16
I n a big twist during the hear- ing of the Rafale review peti- tion in the Supreme Court, the Government on Wednesday alleged that documents related to the fighter jet deal was stolen from the Defence Ministry and threatened to prosecute The Hindu newspa- per under the Official Secrets Act (OSA) for publishing arti- cles based on them. However, the court said if an act of cor- ruption has been committed in the Rafale deal, then Government cannot take shel- ter behind the OSA. Those who put documents on the Rafale deal in the pub- lic domain are guilty under the Act as also contempt of court, Attorney General KK Venugopal said before a three- judge Bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi. However, the AG did not answer to the questions of the judges, why no action was initiated and he said that he will get back to Government and inform the status to the court on the next date of hearing on March 14. Unruffled by the Centre's stand, the writer and Hindu publishing group chairman N Ram said nobody would get any information from the newspaper on the confidential sources who provided the doc- uments. “You may call it stolen documents...We are not con- cerned. We got it from confi- dential sources and we are committed to protecting these sources. Nobody is going to get any information from us on these sources. But the docu- ments speak for themselves and the stories speak for them- selves,” Ram told PTI. While publishing articles based on stolen documents amounts to violation of the Official Secrets Act, entailing maximum punishment of up to 14 years, the contempt law attracts six months jail as also a fine of 2,000. An investiga- tion into the theft is on, the AG said on a day the newspaper published another article on the fighter jet deal. The Bench, also including Justices SK Kaul and KM Joseph, was hearing a batch of petitions seeking a review of its December 14 verdict dismiss- ing all the pleas against the deal. Former Union Ministers Yashwant Sinha, Arun Shourie, and advocate Prashant Bhushan, who had jointly filed the petition, alleged the Centre suppressed crucial facts when the SC decided to dismiss the batch of PILs. When Bhushan referred to articles written by Ram, Venugopal said the write- ups were based on stolen doc- uments. An FIR has not been registered so far into the theft of documents, he said. The first write-up appeared on February 8 and Wednesday's edition had another article aimed at influ- encing the court's proceedings which amounted to contempt of court, he said. The newspa- per published the documents by omitting the word “secret” on top, he said, seeking a dis- missal of the review petitions and raising objections to Bhushan's arguments based on the articles. On behalf of Sinha, Shourie and himself, Bhushan said the top court would not have dis- missed the plea for an FIR and the probe, had critical facts not been suppressed. Venugopal said the documents relied upon by Bhushan were stolen from the Defence Ministry and an investigation into the matter was underway. The CJI said hearing Bhushan did not mean the top court was taking on record the documents on the Rafale deal. Justice Gogoi asked Venugopal to tell the court what action had been taken on theft of docu- ments on the aircraft deal. The AG submitted that the docu- ments were marked secret and classified. He also told the SC that the Rafale case pertains to defence procurement which cannot be reviewed judicially. Continued on Page 4 W ith tension escalating along the Line of Control (LoC) as the Pakistan Army is targeting civilian areas and Indian Army posts using heavy artillery guns, India on Wednesday warned that any further “provocation or mis- adventure” will invite “dire consequences.” The stern mes- sage issued by the Indian Army in New Delhi came after con- tinuous ceasefire violations by Pakistan in which at least three civilians were killed and several others hurt in the last one week. Nearly 400 ceasefire viola- tions along the LoC have already taken place this year, including 60 in the last one week since the Indian air strikes against terror camps in Pakistan on February 26. The ceasefire violation figure for the entire last year stood at 1,629 while 860 such incidents took place in 2017. The Indian Army’s state- ment said, “Post our warning to the Pakistan Army NOT to tar- get civilian areas, the overall sit- uation along the LoC remains relatively calm. In the last 24 hours, the Pakistan Army resorted to intense and unpro- voked firing with heavy calibre weapons in selected areas of Krishna Ghati and Sunderbani, targeting Indian posts and civilian areas with mortar bombs and heavy artillery guns. The same was effective- ly retaliated by the Indian Army. There have been no casualties on the Indian side.” It further said, “We would reiterate that as a professional Army we are committed to avoid civil casualties, especial- ly along the LoC. All actions taken by our defence forces are targeted towards counter ter- rorism and terrorist infra- structure, away from civilian areas, to avoid civilian casual- ties. We are maintaining strict vigil along the LoC and International Border (IB). Any further provocation or misad- venture by Pakistan will be responded in a befitting man- ner with dire consequences.” The situation is particularly grim in Poonch and Rajouri sectors, south of Pir Panjal ranges, with the Pakistan Army using heavy artillery guns to hit Indian positions and civilian areas. This is for the first time in many years that the Pakistan Army has used heavy and long range guns thereby escalating tension along the LoC. Continued on Page 4 T he Supreme Court on Wednesday said it intends to pass the order soon on whether to refer the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid land dispute case for mediation and asked all the parties con- cerned for the names of possi- ble mediators for reaching an amicable settlement. A five-judge Constitution Bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and comprising Justices SA Bobde, DY Chandrachud, Ashok Bhushan and SA Nazeer reserved the order on whether or not to refer the Ayodhya land dispute for mediation. Hindu bodies except Nirmohi Akhara opposed the suggestion of the court to refer the matter for mediation, while Muslim bodies supported the suggestion. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the UP Government, said the SC should refer it for mediation only when there exists an ele- ment of settlement. Senior advocate CS Vaidyanathan, appearing for Ram Lalla Virajman, told the Bench that mediation has not yielded any result in the past despite repeated attempts. There is no dispute that Lord Ram was born in Ayodhya but the dispute is what is the Ram Janmasthan (place of birth), he said, adding that he issue of Janmasthan cannot be mediated. BJP leader Subramanian Swamy told the SC, “PV Narsimha Rao Government had in 1994 made commitment to apex court that if ever found that there was a temple, land will be given for temple con- struction.” “It is not only about prop- erty. It is about mind, heart and healing, if possible,” the Bench said. A 57-year-old Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) Sub-Inspector (SI) died and several files were gutted in a major fire at the office of the Ministry of Social Justice at the fifth floor of the 11-storey building that houses several Government offices at CGO Complex on Wednesday. According to Atul Garg, Chief Fire Official of Delhi Fire Services (DFS), a call was received about the fire at 8.34 am following which 25 fire ten- ders were rushed to the spot. “The fire was brought under control at 10.50 am. Initial probe suggests that short-circuit caused fire in the building. However, the exact reason would be ascertained after investigation,” said Garg. CISF Sub-Inspector and shift-in-charge MP Godara died in the fire on the fifth floor of Pandit Deendayal Antodaya Bhawan, previously known as Paryavaran Bhawan. “Godara, a former Air Force personnel, first noticed the smoke coming out of the fifth floor and reached the spot with other CISF personnel to start evacuating the area. But during the evacuation process, he inhaled toxic gasses and fell unconscious. He was taken to AIIMS, where he died during treatment,” said spokesperson of CISF. “The autopsy had already been conducted and body has been sent to his native village in Rajasthan,” said Vijay Kumar, the Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), South district. Godara, a resident of Churu district in Rajasthan, had joined CISF in 2008. He is survived by two sons and wife who live in Churu. Ministry officials said 80 per cent of the entire B1 wing of the building has been gutted in the fire and several files have been destroyed. T hree cities in Madhya Pradesh bagged top awards of Swachchh Survekshan 2019 announced by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs on Wednesday. Indore (4,659.09 points) retained the cleanest city tag for third straight year in a row, Bhopal (3,793.68) cleanest Capital and Ujjain (4,244.47) cleanest city in the category of medium city (3-10 lakh popula- tion). The second and third positions in the category were grabbed by Ambikapur (4,394.09) in Chhattisgarh and Mysuru (4,378.54) in Karnataka. Chhattisgarh is India’s Best Performing State followed by Jharkhand and Maharashtra. Meghalaya is on the bottom. The New Delhi Municipal Council area (4,190.52) was given the ‘Cleanest Small City’ award, Uttarakhand’s Gauchar was adjudged the ‘Best Ganga Town’. The awards were conferred by President Ram Nath Kovind at an event in the national Capital on Wednesday. Continued on Page 4 C ongress chief Rahul Gandhi reached out to JD(S) supremo HD Deve Gowda to finalise the alliance deal, making Karnataka the fourth State after Bihar, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu where the Congress will take on the juggernaut of Narendra Modi in the Lok Sabha polls. Rahul and Gowda had a meeting at the latter’s resi- dence where the seat-sharing agreement was discussed threadbare. The outcome is likely to be announced by this weekend. In the two-hour meeting, Rahul and Gowda broadly discussed seat sharing in Karnataka, prevailing polit- ical situation in the country and the need for Opposition unity. Sources said it was decid- ed that the Congress would contest 18-19 of the total 28 seats and the JD(S) will get the rest. Gowda, who has been demanding at least 13 seats, scaled down his claim to ten. “Rahul discussed about seat sharing in Karnataka. This is the first such discussion between the two parties. Earlier, I had asked for 12 seats. At the meeting, I request- ed Rahulji to give at least 10 seats to the JD(S),” said Gowda. “Some issues which were not discussed at the meeting have been left to me and AICC’s general secretary in Karnataka KC Venugopal to finalise. We will announce our decision by March 10,” said JD(S) national general secretary Danish Ali. One of the reasons behind the delay in sealing the deal has been the rift between Gowda and his former protégé, K Siddaramaiah. Tension sur- faced after the JD(S) staked claim to Mysore seats, Siddaramaiah’s home turf. C ommuting will become easier for the people of Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR) especially from Ghaziabad and Noida as the Delhi Metro is set to open Dilshad Garden to Ghaziabad New Bus Adda Red Line on March 9. Noida City Centre to Noida Electronic city on Blue Line may start on March 9, but the DMRC is likely to take a final decision soon. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to inaugurate both the sections on March 8. Both sections of the Delhi Metro have already been grant- ed the nod by the Commissioner of Metro Rail Safety (CMRS). The completely elevated Blue Line section with six sta- tions — Sector 34, Sector 52, Sector 61, Sector 59, Sector 62 and Noida Electronic City — will immensely benefit the people of Noida and connect the satellite city with Delhi. This City Centre to Noida Electronic City extension has made the Blue Line corridor Delhi Metro’s second longest Metro corridor after the 59 kilometre long Majlis Park- Shiv Vihar corridor of Phase 3. With this extension, the Blue Line is 56.46 kilometre long. Detailed report on P2

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Page 1: English News Paper | Breaking News | Latest Today News in ... · healing, if possible,” the Bench said. ... Chhattisgarh is India’s Best Performing State followed ... Delhi-National

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In a big twist during the hear-ing of the Rafale review peti-

tion in the Supreme Court, theGovernment on Wednesdayalleged that documents relatedto the fighter jet deal wasstolen from the DefenceMinistry and threatened toprosecute The Hindu newspa-per under the Official SecretsAct (OSA) for publishing arti-cles based on them. However,the court said if an act of cor-ruption has been committed inthe Rafale deal, thenGovernment cannot take shel-ter behind the OSA.

Those who put documentson the Rafale deal in the pub-lic domain are guilty under theAct as also contempt of court,Attorney General KKVenugopal said before a three-judge Bench headed by ChiefJustice Ranjan Gogoi. However,the AG did not answer to thequestions of the judges, why noaction was initiated and he saidthat he will get back toGovernment and inform thestatus to the court on the nextdate of hearing on March 14.

Unruffled by the Centre's

stand, the writer and Hindupublishing group chairman NRam said nobody would getany information from thenewspaper on the confidentialsources who provided the doc-uments.

“You may call it stolendocuments...We are not con-cerned. We got it from confi-

dential sources and we arecommitted to protecting thesesources. Nobody is going to getany information from us onthese sources. But the docu-ments speak for themselvesand the stories speak for them-selves,” Ram told PTI.

While publishing articlesbased on stolen documents

amounts to violation of theOfficial Secrets Act, entailingmaximum punishment of up to14 years, the contempt lawattracts six months jail as alsoa fine of �2,000. An investiga-tion into the theft is on, the AGsaid on a day the newspaperpublished another article on thefighter jet deal.

The Bench, also includingJustices SK Kaul and KMJoseph, was hearing a batch ofpetitions seeking a review of itsDecember 14 verdict dismiss-ing all the pleas against the deal.

Former Union MinistersYashwant Sinha, Arun Shourie,and advocate PrashantBhushan, who had jointly filedthe petition, alleged the Centresuppressed crucial facts whenthe SC decided to dismiss thebatch of PILs. When Bhushanreferred to articles written byRam, Venugopal said the write-ups were based on stolen doc-uments. An FIR has not beenregistered so far into the theftof documents, he said.

The first write-up appearedon February 8 andWednesday's edition hadanother article aimed at influ-encing the court's proceedings

which amounted to contemptof court, he said. The newspa-per published the documentsby omitting the word “secret”on top, he said, seeking a dis-missal of the review petitionsand raising objections toBhushan's arguments based onthe articles.

On behalf of Sinha, Shourieand himself, Bhushan said thetop court would not have dis-missed the plea for an FIR andthe probe, had critical facts notbeen suppressed. Venugopalsaid the documents relied uponby Bhushan were stolen fromthe Defence Ministry and aninvestigation into the matterwas underway.

The CJI said hearingBhushan did not mean the topcourt was taking on record thedocuments on the Rafale deal.Justice Gogoi asked Venugopalto tell the court what action hadbeen taken on theft of docu-ments on the aircraft deal. TheAG submitted that the docu-ments were marked secret andclassified. He also told the SCthat the Rafale case pertains todefence procurement whichcannot be reviewed judicially.

Continued on Page 4

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With tension escalatingalong the Line of Control

(LoC) as the Pakistan Army istargeting civilian areas andIndian Army posts using heavyartillery guns, India onWednesday warned that anyfurther “provocation or mis-adventure” will invite “direconsequences.” The stern mes-sage issued by the Indian Armyin New Delhi came after con-tinuous ceasefire violations byPakistan in which at least threecivilians were killed and severalothers hurt in the last one week.

Nearly 400 ceasefire viola-tions along the LoC havealready taken place this year,including 60 in the last oneweek since the Indian air strikesagainst terror camps inPakistan on February 26. Theceasefire violation figure for the

entire last year stood at 1,629while 860 such incidents tookplace in 2017.

The Indian Army’s state-ment said, “Post our warning tothe Pakistan Army NOT to tar-get civilian areas, the overall sit-uation along the LoC remainsrelatively calm. In the last 24hours, the Pakistan Armyresorted to intense and unpro-voked firing with heavy calibreweapons in selected areas ofKrishna Ghati and Sunderbani,targeting Indian posts andcivilian areas with mortar

bombs and heavy artilleryguns. The same was effective-ly retaliated by the IndianArmy. There have been nocasualties on the Indian side.”

It further said, “We wouldreiterate that as a professionalArmy we are committed toavoid civil casualties, especial-ly along the LoC. All actionstaken by our defence forces aretargeted towards counter ter-rorism and terrorist infra-structure, away from civilianareas, to avoid civilian casual-ties. We are maintaining strictvigil along the LoC andInternational Border (IB). Anyfurther provocation or misad-venture by Pakistan will beresponded in a befitting man-ner with dire consequences.”

The situation is particularlygrim in Poonch and Rajourisectors, south of Pir Panjalranges, with the Pakistan Armyusing heavy artillery guns to hitIndian positions and civilianareas. This is for the first timein many years that the PakistanArmy has used heavy and longrange guns thereby escalatingtension along the LoC.

