Sabha seats which is 44less than the Congress’. What if SoniaGandhi installs her as the PrimeMinister in 2019?

Firebrand Mamatadi should beworried. She can be sidelined after theMahagathbandhan wins the 2019 elec-tion. And she could be made to walkto her oath-taking ceremony, only toarrive on the scene to see Deve Gowdaor Mayawati take oath as the PrimeMinister. The walk to Vidhana Soudha

could even have been a rehearsal, cru-elly planted by the Gowdas.

Such serious concerns... must beconveyed to Didi by her fans if theywish to see her become the PrimeMinister. But the rest of us want to con-vey our support to Karnataka’s DGPNeelamani Raju, a dignified officer,who was reprimanded in public by anarrogant woman, who happens to bethe Chief Minister of West Bengal, forhaving had to walk a few metres.

Banerjee cannot be our PrimeMinister and neither can anyone elsein the motley crowd that turned up onthe dais at Vidhana Soudha to congrat-ulate a man who has no mandate to bethe Chief Minister of Karnataka.

Another day we shall talk aboutNaidu and KCR; and yet anotherabout the Yadavs and Mayawati. Wewill need a few reams at least to discussegos, ambitions, insecurities and polit-ical journeys of each one of the PrimeMinister wannabes in theMahagathbandhan. India surely haselected better and deserves better.

(The writer is with non-profit orga-nization, Samartha Bharata, Bengaluru)

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The confessional interviewof former Pakistani PrimeMinister Nawaz Sharifhas the Pakistani estab-lishment in knots and

squirming in its seat to cover up forthe embarrassing candour and plain-speak by the three-time PrimeMinister who has busted the tradi-tional-duplicitousness of the officialPakistani positions. From confirm-ing the Pakistani hand in terrorinfrastructure, facilitation process,dilly-dallying and specifically itsnefarious role in 26/11, the roosterof honest self-goals by Nawaz Sharifwas unprecedented in its admission.

The expected fallout includeddisruption in distribution of theconcerned media house which ini-tiated the interview, red-faceddenials by the ruling PakistanMuslim League (Nawaz) spokesper-sons, including Nawaz Sharif ’s ownbrother and Punjab Chief MinisterShahbaz Sharif who said, “The reporthas incorrectly attributed certainremarks to PML-N Quaid MianMuhammad Nawaz Sharif, which donot represent the party policy.”Above all, he hurriedly, called ameeting of the National SecurityCouncil (NSC) to consider the situ-ation arising from Nawaz Sharif ’sdamaging remarks.

Major General Asif Ghafoor,the official spokesperson of thePakistan Army tweeted a cryptic:“NSC meeting suggested the PrimeMinister to discuss recent mislead-ing media statement regarding theBombay incident.” However, the catwas out of the bag and for once, theentire spectrum of the Pakistani‘establishment’ and Opposition lead-ers were united in slamming theobvious shame coming out of thespilling of sovereign beans — thistime from the longest serving PrimeMinister of Pakistan and the ‘Quaidfor life’ (leader for life) of the rulingparty, PML-N in Pakistan.

Sophistications of terror infra-structure aside, the concept of ‘non-state actors’ that Pakistan routinelypedals to rationalise terror that isinvariably traced back to it, is rilingthe sub-continental neighbourhoodand the global community commit-ted to the ‘war on terror’.

The martyr-syndrome on terror-ism that Pakistan has appropriatedfor itself in recent times has very fewtakers as the background and thecontinued involvement of thePakistani establishment is well-doc-umented. Calling the bluff on trackof Pakistani vict im-card, theAssistant to the US Secretary ofDefence for Public Affairs, DanaWhite, clarified at a briefing held atthe Pentagon that Pakistan was botha victim of terrorism and guilty of

“sponsored terrorism”. On Nawaz Sharif ’s specific reve-

lations, White agreed that Pakistanwas now at an “inflexion point” ofchoices that it needs to make. Suchdisconcerting observation from theUS Administration aside, almost dailyaccusations from both New Delhi andKabul on Pakistan’s insincerity andcomplicity in terror is acquiring aglobal chorus that usually falls on deafears in Islamabad, which still attrib-utes all wrong doing to the conve-nience of ‘non-state actors’.

Earlier in February, it was notIndia but a combine of the US, theUK, France and Germany that co-sponsored a move to put Pakistan onthe ‘grey list’ of the Financial ActionTask Force (FATF) for internation-al money-laundering and terror-financing. The convenient charadeof ‘non-state actors’ that seeks toabsolve the state of Pakistan from theblame-game in all terror attacksfrom Mumbai, Pathankot, Uriamong others, was fully exposedmuch before Nawaz Sharif ’s soul-cleansing act of clever politics.

Deep down, the entire Pakistaniestablishment knows the deceitfullogic of ‘non-state actors’. Followingthe Uri attack, Pakistan PeoplesParty leader Aitzaz Ahsan hadslammed the Pakistani Governmentwhen he said, “The Government hasbeen completely unsuccessful inimposing restrictions on non-stateactors according to the NationalAction Plan.”

He further deplored the rotemove to blame ‘non-state actors’ by

saying that the standard position thatPakistan has no hand in the Uriattack is not a categorical denial. Headded that the phrase implied: “Wedon’t know if our non-state actors arebehind it.” Similarly, Awami NationalParty leader Asfandyar Wali Khanwondered at the establishment’sunexplained laxity by saying, “Whythe Government is helpless beforenon-state actors?”

However, Pakistan’s only practi-cal recourse to relevance in its so-called ‘jugular vein’ of Kashmir isthrough these home-grown and nur-tured ‘non-state actors’. This tactichas offered the Pakistani state toclaim plausible (though no longerbelievable) deniability for the violentacts of terrorism by these ostensible‘non-state actors’ — this tact fits inperfectly with the previous dictatorGeneral Zia-ul-Haq’s infamous doc-trine of “bleeding Indian through athousand cuts.”

The more direct and head-onapproach of the sort in 1965, 1971 andmore recently ‘Kargil’, resulted inhumiliating defeats for Pakistan and itis only through these covert proxiesor ‘non-state actors’ that the Pakistaniestablishment has been able to keep theviolence and unrest brimming.

This practice was first deployedwithin days of Pakistan gaining inde-pendence when it slipped in tribalraiders and marauders into theKashmir valley, in its first of the mul-tiple failed attempts at taking Kashmir.

Even the precursor to the full-fledged 1965 Indo-Pak War had seenPakistan sending jihadis in the mis-

taken belief that they would be ableto instigate a local uprising. Whilethis practice was fine-tuned to an artin the Afghan war of the 80’s, nurs-eries and infrastructure continue tobedevil both New Delhi and Kabultill date. Despite the unbelievablehuman price that the Frankensteinmonster of Pakistani terror industryhas afforded on the Pakistanis, theestablishment still pursues runningwith the hare and hunting with thehound, on terrorism.

Afghan President unequivocal-ly pointed fingers at Pakistan’s benev-olence and hospitality to these ‘non-state actors’ when he said, “Some stillprovide sanctuary for terrorists. Asa Taliban figure said recently that ifthey had no sanctuary in Pakistan,they wouldn’t last a month.”

The ‘non-state actors’ manifest inthe form of the Afghan Taliban andthe Haqqani Network for Kabul andDelhi continue blaming Islamabadfor propping the likes of Lashkar-e-Tayyeba, Jaish-e-Muhammad, HizbulMujahideen etc, and politically, eventhe Hurriyat parties.

In Pakistan, everyone from therevivalist clergy, the over-fed militaryto the opportunistic politicians needsan ‘enemy’ to sustain relevance foritself and that is the invaluable ser-vice provided by these ‘non-stateactors’ who do the Pakistani estab-lishment’s bidding even if occasion-ally the embarrassing truth spills out,like it did in the case of Nawaz Sharif.

(The writer, a military veteran, isa former Lt Governor of Andaman &Nicobar Islands, and Puducherry)

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Amid a protracted legal battle for bank-rupt Binani Cement, billionaire Ajay

Piramal on Monday said the committee ofcreditors (CoC)-led resolution process isbacked by vigilance authorities, and no oneshould be allowed to “game” the system.

“The process has been laid out. It hasto be followed. It is the process as far asthe CoC is concerned, it is the processwhich is laid out that the CVC (CentralVigilance Commission) has approved.That process has to be followed,” Piramaltold reporters here.

It can be noted that resolution plan ofDalmia Bharat, with help from a fundfloated by Piramal and Bain Capital, waschosen by the CoC of Binani Cement inMarch. Ultratech, the other bidder, reachedan out-of-court agreement with Binani tosettle dues, leading to an ongoing legal bat-tle.

Even as the value offered by Ultratechis much higher than the one submitted byDalmia, Piramal said value maximisationis something that happens much later. Hehinted that coming up with revised offersafter being outbid initially tantamounts to“gaming the process”.

According to reports, the CoC forBinani Cement on Monday voted infavour of UltraTech’s bid. Piramal stressedthat there is no lacunae in the law.

With the National Company LawTribunal and the Supreme Court hearingthe matter, Piramal said, “I hope they willdecide logically. Otherwise, this processcan be taken for a ride.”

Piramal said the India ResurgenceFund floated by him alongwith BainCapital is working on at least one more dealapart from the much talked about BinaniCements, and the fund was “never aggres-sive”.

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Fortis Healthcare on Mondaysaid the Munjals-Burmans

combine, whose bid for invest-ing �1,800 crore was approvedby its board, have consented tore-opening the bidding processto enable the company to moveahead with the fund-raisingtransaction.

The development comes ata time when there is an uncer-tainty over the process of saleof Fortis as four of the directors,who had approved theMunjals-Burmans bid, are nolonger on the company’s board.

In a regulatory filing, FortisHealthcare said it has receiveda letter from Hero EnterpriseInvestment Office and Burmanfamily Officer. Giving theirconsent to re-open the biddingprocess to enable the companyto move ahead with the fund-raising transaction.

In a letter to the board ofdirectors, Munjals-Burmanscombine said “it appears thatthere may be indecision on thepart of the company regardingthe bid process, which we under-stand could be on account of a

few shareholders indicating theirpreference to the company forre-open of the bid process”.

While expressing “deepanguish and regret” over thematter, Munjals-Burmans com-bine said they have has con-sented to re-opening of the bid-ding process “in order to facil-itate the company to expedi-tiously finalise and close itsfund-raising so that the com-pany’s business does not sufferany further”.

Fortis Healthcare, however,did not clarify whether it willre-open the bidding process.When contacted, a Fortisspokesperson said the com-pany’s board will take a deci-sion on the matter withoutspecifying when the meetingwould take place.

“Necessary intimation tothe regulator and stockexchanges would be givenaccordingly,” the spokesper-son added.

Fortis’ board of directors isscheduled to meet on May 30to consider and approve theaudited financial results forthe quarter and financial yearended March 31, 2018.

In their letter, Munjals-Burmans combine said “thissituation may have arisen large-ly on account of the lack of infor-mation available to stakeholders.

