14 VIVACITY SC RIGHTS LGBTQ WRONGS - The … › uploads › 2018 › epaper › ...2018/09/07 · Ahead of the 10th anniver-sary of the 2008 Mumbai attack, they also called on Pakistan

PTI n NEW DELHI

Consensual gay sex is not acrime, the Supreme Court

ruled on Thursday, strikingdown a British-era law that itsaid violates the right to equal-ity, triggering celebrationsamong LGBTQ activists whowelcomed the judgment as aharbinger of a more inclusiveIndia. Parts of Section 377 ofthe Indian Penal Code, whichcriminalised consensual unnat-ural sex, are “irrational, inde-fensible and manifestly arbi-trary”, the SC said in its historicruling that made India the26th country in the worldwhere homosexuality is legal.

“History owes an apologyto members of the communi-

ty for the delay in ensuringtheir rights,” for denying themtheir rights and compellingthem to live a life of fear, saidJustice Indu Malhotra, whowas part of the five-judgeConstitution Bench headed byChief Justice Dipak Misra thatdelivered the judgment, cap-ping a 17-year legal struggle.

“It (Section 377) shroudsthe lives of the LGBT commu-nity in criminality and constantfear mars their joy of life. Theyconstantly face social prejudice,disdain and are subjected to theshame of being their very nat-ural selves. Thus, an archaic lawwhich is incompatible withconstitutional values cannotbe allowed to be preserved,” thecourt said.

However, in its 493-pagejudgment, the SC said aspectsof Section 377 dealing withunnatural sex with animalsand children remain in force.“Any kind of sexual activitywith animals shall remain apenal offence under Section377 of the IPC,” it said.

Delivering four separatebut concurring judgments, thetop court set aside its 2013 ver-dict which had re-criminalisedconsensual unnatural sex. TheSC Bench, which also com-prised Justices RF Nariman,AM Khanwilkar and DYChandrachud, struck downpart of Section 377 of the IPCas being violative of the right toequality and the right to livewith dignity. Dealing with a

clutch of petitions, it held thatSection 377 was used as aweapon to harass members ofthe Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual,Transgender and Queer(LGBTQ) community, result-ing in discrimination.

Across the country, gaypeople gathered in front of theirtelevision sets, waiting anx-iously for the verdict to beannounced. Tears flowed andpeople hugged each otherspontaneously, when the judg-

ment flashed across their tele-vision and mobile phonescreens. Many cut cakes andunfurled rainbow flags, a sym-bol of gay pride, to welcome theverdict, which also said society cannot dictate a sexu-al relationship between con-senting adults.

Filmmaker Karan Johar,who has often spoken out onthe issue of gay rights, said thejudgment was a “huge thumbsup” for humanity. “Historicaljudgment!!!! So proud today!Decriminalising homosexual-ity and abolishing #Section377is a huge thumbs up forhumanity and equal rights!The country gets its oxygenback!” he wrote on Twitter.

Continued on Page 6

OMER FAROOQ n HYDERABAD

Ending month of speculationand suspense, Telangana

Chief Minister KChandrasekhar Rao onThursday recommended thedissolution of the Assembly,paving the way for an earlyelection in the State.

The announcement camejust after Chandrasekhar Raoheld a brief State Cabinet meet-ing that passed a one-line res-olution for the Assembly dis-solution. After the meeting athis official residence, the CMdrove straight to the RajBhavan and submitted the res-olution to Governor ESLNarasimhan. Accepting therecommendation, theGovernor asked KCR to con-tinue as the caretaker CM.

The decision to dissolve theTelangana Legislative Assembly

has come into effect withLegislature SecretaryNarasimha Charyulu issuing agazette notification.

KCR later called on ChiefElectoral Officer Rajath Kumarand formally handed him overthe notification informing himabout the dissolution.

A confident and gung-hoKCR later declared at a Pressconference that he expects thefresh elections to 119-memberAssembly will be held inNovember, along with a fewother States and the results willbe announced in the first weekof December.

Giving the reasons for opt-ing for early polls, at least ninemonths before they were due,KCR said, “We decided to go tothe people now to put an endto political fragility in the Statecaused by senseless, baseless,mindless and meaningless alle-gations of Opposition.”

He said the Opposition’s“baseless” allegations of cor-ruption in drinking water andirrigation projects are impact-ing the development of theState and creating confusion.

With this curtains weredrawn on the first LegislativeAssembly of Telangana, theyoungest State of India. Thefirst Government of the State,headed by KCR, had taken oathon June 2, 2014.

KCR ruled out any confu-sion on when the election willbe held. “There is no need forany confusion. I kept this tomyself but the fact is that beforethe decision to dissolve theAssembly was taken we dis-cussed every possibility with theChief Election Commissionerand the other election com-missioners,” he said.

Continued on Page 6

New Delhi: The Supreme Courton Thursday took strong excep-tion to the statement of a seniorpolice officer on the arrest of fiverights activists in connectionwith the Koregaon-Bhima vio-lence case, saying he had cast“aspersions” on the top court.

The court also extended itsearlier order saying the rightsactivists — Varavara Rao, ArunFerreira, Vernon Gonsalves,Sudha Bharadwaj and GautamNavlakha — would remainunder house arrest tillSeptember 12, when it will take

up the plea filed by historianRomila Thapar and four othersin the case.

A visibly angry Justice DYChandrachud, who along withJustice AM Khanwilkar waspart of a Bench headed byChief Justice Dipak Misra,referred to the statements madeto the media by an AssistantCommissioner of Police ofPune and said he was castingaspersions on the apex court bysaying that it should not haveentertained the plea.

“I watched the Press brief-

ing by the AssistantCommissioner, Pune, whichinsinuated that the SupremeCourt should not have inter-vened at this stage. He has nobusiness saying that and cast-ing aspersions on the SupremeCourt Judges,” JusticeChandrachud said.

Additional SolicitorGeneral Tushar Mehta, representing MaharashtraGovernment, immediatelyapologised for the action of thepolice officer.

Continued on Page 6

PNS n NEW DELHI

Reaffirming their commit-ment to fight the scourge of

terrorism, India and the US onThursday urged Pakistan toensure that its territory is notused to launch terror attacksand bring to justice perpetratorsof acts of terrorism, especiallyin Mumbai, Uri and Pathankot.

Making this assertion dur-ing the maiden 2+2 dialoguehere between External Affairsand Defence Ministers of Indiaand the US respectively, the twocountries also signed the longawaited Communications,Compatibility, SecurityAgreement (COMCASA)enabling the Indian armedforces to access encrypted tech-nology for various weapon plat-forms, including aircraft fromthe US. The two sides alsoagreed to hold the first-ever tri-service joint exercise on the EastCoast of India next year.

Among other issues, thecontentious H1b visa and

India’s bid to enter NuclearSuppliers Group (NSG) alsocame up. Further enhancinggrowing strategic partnership,the two countries also decidedto set up hotlines between theExternal and Defence Ministersof two countries.

The path-breaking 2+2dialogue was held betweenExternal Affairs MinisterSushma Swaraj, DefenceMinister Nirmala Sitharamanand their US counterpartsMichael Pompeo and JamesMattis respectively. Both thesides discussed the entire range of strategic issuesconcerning the two nations,growing defence ties, cross-border terrorism and furtherboosting interaction betweenthe two militaries.

Later talking to theAmerican media here, Pompeosaid the US will work out waysto avoid slapping sanction onIndia over the Russian defencedeal as the US does not want tohurt its strategic partner.

Issuing a terse warning toPakistan, the “Ministersdenounced any use of terroristproxies in the region, and inthis context, they called onPakistan to ensure that theterritory under its control is notused to launch terrorist attackson other countries,” a jointstatement said.

Ahead of the 10th anniver-sary of the 2008 Mumbaiattack, they also called onPakistan to expeditiously bringto justice the perpetrators of theMumbai, Pathankot (2016),Uri (2016), and other cross-border terrorist attacks, thestatement said.

Continued on Page 6

Historical judgment!!!! So proudtoday! Decriminalisinghomosexuality and abolishing#Section377 is a huge thumbs up forhumanity and equal rights! The countrygets its oxygen back! KARAN JOHAR

Welcome today’s landmark ruling by the SC.Sexual orientation & gender expression forman integral part of an individual’s identity theworld over; violence, stigma & discrimination basedon these attributes constitute an egregious violationof human rights UNITED NATIONS

All the lawyers and judges who have worked onthis are the people to be interviewed andthanked. I am nobody but they are the people tobe thanked. It is a massive time to celebrateKESHAV SURI, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OFLALIT GROUP OF HOTELS AND PETITIONER

We were granted a basichuman right today andwe can’t express justhow happy we areLGBTQ ACTIVISTANJALI NAZIA

In first 2+2 talks, India, US ask

Pak to raze terror launch pads

2 nations discuss H1b visa,NSG entry; Pompeo says

will work out ways to avertsanction over Russia deal

SC extends Maoist sympathisers’

house arrest till Sept 12 hearing

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, USSecretary of State Michael Pompeo and US Secretary of Defence James Mattisbefore India-US 2 + 2 Dialogue in New Delhi on Thursday PTI

Gay rights activists celebrate in Mumbai on Thursday AP

PNS n NEW DELHI

Bharat Bandh called by someupper caste and OBC out-

fits on Thursday got massiveresponse in the poll-boundHindi heartland States ofMadhya Pradesh and Rajasthanas well as politically crucialStates of Uttar Pradesh andBihar. But the shutdown hadlukewarm impact elsewhere inthe country.

Nearly 50 outfits had calledthe one-day bandh to protestagainst the amendment lastmonth to the Scheduled Castesand Scheduled Tribes(Prevention of Atrocities) Act.The amendment Bill passed byParliament had nullified the‘safeguards’ ordered by theSupreme Court against arrestswithout a preliminary enquiryunder the SC/ST law.

Incidentally in Varanasi,which is Prime MinisterNarendra Modi’s Parliamentaryconstituency, the bandh callreceived an overwhelming

response with majority of shopsremaining closed.

Trains were stopped andhighways blocked briefly inBihar while shops downed shut-ters in some northern States toprotest against the recentamendment to the SC/ST Act.Shops, schools and other com-mercial establishments wereclosed in parts of Bihar,Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh,Uttar Pradesh and Punjab.

While Madhya PradeshChief Minister Shivraj SinghChouhan appealed to the peo-ple saying the State is an islandof peace and no one should try

to disrupt the harmony, UttarPradesh Chief Minister YogiAdityanath said the bandh hasno meaning.

Six policemen were hurtwhen they confronted protest-ers blocking traffic in UP’sBallia district. In Agra too, pro-testers blocked traffic andshops remained shut. But thebandh was largely peaceful inthe State.

However, a report fromBallia said BJP MLA fromBairia, Surendra Singh, came out openly in support ofthe bandh.

Continued on Page 6

Shutdown call by

upper castes & OBC

against draconian

provisions gets low

response elsewhere

Bandh against SC/ST Acta hit in poll-bound States

Several upper caste organisation activists raise slogans and burn tyres during‘Bharat Bandh’ protest, in Varanasi, on Thursday PTI

For me, the verdict is like getting a marriageoffer after retirement. I am saying this frommy life’s experience as I haven’t given heedto the previous law criminalising usMANABI BANDOPADHYAY, WEST BENGAL’STRANSGENDER DEVELOPMENT BOARD VC

Court decriminalises gay sex, says history owes apology to community, but retains Sec 377 provision on bestiality;India becomes 26th country to legalise homosexuality

SC RIGHTS LGBTQ WRONGS

BATTLE OF THE OTHER SEXES:

Road to legal protection

TRS chief confident

of elections in Nov

2001: Naaz Foundation, an NGOfighting for gay rights, files PIL inDelhi HC seeking legalisation ofgay sex among consenting adults

Sep 2004: HC dismisses the PIL; Gay right activists file review petition

Nov 3, 2004: HC dismisses reviewpetition

Dec 2004: Gay rights activistsapproach SC against the HC order

Apr 3, 2006: SC remands the caseback to HC, directs it to reconsiderthe matter on merit

Sep 26: The Centre says gay sexis immoral and a reflection of aperverse mind and itsdecriminalisation would lead tomoral degradation of society

Oct 15: HC pulls up the Centre forrelying on religious texts to justifyban on gay sex and asks it tocome up with scientific reports tojustify it

Nov: Govt in its writtensubmission before HC saysjudiciary should refrain frominterfering in the issue as it isbasically for Parliament to decide

Dec 11, 2013: SC sets aside 2009Delhi HC order which had

decriminalised gay sex

Jan 28, 2014: SC refuses toreview its verdict on criminalisinggay sex, dismisses pleas ofCentre, activists

Apr 3, 2014: SC agrees toconsider an open court hearing oncurative petitions filed by gayrights activists against its verdictcriminalising homosexuality

Aug 24, 2017: SC declares rightto privacy a fundamental rightunder the Constitution, alsoobserves that “sexual orientationis an essential attribute of privacy”

Jan 8, 2018: SC agrees toreconsider its 2013 decision andrefers to a larger Bench the pleachallenging 377 of the IPC. Later,20 former and current students ofthe IITs join the fight againstsection 377 of IPC

July 11: Centre leaves it to thewisdom of SC to decide thevalidity of Section 377

July 12: SC rejects demand for areferendum over constitutionalvalidity of Section 377 saying itwould not go by majority opinion

Sep 6: Constitution benchunanimously decriminalises partof Section 377 of the IPC whichcriminalises consensual unnaturalsex, saying it violated the right toequality

Early poll gainsin mind, KCRdissolves House

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14 VIVACITY

PNS n LUCKNOW

Defending his party’s standon the SC/ST Act, Chief

Minister Yogi Adityanath saidthe Scheduled Caste andScheduled Tribe (Prevention ofAtrocities) Act would not bemisused in Uttar Pradeshbecause the Bharatiya JanataParty never plays politics ofcaste or gives patronage toany particular caste.

Talking to reporters inGonda on Thursday, where hehad gone to visit the flood-affected villages and reviewrelief operations, YogiAdityanath said the BJP wouldnever play politics for dividingsociety in the name of caste,

community or religion.“The law is to protect the

downtrodden. This govern-ment will not allow misuse ofSC/ST Act at any cost,” he saidwhile reacting to the BharatBandh call given by uppercaste organisations to protestthe recent amendments to theScheduled Caste andScheduled Tribe (Prevention ofAtrocities) Act by Parliamentto overturn a Supreme Courtjudgement. Commenting onthe Bharat Bandh against theSC/ST Act, the call for whichwas given by some upper casteorganisations, the ChiefMinister said it had no rele-vance, adding that the IndianConstitution gave every citizen

enough rights to protect them-selves. “In a democracy, everyindividual has the right toprotest and voice his griev-ances. As long as this is doneas per the constitutional pro-vision it is acceptable. As aChief Minister it is my assur-ance that no one will beharassed (under the SC/STAct),” he said.

Earlier in the day, the ChiefMinister inspected the flood-affected region, includingKateria-Chandpur in Basti,and distributed relief amongthe people. He handed overflood relief material to 50 fam-ilies and said the governmentwas concerned for the well-being of the affected people.

SC/ST Act not to be misused in UP: CM

city 02LUCKNOW | FRIDAY | SEPTEMBER 7, 2018

Lucknow (PNS): Rejecting the claims of Muslims on RamJanmabhoomi, Jagatguru Shankaracharya of Dwarka-Shardapeeth, Swami Swaroopanand Saraswati, said that only saints couldconstruct the temple in Ayodhya. “All the claims of the Muslim sideabout the presence of mosque at Ayodhya will fall flat. Neither Babarnor Mir Baki came to Ayodhya, then how could the mosque bebuilt on their names,” he said in Mathura on Thursday.

The Shankaracharya said that the disputed structure that wasdemolished on December 6, 1992 had ‘mangal kalash’ and a pic-ture of Hanumanji and there was no well for ablutions by the namazisor a minar for azan. “These things prove that it was a temple andnot a mosque,” he said.

Talking to reporters, the Shankaracharya said some wrong infor-mation was circulated that it was a mosque while during excava-tion, old statues of gods were recovered, which also proved that itwas a temple and not a mosque. He said that political parties andpoliticians in the government could not construct a temple as itwould be against the oath they took while becoming minister. “TheIndian Constitution does not allow any government to constructtemple, mosque or church as it is a secular country,” he said. TheShankaracharya did not spare BJP and said its aim was to grab powerby exploiting the sentiments. He also appealed to Muslims to leavethe claim on the disputed site in Ayodhya and make efforts to reviveall old mosques in the country that were in dilapidated condition.

PNS n LUCKNOW

Industry Minister Satish Mahana saidthat many foreign investors had

expressed their willingness to invest invarious projects of Uttar Pradesh as theybelieved that the face of the state hadchanged after improvement in infra-structure.

Mahana was speaking to a selectgroup of reporters on Thursday after hisreturn from Singapore where he attend-ed the Invest North-2018 organised bythe CII. “We showcased the potential ofthe state in real estate, aerospace,defence, renewable energy, health andpharma, and tourism sectors. We alsohighlighted the sops being given by thestate government to investors, that haveturned UP into the most favoured des-tinations of the industrialists,” he said.

Mahana was accompanied withChief Secretary Anup Chandra Pandey.Both of them attended the conclave inSingapore on September 3 and 4 andinvited investors to invest in the state.

“We talked about the Investors’Summit organised by the governmentand how within months, foundation

stones of projects worth `60,000 crorewere laid,” he said, adding that theinvestors appreciated the speed withwhich the government had acted.

The Industry Minister said thatmany investors, like managing directorof Yash Group Ved Krishna, narratedtheir experiences which confirmedthat the present political dispensationin Uttar Pradesh was pro-investor.

The minister also mentioned thenames of Jakson group chairmanSameer Gupta and Lohia Group chair-man Raj Kumar Lohia for appreciatingthe UP government from the dais forits efforts to attract investments.

Mahana said that in 2016,Singapore exported items worth `9 bil-lion to India and now it could furtherboost trade ties by making invest-ments in UP.

Chief Secretary and IndustrialDevelopment Commissioner AnupChandra Pandey said that UP’s perfor-mance in the conclave was excellent andthey were hopeful of receiving invest-ments in the near future from industri-alists who participated in the Singaporemeet.

PNS n LUCKNOW

Six policemen were injuredand the protesters stoppeda train in Kanpur during

the ‘Bharat Bandh’ against theSC/ST Act that evoked mixedresponse on Thursday.

The call for ‘Bharat Bandh’was given by some upper casteorganisations in protest againstthe recent amendments to theScheduled Caste and ScheduledTribe (Prevention ofAtrocities) Act by Parliamentto overturn a Supreme Courtjudgement.

Barring minor clashes atsome places, life was by-and-large normal despite the bandh.Reports from districts acrossthe state said life remained nor-mal and all educational institu-tions, essential servicesremained unaffected andmajority of business establish-ments also opened aroundnoon on Thursday.

Minor clashes were report-ed from Ballia, Agra andKanpur where protesters hadarguments with the membersof law enforcing agencies.However, the cops caned thetrouble-makers and chasedthem away.

In Kanpur, the protestersstopped an intercity train atPanki railway station, but fledwhen the GRP and RPF per-sonnel reached the spot.

A heavy police force wasdeployed in Gorakhpur, wherethe protesters blocked theGorakhpur-Varansi nationalhighway for three hours, affect-ing traffic movement.

In Sonebhadra district, thebandh had a good response,with minor incidents betweenthe protestors and shopkeepersbeing reported from someplaces.

About 50 protesters weretaken into custody after a clashin Robertsganj town, in whicha young girl suffered minorburns, according to sub-divi-sional magistrate Sadab Alam.

A report from Ballia saidthat BJP MLA from Bairia,Surendra Singh, came outopenly in support of thebandh. “Upper-caste peoplemade me MLA and not

Muslims and Dalits. I am readyto sacrifice for the upper caste.If my upper caste supportersask me I can also resign (frommy seat) for their sake,” Singhsaid.

Some bandh supportershad heated arguments withBJP MLA Anand SwarupShukla from Ballia Sadar, whorefused to back them. Balliadistrict police chief Sriparna

Ganguly said some peopleresorted to brick-batting inwhich six policemen wereinjured.

Normal life was affected inAgra where shops in mainmarkets remained shut andagitators in several parts of thecity blocked traffic. The admin-istration deployed additionalsecurity forces to prevent anyuntoward incidents. At oneplace, the police resorted tolathicharge after some protest-ers tried to damage a bus.Various lawyers associationwhich announced support tothe bandh also organised meet-ing and attacked the BJP gov-ernment for introducing therevised SC/ST Act which theysaid would only result inharassment of the upper castemembers.

In Lucknow, advocatesstaged a protest atMohanlalganj tehsil office.

Protesters burnt the effigyof the government inKushinagar, whereas studentsstaged protest at Sant VinobaBhave Degree College inDeoria and submitted a mem-orandum at the district magis-trate’s office.

In Etah, the protestersgheraoed the house of MLAfrom Jalesar, Sanjeev Diwakar,who had to call the police.

The Supreme Court had onMarch 20 ruled out immediatearrests under the SC/ST Actand suggested a preliminaryinquiry to ensure the allega-tions were not frivolous and toavoid the false implication ofinnocent persons. It also heldthat a government officialcould not be prosecuted underthe SC/ST Act without thesanction of the appointingauthority.

This decision had trig-gered nationwide protests byDalit organisations, forcing theCentre to amend the SC/ST Actduring the monsoon session ofParliament to overrule the apexcourt order.

PNS n LUCKNOW

Samajwadi Party presidentAkhilesh Yadav blamed the

Bharatiya Janata Party for thecontroversy over SC/ST Act,saying that the ruling party wasplaying caste politics for elec-toral gain.

“People are already facinghardships due to inflation,poor implementation of Goodsand Services Tax and demon-etisation. Now the ScheduledCaste and Scheduled Tribe(Prevention of Atrocities) Actissue, which has been raked upjust before elections in severalstates, is another attempt todivert the attention of the peo-ple from price hike and otherissues,” Akhilesh said.

Talking to media personshere on Thursday beforeattending the meeting of Sainikcell of his party, Akhilesh Yadavsaid that the BJP only wantedvotes and for this it could go to

any extent.“The BJP thinks that it will

get more votes by misleadingpeople and dividing them oncaste and religion lines,” he said.

Attacking the BJP govern-ment at the Centre over the ris-ing prices of petroleum prod-ucts, the SP president said:“This government is not con-cerned about the plight of thepeople. They are sufferingbecause the prices of petrol anddiesel have almost touched thethree digit figure. One line ofthinking is that the governmentis making huge profit at thecost of people.”

Criticising the YogiAdityanath government in UPfor trying to take extra mileagethrough the Kumbh Mela nextyear, Akhilesh said, “The BJPshould know that Kumbh wasstarted by Raja Harshvardhanof Kannauj and in Kumbh noone is invited. You attend theKumbh for your religious faith

but the BJP this time is chang-ing the tradition.”

The SP president was react-ing to the Chief Minister’sstatement that the governmenthad invited one person fromeach village across India to takepart in this religious event.

Akhilesh Yadav also saidthat the BJP always followedthe path shown by the peopleof Kannauj, saying that whenhis government organised theKumbh in 2013, HarvardUniversity conducted aresearch on how such a largenumber of people attend thereligious congregation with-out any invitation.

Meanwhile, the SP presidentsaid that the party was prepar-ing for the 2019 Lok Sabha elec-tion in a big way and the partyworkers and leaders would reachevery voter. “We will take uppeople-oriented issues and makepeople aware how the BJP hasditched them,” he said.

Lucknow (PNS): Special Task Force (STF)sleuths arrested seven members of a gang dup-ing unemployed youth by offering them jobs inIRCTC. Five of those arrested hail from Bihar. Thegang was active in Uttar Pradesh and in Bihar.

Acting on a tip-off that some youths were run-ning a fake job racket and duping innocent youthsby offering them jobs in IRCTC, the sleuths ofthe Agra unit of STF raided the Agra Cantonmentrailway station and arrested seven members ofthe gang on Thursday morning. The chiefregional manager of the IRCTC, had com-plained to STF about the racket.

The STF team recovered 18 appointment let-ters, 17 offer letters, 8 dispatch envelopes, sixcheques of `12,82 lakhs and `38,400 in cashbesides identity cards, Aadhaar cards and othereducational documents of over hundred job aspi-rants. The arrested gang members were grilled bysenior officers after which they revealed their iden-tities as Manoj Kumar Srivastava, DineshChandra, both hailing from Kannauj, KunjanKumar, Saket Bihari, Prince Kumar Tewari,Jitendra and Ajay Kumar Shah, all hailing fromdifferent districts of Bihar. The gang used to tar-get unemployed youths in rural areas andassured them of jobs in the IRCTC. After the vic-tims fell in their trap, they first gave them offerletters and later after collecting `6-7 lakh theyissued appointment letters and left the district.They have cheated over a hundred youths.

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Life normal in UP during ‘Bharat Bandh’

Bharatiya Arakshan Mukti Morcha members staging demonstration during ‘Bharat Bandh’ in Kanpur on Thursday Pioneer

A conspiracy against BJP: MauryaPNS n LUCKNOW

Deputy Chief MinisterKeshav Prasad Maurya on

Thursday said the ‘BharatBandh’ against the SC/ST Actwas a political conspiracyagainst the Bharatiya JanataParty and an attempt to malignthe image of the ruling party.

“The people behind this‘Bharat Bandh’ are trying totake political mileage and thus,they are trying to conspire andconfuse the members of theupper castes,” he said.

“The SC/ST Act was passedin Parliament with the supportof all parties but now conspira-cy is being hatched againstPrime Minister Narendra Modito prevent him from retainingpower in 2019,” Maurya saidwhile talking to the media hereon Thursday.

Maurya said the conspira-cy started from MadhyaPradesh, where elections are duesoon. “Political people areengaged in the protest and theyare trying to defame theBharatiya Janata Party over theissue. This is not right,” he saidwhile claiming that the govern-ment would not allow harass-ment of any caste or communi-ty, whether it was upper caste,backwards or Dalits.

Asserting that the govern-ment would not allow misuse ofthe SC/ST Act at any cost,Maurya said that no one wouldbe allowed to commit atrocitiesagainst the Dalits or tribals.

The Deputy Chief Minister,who in the past couple of daysheld meetings with backwardleaders of the BJP in the statecapital, said the party would con-nect with the backwards and

other communities.“We have even connected

with Muslims in a big way. It isBJP which is fighting for theMuslim women who areharassed in the name of tripletalaq,” he said.

Meanwhile, the CommunistParty of India (Marxist-Leninist)criticised a certain section ofsociety for protesting against theSC/ST Act, which, it said, pro-tected Dalits and tribals fromharassment.

CPI (ML) state secretarySudhakar Yadav, in a statementhere on Thursday, claimed that‘Bharat Bandh’ was a total fail-ure. It said that Bharatiya JanataParty and RashtriyaSwayamsewak Sangh werebehind the forces who gave thecall for ‘Bharat Bandh’ and weretrying to threaten the Dalits andtribals.

Shrikant: New power connectionsto 35 lakh households in 45 daysPNS n LUCKNOW

With the aim to providelight to every household

by December 31 this year,Power Minister ShrikantSharma said that new powerconnections would be given to35 lakh new consumers in thenext 45 days to meet the target.

The government hasalready given electricity connec-tions to 48 lakh new consumersduring the past five months butaround 1.18 crore householdsare yet to get legal power sup-ply. “We have initiated a majorinfrastructure-building processand will be completing installa-tion of AB conductor cable in allvillages in place of traditionalelectric wire by 2021 to checkpower theft in rural areas. Forthis, the UP government hastaken a loan of Rs 10,000 crorefrom ADB (Asian DevelopmentBank),” Sharma said while talk-ing to this reporter.

Sharma said the govern-ment was committed to givepower connections to all house-holds in rural or urban areas.

“We have drawn up a chartand fixed a target till the year2034 to provide adequate powerto the people of the state forwhich we have started increas-ing the grid capacity by 3000MW every year. The total capac-ity now is 22,500 MW whereasit was 18,500 MW during thepast one year,” Sharma said.

The minister said that toprovide better facilities to theconsumers in bigger cities thegovernment had made NationalCapital Region (NCR),Lucknow, Kanpur and Varanasicities tripping-free zones in thefirst phase while in the secondphase 48 more cities would beadded to the list.

He added that the govern-ment was very strict on power

theft and would be launchingpower police stations in all the75 districts, probably inDecember.

“These power police sta-tions will be instrumental inpunishing the offenders and ifrequired they can also bookthem under the NationalSecurity Act,” he said.

Sharma also announcedthat by 2022-end, all the ruralconsumers would be covered bypre-paid meters and the urbanconsumers by smart meters.

“The entire expenditure onthe installation of the pre-paidand smart meters would beborne by the state governmentand the consumers would nothave to pay for it,” he said.

The minister said the Powerdepartment had already testedthe smart meters and around 40lakh such meters would beinstalled starting fromNovember this year in the firstphase.

“We will also purchase onecrore pre-paid meters to beinstalled in the rural areas,” headded.

Explaining the benefit ofsmart meters, Sharma said, ‘’Itwill end the problem of faultybills due to human intervention,prevent power theft and allconsumers will know theirpower usage and control itthrough mobile app.’’

The minister said the gov-ernment had started competi-tive bidding to purchase powerto end the high rate of powerpurchase by the previous gov-ernments in the state.

“At present the average pur-chase rate of power is ̀ 3.86 perunit — the lowest being `0.63per unit from hydro projectsand the highest `8.58 per unitfrom 16 private companies,” hesaid, adding that the purchaseprice had come down in thestate and was `4.12 per unit in2016-17.

BJP to blame for SC/ST Act

controversy: Akhilesh

Swaroopanand rejects Muslims’Ayodhya claim

Foreign investors keen to

invest in UP, says Mahana

Lucknow (PNS): At least18 people were killed in rain-related incidents in the statesince Wednesday night.

Eight persons died inFaizabad and Unnao, twodeaths each were reported inGonda and Rampur, and onedeath each in Auraiya, Hardoi,Meerut, Etah, Kaushambi andGhazipur, officials said.

With the trough line of thesouth west monsoon shiftingfrom UP, the rains will decreasefrom Friday. The state, whichwas witnessing a good spell ofrains, will get moderate rains inthe next twenty four hours.

Lucknow received lightshowers on Thursday afternoonwhich decreased the temperature.

The Central WaterCommission said all the majorrivers were flowing in spate.The Ganga, Ram Ganga,Sharda, Ghaghra and Quanowere above the danger mark atdifferent places.

18 killed in rain-related incidents

7 held for runningrailway job racket


AIIMS-Ph.D. PROGRAMME-JULY 2018 SESSIONAll India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi invites Online

applications for Entrance Examination through online (CBT)Mode in Delhi/NCR for admission in Ph.D. Programme July 2018session. The details are given below:

Date for Online Registration of applicationsName of Course Opens on Closes onPh. D. Programme 10.09.2018 24.09.2018 at 05:00 PM

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Ph. D. Programme 13.10.2018 10:00 AM to 11:30 AM Delhi/NCR

Important : For Prospectus, detailed information etc. please visitthe website www.aiimsexams.org. All applicants are required tovisit the website regularly since all subscquent Corrigendum/Addendum/Updates will be uploaded on the website only.

ASSISTANT CONTROLLER (EXAMS)

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ALL INDIA INSTITUTE OF MEDICAL SCIENCESANSARI NAGAR, NEW DELHI-110608

EXAMINATION SECTIONAdmission Notice No. 71/2018

PIONEER NEWS SERVICE n LUCKNOW

Pahal, an organisation ofLGBT community mem-

bers with its 100 members onThursday assembled at GPO tocelebrate the historic SupremeCourt verdict decriminalisingconsensual gay sex. They cut acake, raised slogans and evendanced to express their happi-ness terming it their victory.

Talking to The Pioneer,head of the organisationDervesh Singh said they hadfinally won the battle whichthey had been fighting. “Thiswill bring about more changesin future. We had beendemanding decriminalisationof some parts of Article 377 fora long time,” he said.

Several women organisa-tions also hailed the historicapex court verdict. Activistand former LucknowUniversity Vice-ChancellorRoop Rekha Verma said shewas happy that such a progres-sive and egalitarian stand hadbeen taken by the apex court.“I have always maintained thatprivate choices of individuals insexual preferences based onmutual consent with no harmto the third person shouldalways be respected and itmakes this decision progressiveand historic,” she asserted.

When asked if it will also

reflect in social change, she saidit would take place at a differ-ent level. “However, it was a bighurdle which has beenremoved with this decision.The LGBT community willfeel more confident and soci-ety will accept it gradually,” she

said.Renu Mishra, a lawyer

fighting for women rights, saidthat the decision was historicand would be appreciated theworld over. “It is like givingfundamental rights of individ-uals and is happening 70 years

after independence. It vali-dates the relationship betweentwo individuals of the same sextogether because of mutualconsent,” she said.

She pointed out that thelaw was introduced by theBritishers in 1860. “To prose-

cute people for their personalchoice was against the idea offundamental rights,” she added.

Asked if it would make adifference to the social sce-nario, she said it would becauseall changes began with legalchanges. “It was strange that

uptill now, two adults in a con-sensual relationship were notbeing allowed to live togetherthough non-consensual adultsof different sex were beingforced to live together,” shepointed out.

She said law played a majorrole in bringing about socialchanges. “Not only will it makethe LGBT community moreconfident about but this changewill also go a long way inchanging the mindsets where-in non-consenting individualsare forced to marry as they hidetheir sexual preferences,” shesaid.

Madhu Garg from AllIndia Democratic Women'sAssociation (AIDWA) saidthey welcomed the SupremeCourt decision as it was an oldcolonial law prevailing for solong. “Members of the LGBTcommunity have a differentkind of orientation and theyshould be given the freedom tofollow their choices and berespected for the same,” sheadded.

Tahira Husain fromAIPWA (All India ProgressiveWomen’s Association) said thatthe SC decision was extreme-ly progressive. “This is a his-toric decision in for the fact thatthe LGBT community faced alot of harassment and bullying,”she said.

LGBT community’s joy knows no bounds


The call for ‘Bharat Bandh’given by all groups andassociations demanding

abolition of the SC/ST Actfailed to evoke any response inthis capital city as it remainedby and large peaceful onThursday.

A brief protest was madeby the supporters of Muslim,general and minority groups atthe GPO in Hazratganj.Spearheading the protest thesupporters demanded that theSC and ST Act should bescrapped to end the prevailingbias. The protesters holdingplacards raised slogans anddemanded the abolition of the

SC and ST Act. Later, they forwarded their

memorandum demanding theimmediate scrapping of the SCand ST Act to the security offi-cials. The protest lasted for afew hours and ended peaceful-ly. The district administrationhad made elaborate securityarrangements keeping theBharat Bandh in mind.Meanwhile the administrativeofficials maintained that thecity remained peaceful till lateevening and witnessed routineworking. The bandh call failedto evoke any response as thedistrict administration hadmade elaborate securityarrangements at the prominentmarkets. However, the busy

places like Aminabad, Chowk,Indiranagar, Bhootnath,Kapoorthala and Gomti Nagarand other areas witnessed rou-tine business as usual. The callfor Bharat bandh was given bythe organisations opposing theSC and ST Act as the traders’unions preferred to keep theirshops open maintaining thatthey were not against the pro-visions of the aforementionedAct. Sandeep Bansal, presi-dent of the UP VyaparSangathan, stated that thetraders and shopkeepers werenot involved in any BharatBandh call given by its support-ing associations. However, hemaintained that they were notagainst the welfare of any class.

