HYDERABAD, WEDNESDAY MARCH 10, 2021; PAGES 12 `3

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RNI No. TELENG/2018/76469

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MONEY 8GOVT SAYS PRIVATE COMPANIESDEVELOPED 38 FARM MARKETS

ANALYSIS 7A DIGITAL PUSH TO FARMING

FOR THE ENVIRONMENT’S SAKE

SPORTS 12HARDIK BOWLS WITH

TWEAKED ACTION

"DELHI WILL BID FOR THE 2048OLYMPICS": ARVIND KEJRIWAL

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal saidthat the national capital will bid to bethe host of the Olympics in 2048

adding that a vision has been provided forthe same in the Delhi Budget presented onTuesday. "A vision has been provided inthe Budget (Delhi Budget) that 2048Olympic games should be held in Delhi.Delhi will bid for the 2048 Olympics. We willtake up whatever infrastructure and othernecessities that are needed to be created for it," hesaid. "Delhi's Finance Minister Manish Sisodia has made a greatbudget. The budget was prepared keeping in mind people of allsections of the society," Kejriwal said.

OPRAH WINFREY'S MEGHAN-HARRYINTERVIEW NETTED HER $7 MILLION

When Oprah Winfrey's interview withHarry and Meghan, the Duke andDuchess of Sussex, aired on CBS

Sunday night, it wasn't just a victory forthose who like sharp inside-the-palaceintrigue. It was also a win for a cuttinglymodern type of media business. Since theocean of content began swelling severalyears ago, top-end creators have cannilysurfed the wave. They have signed major deals,sometimes committing fully to one company, suchas Netflix. But the shrewdest and most clout-laden among themhave made big deals that nonetheless leave them room to workwith other platforms.

LOCKDOWN IN MAHARASHTRA'S THANE TOSTART LATER THIS WEEK AMID COVID SURGE

Alockdown between March 13 and 31was declared on Monday in 11hotspots in Thane city by the civic

administration, officials said. Theorder, issued by Thane MunicipalCommissioner Vipin Sharma, said thedecision was taken due to rise inCovid cases in these areas in the pastfew days. It said all restrictions thatwere in place during the nationwidelockdown declared earlier would be in forceduring this time as well. As on Monday morning, thecaseload of Thane district was 2,69,845, including 6,302deaths.

DISEASE THAT WIPED OUT MILLIONSOF PIGS IS CREEPING BACK IN ASIA

African swine fever is re-emerging inAsia, threatening to upend efforts toreplenish national herds after the

virus killed tens of millions of pigs inthe region and created a hugeshortage of meat protein. Freshoutbreaks have been reported inChina and Vietnam this year, and thedisease has even landed on Malaysia'sshores. While new cases are scatteredand isolated, they've put governments onnotice that the virus is alive and well and there could be direconsequences if it's not kept under control. African swine feveris deadly for pigs but not known to harm humans.

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WWEEAATTHHEERR

Current Weather ConditionsUpdated march 8, 2021 5:00 PM

FFoorreeccaasstt:: Partly cloudyTTeemmpp:: 34/18HHuummiiddiittyy:: 31%SSuunnrriissee:: 06:29 amSSuunnsseett:: 06:24 pm

2

Amit Shah urged to reveal details of'mysterious death'

5

Investment

in prop-tech firms

up at USD 551 mn

8

Concept of ‘unanimous

elections’ threatens

democracy

AALLMMAANNAACC

TTOODDAAYY

Month & Paksham:

Magha & Shukla Paksha

Panchangam

Tithi : Dwadashi: 02:39 pm

Nakshatram: Shravana: 09:02 pm

Time to Avoid: (Bad time to start

any important work)

Rahukalam: 12:26 pm – 01:55 pm

Yamagandam: 08:00 am – 09:28 am

Varjyam: 01:09 am – 02:48 am

Gulika: 10:57 am - 12:26 pm

Good Time: (to start any important work)

Amritakalam: 10:29 am – 12:07 pm

Abhijit Muhurtham: NIL

PNS n HYDERABAD

While every electionis important forany political partyworth its salt, forthe rulingT e l a n g a n aRashtra Samithi(TRS), still stutter-ing from two majorelectoral blows, it hasbecome imperative to winboth the seats to theTelangana State LegislativeCouncil.

Though leader after TRSleader may be going to townspeaking about the party’s presenceamong the masses, the body blowsdealt by the BJP in both theDubbaka by-election and therecent Greater Hyderabad

Municipal Corporation has left theparty reeling. The BJP not only has

emerged as a majorforce in the State,

but has actuallysent alarm bellsringing throughthe ranks of the

ruling TRS.The TRS was

by no means compla-cent going into theGHMC elections, afterall, it wanted to better its

performance and winmore than the 99 wards in

the previous polls.Also, it was defending the

Dubbaka by-poll seat, easier to doif a by-poll is held around the firstyear of a term.

SNCN ACHARYULUn HYDERABAD

Shaken by the Dubbaka andGHMC election results, the TRSappears to have found refuge inLord Hanuman these days.

The ruling party believes anaggressive pro-Hindutva campaignby the BJP in the GHMC polls andas well as in Dubbaka Assemblyby-election helped the nationalparty win.

To counter the BJP's “Jai ShriRam'', the TRS plans to raise “JaiHanuman” slogans across the State.Telangana Endowments Minister AIndrakaran Reddy and TRS MLCK Kavitha, daughter of ChiefMinister K Chandrasekhar Rao, onTuesday visited the famousKondagattu Anjaneya Swamy tem-ple in Jagtial district. Both per-formed bhoomi puja for the con-struction of Ramakoti Stupam at acost of Rs 90 core. Incidentally,

Kavitha had visited the same tem-ple last week. At that time, she hadsaid that she had decided to per-form Hanuman Chalisa Parayanamfor a period of 41 days fromChinna Hanuman Jayanthi toPedda Hanuman Jayanthi.

She also said arrangements havebeen made across the state toperform Hanuman Chalisa withKondagattu Anjaneya Swamy tem-ple as the focal point.

Kavitha said that she has visit-ed Hanuman temple near Kashirecently and the priests of Kashitemple explained about the sanc-tity of the Kondagattu shrine.

Chief Minister KChandrasekhar Rao, during the2019 Lok Sabha elections, hadlashed out at the BJP for itsHindutva stand. He had said: "MyHindutva is real, their (BJP’s)Hindutva is bogus". He also saidthat what we practise every day isthe real Hindutva .

PNS n HYDERABAD

In a decision to speed up the con-struction of the Regional RingRoad, the Telangana Governmenthas decided to allot funds in thenext budget 2021-22 towards landacquisition for the first phase of theRRR.

The 158-km first phase willconnect Sanga Reddy, Narsapur,Toopran, Gajwel and Chotuppal.

The 340 km Regional RingRoad to come up around the twincities, about 40 km away from theexisting Outer Ring Road in twophases will be a major infrastruc-ture project that will give a boostto the development of IT andindustrial sectors proposed by theState Government.

India calls in UKenvoy for ‘grossinterference’ PNS n NEW DELHI

India called in the BritishHigh Commissioner today toexpress its disapproval ofthe discussions on farmers'protest and press freedom inthe British parliament, call-ing it "gross interference"and "votebank politics". Thisis the first time the govern-ment of another nation hasofficially conducted internaldiscussions on the protests,which have been continuingfor more than 100 days.

The 90-minute debate washeld on Monday, duringwhich several MPs of theLabour party, Liberaldemocrats and the ScottishNational Party raised con-cern over the Indian govern-ment 's reaction to theprotests.

ANUSHA PUPPALAn HYDERABAD

Schools in Hyderabad are demand-ing the full fees, while mentioningonly the ‘tuition fees’ in the receipt,many parents are complaining.

The Telangana StateGovernment had on April 21, 2020issued GO 46, instructing schoolsto collect only tuition fees until fur-ther orders. However, the schoolshave seemingly ‘forgotten’ the factthat there is an elected Governmentin place which has issued preciseorders, parents say.

As per GO MS 46, all privateunaided recognised schools in theState, which are affiliated to State

Board, CBSE, ICSE and otherinternational boards, have beeninstructed not to increase any feesduring academic year 2020-21 andwere asked to only charge tuitionfees on monthly basis till furtherorders. Mr Sandeep Kumar Dutta,a parent from Hyderabad, said, "St

Ann’s School has started onlineclasses like all other schools. Theteachers said that assigned projectsand notes should be submitted bythe student accompanied by oneparent. I visited St Ann’s School tosubmit the project work of mydaughter as asked by her schoolteacher. While submitting the proj-ect, the teacher reminded me to paythe fees stating it was due.”

He continued: “I went to the feecounter where it was mentionedthat they will charge 1 percent extraon debit cards. There were no otherdetails on the fee receipt, exceptmention of the tuition fees.

PNS n HYDERABAD

Alekhya Harika popularly knownas Dettadi Harika, who wasappointed on Monday as brandambassador for the TelanganaTourism Department received ajolt as her name was deletedfrom the concerned website thenext day. Sources revealed that herappointment has no pre-approvalfrom the Chief Minister's Office.

Telangana TourismDevelopment CorporationTSTDC chairman UppalaSrinivas Gupta issued ordersappointing her as the brandambassador for Telanganatourism. She shocked to see themissing of her name from the offi-cial website the very next day.

PNS n NEW DELHI

A total of 3,17,439 cyber crimes and5,771 FIRs were registered onlinethrough a centralised portal in the last18 months -- a sizeable number ofthem in Maharashtra and Karnataka,the LS was informed on Tuesday.Union MoS for Home G Kishan

Reddy said the Ministry of HomeAffairs operationalised the NationalCyber Crime Reporting Portal onAugust 30, 2019 to provide a cen-tralised mechanism to the citizens foronline reporting of all types of cybercrime incidents.

“As per the data maintained, sinceits inception 3,17,439 cyber crime

incidents and 5,771 FIRs have beenregistered up to February 28, 2021 inthe country which includes, 21,562cyber crime incidents and 87 FIRs inKarnataka and 50,806 cyber crimeincidents and 534 FIRs inMaharashtra," he said in a writtenreply to a question.

Hyd schools loot, Govt mute

TRS looks to findrefuge in ‘Jai Hanuman’

TS to earmark fundsfor RRR in budget

Tourism deptgives a shock toDethadi Harika

ML MELLY MAITREYI n HYDERABAD

Holi has come early for StateGovernment employees inTelangana, if leaders of variousemployees associations are to bebelieved.

These leaders had met ChiefMinister K. Chandrasekhar Raowho reportedly assured him that hewas amenable to their demands of29 percent fitment under PRCand enhancement of retirement agefrom 58 years to 61 years fromMarch itself.

The Chief Minister’s assurancescome amidst reports that theemployees were getting increasing-ly fidgety over the Governmentputting off a decision on theirdemands. As expected, the newsbrought a sea change in the mood

of the government employees.The jubilant leaders of TNGOs,

TGOs, PRTU and JAC of employ-ees associations said that the PRCarrears will be paid with effect fromJuly 1, 2018 while the salary with29 percent fitment will be paid

from April 1 this year. A formalannouncement has not been madeby the government in view of theElection Code being in force, lead-ers of the employees' associationsclaimed.

Almost all pending demands ofthe employees, including repatria-tion of about 750 Telanganaemployees, including 250 NGOsworking in Andhra Pradesh, havebeen conceded. These employeeswould be adjusted in variousdepartments and if required, super-numerary posts would be created,according to TNGOs AssociationPresident Rajender.

The decision to implement 29percent fitment to employees willcost the exchequer about Rs 10,600crore.

CM assures 29% fitment,retirement age hike to 61 yrs

MLC POLLS

Its back to the wall, it isprestige at stake for TRS

Budget sessionfrom March 15PNS n HYDERABAD

Telangana GovernorTamilisai Soundararajanhas summoned theTelangana Legislature-Legislative Assembly andLegislative Council- to meetfor its 17th session at 11 amon March 15.

3.17 lakh cyber crimes in just 18 months

PNS n HYDERABAD

A tribal woman, who was setablaze by a man in Medak districton Monday, succumbed at a hos-pital in Hyderabad on Tuesday,police said.

The victim identified as SakriBai, 42, who had sustained 80 percent burns, died at government-run Osmania General Hospital on

Tuesday.In a shocking incident on

International Women's Day, aman who owed her moneyallegedly poured petrol on her andset her ablaze.

The incident happened inGadipeddapur village in Alladurgmandal of Medak district.

Tribal woman burnt aliveby debtor in Medak PNS n NEW DELHI

More than 10,000 companies haveclosed down voluntarily in Indiabetween April 2020 and February2021, a period when the Covid-19pandemic and ensuing lockdownssubstantially disrupted economicactivities.

As many as 10,113 companieswere crossed-out under Section 248(2) of the Companies Act, 2013, inthe current financial year till

February, according to the latestdata available with the Ministry ofCorporate Affairs (MoCA). “Atotal of 10,113 companies during

the year 2020-21 (from the monthof April 2020 to February 2021)have been struck off under Section248 (2) of the Act. MCA has notrun any drive to strike off compa-nies suo motu during 2020-21,"Union Minister of State forCorporate Affairs Anurag Thakurtold the Lok Sabha in a writtenreply on Monday, in response to aquery on state-wise data aroundregistered companies that havegone out of business during FY

2020-21. Overall, 2,394 companieswere struck off in Delhi, followedclosely by Uttar Pradesh at 1,936.As many as 1,322 companies wereshut down in Tamil Nadu while thisnumber stood at 1,279 inMaharashtra. Karnataka saw shut-ting down of 836 companies, whileit was 501 in Chandigarh, 479 inRajasthan, 404 in Telangana, 307 inKerala, 137 in Jharkhand, 111 inMadhya Pradesh, and 104 in Bihar,the data showed.

Over 10,000 firms shut with Covid effect: Govt

STOP THEBACK DOOR BAILOUT OF

BANKS

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}KNOW THE STORY

TO ENJOY THEFILM: ANIL ON

GAALI SAMPATH{Page 11

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hyderabad 02HYDERABAD | WEDNESDAY | MARCH 10, 2021

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(IN HYDERABAD)

With an unprece-dented numberof results in the

recently-concluded grampanchayat elections inAndhra Pradesh being‘unanimous’, the ques-tion that pops into one’smind is what purpose suchoutcomes serve, in the contextof democracy itself.

The fact also begets the ques-tion whether ‘unanimous’ elec-tions result in development?

Ideally, if a candidate is elect-ed unopposed due to lack ofpolitical opponents, it shouldmean that the candidate is sopopular that he or she has thebacking of every stakeholder. Itcould also mean that there is noopponent willing to match hisor her money power or musclepower.

In either case, instances ofunanimous elections, if gen-uine, would be few and farbetween, and certainly not tothe extent witnessed in AP in

the recently-conclud-ed polls.

If one factors in thecomplaints of ‘forcedwithdrawal’ of nomina-

tion papers, asallegedly resorted to by the

ruling YSR Congress Partyas part of its show of strength,the murmurs of dismay anddiscontent should be takenseriously in the interest ofdemocracy, or else the outcomemay have a long-lasting impacton electoral politics in thefuture.

It is important that theGovernment takes note of whatmessage such unanimous elec-tions send to the general pub-lic, particularly to the rest of thecountry. It also has to consid-er whether such results reallyboost the image of the rulingparty?

Candidates backed by theTDP from across the Statecomplained of being forced towithdraw their nominations, so

much so that even Leader of theOpposition N ChandrababuNaidu spoke about it publicly.

It may be mentioned here ofthe 89 gram panchayats inKuppam Assembly constituen-cy represented by Naidu, 74were won by candidates backedby YSRCP.

For the first time in threedecades, Naidu had to tastedefeat in his home turf; thedevelopment threatening thevery existence of his influence.It forced Naidu to spend three

days in the segment, a far cryfrom earlier when he did noteven visit the constituency tofile his own nomination papers.

It was clear that the YSRCPtreated Kuppam as a matter ofprestige and went all out tohumiliate Naidu, thereby weak-ening him ahead of the nextAssembly elections.

Any unanimous electionmust be acceptable to all stake-holders, but here, TDP backedcandidates alleged fraud, claim-ing that they were ‘duped’ by

election authorities whodeclared their withdrawal,without their consent. Somealso alleged that their signatureswere forged on withdrawalforms!

Extremely serious allega-tions indeed that must beprobed thoroughly by author-ities concerned.

In fact, the number of “unan-

imous” results have continuedin the ensuing ULB polls, withsome surprising outcomes —all the 31 municipal wards ofPunganur town in Chittoordistrict have been declaredunanimously elected. What isalso significant is that this hap-pened in the home district ofNaidu.

Punganur is represented byPeddireddi RamachandraReddy, a senior minister in theYS Jaganmohan ReddyCabinet. Peddireddi has been astaunch opponent of Naidu inthe district since three decadesand is considered No 2 in theJaganmohan Reddy Cabinet.

The Punganur results begetthe questions — why werecandidates of the principalopposition party, the TDP, notin the fray? What was the rea-son for them to withdraw theirnominations? Was there anyinstance of forced withdrawal?How can an arch rival of apolitical party withdraw his or

her nomination without con-sulting his own party leaders?Do the unanimous elections ofPunganur reflect true democ-ratic spirit?

If indeed Peddireddi’s influ-ence pervades all of Punganurto this extent, then one cansafely assume that he will beelected to the Assembly in2024 unopposed since no onewould contest against him.

The fact is that AP is notunfamiliar with leaders forcingtheir rivals to stay away fromelectoral fray.

Tadipatri municipality offaction-ridden Anantapur dis-trict witnessed such situationsa quarter of a century ago.

JC Prabhakar Reddy hadopted out of the municipalpolls “influenced by formerminister Paritala Ravindra. JCDiwakar Reddy, ParitalaRavindra’s rival in factionalpolitics and brother ofPrabhakar Reddy, considered tobe an expert in handling faction

politics, couldn't do a thingabout it.

The JC brothers had to swal-low this political humiliation atthe hands of a highly influen-tial political rival in the mid-1990s.

Coming back to the point,ultimately, unanimous elec-tions to local bodies may turnout to be disastrous for futurepolitical activities.

As people resort to unlawfulactivities to make easy money,‘political professionals’ too mayfollow suit to get the desiredresults, brushing aside the criesof anguish and objections oftheir rivals.

Also, unanimous electionswould demoralise the elec-torate, and ultimately threatenthe very concept of democra-cy that this country has helddear since Independence.

Unanimous elections, if gen-uinely amicable, are welcome insome cases, but if forced, mustbe opposed tooth and nail.

M D RATNA KUMAR

Senior Journalist

If indeed Peddireddi’s influencepervades all of Punganur to thisextent, then one can safely assumethat he will be elected to theAssembly in 2024 unopposed since noone would contest against him. Thefact is that AP is not unfamiliar withleaders forcing their rivals to stayaway from electoral fray

PIN

POINT

Concept of ‘unanimous elections’ threatens democracy

ML MELLY MAITREYI

n HYDERABAD

As the election date for the twoMLC seats from the GraduateConstituency is approachingfast, ruling and oppositionparties are doing their best todeflect the simmering discon-tent among general public,party cadre and employeesagainst one another.

In the process, the complex-ion of the political game ischanging every day with theruling TRS and the oppositionCongress and BJP firing salvosagainst each other. The votersfor their part seem to be eval-uating the arguments fromboth sides. It should be inter-esting to see in this campaigndominated by political parties,what will be the chance ofIndependent candidates likeProf.K.Nageshwar, who madea mark earlier as an MLC in hisearlier terms to question poli-cies and decisions that did notbenefit people or the targetgroups.

Notwithstanding the confi-dence exuded by every politi-

cal party, the ongoing electioncampaign has brought theweaknesses in each party andgovernance at the State andCentre into sharp focus.

