DA ILY FROM: AHMEDABAD , CHAND IGARH , DELH I , JA IPUR , KOLKATA , LUCKNOW, MUMBAI , NAGPUR , PUNE , VADODARA

MONDAY, JANUARY 4, 2021, NEW DELHI, LATE CITY, 16 PAGES `6.00 (`8 BIHAR & RAIPUR, `12 SRINAGAR) WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMJOURNALISM OF COURAGE

SINCE 1932

DCGIGIVESNODTOCOVISHIELD,COVAXINFORRESTRICTEDUSE

OndatapendingforCovaxin,HealthMinistersaysbetteragainstUKvariant

PRABHARAGHAVANNEWDELHI, JANUARY3

INDIA’S TOP drug regulatorSundayapprovedCovishieldandCovaxin vaccines for restricteduseagainstCovid-19inthecoun-try,pavingthewayformassvac-cinationagainstthevirusthathassofar infectedmorethanacrorepeopleandkillednearly1.5lakh.Theapprovalstothetwovac-

cines, both to be given in twodoses,followarecommendationregardingthesamebytheDrugsController General of India's(DCGI) expert panel. In the caseofCovaxin,forwhosePhase3tri-als limited data is available, in-formed consent would have tobe sought from those receiving

the vaccine, which will be ad-ministeredaccordingtoaproto-col that is still in the process ofbeing decided, according to aseniorgovernmentofficialcloseto thedevelopment.Announcing the clearance to

Covishield andCovaxin at ame-diabriefingonSundaymorning,DCGIDrVKSomani saidclinicaltrials regarding both the drugswouldhavetocontinue.Thefirmsarerequiredtosubmitsafetydataevery 15 days for the first twomonthsandmonthlythereafter.“After adequate examina-

tion, the CDSCO (Central DrugsStandard Control Organisation)hasdecidedtoaccepttherecom-mendations of the expert com-mitteeand,accordingly,vaccines

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Phase 3 efficacy data ismissing, say experts, callfor close monitoringAMITABHSINHA&PRABHARAGHAVANPUNE,NEWDELHI, JANUARY3

MEMBERS OF the NationalCovid-19taskforceclarifiedthatCovaxin,thevaccinebeingdevel-opedbyBharatBiotech,wouldbeusedina“clinicaltrial”modeandUnion Health Minister HarshVardhan said its emergency useapproval was “a strategic deci-sionforourvaccinesecurity.”Butsomeindependentscien-

tistssaidthatwhiledatafromthe

vaccine’sPhase1andPhase2tri-als is very encouraging, theyquestioned the process of ap-provalwhen efficacy data fromthevaccine’sPhase3trials,whichbeganinNovember,hadn’tcomein.Efficacydataisanindicationofhow effective the vaccine is inpreventingthevirusattack."If you take a look at what

wasproposedbytheDCGI(DrugControllerGeneralof India)asanadequate data package back inSeptember, when they pub-lished their draft guidance (for

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MIHIRVASAVDAMUMBAI, JANUARY3

AS DIFFERENT courts and stategovernmentsdebate its legality,there isagrowingbodyof opin-ion in theofficial establishmentin favourof aunified regulatoryapparatusthatallowsonlinefan-tasygames—andlooksatopen-ing some doors to legalisingsportsbetting.In a draft paper lastmonth,

NitiAayog,thegovernment’spol-icythinktank,proposed“uniformnational-level regulation” ofOnline Fantasy Sports Platforms

(OFSPs)with a set of initiatives:“legislative safe harbour,” “light-touch regulatory framework,”and“self-regulation.”Inviting stakeholder com-

ments until January 18, NitiAayog, citing a KPMG India re-port, flagged the sharp surge inthesector:2millionusersinJune2016 to 90 million December2019;numberof OFSPsupfrom10 in 2016 tomore than 140 in2019; a tripling of revenuegrowth, from Rs 920 crore in2018-19toRs2,470crorein2019-20 and the potential of 12,000jobs inthenextcoupleof years.Key barriers to this growth,

NitiAayogsaid,werethe lackofa“definabletest”or“regulatoryguideline or forum” to assessand determine if a game is oneof skill or chance; and frag-mented regulation.“WhileOFSPsoperatethrough

onlinemedia onapan-India ba-sis, their regulationproceedsun-der varied State-wise regulatoryregimes. This could impact fan-tasy sports users’ interests oftransparency, OFSP operator in-tegrity, and fairness may varyfromstatetostate,”saidthedraft.Niti Aayog’s paper comes a

monthafterMinisterofState forFinance Anurag Thakur was

quoted by PTI that his “sugges-tionwillbetolegalisebettingandgambling activities.”Minister ofSports and Youth Affairs KirenRijiju said online fantasy gamesare“veryinstrumentalinrevolu-tionising”sportswatching.Thepaperalsored-flags“un-

scrupulous operators who lureusers with games of question-able legality in the guise of fan-tasy sports.” This amid scrutinyat several levels showing howpolicyplayscatch-up.Consider:■ In the last 18 months, at

least six petitions seeking a banononline gambling and fantasy

sports have been filed in differ-entHighCourts.

■ In March last year, theSupremeCourtstayedtheoper-ation of a Bombay High Courtjudgment dated April 30, 2019,upholdingthelegalityof fantasysports, which bear a close re-semblance to gambling, an ille-gal activity.

■ In September, AndhraPradesh joined Telangana,Assam, Odisha, Nagaland andSikkiminbanningonlinefantasygamesplayed formoney.

■ InNovember, theMaduraibenchof theMadrasHighCourtissued notices to India captain

Virat Kohli and cricket boardpresident Sourav Ganguly,amongothers, forendorsingon-line fantasygames.And yet, industry-watchers

underline, growth is the irre-versible force.According to a Financial

Times estimate, venture capitalinto gaming start-ups in Indiahasskyrocketedfromamere$25million in 2015 to $337millionlast year. In September alone,DreamSports—theparentcom-pany of Dream11, the biggestdaily fantasy sports operator —raised $225 million from

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PAGE1ANCHOR In fantasy games surge, policy plays catch-up with reality

Dream11is the IndianPremierLeague’smainsponsor. File

SAKSHIDAYALGURGAON, JANUARY3

ONTHEeveof thenextroundoftalks between the protestingfarmerunionsandtheCentreonMonday, the Haryana police onSunday fired tear gas shells tostop a group of farmers,mostlyfromRajasthan,frommovingto-wardsDelhi.The incident occurred near

Sangwari village in Rewari dis-trict, on NH-48, about 16 kmfromGurgaon, ataround4pm.Confirming that tear gas

shellswere fired,RajeshKumar,Deputy Superintendent ofPolice,Bawal,said:“Theprotest-ers said those who had gone

aheaddidnothaveenoughpro-visions. They asked for permis-sion to go to them and set up alangar, andwere allowed to doso. However, when they gotthere, the entire group tried tobreak through the barricadesandmove forward.”OnThursday,over300farm-

ershadforcedtheirwaypastthebarricades at the Rajasthan-Haryana border and enteredRewari. On Sunday, about 50more farmers, mostly fromHanumangarh and SriGanganagar in Rajasthan, fol-lowed them, afterwhich policefired teargas shells.Mostof theprotesters, how-

ever, remained at the border.“About 15-20 tractors entered

Rewari today... they had a clashwithpolice.However,thoseofusfollowing the directions of theSamyuktKisanUnionare still atthe border andwill continue toremainthere.Thenextcourseofactionwill be decided depend-ing on the outcome of tomor-row'smeetingwith thegovern-ment. If they don't fulfill ourdemands, wewill look atmov-ing towards Delhi after January6,” said Ramzan Chaudhary,headof theNuhunitof JaiKisanAndolan, which is a part of theSamyukt Kisan Union — the

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IRAMSIDDIQUEBHOPAL, JANUARY3

THEMADHYA Pradesh govern-ment isall set tobring inastrin-gent law against stone-pelters,with provisions to attach assetsoftheaccusedtopayfordamagecaused to any property, includ-ing that belonging to individu-als, ChiefMinister Shivraj SinghChouhansaidhereonSunday.Speaking tomediapersons,

Chouhansaid,"Stone-peltersareenemies of society, whoevertheyare. Stone-pelting isnot anordinarycrime,itcankillpeople,create an atmosphere of terror,chaos, and disrupt law and or-der." Therefore, it would nolonger be treated as a pettycrime,butastringentlawformu-lated tocheck it, theCMsaid.The move comes after two

cases of stone-pelting on ralliesby Hindu right-wing organisa-tions in Ujjain and Indore dis-tricts seeking donations for the

Ram temple, as they passedthroughMuslim-dominatedlo-calities."If someone raises their is-

suespeacefully,thendemocracyprevails.Butnoonehaspermis-siontodamagepublicproperty,"Chouhan said, adding that in-structionshadbeengiventofor-mulate the law andwork on ithadstarted.A senior official said the law

being drafted by the MadhyaPradesh government is on thelines of the Uttar PradeshRecovery of Damage to PublicandPrivatePropertyOrdinance,2020, withmore stringent pro-visions."Thebasicideaofthelawis to cover all public andprivate

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Ahealthcareworkeratavaccineregistrationcentre inAhmedabadonSunday.NirmalHarindran

KAUNAINSHERIFFMNEWDELHI, JANUARY3

THE INDIGENOUS vac-cine developed byBharatBiotechwiththeIndian Council ofMedical Research(ICMR)willbeusedasa"back-up", only if the countryneedsextradoses tovaccinatealarge number of people, partic-ularly given the possibility of a

surge triggered by the UK vari-ant. And, unlike the SerumInstitute of India's (SII) vaccine

Covishield,Covaxinwillbe used only in 'clinicaltrialmode',where con-sent will be taken andside-effectsmonitored,the heads of AIIMS andICMR, part of the

NationalCovid-19taskforce,toldThe IndianExpress.On Sunday, Indian regulator

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Haryana police use tear-gas onprotesters; talks with Govt today

Democracy only ifpeace: Chouhanwarns of strict lawagainst stone-pelters

ANILSASINEWDELHI, JANUARY3

JUST AS it was stepping up itseconomic offensive againstChina, India, through a newly-floated state-owned company,inked a pact with an Argentinefirm mid-last year to jointlyprospect lithium in the SouthAmerican country that has thethird largest reserves of the sil-

ver-white alkali metal — a cru-cialbuildingblockofthelithium-ion rechargeable batteries thatpower electric vehicles (EVs),laptopsandmobilephones.The new company, Khanij

BideshIndiaLtd—incorporatedin August, 2019 by three state-owned companies, NALCO,Hindustan Copper andMineralExploration Ltd, with a specificmandate to acquire strategicmineral assets such as lithium

andcobaltabroad—isalsolearntto be exploring options in Chileand Bolivia, two other toplithium-producingcountries.Currently, Indiaisheavilyde-

pendentonimportof thesecellsand the move to ink sourcingpacts for lithium is seen as an-other salvo in the front againstChina, a key source of both therawmaterial and cells. India isseen as a late mover as it at-temptstoenterthelithiumvalue

chain, coming at a time whenEVs are predicted to be a sectorripe for disruption. And 2021 islikelytobeaninflectionpointforbatterytechnology,withseveralpotential improvements to theLi-ion technology, and alterna-tivestothistried-and-testedfor-mulation, under advancedstagesof commercialisation.The most promising are

solid-state batteries that useCONTINUEDONPAGE2

DEEPTIMANTIWARYNEWDELHI, JANUARY3

BRENTON TARRANT, the lonegunmanwhokilled51people,in-cluding five Indians, in twomosques in Christchurch, NewZealand, onMarch15, 2019, hadstayedinGoa,MumbaiandJaipur,amongtheseven-eightplaceshevisitedinIndia, in2015-16.Following inputs from their

counterparts in New Zealand,Indian intelligence agencieslaunched an investigation intoTarrant's three-month visit toIndia. They found that Tarrant,an Australian, travelled exten-sively in India betweenNovember 21, 2015, andFebruary18,2016.Sources said Tarrant largely

travelledandstayedinsouthernstates, spending considerabletimeinGoa.HespentafewdaysinMumbai too; the only north