Continued on Page 4

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The Supreme Court onWednesday said it intends

to pass the order soon onwhether to refer the RamJanmabhoomi-Babri Masjidland dispute case for mediationand asked all the parties con-cerned for the names of possi-ble mediators for reaching anamicable settlement.

A five-judge ConstitutionBench headed by Chief JusticeRanjan Gogoi and comprisingJustices SA Bobde, DYChandrachud, Ashok Bhushanand SA Nazeer reserved theorder on whether or not torefer the Ayodhya land disputefor mediation.

Hindu bodies exceptNirmohi Akhara opposed thesuggestion of the court to referthe matter for mediation, whileMuslim bodies supported thesuggestion.

Solicitor General TusharMehta, appearing for the UP

Government, said the SCshould refer it for mediationonly when there exists an ele-ment of settlement.

Senior advocate CSVaidyanathan, appearing forRam Lalla Virajman, told theBench that mediation has notyielded any result in the pastdespite repeated attempts.

There is no dispute thatLord Ram was born inAyodhya but the dispute iswhat is the Ram Janmasthan(place of birth), he said, addingthat he issue of Janmasthancannot be mediated.

BJP leader SubramanianSwamy told the SC, “PVNarsimha Rao Governmenthad in 1994 made commitmentto apex court that if ever foundthat there was a temple, landwill be given for temple con-struction.”

“It is not only about prop-erty. It is about mind, heart andhealing, if possible,” the Benchsaid.

�� ����������� ./+�0/12$

A57-year-old CentralIndustrial Security Force

(CISF) Sub-Inspector (SI) diedand several files were gutted ina major fire at the office of theMinistry of Social Justice at thefifth floor of the 11-storeybuilding that houses severalGovernment offices at CGOComplex on Wednesday.

According to Atul Garg,Chief Fire Official of Delhi FireServices (DFS), a call wasreceived about the fire at 8.34am following which 25 fire ten-ders were rushed to the spot.

“The fire was broughtunder control at 10.50 am.Initial probe suggests thatshort-circuit caused fire in thebuilding. However, the exactreason would be ascertainedafter investigation,” said Garg.

CISF Sub-Inspector andshift-in-charge MP Godaradied in the fire on the fifth floorof Pandit Deendayal AntodayaBhawan, previously known as

Paryavaran Bhawan.“Godara, a former Air

Force personnel, first noticedthe smoke coming out of thefifth floor and reached thespot with other CISF personnelto start evacuating the area. Butduring the evacuation process,he inhaled toxic gasses and fellunconscious. He was taken toAIIMS, where he died duringtreatment,” said spokespersonof CISF.

“The autopsy had alreadybeen conducted and body hasbeen sent to his native villagein Rajasthan,” said VijayKumar, the DeputyCommissioner of Police(DCP), South district.

Godara, a resident ofChuru district in Rajasthan,had joined CISF in 2008. He issurvived by two sons and wifewho live in Churu.

Ministry officials said 80per cent of the entire B1 wingof the building has been guttedin the fire and several files havebeen destroyed.

����������� � ./+�0/12$

Three cities in MadhyaPradesh bagged top

awards of SwachchhSurvekshan 2019announced by the Ministryof Housing and UrbanAffairs on Wednesday.Indore (4,659.09 points)retained the cleanest citytag for third straight year ina row, Bhopal (3,793.68)cleanest Capital and Ujjain(4,244.47) cleanest city inthe category of mediumcity (3-10 lakh popula-tion). The second and thirdpositions in the categorywere grabbed byAmbikapur (4,394.09) inChhattisgarh and Mysuru(4,378.54) in Karnataka.Chhattisgarh is India’s BestPerforming State followedby Jharkhand andMaharashtra. Meghalayais on the bottom.

The New DelhiMunicipal Council area(4,190.52) was given the‘Cleanest Small City’award, Uttarakhand’sGauchar was adjudged the‘Best Ganga Town’. Theawards were conferred byPresident Ram NathKovind at an event in thenational Capital onWednesday.

Continued on Page 4

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Congress chief RahulGandhi reached out to

JD(S) supremo HD DeveGowda to finalise the alliancedeal, making Karnataka thefourth State after Bihar,Maharashtra and Tamil Naduwhere the Congress will takeon the juggernaut of NarendraModi in the Lok Sabha polls.

Rahul and Gowda had ameeting at the latter’s resi-dence where the seat-sharingagreement was discussedthreadbare. The outcome islikely to be announced by thisweekend. In the two-hourmeeting, Rahul and Gowdabroadly discussed seat sharingin Karnataka, prevailing polit-ical situation in the country andthe need for Opposition unity.

Sources said it was decid-ed that the Congress wouldcontest 18-19 of the total 28seats and the JD(S) will get the

rest. Gowda, who has beendemanding at least 13 seats,scaled down his claim to ten.

“Rahul discussed aboutseat sharing in Karnataka. Thisis the first such discussionbetween the two parties.Earlier, I had asked for 12seats. At the meeting, I request-ed Rahulji to give at least 10seats to the JD(S),” said Gowda.

“Some issues which werenot discussed at the meetinghave been left to me andAICC’s general secretary inKarnataka KC Venugopal tofinalise. We will announce ourdecision by March 10,” saidJD(S) national general secretaryDanish Ali.

One of the reasons behindthe delay in sealing the deal hasbeen the rift between Gowdaand his former protégé, KSiddaramaiah. Tension sur-faced after the JD(S) stakedclaim to Mysore seats,Siddaramaiah’s home turf.

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Commuting will becomeeasier for the people of

Delhi-National Capital Region(NCR) especially fromGhaziabad and Noida as theDelhi Metro is set to openDilshad Garden to GhaziabadNew Bus Adda Red Line onMarch 9. Noida City Centre toNoida Electronic city on BlueLine may start on March 9, butthe DMRC is likely to take afinal decision soon.

Prime Minister NarendraModi is likely to inaugurateboth the sections on March 8.

Both sections of the DelhiMetro have already been grant-ed the nod by theCommissioner of Metro RailSafety (CMRS).

The completely elevatedBlue Line section with six sta-tions — Sector 34, Sector 52,Sector 61, Sector 59, Sector 62and Noida Electronic City —will immensely benefit thepeople of Noida and connectthe satellite city with Delhi.

This City Centre to NoidaElectronic City extension hasmade the Blue Line corridorDelhi Metro’s second longestMetro corridor after the 59kilometre long Majlis Park-Shiv Vihar corridor of Phase 3.With this extension, the Blue Line is 56.46 kilometrelong.

Detailed report on P2

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Page 2: English News Paper | Breaking News | Latest Today News in ... · healing, if possible,” the Bench said. ... Chhattisgarh is India’s Best Performing State followed ... Delhi-National

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Union Minister RajnathSingh via video on

Wednesday inaugurated newbuilding of Police StationBadarpur and residential com-plex in the premises of thepolice station through videoconferencing. JointCommissioner of Police DeveshSrivastava and other senior offi-cials of Delhi Police were alsopresent on the occasion.

“Delhi Police had tied upwith NBCC (India) Ltd forconstruction of this new build-ing. The construction work ofthe building started in April2017 and was finished in recordtime by February, 2019.Thisnewly constructed building is 6story, eco-friendly and earth-quake resistant. The building isequipped with smoke alarmsystem, fire hydrant system,

sewerage treatment plant and 2large basements for parking,”said Chinmoy Biswal, theDeputy Commissioner of Police(DCP), South-East district.

“Many important policeoffices are going to run in thenew Police Station buildingincluding Badarpur police sta-tion, ACP office of Badarpursub-division, ACP operationsoffice, district investigationunit, special staff, district crimeteam, specialised training unit

(STU), Anti Human TraffickingUnit (AHTU), Cyber Highway,A C P / P C R / S o u t h - E a s t Zone, cold case room,Bangladeshi cell, library andmess,” said the DCP.

“Further, 20 residentialType-II and III quarters havealso been constructed for policepersonnel &amp; their fami-lies,” said Biswal adding thatpolice station being on theborder of Delhi-Faridabad,holds a strategic dimension.

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After the Central Board ofSecondary Education

(CBSE) has found severalvideos on YouTube falselyclaiming to have access to theoriginal question papers ofupcoming annual exams, theCBSE on Wednesday filed anFIR with the Delhi Police inthis connection.

“An First InformationReport (FIR) has been regis-tered at Madhu Vihar policestation on the basis of com-plaint given from CBSE office,”said the senior police officialadding that CBSE has asked theDelhi Police to take legal actionagainst persons for loadingfake videos on internet aboutleakage of question papers ofCBSE which are spreading

panic among students. “In the complaint CBSE

had said that a video of fakequestion papers of subjects inwhich examinations are yet tobe conducted such as -Accountancy, Chemistry,Geography paper of Class XIIand English, Mathematics,Science papers of Class X havebeen uploaded on YouTube,” asenior police official said.

According to CBSEspokesperson Rama Sharma,

they have also requested theDelhi Police in writing to takesuitable and strict actionagainst miscreants under pro-visions of IPC and IT Act, ‘sothat the sanctity of examina-tions and several security ini-tiatives taken by the Board toconduct fair and smooth exam-inations are not adverselyaffected’.

“In order to conduct exam-inations in a smooth manner,the Board has also releasedinstructions to all the studentsand parents to be aware of fakenews regarding paper leak,availability of question papersprior to the examinations onvarious platforms, includingsocial media, which is circulat-ed by unscrupulous personsfor creating panic and confusionamong students,” Sharma said.

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Now, commuting will be has-sle-free for the people of

Delhi-National Capital Region(NCR) especially fromGhaziabad and Noida as theDelhi Metro is set to open twomost important sections of DelhiMetro — Noida City Centre toNoida Electronic city on BlueLine and Dilshad Garden to NewBus Adda on Red Line — onMarch 9 for public use.

“The time and date for thecommencement of services onthe Noida City Centre-NoidaElectronic City Metro sectionmay undergo a change.Services on Dilshad Garden-Shaheed Sthal (New Bus Adda)section will tentatively com-mence from 8 am on March 9.The final timings for the open-ing of the sections will be inti-

mated subsequently,” AnujDayal, ED, CorporateCommunications, DMRC said.

“Commissioner of MetroRail Safety (CMRS) SK Pathakhas accorded the mandatoryapproval for the commence-ment of passenger operationson the 6.675 km long NoidaCity Centre- Noida ElectronicCity section of the Blue Line of

Delhi Metro. This completelyelevated section will immense-ly benefit the people of Noidaand connect with nationalCapital,” said Anuj Dayal,Executive Director (CorporateCommunication), Delhi Metrorail corporation (DMRC).

Passenger services on theNoida section will be started onMarch 9, 2019, at 8 am follow-

ing the formal inauguration ofthis section and the DilshadGarden-Shaheed Sthal (NewBus Adda) corridor on March8, 2019. The Noida ElectronicCity (NEC) station has alsobecomes the highest stations ofDelhi with constructed at aheight of about 21 metres.

The Blue Line corridorwill become Delhi Metro’s sec-

ond longest Metro corridorafter the 59-kilometre longMajlis Park-Shiv Vihar corridorof Phase 3.With this extension,the Blue Line will become56.46 kilometres long.

Once the section startsoperation, a large number ofpeople living in Noida such asSectors 34, 52 and 22 as well ascommercial areas in sectors 59,61, 62 and Electronic City willbe benefitted as currently thereis no metro connectivity. The6.6-km long corridor is anextension of the existing BlueLine corridor that connectsDwarka with Noida City Centre.

“The section will be amajor boost for around 80,000new passengers living in theinner circles of Noida and willalso connect various parts ofDelhi,” said a senior DMRCofficial.

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The Municipal CorporationGurugram (MCG) has

decided to induct robots called‘Genrobotcs’ to clean sewer inthe city. Chief MinisterManohar Lal Khattar inaugu-rated the pilot project in thecity on Wednesday.

According to the civicauthority, a group of entrepre-neurial engineering studentsfrom Kerala had developedthe robot.

“We have seen the work

style of the machine and it wasa very effective medium toclean sewer holes. The projectwill also encourage Make inIndia, Swachchh Bharat andStartup India in the entirecountry,” Khattar, said.

A senior civic official saidapart from sewer lines, therobots can also be pressed intoservice for other underwateractivities.

Furthermore, an officialwith the MCG stated that themanufacturing cost of themachine is somewhere betweenRs 3 lakh and Rs 5 lakh.

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Delhi Customs Departmenthas arrested a Filipino

man at Indira GandhiInternational (IGI) Airport forallegedly trying to smuggleinto the country gold valuingabout Rs 1 crore.

According to a seniorCustoms official, the 30-year-old passenger was interceptedon his arrival from Hanoi viaBangkok on Sunday.

“He was stopped by officialand a detailed baggage and per-sonal search of the passengerresulted in the recovery of threegold bars of one kilogrammeeach (totally weighing threekilogrammes), kept in threeblack colour velvet cloth bagswhich were further concealed inthe pockets of specially designedblack colour cloth chest jacketworn by the passenger,” thesenior customs official said.

“The market value of theseized gold works out to be Rs97.98 lakh. The Philippinesnational was arrested under theprovision of section 104 ofcustoms act,” the senior cus-toms official added. SR

New Delhi: A Class V studenton Tuesday succumbed to herinjuries after she accidentallyconsumed acid thinking it to bewater from a friend’s water bot-tle inside her school in North’seast Delhi’s Harsh Vihar- ll area.

The incident was reportedduring lunch hours at Deepmemorial school in B-block ofHarsh Vihar. Police said thatthe deceased girl (11) was hav-ing lunch with her friends inschool premises. During lunch,she wished to drink water andthen took a bottle from herfriend bag. As she drank theliquid she started vomiting.

Police said the bottle wasfilled with acid and her class-mate had brought the bottleaccidentally from her housemistaking it to be drinkingwater bottle. Police have seizedthat acid bottle from the school.The detailed investigation isunderway.

The deceased 11-year-oldSanjana was admitted in GTBhospital on Tuesday after shecomplaint to teacher feeling ill at her school Deepmemorial school, B-blockHarsh Vihar. She died duringtreatment at the Hospital thesame day. SR

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The Delhi Police has arrest-ed two notorious criminals

involved in various cases oftheft and snatching in nation-al Capital. With their arrest sixcases of theft and snatchinghave been solved by DelhiPolice’s North district.

The accused identified asAsif (35) resident of Sahibabad,Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh andSalman (21) resident of NewSeemaPuri, Delhi were caughtby the Delhi Police team dur-ing patrolling at village GopalPur in North district.

According to Nupur

Prasad, the DeputyCommissioner of Police(DCP), North district, onMarch 5, during the patrolling,when the team reached in thearea of village Gopal Pur areathey noticed two suspect per-sons on a bike without rearnumber plate.

“On seeing the police party,they tried to flee from there.But staff overpowered boththe persons. During theenquiry, they neither produceany document nor give any satisfactory reply regardingownership of vehicle following which they weredetained by police personnel,”said the DCP.

New Delhi: South DelhiMunicipal Corporation(SDMC) will construct an auto-mated puzzle car parking atAdhchini village in next sixmonths. A senior SDMC offi-cial said, “The parking withcapacity to accommodate 56cars is being constructed overan area of 310 square metreswith cost of Rs 7.55 crore,”.

The foundation stone ofthe project was laid by Nationalvice-president of BJP ShyamJaju. He said this will go a longway in mitigating parking woesof the locals. SDMC MayorNarendera Kumar Chawla saidit will construct more puzzleand tower parking sites.

The Standing Committeechairperson in SDMC ShikhaRai stated that the SDMC hastaken a lead in developingmodern parking sites whichwould be safer for the both carsand drivers.

