Vol. 13 No. 254 | Pages 24 | `̀ 5.00NEW DELHI, Monday, July 27, 2020 www.mailtoday.in / www.mailonline.in

https://twitter.com/mail_today https://facebook.com/mailtoday

Vol. 13 No. 254 | Pages 24 | `̀ 5.00NEW DELHI, Monday, July 27, 2020 www.mailtoday.in / www.mailonline.in

https://twitter.com/mail_today https://facebook.com/mailtoday

SEE PAGE 6 SEE PAGE 6

RAIN PAINFlood crisis deepensin Assam, more rainlikely in North India

Mahesh Bhatt & KJomanager summonedin Sushant SinghRajput case probe

With sporting events halted, sponsors missing & hardly

any resources left to keep them going, many athletics

champs in Delhi start odd jobs to survive the pandemic

HOWCORONAIS KILLINGYOUNGSPORTSDREAMS

WHEN Lokesh Kumarbecame the Under-14middle-distance runningchampion from Delhi lastyear, he began nursingdreams of winningOlympic medals for hiscountry and “breaking legendary Milkha Singh’srecords.”

Today life has changed, in wayshe had never imagined, for one ofIndia’s most promising athletes.The 15-year-old is not training.He is pulling a cycle-rickshaw sothat he and his family membersdon’t sleep hungry. A robust dietfor him is no longer a priority.

“Despite winning several medals, Ihave no sponsors. I was staying at mysister’s house during the lockdownand we barely had anything to eat.Sometimes we had just water for a Turn to Page 2

By Sushant Mehra and Chetan Sharma in New Delhi

C VID-19

FALLOUT

TAKE PLEDGE OFFREEDOM FROMVIRUS, SAYS PM ‘I urge people totake a pledge offreedom fromCovid this I-Day ‘

ALI ANSARI, BRONZE MEDALLISTAT THE 2019 ASIAN YOUTH

ATHLETICS CHAMPIONSHIPS(NOW A FRUIT SELLER)

I have won medals atall levels. My family isnot financially sound.Lockdown made ourlives more difficult. Ihave to help my family.Don’t know how I willget back to sports.

‘

’

LOKESH KUMAR, UNDER-14MIDDLE-DISTANCE RACING

CHAMPION IN 2019 (NOW A RICKSHAW-PULLER)

Despite medals, Ihave no sponsors. I wasstaying at my sister’shouse during thelockdown and webarely had anything toeat. Sometimes we hadjust water for a meal.

‘

’

REPORTON PAGE

FOUR

Mail Today, New Delhi / Chandigarh, Tuesday, May 5, 2020 Mail Today, New Delhi, Monday, July 27, 2020 2

— M VENKAIAH NAIDU, VICE PRESIDENT

Every citizen has to act responsiblyby adhering to the norms like frequenthand washing, wearing masks andmaintaining social distance.

‘

’

Twenty-two peoplewere arrested and

owners of more than 2,000vehicles penalised acrossNoida and Greater Noida on

Sunday for allegedlyviolating curbs imposed dueto the COVID-19 pandemic,Gautam Buddh Nagar policesaid.

C VID-19

PANDEMICcontinued from page 1

meal,” Lokesh said. His parents,who did odd jobs, are unem-ployed.

Ali Ansari was also hopeful of abright future when he broughtlaurels to the country by bagginga bronze medal at the 2019 AsianYouth Athletics Championships.Cut to now: the 19-year-old isforced to take over his father’sfruit cart in South Delhi’sMahipalpur.

“I have won medals at bothnational and international levels.My family is not financially soundand the lockdown made our livesmore difficult. I have no optionbut to help my family. I don’tknow how I will get back tosports,” said Ali who aced eventslike running, shot put, discus andjavelin throws, long and highjumps, besides pole vault.

Lokesh and Ali are only two ofthe many examples of how thecoronavirus crisis is killing Delhi’syoung sports dreams.

With sporting events halted,sponsors missing and hardly anymoney left for diet, training andequipment, many junior athleticsstars, especially those with weakfinancial backing, have beenforced to do odd jobs to survivethe pandemic. The fact that fam-ily members have lost jobs inmany cases has made mattersworse.

Meraj Ali, who has also clinchedmedals in athletics, is anotherexample of how life for sportsper-sons has been crippled by a rag-ing Covid-19 crisis.

He has no money left to resumepractice. His dream was Olympicglory. He is now grappling withalternative realities.

“During the lockdown, mybrother lost his job. My father hadto resume working. There were alot of difficulties. After somecurbs were lifted, my coachescalled me for practice but I hadno money," Ali said.

World powerlifting champi-onship gold medallist GauravSharma said he too is facingproblems. Training is shut. TheDelhi temple where he worked asMahant is also closed.

“Government needs to help ath-letes. Powerlifting doesn’t haveany specific national federationso the sports ministry doesn’tlook at us. We are also athletesand we also need to be treatedlike others,” he said.

Some sports stars are also work-ing as electricians, others moon-lighting as auto drivers, a MailToday deep-dive has found. Butthey didn’t want to be named.

Public gatherings and sportingactivities are banned to controlthe spread of the deadly andhighly contagious disease. Train-ing has resumed, but with strictcurbs in place.

COACHES IN CRISIS TOOCricket coach Aakash Chauhanran an academy near DilshadGarden. Now, the 35-year-old ismentally, physically and finan-

File photo of wrestling coach Satpal with wrestlers during thetraining session at the Chhatrasal Stadium in New Delhi.Athletes are waiting for practice to be allowed again.

MEDAL HEROES INVIRUS MISERIES

Face shield has been quite an important personal protectiongear during the ongoing pandemic.

Training is shut.The Delhi templewhere I work asMahant is alsoclosed. Governmentneeds to help ath-letes. Powerliftingdoesn’t have anyspecific national fed-eration so the sportsministry doesn’t lookat us.

‘

‘

— GAURAV SHARMA,WORLD POWERLIFTING

CHAMPIONSHIP GOLDMEDALLIST

During the lock-down, my brotherlost his job. My fatherhad to resume work-ing. There were a lotof difficulties. Aftersome curbs werelifted, my coachescalled me for prac-tice but I had nomoney.

‘

‘

— MERAJ ALI,CHAMPION ATHLETE

48,661 NEW CASES IN

INDIA, TOTAL 13,85,522

705 MORE DEATHS, TOLL

MOUNTS TO 32,063

1,075 NEW CASES INDELHI, TOTAL NOW

1,30,606

21 MORE DEATHS, TOLL

MOUNTS TO 3,827cially exhausted. “We opened for a while but had

to close soon as no kid s werecoming. I am giving online classesbut I know this is not going tohelp anyone much. We haverentals and EMIs to pay,” he said.

The Delhi government hasissued a detailed Standard Oper-ating Procedure (SOP) for pri-vate academies but the scare ofinfection has forced parents tokeep their children indoors.

A trained certified cricketcoach, who lives in ChandniChowk, is forced to sell vegeta-bles for survival. When Mail

Today met him, he tried to hidehis face and was cautious whilespeaking.

“Please don’t take my picture. Iam doing what I can to help myfamily. This lockdown hasdestroyed me from inside. I gotsome money from my studentsbut then I can’t rely on themtotally. So I have started sellingvegetables,’ said the 34-year-oldon the condition of anonymity.

“People like me have suffered a

lot. I know this pandemic hasruined several lives and I am oneof them. I go to my academy andjust wait for this to get over,” hesaid.

Such academies, located mostlyin private schools and corporatearenas across the city, offercricket, badminton and tennistraining.

Dronacharya awardee Bhupen-der Dhawan said, “I have writtento Prime Minister. All gyms areshut and the staff and coachesworking there are facing so manyproblems.”

The crisis comes at a time thegovernment is talking of makingIndia a great sporting power-house. “India will be in the top 10in the 2028 Olympics. We’rescouting talent as young as 10and 12. We will leave no stoneunturned,” Kiren Rijiju, UnionMinister of Youth Affairs andSports, said on Saturday.

By Pankaj Jain In New Delhi

ONE of the advantages oflockdown was lesser pollu-tion in Yamuna. Severalvideos and pictures were thetalk of the town. Normally,during rainy season, Yamunahas a cleaner look, but thisyear, pollution seems to haveincreased in the river. Thepollutant level has risen sohigh that three water treat-ment plants stopped func-tioning few days back. Indus-trial waste is the mainreason for pollution.

India Today TV visited atbank of Yamuna river nearITO where contaminatedchemical water is easily visi-ble. The Yamuna travelsabout 22 kilometers fromWaziravad Barrage in Delhito Okhla Barrage and in thisdistance, about 22 drains fallinto the Yamuna which pol-lutes the water of this riverby 80 percent.

Now, Delhi government hasmade an assessment of thereasons as to how theYamuna river cleared duringthe lock-down, and pollutedduring Unlock.

When India Today askedDelhi Environment ministerGopal Rai about the condi-

YAMUNAPOLLUTEDONCE AGAIN

Gatherings and sportingactivities are banned

IIT students distribute 1 lakh face shieldsBy Mail Today Bureau in New Delhi

ENACTUS, a student communityof IIT Delhi, has started a nation-wide campaign ‘Together We Care’where they have produced and dis-tributed 1 lakh face shields to thefront line workers across the coun-try. A fund of worth 28 Lakhs wasraised by crowdfunding campaignand adopting various innovativebusiness strategies, Enactus said ina statement. To ensure that theface shields are distributed to theright people at the right place,President of Delhi MedicalCouncil, MS Procure-ment at AIIMS and Wel-fare Officer at Safdar-jung Hospital wereroped in to identify

needs in Delhi. "We further partnered with Habi-

tat for Humanity, Smiley Founda-tion and YES Foundation to carryout the distribution. Confederationof Indian industry also supportedour distribution drive by connect-ing us to the DCP East Delhi andMohalla Clinics. They also providedus a strong volunteer base acrossIndia for the same," they said.

Till date they have distributed 1lakh face shields across 400 hospi-tals and 30,000 policemen.

"With the dedicated efforts of ourteam members, we have been

successfully handling thedistributions in Delhi,

NCR, Lucknow, Indore,Gujarat, Bombay andKarnataka," theyadded.

`28 lakh werecollected througha crowdfunding

campaign

CORONACURVE

Mail Today, New Delhi, Monday, July 27, 2020 3NEWS

—GOPAL RAI , DELHI EMPLOYMENT MINISTER

Govt will soon come out with a slew ofreforms to revive the national capital'seconomy, which has been adverselyaffected due to the lockdown.

‘

’

36 inmates of thedistrict jail here have

tested positive for Covid-19,an official said on Sunday.He said that in view of the

rising number of COVID-19cases,the district and jailadministration have set upa temporary jail at a schoolhere.Patients recover from COVID-19 - highest

in a day, according to Health Ministry

36,145

By Milan Sharma in New Delhi

The Indian Council of Medical Research(ICMR) is planning to facilitate and expo-nentially ramp up testing to 10 lakh sam-ples a day, sources in the council said.

With that in vision, Prime MinisterNarendra Modi is all set to virtually inau-gurate three novel coronavirus testinglaboratories in 3 institutes, National Insti-tute of Research in Reproductive Health(NIRRH) in Mumbai, the National Insti-tute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases(NICED) in Kolkata and the NationalInstitute of Cancer Prevention andResearch (NICPR) in Noida.

These labs can do high volumes of tests ormultiple machines to increase capacity oftesting as ICMR plans to test a million (10lakh) samples a day. The NIRRH Mumbaihas installed a COBAS 6800 machine. Theseimported machines manufactured by aSwiss company can test 1,200 samples a day.Each COBAS 6800 machine costs about Rs3.7 crore.

The laboratory at NICED Kolkata isequipped with a COBAS 8800 machinethat can test 3,000 samples a day. Eachmachine costs about Rs 5.7 crore.

The laboratory in Noida has beenequipped with 12 RT-PCR machines and 4RNA extractors. The total daily output isexpected to be about 6,000 samples.

Presently, two high throughput COBASmachines installed in the country arewithin the national capital : one in AIIMS,New Delhi, and the other one at theNational Centre for Disease Control(NCDC).

Post the pandemic, labs will be used totest for Hepatitis B and C, HIV, Mycobac-terium tuberculosis, Cytomegalovirus,Chlamydia, Neisseria, Dengue, etc.

File photo of a medical lab technician collecting swab samples for coronavirus COVID-19 Rapid Antigendetection testing at Lok Nayak Jai Prakash (LNJP) hospital, in New Delhi.

‘Be virus carriers,’ ISISurges Indian Muslims

ICMR plans to test 10lakh samples each day

By Arvind Ojha in New Delhi

WHILE the world grapples withrapidly rising cases of the novelcoronavirus, an Islamic Stateonline publication 'Voice of Hind',in an attempt to further its anti-India propaganda, has been call-ing its supporters to use the pan-demic as an opportunity toattack India by ‘being Covid-19carriers’ in the country.

India Today TV has accessedtwo editions of the 'Voice of Hind'magazine, an English-languagemagazine distributed online,which were issued during thelockdown in India. The 17-page"lockdown special" edition of amagazine encourages violence to"kill Kuffars".

It provokes its followers to beready to take steps to "annihilatethe disbelievers". The cover pageof the "lockdown edition" of themagazine, which features animage of the attendees of theNizamuddin Markaz event andone from the Delhi riots, reads,"Believers stand tall its time forKuffar to fall (sic)".

As you turn the pages of theIslamic State magazine, youwould stumble upon a list of tipson ways to "annihilate thedisbelievers".

"Keep yourselvesarmed at all times tonever miss a chanceto kill as many Kuf-

fars as you can. Keep chains,ropes, and wires ready to chokethem or beat them to death," theIslamic State publication states,and, "any sharp object like glasswill kill easily".

"Tools like scissors and ham-mers can come in useful to killthe Kuffar," it says.

The "lockdown edition" alsonames Maulana Saad andJamaat while appreciating themfor being super spreader of thecoronavirus. It tells Muslims to

revenge the arrests of someJamia Millia Islamia stu-

dents arrested in con-nection with theDelhi riots.

The development

has come as a report by theUnited Nations on terrorismwarned that there are “signifi-cant numbers” of Islamic Stateterrorists in Kerala and Kar-nataka. It also noted that the al-Qaida in the Indian Subconti-nent terror group, whichreportedly has between 150 and200 militants from India, Pak-istan, Bangladesh and Myanmar,is planning attacks in the region.

According to the report, “Onemember state reported that theISIL Indian affiliate (HindWilayah), which was announcedon May 10, 2019, has between 180and 200 members”. It said thatthere are “significant numbers ofISIL operatives in Kerala andKarnataka states.”

