KESTUR VASUKI n BENGALURU

Janata Dal(S) leader HDKumaraswamy was sworn in

as the 25th Chief Minister ofKarnataka on Wednesday at afunction attended by a galaxyof Opposition leaders andthousands of Congress andJD(S) supporters. SeniorCongress Dalit leader GParameshwara took oath asthe Deputy Chief Minister.

The unprecedented gath-ering of Oppositions leadersand regional satraps at thefunction seemed to be a pre-lude to the emergence of abroad-based unity of theOpposition parties to take onthe Modi-Shah combine in the2019 general elections.

In addition to UPA chair-person Sonia Gandhi andCongress president RahulGandhi, also present on theoccasion were NCP leaderSharad Pawar, Andhra PradeshChief Minister and TDP pres-ident Chandrababu Naidu,West Bengal CM and TMCchief Mamata Banerjee, DelhiCM and AAP president ArvindKejriwal, Kerala CM andCPI(M) leader PinarayiVijayan, Puducherry ChiefMinister V Narayansamy, BSPleader Mayawati, CPI(M) bossSitaram Yachury, SP chiefAkhilesh Yadav, RJD leaderTejashvi Yadav, Sharad Yadav,RLD leader Ajit Singh, JVMleader Babulal Marandi, HDDeve Gowda, Mallikharjuna

Kharge, Jaipal Reddy, MargaretAlva, Veerappa Moily, GhulamNabi Azad, Kamal Haasan andhost of other leaders.

The warm exchange ofgreetings and shaking of handsthat the leaders on the stagedisplayed clearly showed thatthey were ready to script a newchapter of unity among them-selves ahead of the next year’scrucial political battle. Akhileshand Mayawati were seen talk-ing amiably with Tejashvi andMamata, while Sonia was smilingly reciprocating toMayawati.

In his customary Pressconference after taking theoath of office and secrecy,Kumaraswamy justified align-ing with the Congress and said

his Government will be stableand last for its full term. “I havedecided to join the Congressalliance for the sake of thenation to keep the BJP away.This is also an effort for theOpposition unity to fight theBJP in 2019 polls,” he added.

On the galaxy of leadersattending the swearing-in cer-emony, he said, “The leaderswho came here today didn’t justcome up to support myGovernment, they wanted tosend a message to the peoplethat they are coming togetherfor 2019 elections.”

“Never before in a StateGovernment formation had somany leaders come. This is thefirst time that it has happenedin the country. This is also a

challenge for me, every step Itake will have to be weighed.The expectation that this willbe a model for the country is achallenge. I have to also look atthe promises I have made in mymanifesto,” Kumaraswamy said.

Kumaraswamy succeedsBS Yeddyurappa, who resignedafter three days of swearing-inwithout proving his majorityon the floor of the House.Kumaraswamy is heading acoalition Government for thesecond time.

The BJP boycotted theswearing-in and party workersprotested across the Stateagainst the “unholy alliance”. Inthe May 12 election, voters gavea hung Assembly in 222 con-stituencies, with 37 for theJD(S), 78 for the Congress and104 for the BJP, which fellseven short of 111-halfwaymark for a simple majority.

As part of the coalitionagreement, the Congress willget Deputy CM post, 22Cabinet berths and Speaker’spost, and the JD(S) will get 12berths, including the positionof Deputy Speaker. Congressleader and former MinisterRamesh Kumar will be theSpeaker. While GovernorVajubhai R Vala has given 15days to Kumaraswamy to provehis majority, the Congressleader in charge of KarnatakaKC Venugopal said the floor

test would be on Friday.Meanwhile, intense bar-

gaining is underway betweenthe Congress and the JD(S)leaders for ministerial berths.This was the reason why noMinister took oath along withKumaraswamy. The oath-tak-ing for the Ministers might takeplace on May 29 after the floortest is over.

It is also reported thatCongress strongman andVokkaliga leader DKShivakumar, who played a keyrole in “guarding” theCongress-JD(S) MLAs againstany “poaching “ bid, was upsetfor not getting the DeputyCM’s post. However, Congressleader Venugopal pacifiedShivakumar and assured himthat he will be made the Stateparty chief.

Talking to reporters on thesidelines of the ceremony,Mamata said, “We are here tostrengthen the regional parties.We can meet each other, talk toeach other.

Continued on Page 7

MOHIT KANDHARI n JAMMU

In a fresh offensive, PakistanRangers on Wednesday

resorted to intensive mortarshelling, possibly aided byPakistan Army regulars in theirforward posts, killing fiveIndian civilians, including a 10-year-old boy and a woman, andleaving 30 others, includingthree BSF jawans, injured.

Incidentally on May 20, thePakistan Rangers had request-ed the BSF for ceasefire afterthe Indian border force’s retal-iation had led to massive casu-alty in Pakistan.

In strong retaliatoryaction, BSF jawans hit hard tar-geting some of the Pakistannotorious posts deliberatelytargeting civilian pockets acrossArnia and RS Pura. Accordingto official sources at least onePak ranger was killed in retal-iatory fire while three othersreceived injuries.

The total toll has now goneup to 11, including nine civil-ians and 2 BSF jawans, in theongoing cycle of border skir-mishes across Jammu frontier.

“In a night longshelling/firing from across theborder at Jammu InternationalBorder Kathua to Akhnoor sofar four deaths have takenplace and thirty injured. Verysad indeed”, tweeted DGP DrSP Vaid on Wednesday. Onecritically injured villager iden-

tified as Raghubir Singh latersuccumbed to his injuries inGovernment Medical CollegeHospital in Jammu.

Over 50 border outpostsscattered along the 198 km longInternational Border remainedactive in the last 24 hourswhile an estimated number ofover 50,000 border residentswere directly affected by the fir-ing which continued through-out the night from Pansar toTawi in RS Pura sector.

During the day, thePakistan Rangers targeted civil-ian pockets across three dis-tricts of Jammu, Samba andKathua. Arnia town was theworst hit and wore a desertedlook throughout the day. Thebusiness activity in the area hascome to a standstill as peoplefrom the area have migrated tosafer places. According to offi-cial sources, two civilians, in-cluding a minor boy, was killedin Bainglad area of Ramgarhsector in Samba. The PakistanRangers has been targeting thearea for last three days.

Both the brothers wereplaying in their house courtyardwhile their mother was cookingfood around 9.00 am when theywere hit by a mortar. SubashChander, uncle of Krishna said,“Both the children were playingwhile I was looking after live-stock when mortar landed inthe house courtyard.”

Continued on Page 7

PNS n CHENNAI

One more person died inpolice firing on

Wednesday, a day after the anti-Sterlite agitation claimed 10lives at Tuticorin in TamilNadu. The protesters aredemanding closure of theVedanta group’s Sterlite Copperplant over pollution concerns.

With agitators back againon Wednesday, the policeopened fire to contain violenceresulting into the death of oneperson identified as Kaliappan.