The parking will have lowmaintenance and operationcost, she said. SR

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New Delhi MunicipalCouncil (NDMC) bagged

the award for the cleanest cityin small city category.

NDMC chairman NareshKumar received the awardfrom the President of India Ram Nath Kovind onbehalf of the NDMC at a func-tion held at Vigyan Bhawan inNew Delhi.

After receiving the award,the chairman informed that theCouncil has also been award-

ed Open Defecation Free ++status and three star garbagefree city ranking in the nation-wide swachhta award cate-gories. However the overallranking of the NDMC is 5th inSwachh Survekshan 2019, eventhough the aggregate score asper Swachh Survekshan para-meters places the NDMC tosecond place.

Kumar congratulated theemployees of the NDMC ingeneral and safai sevaks inparticular for their contributionto achieve the feat.

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Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP)national vice-president

Shyam Jaju launched a pro-gramme with an aim to makethe areas under North DelhiMunicipal Corporation (NMC)cataract free.

Appreciating the initiativetake by north corporation, Jajuappreciated said that underthe programme, the patientwould be diagnosed and treat-ed for free.

North Mayor Adesh Guptasaid that the officials of thehealth department will visithouse to house to find outcataract cases in the area. “Thisprogramme will actively besupported by area councillor,

Resident Welfare Associations(RWAs) and Non GovernmentOrganisations working in thearea,” he said.

Terming the initiativeunique, he said that the patientwould be given spectacles. “Tomake it successful, many polit-ical, executive wings, RWAsand NGOs are joining handstogether,” he said.

Gupta said that this will be

implemented by integratedapproach of all wings of healthdepartment such as publichealth, hospital administra-tion and Ayush department.

He informed that all caseswhich require surgery will beoperated in Hindu Rao, RajanBabu Institute of PulmonaryMedicine and Tuberculosis(RBIPMT) or KasturbaHospital.

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Medicines made in Indiaare helping African coun-

tries fight life-threatening malar-ia, said Dr GP Dutta whilehighlighting achievements ofCDRI and CSIR in the fieldmalaria chemotherapy and itsworldwide implications at anevent organised by Departmentof Biosciences, Jamia MilliaIslamia on Wednesday.

Former Deputy Director,CDRI, Lucknow, Dutta saidmalarial drug arteether is beingused against cerebral malaria orplasmodium falciparum world-wide successfully. Dr Dutta hasbeen main contributor in theCDRI drug development pro-gramme, said Prof M MoshahidAlam Rizvi, Head, Departmentof Biosciences.

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Page 3: English News Paper | Breaking News | Latest Today News in ... · healing, if possible,” the Bench said. ... Chhattisgarh is India’s Best Performing State followed ... Delhi-National

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The Delhi Cabinet onWednesday passed a poli-

cy to extend and allow the guestteachers to work till the age ofretirement (60 years old) sameas the permanent teachers.However, the policy will beimplemented only afterLieutenant Governor AnilBaijal approves it.

Currently there are 64,000teachers in the DelhiGovernment schools out ofwhich 22,000 are working asguest teachers on contract basis.Further, these teachers areprotesting for past one week infront of Deputy CM Sisodia,demanding to extend the term ofcontract teachers which hasbeen expired on February 28.After that the teachers are notallowed to work.

“We create the school,infrastructure and other facil-

ity but we do not have right tohire and appoint teachers. Thisis our constitution and themain reason behind the loss ofthousands of teacher’s jobs isthe BJP-ruled CentralGovernment,” said Sisodia.

“L-G who is head of theServices, is not only responsiblefor transfers and postings of theteachers, but he should also reg-ularise these teachers from Ad-hocism as the adhoc-guestteacher list is increasing everyyear. Now, the centre have topass the policy for the beneficialof teachers otherwise studentseducation will be effected as thenew session will start fromApril,” added the Deputy CM.

“Out of the 64,000 posts ofteachers in the DelhiGovernment schools, 58,000 arefunctional and comprise bothregular and guest teachers. Thus,the 22,000 of these 58,000 wereguest teachers, recruited on the

basis of merit from time to timethrough vacancy notificationsduring our time and before.Before the current Government,the teachers were freshlyappointed every year but westopped the practice and extend-ed their terms to stop the hasslethey had to face every year.”

Blaming the BJPGovernment, Sisodia said theAAP Government protectedthe guest teacher, increasedtheir salary and other improve-ment till they could but nowsince the services was with theCentral Government andteachers and their recruitmentalso came under it. However,we passed the policy and willrequest the LG to approve it tosave the thousands of jobs.

“Through the wrong inter-pretation of the Constitution, theCentre, through the LG, cap-tured the Services matter inDelhi... How will we run ourschools like this? Moreover, theHaryana Government has the

policy where one cannot removethe guest teachers till her age ofretirement. If this policy canhappen in BJP-ruled Haryanathen why not Delhi? LG can doit in less than a minute,” he said.

Sisodia said for two years,he had been saying that theguest teachers should be made

permanent. “The BJP at theCentre wants to make theEducation Department dys-functional,” he alleged.

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In order to boost health infra-structure, the Delhi

Government has approved aproposal to expand the facili-ties in three hospitals to caterthe needs of the patients in thenational Capital.

The proposal was givenadministrative approval in aCabinet meeting chaired byDelhi Chief Minister ArvindKejriwal on Monday.

With an aim to enhancemother and child care facilityin East Delhi, a new buildingequipped with 460 beds will beconstructed in ‘Mother & ChildBlock’ of Lal Bahadur ShastriHospital (LBS) at Khichripurwith an estimated cost of Rs1,43,72,95,900.

Currently LBS hospitalconsists of 105 sanctioned bedsand after completion of aboveproject, the bed capacity of hos-pital will be increased to 565

beds. Further the Governmentwill also revamp facilities atSatyawadi Raja HarishChandra Hospital at Narelaand Jag Pravesh ChandraHospital at Shastri Park.

“The Cabinet accordedadministrative approval andexpenditure sanction for Rs244,34,53,000 for remodellingof Satyawadi Raja HarishChandra Hospital by addingCancer block and indepen-dent block of ‘Maternity andTrauma’ cases,” a Governmentstatement said.

“The Cabinet accorded itsadministrative approval andexpenditure sanction of Rs1,89,76,70,639 for the expan-sion and remodeling of JagPravesh Chandra Hospital,” itsaid. Presently, Jag ParveshChandra Hospital consists of339 sanctioned beds and aftercompletion of above project,the bed capacity of hospital willbe enhanced to 560 beds.

“There is a requirement ofmeeting up the medical facili-ties in the area. There is also anincrease in all required servicesdue to increase in populationin the area and there is no otherGovernment hospital exceptthe existing one which is incapable to cater the medicalfacilities to the increased pop-ulation hence the expansion isproposed to provide abovefacilities as per WHO, HealthIndicates-2014,” he said.

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New Delhi: With the campaign to demand fullstatehood for Delhi starting on March 10, theAam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Wednesdaylaunched a 3.38-minute long song whichdescribes the benefits the city will get with fullpower given to its elected Government.

Launching the song, AAP leader Gopal Raisaid the song reflects the mood of the people andwill be played during the campaign.

“The AAP is launching a campaign todemand full statehood for Delhi. We have doneso much work in the last four years, a lot morecould have been done if Delhi was a full Stateand had we not been subjected to insults andrestrictions from the Centre,” he said.

Sharing the song on Twitter, AAP chiefArvind Kejriwal said, “The song is the voice ofthe people of Delhi.” SR

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New Delhi: Delhi Power MinisterSatyendra Jain inaugurated 220kilo watt (KV) substation at RKPuram and 100 Mega Volt Amp(MVA) power transformers atMasjid Moth established by DelhiTransco Limited (DTL) onWednesday. A 100 MVA powertransformer has been added at itsexisting substation at Masjid Mothto enhance its transformationcapacity, a senior SDMC officialsaid. He said the 220 KV substa-tions at RK Puram has beenestablished using state-of-the-arttechnology viz ‘Gas InsulatedSwitchgears’ (GIS) with an invest-ment of Rs 110 crore.

“This substation has a trans-mission capacity of 520 MVAand would cater to the needs of alarger area. This substation hasbeen connected with our 220 KVsubstation at Vasant Kunj to fur-ther smoothen the transmission ofpower,” he said.

Besides, this substation isplanned to be linked with 400 KVsubstations at Bamnauli,Maharani Bagh and Tugalkabad;which makes it one of the mostimportant substation in Delhi todraw the power from NorthernGrid, he said. The areas whichwould be most benefitted with theestablishment of this substationinclude RK Puram, Bhikaji CamaPlace, Vasant Vihar, Vasant Kunj,Adchini, Munirka, Shivalik, SiriFort, IIT, JNU, Delhi Metro andtheir adjoining areas. SR

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To cater the need of the stu-dents, Union Home

Minister Rajnath Singh laidfoundation stone of construc-tion six primary schools thatwould be constructed by SouthDelhi Municipal Corporation(SDMC) across its jurisdiction.

Singh who was present atIndira Kalyan Vihar Primaryschool (Okhla Phase I) inau-gurated the construction workof other five schools throughvideo conferencing.

Lauding the efforts of theSDMC, he said that the schoolsunder the civic body are notonly providing quality educa-tion but making studentsresponsible citizens of thecountry. Keeping in view thepresent atmosphere, it is need-ed to invite values of patriotismin the students of SDMCschools; this will help them inmaking aware about the unityand harmony of the country-men, he said.

He said that schools shouldimbibe the values of good char-acter and moral ethics in the stu-dents. “The proper infrastruc-ture and facilities are essential toprovide a conducive atmos-

phere for learning, reading andwriting in the schools. TheSDMC has provided the bestfurniture, smart classrooms,CCTV cameras, digital boards,different kind of models for con-venient learning, fiber madeadvanced swings and opengyms, ROs, water purifiers, sci-ence clubs, computer roomsand other facilities,” he said.

As part of ongoing com-prehensive project of the SDMCto expand educational infra-structure and bringing remark-able changes in its primaryschools, the civic body also ded-icated three newly constructedbuildings of primary schools, a

SDMC official said. A senior SDMC official said

the construction of new build-ing of schools has been startedat Indira Kalyan Vihar, OkhlaPhase I, Harkesh Nagar, and LalKuan Chungi. “All these schoolswould be multi-storied with165 classrooms, earthquakeresistant and open playgrounds.An estimated cost of the projectis Rs14, 55, 00, 000,” he said.

He also said that Rs10, 45,00,000 has been spent for con-structions of new buildings inthree schools. The designs ofthese schools have beenfinalised as per the needs of theschool children, he said.

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In order to maintain transparency and the safety of the com-muters, the Delhi Transport department on Wednesday inau-

gurated the first Ffully Automated Driving Test Centre (ADTC)at Mayur Vihar-I (Regional Transport Office).

The fully automated driving test facilities use access con-trol along with biometric, RFID recognition system. AccessControl will permit entry of applicants only at the pre-assignedtime slots, thus making it efficient and convenient. ADTCsare equipped with scientifically designed test tracks.

The automatic training centre was inaugurated by theTransport Minister Kailash Gahlot.

“Towards achieving zero fatality on roads, DelhiGovernment has already committed to develop a four KMstretch of Zero Fatality Corridor in Delhi. But, we have toensure that every driver is rigorously trained and certified. Toensure such safer road environment, Transport Departmentcollaborated with Maruti Suzuki to create advanced, modu-lar and scientific driving test mechanism and developed thesecentres,” said Gahlot.

Officials added that three more ADTCs will be started atVishwas Nagar, Sarai Kale Khan and Shakur Basti. TheseADTCs were developed by the Transport Department of DelhiGovernment in collaboration with a CSR initiative by MarutiSuzuki India Limited.

Use of advanced technology, including multiple HD cam-eras help to evaluate applicants against 20 essential driving skills,in-line with Central Motor Vehicles Rules. Gahlot said the Suzukiwill maintain the project for next three years. TransportDepartment will set up similar ADTCs at eight other locationsacross the city. These locations are: Lado Sarai, Raja Garden, HariNagar, Burari, Loni,Rohini, Jharoda Kalan and Dwarka.

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From Page 1Referring to the aerial

combat with Pakistan lastweek, he said the countryneeds the Rafale jet to defenditself "from F-16 fighter planesthat recently bombed us"."Without Rafale how can weresist them," he said, addingthat two squadrons of Rafalefighter jets are coming to Indiain flyaway condition and thefirst one will be in bySeptember. He also said thatalthough MIG 21 of 1960sperformed beautifully againstF16, Rafale fighter jets wereneeded.

The Bench, which will

hear the review petitions fur-ther on March 14, was told byVenugopal that every state-ment of the apex court madein the Rafale case may be usedto destabilise either theGovernment or the Oppositionand therefore court shouldrefrain from making it. Thehigh voltage hearing saw theBench showering several trickyquestions to the AG who wasbuttressing that the stolenmaterials cannot be relied torevisit the judgment dismissingthe pleas and it was necessaryto determine the sources whoprovided the sensitive docu-ments.

The Bench askedVenugopal "if an act of cor-ruption is committed in Rafaledeal, will Government takeshelter behind Official SecretsAct? I (CJI) am not saying it iscommitted, but if it is thenGovernment cannot take shel-ter behind OSA." It further saidit has been settled in a catenaof judgments that even if stolendocuments are cited, and ifthey are found relevant, thecourt can look into them. Atone point, Justice Josephreminded the AG that therewere many reports appeared inBofors case also and thosewere not treated under OSA.

Opposing the plea for CBIenquiry into the Rafale deal,Venugopal said any order to

the effect would be damagingto the country as the recentincidents have shown how vul-nerable is the scenario inwhich the country was tryingto meet its defence require-ments. However, the Benchsaid the issue of national secu-rity did not arise in the case asallegations were of grave crimeof corruption.

The Attorney Generalwent ahead with his submis-sions and said, "certain issuesare outside the purview ofjudicial review." Do we have tocome to the court to justifywhen we declare war, when wedeclare peace? Do we have tocome and seek permission ofthe court every time?" heasserted.

From Page 1Ahmedabad bagged

‘Cleanest Big City’, DelhiCantonment as CleanestCantonment area, followed byMeerut Cantonment. Raipurnamed ‘Fastest Moving Big City’.Mathura-Vrindavan bagged thetag of the ‘Fastest MovingMedium Cities’.

According to survey, Gujaratis the Fastest Mover State whilePunjab is the Best PerformingState in Sanitation. MadhyaPradesh is the Best PerformingState in Solid WasteManagement. Dhule (Maha),Karimnagar (Telangana),Rajamundry (Andhra), Katni(Madhya Pradesh ), Yavatmal(Maharashtra) were the worstperformer cities in the Swachchhsurvekshan. The SwachchhSurvekshan concluded on Jan 31with about 4,237 urban localbodies participating in the cityranking survey.

From Page 1In fact, both the sides had

refrained from using long range gunsfor the past 15 years or so to avoidaggravating the situation.

However, the Pakistan Army forthe past few weeks has started usingheavy artillery guns instead of smallarms firing from medium and lightmachine guns, besides mortars.

In strong retaliatory action, IndianArmy is learnt to have “flattened” sev-eral bunkers and “strategic structures”of the Pakistan Army besides causinggrievous injuries to large number ofsoldiers on their side.

However, there was no official con-firmation from the Indian Armyauthorities till late Tuesday eveningabout the exact number of fatal injuries

inflicted on the Pakistani side of theborder.