The cover page of the Islamic State magazine, ‘Voice of Hind’.

tion of the river, he said thatit was not possible to pre-pare for Yamuna cleaningduring the lock downbecause everything wasclosed.

“Yamuna river does notoriginate from Delhi. Duringthe lock-down, there waslock-down in the entirecountry, so from where theYamuna starts, there wereharmful chemicals found inthe river from start till Delhi.But when the lock-down isover, work has started in fac-tories with harmful chemi-cals, and the chemical hascome out of those factoriesinto the Yamuna River" Raisaid.

Rai claimed that the gov-ernment had made a planthat treatment plants wouldbe built in Delhi where thedrains enter the Yamunariver, so that the water ofthe drains will be treatedand drained into the river.

On the question of increas-ing the amount of chemicalin the Yamuna river after thelock down, Delhi Jal BoardChairman Satyendar Jainsaid that a long-term planhas been made to clean theYamuna which has beendelayed for 6 months due tocorona.

“Our government is fullycommitted to clean the riverYamuna,” he said.

Delhi government is looking for reasons for pollution inYamuna river during the ‘Unlock’ period.

UNreport says

that there are ISISmembers in Kerala

and Karnataka

PANKAJ NANGIA

Mail Today, New Delhi / Chandigarh, Monday, July 27, 2020 Mail Today, New Delhi, Monday, July 27, 2020 4

— UDDHAV THACKERAY, MAHARASHTRA CM

The ground-breaking ceremony forthe Ayodhya Ram temple constructioncan be conducted through video-link inthe wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.

‘

’

Hyderabad mayorBonthu Rammohan,

who recently tested positivefor the novel coronavirus,was spotted with Telangana

minister KT Rama Rao(KTR) and others this weekat an event where socialdistancing was completelyviolated.

C VID-19

PANDEMICIn Mann ki Baat

address, Modi

warns threat

of coronavirus

far from over

INDIA'S Covid-19 recovery rate isbetter compared to other coun-tries and its case fatality rate ismuch less as well, but the threatof the deadly virus is far from over,Prime Minister Narendra Modi

said on Sunday. In his monthly 'Mann ki Baat' radio address,

he also said that at many places, the virus isspreading fast and people need to be extravigilant. “The threat of the coronavirus is farfrom being over. At many places, it is spread-ing fast. We need to be extra vigilant. We haveto bear in mind that the coronavirus is as fataltoday as it was in the beginning. That is whywe have to be fully cautious,” Modi said.

He said amid the novel coronavirus pan-demic, India's rural regions came up as bea-cons of guidance for the entire country.Many examples of effective endeavours onpart of local residents of villages and grampanchayats are coming to the fore, Modisaid. Over the last few months,the way the country foughtagainst the coronavirus unitedlyhas proved many apprehensionswrong. “Today, the recovery ratein our country is better com-

pared to other countries. Themortality rate in the context ofCovid-19 in our country is muchless as well, compared to mostcountries,” the PM said.

Of course, the loss of even onelife is saddening, but India hasalso succeeded in saving thelives of lakhs of people, Modisaid. Wearing a face mask, usinga 'gamchcha' or a cloth to coverthe face, two yards of distancing,frequently washing hands,avoiding spitting in publicplaces and taking full care ofhygiene and sanitation are ourweapons to protect ourselvesfrom the virus, he noted.

T HERE are times, Modisaid, when masks causeinconvenience and onefeels like removing it, espe-cially during a conversa-

tion. “When a mask is required themost, we tend to remove it. Atsuch times, I urge you that when-ever you feel your mask is bother-some and you want to remove it,spare a thought for those doctors,nurses. You will find them wearingmasks for hours together, dili-gently working to save our lives ...sometimes wearing masks for aspan of eight to 10 hours. Doesn'tthat discomfort them? Just thinkabout them, he said.

Once people think of 'CoronaWarriors', they too will feel that ascitizens, neither they should benegligent nor let others be so, theprime minister said.

On the one hand, we have tofight the battle against the coron-avirus with full awareness and onthe other, whatever our responsi-bilities, through sheer persever-ance business, jobs or studies wehave to lend pace to it, taking it togreater heights, Modi said.

The prime minister observedthat a correct and a positiveapproach always goes a long wayin transforming distressingtimes into opportunities, andadversities into triggers of devel-opment and progress. —PTI

Sometimes we haveproblems with masks.Whenever you feel likeremoving masks, just

think about doctors andother Covid warriors whoare wearing these masks

for hours.

We have to bear in mind thatthe coronavirus is as fatal

today as it was in thebeginning. That is why wehave to be fully cautious.

‘‘

‘‘

— NARENDRA MODI, PRIME MINISTER

Today, the recovery ratein our country is better

compared to othercountries. The mortality

rate in the context ofCovid-19 in our country is

much less as well.

On the one hand, we have tofight the battle against thevirus with full awareness

and on the other, whateverour responsibilities, we haveto lend pace to it, taking it to

greater heights.

Unlock 3.0: Schools and Metro ops to remain shut;cinemas, gyms may open

A CORONA CAUTION ‘STILL FATAL’: PM ISSUES

By Himanshu Mishra in New Delhi

WITH the Covid-19 restric-tions of 'Unlock 2.0' endingon Friday (July 31), the gov-ernment is now formulatingguidelines for Unlock 3.0which will come into forcefrom August, sources said onSunday.

For Unlock 3, the thirdinstallation in the phasedeasing of lockdown restric-tions, a few more relaxationsare being worked upon bythe government.

These might include relax-ations in reopening of cin-ema halls from August 1 butwith some SOPs such as strictsocial distancing in place,sources said.

However, some restrictionsare likely to continue inUnlock 3. Schools and metrotrain services are likely toremain shut across the coun-try, sources said.

The HRD Ministry beganconsultation with states onreopening of schools in ameeting chaired by Secre-tary of School Education,Anita Karwal.

HRD Minister RameshPokhriyal had said earlierthat feedback would besought from parents on theissue. Subsequently, the min-istry said that parents werenot in favour of reopening ofschools.

According to sources, gymsare also likely to bereopened in the third phase.

Meanwhile, the Ministry ofInformation and Broadcast-ing has proposed the

reopening of cinema halls tothe Ministry of Home Affairs.The IB ministry had con-sulted the owners of cinemahalls before presenting theproposal.

Cinema hall owners are infavour of reopening theatreswith 50 per cent seatingcapacity. However, the min-istry has suggested reopen-ing theatres with 25 per centseating initially and follow-ing all the social distancingprotocols.

Further, states might begiven more authority to settheir own guidelines as pertheir Covid-19 case load andsituation.

K ASIF

Workers changethe seat covers ofan auditorium ofa cinema hall inDelhi.

Mail Today, New Delhi, Monday, July 27, 2020 5NEWS

—SHIVRAJ S CHOUHAN, MADHYA PRADESH CM

I express gratitude to all coronawarriors who are saving lives by riskingtheir own. No need to fear Corona. As soonas you see symptoms, get tested.

‘

’

Minister of State inthe Maharashtra

govt, Sanjay Bansode hastested positive for thenovel coronavirus. He is

the sixth minister in CMUddhav Thackeray'sgovernment to havetested positive for theinfection.

3,300coronavirus patients ‘untraceable’

in Bengaluru

MYSORE DC Abhiram GSankar received a call fromlocal authorities asking himto get quarantined as he hastested positive for coron-avirus. The DC was sur-prised as he hadn't given anysamples for the test.

On enquiring, it was foundthat a man from Hebbalwhile giving his contactaddress/phone number afterthe swab test had given DC'sphone number. The officialsalso didn't realise it was DCsnumber.

It is yet to be found if it wasa mischievous way to dodgelocal authorities or a genuineerror while giving the phonenumber. “Don't know if it'sintentional or not, Some pri-

mary contact had given mynumber,” said Mysore DCAbhiram G Sankar.

The authorities are nowinvestigating how the lapsetook place and if any actionhas to be initiated.

—Nagarjun Dwarakanath

THE novel coronavirus situ-ation continues to remaingrim in Lucknow as cityreported the maximum num-ber of positive cases in UttarPradesh on Sunday.

According to the healthdepartment of the UttarPradesh government, 449fresh cases of the novel coro-navirus were reported inLucknow in the last 24hours, mounting the totalactive cases to 3,210 -- themaximum in the state.

Meanwhile, Uttar Pradeshreported its highest ever sin-gle-day spike with 3,260fresh cases of the novel coro-navirus in the last 24 hours.

The state reported 1,426Covid-19 related deaths and

41,641 patients have recov-ered till date. There are23921 active coronaviruscases in the state at present.

Amid the constant surge inthe cases in Lucknow, CMONarendra Agarwal was trans-ferred by the government onSaturday.

—Nelanshu Shukla

Man poisons family,

himself in Dharwad THE fear of losing his job

drove a man in Karnataka's

Dharwad district to poison

his family and then kill him-

self in the same way.

The incident took place

on Saturday when it was

alleged that the 36- year-

old man poisoned his wife

and two-year-old child

before consuming poison

himself.Police said that the

deceased has been

identified asMounesh, his wife

Apritha (28) and

daughterSukruthi.

Mounesh was working in a

private company and it was

alleged that he might lose

his job as the management

decided to remove more

than 40 employees due to

Covid-19. A suicide note was

allegedly found near their

bodies. The bodies were shifted to

Civil Hospital for post-

mortem.A case has been regis-

tered at the Subur-

ban police station

in Dharwad dis-

trict and further

probe is on. —Nolan Pinto

Cyberabad policearrest ‘corona baba’

HYDERABAD (TS) Cyberabadpolice has arrested a‘Corona Baba’ and his cronyfor cheating people in thename of a cure.

50-year-old self claim God-man Md. Ismael and hisassociate Salim werearrested by Miyapur police on Saturday and both were booked underEpidemic and Disaster Management acts.

‘Corona baba’ wasluring people tohis Hfizpet local-ity residencewhere he usedto organise

‘special prayers’ ensuringCovid-19 cure.

Thorough WhatsApp andsocial media, he was circu-lating his ‘cure’ claim.

Learning about it, thepolice registered a suomoto case and raided hispremise where he wascaught red- handed holdingthe special ‘prayer’ on Fri-day night.

The police claimedthat Corona baba

was charging any-thing between Rs12,000 and 30,000for the cure. —Ashish Pandey

Lucknow records 450cases, maximum in UP

Mysore DC tests +ve,without giving sample!

Jobloss fear

forces the familyto take the extreme

step

Hewas charging

anythingbetween `12,000

and 30,000 for cure

Did curbs help in B’luru, Pune?By Rukmini S in Chennai

BY the end of June, alarm bellswere ringing in Bengaluru andPune. Cases were rising fast, thefamiliar story of hospitals turn-ing away patients was begin-ning, and residents and authori-ties were on the edge. Bymid-July, both cities had insti-tuted a short lockdown. Thequestion from both within thesecities and others seeing expo-nential growth will certainly bethis – did it work?

Both cities are known toattract job-seeking migrantsand are also well-connectedglobally, yet both are relativelywell-administered regions.Pune’s outbreak began muchearlier; the city reported Maha-rashtra’s first Covid case onMarch 9. Then on, cases roserapidly, and by July 1, the city of4.7 million people reported over18,000 cases.

Bengaluru, on the other hand,appeared to have escaped theworst of the pandemic right upto the end of June when it hadjust 1,500 cases for its 6.8 millionresidents. Population estimatesfor the cities come from theirrespective administrations.

But by the end of the first weekof July, the situation was direwith both cities reporting over1,000 new cases each day. As aresult, Pune went into lockdownfrom July 14-23, while Ben-galuru’s lockdown ended a dayearlier. So did it work?

The answer depends on whatindicators a city looks at for evi-dence of a lockdown working. Anote of caution here is also thatthe effects of a lockdown areunlikely to be visible until atleast a week after its end, if itresults in fewer new infectionsbeing passed on.

Both cities saw a similar rela-tive increase in cases from thebeginning to the end of the lock-down, with cumulative casesincreasing by around 40%. Nei-ther city saw a slowdown in thenumber of new cases beingreported each day during thelockdown or immediately after.Total cases in Pune went up to44,000 from a little over 28,000during the lockdown, while thesame for Bengaluru went up to37,000 from less than 20,000.

Bengaluru began the monthwith a period of exponentialgrowth in cases, which sloweddown significantly. The growthin cases has not changed signifi-cantly in Pune over July.

By Manogya Loiwal in Kolkata

A VEHICLE full of migrantlabourers returning from Goaentered West Bengal on Sat-urday. Clueless about thecoronavirus lockdown in thestate, the labour managed toreach VIP road in Kolkata,where their bus was stoppedby the city police.

29 labourers started theirjourney from Goa on Tuesdayand were going to their nativeplaces in Dhamakhali area ofSandeshkhali, West Bengal.The migrant workers also hadall the documents with themto prove their statement.

The vehicle was stoppedaround 8 am in the morningby Bidhan Nagar police per-sonnel for allegedly floutinglockdown norms. Accordingto sources, these labourerswere then asked to wait in thebus till the lockdown ended.For over six hours no food andwater were provided to them,sources added.

When crossing Baguihati onVIP Road, the police stopped

the private bus carrying thelabourers and informed themto wait till the lockdown ends.It was supposed to end at 10pm.

Despite repeated appeals,the workers were asked towait till the end of the lock-down.

After over six hours theBaguiati Police and the localpeople arranged food andwater for the labourers,sources said. The cops alsotook pictures of themselvesdistributing food and waterpossibly to depict their gen-erosity, sources added.

Bengal cops halt buswith migrant workers

K ASIF

BJP workers listen toPrime Minister Narendra

Modi's Mann ki Baatprogramme

in Delhi on Sunday.

6 NEWS Mail Today, New Delhi / Chandigarh, Monday, July 27, 2020 Mail Today, New Delhi, Monday, July 27, 2020

A man uses a makeshift bamboo bridge to cross a flooded area in Nagaon. (Inset) Volunteersdistribute relief commodities among flood-affected people in Dibrugarh’s Chabua in Assam.

By Ashutosh Mishra in Guwahati

FIVE million people havebeen affected due tosevere floods in Assam.Fresh deaths on Sundayraised the flood-relatedtoll in Assam to 102.

As many as 28 districts outof 33 districts in Assam havebeen hit hard due to heavydeluge in the state. The waterlevel in Brahmaputra Riverhas crossed the danger levelmark, which has affected thelife many in the state.