Indian state he visited wasRajasthan.“Wehave verified the infor-

mationprovidedbyNewZealandauthorities about his travel de-tails. As yet, we have not foundanythingthatsuggeststhatanyofhisactivitieshere,orconnectionsmade thereof, had any linkwiththe attack. There is nothing tosuggest that his travels in Indiacould have prompted him

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In 3-month trip toIndia, Christchurchattacker visited Goa,Mumbai and Jaipur

ShivrajSinghChouhan

TravelledinIndiafromNov21,2015toFeb18,2016,mostlyvisitedsouthstates

BrentonTarrant.AP file

Eye on China, India looks at lithiumreserves in Argentina, Chile and Bolivia

Covaxin back-up, for useif surge, under controls:AIIMS, ICMR headsWholevirusvaccine, somaybemoreeffectiveagainstnewstrain: ICMR

‘Root cause of theproblem is surplusfoodgrains and

higherMSP than themarket price’NITINGADKARI

MINISTERFORROADTRANSPORT&HIGHWAYS,ANDMSME

PAGE12

HaryanapolicefiredteargasshellstostopprotestersinRewaridistrictonSunday.Reuters

BUSINESS AS USUAL

BYUNNY

TwoCovid vaccinesget emergencyusenod, one inclinical trialmode

EXPRESSNETWORK

ROLLOUTTOBEGININNEARFUTURE,SCHEDULESOONPAGE6

THEEDITORIALPAGE

POST-COVID,NOTBUSINESSASUSUALBYVIKRAMSMEHTAPAGE8

ABHINAVRAJPUT&ANANYATIWARIGHAZIABAD, JANUARY3

AT LEAST 23 peoplewere killedandover15 injuredwhena roofatacrematoriuminMuradnagar,Ghaziabaddistrict, collapsedonSundaynoon.Around50peoplewere present for the cremationof JaiRam,55, avegetable seller,and all thosewhodiedwerehisrelativesoracquaintances.Thecurvedroofwasbuiltjust

two months ago over a pathleading to the platformwherecremations are performed. A

senior police officer said themournerswereofferingprayers

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Crematorium roof built two monthsago collapses in Ghaziabad, 23 killed

Rescueworkersat thesite inMuradnagaronSunday.PTI

MOREREPORTSPAGES4,5

UKCOVID SURGE:STRICT LOCKDOWNCOMINGUPCHINA’SNEWDEFENCELAWEXPANDSPOWEROF ITSMILITARYPAGE 13

WORLD

RELATEDREPORTPAGE3

New Delhi

CovaxinDrugControllerGeneralof India(DCGI) approved the SubjectExpertCommittee’srecommen-dation for emergency use ofCovishield and Covaxin.WhileCovishieldisthesamevaccineasdeveloped by Oxford-AstraZeneca, thathasgotemer-gencyuseapproval intheUK, incase of Covaxin, concerns havebeen raised about the absenceof efficacydata,which isgener-ated during Phase 3 of humanclinical trials. The decision togrant emergency approval toBharat Biotech is based on onlyimmunogenicity, the ability totrigger an immune response,and safety data generated inPhase1and2clinical trials.However, the members of

the national task force, includ-ing AIIMSDirector Dr RandeepGuleria and ICMR DirectorGeneral Dr Balram Bhargava,emphasised that the approvalgrantedtoBharatBiotechisdis-tinctlydifferent fromtheonetotheSII.SaidDrGuleria:“Thisislikea

back-up. If we find that casesdon’trise,thenwesticktotheSII,till the Bharat Biotech datacomes early nextmonth. And ifthat data is found to be goodenough, then theywill get thesame approval as the SII.Indirectly, looking at the safetyprofile, that (Covaxin) is a safevaccine, although we don’tknowhowefficacious it is.”Asavaccinethatusesaplat-

form used for traditional vac-cines in India,whichtargets thewhole virus for antigen re-sponse, Covaxin is also consid-ered by some to bemore effec-tiveagainstanymutations.“It (the approval to Covaxin)

says itmaybeused in an emer-gency situation, whichmeansthatbecauseofwhat ishappen-ingintheUK,Europe,andtheUS,in case there is a sudden surge,andconsideringthatwehavenoanti-viraldrugstillagainstCovid-19, if vaccinationmay preventspread of an infection, only insuch circumstances -- whenthere is a need to vaccinate alargenumberofpeople,thatcan-not be done using only the SII’svaccine--BharatBiotechwouldbe allowed to give the vaccine,"DrGuleriasaid.Intheabsenceofefficacydata,

he emphasised the “abundantprecaution” to be observed inCovaxin's use. “... Thiswill be inclinicaltrialmode,sothatthereis

veryclosemonitoring...Theywillbecalledupfrequentlyabouttheside-effects, and adatabasewillbemaintained."The AIIMS Director com-

paredthescientificrationalebe-hind clearing Covaxin to thegrantof approval to repurposeddrugs like hydroxychloroquineand remdesvir for treatingsymptoms arising fromCovid-19.“Ifyouhavedatathatthevac-cine is safe, or any drug is safe,then youwould say that in casethereisaneed,wemayconsiderusing itwithoutknowingthat itwouldwork20percentor80percent.Thisiswhatwasdoneevenwhenapprovinghydroxychloro-quineorremdesivirorevencon-valescent plasma,” Dr Guleriasaid. “Regarding this vaccine,there is datawhich showsgoodimmunogenicityandsafety."DrBhargava, theheadof the

ICMRthatco-developedCovaxinwith Bharat Biotech, said, “Interms of the efficacy data, wehavedoneextensiveworkattheNIV,Pune.Therehavebeensmallanimals' study, large animals'study and monkey challengestudy.Andahugestudydoneatthe ICMR for 14 days, wheresampleswere taken every dayand looked at for efficacy,” hesaid.“In thePhase1human trials

data,thatincluded375patients,andthe380participantsinPhase2,wedidnotfindanycaseofany-one getting Covid-19,” DrBhargava said, adding that evenin Phase 3, no safety concernshad been reported from the22,500participants.Bharat Biotech had com-

menced Phase 3 trials onNovember 16. On Sunday, thegovernment's press statementsaid the Phase 3 trials had beeninitiatedin25,800volunteers,ofwhom22,500 had received thefirstdose.Covaxinis injectedin-tramuscularly twice,with a gapof 27 days. The interim safetydata isexpectednextmonth.Dr Bhargava said that

Covaxin's potential inmountingaresistanceagainstthenewmu-tantstrainwasakeyfactor.“Someof the vaccines just target thespikeproteinof the virus... Fromthat perspective,weare lookingatawholevirusvaccine(Covaxin),whichpotentiallymayhaveben-efits,”hesaid.However, Dr Guleria admit-

ted that, at this point, more labdata is requiredon this. “BharatBiotech uses an inactivatedvirus, using the platform de-

ployed in other vaccines in ourcountry.Theevidencethatisbe-ing put forward is that becausethewholevirus isbeingusedasthe antigen, the antibody re-sponsemay bemore robust totake care of any mutation...However,wewillneedmorelabdata,”hesaid.“Thebottomlineisthat,ifwe

don’t have any surge in cases,thenwewould use the SII vac-cine. That is what my under-standingisafterreadingtherec-ommendation.And,if thereisanemergencyneed, inclinicaltrialmodeandtakingabundantpre-cautions,wemayusetheBharatBiotech vaccine. Otherwise, wewaitforfour-sixweekstillthefi-naldata isout,”DrGuleria said.

Phase 3 dataapprovalofCovid-19vaccines), itwas very clear that theywantedsafetyandefficacydataanditwasexpectedthat,forthesafetydata,there would be at least twomonthsoffollowup,”saidvaccinescientist and ChristianMedicalCollegeprofessorDrGagandeepKang.“In the case of Covaxin...you

haven’t finished enrolment. So,where is your safety data?Obviously,there’snoefficacydataeither,”shesaid.Said Shahid Jameel, a virolo-

gistanddirectorofTrivediSchoolof Biosciences at AshokaUniversity:"Evenemergencyuseauthorisation requires efficacydata... These Indian vaccineswould eventually go into the in-ternationalmarket aswell. It isveryimportantthatthereistrustinourregulatoryinstitutions.”RandeepGuleria,memberof

theNationalCovid-19 task force,toldTheIndianExpressthattheap-provaltoCovaxinwasgiventoen-surethatincasetherewasasud-den surge, and theavailability ofOxfordUniversityvaccinewasin-sufficient,itcouldbedeployed"inclinicaltrialmode".Jameel said thiswas all the

morereasonwhytheapprovalforCovaxin need not have beenrushed through. "The SerumInstitutehasalreadysaidthatitisready with at least 50 milliondoses.AndtheBharatBiotechvac-cineisnotbeingdeployedimme-diately.Sotheproperthingwouldhavebeentowaitfortheprelim-inarydata fromthephase-III tri-als...Itwouldbeavailablewithinafewweeks,"hesaid.Satyajit Rath, whowas for-

merlywiththeNationalInstitute

ofImmunologyinNewDelhi,saidscientistswere not questioningthe safety or effectiveness of thevaccineitselfbutraisingconcernsabouttheinstitutionalprocess."The problem is not in the

formof anyenhancedrisk to theindividualwhois takingthevac-cine... There are several issueswith theway the approval hasbeengranted,which can lead topeople losing confidence in theregulatorysystem,"hesaid.LShashidhara,abiologistand

professor at IISER, Pune, sug-gestedawayforwardthatwasinagreementwithwhatGuleriade-scribed. "Theuseof Covaxinandothervaccines forwhichdataonefficacy is limited should betreatedasextended trials.Whiletheyarebeingproduced in largequantitiesandsubjectedtobatchtesting, the government shouldbuildcapabilitiesacrossthecoun-trytomonitorimmuneresponsetodifferentvaccines,"hesaid.

Haryana policeumbrellabodyof farmerunionsprotestingatDelhi'sborders.Aheadof theirtalkswiththe

government,thefarmerleadersreiterated their demands. “Thefarmlawsmustberepealed.Thetwo amendments need to berolledbackandthegovernmentmust listen,” Jageer SinghDalewal,BKU, said.“OnLohri,January13,wewill

burn copies of the three farmlaws. On January 18, we inviteeveryone to carry out protests.We alsowant to tell the Punjabgovernment that if they don'tstop police action against peo-ple,therewillbeprotestsagainstthem.We are against both theBJPandCongress,sincethisisanissueofthefarmers,"saidManjitRai, BKU, Doaba, at a press con-ferenceatSinghu.In New Delhi, Agriculture

Ministry officials worked overtheweekend to prepare for thenext round of talks. An officialsaid the government is "ex-tremelyconcerned".Meanwhile, three deaths

werereportedattheSinghuandTikri borders, where farmershave been camping for over amonthnow.Jagbir,66,fromJinddistrict,andJashnpreet,18,fromBathinda,died inTikri.“Jashnpreet was brought to

the civil hospital in a deliriousconditiononSaturdaynight.Hewas referred to PGIMS, Rohtak,wherehedied,”saidaJhajjarpo-liceofficer.“Intheotherincident,

the body was found inside atruck at the protest site itself. Aheartattack is suspected.The protester who died at

Singhu was Shamsher, 44, afarmerfromSangrur.“Shamsherdied at around 8 am, after hecomplainedofchestpain.ADalitfarmer, he had been protestingwith his 13-year-old son," saidJagmohan Singh of BKU-Dakaunda.