According to Defence PRO Lt ColDevender Anand (Jammu), Pakistaninitiated “unprovoked” ceasefire vio-lation around 11.30 a.m by usingmortars and small arms firing alongLoC in Nowshera sector of Rajouri onTuesday.

The firing continued for over twohours in which one Indian jawanreceived injures. Late in the eveningPakistan resorted to heavy shelling inKrishna Ghati sector of Poonch.

Meanwhile, fresh scaling of ten-sions had a direct fall out on the car-van-e-Aman peace bus servicebetween Poonch-Rawalakote.

The same was cancelled amidcontinuous exchange of fire onMonday. Cross Loc trade, however,went on smoothly with 34 truck loadsreaching here in the Trade Facilitationcentre while only three trucks crossedChakan-da-Bagh crossing point onTuesday.

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In a stepped-up counteragainst those doubting Indian

Air Force (IAF) strike against‘terrorist camps’ in Balakot inPakistan , the BJP on Wednesdayclaimed that the Oppositionwas rallying around terrorexporting country Pakistan evenas a Union Minister sought asurgical strike against theGovernment critics within Indiaengaged in “insulting Army”.

The slugfest between theBJP and the opposition, partic-ularly the Congress, that kickedoff following February 26 IAFstrike in Pakistan kept gener-ating more heat with the BJPaccusing them of speaking in thelanguage of Pakistan.

Taking a dig at the Congress,BJP spokesperson G VLNarasimha Rao said seeing the“cries and the critical com-ments” of the Congress and its

political friends, one is left won-dering if they have been hit bythe strike that “killed anunprecedentedly large numberof terrorists” in Pak territory.

He said in a statement that“irresponsible” comments byvarious Congress party leadersover India’s air strike on terrorbases in Pakistan show their des-peration and frustration at theunprecedented success of theIndian armed forces and theirvalour.

It was a travesty that theCongress and its allies were“rallying behind the terror-exporting Pakistan”, he said.

Rao said India and its braveforces are brimming with con-fidence and are celebrating therising power and stock of a ‘NewIndia’, while the Congress andtheir political friends appear tobe feeling threatened of theirpolitical future in a rising India.

Meanwhile Union MinisterVK Singh said people wantIndia to emulate Israel in tar-geting terrorists but it cannothappen because the Oppositionin that country, unlike India,does not question and “insult”

their Army when it carries outtasks like ‘Operation Munich’.

In a Facebook post, heattacked Government critics,including Opposition members,students leaders, activists andmedia, and called for a “surgicalstrike” within India, claiming ifit does not happen, then the“robbers are ready to loot”.

The ex-Army chief calledstudent leaders accused ofinvolvement in “anti-India”protests as “jonk” (leeches) andtook aim at the media for refer-ring to terrorists as “militants”,claiming such things do not hap-pen in Israel. It is high time thatthe country followed Israel, hesaid. In a tweet, Singh also useda mosquito metaphor to refer tothe debate on casualty figures ofterrorists, asking if he wasexpected to sit and count howmany he killed at night or “sleepin comfort”.

“There were a lot of mos-quitoes at 3:30 am at night. So,I used Hit (mosquito repellent)on them. Now, should I sit andcount how many mosquitoes Ikilled or sleep in comfort,” Singhtweeted.

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The Congress onWednesday launched a

fresh attack on Prime MinisterNarendra Modi over theRafale aircraft deal, allegingthat he misused his office to“benefit” Dassault Aviationand that a case under the pre-vention of corruption law ismade out against him.Alleging that the “trail of cor-ruption” in the fighter jet deal“begins and ends with” PrimeMinister, Congress PresidentRahul Gandhi claimed there“is now enough evidence” toprosecute him.

Leading the party’s attackon the Modi dispensation overthe deal, Rahul also alleged“destruction of evidence” and“obvious cover-up” after thegovernment told the SupremeCourt that crucial files per-taining to the fighter jet dealwere “stolen”.

“There is now enough evi-dence to prosecute the PM inthe Rafale Scam. The trail ofcorruption begins & ends withhim. That crucial Rafale files

incriminating him are nowreported “stolen” by the Govt,is destruction of evidence & anobvious coverup,” he said onTwitter, using the hashtag“FIRagainstCorruptModi”.

The Congress chief ’sattack came on a day when thegovernment said in theSupreme Court that docu-ments related to the Rafalefighter jet deal have beenstolen from the DefenceMinistry and threatened withaction under the OfficialSecrets Act for publishing arti-cles based on them.

The party which has beencontinuously targeting theCentre on Rafale deal, theparty alleged corruption andmalfeasance in the fighter jetdeal and said the time hascome to lodge an FIR againstPrime Minister NarendraModi. “The corruption andmalfeasance in Rafale deal isout in the open. PM Modimisused his office to give ben-efits to Dassault Aviation andcaused loss to the publicexchequer,” Congress chiefspokesperson Randeep

Surjewala said at AICC Pressconference.

“It is now crystal clear thatblatant and massive corruptionhas taken place in the Rafaledeal. It is undoubtedly estab-lished that Modi misused hisoffice as Prime Minister togrant undue benefit toDassault Aviation and causeda loss to public exchequer,” hesaid.

Surjewala said that theIndian Negotiating Team(INT) to finalise the purchaseof the fighter aircraft was side-lined and National SecurityAdvisor Ajit Doval finalisedthe negotiation at the behest ofthe Prime Minister’s Office(PMO). He claimed the gov-ernment bought the fighteraircraft at a much higher ratethan what was negotiated bythe UPA and also waived bankguarantee.

The government’s claim ofbuying the 36 aircraft at�59,000 crore is wrong and theINT has put the figure at�64,000 crore, he claimed,accusing the government ofmisleading Parliament.

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Upset at the‘distasteful’

statements madeby politicians inreference to peoplewith disabilities,particularly dur-ing election sea-son, disabilityrights’ crusaders have written to the ElectionCommission to direct the political fraternity to userespectful language for PwD and also to highlightprovisions of Disability Act in the event of con-travention.

Though they had been objecting to such ‘abus-es’ time and again, the trigger point to write to thetop poll watch dog came following Prime MinisterNarendra Modi’s remarks against dyslexia at anevent where he co-related the neurological con-dition with one of his political rivals.

Citing various such instances where electedrepresentatives ‘belittled’ the sector, Dr SatendraSingh, disability rights activist and member, DelhiState Steering Committee on Accessible Electionssaid in a letter that the use of such language dur-ing election campaigns to deride political oppo-nents is unpardonable. “In such sweeping remarks,politicians deem persons with disabilities as beingunfit to hold the government post,” he said.

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The Delhi High Court onWednesday refused to

accept the request of SwanTelecom promoter ShahidUsman Balwa and others tospare them from the task oftaking care of the trees whichthey were directed to plant asa penalty for failing to file ontime their response on the EDand CBI’s appeals challengingtheir acquittals in 2G cases.

The accused persons saidthat total cost of planting andnurturing 16,500 tress tillrainy season will cost `6.27crore.

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In a first of its kind, the Ministryof Housing and Urban Affairs

(MoHUA) has prepared the‘Model Guidelines forDevelopment and Regulations ofRetirement Homes’ for senior cit-izens who aspire to spend theirretired life independently in asafe, secure and dignified envi-ronment.

Among others the guidelinessuggest standards and normsfor building design, green build-ing principles, lifts and staircas-es, corridors, services standardsand living environment to beprovided to senior citizens inretirement homes along withthe basic amenities; medical andfitness, safety and security.

A resident of retirementhomes will be any person who is60 years of age and above. Theguidelines suggest setting up atask force in States and UnionTerritories to implement it effec-

tively. “A promoter can build andmanage the retirement homes orengage a ‘service provider’ or‘retirement home operator’ formanagement of retirementhomes,” it said.

Providing the details of theguidelines, Union Housing andUrban Affairs (MoHUA) min-ister Hardeep Singh Puri said theguidelines address the specialneeds and protect the rights of

senior citizens and retirees livingin Retirement Homes. “TheGuidelines provide option tosenior citizens and family mem-bers, who are willing and canafford to purchase a living spacefor their parents,” Puri added.

The model guidelines spec-ify ‘basic rights of resident ofretirement home’ and also pre-scribe the model tripartite agree-ment. The model guidelines

would enable states and unionterritories (UTs) to establishtransparency and accountabilitywith customised redressal ofissues pertaining to exclusivehousing projects for senior citi-zens like retirement homes.

Officials of MoHUA saidthat the idea of elderly people liv-ing independently, under cus-tom-tailored circumstances, isquite normal in the West, but isstill a relatively new and a cutting-edge concept in India.

The population of senior cit-izens is expected to grow to 17.3crore by 2025 — more than dou-ble in a little over one decade —and will further increase to about24 crore by 2050. The populationshare of senior citizens willincrease to 19% in 2050 from8%in 2015 and it is expected thatby the end of the century, seniorcitizens will constitute nearly34% of the total population of thecountry. There were 7.6 croresenior citizens in 2001.

New Delhi: India onWednesday said its first meet-ing with Pakistan to finalise themodalities for Kartarpur cor-ridor would be held at theIndian side of the Attari-Wagahborder on March 14.

The announcement came aday after Pakistan said it wouldsend a delegation to India onMarch 14 to discuss a draftagreement for setting up of thecorridor to facilitate visa-freevisit of Sikh pilgrims to theGurudwara Kartarpur Sahib.

The first meeting betweenIndia and Pakistan to discussand finalise the modalities forKartarpur corridor would beheld at Attari-Wagah (Indianside) on March 14, the Ministryof External Affairs said in astatement. PTI

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Thiruvananthapuram: Will‘pre-marital’ or ‘extra-marital’sex lead to the transmission ofdeadly HumanImmunodeficiency Viruses(HIV)? Yes, says the 10th stan-dard biology textbook underthe State syllabus being taughtin Kerala schools.

It is stated in Chapter 4titled “Keeping Diseases Away”of the textbook that HIV canspread through‘premarital/extra marital sexu-al contact’.

To the question, “Whatare the ways by which HIVspreads?”, the text book alsostates that “by sharing the nee-dle and syringe used by AIDSpatients”, “through body fluids”and “from HIV-infected moth-er to foetus”.

The startling fact is that thetext book, prepared by the

State Council of EducationalResearch and Training(SCERT), has been used in stateschools since 2016 and noteacher or school authoritieshad pointed out the blunder tillsome netizens uploaded thesnippet from it on social mediaplatforms recently.

After it had gone viral onsocial media, several doctorsand experts objected to it.

When contacted, SCERTdirector J Prasad said the print-ing of the new textbook for the

academic year 2019-20 is com-plete now and the blunderwould not figure in the newedition.

“That textbook has beentaught since 2016 and no onehas pointed out the mistake sofar. “When it came to ournotice, we took steps to excludethe portion in new textbookswhich will be distributed to stu-dents soon,” he told PTI.

However, the official wasnot willing to comment furtheron the blunder in a school text-book.

SCERT is concerned withthe academic aspects of schooleducation including formula-tion of curriculum, preparationof textbooks, teachers’ hand-books and teacher training.

It advises the governmenton policy matters relating toschool education. PTI

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Mumbai: The Maratha com-munity in Maharashtra onWednesday threatened to voteagainst BJP and Shiv Sena in theupcoming Lok Sabha and Stateassembly polls, saying the twoparties had failed to fulfil theirdemands.

The decision was taken bymembers of the Maratha KrantiMorcha (MKM) at a meeting.

MKM convener MaheshDongre said the Sena-BJPGovernment had failed to ful-fil the promises given to theMaratha community.

“The community is upsetwith the Government. We haveplanned to distribute five crorepamphlets appealing not tovote for Sena and BJP in theupcoming LS polls,” he said.

According to him, theGovernment had assured theMaratha community that casesfiled by the police against over13,000 protesters during thepro-quota stir.

The state had also assuredthat compensation and a gov-ernment job would be provid-

ed to the kin of the protesters,who had committed suicideduring the stir.

On November 30, 2018,the Maharashtra Legislaturehad passed a bill proposing 16per cent reservation in educa-tion and Government jobs forthe Marathas, a declared social-ly and educationally backwardclass by the Government.

However, the Governmenthad issued a circular putting abreak on issuing appointmentletters to the candidates, who gotselected for the Government jobunder the quota.

Dongre claimed that with-out the contribution ofMarathas, the Shiv Sena wouldnot have spread to the grass-rootlevel.

“The community will teacha lesson to the Sena by showingthe power of Marathas in theupcoming polls,” Dongre added.

Despite assurances fromChief Minister DevendraFadnavis, nothing concrete hasbeen done so far, the commu-nity leaders have claimed. PTI

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Thiruvananthapuram/Idukki(Ker): Following a series of suicidesby debt-ridden farmers in Kerala,Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan onWednesday asked banks to haltrecovery proceedings on loanstaken by them in line with themoratorium announced by theGovernment.

In a meeting held with the rep-resentatives of the State LevelBankers’ Committee (SLBC) here,he said the state government had

announced a slew of relief mea-sures, including extending tillDecember 31 the moratorium onrepayment of all loans taken byfarmers.

Vijayan also requested thebanks to have an empatheticapproach towards farmers andunderstand the difficulties faced bythem due to the recent floods andthe resulting crop loss, ChiefMinister’s Office said here in astatement.

“Considering the situation, thebanks should cooperate with thestate government completely. Inview of the moratorium, thereshould be no recovery proceduresor other such actions,” he said,adding no banks should be allowedto violate the order.

Asking the banks not to denyfresh loans to farmers to restartfarming in the name of repaymentdues, Vijayan said the Governmentwould pay the interest of the new

loans taken by them for one year.The SLBC accepted his sug-

gestion to fix the interest of the agri-culture loan as 9 per cent, the state-ment said.

Besides the Chief Minister, hisCabinet colleagues T M ThomasIsaac, V S Sunil Kumar, EChandrasekharan, KadakampallySurendran and K Krishnan Kuttyand chief secretary Tom Jose andrepresentatives of various bankstook part in the meeting.

Meanwhile, Leader ofOpposition Ramesh Chennithalastaged a one-day hunger strike atKattappana Municipal maidan inIdukki district as a mark of protestagainst the alleged governmentinaction to stop farmer suicides.

Hitting hard at the CPI(M)-ledLDF Government, Chennithalaalleged that the extension of mora-torium period was to “cheat” thefarmers and the State Government’srelief measures were a “farce”. PTI

Mumbai: Dams in Maharashtrahave only 32.88 per cent waterstock of their total storagecapacity as of now, almost 14 percent less compared to last year,according to a report of the Statewater resources department.

The situation is particular-ly worrisome in Aurangabaddivision (falling under the aridMarathwada region) where cur-rently the water stock is justseven per cent against 42.67 percent around the same time lastyear, the report said.

The State has 3,267 damsand there was 47.74 per centwater stock in them last yeararound this time.

The State Government hasso far deployed 2,636 tankers tomeet the demand of drinkingwater in rural and semi-ruralareas, Public WorksDepartment ministerChandrakant Patil said onTuesday. There was less storagein dams after last year’s mon-soon due to erratic showers inthe first couple of months of therainy season followed by longdry spells, an official from thewater resources departmentsaid. PTI

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My client Sh. Mukesh Kumar S/o Ghan Shyam R/o X-648 J.J. Colony Nangloi Delhi-110041 have disowned & severed all their relations with their son Dharmveer from his movable & immovable properties/assets. Any person dealing with them shall be doing at his/her/their own risk, cost & responsibility. My client shall not beresponsible for any act/deed.