Tepid response to

bandh call in Lko

Members of an association demanding abolition of the SC/ST Act protesting in Jankipuram on Thursday Pioneer


Passengers travelling by abus plying on contract with

roadways had a providentialescape after it hurtled down atrench in Itaunja on Thursday.The injured passengers wererushed to a hospital and dis-charged after being adminis-tered first aid.

As per reports, the Sitapur-bound bus met the mishapwhen the driver swerved it toavoid hitting a girl who wascrossing the road with ear-phones plugged-in in Arjunganj village. As the busreached the edge, the driver gotnervous and it hurtled downthe trench alongside the road.

The passengers sufferedinjuries and some of themreportedly fell unconscious inpanic. Villagers rushed to thescene and tried to put the busback on the road, but in vain.Later, a police team reached thescene and rescued the passen-gers. The passengers who hadsuffered bruises and woundswere rushed to hospital.

A police spokesman saidthat the injured passengerswere discharged from the hos-pital after first aid. “We helpedthem in getting other mode oftransport to their destination,”he said. No FIR was registeredin this connection, he said,adding the girl who came infront of the bus all of a suddenwas yet to be identified. Overa dozen passengers suffered

minor injuries in the mishap.Meanwhile, a man, identi-

fied as Upendra Rawat (40) ofGangaganj village inGosainganj, was fatallyknocked down by a train. Thevictim had left his house toattend nature’s call. Police saidvictim’s uncle Ram Khelawanof Gangaganj identified thebody. “On Thursday, the policegot a memo from a railwayemployee of Anoopganj stationin Gosainganj about the inci-dent and a team was sent there.The police contacted the vil-lagers and the body was iden-tified,” the police spokesmansaid, ruling out the possibilityof foul play. However, he saidthat the body had been sent forautopsy. “The family of thedeceased has also not suspect-ed any foul play,” he added.

Lucky escape for passengers as bus skids into trench

The Sitapur-

bound bus met

the mishap

when the driver

swerved it to

avoid hitting a

girl who was

crossing the

road with

earphones

plugged-in


Aday after she createdruckus at the Lucknow

SSP’s camp office, a woman gotassurance from the police thather case would be taken up.She was dumped by her hus-band, who is a constable,allegedly for dowry. Circleofficer, Cantonment, TanuUpadhyay summoned the con-stable, identified as Vikas, tohear his side of the story andhe was asked to make amendswith his wife. “However, theconstable is not ready for rap-prochement on the issue andnot willing to live with his wifeat any cost,” the CO said.

She said she had recom-mended a departmentalinquiry against the constable inview of the allegation againsthim. “We will write to theBaghpat police to recommendan FIR against the constableand others named in the appli-cation given by the woman,”she added. On Wednesdayevening, the woman, alongwith her kin, reached the SSPcamp office and sought anaudience from the top cop. Asshe was denied the same, shestarted crying and threatenedto end her life. It was only afterthis that the cops presentreceived her application. Asmediapersons were presentthere for the routine briefing,the police were visibly underpressure and they allowed thewoman to meet the SSP. Later,the SSP tasked theCantonment CO with con-ducting a probe and submit-ting a report. In her complaint,the woman accused her hus-

band and his relatives of tortur-ing her for dowry and drivingher out of the house. “We gotmarried in 2017 and my par-ents gave over Rs 6 lakh in cashto Vikas and his family for pur-chasing a car. However, afteraround a fortnight, Vikas andhis family started to harass mefor dowry,” she alleged.

She also accused Vikas’relative of rape attempt. “InMarch earlier this year, a rela-tive of Vikas attempted to rapeme when I was all alone in myGhaziabad house. When I

complained to Vikas, he triedto strangle me with my dupat-ta,” she alleged.

The woman also accused apolice inspector of passinglewd comments and sendingindecent messages to her. Shesaid that the police were yet toaddress her complaint regard-ing the rape attempt by Vikas’kin and lewd remarks by theinspector. A police spokesmansaid the complaint would beaddressed after a case was reg-istered against Vikas and oth-ers named by the woman.


The body of a missing 38-year-old man was recov-

ered from a pond in Itaunja onThursday, fuelling speculationthat he might have been doneto death. Police claimed thatthe man died of drowning andsent the body for autopsy toclear the cause of death.

As per reports, SiddharthSingh alias Ajay Singh ofUsrana village (Itaunja) lefthis house around 11 pm onWednesday but did not returnhome. On Thursday, his fam-ily went out to search for himand was told by some villagersthat clothes, shoes and mobilephone of Siddharth were lyingabandoned near the pond. Thefamily reached the scene andidentified the belongings ofSiddharth. They informedpolice after which a teamreached the place. The policepressed into service divers whofished out the body. The policeclaimed that Siddharth died ofdrowning but failed to explainwhy Siddharth went therearound midnight. “The familysuspects that Siddharth died ofdrowning and they did notraise any doubt on anyone,” apolice spokesman said.

GROUP CLASHTwo groups clashed in

Itaunja over a land-related dis-pute as members of both thesides attacked one anotherwith sticks and sharp-edgedweapons on Thursday morn-ing. Police registered a crosscase in this connection andadequate force was deployed inthe locality to avert any freshclash. As per reports, Rajkaranand Vinod, both of Rajapur vil-lage, had a dispute over ahouse in the locality and theissue is sub judice. A couple ofdays ago, one of the walls of thehouse collapsed due to inces-sant rains and water startedentering the house of Vinod.

Around 6:30 am onThursday, Vinod, along withhis sons and other family mem-bers, was clearing the rubblewhen Raj Karan and his sonsand other kin reached there.Both the groups indulged in abrawl and attacked one anoth-er. A cross-FIR was registeredon the complaints given by RajKaran and Panchu. “Thoseinjured have been admitted tohospital. A sub-inspector,Sanjay Singh, has been taskedwith probing the case and legalaction will be initiated soon,” apolice spokesman said.

Constable who deserted wife

reluctant for rapprochement

Lucknow (PNS): A CRPFconstable was arrested byGomti Nagar police for mak-ing amorous advancestowards a woman onWednesday night. Theaccused, identified as SatishKumar Singh, was nabbedafter a woman communica-tion officer of ‘UP 100’ com-plained about his behaviorwhile traveling in an autorick-shaw. The woman said she satin the autorickshaw nearLohia Park. “A middle-agedman stopped the auto and saton my lap. When I confront-ed him, he tried to forcehimself upon me. I got downand called police,” the womansaid. As the news spread, theGomti Nagar police switchedto damage control mode andtried to shield the CRPF con-stable after he gave his intro-

duction. Not only this, thecops hid the informationfrom mediapersons whenthey started calling them.After being hauled up bysenior officials, the GomtiNagar police registered a casein this connection. A caseunder sections 354 and 354(a)(2) was registered againstthe accused.

CRPF constable heldfor harassing woman

Missing man’s body

found in pond


The maps and blueprints ofthe houses to be built on

the Lucknow DevelopmentAuthority (LDA) land will beapproved by its mappingdepartment within 48 hoursafter their submission in orderto bring transparency in thesystem. If any anomalies arefound, they will be removedwithin a day.

The LDA will also help ineradicating the corrupt prac-tices and it will prove conve-nient for the people too as theirmaps will be approved in theshortest period of time.

This change was made fol-lowing an amendment in theUP Urban DevelopmentAct,1973, and the UP BuildingRules and Regulations,2016,to bring transparency in thesystem. This practice will comeinto force by next week whileall the development authoritiesof the state, HousingDevelopment Board and othergovernment agencies will becovered by this new order byOctober this year. It is statedthat this initiative will help inchecking the unscrupulousactivities of the staffers and oth-

ers involved in making moneyunder the table by misguidingthe people. LDA Vice-Chairman PN Singh said thatthis step would help eliminatecorrupt practices and addedthat the new initiative wouldfree the people from the clutch-es of the outsiders and staffers.

It is said that the competentauthorities of the mappingdepartment would inform thepersons who submitted theirmaps for approval about anyanomalies found in their blue-prints so that they could getthem removed as soon as pos-sible. Once the anomalies areremoved the maps and blue-prints will be approved within24 hours and will be sent to theapplicants by speedpost.

The change was made onthe initiative of PrincipalSecretary, Housing, NitinGokarn as a number of com-plaints were lodged with himrecently by an influential lobbyof politicians alleging that cor-rupt practices were prevailingon a large scale in the mappingdepartment of LDA.

The Principal Secretaryasked chief town planner NitinMittal to explain about the cor-rupt practices during theapproval of maps and blue-prints. The chief town planner,in his reply, said a group ofhighly-influential persons wassubmitting the blueprints ofcommercial projects whichwere to come up on the landsmeant for residential purposes.It has been seen in the past thatthe applicants trying to gettheir maps and blueprints oftheir projects approved hadnot only to wait for days togeth-er but also had to face untoldhardships. But now their mapswould be approved within twodays or on the third day if anyanomaly was found. The LDAadministration said that theprocedure for approval of com-mercial maps had also beensimplified.

Maps of houses on LDA land

to be approved in 48 hours

LDA WILL ALSO HELP IN

ERADICATING CORRUPT

PRACTICES AND IT WILL

PROVE CONVENIENT

FOR THE PEOPLE TOO

AS THEIR MAPS WILL

BE APPROVED IN

THE SHORTEST

PERIOD OF TIME

LGBT community and its supporters celebrating after Supreme Court’s verdict, in Lucknow on Thursday Pioneer


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U.P. POWER TRANS-MISSION CORPORA-TION LIMITED TEN-

DER NOTICE Tender No.09/ESDS/2018-19 Date ofOpening 24.08.2018 advertisedby this Division is hereby can-celled due to some unavoidablecircumstances in the favour ofCorporation. (V.S. Tyagi)Executive Engineer Electy.400KV Substation DivisionSultanpur No. 1301 Date5.9.2018 "Save Energy inNational interest."

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Well-known author and father ofBollywood star Amitabh

Bachchan, Harivansh Rai Bachchan’s‘Madhushala’ is a big draw at theNational Book Fair which is beingorganised at the Ravindralaya.

Ashok Shukla from the Raj PalPublications which has the rights forthis book and has put up a stall at thefair said that they had sold tencopies on the first day itself whichwere picked up by both the young-sters and the seniors. “The‘Madhushala’ has always been a bighit and continues to do so even now.We are selling the book in hard coverfor Rs 135. Harivansh Rai Bachchan’sbiography which is in three volumesalso sells well. The volume costs Rs1425. As a writer Harivansh RaiBachchan has always drawn thereader through his beautiful style ofwriting,” he said. He said that amongthe books on literature the other pop-ular authors on the stall were AcharyaChatursen, Vishnu Prabhakar andLucknow’s Amrit Lal Nagar.

Ashok pointed out that the venueof the Book Fair being at theRavindralaya had brought in a stream

of visitors there “The positioning ofthe venue close to the Charbagh rail-way station and the bus stationmakes it an ideal point for attractingthe book lovers,” he said. Amongstthe new publications which theyhad brought the best one was‘Kashmirnama’ written by Ashok

Kumar. “The book is a commentaryon the political situation as it existsin the state of Jammu and Kashmirand this information is not which hasbeen collected or collated by theauthor through the writings of oth-ers. It has been collected by the authorthrough his interactions with the

scholars and the students by meetingthem,” he added.

Talking about the rave reviewsthat the book had been gathering, hesaid that those who had read the bookstated that it had been written beau-tifully wherein all the episodes whichhad taken place in history had beenpresented without any preconceivednotions. “The critics point out thatthe book will be of great value andimportance to the people who arecarrying out their research on thestate of Jammu and Kashmir or areinterested in the happenings there.Scholars have also pointed out thatthe book carrying the episodes in thepast and the present of its history hasbroken the silence which existedaround the place and books which ina proper way could be called path-breaking should come out in a greaternumber,” he said.

He said that ‘Doosra Ishq,’ a col-lection of ghazals by Irshad KhanSikander, a young poet, was also anew publication which would inter-est the visitors. “His poetry projectsnew words and new thoughts and hisproclivity towards the Ganga-Jamuniculture adds a zing to his poetry. Hehas used the words ‘vish’ ( poison)

and ‘kanth’ (throat) which are notgenerally used in the Urdu poetry inhis shayari. Born in 1983 in the stateof Uttar Pradesh, the young poet whohas not had any formal education hasbeen able to make a mark in theUrdu, Hindi and Bhojpuri languages,”he said.

Ashok Shukla said that the newbook, ‘Olympus,’ written by the well-known author, Devdutt Pattanaik,was also an interesting pick for thereaders. The book which has Greektales shows the remarkable similar-ity between the Indian and the Greekmythologies. “He has already pub-lished over 30 books and they explainthe importance of rituals and tradi-tions in our culture wherein he alsopaints pictures writing the tales in anextremely interesting manner,” headded.

Another new publication is bythe author, Geetashree, with herbook titled ‘Ladies’ Circle.’ “Theauthor has been writing on issues ofwomen and here the stories have acontemporary flavour. The Ladies’Circle presents the tales of women inan open manner.” Ashok said thatthere were several bestsellers whichthe readers could pick up.

Bachchan’s Madhushala a big draw at book fair

CITYBRIEFS


Lucknow DevelopmentAuthority (LDA) administra-

tion has declared JaneshwarMishra Park in Gomti Nagar a‘no plastic zone’ with immediateeffect. The move is aimed atmaking the park look cleaner.The sanitation condition of thepark had been in a mess for the

PNS n LUCKNOW

SSC aspirant Piyush Guptaof Kanpur died of drown-

ing in the RDSO swimmingpool due to choked windpipe,police said quoting autopsyreport, a week after the youthwas found dead under mys-terious circumstances inManak Nagar police area.

“The viscera had beenpreserved and further inves-tigations are on,” a policespokesman said, adding thatthey were yet to initiate anyaction against the accused.“The police have not givenclean chit to any of the sus-pects as yet,” he insisted.

However, the ManakNagar police failed to explainwhether or not the coach andlife guards were present atthat time. The police alsofailed to respond to the fam-ily’s allegation that Piyushwas not rushed to hospital intime. On the day of the inci-dent, the police had termedit an accidental death.However, when the family

accused swimming coachNK Khosla and other staffand reached out to seniorofficials, the police register acase and sent the body forautopsy. The police sat on theautopsy report and did notshare the findings with themedia cell. On Thursday, theManak Nagar police dis-closed the findings only afterSSP Kalanidhi Naithanihauled up the Manak NagarSHO.

“Even though there is anorder for the SHOs to speedup investigations, some ofthem do not take it serious-ly,” sources said, adding thatthe media cell was earlierhandled by an officer ofinspector rank and the SHOswere instructed to sharedetails of the cases and inves-tigations on a daily basis.“The cell is presently beingmanaged by constables asthe SHOs care two hoots,” thesources said. Piyush waspreparing for SSC exam andwas staying with his relativesin Para.


District Magistrate KaushalRaj Sharma presided over

a review meeting for electoralroll revision on Thursday. Themeeting witnessed the partic-ipation of senior officials from

the administration, tehsildaarsand booth-level officers. Hesaid that camps for the newvoters would be set up from

September 9.The DM said that names

and mobile numbers of all thebooth-level officers should beuploaded on the website and alist of assistant electoral roleofficers (AEROs), BLOs andtehsildaars should be submit-ted to him. He said AEROsshould begin training of BLOs.

He said that a list of edu-cational institutes and coachingcentres be made where campsfor new voters would be organ-ised. He added that no newvoter should be left out.

The DM said that meetingswith degree college authoritiesshould be held on Tuesday anda complete roster of the campsbe prepared by the officials. Headded that verification of theapplications should be madewithin 24 hours of submission.He told the BLOs to visit all theslum areas for verification ofvoters on the list.

The DM said that therewould be four volunteers ateach booth, including two fromNSS or NCC and two fromcivil defence. He added that dif-ferently-abled voters shouldbe identified and it must beconfirmed whether they werevoting or not.

past one month due to visitorsdumping polythene bags andempty bottles. Concerned overthis, the LDA administrationrecently resolved in a meeting toban the plastic in the park.

Deputy director, gardens, SSSisodhia said the ban was imple-mented with immediate effectand the main gate was closed formorning-walkers and a thor-ough cleaning exercise waslaunched. There was a longqueue of visitors outside even asthe gates remained closed tillafternoon. Thereafter, no visitorwith plastic bag or water bottlewas allowed entry. Hoardingsregarding ban on plastic werealso placed at the gates and eat-ables were allowed in only inpaper bags.

Janeshwar Mishra Park

declared ‘no plastic zone’

‘SSC aspirant died

of drowning’

Camps for new voters from Sept 9: DM

SBI TO COLLECT CASH FROM NR STATIONS

The Lucknow Division ofNorthern Railway on Thursdayhired the services of State Bank ofIndia to collect cash from 164 rail-way stations of the division. With thenew scheme coming into place, theold tradition of collecting cash andsending it to headquarters in heavycash boxes will come to an end. AMoU between Northern Railway ofLucknow Division and LucknowDivision of State Bank of India wassigned between NR DRM SatishKumar and DGM of SBI, Lucknow,SK Porwal. The DRM said fromnow on the SBI would collect thecash from railway stations even inremote areas of the division. Porwalsaid the SBI had shouldered impor-tant responsibilities given to it by dif-ferent state governments and also theunion government and “we will

carry out the responsibility given tous by NR with ease due to our vastnetwork and reach in the remotestareas”.

HEALTH CAMPIn an endeavour to help the

unprivileged people of society andfocus on providing them food, clothesand education, Roti-Kapda BankFoundation of Lucknow on Thursdayorganised a free health camp in theslum area of Gomti Nagar Extensionnear Omaxe Residency. Under thesupervision of Dr AC Shukla, a teamof Roti Kapda Foundation and doc-tors conducted medical tests gavemedicines to the slum dwellers. Morethan 102 people benefited from thehealth camp. Dr Shukla also apprisedthem of personal hygiene, cleanlinessand child health & nutrition.Ashutosh Chaubey from the organ-isation said that the monsoon season

brought many health problems andonly precautions and cleanlinesshelped in prevention from diseases.He said the health camp would be

held every month.

MOOT COURT COMPETITIONUnity PG & Law College on

Thursday announced its flagshipevent, ‘Justice Murtaza HusainMemoria l Moot CourtCompetition 2018’. “The collegewill be a hub for students, teachers,lawyers, judges and jurists fromacross the country from September7 to 9. The competition will bedivided into preliminary, quarter-final, semi-final, and final roundsto be judged by legal luminaries.The competition will be inaugurat-ed by Justice Vishnu Sahai andProf Indu Sahai on September 7,”a college official said. The finalround of the competition will beheld on September 9. It will bejudged by sitting judges of theLucknow Bench of Allahabad HighCourt Justices DK Upadhyaya andRajan Roy.

AMITY LAW SCHOOLAmity Law School organised a

two-day ‘Amity Intra Moot CourtCompetition, 2018’, which conclud-ed on Wednesday with prize distri-bution (pic below). As many as 36teams participated in the competi-tion. The event was divided into fourrounds — prelims, quarterfinals,semifinals, and finals. Amity LawSchool students took part in thecompetition and presented theirarguments on the given legal prob-lems. The team comprising RajshriNigam, Apoorva Shukla, and YashPandey won the competition whilethat consisting of Mihir Kumar,Janhvy Pandey, and Anukriti Shuklawas the runner-up. The ‘bestresearcher’ award was given away toAkanksha Bajpayee. The ‘bestmemorial’ award was given away toAkanksha Bajpayee and YusraKhatoon while Pranshuta Pandeywas got the ‘best speaker’ award.

DGM of SBI, Lucknow, SK Porwal addressing mediapersons in Lucknow on Thursday Pioneer

Kanpur: The condition of2014-batch IPS officer SurendraKumar Das, who had alleged-ly consumed poison due tomarital discord, continued to bevery critical on Thursday. “Das,who had attempted suicide yes-terday, is on ventilator for res-piratory support and the next36 hours are very crucial,” saidKanpur’s Additional DGPAvinash Chandra. His treat-ment is going on with the helpof ECMO (Extra CorporealMembrane Oxygenation), anadvanced medical setup, used

for critically-ill patients of poi-soning, he said, adding thesetup has been brought to thecity from Mumbai. A team ofdoctors has also arrived fromMumbai to assist the local doc-tors, he said.

The relatives of the officerwho reside in Lucknow toohave reached Kanpur. A one-page hand-written suicide notewas recovered from the spotwhere the officer was foundunconscious and it is being sentto the hand-writing experts forexamination, said City SP

(West) Sanjiv Suman. It seemsthe officer had taken theextreme step due to marital dis-cord, said SSP Anant Deo.Investigations so far indicate theIPS officer was in acute depres-sion for the past few days andhad searched the Google forways to commit suicide, the SSPsaid, adding he consumed sul-phas powder that he had askedhis domestic help to bring frommarket for killing rats. He hada tiff with his wife and had nottalked to his mother for the past40 days, the SSP said.

IPS officer who attempted suicide still critical

The students of City Montessori School (Gomti Nagar Campus I) won theTechnolympics General Championship Trophy at the Science competition,‘Techniche’, organised at Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati. The teamalso bagged the second prize at animation workshop. The team consisted ofAman Kumar Singh, Yajat Pathak, Abdul Jawad Khan, Lalit Krishna Yadav,Vivaan Gupta, Rudransh Goyal, Aamish Ahmad Beg, Prakhar and Yash.

nation 05LUCKNOW | FRIDAY | SEPTEMBER 7, 2018

PNS n NEW DELHI

All contributions to 'BharatKe Veer', a Union Home

Ministry fund which aids fam-ilies of paramilitary personnelwho die fighting extremists,have been exempted fromincome-tax, Home MinisterRajnath Singh said onThursday.

The trust was formed withfilm star Akshay Kumar andformer national badmintonchampion Pullela Gopichand,among others. "Ministry offinance @FinMinIndia has nowgiven approval to@BharatKeVeer Trust under80(G) which in effect meansthat all contributions to the trustwill be exempted under theincome tax. I thank the Ministryand FM Sh. @ArunJaitley forthe exemption to#BharatKeVeer Trust," Singhtweeted.

Singh said the HomeMinistry had taken up theBharat Ke Veer initiative inApril last year, and its successhas been stupendous.

Singh said the initiativehas now been formalised intoa registered trust for providinga platform to all citizens to con-tribute and provide assistance

to the families of martyredparamilitary personnel.

"The @BharatKeVeer Trusthas been formed with seventrustees headed by the unionhome secretary. Noted filmactor Shri @akshaykumar andformer national Badmintonchampion Pullela Gopichandhave also been included in thetrust as trustees," he said inanother tweet. Public can visitthe application and the websiteBharat Ke Veer and make acontribution to support thefamilies of the jawans whodied in the line of duty. Themonetary contributions madeon the website go straight to thebank accounts of martyredsoldiers' families. The portal(bharatkeveer.Gov.In) enablesthe public to help the familiesof the soldiers by donatingmoney online directly to theindividual braveheart's accountor to Bharat Ke Veer corpus.

Bravehearts from CentralReserve Police Force, BorderSecurity Force, CentralIndustrial Security Force, Indo-Tibetan Border Police Force,Sashastra Seema Bal, AssamRifles, National DisasterResponse Force and NationalSecurity Guards are included inthe portal for contribution.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Taking a dig at Delhi ChiefMinister Arvind Kejriwal,

Union Housing and UrbanAffairs Minister HardeepSingh Puri on Thursday saidthat he should take a look atDelhi transport system whichcomes under his Governmentthat lacks 7,000 buses.Speaking at the 13thSustainability Summit organ-ised by the Confederation ofIndian Industry (CII), Purisaid Delhi today has thefourth largest metro systemin the world, it is a first classasset and most affordablemetro anywhere in the world.

"My good friend — theChief Minister of Delhi —was expressing sadness thatso many people have movedaway from the metro. Thereport has been produced bypeople who are reasonablycredible but they have anagenda where they are notcomparing an orange with an

orange. What they end updoing was completely falsi-fying the facts," he said.

"If somebody wants to besad, they should be sad aboutthe fact that the other publictransport in Delhi whichcomes under theGovernment which has asanction of 11,000 buses isabout 7,000 short," Puri said.

A recent study by theCentre for Science andEnvironment (CSE) hadfound that after the fare hikelast year, Delhi metro hasbecome the second-mostunaffordable service in theworld among the cities that

charge less than half a USdollar for a trip.

Reacting to the study,Kejriwal Wednesday said it is"very sad" that an importantmeans of transport hasbecome out of reach of com-mon man.

Taking a further dig atKejriwal, Puri said the rider-ship at any point of timebefore the hike was 27 lakhand today the ridership hascrossed 29 lakh. The study of2016 which said the ridershipwould increase to 32 lakh tookinto consideration the Phase-3 which has not become oper-ational as yet, he added.

The Delhi Metro onWednesday termed as "mis-leading" the CSE report whichalso claimed the Delhi Metrohas received nearly 32 percent less than the number ofdaily passengers it had hopedto serve this year, saying itsearlier projection includedPhase-3 which has notbecome operational as yet.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Railway Minister Piyush Goyal onThursday said that the purchase of

paperless unreserved tickets has shownan increase from 195 in 2014-15 to67,000 last year. Speaking at a seminaron leveraging information technology formobility, Goyal said a rapid scale-up oftechnology was what the country expect-ed and that's where the help of the pri-vate sector could be taken.

"Paperless unreserved tickets havemoved up from 195 in 2014-15 to67,000 last year, which is a 35,000 percent increase over a period of threeyears," Goyal said, highlighting the useof technology in the Railways.

Stating that the youngsters in therailways' team should engage with newideas, the minister said he was sure that"some game changing results" would beachieved, which would truly help betterthe passenger and freight customerexperience, making it sustainable and

satisfying."I do not know any other department

which collects data the way railways does,but how efficiently and effectively we usethat data is the defining success story weare looking for. And this is surely pos-sible with the high quality team that wehave in the railways," he said.

Goyal said there were many trans-formations related to tracks, safety, sig-nalling, catering, punctuality that therailways was working on and that effortswere on to modernise its inspectionprocesses, making them more efficientand clinically sound.

"It's time we got the charm back tothe Indian Railways and to my mind,technology can be that defining factorthat will help the Indian Railways changeboth its direction and its face," he said.

On the occasion, the Minister alsolaunched a mobile app called "Aapoorti",which will provide information anddata related to e-tendering and e-auctionrelated activities of the railways.

PNS n NEW DELHI

The Congress has given a callfor nationwide shutdown

on September 10 to protestagainst rising fuel prices. It hasalso asked other Oppositionparties and civil society groupsto join them.

"The common man wasbearing the brunt of the esca-lating prices of petrol, dieseland cooking gas.

“Congress has decidedthat we will be giving a call forBharat Bandh on September10, Monday, in order to high-light the `11 lakh crore fuelloot and to demand an imme-diate reduction in centralexcise duty as also excessiveVAT in the State," Congresscommunications in-chargeRandeep Surjewala said.

Surjewala said theCongress will also demandpetrol and diesel should bebrought within the ambit of theGST so that the "commonman whose budget has gonehaywire is provided the requi-site relief ".

The Congress has alsourged Opposition parties tojoin the protest, he said. "Wealso call upon other societalgroups, NGOs... To join thispeople's movement," he said.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch'Swachhata Hi Seva (SHS), a jan andolan

for swachhata (cleanliness) on September 15in the run-up to the 4th anniversary of theSwachh Bharat Mission (SBM), from 15September to 2 October 2018, as the sanita-tion movement enters its final leg.

The SHS aims at accelerating the Jan-Andolan for realizing the vision of a CleanIndia, further reinforcing the belief that'Sanitation is everyone's business' ,Parameswaran Iyer Secretary, Ministry ofDrinking Water and Sanitation said onThursday.

The launch will be through VideoConferencing at more than 15 locationsacross the country with different sections ofthe community and eminent public figures,

said the official while talking to reportershere.

It will be followed by launch ofShramdaan activities with huge communi-ty mobilisation by following grassrootsswachhata champions such as womensarpanches, Swachhagrahi , students, nigranisamitis, youth organisations, corporatesbesides film Celebrities, sportspersons andfath leaders.

In schools, cleanliness shramdaan will becarried out by school children who will beasked to participate in hand washing cam-paign among other activities.

Also, mass awareness campaign oncleanliness for passengers traveling aboardrailways will be carried out. Cleaning ofIconic Places with focus on the 30 swachhiconic places for cleanliness activities will beconducted, the official added.

ARCHANA JYOTI n NEW DELHI

In the last seven years (2011-2017), India has restored 9.8

million hectares of degradedland, with Government agen-cies playing a major role in thegreen initiative, restoring 95 percent while the remaining 5 percent was done by NGOs andprivate companies.

The restoration work ispart of the Bonn Challenge, aglobal effort to bring 150 mil-lion hectares of deforested anddegraded land into restora-tion by 2020 and 350 millionhectares by 2030. At least 46countries have signed theChallenge and pledged theircommitments for green covers.

India has now submitted itsreport titled, 'Bonn Challengeand India: Progress onRestoration Efforts AcrossStates and Landscapes," a first-ever publication from anycountry in the world, givingdetailed progress on forestlandscape restoration underthe global treaty.

India had pledged torestore 13 million hectares ofdegraded land by 2020 and anadditional 8 million hectares by2030. On this, the report sayswhile restoration commitmentsare achievable, additionalefforts to comprehensively cap-ture the restoration efforts

needs to be undertaken by allactors in future stocktakingreports.

The report is co-publishedby the India Country Office ofthe International Union forthe Conservation of Nature(IUCN) and India's Ministry ofEnvironment, Forest andClimate Change. At the firstBonn Challenge roundtable inAsia, held last May, restorationpledges for the region crossedthe 150 million hectare mile-stone.

Among "transformationalchanges" brought about by pub-lic restoration programmes, thereport notes increased biodi-versity and forest productivitylinked to the Joint ForestManagement Committee(JFMC) approach. Some of thebenefits listed include the cre-ation of livelihood opportunitiesin remote areas by linking vil-

lages to markets for sale of non-timber forest products, betterirrigation facilities for crop pro-duction, and improved trans-port and health care facilities.

The report is in full praiseof the JFMC which has "ush-ered in a new era of forest pro-tection in the country" by mak-ing forest restoration "sociallymore inclusive."

"By providing villagers withopportunities to participate inmicro-plans, the JFMC modelhas ushered in a new era of for-est protection in the country bysuccessfully involving commu-nities in the protection and sus-tainable harvesting of naturalresources and bringing inexpertise and aligned interestsof multiple stakeholders in for-est restoration, thereby makingit socially more inclusive, "says the report.

On the role of the private

sector, the report notes thatmany afforestation and restora-tion activities undertaken byprivate companies are often aresult of legal compliance, orform part of their corporatesocial responsibility (CSR)obligations. "Out of the total193,290.3 hectares of landrestored and afforested by thesurveyed private companies,around 97 per cent was undermixed plantations containingfast-growing exotic tree speciesas well as cash crops."

It has called for "a morebio-centric approach" to moti-vate private firms to adoptmore sustainable and ecologi-cal models of restoration basedon native species that are adapt-ed to local conditions and bet-ter suited to the recovery of fau-nal diversity.

Similarly, NGOs haveplayed a "small but active role"in the restoration of degradedlands. Of the total 352,677.9hectares restored by the sur-veyed NGOs, the report notesthat a total of 322,610.9hectares (91.5%) was restoredusing mixed plantation model,while 8.5% of restoration activ-ities were based on using amono plantation model, main-ly in coastal areas planted withmangrove.

NGOs featured as bestpractices include Nature

Conservation Foundation(NCF), Foundation forEcological Security (FES) andGujarat Institute of DesertEcology (GUIDE).

The report has dwelled fivecase studies across seven statesincluding a government-fund-ed JFMC in Nagaland, NGO-led grassland and rainforestprojects in Gujarat and Valparairespectively, and efforts by TataPower to reverse environmen-tal degradation in Lonavalaregion caused by the construc-tion of the Valvan Dam.

Siddhanta Das, DirectorGeneral of Forests and SpecialSecretary in the Ministry said,"This report is a first of its kindfrom any of the BonnChallenge countries. It is anongoing process and will con-tinue to be updated.

He further said, "As per thelatest Forest Survey of Indiareport, present forest and treecover is 24.39% of the country'sgeographical area.

Therefore, to bring a min-imum of onethird of the totalland area of the country underforest and tree cover, an addi-tional 27.8 million hectares ofland area would need to bebrought under green cover.This means that we need tostart looking beyond desig-nated forest lands and businessas usual scenarios."

PNS n NEW DELHI

The Interpol has issued a Red CornerNotice (RCN) against fugitive dia-

mantaire Nirav Modi's close aide MihirR Bhansali in connection with the allegedswindling of over `13,000 crore of pub-lic sector banker PNB.

The RCN issued at the behest ofEnforcement Directorate mentions thatBhansali (40) is required by Indian probeagencies on charges of "money launder-ing". Bhansali was CEO of Nirav Modi'sjewellery firm in the US, FirestarInternational.

The ED wants Bhansali to join theprobe and told the Interpol that he waslikely to visit the US, the UK, Hong Kong,China or the UAE.

Through an RCN against a fugitive,the Interpol requests all its 192 membercountries to arrest or detain the personif spotted in their countries after whichextradition or deportation proceedingscan begin.

The ED has identified Bhansali as the"second-in-command" in the FirestarGroup after Nirav Modi. He was alleged-ly actively involved in the diversion and

laundering of the funds received fromPNB in the form of Letters ofUndertaking. Bhansali was instrumentalin diversion and circulation of the "pro-ceeds of crime" generated in the moneylaundering case.

The ED probe has revealed thatBhansali inducted dummy partners inSolar Exports, Stellar Diamond andDiamond R US (Modi's firms in whosenames LOUs were issued) for issuance ofLoUs by the PNB. He was also instru-mental in formation of overseas dummycompanies in Hong Kong and Dubai, andemployees/ex-employees of the FirestarGroup were sent as dummydirectors/owners in these entities at hisdirections laundering the money receivedfrom the PNB through LoUs.

Bhansali is also suspected to haveacquired a property in the US worth $7million from the funds illicit funds gen-erated from the PNB scam.

The case relates to cheating the PNBthrough fraudulent issuance of Letters ofUndertaking and Foreign Letters ofCredit worth over `13,000 crore infavour of Nirav Modi, his uncle MehulChoksi and other associates.

