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RNI No. TELENG/2018/76469

Established 1864Published From

HYDERABAD DELHI LUCKNOWBHOPAL RAIPUR CHANDIGARH

BHUBANESWAR RANCHIDEHRADUN VIJAYAWADA

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DELHI DECLARATION: AF TERRITORYMUST NOT BE USED FOR TERRORISM

India, Russia, Iran and five Central Asian countries on Wed-nesday vowed to work towards ensuring that Afghanistandoes not become a safe haven for global terrorism and

called for the formation of an "open and truly inclusive"government in Kabul with representation from all sections ofAfghan society. At an India-hosted security dialogue on theAfghan crisis, top security officials of the eight countriesemphasised the need for respecting the sovereignty andterritorial integrity of Afghanistan and non-interference in itsinternal affairs, seen as an indirect message to Pakistan.

CISF MEETING TO STREAMLINE SECURITYFOR DIFFERENTLY-ABLED PASSENGERS

Airports guarding force CISF will hold a national conferenceon ensuring better and hassle-free security services todifferently-abled air passengers on Thursday, officials said

on Wednesday. The all-India conference will be chaired byCISF director general (DG) M A Ganapathy and representativesfrom about 150 disability rights NGOs, airports security bodyBureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS), Ministry of CivilAviation and CISF security chiefs of all 64 airports under itscharge will participate in the event, which will have bothphysical and virtual attendance.

FORMER MINISTER, KEY MEMBER OFSP CABINET, HELD GUILTY OF RAPE

Former Uttar Pradesh Minister Gayatri Prajapati, a key figurein the previous Akhilesh Yadav government, was onWednesday convicted by a special court for lawmakers of

raping a woman. Special Judge PK Rai held Prajapati and twoothers guilty of gang-raping the woman and also trying to rapeher minor daughter, saying the prosecution has been able toprove charges against the trio beyond a reasonable doubt. Thejudge fixed November 12 to decide the quantum of sentencefor the former minister and his accomplices Ashok Tiwari andAshish Shukla on November 12.

US PRESSES RUSSIA OVER TROOPBUILD-UP ALONG UKRAINE BORDER

The Biden administration is stepping up pressure on Russiaover a buildup of troops along its frontier with Ukraine. AsSecretary of State Antony Blinken prepared to meet his

Ukrainian counterpart in Washington on Wednesday, the topUS diplomat for Europe said the administration is watching theborder situation closely and would regard any escalation withdeep concern. Karen Donfried, assistant secretary of state forEurope and Eurasia, said that Russian officials have been war-ned of potential consequences for any increased threat to Ukr-aine's security from what she called unusual military activity.

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ANALYSIS 7COP26: PROMISES GALOREAND A GAME OF LOBBIES

MONEY 8CABINET OKAYS RS 17,409 CR TO CCI

FOR COTTON PROCUREMENT

SPORTS 12MOEEN’S 50 LIFTS ENGLAND

TO 166 AGAINST NZ

HYDERABAD, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2021; PAGES 12 `3

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Month & Paksham:

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ML MELLY MAITREYI n HYDERABAD

In an ironical twist of events thatwould be hard to ignore, the TRSgovernment, which once bannedprotests at the famous Dharna Ch-owk, has now called upon its lead-ers and cadre, as well as farmers tostage dharnas in every constituen-cy in protest against Centre’s deci-sion not to purchase paddy in Yas-angi at the site near Indira Park.

The TRS government said that itwas invoking its democratic andConstitutional right to express itsdissent against the Centre for fail-ing to give clarity on purchase ofpaddy and the fact that UnionMinisters were speaking in differ-ent voices creating confusionamong the farmers.

It may be recalled that the TRSgovernment, in 2016, just two

years after it came to power, bannedall kinds of protests at the DharnaChowk evoking strong criticism

from all people’s organisations.

Take permissionfor protests: KTRTRS working president and

Minister KT Rama Rao askedparty cadre and leaders to takepermission of district Collectorsbefore staging dharnas in view ofthe model code of conduct inforce for the Council elections. Meanwhile, Panchayat RajMinister Errabelli Dayakar Raoand Civil Supplies MinisterGangula Kamalakar called uponTRS cadre and farmers to stagedharnas against Centre’sdecision not to buy paddy fromTelangana farmers.

IT jobs up; Hyd contributes10% of new job postingsNAVEENA GHANATE n HYDERABAD

The number of available IT jobshas increased over the Covid pan-demic period and this has led to anincrease in job postings over lastyear.

In fact, job postings for IT jobson web portal ‘Indeed’ have dou-bled between September2019 and September2021.

Hyderabad isamong the topthree cities wh-ich drove hir-ing in the sec-tor, as per‘Indeed’.

Nearly 10percent of jobpostings camefrom Hyderab-ad, while Benga-luru accounted for32 percent followedby Pune at 11 per-cent.

While job postings

recorded a 13 percent increase inSeptember 2021 as compared toSeptember 2020, comparison topre-pandemic time indicates thatjob postings saw a 26 percent jumpbetween September 2019 andSeptember 2021.

While hiring in the sector haspicked up, there are still some rolesthat employers are finding hard to

fill.

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Bengaluru 32%

Pune 11%

Hyderabad 10%

Chennai 6%

Mumbai 6%

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nationally

Millers urgeTS, Centre toend stalematePNS n HYDERABAD

Rice millers want the State andCentral governments to discussand resolve the row over paddyprocurement instead of pushingfarmers and millers into a crisis-like situation.

Addressing the media here onWednesday with other represen-tatives, Federation of Rice MillersAssociations of South India pres-ident Thudi Devender Reddysaid that the State governmentwhich said it would buy everygrain of paddy did not makerequired arrangements, therebysubjecting farmers to an agonis-ing wait.

“There were several problemslike shortage of gunny bags,hamalis, transport and godownsat the field level and this was ham-pering speedy procurement ofpaddy, causing problems to ricemillers,” he said.

RamayanaCircuit specialtrain to halt atBhadrachalamPNS n HYDERABAD

The South Central Railway onWednesday announced that theRamayana Circuit Pilgrim Specialtrain would stop at Bhadrachalamon its return journey fromRameswaram to New Delhi.

A series of trains have been pla-nned along the Ramayana Circuitto cover important places con-nected with the life of Lord Ram.

The first such train com-menced its journey on November7, 2021 from New Delhi(Safdarjung) and will travel up toRameswaram and return to itsoriginating (New Delhi). En-route the train will stop at sever-al important places associatedwith the life of Lord Ram.

On this circuit, the train will bestopping at Bhadrachalam RoadStation during its return journeyfrom Rameswaram to New Delhi(Delhi Safdar Jung).

In a release, the SCR said thatthe stoppage of the pilgrim spe-cial train will provide an oppor-tunity to travelling pilgrims tohave a glimpse of this famoustemple and learn about the signif-icance attached with it.

Actor Naga Shourya’sfather arrested ingambling casePNS n HYDERABAD

Shivalinga Prasad, father ofTollywood actor Naga Shourya,was on Wednesday arrested by thepolice in connection with a gam-bling case at his farmhouse atManchirevula in Narsingi.

The police had on October 31raided the farmhouse and arrest-ed 30 people, including formerMLA S. Bhadraiah under provisi-ons of the Telangana Gaming Act.

Initially, except for the mainaccused, Gutta Suman Kumar, allothers were released on bail.

Police had first revealed thatSuman had taken the farmhouseon rent for one day from Prasadwho himself had taken the prop-erty on lease for film shootings.Suman, however, organised gam-bling by inviting several people,including an MLA and some real-tors, to the gambling parties.

Centre resumes MPLAD scheme suspended for CovidPNS n NEW DELHI

The Union Cabinet on Wednesdayapproved restoration and contin-uation of the Member ofParliament Local AreaDevelopment Scheme (MPLADS),which was suspended in view ofthe COVID-19 pandemic.

Addressing a press conferenceafter a meeting of the Cabinetpresided by Prime Minister

Narendra Modi, Informationand BroadcastingMinister AnuragThakur said thescheme has beenrestored for theremaining part offinancial year 2021-22. The scheme willcontinue till 2025-26.

Funds will be released atthe rate of Rs 2 crore per MP

for the remaining period of2021-22 in one instal-

ment, he said.From 2022-23 to

2025-26, funds willbe released underthe scheme at therate of Rs 5 crore per

annum to each of theMPs in two instal-

ments of Rs 2.5 croreeach, he added.

In April last year, the govern-ment had suspended MPLADSduring 2020-21 and 2021-22, andsaid that the funds would be usedfor managing health services andthe adverse impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country.

Under the scheme, MPs canrecommend development pro-grammes involving expenditure ofRs 5 crore every year in their con-stituencies.

Hyd techie arrested for threateningto ‘assault’ Kohli’s infant daughterPNS n HYDERABAD

A team of Mumbai police onWednesday arrested oneRamnagesh Srinivas Akubathini atHyderabad for threatening to sex-ually assault the 9-month-olddaughter of cricketer Virat Kohliand actress Anushka Sharma.

Ramnagesh Akubathini, a soft-ware engineer from Sangareddy,had threatened the captain of theIndian cricket team after Kohliextended support towards histeammate Mohammed Shami whowas being targeted online afterIndia lost its T20 World Cupmatch against Pakistan played on

October 24.On October 31, Ramnagesh

Akubathini, took to twitterafter Kohli extended hissupport to Shami andcalled out religiousdiscrimination. Heused the now-deletedTwitter account@Criccrazyygirl toissue rape threats toKohli's daughter.

An FIR was registeredagainst the accused undervarious Sections of Indian PenalCode (IPC) including 354-A (sex-ual harassment) and sections ofInformation of Technology (IT)

Act, police said.Soon after the Mumbai policebegan investigations, Ramna-

gesh Akubathini allegedlychanged his Twitter han-

dle and pretended to bea Pakistani user.

According tosources, RamnageshAkubathini is a soft-ware engineer, but

unemployed currently.The investigators first

searched for archived links oftweets by @criccrazyygirl to findthe unique ID of the account.

Collector chooses govthospital for birth of sonPNS n BHADRACHALAM

A district Collector in Telanganachose a government hospitalinstead of a private hospital in theState to have his wife deliver a baby.

Anudeep Durishetty, Collectorof Bhadradri-Kothagudem dis-trict, was blessed with a baby boyon Wednesday and received appre-ciation for preferring a State-runArea Hospital over a private facil-ity to have his baby delivered, offi-cial sources said.

It was the first child for theproud parents Madhavi andDurisetty Anudeep, deliveredthrough C-Section.

Paediatrician at the AreaHospital Dr Y Rajasekhar Reddyexamined the baby and said that itwas doing “wonderfully well”.

Hospital Superintendent DrVenkateswar Rao, deputy superin-tendent Ramakrishna and otherdoctors and medical personnel tooexpressed their appreciation for the

district Collector.Among those who extended

their appreciation were StateHealth Minister T Harish Raoand Transport Minister PuvvadaAjay Kumar.

The overjoyed parents pose with theirnewborn son and Bhadradri-KothagudemArea Hospital staff on Wednesday.

TRS protest at Dharna Chowk,where it once banned dharnas

Temperatures dip in State as winter sets inPNS n HYDERABAD

Temperatures in the State are drop-ping with each passing day, withSangareddy recording as low as110C on Tuesday.

Adilabad, Komaram-Bheemrecorded 11.20C and 11.90C.Kamareddy, Nizamabad,Rangareddy, Nirmal, Medak,Rajanna-Sircilla, Siddipet andVikarabad recorded temperaturesbetween 120C and 130C.

On Tuesday, as many as 17 dis-tricts were marked under yellowalert by the TSDPS. The TSDPSmarked six districts for yellowalert on Wednesday, wherein tem-peratures would between 110C and150C. These include Adilabad,Komaram-Bheem, Kamareddy,

Nizamabad, Nirmal and Jagtial.In GHMC limits, the lowest

minimum temperature of 14.70Cwas recorded at Rajendranagar

and 14.80C at Patancheruvu.Remaining parts of GHMC

experienced temperatures between180C and 200C. Minimum temper-

atures are expected to be in therange of 170C to 200C, while themaximum temperatures is expect-ed to be in the range of 300C to320C.

As per TSDPS, the minimumtemperatures fell due to the changeof winds from easterly to northeast-er/northerly over the State.However, the maximum tempera-tures are expected to be near nor-mal through the next week.

IMD, light to moderate rain orthundershowers was very likely tooccur at isolated places overTelangana until November 15while a thunderstorm accompa-nied by lightning is very likely tooccur at isolated places in a fewdistricts of the State on November13 and 14.

4 workers killed as roofof SCCL mine caves inPNS n HYDERABAD

Four workers died after a roof ina coal mine project at the State-owned Singareni CollieriesCompany Ltd (SCCL) collapsed onthem in Mancherial district ofTelangana on Wednesday.

The incident occurred atSrirampur area while roof-stitch-ing was on, the SCCL and thepolice said.

A portion of the roof fell on thefour workers, in the age group of32 and 60, burying them under therubble and resulting in their death,they said.

According to one report, the

workers feared dead were identi-fied as Krishna Reddy, 59,Lakshmaiah, 60, Chandrashekhar,and Narasimha Raju, 30.

Minister Talasani Srinivas Yadav addresses TRS workers during his visit to the Dharna Chowkin Hyderabad on Wednesday to oversee arrangements for a protest against the Centre. StateHome Minister Md Mahmood Ali and other TRS leaders are also seen.

GDP will grow at 9.5%,believes RBI Governor PNS n MUMBAI

Stating that growthimpulses and the fast-moving indicators arestrong, Reserve BankGovernor ShaktikantaDas on Wednesdayexuded confidence ofthe economy clipping atthe projected 9.5 per centthis fiscal.

Giving all the credit for thefaster-than-expected recovery ofthe economy to the government,Das said the central bank has onlybeen supporting the government

in reviving the economy ravagedby the pandemic.

Citing a slew of measuresthe government has takensince the pandemicstruck in March 2020, thegovernor specificallymentioned tax cuts on

fuels, tax resolution for thetelecom sector, annulling

of the retro tax legislation, saleof Air India, plans to sell some ofthe public sector banks and PLIscheme as the major reforms andgrowth-drivers bearing fruits now.

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(IN HYDERABAD)

ML MELLY MAITREYI

n HYDERABAD

Former Minister MothkupallyNarsimhulu, who recentlyjoined the TRS from the BJP,launched a tirade against lead-ers of his former party onWednesday, saying that theyhave no right to talk aboutDalit Bandhu.

“BJP leaders are worriedthat if Dalit Bandhu is imple-mented, then all Dalits wouldbe behind Chief Minister KChandrasekhar Rao,”Narsimhulu said. He dared theBJP to implement DalitBandhu across the country ifthe party had genuine concernfor Dalits.

Addressing media personsalong with his TRS catTelangana Bhavan here,Narsimhulu sought to know ifState BJP president BandiSanjay wanted the scheme tobe implemented or not. “As aDalit, I condemn BJP’s actions.Dalits would stage protests inevery village against the BJP,”he said.

Narsimhulu said that KCRwas the only Chief Ministerwho was implementing DrAmbedkar’s ideology in spir-it. “None of the 28 States in thecountry implemented a

scheme like Dalit Bandhu.Bandi Sanjay is targeting Dalitcommunity,” the veteranpolitician said.

He warned that if Sanjayever dared touch KCR, hehimself would be destroyed.

“Prime Minister NarendraModi promised to deposit Rs15 lakh into the bank accountof every citizen before the2014 elections. So far, noteven a rupee was deposited.Unlike him, KCR is deter-mined to eliminate the castesystem and oppression of SCs,”Narsimhulu said.

The Dalit leader assailed theBJP government at the Centre

for privatising all sectors anddeceiving the downtroddensections. “If the prices of petroland diesel were increasedevery day, how would peoplesurvive?” he asked.

Referring to the prevailinguncertainty over paddy pro-curement, Narsimhulu said itwas the responsibility of theCentre to procure paddy. “Itwould not serve any purposefor Bandi Sanjay to shouthere. He should go to Delhiand speak to BJP leaders,” hesaid.

Narsimhulu said EatalaRajender could win onlybecause of unholy alliance

between Congress and BJPand TPCC president RevanthReddy was continuing in hispost shamelessly though theCongress candidate polled just3,000 votes. “He sold Congressvotes en-masse to the BJP,”Narsimhulu alleged.

He said that the BJP wasextending a malevolent rule inthe country and several farm-ers died under its watch. “InUttar Pradesh, farmers werecrushed under the wheels ofthe car of a BJP leader andthough the Supreme Courtexpressed its displeasure overthe Centre’s functioning, therewas no change in its attitude,”Narsimhulu said.

When elections are around,BJP would conveniently playthe drama of ‘surgical strikes’,he ridiculed.

Deploring criticism of KCR,he said it was BJP leaders whogot kickbacks from those wholooted the country. Hedemanded to know if default-ers like Vijay Mallya and NiravModi went out of the countrywithout the knowledge of BJPleaders.

“No right and fair thinkingperson would be with BJP andpoor and Dalits would remainwith KCR,” Narsimhuluasserted.

BJP scared of DalitBandhu: Mothkupally

Former Minister Mothkupally Narsimhulu addresses a media conference inHyderabad on Wednesday.

Nothing personalagainst Allu Arjun,says SajjanarPNS n HYDERABAD

TSRTC Managing DirectorVC Sajjanar on Wednesdaymade it clear that he had nopersonal interest in sendinglegal notices to Tollywoodactor Allu Arjun and Rapidofor their advertisementdemeaning the public trans-port provider.

Stating that people are juststarting to use the TSRTC, hesaid such advertisementswere harmful. He said,“Degrading public transportwill not be tolerated by pas-sengers, TSRTC managementand its staff. TSRTC is at theservice of the common man.Eminent personalities shouldpromote ads which improvepublic transport.”

Sajjanar said “Their prod-uct might be the best, butshowing that a competitor'sproduct is bad is not goodbusiness ethics. The actor inthe advertisement shouldhave thought about it.”

He said that over thedecades, the RTC has beenserving the poor and mid-dle class. “RTC buses go toplaces where no other trans-port carrier goes. Theyshould think about it beforetalking bad about it in filmsand advertisements. Todaydue to public transport,people are safe and it isgood for everyone. Theyare capable of influencingpublic opinion.

Sharmila to stage 72-hour protest to show solidarity with TS farmersPNS n HYDERABAD

YSR Telangana Party (YSRTP)President Y.S. Sharmila onWednesday said she will sit ona 72-hour protest inHyderabad from Friday toshow solidarity with the state'sfarmers who are worried overthe delay in procurement ofpaddy by the government.

Sharmila, who is sister ofAndhra Pradesh ChiefMinister Y.S. Jagan MohanReddy, claimed that the stategovernment has failed thefarmers. She claimed thatheaps of paddy were lyingacross the state as farmerswere waiting for several days atthe procurement centres.

Telling reporters that farm-ers were saying that if their

paddy was not procured, theywill no option but to commitsuicide, she slammed theTelangana Rashtra Samithi(TRS) government for notcoming to the rescue of farm-ers. She said it was shockingthat instead of finding a solu-tion to the problem, the gov-ernment was asking farmersnot to grow paddy.

Referring to the call given byChief Minister K.Chandrasekhar Rao to TRScadres to stage a protest in allAssembly constituencies onNovember 12 against theCentre for refusing to liftpaddy from the state, Sharmilasaid this reflects the inefficien-cy of the government.

The YSRTP leader saidKCR, who had promised to

procure every grain, had nowgone back on his word.

She dismissed the claim byKCR that his government haddone a lot for welfare of farm-ers and asked if this was true,why had hundreds of farmerscommitted suicide during thelast seven years.

Sharmila stopped her ongo-ing Praja PrasthanamPadyatra temporarily fromWednesday in view of theelection code of conduct forelections to the LegislativeCouncil.

Tuesday was the 21st day ofYSRTP leader's padyatra. Sheis undertaking the walkathonto expose the failures of thestate government on variousfronts and to interact withpeople about their problems.

Eatala takes oathas TS BJP MLAPNS n HYDERABAD

Former Telangana ministerEatala Rajender onWednesday took oath as amember of the state LegislativeAssembly.

Rajender, who won theOctober 30 by-election fromHuzurabad constituency as acandidate of the BharatiyaJanata Party (BJP), took theoath in the chamber of theAssembly Speaker.

Speaker Pocharam SrinivasReddy administered the oathto Rajender. Former MPsKonda Vishweshwar Reddyand Jithender Reddy accom-panied the former minister.

In the by-election, the resultof which was declared onNovember 2, Rajender defeat-ed his nearest rival G. SrinivasYadav of the ruling TelanganaRashtra Samithi (TRS) by24,068 votes.

Rajender had resigned fromthe Assembly necessitatingthe by-election. He was elect-ed to the Assembly for the sev-enth time. However, this timehe won on the ticket of the BJP,which he joined after beingdropped from the state cabinetby Chief Minister K.Chandrasekhar Rao following

allegations of land grabbing.Before taking oath as the

MLA, Rajender paid tributesto martyrs of Telangana atGun Park in front of theAssembly building.

Later, talking to reporters,he appealed to all those whotook part in the Telanganamovement to come out of theTRS.

He slammed the chief min-ister for advising farmers notto go for paddy cultivation. Hesaid KCR should tell the peo-ple who was procuring paddyduring the last seven years.