Munjals-Burmans combinesaid it expects the re-biddingprocess to be conducted in a fairand transparent manner, withfull clarity to all stakeholdersand bidders regarding the cri-teria and objectives which will

be considered relevant by thecompany for this purpose, andwith equal information beingavailable to all bidders.

It has been reported thatYes Bank, which holds over15%stake in Fortis as on March31, per BSE data, had expressedconcerns over the biddingprocess. Yes Bank asked Fortis’board to consider revised bidsfor the company submitted tomaximise value for investors.

Last week, Fortis boardwas reconstituted after itsshareholders had voted out itsdirector, Brian Tempest, fromthe board in the extraordinarygeneral meeting (EGM) heldon May 22.

Earlier, out of four direc-tors whose removals weresought by two institutionalinvestors, three directors -Harpal Singh, Sabina Vaisohaand Tejinder Singh Shergill -had resigned ahead of an EGMcalled to vote on the matter.

Fortis shareholders lastweek also voted in favour ofappointments of SuvalaxmiChakraborty, Ravi Rajagopaland Indrajit Banerjee as inde-pendent directors on the board.

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Indian equities rose for athird straight day, with both

benchmark indices Sensex andNifty closing above the key35,000 and 10,700 levelsbuoyed by a sharp decline inglobal crude oil prices and acontinuous recovery in therupee.

The BSE benchmarkSensex surged about 241 pointsto end at 35,165.48 and theNSE Nifty gained 84 points toclose at 10,688.65.

Among the Sensex con-stituents, Sun Pharma, CoalIndia, L&T, Asian Paints andSBI emerged as the top fivegainers. Sector-wise, pharma,bank, auto and FMCG led thegains.

A widening of positions byretail investors amid continuedbuying by domestic institu-tional investors (DIIs) kept thebullish sentiment intact.

In the Asian markets too,a firming trend was seen onMonday as geopolitical worrieseased after the US and NorthKorean officials met to resumepreparations for a summitbetween the leaders of the twocountries.

In yet another positivesign, prices of Brent crude -- aninternational benchmark forcrude oil -- fell further by1.88% to $75 per barrel in glob-al markets.

On Friday, Brent sank 3%and WTI fell 4%, and in earlyAsia business they were bothdown a further 2%.

Further lifting investors’-mood, the rupee on Mondaystrengthened by 49 paise to67.29 (intra-day) against thedollar at the interbank forexmarket on Monday.

“Fall in oil price in expec-tation of more supply fromOPEC and improved optimismon US and N. Korea summitinfluenced the market to rally.

On domestic front, 10-yearyield inched lower while rupeegained some traction which willgive cushion on inflation frontand fiscal path,” Vinod Nair,

Head of Research, GeojitFinancial Services Ltd, said.

He said that additionally,market optimism may increaseas monsoon is about to hit thesouthern peninsula regionswhich will support the con-sumption led story and ruraleconomy.

Driven by capital goods, oiland gas, PSU and healthare, theflagship Sensex reclaimed the35,000-mark at the outset to hita high of 35,240.96 before set-tling at 35,165.48, up 240.61points, or 0.69%. It alsotouched a low of 35,006.50

The gauge had climbed579.96 points in the previoustwo days.

For the 50-share NSE Nifty,the closing came in at10,688.65, higher by 83.50points, or 0.79%, after hoveringbetween 10,709.80 and10,640.55.

Stocks of state-run oilmarketing and aviation com-panies were in the limelightafter crude oil prices droppedin global markets. HPCL,BPCL and IOC gained by upto 6.10 per centafter globalcrude corrected to $75 a bar-rel from the 2018 high of$80.50 a barrel.

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The oil ministry has given itsin-principle approval for

futures trading in petrol as wellas diesel and the final clearancefrom regulator Sebi shouldcome soon, a top official ofcommodity derivativesexchange ICEX said onMonday amid rising fuel prices.

The development alsocomes at a time when state-runoil marketers have hiked petroland diesel prices continuouslyfor the past two weeks.

“The Petroleum andNatural Gas Ministry has givenan in-principle nod to launchpetrol and diesel futures con-tracts and we are hoping thatSebi will give final approval inthis regard soon,” ICEXManaging Director and ChiefExecutive Officer Sanjit Prasadtold PTI.

He said the decision wastaken by the ministry after con-sultations with oil marketingcompanies and other experts.

The contracts are expectedto help hedge against volatili-ty in oil prices.

The Indian Commodity

Exchange (ICEX) hadapproached Sebi seeking itsnod to launch petrol and dieselfutures contracts. Followingthis, the capital markets watch-dog had sought views from theministry in this regard.

ICEX was asked by theministry to give a detailed pre-sentation on petrol and dieselfutures contracts to oil minis-ter Dharmendra Pradhan,senior bureaucrats and oil mar-

keting companies, Prasadnoted.

“After getting approvalfrom the regulator, we willsoon launch the product as wehave all the infrastructure inplace for this,” he added.

Petrol price has been hikedby �3.64 a litre and diesel by�3.24 in Delhi since state-owned oil firms ended a 19-daypre-Karnataka poll hiatus toresume daily price revision on

May 14.Last month, the commod-

ity exchange launched 30-centsdiamond futures contracts inaddition to its product basketof 1-carat and 50-cents con-tracts.

The bourse had launchedthe world’s first diamond deriv-atives contracts in August 2017with 1-carat futures contracts,and had subsequently addedthe 50-cents contracts.

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State-run Bank of India onMonday reported widening

of its net loss to �3,969 crore inthe March quarter, on heavyprovisioning for bad loans andtreasury losses.

The bank had reported anet loss of �1,046 crore in thesame quarter last year.

“The decline in net profitwas due to provisioning for baddebts as well as for treasury(MTM) losses,” Bank of Indiamanaging director and chiefexecutive officer DinabandhuMohapatra told reporters here.

For financial year 2017-18,the bank reported a net loss of�6,044 crore, against a net lossof �1,558 crore in the previousfinancial year.

Global net interest margin(NIM) stood at 1.65% in theMarch quarter, against 2.39% inthe same quarter last year.

The lender’s asset qualityworsened as on March 31,2018, with gross non-per-forming assets (NPAs) rising to16.58% of the gross advances,against 13.22% by the end ofMarch 2017. Net NPAs rose to8.26%, as against 6.90%.

“We will try to achieve atleast below-6% net NPA forFY19,” Mohapatra said.

The bank’s exposure toNCLT 1 is around �8,300 croreand NCLT 2 around �3,000-3,300 crore.

Global fresh slippages inthe fourth quarter of FY18was �12,973 crore, against�6,915 in the correspondingquarter last fiscal. It’s globalrecovery stood at �11,417 crore,compared with �1,597.

The lender upgraded�1,539 crore of loans (global),

while wrote off �1,938 crore ofloans (global) during theMarch quarter.

Total deposits stood at�52,0854 crore as on March 31,2018, a decline of 3.55% fromthe previous year. Grossadvances were at �37,5995crore as on March 31, 2018,down by 4.52% from last year.

The bank is also planningto monetise some of its non-core assets this financial year.

“We have tried to sell someof the non-core assets. Butdue to certain restrictions fromthe regulator and other stake-holders, it was delayed.However, now we have againstarted the process and I amquite hopeful that before thesecond quarter, some of thenon-core assets would be sold,”Mohapatra said.

He added that some of thereal estate owned by the bankin domestic and internationalmarkets could be monetised foraround �1,000 crore.

Mohapatra said that thebank has rationalised some ofthe ATMs where there werelow footfalls.

“After digitisation, footfallhas come down in manyATMs. We have already closed290 ATMs. We will continue torationalise our ATMs wherev-er required,” he said, addingthat the lender has identified 25loss-making branches, of which15 have turned profitable andthe bank is reviewing the rest.

It has also identified ninelocations in the internationalmarket for rationalisation ofbranches, Mohapatra said.

The bank’s scrip ended4.71% up at �107.85 a piece onthe BSE on Monday, against0.69% rise in the benchmark.

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Ratings agency ICRAdowngraded the Airline

major Jet Airways’ creditrankings to junk status onthe back of a net loss report-ed for 2017-18.

The airline’s long termrating assigned to "Longterm Loans” and “Non-Convertible Debentures”was revised to lCRA BB+(negative outlook) fromICRA BBB- (negative out-look).

BB+ Rating is just belowthe investment grade ratingof BBB-. It is considered ashighest junk rating.

According to a BSE filingmade on Monday, the com-pany said that ICRA hasrevised its short term ratingto “ICRA A4+” from “ICRAA3”.

“The downward revi-sion considers weakenedfinancial performance of thecompany, primarily arisingout of increased jet fuelprices which could not bepassed on to the customersdue to weak pricing powercaused by excess competi-tion,” the filing said.

ICRA in its statement onMonday said: “ICRA hasdowngraded the long-term

rating assigned to the �698.9-crore non-convertibledebenture programme, the�3,574.7-crore long-termloans, the �645.0-crore long-term, fund-based facilitiesand the �600.0-crore long-term,non-fund based facili-ties of Jet Airways (India)Limited to [ICRA]BB+ from[ICRA]BBB-.”

“ICRA has also down-graded the short-term ratingassigned to the �3,950-croreshort-term, non-fund basedfacilities of Jet Airways to[ICRA]A4+ from [ICRA]A3.The outlook on the long-term rating is negative,” thestatement added.

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CNG price in the nationalcapital was on Monday

hiked by �1.36 per kg as inputraw material got costlierbecause of rupee depreciationand rise in natural gas price.

CNG will cost �41.97 perkg in Delhi with effect frommidnight tonight following theprice increase, IndraprasthaGas Ltd said in a statement here.

In adjoining Noida,Greater Noida and Ghaziabad,rates were increased by �1.55 to�48.60 per kg.

The increase was warrant-ed "to offset the impact on itsinput costs as a result of recentappreciation of dollar vis-a-visrupee and revision in propor-tions of domestic gas alloca-tion," the statement said.

IGL said it will continue tooffer a discount of �1.50 per kgin the selling prices of CNG forfilling between 12.30 am to 5.30am at select outlets. Thus, theconsumer price of CNG wouldbe �40.47 per kg in Delhi and�47.10 per kg in Noida, GreaterNoida and Ghaziabad during12.30 am to 5.30 am at the selectCNG stations across the region.

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Inadvertent use of pain killers, poor eatinghabits coupled with sedentary lifestyle is man-ifesting in increasing number of kidney relat-

ed problems in younger population. These obser-vations are in contrast of what is happening inthe West where a majority of kidney relatedproblems occur among elderly.

The problem is aggravated due to less con-sumption of fluids and smoking. The HealthMinistry data suggests that number of patientsundergoing dialysis in India is also increasingby 10-15 per cent every year, which includes chil-dren too. The data suggests that every year about2.20 lakh new patients need dialysis resulting inadditional demand for 3.4 crore dialysis everyyear. With about 4950 dialysis centres acrossIndia, the demand is less than half met with exist-ing infrastructure. The infrastructure to handlesuch patient burden is grossly insufficient, saysDr Vikas Jain, clinical lead and senior consul-tant, Department of Urology & Renal Transplant,Dharamshila Narayana Superspeciality Hospital.