BONN CHALLENGE

India sets record in forest restoration

Tax exemption for

contributions to

‘Bharat Ke Veer’

Congress calls forBharat Bandhagainst fuel pricehike on Sept 10

PTI n NEW DELHI

The Supreme Court onThursday allowed the

Corporation Bank, which has leda consortium of banks to lendloans to the Amrapali Group, tomove the National Company LawTribunal (NCLT).

A bench of Justices ArunMishra and U U Lalit, however,restrained the NCLT from pro-ceeding ahead in the matter with-out any express direction from thecourt. Attorney General K KVenugopal, appearing for theCorporation Bank said the bankhas lend Rs 270 crore to theAmrapali Group and if it was notallowed to move NCLT, its claimfrom the real estate firm willbecome time barred.

He said the claim of the bankwill become time barred byNovember 30. The bench said"permission is granted" to thebank to move to NCLT so that itsclaim did not become time barred,but the tribunal will not proceedahead unless "express permis-sion" was granted by the court.The apex court also identified 16properties of the Amrapali Groupfor auctioning, preferably by theNational Buildings ConstructionCorporation India Ltd (NBCC) togive the Public SectorUndertaking (PSU) an initial cor-pus to start work on the stalledprojects.

It also ordered a forensicaudit of the real estate firm and itspromoters to gauge the extent offinancial wrong-doings.

PTI n NEW DELHI

Security agencies are trying toobtain new software and

improved face-recognitiontechnology to enable them-selves to dig deeper into socialmedia about a criminal whoserecord is unavailable in policedatabase, Union HomeMinister Rajnath Singh said onThursday.

Singh said cybercrimeswere posing a "big challenge" tothe security establishment.

He said security agencieshave detected that terroristswere using the "dark internet"to recruit operatives and to "selland purchase confidentialinformation by big criminals."

He said hence, for the firsttime, they have created a cyber-

security division in the HomeMinistry.

Inaugurating a three-dayDefence and HomelandSecurity Expo and Conference2018, organised by the PHDChamber, Singh said the utili-ty of drones in ensuring secu-rity has been found to be nec-essary and the CentralGovernment will soon bringout a policy on their compre-hensive usage in the country.

"I am fully confident thatdrones will be very useful forour security forces. I have seentheir capabilities and utility inthe conduct of anti-naxal oper-ations," he said.

The Home Minister thentalked about the "new tech-edge" that the country's secu-rity agencies are looking to pro-

cure."We can track criminals

through the CCTV cameras.But at times, it is very difficultto identify and recognise them.We are trying that face recog-nition technology is betterimproved so that if a criminalis not identified by CCTVcameras, there should be atechnology to get his facerecognised. This is what we aretrying.

"We are also trying that ifthere is no information aboutthem (criminals) in theCCTNS (crime and criminaltracking network system), weshould have such software thatcan dig into the social medianetwork and collate informa-tion about such elements," theHome Minister said.

Paperless unreservedtickets sale registersincrease: Rly Minister

PNS n NEW DELHI

Just as India gears up to rollout Ayushman Bharat on

September 25, a group ofinternational health expertsincluding former UNSecretary-General Ban Ki-Moon on Thursday called it"unbalanced and too skewedtowards costly inpatient care."It also urged India to put"more political will" and pushpublic financing in the healthsector to achieve universalhealth coverage (UHC) in thecountry.

In its report "UniversalHealth Coverage in India"released on Thursday here,The Elders, a London-basedorganisation of independentglobal leaders , while welcom-ing Ayushman Bharat whichhas two components-insur-ance to poor families and set-

ting up wellness centres, how-ever cautioned that "takinginto account economic growth,inflation and populationincreases, real per capita pub-lic health spending as a shareof GDP has hardly changed."

India is therefore not yeton a a trajectory to meet thegovernment's own target of 2.5per cent GDP public healthspending by 2025, the report

noted."We are concerned that

Ayushman Bharat is unbal-anced and too skewed towardscostly inpatient care. Greaterfocus should ne given to thefree primary healthcare ser-vices provided at health andwellness centres and integrat-ing these with services coveredby the National HealthProtection Scheme.

"Also, it would appear thatthe NHPS is repeating thedesign flaw of the RSBY in notprotecting people from out-patient costs, including med-icines which make up 70 percent of India's out of pocketexpenditure," said the reportby The Elders, founded byNelson Mandela in 2007.

The health experts havesuggested the government toinvest the bulk of its additionalpublic health funding in pro-viding comprehensive, freeprimary care services to theentire population. This wouldbe more efficient and equitableroute to UHC in India.

Ban who is in India, aspart of a delegation said, "I amhere with a single purpose,with a single agenda and thatis to promote universal healthcoverage and overall healthaspects. The Indian govern-

ment has planned to spend 2.5per cent of the GDP by 2025.

"And, it is hoped thatIndia will push much furtherinvestment and more money,and more political will byPrime Minister (Narendra)Modi, and chief minister andhealth ministers (of variousstates)," Ban said during apanel discussion here.

Besides Ban, formerNorwegian Prime Ministerand former Director Generalof the WHO Gro HarlemBrundtland, President ofPublic Health Foundation ofIndia Dr K Srinath Reddyand NITI Aayog member DrV K Paul were in the panel.

Paul, however, rejected theapprehension saying that theGovernment has ensured suf-ficient funds like introductionof cess to meet the financialneeds for the scheme.

Delhi’s public transport is short of7K buses, Puri tells CM to take note

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SC allows Corporation Bank to moveNCLT for claims against Amrapali Group

‘Security agencies to get new tools tocheck crime records on social media’

Home Minister Rajnath Singh visits a stall at ‘Defence & Homeland Security Expo and Conference' in New Delhi on Thursday PTI

LUCKNOW | FRIDAY | SEPTEMBER 7, 2018 nation 06

TN RAGHUNATHA n MUMBAI

Three days after it pulled upthe Pune Police and State

police top brass for holdingmedia briefings to share infor-mation relating to five arrest-ed human rights activists, theBombay High Court onThursday upbraided the inves-tigating agencies for “leaking”vital information relating to theongoing investigations in thesensitive case like the murdersof rationalist NarendraDabholkar and CPI leaderGovind Pansare.

After pursuing the investi-gations report submitted by theCBI and State CID into themurders of Dabholkar andPansare, a HC bench divisionbench of Justices SCDharmadhikari and BPColabawalla lamented thateveryday vital information wasbeing “leaked” to the media bythe investigating agencies.

Expressing his displeasureover the information “leaks” to

the media in sensitive murdercases like that of Dabholkar andPansare, Justice Dharmadhikarisaid: “Such self-praise and self-patting on the back by thepolice machinery is not advis-able. We see daily there isinformation in the Pressregarding such sensitive cases.At whose instance informationis being given to the media?".

“This (kind of ) over-enthusiasm could be fatal. Insuch sensitive cases whereinvestigation is in crucial stagesit is not advisable for the policeto rush to the media. Thisshows total lack of maturity (onthe part of the investigatingofficials concerned),” JusticeDharmadhikari noted.

The HC Bench observedthat by disclosing information tothe media, the investigators werealerting the accused persons.

Alluding to the Press con-ferences Additional DirectorGeneral of Police (Law andOrder) Param Bir Singh andthe Pune police officials onthe arrest of five human rightsactivists with alleged Maoistlinks, Justice Dharmadhikarsaid: “There is so much hueand cry about this mediabriefing and the disclosuresmade by them”.

During the Press confer-ence, Singh had claimed thatthe Pune police had “conclusiveproof ” against the arrestedhuman rights activists for theiralleged links with the banned

organisation CPI (Maoist) andhad read out the letters carry-ing references linking thearrested activists with the func-tionaries of the banned organ-isation.

The HC bench askedAdditional Solicitor GeneralAnil Singh, appearing for CBI,to convey to the concernedsenior police officials that it wasnot happy with the press con-ference and disclosures madeby them about the ongoinginvestigations. "Ask thosepolice officials, who took themedia briefing, to go to the trialcourt and see how difficult it isto prove the case against anaccused person," JusticeDharmadhikari said.

Defence counsel AshokMundargi sought to distancethe State CID from the con-troversy over the media brief-ings by telling the court that hisclient had not held any pressconference regarding Pansare’smurder till date."Our investi-gation is on. We are now wait-ing to interrogate the two per-sons arrested by CBI in theDabholkar case," Mundargitold the court.

The high court, which hadon several occasions in the pastpulled up both the CBI andState CID over the delay in theinvestigations into the murderof Dabholkar and Pansare,told Mundargi that the ongo-ing CID probe should notcome to a standstill just because

the investigating agency wasawaiting to interrogate theaccused persons who are inCBI custody. "Do not abandonyour (CID) past theories. CIDshould continue to look intothe involvement of otheraccused persons too. Both thecases (Dabholkar and Pansarekillings) have different reper-cussions," JusticeDharmadhikari said.

The HC bench, which ishearing the petitions filed bythe family members of slainDabholkar and Pansare, laterscheduled the matter for fur-ther hearing on October 10 –when both the both the CBIand State CID have been askedto submit fresh progress reportsin the investigations into thetwo cases.

It may be recalled that onApril 19 this year, after theinvestigating agencies acceptedtheir inability to achieve muchin their “field probes” into theDabholkar- Pansare murders,the high court had passed astinging comment that thegrowing perception abroadabout India of being a countryof crimes and rapes and “theliberal and secular people arenot safe here”.

Prompted by the admis-sions openly made by thecounsels for the MaharashtraCID and CBI told the courtthat they were not getting anyevidence in their “field probes”into the cases, a HC bench of

Justices SC Dharamadhikariand Bharati Dangre hadexpressed serious concern overthe denting image of Indiaabroad about its inability tocheck crimes and rapes acrossthe country.

Earlier, after expressing itsdispleasure over the “failure” ofthe State CID and CBI to takethe two cases to their logicalconclusion, the HC bench hadasked: "How do we then takethe case to its logical conclu-sion?..."Can we allow for thecase to reach a dead-end whensimilar crimes are on the rise?"

CPI leader Govind Pansare(82) and his wife Uma (67) hadbeen shot from a close range,near their residence “IdealHousing Society” at around8.30 am on February 16 2015,when the couple was returningfrom a morning walk from theShivaji University campus atKolhapur. Four days later,Pansare succumbed to injuriessustained in the shoot-out,while his wife Uma survivedthe attack.

Pansare’s murder, it mayrecalled, had come on the heelsof a gruesome murder of 69-year-old Dabholkar, who wasshot dead him from a pointblank range by two motor-bicy-cle riding gunmen – agedbetween 25 and 30 years, whilehe was taking a morning walkon the Omkareshwar bridgelocated in the heart of Pune, onAugust 20, 2013.

AFTER COPS’ PRESS CONFERENCE

HC raps agencies for ‘leaking’ info

‘Such self-praiseand self-pattingon the back bythe policemachinery is notadvisable’

IANS n PATNA

The Income-Tax Departmenton Thursday raided the

residence of senior BJP leaderand Bihar Deputy ChiefMinister Sushil Kumar Modi'ssister, Rekha Modi, who is oneof the accused in `1,900 croreSrijan scam, police said.

"A team of the ITDepartment raided RekhaModi's residence — a flat inSaraswati Apartment at poshcommercial S.P. Verma roadhere. The team conductedsearches in connection with theSrijan scam," a district policeofficial said.

According to the policeofficials, Rekha Modi isaccused of purchasing hugejewellery gifts from the kingpinof multi-crore Srijan scam thatis being probed by the CBI.

After Rekha Modi's namesurfaced in Srijan scam,opposition RJD attackedSushil Modi, saying his fam-ily had links with thoseaccused in the scam.

Leader of the Oppositionin Bihar Legislative AssemblyTejashwi Yadav has repeatedlyalleged that Sushil Modi's fam-ily has direct links with theaccused in the multi-croreSrijan scam case involving anNGO that allegedly pilfered

funds meant for Governmentwelfare schemes.

"Sushil Modi's sisterRekha Modi and nieceUrvashi Modi received croresof rupees from Srijan scam,"the former Bihar DeputyChief Minister had said earli-er this year in a series oftweets, attaching the statementof Srijan Mahila Vikas SahyogSamiti Ltd's Indian Bank'sBhagalpur branch account inwhich few transactionsshowed the names of RekhaModi and Urvashi Modi.

However, Sushil Modi hadclaimed that he had no relationwith Rekha Modi.

The Srijan scam involvesBhagalpur-based NGO SrijanMahila Vikas Sahyog SamitiLtd, which used to providevocational training to women.The NGO allegedly pilferedfunds meant for Governmentwelfare schemes from the bankaccounts of the Bhagalpur dis-trict administration.

Nitish Kumar had onAugust 18, 2017 recommend-ed a CBI probe into the scamafter RJD chief Lalu Prasadaccused him of "murderingdemocracy" in Bihar.

In August last year, the CBIregistered 10 cases related tothe scam and filed four freshcases in June this year.

I-T raids house ofSushil Modi's sisterin Srijan scam

IANS n PANAJI

Goa Chief MinisterManohar Parrikar on

Thursday returned from theUS two days ahead of schedule,and headed for his private res-idence near here.

Parrikar, who is beingtreated abroad for advancedpancreatic cancer, had gone tothe US on August 30, the thirdtime in six months.

The Chief Minister arrivedat the Dabolim InternationalAirport around 5.30 p.m. anddid not speak to the mediagathered outside.

Parrikar's early return coin-cides with murmurs about thepossibility of some CongressMLAs joining the ruling partyranks. The Congress has how-ever dismissed media reports tothis effect and blamed theBharatiya Janata Party's "fakenews factory".

Parrikar's absence fromGoa has attracted flak from theopposition that claims thatgovernance has come to astandstill in the coastal State.

Parrikar

returns

from US

SC RIGHTS...The judgment came on a

batch of writ petitions filed bydancer Navtej Jauhar, journal-ist Sunil Mehra, chef RituDalmia, hoteliers Aman Nathand Keshav Suri and businessexecutive Ayesha Kapur as wellas 20 former and current stu-dents of the IITs. They hadsought decriminalisation ofconsensual sex between twoconsenting adults of the samesex by declaring Section 377,enacted 158 years ago, illegaland unconstitutional.

The CJI, who wrote thejudgment for himself andJustice Khanwilkar, said thedenial of self expression wasakin to inviting death. TheBench said courts must protectthe dignity of an individual asright to live with dignity isrecognised as fundamentalright. It termed sexual orien-tation a “biological phenome-non” and held any discrimina-tion on this ground was viola-tive of fundamental rights.

Justice Chandrachud, whilereading out the operative por-tion of his verdict, said mem-bers of the LGBTQ communi-ty were targeted and exploiteddue to Section 377. They haveconstitutional rights like that ofany other citizen, he said.Observing that theConstitution nurtured dissentas a “safety valve” of society, hesaid “we cannot change the his-tory but can pave a way for bet-ter future”.The apex court notedthat India is a signatory ofinternational treaties on rightsof LGBTQ and it was obliga-tory to adhere to them.

Describing the verdict aslandmark, Anjan Joshi, mem-ber of the Society for People,Awareness, Care andEmpowerment (SPACE), said itwas a start. “We know we havea long way to go in terms ofright to adoption, right to mar-riage but it is a very welcomebeginning,” Joshi said.

The Congress also put outa Twitter post welcoming thejudgment. “We join the peopleof India & the LGBTQIA+community in their victoryover prejudice. We welcome theprogressive & decisive verdictfrom the Supreme Court &hope this is the beginning of amore equal & inclusive society,”it said, adding intersex andasexuality to LGBTQ.

On the other end of thepolitical spectrum, the RSSsaid in a statement that whileit doesn’t see homosexuality asa crime, such relationshipswere not “compatible withnature” and so it does not sup-port them. The United Nationsin India welcomed the verdict,saying sexual orientation andgender expression form anintegral part of an individual’sidentity the world over.Violence, stigma and discrim-ination based on these attrib-utes constitute an “egregious”violation of human rights, itsaid. The issue was first raisedby the NGO, Naaz Foundation,which approached the DelhiHigh Court in 2001. In 2009,the Delhi High Court decrim-inalised sex between consent-ing adults of the same gender.

This was overturned in 2013 bythe apex court which also dis-missed the review plea againstwhich the curative petitionswere filed. Section 377 hadmade “carnal intercourseagainst the order of nature”punishable by imprisonmentfor life.

EARLY POLL...The Chief Minister hoped

the process of the elections willstart in the first week ofOctober and polling will beheld in November. KCR saidthere would be no restrictionson the working of hisGovernment henceforth.“There is nothing like care-taker Government in theConstitution. A Government isa Government. It is only amoral obligation and I knowmy limits. Accordingly we willwork,” the CM said.

Releasing the list of 105candidates of TelanganaRashtra Samiti, KCR exudedconfidence that the party willreturn to power with a mini-mum of 100 seats. “I have fullconfidence and trust in thepeople that they will vote TRSback to power to continue thesteady growth and develop-ment of Telangana,” he said.“People of Telangana have seenme and my work over the past20 years. They have seen whatwe have done in the past fouryears,” he said, pointing out thatin the last four years despitebeing a new State Telanganacreated a record by achievingGSDP growth rate of 17.17 percent and in the first five monthsof current financial year growthrate of 21.96 per cent. “Noother State in the country caneven touch us,” he said.

“These figures were issuedby the Central Governmentwhich is not run by our friend-ly party,” he added. He said ifthere was corruption or misrulehow such growth would havebeen possible. “In acknowl-edgement of our work TheEconomic Times has given methe award of the Reformer ofYear. Telangana was given 40awards and received interna-tional acclaim for its achieve-ments,” KCR said. He said anunprecedented peace prevailedin the State as there was not asingle communal riot, no fakeencounter, no protest or fightby farmers for seeds or fer-tilisers, no illicit liquor dens.Crime rate was down and thewomen were safe and secure.

He said welfare pro-grammes undertaken by hisGovernment were necessary toundo the damage suffered byTelangana over the last 50years rule by Andhras.

Rejecting the allegations ofthe Opposition, he said, “Whyfight in Hyderabad. Let us goto the people. Let them decide.If we have not done our workthey will reject us,” the ChiefMinister said. In the list of TRScandidates, only two sittingmembers Babu Mohan fromAndole and Odelu fromChennur were denied tickets.KCR said the candidates for theremaining 14 seats will also beannounced in a week of 10days.

KCR said he was confidentof a second term because of thegood work done by hisGovernment over the last fouryears. “We have not only ful-filled all the promises made inour manifesto but also imple-mented 76 other decisionsincluding financial assistancefor the marriage of poor girlsof all castes and communitieswithout any demand from thepeople,” the CM said.

He cautioned the peopleagainst letting the State slippinginto the hands of corrupt andinefficient people who had noidea of the needs of the State.“Those making allegationsagainst me were partner in theGovernments over the last 50years and they did nothing forthe State and its people,” hesaid. Lashing out at theCongress, he said, “Congress isa curse and number one enemyof Telangana State.” He recalledthat it was the Pandit NehruGovernment which forcefullymerged existing State ofTelangana and during theIndira Gandhi rule hundreds ofTelangana youth were killed fordemanding separate State.

He also targeted the TeluguDesam Party as “Andhra” partyand said by trying to joinhands with the TDP, theCongress was again trying totake Telangana into the slaveryof Andhra. He also called theCongress a “Delhi party” andwarned the people against theslavery of Delhi CongressSultanate. Targeting RahulGandhi he called him “biggestbuffoon” in the country andsaid his visits to the State willfurther benefit the TRS.

He rejected the criticismthat the TRS was getting closeto the BJP or it will have analliance with the BJP. “Therewill be no alliance and the Statewill have triangular contest,”KCR said. He admitted that theMIM was a friendly party butthere could be a friendly con-test between the two parties inthe elections. Giving the reasonfor treating the MIM as afriendly party he recalled thatsoon after his Governmentwas formed in the State therewere attempts from Delhi todestablilise it. “AsaduddinOwaisi called me from Delhiand alerted me and unilateral-ly and voluntarily announcedhis full support to ourGovernment. We thank him forthis,” he said. “What is wrongin treating MIM as a friendlyparty,” he asked.

BANDH AGAINST...“Upper caste people made

me the MLA and not Muslimsand Dalits. I am ready to sac-rifice for the upper caste. If myupper caste supporters ask meI can also resign (from my seat)for their sake,” Singh said.

Some bandh supportershad heated arguments withanother BJP MLA, AnandSwarup Shukla from BalliaSadar, who refused to backthem. Ballia Superintendentof Police Sriparna Gangulysaid some people resorted tobrick-batting in which sixpolicemen were injured.

Normal life was also affected inAgra. Adityanath stated that theBJP Government is committedtowards the welfare of peopleand development. “We neverplay politics of caste and reli-gion. The law is to protect thedowntrodden. TheGovernment will ensure that itwill not be misused,”Adityanath told reporters inGonda. There were scatteredincidents of violence, mainly inBihar, where bandh supportersstormed Patna’s RajendraNagar terminus and disruptedthe movement of trains forabout 30 minutes. Trains werebriefly disrupted in Rajgir alsoas commercial establishmentsremained closed in many partsof Bihar. Shops and commer-cial establishments remainedlargely closed in Bihar’s capitalPatna, but banks andGovernment offices functionednormally. Protesters gatheredbefore the Bihar BJP head-quarters, raising slogans overthe “betrayal” by the party.Some of them also headedtowards the office of the JanataDal (United), a BJP ally.

The bandh supportersattacked Rajesh Ranjan aliasPappu Yadav, MP inMuzaffarpur and formerMinister and JD(U) legislatorShyam Rajak in Begusarai.Yadav who was going toMadhubani was attacked nearKhabra on the outskirts ofMuzaffarpur with bricks andspears. The independent MPfrom Madhepura alleged itwas a conspiracy to eliminatehim. All the vehicles followinghim came under heavy brick-batting and their screens weresmashed. While narrating theincident to the media Yadavbroke down and said it wasonly the luck that he was alive.

Rajak, a national secretaryof the JD(U) and prominentDalit face of the party, said hiscar was attacked in Begusaraiand his bodyguard was injured.Later, he went to Balia and reg-istered a case with the policeabout attack on him. CongressMLA Siddharatha Sharma wasstopped by bandh enforcersnear Naubatpur in rural Patna.When the muscle-flexing leg-islator and his men tried to getaway the locals stopped andthere were verbal duel betweenthem. Sensing the angry moodof the bandh supporters theMLA retreated hastily.

A police officer was injuredduring clash between support-ers of bandh and the policeparty. ASP Sanjiv Kumar hasrushed to Vena village to con-trol the rampaging crowdwhere stones were hurled athim. A profusely bleeding copwas rushed to hospital wherehis condition was stated to bestable. In Ara, police resortedto lathicharge at several places.At Jagdeo Nagar, the policewere attacked by protestersand in retaliation policemenchased the attackers. Thebandh call evoked a strongresponse in Rajasthan wheremany shops and businesses,

schools and other educationalinstitutions remained closed onThursday. Shops were shut inJaipur, Karauli, Pratapgarh,Udaipur, Pali, Nagaur and otherdistricts in the State. Most pri-vate schools and petrol pumpsremained closed in MadhyaPradesh while markets andbusiness establishments inparts of the State were shut.Police said the bandh wasobserved in a peaceful manner.Brahma Samagam SawarnaJankalyan Sangathan’s nation-al president DharmendraSharma said about 150 organ-isations of the upper castes andOther Backward Class partic-ipated in the bandh in MadhyaPradesh. He claimed the bandhwas effective in almost theentire State, particularly inKatni, Vidisha, Sehore, Dewas,Indore, Gwalior, Jhabua,Chhattarpur, Mandsaur, Sagarand Ujjain. In Punjab andHaryana, there was littleresponse to the bandh withpeople keeping their business-es open in most areas, reportssaid. But in Punjab’s Phagwarashops and commercial estab-lishments remained shut.

SC EXTENDS...“Tell him we have taken it

very seriously ... You (law offi-cer) must ask your police offi-cials to be more responsible.The matter is before us and wedon’t want to hear from policeofficials that the SupremeCourt is wrong,” the judgesaid. Considering the submis-sions of the law officer thatThapar and others have nolocus to file the plea, the Benchasked the petitioners to satisfyit on whether a third partycould intervene in a criminalcase. “In a criminal investiga-tion, can a third party enter,”the Bench asked.

Senior lawyer AbhishekManu Singhvi, appearing forThapar and others, said theywere “not third parties” and theissue was larger. LawyerPrashant Bhushan said thearrested activists have con-sented that they can be repre-sented by the petitioners andmoreover, they can also beallowed to become parties tothe litigation here. At the out-set, Mehta referred to the replyof the Maharashtra Police andseveral judgements and said thepetition filed by Thapar, econ-omists Prabhat Patnaik andDevaki Jain, sociology profes-sor Satish Deshpande andhuman rights lawyer MajaDaruwala, was not maintain-able as they are “strangers” tothe issue in question. He saidthe accused have been repre-sented by lawyers at variouscourts and the present peti-tioners cannot seek remedy andissuance of writ on their behalfas such procedures are“unknown to the criminal law”.

The law officer said therewas enough evidence includingthe materials taken from theactivists’ computers and othersources which belied the per-ception of the petitioners about

the arrested accused. Senioradvocate Harish Salve, appear-ing for Tushar Damgude whohad filed the FIR in theKoregaon-Bhima violence,opposed the plea of Thapar andsaid the plea against the arrestcould have been raised in themagistrate’s court by the affect-ed parties. Senior advocateIndira Jaising raised the issue ofthe arrest of an activist in thematter six months ago. TheBench fixed the matter forfurther hearing on September12. Earlier, the MaharashtraGovernment had filed itsresponse to the plea claimingthe five rights activists werearrested due to the cogent evi-dence linking them with thebanned CPI (Maoist) and notbecause of their dissentingviews. The State’s response hadcome in the backdrop of theapex court, while ordering thehouse arrest of the five activistson August 29, categoricallystating that “dissent is the safe-ty valve of democracy”.

Prominent Telugu poetVaravara Rao was arrested onAugust 28 from Hyderabad,while activists VernonGonsalves and Arun Ferreirawere nabbed from Mumbai,trade union activist SudhaBharadwaj from Faridabad inHaryana and civil libertiesactivist Gautam Navlakha wasarrested from New Delhi.

The Maharashtra Policehad arrested the five activists inconnection with an FIR lodgedfollowing a conclave -- ‘ElgaarParishad’ -- held on December31 last year that had later trig-gered violence at Koregaon-Bhima village. The court hadquestioned the State police’smove to arrest these activistsnine months after the incidentand said all of them werereputed citizens and “stiflingthe dissent” was not good. Theplea by Thapar and others hassought an independent probeinto the arrests and their imme-diate release. PTI

IN FIRST 2+2 TALKS...Addressing a joint Press

conference, Swaraj said theIndia-US counter-terrorismcooperation has acquired anew “qualitative edge and pur-pose”. “We welcomed therecent designations of Lashkar-e-Tayyeba terrorists by theUnited States. They under-score the international com-munity’s scrutiny over thethreat of terrorism emanatingfrom Pakistan, which hasaffected India and the UnitedStates alike. In the 10thanniversary of the 26/11attacks, we recognised theimportance of justice and ret-ribution for the mastermindsbehind this terrorist attack,”they said. Sitharaman saidIndia and the US were com-mitted to work together tocombat the “persistent threat ofterrorism” and other sharedsecurity challenges. TheMinisters committed toenhance their ongoing coop-eration in multilateral fora

such as the UN and FinancialAction Task Force (FATF),and reaffirmed their supportfor a ComprehensiveConvention on InternationalTerrorism that will advanceand strengthen the frameworkfor global cooperation andreinforce the message that nocause or grievance justifiesterrorism, the joint statementsaid. “The Ministers welcomedthe launch of a bilateral dia-logue on designation of ter-rorists in 2017, which isstrengthening cooperation andaction against terrorist groups,including Al-Qaida, ISIS,Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad, Hizb-ulMujahideen, the HaqqaniNetwork, Tehrik-i-TalibanPakistan, D-Company, andtheir affiliates,” it said. Swarajsaid India recognises the valueof the Terrorists DesignationsDialogue established last yearas well as other mechanisms topromote cooperation incounter-terrorism and home-land security. She also said thetwo countries also discussedthe situation in South Asia insome detail adding India

supports PresidentTrump’s South Asia Policy.“His call for Pakistan to stop itspolicy of supporting cross-border terrorism finds reso-nance with us,” the IndianExternal Affairs Minister said.Reviewing the security situa-tion in the Indian sub-conti-nent, Swaraj said the efforts byIndia and the US in promotingan Afghan-led, Afghan-ownedand Afghan Government-con-trolled reconciliation processcame up for discussion. HerUS counterpart Pompeotermed the COMCASA agree-ment a “milestone” in the tiesbetween two countries andSitharaman said the pact willenhance India’s defence capa-bility and preparedness. TheCOMCASA will facilitate Indiato obtain critical defence tech-nologies from the US, andaccess critical communicationnetwork to ensure interoper-ability among the US and theIndian armed forces. It will alsoallow the installation of high-security US communicationequipment on defence plat-forms being sourced from the US.

The encrypted systems willallow the Indian forces to fullyexploit the capabilities of air-craft like C-130 and C-17transport aircraft besides P-8 Ilong range maritime recon-naissance aircraft procuredfrom the US in the last few years.

The pact could not beinked in the past due to con-cerns in India that it will allowthe US to listen into Indiansecure communication chan-nels. Elaborating upon theCOMCASA pact, officials latersaid New Delhi negotiated anIndia specific agreement build-ing on the generic text. Specificprovisions have been incorpo-rated to safeguard our interestsand data cannot be shared,they said adding the text ofCOMCASA is confidential butlegal arrangements are there.

The pact comes into force

immediately and is valid for 10years and “we have ensuredthat we have full access to therelevant equipment and therewill be no disruptions,” theysaid and asserted this is anenabling agreement and doesnot commit India to any acqui-sitions. Meanwhile, Swaraj saidthe dialogue reflected thedesire of leadership of the twocountries to further elevatethe bilateral strategic commu-nication on cross-cuttingdefence and security issues.

“The recent decision by theUS to put India in the list ofcountries eligible for StrategicTrade Authorization Tier-ILicense Exemption reflectsIndia’s robust and responsibleexport control policies. In ourmeeting today, we also agreedto work together to secureIndia’s membership of theNuclear Suppliers Group at theearliest,” she said.

On the H1B visa issuewhich has raised concernsamongst Indian professionalsworking in the US, Swarajsaid she sought Pompeo’s sup-port to nurture our people-to-people links. “Specifically, Iconveyed our expectation fora non-discriminatory and pre-dictable approach to the H1Bvisa regime, given its highimpact on innovation, com-petitiveness and people-to-people partnership, all ofwhich are a vital source ofstrength for our relationship,”Swaraj said.

As regards giving a fillip tomilitary to military ties, Indiaand the US announced a newtri-service exercise to beginnext year. Officials stated thatthis will be an amphibiousexercise HumanitarianAssistance and Disaster Relief(HADR) exercise. “We havedecided for the first time tocarry out a tri services exerciseon the Eastern Coast with USin 2019,” Sitharaman said.

The two Defence Ministersof India and US alsoannounced their readiness tobegin negotiations on anIndustrial Security Annex(ISA) that would support clos-er defense industry coopera-tion and collaboration. Indiaand the US have signed theGeneral Security of MilitaryInformation Agreement (GSO-MIA) years ago and allowssharing of classified informa-tion from US Governmentand American companies withIndian Government andDefence Public SectorUndertakings (DPSU) but notwith Indian private companies.The ISA is required to enablethis and particularly importantas India opens up defencemanufacturing to the privatesector in a big way.

To further defence inno-vation, a Memorandum ofIntent was signed between theU.S. Defense Innovation Unit(DIU) and the Indian DefenceInnovation Organization -Innovation for DefenceExcellence (DIO-iDEX) whichwill look into joint projects forco-production and co-devel-opment projects through theDefense Technology and TradeInitiative (DTTI).

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

LUCKNOW | FRIDAY | SEPTEMBER 7, 2018 nation 07

PNS n CHENNAI

Two days after Lois Sofia, the28-year-old woman from

Thoothukudi, who shouted“Down with Fascist BJP” slogansduring the Chennai-Thoothukudi flight, who wasarrested by Tamil Nadu Policeand granted bail by a districtcourt, the controversy has failedto die down.

With all political parties inthe State barring the BJP and theAIADMK extending support tothe woman passenger for herfreedom of expression and rightto dissent, security agencies areworried over the future of airtravel in Tamil Nadu because of

the incident , being described asThoothukudi Syndrome. Sofiareportedly shouted at DrTamiliussai Sounderarajan, pres-ident of Tamil Nadu BJP who wastravelling in the same flight.This was the first incident of thiskind in the recent past thoughthere were a couple of instanceswhen unruly passengers hadcreated problems during theflight. “I do not know what willhappen if some Sangh Parivaractivists start raising slogans inaircraft in which leaders of theDMK or the Congress are trav-elling. This is a threat which hasto be nipped in the bud. Politicalrivalries and activism should bekept out of the aircraft,” said a

senior intelligence official inChennai airport.

Shanmukhasundaram, thelawyer who represent DrSounderarajan in the case toldThe Pioneer that this was a seri-ous issue. “I can understand theire of the DMK, the Congress andothers towards the BJP leader. Butplease remember that even stand-ing up during the flight itself isagainst aviation rules. There is asense of decency and decorum tobe observed during the flight,”said Shanmukhasundaram.

What is haunting aviationseniors is the “uniqueness” ofThoothukudi. “The region isnotorious for all kind of murdersand agitations. The anti-

Koodankulam Nuclear PowerPlant agitation has its base inThootrhukudi. The Sterlite agi-tation and riots that resulted in15 deaths are still fresh in theminds of the people,” said theintelligence official.

Meanwhile efforts are on toextricate the woman, reportedlya research student in a CanadianUniversity from the case. S ASami, her father, had told jour-nalists that his daughter was notfamiliar with rules in the aircraft.“She is a science student andignorant of anything other thanher subject of learning. If this casegets dragged on, it may affect herstudies in Canada,” Sami toldreporters.

OMER FAROOQ n HYDERABAD

With early elections toTelangana Legislative

Assembly looking imminentand ruling Telangana RashtraSamiti marshaling all its forcesand resources, the Oppositionparties have also startedweighing their options andanalysing their strengths andweaknesses. Here is a lookwhere the TRS and its rivalsstand and what are the chal-lenges and opportunities forthem.

TRS: with a strong andcharismatic leader in KChandrasekhar Rao and a welloiled organisational machinerythe ruling party was starting inthe race clearly ahead of thechallenge.

Having played a leadingrole in securing separateTelangana State, KCR had ledhis party to easy victory in 2014with 63 seats and 34.3 per centpopular votes.

He again plans to flaunt theemotional and regional cardand portray opponents as“slaves of Delhi”.

