PNS n HYDERABAD

The 12th meeting of theKrishna River ManagementBoard (KRBM) will be held onJune 4, in the backdrop ofheightened tensions betweenTelangana and Andhra Pradeshstates over the latter’s decisionto draw draw an additional 3tmc ft of water from Srisailam.

The KRBM has sent theagenda of the meeting to thegovernments of both the states,

listing five key points — theprojects taken up by bothTelangana and AndhraPradesh and objections, DPRsand next year’s water distribu-tion and setting up of telemet-ric machines for water usage.

The meeting would also dis-cuss power usage underSrisailam and Nagarjunasagarfunds allocation and sugges-

tions offered by both the states.Earlier, a letter from the

KRMB confirmed theSummary Record ofDiscussions of the 11th meet-ing of the Board held onJanuary 29, 2020.

The letter said that therewere no observations receivedfrom either government.

PNS n HYDERABAD

Two men, who had acquiredan inter-state movement passclaiming that they want topurchase facial masks in bulkfor sale, were arrested onTuesday after being caught bythe excise personnel smug-gling cocaine intoHyderabad.The officialsseized 54grams ofc o c a i n e ,two cars,and threemobile phonesfrom their possession.

The accused were identi-fied as Taran Jyoti Singhfrom Panjagutta and AmitKumar from Saraswati Nagar,Lothkunta.

SUMIT ONKA n VISAKHAPATNAM

Coronavirus pandemic has dete-riorated the financial health ofprivate hospitals that were alreadystruggling to keep themselvesafloat due to low financial returnsand a host of other reasons.

In Andhra Pradesh, morethan 500 hospitals, mostly smalland medium, closed down in2019 owing to financial chal-lenges and the rules and regu-lations clamped by the StateGovernment. Many more mayclose down in the coming daysif they are not bailed out by the

government.“With no patients visiting

due to the pandemic, revenuegeneration has is more or less

zero and the hospital manage-ments, mostly small and medi-um, are unable to even payemployees their salary or

release funds for maintenance,”said Andhra Pradesh StatePrivate Hospitals and NursingHomes Association president,Dr. V.S Prasad.

The situation is no differentfor corporate hospitals, butYSRCP government releasingthe Aarogyasri bills pendingwith the previous governmenthas kept them afloat, he added.

Managements of private hos-pitals would submit a representa-tion to the AP Health MinisterAlla Kali Krishna Srinivas on June4 with demands such as includ-ing smaller hospitals in Aarogyasrinetwork, interest-free loans and

relaxation from power bill amongothers, said Dr VS Prasad.

He also highlighted thathow people from rural areasdepend on small hospitals andincluding them in the StateGovernment’s health scheme,Aarogyasri, would benefit notonly the hospitals but thepatients too.

“The state exchequer couldalso be saved drastically as thefees is less in the small andmedium hospitals compared tothe big and corporate ones,”asserted the private hospitalassociation president.

HYDERABAD, WEDNESDAY JUNE 3, 2020; PAGES 12 `3

www.dailypioneer.com

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RNI No. TELENG/2018/76469

Established 1864Published From

HYDERABAD DELHI LUCKNOWBHOPAL RAIPUR CHANDIGARH

BHUBANESWAR RANCHI DEHRADUNVIJAYAWADA

*LATE CITY VOL. 2 ISSUE 233*Air Surcharge Extra if Applicable

@TheDailyPioneer facebook.com/dailypioneerFollow us on:

MONEY 8POWER 42% CHEAPER AT REAL-TIME MARKET AT IEX

ANALYSIS 7COVID HAS HASTENED THEBIRTH OF THE DIGITAL NETA

SPORTS 12DHONI’S IPL PREPARATIONS WERE

DIFFERENT THIS TIME: RAINA

{

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Will initiate more structuralreforms to spurgrowth: PM

8

No easy solution insight for row overSEC tenure

2

Guj: Ahead ofcyclone, over20,000 people to be evacuated

Page 11

HHYYDDEERRAABBAADDWWEEAATTHHEERR

Current Weather ConditionsUpdated June 2, 2020 5:00 PM

AALLMMAANNAACC

TODAY

Month & Paksham:

Jyeshtha & Shukla Paksha

Panchangam

Tithi : Dwadashi: 09:04 am

Nakshatram: Swati: 08:43 pm

Time to Avoid: (Bad time to start

any important work)

Rahukalam: 12:14 pm – 01:51 pm

Yamagandam: 07:22 am – 08:59 am

Varjyam: 01:49 am – 03:17 am

Gulika: 10:36 am - 12:14 pm

Good Time: (to start any important work)

Amritakalam: 12:43 pm – 02:10 pm

Abhijit Muhurtham: NIL

FFoorreeccaasstt:: Mostly cloudyTemp: 34/24Humidity: 57%Sunrise: 05.40Sunset: 06.47

CORONACASES IN

INDIA 1,00,205 5,829DeathsRecover

BALAYYA IS OPEN TOA MULTI-STARRERWITH TARAK AND

KALYANRAM

KCR WRITES TO MODI

TS to Centre: Drop power bill L VENKAT RAM REDDYn HYDERABAD

Telangana Chief MinisterK Chandrasekhar Rao onTuesday wrote a letter to PrimeMinister Narendra Modienlisting the reasons why theCentre must withdraw thecontroversial draft ElectricityAmendment Bill 2020.

In his letter, KCR has high-lighted how the Bill seeks tocentralize power at the Centre,with the states being relegatedto playing a marginal role inthe management of powerutilities, determination of pol-icy at the national level, andinter-state power transmis-sion, among other pitfalls.

The Chief Minister categor-ically stated that the proposed

amendments were neither inpublic interest nor in the inter-ests of state power utilities/stategovernment. Instead, the pro-posed Bill, if enacted, wouldhave an adverse impact on themanagement of the state elec-tricity organisations.

In the backdrop of the Centreasking States to express theiropinions on the proposed billbefore June 5, the Chief Ministerhas written to the PrimeMinister enlisting the State'sapprehensions over the bill.

PV KONDAL RAOn RAMAGUNDAM

In a major mishap atRamagundam in Peddapallidistrict, four workers engagedby a private company werekilled and three other workerssustained critical injuries onTuesday morning reportedlywhen a gelatin stick detonat-ed accidentally in an areawith overburden in the open-cast mine of OCP1 (OpenCast Project 1) belonging tothe state-owned SingareniCollieries Company Limited.The workers, hired on con-tract, were planting detonatorswhen one of the detonatorswent off.

According to police andSCCL officials, 13 workers ofMahalakshmi Company,engaged in OB removal, hadbeen at work since morning.Six of the workers had left theplace for a break when the blastoccurred. The others wereimpacted by the mishap. Thedeceased were identified asPraveen, Rajesh, Anjaiah andRakesh. The other three -

Shankar, Bheemaiah andVenkatesh --sustained grievousinjuries and were rushed to anearby hospital.

Senior officials of SCCL

went to the spot on hearingabout the mishap. Local legis-lator Chandar, MP VenkateshNetha and Chairman ofPeddapalli ZP Putta Madhu

were also there.A senior official of SCCL

said the Director General ofMines Safety will enquire intothe incident.

Four killed, three hurtin Singareni mishap

Protocols go for a tossRAMAGUNDAM: Preliminaryenquiries suggest that themishap took place due totechnical failure and securitylapses on the part ofMahalakshmi Company, whichhas been given the contract forremoval of OB from the opencastmine, as well as negligence onthe part of SCCL with regard toquality control over the materialused for detonation. Although thework of OB removal needs to besupervised by skilled technicalexperts holding appropriatedegree, the company's OCP1 OBdetonation work was done ontheir own by the contractworkers without any kind ofsupervision. Usually OB removaltakes place under the supervisionof technical experts, but the

company which got the contractfor the work had been relying onseniors of the company. OnTuesday, all the workers had beguntheir work by planting and fillingdetonators in the OB area. Duringthe process, one of the planted

detonators went off accidentallywhen a worker was trying to fill ahole. Officials conceded that thedetonators in question weresubstandard and that insulationwas not up to the mark.

PNS n BENGALURU

India’s government said onTuesday it has approvedGilead Sciences Inc’s antiviraldrug remdesivir for emer-gency use for five doses intreating COVID-19 patients.

Remdesivir, which isadministered intravenously inhospital, is the first drug toshow improvement inCOVID-19 patients in formalclinical trials and is at the fore-front of the battle againstCOVID-19, which has noapproved treatment or vaccine.

The drug was granted emer-gency use authorization by theU.S. Food and DrugAdministration last monthand has received approval byJapanese health regulators.The drug is being adminis-tered in some countries undercompassionate use rules.

“(Remdesivir) approved onJune 1 under emergency usewith condition for five doseadministration,” the DrugsController General of Indiasaid in an email statement.

‘Remdesivir can beused in emergency’

PNS n NEW DELHI

Around 200 migrant workerson their way to home werekilled in 1,461 road acci-dents during the nationwidelockdown between March 25and May 31. According todata compiled by Save LIFEFoundation, as many as 750people, including 198migrant workers, died inthese accidents.

Thousands of migrant work-ers along with their families hitthe road in various cities as theylost jobs due to lockdownimposed to break the coron-avirus infection chain.

Most accidents could beattributed to over-speedingand driver fatigue, accordingto the data compiled bymedia-tracking and multi-source verification.

198 migrants diedin road accidentsduring lockdown

4 deaths, 99 new Covidcases on Tuesday in TSPNS n HYDERABAD

Telangana on Tuesday reported99 more Covid-19 positive casesand 4 deaths from the virus, tak-ing the caseload to 2,891. Of the99 cases, 87 pertain to locals andthe rest to migrants. As many as

70 persons from GHMC testedpositive and seven fromRangareddy district. Eightemployees of a news organisa-tion also tested positive after acameraman in the firm testedpositive on 30 May.

Covid puts AP private hospitals on ventilatorn Plea to bring small and medium hospitals under Aarogyasri umbrella

Corona drainscampus recruitment PNS n HYDERABAD

Campus recruitment in vari-ous universities, includingUniversity of Hyderabad(HCU), Jawaharlal NehruTechnological University-Hyderabad (JNTU-H) andOsmania University (OU), hasbeen hit on account of Covid-19 crisis. No recruiter has vis-ited the campuses of these var-sities since March.

Closure of the universitiesand educational institutions inview of the prolonged lock-down gave little or no scopefor recruiters to visit the cam-puses.

Campus recruitment of verybright students takes placenormally during December-February period. Others arehired later-between April andMay. Students usually take upemployment directly as soonas they finish their semesterexams.

Annually, 350 to 370 stu-dents of HCU get recruitedthrough campus enrolments,but only around 220 areplaced during December-February period. Others getplaced during March and

April period. The lockdown has made it

difficult for company repre-sentatives to visit campuses. Inaddition, students have left fortheir native places.

Some companies recruit stu-dents during July and August.But, this year the prospects ofthat process are bleak.

KRMB calls meet as AP, TS square off over water

Heavy rainfall alertfor TelanganaPNS n HYDERABAD

The Indian MeteorologicalDepartment (IMD) hasissued a warning of heavyrainfall in Hyderabad and 10districts over Tuesday andWednesday.As per IMD,"Vikarabad, Sanga Reddy,Medak, Siddipet, MedchalMalkajgiri, Yadadri Bhuvanagiri,Hyderabad, Rangareddy,Mahabubnagar, Nagar Kurnool,Wanaparthi and JogulambaGadwal Districts are likely toreceive heavy rainfall at a cou-ple of places". Mild to moder-ate rains are likely to occur afterWednesday.

On Tuesday, the statereceived 4.4 mm rainfall withmaximum of 21.4 mm inNagarkurnool.

Two held forsmuggling cocaine

Man leaps in front of KCRconvoy, taken into custodyPNS n HYDERABAD

A 27-year-old man gave tensemoments to authorities bybarging in front of ChiefMinister K ChandrasekharRao's convoy while he wasreturning after paying homageto the Telangana martyrs onthe state formation day here onTuesday, but security person-nel immediately took him intocustody.

The incident happenedwhile Rao was returning afterpaying homage at the'Telangana martyrs memori-

al' in front of the state legis-lature buildings to those whosacrificed their life for the

cause of separate Telangana,police said.

n Disrupts merit orderdispatch of energy

n Affects financialviability of discoms

n Takes away state'sdiscretion to cross-subsidise power supply

Closure of theuniversities andeducationalinstitutions in viewof the prolongedlockdown gave littleor no scope forrecruiters to visitthe campuses

Remdesivir approved onJune 1 under emergencyuse with condition for fivedose administration,” theDrugs Controller Generalof India said

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HYDERABAD | WEDNESDAY | JUNE 3, 2020 hyderabad 02

With both the AP gov-ernment and theState Election

Commissioner NimmagaddaRamesh Kumar refusing tobudge, the issue of the SEC'stenure seems to havebecome a matter of pres-tige, with no easy andamicable solution insight.

Like all successfulpoliticians, Jagan finds itdifficult to bow down tothreats or unilateral decisions.

Considering the fact that heswept to power with a massivemandate, it is natural thatJagan would expect some sayin the decision making processeven from constitutional bod-ies.

Jagan finds himself in asimilar position that NT RamaRao faced in the mid-1980s,after the High Court of thenundivided state took up primafacie seven petitions filedagainst him alleging corruptpractices.

NTR openly stated that hewould be abide by the 'people'scourt'. His words created a sen-sation and came handy for theCongress, till then reeling

from two successiveelection losses at thehands of the TDP.NTR's statement gave ita political lifeline.

Congress faced theTDP with renewed vigour

in the municipal polls in1987 and later stormed intopower in 1989 defeating thatstrongman who had lookedinvincible before his 'people'scourt' comment.

Now Jagan has decided toknock the door of the apexcourt against the AP HighCourt's order setting aside theOrdinance promulgated byhis government to reduce thetenure of SEC, thereby remov-ing Ramesh Kumar from thepost.

It's common knowledge thatJagan wanted to show thedoor to Ramesh Kumar forpostponing elections to thelocal bodies, citing outbreak ofdreaded Covid-19 in March2020.

Going by Jagan's reaction, it

can be assumed that hebelieves that a ruler chosen bythe people shouldn't be held toransom by other organs ofdemocracy despite their statu-tory status.

The Government cited thenearly Rs 4,000 crore from14th Finance Commission if itcomplied and held elections byMarch-end as the reason forinsisting on the polls. RameshKumar refused to play ball,and his failure to consult thegovernment before postponingthe elections made mattersworse.

Despite his decision beingunilateral, the SEC was hailedfor "saving many lives" as a

large number of people mayhave been infected with votersthronging the polling booths.

However, it was the role ofthe opposition parties in theentire episode that exacerbat-ed the issue.

The ruling party alleges thatthe TDP not only backed theSEC openly, but also providedfinancial assistance to the peti-tioners who filed cases againstthe government in support ofRamesh Kumar.

Senior YSRCP leaders won-dered why the TDP was inter-ested in Ramesh Kumar's legalbattles and asked if the issueconcerned the SEC or theTDP.

Crores of rupees werepumped in to fund petitionerswho could otherwise find itimpossible to meet the hugelegal expenses.

Incidentally, the court tak-ing up cases related to heads ofelection poll panels are notnew.

TN Seshan, the irrepressibleChief Election Commissionerof India, announced the

reworked election scheduleafter the assassination of for-mer prime minister RajivGandhi in 1991. Seshan's deci-sion was not challenged offi-cially despite some criticism onhis unilateral approach to dis-charging duties. However, onan earlier occasion, a courtfound fault with Seshan for hisdecisions, which was consid-ered to be a humiliatingmoment for a stubborn char-acter like him. When everyonewas looking for his response tothe court order, he simplysaid that he wouldn't followVirginia Wolf and fight back!(Well known American writerVirginia Wolf committed sui-cide, unable to digest a courtverdict against her).

While Seshan opted not torespond to the court order,Ramesh Kumar challengedthe Ordinance removing himin court and forced the stategovernment to knock the doorof appellate court /SC seekingreversal of the HC's order.

The issue got politicisedfollowing the unusual remarksmade by none other thanJagan, accused of the SEC ofleaning towards TDP chief NChandrababu Naidu, due tothe caste factor.

With the State Governmentreluctant to accept the HCorder reinstating RameshKumar, dozens of supportersof the YSRCP, including someexperienced journalists, madehighly objectionable remarkson social media against it.Naturally, the court issuednotices for contempt, and theyhave been ordered to submitexplanation for their actions.

Interestingly the commentsmade by Law Minister RaviSankar Prasad, in another con-text, came handy for APGovernment.

Prasad said that those wholost elections are now trying toget control over politics byapproaching courts.

Though Prasad was refer-ring to the issue of migrant

labourers, the AP Governmentwasted no time in trying todraw parallels to the issue athand.

Interestingly, BJP leader andformer minister KamineniSrinivas also approached courtagainst the removal of theSEC, that too with prior per-mission of BJP national pres-ident JP Nadda. Ironically,Governor BiswabhushanHarichandan, a former BJPleader, had signed theOrdinance cutting the SEC'stenure short, without seekingexpert opinion.

Naturally, a BJP leader wish-ing to be part of a case that wasgiven the nod by a formerleader of the same party hascreated a buzz. In sharp con-trast, BJP MP GVL NarasimhaRao has criticised the style offunctioning of the SEC.

Ultimately, the only amica-ble solution to the entireepisode seems to be PrimeMinister Narendra Modi'sintervention.

M D RATNA KUMAR

Senior Journalist

Jagan has decided to knock the door of

the apex court against the AP HC's order

setting aside the Ordinance promulgated

by his government to reduce the tenure of

SEC, thereby removing Ramesh Kumar

PIN

POINT

No easy solution in sight for row over SEC tenure

PNS n HYDERABAD

A farmer, Kendre Balaji fromKomaram Bhim Asifabad dis-trict in the state who cultivat-ed Apples for the first time inthe state, presented the ChiefMinister K ChandrashekarRao with a box of apples andan apple sapling.

The farmer gave this uniquegift to CM at Pragathi Bhavanon Tuesday on the occasion ofstate formation day and con-gratulated the CM.

Balaji said that he was cul-tivating HR 99 Apple in a 2acre land in Dhanora village inKerameri Mandal in the dis-trict. He said the State'sHorticulture department isgiving him a lot of support and

help. With the support fromthe CM, he said he would focusmore on the apple orchids. TheCM congratulated Balaji onthis occasion.

The CM said that theTelangana has a variety ofsoils can be realised from thefact that apple is cultivated inthe state.

Kendre Balaji from Komaram Bhim Asifabad presents apples grown in his farm toChief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao on Tuesday

Farmer presents TS apples to CM

Can you catch Coronavirusfrom delivered packages?PNS n SEOUL

An outbreak of Covid-19 at alogistics centre run by one ofSouth Korea's largest onlineshopping companies has raisedconcerns over whether the viruscan be transmitted by packagedeliveries

More than 117 cases ofCovid-19 have been linked tothe warehouse near Seoulowned by e-commerce giantCoupang facility. No cases havebeen related to deliveries andSouth Korean health officialshave played down the chance ofinfection from packages.

While infection from touch-ing surfaces of boxes or bubblewraps couriered by an infectedlogistics centre worker would beconcerning, the Korea Centers

for Disease Control andPrevention said transmission inthis manner was unlikely.

"There has been no precedentof a global transmission so farfrom delivered packages," ViceHealth Minister Kim Gang-liptold a briefing.

But health authorities andinfectious disease experts havenot ruled out the possibility of

infection if a person touchestheir eyes, nose or mouth aftercontact with a contaminatedpackage.

The WHO has cited labora-tory research that found thecoronavirus that causes Covid-19 could persist for up to 24hours on cardboard and 72hours on plastic and stainlesssteel. Kim Woo-joo, a professorof diseases at Korea varsityGuro Hospital, said the viruscould also survive on surfaceslike bubble wrap.

"The virus can last up to 24hours on cardboards and overthree days on hard surfaces likestainless steel. There is noresearch on bubble wraps yet,but it could be between a card-board and a stainless steel," hesaid.

PV KONDAL RAO

n WARANGAL

In a major move aimed at mak-ing agriculture a more prof-itable venture through scientif-ic cultivation based on marketdemands, the state govern-ment has decided to implementregulated farming from theupcoming Vaanakalam sea-son, beginning with paddy.

However, the move hasevoked mixed reactions fromthe farmers across the dis-tricts. While some villagespassed unanimous resolutionssupporting the state govern-ment's decision, some othersopine that the proposal maynot yield the desired results.