For the first time, TRS in anopen forum has seen a womanleader Aruna venting her frus-tration on InternationalWomen's day that the party hasnot given due recognition tothe ordinary and loyal partyworkers.

But to the credit ofTelangana Rashtra Samithi, itsleaders succeeded in conveyingto graduate voters that theState government had beenstriving to fulfil its electionmanifesto promises thoughthe BJP government at theCentre had been discriminato-ry towards Telangana in sanc-tioning projects promisedunder the State ReorganisationAct, giving President's clear-ance to Zonal reorganisationBill following reorganisation ofdistricts in the State to take updistrict cadre recruitment inthe government sector.

They justified their chargeswith examples of shelved IT

Investment Region, Centre'sfailure to set up BayyaramSteel Plant and Kazipet Railwaycoach factory or sanctioningnavodaya schools, medicalcolleges and other education-al institutions. The rising pricesof gas, petrol and diesel toocame handy to the ruling partyin the State when the currentprices of crude oil were lessthan that of during the UPAregime.

On Monday, Union Ministerof Petroleum and Natural GasDharmendra Pradhan gave a

'matter of fact' written reply tothe MPs from Telangana thatthe prices of petrol and dieselhave been made market deter-mined by the government fromOctober, 2010 and October,2014 respectively. Thus thethen UPA and the subsequentNDA governments were equal-ly responsible for the decision.

"Since then the public sectoroil marketing companies havebeen taking appropriate deci-sion on the pricing of petroland diesel and (now LPG gas)in line with their internation-al product prices, exchangerate, tax structure, inlandfreight and other cost", was theresponse in the Parliament.

There was no assurance thatthe Centre would review itsexcise tax as apparently it couldnot forego any revenue fromtax on fuel given the hit theeconomy had taken and short-fall in revenue for major partof 2020-21 financial year due toCovid-10 pandemic.

The State too is not in a posi-tion to reduce the VAT onpetroleum products given itsown financial constraints. The

VAT on fuel yields considerablerevenue for the cash strappedState which had seen a revenueshortfall of about Rs.50,000crore so far this fiscal.

As the political parties haverun out of ammunition toraise more issues affecting peo-ple's lives, there are concernsfrom some quarters that com-munal tensions may be rakedup to divert people's attentionfrom real issues following aflare up in Bhainsa in Adilabaddue to clash between membersof two communities. The Statepolice swiftly brought the sit-uation under control and putin measures to stop furtherprovocation from any politicalparty.

The BJP's latest allegationhowever is that the TRS hasbeen giving veiled warnings toemployees and other categoriesof voters that they alone wouldbe in power for three moreyears and that they better votefor the ruling party candidatesif they wanted their griev-ances to be addressed soon.

The election seems interest-ingly poised at this stage!

Political tussle intensifies in TS

Continued from Page 1

The hasty decision of TSTDCchairman dashed her hopesto become a brand ambas-sador.

It is reported that SrinivasGupta appointed Harikawithout prior approval fromTourism Minister SrinivasGoud and CMO officials. Asa result, she has to face anembarrassing situation.When contacted the tourismofficials said it happenedbecause of a communica-tion gap. The CMO officials

are learnt to have admon-ished Srinivas Gupta for themess.

It may be mentioned herethat Harika became popularas a YouTuber also took partin the biggest reality show BigBoss season IV. Since shehailed from Telangana,Srinivas Gupta appointed heras an ambassador for thetourism corporation. Hername has been deleted fromthe website as he did notobtain the necessary prereq-uisite permissions to appointher as a brand ambassador.

Continued from Page 1

I requested to remove 1%and take my payment througha debit card but the staff at thefee counter said that therewould be no argument.”

The parent said that earli-er, receipts used to give abreak-up of the fee structure,but now, schools are not giv-ing the break-up.

Dutta said that when he

tried to meet the principal, hewas not allowed to, andCovid-19 was cited as thereason. “I wonder how theprincipal won’t meet the par-ents, but ask parents to sendtheir kids to school?” he said.“I even went and met DEOand complained about this. Ifthe schools are so scared ofCovid-19 they can take class-es online,” he said.

Chaitanya, another parent

said, "Despite paying the feestill June 2020, the schoolbarred my child from onlineclasses in September.Whenever she tried joining,she got a popup message say-ing that she has been removedfrom the online classes.”

Chaitanya said that thiswas because he had movedcourt against the school man-agement, seeking reduction offees. “What we demanded

from the school was to collectonly tuition fees. We made thedemand only after theGovernment issued GO MS46,” he said.

Chaitanya added: “Justbecause we demanded feereduction, the school manage-ment called us fake parents.After some discussions, mydaughter was out of theschool. When I asked for TCthey asked us to pay the full

fees and said that TC will notbe given unless we paid thefull fees. Schools are mintingmoney despite GO MS 46.”

Mr Kadapa Venkat Sainathfrom Hyderabad SchoolParents Association (HSPA)said, "From 2018, schoolshave clubbed the entire feesand call it “tuition fees”, aftersubmission of the ProfTirupati Rao Committeereport.”

Continued from Page 1

The results of these two elec-tions showed the decliningpolitical graph of TRS and theascendency of the BJP.

From its 99 wards, the TRSwas reduced to 55 and the BJPwalked away with the DubbakaAssembly seat. As expected, theimpact upon the TRS is visible.The TRS leadership has takenthe elections to the twoCouncil seats as a matter ofprestige and is going all-out towin. However, victory won’t bea cakewalk for the TRS. In boththe Hyderabad-Rangareddy-Mahabubnagar GraduatesConstituency and Warangal-K h a m m a m - N a l g o n d aGraduates constituencies, thetriangular contest is evincingmuch interest.

For the first seat, the TRS hasfielded Vani Devi, daughter oflate prime minister PVNarasimha Rao. She is upagainst N Ramachandra Rao,the sitting MLC from the BJPand former Minister GChinnareddy of the Congress.Former MLC K Nageswar is

also in the fray.The fact of the matter is that

the TRS has not won this seatin its last two attempts; KNageswar won as indepen-dent candidate followed byRamachandra Rao.

In the Warangal, Khammamand Nalgonda GraduatesConstituency, the main candi-dates are Palla Rajeswar Reddy,the sitting TRS MLC, formerMLC Ramulu Naik from theCongress and TJS president MKodandaram.

Educated unemployedyouth, who form a majorchunk of the voters, are angryat the ruling TRS; they feel theparty did precious little toaddress their problems.Congress and TJS candidatesare hoping that this disen-chantment will swing the vot-ers their way.

According to political ana-lysts, the race for theHyderabad-Rangareddy-Mahabubnagar GraduatesConstituency seat is tight; thecontest between Vani Deviand Ramachandra Rao tooclose to call.

Continued from Page 1

According to the police, thewoman, a widow, had gone tothe village to recover hermoney from him when heallegedly committed the crime.

The woman, a resident ofMalkapur in the same district,reportedly ran throughGadipeddapur village askingfor help before collapsing. Shewas found lying in the bush-es. Some locals shifted her togovernment hospital and from

there she was brought toHyderabad.

Police have arrested P. Sadat,a butcher, who allegedly set thewoman ablaze after an argu-ment. He was taken into cus-tody by Alladurg police andbooked for murder.

According to police, thewoman's husband was killed ina fight among family membersa few years ago and sincethen she was staying with herparents along with her twochildren.

Continued from Page 1

Village Revenue Officers whowere not allotted any workover the last few monthswould also be adjusted intheir parent department andthe probation of the JuniorPanchayat Secretaries will bereduced to two years from thepresent three years. However,a decision on this will be

announced after the Budgetsession, sources said.

The Chief Minister alsoagreed to extend the familypension scheme to those cov-ered under the ContributoryPension Scheme and one percent of basic pay will bededucted under theEmployees Health Scheme asrecommended by the PayRevision Commission to let

the employees avail medicaltreatment under any corporatehospital, it is learnt.

The employees’ associa-tions leaders who shared thedecisions with the employeessaid that the TRS govern-ment has once again demon-strated that it is pro-employ-ee government and theemployees will also back thegovernment in all respects.

Continued from Page 1

The minister said incidentsreported on this portal,their conversion into FIRsand subsequent actionthereon are handled by thestate and Union Territorylaw enforcement agencyconcerned as per the pro-visions of the law.

The MHA holds regularinteractions with the stateand UTs and advises themto expedite the disposal ofcyber cr ime incidentsreported with specia lemphasis on those relatingto women and children, hesaid.

Continued from Page 1

The Centre will bear theentire cost estimated atRs.17,000 cr while the costcomponent of land acquisi-tion will be shared equallyby the Central and StateGovernments. The RRRproposal took almost fiveyears to get the Centre'sapproval.

The State BJP leaders ledby Union Minister of Statefor Home G Kishan Reddymade a big announcementin the last week of Februarywhen the Union Minister

for Road Transport andHighways Nitin Gadkariapproved in principle forthe second phase of theRRR too.

Kishan Reddy who hadattended the meeting con-vened by Nitin Gadkari saidthat the 340-km Ring Roadto be taken up in two phas-es connecting about 20cities and towns around theState capital would bringspeedy development toTelangana.

Now the project wil lmove ahead as the UnionMinistry cleared the file

s ent by the StateGovernment seeking per-mission for land acquisitionfor the first phase (northernpart) of the RRR. TheCentre, it is learnt, has writ-ten to the State Governmentdirecting it to create a spe-cial agency to acquire therequired land.

It is estimated that about4,750 acres of land will haveto be acquired for thenorthern part of the RRRnotified by the Ministry as161 AA. It will cost aboutRs.4,000 cr as per the pre-liminary estimations.

The rising prices

of gas, petrol and

diesel too came

handy to the

ruling TRS in the

State when the

current prices of

crude oil were

less than that of

during the UPA

regime

Tribal woman burnt alive...CM assures 29% fitment,retirement age hike to 61 yrs

Tourism dept gives a shock to Dethadi Harika

TS to earmark funds for...

3.17 lakhcyber crimesin just 18months

Hyd schools loot, Govt mute... Back to the wall, it’s prestige at stake for...

PNS n HYDERABAD

TRS working president andMA&UD Minister K T RamaRao, continuing with his blister-ing attack against the BJP gov-ernment at the Centre for itsindifferent attitude towards theState, said on Tuesday thatdespite the lack of support fromthe Union government,Telangana had only emergedstronger and was one of themajor contributors for thenation's growth and develop-ment.

"The Union government hasnot even sanctioned educa-tional institutions promised tothe State under the AndhraPradesh Reorganisation Act inthe last six years," the Ministersaid, addressing a meetingorganised by Private Collegesand School Management andStaff Welfare Association here.

The TRS working presidentalso slammed the oppositionparties for levelling false allega-tions against the TRS govern-ment over filling vacant posts in

government departments, andpointed out that recruitmenthad already been completed for1.32 lakh government jobs. Hestated that notifications foranother 50,000 jobs will bereleased soon. "The Oppositionparties are criticising the TRSgovernment over governmentjob recruitments. But I wouldlike to remind them that only24,000 government jobs werefilled over 10 years during theCongress regime in erstwhileAndhra Pradesh, withTelangana getting just 10,000jobs during that period," he said.

Stating that Prime MinisterNarendra Modi had promisedtwo crore jobs per year acrossthe country, Rama Raodemanded of the BJP State

leaders to show where these 12crore jobs were created in thelast six years of BJP rule. "It istime for the Opposition partiesto stop baseless accusations asno government can providegovernment jobs to all theemployed," he said, andridiculed BJP State leaders'sclaims that the Centre wasfunding the State. "The BJPleaders should stop this 'giver-taker' business. They shouldremember that against Rs 2.72lakh crore contributed by theState to the Centre in the formof taxes, the Union governmenthad given only Rs 1.4 lakh croreto the State through devolutionof taxes. We are proud Indiansand are performing our duty bycontributing to the nation'sgrowth," he added. Respondingto opposition allegations thatschools were shut down andteachers were left to fend forthemselves, the Minister said theState government closed all theeducational institutions for thesafety of children and teachersfrom Covid-19 pandemic.

‘Despite lack of support fromCentre, TS emerged stronger’

HYDERABAD | WEDNESDAY | MARCH 10, 2021 hyderabad 03

The South Central Railway hascautioned job aspirants to be

alert about fraudsters dupingpeople with promises of jobs indifferent departments of railways.According to SCR, jobs in railwaysare offered only on passingexaminations which are conducted

by Indian Railways through its 21 Railway Recruitment Boards(RRB) located in various cities and Railway Recruitment Cells (RRC)operating under Zonal Railways after publicised notifications.The recruitment in Indian Railways is conducted in the most fair andtransparent manner as per rules and there is no way of gettingselected by any illegal means. The job aspirants were advised tovisit only official websites for any employment related informationand make application as per the procedure and not to trust fakewebsites or fraudsters.The aspirants of railway jobs were alsocautioned against approaching anyone who might lure with falsepromises in exchange for money.

Nehru ZoologicalPark, Hyderabad,

has been attractingseveral generousdonors, who are keenon adopting animalsand birds there. OnTuesday, A KrishnaMurthy, an 83-year-oldArmy veteran, hascome forward to adopta male AsiaticLion.Speaking on theoccasion, VVLSubhadra Devi, curator,

Nehru Zoological Park thanked Krishna Murthy for showing keeninterest in adopting the animal. The money will be spent on the foodand well-being of the animal. Expressing his commitment towardsconservation of wild animals, Krishna Murthy said that he hopedmany other citizens will extend a helping hand to the institution tokeep the animals healthy.

Army veteran adopts Asiatic Lion at Nehru Zoological Park

Athree-day onlineworkshop on

developing MassiveOpen Online Courses(MOOCs) for Urdumedium and Madarsateachers commenced atIMC, Maulana AzadNational Urdu University(MANUU), here on

Tuesday. The Centre for Professional Development of Urdu MediumTeachers (CPDUMT), MANUU, is conducting the workshop tillMarch 11. Inaugurating the workshop, MANUU in-charge Vice-Chancellor Prof. SM Rahmatullah said nowadays emphasis wasbeing laid on interdisciplinary education and it was being developedrapidly through MOOCs. Teachers of Urdu medium and Madarsaschools should also make use of it, he added. MANUU in-chargeregistrar Prof. Siddiqui Mohd Mahmood explained that MOOCs hasan international reach that can benefit both teachers and students.CPDUMT director Prof. Mohammed Abdul Sami Siddiqui said morethan 700 teachers were participating online in the workshop.

Over 700 teachers take part in online workshop on MOOCs

CITY LIGHTS

Telangana State PublicService Commission

(TSPSC) has provisionallypicked up 12 PH candidates forcertificate verification forrecruitment to the posts ofSchool Assistant-Hindi in theSchool Education department.Candidates were selected onthe basis of OMR/CBRTexaminations held fromFebruary 24, 2018 to March 4,

2018. Verification of certificates would be done at TSPSC's Officehere on March 15 from 10.30 am, the Commission said on Tuesday.For result notification and verification material details, visit theCommission's website www.tspsc.gov.in.

Police nab 3 for hunting, sellingwild animals; rescue blackbuck

PNS n HYDERABAD

Health authorities in Telanganacrossed a psychological mile-stone in the fight againstCovid-19 with the number oftests surpassing the 90-lakhmark on Tuesday.

With 32,189 tests conduct-ed during the last 24 hours, thecumulative number mountedto 90,16,741. It has been near-ly a year since government lab-oratories in the state startedconducting tests.

It was on the direction ofTelangana High Court in Maylast year that the governmentpermitted private laboratoriesto conduct the tests. Currently20 government and 60 privatelaboratories are conductingRT-PCR/CBNAAT/TRUE-NAT tests while there are 1076centres for Rapid Antigen test-ing. The labs are conducting35,000-40,000 tests a day.However, the health depart-ment has not been giving thebreak-up of nature of tests.Majority of the tests arebelieved to be Rapid Antigentests.

Telangana's figure for sam-ples tested per million popu-lation now stands at 2,42,255.

Officials say the daily testingtarget for the state is 5,600 asper the WHO benchmark of140 tests per million per day.

During the last 24 hours,29,759 samples were tests ingovernment labs and remain-ing 2,430 in private labs.

Meanwhile, the state report-ed 142 new cases, pushing thecumulative tally to 3,00,153.

Two more succumbed to thevirus during the last 24 hourstaking the death toll to 1,644.

The fatality rate remained0.54 per cent against thenational average of 1.4 percent. While 44.96 per cent ofthe deaths occurred due toCovid, 55.04 per cent hadcomorbidities.

According to the dailymedia bulletin released by thehealth department,

Greater Hyderabad sawmaximum number of cases at31 followed by Rangareddy(12) and Medchal Malkajgiri(10). Four districts reported nocases while in the remaining 26districts the daily count was insingle digit. A total of 178 peo-ple recovered during the last 24hours, taking the cumulativerecoveries to 2,96,740. Therecovery rate improved to 98.86per cent against the nationalaverage of 96.9 per cent.

The total number of activecases now dropped to 1,769including 633 who were inhome/institutional isolation.

STATE CROSSES 90L-TESTS MARK

Telangana crosses psychologicalmilestone in fight against Covid

THE GLOW

The warm glow of the lights juxtaposed with the historic MJ Market is making many head to the place which previously used to see very

few people after sun down. The colourful and attractive lighting ismesmerising the crowds and has turned into a visual delight.

PNS n HYDERABAD

On the occasion of NoSmoking Day, doctors, cancervictims and restaurateursurged the Indian govern-ment to remove designatedsmoking rooms athotels/restaurants and air-ports to protect people fromsecond-hand smoke.

While appreciating thegovernment for initiating theprocess to amend COTPA2003, they appealed forimmediate removal of thecurrent provision that per-mits smoking areas to makeIndia 100 per cent smoke freeand check the spread ofCovid-19 infection in India.

In India, smoking isbanned in all public places asper the Cigarettes and OtherTobacco Products(Prohibit ion of

Advert isement andRegulation of Trade and

Commerce Product ion,Supply and Distribution) Act

COTPA 2003. Section 4 ofthis Act prohibits smoking inany place to which the pub-lic has access. However,COTPA 2003, present lyallows smoking in certainpublic places like restaurants,hotels, and airports, in des-ignated smoking areas.

Dr Pankaj Chaturvedi,Head Neck Cancer Surgeon,Tata Memorial Hospital, says,"There is growing evidencethat smoking is a risk forCovid infection. Smokingworsens lung function andreduces immunity. Smokerswho develop Covid infec-tion have more complica-tions and greater risk of fatal-ity. All designated smokingareas in hotels and restau-rants and even airportsshould be abolished to ensurea 100 per cent smoke freeenvironment."

PNS n HYDERABAD

The luxury residential rentalmarket, which has been slug-gish over the past few yearsand suffered a further setbackdue to Covid and the conse-quent lockdown, seems to befast staging a comeback, par-ticularly in the city.

Rentals of luxury homes inthe vicinity of Hyderabad's ITcorridor have gone up after theCoronavirus pandemic, butthe rentals for the medium tolarge houses see a drasticdownfall. A survey revealsthat taking advantage of theCoronavirus situation majorIT companies have made abeeline to book luxury homesfor their employees inHyderabad. As a result, therentals of luxury homes havegone high, the report said.

The Covid pandemic hasdevastated the world nations.Significantly, the routinelifestyle of an employee espe-cially working in IT, BPO,KPO was changing. Due toCovid, which spreads throughclose contact, managements inthe IT field have given theiremployees work from home.

Till the outbreak of Covid,they worked from 9 am to 5.30in the evenings at the officewithout any distractions. Butdoing work from home has nospecific time for them to do,they have to do and submit theassigned work in some timeirrespective of the time countin a day.To manage this stresslevel, Hyderabad techieemployees, team leaders,CEO's are shifting to luxurioushomes in the well-known ITcorridors of Hyderabad,Madhapur, Hitech City,Gachibowli and some otherprominent places which havethe facility of health, educationand other infrastructure.

