16
T he Shiv Sena on Saturday hardened its stand on its demand for Chief Minister’s post on a rotational basis and equal sharing of ministerial portfolios and said it would not take any decision on joining the new Government with the BJP in Maharashtra unless and until its senior saffron ally gave a written undertaking to it that it would adhere to the “power- sharing agreement” reached between the two parties ahead of the Lok Sabha polls. The newly Shiv Sena MLAs, who met at the Thackerays’ residence “Matoshri”, authorised Sena president Uddhav Thackeray to take a final decision on sharing power with the BJP in the new Government as per the 50:50 formula “agreed” at a joint meeting held by him, BJP pres- ident Amit Shah and Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on February 18 this year when the two parties formalised the seat- sharing pact for the Lok Sabha polls and also decided on the seat and power sharing arrangement for the State Assembly polls. Informed party sources quoted Uddhav as having said at the Shiv Sena Legislature Party (SSLP) meeting that in the event of the BJP failing to adhere to the “agreement” reached between him, Shah and Fadnavis ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, he had “other options” before him. He, how- ever did not spell out as to what were “other option” before him. The Sena’s tough stand on its demand for the Chief Minister’s post for a period of two and a half years and equal sharing of Ministerial berths came on a day when the BJP announced that it would hold its legislature party meeting at the Vidhan Bhavan on October 30. Disclosing for the first time the contents of the “agree- ment” reached between him, Shah and Fadnavis earlier this year, Uddhav told his party MLAs at the meeting, “As per 50:50 power sharing formula reached between us, the BJP and Shiv Sena will share the post of the Chief Minister for a period of two and a half years each. Similarly, it was also decided that the two parties will share the Ministerial posi- tions in the State Cabinet equally. I don’t want anything more than what was decided then. All I want is a written undertaking about the power sharing arrangement we had agreed at that meeting”. Interestingly, two of the newly elected MLAs — Pratap Sarnaik and Abdul Sattar — spoke in detail about what transpired at the SSLP meeting. Turn to Page 4 I n the run up to the October 31 dateline — the day the Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh will come into existence — the possibil- ity of a rerun of the strict secu- rity clampdown and commu- nication blackout, similar to the one imposed for facilitating the Centre’s Article 370 decision, is not being ruled out to ensure an incident-free celebration of the historic moment. The buzz in the Valley has it that the State administration is once again gearing up for the second phase of the clamp- down. More so, in view of the spate of targeted killings of truck drivers transporting apple supplies from interior areas of Kashmir to different parts of India. There have been three such incidents recently with the lat- est victims being a truck driver and his helper from Rajasthan. The terrorists want to stop the supply as 7.48 metric tonnes of apple have already been export- ed till October 23. The Jaipur Transport Operators Association has issued an advisory asking truck companies not to send their vehicles to Kashmir even as the family of the latest victim has refused to accept his body and demanded a compensation of 15 lakh and a Government job to a family member. Turn to Page 4 A yodhya witnessed yet another breathtaking spec- tacle when the temple town was decorated by over 5.51 lakh earthen lamps on the banks of Saryu River to mark three-day long Deepotsav celebration on Saturday. The spectacular evening would facilitate Uttar Pradesh to enter into the Guinness Books of World Records with lightening of record number of diyas on any occasion. With this, the Government broke the last year record when 3 lakh earthen lamps culminated on Chhoti Deepawali on the banks of Saryu. Turn to Page 4 O n Diwali eve, Air Quality Index (AQI) was recorded 310 μgm-3. Overall air quality in Delhi region was tagged in “poor” category but likely to slip in “very poor” category as forecast by SAFAR (System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research). Notably, air pollution mon- itoring agencies have forecast that this year Diwali may not be as bad as last year vis-a-vis air pollution, but it is pertinent to mention here that SAFAR has indentified 12 hot spot loca- tions where air quality graph may plunge to severe category, particularly the values of par- ticulate matter (PM) 2.5. According to SAFAR, these 12 locations where value of PM 2.5 will be recorded from 253.53 μgm-3 to 637.957 μgm- 3 on Monday morning are Asola wildlife sanctuary, Ayanangar airport T3, Narela, Gurugram, Dwaraka, Najafgarh, Lodhi Road, Jat Khor, Delhi University, Mundka, Rohini and Okhla. SAFAR also highlighted stubble burning impact on Delhi’s air and said Haryana and Punjab fire counts are gradually increasing and fol- lowing almost identical pattern as that of October 2018. Turn to Page 4 M anohar Lal Khattar will be sworn in as the Chief Minister of Haryana for the second time in a row while Jannayak Janata Party (JJP) leader Dushyant Chautala will take oath as the Deputy Chief Minister on Sunday after the Governor on Saturday invited him to lead the coalition which also has the support of seven Independents. After being elected as the Leader of the BJP Legislature Party, it was decided that Khattar would take oath on the auspicious day of Diwali itself and the swearing-in ceremony will be held at Raj Bhavan at 2.15 pm. After tendering his resignation as the Chief Minister, Khattar said, “We have staked claim to form the Government in Haryana. The Governor has accepted our proposal and invited us to form the Government.” Addressing a Press conference, a beaming Khattar gave details of the oath taking ceremony. The JJP leader Dushyant, who would be a first time Minister, was present along with Khattar when he met Governor Satyadeo Narain Arya to stake the claim for the Government formation. Seven Independent legislators were also present there. Turn to Page 4 New Delhi: Jannayak Janata Party leader Dushyant Chautala’s father Ajay Chautala, who is lodged in the Tihar jail here after his conviction in a teachers’ recruitment scam, has been granted furlough for two weeks, officials said. Turn to Page 4 W ith Pakistan getting a four-month reprieve from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the security establish- ment in India apprehends that Islamabad will further escalate ceasefire violations on the Line of Control (LoC) and make a determined push to infiltrate terrorists from across the bor- der to increase levels of violence. With more than 250 terror- ists now ready at launch pads across the LoC, the Pakistan Army is itself under pressure to send them to Kashmir failing which it can witness the situation imploding there with terrorists fanning trouble in Pakistan hin- terland, officials said. Having raked up its efforts to internationalise the Kashmir issue at various global fora since abrogation of Article 370 giving special status to Jammu & Kashmir in August this year, Pakistan is now facing increas- ing domestic pressure to show some results. Given this sce- nario, the LoC, which is already witnessing heightened tension, will see matters aggravating in the coming days. Turn to Page 4

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Page 1:  · 2019-10-26 · World Records with lightening of record number of diyas on any occasion. With this, the Government broke the last year record when 3 lakh earthen …

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The Shiv Sena on Saturdayhardened its stand on its

demand for Chief Minister’spost on a rotational basis andequal sharing of ministerialportfolios and said it would nottake any decision on joining thenew Government with the BJPin Maharashtra unless and untilits senior saffron ally gave awritten undertaking to it that itwould adhere to the “power-sharing agreement” reachedbetween the two parties aheadof the Lok Sabha polls.

The newly Shiv SenaMLAs, who met at theThackerays’ residence“Matoshri”, authorised Senapresident Uddhav Thackeray totake a final decision on sharingpower with the BJP in the newGovernment as per the 50:50formula “agreed” at a jointmeeting held by him, BJP pres-ident Amit Shah and ChiefMinister Devendra Fadnavis onFebruary 18 this year when thetwo parties formalised the seat-sharing pact for the Lok Sabhapolls and also decided on theseat and power sharingarrangement for the StateAssembly polls.

Informed party sourcesquoted Uddhav as having saidat the Shiv Sena LegislatureParty (SSLP) meeting that inthe event of the BJP failing toadhere to the “agreement”reached between him, Shah

and Fadnavis ahead of the LokSabha polls, he had “otheroptions” before him. He, how-ever did not spell out as to what were “other option”before him.

The Sena’s tough stand onits demand for the ChiefMinister’s post for a period oftwo and a half years and equalsharing of Ministerial berthscame on a day when the BJPannounced that it would hold itslegislature party meeting at theVidhan Bhavan on October 30.

Disclosing for the first timethe contents of the “agree-ment” reached between him,Shah and Fadnavis earlier thisyear, Uddhav told his partyMLAs at the meeting, “As per

50:50 power sharing formulareached between us, the BJPand Shiv Sena will share thepost of the Chief Minister fora period of two and a half yearseach. Similarly, it was alsodecided that the two partieswill share the Ministerial posi-tions in the State Cabinetequally. I don’t want anythingmore than what was decidedthen. All I want is a writtenundertaking about the powersharing arrangement we hadagreed at that meeting”.

Interestingly, two of thenewly elected MLAs — PratapSarnaik and Abdul Sattar —spoke in detail about whattranspired at the SSLP meeting.

Turn to Page 4

#� ���3�� ���� 1.,,/

In the run up to the October31 dateline — the day the

Union Territories of Jammu &Kashmir and Ladakh will comeinto existence — the possibil-ity of a rerun of the strict secu-rity clampdown and commu-nication blackout, similar to theone imposed for facilitating theCentre’s Article 370 decision, isnot being ruled out to ensurean incident-free celebration ofthe historic moment.

The buzz in the Valley hasit that the State administrationis once again gearing up for thesecond phase of the clamp-down. More so, in view of thespate of targeted killings oftruck drivers transporting

apple supplies from interiorareas of Kashmir to differentparts of India.

There have been three suchincidents recently with the lat-est victims being a truck driverand his helper from Rajasthan.The terrorists want to stop thesupply as 7.48 metric tonnes ofapple have already been export-ed till October 23.

The Jaipur Transport

Operators Association hasissued an advisory asking truckcompanies not to send theirvehicles to Kashmir even as thefamily of the latest victim has

refused to accept his body anddemanded a compensation of�15 lakh and a Government jobto a family member.

Turn to Page 4

����� 2/���3-

Ayodhya witnessed yetanother breathtaking spec-

tacle when the temple town wasdecorated by over 5.51 lakhearthen lamps on the banks ofSaryu River to mark three-daylong Deepotsav celebration onSaturday.

The spectacular eveningwould facilitate Uttar Pradesh toenter into the Guinness Books ofWorld Records with lighteningof record number of diyas on anyoccasion. With this, theGovernment broke the last yearrecord when 3 lakh earthenlamps culminated on ChhotiDeepawali on the banks of Saryu.

Turn to Page 4

�������� �� �4-(425+

On Diwali eve, Air QualityIndex (AQI) was recorded

310 μgm-3. Overall air qualityin Delhi region was tagged in“poor” category but likely toslip in “very poor” category asforecast by SAFAR (System ofAir Quality and WeatherForecasting And Research).

Notably, air pollution mon-itoring agencies have forecastthat this year Diwali may not beas bad as last year vis-a-vis airpollution, but it is pertinent tomention here that SAFAR hasindentified 12 hot spot loca-tions where air quality graphmay plunge to severe category,particularly the values of par-ticulate matter (PM) 2.5.

According to SAFAR, these12 locations where value of PM2.5 will be recorded from253.53 μgm-3 to 637.957 μgm-3 on Monday morning are

Asola wildlife sanctuary,Ayanangar airport T3, Narela,Gurugram, Dwaraka,Najafgarh, Lodhi Road, JatKhor, Delhi University,Mundka, Rohini and Okhla.

SAFAR also highlightedstubble burning impact onDelhi’s air and said Haryanaand Punjab fire counts aregradually increasing and fol-lowing almost identical patternas that of October 2018.

Turn to Page 4

����������� ���������������������

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Manohar Lal Khattar willbe sworn in as the Chief

Minister of Haryana for thesecond time in a row whileJannayak Janata Party (JJP)leader Dushyant Chautala willtake oath as the Deputy ChiefMinister on Sunday after theGovernor on Saturday invitedhim to lead the coalition whichalso has the support of sevenIndependents.

After being elected as theLeader of the BJP LegislatureParty, it was decided thatKhattar would take oath on theauspicious day of Diwali itselfand the swearing-in ceremonywill be held at Raj Bhavan at2.15 pm. After tendering hisresignation as the ChiefMinister, Khattar said, “Wehave staked claim to form theGovernment in Haryana. The

Governor has accepted ourproposal and invited us toform the Government.”Addressing a Press conference,a beaming Khattar gave detailsof the oath taking ceremony.

The JJP leader Dushyant,who would be a first timeMinister, was present alongwith Khattar when he metGovernor Satyadeo NarainArya to stake the claim for theGovernment formation. SevenIndependent legislators werealso present there.

Turn to Page 4

�������������� ���������������������������� �����

New Delhi: Jannayak JanataParty leader DushyantChautala’s father AjayChautala, who is lodged inthe Tihar jail here after hisconviction in a teachers’recruitment scam, has beengranted furlough for twoweeks, officials said.

Turn to Page 4

����������������� �� ��������������������������

��������������������� !������"#��� �$� ���������%� ����� �&��

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With Pakistan getting afour-month reprieve from

the Financial Action Task Force(FATF), the security establish-ment in India apprehends thatIslamabad will further escalateceasefire violations on the Lineof Control (LoC) and make adetermined push to infiltrateterrorists from across the bor-der to increase levels of violence.

With more than 250 terror-ists now ready at launch padsacross the LoC, the PakistanArmy is itself under pressure tosend them to Kashmir failing

which it can witness the situationimploding there with terroristsfanning trouble in Pakistan hin-terland, officials said.

Having raked up its effortsto internationalise the Kashmirissue at various global forasince abrogation of Article 370giving special status to Jammu& Kashmir in August this year,Pakistan is now facing increas-ing domestic pressure to showsome results. Given this sce-nario, the LoC, which is alreadywitnessing heightened tension,will see matters aggravating inthe coming days.

Turn to Page 4

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The fourth edition ofHousefull series earnedapproximately �19

crore on day-one. Sadly, it isalso the worst of the lot.While it is true that one hasto leave brains behind towatch movies like this,unfortunately, even the brainat home will curse you forgoing for this one whichmakes no sense from theword go.

What is even worse is

how and why Akshay Kumareven chose to be part of sucha nonsensical project. itboggles the mind how anactor who chooses to dofilms like Mission Mangaland Kesari, that released thisyears, then goes on to be partof a project like Housefull 4.

The only logical answerlies in the fact even AkshayKumar gets tired of doingfilms that are based on socialissues and wants to havesome fun and fool around.And fool around, he does inthe movie. The film hasnothing new. Unless oneconsiders the punar janamangle (1419) and then jumpto 2019 from the streets ofLondon to Sitamgarh. Thenthere are the usual suspects.

Chunky Pandey as AkhriPasta, Johnny Lever asWinston Churchgate and

Ranjeet as Maharaja SuryaSingh Rana and Thakral(London-based billionaire)may lend a bit of comedywith their antics but it can’tbe denied that their one-liners and buffoonery leavesone more irritated than makeone laugh. It is not funny todress a man in women’sclothing and make him runafter another man!

Also, director FarhadSamji, after 146 minutes oftorturing the audience withpigeon poop landing onAkshay Kumar’s face timeand again finds that it is timeto end things.

Therefore, actors likeNawazuddin Siddiqui, RanaDaggubati and ParikshitSahni are totally wasted here.

One may want to avoidthis this.

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Being part of films thatare different appear tohave become

Rajkummar Rao’s go tomantra lately. Ek Ladki KoDekha Toh Aisa Laga andJudgementall Hai Kya,released this year, are cases inpoint. With movies like Stree,Newton and Bareilly Ki Barfiin his kitty, the audience alsoexpects amazing things fromhim.

The question to ask iswhether he has been able todeliver what is due from hisfilms? After a sluggish start— it takes director, MikhilMusale, more than half-hourto warm up to tell his story— that Made in China gives aglimpse where it is going.Given that the film is 129minutes, wasting so muchtime to stir things up andbuild it up makes onewonder at Musale’s thoughtprocess.

However, the good is thathe took corrective steps inthe second half. With

stalwarts like Boman Irani,Paresh Rawal and Gajraj Rao(who has a small part) thefilm that touches upon a verysensitive issue — sex isbound to make one sit upand notice since it comeswith a message albeit subtle.

Another good are thedialogues. Take this forexample: Humare desh meinkaam ke time par sex aur sexke time par kaam. This andmany more such one-linersare gems that will tickle thefunny bone.

Then there is someabsoultely brilliantperformance by Irani. Whilehe may not have as muchscreen space as we wouldhave liked him to have, as DrVardhi, a sexual wellnessdoctor, he plays the characterto a T even if one isreminded of similarity inlook from another movie.

Rao, as Raghu, a Gujaratibusinessman plays the rolewell. Strangely, while he isthere in almost all the scenes,he doesn’t have to do much.Paresh Rawal comes in togive his gyan to Raghu.

It is what happens at theend that makes Made inChina an interesting watch.

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Page 3:  · 2019-10-26 · World Records with lightening of record number of diyas on any occasion. With this, the Government broke the last year record when 3 lakh earthen …

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In order to maintain law andorder and to avert any

mishap, security arrangementshave been beefed up in thenational Capital in the run upto Diwali, police said onSaturday, adding that forces aredeployed across the city andpatrolling has been intensifiedin markets and areas witness-ing high footfalls.

Delhi PoliceCommissioner Amulya Patnaikhas directed all senior officersof the force to strengthen anti-terror measures in their respec-tive districts, sources in Delhipolice said, adding that promi-nent markets like Azadpur andGhazipur are especially on theradar of the police as manypeople from outside Delhi visitthem frequently.

Jasmeet Singh, DeputyCommissioner of Police (East)said that extra force has beendeployed at Ghazipur market."Due to high footfall atGhazipur market, extra forcehas been deployed andpatrolling has also beenincreased in the area. Officersin civil dress are also there,"Singh said.

According to DeveshSrivastava, Joint Commissioner

of Police (southern range), allsenior police officers of southDelhi, including the DCP andthe additional DCP, havebegun patrolling the districtpersonally. "Police presence inmarkets and other crowdedareas has already increasedand extra forces are helping inpatrolling. The number ofCCTV cameras at marketsand residential areas has alsogone up and the footage isbeing constantly monitored,"Srivastava said.

As the East police districthas Ghazipur market, theNorthwest district of policehas Azadpur mandi, which isAsia's largest wholesale marketfor fruits and vegetables.

"During festive seasons,we intensify the drive to checkvehicles coming at these mar-kets and also ask the agricul-tural produce market commit-tee (APMC) representatives tohire more private guards andcontact police in case theywitness any suspicious personor activity," said Vijayanta Arya,Deputy Commissioner ofPolice (northwest).

The APMC representativeshave also been asked to main-tain a proper register to writedown the names and otherdetails of truck drivers visiting

the markets while police arerandomly checking the con-tents of the trucks, Arya said.

The security in borderingareas has also been intensified.Shalini Singh, JointCommissioner of Police (west-ern range), said patrolling hasbeen intensified in marketsand areas witnessing high foot-falls across west Delhi. "Policeare trying to make peopleaware. The market associa-tions and residential areas havebeen informed to contact thepolice if they notice any suspi-cious person in their area,"Singh said. "We have dog squadwhich is monitoring all mar-kets. The private guards atmalls and markets have beentrained on how to properlycheck vehicles entering thepremises," she added.

Integrated pickets havebeen placed for surprise check-ing while the bomb squad isalso helping the city police, shesaid.

"We are checking guesthouses and verifying the iden-tities of tenants in differentareas across the national capi-tal. Patrolling has beenincreased to keep a check onincidents of snatching andpick-pocketing at crowdedareas," Singh said.

��������������� �4-(425+

Delhi Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP) president Manoj

Tiwari has written a letter to themayors of all three MunicipalCorporations, asking to ensuresanitation around ChhathGhats.

Tiwari said that more than40 lakh devotees observe fastand worship 'Sun' in Delhi. Inorder to facilitate devotees, sev-eral such ghats are being devel-oped on the bank of RiverYamuna and vacant places ofDelhi Development Authority.

"Thousands of BJP workerswill also extend their support inmanaging ghats this year. Theparty will also install camps fornight shelters and serve thedevotees. Municipal corpora-tions gave been asked to repairroads leading to ghats," headded.

Tiwari also demanded theDelhi Government that theyshould also make arrangementsin the parks and ponds and getthe roads repaired so that thereis no inconvenience or obstruc-tion in observing the greatestfestival of the poorvanchalis.

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ANigerian national wasarrested for allegedly sup-

plying drugs in the nationalCapital, police said, adding thatthirty grams of heroin worth �5lakh was recovered from him.

The accused has been iden-tified as Chibuzor PeterOfonedu (37), who hails fromAnambra state in Nigeria.Ofonedu was arrested onOctober 23 from southwestDelhi's Najafgarh area. Theaccused had come on a scooterto deliver a consignment to two

people near a metro pillar on theNajafgarh-Uttam Nagar Road.

However, an argumentbroke out between them overmoney. When a police teamarrived, the duo escaped.Ofonedu also tried to escape buthis scooter skidded and he felldown, a police official said.

"Ofonedu was staying inIndia on an expired medical visa.He came to India on medicalvisa of three months on the pre-text of treatment in Septemberlast year," Deputy Commissionerof Police (Dwarka) AntoAlphonse said. Even after the

expiry of his visa on November2018, he did not leave and con-tinued to stay illegally in UttamNagar, he said.

Investigations revealed thatthe accused began peddlingdrugs in the west Delhi area andgradually became a dealer, sup-plying drugs in bulk quantity, headded.

A case has been registeredand the accused arrested.Ofonedu was produced in court,which sent him to police cus-tody, the DCP said. The sourceof contraband is being traced, headded.