The former ministerremarked that people werelaughing at the two-hour longpress conferences of the chiefminister and alleged that theTRS chief was uttering lies.

The newly elected MLA alsoridiculed KCR's announcementto stage dharnas against theCentre across the state onNovember 12 over the issue ofpaddy procurement.

Rajender said under theleadership of the BJP, he wouldcontinue the fight against theautocratic and corrupt rule ofKCR. He said whenever elec-tions are held the BJP willform the government in thestate.

Inspired by Mahesh Babu movie, man builds village schoolPNS n HYDERABAD

Popular Tollywood actorMahesh Babu on Wednesdaysaid he was moved beyondwords to learn that his movie'Srimanthudu' was the inspira-tion behind the construction ofa high school in TelanganasKamareddy district.

He took to Twitter to thankSubhash Reddy, a business-man and philanthropist, whohad donated Rs 6 crore for the

construction of a governmentschool at Bibipet. "We areincredibly humbled SubhashReddy 'garu'. You are a truehero.. We need more people likeyou," the actor tweeted.

Mahesh Babu's tweet was inresponse to the inauguration ofthe school by the state'sIndustry and InformationTechnology Minister K.T. RamaRao and Education Minister P.Sabitha Indra Reddy.

KTR, as the minister is pop-

ularly known, tweeted picturesof the school and the inaugu-ration ceremony. During hisspeech, the minister revealedthat Subhash Reddy had beeninspired by the Mahesh Babufilm.

"Had I known this, I wouldhave brought along MaheshBabu," KTR said. "He wouldhave been happy that, inspiredby his movie, some people aredoing such great work," headded.

The minister said he wouldinvite Mahesh Babu when thework on a junior college beingalso built in the area gets com-pleted.

In his response, MaheshBabu tweeted that he wouldattend the event with his entireteam. "Will make sure to visitthe college with my entire teamof 'Srimanthudu' once thisnoble project is completed," theactor said.

KTR was all praise for the

construction of a governmentschool building on a par witha privately-run school. He saidSubhash Reddy had set a newbenchmark for government-run schools.

Released in 2015,'Srimanthudu' is the story of ayoung man who inherits abusiness empire, adopts hisancestral village, and then triesto improve its infrastructure aswell as the standard of living ofthe local people.

IT jobs up; Hydcontributes10% of new...Continued from page 1

An in-depth analysis of thejobs in the IT sector by‘Indeed’ throws light on thecurrent hiring activity, hard-est-to-fill roles, top salaries,and cities that are driving hir-ing in the sector.

Data on ‘Indeed’ indicatedthat job postings for ‘softwareengineer’ saw a 9 percentjump followed by ‘developer’7 percent, ‘senior softwareengineer’ 5 percent, ‘applica-tion developer’ 5 percent,and ‘full-stack developer’ 4percent in September 2020 ascompared to September 2021.

There are some roles whichare still not easy to fill roleslike support escalation engi-neer, business objects devel-oper, Microsoft server engi-neer, application securityengineer, technology solu-tions professional, deep learn-ing engineer and softwaredevelopment intern.

Among the high payingroles, software architectwould fetch you on an aver-age Rs 13 lakh per year whiletechnical lead gets Rs 11.5lakh per year

As per a press commu-nique, Sashi Kumar, Head ofSales, Indeed said, “The rel-evance of tech jobs continuesto remain consistent bothpre and post-pandemic. Theresilience of the IT sector inthe challenging job environ-ment shows India Inc's incli-nation towards moving to adigital future in the post-pan-demic world. The continuedreliance on technologicalsolutions to meet the needsfor shopping, remote workingand learning has amplifiedthe importance of tech jobsacross industries and cities.”

TRS protest at Dharna Chowk...Continued from page 1

Several Public InterestLitigations were filed by polit-ical leaders, including VHanumantha Rao of Congress,Chada Venkat Reddy of CPIand PL Vishweswar Rao,against the government’s dik-tat.

The High Court in 2018ordered lifting the ban onprotests at Dharna Chowkstating that dissent was aprocess through which democ-racy survives and thrives.

Dharna Chowk, as its namesuggests, became synonymousfor protests for decades in thecapital city as the venue wasclose to the Secretariat, the seatof administration.

On Wednesday, TRSMinister Mahmood Ali andTalasani Srinivas Yadav visitedDharna Chowk to supervisethe arrangements for the pro-

posed State-wide dharnas onFriday, November 12.

Minister Srinivas Yadav saidthat the farmers across the

State were staging dharnasagainst the BJP’s anti-farmerpolicies and TRS too wouldstage a massive protest at

Hyderabad on November 12 insupport of farmers.

He said the extent of cul-t ivat ion increased inTelangana and the State grewas the rice bowl for the coun-try. “But instead of encourag-ing the State, the Centre wassubjecting the State to severeinconvenience,” the Ministersaid.

He alleged that the BJP gov-ernment in the Centre broughtthe controversial farm lawsthat would be detrimental tofarmer interests and the StateBJP leaders were speaking irre-sponsibly. Srinivas Yadav saidthat all opposition partieswould unite to stage dharnas inDelhi.

Home Minister MahmoodAli too gave a call to make thedharna in support of farmersa resounding success. SeveralTRS MLAs accompanied theMinisters to Dharna Chowk.

Take permission for protests...Continued from page 1

Kamalakar Rao said that there was no correlation between thestatements of Telangana BJP president Bandi Sanjay and UnionMinister G Kishan Reddy. As per the Constitution, it was theresponsibility of the Centre to purchase paddy and the FCI stipulatedthat for 100 kg of paddy, 67 kg of rice should be given but inYasangi, the yield would be less. “The Centre should not think aboutprofit for procuring paddy from farmers. While Bandi Sanjay wantedfarmers to cultivate paddy in Yasangi, the Centre made it clear itwould not procure the crop. When the Centre was ready to procureall the paddy cultivated in Punjab, why is Telangana beingdiscriminated against?” he said. Kamalakar Rao demanded that BJPleaders too stage dharnas in front of the Union Minister’s house. Healso said that States have no powers to export rice. Dayakar Raoalso said that the BJP leaders, if they were sincere about farmers’issues, should stage dharnas in front of residences of PrimeMinister Narendra Modi and Union Minister Piyush Goyal. All thefarmers should be united in their struggle, he said.

Actor NagaShourya’s fatherarrested in...Continued from page 1

According to the police,Shivalinga Prasad had takenthe farmhouse on lease fromits owner and was arrested foralleged violation of lease con-ditions.

Prasad was producedbefore the court that is alsohearing bail petitions filed byhim.

Gutta Suman, who wasallegedly involved in a fewcases in Hyderabad,Bengaluru and Vijayawada,was grilled by police in cus-tody and was then releasedon bail two days ago.

During the raids, Rs 6.77lakh cash, 33 mobilephones, three cars and 29gambling sets wereconfiscated.

GDP will grow at 9.5%,believes RBI GovernorContinued from page 1

“Though soaring global crudeprices and many geopoliticalissues along with other globalheadwinds are challenges togrowth, the overall growthoutlook is very positive for us.I am very confident that ourGDP will comfortably grow by9.5 per cent this fiscal becauseall growth impulses are verystrong, and the fast-movingindicators are stronger.

Our assessment is that weare on a path of reaching the9.5 per cent growth comfort-ably, Das said at a functionorganised by financial dailyBusiness Standard here thisevening.

But there are global head-winds as advanced economies,which have recovered fasterfrom the pandemic and hadposted higher growth numbersearlier, seem to have moderat-

ed now, he noted, putting ques-tion marks on the 5.9 per centglobal GDP forecast.

Given all these global GDPmay undershoot the 5.9 percent target due to shortages ofsemiconductors, shipping con-tainers, and the resultant soar-ing freight rates, among others.

But on top of all these is thatmany European, Asian andAmerican countries are stillfighting the pandemic, Dassaid, warning this shouldensure that there is no room forcomplacency at all.

He also based his growthoptimism on the indicationscoming in from bankers thatinvestment loans are making aslow come back and will pickup steam from the next fiscal.

Our recent interaction withbank CEOs make me confidentthat demand for investmentcapital is making a slow comeback and should gather

momentum from the next fis-cal, he said, when askedwhether he is worried that forthe first time retail loan bookat Rs 28.58 lakh-crore - drivenlargely by home loans - has sur-passed corporate loan book ofRs 28.28 lakh-crore as of Julythis year.

Loans will go where there isdemand. As of now, there isgreat demand for housing loansfor one as we are now, in thelowest interest rate regime andample liquidity, and for anoth-er, many people are looking formore spacious homes due tothe pandemic, he said.

So it is up to banks to do riskpricing very carefully in termsof sectoral allocation of theirassets. Each bank has to do itsdue diligence and determinethe risk appetite, Das noted,parrying a direct answer to thequestion of whether he sees anybubble in the retail books.

Millers urge TS,Centre to end...Continued from page 1

Devender Reddy appealed tothe government not to delayand drag paddy purchases. “Asthe Centre was refusing to liftboiled rice with no demand forit in other States, it should con-sider exporting rice at regularintervals. Or if the Centreaccords permission, the millerswould directly export the riceto other countries,” he said.

Devender Reddy said thatthere should be a systemwhere farmers could directlysell paddy to the millers alongwith continuing IKP andPrimary AgriculturalCooperative Societies. “Alongwith this, the Centre shouldalso encourage rice exports,”he said.

The millers urged theCentre to think in the direc-tion of benefiting both farm-ers and consumers. Theydemanded both State andUnion governments to take adecision agreeable to all stake-holders on paddy procure-ment.

Hyderabadtechiearrested forthreatening...Continued from page 1

When the investigatorsfound a tweet on WaybackMachine, viewed the sourcecode of the page and foundthat its unique Twitter IDwas ‘13866854741823-69290’.

Twitter’s policy allows auser to change their user-name, however, the numericID or the unique ID remainsconstant despite a change inthe username as it is uniqueto that account.

The earliest usernamethat the person used tooperate under, which thenews agency was able tolocate, was @pellikutu-ruhere, which is a Teluguword.

The investigators found areply to @pellikututuherethat suggested the user wasfrom Hyderabad.

With the complaintlodged by Virat Kohli andthe information given byTwitter, the cyber wing ofMumbai Pol ice t racedRamnagesh Akubathini toHyderabad and arrestedhim.

He was taken to Mumbaishortly after his arrest.

4 workers killed as roof of...Continued from page 1

Chairman and ManagingDirector of SCCL N Sridharconveyed his condolences tothe bereaved families.

Also, he ordered an inquiryinto the incident and directedthe officials concerned to sub-mit a report. “It should be seenthat such incidents do notrecur,” Sridhar said. The top

official, in a press release,announced employment to oneeligible member of the familyof each of the deceased besidesan ex-gratia between Rs 70 lakhand Rs 1 crore.

Collectorchooses govt...Continued from page 1

“Warmest Congratulations to@Collector_BDD & his wife.I hope both the mother & thechild are doing well. It givesus immense pride to see howunder the able leadership ofCM KCR Garu, state medicalinfrastructure has proven tobe the first choice of people,"Harish Rao tweeted.

Khammam MLC BalasaniLakshminarayana too appre-ciated the District Collectorcouple.

Durishetty was topper inthe country in the 2017 civilservices examination.

TS logs 164 new Covid casesPNS n HYDERABAD

Telangana on Wednesdayreported 164 new COVID-19cases, pushing the tally to6,72,987, while the toll rose to3,969 with one more fatality.

The Greater HyderabadMunicipal Corporation(GHMC) accounted for themost number of cases with 55,followed by Karimnagar and

Ranga Reddy (10 each), astate government bulletin said,providing details as of 5.30 PMon Wednesday.

The number of recoveriesoutnumbered fresh cases with171 people recovering fromthe disease, taking the cumu-lative number till date to6,65,272.

The number of active casesis now 3,746, the bulletin said.

HYDERABAD | THURSDAY | NOVEMBER 11, 2021 hyderabad 03

G RAVI KIRAN

n HYDERABAD

The Telangana Anti-CorruptionBureau (ACB) is going to bestrengthened. There is a buzzthat a full-time head is going totake charge at ACB soon.

An IPS official, who hasreturned from Central ser-vices recently, may be the ACBhead.

During the Covid and post-Covid period, the ACB was notactive going by its perfor-mance records. It registered 10Disproportionate Assets (DA)cases in 2019 and seven in2020. But in 2021 only twocases were registered.

Those cases were trap casesand were converted intoDisproportionate Assets casessubsequently. The ACB is nowresponding to complaints andmany trap cases were registeredaccordingly. At present,Govind Singh is the Director-General of ACB. His primarydepartment is the CID (CrimeInvestigation Department).Earlier, Poornachandra Raowas the ACB head, but he washeading Vigilance and otherdepartments too.

AK Khan was the only full-time head of the ACB and afterthat Charu Sinha and AnuraagSarma held charge for somemonths. Poornachandra Rao isthe only officer who heldcharge from March 2017 toAugust 2021. It means thatafter the bifurcation of AndhraPradesh, the Telangana ACBdidn't get a full-time headafter AK Khan, except forPoornachandra Rao who washolding two more posts.

An ACB staffer said,"Govind Singh, DG, ACB isnot active. If he gets full-timecharge he will execute his planof action. As an FAC official, hecannot proceed aggressively."

The public is unhappy aboutthe corruption among gov-ernment officials in the State.At the same time the ACB isnot taking serious actionagainst corruption.

Even elected public repre-sentatives who get salaries

from the government willcome under the purview of theACB.

In Tamil Nadu, the govern-ment raided AIADMK lead-ers, who were Ministers in theAIADMK cabinet using theAct.

In Telangana, there is onlyone such case, that is, the votefor note case, in which the ACBregistered a case againstRevanth Reddy and some oth-ers. The case is still under con-sideration of the ACB court.

The powerful ACB is notacting accordingly now in theState. The lack of a full-timehead is one of the reasons forthis, Padmanabha Reddy of theForum for Good Governancesaid.

"A full-time head for theACB is unavoidable. Even inprosecuting trap cases, there istoo much delay on the part ofthe government which is weak-ening the morale of the ACB,"he added.

A retired employee said,"Due to this, even ACB officialsmay engage in corruption. Asthere is no proper monitoringof DA cases, they can colludewith corrupt officials."

PNS n HYDERABAD

The sleuths of Com mission-er's Task Force (NorthZone) team apprehend-ed a habitual offender,for cheating innocentwomen in the guise oflove and live-in rela-tionship, on Wednesday.The police have recovered18 tolas of gold ornamentsworth Rs 9 lakh.

The accused identified asShaik Mohammed Rafi, 29, anative of Tuni in AndhraPradesh and a resident ofGachibowli had blackmailedand demanded money and goldornaments from five women.

According to the police,the accused uses social mediato trap the women. He intro-

duces himself as KarthikVarma claiming to be

himself as an NRI. Hetraps them and startslive-in relationshipwith them. Later, he will ask for

money and gold to fulfill hisneeds. Believing him, severalwomen gave money and goldto mortgage. Then, he willswitch off his mobile and flee.

After receiving a complaint,the SR Nagar Police registeredthe case. The Task Force teamtraced him and apprehendedhim on Wednesday.

PNS n HYDERABAD

A woman who was admittedat a private hospital inBandlaguda was later foundhanging in the washroom ofthe hospital on Tuesday.

The deceased victim wasidentified as Sudeepthi, 28, anative of Nellore, she wasresiding in an apartment atBandlaguda Jagir and work-ing as a software engineer ina private firm.

According to the police,Sudeepthi complained of illhealth and uneasiness andwas then admitted to thehospital on November 6.

However, on Tuesday, sheclosed her room from the

inside and hung herself fromthe ceiling fan using a bed-sheet. The ward nurse alertedother hospital staff after repeat-ed requests to open the doorwent in vain. The staff brokethe door open and foundSudeepti's body hanging.

The staff then informedthe police, who shifted thebody for post mortem. Acase was registered by theRajendranagar Police whoare investigating the inci-dent.

Police suspect that thewoman might have beenupset over her ill health butare yet to ascertain the causebehind the extreme step as nosuicide note was recovered.

Techie found hanging in hospital washroom

PNS n HYDERABAD

Chief Electoral OfficerShashank Goel on Wednesdaychaired a special review meet-ing with the 15 electoral reg-istration officers of Hyderabaddistrict to take stock of theprogress of the draft electoralroll under the limits of GreaterHyderabad MunicipalCorporation (GHMC).

Among those present wereelectoral roll observer NavinMittal and Commissioner,Collegiate and technical edu-cation, the District Election

Officer and GHMCCommissioner Lokesh Kumar.

Goel asked officials con-cerned to give wide publicityamong voters to verify theirnames. He also said that spe-cial campaigns, held onNovember 6 and November 7,should be repeated onNovember 27 and November28 for the benefit of the vot-ers. The electoral officials wereasked to ensure completion ofdisposal of claims and objec-tions and final publication ofroll as per the schedule onJanuary 5, 2022.

CEO takes a stock of electoral roll revision

PNS n HYDERABAD

National Security Advisor AjitDoval will review and addressthe passing out parade of the73rd batch of IPS probationersat the Sardar Vallabhbhai PatelNational Police Academy(SVPNPA) here on November12.

He will be the chief guest atthe ceremony, an officialrelease said.

SVPNPA Director AtulKarwal said that 149 officertrainees would take part in the'Dikshant Parade'. Amongthem 132 are IPS officertrainees and 17 foreign officertrainees.

There are 31 lady officers -27 IPS officer trainees and fourforeign officer trainees, anofficial release said.

Darpan Ahluwalia, awoman IPS probationer(Punjab cadre), who is theoverall topper of basic course

phase-I training and winner ofMartyr KS Vyas trophy forinternal security and publicorder and field crafts and tac-tics, will lead the parade.

As part of basic course train-ing, inputs were provided tothe trainees in indoor subjects- Criminal Procedure Code,IPC and Special Laws, IndianEvidence Act, internal securi-ty and public order, investiga-tion, forensics, Informationand CommunicationTechnology, attitudes, ethicsand human rights, criminolo-

gy and police management inIndia.

Similarly, inputs were pro-vided in physical fitness, drill,weapon training and firing,yoga, unarmed combat amongothers under outdoor sub-jects, the release said.

During their field exposureas part of basic course trainingthey were attached with'Greyhounds', Telangana forexposure to the jungle opera-tions including camping inthe jungle, with the CentralSchool of Weapons and Tactics(CSWT) of BSF for exposureto the advanced weapons andexplosives.

They were also attachedwith the Central Reserve PoliceForce (CRPF) in Chhattisgarhand Jharkhand to give expo-sure about the left-wingextremism and internal secu-rity challenges in the country,besides election attachment,the release added.

Ajit Doval to review Dikshant Parade of IPS trainees in city

PNS n HYDERABAD

The High Court of Telanganahas said that the custodialdeath of Mariamma has to beinvestigated by the CentralBureau of Investigation (CBI).

The High Court onWednesday has ordered theCBI Superintendent of Policeto come to the court onNovember 22. The HC alsoordered the Advocate Generalto hand over case files to theAssistant Solicitor General.

Mariamma, 45, a resident ofChintakani in Khammam dis-trict, used to work as a maid ata pastor's house at Addagudurin Yadadri district.

She, her son and his friendwere brought to the police sta-tion in Yadadri Bhongir districtfor questioning in connectionwith a theft case on June 15. Shedied allegedly due to torture incustody. Earlier, the Peoples'Union of Civil Liberties hadfiled a petition demanding aprobe into the custodial deathof Mariamma. Responding tothat, the High Court hadordered a judicial probe. The

judicial commission completedits inquiry and submitted itsreport to the High Court.

The HC Bench asked theAdvocate General aboutactions taken against policepersonnel involved in the case.He replied that sub-inspectorV Maheswar, constables MARasheed Patel and P Janaiahwere suspended.

The court asked whetherany criminal procedures werelaunched against the police

personnel, for which therewas no answer from theAdvocate General.

The Advocate General hadsaid that Mariamma had diedof a heart stroke due to illhealth. The court pointed outthat there were wounds onMariamma's body as per thepost-mortem report.

After studying the report,the High Court came to theconclusion that a CBI investi-gation was necessary.

CBI must probe Mariamma’s ‘custodial death’: T’gana HC

PNS n HYDERABAD

The Dundigal Police onWednesday apprehendedthree burglars and recoveredvaluables worth Rs 5 lakhsfrom their possession.

The arrested persons havebeen identified as NagulwarDurgesh, 31, NaglawadaRaju, 40 and Kamble Ganesh,24. All the three are natives ofMaharashtra and had migrat-ed to Hyderabad in search oflivelihood, said the Police.

Police said that the trio wereold offenders and used tocommit theft in houses whereCCTV cameras were not thereor houses with no watchmen.After identifying such houses,the trio broke into them dur-ing the night and stole valu-ables. Police detected threecases that the trio wereinvolved in under DundigalPolice Station limits. Officialsrecovered valuables worthRs 5,00,000 from them.

Three burglars held with booty worth Rs 5 lakh

PNS n HYDERABAD

The Hyderabad PoliceCommissionerate awardedKey Performance Indicators(KPIs) to 175 police personnelworking in its various wings.

On Wednesday, theCommissioner of Police,Hyderabad, Anjani Kumarheld a meeting with the staffand announced the rankingsfor February 2021.

The system recognises andrewards staffers at every levelwho register outstanding per-formance every month.