Due to this, there is anabnormal increase in therentals of luxurious homes inthe city.

‘Remove smoking rooms at hotels, airports’

PNS n HYDERABAD

Techies working in the ITand ITES sectors will play akey role in the ensuing MLCelections to two graduatesconstituencies.

Of the 6 lakh IT workforcein the state, 40 per cent hailfrom Telangana. These techieshave registered themselves aselectors for the upcominggraduates' constituency MLCelections. According to thestate government's count, thenumber of individuals work-ing in IT and ITES stood at5,82,126 as of March 31, 2020.The number is expected toreach 6 lakh this year. He saidthat of this workforce 40 percent hail from Telangana andplay a crucial role in the elec-tion of the new MLCs.

TITA Global PresidentSundeep Kumar Makthalaappealed said that techiesworking from home duringthe lockdown have registeredthemselves as voters in thegraduates' voter list.

The 'work from home'option has come as an oppor-tunity for the techies who cannow easily vote in the MLCpolls as most of them are nowbased in their home towns,Sundeep Makthala said.

Earlier, most techies failed totake part in voting due to theirwork based in Hyderabad butnow the situation is quite dif-ferent and techies will play cru-cial role in this election. Thesaid electors are keeping aclose watch on the election-eering for the two seats that willgo to the polls on March 14.

TITA Global PresidentSundeep Kumar Makthalaappealed to the techies to casttheir votes in large numbers inthe MLC elections slated to beheld on March 14 andstrengthen the democraticprocess. He also appealed thevictorious individuals in MLCelections should resolve theissues of techies after theirelection.

Sundeep Makthala said thathaving registered as voters inlarge numbers, techies now gota chance to have their say inthe election of MLCs. Heappealed to techies to usetheir franchise and be part ofstrengthening democracy. Hesaid that those working in theIT sector also have manyissues to be addressed andappealed to the MLC candi-dates in the poll fray to raisetheir issues once they win theelection in the Upper House(Council).

MLC polls: Techies get achance to have their say

Conman usesSonu Sood’sname to cheatpeople in HydPNS n HYDERABAD

With the proliferation of IT-enabled services, the novelmodus operandi for cheatinggullible victims is coming tolight regularly.

According to the police,the victim had come to knowthat Sood is helping poorpeople and searched forinformation on Google andcame across a Sood corpora-tion helping the poor.

The victim contacted aperson, Baliram, from thelisted mobile numbers andrequested financial help of Rs10,000. The victim shared hisAadhar card and bank acco-unt details with the fraudsterswho told him that Sood hadagreed to provide Rs 50,000.

They asked the victim topay registration fee of Rs8,300, which he did. Thefraudsters went on milkingthe victim for further moneyby claiming that the financialaid is being further raised toRs 3,60,000. Ultimately by thetime he had shelled out a totalof Rs 60,000, the victimrealised that he was beingcheated, and approached thepolice to file a complaint.

PNS n HYDERABAD

The state government hasdrawn up a plan with Rs 200crores to interlink a chain of

37 tanks in Balapur mandalof Maheswaram Assembly con-stituency to execute flood flowcanals and storm water drainsto discharge excess water fromthe tanks into

River Musi. A part of thefunds would also be used forbeautification of the tankbunds to attract tourism. Thewhole purpose of the plan is tosave the people of theHyderabad city from the floodthreat.

Moreover, a trunk line willbe built at a cost of Rs 23 croreto prevent sewage from enter-ing the residential colonies inthe vicinity of these tanks.The trunk line transports sewerto the Saroornagar tank andthe Sewerage Treatment Plant(STP) at Saroornagar to puri-fy the water. The treated waterwould be let into Musi by dig-ging a canal via LB Nagar andNagole.

The state governmentembarked on the plan as a per-manent measure to ensure thatthe last year's harrowing floodsituation should not recur infuture and to save the people ofthe region from the threat offlood water inundating theresidential areas. During theunited AP regime, feeder chan-nels of 37 inter-linking tanks ofBalapur mandal in Rangareddydistrict got vanished over aperiod of time replacing thou-sands of residential colonies

mushroomed in the area. During the rainy season,

the tanks receive flood waterup to full-level and there wereinstances of overflowing ofwater from the banks. Theflood water is inundating thehomes as the flood water hasnot been channelised.

The city recorded 32 cm, thesecond highest amount of rain-fall in the history, on October14 last year. The Burankhantank in Balapur region over-flowed and the flood water

reached Pedda Tank in Balapurcausing heavy floods. Theflood water entered into theresidential areas in the vicini-ty. Similarly, Mantrala Tankand Sanda Tank received heavyfloods inundating manyhomes in LB Nagar area. TheOld City areas got inundated.The plan envisages preventionof encroachment of tanks inBalapur, creation of lung spaceamidst concrete junglethrough beautification pro-jects, strengthening the tankbunds, development of green-ery on the bunds, laying ofwalking tack and establish-ment of water fountains togroom the tank bunds as atourist attraction.

Education Minister SabitaIndra Reddy has said thatChief Minister KChandrasekhar Rao agreed torelease Rs 200 cr to implementpermanent measures to savepeople from floods. FinanceMinister Harish Rao said thatthe Chief Minister askedMunicipal Administration

Minister KT Rama Rao to

ensure completion of theseworks ruling out any scope forshortage of funds. A survey bya consultancy firm NCPE hasbeen completed on the worksto be executed and proposalshave been kept ready.

Sabita Indra Reddyinformed that she had seenhow people of twin cities suf-fered last year with floods. TheCM has agreed to give Rs 200cr to implement works onpermanent basis to preventflood threat. She thanked theChief Minister for his consentto release the funds. She alsothanked ministers KTR andHarish Rao for using theirgood offices in convincing theChief Minister to release funds.The plan also envisages build-ing flood canals to saveNadargul, Turkayamjal andHayat Nagar areas from floods.

The plan has been envisagedto inter-link 37 tanks inBalapur region and build thelongest flood canal to dis-charge the flood water fromthese tanks into Musi via LBNagar and Nagole.

TS envisages Rs 200-crore planto prevent floods in Hyderabad PNS n HYDERABAD

The sleuths of Commissioner'sTask Force, South Zone team,Hyderabad along with ForestDepartment officials appre-hended three accused forallegedly indulging in huntingof wild animals. They used tohunt deer and sold deer meatto needy customers, the policeofficials said.

A police team along withforest department officialsapprehended the trio and res-cued the blackbuck and alsorecovered butchered parts ofanother deer on Tuesday.

The prime accused identi-fied as Chavan Shanker Babaa farmer by profession is anative of Chata village, KubeerMandal, Nirmal District inTelangana. Dissatisfied withhis earnings from agriculture,he decided to earn easy moneyby hunting deer and otherwild animals.

He came in contact withMohammad Zubair, a resi-dent of Nizambad who ismediator in sale and purchaseof deer meat and live deer.

Subsequently, MohammadZubair came in contact withhis friend Salmanuddin where-

in Salman shared about hisfriend's interest in eating deermeat and offered to providedeer meat. As per the require-ment of Salman, Mohd Zubaircontacted Chavan Shaker Babato arrange a deer. Accordingly,Chavan Shaker undertook theillegal hunting of two deer andkept in his possession andinformed to Mohd Zubair.Subsequently, Zubair informedSalmanuddin about availabil-ity of deer.

After receiving the infor-mation, Salmanuddin metZubair and Shanker and pur-chased live deer for an amountof Rs 15,000. Later, all the threeaccused went to Nirmal districtand met with Chavan Shanker

Baba and collected live deer forRs. 7,000 and butchered partsof the animal. Some of themeat was sold to Imran fromBhodan. Based on prelimi-nary enquiry, it has to come tonotice of Hyderabad city policethat Chavan Shanker Babaand Mohd Zubair committedsame offence more than 10times.

The South Zone Task Force,Hyderabad along with ForestDepartment officials caughtthree of them and recovered adeer, parts of another deer, acar and 3 mobile phones.

The apprehended accusedand seized objects handedover to Forest DepartmentPolice for taking further action.

Luxury rental market scripts a turnaround

TSPSC: Certificate verification of PH candidates on March 15

SCR cautions aspirants to be alert about fake job promises

HYDERABAD | WEDNESDAY | MARCH 10, 2021 hyderabad 04

PNS n HYDERABAD

TPCC President N UttamKumar Reddy on Tuesdayannounced that he would raisethe issue of advocates’ murderin the ongoing session ofParliament.

Addressing a dharna ofadvocates at Dharna Chowk inIndira Park, Uttam KumarReddy condemned ChiefMinister K ChandrasekharRao for not responding to thedemand for probe throughthe Central Bureau ofInvestigation (CBI) into thebrutal murder of advocatesVaman Rao and his wifeNagamani in Peddapalli onFebruary 17. He said KCR hasturned so insensitive that hedid not condemn the murderof advocates. Since the accusedin the murder case are report-edly close to the ChiefMinister, the local police werenot investigating reasonably.

He reiterated the allega-tions that the murders was theresult of a conspiracy hatchedby the TRS-backed sand mafiaand these murders were direct-ly linked to the custodial deathof Seelam Rangaiah, a Dalit, inManthani police station ofRamagundam PoliceCommissionerate.

He said Vaman Rao andNagamani were eliminated tohush up many other illegalactivities being carried outwith the backing of rulingparty leaders. He said that theKCR government has handedover the control of the entireTelangana to the 'sand, land,mine and wines' mafia.

The TPCC chief said thatthe Congress has already metGovernor Tamilisai

Soundarajan seeking a court-monitored CBI probe into themurders. He said he wouldraise the issue in the ongoingsession of Parliament.Furthermore, he assured theadvocates that he would takeup their demands for imple-mentation of the AdvocatesProtection Act, Review ofCrPC 41, payment of stipendto junior advocates. He said asthe President of TPCC andMember of Parliament, hewould fight for the advocates'cause both inside and outsideParliament at the national

level.He appealed to the advo-

cates to vote in favour ofCongress candidates G ChinnaReddy (Hyderabad-Rangareddy- Mahbubnagar)and Sabavath Ramulu Naik(Warangal -Khammam-Nalgonda) in the MLC elec-tions for Graduates constituen-cies. He said all advocatesmust defeat the TRS and BJPin the MLC elections to teacha fitting lesson to both the rul-ing parties.

He slammed BJP for nottaking up the issue of advo-

cates’ murder at the nationallevel although Union Ministerof State for Home AffairsKishan Reddy belongs toTelangana. He said ifTelangana BJP leaders weregenuinely against the TRS,then they should convincetheir government at the Centreto order a CBI probe into thedouble murder. He said boththe BJP and TRS leaders werelevelling allegations againsteach other to divert people'sattention from real issues andhide their failures.

He said that the Congresswould intensify the agitation ifthe TRS government inTelangana and BJP govern-ment at the Centre refuse toorder a CBI investigation intothe case and ensure the protec-tion of other advocates.Congress MLC candidate GChinna Reddy, TPCC LegalCell chairman DamodarReddy and other leaders werealso present.

Uttam to raise advocates’ murder in LS

PNS n KARIMNAGAR

A new trend is sweeping acrossthe State with the youth, Swaeronetwork members and others,taking up a month-long ‘Bheemdeeksha’ from March 15 toApril 14 to commemorate thebirth anniversary of Father ofIndian Constitution Dr BRAmbedkar.

This is a unique ‘deeksha’wherein the Dalit youth andSwaero network, the alumni ofthe Telangana Social WelfareResidential EducationalInstitutions Society (TSWREIS),and others participate in themonth-long deeksha’ of observ-ing discipline and leading thepath shown by Gautam Buddha.

The month long ‘deeksha’begins from March 15, which isthe birth anniversary of KanshiRam, founder of BSP and socialreformer, and concludes onApril 14, on the birth anniver-sary of Dr BR Ambedkar.

As a prelude to the deeksha,Dalit organisations and othershave started releasing posters

educating the people about theimportance of ‘Bheem deeksha’.

The people observing ‘Bheemdeeksha’ would accord priorityfor reading books and history ofeminent social reformers suchas Gautama Buddha, Chatrapati

Shivaji Maharaj, Santhu Ravidas,Jyothibha Phule, SavithribhaiPhule, Samrat Ashok, PeriyarRamaswamy, Komaram Bheem,BR Ambedkar, Kanshi Ramand others.

The Swaeroes, who observe

deeksha, would follow strictrules like avoiding non-vegetar-ian food, quit smoking, chewingtobacco and consumption ofliquor. Some of the Swaeroeswould follow deeksha, alongwith their family members, too.

Bheem Army state chief sec-retary Vasala Srinivas Swaerosaid that the ‘Bheem deeksha’would be formally launched bySwaero founder and TSWREISsecretary and additional DGPRS Praveen Kumar at ‘DhuliKatta’, the ancient and promi-nent Buddhist site in Eligaidmandal of Peddapalli district onMarch 15.

‘Bheem deeksha’ to be observed from Mar 15

A poster on 'Bheem deeskha' being released at a programme in Karimnagar

This is a unique ‘deeksha’ wherein theDalit youth and Swaero network, thealumni of the Telangana Social WelfareResidential Educational InstitutionsSociety and others participate in thedeeksha’ of observing discipline andleading the path shown by the Buddha

Battlelines drawn forGraduate MLC polls

TPCC chief N Uttam Kumar Reddy addressing a dharna of advocates at Dharna Chowk in Indira Park on Tuesday

Uttam Kumar Reddy condemned ChiefMinister KCR for not responding to thedemand for a probe through Central Bureauof Investigation (CBI) into the brutal murderof advocates Vaman Rao and his wifeNagamani in Peddapalli on February 17

PNS n HYDERABAD

The situation in Bhainsatown rocked by communalviolence was peaceful onTuesday while prohibitoryorders and suspension ofinternet services continued tobe in force, according topolice.

There was no problem inthe supply of essentials,including water and milk,and suspension of the inter-net could be lifted on Tuesdaynight, a policeman said.Prohibitory orders wereenforced under Section 144of CrPC after the Sundaynight violence were also like-ly to be reviewed on Tuesday,he said.

In all, 40 had been takeninto custody for questioningand more suspects would begrilled in connection with theincident that left nine people,including three police per-sonnel and two journalists,injured. Two houses and sev-eral vehicles were set ablazeby miscreants during the vio-lence that broke out after analtercation between youths ofdifferent communities over amotorcycle accident.

Union Home MinisterAmit Shah on Monday spoketo Union Minister of State forHome Affairs G KishanReddy and enquired aboutthe incident and the prevail-ing situation in Bhainsa,which had witnessed com-munal clashes in January andMay 2020 that left severalpeople, including police per-sonnel injured.

Situation in Bhainsapeaceful

PNS n HYDERABAD

The campaigning for the March14 poll to the two Graduates'constituencies almost resemblesthat of an Assembly electionwith the three major parties --ruling TRS, opposition BJPand Congress -- making adetermined bid to win.

Having suffered unexpectedlosses in the bypoll to DubbakAssembly constituency and theGHMC polls, the TRS is keenon securing the two seatsKhammam- Nalgonda-Warangal and Hyderabad-Rangareddy-MahabubnagarGraduates' constituencies.

In a surprise move, the partyhas fielded former PrimeMinister

PV Narasimha Rao's daugh-ter S Vani Devi, an education-ist, from the Hyderabad-Rangareddy-Mahabubnagarseat, to take on sitting MLC andBJP candidate N RamachanderRao. TRS Working Presidentand Minister for MunicipalAdministration and IT KTRama Rao and other ministershave addressed various meet-ings to drum up support forVani Devi's candidature.

The TRS leaders seek votes,alleging that the NDA govern-ment has not implemented theassurances given to Telanganaat the time of bifurcation ofundivided Andhra Pradesh in2014 even as they highlight thecredentials of Vani Devi, whowas a lecturer and founded aca-

demic institutions.BJP's Ramachander Rao, a

senior lawyer, is also leaving nostone unturned for his victory.Union of Minister of State forHome G Kishan Reddy and BJPOBC Morcha's national presi-dent K Laxman have cam-paigned in favour of their partycandidate.

As part of his efforts to takeon Vani Devi, RamachanderRao on Monday met her unclePV Manohar Rao, the youngerbrother of late Narasimha Rao,and took his blessings.Congress has fielded formerminister G Chinna Reddy andhas argued that TRS has noright to seek votes in the nameof Narasimha Rao as the formerPM was a Congressman all hislife. TPCC president and MP NUttam Kumar Reddy alleged onMonday that TRS leaders were

intimidating people to vote fortheir party candidate. Thevoters were being pressurised totake an oath that they wouldvote for TRS in the polls, healleged.

The PCC president claimedthat Congress has videos ofsuch illegal oath-taking eventsand these were being submittedto the Election Commissionseeking action. TDP'sTelangana unit president LRamana and former MLC ProfK Nageshwar, a prominent ana-lyst, are also in the fray from theHyderabad-Rangareddy-Mahbubnagar seat.

In the Khammam-Nalgonda-Warangal seat, sittingMLC Palla Rajeshwar Reddy isthe TRS nominee, while hisCongress rival is Ramulu Naik.The BJP has fielded its leader GPremender Reddy.

PNS n JAGTIAL

The ancient and historic SriAnjaneya Swamy temple atKondagattu in Jagtial districtwould be developed on thelines of Yadadri Sri LaxmiNarasimha Swamy temple, dis-closed Minister forEndowments A IndrakiranReddy.

The Minister, along withNizamabad MLC Kavitha,MLA M Sanjay Kumar and oth-ers participated in the ground-breaking ceremony on Tuesdayfor the construction of‘Ramakoti stupam’ at theKondagattu shrine.

He said that they wouldcomplete the construction ofstupam by Hanuman Jayanthi.He said that they had alsodecided to chant HanumanChalisa across the State fromMarch 17 to promoteKondagattu Hanuman temple.

Earlier, the Minister, theMLC and legislators offeredprayers to Lord Hanuman at theshrine. MLC KalwakuntlaKavitha said that they haddecided to take up massRamakoti chantings fromMarch 17 in the State.

She said that they would tele-cast the Ramakoti chanting inthe electronic media also for thebenefit of devotees. She alsoreiterated that the governmentwas committed to the develop-

ment of the ancient Kondagattutemple. Collector A Ravi, ZillaParishad chairperson DavaVasantha and others were alsopresent.

PNS n RAJANNA SIRCILLA

Minister for EndowmentsAllola Indrakaran Reddydirected the officials concernedto be prepared for a three-dayMaha Shivaratri fete, which isslated from Wednesday at theSri Rajarajeshwara Swamyshrine, popularly known asDakshina Kashi, inVemulawada.

The Minister reviewed thearrangements for the MahaShivaratri celebrations withDistrict Collector KrishnaBhaskar, SP Rahul Hegde andofficials of government depart-ments at a guest house inVemulawada temple onTuesday.

He issued instructions anddirections on the steps to betaken by the officers of thedepartments concerned andthe precautions to be taken.Speaking on the occasion, hesaid that like every year, thisyear, too, the Maha Shivaratriwill be conducted in the glo-rious manner.

He directed officials of thedepartments to strive for thesuccess of the festivities keep-ing in view the past experi-ences. Devotees were asked tofollow the Covid rules.

He clarified that taking aholy dip in Dharmagundam ofthe temple was not allowed thisyear due to Covid. Culturalprogrammes will be organisedin a grand style. For the con-venience of devotees, tempo-rary showers have been set upfor bathing without any hassle.Devotees are urged to take noteof this. Authorities are advisedto engage at the field level andtake appropriate steps withoutcausing any inconvenience todevotees.

He directed the authoritiesto make arrangements in thatdirection as more than onelakh devotees are likely tocome every day for the threedays during the fete. Drinkingwater should be provided.