Unlike the opposition TRSwill offer a clear choice inKCR for the CM’s post for thesecond term. He will be seek-ing a fresh mandate on thebasis of his performance, hostof developmental and welfareprograms, bringing the Stateout of serious power crisis,making 24 hour power supply,accelerating economic growthand securing top rankings inEase of Doing Business, creat-ing a business and industryfriendly atmosphere, taking

several farmer friendly initia-tives, sops for all the weakersections, ensuring the Stateremained peaceful over thelast four years by keeping theMaoists and communal troublemakers in check. However theopposition will target him onthe issues like family rule,alleged corruption and keepingthe tenant farmer and farmlaborers out of the benefitsannounced for the land own-ing farmers. KCR’s failure infulfilling the promise ofincreasing reservation quota forMuslims and scheduled tribesto 12% will also be a target ofthe opposition.

Congress: For the mainopposition Congress party thesecond elections since the for-mation of Telangana is a do ordie battle. Though in 2014 itwas reduced to paltry 21 seatsin 119-member assembly, it stillpolled a respectable 25% votes.However absence of a strongleader to take on KCR remainsits Achilles heel.

Congress strategy was towoo back its traditional sup-

port base among the backwardclasses, dalits, tribals andminorities by offering sops.Among the upper castes theparty continues to enjoy agood hold among the Reddys.

Congress campaign willlargely depend on the starappeal of Nehru Gandhi fam-ily for which many in the Statestill have a soft corner. Peopleacknowledge that without UPAchairperson Sonia “Amma”Gandhi’s intervention separateTelangana State would not havebecome a reality. However real-ising that it was still not in aposition to take on the power-ful TRS on its own Congresswas seriously working on thepossibility of joining handswith the second major opposi-tion party Telugu Desam.

Telugu Desam Party: NChandrababu Naidu’s partyhad polled 14.7% of votes andwon 15 seats last t ime.According to the reportsCongress president RahulGandhi and TDP nationalpresident and AndhraPradesh Chief Minister Naidu

have reached a broaderunderstanding on how to facethe TRS. KCR’s astute moves ofwooing most of the importantleaders and all but 3 MLAs hasleft the TDP a pale shadow ofitself. While it still enjoys pock-ets of influence especiallyamong the Andhra settlers, itremains to be seen to whatextent it will be able to mobilisethem. TDP’s label of pro-Andhra party will be a weak-point which TRS will fullyexploit.

BJP: Despite making fre-quent claims that it will formthe next Government in theState BJP appears to haveresigned itself to play a mar-ginal role. Of late the party’srank and file were left confusedby contradictory signals fromthe Central leadership. Whilethe party’s national presidentAmit Shah assured the Stateparty that he will personallytake the command inTelangana and lead the party tovictory, Prime MinisterNarendar Modi’s praise forTelangana Government andeasy access to KCR has put theState BJP in a dilemma. Thegeneral feeling was that KCR’smove of advancing the pollshad the blessings of NarendraModi-Amit Shah duo.Observers say Modi’s calcula-tion was that if Congress loos-es in Telangana it challenge tohim at the national level willweaken.

BJP, which won five seats(all in Hyderabad city) andpolled 7% votes, remains anurban party with little or noorganisational structure in

rural areas. The party also suf-fers from lack of any charis-matic leader and any emotionalissue to cause polarisation.Though KCR promising 12%reservation to Muslims and itsproximity to the All IndiaMajlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen(AIMIM) were identified aspossible sticks to beat KCRwith, even that plan appears tobe in doldrums because ofModi-KCR friendship.

AIMIM Factor: Led byAsaduddin Owaisi MIM essen-tially remains a “Hyderabadparty” where it won sevenassembly seats and polled 3.8%in 2014. On the basis of itsaccessibility to the masses,good work on the ground andits strong clout among theMuslims, party will not findretaining all its seats difficult.However the party was eyeingthree more seats in the city,which were presently with theTRS and the BJP. The pluspoint for the MIM was itsgood rapport and warm friend-ship with the TRS supremoKCR. But it also has a poten-tial to become a problem if TRSbecomes too cozy with theBJP.

Others: The electoral scenein Telangana this time will becrowded with the presence of sev-eral other smaller parties. Theywill include CPI, CPIM, YSRCongress of YS JaganmohanReddy, Jana Sena of film starPawan Kalyan, Telangana JanaSamiti of Prof Kodandaram andother sundry players who couldupset the calculations of majorparties by dividing votes.

TRS clearly ahead but Cong-TDPties can upset T poll equations

Thoothukudi syndrome rowrefuses to die down in TN

PNS n GANDHINAGAR

Politics over the pro-quotaleader Hardik Patel intensi-

fied in Gujarat as a delegation ofthe Opposition Congress metChief Minister Vijay Rupani onThursday and submitted amemorandum to him request-ing to initiate dialogue with thePatidar Anamat Andolan Samiti(PAAS) convener, who is on fastsince past 13 days.

The Congress delegationheaded by Leader of Oppositionin Gujarat Assembly PareshDhanani also said the CMRupani to accept demands ofHardik, so he would end his fastagitation. Dhanani said thatthe delegation has asked the CMthrough memorandum toaccept three major demands ofHardik with immediate effectincluding waiver in farmers’debt, release of PAAS leaderAlpesh Kathiria who is in jail inconnection with sedition charge,withdrawal of all cases filedagainst Patidar activists duringpro-quota agitation.

According to him if theState Government would notinitiate talk with Hardik,Congress will stage symbolicfast agitation of 24 hours on

Total seats 119

TRS 63 seats votes 34.3%

Congress 21 25.2%

TDP 3 from 15 14.7%

BJP 5 7.1%

AIMIM 7 3.8

8 others (including CPIM 1) 14.9%

As Opposition MLAs defected to TRS en masse, the TRS strengthnow stands at 90, the Congress is down to 13 and the TDP to 3

Turnout of voters 72%

2014 TELANGANA ASSEMBLY POLL

RESULTS AND VOTE SHARE

Cong delegation meets

CM Rupani, urges him to

initiate talks with Hardik

SAUGAR SENGUPTA n KOLKATA

Two days after a major bridgecollapse in Kolkata killing

three persons and injuringabout 26 others, Bengal ChiefMinister Mamata Banerjeeattacked the BJP for maligningher Government and Bengalignoring similar instances in theStates ruled by them.

Banerjee who held anurgent meeting to take stock ofthe dilapidating bridges of theState and asked the police toclear the underbellies of allsuch bridges from encroach-ment questioned the “destruc-tive mindset” of some peoplewho instead of extending handsof cooperation take pleasure incriticising others.

“There are some peoplewho condemn others by hold-ing media trial. I am not readyto reply to their queries,”Banerjee told the media afterthe meeting.

“Ask these people to firstraise questions on the bridgecollapses in Varanasi andMaharashtra before pokingtheir nose here,” Banerjee saidwhen asked to respond to alle-gations leveled by the opposi-tion leaders that despite repeat-ed warning by the experts theGovernment took no step torepair the bridge.

“There is a constant effortto malign Bengal wheneverthere is any incident. I want toask you that why are you soanti-Bengali? Why do youalways try to malign Bengal?”Banerjee shot back when askedto comment on the statements

made by the BJP leadership. Laying credence to a “pre-

liminary report” that blamedthe Metro Railways for not tak-ing adequate care while con-structing a bridge adjacent tothe collapsed flyover causingthe damage to the 50-year oldstructure the “Government hasasked them to stop work till theinquiry report determining thecause of the collapse of thebridge comes,” the ChiefMinister said.

Banerjee on Thursdayconstituted a team headedby the Chief Secretary todetermine the reasons behindthe collapse of the bridge.

“The report will be submittedin a week’s time.” The ChiefMinister also asked the policeto ban all the 20-wheelertrucks plying in Kolkata and“damaging the old bridgesand roads.”

She said “the smaller trucksare needed for reaching essen-tial commodities. The biggerones with 20-wheels are all nui-sance and cause heavy damageto the bridges and roads. Wecannot allow them to run freelyfrom now on. I have asked thepolice to stop those vehiclesfrom plying in the city.”

The Chief Minister alsoconstituted a BridgeMonitoring cell that wouldaudit and inspect the health ofthe older bridges and submitreports on their state ofhealth. Bengal has over thepast a few years seen at leastfour bridge collapses the lat-est happening as late as onTuesday noon.

KOLKATA BRIDGE COLLAPSE

First look at Varanasi, Mahathen blame Bengal: Mamata

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Chief Secretary Malay Deyaddress a Press conference during a meeting with her Ministers on the MajerhautBridge collapse in Kolkata on Thursday PTI

Banerjee on Thursday

constituted a team

headed by the Chief

Secretary to determine

the reasons behind the

bridge collapse

Friday in all 33 district head-quarters across Gujarat from 11am onwards. He however saidthat the Chief Minister heardCongress delegation patiently.

Reacting on Congress’sdemand, Gujarat BJP presidentJitu Vaghani said that the oppo-sition party was playing dirtypolitics as Congress leaderswere not clarifying their party’sview on giving reservation toPatidar community. Over thepast three years PAAS and otherpro-quota outfits are demand-ing reservation for Patidar com-munity in Government jobsand educational institutionsunder OBC category.

Meanwhile, from Thursdayevening, Hardik has decided notto take water. His decision cameat a time when he started usingwheelchair to access toilet. Hetook the decision following theadvice of his personal doctor.Since August 25, Hardik has lostalmost 11 kg weight.

According to Governmentdoctor his temperature andblood pressure was normal.The 25-year-old Hardik hadcomplaint of weakness andstomach pain from Thursday .

I

n the wake of the demonetisation brouhaha over its alleged failures,

one is reminded of Sweden which once suffered a spate of robberies.

So much so that many questioned the cash flow reduction in the econ-

omy. Unions of various organisations, including bank employees, bus dri-

vers and cab drivers, raised demands for a cashless society. If there would

be no cash, the argument went, the risks of robberies would go down and

so would the threat to the lives of those who had to deal in cash while in

transit. This and many other factors steered this Scandinavian country into

taking a series of reforms to become a cashless economy. And if Jonas

Hedman, Associate Professor at the Department of Digitalisation at the

Copenhagen Business School, is to be believed, in less than four years

from now, by March 24, 2023, Sweden would become the world’s first cash-

less society.

In an interview with Knowledge@Wharton, Hedman said: “Cash had been

decreasing in Sweden since 2007. From 100 billion Swedish cash in circu-

lation in 2007, it came down by about 50 per cent to stand at 45 billion today.

When we look at cash in circulation compared to gross national product, we

are below one per cent in Sweden. In the US, it’s around five per cent to

seven per cent. In the UK, it’s around three per cent. Countries in South

America have around 30 per cent. Sweden is unique in the rapid decrease

of cash in circulation.” In India, the cash-to-GDP ratio is about 11.3 per cent,

which is much higher than that of the US and the UK.

One of the stated objectives of demonetisation was the formalisation of

the Indian economy and encouraging the use of digital transactions or less

reliance on cash transactions. Also, as Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley,

in a recent Facebook post wrote, “The larger purpose of demonetisation was

to move India from a tax non-compliant society to a compliant society.” Non-

believers and critics have been on a rampage talking about how demoneti-

sation has failed. The debate is not whether demonetisation has failed or

succeeded, but whether it has met its objectives. To me, even if this exper-

iment was unable to achieve its objectives in full, we should not be indulging

in criticism for the sake of it.

What the Finance Minister said is very simple and that doesn’t require

deep understanding of macro economics to comprehend it. More formali-

sation of the economy ensures that more money is being pumped into the

system, which in turn results in higher tax revenue, higher expenditure, and

higher growth. The growth of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to 8.2 per cent

for April-June quarter demonstrates just this.

Jaitley has listed down factors that buttresses his claims of the formal-

isation of the Indian economy — money is being accounted for and is being

put into the banking framework. Besides black money has received a blow.

He wrote, “When cash is deposited in the banks, the anonymity about the

owner of the cash disappears. The deposited cash is now identified with its

owner giving rise to an inquiry, whether the amount deposited is in conso-

nance with the depositor’s income. Accordingly, post demonetisation about

1.8 million depositors have been identified for this enquiry.” Is that not meet-

ing the objective, if not a runaway success?

In 2014, only 3.8 crore people filed their income tax returns — the num-

ber had gone up substantially to 6.86 crore in 2017-18. Income tax collec-

tions have grown from `6.38 lakh crore to `10.02 lakh crore in the same

period. In last two years alone, I-T returns have grown by phenomenal 19

per cent and 25 per cent respectively. The Finance Minister points to some

interesting data and how could this be linked to demonetisation: “The num-

ber of New Returns filed post-demonetisation increased in the past two years

by 85.51 lakhs and 1.07 crore.”

Jaitley further informed that the implementation of the Goods and Services

Tax (GST) on July 1, 2017, nine months after demonetisation, exhibited defin-

itive results: “In the very first year, the number of registered assesses has

increased by 72.5 per cent. The original 66.17 lakh assesses has increased

to 114.17 lakhs.” Do these facts don’t meet the objectives of demonetisa-

tion? Indeed they do.

Those still worried can take solace from the reports of the world’s three

best agencies — the World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF) and

Asian Development Bank (ADB) — guess no bhakts dictate terms there.

The IMF said, “With growth picking up after falling sharply in the second

quarter of 2017 due to “one-off factors”, India in 2018 and 2019 would re-

emerge as one of the fastest growing major economies.” The World Bank

said India had recovered from the impact of twin policies while ADB said

that the new regime of GST mitigates geographic fragmentation and improves

productivity.

The structural reforms are for good and shows promising results. We

certainly can’t blame Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Finance Minister

for having taken a calculated risk and a bold decision.

(The writer is a strategic communications professional)

Who would have thought that Brahmins, at the top of the varna sys-tem and responsible as a historically elite, power-wielding group insignificant measure at least in their role as the traditional priestly class

of India for the ostracization of Scheduled Castes and other disempoweredsections of society, would make common cause with the so-called middlecastes or OBCs across a vast swathe of North and Central India? But theyhave, and on an issue where anyone on the side of common sense and theprotection of individual rights will be simpatico to their position. Do remem-ber, though, that the agrarian middle castes, many of whom have been list-ed as OBCs or are agitating to be included in that category, have been theprimary physical oppressors of Scheduled Castes in an eco-system of sup-pression sanctified by those at the top of the pyramid.

The protests planned for today by means of a Bharat bandh have been calledagainst the Narendra Modi Government's restoration of the procedural bias inthe stringent clauses of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act despite theSupreme Court modifying them. The Court took its decision after due deliber-ation and on the basis of empirical data which showed that immediate arrestof the accused on the mere levelling of an allegation under the Act without evenchecking prima facie if the allegations were true and not false, or malicious, orboth, was resulting in the misuse of these stringent provisions to frame inno-cents. In fact, the apex court made it clear that its order did not in any way'dilute' the Act but only put in some checks on procedural aspects to ensurejustice. The Government in its wisdom and with an eye on the SC/ST vote-bank,however, virtually overturned the Court verdict and the Opposition was equal-ly reckless and eager to denounce the ruling dispensation as 'insensitive' and'anti-SC/ST' if it didn't act immediately to 'correct' the judgment. Well, it's come-uppance time now. Although the so-called upper caste population is numeri-cally not enough to form a substantial voter base, if it solidifies and aligns withOBC groups in key States it can certainly be a force-multiplier for any politicalparty. Brahmins in particular were traditional Congress supporters and theBrahmin-SC/ST-Muslim base of the party with incremental votes from variousother 'middle castes' from State to State held it in good stead till the Indira Gandhiyears. But the collapse of the party and the rise of the BJP from the early 1990sonward meant that in the 2014 General Election the so-called upper caste votewent overwhelmingly to Modi. Now, with the Congress' desperately trying toreclaim its alleged 'Brahmin DNA' and the anger among sections of middle andupper castes at what they perceive, ironically, as the vote-bank politics of theBJP, a fresh churning to build a new social coalition seems to have begun.

If there is one downside to the landmark judgement decriminalising homo-sexual relationships it is that it happened through the judicial route and notthe legislative route and other than a few notable exceptions most politicians

who will come out of the woodwork celebrating this judgement did nothing topush the case for legislative reform. However, while this is a moment for cele-bration, there are several things that have not changed, other than the end ofpolice harassment and possibly Chief Justice Dipak Misra’s image among a cer-tain section of the commentariat. People do not change overnight, and overallacceptance of homosexuality among society at large in India, particularly amongthe middle classes, is tenuous to say the least. And a direct corollary to this isthat while homosexuality has been decriminalised, homophobia has not beencriminalised. And let us be honest, as a community, the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual,Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) community has faced more hate than any othercommunity across the world and in the light of today’s judgement, when someof them come of the shadows, many of them, starting with more famous indi-viduals, will face immense amounts of hate from motormouths on televisionpanels, trolls on social media and unsolicited opinions from their neighbours,colleagues and possibly even their friends.

Responsible media in India should not lend their platforms to purveyors ofhate of any description but that is wishful thinking given the state of profes-sional media today. But what should also happen is that there must be pres-sure put on politicians and the judiciary alike to recognise hate speech and hatecrimes against the LGBTQ community. This paper has argued for the decrimi-nalisation of Section 377 in the past, and we are also arguing for the inclusionof homophobic actions and speech in public in the hate speech lexicon thoughnaturally without putting any unreasonable restriction on free speech. Outrightabuse of any individual and/or group of homo sapiens including gay people oradvocating mad solutions to 'cure' them must be condemned and curbed. Atthe same time, the LGBTQ community should work towards not just combat-ing hate but also winning the hearts and minds of those who for whatever rea-son feel threatened by this decision. There is no rationality to the fear that manyfeel; some talking of how decriminalising Section 377 will legitimise ‘male rape’et cetera. Others fear that it will alloy ‘gays to take over the world' and yet oth-ers feel quite incorrectly that homosexuality is in itself a Western construct andwe are ‘forgetting our cultural mores'. These are the actual issues mindsets offellow citizens in the real world outside the cosy confines of posh enclaves inour metros and the fact is they cannot be combated through pride parades andnewspaper editorials. This is the challenge facing the LGBTQ community in Indiatoday. The path forward towards a legislative recognition of same-sex marriageis a long one but hopefully one that will take considerably less time than it tookIndia to arrive at the decision of 6 September.

Change for good

Decriminalising of homosexuality is a welcome, progressive

move. But eradicating homophobia will be a long haul

Identity politics

When common sense is given short shrift for

electoral gains chaos is sure to ensue

Revitalising India’s public sectorwww.dailypioneer.com

P A P E R W I T H P A S S I O N

Given the large investments in the public sector, a new dynamic is essential for defining the relationship between the Government and the public sector by which accountability to Parliament and people is not diluted

India’s industrial development afterIndependence was designed to be drivenby growth of the public sector. Prior toIndependence, sectors such as railways, postand telegraph services and ordnance fac-

tories were entirely under the Governmentcontrol and constituted the bulk of the public sec-tor business. Yet, the manner in which these func-tioned then was quite different from what hasevolved in recent decades. The Indian Railways,for instance, was a highly professional organisa-tion with decision-making in the hands of com-petent and well-trained executives, which is stillvery much the case today. But in terms of futuredirections and major financial powers, the roleof the executive has been curtailed over time.Significantly, on matters other than those involv-ing broad policy, earlier there was no interferencefrom above in respect of operational and man-agement issues.

However, particularly since the 1970s,there has been a growing interference in thefunctioning of the Indian Railways, the stateelectricity boards as well as other public sectororganisations, which were seen essentially asmilch cows for the benefit of the politicians andthe establishment in general. The result is thatthese organisations have become overstaffedwith a decline in the calibre of employees anda reduction in the quality of human resources.The public sector has become a convenient placefor providing employment to large number ofpeople who are followers or constituents of thosein power. This is one of the chronic problemsailing Air India as well, due to which the air-line has been unable to attract any offers inresponse to the recent effort at privatisation.

The case of Air India is particularly pathet-ic. This was one of the finest airlines in the worldand had a remarkable head start over severalothers which are thriving today, such asEmirates, Lufthansa and even SingaporeAirlines. Among many factors on account ofwhich this move failed is that the retention of24 per cent of stake in the hands of theGovernment of India scared away potentialinvestors who were concerned at the possibil-ity of interference by the Government.

But the main drawback to an enthusiasticresponse was the pathetic state of the financialstate of Air India. Any potential investor wouldhave been saddled with a huge debt burden, a

large number of permanent staff who are perhapsof questionable value to the organisation and adecline in Air India’s share in the domestic mar-ket, partly as an outcome of the ill-conceivedmerger of Air India and Indian Airlines. Any pas-senger for whom Air India was the airline ofchoice in the 1980s, as in the case of this writer,would feel sad at flying the national carrier now.The class of service on board is nowhere nearwhat it used to be.

The state of the aircraft and its interior areshabby, and even the cuisine served in every class,including business class, has declined. On arecent flight from New York to Delhi, happily,the punctuality at takeoff was perfect. But curi-ously what used to be a cabin only for businessclass now incorporates a row of first class, whichwas empty. No doubt this innovation must havebeen carried out to ensure that politicians andsenior bureaucrats do not have to travel in theignominy of humble business class. It was notlong ago that politicians, both in and out ofpower, as well as bureaucrats of the rank of JointSecretary and above, were routinely upgradedto first class along with their families.

Unfortunately, India has not allowed thepublic sector to reach the levels of excellencewhich would serve the country and the publicwell. The result has been a record of recurrentlosses, an absence of innovation and visionwhich are the defining qualities of a successfulbusiness enterprise. Typically, it is much too

often that the Government, official designatedto serve on the board of a public sector enter-prise, has the last word in decision-making, farabove that of the chairman of the board. Theentire body language and dynamics in theboardroom reflect that reality.

If we were to study the functioning of pub-lic enterprise in other countries, where successis evident, the relationship between theGovernment and the enterprise is distinctly dif-ferent from what is evident in India. It is for thisreason that organisations like, Électricité deFrance (EDF) and the Société Nationale desChemins de fer Français (SNCF), the FrenchNational Railways, are shining examples of out-standing professionalism, world-class innova-tion and overall performance, which havebeen the pride of France and an emblem of eco-nomic success over a long time.

Significantly, in India too, there havebeen periods of notable success of specific pub-lic sector organisations but this was essential-ly the result of competent and influential lead-ers, such as V Krishnamurthy of BHEL andMaruti, Mantosh Sondhi of the Bokaro SteelPlant, Dr Verghese Kurien of Amul and Dr NBPrasad of ONGC. These were industrial man-agers and captains of enterprises who wouldnot allow any undue interference in theorganisations they headed.

Even more impressive than the two above-mentioned public sector organisations in France

is the case of a developing country initiative inBrazil, which goes by the name of EmpresaBrasileira de Aeronáutica (Embraer), which isnow a world-class producer of aircraft and aero-nautical equipment. Embraer was created in1969, and by contrast, Hindustan AeronauticsLimited was established through the visionaryinitiative of Walchand Hirachand in 1940 inassociation with the Government of Mysore andone-third participation of the Government ofIndia. In 1963 the latter was established as atotally Government-owned company, and therest, as they say, is history.

It is often said that business should not bethe business of the Government. But given thelarge investments that we have in the public sec-tor in India, a new dynamic is essential fordefining the nexus between the Governmentand the public sector, by which accountabili-ty to Parliament and the people is not diluted.And it should be carried out in a manner thatensures innovation and success in the mar-ket are not compromised for any public sec-tor enterprise. Is this an issue that perhapsParliament needs to debate on the basis ofenlightened analysis and global experiences?Even for privatisation of the public sector, itsdynamism and success in the market areessential.

(The writer is former chairman,Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change,2002-15)

LESSON FOR LIFE

Sir — This refers to the article, “A trib-ute to our teachers” (September 5) byMJ Warsi. I remember with gratitudeRaphael Vaiz, the headmaster of myschool at Manapad, Tamil Nadu. Heintroduced me to dailies when I wasin 12. My association with newspapershave continued since then for morethan six decades now.

The habit of reading newspaperswas also what helped me in my careeras a teacher, and later, a banker.Calling a spade a spade and publish-ing verified news are the hallmarks of

newspapers — this is why many of uscrave for it every morning. This is alsoshows why even in the age of NewMedia and electronic media, news-papers never lost their relevance.

Tharcius S FernandoChennai

ANARCHY VERSUS DISSENT

Sir — This refers to the editorial, “Sillysallies” (September 5). Lois Sophia, a28-year-old student, was arrested butwas later released on bail by the TamilNadu police. Sophia was arrested forshouting slogans like “fascist BJP

Government down, down” at TamilNadu BJP president TamilisaiSoundararajan.

While there has been, as expect-ed, widespread instant condemnationof Sophia’s arrest, claiming that themove smacks of ‘fascism’, what needsto be underlined is that raising sloganson board a flight is pure anarchy.

Flights and airports are placeswhere people generally get unhin-dered access to political leaders andcelebrities. An encouragement to slo-ganeering and shouting in flights is anopen invitation to trouble. Suchactions shouldn’t have any place in a

vibrant democratic set-up. There is no denying the fact that

every citizen has a right to express dis-sent and protest against theGovernment or political leaders, thiskind of a protest on board a flight ispure anarchy.

Padmini RaghavendraRishikesh

FIGHT ILLITERACY

Sir — September 8 is celebrated asInternational Literacy Day. Educationis fundamental to human progress asilliteracy and poverty are interlinked.

As long as a sizeable proportion of ourpopulation is illiterate, the countrycannot make notable progress.

Only quality education canchange the attitude of the citizenstowards life and improve living stan-dards as well. It’s high time we pro-vide basic educational facilities to themarginalised sections of society so asto help them integrate into the main-stream society.

TS Karthik Chennai

Send your feedback to: [email protected]

Forget the usual debates about

demonetisation being a hit or a

miss. It has achieved its stated

objective, the formalisation of the

Indian economy, in large measure

You can meet me for any work. I will help

young men elope with girls they want to

marry. Take my number and call me.

—BJP MLA

RAM KADAM

Action should be taken against those who

insult our mothers and sisters. Ram Kadam

should not be given a ticket by any party.

— Shiv Sena president

UDDHAV THACKERAY

POINTCOUNTERPOINT

Last month, Kashmir wit-nessed one of its most vio-lent and bloodiest Bakrid inthe recent time; just a dayafter the announcement

was made of the appointment of anew Governor in Jammu & Kashmir.Was it a coincidence or a plannedeffort to send a few signals to the newGovernor? Violence after Eid prayersis not unusual in Kashmir but thistime its intensity and audacity wasdefinitely different from the past.There are a few deductions from thehappenings of this Bakrid which mayultimately emerge as new challengesfor new Governor, Satya Pal Malik.

Hizbul Mujahideen claimedresponsibility for most of the killings.Sayeed Salahudeen, head of the ter-ror outfit and chairman of the UnitedJihad Council (UJC), continues to livein safe-haven in Pak-occupiedKashmir under the patronage of thePakistan Army and the Inter-ServicesIntelligence (ISI). Thus, a clear-cutconnection exists between the killingsand Pakistan’s hand behind it. Achange of regime in Pakistan is notgoing to make any difference as faras violence in Kashmir is concerned.New Pakistan premier Imran Khandoes not have the mettle and politi-cal experience to challenge the ‘KPolicy’ of the military-mullah-mili-tant troika.

Pakistan has no respect for reli-gion or Islam. Bloodshed in Kashmiron the occasion of Eid-ul-Zuha doesnot perturb the troika over there. Infact, it emboldens the troika since itsuits their sinister design of keepingKashmir on the boil. The troika doesnot want the Kashmiris to live inpeace and enjoy the dividend ofdevelopment and progress in the restof the nation. The troika’s aim is tokeep Kashmir in a constant state ofconflict so that it can tie down theIndian Army in counter-infiltrationand counter-terrorism operationsand make sure that it does not posea major threat on its western borders.

Brutal killings of a politicalworker and a couple of policemen isa serious cause of worry. The jihadistsare motivated by an IS ideology. TheIS may not have a footfall in Kashmir,

but its ideology has penetrated otherjihadi terrorist groups active in theValley. The ideology justifies the useof violence as a necessity to defendIslam and as an obligation for a trueMuslim believer. The IS believes inthe concept of the ‘Caliphate’.

Democracy and the nation-stateare not compatible with the Salafi-jihadist ideology. Anyone serving thenation is an enemy of Islam as per thisideology. This is the reason for tar-geting the members of the police,Armed Forces and political workers.The IS is no threat to India but its ide-ology is, which is also responsible forthe spread of radicalisation.

The IS ideology also threatens theKashmiri society. Kashmiri culture isa mix of three religions — Hinduism,Buddhism and Islam. Kashmiri cul-ture, that was once proud of its one-ness, irrespective of religion, is in dan-ger of being overshadowed by Salafi-jihadist ideology that preaches areturn to true Sunni Islam and jus-tifies use of violence and terror torealise political objectives. It is a majorchallenge the civil society in Kashmirhas to accept and unite to fightagainst.

Another fallout in Salafi-jihadistideology is radicalisation. It is spread-ing in Kashmir like poison. Stonepelting on police personnel on duty,display of IS flags and Musa Armybanners, attack on Army posts andheckling of Dr Farooq Abdullah atthe Jama Masjid are all manifestationsof radicalisation. Zakir Musa is alsoemerging as the new cult and poster-boy of terrorism in Kashmir. His mes-sage on the eve of Eid to the terror-ists was full of hate. He warned ofGhazwa-e-Hind (the final and lastbattle for the conquest of India), athreat which re-emerges year afteryear for reasons not understood.

The entire concept of Ghazwa-e-Hind is nothing but a religious fan-tasy to raise the morale of SunniMuslim jihadists. Radicalisation pro-motes a thinking process of transitionfrom true Islam to the Islamic State.Zakir Musa is spreading this conceptin Kashmir which the youth appearsto be attracted towards. Was it a sig-nal intended at the incumbentGovernor? To me it appears so.

Fiery speeches were made onArticle 35A and other anti-nationalissues prior to and after Eid prayers.It aroused the sentiments of the youthwho were motivated by paid goonsto move out and indulge in a showof force (using pre-dumped stones)against the police personnel deployed

there. It goes to the credit of thepolicemen that they did not get pro-voked and retaliated with non-lethalweapons of crowd dispersal, despiteinstigations.

Lack of adequate knowledgeabout religion or distorted knowledgeof religion amongst the youth alsoleads to radicalisation because a‘vacuum of knowledge’ leaves themill-equipped to reject extremist ide-ologies. This is the reason that hatespeeches delivered by the maulvisafter the Friday prayers or duringother religious congregations and alsothe ideologies spread by the them incertain madrasas act as catalysts toradicalisation.

The IS has deliberately tailoredits propaganda to appeal to thosewith little religious knowledge.Radical preachers and hardcoreSalafi-jihadists, when kept togetherin prisons with juvenile stone-pel-ters, radicalise them beyondredemption. Therefore, to giveamnesty to such youth and returnthem to the mainstream is likeplaying with fire which has provedunsuccessful time and again becausethe same youth gets recycled intosangbaazi (stone-pelting).

In a society that has beenengulfed by a state of conflict for the

last three decades, paternal absenceand exposure to the messages of rad-ical preachers could also lead to rad-icalisation. Keypad jihadists spread-ing radical ideology can be anothersource of radicalisation.

In Kashmir, a perceived sense ofdiscrimination, false promises bypoliticians, denial of justice, harass-ment by security forces and fear oflosing their monolithic culture arealso driving the youth towards rad-icalisation. What the new Governorcan do immediately to counter rad-icalisation is to have a check on themaulvis and other religious preach-ers. Majority of them are non-localswho spread Salafi-Wahabi ideologiesusing the precincts of religious placesand madrasas. Local preachers, whofollow and preach Sufism, have beensidelined by them through the powerof petro-dollars. The Salafi-Wahabipreachers need to be replaced by Sufipreachers and the former must beordered to return to their respectivenative States.

The heckling of Dr FarooqAbdullah, a sitting MP and four-timeChief Minister of the State and pre-venting him from offering Eid prayersat Jama Masjid because a couple ofdays back he had shouted, “BharatMata Ki Jai” and “Jai Hind” at the top

of his voice in a gathering at NewDelhi, is also an act of defiance. Toshout slogans, and hoot while prayersare being offered and khutbah is beingdelivered, is against the basic tenetsof Islam. The behaviour was com-pletely un-Islamic. But who careswhen it is being done at the behestof somebody else, as a part of the larg-er agenda.

A section of misguided peoplewere also shouting azadi slogans.Seekers of azadi need to understandthat they are living in an utopianworld, much divorced from reality.Misguided youth are being exploit-ed by self-seekers whose own chil-dren are studying in posh schools anduniversities outside the State andabroad. It is a dream sold to the youthto motivate them to pick up the gun.It has not been achieved in the pastseven decades and would never beachieved — this is the hard reality theyouth need to realise. Radicalisationhas hardened and brainwashed thelocal youth to the extent that they arenot ready to accept the reality ofJammu & Kashmir being an integralpart of India, as enshrined in Article1 of the Constitution of India andArticle 3 of the State’s Constitution.

Dr Farooq Abdullah rightlyasserted that these misguided peo-ple need ‘counselling’. All national-ist voices in Kashmir have con-demned this unruly behaviour of asection of the people. Dr Farooqcalled them as “enemies of thestate” and said that he knew whowere the people behind it. “You willpay a very heavy price for this oneday. They don’t want peace and theyare thriving on violence,” he said.

The forces inimical to return ofpeace and normalcy in trouble-tornKashmir have succeeded in theirintent of according a “bloody”welcome to the new Governorand also signalling him of the chal-lenges he will face during histenure. To my mind, radicalisationis the major challenge which theGovernor or any otherGovernment can ill afford to ignoreanymore. It needs to be tackled onwar-footing along with counter-ter-ror operations. De-radicalisation istime-consumingand lustreless akinto de-addiction. Patience is themain virtue that will pay in the endbut it cannot be brushed under thecarpet anymore.

(The author is a Jammu-basedpolitical commentator and strategicanalyst. The views expressed areentirely personal.)

ANILGUPTA

NAVNEETANAND

RKPACHAURI

Health workers are the cornerstones ofeffective and equitable health services.By increasing numbers of workers

and enhancing their skills, as well as work-ing towards enhancing their equitable dis-tribution, countries in WHO South-East AsiaRegion are improving the quality and reachof health services and advancing their questto achieve universal health coverage.

Deliberate action to this end is respon-sible. In 2014, each of the Region’s memberstates committed to the “Decade forStrengthening Human Resources for Health”.Health workforce strengthening, alongsidebetter access to medicines, was identified asthe core component of the region’s flagshippriority of achieving Universal HealthCoverage (UHC). These initiatives have beenreinforced by WHO’s “Global Strategy onHuman Resources for Health: Workforce2030”, which was launched in 2016 as ameans of pursuing Sustainable DevelopmentGoal (SDG) 3, to ensure healthy lives andpromote well-being for all at all ages.

As outlined in WHO South-East Asia’srecently released second review of progress,since the “Decade for StrengtheningHuman Resources for Health” waslaunched, the overall availability of doctors,nurses and midwives has significantlyimproved Region-wide.