On Monday, the villagers ofVarikole in Warangal unani-mously passed a resolutionsupporting the regulatoryfarming. The villagers have

decided to go ahead with thecropping pattern as suggestedby the state government.

Villages connecting to high-ways are more inclined toadopt the cropping pattern.They feel that the patternsstipulated by the governmentcould be very much useful for

the farm sector. They opine theraising Maize and other cropswould become commercial inthe coming years.

However, the prototypefarming patterns opted by thevillages in the remotest cornershave decimated the proposalsof the government. In certain

pockets, the farmers bluntlyrejected the proposal of thegovernment and termed it asan imposition. The govern-ment can't dictate farmers,they said and added that manyfarmers may lose RythuBandhu if they don't go forcrops as suggested by the gov-ernment.

Reports from the districtsindicate that about 20 per centof the villages have decided tokeep aloof from the regulato-

ry farming in their respectiveareas. Only few villages arekeen implementing the propos-al. On the other hand, the TRSleaders and farm organisa-tions supporting the methodsof government are keen onmaking the regulatory farminga major success.

It may be recalled that, as afirst step towards the regulat-ed farming, the Chief Minister,K Chandrashekhar Rao saidthe government decided totake up paddy cultivation inabout 50 lakh acres in the Statecommencing from thisVaanakalam season.

Besides cultivating both fineand coarse varieties of paddy,Telangana Sona variety alonewould be cultivated in about 10lakh acres. It was also decidedto cultivate cotton in 50 lakhacres and red gram in 10 lakhacres.

Ryots differ over regulated farmingTRS leaders andfarm organisationssupporting themethods of stategovt are keen on making theregulated farminga major success

Continued from page 1

Managements of privatehospitals argue that they wouldhave to take permissions andmake renewals from 22 gov-ernment organisations everyyear. The rule to follow safetynorms for small and mediumhospitals is seen as a majorfinancial burden as each man-agement has to invest at least?25 lakh on equipment alone.

Round-the-clock availabili-ty of doctors, nurses and otherstaff is mandatory for 50-bedhospitals and that come upwith a huge bill.

While many private hospi-tals turning away patients, afew of the hospitals are seeingnon-Covid patients, due toinherent reasons.

The clinics which have tospend extra money now tocomply the Covid-19 protocolincluding PPE and sanitisationare wondering how much theycould charge from the patientsas consultation or other treat-ment.

“Some conditions fall into agrey zone of medical risk.While they may not be emer-

gencies, many of these ill-nesses could become lifethreatening, or if not quicklytreated, leave the patient withpermanent disability,” Dr KRavi, a cardiothoracic sur-geon of a corporate hospital,said.

Another senior doctor whovisits number of hospitals inVisakhapatnam said non-Covid admissions are restrict-ed by many hospitals topatients who are regulars.

Even this, the doctor said, isa “risk” that had to be taken tokeep the hospital running.That is, some hospitals admitthis minimum number ofpatients to ensure someamount of cash flow. “How elsecan they pay their staff?” hesaid.

Many doctors opined thatdue financial distress accentu-ated by Covid-19 lockdownhas forced several standaloneand small nursing homes intier II and III cities to shutdown.

“Many others are at high riskof closing down soon sincetheir cash flows have dried up,”an Orthopaedic doctor said.

Continued from page 1

Apparently, no securitymeasures were adopted by thecompany during the executionof the work. As the teamsbelong to a private firm oncontract, SCCL too did notbother about providingrequired security on the spotwhen OB process was under-taken.

Sources explained that usu-ally blastings at opencastmines are done with utmostcare and OCP1 blasting worksin particular are far morepowerful. As OB detonationworks have been contracted toa private company, the firmprocured the detonators as pertheir licences.

The material procured for

detonation has never beenproved substandard. So, insu-lation failure might havecaused the major mishap inthe mine unit on Tuesday,sources claimed.

Police of RamagundamCommissionerate and SCCLofficials are probing the rea-sons that led to the minemishap on Tuesday.

"Four workers have diedand three others seriouslyinjured in the incident," asenior police official supervis-ing rescue efforts said.

First OCP mishapThe blast during OB

removal on Tuesday in OCP1,Ramagundam is the firstmajor incident to occur overground during the process ofOB detonation process.

Continued from page 1

Acting on a tip-off, theexcise team intercepted a carat Saraswathi Nagar inTrimalgherry area. "These twopersons went to Bangalore bytaking Inter State Pass by say-ing that they are going to pur-chase facial masks in bulk tosell. They purchased about 70grams of cocaine from aNigerian at Bangalore andreturned to Hyderabad on30th of May." officials said,adding that they have sold the16 grams. On incredible infor-mation regarding the move-ment of these persons withdrugs, the enforcement teamintercepted the vehicle andarrested the both of the per-sons. The car which was beingused for transportation ofcocaine from Bangalore toHyderabad was also seizedfrom their possession. Thecase papers, along with theaccused persons, were hand-ed over to Prohibition andExcise Station, Secunderabadfor further investigation.

Continued from page 1

Heavy security arrange-ments were made near thearea and the man initially toldpolice personnel that he is anemployee of the GreaterHyderabad MunicipalCorporation and stood thereafter showing an employee IDcard, they said.

After seeing the ChiefMinister's convoy, he sudden-lymoved and fell in front ofit taking the police personnelby surprise and creating secu-rity scare for fewmoments,but security per-sonnel immediately took himinto custody and the convoyproceeded. During question-ing the man revealed that heis a native of Nalgonda dis-trict and working as a driverof the Disaster ResponseForce of the civic body onoutsourcing basis, a seniorpolice official told.

The man had grievanceson allotment of a houseunder a state governmentscheme and may have resort-ed to this act to get the ChiefMinister's attention in thehope of resolving the issue,police added.

Continued from page 1

KCR stated that theTelangana government is ofthe opinion that the UnionMinistry of Power should beadvised to withdraw the pro-posed amendments in publicinterest. The bill takes awaycertain functions/ powers ofthe state government. Theprovision to appoint StateElectricity RegulatoryCommission by a selectioncommittee constituted by theCentre and entrusting theresponsibilities to a neigh-bouring state ERC under cer-tain circumstances is hitting atthe core of the federal polityenvisaged in the Constitution.Merely because a particularsubject is in the Concurrent

List of the Constitution doesnot mean that Centre/Parliament will enact lawswhich have a direct and majorinfluence on the functioningof the state government. Westrongly oppose such a ten-dency.

Any national renewableenergy policy should be for-mulated with the explicit con-sent of the state governments,but not merely in consultationwith the state governments.Each state in India has its ownunique situations like poten-tial for hydro power, windpower, solar power, land avail-ability etc. As such, statesshould have the flexibility todetermine within the broadpolicy at the national levelwithout any penal provisions.

Covid puts AP private... Protocols go for a toss

‘Remdesivir can be used...Continued from page 1

The approval comes a dayafter the U.S. drugmaker report-ed that remdesivir showed

modest benefit in patients withmoderate COVID-19 given afive-day course, while thosewho received it for 10 days inthe study did not fare as well.

Two held forsmuggling...

Continued from page 1

Two recruiters conductedonline examinations andinterviews for HCU students.For the next few months, onlyvirtual recruitment will takeplace. HCU campus recruit-ment director Rajiv Vankheersaid that efforts are on to holdnegotiations with employersto persuade them to conductcampus recruitment.

Because of the impact ofCorona on companies, eventhose who were recruitedbetween December andFebruary are worried abouttheir jobs as not all of themhave received appointmentletters.

Some of the students ofIIIT, BITS-Pilani and HCUhave been placed with anannual package of over Rs 45lakh.

Corona drainscampus...

Man leaps infront of KCRconvoy...

198 migrants died inroad accidents during...Continued from page 1

At 94, UP reported thelargest road fatalities, followedby Madhya Pradesh (38),Bihar (16), Telangana (11)and Maharashtra (9).

Of the four phases of thelockdown, the fourth was themost lethal overall, the thirdwas the deadliest for migrantworkers with 60 per cent ofdeaths.

During the 68-day lock-down, 1,390 people werereportedly injured in road

accidents. UP topped the listwith 30 per cent (245) injuries,followed by Telangana (56),MP (56), Bihar (43), Punjab(38) and Maharashtra (36).

Among all, 68 per centdeaths involved pedestrians,two-wheelers and three-wheelers that are categorisedas vulnerable road users.

"With Covid-19 still around,we simply can't afford to bur-den the overburdened health-care system with road crashrelated trauma," said Piyush,CEO of SaveLIFE Foundation.

4 deaths, 99 new covid...Continued from page 1

Three persons in Medchaltested positive, apart from twoin Nalgonda and one each inMahabubnagar, Jagityal,Mancherial, Sangareddy andSiddipet. Till date 92 deathshave been reported in the state.Of the 4 persons who suc-cumbed on Tuesday, one is a42-year-old male with pre-existing cardiac problem and41-year-old male with knownmorbidity of thyroid. A 70-year-old female with known

hypertension and another 60year-old-female with knownhypertension also succumbedto the virus. About 35 personswere discharged on Tuesday,taking the tally to 1,526 dis-charged patients. In all, 1,273patients are being treated inhospitals in the state. At amedical health review held atBRKR Bhavan, Health MinisterEatala Rajender instructed offi-cials to create and implementspecial procedures for medicalstaff in the wake of increasingcorona positive cases.

TS to Centre:Drop power bill

HYDERABAD | WEDNESDAY | JUNE 3, 2020 hyderabad 03

RIME ORNERC

Techie commitssuicide over family disputes

HYDERABAD: A 35-year-oldtechie committed suicide bydrowning himself in a lake atKPHB on Tuesday. The victimwas identified as MaddelaSrinivas, a software employeewith an MNC, residing atMettuguda of Secunderabad.According to the police, Srinivasand his wife Alekhya quarreledover family disputes on May 30.However, immediately all familymembers intervened andpacified them and sorted out theissue. On Monday, Srinivas lefthome on his two wheeler on thepretext of dropping his sister ather house but did return. In thisregard, on Tuesday, his wifeAlekhya, went to the ChilkalgudaPolice station to lodge a missingperson complaint. Meanwhile,they received informationthrough the KPHB Police that amale dead body was found inthe Bathukamma lake at KPHBcolony along with a two wheelerparked on the lake's shore. Thefamily then went to the lake andidentified the body as that ofSrinivas. The family said thatSrinivas was under a lot ofmental stress due to theconstant quarreling with his wifeover family issues and hadtaken the extreme step over this.The KPHB Police registered acase and are investigating theincident.

Fraudsters dupeman of Rs 2 lakh

HYDERABAD: A man fromBanjara Hills was duped of RsRs 2.3 lakh over a period of fewmonths by cyber fraudsters.According to the police, thevictim received an email inJanuary from a person whointroduced himself as John andsaid that he wanted to distributemoney among the poor in Indiaand sought the help of thevictim. The two were in touchwith each other for threemonths after which John toldthe victim that he was comingto India and would call himonce he reached Delhi. Soon,the fraudster called the victimand claimed to have beenstopped by law enforcementagencies at the airport. Heasked the victim to help him ingetting released and asked himto send some moneyimmediately to pay the officials.Believing John, the victimtransferred Rs 2.30 lakh ininstallments to different bankaccounts. He grew suspiciouswhen he was asked for moremoney, after which heapproached the police. TheCyber Crime police ofHyderabad registered a caseand began an investigation.

Cops detain 7 forthrowing garbage on roads in city

HYDERABAD: The KPHB Policedetained seven persons whowere found throwing garbageon the roads under the policestation limits on Tuesday.According to the Police, thedetained persons were caughtby the Police and produced theKukatpally GHMC ZonalCommissioner, Mamatha, fornecessary action. Accordinglythe Commissioner GHMC, eachindividual was imposed a fine ofRs 1000 and then let off.

Minor boy killsgrandmother forpension money

HYDERABAD: A 16-year-oldboy, addicted to alcohol, killedhis grandmother after sherefused to give him her pensionamount at Moinabad. Thedeceased woman was identifiedas 65-year-old KavaliVenkatamma, residing atSriram Nagar of Moinabad withher daughter in law andgrandchildren. According tothe police, after the death ofher son in an accident, his wifeand children were living withher for 10 years. Her secondgrandson, 16 years of age, is aschool dropout and is addictedto bad vices includingconsuming alcohol. He wasaware that she was drawingAasara pension distributed bythe state government. OnSunday night, he came homeand demanded money fromher. When Venkatammarefused, he killed by stranglingher with a belt and fled fromthe spot. On Monday,neighbors informed the policewho rushed to the spot andbegan an investigation. TheMoinabad police registered amurder case and areinvestigating. Efforts are on tonab the teen who isabsconding, said the police.

PNS n HYDERABAD

Many areas of the city havebecome water logged follow-ing rains.

Residents fear what wouldbe the fate of the city, if heavyrains were to lash during thecurrent monsoon season fromthe second week of June. Thewater-logging in the city isattributed to encroachmentson nalas, depositing debris inthem leading to flooding oflow-lying areas.

The GHMC has identified30 major and 50 minor water-logging areas and flooding ofat least 100 slums during rainyseason. Raj Bhavan, Assemblybuilding, Ameerpet, Nizampetand Ramanthapur regionswere figured as frequentlyinundated areas.

Though the Greater Hyd-erabad Municipal Corporationclaims to have evolved a mon-soon action plan, it only

remains on paper as no con-crete works have been takenup, it is alleged.

The GHMC drew up mon-soon action plan allocating Rs25 crore for various works. Itconstituted 167 special teams,including mini mobile mon-soon teams, mobile monsoonteams, zonal emergency teamsequipping each of the teamswith men and machines.

In all, 24 teams have beenconstituted in LB Nagar, 30 inKhairatabad, 18 in Serilin-

gampally, 23 in Kukatpally, 35in Secunderabad.

It may be recalled that thecity experienced 22 cm rain-fall in September of 2016inundating at least over 10 res-idential colonies in Nizampetarea and hundreds of slums.Water logged on the city roadsfor about one week. The con-ditions were even worse inlow-lying areas. Similar situ-ation was encountered inAugust, 2000. The GHMCidentified that lack of channel

for flow of flood waters,depositing building debris inflood canals, construction ofhouses in tank beds were thereasons for the flooding.

To study the problem and tooffer solution, the GHMCappointed Kirloskar Comm-ittee. Earlier, the TelanganaState Development andPlanning Society in associa-tion with Mumbai IIT expertsconducted a comprehensivestudy on flooding of the city.The experts suggested anaction plan to the GHMC tocontrol flooding, but therewas no change in the situation.

The society called for emu-lating the Coimbatore modelof building huge rainwaterharvesting structures in fre-quently water logged areas tocheck the flooding. It alsohelped increase the groundwater levels. Experts suggestemulating the Coimbatoremodel.

The committee submittedits report in 2003 advising theMunicipal Corporation ofHyderabad to develop thenalas. The committee reportdealt with major nalas in the170 square km area. Later, theofficials urged the committeein 2006 to prepare micro levelflood water managementaction plan.

But, in 2007 the MCHbecame the GHMC increasingthe area of the city to 625square km.

Therefore the GHMC usedthe services of VoyantsSolutions Limited, a consul-tancy firm in urban develop-ment to evolve a comprehen-sive master plan, micro levelstorm water flow networkplan, a comprehensive projectreport to modernise the majorand minor nalas.

The consultancy firm feltthat Rs 10,000 crore will beneeded to development city.

GHMC monsoon plan remains on paper

PNS n HYDERABAD

The internet was emulatingChief Minister KChandrasekhar Rao's newfashion statement 'sella' onTuesday.

KCR has become a trendset-ter, due to his new garment -'sella' (towel) wrapped aroundhis neck. He is using it as amask as a precaution againstCoronavirus.

Apart from following thefootsteps of the CM, in a bidto promote handloom,#SelfiewithSella was trendingonline by TRS party folks onTuesday. Several netizens andTRS activists posted their self-ies with the Sella and urgedpeople to support weavers ofSircilla. Minister SingireddyNiranjan Reddy who wore theSella on Tuesday tweeted thatKCR stands by weavers and

Telangana society will stand byCM.

Speaking about the trend,TRS leader Krishank Mannesaid, "Apart from Mondayhandloom initiated by K TRama Rao, KCR has set thetrend with the Sella.

"KTR's special interests onhandloom have reduced manysuicides of weavers which werelarge in number," Krishankadded.

Telugu people generally have

a pride in having a stole(Kanduva) around the shoul-der. Sella will also suffice thepurpose mask during thisCovid season. This will alsohelp giving work orders to ourhandloom weavers which iswhy TRS activists on socialmedia started this campaign."

Due to CM's fashion state-ment, the demand to Sella hasseen a rise in Sircilla. With thisdemand, the power loom andtextile units in Sircilla havereceived bulk orders for Sellafrom TRS party leaders,activists and even privateagencies.

A sella costs from Rs 55 toRs 155 based on the size.Guntuka Koteshwar, a weaver,said he made stoles for theChief Minister and added thathe had received an order tomake another 1,600 stolesfrom the CM.

State celebrates formationday under shadow of CovidSubdued merrymaking in all Telangana districts PNS n HYDERABAD

India's youngest stateTelangana on Tuesday cele-brated sixth formation dayunder the shadow ofCoronavirus.

The usual pomp and gaietywas missing as the occasionwas marked with muted cele-brations in view of the ongo-ing lockdown to check thespread of Covid-19.

Chief Minister K.Chandrashekhar Rao led thelow-key celebrations by payingtributes at Telangana Martyrs'Memorial Gun Park nearAssembly building in the heartof the city.

KCR, as the Chief Ministeris popularly known, laid awreath to pay tributes to thosewho laid down their lives forachieving separate statehoodto Telangana.

Chief Secretary SomeshKumar, Director General ofPolice Mahender Reddy,senior officials, public repre-sentatives and leaders of rul-ing Telangana Rashtra Samithi(TRS) were present.

KCR later hoisted thenational flag at Pragati Bhavan,the official residence of theChief Minister in the presenceof senior officials and TRSleaders. Every year, the ChiefMinister used to unfurl the tri-colour at a public ceremonyand address the gathering,recalling the sacrifices madeduring Telangana movementand the progress achieved bythe new state.

Subdued celebrations werealso held in 32 other districtsof the state. The Ministers orother public representativesled the celebrations in districtheadquarters. Wearing masksand following social distanc-ing, a limited number of pub-lic representatives and officialsparticipated in the ceremonies.

The celebrations were alsoheld at the offices of politicalparties. TRS General SecretaryK. Keshava Rao hoisted thenational flag at the party head-quarters Telangana Bhavan.

State Congress chief UttamKumar Reddy led the celebra-tions at the party headquartersGandhi Bhavan. Speaking onthe occasion, he said the cred-it for making Telangana statea reality goes to party presi-

dent Sonia Gandhi. Heslammed KCR for what hecalled autocratic rule.

Telangana was carved out ofAndhra Pradesh on June 2,2014. It came into existence asthe 29th state following a longstruggle, which was revived byKCR in 2001 by floating TRS.

The movement intensifiedin 2009 following the death ofthen chief minister of undivid-ed Andhra Pradesh YSRajasekhara Reddy in a heli-copter crash. KCR's fast-unto-death and massive protestsforced then Congress-ledUnited Progressive Alliance(UPA) to announce onDecember 9, 2009 that theprocess for formation ofTelangana state will be initiat-ed. The Centre later tried toput the issue on the back-burner, citing the need forwider consultations.

CM KCR sets trend with ‘Sella’

Schools ask students to equipthemselves with smartphones PNS n HYDERABAD

The corporate and privateschools in the city have beenadvising the students to pro-cure smartphones, tabs andlaptops along with data asthey are going to begin onlineclasses from first week ofJune. They have been askedparents to be prepared for thesame.

As announced earlier, thenew academic year shouldbegin from June 12. The gov-ernment has said that it willtake a decision on reopeningof schools in July. As per therules there should be a max-imum of 40 students in a classroom. The running of class-es will become difficultbecause of Covid rules. Theschool managements wantto conduct online classes for

20 students. The schools haveformed WhatsApp groupsand giving them homeworkand clarifying their doubts.

Plans are afoot to conductonline classes for at least fourhours a day. Some schoolshave decidedto conducttwo and halfhours inmornings andone and halfhours in theafternoons.

S o m eschools havedecided tohave sessionfrom 9 amto 1 pm.The poorand middleclass students arefinding it difficult to

cope up with the online class-es.

If there are two children ina family, their problems aremany. To purchase smartphones and tabs they have tospend over Rs 10,000. The

schools suggest that thetabs should have at least2 GB data for streamingof lessons speedily.Because of the lockdown

conditions, the databeing consumedper month is beof the order of120 GB to 200GB. To con-sume 200 GBof data, thef a m i l ys h o u l d

spend atleast Rs

500.