Medical camps were set up andordered to see that devoteesdid not get into any trouble.Fire personnel were advised tobe available to prevent fire inthe vicinity of the temple.

He directed the municipalauthorities to pay special atten-tion to the cleanliness of thetemple premises. The ministersaid he wanted to see no inter-ruption in the power supply forthree days.

He said helicopter serviceswould be available this time aswell as last year. Police andmunicipal officials have beendirected to take appropriateaction without raising roomrents in lodges in the town.

He said medical campsshould be made available forthe convenience of devotees.Ambulances were also orderedto be made available and med-ical personnel were to bedeployed in three shifts. Hesaid security should be main-tained at the field level toavoid traffic disruption. Therescue team will also be avail-able, the minister said.

PNS n KARIMNAGAR

The woman is the epitome oflove, compassion, emotionalstrength and courage. Give awoman your hand, she willhold it through all the goodand bad days of your life.

Proving it true, a 31-year-oldwoman married a 48-year-oldman, who has been sufferingfrom muscle degenerative anda life-threatening disease onInternational Women’s Day onMonday with the approval ofher parents.

She was identified as Padma,daughter of KancharlaSantamma and Gattaiah--whohas been nursing the patientSrinivas -- for the past threeyears.

Srinivas is dependent onothers whether to sit, or liedown or eat food. He evenapplied for mercy killing in2012 unable to withstand thechronic disease with which heis suffering since he was 18.

He lives in the tin-roofedhouse, inherited from hisfather. His only source of

income is the pension beingpaid by the TRS government tothe physically challenged.

Srinivas lives at HousingBoard Colony. His father was

Katla Sankaraiah and motherAnasuya. When he was 18years old, he first suffered theloss of sense of touch near hisankle. The disease soon spread

to the legs, hands and wholebody. Doctors upon examininghim diagnosed as he is suffer-ing from degeneration of mus-cles. He was dependent on hisparents for all his needs. Hisfather died three years agowhile his mother appointedPadma, who lives very close toher house, to look after him ona monthly salary basis. Duringthe course of nursing him overthe past three years, they fell inlove. She decided to marry himand convinced her parents.The couple exchanged gar-

lands in the presence of fami-ly members.

Commenting on the mar-riage, Srinivas said that hefeels now more confident inleading life. He said that he didnot know how long he is goingto survive like this. But, as longas he lives he is confident ofleading a happy life with hisbetter half Padma. Sheresponds to his needs round-the-clock. Srinivas, who is onthe verge of death, says that heis going to enjoy a very goodcompanionship with her.

n The ruling TRS, opposition parties BJP and Congress go

all out in the poll campaign to win the two MLC seats

n Having suffered unexpected losses in the bypoll to Dubbak Assembly constituency and theGHMC polls, the TRS is keen on securing the two seatsKhammam- Nalgonda-Warangal and Hyd-Rangareddy-Mahabubnagar Graduates' constituencies

MLC Kalwakuntla Kavitha takes part ingroundbreaking ceremony for theconstruction of a stupam at AnjaneyaSwamy temple in Kondagattu ofJagtial district on Tuesday

Kondagattu to bedeveloped on parwith Yadadri

Woman enters into wedlock with a man who is on verge of death

Minister for Endowments A Indrakiran Reddy, MLC Kalwakuntla Kavitha andothers release a poster on Hanuman Chalisa recitation

Srinivas said that he feels now moreconfident of leading life. He said thathe did not know how long he is goingto survive like this. But, as long as helives he is confident of leading ahappy life with his better half, Padma

Maha Shivaratrifete at Vemulawadafrom today

Minister forEndowments AllolaIndrakaran Reddyreviewed thearrangements for theMaha Shivaratri fetewith District CollectorKrishna Bhaskar andSP Rahul Hegde

PNS n PATANCHERU

The Telangana StateResidential EducationalInstitutions’ secretary, RSPraveen Kumar, inauguratedfive Knowledge Centres atRudraram, Isnapur, Muttangi,Pocharam and Inol villagesunder Pathancheru mandaland also

the TSB Sports Academy atBachchugudem village onTuesday. Addressing a gath-ering on the connection, hesaid that the SWAERO move-ment will help students toacquire knowledge and pre-vent them from gettingspoiled.

Objective of the SWAEROmovement is that the stu-dents pursuing higher educa-tion with their origin fromthe poor families should goon to occupy top positions,he said laying emphasis onreading books at the

Knowledge Centres. He hint-ed at SWAERO establishingmany more KnowledgeCentres in the State soon.Furthermore, people ofKarnataka at some placeshave set up their Knowledge

Centres taking a cue fromTelangana, he said feelinghappy about it . TheKnowledge Centres set up bySWAERO would be extendedto other States, too, besidesthe Telugu States.

Knowledge Centres inaugurated

PNS n HYDERABAD

Nizamabad MP Arvindalleged that a series ofattacks are taking place inBhainsa according to apre-meditated plan anddemanded a probe into theBhainsa clashes by a sittingjudge.

Addressing the mediahere on Tuesday, he calledupon Hindus in the Stateto unite at this juncture.He alleged that the riotersof Bhainsa have the sup-port of the Nirmal DistrictCollector.

He said that he wouldwrite a letter to the CentralIntelligence agencies onthe Bhainsa violence.

Arvind forprobe intoBhainsaviolence

Telangana State Residential Educational Institutions’ secretary RS Praveen Kumarstrikes a pose with girls, who staged a ballet, after inaugurating the SportsAcademy at Bachchugudem village on Tuesday

nation 0505

HYDERABAD | WEDNESDAY | MARCH 10, 2021

PNS n GUWAHATI

Assam broke all previousrecords in seizures ofcash, liquor, drugs andother goods in the run-upto the Assembly polls withvarious agencies alreadyconfiscating over Rs 18crore worth of items andarresting around 110 peo-ple in the last 11 days, offi-cials said on Tuesday.

The highest amount ofseizures worth over Rs5.72 crore took place dur-ing the 24 hours, starting9 am on Sunday, an offi-cial told PTI.

After the polls were

notified on February 26,all constituencies inAssam formed a min-imum of threeS t a t i cSurveillanceT e a m s(SST) andF l y i n gS q u a d s(FS) each,with someeven havingsix such teamseach, he added.

"We have a minimumof 756 teams workingacross the state. Theseizures by all state andcentral agencies along

with SST andFS havecrossed all fig-ures of last

elections,"theo f f i c i a l

said.S i n c e

t h eM o d e lCode ofConduct

came intoforce, the

agencies haveseized an overall Rs

18.31 crore worth ofitems til l Monday,according to the dailyseizure report of the

Election Department,Assam. It includes Rs4.27 crore in cash, liquor(3.58 lakh litres) worth Rs5.52 crore, Rs 4 croreworth drugs and othernarcotics substances, Rs 1crore worth preciousmetals such as

gold and silver, and Rs3.52 crore of other itemslike different freebies.

The various teams andagencies have arrested100 persons for involve-ment in illegal liquorand eight persons fornarcotics-related crimessince the Model Code ofConduct came into force.

Assam breaks all previous records in poll seizuresRs 18 crore worth items caught so far

PNS n

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM

The opposition Congress inKerala on Tuesday urgedUnion Home Minister AmitShah to reveal the details ofthe alleged mysterious deathin connection with the goldsmuggling case and claimedthat the CPI(M)-BJP nexuswas the reason for him tohide the truth.

KPCC chief MullappallyRamachandran said Shahshould have the guts to dis-close the details if any suchdeath had occurred undermysterious circumstances asotherwise it would amountto hoodwinking the peopleof the state.

Covering up the detailsknown to Shah, exposes thesaffron party's "secret ties"with the Marxist party, hesaid.

Echoing similar senti-ments, Leader of Oppositionin the Assembly, RameshChennithala said the war ofwords between Shah andChief Minister PinarayiVijayan over theincident wasjust a "drama" and urged the

latter to tell if such a deathhad indeed taken place.

Former chief ministerOommen Chandy was of theiew that it was notmutualquestions by the leaders ofthe two parties which peo-ple wanted, but answers.

The Congress leadersmade the scathing attackagainst the BJP and theCPI(M) while holding ajoint press meet in NewDelhi.

While addressing a massrally of party workers atShangumugham here onSunday, Shah had men-tioned about a "mysteriousdeath related to the goldsmuggling case".

Amit Shah urgedto reveal details of'mysterious death'

GOLD SMUGGLING CASE

PNS n NEW DELHI

The Supreme Court Tuesdaysaid it would hear after fourweeks a plea which has soughtresumption of physical hearingof cases alongside the ongoingvideo-conferencing mode in allcourts and tribunals across thecountry.

A bench comprising ChiefJustice S A Bobde and justicesA S Bopanna and VRamasubramanian said that itwould keep the matter pendingas e-committee of the apexcourt is “deciding something”.

“We will keep this pending.Our e-committee is decidingsomething. We will circulate itto you as well,” the bench toldadvocate M L Sharma, who hasfiled the petition.

At the outset, Sharma saidthat “so many tussles are goingon” on the issue of resumptionof physical hearing,

“We are not worried aboutthe tussles”, the bench said.

During the hearing conduct-ed through video-conferenc-ing, Sharma said, “We are at themercy of registry (of the apexcourt). We have to run behindthem”.

The top court has been hear-ing cases through video-confer-encing since March last year dueto the pandemic and several barbodies and lawyers have beendemanding that physical hear-ings should resume immediate-ly.

The top court would com-mence hybrid physical hearingfrom March 15 and it hadrecently issued the standardoperating procedure (SOP) forthe purpose.

The Supreme Court BarAssociation (SCBA) hadMonday moved the apex courtseeking the quashing of theSOP, saying it has been framedwithout consulting the Bar, anequal stakeholder in justice

delivery system.Besides seeking quashing of

the SOP, the plea, filed by SCBAand its Treasurer MeeneshKumar Dubey, has sought adirection to the apex court'sRegistry not to issue “any circu-lar without consulting the Bar”.

"On an experimental basis,and as a pilot scheme, the finalhearings/regular matters listedon Tuesdays, Wednesdays andThursdays may be heard in thehybrid mode, as may be decid-ed by the bench, considering thenumber of parties in a matter aswell as the limited capacity ofthe courtrooms; all other mat-ters, including those listed onMondays and Fridays, shallcontinue to be heard throughvideo/tele-conferencing mode,"said the SOP issued by the apexcourt.

In his plea, Sharma hassought a hybrid mode of hear-ing, in which the litigants andthe lawyers would be free tochoose the mode of hearing.

"Be further pleased to issueproper writ direction to the stateto provide/arrange video sys-tems for judicial proceedings allover India in the interest of jus-tice," Sharma has said in hisplea.

The plea has said that paper-less e-filing of judicial recordsand hearing through video-conferencing would save lives aspapers have been found to becarriers of the COVID-19 virus.

SC to hear plea seeking hybrid formof court hearings across country

No one knows the num-bers involved but approxi-mately 2,000-3,000 troops (abrigade) from each side havepulled back, not pulled out.Both sides have 50,000-70,000soldiers posted on the frontlines. The additional deploy-ments and capital costs aswell as maintenance and logis-tics put together for one yearare estimated to be nearly`30,000 crore (`21,000 crore incapital expenditure alone).Then there is the cost of re-posturing troops fromPakistan to China’s front whichis work in progress. This levelof additional expenditure hasnever been incurred on theLine of Actual Control (LAC)and the revenue cost will fur-ther undercut modernisation.China’s defence budget hascrossed $200 b, roughly fourtimes India’s. Its internal secu-rity bill is even higher as it isthe main driver of internalcohesion. The India-Chinacapability gap can be measuredfrom the investment differen-tial and willingness on the partof China to use the power quo-tient for coercion on the LAC.

Indian Generals’ promi-nent reference to Chinese dis-engagement from the lakes as“loss of faith” was seen asinsulting (and beginning of

practical difficulties). The PLA’swithdrawal from the Fingersarea was traded for vacation ofthe strategic Chushul heightsthey had occupied for the firsttime since 1962. Yielding thekey bargaining chip for animmediate political imperative— provincial elections — mayprove costly. But this give-and-take was necessary forthe Narendra ModiGovernment to depict the dis-engagement as victory againstChina. The Government hasutilised the military’s strategicprowess — Uri (2016), Doklam(2017), Balakot (2019) andnow Ladakh (2021) — as polit-ical success stories againstChina and Pakistan.

The backchannel talkswith Pakistan’s NSA MoefYusuf, which India has denied,took place after the Galwanclash because the two-front sit-uation began to hot up. It wasa wise move, coming as it didafter Indian security plannersdecided to switch four divi-sions facing Pakistan towardsthe North. The ceasefire couldlead to a new India-Pakistannormal. Suddenly, pieces of thetwo-front puzzle are seen com-ing together despite theabsence of a national securitystrategy. That says something.

New Delhi is on the thresh-

old of major defence reforms:‘The India Way without anIntegrated Review’ or ‘StrategicDefence and Security Review’.Military commanders in chargeof these reforms must not triv-ialise the process by allowingsymbolism and politicisation tocreep in to please the politicalelite. Last week the tri-servicecommanders were lined up inGujarat for their review meet-ing in front of the towering stat-ue of “Iron Man Sardar Patel”,when that photo-op shouldhave been with the images ofmilitary icons like Field MarshalSam Manekshaw and Air ChiefMarshal Arjan Singh, becausethe PMO wanted it. Regrettably,military ethos and traditions arealien to most Indian politiciansand civil servants.

But the partial disengage-ment deal, achieved by theForeign Ministers under con-ditions of power asymmetry,reflects India’s willingness toaccept that the “price of apragmatic settlement (withChina) will be less than thecost of a difficult relationship”.

(The writer, a retired MajorGeneral, was Commander,IPKF South, Sri Lanka, andfounder member of the DefencePlanning Staff, currently theIntegrated Defence Staff. Theviews expressed are personal.)

The country’s first forest healing centre was inaugurated recently at Kalika in Ranikhet,Uttarakhand. The forest healing centre, spread over 13 acres, has been developedby the research wing of the Uttarakhand Forest Department after a comprehensive

study on the healing properties of forests and their revitalising impact on the overall healthand well-being of people. Though it’s a step in the right direction, it is a sad reflection on

humanity when we have to be taught how to com-mune with nature for our well-being. That we haveforgotten how to feel the soil under our feet, smell theearth after the first rain, idly gaze at a spider spinningits web or at a star-filled sky or watch the canopy oftrees swaying above us in awe, reveals that we livea poor life indeed, bereft of nature’s bounty. Given ourtenuous link with Mother Nature and obsession witha fast-paced materialistic life, this loss of touch withour inner self and realisation about what really mat-ters, was bound to happen. It is no wonder then thateven as we touch new heights in medical science,an increasing amount of people are falling prey tolifestyle diseases, stress and mental health issues.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), close to one billion people areliving with a mental disorder and one person dies every 40 seconds by suicide. Closerhome, the WHO estimates that about 7.5 per cent of Indians suffer from some form ofmental disorder, with 56 million suffering from depression and another 38 million fromanxiety disorders. And now, COVID-19 has had further impact on mental health. However,every dark cloud has a silver lining and the pandemic, despite its crippling socio-eco-nomic impact, has taught us that we need to respect nature, live in harmony with it andthat our mental and emotional well-being is as important as physical health. Consequently,we are going back to the basics with India’s first forest healing centre that draws inspi-ration from the Japanese technique of forest bathing (shinrin-yoku) and ancient Indiantraditions. It will involve activities like tree-hugging, meditation and sky gazing. Trainedguides will help people engage in activities that help them experience nature with all theirsenses and relax as the therapy reduces cortisol, a stress hormone. Research showsthat forest bathing has a positive impact on blood pressure and blood sugar levels. Thatall this communing with nature will generate employment in Uttarakhand is a bonus.

It is the fear of punishment and not respect for the law that makes most of us abide bythe rules. Further, the “Chalta hai” (it’s okay) mindset towards a problem only aggra-vates the situation. Even the COVID-19 pandemic that halted the world in its tracks and

took a toll on millions — physically, mentally, emotionally, financially and socially — hasfailed to dull our insouciance. However, when our ignorance and lackadaisical approachare no longer safe for society at large, the Government is left with no option but to inter-vene. The recent surge in COVID-19 cases has led to partial lockdown and restrictionsin several States. We deserve these curbs which seem to be the best possible responseto the fresh outbreak in the current situation. Umpteen requests made by the Prime Minister,

health experts and celebrities to maintain “Do gaj kidoori” (a distance of two yards) and “mask hai zaroori”(wearing a face mask is must) have literally fallen ondeaf ears as many citizens can be seen socialisingin close proximity while travelling in Metros, local trains,buses, e-rickshaws and other public transport. Manyothers wear their face masks loosely, only coveringtheir mouth but not the nose. Yet others don’t evencover their mouth and let the mask hang over theirchin, pulling it up on seeing a policeman or civil vol-unteer to avoid paying the fine. We must keep in mindthat wearing masks improperly defeats the very pur-pose of wearing them at all.

When the Mumbai locals were thrown open to all categories of commuters, peoplethronged the platforms and social distancing went for a toss. Similarly, the situation inDelhi is no better as despite restrictions and limited seating arrangements in Metro trains,there are violations galore. Seeing people jostle with one another on the stations, oneis reminded of the pre-COVID days. One may argue that it’s the job of the authorities tocontrol the crowds or restrict entry; however, they alone are not to be blamed. It is ourdespicable mindset of “Kuchh nahi hota” (nothing will happen) and “Sab chalta hai”(everything is okay) that should be held accountable for making us all vulnerable to thevirus. With its indigenous vaccines, India certainly enjoys an edge in the war againstCOVID, and by undertaking the world’s largest vaccination drive we have proved ourcapabilities, but the jabs are no panacea. Besides, with the virus mutating into new per-ilous strains, it is certainly not a one-shot solution. The world has already learnt lessonsfrom how the outbreak’s second wave has wreaked havoc. With our burgeoning pop-ulation, we are certainly not ready for any such unfortunate situation. The Centre hasalready rushed high-level public health teams to Maharashtra and Punjab, among theworst hit in the second wave, to assist in COVID-19 control and containment measures.Lockdown has been re-imposed in 16 hot spots in Thane district and the MaharashtraGovernment is mulling the possibility of night curfew or partial lockdown in Mumbai.The Government will do whatever it takes to fight the contagion but we must stick bythe mantra “Davaai bhi, kadaai bhi” (Yes to medicine and yes to caution).

Staying alive

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

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HYDERABAD | WEDNESDAY | MARCH 10, 2021

06

Back to natureIndia's first forest healing centre aims at letting people experience nature with all their senses

China managed to get the strategic Chushul heights vacated on the

cheap but India is portraying the partial disengagement as victory

PICTALK

An artist gives finishing touches to a mural on the theme of saving the environment, at Sewree in Mumbai PTI

THE PLA’SWITHDRAWAL

FROM THE FINGERSAREA WAS TRADED

FOR VACATION OFTHE STRATEGIC

CHUSHUL HEIGHTSTHAT INDIANS HADOCCUPIED FOR THE

FIRST TIME SINCE1962. YIELDING

THE BARGAININGCHIP FOR AN

IMMEDIATEPOLITICAL

IMPERATIVE MAYPROVE COSTLY

ASHOK K MEHTA

After the spurt in COVID cases, several States aremulling partial lockdown. But is our laxity pardonable?

Pact price less thancost of strained ties

With five State elec-tions planned overthe next fewmonths by accident

or design, India might have hit astrategic sweet spot: Defusing itstwo-front standoff against Chinaand Pakistan. With a partial andselective disengagement securedon China’s terms, India is por-traying this as victory in syncwith its policy of “resoluteresponse” to force the Chinesewithdrawal from heights astridethe Pangong Tso, leaving otherPeople’s Liberation Army (PLA)intrusions from Depsang toDemchok intact. Last ThursdayMEA spokesperson AnuragShrivastava, sounding abundantcaution, said it was India’s expec-tation that China will work withit to complete disengagement inthe remaining areas which willlead to de-escalation in EastLadakh. That alone will lead topeace and provide conditions forprogress in bilateral relations. LastSunday, Chinese ForeignMinister Wang Yi was singing anold tune on the rights and wrongsof the standoff, blaming Indiaand reiterating that neither coun-try was a threat to the other.