Eight member states, for example, havenow reached the original WHO HumanResources for Health (HRH) threshold of22.8 per 10,000 population that applied dur-ing the Millennium Development Goal era.Five of the Region’s member states have atleast doubled the availability of pharmacists,while a large majority have increased theavailability of dentists. Almost all countrieshave now developed and are in the processof implementing country-specific HRHstrategies. Region-wide, the collection of bet-ter quality data has markedly improved.

Further gains can be made. As discussedin-depth at the WHO South-East Asia’s 71stsession of the Regional Committee, the

Region’s highest decision-making body inNew Delhi, India, each member state hasthe opportunity to implement a range ofWHO-recommended interventions toenhance the numbers, skills and equitabledistribution of health workers. And in doingso, there will be a need to increase the healthservice coverage and also accelerate progresstowards UHC.

Despite substantial increases, many ofthe Region’s member states still need morehealth workers. SDG 3 will only be reachedif more health workers are available to deliv-er the services required to meet the Region’schanging health needs. So far just two coun-tries have reached the revised SDG thresh-old. At the same time, while increasing thenumber of health workers available, healthauthorities must ensure that workers’ train-ing equips them with the skills needed toremain versatile throughout their career.

Fine-tuning policies to retain staff inrural and hard-to-reach areas is similarlyessential. As WHO South-East Asia’s reportoutlines, there is no single way to achieve thisoutcome. Rather, a bundle of retentionstrategies are needed that can influence dif-ferent types of health workers, be it the older

or younger health workers; doctors or nurs-es. That could mean implementing target-ed admission policies and compulsory ser-vice, for example, or providing financial orcareer-based incentives. Whatever the case,good HRH governance, that takes intoaccount the perspectives of health workers,is vital to identify and implement the poli-cies that will be most impactful.

Addressing the quality of training in bothpublic and private education institutionsshould likewise be prioritised Region-wide.Apart from revising the curricula and rangeof skills being taught, the accreditation ofboth public and private health training insti-tutions and programmes can help increasethe quality of health workers across theRegion. As a part of this, greater effort canbe made to encourage the private medicalservice sector to work within nationalstrategies to strengthen the health workforce.

Finally, member states should build ontheir considerable efforts to monitor thenumbers, skills, performance and equitabledistribution of health workers. Thoughmember states are to be commended fordeveloping a series of key indicators againstwhich progress is being measured, gaps indata persist, especially in countries with largeprivate medical education and service sec-tors that are not included in present data col-lection. Similarly, apart from nurses and mid-wives, data on frontline health workersremains sparse. Ensuring data on healthworkers at the primary level and below arecollected, is particularly important. This willensure each member state has a full under-standing of the human resources that peo-ple everywhere can access.

As member states Region-wide aredemonstrating, health workforce strength-ening is a powerful way to increase healthservice coverage and accelerate progresstowards SDG 3 and the imperative under-pinning it: Universal Health Coverage. AsWHO South-East Asia’s second progressreview, alongside deliberations at the 71st ses-sion of the Regional Committee demonstrate,commitment to fully leverage HRH has neverbeen stronger. The fact that health workersare indeed our greatest asset in the drivetowards universal health coverage, is wellunderstood. Their game-changing potentialmust be fully harnessed.

(The writer is Regional Director, WHOSouth East Asia)

Health workers our greatest asset

INDIA HAS NOTALLOWED THE PUBLICSECTOR TO REACH THEREQUIRED LEVELS OF

EXCELLENCE. THERESULT HAS BEEN A

RECORD OF RECURRENTLOSSES. AN ABSENCEOF INNOVATION AND ALACK OF VISION AREESSENTIAL, WITHOUTWHICH A SUCCESSFULBUSINESS ENTERPRISE

CANNOT EXIST

Bloody welcome for the new Governor

Forces inimical to the return of peace in the Kashmir Valley have succeeded in their intent of signalling the many challenges the new Governor will face during

his tenure. Patience is a virtue but procrastination in taking on radicalisation is not

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Climate change has taken the planet to the point of no return

This refers to the editorial, “The nextAtlantis?” (September 6). Bangkok'senvironmental woes stem from two

major factors Rising sea-level and over pop-ulation. Definitely, tourism is an addition-al factor. To some extent south and south-eastern Asian coastal cities have a similarfate, barring large-scale tourism. Manila,Dhaka, Mumbai, Mangalore and Karachi areafflicted with the climate related issuesbesides others.

Since many countries are developing

tourism on the line of Thailand, whatBangkok faces today is the future of thesecities in Asia as well. Scientists confirm thatIndian Ocean is warming up faster thanother oceans. The average rate of globalsea-level rise has been 1.6-1.7 mm per year.In case of Indian Ocean it has gone up to2.5 mm per year. That makes situation abit more tricky and challenging for us.

It is now a globally accepted fact thathuman-driven global warming is going toaccelerate, and many cities are likely to face

a Bangkok-like wrath sooner or later. Bothlong and short-term remedies are in order.The paramount need is to stabilise globalsystems, which are feared to unfold untolddisastrous events. If situation is to be pre-vented from going bad to worse, the onlysolution is to comply fully with the ParisAgreement of 2015. Massive afforestationand population management will be pre-conditions to this.

Prakash C DixitRishikesh

RADICALISATIONHAS HARDENED ANDBRAINWASHED THELOCAL YOUTH TOTHE EXTENT THAT

THEY ARE NOTREADY TO ACCEPTTHE REALITY OF

JAMMU & KASHMIRAS AN INTEGRALPART OF INDIA AS

ENSHRINED INARTICLE 1 OF THECONSTITUTION OF

INDIA AND ARTICLE3 OF THE STATE'SCONSTITUTION

THE PIONEERLUCKNOW | FRIDAY | SEPTEMBER 7, 20188

It is encouraging that various social media portals includ-ing Facebook, Twitter and Google have agreed to workwith the Election Commission of India towards achievinga common goal — fighting fake news — in view of theupcoming Lok Sabha election. The prospect, welcome asit is, requires careful handling. Social media giants aremore prone to stifling discussion on important issuesthan even governments are sometimes!

THE PIONEERLUCKNOW | FRIDAY | SEPTEMBER 7, 2018 9

50WORDEDIT

COMMENT & ANALYSIS

Fighting fake news

POONAMKHETRAPAL SINGH

Across the WHO South-East Asia Region, stronger health workforces are advancing the

quest to achieve universal health coverage. Progress needs to be accelerated

End bickering over

demonetisation

money 10LUCKNOW | FRIDAY | SEPTEMBER 7, 2018

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ENIL 673.2 -8.4 -1.23EQUITAS 152.5 2.35 1.57ERIS 741.7 20.65 2.86ESCORTS 788.35 -4.25 -0.54ESSELPRO 118.05 -0.5 -0.42EVEREADY 245.75 2.9 1.19EXIDEIND 274.4 -0.1 -0.04FCONSUMER 52.95 0.25 0.47FDC 243.6 -6.7 -2.68FEDERALBNK 77.35 -0.4 -0.51FINCABLES 559.9 10.05 1.83FINOLEXIND 605.75 5.95 0.99FLFL 422.05 1.15 0.27FORBESCO 2571.85 57.9 2.3FORCEMOT 2310.75 58.25 2.59FORTIS 145.9 -0.2 -0.14FRETAIL 579.25 19.65 3.51FSL 75.35 0.5 0.67GAIL 364.45 2.55 0.7GDL 184.6 0.35 0.19GEPIL 753.15 -2.05 -0.27GESHIP 307.4 7.25 2.42GET&D 274.55 -3.35 -1.21GHCL 261.75 6.7 2.63GICHSGFIN 322.7 -5.95 -1.81GICRE 325.65 -2.35 -0.72GILLETTE 6725.5 -59 -0.87GLAXO 3472.35 19.7 0.57GLENMARK 678.85 6.25 0.93GMDCLTD 110.6 0.65 0.59GMRINFRA 19.25 -0.3 -1.53GNFC 382.6 6.15 1.63GODFRYPHLP 912.65 65.6 7.74GODREJAGRO 569.95 18.1 3.28GODREJCP 1311.4 -31.3 -2.33GODREJIND 605 3.35 0.56GODREJPROP 682.15 -2.6 -0.38GPPL 109.05 -3.5 -3.11GRANULES 120.7 8.05 7.15GRAPHITE 1015.4 -0.75 -0.07GRASIM 1027.2 0.7 0.07GREAVESCOT 156.9 3.75 2.45GREENPLY 196.65 -2.15 -1.08GRINDWELL 536 4.45 0.84GRUH 342.3 10.4 3.13GSFC 117.9 0.8 0.68

GSKCONS 7338.05 32.85 0.45GSPL 194.05 8.45 4.55GUJALKALI 568 19.35 3.53GUJFLUORO 842.55 3.55 0.42GUJGAS 720.35 -3.3 -0.46GULFOILLUB 825.8 0.15 0.02HATSUN 749.35 8.4 1.13HAVELLS 678.8 17.45 2.64HCC 14.75 0.3 2.08HCLTECH 1086.1 9.45 0.88HDFC 1954.5 14.65 0.76HDFCBANK 2056.55 12.4 0.61HDFCLIFE 453.55 -2.55 -0.56HDIL 32.85 0 0HEG 4144.3 -9.55 -0.23HEIDELBERG 163.4 3.2 2HERITGFOOD 583.5 0.05 0.01HEROMOTOCO 3161 12.8 0.41HEXAWARE 443.05 3.3 0.75HFCL 25.05 0.45 1.83HIMATSEIDE 286.85 7.05 2.52HINDALCO 235.5 -4.75 -1.98HINDCOPPER 59.1 -0.4 -0.67HINDPETRO 251.75 3.7 1.49HINDUNILVR 1608.05 -2.95 -0.18HINDZINC 299.7 0.15 0.05HSCL 121.7 0.6 0.5HSIL 317.35 6.65 2.14HUDCO 59.65 4 7.19IBREALEST 146.65 2.45 1.7IBULHSGFIN 1212.2 -6.6 -0.54IBVENTURES 762 0.9 0.12ICICIBANK 328.45 -1.5 -0.45ICICIGI 844.1 7.75 0.93ICICIPRULI 373.6 4.85 1.32ICIL 76.5 -0.45 -0.58ICRA 3701.45 24 0.65IDBI 59.15 -0.15 -0.25IDEA 46.65 -1.25 -2.61IDFC 49.9 -0.05 -0.1IDFCBANK 45 0.1 0.22IEX 1741.05 -2.45 -0.14IFBIND 1145.6 -4 -0.35IFCI 16.1 0 0IGL 273.65 0.2 0.07IL&FSTRANS 30.55 -0.35 -1.13INDHOTEL 127.8 -0.75 -0.58INDIACEM 117.6 0.5 0.43INDIANB 315.15 5.5 1.78INDIGO 885 12.95 1.49INDUSINDBK 1881 25 1.35INFIBEAM 228.95 -0.35 -0.15INFRATEL 270.7 -0.6 -0.22INFY 727.95 -1.85 -0.25INOXLEISUR 233.9 -3.05 -1.29INOXWIND 98.75 1.35 1.39INTELLECT 261.6 1.05 0.4IOB 15 0.1 0.67IOC 153.65 0.85 0.56IPCALAB 790.05 2.65 0.34IRB 177.9 0.95 0.54ISGEC 6030.55 3.45 0.06ITC 310.7 0.5 0.16ITDC 382.55 -1.4 -0.36ITDCEM 139.4 -1.95 -1.38ITI 103.8 -3.05 -2.85J&KBANK 54 0.4 0.75JAGRAN 122.65 1.75 1.45JAICORPLTD 154.35 0.85 0.55JAMNAAUTO 77.2 0.65 0.85JBCHEPHARM 343.5 2.8 0.82JCHAC 1895.05 -66.2 -3.38JETAIRWAYS 274.5 7.4 2.77JINDALSAW 88.85 2.6 3.01JINDALSTEL 211.85 0 0

JISLJALEQS 86 0.55 0.64JKCEMENT 810.85 5.85 0.73JKIL 251.6 5.9 2.4JKLAKSHMI 332.4 7.65 2.36JKTYRE 123.25 2.4 1.99JMFINANCIL 115.95 0.1 0.09JPASSOCIAT 11.33 -0.17 -1.48JSL 63.45 0.95 1.52JSLHISAR 130.8 1 0.77JSWENERGY 69.3 1.3 1.91JSWSTEEL 398 -0.25 -0.06JUBILANT 760.25 0.95 0.13JUBLFOOD 1417 -15.65 -1.09JUSTDIAL 535.85 -5 -0.92JYOTHYLAB 211.85 2.5 1.19KAJARIACER 443.5 -3.85 -0.86KALPATPOWR 358.3 2 0.56KANSAINER 488.05 -0.4 -0.08KEC 299.6 -4.9 -1.61KEI 420.65 1.2 0.29KIRLOSENG 270.45 12.85 4.99KNRCON 223.85 -5.1 -2.23KOTAKBANK 1260.35 21.8 1.76KPIT 309.7 0.55 0.18KPRMILL 692.25 22.5 3.36KRBL 364.9 -0.75 -0.21KSCL 637.5 0.3 0.05KTKBANK 117.15 1.05 0.9KWALITY 20.9 -0.15 -0.71L&TFH 164.45 -1 -0.6LAKSHVILAS 96.9 3.6 3.86LALPATHLAB 1005.15 -28.9 -2.79LAOPALA 243.75 3.3 1.37LAURUSLABS 433.65 4.55 1.06LAXMIMACH 7048.7 -16.3 -0.23LICHSGFIN 498.35 -4.1 -0.82LINDEINDIA 409.7 5.7 1.41LT 1346.6 -1.7 -0.13LTI 1885 15.5 0.83LTTS 1745.25 8.25 0.47LUPIN 919.35 16.2 1.79LUXIND 1703 10.95 0.65M&M 934.95 4.7 0.51M&MFIN 445.2 -6.6 -1.46MAGMA 143 -1.95 -1.35MAHABANK 12.81 0.01 0.08MAHINDCIE 288.75 11.9 4.3MAHLIFE 461.15 9.1 2.01MANAPPURAM 96.7 -2.15 -2.18MANPASAND 134.55 -0.35 -0.26MARICO 354.9 4.05 1.15MARUTI 8772.3 -118.6 -1.33MAXINDIA 85.15 -0.85 -0.99MCX 769.7 -12.85 -1.64MEGH 84.7 -0.85 -0.99MFSL 449.35 8.7 1.97MGL 853.75 3.4 0.4MHRIL 246.5 0.3 0.12MINDACORP 148.35 -1.25 -0.84MINDAIND 410.35 -9.85 -2.34MINDTREE 1157.8 7.3 0.63MMTC 31.05 0.05 0.16MOIL 182.5 2.6 1.45MONSANTO 2892.9 33 1.15MOTHERSUMI 291.4 -1.55 -0.53MOTILALOFS 813.75 -4.65 -0.57MPHASIS 1247.3 4.3 0.35MRF 70911.55 455.9 0.65MRPL 76.95 3.3 4.48MUTHOOTFIN 451 13.9 3.18NATCOPHARM 792.9 10.2 1.3NATIONALUM 71.3 -5 -6.55NAUKRI 1635.3 -12 -0.73NAVINFLUOR 735.1 11.3 1.56NAVKARCORP 110.45 -1.5 -1.34

NAVNETEDUL 130.9 1.15 0.89NBCC 67.85 -0.3 -0.44NBVENTURES 127 1.7 1.36NCC 92.6 0.9 0.98NESTLEIND 10336.55 -65.25 -0.63NETWORK18 52.5 1.7 3.35NH 253.15 0.35 0.14NHPC 25.35 0.4 1.6NIACL 244.35 -2.55 -1.03NIITTECH 1354.2 9.75 0.73NILKAMAL 1887.05 55.45 3.03NLCINDIA 74.65 0.5 0.67NMDC 115.45 3.8 3.4NOCIL 175.15 1.45 0.83NTPC 168.6 0.9 0.54OBEROIRLTY 447.45 4.1 0.92OFSS 4074.85 29.1 0.72OIL 207.85 2.3 1.12OMAXE 221.25 -0.05 -0.02ONGC 174.65 0.85 0.49ORIENTBANK 77.8 -0.1 -0.13ORIENTCEM 113.8 0.55 0.49PAGEIND 31843.4 -769.4 -2.36PARAGMILK 291.2 0.8 0.28PCJEWELLER 86.55 -0.5 -0.57PEL 3021.6 58.8 1.98PERSISTENT 846.7 40.15 4.98PETRONET 238.3 -1.15 -0.48PFC 87 3.4 4.07PFIZER 3574.25 170.2 5PFS 18.95 -0.2 -1.04PGHH 10064 9.4 0.09PHILIPCARB 246 6.8 2.84PHOENIXLTD 609.45 -2.4 -0.39PIDILITIND 1148.3 13.3 1.17PIIND 779.1 4.5 0.58PNB 83.25 0.1 0.12PNBHOUSING 1296 8.6 0.67PNCINFRA 152.4 -0.45 -0.29POWERGRID 199.2 4.3 2.21PRESTIGE 232.45 1.05 0.45PRSMJOHNSN 107.1 2.1 2

PTC 81.9 0.65 0.8PVR 1341.5 16.35 1.23QUESS 913.8 -12.55 -1.35RADICO 458.2 18.7 4.25RAIN 191.35 -1.45 -0.75RAJESHEXPO 675.95 0.85 0.13RALLIS 201.2 1.7 0.85RAMCOCEM 665.35 17.65 2.73RATNAMANI 874.65 2.3 0.26RAYMOND 795.6 6.9 0.87RBLBANK 591.8 -2.1 -0.35RCF 67.9 -0.3 -0.44RCOM 17.25 -0.2 -1.15RECLTD 117.4 2.45 2.13REDINGTON 105.3 4.35 4.31RELAXO 835.95 3.55 0.43RELCAPITAL 461.85 6.05 1.33RELIANCE 1260.15 34.35 2.8RELINFRA 469.7 -8.55 -1.79REPCOHOME 539.65 4.55 0.85RNAM 227.35 -0.35 -0.15RNAVAL 16.15 0.25 1.57RPOWER 35.2 -0.15 -0.42SADBHAV 271.45 -1.05 -0.39SAIL 76.6 0.2 0.26SANOFI 6530.1 9.55 0.15SBILIFE 677.1 7.1 1.06SBIN 296.65 -0.1 -0.03SCHAEFFLER 5450.95 0.95 0.02SCHNEIDER 108 4.9 4.75SCI 53.85 0.45 0.84SFL 1667.15 16.4 0.99SHANKARA 1390.45 -62.6 -4.31SHARDACROP 396.3 5.55 1.42SHILPAMED 502.4 -2.75 -0.54SHK 235.9 5.5 2.39SHOPERSTOP 635.45 12.2 1.96SHREECEM 18186.2 -38.5 -0.21SHRIRAMCIT 2011.15 20.25 1.02SIEMENS 996.7 11 1.12SIS 1097.65 24.35 2.27SJVN 28.25 0.1 0.36SKFINDIA 1774 12.55 0.71SOBHA 437.65 -0.45 -0.1SOLARINDS 1173.15 10.4 0.89SOMANYCERA 438.75 1.7 0.39

SONATSOFTW 372.15 12.55 3.49SOUTHBANK 16.85 -0.1 -0.59SPARC 398.1 3.2 0.81SPICEJET 78 2.55 3.38SREINFRA 51.95 0.45 0.87SRF 1986.5 59.05 3.06SRTRANSFIN 1200.45 -61.75 -4.89STARCEMENT 105.4 1.3 1.25STRTECH 350.85 2.45 0.7SUDARSCHEM 436.4 7.45 1.74SUNCLAYLTD 4001 -93.45 -2.28SUNDRMFAST 641.7 0.75 0.12SUNPHARMA 676.65 13.25 2SUNTECK 481.8 -5.25 -1.08SUNTV 699.8 -20.9 -2.9SUPPETRO 254.45 -1.8 -0.7SUPRAJIT 229 -5.95 -2.53SUPREMEIND 1177.8 -1.4 -0.12SUVEN 280.45 8.85 3.26SUZLON 6.89 -0.02 -0.29SWANENERGY 159.4 0.3 0.19SYMPHONY 1043.9 -23.1 -2.16SYNDIBANK 38.05 -0.3 -0.78SYNGENE 623.35 -0.95 -0.15TAKE 198.25 1.4 0.71TATACHEM 743.3 2.8 0.38TATACOFFEE 112.15 0.2 0.18TATACOMM 516.9 3.9 0.76TATAELXSI 1352.15 -29.95 -2.17TATAGLOBAL 220.65 -1.2 -0.54TATAINVEST 784.05 -0.55 -0.07TATAMETALI 683.1 4.95 0.73TATAMOTORS 269.95 4.4 1.66TATAMTRDVR 144.4 1.5 1.05TATAPOWER 74.9 0.05 0.07TATASTEEL 600.45 6.55 1.1TCS 2075.7 -2.45 -0.12TEAMLEASE 2496.9 -25 -0.99TECHM 772.7 8.45 1.11TEJASNET 277.3 6.95 2.57TEXRAIL 76.75 -0.15 -0.2THERMAX 992.45 9.35 0.95

THOMASCOOK 245.6 -1 -0.41THYROCARE 640.5 -13.3 -2.03TIFHL 587 2.75 0.47TIMETECHNO 160 4.45 2.86TIMKEN 660.75 27.9 4.41TITAN 866.45 3.05 0.35TNPL 312.5 14.85 4.99TORNTPHARM 1827.25 91.3 5.26TORNTPOWER 264.15 15.5 6.23TRENT 356.6 -1.75 -0.49TRIDENT 67.5 1.95 2.97TRITURBINE 120.45 0.35 0.29TTKPRESTIG 6955.3 28.45 0.41TV18BRDCST 42.2 -0.35 -0.82TVSMOTOR 569.6 5.65 1TVSSRICHAK 2858.7 14.85 0.52TVTODAY 453.25 16.75 3.84UBL 1342.4 27.6 2.1UCOBANK 19.65 -0.1 -0.51UFLEX 307.3 -0.45 -0.15UJJIVAN 341.65 -0.55 -0.16ULTRACEMCO 4145.25 -27.5 -0.66UNICHEMLAB 235.05 0.25 0.11UNIONBANK 83.1 -0.15 -0.18UPL 704.7 7.55 1.08VBL 777.8 -17.15 -2.16VEDL 229.3 -0.25 -0.11VENKYS 2620.6 -6.4 -0.24VGUARD 205.5 0.6 0.29VIJAYABANK 62.15 1.65 2.73VINATIORGA 1379.6 -22.45 -1.6VIPIND 564.7 -6.25 -1.09VMART 2839.65 -144.2 -4.83VOLTAS 593.3 6.05 1.03VSTIND 3393.8 104.7 3.18VTL 1079.5 -1.75 -0.16WABAG 388.15 1.25 0.32WABCOINDIA 6941.7 -30.45 -0.44WELCORP 175.35 -2.75 -1.54WELSPUNIND 74.2 -0.85 -1.13WHIRLPOOL 1666.25 -3.75 -0.22WIPRO 320.45 2.4 0.75WOCKPHARMA 666.25 23.55 3.66YESBANK 339 -4.9 -1.42ZEEL 470.3 -12.95 -2.68ZENSARTECH 1677.3 37.15 2.27ZYDUSWELL 1746.25 21.95 1.27

NIFTY 50

SCRIP OPEN HIGH LOW LTP CHANGERELIANCE 1,230.15 1,265.70 1,225.35 1,261.00 34CIPLA 651 664.7 647 661.5 14.95COALINDIA 278.5 284.9 277.35 283.35 5.75NTPC 166 170.7 165.65 168.95 3.35SUNPHARMA 668 679.3 663.25 676.5 12.75LUPIN 909.6 922.5 903.25 919 16.15KOTAKBANK 1,242.00 1,264.60 1,238.15 1,258.55 20.4POWERGRID 196 201.75 195.5 198.75 3.1UPL 701.4 709.45 696.75 708 10.65ADANIPORTS 381.5 387.5 374.65 384.65 5.45HINDPETRO 250.9 252.85 247.65 251.25 3.45INDUSINDBK 1,870.00 1,885.00 1,851.00 1,879.00 24.15BPCL 351.15 354.95 349.65 353 3.9TECHM 767 780 756.25 773.85 7.7GAIL 364.7 373 361.05 365.4 3.4HCLTECH 1,075.00 1,089.80 1,065.40 1,088.80 9.85HDFC 1,949.00 1,960.60 1,928.45 1,953.80 16.4TATASTEEL 598 607.8 594.5 599.25 4.85TATAMOTORS 269.7 272 263.85 268.65 2.15WIPRO 320 322.5 318 320.25 1.4BAJAJ-AUTO 2,782.00 2,808.00 2,772.00 2,783.15 10.85TITAN 871 883.5 858.1 867 3.1BAJAJFINSV 6,520.00 6,574.90 6,458.90 6,526.00 22.95M&M 935 943.7 927.5 932.2 2.8IOC 153.95 154.4 151.6 153.2 0.4HDFCBANK 2,049.00 2,059.00 2,032.60 2,050.15 4.3HEROMOTOCO 3,151.35 3,180.00 3,116.60 3,152.00 6.6VEDL 230.95 230.95 225.7 229.85 0.4ONGC 174 176.15 170.6 173.9 0.2DRREDDY 2,584.00 2,620.00 2,555.10 2,568.60 0.9AXISBANK 638.9 643.3 624.6 637.5 -0.15LT 1,349.80 1,355.60 1,338.80 1,347.10 -0.9ITC 311.4 311.75 308.05 310 -0.25INFRATEL 266.35 277.6 265.6 271 -0.35ULTRACEMCO 4,209.00 4,271.90 4,130.05 4,152.00 -7.45TCS 2,075.00 2,081.50 2,060.30 2,074.50 -4.75GRASIM 1,030.00 1,038.75 1,017.20 1,024.95 -3.15BHARTIARTL 373.95 374.7 368.1 370.85 -1.2HINDUNILVR 1,623.45 1,636.50 1,598.65 1,605.00 -6.7ICICIBANK 330 331.25 325.5 327.95 -1.7INFY 732.55 735.5 724.1 726 -3.9SBIN 298 299.85 294.5 294.9 -1.65ASIANPAINT 1,327.95 1,331.95 1,308.00 1,313.40 -7.9EICHERMOT 29,249.55 29,249.55 28,710.00 28,760.00 -295YESBANK 346.55 347.8 337.9 339.1 -4.7IBULHSGFIN 1,215.25 1,233.75 1,201.85 1,202.20 -17.35MARUTI 8,967.70 8,967.70 8,741.00 8,754.50 -141.6BAJFINANCE 2,729.00 2,731.50 2,671.40 2,672.20 -44.7HINDALCO 239.1 240.4 234.3 235.8 -4.15ZEEL 475.45 478.7 436.05 470.7 -11.75

SE 500B

VITAL STATS

GOLD SILVERMumbai 31732 39600 Delhi 31550 39600Kolkata 31957 39600

BSE: SENSEX

Open

High

Low

Current value

Previous close

Change (Pts)

Change (%)

71.92

92.80

83.60

0.64

NIFTY NEXT 50

SCRIP OPEN HIGH LOW LTP CHANGEAUROPHARMA 699 764.4 698 761.95 65CADILAHC 405.15 425.55 400.25 424.35 22.4PFC 84 87.8 83.3 86.7 3.1NMDC 114 116.25 112 115.4 3.95HAVELLS 665.7 682.7 656 681.5 21.1BHEL 80.15 82.35 78.7 81.35 2.4ABB 1,280.75 1,309.00 1,270.10 1,304.00 35.85CUMMINSIND 747 800.85 743 765.15 20.6BOSCHLTD 20,750.50 21,373.00 20,540.00 21,165.65 466.4PEL 2,979.45 3,075.00 2,938.30 3,020.00 62.7ASHOKLEY 128.7 130.45 127.75 129.95 2.5OIL 205.6 208.9 204.7 208.35 3.65INDIGO 876 895.35 868 886.15 14.35RECLTD 115.5 118.75 113.2 117 1.85SBILIFE 669.4 681.9 666.45 680 10.6ICICIPRULI 368 376.25 367.1 374.2 5.7PIDILITIND 1,136.75 1,163.80 1,128.20 1,151.00 16.25AMBUJACEM 227.05 233.05 222.75 226.35 3.15DLF 204.5 207 201.25 205 2.65NHPC 25 25.5 24.9 25.3 0.3MCDOWELL-N 599.9 606.8 591 600.95 6.8ABCAPITAL 136.05 137.85 135.5 137.35 1.45SIEMENS 992.7 1,002.80 972.45 998 10.3PETRONET 237.9 240.9 235.8 237 2.15BANKBARODA 145.9 147.1 144.15 145.7 1.15MRF 70,799.90 70,984.30 70,100.00 70,899.00 546.7ACC 1,563.95 1,604.30 1,543.00 1,560.10 11.9EMAMILTD 566 572.5 555.15 567.6 3.85OFSS 4,030.05 4,083.70 4,029.85 4,070.00 25.15MARICO 354.8 359.25 350.15 354 1.95DMART 1,564.00 1,579.45 1,542.95 1,570.00 5.7BRITANNIA 6,199.95 6,318.95 6,121.15 6,199.00 14SHREECEM 18,130.10 18,399.90 18,100.00 18,249.90 21.65PNB 84 84.7 82.85 83.2 0.1SAIL 77.2 77.6 75.65 76.35 0JSWSTEEL 404 404.1 396.05 398.1 -0.25COLPAL 1,136.50 1,163.25 1,136.50 1,139.60 -2.05CONCOR 641.25 647.65 630.5 639 -2.2HINDZINC 302.45 304.65 290.2 300.95 -1.45L&TFH 167 169.2 162.8 164.35 -0.85GICRE 328 329.5 325.1 325.5 -1.85DABUR 457.2 465.45 448.5 454 -2.9PGHH 10,077.00 10,100.00 9,960.00 10,000.35 -77.15MOTHERSUMI 296 296 286.35 290.65 -2.4LICHSGFIN 504.7 505.45 496 496.6 -5.45GODREJCP 1,347.05 1,354.90 1,297.40 1,314.00 -31.15IDEA 47.9 48.15 46.35 46.4 -1.5SUNTV 722 727.65 692.35 694.9 -25.4BEL 94.7 94.85 89.6 91 -3.45SRTRANSFIN 1,263.00 1,266.00 1,190.00 1,190.45 -69.45

38161.85

38320.96

37912.50

38242.81

38018.31

224.50

0.59

BSE: GAINERS

AUROPHARMA 759.55 (9.12)

ADANIENT 163.80 (8.91)

GODFRYPHLP 912.65 (7.74)

HUDCO 59.65 (7.19)

GRANULES 120.70 (7.15)

Current (Chng %)NSE: GAINERS

RELIANCE 1,261.00 (2.77)

CIPLA 661.50 (2.31)

COALINDIA 283.35 (2.07)

NTPC 168.95 (2.02)

SUNPHARMA 676.50 (1.92)

Current (Chng %)BSE: LOSERS

NATIONALUM 71.30 (6.55)

SRTRANSFIN 1200.45 (4.89)

SHANKARA 1390.45 (4.31)

BAYERCROP 4322.85 (3.39)

BEL 91.30 (3.39)

Current (Chng %)NSE: LOSERS

ZEEL 470.70 (2.44)

HINDALCO 235.80 (1.73)

BAJFINANCE 2,672.20 (1.65)

MARUTI 8,754.50 (1.59)

IBULHSGFIN 1,202.20 (1.42)

Current (Chng %)

SENSEX NIFTY

PTI n MUMBAI

The Indian rupee onThursday crashed below

the 72-level for the first timeever on persistent global head-winds and concerns on macro-economic front.

The domestic currencywas quoted 37 paise lower at72.12 against the US dollar inafternoon trade.

Investors remained con-cerned over sustained foreigncapital outflows and wideningcurrent account deficit in thewake of soaring crude oilprices.

At the Interbank ForeignExchange (Forex) market, thelocal currency opened higherat 71.67 a dollar against its pre-vious record closing of 71.75,but failed to sustain initialstrength and fell back tobreach the 72-mark.

The rupee’s unabated fallcontinued for the sixth straightsession Wednesday, hitting yetanother closing low of 71.75,down 17 paise against the UScurrency.

On Wednesday, thedomestic unit plummeted to ahistoric low of 71.97 a dollarin intraday trade before find-ing some respite.

Finance Minister ArunJaitley Wednesday attributed

the fall in rupee to global fac-tors and stressed that thedomestic unit was better off ascompared to other curren-cies.

Forex dealers said besidesstrong demand for theAmerican currency fromimporters, concerns of fears ofrising fiscal deficit and capitaloutflows mainly weighed onthe domestic currency.

Moreover, weakness inemerging currencies overseasagainst the dollar too weighed

on the domestic currency,they added.

Meanwhile, internationalBrent crude futures fell 27cents, or 0.4 per cent, to USD77 per barrel. A fall in crudeprices is seen as positive forIndia, which imports most ofits oil requirements, traderssaid.

The BSE Sensex tooentered the negative zone byfalling 61.11 points, or 0.16 percent, to 37,957.20 points inafternoon trade.

` hits new low of 72.12,

falls 37 paise

PTI n MUMBAI

India seeks US partnership toboost various sectors and

grow the bilateral trade toUSD 500-600 billion from USD125 billion currently, with agood strategy under a stipu-lated time, commerce andIndustry Minister SureshPrabhu said here on Thursday.

“The US-India bilateraltrade is declining for variousreasons and we should not behappy with bilateral trade ofUSD 125 billion. We must seta clear cut target of USD 500-600 billion in a stipulated timeperiod. We are willing to comeout with complete strategy andam sure that the companiesfrom both country’s will ben-efit,” Prabhu said.

Speaking at a US-IndiaBusiness Council event, Prabhusaid that we can resolve someissues through talks. Indiaoffers lot of opportunities insectors including agriculture,pharmaceuticals, infrastruc-ture, start-ups and make“India-US partnership greateragain” in line with PresidentTrump’s call of Let’s make USgreat again.

The geo-politics haschanged so much in the last few

months, geo-economics is alsochanging rapidly. “In this con-text, I see a clear defined roleand responsibility for US-Indiato work together not just forour mutual benefit but also forthe benefit of rest of the world,”Prabhu said.

India will become USD 5trillion economy in the next 7-8 years and USD 10 trillion by2035, he said.

India becoming economi-cally strong would only mean,US has a friend and partner,who is stronger than before andstrong India will be in the longterm interest of US, he reiter-ated.

Country’s aviation sector isexpected to provide big invest-ment opportunity as it is one ofthe fastest-growing in the worldand has recorded 50 months ofdouble-digit traffic growth. Asmany as 100 new airportswould be built in the next 10 to15 years for about USD 60 bil-lion, Prabhu said, adding thatthe country’s infrastructuresector also offers investmentopportunity of USD 250 billionevery year.

India is looking setting upof special economic zones(SEZ) only for the US compa-nies, he added.

India, US must boostbilateral trade to $500-600 bn: Prabhu

PTI n NEW DELHI

The Government hasdecided to exempt electric

vehicles (EVs) and automo-biles run on alternative fuelfrom permit requirements ina bid to boost such vehicles inthe country, Union MinisterNitin Gadkari said onThursday.