During summers problems related to kid-ney failures grows about two-folds as there is agreater demand of fluids from the body and peo-ple more often are careless on account of fluidconsumption. In the absence of robust deceaseddonor program in India, getting a right donorfor kidney transplant, with correct degree ofmatching or compatibility, is a major challenge.A very few are lucky enough to get an eligiblematch within the family, while others wait end-lessly. Accepting such challenging cases is anattempt to increase the donor pool.

“People with end stage renal disease witheGFR less than 15 ml /min (also called chron-ic kidney disease stage 5 ) require hemodialy-sis and / or kidney transplantation as a life sus-taining treatment. Over 40 per cent of suchpatients develop kidney failure due to diabetes,”says Dr Rajesh Aggarwal, senior consultantNephrology at Sri Balaji Action Medical Institute.

The Government has drawn a roadmap toopen 2,000 new dialysis centers at district-levelhospitals in the country. The exact burden ofchronic kidney diseases in India is still unde-fined, but its approximate prevalence is said tobe 800 per million people (pmp).

“Early detection is necessary for a healthylifestyle in children to combat preventable kid-ney damage that may include acute kidneyinjury,” says Dr SumanLata from DharamshilaNarayana Superspeciality Hospital.

��������Difficulty in gaining weight for the child and

poor growth, frequent body aches, urination dif-ficulty or longer time in urinating, swollen face,legs, ankles while getting up in the morning area few symptoms of kidney problems

������������ �+���You're having trouble sleeping�You get easily tired�You skin becomes dry and itchy�You will feel like going to the urination quiteoften�You may observe blood in your urine�Your urine is foamy�You may feel puffiness around the eyes�Your ankle and feet becomes swollen�You face poor appetite�Your muscles feel crimping

We tend to ignore back pain thinking that tiredness wouldhave caused it. Over time, this pain aggravates so muchthat it causes unbearable shooting pain. In such a sce-

nario, a visit to a doctor is must since it could be early stage of spinaltumour. Conventional surgery was an option with a small but realrisk of leaving the patient getting paralysed. Given the small sizeof the tumour, the risk would not have been advisable. This is wherecyberknife becomes effective and without any risk, the pain-freenon-invasive method can be used to treat Stage I spinal tumour.

����Tumour develops within the spine bones. It can be benign or

malignant. There are three types that may affect the spinal cord.� Intra-medullary Tumours: It develops in cells that are presentwithin the spinal cord. Examples are astrocytoma and ependymo-ma.�Extra-medullary Tumours: It develops within the supportingnetwork of cells that are around the spinal cord. This type of tumouraffects the spinal cord function. Examples are Meningiomas,Schwannomas, Neurofibromas.�Vertebral Column Tumours:

Primary Tumours: Occur in the vertebral column and devel-op either from the bone or spine disc. Osteogenic Sarcoma is thebone tumour which comes under this category. These are rare andgrow slowly and typically occur in the 21-50 age group.

Metastatic Tumours: This tumour spread from one area toanother area of the body. Thepain is worse and is accompa-nied by other signs of seriousillness such as weight loss,fever, chills, nausea and vom-iting.

The growth of any kind ofspinal tumour can lead topain, neurological problemsand sometimes, it can be life-threatening and can even causepermanent disability. Inwomen, spinal tumour spreadsfrom cancer cells that originatefrom breasts or lungs whereasin case of men, it spreadsfrom tumour cells that origi-nate from the lungs or theprostate.

��������As the tumour grows, it

affects the spinal cord gradu-ally. Depending on the locationand the type of tumour, theseverity may vary from personto person. The usual symptomsinclude back pain, loss of sen-sation especially in legs andarms, difficulty in walking,

decrease in body immunity and sensitivity to pain, increase in heatand cold sensitivity, loss of bowel movement control and muscleweakness. Back pain is the early and the foremost symptom in bothcancerous and non-cancerous tumours.

1������� ��+��� ����KThough many other treatment methods may be available for

treating spinal tumours but due to the advantage of being totallynon-invasive and eliminates the requirement of any kind of anes-thetics, cyberknife is a very useful tool saving the patient’s timeand helping in better and quicker recovery. Cyberknife radiationsurgery is a form of radio surgery that uses precisely targeted radi-ation to destroy tumours. This system is non-invasive and preventsany kind of blood loss eliminating the need for anesthesia.

The cyberknife system is unique designed robotic system thatdelivers high-precision surgical procedures.

Treatment for spinal tumours remaining a challenge in India,due to the reason that only limited technology is available, and alsothe fact that the spine is sensitive and can receive only limitedamount of radiation. Cyberknife being flexible in producing radi-ations is one of the best options for treatment of spinal tumour.

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�� � ��!�� ����Black currant comes from the family ofberries and is a good source of a number of nutrients like

vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, flavonoids, Omega-3 fattyacids, dietary fibers etc. The black currant possessesantioxidant, antibacterial and antiviral properties and may beuseful in slowing cancer growth, enhancing immunity andeven preventing eye disease. It is also known to boost ourimmune system and fight common diseases like cold, cough,flu and infections. Black currant has an ability toreduce bad cholesterol (LDL) and increasegood cholesterol (HDL) level in theblood, which improves the blood flowtowards the heart and reduces therisk of heart attack, stroke andhypertension. Since black currantis a rich source of iron, it increasesthe supply of oxygen to the brain andmakes it function well.

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1� �������� ��"��!����+������L��"MNipah Virus Infection (NiV) is an emerg-

ing infectious disease of public health impor-tance in the South-East Asia region. The recentoutbreak in Kerala with increasing numbers ofseverely affected patients is alarming.

"��!�The virus is named after the Malaysian vil-

lage where it was first discovered and belongsto Henipavirus (bat-borne viruses).

���"���Fruit bats of the Pteropus species have been

identified as natural reservoirs of the NipahVirus. The infectious virus has also been iso-lated from environmental samples of bat urineand partially-eaten fruit in Malaysia. Due to themigratory habit of the locally abundant fruit batsin South Asia, Nipah outbreaks occur in thisregion. Outbreaks have been found in India,Bangladesh, Thailand, Cambodia, ThePhilippines, Laos and Malaysia.

�� ���������Bats shed virus in their excrement and secre-

tions (saliva, urine, semen and excreta), but theyare symptomless carriers. Sap harvested from thedate palm tree, commonly used for fresh con-sumption or fermented into alcoholic drinks(toddy or palm wine), is contaminated with infect-ed body fluids from bats, which can cause spreadof infection to consumers. The NiV is highly con-tagious among pigs and is spread by coughing.

In previous epidemics, humans were infect-ed with NiV only through close contact withinfected pigs. Transmission of the virus tohumans may occur after direct contact with

infected bats, infected pigs, or from other NiVinfected people. Human-to-human transmissionof NiV has been reported in recent outbreaksin India and Bangladesh, demonstrating a riskof transmission of the virus from infectedpatients to healthcare workers through contactwith infected secretions, excretions, blood or tis-sues.

������ ��+ �!��Symptoms of NiV infection in humans are

similar to that of influenza such as fever andmuscle pain. Some patients have a respiratoryillness during the early part of their infectionsIn some cases, encephalitis predominates lead-ing to disorientation or coma. Encephalitis maypresent as acute or late onset. Severely ill indi-viduals need to be hospitalised and may requirethe use of a ventilatory support. Incubation peri-od is four to 18 days. The case fatality rate rangesfrom nine to 75 per cent. Treatment is mostlyfocused on managing fever and the neurolog-ical symptoms. There is no effective treatment

for Nipah, but ribavarinmay alleviate the symp-

toms of nausea, vomitingand convulsions.

��"�����Good biosecurity is important in preventing

infections on pig farms. Strategies should targetroutes of contact with other pigs as well as fruitbats. Fruit tree plantations should be removedfrom areas where pigs are kept. Wire screens canhelp prevent contact with bats when pigs areraised in open-sided pig sheds. Run-off from theroof should be prevented from entering pig pens.Fruits that may have been contaminated by batsshould not be fed to pigs or other livestock.

Feeding spoiled or contaminated date palmsap to livestock, as is sometimes done in endem-ic areas, also a dangerous practice. Early recog-nition of infected pigs can help protect other ani-mals and humans. Due to the highly contagiousnature of the virus in swine populations, massculling of seropositive animals may be necessary.Fomites and equipment should be cleaned anddisinfected. Other animals, including dogs andcats, should be prevented from contactinginfected pigs or roaming between farms. No vac-cines are currently available for any species.

��"����������!� ��As treatment options are limited, focus of

NiV management should be on prevention.Preventive strategies include interventions to pre-vent farm animals from acquiring NiV eatingfruit contaminated by bats. Consumption of con-taminated date palm sap including toddy shouldbe avoided. Other more acceptable methodswould include physical barriers to prevent batsfrom accessing and contaminating palm sap.

Healthcare workers caring for patientswith suspected or confirmed NiV shouldimplement standard precautions, includinghand washing, when caring for patients and han-dling specimens. For known contacts, standardcontact precautions including using a gown, cap,mask, gloves is recommended. For laboratorypersonnel, Nipah virus is classified internation-ally as a biosecurity level (BSL) four agent. TheBSL2 facilities are sufficient if the virus can befirst inactivated during specimen collection.

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Arecent research indicates that overhydration or excess fluid accumu-lation can lead to dangerously low

sodium levels in the blood or result inbrain swelling, especially in the elderly.Over hydration activates Trpv4 — a cal-cium channel that can be found in glialcells that act to surround hydration sens-ing neurons.

Hyponatremia occurs when the con-centration of sodium in the blood is abnor-

mally low. Sodium helps regulate theamount of water in and around cells. Whenone drinks too much water, it leads to arise in the body’s water levels, and the cellsbegin to swell. This swelling can causemany health problems, from mild to life-threatening. Common symptoms of over-hydration include nausea and vomitingand headache. If not treated, this can leadto muscle weakness, spasms, seizures,unconsciousness, and coma.

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There is a lot of talkaround the good oldHarsingar leaves being

used for treating the dreadedNipah Virus with doctorswarning against it. Itmay or may not workfor Nipah, but hereis a list of its otherproven benefits.Not many knowthat Harsingar,also known asNight Jasmine orParijat has lots ofbenefits that peoplecan take advantage of— from the leaves to theflower to the seed and even thebark. The leaves of the tree con-tain benzoic acid, fructose,glucose, carotene, amorphousresin, ascorbic acid amongother things. The flower hasessential oils and glycosides.The seed has palmitic, oleic and

myristic acids. The bark is use-ful because of its alkaloids andglycosides content. Since thetree is packed with so manybenefits, there are several med-icinal benefits.

For people sufferingfrom Chikungunya or

Dengue, consumingHarsingar can helpreduce the symp-toms. This herbcan be used toincrease the bloodplatelet count. Boil

the leaves for 10minutes and sip the

decoction three or fourtimes a day.