PNS n HYDERABAD

The Covid positive cases fromOsmania medical college haveincreased to 12 with 4morePGs testing positive onTuesday.

The fresh cases were report-ed after all 296 medicos stay-ing in OMC hostels werescreened for Covid-19.

Sources said that the resultsof samples of only 100 studentshave come while the testresults of the remainingmedicos were expected onWednesday.

According to the principalDr Sasikala, students havecontacted the disease at work.

She said, "Of the 17, 7 werefrom MGM Petlaburj gov-ernment maternity hospitaland others from ENT, skindermatalogy. Our PGs areposted duties at Osmania affil-iated hospitals. They mighthave contracted it throughpatients. Even if doctors woremask, there is every possibil-ity for risk and exposure.Many doctors were tested pos-itive due to contact withpatients, while only couple ofthem came in contact".

The OMC authorities haveshut down reading room as aprecautionary measure andasked the medicos to usePersonal ProtectionEquipment (PPE) kits whileexamining the patients.

The Covid-19 cases havesent panic among students ata time when they were prepar-ing for PG examinations.

Authorities have assuredthem that special arrange-ments would be made for thestudents tested positive towrite the exams.

Several PG students urgedthe government to postponethe exams scheduled to beheld on June20. Principal said,"Regarding post-graduationexamination we are awaitingreply from DME, HealthMinister and vice chancellor.The exams will be held as perthe schedule, until we get anyinformation. They are likely toinform us about their decisionon Tuesday."

5 more PGs of OMC test Corona positive

The Covid caseshave sent panicamong students ata time when theywere preparing forPG examinations

PNS n HYDERABAD

Uber announced it has set upa sanitisation hub at the RajivGandhi International Airportin partnership with GMRHyderabad InternationalAirport Limited (GHIAL) todisinfect Uber cars beforeevery single trip, using state-of-the-art equipment anddisinfectants, for settingexemplary safety standardsfor riders and drivers.

The sanitisation hub inairport has been set up at theUber Pick-up point.

Sharing details of the part-nership, Pavan Vaish, Head ofCentral Operations, Ubersaid, "As cities begin toreopen and people start mov-ing again, Uber is committedto providing exemplary safe-ty standards for its riders anddrivers. We have constantlyimproved our safety proce-dures and product experienceto prevent contaminationrisks and to reinforce a deeplyembedded bond of trust withriders and drivers."

While the sanitisation hubwill offer contactless service,Uber offers digital and con-tactless payment options. Asper Uber's policy, face masksare mandatory for both dri-vers and riders. Disinfectedcar doors and boots will beopened only by drivers tominimise rider contact.

Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao greets Governor Dr Tamilisai Soundarajanon her birthday at Raj Bhavan on Tuesday

CM greets Governoron her birthdayPNS n HYDERABAD

Chief Minister KChandrasekhar Rao has con-veyed birthday wishes toGovernor Dr TamilisaiSoundarajan.

The CM visited Raj Bhavanon Tuesday morning and pre-sented a bouquet to theGovernor.

KCR wished that theGovernor should lead ahealthy and long life. TheGovernor conveyed her wish-es on the occasion of the Stateformation day. Soundarajansaid she is happy that herbirthday and state's formationday are on the same day. She

said it was destiny that shebecame Governor of a state,which was formed on June 2,the day she was born.

On this occasion, issuespertaining to the state forma-tion came between the CMand the Governor. She saidthat after the movement forIndependence, movement forthe Telangana statehood wouldremain as the longest strugglein the country.

The CM said that so manypeople have given their livesfor the formation of TS. Hesaid it was only after payingtributes to the martyrs, thestate flag is hoisted on the for-mation day.

Hyderabad tobe world classcity: ArvindPNS n HYDERABAD

The seventh anniversary ofTelangana Formation Daywas celebrated with patriot-ic fervour in various stategovernment institutions andcommercial organisationsacross the city on Tuesday.

Hoisting the national tri-colour at the celebrationsheld in the HMDA office inTarnaka, HMDA commis-sioner Ar vind Kumarreminded the employees thattheir responsibility withregard to urban planning,infrastructure development,monitoring of projects andother city developmentactivities increased mani-fold.

Arvind Kumar exudedconfidence of groomingHyderabad as world classcity provided the HMDAofficials and employees dis-charge their duties efficient-ly. Therefore, he exhortedthem to work with sincerityand commitment. Heencouraged senior employ-ees of the HMDA retiring inJune to address the col-leagues from the dais.

Evolve policy to dealwith migrants: HCPNS n HYDERABAD

The Telangana High Court onTuesday asked the state gov-ernment to evolve comprehen-sive policy to deal withmigrant workers both present-ly, as well as to deal with themeven in future, considering thefact that a disaster can strikethe State, or the Nation unan-nounced.

It has also asked the stategovernment to evolve a sim-pler form of registrationprocess and data collection fortheir transportation on Sramiktrains and special trains, or onRTC buses by taking into con-sideration the fact that themigrant workers were illiter-ate, who hail from neighbour-ing states and were non-Telugu speaking people aswell.

It also directed the stategovernment to seriously con-sider the use of RTC buses totransport the migrant workersto their respective states with-out any fare.

The HC has directed thedeputy commissioners oflabour department of the stateto inspect the brick kilns func-tioning in their jurisdiction tofind out the number of theworkers who are stillemployed in the kilns and thenumber or workers who wantsto return to their homes. It alsoasked the deputy commis-sioners to make arrangementsfor the transportation of thebrick kiln workers.

It asked the authorities toprovide medical facilities topregnant women, lactatingmothers and old age people atthe shelter homes.

Uber partnerswith RGIA tosanitise cars

Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao pays floral tributes to martyrs at theMartyrs Memorial at Gun Park in Hyderabad on Tuesday.

The GHMCdrew upmonsoonaction planallocating Rs 25 crore forvarious worksin the city

Former Minister Shabbir Ali addresses a press conference at Gandhi Bhavan

PNS n HYDERABAD

Former Minister and ex-leader of Opposition inLegislative CouncilMohammed Ali Shabbir hasalleged that Chief Minister KChandrashekhar Rao hasshattered dream of Telanganaand ruined the lives of its cit-izens during the last six years.

Addressing a press confer-ence at Gandhi Bhavan afterparticipating in the flag hoist-ing on the occasion ofTelangana Formation Day onMonday, Shabbir Ali said thatthe statehood for Telanganawas the result of six-decadelong struggle which was full ofsacrifices by youth, studentsand other people.

Congress President SoniaGandhi granted statehood forTelangana as she wanted theregion to achieved "Neellu,Nidhulu, Niyaamakaalu"(water, funds and jobs).However, he said that thenew state, immediately afterits formation, fell into KCR'strap who lured people with bigpromises. Within a span of sixyears, he turned the state intoa dictatorship by dismantlingall

democratic institutions andcrushing all voices of dissent.

Shabbir Ali strongly con-demned the arrest of topCongress leaders on theFormation Day.

"Is it not strange that theleaders of Congress party,which granted statehood forTelangana, were arrested onthe pretext of stopping a pos-sible protest against injusticesto the State? This will beremembered as Black Day inthe history of Telangana," hesaid. The Congress leaderssaid that TRS Government haswasted over Rs. 2 lakh crore inthe name of new or re-designed projects. However, itdid not spend only Rs. 20,000crore to complete the pendingproject, he said.

Shabbir said thatthe statehood wasthe result of six-decade longstruggle whichwas full ofsacrifices bystudents

TRS government ruinedcitizens’ lives: Shabbir

HYDERABAD | WEDNESDAY | JUNE 3, 2020 hyderabad 04

Govt clampdown scuttlesCongress ‘deeksha’ planPNS n HYDERABAD

The Telangana PradeshCongress Committee's much-publicised plan to hold deek-shas against pending projectson Tuesday was tactically scut-tled by the state governmentwhich clamped down on theparty by resorting to housearrests of its prominent leadersand rounding up activistsacross the state.

The police resorted to housearrests and arrests much beforethe party members could reachthe so-called 'pending projectsites', resulting in mild tensionat the protest venues.

The Chinthapalli policearrested Congress MP fromBhongir Komatireddy VenkatReddy when he tried to visitSLBC project, along with for-mer CLP leader K Jana Reddy.Komatireddy and Jana Reddythen sat on the road there itself,protesting the attitude of thepolice.

Komatireddy and a fewCongress activists receivedmild injuries during the push-ing and jostling that took placewhen Congress activists wereprevented by police personnelto enter the GodakondalaDrinking Water Supply Projectarea.

Speaking on the occasion,Komatireddy alleged that it isatrocious on the part of thepolice to obstruct Congressleaders from visiting SLBCproject. "The Congress hadstriven to achieve Telangana,but Doras are ruling the state,"he observed.

Komatireddy condemnedthe police for obstructing pub-lic representatives from mov-ing in their own districts."KCR is insulting Congressleaders intentionally. Today isno formation day of Telangana,but black day", he remarked.KCR is looting Telangana inthe name of projects. Police aretroubling Congress leaders in

the name of corona rules. Thegovernment did not give per-mission to celebrate stateFormation Day at Devarak-onda Congress office, he said.

TPCC chief N Uttam KumarReddy, who left Hyderabad andjoined Congress leaders atMall, alleged that the TRSgovernment had insulted pub-lic representatives on the day ofTelangana's formation. KCRhad no intention of completingthe pending projects. Therewas no objection from thepolice when thousands gath-ered at Kondapochamma Sagarproject inaugural; however,KCR was afraid of threeCongress leaders gathering,

he remarked. "KCR is afraid ofSLBC project. The projects arenot being completed due tonegligent attitude of KCR. Wewill take the corrupt practicesof KCR to people", he said.

Jana Reddy said that the gov-ernment was neglecting pend-ing projects, though theCongress had demanded com-pletion of the projects.

Tension prevailed at DrNagam Janardhan Reddy's res-idence for some time. Therewas heated exchange betweenpolice and Nagam when copsput him under house arrest.

The police put severalCongress leaders under housearrest including MP A RevanthReddy in Kodangal, AICC sec-retaries SA Sampath Kumar,Ch Vamshi Chand Reddy, for-mer Minister P Laxmaiah andothers at their residences.

Puts leaders under house arrest, rounds up activists across the state

TPCC chief Uttam Kumar Reddy, MP Komatireddy Venkat Reddy and senior leaderK Jana Reddy at police station after cops arrested them on Tuesday

Telangana BJP chief Bandi Sanjay along with other BJP leaders pays floral tributes to martyrs at Gun Park on Tuesday.

Cops stopped theirvehicles and madeit clear that theywould not beallowed to travelto SLBC tunnel toavoid gathering ofpeople in violationof Covid-19 rules

‘Will begin a movementto fulfil martyrs' goals'PNS n HYDERABAD

Telangana BJP Chief BandiSanjay Kumar stated that amovement will be taken up toprotect the democracy inTelangana which was heldcaptive in the hands of theChief Minister.

Telangana CM KChandrashekar Rao andAndhra Pradesh ChiefMinister YS Jagan MohanReddy entered into secret pactfor the sake of commissions,Sanjay alleged.

BJP would wage fight onbehalf of people to bury KCR'sarrogant and selfish politics,Sanjay said adding that the BJPwould take up a movement tofulfill martyrs' goals. He calledupon the people to extendtheir support to the BJP to putan end to KCR's selfish poli-tics.

State formation day celebra-tions were held in grand note

in Telangana state BJP officeon Tuesday. Bandi SanjayKumar, Dr G Vivek, PonguletiSudhakar Reddy and otherleaders participated in theprogramme. Sanjay hoistedthe national flag on the occa-sion and later paid floral trib-utes to martyrs at Gun Park.

Addressing the gathering,Bandi Sanjay Kumar allegedthat KCR is passing time bydeceiving people.

The aspirations of martyrshave not yet fulfilled thoughseveral youngsters laid theirlives for the achievement ofTelangana. However, ChiefMinister K ChandrasekharRao didn't fulfill a single assur-ance though the people keptTelangana in the hands of

KCR, Sanjay said.He alleged, "KCR disap-

pointed unemployed youthby not fulfilling vacant posts.Education and health sectorswere totally destroyed.

TRS government behavednegligently in regard to inter-mediate students. KCR noteven consoled the 21 bereavedfamilies of intermediate stu-dents. He also deceivedemployees and teachers.

He achieved votes by assur-ing schemes like RythuBandhu but he didn't giveRythu Bandhu to all the farm-ers." KCR also deceived farm-ers in regard to loan waiverscheme. He didn't start imple-mentation of the scheme,Sanjay pointed out.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Vice President M VenkaiahNaidu and Prime MinisterNarendra Modi on Tuesdayextended greetings onTelangana's statehood day, say-ing the state is making valuablecontribution to the country'sgrowth trajectory. The PrimeMinister also extended bestwishes to the people of Andhra

Pradesh, saying their hardworkand courage are synonymouswith the culture of the land."The state's role in India'sgrowth is deeply valued.Wishing the citizens of the statethe very best for their futureendeavours," Modi wrote onTwitter. Telangana was carvedout of Andhra Pradesh in2014 under the AndhraPradesh Reorganisation Act.

V-P, PM greet people onTelangana statehood day

Heavy rainfall alert for Telangana...Continued from page 1

Hyderabad received about 3.1mm rainfall. Temperatures havecome down with maximum of

40.4oC recorded at Nalgonda andKothagudem. Hyderabad record-ed 34.5oC. IMD noted that theSouth-west monsoon is likely tospread over the next 24 hours.

PNS n SIDDIPET

Finance Minister T HarishRao has taken exception toTPCC president N UttamKumar Reddy's criticismagainst Kaleswaram project.

It may be recalled theUttam Kumar Reddyremarked saying that theKalemswarm project did notwet even one acre of land.

Refuting the allegationson Tuesday, Harish Raoquipped saying thatKaleswaram waters could notbe seen sitting pretty inGandhi Bhavan.

In an emotion-chokedvoice, he questioned whatabout the tanks full withwater up to the brim andcrops being harvested byfarmers. It is better for him tospeak with the farmers toascertain whether theyreceived water fromKaleswaram project or not.

Lands in Suryapeta andWarangal districts receivedirrigation facility on accountof the Kaleswaram project.

Lakhs of people daily seeon TV and print media pub-lishing reports in headlinesabout how Godavari water iscourses through irrigationchannels, distributaries,minor canals and distributioncanals.

He sought to knowwhether Uttam Kumar Reddyis levelling allegations out ofignorance or intentionally.

Centretransfers forest land toTS Irrigation PNS n HYDERABAD

The Central governmenthas issued orders onTuesday transferring 27.9hectares of forest land tothe state IrrigationDepartment.

The state governmenthas decided to constructbarrage on River Godavarito supply water continu-ously to Devadula project.

For this, it became nec-essary to procure forestland in Eturu Nagaramand Venkatapuram forestdivisions in Mulugu man-dal. Based on the requestgiven by the state govern-ment, the Centre had trans-ferred the forestland to thestate's IrrigationDepartment. With this, theCentre gave the final envi-ronmental permission tothe barrage construction.

Bandi Sanjay called upon people toextend their support to the BJP to putan end to KCR's selfish politics

Development as importantas statehood, says Pocharam PNS n HYDERABAD

Assembly Speaker PocharamSrinivasa Reddy on Tuesdayhoisted the national tricolouron the premises of the StateLegislative Assembly on theoccasion of the seventh forma-tion day of Telangana andgreeted the people of the stateon the occasion. June 2 is sig-nificant for the people ofTelangana in the same fashionas August 15 and January 26are for the people of the coun-try, he said. Earlier, he paid flo-ral tributes to MahatmaGandhi and BR Ambedkar.

Long-drawn struggles forTelangana stretching over sev-eral decades, sacrifices madeby martyrs, KCR's persever-ance led to fulfilling the dreamof the millions of the people of

the region - statehood toTelangana, he said

Development of the state

and achieving statehood toTelangana are equally impor-tant, he said. In fact, ChiefMinister K ChandrasekharRao has been delivering morethan expected from him by thepeople, he said.

Moreover, the CM is imple-menting the unprecedentedschemes for welfare of farmersand for the development ofagriculture sector, he said.The Telangana State LegislativeAssembly set an example forother states to emulate by tak-ing up meaningful discussionsand debates to find solutions topeople's problems, he said.Chairman of the LegislativeCouncil Gutta SukhenderReddy, several MLCs, assem-bly secretary Dr VNarasimhacharyulu and otherswere present.

FM takes exception to Uttam’sremarks against Kaleswaram

Assembly Speaker Srinivasa Reddypays tributes to Gandhi at Assembly

‘KCR solvedfluorideproblem inNalgonda’PNS n SURYAPET

Minister for Energy GJagadish Reddy has saidthat the thermal power sta-tion coming up atDamaracharla and industri-al park at Gudimalkapur areindices of development ofundivided Nalgonda dis-trict. He said the two pro-jects pace up the develop-ment of the district besidescreating jobs for the unem-ployed. Speaking after hosit-ing the national tricolour atSuryapet district collectorateon Tuesday, he pointed outthat the fluorine problem inundivided Nalgonda dis-trict was solved within sixyears of coming to power inthe state. He thanked theMission Bhagiradha schemefor solving the problem.The round the clock powersupply to agriculture bene-fited most the farmers ofundivided Nalgonda dis-trict, he said.

Minister for Energy G JagadishReddy hoists tricolour at Suryapetdistrict collectorate on Tuesday

KRMB calls meeting as AP,TS square off over water Continued from page 1

On the agenda are discus-sions on technical issues likesubmission of DPRs of WaterResources Projects in Krishnabasin by both the govern-ments for appraisal.

The KRMB reminded thatthe first Apex Council meet-ing was held on September 21,2016 on the directions of theSupreme Court on the basis ofa writ petition with respect toconstruction of two new pro-jects namely, Palamuru-Ranga Reddy LIS and DindiLIS contemplated byTelangana. After detailed dis-cussions, it was decided thatdue to divergent positionstaken by both the States onthis issue, Apex Councilmeeting may be convened asand when required to resolvethe issue.

In a subsequent meeting

held on February 15, 2018,the Ministry of WaterResources advised both theStates to submit the DPRs ofall new projects in theKrishna basin to the KRMB,for appraisal and clearancefrom Apex Council as per theAP Reorganisation Act, 2014.

During the eighth meetingof the Board held on June 6,2018, both the states agreed tofurnish the DPRs of the newprojects for appraisal andtechnical clearance by KRMB.However, no DPRs have beenreceived in KRMB so far.

During the meeting heldon January 21, 2020 to discussvarious issues of KRMB, itwas decided that the matter ofsubmission of DPRs would beplaced before the ApexCouncil for decision in thisregard duly mentioning theviews of both the States andthe views of the Centre.

HYDERABAD | WEDNESDAY | JUNE 3, 2020 nation 05

SHORT READS

10 NDRF teams deployedas cyclonic stormapproaches: Maha CMMUMBAI: Ten teams of theNational Disaster ResponseForce (NDRF) have beendeployed for rescue operationsin view of the 'Nisarga' cyclone,which is likely to hit the westcoast of Maharashtra onWednesday, Chief MinisterUddhav Thackeray said onTuesday. Elaborating about thegovernment's preparedness forthe approaching cyclonicstorm, the Chief Minister'sOffice (CMO) tweeted that analert has been issued forMumbai city and suburbs,Thane, Palghar, Raigad,Ratnagiri and Sindhudurgdistricts. It also said precau-tions will be taken during reliefwork given the prevalence ofCOVID-19. "Out of the 16 NDRFunits, 10 have been deployedfor rescue operation during thecyclone, and 6 SDRF units arein reserve," the CMO said in agraphic shared on Twitter.

19 killed in landslides in Assam

Special train with over1,200 workers leavesIndore for WBINDORE: A 'Shramik' specialtrain carrying 1,250 strandedmigrant workers left Indore inMadhya Pradesh on Tuesdayfor Bardhaman in West Bengal,a Western Railway (WR) officialsaid. The train is scheduled tohalt at Bhopal to pick up nearly350 more labourers during itsjourney via Durgapur andAsansol, he said. The MadhyaPradesh government has madearrangements to send backmigrant workers from WBstranded in different parts ofthe central Indian state due tothe coronavirus-drivenlockdown since March 25.These workers were hiredprimarily by cosmetic industryin Indore, the commercialcapital of Madhya Pradesh. MPChief Minister Shivraj SinghChouhan on May 17 hadwritten a letter to his WestBengal counterpart MamataBanerjee, asking her to requestthe Railway Ministry to runspecial trains to ferry strandedmigrant workers from his state.