Urging automakers tofocus in this direction, theminister said demand for EVscould also be created by man-dating cab aggregators like Olaand Uber to induct a certainpercentage of such vehicles intheir fleet.

“We have decided toexempt EVs and all vehiclesincluding autorickshaws, buses,taxis run on alternative fuel likeethanol, biodiesel, CNG,methanol and biofuel, frompermit requirements.

“We have taken the deci-sion to make these permit-free,”the Transport Minister saidaddressing the SIAM annualconvention here.

He said the states haveagreed to abide by it as the rec-ommendations came from aGroup of Ministers of states,headed by Rajasthan TransportMinister Yunus Khan.

Urging automakers tocome forward to tap the oppor-tunity of EV production,Gadkari ruled out any financialincentive.

“With GST at 12 per centon EVs, I don’t think there isany further need for subsidy. ...We need to think innovativelyto bring in that environment.My ministry has prepared adetailed report to raise pro-duction of EVs through non-fiscal initiatives in the next fiveyears,” Gadkari said clarifyingthat the subsidy was notmandatory.

His statement comes amidgovernment’s efforts to pro-mote eco-friendly vehiclesthrough Faster Adoption andManufacturing of (Hybrid &)Electric Vehicles (FAME) Indiascheme, which was launched in2015.

The second phase of FAMEIndia scheme will be launchedby Prime Minister NarendraModi on September 7.

According to off icialsources, FAME II offers incen-tives for mass adoption ofEVs with an outlay of `5,500crore.

Gadkari also said the min-istry has done away with therequirement of local testing forinitially bringing EVs into Indiafor sale.

“This will be available forlimited number of pieces in thedomestic market and if the cus-tomers’ response is positivethen these companies can startmaking the vehicles in India,”he said.

The minister also suggest-ed automakers to diversify intowater transport.

“Why don’t you diversify.From Allahabad to Varanasiwe are maintaining a draft of1.5 metre. Fifteen crore peo-ple will be gathering atKumbha mela. You come andrun 500-600 seater catama-rans. I will give you all per-missions in eight days,” theminister said.

He said the multimodalhub at Varanasi will be inau-gurated soon and 60 river portsoffered vast opportunities toautomobile makers.

Gadkari also announcedthat steps will be taken to doaway with the requirement ofspeed governors saying thatbetter highways were thereand speed was not the only rea-son behind accidents.

BSE Sensex too entered

the negative zone by

falling 61.11 points Urging auto-makers to comeforward to tap theopportunityof EVproduction,Gadkari ruledout anyfinancialincentive.

Will free EVs, fuel-powered vehiclesfrom permit requirements: Gadkari

LUCKNOW | FRIDAY | SEPTEMBER 7, 2018 world 11

‘Trump’s actions detrimental to US health

PTI n WASHINGTON

Donald Trump’s “erratic”and “amoral” behaviour

is “detrimental” to America’shealth, an anonymous officialhas warned in an explosive op-ed in a leading US daily andsaid many top officials areworking diligently to frustrateparts of the President’s agendaand his “worst inclinations”.

The nearly unprecedentedattack on the President drew asharp reaction from Trumpwho termed the op-ed as “trea-son” and “gutless”. In The NewYork Times op-ed “I Am Partof the Resistance Inside theTrump Administration”, theofficial, identified only as “asenior official in the Trumpadministration”, said PresidentTrump is facing a test to hispresidency unlike any faced bya modern US leader.

“Many of the senior offi-cials in his own administrationare working diligently fromwithin to frustrate parts of(Trump’s) agenda and his worstinclinations,” claimed thewriter, who The Times, in atweet, identified as a ‘he’.

The daily, which rarelypublishes anonymous articles,said it did not disclose thename of the senior official inthe Trump administration onthe request of the author, whose“identity is known to us andwhose job would be jeopar-dised by its disclosure”. Theofficial said, “To be clear, oursis not the popular ‘resistance’ ofthe left. We want the adminis-tration to succeed and thinkthat many of its policies havealready made Americasafer and more pros-perous”.

“But we believeour first duty is tothis country, andthe president con-tinues to act in amanner that isdetrimental to thehealth of ourrepublic.

“That is whymany Trumpappointees have

vowed to do what we can topreserve our democratic insti-tutions while thwarting MrTrump’s more misguidedimpulses until he is out ofoffice,” the writer said.However, Trump, speaking toreporters at the White House,lashed out at the daily, sayingthat “anonymous, meaning gut-less, editorial.”

“When you tell me aboutsome anonymous source with-in the administration, probablywho is failing and probablyhere for all the wrong reasons,and The New York Times isfailing. If I were not here, Ibelieve The New York Timesprobably would not exist,” hesaid. “We have somebody inwhat I call the failing New YorkTimes that is talking about, heis part of the resistance in theadministration. This is what wehave to deal with,” Trump said.

In a tweet he demandedthat The Times reveal the iden-tity of the person. “Treason.Does the so-called senioradministration official reallyexist, or is it just the Failing theNew York Times with anotherphony source? If the gutlessanonymous person doesindeed exist, the Times must,for National Security purpos-es, turnh i m / h e rover togovern-ment atonc e .”Trumps a i do n

Twitter. In the damaging edi-torial, the official alleged thatin public and in private, Trumpshowed preference to auto-crats and dictators such asRussian President VladimirPutin and North Korean leaderKim Jong-un, and displayed lit-tle genuine appreciation for tiesthat bind the US to allied andlike-minded nations.

He said though Trump waselected as a Republican, “thepresident shows little affinityfor ideals long espoused byconservatives: free minds, freemarkets and free people”.

In addition to his mass-marketing of the notion thatthe press is the enemy of thepeople, President Trump’simpulses are generally anti-trade and anti-democratic,” hesaid.

The writer claimed. “Mostare working to insulate theiroperations from his whims.”The official said, “Astuteobservers have noted, though,that the rest of the administra-tion is operating on anothertrack, one where countries likeRussia are called out for med-dling and punished accord-ingly, and where allies aroundthe world are engaged as peersrather than ridiculed as rivals.”.

The White House hascalled for the resignation of thesenior administration official

who wrote the piece. “Theindividual behind this piecehas chosen to deceive, rather

than support, the duly electedpresident of the United States.

“He is not putting thecountry first, but putting him-self and his ego ahead of thewill of the American people.This coward should do theright thing and resign,” WhiteHouse Press Secretary SarahSanders said.Nearly 62 mil-lion people voted for Trumpin the 2016 elections, earn-ing him 306 electoral collegevotes against 232 for hisopponent. None of themvoted for a “gutless, anony-mous source to the failingNew York Times,” shesaid.

Washington (PTI): USPresident Donald Trump isseeking to replace DefenceSecretary Jim Mattis mainlybecause of the sharp differencesbetween them, a report in TheWashington Post has claimed.The report quoted an unnamedWhite House official as sayingthat speculation about areplacement was now “morereal than ever” after revelationsin famed investigative journal-ist Bob Woodward’s upcomingbook titled “Fear: Trump in theWhite House”.

However, Trump, soonafter publication of the reportdenied such a move and saidMattis is doing a fantastic job.

Mattis is in India alongwith Secretary of State MikePompeo to attend the maidenIndia-US 2+2 dialogue beinghosted by their Indian coun-terparts External AffairsMinister Sushma Swaraj andDefence Minister NirmalaSitharaman.

“Well before this week’srevelations about PresidentTrump’s interactions with

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis inBob Woodward’s new book,officials inside the WhiteHouse have been actively dis-cussing who will replace Mattisat the Pentagon — whenever hemight step down,” the dailyreported. In the forthcomingbook being released next week,Woodward claims that Mattistold associates that Trump“acted like — and had theunderstanding of — a fifth- orsixth-grader”.

The 448-page book isscheduled to hit stores onSeptember 11 and claims togive an insider’s account on the

White House working anddecision-making process inTrump’s presidency. Mattiswould leave his post sometimeover the next few months,according to the daily.

The speculation about whoreplaces Mattis is now morereal than ever,” a senior WhiteHouse official was quoted assaying in the report.

“The president has alwaysrespected him. But now he hasevery reason to wonder whatMattis is saying behind hisback. The relationship hasnowhere to go but down, fast,”the official said.

Mattis a day earlier hadissued a statement denying hisremarks in Woodward’s book.

“The contemptuous wordsabout the president attributedto me in Woodward’s bookwere never uttered by me or inmy presence. “While I generallyenjoy reading fiction, this is auniquely Washington brand ofliterature, and his anonymoussources do not lend credibili-ty,” the defence secretary hadsaid.

‘Trump seeking to replace Mattis’

US Prez admin seeks to initiatesteps against social media cosWashington: The Trumpadministration is seeking toinitiate steps against socialmedia companies for allegedlystifling free exchange of ideasand hurting competition.USAttorney General Jeff Sessionshas convened a meeting of thestate attorney generals in thisregard, the Department ofJustice said.

“The attorney general hasconvened a meeting with anumber of state attorneys gen-eral this month to discuss agrowing concern that thesecompanies may be hurtingcompetition and intentionallystifling the free exchange of

ideas on their platforms,” thedepartment’s spokesman DevinO’Malley said. The JusticeDepartment has listened to thesenate intelligence committeehearing on social media.

The possible legal crack-down by the administrationhas been opposed by theInformation Technology andInnovation Foundation (ITIF),a non-profit public policy think-tank. Social media platformsfind themselves caught betweensome policy makers arguingthat they have a moral and legalobligation to remove legal, butoffensive, content, and otherswho are calling for these com-

panies to be punished for cen-soring some of this extremepolitical speech, ITIF vice pres-ident Daniel Castro claimed. Hesaid social media platformshave the right to determine whattype of legal speeches they willpermit on their platforms.

“It is inappropriate for thefederal government to use thethreat of law enforcement tolimit companies from exercisingthis right. “In particular, lawenforcement should not threat-en social media companies withunwarranted investigations fortheir efforts to rid their plat-forms of extremists who incitehate and violence,” Castro said.

‘Woodward’s book

a work of fiction’

PTI n WASHINGTON

US President DonaldTrump has described

famed investigative journalistBob Woodward’s forthcomingbook, which has some dam-aging revelation about hispresidency, as a work of fic-tion. Titled “Fear :Trump in the White House”,the 448-page book is sched-uled to hit stores on September11 and claims to give an insid-er’s account on the WhiteHouse working and decision-making process in Trump’spresidency.

“The book is a work of fic-tion. If you look back atWoodward’s past, he had thesame problem with other pres-idents. He likes to get public-ity. He sells some books,”Trump said in a joint mediaappearance with the Amir ofKuwait inside the Oval Officeon Wednesday.

The Washington Post onTuesday had published areport along with someexcerpts from the book, whichthe White House had saidwas “nothing more than fab-ricated stories” to make Trumplook “bad”. In the book, basedon hundreds of interviews,Woodward, an associate editorwith the daily, has quotedsenior administration offi-cials, including DefenceSecretary Jim Mattis. speakingagainst the president.

Trump and the WhiteHouse insisted that the bookdoes not reflect the working ofthe administration. “We havedone more as an administra-tion than any other adminis-tration in already less than twoyears. It’s incredible. We willsoon be approaching twoyears,” Trump said.

“The book is a work of fic-tion. It’s really, if you look atit, it was put out to interfere,in my opinion, at this time,with the Kavanaugh hearings,which I don’t think it’s done,because so many people havecome out against it. “So many

who have been written aboutsaid I never said that. RudyGiuliani (Trump’s lead per-sonal defense attorney) isanother one. He is very insult-ed by the book and what wasstated in the book,” the presi-dent said.

Trump said he runs astrong White House and“there’s no question about it”as “we are doing things thatnobody else has ever been ableto do”.

“Our country is strongernow than it’s ever been. Andin a very short period of time,USD 700 billion being spenton the military. “The nextyear, USD 716 billion. We willactually be far stronger thanwe have ve ever been. That’swhat we need it to be,” he said.

Trump also denied areport in the Woodward’sbook that he ever suggestedthe assassination of Syrianautocrat Bashar-al-Assad. “Notat all. No, the book is fiction.I heard somewhere where theysaid the assassination ofPresident Assad by the UnitedStates. Never even discussed,”he said. “The book is total fic-tion, just like he wrote in thepast about other presidents.You look at what he said aboutPresident Bush, what he saidabout President (Barak)Obama. Big, scandalous thing.It lasts for about a day,” he said.“That was never even con-templated, nor would it becontemplated. And it shouldnot have been written about inthe book. It’s just more fiction,”Trump said.

‘Pakistan could emerge as world’s5th largest nuclear weapons state’PTI n WASHINGTON

Pakistan currently has 140 to150 nuclear warheads and

the stockpile is expected toincrease to 220 to 250 by 2025if the current trend continues,according to a latest report byauthors keeping a track of thecountry’s nukes.

The current estimate of140 to 150 nuclear weaponsexceeds the projection madeby the US Defense IntelligenceAgency in 1999 that Pakistanwould have 60 to 80 warheadsby 2020.

“We estimate that thecountry’s stockpile could morerealistically grow to 220 to 250warheads by 2025, if the cur-rent trend continues. If thathappens, it would makePakistan the world’s fifth-largest nuclear weapon state,”Hans M Kristensen, Robert SNorris and Julia Diamondsaid in the report ‘Pakistaninuclear forces2018’.Kristensen, the leadauthor, is the director of theNuclear Information Projectwith the Federation ofAmerican Scientists (FAS) in

Washington, DC.Over the past decade, the

US assessment of nuclearweapons security in Pakistanappears to have changed con-siderably from confidence toconcern, particularly as aresult of the introduction oftactical nuclear weapons, thereport said.

“With several delivery sys-tems in development, fourplutonium production reac-tors, and its uranium enrich-ment facilities expanding,however, Pakistan has a stock-pile that will likely increasefurther over the next 10 years,”says the report.Pakistan con-

tinues to expand its nucleararsenal with more warheads,more delivery systems and agrowing fissile materials pro-duction industry, it said.

“Analysis of a large num-ber of commercial satelliteimages of Pakistani army gar-risons and air force basesshows what appear to bemobile launchers and under-ground facilities that might berelated to nuclear forces,” saidthe report.The authors observethat the size of the increase willdepend on many factors.

Two key factors will behow many nuclear-capablelaunchers Pakistan plans to

deploy, and how much theIndian nuclear arsenal grows.

“Speculation that Pakistanmay become the world’s third-largest nuclear weapon state –with a stockpile of some 350warheads a decade from now– are, we believe, exaggerated,not least because that wouldrequire a buildup two to threetimes faster than the growthrate over the past two decades,”the authors said.

According to the report,Pakistan is modifying itsnuclear posture with newshort-range nuclear-capableweapon systems to countermilitary threats below thestrategic level.“The efforts seekto create a full-spectrum deter-rent that is designed not onlyto respond to nuclear attacks,but also to counter an Indianconventional incursion ontoPakistani territory,” it said.

“This development hascreated considerable concernin other countries, includingthe United States, which fearsthat it lowers the threshold fornuclear use in a military con-flict with India,” the reportadded.

PTI n ISLAMABAD

Pakistan’s President andPrime Minister Thursday

said it was imperative to finda solution to the Kashmirissue under the UN resolu-tions for peace in the regionas they voiced their desire topromote mutual cooperationwith other countries on thebasis of equality. Pakistanobserves September 6 as theDefence Day to mark theanniversary of the 1965 warwith India.Prime MinisterImran Khan, in his first mes-sage on the occasion, said:“Pakistan believed in peacefulcoexistence and wanted topromote mutual cooperationwith all its neighbours and theentire world on equal basis”.

Outgoing PresidentMamnoon Hussain said thatpeople of Pakistan demon-strated unsurpassed nationalunity and stood by theirarmed forces to thwart the evildesigns of the enemy.ThePresident and Prime Minister,in their separate messages onthe occasion, emphasised thatthe resolution of the Kashmirissue in light of the UN reso-lutions is imperative for peacein the region, Radio Pakistan

reported. In his victory speechin July, Khan had said thatPakistan was ready to improveits ties with India and his gov-ernment would like the lead-ers of the two sides to resolveall disputes, including the“core issue” of Kashmir. In hismessage today, Khan appreci-ated the courage and profes-sionalism of the Pakistaniarmed forces in eliminatingmilitancy and terrorism, say-ing “no doubt their efforts fornational development,strengthening of democracyand world peace were laud-able”.

The government, he said,would continue absolutestruggle in the war against ter-rorism till its logical end.

The day is being celebrat-ed across the country with theArmy leading the DefenceDay activit ies. The daydawned with 31 gun salute inthe country’s capital and 21gun salute in provincial cap-itals.

Special prayers wereoffered in mosques forprogress and prosperity ofthe country.The main event isheld every year at the PakistanArmy’s General Headquartersin Rawalpindi.

‘Imperative to find solution to K-issue’Pak focused to undermineIndia’s territorial integritythrough terrorism: India PTI n UNITED NATIONS

Pakistan’s focus for decades hasbeen to undermine India’s

territorial integrity through the“explicit use of terrorism” as astate policy, New Delhi said in astern response after Islamabadraked up the Kashmir issue at theUN.

Pakistan’s Ambassador to theUN Maleeha Lodhi yet againraised the issue of Kashmir whileaddressing the High Level Forumon the Culture of Peace in theUN General AssemblyWednesday. She said “foreignoccupation and the denial of fun-damental rights including theright to self-determination exac-erbate the sense of injusticeamong the occupied and theoppressed”.

“Nowhere is this moreapparent than in the pain andsuffering” of the people inKashmir and Palestine, she said,citing the recent report onKashmir issued by former UN

High Commissioner for HumanRights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein.

Minister in India’sPermanent Mission to the UNSrinivas Prasad said that a cultureof peace is not just an abstractvalue or principle to be discussedand extolled in conferences, butneeds to be actively built intoglobal relationships between andamong nation states. “It rests ongood neighborliness and arespect for the territory and thegoverning systems and principlesof other states,” he said.

In a stern response, Prasadsaid it is ironic that Pakistan,“whose focus over the decadeshas been the undermining ofIndia’s territorial integrity throughthe explicit use of terrorism as astate policy has chosen to use thisplatform to yet again claimIndian territory under the guiseof a supposed concern for ‘jus-tice and self-determination’ byquoting a report that not a sin-gle member state had asked foror has supported”.

Putin ‘ultimately’ to blamefor spy poisoning: UKLondon (AFP): Britain saidThursday that Russian PresidentVladimir Putin had “ultimate”responsibility for a nerve agentattack on a former Russiandouble agent in England, as itprepared to brief the UNSecurity Council.

London has accused twomembers of Russian militaryintelligence of using Novichokto try to kill former Russian spySergei Skripal and his daughterYulia in the southwestern city ofSalisbury. Security Minister BenWallace said Putin bore ultimateresponsibility for the poisoning.“Ultimately he does in so far ashe is the president of the RussianFederation and it is his govern-ment that controls, funds anddirects the military intelligence,the GRU, via his ministry ofdefence.”

He told BBC radio: “I don’tthink anyone can ever say thatMr Putin isn’t in control of hisstate.... And the GRU is withoutdoubt not rogue. “It is led,

linked to both the senior mem-bers of the Russian general staffand the defence minister, andthrough that into the Kremlinand the president’s office.”

Britain has previouslypointed the finger at Moscowfor the March 4 attack, sparkingfurious denials.In the after-math, Britain and its alliesexpelled dozens of Russiandiplomats, prompting Russianto respond in kind.

The United States alsoimposed fresh sanctions overthe attack. Britain will brief theUN Security Council laterThursday on its latest findings,with the meeting due to openaround 11:30 am (1530GMT).Moscow on Wednesdayagain denied involvement in thecase, accusing Britain of“unfounded accusations”.

“Instead of conducting anindependent, objective andtransparent investigation...London continues to engage inanti-Russian megaphone diplo-

macy, continuing its propagan-da show,” the foreign ministrysaid. The US ambassador toLondon, Woody Johnson, andthe Australian government haveoffered their support for Britain’sstance against Russia.

Wallace said his govern-ment would seek to “maintainthe pressure” on Russia “to saythat the behaviour we’ve seen istotally unacceptable”.Optionsinclude “more sanctions — weare obviously taking it today tothe UN to present our case”.

However, he noted thatRussia would be there andwould likely use its veto on anystatement that might arise.Amid reports that Britain wasplanning a response in cyber-space, Wallace said the Russianswere the main operators behindattacks on British networks.“We retaliate in our way... with-in the rule of law and in asophisticated way, that theyknow the cost of what they do,”he said.

Britain blaming Kremlinfor spy poisoningunacceptable: Russia

Moscow (AFP): Moscowon Thursday said Britain’sclaim that the Kremlin bearsultimate responsibility for anerve agent attack on a formerspy in England was “unac-ceptable”.“For us any sort ofaccusation regarding theRussian leadership is unac-ceptable,” Kremlin spokesmanDmitry Peskov told journalists.

Russia has long denied anyinvolvement in the attack onSergei Skripal and his daugh-ter Yulia in Salisbury and insist-ed it is ready to cooperate onany investigation.“NeitherRussia’s top leadership northose in the ranks below, norany official representatives haveanything to do with the eventsin Salisbury,” Peskov said.

London said responsibilityfor the attack went all the wayup to Russian PresidentVladimir Putin.On Wednesday

British Prime Minister TheresaMay said two Russian spiesidentified as Alexander Petrovand Ruslan Boshirov carriedout the nerve agent attack.“For us to have grounds to ver-ify their identity we need to becontacted by the British side,”Peskov said.

“Statements in parliamentare not and cannot be consid-ered a request,” he added.

Poor grades? Blame yourgenes, scientists say

Houston (PTI): Children’sability to score better gradesmay be encoded in their DNA,say scientists who found thataround two-thirds of individ-ual differences in academicachievement can be explainedby comparing genes.

For many years, researchhas linked educational achieve-ment to life trajectories, suchas occupational status, healthor happiness. However,researchers from Universityof Texas in the US and King’sCollege London in the UKshowed that genes have a sub-stantial influence on academ-ic success, from the start ofelementary school tothe last day of highschool.

The study, pub-lished in the journalnpj Science of Learning,analysed test scoresfrom primarythrough the end ofcompulsory edu-

cation of more than 6,000pairs of twins. Researchersfound educational achieve-ment to be highly stablethroughout schooling, mean-ing that most students whostarted off well in primaryschool continued to do welluntil graduation.

Genetic factors explainedabout 70 per cent of this sta-bility, while the twins sharedenvironment contributed toabout 25 per cent, and theirnonshared environment, suchas different friends or teachers,contributed to the remainingfive per cent.“Around two-

thirds ofindivid-ual dif-ferences

i n

school achievement areexplained by differences inchildren’s DNA,” saidMargherita Malanchini, a psy-chology postdoctoral fellowat University of Texas.

“But less is known abouthow these factors contribute toan individual’s academic suc-cess overtime,” saidMalanchini. However, thisdoes not mean that an indi-vidual was simply born smart,researchers explained. Evenafter accounting for intelli-gence, genes still explainedabout 60 per cent of the con-tinuity of academic achieve-

ment.“Academic

achievementis driven bya range ofc o g n i t ivea n dnoncogni-tive traits,”Malanchinisaid.

LUCKNOW | FRIDAY | SEPTEMBER 7, 2018 world 12

‘US shares India’s concern that

Pak allows Saeed to roam free’

PTI n WASHINGTON

America shares India’s con-cern that Pakistan contin-

ues to allow Mumbai attackmastermind Hafiz Saeed roamfree despite the reward the UShas placed on his head for hisrole in terror activities, a seniorState Department official saidThursday.

The statement comes aday after US Secretary of StateMike Pompeo met Pakistan’snew Prime Minister ImranKhan and pressed him to take“sustained and decisive mea-sures” against terrorists threat-ening the regional peace andstability.

This was the US’ first high-level dialogue with Pakistansince the new government ofPrime Minister Khan assumedoffice after the July 25 electionsand comes days after the UScancelled USD 300 million inmilitary aid to Islamabad fornot doing enough against ter-ror groups active on its soil.

Talking to the media per-sons travelling with Pompeo inNew Delhi, the official, whochose not to be identified,said: “We’ve worked closelywith India over the last year to

have both a counter-terrorismdialogue as well as a dialogueon designations”.

The official said thatcounter-terrorism is obvious-ly another shared interest withIndia. “We’re coming up on the10th anniversary of theMumbai bombing.

“Obviously, we shareIndia’s concern that Pakistancontinues to allow Hafiz Saeed,the mastermind of theMumbai bombing, free, at-large, despite the reward that’son his head and despite hisvery known role in helping tofacilitate that attack,” the offi-cial said. Asked about his con-

cern over the presence of mil-itants on the Pakistani side, theofficial said that Americashares India’s concernsovercross-border infiltrations andviolence.

“I’m confident that there’llbe a conversation on counter-terrorism cooperation, and weshare India’s concerns overcross-border infiltrations andviolence.

“With respect to Indo-Pakrelations, we welcome effortsby both countries to speak withone another and to engage oneanother,” the official said.

The official said that therehas been a Director General ofMilitary Operations channelthat has been used over the lastseveral months.

“We saw a commitment bythe countries, I believe in earlyJune, a commitment byPakistan to reduce levels of vio-lence along the Line of Control.I think there’s been a reductionin the historic levels, but it’scertainly not the level of reduc-tion that we need to see.

“I can’t comment on theSecretary’s meetings yester-day, but as an ongoing elementof our conversation withPakistan is the need to end all

support for terrorist proxieswhether on the eastern borderor the western border,” thesenior State Department offi-cial said.

The Jammat-ud-Dawah(JuD), led by Saeed, wasdeclared as a foreign terroristorganisation by the US in June2014.Saeed also carries a USD10 million American bountyon his head for his role in ter-ror activities.

The JuD is a front for theLashkar-e- Taiba (LeT) mili-tant group that carried out thedeadly 2008 Mumbai attack.

India has repeatedly askedPakistan to re-investigate theMumbai terror attack case andalso demanded trial of Saeedand LeT operations comman-der Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi inthe light of evidence it hadprovided to Islamabad.

Ten LeT militants killed166 people, includingAmerican nationals, andwounded dozens in Mumbai inNovember 2008.

Nine of the attackers werekilled by police, while lone sur-vivor Ajmal Kasab was caughtand executed after a courtfound him guilty and handeddown death sentence.

AFP n TOKYO

Rescuers scrabbled throughmud for sur vivors

Thursday after a powerfulearthquake sent hillsidescrashing down onto homes inJapan, killing at least ninepeople and leaving dozens ofpeople missing. As many as 30are feared buried beneath theearth and rubble of multiple,large-scale landslides thatstruck sparsely populatedcountryside on the northernisland of Hokkaido after a 6.6-magnitude earthquake.

Aerial footage showedwrecked farm buildings at thebottom of a hill as rescue heli-copters whirred overhead in aregion already affected by theedge of a strong typhoon thatravaged parts of Japan earlierin the week.

The quake left almostthree million people withoutpower after damage to a majorthermal plant supplying theregion, with Industry MinisterHiroshige Seko saying it couldtake “at least a week” for sup-ply to be restored.

Long lines formed outsidepetrol stations and supermar-kets as residents dug in andauthorities warned that fur-ther quakes could be on theway.

Kazuo Kibayashi, an offi-cial in hard-hit Abira town,told AFP: “There was a sud-den, extreme jolt. I felt itwent sideways, not up-and-down, for about two to three

minutes.” “It stopped before shaking

started again. I felt it come intwo waves. I am 51, and I havenever experienced anythinglike this. I thought my housewas going to col lapse.Everything inside my housewas all jumbled up. I didn’thave time to even start clean-ing,” he added.

Public broadcaster NHKreported that nine people hadlost their lives, many of themin the village of Atsuma,where the landslide engulfedtheir homes.

Thirty-one people werestill missing, according to thebroadcaster, with around 300sustaining minor injuries.

Moments after the initialquake, which struck 62 kilo-metres (39 miles) southeast ofthe regional capital Sapporo,an aftershock measuring 5.3rocked the area, with dozensmore tremors felt throughoutthe day.

“We will do our best tosave lives,” Prime MinisterShinzo Abe said after an emer-gency cabinet meeting.

Government spokesmanYoshihide Suga added: “I urgepeople in areas shaken bystrong quakes to stay calm,pay attention to evacuationinformation... and help eachother.” “It’s going to rain (inHokkaido). Please be verycareful of further landslides,”the spokesman warned.

Around 20,000 rescueworkers, including police and

members of the Self-DefenceForces were responding tothe disaster, Suga said.Another 20,000 troops areexpected to join the effort.

Japan is still recoveringfrom its worst typhoon in 25years, which struck the west-ern part of the country onTuesday, claiming at least 11lives and causing major dam-age to an important airport.

The quake also causedmajor transport disruptionwith all flights cancelled fromSapporo’s main Chitose air-port, where the shakingbrought down part of a ceil-ing and burst a water pipe.Local buses and trains, aswell as bullet train serviceswere halted.

The Tomari nuclear powerplant in Hokkaido, which wasnot operational before thequake, was forced to turn toemergency back-up power tokeep its cooling system work-ing, NHK said.

A friendly football matchbetween Japan and Chileplanned for Sapporo was can-celled, with the Japanese FAciting the quake’s severeimpact on power and trans-port. Officials warned of thedanger of fresh quakes.

“Large quakes often occur,especially within two to threedays (of a big one),” said Toshiyuki Matsumori, incharge of monitoring earth-quakes and tsunamis at themeteorological agency.

The risk of housing col-lapses and landslides hadincreased, he said, urging res-idents “to pay full attention toseismic activity and rainfalland not to go into dangerousareas.”

And the national meteo-rological agency warned thatmore bad weather could be onthe way for Hokkaido, urgingpeople to be vigilant for land-slides, high tides and heavyrain. Japan sits on the Pacific“Ring of Fire” where many ofthe world’s earthquakes andvolcanic eruptions are record-ed.In June, a deadly tremorrocked the Osaka region,killing five people and injur-ing over 350.On March 11,2011, a devastating 9.0-mag-nitude quake struck underthe Pacific Ocean, and theresulting tsunami causedwidespread damage andclaimed thousands of lives.

Race to find survivors after deadly Japan earthquake

Rescuers work at the site of a landslide in Atsuma town, Hokkaido, northern Japanon Thursday. AP

World media hails landmark SC verdict legalising gay sex

PTI n WASHINGTON/LONDON

The world media Thursday hailedthe overturning of a colonial-era

law in India that criminalised gay sex,saying the landmark ruling was aboost for gay rights not only in theworld’s largest democracy but alsoacross the world.The Supreme CourtThursday decriminalised part of theSection 377 of the Indian Penal Codethat criminalises consensual gay sex,saying it was irrational, indefensibleand manifestly arbitrary.

The apex court unanimously heldthat the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual,Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ)community possess the same consti-tutional rights as other citizens of thecountry. The Washington Post saidIndia’s top court’s ruling was a land-mark victory for gay rights in theworld’s largest democracy.

It noted noted that activists havestruggled for more than a decade toinvalidate the section of the IndianPenal Code that prohibited consen-sual “carnal intercourse against theorder of nature.” The leadingAmerican newspaper commentedthat the ruling is also a boost for gayrights around the globe.

“The judgment reflects rapidsocial change in India, where only fiveyears ago, the top court upheld thesame law. Since then, campaignershave mobilised a movement to spreadawareness about gay rights,” it said.Economic and technological changes

have spurred shifts in thinking too,it said while pointing out that con-servative attitudes toward homosex-uality still persist. The New YorkTimes described the ruling as a“groundbreaking victory” for gayrights in India which has put to resta legal battle that stretched for manyyears and burying one of the mostglaring vestiges of India’s colonialpast.

It quoted Meenakshi Ganguly, the

South Asia director for Human RightsWatch as saying that the ruling couldset a precedent for nations with sim-ilar colonial-era laws to end their “dis-criminatory, regressive treatment” ofgay and transgender citizens.

“Though in recent years more andmore Indians have come out, andacceptance of gay, lesbian and trans-gender people has grown to somedegree, the fact that intimate behav-iour was still criminalised created

much shame and discouraged count-less Indians from coming out,” theinfluential paper said. The decision torepeal the law is a major victory forIndia’s LGBT activists and supportersafter years of determined struggle,CNN commented.

“Thursday’s historic ruling is theculmination of a lengthy and oftenfraught legal battle for equality in acountr y where homosexual ityremains taboo,” it said.

The decision appears to mark theend of a fraught path to legalisinghomosexuality in modern India, TheGuardian newspaper of the UK said,noting that early cases filed in 1994and then 2001 bounced back andforth for years between higher courtsreluctant to rule on the issue.

Though describing the SupremeCourt’s ruling as “historic”, the BBCnoted that “in a largely conservativeIndia, where leaders of all religionshave consistently opposed gay sex, itwill still be a while before attitudeschange and the community findsfull acceptance.”

The Independent newspaper saidthe ruling will have a profoundimpact both in India and across theworld.The Telegraph newspapernoted that sexual minorities in Indiahave lived in fear, hiding as secondclass citizens and the Suprme Court’sdecision to decriminalise gay sexhas sparked jubilation among LGBTQand human rights groups across thecountry.

Malaysia PM denounces caningof women for lesbian sexKuala Lumpur:MalaysianPrime Minister MahathirMohamad on Thursdaydenounced the caning of twowomen convicted of having les-bian sex in violation of strictIslamic laws, after the punish-ment sparked a storm of criti-cism.The pair were caned infront of more than 100 specta-tors in an Islamic courtMonday, with one of thewomen breaking down in tears,after they admitted breachingrules that forbid homosexualrelations.

The punishment in con-servative northern Terengganustate marked the first timewomen have been caned forsame-sex relations in Muslim-majority Malaysia, according tocampaigners, and heightenedfears about a worsening climatefor the country’s homosexuals.

Mahathir added his voiceto growing criticism, saying hehad discussed the issue with hiscabinet and they felt the caning“does not reflect justice and tol-erance in Islam”.“This gives a

bad image of Islam and webelieve that if there are similarcases like this we need to con-sider giving lighter punish-ments,” he said.

“It is crucial we show Islamis not a cruel religion... thathumiliates people.” Mahathirsaid as it was a first offence forthe women, they should havebeen given advice rather thanbeing caned.The women, aged22 and 32, were arrested inApril by Islamic enforcementofficers after they were foundin a car in a public square.

The pair, whose identitieshave not been revealed, plead-

ed guilty last month to break-ing Islamic laws and were sen-tenced to six strokes of the caneand a fine of 3,300 ringgit(USD 800).

Multi-ethnic Malaysiaoperates a dual-track legal sys-tem, with Islamic courts han-dling religious and family mat-ters for Muslim citizens, whomake up over 60 per cent of thecountry’s population.

Islamic laws are overseenby individual states in Malaysia.

Terengganu state is gov-erned by the conservative Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS),which is not part of the rulingcoalition at the national level.

The caning came against abackdrop of what activists sayis growing intolerance towardsthe country’s lesbian, gay, bisex-ual and transgender (LGBT)community.