Taking cognisance of thelarge-scale violence, theNational Human RightsCommission issued notices tothe Tamil Nadu Chief Secretaryand the Director General ofPolice, asking them to submita detailed report in two weeks,while the Madras High Courtstayed the proposed expansionof the Sterlite unit.

In the line of Oppositionfire over the police firing, theState Government constituteda Commission of Inquiry head-ed by retired Madras HighCourt judge Aruna Jagadeesan.

“The panel will cover thelaw and order incidents fol-lowing the siege of the DistrictCollectorate on May 22 bythousands of persons violating

prohibitory orders,” an officialrelease said in Chennai.

The Union Home Ministryhas, meanwhile, sought a reportfrom the Tamil NaduGovernment on the circum-stances leading to the police fir-ing on protesters demandingthe closure of the copper plant,which they claim had pollutedgroundwater in the area, offi-cial sources said in New Delhi.

Enraged over the Tuesdaykillings in the police firing, pro-testers took to streets on

Wednesday morning, attackingpolice with stones, setting twoGovernment vehicles on fire,and trying to storm into a hos-pital where injured are admit-ted, prompting security per-sonnel to baton-charge themand open fire, officials said.

Several people, includingpolice personnel, were injuredin clashes.

There are reports of fakevideo messages being circulat-ed to fan the violence.

Continued on Page 7

RAJESH KUMAR n NEW DELHI

Trying to contain suicidesamong paramilitary forces

and to ensure mental toughnessamong jawans, the BorderSecurity Force (BSF) has madeit compulsory for all its secu-rity personnel to undergo anannual “mental health test” or“happiness test”. The test aimsat assessing the soldiers’ men-tal fitness and will also try tobring in corrective measuresbased on their scores.

Based on how they fare inthe test, soldiers will beassigned duties and correctivemeasures taken. Until nowonly annual physical tests areheld to see if soldiers are fit todischarge their duties.

The forces’ headquartershere has prepared a multi-point wellness quotient assess-

ment test (WQAT) tool thathelps “identify stress precipi-tators and physical and mentalhealth issues that need inter-ventions”. They also ask fieldcommanders to undertakeyoga, meditation, counsellingand have a buddy system (oneperson responsible for theother) to check stress amongthe personnel.

The force has also pub-lished a 62-page booklet titled‘Happiness and Health:Endeavour towards holisticwell being’. The mental healthtest and other initiatives weredesigned after an extensivestudy and a year-long research.These initiatives by the BSF aretrying to create a platform forsoldiers to share their person-al stories and build a mecha-nism to solve mental healthissues.

Officials said their researchshowed that cases of suicidewere higher among personnelfrom poor socio-economicbackground, and mostlyamong the 25-35 age group.However, there was not muchdifference in suicide rates whenit came to the marital status ofpersonnel or whether theybelonged to nuclear or jointfamilies. “Poor motivation,alcohol dependency, sleep dis-orders, problems with spouseor other relatives at home,unfavourable working condi-tions, financial issues, angerand helplessness” were identi-fied as factors leading to stressand depression and eventuallysuicides.

The new policy measurehas been introduced by BSFDirector General (DG) KKSharma after he got a major

research project conducted byUK-based experts with thehelp of force Inspector General(IG) Satwant A Trivedi toanalyse various triggers behindsuicides and other stress factorssuffered by troops and theirpossible solutions. According toofficials, around 200 BSF secu-rity personnel were interviewedand trained by clinical psy-chologists and psychiatristsfrom London. The psychiatristsdrafted tests based on studiesthat they did on the pattern ofsuicides and other mentalissues that the security per-sonnel face. The training pro-gramme will also give guide-lines to the security personnel,chart out a good and healthydiet to follow.

Field units will soon beissued booklets containing thestring of guidelines to help de-

stress soldiers, including groupgames, and good diet andproper healthcare. Among theadditions is asking comman-ders to ensure their “troops gettime for recreation and thatfacilities (games, TV, moviesand books) are available”.Commanders are also beingasked to ensure that griev-ances are addressed by theminformally as the formal chan-nel takes too long and frustratesthe personnel.

As per official data, a totalof 173 BSF personnel havecommitted suicide in the lastfive years, while over a dozensuch deaths have happenedthis year. These figures aremuch more than operationaldeaths in the line of duty thattook place during the sameperiod.

The BSF jawans are

deployed for long stints ininhospitable and harsh climateareas along the Indo-Pak andIndo-Bangladesh borders,where they cannot keep their

families for years together andall these factors contribute tocomplaints of stress and fatigueamong them. The supervisorycommanders of the force have

also been directed to undertakea number of other interventiontechniques like interviewingthe jawan as soon as he is backfrom leave.

Show of Opp unity on display

Soon after ceasefireplea, Pak resumesshelling, kills five

o Kumaraswamy justifiedaligning with the Congressand said his Government willbe stable and complete itsfive-year term

o The leaders who came heredidn’t just come up to supportmy Government, they wantedto send a message to thepeople that they are comingtogether for 2019 elections,said Kumaraswamy

o The BJP boycotted theswearing-in and party workersprotested across the Stateagainst the ‘unholy alliance’

o Intense bargaining isunderway between theCongress and the JD(S)leaders for ministerial berths

o Congress strongman andVokkaliga leader DKShivakumar is upset for notgetting the Deputy CM’s post

Happiness test to raise BSF jawans’ fighting spirit

Newly sworn-in Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy with Congress president Rahul Gandhi, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, BSP chief Mayawati, SP leaderAkhilesh Yadav, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury, and others in Bengaluru on Wednesday PTI

CONFIDENCE

A woman carries her son injured in the Pakistan firing to hospital in Jammu onWednesday PTI

1 killed in fresh police firing,HC stays Sterlite expansion

People protest against the police firing that took 10 lives during a demonstrationagainst Sterlite Copper Industry in Tuticorin on Tuesday, outside Tamil Nadu Housein New Delhi on Wednesday PTI

Opposition leaders, regional

satraps attend Kumaraswamy's

swearing-in as Karnataka CM

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14 VIVACITY

Heat wave to continue till May 27: IMDPTI n NEW DELHI/LUCKNOW

The northern and central Indiamay not see any respite from

soaring mercury this week as theMet department today expectedthe heat wave to continue till May27. The IMD has also soundeda red-coded alert for Haryana,Rajasthan and west Uttar Pradeshuntil May 27.

It has also issued an amber-colour alert for east UttarPradesh, Madhya Pradesh andthe Vidharbha region ofMaharashtra.

There are four types ofcolour codes signifying the levelof caution — green (whichmeans no action), yellow (situa-tion to be watched), amber (gov-ernment agencies to be pre-pared for severe weather) and red

(action needed by the agencies)“Heat wave conditions are

very likely to occur at manyparts of west Rajasthan,Haryana, Chandigarh andDelhi, at some parts of WestMadhya Pradesh, Vidarbha,Punjab and East Rajasthanand at one or two pocketsover north Gujarat region,Saurashtra, Kutch, East Madhya Pradesh, HimachalPradesh, Uttarakhand and UttarPradesh,” the IMD said in its fore-cast for Thursday.