GUWAHATI/ KARIMGANJ/SILCHAR: At least 19 peoplewere killed and two othersseriously injured in landslidestriggered by incessant rains insouth Assam's Barak valleydistricts of Hailakandi,Karimganj and Cachar onTuesday morning, officials said.Seven people, including twochildren and a woman, werekilled and two others seriouslyinjured in a landslide that hit atin house at Mohanpur areanear Bolobabazar in Hailkandidistrict around 6 am, said aspokesman of the districtadministration. The injured wererushed to the S K Civil Hospitalat district headquartersHailakandi. In neighbouringKarimganj district, five familymembers, including a womanand three children, were killedin another landslide at Karimpuraround 3.30 am, said districtSuperintendent of Police KumarSanjit Krishna. In Cachar distri-ct, seven people were killed bylandslides at Kolapur village ofJaypur, police officials said.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Rajkumari, a resident of UttarPradesh's Gonda has arrived atthe New Delhi railway stationalong with all the belongings ofher rented house to go back toher native place. She says shewill never return as there is nowork here.

However, Rajkumari's woesdon't end here, as she has awaiting ticket for the trainleaving for Varanasi.

Speaking to IANS, she said,"We don't have any work here.And as there is no income weare unable to pay the rent."

"We are not going to comeback to Delhi and it is the rea-son why we are going back toour village with all our belong-ings," she said. She said that herhusband works as a dailylabourer and now as they don'thave any work so there is noneed to stay back here.

She said that she will go back

to her village and will do farm-ing in the fields as the seasonof sowing rice is coming.

Rajkumari is travelling backto her village along with herhusband and two children andhave booked the ticket onTuesday morning from theNew Delhi passenger reserva-tion counter.

Similar is the condition ofMukesh a resident of UttarPradesh's Deoria. He said that

he wil not return to Delhi forat least one and half years.

Speaking to IANS, he said, "Ihave to go to Deoria with mybelongings, and I have beenrunning to ticket counters tobook a ticket. But I am unableto get a ticket."

He said that he was tired ofrunning from one counter toanother counter. "I am gettingtired as the heat is unbearableand we are sitting on the main

road," he said.When asked where he

worked before the nationwidelockdown was announced tocombat the spread of novelcoronavirus (Covid-19), hesaid, "I used to work in asewing factory and as the workis shut I have no option ratherthan to return to my home.

"I am living here with threeof my family members, so it istough for me to feed themwithout any work," Mukeshadded.

The Indian Railways haspartially started the services of200 more trains from Mondaybesides the 15 pairs of air con-

ditioned trains.Even the norms of the social

distancing outside the New Delhirailway station went for a toss asthe people entering the stationpremises were standing justinches away from each other.

The railways has suspendedthe passenger, mail and expresstrain services on March 25.However, it started running theShramik Special trains to trans-port the stranded migrantworkers, pilgrims, students andtourists across the country.Since May 1, the railways hastransported over 56 lakhmigrant workers across thecountry in over 4,000 Shramik

Special trains.The railways also started to

run 15 pairs of Special trainsfrom New Delhi to differentparts of the country.

According to railway min-istry officials, by 10 a.m. onTuesday over 1.77 lakh passen-gers booked tickets for the200 special time tabled trains.

Jagdish, a reisdent of Gaya inBihar, who used to work in a sun-mica factory said that he was alsoreturning back to his home as heis unable to meet the demands ofhis family with the wage cut.

Speaking to IANS, he said,"We are getting very less salaryand the landlords in whosehome we reisded here didn'twaive the rent. So that is thereason why I am going back tomy native place."

When asked if he shallreturn back, he said, "First Iwant to reach home then onlywe can decide if we will comeback or not."

Migrant workers going back on trains vow not to returnRajkumari is travelling back to hervillage along with her husband and twochildren and booked the ticket onTuesday morning from the New Delhipassenger reservation counter

PNS n LUCKNOW

Bahujan Samaj Party chiefMayawati on Tuesday saidprotests in the US after thedeath of George Floyd, anAfrican-American man, are aclear message to the world thata common man's life has value.

She said this is also guaran-teed by the India Constitution,but the governments don't fol-low it, resulting in the currentplight of migrants workers.

Floyd, a 46-year-old restau-rant worker from Houston,died in Minneapolis onMonday after a white policeofficer pinned him to theground. Video footage showedthe officer kneeling on Floyd'sneck as he gasped for breath,sparking widespread protestsacross the US.

"Floyd's killing by policeand the 'Black lives matter' agi-tation in the US have given aclear message to the world thata common man's life has value

and it should not be taken forgranted," Mayawati said in atweet in Hindi.

"India's constitution guar-antees independence, security,self-respect and pride and gov-ernments should give specialattention to it. If it was followed,crores of migrants labourerswould not have to witness suchbad days," she added.

She also demanded bettercoordination between states to

check the spread of coron-avirus and said the Centreshould intervene.

"While coronavirus patientsare rising, there is a lack of coor-dination between states andwith the Centre, and allegationand counter allegations aregoing on. The sealing of stateborders is unjustified and it isweakening the fight against thevirus. The Centre should inter-vene," she said in separate tweet.

Lockdown derails livelihood,porters want work, support PNS n NEW DELHI

Trains may be getting back ontrack but not the lives of railporters, scrambling for workafter the lockdown in Marchslammed the brakes on theirlivelihoods and derailed theiralready precarious existence.

Imprinted in middle classIndia's institutional memorywith their red shirts and cop-per armbands, the band ofmostly men who carry heavybags on their heads and shoul-ders as they nimbly navigatesteep staircases and crowdedstations is teetering on thebrink of poverty and hunger.

Their lives were once thestuff of tinsel romanticism –remember the 1983 AmitabhBachchan film “Coolie” – butthose days have faded awaymuch like the trademark red oftheir uniforms now dulled toash brick, said Sube Singh, whohas been working as a porterfor four decades.

“We have been surviving

on chutney-roti or sometimessalt and roti. The landlord didnot waive the rent. I do nothave a ration card and I am liv-ing on borrowed money but forhow long?” a despairing Singhasked.

“I have never seen suchtimes in my entire 40 years asa coolie,” the 60-year-old, wholives in a rented room near theNew Delhi Railway Stationwith a family of five, told PTI.

Several porters outside the

station said they have notearned a rupee since the trainsstopped on March 24, a daybefore the lockdown to curtailthe spread of COVID-19 start-ed on March 25.

They were the first to losetheir livelihoods and have nohopes of earning enough evenafter the railways on Mondayresumed services on keyroutes. The railways had start-ed Shramik Special trains anda few other special trains last

month.Though many porters have

bought sanitisers and gloveswith their own money, the fearof contracting COVID-29 iskeeping people away, they said.And many passengers wouldrather just wheel their strolleysand bags, making a porter's jobredundant.

During the lockdown, sever-al porters left the city, walking,cycling or bussing it to theirhomes, and some were strand-ed in Delhi without any help.

‘Delhi Corona' app launched, togive info about bed availabilityPNS n NEW DELHI

Chief Minister ArvindKejriwal on Tuesday launchedan app named ''Delhi Corona''that will give information topatients about the availabilityof beds in private and govern-ment hospitals. Kejriwal saidthe app would fill the informa-tion gap that exists regardingavailability of facilities fornovel coronavirus patients.

"There are many placeswhere coronavirus has spreadin a big way. There were short-age of beds, ventilators andICU, leading to a large numberof deaths," he said in an onlinebriefing.

"In Delhi, cases are increas-ing, but we have made suffi-cient arrangements," the chiefminister said.

According to Kejriwal, 6,731beds are available in privateand government hospitals, outof which 4,100 are vacant.

"People are not aware aboutit," he said. "We are launchingan app today and it has detailsof all the beds available at pri-vate and government hospi-tals."

It will be updated updatedtwice during the day at 10 amand 6 pm, he added.

Kejriwal said if the appshowed that a bed was avail-able at a hospital but the facil-ity refuses admission, the

patient could call the govern-ment helpline number 1031and register a complaint.

The Health Departmentspecial secretary will ensurethat a person gets a bed,Kejriwal said.

"Only 2,600 people neededto be admitted at hospital outof more than 20,000 patients,"he said. "If the hospital tells youthat can be treated at home,please listen to them."

PNS n DEHRADUN

The Uttarakhand governmenton Tuesday launched a websiteof the Mukhya MantriSwarojgar Yojana to make iteasier for enterprising youthsand migrants returning to thestate to apply online for thescheme.

The website msy.uk.gov.inhas been hosted in the statedata centre located at IT Park,chief minister's IT adviserRavindra Dutt said.

Applicants will have to reg-ister themselves on the websiteand create a log in ID to beable to apply online for theself-employment scheme, hesaid.

They need to give personaldetails like their names, edu-cational qualification, skillsand the sector in which theywould like to invest, on thewebsite.

The scheme was launched

by Chief Minister TrivendraSingh Rawat on May 28 toencourage enterprising youthsand migrants returning to thestate in the wake of the coro-navirus pandemic for self-employment.

Loans will be given to eligi-ble applicants under thescheme for projects worth Rs25 lakh in the manufacturingsector and worth Rs 10 lakh inthe service sector.

PNS n KOLKATA

The West Bengal StateBeverages Corporation Ltd(WBSBCL) is looking to part-ner with companies, includingstart-ups, to strengthen itsonline liquor sale channel, anofficial said on Tuesday.

It has already floated anexpression of interest for han-dling online sales and homedelivery of alcoholic liquor,and convened a pre-bid meet-ing on Wednesday.

The WBSBCL, the onlywholesaler of liquor in thestate, has already introduced e-retail and home delivery byenlisted off-shops to ensuresocial distancing and min-imising footfall at outlets dur-ing the lockdown.

"But, to use the channel forhome delivery of liquor in amore focused and effectivemanner, the West Bengal StateBeverages Corporation Ltdhas invited EoI from reputed

online ordering and deliveryplatforms including start-upsand stake holders associationfor handling electronic order-ing, purchase, sale and homedelivery of alcoholic liquorsfrom licenced retail outlets," anotice said.

The corporation plannedto create a panel of such onlineordering and delivery plat-forms, the official said.

The Supreme Court hadrecently asked states to consid-er non-direct contact or onlinesales and home delivery ofliquor during the lockdownperiod to prevent the spread ofcoronavirus.

PNS n PUNE

The gesture of a Pune-basedauto-rickshaw driver to use themoney saved for his wedding tofeed migrant labourers hasmoved people across the coun-try, many of whom have openedtheir purses to offer monetaryhelp to him. In turn, AkshayKothawale (30) is again using themonetary help he has receivedto provide food and ration kitsto the needy and poor peoplehere in Maharashtra.

Talking to PTI, Kothawalesaid is grateful for the over-whelming support he has gotand is encouraged to keep help-ing those whom he finds in needon Pune streets.

Kothawale had saved Rs 2

lakh for his wedding, which wasearlier scheduled on May 25 butgot postponed due to the coro-navirus-enforced lockdown.

Pained to see poor people,specially migrant workers, fac-ing hardships due to no workand no income, he along withsome of his friends set up akitchen with the money he hadto prepare food, and also distrib-uted it at several places here.

PNS n MUMBAI

Maharashtra Governor BhagatSingh Koshyari insisted onholding the final year exams ofdegree students in the currentsituation, but Chief MinisterUddhav Thackeray rejectedthe demand showing "the spineThackerays are known for", theShiv Sena said on Tuesday.

The ruling Shiv Sena alsosaid it is not possible to holdexaminations in the currentsituation, triggered by theCOVID-19 crisis.

Referring to the lockdown,imposed in March to containthe spread of the novel coron-avirus, an editorial in Shiv Senamouthpiece 'Saamana' saidpeople faced strict imprison-ment (due to movementrestrictions) for two-oddmonths. The Thackeray gov-ernment in the state has easedlockdown to a certain extent,but asked people to observerestraint to ensure the diseaseis contained, it said.

The direction of life standscompletely altered now andthere will be restrictions on the

undisciplined behaviour ofmany, the Marathi daily said,adding that not observing dis-cipline can cost life.

Governor Koshyari insistedon holding the final year exam-inations of degree courses.The chief minister rejectedthe demand showing the spineThackerays are known for. It isnot possible to hold the final

year examinations of universi-ties in the current situation, theShiv Sena said. Students can beconsidered as having passed onthe basis of semester examina-tions held in colleges, it said.

The chief minister has madeit clear that the academic yearwill begin from June itself."This means schools willreopen in districts where thereis no transmission of coron-avirus, the Thackeray-led partysaid. Shops will be reopened inphases, while temples willremain closed, it said.

The Shiv Sena also suggest-ed the people to use bicycleswhile going to markets orshops. The coronavirus crisisis not yet over. Therefore,Prime Minister (Narendra)Modi too has said that (people)cannot afford to behave irre-sponsibly, the Sena said, citinga spike in COVID-19 deaths incountries like the US.

It said the US governmenthad eased restrictions to boosteconomic activities there andpeople moved out, but thestep proved detrimental (withrise in COVID-19 cases).

‘Protests over George Floyd's deathsignal value of common man’

PNS n AHMEDADAB

With Gujarat bracing for theapproaching cyclonic storm'Nisarg', the Valsad and Navsaridistrict administrations havestarted evacuating nearly20,000 people from 47 villageslocated close to the state coast-line, officials said on Tuesday.

Besides, in a relief to peopleliving near the shore, the IndiaMeteorological Department(IMD) on Tuesday indicatedthe cyclone may not make alandfall on the Gujarat coast.

However, it will have animpact in the form of gustywinds coupled with heavyrainfall in the coastal belt,state MeT centre directorJayanta Sarkar said.

As a precautionary mea-sure, the district administra-tions of Valsad and Navsarihave started shifting people liv-ing near the coast to saferplaces.

In all, nearly 20,000 peoplewill be shifted from both thedistricts.

"We have deployed ourteams to shift nearly 10,000people living in 35 coastal vil-lages. We have already identi-fied shelter homes and startedthe evacuation process," ValsadCollector R R Raval said.

In adjoining Navsari district

also, the administration hasinitiated the process of shiftingsome 10,200 people from 12villages, Collector ArdraAgarwal said.

As per an IMD release, thedeep depression over east-central Arabian Sea is current-ly around 670 km from Suratand it may intensify into acclonic storm in next six hours.

Delhi LGallows earlyrelease ofmurder convict PNS n NEW DELHI

Delhi Lt Governor Anil Baijalhas approved the prematurerelease of Jessica Lal Murdercase convict Manu Sharma,who is serving life sentence,according to an official order.

The Delhi SentenceReview Board (SRB) whichcomes under the Delhi gov-ernment had recommendedSharma's premature releaselast month.

The sources said the rec-ommendation was made at ameeting of the SRB chairedby Delhi Home MinisterSatyendar Jain on May 11.

Sharma, son of formerUnion minister VenodSharma, was convicted andsentenced to life imprison-ment by the Delhi HighCourt in December 2006 forkilling Jessica Lal in 1999.

“I have never seensuch times in myentire 40 years asa coolie,” the 60-year-old, who livesin a rented roomnear the NewDelhi RailwayStation with afamily of five said

Funds pour in for manwho used weddingsavings to feed poor

Online liquor sale: WBgovt scouting for partners

U'khand website for self-employment launched

CM Thackeray stood his groundon university exams issue: Sena

Guj: Ahead of cyclone, over20,000 people to be evacuated

The ruling ShivSena also said it isnot possible tohold examinationsin the currentsituation, triggeredby the COVID-19crisis

As the Narendra ModiGovernment 2.0 completed itsfirst year in office after hisspectacular return to power inthe 2019 Lok Sabha election,

there has been much debate about its bal-ance sheet since it first assumed office in2014. While Prime Minister NarendraModi’s political enemies relentlessly bom-bard the social media with criticism of hisGovernment’s performance, recent sur-veys have shown that they have not beenable to make a dent in his public image.Instead, his popularity is soaring with hisapproval ratings crossing 80 per cent afterthe lockdown steps he took to tackle theCOVID-19 pandemic.

Some nations, including the mostdeveloped, fumbled and stumbled as theywaded through the human tragedy unfold-ing in their communities. Others likeBrazil, Sweden and the US (initially) madeterrible choices that led to a huge loss of lifeand lack of preparedness with regard tohealthcare. On the other hand, India, theworld’s second-most populous nation,decided to confront the problem head-on.Prime Minister Modi took the lead andenforced a nation-wide lockdown fromMarch 25, persisted with this mode of “treat-ment” for nine weeks and extended it byanother four weeks. Meanwhile, he had ahands-on approach towards energising thehealthcare system, tackling pharma-relatedissues and coordinating with various ChiefMinisters through fortnightly meetings.

For those of us who grew up in an Indiawhose leaders lacked the nerve to call aspade a spade (slogans such as Hindi ChiniBhai Bhai in 1962 even as the Chinese weremarching in), Modi’s resoluteness is in con-trast to the vacillation of the Nehru era. Thishas indeed been the running theme duringhis six years in office and has resulted in asea change in the way the world views India.It has also resulted in major initiatives withrespect to domestic policies. For example,former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi hadraised the slogan of Garibi Hatao (banishpoverty) at public meetings during the1970s. But concrete steps towards povertyalleviation — for example the Jan DhanYojana (JDY) enabling direct cash transfer;a scheme to issue free cooking gas connec-tions to the poorest of the poor; and the con-struction of toilets and electrification of theirhomes — were visible only after Modi tookcharge. Within a year of the launch, 330 mil-lion new bank accounts (the current pop-ulation of the US) were opened under theJDY in the country. Similarly, theGovernment provided free gas connectionsto 80 million poor households in a strictlymonitored time-bound programme. Theseare mind-boggling numbers which Westernminds find difficult to comprehend.

Two other big-ticket issues, which havehad a major social and economic impact,are the banning of triple talaq and the

introduction of the Goods andServices Tax (GST). With 42political parties governing 28States, few leaders would havecontemplated GST, the singletax regime, and fewer stillwould have had the gumptionto pull it off. As regards nation-al security, the surgical strikesand the no-nonsense approachto the Kashmir issue are furtherexamples of toughness. AfterCOVID-19 disrupted our lives,the Prime Minister announceda `20 lakh crore package toprovide some relief to those ingreat distress. The central ideaof this package is to makeIndia self-reliant (AtmanirbharBharat).

Over the last six years,frustration has, therefore, beengrowing in “TheEstablishment” in New Delhi,comprising Nehruvians, withthe Marxists riding piggy-backon them. Together, they consti-tute a cosy club which spreadsits wings across politics,bureaucracy, media, academiaand all national institutions. Infact, the stranglehold of theMarxists over our nationalaffairs is wholly illegitimatebecause people never gavethem the mandate to do so (inthe 2019 Lok Sabha poll, thetwo main communist parties— the CPI and the CPM —garnered just 2.36 per cent ofthe vote).

The fate of the Congress issimilar. Its voteshare hasslumped from 45 per cent in

the 1970s to 19.70 per cent lastyear. Therefore, 2014 waswatershed because it put an endto the illegitimate hold of theNehruvians and the Marxistson the nation’s administration.The Lutyens’ club, which hadhollowed out the Indian Statewith its doublespeak and pusil-lanimity, suddenly found itselfdisplaced. Members of thisclub were aghast when thefinal tally of the 2014 electionemerged, giving Modi’s BJP aclear majority in the Lok Sabha.

They live in an echo cham-ber and as the 2019 Lok Sabhapoll drew nearer, they were allperked up as they shared opin-ions among themselves, givingModi just 160-180 seats in thenew House. In view of thedefeat of the BJP in theAssembly polls in Rajasthan,Madhya Pradesh andChhattisgarh, they believed thathe would not be able to recov-er ground, forgetting that overthe last three decades, there issubstantial evidence to showthat the voters think different-ly in State and national elec-tions.

When the results startedpouring in on May 23, 2019,and the BJP on its own crossedthe 300 mark, there was deaf-ening silence in this echo cham-ber. One could have heard a pindrop. As is his wont, Modidecided to carry forward hisagenda without any loss oftime and within months of hisreturn, he decided to undo

Nehru’s decision of according aspecial status to Jammu &Kashmir. He executed the oper-ation with such precision thatit left his opponents and theinternational communityabsolutely stunned. Then camethe Supreme Court’s verdict inthe Ram Janmabhoomi caseand the Union Government’sdecision to pass the CitizenshipAmendment Act (CAA).

Modi’s opponents may nothave seen merit in anything hehas done so far. Theirs is just alitany of complaints and, there-fore, they suffer from a majorcredibility deficit. They standguilty of consistent unreason-ableness and that is why theyare unable to sell their wares.The reason: Their intentions aresuspected.