PUBLIC NOTICE

Ratan Lal Gupta (Advocate) J-125, Adhyapak Nagar, Nangloi Delhi-41

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In a scathing attack on themahagathbandhan, Prime

Minister Narendra Modi saideven though the Oppositionparties are working very hard toremove him from power, he isworking on a different front andthat is to rid the country of ter-rorism, corruption, other evils,etc.. Addressing a pre electioncampaign at Kalaburagi inKarnataka on Wednesday, hewas at his sarcastic best in tak-ing the mahaghatbhandan.Addressing a rally he said “Thework of the "milawati maha-gathbandhan" (AdulteratedGrand Alliance) is to removeModi. But they should opentheir ears and be clear that thecountrymen understand every-thing and everybody. They arecoming together to removeModi and Modi is workinghard to eradicate terrorism.Terrorists, poverty and corrup-tion should go from the coun-try. Towards this goal, I amworking," he told while address-

ing a rally here.The Prime Minister, with-

out taking the name, attackedGandhi family and said politi-cians who are bothered abouttheir families' welfare are not lik-ing new India's new policy andwant a helpless Government tofulfill their vested interests.

Modi also said he is notafraid of Pakistan and the cor-rupt when the blessings of 125crore people is with him.

"The politicians who areonly concerned about theirfamilies and interests, are notliking the new policy of newIndia. To fulfill their own vest-ed interests, they want a help-less Government," he said.

Modi also came down heav-ily on JD(S)- Congress collationGovernment in Karnataka ledby chief minister HDKumaraswamy and said peoplehave to pay a heavy price for the

small mistake they have com-mitted . He also called thisGovernment as helplessGovernment Modi said some-times people have to pay aheavy price for small mistake forhaving a helpless Government,but hoped people do not wantsuch Government at the centreafter experiencing the same inKarnataka.

"Karnataka has a 'Mazboor'(helpless) Government but Ihope you don't want such aGovernment at the Centre.Sometimes we have to pay aheavy price for a small mistake.The people of Karnataka mustbe experiencing the same," hesaid.

"There are some suchGovernments. They think bytransfering money into theaccounts of farmers, Modi willhog all limelight. To avoid this,this Karnataka Government hasstabbed the backs of the people.This power-intoxicatedCongress and remore-con-trolled Chief Minister (HDKumaraswamy) so far not given

the list of farmers to us," he said.He also expressed disap-

pointment that despite his goodintentions to deposit moneyunder Pradhan Mantri KisanNidhi programme, he is unableto do so because of the hurdlescreated by the coalition gov-ernment in Karnataka.

"They are not pained at themoney directly going into theaccounts of the farmers, whichis not giving any scope for themiddlemen to benefit from,and hence they are creatingobstacles," he said.

The real purpose ofmilawati mahaghatbandhanand Congress is to win votes bymaking false promises to farm-ers. Modi said KaranatakaGovernment made falsepromises of waiving off farmloans and thereof betrayedinnocent farmers.

"They (KarnatakaGovernment) made falsepromises of waiving off farmloans for all farmers for votes.They have betrayed innocentfarmers," he said.

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The campaign of the NationalDemocratic Alliance in

Tamil Nadu for the upcomingLok Sabha election commencedon Wednesday atKancheepuram near Chennaiwith an electrifying speech byPrime Minister Narendra Modi.

But while the PrimeMinister was inaugurating mul-tiple development projects min-utes before the rally, the DMDK,a prospective ally of theAIADMK-led front was in “mul-tiple talks” with the DMK for abetter deal. Sudheesh, brother-in-law of Vijayakanth, reportedlycontacted Durai Murugan, theDMK treasurer with a request toinclude the DMDK in the UPA.This was disclosed by Murugan

himself while speaking toreporters and this has put theDMDK as well as the NDA in atight spot.

The Prime Minister in his 30minutes long speech lambastedthe Maha Ghatbandhan formedby the Opposition parties bydescribing it as a platform builton hate Modi campaign. “TheOpposition’s hatred forNarendra Modi is reaching newlevels. There is a competitionamong the leaders of variousOpposition parties in abusingand hating Modi. Who willabuse Modi more is the theme ofthe contest. Someone will makefun of my poor origins, someonewill make fun of my parents,some others are making fun oflower caste origin,” thunderedModi. The Prime Ministerpointed out that the ate Modi

campaign reached new level theother day with a Congress leaderspeaking of killing him. “I am notbothered about it. For me,mycountry stands first and thepeople are my strength, Everydrop of my blood in my veinsand every second of my life hasbeen dedicated to the 130 croreIndians. A strong and powerfulIndia is my life’s mission,” said thePrime Minister addressing therally which was attended byleaders of all constituent partiesin the AIADMK-led front.

Modi came down heavily onthe Congress for insulting andhumiliating former Congresschief and Chief Minister of theState K Kamaraj. “Congress hsthis habit of insulting strongregional leaders. People of TamilNadu would not forget howKamaraj was humiliated andinsulted by the Congress. Whatwas his crime? He spoke for peo-ple and democracy. He spokeagainst dynasty and corruption.The Congress got a democrati-cally elected Government underMGR dismissed,” said the PrimeMinister.

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Raiganj and Murshidabadseem to have emerged as

two bones of contention hin-dering the alliance talks

between the CPI(M) andCongress in Bengal. Enjoyinga sizeable presence in these twoLok Sabha constituencies, boththe parties have refused tobudge, sources said.

While CPI(M) general sec-retary Sitaram Yechury onWednesday said his party hadalready made its position clear onthe issue, the Pradesh Congressleaders led by PCC presidentSomen Mitra are known tohave expressed their “final view”about the two seats to partypresident Rahul Gandhi. ThePCC leaders met the Congresspresident on Wednesday.

Gandhi is known to havetold them that he would talk toYechury on this issue. The seatsare currently held by CPI(M)MPs Md Salim and BadruddozaZaman. The Congress holdsMalda North and South,Behrampore and Jangipur.

Kancheepuram (TN):AIADMK leaders K Palani-swami and O Panneerselvam onWednesday heaped praise onNarendra Modi, saying the 'capa-ble' and 'efficient' Prime Ministeralone can ensure the country'ssafety and sought a successiveterm for him.

In a grand NDA rally head-ed by Modi and attended bycoalition partners, includingPMK and outfits like PuthiyaTamizhagam, Chief MinisterPalaniswami, who is the jointcoordinator of the rulingAIADMK, said Modi was theonly "capable" person to rule the

country. Panneerselvam, theAIADMK coordinator andDeputy Chief Minister, said thecoming Lok Sabha polls was afight between "dharma andadharma" and said his alliancewas fighting to uphold dharma.

"The only man capable ofruling this country is the PrimeMinister. If we are living safelyhere, it means the credit goes tohis administrative skills,"Palaniswami said. The safety of130 crore Indians was importantand Modi had the qualificationto ensure that, Palaniswamisaid. PTI

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Indians are as scared ofNarendra Modi as they

would be of star bandit GabbarSingh of Sholay, Bengal ChiefMinister Mamata Banerjeesaid on Wednesday whilelaunching a scathing attack onthe Prime Minister for tryingto create war hysteria ahead ofthe hustings by “distractingpeople’s attention from hisfailures to bombs, missilesand guns.”

Banerjee told a gatheringat Howrah, how instead ofconcentrating on the realissues facing the country, thePrime Minister was diverting

the popular attention towardsexternal threats.

Referring to Indian armedforces’ success in handlingthreats emanating fromPakistan, Banerjee said, “Weare with the Army, we are withthe Navy, we are with the AirForce, we are with the civili-sation, peace, culture, unitybut we are not with ModiBabu. None is with him. Infact, people are now afraid ofModi Babu as they used to bein context of Gabbar Singh.”

Attacking the PrimeMinister for showering newprojects Banerjee said “who ishe to launch new projectswhen his Government haspassed its expiry date.

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Lucknow: Several members of the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Rashtriya Lok Dal,including former MP SarikaSingh Baghel, joined the BJPhere on Wednesday in thepresence of its State presidentMahendra Nath Pandey, theparty said.

Former Hathras MPBaghel joined the BJP, leavingthe RLD, a BJP spokesmansaid.

Vedram Bhati, a three-time MLA and a former UPMinister, quit the BSP andjoined the BJP along with hissupporters, according to theparty spokesman. PTI

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The episode that began with theattack on a CRPF convoy inPulwama on February 14 endedwith the repatriation of WingCommander Abhinandan

Varthaman to India on March 1, withouttriggering an India-Pakistan war. While thisis all to the good, relations between the twocountries will remain tense and furtherserious confrontations cannot be ruled out.This is because the two main causes of theircontinuing hostility will remain —Pakistan’s desire to annex Kashmir andIndia’s demand for an end to the cross-bor-der terrorist attacks that Pakistan has beenconducting against it for almost 40 yearsnow.

Pakistan’s obsession with Kashmirstems not only from the region’s fabled beau-ty but its strategic importance. ControllingKashmir, Islamabad can bring its armouredand infantry formations unopposed toJammu & Kashmir’s borders with Punjaband Himachal Pradesh, and launch theseagainst Delhi. Any such offensive has nowto contend with the Indian forces stationedalong the international border between thetwo countries in Jammu and the Line ofControl in Kashmir. This is why India can-not part with Kashmir — besides the fun-damental reason of the latter being an inte-gral and inalienable part of this country.

Control over Kashmir will enablePakistan to launch a three-pronged attackagainst India — from the Sind-Rajasthanand Punjab borders as well as Kashmir, andit will push some of its Army formationsclose to Delhi. This strategic considerationis supplemented by its pathological hatredtowards India, which routed it in the 1971war that led to Bangladesh’s liberation.

Pakistan’s fixation with gaining con-trol over Kashmir is also a result of itsstrategic doctrine which aims at India’sbalkanisation. In his book, India: A Studyin Profile, Lieutenant-Colonel JavedHassan (who retired as a Lieutenant-General) contended that “India washostage to a centrifugal rather than a cen-tripetal tradition.” Holding that India “hada historical inability to stay as a unifiedstate”, he identified Punjab, Jammu &Kashmir, Tamil Nadu and six north-east-ern States (strangely leaving one of theseven sisters out), as being completelyalienated from mainstream India.

Hussain Haqqani, who refers to thisbook in his Pakistan: Between Mosque andMilitary, wrote that Hassan felt that “withsome encouragement, the alienated regionscould become centres of insurgencies thatwould, at best, dismember India, at [the]least, weaken India’s ability to seek region-al dominance for years to come.” Hassan’sbook is most significant as it resulted froma study of the Pakistani Army’s Faculty ofResearch and Doctrinal Studies, Commandand Staff College, Quetta. It was publishedand distributed by the Services Book

Club, Rawalpindi. None of thiscould have happened withoutsanction from the top, which,in turn, indicated that it artic-ulated — at least was in syncwith — official policy. Further,Haqqani points out in a foot-note in his book, that in sever-al conversations with him,Lieutenant-General HamidGul, who was director-gener-al of Pakistan’s notorious Inter-Services Intelligence from 1987to 1989, referred to an opera-tional plan to encourage cen-trifugal forces in India thatexisted when he was director-general of military intelligencefrom 1984 to 1987.

Haqqani further states thatafter the United States hadagreed to support the Afghanjihad against Soviet occupationof Afghanistan and Americaneconomic aid had started pour-ing into Pakistan, the latter’sPresident, Zia-ul Haq, wanteda forward policy drawn upregarding India. Haqqani alsosays that a conversationbetween Zia and Lieutenant-General Akhtar AbdulRahman led to the implemen-tation of a policy combiningclandestine operations to weak-en India with the pretence ofseeking durable peace,throughout the years Zia was inpower as well as subsequently.

As can be seen, it is being

followed even now. What canIndia do? A war? It can end inIndia’s victory, defeat or a stale-mate. Defeat is impossible giventhis country’s enormous mili-tary superiority over Pakistanand the valour of its uniformedpersonnel. A victory is possiblegiven India’s superiority onland, sea and air, and India diddefeat Pakistan comprehen-sively in the 1971 war which ledto the liberation of Bangladesh.It, however, then had completesupport of the Soviet Unionunder the Indo–Soviet Treaty ofPeace, Friendship andCooperation which, underArticle IX, provided for imme-diate “mutual consultations”to remove any “attack or threatthereof ” that either countrymay face and the taking of“appropriate effective measuresto ensure peace and security oftheir countries.” Thus, theSoviet Union sent ships of itsPacific Fleet to counter war-ships of the United States’Seventh Fleet which entered theBay of Bengal to tilt the balancein Pakistan’s favour. India isunlikely to receive the samekind of support from Russiawhich is now reaching out toPakistan. Besides, even if Indiawins a comprehensive victory,it will not end terrorism fromPakistan. The 1971 war did not.Pakistan was back to promot-

ing terrorism and insurgency inIndia within 10 years of that.

Things might be different ifthis country annexes Pakistan,which the world will not allow.It is one thing for countries notto condemn — or even tacitlyendorse — an attack on the JeMterrorist-training camp atBalakot, and, quite another forthem to allow India to swallowPakistan. Equally, Pakistan maynot rattle its nuclear-tippedmissiles over an Indian aerialattack on a target inside it butwill certainly do so if Indiantroops get, say, within 50 kilo-metres of Islamabad.

Most likely, a war will endin a stalemate. Besides notending terrorism, it willimpose a heavy cost in termsof human lives, public and pri-vate assets destroyed and eco-nomic disruption. Instead of it,one needs a coherent long-term policy and a clear blue-print to fight terrorism, pro-viding for diplomatic and eco-nomic pressure on Pakistan,sound intelligence gathering topre-empt terror strikes inIndia and terror attacks inPakistan itself. Whipping upjingoism and war hysteriaonly diverts attention fromthis essential task.

(The writer is ConsultantEditor, The Pioneer, and anauthor)

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Sir — The Prime Minister’sremark made during his recentvideo-conference with students,when one of them was explaininghow her project could help dyslex-ic children, was insensitive. Onewonders whether our leader iseven aware of how those diag-nosed with dyslexia have achievedgreatness in their lives, examplesbeing Alexander Graham Bell,Lewis Carroll, Leonardo da Vinci,John Irving, Pablo Picasso and LeeKuan Yew, to name a few.

The Prime Minister hasmocked the differently-abled,marking a new low in our politi-cal discourse. When the Rights ofPersons with Disabilities Act talksabout non-discrimination andrespect for persons with disabili-ties, activists are well within theirrights to demand an uncondition-al apology.

Bidyut Kumar ChatterjeeFaridabad

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Sir — Kudos to team India forregistering its 500th win in theOne-Day International (ODI)

cricket match after achieving anexceptional victory in the secondODI, played against Australia atthe Vidharbha CricketAssociation Stadium, Jamtha.

Indian skipper Virat Kohli,who scored his 40th ODI centu-ry, must be lauded for taking theteam to a handsome total of 250runs on a tricky pitch despite earlydismissals of Indian openers anda failed middle order.

The Indian bowling team,too, did a good job. KuldeepYadav, Kedar Jadhav andRavindra Jadeja bowled excep-tionally well and gave strongbreakthroughs to the Indian teambut the wicket of Marcus Stoinistaken by Vijay Shankar in the lastover was the most notable andadmirable.

Tushar AnandPatna

���������������Sir — This refers to the editori-al, “Encashing Pulwama” (March1). The killing of over 40 CRPFjawans in Pulwama was deadlyand the Government gave a jus-tifiable response to it. There isnothing wrong with theGovernment taking credit forthe airstrikes. After all, prevailingpolitics is not niskarma seva but

the art of the possible.During the 1971 war, Indira

Gandhi milked the situation to thehilt and romped home in the nextLok Sabha election. In 1979, for-mer US president Jimmy Carterhad to pay a price for the botched-up operation of releasing thediplomatic staff from the USEmbassy in Tehran, Iran, and hecould not get a second term. In2011, President Barack Obamaordered the assassination ofOsama bin Laden. With the mis-sion being successful, he wasvoted for a second term.