—WITHENS,NEWDELHI

Chouhanpropertydestroyedthroughactsof any sort of vandalism, be itstone-pelting or arson, wherethe accusedwould have to payfor thedamage."The official said theMP law

will have a wider definition ofthe scope of private property."UPhasdefinedprivatepropertyas that belonging to a religioustrust, the Wakf Board or anyfirm,excludingpropertyownedby an individual.Whatwe aimis that, in a lawandorder issue,if someone's car isdamaged,hecan lodge an FIR and approachtheclaims tribunal. "After the recent stone-pelt-

ingincidents,18peoplewerear-rested from Ujjain's BegumBagh,whileinIndore'sChandanKhedi,27villagerswerearrestedandsent to jail.The rallies onwhich stones

werepeltedhadbeenorganisedbytheVHPaspartof itsdrive toraisedonationsfortheRamtem-ple inAyodhya.Noactionhasbeentakenon

counter-complaints by the ac-cused,whohaveallegedthatthestone-peltingwas in retaliationto provocative slogans raised atthe rallies. At Indore andMandsaur,participantshadalsoclimbedontomosques.

Crematoriumwhen the structure collapsed,burying them under concrete.Allthedeadweremen,andmostof them belonged toMuradnagar's Sangam Vihararea.Mostoftheinjuredarecrit-ical, a senior police officer said.SP(Rural)GhaziabadIrajRaja

said an FIR has been registeredagainstMuradnagarNagarPalikaExecutiveOfficerNiharikaSingh,Junior Engineer Chandra Pal,contractor Ajay Tyagi, and 'su-pervisor' Ashish, under severalSections including for culpablehomicide not amounting tomurder. “ThecremationgroundisthejurisdictionofNagarPalika.

We are probing why it col-lapsed," theofficersaid.District Magistrate Ajay

Shanker Pandey said ChiefMinisterYogiAdityanathhador-dered an inquiry. “Weare look-ing at the technicalities of theconstruction,” he said, addingthat the crematoriumwas stillin theprocessof construction.Jai Ram’s daughter Poonam

said she lost her nephews, twocousins, neighbours and herson’sfriends."Inmyaunt’sfam-ily, there are nomen, no bread-winners anymore. She lost herhusbandtocancerafewmonthsback,hereldersonlastyear,andtwosons today,” shecried.Poonam's husband Krishan

Pal,45,alabourer, isadmittedatMMGHospital in Ghaziabad. “Iwas standing in a cornerwhenthe roof fell. I shouted forwhatseemed like hours at the time,"saidPal,whowasbroughtoutbytherescueteamthatnoticedhislegsstickingoutfromthedebris.UdhamSingh(25), JaiRam’s

neighbour,was among the firstto be rescued. “The priest wasjust about to begin the riteswhenIsawsomethingfall.Afewslabshitmyshoulders first, andIcrumbled.Thentheotherpartsfell all overmybody,”hesaid.SDM Aditya Prajapati said

the NDRF teamhad used threecranesfortherescueoperations,which lasted fivehours.Prime Minister Narendra

Modi expressed his condo-lences. Adityanath announcedfinancial assistance of Rs 2 lakhtokinof eachof thedeceased.

Christchurchtocarryout thatghastlyattack,”saidaseniorintelligenceofficial.“He stayed in cheap accom-

modations,largelypopularwithbackpackers, and visited spotspopularwithtourists.Hisitiner-aryshowsthathelargelystayedinSouthIndia,barringJaipur.Hestayed for quite a few days inGoa, largelyputtingupnear thebeaches,” theofficial added.Sourcessaidhis interactions

werelimitedtofellowtravellersand locals in the trade. “All thispoints to the fact that his inter-ests in India were limited totravel. The probe by NewZealand authorities has foundthat Tarrant travelled exten-sivelybeforecarryingoutthe at-tack. He had even visitedMuslim countries like the UAEandPakistan. Inanycase,hehas

saidhewasinspiredtocarryoutthe attack after visiting Europein2017,” saidanotherofficial.BetweenApril 15, 2014, and

August17,2017,Tarranttravelledextensively—always alone, ex-cept for his visit to North Koreaaspartofatourgroup.Thecoun-tries that he visited for periodsof about a month or more in-cludedChina, Japan, Russia andSouthKoreaamongothers.Before the attack in March

2019, Tarranthadputuponlinepoststhatcontainedanti-immi-grant, anti-Muslim and RightWing extremist views. He re-ceived a life sentence in August2020. According to agency re-ports, in December 2020, theRoyal Commissionof Inquiry inNew Zealand released a reporton the attack that claimedTarrant,30,workedasapersonaltrainerata localgymuntil2012whenhesufferedan injury."He never again worked in

paid employment. Instead, helivedoff themoney that hehadreceived fromhis father...Withthemoney from his father, theindividualtravelledextensively,”PTIquoted thereportas saying.

India eyes lithiumalternatives to aqueous elec-trolyte solutions — an innova-tionthat could lowertheriskoffires, sharply increase energydensityandpotentiallytakeonly10minutestochargeanEV,cut-tingtherechargingtimebytwo-thirds.Thesecellscanextendthedriving distance of a compactelectricvehiclewhilemaintain-ing legroom— a quantum leapin battery tech.Anumberofalternativesare

being fostered to achievemoreoptimaloptions.

■Toyota’ssolidstatebattery:Among the 1,000-odd globalpatents involving solid-statebatteries, Toyota heads the list.The Japanese automaker is at-temptingtowrestbackthe leadfrom the Chinese, who are cur-rentLi-ionbatterypackleaders.Toyotaplanstobethefirstcom-panytosellanEVequippedwitha solid-state battery. Nissan toois in the fray.

■Apple battery tech: In thelast fortnightof 2020,Apple Incsaid it's moving forward withself-driving car technology andis targeting 2024 to produce apassengervehicle.Whiletheru-mours were abuzz for a while,the subtext held out a clue —central to Apple's strategy is anew battery design that could"radically" reduce the cost ofbatteries and increase thevehi-cle's range, according to a per-sonquotedbyReuters.

■ QuantumScape’s solid-statebattery:Californianbatterystart-upQuantumScapeCorp. isbeing seen as another brightprospect. Founded by StanfordUniversityscientists,withfinan-cial backing from VolkswagenAG,QuantumScapeisoneof theleadingdevelopersofsolid-statelithiummetalbatteries.Itsuseofasolidstatesepara-

tor technology eliminates thesidereactionbetweentheliquidelectrolyte and the carbon inconventional lithium-ion cells’anode.Appreciationforthetechnol-

ogyhascomeinfromDrStanleyWhittingham,co-inventorofLi-ion battery and winner of the2019NobelPrize inChemistry.

■Tesla’snewtablessbattery:In September 2020, Tesla un-veiled plans to develop a new“tabless” battery that could im-proveanelectriccar’srangeandpower. A tab is the part of thebatterythat formsaconnectionbetween the cell andwhat it ispowering. These new tablesscells,whichTeslaiscalling4860cells,willgivethecompany’sEVbatteriesfivetimesmoreenergycapacity, make them six timesmorepowerful, andenablea16per cent range increase forTesla’s vehicles.

■InJuly2020,researchersatStanfordUniversityclaimedthat

theyhaddevelopedanewelec-trolyte design that boostslithiummetal batteries’ per-formance,increasingthedrivingrange of EVs. They said that theelectrolyte solution had beenone of themost significant fac-tors holding back progress forlithiummetalbatteries.

■ Chinese tech groupQingTaoEnergyDevelopmentisspending over $150million inR&D of solid-state batteries,amongotherareas.

Fantasy gamesUSA-basedTigerGlobalandoth-ers. Days later, Mobile PremierLeague(MPL)raised$90millionin funding, led by Hong Kong-basedSIG.A substantial chunk of this

investment is used to sponsorplayers,teamsandtournamentsindifferentsports–fromcrickettokabaddi, football tohockey.“This is oneway to increase

their user base, which in turnhelps them generate revenuesinceeveryuserhastopayafee,”saidaconsultant toaplatform.WhileDreamXIistheIndian

PremierLeague’smainsponsor,the logoof theMPL,abranden-dorsed by India captain ViratKohli, is on the Team India jer-sey. Virtually every popularcricketer,presentorretired,pro-motesafantasyleague–thislistincludes BCCI president SouravGanguly and Bharat RatnaSachinTendulkar.Of late, internationalbetting

companies,despitesportsgam-blingbeing illegal in India, haveslippedintothesportingecosys-temby advertising directly andthroughsurrogatewaysaccept-ing online bets through Indianbankingsystems.The Niti Aayog draft stays

awayfromtheonlinebettingde-batebutsaysthatfantasysports“shouldnotbe legally classifiedas gambling” since skill, notchance, isapredominantfactor.It has cited the example of theregulatorysystemsintheUnitedStates -- where fantasy sportsareallowed in43states.Former US-based fantasy

sports writer and podcasterGabriel Harber said fantasygamescontinue toberegulatedthroughstatelegislation,whichmakes operators accountable."A large number of states hadbanned it outright but broughtthem back by passing legisla-tion,”Harbersaid.“Sinceit'sreg-ulated on a state-to-state basis,the gaming commissions havetoensure fairness.”Niti Aayog has said a “self-

regulatoryorganisation”shouldcommunicatewithallstatesandrequest“themtoconsidergrant-ing to OFSPs immunity fromcriminalprosecution”.SaidSaiSrinivas,co-founder

and CEO of MPL: "We stronglybelieve that the self-regulatorybody proposed by Niti Aayogshouldbesetuponprinciplesoffairness,transparencyandinde-pendence, so it can help spurfurther innovation."Butmoresafeguardsmaybe

needed,expertssaid.“Thesearenotjustgames.Thereisanincur-sion into vulnerable sections ofsociety, likeminorswith accesstomobilephones.Andwhereverthesectioncannotprotectitself,you will need State interven-tion,” said Bengaluru-basedlawyerSridharPrabhu.Prabhu, who represents pe-

titionerSharadaDRinaPILfiledin the Karnataka High Court,seeking a ban on online gam-bling, said a regulator like SEBI,maybeneededforfantasygam-ing. “These are mammoth or-ganisations with hugemoneypower and reach. People whoplaycricketmultipliedbyfouristhenumberof peoplewhoplayand participate in these games.So it needs regulation, particu-larlybecauseminorshaveaccessto it throughmobile phones,”Prabhusaid.