As far as Modi is con-cerned, the only explanation isthat for the large mass of peo-ple, his intentions (neeyat) seemunquestionable and successesare many. As everyone knows,no one is infallible. Modi him-self drew the peoples’ attentionto this truism in his open let-ter the other day when he said,“I may have some deficiencybut the country does not haveany.” In other words, the verdictof the majority is neeyat saaf hai(his intentions are good). Solong as this is the case, there isnothing his opponents can doto unsettle him.

(The writer is an author spe-cialising in democracy studies.Views expressed are personal.)

The US military is used to walking intoburning cities and restoring order.However, it is rare that it has done the

same in its own cities. With many major citiesin America now in the midst of yet another racialcrisis that has precipitated riots, severalStates and the US Federal Government haveseen the need to get troops onto the streetsto restore order. For a country that “exports”democracy to the world and ostensibly fightsfor freedom, this is a poor picture. But clear-ly, America has been heading down this road

for years, thanks to growing inequity. The riots, following the brutal murder of aBlack man, George Floyd, by an American police officer, have brought up howthe American police and judicial system have systematically abused minorities.Other than a few multicultural urban areas where reforms have been enacted,attitudes and procedures are often a few decades old. And sending troops outonto the streets might help get a semblance of order back to them but it will notchange the underlying issues. In fact, it might even make them worse with theUS heading for another round of presidential elections later this year. Particularly,US President Donald Trump has been wanting to appeal to his supporters bybringing back law and order.

However, it would be prudent for the US to understand that this is not a “goodlook” for it. Simply because several other nations in the world look up to it. Seeingpolice in riot gear and highly militarised forces on the streets will not only givedemagogues elsewhere in the world little pause for thought before indulging intheir own violent reprisals. It will also weaken the case for democratic govern-ments with Chinese politicians showing American anarchy as a contrast to theirown vision of the world. That said, America’s race problem cannot be solvedovernight. It cannot be solved with some executive orders, Constitutional amend-ments or judicial orders. It will need a change in attitude, one which is deep-rooted. But for now, the way police arrests individuals, particularly by forcingthem down with their knees on the neck, must change pronto. The rest is a processthat must start from the White House downwards.

Can Delhi be immune to the symbioticlinkage with its surrounds that havecome to be known as the National

Capital Region (NCR)? More importantly, con-sidering the overall social, cultural and eco-nomic potential of such an entity and thevibrancy and power this geographical conti-guity affords, there ought to be a certain com-monality of operations. Particularly in the timeof the pandemic, there needs to be a cohe-sive response strategy where Chief Ministersof the three States concerned — Delhi, Uttar

Pradesh (UP) and Haryana — should at least evolve a unified protocol for bet-ter execution of COVID-19 management strategies. If there is a shared eco-sys-tem, then each must try to balance it. The sealing of borders will do more harmthan good at a time when the regional growth engine has stuttered to a stop andsporadic economic activity is yet to show the much wanted results. And we couldcertainly do without the politics of posturing, in this case UP publicising that 42per cent of its cases were carriers from Delhi and the Arvind Kejriwal Governmenthitting back saying Delhi hospitals were for residents only. The fact of the mat-ter is people are fluidic in this region, given their workplaces in the city and homesin the suburbs, and confusing them with differing protocols only leads to moreviolations and a patchy resumption of normalcy. Something which we can ill-afford during the pandemic. In fact, it’s not just about the service sector but mil-lions of labourers, who work across district and State borders and have beenholding on. Closure means they, too, are now leaving their homes in a secondwave of migration. And while consulting citizens is a good idea, State policiesin times such as these should flow from the wisdom of the leadership and notpopulism. So though the border sealing is to be only for a week, its extensionshould be reasoned and measured. Chief Minister Kejriwal is not wrong whenhe says that healthcare services in his State are free and better than in a lot ofneighbouring ones. So, as the number of Coronavirus infections rises, he fearspatients from outside would want to get treated in the city and overwhelm itshealth infrastructure. But fact of the matter is that many in NCR have been for-mer residents of Delhi and even if not COVID-infected, have been long-time reg-ulars at Delhi hospitals, particularly for critical and terminal illnesses. A prolongedclosure of such hospitals would mean that such patients would not find it easyto migrate to a local hospital and get the requisite treatment. Likewise, all COVIDcases would not rush to Delhi unless there are complex cases that need spe-cialist intervention. In fact, all neighbouring States should evolve a module ofsharing medical resources in managing the spread in North India’s most clus-tered cities rather than be partisan about it.

The larger reality is that hospitals, both private and public, are fast runningout of COVID care beds and ventilators with patients being waitlisted and oftensuccumbing to the disease because of the delay. According to official figuresfrom the Delhi Government, with Corona cases expected to rise over the next30 days, 10,000 beds have been earmarked for patients with serious symp-toms. COVID-19 cases are at present increasing at the rate of 5.9 per cent aday in the capital. That is doubling every 12.8 days, compared to the nationalaverage of 16.8 days. Of course, Delhi had one of the highest testing rates with10,881 tests per million population, as against the national average of 2,675tests per million. For the next phase, between July-end and mid-August, whenDelhi is expected to be closer to its peak, the administration plans to take overbanquet halls, community centres, stadiums and more hotels. To tackle casesin slums and unauthorised colonies, it plans to increase the number of beds atCovid care centres to 10,000 from the current 6,000. On April 7, when Delhihad only 525 Coronavirus cases, Kejriwal had said that 3,000 beds were avail-able and promised to scale up the number to 30,000. Seven weeks later, thenumber of beds in State-run and private hospitals remains 5,100. This prompt-ed the AAP Government to give a renewed push to its home treatment for asymp-tomatic cases and organise more beds. In terms of viral overload in cities, Delhiis now second only to Mumbai where infection cases have crossed the 35,000-mark. There is no doubt a spillover effect would happen in Noida, Gurugramand Ghaziabad, too. UP now has 78,033 beds in L-1, L-2 and L-3 Covid hospi-tals and has become the first State in the country to ready one lakh beds forpatients. There is an NCR Planning Board, an inter-state institution created express-ly for regional planning. Why can’t this be empowered to share and monitor con-tainment strategies now? None of the States can now afford a turf war.

Backpack safety

Sir — Many children keep devel-oping irreversible back deformi-ties because of the weight oftheir school bags which theycarry to their classes every day.Despite the Children’s SchoolbagAct, 2006, which states thatsatchels should not weigh morethan 10 per cent of the bodyweight of the student, many stu-dents regularly carry heavy bagsto school. Experts say these cancause muscle soreness as well asback and neck pain.

Children gradually lose inter-est in going to school due to thestress caused and their attentionspan also gets reduced. As text-books constitute a major propor-tion of the weight of the bag andthe teachers take up only a partof the textbook in a month, thepublishers could separate the bigtextbook into thin booklets,which will make the load lighterfor the children. Schools canprovide lockers where the stu-dents can keep their books so thatthey don’t have to carry themhome daily and bring them backthe next day.

Jubel D’CruzMumbai

Labour reforms

Sir — Mahatma Gandhi had oncesaid, “The best way to find your-self is to lose yourself in the ser-vice of others.” Employers andworkers often work hand-in-hand

to accomplish greater results. Inview of this, it is sad that rational-ising labour laws has been on pol-icy agenda for decades. Yet, labourreforms haven’t taken off even dur-ing the pandemic. A number ofStates have now embarked on thispolitically contentious course

again. Such reforms, coming at atime of acute economic distressand labour insecurity, must striveto build adequate safety nets forthem and provide them withfixed-term employment.

Kashish MulaniUjjain

Fooling the voters

Sir — In his letter to the nation tomark his first year of the secondterm in office, Prime MinisterNarendra Modi wrote: “This day(May 30) last year began a gold-en chapter in the history of Indiandemocracy. It was after severaldecades that the people of thecountry voted back a full-termGovernment with a full majority.”Undoubtedly, among those whovoted for the Modi Government,many are innocent and not soeducated people, who look toother crooked politicians for guid-ance with false hope.

This is a fact. The most glar-ing example of this was whenPrime Minister Modi said about70 days back, “Mahabharata waswon in 18 days we shall winCorona war in 21 days”. But onthe 67th day of the country’s lock-down, not only has India’sCoronavirus death toll overtakenthat of China but the country nowranks seventh in the global tallyof COVID-19 cases.

Bidyut Kumar ChatterjeeFaridabad

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

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

op nionHYDERABAD | WEDNESDAY | JUNE 3, 2020

06

Perception matters

A SURYA PRAKASH

For the masses, Modi’s intentions still seem unquestionable and successes are many.

Nobody is infallible and he has drawn attention to this truth, endearing himself to them

Moody’s has rated Modi’shandling of India’s econo-my a step above junk. Lackof support to the poor andthe MSME sector meansthe worst is yet to come.

Congress leader—Rahul Gandhi

Mental health is important,period. Irrespective of thepandemic, I’ve always main-tained that you should priori-tise mental well-being overyour physical well-being.

Actor—Ileana D’Cruz

China has moved up itsforces along the LAC withIndia. These are the kinds ofactions that authoritarianregimes take and they have a real impact.

US Secretary of State —Mike Pompeo

S O U N D B I T E

L E T T E R S T O TT H E E D I T O R

Digitisation gets new life amid pandemic

One of the biggest outcomes of the Coronavirus pan-demic has been that there has been a paradigm shiftin the planning of governance and service delivery

with various sectors of the economy and even peopleadopting digital technologies. The lockdown has result-ed in a boom in the use of technology. From an ardentspike in the usage of social media to an infallible relianceon Artificial Intelligence (AI), the lockdown period hasmade everyone tech-savvy. In the past few months,Governments, businesses and other industries have wit-nessed the power of online platforms as they helped com-panies sell their products. Consumers, too, could shop,pay bills, converse, entertain and collaborate withoutmuch physical contact. Along with this, food deliveryapps like Zomato and Swiggy and online shopping appslike Amazon, which are now offering the delivery of essen-tial items, ensured that people stay safe and healthy athome.

The Coronavirus pandemic has brought out howGovernments can reinvent themselves digitally. A lot morecan be and must be done for the digital revolution to takeplace. The near future seems bright as the advent of AIhas been saving several industries and corporate hous-

es. If used judiciously, AI has the potential to harness newerparadigms for the future. This unprecedented crisis shouldspeed up India’s digital adoption. A digitally connectedIndia can help improve socio-economic conditions of peo-ple through the development of non-agricultural econom-ic activities apart from providing access to education, healthand financial services. It is also important for Governmentsto enhance and concentrate on data security and collab-orate with the private sector.

Ravi Teja Kathuripalli Hyderabad

PRIME MINISTERMODI TOOK THE

LEAD IN TACKLINGTHE CORONA

PANDEMIC ANDENFORCED ANATIONWIDE

LOCKDOWN FROMMARCH 25,

PERSISTED WITHTHIS MODE OF

TREATMENT FORNINE WEEKS ANDEXTENDED IT BYANOTHER FOUR

WEEKS.MEANWHILE, HE

HAD A HANDS-ONAPPROACHTOWARDS

ENERGISING THEHEALTHCARE

SYSTEM

Send yyour ffeedback tto:letterstopioneer@gmail.com

Boots on the street Racism is not only in football, it’s in cricket too.Even within teams as a Blackman, I get the end of thestick. Black and powerful.Black and proud.

West Indies opener—Chris Gayle

Delhi has sealed borders fearing an influx of patients fromneighbouring States but NCR needs a common protocol

Trump’s country is burning and the world is watching.America’s race problem calls for an attitudinal change

Peak problem

Rethink logistics logically

YOU HAVE TO DOMINATE (THE RIOTERS). IF YOU DON’T

YOU’RE WASTING YOUR TIME. THEY’RE GOING TO RUN

OVER YOU. YOU’RE GOING TO LOOK LIKE JERKS.

—US PRESIDENT

DONALD TRUMP

LET ME JUST SAY THIS TO THE PRESIDENT ON BEHALF

OF THE POLICE CHIEFS. IF YOU DON’T HAVE SOMETHING

CONSTRUCTIVE TO SAY, KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT.

—HOUSTON POLICE CHIEF

ART ACEVEDO

POINTCOUNTERPOINT

After the extended lockdown necessitated bythe need to contain the spread of the dead-ly Coronavirus in the country, the process

of kick-starting the economy has now commencedin a phased manner. As it is the Indian economywas in the doldrums even before the pandemichit the nation, making the lockdown that com-menced from March 25 a hard choice for theNarendra Modi-led BJP Government at theCentre, which was caught between a rock and ahard place. Now, as various sectors of the econ-omy are slowly opened up to save livelihoods, thelogistics supply chain, which was in a suspend-ed state for most of the commodities for morethan 60 days, needs to gear up to function again.

However, given the fact that we have beenunable to flatten the COVID curve as yet andinstead have seen a surge in Coronavirus casesand deaths across the country, which has corre-sponded with the opening up of the economy, wehave to rethink our operating processes.

The mode of operation of the supply chainsmay need to be tweaked now as cargo transportersmay have to bypass normal or the shortest routesthey usually take as they may be out of bound dueto their location in containment zones, a placewhere all activities are disallowed. Moreover, theentire logistics operation now has to be under-taken while adhering to the new norms of socialdistancing.

As it is, the logistics sector in India is not toowell-developed. Inefficiencies have grown over theyears from a combination factors, like a non-con-ducive policy environment, extensive industryfragmentation and lack of good basic infrastruc-ture. India’s indirect tax regime discouraged largecentralised warehouses and over a period of timethis has led to the fragmentation of the warehous-ing sector.

Of course with the introduction of theGoods and Services Tax (GST), there has been amove towards a centralised warehouse hub.However the pace has been slow as modern ware-houses cost much more and the logistics stake-holders are yet to recover their investment fromthe scattered warehouses across the country.However, in the present scenario caused by thepandemic, this is indeed a boon to the logisticssector.

Fragmented warehouse distribution impliesthat logistic operations will be affected only in aregion where the storehouses fall in a containmentarea. It may be possible to move cargo from otherregions to the desired destinations. Thus, a frag-mented warehouse regime is probably more cost-effective in this situation than a centralised ware-house. While one can find a way to bypass dis-tribution hurdles when finished goods are instock, the issue is more serious in respect of pro-duction activities as a modern production unitsources inputs from different parts of the coun-try and the world.

As the COVID-19 map of India shows, theprincipal industrial States of the country, name-ly Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu,Andhra Pradesh, the National Capital Region(NCR) and so on, where most of the industrialclusters are located, are also the States most affect-ed by the Coronavirus. The majority of contain-ment zones, a place where all activities are non-operational, are also located there.

In this scenario, even though the unlockingof economic activity is commencing, relaxationin non-containment zones continues to be a hin-

drance to supply chains, transportationand logistics.

A firm may have to close operationsif right inputs/raw materials cannot besourced if suppliers are located in a con-tainment zone. In India, industrial clus-ters have developed around big indus-tries in the metros, both of which nowhappen to be located in Coronavirus-hitregions. North-east India, which ispractically unaffected by the Corona,does not figure in the industrial map ofthe country. There is no way that inputscan be sourced from there to carry outproduction. Thus, unless the entiresupply chain is unlocked (or the num-ber of containment zones declines), theimpact of improved economic activitywill be subdued.

A lockdown effectively increases thelogistic cost of transporting goods inmultiple ways. The shortage of labourat the point of origin and destination andnew norms of social distancing may leadto increased time in loading/unloadingactivities, causing in effect lower efficien-cy and higher cost. Though the inter-State movement of goods has nowbeen allowed (barring containmentzones) putting up of traffic barricadesalong the highways, diversions to avoidcontainment zones and multiple check-points put up by law enforcement agen-cies would invariably lead to increasedfuel consumption, costly delays andmore time on the road.

Even in normal circumstances, theproblem of harassment faced by thetruck drivers at the hands of theRegional Transport Office personneland policemen is a serious issue acrossevery route. With multiple barricadesand officials on the road during the pan-demic, harassment of drivers will sure-ly rise manifold. All these factorsamount to a fall in transportation effi-ciency and thereby higher transporta-tion costs.

In effect, the economy will have to

live with higher logistics costs now,which will have major economic reper-cussions. As per the NCAER’s recently-released Quarterly Review of theEconomy, a five per cent fall in efficien-cy in shipping in India translates to a 1.3per cent loss in the Gross DomesticProduct.

Thankfully, unlike transportation byroad, freightage by rail is less hinderedas there are no barricades on the railwaylines. Moreover, in the absence of nor-mal train services, there is less conges-tion on railway lines too. This is the timethat the logistics supply chains couldshift majorly towards freight transportby rail. As it is, the movement of cargoby rail turns out to be cheaper for dis-tances over 500 kilometres.

However, if we compare cargomovement across major trunk routes(NCR-Mumbai, NCR-Guwahati, NCR-Chennai, NCR- Kolkata) where bothmodes — rail and road — operate,everywhere we see that the share of roadtransport is more than that of rail. Thisis the time to reverse the trend by ensur-ing timely delivery of consignment bythe Railways.

However, Indian Railways needs amajor policy correction in respect offreight. With the fall in economicgrowth, the overall demand for cargomovement will be low. Thus theRailways’ policy of operating a full length(52 wagon) cargo train does not syncwith the current low demand. It makessense to operate shorter cargo trains. But,most importantly, the Railways needs tostick to timely delivery to attract cus-tomers. There is no other reason why aconsignment of pharmaceutical exportsfrom Hyderabad via the JawaharlalNehru Port, for a distance of about 700km, would be moved by road and notby rail.

According to the NCAER’s study onIndia’s Logistics Costs, more than 90 percent of the cargo is moved by road on

this route. A key message that is current-ly being played is go local to make anAtma Nirbhar Bharat.

This does not augur well for thelogistics sector as it is highly capitalintensive. If all entrepreneurs go local,the logistics investment will unlikely flowin as it would take a long time to gen-erate the return from the investment. Abasic problem with the Indian logisticssector is that it has developed locallywithout following global standards.Most logistic players agree that the set-ting of standards and their voluntaryadoption is an avenue for reducing logis-tics costs.

This encompasses the following:Standardisation of truck bodies andloading/unloading docks for increasingoperational efficiencies.

Second, standardisation of palletsizes for achieving faster turnaroundtimes. Third, standardisation of ware-house design and layout and a commonstandard across India in respect ofother logistics facilities at airports,riverboats, sea ports, Inland ContainerDepots, Container Freight Stations,Multi-Modal Logistics Hubs and ware-housing clusters.

In the absence of a national blue-print on logistics infrastructure and stan-dards, we observe no uniformity acrossIndia in these facilities. This is essentialto reduce India’s logistics cost. Of late,a move has been made to modernise ourlogistics facilities by benchmarkingthem against international standards.One can only hope that our plan to golocal does not hamper that process. If weare short of funds to adopt internation-al norms of logistics facilities, it is bestto go for a synergy in standard withinIndia. The Government may interactwith logistics stakeholders on this front.Else, it will cost India in the long run interms of competitiveness.

(The writer is a Professor at theNCAER)

This sector has developed locally without following global standards. Most players agree that setting standards and their voluntary adoption are the only way for reducing costs

analysis 07F I R S T C O L U M N

DINESH TYAGI

OF LATE, A MOVE

HAS BEEN MADE TO

MODERNISE OUR LOGISTICS

FACILITIES BYBENCHMARKING

THEM AGAINSTINTERNATIONAL

STANDARDS. ONE CAN

ONLY HOPE THAT OUR

PLAN TO GO LOCAL DOES NOT

HAMPER THATPROCESS. IF WE ARE SHORT OF

FUNDS TO ADOPTINTERNATIONAL

NORMS OFLOGISTICSFACILITIES,

IT IS BEST TO GOFOR A SYNERGY IN

STANDARD WITHIN INDIA

Nandanam village in Andhra Pradesh’s Chittoor district neverexperienced internet connectivity for decades. But thanks toBabu Reddy, a village-level entrepreneur of the Common

Service Centre (CSC) who is now providing high-speed ‘Fibre ToThe Home’ (FTTH) connections to citizens utilising BharatNet, thisidyllic village surrounded by hills is experiencing change.“The FTTHconnections are transforming the villagers, especially the youth. Forthem, it is a dream come true”, says Reddy.

In July 2019, CSC e-Governance Services India Limited, a SpecialPurpose Vehicle (SPV) under the Ministry of Electronics and IT, wastasked to enable last-mile internet connectivity along with the oper-ation and maintenance of BharatNet Optical Fibre Cable (OFC) andFirst Line Maintenance (FLM) of equipment installed in phase oneof the BharatNet project of the Department of Telecommunicationsaimed at providing high-speed broadband connection to 2.5 lakhGram Panchayats.