Meanwhile, the weather inUttar Pradesh remained drywith day temperature rising inseveral districts of the state.

The Met office said that daytemperatures were “appreciablyabove normal” in Allahabad,Lucknow, Bareilly, Jhansi, Agra,

Meerut divisions, “above normal”in Varanasi, Faizabad, Kanpur,Moradabad divisions and were“normal” in Gorakhpur divi-sion in the past 24 hours.

Allahabad recorded themaximum temperature of 46.3degree Celsius.

On night temperatures, theMeT said rose appreciably rose inAllahabad, Lucknow, Bareillyand Moradabad division.

They were appreciably abovenormal in Gorakhpur, Varanasi,Allahabad, Jhansi divisions,above normal in Faizabad,Lucknow, Bareilly, Moradabaddivisions, below normal inMeerut division and were normalin the remaining divisions of thestate. The lowest minimum tem-perature was recorded at 20.80degress Celsius in Muzaffarnagar.

PNS n LUCKNOW

With ruling BharatiyaJanata Party legislators

running to police stations toseek protection from unknownextortionists who are sendingthem threatening messages onWhatsApp, Chief Minister YogiAdityanath has directed DGPOP Singh to take the help ofSpecial Task Force and Anti-Terrorists Squad to identify themiscreants and drop the net onthem at the earliest. The ChiefMinister has also asked hisparty MLAs not to feel threat-ened as the police would soonnab the culprits.

The DGP has formed aSpecial Investigation Team(SIT) under STF IG AmitabhYash and directed it to probethe threats received by about adozen MLAs, mostly of the rul-ing party.

The threats were reportedlyissued in the name of a gang-ster Ali Budesh Bhai of Dubaiwho once worked with under-world don Dawood Ibrahim.

While some MLAs per-sonally met senior officers oftheir respective districts andinformed them about thethreats, others made writtencomplaints and lodged cases inLucknow, Shahjahanpur,

Gonda, Bulandshahr,Ghaziabad and other districts.

The MLAs got text mes-sages on their WhatsApp num-bers, asking them to pay `10lakh or face the possibility oftheir family members and dearones being eliminated withinthree days.

ADG (Law and Order)Anand Kumar said in Lucknowon Wednesday that there werereports that a journalist inBhopal and some people inDelhi and Rajasthan also gotsimilar messages. He said thatthe three-member SIT, headedby the Special Task Force IG,included ASP of Anti-TerroristsSquad Jogendra and ASP ofSTF Triveni Singh.

“Prima facie, it appears tobe more of a planned conspir-acy to create panic and drawattention. These calls weremade from a landline numberregistered in Texas (UnitedStates) which perhaps has aWhatsApp facility. The policehave obtained the IP addressused for sending out the mes-sages to MLAs and the cul-prit(s) will be identified soon,”Kumar said.

The ADG (Law and Order)said: “The messages issued inthe name of Ali Budesh were

Continued on Page 7

SIT to probe extortion threats to UP MLAs

city 02LUCKNOW | THURSDAY | MAY 24, 2018

PNS n LUCKNOW

Leader of Congress inLegislative Council, Deepak

Singh, on Wednesday calledformer Prime Minister RajivGandhi the architect of mod-ern India, who ensured womenempowerment and broughtabout the information technol-ogy revolution in India.

“Rajiv Gandhi made consti-tutional changes for introducing33 per cent reservations forwomen in Panchayati Raj andlowering the age of voting to 18years, thereby facilitating partic-ipation of youth in selecting gov-ernments. He also brought ITrevolution in the country,” Singhsaid.

He was speaking at a semi-nar on ‘Rajiv Gandhi andWomen Empowerment’, organ-ised by Rajiv Gandhi StudyCircle in Lucknow University onWednesday.

Singh, who was the chiefguest, said that Rajiv Gandhi wasthe first leader who said that the

country could not progress orstep into the 21st century untilwomen of the country got equalrepresentation both in policy-making and in the implementa-tion stage.

“It was Rajiv Gandhi whodecentralised power by bringingin Panchayati Raj Bill and laterempowered women in districtand lower-level developmentcommittees, introduced a Billfacilitating 33 per cent reserva-tions to women in panchayatsand other civic bodies,” Singhpointed out. It is only due toRajiv Gandhi that the youth ofthe country are enjoying everyIT gadgets that the youth ofother developed countries areenjoying,” he said.

Speaking on the occasion,co-ordinator of Rajiv GandhiStudy Circle, Vinod Chandra,said that education and partic-ipation in development was avery important tool and this waswhat Rajiv Gandhi did byempowering women and weak-er sections of the country.

Lucknow (PNS): The res-ignation of UP CongressMinority Cell chief SirajMehndi soon after RahulGandhi appointed NadeemJaved of Jaunpur as the newpresident of All-India MinorityCell, drew sharp criticism fromsenior party leaders. They sawMehndi’s resignation as grossindiscipline and demandedaction against him.

“Mehndi was vice-presi-dent of UPCC for the last somany years and was also hold-ing the post of UPCC MinorityCell chief since December2014. Just because youngNadeem Javed was appointedas All-India Minority Cell chief,Mehndi resigned citing the

principle of ‘one person, onepost’. It is nothing but an openrevolt against the party leader-ship,” said a senior Congressleader.

“Some seniors, including aformer minister, were pun-ished on the allegation that theymade statement directly to themedia then why has Mehndinot been issued notice for hisindiscipline for sending hisresignation letter to the media,”the leader said.

“Mehndi has done nothingin the last four years. He knowsthat Nadeem Javed, who alsohails from Jaunpur, is aware ofhis performance. Hence, beforebeing shunted out by the newAll-India Congress Minority

Cell chief, Mehndi tried tocreate a controversy tenderinghis resignation minutes afterJaved’s appointment,” he said.

The leader further saidthat Mehndi claimed in his res-ignation letter that one leadershould not remain on one postfor more than three years andhe was paving way for othersbut he did not resign from thepost of UPCC vice-presidentwas holding for several years.

Sources said that asMehndi and Javed hail fromJaunpur and are not on evenkeel, to express his anger,Mehndi preferred to resignbefore he was shown the doorby the new minority cell president.

PNS n LUCKNOW

Concerned about the securi-ty of women passengers,

the Railways are mulling tocolour women’s coaches in dif-ferent colour so that they areeasily differentiated from othercoaches of a the train.

The North EasternRailway’s Lucknow Divisionhas received a letter from theRailway Board in which it hasbeen asked to carry out pro-grammes to make women pas-sengers aware about securityduring travel.

Well-placed sources dis-closed that the move was ini-tiated to ensure women passen-gers’ safety. “At present, com-partment reserved for womenis written on the coach of atrain. But male passengersoverlook this in a hurry or vio-late the norms intentionallyand we take preventive mea-sures to stop this practice. If the

colour of the coach is different,it will be easily detected. Thereare plans to fix the location ofthese coaches in a train,” thesources disclosed.