The Islamic affairs minis-ter has spoken out againsthomosexuals, while a trans-gender woman was brutallyattacked in the southern stateof Negeri Sembilan. AFP

S Sudan judgeconvicts 10troops for 2016rampage

PTI n UNITED NATIONS

UN Secretary GeneralAntonio Guterres cited the

devastating floods in Keralaand the wildfires in California ashe expressed concern that cli-mate change is “running fasterthan we are” and called forurgency and action to preventever greater climate-relatedcrises. The UN chief said lastyear, climate-related disasterswere responsible for thousandsof deaths and USD 320 billiondollars in losses. “Climatechange is running faster than we

are. The impacts are devastating,and it is usually the poorest andthe most vulnerable who are hitfirst and worst by storms, floods,droughts, wildfires and risingseas,” Guterres said at the launchof the 2018 New ClimateEconomy report here onWednesday.

“This year, we have seen theterrible flooding in Kerala inIndia, savage wildfires inCalifornia and Canada, anddramatic warming in the Arcticthat is affecting weather patternsacross the northern hemisphere.The trend is clear. The last 19

years included 18 of the warmestyears on record, and green-house gas concentrations in theatmosphere continue to rise,” hesaid. The southern Indian statewitnessed the worst flooding in100 years. About 80 dams had

overflowed and more than 370lives lost. Kerala Chief MinisterPinarayi Vijayan had said that atotal of 1.2 million people affect-ed by floods had been housed in3,314 relief camps in the state.

Guterres warned that run-away climate change is a realpossibility, with severe implica-tions for communities,economies, peace and the secu-rity of nations. “Climate changehas been proven to amplify andexacerbate other risks. Put sim-ply, we need climate action toprevent ever greater crises. Wemust act with greater ambition

and urgency,” he said.The document, published

by the Global Commission onthe Economy and Climate – aproject comprising several UNbodies and other institutions –finds that the benefits of smarterand clearer growth are signifi-cantly under-estimated, and thatbold climate action could deliv-er USD 26 trillion in economicbenefits through to 2030.

Other benefits of switchingto a clean economy include thecreation of over 65 million newlow-carbon jobs, and 700,000fewer air pollution-related

deaths. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala,former finance minister ofNigeria and co-chair of theGlobal Commission, said,“Policy makers should take theirfeet off the brakes, send a clearsignal that the new growth storyis here and that it comes withexciting economic and marketopportunities.

USD 26 trillion and a moresustainable planet are on offer ifwe act decisively now.” Guterresadded that momentum for cli-mate action is growing everyday, with over 130 of the world’smost influential companies now

committed to using only renew-able energy, fossil fuel-depen-dent countries looking to diver-sify and over 250 investors withUSD 28 trillion in managedassets signing on to the ClimateAction 100+ initiative.

The Climate Action is afive-year initiative led byinvestors to engage systemical-ly important greenhouse gasemitters and other companiesacross the global economy thathave significant opportunities todrive the clean energy transitionand help achieve the goals of theParis Agreement.

PTI n SOFIA

President Ram Nath Kovindon Thursday met Bulgarian

Prime Minister Boyko Borissovhere and invited companiesfrom the Balkan nation tomanufacture in India as part ofthe ambitious ‘Make in India’programme.

Kovind arrived here onTuesday from Cyprus on thesecond leg of his eight-daythree-nation visit to Europe tocontinue India’s high-levelengagements with Europeancountries. From Bulgaria, hewill fly to Czech Republic.

“President Kovind meetsPM Borissov of Bulgaria; callsfor stronger bilateral relations;invites Bulgarian companiesto come and manufacture inIndia as part of the ‘Make inIndia’ programme,” thePresident’s Secretariat tweeted.

The bilateral trade betweenIndia and Bulgaria stands atjust over USD 300 million.

Referring to thetrade volume, Kovind onWednesday said at the India-Bulgaria Business Forum, “Thisfalls way below the potential. Iam confident that a lot morecan be done together if we drivedeeper into each other’seconomies and look forprospects. I am certain your

deliberations today would bemost productive on thataccount.” “While our politicalrelations have always beenstrong and deep, our econom-ic ties have so far been modest.It is time for us to catch up,” headded.

The President saidBulgarian companies can takeadvantage of the high growthtrajectory of the Indian econ-omy.

... invites companies to participate in ‘Make in India’

Kovind meets Bulgarian PM

Juba (AP): A military judge inSouth Sudan on Thursday sen-tenced 10 soldiers to jail for a2016 rampage in which a localjournalist was killed and fiveinternational aid workers weregang-raped.The case was wide-ly seen as a test of South Sudan’sability to hold its soldiers toaccount during the five-yearcivil war here, and diplomatsand activists welcomed the out-come.

However, they said manyother victims of violations haveyet to see justice and urged thegovernment to hold more trials.Brig Gen Knight Briano con-victed and sentenced two sol-diers to life in prison for themurder of a South Sudanesejournalist.

The judge found three othersoldiers guilty of raping foreignaid workers, four guilty of sex-ual harassment and one guiltyof theft and armed robbery.They received sentences rang-ing from seven to 14 years in jail.Another soldier was acquittedfor lack of evidence. Still anoth-er accused soldier died in jailduring the trial.

The convicted soldiers werestripped of their uniformsbefore being transported bytruck to prison. In July 2016,dozens of soldiers broke into theTerrain Hotel compound inJuba and began their rampage,while UN peacekeepers nearbydid not respond to pleas forhelp. An investigation bythe Associated Press in 2016revealed the extent of the crimesand spurred the South Sudanesegovernment and the UnitedNations to investigate.

The army hopes the trialwill act as a deterrent to othersoldiers while reassuring civil-ians that anyone who commitsa crime will be punished, armyspokesman Col. Domic CholSanto told AP. “This is impor-tant because the army has beenaccused of a great deal of rape,sexual harassment and all formsof violations, and it’s not part ofour doctrine,” said Santo. Thejudge ordered USD 2 million tobe paid to the Terrain Hotel fordamages, USD 4,000 to each offive rape victims, USD 1,000 toan aid worker who was shot inthe leg and 51 cattle to the fam-ily of the journalist who waskilled (each cattle is worthroughly USD 600).

Citing Kerala floods, UN chief says ‘climate change running faster than we are’

Flooding inNorth Koreakills 76Pyongyang (AFP): Severe flood-ing in North Korea has killed atleast 76 people with another 75missing, many of them children,the Red Cross said on Thursday.Thousands of people have been lefthomeless after heavy rains triggeredfloods and landslides, topplingmore than 800 buildings includinghouses, clinics and schools inNorth and South Hwanghaeprovinces, leaving Red Cross vol-unteers scrambling to find sur-vivors.

“Thousands have lost theirhomes and are in urgent need ofhealth services, shelter, food, safedrinking water and sanitation,” saidJohn Fleming of the InternationalFederation of Red Cross and RedCrescent Societies (IFRC) NorthKorea country office. “With thecold season around the corner, weare also concerned this disaster willincrease the risk of health problemsand food insecurity for somecommunities.”

Impoverished North Korea isvulnerable to natural disasters.More than 130 people died afterfloods struck North Hamgyongprovince in 2016, bringing downbuildings and leaving hundreds ofthousands in urgent need of foodand shelter.

The country’s territory is large-ly composed of mountains and hillsthat have long been stripped barefor fuel or turned into terraced ricefields, allowing rainwater to flowdownhill unchecked. A series offloods and droughts was partiallyresponsible for a famine that killedhundreds of thousands between1994-98, with economic misman-agement and the loss of Soviet sup-port exacerbating the situation.

The Westin Gurugram, redefines theSunday brunch experience with

their all new Sunday Brunch atSeasonalTastes, theirall-day-diningrestaurant. Itincludesseafoodclassics suchas lobster andcrab, live

sushi bar, an Oakwood grill by theherb garden. Time: 12.30 pm to 4 pmVenue: The Westin Gurugram

vivacity {food} 13

R E C I P E S

TERIYAKI ONION HOTDOG (CHICKEN

FRANK)

WHAT YOU NEED

Hot dog bun: 1Chicken frank: 1Teriyaki sauce: 20 mlOnion: 50 gmCan pineapple (diced): 15 gmTomato: 15 gmGarlic chips: 5 gmChilli mayonnaise: 25 gmMayonnaise: 20 gm

METHOD

nSlit 2/3rd of thebun diagonally.

nPlace chickenfrank on the slitside.

nPrepare teriyakionion bycooking sliceonion withteriyaki sauce.

nArrange teriyakionion over thechicken frank.

nPipe mayonnaiseon teriyakionion.

nGarnish with pineapple dice, diced tomatoes andgarlic chips.

nServe it with chilli mayonnaise.Courtesy: Chef Yutaka Saito, Executive

Chef at Simply Sushi, PVR

ASIAN SPINACH AND LENTIL CURRY

WHAT YOU NEED

Creamy peanut butter: 5 tbsp Fresh ginger, coarsely-chopped: 2 inch pieceGarlic: 2 clovesSoy sauce: 1 tbsp Lime juice: 1-2 tbspKaffir lime: Zest of ½Chopped cilantro: 2 tbsp Tamarind paste: ¼ tbspSriracha sauce: 2 to 3 tbsp Chilli powder: ¼ tsp or moreSalt: ¼ tbspsugar: 1 tbspSesame oil: ½ tbspCoconut milk: 1 cupRed lentil, soaked: ½ cup Water: 1½ cupsOil: 2 tbspSliced white onion: 1/3cupSpinach, roughly-chopped: 3 cupsToasted peanutto garnish

METHOD

n In a foodprocessor,blendtogetherpeanut butter,ginger, soya,lime zest andjuice, cilantro,

tamarind paste, Sriracha sauce, chillipowder, sesame oil, coconut milk, saltand sugar. Taste to adjust the flavours. Itshould be a balance of sweet, spicy,salty, and sour.

n Cook the lentils in water with some saltand sugar, over medium heat for 10minutes. The red lentils will cook to justabout done. Drain and keep it aside.

n Meanwhile, in a large pot, heat the oiland add onions. Cook until translucent.

n Add the spinach and let it slightly cookdown.

n Add the peanut sauce and mix well.n Add the lentils and stir it together.

Reduce heat to medium and bring thesauce to a boil.

n Taste and adjustsweet and spice.

Check if the lentilsare cooked to

preference.Cook longerfor softerlentils.nTake it offthe heat.Garnishwithtoastedpeanuts

serve overrice.

Courtesy: FoodhallIndia

C H E F T A L K

LUCKNOW | FRIDAY | SEPTEMBER 7, 2018

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On a bright sunny day, I sat at a tablelaid out with Bihari cuisine, some-

thing that I was familiar with and yetnot. Being Bengali, I could see wherethe two cuisines converged and wherethe food from the sister state’s diverged.For me, the highlight of the day was aunique refresher, a sattu drink madewith green chillies, onion, corriander,roasted jeera laced with rum. Thecocktail made from locally sourcedingredients was an instant hit aroundthe table. It was a part of the spread,titled Purvaiya, which was put togeth-er with Chef Sanjay Mishra at theHoliday Inn Mayur Vihar to bring to thecustomers secret recipes of the homekitchens of Siwan and Bhagalpur.

But sattu with rum that as not theonly twist. Another drink, a white wine,that one would assume would go onlywith Italian or Continental food pairedwell with the regional cuisine of the statethat is not quite north India and not easteither.

Besides Litti chokha, the staplestreet food of Bihar, especially in Saran,there was was another dish that can berightly classified as street or snack. TheJhaal moori (Spiced puffed rice), whichis also famous on the streets of WestBengal, was made with black chana,aloo masala, mango pickle oil, onion,chilli and jeera. A variation of this calledthe Chura ghoogni, which is famous inthe Mithilanchal, made with chickpea, gave a spicy boost. The Pitha, anopen dumpling made with rice flourand filled with soaked chana dal thensteamed reminded me of childhoodmeals during Sankranti.

The sattu, which is a flour consist-ing of a mixture of ground pulses andcereals, is also known as the ‘poor man’sprotein’ and happens to be very versa-tile. It forms an important part of theBihari cuisine for it can be roasted, friedor had in a drink. It’s easy to carry andeasily accessible, which is has led tomany experiments with the flour. It isgaining ground in India for the healthbenefits that it provides. So I had it inLitti, in a drink and paratha on the sameday.

“Sattu dough can be carried in agamcha for days. It’s cheap and reallypopular in Bhojpur, Baliya and Mauregions,” said Maneesh Srivastava, theco-curator for the day.

Maneesh said that his grandfatherhad carried sattu with him when hetravelled for hours while going to seeMahatma Gandhi, who was visiting thestate. Another tale from the contem-porary streets of Bihar, he narrated wasabout the interesting combination ofLitti and roasted mutton chaap or ribs,which is loved in Chapra but is yet tobe seen in Delhi.

The food was inspired by grand-mother’s style of cooking as it made onefeel at home, sitting at a table with fam-ily, enjoying a meal that came with sto-ries.

The Gatta-curried green peas fromMithilanchal region was a hit witheveryone sitting around the table. TheGatta was a dish for the vegetarianeaters and was meant to be their ver-sion of lamb curry. For the meat lovers,there was was an almost dry dish calledMutton kaleji and the fish lovers could

dig into a Jhol of rohu, similar to aBengali one. The main course did notend at that. Like a hierarchy that is fol-lowed while eating Onam Sadya, therewas an order to the food spread here aswell. Beginning with the fried vegeta-bles, like parwal called potol in Biharand Bengal, potato fry, a red saag fryand dal puri, we moved on to thebreads. The stuffed sattu paratha tast-ed best with a sweet tomato chutney anda ginger-chillie pickle. Eat the picklewith caution if you aren’t up to strongtastes. A small bite into the pink gin-ger and chillie left me with smartingeyes. The accompaniment was an egg-plant bharta to be eaten with theparatha.

After clearing away the maincourse, next in line was a Dahi vadawithout saunth, a tamarind concoctionusually eaten in northern India. It was

soft, made with lentils and acted like apalate cleanser for what was to follow— an assortment of desserts includingMakhane ki kheer.

The platter of sweets hadChandrakala, which is made of khoya,Thekua made with flour and jaggerywhich is deep fried, Sesame laddoo anda Parwal sweet filled with khoya whichhad a clean taste and was crisp. TheMakhane ki kheer with soft lotus seedsin a milky and creamy base was servedin a flat mud bowl was the perfect endto this treat of traditional Bihari cuisine.

The duo curated the food festivalto create awareness about the cuisinewhich is often overlooked as drab andequated only with the litti and thechokha. In bringing it to the audiencein Delhi, they sought to popularise itwhile keeping its traditions intact.

If you have grown up in north India likeI have, you know it is best to be scepti-

cal of any restaurant that announces “Pure-vegetarian” on its board. Despite that I castmy reservations aside and entered the KiaraSoul Kitchen, the pan-Asian cuisine-basedcafe-cum-restaurant in Greater Kailash 2.And guess what? This time around I wasnot disappointed.

Navy blue chaise lounges and chairs androse couches with a mini water sapling oneach table welcomed us. The walls wereadorned with empty green and magentawine bottles arranged in parallel lines. Thesoft music and spring couches made surethat you were comfortable before comingto the more important business of order-ing food.

I dug my fork into Sweet potato wedgesand pumpkin gallete, served with tamarindsauce and cabbage leaves. The wedges wereplaced vertically in six short and roundglasses and had the flavour balance right.They were soft without being mushy, spicyyet sweet and had also got the flavours ofgarlic and ginger spot on. I can vouch forit — a sweet potato will never taste the sameagain.

I took my pick of the mocktails menuand ordered a Virgin Sangria. Presented ina wine glass, it was grape juice with a per-fect blend of assorted apples and fruits,sugar syrup, lemon and strawberry crush.

“I want to quit eating meat, but I hatevegetables,” a line that is often repeated andheard. But the idea could be turned on in

its head if you eat Steamed pok choy leafdumplings at this place. For those who aren’taware, pok choy or bok choy is a type ofChinese cabbage. These looked like greenblobs and once I bit in them, I tasted fine-ly-chopped mushrooms, grated carrots, andother assorted vegetables wrapped in pokchoy leaves that were flavoured with a hintof coconut milk with in-house chef ’s spe-cial soya reduction dressing.

The next in line were the caramelisedbaby corn, which was nothing short of per-fection on my plate. This dish is certainly

on the top of list of the must-haves here. Itwas served with sweet chilli sauce alongwitha blend of Thai spices.

We ordered organic black rice for themain course. Full marks to the dish’s pre-sentation, as the rice were served like aninverted bowl in a round white plate withan aloe-vera stem on the top. It wasaccompanied by finely-chopped babycorn,mushrooms, grated carrots, broccoli, beansand cubed cottage cheese. The sumptiousrice has a green curry to go with. The currywas an amalgamation of lemongrass, galan-gal, coconut milk and assorted vegetablesbut it fell short on taste.

The other mocktail that I had wasFuitoholic, which was a combination ofgrapes, apples and kiwis in grape and cran-berry juice and was delicious.

The place has a great send-off as wellwith its divine Truffle Petit four — darkchocolate balls rolled in green fennel.

But more than the food, it was theinclusivity of the menu which bowled meover. When you turn to the last page of themenu, you will find an assortment of dish-es suitable for certain kind of patients —diabetic, thyroid, or even gastric ones.

The place with it’s colours and a vari-ety of vegetables makes it a great choice,even for a carnivore. Certainly, worth a visit.

For most chefs, a perfect dishcomes together after hours offusion, multiple experimen-

tation and some failures, especiallywhen it is inspired by the flavoursfrom across the globe.

An avid traveller and explor-er, Siddhart Chogle, ExecutiveChef at Kiara Soul Kitchen hasbeen exposed to several food cul-tures. This has enabled the cheffrom Mumbai who is a culinaryarts graduate from the Institute ofHotel Management (IHM),Aurangabad to develop innovativecuisines that derive inspirationfrom the flavours from around theworld.

Siddhart started cooking at ayoung age and ultimately masteredthe art. From working with nameslike The Taj and The Oberoi’s inIndia to kitchens like Fairmont LeMontreux Palace in Switzerland,he has explored various food andrestaurant cultures.

At the restaurant, he haswhipped together pan-Asian cui-sine, “We do an amalgamation offlavours from all over Asia, whichare then mixed up and intertwinedwith European-style food.”

Even though he prefersseafood, since he became a part ofa vegetarian restaurant, he has cutdown on non-vegetarian. “I docook fish when I go home. I ammore of a fish-eater since I amfrom Mumbai,” he says.

So how did he explore flavoursand variants in vegetarian foodespecially when most peopleequate it with only paneer?Siddhart has an answer. “I haverealised that the vegetarian cuisinehas many sides and aspects thatare yet to be explored. The texturesare more diverse and complicatedto play with in terms of cooking.”He is playing with and blendingvarious greens to “give vegetablestheir rightful importance on theplate,” which over the years has gotlost.

He adds, “In fact, we hardlyuse paneer in our dishes. We tryto work with alternative sourceslike lentils and millets as comparedto going with basic milk-based orpaneer-based products.”

The chef has imbibed lessonsfrom all over the world and sharedone from Switzerland. He says,“Post my Masters, I stayed andworked in Switzerland for threeyears. I observed that even thoughthe primary focus of the meal ismeat, vegetables are still given a lotof importance. I think my entirephilosophy of cooking vegetarianfood is rooted there.”

The food space has expandedin all directions now. Today, if youtake a walk at your nearby streetwhere all the restaurants and cafesare based, one would find all thecuisine varieties — Japanese,Chinese, Thai, Indonesian, Italian,

European rather than just region-al Indian variations. Pan-Asiancuisine, mainly Chinese, Japaneseand Thai, has become very pop-ular in India. Siddhart says,“Earlier Asian food was repre-sented only by Chinese. But thereare a number of pan-Asian restau-rants today. The popularity of pan-Asian food is because earlier it wasnot easily available in India.”

He added, “Social media hascreated awareness so now weknow that a raw papaya salad

needs a proper kind of dressingand stuff. Years ago, the conceptwas very new.”

He also highlighted howChinese noodles are taking overstaple Indian food. The first brush

of Indians with noodles camewith Maggi but now Chinese‘Hakka noodles’ are used as sub-stitutes for roti and rice by manyIndians. And there are many vari-eties which are made with differ-ent grains and ingredients whichare now easily available.

He believes that people aremuch more open to experimen-tation today and “they do not haveto be related to food or be a chefor a cook nowadays to explore it.Anybody could do that. Theyhave started going out to eat moreoften.”

He believes that being a chefnow is a challenging job. “Peoplehave tried out so many new thingsand have so much more exposure.This is much more challengingthan cooking for someone who istrying the dish for the first time.There could be another five ver-sions of a Raw papaya salad or PadThai noddles that he would haveconsumed in India or in Thailand,so he knows which one suits histastebuds perfectly. Innovation iswhat keeps calling back a cus-

tomer.”There are European practices,

which he tries to incorporate in hisculinary habits. He says, “I followthe European style of doing MiseEn Place, (French word for pre-storing your food for only twodays) because of which I buy themin such a way that they only lastfor two days. They are labelledproperly and put under categoriesof various timings. I think Indiashould also follow such culinaryhabits.”

And he does have a definiteview of food being the subject ofInstagram stories and feeds ratherthan making its way to the mouthof the person who ordered it.While chefs worldwide are debat-ing against food bloggers, Siddhartsays, “I believe that we eat foodthrough our eyes first and this isan acknowledgment to the chefwho prepared the dish that it is soappealing to his customer that hecan’t take his eyes off it. Five or 10minutes won’t make your dishstale. So why not? Thank you foodbloggers (laughs).”

‘Indiashould follow

Mise En Place’

Chef SIDDHART CHOGLE shares the lessons he imbibedwhile working under European chefs with CHAHAK MITTAL

From grandma’skitchen

Food curatorMANEESHSRIVASTAVA talksto ASMITA SARKAR

about the simplicityof Bihari cuisinefrom his homeland

A love affair with veggies

Cafe-cum-restaurantKIARA SOUL KITCHEN hasa menu that is inclusive,says C MITTAL

Moonsoon indulgence at QBA, CP, brings a range ofvegetarian and non-vegetarian

soups. One can also choose fromspecials like Crusty garlic toast, Texmex basket, Corn cheese chilli fritters,Soya chaap mini baguettes, Cheesesambousak, Lebanese rolls, Lebanesechicken skewer, Pepper muttonChettinad and more. Price: Meal for two: `599 for veg, `699for non-veg Date: Till September Time: 12.30 pm to 3.30 pm

He believes thatpeople are much

more open toexperimentationtoday and theydon’t have to berelated to food

or be a chef or acook nowadays

to exploreflavours

LUCKNOW | FRIDAY | SEPTEMBER 7, 2018vivacity 14

Rani wishesSalman had a kidRANI MUKERJI wishesthat actor Salman

Khan had a daughterwho could marryShah Rukh Khan's sonAbRam. SRK men-tioned how hisyounger sonAbRam is likeSalman. Whilethe little oneexpresses hislove for his par-ents quite often,he doesn't shyaway from saying“I love you too”to any girl hemeets. Rani said,“Salman, I wishyou had adaughter, whowill be the pret-tiest girl. Wecan actuallylook at a rishtafor yourdaughter withAbRam.” SRK addedto this, “We should call you‘Shaadi Mukerji.’”

Actor SALMAN KHAN said that hedoesn't do “meaningful films” buthis films definitely carry a “hugemessage.” Asked himwhat about playing a vil-lain? He said, “I don'twant to play a villainbecause if I play it reallywell then people will beimpressed by me andwill start behaving likevillains. My films have huge mes-sages, which is keeping themaway from the wrong and they’redoing the right thing.”

Donald honouredat Zurich

Veteran actor DONALD

SUTHERLAND will behonoured with the life-time achievement awardat the 14th editionof the Zurich FilmFestival.The 83-year-oldactor will alsopresent hisrecently releasedmovie TheLeisure Seekerat the festival. Having worked inmore than hundredfilms, Sutherland is arecipient of manyprestigious awardsincluding Emmy andOscar.He has received Emmyand Golden Globeawards as BestSupporting Actor for his perfor-mance in the film Citizen X andwon a Golden Globe for Path toWar.Sutherland's recent work alsoincludes roles in The HungerGames and TV series Trust.

The tragic death of NandamuriHarikrishna, son of the former movie

and political Telugu colossus, NT RamaRao might unfortunately become justanother statistic of deaths on Indianroads. He died in a road accident whenthe Toyota Innova he was driving hit themedian and turned turtle. However, weshould not let this happen, because if thelocal police are to be believed, he was notwearing a seatbelt. While many policereports of road accidents in India areunreliable, they often cite excessive speedand potential inebriation of the driver,this was a fascinating find as it appearedthat the ‘seatbelt not on’ warning buzzerhad been deliberately deactivated.

This just highlights some of the casesand points raised by Maruti-Suzuki intheir #PehniKya campaign to promoteseatbelt use last year. It is true that at veryhigh speeds seatbelts and airbags cannotdo much to save lives, but the fact is thatseatbelts in conjunction with airbags canoften save lives and prevent really seri-ous injuries in more moderate speed acci-dents. Again, remember that airbags bythemselves cannot save lives, indeed theyincrease the potential of serious and fatalinjuries if they are used without seatbeltsand modern head restraints on car seats.Airbags are, and are marked as‘Supplementary Restraint Systems’ forthat very reason.

Indian roads are dangerous enough

as they are, but by not wearing seatbeltswe are unnecessarily making them moredangerous. The study conducted byMaruti-Suzuki last year showed thatonly 25 per cent of all Indians wear seat-belts. The same thing applies to the mil-lions of motorcyclists in India who do notwear helmets and triple-ride. That said,it is heartening to know that the trafficpolice in some cities are cracking downon such violators, but the solution to thisis not just fear of a fine and punishment.The solution to this has to be education

and valuing lives. And education is not a function of

how wealthy people are, but just knowl-edgeable. For example, putting a childunder four feet tall in the front seat of acar with an airbag is dangerous, becauseif the airbag were to deploy, the childcould die from whiplash injuries. Evenin the rear, children must ideally beplaced in a child seat, but of course nei-ther of these two things are mandatoryin India nor are child helmets on two-wheelers.

The fact is in India while our politi-cians have needlessly stalled the amend-ments to the Motor Vehicles Act underthe banner of states rights, our problemis not one of a lack of rules and regula-tions but purely of enforcement. The traf-fic management skills of our policeforce and traffic planning skills of manycity planners is poor and sometimes thatleads to some ‘solutions’ making the prob-lem worse.

That said, the plaintive plea of thiswriter is that we should make our roadssafer and that starts with you, dear read-er. So belt up, whether you are sitting thefront or the back and if you are in a two-wheeler wear a helmet and don’t carrymore than one person behind you. Thisis about your lives and those you careabout, if you can change your habits, youcan make a difference to everyonearound you.

The Parcel by Anosh IraniMadhu, a transgender sex work-er, in the red-light district ofBombay, who is given an unex-pected, harrowing task. At forty,Madhu moves away from pros-titution, her trade since herteens, and takes up begging tosupport the leader of the hijras,Gurumai. As the story unveils,Madhu’s 'parcel' arrives, which isnothing but a ten-year-old girlfrom the provinces, betrayedand sold by her aunt. Madhuexplores what her fate has for hernow.

I Am Divine. So Are You. HowBuddhism, Jainism,Sikhism and Hinduism Affirmthe Dignity of Queer Identitiesand Sexualities by DevduttPatnaik and Jerry JohnsonThe book recasts religion —especially Karmic faiths — as an

ally and not an adversary ofqueer emancipation and thus sig-nificantly informs the secular andlegal movements for LGBTQrights around the world.

A Life Misspent by SuryakantTripathi Nirala and Satti KhannaNirala, the first modern Hindi

poet of India, is all of sixteen andnot conversant with the KhariBoli Hindi of the literateurs yetwhen his father gets him marriedand sends him off to his in-laws’in Dalmau to fetch his bride. Hemeets a strange man called KulliBhaat who claims descent froma family of bards and despite hismother-in-law’s reservations

about Kulli’s sexuality, Niralafinds himself drawn to Kulli.Then an influenza epidemicbreaks out, claiming numerouslives, and Nirala’s bereavementleaves him without mooring. Heseeks employment in variousplaces but finds himself unableto stay away from Dalmau forlong. Kulli, in the meanwhile,marries a Muslim woman andbecomes a champion of the

untouchables. Set in pre-inde-pendence India, A Life Misspentis as much the account of anunlikely friendship as it is acoming-of-age story.

Mohanaswamy by Vasudhendraand Rashmi TerdalMohanaswamy has just lost hislong-time partner, Karthik, to awoman. Even as he scrutiniseshimself, the choices he’s made,the friends and lovers he's gained

and lost, he dreams of living asimple, dignified life. A comingout of the closet for Vasudhendrahimself, these stories of homo-sexual love and lives joltedKannada readers out of theirnotions of the literary and thepalatable. The gritty narratives ofMohanaswamy explore sexuali-ty, urbanisation and class withnuance and an unflinching hon-esty.

No One Else. A PersonalHistory of Outlawed Love andSex by Siddharth DubeAt the age of ten, Siddharth Dubefinds himself entranced by anandrogynous striptease dancerand begins to see something ofhimself in her visceral beauty.He’s only just starting to under-

stand some of his life’s definingpreoccupations. For Siddharth isgay, and it was dangerous to begay in India.

The Dancing Boy by Ishani KarPurkayasthaIn the sleepy by-lanes of 1980s’Calcutta, a young boy spendshours in front of the mirror,draped in his mother’s saris, hisface layered with make-up, as hedances and twirls around theroom. His mother is ashamed of

her effeminate son; his friendstease him about his eccentricities;and Moyur grows up an unwit-ting outcast, misunderstood byall but his friend and neighbour,Jonali.

Source: Harper Collins

With the historic rulingby the Supreme Courtof India scrapping sec-

tion 377, it put the country at parwith other progressive nationsthat recognise love as it is, regard-less of the sex of the partners.

The petitioners and alliesrejoiced the decriminalising ofgay sex and the sensitivity withwhich the judgement was given.

Ritu Dalmia, who was one ofthe petitioners, said she had putan alarm for 5.30 am in themorning since she was in theUK. A celebrity chef and ownerof the niche restaurant chainDiva, Dalmia identifies as les-bian.

“When I put the petitionthere was just anger and the feel-ing that one has to do something.I am a very optimistic person.The hope was there but I neverthought the judgement would bethis way because this hasn’t beenjust about striking it down butthe judgment was so progressiveand so sensitive. This is some-thing one did not expect. I amreally proud of our judiciary sys-tem today,” she said. She addedthat it had nothing to do with theposition of the petitioners, which

includes LaLit hotels scionKeshav Suri, Bharatanatyamdancer Navtej Singh Johar, co-founder and co-chairman of theNeemrana Hotels chain AmanNath and other noted individu-als.

“I think it had nothing to dowith the faces and names of thepetitioners. The real work wasdone by the legal team, whofought this case amazingly. Thejudges were sensitive, intelligentand intellectuals. We’re a func-tional democracy and the wholelaw was absurd and a bit of ajoke. When you read this judg-ment you get your faith back inthe system,” she said.

With the legal system ontheir side, they community isready to gear up to fight thesocial stigma, which too will bea long journey.

“It will be easy now to docounselling, workshops andactivities so that there is aware-ness because it is legal now. Theidentity crisis which the commu-nity was facing is gone. We canbegin addressing the issues. The

next step could be allowingadoption.

There are many underpriv-ileged children in the countryand the government should beopen towards adoption to LGBTcommunity. Kids will get homes,”said Jewellery designer Aakash KAggarwal, who identifies ashomosexual.

Nath believes that with thejudgement India has flushed outan outdated law after 160 yearsby a government that people callconservative. “India is justreturning to its open, progressivemorality. Finally, the love ofmankind will be legal in India,”he said.

And then there was Johar,who sounded teary even duringthe phone call. “We’re all so over-whelmed right now. I just wantto say that it was a great judg-ment. We’re overjoyed with it. Itrestored our faith in theConstitution and the Judiciary. Ithink right now is the time to cel-ebrate. It’s really a wonderfulthing and we’re grateful to thejudges for delivering such a

judgement. I still don’t know howthe celebration will be. We’re justdigesting it right now. It will takea while to process this,” saidJohar.

The relief was palpable intheir voices, about the progres-sive direction the country isgoing to and that for the futuregenerations, who no longer haveto fight and hide.

“I’m happy and relived forthe coming generations. It was along fight. This the beginning.Now comes the responsibility.The LGBT community has tostand up as the best humanrace.

We have to be equal in ourresponsibility and be proactivetowards our country and theConstitution. We are the gener-ation and the face of the youthwhich wanted a change and gotit too. The generation before ourskept quiet and lived in closet. Thecoming generation will berelieved,” said Aggarwal. He alsocongratulated the Modi govern-ment, “even though they kepttheir silence”.

Homosexuality is no longer a conceptrestricted to western shores. The queer

community stands proud today for winninga decades-long fight. An individual’s sexualpreference is now a choice only theirs tomake and not of the state’s. In India, homo-sexuality had been a crime both on the socialas well as legal front.

Much to the surprise of the communi-ty, the Supreme court of India passed a land-mark judgement legalising homosexualityand decriminalising parts of the Section 377of the Indian Penal Code. September 6 hasmade a mark in Indian history.

Keshav Suri, the executive director of theLaLit Group of hotels, is a prominentLGBTQ+ activist who had filed a writ in theapex court saying that he was threatened forfalse prosecution and is not able to live a lifeof dignity where he can choose to have a rela-tionship with his own partner.

Celebrating this historic moment, hesaid, “Today, I’m so happy to say that I’m anIndian, and tomorrow I’m hoping to say thatmy marriage with Cyril Feuillebois shouldbe legalised here. I’m just waiting for thatmoment now.” He added, “Section 377 didnot stop the corporate world to run inclu-sive and have non discriminatory practices.Godrej, IBM, Shiv Nadar University, the

Lakme Fashion Week have taken measuresto make the institutions more inclusive. I’mdefinitely going to do it proudly and open-ly now.” He has also worked with the ICICILombard to get mediclaim insurance for

same-sex partners of employees at thehotels.

Cyril Feuillebois, husband of Suri, alsosaid, “I’ve been in India for 15 years now, andI’m very happy to marry Keshav, I’m reallyproud about this judgement as it was the firststep and there are so many more to come.”

The duo got married in France in Juneand the verdict today adds to their year ofcelebration.

“For the LaLit hotels and Kitty Su it issomething that is usual but for my person-al life things would have been much worse,and may be I would have left the country. I’mproud of them for taking this huge step andhope that the laws towards the communitychange soon,” Suri said.

The colonial era law had made itextremely hard for people to acknowledgetheir sexuality and their partners in public.They had been forced into the closet, but thecurrent generation had fought long and hardto break the silence.

Ishan Sethi, who is the co-Founder andCEO of TheDeltaApp, a networking app forthe community, said, “It was so beautiful tosee a spectrum of emotions as soon as wewalked out of the court. Acknowledgmentis a huge step forward.