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With the air quality touching‘poor’ category in Delhi-

NCR, the South Delhi MunicipalCorporation (SDMC) hasstepped up its efforts to tackle thesituation. Intensifying its action,the civic body has issued a fineof �27,46,400against violators ofnorm besides lift-ing 2,850 cubicmeter malba in its jurisdiction.

A senior SDMC official saidthat the central zone concen-trated its action around Okhla

hotspot and issued 112 challansafter inspecting various sites inthe area for burning waste,garbage, dumping Constructionand Demolition (C &D) Waste.

The South zone of SDMCdeployed 12 trucks to lift 41cubic meter melba from identi-fied hot spot. Further, two water

sprinkler and twotrucks were alsodeployed to sprinklewater on road to set-

tle down dust. The South Zoneof the civic body has issued 42challans against violators andslapped a fine of �1, 95,500.

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Six-time MLA Anil Vij, Banwari Lal,Seema Trikha from the BJP, while

Ram Kumar Gautam and IshwarSingh from the JJP are among theprobables who are likely to get min-isterial berths in the new HaryanaGovernment.

Among seven independents whoare supporting the BJP-led coalitionwhich will be sworn in on Diwali dayhere on Sunday, late Devi Lal’s sonRanjit Singh Chautala is among thefrontrunners for the ministerial post,party sources said.

Vij, who was the health ministerin the previous term, is the seniormost leader of the party to have beenelected for the sixth term fromAmbala Cantt.

Names of other BJP MLAs doingrounds for ministerial berths areMahaipal Dhanda, Ghanshyam Saraf,Kamal Gupta, Subhash Sudha andDeepak Mangla, the sources said.

Haryana Governor Satyadeo

Narain Arya on Saturday invited theBJP-led coalition to form the nextGovernment in the state.

Manohar Lal Khattar andJannayak Janata Party (JJP) leaderDushyant Chautala will take oath asChief Minister and Deputy ChiefMinister respectively on Sunday.

The chief minister-elect Khattar

said the oath-takingceremony will takeplace at 2.15 p.M. AtHaryana RajBhawan where healong withDushyant Chautalawill be sworn in.

Replying to aquestion who willtake oath asMinisters in the newg o v e r n m e n t ,K h a t t a rsaid this will bemade known onSunday.

The BJP onFriday had sealed a deal with the JJPto form the next Government inHaryana after the saffron party fellshort of six seats from the majoritymark. Under the arrangement, thechief minister will be from the BJPand the deputy CM from the JJP.

The JJP won 10 seats in the pollsto the 90-member Haryana Assembly.

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Traders at Connaught Place saidon Saturday that their business

was down by 70-80 per cent due tothe closure of a few roads and park-ing slots for the four-day lasershow organised by the DelhiGovernment.

According to the New DelhiTraders Association (NDTA), hun-dreds of Delhi’ites gathered atConnaught Place in the heart of thecity to celebrate a "community andpollution-free Diwali" as the citygovernment kick-started its four-day laser show from October 26 toencourage people not to burstcrackers.

The traders staged a protest asthe laser show began.

"Sales of most showrooms andrestaurants have gone down by 70-80 per cent and the DelhiGovernment was claiming thatbusiness will be more due to thelaser show," NDTA president AtulBhargava said.

The traders had put up postersacross Connaught Place, saying"CP is a commercial centre not

mela ground" and "ban crackers, notcars".

The NDTA had also written aletter to Lieutenant Governor AnilBaijal, seeking his intervention intothe matter.

"It is a good idea to encouragepeople to celebrate Diwali withoutcrackers and we are not againstholding the event but why affectbusiness of traders? Why closeroads?" Bhargava earlier said.

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An elephant calfwas on

Saturday retrievedfrom a pit in a teagarden in WestBengal’s Jalpaiguridistrict after fivehours of rescueoperations, a forestofficial said.

The pachyderm had falleninto the 12-feet-deep pit inBagrakote Tea Garden while itsherd was crossing the estate inthe early hours of Saturday, theofficial said.

The other elephants of theherd had tried in vain to rescuethe calf from the pit and movedto a nearby tea garden after

locals arrived at the spot in themorning, he said.

An earthmover was calledin which dug the groundenabling the rescue, the officialsaid.

The elephant calf wasreunited with its herd waitingfor it in the nearby tea garden,he added.

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Former BSF soldier TejBahadur Yadav quit the

Jannayak Janta Party onSaturday, accusing it of betray-ing the Haryana voters byextending support to the BJP informing the Government.

Yadav, who was dismissedfrom the Border Security Forcein 2017 after he posted a videocomplaining about the qualityof food served to the troops,had joined the JJP for contest-ing the Assembly electionagainst Chief MinisterManohar Lal Khattar from theKarnal seat.

He came third with 3,175votes.

"Before the election, I hadannounced that if they tie upwith the BJP, I will quit the JJP,"Yadav told PTI.

The former BSF soldierslammed the DushyantChautala-led party for extend-

ing support to the BharatiyaJanata Party in forming thegovernment, saying it was clearnow that the JJP was the "B-team" of the saffron party.

"They betrayed the votersby supporting the BJP," he said.

Yadav claimed that the JJPannounced to support the BJPby itself despite the latter having not sought it. "Theyshould make it public whetherthey got money or anythingelse in return for supportingthe saffron party," he said.

"The public,which gave votesto the JJP, hasbeen opposingthe JJP’s move. Alarge number ofsupporters havebeen burningtheir flags andeffigies ever sincethey announcedto support theBJP," he added.

The BJP staked claim toform the government inHaryana after the JJP offeredsupport to the saffron party,which fell short of a majority inthe assembly election.

Dushyant Chautala, whomet his father shortly beforemeeting his 10 legislators onFriday to take a decision onsupporting the BJP, will takeoath as the deputy chief min-ister of the Manohar LalKhattar-led Government onSunday.

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Having won the highestnumber of seats among

the Opposition parties in theMaharashtra Assembly, theNCP will in all likelihood landthe Leader of the Opposition(LoP) post in the 288-memberHouse.

The two major Oppositionparties—NCP and Congress –and their allies will meet afterDiwali festival and decide onthe joint nominee for the LoP’s post, a name that they will together recom-mend to the State AssemblySpeaker.

While the NCP has won 54seats, the Congress has bagged44 seats. The tally of otherOpposition parties is as follows:Bahujan Vikas Agadhi (3),Samajwadi Party (1),Communist Party of India(Marxists) (1), MaharashtraNavnirman Sena (1) andPeasant’s & Worker’s Party (1).In addition, there are someIndependents whom theCongress and NCP supportedin the polls

In the outgoing StateLegislative Assembly, VijayWadettiwar of the Congresswas Leader of Opposition.Prior to him, Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil,who quit the post and joinedthe BJP to become a ministerin the Devendra Fadnavis gov-ernment.

In the 2014 polls, theCongress had won 42 seats, theNCP had bagged 41 seats.Being a party with highest ofseats, the Congress had gotLoP’s post in the previousAssembly.

Senior NCP leaders AjitPawar, Jayant Patil andDhananjay Munde are amongthe strong contenders for theLoP’s post in the StateAssembly.

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From Page 1Citing the Meteorological

(MeT) factors, the SAFAR said thesurface winds are calm and vari-able with predominant directionfrom the east. The highest impactof firecracker emissions (if any) isexpected in the early morning ofOctober 28 (1 am-6am).

“ In a normal course, the stub-ble burning induced impact isexpected to be moderate and if noadditional emissions due to fire-crackers are added then AirQuality will remain in the lowerend of very poor during Diwaliperiod (27th-28th Oct. 2019).However, if 50% of the total loadof firecrackers (as compared to anaverage of Diwali-2017 & 18) isadded, the AQI may plunge intosevere category for a short periodbut with relatively much less mag-nitude (half) than 2018 Diwaliperiod,” SAFAR said. “Surface andboundary layer winds at presentare from easterly direction butforecasted to change to north-westerly direction by late eveningof 26th Oct which will have highpotential to transport significantbiomass in the coming days (10 to25 percent) to the Delhi region

only to be countered by not socalm surface winds until 28thOctober,” it said.

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From Page 1Speaking on the occasion,

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanathsaid that his Government is fastchanging Ayodhya’s face bytaking up a large number ofdevelopment works.

“Today, the Raj Tilak ofMaryada Purshottam ShreeRam was done to fulfil theGovernment’s promise ofchanging this temple townstarting various projects worthover Rs 226 crores. Adityanathclaimed that now this rich reli-gious culture especially cele-bration of Deepawali has beenrecognised by the entire world.He claimed whether it wasdevelopment of Kanshi or cel-

ebration of Kumbh inPrayagraj, every Indian shouldcontribute in reposing faith incountry’s rich religious and cultural values.

Adityanath claimed thatPrime Minister Narendra Modihad tried to re-establish theIndian tradition and cultureand now to once again see a‘Ram Rajya’ in the country, theGovernment is working hard.“The Ram Rajya could be onlyestablished when no one wouldbe sad or unhappy”, asserted Adityanath whileclaiming that both the Centraland State Governments areworking in this direction by

providing free houses, cleanli-ness, water, better health ser-vices, various schemes forfarmers and the poor.

He said that theGovernment does not dis-criminate anyone and believeson ‘Sabka Saath-SabkaVikas’.

Adiyanath further claimedIndia is in a position that noother country can disturb it andif any attempt wouldbe made in this regard, India

would give a befitting reply.

“India is in position that ifanyone tried to challenge ourself-respect we will give thema befitting reply and this is what

actual Ram Rajya which thecountry is in at present,” assert-ed Adityanath while hailing theworks of Modi.

Earlier in the day, a ‘shobayatra’ was flagged off by DeputySpeaker of Fiji Parliament, Veena Bhatnagar,who is also the chief guest onthe occasion. The yatra was fol-lowed by arrival of Ram, Sitaand Lakshman on a helicopter.After a symbolic ‘Raj Tilak’,aarti of Ram and Sita was per-formed by Adityanath,Governor Anandiben Patel andBhatnagar.

The Chief Ministerlaunched scheme worth overRs 226 crores for the district

besides attending a 3D lasershow which enthralled the vis-itors. During the three-daydeepoustav, Ram Lila will beperformed by various interna-tional troupes from Indonesia,Sri Lanka, Nepal andPhilippines.

Besides the CM, theGovernor and Deputy Speakerof Fiji Parliament VeenaBhatnagar, other importantforeign dignitries who attend-ed the function included thePresident of Thail India Culture Lodge inThailand, founders of theRamayana Centre in Mauritiuswhich specialises in Ramayana.

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From Page 1Talking to mediapersons, Sarnaik, a three-ime Sena MLA,

said, “It was decided at the meeting that unless and until, the BJPgives it in writing to the Shiv Sena that it would adhere to theagreement reached with Shah and Fadnavis, Uddhav ji will nottake any decision on joining the new Government in Maharashtra.We will abide by whatever decision to be taken by Uddhav ji onthe issue.”

Asked if the Sena would accept the deputy ChiefMinistership if offered by the BJP, Sarnaik said, “Our first demandis for the Chief Minister’s post. The question of deputy ChiefMinister’s post comes at a later stage. It was the BJP that had agreedto sharing the Chief Minister’s post. In fact, both the BJP andShiv Sena had also decided that they would contest 144 seats eachin the Assembly polls. Because of unavoidable circumstances, theequal sharing of seats did not happen. Now that election is overand we have the numbers to form the government, we are insist-ing the BJP gives it us a written undertaking to our president thatit would adhere to the 50:50 power sharing formula”.

Sattar, a sitting MLA who quit the Congress ahead of the pollsand was re-elected on a Shiv Sena ticket, said, “That the Shiv Sena’sman will become the Chief Minister of Maharashtra is writtenin stone. If the BJP does not agree to sharing of the Chief Minister’spost, then our (Shiv Sena’s) options for formation of a newGovernment in the State are open. I am not going to talk any-thing about the NCP leaders are saying. As far as the NCP is con-cerned, the picture will become clear on November 8”. Earlierin the day, senior NCP leader Praful Patel asserted that his partyhad no plans to play any role in the formation of theGovernment in the State.

Talking to media persons here, Patel said, “I want to makeit clear that we will be in Opposition and play the role of a strongOpposition. We don’t want to have any role in the Governmentformation. The BJP and Shiv Sena have got the mandate. it isthe mandate of the people and need to be respected.”Patel’s state-ment is line with the stand taken by the NCP founder-presidentSharad Pawar, who had said on Thursday, “People have askedus to sit in the Opposition.

The thought of trying to get into power doesn’t even crossour minds. We will work to expand our base....We will not gowith Shiv Sena. The NCP-Congress and other allies will decidetogether, the future course of action.”

,�������������������������AAAFrom Page 1

The plenary session of theFATF in Paris from October 16to 18 gave Pakistan time tillFebruary next year to complywith all the actions prescribedby it. Already on the ‘Grey List,’Pakistan has been asked toimmediately stop financing ofterrorist organisations operat-ing from its soil besides crack-ing down on them.

Securing a breather fromthe international watchdog,Pakistan will now ramp up itsefforts to foment trouble inKashmir. Sharing this assess-ment, officials in the securityestablishment said, the internaldynamics from local popula-tion there has now turnedinto strategic compulsion forPakistan to increase pressure inKashmir in terms of scaling up

terrorist violence, they added.Also, if the all-powerfulPakistan Army and ISI do notdo so, there is always thestrong possibility of the well-trained ultras turning theirguns inwards thereby posingdanger of situation implodingin Pakistani hinterland.

While the Indian securityforces including the Armyhave so far managed to foil anymajor infiltration bids fromacross the LoC since August 5,officials have not ruled out thenumber of infiltration attemptsgoing up.

Elaborating upon this cru-cial aspect, officials said ter-rorists have a window of 30more days or so before snowblocks all ingress routes inareas like Tangdhar and Gurezin North Kashmir. The infil-tration routes there are theshortest way to reach the

Kashmir Valley and terroristsover the years have sneaked in.In fact, more than 20 terroristswere killed last year inTangdhar while trying to infil-trate. On ground, the LoC isalready seeing a rise in cease-fire violations with more than850 such incidents recordedsince August 5. The overall fig-ure for such violations fromJanuary till now this year is2,450 as compared to 1,650 forthe entire last year. The viola-tions this year is the highest inthe last five years with firing 10times a day since August 5,they said. Also, in the last twomonths, Jammu & Kashmirhas seen at least 35 terrorist ini-tiated incidents causing deathof eight civilians.

As regards counter-ter-rorist operations, the securityforces so far neutralised 15 ter-rorists since August 5.

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From Page 1Ending the impasse, BJP, which won 40 seats

and was six short of a majority in the 90-mem-ber Assembly, announced an alliance with theJJP led by Dushyant, a great grandson of for-mer Deputy Prime Minister Devi Lal, onFriday evening. In the legislature party meet-ing, Khattar’s name was proposed by outgoingMinister and MLA from Ambala Cantt Anil Vijand seconded by the rest of the 38 legislators.Khattar arrived here from New Delhi onSaturday morning to attend the BJP LegislatureParty meeting, which was attended by UnionMinister Ravi Shankar Prasad and BJP General

Secretary Arun Singh. The Union Minister washere as a party observer and clarified the partywould not be taking any support from HaryanaLokhit Party MLA Gopal Kanda.

He said the BJP is going to form theGovernment with the support of the JJP, whichhas 10 legislators, and all seven Independents.“All are united,” he said, adding the BJP wouldgive clean and stable government and this is “ourassurance to the people of Haryana”. Khattarsaid, “I thank all MLAs and the people ofHaryana. I would like to assure them as well asall those friends who are supporting us that Ishall take all of them along for the next five yearsand all of us shall work together for the bet-terment and upliftment of our state of Haryana.”

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From Page 1While there is no official word yet on the possible restric-

tions, the local residents in Kashmir valley are anticipating a rerunof the clampdown during the next week besides a communica-tion blackout. Internet services and mobile SMS facility continueto remain suspended in Kashmir valley since August 5.

Two different official functions have been scheduled inSrinagar and Ladakh where newly appointed Lt-Governors willunfurl the Tricolour, marking the beginning of a new journey.

Against the backdrop of the fresh spell of speculations andapprehensions, the local police authorities are on their toes toprevent any provocation leading to fresh violence.

The security agencies are also keeping a close watch on theprevailing law and order situation in the State and may recom-mend certain precautionary measures to ensure incident-free tran-sition on October 31.

The field officers have been directed to stay alert and pre-vent mass assembly of trouble makers in their areas of jurisdic-tion. Extra caution is being taken in vulnerable areas of down-town Srinagar, which are frequently witnessing protest demon-strations against abrogation of Article 370 and bifurcation of theState in to two Union Territories.

In Jammu region, even though the security situation is rel-atively better, authorities may decide to enforce several restric-tions in certain areas.

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sFrom Page 1The development comes

on a day the Bharatiya JanataParty staked claim to form theGovernment in Haryana afterDushyant Chautala’s JJP offeredsupport to the saffron party,which fell short of a majority inAhe assembly election.

Dushyant, who met hisfather shortly before meetinghis 10 legislators on Friday totake a decision on supportingthe BJP, will take oath as thedeputy Chief Minister of theManohar Lal Khattar-led gov-ernment on Sunday.

Ajay Chautala is scheduledto leave the Tihar jail onSunday, officials said.According to Director General(Prisons) Sandeep Goel, AjayChautala has been granted atwo-week furlough and it willstart from the day he will stepout of the jail premises. He hasbeen lodged in jail along withhis father and Haryana formerChief Minister Om PrakashChautala. In 2013, Ajay, hisfather and 53 others, includingtwo IAS officers, were convict-ed for corruption in a teachers’recruitment scam and othercharges. PTI

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I, Alam S/o Noor Islam R/oHouse No. 1021, JJ Colony, A-68, Mother Dairy, Near JamaMasjid, Sector-8, Noida (U.P.)have changed my name toMohd Alam Ansari for all pur-poses.

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Severe Cyclonic Storm'Kyarr' intensified into a

Very Severe Cyclonic Stormon Saturday and may damp-en Diwali festivities in north-east India, Telangana,Karnataka, Tamil Nadu,Kerala, some parts of Goa,Gujarat and Maharashtrawith heavy rains and gustywinds. The IndiaMeteorological Department(IMD) issued a red alert andadvised fishermen not toventure into the sea due tobad weather. The touristshave also been asked to avoidcoastal areas along Goa andMaharashtra. The CoastGuard has been put on highalert and stepped up effortsfor search & Rescue opera-tion on Western Coast anddornier aircraft is undertak-ing frequent sortie to look forstranded fishing boats andtheir positions.

The severe cyclone Kyarr,over the East-CentralArabian Sea, has intensifiedinto a very severe cyclone onSaturday morning, and layabout 270 km nearly to theWest-South-West ofRatnagiri (Maharashtra); 360km South-South-West ofMumbai; and 1,780 km East-South-East of Salalah(Oman). Earlier it was intovery severe cyclonic stormcategory. "Under the influ-ence, fairly widespread towidespread rainfall with iso-lated heavy to very heavywith extremely heavy fallslikely over Konkan, Goa andCoastal Karnataka duringthe next 24 hours," the IMDsaid. It also forecasts heavyrainfall in Odisha, Assamand Meghalaya in the next 24hours.

The IMD further saidthat Kyarr is expected tomove West-North-Westtowards the Oman coast dur-ing the next five days, afamiliar track for Arabian Seacyclones that form during the

monsoon transition period.According to IMD, galewinds with speed reaching upto 100 km per hour gustingto 110 km per hours are pre-vailing around the cyclonecentre over the East-CentralArabian Sea.

Indian Coast Guard onSaturday said, "We've steppedup efforts for search and res-cue operations on WesternCoast in the wake of CycloneKyarr. Dornier aircraft isundertaking frequent sortiesto look for stranded fishingboats and their positions arebeing relayed to Coast GuardShips operating at sea."

The IMD said the sea willbecome "rough to veryrough" along and off thesouth Gujarat coast duringthe next 24 hours untilSunday afternoon.

It is noteworthy thatextremely severe cyclonicFani has damaged propertiesworth thousands of crore inOdisha this year. Accordingto the IMD, in the past 126years (1891-2017) only 14severe tropical cyclones haveformed in April over the Bayof Bengal. Out of those, onlyone storm crossed the Indianmainland. Cyclone Fani willbe the second storm to formin April and cross the main-land. The last severe cyclone'Nargis' in 2008 devastatedMyanmar.

According to the HomeMinistry, the recent mon-soon fury and floods hastook toll lives of 2,155 peo-ple and affected more than 26lakh people in 22 States,including missing of 45 per-sons. The maximum numberof 430 people died inMaharashtra, followed by227 in West Bengal in rains,floods and landslides that hitas many as 361 districts inthe country.

"As many as 803 peoplewere injured and nearly20,000 animals lost across thecountry in the heavy rainsand floods, which fully dam-aged 2.23 lakh houses, par-tially damaged 2.06 lakhhouses and destroyed 14.09lakh hectares of crops. A totalof 2,155 people had dieddue to rains and floods so farthis year, an official said.

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The Central Public WorksDepartment (CPWD) has

requested the Ministry of Healthto engage it in developing newAIIMS in various parts of thecountry. In a letter to UnionHealth and Family WelfareMinister Harsh Vardhan, CPWDDirector General PrabhakarSingh said in the recent past, theagency had undergone "radicalreforms" in its functioning.

