16
M adhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has a daunting task to accomplish this year, and that is to steer the BJP to its fourth consecutive electoral victory in the State. Speaking to The Pioneer, Shivraj appeared unfazed by the “mood of the nation survey’ conducted by a TV channel and claimed that the BJP will win the Assembly elections sched- uled for the later part of the year with two-third majority. “I can- not comment on any survey. But people will vote to form a BJP Government. If there is anti-incumbency against any- one (MLA), party will take a decision,” he said. “Our Government has per- formed to the optimum level and has tried to reach out to every section of the society especially the tribals and the under-privileged sections. Mood of Madhya Pradesh is to give a huge mandate to the BJP. There is no swing as such in favour of the Congress,” the MP CM said. Shivraj became the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh in November 2005 by replacing Babulal Gaur. Under his stew- ardship, the BJP managed to win 165 out of total 230 seats in the last Assembly elections in 2013. When asked about the farmers’ unrest in Mandsaur and agrarian crisis in the State, the Chief Minister denied that there was any such crisis. “We are faced with the problem of plenty as the hard-working farmers have produced a bumper Rabi crop. We are directly buying wheat from farmers and paying them high- est Maximum Support Price (MSP) of 2,000 per quintal. If there are issues, we will address them,” the CM said. “Farmers faced problems due to crash in prices of crops that led to the Mandsaur inci- dent but it was not a farmer cri- sis entirely as some political and non-political elements were involved,” the Chief Minister said. Continued on Page 4 A day before the Kairana Lok Sabha bypoll in Western Uttar Pradesh, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday inaugurated the phase I of the Delhi-Meerut Expressway and the ambitious Eastern Peripheral Expressway (EPE). Modi delivered a 45- minute speech in Baghpat, in the neigbourhood of Kairana, after conducting a roadshow on the Delhi part of the Meerut Expressway. The PM took the opportu- nity to talk about the develop- mental projects of the NDA Government against the back- drop of celebrations of his four years in office. He said the Government is sensitive to the plight of sugarcane farmers and adequate steps are being taken to provide them better prices of their yields. In a high voltage bypoll in the sugarcane belt of Kairana, BJP’s Mriganka Singh is pitted against RLD’s Tabassum Hassan supported by all other parties like SP, BSP and Congress. The seat fell vacant after the death of Mriganka’s father and BJP MP Hukum Deo Singh. Modi said his Government has constructed 28,000 km of national highways in the last four years at a pace of 27 km per day while the Congress-led Government had constructed only 12km of NH a day. Praising Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, Modi said criminals of both these States are now surrendering due to efforts taken by the State Governments. Taking a jibe at the Congress, the PM said the Opposition is spreading rumours about farmer issues and advised people not to pay heed to lies. Besides Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari, UP CM and Harayna CM, Union Ministers Mahesh Sharma, VK Singh, Mansukh Mandaviya, Dr Satyapal Singh and Lok Sabha member from Sonipat Ramesh Kaushik were present on the occasion. Modi began his day with a roadshow from the Nizamuddin Bridge till Kundli in UP waving at crowds gath- ered on either sides of the National Highway-24/9. Gadkari accompanied him in a separate car following the PM’s vehicle. The Delhi-Meerut Highway is built at a cost of 841 crore and is equipped with vertical gardens. After completion of the entire expressway, the time to travel from Delhi to Meerut will reduce to 45 minutes from the present about 2.5 hours. The expressway was constructed in a record 30 months at a cost of nearly 11,000 crore to decongest the national Capital. The 135-km six-lane access-controlled Eastern Peripheral Expressway envis- ages signal-free connectivity between Sonipat, Baghpat, Ghaziabad, Gautam Budh Nagar (Greater Noida), Faridabad and Palwal without the need to pass through Delhi, thus helping decongest the national Capital. Continued on Page 4 I n a first of its kind exercise in the country, the Indian Railways has undertaken a “clean train competition” involving about 400 trains to start with. These also include premium trains like Rajdhani and Shatabdi expresses. The result of the ongoing exercise to evaluate the cleanest train will be out next month. A similar survey was con- ducted on railway stations all over the country in 2016 as part of the Government’s Swachchh Bharat Abhiyan. A senior railway officer said a total of 475 rakes of these 210 trains are to be audited out of which 386 rakes have already been surveyed by a third party auditor engaged by IRCTC. Indian Railways network has about 12,500 trains and about 7,000 railway stations carrying about 2.5 crore passengers every day. “Such independent survey on cleanliness of important trains will be carried out every year and is expected to bring a sense of pride and competition among the zonal railways and maintenance depots. The sur- vey of trains is expected to be completed in a couple of months which would be great thing in passenger comfort,” the official said. The assessment parameters will include checking on-board facilities — condition of toilets, equipment, tools, manpower, vestibules, doorways, dustbin, linen, pest management, water- ing, waste management, on- board housekeeping staff. Each category has points assigned to it with the highest priority given to the condition of toilets. The checking starts right before the trains start their journey till the arrival at the destination station. The survey will be con- ducted both based on passen- ger feedback and audit. This is the third such survey initiated by railways to maintain cleanliness in the railway network. Continued on Page 4 I ndia on Sunday summoned Pakistan deputy envoy to lodge a strong protest over Islamabad’s Gilgit-Baltistan order which will alter the sta- tus of the region that so far had special status. “The Deputy High Commissioner of Pakistan to India was summoned today and a strong protest was made against Government of Pakistan’s so-called ‘Gilgit Baltistan Order 2018’. It was clearly conveyed that the entire State of Jammu & Kashmir which also includes the so- called ‘Gilgit-Baltistan’ area, is an integral part of India by virtue of its accession in 1947. Any action to alter the status of any part of the territory under forcible and illegal occupation of Pakistan has no legal basis whatsoever, and is completely unacceptable. Instead of seeking to alter the status of the occu- pied territories, Pakistan should immediately vacate all areas under its illegal occupation,” Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a statement. “It was further conveyed that such actions can neither hide the illegal occupation of part of the J&K by Pakistan nor the grave human rights viola- tions, exploitation and denial of freedom to the people residing in Pakistan occupied territories for the past seven decades. Continued on Page 4 A speeding car rammed into a Harley Davidson bike, throwing the biker into the Yamuna after dragging him for metres on the Delhi-Noida Direct (DND) flyover in the wee hours of Sunday. Senior police officers of the Southeast district said that they are try- ing to trace the biker’s body, while hunt for the errant car driver is on. More than 12 hours after the accident, the Delhi Police said that they have no clue about the occupants of the speeding Etios car or the man who was driving the Harley Davidson. Police officers, how- ever, said they suspect that it was Anshuman Puri, the reg- istered owner of the bike, who fell into the Yamuna river. But they were unable to fish out his body till the filing of this report. “Police teams have been tasked to search hospitals to trace the occupants of the car. After inspecting the accident spot, we believe that the occu- pants of the car must have sus- tained serious injuries. We are searching all hospitals to trace them,” an official involved in the investigation said. Continued on Page 4 INTERVIEW pioneer

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Page 1: $4 ) 0*AB: ˜ ( ˜() $˜ %&’ 43%˘ 4&’2 6 %=#% >> 23# % &˘4 2% ... speeding Etios car or the man who was driving the Harley Davidson. Police officers, how-ever, said they suspect

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Madhya Pradesh ChiefMinister Shivraj Singh

Chouhan has a daunting task toaccomplish this year, and thatis to steer the BJP to its fourthconsecutive electoral victory inthe State.

Speaking to The Pioneer,Shivraj appeared unfazed by the“mood of the nation survey’conducted by a TV channel andclaimed that the BJP will winthe Assembly elections sched-uled for the later part of the yearwith two-third majority. “I can-not comment on any survey.But people will vote to form aBJP Government. If there isanti-incumbency against any-one (MLA), party will take adecision,” he said.

“Our Government has per-formed to the optimum leveland has tried to reach out toevery section of the societyespecially the tribals and theunder-privileged sections.Mood of Madhya Pradesh is to

give a huge mandate to the BJP.There is no swing as such infavour of the Congress,” the MPCM said.

Shivraj became the Chief

Minister of Madhya Pradesh inNovember 2005 by replacingBabulal Gaur. Under his stew-ardship, the BJP managed towin 165 out of total 230 seats

in the lastAssembly elections in 2013.

When asked about thefarmers’ unrest in Mandsaurand agrarian crisis in the State,the Chief Minister denied thatthere was any such crisis. “Weare faced with the problem ofplenty as the hard-workingfarmers have produced abumper Rabi crop. We aredirectly buying wheat fromfarmers and paying them high-est Maximum Support Price(MSP) of �2,000 per quintal. Ifthere are issues, we will addressthem,” the CM said.

“Farmers faced problemsdue to crash in prices of cropsthat led to the Mandsaur inci-dent but it was not a farmer cri-sis entirely as some politicaland non-political elementswere involved,” the ChiefMinister said.

Continued on Page 4

���������������� 4�� �2�5�&62#&�

Aday before the KairanaLok Sabha bypoll in

Western Uttar Pradesh, PrimeMinister Narendra Modi onSunday inaugurated the phaseI of the Delhi-MeerutExpressway and the ambitiousEastern Peripheral Expressway(EPE).

Modi delivered a 45-minute speech in Baghpat, inthe neigbourhood of Kairana,after conducting a roadshow onthe Delhi part of the MeerutExpressway.

The PM took the opportu-nity to talk about the develop-mental projects of the NDAGovernment against the back-drop of celebrations of his fouryears in office. He said theGovernment is sensitive to theplight of sugarcane farmersand adequate steps are beingtaken to provide them betterprices of their yields.

In a high voltage bypoll inthe sugarcane belt of Kairana,BJP’s Mriganka Singh is pittedagainst RLD’s TabassumHassan supported by all otherparties like SP, BSP andCongress. The seat fell vacantafter the death of Mriganka’sfather and BJP MP HukumDeo Singh.

Modi said his Governmenthas constructed 28,000 km ofnational highways in the lastfour years at a pace of 27 kmper day while the Congress-ledGovernment had constructedonly 12km of NH a day.

Praising Uttar PradeshChief Minister Yogi Adityanathand Haryana Chief MinisterManohar Lal Khattar, Modisaid criminals of both these

States are now surrenderingdue to efforts taken by the StateGovernments.

Taking a jibe at theCongress, the PM said theOpposition is spreadingrumours about farmer issuesand advised people not to payheed to lies.

Besides Road Transportand Highways Minister NitinGadkari, UP CM and HaraynaCM, Union Ministers MaheshSharma, VK Singh, MansukhMandaviya, Dr Satyapal Singhand Lok Sabha member fromSonipat Ramesh Kaushik werepresent on the occasion.

Modi began his day with aroadshow from theNizamuddin Bridge till Kundliin UP waving at crowds gath-

ered on either sides of theNational Highway-24/9.Gadkari accompanied him in a separate car following thePM’s vehicle.

The Delhi-MeerutHighway is built at a cost of�841 crore and is equippedwith vertical gardens. Aftercompletion of the entireexpressway, the time to travelfrom Delhi to Meerut willreduce to 45 minutes from thepresent about 2.5 hours. Theexpressway was constructedin a record 30 months at a costof nearly �11,000 crore todecongest the national Capital.

The 135-km six-laneaccess-controlled EasternPeripheral Expressway envis-ages signal-free connectivity

between Sonipat, Baghpat,Ghaziabad, Gautam BudhNagar (Greater Noida),Faridabad and Palwal withoutthe need to pass through Delhi,thus helping decongest thenational Capital.

Continued on Page 4

���� � 4�� �2�

In a first of its kind exercisein the country, the Indian

Railways has undertaken a“clean train competition”involving about 400 trains tostart with. These also includepremium trains like Rajdhaniand Shatabdi expresses. Theresult of the ongoing exercise toevaluate the cleanest train willbe out next month.

A similar survey was con-ducted on railway stations allover the country in 2016 as partof the Government’s SwachchhBharat Abhiyan.

A senior railway officersaid a total of 475 rakes of these210 trains are to be audited outof which 386 rakes have alreadybeen surveyed by a third partyauditor engaged by IRCTC.Indian Railways network hasabout 12,500 trains and about7,000 railway stations carryingabout 2.5 crore passengersevery day.

“Such independent surveyon cleanliness of importanttrains will be carried out every

year and is expected to bring asense of pride and competitionamong the zonal railways andmaintenance depots. The sur-vey of trains is expected to becompleted in a couple ofmonths which would be greatthing in passenger comfort,” theofficial said.

The assessment parameterswill include checking on-boardfacilities — condition of toilets,equipment, tools, manpower,vestibules, doorways, dustbin,linen, pest management, water-ing, waste management, on-

board housekeeping staff.Each category has points

assigned to it with the highestpriority given to the conditionof toilets. The checking startsright before the trains starttheir journey till the arrival atthe destination station.

The survey will be con-ducted both based on passen-ger feedback and audit. This is the third such surveyinitiated by railways to maintain cleanliness in therailway network.

Continued on Page 4

���� � 4�� �2�

India on Sunday summonedPakistan deputy envoy to

lodge a strong protest overIslamabad’s Gilgit-Baltistanorder which will alter the sta-tus of the region that so far hadspecial status.

“The Deputy HighCommissioner of Pakistan toIndia was summoned todayand a strong protest was madeagainst Government ofPakistan’s so-called ‘GilgitBaltistan Order 2018’. It wasclearly conveyed that the entireState of Jammu & Kashmirwhich also includes the so-called ‘Gilgit-Baltistan’ area, isan integral part of India byvirtue of its accession in 1947.

Any action to alter the status ofany part of the territory underforcible and illegal occupationof Pakistan has no legal basiswhatsoever, and is completelyunacceptable. Instead of seekingto alter the status of the occu-pied territories, Pakistan shouldimmediately vacate all areasunder its illegal occupation,”Ministry of External Affairs(MEA) said in a statement.

“It was further conveyedthat such actions can neitherhide the illegal occupation ofpart of the J&K by Pakistan northe grave human rights viola-tions, exploitation and denial offreedom to the people residingin Pakistan occupied territoriesfor the past seven decades.

Continued on Page 4���&&� ���� �� � 4�� �2�

Aspeeding car rammed intoa Harley Davidson bike,

throwing the biker into theYamuna after dragging him formetres on the Delhi-NoidaDirect (DND) flyover in thewee hours of Sunday. Seniorpolice officers of the Southeastdistrict said that they are try-ing to trace the biker’s body,while hunt for the errant cardriver is on.

More than 12 hours afterthe accident, the Delhi Policesaid that they have no clueabout the occupants of thespeeding Etios car or the manwho was driving the HarleyDavidson. Police officers, how-ever, said they suspect that itwas Anshuman Puri, the reg-istered owner of the bike, whofell into the Yamuna river. Butthey were unable to fish out hisbody till the filing of this

report.“Police teams have been

tasked to search hospitals totrace the occupants of the car.After inspecting the accidentspot, we believe that the occu-pants of the car must have sus-tained serious injuries. We aresearching all hospitals to tracethem,” an official involved inthe investigation said.

Continued on Page 4

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Page 2: $4 ) 0*AB: ˜ ( ˜() $˜ %&’ 43%˘ 4&’2 6 %=#% >> 23# % &˘4 2% ... speeding Etios car or the man who was driving the Harley Davidson. Police officers, how-ever, said they suspect

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���������� �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� ������������������������������������� ��������������������������������������� ��������������� �� ���������������������������������������������������������� ������������ ����� ��������������� ��������������������������������������������������� ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� �������� �!����������������"���������� ���������������������������� �������������������� ���� ��������������������������������� �����������������������������#��������������������������� ���� ����$����%����&�������������������������� ��������������� �����������������������'����������������������������������� ���������������"��������������������(�����������������������������

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Asix-year-old boy waspushed to death by his

father after he asked him to buymomos. Angry over his son'sdemand, he pushed him into acanal on Saturday night inJaitpur area of South East Delhi.The body of the minor boy wasfished out on Sunday.

The bone chilling incidenttook place in the presence ofseveral people who saw SanjayAlwi, a 31-year-old e-rickshawdriver, pushing his son, Ayaaninto the canal. The Delhi Policearrested Sanjay on Sundayafternoon and he is said to haveconfessed that he was drunk atthe time of the incident.

Chinmoy Biswal, DeputyCommissioner of Police (DCP)Southeast district said, "OnSaturday, we received a PCRcall at around 10:10pm regard-ing a man throwing his childinto a canal in the Jaitpurpolice station area. Our staffrushed to the spot and foundthat the man has thrown his snfrom Khadar puliya.”

The DCP said, "Onenquiry, it was found thatSanjay, a resident of Bhangarcolony, Madanpur Khadar, wasunder the influence of alcohol.He had come to Khadar puliyawith his son, Ayaan. He con-fessed that his son was cryingfor momos. In a fit of anger, he

threw his son into the canal. Itwas then that a few passersbysaw Sanjay and they caughthim."

Police said in the mean-time, local divers were arrangedby police. Fire brigade, rescueteam, disaster team were also

called in. Search operationswere carried for several hoursto rescue the boy.

A senior police officer said,"Sanjay told police that he dri-ves an e-rickshaw and liveswith his grandmother. He gotmarried to one Asma in 2004and has three children, Nargis(11), Armaan (10) and Ayaan(6). He revealed that due toconstant fights with his wife,she left him in 2013 and sincethen she has been living withher parents in Sonipat."

"The rescue operationswere started again on Sundaymorning. After hours ofsearching, body of the six yearold boy was recovered from thecanal," said the officer.

The DCP said, "We haveadded section 302 to the caseand arrested the man." A seniorpolice officer said due to hisdrinking habit, wife of Sanjayleft him.

*���+����,���-�-�.�����������������������+����

���� � 4�� �2�

The Delhi High Court hassought response of the

Delhi Metro Rail Corporation(DMRC) on a plea by the IITagainst coupling of its namewith that of coaching centre FIIT-JEE at the MetroStation near the engineeringinstitute.

Justice Rajiv Shakdher,before whom the matter cameup for hearing, has issuednotice to the DMRC and FIIT-JEE and sought their stands onIIT's plea that the 'co-branding'has misled people to thinkthat both have partneredtogether.

The Indian Institute ofTechnology (IIT) in its plea hassought directions to the Delhimetro to not use its name inconjunction with that of FIIT-JEE, claiming it is tarnishingthe image of the premier engi-neering institute.

The institute, in its plea, hassaid due to the coupling of thenames, it has been receiving queries and com-plaints from aspiring candi-dates, parents and even alum-ni, asking if FIIT-JEE was the'official' coaching partner forthose aspiring to gain entranceto IIT.

The Delhi metro has beensince 2014 auctioning namingrights of several of its stationsto generate revenue.

���? ���������6=%=6%&�

Haryana Chief Minister(CM) Manohar Lal

Khattar inaugurated multipleprojects on his visit toGurugram on Sunday.

The CM inaugurated HeroHonda Chowk underpass, IMTChowk flyover at Manesar,multi-level parking lot inSector-29, a two-storey girls’hostel in a Government collegein Sector-14, a water boostingstation of the MunicipalCorporation of Gurugram(MCG) at Sector-7 extension.He also laid a foundation stonefor the makeover Atul KatariaChowk.

The Hero Honda Chowk,on the Delhi-GurugramExpressway, is one of the mostcongested portions of theexpressway and had hit theheadlines in 2016 when trafficwas stuck for several hours onthe Expressway.

"The Hero Honda Chowkunderpass and IMT Chowk fly-over have been opened after atrial run was conducted by theauthorities to gauge the volumeof traffic. These two importanttraffic junctions are expected todecongest traffic on theNational Highway," an officialspokesperson for the Haryanagovernment said.

With the opening of theHero Honda Chowk under-pass, people coming from OldGurugram will be able to pro-ceed towards Subhash Chowk

and Sohna road. Similarly, peo-ple coming from Sohna roadwill be able to reach theIndustrial area at Sector 37 andHaryana Urban DevelopmentAuthority (HUDA) sectorswithout being stuck in thetraffic at the crossing.

The trial of two-wayunderpass was started on April30. People can now easily movetowards Sectors 9, 9A, 10, 10A,34, 37 Industrial area, Khandsaand Basai village. The trial attwo-way flyover at IMT Chowkstarted on May 9. This flyoverwill enable commuters toseamlessly move between Delhi

and Jaipur.The flyover and underpass

will benefit the residents of thesurrounding areas of the newlybuilt projects. More than 45,000to 50,000 vehicles are expectedto use the stretch daily.

The estimated cost of theHero Honda Chowk underpasswas 46 crore while the IMTChowk flyover cost was 20crore. Also, the new car park-ing complex has been built ata cost of Rs 150 crore.

Meanwhile, the city's firstmulti-level parking facility canaccommodate 1,000 cars and200 two-wheelers and will

charge Rs 50 for three hoursand thereafter Rs 10 an hour.The semi-automatic parkingfacility will be managed by pri-vate firm IIPL under the super-vision of Haryana UrbanDevelopment Authority(HUDA).

"The multi-level parkingfacility will help curb illegalparking on roads. The parkingfacility has been built at a rea-sonable price. The parking lotwill benefit many commutersby increasing the use of publictransport," said DrChandrasekhar Khare, HUDAadministrator.

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An IPS officer of WestBengal cadre has been

booked for rape by DelhiPolice following a complaint bya local woman. DhritimanSarkar, who is currently post-ed as Superintendent of Police(SP) in Purulia district, hasbeen accused of raping the vic-tim on the pretext of marriage.

According to sources, thewoman who is employed witha multinational company in thenational Capital, becamefriends with the officer in 2016,through social networking siteFacebook.

In her complaint, she hasclaimed that over a period oftime, their interactionsincreased over telephone and

personally, and they became“close friends”. She met the offi-cer in a popular hotel in Delhi,where she was served drinkslaced with drugs, and was then‘raped’ by Sarkar. Upon beingconfronted, the woman main-tained that he promised tomarry her shortly. The Delhiresident also alleged that the2014 batch officer continued to

be physically involved withher, repeatedly promising mar-riage, to the extent that theyfixed the ceremony to be heldin March this year.

The woman further saidbefore the solemnisation ofthe marriage, Sarkar blockedher on the social media. He alsostopped answering her callsand returning her texts. After

failing to get no response fromthe cop, she filed a complaintagainst Sarkar with theBarakhamba Police Station.The Delhi Police have bookedSarkar under Section 376 of theIPC.

Sources further revealedthat the Delhi Police that hasstarted investigation into thecharges will shortly inform itsWest Bengal counterpart aboutthe complaint. It is also likelyto apprise the Ministry ofHome Affairs (MHA) aboutthe complaint. Sources alsoshared that either a team ofDelhi Police officials will visitPurulia to question the officeror he will be summoned toDelhi. Delhi Police could not be reached for comments onthe matter.

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The National Green Tribunal(NGT) has slapped �25,000

as costs on the DelhiGovernment for failure to filea report on the action taken toprevent blockage of drains inthe city. A bench headed byActing NGT ChairpersonJustice Jawad Rahim directedthe AAP Government to file itsresponse within 10 days anddeposit the fine within a week.

The order came on a pleafiled by city-based RajokariYouth Welfare Society seekinga direction to the Delhi gov-ernment to take action toremove blockage of drains inthe national capital.

The green body saiddespite the petitioner high-lighting the immediate need forappropriate act to preventobstruction in drains therespondent Government ofNCT, Delhi, and the districtmagistrate concerned failed torespond. "We have forfeitedthe right to file objection," thebench said.

"Considering the factthat Government of NCT,

Delhi has to explain lot aboutthe state of affairs which com-pelled initiation of proceedingsin this case, we permit filing ofthe statement of Delhi govern-ment within a period of 10 dayssubject to payment of Rs.25,000 as costs. "Thecosts shall be paid within oneweek and only then they shallbe permitted to file the reply in

the registry," it said. The tribunal had earlier

directed the city governmentand the civic bodies to restoreexpeditiously all water bodiesand ensure that these remainclean and not become waste-dumping yards.

The green panel had saidthat water bodies surroundingcolonies should be maintainedand kept clean so that theybecome a source of naturalbeauty.

It had also approved a pro-posal put forward by the DelhiJal Board (DJB) to reviveRajokari water body in south-west Delhi and develop it in anaesthetic manner.

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Leader of Opposition (LOP)in Delhi Assembly ,Vijender

Gupta on Sunday launched anattack on the DelhiGovernment and accused theAAP dispensation of failingprovide electricity to the peo-ple of Delhi in the swelteringheat.

Gupta said mercury hasreached 47 degrees but powercrisis in Delhi is worsening dueto the negligence of the ArvindKejriwal Government. "PowerMinister of Delhi wants to shrughis responsibility by makingexcuse of shortage of power sup-ply from Dadri and Badarpurplants it is totally irresponsiblebehaviour", Gupta alleged.