SC PandaBhubaneswar

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Sir — It is shocking that a sectionof people is demanding proof forthe airstrikes. One must supportthe acts of our defence forces whoensure that we are safe in everycorner of this country. Thisdemand for proof is embarrass-ing and indirectly gives our ene-mies an advantage.

ShashikantVia email

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The Union Government, State Governmentsas well as local self-governments aregrappling with the Herculean challenges

of urban sanitation. Indeed, while the word“urban” should imply modern sanitation facil-ities, the fact remains that 68 per cent of urbanhouseholds in India do not have access to asewage network and 85 per cent of the liquidwaste generated goes untreated. This often resultsin the contamination of groundwater and sur-face water which in turn manifests as water-borne diseases like diarrhoea and jaundice, theleading cause of child fatalities. Hookworms,which can spread through open defecation, causeanaemia and weight loss among women, besidesseverely impacting productivity, the well-beingof the households and the community.

In order to take this challenge head on, the2008 National Urban Sanitation Policy (NUSP)had initiated a framework for cities to prepareCity Sanitation Plans (CSPs) under theirrespective State strategies. But as policy mak-ers and other stakeholders often report, eachcity, town and slum presents its own complexset of challenges. Whether it is the lack of pipedwater, toilets or sewage treatment mechanism,the entire value chain of providing good san-itation — imperative for national health — hasbeen under severe stress and requires uniquesolutions and collaborations.

Yet, while challenges are unique in the localcontext, solutions have had their implicationsfor the broader sanitation ecosystem. Finally,there was a dire need to explore new approach-es since most households in India depend onon-site sanitation facilities such as septic tanksand pits vs centralised sewerage systems,where safe management of human waste,which includes its safe containment, transport,treatment and disposal, was essential.

It was against this backdrop of searchingfor new complementary approaches that theNational Policy on Faecal Sludge and SeptageManagement (FSSM) was formulated. TheFSSM approach — an end-to-end managementof faecal waste collected in pit latrines and/orseptic tanks — can be applied to arrest harm-ful impacts of poor sanitation in cases wherethe provision of sewerage system is unfeasibleor takes longer time.

As recognition for FSSM as an innovativeapproach grew, Odisha, which had embarkedon its own sanitation journey, also rolled outpilot projects in two small towns — Angul andDhenkanal in early 2015 under Project Nirmal.The idea was to demonstrate sustainable san-itation solutions for communities. This pilotprogramme was implemented with supportfrom the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation(BMGF), Arghyam, Centre for Policy Researchand Practical Action. Since then, the initiativehas been scaled up to nine other towns underthe Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and UrbanTransformation (AMRUT) by 2016.

However, implementation at such a grandscale required augmentation of internal capac-ity. This was achieved through a technical sup-port unit comprising Ernst & Young with sup-port from BMGF, which helped steer clear thegrassroot implementation of the interven-

tions and stitched a collaborationbetween various stakeholders. Today,FSSM has been integrated with theState’s policy plans and set of opera-tive guidelines for Urban Local Bodies(ULBs) to implement FSSM interven-tions across the sanitation value chain.

Six septage treatment plants(SeTPs) were commissioned onOctober 26, 2018, and six others arein progress, which together will caterto 60 per cent of the State’s urban pop-ulation. All these SeTPs are based onlow energy-consuming technologies toensure minimal operation and main-tenance cost. Recently, Odisha decid-ed that all ULBs will adopt the FSSMapproach and will set up septagetreatment facilities. Much more nowneeds to be done to ensure quickgrounding of such initiatives to achieveuniversal coverage of safe humanwaste disposal in all urban areas.

While the FSSM framework andtechnology speaks of innovation,equally important has been a deliber-ate approach to roll out capacity-building interventions among ULBsand build community participationin all programmes. The capacity-building efforts have includedstrengthening of various grassroots-level institutions such as the SlumSanitation Committee, WardSanitation Committee and CitySanitation Task Force (CSTF) toensure community ownership in san-itation service and people-centricsanitation service delivery systems in

the ULBs.ULB officials, Community Based

Organisations (CBOs) and communi-ty leaders have also come together tocreate community engagement mod-els in urban sanitation. FSSM case stud-ies show how community organisationsand vulnerable groups have been inte-grated, not as beneficiaries but as keystakeholders and partners in the imple-mentation and involvement of commu-nities in the processes.

For example, in Bhadrak munic-ipality, CBOs like the Mahila ArogyaSamitis (MAS) and women’s groupsare working to promote improved san-itation and FSSM practices at the wardlevel, particularly, among the urbanpoor. In Cuttack, a male SHG of san-itary workers from a vulnerable com-munity is being engaged for Operationand Maintenance (O&M) of cesspoolemptier vehicles in the municipal cor-poration.

The involvement of such groupshas helped the Government improveon-ground sanitation services througha linkage between livelihood and effi-cient FSSM services provided bymembers of the community itself.Significantly, the State has also seenhow the involvement of communitymembers in various ways boosts con-fidence and ensures dignity of thecommunity members, who becomepart of these programmes and who aresubsequently looked upon as rolemodels in their community.

The sanitation challenge in India

is complex and large in scope andscale. The FSSM roll-out in Odishaand other States is a testament of com-mitment at multiple levels of theUnion Government, StateGovernment, ULBs, global organisa-tions and most importantly, localcommunities, who have taken it uponthemselves to collaborate and “own”these initiatives. FSSM also shows usthat an innovative solution is feasible,can be customised to address the com-plex local challenge in sanitation andcan also be scaled by using the rightframework and protocols.

Finally, FSSM has shown a wayforward where multi-organisation,multi-stakeholder, sanitation enhance-ment programmes can be carried outsuccessfully. A recent study by theWater and Sanitation Programme ofthe World Bank estimated that inad-equate sanitation costs India theequivalent of 6.4 per cent of its GrossDomestic Product.

At the same time, experts haveconsistently pointed out that citiesdrive economic growth. The caveathere is this: It is the cities with goodsanitation which will drive econom-ic growth. Indeed, it will be nirmalshahars (clean cities) that will be aproxy for economic growth in humanhealth and well-being. FSSM’smomentum must be maintained.

(The writer is commissioner-cum-Secretary, Housing and UrbanDevelopment Department,Government of Odisha)

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As the month of March scriptsthe final chapter of winter, onecannot help but notice how

this year was climatically differentfrom other seasons in the precedingyears. The intermittent rainy daysthis year helped fight bad air daysand were instrumental in bringingthe pollution levels down.

This is indeed a miracle consid-ering the fact that winter seasons areusually air pollution nightmares.Healthy rains in the northern plains,coupled with ample snowing in thehills somewhat marked a thankfuldeparture compared to last year whenthe Himalayan mountains, especiallythe foothills, bore a dry appearancedue to the absence of proper snowfall

in March.With a winter that is signing off

on a positive note, can we gingerlyexpect the summer of 2019 to treat uswell? Maybe not if some reports bymeteorological offices are to bebelieved from across the world. Withthe imminent advent of the summers,experts in the weather offices and lab-oratories have started making well-researched scientific predictions onwhat the summer has in store for us.Though these have no direct bearingon how India will fare during thehottest months, they do give a gener-al idea of what is in store for mankindglobally.

Climate forecasters in the UnitedKingdom warned that 2019 is expect-ed to be one of the hottest years of alltime. The British meteorological officeestimated that average global temper-atures for 2019 will be 1.10C abovepre-industrial levels, putting it amongthe five hottest years ever. In fact, it isuncomfortably close to the record-breaking 2016, when temperatureswere 1.15C above the 1850-1900 peri-od. The predictions were based on theworsening impacts of climate change

caused mainly by spiralling green-house gases. Britain by itself experi-enced a hot summer in 2018 with theyear’s average temperatures around0.96C above pre-industrial levels.

Predictions for India are notpromising as well. The combinedeffect of climate change and an evolv-ing El Niño could make 2019 thehottest year ever. In fact, the past threeyears from 2015 to 2017 happened tobe the warmest ever recorded. Andalthough the current year started offwith a moderate La Niña phenome-non, which generally has a coolingeffect on global climate, it is going toend up being the fourth warmest year,

clearly showing a warming trend.In fact, the 20 warmest years on

record have occurred in the last 22years. This trend also sits in perfect-ly with the emission rates of green-house gases (GHGs), which were at arecord high in 2018, according to theWorld Meteorological Organisation.

According to climate scientistsfrom the Pennsylvania State University,the combination of human-causedwarming and a natural upswing intemperatures increases the odds thatany new El Nino year will be thewarmest ever. Many weather forecast-ers around the world, including theIndia Meteorological Department

(IMD), had predicted the developmentof an El Niño phenomenon by the endof 2018. This has already made win-ters in India warmer than usual andif the trend continues into the springof 2019, it will mean that the summers,too, will witness soaring temperatures.

Another major indicator of thewarming trend due to climate changeis ocean heat content (OHC). The year2018 recorded a new high in terms ofOHC since observations began in1940. There is more heat stored in theearth’s oceans today than at any timein the last 78 years. When GHGs trapheat in the atmosphere, some of it getsconverted into surface temperature but90 per cent of it gets assimilated intothe oceans. Therefore OHC is a muchbetter indicator of climate change thansurface temperatures. So how willIndia cope with this temperaturespike? Although it’s clear that nothingas such can be done to register animmediate impact, much can be doneto prevent worse summers.

The green house gas (GHG)emissions are the main culprits behindthe rising number of hot days. This canbe curtailed by bringing a decisive dif-

ference in the usage of fossil fuels,which contribute heavily to GHGemissions. Thermal power plants andvehicular fuels are the main bulksource of GHG and sadly enough,India is unable to ramp up the alter-native energy sources so that they canreplace the polluting thermal energyand fossil fuels.

Although on the face of it, wors-ening climate seems to be the primafacie reason for soaring tempera-tures, the real anthropogenic reasonscannot be overlooked. The numerousclimate conferences or climate scien-tists’ predictions are only a pointlessexercise if the same are not translat-ed into action in the form of meaning-ful reduction in GHG levels. The timehas come for the Government to startassessment of the efforts based onGHG level monitoring. This alone willensure that further time and moneyis not wasted and effective progress isclocked in protecting the environment.If this is not done, we will soon haveonly one season all throughout theyear — summer.

(The writer is an environmentaljournalist)

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Page 10: English News Paper | Breaking News | Latest Today News in ... · healing, if possible,” the Bench said. ... Chhattisgarh is India’s Best Performing State followed ... Delhi-National

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Vellore Institute of Technology(VIT) acquires an interna-

tional acclaim. The Universitysets the record, as three of thesubjects made way to the presti-gious Quacquarelli Symonds(QS) World University Rankingsby Subject 2019. Three subjectareas of VIT — ComputerScience and Information System,Electrical and ElectronicEngineering and Chemistry wereranked within the top 550Universities of the world.

While the two engineeringsubject areas were ranked with-in the top 500 universities of theworld, Chemistry emerged in thetop 550 universities of the world.It may be noted that QS is aninternational ranking agencythat takes ‘h index’ and citationsof research publications as cri-teria for subject ranking, besidesperception about the subjectareas by academic and industryleaders. Subject ranking indicatesthe strength of research outputof a University in terms of bothquality and quantity.

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The unrelenting pursuit forexcellence in concert with

conviction for providingworld-class airports by AAIhas been acknowledged withFour AAI airports getting thetop honours in the recentlyannounced ASQ awards. Theairports viz. Ahmedabad,Bhubaneswar, Chandigarhand Indore won nine awardsin different categories.

Airport Service Quality(ASQ) survey is the world-renowned and international-ly established global bench-marking programme measur-ing passengers’ satisfaction,whilst they travel through anairport, conducted by theAirports CouncilInternational (ACI), (a glob-al non-profit organization ofAirport Operators). ASQAwards recognize those air-ports around the world thatdeliver the best customerexperience in the opinion oftheir own passengers.

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The Centre on Wednesdaysaid over 5,000 Jan

Aushadhi stores, which providequality drugs at affordablerates, have been opened acrossthe country and another 2,500will come by 2020.

Also, the Government isplanning to open at least one JanAushadhi store in every block.

The number of PradhanMantri Bhartiya JanaushadhiKendra (PMBJK) in the coun-try under the Pradhan MantriBhartiya JanaushadhiPariyojana (PMBJP) hascrossed 5,000-mark, Ministerof State for Chemicals andFertilisers Mansukh LMandaviya told reporters here.

“By the year 2020, anoth-er 2,500 Jan Aushadhi storeswill be opened in the country.Our aim is to have at least onesuch store at every block level,”

he added.Urging the

people to buythe genericm e d i c i n e sfrom the near-est JanA u s h a d h istores, theminister saidthe medicinessold at thesestores arecheaper and consumers musttake the benefit.

“Health is one sector whichis on priority of our government.Government is continuouslyworking to provide affordabletreatment and medicines atcheaper prices. Today if a patientstarts his/her treatment, 70 percent of money goes on buyingmedicines,” he said.

He further said that thedemand of generic medicine isgrowing and Jan Aushadi stores

across the country are serving10-15 lakh people per day.

The Minster also said thatfor providing further impetusand creating awareness about useof generic medicines, it has beendecided to celebrate March 7,2019, (Thursday) as ‘JanaushadhiDiwas’ across India.

Under the PMBJP, theGovernment provides morethan 800 medicines and 154surgicals through Jan Aushadhikendras.

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The Centre has transferredthe first instalment of

�2,000 each to over 2 crorefarmers so far under the ambi-tious Pradhan Mantri KisanSamman Nidhi (PM-Kisan)scheme, Agriculture MinisterRadha Mohan Singh said onWednesday.

In the Interim Budget2019-20, the centralGovernment had announcedthe PM-Kisan scheme underwhich �6,000 per year will begiven in three instalments to12 crore small and marginalfarmers holding cultivableland up to 2 hectares. Itpromised to give the firstinstalment of �2,000 byMarch.

On February 24, PrimeMinister Narendra Modi offi-cially launched the scheme inUttar Pradesh by transferring

the first tranche amount to overone crore farmers.

“Many states are seriouslyshowing interest to implementthe scheme and sending thedata. So far, over 2 crore farm-ers have been benefitted,” Singhtold reporters.

Some states such as WestBengal, the minister said, arenot keen to roll out thescheme and therefore not pro-viding the data. “To suchstates, I only urge to keep thepolitics aside else the elec-torate will teach them a les-son,” he added.

Asked about a large num-ber of vacancies in top leader-ship positions at the IndianCouncil of AgriculturalResearch (ICAR), Singh saidthe recruitment would be donein a transparent manner now asthe entire process has beendigitised unlike manual processearlier.

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The skyrocketing US tradedeficit hit the highest

level in a decade last yeardespite President DonaldTrump’s global trade offen-s ive, according to aGovernment report onWednesday.

America’s trade deficitwith the world jumped 12.5per cent to $621 billion, theC ommerce Depar tmentreported, as both importsand exports rose to the high-est levels ever.

And the trade gaps withChina, Mexico and theEuropean Union also reachedat all-time highs even thoughWashington slapped tariffson hundreds of billions inimports from its largest trad-ing partners.