Harsingar also has anti-arthritic properties and helpsreduce inflammation and pain.Boil the Harsingar powder anddrink it. This leaf has anti-bac-terial properties as well as helpsto keep E Coli, Staph infectionsand fungal infections.

Harsingar is not in bloom in thisseason but its leaf and bark has

traditionally been used to cure aclutch of ailments, even though

the jury is out on its ability totackle Nipah Virus, says

ROSHANI DEVI

General Nutrition Centre (GNC) in itsreport, finds a disconnect betweenperception and reality of health and

wellness among Indians. Most Indians viewtheir health as acceptable or excellent (70%)and describe themselves as balanced eaters(69%) yet their lifestyle reveal a contradic-tory picture with 44% of respondentsadmitting to rarely or never exer-cising and being negligent eaters.

There is currently a form ofcollective delusion when it comesto health and fitness; the vastmajority of Indians believe them-selves to be fit and healthy, while theirdaily behaviour suggests precisely the oppo-site. Specifically, while the majority (68%) ofsurvey respondents agree obesity directly orsomewhat contributes to a person's overallhealth, a proportionate number of respon-dents admit to eating fast food at least twicea week (47%) with 15% consuming take-away food daily, and 41% eating fresh fruitonly once a week or less. These negative eat-

ing habits spike during holidays and festi-vals, with 36% of respondents admitting toindulging in extra sweets and 26% disrupt-ing their regular eating patterns.

India’s state of health has long been asource of concern, as 72 million Indians arecurrently diagnosed as diabetic making the

country the diabetes capital of the worldaccording to the International DiabetesFederation. Additional findingsinclude:

�One in five admit to neverundertaking any exercise; if

presented with a lift and a flight ofstairs, 27% of Indians always use the lift

and 28% climb only one flight of stairs,before turning to the lift.

�Only 36% received at least sevenhours of uninterrupted sleep twice perweek or less, and 29% rarely or never feelrefreshed or energised in the mornings.

�The survey also revealed that morethan half (58%) of respondents spend lessthan two hours a day in natural sunlight.

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Pakistan’s powerful spyagency ISI’s former chief Lt

Gen (retd.) Asad Durrani hasbeen banned from leaving thecountry and will face a Court of Enquiry over a con-troversial book he recently co-authored with India’s formerIntelligence head.

Durrani, who headed theInter-Services Intelligence (ISI)agency from August 1990 tillMarch 1992, along with formerRAW chief AS Daulat hasrecently published the booktitled ‘The Spy Chronicles:RAW, ISI and the Illusion ofPeace’ in India.

He was summoned to theGeneral Headquarters onMonday to explain his positionon the book ‘Spy Chronicles’,said a statement issued by theInter-Services Public Relations(ISPR) — the Pakistan mili-tary’s media wing.

“A formal Court of Inquiryheaded by a serving LieutenantGeneral has been ordered toprobe the matter in detail,” thestatement said. It also said that“competent authority has beenapproached to place the nameof Lt Gen (retd) Durrani onExit Control List (ECL).

Those persons on the ECLare prohibited from leavingPakistan. Durrani hasexpressed dismay at his “ownpeople” after facing severebacklash over his recent bookthat landed him in controver-

sy. He was also targeted bysome retired senior army offi-cers on different TV talk shows.

Lt Gen retired AbdulQayyum and Maj Gen retiredIjaz Awan questioned themotive behind releasing thebook on internet. Durrani wasapparently summoned afterousted Prime Minister NawazSharif demanded an urgentmeeting of the high-poweredNational Security Committee(NSC) to discuss a recent bookco-authored by a former spychiefs of Pakistan and India.

Kathmandu: The FederalSocialist Forum, a key Madhesiparty in Nepal, has decided tojoin the Nepal CommunistParty Government after anagreement that “appropriate”demands of the Madehsis willbe addressed.

Upendra Yadav, chairman ofthe Federal Socialist Forum,signed a two-point agreementwith NCP chairpersons — KPSharma Oli and Pushpa KamalDahal ‘Prachanda’. Under theagreement, Oli Governmentagreed that the demands raisedby the FSF during its agitationas well as issues related to con-stitution amendment will beaddressed on the basis of mutu-al understanding. PTI

Beijing: China has invitedIranian President HassanRouhani to take part in the forth-coming Shanghai CooperationOrganisation, in an apparentrebuff to US President DonaldTrump’s move to withdraw fromIran nuclear deal with threats toimpose sanctions against Tehran.Rouhani will pay a workingvisit to China during which heis also expected to attend theSCO summit being held in theChinese city of Qingdao, ChineseState Councillor and ForeignMinister Wang Yi said.

The SCO summit is due tobe held on June 9-10 in whichPrime Minster Narendra Modiis due to take part. PTI

Warsaw: Poland’s PM onMonday called a plannedRussian gas pipeline, NordStream 2, a “new hybrid weapon”and says Moscow wants to use itto undermine NATO and theEuropean Union. MateuszMorawiecki called Nord Stream2 “a poisoned pill of Europeansecurity” as he addressed aNATO Parliamentary Assemblymeeting in Warsaw.

The Nord Stream 2 projectwould double the amount ofnatural gas Russia can funneldirectly to energy-hungryGermany from newly tappedreserves in Siberia, intention-ally skirting Eastern Europeannations like Poland andUkraine. AFP

Beijing: China has voiced“strong dissatisfaction” aftertwo US warships sailed by anisland claimed by Beijing in thedisputed South China Sea,adding to simmering tensionsin the strategic waterway.

The foreign ministry issueda statement expressing “resoluteopposition” to the US sail-by ofthe territory in the disputedParacel Island chain on Sunday.

The US military conductswhat it calls “freedom of navi-gation” voyages in the SouthChina Sea to contest Beijing’sassertion of territorial rights inthe area, although the US hasno claims of its own in the dis-puted region.

The US Navy’s Higgins andAntietam warships, a destroyerand cruiser respectively, enteredChina’s territorial waters with-out permission and were met bythe Chinese Navy, which “con-ducted verification and identi-fication of US ships according

to law and warned them toleave,” the ministry said. State-run news agency Xinhua saidthe two vessels were “expelled”from the waters.

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President Donald Trump onMonday said a US team was

in North Korea for preparato-ry talks ahead of a potentialmeeting between him andNorth Korean leader Kim Jong-un, signalling that the much-talked about summit inSingapore on June 12 was backon track. “Our United Statesteam has arrived in NorthKorea to make arrangementsfor the Summit between KimJong Un and myself,” Trumpsaid in a tweet on Sunday.

While the US did notannounce the delegation’smembers, The Washington Postreported that Sung Kim, a for-mer US ambassador to SouthKorea and former nuclear nego-tiator with the North, had beencalled in from his posting asenvoy to the Philippines tolead the preparations.

Sung Kim met with NorthKorea’s Vice-Foreign ministerChoe Son Hui, who said lastweek that Pyongyang was

“reconsidering” the talks, thedaily said.

The two officials knoweach other well — both werepart of their respective delega-tions that negotiated the 2005denuclearisation agreementthrough the six-party frame-work. The talks are expected tocontinue on Tuesday atTongilgak, or “UnificationHouse,” the building in thenorthern part of the demili-tarised zone where Kim metSouth Korean President MoonJae-in on Saturday, The Post

reported.The presence of Sung Kim

is a clear sign that the summitbetween the two leaders isback on track, CNN reported.Trump on last Thursdayabruptly withdrew from theplanned Singapore summitwith Kim but quicklyannounced that it could getback on track.

The cancellation apparent-ly followed Secretary of StateMike Pompeo setting somestrict ground-rules ahead for themeeting, which in turn result-

ed in a North Korean ministersaying that Pyongyang couldmake the US “taste an appallingtragedy” and that a stalematecould lead to a “nuclear-to-nuclear showdown.”

Later, the North Koreanleaders said they were ready tomeet anytime and anywhere.Kim had an unscheduled meet-ing with South KoreanPresident Moon where theydiscussed ways to revive theSingapore summit.

Trump said he saw “bril-liant potential” in North Korea,continuing an upbeat toneabout his planned summit withKim. “I truly believe NorthKorea has brilliant potentialand will be a great economicand financial Nation one day.Kim Jong Un agrees with meon this. It will happen!” Trumptweeted. Last year, Trump andKim were threatening war afterPyongyang tested its mostpowerful nuclear bomb to dateand launched test missiles itsaid were capable of reachingthe United States.

Islamabad: The number ofnon-Muslim voters in Pakistanhas climbed to 3.63 million in2018 with the Hindus at 1.77million maintaining theirmajority among the religiousminority electorate, accordingto a new voters’ list prepared byauthorities ahead of the gener-al elections.

The non-Muslim votershave registered an increase of30 per cent over the last fiveyears, the Dawn newspaperreported citing an official doc-ument.

The number of votersbelonging to religious minori-ties has climbed to 3.63 millionin 2018 from 2.77 million asregistered in electoral rolls forthe 2013 general elections, itsaid. PTI

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Islamabad: Pakistan’s formerchief justice Nasirul Mulk wason Monday named as thecountry’s caretaker prime min-ister for a two-month period,ending the political wranglingbetween ruling PML-N and theOpposition ahead of the gen-eral elections on July 25.

The announcement wasmade by Leader of theOpposition Khursheed Shah ata press conference here whichwas also attended by incum-bent Prime Minister ShahidKhaqan Abbasi and NationalAssembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq.

Mulk, 67, is likely to besworn in on Friday, June 1. Thepresent Government will com-plete the tenure on May 31 andthe caretaker Government willremain in office until a newGovernment is set up throughelections. Shah expressed hopethat Mulk will successfullyconduct free, fair and impartialelections in Pakistan on July 25.The announcement came afterweeks of deadlock betweenthe PML-N and the Oppositionover the name of the caretak-er Prime Minister.

It took the Government

and the Opposition six meet-ings to decide on a name for theposition. Though, Abbasi spokefirst but he let Shah announcethe name of the caretakerleader. Abbasi described theagreed-upon candidate for thecaretaker PM as someone “whono one can object to”.

“His role as a caretaker PMwill be in favour of the coun-try and the democraticprocess,” he said. Announcingthe name, Shah said the NAspeaker had played a major rolein both parties reaching anagreement. PTI

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Rome: Italy was hurtling tonew elections within monthson Monday as the country ismired in political chaos after abid by two populist parties toform a Government collapsed.

The latest crisis wassparked when President SergioMattarella vetoed the nomina-tion of fierce eurosceptic PaoloSavona as Economy Minister ina coalition of the far-rightLeague and anti-establishmentFive Star Movement.

His action on Sunday —which came after months ofpolitical turmoil in the wake ofan inconclusive March election— sparked angry calls for hisimpeachment. AFP

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What is your favourite fami-ly memory? Chances are it’s

one of the many vacations withyour family. A majestic hill sta-tion in the north or a calm andserene hillside in the south. Sohow about giving your familysome memories to cherish? Thissummer, create a bank of unfor-gettable memories for a lifetimewith places to visit with your fam-ily.