The LOP said thatBadarpur power plant is on theverge of closure due to pollu-tion under directions of thecourt and it will be closed com-pletely by 2019. He asked theDelhi Government whatarrangements have bene madeby them to meet the peakpower demand after the closureof the Badarpur power plant.

Gupta also said that AAP

Government is only misleadingthe people by saying that DadriThermal Power Plant is notreceiving supply of coal, whilethe truth is that as per schemeof NTPC, 5 rakes of coals arebeing supplied by Railways tothe Dadri Power Plant whichon an average has been raisedto 6-7 rakes a day. The realityis that power crisis in Delhi hasarisen not due to shortage ofsupply from Dadri Power Plantbut for negligence of powercompanies.

Gupta said that on onehand the cost of per kilowattload is being raised five timesand on the other hand, the peo-ple are crying for electricity in

hot summer. AAP came topower by raising the voice toend corruption in power com-panies but AAP which used totalk about audit of power com-panies through CAG but theyhave become the biggest advo-cate for the same power com-panies.

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A27-year-old man wasattacked by some uniden-

tified youths in North WestDelhi’s Shakurpur area. Theincident happened in thecrowded place on Saturdaybetween 8.30 and 9.30 pm andthe city police have appre-hended three juveniles in thecase. The reason behind theincident was personal enmity.

According to police, theincident came to light whenthey got a PCR call regardingthe incident in which the callerstated that the person wasattacked with swords and knifeby some persons in Shakurpurarea of Netaji Subash Place. Thepolice team reached the spotand the victim was rushed tohospital where he was declaredbrought dead.

The deceased was identifiedas Rakesh who lived with hisfamily in Shakurpur area. Theincident happened in when thedeceased was returning home

from the market after someyouths started chasing him hold-ing blunt objects in their hand.The deceased tried everything tosave himself from entering theshops to hide but to no avail.Rakesh was attacked by themwho later fled the spot. Policestarted their investigation andseveral persons were questionedand the CCTV was scanned andsoon police team got the break-through. Deputy Commissionerof Police (North-West) AslamKhan stated that they haveapprehended three juveniles inthe case. "During questioningthe accused claimed that the rea-son was personal enmity," saidthe DCP.

Police claimed that the rea-son is behind the personalenmity is being investigatedfrom several angles includinglove angle. It has been suspect-ed that they have informationabout deceased visiting themarket. "After the investigation,we can come up with the deci-sion," said the police officer.

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The ambitious free Wi-Fiproject of the Aam Aadmi

Party (AAP) is likely to berolled out soon. The publicworks department (PWD) ofthe Delhi Government willfinally execute the AAP dis-pensation's plan to provide freeWi-Fi in the national Capital,days after its senior officerexpressed "inability" to imple-ment the scheme citing "lack ofexpertise".

The development comesafter a top official asked PWDEngineer-in-Chief RakeshKumar Agrawal to go aheadwith the project. A Cabinetnote has also been prepared toexecute the free Wi-Fi plan inthe city. Free Wi-Fi at publicplaces across the city was oneof AAP’s key poll promises.

During his Budget speechin the Delhi Assembly inMarch, Deputy Chief MinisterManish Sisodia had said theWi-Fi project, which was ear-lier with the information and

technology (IT) department,was given to the PWD to expe-dite the work.

However, the officer in-charge of the project hadrecently conveyed to seniorofficials of the department thatthe project should actually beexecuted by the informationtechnology department as thePWD “lacks expertise” in car-rying out such projects, sourcessaid.

In its 2018-19 Budget, the

Delhi Government had allo-cated �100 crore to provide Wi-Fi facility, even though theGovernment did not mentiona time-line for the completionof the project.

In February this year,Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwalhad said the AAP Governmentwas working on three to fourmodels for implementing theproject.

As the AAP formed itsGovernment in Delhi, the project was initially assigned tothe Dialogue and DevelopmentCommission (DDC) of Delhi chaired by the ChiefMinister.

In March 2016, the DDChad started first free Wi-Fifacility on a three-month pilotbasis in Sant Nagar market innorth Delhi's Burari.Thereafter, the ruling dispen-sation had promised that over500 locations across east Delhiwould be made high-speedWi-Fi zones by December,2016, but there was noprogress.

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The Delhi Police has consti-tuted a special police team

to identify suspicious elementsroaming on the platforms andtrains in the Delhi Metro. Thispolice team will not only keepan eye on the suspicious activ-ities, it will also mount sur-veillance on criminals, espe-cially pick-pockets, snatchersand bag lifters.

"The special team has beenformed by the Delhi Metro RailPolice that is part of the DelhiPolice and looks after over 150metro stations. The team, com-prising a head constable andfour constables, roams in andaround metro stations and

keeps an eye on pickpocketsand snatchers", a police officialsaid. While some members ofthe team are in civvies, the restare in uniform. The team wasformed by DeputyCommissioner of Police (DelhiMetro) Deepak Gauri, the offi-cial added.

The team has prevented

cases of molestation and alsosnatchings by nabbing theaccused who were found to beroaming in a suspicious man-ner, the officer claimed. AtVishwavidyalaya Metro Station,the team caught hold of two-three men who were loiteringaround and eyeing girls, theofficer said. Apart from the taskof keeping an eye on suspiciouselements, the team also has thejob of analysing whether thereare any security lapses or darkspots near the stations. "Theteam informs us if there are anylapses or any areas whichrequire more surveillance. Weinform the DMRC in case anyloopholes are found," the offi-cer said.

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The prevailing heatwave con-dition in the national

Capital on Sunday continued asthe mercury settled at 44.2degrees Celsius, four notchesabove the season’s average. AtPalam observatory, the maxi-mum temperature recordedwas 45.8C, five notches abovethe season's average.

On Saturday, the Safdarjungobservatory, whose recording isconsidered official for the city,registered a maximum temper-ature of 45C, the highest thissummer. The minimum tem-perature on Sunday settled at26.3C, one notch below the sea-

son’s average. The weathermansaid scorching heat will con-tinue on Monday as well, butadded there is possibility ofthundershowers with stronggusty winds on May 30. “Theskies will remain clear onMonday. The minimum andmaximum temperatures areexpected to hover around 24degrees Celsius and 43 degreesCelsius respectively,” said anofficial of the MeT department.

The official said the humid-ity level oscillated between 55pc and 10 pc. On Saturday, thecity witnessed maximum tem-perature of 45 degrees Celsiuswhich was five notches abovenormal for the season.

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Durgabai Deshmukh South Campus and SirVishweshwaraiah Moti Bagh stations on the

Delhi Metro Pink Line did not carrythe name of the two personalities inthe original plan and they wererechristened on the recommendations of a panel,which had suggested renaming of eight othernames on the network.

Sources said the Durgabai Deshmukh SouthCampus station, named after freedom fighter,social worker and educationist, is a part of thePink Line corridor inaugurated in mid-March,and Sir Vishweshwaraiah Moti Bagh Station,expected to open to public from May 29, intendsto fortify the legacy of the legendary engineer-

scholar.Both places are among the 10 stations whose

names were changed following recommenda-tions of the committee set up for renaming

metro stations, the sources said."The other stations include

Tughlakabad (changed toTughlakabad Station), Okhla (to Harkesh NagarOkhla), Badarpur (to Badarpur Border) onViolet Line; Okhla-Phase III (to Okhla NSIC)on Magenta Line and Ghevra (Ghevra MetroStation) on Green Line," said sources. On theproposed corridor from Dwarka-Dhansa busstand, two stations were renamed after the panel’srecommendations — Municipal Corporation (toNajafgarh) and Najafgarh Depot Station (toNangli).

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With the NDA dispensa-tion completing four

years in office, Prime MinisterNarendra Modi will interactwith beneficiaries of centralschemes while BJP chief AmitShah will lead a mass outreachprogramme on theGovernment’s achievements,the party said on Sunday.

Modi will interact with thebeneficiaries of the PradhanMantri Ujjawala Yojna and theMudra Yojna through videoconference tomorrow and theday after, a statement, issued bythe BJP’s media head AnilBaluni, said.

As part of the ‘Sampark forSamarthan’ (contact for sup-port) drive, right from Shahdownwards, every member ofthe BJP will contact at least 10people, it said.

Shah would contact at least50 people, the statement said.

On the occasion of hisgovernment’s fourth anniver-sary, the prime minister hadyesterday launched a survey onhis app, asking people to rate

the performance of the BJP-leddispensation at the Centre andMPs and MLAs in their con-stituencies.

“It is your voice thatcounts! Tell me what you feelabout the working of the cen-tral government, its initiativesand the development work inyour constituency. Take part inthis survey on the NaMo app,”Modi had tweeted.

This was being done togauge the people’s views about

the government, respectivestates and constituencies,according to official sources.

The survey assumes sig-nificance as the BJP preparesfor the Lok Sabha polls, whichare due in less than a year.

The Narendra Modi Apphas been a connectivity plat-form of choice for the primeminister who has often inter-acted with the people as well ashis party’s functionariesthrough it, the sources said.

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Buoyed by the formation ofits alliance Government in

Karnataka, a Congress leaderhas hinted the party would beinclined to align with theBahujan Samaj Party (BSP) towrest power from the BJP inMadhya Pradesh, where theAssembly polls are due laterthis year.

MP Congress chief KamalNath and Atate Assembly elec-tion committee campaignchairman Jyotiraditya Scindiawould be in favour of tying-upwith the BSP to sweep theAssembly polls, said a seniorCongress leader, who did notwish to be named.

However, the leader alsosaid the party high commandwould take a final call onstitching any alliance with theBSP.

Earlier, when reportersasked Nath about his party’sstrategy for the elections in thecentral Indian State, he had saidthe party had not started talksof alliance with anyone.

“I will take everyone’s opin-ion on this and the modalitiesof a tie-up,” he had said.

Nath said the BJP hadpocketed just 31 per cent votes

in the 2014 general elections,while 69 per cent of the ballotswere cast against the saffronparty.

“The BJP then claimedthat it got majority but whatsort of a mandate it secured?”he asked.

The Congress does notwant fragmentation of votesand keeping this in perspective,talks were going to be initiat-ed at the national and thestate-level, he had said.

A senior BSP leader, who isconsidered close to Mayawati,said they cannot comment ona pre-poll alliance with theCongress. “Behenji (Mayawati)deals with such issues,” headded.

In the 2013 MP Assemblyelections, the Congress andthe BSP polled 36.38 per centand 6.29 per cent respectively,of the total votes, whereas theBJP secured 44.88 per cent bal-lots.

The BJP won 165 seats, theCongress 58, the BSP fourwhile independents won threeseats in the 230-memberAssembly in the last Assemblypolls.

In the 2008 Assembly polls,the Congress and the BSPsecured 32.85 and 8.97 per cent

votes respectively, which wascollectively four per cent morethan the 37.64 per cent of thevotes garnered by the BJP.

Since January last year, fiveAssembly by-elections wereheld in MP where the Congresswon four and the BJP one. TheBSP had not been in the fray inthese bypolls.

Political analyst RasheedKidwai said if the Congress andthe BSP enter into a pre-pollalliance, the combine mighttopple the BJP.

“Anti-incumbency againstthe BJP would also help theopposition if it unites againstthe ruling party,” he said.

Kidwai said he stronglyfeels that the Congress and theBSP would form an alliance inMP in the wake of the muchevident “camaraderie” betweenUPA chairperson Sonia Gandhiand BSP chief Mayawati duringthe swearing-in ceremony ofHD Kumaraswamy as theKarnataka chief minister.

Right now, the Congress’saim would be to wrest powerfrom the BJP and it has alreadymanifested that in Karnataka,he said, adding that “in thewake of this, the MP Assemblyelections are going to be all themore interesting.”

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UPA chairperson SoniaGandhi, accompanied by

her son and Congress presidentRahul Gandhi, will leave forabroad on Sunday for a med-ical check-up.

“Will be out of India for afew days, accompanying Soniaji to her annual medical checkup. To my friends in the BJPsocial media troll army: don’tget too worked up...I’ll be backsoon! (sic),” the Congress pres-ident wrote on Twitter.

According to Congresssources, Sonia Gandhi will betravelling abroad for her annu-al medical examination. Shehad undergone a surgery in theUS in 2011.

While Rahul Gandhi willreturn within a week, SoniaGandhi will stay abroad for alonger period, the sources toldPTI.

They said some key deci-sions, including the allocationof ministerial portfolios inKarnataka after a Congress-JD(S) government led by HDKumaraswamy was formed inthe southern state last week,have been put on hold.

Some fresh appointmentsin the Congress are also await-ed as part of the party’s rejigunder Rahul Gandhi.

The Congress chief helddeliberations with party lead-ers since Saturday to decide onthe portfolios for the party’slegislators in Karnataka, but thediscussions remained incon-clusive.

The sources said RahulGandhi is scheduled to addressa rally at Mandsaur in MadhyaPradesh on June 6 to mark thefirst anniversary of police fir-ing on farmers there.

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From Page 1“We have opened the 9 km

stretch of the DME that willbenefit people living in Noida,Vaishali, and Mayur Vihar.The second phase of the pro-ject will be completed soon andthen the travel time will bereduced to merely 40 minutes,”Modi said.

Comparing Congressregime, PM also said therewere only two mobile manu-facturing units in India butnow the number has increasedto 120.

He said a provision of Rs 14lakh crore was made in thebudget to provide boost toagriculture related infrastruc-ture apart from Rs 5 lakh croreprovisions for Bharatmala forhighways development.

The EPE is equipped withsmart and intelligent highwaytraffic management system(HTMS) and video incidentdetection system (VIDS)besides a closed tolling systemin which the collections will bemade only on the distancetravelled and not on the entirelength and would be lit withsolar lights. A total of 1,700

hectare has been acquired forthe EPE at a cost of about Rs5,900 crore. The constructioncost of the project is about Rs4617.87 crore.

The expressway has beencompleted in a record time ofabout 500 days against thescheduled target of 910 days.

It is a fully access-con-trolled six-lane expressway.Entry and exit on the express-way is through designatedinterchanges only. Theexpressway has 4 majorbridges, 46 minor bridges, 3 fly-overs, 7 inter-changes, 221underpasses, 8 ROBs, and 114culverts.

The EPE is the firstexpressway in the country withsolar power for lighting on theentire expressway. There are 8solar power plants on thisexpressway having a capacity of4000- kilowatt (4 MW). Forplantation, drip irrigation hasbeen used in the central medi-an as well as for avenue plan-tation.

The interchanges havebeen developed architectural-ly with beautiful plantationmerged with fountains and 28fountains have been installed,the Minister said adding, about1.5 crore cum fly ash has beenused in the project and about20,000 trucks of earth were car-ried out in a single day to expe-dite the project.

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From Page 1“Now we are advising

farmers which crop would bebeneficial for them and howthey can enhance their agri-cultural income,” the CMadded.

Chouhan accused the rivalCongress of fomenting troubleand instigating farmers. “Therewere outsiders and certain anti-social elements who wereinvolved in the violence. OurGovernment engaged with thefarmers and issue was sortedout,” he said, adding farmersare not “unhappy” with the BJPand are supporting the party.

Replying to a question,Chouhan said, “During thelast 15 years, successive BJP-ledGovernments have done somuch for the State that young-sters born after 2003, just donot know how MadhyaPradesh fared before that. TheCM asserted that the ‘perfor-mance’ of his Government willbe the prime agenda of hisparty in the Assembly electionslater this year.”

“The Congress is tryinghard to create an atmosphere offear in the State. Farmers areselling wheat and gram in themandis. The Congress leadersare instigating them by their

false narrative. Opposition isindulging in negative politicsand trying not to allow any-thing to happen peacefully,” hesaid.

“When the BJP took overthe reins in 2003 by defeatingthe Congress, Madhya Pradeshwas among ‘BIMARU’ States.We have achieved remarkableprogress during the last 15years. We have managed to takethe State out from BIMARUcategory. Let the Congress dowhatever they wish to but wewill form the Government inthe State,” the CM asserted.

Chouhan pooh-poohedCongress president RahulGandhi’s temple runs prior toelections in States, “There wasdifference between show offand genuine faith,” he said.

“Hindutva is Hindutva.There is no soft or hardHindutva. People observeeverything minutely. Such gim-micks won’t matter.Performance of the StateGovernment and the BJP’swork force is ready with itsroadmap for elections. We willseek votes on the basis of ourperformance and the futureplans, he said.

When asked about seniorCongress leader Kamal Nath

being appointed as the MPCongress president, Chouhansaid, “Elections are not won by‘faces and names’, they are wonthrough performance”. “In dif-ferent regions, we hear AbkiBaar Scindia Sarkar, Abki BaarKamalnath Sarkar, Abki BaarBhuria Sarkar,” Chouhan tooka jibe while referring to seniorCongress leaders belonging toMadhya Pradesh.

When asked in a lightervein about his sobriquet“Mama”, as he is often referredby youngsters of MadhyaPradesh, Chouhan said that thegirls started to refer to him asMama (maternal uncle) due tobenefits derived by thembecause of “Ladli LakshmiYojna”. Boys too started to call-ing me Mama because of cyclesprovided to them and schemesfor them. Now, even elderlypeople also call me Mama,” hesaid.

Meanwhile, the State unitof the BJP has launched a mas-sive people connect pro-gramme in the State before theelections with senior State partyleaders including the newlyappointed president RakeshSingh visiting districts to meetpeople and party workers.

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From Page 1The impact of the collision

between the high-end bike andthe Etios car was such that boththe vehicles were found to bein a mangled condition, theofficial added.

Chinmoy Biswal, DeputyCommissioner of Police(DCP), Southeast district said,“On Sunday, at around 3 am,information about an accidentat the DND flyover wasreceived at the Sunlight Colonypolice station. The local staffreached the accident spot andfound that a motorcycle num-ber DL-8SCH-1887 (HarleyDavidson bike) and a car num-ber DL9CAE 0946 (ToyotaEtios) were found in acciden-tal condition. At the spot, nei-ther the bike rider nor the dri-ver of the car has been traced.No information about theinjured has been received fromany hospital.”

We started search in theYamuna river with the help of

local divers and a team of theNational Disaster ResponseForce but no clue is found,” saidthe DCP.

During the course of inves-tigation, we found that oneAnshuman Puri, a resident ofSarita Vihar, is the registeredowner of the Harley Davidson.However, his house was foundto be locked. His neighbourstold us that he used to livealone.

The officer further saidthat they found out that theregistered owner of the Etioscar is one Bhappa Singh, a res-ident of Qutub Vihar in GoyalaDairy. His house was alsofound locked. Neighbours saidhe is living in Canada and hisdaughter and son-in-law usedto drive his car.

We have registered a caseof accident under relevant sec-tions of the law. Police said thatthey are scanning the CCTVfootage from the camerasinstalled near the DND flyover.

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From Page 1The first survey was con-

ducted by IRCTC in 2016 byinterviewing passengers at thestations on various parametersof cleanliness and rating themon this basis. The second sur-vey has been conducted by theQuality Council of India (QCI).

With the help of its part-ners, the QCI conducted thesurvey of 407 major railway sta-tions (75 A1 category and 332A category stations) of IndianRailways. The next surveyreport for cleanliness is expect-ed by the QCI for stations inthe month of July, 2018.

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From Page 1Government of India’s con-

sistent position in the matter isreflected in the resolutionpassed by the Parliament in1994 by consensus,” MEAadded.

The ‘Gilgit-Baltistan Order(GBO)’, 2018, which essential-ly seizes the powers of GilgitBaltistan Council and entrustsPrime Minister of Pakistanwith indisputable authoritiesvis-a-vis Gilgit-Baltistan, wasofficially promulgated on May21. Thousands of people inGilgit-Baltistan region protest-ed the GBO on Friday.

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New Delhi: A 19-year-old girlhas complained that a cab dri-ver was asking her mobilenumber and friendship wrongintention on Saturday night.Police said that the girl alleged-ly jumped off the car when itslowed down. However, thepolice have not be able toidentify the victim yet.

According to the police, thecomplainant is a theater artistwho practices at Mandi House.The incident took place atabout 9.45 pm while she wasgoing back to home fromDhaula Kuan bus stop.

“She had booked a privatecab and was sitting on the frontseat adjecent to the driver.Suddenly the driver startedgetting friendly with her nearDelhi cantt area,” said a seniorpolice officer. Later, the driverstarted asking her for her num-ber and seeking friendshipwith her. The victim stated thatshe sensed his wrong inten-tions. “On observing the situ-ation getting abit out of control,the girl got down by openingthe door when the cab hadslowed down,” said a seniorpolice officer.

The girl then approachedthe Delhi cantt police station.Following the complaint filedby the victim, a case under sec-tion 354 (assault or criminalforce to woman with intent tooutrage her modesty) was reg-istered against unknown per-son. “We are scanning theCCtv footages of the area toidentify the cab driver andcross verify the claims made bythe victim,” said a senior policeofficer. PNS

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BJP MLA Pankaj Singh, theson of Union Home

Minister Rajnath Singh, hasreceived extortion messageson WhatsApp, following whichpolice registered a case onSunday.

Pankaj Singh, who repre-sents Noida in the UttarPradesh Assembly, has receivedextortion messages fromunknown phone number sinceMay 25.

Station House Officer(SHO) of Noida Sector 20police station Manish Saxenaregistered an FIR againstunknown persons under sec-tions 384 (punishment forextortion) and 507 (criminalintimidation by an anonymouscommunication) of the IPCand relevant sections of theInformation Technology Act.

The case has been trans-

ferred to the cyber cell forprobe.

Several Uttar Pradesh BJPMLAs and politicians havereceived similar extortion mes-sages and threats fromunknown phone numbers inthe past few days.

Last week, the UttarPradesh police set up a specialinvestigation team (SIT) toprobe extortion threats to atleast 12 MLAs from a personwho seems to be claiming apast link with underworld donDawood Ibrahim.

The MLAs, most of themfrom the ruling BJP, got textand WhatsApp messages ask-ing them to pay Rs 10 lakh ortheir families will be eliminat-ed within three days.

The SIT was set up afterdirections from Uttar PradeshChief Minister Yogi Adityanathwho took strong note of thethreats.

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Iranian Foreign MinisterMohammad Javad Zarif will

hold extensive talks withExternal Affairs MinisterSushma Swaraj here onMonday during which he isexpected to seek India's sup-port for Iran's nuclear deal withsix world powers in the wake of

Washington's withdrawal fromit. Zarif 's day-long visit here ispart of Tehran's efforts to reachout to major world powersafter the US pulled out from thelandmark nuclear deal of 2015under which Tehran hadagreed to stop its sensitivenuclear activities in return forthe lifting of crippling eco-nomic sanctions. The issue isexpected to be discussed exten-sively in the talks betweenSwaraj and Zarif, officials said.The Chabahar port project isalso likely to figure in themeeting.

Iran is India's third largest

oil supplier and there wereapprehensions about possibleimpact of the US decision onIndia's oil import. However, theofficials said the US decision toreinstate financial sanctionson Iran would not impactIndia's oil imports as long asEuropean countries did not fol-low suit. The Iranian ForeignMinister visited China, Russiaand some European countriesin the last three weeks afterPresident Donald Trumpannounced Washington's with-drawal from the deal which wassigned by the Obama admin-istration.

The issue is understood tohave figured during an "infor-mal summit" between PrimeMinister Narendra Modi andRussian President VladimirPutin in the Russian city ofSochi last week. China, Russiaand several European nationshave been trying to salvage thedeal. Iran had struck the JointComprehensive Plan of Action(JCPoA) with the US, the UK,Russia, China, France andGermany after years of negoti-ations.

In its reaction to Trump'sdecision, India had said all theparties concerned should

engage constructively to resolvethe issue peacefully and thatIran's right to peaceful use ofnuclear energy must beensured. The US President'sdecision to abandon the agree-ment has shocked the world,with America's closest alliessuch as France, Germany andthe UK expressing concernover it. Zarif is scheduled toreturn tomorrow night.

Indo-Iran ties have been ona upswing in the last threeyears. Prime Minister Modi vis-ited Tehran in May 2016 withan aim to craft a strategic rela-tionship with Iran and expand

India's ties with West Asia.During the visit, India and

Iran signed nearly a dozenpacts, centrepiece of whichwas an agreement on develop-ment of Chabahar port.

Later, India, Iran andAfghanistan signed a trilateralpact providing for transport ofgoods among the three coun-tries through the port.

In February, IranianPresident Hassan Rouhani vis-ited India during which bothsides agreed to further expandtheir cooperation in a numberof key sectors

During Rouhani’s visit,

both sides signed nine agree-ments including one on hand-ing over Chabahar port's oper-ation to India for 18 months.

India and Iran have robusteconomic and commercial tiescovering many sectors thoughit has traditionally been dom-inated by the import of Iraniancrude oil by India.