The SPV took over the operation and maintenance ofBharatNet OFC and FLM equipment from July 1, 2019, when onlyaround 22,000 Gram Panchayats were functional and there wereno dedicated OFC restoration teams to look after maintenance ofthis project of national importance in rural areas. After the SPV tookover, around 2,000 dedicated Fibre Restoration Teams consistingof more than 10,000 local youths were trained and mobilised forBharatNet maintenance. CSC village-level entrepreneurs were engagedto provide custody and first line maintenance of the equipment installedin more than one lakh Gram Panchayats, which were otherwise unat-tended.

Neelam Singh, a champion entrepreneur from Block Dadraul,Shahjahanpur in Uttar Pradesh was tasked with the operation andmaintenance of the BharatNet OFC, connecting 63 Gram Panchayats.When she took over the activity in August, 2019 only two GramPanchayats were functional with no last-mile internet connectivityfor citizens. By November 2019, Singh and her team had installedinternet services in all 63 Gram Panchayats, with more than 300FTTH users availing of the internet. Out of these there were over50 Government institutions and schools.

Now, with close to one lakh functional Gram Panchayats, theCSC SPV has accelerated the last-mile internet connectivity drivein rural areas through the CSC’s Wi-Fi choupal programme. Thisinitiative encapsulates enabling of internet services in over one lakhGram Panchayats by deploying effective infrastructure. It is there-by delivering services at an affordable price and ensuring reliableaccess to the internet through village-level entrepreneurs.

In March, more than 3,00,000 subscribers registered for a FTTHconnection from BharatNet in panchayats which are managed andoperated by the CSC SPV. This shows the desire of rural house-holds to get a reliable broadband internet facility at an affordablecost. The CSC’s Wi-Fi choupal also has more than 12-lakh Wi-Firegistered subscribers who use this as a supplement to their mobileconnection. This is also borne out by the fact that data consump-tion in these BharatNet panchayats increased to 150 TB per monthin May from about 55 TB during January, a three-fold jump in justfive months. The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in high data con-sumption by rural populations, optimising the usage of the BharatNetinfrastructure as envisaged by the Government.

A best example of how this initiative improves governance andlives can be found in the transformation of Pancheswar Police Stationin Uttarakhand’s Champawat district. Just four kilometres from theNepal border, the police station had no internet connectivity and allrecords were manually maintained by the officials.

In fact, non-availability of internet in the hill town deprivedGovernment institutions and citizens of the advantages of digital con-nectivity. However, things changed for the better when village-levelentrepreneur Deepak Nath started delivering internet service in thearea through BharatNet. He not only provided the much-neededinternet connectivity to the police station but also to 19 otherGovernment institutions and over 30 families. This was of immenseuse, especially during the lockdown enforced by the pandemic.Through the CSCs Wi-Fi choupal programme, 63 such non-feasi-ble police stations in remote areas of the country got connected tothe internet and eventually to the Crime and Criminal Tracking Networkand Systems (CCTNS), thus improving their efficiency in handlingcrimes.

The CSC’s Wi-Fi Choupal provides the requisite framework forfacilitating internet services by integrating them with BharatNet end-point at Gram Panchayats to enable last-mile connectivity. Once theremaining panchayats are connected through BharatNet, it will trans-form rural India and fulfill the Prime Minister’s vision of ‘Gram Swaraj’.The digital divide will be substantially reduced and citizens will betruly empowered to actively participate in nation-building.

The high appetite for internet data usage in rural areas, nowand in the future, can be pivotal in bridging the digital divide in thecountry. And, if nurtured with a regular organic feed of education-al and informational content, rural India can be digitally-empoweredand transformed into a Gram Swaraj.

(The writer is CEO, Common Service Centre)

COVID-19 has changed thedynamics of almost every-thing in the world, includ-

ing politics, and poses challengesfor all walks of life and all kindsof institutions. This is true ofdemocracy, civil liberties andpolitical parties, too.

Now that health experts saythat we have to learn to live withthe virus, how will the politicalsystem in India change and willit be for the better? Since theCoronavirus outbreak, most

political activities have taken aback seat and the pandemic hasbecome the only focus of peopleand politicians alike. There maybe fundamental change in thesubstance of politics and how itwill cope with the new normalnow that it is clear that some ofthe measures like social distanc-ing, wearing of masks, washingand sanitising hands often, avoid-ing crowded places and congre-gating in large numbers, are like-ly to continue. Gone are the daysof party supporters boasting oflakhs of people coming to listento their netas.

So how are political partiesstrategising for the future? Theyhave already found some newinterfaces like digital platforms,videoconferencing and so on.Ever since the pandemic beganthey have swiftly moved awayfrom traditional methods of

communication like putting upposters, distributing pamphletsand flyers, holding door-to-doorcampaigns and have shifted theirpolitical wars to cyber space.Virtual platforms have replacedactual meetings in most of theparties and in Governmentoffices, too.

The BJP is already adept inusing the digital platform and hasbeen using it since 2014. Even the2019 elections were fought morein the digital world. PrimeMinister Narendra Modi hadused videoconferencing facili-ties and 3D holographic projec-tions to address the public inlarge numbers during the polls.The party has used the newmedium to its advantage and hasprepared digital files of voters andtheir mobile numbers and so on,that makes it easier to reach outto them. The party has data on all

the 543 Lok Sabha seats. In the changed circum-

stances, the BJP is planning forsmaller meetings and digitalinteraction with the voters. Biharelections are scheduled forNovember and next summer,State elections are due in TamilNadu, Kerala, West Bengal andAssam. BJP chief JP Nadda toldthis columnist that the partywas getting ready to face the newsituation. “We are already usingthe digital platform. In view of thepandemic we have to think ofnew ideas for our campaigns andwe will hold virtual rallies.”

The Congress Party, too, isnot lagging behind and is catch-ing up with the BJP where digi-tal reach is concerned. Accordingto the Congress media headRandeep Surjewala, the party hadthe biggest-ever virtual contact ofalmost 10 crore in one day dur-

ing the May 28 ‘Speak Up India’campaign led by Sonia Gandhiand Rahul Gandhi to raise pub-lic support for people suffering asa result of the lockdown. “This isindeed a world record. We haveadapted ourselves to the new sit-uation,” he claims.

The party has involved itsleaders, functionaries, AICCoffice-bearers, district and booth-level workers numbering around50 lakh. The Congress is using theZoom app for holding virtualpress conferences and Rahul’sconversations with economists.He admits that social media anddigital platforms will play a bigrole in the forthcoming polls.

Other parties, too, agree thatdigital interaction is the future ofpolitics now. CPI-M GeneralSecretary Sitaram Yechuri pointsout that today almost every partyhas a firm online presence. The

Left is also reaching out to thepeople through their cadres andmass organisations. TrinamoolCongress leader Dinesh Trivedi,too, thinks that future campaignswill largely be on social mediaand digital platforms.

Former External AffairsMinister Yashwant Sinha notesthat “politically there will be a lotmore reliance on digital commu-nication.” Most parties now havepolitical strategists and IT unitsthat are responsible for theirdigital strategy.

The Election Commission(EC), which has announced pollsfor 24 Rajya Sabha seats on June19, seems ready to deal with thenew normal. However, the realtest for the EC will be the Biharpolls. CEC Sunil Arora whileadmitting that it is too early tothink about the timing of theBihar polls, points out that even

during the 2019 Lok Sabha pollsthe EC had made arrangementsfor those above 80 and the armedforces to vote through postal bal-lot.

However, the immediatechallenge for all political partiesis to convince the people that theyare concerned about their welfare.This is where the good old GramPanchayats and booth-level com-mittees come in.

Parties could go back to thebasics and use their block andbooth committees to spread themessage through the digital plat-form, particularly as India isexpected to reach 859 millionmobile users by 2022. In short,politics was already movingtowards a virtual world and thepandemic has only hastened thattransition.

(The writer is a senior journalist)

Covid has hastened the birth of the digital netaMost parties have moved away from traditional methods of communication and have shifted their political wars to cyber space

KALYANI SHANKAR

HYDERABAD | WEDNESDAY | JUNE 3, 2020

www.dailypioneer.com

SANJIB POHIT

F O R E I G N E Y E

A bid for gram swaraj

If nurtured with a regular organic feed ofeducational and informational content via the

internet, rural India can be digitally-empowered

The nationwide protestsfollowing the brutalsuffocation of an unarmedblack man in Minneapoliscould be a defining momentin America’s racial politics.Attempts to dismiss thoseparticipating as merely“lawless rioters”, wilfullymisrepresent what has beena mass expression ofrevulsion and fury. (The Guardian editorial)

A TURNING POINTIN US HISTORY

HYDERABAD | WEDNESDAY | JUNE 3, 2020 money 08

CAPSULE

Tata Motorsresumesoperations acrossall plants

New Delhi: Nissan MotorIndia on Tuesday launched anew version of its Datsun redi-GO hatchback priced betweenRs 2.83 lakh and Rs 4.77 lakh.The new Datsun redi-GOcomes in two engine variantsof 0.8 litre petrol and 1-litrepetrol with automated manualtransmission option, NissanMotor India said. Commentingon the launch, Nissan MotorIndia MD Rakesh Srivastavasaid, "With the new Datsunredi-GO, we have introduced ahigh-quality product with astrong value proposition." Builtwith Japanese technology, thenew redi-GO offers segment-leading technological featuresthat cater to growingambitions of young India, headded. "We aim to enhancethe value propositions ofDatsun products in line withour mission of enablingprogressive mobility,"Srivastava said. The entry levelcar is also equipped withfeatures such as L-shapedDRLs, LED fog lamps, 14-inchwheels with pentablade dualtone wheel cover, LEDsignature tail-lamps and doortrim with fabric, it added. Italso has an 8-inchtouchscreen advancedinfotainment system withvoice recognition, compatiblewith Android Auto and AppleCarPlay.

Nissan Motor Indialaunches new versionof Datsun redi-GO

New Delhi: Tata Motors onTuesday said it has resumedoperations across all itsmanufacturing plants in thecountry. The company hasrestarted operations at allplants with Jamshedpurfacility also getting approvalon May 27, Tata Motors saidin a regulatory filing. Around59 per cent of company'spassenger vehicleshowrooms, covering 69 percent of the retail market, havecommenced operations, itadded. "From supply side, 90per cent of suppliers incommercial vehicle segmenthave received permissions tocommence," Tata Motors said.Of the lot, only 60 per centhave been able to startsupplies, it added. As ofMarch 31, 2020, the companyhad cash and cash equivalentof Rs 4,700 crore, andundrawn credit facility of Rs1,500 crore, the auto majorsaid. To further shore up theliquidity, the company hasissued commercial papers ofRs 3,500 crore and also raisedRs 1,000 crore through non-convertible debentures(NCDs), it added.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Prime Minister NarendraModi on Tuesday said that hisgovernment will ensure morepolicy reforms to speed up eco-nomic growth and removestructural bottlenecks in theIndian economy.

Accordingly, the countrywill also implement steps toreduce import-dependenceand strengthen domestic sup-ply chains.

Furthermore, Modi exudedthe confidence that Indiawould get its GDP growthback very soon.

In an online address at the125th AGM of industry bodyCII, he said that the countryhas entered into the 'UnlockPhase 1' which focuses on get-ting the economy back ontrack and that the Centre willtake every possible step torevive economic growth.

Besides, the Prime Ministerpointed out, the Centre hadprovided immediate relief tothe disadvantaged sections ofsociety via the 'PrimeMinister's Garib Kalyan Yojana'in the wake of the Covid-19crisis. This scheme helps pro-vide free rations to 74 crorebeneficiaries. He said that theCentre has provided financialassistance of Rs 53,000 croreand over 8 crore cooking gascylinders to the poor.

Additionally, over 50 lakhbeneficiaries of the EmployeesProvident Fund Organisationsaw the government deposit 24

per cent of their EPF contribu-tions in their accounts, the PMsaid. Modi claimed that IndiaInc has the ability to bounceback and said that attaining ahigher growth level shouldnot be difficult.

In his address, the PrimeMinister said that the conceptof an 'Atmanirbhar Bharat'rested on '5 I's of Intent,Inclusion, Investment,Infrastructure, and Innovation'.

He said that while announc-ing the relief package duringthe coronavirus crisis, his gov-ernment took a long-term viewof the economy and

announced far-reaching mea-sures to reform the economy.

The reforms announcedhave been systematic, planned,integrated, interconnected, and

futuristic and are all about cre-ating strong enterprises, gen-erating employment, androbust supply chains, the PrimeMinister said.

Highlighting the role ofMSMEs in the economy, thePrime Minister pointed outthat the definition of MSMEshad been changed to fostergrowth in this sector.

The Centre will not floatglobal tenders for procure-ment up to Rs 200 crore. This,according to him, would enablemore MSMEs to participate inthese tenders and promote an'Atmanirbhar Bharat'.

Reliance's mega rightsissue world's biggestby non-financial issuerPNS n NEW DELHI

Reliance Industries mega Rs53,124 crore rights issue is thelargest in the world by a non-financial issuer in the last 10years, an analyst said.

Oil-to-telecom conglomer-ate Reliance Industries Ltd'srights issue opened for thesubscription of shareholderson May 20 and will close onWednesday.

According to data fromDealogic, the issue is thebiggest in the world by anon-financial issuer in thelast 10 years.

The only other non-finan-cial issuer close to the issuesize is USD 7.002 billion issueby Bayer AG in June 2018.

Billionaire MukeshAmbani's firm had on April30 announced fund raising ofRs 53,125 crore by way of a1:15 rights issue -- India'sbiggest and the first suchissue by the firm in nearlythree decades.

One share will be offeredfor every 15 shares held at Rs1,257, a 14 per cent discountto the closing price for April30.

The issue had been over-subscribed 1.1 times as ofMonday, according to stockexchange data.

The biggest rights issuesince the global financial cri-sis of 2008 is the USD 19.57billion issue by HSBCHoldings Plc in April 2009,according to Dealogic.Deutsche Bank's USD 13.96billion issue in October 2010is the second biggest closelyfollowed by USD 13.69 billionissue by UniCredit.

Will initiate more structuralreforms to spur growth: PM

Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressing the CII Annual Session - 2020 via video conferencing

Centre has providedfinancial assistance ofRs 53,000 cr and 8 crcylinders to the poor.

Additionally, over 50 lakhbeneficiaries of the EPFO saw

the government deposit 24%of their EPF contributions

NARENDRA MODI

Prime Minister

The only othernon-financialissuer close to theissue size is USD7.002 billion issueby Bayer AG

SBI creates separate vertical to drive MSME, agri financePNS n NEW DELHI

In a major restructuring exer-cise, State Bank of India hascreated a separate FinancialInclusion and Micro Market(FI&MM) vertical with a focuson rural and semi urban areasto improve customer experi-ence. Under this newlylaunched vertical, the bankwill offer loans mainly foragriculture as well as alliedactivities, and micro and smallenterprises, SBI said in a state-ment on Tuesday. About 8,000branches in rural and semiurban areas have been identi-fied for providing specialisedservices to micro segment,including micro credit for smallbusinesses and farmers, it said.

The thrust is also to improveservice quality and availabilityof banking services through thebank's vast network of over63,000 customer service points

in rural, semi urban, urban andmetro areas, it said, adding thenew vertical will provide aboost to the micro-financesector. "Today is an importantday in our resolve to ensurethat SBI stands with the citizensof the country, across all seg-ments. The key elements of cre-ating the FI&MM vertical areto bring sharper focus to differ-ent business lines and improvethe quality of interaction withcustomers at the branch," SBIChairman Rajnish Kumar said.

This is an initiative by SBI to

cater to financial requirementsof people residing in the hin-terland of the country, as partof its financial inclusion jour-ney, he added.

"The new FI&MM verticalwill provide an opportunity toserve the small business, Agri& allied segment so that theycan run their businessessmoothly, especially in the cur-rent times of uncertainty. Thecreation of the FI&MMVertical was conceived, creat-ed and implemented fully inhouse," Kumar said.

Power 42% cheaper at real-time market at IEXPNS n NEW DELHI

The average power tariff in thereal-time market trade atIndia Energy Exchange (IEX)on the first day of operation onMonday stood at Rs 1.55 perunit, 42 per cent cheaper thanthe day ahead market, officialdata showed.

Real-time market (RTM)enables consumers, includingdistribution companies (dis-coms) and captive users, to buypower on exchanges just anhour before delivery.

The average price discoveredon day one was Rs 1.55 perunit, the auctions saw the pricego as low as Rs 0.10 per unit onthe platform, IEX said in astatement. According to theIEX data, the average price ofpower in the day ahead market(DAM) trade on May 31 fordelivery on June 1, was Rs 2.68per unit. Similarly the averagetariff of power at DAM tradeon June 1 for delivery on June2 was Rs 2.2 per unit.

The new market segment

was operationalised at the IEXplatform at 10:45 PM on May31, 2020 for delivery at 12:00AM on June 01 (Sunday mid-night), 2020.

The real-time market trad-ed 3.41 MU (million unitsvolume in 48 auction sessionson day one of the launch.

However, the trade volumein DAM was 163 MU fordelivery on June 1 and 119 MUfor delivery on June 2.

The platform witnessed asignificant sell side liquidity atabout 10 times of the total buyvolume leading to very attrac-tive prices for the buyers, the

IEX statement said. IEX said, "this (availability of

power and low price) reinforcesIEX's belief that real-time trad-ing of electricity would signif-icantly help utilities and openaccess consumers managepower demand-supply varia-tion and meet 24x7 power

supply aspirations in the mostflexible, efficient, and dynam-ic way.

The real-time market willsupport the utilities in reduc-ing dependence on grid devi-ation framework, reducingpenalties and enable a safeand secure grid, it noted.

The real-time market willmake the power market moredynamic by enabling trade inelectricity through 48 half-hourly closed double-sidedauctions during the day, withdelivery of power within onehour of closure of the bid ses-sion, it added.

The new marketsegment wasoperationalised atthe IEX platform at10:45 PM on May31, 2020 fordelivery at 12:00AM on June 1

Suzuki launchesonline sales,service platformPNS n NEW DELHI

Suzuki Motorcycle India PvtLtd (SMIPL) on Tuesdaylaunched its online sales andservice platform through'Suzuki at your doorstep' pro-gramme to meet customerdemand during and postCOVID-19 lockdown.

Suzuki at your doorstepprogramme will be integrat-ed within SMIPL's officialwebsite to enable customersto buy, test-ride and opt forafter sales services at theclick of a button, the compa-ny said in a statement.

Through this programmecustomers can also bookSuzuki two-wheeler productthrough a toll-free numberalong with an option of con-necting the call to the near-est dealership, in case the cus-tomer wants to visit the deal-ership, it added.

"The online booking,doorstep delivery and serviceof Suzuki vehicles has beenintroduced keeping the safe-ty and wellbeing of our cus-tomers and employees at thecore of the initiative.

"With our online salessolution, we look forward tobring in positivity in two-wheeler segment and theoverall industry postCOVID-19," SMIPLManaging Director KoichiroHirao said.

Infosys CEO drawsRs 34.27 crore paypackage in FY 2020PNS n NEW DELHI

Infosys CEO Salil Parekh sawhis pay package growing about39 per cent to Rs 34.27 crorein 2019-20, according to thecompany's annual report.

Parekh's compensation wasat Rs 24.67 crore in 2018-19.

The company's annualreport for 2019-20 showedthat his compensation includ-ed Rs 16.85 crore in salary, Rs17.04 crore in stock optionsand Rs 38 lakh (others).

Infosys chairman NandanNilekani voluntarily chose notto receive any remunerationfor his services, the report said.

Chief Operating Officer UB Pravin Rao's compensationrose 17.1 per cent to Rs 10.6crore in FY20 from Rs 9.05crore in the previous fiscal.

Interestingly, TCS CEO andMD Rajesh Gopinathan hadseen his pay package shrink-ing more than 16 per cent toRs 13.3 crore in 2019-20 com-pared to the previous fiscal.

While Wipro CEO Abidali

Z Neemuchwala saw his com-pensation rise 11.8 per cent toUSD 4.42 million (about Rs33.38 crore) in fiscal 2020from the previous year.

In his note to shareholdersin the annual report, InfosysCEO Parekh said the compa-ny will closely monitor theimpact of the pandemic as themarket and client activityevolve.

"We can already see sever-al European countries and USstates starting to re-open. Wesee stability and expansion inour work in the globaltelecommunications, hightechnology and life sciencesindustries," he said.