Singh said the CPWD hadrecently executed importanthealth infrastructure projectssuch as the AIIMS in Jammu andSrinagar, super-speciality hospi-tals at Bhagalpur and Patna anda super-speciality block at RMLHospital in New Delhi.

"It is understood that yourMinistry has decided to developnew AIIMS in Haryana, Bihar-ll,Karnataka, Kerala, Goa, Tripura,Sikkim and Madurai. We in theCPWD would feel privileged tobe associated with the develop-ment of these AIIMS complexes,"the DG said.

In the letter, he said the

department with its long experi-ence and well-established con-struction practices of adherenceto the codal formalities and spec-ifications would execute the workin a hassle-free manner.

"I therefore request yourgood self, to entrust above worksof AIIMS to the CPWD andaccord administrative approvaland estimate sanction to theCPWD, so as to enable us tocommence the work at the earli-est," Singh added.

The CPWD is theGovernment's largest construc-tion agency and it executes var-ious projects of the Centre, stateand other agencies. It also car-ries out projects in foreign coun-tries under friendship pro-grammes.

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The Estate Department ofthe Ministry of Housing

and Urban Affairs made formerPrime Minister HD DeveGowda to vacate one of the twobungalows he was occupyingunauthorisedly. Next in theline are Shibu Soren ofJharkhand Mukti Morcha(JMM), Tariq Anwar ofCongress, Jai Prakash NarayanYadav of RJD, DharmendraYadav of SP and RavindraVishwanath Gaikwad of ShivSena. As per the estate depart-ment, as many as 25 MPs havenot vacated their Governmentbungalows so far.

CPI(M) leader SitaramYechury's bungalow at 36

Canning Lane was found vio-lating laid down norms.Following the directions of theEstate Department, Yechuryremoved the office of 'kisansabha' from his residence. Thebungalow was allotted in thename of CPI(M).

Sources said that thesenior JD(S) leader DeveGowda has been in the pos-session of his official resi-dence as well as the guestaccommodation in Lutyens'Delhi for several years. Beinga former Prime Minister,

Gowda, however, has beenallowed to stay at his officialbungalow at Safdarjung Lane.He has agreed to vacate hisaccommodation at Vithal BhaiPatel House in Lutyens' Delhi.Gowda had lost the 2019 LokSabha elections.

"Besides the official resi-dence, he (Gowda) has beenusing the guest accommoda-tion at VP House on RafiMarg. He has agreed to vacatethe accommodation at VPHouse," said officials. Being anex PM, he was entitled toretain a type VII bungalow.Officials said that the ex-PMwas reluctant to vacate his VPHouse accommodation.

Former Union Ministerand JMM chief Shibu Soren is

occupying two bungalows-224and 225 at North Avenue,though he is no more an MP.Despite notices, he has notvacated the Governmentaccommodations. Congressleader and former NCPspokesperson Tariq Anwar isalso an 'illegal' occupant at AB11, Tilak Lane bungalow. Heis also not an MP.

Jai Prakash Narayan Yadavis occupying 20, Janpath Lanebungalow while RavinderVishwanth Gaikwad is yet tovacate his 206 North Avenueaddress. While TripuraGovernor Ramesh Vaish hassought to retain bungalow dueto "family problem",Dharmendra Yadav ofSamajwadi Party is occupying

accommodation at 91, LodhiEstate.

As things stand, formerparliamentarian from Biharand Lok Jantantrik Party ChiefRajesh Ranjan alias PappuYadav was forcefully evictedfrom the government bunga-low at Balwant Rai MehtaLane. Officials said that bun-galow was found in patheticcondition as electrical equip-ment, floor tiles, lawns, paint,bathrooms, windows, brick-work, temporary structuresand the walls were damaged.The office located at the entrypoint of the gate was alsofound damaged along withdoors and windows. The fur-niture was also found inruined condition. His wife

Ranjeet Ranjan has soughtmore time to vacate heraccommodation. For his part,former MP Udit Raj is alsooccupying bungalow at AtulGrove road.

Earlier, politicians whooccupy government accom-modations have never beenforcibly evicted. The ministryof urban development sendsthem notices, and if don'tvacate, claim market rent andindulge in exchange of lettersfor months.

The estate department hasforcefully evicted two dozenMPs in the past 2-3 weeks.With many ex-MPs yet tovacate their accommodation,newly elected parliamentariansare forced to stay in various

State bhavans or guests hous-es.

As per norms, MPs areentitled to Type IV and Vhouses. A Type IV house hasfour bedrooms and a study. Thehigher category, allotted tosecond-time MPs and minis-ters, are fewer in number.Cabinet ministers enjoy TypeVIII bungalows in the Lutyenszone, which come with largelawns.

Currently, there are over a1,000 bungalows in the British-built LBZ, of which 65-70 areprivately-owned. The remain-ing bungalows are owned bythe government, and are allot-ted to the country's top politi-cians, bureaucrats, judges andofficers of the armed forces.

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Congress leader Manish Tewari hasurged Prime Minister Narendra Modi

to confer the Bharat Ratna on freedomfighters Bhagat Singh, Rajguru andSukhdev. In a letter to Modi, he alsorequested him to formally confer the hon-orific title of Shaheed-E-Azam on themand dedicate the Chandigarh airportlocated in Mohali in memory of BhagatSingh.

"I would like to draw your kind atten-tion towards the fact that Shaheed BhagatSingh, Rajguru and Sukhdev inspired anentire generation of patriots by theirunrelenting resistance to BritishImperialism and later their supreme sac-

rifice on the 23rd of March, 1931," the MPfrom Anandpur Sahib in Punjab said.

"It would be in the fitness of things thatif on 26th of January, 2020 all three of themare honoured with the 'Bharat Ratna'; they

are formally conferred with the honorif-ic of 'Shaheed-E-Azam';the ChandigarhAirport located in Mohali is named asShaheed-E-Azam Bhagat Singh Airport,Chandigarh (Mohali). This gesture wouldtouch the hearts and souls of 124 croreIndians," he said in his letter datedOctober 25. Tewari shared his letter onTwitter too.

His suggestions come in the wake ofthe BJP in Maharashtra demanding thatthe Bharat Ratna be conferred on Hindutvaideologue Veer Savarkar, which triggereda row. Earlier, All India Majlis-e-IttehadulMuslimeen (AIMIM) chief AsaduddinOwaisi had also called for conferring theBharat Ratna on Bhagat Singh, Rajguruand Sukhdev.

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National Conference (NC)president Farooq

Abdullah, who is currently indetention under the PublicSafety Act (PSA) has beengreeted by Prime MinisterNarendra Modi on his 82ndbirthday on Saturday. Sourcessaid Abdullah, who turned 82on October 21, received a let-ter from the Prime Ministergreeting him on his birthday.Abdullah, the Member ofParliament from Srinagar,received the letter at his resi-dence in Gupkar locality here

which has been turned into asub-jail after the NC presidentwas booked under the PSA on16 September.

The Prime Minister sentgood wishes on Abdullah'sbirthday and prayed for hislong and healthy life, sourcessaid.

Abdullah was detainedunder the Public Safety Act, alaw enacted by his father andNational Conference founderSheikh Mohammad Abdullah

in 1978 when he was the chiefminister.

He was earlier under thehouse arrest at his residencesince the night of August 4,hours before the Centreannounced its decision to scrapArticle 370 of the Constitutionand to bifurcate the state intotwo Union territories.

Earlier West Bengal ChiefMinister Mamata Banerjee tooon Monday had extendedbirthday wishes to the NationalConference patron, assuringthe former Jammu & KashmirChief Minister of standing byhim during "difficult times".She had also urged Abdullah tostay positive and prayed for hisgood health.

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Come November andCommon Service Centres

(CSCs) in rural areas will startrolling out telemedicine servicesthrough which people canaccess alternative medicine sys-tems like homeopathy andayurveda. The service will bemade available following anagreement signed between CSCe-Governance Services India(CSC SPV) and the Ministry ofAyush.

"Ministry will provide thedoctors who can provide teleconsultation to citizens throughvideo conferencing. CSV has avideo conferencing platformwhich works on low bandwidthand does not even need a broad-band connection. Initially theeffort will be to promote Siddhaform of medicine in TamilNadu. For this, one hundredCSCs have been selected," CSCSPV CEO Dinesh Tyagi said.

He said integration oftelemedicine service with CSCplatform will take about a week.The service will be initiallyavailable for free and later CSCSPV will work out some mod-erate rate for village level entre-preneurs (VLEs). After Siddha,other forms of alternative med-icine as homeopathy andayurveda will also be madeavailable under the program,Tyagi said.

"The telemedicine servicewill be available round theclock. It will be rolled out inother states from Decemberonwards," he added. The CSCs,which act as access points fordelivery of digital services, willbe provided some medicinekits to cater to prescriptionrequirement and rest can beeither purchased by the patientor the VLE.

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Satya Pal Malik, who hasbeen shifted as Governor of

Goa, on Saturday called onPrime Minister NarendraModi.The Prime Minister'sOffice tweeted a picture ofModi and Malik at the PrimeMinister's official residence.On October 31, Jammu &Kashmir, and Ladakh willbecome two separate Unionterritories to be Governed bylieutenant Governors. OnFriday, Girish Chandra Murmuwas appointed LieutenantGovernor of Jammu & Kashmirand RK Mathur of Ladakh.

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Taking cue from UddhavThackeray’s renewed

assertion for equal sharing ofpower with the BJP, whichfailed to register desired per-formance in the MaharashtraAssembly polls, newly-electedMLAs of Shiv Sena on Saturdaydemanded that AadityaThackeray be made the ChiefMinister in the nextGovernment.

The results of recently-concluded polls sawthe ruling BJP losing 17 seatsfrom its previous tally of 122,a development that politicalobservers believe has increasedthe bargaining power of theUddhav Thackeray-led partywhose tally too came down to56 seats from the 63 in 2014.

“We want to see AadityaThackeray as the next ChiefMinister. But Uddhavji willtake the final decision,” saidPratap Sarnaik, MLA fromneighbouring Thane city.

He was responding to aquestion on whether Sena willseek the help of the Congress-NCP combine to install itsown chief minister in place ofincumbent Devendra Fadnavisof the BJP.

Sarnaik and other electedMLAs on Saturday assembledat ‘Matoshree’, the suburbanresidence of the Thackerays, toattend a party meeting.

Another MLA AbdulSattar, who defected to theSena from the Congress aheadof polls, also endorsed Sarnaik’sview.

“Uddhavji will take thefinal call on this,” said Sattar,once considered a close aide offormer chief minister Ashok

Chavan.In the elections, results for

which were announced onOctober 24, the BJP won 105seats and the Sena 56 while theNCP and the Congress bagged54 and 44 seats, respectively.

The verdict came as ashocker for the BJP which hadset itself a higher target tosecure the absolute majority onits own. The changed scenariohas emboldened the Senawhich knows well that it is ina position to call shots andendorse Aaditya as the CMface.

Aaditya, 29, became thefirst Thackeray since the partywas founded in 1960s to enterthe poll fray and win. He wonfrom Worli seat in Mumbai, aSena pocketborough.

On the day of verdict,Thackeray hardened the Sena’sstand by reminding the BJP ofthe 50:50 formula “agreedupon” between BJP presidentAmit Shah, Thackeray andFadnavis ahead of the 2019 LokSabha polls. According tosources, the formula entailsrotational chief ministershipbetween the Sena and the BJPand the equal sharing ofCabinet berths.

“I contested less number ofseats for Lok Sabha and assem-

bly elections. I cannot accom-modate the BJP everytime. Iwant to remind the BJP the for-mula which was worked out inthe presence of Amit Shah,” Thackeray hadsaid.

The speculation about an“interesting possibility” starteddoing rounds on the day of thepoll verdict when former chiefministers Ashok Chavan andPrithivraj Chavan of theCongress said the party shouldconsider all options to keep theBJP out of power.

NCP chief Sharad Pawarhad ruled out such a possibil-ity to back the Sena. Thackerayhad said the popular mandateto rule was given to the BJP andhis party. State Congress pres-ident Balasaheb Thorat tooruled out any truck with theSena to keep the BJP at bay.However, he cryptically saidthat if the Sena comes with aproposal, the Congress willseek advice of its high-com-mand. The Sena has been root-ing for Aaditya as the next chiefminister or deputy chief min-ister of the State. However,Prime Minister Narendra Modiand Union Home MinisterAmit Shah, who also holds theBJP chief ’s post, have repeat-edly said that Fadnavis willcontinue to be at the helm.

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With the Shiv Sena playing hardballover power sharing with ally BJP

in Maharashtra, state Congress leaderVijay Wadettiwar said on Saturday thatthe Uddhav Thackeray-led party shouldcome forward for an “alternativearrangement”.

The Leader of Opposition in theoutgoing Assembly also said thatthough the mandate for the Congresswas to sit in opposition, the party need-ed to join hands with others to stop theBJP from coming to power.

“The mandate for the Congress isto perform the role of opposition. Butto stop the BJP, we need to come togeth-er. Shiv Sena has to come forward. TheSena should come forward for an alter-

native arrangement as the popularmandate was against the BJP,” he said.

Wadettiwar, however, added that theCongress had not initiated any discus-sion with the Sena.

The Congress leader’s statementcame on a day when the Sena demand-ed a written assurance from the BJP toimplement “equal formula for sharingof power” before holding talks forforming the next saffron allianceGovernment in the State.

Newly-elected MLAs of the Sena,who met Uddhav Thackeray at his residence in Mumbai, demanded thathis son Aaditya Thackeray, 29, be madechief minister.

In the October 21 elections, the BJPwon 105 seats and the Sena 56, whilethe NCP and Congress bagged 54 and

44 seats, respectively. The halfway markin the house is 144.

The verdict was disappointing forthe BJP which had set itself the targetof securing simple majority on its own.With the BJP’s tally well below 144, theSena has more leverage.

There was talk of the Congress andNCP supporting the Sena to keep theBJP away from power. Senior Congressleaders and former Chief MinistersAshok Chavan and Prithviraj Chavanhad said the party should consider alloptions.

But NCP chief Sharad Pawar ruledout any such possibility. Union Ministerand senior BJP leader Raosaheb Danvesaid on Saturday that he was not awareof any equal power sharing deal betweenthe Sena and his party.

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Forming the nextGovernment in

Maharashtra is not an optionbefore the NCP and it will sitin the opposition as mandat-ed by the people, party chiefSharad Pawar said on Saturday.

Pawar’s remark comes evenas Shiv Sena president UddhavThackeray met newly-electedMLAs here on Saturday.

The Shiv Sena is pitchingfor equal sharing of power andhas demanded a written assurance on it from the BJP.

Thackeray is learnt to havealso said he has “other optionsopen” but is not interested inexploring them since the BJPand the Sena are bound by the“Hindutva ideology”.

The BJP emerged as thesingle largest party winning 105seats in the recently-conclud-

ed Assembly elections, with theSena, NCP and Congress get-ting 56, 54 and 44 seats respec-tively in the 288-memberHouse.

Asked about the possibili-ty of the NCP supporting theSena to form the government,Pawar said, “This is not theoption before us. The peoplehave asked us to sit in the oppo-sition. We have accepted thatmandate.”

The NCP supremo madethe remarks after MaharashtraCongress chief BalasahebThorat met him at his residencein Baramati in Pune district.

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Union Minister JitendraSingh on Saturday said the

two new Union territories —Jammu & Kashmir, andLadakh — which will comeinto existence next week, willget equitable benefits, cuttingacross all sections of the soci-ety and regions without anybias.

He said over the last sevendecades, a constant grievanceacross the State was that cer-tain regions and sections ofpeople were feeling discrimi-nated against.

While Jammu always com-plained about the lion’s sharegoing to the Kashmir valley,

Ladakh too felt neglected, theminister said.

“As a Union Territory,Jammu & Kashmir will getequitable benefits after October31, cutting across all sectionsof the society and regions,regardless of any extraneousconsiderations. The samewould also apply to the UnionTerritory of Ladakh,” he toldreporters here, ahead of theformal bifurcation of the state.

The Centre had, on August5, announced abrogation of thespecial status given to Jammu& Kashmir under Article 370of the Constitution and bifur-cation of the State into Unionterritories, which will comeinto being on October 31.

Singh, who hails fromJammu & Kashmir, said evenin the Kashmir valley, while“certain families made a quickfortune overnight without anyknown sources of proportion-ate income”, the common man

suffered in silence and wascaught between terrorism onone hand and “State indiffer-ence” on the other.

The Union Minister for thePrime Minister’s Office (PMO)said since the UT of Jammu &

Kashmir will come directlyunder the control of the UnionHome Ministry, there will notonly be an equal distributionof Government resources, butalso accountability for thesame.

He said one of the greatestmisfortunes of Jammu &Kashmir was the lack of trans-parency in governance andthis too would gradually change for the bet-ter.

“The needless interferencein the maintenance of law andorder and the role of the vest-ed interests would also gradu-ally recede,” he said.

The most important ben-efit, Singh said, would be thechange in the psychologicalattitude and mindset of thepeople of the region, with agreater degree of self- confi-dence and sense of belongingas citizens of India.

The benefits in terms of

new breakthrough in highereducation, professional col-leges, industry and self-liveli-hood opportunities were goingto gradually unfold with thepassage of time and their ulti-mate magnitude was perhapstoo difficult to imagine rightnow, he added.

At the social level, partic-ularly for women, the“medieval legacy” would endwith the introduction of pro-gressive laws such as thosebanning triple talaq, child mar-riage and dowry, in addition tothe right to parental proper-ty, which already stoodrestored after the abrogationof Article 370, the Ministersaid.

Jammu: BJP general secretaryRam Madhav on Saturday saidsecurity forces are fully gearedto foil Pakistan’s design tocreate trouble in Kashmir anddeal with militants who are try-ing to destroy Kashmiriyat bytargeting outsiders.

Defending the scrappingof Article 370, Madhav saidPrime Minister NarendraModi’s “well thought-out”decision will not be revoked asit has been done for the betterment of the people ofJammu & Kashmir who haveremained deprived of theirvarious rights for the past 70years under the garb of thisconstitutional provision.

“Pakistan is continuing itsefforts to create unrest in the

valley but our security forceswill frustrate all its attempts,”the BJP leader told reporterson the sidelines of a seminarorganised by his party on“accession day” here.

Asked about frequentceasefire violations byPakistan, he said necessarysecurity arrangements are inplace to scuttle its attempts tofoment trouble in the valley.

Addressing the seminar,he said the militants aredestroying the “beauty ofKashmiriyat” by targetingtraders and truckers from out-side the State but securityforces will not allow suchactivities and will deal withthem strictly. PTI

Srinagar: Terming the killing of truckers as an attack on theeconomy and livelihood of the people, Jammu & Kashmir Policechief Dilbag Singh on Saturday said the investigation into suchcases was underway and that the police have got important clues.

“Investigation into cases of killing of truckers is on andsome important clues are available with us about the cases. Thisis an attack on the local economy and livelihood of people. Itis being done to disrupt the daily life of the people. “Such actionsare not in the interest of the people. To a large extent peopleare condemning such acts. Our investigation is in an advancestage.... We have identified the people involved,” Singh toldreporters here. He said the attacks on truckers and damage topower transmission towers in Shopian district of southKashmir by militants were to disrupt horticulture and tourismthat provide livelihood to many people in Kashmir. PTI

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Indian scientists have a spiritual solution to prevent

suicides, a major issue haunt-ing the nation. This is in thebackdrop of World HealthOrganization’s (WHO), find-ing that China and India are thelargest contributors to theabsolute number of suicides inthe world.

According to Peeter Varnikof Estonian — Swedish MentalHealth and SuicidologyInstitute, Estonia, India regis-tered 2,30, 314 suicides in theyear 2016. That means 631 per-sons commit suicides in Indiaevery day on an average. Thenumber is increasing by the dayand the causes which force thevictims to the extreme step tooare multiplying.

While social scientists starestunningly at the figures, anIndian medical doctor-turned-scientist-turned–spiritual Gurusays the problem of suicidecould be addressed with spiri-tuality. The age old Indian

spirituality is the answer to thisever increasing social issue,says a scientific research paperauthored by Dr JayantAthavale, head, MaharshiAdhyatma Vishwa Vidyalaya,Goa.

“This findings drew theattention of the delegates whoparticipated in the interna-tional conference organized byIndian Academy of HealthPsychology at MahatmaGandhi Kashi Vidyapeeth,Varanasi, earlier last week. Thefocal theme of the conferencewas Suicide: Issues, Challenges,Prevention and Management,”said Prof Anand Kumar, pres-ident IAHP and former head ofthe department of psychology,Kasi Vidyapeeth.

It may sound strange to

those who swear by scientifictemper but Dr Athavale, NileshSingbalji and Sean Clarke whoauthored the paper have suffi-cient evidence to substantiatetheir findings. “It is a spiritualissue and needs spiritual heal-ing,” Sean Clarke, a researchscientist at MAVV, told ThePioneer over telephone fromGoa.

The scientists say that aperson’s capacity to face stressdepends on how much energyhe has to face it. “His availablemental energy is less whenthere are more personalitydefects and unfinished busi-ness. The unfinished businessmeans unpleasant incidents inthe past like failed relationship,childhood trauma and thingslike that. Many problems havea spiritual root cause, destiny orkarma,” explained Singbalji.

Dr Athavale , with decadesof his practice and interactionswith persons suffering fromschizophrenia and mental dis-orders found that people withhigh emotional quotient arevulnerable to stress.