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The rupee rallied by 21 paise to close at 70.28against the US dollar on Wednesday on eas-

ing crude oil prices even as the greenbackstrengthened vis-a-vis other major currencies.

Forex traders said heavy buying in domesticequities and robust foreign fund inflows alsopropped up the rupee.

This is the second successive session of gainfor the domestic currency, during which it hasclimbed 64 paise.

At the Interbank Foreign Exchange (forex)market, the rupee opened on a weak note at 70.60.Intra-day, it fluctuated between 70.67 and 70.25,before finally closing at 70.28, up 21 paise overits previous close.

On Tuesday, the rupee had rebounded by 43paise to finish at 70.49 against the US dollar.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, wastrading at $65.61 per barrel, lower by 0.38 percent.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges thegreenback’s strength against a basket of six cur-rencies, rose 0.07 per cent to 96.92.

“Dollar is trading up for the sixth consecu-tive session as the market awaits developmentsin US-China trade talks after the failure of Kim-Trump summit,” said V K Sharma, Head PCG &Capital Markets Strategy, HDFC Securities.

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North Korea is restoringfacilities at a long-range

rocket launch site that it dis-mantled last year as part of dis-armament steps, according toforeign experts and a SouthKorean lawmaker who wasbriefed by Seoul’s spy service.

The finding follows a high-stakes nuclear summit lastweek between North Koreanleader Kim Jong-Un and USPresident Donald Trump thatended without any agreement.

South Korea’s NationalIntelligence Service providedthe assessment about theNorth’s Tongchang-ri launchsite to lawmakers during a pri-

vate briefing Tuesday. NorthKorea didn’t immediatelyrespond in its state media.

An article from 38 North, awebsite specialising in NorthKorea studies, cited commercialsatellite imagery as indicatingefforts to rebuild some structuresat the site started sometimebetween February 16 and March2. Dismantling parts of its long-range rocket launch facility wasamong several steps the Northtook last year when it enterednuclear talks with the US andSouth Korea. North has carriedout satellite launches at the sitein recent years, resulting in UNsanctions over expert claimsthat they were disguised tests ofbanned missile technology.

Islamabad: Pakistan must takestrict measures, including actionagainst banned outfits by May,to avoid economic sanctionsover the non-implementation ofFinancial Action Task Force(FATF) recommendations, thefinance secretary has warned.

Last year, the Paris-basedFATF, an international terrorfinancing watchdog, finalised areport with 40 recommenda-tions for de-listing Islamabadfrom its ‘grey list’. Pakistan wasplaced on the list for failing tocurb anti-terror financing.

Arif Ahmed Khan wastalking to reporters afterattending a meeting of a sub-committee of the PublicAccounts Committee (PAC)

on Tuesday. Dawn reportedthat he said “the country had toproceed against the bannedoutfits in the light of FATF rec-ommendations”.

Khan expressed apprehen-sions that Pakistan might faceeconomic sanctions if the FATFrecommendations wereignored and not implemented.The Finance Secretary saidPakistan had to take strictmeasures to implement theFATF recommendations.

The InternationalCooperation Review Group ofFATF that reviewed Pakistan’saction plan in recent meetingswas not satisfied with theprogress on milestones set forJanuary 2019. PTI

I s l a m a b a d : J a i s h - e -Muhammed (JeM) whichclaimed responsibility for thePulwama attack does not existin Pakistan, the military’sspokesperson has said, daysafter Foreign Minister ShahMahmood Qureshi admittedthat the terror outfit’s chief ispresent in the country.

The already sour relationsbetween India and Pakistanhave worsened after Pakistan-based JeM claimed responsi-bility for the February 14Pulwama attack that left 40CRPF personnel dead.

Director General Inter-

Services Public Relations (ISPR)Major General Asif Ghafoorwhen asked if the two countrieswere close to war after theattack told CNN, “We were Iwould say close to war becausewhen they (India) violated theairspace under token aggres-sion, we went for response.”

“Along the LoC we wereeyeball-to-eyeball. There ispresence of troops at the LoCfor decades. But post the Indianaggression and our response,the safeguards have been takenby both side,” Ghafoor said onthe situation along the LoC.

He said troops had been

increased “because it is natur-al as part of military planning.When the situation gets hotthere are safeguards. Thosesafeguards are in place on bothsides.” After the Pulwamaattack, the IAF carried out acounter-terror operation, hit-ting what it said was a JeMtraining camp in Balakot, deepinside Pakistan on February 26.

The next day, Pakistan AirForce retaliated and downed aMiG-21 and captured its pilotWing CommanderAbhinandan Varthaman whowas handed over to India onFriday. PTI

Washington: The US is “veryclosely” following the reportsthat Pakistan misusedAmerican-made F-16 fighterjets against India in the recentaerial confrontation betweentheir air forces, according to atop State Department official.

The Indian Air Force onThursday displayed parts of anAMRAAM beyond visualrange air-to-air missile as evi-dence to “conclusively” provethat Pakistan deployed US-

manufactured F-16 fighter jetsduring an aerial raid targetingIndian military installations inKashmir after India’s anti-ter-ror operation in Balakot.Pakistan has said that no F-16fighter jets were used.

The US State Departmenthas said that America is seek-ing more information fromPakistan on the potential mis-use of American-made F-16fighter jets by it against Indiain violation of the end-useragreement.

“We’ve seen those reportsand we’re following that issuevery closely,” US StateDepartment DeputySpokesperson Robert Palladinotold reporters at his biweeklynews conference on Tuesday.

He was responding to ques-tions that Pakistan has violatedthe end-user agreement on F-16fighter jets that it procuredfrom the United States. “I can’tconfirm anything, but as a mat-ter of policy, we don’t publiclycomment on the contents ofbilateral agreements that wehave in this regard involving USdefence technologies nor thecommunications that we havewith other countries about that.“So, we’re taking a look andwe’re going to continue to takea look. I’m going to leave it atthat,” Palladino said. PTI

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Islamabad: The US has revisedits visa policy for the Pakistanicitizens by slashing the visavalidity from five years to 1year, according to a mediareport. In an official notifica-tion issued by the Americanembassy here on Tuesday, theUS said that an additional feewill also be charged for H(Temporary Work Visa), I(Journalist and Media Visa), L(Intercompany Transfer Visa),and R (Religious Worker Visa)visas, the Express Tribunereported. PTI

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Satish Shankar, a more than 20-year-old veteran of the firm,

Bain & Company, will take over asthe regional managing partnerfor Asia-Pacific (APAC), effectivefrom April 1 (Q2) in Singapore.Manny Maceda, worldwide man-aging partner announced onWednesday.

Shankar has been the manag-ing partner for the firm in theSoutheast Asia (SEA) region forfive years. Under his tenure, thecompany experienced a strongdouble-digit growth across theregion with a strong emphasis onmaking Bain the best place forbusiness talent, building a strongtrack record of driving tangibleresults with clients, and helping todevelop the firms’ new offices inIndonesia, Malaysia and Thailandinto successful growth pillars forthe firm. The company is beenincreasingly seen as the go-tofirm for transformations and dig-ital solutions in the SEA.

Shankar works with clientsacross Energy and NaturalResources, Transportation, andConsumer Products on Strategy,Transformation, PerformanceImprovement and M&A. He hasalso led Bain’s M&A practiceacross APAC. “Satish is the perfectleader to drive our APAC regionthrough another period of suc-cessful growth, delivering endur-ing results for our clients, and

inspiring Bain’s people to great-ness,” said Manny Maceda.

He added, “He truly has theability, experience and characterthat fits best with our needs in theregion for the years ahead, as wecontinue to partner and teamwith our clients around the world.I congratulate him as he takes overthis role.”

In his new role, Shankar willbe responsible for leading Bain’sbusiness across the Asia-Pacific(APAC) region and overseeingstrategy, operations, training anddevelopment. He will also focus onworking with the managementteams of national and multi-national companies to help themtransform their organisations andachieve lasting business results,while helping businesses becomemore efficient, competitive andfuture-ready.

“It is a privilege to take on thisnew role and to continue workingwith our talented and diverseteam and help our clients achieveexceptional results,” said Shankar.“As we approach our industrywith an insurgent mindset, weremain dedicated to helping clientsbe disrupters, and APAC is an areawith exciting growth and signifi-

cant innovation, which is criticalto our firm’s long-term success,” headded.

Dale Cottrell, who has servedas the firm’s regional managingpartner for six years, will return toadvising the firm’s clients as partof Bain’s ‘servant leader’ model, inwhich partners regularly rotate intoleadership roles and then get backto client work. Under Cottrell,Bain’s APAC markets have seenunprecedented success, both interms of strong double-digitgrowth and clients, people and thefirms’ strategic priority to deliverleading edge digital and analyticsolutions.

“It’s been a true privilege toserve the company through thisrole for the past six years and tohave seen the firm continue toachieve monumental success andgrowth across cutting-edge tech-nology solutions, from AI,machine learning and blockchainto automation, robotics and IoT,”said Cottrell, adding, “My biggestsource of pride has been workingwith the best people across such adiverse set of markets and exper-tise to help our clients navigate thedisruptive forces they are facingand deliver out-performance intheir industry.”

Dale and Satish will workclosely together in the comingmonths to ensure a seamless tran-sition.

In presence of around 300 fam-ilies of Assam Rifles, a health

screening camp was inauguratedby Sangeeta Sangwan, President,ARWWA, at the Assam RiflesMultispeciality Hospital onWednesday.

As part of the inauguration,Brigadier V S Sayed (Med), 101Area Shillong, delivered a lectureon ‘Cancer Among Women.’

The event also saw a skit pre-sentation on the importance ofscreening and timely follow-up ofCancer among women, whichwas performed by the team ofMH Shillong led by MajorRajminder Kaur.

As part of the camp, all thefamilies of AR in Shillong are

being screened for Anaemia,Blood Sugar, Hypertension,Breast self examination, Gallstones. A PAP Smear examina-tion of volunteer families wasalso carried out by a team ofgynecologists from ARMH, MHShil long and CompositeHospital, BSF.

Hardeep S Puri, Ministerof State (I/C), Ministry

of Housing and UrbanAffairs, on Wednesday inau-gurated the upgraded BasantLok Community Centre andVasant Udyan (district park,Vasant Vihar).

DDA has developed 11district centres and 44 com-munity centres.

The upgradation ofBasant Lok community cen-tre has been taken up on aug-mentation of infrastructureservices. Re-organisation ofpublic open space is key toincrease the space utilisationby making it more accessible.Segregation of vehicular andpedestrian movement is also

taken care of.Defined pedestrian

movement with highlightedflooring patterns and use ofdirection signage helps togive a new look to the com-plex.

While upgrading the

centre, the provision of aug-mentation of necessary ser-vices like rain water har-vesting, fire-fighting in thecomplex, connectivity to themetro station and VasantUdyan adjoining to the com-plex have been taken into

account. All the vendors havebeen shifted and now thepedestrian area of the marketis ready to use.

Vasant Udyan, an area of43 acres is also being main-tained by DDA and thischunk of green space in thelocality caters to variouscolonies like MunirkaEnclave, Vasant Vihar, HillView apartments and others.It is now open to the gener-al public.

The park is located adja-cent to the Basant Lok com-plex, Vasant Vihar. This is ahistorically-rich area withremains of one of the last gar-dens planted by Firoz ShahTughlaq.

Corporate Social Responsibility(CSR) is a business approach thatcontributes to sustainable devel-

opment by delivering economic, socialand environmental benefits to all stake-holders. It is a concept with multiple def-initions. Generally understood as beingthe way through which a companyachieves a balance of economic, envi-ronmental and social imperative, it alsoaddresses the expectations of share-holders and stakeholders.

Airports Authority of India (AAI)is continuously exploring the opportu-nities where it can serve the society andis therefore, gradually increasing itsexpenditure on CSR and other welfareactivities. The organisation aims toachieve, consolidate and strengthengood corporate governance includingsocially and environmentally responsi-ble business practices that balancefinancial profit with social well-being.

As a socially-responsible enter-prise, AAI is committed to serve thesociety and is making efforts to enhancethe quality of life of the people from theunderprivileged sections of the society,especially those residing near its airports.

Keeping this bid to be sociallyresponsible in place, here are some ofthe CSR and welfare initiatives under-taken by AAI:

Skills Development Programme AAI and Construction Industry

Development Council (CIDC) signedtwo MoU’s for Employment-OrientedTraining and Skill Development pro-gramme of unemployed youth, the SCs,STs and OBCs, women and EWS ofSociety for 2000 persons pan-India andNorth East Region for �10.59 crore each.This programme is for underprivi-leged/poor sections of society, specifi-cally in the Northeast region.

The initiative has been furtherreinforced by including a clause inGeneral Conditions of Contracts inAAI’s construction project works which

state that around 20 per cent of thelabour force at any stage of constructionon projects should be trained, tested andcertified.

Mechanised central kitchen for mid-day meal in Assam

AAI has signed a MoU with thestate government of Assam and AkshayaPatra for �15.71 crore for constructionand setup of a Mechanised CentralKitchen in Assam for providing mid-daymeals. This will serve the under-privi-leged students from government schoolsaccess to nutritious, warm and healthyfood.

Construction of toilets, drinkingwater and other infrastructure ingovernment schools

Since 2014 to 15, AAI, in co-ordi-nation with the Ministry of HumanResource Development (MHRD),under the Swachh Vidyalaya initiative,has constructed more than 1,500 toiletsin approximately 800 governmentschools, thereby benefitting more than1,00,000 underprivileged students. TillMarch 31, 2018, more than �29 crorehas been spent on the construction ofthese toilets.

Installation of proper sanitation prac-tices and awareness camps in 20 cities

AAI, through Kalyanmayee, itswomen welfare association, will spend�5.98 crore on the installation of sani-

tary napkin vending machines andincinerators at various schools, com-munity centers and slum areas and willbe organising awareness camps in 20cities across the country.

Providing Radiotherapy equipment ingovernment hospital in Chennai

The organisation has signed anMoU to provide Radiotherapy equip-ment (linear accelerator and brachyther-apy) in government hospital in Chennaiamounting to �18.5 crore.

Low Energy Linear Accelerator forcancer unit AIIMS, Rishikesh

The project accounts for �10 crorefor the procurement of Low EnergyLinear Accelerator for the cancer unitat AIIMS, Rishikesh, Uttarakhand.

Construction of a community hallIt has provided assistance for con-

struction of a community hall at Garal,Kamrup, Guwahati for �2.35 crore.

Providing funds for pharmacy andmedical canteen-cum-waiting hall

The organisation has signed anMoU for the construction of pharma-cy and medical canteen-cum-waitinghall in Roing, Arunachal Pradeshamounting to �80 lakh.

Providing funds for Cochlear implantsurgery to ALIMCO

To sponsor 200 underprivilegedchildren, the AAI signed an MoU withthe Artificial Limbs ManufacturingCorporation Of India (ALIMCO),amounting to for �134.10 million.

Empowering people against Hepatitisthrough empathy campaign

Project Empathy, a four-year pro-ject being implemented by AAI andILBS, is focussed on empowering peo-ple against hepatitis. The comprehen-sive campaign aims to de-stigmatisehepatitis and create an enabling envi-ronment for infected individuals andtheir families for social participation andcare seeking. AAI has committed �5crore for FY 2018-19.

Promoting holistic sustainable devel-opment in villages

AAI and the United NationsDevelopment Programme (UNDP) inIndia have signed an MoA on a newpartnership to enhance livelihoodopportunities and provide better livingstandards to communities living nearairports in Assam and Jharkhand for�10 crore.