They said the RailwayBoard had also asked the NERDivisional Railway Managerat Lucknow to carry out pro-grammes, including street cor-ner plays (nukkad natak), dis-tribute pamphlets, audio andvideo clips through radio sta-tions to make women and chil-dren aware of safety measuresand about Railway ProtectionForce (RPF) Helpline numberduring emergency.

They said the RPF, alongwith Railways cultural organi-sations, would carry out secu-rity awareness drive.

The NER LucknowDivision will be carrying outawareness drives at all railwaystations under its jurisdiction.The Railways will take the helpof TV sets and vantage places at

stations to spread awarenessamong women passengers.

NER, Lucknow DivisionPRO Alok Srivastava confirmedthat such a plan was in the off-ing. “The colour of coaches forwomen will be decided by theRailway Board soon,” he said.

Srivastava said that NER,Lucknow Division had startedpreparations for the awarenessprogramme. “We are preparingcatch phrases to make womenand children passengers awareabout security that the Railwaysare providing. The Railwayshave also declared 2018-19 as‘Women and Children Year ‘and the programmes will beconducted on this lines,” he said.

At present, coaches reservedfor women are available insome trains like Lucknow Mailand Kashi Vishwanath Express.Nearly half of the coach (36berths) is reserved for handi-capped persons and the otherhalf is for women travellers.

PNS n LUCKNOW

Chhaimar ganglord Bhikaaka Mohammad Miya,

who carried a reward of Rs50,000 for his arrest, wasgunned down in an encounterwith the police in Tappal areaof Aligarh late Tuesday night.

Aligarh district police chiefAjay Kumar Sahni said onWednesday that acting on a tip-off, a police team interceptedsome suspects in Gharbara vil-lage of Tappal late Sundaynight. “When asked to comenear and identify themselves,the gang members opened fireon the police. In the retaliato-ry firing, one suspect wasinjured while two of his accom-plices managed to flee,” the SSPdisclosed.

The injured, identified asBhika aka Mohammad Miya,was taken to a communityhealth centre and later to thedistrict hospital where he suc-cumbed to his injuries, Sahnisaid.

The slain criminal was anative of Chinyavali village ofSambhal. Numerous cases ofmurder, loot and kidnappingwere registered against Bhika inseveral police stations and areward of Rs 25,000 wasannounced for his arrest by theAligarh and Kasganj police.

The police have launcheda manhunt to nab the twoabsconding accomplices ofBhika, the SSP added.

PNS n LUCKNOW

The state government saidon Wednesday that with-in three months of hold-

ing the Investors’ Summit-2018, foundation stones ofaround 80 industrial unitswould be laid in June.

During the two-dayInvestors’ Summit in February,memorandums of understand-ing (MoUs) for investment of`4.68 lakh crore were signed bydifferent corporate groups withvarious agencies of the stategovernment.

Industry Minister SatishMahana said in Lucknow onWednesday that the govern-ment was working fast onimplementing the MoUs on theground and foundation stonesof 80 new industrial unitsinvolving investment of`80,000 crore would be laid inJune.

Prime Minister NarendraModi could be the chief guestwhen big industrial houseslike Reliance JioCommunication, Adani, WorldTrade Centre, Infosys Ltd,ACC, PayTM, Sunlight BioFoods, TCS, Intex, NatureFresh, and Metro launch theirunits in different parts of thestate in June.

The state Industry Ministerheld marathon meetings withcorporate leaders and chiefexecutive officers to finaliseinvestment proposals in thestate at investors’ meet here onWednesday. He also held one-

to-one meetings with industryrepresentatives.

Mahana said that all prob-lems of investors had beensorted out and time had comefor implementation of MoUssigned during the Investors’Summit.

“UP has become thedesired destination for investorsas no state in the past has beenable to attract investment with-in three months of holdingInvestors’ Summit,” he added.

Mahana claimed that ChiefMinister Yogi Adityanath’s one-year regime had brought invest-ments which the state could notget in the last 15 years.

Industrial Development

Commissioner Anup ChandraPandey said, “Smaller invest-ments of less than `50 crores,which are around 600, wouldbe done at the district level.”

Claiming that UP had donewhat no other state could everthink of, the Pandey said thatInvestors’ Summit conversionin the past in all states wasaround 10-12 per cent but inUP, it had gone up to a record60 per cent.

“Already four StrategicBusiness Units (SBUs) havebeen set up in Industry depart-ment to talk to investors onday-to-day basis and addresstheir problems related to allot-ment of land, clearances from

government agencies andNOCs (no objection certifi-cates),” he said.

Pandey further said, “Wehave also launched digitalclearance window in NiveshMitra and soon, provisionalLetter of Content (LoC) will beissued to investors.”

The government has com-pleted the process of verifica-tion of over 1,045 MoUs signedduring the Investors’ Summit.The process includes checkingtheir balance sheets and otherdetails, so that no undesirableelement gets the benefit ofvarious concessions announcedby the state government forinvestors.

PNS n LUCKNOW

Unfazed by the electoralfailures in Gujarat and

Karnataka Assembly polls,Samajwadi Party has geared upto contest all 230 seats inMadhya Pradesh Assemblyelection scheduled later thisyear.

“Party chief AkhileshYadav was on a three-day visitto Madhya Pradesh from May18, during which he declaredthat the SP will be contestingon all the 230 seats. This timethe ‘cycle’ (SP symbol) willrun in MP too,” SP spokesmanRajendra Chaudhary said hereon Wednesday.

Akhilesh extensivelytoured areas in the neighbour-ing state. He addressed publicmeetings in Sidhi and Satnadistricts of Vindhya regionand also Khajuraho inChhattarpur district ofBundelkhand.

“The SP will help the peo-

ple of MP get rid of 15 years’ ofBharatiya Janata Party mis-rule. We will try to save thepeople of MP from BJP’s con-spiracy,” Akhilesh said in oneof his meetings in MadhyaPradesh.

“The SP chief emphasisedthat development could onlytake place in amicable atmos-phere. BJP’s hate and divisivepolitics weakens the foundationof democracy and affects devel-opment,” Chaudhary said.

“The recent visit ofAkhilesh Yadav got tremen-dous response from the peopleof MP. The SP chief also triedto drive home the point thatdevelopment witnessed in UPduring his regime was ‘elusive’in MP,” the SP spokesman said.

In Gujarat Assembly poll,the Samajwadi Party contestedfive of the 182 seats while in therecently-held Karnataka polls,it fielded 24 candidates. InMP, the SP is open to analliance with Congress, but a

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GOVERNMENT OF INDIAMINISTRY OF SOCIAL JUSTICE AND EMPOWERMENTDepartment of SOCIAL JUSTICE AND EMPOWERMENT

Invitation of Application for the NATIONAL AWARDS foroutstanding services in the field of Prevention ofAlcoholism and Substance (Drug) Abuse, 2018

In continuation of the earlier advertisements dated 09.11.2017and 20.12.2017 published in various News Papers, Applicationsare again invited for the National Awards for outstanding servicesin the field of Prevention of Alcoholism and Substance (Drug)Abuse under the category of Best Panchayati Raj or MunicipalBody working for Prevention of Alcoholism and Substance (Drug)Abuse, due to lack of response in this category.