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Treading cautiously in itsmuch-publicised tussle

with its junior ally Shiv Senaover the sharing of power inthe emerging newGovernment in Maharashtra,the BJP has convened a meet-ing of its newly elected MLAsat the Vidhan Bhavan here onOctober 30.

Having taken a break forthe Diwali festival, the BJPLegislature Party will elect itsleader at the meeting sched-uled to be held at 1 pm onOctober 30.

At that meeting, ChiefMinister Devendra Fadnaviswill in all likelihood re-elect-ed as the BJP Legislature Partyleader.

Fadnavis, who led the saf-fron alliance alliance cam-paign in the just-concludedState Assembly elections, wasnamed as the Chief Minister-designate by the BJP leadership

during the course of the cam-paign.

The ruling BJP and its allyShiv Sena won 105 and 56 seatsrespectively in the polls. Ineffect, the BJP and Sena togeth-er have a strength of 161 seats.

In addition, Chief MinisterFadnavis has claimed that hehas secured the support of 10newly-elected IndependentMLAs.

The BJP is expected tohave to have power-sharingnegotiations with the ShivSena after the Diwalifestival.

BJP National presidentAmit Shah on Friday sought togood humour Shiv Sena pres-ident Uddhav Thackeray bytelephoning the latter for thesaffron alliance’s victory in thepolls and in the process sound-ed Uddhav out about hisparty’s plans to hold talks withhim for sharing power in theState.

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As many as 176 newly-elected MLAsin the Maharashtra Legislative

Assembly are facing criminal charges,as per data released by an advocacygroup on Saturday.

On analysing self-sworn affidavitsof 285 of the total 288 MLAs, theAssociation for Democratic Reforms(ADR) found that 62 per cent (176MLAs) have criminal cases pendingagainst them while 40 per cent (113MLAs) have serious criminal cases.

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Iraqi security forces sought toclamp down on protests in

Baghdad and across the southon Saturday, a day after dozensdied in a bloody resumption ofanti-government rallies.

A parliamentary sessionscheduled for Saturday after-noon to discuss the renewedprotests was cancelled after itfailed to reach a quorum.

Since anti-government ral-lies first erupted on October 1,nearly 200 people have diedand thousands were woundedin Baghdad and across thecountry’s Shiite-majority southin violence condemned world-wide.

Almost a quarter of them,42, succumbed on Friday alonefrom live rounds, tear gas can-isters or while torching gov-ernment buildings or officesbelonging to powerful Hashedal-Shaabi paramilitary factionsin several southern cities.

Tensions remained highacross several cities there onSaturday, with security forcescutting off roads and imposingstrict curfews.

The storming of provincialheadquarters, parliamentari-ans’ workspaces or Hashedoffices marks a new phase inthe southern rallies but therehave been no such incidents sofar in the capital.

In Baghdad, a few hundredprotesters dug in around the

emblematic Tahrir (Liberation)Square on Saturday morningdespite efforts by riot police toclear them with tear gas.

“It’s enough -- theft, loot-ing, gangs, mafias, deep state,whatever. Get out! Let us see a(functioning) state,” said oneprotester, referring to perceivedcronyism and corruption in thecountry.

“We don’t want anything,just let us live,” he added aspuffs of smoke from tear gas

rose behind him.Oil-rich Iraq is OPEC’s

second-highest producer -- butone in five people live below thepoverty line and youth unem-ployment sits at 25 percent,according to the World Bank.

The staggering rates ofjoblessness and allegations ofcorruption sparked the wide-spread protests on October 1and the government has strug-gled to quell public anger byproposing reforms.

Prime Minister Adel AbdelMahdi has suggested a laundrylist of measures, including hir-ing drives, increased pensionsand a cabinet reshuffle.

New education and healthministers were approved byparliament in a session earlierthis month, the only time it wasable to reach a quorum sinceprotests began.

But protesters seemedunimpressed.

“They told young people:

‘go home, we’ll give you pen-sions and come up with a solu-tion’. They tricked us,” saidone of the rare woman pro-testers on Saturday, her youngson at her side.

About 60 per cent of Iraq’s40-million-strong population isunder the age of 25.

Protesters have directedsome of their anger at thecountry’s top Shiite religiousauthority, Grand Ayatollah Alial-Sistani, who is deeplyrevered among most Iraqis.

Others have been waitingfor signal from influential pop-ulist cleric Moqtada al-Sadr,who has thrown his weightbehind protests.

On Friday, Sistani urgedprotesters and security forces toshow “restraint”, warning of“chaos” if violence resumed.

“Sadr, Sistani — this is ashame,” a protester in Tahrirsaid on Saturday.

“We were hit! It’s enough,”he said, waving a tear gas can-ister fired earlier by securityforces.

Riot police had been tryingto keep protesters aroundTahrir from reaching the high-security Green Zone acrossthe river, which hosts govern-ment offices including parlia-ment.

Speaker Mohammed al-Halbusi said he had visitedTahrir overnight, but manydemonstrators have shunnedthe participation of mainstream

politicians whom they see astrying to co-opt their move-ment.

A few dozen people inBabylon, south of Baghdad,gathered for a sit-in onSaturday despite a curfew.

But in the southern portcity of Basra, protesters failedto come out in large numbersafter security forces imposed astrict curfew.

In Diwaniyah, too, securi-

ty forces sealed off roads aheadof planned protests later onSaturday afternoon.

Late Friday, 12 protestersdied in Diwaniyah alone whilesetting fire to the headquartersof the powerful Badr organi-sation.

“Public anger is directed atthem in addition to gover-norate councils, for they werethe obvious face of ‘the regime’,”wrote Harith Hasan, a senior

fellow at the Carnegie MiddleEast Center.

But it was also a chance forSadr to swipe at his rivals in theHashed.

“The Sadrists, especiallyin their traditional strongholdssuch as Missan, saw this anopportunity to act against com-peting militias,” such as AsaibAhl al-Haq, Badr, and KataebHezbollah, Hasan said onTwitter.

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As many as 20 Vietnamesecitizens are feared among

39 people found dead in a truckin Britain this week, accordingto families and communityorganisers Saturday, as one ofthe alleged truck ownersdenied involvement in thetragedy.

British police initially saidall of the 31 men and eightwomen found early Wednesdayin a refrigerated lorry in anindustrial park in Grays, east ofLondon, were believed to beChinese nationals.

Four people have beenheld over the incident, whichhas shocked Britain and shedlight on dangerous trafficking routes into Europetaken by undocumentedmigrants.

Several Vietnamese fami-lies now fear their relatives areamong the victims, who mayhave been carrying falsifiedChinese passports.

Britain-based communitygroup VietHome said it hadreceived “photos of nearly 20people reported missing, age15-45” from Vietnam, a popu-

lar source for smuggledmigrants looking to better theirlives in the UK.

Nguyen Dinh Gia told AFPSaturday he got a call from hisson two weeks ago saying hewas planning to go to Britainwhere he hoped to work in anail salon.

His 20-year-old sonNguyen Dinh Luong had beenliving in France and said thejourney to Britain would cost11,000 pounds ($14,000).

But Gia received a call sev-eral days ago from aVietnamese man saying “Pleasehave some sympathy, some-thing unexpected happened,”he recounted to AFP.

“I fell to the ground whenI heard that,” Gia said. “Itseemed that he was in thetruck with the accident, all ofthem dead,” he added.

A 26-year-old Vietnamesewoman Pham Thi Tra My isalso believed to be among thevictims after her familyreceived a text message fromher hours before the migrantswere discovered.

“I’m sorry Mom. My pathto abroad doesn’t succeed.Mom, I love you so much! I’m

dying because I can’t breathe,”she said in the message con-firmed by her brother PhamManh Cuong.

He received another mes-sage from her a few hours latersaying: “Please try to workhard to pay the debt formummy, my dear,” according toa text sent at 12:15 Vietnamtime on Wednesday (0515GMT) seen by AFP.

The family, who live in abare home with a corrugatedtin roof in central Vietnam,have asked Vietnamese officialsto help find the missingwoman.

The truck carrying themigrants arrived in Purfleet onthe River Thames estuary on aferry from the Belgian port ofZeebrugge just over an hourbefore ambulance crews calledthe police at 1:40 am.

The driver, a 25-year-oldman from Northern Ireland,was arrested at the scene.

A married couple was heldin Warrington in northwestEngland on Friday, including awoman who allegedly onceowned the truck that carriedthe container, according tomedia reports.

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President Donald Trumpsuggested Secretary of State

Mike Pompeo made a mistakeby hiring the senior diplomatwho provided damaging testi-mony to impeachment inves-tigators in Congress.

The president seemed tosoften the criticism Friday byadding, “Everybody makesmistakes.” It was rare publiccriticism by Trump of his sec-retary of state.

Trump was speaking toreporters at the White Housewhen he was asked about senior diplomatBill Taylor.

The diplomat was hired byPompeo to run the USEmbassy in Ukraine after theTrump administration forcedout the ambassador in May.Taylor testified Tuesday about an administra-tion effort to withhold militaryaid to Ukraine in exchange forpolitical dirt on Trump’s rivals.

Taylor is a former Armyofficer and longtime diplomatunder Republican andDemocratic presidents.

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Wildfires raged acrossCalifornia on Friday,

destroying homes and forcingevacuations, as over 1,000 fire-fighters tackled flames in thesouthern part of the state alone.

Tens of thousands of resi-dents near Santa Clarita, northof Los Angeles, fled theirhomes as the so-called TickFire scorched over 4,000 acres(1,618 hectares) and was onlyten percent contained by Fridayevening. The blaze forced theshutdown of all schools in thearea as well as a major freeway,creating a traffic nightmarefor commuters.

New evacuations in thearea were ordered early Fridayas the fire that began the daybefore continued to spread,driven by so-called Santa Anawinds gusting up to 65 miles(105 kilometers) per hour.

Some 1,325 firefightersbacked by air tankers and heli-copters were battling the flamesthat raced toward denselypacked communities andthreatened 10,000 structures,officials said. Six homes weredestroyed, Los Angeles CountyFire Chief Daryl Osby told anews conference, adding that

the number was expected torise. At least four other fireshave erupted in southernCalifornia this week, fueled byhigh temperatures in the 80sand 90s (above 30 Celsius)and bone dry conditions.

A red flag warning indi-cating ripe conditions for wild-fire was in effect for morethan 18 million people in thesouthern part of the state untilFriday evening.

The National WeatherService warned that althoughwind speeds were set todecrease later Friday, they wereexpected to pick up again onSunday and Monday in thesouthern part of the state.

“It looks like another SantaAna is coming,” meteorologistEric Boldt told AFP. “Rightnow, we’re looking at moderatestrength winds (Sunday andMonday).” Still, he added, thestate remains “critically dry”with little humidity, creating anenvironment ripe for large anddangerous fire growth.

A number of wildfires arealso raging in the northern partof the state. The most serious— the Kincade Fire — brokeout late Wednesday in theSonoma wine region, alsoprompting evacuations.

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The Republican NationalCommittee moved Friday

in an extraordinary vote toexpress that it “now more thanever wholeheartedly supports”President Donald Trump as heconfronts House Democrats’impeachment probe.

The national party’s gov-erning body expressed soli-darity with Trump in con-demning what it calls a “naked-ly partisan impeachment inves-tigation” in a symbolic show ofsupport.

The resolution comes asthe White House has grownworried about GOP defectionson Capitol Hill, and the presi-dent is increasingly focused onshoring up his support aheadof votes on impeachment.

Trump has sought to casthis entire party as victims of theprobe as he tries to keep GOPlawmakers by his side, tellingreporters Friday, “This isn’t atakedown of the president. It’sa takedown of the Republicans.”

The RNC executive com-mittee voted unanimously byphone to approve the resolu-tion. It states that the commit-tee “now more than ever

wholeheartedly supportsPresident Trump and hisadministration in makingAmerica great again.”Traditionally, the partyapproves resolutions at itstwice-annual meetings.

The resolution echoes afrequent Trump complaint thatDemocrats are conducting theimpeachment proceedingsbehind closed doors and accus-es Democrats of trying to“void” 63 million votes cast in2016.

The RNC resolution sup-ports the Senate resolutionoffered by South Carolina Sen.Lindsey Graham and backed by

Senate Majority Leader MitchMcConnell, objecting to theHouse Democrats’ handling ofthe impeachment probe onprocedural grounds.

“Today, members of theRNC Executive Committeeunanimously passed a resolu-tion of support for our presi-dent and the Graham-McConnell resolution con-demning the unprecedentedactions of House Democrats,”said RNC Chairwoman RonnaMcDaniel. “However baselessthis inquiry may be, if HouseDemocrats are intent on pur-suing their political vendettaagainst President Trump, heshould at least be afforded thesame due process as everyother American.”

The RNC is calling onDemocrats to “providePresident Trump, like everyother American, with dueprocess, to include the ability toconfront his accusers, call wit-nesses on his behalf, and havea basic understanding of theaccusations against him thatwould form any basis forimpeachment.” In January, theRNC voted to express its “undi-vided support” for Trump andhis “effective presidency.

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Top US lawmakers, includingIndian-origin legislators

Kamala Harris, Pramila Jayapal,Raja Krishnamoorthi, RoKhanna and Ami Bera, cele-brated Diwali and underlinedthat the festival reminds one towelcome positivity in their lives.The lawmakers observed Diwalion Friday, two days ahead of thefestival of lights being celebrat-ed in India on Sunday.

On Thursday, US PresidentDonald Trump celebratedDiwali in the Oval Office witha small group of Indian-Americans. The event wasclosed for the press.

“May the Festival of Lightsinspire us to lift our commu-nities up from darkness, livewith hope instead of despair,and stand up for what is right.I hope everyone celebratinggets the chance to spend timewith their loved ones on sucha joyous occasion,” Indian-American CongresswomanKamala Harris said. Indian-American Congressman RajaKrishnamoorthi said the festi-val is a reflection on the tri-umph of light over darknessand of good over evil.

Islamabad: Pakistan on Fridayconfirmed it detained the fatherof a prominent activist who hasfled the country, in an incidentthat’s fuelled fears of a clamp-down and sparked condemna-tion from the United States.

“Prof. Mohammad Ismailhas been detained by the lawenforcement authorities inPeshawar in a case of cyber-crime as per our laws,” ForeignMinistry spokesmanMohammad Faisal said.

“Being a citizen ofPakistan, Prof. Ismail is entitledto due process and right ofdefence provided in theConstitution”. Ismail had beentaken away by unknown menon Thursday outside a court inPeshawar, a western city nearthe border with Afghanistan,according to his daughterGulalai Ismail, a women’s rightsactivist who fled to the UnitedStates and is seeking asylum.

Rabia Mehmood, aPakistan researcher forAmnesty International, tweet-ed that he was in the custodyof the cybercrime wing of theFederal Investigation Agency(FIA). Alice Wells, US assistantsecretary of state for South andCentral Asia, expressed con-cern over “reports of the con-tinued harassment of GulalaiIsmail’s family, and her father’sdetention today”. AFP

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President Recep TayyipErdogan said on Saturday

that Turkey would “clear ter-rorists” on its border in north-ern Syria if Syrian Kurdishmilitia did not withdraw by theend of a deadline agreed withRussia.

“If the terrorists are notcleared at the end of the 150hours, we will take controland clean it ourselves,” Erdogansaid during a televised speechin Istanbul, referring to theYPG militia viewed as a “terrorist” offshootof Kurdish insurgents inTurkey.

Erdogan and RussianPresident Vladimir Putinagreed a deal in the Black Searesort of Sochi on Tuesday inwhich Moscow will “facilitatethe removal” of the fighters andtheir weapons from within 30kilometres (18 miles) of theborder.

The deadline ends at 6pmlocal time (1500 GMT) onTuesday.

Despite his threat, Erdogansaid Turkey had “to a largeextent” reached its goal interms of setting up a “safezone” to protect against attacksfrom the Islamic State (IS)extremist group and theKurdish YPG militia.

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Ethnic Rakhine rebels tookmore than 40 police officers

and soldiers hostage in a brazenraid on a ferry on Saturday,Myanmar’s military said, thelatest flare-up in the restivewestern region.

The military has deployedthousands of troops to try tocrush Arakan Army insurgentsin the state, where the ethnicgroup is fighting for moreautonomy for RakhineBuddhists.

But the AA has inflicted aheavy toll through violent raids,kidnappings and improvisedexplosive devices.

On Saturday morningrebels in concealed positions ona river bank shot at a ferry car-rying off-duty police and sol-diers north from the state cap-ital, forcing it to dock, militaryspokesperson Zaw Min Tunsaid.

“More than 10 soldiersfrom the army, about 30 policeand two staff from the prisondepartment” were among themore than 40 passengers forcedto disembark before beingtaken away, he said.

Authorities were usinghelicopters in their pursuit ofthe rebels, and had spotted alarge contingent crossing ariver, he added.

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Britain’s main oppositionparty says Prime Minister

Boris Johnson can’t be trustedto protect workers’ rights andenvironmental standards aftera leaked report suggested thegovernment would seek toweaken existing rules after thecountry leaves the EuropeanUnion.

The Financial Timesreported Saturday thatJohnson’s Conservative gov-ernment plans to diverge from

EU regulations, saying a leakedgovernment document saysrules on workers’ rights andenvironmental protection leave“room for interpretation.”

Labour leader JeremyCorbyn said “Johnson’s sell-outBrexit is

a blueprint for a deregu-lated economy, where vitalrights and protections are tornup. He has no intention ofupholding our high standardsafter we leave the EU. You can’ttrust a word Boris Johnsonsays.”

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Representatives of Russia,China, the United States

and Pakistan agreed Fridaythat negotiation is the only roadto peace in Afghanistan,including an early resumptionof direct US talks with theTaliban.

The day-long talks inMoscow came ahead of anintra-Afghan dialogue to behosted by China. The Beijingtalks, which are to be held nextweek, were postponed, accord-

ing to officials familiar with thetalks. Speaking on conditionthey not be identified because ofthey were not authorized to talkabout the subject, they said thepostponement would be briefbut no new date was given.

When the China talks takeplace, they will be the first face-to-face discussions betweenAfghan warring sides sinceJuly. Even President AshrafGhani, who has objected to anytalks not led by his government,said late Friday that he wouldsend representatives.

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Rescuers worked by hand toclear debris from a land-

slide triggered by heavy rains incentral Japan on Saturday, asthe toll from the storms rose to10 dead with a further threepeople reportedly missing.

Aerial footage showedemergency workers removingwreckage from two houses thatwere swept away in Chiba,southeast of Tokyo, just twoweeks after a deadly typhoonbarrelled through the area.

Nine people were killed bylandslides and floods in theregion,

including two elderly menfound dead in submerged cars,officials and news reports said.A woman in her 40s was founddead near the coast in easternFukushima, according to a firedepartment official.

Police divers were deployedto search for those unaccount-ed for, with public broadcast-er NHK putting the number ofmissing at three.

Thousands of people wereforced to spend the night inNarita airport after train ser-vices were suspended, it added.

“Water was flowing in mygarden like a river,” a 75-year-old man told NHK. “Rain washeavier than during thetyphoon.”

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India will spend about USD1.4 trillion on its infrastruc-

ture development in the nextfive years, Union Steel MinisterDharmendra Pradhan said onSaturday. Pradhan was speak-ing at the Global Forum onExcess Capacity

(GFEC) Tokyo which was

attended by representativesseveral other countries.

"I wish to emphasize thatwith rapid economic and infra-structural development inIndia, the demand of steel hasseen substantial increase and isexpected to increase further inthe future as embarks tobecome a USD 5 trillion econ-omy by 2024," he said while

addressing the forum. He said that the country is

committed to spending aboutUS USD 1.4 trillion on itsinfrastructure development inthe next five years.All this,Pradhan said, augurs well forthe steel demand in the coun-try. India is determined toraise the per capita consump-tion of steel from its currentlow of 72 kg per capita to 160kg per capita by 2030, heinformed.Pradhan is on a two-day visit to Japan.

The minister met seniormanagement of Japanese steelmajors JFE Steel Corporation,Nippon Steel and Daido Steelon Friday and invited them toinvest in the growing Indiansteel sector.

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Second-largest private sectorlender ICICI Bank on

Saturday reported a 6 per centdecline in the September quar-ter consolidated net profit to�1,131.20 crore, weighed downby one-time deferred taxadjustments and higher delin-quency in retail loans.

On a standalone basis, thebank posted a net profit of�654.96 crore for July-September as against �908.88crore in the year-ago perioddue to a �3,020.67 crore taxadjustment hit, as it shifted tothe new tax regime.

From an asset quality per-spective, which has weighedheavily on its performance inthe past few years, the bankreported an improvement in

the gross non-performingassets ratio at 6.37 as against8.54 in the year-ago period, asthe overall slippages declined to�2,482 crore from �3,100 crore.

However, retail loans con-stituted as much as �1,323crore of fresh slippages, andthere was also an increase inthe low-rated book that cancause more pains in the future,at �16,000 crore, up from �15,350 crore a year ago.

The bank has no materialexposure to a mortgage majorin distress right now, and therewill not be any major impactbecause of its

NBFC/HFC book in thefuture as well, its managementsaid. Executive director-desig-nate Sandeep Batra attributedthe rise in stressed retail loansto an increase in the proportionof the low-ticket loans in thebook at 62 per cent, and addedthat the performance is in linewith its expectations whichare set during the pricing.