The situation remains grim asmost of the areas in Assam havebeen filled with stagnant waterand may take many days toclear. Stagnant water is becom-ing a menace which may resultin other epidemics while thestate is already combating thecoronavirus, sources said. IndiaToday TV visited Golaghat’sBokakhat in Assam to bring a

ground report on the footprintsof devastation brought byBrahmaputra River due toheavy deluge in the town.

In Tamuli Pathar village ofBokakhat, an embankmentmade near the village to protectit from flood water was brokendue to the heavy flow ofBrahmaputra water. Theembankment breach hasaffected multiple places andpeople have been forced to wadethrough water. “Flood waterbroke the embankment which

has affected many villages.Locals have been demanding toraise the height of the embank-ment. The administration isworking on it,” Nayan Kumar, anofficial of water resource depart-ment, told India Today TV.

“This year, the floods havereminded us of a similar situa-tion which was caused due toexcessive water flow in theBrahmaputra River in 1988. Thesituation was so grim that mostof us had to take shelter on theembankment. Water has mostly

receded, but the stagnant wateris now another threat which maybring diseases like encephalitis,”Surendra Kumar, a resident ofthe same village, said. A girlfrom the same village also spoketo India Today TV on the grimsituation. “This village is locatedwhere the territory of KazirangaReserve Forest ends. The high-land made inside the reserve for-est is very much visible from the

village embankment. The girl,Barnali Saikia, said that due toflood water many wild animalslike tigers, rhinos and wild ele-phants have often entered thevillage, which is a grave threat toto people who live there.

Also, there is a water crisis inthe village as most of the tubewells have now submerged. Thewater level in lower Assam andparticularly west Assam is still

high, according to sources. TheNDRF team in many pockets ofBarpeta district is carrying outevacuation and relief operations.Once the water level goes down,stagnant water will be anotherchallenge for the locals andadministration to deal with,sources added. Local activistPranav said, “Stagnant water,due to deluge, will create situa-tions like epidemics.”

MAHARASHTRA Home Min-ister Anil Deshmukh said onSunday that film directorMahesh Bhatt will be sum-moned to record his statementin Sushant Singh Rajput deathcase. While the filmmaker willbe grilled on Monday, ApoorvaMehta, CEO of Karan Johar’sDharma Productions, will becalled for questioning later.

Deshmukh also said thatJohar can also be called torecord his statement, ifrequired. Rajput killed himselfon June 14. The actor’s deathre-started the nepotism andfavouritism debate in Bolly-wood. Police are investigatingallegations that professionalrivalry, besides clinical depres-sion, drove the actor to suicide.Summons have also been sentto actress Kangana Ranaut,

asking her to record her state-ment, Deshmukh said.

The summon was sent toRanaut’s Manali home, whereshe is staying with herfamily due to the coro-navirus pandemic.Replying to thesummon, theactress told Mum-bai Police that she

cannot travel to Mumbai fromManali due to Covid-19 crisis.Ranaut asked the police if it ispossible for an officer to be sent

at her Manali residence torecord her statement.

The statement,sent through herlawyer, also men-tioned that if shecould respond to

the queries after they are sentto her. Another option given byher is that she could connectthrough some electronicmedium and record her state-ment. Many celebrities took tosocial media to talk aboutnepotism in the movie industry.

Ranaut had released a videoto blame ‘Bollywood Mafia’ forthe actor’s death. She claimedthat people like Johar andAditya Chopra bullied Rajputto death. Mumbai Police hasrecorded statement of around41 people associated withRajput till now. The Chhichoreactor, 34, was found hanging athis apartment in Mumbai onJune 14. His most prominentrole came as cricketer Mahen-dra Singh Dhoni in biopic MSDhoni: The Untold Story.

—www.indiatoday.in

Mahesh, KJo manager summoned

Afghan Sikhrefugees arrivein New Delhi

By Hemanta Kumar Nathin Guwahati

CATTLE smuggling gangs havebecome more active in smug-gling cattle to Bangladeshahead of Eid al-Adha. The Bor-der Security Force (BSF) hasseized 150 cattle heads inSouth Salmara and Dhubri dis-tricts in Assam, along theIndo-Bangladesh border inthe last 72 hours, said reports.

The cattle smuggling gangswere trying to smuggle thecattle heads from India toBangladesh by taking advan-tage of the current flood situ-ation of mighty BrahmaputraRiver and its tributaries.

According to reports, basedon intelligence input, thetroops of BSF and SouthSalmara Police had jointlylaunched an operation atMuthakhowa and Mathkhola,under South Salmara policestation and seized the cattleheads from BrahmaputraRiver on Saturday night.

A top BSF official said, “Keep-ing in view the vulnerability ofthe border, heightened activ-ities of the smugglers andanti-national elements alongthe border, BSF troops arealways alert towards theissues of trans-border crimesand illegal infiltration.”

BSF seizes 150 smuggledcattle heads

AS a group of Sikh refugeesarrived from Afghanistan,Delhi BJP leaders welcomedthem at the IGI airport in Delhion Sunday, the saffron partysaid. Delhi BJP president AdeshGupta, who was present at theairport, also lashed out at thoseopposing the CitizenshipAmendment Act (CAA).

“Opponents of the CAA shouldalso understand that this law isin the interest of our brotherswho have been persecuted inneighbouring countries on reli-gious grounds,” he said. TheSikhs who returned fromAfghanistan included NidanSingh, Makand Lal, SanmeetKaur, Balendra Singh, CharanKaur Singh, Balvan Kaur Singh,Gurjit Singh, Manmeet Kaur,Mandeep Singh, Poonam Kaurand Praveen Singh, a Delhi BJPstatement said.

Puneet Singh Chandhok, sec-retary general of the IndianWorld Forum, said Nidan wasabducted from Paktia onAfghanistan-Pakistan borderwhere he used to look after alocal Gurudwara. —PTI

Film director(L) MaheshBhatt and themanager of(R) KaranJohar will bequestionedby MumbaiPolice.

File photo of Sushant Singh Rajput.

Fresh deaths take tollto 102 in the state

KaranJohar could

also be called torecord his statement.

LIGHT to moderate rainlashed parts of Delhi on Sun-day, bringing the mercurydown in the National Capi-tal. The India MeteorologicalDepartment said thunder-storms and light to moderaterainfall have drenched partsof central Delhi, northeastDelhi, Shahdara, Mundaka,Rohini, Bawana andadjoining areas.

The Ridge weather stationrecorded 22.6 mm rainfall.Sporadic rain will continuein Delhi-NCR till Monday,the weatherman said. There-

after, widespread rains arelikely in northwest India,including Delhi-NCR, onTuesday and Wednesday.

The Safdarjung Observatory,which provides representa-tive figures for the city,recorded a maximum of 36.2degrees Celsius. Humiditylevels shot up to 95 per cent.

—PTI

RAIN LASHES DELHI, MORE PREDICTED

Humidity levels shoot up to 95 per cent

A woman crosses a roadduring rainfall in Delhi.

Cattle smuggling on risealong B’desh border

f lood crisis

Assam sinksdeeper in

PHOTOS: QAMAR SIBTAIN & AGENCIES

PHOTOS: AGENCIES

Bihar Regiment soldiers pay tribute to the martyr in Patna.

By Mail Today Bureauin New Delhi

AS India celebrated21 years of victory,valour and grit of itsarmed forces whodefeated Pakistanin the Kargil con-

flict on this day (July 26, 1999),tributes came pouring in forthe country’s brave martyrs.The day is celebrated as KargilVijay Diwas to rekindle thepride and valour of the soldierswho took part in OperationVijay, and recaptured themountain heights that wereoccupied by the PakistaniArmy on this very day.

PM SAYS ‘WICKED’ PAK BACKSTABBED

Hailing the valour of the armedforces during the conflict, PrimeMinister Narendra Modi askedpeople on Sunday to speak andact keeping in mind the moraleof soldiers and asserted thatwars are fought not just on bor-ders but on many fronts withinthe country too. As a tribute tothe bravehearts, President RamNath Kovind donated `20 lakhto the Army hospital in Delhi tobuy equipment that will helpdoctors and paramedics combatCovid-19 effectively.

The contribution from thePresident will be used to pro-cure units of powered air purify-ing respirator, which are state-

BJP national presidentJP Nadda pays tribute tomartyrs during an event onthe occasion of 21st KargilVijay Diwas, at the BJP HQ inDelhi on Sunday.

7NEWSMail Today, New Delhi / Chandigarh, Thursday, September 5, 2019 Mail Today, New Delhi, Monday, July 27, 2020

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh — along with Chief of Naval Staff Karambir Singh, CDSGeneral Bipin Rawat, Army Chief General MM Naravane, Chief of Air Staff Air Marshal RKS Bhadauria — pays tribute to the soldiers at National War Memorial in Delhi on Sunday.

President Ram Nath Kovind and First Lady Savita Kovindpresent a cheque of `20 lakh to the representatives ofArmy Hospital (Research and Referral) in Delhi.

KARGIL VIJAY DIWAS

SALUTING THEBRAVEHEARTS

‘‘Kargil Vijay Diwas issymbol of fearless

determination andexceptional valour of

our armed forces. Isalute the soldiers.

The nation is forevergrateful to them and

their families.

‘‘

When Indiaextended a hand of

friendship, Pakistantried to respond,

stabbing in theback. To the

wicked, enmity withone and all for no

reason comesnaturally. The wholeworld watched when

the Indian Armydisplayed deeds

of valour in Kargil.

Kargil Vijay Diwas isindeed the celebration

of India’s proudtradition of

outstanding militaryservice, exemplary

valour and sacrifice.The unwavering

courage and patriotismof our armed forces has

ensured that India issafe and secure.

‘‘

‘‘

— NARENDRA MODI, PRIME MINISTER

On Kargil VijayDiwas, I salute thebrave heroes who

protect India bydedicating

everything. Jai Hind.

— RAHUL GANDHI, CONGRESS LEADER

—RAM NATH KOVIND

PRESIDENT

— RAJNATH SINGH, DEFENCE MINISTER

of-the-art equipment to enablemedical professionals breatheduring surgeries and protectthem from infection, an officialcommunique said. Union HomeMinister Amit Shah said thecountry is proud of the heroeswho are dedicated to protectingit and who drove away theenemy from the hills of Kargil.

Also, Defence Minister Raj-nath Singh paid tributes at theNational War Memorial in Delhion Sunday. Several other politi-cal leaders and Bollywood starspaid tributes to the soldiers tomark the 21st anniversary ofKargil conflict. Congress leaderRahul Gandhi and Delhi chiefminister Arvind Kejriwal alsohailed the valour of the armedforces during the conflict.

By Geeta Mohan in New Delhi

FURTHERING its “neighbourhood first”policy, the first-ever container trainservice between India and Bangladesharrived at Benapole on Sunday. The con-tainer train had started from Majerhatstation near Kolkata on Friday with aconsignment of soaps, shampoos, otherFMCG items and textile fabric in 50containers.

An official said that the con-tainer train service is goingto be a regular service con-necting various terminalsof the Indian Railways net-

work to Bangladesh. It will connectnominated terminals of Concor India

to various stations in Bangladeshsuch as Benapole, Jessore, Sin-

gia, Noapara and Banga-bandhu Setu West railwaystations.

This will create a hugeadvantage for import-

export between the two countries. Interms of road versus train, the con-tainer train service will reduce cost byclose to five times — from `7,000 to`1,500 per tonne. The average time ittakes for a lorry to carry goods toBangladesh is around 15 days. With thetrain service, goods could reachBangladesh in 15-16 hours.

In 2017, an MoU was signed betweenthe Container Corporation of India andthe Bangladesh Container Company Lim-ited. The trial run of the first containertrain from Kolkata to Bangabandhu SetuWest station took place in April 2018.

India will also be handing over 10broad-gauge diesel locomotives toBangladesh on Monday. The event willbe conducted via video conference inthe presence of External Affairs Minis-ter Dr S Jaishankar and his Bangladeshicounterpart Dr AK Abdul Momen andrailways ministers, Piyush Goyal andNurul Islam Sujan, of the two countries.

PHOTOS: QAMAR SIBTAIN & AGENCIES

First-ever container train servicebetween India-Bangladesh begins

10 BG locomotives to be handed over

on Monday.

COMMENT8 Mail Today, New Delhi / Chandigarh, Monday, July 27, 2020 Mail Today, New Delhi, Monday, July 27, 2020

HISTORICALLY, Indiandiplomacy has playeda balancing actbetween boldness andcautiousness; oftentilting towards the lat-

ter. It was good news whenExternal Affairs Minister Dr S.Jaishankar stated a few daysago: “If India has to grow, it hasto shed its traditional caution,be more confident and articu-late its interests.”

It is indeed the need of the hour. Theformer diplomat, now minister added:“Either you’re in the game or you’re notin the game. The era of great caution andgreater dependence on multilateralism,is behind us. We need to take risks. With-out taking risks, you can’t get ahead.Those are choices we have to make.”

The first signsLet us hope that the Modi government

will implement the brave words of theminister and take steps in the rightdecision, especially at a time the situa-tion is far from improving in Ladakh.

Flashback to October/November 1950:Tibet was unashamedly invaded byCommunist China. A debate started inIndia about the importance of Tibet forIndia’s security and the necessity forDelhi to support the Dalai Lama’s inde-pendent nation (for centuries, a peace-ful buffer between India and China).

Sardar Patel, the Deputy Prime Minis-ter wrote his now-famous letter(drafted by a diplomat, Sir GirjaShankar Bajpai) to the Prime Minister;it was not answered and soon afterPatel died. India had lost a goldenopportunity to protect its frontiers.

At that time, a bright young Chinese-speaking IFS officer, Sumul Sinha,posted as Consulate General of India inLhasa, tried to explain Tibet’s strategicvalue to his bosses in the Ministry ofExternal Affairs and Commonwealth

(Nehru was the Foreign Minister); butSinha was admonished for not graspingIndia’s policy of peaceful co-existence.

Ignored warningsIn an internal cable, Nehru wrote to

Sinha: “For this reason [world peace],we avoid as far as possible strong lan-guage and condemnation of nations …itonly increases international tension.” .

And then the crux of the Prime Minis-ter’s new credo: “Emergence of strongcentralised Government of China, witha revolutionary urge, has been most sig-nificant fact of present generation. Thisaffects India and future of Asia dependsupon relationship of India with China.”The cable continues to eulogise China’srevolution: “This may be factor for sta-bility and peace of the world or dangerto us and to world peace. For this rea-son we tried to cultivate friendly rela-tions with China and we believe thatthis became a stabilising factor.”