Parekh said thecompany willclosely monitorthe impact of thepandemic as themarket and clientactivity evolve

Punjab expects5 lakh ha areaunder directseeding of ricePNS n CHANDIGARH

With the labour cost forcrop transplantation dou-bling due to the exodus ofmigrant workers amid thecoronavirus crisis, Punjabis expecting about ten-foldjump in paddy area sownwith the direct seeding ricemethod, a low labour-inten-sive option. Punjab has pro-posed to bring about fivelakh hectares, out of total 27lakh hectares of expectedpaddy area this year, underthe direct seeding rice(DSR), officials said here.

Last year, 50,000 hectaresof paddy area was broughtunder the DSR, they said.The government is encour-aging paddy growers toadopt the DSR for crop sow-ing instead of the tradition-al method of transplantation.

Hindustan Copperapproves increasein borrowing limit

PNS n NEW DELHI

State-owned HindustanCopper on Tuesday said itsboard has approved theincrease in borrowing limit ofthe company from consor-tium and other banks fromexisting Rs 850 crore to Rs1,350 crore.

The approval was grantedduring the board meetingheld on Monday, HindustanCopper said in a filing to BSE.

"The board of directors ofHindustan Copper... has interalia considered and approvedincrease in borrowing limit ofthe company from consor-tium /other Banks from exist-ing Rs 850 crore to Rs 1,350crore by way of cashcredit/working capitalarrangements, etc," the PSUsaid. Hindustan Copper is avertically integrated copperproducing company thatmanufactures copper rightfrom the stage of mining tobeneficiation, smelting, refin-ing and casting of refined cop-per metal into downstreamsaleable products.

The company's mines andplants are spread across fiveoperating units, one each inRajasthan, Madhya Pradesh,Jharkhand, Maharashtra andGujarat.

India's sugar demand toimprove further: ISMAPNS n NEW DELHI

With further relaxations inCOVID-19 lockdown rules,sugar demand in India, theworld's second largest produc-er of the sweetener, has start-ed picking up and will furtherimprove with opening ofhotels and restaurants, indus-try body ISMA said onTuesday.

The government hasextended the nationwide lock-down till June 30 with aphased plan to unlock India.Malls, hotels, restaurants andplaces of worship can open onJune 8 except in areas with themost number of coronaviruscases.

According to the IndianSugar Mills Association(ISMA), the demand for sugarhas started picking up fromthe beginning of May with thelockdown rules gettingrelaxed.

"Now that the country is

entering the unlocking phase,and restaurants and malls arealso being allowed to open,demand for sugar will furthergo up in June, as compared toMay 2020," it said in a state-ment.

Therefore, along with thesummer demand, it can beexpected that sugar mills maybe able to sell the entire Junequota, along with the carryforward from May, it added.

The government hasallowed mills to sell 17,00,000tonnes of sugar in May and18,50,000 tonnes in June. Thegovernment has also extend-ed the sale period of Mayquota for a month.

‘Increasing MSP on cottonnot a sustainable solution’PNS n COIMBATORE

The Southern IndiaMills Association(SIMA) welcomed theincrease of MSP oncotton as it wouldbenefit cotton farmers,while saying it was nota sustainable solutionand called for bringingback the Technology Mission

on Cotton. The minimum sup-port price for seed cotton

(kapas) for medium sta-ple has been increasedfrom Rs 5,255 to Rs5,515 per quintal (by4.75 per cent) and forlong staple, it has beenincreased from Rs 5,502to Rs 5,825 per quintal(4.95 percent) on

Monday.

Rupee rebounds18 paise to closeat 75.36 againstUS dollarPNS n MUMBAI

The rupee on Tuesdayrebounded by 18 paise toclose at 75.36 (provisional)against the US dollar afterPrime Minister NarendraModi asserted that thecountry will get back itseconomic growth.

Forex traders said posi-tive domestic equities, weakAmerican dollar and for-eign fund inflows also sup-ported investor sentiments.

The rupee opened lowerat 75.57 at the interbankforeign exchange marketand moved between 75.62and 75.36 during the daytrade.

The currency finally set-tled at 75.36 against the USdollar, registering a rise of18 paise over its previousclose of 75.54.

Zydus WellnessQ4 net profit up11% to Rs 69 crPNS n NEW DELHI

Zydus Wellness on Tuesdayreported a 10.89 per centrise in consolidated net prof-it to Rs 69.10 crore for thequarter ended on March 31,2020. The company hadposted a net profit of Rs62.31 crore for the corre-sponding period of 2018-19,Zydus Wellness said in aBSE filing.

Motherson SumiSystems’ net profitdeclines 68.4 pc PNS n NEW DELHI

Motherson Sumi Systems Ltdon Tuesday reported a 68.4per cent decline in consoli-dated net profit to Rs 135.66crore for the fourth quarterended March 31.The compa-ny had posted a consolidat-ed net profit of Rs 429.31crore in the correspondingperiod of the previous year.

rom modelingto acting...

I was always inter-ested in acting andmodeling rightsince my child-

hood. During my engineeringdays, I started taking up mod-eling projects, and after mygraduation. I got an opportu-nity to act in a Star Vijaya TVserial and after a year, I got acall from Surya Krishna sirthat he was working on a seri-al called Jyoti in Star Maa. I

didn’t know Teluguback then but Surya

sir gave me the

hope that I can do it. I gotthrough the audition andthat’s how I entered theTelugu small screen industry.After Jyoti, I auditioned foranother serial in Zee Teluguand got through.

Growing up, although Iwanted to get into acting, Ihad no idea about the craft ingeneral. I just gave it a try in aTamil serial which gave methe training and confidence Ineeded, because up until then,I only had modeling experi-ence. Acting is somethingvery different. But I wanted tochallenge myself, I worked onmy skills and got better each

day.

Immense supportfrom family….

My father works forthe Tamil Nadu elec-tricity board. None ofmy family was intoArts. My family’s sup-port is a huge pluspoint. When I told

them that I wanted to get intoacting, they were supportivebut wanted me to finish mygraduation first, as they wereworried about my career.Making a good career here isuncertain. Once I finished mygraduation, my family sup-ported me immensely.

More comfortable doingTelugu projects….

After my debut into theTelugu industry, I have beenlearning something or theother, every single day. Ireceived a lot of love from thepeople. It increased my inter-est to learn the language andgave me the urge to entertainthe people here more. Theyshowered me with immenselove, and that pushed me todo more projects in Telugunow. I'm now more comfort-able doing Telugu projects. Ithas become one of my lan-guages.

Once the shootingbegins, I majorly speak inTelugu. It has been one-and-a-half-years since Ijoined the industry. Iunderstand the lan-guage very well andcan even reply mosttimes. Soon I will be fluentin the language.

Exploring all shades…

My current character is oneof my most favourite roles Ihave played so far. My direc-tor pushes me to do more andexplores different shades ofme, that even I didn’t know Ihad. My character has somany shades in the serial — I

play a bad boy with othersbut also am a sweet soul,kind, and responsiblewhen I meet my loveinterest. My director is myguru who brought out thebest in me through the seri-al. I explored so much aboutmyself through this charac-ter.

Will do any role thatcomes my way....

I played a negative role inmy first project in Tamil. Iwas supposed to playthe lead butsince I sport-ed a beard,mydirectorfelt I

would fit a nega-tive role better. Iwanted to give ita try even thoughI wasn't very sure. I'mwilling to do any rolethat comes my way ifthe story is good. Anartist should be readyto play any character.

F

Follow us on

@TheDailyPioneer

facebook.com/dailypioneer

WednesdayJune 3, 2020

‘More comfortabledoing Telugu projects'

out of the

BOX

Within two and a half years ofmaking his debut into acting,the Radhamma Kuthuru star

has established a name forhimself with his acting and

has now become a householdname. With immense love

being showered on him frompeople of the two Telugu

states, the actor, a native ofChennai, says he wants to domore projects in Telugu and

that the language has becomea part of him. Actor Gokul

speaks to K RAMYA SREEabout his career, support

from family, and more

Growing up, although I wanted toget into acting, I had no idea aboutthe craft in general. I just gave it a try in aTamil serial which gave me the training andconfidence I needed, because up until then, I only had modelling experience. Acting issomething very different. But I wanted tochallenge myself, I worked on my skills andgot better each day.

#MyPeriodStorySHIKHA DUGGAL

woman’speriod cycleis no more ahush-hushaffair. It’s agirl’s transi-

tion into womanhoodthat calls for celebration.Promoting the sameattitude is GoodUniverse, an NGO thatseeks to celebrate peri-ods and brings in themuch-needed changethe country needs. Thecampaign with an out-reach of more than6,00,000 entries acrossthree global countries,was a massive success.Notable personalitiesfrom the city ofHyderabad suchAnasuya Bhardwaj,Jhansi, NamrataBhagtani, ManjulathaKalanidhi, ViiveckVerma, etc. also joinedthe campaign.

What is#MyPeriodStory? Usersacross the world cametogether to share uniquestories centered aroundthe menstrual cycle. Theforte of the campaign

took a toll when entriesfilled in from the strataof men too. Videosranging from how menfirst got to know aboutperiods, how they didtheir best to help thewomen around themduring such a time and,how they’re challengingthe society in destigma-tising taboos aroundmenstruation, etc. werethe kind of responsesthe campaign received.

“Gender inequality isone of the reasons men-strual hygiene has beenregarded as a culturaltaboo, with a stigmaattached to it, and asubject that is centeredaround a feeling ofshame and/or disgust.

Men can supportwomen and girls, speakout loud about men-struation effectivelyacross different socialmedia platforms.Initiating a dialoguearound menstrualhygiene like#MyPeriodStory is thefirst step towards it,”believes Kamal Nayak,director of the NGO.

Engaging in conver-sations around men-strual hygiene is a stridetowards womenempowerment. It’s notjust about access to san-itary pads anymore, it’sabout building an envi-ronment that supportsand values menstrua-tion with dignity.

USERS ACROSS THE WORLDCAME TOGETHER TO SHAREUNIQUE STORIES CENTEREDAROUND THE MENSTRUALCYCLE. THE FORTE OF THECAMPAIGN TOOK A TOLL WHENMEN TOO JOINED THE CAUSE

irtual experiencesare the new trend-ing topics. Therealm of the virtu-al world is grow-ing in popularity

while the world is dealingwith the novel Coronavirus.‘Virtual Foodies Meetup’organised by Atul Maharaj,recipient of Best Blogger,Telangana Award, Rida Khan,a food columnist, andHarshit, an international foodblogger, better known asHyderabad Foodie. Withmembers like Dr. AndrewFleming and NamrataSadhvani taking an activepart in it and plating theirextravagant dishes, the eventwas trending on twitter.

What is #VirtualFoodiesMeetUp?

A bunch of local foodiesfrom Hyderabad cametogether to have fun and haveconversations around food.The foodie club known for itsunity loved engaging in thissocial activity amid the lock-down. Sending in pictures oftheir favourite cuisines from

across the city, many of themsaid they couldn’t wait to res-ume food blogging affairs.

How did the idea arise?

Atul saw many peopleturning self-proclaimedMasterChefs in their respec-tive homes trying brilliantrecipes. Apart from this, theextension of the lockdowndid not go well withRamadan not having Iftarparties. Hence, along withRida and The HyderabadFoodie, he decided to hostthis online event that's allabout food.

Highlights of the event:

The session was planned at

2 pm on a Saturday, with AtulMaharaj indulging in graph-ics for the event along withRida and Harshit preparingthe questionnaire. Peoplewere joining in from UAE,Australia, and others acrossthe globe that steadily keptbreaking the trends on twit-ter.

What were the famousdishes that wereshared?

From Mamta SweetHouse’s Jalebi Fafda, NimrahCafe’s Irani Chai, SproutChaat masala, Upma, specialAndhra Avakaya, Aloo Tikkiin the form of a birds nest toHaleem, Thai curry,Gurugram’s chole kulche,Zaiqa-e-Hyderabad’s Biryani,Steamed fish in South EastAsian style and the list is end-less.

The whole food bloggingcommunity of Hyderabadbelieves that the joy of foodisn’t just about the mechanicsof eating. It’s the amalgama-tion of innovations, ideas,and inventions with a pinchof homeliness.

Technologicalconvergence hasmade it possible

for brands tohost online

meetups withseveral

attendees ata time. One

suchonline

gatheringtitled

‘VirtualFoodies

Meetup' hadfoodies from

across theglobe meet and

share recipes,reports

SHIKHA DUGGAL

VA bunch of localfoodies fromHyderabad cametogether to have fun and haveconversationsaround food

A

10

Hyderabad Wednesday June 3 2020 what’s brewing?

FUN

Rules

ARCHIE

GARFIELD

SUDOKU

REALITY CHECK SPEED BUMP CROSSWORD

GINGER MEGGS

NANCY

CALVIN AND HOBBES

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

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

Yesterday’s solution

he ongoinghealth crisis hasturned lifeupside down,and pets feel itto. They may be

getting some extra affectionas pet parents stay home,but their activity time,especially outdoors, hastaken a turn for the worse.As a pet parent, you caneasily make up for this bydevising fun games to keepthem playful and active,suggests Anushka Iyer, whospearheads Wiggles.in, a pethealthcare brand.

Bubble fun

Get a bubble maker fromthe local store, if possible orturn a wire into a bubblering. Take some soapywater and blow bubbles

into your pet’s direction.Watch the fun as your furrygoofball will either try tochase them. Capture this inslow motion with yourmobile. This one is sure toget a lot of giggles out ofyou when you play it againlater. If your pets happen tocelebrate their birthdayamidst the lockdown, get adozen balloons, blow themup and let your pet boopthem while you enjoy thefun.

Play fetch

All pets love to fetchalmost anything and every-thing. You can have funthrowing a tennis ball, abundled-up rag cloth, afrisbee or even a football.Your furry friends willshow agility and prowess

and get it back to you foranother round, all happy tomake you throw it onceagain. The running aroundwill give them the muchneeded physical exerciseand keep them alert andactive.

Go on long walks

All pets love their walkswhere they get to sniff thedifferent smells and marktheir territory. Go for shortwalks twice in a day if pos-sible but closer to yourhome. Choose walk timeswhen you come across afew people, so early morn-ings or late evenings workjust fine.

Devise obstacle gamesto boost their agility

Pets love to jump over

any obstacles in their path.You can set up householditems like bottles, or boxesor even toilet paper as hur-dles and keep adding levelsto check their agility. If youhave treats on the otherend, your pets will try allthings possible to gobblethem up and, in the bar-gain, have fun jumping.

Splashing in the swimming pool

Splashing in the pool isfun for your pets as long asthey have you to cheerthem and play with!Besides, it is a good work-out for both of you in thesummer. If the pool hasregular chlorine levels, thenit is absolutely safe for yourpet or you could use aninflatable pool. Just ensure

that your pets drink plentyof water after they get outof the pool. Don’t forget togive them a bath once theyare out and dry their coatthoroughly. Swimminghelps with muscle trainingand is also an excellent car-dio workout for your dogs.

DIY toys and puzzles

Get your hands on a chewtoy from an online pet storeor even a pet shop closerhome. A kong is a toy inwhich you can put in treatsand give it to your pets tokeep them engaged by try-ing to reach those tastytreats inside them. PeanutButter or cold pressedcoconut oil are good optionsto freeze and fill in. You canalso make DIY toys at homewith old t-shirts. Take an

old cloth or t-shirt and con-vert it into a ball by tyingthe ends into a loose knot.Put your pet's favouritetreats in them and watchthem spend hours trying tofind their treats. Takeunused ice trays, freezetreats inside them. Watchyour pets being patient tolick off the water and eat thehidden treat inside. You canalso hide treats in the houseand let them sniff their wayto it. Pets love games thatare challenging and suchgames heighten their senseof smell and stimulate themmentally.

Train your pets to dothese simple tricks

The lockdown is the besttime to teach them simpletricks like giving a paw five

or even learning basictraining commands like sit,stay, pawshake etc. Keep atreat as a reward or some-times even your constantencouragement to them isreward enough with lots ofpetting and cuddles. Thisstrengthens the bondbetween you and your pet.

Healthy food and agood sleep

Avoid giving your petshuman foods like icecream, sugar candies, bis-cuits, chocolates or cakes.Most baked goods containxylitol which is harmful forpets. It is better to givethem homemade food thatis free from artificial fillersor preservatives. Cats canbe given boiled fish andchicken while dogs can

even be given boiled paneerand chicken. Just make surethat there are no bones inthe meat. Speak to your vetabout the portions to begiven. Fruits like watermel-on, apple, mango and veg-etables like cucumber, car-rot can be given but inmoderation. If your pets eata healthy, nutritious andbalanced diet, chances ofthem being playful andalert are more. Let yourpets get their beauty sleepafter a meal. Most pets loveto snooze all day, but it’s upto you to engage them insome playful activity tokeep them from becomingsluggish and inactive.

Be patient, engage yourpets and have a great time

bonding with them!

T

PLAY IDEAS to keep your pet active and alert

PLAY IDEAS to keep your pet active and alert

PLAY IDEAS to keep your pet active and alert

PLAY IDEAS to keep your pet active and alert

PLAY IDEAS to keep your pet active and alert

PLAY IDEASto keep your pet active and alert

onsidered a guru to filmmakersVV Vinayak and Sreenu Vaitla,senior director Sagar is staging acomeback with an action-enter-tainer, Nakshatra Poratam 2,which he is also producing. The

film will tell the tale of an honest cop whofights against injustice in the society. Suman,Bhanuchander, Aamani and J Babu are play-ing lead roles, while Koti will render music.Once the government gives its go-ahead forthe shooting, Sagar is planning to take thefilm to floors. It would be predominantlyshot in AP and Kerala. Kota Sreenivas Rao,Naseer and Brahmanandam will be seenin supporting roles.

11

Hyderabad Wednesday June 3 2020tollywood

peaking tous lastmonth,Krishnaand hisLeela direc-

tor Ravikanth Perepuconfirmed that thefilm’s producers are indeliberations torelease it on an OTTplatform. Now we’velearnt from reliablesources that the dealhas been inked.Netflix has snatchedthe streaming rights ofthe film in a non-exclusive deal. This istheir second big catchin the past one monthas they’ve alreadyfinalised a deal tostream C/OKancharapalemfame VenkateshMaha’s Uma

Maheswara UgraRoopasya, fea-

turingSatyadev.

Asource

closetothe

development tells us,“Krishna and his Leelastory pitch impressedNetflix India and theyoffered to buy it out-right. However, SureshBabu wasn’t willing todo so, due to his OTTplans. The deal wasadjusted betweenNetflix and Aha. Aweek or 10 days afterit first drops onNetflix, the film willstart streaming onAha as well.”

Krishna and hisLeela, which isPerepu’s second direc-torial effort after thesuccessful Kshanam,features SidduJonnalagadda,Shraddha Srinath,Seerat Kapoor andShalini Vadnikatti inthe lead roles. It is aromantic comedy andSiddu plays a guy whois in love with multi-ple women at thesame time. “He isthere in every singleboy. He is an averageJoe who is cute, sweetand girls like him. Hegets emotional andgets carried away atplaces but there is thisconstant want offalling in love. Butgenerally one doesn’tget 100 per cent withtheir relationship andit's a way of life. Thatis when he startslooking elsewhere. Itis the same here inthe film,” Sid toldus about his role inthe film lastmonth.

SNetflix has snatched thestreaming rights of

Krishna and his Leela ina non-exclusive deal,

finds NAGARAJ GOUD

FIRST NETFLIX,

NEXT AHA

andamuriBalakrishna offeredno comment toNaga Babu’s recentstatement, sayingthat the whole

industry is rallying behindhim and he doesn’t see a pointreacting to Naga Babu.

Balayya’s statement — thatactors are trying to grab landsand distribute among them byholding meetings withTalasani Srinivas Yadav — onhis father’s 97th birth anniver-sary last week drew the ire ofNaga Babu who asked Balayyato apologise to both industry

and Telangana government.Speaking to Yoyo TV,

Balayya also said that he wasn’tinvited to the fundraisingevent in US to help build abuilding for MAA.“Chiranjeevi garu and otherswent to Dallas to raise Rs 5crore. The government (ofTelangana) is supportivebecause of the industry stayingin Hyderabad. Can’t theauthorities give two-threeacres of land for free to con-struct a new building? Thegovernment is rushing to giveconsent to start shootingssidelining the Covid-19 scare,

because they need taxes. Weare the highest paying taxindustry in the society. Thebuilding hasn’t been construct-ed yet while the funds havedwindled,” the actor said.