After the standoff, Chinahas adopted a substantially dif-ferent position by not placing theborder dispute as central to bilat-eral relations. On February 25,Wang informed Foreign MinisterS Jaishankar of “some waveringand back-pedalling” affecting“practical cooperation betweenthe countries”. This is reasonenough to delay future meetingsto defuse other friction points. Itis fair to assume that for China,the disengagement process isover with Beijing managing to getthe strategic Chushul heightsvacated on the cheap. The refer-ence to “difficulty in practicalcooperation” will make futuremilitary and civilian dialogue onrestoration of status quo anteApril 2020 highly unlikely — cer-tainly not before July 1, theChinese Communist Party’s cen-tenary conclave. India’s readinessto make concessions to Chinacomes straight out of Jaishankar’sbook ‘The India Way: StrategiesFor An Uncertain World’.

SOUNDBITEDON’T CROWD THE VACCINATION CENTRES

Sir — The second phase of the vaccinationdrive may have commenced with greateuphoria, but much confusion prevails. Inmany instances, healthcare workers couldnot register on the portal and were seenrushing to the centres for on-the-spot reg-istration. Even the elderly are flocking thecentres which seem to be always crowdedwith at least 100-200 people at a time.

The elderly, especially those who havecomorbidities are vulnerable and such a sit-uation is not safe. Adequate seating arrange-ments ensuring social distancing should beensured by the authorities at the vaccina-tion centres. The solution also lies in rop-ing in more private hospitals. Senior citi-zens must be intimated at least two daysbefore they receive their vaccination.Moreover, healthcare workers must beallotted specific areas and time slots in hos-pitals or primary healthcare facilities to helpease the rush. This will avoid crowding atthe centre.

Vaccination camps can be conducted atindustries, big apartment complexes andshopping malls; vaccination can be done onSundays too, which will benefit office-goers.Since the Government has fixed an afford-able price of `250 for the vaccine, privatehospitals can handle the situation comfort-ably. However, the number of cases isincreasing and that is a cause of concern. Wemust follow all the protocols and wearmasks, maintain social distancing andsanitise our hands regularly. We cannot takeany risk at this stage when the number ofdaily cases in some States is on the rise again.

CK Subramaniam | Chennai

PUT AN END TO SOPs

Sir —The AIADMK in Tamil Nadu onMonday assured an assistance of ̀ 1,500 permonth to women family heads. Theannouncement bettered the DMK’s pollpromise of ̀ 1,000 made a day ago, with theruling party claiming it had been in thepipeline.

The State is already reeling under hugedebt, amounting lakhs of crores. From wherewill the money be generated? There are over

2.1 crore ration card holders in the State.One family will get around `25,000 perannum. The total cost to be incurred onsuch schemes is huge. This will set a badprecedent and politicians will try to win elec-tions by announcing freebies and sops.

It will make the people of the State lazy.With mounting debts, the State will see nodevelopment activity and its economy willfurther spiral downwards . Wasting taxpay-ers money in return for votes amounts tobribing the voters and is a crime. It is noth-ing but robbing Peter to pay Paul. The free-bie culture is increasing these days and vot-ers fail to understand that they compromisethe long-term interest of the people of thecountry for getting gifts or cash. The apexcourt should take cognisance and end sucha culture once and for all. As a taxpayer, Iam against freebies from the State exchequer.

Sravana Ramachandran | Chennai

WORKING WOMEN-FRIENDLY STEPS NEEDED

Sir — On the special occasion of

International Women’s Day, KarnatakaChief Minister of Karnataka BS Yediyurappahas announced a proposal to grant six-month childcare leave to female StateGovernment employees. This is a goodmove and comes as a relief to many work-ing women. It is seen that politicians areoften unconcerned about the plight of work-ing women and don’t care to make policiesfavouring the fair sex.

Not only the Government but also pri-vate entities should take measures to makeworking conditions easy and friendly forwomen. They should be granted adequateleaves and must be provided with essentialand basic facilities, like breastfeeding roomsand creches, at their workplace. Women aresecond to none and have proved it beyonddoubt. Other State Governments should alsotake such measures to empower women.

Anshita Rochwani | Ujjain

Send yyour ffeedback tto:letterstopioneer@gmail.com

It is heartening to know that students in north-ern Wisconsin school district, who are with-out reliable internet connectivity, will soon be

able to connect to a strong network via a drone-powered cellular signal.

The startup is a State-funded pilot pro-gramme. The drones will be fitted with cellphonetowers that would let students throughout thedistrict get online — even in areas where cell-

phone service and broadband access are poor. India can also use drones to provide inter-

net facilities in remote areas, including villageslocated in hills and forest areas. Especially, thestudents in hill areas and those who live insidea forest have no access to the internet. Even ifthe internet is available, it's too slow which makesit practically impossible to use it effectively.

Fast internet connectivity is an essential pre-requisite for imparting digital education. Further,it will boost Prime Minister Narendra Modi's‘Digital India’ programme and will empower thestudents. The Government should launch suchinitiatives with the help of private players andencourage startups in this field. Entrepreneursshould be roped in under the ‘Startup India’ pro-gramme. It should be launched first on a pilotbasis in States like Uttarakhand, HimachalPradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh,Assam and Arunachal Pradesh and later extend-ed to other States.

M Pradyu | Kannur

Drones for internet connectionIndian forces aredesigned to fight a2.5 front war. This isnow obsolete. Wemust prepare for aborderless war.

Congress leader

— Rahul Gandhi

We do accept thatthere will be anincreased risk ofCOVID transmissionand it's inevitable.However, the greater

risk is keeping children out ofschool longer.

UK Prime Minister— Boris Johnson

The double-meaningdialogues in Bhojpuricinema would now bea thing of the past.The artistes from thefilm industrythemselves have become aware of this trend.

Actor— Dinesh Lal Yadav

Being a leader of theO p p o s i t i o n ,Siddarmaiah speaksbut, unfortunately, hiswords and actions aregoing to drown hisparty. He will remain forever in the Opposition.

Karnataka CM — BS Yediyurappa

We’ve played somegreat cricket. Losing toIndia at home wasreally disappointing,but we got docked twopoints for a slow over

rate, and that cost us.

Australia head coach — Justin Langer

LETTERS TO TTHE EDITOR

Stop the back door bailout of banks

HE (SCINDIA) WOULD HAVE BECOME THE CHIEF

MINISTER HAD HE STAYED WITH THE CONGRESS BUT

HE HAS BECOME A BACKBENCHER IN THE BJP.

—CONGRESS LEADER

RAHUL GANDHI

IT WOULD HAVE BEEN A DIFFERENT SITUATION HAD

RAHUL GANDHI BEEN CONCERNED THE SAME WAY AS

HE IS NOW, WHEN I WAS IN THE CONGRESS.

—BJP LEADER

JYOTIRADITYA SCINDIA

In the Union Budget for 2021-22, FinanceMinister Nirmala Sitharaman has proposedsetting up of a bad bank. Crafted as an asset

reconstruction company (ARC), it will bundle upall the non-performing assets (NPAs) of banks,buy these at a negotiated (albeit discounted) priceand sell them to investors such as private equi-ty funds, alternative investment funds (AIFs) andso on, by putting a turnaround plan in place. Anasset management company (AMC) will work ona detailed turnaround-cum-execution plan.

The banks plan to transfer nearly `2,00,000crore of bad loans to the ARC. Every loan (albeitbad) account involving `500 crore plus will beconsidered for transfer. In return, the ARC willprovide 15 per cent upfront cash to banks andissue security receipts for the remaining 85 percent, to be guaranteed by the Government. TheARC will require a capital infusion of at least`10,000 crore. A majority share holding in theentity will be held by public sector banks(PSBs); though some private banks will also beinvolved.

According to the 22nd Financial StabilityReport (FSR) released by the Reserve Bank ofIndia (RBI) on January 21, the gross NPA(GNPA) ratio of all scheduled commercialbanks (SCBs) is projected to increase from 7.5per cent in September 2020 to 13.5 per cent bythis September. Even as the Coronavirus pandem-ic gripped the economy from the beginning ofMarch 2020, its impact on the bad loan scenariodid not reflect till September 2020 in view of theRBI’s decision to grant moratorium on loanrepayments (March 1-August 31, 2020) andexclude the moratorium period for the purposeof declaring an account as an NPA.

Meanwhile, the Government had made anamendment to the Insolvency and BankruptcyCode (IBC) to ensure that proceedings againstbad loan accounts by the National Company LawTribunal (NCLT) are not initiated until March24 this year. Once this embargo is removed (fornow, the powers that be are in a wait-and-watchmode but they will have to decide sooner thanlater), there will be a spike in NPAs as then thebanks will be forced to reflect the real position.This is what worries the Finance Minister.

Having already infused close to `3,00,000crore of capital in PSBs during the last four finan-cial years, and given its precarious budgetaryresources, the Government is in no mood topump another `2,00,000 crore or so needed toprevent erosion in their capital. At the same time,it wants to unshackle the banks from the burdenof bad loans so that they are in a position toincrease credit availability required for achiev-ing 11 per cent plus growth during 2021-22 andput the economy on a sustained growth path ofseven-eight per cent till 2025-26.

To wriggle out of this dilemma, Sitharamanhas resurrected the idea of a ‘bad bank’ that wasmooted in 2018 by a committee under the for-mer Chairman, Punjab National Bank (PNB),Sunil Mehta, to be named ‘Sashakt India AssetManagement’ for fast-track resolution of large badloans. In May 2020, this was reiterated by theIndian Banks Association (IBA) with a stipula-tion that the Union Government should anchorthe bad bank with majority equity holding.

Accepting this proposal wouldhave meant that eventually, theresponsibility for handholdingwould have come on the latter.Therefore, the Finance Ministryrejected that suggestion outright.

Under its new incarnation, thebad bank will be majority ownedby PSBs which tantamounts toownership and control vestingwith the Government itself —though indirectly. But the morecrucial point is that the securityreceipts issued by the bad bank tocover 85 per cent of the transfervalue of the loan will be promisedsovereign guarantee. As a result,while on one hand, the banks’ bal-ance sheet will be fully shieldedagainst any default in redemptionon maturity (they need not makeany additional provision whichotherwise would have beenrequired as per the RBI’s circulardated September 1, 2016), on theother hand even the bad bank neednot worry too much about recov-ering it.

If it is unable to recover, thenalso the guarantor (theGovernment of India) will pay up.In short, the bad bank has beencrafted in a manner such that it willbe a win-win for all stakeholderslike the banks, the bad bank,defaulting borrowers and so on,except the taxpayer whose moneythe Union Government will even-tually be using for bailing out thebanks.

If, that is the real intent, whynot give the capital directly fromthe Budget instead of following a

circuitous route, making thingsnon-transparent, setting up newinstitutions and adding to admin-istrative and overhead costs?

It is ironical that each timebanks are faced with erosion intheir capital due to delinquentborrowers, the Government takesrecourse to cosmetic solutions thatare often laced with fancy nomen-clature to make them look credi-ble. This approach should be aban-doned. Instead, it should adopt andbuild on sustainable solutions tothe problem of increasing NPAs.

In this regard, the IBC frame-work offers the best bet. This,together with the amendedBanking Regulation Act (this givesthe RBI the necessary powers toforce the banks to act), provides afoundational basis for successfulresolution of NPAs.

As per the RBI’s circular datedFebruary 12, 2018, for accountswith aggregate exposure greaterthat `2,000 crore, as soon as therewas a default in the account withany lender, all lenders — singly orjointly — shall initiate steps to curethe default by preparing a resolu-tion plan. The resolution planapproved by all lenders had to bereadied within six months from thedefault date. If the deadline wasmissed, proceedings under theIBC would be initiated by referringthe case to the NCLT which wouldget six months to complete the res-olution process.

The banks got six months tocome up with a resolution plan; ifthey didn’t, the NCLT would have

to do it within six months.Therefore, at the outer limit, it wasone year to get the resolutionkicking (wherever delays hap-pened, those were due to the casesbeing taken to courts — either bythe promoter or competing suitor).

The best part was that the tri-bunal was to facilitate selling of thedefaulter’s firm as a “going concern”to fetch maximum realisation. Theresults are there for all to see. Underthis arrangement, the lenders wereable to recover about `3,00,000crore which resulted in lowering ofthe GNPA ratio from a high of 11.2per cent as on March 31, 2018 to8.5 per cent as of March 31, 2020.

However, as per the directionsof the Supreme Court, the RBIcame out with a revised circulardated June 7, 2019, which giveslenders 30 days to enter into aninter-lender agreement to decideon a resolution plan. After this, theyget 180 days to come up with plan;if they don’t, they are only requiredto make an additional provision of20 per cent.

If they don’t finalise it within365 days, they have to make anadditional 15 per cent provision. Inshort, unlike the February 12,2018 guidelines, banks are notobliged to refer the case to theNCLT in a time-bound manner.This has literally rendered resolu-tion under the IBC process dys-functional.

There is an urgent need to revi-talise the process and make itrobust instead of looking for short-term solutions.

Why not give the capital directly from the Budget instead of following a circuitousroute, setting up new institutions and adding to administrative and overhead costs?

GWYNNE DYER

IN THIS REGARD, THE IBC

FRAMEWORKOFFERS

THE BEST BET. THIS,

TOGETHER WITH THEAMENDEDBANKING

REGULATION ACT (THIS GIVES THE

RBI THENECESSARY

POWERS TO FORCE

THE BANKS TO ACT),

PROVIDES AFOUNDATIONAL

BASIS FORSUCCESSFULRESOLUTION

OF NPAs

If I were a world dictator, I would immediately place Brazil under totalquarantine: Nobody gets in, nobody comes out. And I would keepit isolated until they arrest and jail President Jair Bolsonaro, impose

a strict countrywide lockdown for at least two months and vaccinateeverybody in the country (all 2,13,584,556 of them). And then we’llsee. They’d have to lock Bolsonaro up first because he flatly refusesto do any kind of lockdown. He also regards vaccines as sissy andwill not support a national programme to vaccinate the population. SomeState Governors are trying to buy vaccines for their own local popu-lations, but he publicly berates them as cowards for worrying about“a little flu.” Bolsonaro is Donald Trump on stilts and is largely respon-sible for Brazil’s sky-high COVID-19 death rate: More than a quarter-million dead. The US still holds the lead with half a million deaths —1,600 per million compared to Brazil’s 1,250 per million — but theUS’ COVID death rate is falling fast since President Biden took over,whereas Brazil’s is still rocketing up. Because Brazil’s infection rate isso high, it is an ideal pressure-cooker for new and sometimes moredangerous versions of the Coronavirus. It already has two named vari-ants of concern. The more recent and more worrisome one, P.1, prob-ably emerged in Manaus, and is now rampant across the BrazilianAmazon. P.1 is also starting to move out into the rest of the world. Sixcases got off the same plane from Brazil in London recently, causinga nationwide scare until they were all tracked down.

What makes it so frightening is that it spreads twice as fast asearlier COVID versions and it seems able to reinfect people who havealready had the virus. If it can do that, it can probably also get aroundthe immunity conferred by existing vaccines. There is no evidence ofcommunity spread of P.1 in other countries yet but it is only a matterof time unless people stop travelling to and from Brazil. And what doesJair Bolsonaro say? As Brazil recorded its highest-ever COVID deathtoll last Thursday, he said: “Stop whining. How long are you going tokeep crying about it? How much longer will you stay at home and closeeverything? No one can stand it anymore. We regret the deaths, butwe need a solution.” And his “solution” is to man up, accept half amillion or even a million deaths, and to impose that solution on every-body else in the world too, because he’s certainly not going to shutforeign travel down. Bolsonaro cannot be reasoned with and Brazilianscannot really be expected to remove him. Like the sane American major-ity under Trump, they’d rather endure the madman’s blunders and crimesuntil the end of his term than use force against him and wreck theConstitution. But if P.1 spreads, that could mean that everybody elsein the world gets lockdowns until the end of the year at least.

Nobody is going to invade Brazil to remove Bolsonaro, althoughhe does pose a big, very real threat. But what everybody else can dois quarantine Brazil. No national or international law stops other coun-tries from banning flights coming out of Brazil from landing on theirterritory. So do it. Now. No exceptions. Happily, there are very few heav-ily travelled road routes out of Brazil and the country’s neighbours haveevery incentive to shut them down. Maritime trade could continue, solong as every ship leaving Brazil spends at least two weeks at sea beforecalling at another port. Even air cargo could be allowed, so long as nopassengers are allowed and air crew are strictly quarantined. Nobodywants to punish Brazilians, who are suffering under Bolsonaro already.We just don’t want him to kill our parents too. How long should thequarantine last? At least until we understand the real threat from P.1and other emergent Brazilian variants, have developed vaccines againstthem, and have had time to inoculate our own populations elsewhere.

(Gwynne Dyer's new book is 'Growing Pains: The Future ofDemocracy and Work.' The views expressed are personal.)

The Indo-Gangetic Plain(IGP) is a 2.5-million sqkm fertile plain that is

the backbone of Indian agri-culture. It has greatly con-tributed to the country’s foodsecurity and the green revolu-tion. However, the pressure ofthe increasing population anduneven natural phenomenonlike unseasonal hailstorms,failing rains, cyclones,droughts and so on, haveadversely affected yield. Theseconditions have long requireda sustainable solution so thatthe Indian agriculture sectorcan fight climate change on theone hand and maintain arespectable agricultural yield tomeet the burgeoning demandof food grains on the other.

In these trying conditions,a study has established that theuse of field-specific fertiliser inthe IGP can not only increasegrain yield and increase farmincome but also significantly

reduce greenhouse gas (GHG)emissions and farming costswhen compared with tradi-tional farmer fertilisation prac-tices (FFP). The study, execut-ed by an international team ofscientists led by theInternational Maize andWheat Improvement Centre,compared 1,594 farms acrossHaryana, Punjab and Biharand published the findings inthe ‘Nature Scientific Report2021’. The management ofnutrient input and balancedfertiliser use has emerged asthe key mitigation option inagriculture that can pave theway for enhanced producethat does not come at the costof the environment.

The study was conductedon two farms, wherein the fer-tiliser input was decided by thedigital nutrient tool —Nutrient Expert (NE) — inone farm while the FFP wasthe determinant in the other.

The application rates of nitro-gen, phosphorous and potashwere studied in each compar-ison trial in the rice and wheatfields under the NE and FFP.The NE is not a new conceptand was developed in 2013 bythe International PlantNutrition Institute and theInternational Institute ofTropical Agriculture and pro-vided nutrient recommenda-tions for individual farmerfields in the absence of any soilhealth data.

Its usage has reduced farmnitrogen input by 15-35 percent and also increased grainyield by four to eight per cent,besides reducing global warm-ing. The study further estab-lished that more than 80 percent of the participating farm-ers reported a rise in crop yieldand farm income and a per-ceptible fall in agriculturalexpenses.

The study reported an

actual increase in rice andwheat production by 13.92million tonnes and 1.44 mil-lion tonnes respectively withless fertiliser use.

It also revealed a criticalaspect pertaining to the quan-tum of nitrogen used in ricecrops. As per the study, nitro-gen input can be controlledconsiderably as compared tothe traditional farming prac-tices. Besides this, the study has

also helped underline the factthat the excess and improperuse of nutrients in crop pro-duction has many adverseimplications on the environ-ment, food security as well ason the farmers’ livelihood.The findings confirmed that ameasured and balanced nutri-ent use is critical in safeguard-ing the environment. In thebackdrop of this pathbreakingreport, the Government canmake a huge and considerabledifference in the lives andfinancial well-being of thegrowers.