The application duly recommended and completed in allrespects must reach to the Joint Secretary (SD), Department ofSocial Justice and Empowerment, Room No. 616, `A' Wing,Shastri Bhawan, New Delhi-110001 Latest by 31/05/2018.

The National Awards would be given on 26th June 2018, onthe occasion of "International Day against Drug Abuse and IllicitTrafficking.

Application received after the last date and/or not recommend-ed by the prescribed authority/persons will not be entertained.For details, kindly see our website www.socialjustice.nic.inDavp 38101/11/0021/1819

Foundation stones of 80 units

to be laid in June: Mahana

Industry Minister Satish Mahana holding discussions with industry representatives at the Investors’ meet in Lucknow onWednesday Pioneer

Maya, Akhilesh share

stage for first time

PNS n LUCKNOW

In what is being termed as anunprecedented shift in the

political dynamics of UttarPradesh, two bitter rivals –Bahujan Samaj Party chiefMayawati and Samajwadi Partypresident Akhilesh Yadav –shared stage for the first timeat the swearing-in of KarnatakaChief Minister HDKumaraswamy in Bengaluruon Wednesday.

The two former chief min-isters of UP were seated next toeach other and were even seensharing lighter moments.

An unscheduled 45-minutemeeting was held betweenAkhilesh and Mayawati at ahotel in Bengaluru before theoath ceremony. BSP generalsecretary Satish ChandraMishra was also present duringthe talks.

This was the second meet-ing between the two leadersafter Akhilesh rushed to thankMayawati in Lucknow after SPcandidates won the Gorakhpurand Phulpur Lok Sabha bypollswith the backing of the BSP inMarch this year.

Though the BSP support-ed the SP candidates in the twobypolls, both the parties did notcampaign jointly in the run-upto the Gorakhpur and Phulpurby-elections.

The victory of the SP can-didates in the bypolls with BSPbacking fuelled speculations ofa pre-poll alliance beingstitched ahead of the LokSabha elections 2019.Together, the two parties makea formidable force and candamage the prospects of BJP inUP.

The SP and the BSP wereconsidered arch-rivals in UP asMayawati shares a very bitter

past with Akhilesh’s fatherMulayam Singh Yadav.

Mulayam too backed thedecision of his son, saying thatsuch an alliance would prove tobe very strong in 2019 LokSabha polls.

“It is a very good effort.With both parties comingtogether, no one will be able tostop them in the general elec-tion. There is need to keep itgoing,” Mulayam said.

Wanted criminal

Bhika killed in

encounter

SP to contest all 230 Assembly seats in MP decision in this regard will betaken ahead of the elections.

“People of UP and MPhave many things in commonand frequently visit each other.They feel the difference when

they visit UP. The performanceof the Akhilesh government isbeing appreciated there andthey are looking for the SP toenter the poll fray,” Chaudharysaid.

8-year-oldinjured in dog attack

Sitapur (PTI): In continu-ing incidents of stray dogattacks in Sitapur district, aneight-year-old boy was mauledby a pack of feral canines in thePipri Kalan village onWednesday morning.

The boy, Luvkush, waspicking mangoes when he wasattacked by a pack of dogs,police said.

The villagers rescuedLuvkush after hearing hisscreams. He was admitted inthe community health centre(CHC) at Khairabad for treat-ment and his condition wasstated to be stable.

Around 22 villages inKhairabad block of the districtare affected by the dog menace.The attacks have so far claimed14 lives and left over a dozeninjured in the district.

`300 cr to run tube-wells of farmers Lucknow (PNS): The Uttar

Pradesh government has sanc-tioned `300 crore for UP PowerCorporation Limited as the firstinstalment of subsidy for supplyingelectricity to private tube-wells offarmers. A provision of ̀ 600 crorehas been made for this purpose inthe Budget with the aim to increasefarm production.

The state government hasasked the Agriculture departmentnot to draw the entire amount in

one go and at the same time pro-vide the list of beneficiaries to thegovernment. The Agriculturedepartment will sanction ̀ 50 croreevery month to UPPCL and thenext instalment will be releasedonly after receipt of utilisationcertificate of the first instalment.

HAJ AMOUNT In view of the ongoing holy

month of Ramzan and the repre-sentations received from various

quarters, the Haj Committee ofIndia has extended the last date fordepositing the balance amount bythe provisionally selected Haj pil-grims to June 5 from May 23.

This was disclosed by secretaryand executive officer of UP StateHaj Committee, Vineet KumarSrivastava. He said the pilgrimsprovisionally selected from thewaiting list were required to deposita minimum of ̀ 81,000 so that theirseat could be confirmed.

Trains to have different

colour coach for women

Congress leaders criticise

Mehndi’s resignation

Rajiv Gandhi architect of modern India: Cong MLC

Lucknow (PNS): The Bharatiya Janata Party hashailed the Yogi Adityanath government’s decision tointroduce NCERT syllabus in madarsas, saying thatthe decision indicated that the state government wasworking on the principle of ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’.

“The Cabinet decision to impart education inmadarsas in Hindi and English by introducingNCERT syllabus is a revolutionary step. This willexpose students to modern education and in turn helpthem in getting new opportunities,” BJP statespokesman Rakesh Tripathi said on Wednesday.

BJP hails move to introduce

NCERT syllabus in madarsas

LUCKNOW | THURSDAY | MAY 24, 2018 city 03

PIONEER NEWS SERVICE ■ LUCKNOW

There is no need to panic about theNipah virus outbreaks in the coun-

try and as a means of prevention thegenpublic should avoid eating bittenfruits because the disease spreadsthrough fruits bitten by bats and the pigas they are the secondary vector of thevirus.

This was stated by incharge of thePulmonary and Critical Care Unit,Shatabdi Hospital, KGMU, Dr VedPrakash. He was speaking at a mediainteraction organised at his office. Hedisclosed that he was receiving severalqueries from patients who were askinghim to get them tested for the virus. “Wejust want to convey the message thatthere are only select cases which testpositive for this virus. We have all theavailable facilities for testing the virusat our department,” he added. He saidthat they had sounded an alert in theirsystem wherein the encephalitis caseswould be checked for the virus.

“The symptoms are the same as thatof fever and influenza. The person canalso have acute pain in his chest and

problems in respiration,” he said. The doctor said that the mode of

transmission of the disease being flu-ids the people should refrain from eat-ing fruits bitten by animals. “The fruitbat normally sits on coconuts anddates. Since this is the time that the peo-ple are having dates at the time of rozaiftar it was important to see that they

partake good quality dates which werenot sticky. It is also important to see thatthe fruits carrying any traces of excre-ta should not be eaten,” he said.

While giving the advisory, he saidthat one should not have any contactwith the person suffering from this dis-ease and health workers who were deal-ing with the patient should wear gloves,

gowns and masks. “These patientsshould be kept in quarantine (isolation)and one should understand that sincethe strains of this virus were continu-ously changing, prevention was betterthan cure,” he said. He said that the peo-ple should avoid handshakes and shouldnot hug the other persons.