During the following years, Sinhawould be blasted repeatedly for warn-ing Nehru of the true intentions of Com-munist China; sadly, he was ignored.

On February 22, 2018, Foreign Secre-tary Vijay Gokhale requested PK Sinha,the Cabinet Secretary, to issue a “classi-fied circular advisory advising all Min-istries/Departments of Government ofIndia as well as State Governments notto accept any invitation or to partici-pate in the proposed commemorativeevents [of the 60th anniversary of theDalai Lama’s arrival in India].”

The directive banned the participa-tion of government servants in theTibet events, “accordingly, you arerequested to ensure appropriate actionin the matter,” Sinha was told.

Retrospectively, did this help India

…or China? It only emboldened China agreat deal.

In September 1965, when the ‘Ques-tion of Tibet’ came up at the UN Gen-eral Assembly in New York, RafiqZakaria, the Indian Permanent Repre-sentative gave a forceful speech duringthe debate for voting a resolution con-demning China. The speech was to thepoint defending India’s interests as wellas supporting Tibet.

Zakaria first mentioned the situationin Tibet between 1959 and 1965 assert-ing: “Ever since Tibet came under thestranglehold of China, the Tibetanshave been subjected to increasing ruth-lessness. In the name of introducing'democratic reforms’ and fighting a‘counter-revolution’, the Chinese haveindulged in the worst kind genocideand the suppression of a minority race.”

The diplomat said China tried: “todestroy the national, ethnical, racialand religious group of Tibetans bykilling members of the group. Althoughthe relationship between Tibet andIndia is centuries old and has flourishedall through the ages, we have alwaystaken care not to make that relation-ship a political problem. Our hearts goout to them in their plight and in terri-ble suppression that they are sufferingat the hands of the Government of thePeople's Republic of China.”

A question of choiceIndia is today at a crossroad, there are

clearly two paths, one of cautiousness,one of boldness; the first approach(without speaking of over-cautious-ness) has led the nation nowhere; in thepresent planetary conditions, it is farbetter for India to be frank, honest anddaring, while at the same time remain-ing truthful to India’s eternal values.

And for this India need not be alignedwith anyone in particular.

The world will be one day be gratefulto India if the politicians are able to dothat.

The writer is a French-born author,journalist, historian and Tibetologist.

The views expressed are personal.

HUMOURDAILY Flying is simple. You just

throw yourself at the groundand miss.

—Douglas Adams

The man who says his wifecan’t take a joke, forgets shetook him.

— Oscar Wilde

Friends come and go,but enemies remain and build up

SO FUNNY

THE £1.57bn emergency fund for thearts and cultural sector has beenannounced. Boris Johnson told theHouse of Commons that the economiccase for supporting the performingarts is overwhelming.

Cultural activity is integral to ournational life. As well as contributingto economic prosperity, culture andthe arts are important for ourwellbeing, our education and oursocial lives. In Britain’s regions,away from metropolitan centres, the

loss of cultural institutions is alsofelt. Behind our physical buildings isthe role cultural institutions play inthe lives of local people, and thepower of place.

Participating in culture is a driverof social inclusion. The case forprotecting our cultural institutionsand freelance artists resonates acrossthe country, in metropolitan centresas well as in smaller towns.

Cultural regeneration is neededeverywhere, and must be an integralpart of how each place recovers fromthe lockdown.

Saving culturein the lockdown,beyond London

DAY IN WORDS

DAY IN NUMBERS

AROUND THE WORLDTHE GUARDIAN

ON REVIVING THE ARTS

It has been one of myfavourite novels since theday it was written... I justvowed to direct theadaptation of it.

You can’t compare anyone inIndia at the moment with Ben Stokes. Absolutely not,because Ben Stokes is in hisown league.

— GAUTAM GAMBHIR, formerIndia opener, on English

cricketer Ben Stokes

The loss of cultural institutionsis felt in other regions

—UDDHAV THACKERAY, MaharashtraCM, on the state opposition

”

40 kg the weight of an IED

recovered inChhattisgarh's

Bijapur district, saythe authorities

1.3 bnmetric tonnes ofplastic are set tocover the Earth by 2040, says a

report

The future of my governmentis not in the hands of myopposition. The steering is inmy hands. A three-wheeler isa vehicle of poor people. Theother two are sitting behind.

“

— MIRA NAIR,filmmaker, ondirecting the

adaptation of thenovel ‘A Suitable

Boy’

“”

by ClaudeArpi

FITNESS IN THE TIME OF COVIDK ASIF

People ride bicycles at Vijay Chowk as they resume participation in outdoor physical activities amid theCovid-19 pandemic, in New Delhi on Sunday.

Make way for abold, new India

9Mail Today, New Delhi, Monday, July 27, 2020

SOUTH BLOCKSANDEEP UNNITHAN

SPOTLIGHT

DOUBTS that the July 29 arrival of the first fiveRAFALE fighter jets had nothing to do with thestandoff in Ladakh evaporated over the last fewdays. The IAF has been adding weaponry on tothe aircraft as they fly in. The IAF said it wasworking towards operationalising the Rafales.The IAF recently contracted an unknown num-ber of Highly Agile Modular Munition ExtendedRange (HAMMER) air to ground bombs under thefast track procurements. In light of France’sdefence minister’s June 30 letter to defence min-ister Rajnath Singh, where she expressed ‘stead-fast support along with that of the French armedforces’ – this may be an indication many are tak-ing to mean Paris has diverted weapons meantfor its air force to India.

The French-built HAMMER precision guidedmunitions is a smart bomb that can attack staticand moving targets at ranges of 70 km. It is theideal weapon if the IAF is called to perform closeair support missions in the Ladakh theatre.

It went off the table during India’s 2016 negoti-ations to buy the Rafale. The IAF preferred tointegrate the Israeli Spice- 2000 precision strikeweapon. The Hammer has advantages, as thereare none of the risk of errors entailed. The HAM-MER family has multiple versions with rangeextension and guidance kits. The IAF is believedto be receiving the advanced SBU-54 version ofthe HAMMER with INS/GPS/Infra red guidance.

WHEN it comes tohonouring the kinof armed forces,

Telangana Chief MinisterK Chandrashekar Raoshows his state is secondto none. His governmentappointed Santoshi, thewife of an Indian officerkilled in action, as aDeputy Collector in thestate administration serv-ice. Colonel Santosh Babuof the 16 Bihar Regimentdied in a skirmish withthe PLA in the GalwanValley on July 15. Soonafter the incident, theChief Minister visitedColonel Babu’s family andannounced a`5 croregrant and a house in Ban-jara Hills for the familyand appointed his wife aClass I officer in the stategovernment.

MULTI-MODE HAND GRENADES

No relief for womenofficers THE Navy’s women peti-tioners eligible for thegrant of permanent com-mission say they are yetto hear from the servicethree months after theSupreme Court’s deci-sion. On April 17, theapex court directed theNavy to grant permanentcommission to short serv-ice commission officersin seven wings. This fol-lowed the February 17judgement where thecourt granted permanentcommission to womenshort service commis-sioned officers. On July24, the MoD issued direc-tions to implement theSupreme Court’s verdicton army officers, butthere has been no wordfrom the Navy. Womenpetitioners say their mes-sages to the AssistantChief of Personnel andChief of Naval Staff sinceApril have no replies.

A French airforce Rafalewith HAMMERprecision strikeweapons

INAS 330turns 50

INDIAN Naval AirSquadron 330 ‘Harpoons’,the navy’s premier AntiSubmarine Warfaresquadron, entered itsGolden Jubilee of flyingon July 26 this year tomark the day when thefirst Sea King landed onthe old INS Vikrant on 26July 1971. They werecalled the ‘FlyingFrigates’ for their combi-nation of Super SearcherRadar, HS 12 dunkingsonar and Sonobuoys,capabilities which madethem the Navy’s premierASW platform for threedecades during whichtime they operated off allthe navy’s aircraft carri-ers. Their Golden Jubileegift is around the corner--the Harpoons are to getthe first of a planned 24

MH-60 Romeos beingacquired from the US toarrive next year. The MH-60Rs are to bring in newAdvanced Towed ArraySonars carrying commontorpedoes and sonobuoysas the P8I, a dedicatedASW net at a time whenthe Chinese navy has beenincreasing its submarinedeployments in theIndian Ocean.

Rightfully, their missionis Any Sea, Any Mission,Any Deck.

THE PLA’s aggressivedeployment in easternLadakh and its potentialof quickly escalating intoa full-blown conflict hasseen the Indian army

going in for fast track purchases tomeet equipment shortfalls. On thelist is a requirement for up to 300air-transportable light tanks.There is a debate underway withinthe government — a sec-tion of the establishmentfavours imports, anotherwants the light tanks tobe built indigenously.

Top candidates for fast trackimports include Russia’s 18-tonSprut light tank. The Sprut’s125 mm main gun, derived fromRussian MBTs, means common-ality of ammunition with thearmy’s existing T-90 and T-72tanks. The Russian side indi-cates that the first 20 tankscould be made available in a few

months. The indigenous alter-native is a DRDO- L&T team upfor a 35-ton tank based on thearmy’s in-service K9 ‘Vajra’ 155mm self propelled howitzer. The100th unit of the Vajra, based onthe Hanwha Techwin K-9, is tobe delivered to the army thisDecember.

It was part of a `4,500 crorecontract signed in 2017 with allguns built indigenously by L&Tat its Hazira plant. Discussionsover the last two years havepicked up speed. The project

aims to field the first three tankprototypes in 18 months at aproject cost of under `200 crore.The DRDO design swaps theK9’s 155/52 mm howitzer with amodular turret and 105 mm gunmade by Belgian firm JohnCockerel Defence SA.

The gun can fire at a 42 degreeelevation, suited for mountainwarfare. L&T’s highly auto-mated production line set to beidle by the year-end can churnthese tanks at a rate of nearly100 tanks a year.

The K9 light tank’s 1000 HorsePower engine will give it apower- to- weight ratio of 28HP/ tonne.

What might finally happen—as CDS General Bipin Rawathas indicated in the past — is abalance between desi andvideshi. The Army might endup importing a regiment of ta-nks (45 vehicles) and opt forindigenous tanks to make upthe numbers.

The writer is Executive editor, India Today.

Rafales getting the HAMMER

India’s lighttank debatecrosses shores

PM Modi on a K9 Vajra at the inauguration of the L&T facility in Hazira, Surat in 2019;(left) What the K9 medium tank could look like, the South Korean K21 medium tankwith 105 mm main gun.

THE Army will replace aWW1 era weapon from itsarsenal. The HE-36 grenademanufactured by the Ord-nance Factory Board was aversion of the British No 36time-fused Mark 1 ‘Mills’hand or rifle grenade issuedduring WWI. The process toreplace the unreliable HE36

began in the 1980s. TheDRDO perfected the designfor the Shivalik multi-modehand grenade 10 years ago.The grenade is thus called asit combines an offensive anddefensive functions into oneweapon. It was perfectedafter two years of trials. InMarch 2019, the Defence

Acquisitions Council clearedthe acquisition of 10 lakhgrenades. The Nagpur-basedprivate sector firm SolarIndustries outbid the OFBfor the contract. The first ofproduction model trials willstart before bulk production.The first grenades will bedelivered next year.

Sea King 42Bs on the deckof the INS Viraat

The Shivalik multi-mode hand grenades

NORTH Korean leaderKim Jong Un declared anemergency and a lock-down in a border townafter a person suspectedof being infected with the novel coronavirusreturned from SouthKorea after illegally cross-ing the border, statemedia said on Sunday.

If confirmed, it would be thefirst case officially acknowl-edged by North Koreanauthorities. Kim convenedan emergency politburomeeting in response to whathe called a “critical situationin which the vicious viruscould be said to have enteredthe country”, the North’sKCNA state news reported.

A person who defected toSouth Korea three years agoreturned across the fortifiedborder that divides the twoKoreas to the town of Kaesong

this month with symptoms ofCOVID-19, the disease causedby the virus, KCNA reported.

“An emergency event hap-pened in Kaesong City where arunaway who went to the south three years ago, a personwho is suspected to have beeninfected with the vicious virusreturned on July 19 after illegallycrossing the demarcation line,”KCNA said.

KCNA did not say if the person

had been tested, but said an‘uncertain result was made fromseveral medical check-ups of thesecretion of that person’s upperrespiratory organ and blood’,prompting officials to quaran-tine the person and investigateanyone he may have been in contact with.

One analyst said theannouncement was important,not only because North Koreawas for the first time reporting a

suspected coronavirus case butalso because it suggested it wasappealing for help.

‘DIRE SITUATION’Cho Han-bum, a senior fellow

at the Korea Institute forNational Unification in Seoul,said, “North Korea is in such adire situation, where they can’teven finish building thePyongyang General Hospital ontime. Pointing the blame at an

‘imported case’ from SouthKorea, the North can use this asa way to openly accept aid fromthe South,” Cho said.

KCNA did not elaborate onhow the unidentified “runaway”had crossed one of the world’smost heavily guarded bordersbut said the incident was beinginvestigated. North Korea has received thousands of testing kits from Russia andother countries. —Reuters

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (L) convened an emergency politburomeeting in response to what he called a “critical situation”.

Mail Today, New Delhi, Monday, July 27, 2020

British Prime MinisterBoris Johnson is set to roll

out a 10 million anti-obesitycampaign, including junk foodadvert bans, following his ownbrush with death that he partlyblamed on his weight. W RLDLY

ISE

Britain acted swiftly to impose aquarantine on travellers returningfrom Spain after seeing the data onjump in coronavirus cases...

‘

’— DOMINIC RAAB, BRITISH FOREIGN SECRETARY

10

SCIENTISTS have identified agene in humans which they saycould be an essential player in the immune response againstthe coronavirus, an advance thatmay lead to better understandingand treatment of COVID-19.

The research, published in theJournal of the American MedicalAssociation, analysed variationof the genetic makeup of fouryoung male patients with severe

COVID-19 from two families,who did not have any preexist-ing medical conditions thatmade them predisposed to thedeadly disease.

According to the scientists fromRadboud University Medical Cen-ter in the Netherlands, thepatients had variants of the geneTLR7, along with defects in theproduction of immune systemmolecules type I and II interfer-ons. They said the patients who

were previously well before devel-oping respiratory insufficiencydue to severe COVID-19, requiredmechanical ventilation in the ICU.