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of M/s Serum and BharatBiotecharebeing approved forrestricteduseinemergencysit-uation...,”Somanisaid.“A decisive turning point

tostrengthenaspiritedfight!”tweeted Prime MinisterNarendraModi following theannouncement. “It wouldmakeevery Indianproudthatthe two vaccines that havebeengivenemergencyuseap-provalaremadein India!Thisshows the eagerness of ourscientific community to fulfilthe dream of anAatmanirbhar Bharat, at therootofwhichiscareandcom-passion,” he added.With some experts and

Oppositionleadersraisingcon-cerns over the grant of ap-proval to Covaxin, without itsefficacy trials being over,Health Minister HarshVardhan tweeted that BharatBiotech'svaccineismorelikelytoworkagainstnewervariantsof the virus, including the UKvariant, "as it contains im-munogens (epitopes) fromother genes in addition tothose fromSpikeprotein".Vardhan also underlined

that the emergency use ap-proval for Covaxinwas "differ-ently conditional" fromCovishield andwas in clinicaltrialmode. "All Covaxin recipi-entstobetracked,monitoredasif they’re in trial," theministertweeted."ThisapprovalensuresIndiahas anadditional vaccineshield in itsarsenal (especially)againstpotentialmutantstrainsin a dynamic pandemic situa-tion -- A strategic decision forourvaccinesecurity."Vardhanaddedthatno"se-

roconversion"--fromthepointof viral infection towhenanti-bodies becomepresent in theblood -- hadbeenobserved inthose givenCovaxin, an inacti-vatedvaccine,inPhase1and2ofitsclinicaltrials."Ourexperiencewith inactivated vaccines nothaving serious adverse eventswas also observed in Phase IIdone... No serious adverseeventsseen.Only7percentper-sons receiving 6 microgramdose had mild symptoms,"Vardhansaidinanothertweet.ASubjectExpertCommittee

(SEC) looking into applicationsby the two firms formarketingauthorisation had recom-

mended that the SerumInstitute of India (SII),which ismakingCovishield, be grantedrestricted emergencyuse per-mission“subjecttomultiplereg-ulatory conditionalities”, theMinistry of Health and FamilyWelfaresaidonSaturday.TheSIIhadsubmittedsafety,

immunogenicity and efficacydatageneratedfrom23,745par-ticipantsaged18yearsandolderfromoverseasclinicalstudies,aswell as interim safety and im-munogenicitydatafromitson-goingPhase2/3clinicaltrialson1,600participantsinIndia.The immunogenicity of a

vaccineisitsabilitytopromptanimmuneresponse,whiletheef-ficacy, in this case, is ameasureof its ability to bringdown thenumberofsymptomaticCovid-19cases.The SEC had also recom-

mended similar restrictedper-mission,“inclinicaltrialmode”,to Bharat Biotech, which hassubmittedsafetyandimmuno-genicity data frompre-clinicalstudiesonanimalsaswellasre-sultsfromPhase1and2humantrialsinapproximately800vol-unteersofCovaxin.

TheSEC’srecommendationcame after it reviewed thissafety and immunogenicitydata, according toDr Somani.While he did not mentionwhether the firmhad submit-tedanyefficacydataonthevac-cine, he said that the recom-mendationwas also “in publicinterestasanabundantprecau-tion... to havemoreoptions forvaccinations, especially in caseof infectionbyamutantstrain”.BharatBiotechiscurrentlyin

the process of recruiting andvaccinating 25,800 volunteersforthePhase3trialsofCovaxinand,tilldate,22,500participantshave receivedat least onedoseof thevaccine.Covishieldwould be ready

to roll out “in the comingweeks,” tweeted SII CEOAdarPoonawalla. "All the risks SIItookwith stockpiling the vac-cine(have)paidoff."TheapprovaltoCovaxinisa

“giant leap for innovation andnovel product development inIndia,” said Bharat BiotechChairman and ManagingDirectorDrKrishnaElla.

—WITHINPUTSFROMENS,PUNE

Two Covid vaccines get emergencyuse nod, one in clinical trial mode

New Delhi

ANANYATIWARIGHAZIABAD, JANUARY3

POONAM (40) was at a loss forwords as shewent through thelistof 23peoplewhodiedat theMuradnagar crematorium onSunday—manywere her rela-tives. Theyhad gathered for thelast rites of her father, Jai Ram,when the roof of the structurecollapsed.“So many of our extended

family members died… myaunt’s sons, grandsons… myson’s friend, nephews andcousins,” is all shecouldsay, sit-tingbesideherinjuredhusbandKrishan Pal (45) at the MMGDistrict Hospital in Ghaziabad.Herimmediatefamilymemberssurvived.At the hospital, families

waited to take back bodies oftheir lovedonesorsatbythe in-jured. Dhanush Pal Singh (63),

Ram’s brother-in-law, said: “Iwaited outside the cremationareaasmanypeoplewereaheadofme…andIsawtheentireroofcomecrashing.”Manyfamilies lost theironly

breadwinners.ArvindKumar(37),whowas

Ram’s neighbour, was foundburied beneath the debris. Heworkedasanassistanttoadoctorat UttamNagar in Delhi and issurvivedbyhismother,wifeandthreechildren,allagedbelow12.His mother Pushpa Devi (58)said: “Womenweren’t allowed

in the crematorium so Iwaitedoutside.WhenIheardthenews,Icamerunningtothehospital…so many relatives and neigh-boursaretryingtolocatebodies.”Waiting forhis father’s body

was Class XI student NitishKumar (18). Sunil Kumar (44), a

labourer,wasfoundcrushedun-derthedebrisbyhisfriends.ThefamilylivednearRam’shome.“Ihaven't told my mother andthree younger siblings of hisdeath. They think his leg is bro-ken,”hesaid.A senior police officer said

thatwhilepoliceareyettoregis-teranFIRasfactsarebeinggath-ered, therewouldbe aprobeonthe construction quality of theroof. The landowningagencyofthecremationgroundwasNagarPalikaParishadMuradnagarandone Ajay Singh was given thecontractof construction.Ghaziabad District

MagistrateAjayShankerPandeysaid UP Chief Minister YogiAdityanath has ordered an in-quiry into the incident: “Wearelooking at the technicalities oftheconstruction like thekindofmaterial that was used... thestructure was still under con-struction.”

3THEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY, JANUARY4,2021

THECITYWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

OFFICE OF THE PRINCIPAL COMMISSIONEROF CENTRAL GST

DELHI NORTH, C.R. BUILDING, I.P. ESTATE,NEW DELHI-110109

HOLDING OF PENSION ADALATThe Central GST, Delhi North Commisssionerate is holding aPension Adalat pertaining to COST Delhi North/Delhi. East/DelhiAudit-I/Delhi Appeal-I including all subordinate offices of the saidCommissionerates for taking on the spot decision for promptresolution of pensioner's grievances at C.R. Building, I.P. Estate,New Delhi-110109 on 27.01.2021 from 11:30 AM onwards. Allthe pensioners, whose pension cases are pending for settlement/decision, may file application before the Adalat for settlement oftheir cases.Prescribed application form for submission before the Adalat isalready available at www.gstdelhizone.gov.in.

Sd/-Joint Commissioner (P & E)

Central GST Delhi North

ChristmasshoppersatKhanMarket.AbhinavSaha

Despite festive boost, taxreceipts shrink by 31%

Delhi to set up academy to‘protect Tamil language’EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI, JANUARY3

THE DELHI government an-nounceditsplantosetupaTamilAcademy to “protect Tamil lan-guageandculture”onSunday.The academywill function

under the Delhi government’sdepartment of Art, Culture andLanguage. Thedepartmentcur-rently runs academies forUrdu,Sanskrit, Punjabi, Hindi, Sindhi,andmost recently,Maithili andBhojpuri in thecapital."Delhi is a culturally rich city

wherepeoplefromallpartsofthecountryliveandwork.Itisthisdi-versity that formsDelhi'svibrantand cosmopolitan culture. Delhihas a largepopulationof peoplefromTamilNaduandwewanttopresent aplatformto thepeopleofDelhi toget the tasteof theartand culture of TamilNadu,” saidDeputyCMManishSisodia.Accordingtogovernmentof-

ficials, theactivitiesof theacad-emy will include introducingnewawards topromote and re-wardworks in Tamil, providinglanguagecoursesandorganisingcultural festivals.

For 2nd day in row,city records under500 Covid cases

MALLICAJOSHINEWDELHI, JANUARY3

AFTER AN over 80 per centdeficit in April, Delhi’s tax col-lection went up in subsequentmonths,butthenationalcapitalhasseena31percentreductionin collectionbetweenApril andNovember last year as com-pared to 2019. The collections,officials said, were 44.28% lessthanprojectedestimatesforthisfinancial year.In 2019, the city had col-

lectedRs23,751.93 croreundervariousheadssuchasstateGST,sales tax, excise, taxes on vehi-cles, etc, between April andNovember. This fell to Rs16,380.50croreforthesamedu-ration in2020.The only month in which

Delhi gotmore taxes and fee ascompared to 2019 wasSeptember,whenRs2,417crore

wascollectedascomparedtoRs2,286 crore in 2019. Data showthis was primarily because thecity earned more in state GSTand taxesonvehicles.Dataalsoshowthatthereis-

n’t a single head under whichthe city earned more taxes in2020as compared to in2019.SeniorDelhigovernmentof-

ficials said the rate of recoveryin thecity isnotveryencourag-ing.“We sawa considerable im-

provement in tax collections inJuly, when the difference be-tween last year and 2019 wasaround 6 per cent. Thereafterthe collection in Septemberraised hope. In the festive sea-son, however, which the citywas banking on, we did not doaswellaswehadhopedandcol-lections in October andNovember remained at a nega-tive15and19percent,” anoffi-cial said.

StateGSTcollectionsascom-pared to 2019 are down 28 percent,whileexcisecollectionsaredown27percent.Taxesonvehi-clesdipped31per cent.The government has previ-

ously reachedout to theCentrefor aid to help disburse em-ployee salaries and had cut ex-penditure on new projects aswell.Delhi has pushed to reopen

inMay,whentheChiefMinisterhadsaidthecountrywouldhaveto find a way to live with thevirus to ensure that more jobsaren’t lost.According to Deputy Chief

Minister Manish Sisodia, whoalsohandlesthefinancedepart-ment,amajorityof jobsinDelhiare in the service sector, whichhasbeenhitthehardestbecauseof the lockdown and subse-quentrestrictionsongatheringsand strict norms regarding eat-ingout andentertainment.

Total VacantHOSPITAL BEDS 14,090 12,178VENTILATORS 1,440 976

Dailycases Recoveries Deaths TestsJan2 494 496 14 67,364Jan3 424 708 14 68,759Total 5,044* 6,11,243 10,585 88,76,518

CORONAVIRUSIN THECAPITAL *Tota

lactivecases

TOTAL CASES

6,21,439

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI, JANUARY3

THENATIONAL capital has beenrecording less than 500 newCovid-19 cases for twodays in arownow. It recorded 424 cases,thelowest inoversevenmonths,and14new fatalities on Sunday,and thepositivity rate slipped to0.62 per cent. On Saturday, 494caseswererecorded.JainonSaturdayhadtweeted

that thepositivityratehadbeenbelow 1 per cent for the last 11days, and fresh cases were thelowest sinceMay17.Health Minister Satyendar

Jain Sunday hailed the DrugController General of India’s(DCGI) move approving theemergencyuseof twoCovid-19vaccines, adding that the stategovernment is all set to roll-outthe vaccination programme assoonasanyof themarrives.Nine lakh people, including

3 lakh healthcare workers andnearly6 lakh frontlineworkers,will be vaccinated in the firstphase, Jain said while sharingdetails about the vaccinationprogramme.“The protocol will be that

healthcareandfrontlineworkers,peopleover50yearsofageorwithco-morbiditywill be injected inthefirstphaseoftherollout...The

vaccinewill be first rolled out tothese 9 lakh people (healthcareandfrontlineworkers),”hesaid.A dry runwas conducted on

Saturdayat threesessionsites inDelhitotestthelinkagesbetweenplanning and implementationandtoidentifythechallenges.“A dry run was conducted

yesterdayinthreedifferenttypesofcentres—governmenthospi-tal, privatehospital andgovern-ment dispensary... Ultimately,1,000 centres will be made. Inthe first phase, we will make500-600centres,”hesaid.India’s drugs regulator has

approved the Oxford Covid-19vaccine, Covishield, manufac-turedbytheSerumInstitute,andBharat Biotech's indigenouslydevelopedCovaxinforrestrictedemergencyuse in thecountry.Meanwhile, the ongoing

phase3human trials of CovaxinatAIIMS,Delhi, is expected tobecompletedbyMonday.Themed-icalinstitutehadsetatargetofad-ministering the indigenous vac-cineto1,000volunteers. “Wearevery close to completing the tar-getandhopefully,theexercisewillbecompletedbyMonday.Earlier,therejectionratewashigherdueto lackofproper informationbutoverthelast15days,morepeopleare visiting the centre and theprocesshaspickedup thepace,”saidaseniordoctorfromAIIMS.