Balayya added that he isopen to a multi-starrer withother Nandamuri heroes. “Ifwe get a good story we will doit. I can crack a story idea in acouple of minutes. Sometimeback, Singeetham Srinivas Raogaru and writer Satyanandgaru sat with me to discussAditya 999 Max. They spokeabout an apsara from heavenvisiting the Earth, only for me

to interrupt them andtell that my film is notJagadeka VeeruduAthiloka Sundari.Rather, it’s abouttime machine. Thenext day I told thema story idea andthey were spell-bound. If I want todo a multi-starrer itshould be on thestandards of Sholayin terms of grandeur.Two-three heroes approachedme in the past but they wentincommunicado after initialproposals,” he noted.

risha Krishnan hasdiscovered a quirkyway for home workout of biceps andtriceps.

In a video sheposted on Instagram Stories,Trisha plays with her dogZorro using a toy rope. Theclip shows Trisha holding thetoy, while her dog is seenpulling it.

She wrote, “Home workout

for triceps and biceps.”The actress then cuddles her

furry friend.She captioned the video,

“Bestest quarantine partner.”Recently, Trisha had shared a

picture of homemade pav bhajiamid lockdown.

The actress took toInstagram Stories, where sheshared a photograph of theyummy dish and wrote,“Homemade pav bhaji”.

TRISHAKRISHNAN

discovers a new‘home workoutfor triceps and

biceps'

T

Actor Suman,Bhanuchander

in Sagar'scomeback film

C

N

ovid-19 outbreak seems to have put aspanner in the works of producer DilRaju and director Anil Ravipudi in tak-ing F3 forward. According to the latestbuzz, Victory Venkatesh, who is themain face of the film, is believed to have

developed cold feet to start the project anytime this year. The 59-year-old has reportedlytold Ravipudi to not to initiate pre-produc-tion, with government set to give officialconsent for film shootings shortly.Apparently, he has asked the director towait till the end of the year. The actor, inthe meanwhile, wants to wrap upNaarappa. With the film being hisbrother Suresh Babu’s production, hecan take his own sweet time toresume work on it. Staying healthy isVenkatesh’s priority right now andone can’t blame it, says a source.

So, with Venky’s decision topush F3 next year, Ravipudistands to lose much, especiallyafter delivering a super hit likeSarileru Neekevvaru earlier thisyear. It is the reason why he is

working on another script that fitsNandamuri Balakrishna, another source

chips in.

BALAYYA IS OPEN TO A MULTI-STARRER WITHTARAK AND KALYANRAM

C

F3 likely toroll next year

AFP n COLOGNE

RB Leipzig returned to thirdplace in the Bundesliga with anentertaining 4-2 victory at

Köln on Monday.Jhon Cordoba claimed the early

advantage for the home side butLeipzig scored four in 37 minutes,including Timo Werner’s 31st in allcompetitions, to climb back aboveBorussia Moenchengladbach andBayer Leverkusen in the hunt for aChampions League place.

“We wanted the three points, wesucceeded. But it is annoying that wefell behind early and wasted a fewchances,” Leipzig’s managing direc-tor Oliver Mintzlaff told broadcast-er DAZN.

“We are back on course for theChampions League which is ourgoal, but the pressure is great.Everyone has to go all in, be totallyfocused and focused,” he added.

The hosts’ boss Markus Gisdolmade four changes fromWednesday’s loss at Hoffenheim,starting Rafael Czichos in place ofsuspended Sebastian Bournaauw,red carded in the defeat.

Leipzig’s Julian Nagelsmannswitched both his wing-backs fromWednesday’s draw to Hertha Berlinas Angelino, on loan fromManchester City, and French youthinternational Nordi Mukiele started.

The home side took the earlylead as Cordoba poached for his 10thhome goal of the campaign.

Midfielder Elvis Rexhbecaj’s

effort deflected onto the far post andthe Colombian finishedfrom the rebound afterseven minutes.

The sides were level 13minutes later as Schickheaded home Angelino’scross to start the flutter ofgoals.

Things went from badto worse for Gisdol’s men four min-utes later as Cordoba was forced offwith an injury and replaced byAnthony Modeste.

Leipzig’s took the lead eightminutes from the break as

Christopher Nkunku claimed hisfirst goal since January.

Austria midfielderKonrad Laimer played aclever ball into the boxand former Paris Saint-Germain attackerNkunku dinked his finishover the onrushing TimoHorn.

WERNER AAFTER BBREAKLeipzig went further ahead three

minutes into the second-half asWerner, who has been linked with amove to Premier League leaders

sport 12HYDERABAD | WEDNESDAY | JUNE 3, 2020

AFP n LONDON

The curtailed Formula Oneseason will start with two

races behind closed doors inAustria on July 5 and July 12followed by six other GrandsPrix in Europe, the organiserssaid on Tuesday.

Formula One said it hopedto have between 15 and 18races in total, with the seasonbeing completed in December.

The Hungarian Grand Prixwill be brought forward toJuly 19 before a two-weekbreak, followed by consecutiveraces in Britain and events inSpain, Italy and Belgium. Allwill likely be run without spec-tators while participants mustadhere to strict safety protocols.

Regular health tests will beconducted with the number ofteam members and race staff atthe venue also reduced.

“While we currently expectthe season to commence with-out fans at our races we hopethat over the coming monthsthe situation will allow us towelcome them back once it is

safe to do,” said F1 chief exec-utive Chase Carey.

“But we know the return ofFormula 1 will be a welcomeboost to sports fans around theworld.”

Silverstone will host tworaces in Britain on August 2and 9, with the Spanish GrandPrix set for Barcelona onAugust 16.

The Belgian and ItalianGrands Prix will take place ontheir original dates of August30 and September 6, complet-ing the European part of the

season. Each event will alsoinclude the Formula 2 andFormula 3 categories.

The blueprint for therehashed season features fur-ther races in Asia and theAmericas in September,October and November beforefinishing in the Gulf in Bahrainand Abu Dhabi in December.

The 2020 season was tohave featured a record 22 races,now it is set to be the shortestcampaign since 2009 with racesin Australia, Monaco, Franceand the Netherlands cancelled.

AFP n ROME

Serie A will return after athree-month coronavirus-

enforced absence on June 20with Torino hosting Parma inthe first of four postponedmatches on the opening week-end, the Italian league con-firmed.

The championship willresume with fixtures which werecalled off when Italian sports wassuspended on March 9 becauseof the coronavirus.

The first match will be15th-placed Torino versusninth-ranked Parma at 7.30 pm(1730GMT) on June 20 followedby Hellas Verona, in eighth, ver-sus Cagliari, in 12th, at 9.45pm.

The following day fourth-placed Atalanta will host mid-table Sassuolo at 7.30 pm whileInter Milan, in third, will be athome against relegation-threat-ened Sampdoria at 9.45 pm.

Most teams have 12 gamesleft to play with 124 matchesremaining, to be played in 43days from June 20 to August 2.

After the four catch-upgames, the 27th round of actionwill be played with matchesscheduled from Monday, June22 through to Wednesday, June24.

Maurizio Sarri’s Juventuswho are bidding for a ninth con-secutive title, travel to Bolognafor their first game back onMonday with second-placeLazio at Atalanta on Wednesday.

Juventus will host Lazio onJuly 20 at 9.45pm.

The league has not yet con-firmed the dates for the ItalianCup, which is expected to becompleted the week beforeSerie A restarts, with thefinal on June 17.

The return legs of thesemi-finals remain to beplayed with Juventus facingAC Milan and Napoli playingInter Milan.

Most of the matches will beplayed at 7.30pm and 9.45pm,because of the summer heat inItaly, with only ten games sched-uled earlier at 5.15pm, in thenorth of the country.

Games will be playedbehind closed doors and adher-ing to a strict health protocol,whereby the entire group mustgo into a training camp retreat

for two weeks in the case of apositive test for Covid-19.

Italian football federationpresident Gabriele Gravina saidhe hoped that a small number of

fans will be able to attendmatches before the seasonfinishes.

“It is my heartfelt wishto be able to see a smallpresence in stadium for

the end of the championship,”said Gravina.

“It seems unthinkable thatin a stadium with 60,000 seats,there is no space for a minimalpercentage of spectators who canattend the match with all neces-sary precautions.

“Certainly it is prematuretoday but with the resumptionof the championship, there couldbe a new little signal of hope forour country.”

AFP n LONDON

England will play three Testsat home to the West Indies

in July, subject to BritishGovernment clearance to returnbehind closed doors, theEngland and Wales CricketBoard announced on Tuesday.

The first Test will take placeat Hampshire’s Ageas Bowlground from July 8-12, with thesecond and third Tests at OldTrafford in Manchester on July16-20 and July 24-28.

The West Indies, whoagreed in principle to take partin the series last week, are dueto arrive in England on June 9and will then be based at OldTrafford for a three-week peri-od of quarantine and trainingbefore travelling down toSouthampton.

ECB director of events SteveElworthy said: “Our main objec-tive is to deliver a safe environ-ment for all stakeholders includ-ing players, match officials,operational staff, essential venuestaff, broadcasters and media.

“We are in daily dialoguewith Government and our med-ical team, who have been incred-ibly supportive during this peri-od. These are our proposeddates and they remain subject toUK Government approval.

“We would like to thankCricket West Indies for their co-operation and dedication inmaking this tour a reality, and weall look forward to the prospectof cricket returning in the com-ing weeks.”

The series should have start-ed at The Oval in south Londonon Thursday, with the secondand third Tests originally sched-uled for Edgbaston and Lord’s.

But the fixtures — nowbehind closed doors matches —were moved to the Ageas Bowland Old Trafford for reasons ofbio-security, with both groundshaving on-site hotels whereplayers and officials can beclosely monitored.

SPTI n NEW DELHI

India’s fielding coach R Sridhar says a four-phased training module is being prepared

for the country’s elite cricketers, who canattain peak match fitness with four to sixweeks of training once the camp gets the go-ahead to start.

“I think if you have a camp for 4-6weeks, we can bring them to peak matchreadiness...Fast bowler needs around 6weeks, batsmen might take a bit less time,”Sridhar said.

“Once we get a date (on start of nation-al camp) from the BCCI and approved bythe Government, we can start working back-wards (starting from scratch). The challengeis to proceed in right phases as players canget excited when they play after 14 or 15weeks.

“It’s pertinent that we move in rightmanner forward. Don’t want to look toomuch ahead,” he explained.

Sridhar stressed on workload manage-ment and warned that pushing too hardwould only cause injuries.

“Initially, we have to give them progres-sive workload. You can’t have a sudden spikein workload which could lead to injuries,”said the former Hyderabad left-arm spin-ner.

The coach then explained how they cango about it.

“First phase, it will be ‘low volume-lowintensity’, followed by ‘moderate volume-lowintensity’, ‘high volume-moderate intensity’and then starts ‘high volume-high intensi-ty’ training. This is how we will go,” he said.

And what will constitute low-volume-low intensity training? Sridhar said it wouldvary.

“May be the fast bowlers will bowl twoovers from half or quarter run-up. The deliv-eries will be bowled at 20 or 30 percentintensity. For a fielder, it will be at the max-imum, six throws over 10 metres or 6 throwsover 20 metres at 40 to 50 per cent intensi-ty.

“For a batsman, it will start with five tosix minutes of batting against moderate pacebowling,” he explained.

“For catchers, it will start with semi-softballs, intensity will be slow and volumes willbe less. Then we can slowly pick it up as we

cross one phase after another,” he said.It will be around the fourth week that

match-intensity training will start and then

slowly, the players will enter the zonewhere they get match ready.

“We can’t do same training every day aswe start with low volume-low intensity train-ing. Once we get to the fourth week whenhigh volume-high intensity training starts,the hands will get used to hard balls com-ing at 140km an hour, 130km an hour, that’swhen match-training will start.

“The sharpest minds will take sixweeks to get into Test match mode,” the 49-year-old opined.

He agreed that duration of getting intopeak match readiness physically and men-tally will vary from player to player but theaim for the coaches will be to have every-one on the same page when the camp ends.

“Definitely, there would be differentintensity level, (it will vary) from player toplayer. That’s what the sport is all about. Eachplayer has to be different. We understandthat. Each one will take slightly different timeto get into the peak readiness.

“Someone will do it 4 weeks and someone will take 3 to 4 days more or there maybe someone who may take 3-4 sessionsmore. We respect that. As coaches, our jobis to get everybody on the same page at theend of the camp.”

PTI n NEW DELHI

Hockey India on Tuesdaynominated national

women’s team captain Ranifor the prestigious RajivGandhi Khel Ratna Awardwhile Vandana Kataria,Monika and HarmanpreetSingh were recommendedfor the Arjuna Award.

The period of consider-ation for the Rajiv GandhiKhel Ratna Award, India’shighest sporting honour, isbetween January 1, 2016 toDecember 31, 2019.

During this period, Raniled the team to historic vic-tories in the Women’s AsiaCup in 2017, Silver at the2018 Asian Games andplayed a critical role in the

FIH Olympic Qualifiers in2019 by scoring the decidinggoal that helped India qual-ify for the Tokyo Olympics.

The team also climbedto a career-best ninth theFIH world rankings.

Also joining Ranifor top honour isstar wrestler VineshPhogat, while herfellow colleaguesW o r l dChampionshipm e d a l l i s t sRahul Awareand Olympic-bound DeepakPunia werenominated for theArjuna award along-side Sakshi Malik andtwo others by the

wrestling federation.Meanwhile, TTFI rec-

ommended star paddlerManika Batra name for thesame.

Manika, who missedout on India’s highest sport-ing honour last year, is the

first woman paddlerfrom her countryto win a singlesGold medal at theCommonwealthGames. Sheachieved the feat inthe 2018 edition in

which she won asmany four medals

including two Goldmedal.

The federation hasrecommended veteranMadhurika Patkar,

Manav Thakkar andSuthirtha Mukherjee forthe Arjuna Award.

Mukherjee recentlybroke into the top-100 ofthe ITTF world rankings.

A panel formed by theSports Ministry will short-list the nominationsreceived from variousnational federations withthe awards to be presentedon National Sports Day,August 29.

India’s top men’s dou-bles pair of SatwiksairajRankireddy and ChiragShetty and men’s singlesplayer Sameer Verma pro-file was also put forward forthe Arjuna award by theBadminton Association ofIndia (BAI).

IANS n MADRID

Catalan radio station RAC1reported on Tuesday that

five players from FC Barcelonaand two members of the coach-ing staff tested positive for theCovid-19 in tests carried out bythe Spanish football league(LaLiga) at the start of May.

The radio station, whichhas close linksto the club,did not nameany of theplayers or staffwho couldhave beeninfected, buthighlights that they have allovercome the virus and gener-ated antibodies.

The news comes the dayafter Spain’s football clubs werefinally allowed to begin train-ing with their full squads asthey put the finishing touchesto return to action next week asthe Liga Santander and LigaSmartBank (first and seconddivisions) come back after abreak of over 3 months.

IANS n NEW DELHI

Out of favour batsman SureshRaina has revealed that

unlike previous editions, formerIndia captain MS Dhoni waspreparing in a different way forthis year’s edition of the IndianPremier League which current-ly stands indefinitely postponed.

Dhoni and Raina had start-ed their preparations for IPL 13from March 3 for the tourna-ment earlier slated to standfrom March 29.

“The first few days he tookit lightly and just focused ongoing to the gym but he wasplaying the shots beautifullyand his fitness level was greatand he was not getting tired,”Raina said while speaking onStar Sports show CricketConnected .

“His preparations were dif-ferent this time, I have playedwith him over the years with thenational side and IPL gettingready but it was different thistime, so I just hope the match-es can start quickly then every-one can see how well preparedhe is and see what I saw myselfLIVE in the two months of campthat we had,” he added.

The 2020 IPL is supposed tosee return of Dhoni to cricket-ing action as the wicket-keeperis on a break since playing in thesemi-final of the 2019 World

Cup where India lost to NewZealand.

“When someone workshard, then the prayers and bless-ings find their way to them,” saidRaina.

“The best thing was,(Ambati) Rayudu, myself, Mahibhai and Murali (Vijay) werebatting in a group and Mahi bhaibats for long hours when he isin Chennai for about 2-4 hours.

“But this time he was justnot getting tired of batting. Hewas doing his gym in the morn-ing, followed by batting forthree hours in the evening,” headded.

3For the first time ever, 3 different teams in the

Bundesliga have accumulated at least 74 goals

after 29 matchdays

19RB Leipzig have gained 19 points from

losing positiont in the current Bundesliga

season. The last team to collect more has

been Wolfsburg in 2013/14 (21 after 34 Games)

1With his assist for Timo Werner's goal Peter

Gulasci becomes the first keeper to be involved

in a goal in the current Bundesliga season

15FC Cologne have now scored in 15

consecutive Bundesliga games - their

longest scoring streak in 33 years (from

November 1986 until August 1987 under coach

Christoph Daum)

Liverpool players showed their solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movementfollowing the death of George Floyd in the United States by taking a knee aroundthe centre circle at Anfield on Monday. Reds stars including Virgil van Dijk andTrent Alexander-Arnold tweeted the same photograph with the words Unity isstrength, accompanied by the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter. Made famous by formerNFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick's kneeling during pre-game renditions of the USnational anthem, bending down on one knee has become a symbol in the fightagainst racial injustice. Liverpool FC/Twitter

Leipzig's forward Patrik Schick, front left, FC Köln defender Toni Leistner, center, & goalkeeperTimo Horn, front right, battle for the ball during Bundesliga match AP

SHARING IS CARINGLeipzig prove that goals can come from anywhere on the pitch in 4-2 win over Köln

Liverpool, raced clear ina rapid counter-attackand beat Horn with aside-footed finish.

Köln hit back fourminutes later as Leipzigfailed to clear outsidetheir area and Modestecurled home a shot.

Leipzig’s two-goallead was re-establishedless than two minuteslater as Spain midfield-er Dani Olmo scoredhis first goal since join-ing Leipzig in Januarywith a curling shot of

his own from the edgeof the box.

Substitute Modesteseemed to have wonthe chance to reduce theadvantage with 18 min-utes left but was denieda penalty by VAR afterLucas Klostermann’stackle.

With two minutesremaining Modestethen wasted a one-on-one with Peter Gulasciand Nagelsmann’sLeipzig held on for threepoints.

Torino vs Parma kicks offSerie A return on June 20

Juventus players play football during team’s training session ahead of Serie A restart

Figuratively

We’ll have four-phased training module for match-readiness: Sridhar

Indian fielding coach R Sridhar chats with RavindraJadeja during practice session PTI/File Picture

India’s attitude towards fitnessinfluenced B’desh players: TamimNEW DELHI: Senior cricketerTamim Iqbal has noqualms in admitting thatBangladesh closely fol-lowed Indian cricket, andsaid the Tigers’ change inattitude towards fitness wasinfluenced by Virat Kohliand his men.

“I think because Indiais our neighbour country,we follow a lot of thingsabout what’s happening inIndia. Indian cricket’schange in approachtowards fitness influencedBangladesh cricket themost,” the left-handedopener said in a

ESPNcricinfo podcast.The 31-year-old said

he was in awe of Kohli’sfocus towards fitnessdespite both cricketersbeing on the same side of

age. “I have no shame to tellyou this. I think this shouldbe out. 2-3 years back,when I sometimes used tosee Virat Kohli doing allthose gym things, runningaround, I honestly used tofeel ashamed myself.

“The guy of my age istraining so much despiteattaining success whereas Iam not even doing half ofwhat he is doing,” he said.

“I, maybe, not doinghalf of what he is doing. Atleast, if I can’t match hislevel, try to follow his path.Maybe I can reach 50-60per cent.” PTI

Ageas Bowl, Old Traffordto host Eng-WI Tests

Rani, Manika recommended for Khel Ratna

Dhoni’s IPL preparations weredifferent this time: Raina

Covid break could prolongmy career: Anderson

LONDON: Veteran England fastbowler James Anderson reck-ons the coronavirus enforcedbreak from the game couldextend his career “by a year ortwo”. English record Test wick-et taker, who is in the twilightof his career, said the breakcould lead to something goodfor him.

“It (the break) could justadd on a year or two at the endof my career,” Anderson saidon the BBC podcast Tailenders.

The 37-year-old, who lastplayed in January before suffer-ing an injury, is part of the 55-member group that has beenasked by the England CricketBoard (ECB) to return totraining, ahead of the WestIndies Test series.

“I’ve really enjoyed beingback and as odd as it is justbowling into a net, with notmany people around, it’s stillnice to be back and playingcricket,” Anderson said. PTI

5 Barca players, twocoaches test +veF1 will start with 2 races at Austrian GP