Nipah virus infection (NiV) is anemerging infectious disease of publichealth importance in the South-EastAsian region. The virus is named afterthe Malaysian village where it was firstdiscovered. The doctor said that themode of transmission was through flu-ids. “The primary vector is the bat andthe secondary one is the pig.”

The World Health Organisationstates that drinking of fresh date palmsap, possibly contaminated by fruit batsduring the winter season, may havebeen responsible for the indirect trans-mission of the Nipah virus to humanbeings. There was circumstantial evi-dence of human-to-human transmis-sion in India in the year 2001. In ani-mals, typical clinical symptoms areobserved in pigs in whom the respira-tory symptoms dominate.

PRABHA SHANKAR ■ LUCKNOW

Special trains being run toclear a heavy rush of pas-

sengers this summer seem to bea drop in the ocean. Many ofthem change their travel plansat the eleventh hour as wait-listed tickets are not confirmed,forcing them to take alternativemodes of transport.

Sources in the Lucknowdivision of Northern Railwaysdisclosed that the demand forsleeper class and AC-III trainsusually remained high duringsummers. “Getting a confirmedberth in AC-III and sleeperclass is nonetheless a Herculeantask this summer as it is vaca-tion time in schools,” thesources said.

They said that the waitlistfor AC-III and sleeper class inLucknow Mail stood at 47 and222 respectively. For KaifiatExpress, it was 13 and 50,Padmavat Express 15 and 89and Gorakhdham Express 30and 89. The waitlist for AC-IIIin Lucknow-New Delhi ACExpress was 68. “The list is end-less and the number of waitlistfor trains to New Delhi andthose to hill stations will wit-ness further spurt as the sum-mer progresses,” the sourcessaid.

They said the Lucknowdivision of NR had run sever-al trains to cater to the needs ofpassengers but were still inad-equate.

“If the waitlist is above 40for AC-III tickets, it is next toimpossible that the berth willbe confirmed. In waitlistedtickets, passengers are notallowed to travel. Sometimes ithappens that those travelling

for urgent needs have to shiftto sleeper class and travel whilestanding in the passage areanear lavatories,” the sourcessaid.

However, the NR officialswere unaware of the method bywhich waitlisted tickets areissued. “This is the policy of theUnion Ministry and RailwayBoard. We are not aware ofwhat methods they opt to issuewaitlisted tickets,” senior divi-sional commercial managerJagtosh Shukla said. He addedthat the Lucknow division ofNR had run five trains thissummer and each originatedand terminatesdat Lucknowstation.

“We have reached a satu-ration point and cannot run

more trains. We try our best tocater to the needs of passen-gers,” PRO Vikram Singh said.Divisional commercial man-ager Moti Lal Meena said pol-icy matters were decided andimplement by the RailwayBoard.

To the piquant situation,Mohit Kumar, a resident ofViram Khand in Gomti Nagar,said: “If the possibility of con-firmation of a waitlisted ticketis low, why does the Railwaysissue such tickets? It shouldissue limited waitlisted ticketsso that they get confirmedbefore departure of a train. Ipurchased sleeper class ticketsfor New Delhi for three con-secutive days but failed to getconfirmation. Finally, I trav-elled by a Volvo bus”.

Even as the Railways hasbeen claiming that it is clearingthe rush, passengers travellingin sleeper class have a differentstory to tell. Some of themarriving in the city by differenttrains on Monday said travel-ling in sleeper class even witha confirmed berth was not aneasy job. “A number of wait-listed passengers travel bysleeping in the passage area orstanding near toilets. It causesgreat inconvenience to thosehaving berths,” they said.

Special trains for summer rushleave passengers high and dry

“GETTING A

CONFIRMED BERTH

IN AC-III AND

SLEEPER CLASS IS

NONETHELESS A

HERCULEAN TASK

THIS SUMMER AS

IT IS VACATION

TIME IN SCHOOLS”

Avoid eating bitten fruits to check Nipah virus: Expert“The fruit bat normallysits on coconuts anddates. Since this is thetime that the peopleare having dates at thetime of roza iftar it wasimportant to see thatthey partake goodquality dates whichwere not sticky. It isalso important to seethat the fruits carryingany traces of excretashould not be eaten”

PNS ■ LUCKNOW

Chief Minister YogiAdityanath released the

time table for UPSRTC busesfor prominent religious desti-nations at his 5, Kalidas Margresidence on Wednesday.While speaking on the occa-sion, Yogi said that it will help

tourists in reaching religiousdestinations. He said that look-ing into the vast potential oftourism in the state, the majordestinations were being con-nected with the Uttar PradeshState Road Bus TransportCorporation bus service.

Principal Secretary,Information, and DG, Tourism,

Awanish Awasthi said that itwas a compendium to facilitatetourists who wanted to visitthose destinations.

He added that the schedulewould be released in e-formattoo and circulated at bus sta-tions, hotels and other touristdestinations in the form ofpamphlets.

PIONEER NEWS SERVICE ■LUCKNOW

City sizzled at a maximumtemperature of 43 degree

Celsius on Wednesday whichwas three degrees above nor-mal. Even the minimum tem-perature was four degreesabove normal at 29.1 degreeCelsius.

In the state, Jhansi record-ed a maximum temperature of46.5 degree Celsius, Banda46.2 degree Celsius, Orai 46degree Celsius and Hamirpir45.6 degree Celsius with severalother districts recording hightemperature.

High humidity levels in theatmosphere created a feeling ofdiscomfort for denizens whosweated it out throughout theday. People gulped hugeamount of fluids and coveredthemselves while moving out tokeep the heat at bay. For many,it was also splash time atswimming pools.

The Met department fore-cast mainly clear sky for thestate capital and a maximumand minimum temperaturearound 43 degree celsius 28degree Celsius respectively.

The state forecast is rainand thunderstorm at isolatedplaces in east UP and weatheris most likely to remain dry in

west UP. There is a warningthat heat wave condition willpersist for some more days.

Records of the past decadeshow the soaring of mercury atthis point of time in the year.The state capital recorded a

maximum temperature of 44.7on May 14 in 2017, 41.6 onMay 16 in 2016, 44.7 degreeCelsius on May 25 in 2015, 44.3degree Celsius on May 23 in2014, 43.9 degree Celsius onMay 27, 44.7 degree Celsius on

May 30 in 2012, 43.1 degreeCelsius on May 15 in 2011, 44.7degree Celsius on May 30 in2012, 43.1 degree Celsius onMay 15 in 2011, 44.7 degreeCelsius on May 13 in 2010, 43.8degree Celsius on May 1 in

2009 and 42.6 degree Celsiuson May 1 in 2008.

Experts advise that chil-dren and senior citizens shouldnot step out during the peakhours to avoid getting sick.

Meanwhile, airport author-ities said that a flight had tomake a go-around due to gutsywinds while the aircraft was inthe final phase of landing at theChowdhary Charan SinghAirport on Wednesday. It laterlanded normally.