ROOFOFMURADNAGARCREMATORIUMCOLLAPSES

‘Waited outside as thereweremanypeople... then I saw roof crash down’

Allof thosewhodiedweremen,andwererelatives, friendsandneighboursof thedeceased.AbhinavSaha

ABHINAVRAJPUTNEWDELHI, JANUARY3

THEDDAlauncheditsnewhous-ing scheme on Saturday with1,354flatsonofferundervariouscategories.Thecostliestonesarein Jasola Vihar, priced at Rs 2.14crore.TheIndianExpress looksatwhat thescheme isabout:

What is thenewDDAhousingscheme?The 2021 housing scheme

has1,354flatsonsaleunderfourcategories — Higher IncomeGroup (HIG),Middle IncomeGroup(MIG),LowerIncomeGroup(LIG)and Janta flats — inareas such asDwarka, Jasola,Manglapuri,VasantKunjandRohini.

Howmanyflatsareupforsale ineachcategory?What isthepricerange?In HIG, LIG and EWS/Janta

categories, the number of flatson offer are 254, 52 and 291 re-spectively.WhileHIG flats are 3BHK and 2 BHK flats, MIG onesare2BHK.In the HIG 3 BHK flats cate-

gory, 215 are on offer in Jasola,Pocket9B.ThepricerangesfromRs1.97croreto2.14crore,asperthe brochure. 13 3BHK flats arealsoonofferinVasantKunjcost-ingbetweenRs1.43croreandRs1.72crore.There are 757MIG category

flatsinDwarka,VasantKunjandRohini, while EWS ones inMangalapuri,officialssaid.They

are priced between Rs 41 lakhand Rs 1.24 crore. LIG flats arepricedbetweenRs17andRs35lakh in areas such as Dwarka,Rohini and Narela, while Jantaflats cost between Rs 8 to Rs 30lakh inManglapuri andNarela.

What is theeligibility toapplyfor thescheme?Theapplicantmustbeaciti-

zenof India,attained18yearsofage, and must not own anydwellingunit(includingresiden-tial plot)/flat in full or in part onleasehold or freehold basis inDelhi either in their ownname,

in the name of spouseorinthenameofanyofdependent relationsincluding unmarriedchildren.Husbandandwife canapply for flatsseparately, subject tofulfillmentofeligibilityconditions —with the

stipulation that if both get flats,onlyoneshall beallotteda flat.

Howdoesoneapply?Theschemeisentirelyonline.

DDAhas developed a new soft-ware,AWAAS,throughwhichap-plicantscancompleteall formal-ities, including payment.Applicantshavetodepositappli-cation fee of Rs 25,000 for EWS;Rs1,00,00 for LIG; Rs2,00,00 forMIG; andRs 2,00,000 forHIG. Ifapplicantwantstoselectflatsun-dermorethanonecategory,theyhavetodepositfeeforthehighestcategory. Application once sub-mitted cannot be withdrawn.Issuanceofdemandletter,posses-sion letter, conveyancedeed, etc,willbedoneviatheportal.ThelastdatetoapplyisFebruary16.

UnderconstructionDDAflatsatShaheenBagh.Archive

In DDA’s latesthousing scheme,1,354 flats on offer

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI, JANUARY3

A CHINESE constructionmajorhas been awarded the contractto build a 5.6-kmundergroundstretch of the upcoming Delhi-MeerutRRTSproject,sixmonthsafteracontroversyeruptedoverthe foreign company emergingasthelowestbidderfortheoverRs-1,000-crorecontract.Theundergroundstretch,be-

tween New Ashok Nagar andSahibabad, will be built by

Shanghai Tunnel EngineeringCompany after it trouncedIndiancivil constructionmajorslastJunewhenthefinancialbidswereopened.TheNational Capital Region

Transport Corporation (NCRTC),which is executing the country’sfirst Regional Rapid Rail TransitSystem (RRTS) project, said thecontractwas awarded followingsetprocedureandguidelinesap-plicableonanAsianDevelopmentBank-fundedproject. “Approvalshavetobetakenatvarious levelsforbidsthatarefundedbymulti-

lateralagencies.Thisbidwasalsoawardedfollowingsetprocedureand guidelines,” an NCRTCspokesmantoldTheIndianExpressSunday. “All contracts are func-tional as of last month.Constructionisinfullswingonthe82-km-long Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut corridor to commissiontheprojectintime,”hesaid.The RRTS corridor is being

funded by the AsianDevelopmentBankandprocure-ment is governed by guidelinesofthebankandthegovernment,officials said.

Chinese firm to build stretchof Delhi-Meerut RRTS corridor

New Delhi

ASHNABUTANINEWDELHI,JANUARY3

THE HANUMAN temple atChandniChowkwasdemolishedearlySundaymorning,incompli-ancewithanorderpassedbytheDelhiHighCourt.“As soon as the NorthMCD

dismantledthemandiraround7am,wemadeaconcretepathwaywhere it stood,” saidaPWDoffi-cial. The temple is located in themiddleoftheroadbetweenTownHallandGurdwaraSisGanj.The issuewas firstaddressed

by theDelhiHighCourt in 2015,whenitwashearingamatteronunauthorisedreligiousstructures.Afteralonglitigation,whereintheNorth MCD approached theSupremeCourtandwasaskedtoremove the structurewith sup-portfromtheDelhigovernment,itwasdecidedbytheCommitteeonRemovalofEncroachmentsinthe formof Religious Structuresthat the templewould bemadepartof theredevelopment.Agencies working on the

ground, however, said this can’tbedoneinafeasiblemanner.Thecourt then directed authorities,includingDelhi government, todischarge its constitutional andstatutoryduties.InDecember,theNorthMCD had told the courtthat itwillcarryout itsorders.AAP and Delhi BJP traded

charges. AAP leader DurgeshPathak said the BJP-run NorthMCDhadtold thecourt itwouldcarry out the demolition. BJP

spokesperson Praveen ShankarKapoor,however,saidDelhigov-ernmentwasresponsibleforthedemolition,sinceitdidnotagreetomakingthetemplepartof theredevelopment.ThePWDofficial,meanwhile,

said the central verge is nearlycomplete.What remains to bedone is setting granite on thestretch and putting up bollardsandstoneplanters.However, there are a few

other setbacks to the project.“Setting up electric poles, withlampsandCCTVs,willtakeafewmore days as material for thepoles, which comes fromRajasthan andHaryana, is stuckduetoprotestsat theborder.Weexpect it toreachbyJanuary15,”said the official. Asmany as 157electricpoleswillbesetuponthecentralverge.Officials said work on the

stretch,whichwas supposed tobecompletedbytheendof2020,maynowstretchtoJanuaryend.

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI,JANUARY3

RAINLASHEDDelhi andNCRonSunday morning, leading to adropindaytemperaturesamidststrongwindsandthunderstorm.The city recorded 40mmof

rain between Saturday andSunday night, the highestamount of rain ona Januarydaysinceatleast2009.Theminimumtemperaturestoodat9.9degreesCelsius,threedegreesabovenor-mal, as a thick cloud coverwasseenthroughthenight.Within the city, the highest

amountofrain—42.2mm—wasseen at the Lodhi Road observa-tory. Thiswas followed by 29.3mmatAyanagarand23.7mmatPalam. The highest rainfall in asingledayinJanuarywasseenonthe 28th of themonth in 1885,when 116.8mmof rainfall wasrecordedwithin24hours.Themaximumtemperature,

meanwhile, dipped to 15.8 de-greesCelsius,fourdegreesbelownormal.Windspeed,usuallylowduring winter, also picked upearlymorning,addingtothechill.According to officials at IMD,

Delhi is expected to see rain forthreemore days, with hail andthundershowers expected on

Monday. ByWednesday, the ef-fect of thewestern disturbanceover the region is expected tostartwaningandonlylightrainisexpected during the day, afterwhichtheskyisexpectedtoclear,paving theway for another spellof foginthemornings.“An active Western

Disturbance,whichhas broughtrain and snow to the higherreaches of Himachal Pradesh, isalsothecauseofheavyrainfall inDelhi. The city saw a long coldwave lastweek,whichwas bro-ken because of thewestern dis-turbance. The early morning

(minimum) temperatures haveincreased, but the days have gotcolder. Once the effect of thewestern disturbance will de-crease, the mornings are ex-pected to get colder once again.FogisalsoexpectedonThursdayandFriday,”saidaseniorMETde-partmentofficial.The heavy rains also caused

waterlogging in several spots inthe city, anda fewcomplaints oftreesfallingwerealsoreceived.TheDelhiFireServicerescued

twopeoplewhoweretrappedin-sideatruckaftertheunderpassatPulPrahladpurwaswaterlogged.

SUKRITABARUAHNEWDELHI, JANUARY3

WITHDATES for the2021boardexaminations announced lastweek, some teachers in Delhigovernment schools said theyhope thiswill push the govern-ment to allow board-year stu-dents to attend classes offline.CBSE exams for class X and XIIstudentswillbeginonMay4andconcludebyJune10.Schoolshavebeenshutsince

March last year due to the pan-demic.AsreportedbyTheIndianExpress, Delhi EducationMinisterManishSisodiahadsaid

there is very little possibility ofschools re-opening before Julythisyear.Last month, a Delhi-based

group of teachers called LokShikshakManch hadwritten totheCBSEraisingconcernsregardtheconductofboardexamswith-out“adecentminimumofclass-room teaching-learning”. Theystated,“Ontheonehand,second-ary and senior-secondary stu-dents in most private schoolswouldhaveexperiencedmoreorless smooth online classes sincethe beginning of the session,aided by individual attentionfromschools andprivate coach-ing, andwell-cushionedby aca-

demic support at home. On theotherhand,almostallstudentsofthese grades in governmentschools have been strugglingsincemonthstogainaccesstoanymeaningfulonlineeducation.”The principal of a govern-

mentschoolinOuterDelhi,whoalso teaches science, said hehopes the announcement indateswillgiveafreshdrivetostu-dentsandpushthegovernmenttoallowthemtocometoschool.“Honestly,thelevelofengage-

ment in online classes is low; Ithinkonlyabout20%students inour schools are benefiting. Nowthat the dates have been an-nounced, I think this should in-

crease.Inanycase,studentstendtogetseriousabouttheexamsinthelastfewmonths.ButIthinkitwill be essential that they get atleast amonthof offline teachingbefore the practicals, so that fo-cusedpreparation for theexamscantakeplace,”hesaid.Thevice-principalofaschool

in Northeast Delhi said that at-tendance in online classes con-tinues to be thin, even amongclass XII students: “In any class,there’s amaximumof 50% stu-dents present. There are stillsomestudentswe’renotinregu-lar touchwith — theymove inandoutof online classes, attendsome few and far between. It

makesmeconcernedthatatthispoint of time, we are not pre-paredenough.”Theheadof another govern-

ment school pointed out thatowingtothelockdown,studentsfrom these schools had beengiven relaxed terms of promo-tiontoclassesXandXII:“Becauseof the pandemic, students fromclass IX andXI had been passedthroughhomeassignmentsandtests which means that eventhosewhomightnotbeacadem-ically ready towrite the exams,especially in classX,will appearfor them…Wehad expected atleastoneortwomonthsofphys-icalclassesbeforetheexams.”