To a question on whether

the rise in low grade loans isattributable to the overall slow-down, he said the bank is notimmune to the overall eco-nomic environment which isnot much to write home about.

Corporate loans grew at aslower 7 per cent during thequarter and the bank had torely on the higher 22 per centgrowth in retail loans to achieve16.4 per cent growth in thedomestic book which nowstands at �5.53 lakh crore.

The management, howev-er, did not share its outlook onthe loan growth and when itsees a revival in corporate loandemand, which according tomany observers, can give a leg-up to the stalled growth engine.

Rather than the balancesheet size, the bank is focusedon having a risk-calibratedstrategy of growth for the lastone year and will continuewith the same, the manage-ment said.

The net interest marginsexpanded by a notch to 3.64

per cent during the quarter, andthe bank is aiming to better itfurther.

The average share of thecurrent and savings accountdeposits dipped to 42.2 per centof the base, and the bank hint-ed at there being a greaterreliance on fixed deposits aspart of its liability strategy.

The expansion in NIMsand loan growth pushed up thecore net interest income 25.5per cent to �8,057 crore, whilenon-interest income grew 20.8per cent to �3,854 crore.

Total provisions on astandalone basis came down to�2,506.87 crore from � 3,994.29crore thanks to the fall inGNPAs and the overall provi-sion coverage ratio stood at76.1.

Its telecom industry expo-sure stands at 1.8 per cent of thebook with most of it to the toptwo players, and it will have toassess the impact of theSupreme Court order on thetelcos, the management said.

On the taxation line, itsSeptember outgo doubled to �691 crore and there was anadditional �3,020 crore impactthrough deferred tax adjust-ment, which collectivelyshaved-off a major chunk fromthe bottomline and preventedthe bank from reporting a fourtimes increase in profits.Including the profit, its overallcapital adequacy stood at 16.04per cent as against the regula-tory mandate of over 11 percent.

The bank also said whilethere is a slowdown in demand,there are supply-side con-straints as well which it is try-ing to overcome through dig-ital interventions, the man-agement said, adding it is in liq-uidity surplus at present.

It may look at floating ratedeposit products in the three-four month's tenor, and also atother benchmarks on the lend-ing side beyond the repo rateto price the loans, the man-agement said.

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Tamil Nadu Chief MinisterK Palaniswami has urged

the Centre to instruct banks tofinalise the debt restructuringpackage soon for the sugarmills and batted for other mea-sures, including disbursal ofloans to cane farmers to revivethe sugar industry in the state.

Listing out steps needed for

the beleaguered sugar sector,heflagged the restructuring ofloans availed from banks andfinancial institutions by thesugar industry and the SugarDevelopment Fund loanssecured by private and coop-erative mills.

"The banks and financialInstitutions may be instructedto finalise the debt restructur-ing package soon," he said in a

letter to Union FinanceMinister Nirmala Sitharaman.

The Chief Ministerrequested her to advise banksand institutions not to takeharsh measures under theInsolvency and BankruptcyCode, The Securitisation Act(SARFAESI Act), or refer casesto the Debt Recovery Tribunaluntil steps were finalised torevive the sugar sector.

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German premium car makerMercedes-Benz on

Saturday announced openingof booking for its all-new SUVGLE, which is expected to belaunched in India early nextyear.

The company in a state-ment also claimed it delivered600 cars to customers acrossmarkets on Dhanteras, which

is considered auspicious forbuying gold, silver and othervaluables and mainly celebrat-ed in Northern and SouthernIndia.

Owing to an unprecedent-ed demand for the GLE,Mercedes-Benz has alreadysold out its current stock of thisSUV three months ahead of theplan and, therefore, now hasopened the booking for itsupcoming refreshed version,

the company said. The all-new GLE SUV is expected to belaunched in the domestic mar-ket before the next edition ofthe Auto Expo in 2020 itadded. Mercedez-Benz has soldsome 13,000 GLE cars since theoff-roader's entry in the Indianmarket, the company said.

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Private equity investments inthe domestic real estate

sector rose by 19 per cent to$3.8 billion during January-September 2019, mostly incommercial properties, accord-ing to Anarock.

Private equity investmentswere over $3.2 billion in theyear ago period, the consultantsaid in a statement.

Commercial real estatereceived close to $3 billionfunds in the first three quartersof 2019 as against $ 2.1 billionin the corresponding period ofthe previous year.

Residential segment, onthe other hand, received $ 295million funding this year asagainst $210 million last year,thus seeing nearly 40 per centgain.

According to Anarockdata, retail segment attractedclose to $260 million duringJanuary-September 2019 asagainst $355 million in theyear-ago period.Logistics andwarehousing witnessed 27 percent decline in total PE inflowsin 2019 at nearly $200 millionas against $275 million earli-er.Among cities, MumbaiMetropolitan Region (MMR)witnessed maximum inflows at$1.59 billion till Septemberthis year, up 3 per cent from thesame period of 2018.

Bengaluru witnessed near-ly 17 per cent gain from $ 420million to nearly $490 milliontill September.

Pune saw huge jump ininvestments -- from $125 mil-lion in 2018 to nearly $390 mil-lion in 2019.

However, Hyderabad wit-nessed 76 per cent decline --from over $790 million last yearto just $190 million in 2019.

Chennai saw investmentsof nearly $230 million asagainst $160 million a year ago.

PE funding in NCRdropped to $ 115 million from$150 million in January-September period of 2018.Asmuch as $3.6 billion was equi-ty funding -- comprising near-ly 95 per cent of overall share-- while the remaining 5 percent was via structured debt.Foreign private equity fundscontinued to dominate the realestate investment, withBlackstone, Hines, Ascendas,Brookefield being major play-ers.

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Amid the din of celebrating aneco-friendly Diwali and burst-ing green crackers, what isgoing unnoticed is the pollu-tion levels of the Capital which

is a year-round thing.Under the circumstances, the obvious

query is: Is bursting crackers on Diwali agood idea? For some it’s the matter of justa day while others believe whatever pol-lutes, whether for a day or year-round,should be a big no-no. What cannot beignored failing respiratory health ofDelhiites who have long yearned for freshair. The blame rests on many factors, oneof them being the Diwali crackers.

In 2018, the Supreme Court ruled thatthe selling and bursting of only greencrackers in the Capital will be permitted,a ruling many reportedly flouted.

Parveen Kumar Anand, President,Confederation of Sadar Bazar TradersAssociation, says that this year very fewcracker licences have been given. “No oneis willing to take the responsibility of amarket as big as Sadar Bazar. There is noguarantee that the licences will be used forselling just green crackers,” the 60-year-oldundergarments shop-keeper Anand says.

Anand feels that celebrating greenDiwali is a good and sustainable alterna-tive. “The fact of bursting green crackersdon’t sit well with many people, but thisis a good alternative. It is our responsibil-

ity to reduce as much pollution as possi-ble. In the end, it is us who need the freshair to breathe. Nature doesn’t need us, weneed it. People should accept this initia-tive with open hearts,” he tells you.

Many lose business or jobs due to thisban, but Anand believes that there areother businesses that the sellers can turnto. “I understand this ban comes with acon. Many people run out of job. There aremany other businesses that these peoplecan opt for. Selling firecrackers is not theonly option to earn a living,” he says.

Not many come looking for green fire-crackers. “I have been in the market for along time now. I was never into the busi-ness of selling firecrackers, but there aremany friends in the market who are. Rarelydo I see or have heard someone asking forgreen crackers . It can be because of a lackof awareness among people about the ben-efits of green crackers or they just want tocelebrate the festival their way,” he opines.

It is not only the common man whois at fault when it comes to celebrating agreen Diwali but the system too. “Howmany times do we actually see that aftera judgement is passed, the authorities keepa check on whether it is being followed ornot,” he asks.

Sandeep Nayar, Director & HOD,Department of Respiratory Medicine,Allergy & Sleep Disorders, BLK SuperSpeciality Hospital, says that green crack-

ers reduce harmful emissions by 15 to 30per cent and create less noise. “Greencrackers don’t contain noxious chemicalsthat cause air pollution. These are expect-ed to be less toxic to the environment andemploy eco-friendly components to reduceharmful emissions. They have a differentchemical composition as compared to tra-ditional ones as they have lower alumini-um, barium, potassium nitrate and carboncontent. These chemicals have either beencompletely removed or sharply reducedfrom the manufacturing process, leadingto an emission reduction of 15 to 30 percent. Scientists involved in developingthese crackers claims that particulatematter like PM2.5 levels are reduced by 30per cent to 40 per cent and they are evenless noisy as the emitted sound has alsobeen reduced from 160 decibels to 125decibels,” he explains.

Though it is a bit early to say, but thepollution level is expected to go down thisyear as compared to last.

“The Government announced that theCouncil of Scientific and IndustrialResearch in collaboration with the NationalEnvironmental Engineering ResearchInstitute has successfully developed envi-ronmental-friendly fire crackers. But thebattle is only half won as the challenges areaplenty. It’s one thing to develop greencrackers and it’s another matter altogeth-er when it comes to training manufactures

to incorporate this technology into theirproduction processes. We can only hopethat the Government keeps a strict eye onmanufacturers as well as sellers, he tellsyou.

Nayar has a piece of advice forpatients prone to lungs ailments, espe-cially children and the elderly. “Theyshould remain indoors as far as possible.In case they decide to go out of the house,they should carry a handkerchief or acloth to cover their mouth to save them-self from dust allergies, especially if oneis asthmatic. In case they are on any reg-ular medication, they must take themeven if they don’t have symptoms and fol-low their doctor’s instructions. Thesemedicines may contain preventive for-mulations which will save them from anyexacerbation of illness. It is better to avoidcrackers including green crackers as faras possible if one is prone to lung dis-eases. When burnt, crackers emit dan-gerous pollutants like carbon dioxide,carbon monoxide and sulphur dioxide,which can be fatal for asthma patients.Smoke that fills the air due to burstingof crackers can trigger asthma in childrenas well as in adults. Also try to avoid get-ting exposed to sudden temperaturechanges, physical stress and any sourcesof allergy, which could also be strongincense sticks or certain types of per-fumed candles,” he tells you.

Cleaning homes is a common prac-tice during the festival. Patients prone torespiratory issues must stay away from theprocess, as dust can trigger breathingproblems.

Considering Diwali is a festival oflights, Nayar suggests that people shouldlight diyas to keep up the traditioninstead of creating smoke and noise.

Opthalmologist Anant Vir Jain,Columbia Asia Hospital, Ghaziabad, tellsyou that the light and sparks emitted fromthe firecrackers highly strains the eyes.

“These sparks can hit the eye andcause serious injury. Many people, espe-cially children, experience a burningsensation in eyes as well as water rollingdown their eyes without any reason. Thisis because of the smoke and the radia-tions. Ocular injuries during Diwali canrange from mild irritation and cornealabrasions to retinal complications andopen globe injury that may lead topotential blindness,” he says.

He suggests that people should keepkeep a wet towel handy during burstingfirecrackers to deal with the smoke.“Maintain a distance of an arm’s lengthwhile lighting firecrackers, and at least fivemetres while watching fireworks. Ensurethat the cracker is defused completely bysoaking them in a bucket of water beforedisposal to prevent further burn injuries,”Jain tells you.

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Senior opener Tamim Iqbal hasopted out of Bangladesh’s upcom-

ing tour of India as his wife is duewith the couple's second child.

The Bangladesh Cricket Board(BCB) has named another left-han-der, Imrul Kayes, as Iqbal’s replace-ment for the three T20 Internationals,starting November 3 in Delhi.Bangladesh will also play two Testmatches in Indore (November 14-18)and Kolkata (November 22-26).

According to a report in ESPNCricinfo: “Tamim, who is also nurs-ing a rib injury, was named in theT20I side, but had informed the BCB

that he might have to skip the secondTest, in Kolkata from November 22,to be with his wife. He has sincedecided to be with his wife for theweeks heading up to the delivery datetoo.”

“Tamim had informed us earlierthat he would miss the second Test inKolkata but now he will be with hiswife for the coming weeks,” chiefselector Minhajul Abedin said.

Tamim, who has had a horrid runwith the bat in recent times, missedBangladesh’s home Test againstAfghanistan and the T20I tri-seriesafter requesting for a break from allcricket following Bangladesh’s tour ofSri Lanka in July.

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Star batsman Steve Smith will take thefield for the first time at home in an

Australian jersey since the end of his oneyear ban when Australia face Sri Lankain the three-match T20I series startingSunday.

It will also be the first time in threeyears that Smith will be playing a T20international for Australia.

“It should be good, I can’t wait to play.It’s a great honour to be back playing herein Australia, I’m excited,” Smith was quot-ed as saying by the International CricketCouncil (ICC) website.

Smith is widely considered the bestbatsman in the world in Test cricket andhe justified the tag by smashing a whop-ping 774 runs in the Ashes in August-

September. However, he has had frugalreturns in his T20 career for Australia,scoring just 431 runs in 30 matches at21.55.

Smith, however, said that there couldbe more continuity in the team with theT20 World Cup approaching.

“I’m sure with the World Cup in ayear’s time, there’s an opportunity to havethat continuity. I think we've seen over theyears that the T20 format is one whereguys are rested a lot. That will probablychange leading to the World Cup.

“I think it’s a great opportunity for 14guys who have been picked here to havethat continuity and try to perform togeth-er and work towards hopefully being partof a World Cup. It starts here this sum-mer. We’ve got six games straight,” Smithsaid.

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Captain Aaron Finch wasSaturday cleared to play in

Australia’s opening Twenty20against Sri Lanka, but the teamwas dealt a blow with fast bowlerAndrew Tye ruled out of theseries.

There were fears that Finchmight not recover from a sidestrain he has been nursing for afortnight, but the batsman wasgiven the all-clear to open theinnings with David Warner.

“I was a bit worried aboutthrowing yesterday,” Finch toldreporters in Adelaide after atraining session ahead of the firstgame in the city on Sunday.

“It didn’t progress all thatquickly but... The last three daysit has been really good. I have gotfull movement ... I feel confidentto go.”

But short-form specialistTye, who is usually deployed inthe final overs, will take no partin the three-match campaignafter injuring his right elbowfielding on Friday. Finch said Tye

picked up the injury throwingthe ball.

“I think it was one of the firstdrills he did. He was a bit off bal-ance and felt a bit of a pop inthere,” the captain said.

New South Wales quickSean Abbott will replace himafter the match on Sunday,which marks the return to T20action of Warner and SteveSmith following their bans forball-tampering.

The pair have already beenwelcomed back onto the Test andone-day teams.

Despite Tye’s absence,Australia have plenty of bowlingfirepower at their disposal,including Mitchell Starc, PatCummins, Billy Stanlake andKane Richardson.

After Adelaide, Australiaface the Lasith Malinga-led SriLankans in Brisbane andMelbourne before Pakistanarrive for T20s in Sydney,Canberra and Perth.

The teams are all kick-start-ing preparations for the WorldCup in Australia next year.

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Newly-appointed PakistanT20I skipper Babar Azam

has said that he is not under anypressure and is confident of beingable to handle the challenge inAustralia, their next assignment.

The 25-year-old was namedPakistan’s T20I skipper followingtheir whitewash under SarfarazAhmed in the three-match seriesagainst Sri Lanka. Babar servedas the vice-captain during thatseries and couldn’t come with adecent batting performance as hecontributed with scores of just 13,

3 and 27.However, on the eve of the

team’s departure for Australia,Babar said he seeks inspirationfrom modern-day greats KaneWilliamson and Virat Kohli andwants to emulate them as captainin his first international assign-ment as a leader.

“People judged in threematches (against Sri Lanka) thatmy performance suffered becauseI was vice-captain,” ESPNcricinfoquoted Babar as saying.

“That’s not how it works. Inthe game of cricket, you have upsand downs, and that was a poor

series for us, no question. I give120 per cent for the team in everysingle match, and I don’t see whythere would be any added pres-sure on me just because I’m thecaptain. I'll continue to play as Ialways have, and I’m sure the per-formances will come.

“Moreover, I’m not justthinking I'll be happy to playregardless of the results. I’mlooking to get a performance outof my team, as well as my indi-vidual performances. I look atcurrent captains like KaneWilliamson and Virat Kohli, andhow well they manage their own

form along with bringing resultsto the team. I'll try to emulatethem,” he added.

Pakistan will play three T20Isagainst Australia on November 3,5 and 8, followed by two Testslater in that month.

Squad: Babar Azam (cap-tain), Asif Ali, Fakhar Zaman,Haris Sohail, Iftikhar Ahmed,Imad Wasim, Imam-ul-Haq,Khusdil Shah, Mohammad Amir,Mohammad Hasnain,Mohammad Irfan, MohammadRizwan (wicketkeeper), MusaKhan, Wahab Riaz, Shadab Khanand Usman Qadir.

����� �.�+�

Ace Indian shuttler P VSindhu failed to stop her

recent-run of early exits afterthe reigning world champi-on crashed out in the quar-terfinals of the French Openafter a three-game defeat totop seed Tai Tzu Ying ofChinese Taipei here.

The fifth seeded Indianwent down 16-21, 26-24, 17-21 to the world number oneshuttler in a hard-foughtmatch that lasted one hour

15 minutes on Friday night.This the 10th t ime

Sindhu had lost to Tzu Ying,who now enjoys a dominant10-5 record over the Indian.

Sindhu had last defeatedthe Asian Games goldmedallist on the way to hermaiden WorldChampionship t it le inAugust. The 24-year-oldIndian had also got the bet-ter of Tzu Ying during 2016Olympics before knockingout the number one women'ssingles player in the World

Tour Finals last year.This was also world

number six, Sindhu’s fourthsuccessive early exit from atournament since claimingthe World Championship atBasel, Switzerland in August.The Indian has struggled tofind form since then.

The Olympic si lvermedallist made a first roundexit in the Korea Open lastmonth before crashing out inthe second round of theKorea Open and DenmarkOpen in the last two events.

Earlier on Friday, a fight-ing Saina Nehwal was alsoknocked out after she wentdown in straight games toKorea’s An Se Young in thewomen's singles quarterfi-nals.

The men’s doubles pairof Satwiksairaj Rankireddyand Chirag Shetty kept alivethe Indian challenge by pro-gressing to the semifinals.

The world no. 11 pairfrom India will next face fifthseed Hiroyuki Endo andYuta Watanbe of Japan.

����� �4-(425+

Former India captain and coachAnil Kumble has supported Virat

Kohli’s view of having five centres forTest matches in order to bring thespectators back to the stadium.

Kumble, in fact, wants the BCCIto go back to the old tradition of the80s and 90s where Test matches atspecific centres were held during fes-tivities.

During the 80s and 90s theBCCI calender used to have Tests onNew Year in Kolkata and in Chennaiat the time of Pongal.

“I think that has certainly beenone of the ways of promoting Testcricket. By restricting it to few cen-tres and not just that it is alsoimportant to choose the time of theTest match,” Kumble was quoted assaying by CricketNext.

“We all remember that in the fes-tival time, during the festival ofPongal, the Test match used to hap-pen in Chennai. And the start of theseason used to be in Delhi, Bangalorewould have a Test match, Mumbaiwould have a Test match, Kolkata ofcourse,” he added.

Earlier this week, the final Test

between India and South Africawitnessed a lukewarm response fromthe Indian crowd in Ranchi, prompt-ing Kohli to suggest the idea of fivepermanent Test centres for futurehome series, similar to the Englishand Australian model when topteams tour those countries.

“I think it is important for Testcricket to promote these centreswhere people would know that theseare the centres where you are goingto play Test match cricket in prior tothe start of the season so that you canmarket Test cricket and you canmake sure that the crowd come in,”Kumble said.

“When I was the coach, I thinkwe played in six different centres,they were all new centres and the onecentre it was packed was Indore. Andthe atmosphere was brilliant, it is inthe heart of the city that was one ofthe reasons that the crowd couldcome in irrespective of the time ofthe day,” Kumble added.

The 49-year-old, who is back tocoaching again, this time as direc-tor of cricket operations at Kings XIPunjab, also lent support to the ideaof India playing day-night Tests.

“I think day-night Test cricket

will certainly bring in the crowdstowards the latter half of that game,”Kumble said.

“You also need to choose theright time of the year because we’veseen in day-night ODIs, the ball getsreally wet because of due. So, youmay have to choose the venue andtime of the year,” he added.

Word number one, India, put upa dominant effort in all departmentsto whitewash visitors South Africa3-0 in the recently-concluded TestSeries after winning their last twooverseas series in the West Indiesand Australia. They also lead theWorld Test championship with 240points.

“Yes, I believe so and eventhree years ago when I was thecoach, I did mention that this teamcertainly has everything in them todominate world cricket and that isexactly what they have done and itis not just about the playing eleven,it is also the bench strength,”Kumblesaid.

“It is also the quality of benchstrength that we are discussinghere. You have fantastic quality.Whoever comes in certainly per-forms,” he added.

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Kumble backs Kohli to have permanent Test centres

����� (5.�.

Bangladesh’s domestic cricketers might bereaping benefits from the players protest

but their national captain Shkib al Hasan hasbeen caught off-guard, with the board mullinglegal action for violation of central contract.

With Bangladesh set to leave for the all-important India series in the next few days,the BCB's strong stance could certainly affectthe morale of the team.

According to a report in Cricbuzz, Shakibhas signed a deal with noted telecom compa-ny ‘Grameenphone’, which is in violation ofthe central contract clause.