Here are a few must-visit des-tinations across the world curat-ed by RCI that identifies the per-fect places to spend your summervacation with your family:

Tasmania, Australia:Tasmania is all about ruggedmountains and shimmeringwater, riding a tourism-fuelledeconomic boom that’s an envy toall of Australia. This is one of thewildest corners of the planet.Gently cool and off-season cheap,it is situated 150 miles south ofthe Australian mainland. You’llfly into in Hobart, a cosmopoli-tan port city with an affordablefood scene, where you’ll find themind-blowing Museum of Oldand New Art. All the members ofthe family can enjoy the trek toWineglass Bay, one of the topplaces to visit in Tasmania if youlove gorgeous scenery and beach-es. It often makes it to the list ofmost beautiful beaches in theworld. You can camp here andthere’s so many beautiful scenicwalks that you can take togeth-

er. Once you’ve enjoyedyour stay in

nature, youc a n

head back to the city and com-plete your trip with Mantra OneSandy Bay Road, to soak up theheritage and culture of Tasmania’scapital from one of Hobart’smost charming hotel.

Cologne, Germany: Localshere say that Cologne is a feeling,a vibe. The Kölsch, as residents(and their beer), are famous inGermany for their outrightfriendliness. In the 75-degrees-and-cloudy summertime, youshould no doubt head to theRhine, Cologne Rhine RiverDinner Cruise, which runsstraight through town. You canRhine and Dine with your fam-ily here. For art, cute cafes andvintage shops, head to the districtof Ehrenfeld, the coolest neigh-bourhood in possibly the coolestcity in Germany. For a completefamily trip, you can head toGemuender Ferienpark Salzbergwhich is located in the Eifelregion and is well-known for itsextensive forests, rivers and lakes.The surrounding area belongs tothe National Park Eifel, anattraction for allh i k -

ers. The resort is a 45-minutedrive from the town of Colognewhich also makes for a fun roadtrip with the fam.

Buenos Aires,Argentina: BuenosAires has becomea hub for art,sports, andpolitics. Thiscity com-bines faded

European grandeur with Latinpassion. Sexy and alive, thisbeautiful city gets under yourskin. If you stroll through thestreets, pay attention to the mag-nificent architecture around you,and you’ll soon be won over. Thefamous dance Tango is possiblythe city’s greatest contribution tothe outside world. The city offerstourist many dance classes. You’ll

find endless venues for perfect-ing your moves, from

milongas (dance salons) to danceschools. So, head over with yourfamily to shake a leg and createfun-filled memories. Perfect thisvacation with your stay at HotelBoca Jr, a unique hotel thatbrings together architecture,modern design and thematicdécor.

Ireland: A small island witha big reputation — breath-takinglandscapes and fascinating peo-

ple. Everything

you’ve heard is true — Ireland isa stunner. History is everywhere.You can explore ancient monas-tic ruins at Glendalough andenjoy the ‘craic’ in a traditionalIrish pub, and see where film-makers brought a little bit ofScotland to Ireland when filmingscenes for Braveheart at Sally’sGap. The beautiful coastal drivewill definitely make you a vaca-tion planning star in the eyes ofyour family. For food, you canhead to Doolin. Doolin is acharming village with excellentfood options. Try the seafood!While in Ireland book your stayat Clare Resorts at East Clare GolfVillage which allows your fami-ly to let loose and play to theirheart’s content, after which youcan enjoy the fine fare of the on-site restaurant.

Namibia, South Africa: Ifyou want to introduce your chil-dren to life in southern Africa,Namibia is the perfect startingpoint. While Namibia makes thetourist headlines for wildlifewatching in Etosha National Park,the famous sand dunes atSossusvlei and adrenaline sports inSwakopmund (all of which can beeasily adapted for kids), it’s also anexcellent place to learn about themodern tribal culture. Not onlykids but you will also be fascinat-ed with the enriching culture ofNamibia. While in Namibia stay atthe Desert Rose. The resort hasaccess to a Supertube that provideslots of fun for the kids at a mini-mal charge.

Superstar Akshay Kumar provedthat he doesn’t sell a cause onlybecause it is a subject of his films

but he becomes its crusader much afterthe profits have rolled in. Yesterday theactor, who starred in films like Toilet:Ek Prem Katha and Padman thatdepicted issues like sanitation andmenstruation hygiene respectively, saidthat making documentary films would-n’t change people’s mind the way com-mercial cinema did. Which is why helaunched a new campaign on menstru-al hygiene at the Niine MenstrualAwareness Conclave to markInternational Menstrual Hygiene Day.

The actor believes that making doc-umentary films won’t change people’smind the way commercial cinemaimpacts on changing the society in apositive way. “Documentary filmswon’t help because people want to seehero-heroine falling in love, fightingwith parents, fighting with villains.Commercial cinema will create suchimpact because audience relates withactors. Padman was not just a film forme. It was a really special movie and Imean it, all the things I have heard andcame across was really shameful and ithappens in our society. What we wantis a change, we want everyone to comeout in open and talk about periods asit’s a very natural thing,” said Akshay.

The actor also emphasised that youngboys need to be educated about men-struation so that they become moresensitive about the “natural biologicalprocess”. “We need to teach young boysto behave first. (The way they behave)is also the reason why girls drop outfrom schools.”

The Niine movement is an ambi-tious five-year plan aimed at raisingawareness about the importance ofmenstrual hygiene and tackling thetaboos associated with menstruation,has been officially launched at the inau-gural conclave to mark MenstrualHygiene Day. Akshay emphasised, “Iread a phrase somewhere after whichit I made Padman ‘Never mess withsomeone who bleeds for a week forevery month but doesn’t die is thepower of every women’ and it is so true.”

During the event, the actor felici-tated nine people for spreading aware-ness on menstrual hygiene acrossIndia. When Akshay asked one of thehonourees, Dr Bharati Lavekar, if thereis a taboo associated with menstruationin urban areas, she replied in an affir-mative. “Even today in a city likeMumbai and in the 21st century, it isdifficult to talk to people about periods,”she said. To this Akshay replied,“Taboos will break. Make them watchPad Man. It will happen.”

Another winner, GeetanjaliMarndi, recounted her experience ofgetting her first period during whichher face was covered with a veil so thather “impure” vision would not harmmen and boys of the village. To this, theactor said, “They have the veil on theireyes and mindsets that need lifting. Ihope the taboo breaks forever one dayand that India is free from it.” He assert-ed, “We all should take initiatives suchas talking about menstrual hygiene withnine people be it our neighbour, friendor relatives. We should talk aboutmenstrual hygiene and sanitary napkinsin a very simple manner, take their sug-gestions on it, tell them that periods isnot a taboo topic and tell them to con-vey this message to nine more peopleThe problem in our country is that peo-ple don’t want to talk about menstru-al hygiene. We need to be vocal and thistaboo will slowly diminish from oursociety. So, let’s talk about periods.”

Veteran actor-activist ShabanaAzmi said that there is still a long wayto go in achieving higher standards ofmenstrual awareness. She said that menalso need to be included in initiatingmore dialogue about periods. “Theglass is half full and half empty... It isnot possible that we take this initiativeforward unless we involve men,”Shabana said.

Talking about the difficulties ofwomen residing in rural areas, the actorsaid she was “shocked” to see how theyused unhygienic “recycled” cloth dur-ing periods. “Women use cloth, theydon’t use a sanitary napkin. So, theywould recycle the cloth but they wouldnot be able to hang it out to dry in thesun because it was such a matter ofshame...” said the 67-year-old actor.

“That it will be recognised as amenstrual cloth. So they would dryunder the mattresses of the cot. Thiswould lead to inevitable diseases. Evenin 21st century India, women didn’thave a patch of sunlight for themselves.That hit me so hard.”

Shabana said a change in themindset of people is needed to get ridof the taboo associated with menstru-ation. “When I was in school, if I founda stain on my uniform it was a matterof shame and today my granddaugh-ter says to her grandfather, ‘I am hav-ing periods, please give me a sanitarypad’ as easily she can say, ‘can you giveme a toothbrush’. So, things havechanged but there is a long way to go.We need to encourage workshops inschools and village so that women andgirls where they are taught exercises tohelp them cope with the period painand keep them fit.”

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Alia Bhatt has had a good box office run withmost of her films and the actor says it has

made her more confident about her choices.She has mixed her critically acclaimed turns

in Highway, Udta Punjab and Raazi with main-stream films like 2 States and Humpty Sharma KiDulhania.

Alia says she always looks for a relatability fac-tor in her films. “Unconventional can also be con-ventional and commercial if it connects with peo-ple. It is essential somewhere to maintain that bal-ance. I was hoping this film (Raazi) strikes a bal-ance and I am happy it did. It also makes mebelieve in the choices that I make as an actor,” saidAlia.

The actor says there will always be struggleno matter where one starts from. “My struggleswill always be there. It is harder when you haveexpectations. My struggle is with myself, tooutdo and out perform myself, to do somethingnew and different. Just because things are work-ing out for me as an actor in the film industry

doesn’t mean I don’t struggleto make it work,” Aliaadded.

Citing the example ofher last release, Alia saysshe worked like a crazyperson and shot for 16

hours a day as they had tomake it in a certain kind of

budget. “Now that thefilm is being appreci-ated it all feels worthit. But that doesn’tmean my strugglesare over. It will con-tinue as I will haveto prove myself withevery film.”

Alia’s latest filmRaazi has earnedapproximately �102crore at the boxoffice. “As an actoryou are never con-fident but you arealways hopefulabout it (successof f i lm). I amgrateful to theaudience for thelove. It gives me

confidence to pickup more films like thisin future,” she said aboutthe film’s success.

In the MeghnaGulzar-directed film,Alia played the role ofSehmat Khan, an Indianspy, who marries aPakistani Army officer,essayed by Vicky Kaushalduring the 1971 Indo-Pak war.

She has an interestingslate of films lined upincluding Zoya Akhtar’sGully Boy, Karan Johar’shome production Kalankand Brahmastra withRanbir Kapoor.

“We are done withGully Boy, we are shooting for Kalank. I neverworry while working on a film but during therelease, I do. I worry about the fate of every filmand that will never change,” Alia said.

Meanwhile, the actor has been roped as theface of new brand campaign of Star Plus channel.She will feature in their new song that has beencomposed by A R Rahman. The new campaignfocuses on new shows such as Sabse Smart Kaun,Kullfi Kumarr Bajewala, Mariam Khan: ReportingLive and Krishna Chali London.

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Hand fans could easily be found inmajority of the houses few years back

as people used to keep them in close reachdue to constant power cuts but these eco-nomical objects are rarely seen nowadays.They are slowly losing their charm and rel-evance in the fast-paced urban life, it’s dailygrind and a technology-driven mindset.This humble hand made object caughtartist Jatin Das’ attention and he has beenon a collecting spree since threedecades. “You have to be a lover ofart first, if you are interestedonly then can you collect some-thing and that is how I began thisjourney. And there are manypeople like me in our country whoare inclined towards collecting objects suchas books, poems, coins, photographs offriends, furniture et al.”