CBSE classX andXII boardexamswillbeginonMay4andconcludebyJune10. Archive

CBSE BOARDS

Exam dates in, teachers bank on offline classes to prepare students

Mewat gangsunder scannerfor ATM thefts

4THEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY, JANUARY4,2021

THECITYWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

THE GRINDAlabourerataconstuctionsite inMayurVihar. TashiTobgyal

AMILBHATNAGAR&ASHNABUTANINEWDELHI, JANUARY3

HUDDLED IN blankets inside atentatSinghuborder, four-year-old Mary watched as waterdripped from the corner of theroof and asked her fatherMMChandra if itwould fall on themaswell. Thetwoareamongover20,000 protesting against thefarm laws, andhave been at theborder for a week. On Sundaymorning,theyfoundthemselvesscramblingforcoverasthecapi-tal recorded its heaviest rainfallon a single day in January sinceat least2009.The protests at Singhu

startedonNovember26.Astem-peraturedipped, farmers setuptentsandwrappedtheminplas-tic to insulate themselves from

the cold. But Sunday’s thunder-stormtestedtheirarrangements.Said Kartar Singh, a farmer,

“The biggest problemwas thatwaterenteredthetentsfrombe-lowbut theplastic sheetson toppreventedseepage.Weimmedi-ately shifted our blankets andmattresses to the centre.Wearetrying tomakea raisedplatformso that even if water enters thetent,thebeddingwon’tbesoiled.”The first spell of rainfall, soon

after5.30am,hadthemostsevereimpact.Sinceitwasaccompaniedbywind, severalmakeshift tentswere blown away. “There areabout 50-60 peoplewho sleephere together.When it started torain,wehuddled closer tomoveaway fromthewetareas. Butweare confident that arrangementswillbemade.Wehavealreadygottables and will keep our mat-tresses on them.Other supplies

arecomingfromourvillages;therainwillnotdampenourspirits,”saidChandra.

Around 9 am, farmers tookstockofthedamageandcoveredtheir tentsand tractorswithyel-

low tarpaulin and carried theirmattressestodry.Onegroupuseda JCBmachine to clear themud

thathadpiledupdue to the rainwhileanothergroupcoveredthedry feed of horseswith a plastic

sheet.Afreshpileofdrywood,forthe fires, was arrangedwithinhours and small elevated struc-tures were built outside sometentstostopwaterfromentering.Atthemainstage,theelectri-

calequipmentwasnotdamagedasmost of it is waterproof, saidfarmers. “Wewill be installingpoles,ontopofwhichlongsheetswill be used tomake a canopy.The sheets arewaterproof; theywill cover the entire backstagearea.Therecouldbemoreraininthe comingdays.Our effort is toensure that the protest contin-ues,” saidavolunteer.Atthelangars,packetsofflour

weredamagedbytherainwater.The volunteers plan to buildmoretents;atonespot,theybuilta2-ftwalltoblockrainwaterthathad collected in front of theirutensilsandsupplies.At the Tikri border too, the

rain left a trail of damage. Agroup of farmers from Sangrur,whohad set up five tents in theBahadurgarharea,saidthebam-boo poles holding the tents fell,and all their mattresses weredrenched in the rain.Govind Singh (28), who

sleeps in a tent alongwith fourothers, said, “It has been quitecold for the last few days. Therainfall hasmade it evenmoredifficult.”OnSundayafternoon,volunteers fromKhalsaAiddis-tributed fresh mattresses andextratents,hesaid.“Wehaveputextratentsovertheexistingonestomake themsecure.”Jagdish Singh, also from

Sangrur, said the rain and colddidnotbotherthemmuch:“Wekeep eating food that keeps uswarmatnight.Desigeysershavebeen distributed. So we getwarmwatereveryday.”

MAHENDERSINGHMANRALNEWDELHI, JANUARY3

SIX ATMunitswere stolen overtwonights lastmonthcausingalossofoverRs52lakh.Policesus-pect several gangs fromHaryana'sMewat, driving SUVsandwearingmasks, are behindthe thefts.A senior police officer said

the first three incidents tookplace in the Eastern range onDecember 16. A group of fivemenarrivedinblackScorpioandentered an ATM kiosk in EastDelhi's Gazipur. They disabledthe CCTV camera using spraypaint."Withinminutes,theyup-rooted the cash dispensingma-chine— containing Rs 4 lakh—using a gas cutter. A few hourslater, theywent toGeetaColonyin Shahdara districtwhere theyuprootedanotherATMusingthesamemodusoperandi.But theywereabletostealonlyRs35,000as themachinewasn'tworking.At 2.15 am, they reachedNortheast Delhi's Khajuri Khasand made off with Rs 13.85lakh," theofficer said.AfterregisteringFIRsinthree

separatedistricts,seniorofficialscalled ameeting to discuss theprogress of the probe. It wasfound that a Mewat gang wasoperating with around half-a-dozenmen, targeting only un-guardedATMsduringoddhours."PolicealsofoundCCTVfootage,butthecarregistrationplatewasunclear. Several teams of thecrime branch and special cellhavebeenropedintonabtheac-cused," said theofficer.Even as the teams were

working on the cases, a secondgang targeted three ATMs inWestDelhionDecember25."PolicescannedCCTVfootage

from the first kiosk in PunjabiBaghandfoundthattheaccused,whocame inawhiteCretawithasunroof,haduprootedthecashdispensingmachine using a gascutter.AtthesecondATMinKirtiNagar,thebank'ssecuritybranchinMumbai noticed suspiciousactivity and alerted their pa-trolling squad. But before thesquad arrived, the accused es-caped. At 2.37 am, they wereseeninsideathirdATMboothinNaraina. But they heard sirensandescaped—before returning

at3.47amtocompletethetheft.In all, they stole Rs 36 lakh," theofficer said, adding that inall sixcases,theaccusedtooktheDVRswiththem.Sourcessaidpoliceidentified

oneof theaccusedinthesecondgang through the car and con-ducted a raid inMewat, but heand his accomplices fled. "Hewas earlier arrested in a similarcase," sources said.Meanwhile, in yet another

incident on December 6, policesaid a third gang of three-fourmen allegedly targeted an un-guarded ATM kiosk in Dwarka.Police later arrested threemenfromMewat.DCP (Dwarka) Santosh

KumarMeenasaid,"Theaccusedhoped police would be busyhandling the farmers' agitationandwould not be able to trackthem. During questioning, theydisclosed that one of themarrangedforagascutterandan-other picked anATMwithmin-imumsecurity.Theyreturnedtocommit another theft but ouralert teamarrested them."

At Singhu, Tikri protest sites, rain does little to dampen the spirit

Protestershuddle togetheratSinghu(left); lookingforadryspot to laybedsatTikri.Pics: PremNathPandey,GajendraYadav

HAILANDTHUNDERSHOWERSTODAY

(Top)ArobbedATM inKirtiNagar; thegangoutsideanATM inKhajuriKhas

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI,JANUARY3

A 27-YEAR-OLD man was al-legedly beaten to death by agroup of men in West Delhi'sRaghubirNagaronSaturday.Police said the victim,

Satender,wasoutwithhisfriendsNitin andManish in the nightwhentheyallegedlyhadanalter-cationwith amannamedVickywho then called his associatesandallegedlyassaultedSatender.“The accused thrashed

Satender with a baseball bat.Satender was rushed to GuruGobind Singh Government

Hospitalwhere the doctors de-claredhimdeadonarrival,” saidDCP(West)DeepakPurohit.Accordingtopolice,Satender,

wholivedinShivajiVihar,wasin-volved in eight cases of robberyand theft. Vicky is also ahistory-sheeterandisinvolvedincasesofgambling and theft. During en-quiry, Satender’s friends told thepolice that the fight happenednearVicky’shouse.Whilepolicesaidtheaccused

and victim are known to eachother, theyareyet to identify thecauseof thefight.Police said they are scanning

through the CCTV footage fromtheareatotracetheaccused.

27-year-old ‘beaten todeath’ with baseball bat

BRIEFLYFatherandsonarrestedforcheatingneighboursofRs2.1croreNew Delhi: Delhi PoliceEconomicOffencesWinghas arrested a father-sonduoforallegedlycheatinghundredsofpeopletothetuneofRs2.1croreonthepretext of investing in a“government-approved”luckydraw.Policesaidtheincident dates back to2017. Themen had fledwith their family andwere arrested after twoyearsofinvestigation.Theaccused,BhuvneshGupta(59)andVivekGupta(34),ran a jewellery shop inUttamNagar.Theduohadallegedlytoldtheirneigh-boursandotherstoinvestin a government-ap-proved scheme andpromised themhefty re-turns.JointCommissionerof Police (EOW) O PMishrasaid,“Theaccusedhad collectedmore thanRs2.1crorefromover200victims.”

3heldformolestingwomen,filmingitNewDelhi:DelhiPolicear-restedthreemenwhoal-legedlysexuallyassaulteda35-year-oldwomanandher daughter and alsofilmedtheact.Policesaidthe two women weresleeping on the roadwhentwoof theaccusedmolested them. DCP(Northwest) VijayantaArya said, “We saw avideocirculatingonlineoftwowomenontheroad-side beingmolested.Wesearched for the victimsand found them onSunday.TheincidenttookplaceonDecember29-30.Thewomengave a state-ment andwe initiated aprobe.”Policesaidseveralsuspectswere examinedbefore the accused —Sonu (22), Amit (24) andRitik (18) —were foundand booked under IPCsections related to sexualassault, violence andvoyeurism.

Manstabbedtodeath,wifefoundunconsciousinapartmentNew Delhi: A man wasfoundwith stabwoundsandhiswifeunconsciousinsidetheirapartmentinSouthDelhi’sChattarpurExtonSaturday. “Were-ceived a call from thelandlord thathis tenantsweren’t opening theirdoor. At the same time,we found a Facebookpost where a womanshared info about herhusband’s murder. Weopened the door andfound the couple,” saidthepolice.ENS

0-50 Good

ANANDVIHARVeryPoor

0 500

367AQIPM:2.5

SIRIFORTVeryPoor

0 500

SHADIPURPoor

0 500 500

51-100 Satisfactory 101-200 Moderate 201-300 Poor 301-400 VeryPoor 401-500 Severe

DWARKA- SECTOR8Very Poor

0

352AQIPM:2.5

244AQIPM:10

340AQIPM:2.5

FORECAST: Jan4Generallycloudy.Lightrain/thunderstormwithgustywinds.

S K Y WA T C H

MAX:190.6°Cbelownormal

MIN:102.8°Cabovenormal

40mmRainbetweenSaturday8.30pmandSunday8.30pm

19.3mmAvgmonthlyrainfall inJanuary

THEWEEKAHEAD

1.3Avgnumberofrainydays

TemperatureonSunday 15.8°CMax 9.9°CMin

Day Min Max ForecastMon 10 18 ThunderstormwithhailTue 10 19 ThunderstormwithrainWed 9 20 Generallycloudyskywith

lightrainordrizzleThu 7 19 ModeratefogFri 6 19 Partlycloudysky,possibility

ofrainorthunderstormSat 5 19 Fogormist

0°C 20°C

Expect rain for 3moredays in the capital

Theworkwassupposedtobefinishedbytheendof2020

After court order,temple at ChandniChowk demolished

New Delhi

5THEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY, JANUARY4,2021

GOVT&POLITICSWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

DELHICONFIDENTIAL

EXPANSION BUZZBJPPRESIDENTJPNadda’sreshuffleof thepartyorganisationhasrevivedthebuzzoverapossibleCabinetexpansion,whichhasbeenonthecardsforsometime.Therehavebeenvacan-cies in the Cabinet after the death of ministers Ram VilasPaswanandSureshAngadiandtheexitofalliesShivSenaandSAD.Thebuzzamongtheaspirants isthattheexpansionwillhappenafterMakarSankranti.Withthecurrentfortnightbe-ingconsidered inauspicious foranynewbeginning, theysaytheexpansion isexpected to takeplaceafter January15.