According to the ExternalAffairs Ministry, India-Iranbilateral trade during the 2016-17 fiscal was $12.89 billion.India imported $10.5 billionworth of goods, mainly crudeoil, and exported commoditiesworth $2.4 billion.

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Prime Minister NarendraModi on Sunday inaugu-

rated the Digital Art Gallery ofNational Highways Authorityof India (NHAI) at the tollplaza in Jakhauli village in thisdistrict of Haryana.

At the main entrance ofGallery, Modi viewed the mapof Kundli-Ghaziabad-Palwal(KGP) Expressway (EasternPeripheral Expressway) andsaw how the KGP and Kundli-Manesar-Palwal would changethe picture of national capitalDelhi and National CapitaRegion (NCR) area, an officialrelease said.

Later, he went around theDigital Art Gallery where hewas informed in detail aboutthe journey right from thebeginning of construction workof KGP Express way till itscompletion by using 3D tech-

nique. These included acqui-sition of land for theExpressway, redressal of griev-ances related to farmers, begin-ning of ground work on theExpressway, strategy for thetimely completion of work,technique used in the con-struction work, use of solarenergy, plantation and benefitsof the Expressway for the peo-ple of Delhi and other areas, therelease said.

Secretary of Ministry ofRoad Transport and Highways,Yudhvir Singh Malik, apprisedthe Prime Minister of the con-struction of the Highway whichhas been completed in record500 days as against the timelimit of 910 days.

The Kundli-Ghaziabad-Palwal (KGP) Expressway(Eastern PeripheralExpressway) has been con-structed by NHAI and isexpected to ease the traffic con-

gestion in Delhi. This is thecountry's first access controlhighway and the vehicle wouldbe charged toll on the basis ofdistance covered, the releasequoting Malik said.

He said that arrangementof rain water harvesting hasbeen made at every 500 meterson the both sides of this six-lane 135 km long Highway.

The entire Highway ispowered by solar energy, headded.

The 36 famous monu-ments depicting India's richculture and heritage such asIndia Gate, Gateway of India,Ashoka Pillar have been set upon both sides of this express-way.

Eighteen displays havebeen prepared in the gallery inwhich all information con-cerning the construction ofthe Highway has been incor-porated.

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Congress MP ShashiTharoor on Sunday

claimed the BJP was not inter-ested in introducing the muchtalked about Women'sReservation Bill in the LokSabha, and asserted it will bepassed immediately if his partycomes to power.

“The Bill was passed by theRajya Sabha during UPA'stenure. The BJP supported ittoo. So, they can just introduceit in the Lok Sabha and pass itwithin a minute. They have thenumbers as well,” Tharoor saidat a function here.

The Women’s ReservationBill seeks to provide 33 per centreservation to women inParliament and state legisla-tures. Tharoor said the rulingparty was engaged in lip-ser-

vice only and has no intentionto introduce the bill.

“They fear to give awayone-third of their seats towomen representatives. Butthe Congress has the pledgethat we will pass it immediate-ly if we come to the power,”Tharoor said in his lecture on“New India: Blueprint for theProgressive Indian”.

The award-winning writer-politician slammed theNarendra Modi-led centralgovernment over a number ofdevelopments during the lastfour years.

“He (Modi) talks about‘New India’, but I am con-cerned about the reality onground which tells us a differ-ent story. What the realitytoday of ‘New India’ is that nar-row-minded majoritarian pol-itics is dividing us,” he added.

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The India MeteorologicalDepartment (IMD) will

give area specific alerts to usersif they are in that particularplace where the extreme weath-er pattern is going to occur,even if their phone numbers donot belong to that particulartelecom circle.

For this, the IMD hasdecided to team up with BharatSanchar Nigam Limited(BSNL) to send extreme weath-er warnings to people. TheIMD had earlier predictedmega heat wave in severalstates including the nationalCapital and will prevail tillMay 28.

The move comes after theIMD came under criticism

from several quarters, includ-ing some state governments fornot sending out specific alerts,a charge denied by the weath-er body. “The IMD is trying toteam up with BSNL to push thealerts to common people. TheBSNL has come up with atechnology. If the IMD sendsan alert, they will pass it on toall BSNL numbers in Delhi(about an impending extreme

weather event warning likethunderstorm, dust storm,heatwave),” M Rajeevan,Secretary, Ministry of EarthSciences told agencies.

For instance, a BSNL userhas travelled from Pune toDelhi, where an extremeweather event is forecast. Theuser will still get the message,Rajeevan said.

The exercise is being car-

ried out on an experimentalstage, and if successful theplan is to rope in other weath-er agencies as well, the officialsaid.

Rajeevan, however, saidthe Government agencies havelimitations in disseminatinginformation, especially in sce-narios like thunderstormswherein the entire weatherpattern forms and wreaks itsfury in two to three hours.

More than 200 people dieddue to thunderstorms acrossthe country this month, withUttar Pradesh alone witnessinghalf the deaths. In 2016,extreme weather had claimedlives of 1,600 people with heat-wave topping the list.

“The IMD cannot reach toevery individual. The IMD’s jobis to prepare the forecast. Thereshould be some intermediaryagencies who can take ourforecast and pass it on to peo-ple,” the official said.

The Prime Minister’sOffice had recently asked theweather body to advise peopleon the action they need to takewhen it issues severe weatherwarnings. A string of thunder-storms and dust storms hitDelhi as well as North India inthe past month that has leftmany dead and injured.

Earlier this month, a severedust storm across UttarPradesh and Rajasthan killedover 100 people, uprootedhouses and flattened trees.Agra bore the brunt of thestorm, with 43 people dying inthe district.

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Political parties are out of thepurview of the RTI Act, the

Election Commission has saidin an order which is contraryto the Central InformationCommission’s (CIC) directivebringing six national partiesunder the transparency law.

The EC statement, whichmay prove to be controversial,came while deciding the appealof an RTI applicant seeking toknow donations collected bysix national parties who werebrought under the ambit of thetransparency law by the CIC inJune 2013.

“Requisite information isnot available in theCommission. This is related topolitical parties and they areout of purview of the RTI. Theymay submit information ofdonation/amount collectedthrough by Electoral bonds intheir contribution report forthe financial year 2017-18 inthe ECI for which the due dateis September 30, 2018,” theappeal order citing comment ofthe Central Public InformationOfficer has said.

Pune-based Vihar Dhurvehad sought to know throughRTI the details of donationscollected by the six nationalparties — the BJP, Congress,BSP, NCP, CPI and CPM —and the Samajwadi Partythrough newly introduced elec-toral bonds.

The First AppellateAuthority in the ElectionCommission KF Wilfred, theSenior Principal Secretary inpoll panel, wrote in the order

that he agrees with the viewtaken by the CPIO.

Six out of seven politicalparties — the BJP, Congress,BSP, NCP, CPI and CPM — forwhich information was soughtby the applicant were broughtunder the ambit of the RTI Actby a full bench of the commis-sion on June 3, 2013.

The order has not beenchallenged in the higher courtsbut the political parties haverefused to entertain the RTIapplications directed at them.Several activists haveapproached the Supreme Courton the grounds of non-com-pliance of the CIC order andthe matter is pending.

When it comes to the RTIAct, the Central InformationCommission is the only appel-late authority which maydeclare a body as public author-ity if it is convinced that theorganisation fits into the crite-ria for being under the Right toInformation Act.

“When the Central

Information Commission hasdeclared six national politicalparties as public authority, theElection Commission cannottake a position contrary tothat unless the order of the CIChas been overturned by theSupreme Court or HighCourts. The order of EC has nomerit,” former ChiefInformation CommissionerAN Tiwari told agencies.

Venkatesh Nayak, a notedactivist on RTI matters, said thepublic information officer ofthe election commission hasexceeded his limits in givingthis order.

“The June 2013 order ofthe CIC bringing six nationalpolitical parties under the RTIAct remains in force even if thepolitical parties do not obey it.It has not been stayed or setaside by any court.

Therefore, as far as nation-al political parties are con-cerned they are squarely cov-ered under the RTI Act,” Nayaksaid.

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Prime Minister NarendraModi in his monthly radio

talk ‘Mann ki Baat’ urged thepeople to shun low-grade plas-tic and polythene, saying it wascreating a negative impact onthe environment, wildlife andthe health of the people. Heasked the people to observe theWorld Environment Day onJune 5 with vigour, and that itwas time to concentrate on treeplantation. Planting saplings isnot enough, people shouldensure that they care for a planttill it becomes a tree, Modi said.

“Protecting environmentand being sensitive towardsnature should come naturally.The recent dust storms accom-panied by rains was unseason-al. The climate pattern led tothe loss of life and property. Itis a result of change in weath-er pattern,” he said in hismonthly radio address.

“Whenever we face a tor-rid summer, or floods, inces-sant rains or unbearable cold,everybody becomes an expert,analysing global warming andclimate change. But does emptytalk bring about any solutions?

Being sensitive towardsnature, protecting nature,should come naturally to us;these virtues should be embed-ded in our ‘sanskar’ (culture),”the Prime Minister said.

He said India was proud tohost the World EnvironmentDay this year, which is a majorachievement for the country. It,he said, was an acknowledg-ment of India’s efforts to leadthe world in reducing theeffects of climate change. “The

theme this year is ‘beat plasticpollution’. I appeal to you notto use low grade plastic andpolythene and understand theimportance of the theme. It(use of plastic) leaves a negativeimpact on our nature, thewildlife and our health,” Modisaid.

He said when the countryspeaks of climate justice orplays a major role in theCOP21 and Paris agreementsor when it unites the wholeworld through the medium ofInternational Solar Alliance,they all are rooted in fulfilling

the dream of Mahatma Gandhi.“On this environment day, letall of us give it a good thoughtas to what can we do to makeour planet cleaner and green-er. What innovative things canwe do,” he said.

Modi also referred to theInternational Yoga Day on June21. Quoting an ancient text, hesaid practicing yogic exerciseson a regular basis leads toimbibing benefic attributeswhich stand by our side like rel-atives and friends. The prac-tice of yoga leads to building upof courage, which always pro-tects us like a father. The prac-tice of yoga leads to germina-tion of a sense of forgiveness inthe same manner as a motherhas for her children and men-tal peace becomes our perma-nent friend, Modi said.

The Prime Ministerappealed to the people to adoptthe legacy of yoga and create ahealthy, happy and harmo-nious nation.

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If simultaneous elections tothe Lok Sabha and State

Assemblies are held in 2019,the Election Commission (EC)will require nearly 24 lakhEVMs, double the numberrequired to hold only theParliamentary polls.

During their discussionwith the Law Commission onMay 16 on the issue of holdingsimultaneous polls, the ECofficials had said they wouldneed around �4,500 crore tobuy nearly 12 lakh additionalelectronic voting machines(EVMs) and an equal numbervoter-verifiable paper audittrail (VVPAT) machines.According to sources, theseestimate was based on the cur-rent cost to procure the devices.

In case simultaneous pollsare held, two separate sets ofEVMs and VVPAT machineswill have to be placed in sepa-rate compartments for thosecontesting the Lok Sabha pollsand the Assembly electionsrespectively.

“There are nearly 10 lakhpolling stations across thecountry. Since EVMs andpaper-trail machines aredeployed in every polling sta-tion, the requirement is for 10lakh EVMs and an equal num-ber of paper-trail machines. Inaddition, 20 per cent of themachines are kept in thereserve.

That comes to two lakh.Therefore, to hold the LokSabha polls in 2019, the ECneeds 12 lakh EVMs and anequal number of VVPATmachines,” explained a func-

tionary. Thus, if simultaneouspolls were held in 2019, the ECwould require double the num-ber of the EVMs, which was 24lakh, he added.

The functionary said as ofnow, five polling personnel aredeployed per polling station. Forsimultaneous polls, the pollpanel believes seven personnelwill be required per polling sta-tion. Assuming that simultane-ous polls were “again” held in2024, the EC would need �1,700crore to replace some of the oldEVMs, which would completetheir 15-year life span by then,the sources said.

The ElectronicsCorporation of India Ltd andthe Bharat Electronics Ltd, twopublic sector undertakings(PSUs), manufacture the EVMsand VVPAT machines. Theywould have to work on an over-drive to provide the requirednumber of devices in time, ifsimultaneous polls were held in2019, they added.

Chief ElectionCommissioner (CEC) OmPrakash Rawat had a word ofcaution on simultaneous pollswhen he recently said the legalframework required for hold-ing the elections togetherwould take time to be readied.

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The EnforcementDirectorate (ED) is set to

move a special court inMumbai to seek permission for“immediate confiscation” ofabout �7,000 crore assets ofdesigner diamond jewellerNirav Modi under the recent-ly promulgated FugitiveEconomic OffendersOrdinance.

The agency, empoweredby the Union Government toenact the new power in thecountry, will seek an officialdeclaration to categorise NiravModi as a “fugitive” based onits prosecution complaint(charge sheet) filed before aspecial court in Mumbai lastweek under the Prevention ofMoney Laundering Act(PMLA).

On May 24, the ED hadfiled its first charge sheet in theover $2 billion PNB fraud case

involving diamantaire NiravModi and his associates statingthat over �6,400 crore of bankfunds were allegedly launderedabroad to dummy companiesby him and others.

A total of 24 accused havebeen listed in the charge sheet,filed under section 45 of thePMLA, including Nirav Modi,his father, brother NeeshalModi, sister Purvi Modi, broth-er-in-law Mayank Mehta andthe designer jewellers’ firms —

Ms Solar Exports, StellarDiamonds and Diamonds R Us.

The court is expected totake cognisance of the 12,000page charge sheet tomorrowand the counsel for the agencywill subsequently seek its per-mission to invoke the provi-sions of the Fugitive EconomicOffenders Ordinance againstModi and immediately beginthe procedure to confiscate allthe assets “of and linked to”Modi in India and abroad, a

senior official said.A court-issued non-bail-

able warrant is already pendingagainst Modi and the ED hasalso moved the Interpol to geta global arrest warrant issuedagainst him, sometime back.

The agency will initiatethe same action againstabsconding liquor baron VijayMallya, against whom theEnforcement Directorate andthe CBI had filed their respec-tive charge sheets last year.

It is expected, the officialsaid, that assets worth �7,000crore can be confiscated in themoney laundering and thePunjab National Bank fraudcorruption case against NiravModi, under the stringent fugi-tive offenders ordinance.

The central probe agencyhad recently begun the work tobring together the existingcases of high-value fugitivesand bank loan defaulters forgetting them notified under the

new legislation. As per the existing process

of law under the PMLA, the EDcould only confiscate the assetsonce the trial in a case finish-es which usually takes a longtime of many years.

The ordinance is aimed atdeterring economic offendersfrom evading the process of lawby remaining outside the juris-diction of Indian courts. TheModi government brought theordinance last month as “therehave been instances of eco-nomic offenders fleeing thejurisdiction of Indian courts,anticipating the commence-ment, or during the pendency,of criminal proceedings,” thegovernment said.

The rationale behind thelaw, the Government had said,was the absence of such offend-ers from Indian courts whichhampers investigation andwastes court time and under-mines the rule of law.

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In the last four years, theKhadi and Village Industries

Commission (KVIC) has —provided job opportunities to14,75,888 persons at theirdoorsteps. This is a majorachievement given the fact theModi Government has drawna lot of flaks for failing toaddress the issue of unem-ployment.

For providing job oppor-tunities, the KVIC has estab-lished 1,93,818 small and medi-um projects across the nation— from sleepy hamlets to big-ger cities.

The KVIC chairman VinaiKumar Saxena explains thereason behind the success.“Undoubtedly, it was the visionof Prime Minister NarendraModi to digitalise the PMEGPscheme to bring transparencyand efficiency along withputting a check on any dis-crepancies or middleman in thefinalisation and disbursementof funds to the beneficiaries.Ever since KVIC’s informationtechnology team developed anin-house portal in 2016, we sawa quantum jump in the num-ber of PMEGP applicants. As aresult, we disbursed the marginmoney subsidy of �4,735.94crore during this span of fouryears, which is some sort oflandmark in the implementa-

tion of Government scheme,”he said.

Incidentally, the KVIC isthe nodal agency for PrimeMinister EmploymentGeneration Programme(PMEGP), a flagship scheme ofGovernment of India.

“It was the PMEGPthrough which Governmenthas been encouraging the vil-lage industry. It is remarkablethat in many of its projects, thesupporting margin subsidy wasup to 35 per cent. It was due tolack of vision and focus by suc-cessive Governments; it couldnot accelerate from the prover-bial snail’s speed in terms ofgrowth and job creation in theKhadiand Village Industries

sector for many years,” Saxenasaid.

Saxena added that it wassad that before the arrival of theModi Government, the growthin this sector — which wasmost close to the Father of theNation — could not even touchthe double digits.

“But as the Prime Ministerhimself took khadi to the mass-es, this untapped sector wit-nessed a rocketing growth. Inthe FY 2016-17, the low-profileKhadi and village industriesproducts saw sales worth�52,000 crore for the first timein India. In FY 2017-18, it isexpected to cross �65,000 crorefigure,” the KVIC Chairmansaid.

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Days after the Governmentdecided to allow civilians

to use all roads in military can-tonments all over the countryand Army officials and theirwives objecting to it due tosecurity concerns, DefenceMinister Nirmala Sitharamanon Sunday indicated readi-ness to review the decision.

A country-wide signaturecampaign against theGovernment decision waslaunched by wives of Armyofficers and their representa-tives said they will meet theDefence Minister to reverse thedecision. In this backdrop,Sitharaman said in a tweet“Welcome to meet me. Shallhear them with an open mind.”

The Defence Ministrydecided to allow civilian accessto the roads in 62 cantonmentsafter Sitharaman held a meet-

ing with a group of MPs andelected office-bearers of can-tonment boards recently.

The MPs and elected offi-cials of cantonment boardshad strongly pitched to allowcivilians unhindered access tothe roads.

Sitharaman reviewed thematter with Chief of ArmyStaff General Bipin Rawat,Defence Secretary Sanjay Mitraand Defence Ministry offi-cials, a Ministry statement saidlast week. The Ministry hadsaid it was decided that a sim-

plified detailed standard oper-ating procedure will soon beissued to address the needs ofthe local public and the mili-tary establishment.

However, families of Armyofficers feel the decision mayexpose the cantonments tosecurity risks as military baseshave recently been targeted byterrorists in Jammu & Kashmirand other areas.

The decision will weakensecurity of the cantonments.The Government must reviewit, they said.

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New Delhi: Congress presidentRahul Gandhi has appointedformer Kerala Chief MinisterOomen Chandy as AICC gen-eral secretary, in-charge ofAndhra Pradesh with imme-diate effect, replacing DigvijayaSingh. Party spokespersonGaurav Gogoi has also beenappointed as the party's in-charge of West Bengal andAndaman and Nicobar Islands,replacing CP Joshi. Gogoi isson of fomer Assam chief min-ister Tarun Gogoi.

“The party appreciates thehard work and contribution ofDigvijaya Singh, who will bestepping down from hisresponsibility as AICC GeneralSecretary in-charge of AndhraPradesh,” statement from partygeneral secretary Ashok Gehlotsaid. He also said that theparty appreciates the hard workand contribution of Dr C PJoshi, who will be steppingdown from his responsibility asAICC General Secretary in-charge of West Bengal andAndaman & Nicobar Islands.The changes will be enforcedwith immediate effect, theparty said.

On the other handCongress in Madhya Pradeshhas started collecting feedbackfrom all “stakeholders” beforedrawing up its “vision docu-ment” or the election manifestofor the coming Assembly elec-tions. PNS

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New Delhi: The much-awaited Southwest Monsoon 2018 hasfinally arrived over some parts of Southeast Bay of Bengal, SouthAndaman Sea and Nicobar Islands. As per weathermen, the per-sisting cyclonic circulations over Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengalwill become more marked soon, making way for the furtheradvancement of Monsoon over more parts of Bay of Bengal andArabian Sea that includes Sri Lanka and Kerala. PNS

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Former Prime Minister andJD(S) supremo HD Deve

Gowda has sent shockwavesinto the Congress which has acoalition Government headedby JD(S) chief and his son HDKumaraswamy. Campaigningin the Rajarajeshwari NagarAssembly constituency inBengaluru where polls will beheld on Monday (May 28) DeveGowda fired the first salvo bylaying down the boundary forthe nascent coalition.

He said, “I want to make itclear that the coalition(between the JD(S) andCongress) is restricted only toVidhana Soudha. I am sure ourcandidate will fight againstboth Congress and the BJP.”This according to experts willimpact the anti-BJP forum

which was explicit during theswearing-in ceremony of HDKumaraswamy.

Kumaraswamy was swornin on May 23 which witnessedgalaxy of Opposition leaderswhich include UPA chairper-son Sonia Gandhi, Congresspresident Rahul Gandhi, APChief Minister ChandrababuNaidu, Pudhucheri ChiefMinister Narayansamy, WestBengal Chief Minister MamtaBanerjee, BSP leader Mayawati,SP leader Akhilesh Yadav,Tejasvi Yadav, film Actorturned politician KamalaHassan, Shard Yadav and HDDeve Gowda along with manyleaders were present as a pre-

amble to Opposition unity tofight 2019 elections againstModi and Shah combine.Congress bringing down threeday old BJPs Yeddyurappa with104 seats as being the singlelargest party and formed a col-lation with JDs which won 37seats formed the Governmentunder HD Kumaraswamy ofthe JDs as the Chief Minister.This assertion of Gowda manyfeel shooting down hopes of theOpposition unity for 2019 tofight BJP and questionsDevegowda’s intentions.

A source in the JDs saideven though he (Deve Gowda)said while campaigning forour candidate this may nothave any significance ofOpposition unity. But we arefighting all elections on ourown. This is nothing to do withcoalition. Our coalition is intactand will rule for the next fiveyears. “

Meanwhile senior congressleader and vokkaliga powerhouse DK Shivakumar hasasked the JDs to withdraw thecandidate for the RR Nagarconstituency. They attacked

each other while campaigning.Muniratna from the congress iscontesting against JDs candi-date G. Ramachandra atRajarajeshwari Nagar con-stituency, much to the chagrinof Congress’ Vokkaliga stal-warts D.K.Shivakumar and hisbrother D.K.Suresh. while cam-paigning DK Shivakumarunderlined the fragility of theJD(S)-Congress coalition thatchanted the unity mantra in theAssembly for the crucial floortest but didn’t think twicebefore attacking each otherduring Saturday’s electioneer-ing.

The Congress candidateMuniratna, accused of buyingvotes after EPIC cards werefound in an apartment build-ing in his constituency at theoutskirts of Bengaluru, hasclose links with the JD(S) aswell, given that he is producinga movie which stars the son ofChief Minister H.D.Kumaraswamy. BJPsOpposition leaderB.S.Yeddyurappa was also cam-paigning in the constituency onSaturday where fake EPIC

cards forced the ElectionCommission to postpone thevote.

RR Nagar is going to pollson Monday and Deve Gowdadid not mince words in attack-ing the Congress. He said “Weare not at the mercy of anyone.So, party workers have to fightto save the party.” “All thosewho had said that the votes castfor JD(S) would go to BJP, whatwill they say now (after weentered into a coalition). Atleast now, people should realisethe commitment of the JD(S).We were the one who gave theBengaluru mayor post to aMuslim leader, “ he added.

However Gowda was quickto clarify and said “I did notcome here to harm the relationsbuilt with the coalition partner.This is an election. We knowwhat the Congress candidatehas done. There is nothing toeulogise the Congress candi-date for and a case is pendingbefore the ElectionCommission of India. We havefielded our candidate as per thewishes of our BBMP corpora-tors,” he said.

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The Kerala HealthDepartment has stepped up

the alert over the Nipah virus(NiV) which has pushed theState, especially the Kozhikodeand Malappuram districts, intopanic by claiming 14 humanlives so far. However, no newcases of infection of the deadlyvirus have been confirmed inthe past couple of days.

The death toll due to Nipahvirus attack in the State rose to14 on Sunday with one moreperson, Ebin (26) from Palazhy,Kozhikode, dying at a privatehospital in Kozhikode where hewas undergoing treatment. An80-year-old woman, Kalyanifrom Narippatta in Kozhikodedistrict, had died of Nipahinfection on Saturday.

However, the fact that mostof those whose blood and bodyfluids were subjected to exam-ination had tested negative forthe virus has provided a new

relief to the Health officials.According to the Kerala HealthDepartment, the virus could beconsidered to have come undertotal control on the basis of itsincubation period if no freshcases are confirmed within June5.

State Health Minister KKShailaja told newsmen onSunday morning that presenceof Nipah virus had so far beenconfirmed in 15 persons, ofwhom 13 have died. Tests forNipah had not been carried outfor Sabith (23) fromPanthirikara in Perambra,Kozhikode district, the firstperson to die with symptoms ofvirus infection.