We were told that we would look at everycloud with a rainbow, so things of such man-ner really bring validation to everythingyou’ve gone through, lets say, all the stigmaand abuse.”

The verdict unfolded a day of celebra-tion. It was about the law today but tomor-row it’ll be about the personal lives of queerindividuals and the battles against stigmathey face from society. However, with the lawon their side now the journey towards futuresuccesses will be smoothened.

KUSHAN MITRA

Wear your seatbeltAnother tragic high-profile death in a road accidentwas in part due to the fact the victim was notwearing a seatbelt according to the police

Petitioners RITUDALMIA, AMANNATH, NAVTEJ

JOHAR andactivist AAKASH

AGGARWAL talkto TEAM VIVA

about their day of joy and freedom

from the tag ofbeing criminals

LOVE CONQUERS

LGBTQ+ activist KESHAV SURI believes that Section 377 didn’tstop the corporate world from being all-inclusive and adoptingnon-discriminatory practices. By AYUSHI SHARMA

TALES FROM THERAINBOW PEOPLE

TEAM VIVA brings to you a list of books written by Indianswho have either faced the struggle of hiding their trueselves or are sensitive to the issue

‘As actors, we play avery important partin everyone's life. Weare considered rolemodels and it isnecessary on ourpart to set the rightexamples for people.I am someone whohas always livedfrom the heart. I didnot want to do thingsbecause everyoneelse was doingthem.’—Kareena Kapoor Khan ‘It’s only a beginning’

LUCKNOW | FRIDAY | SEPTEMBER 7, 2018 sport 15

PTI n LONDON

Battered after yet another deflatingseries defeat, the Indian cricket teamwill be aiming to pick up pieces

while spoiling Alastair Cook's farewellparty in the fifth and final Test againstEngland starting Friday.

With England taking an unassailable 3-1 lead in the five-Test series, the final matchat the Oval is only of academic importancebut Virat Kohli will want to finish on a def-inite high.

A scoreline of 2-3 will definitely lookmuch better than 1-4 and India will any daytake Test win.

Chief coach Ravi Shastri has tried tokeep the morale of the team high by call-ing it the "best travelling side in last 15 years",something that is not corroborated byfacts.

A statistical lowdown will show thatIndia under Sourav Ganguly's leadershipdrawn Test series in England (2002) andAustralia (2003-04) apart from winning aTest in West Indies (a team that had BrianLara, Carl Hooper, ShivanarineChanderpaul) and a series in Pakistan.

Under Rahul Dravid, India won twinseries in West Indies (2006) and England(2007) apart from winning a Test in SouthAfrica.

Under Anil Kumble, India won a Testmatch on a bouncy Perth for the first timewhile under Mahendra Singh Dhoni, theIndian team won a series in New Zealandand also for the only time drew a series inSouth Africa.

Having lost back to back overseasseries in South Africa and England, the mythof being good travellers has been busted andthey have not been able to convince that theyare good enough to win a series outside sub-continent.

Kohli-led side though has retained itsnumber one Test ranking despite series' loss-

es in both overseas tours in2018 thus far.

In this backdrop, Kohli'sIndia will be playing a Testmatch where team combina-tion will again come under focus.

While they would want to play the bestpossible eleven, there is also a case for exper-imentation with the line-up.

With Prithvi Shaw's inclusion in the Testsquad, the Indian selectors are looking aheadto the next line of openers. And with MuraliVijay dropped, they need to firm up plansahead as attention will soon turn to the tour

of Australia inDecember.

A school ofthought suggests that Shaw should bethrown into the deep end of the pool toascertain if he can take on the pressure offacing the best bowlers international crick-et has to offer.

Even if he fails to get going in this one-

off Test, at age 18, Shaw still has time to climbthe ladder again. Meanwhile, any success onhis part will provide an easy answer to theopening conundrum ahead of the Australiantour.

The other school of thought suggests

that the current opening combination ofShikhar Dhawan and KL Rahul ought to beretained.

If the selectors are indeed lookingahead, this could prove to be a last chancefor either of them to impress before the seriesagainst West Indies and the domestic first-class season begins back at home. Early indi-cators are that Shaw will have to wait for hischance, at least until the home season.

Elsewhere though, India will be look-ing to play with their lower-middle orderand bowling combinations. With HardikPandya failing to impress with the bat, the

management could trial Hanuma Vihari inthe middle, as he is also a handy spinner.

Ravindra Jadeja looks set to play his firstTest on tour, with Ravichandran Ashwin notbowling in the nets on Wednesday and mov-ing gingerly as well.

While there is no confirmation from themanagement, it has been reliably learnt thathe has aggravated his hip strain and will missout on the final Test.

Jasprit Bumrah could also be restedkeeping in view the Asia Cup beginning nextweek in the UAE. The pacer, along withShardul Thakur, is part of India's limited-overs' squad and as such Umesh Yadav couldmake a comeback into the side.

For England, this Test will be markedmore by emotion than anything else. Oneof their greatest ever, Alastair Cook, takeshis final bow and leaves the hosts potentiallysearching for two openers for their tour ofSri Lanka later in the year.

Given that an unchanged squad for thisfifth Test was announced after Cook wentpublic with his decision to retire, the selec-tors retain faith in Keaton Jennings whoseemed to have turned a confident cornerin the second innings at Southampton.

The pitch, on Wednesday, bore a greentinge like all other wickets in this series.However, it was more an uneven sprinklingthan an even covering.

TEAMSIndia: Virat Kohli (c), Shikhar Dhawan,Prithvi Shaw, KL Rahul, CheteshwarPujara, Ajinkya Rahane,Rishabh Pant(wk), Karun Nair, Hardik Pandya,Ravindra Jadeja, Hanuma Vihari, IshantSharma, Umesh Yadav, Shardul Thakur,Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah.England: Joe Root (c), Alastair Cook,Keaton Jennings, Jonny Bairstow, JosButtler, Moeen Ali, Adil Rashid, SamCurran, James Anderson, Stuart Broad,Chris Woakes, Ben Stokes.

PTI n LONDON

Getting ready for an emotional week ahead,England skipper Joe Root says they want to con-

jure up a perfect send-off for Alastair Cook in thefinal Test, where a win will also send a strong state-ment to the world.

Root said that Cook had informed him of hisretirement decision in Southampton, and that thiswouldn't be a distraction ahead of or during the fifthTest.

"It will be quite an emotional week for him andfor a lot of the guys who have played a lot of crick-et with him. He will be a massive loss to our dress-ing room. But I'm thrilled he's got an opportunityto enjoy this game.

"My full focus has been on making sure we winthis game. It's been an area we've not got right inthe past and to beat the number one side in the worldand make it 4-1 would send a really strong state-ment of where we are at as a team and where we arelooking to go as a team. It would sum up a goodsummer of cricket for us in difficult conditions,"Root said on the eve of final Test.

The hosts have named their playing eleven with-out any changes. Jonny Bairstow will keep wicketsagain with Moeen Ali slated to bat at number three.

Root will bat at number four and said that thecompetition for keeping between Bairstow and JosButtler is healthy.

About the batting order changes, he added,"Moeen has played exceptionally well for his coun-ty at three and he wants to do it, feels very com-fortable there. The way he batted in his first inningsin the last Test, I know it was down the order, butthat style of batting could get us off to a really goodstart and a great chance of taking things on fromthere. With the winter coming up it might be theway to go, gives us great options.

"Four is definitely my preferred position, whereI think I'll get the best out of myself as a player anda captain. So I'd have never known that if I'd nevergiven myself the opportunity to bat at number threeand I thought it was the right thing to do by the restof the team and gave us the best chance of winning."

England have already taken an unassailable 3-1 lead in the series. Coming on the back of defeatsin Australia and New Zealand, as well as a draw withPakistan earlier in the summer, the captain said hewould like to build on this series going ahead.

"The win has given me a huge amount of con-fidence and I feel like I have grown as a captain andhopefully it can continue," he signed off.

PTI n MUMBAI

Former Australian speedster BrettLee has backed Rohit Sharma

and Shikhar Dhawan to come outgood in the upcoming Asia Cup say-ing the two will hold key to India'sgame-plan in absence of regularskipper Virat Kohli.

With Kohli being rested fol-lowing the England tour, Rohit willlead the Indian team which starts itsAsia Cup campaign on September18. Dhawan has been named asvice-captain for the ODI tourna-ment.

"Two key batsmen for India inthe Asia Cup - Shikhar Dhawan andsecondly Rohit Sharma. I believeRohit will get the best out of him-self and also the team because he hasbeen given that extra bit of respon-sibility to lead the Indian side," Leewas quoted as saying in a statementissued by official broadcasters StarSports.

"With Virat Kohli not playing,

Rohit and Dhawan will be the twokey men with the bat for India," hesaid.

Lee, a veteran of 76 Tests and221 ODIs, feels Rohit will be able todeliver in United Arab Emirates asthe wickets will aid him.

"The great Virat Kohli is beingrested for the tournament, so thatallows Shikhar and Rohit to bepushed up. There is a lot of talk

about how Rohit can't face left armfast bowlers - with the swing and theball going across him," said the 41-year-old.

"But I don't necessary agree withthat but what I can say is that in theUAE it will be a different style hewill have to face. Yes, they will bringon the left-arm fast bowlers to tar-get Rohit but I believe on the lowerand slower wickets in UAE, Rohitwill dominate. I believe the wicketwill help him out."

Lee also feels Dhawan will haveto make some technical adjust-ments.

"Dhawan has come in formduring his bout in England but willhave to adjust a few things in histechniques to ensure he will be play-ing on the surfaces that will be con-ducive to him," he said.

"He has played on grounds allaround India that are low and slowin recent years, and the tracks inUAE will suit him, allowing him toplay through the line of the ball."

MBAPPE HANDED 3-MATCH BANparis: Paris Saint-Germain's Kylian Mbappe has beensuspended for three matches after being sent off duringa French league game last weekend. The 19-year-oldstriker, a member of the France squad which won theWorld Cup in July, received a red card in stoppage timeduring PSG's 4-2 win over Nimes. Mbappe scored in thevictory but was later sent off for reacting to a latechallenge from Teji Savanier, shoving the Nimesmidfielder to the ground. Savanier was handed a five-match ban by the French league's disciplinarycommission on Wednesday. He misses the leaguematches against Saint-Etienne, four days before PSGstarts its Champions League campaign at Liverpool,against Rennes on Sept 23 and Reims on Sept 26.

PAK APPOINT BRADBURN AS FIELDING COACHkarachi: The Pakistan Cricket Board's search for a topfielding coach has finally ended with New Zealand'sGrant Bradburn slated to join the national team in theUAE for the Asia Cup tournament this month. ThePakistan board said on Thursday it had appointedBradburn on a three-year contract. The New Zealanderreplaces Australian Steve Rixon who didn't extend hiscontract with the Pakistan team after it ended this yearwith the tour of England in June. In a statement issuedby the PCB, Bradburn said, "It is a great honour to bejoining Pakistan Cricket Team and their high-qualitycoaching staff. I have seen the progress that has beenmade under Mickey Arthur and the opportunity to workwith a leading full member team on the rise in worldcricket, is a real privilege."

TAMIL THALAIVAS HOPES FOR WINNING STARTchennai: After an unimpressive home run in theprevious season of Pro-Kabaddi League, Tamil Thalaivashead coach Edachery Bhaskaran is confident of the teamdoing well in the 2018 edition beginning here on October5. The aim was to win the maximum number of games,Bhaskaran said. "We have a balanced squad for theforthcoming season. If we can get some wins under ourbelt early, it will help us inch closer to the SuperPlayoffs," Bhaskaran said at an event to launch the teamjersey here. The players were optimistic of winning allthe home matches, he said. About the difficulties afranchise faces when its home leg is scheduled in thefinal half of the tournament, Baskaran said, "by the timewe had our home leg last year, teams had worked outour strategies. Few players succumbed to injuries aswell. These factors could dent a teams chances. Its goodthat we have it early this time." Agencies

SINGLES

PTI n LONDON

Former captain Sunil Gavaskar has remind-ed Ravi Shastri that India had won Test series

in West Indies and England, a day after theunder-fire coach claimed his side has better over-seas record than teams of the last 15-20 years.

While India lost yet another Test series awayfrom home following the 60-run defeat in thefourth Test against England at Southampton,head coach Shastri insisted the current side isbetter travellers than the teams of the last 15-20 years.

Gavaskar, once a teammate and captain ofShastri, recalled some of the series wins abroadby Indian teams of the past.

"All I can say is that no Indian team has wonin Sri Lanka for a long time. But we have wonin the West Indies, in England, Test matches inAustralia and South Africa," Gavsakar said.

The last time India won a Test series inEngland was in 2007, under Rahul Dravid's cap-taincy.

The batting great said, "What I can say isthat teams in 1980s have won in England andWest Indies. Rahul Dravid also won series inWest Indies in 2005, in England in 2007 and cap-tained when India beat South Africa for the first

time (in South Africa)."Dravid gets very little credit for his lead-

ership and his team's wins. There have beenteams who have won overseas."

Gavaskar criticised the batsmen for theirinability to tackle England spinner Moeen Ali,who ended the game with nine wickets.

"Lack of footwork has hurt Indian batsmen,they are not getting to the pitch of the ball againstMoeen Ali. This comes from playing too muchof white ball cricket, in one-dayers you won'thave four slips when pacers are bowling and youcan hit through the line."

Though England have sealed it in theirfavour with three wins in four Tests, Gavaskarsaid the assessment of the team should be doneafter the last Test at the Oval.

"I think that's something that needs to belooked at by the end of the series. During theseries, I understand saying that we are still goodto keep morale up. There is still one Test to go.A real assessment has to be made on September12, when series ends," Gavaskar said on the eveof the fifth and final Test.

He also believed that young Prithvi Shawcan be played as an opener.

"I believe you can play Prithvi Shaw, thereis no harm in playing him as an opener."

PTI n LONDON

Vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane onThursday blamed the Indian

team's much-vaunted batting line-up's failure to complement thebowlers for their Test series defeatin England.

India were repeatedly bowledout during the Test series asEngland grabbed an unassailable 3-1 lead with the fifth and final Teststarting here at the Oval on Friday.

"Patience is the key in England,whether you bat or bowl. You got tobowl in the same areas for a longerperiod of time. Maybe as a batsman,you have to leave the ball for alonger period of time," Rahanesaid.

"We feel bad as our bowlersbowled so well and we as battinggroup could not support themwhen we are a experienced group.I think we as batting group fellshort.

"When you are on tour youwork so hard and prepare so welland then one department performswell then it is responsibility ofother group to back them," headded.

Talking about his batting,Rahane said, "I didn't get many runsbut I got 50-odd and 80-odd in thelast two matches. The way I am bat-ting, I am middling the ball reallywell. Batting is all about confidence.I would like to contribute a littlemore to my team.

"During this last match I willdefinitely give my best and I haveprepared myself real ly well .Preparation from beginning tillnow is similar, whether you are 3-1 down or up. I am just going toenjoy my batting."

Rahane said that the world's

number one Test side will look tofinish this long tour on a winningnote.

"Definitely it is an importantTest match. The series stands at 3-

1 and we want to give our best andfinish on a winning note. Especiallysince, I feel we played some goodcricket but England played betterthan us," said Rahane.

"In Test cricket you have to givemore than 100 percent in each andevery session. I felt England par-ticularly won small and importantsessions. Their bowling unit bowledreally well.

"This is going to be the last test.We are focussed on performing wellin this last test and if we can winthis test and go back 3-2 then thatwill be really good," he said.

Rahane believes England are astrong team at home.

"Every team plays really well athome nowadays. England haveplayed better cricket than us, espe-cially in their bowling and batsmenin both teams have struggled a lot.Only Virat (Kohli) has batted real-ly well in these conditions," he said.

"But England definitely, in theirconditions, are a very good teamand very experienced team withJames Anderson and Stuart Broadin their attack. Moeen (Ali) bowledreally well in the last game. Theycan do really well abroad as well butat home every team is really strong."

India could make a couplechanges for this game, withRavindra Jadeja lining up to replaceR Ashwin, who is recovering froma hip injury, and Hanuma Vihari inline for a debut Test.

Rahane, however, didn't con-firm the changes for the fifth Test.

He singled out skipper Kohli forpraise, who has scored 500-plusruns in this series but didn't findsupport from other batsmen.

"The way Kohli conducted him-self and the consistency he showedwas amazing. Many people weresaying many things about himabout whether he will be able toscore runs in England. But Viratconcentrated on his cricket and thatis what we learn from him," he said.

India vs England

Live from 3:30pm IST

SONY TEN NETWORK

PRIDE AT STAKE IN OVAL TEST

India look to end English tour on winning note and spoil Cook's farewell party in final Test

(From left to right) Ishant Sharma takes part in a nets session ahead of the fifth Test against England at Oval; English wicketkeeper batsman Jonny Bairstow reacts during the practice session AP/ICC

Alastair Cook (left) Joe Root during a practice session ECB

Shikhar Dhawan (l) Rohit Sharma in a file photo

Virat Kohli, centre, celebrates with Ajinkya Rahane, left after dismissing Ben Stokes AP

INDIA-ENG AT THE OVAL

Team P W L D Success%

Eng 100 41 22 37 59.50

India 12 1 4 7 37.50

Faisel Features

‘Beating India 4-1would be a perfectsend off for Cook’

Batsman failed our bowlers, says Rahane

Gavaskar reminds Shastri

of past overseas record

Rohit, Shikhar key to India's

game-plan in Asia Cup: Lee

LUCKNOW | FRIDAY | SEPTEMBER 7, 2018 sport 16

AFP n NEW YORK

Two-time champion NovakDjokovic ended John Millman'sfairytale US Open run on

Wednesday, beating the 55th-rankedAustralian in straight sets to book asemi-final clash with Kei Nishikori.

The Serbian star, who ended a 54-week title drought with his 13th GrandSlam title at Wimbledon, defeated thetenacious Aussie 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 to reachhis 11th US Open semi-final in his last11 appearances.

He lifted the trophy in 2011 and2015.

Nishikori, the 21st seed, advancedwith a 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7/5), 4-6, 6-4 vic-tory over Marin Cilic -- the man whobeat him in the 2014 final.

Millman, who stunned five-timechampion Roger Federer in the fourthround, kept Djokovic running — andwas kept running himself — for 2 hours49 minutes on another hot, humid nighton Arthur Ashe Stadium.

"You survive on the court thenthrive with a win," said Djokovic, whoconverted just four of his 20 breakpoints and made 53 unforced errorsbefore he was finally able to accomplishwhat Federer couldn't in seeing offMillman.

"Very tested," said Djokovic, whoadmitted that like many he was sur-prised to find himself facing Millman,not Federer, across the net.

"But Millman is the kind of a play-er that makes you miss the balls,makes you win the point, earn thepoint.

"He doesn't miss a lot himself, sohe just runs left, right, gets a lot of balls.Tactically, you've got to find the rightbalance between being patient butconstructive in the point, but at thesame time, be aggressive and take thechance when you have a shorter ball.It's easier said than done."

It was clear that it could be a longnight when the players battled for morethan 15 minutes in the sixth game ofthe opening set, Millman saving fourbreak points.

The Aussie saved another four inthe opening game of the second set andas the duel continued both players wereclearly feeling the effects of long, enter-

taining rallies.Millman, his clothes soaked, made

the unorthodox request to go changeafter the fourth game of the second set— Djokovic agreeing.

"He was apologizing he felt verysorry that he has to leave the court andchange. I said, 'Man, go ahead.' "I need-ed that rest," said Djokovic, who final-ly gained the decisive break in thepenultimate game of the final set thenserved it out at love.

"I gave it a crack," said the 29-year-old Millman, who has battled a litanyof injuries in his career.

"I definitely left it all out there todayand pulled up a bit short. Novak's a

champion.He's played a lot of Grand

Slams and he knows how towin them." Japan's Nishikori,who missed last year's USOpen after a season-endingwrist injury, joined compatri-

ot Naomi Osaka in reaching thesemis — the first time that a

Japanese man and woman havereached the last four in the same

Grand Slam.N i s h i k o r i

stunned then-world numberone Djokovic inthe semi-finals in2014 to becomethe first man froman Asian countryto reach thechampionshipmatch of a major.

But he hasn'treturned to aGrand Slam finalsince, falling inthe US Opensemis in 2016.

Against Ciliche labored for 4hours and 8 min-utes.

"I don't knowwhy but it's always a battle with Marin,"said Nishikori, who stretched his careerrecord over the seventh-seededCroatian to 9-6. Nishikori appeared tobe in control of the fifth set with a breakfor a 3-1 lead.

He had two game points for a 5-2

lead but a double fault and a backhandwide opened the door for Cilic, whostormed through, shouting "Got it!"when he secured the break to narrowthe gap to 4-3.

But Nishikori broke Cilic in thefinal game, capturing the match witha blistering service return.

"I try to fight every point," saidNishikori, who boasts an impressiverecord in decisive sets.

"Especially in the end I reallyfocus on every point," he said but added:"I wish I don't go to five sets every time."

JAPAN HAILS HISTORIC RUNJapanese media and fans on

Thursday rained down the superlativeson tennis stars Kei Nishikori andNaomi Osaka who made his-tory by both reaching the USOpen semi-finals.

"There is no stoppingthe Japanese players,"screamed the Nikkan Gendaitabloid, after the pair becamethe first from the country to securesemi-final berths in both singles com-petitions during a Grand Slam.

Particular praise was heaped on 20-year-old Osaka, who became the firstJapanese woman to get into the top fourat the US Open.

"Osaka was in full throttle from thestart," Nikkan Sports said in its digitaledition, reviewing her 6-1, 6-1 quarter-final victory.

"She showed her strength andaccuracy, as well as a cool intellect topredict how her opponent wouldmove." "She has taken a step intouncharted territory for Japanese womenin New York," the paper added.

Meanwhile, Nishikori's victoryover Marin Cilic was seen as sweetrevenge for the 2014 US Open final,which ended in victory for the giantCroat. "Nishikori gets his revenge onCilic," said a Sports Nippon headline.

Excited fans cheered on theJapanese players and allowed them-selves to dream about silverware.

"Great! I want to see her go againstSerena in the final," said one Twitteruser. "Awesome! Nishikori-san andNaomi Osaka get into the semi-finals.Next match is vs Djokovic. Please win,"wrote another.

AFP n NEW YORK

Naomi Osaka became the first Japanese woman in 22 yearsto reach the semi-finals of a Grand Slam on Wednesday when

she defeated Lesia Tsurenko 6-1, 6-1 in the last-eight of the USOpen, admitting she was "freaking out" inside.

Osaka wasn't born when compatriot Kimiko Date made theWimbledon semi-finals in 1996 but now the 20-year-old has theopportunity to go one better by reaching a maiden Grand Slamfinal.

Later Wednesday, Osaka was joined in the record books bycompatriot Kei Nishikori who reached his third semi-final at theUS Open.

It's the first time that a Japanese man and woman have madethe semi-final at the same Slam.

To get to Saturday's championship match, 20th seed Osakawill have to get past US 14th seed Madison Keys who breezedpast Spain's Carla Suarez Navarro 6-4, 6-3.

Keys, the 2017 runner-up, leads Osaka 3-0 in career meet-ings including the third round at the US Open in 2016 when shebattled back from 1-5 in the final set to triumph.

"It really means a lot to get to the semis," said Osaka whosepost-match, on-court interview endearedher further to a growing legion of fans.Osaka celebrated her win calmly and cool-ly unlike the floods of tears which greet-ed her last-16 victory over ArynaSabalenka.

"I cried a lot last time and there werelots of people making fun of me. So thistime I went straight to the net.

"I was freaking out inside and mywhole body was shaking but overall I ammost proud of not breaking a racquet."

Osaka, the daughter of a Japanesemother and Haitian father, said she enjoyedplaying in the blistering heat of New Yorkwhich has been such a talking point of the tournament.

"I really don't think it's that hot, sorry. I'm used to Floridaheat. I like sweating." Osaka swept aside 36th-ranked Tsurenkoin just 57 minutes as the Ukrainian's challenge fizzled out in adeluge of mistakes.

The 29-year-old, who had knocked out world number twoand Australian Open champion Caroline Wozniacki in the sec-ond round, hit 31 unforced errors and won just seven points offthe Japanese star's serve.

"I hate matches like this," said Tsurenko. "I was ill and wokeup with a viral infection. I didn't want to pull out as it's a GrandSlam quarter-final but she played well."

Keys, the runner-up to Sloane Stephens last year, took herrecord over Suarez Navarro to 4-0 thanks to a break in the ninthgame of the first set and sixth of the second.

The American fired 22 winners and six aces past SuarezNavarro who had knocked out former champion MariaSharapova in the previous round.

Suarez Navarro has now lost all seven Grand Slam quarter-finals she has contested.

Keys said she will look to home support on Thursday whenshe resumes her rivalry with Osaka.

"When I was 5-1 down in 2016, the crowd pulled me through.They never gave up on me," she said.

AFP n MILAN

Roberto Mancini takes chargeof his first competitive game

as Italy coach in Friday's NationsLeague opener against Poland inBologna with the tough task ofrekindling the nation's loveaffair with their national side,decimated after the low of theirWorld Cup fiasco.

The former Inter Milan andManchester City boss wasappointed in May after the four-time winners' shock failure toqualify for the World Cup for thefirst time since 1958.

Mancini's job will be torebuild a new and vibrant sidegoing into the EuropeanChampionship in two years'time and heading towards the2022 World Cup in Qatar.

The Nations League — inwhich Italy will also be upagainst European championsPortugal in Group 3 — will havean impact on seeding for Euro2020.

And the 53-year-old hasinsisted that a key to his strate-gy was to bring in new bloodafter the departure of several vet-erans, including iconic goal-keeper Gianluigi Buffon, in thewake of Italy's World Cup play-off defeat to Sweden lastNovember.

Buffon's exit has opened theway for 19-year-old AC Milan'keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma.

"We're a great group, veryyoung," said Donnarumma atthe team's Coverciano trainingcentre near Florence.

"We're determined to bringItalian football back where itdeserves to be. It's our duty."

Italy have plummeted to anall-time low of 21st in the FIFArankings.

They were eliminated inthe group stage at the 2010 and2014 World Cups, althoughthey fared better at the EuropeanChampionship, reaching the

final in 2012 and the quarter-finals in 2016.

But Mancini said he want-ed to "try something different"and focus on youth, with fouruncapped players includingRoma's Nicolo Zaniolo, who is19 and has yet to start in a SerieA game.

‘STRONG MESSAGE’Italy's under-21 side reached

the semi-finals of the 2017UEFA Under-21 Championship,while the under-20s finishedthird at the FIFA U-20 WorldCup in 2017.

Mancini called on the

coaches of Serie A squads to giveyounger players more playingtime to build on their potential.

"We're trying to send astrong message fromCoverciano. We're convincedthat those who play well atyouth level can do so even at ahigher level," said Mancini.

"At this historic momentthere are not many Italian play-ers playing on a consistent basis.Because of this, we have includ-ed many young players toincrease the number of playersso we can get to know them bet-ter."

To anchor the younger play-ers, veteran Juventus defenderGiorgio Chiellini, 34, returns tothe squad for the first timesince Italy's World Cup play-offdefeat.

"Chiellini is back and he'scaptain, he's a point of referenceand experience, especially for theyoungsters," said Italy's Chelseamidfielder Jorginho.

Poland too have somethingto prove after being eliminatedin the group stage at the WorldCup without star striker RobertLewandowski scoring once. Heand Napoli striker ArkadiuszMilik are expected to play.

After Poland, Italy playPortugal minus Cristiano inLisbon on September 10.

PTI n DHAKA

Indian football team's chief coach StephenConstantine on Thursday said that although

he was happy with the 2-0 win over Sri Lankain the SAFF Cup opener, he expects a betterperformance in the coming matches.

"We need to rectify the mistakes beforethe next match. We started off with a goodwin but I am not happy with the performance.We could have scored quite a few goals more,"Constantine said.

He wants the U-23 team to play smartfootball.

"We have to learn how to play moresmartly. We can do much better than this.Given the fact that the players are young, youcan't expect the consistency every time.Anyway, a win is always the most importantaspect of the game and we move on fromhere," Constantine said.

Ashique Kuruniyan, who was adjudged asthe Most Valuable Player of the Match, said:"We won, but we missed many chances. Wehave to be quick enough on the field to utilisethose opportunities."

"I am extremely happy to have scored myfirst International goal. I need to deliver morefor the national team."

Meanwhile, Constantine, said thereshould be more players in the pipeline to putpressure on the seniors.

"We have already qualified to the AFCAsian Cup and from now, we need to havemore players in the pipeline so that we canput pressure on senior players to push them-selves more," he said.

"We have just preferred to stick to ourideas to provide these young boys with anopportunity to get some more internationalgame time."

India will take on Maldives in the finalgroup-stage match on Sunday.

PTI n HYDERABAD

Top seed Sameer Verma and formerCommonwealth Games Bronze medallist

RMV Gurusaidutt were among the Indian shut-tlers who made it to the men's singles quarter-finals of the Hyderabad Open BWF Tour Super100 tournanment on Thursday.

Sameer, who had clinched the Swiss Openearly this year, defeated compatriot Kevin ArokiaWalter 21-14, 21-9, while Gurusaidutt beat fel-low Indian Daniel S Farid 21-14, 21-13 in anoth-er prequarterfinal match.

Also making the men's singles quarters wasPratul Joshi, who defeated fifth seed SourabhVerma 14-21, 21-13, 21-19 in a thrilling contest.

In the women's singles, Sri Krishna PriyaKudaravalli, seeded fifth, saw off Thailand'sNuntakarn Aimsaard 21-15, 21-18 to enter thefinal eight. She will face Singapore's Yeo Jia Minnext.

Rasika Raje also pulled off a 21-19, 21-16 winover Hong Kong's Cheung Ying Mei to enter thequarters.

Top seeded mixed doubles pair of PranaavJerry Chopra and N Sikki Reddy also progressedto the quarters after notching up a 21-10, 22-20win over Hong Kong's Yeung Shing Choi and FanKa Yan.

S Sunjith and Sruthi KP also qualified for the

quarterfinals after beating B Sumeeth Reddy andArathi Sara Sunil 11-21, 21-15, 21-11. They willhave to get across Indonesian combination ofRenaldi Samosir and Hediana Julimarbela toreach the semifinals.

The men's doubles pair of SatwiksairajRankireddy and Chirag Shetty, top seeds, defeat-ed Indonesia's Bagas Maulana and FrengkyWijaya Putra 21-13, 21-17 to make the quarters.The CWG Silver medallists will face Indo-Malaysian combination of Tarun Kona and LimKhim Wah.

Fourth seeds Arun George and SanyamShukla, who had played at the Thomas Cup, beatcompatriots Krishna Prasad Garaga and DhruvKapila 21-16, 21-18 to move to the quarters,where they will square off against Hong Kong'sChan Tsz Kit and Yeung Shing Choi.

Second seeds Arjun MR and RamchandranShlok also set up a fight with Malaysian duo ofMohamad Arif Ab Latif Arid and Nur MohdAzriyn Ayub Azriyn after beating Hong Kong'sChang Tak Ching and Yeung Ming Nok 21-16,21-14 in the pre-quarterfinals.

The women's doubles pair of Pooja D andSanjana Santosh, meanwhile, defeated compa-triots seventh seeds Aparna Balan and Sruthi KP15-21, 21-12, 21-19. The pair will play third seedsIndonesian combination of Agatha Imanuela andSiti Fadia Silva Ramadhanti.

PTI n CHANGWON

Saurabh Chaudhary claimeda record-shattering Gold in

the junior 10m air pistol eventbut Abhishek Verma missedout on an Olympic quota afterfinishing eighth in the seniorcompetition of the ISSF WorldChampionship here onThursday.

While they failed toimpress individually, the seniorshooters, including Verma,won Silver in the 10m air pis-tol event.

Asian Games Bronzemedallist Verma had shot 583in the qualification.

Arjun Singh Cheema set-tled for a Bronze inChaudhary's event and theIndian team took the Silver,propelled by the 16-year-oldAsian Games Gold medallist'sphenomenal individual per-formance.

India also picked up aSilver medal in the juniormen's trap team competitionwith Aman Ali Elahi, VivaanKapoor and ManavadityaSingh Rathore shooting a com-bined score of 348 to finish sec-ond behind Australia.

In the senior competition,Verma, Om PrakashMitharwal, who claimed the50m pistol Gold, and ShahzarRizvi pocketed the team Silverwith a combined score of 1738in men's 10m air pistol.

The 16-year-oldChaudhary, who won theAsiad Gold last month, quali-fied third with a score of 581before shooting down his ownworld record with a score of245.5 in the final. Singh man-aged 218 once the field waspruned to eight following thequalifying round.

Chaudhary first set a worldrecord in the 10m air pistolevent at the InternationalShooting Sport Federation(ISSF) Junior World Cup inJune.

The Indian team ofChaudhary, Singh and Anmol,who could not make the indi-vidual final, claimed the Silverwith a combined score of 1730.

However, there was disap-pointment for senior shootersin the individual competitionof the 10m air pistol event.Asiad Bronze-medallistAbhishek Verma raised hopesfor a medal by qualifying third

for the 10m air pistol event formen.

However, the lawyer-cum-marksman disappointed withan eighth place finish in thefinal after shooting a score of118.

India did not return emptyhanded though with the teamof Abhishek Verma, OmPrakash Mitharwal, whoclaimed the 50m pistol Gold,and Shahzar Rizvi pocketingthe team Silver with a com-bined score of 1738.

India ended day five withan overall total of 14 medalswhich includes four Gold, sixSilver and four Bronze. They liethird in the medals tally behindKorea and Russia.

So far, Anjum Moudgiland Apurvi Chandela are theonly Indian shooters to securequota places for the Olympicsby winning a Silver and fin-ishing fourth respectively inthe women's 10m air rifleevent.

JAPANESE FLAIR IN US OPEN

Nishikori upsets Cilic to advance in semis, Osaka outclasses Lesia to book last-4 berth

OSAKA TO FACE KEYSFOR FINAL SPOT

Saurabh smashesjunior record for gold

Tough test awaits Mancini

Sameer, Guru enter Hyderabad Q/F ‘We need to rectify our mistakes’

To get tofinal, Osakawill have toget pastMadisonKeys whobreezed pastCarla SuarezNavarro 6-4,6-3

Naomi Osaka reacts after fetching point against her opponent in quarterfinal AP

Saurabh Chaudhary (left) celebrateswith Arjun Singh Cheema after winningGold in ISSF World C’ship ISSF

Indian player battles for ball against Sri Lankan opponent

Italian coach Roberto Mancini speaks during the press conference on Thursday AP

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14 VIVACITY SC RIGHTS LGBTQ WRONGS - The … › uploads › 2018 › epaper › ...2018/09/07 · Ahead of the 10th anniver-sary of the 2008 Mumbai attack, they also called on Pakistan