“BCB president Nazmul Hasan said thatthey will take strict action if he is unable toprovide a satisfactory reply. Grameenphone,the local telecom giants, announced onOctober 22 that the country’s leading all-rounder joined them as their brand ambas-sador,” Cricbuzz reported.

“He cannot make this agreement [with atelecom company] and why he cannot makethis agreement is clearly stated in our contractpaper,” BCB president Nazmul Hasan wasquoted as saying by the Bengali daily ‘KalerKantho’ on Saturday.

“Robi [Telecom] was our title sponsor andGrameenphone did not bid and instead theygrabbed few cricketers by paying them TKOne or Two Crores. What happened in theend? The board lost TK 90 Crores in threeyears,” he said.

“We are going into legal action. We can-not spare anyone in this regard. We will askfor compensation. We will seek compensationfrom the company as well as from the play-er,” Hasan said.

“I heard about it [on October 23] andasked to sent legal notice to Grameenphoneto claim compensation. I asked to send a let-ter to Shakib for explanation. We must givehim a chance to show he didn't break the rule.To us it seemed that it was something like ‘givea damn to the board’ and if that is the casewe will take tough action,” he added.

Shakib along with senior cricketersMushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah Riyadhled the players protests 11-point demand,ranging from increase in domestic match fees,daily allowances, players’ transfers in bothnational league and BPL.

According to leading Bengali daily,Prathom Aalo reported that in the first divi-sion League, players will be getting Rs 70,000instead of the earlier Rs 35,000. In the seconddivision cricketers they will get Rs 50,000compared to Rs 25,000.

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Pep Guardiola was relievedManchester City found theirrhythm in time to close the

gap on Premier League leadersLiverpool to three points asRaheem Sterling inspired a 3-0win over Aston Villa on Saturday.

Guardiola's side survived atame opening period as secondhalf goals from Sterling, DavidSilva and Ilkay Gundogan putVilla to the sword.

City's second successiveleague victory lifted them aboveLeicester into second place andput pressure on Liverpool to beatTottenham in Sunday's clash atAnfield. Fernandinho was dis-missed after earning a secondbooking when the City startugged at Keinan Davis in the87th minute.

Guardiola conceded thechampions had been below theirbest at the start, but he wasdelighted with the way they tookcontrol after the interval.

"Aston Villa played very wellin the first half and we played notso good. They are newly-promot-ed and played with real spirit,attacking the channels well,"Guardiola said.

"But the second half, I don'tknow if we played good becausewe scored early or it was becausewe played differently, but wewon. It was a special second half,we were another level."

City were upset by Wolves intheir last league fixture at theEtihad Stadium, but Guardiolahad never lost back-to-back homeleague games as a manager andSterling was key to ensuring thatimpressive record wasn't ruined.

Sterling's latest virtuoso dis-

play came just days after hissecond hat-trick of the cam-paign in City's ChampionsLeague demolit ion ofAtalanta.

The England winger hasmade a convincing case to beregarded as genuine super-star over the last 18 monthsand Villa had no answer tohis intelligent movement,sublime skills and predato-ry finishing.

City have scored 32league goals this season, 11more than Liverpool, andtheir firepower was clear tosee as they saw off Villa withtheir record scorer SergioAguero on the bench.

Gabriel Jesus made con-secutive Premier Leaguestarts for the first time sinceDecember, but he squan-dered a chance to put Cityahead when he dragged hisclose-range shot wide fromSterling's pass.

No fewer than 11 Citystars have suffered injuriesthis season, with OleksandrZinchenko and Rodri thelatest to be sidelined forseveral weeks.

��������������Guardiola admitted he

was "a little bit concerned"about how City would cope,yet with Sterling in his side,anything is possible.

Sterling appealed for apenalty when his shot can-noned off Bjorn Engels' arm,then glanced a header justwide.

John Stones gifted pos-session to Villa and DouglasLuiz almost took advantage

when he tangled with Citykeeper Ederson, who nar-rowly avoided conceding apenalty in the melee.

Despite their lack ofrhythm in the first half, Cityshould have been ahead atthe break when Sterling teedup Silva, only for the Spanishmidfielder to shoot incheswide of the far post.

Usually firmly dedicatedto Guardiola's passing prin-ciples, City finally brokeVilla's stubborn resistencewith a goal straight from theroute one handbook.

A huge punt forward byEderson was flicked on byJesus into the path of theunmarked Sterling, whotook one touch before shoot-ing under Tom Heaton forhis 13th goal in 14 appear-ances in all competitionsthis term.

City should have dou-bled their lead when Engelsgave the ball away to Sterlingand he picked out Jesus, butthe Brazilian's shot was bril-liantly cleared off the line byTyrone Mings.

It made no difference asGuardiola's side were in thegroove and they killed offVilla with two goals in fiveminutes.

In the 65th minute,Kevin De Bruyne swung ina cross that Silva flickedinto the net despite a longVAR review followed tocheck for offside againstSterling.

Gundogan put the resultbeyond doubt in the 70thminute with a clinical finishafter Villa failed to clear.

���� �3/�5.,��3�

Leicester City went into the Premier League recordbooks on Friday with a 9-0 hammering of

Southampton that equalled the biggest ever win inthe history of the division.

Ayoze Perez and Jamie Vardy both hit hat-tricksas Brendan Rodgers’ side moved second with a hugewin that continued their superb start to the season.

The rout equalled Manchester United's 9-0demolition of Ipswich at Old Trafford in March 1995.

Leicester are just five points behind league lead-ers Liverpool, who host Tottenham Hotspur onSunday, after a historic display that sank the Saints,who drop into the relegation zone on goal differ-ence, at a soaking wet St Mary’s Stadium.

However, despite the massive margin of victo-ry they can still be caught by reigning championsManchester City, who will retake second spot shouldthey win as expected against Aston Villa onSaturday.

“We said at half time, keep your speed in thegame and we have to punish them,” said Rodgers.

“This is part of our education. We have to comeout of the boy zone and play like men and respectthe game. They are very talented and learning to beruthless.”

Ben Chilwell began the destruction in the 10thminute when he tapped in on the rebound, and RyanBertrand's red card — awarded via VAR for a latetackle on Ayoze Perez in the build-up to the open-er — helped the away side open the floodgates.

Quickfire strikes from Youri Tielemans andPerez put Leicester three goals to the good with lessthan 20 minutes gone amid a downpour on the southcoast.

Perez struck again seven minutes before thebreak from a Chilwell cross to make it four beforeVardy scored his first of the evening as Leicesterracked up five goals in the first half of a league matchfor the first time since 1984.

It was also the first time that a side had crashedhome that many goals in the opening period of aPremier League game since Manchester City beatBurnley 6-1 in April 2010.

That didn’t stop Leicester from raining downgoals on Southampton however, with two comingwithin a minute just before the hour mark.

First Perez completed his treble after collectingHervey Barnes' superb lofted through ball in the 57thminute, and Vardy headed home from another pre-cise Chilwell cross seconds later.

James Maddison made it a record-breaking awayscoreline with five minutes remaining when heswung home a perfect free-kick that zipped past thedesperate Angus Gunn.

And Vardy sealed Leicester’s place in the recordbooks with his ninth of the season deep into stop-page, firing home a penalty that also took him topof the Premier League scoring charts with nine goalsafter he was brought down by Jan Bednarek.

“It was an embarrassing performance, the stuffof nightmare and especially playing at home,” SaintsNathan Redmond told Sky Sports.

����� �4-(425+

Participating in internationalcompetitions frequently has

helped the players keep them-selves in shape all year round,believes Indian women’s footballteam head coach MaymolRocky.

India is set to play two FIFAInternational friendlies againstVietnam next month. Ahead ofthe matches against Vietnam, theIndian team has assembled inthe capital for a training camp.

Speaking to the media onthe first day of the camp,Maymol Rocky was all praisesabout the growing exposurethat her team is getting.

“We are playing tourna-ments or international matchesat frequent intervals,” she said.

“We now have camps almostevery month now, and that issomething that helps the playerskeep up their fitness.”

The women’s team has hada busy schedule this year, havingplayed the Hero Gold Cup, the

SAFF Championship, AFCOlympic Qualifiers Round 2 inMyanmar, followed by an expo-sure tour to Turkey, the COTIFCup in Spain, and two interna-tional friendlies againstUzbekistan.

Speaking about the upcom-ing matches, she said that theIndian women will be facing atough challenge againstVietnam.

“Vietnam are a very goodteam, and playing tough oppo-sition like them is crucial for thedevelopment of our side,” shesaid.

“They have recently beatenThailand, which is a World Cupteam, so they definitely havequality.”

The coach further went onto state that the interest inwomen's football in India hasbeen growing, and that regulardomestic tournaments havehelped the cause.

“A lot of tournaments arecoming up. Before, if you see theNFC champions, it was mostly

restricted to states like Manipuror West Bengal,” she said.

“Now other states are alsogrowing in Women's football.I'm happy that the women in ourcountry are getting the chancesnow.”

She believes that the fact thatIndia is hosting the 2020 FIFAU-17 Women’s World Cup inwill further help popularise thewomen's sport in the country.

“I am very happy that we arehosting the WC. By the time theWC comes, the awareness aboutwomen’s football will grow expo-nentially,” said Rocky.

As the team prepares for thematches against Vietnam,Maymol believes that hercharges are up for the fight.

“It’s clear the women’s teamand women's football in India isgrowing. The girls are gettingbetter, and the future definitelylooks brighter for them,” she fur-ther said.

“We are prepared for thechallenge, and we’ll give it ourbest in the two matches against

���� 0.�42

Stefanos Tsitsipas set up his fourth meeting this sea-son with Roger Federer after a 3-6, 6-4 ,6-4 quar-

ter-final comeback win over Filip Krajinovic at theSwiss Indoors on Friday.

The Greek world number seven has beaten nine-time Basel champion Federer at the Australian Openwhile benefitting from a walkover on the clay inRome. In between, Federer, 38, swept past the 21-year-old Greek in Dubai.

Top seed Federer on Thursday had already madesure of his spot in the semi-finals after Swiss com-patriot Stan Wawrinka withdrew from their last-eighttie with a lower back injury just an hour after see-ing off Frances Tiafoe in a gruelling second roundclash.

On Friday, Tsitsipas had to stage a fightback fora second straight match after recovering against qual-ifier Ricardas Berankis 24 hours earlier.

“Persistence was the key today,” said third seedTsitsipas. “I put a lot of emphasis on my serve. It wasalso crucial to stay concentrated, even if I was bro-ken three times, unfortunately. But there were plen-ty of games where I played very confidently.”

Tsitsipas said his Australian Open fourth rounddefeat of Federer remains in his memory.

“It was one of the greatest moments of my career.Of course, the crowds love Roger — but what canyou do?

“Roger understands the game very well, his serveis one of his biggest weapons and his movement andcoverage help him,” added the player who has alsoscored wins over Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadalin 2019.

Reilly Opelka fired 31 aces to reach the fifth semi-final of his career as he beat Roberto Bautista Agut6-3, 3-6, 6-3.

The 37th-ranked American’s victory in 93 min-utes also slowed the progress of his Spanish oppo-nent in the chase for one of the two remaining placesat the ATP Finals in London next month.

Opelka has reached four of his five semi-finalsthis season — most recently at the start of the monthin Tokyo — as the 22-year-old works to broaden hisgame beyond just a huge serve.

The 6ft 11in (2.11m) giant earned the only titleof his career last February at Long Island, New York.

Opelka ended his afternoon when he set up twomatch points with an ace and then caught BautistaAgut wrong-footed with a winner into the emptycourt on his first chance.

He will next play Alex de Minaur for a place inthe final after the Australian defeated Germany's Jan-Lennard Struff 6-4, 7-6 (7/4).

The 20-year-old wild card, who has trophies fromSydney, Atlanta and Zhuhai this

season, dominated his oppo-nent in one and three-quar-ter hours as he competes inBasel for the first time.

“You have to back your-self,” said world number 28 De

Minaur after his 31st win of theyear. I was trying to dictate as

much as I could. Thingswent well for me today,but my game is still a work

in progress.“It will be an incredibly

tough challenge in the semis.But I'm happy I got there and I'm

glad to be playing another day.” DeMinaur has a 3-0 record

over Opelka with allthe wins comingthis year inSydney, Atlanta

and Cincinnati.

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Paulo Dybala scoredbut Juventus were held

1-1 at lowly Lecce onSaturday with the defend-ing champions in dangerof being overtaken byInter Milan at the top ofthe Serie A table.

Both goals came frompenalties with Dybala'sstrike from the spot after50 minutes cancelled outby Lecce's MarcoMancosu's effort six min-utes later.

The Italian champi-ons have 23 points fromnine games, but could beovertaken by AntonioConte's Inter who are twopoints behind before host-ing Parma later onSaturday.

Juventus restedPortuguese star CristianoRonaldo after Tuesday's 2-1 Champions League winover Lokomotiv Moscow,and ahead of two Serie Amatches in four days nextweek.

But Dybala, whoscored both goals againstthe Russians, started upfront alongside GonzaloHiguain, with FedericoBernardeschi just behindthe Argentine strike duo.

Maurizio Sarri gavestarts to Emre Can andDanilo with BlaiseMatuidi and JuanCuadrado starting on thebench.

Promoted Lecce, aside from the heel of Italy,

are struggling above therelegation zone, but man-aged to pull through for aprecious point despitebeing dominated by thevisitors.

Slovenian midfielderZan Majer forced a savefrom Juventus goalkeeperWojciech Szczesny afterjust two minutes.

Dybala was targetedearly by the Lecce defend-ers with Luca Rossettiniand Marco Calderonipicking up yellow cardsearly for fouling theArgentine forward.

Higuain looked as hehad the opener after a

quarter of an hour finish-ing off Alex Sandro'scross, but his effort wasruled for offside.

Gabriel deniedDybala and Bernardeschithen failed to connectwith a Danilo cross justbefore the break.

But Dybala putJuventus ahead five min-utes into the second halfwith his sixth goal in fivegames following a dis-puted foul on MiralemPjanic.

But captain Mancosupulled his side back levelfrom the spot six minuteslater after a Matthijs De

Ligt handball.Gabriel denied

Higuain on the line after68 minutes and LeonardoBonucci also sent over asthe Turin giants pushedforward unsuccessfullyfor the winner.

The bruisingencounter could provecostly for the championswith Pjanic, Higuain andRodrigo Bentancur alltaking knocks.

Inter host Parma laterSaturday with Genoa play-ing their first game undernew coach Thiago Mottaat home against MarioBalotelli's Brescia.

���� 04�2+�

Robert Lewandowski madeyet more history on

Saturday by netting in BayernMunich's home game againstUnion Berlin, setting a newrecord after scoring in each ofthe first nine Bundesligamatches this season.

The Poland striker showedclinical finishing by tuckingaway an Alphonso Davies sec-ond-half pass at the AllianzArena to claim his 13th goal in

his first nine league gamesthis season.

He has now scored in eachof his last 13 games for Bayernand means Lewandowski brokethe previous league record, setby current Arsenal forwardPierre-Emerick Aubameyangwho scored in each of the firsteight games of the 2015/16 sea-son for Borussia Dortmund.

Having also scored twice inBayern's 3-2 midweek win atOlympiakos in the ChampionsLeague, the 31-year-oldLewandowski now has 19 goals

in just 14 appearances in allcompetitions during what isturning into the best season ofhis career.

Lewandowski is alreadythe top-scoring foreigner inBundesliga history with 215league goals for Bayern and for-mer club Dortmund.

He also holds a recordfrom his incredible haul of fivegoals in just nine second-halfminutes when he came off thebench in Bayern's 5-1 thrash-ing of Wolfsburg in September2015.

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Dybala scores but Juve held by lowly Lecce

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�Why a Bhojpuri song?I am original from

Mathura, UP. These kind ofsongs are from this region andpopular. My paternal aunt wasa radio singer. When I was achild, I used to go for summervacations to Mathura and shetaught me Krishna bhajans anda lot of folk songs. I have grownup learning through these songsrather than Bollywood. I havehad a strong connection withBhojpuri songs and themelodies. I write English songsand pop songs but when itcomes to best form of expres-sion it is these songs. I don’twant to alter the melody butmake the music modern by

introducing desiness. The song— Ganga — is very beautiful.The base was folk we just addedinstrumentation like drums andguitar. �Ganga is from an album. Areall the songs in Bhojpuri?

Not all songs are. I would saythat they are all desi. Our EP isalso called BeDesi. Another songfrom the album, Balgaadi, inHaryanvi but the instrumenta-tion is Raggae. All songs are dif-ferent from each other with a desielement. Rahiman has his teach-ings put together and woven intoa song but with funk rock. It hasan Indian start and suddenly itmoves to heavy guitar anddrums giving it a fresh and new

perspective in terms of sound. �Is this combination to reachout to more listeners?

Absolutely. Today, the waytimes are changing and people’smusic interests have shifted if wepresent to them a folk or a clas-sical song the way it is, it will lackthe reach as sound has evolved.For the song to stand out and toget to the people’s system itthere is need to find way to makeit appealing without the folkloosing its essence.�What is your band about?

It is called Sharma and theBesharam. There is an interest-ing story how it got its name. Atone of the gigs, we didn’t have aname for us. I was the only girl

in the band. We started playingwith my surname and came upwith this the name.�What are the challenges in theindie space?

This is our first EP eventhough we have performed in acouple of festivals. We have juststarted so being consistant, put-ing out fresh content and musicis key. I believe in creating a nicheand being visible. I don’t have tocompete with big Bollywoodartist. Even in the indie spacethere was so many opportunitesand yet with so much contentwith more platforms, it is dis-tracting. As an artist one has tofind one’s USP via trial anderrors.

�Have you had a professionaltraining?

Not that was regular. WhenI was at GandharvaMahavidyalaya in New Delhi, Igot selected as part of Asma andcame to Mumbai. We under-went a training not necessarilyonly raag based but with differ-ent styles. After Asma, I went toBerkley, US. I studied westernmusic theory since I wanted toread and write music. Now I amconsistently learning from RaviJhule.�Where do you draw yourinspiration from?

A big part of my inspirationhas been what I learnt as a child.My exposure to music was lim-

ited to Back Street Boys andSpice Girls. When I was in col-lege, as part of my ragging, I wasmade to learn an entire albumof Allyson Morris. It was the firsttime I had heard lyrics like that.Learning from musicians overthe years, makes you grow. Thebiggest exposure came when Iwas at Berkley where I was expo-sure to world music. I also getinspiration from young artistswho are 16-18. �In India, one is either a songwriter or a composer unlike theWest. Should the lines blur tobeing just a musician?

The mindset of the artistneeds to change. Even if I amknown as a singer, I writer andcompose my songs. It all beginswith the artists showing a sideof themselves and that a singgercan arrange, writer and sing theirsongs. The way the digital plat-form is moving, there won’t beneed to blur the lines; it will hap-pen on its own.

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Diwali is here and we all havehappy faces and feelings becausethere is something special about

this festival. It signifies the victory ofgood over evil. This festival gives ushope, it gives us positivity to fight backthe evil and to start a new beginning. Itis the time when the whole family getstogether for the festival. We work andpray together and appreciate each other.I also try to avoid holidaying during thisfestive as I love Indian festivals and I real-ly want my daughter Rianna to under-stand and learn the same traditional val-ues I have learnt and know-how each fes-tival in India is celebrated with happi-ness.

We clean our home, illuminate withsparkling LED lights and oil lamps, dec-orate our doorways and foyers withbeautiful rangolis, exchange gifts andsweets and make a variety of tradition-al sweets at home. We do Lakshmi pujaand lit up our entire house duringDiwali, we start lighting diya fromDhanteras and goes on for five days. Asa child, I was never fond of firecrackers,in fact, I was scared. I was more inclinedtowards the lighting, sweets, meet mycolony friends.

Green Diwali is a great initiative andwe should be mindful of other humanbeings and animals. With the burstingof firecrackers, the pollution in thecountry is rising to dangerous levelscausing discomfort to the elderly people,children and pets. Number of asthmacases increase with the pollution everyyear. Let’s come together and do a bit forthe society.

It’s our basic and most importantfaithfulness to understand the impor-tance and essence of the traditionalDiwali celebration. So let’s take somesteps ahead to make this Diwali an eco-friendly one, celebrate with eco-friend-ly diyas, light up someone’s life, buy newclothes and gifts for underprivileged kidsand bring a smile on their faces, Ditchthe crackers and take a step towards bet-ter health and better future.

— Isha Koppikar, Actor

Diwali is the Festival of Lights. It is that time of theyear when we remind ourselves to illuminate thepath to our souls. My Diwali will be almost the same

as every other day which begins with yoga in the morn-ing and meditation in the evening, and the family will holda small pooja at home.

I believe every day should be a green day. Particularlyduring Diwali, we could be a little more sensitive since lotsof firecrackers are burst which leaves behind a trail of wasteand smoke. However, right after Diwali, we should embarkupon Swachh Bharat and try to clean up our immediatesurroundings as much as we can. We should also try andrestrain the use of firecrackers, and maybe just as a tokenof the festivities light up a couple of sparklers.

— Dalip Tahil, Actor

Diwali to me meanshappiness and love.

I meet my whole fam-ily on this occasion andit gives me a lot of pos-itivity. I take blessingsfrom my elders and wehave a gala time togeth-er. Not to forget insteadof bursting crackers welight up diyas and makerangolis.

It’s high time thatall of us need to makeefforts for the sustain-ability of our planet.

The entire Koccharfamily celebrates eco-friendly Diwali as thefestival is all aboutwarmth, affection, andsmiles.