Two persons who had beenconfirmed to have contractedthe virus were currently under-going treatment. “It is a matterof relief that no new cases ofattack by the deadly virus arebeing reported. But we can’t sayfor sure that the danger has beenaverted fully. A clear picture willbe available only by the end ofthe month,” the Minister said.

As part of the heightenedalert over the Nipah situation,

strict controls were imposed onSaturday on the operations ofthe Government MedicalCollege Hospital, Kozhikodewhere most of the patients withNipah symptoms were beingtreated. However, the restric-tions were partially revokedlater following protests.

The Minister also informedthat 175 persons in Kozhikodeand Malappuram districts, fromwhere virus infection had beenconfirmed, had been kept underobservation by the HealthDepartment. The people whohad been put under observationwere mostly relatives of virus-infected persons and those whohad closely interacted withthem, she added.

Shailaja indicated the exam-inations so far had shown thatthe virus infection in Kozhikodeand Malappuram had a com-mon origin. Examinations at thehigh-security laboratory inBhopal had ruled out bats as thesource of the Nipah virus thathad spread in northern Kerala.However, sources said thatexaminations of fruit-eatingbats were continuing.

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An unprecedented wave ofxenophobia caused by the

fake videos and other messageson social media grippedHyderabad city on Saturdaynight and claimed the life of atransgender with attackingthree beggars in the old city ofHyderabad.

Similar incidents were alsoreported from other parts ofthe city as groups of peoplepanicked by fake blood cur-dling stories and videos ofabduction and murder of chil-dren turned on the beggars.

Deputy commissioner ofpolice S Satyanarayana saidthat a group of people attackedthe four transgender-beggars inChandrayangutta area around1230 am. They were brutallybeaten up and stoned by themob leading to the death of oneof them while three otherswere admitted to hospital, one

of them in critical condition.He said that the police had

reached the spot within fiveminutes. “If the police had notreached all of them could havedied”, he told the media. Thevictim was identified as a trans-gender Chandraiah fromDearkadra in Mahbubnagardistrict.

Sometime later, at around2 am another group attackedthree more beggars and injuredthem. Minor incidents wereattacks were also reported fromthe limits of Hussaini Alam,Madannpet and Kachigudapolice stations creating panicacross the city and keeping thepolice on toes.

This is the latest in a seriesof mob lynching in Telanganand Andhra Pradesh claimingfour lives and injuring ten oth-ers.

The latest incident cameeven after the police officialsstrongly denying the presence

of any inter state gang of kid-nappers and child lifters anywhere in the state. Warning thepeople against taking law in totheir hands, the police hadstepped up patrolling all overthe State.

As the news of the attackspread the area corporator ofMajlis-e-Ittehadul MuslimeenAhmad bin Abdat rushed to thespot and tried to save the beg-gars. He and the Santosh Nagarpolice inspector were injured inthe stone pelting. Such as thefury of the mob that the policecould not control the situation.

Police have booked twocases of murder and attempt tomurder in connection withthe attacks on the beggars aswell as injuring two policemenand others.

“26 people were arrested inconnection with the incidentsand we are looking for somemore people”, Satyanarayanatold the media on Sunday.

“We have got some videofootage of the incident includ-ing the footage from the areaCCTVs. After identifying theculprits we will arrest them”, theDeputy Commissioner said.

DCP Satyanrayana saidthat videos of chopping ofhuman bodies by unknownpeople were not from India butfrom other countries and somepeople were circulating themon social media to create fearamong the people. “These arefake videos and we have madeit clear that no gang was on theprowl anywhere in the state”, hesaid.

He said that those foundresponsible for spreading suchvideos and messages will bebooked for murder if theiractions results in attacks anddeaths.

Meanwhile police alsoarrested two youth fromPahadishareef area ofHyderabad for sharing fake

video and audios about the kid-napers’ gangs on WhatsApp.The two were identified asMohammed Ashfaq and SyedRahim. The video had goryscenes of dead bodies andinjured people claiming thatthey were victims of the gangs.

Area MLA Syed AhmadPasha Quadri visited the spotof the incident and urged thepeople to maintain peace.“There is no truth in therumors about kidnapping ofchildren. Not a single incidenthas been reported. The peopleshould not believe in suchrumors and respect the sancti-ty of the month of Ramadan”,he said.

In a statement theHyderabad city police haveurged the people not to shareany social media posts regard-ing inter state gangs enteringTelugu states to rob and kill.“State and district police officialshave declare it as fake”, it said.

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Jammu & Kashmir DeputyChief Minister Kavinder

Gupta on Sunday asked theseparatists to respond posi-tively to the Centre’s offer ofdialogue so that peace andnormalcy is restored in theState.

“We have provided theman opportunity of talks andnow they have to see how toproceed further. They shouldavail this opportunity,” Guptatold reporters on the sidelinesof a party event here.

Lauding the Centre, thesenior BJP leader said it hadtaken a very good decision oncompletion of four years of theNDA Government’s rule.

“Now an opportunity hasprovided to them (sepa-ratists)… If they do not comeforward, the people of Kashmirshould also understand thatthey are not their well wishers,”Gupta said.

He said it was a big deci-sion of the Government andneeded to be availed to paveway for the restoration of peace

and normalcy in the State. To another question, Gupta

said the border residents werenot upset with BJP and assuredthere demands would be met.

“They are not angry withthe BJP. I have visited them andtheir demands would be met,”he said adding the centre hasalready sanctioned �415 crorefor construction of bunkersalong the International borderand Line of Control in theState.

The border residents aresatisfied with the BJPGovernment, he said dismiss-ing as “Opposition propagan-da” that they were angry withthe ruling party, both at theCentre and the State.

“It is unfortunate that theyindulge in politics even onborders,” Gupta said slammingpolitical rivals.

Earlier, Union HomeMinister Rajnath Singh, speak-ing at a programme to markfour years of the NDAGovernment in New Delhi,told a TV channel that theCentre was ready to talk to theHurriyat Conference if they

were ready for a dialogue. “If Hurriyat is ready to talk,

we have no problem, we areready to talk to anyone. Even ifPakistan comes for a dialogue,we are ready for it,” Singh hadsaid.

State BJP presidentRavinder Raina said BJP wouldnot compromise on safety,integrity and sovereignty of thenation.

“We will not fire the firstbullet (on borders), but willrain countless bullets if needarises,” he said pledging totake back the “areas illegallyoccupied by Pakistan”.

Raina claimed that the nextChief Minister of Jammu andKashmir would be from hisparty owing to “dedicatedworkers”.

“India has risen to thelevel that every country lookstowards the country for assis-tance. China had to take itssteps back after confrontationat border. India has revolu-tionised its defence sector andthe day is not far when Indiawill be the biggest armsexporter in the world,” he said.

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Former Bihar Chief MinisterJitan Ram Manjhi on

Sunday urged Bihar ChiefMinister Nitish Kumar to pres-surise the Centre on accordingspecial category status to Bihar,failing which he should resign.

“Nitish Kumar should raisewith the Centre the issue of get-ting special category status forBihar. He should threaten theCentral Government on theissue by giving it an ultimatumof 1-2 months,” Manjhi toldreporters here.

He added that if the Centredid not accede to Nitish’sdemand, then he should resign,Manjhi, who is HindustaniAwam Morcha (Secular)national president, said.

Bihar cannot developunless the state is granted spe-cial category status and thecountry too cannot make muchprogress without Bihar’s devel-opment, Manjhi said while stat-ing that even Prime MinisterNarendra Modi is also of thesame opinion but he did not doanything concrete on it.

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At least 58 students wereinjured in a stampede

fuelled by rumour of an earth-quake at Bihar Sharif Railwaystation in Nalanda district,police said on Sunday.

Hundreds of students fromSupaul, Madhubani,Madhepura and Saharsa dis-tricts had reached Bihar SharifRailway Station by Danapur-Rajgir passenger train aroundmidnight last night to appearfor an ITI examination, RailPolice Station SHO OmPrakash Paswan said.

The students slept on therailway platform as it was quitelate, he said. Around 2 am,sound of asbestos sheets fallingapart led many of them tobelieve that it was a tremor, theSHO said. A stampede followedin which 58 of the studentssleeping on the platform gotinjured, he added. All theinjured, who were admitted toBihar Sharif Sadar Hospital,have been released today afterbeing administered first aid, theSHO added.

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Andhra Pradesh ChiefMinister Chandrababu

Naidu said on Sunday thatPrime Minister Narendra Modiwas a “campaign PM...Who hasfailed to deliver on promises”and the BJP would “definitely”not remain in power after the2019 Lok Sabha polls.

Naidu said the Congresstoo won’t be able to form thenext Government on its ownand stressed that regional par-ties have “able and capableleaders” who will play impor-tant roles after the polls.

His remarks came a fewdays after he shared stage withthe leaders of several regionalparties at the swearing-in of HD Kumaraswamy as ChiefMinister of the Congress-JD(S)alliance in Karnataka after a bit-terly-fought election that threwup a hung verdict.

Inaugurating Mahanadu,the TDP’s annual conclave inVijayawada, the Telugu DesamParty chief said his party has

played important roles in form-ing Governments in the pastand had the power to changethe narrative in the country,hinting that it could tie-upwith like-minded parties tostop the BJP.

Naidu said the TDP was akey player in the formation theUnited Front Government in1996.

“The TDP has in the pastplayed a key role in formingGovernments. It has the powerto change the political narrativein the country. We won’t stepback,” Naidu said.

He said Modi is a “cam-paign Prime Minister, whogives slogans only, but hasfailed to deliver on promises”.

“The BJP will definitelynot come to power in 2019. TheBJP forming Government againis a distant dream,” Naidu said.

On allegations of EVMmanipulation during elections,he said thorough discussionsshould be held on the use of“electronic voting machines toensure fair elections”.

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Will Monday’s bypoll inKerala’s Chengannur

Assembly constituency turnout to be a referendum on theCPI(M)-led LDF Governmentwhich has just entered into thethird year of its tenure? This isthe question political Keralaseemed to be asking as candi-dates went through anextremely tiring last-minutecampaigning by personallymeeting as many voters aspossible on Sunday.

Political undercurrentshave been very strong inChengannur towards the lastdays of campaigning but theLDF, especially the CPI(M),had never attempted to bringthis point into open discussion.Former Chief Minister VSAchuthanandan was perhapsthe only Leftist leader who hadsaid that the bypoll could be a

major test for the LDFGovernment.

If LDF’s CPI(M) candi-date Saji Cherian emerges vic-torious in the by-election, theCPI(M) is sure to celebrate it asthe victory of the achieve-ments of the LDF Government,especially of Marxist ChiefMinister Pinarayi Vijayan,whose style of functioning hasnot had many fans in other par-ties in the combine, particularlythe CPI, say observers.

If Cherian loses the bypoll,demands are certain to comeup from within the front, evenfrom the CPI(M) itself, fordrastic changes in the style andpriorities of the Government,they point out. Counting ofvotes will take place on May 31and its outcome, whatever it is,will be the main — or even only— point of discussion of theLDF meeting scheduled to beheld the very next day.

But Cherian, his cam-paigners and the Left have notso far shown any signs of anx-iety about the outcome. “I amsure that the Left’s winningmargin will increase. The(Congress-led) UDF will bepushed to the third place in thistriangular battle. They (BJP) area bit ahead of the Congress inthis race,” Cherian told themedia on Sunday.

The bypoll was necessitatedby the death of CPI(M)’s sittingmember KK RamachandranNair, who the Left claims to haveinitiated development projectsworth Rs 750 crore inChengannur. The LDF has beentelling the voters that Cherianshould win the bypoll for com-pleting these projects and toimplement new projects worthanother �1,000 crore.

However, UDF’s Congresscandidate D Vijayakumarseemed unfazed by the Left’s

claims. He is banking mainlyon his popularity as a leaderfrom the constituency itself.“The kind of people’s partici-pation you saw in Saturday’sUDF show of strength (tomark the end of campaign) wasitself an obvious pointer to ourvictory,” he said on Sunday.

The UDF wants victory inChengannur to disprove itscritics who argue that it hasbeen a huge failure as an effec-tive Opposition underOpposition Leader RameshChennithala, a Congress leaderhailing from the Constituency.The Congress-led front hadwon the seat five times in a rowsince 1991.

The by-election is equallyimportant for the BJP which isfighting to expand its influencein the State though it had beensuccessful to open account inthe Assembly in 2016 throughthe victory of O Rajagopal in

Nemom. NDA candidate PSSreedharan Pillai, a former Statechief of the BJP, has no doubtsabout the outcome of the result.

“We are going to win thiselection. An opinion in ourfavour has already been builtup among the voters ofChengannur. We will also getgood support from the minori-ties,” Pillai said on Sunday.Pillai, who fought for the NDAin Chengannur in 2016, hadincreased its votes to over42,000 from a paltry 6,062 ithad secured in 2011.

Meanwhile, the ElectionCommission completed all itspreparations for Monday’s by-election by Sunday evening.Chengannur has a total of1,88,702 voters and the com-mission has arranged 181polling booths including 17auxiliary booths to ensure asmooth, free and fair bypollprocess.

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The ruling BJP has a lot atstake as it goes all out to

retain two of its Lok Sabha seatsof Palghar and Bhandara-Gondiya in Maharashtra whereMonday’s bypolls present thecontours of the imminentlyfierce battles to be fought dur-ing the 2019 LS elections in theState.

In an apparent precursor toa formal break-up of thealliance between the two saf-fron parties, the BJP is sluggingit out with its three-decade longally-turned-combative rivalShiv Sena in Palghar con-stituency where the gloves areoff as the leaders of the two par-ties are swearing at each otherand allegations of electoralmalpractices are flying thickand fast.

Though relatively low-keyin nature, the Bhandara-Gondiya by-poll has thrown upa keen contest between the BJPand Opposition NCP whichhas teamed up the Congress totake on the Amit Shah-ledparty that is throwing every-

thing into its campaign toretain its foothold in the tradi-tional stronghold of formerUnion Minister Praful Patel.

While the Palghar by-pollhas been necessitated by theuntimely death of its sitting MPChintaman Vanga in Januarythis year, the Bhandara-Gondiya by-poll is being heldin the wake of resignation of itssitting MP Nana Patole whoquit the BJP in December lastyear and joined the Congressearly this year.

Ironically enough, both theby-polls are being fought bycandidates “imported” fromother parties. For instance inPalghar, the Shiv Sena has field-ed late sitting BJP MPChintaman Vanga’s sonShrinivas Vanga, while the BJP

has nominated formerCongress Minister RajendraGavit as its candidate. InBhandara-Gondiya, the BJPhas fielded the Shiv Sena’s erst-while district chief HemantPatle, whom it gave a party tick-et to contest the bypoll soonafter he resigned from the Sena.

Between the two by-polls,the Palghar contest is hoggingall the limelight as it features ano-holds-barred electoral battlebetween the hither-to alliancepartners BJP and Shiv Sena.

The Sena — which had re-entered into a power-sharingarrangement with the BJP in theState after the October 2014Maharashtra Assembly pollsand announced in January thisyear that it would not have anytruck with its ruling alliancepartner in the forthcoming elec-tions — is giving the BJP run forits money in the Palghar bypoll.

Apart from making themost sympathy enjoyed by lateChintaman Vanga among thetribal voters in this Palgharreserved constituency, ShivSena chief Bal Thackeray tookvicious swipes at Prime

Minister Narendra Modi, BJPPresident Amit Shah and UttarPradesh Chief Minister YogiAdityanath in the bitter cam-paigning that ended onSaturday.

At the fag of the election-eering, Thackeray caused a flut-ter by releasing a purportedaudio clip where chief ministerDevendra Fadnavis of the BJPis heard exhorting the BJPparty workers to use “Saam,Daam, Dand and Bhed” (allmeans and methods) to win thecrucial by-poll — a clip thatFadnavis dismissed saying itwas “pruned”, “edited” and“tampered” version of hisspeech. The Sena has alsoaccused the BJP of distributingmoney to voters. During thehigh-charged campaign, Sena’scandidate Chintaman Vangamade emotional appeals to thevoters, by claiming that hislate father and family memberswere treated badly by the BJPbefore and after his death.

An excellent orator,Fadnavis led the BJP’s charge inits belligerent campaign againstthe Sena. In its bid to woo 22

per cent north-India peopleamong a total 17 lakh voters,the BJP fielded Uttar PradeshChief Minister Yogi Adityanathas its star campaigner, while itsUnion Minister Smriti Iranialso addressed a few electionsrallies for her party. Almost allthe State BJP Ministers cam-paigned in the by-poll. Thecampaign witnessed an uglyexchange of barbs betweenAidtyanath and Thackeray.

Unlike in Palghar where thecontest is mainly between Sena’sShrinivas BJP’s Ravindra Gavitin a contest the presence ofCongress, Bahujan VikasAghadi and CPM candidates,the Bhandara-Gondiya con-stituency is witnessing a directfight between the BJP’s HemantPatle and NCP’s MadhukarKukde, who is a joint candidateof Congress, NCP, RPI andPiripa alliance.

Former Union MinisterPraful Patel is leading Kukade’scampaign, while chief ministerDevendra Fadnavis and UnionMinister Nitin Gadkari havecampaigned intensely for theBJP’s candidate.

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All eyes are set on Sunday’sMaheshtala Assembly by-

elections where the rulingTrinamool Congress is engagedin a tri-cornered contest withBJP emerging as a strong con-tender for the seat and the Leftfighting with its back againstthe wall to retain its status asparty number two with the helpof Congress.

D e m o g r a p h i c a l l yMaheshtala, situated in thesouth-eastern fringes ofKolkata has 60 percent Hinduand 40 percent Muslim voters.While most of the educatedHindu population comprise,service holders and business-men, the Muslims areemployed in the garment fac-tories of Mtiabruz, Akra, BraceBridge.

A traditional Left bastionin 2011 CPI(M) lost to theTrinamool Congress by 26,000votes. The margin however

was reduced to 12,000 in 2016when the Congress supportedthe Marxists. While the Leftpolled about 80,000 votes theBJP got 14,000 votes in the lastelections.

However things seem tohave changed a lot over the pastone year or so with the BJPbacked by the RSS steadilyreplacing the Left Front tooccupy the second spot as waswitnessed in the recently con-ducted panchayat elections.

TMC candidate andMaheshtala Municipality chair-man Dulal Das on the otherhand is confident of winningthe seat by a comfortable mar-gin. “The people do not vote forme or anyone else. They votefor Mamata Banerjee and thereis no one in Bengal to challengeher. So I am sure to win thisseat. Let the CPI(M) and theBJP fight for number two spot.”

The death of Dulal’s wifeand sitting MLA Kasturi Dasnecessitated the by-election.

His confidence notwithstandingDas’s main problem could bethe family feud he is engaged inwith his son-in-law, seniorMinister and Kolkata MayorSovan Chatterjee who is alsothe president of South 24Parganas district TrinamoolCongress.

Chatterjee has notaddressed a single meeting infavour of Das here. Sources sayhis supporters could even votefor the BJP Sujit Ghosh a for-mer CBI joint director.

On the other hand the Lefthas fielded a relatively green-horn Prabhat Chowdhury,backed by the Congress. “Evenif the Muslim votes get divid-ed to some extent then the BJPmay even win the seat. If theyvote enmasse as did in favourof the TMC then they will winand if the Left and the Congressare successful in retaining theirHindu vote base as they did in2016 then they may well retainthe second spot,” locals said.

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Angry over Congress MLAVirji Thummer’s antago-

nistic remarks on Gujarat BJPpresident Jitu Vaghani’s moth-er, hundreds of BJP workersstaged protest in front ofCongress party’s Gujarat head-quarters in Ahmedabad onSunday.

The BJP workers includingstate BJP spokesman IK Jadeja,Member of Parliament KiritSolanki and other leaders alongwith large number of partyworkers Assembled at RajivGandhi Bhavan situated atPaladi area of Ahmedabad andshouted slogans against LathiMLA Thummer. Demandingsuspension of the erring MLAfrom the Opposition partythey also burned effigy ofThummer.

On the other hand

Congress MLA ShaileshParmar, spokesman of GujaratPradesh Congress Committee(GPCC) Manish Doshi andothers came out of the GujaratCongress headquarters andstaged counter protest whichforced police to intervene inorder to keep the situationunder control.

On Saturday late eveningduring ‘PatidarMahapanchayat’ — an eventorganised by supporters ofpro-quota leader Hardik Patelto chalk out future course ofaction for ongoing pro-quotaagitation at Moti Malvan vil-lage of Surendranagar district,Thummer remarked thatprobably Vaghani’s motherwouldn’t be Patidar, other-wise he would have remainedpresent in the event. HardikPatel had invited all PatidarMLAs of Gujarat in the event

to take the agitation forward.Obviously most of the PatelCongress MLAs attended theevent but all 27 Patidar MLAsof BJP including Vaghani did-n’t attend the event.

Reacting on Thummer’sremark, Gujarat ChiefMinister Vijay Rupani saidCongress party must tenderapology to Vaghani for suchlow level comment from itsMLA.

On the other handThummer remained firm onhis statement saying that hisremarks came in context of JituVaghani’s statement thatHardik is nothing but puppetof Congress party.

He went on to say that any-one belongs to Sardar Patel’scommunity would not speaksuch words for Hardik who isworking so hard for the inter-est of Patidar community.

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Avideo of a woman con-fronting a Minister when he

visited a Government hospitalin Tuticorin district on Sundayto meet those injured duringanti-Sterlite protests there lastweek and asking him why hecannot announce its closure, hasgone viral on the social media.

The woman's son is beingtreated at the hospital.

As soon as Information andPublicity Minister 'Kadambur'Raju along with DistrictCollector Sandip Nanduri camenear her son's bed, the womandemands to know why he can-not announce that the factorywould be permanently closed.

Pointing to the wound onher son's head, she asks himwhat he would have done if hisson had sustained such an injury.

The Minister tries to paci-fy her and says he too hails fromthe same (Tuticorin) district

and understands her feelings. At this point, the son inter-

venes to ask whether theMinister was ready to give inwriting that the factory wouldnot operate, to which theMinister says, "we will not allowthe factory to run".

The months-long protestsfor the closure of Vedanta'sSterlite Copper unit in Tuticorinover pollution concerns turnedviolent last week, with agitatorsfighting pitched battles withpolice, prompting the personnelto open fire, killing 13 people.

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Police stations in Kerala willsoon have trained child

welfare officers to deal withcrime cases against children.

The State police has takenthe significant decision in thewake of increasing incidents ofatrocities and harassmentagainst children.

The move would also helpto strengthen the force's ongo-ing mission to make police sta-tions 'child-friendly'.

State DGP, Loknath Beherasaid special training would beimparted to police personnel todeal with the cases related tochildren. "For this, a womanconstable will be deployed aschild welfare officer in eachpolice station," he said whilespeaking in a workshop organ-ised by the Kerala StateCommission for Protection ofChild Rights here yesterday.

Crime Branch IG, SSreejith said instructions hadbeen given to take immediateaction in cases coming underthe Protection of Childrenfrom Sexual Offences(POCSO).

The Commission's actingchairperson, C J Antony saidthe society has the moralresponsibility to ensure theprotection of children.

Other Commission mem-bers also took part in the paneldiscussion.

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APakistani national wasdetained on Sunday by the

Border Security Force (BSF)when he tried to enter the coun-try through the internationalborder.

In Gujarat's Kutch district,an official said.

Three SIM cards and twomobile phones were recoveredfrom his possession, the BSFofficial said. The man, in hisearly thirties, identified himselfas Raju, he said. He tried to enterKutch district from neighbour-ing Sindh province in Pakistanearly this morning when a BSFpatrol team caught him, the offi-cial said, adding that he tried tocross over through a patch in anunfenced area between borderpillars 1085 and 1090. "Theman was being questioned. TheBSF would later hand him overto the local Khavda police forfurther action," he added.

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ASri Lankan Airways flightwith 248 persons on board

got caught in cross wind dur-ing landing today at CochinInternational Airport Limitedbut there were no casualties,airport sources said.

They said UL 167 SriLankan Airbus landed at theairport aat 3.55 PM. But ittouched down down onemeter away from the desig-nated path due to strong cross-winds.

The aircraft was broughtback to the taxi bay. Therewere no casualties. All 248 pas-sengers are safe, the sourcessaid.

The runway was closed for50 minutes.

Only one Jet airways flightfrom Mumbai was diverteddue to the incident, the sourcessaid.

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Authorities in Rajouri dis-trict of Jammu & Kashmir

have initiated the process ofconstructing over 5,500 under-ground bunkers and 200 com-munity halls as well as 'borderbhawans' to help borderdwellers facing the brunt ofPakistani shelling and firing.

The prestigious project,targeted to be completed in thecurrent financial year at a costof �153.60 crore, has alreadybeen approved by the stategovernment and union min-istry of home affairs (MHA), anofficial spokesman said today.