IN SOLIDARITYDESPITEREQUESTSfrompartyleaderstoavoidmakingpub-lic statementsonthe farmers'protests, seniorBJP leaderandformer Union minister Birender Singh on Sunday againpraisedthefarmerswhoareprotestingatthebordersofDelhiagainstthefarmlaws.Takingtosocialmedia,Singhexpressedhopethatthefarmers’demandswillbeaddressedassoonaspossible. This is the second time in aweek that Singh, wholastweekparticipatedinadharnainsolidaritywiththefarm-ersinRohtak,haspraisedthefarmersmovement.Hislatestre-marks comeaheadof the crucial roundof talksbetween thegovernmentand farmunionsonMonday.

THE ASPIRANTSTHE EDUCATIONMinistry's search for the next head of theHaryanaCentralUniversity (HCU) is in its last leg. Interviewswith shortlisted candidates are learned to have taken placeandtheselectionpanelhasfinalisedafewnamesforthepost.Grapevine has it that Vinay Pathak, incumbent Vice-ChancellorofUttarPradeshTechnicalUniversity,andIGNOUprofessorShambhuNathSinghareamongthe frontrunners.RCKuhad,whosetermasHCUV-CendedinApril, isalsointherunning fora secondterm.

ARUNJANARDHANANCHENNAI, JANUARY3

MONTHS AHEAD of the TamilNadu Assembly polls, M KAlagiri, elder son of the late MKarunanidhi,madestrongstate-ments against his youngerbrother, DMK chief and theparty’sChiefMinistercandidateMKStalin.Hewas addressing a gather-

ingofhisfollowersatMaduraionSundayevening.Whilehedidnotannounceanewparty,aswasbe-ingspeculated,hesaidhewouldtakeadecisionsoonandappealedtohissupporterstoaccept it.Alagiri said he was thrown

out of DMK and labelled a “be-trayer” despite his “selflesswork”overtheyears.Hesaidhisleadership helped DMK winmany elections in southernTamil Nadu and that his fatherKarunanidhi always acknowl-edgedhiswork.Listing several polls, includ-

ing the 2009 Thirumangalambyelection,Alagirisaideveryoneridiculed the DMK victory andcalled it “Thirumangalam for-mula”. “There was noThirumangalam formula. WedidnotpayRs1,000or2,000,weworkedhardday andnight andwontheelection,”hesaid.Alagirisaidthatontwoocca-

sions,Stalinhadapproachedhimfor support to get posts in theparty.Alagirisaidthathehadal-waystoldStalinthathewouldbethe next leader of DMK. “I toldStalin, you are the leader. I wasrequested to recommend hisname for key posts. I had takenthephoneandtoldKalaignar[asKarunanidhi was fondly calledbymany] to fulfil my younger

brother’s wish. I told Stalin andKalaignarmany times that I donot want posts or power in theparty.Ialwaysworkedasanobe-dient cadre.Despite all this, I donot knowwhy they calledme abetrayer,”Alagiri said.HesaidKarunanidhiwas re-

luctant to contest the 2016Assemblypolls.“ButStalinknewthat thepartywouldwinonly ifweprojectKalaignarasCMcan-didate.Hewasforcedtocontest,and that eventually weakenedhis health. There were timeswhen Karunanidhi’s weakhealth was reflected in hisspeeches.Theyforcedhimtodoall that despite his bad health,”Alagiri said.AlagirisaidKarunanidhihad

mademany leaders ministersand they became rich but noneof themwere thankful tohim.“There is no alternative to

Kalaignar. There was only oneKalaignar.Nobodycancomeany-where near the knowledge andwisdomofKalaignar,”hesaid.Alagiri was removed from

the DMK in 2014 for anti-partyactivities.In November, The Indian

ExpressreportedaboutAlagiri’splantolaunchanewoutfitchal-lenging the DMK. Alagiri hadplanstoaddresshisfollowersonNovember 20 andmeet HomeMinisterAmitShahthenextdayin Chennai. It is learnt that theplanwas delayed by DMK’s ef-fortstopreventanembarrassingsituation.

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEKOLKATA, JANUARY3

AIMIMCHIEFAsaduddinOwaision Sundaymet Pirzada AbbasSiddiqui, an influential MuslimclericofFurfuraSharif locatedinJangipara area of Hooghly dis-trict, fuelling speculation of anew political understandingaheadof theAssemblyelectionsinWestBengal.LastMarch, Siddiquihadan-

nounced to launch a politicaloutfit andcontest theAssemblyelections. However, there hasbeensoperceptibleheadway inthedirectionsince then.After holding talks with

Siddiqui,Owaisi toldmediaper-sons:“WeareholdingtalkswithAbbas Siddiqui on whether tocontest polls together or on ourown.Buthe(Siddiqui)iseldertousandtogetherwewouldliketoworkhere."Siddiquiwasnotavailablefor

comment.Meanwhile,anotherMuslim

cleric of Furfura Sharif, PirzadaToha Siddiqui, said theMuslimcommunity will vote againstcommunalismintheupcomingelections in thestate. “So far,wehave voted for development inthe state. Be it for the Congress,CPM and the TrinamoolCongress.Thistimewewillvoteagainstcommunalism,"hesaid.

OwaisitrainedhisgunsattheTMC, accusing the ruling partyof allowing the BJP to grow inWestBengal.AfterOwaisihadannounced

lastmonth thathispartywouldcontesttheupcomingAssemblyelections in West Bengal, theTMC had accused it of trying todividetheminorityvotestohelp

the BJP. Rejecting the TMC'schargethatitwasthe“B-teamoftheBJP”,OwaisionSundaysaid:“We did not contest the LokSabha elections in 2019. Thenhowcome theBJPwon18 seatsinBengal?Wehadcontested20

seats in Bihar Assembly elec-tions. Of them, wewon in five,the Mahagathbandhan of theCongress and RJDwon in nineand theBJP and its allieswon insixconstituencies.”Referringtotherecentdefec-

tion of party leaders from theTrinamoolCongress, theAIMIMchief said, "The TMC should in-trospectandfindoutwhyitcan-not stop theBJP inBengal.”Senior TMC leader andMP

SougataRoysaid: “Owaisiiswellaware that Muslims in BengalaremostlyBengali-speakingandnot Urdu-speaking. Theywon'tsupporthisparty.Heis tryingtoforge ties with Abbas Siddiquibut thatwon'tyieldanyresult."

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEBHOPAL, JANUARY3

THE SHIVRAJ Singh Chouhan-led government in MadhyaPradesh Sunday inducted twoScindia loyalists in its third cab-inet expansion since returningtopower.TulsiramSilawatandGovind

Rajput were administered theoath of office by GovernorAnandibenPatel Sunday,mark-ingtheirreturningtothecabinetafter twomonths. Both SilawatandRajput,whoenjoyedminis-

terialstatusintheCongressgov-ernment,haddefectedtotheBJPalongwith 20 others, bringingdowntheCongressgovernmentinMadhyaPradeshandhelpingChouhan returning to power inhis forth termasChiefMinister.Bothwere inducted into the

nearly formed BJP governmentinApril, buthadtostepdowninOctoberas theywerenotmem-bers of assembly—the by-pollshad not been held within sixmonthsowingtothepandemic.With the induction of the

twoministers, Chouhan's cabi-net strengthnowstandsat31.

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEAHMEDABAD, JANUARY3

AAMAADMI Party (AAP) legis-lator from Delhi Atishi an-nounced Sunday the first list of504 candidates for the upcom-ing localbodypolls andsaid thepartyisprojectingitselfasan“al-ternative”totherulingBharatiyaJanataParty (BJP) inGujarat.This is the first time theAAP

will be contesting in the localbody -- taluka panchayat, zilapanchayat,nagarpalikaandma-hanagar palika -- elections inGujaratafteritsdismalperform-ance in the 2017 GujaratLegislative Assembly polls. The

partyhadlostonall the29seatsithadcontestedonandamajor-ityof itscandidatesforfeitedde-posits.At a press conference at the

AAP office at Navrangpura areain Ahmedabad, Atishi said, “IntheGujaratmodel,wehaveseenthe Dhaman fake ventilatorsscamwhoseconnectiongoes toRajkot, the hometown of theChiefMinisterVijayRupani. It isherethatwehaveseenascaminN95 masks… For the past 25years,thepeopleofGujarathavehad no option as both the BJPand the Congress havemade adeal between themselves. TheBJP uses the police and otheragencies to threaten CongressMLAs and the latter meeklycomply.”Calling theCongressandthe

BJP“bedfellows”, sheexpressedconfidence that “the AAP will

stand up as the alternative toboth the BJP and the Congress”Theparty, shesaid,wewill con-testthepollsontheissuesofcor-ruption, public health and edu-cation inGujarat.The AAP is the first party to

have announced candidates forthe local body polls, likely to beheld in February. Earlier, theBhartiya Tribal Party (BTP) saidit will contest the polls in thestateinalliancewiththeAIMIM.BJP president JP Nadda is alsoscheduled to attend ameetingwith party leaders Monday,aheadoftheupcomingelections.Thirty-one per cent of the

504 candidates are women,Atishi said.

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI, JANUARY3

ONTHEeveof thenextroundoftalks between government andfarmer unions, the Congress onSunday asked the governmenttoshed itsarroganceandrepealthe three farm laws. The partyalsoaskedtheSupremeCourttointervene and “suspend thelaws”, saying that kicking thebucket down the roadwill hurtthecauseof justice.Congress president Sonia

Gandhi said India has not seensuch an arrogant governmentbeforeasit is turningablindeyeto the suffering of the farmers,whohad been protesting in thecold for the last39days.“The callousness of the gov-

ernment towards the agitationhas resulted in over 50 farmerslosingtheirlives.Somehavediedofsuicidebecauseofthegovern-ment’s indifference.Butneitherhas their decision moved theheartlessModigovernmentnorhasanyof itsministersutteredawordofconsolation,”Soniasaidinastatement.

CallingtheModigovernmentthemost arrogant regime sinceIndependencewhichcannotseethe suffering of the annadatas(farmers), leave alone the peo-ple, she said “it seems this gov-ernment’smainagendaisjusttoensuretheprofitsofahandfulofindustrialists”.“There is still time, theModi

governmentshouldleavethear-rogance of power and immedi-ately withdraw the three blacklawsunconditionally to end theagitationof thefarmerswhoaredyinginthecoldandrain.ThisisRajdharmaanda true tribute tothe farmerswhohave lost theirlives,” shesaid.TheModi government, she

said, should remember thatdemocracy means protectingthe interests of thepeople. “In ademocracy, governments andtheirleaderswhoignorethesen-timents of the people will not

last long. It has now becomeclearthatthefarmersandwork-erswill notbowbefore thecen-tral government’s policy to tirethemandmakethemflee.”Senior Congress leader

Anand Sharma asked theSupreme Court to step in. “It isalmost18dayssince it (SC)gaveaglimmerofhopebypromisingto set up an impartial panel fornegotiations. It is timetheCourtmakes aneffective interventionascustodiansoftheConstitution.It should suspend these laws.Petitions are pending beforethem… Kicking the bucketdown the road will hurt thecauseof justice,”hesaid.“Farmers have been fighting

for their rightsandjustice for thelast 38 days. Tens of thousandshave been camping on the bor-dersofDelhiinbittercoldandrain.Dozenshavediedbutthegovern-ment remains adamant andun-movedbytheirplight,”hesaid.CPI general secretary D Raja

tooasked thegovernment tobesincereinthetalks.“Talksforthesakeoftalkswillnotproduceanyresults.Thegovernmentmustbesincereandshouldbesensitive.”