— Samir Kochchar

Green Diwali is a great conceptfor sure. I am not against firing

crackers but we also need to under-stand the need of the hour. Pollutionis killing us slowly and we don’t evenrealise this. So green Diwali defi-nitely will help us to keep our envi-ronment clean.

Every year I celebrate Diwali bydistributing sweets and food amongthose who need it. I also make sureI visit the Gurudwara or temple topray and thank god for everythingthat I have today.

Definition of Diwali haschanged over the years for me. Asa child Diwali always meant sweets,firecrackers and holidays which Inever got though but only desiredbecause of bad financial situationbut now for me Diwali is letting seeothers happy. I never lighten up myhouse with lights but instead I buysome hand made diyas for myhouse

I never bargain on Diwali notat all because hamari Diwali kikharidari kisi ki Diwali ban saktihai.” — Balraj, Comedian

Diwali means happiness for me and a rea-son to spend some quality time with my

entire family. It’s time for me to forget aboutfitness and start gorging on all kind of sweets

Every year, I like to celebrate Diwali withmy family, it’s a norm for me.

We make sure that ourhome is decorated withlights and flowers, with allkind of sweets in our livingroom for us and our guests

Green Diwali is a bril-liant concept, I have beenfollowing green Diwalifrom the last five yearsand it’s hightime we

accept and executeit for our betterpresent andfuture.

— AppurvGupta, Stand-up

Comedian

Diwali for me is love,light and good food.

Seeing houses and streets litup all around gives me awarm and fuzzy feeling. Ilook forward to this time ofthe year.

I’ll be spending Diwaliwith my friends. We’llprobably go out for lunchor dinner or binge onDiwali sweets and farsan ata friend’s place.

Green Diwali can bemore about making the fes-tival more inclusive. Wherepeople from all sections ofthe society, whether rich orpoor, can come together.

It should be morecommunity based so thateven the underprivilegedget to experience thisamazing festival and goback with great memoriesand a great beginning to anew year..

— Sanah Moidutty,Singer

I truly believe Diwali isabout the spirit of togeth-

erness and lighting eachother’s lives. It brings theperfect occasion to gettogether with my familyand close friends. TheChhabra clan is extremelyenthusiastic about the festi-val and preparations beginweeks before the big night.I have a sweet tooth henceI look forward to gorging onthem and delicacies that mymom prepares.

I am celebrating thisDiwali with the dogs andcats that we foster. It’s anespecially hard time foranimals and I will spend mytime comforting them. I willspend an environment andanimal friendly Diwali.Crackers and smoke are abig ‘no’ for me!

Diwali is the festival oflight and also triumph ofgood over evil. We shoulddefinitely light up ourhomes and celebrate it but

we must be consideratetowards Mother Nature indoing so. We steer clear ofcrackers or anything thatpollutes the environment.So, this Diwali do remem-ber to spread knowledgeover ignorance and hopeover despair.

— Sonam Chhabra,Actor

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Deepavali or Diwali is perhaps thebiggest Hindu festival that celebratesthe victory of the good over the eviland light over darkness. A five dayfestival that begins on Dhanteras, two

days before the main Diwali and culminates onBhaiduj, two days post Diwali, the Festival ofLights commemorates the return of Lord Rama toAyodhya after 14-years of Vanvas, marks thekilling of Narakasura and the return of Pandavasafter 12 years to their kingdom in different eras.In fact, there are several lores that find culmina-tion in the days marked as Diwali, making it a bigreason for the Indians to celebrate it.

���������� ��������“Diwali finds celebrations in different sets for

different reason — all happy. Many of these rea-sons or rituals are not known outside the commu-nities they are celebrated,” says Dr IpsitaChatterjee, Ayurvedic scientist, trainer andresearcher. She is also a great storyteller. Forinstance, Dhanteras has a special symbolism forthe Ayurveda practitioners and believers. “Theauspicious day is also known as Dhantrayodashior Dhanvantri Jayanti as it is believed thatLord Dhanvantri, the Lord of Ayurveda,descended on earth on this day afterthe churning of the milky ocean.”

As the legend goes, during thecosmic battle or the SamundraManthan, Gods and Demons bothchurned the ocean (Kshira Sagar)to gain the divine nectar ofimmortality. God Dhanvantriemerged out of the water with thepot of elixir in his hands. Thus, thename of this day Dhanteras comes fromthe name Dhanvantri (The Physician of God).

“To celebrate his appearance, people who prayfor Arogyam or health, perform Dhanvantri Pujawith a vandana. 108 medicinal herbs are offeredin the prayer. Some unique ingredients are alsocontributed to the Lord of Ayurveda. Theseinclude: Shevanti (White Chrysanthemum),Vakula (Spanish Cherry Flower), Champaka(Plumeria/Frangipani/ Magnolia), Lotus, Punnaga(Tamanu or Sultan Champa), Malti (Mogra orJasmine buds), Kanera (Yellow Oleander), Coral(Munga), Tulsi Leaves, Jasmine Leaves andTabulam (Betel Leaf),” she shares. Every year,Dhanvantari Trayodashi is also celebrated as“National Ayurveda Day”.

���� �����������������The 14th day of Kartik month or chhoti

Diwali is also known as Narak Chaturdashi, KaliChaudas and Bhoot Chaturdashi (India’s ownHalloween)

According to a legend, Lord Krishna killedthe demon Narkasur with his Sudarshan Chakraon this day. As a ritual, symbolical killing ofNarkasur, a ‘Kareet’ (an extremely bitter greenberry also called Narkasur) is crushed under the

foot by each member of the family. Its bitter juiceis then consumed. Symbolism aside, this ritual hasgreat health benefits as the Tikta Rasa (bittertaste) of the berry is known to pacify Pitta, whichis on a high during this season.

“Several rituals that are performed during thisseason address the balancing of doshas in thebody by keeping the Pitta down,” says DrChatterjee. For instance the celebration of autum-nal harvests in south and west in India is markedby preparing of special delicacies with sesameseeds, fresh jaggery, Poha along with ghrita andsugar and the pujan is generally performed withfragrant oils, flowers and sandalwood paste. Manyof the ingredients uses, and especially theSandalwood tika, on the forehead is meant to coolyour Pitta, she explains.

Similarly, ritual of Anjanam or Kajal is popu-lar during this day to ward off evil spirits. Aunique herb called Daruhaldi is boiled with goat’smilk to create Rasanjanam. It is then applied asKajal with a silver stick to prevent inflammatoryeye conditions, which are on th rise due to Pittaduring this season, she adds.

Equally interesting is the celebration of BhootChaturdashi in Bengal. This day is believed to

open the veiled world of darkness to theearth. It is said the ghosts roam freely

on this night and 14 forefathers(Choddo Purush) visit your house.To guide their journey homewards,14 diyas are lighted and placed inevery dark corner of the house.

A special delicacy is known asChoddo Saag (A green leafy veg-

etable preparation is made with 14edible leaves including the bitter ones

like Shiuli leaves and all Cucurbitaceaefamily leaves). The Ayurvedic benefits lie again inthe Tikta Rasa of the saag, that helps cleanse anddetoxify the system and prepares the gut for theonset of winters.

���������� ���������������Puranas list the legend of Goddess Rati as the

most unusual one that goes with the celebrationof Diwali. Goddess Rati, the consort of Kamadevawas an ordinary woman. It is believed thatGoddess Lakshmi’s Soundarya avatar orSoundarya Lakshmi first gave her the 16 adorn-ments of beautification or Solah Shringar, makingher the most celebrated beauty across the uni-verse. These 16 embellishments were — Bindi,Sindoor or Vermillion, Maang Tika, Kajal, Nath,Haar, Karn Phool, Mehendi, Bangles,Bajuband, Arsi or Haathphool,Keshapasharachana or hairaccessory, Kamarbandh, Payaland Bichuas, Ittar and theBridal Attire.

Hence, on the evening ofDiwali, women of the house weartheir gold ornaments and alsocomplete the Solah Shringar to seek

the blessings of GoddessSoundarya Lakshmi. Kajal isprepared with Camphor andAlmond Oil Diya and thenapplied after midnight to all thefamily members.

“Shringar — the art of beauty andadornment — is an intrinsic part of Indian festi-vals. To celebrate is to adorn. And come Diwaliwe adorn not only our homes but ourselves.Clothes and jewellery are as much a part of thecelebration of Diwali as are diyas. At Paro, we cel-ebrate all our traditions — of knowledge, ofShringar and Saukhya in all that we do and offer.For example, with our jewellery we have lookedtowards our traditional practices and sense of aes-thetics for inspirations and recreated pieces likeperfume pendants and lockets, hair adornmentsand bejewelled buttons,” says Simran Lal, Co-founder Paro, a beautiful concept space that pro-motes ancient Indian traditions and knowledge.

Paro recently hosted ‘Rituals of Shringar’, aworkshop by Dr Alka Pande, where Dr Pandetook the participants through the significance andmeaning of Solah Shringar, the traditional 16adornments. “According to the principles of SolahShringar, each part of the female body should bedecorated, since the overall image of beauty canbe created only in totality. Solah Shringar, inHindu philosophy, corresponded with the sixteenphases of the life of the moon, which in turn wasconnected with a woman’s menstrual cycle,” sheshared in the workshop.

Beauty through shringar, or adornment, shepointed out, operates at more than one level. “InIndian literature the 16 traditional adornments ofa woman do not merely enhance her beauty, theyare also an arpana (offering) for her beloved. Thisis an important part of the shringar rasa,” she said.Every piece of jewellery speaks a metaphoricallanguage, communicating through its symbolismdifferent meanings that travel between the wearerand the viewer. Jewellery and ornaments were ini-tially born out of a cultural ethos where shringartakes centre stage and where each part of the bodyis associated with layered meanings. The orna-ments express multiple narratives of desire, beau-ty, femininity, and sensuality, she shared.

Taking shringar to another level is some beau-ty pampering. Nature care expert, Suparna Trikha,suggests a great recipe making use of the dryfruits of the season. “The onset of winter causesdryness of the skin. You want to glow but cannotspend hours beautifying yourself,” she says as shehands out the recipe of a skin ubtan made with

dry fruits that would bring you an instant glow. “Take one handful almonds, half a hand-

ful of walnuts and grind in mixer. Add to itthree tsp of oatmeal. If you have chironjee,add 2 tsp to the mix. Mix well. Throw insome rose petals and milk. Apply thispack to your face and body. Leave it for

about 5-7 minutes and scrub off gently. Notonly would the ubtan exfoliate the skin, you

wouldalso get

to benefitfrom the nat-

ural oils of thedry fruits that are

so rich in Vitamin E,”she shares.

����������������Though diyas be customary,

choose lights that would continue tolight up your home the year around.

Prateek Jain and Gautam Seth of Klove saythe lighting of a home should be an extension ofyour character. “Good lighting can always changethe appearance of a room. The biggest factor toconsider while deciding the lighting is to accessthe purpose of the room,” they say, adding, “Andevery time we think of light (design), we firstthink of its functionality, and what form we wouldlike to represent it in. That is how lights are meantto be.” Some of their products are so beautiful thatthey pass off as work of art!

Flowers are the other essentials. A home thatis fragrant with flowers is always the most beauti-ful and happy. “Use seasonal and local flowers tobring cheer to the space,” says Jhelum BiswasBose, author and Bach Flower remedies practi-tioner. “Bring in the fragrance of Parijat or Shiulithat is in bloom this season, desi gulab, marigold,or even tuberoses. You will instantly feel the dif-ference,” she points out. To infuse some positivityin the space, she suggests, you mix water withback flower remedies and mop the house. Add acitrusy fragrance such as lemon, orange or Holybasil or even Neroli for cleansing effect.

No celebration is complete without mithai.For all those who don’t want the regular mithai,adding contemporary twist to the traditionalflavours is Nihira, a bespoke mithai brand.“Sweets are a consequential part of the Indian cul-ture and hold a significant meaning in our societyfor every occasion. Nihira brings to the markettraditional Indian sweets with a contemporarytwist, making it different from other sweet brandson the market,” says Subha Aggarwal, co-founderof Nihira.

So instead of your regular mithai, what youhave is a variety of delicious Indian sweets withaesthetic edge and cultural shapes. SpiritedLaddoos; Cheesecake, Bubblegum, Oreo andBlueberry Barfi, as well as a variety of savourysnacks such as Peri-Peri Namkeen Paare andSnickerdoodles Meethe pare, the selection is veryunusual here.

Whatever way you choose to celebrate the fes-tival, the most important thing to keep in mind isthat a happy space warms the heart. May you allhave a very happy and festive Diwali.

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As we celebrate Deepavali/Diwali, greetings and bestwishes pour in as people exchange social pleasantries.However, there is a subtle but noticeable change in

the way people do it now. The traditional expression wasto wish a happy and prosperous Diwali. Slowly, there hasbeen a change. A new kind of expression is now in vogue.More people are wishing a safe and peaceful Diwali to oneanother. Is this a mere change in style? Or do we read a deep-er concern which is bothering the unconscious that is beingmanifested? Difficult to judge at this stage but one thing iscertain, the gaiety and fervour of Diwali is not of the samedegree as it used to be. A kind of despondency is taking overthe spontaneity of the festive mood as concerns grow aboutshape of things that exist and that are expected. A ratherparadoxical state. Human productivity, potential and abil-ity is rising. Millionaires joining billionaires’ club are alsorising. GDP, growth rate, per capita income and other suchindices that project economic well-being and developmentare also consistently rising. But amid all these hearteningpieces of statistical data, there has been a rise in the discon-tentment level of humanity at large. And this is not just anassumption. The news of disharmony in the society, the sto-ries of discord, growing violence, rise in aggressive behav-iour, increasing number of youth in self-destruction mode,higher suicide rates all portray a different picture. There isa need to think why hate crimes are becoming societal trendthese days. Despite a growing tribe of economists, miseryand want continue to bother humanity globally and local-ly. There was a Nobel Prize with Indian connection for sci-entific research and experimentation on poverty alleviation.A little over two decades ago, there was another one. Andway back in early seventies, there was one more. However,the attempts in tackling misery and poverty still do not seemto be making much headway. For a country that has beenreligiously worshipping Laxmi, the Goddess of wealth forages, this must raise a concern and an answer must be foundout. Maybe, there is something wrong with the model wehave been relying on to alleviate poverty and it needs to beredesigned. Perhaps, because solutions that are not work-ing will not work. Econometric models rely excessively onmathematics but poverty is more a problem of sociology.One weakness in our over mathematicised solutions to socio-psychological issues is the excessive reliance on the unitarymethod based models. In our school days, we were taughtthat if 10 people can do work in 20 days, 20 people can doit in 10 days. But the question is will they do it? This gapbetween ‘can’ and ‘will’ has to be filled. And it calls for achange in approach. As we become more and more “me”centric the problems of the society are growing. There is timeto change from “me centric” to “we centric” approach. Fromtrickle down to share across models of development. Ofcourse, such models will involve more of psychology thaneconomics. And yes, worshipping Saraswati along withLaxmi will make more sense. But that can be a prescrip-tion for happy Diwali.

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Why do our New Year’s resolu-tions fail? Because bringingabout a change in one’s own

nature is extremely difficult, eventhough we realise that to do so is high-ly beneficial. Why else would so manymake New Year’s resolutions! Others donot have to necessarily point out ourglaring flaws; we are generally aware ofthem. Because we as a whole, resist suchchanges. Beginning with our self-iden-tification, we have got so used to ournatures that there is no deep desire tochange. And to be able to effect anymajor change in our natures, there mustbe a burning desire. Then, there is iner-tia, which has a lot of motive force.

All our faculties oppose such achange beginning with our bodies. Forexample, it is sensible to be very active,especially when it relates to taking careof oneself, but we turn to others for help.What will explain not getting up to geta glass of water? Our senses are not lessculpable. For example, we should rou-tinely eat foods, which are wholesomeand nutritious. Some indulgence, some-times, maybe acceptable, but do we fol-low this golden rule? Our mind is nofriends; it is full of thoughts for senseenjoyments, which are harmful to saythe least. Our intelligence instead of dis-ciplining our minds and senses findssome crazy justification. Ego is also ahindrance. One feels that one will beable to manage; one is special. Lastly, ourconsciousness, which is heavily pollut-ed materially and doesn’t really help; weneed higher consciousness to be able todo that. In short, one is generally heav-ily attached to one’s nature.

The challenge is big, very big but isnot impossible to overcome. We needto search our hearts and make a list ofwhat all in our natures require changes.Believe me the list will be long if we are

honest with ourselves. Then, thesemust be prioritised. We should tackleone fault at a time. Attempting a com-plete change is totally impractical.Personally, I took up my habit to worryas the most pressing need. Then, weneed to write how it is hurting in all itsdetails to convince the self that we arebetter off working on it now not later.A deep desire must be there to motivatethe self to effect the necessary changes.In my case I had to take shelter of Godas there was no other way to tackle myproblem. This solution, that is help andguidance from God, works in everycase, but in some matters may not beso direct.

God, the omnipotent, is crucial forchange in nature. We, souls, are smalland quite helpless. God must be part ofthe solution, at least in the long-term.Atmabala, that is the strength of the soulcomes from God only. This is superi-or to physical, mental and emotional,strengths. Then, doing spiritual practiceshelp because they connect us with God.They help in the purification process –the real cure. Defective nature is a resultof impure existence. Even saintly per-

sons remain engaged in self-purificationwith their bodies, mind, intelligence andsenses. (The Gita 5.11) The idea is toenhance the proportion of goodness inthe self as compared to passion anddarkness. We must realise that the pre-ponderance of the lower modes are thecauses of our faulty natures.Detachment from material objects,especially sense ones helps a lot. Andwe must have lots of patience to gothrough the process. It is not easy; thisis like changing one’s personality.

That said, benefits of doing or beingable to do so are enormous. We effec-tively change our fates — the part whichmanifests in our natures. This is a realachievement in life. Not only is the qual-ity of this life greatly improved but thenext life is also positively influenced.Don’t we take our habits, consciousness,etc. to the next life! (15.8) Change ofnature is considered one of the great-est achievements of one’s life, more thanany material success, because it isenduring. Difficult it is, but is notimpossible if one is determined.)���������� ������ �������� ��� ������� ���

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Diwali, or “The festival oflights and sound”, is anoccasion when familieslight lamps, illuminatingthe night. It celebrates the

return of Lord Rama and his queen,Sita, to Ayodhya, the capital of hisancient kingdom. They had been inexile for 14 years. People celebrate bycleaning and redecorating their homes,and shopkeepers use it as the beginningof their fiscal year. It is also the startof India’s winter season.

Diwali and other festivals in differ-ent traditions often use the ritual oflighting candles and lamps. Lightingthese also has a spiritual meaning. Itillustrates the importance of lightingthe lamp within us, and celebrating thefestival of the light of the soul.

There is a beautiful verse by KabirSahib referring to the diya, or the lampslit on Diwali, which says:

Like the blind uselessly lighting adiya when they cannot even see, thesecret of our true self lies within ourhouse, yet we are seeking outside.

Kabir Sahib’s verse explains that wehave the Light or diya within us but weseek it outside. The soul has the sparkof God within but seeks fulfillment in

the outer realm. It is like a blind per-son who lights a diya or a lamp whenthey cannot even see the light. This for-getfulness of God causes the soul toseek only in the outer world for thathappiness and bliss already within.Hidden within each of us is a spark ofthe Divine.

The light and sound are the twoprimary manifestations of God. It issaid that when God desired to bringabout creation, a current emanatedfrom God. That current manifested aslight and sound. It was a divinestream that brought all creation intobeing. As it moved further from thesource, the vibratory rate changed.Thus, different regions of differentvibrations were brought into being.The light and sound principle ulti-mately brought the physical universeinto being.

Our physical universe is operatingat the densest vibratory rate. It is sodense that it manifests as matter. It isonly in the last few decades that scien-tists have begun to understand thatwhat we thought was solid matter isreally dancing packets of energy. At thecore of matter is an energy that is lightand sound. When we split an atom,

there is a tremendous burst of light andsound. This light and sound energywithin our physical universe is thedensest vibration of the current of lightand sound emanating from the Creator.It brought all creation into being andsustains all creation.

The light and sound current flowsout from God, but it also flows back toGod. We can catch this current at thepoint of the third or single eye. Thatis the connecting point between oursoul in the body and the light andsound current emanating from theCreator. If we focus hard on that point,we can contact the light and sound cur-rent and soar on it back through thehigher regions of existence. The cur-rent will ultimately lead us to our pri-mary source — the Lord.

One who has come in contact withthe light and sound can recognise thetrue meaning of references to it in thescriptures. Often, scriptures arecouched in allegorical and metaphor-ical language to avoid giving away thefull secret to the masses. Only thosewho were privy to the learning or oraltradition passed on from master to dis-ciple, knew the hidden meaning in thescriptural references. Once we under-

stand the language, the meaningbecomes clear and we are able to iden-tify the descriptions of the attributes ofthe creative force mentioned in eachscripture.

Meditation on the light and soundconsists of two practices: meditation onthe inner light and meditation on theinner sound. Both practices have astheir ultimate goal a conscious contactwith the current of light and sound,leading to the soul rising above phys-ical body-consciousness and travelingthe inner realms.

Both these forms of meditationhave been practiced by saints and mys-tics in different religions. Because theterminology used for the light andsound current differs in various lan-guages and cultures, we may think theyare different practices. But the under-lying practices used around the worldare basically the same.