He said DistrictDevelopment CommissionerShahid Iqbal Choudharychaired a meeting and reviewedarrangements for initiatingconstruction of family bunkers,community bunkers, commu-nity halls and border bhawans

to facilitate safety of border res-idents during ceasefire viola-tions.

“A total of 5,196 bunkersare being constructed in sevenblocks along the 120 km longstretch of LoC. These includeSunderbani, Qila Drahal,Nowshera, Doongi, Rajouri,Panjgrain and Manajakote,”the spokesman said.

He said over 260 commu-nity bunkers and 160 commu-nity halls would also be con-structed in villages located in 0-3 KM distance from LoC foraccommodation of people dur-ing ceasefire violation prompt-ed migration or emergencyevacuation.

“The border bhawans toaccommodate more than10,000 people will be con-structed in safer areas ofSunderbani, Nowshera,Doongi, Rajouri andManjakote,” the spokesman

said.He said the tendering

process designed for construc-tion of bunkers as block levelprojects as per MHA guidelineswould start within one weekand process will be completedwithin one month which will befollowed by construction ofbunkers, shelters and commu-nity halls.

Every family residing in 0-3 KM range from LoC wouldbe provided an individual fam-ily bunker during Phase-I ofthe project while communitybunkers and halls will be strict-ly constructed near schools,hospitals, police stations, policeposts, government buildingsand panchayat ghars for safeaccommodation and betterutilisation during peace time,the spokesman said.

He said 'tehsildars' (rev-enue officials) have been direct-ed to hand over land to exe-

cuting agencies indicating areaand Khasra number as well asentry in revenue records whiletenders would be put in pub-lic domain within one week.

Joint teams of Revenue,Rural DevelopmentDepartment, Police and PublicWorks Department would con-duct inspection, physical veri-fication and monitoring withactive cooperation from borderguarding forces, he said.

The spokesman said allassets will be geo-tagged andmonitored online at districtand state level.

In December last year, theCentre announced construc-tion of 14,460 individual andcommunity bunkers at a cost ofRs 415.73 crore for people liv-ing along the LoC and IB inJammu region as a step toensure their safety in the wakeof frequent cross-bordershelling.

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Models walking along theramps are familiar sights

in TV channels. But one cansee wild elephants too walkingalong “ramps”.. Any doubt?Travel between Coimbatoreand Palakkadu stretch of theRailways by train and onecould get the sight of elephantsslowly walking along the rampsexclusively built for them by theTamil Nadu Government.These ramps are not for fash-ion shows but to save the ele-phants from being run over bythe trains.

The stretch betweenCoimbatore in Tamil Nadu andPalakkadu in Kerala is a pleas-ant experience for an averagetraveller. It is the stretch whentrains chug from the stretch ofvast dry lands into the greeneryof Kerala. The fortunate onescould see wild boars and jackalswhen the train passes throughthe western ghats forest. What

makes the stretch interesting isthe thick growth of wild bushesand the green hills nearby.

The 25 km stretch is alsoknown as the graveyard ofwild elephants. The last 38years saw 18 elephants gettingkilled when they were hit bytrains. In pitch darkness, it isdifficult for loco pilots to makeout the wild elephants crossingthe tracks in search of waterand vegetables. Though ele-phants are sensitive to light andsound, they are slow to reactwhen the speeding trains

approach them because of thesharp curves and wild growthon both sides.

The wild growth on bothsides of the tracks were clearedso that the loco pilots could getto see the elephants.The ele-phants won’t be able to see thetrains coming from their rearor sides because of the naturalrestrictions of their eye sight.

The forest department wasadamant that the Railwayshould provide a solution to theever increasing number of ele-phant deaths . But the railways

were handicapped by manydrawbacks. There were noresources for planning andexecuting measures to save thelife of wild animals. "The for-est department insisted that weshould ecelarate the speed ofthe trains in this stretch. Butthere are technical issues asso-ciated with the gradient of thetracks and speed of the trains,"said a senior Railway official.Though the forest departmenthad resources , bureaucraticcallousness came in the way aspolicy makers were not thatattached to wild elephants.More over the pachydermswere reportedly engaged intrespassing into neighboringvillages for robbing agricultur-al crops painstakingly culti-vated by the farmers in landswhich lie near the reserveforests.

It was then that TamilNadu Forest Departmentcame out with the idea ofbuilding ramps in the stretch-es which reported maximum

casualties of elephants. “Wehave seen elephants using theramps 51 times and this is aninspiration for us. Camerashave been installed along theramps and these have givenpictures of elephants walkingalong them. There are watchtowers built along the tracksand these are also gettingsight of elephants using theramp,” said a senior official ofthe Tamil Nadu ForestDepartment.. He also addedthat more and more stretchesof ramps would be built afterobserving the present ones forsome more time so that theelephant causalities could becontrolled.

Four elephants were runover by trains in this stretchbetween June 2016 toNovember 2016 . Since theramps were constructed, noelephant has been hit by trainsand this is an interestingdevelopment,” the officer whodid not want his name to beidentified told The Pioneer.

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Page 8: $4 ) 0*AB: ˜ ( ˜() $˜ %&’ 43%˘ 4&’2 6 %=#% >> 23# % &˘4 2% ... speeding Etios car or the man who was driving the Harley Davidson. Police officers, how-ever, said they suspect

Many countries will come toa stop later this summer asthe 21st edition of theworld’s largest sports tour-nament gets cracking in

the world’s largest country, Russia. Thisis the first time that the country is host-ing the World Cup. While the way inwhich Russia and the 2022 host, Qatar,were awarded the World Cup rightsremain shrouded in controversy, the2018 tournament is upon us, questionsthat need to be asked more important inthe eyes of some than the corruptionscandal or Russia’s brutal crackdown ondissent or even the crisis in the EasternUkraine and the annexation of theCrimean peninsula.

For 90 per cent of the sports watch-ing population across the world, suchquestions can wait out the six weeks ofthe tournament, which is a pity becausehosting the tournament usually can puta lot of pressure on the hosts to behavethemselves, but other than forcing Russiato ‘suspend’ some homophobic laws forthe duration of the tournament, FIFA andthe world, particularly Western Europe,which misses no opportunity to hectortheir giant Eastern neighbour, have beenquiet. In Germany and the UnitedKingdom, more pressing issues haveemerged — that is how will their nation-al men’s football teams perform in Russia,spy poisoning scandals be damned. Suchis the hypocrisy of the Western media.

However, World Cup tournamentsthemselves during their durations havea way of altering the worldview and theworld’s view of nations. Germany, forexample, got a massive economic andsocial boost following the 2006 WorldCup they hosted. The world’s image of theGermans as a stiff teutonic nation wasirrevocably changed into one of a hip,modern and inclusive nation. The foun-dations of Germany’s 2014 World Cupwin and their unquestioned leadership inEurope today were laid in 2006. However,the 2014 World Cup in Brazil had theopposite effect — it was the catalyst thatlaid bare the social strife at the heart ofthe nation that spent money they did nothave to host the tournament. Today,Brazil is in political and social turmoil.

However, it was the deep-rootedcorruption in the global football feder-ation FIFA and the world body’s failureto spread the sport more successfully intoChina and India that is becoming a hugeissue going forward. Even though theIndian Super League has had some com-mercial and viewership success, it palesin front of the runaway success that is theIndian Premier League in cricket. Indeed,football’s spread to several new territo-ries will be challenged by cricket, as the

IPL has demonstrated India’s soft powerin neighbouring countries. But much likethe IPL and other T20 leagues across theworld have gnawed away at the core ofthe international game in cricket, over-load and competitiveness of the clubgame, especially the European club game,is challenging international football.

Unlike international cricket, whereplayers can play beside each other asmuch as a hundred days in a year, inter-national football players barely spend afew weeks together in a year once theirprofessional careers start. The Europeanfootball season officially comes to a closeon Sunday at the conclusion of theChampions League final between Spain’sReal Madrid and England’s LiverpoolFootball Club, which will be a highlycompetitive match between two clubsloaded with talent. But one reason theclub game has become so popular isbecause of the mixture of talent and thefact club football is the only space forsome of that talent to really shinethrough. Take Liverpool’s talismanicEgyptian striker Mohamed Salah. Whilehe will play at the World Cup, it is unlike-ly that he can raise the rest of his teamto the level they need to be to get into thesecond round. But when surrounded bytalent from all over the world, he will winseveral trophies in Liverpool.

And Salah is not the only example,

Leo Messi, who along with CristianoRonaldo is a superstar and one of the bestto ever have stepped onto a football pitch,has not won a major international tour-nament. And this is where things havechanged from the times of the previousArgentine football God, DiegoMaradona. Messi is no less of a legendaryplayer because he has won nothing in theblue and white of Argentina because hehas won everything a club player can inthe ‘Blaugrana’ of Barcelona. Maradonawas defined by his performance atMexico, 1986. Messi has been defined byhis time at Camp Nou alongside othersuperstars like Xavi Hernandez andAndres Iniesta.

Lack of frequency of internationalfootball matches, particularly comparedto the fifty-plus games a year that someof the top clubs play, almost all of whichare broadcast in high-definition into ourhomes have changed the game of football.That coupled with the rot inside the glob-al football federation which spent, amongother things, $25 million producing amovie about themselves ‘United Passions’instead of promoting the game proper-ly has been a problem, FIFA and for thatmatter the Indian football federation havenot built on the back of the successfulUnder-17 World Cup hosted in india lastyear. If India is to be successful at thesport, much more money and coaching

talent is needed from FIFA. However, itis almost certain that an Indian-bornplayer will succeed at the top of the clubgame, it is almost certain that player hasbeen born already. Because it is easier forone or two to succeed than a whole team.

FIFA plans to expand the World CupFinals to a truly incredible 64 teams goingforward, quite the opposite solution of theInternational Cricket Council which isreducing participation. This runs the riskof making the international game evenmore unrelatable and irrelevant. Nocountry is particularly fond of failure inan international sporting event, so withmore countries failing and it might turnpeople away from the sport. One couldargue that a lot of Brazil’s current turmoilstarted after their horrendous 7-1 defeatby Germany. Smaller, tighter and high-ly competitive tournaments might be thebest way for the international game tostay relevant at a time of the club game.

That said, I for one will certainly beenjoying this tournament, which on theface of it it seems the most open tourna-ment since 2006. Despite all the contro-versy and the issues surrounding the fed-erations and the hosts, the tournamentought to be a success. Here is wishing allthe players, coaches and volunteers all thebest for Russia, 2018.

(The writer is Managing Editor, The Pioneer)

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Sir — This refers to the article,“It’s our duty to treat animals ashumans” (May 26) by HiranmayKarlekar. I agree with the writer’sview that animals need recogni-tion. Live and let live should ide-ally be our attitude. It bodes wellthat the well-being of animals isbecoming an issue.

Yet, I am at loss: Do only petsand wildlife fall under the cate-gory of ‘animals’? How can wetalk about animal rights with astraight face when we ignore theplight of those poor 56 billionanimals who are brutally slaugh-tered every year unnecessarily forfood? Do we have the right to killfor taste? This debate is necessaryfor the well-being of the planet.Till this happens, to enshrine animal rights in the Constitution,as Germany did in 2002, is hyp-ocritical.

Maria WirthDehradun

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Sir — Amidst a walkout by theBJP, newly sworn-in KarnatakaChief Minister HDKumaraswamy won the crucialtrust vote in the State Assemblyand, thus, passed the first hurdle.But considering the fact that his36-member Janata Dal (Secular)(he would have to vacate one ofthe two Assembly seats he won)is being supported by a 78-member Congress legislativeparty, there is no denying the factthat the upcoming innings is cer-tainly not going to be a cakewalkfor him, especially because the

Congress wil l have moreMinisters than the JD(S) in theCabinet.

A coordination committee,coupled with the formulation ofa Common MinimumProgramme is indispensable inthis post-poll idea of a coalitionGovernment between Congressand JD(S) just to keep the BJPout of power.

Further, the upcoming elec-tions to two Assembly seats, oneon May 28 and the other on June11, is crucial. Results to theseseats will be seen as a sort of ref-erendum for Kumaraswamy dis-pensation or, in other words, thebonhomie between Congressand JD(S).

Hemanth Kumar Via email

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Sir — This refers to the editori-al, “Vested interests” (May 24). Itwas perplexing how the policeused assault rifles on unarmedprotesters who were raising seri-ous concerns about the environmental and health impacton the fishing community inTuticorin due to the functioningof the Sterlite copper-smeltingplant. Now, we cannot deny thefact that humans will indirectlybe killed if our environmentgets polluted. Tuticorin hasshowed that humans will direct-ly be killed if they protest againstpollution. How can we survive then?

Sujit DeKolkata

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Ramazan, the ninth month of theIslamic Calendar, began on May16 and will conclude on June 14.

Considered to be the most sacredmonth, its span is coeval with keepingRoza (obligatory fasting), salat-ul-nafl(supererogatory prayers), recitation ofQuran and participation in social ser-vices. At the end of Ramazan comesthe festival of Id-ul-Fitr.

Most non-Muslims, having knownthat festivals and sacred days are root-ed in seasons, are confounded onRamzan. A few recollect that it oncecame in the summer, others recountit came in winter, and still others inMonsoon. In reality, everyone is cor-rect, but none so fully. Since Islam fol-lows a lunar calendar of 355 days, it isnaturally out of sync with the seasons.The months rotate freely throughout

the year, regressing 10 to 11 days onevery successive occasion vis-à-visthe Gregorian calendar.

The phenomenon differs widelyfrom the ‘floating’ dates of Hindu fes-tivals and sacred occasions familiar tous in India. The dates of Navaratri, RamNavami, Rath Yatra, Janmasthamiamong others vary from year-to-yearwhether seen from the Gregorian cal-endar or any Indian sidereal solar cal-endar. The Hindu festivals, thoughdetermined by tithis or lunar phases, arenot without reference to solar months.Thus, Ram Navami always falls inChaitra, Buddha Purnima in Vaishak,Rath Yatra in Aashadh, Janmasthamiin Shravana, Durga Puja in Asvin,though actual dates differ year-on-year.They oscillate exactly like a pendulum,falling back twice into equilibrium posi-tion over a nine-year cycle.

Reckoning the month by the moonhas been an ancient practice around theworld. In fact, the English word ‘month’is believed to have been etymological-ly derived from the moon, though thereis no correlation between the two in theGregorian calendar. Actually, the moonis a more convenient marker than the

sun. This because while the dailyangular motion of the sun, relative tothe fixed stars, is only about 10, that ofthe moon is 130. Being a nocturnal fix-ture, it is easier to track the siderealmovement of the moon. The siderealrevolution period of the moon, or theaverage time it takes to circuit the dis-tance from a given star back again tosame star, is around 27 days seven hoursand 43 minutes. But the synodic rev-olution, or Moon’s actual revolutionaround the earth takes around 53 hoursor more because of the eastwardmotion of the sun which must be over-taken. One synodic revolution of themoon around the earth takes 29 daysand 12 hours and 44 minutes ie, 29.53days. This is the time period betweenone new moon to the next, constitut-ing a single lunar month.

But while lunar month is a reality,a lunar year is just a mental construct.A lunar year comprising 29.5 days x 12= 354 days, unlike the solar year of365.25 days, has no grounding in anyastronomical phenomenon. The solaryear of 365.25 days stands for the timetaken by the earth to revolve around thesun once. During this course of revo-

lution, the sun passes against a back-ground of fixed stars at the rate of onezodiac per month. But it would beutterly wrong to impose the samemodel of moon. The moon actuallycovers all the zodiacs within onemonth (actually less, 27 days andseven hours on an average) whilerevolving round the earth.

Historically, civilisations like theBabylonians, which used lunar month,inserted an extra month called ‘inter-calary month’ at definite intervals tokeep their calendar at par with the solaryear. This prevented seasonal cyclesfrom going haywire. This is the proce-dure still followed in the case ofVikram Samvat, where every third yeara supplementary month (adhimas) isinserted. This makes Vikram Samvatdifferent from Hijri Islamic Calendarthough both use amanta (starting atnew moon and ending on no moon)system of month reckoning.

In pre-Islamic Arabia, such a luni-solar calendar had been adopted in 412AD. Every third year, an intercalarymonth (‘Nasi’) was placed between Zual-Hijja (the month of pilgrimage toMecca) and Muharram the first month

of the year. But the system was prohib-ited by two verses of the Quran videSura 9 Aayat 36 and 37. An astronom-ical issue became an inalienable reli-gious issue. Since then the Muslim cal-endar became 354 days long, thus outof sync with seasonal cycle.

A calendar is, therefore, not meantmerely for religious observances butalso for civilian, agricultural and rev-enue purposes. A purely lunar calen-dar might still have worked in ArabianPeninsula, which has scant agriculture.But as Islam began to spread, as a resultof its military conquest, insufficienciesof lunar year came to light.

Thus at height of its glory threeIslamic Empires viz, Turkish OttomanEmpire, Safavid Empire in Iran andMughal Empire in India had eitherfashioned a workable solar calendar orusing solar calendars of pre-Islamicvintage. In Iran, the celebratedastronomer, poet and philosopherOmar Khayyam (1048-1132 AD) wasamongst eight wise men engaged bySeljuk ruler Jalal al-Din Malik Shah(ruled 1072-1092) to fashion a newsolar calendar, with new era and withnew names for the months. The Jalali

Era (Tarikhi-i Jalali) adopted on theMarch 15, 1079. ‘A computation oftime’ says Edward Gibbon, ‘which sur-passes the Julian and approaches theaccuracy of the Gregorian style’. Inmodern Persia, the Jalali calendarbecame the official calendar in 1911.In fact, in 1976, Shah MohammedReza Pehalvi had had changed the erafrom Hijri (622 AD) to Cyrus theGreat’s coronation (559 BC), but it wasreverted to Hijri after the IslamicRevolution in 1979. In India Akbaralso adopted the Persian solar calen-dar for administrative use, whichwas later overturned by Aurangzeb.

Tipu Sultan (ruled 1782-1799) ofMysore, who set up a new calendarwith a new era (Maulud-i-Muhammed) beginning from 609AD (Mohammed’s proclamation ofprophethood), used months withnew Arabic names but intercalarymonths, something prohibited inthe Quran. The conflict of theologyand astronomy is evident in theIslamic calendar.

(The author is an independentresearcher. Views expressed above are personal)

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When India was gaspingunder the excesses ofEmergency imposedby a democraticallyelected Prime

Minister, everyone knew it was aconsequence of two separate decisionstaken by two individuals in widely con-trasting perceptions of one’s duties tothe profession and accountability to thepeople and the Constitution of India.The first one of these was based on val-ues, commitment to profession anddetermination to the principles ofdelivering justice.

Justice Jagmohan Lal Sinha of theAllahabad High Court went ahead toperform his duty, notwithstanding allpossible pressures to which he mighthave probably been subjected to. Hewent ahead with the judicious perfor-mance of his duty, undeterred by anyother consideration. He declared theelection of Indira Gandhi to the LokSabha null and void, thus effectivelyunseating her from the position of thePrime Minister of India.

Indians felt proud of the indepen-dence of the judiciary. People rejoiced,felt elated on being citizens of avibrant functional democracy. Thiselation, however, was only short-lived. The response of the incumbentPrime Minister was totally unexpect-ed — rather shocking — from a per-son holding such a highConstitutional position.

A really bold decision was expect-ed as she (Indira Gandhi) had givenample evidence of courage, determi-nation and decision-making traitsearlier, particularly during the 1971war that led to the creation ofBangladesh. Her response indicatedabundance of fear, apprehensions,lack of self-confidence and adherenceto principles and values. She could notshun power even for an interregnumof few weeks, fight her case and returnback triumphantly!

Probably there was acute lack oftrust in her colleagues. The choicebefore her was crystal clear: To stickto democratic practices and traditionsand create a niche in history as acourageous and morally strong per-son. This could have established herstatesmanship. It could have alsoenhanced the strength of the pillars ofdemocracy — judiciary, legislatureand executive — and set an examplefor the future. That was not to be.

Indira Gandhi, with all the expe-rience gained earlier in her battle withthe Syndicate, could not envision theverdict of history and chose the unde-mocratic path of circumventing theCourt judgement. She imposedEmergency without consulting herCabinet. And what a Cabinet it was?It approved the imposition post-facto,with the sole exception of Sardar

Swaran Singh; put their signatures onthe dotted lines before taking theirbed-tea! What followed next was thearrest of all prominent Oppositionleaders, their tortures, a widespreadsense of fear amongst citizens. Itcould befit only a tyrant or dictator.

None had cast Indira Gandhi inthat mould before the imposition ofEmergency. The Indian democracyafter Emergency. With changingtimes, morals, ethics, accountabilityand values appear to be meant only foroccasional preaching and everyoneknows these are not meant to be prac-ticed. In the Indian political scenario,hope surfaced when JP movement rat-tled the establishment. Those in theseat of power were thrashed severelyin the General Election of 1977 by thecommon man.

Unfortunately, there was notmuch time for the people to rejoice.JP movement was let down by thosewho came to power in his name, butcould not live up to the expectationsof the people because of personal egosand unwillingness to live a value-basedpublic life. They paved the way for thetriumphant return of Indira Gandhito the helm within three years. Severalyoung followers of JP, who remainedin politics, came to positions ofpower, looked after only their ownwelfare and their family. What anirony that contrary to the firm beliefof JP, his followers strengthened caste-based politics in India just to win elec-tions. Could these unethical electionvictories be counted as their success?

History would remember thewidespread and contagious responseto the JP movement in the hope of

clean electoral politics and empathet-ic governance. This was the first suchinstance that generated hope andsaw its decimation within 36 months.Another followed soon after. It was thecase of Rajiv Gandhi coming to powerwith an unprecedented majority in theLok Sabha in 1985.

The initial impression he createdwas that of a sober, professionallyequipped, likeable young person gen-uinely interested in modernisingIndia. From village Chaupal to IndiaInternational Centre, people oftenremarked that at least for the next twodecades, there was no chance of any-one replacing him. The sheen was lostwithin two years. He was unseated inthe next election in 1991. One couldalso recall the rise and fall of theAssam Gan Parishad that emerged outof a student movement, run and con-ducted from university hostels.

Their main plank was to preventpolitically-supported influx ofBangladeshis in India in huge num-bers. They gained sympathy and sup-port across the nation. These youngpersons won the election and movedright from their hostel rooms to theofficial residences of the Chief Ministerand Ministers. Any democratic set-upcould be proud of such a happening.It generated high hopes amongst all,particularly the young personsthroughout India. This experimentalso failed. In all these three cases, themain culprits were inexperience,insensitive personal relations, clash ofindividual ego, lack of trust and defi-nitely the lure of corruption andunethical practices once the glamourand glitz of power took over.

The latest example before thepeople, particularly first-time voters of2019, is that of the Anna Hazare move-ment. What a beginning and what anend. It was a sight to see hordes ofyoung persons from all over the coun-try rushing to the Ramlila Maidan inDelhi. Their faces were full of hope,expectation and aspiration. Peoplewere in desperate need of a leadershipthat would stick to democratic prin-ciples and values, would honestly andsincerely think of the downtroddenand deprived. A new political leader-ship did emerge, people trusted it, putthem on the pedestal of power andbegan to rue over their choice withina year: “All are alike”. That says it all.

Several nations gained indepen-dence after the WWII, mostly in Asiaand Africa. Each one of these declaredthemselves as democratic states thatwould strive hard to ameliorate the fateof their people, particularly those whowere deprived of a decent life for agesunder imperialist colonial rule and itstyranny. Most of these became victimsof military takeover, political leadersturned into dictators and despots andthere was no-comprehension of the ide-ology of growth and development thatwould be suited to the country con-cerned and not thrust upon by outsiders.

In contrast, India received glob-al admiration for strengthening theroots of democracy in its initial years.Pakistan and its travails were oftenmentioned in international discours-es. It suffered several militarytakeovers. It was Zulfkar Ali Bhuttowho deprived Sheikh MujiburRahman from taking oath as thePrime Minister of the Integrated

Pakistan. What followed is history. Nations must continuously learn

not only from internal happenings butmust also keep an eye on the interna-tional scenario. Even a peripheral lookwill indicate that for a majority of politi-cians and political parties, survival inpolitics and gaining power at any costis the only consideration. On umpteenoccasions, practically every politicalparty has resorted to politics, confin-ing its elected flocks to five-star com-forts, which should be an insult to anydignified individual. All of this muststop forthwith. Even media should takethe lead in educating people.