There are 17 functional ver-ticals in Law & Order policestations, Special Branch,Traffic Branch, Task Force,

CAR Headquarters, CPLAmberpet, City SecurityWing, IT Cell, Head Office,Communication, Main &Zonal PCRs, SHE Team andthe Bharosa Support Centre.

The aim is to assess the per-formance of each verticaldepending upon the nature ofthe work and to bring in cut-ting-edge professionalism byensuring specialisation undereach vertical.

Two police officials and 175police personnel of theCommissionerate were select-ed for appreciation and wereawarded by the HyderabadPolice Commissioner, AnjaniKumar, for their performancein February, 2021.

KPIs given to 175 staff by Hyderabad top cop

PNS n HYDERABAD

Following the Telangana HighCourt's verdict to stop the ille-gal seizure of vehicles by thepolice during drunk drivingchecks, the police have begunthe process of returning theseized vehicles, bringing reliefto motorists caught drivingunder the influence.

From January 1 to October31 this year, the most numberof vehicles were seized fromJubilee Hills police station lim-its, with 645 vehicles seized fol-lowed by 615 vehicles seized bythe Banjara Hills Police.

With most of the establish-ments that serve liquor beingin the Jubilee Hills and Banjara

Hills areas, accidents involvingdrunken driving at midnightare more common in this area.

The police accordingly inten-sified checks in those areas asreflected in the high number of

cases and vehicle seizures fromthe two police station limits.While this move has consider-

ably brought down the numberof accident cases reported inthose PS limits, the court'sdirective could see a rise in thenumbers again.

Police said that properguidelines were being followedto hand over the seized vehi-cles. The respondent has toappear before the police stationwith original vehicle papers inorder to secure the release ofthe vehicle. After the vehicle'sdocuments are verified, therespondent is made to under-go counselling before being letoff with the vehicle. In caseswhere a charge sheet is filed,the respondent has to appearbefore the court, pay the chal-lan or undergo jail term

accordingly before the vehicleis returned, said the police.

In rare cases where therespondent is unable to collecttheir vehicle due to personalreasons or is unable to producethe original registration papers,the vehicle is retained at thepolice station, said traffic policeofficials.

However, despite theincrease in the number ofdrink and drive cases registeredand increase in the number ofchecks, the cases have beenincreasing and have not report-ed a declining trend. One hasto wait and watch if the Highcourt's directive may also leadto an increase in the number ofcases reported.

DRUNK DRIVING

Cops begin returning seized vehicles after HC order

PNS n HYDERABAD

The LB Nagar Police onWednesday booked a man forinjuring a 20-year-old womanby stabbing her 18 timesupon knowing that she gotengaged to someone else.

The accused person, BaswaRaj, 23, is a private employ-ee from Sun City. Accordingto the police, at about 3:40PM, he approached the vic-tim, Bestha Shreesha, 20, astudent from Hasthinapuramarea, and confronted her.

"He and the woman werein a relationship for sometime and about three monthsback, Shreesha got engaged tosomeone else as per her fam-ily members wish. Uponknowing the same, Raj askedher to meet and stabbed herbefore fleeing the place," saidthe police, adding that thecondition of the victim is saidto be critical.

The Police said that a casewas registered and furtherinvestigations were on, whenasked if the accused wastaken into custody.

23-yr-old man stabs a woman 18 times, held

PNS n HYDERABAD

The Customs officials ofHyderabad on Wednesdayseized 735.45 grams of smug-gled gold from three malepassengers who arrived at theRajiv Gandhi InternationalAirport at Shamshabad fromRiyadh.

The Customs officialsdetected and seized 735.45grams of gold, valued at Rs.34.03 lakhs, from three malepassengers who arrived viaflight SV3896 from Riyadh.

“The gold was concealed intheir check-in baggage andthe pants of the passengers.We have seized the gold anddetained them for question-ing,” said the police.

Man arrested forcheating, women

PNS n HYDERABAD

Ch Venkatesham who wasarrested by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) onDecember 27, 2010, for accept-ing bribe, was jailed for two

years by the ACB Court ofHyderabad on Wednesday.

The convict was DeputySuperintendent of APSRTC atDevarakonda in NalgondaDistrict in 2010.

At that time, the com-

plainant, Venkata Ramana, asanitary worker, hadapproached him for an exten-sion of his contract.Venkatesham demanded abribe of Rs 5,000 for that.

The complainant

approached the ACB, the offi-cials caught Venkatesham red-handed while he was acceptingthe bribe.

The ACB arrested him andproduced him in court. Thecourt heard arguments and

delivered the judgment.The court sentenced

Venkatesham to two years injail and a fine of Rs 1,000. If thefine is not paid, the convict willhave to be in jail for two moremonths, the judgement said.

RTC staffer sentenced to two years in prison for bribe

Gold worth Rs 34L seized from threetravellers at RGIA

For the smooth conduct of Chhath pujafestivities in the city, arrangements

have been made at 42 water bodies bythe GHMC. The civic body made surethat amenities like pandals, tents and

shamianas, illumination, drinking waterand temporary change rooms and

washrooms are available to devotees.The Urban Development Special

Chief Secretary Arvind Kumar said in atweet, lakh of devotees are expected to

visit the nearby water bodies for thefestival. He noted, the festival is

mostly celebrated by people hailingfrom Bihar, Jharkhand and parts of

Uttar Pradesh.

PNS n HYDERABAD

Relatives of a 54-year-old res-ident from Hyderabad, YPrabhakar Reddy, who wasdeclared as brain dead by theattending team of neuro-physi-cians, have donated the organsof the deceased to needypatients under theState-run Jeevandanorgan donation ini-tiative.

A resident ofRTC Cross Roads,Jawahar Nagar,Prabhakar Reddy wasfound unconscious on his bedat 6.30 am on November 8.

Relatives including his wifeY Usha Rani, 23-year-olddaughter Sai Manisha and 19-year-old son Y Kailash, rushedhim to Sunshine Hospitals,Secunderabad for emergencytreatment.

The doctors at SunshineHospitals extended intensive

care for 24-hours but due topoor prognosis, the healthcondition of Reddy did notimprove. On November 9 at6.30 pm, the hospital neuro-physicians declared him asbrain dead due to severe IC(intracranial) bleed that occurs

among brain haemor-rhage patients.

A series of griefcounselling sessionswere conducted byorgan donation vol-

unteers fromJeevandan and Sunshine

Hospitals following whichthe family members agreed todonate the organs of thedeceased under Jeevandanorgan donation initiative.

The hospital transplant sur-geons retrieved liver, lungsand two corneas and sentthem to various centres fortransplantation based on theorgan donation guidelines ofJeevandan.

Five organs harvestedfrom brain dead man

JEEVANDAN

ACB to get full-time head

04HYDERABAD | THURSDAY | NOVEMBER 11, 2021

PNS n SANGAREDDY

Aspirants of TRS ticket forthe MLC post for the localbodies constituency haves-tarted lobbying for the tick-et, meeting the party elders asthe Election Commission onTuesday released the sched-ule for the election.

The term of the existingMLC from the constituencyin the undivided Medak dis-trict is going to expire as onJan 4, 2022. Currently, VBhupal Reddy is a member ofthe Upper House from theconstituency.

His term would expire onJan 4 next year. Will the TRSnominate him or not foranother term is creating a lotof interest, he said. Earlier,the TRS leadership has

promised to send a promi-nent leader or two of theparty to send them to theUpper House, according topropaganda gaining curren-cy in the district.

Upon the bifurcation of theerstwhile Medak district andbecause of the changedpolit-ical equations in the districthave led to increased compe-tition among political leadershave stirred up a lot of inter-est among the political circleson who would win the partytickets. Some strongly arguethat the change of candidatewill be likely this time. It isvery interesting to find outwho has the blessings of TRSboss K Chandrasekhar Rao inhis native district.

Meanwhile, the ElectionCommission has said that it

will release a notification onNov 16 officially for the MLCelections.

The last date to submitnominations would beNovember 23. On November24, the nominations would besubjected to scrutiny. the lastdate for withdrawal of nom-inations is November 26. Thepolling would be held onDecember 10. Counting ofvoteswould take place onDec 14. With the EC issuingthe notification, major polit-ical outfits are busy hand-picking their candidates forthe elections. The Congressand BJP are contemplatingfield candidates to safeguardtheir traditional vote banks.In the elections, ZPTCs,MPTCs, and councilors willexercise their franchise.

PNS n MULUGU

Assistant Superintendent ofPolice Sai Chaitanya hasappealed to the villagers livingon the fringes of forests not toventure into the forest as atiger is on the prowl andasked the villagers to tip off theauthorities in case they noticethe wild cat.

He cautioned them againstharming them since it is thenational animal of the coun-try. If anyone harms the ani-mal, legal action would betaken against them. He askedthe people living in the Agencyareas to exercise caution. Hesaid that a joint investigationby the police and forest depart-ment officials is underway totrace the animal.

The ASP on Wednesdaysaid that a tiger seems to be onthe prowl in the Agency areasof the district and warned vil-lagers of stern action if theyever harm the animal. The for-est department has alreadyconfirmed tigers entering theforest area in Mulug districtfrom other places.

The authorities would gettough against those whoattempt to poach the animaland if anyone were to helpthem, he said quoting theexample of how the authoritiessent poachers of the tiger to jaillast month. The accusedwould not get bail in the caseas it is a non-bailable offense.If the tiger kills pet animals ofvillagers, they are entitled toget compensation.

Tiger is on the prowlVillagers told not to venture into the forest

PNS n GODAVARIKHANI

Yadava Charitable Trustchairman Maram TirupatiYadav on Wednesdaydemanded capital punish-ment to psychopathic killerChatla Rajkumar murderedan 18-year-old girl Anjali byslitting her throat refusing tomarry him.

Members of the associationstaged demonstrations onthe Rajiv Rahadari passingthrough Ambedkar circle inGodavarikhani of the districtto protest against the brutalmurder.

He said that the Yadavswould intensify the struggletill justice was done to Anjali.

Ramagundam YadavaAssociation presidentPatapalli Ravi Kumar saidthat the association wouldfight till justice was done toAnjali. Pledging their supportto the bereaved family, hedemanded the government toaward stern punishment tohim.

The association gave Rs5000 to the family to meetimmediate needs.

Capital

punishment to

Anjali’s killers

demaned

PNS n NALGONDA

Buddhist Council of India , ledby its President, Mr.Sanjay Patilapplauded the TelanganaTourism and MallepalliLaxmaiah, Special Officer,Buddhavanam for developing aunique Buddhist Tourist spot inan extent of 274 acres-atNagarjunasagar . Dr. E.Sivanagireddy, Buddhist ExpertConsultant, Buddhavanam ,briefed the team consisting of16 members on the features ofeight segments ofBuddhavanam, entrance plaza,Buddhacharita vanam, Jatakapark, Dhyana park, Stupa park, Acharya Nagarjuna parkembellished with sculptures

depicting the life of the Buddha,Jataka stories( previous lives ofthe Buddha as Bodhisattva),places associated withSiddhartha Gautama , history ofBuddhism in Telangana and thethen contemporary life duringthe Satavahana and Ikshwakurule. Later , the team visited theBuddhist heritage Museum andAcharya Nagarjuna Statue inthe ground floor of theMahastupa and AsokaDharmachakra at the entranceplaza. The team said that the Buddhaand Dhyana Buddha sculpturearranged in a Seperate shrine atthe centre of the inside of thedome of the stupa is first of itskind in India .

PNS n HYDERABAD

District Collectors have beengiven the responsibility todisburse the ex gratia of Rs50,000 to the next of kin ofthose who succumbed toCovid-19 from State DisasterResponse Fund (SDRF).

In a release, the SDRF saidthat the applications wouldhave to be filed online.

The district Collector willapprove the ex gratia assis-tance to the next of kin of thedeceased person in respect ofeligible cases.

As per a GO issued byRahul Bojja, Chief Minister’sOffice Secretary, “All claims inrespect of eligible cases mustbe settled within 30 days ofsubmission of required docu-ments, and disbursed throughAadhaar-linked Direct BenefitTransfer procedures”. It maybe mentioned here thatNational DisasterManagement Authority,Government of India hasinformed that all the Statesand UT to notify a committeeat the district level for issuanceof the official document forCovid-19 death and paymentof Rs 50,000 as ex gratia tonext of kin of the deceased .

PNS n RAMAGUNDAM

Ramagundam commissioneron Wednesday placed twopolice constables under sus-pension for causing damageto the image of the policedepartment with their behav-ior, sans any discipline. Theywere identified as ArmedReserve constable S Tirupatiposted in Bellampally andconstable in Mancherial townR Srikant. Commissioner SChandrasekhar Reddy issuedorders placing them undersuspension for dereliction toduty and on the grounds ofindiscipline. He warned thepolice personnel of sternaction if anyone violates dis-cipline and found negligent inthe discharge of duties low-ering the image of the policein the eyes of the people.

Two negligentCops suspended

Buddhist Councillauds Buddhavanam

PNS n NAGARKURNOOL

Village level officials have beenasked to work with coordina-tion to stamp out the cultiva-tion of ganja and illicit distilla-tion of arrack.

In an awareness and coordi-nation meeting held here onWednesday Panchayat OfficerRajeswari, RDO Nagalakshmiand DSP Mohan Reddy askedofficials of village-level linedepartments to take coordinat-ed and concerted efforts to rootout the menace.

The meeting was held at theSJR function hall in the townunder the aegis of the excisedepartment for revenue, police,agriculture, panchayat, forestdepartment officials, and thoseof other line departments at thevillage level to put an end toganja cultivation.

Gracing the occasion as thechief guest DPO Rajeshwariasked the officials to strive toeliminate ganja cultivation andsmuggling from the grassrootslevel. Quoting orders from thedistrict collector, RDONagalakshmi asked the officialsto take steps to get tough withthose indulging in the illicit dis-tillation of arrack, cultivation ofganja, and sale of gutka andother illegal intoxicants.Agriculture officials shouldkeep tables on fields and gar-

dens to prevent ganja cultiva-tion.

Panchayat Secretaries shouldcheck illicit distillation of arrackat village level. Excise officialshave been asked to bind overthose who cultivate ganja.People and farmers should besensitized on the adverseimpact of intoxicants. Every 15days, a division-level coordina-tion meeting would be heldfrom now onwards, she said.

DSP Mohan Reddy said thatthe police would get tough

with those who indulge in thecultivation and smuggling ofganja, gutka, and gambling. Hecalled for identifying blacksheep in concerned govern-ment departments for takingaction against them. Parentshave been urged to keep tabs onthe movements of their chil-dren as taking drugs wouldaffect children.

Excise CI Yedukondalu saidthat there was no ganja cultiva-tion in the Nagarkurnool divi-sion and also an illicit distilla-tion of arrack. He asked the rev-enue, panchayat raj, and forestofficial to inform the police andexcise department if ganja cul-tivation or smuggling wasdetected anywhere in the divi-sion. He sought the support ofthe revenue, agriculture, forest,and panchayat raj departmentsto bind over criminals.

PNS nNIZAMABAD

In view of the ensuing MLCElections, the Schedule hasbeen released for biennial elec-tions to the TelanganaLegislative Council to the 12constituencies from 9 LocalAuthorities ErstwhileDistricts except for Hyderabad, arrangements must bemade on war foot basis to con-duct a fair and frank electionat any cost. The Chief Electionofficer urged all the DistrictCollectors.

Accordingly, an all-partymeeting was held today atNizamabad Collectorate. Inpursuance of the Proc eed-ings, the Chief Election officewould release an ElectionNotification to this effect byNovember 16. The CEO saidin all-party meeting via VideoConference.

Accordingly, the CentralElection Commission releasedthe Schedule followed by TheNotification on November 16sharply. He said.

As per the schedule, theCEO made an announcementfor submission of Nominationsto the MLCs from November16 to 23, Scrutiny will be com-

mencing on 24, and with-drawal of Nominations willend by 26 November and thePolling will be held onDecember 10. The countingarrangements will be made onDecember 14 with strict vigi-lance. The CEO said.

The respective Collectors ofthe following 9 Districtsviz..Adilabad, Karim Nagar,Nizamabad, Warangal fromNorth Telangana Region andKhammam, Nalgonda, Medak,Mahaboob Nagar, and RangaReddy Districts would be theReturning Officers by main-taining possible coordinationwith the rest of the Collectors.He said.

All the ZPTCs, MPTCs,Corporators, Councilors of theMunicipal Corporations and

Municipalities, and Ex Officio. Members will turn out asVoters. He said.

In connection with theMLC Elections to the LocalAuthorities, an All PartyMeeting must be conducted atthe earliest to ensure a free andFrank election by taking nec-essary arrangements in prepa-ration of the Final

Voters' List and the samemay be sent along with the listof the Returning Officers andthe Assistant ReturningOfficers sharply. The CEOsaid. The Election Campaignwill be conducted from 10 amto 10 pm with due importancefor internal meetings with notmore than 200 people andnot more than 500 people atopen meetings.

Poll should be fair and frank CEO Goel tells Collectors on MLC election

PNS n NALGONDA

SP AV. Ranganath said thatsteps are being taken to set upthe gym and supermarket-style stores with all facilitieswith modern facilities forpolice personnel in the dis-trict.

He inspected Gym, stores,gas godown, the modernhydraulic system in the MTdepartment, the task forceoffice and other constructionwork being set up in thedepartment, along withAdditional SP Narmada, andmade several suggestions.

He said that steps werebeing taken to set up a mod-ern gym with all facilities forthe police.

PNS n MULUGU

District Collector S KrishnaAditya has said that Rs 75crore has been released for thebiennial Sammakka-Saralamma festival to be held atMedaram in February.

Disclosing this to media hereon Wednesday, the funds havebeen released to provide

all amenities to the devoteestaking part in the Medaram fes-tival. A BT road would be laidtill Medaram via Narlapur at acost of Rs 10.3 crore. Rs 13.5crore would be spent by irriga-tion department to provide abattery of taps on either side ofJampanna Vaagu, to sink infil-tration wells, to build changingrooms on either side of

Jampanna Vaagu, he said.Rs 41 crore has been allocat-

ed to civil workers Rs 37 croreto non-civil works. Drinkingwater arrangements would bemade and toilets would bebuilt at nine junctions near thetemple. An OHSR tank wouldbe built at Bus stand, EnglishMedium school, Harita Hotel,he said adding that temporarytoilets would be built at a costof Rs 1.8 crore. Irrigation

department officials havebeen asked to remove the threecheck dams built on JampannaVagu. Rs 4.5 crore has beensanctioned to ITDA at YeturuNagaram, Tribal WelfareEngineering department. ITDAproject officer has been entrust-ed with the provision of a

parking facility for thousands ofvehicles arriving at theMedaram festival.

Earlier, parking was entrust-ed to the police department.

The police department hasbeen allotted Rs 11 crore to thepolice department in Medaram,Rs 2.5 crore to the RTC, Rs 4crore to Transco for makingvarious arrangements, he said.

The endowments depart-ment has been given Rs 3crore, medical and healthdepartment Rs 1 crore and Iand PR department given awayRs 20 lakh, he said. The tribalhamlets of Dodla, Narlapur,Bayyakkapt, Phonugundla willbe provided with all amenitieson account of the festival, hesaid.

Rs 75 crore released forMedaram festival : Collector

Modern gym forpolice:SP

PNS n WARANGAL

Encroachment of tank bedsand government lands by vest-ed interests with the supportfrom elected people’s represen-tatives has been alleged. This isattributed to increase in theland value.

As per revenue records,there are over 245 tanks andponds in the city. But, 40 acresof the Vaddepalli tank havebeen encroached upon in theHanumakonda district. In all,32 residential colonies wereinundated in August last yearand due to the recent heavyrains due to the encroach-ment of nalas and tanks. Afterthe horse has been bolted, thedistrict officials have bolted thedoor.

In the Narsampet division ofWarangal district, at least 1600acres of government-assignedland under survey numbers814, 204, 318, 702, 1101 hasencroached. In fact, the thenJoint Collector Vakati Karunagot the lands surveyed anddeclared them to be govern-ment lands.

Violating the green landrules, some persons have builthouses in government landsmeasuring 300 acres nearNekkonda road.

The hand of some electedpeople’s representatives hasbeen alleged in the issue. Thecriticism is that the officials are

soft-pedaling the issue becauseof the involvement of the peo-ple’s representatives. Theauthorities have removedencroachments in KakatiyaUniversity lands.

The 118-acre Bestem tankon Tammapur outskirts hasnow shrunk to 40 acres. 40

acres out of the 170-acreMamunur tank are under thecontrol of some private indi-viduals. In fact, 50 percent ofthe Bandham tank in Kazipethas been encroached upon. Similarly, vested interests builthomes in several tanks inMahabubabad.

Unchecked encroachmentof Tank beds in Warngal !

Will TRS nominate Bhupal Reddy again?

DCs to disburseex gratia to kinof Covid victims

Blatant land grabbing alleged PNS n HYDERABAD

The power utilities in thestate have become bankrupt inthe present TRS regime,Shabbar Ali, a former ministerhas alleged on Wednesdayadding that the decisions takenby Chief Minister KChandrasekhara Rao have ledthe to this situation.

Addressing the Congressparty's training camp atAuspicious ConventionCentre, Kompally Shabbir Alisaid that the credit for thetransformation of Telanganafrom a power deficit to a sur-plus State goes to the previousCongress regime.