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEJAIPUR, JANUARY3

THE RULING Congress inRajasthanheldadharnainJaipuronSundaytoprotestagainstthethree farm laws. The party'sMLAs participated in the agita-tion alongwith Chief MinisterAshok Gehlot and former stateCongresschief aswellas formerdeputy chief minister SachinPilot.Gehlot and Pilot shared the

same platform from wherethey targeted the BJP and theCentral government over thenew laws. Last year, the statewasengulfed inapolitical crisisas Pilot camped in Delhi andHaryanawith 18 of his loyalistlegislators.Addressing the crowd,

Gehlotlashedoutatthegovern-mentsayingitwasbeing“insen-sitive” to the voices of farmers.“Therehavebeen40deathsin39days.Youmustbeabletounder-stand what they are (farmers)going through. Their families,many of their sons, grandsonsare in the Army. It is the height

of insensitivity that the govern-ment repeatedly calls them fortalksandisdoingtimepass.Theythink that the farmers will gettired and the issuewill end,” hesaid.Duringhisaddress,Pilotsaid

farmersofthecountryarescaredfor their future.“After winning the second

(LokSabha)election,thebehav-iouradoptedbytheCentralgov-ernmentandthePrimeMinister

reflects that in order to registertheir names in history, they cando anything. Today, the farmersof this country are not onlyprotesting but are also scared,thinkingabouttheirfuture,”saidPilot.“The Centre should under-

stand that if the governmenttakesbacksomeof itsdecisions,it is not a defeat and there’snothing to be ashamed of,” headded.

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEJALANDHAR, JANUARY3

A GROUP of protesters, sus-pected to be farmers, who hadunloaded a trolley full of cowdung in front of former PunjabministerTikshanSud’sresidencehasbeenbookedbyHoshiarpurpoliceunder‘attempttomurder’andothercharges.Afour-mem-ber Special Investigation Teamhas been formed to probe thecase.Bharti Kisan Union Rajewal

leaders Sunday demanded thatthecasebescrappedandthreat-ened to block the streets ofJalandharonJanuary7.Theyalsosaidthattherewillbearepeatofthe Hoshiarpur incident if theirdemand isnotaccepted.In the FIR, complainant

Surinder Pal Bhatti, district BJPsecretaryandanacquaintanceoftheformerminister,saidhewasgoing to greet Sud on January 1when a tractor trolley beingdrivenbyaSikhmanand15-20accompanying him alongwitharmsdumpedthecowdung in-sideSud’sresidencebyliftingthetrolleywith a hydraulic system.He further claimed that theytriedtoattackSud,whowaspro-tected by his men. The tractordriver tried to run the tractorover himandhis friend, allegedBhatti inhis complaint.

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI, JANUARY3

RICE PROCUREMENT fromChhattisgarhhasbeenrestrictedat 24 lakhmetric tonnes duringthe kharif marketing season(KMS) 2020-21, the Centre saidonSunday.However, theCentrehas ad-

vised the state not to announceorpaybonusoverandabovetheMSPto farmers.In a statement, theMinistry

of Consumer Affairs, Food andPublicDistributionsaid,“CentralGovernment is following a uni-form policy and supportingfarmers across the country.SameisfollowedinChhattisgarhprocurement.”Theministrycitedprovisions

of a memorandum of under-standing signed between theCentre, states and FoodCorporation of India, underwhichtheCentreisnotboundtotake the excess quantity pro-curedbysuchstatetothecentralpool.“As per Clause No.3 of MoU

of DCP State, in the situation ofStategivinganybonus/financialincentive in direct or indirectform,overandaboveMSP, if theoverallprocurementof theStateisinexcessof thetotalallocationof the State made by theGovernment of India under

TPDS/ OWS, such excess quan-tityshallbetreatedtobeoutsidetheCentralPool,” it said.“Initial targets are only esti-

mates settled with States andStates are asked if they are giv-ingincentiveornot.SomestatesincludingMadhya Pradesh andChhattisgarhwere found to begiving incentive so CentralGovernmentprocurementisre-stricted to quantity whichwasprocured in past withoutbonus/incentive.”It also said, “During KMS

2020-21, the Government ofChhattisgarhhadalsopublishedan advertisement/press releaseon17.12.2020detailingtheRajivGandhi Kisan Nyay Yojana thattheywillprocurepaddyfromthefarmers@Rs.2500/-perquintalduring KMS 2020-21 by payingRs.10,000/- per acre which is aform of indirect incentive overand above theMSPwhich is asgood as bonus on procurementof paddy. Accordingly, it hasbeen decided to allow 24 lakhMTof rice to bedelivered to FCIunder central pool during KMS2020-21which is equivalent tothequantityasallowedinprevi-ousyears.”The move comes after the

Chhattisgarh government’s de-cision to halt paddy procure-ment, saying the Centre is notliftingstock. FULLREPORTONwww.indianexpress.com

AAPMLAAtishi inAhmedabadSunday.

OwaisiwithPirzadaAbbasSiddiqui . Twitter/@asadowaisi

E●EXPLAINED

WhyAIMIMiswooingcleric

AsaduddinOwaisi'smeetingwiththeFurfuraSharif cleric isanattemptbytheAIMIMchief toformaminority-domi-natedpolitical front inWestBengalaheadof thepolls.AfteritsgoodshowingintheBiharpolls, theHyderabad-basedoutfit iskeentogetthesupportofBengaliMuslims.Muslimsconstitute30%of thestate’spopulation,and24%of themspeakBengali. AIMIM’ssuccesswillbedetrimental toTMC.

GehlotandPilotduringtheprotest in Jaipur.Rohit JainParas

Pilot, Gehlot share stage duringdharna against farm laws

AAP announces first list for Gujarat local body polls

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICELUDHIANA, JANUARY3

PUNJAB BJP president AshwaniSharma Sunday faced angryprotests fromfarmunionsashevisited party leaders in SangrurandMogadistricts.InSangrur,theBJPstatepres-

ident was attending a partyworkers’ meeting at the resi-dence of district chief RandipDeol. There, Kirti Kisan Union(KKU) protesters clashedwithpolice who had put up doublebarricading on the Sangrur-Patialabypass.KKUmembers alleged that

thepolicelathi-chargedthemasSharma entered Deol’s resi-dence. The Sangrur police saidthreeoftheirpersonnelwerein-jured in a scuffle when a pro-testertriedtobreakthroughthebarricadeusinga tractor.Thisprotestersufferedminor

injuries and was admitted toSangrurCivilHospital.Afewoth-ersfromKKU,too,sustainedmi-nor injuries.Jasdeep Singh, convenor of

KKU youth wing, Sangrur dis-trict,said:"WewillnotallowanyprogramofBJPtohappeninourarea.Andtheyaresayingthatweare having a picnic in Delhi…iftheythinkso…theycanalsojoinus for thispicnic foraday.”

Though Sangrur SSPViveksheelSonisaidmostof theprotesterswere KKUmembers,Jasdeep Singh saidmembers ofBKUUgrahan, BKURajewal andBKUSidhupurwerealsopresentthere.Sonisaid:“Nocaneswereused. KKU does not havemuchof a base in Sangrur, there aremembers of BKU Ugrahan,Sidhupur and Dakaunda. Wespoke to them and all of themstated that they don't resort toanyviolencebutsticktopeacefulprotests.”Sharma attended themeet-

ingatDeol's residenceforaboutan hour. “I amnot aware of anyprotest or lathi-charge,” heclaimed.InMoga, Sharma and Rajya

Sabha member Shwait Malikfaced black flags and slogansagainstPrimeMinisterNarendraModi as they reached the resi-

dence of district BJP chief VinaySharma. Farmers have been sit-ting on protest outside VinaySharma’s residence for the lastcoupleofmonths.Inresponsetothesloganeer-

ing by the farmers, BJPworkersstarted raising slogans hailingModi. Seeing the tensions, thepolice dispersed both sets ofpeople, “applyingmild force”.Despite theprotests, the sched-uled meeting of BJP workerscontinuedatVinaySharma’sres-idence. Later, the BJP state chiefaddressedapress conference inMoga. He said Chief MinisterAmarinder Singh and DGPDinkarGuptawereencouraginganti-social elementswhowereprotesting in thenameof farm-ers. He also said that the policewas not taking appropriate ac-tionagainstthose“targeting”BJPleadersacrossPunjab.

ProtestsatSangrur (left)andLudhiana.

Chouhan expands cabinet,inducts 2 Scindia loyalists

Protestersclashwithcops inSangrur, showblackflags inMoga

Farmunions protest asPunjabBJPchief visits

Chhattisgarh riceprocurement cappedat 24 lakh MT: Centre

Attempt tomurdercharge fordung protest

SoniaGandhi

MKAlagiri

Shed arrogance, repeal laws,says Cong; asks SC to intervene

Alagiri targets Stalin,says no one can belike Karunanidhi

Lucknow: In an apparent jibe atSPpresidentAkhileshYadav forhis remark that Ram is not any-one’s personal property, ChiefMinisterYogiAdityanathSundaysaid thosewhousedtocallRamimaginaryhavenowstartedsay-ingthathebelongs toeveryone.This came a day after

Akhilesh said Ram belongs to

everyone. While inauguratingandlayingthe foundationstoneofseveralprojectsworthoverRs580 crore in his home districtGorakhpur, the CM said suchpeoplehavechangedtheirstandastheyhavefailedineveryotherfield. He added that his prayerwas that their new wisdomshouldcontinue toprevail.ENS

Yogi swipe at Akhilesh: Called Ramimaginary, now says belongs to all

Owaisi meets Bengal cleric, trains guns on Trinamool

New Delhi

EXPRESSNETWORK6 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHEINDIANEXPRESS,MONDAY, JANUARY4,2021

22 JUL 67 - 04 JAN 96

We pay homage to our noble martyr, whomade the supreme sacrifice while fightingthe enemy in ‘OP RAKSHAK’, J & K in theyear 1996. His dauntless courage andsacrifice will forever inspire the organisation.

CO & all ranks of 6th BattalionBrigade of The Guards

MAJ RKLAUL, SC

Office of the Chief Engineer (East),

7th Floor, Cauvery Bhavan, K.G. Road, Bengaluru - 560 009

No.BWSSB/EIC/CE(E)/ACE(E)-I/DCE(M)-I/TA(M)-I/4195/2020-21 Date: 28.12.2020

INVITATION FOR TENDER(Through e-Procurement Portal Only)

BANGALORE WATER SUPPLY

AND SEWERAGE BOARD

BWSSB invites item rate tenders in Two Stage Tender system

from eligible contractors for the work of "Providing andLaying 600 mm dia, 300 mm dia MS water supply Feeder

lines by replacing the existing leaky PSC/CI lines Underthe Jurisdiction of EENE starts from i/f BDA flyover (near

Mahindra Showroom) along Bellary Road to K.G. Tower

GLR premises and by linking 300 mm dia from 600 mmdia line at Bellary main road to Jayamahal-Nandidurga

road junction (Snow City) via Mekhri circle by connectingto existing n/w to by pass the old CI line which is passingthrough Palace Ground coming under the jurisdiction of

AEE(NE)2 Sub Division."

Amount put to tender: Rs. 381.24 lakhs. EMD: Rs. 5.72 lakh.Last date for submission of completed tender documents is

on 04.02.2021 up to 15.00 hrs. and tender will be opened on06.02.2021 after 17.00 hrs. The details regarding the tenderand participation in the e-Procurement process can be

obtained by logging on to https://eproc.karnataka.gov.in Forfurther details contact the undersigned office during working hours.

Sd/-

DIPR/DDU/2253/MCA/2020-21 Chief Engineer (East)

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI, JANUARY3

ASECTIONof theCongress lead-ership Sunday questioned thedrugregulator’s“premature”ap-proval for Bharat Biotech’sCovaxin,