Rajeev Mehrotra, CMD of RITES Ltd, underCSR support to Bisnouli Sarvodaya Gramodyog

Sewa Sansthan, attended a function to mark the inau-guration of its Skill Development Training Centre inChhapera village in Nuh district of Haryana forwomen, initially engaged with tailoring and computercourses. Pankaj, IAS, the district magistrate, inau-gurated the training centre.

Mehrotra enthused the beneficiaries to lookbeyond the limitations of daily life engagements andbecome self dependent in terms of livelihood, asenvisaged by NITI Aayog.

Other prominent dignitaries who were presentincluded Ajay Kumar Gaur, CFO, RITES, andRakesh Ranjan from NITI Aayog.

Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) is settingup a network of Solar-based Electric Vehicle

Chargers (SEVC) on the Delhi-Chandigarh Highway.The first in the series of charging stations was

inaugurated by Dr A R Sihag, secretary, Departmentof Heavy Industry (DHI), in the presence of AtulSobti, chairman and managing director, BHEL, atEthnic India Resort in Sonepat, Haryana.

The project is covered under the FAME scheme(Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid) andElectric Vehicles in India) of DHI. The establishmentat regular intervals over the entire 250 kilometrestretch between Delhi and Chandigarh would allayrange-anxiety among the electric vehicle users andbolster their confidence for inter-city travel. As partof the project, BHEL has also developed a CentralMonitoring System (CMS) for EV chargers with auser-friendly mobile app.

BHEL’s scope of work in the project includesdesign, engineering, manufacturing, supply andinstallation of the EV charging stations along with aCentral Monitoring System. Each SEVC station willbe equipped with a rooftop solar power plant to sup-ply green energy and EV chargers.

As part of its diversification initiative, BHEL hasbeen expanding its footprints in the e-mobility busi-ness. Notably, the company has already installed DCchargers at Udyog Bhawan in New Delhi. BHEL isalso executing another commercial order for instal-lation of DC chargers across various locations in thecountry.

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The New Delhi MunicipalCouncil (NDMC) has

bagged the award for the clean-est city in the small city cate-gory with one to three lakhpopulation. Chairman NareshKumar has received the awardfrom President Ram NathKovind at Vigyan Bhawan onWednesday.

The chairman has said thatthe Council has also beenawarded the ODF++ statusand ranked for garbage-freecity with three stars in thenationwide Swachhta awardcategory.

Even though the aggre-

gate score as per the parame-ters places the NDMC at sec-ond position, its overall rank-ing is fifth in the SwachhSurvekshan 2019.

Congratulating the employ-ees of NDMC in general andsafai sevaks in particular, thechairman credited NDMC forgetting the Swachhta awards.

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ShriJual Oram, Minister for TribalAffairs launched the Van Dhan schemefor Minimum Support Price (MSP),

and Minor Forest Produces (MFP) as wellas for development of value chain ofMFPs at a National workshop.

ShriJual stated that almost 5.5 croretribals will be benefited from the scheme.It will offer remunerative MSP for 50 com-mercially viable items. MSP had been raisedby 30 to 40 per cent. This would go a longway in adding to the income of the trib-als. Three hundred and seven district col-lectors have been given responsibilitythrough the state agencies to provide MSPto the tribal gatherers.

He further added that this programmepromotes enterprise and marketing skills.It will be a game changer if implementeddiligently. At present tribals are getting only20 to 30 per cent but it will change after VanDhan which aims to take this share to 70to 80 per cent.

TRIFED has tied up CSR funds to pro-mote tribal livelihoods. Socially oriented

public sector organisations like BPCL,IOCL and SPMCL have sanctioned approx-imately �10 crore for promoting VanDhan operations in Barwani, Rajnandgaon,Dewas and Hoshangabad districts of

Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh. Representatives from 30 states partic-

ipated in the workshop where detailedinteraction took place about various aspectsof the scheme.

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Page 15: English News Paper | Breaking News | Latest Today News in ... · healing, if possible,” the Bench said. ... Chhattisgarh is India’s Best Performing State followed ... Delhi-National

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Aprofligate P VSindhu was onW e d n e s d a y

knocked out of the AllEngland Championshipby an industrious Sung JiHyun of Korea in thewomen's singles openinground.

In men's singles, 2017Singapore Open champi-on B Sai Praneeth defeat-ed compatriot HSPrannoy 21-19, 21-19 in apulsating contest

Fifth-seeded Sindhu,who was beaten by SungJi twice in last three meet-ings, lost 16-21, 22-20, 18-21, despite saving as manyas eight match points inthe second and thirdgame.

Sindhu went into theopener with an overallrecord of a 8-6 againstSung Ji but the Koreanonce again troubled theIndian in the 81-minutethrilling clash which wentdown to the wire.

Sindhu showedgrit in the closingmoments of the sec-ond and third gamebut also committedtoo many unforcederrors during the match.

The Indian savedthree match points at 17-20 in the second game totake the match to thedecider, during which shesaved five match pointsbefore suffering herfourth first-round loss atthe $ 1 million event.

Sung Ji will face Hong

Kong's Cheung Ngan Yi inthe second round.

"I think I could havenot given her big lead atthe starting. It was toomany points and it wasdifficult to cover," Sindhusaid after the loss.

"It was my bad luckprobably as my mid courtsmashes were going tonet. I was just hitting outbut overall it was goodmatch and she played

well. She has goodanticipations and

there were longrallies.

"I had trainedenough but it was

just not my day.Such matches keep hap-

pening and I have to takeit as a challenge and comeback stronger."

The women's doublespair of MeghanaJakkampudi andPoorvisha S Ram alsofought hard before losing21-18, 12-21, 12-21 to theRussian combination of

Ekaterina Bolotova andAlina Daveltova.

The opening clashbetween Sindhu and SungJi turned out to be athrilling contest.

Sindhu enjoyed a 6-3lead early on but Sung Jidrew level, helped bySindhu's poor judgement.

The Korean kept upthe attack and enteredthe first interval with alead of 11-8 after theIndian hit the net.

Sung Ji continued togather points andclinched four gamepoints. The Korean sealedit without much fusswhen Sindhu struck outagain.

After the change ofsides, Sindhu found thegoing tough with Sung Jigrabbing a 11-8 advantageat the break.

After the breather,Sindhu managed to makeit 13-13 with some precisereturns.

Sindhu tried to put

pressure on her rival inthe rallies but Sung Jiremained determined andled 18-14.

Sindhu continued tostruggle with her strokesand buried two of herreturns into the net, giv-ing Sung Ji a lead of 18-14.

Sindhu narrowed thedeficit to 17-18 beforesending another cross-court smash wide. Sung Jigrabbed three matchpoints after that.

However, the Indianproduced a razor sharpcross court return andengaged her rival in thelongest rally of the matchto save three points.

Sung Ji hit the net togive a game point to theIndian, who sealed it witha body smash to roar backinto the contest.

In the decider, theduo engaged in somegood rallies but Sung Jiagain had a two-pointadvantage at the intervalafter reeling off fourstraight points.

The Korean keptpushing forward, movingto a 15-9 lead at one stage.

A wide shot brokeher run of points butSindhu committed a ser-vice error and followed itup with two moreunforced errors to allowSung Ji to lead 18-10.

Sung Ji soon grabbedas many as seven matchpoints with a superbreturn near the net.Sindhu did save five ofthem but it just wasn'tenough.

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Harry Kane fired TottenhamHotspur into the Champions

League quarter-finals as his win-ning goal at Borussia Dortmundin Tuesday's return leg sealed a 1-0 victory to wrap up a 4-0 aggre-gate success.

On Monday, Spurs coachMauricio Pochettino haddemanded they "finish the job"after beating the Bundesliga lead-ers 3-0 in the first leg at Wembley.

His Spurs side delivered,soaking up everything Dortmundthrew at them in a one-sided firsthalf before Kane's goal just afterthe break killed off the hosts' spir-ited challenge.

This is the first timeTottenham are in the last eight ofthe Champions League since2010/11 when they bowed out 5-0 on aggregate to Real Madrid.

Needing to score at leastthree goals, Dortmund packedtheir line-up with forwards asMario Goetze, Marco Reus andPaco Alcacer — who have scored30 goals between them — all start-ed together for the first time thisseason.

Dortmund flew out of thetraps, pounding the Spurs defencewith 10 attempts in the first halfalone, restricting the Londonersto a single Son Heung-min effort,and enjoying 70 percent posses-

sion.Having defended doggedly,

Spurs took the lead when Kanescored with his first chance andonly his team's second of thegame.

His run split the hosts' centre-backs, as he latched onto MoussaSissoko's pass and curled his shotpast Dortmund goalkeeperRoman Burki.

The video assistant refereeconfirmed Kane was on-side andhis goal on 49 minutes subduedthe crowd at Signal Iduna Parkwho had hoped for a miracle.

With the tempo havingdropped, Spurs' Pochettinobrought on Eric Dier, back frominjury, to beef up the midfield inplace of Harry Winks for the final35 minutes.

Spurs seemed content toabsorb Dortmund's attacks whilecountering on the few opportuni-ties they had.

Sissoko attempted to win alate penalty and Kane put the ballinto Dortmund's net but wasflagged for offside as the gamepetered out and home fans start-ed slipping away.

While Spurs go marchinginto the last eight, Dortmund canfocus on trying to prevent BayernMunich winning a seventhstraight Bundesliga title with justgoal difference currently separat-ing the sides.

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Santiago Solari vowed to fight onbut the reign of Real Madrid inEurope is over and their season

effectively is too after they werestunned by a 4-1 defeat at home toAjax on Tuesday.

In seven days, Madrid havebeen knocked out of the Copa delRey, La Liga's title race and now thelast 16 of the Champions League,the competition they had cometo believe was their own.

They had won it three timesin a row, four times in the lastfive years, while the lasttime Madrid failed to reachthe quarter-finals was 2010, inCristiano Ronaldo's first year at theclub.

Ronaldo rescued them last sea-son in the quarter-finals and thenGareth Bale won them the trophy,but the former is gone and the lat-ter started on the bench here,dropped again by Solari.

Solari oversaw an improvementafter Julen Lopetegui was sacked inNovember but his team, 12 pointsbehind Barcelona in La Liga, havewatched their season unravel in aweek.

Madrid president FlorentinoPerez is now faced with decidingwhether it is worth keeping hiscoach until the end of the season, letalone beyond the summer.

"I did not come to the club insuch a difficult moment to give up,"Solari said afterwards.

He could havefew complaints.Ajax were hard-done-by in the 2-1first-leg defeat anddominant at theSantiago Bernabeu,their scintillating vic-

tory confirming a 5-3win on aggregate anda place in the quarter-finals. On this evidence,

they can go further.Hakim Ziyech and

David Neres put themtwo up at half-time and

the excellent Dusan Tadic madeit three before Marco Asensio gaveMadrid hope. It lasted two min-utes, as Lasse Schone sent a bend-ing free-kick into the top cornerbefore Nacho was sent off in injury-time.

Bale was on after 29 minutes forthe injured Lucas Vazquez but hitthe post and then missed two goodchances. Sergio Ramos was in thestands, having earned a deliberatebooking to clear a ban, believing thistie was already won.

����� �������&Raphael Varane might have fin-

ished it within five minutes butheaded onto the crossbar from six

yards and instead Ajax took control.Toni Kroos, poor all night, was

caught in possession from a throw-in and Tadic

skipped freedown the right.He pulled backfor Ziyech, who

guided it withhis left foot into

the far corner.Ajax were

bouncing as Neres baf-fled Carvajal with a

pirouette in the corner andthen Tadic did the same,

spinning around Casemiro inmidfield before teeing up the

second. Neres rounded ThibautCourtois and chipped the ballhome.

Vazquez and Vinicius Juniorboth left the field injured and intears, the latter after an electric runforward. Bale came on, withAsensio, and raced down the left buthis finish from the angle clipped thepost.

The fans whistled at half-timeand Madrid were no better after, cre-ating chances but lacking composureand control. Karim Benzema shim-mied past Ziyech but curled wide,only for Ajax to add a sumptuous,albeit controversial, third.

They worked it from right to leftand then inside again, whereDonny van de Beek shifted a last

pass to Tadic, who whipped a siz-zling shot into the top corner.

The cheers stopped as refereeFelix Brych waited for VAR, with theball seemingly out for a throwbefore Noussair Mazraoui slid tokeep it in. The camera angle wasunclear and the goal stood.

Madrid needed three in 24 min-utes and then two in 20, as Asensioswept in Sergio Reguilon's cross togive them hope. Erik ten Hag wasseconds from bringing Schone offbut instead, his midfielder bent afree-kick into Courtois' top corner.

Frenkie de Jong put his first footwrong in the 84th minute, giftingLuka Modric the ball in the area butBenzema slipped and the chancewent begging. Nacho was sent off fora clash with Van de Beek andMadrid were in tatters.

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��������Real Madrid have con-firmed Vinicius Junior has rup-tured ligaments in his right ankle,with the striker expected out foraround two months.

Vinicius left the field in tearsafter sustaining the injury in thefirst half of Madrid's 4-1 defeat.

A Real Madrid statement onWednesday read: "Vinicius hasbeen diagnosed with a ligamentrupture of the right ankle."

The club did not include atimeframe for recovery but reportsin the Spanish press suggestedVinicius, who has enjoyed animpressive debut season, could besidelined for two months.

The injury will likely meanVinicius is unable to play forBrazil against Panama and theCzech Republic later this month,after he had received his firstcall-up to the national squad.

It could also mean the 18-year-old misses the rest of the campaignfor Madrid, although they have lit-tle to play for after their shockChampions League exit followeddefeats to Barcelona in the Copadel Rey and La Liga. AFP

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Adesperate Indian women's teamwould aim to snap its five-match

losing streak in the second T20International against England onThursday.

India suffered a crushing 41-run lossto England in the first T20 of the three-match series on Sunday.

The loss, India's fifth in a row in theshortest format, meant the W V Raman-coached side has a lot of work to dobefore the T20 World Cup in Australiaearly next year.

India lost all their T20s in NewZealand after winning the ODI seriesand things seems to be heading in a sim-ilar direction against England.

Chasing England's competitive 160for four in the series opener, Indian bat-ters cut a sorry figure to be restricted to119 for six.

After England had put on a compet-itive total, the onus was on India's top-order to do the job but the quartet ofHarleen Deol, skipper Smriti Mandhana,Jemimah Rodrigues and veteran MithaliRaj failed to live to the expectations, seri-ously hurting the team's cause.

The absence of a power-hitter like

Harmanpreet Kaur in the run chase wasfelt immensely. The regular T20 captainis nursing an injury.

It was a rare failure from Mandhana,that too, on her captaincy debut consid-ering the fact that she has been sublimeform of late, plundering runs at will.

In Kaur's absence, ODI captainMithali was expected to play a biggerrole in the three T20s but she failed toseize the opportunity scoring just 7.

And come on Thursday, the 36-year-old, who is likely to retire from theshortest format before the T20 WorldCup in Australia next year, would liketo make a strong statement.

On the bowling front too, Indiawere not up to the mark with the likesof Deepti, Arundhati and Radha Yadavleaking runs.

Medium pacer Shikha Pandey(1/18) and leg-spinner Poonam Yadav(0/18) were economical but they wouldneed support from their colleagues tokeep England batters at bay.

On the other hand, TammyBeaumont (62 off 57), skipper HeatherKnight (40 off 20) and Danielle Wyatt(35) looked in great touch as Englandproduced an all-round effort to get thebetter of the home team in the first T20.

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