However, he said that thepresent TRS Govt has pushedall power utilities like GENCO,TRANSCO, and DISCOMSinto huge crisis by borrowinghuge loans at higher interestrates to purchase power fromChattisgarh and other compa-nies at costs almost three timeshigher than the market value.He predicted that the TRSGovt would soon enforce ahuge hike in power tariff toovercome the crisis. He said

that the situation has turned soworse that several top officialsincluding the Chairman &Managing Director of GENCO& TRANSCO went on longleave without informing theChief Minister.

Shabbir Ali said that therewas a huge power crisis acrossthe country when the Congressparty came to power at theCentre and also in undividedAndhra Pradesh in 2004.

"As the then EnergyMinister, I was part of the TaskForce constituted by thenPrime Minister Dr.Manmohan Singh to add 1.58lakh MW of power. This TaskForce ensured setting up ofseveral power plants across thecountry and today almost all

States in the country are powersurplus," he said adding thatthe except for Bhadradri PowerPlant, TRS Government didnot add a single unit to thepower supply across TelanganaState. Therefore, TRS Govttaking credit for uninterrupt-ed power supply is bogus, hesaid.

Speaking about minorities'welfare, he said that it was theCongress Government, head-ed by Dr. Kotla VijayabhaskarReddy, which constituted thecountry's first MinoritiesWelfare Department in 1993and he had the privilege ofbeing the country's firstMinister for MinoritiesWelfare. He said an amount ofRs. 3 crore were earmarked forthe minorities' welfare in 1993-94 budget and it got increasedto Rs. 1,000 Crore in 2013-14.He said that CongressPresident Sonia Gandhi hadpromised 5% Muslim reserva-tion for Muslims in AndhraPradesh in 2004. This promisewas fulfilled in just 58 daysafter Dr. Y.S RajashekharaReddy took over as the ChiefMinister.

Power surplus State becamebankrupt under TRS

PNS n MAHABUBNAGAR

Telangana State Women’sCommission Chairperson VSunita Lakshma Reddy onWednesday inspected the work-ing women’s hostel in the townand went to the kitchen andtasted the food. She asked theinmates to bring their problemsto her notice.

Later speaking to the media,she said that she has been tour-ing the district to get herself

familiar with the problems ofwomen in the district. TheGovernment has provided allamenities in working women’shostels. The officials shouldensure that they reach the tar-get group.

In case of any problems towomen, the Sakhi center is

ready to serve them. It providescounseling on various aspects

and medical support to theneedy, she said. All seven wingsof Sakhi have been broughtunder an umbrella to rendereffective service to women, shesaid adding that she will takeproblems of working women inthe hostels and strive to getthem resolved.

Later, she inspected the Sakhicenter on the premises of thedistrict headquarters govern-ment hospital and asked thecentral authorities to extendmore and more services towomen. She interacted with theofficial there Manjula to findout the daily activities of thecenter.

She said that Sakhi should

first sensitize people on POCSOAct, Child marriages’

prevention, prevention ofdomestic violence, disputesbetween wife and husband,eve-teasing, and relationshipproblems encountered bywomen. She asked it to takesteps to provide legal aid to thepoor free of cost. In POCSOcases, immediate compensa-tion should be obtained bytaking the case to notice of thedistrict collector. Sakhi MahilaSakti Kendras should sensitizecollege students on relationship

problems and so on. In caseof domestic violence andharassment, the Sakhi shouldprovide shelter to the victimsand take steps to impart train-ing in self-employment andarrange loans to them, she said.

‘Bring your problems to our notice’

Congress leader Shabbir slams KCR

Root out ganja, illicit liquor distillation

nation 05HYDERABAD | THURSDAY | NOVEMBER 11, 2021

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Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Wednesday accused the Uttar Pradeshgovernment of "insulting" the work done by Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA)and promised an honorarium of Rs 10,000 per month for ASHA and Anganwadi

workers if her party is voted to power in the assembly polls next year Taking to Twitter, sheshared a purported video of an alleged "assault" by the police in Shahjahanpur on ASHAworkers who wanted to meet ChiefMinister Yogi Adityanath with theirdemands. "Every assault on the ASHAsisters by the UP government is aninsult to the work done by them. MyASHA sisters have given their servicesdiligently in cooronavirus times and onother occasions. Honorarium is theirright. It is the duty of the government tolisten to them," the Congress generalsecretary said in a tweet in Hindi."ASHA sisters deserve respect and I amwith them in this fight," Gandhi said.

ADelhi court Wednesday sought response from the government and Associationof Victims of Uphaar Tragedy (AVUT) on appeals challenging 7-year jail termsawarded to real estate barons Sushil and Gopal Ansal for tampering with

evidence in the 1997 case of Uphaar cinema fire which had claimed 59 lives.Additional Sessions Judge Anil Antil issued notice on the plea filed by the Ansalbrothers challenging their conviction and the jail term by a magisterial court here onMonday. The judge also sought a reportfrom the medical superintendent of Tiharjail after senior advocate P K Dubey,appearing for Gopal Ansal, submitted thathis client was suffering from certainailments. During the hearing, the accusedobjected to the locus of AVUT. Thesessions court also directed the accusedto serve the copy of the appeal to theassociation after its counsel, senioradvocate Vikas Pahwa opposed theirsubmission.

ADelhi University assistant professor and his nephew have been arrested for criminalconspiracy in connection with his wife's murder at their West Sant Nagar residencein Burari, police said on Wednesday. The police identified them as Virender Kumar,

an ad-hoc assistant professor, and his nephew Govinda. Kumar and victim Pinky (32)got married in February, they said. On Monday evening, the police arrested Kumar's ten-ant and worker Rakesh, who confessedto strangling Pinky to death and thenelectrocuting her at the behest of herhusband. According to them, Kumartold the police that he was miffed withhis wife as they used to regularly fightover trivial issues. He then hatched aplan to eliminate her, and roped inRakesh and Govinda for the same, asenior police officer said. During inter-rogation, Rakesh told the police that hehad met Kumar around three years agoand they became friends.

Communal violence is like lavaerupting from volcano: Sibal to SCPNS n NEW DELHI

Communal violence is like alava erupting from a volcanowhich scars the ground ittouches, senior advocate KapilSibal told the Supreme Courton Wednesday while arguingfor Zakia Jafri who has chal-lenged the SIT's clean chit to 64persons including NarendraModi, the then Gujarat chiefminister during the 2002 riotsthere.

Sibal told a bench headed byJustice A M Khanwilkar thatcommunal violence is a "fertileground" for future revengeand he too had lost his mater-nal grandparents in Pakistan.

"Communal violence is likelava erupting from a volcano.It is institutionalized violence.Wherever that lava touches, itscars the earth. It is a fertileground for future revenge," hetold the bench, also compris-ing Justices DineshMaheshwari and C TRavikumar.

"I lost my maternal parentsto it in Pakistan," a visibly emo-tional Sibal told the bench,which was hearing Jafri's plea.

The senior advocate, whowas representing Jafri, said heis not accusing A or B but amessage must be sent to theworld that this is "unaccept-able" and "cannot be tolerated".

He said this is a "historicmatter" because the choice isbetween ensuring that rule oflaw will prevail or letting peo-

ple run amok.The argument in the matter

is going on in the apex court.Jafri is the wife of slain

Congress leader Ehsan Jafri,who was killed at Gulbergsociety in Ahmedabad onFebruary 28, 2002 during theviolence.

Ehsan Jafri, the former MP,was among the 68 people killedin the violence, a day after theS-6 Coach of the SabarmatiExpress was burnt at Godhra

killing 59 people and trigger-ing riots in Gujarat.

On October 26, the apexcourt had said it would like toperuse the closure report of theSpecial Investigation Team(SIT) giving the clean chit to 64persons and the justificationgiven by the magisterial courtwhile accepting it.

Sibal had earlier argued thatJafri's complaint was that therewas “a larger conspiracy wherethere was bureaucratic inac-tion, police complicity, hatespeeches and unleashing ofviolence".

On February 8, 2012, the SIThad filed a closure report giv-ing a clean chit to Modi, nowthe prime minister, and 63 oth-ers, including senior govern-ment officials, saying therewas "no prosecutable evidence"against them.

Zakia Jafri had filed a peti-tion in the apex court in 2018challenging the Gujarat HighCourt's October 5, 2017 orderrejecting her plea against the

decision of the SIT.The plea also maintained

that after the SIT gave a cleanchit in its closure report beforea trial judge, Zakia Jafri filed aprotest petition which was dis-missed by the magistrate with-out considering "substantiatedmerits". It also said the highcourt "failed to appreciate" thepetitioner's complaint whichwas independent of theGulberg Society case regis-tered at a Police Station inAhmedabad.

The high court in itsOctober 2017 order had saidthe SIT probe was monitoredby the Supreme Court.However, it partly allowedZakia Jafri's petition as far as itsdemand for a further investi-gation was concerned.

It had said the petitioner canapproach an appropriateforum, including the magis-trate's court, a division benchof the high court, or theSupreme Court seeking furtherinvestigation.

GUJARAT RIOTS CLEAN CHIT ‘Fadnavis appointedcriminals to govt posts’ PNS n MUMBAI

Maharashtra minister NawabMalik on Wednesday accusedformer chief ministerDevendra Fadnavis of sweep-ing under the carpet a case ofseized fake notes and appoint-ing people with criminal back-ground to government boards.

Continuing his tiradeagainst the leader of the oppo-sition, Malik in a press confer-ence said there are “morebombs to be dropped” in com-ing days and he will makemore revelations against theBJP.

Soon after Malik's pressconference, Fadnavis posted acryptic tweet, quoting famousplaywright George BernardShaw. “I learned long ago,never to wrestle with a pig. Youget dirty, and besides, the piglikes it!” it read.

Malik on Tuesday said hewould drop a “hydrogenbomb” and reveal Fadnavis'alleged underworld links,while Fadnavis had alleged adubious land deal involvingMalik, his family membersand two convicts of the 1993Mumbai serial blasts case over

a decade ago, a charge refutedby the minister.

On Wednesday, Malik saidwhile fake notes were seized inother states after demonetisa-tion in 2016, there was not asingle such instance inMaharashtra, when Fadnaviswas the chief minister of thestate.

Malik said on October 8,2017, the Department ofRevenue Intelligence (DRI)seized fake notes worth Rs14.56 crore from the BandraKurla Complex (BKC) inMumbai.

“But Fadnavis helped sweepthe case under the carpet. Theseized amount was later shownwith a value of Rs 8.8 lakhs,”

Malik alleged, questioning whythe case was not handed overto the National InvestigationAgency (NIA).

“Incidentally, SameerWankhade (the NarcoticsControl Bureau officer againstwhom Malik has levelled sev-eral serious allegations) was theDRI's joint director at thattime,” he added.

Malik said one Imran AlamSheikh was arrested in thiscase. Later, his brother HajiArfat Sheikh was made thechairman of the state minori-ty commission, the ministerclaimed.

He alleged that Fadnavisappointed people with crimi-nal background on severalstate boards.

The NCP minister said oneMunna Yadav from Nagpurwas made the chairman of theMaharashtra ConstructionWorkers Welfare Board despitecriminal charges like murderregistered against him.

Malik alleged that Fadnavissheltered an individual whosesecond wife was a Bangladeshi.When the Malad police triedinvestigating the case, theywere pressured, he added.

PNS n SRINAGAR

Kashmiri Pandit businessmanSandeep Mawa, whose sales-man was killed here in a mili-tant attack believed to be aimedat him, on Wednesday said hewill not leave Kashmir andremain here despite oppositionfrom his family.

Mawa also claimed that heescaped the attack as he left hisshop early due to a prior intel-ligence input, but his salesmanMohammad Ibrahim Khanwas shot dead near his shop inBohri Kadal area of the city onMonday.

He said he was not deterredand will continue to stay inKashmir Valley.

"No, I am not leavingKashmir. There is no question(of leaving the valley)," Mawasaid when asked if he was

thinking of leaving Kashmir inthe wake of Monday's attackand a series of such attacksagainst the members of theminority communities recent-ly.

Mawa, who is related toKashmiri Pandit chemist M LBindroo who was shot deadnear his shop last month, saidhe believes Monday's attack

was a case of mistaken identi-ty and a part of the series ofattacks on the minority com-munity members.

"What I think is it is (part of)attack on minority (communi-ty members)," he said, addingthe attackers mistook his sales-man for him and shot Khanwho worked for the family forabout 14 years from a close

range when he went insideMawa's car.

Mawa whose familyreturned to Kashmir in 2018said he will not leave again andis determined to stay inKashmir despite opposition tothe idea from his family.

“I am staying here and I amnot going to run away,” headded.

He said the people ofKashmir -- Muslims, Hindus,Christians and Sikhs -- have tocollectively fight it.

“We cannot run away andleave this field open for them,”Mawa said.

The Kashmiri Pandit busi-nessman said he was alerted bythe police in the afternoon onMonday about a possible attackon his life, hours before themilitants shot dead hisKashmiri Muslim salesman.

“I was told by the police thatthere was an input (about apossible attack on his life).The police advised me to leavethe shop and so, I left around3:15 pm,” Mawa said.

He had filed a petition beforethe high court seeking consti-tution of a special investigationteam into the Shopian fakeencounter in which threelabourers from Rajouri werekilled last year.

Mawa also demanded theconstitution of the StateHuman Rights Commissionin the UT of JK.

The businessman said he lefthis car near the shop and leftin some other vehicle in ahurry.

“Around 8 pm, when mybrother (Khan) was trying toget into my car, he was shot at,”he added.

DU assistant professor arrested forwife's murder

Priyanka promises Rs 10,000 permonth honorarium for ASHA workers

Uphaar fire: Notice to govt, AVUT on pleachallenging 7-yr jail terms to Ansals

3rd NBWissued againstParam BirSinghPNS n MUMBAI

A magistrate court here onWednesday issued a non-bailable warrant (NBW)against former Mumbaipolice commissioner ParamBir Singh in connection witha extortion case registered atMarine Drive police station.

This is the third NBWissued against Singh. Earlieralso, courts had issued war-rants against Singh in twoother cases of extortion, oneof them registered atGoregaon in Mumbai andanother in neighbouringThane.

The extortion case at theMarine Drive police stationwas registered against Singhand seven others based on acomplaint filed by real estatedeveloper ShyamsunderAgrawal on July 22 this year.

IAF team to take partin Dubai Air ShowPNS n NEW DELHI

An aircraft contingent of theIndian Air Force (IAF),including its Sarang andSuryakiran aerobatics team,will participate in the DubaiAir Show that will be heldfrom November 14 toNovember 18, a governmentofficial said on Wednesday.

The IAF has been invitedby the UAE government toperform along with some ofthe best aerobatics and dis-play teams in the world,including the Saudi Hawks,Russian Knights, and theUAE's Al Fursan, they said.

Five Dhruvs, the advancedlight helicopters (ALH) of theSarang Team, 10 BAE Hawk132 aircraft of the SuryakiranTeam, and three LCA Tejasaircraft were inducted at theDubai Air Show onNovember 9, the official said.

The induction was support-ed by the IAF's C-17

Globemaster IIIs and C-130JSuper Hercules, they said.

On arrival, the IAF contin-gent was received with a warmwelcome by Major GeneralStaff Pilot Ishaq SalehMohammed al-Balushi of theUAE Armed Forces and otherofficers of the UAE Air Force,they noted.

The IAF teams are nowpreparing for the opening cer-emony on November 14, theysaid. While the Sarang Teamhas previously participated inthe Al Ain Grand Prix in UAEin 2005, Suryakirans and theTejas will be showing off theirswashbuckling aerial maneuversfor the first time in the gulfnation, the official added.

Rijiju slams WB govt for failureto set up fast-track courts PNS n NEW DELHI

Union Law Minister KirenRijiju on Wednesday hit outat the West Bengal govern-ment over the delay in settingup fast track special courts todeliver swift justice in casesof sexual offence and allegedit was behaving as if the statewas "outside the IndianUnion".

Addressing the TimesNow Summit, Rijiju spoke infavour of the sedition lawstating that punitive mea-sures need to exist to ensure

that the absolute right of free-dom of expression is notused to damage the unity andintegrity of the coun-try.

He also saidthat by the endof the year, a"record" num-ber of judgeswill be appointed.

On fast-trackcourts, the UnionMinister said he will ensurethat enough pressure is exert-ed on the West Bengal gov-ernment to set up such spe-

cial courts."It is very unfortunate that

the West Bengal governmenthas not established any fast

track courts. It is aninjustice to the youthof the state. In fact,West Bengal is theonly state which hasnot taken any steps in

this regard. I have writ-ten to the WB CM and

I will remind her again."West Bengal is behaving

as if the state exists outsidethe Indian Union. This is notgood," he said.

PNS n LUCKNOW

A 22-year-old man called forquestioning in a kidnappingcase died at Kasganj police sta-tion, with his family membersalleging that he was killed bypolice personnel.

The police, however,claimed that Altaf had stran-gulated himself using a stringof his jacket's hood in thewashroom of the police lock-up and said five policemenhave been suspended for neg-ligence in the wake of the inci-dent on Tuesday.

The opposition SamajwadiParty attacked the YogiAdityanath government for"yet another custodial death",saying criminals and police areexecuting an "encounter" of lawand order in the state under theBJP rule.

SP president Akhilesh Yadavtermed the death as suspiciousand demanded a judicial probeinto the matter.

Narrating the sequence ofevents, Kasganj'sSuperintendent of PoliceRohan Pramod Botre said onWednesday, "One Altaf (ofNagla Syed locality) was calledfor questioning in Kasganjpolice station in a case relatedto IPC section 363 (kidnap-ping) and 366 (kidnapping,abducting or inducing awoman to compel her mar-

riage) on Tuesday morning. "During interrogation, he

requested the policemen tolet him go to the washroomand was allowed to use thewashroom inside the lockup,”the SP said.

"He was wearing a blackjacket. He tried to strangulatehimself with a string of the(jacket's) hood that he tied tothe tap of the toilet. When hedid not return for some time,the policemen went insideand found him unconscious.He was rushed to the com-munity health centre, AshokNagar in Kasganj, where hedied," the SP said.

The victim's postmortemis being conducted, he said.

"The lax policemen will bepunished. We have suspend-ed five policemen in this con-nection," he said.

The victim's kin, however,alleged that he was killed bythe policemen.

Govt health facilities, theirdoctors asked to get enlisted PNS n NEW DELHI

The Union health ministry hasasked all government depart-ments and facilities like hospi-tals, laboratories and pharma-cies and also their doctors to getenlisted on the dedicated reg-istries under the AyushmanBharat Digital Mission.

In a letter to secretaries of all

central departments and direc-tors of all central hospitals,Union Health Secretary RajeshBhushan advised governmenthealth facilities to procure andinstall a Health/HospitalInformation ManagementSystem (HMIS), also known asHospital Information System(HIS), at their facilities forgenerating digital health

records.The government has decid-

ed that all its health facilitiesshall take part in the AyushmanBharat Digital Mission - ABDM(earlier known as NationalDigital Health Mission -NDHM), which was launchednationally by Prime MinisterNarendra Modi on September27, the letter said.

Youth dies in policecustody, 5 cops suspended

AYUSHMAN BHARAT REGISTRIES

I am not leaving Kashmir, says surviving Kashmiri Pandit bizman

‘Go forbooster dosevax 6 monthsafter 2nd dose’ PNS n NEW DELHI

The ideal time for a boost-er dose for COVID-19 vac-cine is six months after thesecond dose, Bharat BiotechChairman and ManagingDirector Krishna Ella saidon Wednesday, and alsoemphasised the importanceof having a nasal vaccine.

He also pointed out thathis company was the first inthe world to develop a Zikavaccine.

Taking the Covaxin vac-cine by the Prime MinisterNarendra Modi showedconfidence in IndianScience, he said at the TimesNow Summit 2021."Theideal time for a boosterdose is six months after thesecond dose," Ella stated.

Bharat Biotech is alsolooking at nasal vaccine asa booster dose as its scalingup capacity is very easywhen compared withCovaxin, he added.

not easily separate workerswhen the industry runs into aslum. On top of the statutorywages are the trade unions.What the unions can be, onewould know if one has workedin Kolkata or in Kerala. In thelatter State, even the class IVworkers know what the lawsays. They do not need theunion leaders to argue forthem.

If we prefer full employ-ment, a change of policy isrequired. A lot of labour pol-icy has come from theIndustrial Disputes Act 1947,possibly the last legislation leftbehind by the BritishGovernment before it left afterIndependence. An extremeleft winger called AneurinBevan was in charge of Healthand Labour. He gave Britain itsnational health service whichis supposed to provide totalhealth care to every citizen freeof charge. Indians got theIndustrial Disputes Act onwhich the entire labour ethoshas grown. He did not realisethat India was not Europe andwe desperately neededemployment as all underdevel-oped countries do. He visitedMumbai before he demittedoffice in 1952, and I haveheard him speak for an hour

at the Grant Medical College.This legislation added by

the communist trade unionattitude led to an anti-employ-ment formula for India. A jobis better than none is our need.A person’s skill and qualifica-tion will ensure him/her anadequate employment in anycase. For the rest, there shouldbe a free market. Between aperson and a potentialemployer there should be free-dom of negotiation of salary.So that the employee is nottreated unfairly, there shouldpreferably be a minimummonthly contract and amonthly notice of termina-tion. With his salary packet,he/she should get a nation-alised bank draft payableexactly five years, hence for 25per cent of his wage. Thiswould represent his savingslike provident fund, gratuityetc. So that the employee isassured of his dues for hiswork life. The employer canterminate his services with onemonth’s pay in lieu of notice.The salary would be free anddepending on how much theemployee is prepared toaccept.