The digital tool can beused to rapidly map variousgeographical locations andaccordingly evolve templatesthat determine the optimumbalance of nutrients and fer-tilisers keeping the soil type,water availability and weatherin mind. These templates canhelp drastically improve farmyields and reduce expenses by

the farmers, especially thosewho are dependent on theMinimum Support Priceguaranteed by theGovernment. This initiativecan be scaled up by enlistingthe active participation of thegrowers and sensitising thecommunity and creatingawareness for the well-being ofthe environment.

The polluted soils andgroundwater table of farm-lands of Punjab are a testamentof the dangers of indiscrimi-nate use of fertilisers toincrease the yield. In the longrun, the farmers have suf-fered as the chemical-lacedlands have caused dreadeddiseases such as cancer.

Advanced technology-based tools can change thenarrative for farmers and pro-tect them, the environmentand the consumers of thefarm produce from an over-dose of chemical fertilisers.

Technology-based tools can change the narrative for farmers and protect the environment and consumers from an overdose of chemical fertilisers

HYDERABAD | WEDNESDAY | MARCH 10, 2021

07

www.dailypioneer.com facebook.com/dailypioneer | @TheDailyPioneer | instagram.com/dailypioneer/

FIRSTCOLUMN

QUARANTINE BRAZIL, NOW!

There is no evidence of community spread of P.1 inother countries yet, but it is only a matter of time

UTTAM GUPTA

POINTCOUNTERPOINT

The writer is a New Delhi-based policy

analyst. The viewsexpressed are personal.

A digital push to farming for the environment’s sake

KOTA SRIRAJ

The writer is an environmental journalist. The views

expressed are personal.

UNEASY RESTS THE HEAD...

The Sussexes have vividlydramatised the realchallenge of staying out ofpolitics for the monarchy.What the Sussexes show isthat being relatable andrelevant as royals wasimpossible because itwould come into conflictwith the monarchy’s veryreal powers. Whether ahereditary head of state isrequired today ought to beconsidered in a programmeof reform that the Britishstate clearly — andurgently — needs.

(The Guardianeditorial)

FOREIGNEYE

PNS n NEW DELHI

Private companies have devel-oped 38 farm markets in fourstates with a total investment ofover Rs 300 crore in the lastthree years, AgricultureMinister Narendra SinghTomar said in the Lok Sabha onTuesday and added that thenew farm laws aim at boostinginvestment in agri-infrastruc-ture.

As per the 2006 NationalCommission on Farmers'Report, the minister said thereshould be one market to serve80 square kilometre (sq km),whereas presently one regulat-ed market serves 473 sq km.

In order to realize a greaternumber of markets in thecountry and to induce compet-itiveness and efficiency in themarketing ecosystem, there isa felt need for investment infarm marketing.

"Farm laws aim at promot-ing agriculture marketinginfrastructure and supplychains for efficiently connect-ing farm gates to markets for

the benefit of farmers byencouraging investments,"Tomar said in his written replyto the Lower House.

As per the information avail-able from state governments, atotal number of 38 privateagriculture markets have beendeveloped during the last threeyears including current yearinvolving total investment of Rs

301.19 crore, he said.Out of which, 18 markets

have been developed inMaharashtra with an invest-ment of Rs 88.62 crore, sixmarkets in Gujarat at Rs 151.6crore and 12 markets inRajasthan at Rs 49.75 crore andtwo markets in Karnataka at Rs11.22 crore, he added.

Tomar replied in affirmative

when asked if new farm lawswill have huge scope for privatesector investment in agri-mar-kets and improve efficiency ofsuch markets in the country.

The three laws -- TheFarmers' Produce Trade andCommerce (Promotion andFacilitation) Act, The Farmers(Empowerment andProtection) Agreement on

Price Assurance and FarmServices Act and The EssentialCommodities (Amendment)Act -- are intended to improvethe efficiency of agri-marketsin the country.

The minister said that thesefarm Acts facilitate direct buy-ing from farmers in trade areasby traders, processors,exporters, Farmer ProducerOrganizations (FPOs) and agrico-operative societies so as tofacilitate farmers with betterprice realization to enhancetheir income, he said.

Further, the minister said thefarm laws will "accelerate moreinvestment in marketing andvalue addition infrastructureincluding that in storage facil-ities near to farm gate creatingmore employment opportuni-ties for rural youth."

Farm laws provide addi-tional marketing opportunitiesto farmers for selling theirproduce outside the APMC(agriculture produce marketingcommittee) market yards suchas at farm-gates, cold stor-ages, warehouse, silos, etc.

HYDERABAD | WEDNESDAY | MARCH 10, 2021 Money 08

MONEY MATTERS

ESR, a leading AsiaPacific-focused logistics

real estate platform, onTuesday said it will developindustrial and logistic facilityat Chakan near Pune with aninvestment of Rs 330 crore.This park is ESR's secondThe total investment for this

park, spread over 38 acres, is Rs 330 crore. This facility will serve asthe hub for light manufacturing and logistics operations in thewestern region of the country, the company said in a statement. Ofthe 38 acres, 26 acres is already leased and will be delivered by May2021, it added.The facility will be surrounded by some of the largestauto manufacturing industries of the country. Chakan is known asthe 'industrial hub of India' and is one of the most prominentindustrial clusters for engineering, automobile, electronics, FMCGand logistics corporations.

ESR to invest Rs 330 cr todevelop 38-acre logistics park

Edelweiss WealthManagement (EWM) on

Tuesday launched the thirdseries of EdelweissCrossover OpportunitiesFund (Crossover III) with atargeted corpus of Rs5,000 crore or aroundUSD 700 million. As aCategory II alternativeinvestment fund (AIF), it

will focus on late-stage private equity (PE) and pre-initial publicoffering (IPO) investments. Crossover III will see the largestfund raise in the series, having raised Rs 2,200 crore throughthe earlier series, the company said. EWM's managing directorand CEO Nitin Jain said private equity is now a well-establishedasset class in India and is making a significant contribution tothe development of the country' emerging corporate sector,while generating strong returns for its investors.

EWM launches fund to bet on late-stage investments

The rupee strengthened by32 paise to end at 72.93

(provisional) against the USdollar on Tuesday, supportedby positive domestic equitiesand weakening of theAmerican currency in theoverseas market. At the inter-

bank forex market, the local unit opened at 73.16 against the green-back and witnessed an intra-day high of 72.91 and a low of 73.25. Itfinally ended at 72.93 against the American currency, registering arise of 32 paise over its previous closing. On Monday, the rupee hadsettled at 73.25 against the American currency.The dollar index,which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six cur-rencies, fell 0.37 per cent to 91.96. "Rupee traded strongly above73.00 as dollar index retraced some of its rally witnessed in the lastfew days. The dollar index which is traded around USD 92.4 retracedback to USD 91.90 giving the Indian rupee positive momentum,along with stable financial market participation," said Jateen Trivedi.

Rupee surges 32 paise toclose at 72.93 against USD

Paras Defence and SpaceTechnologies has filed pre-

liminary papers with marketregulator Securities andExchange Board of India (Sebi)to float an initial public offer(IPO).The offering comprises

fresh issuance of shares worth Rs 120 crore and an offer of sale ofup to 17,24,490 equity stocks by promoters and existing sharehold-ers, the draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) filed with Sebishowed.The company is considering a pre-IPO placement of equityshares worth Rs 35 crore. Proceeds of the fresh issue would beused to fund capital expenditure requirements, to support incremen-tal working capital needs and repayment or prepayment of loansavailed by the company. The company is engaged in designing,developing, manufacturing and testing of a wide range of defenceand space engineering products and solutions.

Paras Defence and SpaceTechnologies files IPO papers

Govt says private companiesdeveloped 38 farm markets PNS n NEW DELHI

Automobile dealers' bodyFADA on Tuesday said passen-ger vehicle (PV) retail sales inFebruary witnessed an increaseof 10.59 per cent to 2,54,058units on account of low base oflast year.

According to the Federationof Automobile DealersAssociations (FADA), whichcollected vehicle registrationdata from 1,274 out of the1,481 regional transport offices(RTOs), PV sales stood at2,29,734 units in February2020.

Two-wheeler sales howeverdeclined 16.08 per cent to10,91,288 units last month, ascompared to 13,00,364 units inFebruary 2020.

Commercial vehicle salesalso slipped 29.53 per cent to59,020 units, as against 83,751units a year ago.

Similarly, three-wheelersales fell 49.65 per cent to33,319 units last month, from66,177 units in the year-agoperiod.

Tractor sales, however, grewby 18.89 per cent to 61,351units last month, against51,602 units in the same

month last year.Total sales across categories

declined 13.43 per cent to14,99,036 units, last monthcompared to 17,31,628 units inthe year-ago period.

Commenting on the salesdata, FADA President VinkeshGulati said the passenger vehi-cle sales witnessed double-digit growth last month on thelow base of last year.

Sales had dropped inFebruary last year as the tran-sition process from BS-IV toBS-VI emission norms hadbegun during the period.

"Besides the global semicon-ductor outrage kept the wait-ing period of passenger vehi-

cles as high as eight months.FADA survey showed that 50per cent dealers lost over 20per cent sales due to non-avail-ability of vehicles," Gulati said.

Two-wheelers continued tosee sluggish demand as thenew wave of COVID-19 in cer-tain states kept customersaway, he added.

Besides, high fuel priceshave also led to sluggish salesin the segment, Gulati said.

Commenting on commer-cial vehicle registrations henoted that offtakes continue tobe impacted due to financingissues and negligible sales ofpassenger buses due to closureof educational institutes.

PV retail sales rise over 10% inFeb on low base effect: FADA

PNS n NEW DELHI

Investment in prop-tech com-panies rose marginally torecord USD 551 million lastyear amid surge in adoption ofvirtual platforms for real estatemarketing during the COVID-19 pandemic, according toHousing.com.

In its report titled‘PropTech: The Future of RealEstate in India', realty portalHousing.com said USD 2.4billion has been invested so farin India's prop-tech industryacross 225 deals.

Housing.com is part ofSingapore-based ElaraTechnologies that also ownsMakaan.com and PropTiger.

"Investments in the prop-tech segment grew marginal-ly up to USD 551 million in2020 from USD 549 million in

2019," the report said. This has been the peak

investments since tech-basedstart-up companies in Indiabegan entering the real estatesegment in India, starting2000s.

“During the lockdown andthe subsequent phased open-ing of the economy, most buy-ers concluded their propertypurchases using virtual medi-ums," said Dhruv Agarwala,Group CEO, Housing.com,Makaan.com andPropTiger.com.

Investments in the prop-tech segment since 2010 madethis possible, he said.

"If these platforms wereonly popular to find andfinalise properties in the pre-pandemic era, the pandemichas changed much of that,"Agarwala said.

PNS n UNITED NATIONS

India has been at the forefrontin fighting the coronaviruspandemic and "really standsout” in terms of its vaccine pol-icy, IMF's Chief EconomistGita Gopinath has said, as shepraised the country for playinga very important role duringthe crisis by manufacturingand shipping the COVID-19vaccines to several nations.

The top Indian-Americaneconomist made the commentsin an interactive session duringthe inaugural Dr Hansa MehtaLecture on the occasion ofInternational Women's Dayon Monday.

“I also want to mention thatIndia really stands out in termsof its vaccine policy. If you lookat where exactly is one manu-facturing hub for vaccines in

the world - that will be India,”Gopinath said.

Gopinath lauded the SerumInstitute of India, saying itproduces the most number ofvaccines in the world in a reg-ular year and has been manu-facturing the COVID-19 vac-cine doses that are delivered toCOVAX and then distributedto countries around the world.

“India has been at the fore-front in fighting this pandem-ic,” she said, noting that Indiahas been providing vaccinesthrough grants to several of itsneighbours, includingBangladesh, Nepal andMyanmar, and through com-mercial arrangements as well.

The country has been play-ing a very important role inhelping the world in the glob-al health crisis through itsvaccination policies, she said.

Gopinath was responding toa question on India, which isa vaccine hub of the world, andthe role it can play in contribut-ing to global economic recov-ery.

She pointed out that Indiamakes up about 7 per cent ofworld GDP based on purchas-ing power parity terms.

“So, when you're that large,

what happens in India hasimplications for many othercountries in the world, espe-cially countries in the region,”she said.

Noting that India was “hitvery hard” by this pandemic,Gopinath said the country,which typically grows at over6 per cent, recorded a growthof negative 8 per cent in 2020.

“So, it was very hard hit butyou do see the recovery com-ing back as the country hasreopened, activities return-ing," she said.

The International MonetaryFund (IMF) has projected animpressive 11.5 per centgrowth rate for India in 2021,making the country the onlymajor economy of the world toregister a double-digit growththis year amidst the coron-avirus pandemic.

‘India at forefront in fighting Covid’

Investment in prop-techfirms up at USD 551 mn

PNS n NEW DELHI

Corporate India is indicatinga rebound in its recruitmentplans for the coming threemonths, and the sectors thatare expected to drive the sec-ond-quarter job marketinclude public administrationand education followed by theservices sector, a survey said onTuesday.

According to theManpowerGroup EmploymentOutlook Survey byManpowerGroup India, hiringis rebounding in Q2 2021 witha net employment outlook of9 per cent.

"India remains resilient inthe job market recovery postthe pandemic. The new bud-get announced also seems toprovide the right impetus toopportunities in job creationespecially in the public infra-structure, healthcare andBFSI," said Sandeep Gulati,Group Managing Director ofManpowerGroup India.

Gulati, however, noted that“in all probability, the impactof the government spendingon employment will be seen inQ3 and Q4, 2021 when therubber meets the road."

The strongest hiring pace isrecorded in the large-sizedorganisations followed bymedium-sized ones with a

seasonally adjusted outlook of10 per cent, which is animprovement of 3 percentagepoints as compared to the lastquarter, the survey of 2,375employers across Indiashowed.

Sector-wise, workforcegains are expected in all sevenindustry sectors during theApril to June period. The sec-tors which will lead the jobmarket are likely to be publicadministration and educationfollowed by the services sector,the survey said.

The weakest labour marketis expected in the wholesaleand retail trade sector wherethe outlook is 2 per cent.

Gulati further said the cor-porate world has witnessed arapid change in the job ecosys-tem with a mix of permanent

workforce and gig workers aswell as a hybrid workingmodel. "Too many movingparts in the quest to find arobust and scalable work set-up in the new normal," he said.

Going ahead, digital trans-formation will continue to bethe key driver for the job mar-ket with a preference for thosewho can collaborate remotelyand effectively. "Professionalshaving an upskilling mindsetwill stand a better chance overthe others," Gulati said.

ManpowerGroup furtherextended its survey to includethe impact of COVID-19, asper which nearly 27 per cent ofemployers reported that theymay return to pre-COVIDhiring within June 2021, while56 per cent stated they willresume by the end of 2021.

India Inc anticipates rise inpayrolls in Apr-Jun quarter

PNS n NEW DELHI

India has exported 87,000tonnes of onion in theJanuary-February periodafter the ban was lifted inview of good kharif cropestimates, AgricultureMinister Narendra SinghTomar on Tuesday said inParliament.

The government liftedthe ban on export witheffect from January 1 inview of good prospects ofkharif and late kharif pro-duction estimates, he saidin a written reply to theLok Sabha. "After recentlifting of the ban, theexport of onion in themonths of January andFebruary 2021 has been56,000 tonnes and 31,000tonnes respectively, asagainst monthly averageexport of 2.18 lakh tonnesprior to imposition of banin September, 2020,"Tomar said.

The All India averageretail prices of onion inDecember 2020 was Rs44.33 per kg, whereas dur-ing January and February2021 the prices have beenRs 38.59 per kg and Rs44.08 per kg, respectively,he added.

The minister said thegovernment has approvedcreation of 2 lakh tonne ofonion buffer during 2021-22 under the PSF, whichwould be built by procur-ing the Rabi crop arrivingfrom March this year. Tocheck onion prices lastyear, Tomar said the gov-ernment had releasedonion from the bufferstock of 1 lakh tonne cre-ated from Rabi-2020onion in a calibrated man-ner to moderate prices ofonion since September2020.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Chief Economic Adviser K VSubramanian on Tuesdayexhorted financial institutionsto avoid crony lending andfocus on high quality loans forcreation of assets that willhelp the country become aUSD 5 trillion economy.

Observing that Indian bank-ing sector since the early 1990sfaced the problem of poorquality lending especially onlarge loans, he said, loans werenot given to most creditworthy

borrowers but to crony capital-ists, leading to high distress.

"When the financial sectordecides to actually lend to aparticular borrower who ismore connected even thoughthat borrower may not be themost creditworthy, it means

that capital is not being provid-ed. There is an opportunitycost as the capital does not goto a more creditworthy bor-rower," he said at an eventorganised by FICCI.

It is the duty of the financialsector to ensure that optimalcapital allocation happens inthe economy, he added. It is tobe noted that the bad loanproblem in the banking sectoris largely because of high expo-sure of banks towards infra-structure which was facingproblems on several counts.

‘Stay away from crony lending,focus on high quality loans’

PNS n NEW DELHI

Equity mutual funds witnessedan outflow of Rs 10,468 crorein February, making it theeighth consecutive monthlywithdrawal, with flexi cap cat-egory accounting for most ofthe outflow.

However, investors put in Rs1,735 crore from debt mutualfunds last month after pullingout Rs 33,409 crore in January,data from the Association ofMutual Funds in India showedon Tuesday .

Overall, the mutual fundindustry witnessed a net out-flow of Rs 1,843 crore acrossall segments during the peri-od under review, compared toRs 35,586 crore in January.

Despite the outflow, assetunder management (AUM)of the mutual fund industryrose to Rs 31.64 lakh crore inFebruary-end from Rs 30.5lakh crore in January-end.

As per the data, outflowfrom equity and equity-linkedopen ended schemes was at Rs10,468 crore in February com-pared to Rs 9,253 crore inJanuary.

PNS n MUMBAI

Asset ReconstructionCompany of India (Arcil) onTuesday announced theappointment of PallavMohapatra, former chief ofCentral Bank of India, as thecompany's chief executiveofficer and managing director.

He succeeds VinayakBahuguna, whose five-yearterm ended in June 2020.

Mohapatra will be respon-sible for leading the strategicdirection and growth journeyof the organisation, Arcil said

in a release.A former deputy managing

director (stressed assets man-agement group) of State Bankof India, Mohapatra retired asCentral Bank's ManagingDirector and Chief ExecutiveOfficer last month.

At SBI, he handled variousassignments including asvice-president (credit andforex) of SBI (California),Los Angeles, USA; managingdirector of SBI CustodialServices; and chief executiveoff icer of SBI Cards &Payment Services.

Arcil appoints PallavMohapatra as CEO

India exports 87Ktonnes of onion inJanuary-February

Equity MFs see outflowfor 8th straight month

Follow us on

@TheDailyPioneer

facebook.com/dailypioneer

WednesdayMarch 10, 2021

hy is everyone goingto the sand-fringedisland that isMaldives for avacay? Well-knownfor its crystalline

waters with swaying palm treesand the limitless blue shadeseverywhere, Maldives is likethe new go-to-spot for a holi-day! Especially with all thecelebrities and influencer cou-ples posting photographs andvideos of their private pool vil-las and romantic candle-lit din-ners on the sand beaches, whowouldn’t want to go on an opu-lent trip like this? But, whatabout a common man? Is itaffordable enough for a mid-dle-class working person?