The light and sound current is sub-tle. It cannot be perceived by our phys-ical eyes and ears. It is something thatwe see and hear with the eye of the soul.So when the Bible tells us that “by hear-ing, ye shall hear” it is saying that theWord is not heard with our physicalhearing mechanism, but with theattention of our soul. When we see theinner Light, it is neither registered onour retina nor conveyed along our opticnerve to the brain; rather, it is seen atthe level of the soul.

The mind is in continuous motion.The harder we try to keep the mindstill, the more thoughts it sends to us.The mind is like mercury; it is alwaysrestless and always moving. It can jumpfrom images and thoughts of NewYork, to Paris, to Delhi, and back again.Saints and mystics have grappled withthis problem throughout the ages.Many scriptures speak of occupying themind with a task to keep it busy: rep-etition of the Lord’s name. Repetitionkeeps the mind occupied so that ourattention can focus its gaze on the fieldof vision lying in front of us.

Through meditation, a whole newworld opens up for us. By learning,meditation, we can gain entry througha doorway that leads us to worlds ofbliss, light, and love within. If we canmeditate on the Inner Light andSound we will find that we can reachour goal. We begin our concentrationat the third eye because it is from therethat the soul leaves the body. Since thecurrent of Light and Sound flows fromGod, we can catch its celestial musicand like a stream follow it back to itssource.

Let us not only enjoy the outerlights of this Diwali festival. Let usspend time in meditation also so thatwe can experience the inner lights. Thatis the true celebration of Diwali, so wecan experience eternal Light and love.

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The Bhagawad Gita is a part of the epic,Mahabharata, which is a story ofprincely clans, running over many

generations. And, the 18 chapters of theBhagawad Gita, are all named as differentYogas. These are the 18 chapters of dialoguebetween Krishna and Arjun. Only if weunderstand the setting of the BhagawadGita, would we know the meaning of Yoga.Why is Yoga needed in the first place?Krishna delivers 18 chapters, one after theother, to Arjun. Starting from ‘Vishada Yoga’,to ‘Saankhya Yoga’ to ‘Karma Yoga’, to‘Karm Sanyasa’, ‘Gyana Yoga’.

���������������� ������Yoga is needed only when a man experi-

ences, contradictory forces. When a mindfeels that it is divided between various seg-ments of influence and the segments arecontradicting and competing with eachother; then that which brings peace and res-olution to the mind, is called Yoga.

Yoga, hence is the only thing relevant toanybody who is mired in strife, tension,indecision, attachment, grief, memories.And if, one’s position is not the same as thatof Arjun, then Yoga is irrelevant.

The setting of the Mahabharata is highlysymbolic. The battleground is not, really aphysical battleground. It is indicative of theworld itself. Our world is a battleground, inwhich we are positioned against those, withwhom we have relationships.

Arjun’s predicament is our own confu-sion. Through all the literal signs, we areshown the situation of our own life, and inthe character of Arjun, ourselves.

And then we are introduced to some-thing that Krishna calls Yoga. Yoga is whatKrishna offers to Arjun as freedom fromthat situation

����������������� �����And what kind of suffering is it with

Arjun? Is it physical suffering? Is Arjun try-ing to realise God and failing?

Well, Arjun is a stout warrior, physicallystrong. He is the best archer and no one canmatch him. There is nothing wrong with hisphysicality. So, Yoga is not being offered as atreatment to some ailment.

Yoga is the coming together of the vari-ous divided fragments of the mind. It is tohave an undivided mind, one that is notinfluenced. The only thing that causes divi-

sions in the mind, is the various forces ofconditioning that the mind has experienced.

Arjun has been taught that respectingelders and non-violence is a virtue. Arjun,has also been taught, that defending yourterritory is a virtue. Now, these two thingsclash with each other. If he must defend histerritory, then he must fight his elders.Arjun, has been taught that one must takecare of the interests of one’s kins and clan.But Arjun, has also been taught that onemust take good care of one’s wife. Now,these two are pitched against each other. Thekins have insulted the wife, now Arjun mustdefend and avenge the wife.

����������������������������Society, media, religion, in fact, the

entire gamut of experiences of the past,influence the mind. The biology inherentin one’s cells and tissues also influences themind. The country you come from, the sys-tem you have experienced, in terms of poli-tics, economy, even ecology is all what,constitutes the mind. The mind is the bun-dle of influences. And these influences, donot agree with each other. Hence, the con-tradiction, and strife that makes our life, abattlefield. That is human suffering. That isgrief.

Yoga is to have a composite mind — toreturn to one’s primal purity, in which themind is not conditioned, or stained at all.

Yoga is not about having a fit body. Orabout enlightenment, or other worldliness orfreedom from this world, or transcendentalexperiences, or divine sparkle. Yoga means,how do I live? What do I do with my rela-tives? How do I treat my wife? Yoga means,if I need to invest everything in a conflict,would I risk my son’s life?

These are the very questions that anArjun faces. Finding practical, real solutionsto real situations of the life is Yoga.

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Two centuries after its inven-tion, the stethoscope — the

very symbol of the medicalprofession — is facing anuncertain prognosis.

It is threatened by hand-held devices that are alsopressed against the chest butrely on ultrasound technology,Artificial Intelligence andsmartphone apps instead ofdoctors’ ears to help detectleaks, murmurs, abnormalrhythms and other problems inthe heart, lungs and elsewhere.Some of these instruments canyield images of the beatingheart or create electrocardio-gram graphs.

Dr Eric Topol, a world-renowned American cardiolo-gist, considers the stethoscopeobsolete, nothing more than apair of “rubber tubes”.

It “was OK for 200 years,”Topol said. But “we need to gobeyond that. We can do better.”

In a longstanding tradition,nearly every medical schoolpresents incoming studentswith a white coat and stetho-scope to launch their careers.It’s more than symbolic —stethoscope skills are stilltaught, and proficiency is

required for doctors to gettheir licences.

Over the last decade,though, the tech industry hasdownsized ultrasound scan-ners into devices resemblingTV remotes. It has also creat-ed digital stethoscopes thatcan be paired with smart-phones to create moving pic-tures and readouts.

Proponents say thesedevices are nearly as easy to useas stethoscopes and allow doc-tors to watch the body inmotion and actually see thingssuch as leaky valves. “There’sno reason you would listen tosounds when you can seeeverything,” Topol said.

At many medical schools,it’s the newer devices that real-ly get students’ hearts pumping.

“Wow! This is awesome,”Indiana University medicalstudents exclaimed in a recentclass as they learned how to usea hand-held ultrasound deviceon a classmate, watchingimages of his lub-dubbing hearton a tablet screen.

The Butterfly iQ device,made by Guilford,Connecticut-based ButterflyNetwork Inc, went on the mar-

ket last year. An update willinclude Artificial Intelligence tohelp users position the probeand interpret the images.

Students at theIndianapolis-based medicalschool learn stethoscope skillsbut also get training in hand-held ultrasound in a pro-gramme launched there lastyear by Dr Paul Wallach, anexecutive associate dean. Hecreated a similar programmefive years ago at the MedicalCollege of Georgia and predictsthat within the next decade,hand-held ultrasound deviceswill become part of the routinephysical exam, just like thereflex hammer.

The devices advance “ourability to take peek under theskin into the body,” he said. ButWallach added that, unlikesome of his colleagues, he isn’tready to declare the stetho-scope dead. He envisions thenext generation of physicianswearing “a stethoscope aroundthe neck and an ultrasound inthe pocket.”

Modern-day stethoscopesbear little resemblance to thefirst stethoscope, invented inthe early 1800s by Frenchman

Rene Laennec, but they workessentially the same way.

Laennec’s creation was ahollow tube of wood, almost a

foot long, that made it easier tohear heart and lung soundsthan pressing an ear against thechest. Rubber tubes, earpieces

and the often cold metal attach-ment that is placed against thechest came later, helping toamplify the sounds.

When the stethoscope ispressed against the body, soundwaves make the diaphragm —the flat metal disc part of thedevice — and the bell-shapedunderside vibrate. That chan-nels the sound waves upthrough the tubes to the ears.Conventional stethoscopes typ-ically cost under $200, com-pared with at least a few thou-sand dollars for some of thehigh-tech devices.

But picking up and inter-preting body sounds is subjec-tive and requires a sensitive ear— and a trained one.

With medical advancesand competing devices over thepast few decades, “the oldstethoscope is kind of falling onhard times in terms of rigoroustraining,” said Dr JamesThomas, a cardiologist atNorthwestern Medicine inChicago. “Some recent studieshave shown that graduates ininternal medicine and emer-gency medicine may miss asmany of half of murmurs usinga stethoscope.”

Northwestern is involvedin testing new technology cre-ated by Eko, a Berkeley,California-based maker of

smart stethoscopes. To improvedetection of heart murmurs,Eko is developing artificialintelligence algorithms for itsdevices, using recordings ofthousands of heartbeats. Thedevices produce a screen mes-sage telling the doctor whetherthe heart sounds are normal orif murmurs are present.

Dennis Callinan, a retiredChicago city employee withheart disease, is among thestudy participants. At age 70, hehas had plenty of stethoscopeexams but said he feels no nos-talgia for the devices.

“If they can get a betterreading using the new tech-nology, great,” Callinan said.

Chicago pediatrician DrDave Drelicharz has been inpractice for just over a decadeand knows the allure of newerdevices. But until the pricecomes down, the old stalwart“is still your best tool,”Drelicharz said. Once you learnto use the stethoscope, he said,it “becomes second nature.”

“During my work hours inmy office, if I don’t have itaround my shoulders,” he said,“it’s as though I was feelingalmost naked.” AP

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Irrespective of your geo-graphical location and pur-

suit of specialisation, there issimply no way to escape an aca-demic environment obsessedand fascinated with the conceptof intelligence.

How you are treated rightthrough your academic jour-ney is more or less shaped byyour ability to showcase yourentire intellectual prowess — tomeet the expectations of insti-tutional gatekeepers. And thecredit for bringing a test ofintelligence in the form of IQtests within the four walls ofacademic institutions goes toAlfred Binet.

In 1904, Binet developedIQ tests that were quicklyadopted as a standard measureof intelligence. Although, it’schanged over the years; eventoday, the underlying logicremains more or less the same.

In psychology, the study ofintelligence is about how torank individuals according tosome cognitive ability, where-as, Binet was trying to identi-fy struggling students so thatthey could receive supplemen-tal instruction.

Ironically, headhunters,human resources departments,and Ivy League admissionoffices conveniently started touse a different variation ofthese tests to pick off the topfew on the cherished spectrumof intelligence. And the major-ity (including me) who don’tmake it to the top percentile aretold to live a permanent life ofmediocrity.

This notion of intelligencehas fostered a deep confusion.We can see this confusion inhow we think about successfulcompanies. We don’t hesitate toattribute the success of a uni-corn company to the brillianceof individual intelligence. As aresult, Steve jobs and MarkZuckerberg often find them-selves credited for the completesuccess of their respective com-panies.

But who knows it betterthan venture capitalists thatquality ideas based on indi-vidual intelligence rarely getstranslated into the long-termsuccess story. The success storyof a company is often writtenby the quality of the team andnot only by the quality of theiridea.

A good team can make acompany successful because itcan discover a good idea bylearning how a market worksand then doing all the neces-sary iterations to bridge the gapbetween market demand andtheir idea. A good team does-n’t hesitate while dividing anddistributing their resources in

a way that takes advantage ofindividual skills.

We often forget that IQtests are just an indicative mea-sure of our ability to think log-ically about straightforwardproblems. No doubt that it’s anessential part of intelligence;however, IQ tests don’t measurecreativity because creativityisn’t direct. Creativity is aboutconsidering multiple approach-es to a complex problem, with-out dismissing any of them tooquickly.

Creativity is also aboutdeveloping new and usefulideas. It merely appears to bea particular class of problem-solving activity characterisedby novelty, unconventionality,persistence, and difficulty inthe problem formulation.

Many researchers havetried to develop methods forpredicting a child’s creativity.Lewis Terman, cognitive psy-chologist, born in the nine-teenth century, was an eugeni-cist who believed the humanrace could be improved withselective breeding, a classifierof individuals according totheir abilities as he perceivedthem.

In 1921, Terman began anextensive long-term study in anattempt to prove that having ahigh IQ score correlates withcreative genius. He failed.

Terman tested 1,68,000children with an IQ test andonly used those who scoredabove 135 for his study. Thisgroup of children, whom hecalled “termites,” had an aver-age IQ score of 151, which isvery high.

Terman found that thetermites weren’t only smarter(in having larger vocabulariesand more powerful memories,for instance); they were alsohealthier, taller, and moresocially adept than their peers.

Thirty-five years later,Terman summarised thegroup’s accomplishments: 2,000scientific papers, 60 books,over 230 patents, 33 novels, and375 short stories, among otherthings. The termites wereexceptionally bright, but noneof them turned out to be cre-ative geniuses, meaning noneof them created or contributedto something that revolu-tionised their field, and none ofthem won a major prize.However, two kids who wereexcluded from Terman’s studybecause of their lower IQ scoresgrew up to win the NobelPrize in physics.

Traditional vs MeaningfulEducation

Education is supposed tobe beneficial and meaningfulfor the tribe, commonly known

as students. However, moststudents around the worldwould agree that standardschooling methods are in direneed of change.

The traditional method ofimparting education relies tooheavily on the accumulation ofpieces of information, wherethere is excessive emphasis onthe overall ability of students to recall facts andinformation.

We often forget people areprimarily designed for action,not for listening to lectures, notfor manipulating symbols, andnot for memorising facts.Educators have known this atleast since the philosopher ofeducation John Dewey advisedin 1938: “There should be briefintervals of time for quietreflection provided for even theyoung. But they are periods ofgenuine reflection only whenthey follow after times of moreovert action and are used toorganise what has been gainedin periods of activity in whichthe hands and other parts ofthe body besides the brain areused.”

There is a widespread mis-taken belief that the purpose ofeducation should be to givepeople the knowledge and skillsto be independent thinkers.

The idea that educationshould increase intellectual

independence is a very narrowview of learning. It ignores thefact that knowledge dependson others.

For instance, to fix cars, amechanic needs to know whocan provide parts and who candeliver them, how to find outwhich cars have been recalled,and how to learn about the lat-est design innovations. Carsthese days depend on technol-ogy that comes from all aroundthe world. A decent carmechanic will have access toknowledge distributedthroughout the community ofexpertise within the automobileindustry.

Learning, therefore, isn’tjust about developing newknowledge and skills. It’s alsoabout learning to collaboratewith others, recognising whatknowledge we have to offer andwhat gaps we must rely on oth-ers to help us fill.

As individuals, there’s toomuch to know. Therefore, itbecomes far more critical for usto learn how to make use ofothers’ knowledge and skills.

In a community of knowl-edge, an individual is like a sin-gle piece in a jigsaw puzzle.Understanding where you fitrequires understanding notonly what you know but alsowhat others know that youdon’t. Learning your place in a

community of knowledgerequires becoming aware of allthe knowledge that lies outsideof yourself.

It’s futile to try to teacheverything to everyone.Instead, we should play toindividuals’ strengths, allowingpeople to blossom in the rolesthat they’re best at playing.

We should also value skillsthat enable people to workwell with others, skills likeempathy, and the ability to lis-ten. This also means teachingcritical thinking skills, notfocusing just on facts, to facil-itate communication and aninterchange of ideas. This is thevalue of a liberal education, asopposed to learning what youneed to get a job.

Collective IntelligenceInstead of regarding intel-

ligence as a personal attribute,it can be understood as howmuch an individual contributesto the community. If thinkingis a social entity that takes placein a group and involves teams,then intelligence resides in theteam (i.e., collective intelli-gence) and not just in individ-uals.

The best way to assessintelligence is by determininghow much an individual con-tributes to a group’s success.

An individual contributes

to a team, and it is the team thatmatters because it is the teamthat gets things done. An indi-vidual’s intelligence reflectshow critical that individual isto the team.

If we start thinking thisway, intelligence is no longer aperson’s ability to reason andsolve problems; it’s how muchthe person contributes to agroup’s reasoning and problem-solving process.

This will involve more thanindividual information-pro-cessing capacities like greatmemories and faster decisionmaking. It will include theability to understand the per-spective of others, to take turnseffectively, to understand emo-tional responses, and to listen.

Intelligence becomes amuch broader entity whenconceived of in terms of thecommunity of knowledge.People can contribute to acommunity in a variety of dif-ferent ways: not only throughcreative insight but alsothrough the willingness to dodrudgery for extended periods,by being great orators and bybeing great navigators.

Closing ThoughtsTherefore the upshot is

that an effective group doesn’tneed a lot of people with highIQ scores, it requires a balanceof people with different skills.

Whatever be the task athand — hunting for food,building a home, or navigatinga ship — it is going to have dif-ferent components that requiredifferent skills.

The performance will bebest whenever you have a teamthat has the full spectrum ofskills at its disposal. Thoseskills are more likely to be avail-able if people are workingtogether. A team with comple-mentary skills is most likely tosatisfy all the demands made bythe division of cognitive labor.

Because we mostly work ingroups, what we care about themost is the group’s ability toaccomplish tasks. Whether weare talking about teams of doc-tors, engineers, researchers, ordesigners, it is the group thatcreates the final product, notany one individual. And it isthe final product that counts.So what we need is a measureof group performance, not ameasure of individual intelli-gence. And this should make uscurious enough to have a re-look at educational reform tomatch the new understandingof intelligence.

(The writer is an IRS offi-cer. Views expressed are per-sonal.)

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At the outset, I wish the valuedreaders a very happy Deepavaliand a prosperous life during the

year ahead. As the legend runs, Lord ShriRam scored victory over demon kingRavana on 10th lunar day of AshwinShuklapaksha, now termed as VijayaDashmi, and freed Sita from latter’s cap-tivity. He returned to Ayodhya on KartikaKrishnapaksha Amavasya. People ofAyodhya decorated the whole city withearthen lamps to greet Lord Shri Ramand his party. A new phase began in ShriRam’s life as the king of Ayodhya, leavingthe past behind. One may question his-torical authenticity of the legend, buttheir educative import can’t be ignored.

Ancient India’s seers had realised thatlife doesn’t have an easy go, as it is full ofchallenges. We need to take charge ofourselves and intelligently combat them.As the story line runs, Shri Ram foughtRavana with the help of monkey clan. Itis interesting to note here that humanmind habitually flirting with innumerablethoughts playing from within, is compa-rable to a wild monkey randomly hop-ping from one branch of a tree to theother. Lacking focus, thus, mind fails tocome out with its wholesome powers.

That calls for reining in the monkey-mind and focus it towards the desireddestination to ensure success.

The seers also realised that humans,applying their innovative mind, can com-bat all odds coming their way, as theyillumine the darkest night of the year byearthen lamps. Remember, on Deepavaliday, the solar intensity available in Indiais at its lowest ebb, as the Sun, the primeilluminator, traversing the Southernhemisphere reaches the Western horizon.Whereas, India is located towards Easternhorizon in the Northern hemisphere.Being Amavasya, it fully engulfs theMoon as well, which is supposed to lightup the night sky. This incidentally ismarked with the beginning of a new pro-ductive cycle of agricultural produce. Themind, however, would be at its creativebest only when it is freed of all its habittendencies and clutters. Following which,full landscape of mind becomes accessi-ble, which would know no limits.

It also dawned upon the seers that inthis ever-changing living world, thedynamics of every emerging moment,and thereby its callings, is at variancewith the past. The future is yet to emerge,and therefore uncertain. So, seen in prac-

tical terms, every moment is a new begin-ning. The seed that you plant thismoment and sincerely nurture it, is whateventually grows into a full-fledged fruitbearing tree. The paradox, however, isthat invariably stuck to their past beliefsand perceptions, people resist change, asthey are unsure about new happenings.But at the same time keep speculating onfuture prospects. In the process, the call-ings of the present moment, over whichfuture takes off gets compromised, andwith obvious consequences. And whenwe are left behind in the run of time, weprefer shifting the blame on destiny.

In order to be reminded about theessentials of life at regular periodic inter-val, vital to a healthy living and optimisa-tion of our productive abilities, ourlearned masters introduced these festivi-ties. Purposely, so as to be well geared upto take on the callings of emerging timesin all strength with ease. Much beforeDeepavali, the believers begin cleaningand sprucing up their houses, worksta-tions, and the adjoining areas. Theemphasis is on sanitation to ensure ahealthy living environment and a positivework atmosphere. Mark the timing. Aswinter sets in, due to low solar intensity,the atmosphere becomes susceptible toincreased bacterial growth, thus, making

us vulnerable to quick infection.During Deepavali, our primary focus

is on Mother Goddess Laxmi, the god-dess personified with sampada (wealth),which encompasses physical prowess,productive abilities, as well as worldlywisdom. Having already worked uponphysical prowess during the Navratra,this time, we begin the prayer regimewith worship of vighna vinashaka (theremover of obstacles) Ganapati. For, He isthe god personified with worldly wisdom,which alone could lead us to intelligentlynegotiate the challenges coming our wayand do justice to fresh opportunitiesavailable. Having thus geared up ourinternal resources, we earnestly offer ourprayers to Laxmi, seeking thy boon. It isnot important whether a Goddess existsin the higher realms who would be selec-tively granting boons in response to ourprayer. It goes without saying that if youare well geared up from within, andheartily put in your whole towards thedesired destination, success becomesmore probable.

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