“G8268 made a go-aroundand took another approachbefore landing normally. Suchincidents are always safe pro-cedures which are followedwhile flying the aircraft,” an air-port official elaborated.

PNS ■ LUCKNOW

Agroup of advocates clashedwith residents in Vimalganj

colony of Indira Nagar over a land-related dispute on Wednesdayafternoon giving the police a hotpotato to handle.

Following the incident, thearea saw a rush of activities by thepolice in controlling the situationand maintaining the law andorder. Several persons were injuredin stone-pelting and several vehi-cles were damaged too. Police wereyet to register a case in this con-nection.

As per reports, a group ofadvocates reached a vacant plot inthe area and started getting theconstruction work done on it. Onthe information, plot ownerShweta Jeewa opposed the sameand gave a call to her supporterswho assembled there in a hugenumber.

The residents and advocatesindulged into a verbal spat andlater both attacked one another.Hearing the commotion, otherresidents also joined the group andthey fought a pitched battle withadvocates forcing them to leave thescene while abandoning theirbikes and other vehicles at thespot.

Advocate Ajeet Singh, wholodged a case with the police,alleged that the residents damaged

his and his colleagues’ bikes andpelted stones on them. Contraryto his claim, Shweta Jeeva alsolodged a case alleging that theadvocates attacked her and hersupporters and tried to grab herplot in the locality.

SHO, Indira Nagar, MukulVerma said both the parties hadlodged case against one another.“We have registered a case and areinvestigating the matter,” he said,adding that the land belonged toa Scheduled Caste farmer.

PNS ■ LUCKNOW

A19-year-old youth was foundhanging from a tree in the for-

est cover in Sarojininagar onWednesday. Police claimed that theyouth ended his life but they failedto explain the reason behind the sui-cide. No suicide note was recoveredfrom the victim’s possession and hisfamily members were also cluelessabout the reason behind the suicide.

As per reports, residents ofHadain Kheda village ofSarojininagar went to attend thenature’s call near the forest cover onthe outskirts of the village and sawthe youth, who was later identifiedas Bhola Yadav, hanging from a tree.The youth was hanging with thelower of a track suit tied around hisneck. They informed his familymembers who later called the policeand a team reached the scene forinvestigation into the case.

Police said that the youth endedhis life on his own and added thatBhola was suffering from somemental disease for the last few days.“He was unmarried and was work-ing as a labourer,” the police said.

The police spokesman said thefamily did not raise any suspicionover the death of the youth.

“The police sent the body forautopsy and further investigationswere on,” he said. The policespokesman added that sub-inspec-tor Jag Prasad was assigned the taskto probe the case.

RUN OVERHukum Singh 925) of Amethi

died after he was hit by some mov-ing train on the tracks in Mujhasavillage under Malihabad police sta-tion area on Wednesday morning.The incident came to light after astaff of track inspection team spot-ted the man lying dead besides thetracks and informed the Malihabadrailway station master and the offi-cial later informed the police. Thepolice spokesman said HukumSingh was working with a travelagency in Ghaziabad and wasreturning home when he met withthe mishap. “It is yet to be ascer-tained if he was travelling by a trainand met with the mishap after heaccidentally fell down,” he said. Headded the police sent the body forautopsy to ascertain if the victim hadante-mortem injuries. “The autop-sy will make it clear if it was a caseof accident or the man met withsome untoward happening,” he said.

Sub-inspector Suhail Ahmad,who is investigating the case, saidvictim’s elder brother Ram SinghYadav of Darkha Kotwali of Amethidistrict identified the body. “Thepolice recovered an identity cardissued by the agency for which hewas working and later his family wascontacted on the basis of the addressand mobile number. They wereasked to reach the city and helppolice in identifying the body. RamSingh identified the body of hisbrother,” he said.

PNS ■ LUCKNOW

Agroup of six persons attacked for-mer MLA Chandra Rawat’s hus-

band, ransacked his four-wheelerand looted Rs 20,000 from him in PGIpolice station area on Tuesday after-noon.

As per reports, Sohan Lal Rawatof Mohanlalganj was going toNeelmatha locality in PGI police sta-tion area as he had some work there.Around 3.30 pm, when he reached therailway crossing at Neelmatha, themiscreants, all of whom were in anSUV, stopped him on the way. Beforean unsuspecting Rawat could gaugethe situation, the miscreants gotdown from their four- wheeler andattacked Rawat’s four-wheeler withsticks. When Rawat opposed their act,they roughed him up and attackedhim too. “Some of them looted Rs20,000 which I had in my pocket,” hestated in the complaint he gave to thepolice.

Giving details, the policespokesman said a case was registeredagainst unidentified miscreants forloot, damaging the victim’s vehicle andabusing him. He denied reports thatthe police did not entertain the com-plaint made by woman MLA’s hus-band and kept him in a fix.

Contrary to police claim, Rawat’s

supporters said that they had to runfrom pillar to post to get the caseheard. “Police was no convinced withthe claims of loot and attack. Theytreated the case as an incident of roadrage. But later when some influentialpeople and the former MLA talked tothe police, a case was registered,”sources disclosed.

Sohan Lal Rawat is an advocate byprofession. He said that some influ-ential people of Mohanlalganj had agrudge against him. “The miscreantsovertook my car and forced me tostop. They then attacked me. I triedto flee the scene to save myself butthey kept chasing me. Luckily, whenseveral commuters stopped at thescene, the miscreants fled,” he claimed.

ELECTROCUTEDA 12-year-old boy was electro-

cuted to death at his shanty in a slumarea at Prabhat crossing inJankipuram on Wednesday after-noon. The victim, identified asDurgesh, was studying at a privateschool and was sleeping at his housewhere he inadvertently touched thecooler’s body in which current wasflowing and suffered the shock. Hisneighbours heard him crying andrushed to the shanty. The victim waslater rushed to a hospital where he wasdeclared “brought dead”. Police saidthe body had been sent for autopsy.

CM releases time-table ofbuses for religious places

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath releasing the bus time-table

Blistering heat scares residents

The Metdepartmentforecast mainlyclear sky for thestate capital anda maximum andminimumtemperaturearound 43 degreecelsius 28 degreeCelsiusrespectively

Ex-MLA’s husband

attacked, looted

Youth found hanging from tree

PNS ■ LUCKNOW

The online building planapproval system of

Lucknow DevelopmentAuthority (LDA) is beingupgraded and will be func-tional by next week. Thestaffers are being trained tooperate the new system.

Till now, the approval ofthe residential plots measuringnot more than 3,000 square feetis done online. The blueprintsof shopping malls, apartmentsand big hotels will be done afterit is operational.

The persons, who are

applying for the approval of theblueprint, will not have toapproach fire and powerauthorities to seek non-objec-tion certificate (NOC) once theupgraded system becomesfunctional.

The authorities of Mappingdepartment will furnish docu-ments and other NOCs with-in a week.