A rapid clinical sequencing of allthe genes performed in the study,and segregation in available fam-ily members, found that the vari-ants of the TLR7 gene in the

patients had a loss-of-function. Inthis case series of four young malepatients with severe COVID-19,rare putative loss-of-function vari-ants of X-chromosomal TLR7were identified that were associ-ated with impaired type I and IIIFN responses, the scientistswrote in the study. —PTI

Kim Jong Un declares state of emergency in a border town

SCIENTISTS, including those ofIndian-origin, have resolvedthe structure of a moleculewhich the novel coronavirususes to make its geneticsequence seem like a part ofthe host's own, an advancethat may lead to the develop-ment of new antiviral drugsagainst COVID-19.

According to the study, pub-lished in the journal NatureCommunications, the mole-cule nsp10 modifies the viralmRNAs (which are blueprintsfor producing proteins) tomimic host cell's own mRNAs.

The researchers from the TheUniversity of Texas Health Sci-ence Center at San Antonio in the US said by enabling this modification, nsp10 pro-tects the virus from host cellimmune response. It's a cam-ouflage. Because of the modi-fications, which fool the cell,the resulting viral messengerRNA is now considered as partof the cell’s own code and notforeign, said Yogesh Gupta, aco-author of the study fromUT Health San Antonio.

According to theresearchers, deci-phering the 3Dstructure of nsp16paves the way for

the design of new drugsagainst the coronavirus.

These drugs, Gupta said canbe designed to inhibit nsp16from making the modifica-

tions, so that the hostimmune system would

pounce on theinvading virus,recognising it asforeign. —PTI

Genetic mutation that makessome people vulnerable found

The research was published in the Journal of the AmericanMedical Association analysed variation of genetic makeup.

DECODED!HOW COVIDMOLECULESCAMOUFLAGEIN HOST CELL

Could be essential inthe immune response

Findings may lead to drug

development

C VID-19

PANDEMIC

North Koreaon alert over first suspectedcorona case

AFGHANISTAN has written to the UNSecurity Council over continued viola-tions of its territory by Pakistani militaryforces and said it will ask the 15-nationUN body to take necessary measures andactions to end them if the situation is notde-escalated bilaterally.

Afghanistan’s Permanent Representa-tive to the UN Adela Raz wrote to thePresident of the Security Council, Ger-many, to report on the most recent viola-tions of the Afghan territory by Pakistan’smilitary forces and said the incursion rep-resents a reiteration of violations asKabul had previously expressed its con-cerns to the Security Council in Februaryand August 2019.

Raz said in the letter that on July 15,Pakistan military forces began unpro-voked artillery attacks against Afghanborder posts and civilian residential areasin the Sarakano and Asad Abad districtsof Kunar Province.

The attacks included 12 heavy artillerystrikes targeting Asad Abad district andmore than 160 artillery rounds fired atSarakano district.

In addition to four casualties amongmembers of the Afghan National Defenceand Security Forces, the attacks claimedthe lives of six civilians, including twowomen, and eight injuries and resulted insignificant damage to civilian property.

“We would like to once again reiterate,as we have in previous communications,that the issue of violations of Afghan ter-ritory by Pakistani military forces hascontinued despite numerous appealsmade to the Government of Pakistan, tocease their illegal and provocative activi-ties in our sovereign territory.”

“In that regard, the government ofAfghanistan expresses, once again, itsstrong condemnation of Pakistan's failureto adhere to its obligations under theprinciples of the Charter of the UnitedNations as well as international law andinternational humanitarian law,” she saidin the letter. —PTI

US staff vacates itsChengdu consulate

Pak violating our territory,Afghanistan writes to UNSC

Under tight security, the American diplomatic

mission was closed after an order by Chinese govt

DOZENS were arrested andmany police injured in clashesaround Seattle’s biggest‘Black Lives Matter’ protest inweeks on Saturday, policesaid, with a renewed energysparked by violent clashesbetween activists and federalagents in nearby Portland.

Police said officers used non-lethal weapons in attempts todisperse the thousands ofmarchers in the afternoonafter some protesters set fireto the construction site for aKing County juvenile deten-tion facility & courthouse.

By 10 pm, police had “made45 arrests in connection withtoday’s riot in the EastPrecinct,” the Seattle Policewrote in a Twitter post.

It said “21 officers sustainedinjuries after being struck bybricks, rocks mortars/otherexplosives. Most officers wereable to return to duty. Onewas treated at a hospital for aknee injury.”

Earlier the police had saidthey were working to secureaccess for the city’s firedepartment to the blaze,which it said was started byabout a dozen people whowere part of the group.

President Donald Trump saidon Thursday that he expandedthe deployment of federalpolice to Seattle, enraginglocal officials and ignitinganger among protesters.

The Trump administrationhas also sent federal police toChicago, Kansas City and Albuquerque, New Mexicoover the objections of thosemayors. —Reuters

Protests were part of ‘BlackLives Matter’ movement.

11Mail Today, New Delhi, Monday, July 27, 2020 W RLDLY WISE

STAFF of the U.S. con-sulate in Chengdu madefinal efforts to clear thepremises on Sunday assecurity remained tightoutside, ahead of a Mon-day closure ordered byBeijing as China-U.S. rela-tions continue to worsen.

A mini tourist atmosphereprevailed outside the facilityon a tree-lined street on a hotSunday, as onlookers sharedsidewalk space with dozensof uniformed and plain-clothes police opposite theentrance.

Consulate closures in Houstonand Chengdu have escalated asharp deterioration in tiesbetween the world’s two biggesteconomies, which were alreadytheir worst in decades amid dis-putes over trade and technol-

ogy, the Covid-19 pandemic,China’s territorial claims in theSouth China Sea and its clamp-down on Hong Kong.

ONLOOKERS STOP ANDTAKE PHOTOS

Police asked people to move onwhen crowds formed outside theconsulate, as onlookers tookphotos and videos of what theyexpected would be the last timeto see the compound in U.S.hands. The street was closed totraffic, except for consular orpolice vehicles let through bypolice.

China on Friday ordered theclosure of the Chengdu con-sulate in the southwestern pro-vide of Sichuan. That means anevacuation deadline of 10 a.m.(0200 GMT) on Monday, accord-ing to the editor of a state-runtabloid.

In Houston on Friday a group

of men accompanied by a U.S.State Department official wereseen forcing open a door at theChinese consulate, shortly afterthe U.S. closure order tookeffect for a facility that Secre-tary of State Mike Pompeocalled “a hub of spying and intel-

lectual property theft”.A coach that had been on the

Chengdu consulate premises onSaturday left on Sunday morn-ing. It was unclear who or whatwas inside.

Since Friday, staff have beenseen coming and going, includ-

ing at least one with a suitcase.Removal vans entered and lefton Saturday and Sunday.

‘IT WAS A RECIPROCALRESPONSE,’ LOCALS SAY

“China’s response was recipro-cal,” said a 63-year-old local res-ident who gave only his sur-name, Yang. The situation “isquite regrettable.”

On the Chengdu policeaccount on Weibo, similar toTwitter, some netizens were ask-ing the authorities to be lenienttoward to a man who lit a fire-work outside the consulate Fri-day.

“I believe our country is sopowerful, so it has the ability tohandle it properly, and provideme with enough safety,” said a25-year-old finance worker sur-named Zhao when she passedby the consulate.

—Reuters

Ties between US, China at their worst in decades

A file photo of a Pakistan Army soldier guarding a post.

Police officers standguard outside theU.S. ConsulateGeneral in Chengduon Sunday.

TIT-FOR-TAT DIPLOMACY! � The closure of US con-sulate in Chengdu was a fol-low-up action after the USearlier asked China tovacate the Chinese consulate in Houston.

� Consulate closures inHouston and Chengdu haveescalated a sharp deterio-ration in ties between the

world’s two biggesteconomies.

� The ties between the twowere already at their worstin decades amid disputesover trade and technology,the Covid-19 pandemic,China’s territorial claims inthe South China Sea and itsclampdown on Hong Kong.

Dozens held,21 cops hurtas protestssurge in US

PRESIDENT Vladimir Putin said theRussian navy will get 40 new ships andvessels this year, as he attended anaval parade in St. Petersburg on Sun-day marking the Navy Day in Russia.

The parade in St. Petersburg and thenearby town of Kronshtadt featured46 ships and vessels and over 4,000

troops and aimed to demon-strate the growing

power of our navy,Putin said Friday.

He said 40 ships andvessels of differentclasses will enterservice this year, and

that the Russian navywill be equipped with

hypersonic weapons toboost its combat capabilities.

Opening the parade, he said that sixmore vessels for the far-sea zonewere laid down at Russia's three lead-ing shipyards in the past few days.

The Kremlin has made military mod-ernisation its top priority amid ten-sions with the West that followedMoscow's 2014 annexation of Crimea.

—AP

Putin attendsNavy Day, newships ordered

Mail Today, New Delhi, Monday, July 27, 2020

NAUKASANA NAUKASANA, finds its firstdescription in the yoga treatise,’Sritattvanidhi’, the first everyoga journal, dedicated only topostures, compiled by a youngruler of Mysore, during the1800’s.

In Naukasana, one is balancingat a point on the buttocks, withthe arms and legs, held inangles, forming a shape, like aboat. While trying to do this, allthe force gets concentrated inthe abdominal region, trying tomaintain the posture and bal-ancing as well. The legs are heldvery firmly together and raisedup at an angle, which alsomakes the legs strong. The armsare stretched forward and thechest is expanded completely,allowing maximum intake ofoxygen while performing theposture. Naukasan is an intenseposture which works on thecore.

The beauty of Naukasana isthat, without shortening any

muscle, the back, abdomen andthe deeper core get stronger.Since this is a balancing pos-ture, both sides of the body areused equally. Using the left sideof the body activates the righthemisphere of the brain whichis the creative and imaginativeside. Using the right side of the

body balances the left hemi-sphere of the brain which is thelanguage, mathematical andlogical part. Balancing pos-tures try to bring in a harmonybetween both sides of the bodyand hence the brain. Thismeans a smarter, balanced andstable person.

TECHNIQUE:■ Sit straight with your legsstretched straight in front ofyou

■ Exhale and lift your legsup to form a 45 degreeangle with the mat

■ As you lift thelegs, lean backslightly such thatyour eyes are inlevel with the toes,and balancing onthe buttocks

■ Stretch your armsstraight beside yourlegs

■ Expand your chest and keepthe spine straight

■ Tighten your abdomen andhold in the posture

ADVANCED TECHNIQUE :■ From the previous posture,bring your legs and trunk asclose to each other as possible

■ Keep the legs and thespine very straight.

DURATION:Hold for 20-30

seconds. Perform 3sets. Graduallyincrease the hold-ing for up to 2 min-

utes.

BENEFITS:■ Strengthens the abdomen

■ Removes back problems■ Activates your digestive sys-tem■ Improves metabolism

12 GOOD HEALTH

by Bharat ThakurYOGA GURU AND AUTHOR

FITNESS MANTRA

THE SEEDMATTER Small in size, seeds are a sure-shot way toraise the health quotient in a pandemic

IN times of a pandemic, increas-ingly the shelves of supermarketsare dotted with food that is toutedas healthy. So, soft drink bottleshave been nudged out to make wayfor healthy drinks and a few of

those that seem to be ubiquitous arethe ones infused with chia seeds, whichhave their origins in South America.

While these might be a new entrant on thehealth scene, India has always been abundant inthe seeds that we consume. Come summers andmusk melon and water melon seeds were con-sumed more for their flavour rather than healthbenefits. Flax seeds, too packed a punch. Thenthere were others like pumpkin, sunflower andother larger seeds which were de-husked, oftenroasted before consuming.

It is now that we are waking up to their benefitsand the need to consume them for their healthbenefits. Even as seeds are small, their benefitsbelie their size. Eating just aspoonful every day can actuallymake a huge difference. Thesesuper foods are packed with sev-eral nutrients that contain vita-mins, minerals, proteins, antiox-idants and high concentration ofmonounsaturated fats.

Dr Priyanka Rohatgi, chiefnutritionist and dietitian atApollo Hospitals gives abreakdown of the bene-fits of each. “Flaxseeds help toimprove digestionand reduce risk of

heart disease, type 2 diabetesand cancer. They also help toimprove cholesterol, blood sugarlevels and reduce joint pain andstiffness. Basil seeds help inweight loss, control blood sugarlevels, treat acidity and heart-burn, cure cough and cold and

are good for skin and hair.Chia seeds are the

healthiest as they pro-vide a massiveamount of nutrientsand are loaded withantioxidants as

they help to reduce blood sugarlevel and chronic inflamma-tion. Pumpkin seeds helpto improve heart andliver conditions, boostour immune systemand helps in weightloss. Melon seeds keep our skinyounger, control dia-betes, regulateblood pressure andtreat edema.”

The benefits are onaccount of the fact

that the seeds are abundant inseveral nutrients. Avni Kaul,

nutritionist, wellnesscoach and founder of

NutriActivania says,“These seeds, both,individually andcombined, containseveral nutrientsand minerals such

as the omega-3 fattyacids, antioxidants,

fibre, vitamin B1, cop-

Benefits of the boat posture

OF THE

per, magnesium, selenium,phosphorus, calcium, iron, pro-tein, carbohydrates, betacarotene, folate and copper.”This naturally makes them pop-ular since as these do not needa major dietary changes toincorporate a healthier diet.

M.Saroja Nandam, senior die-titian, Apollo TeleHealth, adds,“Researchers says that theyalso possess anti carcinogenic,anti-ageing, antioxidant, andanti-bacterial properties, whichhelps in weight loss, reducingcardiovascular risk.”

However, when it comes toseeds, especially flax, it’s best tostart gradually and then up theamount. Ishi Khosla, practicingclinical nutritionist, columnist,author, entrepreneur andresearcher says, “Studies sug-gest use one-two tablespoons ofground flax seeds daily. Startwith a small amount, such asone teaspoon and slowly buildup to two tablespoons in seven-10 days.”

If you do not wish to eat seedsby spoonfuls, dietitian AshishRani, Deptt. of nutrition anddietetics, Manipal Hospitals,Dwarka suggests, “We can con-sume seeds as topping or gar-nish (gravies, chutney, drinks,sweets) and eat it at any time.”

Like with other health foods

WithNaukasana,

without shortening any

muscle, the back,abdomen and thedeeper core get

stronger.