People, progress, prosperity andpeace are on the back burner for major-ity of power-hungry and frustratedpoliticians in India. In democracies,enlightened civil society must attemptcomprehending what transforms ademocratic leader into a self-centredtimid individual who refuses to realisethe basic expectations of his people.There is no dearth of people in everywalk of life who are quietly, sincerely anddexterously living a value-based life, con-tributing to the national cause and theirfellow-beings. They must raise their voiceagainst unscrupulous practices beingindulged in at higher levels. The civilsociety, politically unhinged, must realiseits responsibility and assert its presence.It must be accepted that these reformmust begin from schools, colleges anduniversities. The future generationsmust realise that winning an election —through unethical means — may be thebiggest defeat in life for a conscientiousand committed nationalist citizen.

(The writer is former Director,NCERT, and an educationist)

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The ED is set to move a spe-cial court in Mumbai to

seek permission for “immedi-ate confiscation” of about�7,000 crore assets of design-er diamond jeweller NiravModi under the recently pro-mulgated Fugitive EconomicOffenders Ordinance.

The agency, empowered bythe Union Government to enactthe new power in the country,will seek an official declarationto categorise Nirav Modi as a“fugitive” based on its prose-cution complaint (charge sheet)filed before a special court inMumbai last week under thePrevention of MoneyLaundering Act (PMLA).

On May 24, the ED hadfiled its first charge sheet in theover $2 billion PNB fraud caseinvolving diamantaire NiravModi and his associates stating

that over �6,400 crore of bankfunds were allegedly launderedabroad to dummy companiesby him and others.

A total of 24 accused havebeen listed in the charge sheet,filed under section 45 of thePMLA, including Nirav Modi,his father, brother NeeshalModi, sister Purvi Modi,brother-in-law Mayank Mehtaand the designer jewellers'firms--Ms Solar Exports,Stellar Diamonds andDiamonds R Us.

The court is expected to takecognisance of the 12,000 pagecharge sheet on Monday and thecounsel for the agency will sub-sequently seek its permission toinvoke the provisions of theFugitive Economic OffendersOrdinance against Modi andimmediately begin the proce-dure to confiscate all the assets“of and linked to” Modi in Indiaand abroad, a senior official told.

A court-issued non-bail-able warrant is already pendingagainst Modi and the ED hasalso moved the Interpol to geta global arrest warrant issuedagainst him, sometime back.

The agency will initiatethe same action againstabsconding liquor baron VijayMallya, against whom theEnforcement Directorate andthe CBI had filed their respec-

tive charge sheets last year.It is expected, the official

said, that assets worth �7,000crore can be confiscated in themoney laundering and the PNBfraud corruption case againstNirav Modi, under the stringentfugitive offenders ordinance.

The central probe agencyhad recently begun the work tobring together the existingcases of high-value fugitives

and bank loan defaulters forgetting them notified under thenew legislation.

As per the existing processof law under the PMLA, the EDcould only confiscate the assetsonce the trial in a case finish-es which usually takes a longtime of many years.

The ordinance is aimed atdeterring economic offendersfrom evading the process of lawby remaining outside the juris-diction of Indian courts.

The Modi Governmentbrought the ordinance lastmonth as “there have beeninstances of economic offend-ers fleeing the jurisdiction ofIndian courts, anticipating thecommencement, or during thependency, of criminal pro-ceedings,” the Government said.

The rationale behind thelaw, the Government had said,was the absence of such offend-ers from Indian courts which

hampers investigation andwastes court time and under-mines the rule of law.

“The existing civil andcriminal provisions in law arenot entirely adequate to dealwith the severity of the prob-lem,” it had said.

The Fugitive EconomicOffenders Bill, 2018 was intro-duced in the Lok Sabha onMarch 12 but couldnt be takenup due to logjam in Parliamentover different issues.

With Parliament beingadjourned sine die, an ordi-nance was proposed. The UnionCabinet on April 21 approvedthe ordinance and the Presidentgave his assent to promulgationof the same a day later.

The ordinance makes pro-visions for special courts underthe Prevention of MoneyLaundering Act, 2002 todeclare a person as a fugitiveeconomic offender.

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The Central Board ofIndirect Taxes and Customs

(CBIC) has asked its fieldoffices to levy GST on goods incustoms warehouse only at thetime of final clearance.

The move is aimed atensuring ease of doing businessfor importers, experts said.

In a circular to principalchief commissioners and chiefcommissioners, the GST poli-cy wing of the CBIC said,“transfer/sale of goods whilebeing deposited in a customsbonded warehouse” is a com-mon trade practice whereby theimporter files an ‘into-bond’bill of entry and stores thegoods in a customs bondedwarehouse.

The importer then suppliessuch goods to another person,who then files an ‘ex-bond’ billof entry for clearing the saidgoods from the customs bond-ed warehouse for home con-sumption.

The CBIC said that theCustoms Tariff Act has beenamended with effect from

March 31, 2018, to state that thevaluation for the purpose oflevy of Integrated GST (IGST)on warehoused importedgoods at the time of clearancefor home consumption wouldbe either the transaction valueor valuation done at the time offiling the ‘into-bond’ bill ofentry, whichever is higher.

The circular said that inte-grated tax shall be levied andcollected at the time of finalclearance of the warehousedgoods for home consumption,

which means at the time of fil-ing the ‘ex-bond’ bill of entry.

However, the value addi-tion accruing at each stage ofsupply would be accountedfor, on which GST would bepayable at the time of clearanceof the warehoused goods.

“The supply of goodsbefore their clearance fromthe warehouse would not besubject to the levy of integrat-ed tax and the same would belevied and collected only whenthe warehoused goods arecleared for home consumptionfrom the customs bondedwarehouse,” the CBIC said.

This circular would beapplicable for supply of ware-housed goods, while beingdeposited in a customs bond-ed warehouse, on or after theApril 1, 2018, it added.

AMRG & AssociatesPartner Rajat Mohan said thetax authorities has finally givenin to the demands of importerlobby by rectifying a majoranomaly on account of supplyof warehoused goods whichwas loaded with a double taxsince July, 2017.

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Bharat Sanchar Nigam(BSNL) feels a merger with

MTNL will be positive forboth the companies, but thereare a few impediments like thelatters huge debt and the dif-ference between pay scaleswhich need to be sorted out, atop official has said.

However, there is no spe-cific plan on the merger in theworks at present, beyond theappointment of a consultant bythe Government.

The state-run telco hasinked a pact with Softbank toco-work on “interest areas”andis also in talks with the Japanesetelecom companys investeecompany Paytm for a tie-up,the official said.

“Merger between the two(MTNL and BSNL) is going tobe good for both the compa-nies. Lets take the argumentthat it is going to be good, butthere are various issues thatneed to be sorted out,” itschairman and managing direc-

tor Anupam Shrivastava toldPTI recently.

The impediments includeMTNLs debt of over �16,000crore as of December 2017 andthe difference between the payscales for employees of both thecompanies, he said.

Another difficult factorwill be MTNL being a wide-ly-owned listed entity, headded.

In the comments that comeafter telecom minister ManojSinha has denied any plan tomerge the two state-run lossmaking telcos, Shrivastava saidthere is no specific plan in theworks.

“Not at this point of time.The Government has appoint-ed a consultant to frame thetimeline and roadmap for themerger of BSNL and MTNL,”he said, when asked if there isa plan to merge the two.

The CMD, however,declined to elaborate bothon the tie-up with Softbankand proposed joining handswith payments bank Paytm.

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In a bid to improve the farm-ers’ income in Odisha,

Mother Dairy Fruit andVegetable Pvt Ltd, a fully-owned subsidiary of theNational Dairy DevelopmentBoard (NDDB), is planning toexpand its footprint in Odishato inculcate good farming prac-tices through Safal for signifi-cantly increasing their incomeand provide them with accessto national markets includingDelhi, a move to fulfill thePrime Minister NarendraModi’s dream for doublingtheir income by 2022.

Safal, the horticulturebrand of Mother Dairy, havingstores in New Delhi, Bengaluruand Bhubaneswar, will alsodouble its farmer’s outreach to2000 from around 1000 at pre-sent for procuring fruits andvegetables in seven districts ofOdisha to ensure ‘fair value’ fortheir produce, according to atop official of Mother Dairy.

As mango has been themost popular produce amongall other fruits and vegetables,for the last 4 years, Safal hasbeen actively procuring leading

varieties of mangoes such asLangra, Amrapali, Dushehryand Malika from the districtsof Mayurbhanj and Dhenkenalthrough farmer bodies. Today,it has an established mangosourcing base in six districtsand is also exploring the dis-tricts of Angul and Ganjam forincreasing its sourcing base.

“Our aim is to strengthenour farmer connect to enhancefruit and vegetable procure-ment from Odisha. We haveassociated over 7 lakhs of farm-ers in our network all overIndia and we are planning toconnect to 2000 farmers in ournetwork from around 1,000 atpresent in this region. Presently,Mother Dairy already has afarmer base of over 975 in thestate,” said Dr Saugata Mitra,Director of Mother Dairy.

“Our strategy is two-fold.While we scale to get the bestof produce from Odisha to sellat our outlets nationwide,farmers are cornerstone for thesuccess of our plans andNDDB will contribute with allits might to the national goalof doubling farmers’ incomeby 2022 declared by Modi,”said Dilip Rath, Chairman,NDDB.

Since the beginning ofSafal’s procurement network inOdisha, the horticulture brandhas conducted 18 sessions withfarmers as part of its agronomicintervention initiatives. “Safal’ssessions with state-of-the-arttraining of procuring, packag-ing and marketing helped us toa great extent for which wewere able to export around

150-200 tonnes of mango toDelhi. We have also got goodprices as we hit our producefirst in the Delhi-NCR marketbefore Andhra and UP man-goes which are supposed toreach by May end or earlyJune,” said a successful mangofarmer, Dr Ghanashyam Padhi,who started this professionafter quitting CEO positionfrom Mahindra Consultancy12 years ago.

Safal also plans to doublethe procurement of mangoesfrom Odisha this season to 150tonnes from 75 tonnes at pre-sent. “In addition, we plan toopen 16 new Safal stores inOdisha in this year as well,” saidMitra, adding that the compa-ny has 11 Safal stores in

Bhubaneswar and six inSambalpur town.

As far as pricing benefit tothe farmers is concerned,NDDB aims that farmersshould get satisfactory marketprices for their produce, espe-cially for mangoes. “We hopefarmers will get �75 per kg thisyear, a significant rise in pric-ing �53 per kg in 2016 and �55per kg in 2017,” claimed theNDDB chief.

The HorticultureDepartment of Odisha hastaken several initiatives to startprocuring mangoes from farm-ers for sale in New Delhi by cre-ating different marketing aswell procuring hubs in thestate. The department had sold32 tonnes of mangoes last year

while the district producedmore than 30,000 tonnes. Thisyear, the district will producenot more than 15,000 tonnesdue to climate change. “Now-a-days, good quality mangoesare not produced in the districtto export outside Odisha. Amango weighing more than200 gm is fit for supply to Delhimarkets and a farmer gets �20-25 per kg. However, this timefarmers will get �35 at KrushakBazaar,” an official said.

Apart from mangoes, Safalalso procures watermelon,brinjal, cucumber, okra, karela,onion, cabbage, leafy vegeta-bles, etc. from six districts ofMayurbhanj, Dhenkenal,Nayagarh, Cuttack, Sambalpurand Deogarh.

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The fourth meeting of theNiti Aayog's Governing

Council will be held on June 16and deliberate on the develop-ment agenda for ‘New India2022’, vice chairman of thethink tank Rajiv Kumar said onSunday.

The Council, chaired byPrime Minister Narendra Modi,may also discuss plans for cele-brations to mark the 150th birthanniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.

The apex body of Niti Aayog,the Council includes all chiefministers as also the members ofthe Government think tank.

“Topmost on the agendawill be our strategy for ‘NewIndia at 75’, which NITI Aayoghas prepared. The draft will bepresented to chief ministers fortheir approval. Then there willbe also discussion on aspira-tional districts,” Kumar told.

“We may also includesomething on celebration ofMahatma Gandhi's 150th birthanniversary. It must be donecooperatively and everybodymust be on board and that willbe vision of India,” he said.

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With coal stock of somepower stations in the

national capital region falling toan alarming level, Coal India and Railways arerushing coal supplies to Dadriand Badarpur power plants ofthe NTPC.

A Coal India statementissued tonight said against thelinked requirement of sevenrakes to these plants, move-ment of at least 10 rakes areplanned to avert the crisis.

The problem started as theNational Thermal PowerCorporation (NTPC) wasforced to commence generationfrom these two plants all of asudden with rise in powerdemand due to heat wave con-

ditions in the country.The Government has also

instructed the CIL, SingareniCollieries Co Ltd and Railway toattach top most priority in allo-cation of rakes for coal move-ment to power plants till suchtime the demand from coal-based thermal power plants getsstabilised with the onset of mon-soon and increase in hydel andwind power. These two powerstations cater to major share of

the power demands of Delhi andNCR. Based on the demand forpower projected by the DelhiGovernment, NTPC had shutthe units of Badarpur TPS forlong, it said. One of the unit ofthe Dadri TPS was also taken upfor maintenance. Therefore,coal against the linkage of theshut down generation units ofBadarpur and Dadri TPS weresupplied to other plants of theNTPC, the statement said.

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����K�!���� �������!����JP���:E"N8� ����������&����New Delhi: India's coal import fell by 9% to 17.32 milliontonnes (MT) in April on the back of ample supply of dry fuelfrom domestic sources. “Coal import (all types of coal) in April2018 stood at 17.32 MT (provisional), about 9% lower than19.08 MT recorded for April 2017,” mjunction services, a jointventure between Tata Steel and SAIL, said in a statement.Import demand from thermal power plants remained low dueto ample supply from domestic sources, mjunction CEO VinayaVarma said while commenting on the coal import trend. “Inthe met coal market, buyers were tentative in view of the highvolatility in prices. Also, pet coke demand was low as the usershave been switching to US coal to avoid pollution issues,"Varma said. PTI

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India on Sunday launched itssecond IT corridor in China

to cash in on the burgeoningChinese software market whichremained elusive despite thepresence of top Indian tech-nology firms.

The National Associationof Software and ServicesCompanies (NASSCOM) hasestablished one more DigitalCollaborative OpportunitiesPlaza (SIDCOP) platform inChina in an effort to providemarket access to Indian ITfirms in the huge Chinesemarket, the NASSCOM said.

Agreements worth RMB 36million (about USD six million)were signed between Indianservice providers and Chinesecustomers at the launch of thecorridor by China’s GuiyangMunicipal Government and theNASSCOM, a NASSCOM offi-cial said.

The pilot projects launchedon the SIDCOP platform wouldbe executed over the next year,a NASSCOM statement said.

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An imprisoned minorityleader in Pakistan, who is

facing trial in the murder caseof a Sikh lawmaker, was todayadministered oath as a memberof the Khyber Pakhtunkhwaassembly, a day before dissolu-tion of the provincial legisla-ture.

Baldev Kumar of the rulingPakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI)was administered the oath onthe orders of the PeshawarHigh Court.

The Khyber PakhtunkhwaAssembly will be dissolved onMay 28 after completion of itsmandated period.

Speaker Asaq Qaisaradministered the oath toKumar who is presently in jailfacing murder charges ofSardar Soran Singh.

Singh, a Sikh lawmaker

from PTI and the special assis-tant to the Chief Minister, wasshot dead in April 2016 inBuner district. He was electedto the provincial assembly ona minority seat.

After Singh’s murder,Kumar was declared MPA-elect by the ElectionCommission of Pakistan.However, he has been in jailsince 2016 with the seat lyingvacant.

After taking the oath,Kumar signed the register ofthe assembly members andbecame a member of the housefor a day.

The assembly session wascalled for a day for the passageof resolution seeking merger ofthe Federally AdministeredTribal Areas (FATA) intoKhyber Pakhtunkhwa underthe 31st amendment passed byParliament.

Islamabad: Pakistan will holdgeneral elections on July 25, apresidential spokesman has saideven as the deadlock betweenruling PML-N and the opposi-tion persisted over picking up aninterim Prime Minister.

The Election Commissionof Pakistan (ECP) in a letter tothe president on May 21 hadproposed to hold elections forthe National Assembly andfour provincial assembliesbetween July 25 and 27.

President Hussain yester-day approved July 25 as thepolling date for general andprovincial elections, officials inthe President Office said.

Cricketer-turned-politicianImran Khan’s Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf is expected to be themain challenger to the rulingparty in the general elections.

The present Governmentwill complete the tenure on

May 31 and the caretakerGovernment will take overform June 1 and remain inoffice until a new Governmentis set up through elections.

The country experiencedits first democratic transition ofpower in 2013, when thePakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) came out ontop as the biggest party.

Since the term of the assem-blies would be expiring nextweek, a caretaker set-up will beinstalled at the Centre and theprovinces to run day-to-dayaffairs of the government till thetime new assemblies are elected.

Prime Minister ShahidKhaqan Abbasi and oppositionleader Khursheed Shah have yetto agree on who will be the care-taker prime minister. The twohad held half a dozen meetingsbut have so far failed to come upwith a consensus name. PTI

Beirut: At least 26 Syrianregime forces and nine Russianfighters were killed in a hard-line Wahhabi terrorist ISISgroup attack earlier this weekin Syria’s eastern desert, a mon-itor said on Sunday.

The Syrian Observatoryfor Human Rights said thejihadists had targeted a groupof Syrian and allied Russianfighters near the town ofMayadeen in Deir Ezzorprovince on Wednesday.

“There were 35 pro-gov-ernment forces killed, includingat least nine Russians. Some ofthose Russian nationals weregovernment troops, but not allof them,” said Observatoryhead Rami Abdel Rahman.

The remaining 26 were allSyrian forces, he told.TheDefence Ministry in Moscowsaid Sunday four Russian ser-vicemen had been killed

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Marooned on a dusty slopein the world’s largest

refugee camp, Wasiur Rahmanlooked to the hill where aRohingya girl was buried in alandslide just days earlier andcontemplated his chancesshould the earth give waybeneath his feet.

“Our families would bekilled. There are childreneverywhere around here. Weconstantly fear that rain couldtrigger a landslide,” the 53-year-old told on the steep embank-ment where he lives with ninefamily members in a bambooshack.

For the 700,000 RohingyaMuslims who have fled tosoutheast Bangladesh in thepast nine months, theapproaching monsoon season

poses the most serious threatsince they were violentlyexpelled from Myanmar.

Close to one million of thestateless Muslim minority livein the Cox’s Bazar district butthe new arrivals, stranded onunstable hills in bamboo andplastic shacks, are especiallyvulnerable.

A massive operation toshore up the camps against dis-aster is in overdrive, with bull-dozers levelling hills andrefugees bunkering down how-ever they can. But as the rainsapproach, the young girl’s deaththis month in a torrent of mudand rock has heightened fearsof a much greater tragedy.

There is a dearth of safeland to relocate the estimated200,000 refugees in direct dan-ger of floods and landslides,and just 21,000 have beenmoved so far.

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Cancer therapies that cut offblood supply to a tumour

could more effectively treat thedeadly disease when combinedwith existing chemotherapeu-tic drugs, a study has found.

The research, published inthe journal EMBO Reports,showed that tumour growth isbetter-reduced in mice whenthe expression of a particularprotein called Beta3-integrin istargeted in combination withdrugs that are already used incancer patients.

The findings could helpfine-tune treatment for cancerpatients and revitalise an inter-est in the use of microtubule tar-geting agents (MTAs) which arecommonly used as chemother-apies in cancer patients.

“Tumours must recruittheir own blood supply togrow beyond a very small sizeand this process is called angio-

genesis,” said Stephen Robinsonfrom the University of EastAnglia in the UK.

“Anti-angiogenic drugs stoptumours from growing theirown blood vessels, and this inturn can slow the growth of thecancer, or shrink it. Targetingangiogenesis is therefore seen ascrucial in many anti-cancerstrategies,” said Robinson.

“However many anti-angio-genetic therapies target pro-teins that help the functioningof a patient’s normal blood sup-ply - and this can lead to nastyside effects including haemor-rhage, strokes, high blood pres-sure, and fatigue,” he said.

Researchers have longlooked at Beta3-integrin as abetter anti-angiogenic targetbecause the protein is notexpressed in normal bloodvessels, but is expressed intumour blood vessels. Thisreduces the potential forunwanted side effects.

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Chinese researchers havebegun clinical testing of

heavy-ion medical accelera-tors capable of killing cancercells with high-energy elec-trons, officials said on Sunday.

Researchers said that theaccelerators entered clinicaltesting for cancer patients inthe northwest Gansu provincethis month.

Cancer radiation treat-ments employing heavy-ionaccelerators can bombard atarget with high-energy elec-trons to kill cancer cells.

Xiao Guoqing, head of theInstitute of Modern Physicsunder the Chinese Academy ofSciences, said it is widely con-sidered the most effective wayof fighting tumors.

Compared to the tradi-tional therapy such as radia-tion, heavy-ion treatment isconsidered to have more bal-anced properties with less radi-

ation on healthy cells. Thetreatment period is shorterand the therapy could moreeffectively control cancer cells.

The institute in Lanzhou,capital of the northwest Gansuprovince, developed the accel-erators in 2015.

It took two years for theaccelerators to undergo med-ical equipment testing.Registration and testing werecompleted in April and clinicaltests began, state-run Xinhuanews agency reported.

Currently, the institute hasproduced two sets of the can-cer treatment equipment, oneeach in Lanzhou and WuweiCity, which has a high rate ofstomach cancer.

Patients were selected fromGansu Provincial CancerHospital and Wuwei CancerHospital.

Testing is underway forcancer treatment for the head,neck, chest, abdomen, pelvisand limbs.

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Israeli tank fire at an IslamicJihad movement observa-

tion post killed two Palestiniansin the southern Gaza Strip onSunday, the enclave’s HealthMinistry and sources from themilitant movement said.

The ministry identifiedthose killed as Hussein al-Amour, 25, and Abdul Haleemal-Naqa, 28. The incident hap-pened east of the city of Rafahin the southern Gaza Strip, aministry spokesman said.

Israel’s military said in astatement that the tank firecame after soldiers detonatedan explosive device that hadbeen placed near the borderfence, targeting its troops.

Separately last night, Israeliaircraft struck two targetsbelonging to Islamist move-ment Hamas, which runs theGaza Strip, but there were noreports of casualties.

The military said the oper-ation was in response to abrief incursion across the bor-der earlier in the day byPalestinians who immediatelyfled back into Gaza.

It added that the strike wasalso in retaliation for repeatedPalestinian attempts to damagethe border fence and “securityinfrastructure” during ongoingborder protests.

At least 118 Palestinianshave been killed by Israeli firein the Gaza Strip since massprotests and clashes broke outon March 30, according to fig-ures from the Gazan healthministry.

No Israelis have been killedduring that time.

Low-level demonstrationsalong the border have contin-ued since protests peaked onMay 14, when at least 61Palestinians died as tens ofthousands of Gazans protestedthe US moving its embassyfrom Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

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Saudi Arabia has said that twoof its soldiers were killed in

fighting against Yemen’s ZaydiShia Houthi rebels as the king-dom reported foiling a droneattack on a southern airport.

The official SPA news agencyreported late yesterday that twosoldiers from the national guardswere killed “during their partic-ipation on the southern border”— a reference normally used forthe fighting in Yemen against theHouthis also known asAnsarallah movement.

SPA however did not pro-vide details on when or how thetwo soldiers were killed but saidsenior officials took part intheir funerals. A Saudi-ledArab coalition has been fight-ing in Yemen since March2015 against the Houthi rebelswith the goal of reinstating theGovernment of PresidentAbedrabbo Mansour Hadi.

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Around 195 files includingdocuments relating to rela-

tions between India and SriLanka at the peak of theLiberation Tigers of TamilEelam (LTTE) led civil warhave been destroyed by the UKForeign and CommonwealthOffice (FCO), sparking con-cern among archivists andresearchers.

While the FCO said anydestruction decision wouldhave been taken based on thecountry’s records policy,experts believe the loss of thefiles means there is no recordof an important period of his-tory.

Britain’s MI5 and the SecretAir Service (SAS) had report-edly advised Sri Lanka’s secu-rity forces during the LTTE cri-sis between 1978 and 1980.

“Two of the documents

they destroyed were called ‘SriLanka/India relations’ from1979 and 1980,” said journalistand researcher Phil Miller, whodiscovered the files were miss-ing as part of a freedom ofinformation request.

The documents are expect-ed to have had references toIndia’s relations with the islandnation, including the work ofthe Indian Peace-keeping Force(IPKF) during the period.

“Removing or destroyinghistorical records from publiccustody at the NationalArchives hurts all of us and isan illegal act,” said VairamuttuVaradakumar, founder of theTamil Information Centre, reg-istered as an independent com-munity-based non-profitorganisation in 1981 with a mis-sion to empower Tamil-speak-ing people to improve theirquality of life through access toknowledge and other projects.

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US President Donald Trumpsaid on Sunday that he is

still looking at a summit onJune 12 in Singapore withNorth Korean leader Kim Jong-un and things are moving“very nicely” towards the meet-ing.