Choosing an ideal beach-get-away like this is the ultimatedream of many! And, to helpmake these dreams come true,the GMR HyderabadInternational Airport Limitedrecently launched GoAir’smaiden direct flight servicefrom Hyderabad to Malé inMaldives! Thanks to the chang-ing tourism laws, travelers cannow experience the serenityand gracious hospitality ofMaldives. Isn’t it going to be areally peaceful feeling of beingon the beach, wiggling toes inthe feathery sand with a wait-ress getting you an appetisingbeverage to drink before you goswimming through thesparkling waters — that’s a per-fect watch.

Pradeep Panicker, CEO,GMR Hyderabad InternationalAirport Ltd said, “This newflight service connectingHyderabad and Malé has beena much-awaited one. Adventureenthusiasts, nature lovers andholiday goers would love this

direct two-and-a-half-hourflight from GMR HyderabadInternational Airport. We arehopeful that GoAir flight ser-vice to this pristine land will bewell-received.” So it’s quite pos-sible even for a middle-classperson to go to Maldives on abudget!

Here’s the famous travel and

lifestyle blogger Shagun Seganaka ‘eattripclick’ from our veryown city who was one of thefirst ones to jump hop on thatflight. Sharing his experience oftaking that direct flight andhow one can travel indepen-dently to this fascinating place,he says, “It’s not that we didn’thave options to go to Maldives

earlier from Hyderabad but itwas vis-à-vis Mumbai or Kochiwhich is a six-hour flight, thatcan get painfully long at times.And now, due to unprecedent-ed pandemic, switching termi-nals for a traveler can seemapprehensive, especially in met-ropolitan cities. So this one’scome like a new ray of hope formany of us Hyderabadis wholove to travel. When you reachthe Male airport, you arerequired to submit a Covidnegative test report within aspan of 72 hours and with thetourism sector making it soeasier for the explorers to havehassle-free visa conditions,Maldives should definitely beon your list!”

Shagun, who’s currently voy-aging in Dharamshala afterexploring approximately 165countries on the globe, hementions something called‘revenge-travel’ Intrigued toknow more about this new-fan-gled terminology that’s goingon around in the trekkingindustry, we ask him if it’s thekind of travel everyone’s wanti-ng to take just because they’reso fed up of the Coronavirusrestrictions. Yes, it may soundviolent but it’s that’s simple!“Maldives is truly a luxury, buta luxury that a middle-classman can also pay for, if yourightly know how to plan anapposite budget travel! The onegood thing that has eventuallyhappened due to Covid is thatthe prices there in the islandshave also flashed down.Moreover, due to the burningtrend of revenge travel, it hasturned out to be a blessing indisguise for travelers! Hardly,the year of 2020 gave a citizenan opportunity to spend their

hard-earned money, so why nottake a trip from all the savings!Visiting Maldives is the mostsuitable place to go in the cur-rent times because social-dis-tancing well-maintained thereby default, thanks to the well-placed and spacious villas.”

With guest-houses springingup on the local islands, thetravel blogger feels travellingon a budget is far better thanstaying in a magnificent privatevilla that is mostly for couples.What’s so captivating about abudget travel? He says it’s thenumerous activities that comealong, allowing an individualeverything and not just bebored of seeing the multipleshades of aqua continuously fora week. “I suggest my fellowtravelers to book a resort thatoffers you ample activities tokeep you engaged. I had afloating breakfast in the pool,astounding barbeque nightaccompanied with appeasingmusic to vibe to, the option toride around on the bicycle,painting classes, silent-disconights and most importantly,the connectivity to the airportdue to the posh private jets, noteveryone can afford. KandimaMaldives is the place to go — ahub for the youth offering youin-house school for bothscuba-diving, snorkeling andwhale watching. Isolate yourselffor a while and get a chance toexperience the local life of anisland on a budget-travel,” headds.

Keeping the spirit of travel-ling high, take off to Maldivessoon, with your loved ones orfor a solo-trip with the directflight from Hyderabad and getaccustomed to the new way oftravelling to the Male airport.

Who hasn't made plans to go ona trip post the lockdown beinglifted, if not actually take a trip?And who wouldn't want a trip tothe Maldives? If only it werebudget-friendly. Helping youmake easier plans is travelblogger Shagun Segan aka‘eattripclick', who talks to ThePinoeer's SHIKHA DUGGALabout a not-so-costly trip to thecountry of sparkling waters.

ore and more peo-ple, and women too,embracing entrepre-neurship is a wel-come change. AndHyderabad has been

abounding in new and smallbusinesses, especially since thepandemic. A recent three-dayBusiness Women Expo with thetheme ‘Bounce Back’ at Hitexwas a testament to that.

The expo had the contempo-rary theme to help womencomeback to their business asthey were the ones who suf-fered a lot during the Covid. Arecord number of more than150 exhibitors participated inthe expo which experiencedancouraging footfall.

Some of the exhibitors at theexpo include inz wood studio,Foy Naturals, Learning SpaceFoundation, Dhaarana FashionStudio, 101 Flying Secrets, andDesi Cakes.

The noticeable feature of thisexpo has to be that the majorityof the exhibitors were firsttimers, which may be an indi-cation that women entrepre-neurs, who were hard hit dur-ing the pandemic were deter-mined to bounce back, so theyhave been exploring variousoptions, and exhibitions is oneof them.

Another important feature ofthe expo was the felicitation oftwo women entrepreneurs.COWE recognised and felici-

tated two first time womenentrepreneurs BishakhaMahanta from West Bengal andMamta Tanwar from MadhyaPradesh. These two womenrewrote history. They trained institching under USHA SilaiSchool and went online for thefirst time during the pandemicto beat Covid and market theirproducts through COWE’sVirtuemart. They sold diffeentkinds of fashion wear forwomen and turned out to bethe most successful in theirefforts and today stand as rolemodels for others.

Usha Silai began its journey

to empower rural women tobecome entrepreneurs and givesewing lessons in their respec-tive communities. These twosuccessful women were identi-fied by the Small IndustriesDevelopment Bank of India(SIDBI), an organisation set upunder an Act of IndianParliament, acts as thePrincipal Financial Institutionfor Promotion, Financing andDevelopment of the Micro,Small and Medium Enterprise(MSME) sector. Besides recog-nising these two women,COWE also presented each ofthese two women entrepre-

neurs cash rewards of Rs10,000 for their success inDigital Marketing, for settingtrends and living as an examplefor others. The event, that wasjointly organised by Hitex andCOWE in support with theGovernment of Telagana,HYSEA, Social Cause, TiE, hasalso highlighted that womenentrepreneurs are improvingtheir digital skills to recoverfrom the COVID-19 crisis.Covid sure has been the turn-ing point for women entrepre-neurs in the city. They arelearning to start from thescratch.

illions of Indians areaffected by ChronicKidney Diseases(CKD). Various epi-demiological studiessuggest prevalence of

CKD to be around eight to 10 percent. Multiply this with our popu-lation and age is no bar! Thoughprevalent among the elderly,younger patients are also known tohave progressive loss of kidneyfunction. CKD is associated withan increased risk of cardiovasculardisease and end-stage renal disease(ESRD).

The various causes of CKD canrange from strong medication,Diabetes, obesity, agricultural foodchain pollution, water treatmentpollution, to dehydration and kid-ney impact among others.Diabetes Mellitusis the leadingcause of CKD. Of every 100 dia-betics, nearly 40 land up withCKD. Diabesityis a coinage toemphasise the havoc created bymarriage of diabetes with obesity.One plus one becomes eleven here.Of those with high uncontrolledblood pressure, one in five willhave CKD. Glomerulonephritis,which is inflammatory conditionof kidneys as well as chronicshrinking of kidneys called chronicinterstitial nephritis are again fac-tors that can cause CKD. Youngpeople working in farms have aspecial proclivity. Indiscriminateusage of agricultural pesticidesandfertilisers along with heat dehydra-tion can cause irreversible CKD,robbing the nation of its youngworking force.

Obstruction to urine flow due tokidney stones, enlarged prostateand gynaecological problems canalso be major causes. Congenitalcauses like polycystic kidneys,reflux of urine and many otherdiseases target children right fromthe mother’s womb or at birthcausing young people to get CKD.

Kidneys filter waste productsfrom the blood. All the nitroge-nous end products, sulfuric acid,phosphaturic acid and innumer-able organic wastes which areinimical to good health are excret-ed by our indefatigable friends.Milieu Intérieur, the internal envi-ronment of the body, a perquisiteto good health is the primeresponsibility of kidneys as theyregulate blood pressure, enablenew blood formation in bone mar-row by producing the hormoneerythropoietin, maintaining fluidand electrolyte balance and byforming active vitamin D, kidneyskeep our strong bones in goodhumour!

Recognising early kidney dam-age is imperative and there aremany early symptoms that can be agiveaway to kidney health.Paradoxically passing more urinespecially at night is a classic symp-tom. Frothing in the urine, highBP especially in young people,unexplained anemia, muscle achesand bone pains, swelling over feetor face (how so ever slight andtransient) and the inability to havea baby are all symptoms to watchout for.

Knowing how to prevent ormanage the wellness of our kid-neys is equally important. Oneshould keep in mind the seven sinsof this disease and keep the follow-ing in check — sugar, salt, stress,smoking, sedentary lifestyle, spiritsi.e., alcohol and sleep (the lack ofit). CKD is associated with anincreased risk of cardiovasculardiseases like heart attacks andheart failure. Many a times the“seed of disease is in kidneys andthe fruits of illness is borne by ourheart”. Invest a small sum ofmoney and a little time in yourhealth to reap bumper dividends ofgood health. Regular BP and bloodsugar monitoring at home shouldbe done religiously.

Periodic health checks detectasymptomatic early kidney diseasewhich are amenable to correction.

High risk patients above 50 yearsof age, people with Diabetes orhigh BP and patients having a fam-ily history of kidney diseases,stones and cystic diseases shouldall opt for periodic health checks.Every person should have a healthinsurance from first day of theirearnings, whether personal oremployer supported and peoplebelow poverty line should havecoverage by schemes likeAyushman Bharat, ESI etc.

Are kidney diseases on the rise?The answer is an unequivocal yes.Ironically early CKD (stage 1 to 4)has no symptoms. Typically, it isnot until stages 4-5 where there issevere reduction in Glomerular fil-tration and kidney functions thatwater, electrolyte and acids accu-mulate and cause flooding of lungsleading to cardio respiratory fail-ure.

Dialysis is a process by which aperson is hooked up to a dialysismachine which filters out all toxinsand acidic wastes from the bloodthus reestablishing milieu interior,albeit only for a few days. So, aperson will need a four-hour ses-sion of dialysis every two to threetimes a week.

If prepared in advance, dialysisis a seamless and painless proce-dure which can lend many years ofuseful life. Getting a small surgerycalled AV fistula done well in timecan enable a safe and a high-quali-ty dialysis. We have patients livingwell for more than 15 years ondialysis. In fact, dialysis is a lifesav-ing and life prolonging procedure.Bluntly put, it boils down to ‘eitherdialysis or death’.

Nearly every person has twohealthy kidneys. In the event ofsomeone landing in End-StageRenal Disease (ESRD), changingone kidney with a healthy kidneyfrom a relative will enable com-plete recuperation of the patient.The transplanted patient can lead anormal life with some regularmedications and checks. Thedonor also leads a full and fulfill-ing life capped with the ultimatealtruistic deed.

If suffering from CKD, do askyour healthcare specialist aboutthe other relevant advice for ESRDand how to manage medicationsand routine exercises to stayhealthy. A quick visit to the dieti-cian to get tips on managing goodnutrition, food suited for the body,and to prevent thirst will go a longway in living well with kidney dis-eases.

Given that kidney diseases arean epidemic,it is important tomaintain a positive attitude withself-help and from the family. Thetreatment of kidney disease is notjust medical, but it is about com-prehending your life on a dailybasis and understanding the choic-es you can make based on yourcondition and available therapeuticmodalities.

(The writer is Senior Director &HOD, Nephrology & RenalTransplantation, BLK SuperSpeciality Hospital.)

Keeping renalproblems at bay

M

M

W

World KidneyDay is on

March 11. Tomark the

occasion, DrSunil Prakash

explains chronickidney ailments

and how onecan prevent or

treat themAN ATTEMPT TO REVENGE TRAVEL!AN ATTEMPT TO REVENGE TRAVEL!

WOMEN AMID THE

COVID PANDEMIC:

DISTURBED, BUT

UNSTOPPABLE

10

Hyderabad Wednesday March 10 2021

l Raunath

l Nikita

l Preeti Singh

Sutraa Lifestyle &Fashion exhibitionmade a grand

reappearance with theSummer-Spring specialcollection, which is setto feature inHyderabad onMarch 12 and 13.Actress PreetiSingh and severalmodels attendedthe dazzlingcurtain raiser inBanjara Hillsthis week.

SEASON'SSPECIAL

what’s brewing?

l Kusum and Dimpel

l Tejal tammdi

Photos by SV Chary

ctor RanbirKapoor hastested positivefor Covid-19.He is on med-ication and

living in quarantine athome. Ranbir’s motherNeetu Kapoor took toInstagram on Tuesday toshare her son’s healthupdate.

Sharing a photo ofRanbir, Neetu wrote:“Thank you for yourconcern and your goodwishes. Ranbir has testedpositive for Covid-19.He is on medication andrecovering well. He is inself quarantine at homeand following all precau-tions.”

Commenting onNeetu’s post, fans andfollowers shared theirwishes for Ranbir’sspeedy recovery.

Ranbir’s sisterRiddhima Kapoor Sahnialso took to herInstagram story to share

a selfie with her ailingbrother.

Neetu Kapoor hadcontracted the coron-avirus in December lastyear while shooting forthe upcoming film JugJugg Jeeyo inChandigarh.

On the work front,Ranbir has lately beenbusy shooting for AyanMukerji’s action fantasyfilm Brahmastra along-side rumoured girlfriendAlia Bhatt. The film alsostars Amitabh Bachchan,Nagarjuna Akkineni andMouni Roy.

However, it is beingspeculated that shootwill be temporarilystalled with the leadactor contracting Covid-19. Ranbir’s next releaseis Shamshera on June 25.The Karan Malhotra filmis an action drama co-starring Sanjay Dutt andVaani Kapoor, and isproduced by Yash RajFilms.

Ranbir has testedCovid positive:Neetu Kapoor

A

Rules

ARCHIE

GARFIELD

SUDOKU

REALITY CHECK SPEED BUMP 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

FUN

lR

iya

n a sad stateof affairs,miscreantsat a privatepub locatedat Jubilee

Hills, road number10, threw water andalcohol on popularsinger Sid Sriramwho was perform-ing at the venue.

Organisers of theevent are to blame,say many, for a hugecrowd was inviteddespite the venuebeing able to houseonly 500.

Sid being a popu-lar face, was able to

pull a huge crowd asthe ticket was faredat a reasonable 1500rupees.

The incident,though it occurredlast week, came tolight only recently.A bunch of inviteesgot pretty close tothe stage Sid wasperforming on andsplashed water andalcohol at theunsuspecting singer.A visibly shook Sid,stopped performing,expressed his dis-pleasure at the act,and left the stage.

A video of this

incident has beenmaking rounds onsocial media.

However, it is saidthat Sid chose not totake legal action,with Jubilee Hillspolice station too,confirming thatthey haven’treceived any com-plaint.

While the singerhas been unavail-able for comment, itlooks like the organ-isers of the eventand the singer havedecided to brushthe incident underthe carpet.

he teaser, songsand trailer of ver-satile actorSharwanand’supcoming filmSreekaram have

been making the right noiseon various social media plat-forms. Megastar Chiranjeevi,who graced a pre-release ofthe film that was held inKhammam, heaped praiseson the team behindSreekaram.

“Sharwanand is a child-hood friend of Ram Charan.I don’t know when exactlyhe chose to become an actor— when I was doing aThums Up ad many yearsago, we needed a youngpartner to act by my side, I

asked Sharwanand to actalongside me. That was per-haps his first onscreenappearance,” Chiranjeevirecalled, adding that Sharwaalso played a role in hisiconic Shankardada MBBSfilm.

The Acharya actor added,“I was able to see only a fewminutes of the film, wish Igot to see the entire film.Director Kishor B has deliv-ered a relevant message inthe right way through thefilm.”

The Sye Raa NarasimhaReddy actor noted thatSreekaram is based on ashort film that Kishor hadmade years ago about theagriculture sector and said,

“These days, I am reading alot of news reports ontechies quitting their lucra-tive IT jobs and migratingback to their villages to dofarming. This is out of theirlove for the ‘nela thalli’, andthat’s extremely impressive.”

Actor Sharwanandrecalled his association withChiranjeevi and said thatShankardada MBBS was thefilm that spun his first suc-

cess. “I am happyChiranejevi sir is here today.With him attending thisevent, Sreekaram has alreadybecome a hit. When I wasyoung, Chiranjeevi sir toldme that ‘God will rewritedestiny if one’s resolve isstrong.’ His words havealways been a source of greatstrength,” the ShatamanamBhavati actor shared. “RamCharan was the first one to

call me up soon after therelease of the film’s trailer.He promised all support andtold his father thatSreekaram deserves it,”Sharwa added. Produced by14 Reels Plus and directedby Kishor B, the film hasmusic by Mickey J Meyer.The film, starring PriyankaArul Mohan as the leadinglady, will hit the screens onMarch 11.

oing by the trailer, Gaali Sampathseems to be a promising, whole-some emotional entertainer lacedwith all commercial ingredients,highlighting the father-son bondbetween Rajendra Prasad and Sree

Vishnu.Directed by Aneesh Krishna, the film,

scheduled to release on March 11, is beingproduced by F2 fame Anil Ravipudi. He alsoprovided the screenplay for the film besidessupervising direction.

“You will walk out of the theatre bringingwith you some thrilling experiences. A slice-of-life film, you can thoroughly enjoy it onlyif you watch the film knowing what the storyis,” says Anil Ravipudi. Gaali Sampath is amovie that tells the story of a person whoaccidentally falls in a 30-feet abandoned welland how he is rescued from the claws ofdeath forms the crux of the story.

Speaking of how and why he came onboard Gaali Sampath, the entertaining direc-tor shares, “When I first heard the title, I wasunder an impression that the titular characterGaali Sampath is someone who is fit-for-nothing. I was awestruck and moved by thestory after the end of the session. Movies likeCast Away, Life of Pi, 127 Hours and the likes,were not explored on the Telugu screens.Gaali Sampath fits into this category.”

This film is unlike my other films. It’s anew genre overloaded with emotions,” addsSarileru director Anil who is in talks withsuperstar Mahesh Babu to collaborate onanother film.

Heaping praises for Rajendra Prasad’s pas-sion for arts, Anil Ravipudi says, “An artist ofhis age doesn’t need to take risks like shoot-ing in chilly cold winters in a place likeAraku. He would wrap himself in warm tow-els to cope with the chilly weather there. Butfor the passion he has for cinema, he washellbent on doing the sequences, in thecold. He delivered an impeccable perfor-mance, as a speech-impaired person whofeels a sense of hostility with nature. Howhe travels with nature is another beautiful ele-ment shown in the movie. Since the character

Gaali Sampath is of aspeech-impaired man,he often utters “Ufff..”.Rajendra Prasad garutook a lot of painswhile dubbing for therole.” The film was setin the backdrop of avillage giving the audi-ence a lively feel.

Anil, who mentoreddirector Anish Krishna in thefilm feels Anish is a sensiblefilmmaker who knows the mea-sure of a story that should run onscreen. With the amount of confi-dence Anil gained while workingfor Gaali Sampath, the ace direc-tor says he is now confidentabout pulling off off-beat films,unlike his famed comedy enter-tainers. “I always wanted to doa woman-oriented sportsdrama film. With the confi-dence I got after doing thisfilm, I’m going to startworking on such films andyou might soon see medoing one,” shares Anil,who is bindaas and con-fident about the successof his upcoming filmF3. He says F3 isgoing to be triplethe fun. Peoplewho loved F2will enjoy F3even more.”