Das was born in Mayurbhanj districtin Odisha and went to Mumbai to studyart at Sir JJ School of Art under professorSB Palsikar at the age of 17 and now he is77. And from the last 49 years, Delhi hasbeen home for the artist. His art furtherallowed him to invest in the personalassemblage of fans, something which hecontinues to do without giving much

thought to it. He said, “I do nothing elseapart from being an artist and com-pletely rely on my paintings andfrom it’s sale I collected fans of all

kinds from all over the world.” Das began collecting fans 28 years

back and till now he has added more than8,000 fans to his collection and only 20 percent have been displayed inPankha: a collection of handfans. It all started with one ofhis friends gifting him ahand fan and the artistfound it alluring, and said‘Oh! my god, what a beautiful fan’and from then on he took the decision toaccumulate this object.

In India, the culture of hand fans is

slowly diminishing and only inrural areas you can still find them.“Nowadays children are moving tocities, they are more interested intheir phones instead of culture. Ibelieve that after this generation noone will really know about the

pankha tradition,” headded, but in countries

like China, Japanand Korea theusage of hand fans still

continues to be seen.He has procured around

250 poems on hand fans frompoets across the world which will bereleased after two-three weeks.

The exhibition also saw the launch of

To Stir the Still Air, a metaphor for creat-ing vivaciousness in your surroundings,which covers a wide variety of pho-tographs of the traditional Indian handfans. What caught our attention was a

painting of Radha-Krishna on thesurface of a hand fan, which gaveit an artistic touch. The exhibitfeatures a unique collection ofhand fans from golden age, fromevery nook and cranny of thecountry to overseas such asChina, Japan, Korea, Burma,Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Indonesia,Africa and Egypt.

Das has collected the hand fans fromtemples in rural areas to cities and dis-covered that in each place it would bemade of different materials depending onthe raw materials that grow there. Thus,some of them are made from bamboo,cane, grass, and date palm. There are hun-dreds of original paintings, miniatures,photographs, graphics and prints on the

subject of pankha. Das often travels insearch of fans. The main aim behind thisexhibition is to draw the attention of thepeople towards these objects which aregradually disappearing from the popularnarrative and to celebrate the rare and

dying crafts of India. It is dedicated to theunknown craftsmen of the great Indiansubcontinent.

(This exhibition will be showcased atIndira Gandhi National Centre for the Artsat twin art gallery till June 24)

The radiant moonlight from afull moon filtered throughthe peepul tree where a con-

cert was taking place. Incidentally,it was under a peepul tree thatBuddha, The Blessed One hadenunciated his teaching some 2,500years ago. A large screen with thelyrics of the compositions kept theaudience riveted; the lighting wassoft and muted and a beautiful inti-mate atmosphere was created by theartistes, aided by the responsive lis-teners who sang along sponta-neously.

Seher founder SanjeevBhargava may have opened thedoors in the capital some 15 yearsago to Carnatic vocalists singingdevotional pieces in a Hindustaniidiom, but the concert on BuddhaPurnima night by Bombay Jayashriwas definitely unique. In her words,“when I was invited by IGNCA tosing on Buddha Purnima, I had noidea of how the concert would be,and I was thinking how I wouldcompile the appropriate composi-tions. I then realised that all thesaints, not just the Buddha, say thesame things, that truth is universal”.

Bombay Jayashri, as the recent-ly appointed Ambassador to EarthDay Network, removed inhibitionsby inviting her audience: “I urgeyou to indulge and join us in thesinging, so we all feel as one underthe beautiful cover of nature”.

Flanked by four of her trusteddisciples, the doyenne was defi-nitely in an elevated mood —starting with the very movinglyrics of Sant Gyaneshwari — OmNamoji Aadhya. “I pray to theprimeval being described in theVedas, the one that can only beexperienced by merging the selfwith the supreme being.” Theaccompanying singers, ShwetaSriram, Chaitrra Sairam, VijayshriVittal and Abhinaya Shenbagaraj,with their beautiful matching creamsaris set the mood of the totally har-monious music they presented.

The Kalabhairav Ashtakam,based on Raga Aiman/ Yaman,(Kalyani) by Sri Adi Shankara waswritten in honour of the guardiandeity of Kashi; Kala Bhairava wasan appropriate second choice, asThe Buddha had delivered his firstteaching after enlightenment atSarnath, near Kashi. The thirdpiece was in Raga Kedar, (HamirKalyani) Jagadeesha SudhishaBhave; a prayer to the lord of theworld, lord of all living beings. Apiece to lord Krishna,Madhurashtakam by Shri

Vallabhacharya was sung gustily bythe listeners. Nirvana Shatakam byShri Adi Shankara — the lyricsagain were very appropriate for thatday, when the Buddha attainedenlightenment and nirvana. Asthe lyrics said, “there’s no intellect,I am neither the observer nor theobserved.”

What was amazing in the con-cert was the inclusive participation,not linked with sectarian or reli-gious differences. The hypnoticchants of Buddham SharanamGatchami resulted in a few drops ofrain, but this did not deter eitherthe singers or the listeners. The nextpiece in Mishra Pahari GayatiVanamali changed the moodsomewhat, being lighter in feel,lauding lord Krishna on the banksof the river Yamuna, with themountains in the background, therishis worshipping him with thegently blowing breeze. This piecewas composed by Shri SadashivaBrahmendra.

When the rain came down intorrents, most of the audience didnot leave, but simply moved in,

closer to the stage, under the coverof the benign peepul tree. It wasindeed a moment of spontaneousbonding, with everyone presentbeing linked by the heartfelt musicand uplifting lyrics. The micro-phones were switched off due to therain but it did not deter the artisteswho continued the concert, caughtup in the ecstasy of the moment.Kali Maheshwari, in praise of thegoddess, in the traditional con-cluding Bhairavi was sung with asmuch feeling despite the cascadingrain wetting everyone. BombayJayashri shared “that it was a greatexperience, a wonderful sense oftogetherness was created that wasnot usual at all for me”.

On the violin was LRamakrishna who kept his inter-ventions wonderfully restrainedgiven the sanctity of the lyrics, onthe mridangam was N CBharadwaj, and on the khanjira wasG Harihara Sharma. Truly thiswas a memorable concert in moreways than one.

(The author writes on music,musicians and matters of music)

When the Visual Arts Gallery atHabitat Centre brings in

works from other cities that are a joyto behold, the afficionados must notlet go of the opportunity. MamtaNath’s Lexicon Gallery fromMumbai brought together a seriesof works last week under themetaphorical mythic nameManthan, a creative churning ofideas.

+�!��1���� ������The term brings back images of

the story in Indian mythology —the samudra manthan. One mustbegin with the sienna toned detailedminiature and metaphoric imageryby Apritha Reddy who projects thebeauty and ethos of the GuruvayoorSchool of mural making in India.“The samudra manthan (churningof the ocean) is one of the best-known episodes in the Hindumythology, narrated in theBhagavata Purana , in theMahabharata and in the VishnuPurana. It explains the origin ofamrita, the nectar of immortality,”says Reddy. She creates thePadmapriya avatar of Lakshmireplete with eight elephants andlotuses. Having understood thenature of wealth, ancient gurus pre-scribed the following formula tobecome rich: do not obstruct theflow of wealth, do not hoard, do notplunder, simply ensure wealthflows continuously in the desireddirection. This prescription wasgiven in ritual form by the practiceof painting Shri-pada, Lakshmi’sfootprint, on the threshold of thehouse pointing inwards.

Go on to the more recentimages by Mumbai’s Trupti Joshiwho has a stunning series of RollsRoyce cars done in acrylic. The tex-ture, the layering and the vintagefeel of realism makes us think of herpatience and her passion. Ready todo a solo showing in Mumbai thishumble artist is one to look out for.In terms of design dictates, the vin-

tage cars which always make for adeepening dialogue on the walls ofa home/office.

Seema Kohli gives us anotherrealm as she portrays the GoldenWomb with all its mythic mean-derings as well as a cosmic counte-nance. Kohli’s ability to createislands of multiple narratives thatare convoluted in the crucible oftime becomes the personification ofher narrative. What ensues is hersense of detailing the filigree fervourand the coexistence of her charac-ters with nature’s abundant leitmo-tifs.

Then there is Gouri Vemula’sAraku valley, amasterpiece indetailing in penand ink. Herfelicity with formbecomes theelixir of her nar-rative. Vemula’swork reverber-ates her experi-ences with sur-roundings as sheexplores hap-penings. Thepresent workcaptures the essence of the Borracaves in the Araku valley, wherechiaroscuro plays an importantrole. The artist has sensitivelyabsorbed the surroundings andhas transformed them into herworks. The presence of flora andfauna in her works along withhuman figures or in seclusion are anindispensable part of her prints. Anelement of fantasy can also bedeciphered, which grants the worksan allegorical side.

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Vishal Joshi from Mumbai givesus the metaphor of the crown as hecreates installation renditions thatare stark and strong in an imperi-ous fashion. Looking at his workbrings back the memory of thecrown in the hands of the brilliantartist Basquiat. A crown appearsfrequently in the early work of Jean-Michel Basquiat signaling his ambi-tion and understanding of art his-tory. Many artists used their mon-archs to symbolise power andmajesty. In many ways Joshi gives

us that conversation and manyothers when he too creates ametaphor in the modern millenni-um a pun the crown that becomesheavy-intriguing when he showsyou a crown tattoo on his finger.

Jogen Chowdhury portraitdone in sinuous contours is atonce a statement in expressionistzeal. The face is the prism of a nar-rative that brims on evocative notesof elegance.

India’s modern master Jogen’sportraits are a stint in the edges ofsurrealism. This portrait of awoman is far from his vicious car-icatures of pot-bellied and lascivi-

ous netas, who were clos-er to giant gourds thanhumans. Even more fas-cinating were his evoca-tions of fish and fruitfloating in environment.

The decorative ele-ment has always beeninherent in his style, butit is not just embellish-ment for its own sake. Ithighlights the folk ele-ment in his style. Jogen’sfemale portraits are farfrom beautiful but they

are attractive for the way he treatsthe features, the eyes, the lips andthe nose almost like a caricature butsubtle tones and not satire.

Among sculptures two worksthat stood out are Devotee ahumped cow by Ratan Saha and awinged figure by a brilliant sculp-tor Nimish Pilla from Haryana.Pilla’s Leap of Faith created in alu-minum is a work of ephemeral andillusory insight. He creates a real-ist image of man and wings that areproportionately larger compared tohis human size. The impact creat-ed gives us a feel of evanescentsplendour.

Recently awarded Padma Shri,Bhajju Shyam, the nephew ofJangarh Singh Shyam is a time test-ed story teller. While his tree seemsto hum with the buzz of birds it isthe man and the woman at the bot-tom of the tree who become hisprotagonists. Technique and timbreare Bhajju’s allies they come to thefore when he creates his trees withminiscule branches standing like alace fettered through the atmos-phere of time.

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Former French Open championStan Wawrinka continued to strugglewith form and fitness as he wasdumped out in the first round byGuillermo Garcia-Lopez on Monday,

a defeat which will send his worldranking plummeting further down.