Seedsadds crunch

and flavour todishes

By SAIMI SATTAR

The quantity of flax seeds in your everyday diet should be increased gradually

good

Sunflower seeds

Mail Today, New Delhi, Monday, July 27, 2020 GOOD HEALTH 13

HEALTH

there is a particular time whenseeds are best consumed to bemore effective. Dietitian GarimaGoyal says, “The best time toinclude these seeds in your dailydiet is mid morning. You couldgrind and top them off on youryogurt, mix them in yoursmoothies, oats or porridge andenjoy the crunchy and nuttyflavour that the seeds add to the

dishes.” The only exception is the

South American chia seedswhich have to be soaked beforebeing eaten. Preety Tyagi, leadhealth coach and founder ofMY22BMI, says, “You can soakthem overnight or for a period offour hours. Chia pudding madewith soaking chia seedsovernight in almond milk is the

best, most nutritious breakfastto begin your day with.”

Dietician Himanshi Sharma ofthe Indian Spinal injuries Cen-tre cautions that the benefitsreduce or are lost completely ifthey are not eaten right. Shesays, “Avoid deep frying. Ensurea gap of an hour before and aftermeals or else eat on an emptystomach.”

SMALLBYTES

IN order to empower people with mobility issues, Unmukt– The Senior Hub organised a webinar where six startupsworking on assistive technology presented their innova-tions. The startups that showcased their work at ‘MobilityMatters’ were R2D2 Lab, Flexmotiv, BeAble Health, TurnPlusXensible Innovation Lab and myUDAAN. Talking about theobjective behind the webinar, Monimita Sarkar, Founder,Unmukt-The Senior Hub, said, “Ageing is a normal processthat affects physical well being of everyone in differentways. As we age, we may find it difficult to climb stairs or getin and out of a car without assistance. These technologicalinnovations can help people with mobility issues movearound without much external help. Since, we work exclu-sively for the elder community, it was a small attempt topresent solutions that help them lead independent liveswith dignity”.

Nainika Sinha (name

changed), originally from

Bihar, was diagnosed

with premature ovarian

failure and a small

uterus, making chances

of conception extremely

low. She had almost lost

all hope. She underwent

a breakthrough

alternative therapy that

helped her conceive.

Nainika, who belongs to

a disadvantaged

background, was

determined to conceive,

but she was going through secondary amenorrhea

(absence of a menstrual period in a woman of

reproductive age) at 23. Dr. Aswati Nair, Fertility

Consultant, Nova IVF Fertility began her

treatment and made this possible by using donor

sperm and egg.

HUAMI Corporation, a biometric and activitydata-driven company, is going to launch a brandof professional fitness TWS earphones, AmazfitPowerBuds in India on Amazon and Brand’sonline store https://in.amazfit.com. Scheduled to debut in Indiaduring Amazon Prime Day,these powerbuds areequipped with an in-earPPG heart rate sensor,magnetic sports ear hook,and ENC- dual-microphone noisereduction for calls, etc.Featuring eight hours ofplaytime on a singlecharge and the portablemagnetic charging case offersup to 24 hours of music on-the-go.The ENC dual microphone helps filter thebackground noise, ensuring call clarity. Theadvanced composite diaphragm delivers clearsound quality, and the Motion Beat Modeenhances the bass effect, making the beats of yourmusic clearer and more powerful.

WEBINAR ON MOBILITY

A SOUND FITNESS CHOICE

DELHI-based NGO Wishesand Blessings has tied upwith Delhi Govt and intro-duced WB ambulance forCOVID relief. It is availablefor underprivileged peo-ple or for those who can'tafford an ambulance serv-ice for a COVID test orcheckup. The ambulance

provides them the facility of pick and drop to theirhomes from hospital and hospital to home, COVID cen-tre or quarantine. The ambulance service is availablefor 12 hours every day even in containment zones. Thefacility is available all across the national Capital.

■ Prevents uterine prolapse■ Strengthens the reproduc-tive system■ Prevents inguinal hernia■ Improves concentration andfocus■ Brings in calmness and stability■ Improves energy levels

and confidence

ADVANCED IVF CONCEPTION

— AVNI KAULFounder NutriActivania

Seeds haveomega-3 fattyacids, vitaminB1, copper,antioxidants,magnesium,selenium etc.

‘

‘

— PREETY TYAGIFounder MY22BMI

Soak thechia seedsovernight orfor four hoursin almond milkfor a nutritiouspudding.

‘

‘

— GARIMA GOYALDietitian

Grind and topthem off onyogurt, mix insmoothies, oatsor porridge andenjoy the nuttyflavour.

‘

‘

— ASHISH RANI Dietitian

Consumeseeds as a topping or as garnish in chutney, drinksand eat them atany time.

‘

‘

CONTRA INDICATIONS:■ people with lower backproblems should do the pos-ture cautiously■ People with hernia should becareful and avoid it if there isdiscomfort

COVID AMBULANCE SERVICE

A chia seed pudding is ahealthy way to start the day

Dr. Aswati Nair

14 Mail Today, New Delhi, Monday, July 27, 2020

TWO PAGES OF ASTROLOGY, PUZZLES AND GENERAL KNOWLEDGE

ARIES Apr 14-May 14

Understanding from your lover

is needed while dealing with a

love issue. You may first think you can do

it on your own but incidents are going to

prove otherwise.

CANCER July 16-Aug 15

Should you tell yoursweetheart you are getting

come hither looks, the green eyedmonster can raise its head. Perhaps you need to just let things be the way they are.

LEO Aus 16-Sep 15

Your cold matter of fact way will

give way to a new warmth as you

meet someone you get completely

smitten with. Emotions will turn

explosive and you will be so happy.

SCORPIO Nov 16-Dec 15

Action with compassion is the

key word today. Your soul

mate needs your love and guidance so

do that when you are presented with a

problem to tackle.

AQUARIUSFeb 12-March 13

A mutual trust is going to

develop which will be a good

thing for both of you. This is a good time

for relationships to blossom and you will

learn a lot as you grow together.

SAGITTARIUSDec 16-Jan 13

The love gods can play spoilt sportand you might not get all theattention you want. Turn on your

charm and before you know it, your loverwill be eating out of your hand.

GEMINI June 16-July 15

You will want to get out of this

relationship as soon as you can.

You could find yourself trapped in an

unwanted situation due to an unresolved

decision with your love partner.

TAURUS May 15-June 15

The person you have set your

sights on can throw a tantrum

or two so you will most likely decide to

use strategy to get him/her closer to

you. This will pay off very well for you.

VIRGO Sep 16-Oct 15

There will be hardly any time to

devote to personal life, causing

some stress in your love relations. Try to

find a balance so you and your

lover are happy.

LIBRA Oct 16-Nov 15

A chance meeting can lead to

new feelings. There will be

impulsiveness and you both will spend

happy times together. You will want to

spend a lot of time with your new friend.

PISCES Mar 14-Apr 13

An unexpected turn of events

will work wonders can for your

love life. You are keen to settle down and

your sweetheart is in the same frame of

mind so expect to tie the knot soon.

CAPRICORNJan 14-Feb 11You could be quite vague in

the later half of the day. Until

then you will be all ears in the presence

of your sweetheart, bubbling over with

new plans.

By Dr AjaiBhambi

Co

ffee

Bre

ak

Difficulty Rating

KAKURO SUDOKU CLASSIC HITORI

Cross out numbers to create blanks. No digit canappear in a row or column more than once. No twoadjacent squares can be blacked out. All the squaresleft unblacked must be connected — vertically or horizontally — to form a single shape.

SCRABBLE GRAMS

DAILY JUMBLE MINI SUDOKU SUDOKU X

CODEWORDSUDOKU

COFFEE BREAK

15Mail Today, New Delhi, Monday, July 27, 2020

by Manisha Koushik

FOCUSFOCUSASTROASTRO

ARIES Mar 21-Apr 20

Your suggestions may be opposedon the professional front, so don’tinvest too much to try and

convince anyone. Take care of yourbelongings while travelling.

TAURUS Apr 21-May 20

Your efforts on the professionalfront may not get immediate

results, but promise to be encouraging.Success is foreseen for those seeking aneasy loan.

GEMINI May 21-June 21

You may find someone’s attitudeat work against your interests,but little you can do about it.

Someone may take you to task forsomething not completed on theacademic front.

CANCER June 22-July 22

Good news on the domesticfront uplifts your mood today.An ancestral property is likely to

be sold for a handsome amount. Lookingup someone you have not met in years ispossible today.

LEO July 23-Aug 23

Hard work will bring yourenormous benefits. Seekingexpert guidance for an ongoing

project at work will be a step in the right direction.

VIRGO Aug 24-Sep 23

Be quick in grabbing an offer on

the career front or it may slip

away from your hands. Acquiring

a major item will no more be a

pipedream as you have enough.

LIBRA Sep 24-Cot 23

Despite your reservations, youwill have to call a spade a spadeat work. You may take it upon

yourself to bring someone in shape onthe fitness front.

SCORPIO Oct 24-Nov 22

You may need to keep someoptions handy on the professionalfront to avoid getting stuck.

A new venture started by you will show promising results.

SAGITTARIUS Nov 23-Dec 21

You will get lucky in finding someone,who helps you out in an importantmatter. Getting a position ofauthority at work is foretold. Some

previous investments are likely to mature tomake your bank balance healthy.

CAPRICORN Dec 22-Jan 21

You may change your stance ona matter at work and it will bethe right move. Chances of

getting shortchanged cannot be ruled out for some.

AQUARIUS Jan 22-Feb 19

Your focus may shift to somethinghappening on the social front, soexpect a hectic time. Some of you

are likely to go in for a renovation to makeyour house look more aesthetic.

PISCES Fab 20-Mar 20

You may need to reinvent yourself,if you desire to be taken seriouslyby others. There is a possibility of a

transfer for some to another city or town.You are likely to kiss and make up withspouse after a spat.

KEN-KENEach row & column must contain numbers 1 to 4 (easy) or1 to 6 (difficult). The numbers within the heavily outlinedboxes must combine to produce the numbers in the top-left corner.

CRYPTIC CROSSWORD

ACROSS

4 I’ve each to considerbefore I accomplish anything (7)

8 Is to err to take but part ofthe step? (5)

9 Out having a good timecould be regarded asshocking another greatly (9)

10 Kate’s to provide the meat (5)

11 You go to an event andhave tea as it will turn out (9)

13 100 Romans cheer on find-ing a good place to leavethe children (6)

15 It’s making you cross atthe card table? (6)

19 Finds a way to rule again?What a pain! (9)

21 Skite about making them fly (5)

22 Socially, she was first seenin bed with an alien aunt (9)

23 Seen to be lured out thengoverned (5)

24 Long steps taken by the little saint on seeing the

fairground attractions (7)

DOWN

1 When the doctor acts, I findhim forcible (7)

2 Representatives are all at seawhen you slander them (7)

3 Ken Reed gives a throb showing just how grief-stricken he is (6-7)

4 The little one is with herdoing the dusting (6)

5 3 down’s condition is theresult of them flirting! (5-8)

6 I care for Heath! (5) 7 Reg sees each little one as

being a bore (5)12 Thanks! Gee! A tie-on

label! (3) 14 It’s cruel to see how you

regret it inside! (3)16 How it falls when you get Sid

to correct its list (7)17 Does pie throwing create an

incident? (7) 18 Ten are given gas by our

representatives (6) 19 No! Ed’s all done with

swells! (5)20 Be given rum of the

brown variety (5)

SUDOKUFill in all the squares in the grid so that each row, column and each of the 3X3squares contains all the digits from 1 to 9. Solutions are below.

Difficulty Rating Difficulty Rating Difficulty Rating

TODAY’S SOLUTIONS

HITORI CRYPTIC CROSSWORDKAKURO

SUDOKU SUDOKU CLASSICMINI SUDOKU

CODEWORD

Scrabble and scrabble tiles are registered trademarks. Allrights in the game are owned in the USA by Hasbro Inc., inCanada by Hasbro Canada Inc., and elsewhere by J.W. Spear &Sons Limited., a subsidiary of Mattel, Inc

SCRABBLE GRAMSSUDOKU X

KEN-KEN

COFFEE BREAK

Mail Today, New Delhi / Chandigarh, Saturday, July 25, 2020 Mail Today, New Delhi, Monday, July 27, 2020 18

A special resolutionframework for MSMEsis at an advancedstage of preparationand a prepackresolution frameworkis also in the works.

‘QUOTE OF THE DAY

$170 bn is India’s US securities holdingsat the end of May, up $13 bn.

NUMBER OF THE DAY

The Monetary PolicyCommittee, headed by

RBI Governor ShaktikantaDas, is set to hold a meetingbetween Aug 4 and Aug 6. It islikely to cut key policy rates by0.25% to revive the coronavirus-hit economy.

mybiz — MS SAHOO, IBBI CHIEF

By Naveen Kumar in New Delhi

HOME loan is one of thebiggest liabilities for amajority of the people.EMI of your loan consistsof two parts -- interestamount and principal

repayment. When interest ratecomes down and EMIremains unchanged thenthe interest partdecreases and principalpart of EMI increases.Therefore, low interestrate accelerates yourrepayments. On top of it,if you can make more pay-ments towards principalthen home loan outstand-ing will come down atmuch higher speed.

As the interest rate has comedown to the lowest level seen ina decade it presents a wonderfulopportunity to give maximumacceleration to your home loanrepayment. "If the borrower hasexcess funds and can repay theloan, then low interest rate sce-nario is a great time to reducesthe outstanding tenure signifi-cantly," says Aarti Khanna,Founder and CEO, AskCred.

LOW-INTEREST SPELL Given the economic slowdown

due to coronavirus pandemic,interest rates are unlikely to seeany hike. On the contrary, chancesof further rate cut cannot be ruledout. "Once we see recovery on themajor aspects of the economy,which may take up to the end ofthis fiscal year, we might see somebalancing of the interest rates,"Kunal Varma, CBO and Co-founder, MoneyTap says.

HOME SAVER OPTIONMany people with unpre-

dictable income flows may pre-fer an option which gives themmaximum flexibility to accessfunds later on if needed. "AHome Saver loan allows the bor-rower to reserve the extraamount in the home loanaccount and he/she can with-draw it anytime. The bank com-

putes interest by deducting thebalance in the current accountfrom the borrower's outstandingprincipal," says Khanna.

GOING FOR PREPAYMENT

Home loan is a good tool tosave taxes both on account ofinterest and principal repay-ment amount. So continuing aloan may bring substantial tax-saving to people especially inhigher income tax bracket. How-ever, the tax benefit is limited toRs 2 lakh of interest payment ina given financial year. So if youare paying a much higher inter-est amount especially with aloan amount of Rs 30 lakh andabove then you would not getany tax benefit on additional

interest amount. "In high ticket loans like a

home loan, if the borrower con-sistently makes part prepay-ment during a low interest

By Aditya Kalra in New Delhi

AN Indian court has sum-moned Alibaba and itsfounder Jack Ma in a case inwhich a former employee inIndia says he was wrongfullyfired after objecting to whathe saw as censorship and fakenews on company apps, docu-ments seen by Reutersshowed.