No other complicationshould come in the way of anappointment. With the size of

our population and the num-ber of young men and womenseeking employment everyday, this kind of a free marketfor labour is required.Remember, that agriculturewould be freeing more andmore workers who are likelyto come to industry and ser-vice for jobs. At the rate we areprogressing, anything like fullemployment would remain apipe dream. If the licence to setup an enterprise is free, whycontrol the wage level? Thatnot only discourages employ-ment but also creates anatmosphere of minimumemployment.

An employee would expectan increment every year.Whereas a machine attractsdepreciation which is a tax-freesaving to the employer foreventually acquiring a replace-ment machine. This practicealone shows a preference fora machine over man from anemployer’s point of view.More need to be said to advo-cate wages that favour freeappointment without anyimpediment.

(The writer is a well-known columnist, an authorand a former member of theRajya Sabha. The viewsexpressed are personal.)

BREAKING NEWS, AND DIVIDING NEWS Sir — 'Fake news' appears to be a substan-tial problem in India for which one can-not entirely fix the Government. However,in November last year, the SupremeCourt questioned the Centre to explainits mechanism against fake news, since itis the responsibility of any Governmentto have proper control over this danger-ous phenomenon by framing rigid lawsand taking stringent actions against thepropagandists. In the last few years,unfortunately social media has turned outto be a massive player in shaping publicdiscourse in a democratic space.

Though there has been pressurefrom policymakers on service/platformproviders, nothing concrete has beenbuilt up towards the accountability of theuser or platform proprietors. Lack of pol-icy implementation or laws which couldeither curb fake news or hold the per-petrator accountable for their action haveonly made the situation complex andchallenging. Responsible users havetime and again raised the issue to reviewand amend the existing laws to meet thechallenges of spreading fake news, butefforts by both policymakers and civilsocieties have not been enough toaddress this lacuna within the overpow-ering digital space.

Ranganathan Sivakumar | Chennai

THE STATES MUST TALK IT OUTSir — The meeting held between ChiefMinisters of two neighbouring States —Odisha and Andhra Pradesh — to findamicable solutions for long drawn issuesis a right step towards reaching mutualbenefits. These two States share not onlyborders but also unfulfilled dreams ofdevelopment, apart from the rich histo-ry. The decade old controversy over util-ising river water of Vamsadhara couldhave easily been solved and the available115 thousand million cubic (TMC) ofwater could have effectively been utilisedwith equal share had the proposed NeradiBarrage been constructed.

It's good that both the parties agreedto form an institutional mechanism withboth Chief Secretaries at helm to find

solutions in a time bound manner. Thecontroversy over thirty one border villagesalong the Andhra-Odisha border, theissue of utilisation of eight TMC ofJanjavathi river and other issues do needa little bit of cooperation between thesetwo. Clearly, a mutually agreed decisionwill yield huge dividends for the States interms of growth and development. Itwould be a win-win situation for Statesand its people if they continue the dia-logue meaningfully.

DVG Sankararao | Vizianagaram

THE DASSAULT DEAL WAS ‘RA-FAIL’ Sir — We can now say with certainty thatthe Rafale deal was shady and it was notfree from the taint of kickbacks. The lat-est revelation by the French investigativeportal Mediapart that 7.5 million euroswere paid as bribe, euphemistically called‘consultancy fees’, to middleman SushenGupta through his InterstellarTechnologies in Mauritius in guise of‘dubious IT contracts’ by the French firm

Dassault Aviation for ‘facilitating’ the saleof Rafale jet fighters between 2007 and2012 lends a new twist to the scandal andmakes it an involved deal needing moreunravelling. The fact that the payoffs werepaid during the UPA tenure inclines usto wonder if it were not an ‘all-party scam’.We find it hard to reconcile to the justi-fication that no defence deal is clinchedwithout kickbacks and the depletion of thenation’s coffers in this way.

It could not have been the case thatmiddleman kept all the bribe proceeds tothemselves and did not distribute it to ‘otherentities’, read political leaders in power-cum-decision-makers. The Congressshould disclose what clout Sushen Gupta,who was allegedly close to Amit Shah andArun Jaitley, had with the UPAGovernment for Dassault Aviation to hireor continue him as a middleman.

G David Milton | Maruthancode

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

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06

Send yyour ffeedback tto:letterstopioneer@gmail.com

Employees expect increment every year. But a machine attracts depreciationwhich is a tax-free saving to the employer for eventually acquiring a new one

INDUSTRY IS ANEMPLOYER OF

MACHINES, NOT OFMEN OR WOMEN.

TRUE, ITGENERATES

EMPLOYMENT, BUTAN EFFICIENT

EMPLOYERCONSTANTLY

LOOKS ATREDUCING THE

NUMBER OF HEADSPER MACHINE

LETTERS TO TTHE EDITOR

PRAFULL GORADIA

The recent flooding of a metropolitan cityas developed as Chennai brings intosharp focus the gravity of the crisis, con-

sidering that it is not a new phenomenon.For a coastal city that boasts of a highlydeveloped market where natural wetlandsabound and the real estate market is boom-ing, it is shocking that dumping of waste andplastics on drains are choking the sewerageleading to water logging. A window to thepast helps us learn from the exquisite and

foolproof drainage and sewerage systems.Waterways established in northern Chennaiduring the British rule are worth replicatingfor the authorities concerned.

At a time when the country is alreadyfacing hardships on account of the pandem-ic and severe air pollution, its administratorsmust be sympathetic to the problems facedby common people and devise concrete andpractical steps and adopt a zero tolerancepolicy towards encroachments of naturalwetlands. Dumping of wastes on drainsneeds to be dealt with a heavy hand. Thissorry state of affairs can be attributed towrong land use patterns, unsustainableurbanisation, failure to curb heavy encroach-ments around water bodies and wetlands.Experts predict that the annual average tem-perature will rise to 3.1 degree Celsius by2100. The message is loud and clear forChennai and other flood prone States: actnow or perish.

Vijay Singh Adhikari | Nainital

Are Chennai floods man-made?

Machines putlabourers at risk

Every time wages andsalaries of unskilled andsemi-skilled workers areincreased by the

Government, my first reaction isone of gladness. TheGovernment has raised theirdearness allowance. For long, Ihave believed that teachers, espe-cially at the school level, are themakers of the quality of ourfuture society. As a consequence,the better the quality of society,the higher would be our civilisa-tion. The same logic does notapply to the wages of commonworkers in India at its presentstage of economic development.The reason is if we raise wagesstatutorily, the employers, espe-cially of small and medium busi-nesses and industries would bescared away. They can't all affordto pay more, most of the time.

Regardless, we must realisethat industry or manufacturingis an employer of machines, notof men or women. True, it gen-erates employment down the linein the shape of transport, of can-teens, of dealers of shops andgenerally pushes the economyforward. But an efficient employ-er is in constant search of reduc-ing the number of heads permachine. The intent is to controlthe unit cost of his product. Theraw materials, packing, and elec-tricity are supplied by others whocontrol their respective cost ofproduction. But the man tomachine ratio, perhaps theemployer is able to keep somecontrol. The reality is that any-one who is skilled and can get ajob at `20,000 would not workfor `19,000. The Governmentneed not worry about his wagesand welfare. The scheme of min-imum wages that theGovernment tries to ensure, ifnot enforce, is for those who arenot easily employable; they donot have either the motivation orthe skills to get a job on reason-able terms. By laying down aminimum, the Governmentobstructs his prospects of gettinga job.

The next thing that happensis a communal consensus amongentrepreneurs — that it is safestto avoid labour intensive activi-ties. For one, such enterprises areexpensive, and worse, one can-

SOUNDBITEEvery single attackon ASHA workersby the UPGovernment is aninsult to the workdone by them.

Congress general secretary—Priyanka Gandhi

Today marks aprecious day inmy life. AsserMalik and I tiedthe knot to be

partners for life.

Nobel laureate—Malala Yousafzai

Within the next

few weeks, we will

be able to com-

plete the process

of Metro trial and

get it launched for Kanpurites.

UP Chief Minister

—Yogi Adityanath

So far the Pakistanteam has really donewell and impressedus with its consis-tent performances.

PCB chairman —Ramiz Raja

There is good news for India on the environment front. It has retained its 10thposition in the latest Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI), a global indexprepared by Germanwatch and New Climate Institute. The report is prepared

under the aegis of COP. The index has the US on the 55th spot and China at 37thwhile Denmark topped the chart. However, no one quite qualified to rank as num-ber one, two or three due to the stringent standards adopted by Germanwatch. Denmarktechnically is at the fourth spot and India at 10th but, actually, India happens to bethe seventh least carbon-emitting nation. The countries are judged on four parame-ters — Greenhouse gas emission, use of renewable energy, innovative techniques

for lowering emission and the policy decisions tolower carbon footprint. Indeed, it is an achievementthat we have found a place in the top 10 despitethe pandemic. It also validates our correctapproach in the quest for development, which usu-ally leads to more carbon emission. India performedon all parameters, except the “push for renewableenergy” category. The country still has relativelylow per capita emissions. However, we would haveto be extra cautious to retain this ranking.

The United Nations Secretariat has adopted anew 10-year Climate Action Plan. It wants to achieve

a 45 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by generating electricity fromrenewable energy sources by 2030. China, with high carbon emissions and verypoor energy efficiency, remains among the highest carbon footprint countries. It is,however, doing pretty well on the renewable energy front while it is a grey area forIndia. Meanwhile, the US performance has improved after the Joe Biden adminis-tration made some headway in reducing carbon footprint. In last year’s CCPI, theUS was at the bottom but this year it climbed six ranks, though it still remains verylow. Though India at the moment is happily placed among the top 10, it would needto do a lot more to retain this spot in future. It has to give a massive push to renew-able energy, which is currently lacking. Besides, the pressures of development andrising population may push its carbon emission, making it fall in the rankings. India’sgood ranking comes due to its policy framework but it needs to be implemented inright earnest. For that, we would need a long-term plan and a concerted effort.

Punjab Advocate General APS Deol stands sacrificed at the altar of Navjot SinghSidhu’s antics. His resignation has been forwarded to the Governor. Deol’s dayswere numbered after he exchanged sharp words with Sidhu. The State will now

have another officer in the post whom Sidhu possibly does not dislike. Punjab willsimilarly have a new Director-General of Police because Sidhu does not like the incum-bent. Presumably, Sidhu may take up his work as president of the Punjab PradeshCongress Committee once the two demands are met. To date, he has been attack-ing his own Government, intent on having his way and unmindful of the effect it mayhave on the electoral prospects of Congress. Sidhu was brought in to tackle previ-ous Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh and a sordid drama followed that madethe Captain leave the Congress to form a separate political party. However, Sidhu did

not become Chief Minister as he may have hoped,the post going to a rank outsider, Charanjit SinghChanni. After taking on Captain openly, Sidhu hadno option but to support Channi’s elevation.However, he was soon miffed when the new ChiefMinister started taking important decisions and Sidhufelt he was not being consulted. Sidhu was initiallyseen as the “super CM” but Channi took several deci-sions including changes in the Cabinet and appoint-ment of officers ignoring Sidhu’s recommendations.Deol’s resignation and the clearance of a nameacceptable to Sidhu as the next DGP may calm him

down for the time being and until the next time.The question is whether Sidhu’s tantrums have ended or the State Congress is

simply waiting for the next dose? Difficult to say given his whimsicality. The point is,and Sidhu knows it well, he is burning his bridges fast with everybody who stood byhim, including the party high command. Some sections in the State Congress makeuncharitable comments that he has already been written off and that it is a matter oftime until after the Assembly elections when his fate will be decided once and for all.The high command certainly does not appear to be on his side. It gave him a longrope while making him the PCC chief and he burnt it fast. The leadership’s motive inpropping him up was to ease out Captain. That job is over. It has since adopted thepath of least resistance, finding it better to keep him closer than afar. It ignored Sidhu’santics till they became unbearable and put him on notice when he quit his post. Heagreed to backtrack and Deol was the sacrificial lamb. For now, he has no option butto make himself heard intermittently if only to insist that he was a more deservingcandidate for CM than Channi. That is the only way he can keep himself visible tillthe time comes for choosing the next Chief Minister.

Ego war

Way to go!India has to give a massive push to renewable

energy to remain a low-carbon emitting country

PICTALK

France's Theo Curin swims across the Titicaca Lake, Bolivia AP

Sidhu’s aggressive ascendancy to Punjab Cong’s top post leads to another resignation

I’m excited to returnto Netflix and be apart of a completelydifferent genrewhich will have audi-ences in splits.

Actor—Surveen Chawla

COP26: Promises galoreand a game of lobbies

MALIK HAD SAID THAT HE WOULD DROP A

HYDROGEN BOMB BUT IT SEEMS THAT IT

WAS JUST A WASTED FIRECRACKER.

—BJP LEADER

ASHISH SHELAR

I WILL DROP A HYDROGEN BOMB TOMORROW IN

CONNECTION WITH DEVENDRA FADNAVIS. I

WILL EXPOSE HIS UNDERWORLD LINKS.

—NCP LEADER

NAWAB MALIK

India never reneges on such commitments but there are various lobbies thatare on reckless construction in sensitive zones leading to serious crisis

The first snow of the winter will reach Kabul any day now, and thedeath rate will start to climb: mostly children, at first, but it will notreally be the cold that kills them. The cold will only finish the work

that malnutrition began months or years ago — but the other cause oftheir deaths will be a different kind of freeze.

It's the end of a protracted war that is causing acute hunger inAfghanistan.

There was a drought in Afghanistan in the last couple of years ofthe American occupation, so many poor Afghans were already vulner-able before the events of last summer. But the proximate cause of theimpending famine was the chaos of the US evacuation in August.

As the panic played out on American screens and the sense of humil-iation mounted, the Biden administration made one thing clear. "Any CentralBank assets the Afghan government have in the United States will notbe made available to the Taliban," said an administration official on 15August - and with that famine became inevitable.

It's understandable that the US government and US-dominated insti-tutions like the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund stopped

pouring aid into Afghanistan after the Taliban took power. That posed abig problem for the new regime, because foreign aid covered three-quar-ters of public spending in the country, but it was hardly a surprise.

It's a whole different thing to freeze all Afghanistan's own money thatis deposited with American and other Western banks. ($9.5 billion forthe US alone.) It's mostly unspent aid money that the previous regimehadn't spent or stolen yet, but it's still Afghan money and it now belongsto the new government of Afghanistan: the Taliban.

That's the freeze that really matters. Afghanistan's domestic econ-omy has virtually collapsed, but there's enough money in those frozenaccounts to pay for imported food that would see 40 million Afghansthrough the coming winter without many deaths from starvation. So whywon't the US government release it?

Cynics would suggest that it's because the United States never for-gives governments and countries that successfully defy it, and point toCuba as Exhibit Number One: a sixty-year trade embargo. But cynicismis wicked. We should accept Western countries' explanation for hold-ing onto Afghanistan's money at face value.

A US State administration official said that "releasing the reservesis no guarantee that the Taliban will actually use it effectively to solveproblems." And UK prime minister Boris Johnson explained that "wecan't...write a completely blank cheque to the Taliban authorities, we needto ensure that that country does not slip back into being a haven for ter-rorism and a narco-state."

Who do these people think they are? It's Afghanistan's money, andsome Afghans are already starving. What right do they have to hold ontothe money until Afghanistan proves that it won't be 'a haven for terror-ism'. How could the Taliban prove it won't become one, and how longwould that take? Until the first million starve? The second million?

Besides, there are probably people in the State Department, and therecertainly are in the American intelligence services, who suspect that theTaliban have never been involved in any attacks on the US homeland.

"The money belongs to the Afghan nation. Just give us our ownmoney," said Finance Ministry spokesperson Ahmad Wali Haqmal lastweek. "Freezing this money is unethical and is against all internationallaws and values." But the money will stay frozen, and soon winter willcome to Afghanistan.

(Gwynne Dyer's new book is 'The Shortest History of War'. The viewsexpressed are personal.)

Notwithstanding the crit-icism by mainOpposition the Telugu

Desam Party (TDP) and JanaSena, the fact remains that thehistory of ganja or hemp in theNorth Coastal tribal belt inAndhra Pradesh and neigh-bouring Odisha goes back tocenturies.

Police records and thecases booked by the NarcoticsControl Bureau, clearly estab-lishes ganja smuggling fromtribal areas on the borders ofAP and Odisha even duringthe TDP rule led by NChandrababu Naidu in theundivided state of AndhraPradesh and also in the resid-ual State after bifurcation of APinto two States.

During TDP rule, as ganjasmuggling was going onunchecked and also being

smuggled to Sri Lanka fromVisakhapatnam, the UnionHome Ministry had to alertthe state to take stringentaction. A meeting of DGPs offour states held inBhogapuram of Vizagapatamdistrict on October 10, 2016,took note of the age-old ganjatransportation. The mediapublished stories and analyseson how ganja was being smug-gled from the Andhra-Odishaborder during 2014 and inearly 2019 during the TDPrule.

During the British Rule inIndia, the then administrationhad appointed the IndianHemp Drugs Commission.The purpose of theCommission was to ascertain,amongst others, the extent towhich the hemp plant is cul-tivated in the provinces.

Officers responsible for the topAdministration inVizagapatam districts contain-ing the present three Northcoastal districts of AP and fiveborder districts of Orissa(under Madras Presidency)were among over eleven hun-dred witnesses who appearedbefore the Commission andgave evidence as well as sug-gestions to overcome the prob-lem. The Commission laterpublished its conclusions.

Despite all these facts andrecords available right from

British Rule, Chandrababu andhis party leaders are trying topaint a picture as if the ganjaissue has just cropped up nowduring YSRCP rule. The TDPleaders are conveniently forget-ting the fact that their partyMinister Ch.Ayyanna Patruduopenly raised his voice againstanother minister and foundfault with the latter for con-ducting review meetings on thesteps being taken to eradicateganja smuggling ignoring therealities that the kingpinsbehind the smuggling were notbeing booked.

At least people of the statecannot forget the decisiontaken by the then police headsto take stringent action againstthe hemp cultivators in theVisakhapatnam agency pock-ets on AOB and even decidedto destroy the weed fields with

the help of the satellite images.In 2014 and 2015 theVisakhapatnam police arrest-ed 1,150 persons and seizedover 50 tonnes of ganja and anumber of vehicles, however,no kingpin was then arrested.

While this is the scenarioduring 2014 and early 2019 inAndhra Pradesh, within a fewdays after YS Jagan MohanReddy assuming charge asnew Chief Minister, the stategovernment took a firm standto suppress the ganja gangs.The AP police have registered2,040 cases under theNarcotics Drugs andPsychotropic Substances(NDPS) Act against ganjasmugglers and paddlers so farthis year. A total of 270 tonnesof ganja has been seized byarresting 5,415 personsinvolved in the smuggling

from January 1 till Octoberend this year.

At a time when the Stategovernment has intensified itsoperations and are trying toend the menace, TDP is tryingto show figures provided bythe police department to twistand say that ganja smugglingis thriving under YSR rule.Misinformation with regard toseizure of drugs in Mundraport is also being spread by theopposition TDP. DespiteCentral government agenciesassociated with the investiga-tion of the case as also theDGP categorically clarifyingthat AP has no links to theseizure of drugs, the TDPcontinues to carry out thepropaganda.

"The increasing numberof NDPS cases is an indicationthat police are acting tough on

ganja smugglers. We areobserving zero tolerancetowards smuggling of ganja,drugs and any other sedativeswhich cause harm to healthand spoil career of youngsters,"said Director General of PoliceD Gautam Sawang.

Police have filed morecases in 2020 and 2021 com-pared to previous years. On anumber of occasions, the DGPhas made it clear that ganjacultivation has been prevalentin the neighbouring States ofOdisha, Chhattisgarh andJharkhand and the contra-band is being transportedfrom the border areas.

The police department isworking on a specific strategyto weed out ganja smugglingfrom the State with the coop-eration of the NationalInvestigation Agency (NIA).

Chandrababu Naidu and his party leaders are trying to paint a picture as if the ganja issue has just cropped up during the YSRCP rule

HYDERABAD | THURSDAY | NOVEMBER 11, 2021

07

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FIRSTCOLUMNWINTER WILL ARRIVE

SOON FOR AFGHANISTAN

POINTCOUNTERPOINT

Ganja smuggling in Andhra: Facts bely claims

AMAR DEVULAPALLI

(The writer is Advisor, nationalmedia and interstate affairs,

Government of Andhra Pradesh.The views expressed are

personal.)

GWYNNE DYER

SHIVAJI SARKAR

Cynics would suggest that the US never forgives countries that successfully defy it

The COP26 climate meet is full ofpromises as the desertificationthreat to India and the worldincreases. The meet is less on

concrete terms to bring down tempera-ture but high on verbosity.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi hasstruck the right chord. He has taken timetill 2070 so that India's development is notsmothered by the reticence of the devel-oped world. He says that the commitmentto climate has a cost and the rich nationsare not meeting out their pledge of pro-viding $100 billion a year to developingnations by 2020 as agreed at the climateconference in Copenhagen in 2009. Thetarget has not yet been met.