Wawrinka, who lost to RafaelNadal in last year's final and won the2015 title, was beaten in a five-setthriller 6-2 3-6 4-6 7-6 (7/5) 6-3 by theSpanish world number 67 on Court

Suzanne Lenglen.The 33-year-old has been plagued by

a knee injury and arrived at RolandGarros having won just one match onclay in Geneva last week, his first eventin three months.

The defeat means that the three-timeGrand Slam champion will slip from 30thin the world to outside the top 250 after

the tournament, having failed to defendthe ranking points he gained in 2017.

"There is no frustration (at rankingsslip). It's just tough," said Wawrinka.

"But again, I knew from the begin-ning that it will take a long, a lot of timeto get back. I knew that from the surgerythat it will take a year at least to get whereI want to be."

There were worrying signs for hisfans when he pulled up and called for amedical timeout after just six games, buthe played down fears he had caused fur-ther damage to his already troublesomeleft knee.

"My knee is good. I blocked some-thing else at the beginning of the first set,and that's why I had to ask," he said.

The 23rd seed found his rhythm fromnowhere after a poor first set, crunchingtwo massive forehands to break for a 3-1 lead in the second.

A fired-up Wawrinka duly levelledthe match, and saved a break point toserve out the third set after breaking inthe opening game, as 34-year-old Garcia-Lopez threw his racket to the ground indisgust.

The match looked to be all but overwhen Wawrinka broke in game five of thefourth set, but he became ragged andGarcia-Lopez forced a decider by edginga tie-break.

Wawrinka's form totally desertedhim in the fifth set, and Garcia-Lopezcomfortably wrapped up victory.

+��� � ���

Serbian star Djokovic had lit-tle trouble in reaching round two,though, seeing off Brazilian worldnumber 134 Rogerio Dutra Silva6-3 6-4 6-4.

The 12-time Grand Slamchampion dropped serve threetimes and will have to markedlyimprove to challenge Rafael Nadalin the latter stages of the tourna-ment, but he was still far too goodfor Dutra Silva on Court PhilippeChatrier.

"It was good to start this yearwith a win. I wasn't at my best, heplayed with a lot of spin. I didn'tplay very well, but I won in threesets," said the 20th seed, who willnext face David Ferrer or JaumeMunar.

Former world number oneVictoria Azarenka's return toGrand Slam tennis lasted justtwo sets as the Belarusian slumpedto a 7-5 7-5 loss to Katerina

Siniakova. Azarenka, who missedmuch of last season after beingembroiled in a custody battleover her son, was broken to lovein the 12th games of each set to bedumped out by the Czech worldnumber 57.

It was Azarenka's first GrandSlam match since losing to SimonaHalep in the Wimbledon fourthround last July, but she still believesshe can return to the top of thegame.

"No doubt about it. Maybe nottoday, but no doubt about it," thenow-world number 82 insisted.

Petra Kvitova also found lifehard, but the two-timeWimbledon champion foughtback from a set down to beatParaguay's Veronica Cepede Royg3-6 6-1 7-5 on Court PhilippeChatrier.

The 28-year-old Kvitova isone of the favourites to win amaiden Roland Garros title afterwinning four titles this season,including on clay in Prague andMadrid.

"I've won 12 matches straighton clay, but I'm still a long wayfrom Rafa," she said in referenceto Rafael Nadal's upcoming bid foran 11th men's singles crown.

��� 32%�-#�,4�#23%

Neymar admitted on Sunday thathe is not 100 percent in shape

after a week's training with Brazil intheir World Cup preparations. Thestriker said he still feels discomfortin his recovering right foot butbelieves he will be better for the tour-nament in Russia, which begins June14.

"Physically I am well, my foot isfine. I am adapting in a few things.I still feel some discomfort, but it isnot something that will troubleme," the 26-year-old Neymar toldjournalists at Brazil's football con-federation headquarters in Rio deJaneiro.

Asked how well he was feelingnow, Neymar answered: "Not 100percent yet. But that comes withtime. It is normal that I have this fearof making complete movements.

Let's take it easy, there are still manydays until the (World Cup) openerand I will be 100 percent then."

Neymar has not played a matchsince February but hopes to be onthe pitch again in Brazil's friendlyagainst Croatia on June 3 inLiverpool.

"I am ready to play, there isnothing that can stop me," he said."What I feel today is this fearbecause I am coming back now."

The Brazilian was forced toleave the 2014 World Cup with a ver-tebral fracture in the 2-1 victoryagainst Colombia in the quarterfi-nals.

"I hope that dream is not inter-rupted once more and that it is con-

solidated with a title for us,"Neymar said.

During the week in theGranja Comary training campin Teresopolis, outside Rio,Neymar continued his recovery- dribbling and passing at highspeed. Members of Brazil'scoaching staff have tried toreduce pressure on the star bysaying it would take time untilhe delivered his best perfor-mances.

Brazil's 20-man squad willfly to London later Sunday tocontinue their World Cuppreparations.

Neymar also dismissed therumors of him leaving ParisSaint-Germain.

Asked about rumors link-ing him to Real Madrid, heanswered: "My focus is Brazil,people are saying nonsenseand that is not worth answer-ing."

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Chennai Super Kings chief coachStephen Fleming on Mondayhailed Mahendra Singh Dhoni's

leadership qualities, and said the vet-eran stumper's willy captaincy was oneof the key reasons behind the team'sthird title triumph in the IndianPremier League.

"It was Dhoni impact. It is veryimportant. Dhoni does have a verystrong influence and impact on play-ers. MS's (Dhoni) belief and confidencein a strong role for a player works forus. He has a strong ability to bring thebest out of players. (Ambati) Rayuduis a great example, being in and out ofthe team," Fleming said at a press con-ference here.

"It is a great dynamic. It is aboutusing the strength of a remarkable cap-tain, with a strong franchise, with agood game plan."

Returning to the IPL after servinga two-year ban, CSK defeated SunrisersHyderabad by eight wickets in Mumbaito claim its third IPL title on Sundaynight.

CSK returned to a victorious home-coming with fans cheering at the air-port and at the team hotel.

Fleming was all praise forAustralian all-rounder Shane Watson,who starred with a blistering unbeat-en knock of 117 to ensure a dreamcomeback for CSK.

"We loved what Shane Watson hasdone in the past and our discussion wasaround his future. And we had seenduring the Big Bash that his form hadreturned. We wanted to use him in adifferent way...Opening the battingand bowling a few overs," Fleming said.

"We always like players who aremulti-talented. And also, Shane hasbeen to Chennai several times playingfor Rajasthan. He is an incredible pro-fessional. He realised he has got somelimitations. He looked after himself andMS looked after him well. In the endwe didn't need his bowling... There isno great illustration of his ability thanyesterday," the former Kiwi captain said.

Watson thanked the team as wellas skipper Dhoni and Fleming for theirconstant support and helping him stay

fit and up for the challenge throughoutthe tournament.

Fleming said shifting their homebase out of Chennai because of theCauvery issue was one of the tougherthings for the team.

"Most of the plans were to build ateam according to Chennai's conditionsbut those things weren't in our control.Moving out of Chennai was a difficultdecision. We knew the conditions ofPune. We had to change the way we hadto play the game. The experienceenabled us to do that. It was a bigchange but we had to get on with it,"he said.

CSK's home matches were shiftedout of Chennai after trouble during thefirst game at the MA ChidambaramStadium owing to the state-wideprotests on the Cauvery issue.

The coach said it was a team per-formance but did not forget to pinpointindividual contributions throughout theseason.

"It wasn't one or two players dom-

inating. It was a squad effort. We wentback to players who are loyal. We sticktogether through thick and thin," hesaid.

About the decision to pick leg-spin-ner Karn Sharma over the experiencedHarbhajan Singh for the final,he said the captain wanted aleg-spin option.

"If you look at the lastfew games, Harbhajan had-n't bowled a lot. The captainwanted another optionagainst right-handers. Wehad been very open aboutcombination of spinners, notnecessarily left-hand, right-hand, who could do well. Wewanted another optionaround the right-handers.It was just an optionagain.

"The captain want-ed a leg-spin option. Infact, Harbhajan andKarn have got great

records in finals," Fleming said.He also said he was happy with

the way CSK pacers Lungi Ngidiand Shardul Thakur bowledtowards the end.

"I was really happy. The lasttwo overs from Ngidi andShardul, I was happy because itcould have been a lot more. Iwas comfortable with the way

we bowled," Fleming said.

J+������� ����0Chennai Super Kings' fairy tale

comeback is a proof that fitnessmatters more than age, said skipperMahendra Singh Dhoni after guid-

ing his team to a third IPL title.After the auction, CSK

were criticised for picking upnine players in their 30sincluding Shane Watson andAmbati Rayudu, who eventu-

ally were instrumental in theteam's triumph.

"We talked a lot about age

but what matters is the fitness. Rayudufor example is 32, he's someone who isfit, covers a lot of ground. Even if heplays a few games where he spends alot of time in the ground and in thefield, he never complains. So it is thefitness that really matters more than theage aspect," said the 36-year-old Dhoniafter the crushing win over SRH.

"What captains want is players whomove well in the field. It doesn't mat-ter which year a player is born in,whether you are 19 or 20 - you have tobe agile. You have to accept your short-comings.

"For example if I push Watson tostop a single, there is a very good chancethat he'll burst his hamstring andwon't be available for the next game. Sowhat you tell yourselves is that they haveto commit and try, but there's no pointgetting injured for a single," said Dhonibefore adding the CSK squad will beheading to Chennai on Monday for fur-ther celebrations.

J1 ������ ���� ��+��� !�0A day after veteran Aussie Shane

Watson single-handedly helped theChennai Super Kings (CSK) to a thirdIndian Premier League (IPL) crown, all-rounder Marcus Stoinis feels the retiredWatson could still be a force in inter-national cricket in case he wants tocome out of retirement.

Watson, who turns 37 next month,retired from international cricket in2016 but on Sunday defied age to over-come a sluggish start and a hamstringproblem and hammer an unbeaten 117from just 57 balls in the IPL final.

Stoinis believes that the all-roundercould still dominate in the shortest for-mat.

"He's still good enough to play forAustralia, for sure," Stoinis said.

"We sat down over there (in India)and he's mentored me for a couple ofyears now. His hunger to keep gettingbetter at the end of his career, it's nocoincidence why he's so good.

"I don't think the Australian pub-lic realised how good he was when hewas playing for Australia," addedStoinis, who plied his trade for theKings XI Punjab in the just-conclud-ed IPL.

����� �6�*42

Shane Watson single-hand-edly guided Chennai Super

Kings to their third IPL titlewith his unbeaten knock of 117against Sunrisers Hyderabad inthe summit clash and losingCaptain Kane Williamson wasleft to admire the burlyAustralian's "unbelievable"innings.

"Yes, I think so, that was abrilliant innings. Anyone whoturns out with an innings of100 plus in the final was obvi-ously a significant effort, agreat contribution to their sideand it was very difficult to stophim," Williamson said afterhis side suffered an 8-wicketloss.