11

Hyderabad Wednesday March 10 2021 tollywood

Director Anil Ravipudi, known for his out-and-out comedy flicks like F2 and Sarileru

Neekevvaru, has mentored the film GaaliSampath in the screenplay and supervision

and says this film is unlike his previousworks. The film pushed him to try

different genres in cinema, writes K RAMYA SREE

KNOW THE STORY TOENJOY THE FILM: ANILON GAALI SAMPATH

CHIRU ALL PRAISE

FORSHARWA

Guests misbehave withSid Sriram at a pub,mid-performance

Weekend box office war: Sreekaramvs Jathi Ratnalu vs Gaali Sampath

his Shivaratri, threestraight and notedfilms are coming totheatres for audi-ence verdict.Sharwanand’s

wholesome family entertainerSreekaram, Naveen Polisetty,Priyadarshi and RahulRamakrishna-starrer JathiRatnalu and Sree Vishnu andRajendra Prasad’s hilariousdrama Gaali Sampath will begracing the theatres in a cou-ple of days on March 11.

Interestingly, all three filmsgot a clean U certificate. Oflate, most of the films get U/Aor A certificate. It’s a rare phe-

nomenon for a film receiving aclean U certificate. Not justone or two, all the three Telugufilms releasing this week areclean and healthy entertainerswhich can be watched withfamily and children.

Makers of all the three filmsare promoting their respectivefilms vigorously to take inShivaratri festival advantage.Moreover, it will be a longweekend and the film thatmakes enough noise will bethe prime choice for movielovers. Here’s hoping all thethree films will win the love ofthe audience and becomesuper hits at the box office!

e were the first totell you thatTollywood starNaga Chaitanyawould play anardent fan of super-

star Mahesh Babu in hisupcoming movie Thank You.The latest on that is hugecutouts of Mahesh Babu’s films— Okkadu and Pokiri — beingerected in theatres inRajahmundry. Some picturesand a video from the sets, thathave gone viral on varioussocial media platforms, con-firm the same.

Directed by Vikram Kumar,the movie was officiallyannounced in October lastyear. In November last year, aglimpse of Naga Chaitanyafrom the film sets was released

in which the actor was seenholding a hockey stick. Afterthe viral pic, it was confirmedthat he will play a role of hock-ey player in Thank You.

Bankrolled by Dil Raju,Thank You will will mark thesecond collaboration betweenChaitanya and Vikram Kumarafter Manam, which alsostarred Nagarjuna and lateNageswara Rao in key roles.The film has cinematographyby PC Sriram, music by SThaman, B V S Ravi is provid-ing the story and NaveenNooli is in charge of the edit.

Meanwhile, Naga Chaitanyais currently prepping up forthe release of his upcomingSekhar Kammula’s Love Storywhich will feature Sai Pallaviin the female lead.

Mahesh Babu’s cutoutserected for Chay’s next

G

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sport 12HYDERABAD | WEDNESDAY | MARCH 10, 2021

PTI n LUCKNOW

Veteran Jhulan Goswami’sfour-wicket haul was

beautifully complemented bySmriti Mandhana’s sparkling80 not out as Indian womenoutplayed South Africa by

nine wickets in the secondODI to level the five-matchseries 1-1 here on Tuesday.

The 38-year-old Goswamireturned with figures of 10-0-42-4 and she was ably support-ed by fellow seamer MansiJoshi (2/23) and left-arm spin-

ner Rajeshwari Gayakwad(3/37) as India dismissedSouth Africa for a paltry 157after opting to field.

Opener Mandhana (80 notout off 64 balls) and Raut (62not out, 89 balls) then sharedan unbeaten 138-run part-nership for the second wicketwith India overhauling thetarget in only 28.4 overs tobounce back from their eight-wicket loss in the first ODI.

Mandhana blasted 10fours and three sixes whileRaut dropped anchor at oneend but also hit eight bound-aries.

Mandhana made herintentions clear right fromthe start when she clubbed thefirst two balls of her inningsfor sixes off Shabnim Ismail(1/46) and also scored thewinning runs with successivefours in the 29th over.

Earlier, Lara Goodall wasthe most successfulbatswoman for South Africa asshe scored a 77-ball 49, whileskipper Sune Luus chipped inwith a 57-ball 36.

AFP n PARIS

Germany’s World Cup-win-ning head coach Joachim

Löw will step down after theEuropean championships thisJuly, the German FootballAssociation said on Tuesday.

Löw will leave with a yearleft on his contract havingsigned up until the 2022 WorldCup finals in Qatar.

In a statement, Löw said hewas “full of pride and enormousgratitude” after nearly 15 yearsas national coach and that hewas “motivated” for his swan-song at the rearrangedEuropean championships fromJune 11-July 11.

Fritz Keller, the president ofthe German football association(DFB), said Löw’s decision“gives us the necessary time toname his successor calmly”.

Liverpool managerJurgen Klopp and BayernMunich boss Hansi Flick,who was Löw’s assistantcoach when Germanywon the 2014 WorldCup, have been men-

tioned as early frontrunnersfor the job.

Löw has vowed to go out ona high at the European champi-onships but Germany face atough task as they are drawn inthe same group as world cham-pions France and holdersPortugal.

“I still feel the will, greatenergy and ambition,” Löwinsisted.

“I will do my best to makeour fans happy and be success-ful at this tournament.”

The 61-year-old nicknamedJogi has been in charge of

Germany since2006.

The 2014 tri-umph in Brazil,

where his sidebeat Lionel Messi’sArgentina in

the final thanks to MarioGoetze’s extra-time winner, wasthe highpoint of his reign.

But Löw has faced threeyears of criticism since holdersGermany crashed out of the2018 World Cup in Russia atthe group stage.

The calls for him to resigngrew louder since Germanywere hammered 6-0 by Spain inthe Nations League lastNovember.

Until the 2014 debacle, theGermans had reached at leastthe semi-finals of every tourna-ment under Löw.

“I have worked with thebest footballers in the countryand supported them in theirdevelopment,” Löw said onTuesday.

“I have had great triumphswith them and painful defeats,but above all many wonderfuland magical moments — notjust winning the 2014 WorldCup in Brazil.”

His record as coach is animpressive 120 wins in 189games with Germany as well as38 draws and 31 defeats.

AFP n PARIS

Ronald Koeman insistsBarcelona can pull off

another incredible comebackagainst Paris Saint-Germainon Wednesday, especially ifLionel Messi plays at his sen-sational best.

Barca were thrashed 4-1 inthe first leg of the ChampionsLeague last 16 last month butKoeman believes his team canrepeat the remontada of 2017,when they overturned a 4-0defeat by PSG with an astonish-ing 6-1 victory.

“There is always a chance,”said Koeman in a press confer-ence on Tuesday. “It dependshow we start the game, theenergy we put into making lifedifficult for them and howruthless we are.

“They were ruthless in thefirst leg but we always createchances, so if we can beabsolutely ruthless, nothing isimpossible.”

PSG will also be withoutNeymar again in Paris after theclub confirmed he is still suf-

fering from a thigh injury.“Neymar is one of the best

players in the world,” saidBarca midfielder Frenkie deJong. “If he isn’t in front of you,

it’s easier, of course.”Despite scoring a penalty

in the first game at Camp Nou,Messi was overshadowed by astatement performance from

PSG’s Kylian Mbappe, whoripped Barcelona apart with astunning hat-trick.

But Messi has been in goodform with seven goals in his lastseven games and Koemanbelieves his captain can pro-

duce something special to turnthe tie.

“If Leo can play one of hisbest matches, everything ispossible,” Koeman said. “He isthe kind of player than candecide any match, at any time.”

PTI n AHMEDABAD

Al l-rounder HardikPandya has startedbowling full tilt at the

nets with a slightly tweakedaction ahead of the five-matchT20 series against England,giving the Indian team anadditional bowling option inwhite-ball format that theyhave missed for some time.

Hardik uploaded a videoof his net session on his Twitterpage, which mainly was a col-lage of his booming hitsincluding his customised ver-sion of helicopter shot as headcoach Ravi Shastri, battingcoach Vikram Rathour andskipper Virat Kohli lookedintently.

However, it was the last 10seconds of footage that reallycaught the attention when hestrode into bowl.

Since suffering stress frac-tures in his back in 2019,Hardik has rarely bowled. Hewas forced to bowl during theAustralia ODIs at a time whenhis action was undergoing achange.

Former national selectorand Test batsman DevangGandhi has noted the changein his action.

“It seems that he hasreduced the length of his jumpand in turn the stride is short-er. If you have a big jump, auto-matically, your stride will belonger and there will be morepounding on landing,” Gandhisaid.

The economy of actionwill put lesser stress on his backas Pandya could be an impor-tant cog not only during theT20 World Cup in October butalso the seamer all-rounderthat India will desperately needin England where they arescheduled to play six Testmatches, beginning withWorld Test Championshipfinal in Southampton.

DHAWAN MAY MISS OUTVeteran opener Shikhar

Dhawan is unlikely to get anygame in the five-match T20series unless one among KLRahul and Rohit Sharma iseither injured or rested.

It has been learnt that as ofnow, Dhawan has no chance ofmaking it to the playing XI inthe T20 format although hewill remain the first choiceback-up opener.

Dhawan, who was sec-ond-highest scorer behind KLRahul in last year’s IPL, willfind it difficult to get a look in,in this shortest format withRohit, who was injured duringthe white ball leg, is back in thethick of things.

“KL and Rohit are youropening pair in T20s goinginto the World T20. Shikharwill be the reserve opener andwill have to wait for his turn.

May be during the ODIs, hecan be given a chance if theODIs are also treated as anextension of T20 preparation,”Gandhi, who till recently wasin selection panel commented.

PANT AT 4, SURYA AT 5Gandhi feels that Rishabh

Pant should bat at number 4which will give him a lot oftime to play his destructivegame and he would like to see

Suryakumar Yadav being triedout at number five in theline-up.

The toss-up for one spe-cialist middle-order slot isbetween Surya and ShreyasIyer and Gandhi’s vote is withthe Mumbai Indians man.

“Surya has had tremen-dous success for MumbaiIndians in the IPL batting atthat particular slot. If you arelooking at him going into theWorld T20, give him as manygames as possible in the leadup. He should also be kept inthe ODI squad.”

PTI n MUMBAI

Former batsman VVSLaxman believes Rishabh

Pant can be a match-winner forIndia in the T20 format andneeds to be given a longer ropekeeping the upcoming T20World Cup in mind.

The 23-year-old wicket-keeper batsman was recentlynamed in the limited oversquad for the upcoming fiveT20Is against England afterbeing dropped from the white-ball leg of the Australia tour.

“We have seen him playunder pressure for DelhiCapitals and win matches. Asa left-hand batsman, he givesthat option where the opposi-tion captain can feel the heatonce he gets going,” saidLaxman said on Star Sportsshow Game Plan.

“I think he is a great addi-tion and I hope they don’t judgehim by one or two inningsbecause if you’re keeping inmind the World Cup, it can bea long rope. Once he has thesecurity, we know that he canwin matches just by himself.”

Pant had cracked a breath-taking 101 off 118 balls to helpIndia score 365 in the fourthTest, besides scoring a 97 atSydney and an unbeaten 89 atBrisbane that led India to a his-toric series win against

Australia in January.Laxman, a veteran of 134

Tests, feels Pant can fulfil thefinisher’s role in the team alongwith Hardik Pandya andRavindra Jadeja.

“In this situation, it couldjust strengthen the finishers inthe Indian team because overthe last one and one and halfyears, we are overly dependenton Hardik Pandya, and(Ravindra) Jadeja when hecomes at number 7,” Laxmansaid.

“But if there is one batsmanin the Indian batting line-upwho from the first ball can playthose shots is Pandya. Pant withthe kind of form and maturi-ty; it’s not only about the formbut the maturity with whichhe’s batted in Test matches, Ithink he (Pant) will be a match-winner.”

PTI n NEW DELHI

Skipper Prithvi Shaw blazedhis way to an unbeaten 185

off just 123 balls as Mumbaistormed into the semi-finals ofthe Vijay Hazare Trophy witha crushing nine-wicket winover Saurashtra in the fourthquarter-final here on Tuesday.

Opting to bat, Saurashtrarode on Samarth Vyas’ unbeat-en 90 to post 284 for 5, but itwas overshadowed by Shaw’sblitzkrieg, as Mumbai chasedthe target in just 41.5 overs.

Shaw smashed his thirdhundred in the tournamentafter slamming 105 not outagainst Delhi and 227 not outagainst Puducherry in theleague stage.

Chasing 285, Shaw wenton the offensive from theword go as Mumbai scored 67for no loss after nine overs.

The diminutive right-han-der did not spare any of theopposition bowlers as he hit 21fours and seven sixes in hiswhirlwind innings.

With Shaw in full flow,Yashasvi Jaiswal (75 off 104balls) played the perfect sec-ond fiddle.

Shaw, who now holds therecord for the highest individ-ual score in the tournament,kept playing his shots andcompleted his 50 off 29 balls.

The youngster continuedthe onslaught and notched up

his hundred in 67 balls even asthe opening duo added 238 forthe first wicket and laid thefoundation for the win.

Jaiswal hit 10 fours and asix, but perished whenMumbai was on the cusp of awin.

Shaw, then in Aditya Tare’s(20 not out) company complet-ed the formalities with ease.

Earlier, Samarth Vyas,who came in at number six,and Chirag Jani (53 not out off38 balls), rallied the inningsand provided the much-need-ed momentum with their 129-run unbroken stand for sixthwicket.

Vyas hammered sevenboundaries and four maxi-mums, while Jani struck fivefours and one six, as the duotoyed with the Mumbai attack.Brief Scores: Saurashtra 284/5(Samarth Vyas 90 not out,Chirag Jani 53 not out; ShamsMulani 2/51; Tanush Kotian1/30) lost to Mumbai 285/1(Prithvi Shaw 185 not out,Yashasvi Jaiswal 75; JaydevUnadkat 1/52) by 9 wickets.

UP BEAT DELHIIn the other semifinal

match played at Feroz ShahKotla, a disciplined UttarPradesh put up a thoroughly

professional performance tooutwit Delhi by 46 runs.

UP will now meet Gujaratin the first semi-final whileheavyweights Mumbai will bepitted against Karnataka in theother last four clash.

Uttar Pradesh rode onkeeper-batsman UpendraYadav’s stroke-filled 112 off101 balls and skipper KaranSharma’s 83 off 100 deliveriesto post a competitive 280/7.

The UP bowlers then didwell enough to restrict Delhito 234 in 48.1 overs with noneof the middle-order batsmengetting a move on after a top-order collapse, having losthalf of the side within 20overs.

Shivam Mavi 1/31 in 8.2overs was brilliant until he hadto be taken off the attack forbowling a couple of beamers.

But it was the spinnersShivam Sharma (1/33 in 10overs) and off-spinner SameerChoudhary (0/25 in 6 overs)who put the brakes in the mid-dle overs when Lalit Yadav (61off 78 balls) and Anuj Rawat(47 off 64 balls) couldn’t breakthe shackles.Brief Scores: Uttar Pradesh280/7 (Upendra Yadav 112,Karan Sharma 83; PradeepSangwan 2/49, Simarjeet Singh2/51) beat Delhi 234 in 48.1overs (Lalit Yadav 61, AnujRawat 47, Akshdeep Nath2/29, Shivam Mavi 1/32).

AFP n TOKYO

Japan has decided to stage thissummer’s Tokyo Olympics

and Paralympics without over-seas spectators due to publicconcern about Covid-19, Kyodonews agency said on Tuesday,citing officials with knowledgeof the matter.

The Tokyo 2020 gamesorganising committee said inresponse that a decision wouldbe made by the end of March.

The Olympics, postponedby a year because of the pan-demic, are scheduled for July 23to August 8, and theParalympics from August 24 toSeptember 5.

Kyodo said the JapaneseGovernment had concludedthat welcoming fans fromabroad would not be possiblegiven public concern about

the coronavirus and the detec-tion of more contagious vari-ants in many countries, Kyodocited the officials as saying.

The opening ceremony ofthe torch relay would also beheld without any spectators,Kyodo said.

“The organising committeehas decided it is essential tohold the ceremony in thenortheastern prefecture ofFukushima behind closeddoors, only permitting partic-ipants and invitees to take partin the event, to avoid largecrowds forming amid the pan-demic,” Kyodo said, quoting theofficials.

Tokyo 2020 PresidentSeiko Hashimoto has said shewants a decision on whether tolet in overseas spectators beforethe start of the torch relay onMarch 25.

Leipzig: RB Leipzig coachJulian Nagelsmann insists hisside remain underdogs inWednesday’s ChampionsLeague, last 16 clash againstcrisis-hit Liverpool after theGermans lost 2-0 to the Redsin the first leg.

“We are heading into thegame with the necessaryhumility and respect,”Nagelsmann said on Tuesday.

He added that Liverpool’smiserable run of six defeatsfrom their last seven leaguegames had no bearing onLeipzig’s chances in theChampions League.

“We’re not interested inLiverpool’s league results,because we are losing this tieat the moment. We are thechallengers, not the favourites,”said the 33-year-old Leipzigcoach.

Nagelsmann added that hebacked Liverpool to bounceback under fellow Germanboss Jurgen Klopp.

“It’s a hard phase for them,but they are still a world-classteam with a world-class coach,”said Nagelsmann.

“Jurgen has already mas-tered a few crises in his career,”he added. AFP

‘Leipzig still underdogsagainst Liverpool’

‘Nothing is impossible' against PSG: KoemanLöw to step down after Euros

Hardik bowls with tweaked action

PTI n DUBAI

India’s teenaged batting sen-sation Shafali Verma moved

up a place to second whilevice-captain Smriti Mandhanaretained the seventh spot inthe latest ICC women’s T20Irankings, released on Tuesday.

With 744 rating points,Verma is behind leader BethMooney (748) of Australiawhile Mandhana has 693points.

Jemimah Rodrigues —with 643 points — remainedat the ninth spot to be the

third Indian batswoman in thetop 10.

All-rounder DeeptiSharma (6th), spinners RadhaYadav (8th) and PoonamYadav (9th) were in the top 10in the bowlers list.

England’s SophieEccleston (799) continued tolead the bowlers’ list and wasfollowed by Shabnim Ismail(764) of South Africa in thesecond spot.

Deepti was the loneIndian to figure in the all-rounders’ list. She is placedfourth with 302 points.

Shafali climbs to 2ndspot in T20 rankings

Pant can be a matchwinner in T20s: VVS

Shaw takes Mumbai in Hazare semis Japan to stage Tokyo Olympics‘without overseas spectators’

Ashwin wins ICCFebruary Playerof Month awardNew Delhi: India’s off-spinnerRavichandran Ashwin was onTuesday named the ICC men’sPlayer of the Month (February)for his stellar show againstEngland in a four-match Testseries.

In the three Tests he played,Ashwin scored a 106 in the sec-ond innings of India’s secondTest victory over England atChennai and took his 400th Testwicket in the third Test victoryat Ahmedabad.

Besides the century, Ashwinscalped a staggering 24 wicketsagainst England in February tohelp India pocket the four-match Test series 3-1 and helphis team secure its spot in theWTC final against New Zealandat the iconic Lord’s in June.

Scoring a total of 176 runsacross these games and taking 24wickets, Ashwin was the unan-imous choice to win in themen’s category for February andgarnered the most votes in thefan vote, the ICC said in a state-ment.

Tammy Beaumont fromEngland was adjudged women’sPlayer of the Month. PNS

Mumbai skipper Prithvi Shaw in action during 2021 Vijay Hazare BCCI/File PPhoto

Jhulan Goswami celebrates with her teammates after she takes wicket of South Africa batswoman BCCI Women/Twitter

Smriti, Jhulan help India level series