In court filings dated July 20and previously not reported,the former employee ofAlibaba’s UC Web, PushpandraSingh Parmar, alleges thecompany used to censor con-tent seen as unfavourable toChina and its apps UC Browserand UC News showcased falsenews “to cause social andpolitical turmoil”.

Civil Judge Sonia Sheokandof a district court in Guru-gram, a satellite city of India’scapital, New Delhi, has issuedsummons for Alibaba, Jack Maand about a dozen individualsor company units, askingthem to appear in court orthrough a lawyer on July 29,court documents showed.

The judge has also soughtwritten responses from thecompany and its executiveswithin 30 days, according tothe summons.

UC India said in a statementit had been “unwavering in itscommitment to the Indiamarket and the welfare of itslocal employees, and its poli-cies are in compliance withlocal laws. We are unable tocomment on ongoing litiga-tion”.

Alibaba representatives didnot respond to requests forcomment from the Chinesecompany or on behalf of Jack Ma.

Gurugramcourt issuessummons toJack Ma

Mittal locks horns with Ruias over Hazira port licence ARCELORMITTAL Nippon Steel IndiaLtd (AMNSIL) has filed a petition in theGujarat High Court against the Govern-ment of Gujarat and Essar Bulk Termi-nal Ltd seeking transfer of Hazira portlicence in its name, according to a PTIreport from Ahmedabad.

Within days of acquiring Essar Steelfrom the Ruia family under an insolvencyprocess, AMNSIL had made an applica-tion to the Gujarat Maritime Boardrequesting that the licence be transferredto them.

While the government is yet to decideon the matter, the firm has approachedthe court stating that the Essar Bulk Ter-minal Ltd (EBTL) holds captive licenceas a nominee or trustee, according to thepetition filed under Article 226.

ArcelorMittal did not respond to email

and phone calls made for comments.Essar Steel owns a 10 million tonnes per

annum steel plant at Hazira in Gujarat,which is serviced by a captive jetty con-structed at port.

The petitioner is seeking the reversionof the captive jetty licenses, AMNSIL saidin its petition, claiming it was a captiveuser of the jetty and intended beneficiaryunder all the licences and expansions.

EBTL is not an independent licensee...but merely a 'nominee' and 'trustee', hold-ing the two licences on behalf of and intrust for petitioner's exclusive use andbenefit, it said adding Essar Steel has ceased to be same group companiesand therefore EBTL no longer stands eligible and does not possess any right as a license holder of the captivejetty.

Essar Bulk Terminal Limitedhas denied this stating that itis an independent companyand there exists no nomineeor trustee relationship

between the companies.In the Supreme Court approved resolu-

tion plan submitted by ArcelorMittal forEssar Steel under the Insolvency andBankruptcy Code, ArcelorMittal hadasked for directions to be given to theGujarat Maritime Board and Essar BulkTerminal Ltd asking them to continuethe port services at Hazira on the sameterms and conditions. What has changedsince then is not clear.

When contacted, an Essar Ports execu-tive said, It is regrettable that Arcelor-

Mittal and Nippon Steel would pur-sue such a frivolous and legally

untenable claim. ArcelorMittal has been doingthis habitually but what issurprising to us is that Nip-pon Steel is also supportingsuch an approach.

Alibaba founder Jack Ma

Moveslocal court in

Essar Bulk Terminal case

It’s time tospeed uphome loanrepayment

■ As interest rate is low,higher part of EMI goestowards principal repayment

■ Even a small increase inEMI can substantiallyreduce loan tenure

■ Bulk income, bonus andincentives can be used

■ But keep tax implica-tions in mind before youopt for it

HOW IT WORKS

‘

Reap gain oflow interestto cut loantenure

ArcelorMittal chairman LN Mittal

period he can benefit by savingsome considerable amount,"says Khanna of AskCred.

WHEN TO SKIP IT If your home loan amount is

lesser and you prefer tax-savingthen prepayment may not be theright option for you. "Investors inthe 30 per cent tax bracket, andwhose outstanding home loanbalance is less than Rs 20 lakhand the annual interest outflowmay fall below the Rs 2 lakhdeductible limit may find goodtax free investment options inthe market and hence prepay-ment in such a scenario may notbe a good option," says Khanna.In cases where both the spousesare enjoying tax benefits sepa-rately the loan amount that canbe continued will be bigger.

Mail Today, New Delhi, Monday, July 27, 2020 19MY BIZMY BIZ

By Eric M. Johnson and

Tim Hepher in Seattle/Paris

BOEING Co ispreparing to delayits all-new 777X jetby several monthsor up to a year,three people famil-

iar with the matter said, asthe COVID-19 crisis exac-erbates a drop in demandfor the industry’s largestjetliners.

Boeing hopes to bring the jet tomarket as passenger travelrebounds after a downturncaused by the pandemic. It wouldalso hope for a detente in a tradewar between Washington andBeijing, which has side lined cru-cial Chinese aircraft buyers.

But stretching out the develop-ment opens up fresh risks forBoeing, such as losing engineer-ing attention and momentum,and tougher scrutiny from theU.S. Federal Aviation Administra-tion during the years-long certifi-cation process.

Delay could also cause prob-lems in Boeing’s supply chain.

An announcement of the delaycould come as early as next weekwhen Boeing announces earn-ings, one of the people said.

Boeing declined to comment onthe 777X timeline. It said it wascontinuing flight tests and “work-ing closely with our customersaround the world as they con-tinue to adapt to the evolvingCOVID-19 situation.”

Boeing has been working to getthe 777X, a larger version of the777 mini-jumbo, into the hands ofcustomers in 2021. That’s alreadya year later than originally sched-uled after snags with its GeneralElectric GE9X engines among

BOEING TO DELAY 777XJETAMID VIRUS WOES

By Mail Today Bureauin New Delhi

Public sector oil major BharatPetroleum Corporation Ltd(BPCL) has rolled out a voluntaryretirement scheme for itsemployees to provide them anexit option before it passes intoprivate hands.

The internal notice issued by thecompany states that the VRSscheme is being offered “toenable employees, who are notin a position to continue in serv-ice due to various personal rea-sons” to opt out. BPCL has fixedAugust 13 as the deadline for clos-ing the scheme.

A senior company official saidthe VRS has been brought to offeran exit option for any employeeor officer who does not want towork under a private manage-ment.

BPCL offersVRS aheadof sell-off

Drug makers Lupin and GranulesIndia are recalling close to 9.71lakh bottles of generic diabetesdrug in the US due to possibilityof the affected lot containing can-cer causing nitrosodimethylamine(NDMA).

As per the latest enforcementreport of the US Food and DrugAdministration (USFDA) ananalysis detected nitrosodimethy-lamine impurity above the accept-able intake level. The companiesare recalling the product due todeviation from the current goodmanufacturing practices. USFDAhas classified it as a Class-II recall,which is initiated in a situation inwhich use of or exposure to aviolative product may cause tem-porary or medically reversibleadverse health consequences orwhere the probability of seriousadverse health consequences isremote. Lupin is recalling 4,92,858bottles of Metformin Hydrochlo-ride. On the other hand, GranulesIndia is recalling over 4.78 lakhbottles of the drug.

Lupin, Granulesrecall diabetesdrugs in US

STATE-RUN power giant NTPC hasfloated a tender to acquire 1 GWoperational solar projects, whichentails an investment of aroundRs 5,000 crore. In a tender or request for pro-posal (RFP) issued on Friday, NTPChas invited bids from the promot-ers or lenders, authorised finan-cial intermediaries of power gen-eration companies, independentpower producers or developersfor offering operational solarbased assets located in India.

The tender is expected to befinalised by October this year.The document stated that in line with its long-term corporateplan, NTPC is taking various stepsto make its energy portfoliogreener by adding significantcapacities of renewable energy(RE) sources.

— MT Bureau

Cost overrun ininfra projectssoars to ̀ 4 L cr

other issues.Now Boeing is preparing to

delay the timeline by perhaps ayear, two of the people said. Athird said a delay was likely butthat Boeing wanted to get pro-duction “going hard” to putplanes in the air by 2022-2023.

“There are so many widebodyaircraft being retired, moth-

balled,” the third person said.“If air travel comes back to2019 levels, many new planeswill be needed.”

The 777X will be the first majorjet to be certified since the roleof software flaws in two fatal 737MAX crashes prompted accusa-tions of cosy relations betweenBoeing and the FAA.

The 777X - composed of twomodels, the 777-8 and thelarger and more closelywatched 777-9 which seats 406passengers and is due to bedelivered first - competes withthe Airbus A350-1000, whichseats about 360 passengers.

Modern twinjets are displac-ing older four-engined Boeing747s and soon-to-be-axed Air-bus A380s. Boeing has toldsuppliers the last 747-8 will rolloff assembly lines in aroundtwo years.

Experts had expressed wor-ries about demand for largejets due to overcapacity andeconomic weakness, evenbefore COVID.

While Boeing says it has sold309 777X planes - worth $442million each at list prices –many in the industry havequestioned its dependence onMiddle East carriers which arescaling back orders.

SENSEX38,140.47

FRIDAY’S CLOSE

38,128.90

THURSDAY’S CLOSE

11,194.15

THURSDAY’S CLOSE

H: 11,225.40L: 11,090.30

-21.3011,215.45

FRIDAY’S CLOSE

NIFTY

-11.57H: 37,748.41L: 38,253.73

MA

RK

ET

S (

FR

IDA

Y’S

CL

OS

E)

BU

LL

ION

1 HCLTECH 4.29 680.65

2 RELIANCE 4.15 2,146.20

3 TECHM 3.25 652.75

4 SUNPHARMA 1.95 485.40

5 INDUSINDBNK 1.61 520.20

% change Price (`̀)TOP GAINERS

% change Price (`̀)

TOP LOSERS

1 AXISBNK -3.32 445.55

2 SBI -3.23 191.90

3 ICICIBNK -2.66 381.85

4 ONGC -2.00 81.00

5 HDFC -1.80 1,840.95 EX

CH

AN

GE

RA

TEFriday

(SILVER)

(GOLD)

Thursday Friday

Mon Tues Wed Thu Fri

100

90

80

70

60

Wed Thu Fri

$ YEN

DOLLAR,YEN

Wed Thu Fri

£

EURO,POUND

76

72

68

64

60

Dollar `̀74.84 `̀74.79

Euro `̀86.56 `̀87.00

Pound `̀94.96 `̀95.60

Yen (100) `̀69.85 `̀70.68

GOLD/10 gm `295 ̀ 50,995

SILVER/1 kg `19 ̀ 61,171

45,000

40,000

35,000

400

380

350

Mon Tues Wed Thu Fri

¤

By Mail Today Bureau in Mumbai

HDFC Bank chief executive and managingdirector Aditya Puri has sold another 74lakh shares in the private lender to raise Rs842.87 crore, regulatory filings showed.

The shares were sold between July 21 and23 and have brought down Puri's holdingin HDFC to a mere 0.01 per cent from 0.14per cent earlier.

The sale comes just months ahead ofPuri's retirement from HDFC in Octoberafter a 25-year stint during which he builtthe bank into the largest private secondlender and the second-largest overall start-ing from scratch.

Puri is now left with 3.76 lakh shares inHDFC valued at a little over Rs 42 crore asof the last close. A bank spokespersonexplained that the shares were allotted toPuri over a period of time at different pricepoints and stressed that they were notgiven at par with the face value of theshare. The net value realized by Puri is notas stated. The acquisition cost of sharesand the tax payable on the transaction hasto be accounted for as well, he added.

Puri had emerged as the highest-paidIndian banker in 2019-20 with a 20 per centgrowth in gross earnings at Rs 18.92 crore.He had also earned an additional Rs 161.56crore in 2019-20 and Rs 42.20 crore in 2019

by exercising his stock options, as per thebank's earlier disclosures. HDFC Bankshares have gained 46 per cent since touch-ing its 2020 low of Rs 765 apiece on March24, amid a massive sell-off in equities due tofears over the COVID-19 pandemic. Thescrip closed at 1,118.80 on the BSE on Friday.Puri was reportedly granted 6.82 lakh sharesunder the Employee Stock Ownership Plan(ESOPs) in FY2020 and had also sold sharesworth Rs 200 crore in the bank's subsidiaryHDB Financial Services in FY2020.

Speaking at a bank annual general meet-ing earlier this month, Puri had said hispreferred successor has been with the bankfor over 25 years and it is up to the ReserveBank now to confirm the name. Afterundertaking a search for his successor,which included appointing an externalheadhunter, HDFC Bank board had earlierthis year decided on the possible succes-sors and submitted their names to RBI inpreference of their choice. According toreports, bank's change agent SashidharJagdishan and head of wholesale bankingKaizad Bharucha are among the choseninternal candidates, while Sunil Garg ofCitibank is among the three external can-didates selected by the board.

Puri rakes in ̀ 843 cr via HDFC share sale

HDFC Bank chief executive andmanaging director Aditya Puri

■ Boeing has been work-ing to get the new 777Xinto the hands of cus-tomers in 2021 which isalready a year behindthe original schedule.

■ The plane which seats406 passengers com-petes with the Airbus

A350-1000, which seatsabout 360 passengers.

■ Boeing says it has sold309 777X planes worth$442 mn each, but manyhave questioned itsdependence on MiddleEast carriers which arescaling back orders

ANOTHER SETBACK

A Boeing 777X airplanetakes off during its first test

flight in January this year.

Mail Today, New Delhi / Chandigarh, Monday, July 27, 2020 Mail Today, New Delhi, Monday, July 27, 2020

WAITING FOR

REWARD

Youth Oly silver winner Simranrequests Delhi CM Kejriwal tosanction promised cash prize

By Chetan Sharmain New Delhi

YOUTH Olympics2018 silver medal-list wrestler Sim-ran on Sundayappealed to Delhichief minister

Arvind Kejriwal to releasethe prize money promisedto her two years back bySatyendra Jain, the DelhiHealth Minister.

In a video, Simran said shecan’t train because of financialproblems. “At that time (2018)Mr Satyendra Jain had assuredme that I would get a cashaward from the government.But it has been two years and Ihave not got any help. I tried tomake Chief Minister Arvind

Kejriwal and Deputy Chief Min-ister Manish Sisodia aware ofthis but I am yet to get a reply tomy emails.