“We’re looking at June 12 inSingapore. That hasn’t changed.It’s moving along pretty well, sowe’ll see what happens,” Trumptold reporters at the WhiteHouse during a meeting with aUS prisoner freed by Venezuela.

His remarks came afterthe surprise meeting betweenKim and South KoreanPresident Moon Jae-in in thedemilitarised zone on Saturdayduring which the two leadersdiscussed the summit meetingwith the US.

“I just want to mentionwe’re doing very well in termsof the summit with NorthKorea. Looks like it’s goingalong very well,” said the US

president in response to ques-tions from reporters.

“As you know there aremeetings going on as we speakin a certain location which Iwon’t name. Like the location,it’s not so far away from here.And I think there’s a lot of good

will. I think people want to seeif we can get the meeting andget something done,” he said.

“If we got that done and ifwe can be successful in thedenuclearization of the Koreanpeninsula, it would be a greatthing for North Korea,” Trump

added. “It would be a greatthing for South Korea, be greatfor Japan and great for theworld — great for the UnitedStates, great for China.”

Trump said a lot of peopleare working on it. “It’s movingalong very nicely,” he said.

When asked about thetalks between Moon and Kim,the president replied, “the talkshave gone very well.”

On Thursday, Trumpabruptly cancelled the pro-posed summit meeting withthe North Korean leader onJune 12 in Singapore andblamed Pyongyang’s “tremen-dous anger” and “open hostil-ity” for his dramatic decision.

He had described the can-cellation of the summit as “atremendous setback” for NorthKorea and warned that the USmilitary is ready to act shouldPyongyang take any “foolishand reckless” action.

But within 24 hours he saidthe meeting could still go aheadafter productive talks wereheld with North Korean offi-cials.

Washington has made itclear it wants to see the “com-plete, verifiable and irreversibledenuclearisation” of the North.But Pyongyang has vowed it willnever give up its nuclear deter-rence until it feels safe fromwhat it terms US aggression.

In April, Trump hadstunned the world by acceptingan invitation to meet Kim in anunprecedented sit-down.

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One of Japan’s most promi-nent former leaders,

Yasuhiro Nakasone, has turned100, fitting in a country knownfor longevity.

As a World War II navalofficer, he witnessed the depthof Japan’s defeat and devasta-tion. He presided over Japan inthe 1980s at the pinnacle of itseconomic success.

In recent years, he has lob-bied for revision of the war-renouncing, US-drafted con-stitution, a longtime cause nei-ther he nor his successors haveachieved.

His office says Nakasone,cared for by his daughter attheir Tokyo home, is slowingdown but in fine health.

In his written statementmarking his birthday today,Nakasone says he is blissful tohave worked for Japan’s post-

war reconstruction and wit-nessed success. He also vows todo more work.

Salalah: A cyclone more pow-erful than any previouslyrecorded in southern Omanslammed into the Gulf countryand neighbouring Yemen yes-terday, deluging a major citywith nearly three years’ worthof rainfall in single day.

The storm killed at least sixpeople while more than 30remain missing, officials said.

Cyclone Mekunu causedflash flooding that tore awaywhole roadways and sub-merged others in Salalah,Oman’s third-largest city,stranding drivers. Strong windsknocked over street lights andtore away roofing.

Rushing waters from therain and storm surges floodedtypically dry creek beds. Theholiday destination’s now-emptytourist beaches were litteredwith debris and foam from thechurning Arabian Sea. AFP

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Qatar has ordered shops toremove goods originating

from a group of Saudi Arabian-led countries which a year agoimposed a wide-ranging boy-cott on the emirate, Doha offi-cials said on Sunday.

A directive from theeconomy ministry orderedshops to immediately stripshelves of products fromSaudi Arabia, the UAE,Bahrain and Egypt.

Inspectors will visit storesto ensure they comply with theorder, the ministry said.

The government will alsotry and stop products such asSaudi dairy goods from enter-ing Qatar via a third country.

Qatar’s GovernmentCommunications Office(GCO) said it was trying to“protect the safety of con-sumers”.

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C�(7;7��/ D�7G!7(���(In 2017, when Brian

Yorkey’s adaptation ofJay Asher’s bestsellingnovel Thirteen ReasonsWhy made its debut onNetflix, it was an instanthit across the world.The series delved intothe l i fe of HannahBaker, a student atLiberty High Schooland her struggle to findlove and relationships,left a long-lastingimpression.

It ended exception-ally well, with beautifulone-liners and a sound-track that was themati-cally symmetrical to theharsh reality presentedin the show. The light-ing, the flashbacks, thenarration was pitch per-fect. I love how the pro-ducers kept true to thebook, developing thestory peripherally as Iexpect they had to do,to make 13 hour-longepisodes

But the same cannotbe said about Season 2which is a bit of mess.The bad writing andstorylines ruined a per-fectly scripted series.Despite that, it is still aunique story about aserious subject withamazing actors.

So the first problemwith the second seasonis that it feels irrelevant.Hannah’s story was told.We know everything wehad to know. But nowwe see some more flash-backs that were notshown in the first sea-son. These were, tobegin with, not impor-tant enough to the story

to show them in the firstseason and also becausethey did not exist in theoriginal story line ofthe show. This seasonpremiere feels like anattempt to make moremoney since the firstseason was a big hit.

Ghost of Hannah ispretty lazy and certaincharacters went off insome uncharacteristicdirections. However, theemotional weight of thefirst season obviously

(and visually) is carriedover and has helped toelevate things, thanks tothe groundwork alreadylaid. Clay got rathersporadic at times butMinnette did a greatjob as did the rest of thecast.

The finale of thesecond season was abittersweet close thatgave finality to Hannah,but of course there wasthe scene where Tylerstarts loading up his

assault rifle and wow, Ican talk a lot but thatwas just plain gratu-itous shock-value. Thescene could have been alot more tame and stillwould have had thesame desired impact,leading to a rather stu-pid cliffhanger whichput character’s commonsense into limbo yetagain. Forgetting theseglaring problems, thefinale had worked toclose the story and thatis the reason why I, likemany of the viewerswere not really interest-ed in another season. Sothe inception of the sec-ond season itself isplagued by a lack ofinterest. The secondproblem is that this sea-son has a lot of awkwardscenes. I don’t know if ithas to do with the actorsas they seem to do a finejob overall. Rather thefault lies in the writing.It is very exhausting attimes and I tried hardnot to cringe.

I agree with 13Reasons Why’s thesisthat Hannah’s storyneeded to be told.Maybe Clay’s did, too.But ultimately, this sea-son fails them both.

Schools have a crit-ical part in avertingyouth suicide, and mon-itoring potential haz-ard factors in studentslives is indispensable tothis duty. Makers for theshow say they trust thearrangement can helpthe individuals whomight battle with con-templations of suicide.

When we think of directorsin the Hindi film indus-

try, who can display the com-plexity of relationship beautiful-ly on the big screen, four namesthat strike our mind immediate-ly are Anurag Kashyap, ZoyaAkhtar, Dibakar Banerjee andKaran Johar. Their last outingBombay Velvet charmed us likeno other Hindi film, and haven’twe been waiting for such a cin-ematic gem for a long time.

The fantastic four are all setto make a comeback with LustStory — a movie that willexplore the hidden desires ofour generations, betrayal, joy, aclass partition and the taboo.

The Netflix treasury film,which is produced by RonnieScrewvala and Ashi Dua, willstar Radhika Apte, BhumiPednekar, Manisha Koirala,Kiara Advani, Vicky Kaushal,Jaideep Ahlawat and SanjayKapoor. Recently, at the trail-er launch of the film, the fourace directors discussed howlove is still a taboo in our cul-ture with fewer love marriagesand more arranged.

Karan Johar, who will bedirecting Kaushal and Advani inhis segment, said his story iscentered on women seekingpleasure. “Invariably when youare given the choice of love andlust, more sensible people willchoose lust,” Johar said at theevent. “It is infinitely moreexciting than love and the morepopular four-letter word to liveyour life by. My film is aboutseeking pleasure. It’s also abouta woman’s right to pleasureand not just the man’s,” headded.

Banerjee’s contribution willfocus on wanting the unattain-able. “The reason why we arehere is because the last time

Ashi [Dua] brought us togeth-er, we had fun,” Banerjee said.“My story is about infidelity andlying, but wanting to tell thetruth and not being able to. It’sbeing hopelessly attracted tosomeone whom we aren’tallowed to,” he added.

Producer Screwvala said,“Four shorts with differentvisions and the same theme issuch a unique concept.”

He added, “From the timewe spoke about themes, it bor-dered around women, love andlust. It has a meaning of con-temporariness. And that was theoverpowering theme that wewent with.”

Lust Stories will star tstreaming on Netflix on June 15.

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Sonam Kapoor was quitetaken in by Bridesmaids andOcean’s 8, the last overturn-

ing the concept of heist drama.Which is why she is so passion-ate about Veere Di Wedding.The girl bonding is breaking sev-eral moulds — the first commer-cial buddy film which celebratesfemale friendship rather thanfocussing on men or their lovelife. When asked how liberatingwas it for Sonam Kapoor Ahujato be a part of such a project, shereplied, “It’s very encouraging toknow that films like this arebeing helmed, financed andmade. We hope that it doeswell.” By the looks of the trailerand songs it seems like they hada blast on set, Sonam agreed,“We were working hard but themost amazing part was when weused to sit together and eat ourlunch and dinner, in that wholeprocess we really became friends,Swara and I were already friends,Bebo and I had a relationship.But when all four of us spent alot of time together, we becameclose.”

Swara Bhaskar said, “It wasvery liberating, I think the factthat in commercial mainstreamcinema you have a film aboutfour girls who are not falling inlove with the same guy, is notabout men and are dealing withtheir lives in a fun sort of way.A film that is headlined by fourwomen and is ‘women-centric’.It’s not dark, doesn’t deal with anissue, no one got raped, there isno violence or injustice, it’s justshowing four women and whatgoes into shaping their lives.That’s liberating, the fact thatevery film with women in cen-tral roles doesn’t have to be dra-matic, a sob story or intense. Iam not saying this out of arro-gance as I come from that cine-ma and am very proud of it andfilms like Anaarkali of Aarah orNil Battey Sannata.”

Her character in Veere SakshiSoni is free-spirited, outspoken,a spoiled brat and a bit wild.“Playing this character was greatfun. She is a rich spoiled brat,ultra-glamorous and is uber-

cool. I have never done a char-acter who is so rich quite simply,glamorous in the western senseand a role that is close to me cul-turally — in terms of language,being a big city girl and isempowered. She has a closebond with her parents and isspoilt a lot by them. These weresome of the similarities but as anactor playing Sakshi was outsidemy comfort zone.” She used tojoke with Rhea Kapoor that forthis film changing into differentcostumes was only acting for her.“I was asked to lose weight asRhea was very clear that shewanted Sakshi to look a certainway. I have done dieting, workedout and used to badger Rheathat, ‘When will I act, I am onlywearing clothes, putting onmakeup and dieting. When is theacting part going to happen’. Iused to joke with her.” She hadto build a character sans theaccent and typical mannerismsof rich girls. “I didn’t want toportray a stereotypical characterwho’s like, ‘Oh my god! what’sgoing on’. You will see in the filmthat I am trying to give perspec-tive and a dimension to her char-acter which is interesting aswell. Sakshi is a girl who is a snoband an elitist in her approach.But the moment she opens hermouth, it’s a completely differentperson as she’s a common Delhigirl who is foul-mouthed. Ithought whom she used to spendtime with while growing up andthought it was with the drivers,maids and watchmen which con-tributed to her free persona.She’s a wild girl but is not bad atheart, that’s the redeeming thingabout her that she is a lovingfriend also. I have a really inter-esting track in the film — she isvery entitled at one level but vul-nerable on the other side.”

On how does she avoid beingtypecast in this industry, Swarasaid, “By doing everything thatpeople told me not to do. Whenyou are a heroine aspirant andenter the industry, a lot of peo-ple give you different kinds ofadvice and the most typical ofthem is if you want to be a hero-

ine, don’t do a heroine’s friendsrole and my break was in TanuWeds Manu as Kangana’s bestfriend. They also told me don’tplay the role of a rejected loverof the hero and my next big filmwas Raanjhanaa and my workwas appreciated. Then there’s theclassic, if you want to be a hero-ine, don’t be a sister of a hero,especially a superstar as then youwould be typecast as the sistermaterial but Prem Ratan DhanPayo was my third big film. Thenthere were advices like don’t playroles older than your age, don’tplay a mother. I didn’t justplayed a mother but a mother ofa 15-year-old in Nil BatteySannata, my first solo hit. Andthen you are told don’t play avamp and Anaarkali of Aarah isreally a story of a character thathas typically been relegated tothe vamp space in Hindi cine-ma imagination. So, I think thathow I avoid being typecast is bybreaking all the rules becausewhen you break all the rules, norule applies to you. When yourefuse to be bound by any cat-egory then how will they type-cast you into a category. With

Veere, hopefully, it will be anotherkind of breaking a category as I amplaying a character I have neverplayed before.”

The Listen... Amaya actress hasalways chosen roles that have lefta long-lasting impact on the audi-ence, be it Bindiya in Raanjhanaaor Payal in Tanu Weds Manu. “Mycriteria for choosing roles is verysimple that is driven by selfishnessand greed as an actor. I am hungryfor a good performance and when-ever I am listening to a script, I amalways judging it on the basis ofhow much scope is there for theperformance. If I feel there is a goodscope then I am interested where-as if it’s an empty role with notmuch for me to experiment as anactor then I don’t do it. Until I amnot excited to play a character, I amnot able to do justice to it. I needto be fully convinced to say yes toa script. Even when these weresmall roles, they gave me the scopefor performance and that is whypeople remember me for these

roles and it feels nice to be be ableto create a space in audience’s mem-ory,” asserted Swara.

Constantly being in the lime-light and the paparazzi culturenever bothered Sonam as shesigned up for it as an artist andactor. “I decided to become an actorat the age of 17 and never lookedback since then.” The trolls and thenegativity which celebs have to dealwith on a regular basis does both-er her. “At the end of the day whenI think about it, I know that thesepeople are only envious of the posi-tion that I hold, maybe not agreewith my point of view and are basi-cally jobless, faceless, namelesspeople who are of no importance.Their negative comments is theonly thing which gives themimportance in the digital world.And if I don’t give them thatattention then they will hold no

value.”Her pattern of choices has

been quite interesting so far andshe acknowledges it as a greatlearning experience. “I hope Ihave grown as an actor and as aperson.” After Veere di Wedding,Sonam and Rhea will be produc-ing the screen adaptation of TheZoya Factor and Battle Of Bittora.“My sister and I like to selectscripts that excite us and we canidentify with as women and indi-viduals.” As an actor, Sonam doesfilms which enrich her as a per-son and an artist and eyes for thecomplete package.

She is considered a role modelfor young girls and the Khoobsuratactress believes that one has tolead by example. “I hope that theexample I set is progressive andas a responsible Indian citizen.”

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Since the dawn of civilisation, war has been a constant threatto mankind. This threat ranges from the everyday violence

of small-scale civil conflicts, to the vast devastation left by thegreat world wars. Now that we have entered the 21st century,the progress that has brought our world closer together has notbeen successfully matched by a mutual respect and understand-ing of other cultures. The consequences of war are particular-ly damaging to civilian populations, displacing them within theirown state, depriving them of security and stability, and prevent-ing them from achieving self-fulfillment and self-realization. Theresulting insecurity and instability that follows from these cir-cumstances – lack of basic needs, harsh surroundings, andoppressive governments – forces many to turn to violence indefense of their right to survive. These tragic circumstances haveincreased societal awareness of the need to understand and toprevent the conditions leading to violence. We can see that evenwhen there is no declared war on any day, group-violence in manyparts of the world takes a heavy toll of life and property. Deathsdue to organised violence or mob-fury are now almost a dailyoccurrence and have become so numerous that the sensitivitiesof large sections of society have become almost dead, as a resultof which these incidents now do not evoke any human responsefrom the fellow beings.

It is thought that group-violence is generally against an estab-lished system, order or dogma which seems to that group as out-dated, meaningless, unjust, authoritarian or inimical to the rightsand freedom of their class, community, caste etc. This violenceis, therefore, considered as an expression of deep- rooted frus-tration, resentment, rejection, revolt or rebellion. Whatever bethe truth, it seems that expression of resentment or rebellionthrough violence has itself become an established order or anaccepted dogma now. It seems ironic that there are almost innu-merable religious institutions, places ofworship, educational institutions andinstitutions of research on behaviouraltransformation and yet there are no signsof abatement of this form of frenzy.

One factor common to all violentkillings is that the perpetrator first kills hisown good conscience, and then the livesof others become irrelevant to him. Thiskilling of one’s own good conscience —at least in the initial stage is done by one’shatred, anger and feeling of enmity orrevenge towards them whom he consid-ers his enemy. So, unless and until we haveinstitutions which strengthen one’s goodconscience and eliminate or considerably reduce feelings of enmi-ty, anger, hatred or vengeance, and, in their place, generate thefeelings of love and brotherhood, we cannot have a society wherethere is peace and non-violence. So, the Governments today mustsupport such institutions, for thus they would be saved of spend-ing a major part of their budgets on security or law-enforcementand this, in turn, will have so many economic and other bene-fits for the whole society.

There are many such socio-spiritual institutions across theworld which are silently doing this kind of salubrious workthrough education and whose activities are being recognisedworldwide. But unfortunately, they face many impediments fromcorridors of power, as a result of which the change which theywant to bring out in society, does not come up. It is a pity thatsome governments are not clear in their mind that educationin values also is an important education. Let us all hope that gov-ernments in various countries across the world would under-stand the importance of such institutions which are spreadinglight and love by a clear statement that education in moral andsocial values and in yoga meditation are key. So, let us raisedemand for education reforms.

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The Supreme Court of India, onApril 15, 2014, recognised athird gender that is neither

male nor female, stating “Recognitionof transgenders as a third gender isnot a social or medical issue but ahuman rights issue.” Despite therecognition, the problems faced bythem are yet to disappear.

The word transgender is anumbrella term used to describe peo-ple who identify with a different gen-der than the one assigned to them bybirth. In addition, to including peo-ple whose gender identity is theopposite of their assigned sex (transmen and trans women), this term alsoincludes people who are not exclu-sively masculine or feminine (peoplewho are Intersex, gender queer ornon-binary, including bigender, pan-gender, gender fluid, or agender).Being transgender is independent ofsexual orientation as they may be het-erosexual, homosexual, bisexual,asexual or may choose not to definetheir sexuality.

Although the Constitution pro-vides for the fundamental right toequality, tolerates no discriminationon the grounds of sex, caste, creed orreligion and guarantees politicalrights and other benefits to every cit-izen, people of the third gender(transgenders) continue to beostracised and mistreated.

The archaic principles and ortho-dox mind-sets in the country havedeprived them of several rights thatIndian citizens take for granted, suchas: the right to vote, to own proper-ty, to marry, to claim a formal iden-tity, education, employment, healthand so on or get a passport and aration card, a driver’s license. Butbeyond the problems of everydayfunctioning social as well as emotion-al problems faced by transgenders inIndia are:�Discrimination — Most Indianfamilies take umbrage if the malechild behaves in way that might befeminine or different as compared tothe gender role that they have to con-form to. Subsequently, family mem-bers may threaten, scold or evenassault their ward if he behaves likea woman or cross-dresses. Someparents may completely disown andevict their own child for crossing theprescribed gender norms of the soci-ety and for not fulfilling the rolesexpected from a male child.

Moreover, they face discrimina-tion even in the healthcare situations.Types of discrimination reported bythe transgender communities in thehealthcare settings include deliberateuse of male pronouns while address-ing them, registering them as ‘males’and admitting them in male wards inhospitals, humiliating them by mak-ing them stand in the male queue,verbal harassment by the hospital staffand other patients, lack of healthcareproviders and doctors who are sen-sitive to and are trained in providingtreatment to transgender people andeven denial of medical services.� Social problems — TheTransgender community still facesconsiderable stigma and are charac-terised as being mentally ill, sociallydeviant and sexually predatory. Theyare often denied jobs or are heckledby fellow employees. In some cases,transgender people get fired by somecompanies as businesses fear losinginvestors should they find out that atransgender is in a leadership role.They are also denied education inmost schools as they do neithermale nor female. These children areshunned by classmates and teachersalike. This forces transgenders intopoverty and begging.�Disrespect — Transgenders aredisrespected in almost every aspectof life except at the birth of a child or

when they are called to bless thenewly weds. Apart from this, they aretreated badly and oppressed by peo-ple in power and they struggle forsocial justice primarily because oftheir identity. They are often insult-ed, punished, abused, assaulted orcursed in public. They are forbiddenfrom entering religious places, pub-lic places like hotels, restaurants,theatres, parks etc. One of the mostcommon problems they face is thatof rape followed by physical and ver-bal abuse. � Identity Documents —Transgenders lack accurate identitydocuments and this impacts everyaspect of their life. They do not haveaccess to emergency housing, travel-ling, subsidised rations, medical facil-ities or other public services.Although this scenario is graduallychanging as transgenders are beingissued identification documents butmany still remain outside the ambit. � Poverty and Prostitution —Transgenders are considered ‘dirty’,‘impure’ or ‘filthy’ and people steerclear of them. They are deniedrespectable jobs, even if they have thequalifications. This forces them to begfor a living or join a prostitution ring.These choices are forced pon thembecuase of the society’s attitude.� Personal Questions —Transgenders are often asked ques-tions that can be considered impolite.People ask, “What’s your real name?”or “Did you change your parts?”or“Which toilet do you go to?”withimpunity without any hesitation orrespect for their privacy. Their bod-ies are subject to scrutiny by every-one because they are different. Theyare denied gender-based bathroomsakin to their gender expression andare not trusted around children, nomatter how hard they try.

Despite the continuing soceitaldiscrimination, the government istrying to make interventions andrecognises transgender people byproviding them with identificationpapers. There are some documentswhere a ‘transgender’ or ‘other’ optionis available under the gender mark-er in legal documents.

Voter’s identity card:In 2013, the Election

Commission introduced an ‘others’gender option for voter identitycards. Now, there is a Third Sexoption available in the applicationform for a Voter’s Identity Card.

Driving license There is a ‘Transgender’ option

available on the application form toobtain a Driving License.

Ration cardThere is a ‘Third Gender’ option

available on application for a rationcard. However, there is an on-goingbattle for transgender people to selectthe gender they identify with.

Bank account and recordsTransgender people may apply

for a bank account irrespective oftheir gender or identity, after a rul-ing came in 2015 allowing an optionof ‘transgender’ on the forms.

Debit / credit cardTransgender people can also

apply for debit and credit cards relat-ed to their bank account with no has-sle.

PAN CardThe Central Board of Direct

Taxes amended Income Tax rules andtaxpayers will now have the option toidentify themselves as transgenderswhile applying for a PermanentAccount Number.

PassportAfter the ruling in 2015, trans-

genders will have the option to iden-tify themselves with a ‘third gender’on the passport application.

Birth certificateTransgenders will now be able to

modify their birth certificate toreflect the gender they identify with.

Railway reservation formIt has been decided by the

Government of India to include thethird gender/transgender option inreservation /cancellation requisitionform of the Indian Railways.

Aadhar CardAadhar cards recognise a third

gender and so transgender may applyfor one under this category.

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The Twelfth Five Year Plan (2012-2017) proposed to empower thethird gender by providing them witheducation, housing, access to health-care services, employment, skill devel-

opment classes and financial assis-tance. In addition to this, it has alsoproposed that a separate column mustbe incorporated in all governmentand non-government records for theuse of the third gender. The Ministryof Social Justice and Empowermentalong with the Ministry of Statisticsand Programme Implementationwould be able to map their socio-eco-nomic status and progress andimproving their living standards tocreate a better environment for them.

On April 24, 2016, a privatemember’s bill entitled The Rights ofTransgender Persons Bills, 2014 waspassed by the Rajya Sabha and intro-duced in the Lok Sabha on February26, 2016. This bill deals with the dif-ferent aspects like social inclusion oftransgenders in the community, theirrights and entitlements in society,financial and legal aid, education andsoft-skill development and preventionof abuse, violence and exploitation ofTransgender people in India.

In April 2014, in a case broughtby the National Legal ServicesAuthority against the Union of India,the Supreme Court of India declaredtransgender to be the third gender inIndian law. The ruling said, “Rarelydoes our society realise or under-stand the trauma, agony and painwhich the members of transgendercommunity undergo. Our societydoes not appreciate the inborn feel-ings of the members of the transgen-der community, especially of thosewhose mind and body differ fromtheir biological sex. Our societyoften ridicules and abuses the trans-gender community in public placeslike railway stations, bus stands,schools, workplaces, malls, theatresand hospitals where they are side-lined and treated as untouchables.They forget the fact that the moralfailure lies in the society’s unwilling-ness to contain or embrace differentgender identities and expressions, amind-set which we have to change.”