The commitment is significant to cli-mate financing negotiations and thesteps by rich countries, which till nowhave not met their pledge of providing$100 billion a year.

Nations like Saudi Arabia, Japan andAustralia on the other hand are asking theUN to play down the need to move awayfrom fossil fuels. The Inter-Governmentalpanel on Climate Change says that 32,000submissions have been made by govern-ments, companies and other interestedparties to dilute the issues of fossil fuel.

They are arguing that that the worlddoes not need to reduce the use of fossilfuels as quickly as the current draft of thereport recommends. A West Asian coun-try's oil ministry has sought removal ofphrases like the need for urgent and accel-erated mitigation actions at all scales. Theissue of temperature reduction by 2degrees may remain on paper as theypress for slower action and temperaturelimit be reduced to 1.5 degrees.

Australia does not accept the conclu-sion that closing coal-fired thermalpower plants is necessary, even though theCoP26 objective is to end the use of coalthat adds to the problem of greenhouseeffect. OPEC also asks the IPCC todelete lobby activism, protecting rentextracting business models. Saudi Arabiawants deletion of the UN conclusion thatthe focus of decarbonisation efforts in theenergy sector needs to move rapidly shift-ing to zero-carbon sources and activelyphasing out fossil fuels.

Many developing countries are notcomfortable with the zero emission.Argentina, Norway and OPEC also chal-lenge the contention. Norway argues theUN scientists should allow the possibil-ity of capture and storage (CCS) as apotential tool for reducing emissions fromfossil fuels. Even India had to resort tolarger coal prospecting as its power sys-tem was reportedly coming to a criticalstage and it had to keep the thermal powerplants running.

The draft report accepts carbon couldplay a role in the future but says there areuncertainties about its feasibility. The CCSemerges as a vague term for continuingwith the fossil fuel.

In 2015, the Paris Agreement stressed

THE GLOBE ISWARMING UPFASTER. THE

CLIMATE CHANGEIS TO AFFECT

RAINFALLPATTERNS AND

WARMERATMOSPHERECAN LEAD TO

MORE RAINFALLIN SOME AREAS

AND DROUGHT INMANY OTHERS.IT IS EXPECTED

TO INCREASEGLOBAL POVERTY

AS WATER INEXCESS ORSHORTAGE

WOULD PLAYHAVOC WITH

HUMANDEVELOPMENT

the need for limiting temperaturebetween 2 degrees to 1.5 degreeCelsius before 2100. India's andChina's commitment has increasedhopes that zero emission is possi-ble by 2070 but that again does notremain a certainty.

The globe is warming up faster.The climate change is to affectrainfall patterns and warmeratmosphere can lead to more rain-fall in some areas and drought inmany others. It is expected toincrease global poverty as water inexcess or shortage would playhavoc with human development.

The global area of dry lands isexpected to expand as the climatewarms. Various projections onemission scenarios indicate aridlands will increase by 11 to 23 per-cent compared a 30-year period of1961 to 1990. This means that drylands could be 50 to 56 percent ofthe earth's land surface, a 38 per-cent rise, by 2021. The arid regionswill expand over southwest ofNorth America, north and southAfrica and Australia, theMediterranean and SouthAmerica.

Now at Glasgow CoP 26,Australia and 123 other countriessigned an agreement to end defor-estation by 2030. There havebeen many such declarationsbefore. Such policies have to beadopted by different countries atthe domestic level. If these are notimplemented due to domesticpolitical pressure such declarationswould have little impact.

India never reneges on suchcommitments but there are vari-ous lobbies that are on recklessconstructions in the Himalayas

and other sensitive zones leadingto serious crisis. About 97.85 mil-lion hectares (29.7 percent) ofIndia's total geographical area(TGA) of 328.72 mha underwentland degradation during 2018-19. In 2003-05, 94.53 mha (28.76percent of the TGA) underwentland degradation. The numberincreased to 96.40 mha (29.32 per-cent of the TGA) in 2011-13.

About 83.69 mha underwentdesertification in 2018-19. Thiswas greater than the 81.48 mha in2003-2005 and 82.64 mha in2011-13. India witnessed anincrease in the level of desertifi-cation in 28 of 31 states and Unionterritories between 2011-13 and2018-19.

Forest covers are dwindlingall over Asia and various Indianstates too are amending theirlaws for increased "develop-mental activities" across. Treefelling and water erosion also iscausing heavy erosion as con-struction activities are increas-ing. The Centre's commitmentand the states' priorities oftenclash and the later play havoc atthe ground level.

A McGill paper has found thatmore airport constructions wouldcreate environmental problems,increase warming and other eco-logical issues. Since these havebecome symbols of fast develop-ment, across India, and in manyother countries, more airports arebeing constructed. Each adds todegeneration. Recently in UP andthe hilly states a number of air-ports are being constructed for"better connectivity".

The IPCC says that various

climate model simulations suggestthat rainfall, when it does occur,will be more intense for almostthe entire world, potentiallyincreasing the risks of soil erosion.Projections indicate that most ofthe world will see a 16 to 24 per-cent increase in heavy precipita-tion intensity by 2100.

So, desertification means thatthere is overall land degradationin water-scarce parts of the world.Since large business lobbies areengaged in such activities, it hasbecome difficult for any govern-ment across the globe to stopthem though it causes deteriora-tion of the economic productiv-ity of the land and its ability tofarm the land for commercial orsubsistence purposes. The degra-dation includes the decline inquality of soil, vegetation, waterresources or wildlife. Each of itaffects the quality of life andlivelihood.

Director of research at theGrantham Institute at ImperialCollege, London, Joeri Rogelji,says that various pledges at differ-ent climate meets are still not suf-ficient to meet the goals of theParis Agreement and CoP 26 stillhas an important task. The tem-perature control the pledges needto strengthen but, he says, thepledges do not match the ambi-tions.

The International EnergyAgency is unhappy with what thegovernments are trying to showthey are doing. The governmentsneed to have clear and crediblepolicies. Ambitions count for lit-tle if they are not implementedsuccessfully.

(The writer is a seniorjournalist. The views

expressed are personal.)

HYDERABAD | THURSDAY | NOVEMBER 11, 2021 Money 08

oney atters

Kalyan Jewellers India postsconsolidated PAT of Rs 68 cr

Kalyan Jewellers India on Wednesday posted a Rs 68.77 croreconsolidated profit after tax (PAT) for the quarter ending

September 30, as easing of COVID-19 relatedrestrictions and recoveringeconomyboosted sales momentum.Thecompany had reported a consolidatedloss of Rs 136.12 crore duringthecorresponding quarter of 2020-21,Kalyan Jewellers India said in a egulatoryfiling.Revenue from operations of thecompany during the quarter under

review grew by 60.65 per cent to Rs 2,888.69 crore, compared toRs 1,798.05 crore in the same period of the previous fiscal.

Airtel, Oracle widen allianceto bring cloud solutions

Oracle and Bharti Airtel have extended their partnership to drivegrowth of digital economy by bringing a slew of cloudsolutions to over

1 million enterprisecustomers.Oracle willleverage 'Nxtra' byAirtel's data centrenetwork to expand itscloud presence inIndia. Further AirtelBusiness will offerOracle CloudInfrastructure to itsmillion plusenterprise customers,according to astatement.Oracle andAirtel would also setup a Cloud Centre ofExcellence inGurgaon with adedicated team of specialists from both organisations.

PNS n NEW DELHI

The government on Wed nesdayapproved a Rs 17,408.85 crore'committed price support' to theCotton Corporation of India(CCI) for seven cotton seasonsfrom 2014-15 to 2020-21.

The decision was taken atthe Cabinet Committee onEconomic Affairs (CCEA)headed by Prime MinisterNarendra Modi.

The CCEA has approvedincurring expenditure forreimbursing losses under MSPoperations for cotton duringthe cotton season (October-September) 2014-15 to 2020-21.

The CCEA has given itsapproval for committed pricesupport of Rs 17,408.85 croreto the CCI for the cotton sea-sons from 2014-15 to 2020-21(up to September 30, 2021), anofficial release said.

In order to safeguard theinterests of the cotton farmers,the government said the CCIprocured cotton in large quan-tity during 2014-15 to 2020-21

as cotton prices touched theMSP prices.

The procurement of cottonat MSP helped stabilise the cot-ton prices and alleviate farmer'sdistress.

Briefing media on theCabinet decisions, I&BMinister Anurag Thakur saidthe CCI and authorised agen-cies procured 123 lakh cottonbales in 2019-20 and 100 lakhbales in 2020-21. The annualproduction is estimated at 350-

360 lakh bales.During cotton season 2020-

21, area under cotton cultiva-tion was 133 lakh hectareswith estimated production of360 lakh bales, which account-ed for around 25 per cent oftotal global cotton produc-tion. The government fixesthe MSP for seed cotton(kapas) on the basis of the rec-ommendations of CACP.

In another decision, theCabinet approved reservation

norms for Jute PackagingMaterials for Jute Year 2021-22.

As per the reservationnorms, Thakur said, 100 per

cent foodgrains and 20 per centof sugar will be packed in jutebags during Jute Year 2021-22under JPM Act, 1987.

Cabinet okays Rs 17,409 cr toCCI for cotton procurement

Cabinet approvesethanol price hikePNS n NEW DELHI

The government onWednesday hiked the priceof ethanol extracted fromsugarcane for blending inpetrol by up to Rs 1.47 perlitre for 2021-22 marketingyear starting December, aspart of its target to achieve20 per cent doping by 2025.

Higher mixing of ethanol inpetrol will help cut India its oilimport bill and also benefitsugar cane farmers as well assugar mills.

The Cabinet Committeeon Economic Affairs (CCEA),

headed by Prime MinisterNarendra Modi, raised theprice of ethanol extractedfrom sugarcane juice to Rs63.45 per litre from the cur-rent Rs 62.65 per litre for thesupply year beginningDecember 2021.

The rate for ethanol fromC-heavy molasses has beenincreased to Rs 46.66 per litrefrom Rs 45.69 per litre cur-rently, and that of ethanolfrom B-heavy to Rs 59.08 perlitre from Rs 57.61 per litre,Information and BroadcastingMinister Anurag Thakur saidat a media briefing.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Armed with necessary macroand micro growth drivers,India is on its way to becom-ing the fastest growing majoreconomy in the world, afinance ministry report said.

Rapid vaccination andteeming festivities will pushIndia's ongoing recoveryresulting in narrowing ofdemand-supply mismatchesand greater employmentopportunities, as per themonthly Economic Reviewprepared by the ministry.

"Aatmanirbhar BharatMission encapsulating majorstructural reforms continuesto play a critical role in shap-ing India's economic recovery,both through the signalling ofbusiness opportunities andexpansion of spending chan-nels.

"Armed with necessarymacro and micro growth dri-vers, the stage is set for India'sinvestment cycle to kickstartand catalyse its recoverytowards becoming the fastestgrowing economy in theworld," the review said.

The Economic Survey2020-21, released in Januarythis year, had projected GDPgrowth of 11 per cent duringthe current financial year end-ing March 2022.

The Survey had said growthwill be supported by supply-side push from reforms andeasing of regulations, push forinfrastructural investments,boost to manufacturing sectorthrough Production-LinkedIncentive (PLI) schemes,recovery of pent-up demand,rise in discretionary con-sumption subsequent to roll-out of vaccines and pick-up incredit given adequate liquid-

ity and low interest rates.India's economic recovery

gathered steam in the festiveseason, recording a decadehigh Diwali sales of Rs 1.3lakh crore, as perConfederation of All IndiaTraders.

Improving COVID-19 situ-

ation amid high business andconsumer spirits deliveredsustained economic recoveryin October 2021 as well. Theglobal economic recoveryhowever continues to beimpacted by prolonged supplyconstraints and input costinflation, it said.

PNS n NEW DELHI

The commerce ministry hasshared a list of as many as 102products whose imports arehigh and are increasing consis-tently – such as coking coal,certain machinery, somechemicals, and digital cameras– to different ministries to lookat ways for enhancing theirdomestic capacity with an aimto reduce imports, an officialsaid.

As part of an exercise toreduce the country's importbill, the ministry has undertak-en a detailed analysis of these102 products for enhancingdomestic production opportu-nities of those items.

According to the analysis,the import of these goods hasbeen consistently increasing orhave held high import sharesacross the long, medium andshort terms.

The cumulative share ofthese items is 57.66 per cent intotal import during the March-August 2021 period.

"These goods have domesticproduction opportunities," theofficial said adding that thecommerce ministry has sug-gested different departmentsand ministries products thatare showing high importgrowth and may be prioritised

for immediate interventions toincrease local production.

Out of 102, 18 productshave both high share and highimport growth rates. Theseinclude gold, crude palm oil,integrated circuits, personalcomputers, urea, stainless steelscrap, refined copper, cameras,machines for transmission ofvoices and images, sunflowerseed oil, and phosphoric acid.

The main objective of iden-tification is to reduce theirimport dependence as theirimports are growing consis-tently and have a significantshare in the value of imports.

"As the data has indicatedthat these items have beendemanded consistently forimport in all periods, it is sup-

ply rigidities in the domesticeconomy that need to be cor-rected," the official added.

Ministries and departmentswith whom the list has beenshared include industry, ITand electronics, mines, heavyindustry, pharmaceuticals,steel, oil and natural gas, fer-tiliser, telecommunication,shipping, food processing, andtextiles.

India's merchandise importsin April-October 2021 wasUSD 331.29 billion, anincrease of 78.71 per centover USD 185.38 billion inApril-October 2020 and USD286.07 billion in April-October 2019, according topreliminary data of the gov-ernment.

PNS n NEW DELHI

The Indian IT and BusinessServices market was valued atUSD 6.96 billion and recordeda 6.4 per cent year-over-yeargrowth in the first half of 2021,research firm IDC said onWednesday.

The IT and Business Servicesmarket had registered a 5.1 percent growth in the January-June 2020 period, IDC said.

"The increase in growth ratewas primarily due to the con-tinued focus on digital trans-formation initiatives by enter-prises in the country," it added.

Of the IT and BusinessServices market, the ITServices market contributed78 per cent and grew by 7.3 percent in the first half of 2021, ascompared to the 5.7 per centgrowth in the year-ago period.

As per IDC, the IT andBusiness Services market will

witness an increased momen-tum in the upcoming cyclesdue to the revival of the econ-omy and increased spending inareas like cloud, security, arti-

ficial intelligence, etc.The IT and Business Services

market is projected to reachUSD 19.93 billion by the end of2025, growing at a compound

annual growth rate (CAGR) of8.2 per cent between 2020-2025, IDC said.

"Despite the harsh secondwave of the COVID-19 pan-

demic, enterprises continuedto invest in digital transforma-tion initiatives to address thechange in business models,streamline operations,enhance customer andemployee experience, andimprove overall resiliency,"IDC India Senior MarketAnalyst (IT Services) HarishKrishnakumar said.

Verticals like governmentand manufacturing, whichdelayed IT investments in2020, hiked up their IT spendin the first half of 2021, andenterprises in the countrycontinued to increasinglydepend on IT serviceproviders for solutions in areaslike cloud, security, artificialintelligence, analytics, etc, headded. With the vaccinationdrive picking up pace, theoverall economy and con-sumer demand are expected tobounce back to pre-COVID

levels, thus driving the IndianIT services market in theupcoming months,Krishnakumar said.

IDC classifies the IT &Business Services market intothree primary markets –Project-Oriented, ManagedServices, and Support Services.

During the first half of2021, project-oriented ser-vices registered the highestgrowth rate at 7.2 per cent, fol-lowed by managed services at6.2 per cent, and support ser-vices at 5.3 per cent.

"1H2021 turned out to bethe year that showcased thatenterprise resiliency strength-ened at a remarkable pace.

Most enterprises witnesseda bounce back with businessreaching the pre-pandemicsituation," IDC India SeniorResearch Manager (EnterpriseSoftware and ICT Services)Shweta Baidya said.

Indian IT, biz services mkt grows 6.4 pc to $ 6.96 bn

FM to meet heads ofbanks, FIs next weekPNS n NEW DELHI

Finance Minister NirmalaSitharaman is scheduled tomeet heads of banks andfinancial institutions nextweek to remove friction incredit flow to productive sec-tors of the economy batteredby the COVID-19 pandemic.

The two-day conference,beginning November 17,would see participation fromall public sector banks andfinancial institutions (FIs).

Besides, CEOs of top sixprivate sector lenders andnon-banking financial com-panies (NBFCs), includingHDFC Bank, ICICI Bank,Kotak Mahindra Bank,

Cholamandalam Investmentand Finance, ShriramTransport Finance and TataCapital, would also be pre-sent. In a letter addressed tochairman and CEO of banksand financial institutions, thefinance ministry said thetwo-day conference will focuson flow of credit into differ-ent sectors of the economy ina seamless manner.

Observing that bank cred-it is integral to economicactivity, the letter said "tradi-tionally, banks have been themain source of credit for var-ious sectors of the economyand their lending operationshave evolved in response toneeds of the economy."

PNS n HYDERABAD

India's first EV experienceplatform, BLive on Wednesdayannounced that it is taking itsMulti-brand EV Store plat-form offline with the launch ofits first EV experience store inHyderabad. BLive aims tooffer an interactive experi-ence to all its customers byshowcasing electric two-wheelers (e2Ws) and electricbicycles (ebikes) designed andmanufactured by Indianbrands.

The experience store willenable users to get a deeperunderstanding of EVs in themarket. EV enthusiasts canexplore, experience, and pur-chase top E2W and ebikemodels from premium brands.Moreover, it is also looking tooffer ease of ownership withsimple interest-free EMIs, andcardless loan facility at allthese stores. BLive is hoping tolaunch 100 offline stores by thenext three years and hasalready received more than200 applications for opening

such stores across the country.Highlighting the impor-

tance of franchise partners,Samarth Kholkar& SandeepMukherjee, Co-founders,BLive, said, "We look forwardto welcoming like-mindedpartners to help us in ourvision to drive EV adoption bymasses and further extendsupport in promoting sus-tainable mobility. Our strate-gic alliances with several keyplayers in the Indian EVindustry and partnershipswith hospitality will allow usto provide extensive support toour partners and deliver a pre-mium consumer experience. Iam happy to say that wealready have several inquiriesfrom potential partners andare optimistic about onboard-ing many new partners in thenear future by offering easyfinance to them."

Initially, BLive will focus onlaunching these offline expe-rience stores in the SouthIndian market, with a focus onTelangana, and AndhraPradesh.

BLive launches first store in Hyderabad

PNS n NEW DELHI

India-focused offshore fundsand exchange-traded funds(ETFs) witnessed a net outflowof USD 95 million in threemonths ended September2021, making it the 14th con-secutive quarter of withdraw-al, according to a Morningstarreport released on Wednesday.

This was significantly lowerthan the net outflows of USD1.55 billion registered duringthe quarter ended June 2021.

India-focused offshore fundsand ETFs are some of theprominent investment vehi-cles through which foreigninvestors invest in the Indianequity market.

The offshore fund segmentwitnessed net inflows, after 13consecutive quarters of netoutflows. The category gar-nered net assets worth USD13.6 million in the September2021 quarter, which was incontrast to the net outflows ofUSD 1.7 billion recorded inthe previous quarter.

In contrast, the offshoreETF segment witnessed netoutflows of USD 108.2 millionin three months endedSeptember, after three consec-utive quarters of net inflows.

"This is in line with expec-tations, given that investorswho have been sitting on prof-its on the back of Indian mar-kets touching all-time highs

will have chosen to book themthrough the ETF route," thereport noted.

Flows into offshore fundsare generally considered tobe long-term in nature, where-as flows into offshore ETFsindicate predominantly short-term investment.

The offshore funds andETFs category has been wit-nessing consistent net out-flows since February 2018.The intensity reached its peakin the March 2020 quarter, asalmost USD 5 billion left itscoffers. This was the highestquarterly net outflows thatthe category had ever wit-nessed.

The intensity of net outflows

did show signs of moderationduring the June, September,and December quarters of2020 as well as during thequarter ended March 2021.

However, with the secondwave of the COVID-19 pan-demic hitting Indian shores,the pace of net outflows againshot up, and rather sharply, inthe India-focused offshorefunds and ETFs category dur-ing the ended June 2021, whenit lost net assets worth USD1.55 billion.

But, with the scenarioimproving, net outflows fromthe category reduced sharplyduring the quarter endedSeptember 2021 and stood atUSD 95 million.

India-focussed offshore funds, ETFs log outflow

PNS n MUMBAI

Equity benchmark Sensexdeclined by 81 points onWednesday due to losses inHDFC Bank, ICICI Bankand HUL amid a weaktrend in global markets.

The 30-share indexended 80.63 points or 0.13per cent lower at 60,352.82.Similarly, Nifty fell 27.05points or 0.15 per cent to18,017.20.

IndusInd Bank was thetop loser in the Sensexpack, shedding over 3 percent, followed by Tata Steel,HUL, Asian Paints, Titanand SBI.