"And for a large part of thegame, there was a lot of goodstuff. But as I mentionedWatson's innings, it was anunbelievable effort," theSunrisers captain said.

Williamson insisted thathis side's score of 178 for 6while batting first was a com-petitive total and credited CSKfor sailing through the initial,difficult phase when they were20 for 1 after five overs beforeWatson commenced hisblitzkrieg.

"At the halfway stage onthat surface, we thought we hada very competitive total. Itwasn't perhaps your usual sur-face at the Wankhede(Stadium). It held a little bit andwas responsive to the slowerball. So we thought that 180-mark was a really good targetand you saw that from our firstfew overs, and it was not veryeasy to get away," Williamsonsaid.

� ������ ����Rashid Khan is right up

there with top spinners inworld cricket, his skipperKane Williamson saideulogising the Afghanistan'steen sensation, who is bracingup for the challenge of Testcricket after an extremelysuccessful IPL stint.

With 21 wickets in 17matches at an average of 21.8,the 19-year-old emerged as thesecond-highest wicket-takerbehind Australia's Andrew Tye(24) in the just-concluded IPL.

The leg-spinner is set tofeature in Afghanistan's historicTest debut against hosts Indiain Bengaluru next month.

"He's a world class player.We have seen that in this for-mat but it's great that he's goingto play some Test cricket. It isa challenge for anyone but anenjoyable challenge becausehe's up there with the top spin-ners in the game," Williamsonsaid after his side lost IPL titleclash to CSK.

+��� 5%�-%�

Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed said hefelt both surprised and proud after his

inexperienced side outplayed Englandduring a dominant nine-wicket win in thefirst Test at Lord's.

Victory, completed before lunch onthe fourth day, put Pakistan 1-0 up in atwo-match series ahead of the second Testat Headingley that starts on Friday.Pakistan's batsmen and bowlers appliedthemselves to the demands of playing anearly season Test in English conditions farmore effectively than the home side.

They caught better too, with Englanddropping several chances.

Man-of-the-match MohammadAbbas led Pakistan's attack with an over-all return of eight for 64, while fourPakistan batsmen hit fifties in a compet-itive first-innings 363.

"Yes, I am very surprised," saidSarfraz.

"If you look at the England team theyare very experienced but I am proud ofmy players." Wicket-keeper Sarfraz ledfrom the front in the field, holding anexcellent diving catch to dismiss DawidMalan on Saturday.

It was one example of the team's

much sharper performance after theirshoddy display during this month's five-wicket win over Test debutants Ireland inDublin, with Sarfraz saying it was a "cred-it" to the work of Pakistan fielding coachSteve Rixon, the former Australia wick-et-keeper.

"Ireland gave us a tough time and thathelped us prepare for this Test," Sarfrazadded.

"We thought that even if we lose weshould learn." As for Pakistan's batting,Sarfraz said: "The ball was moving, so nocredit is enough for the batsmen."

� �+���+������1��"�>� �Pakistan have been fined for a slow

over-rate in their first Test win overEngland at Lord's.

Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed hasbeen fined 60 per cent of his match fee,with the rest of the players fined 30 percent.

If Pakistan commits another offence

inside 12 months with Sarfraz as captain,he will be suspended.

In announcing the sanctions, theInternational Cricket Council said Sarfrazhad pleaded guilty and as such avoideda formal hearing.

The charge was levelled by on-fieldumpires Paul Reiffel and Rod Tucker,third umpire Bruce Oxenford and fourthumpire Rob Bailey.

��� ���� ���,������England have recalled Keaton

Jennings in place of struggling openerMark Stoneman for the second Testagainst Pakistan at Headingley starting onFriday.

That was the only change to a 12-mansquad announced by England onMonday.

Stoneman, who has been short ofruns for Surrey so far this season, man-aged just 13 in total across two inningsduring the first Test.

+��� *32/*4�#

Captain Tim Paine said his players would tryto build a new image during their tour of

England after a damaging ball-tampering scan-dal - but warned they weren't out to be "the nicestAustralian cricket team ever".

Paine said he was expecting an intensereception from English media for the limited-overstour, their first since the ball-tampering incidentin March left three players with long bans.

Paine and new coach Justin Langer are look-ing to reset Australia's reputation and turnaround a poor run of ODI results including 11defeats from 13 completed matches for the five-time World Cup winners.

Australia, who depart Monday, take on theworld's top-ranked ODI team in a five-matchseries without suspended batting superstarsDavid Warner and Steve Smith, as well as injuredpacemen Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins.

"Justin sat us down for a team meeting lastweek and spoke about the Australian cricket team'svalues, and what he expects," Paine told reportersin Brisbane on Monday.

"It's nothing that's brand new, nothing the guyshaven't heard before. It's purely about acting onwhat we know is the right thing to do and the rightway to play our cricket.

"We've had Spirit of Cricket documents, we'vehad Code of Conduct documents, but at the endof the day they mean nothing if you don't act onthem and you don't live by them.

"That's been a huge focus for us, has beenaround our actions, our behaviours and makingsure we live up to the standards that the Australiancricket team should."

��,!��� N�1����!�Australia have been further weakened for next

month's one-day international series in Englandfollowing the withdrawal of leading paceman JoshHazlewood, Cricket Australia said Monday.

Hazlewood, who was the most experiencedfast bowler in the one-day squad after injuries toStarc and Cummins, has been replaced byuncapped Michael Neser. Hazlewood was ruledout of the touring party with back trouble.

"Josh has been managing some low-level bonestress in his lumbar spine for a short period," CAphysiotherapist David Beakley said in a statement.

"He had a repeat scan and although it has notprogressed to a fracture he is starting to experi-ence some lower back pain.

"As such, we are taking a conservativeapproach and he will not travel to England for theone-day series."

Hazlewood shouldered a heavy workloadacross last southern season, playing in all fiveAshes Tests and the four Tests against South Africa.

����� �6�*42

Ajinkya Rahane is an eternal opti-mist, who is ready to find a silver

lining in everything, including hisrejection from India's limited oversteam.

He believes that being overlookedfor the limited overs leg of the UK tourwill give him more time to do hishomework for the big-ticket five-match Test series against England,starting August 1.

"It is important that you get timeto prepare yourself and clarity isimportant, when you know that youare not in ODI squad and you justgoing to play Test matches in England.I will get good amount of time for theAfghanistan Test and after that for theEngland tour," Rahane said on thesidelines of the CEAT Cricket Awards.

Even if there is an element of frus-tration, Rahane doesn't want to showthat.

"No, I am not at all frustrated;actually the thing is I can tell you thisis actually motivating me, because Iam actually looking to make a come-back. Right now, my focus is on Testcricket. I still believe that I can comeback and do well in shorter formatswith World Cup (2019) coming up."

While there are enough indica-tions that he has fallen off the radar asfar as India's limited overs scheme ofthings are concerned, Rahane is stillhopeful that he can turn the table.

"I still believe in myself. I did wellin ODI cricket whenever I got myopportunities. In West Indies, I gotman-of-the-series award (with fourhalf-centuries). Against Australia, I didreally well. In South Africa, the teammanagement asked me to bat at No 4and I did well, so it is just a matter of

time. I am still confident that I willmake a comeback and do well for mycountry in shorter format," the right-hander put up a brave front.

Pakistan may have wallopedEngland inside three and half days intheir first Test at the Lord's but thatdoesn't mean India will have it easywhen they embark on their gruellingfive-Test tour of the Old Blighty, feelsRahane.

Asked about England's compre-hensive defeat at the hands of Pakistanand its implications, a cautious Rahanesaid: "It is very hard to judge (England)right now. Playing in England at theirown backyard is always a challenge.Yes, Pakistan played very well. Theybowled and batted well but there is stillsometime to go for our series. We can'take England for granted as they can

comeback anytime."Before the England Test series,

Rahane will be leading India againstTest debutants Afghanistan in the his-toric one-off Test in Bengaluru, start-ing June 14.

"Right now, our focus should beon Afghanistan Test match and thenthink about England. We can by nomeans take Afghanistan lightly. Theworld accepts and respects RashidKhan as a quality bowler. Whether inlife or cricket, nothing can be takenfor granted," the stylish Mumbaikarsaid.

"Qualifying for a Test is the biggestthing for Afghanistan cricket andthat is good for cricket. We need to goout there and play with the good inten-sity like we play with every other team,"Rahane said.

+��� ,%14��#/*63��

Coach Ottis Gibson admitted on Mondaythat the retirement from International

cricket of AB de Villiers was a blow to SouthAfrica's hopes of winning the CricketWorld Cup next year.

Gibson revealed that he had spoken toDe Villiers the day before last week'sannouncement by the star batsman but hadbeen unable to convince him to change hismind.

"We had a conversation," said Gibson,who was briefing journalists ahead of theSouth African squad getting together toundergo their annual fitness and medicalassessments.

"He called me the morning before hemade the announcement," said Gibson. "Wehad a long conversation around whether hewas making the right decision. He reckonshe is. He has spoken to the people in his

close circle." Gibson said De Villiers' deci-sion had been a shock to him.

"He is one of the best players in theworld. He could have made a huge differ-ence in the World Cup and he knows that...He's chosen to walk away from the game atthis time and it is what it is." Gibson saidthe World Cup in England and Wales inJune 2019 was still a year away.

"We'll have to alter our plans obvious-ly but it gives us enough time to do that."De Villiers, 34, announced his retirementlast Wednesday, saying he was "tired" aftera 14-year international career during whichhe was hailed as one of the best players inthe game.

He said it had been a tough decision butthat "I would like to retire while still play-ing decent cricket".

"It's disappointing for the country andworld cricket that AB de Villiers is''t play-ing cricket anymore," said Gibson.

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India skipper Virat Kohli won theInternational Cricketer of the Year Award

at the CEAT Cricket Ratings awards whichwere presented here on Monday.

The 29-year-old Kohli had a memorablelast season with the bat. India openerShikhar Dhawan was presented theInternational Batsman of the Year Award,while New Zealand pace sensation TrentBoult won the International Bowler of theYear Award.

Afghanistan's leg spinner Rashid Khan,who impressed everyone with his skills in therecently concluded Indian Premier Leaguegrabbing 21 wickets, was presented with theT20 Bowler of the Year Award.

New Zealand's swashbuckling openingbatsman Colin Munro won the T20 Batsmanof the Year Award.

Indian cricketer Harmanpreet Kaur,who single handedly took the women's teamto the final of the ICC Women's World Cupwith her breath-taking knock of 171 not outagainst Australia in the semi-final, won theOutstanding Innings of the Year Award.

Mayank Agarwal, who had a dreamdomestic season with the bat for Karnataka,was given the Domestic Player of the YearAward.

Eighteen-year-old Shubhman Gill, whomade his mark in the U19 World Cup inAustralia was the U19 Player of the Year.

Swashbuckling West Indian batsmanChris Gayle was presented with the PopularChoice Award.

The Lifetime Achievement Award wasbestowed on former India stumper FarokhEngineer.