Justice Radhakrishnan, whopassed this historic judgement, said,“These transgenders, even thoughinsignificant in numbers, are stillhuman beings and therefore theyhave every right to enjoy their humanrights and concluded by declaringthat:�Hijras, eunuchs or transgenders areto be treated as the third gender forthe purpose of safeguarding theirrights as authorised by Part III of theIndian Constitution and by the lawsmade by the Parliament and StateLegislatures.�The right of transgender persons to

decide their self-identified gender isalso to be upheld and the Centre andState Governments. Governmentsare directed to grant legal recognitionof their gender identity such as male,female or as third gender, howsoev-er they may choose.

The University GrantCommission (UGC) issued a circu-lar to all the Vice Chancellors of theUniversities in Indiaon October 29,2014, requesting them to include acolumn for the transgender commu-nity in all educational applicationforms.

�������� ����Argentina broke a record in 2012

by passing a law that is considered tobe the highest standard for legal gen-der recognition. Anyone above theage of 18 years can choose their gen-der identity, undergo gender reassign-ment and revise official documentswithout any prior judicial or medicalapproval. Children can also do sowith the consent of their legalguardians/representatives or throughsummary proceedings before a judge.

Between the years of 2012 and2015, four more countries —Colombia, Denmark, Ireland, andMalta eliminated significant barriersto legal gender recognition in theircountries.

After a 22-year legal fight byLydia Foybefore Ireland’s High Courtin 1997, and again in 2007, Ireland’s2015 Gender Recognition Bill was agreat victory. It was backed bydomestic and international humanrights organisations that called onIreland to install a gender recogni-tion procedure based on identity andhuman rights, not surgeries andexpert opinions. Despite the consis-tent pressure from internationalauthorities, it was not until 2015,after an overwhelming victory on asame-sex marriage referendum, thatthe government of Ireland institut-ed the identity-based legal genderrecognition.

In an extensive 2007 ruling,Nepal’s Supreme Court ordered thegovernment to recognize a third gen-der category based on an individual’sself-identified gender. The ruling wasbased largely on the freshly madeYogyakarta Principles-the first doc-ument to collate international prin-ciples on sexual orientation, genderidentity, and human rights.

In 2009, the Supreme Court ofPakistan ruled that a third gendercategory was to be recognized in thecountry, and in 2013, the cabinet ofBangladesh issued a decree recogniz-ing transgenders as their own legalgender.

The Gender Recognition Act(2004) in the United Kingdomrecognises the gender identity fortransgender communities who havehad gender dissatisfaction and havelived in ‘acquired dysphoria’ formore than two years. To legallychange their gender, transgenderpeople must send in an application,along with the required documents(such as a medical certificate for gen-der dysphoria) to the gender recog-nition panelfor approval.

In 2003, the Parliament of SouthAfrica enacted the Alteration ofSex Description and Sex Status Act,which allows a transgender personwho has undergone medical or sur-gical gender reassignment to applyto the Department of Home Affairsto have their gender altered on theirbirth certificate. Once the birthrecord is altered they will be issuedwith a new birth certificate andidentity document, and are consid-ered, in all fairness, to be of the newsex.

(The author is the founder of aDelhi-based govt tech start up)

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With his back to goal but eyeson the incoming cross,Gareth Bale connected with

the ball while leaping in the air andsent a scissor-kick arcing into the topof the net.

Fusing athleticism and tech-nique, it was a mesmerising sight tobehold from the Real Madrid for-ward.

Rarely has there been a finer goalin a European final and Bale followedit up with another to seal Madrid'sthird successive Champions Leaguetitle in a 3-1 victory over Liverpoolon Saturday. Yet with blunders,injuries and intrigue unfoldingthroughout the night in Kiev'sOlympic Stadium, the wonder-goaljust enriched this engrossing climaxto the European club season and setthe tone for weeks of uncertainty.

A weeping Mohamed Salah wasforced off in the first half with a shoul-der injury that foiled Liverpool'squest for a first continental success in13 years and left the World Cup hopesof the "Egyptian King" in jeopardy.

Tears also streamed down LorisKarius' face after the Liverpool goal-keeper's mistakes gifted two goals inthe biggest match of his career. Itmight also be his last for Liverpool,

who were denied a sixthEuropean title by the aristocratsof the continent.

Bale only came on in thesecond half. The impact wasexplosive, scoring the bicyclekick in the 64th minute. Fiveyears into his Madrid career, the28-year-old Bale wants to bemore than a super-sub.

While Ronaldo became thefirst five-time winner in thepost-1993 Champions Leagueera, this was a comparativelymuted performance in a finalfor a player who has con-tributed decisive goals in thethree finals Madrid had con-tested in the previous four sea-

sons.In the tunnel before kickoff there

was a furtive glance across to Salah,who has also scored 44 goals this sea-son. But the showdown between theworld player of the year and a con-tender for his throne never materi-alised.

Blame Sergio Ramos for that,although the foul that ended Salah'sfinal was not the Madrid captain athis most cynical. Salah landed heav-ily on his left shoulder in a twistingfall after 25 minutes. Ramos steppedaway from the scene unpunished and

Salah soon managed to step up afterovercoming the initial pain.

Not for long. Salah's final wasover after 30 minutes.

Lying on his back, hands cover-ing his face, Salah rose only to leavethe field. An incredible debut seasonat Liverpool came to a crying end.

Four minutes later, the tearswere flowing down the face of DaniCarvajal after the Madrid right backappeared to injure a hamstring whileattempting a back-heel. Face-down onthe field, Carvajal knew his final was

over in the first halffor the second succes-sive season.

"Of course it was a lit-tle shock to the team,"Klopp said.

There were biggershocks to come, fromLiverpool's goalkeepingblunders.

After collecting a shot six minutesinto the second half, Karius rolled theball out too casually, neglecting thepresence of Benzema who stuck out

his right foot and dispatched the ballinto an empty net.

The immediate impact of Karius'blunder was offset by Mane's equalis-er in the 55th. Dejan Lovren rose

above Ramos and headedinto the path of Mane,

who turned the ball into the net.But then Bale, so determined to

prove Zidane wrong, entered thismeeting of the Premier League'sfourth-place team and Spain's third-place finisher.

"I was very disappointed not to

start the game," he said. "I felt like Ideserved it. The best I can do is tocome on and make an impact."

That was achieved with the goalthree minutes after replacing Isco andhe netted again in the 83rd thanks toKarius' second gaffe. The Germanallowed Bale's shot to squirm throughhis hands into the net in the 83rd.

"I just feel sorry for my team,"Karius said. "I know I let them downtoday."

It left Liverpool manager JuergenKlopp reeling from a sixth successiveloss in a final, including a 2013Champions League defeat to BayernMunich while Borussia Dortmundcoach.

For Zidane, victory in Ukraineputs the former France great in anelite field alongside Carlo Ancelottiand Bob Paisley as a three-timeEuropean Cup winner. But no one hasachieved the feat faster, with each ofhis three seasons in charge ending bywinning the game's biggest clubprize.

"I'm still only starting out as acoach," the 45-year-old Zidane said."You've got to seize the moment andthat's what I'm doing."

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Seven-time major winnerVenus Williams suffered

back-to-back opening roundexits at the Slams for the firsttime in her 21-year career.

The ninth-seeded, 37-year-old American slumped to a 6-4 7-5 defeat to China's world 91Wang Qiang, a player sheknocked out in Paris last year.

Williams, playing RolandGarros for the 21st time, was inno mood for lengthy explana-tions after her loss.

"Nobody plans for this," shesaid.

Fourth seed GrigorDimitrov reached the FrenchOpen second round on Sunday,even if he wasn't exactly surewho he was facing, while VenusWilliams was defeated andAustralian firebrand NickKyrgios limped out.

Dimitrov had been drawnto face experienced ViktorTroicki in the tournamentopener on Philippe ChatrierCourt.

However, just before hewas due to go on court, Troickiwithdrew with a back injury,allowing Egyptian world num-ber 182 Mohamed Safwat tomake his Grand Slam debut. Inthe process, he became thefirst Egyptian since Tamer ElSawy at the 1996 US Open tofeature in a major.

"I was warming up and mycoach said, 'hey look' and wesaw up on the board that I wasplaying a different opponent,"said 27-year-old Dimitrov, aformer Wimbledon semi-final-ist, after his 6-1, 6-4, 7-6 (7/1)win. "I didn't expect that."

Safwat, 27, had lost in thefinal round of qualifying inwhat was his eighth futileattempt to make the main drawof the majors.

But Safwat, one of eightlucky losers in the men's draw,then overcame blisters on hisright hand to put up a solidchallenge in the third set beforeDimitrov raced through thetiebreaker.

"I only heard I was playing

an hour before the match,"said Safwat.

"I dealt with it as best Icould. I had never set foot onthat court before."

Defending championRafael Nadal, who starts hiscampaign for an 11th Roland

Garros title on Monday, willalso face a lucky loser.

Italy's world 130 SimoneBolelli moved into the drawafter Ukraine's AlexandrDolgopolov pulled out with awrist injury.

Women's fourth seed Elina

Svitolina, a quarter-finalist inParis in 2015 and 2017, over-came a first set 1-5 deficit to seeoff Australia's Ajla Tomljanovic7-5, 6-3.

"To be ready for a GrandSlam is always the goal, themain goal for me," said the 23-

year-old Ukrainian, also a quar-ter-finalist at the AustralianOpen this year. "I try to doeverything what's in my powerto play my best game on theGrand Slams."

Svitolina next facesSlovakia's Viktoria Kuzmovawho put out 2010 championFrancesca Schiavone, the 37-year-old Italian who made itthrough qualifying, 7-6 (7/2), 7-6 (7/2).

Other early winners onSunday included Estonian 25thseed Anett Kontaveit whodowned Madison Brengle of theUnited States 6-1 4-6 6-2.

Kontaveit defeatedAustralian Open championCaroline Wozniacki on herway to the semi-finals in Romelast week.

She was also a semi-final-ist on clay in Stuttgart while alsobeating Venus Williams inMadrid.

US Open champion SloaneStephens, the 10th seed, need-ed just 49 minutes to breeze pastArantxa Rus 6-2 6-0.

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Australian Nick Kyrgios wasforced to withdraw from the

French Open today after failingto recover from a right elbowinjury, saying a potential five setson clay was "too risky".

The 23-year-old was seeded21st at Roland Garros and wasdue to play compatriot BernardTomic in the first round.

The enigmatic Kyrgios hasnot played a singles match sincea quarter-final loss to IvoKarlovic at the US Clay CourtChampionships in April.

"Having consulted with myteam and medical experts it isdeemed too risky for me to stepout and potentially play five setson clay, especially as I have notplayed a singles match in near-ly two months," Kyrgios wroteon Twitter.

On Saturday, the worldnumber 23 had claimed a dou-bles title in Lyon playing along-side American Jack Sock.

Tomic had come throughqualifying after a recent slumpto 243 in the world rankings tobook a clash with Kyrgios whichlooked set to be one of the bestties of the first round.

It had been billed as agrudge match between two play-ers who have had their fairshare of controversial moments,after Kyrgios said last year thatchildhood friend Tomic had"lost his way".

But pair will now not meetfor the first time as profession-als.

"I've worked hard to beready in time and desperatelywanted to play Roland Garros,which is very special to me butI literally ran out of time," addedKyrgios.

"A dramatic spike in load onmy elbow could potentially putme back to square one and withthe grass court season aroundthe corner it is something I cannot and will not risk."

The two-time Grand Slamquarter-finalist had been hopingto reach the second week in Parisfor the first time, after losing inthe second round to KevinAnderson last year.

Kyrgios' withdrawal meansthat there will be eight luckylosers in the men's draw afterEgyptian Mohamed Safwat wasa last-minute replacement forViktor Troicki earlier on Sunday,losing to fourth seed GrigorDimitrov.

Reigning champion RafaelNadal will also play a lucky loserin Italian Simone Bolelli, afterAlexandr Dolgopolov pulledout injured.

A rule change this year hashelped the cause of defeatedqualifiers at the Slams. If a play-er withdraws injured beforetheir scheduled first-roundmatch, they still receive half theprize money while the luckyloser takes the other half.

�&�� -� >

Devastated Jurgen Klopp admitted he wasshell-shocked by Loris Karius's costly mis-

takes in Liverpool's 3-1 Champions League finaldefeat against Real Madrid on Saturday.

Liverpool goalkeeper Karius played a hugerole in his side's misery in Kiev as he giftedMadrid two goals.

The 24-year-old handed Karim Benzema theopening goal when he threw the ball against theFrance forward and it rebounded into the net.

Then, with Liverpool hoping to snatch a lateequaliser, Karius let Gareth Bale's long-rangeeffort slip through his grasp and into the net.

Karius was in tears afer the final whistle, buttellingly not one of Liverpool's shattered playerswent over to immediately console him.

Only Madrid's jubilant stars acknowledged

the German's angst before, still sobbing uncon-trollably, he went toward Liverpool's supportersto hold his hands up in an attempt to apologisefor his blunders.

While he wouldn't publicly condemn Karius,Reds boss Klopp made it clear the difference inthe match was the mistakes made by the man hesigned from Mainz in 2016.

"Yeah, what can I say? Loris knows it, every-body knows it. It's a shame, in a game like thisand after a season like this. I really feel for him,he is a fantastic boy," Klopp said.

"The first one...I don't know. The second onecame because of the first one.

"It is really difficult to get rid of badthoughts in your mind in a game like this." Asidefrom Karius's woeful display, the other crucialturning point was the first half injury sufferedby Mohamed Salah.

The Liverpool forward was forced off aftersuffering a suspected dislocated shoulder in achallenge with Real defender Sergio Ramos.

Klopp admitted the loss of Liverpool's 44-goal star was a huge blow to his team's confi-dence.

"The situation with Ramos and Mo was real-ly bad a shock for the team. You could see that,Madrid immediately came up," he said.

Bale's brilliant overhead kick had putMadrid 2-1 ahead as Klopp endured his sixth suc-cessive final defeat -- a painful run that includeslosing the 2013 Champions League final withBorussia Dortmund against Bayern Munich.

"Finals are for winning, nothing else. Westarted well, exactly like we wanted," Klopp said.

"But the Bale bicycle kick was unbelievable.The boys did their best, but it was not the bestscript for us tonight."

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Chennai Super Kings completed afairy tale comeback from disgrace

to glory, clinching their third IPL titleafter imposing all-rounder ShaneWatson single-handedly hammeredSunrises Hyderabad into submis-sion with a blazing hundred in thefinal here on Sunday.

Reinstated into the IPL after atwo-year ban for their team man-agement's role in the 2013 spot-fix-ing scandal, CSK outplayed SRH byeight wickets with Watson's unbeat-en 117 off 57 balls in a high-pressuregame being the icing on the cake.

The Australian smashed as manyas 11 fours and eight sixes enroute tothis second hundred of the season as

CSK raced home in 18.3 overs. SRHhad posted a challenging 178 for sixcourtesy Kane Willamson (47 off 36)and Yusuf Pathan (45* off 25).

The other in-form CSK batsman,Ambati Raydu, hit the winning fourthat led to wild celebrations. Watsonalso shared a 117-run partnershipwith Suresh Raina (32 off 24) for thesecond wicket, ensuring a smoothchase for CSK.

Such was Super Kings' domina-tion over an otherwise formidableSRH that they beat the Willamson-ledside four times in as many games thisseason.

The MS Dhoni-captained sidehad entered a seventh IPL final andtheir stellar campaign ended with arecord equalling third title, tyingthem up with Mumbai Indians.

The star of the night was one andonly Shane Watson.

The 36-year-old, who previous-ly won the title with Rajasthan Royalsin the 2008 inaugural season, muscledhis way to 50 in only 33 balls and thensmashed Sandeep Sharma for 26runs in the 13th over to make it a vir-tual no-contest.

It was no surprise that he endedwith 555 runs in the season includ-ing two hundreds and as many fifties.

Earlier, Williamson missed out onyet another fifty in a highly success-ful season as SRH piled on a chal-lenging score after a slow start.

Williamson led his side from thefront once again hitting two sixes andfive fours before Pathan pummelledthe opposition bowlers in the deathovers. Carlos Brathwaite (21 in 11)

came up with big hits towards the endto take his team close to 180.

CSK kept a tight rein on the SRHbatsmen initially while also taking awicket through a run-out. The firstfour overs saw only one boundarybeing hit — a four by Dhawan offNgidi.

CSK also struck an early blowwhen Shreevats Goswami was runout. The early wicket and a maidenover bowled to Williamson by Ngidikept the score down to 17 for 1 in four.

Deepak Chahar, who was bowl-ing well till then, dug in one short toWilliamson in the fifth over whosmacked it for a six over long leg andthen for a four by the SRH skipper.

And when Shardul Thakur tooerred in length, he was hoisted overlong on by Dhawan for a six, taking

SRH to 42 for 1 by the end ofPowerplay.

Williamson, by now into thegroove, drove and scooped DwayneBravo for a four and a six in thebowler's first over, and the 8th over-all, to increase the run-rate.

The second wicket partnershipreached the 50-mark when it wassnapped by Ravindra Jadeja whobowled Dhawan when the left-hand-ed opener missed a heave on the 25thball he faced. After his departure andat the half-way mark SRH were 73/2.

Shakib Al Hasan hit Jadeja for asix and a four to the mid-wicketregion after Williamson's leadingedge ran away to the boundary so that17 runs were taken in the 11th overto boost the run rate.

Williamson struck Bravo for

consecutive fours in the 12th over andwas well in sight of his 9th 50 of theseason when Dhoni brought backSharma who lured him with a wideball and got him stumped off the firstball of a new spell.

Williamson, by far his side'smajor run-getter who also became thethird highest scorer in one IPL sea-son, went back after two sixes and fivefours to leave his side at 101 for 3.

Pathan started in aggressive fash-ion and put on a useful stand of 32with Shakib before the latter droveBravo straight to Raina at extra coverand was caught.

It was later left to Pathan and big-hitting West Indian Brathwaite to givethe total a big boost in the death oversas they added 34 runs in the last threeovers of the innings.

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Pakistan completed a convincingnine-wicket victory over

England to win the first Test atLord's with more than a day to spareon Sunday.

Set just 64 for victory on thefourth morning, Pakistan finishedon 66 for one before lunch to go 1-0 up in this two-match series aheadof next week's second Test atHeadingley. Imam-ul-Haq was 18not out and Haris Sohail 39 not out.

England were undone by twotop-order batting collapses, slump-ing to 184 all out after winning thetoss in their first innings anddeclining to 160 for six in their sec-ond before fifties from Jos Buttlerand Test debutant Dominic Bessprevented an innings defeat.

This was England's seventhloss in 10 Tests as their first matchunder new national selector EdSmith ended in a resounding reverse.

What made this loss - just England's third defeatin a home Test starting in May - all the more gallingfor Joe Root's side was that they were outplayed in clas-sic English conditions by a youthful Pakistan side, whodisplayed far greater discipline with both bat and ball.

England, resuming Sunday on 235 for six in theirsecond innings, lost their last four wickets for just

seven runs in 18 balls to be bowled out for 242.That they had not already lost this match by an

innings was down to a century stand between therecalled Jos Buttler and Test debutant Dominic Bessthat allowed England to resume Sunday on 235 forsix, a lead of 56 runs.

Buttler was then 66 not out and Bess 55 not out.But eight balls into Sunday's play and having

added only one more run, Buttler was lbwto Mohammad Abbas for 67.

England's were now 236 for seven andthat soon became 241 for eight, after thetourists took the new ball, when Mark Woodedged Mohammad Amir to Pakistan captainand wicket-keeper Sarfraz Ahmed.

Stuart Broad made his Test-best 169against Pakistan at Lord's in 2010 -- a matchthat became known for a spot-fixing 'sting'that saw three Pakistan players, includingAmir, jailed by an English court and givenfive-year bans by the International CricketCouncil.

But Broad's batting has gone downhillsince he was struck in the face by a bounc-er from India's Varun Aaron in the fourthTest at Old Trafford four years ago.

And on Sunday he fell for a duck whenprodding outside off stump at Abbas, withSarfraz holding a routine catch. The inningsended when Amir knocked over Bess's off-stump.

Amir finished with innings figures offour for 36 and man-of-the-match Abbas

had an impressive eight for 64 in the game after a sec-ond-innings haul of four for 41 in 17 overs.

It took Pakistan, who came into this match on theback of a five-wicket win over Test debutants Ireland,just 12.4 overs to reach their victory target, with Sohailhitting a six and a four against off-spinner Bess to seala commanding victory that left England facing somesearching questions.

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Bangladesh has retained interim coach CourtneyWalsh to oversee the national side in next month's

Twenty20 international series against Afghanistan,the cricket board said on Sunday.

Bangladesh has been without a head coach sinceChandika Hathurusingha stepped down in Octoberafter three years at the helm.

Walsh has been called on before, leadingBangladesh to the finalsof a T20 tri-nations seriesin Sri Lanka in Marchwhich they narrowly lostto India.

Afghanistan willhost Bangladesh for thethree-match T20 seriesin the Indian city ofDehradun from June 3 to7.

It will act as a warm-up for Afghanistan as theyprepare for their first-ever Test against India inBangalore from June 14.

The board on Sunday appointed Walsh interimcoach for the Afghanistan series. The former WestIndies paceman said his side would keep their mindson the task at hand.

"We won't be thinking of losing and having a fearof losing. If we back ourselves, play good cricket, (we)will win," Walsh told reporters in Dhaka on Sunday.

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Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardoovercame a mid-race power

loss to win the Monaco Grand Prixfrom pole position on Sunday.

The Australian driver showedoutstanding composure and defen-sive driving to fend off SebastianVettel's Ferrari.

Vettel shaved a few points offchampionship leader LewisHamilton of Mercedes, who fin-ished third.

Hamilton made an audaciousmove by pitting for new tyres sev-eral laps before his rivals, but wasworried they would wear out com-pletely by the end.

Kimi Raikkonen was fourth forFerrari ahead of Mercedes' ValtteriBottas and Force India's EstebanOcon.

It was Ricciardo's second winof the season after the Chinese GPlast month and seventh of hiscareer, pushing him up to third inthe title race.

Ricciardo thought he'd won inMonaco two years ago, where heled from pole position only to be

undone by a botched pit stop by histeam which left him furious. Therewas no denying him this time.

"Two years in the making andI finally feel redemption hasarrived," Ricciardo said. "I lostpower halfway and I thought therace was over. Thanks to the teamwe got it back. I'm stoked."

Ricciardo appeared emotional,even tearful, as he sat in his carmoments after crossing the finishline after 78 laps on the winding3.34-kilometer (2.1-mile) streetcircuit.

It was soon time for Ricciardo'stypical showmanship.

He stood on his car, noddedslowly in recognition of hisachievement and then thumped hischest.

"There were a few doubts thatcame in. But we won Monaco," hesaid, laughing. "It feels good."

Vettel, too, will be in a goodmood after reducing Hamilton'schampionship lead from 17 pointsto 14. It is shaping up to be anintriguing season, with Ricciardo,Vettel and Hamilton winning tworaces each.

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Asting operation has claimed tounearth 'pitch-fixing' and

'spot-fixing' in Test matches fea-turing heavyweights like India andAustralia but the ICC said itsinvestigation into the allegationsis being hampered by the channel'srefusal to share evidence.

The sting has been carried outby the Al Jazeera channel and thematches in question are India vsSri Lanka (Galle, July 2017), Indiavs Australia (Ranchi, March, 2017)and India vs England (Chennai,December, 2016). The charges -pitch could have been doctored atthe behest of fixers (India vs SriLanka), and involvement of someAustralian and England players inspot-fixing the other two games.However, no Indian player's namehas cropped up in any wrongdo-ing.

The ICC said it is investigat-ing but also stated that the chan-

nel has not cooperated in the mat-ter. "We have been in ongoing dia-logue with the broadcaster whichhas refused our continual requeststo cooperate and share informa-tion which has hampered ourinvestigation to date," ICC's Anti-Corruption Unit General ManagerAlex Marshal said after Al Jazeeraaired its hour-long documentary,'Cricket's Match Fixers'.

The only Indian connectionto the scandal is former Mumbaicricketer Robin Morris. The BCCIsaid it would wait for the outcomeof the ICC investigation beforedeciding on stopping his pension.

"The BCCI anti-corruptionunit is working closely with theICC anti-corruption unit on thealleged claims by a televisionchannel," stated a release. "Webelieve the ICC has started itsprobe. Let them complete that andpronounce Morris guilty. TheBCCI will only act when they havethe verdict in hand," he said.

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