Sensex ends 81pts lower; Niftyholds 18,000 level

Comm Min shares list of 102items for reducing imports

‘India on way to becomingfastest growing economy’

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Thursday November 11, 2021

PNS n HYDERABAD

Ekta Kapoor has got a lot onher plate right now! Theentrepreneur and entertain-ment industry icon has nowannounced the launch of herhome decor brand “EK”. Thebrand’s tagline, “Bring Indiahome” refers to the authenticIndian core that the productshave. The brand offers homefurnishings like cushion cov-ers, drapes and table runners,home decor products likewall art, vases, along withspiritual and wellness prod-ucts like dhoop burner,hamsa and evil eye jewellery— all with a unique ‘Ekta’touch to them. Speakingabout the brand along withNaveen Tiwari of RoposoGlance and VijaySubramaniam ofArtists collective,Ekta tells ThePioneer dur-ing a videoconfer-ence, “EK

is my way of empoweringlocal artisans, who are striv-ing to preserve Indian her-itage and culture throughtheir art. The partnershipwith Roposo is very exciting,since it will ensure that thework of these local artisansreaches consumers in everycorner of the country,through the technology, scaleand distribution backbone ofplatforms such as Glance andRoposo. It will also help inamplifying the deep knowl-edge of wellness our countrypossesses, making it relevantand accessible in today’sworld.”

Fresh off the high ofreceiving the Padma Shri onTuesday by the hands ofPresident Ram Nath Kovind,the filmmaker-producer says

she initially did notbelieve that she was

being conferredsuch an honour.

“When Ireceived thecall saying I

was getting the award, Ithought it was an invitationto attend the ceremony! I hadto take a few minutes torealise that I was actuallygoing to receive the PadmaShri,” she laughs. “It was veryexciting, but the most excitedperson of all was my mother.She’s a huge patriot, she tearsup when the national anthemplays. So for her, this was areally big deal.”

Kapoor went on to addhow she feels more responsi-ble after receiving the hon-our: “Receiving the awardmade me realise how I havethe platform to give back,and do more for the country.”While showing some piecesthat EK would sell, she addsthat the brand’s Indian rootswere a way to promote localartists. One of the artists whoworked closely with thebrand is Padma Shri winnerRam Kishor Chipa, fromBagru, Rajasthan, who hasco-designed a Bagru-themedhome décor line with EK.

verywhere youlook, statementssuch as “be grate-ful”; “positivelymanifest what youwant and it will

happen”; “good vibes only” arebeing thrown around inducingimmense guilt, frustration, andshame at feeling a semblanceof negative emotion (toxicpositivity, as it is now termed).

All over the world, peopleare turning to social mediaplatforms to escape from theirrealities in different ways.While this can provide somerespite, it perpetuates thenotion that we have to avoidany semblance of a negativefeeling or that we ‘shouldn’t’experience it. Not only doesthis make us feel angry at our-selves when we experience itbut this has adversely affectedour distress tolerance i.e. ourability to tolerate and manageany amount of distress/ dis-comfort.

Turning to these platformsas an escape or a respite is alsoa point of privilege — numer-

ous people around the worlddo not have the luxury of esc-aping from the realities theyface every day. Pandemic, in itsown way, has forced us to con-front uncomfortable emotionsabout mortality, for some, anddire realities for others.

All emotions serve a pur-pose

Biologically speaking, ‘nega-tive’ emotions are universaland can be healthy for us.They serve as a warning sys-tem. Let’s take fear for example— in threatening situations,fear sends an alarm throughour brain and body to get usprepared to deal with the situ-ation and to notice any differ-ence in the environment, inthe first place. It also aids us intaking less risky decisions thatmay very well impact our safe-ty and well-being.

Thankfully, humans do notneed to look out for primitive,environmental threats. But thisis the same system that kicksinto action with modern-daythreats (such as walking in adarkened street) by making usmore alert and ready to protectourselves. For many people inwar-torn areas, battlingextreme poverty and strug-gling for basic needs, this sys-tem kicks into action on a

daily.Experiencing and managing

this range of uncomfortableemotions also facilitates ourdistress tolerance in times ofcrisis and adds to resilience. Itequips us with a keen aware-ness, understanding of ouremotions, and what can helpus cope. This can only ariseout of actually experiencingthe emotions versus avoidancewherein we are left with littleemotional awareness, aninability to cope, and hindersthe development of healthyemotional resilience.

The key therein lies not inthe elimination of negativeemotions (which is hardly pos-sible) but in understandingand coping with them, whenthey arise.

This brings us to the ‘how’Firstly, understanding that

negative emotions are univer-sal, healthy, and essential forour functioning- as uncom-fortable as the experience is-and coming to terms with thiswill make the process less dis-tressing.

The next step in this jour-ney is to sit with what you arefeeling i.e. notice the physio-logical and emotional experi-ence from a place of under-standing rather than a place ofjudgment. Almost like observ-

ing a plant growing and curi-ously looking at what is goingon rather than judging theplant for growing/not growingin the first place. This could bethrough checking in withyourself about what you mightbe experiencing rather thanshaming yourself for it. Forexample, the first kind of self-talk could include labelling theemotion and then asking your-self what it is rooted in andwhat led to it versus judgmen-tal self-talk that would makeyou feel awful about experi-encing it in the first place.

If there is physiological dis-tress, tackle that first in waysthat work for you. This couldbe through grounding activi-ties, movement, breathingintentionally, for instance.

Once you feel physiological-ly soothed is when there mightbe space for emotional pro-cessing. This could entail iden-tifying the emotion, examiningwhat it represents at a deeperlevel, and understanding whatyou need to cope healthily.

Embracing the necessity ofall emotions has the benefit of‘emotional agility’ which looksat harnessing one’s emotionalawareness in each situationand adapting well, accordingto psychologist and professor,Todd Kashan.

It is definitely easier saidthan done- there is a delicatebalance to be struck betweenwallowing and creating spacefor negative emotions that willdiffer individually.

Although negative emotionsare universal, not everyone willexperience this in the sameway and it is an individualjourney of growth that will ebband flow.

(The writer is Psychologist &Outreach Associate, Mpower -

The Centre, Mumbai)

SHIKHA DUGGAL

ncidents of kid-ney cases inIndia are on therise and the rea-son behind thisis not that clear.

Studies estimate that thenumber of new patientsdiagnosed with end-stagekidney diseases hasincreased significantly.Whatever number it maybe, the true burden of kid-ney disease in the city giventhe access to healthcaresometimes gets unreachablefor a deprived person. Ifone has to practice dialysistreatment, insights revealthat corporate hospitalscharge from Rs 7,000 to Rs10,000 per session and thebasic hospitals budge downto Rs 2,000 to Rs 4,000.Amidst this bedlam, there isa Jain community inHyderabad that is obduratewith doing noble deeds forthe disparities in the citywho are in dire need ofdialysis treatments. Nobodywill go untreated is theirfunda!

On completing the mile-stone of providing a total ofone million dialysis acrossthe city for just Rs 300, ThePioneer got in touch withone of the founders of thissplendid foundation named‘Bhagwan Mahavir DialysisCentre’, who told us aboutthe whys and hows of set-ting up this trust. Agroundwork that has thereflection of the almighty init already, how will it notfocus on noble deeds?Ashok Kothari explains,“We are already indulged inthe health-care sector withMahavir franchise. Dialysisis that one treatment thatneeds to be compensatedfor, everyone should haveaccess to it at extremely lowcosts. Sixteen of us whoshared a close bond cametogether once and for all,and decided to set up thisfoundation!”

Talking about the chal-lenges while setting up thisunderpinning especially forthe kidney-affected, he dis-closes their journey fromperforming 16 dialysis in2019, to now 10 lakh dialy-sis. He states it to be a longand tiring journey ratherthan challenging! He con-tinues, “We had the privi-lege to ask for an endamount of cash, every yearwe set-up a center. We

could see patients travelingfrom far-off places, and weunderstood that majorlythey were spending on trav-el expenses only. We took afirm step of setting up cen-ters around the four-kilo-meter diameter at least sothat patients can save thatmoney.” The co-founderhighlights that the thenstate of Andhra Pradeshgovernment came ahead tohelp them expand this gra-cious deed. They gave the

Mahavirtrust amplespace inKing Kotihospital,one of themost dig-nifiedhospitals inthe city.

“We beganwith 24 dialysismachines, there wasnever a shortage of moneybut what we deeply wanted

was to give it the rightdirection. Till today, wehave project donors avail-able. The founder’s motherwho was a joint trustee withus was also on dialysis, thefounder made her as hisinspiration to set up thisfoundation,” he adds. Therewas another trustee whoexpired, he was on dialysis

and blew trumpetsabout this treat-

ment. Thestrong-

headed‘jain’ teamneverrefusedanypatientthe due

treatmentregardless of

‘gotra’, theywere rather

interested in know-ing their dire needs.Desperate to spread a word

across the city about thisnew dialysis landmark, theco-founder shares with us,“From Rs 50,000 we havecut it down to Rs 5,000. Wetry to see where else we cancompensate. Dialysis injec-tions that are being soldacross the country for Rs14,000 are being sold at justRs 100 at our center. In justa few months we have sold14,000 injections, not to justTelangana or AndhraPradesh districts but alsoMaharashtra and Karnatakaregions. Off late, we alsoincluded meditation cours-es since it helps. Many ofour patients are free fromstress now and are leading apeaceful life in Hyderabad.”To extend its reach, thetrust is now planning to tieup with corporate andorganisations under theCorporate SocialResponsibility (CSR)umbrella.

i

Where dialysis is cheaperthan a sweet pack!

EK, empowering artisans

Negative emotions are good

e

It is important tounderstand thatnegativeemotions areuniversal,healthy, andessential for us.DISHAA DESAItells us how andwhy they allserve a purpose

riends hold a veryspecial place in ourlives and the bondwhich we developwith our besties istruly special and

one that is cherished forever.We fight with them, showthem love and respect, be attheir side unconditionally,and in no time, we don’teven realize when theybecome our family.Celebrate your eternal bondwith friends recalling emo-tions and moments of laugh-ter and fights with someamazing shows that depictfriendship in a manner thatwe love the most. WithAdulting Season 3 all set tolaunch on Amazon miniTVon November 12, we listdown the five best showsthat you can binge-watchseamlessly with your friendsanytime and anywhere.

Adulting Season 3

Adulting is a coming-of-age story about two young

women trying to handle theresponsibilities of beingindependent adults in thefast-paced, urban bustle ofMumbai. The show followstwo best friends, Ray(Yashaswini Dayama) andNikhat (Aisha Ahmed) whohappen to be roommates aswell. First and second seasonof the series showcases thestruggles of Nikhat and Rayand how they deal with itwhich is very relatable.After two successful seasons,we are all excited for thethird season of Adultingwhich is set to launch onAmazon miniTv onNovember 12.

Four More ShotsPlease!

Four More Shots Please isabout four unapologeticallyflawed women on their jour-ney of love, goof-ups, anddiscoveries starring SayaniGupta, Bani J, Kirti Kulhari,and Maanvi Gagroo in thelead roles. The show throughits two seasons takes us on abeautiful ride and showswhat makes them tickthrough friendship andtequila in Mumbai. One canbinge-watch this amazingshow on Amazon PrimeVideo with their friends andmake their friendship growall the more stronger.

College Romance

College Romance is thestory of three best friendswho are looking for love,laughs, and some lifelongmemories while attendingcollege together. The high-light of the show is the bondthat the trio share will surelytake you down memory laneand make you rememberthose precious moments youspent with your best friends.Streaming on Netflix, theshow has Gagan Arora,Apoorva Arora, ShreyaMehta, and Hira Ashar inlead roles.

Hostel Daze Season 2

Hostel Daze revolvesaround four hostel friendswho enter their second yearin college and how their lifechanges from petite fights tostrong friendships and wor-rying about the future. Thesecond season of the very-

successful web series is allabout the fun, crisis, anddrama that happen in a hos-tel. Steaming on AmazonPrime Video, Hostel Dazefeatures Adarsh Gourav,Ahsaas Channa, AyushiGupta, Luv Vispute, NikhilVijay, and Shubham Gaur inlead roles.

Pitchers

Pitchers is a story of trialsand tribulations of fourfriends, Naveen, Jitu, Yogi,and Mandal who quit theirday jobs in order to pursuetheir startup venture.Created by TVF, the showfeatures Naveen Kasturia,Arunabh Kumar, JitendraKumar, and Abhay Mahajan.One of the very first Indianshows to make it big on thedigital space, it’s one thatwill make you cherish thefriends whom you just can’tlive without.

f

Hello friends! Shows to watchwith your besties’ this weekend

10

what’s brewing?

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Hyderabad Thursday November 11, 2021

Rules

ARCHIE

GARFIELD

SUDOKU

REALITY CHECK CROSSWORD

GINGER MEGGS

NANCY

l Each row and column cancontain each number (1 to 9)exactly once.

l The sum of all numbers inany row or column mustequal 45.

Yesterday’s solution

CALVIN AND HOBBES

SPEED BUMP

FUN

GLAM NIGHTS

Home Minister Mohammed Mahmood Ali,actress Namrata Shirodkar, Model RohitKhandelwal, and many other known faces

were spotted at the launch of Madiyeh'smakeup studio "Let's get Glam!". The event tookplace at The Majestic in Banjara Hills.

PAR

TY

l Marziyeh

l Mahdiyeh

lN

amra

ta S

hiro

dkar

l Yasmeen

l Alishafi and Salman

l Mohammed Mahmood Ali

Hollywood star PaulRudd has been crownedas PEOPLE magazine’s

‘Sexiest Man Alive 2021’.TV personality Stephen

Colbert revealed the Ant-Manand the Wasp actor’s new titleon Tuesday night’s episode ofThe Late Show With StephenColbert, reports people.com.

“Right now, there is onemajor question on absolutelyeveryone’s minds: Who will bePEOPLE Magazine’s SexiestMan Alive for 2021? In thesedivided times, it’s the last thingthat all Americans care about,”said Colbert, noting how thisyear’s guesses ranged fromChris Evans to DwayneJohnson.

“Well, all the speculationends tonight, ladies and gentle-men, because it is my distincthonour to have been chosen bythe good people at PEOPLE tobe the official person toannounce this year’s SexiestMan Alive,” he added.

“And it is not a responsibilitythat I take lightly.”

Colbert then took Ruddthrough a series of tests andassessments to ensure that theactor was properly suited totake the coveted ‘Sexiest ManAlive’ title.

On the show, Colbert cut toa previously recorded clip at the“LSSC Sexiness ResearchInstitute,” where Rudd enters forevaluation. “I think you have thewrong room,” Colbert toldRudd, to which the actor replied:“That’s what I’m here for.”

Before analysing Rudd’smental and physical ‘sexiness’,Colbert swore the star in.

“I do solemnly swear to givethe sexiest answers I can, to bea man and to stay alive,” Ruddproclaimed.

“So help me McConaughey.”After his intellectual assess-

ment, Colbert did a physicalexam on Rudd, even runninghis fingers through the actor'sfull head of hair, before testinghow sexy he could be in a rig-orous photograph shoot, dur-ing which Rudd posed as aconstruction worker and amonk before finally pouring agallon of water on himselfwearing only a white T-shirtand jeans.

At the end of Rudd’s exten-sive evaluation, Colbert finallydelivered the news on whetheror not the actor made the cutto be crowned People’s SexiestMan Alive.

“I just got the results backfrom the lab, and look...there’sno easy way to say this, youtested negative for sexy. I’msorry,” Colbert told Rudd.

It was the actor’s graciousreaction that secured him thetitle.

“Don’t you see Paul? There’snothing sexier than humility,”Colbert said.

“That was the last test —and you passed, Paul — youpassed. You’re sexy! Paul,you’re the Sexiest Man Alive.”

Rudd tells PEOPLE in thisweek’s cover story he does“have an awareness, enough toknow that when people hearthat I’d be picked for this, theywould say, ‘What?’”

The actor’s wife of 18 years,Julie, 53, was the only personhe told ahead of time about hisnew title.

Paul Rudd crowned‘Sexiest Man Alive 2021’

Nobel Peace Prize winnerMalala Yousafzaiannounced on late

Tuesday that she is married toAsser Malik, an entrepreneurfrom Pakistan. She tied theknot in an intimate ceremonywith only family and closefriends in presence. “Todaymarks a precious day in mylife. Asser and I tied the knotto be partners for life. We cele-brated a small nikkah ceremo-ny at home in Birminghamwith our families. Please sendus your prayers. We are excited

to walk together for the jour-ney ahead (sic),” MalalaYousafzai said in a tweet, andshared photos of the ceremony.

Malala Yousafzai, 24, is aPakistani activist for girls’ edu-cation and the youngest NobelPeace Prize winner in history.In 2012, she gained globalrecognition when she was shotin the head by the Taliban innorth-west Pakistan for advo-cating the basic right of educa-tion for girls. She was 16 yearsold when she delivered a speechat the United Nations (UN)

headquarters on the need forgender equality in education.

Nobel laureate MalalaYousafzai ties the knot

collaborationthat’s new tothe scene —The MaheshBabu-Keerthy

Suresh starrer SarkaaruVaari Paata is ready tohit the screens.

Generating more buzzabout the movie,

the actress isamping up

theallure.

Apartfrom

being atalentedactress,KeerthySuresh isalso a musi-cian whoplays the vio-lin. There werea couple of occa-sions when theRang De actressenamored her fans byplaying the violin beau-tifully. According toreports, the actressmight show off hermusical skills in theupcoming movie.

S.S. Thaman, who isthe music composer forSarkaru Vaari Paata,hinted at Keerthy

Suresh’s musical sur-prise for the movie.

When one of hisfans questionedhim about KeerthySuresh singing asong for the

movie, Thamansimply denied, say-

ing that she would notsing. But, he said, “Shewill play the violin forsure.” This has gottenthe fans of the youngactress excited at theprospect of witnessingmore of her skill with

theinstru-ment. Asreported,Thaman is to utiliseKeerthy Suresh’s musicaltalent for one of the pro-motional songs or amusical bit, which is yetto be released. Thoughthere is no official con-firmation, Thaman’shints on social mediaindicate the same.

Sarkaaru Vaari Paatais directed by ParasuramPetla and is slated for agrand release on April 1.Keerthy can also be seenin Good Luck Sakhi alsostarring actors AadhiPinisetty and JagapathiBabu.

ulquer Salman’snew role in self-produced Kurupwill have him onscreen withShobhita De. The

film will be released inMalayalam as well

as Telugu,Kannada,

Tamiland

Hindi onNovember 12. In thepre-release eventorganised inHyderabad this week,the actor said, “Thismovie is very special tome. The teaser is onlyone percent of thewhole experience thatthe movie will giveyou. Those who watchthe movie will definite-ly get a wonderfulexperience. This is auniversal concept andidea so we are releasingthis film in all lan-guages.” Much to thejoy of the crowd, headded that Teluguaudiences love moviesmore than audiences ofall languages. DOPNimish Ravi men-tioned that the filmwas shot in many partsof the country andafter two years of hardwork, the team put

together this movie which would be a per-fect theatre experience.

Vinny Vishwa, the author of the wordsand story, says, “I only know how to write.I am not very good at speaking my wordsout loud. I am very happy that the film isbeing released on a pan-India level. I willspeak after the release of the movie. Morethan me, the movie shouldspeak.” ActorBharat,whoacts

along-sideDulquer in themovie, said “Iworked for four anda half days for thisfilm. But that jour-ney will be remem-bered forever. I sawhow hard Dulquerworked. Making afilm like this isnothing so easy.This is definitelygoing to create asensation.” The leadactor Dulquershared that is work-ing on making aTelugu movie. “I amdoing it under thebanner of HanuRaghavapudi,Vaijayanti Movies. Itold myself thatdubbing should be acomplete Telugu

film. I hope youenjoy the movie forsure. I look forwardto hearing

your feedback.See you in the the-ater on November12th,” he said.

nasuya Bharadwaj, TV presenter

and actress, will be filling the role of

Dakshayani in Allu Arjun and

Rashmika Mandanna’s Pushpa. In

the first look of the actress that was

dropped on Wednesday, Anasuya looked

fierce as Dakshayani while holding an antique

nut clipper in her hands. Pushpa will be made

in two parts. The first part, titled Pushpa: The

Rise, will hit big screens on December 17.

Rashmika Mandanna’s first look poster

dropped last month, went viral in no time.

Now Anasuya Bharadwaj’s poster from the

Sukumar directorial venture kept fans guessing

on her character. Dressed in saree and gold

jewellery, the actress looks fearless as she dons

an intense expression. Trade analyst Taran

Adarsh shared the new poster on his Twitter

handle and wrote, “PUSHPA': NEW POSTER...

Team #Pushpa unveils the new poster:

#AnasuyaBharadwaj as #Dakshayani... Stars

#AlluArjun, #FahadhFaasil and

#RashmikaMandanna... Directed by #Sukumar... 17

Dec 2021 release. #PushpaTheRise

#PushpaTheRiseOnDec17 (sic).”

Pushpa’s story is based on real-life incidents

about the red sandalwood smugglers in the

Seshachalam hills of the Rayalaseema region in

Andhra Pradesh. Directed by Sukumar, the film

will see Allu Arjun playing the role of a sandal-

wood smuggler named Pushpa Raj.

Apart from Allu Arjun and Rashmika

Mandanna, Pushpa marks the Telugu debut of

Malayalam actor Fahadh Faasil. The film’s first

part. Pushpa will be released in Telugu, Malayalam,

Tamil, Hindi and Kannada later this year.