“Because of my poor financialsituation, I am not able to prac-tice regularly. I appeal to theDelhi government to release mycash prize according to thesports quota so that I canrestart my practice,” sheadded.

Simran put on a dominantperformance in Buenos Aires,topping her group after beatingopponents from New Zealand,Moldova, Egypt and Mongolia.In the final she lost 6-11 toAmerican reigning cade worldchampion Emily Shilson.

The 18-year-old wrestler liveswith her father Rajesh in WestDelhi’s Rohini area. Rajesh isher coach and trains her at theakhada near her home. “I havebeen training my daughtersince so long. We get good sup-port from the Wrestling Federa-tion of India president BrijBhushan Sharan Singh sir,” hetold MAIL TODAY.

“In 2018, when Simran won asilver medal in Youth Olympics,

the state government (Delhi’s)had promised her that she willbe rewarded with prize money.But till, date nothing has hap-pened. We have been trying tocontact Arvind Kejriwal sir andother ministers,” he added.

EX-INDIA SKIPPER APPLIESFOR PEON POST IN NADA

Union sports minister KirenRijiju on Saturday said thatIndia will be a sports super-power in coming years. However,there are several athletesin India who -- despitemaking the nationproud on severaloccasions-- stillwaiting for properjob or recognition.

One such athlete is former cap-tain of the Indian physicallychallenged cricket team DineshSain. The 35-year-old is roaminghere and there for a governmentjob and has recently applied fora peon post at the NationalAnti-Doping Agency (NADA)office here.

Speaking to MAIL TODAY,Dinesh said he visited NADAoffice but he was kept waitingand no officer gave him time tomeet. “I don’t have any option

since my age is also not in myfavor anymore. I am in

dire need of it as myfamily is totallydependent on me.When I got to knowthat there is avacancy of peon in

NADA, I, without thinking any-thing, applied for it,” he said.

Hailing from Sonipat, Dineshsaid that he applied for jobs inHaryana several times but couldnot get success. He said thattwice applications were invitedfor the contract based class IVjob in Sonepat district court. “Iapplied both times. During theinterview, I also told the officialsabout my sports achievement.Officials were happy but did notgive the job,” he said.

“I met Anil Vij, the formersports minister of Haryana, andmade him aware of my problemsbut again bad luck. It is difficultto run a family without a job. Irequest government with foldedhands, please help me,” headded.

‘‘

‘‘

— SIMRAN, YOUNG INDIAN WRESTLER

Because of my poorfinancial situation,I

am not able to practiceregularly.I appeal to

the Delhi governmentto release my cash

prize according to thesports quota.

‘‘

‘‘

— RAJESH, SIMRAN’S FATHER & COACH

I have been training mydaughter since so long.

We get good supportfrom Wrestling

Federation of Indiapresident Brij Bhushan

Sharan Singh sir.

The wrestler

needs funds to

start training

IndianphysicallychallengedcricketerDinesh Sain(far right).

SPECIAL

MAIL TODAY

Dinesh triedfor jobs in

Haryana severaltimes but to no avail

Simran was congratulated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi(left) for her achievements in Youth Olympics in 2018.

20

Bruno the star as Man Unitedqualify for Champions League

Sports

Mail

Mail Today, New Delhi, Monday, July 27, 2020

Fencer Bhavani applies for Italy visa

Atwal gives away early gains,slips in 3rd round of 3M Open

FABIO Quartararo won frompole position at the AndaluciaGrand Prix on Sunday for hissecond consecutive win sincethe MotoGP season started fol-lowing the pandemic break.The young Frenchman cruisedto victory a week after earninghis maiden MotoGP race inJerez de la Frontera. The 21-year-oldYamaha rider openeda 10-point lead overMaverick Viales inthe championshipstandings.

“That one was tough,” Quar-tararo said. “What an amazing feeling. “It feels so good to (win) back-to-back races.” Viales finished second againafter getting past Yamahateammate Valentino Rossi with

two laps to go at the Cir-cuito de Jerez-ngel

Nieto. Takaaki Nak-agami was fourthwith Honda for hisbest career finish inMotoGP.

“It was Rossi’s first podiumsince a race in the UnitedStates in April 2019. I’m veryhappy,” Rossi said. Six-time defending championMarc Mrquez did not race afterbreaking his right arm in lastweekend’s Spanish GP. He par-ticipated in the practice ses-sions and qualifying but endedup opting out of the race. The next race will be the Mon-ster Energy Grand PrixÈeskérepubliky on August 9,2020, and will be live onEurosport. —Mail Today

INDIA’S Arjun Atwal squan-dered early momentum in thethird round, registering amediocre even-par 71 score toslip to tied 62nd at the3M Open golf.

Two chip-in birdiesgave Atwal themomentum heneeded at the startof the third round,but was unable tokeep it going.

He began with aflourish with threebirdies in his first six holeson the back side of the course,but he not only gave awaythose gains on 18th, first and

third, but was also unable toget any more birdies to slipfrom T-51 to T-62 on Saturday.

Meanwhile, MichaelThompson and Richy

Werenski, playingtogether in the thirdround, shot 68 eachand will once againplay the finalround together. Theduo is tied at 15-

under at the TPCTwin Cities. Atwal hit 11 of the 18

greens in regulation whilefinishing even for the day andtwo-under for the tournament.

—Mail Today

SECOND-RANKED SimonaHalep withdrew from thePalermo Ladies Open Sundayfollowing a quarantine ordi-nance issued by Italy’s healthministry.

“Given the recent rise inCovid19 cases in Romaniaand my anxieties aroundinternational air travel at thistime, I have made the toughdecision to withdraw fromPalermo,” Halep tweeted.

“I want to thank the tourna-ment director and the Italianministry of health for allefforts on my behalf.”

The Aug. 3-9 tournamentannounced Sunday that theRomanian player’s manager,Virginia Ruzici, had informedPalermo officials of the deci-sion. —Mail Today

By Rohit Panikerin New Delhi

TOKYO Olympics hopefulfencer CA Bhavani Devi hasapplied for a visa to Italy toresume her training thereunder coach Nicola Zannoti. Bhavani, who has maintainedher second spot in the Asianquota and is in the qualifyingzone for the Olympics, iseager to kick-start her train-ing soon and is hoping toreunite with his sparringpartners in Livorno.

“She had written a letter tous requesting that she wantsto travel to Rome. Weaccepted her request and shehas now applied for a visa.Though, all this is a subject toclearance from not only theembassy but the central gov-ernment. We’ll have to waitand see if travel ban is liftedand she is able to get toItaly,” Fencing Association ofIndia general secretaryBashir Khan told Mail Today.Bhavani was unavailable for acomment.

Last month, the SportsAuthority of India, responsi-ble to conduct nationalcamps owing to de-recogni-tion of several NationalSports Federations, had writ-ten to the Fencing Associationof India to resume her train-ing at the NIS, Patiala.Though, the sabre fencer’s

preferred centre was theArmy Sports Institute, Puneor Thalassery centre in Ker-ala, the condition was turneddown by SAI.

After initial hesitation, the26-year-old agreed to travelto Patiala with coach SagarLagu but an intense lockdownin Chennai and the constant

rise in COVID-19 cases nation-wide forced Bhavani to con-tinue training at home.

“We are in touch with her.The latest we know is that hermother is doing well now. Itwas because of her health,Bhavani hesitated to joinPatiala camp. But when waspreparing, the virus out-break stalled her from going.She has informed SAI that shewill join if conditions are aptto travel and stay,” Khanadded.

Meanwhile, it has also beenlearnt that SAI has approveda sum of Rs 5 Lakh to FAI forthe sport’s excellence cen-tres in 50 districts acrossIndia.

However, an official letter ofsanction will released onlyafter the re-recognition ofthe sports federations as persports ministry norms.

Among other directions, thestate or district unit will haveto confirm the presence of atleast 30 fencing trainees andcoaches should work for atleast 20 hours per week.

She wants to

reunite with

coach Nicola

MichaelThompson

and Richy Weren-ski, playing

together in thethird round, shot68 each and will

play the final

Beating Li Xueruiturning point ofmy career: Sindhu

WORLD champion PV Sindhuon Sunday said initial failuresat the international stage wasdisappointing but defeatingthe then reigning Olympicchampion Li Xuerui at theChina Open in 2012 strength-ened her resolve to succeedin the senior circuit.

Sindhu had burst onto thescene when as a 16-year-oldshe had stunned LondonOlympics gold medallist Li inthe quarterfinals of ChinaMasters.

“When I started playing Iwas doing well but interna-tional standards are not thesame. In the beginning, I kept

losing in first rounds, qualify-ing rounds. I realised Ineeded to go out harder, thatis when I kept working hard,”Sindhu told paddler MuditDani on his online show ‘InThe Sportlight’.

“I used to feel sad and think-ing what mistake I’m making,I am also working hard asothers. “I think that turningpoint I would say I got in 2012where I beat Li Xuerui, shewas current Olympic cham-pion at that time. Since then Iworked extra hard and I havebeen improving step by step,year by year.”

—Mail Today

ReigningworldchampionPV Sindhu.

The21-year-old

Yamaha rideropened a 10-point

lead over Viales

World No. 2 Simona Halep.

Halep withdrawsfrom PalermoOpen after quarantine orders

Quartararo wins 2nd MotoGP race

Sabre fencer CABhavani Deviis training athome.

Simran inaction againsta boy during a

local Dangal.

21

Everton veteran defender LeightonBaines announces retirement

Mail Today, New Delhi, Monday, July 27, 2020

Published & Printed by Amit Gupta on behalf of G.H. Prints Pvt. Ltd, A-256, Okhla Industrial Area, Phase -1, New Delhi - 110 020. Published at F – 26, Connaught Place, New Delhi – 110 001. Editor: Dwaipayan Bose

RNI No.: DELENG / 2007 / 21922

T.V. Today Network Limited. Printed at The Indian Express (P) Limited Press, A-8, Sector-7, Noida - 201301 andFirst Floor,

Bowler O M R W

Anderson 16 5 28 2

Broad 14 4 31 6

Archer 17 1 72 1

Woakes 18 2 57 1

Bowler O M R W

Roach 11 4 34 0

Gabriel 5 0 19 0

Holder 9 2 24 1

Chase 14 2 61 1

Cornwall 19 2 79 0

Bowler O M R W

Anderson 3 2 2 0

Broad 3 1 8 2

Extras: (b 4, lb 5, nb 1, w 5) 15Total: (65 Ov, All out) 197Fall of wickets: 1-1, 2-44, 3-58, 4-59, 5-73,6-110, 7-178, 8-188, 9-188, 10-197

Extras: (b 6, lb 3, nb 3) 12Total: (58 Ov, Wickets 2) 226dFall of wickets: 1-114, 2-226

Extras:Total: (6 Ov, Wickets 2) 10Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-6

ENG 1ST INNINGS 369/10WI 1ST INNINGS

ENG BOWLING

WI BOWLING

ENG BOWLING

ENG 2ND INNINGS

WI 2ND INNINGS

SCOREBOARD

Stumps Day 3

Batsman Dismissal R B

Brathwaite c Root b Broad 1 10

Campbell c Burns b Archer 32 50

Hope c Buttler b Anderson 17 64

Brooks c Buttler b Anderson 4 20

Chase lbw b Broad 9 36

Blackwood b Woakes 26 45

Holder lbw b Broad 46 82

Dowrich c Woakes b Broad 37 63

Cornwall lbw b Broad 10 15

Roach c Root b Broad 0 3

Gabriel not out 0 3

Batsman Dismissal R B

Burns c Da Silva b Chase 90 163

Sibley lbw b Holder 56 132

Root not out 68 56

Batsman Dismissal R B

Brathwaite batting 2 17

Campbell c Root b Broad 0 3

Roach c Buttler b Broad 4 5

Hope batting 4 11

Sports

MailNo cricketer in world is evenclose to Stokes: Gambhir

Fast & FuriousBy Paul Newman

NOT even Stuart Broad couldend another momentousday by taking the wicketthat would have propelledhim to the magical figure of500 in Test cricket. But he

came mighty close.Broad had already claimed two early second

innings West Indies victims and his legs werepumping in that inimitable style of his as hecame charging in at Shai Hopeat the end of a third day of thisdecisive Test that sees Englandemphatically on top.

But Hope survived a last ballbeauty to delay what must bethe inevitable conclusion tothis historic series of an Eng-land victory despite a horren-dous weather forecast on Mon-day and another significantlandmark for a bowler who sim-ply refuses to be marginalised.

England were far from at theirbest for much of Sunday anddid not help themselves with asluggish start to the day withthe ball and then by strugglingto push firmly on the accelera-tor until after tea.

That is apart from that manBroad who took the last fourWest Indies first wickets on

had Root taken what lookedlike an obvious call to open thebowling on Sunday with man ofthe moment Broad.

Instead Jason Holder andShane Dowrich were able toease them past their initial tar-get of 170 before Broad, who haddominated the second day withboth bat and ball, was finallyintroduced to bring an abruptend to West Indies resistance.

First Broad made an impactwith his third ball of the day totrap Holder, who had been

caught by a diving OlliePope only for Chris

Woakes to be foundto have over-stepped.

—Daily Mail

Sunday morning and then thefirst two of their second in theevening, claiming John Camp-bell and nightwatchmanKemar Roach as the touristsstaggered to 10 for two.

They have, if the rain staysaway, two days to reach a theo-retical 399 to win or hang on forthe draw that would see themretain the Wisden Trophy. Andan awful lot of rain will surelybe needed for them to have anychance now.

It could have been evenbetter for England. Theycould easily have beenin a position toenforce the followon and push for athree-day victory

England in strongposition after StuartBroad’s stunningbowling display

NUMBERSGAME OF DAY 3

18The number of timeswhen Stuart Broad (6/31) took five or

more wickets during aninnings in 140 Tests. The 3rdtime vs West Indies in 19Tests.

14.80Is the

bowlingaverage

of Stuart Broad in the year2020. During this current year,he is playing his 5th Test.

14Kemar Roach failedto open his account.It was his 14th duck in

his 59 th Test. The 3rdagainst England in 13 Tests.

38Jason Holder becamethe 38th West Indians toaggregate 2000 or

more runs in Test cricket. Hehas now scored exactly 2000runs at an average of 32.25 in43 Tests.

WestIndies need

389 runs to win

West Indies’ Shane Dowrich receivestreatment. (Right) England’s StuartBroad celebrates with teammatesafter taking the wicket of West Indies’Roston Chase at Old Trafford.

Compiled by Manoj Kumar

PHOTOS: AFP