11

Hyderabad Thursday November 11, 2021

‘Pushpaka Vimanam HAS FUN, THRILL,

AND EMOTIONS’K RAMYA SREE

ushpakaVimanam, acomedy-thriller direct-ed byDamodara,

starring AnandDeverakonda asChittilanka Sundar, GeethSaini as Meenakshi, andSaanve Megghana asRekha, is all set to hit bigscreens tomorrow and theDeverakonda brother areleaving no stoneunturned in promotingthe film. This wholesomeentertainer is presentedby Vijay Deverakondaand produced byGovardhana RaoDeverakonda, VijayMattapally, PradeepErrabelly.

Ahead of the film’srelease, AnandDeverakonda, the leadactor of the film, tells thathe initially had no plansof doing PushpakaVimanam, as the storydeals with the idea ofmarriage and he wasuncertain if the audiencewould like him playing amarried man on screen.“I play a man who is aloser, unlike any conven-tional hero. He dreamsbig of his marriage, but itfails. We got what wewant in this film. It willhave three elements —fun, thrill, and emotions.I did a few workshops formy role in this film. Inmy observation, I felt liketeachers always dress upformally because theywant to look respectful. Iam one such teacher inthe film,” laughs the actor.

Furthermore, on nam-ing this film PushpakaVimanam, the Dosaranidebutant shares, “Beforethis film began, we hadchosen a few titles one ofwhich was PushpakaVimanam. We called upSingeetham Srinivasa Raoand asked if we can usethat title as it was one ofhis legendary films. Hesaid ‘you can use it if itfits your story’.Metaphorically, we titledthis film PushpakaVimanam as his dreamsof marriage fails. Anotherelement that led to thetitle is a small scene witha travel agency —Pushpak travels that offerhoneymoon travel pack-ages.”

Director Damodaraand Vijay’s friendshipfrom their early days ledto the family producingPushpaka Vimanam.Anand, who accidentallylanded in this projectbecause of his father,shares in detail,“Damodara used to doshort films. He narratedthis story to Vijay longback, but Vijay is alreadyon a high with the suc-cess of Pelli Chupulu andArjun Reddy. Later,Damodara became closeto my dad. My fatherbecame his guide. Duringthe process, Damodaranarrated PushpakaVimanam’s story to myfather and asked him ifhe would produce it. Noone thought I would bethe lead role. The storywas sent to a few otheractors but received mixedreviews. When I heardthe narration, my fatherasked me if I would do

this film. Although I wasuncertain, I gave a looktest, and I felt I could doit.”

Asked to tell about thisfilm in one line, Anandsays, “Subtly, PushpakaVimanam tries to answerwhat a marriage is.”

While many think he isinfluenced by his elderbrother VijayDeverakonda when itcomes to choosingscripts, in real life, Anandsays it is his belief andtrust in the story that ismaking him sign projectswithout anyone’s interfer-ence.

“My brother is not partof my story selectionprocess. It is me who isdoing all the work. I don’tchoose the way Vijaydoes. I live in my world,and I want to see if I fitinto that character beforeI sign on any project. Iam doing a thriller in mynext, which is on a roadjourney. Later I will playan auto driver. I am try-ing to explore all genres,”shares Anand, who ishappy with the waythings are shaping forhim in the industry.

He was subject to manytrolls when Dorasani, hisdebut film was released.But for Anand, all thisdoesn’t affect him as hefeels if one is strongenough, they will get overthat phase.

The actor, in real life, isa staunch believer in theinstitution of marriage.He stresses, “I believethere should be an insti-tution called marriage. Itspersonal opinion, but itshould be there for one toremain grounded.”

P

A

Naatu naatucreates a buzz

tollywood

RR — The muchawaitedS.S.Rajamouli film,is all set to releasein 2022 and thepromotions are

going on in full swing.Beginning from the mak-ing of RRR, the makersare now busy releasing thetracks from the massmovie that will bereleased pan-India. WithRam Charan and Jr. NTRsharing the screen spacetogether in the new massanthem released onwednesday titled Nattu

Nattu, you can see boththe tolly superstars shak-ing their legs with vigor.Releasing the track anhour earlier, Nattu Nattucame in as a surprise forall the telugu fans whowere not expecting avideo accompaniment.

Filmed with the back-drop of an ancient era,this M.M.Keeravani’s newmusical is all aboutpiquant rhythm andmelodies. The two actors,who are trying to cele-brate their friendship inthe mass anthem, are so

in sync that it is a wel-come treat to the eyes.The peppy track also hasa regal wedding in thebackdrop, setting thescene well for the actorswho dance energeticallyto the beats. The videoamassed over 40 lakhviews in a day, and nowthe Hindi version hasbeen released as well.Bankrolled under thehome banner of DVVentertainments, RRR willalso show Ajay Devgnand Alia Bhatt on screenin 2022.

R

Anasuya in an intense new look

d

Kurup all set to make a mark on November 12

Dulquer Salmaan is the latest celebrityto join the Green India Challenge. Lastweek, actors Vishal, Arya and Mirnalini

Ravi had participated in the campaign byplanting saplings. Salmaan, who starred inmovies in various languages includingMahanati in Telugu, accepted the challengeby actress Aditi Rao Hyadri and plantedsaplings in KBR Park of Hyderabad onWednesday. The Malayalam actor stressedthe need for collective action to save theenvironment. “It gives me great happinessand incredible satisfaction to be part ofGreen India Challenge. One should make ita habit not only to plant saplings but also totake care of them. Tending to the plants andtrees is everyone's responsibility, it ensuresus and many generations to come with apollution-free environment,” he said. Hewent on to express his happiness and laudthe efforts of Rajya Sabha MP and GreenIndia Challenge founder Joginipally SantoshKumar.Celebrities like Amitabh Bachchan, AamirKhan, Sachin Tendulkar, Sanjay Dutt, AjayDevgn, Shruti Haasan, Shraddha Kapoor,Chiranjeevi, Nagarjuna, Prabhas, Krishna,Pawan Kalyan, Mahesh Babu, Rajamouli,Samantha, Pullela Gopichand, P.V. Sindhu,Saina Nehwal and Sania Mirza have alsoparticipated in the challenge.

DULQUER

FLAUNTS HIS

GREEN THUMB

Keerthy toget her violinout in SVP

a

Naatu naatucreates a buzz

O T H E R S P O R T S

PTI n GONDA (UTTAR PRADESH)

Ablockbuster clash betweencomeback girl Geeta

Phogat and world champi-onship bronze medallist SaritaMor is keenly anticipated, whileNarsingh Pancham Yadav andGourav Balian will also beeager to prove themselves whenthe National WrestlingChampionships begin herefrom Thursday.

Geeta, 32, is making acome back to the competitivewrestling after giving birth toher son, Arjun in 2018.

Set to compete in 59kg, thenational event will help Geetaassess herself as she has a longterm goal of competing in the2024 Paris Olympics.

Much water has flownunder the bridge since shestopped competing on the matand it will be interesting to seehow the 2010 Commonwealth

Games gold medallist respondsto the challenges ahead.

New rules are in place andthe standard of Indianwrestling has also improved inthe last few years. But she hasgot a good start as save theclose semifinal, Geeta easilycleared the state trials whereshe beat four Haryana grap-plers to emerge the winner.

PTI n INDORE

Madhya Pradesh pacerAvesh Khan, who earned

a national call-up for the T20series against New Zealand onWednesday said that his dreamto represent the country hasbeen fulfilled.

Avesh, who had 24 wick-ets in the IPL, deservingly gota national call-up and got thenews just after MP’s SyedMushtaq Ali T20 match againstKerala.

“Every cricketer has adream that he plays for hiscountry and he works hard toturn this dream into a reality.My dream has been fulfilled

now,” Avesh, who has 100 first-class wickets, from 27 match-es, told PTI Bhasha.

Avesh said that he hadperformed well in the lastdomestic season and also in the

Indian Premier League, whichhelped him to earn the nation-al call-up.

The right-arm speedstercredited former cricketers likeAmay Khurasiya, ChandrakantPandit, Devendra Bundela andAbbas Ali for spotting the tal-ent in him and then guidinghim throughout his career.

Khan’s father Ashiq Khanrecalled how he gave wings toAvesh’ dreams.

“My son first got associat-ed with Indore Colts CricketClub. Then Amay Khurasiyaspotted his talent and took himto his own academy. After thathe did not look back,” hisfather remembered.

PTI n INDORE

Madhya Pradesh pacerAvesh Khan, who earned

a national call-up for the T20series against New Zealand onWednesday said that his dreamto represent the country hasbeen fulfilled.

Avesh, who had 24 wick-ets in the IPL, deservingly gota national call-up and got thenews just after MP’s SyedMushtaq Ali T20 match againstKerala.

“Every cricketer has adream that he plays for hiscountry and he works hard to

turn this dream into a reality.My dream has been fulfillednow,” Avesh, who has 100 first-class wickets, from 27 match-es, told PTI Bhasha.

Avesh said that he hadperformed well in the lastdomestic season and also in theIndian Premier League, whichhelpedT10 format has a brightfuture ahead, can be played atthe Olympics: Du Plessis

Abu Dhabi, Nov 10 (PTI)Former South Africa skipperFaf du Plessis feels the T10 for-mat has a bright future aheadand can also be played at theOlympics.

PTI n DUBAI

Pakistan seem primed to wintheir second title but it will

take a special effort to upstagea tenacious Australia, which ispeaking at the right time, in thesecond semifinal of the T20World Cup here on Thursday.

Pakistan have turned itaround following their first-round exit in 2016. The BabarAzam-led side has defied theodds to become the team tobeat this edition. The 2009champion is the only team thatremains undefeated in theongoing tournament.

The last time these two metin the semifinals of a T20World Cup, Australia, inspiredby Mike Hussey, had beatenPakistan in a thriller.

But in the ongoing edition,the Men in Green have resist-ed crumbling under pressureand are comfortable in theUAE, having hosted severalseasons of the Pakistan SuperLeague and their home match-es here since the 2009 terrorattack on the Sri Lankan teamshut down international crick-et in their country. Following ahistoric win over India wherethey looked completely invin-cible, Pakistan have showedvery few chinks in their armouragainst New Zealand andAfghanistan.

The formidable top-order,led by the tournament’s leadingrun-scorer Azam (264), whohas four half-centuries againsthis name, is expected to deliv-er once again but Australia’sbowling attack will also beready and waiting to capitalise

on any slip up.In case the opening duo of

Azam and Mohammad Rizwanfail, Pakistan have an array ofmatch-winners in the middleorder in the form of six-hittingmachine Asif Ali and veteransShoaib Malik and MohammadHafeez, who all are among theruns.

However, the team wouldbe expecting more from FakharZaman, the only one to havenot made a significant contri-bution with the bat yet.

Their bowling attack hasbeen as impressive as their bat-ting unit if not more. Pacers

Shaheen Shah Afridi and HarisRauf have troubled batters butHasan Ali has had an ordinarytournament and, although skip-per Azam has backed thespeedster to come good,Australia is likely to target him.

Spinners Imad Wasim,Mohammad Hafeez andShadab Khan will be skipperAzam’s main weapons againstAustralia, a side that strugglesagainst spin in general.

On the other hand,Australia, the 2010 runners-up,are begin to peak at the righttime in their bid to win theironly missing title.

PTI n NEW DELHI

India captain Virat Kohli onWednesday thanked the

team’s outgoing head coachRavi Shastri and other mem-bers of the support staff, whosetenure ended at the T20 WorldCup, lauding them for theircontribution in preparing aformidable outfit.

While India failed to qual-ify for the semifinals of the ICCT20 World Cup in the UAE, theShastri-Kohli duo along withbowling coach Bharat Arunand fielding coach R Sridharwere part of a set-up that wontwo Test series in Australia.

The side is leading 2-1 inthe five Test series in Englandset to be completed next year.The departure of Shastri andCo. Marks the end of an era inIndian cricket.

“Thank you for all thememories and the amazingjourney we’ve had as a teamwith you all. Your contributionhas been immense and willalways be remembered inIndian cricket history,” Kohli,has given up T20 captaincy,wrote on his twitter page inpraise of the coaching staff.

“Wish you the best movingforward in life. Until nexttime,” he said.

From November 17, RohitSharma will be India’s new

T20 captain with Rahul Dravidin charge as head coach.

It is expected that Rohit

will take over the reins of ODIcaptaincy as well during thetour of South Africa.

AP n STOCKHOLM

Andy Murray beat qualifierViktor Durasovic of

Norway 6-1, 7-6 (7) to set upa second-round match withtop-seeded Jannik Sinner at theStockholm Open.

The three-time GrandSlam champion cruisedthrough the first set but wasnearly pushed to a decider bythe 354th-ranked Durasovic.

The 34-year-old Briton,who blew seven match points in a loss to DominikKoepfer in the Paris Masterslast week, saved a set pointbefore closing it out on his thirdmatch point.

“He hits the ball huge fromthe back of the court,” Murraysaid of the 24-year-oldNorwegian.

“He will keep moving upthe rankings if he’s playing

like that. I was happy to getthrough in the end because hewas playing very well at the endof the match.” The 10th-ranked Sinner, chasing his fifthtitle this year, awaits onWednesday. The 20-year-oldItalian just missed qualifyingfor the ATP Finals.

“He’s had a fantastic year,”Murray said.

“He loves playing indoorson hardcourt, so it will be a bigtest for me.”

Fifth-seeded Taylor Fritzdefeated Egor Gerasimov 6-4,6-4 and will next face doublespartner Tommy Paul. Fritzbeat his fellow American twoweeks ago on his run to thefinal in St. Petersburg.

Spaniard Pedro Martinezwill face eighth-seeded FrancesTiafoe in the second roundafter beating Emil Ruusuvuori6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (4).

AP n SAO PAULO

For front-running Brazil, themain aim this week is beat-

ing Colombia and securing anautomatic spot at next year’sWorld Cup in Qatar with plen-ty of time to spare in SouthAmerican qualifying.

For second-placeArgentina, the bigger concernahead of its trip to Uruguay isover the fitness of Lionel Messi.

Brazil has 31 points andArgentina has 25 from 11matches — their encounter inSeptember was bizarrely sus-pended after seven minutes ofplay because of concerns fromauthorities over breaches ofCOVID-19 protocols. FIFAwill decide what to do with it.Ecuador (17), Colombia (16)and Uruguay (16) hold the nextthree places, but have all played12 matches.

The top four teams inSouth America earn directentry to next year’s World Cup.The fifth-place team goes intoan inter-continental playoff fora spot in Qatar.

A Brazil victory at the

NeoQuimica Arena in SaoPaulo on Thursday will putcoach Tite’s team 18 pointsahead of fourth-placeColombia, which will haveonly five more matches inhand. The Colombians are theonly team to hold the Seleçãoto a draw in the current editionof qualifiers.

Some mathematical com-binations allow second-placedArgentina to hope for its directspot with a win against Brazilnext week in San Juan, but theCopa America champions willhave to beat Uruguay inMontevideo on Friday to haveany chance of achieving that infront of their home fans.

There’s three other match-es in South American qualify-ing on Thursday, includingEcuador hosting last-placeVenezuela and Peru againstBolivia.

PTI n NEW DELHI

All-rounders in Indian crick-et are a rare commodity

and the newest entrant to theclub, Venkatesh Iyer, knowsonly too well that he has to keephis focus on both aspects of thegame in order to remain rele-vant.

The 26-year-old MadhyaPradesh man has been reward-ed with a maiden call-up for theT20 International home seriesagainst New Zealand startingNovember 17 and knows thatgoing forward, workload man-agement would be an importantfocus area for him.

“My workload manage-ment has been good so far. I aman all-rounder so I have to beequally focussed on bothaspects of the game. That’swhat I have been doing rightfrom my age-group state leveldays.

It’s so far not been a verybig issue,” the suave KolkataKight Riders man tod PTI in anexclusive interaction.

For Iyer the endeavour is todisplay multiple skills acrossformats.

“I have always worked hardon my red ball game and it hasbeen my conscious effort not beone dimensional.

“If you have to play forIndia, you have to be consistentacross formats and that’s why Ihave put in a lot of work in both

departments of the game.“As much as I have worked

on my batting, I have alsoworked on my bowling,” saidIyer, who many like HarbhajanSingh believe can shock batterswith extra pace.

His 370 runs in the IPL forKKR, along with steady medi-um pace that got him threewickets, brought him intonational reckoning. He is beingseen as a replacement of HardikPandya, who is still not fit tobowl and does not quite fit inas a pure batter.

Iyer, who has six half-cen-turies and seven wickets forMadhya Pradesh in Ranji

Trophy, believes that it hasbeen his consistency, not onlyin IPL but also in first-classcricket, that has helped get thisfar. During the IPL in UAE, didhe get a feeling that he wouldmake it?

“I must say that it was notjust about IPL that gave mebelief that I could represent mycountry.

“When I was playing RanjiTrophy, Vijay Hazare Trophyand Syed Mushtaq Ali for mystate Madhya Pradesh, I alwaysknew that if I carry on withgood performances in domes-tic cricket, I would play forIndia one day,” he said.

PTI n NEW DELHI

The domestic badminton sea-son is set to begin next

month after a 20-month hiatuswith back-to-back senior rank-ing Level 3 tournaments, thenational federation announcedon Wednesday. The season willstart in Chennai with the firsttournament from December 16to 22 followed by another Level3 tournament in Hyderabadfrom December 24 to 30.

Both the events carry aprize money of Rs 10 lakh each,and are a part of theBadminton Association ofIndia’s (BAI) new domesticformat, which was approved in2019 but couldn’t be imple-mented due to COVID-19pandemic. The last date ofentry for the Chennai event isNovember 24, while forHyderabad it is December 1.

HYDERABAD | THURSDAY | NOVEMBER 11, 2021

PTI n ABU DHABI

All-rounder Moeen Alitop-scored with anunbeaten 37-ball 51 to

propel England to 166 forfour against New Zealand inthe first semifinal of the ICCT20 World Cup here onWednesday.

Sent into bat, Moeen andDawid Malan (42 off 30 balls)were England’s main contrib-utors with the willow in therematch of the epic 2019 ODIWorld Cup final.

Moeen smashed threefours and two sixes, whileMalan struck four boundariesand a maximum.

After three relatively quietovers, opener Jos Buttler (29)smashed Trent Boult for twosuccessive boundaries -- onestraight down the ground andthen the batter reached out toa wide delivery to play itthrough the covers.

Boult then pitched onetoo short and the ball flewpast Buttler as well as wicket-keeper Devon Conway foranother boundary and anextra run in the form of awide.

Promoted to the top of theorder in the absence of injuredJason Roy, Jonny Bairstow(13) played his first attackingshot straight over the bowler’shead for a boundary, asEngland reached 37 for no lossin five overs.

New Zealand skipperKane Williamson effected abowling change and the moveimmediately paid dividends asthe skipper himself pulled offa fine diving catch at mid-off

off Adam Milne’s first deliveryto signal the end of Bairstow’sstay in the middle.

That Milne over not justgave the Kiwis their firstbreakthrough, but it alsostemmed the flow of runs, asEngland finished the powerplay at 40 for one.

Leg-spinner Ish Sodhistarted his spell by givingaway five runs before Buttler,not one to let the Kiwis takecontrol of the proceedings,employed the reverse sweep toget a boundary against left-arm Mitchell Santner.

New Zealand soon had alot to cheer about as Sodhi gotthe huge wicket of Buttler,who went for the reversesweep again, but did not suc-ceed on that occasion as theball hit him on the pads.Dawid Malan ended the overon a good note, going inside-out to get himself a four.

James Neesham inducedan edge off Malan’s blade, butConway could not get to theball, and three balls later, thebatter drove the mediumpacer for a boundary.

England had a productive11th over as they scored 11runs, thanks to two fours byMalan off Glenn Phillips.

Southee got the big wick-et of an ominous-lookingMalan just as he was about tocut loose.

After Malan’s dismissal,the onus was on Moeen topropel England and the all-rounder did his job that was asked of him with hislusty hits.

Liam Livingstone chippedin with 17 off 10 balls.

Moeen’s 50 lifts England to 166 against NZ

PTI n ABU DHABI

Players of the England andNew Zealand teams

observed a minute’s silence inmemory of Mohan Singh,Abu Dhabi’s chief curatorwho died earlier this week,ahead of the first semifinal ofthe T20 World Cup here onWednesday.

Those present inside theSheikh Zayed Stadium paidtheir respects to the Indiancurator just before the nation-al anthems of the two semi-finalists.

Singh was found dead inhis room on Sunday hoursbefore the match betweenAfghanistan and NewZealand.

According to UAE crick-et sources, the 45-year-old,who hailed fromUttarakhand, was sufferingfrom depression and wasfound hanging in his room,hours after inspecting thepitch for the clash that New Zealand won byeight wickets to enter thesemi-finals.

A MINUTE’S SILENCE IN THE STADIUMIN MEMORY OF MOHAN SINGH

Favourites Pak face resurgent Australia

Kohli thankful to supportstaff for amazing journey

Managed my workload well so far: Venkatesh Iyer

Dream to represent India has been fulfilled: Avesh Dream to represent India hasbeen fulfilled: Avesh Khan

Domesticbadminton begin20-month break

Brazil bids for direct spot;Argentina concerned over Messi

National Championship: Alleyes on Geeta-Sarita wrestling

Murray wins, sets up matchwith Sinner in Stockholm