LDA Vice-Chairman PNSingh said the upgradation inthe system would be quickwithout taking much time ofpeople and corrupt practiceswould be checked to a greaterextent. HE added that the sys-

tem was being upgraded withthe technical assistance ofSouth India-based electroniccompany.

The Mapping departmentwill not charge any penny forthe applicants of any category.

Meanwhile, a prominentbuilder of the city has beenpulled by Singh on Wednesdayfor demanding a hefty amountof money apart from thosewho wanted to register theirproperties. Singh summonedthe builder following acomplaint lodged by a delega-tion of Residents’ WelfareAssociation.

LDA’s to upgrade online building plan system

Land-grabbing bid leads to clash

Police inspecting the site of clash

city 04LUCKNOW | THURSDAY | MAY 24, 2018

PNS ■ LUCKNOW

Metro Rail Corporation (LMRC)managing director Kumar

Keshav on Wednesday felicitated 60students of Amity University by giv-ing them ‘Certificate of Appreciation’for designing work for nine elevatedMetro stations between KD Singh‘Babu’ Stadium and MunshipuliaMetro station. Out of these, the bestnine art work finally selected byLMRC will be displayed at nine elevat-ed stations. Lucknow Metro hadrecently given Amity University anopportunity to showcase the creativetalent of their students by organisinga competition for mural designs to bedisplayed in nine Metro stations.

The theme of the artwork designwas related to showcase the history, artand culture of Lucknow. A competitionamong students for artwork depictingthe rich cultural heritage of Awadh andits speciality was arranged at the uni-versity. “In the first round, 25 teamswere selected out of which the 18 teamsqualified for the second round. In the

final round, nine teams were finallyselected by a group of jury. Amongthose, one design of each of the teamwas ultimately selected as the bestamong the rest to be displayed atunder-construction Metro stations,”said senior PRO Amit Srivastava.

Students from the Institute ofArchitecture and Planning (ASAP),

School of Fine Arts (ASFA), School ofHumanities, School of Sciences andSchool of Engineering participated withgreat zeal in the competition. Deputychief architect of LMRC Arvind Dubeyplayed a crucial role in the process ofselection of artwork for Lucknow Metroand coordinated well with the universi-ty along with the faculties from Amity

School of Architecture and Planningnamely Deepti Pande Rana, Syed MohdAmin Naqvi and Shishir Srivastava.

The programme concluded with avaledictory function held in the presenceof Major General KK Ohri, Pro Vice-Chancellor, Amity University, Ajai KantRastogi, director (Finance) and othersenior officers of LMRC.

LMRC felicitates students for art work

NBRI scientistgets TataInnovation FellowshipPNS ■ LUCKNOW

Prabodh Kumar Trivedi, whois working as senior princi-

pal scientist at the CSIR-National Botanical ResearchInstitute has been selected forthe prestigious Tata InnovationFellowship given by theDepartment of Biotechnology,Ministry of Science andTechnology for the year 2017-2018.

The fellowship is given toa research scientist with out-standing recognition inbiological sciences and adeep commitment to findinnovative solutions for majorproblems in healthcare, agricul-ture and other areas related tolife sciences and biotechnolo-gy.

Trivedi has been workingin the area of elucidation andengineering of pathways,involved in biosynthesis ofmedicinally-important plantmolecules and environmentalbiotechnology.

Trivedi is already bestowedwith prestigious fellowships ofthe National Academy ofAgriculture Sciences, India(FNAAS) and the NationalAcademy of Sciences, India(FNASc).

PNS ■ LUCKNOW

Endangered Project, UttarPradesh Forest

Department, and TurtleSurvival Alliance (TSA)released over 85 spotted pondturtle juveniles at Om Ghat,Bhitaura, Fatehpur, UttarPradesh on the occasion ofWorld Turtle Day onWednesday.

The release took placeunder the guidance of PCCF,Wildlife, SK Upadhyaya, andsupervision of theConservator of Forests,Endangered Project, UPFD,AP Sinha, and director, TurtleSurvival Alliance (TSA),Shailendra Singh.

The programme duringwhich the turtles werereleased witnessed the pres-ence of AP Sinha, conserva-tor of Forests, EndangeredProject, CPS Malik, division-al forest officer, and SureshChandra Rajpoot, wildlifewarden, UPFD, and the teamof the Turtle SurvivalAlliance.

Swami VigyanandSaraswati, an environmental-ist, made the commitmentthat he would ensure thesafety of the newly-releasedturtles.

These turtles were bornand raised at the KukrailGhariyal and TurtleRehabilitation Centre. Thecentre has colonies of 11 out

of 15 species of freshwaterturtle and tortoises found inUttar Pradesh. Such time-to-time introduction of youngturtles will help replenishthe fast-depleting naturalpopulation of this species,”informed a member from theTurtle Surveillance Alliance.

“The Spotted PondTurtle (Geoclemys hamil-tonii) found in northern andnorth-eastern regions ofIndia, is on the brink ofextinction due to the exces-sive use of water for agricul-ture and other purposes.Illegal poaching and tradingare being facilitated by theirexcessive use in the foodand pharmaceutical indus-tries. The threat looming ontheir survival has placedthem on Appendix 1 ofCITES and listed as vulner-able in the IUCN Red List ofEndangered species. Thespecies have been accordedthe highest level of securityby placing them in Schedule1 of the Wildlife (Protection)Act, 1972. This species alongwith several others of itskind scavenge on decayingdebris and keep the river sys-tem clean. In line with the‘Nirmal Ganga’ campaign ofthe National Mission ofClean Ganga we are commit-ted to protecting our preciousfreshwater resources andconserve their native aquat-ic life,” said a member fromthe Turtle SurveillanceAlliance.

Thereafter, an educativeawareness programme wasconducted with localfishermen to send the mes-sage on the importance ofturtles. After that the teamheaded to Allahabad for acapacity-building workshopmeant for the enforcementagencies involved in rescuingturtles.

PIONEER NEWS SERVICE ■ LUCKNOW

The first batch of the Vacation HobbyCamp currently going on at the

Regional Science City is witnessing anenthusiastic participation from the chil-dren.

More than 100 students from differ-ent schools, enrolled in seven disciplinesviz Creative Art, Science Sparkle,Exploring Nature, Scientific toy making,Astrolab, Robotics and Fun withElectronics, are participating in it.

On the third day of the programmea popular science lecture was deliveredby Dr PK Srivastava, a former scientist,CSIR-CDRI, who also interacted with theschoolchildren and told them that inorder to save our green planet every childshould plant a sapling on his or her birth-day every year so that we could leave abetter planet for our future generations.

Dr Srivastava also explained theimportance of local plant species like tulsi,peepal, neem etc which were highlyacclaimed in most developed nations. Inhis brief speech he said that “We are verylucky that we are living in India where themost oxygenated plant like peepal isfound in large numbers. Datun madefrom neem is very useful for our teeth toprotect oral cancer and other related dis-eases.

The Regional Science City officialssaid that the registrations were in fullswing for the second and third campswhich were scheduled to be held fromMay 28, 2018, and June 4, 2018, respec-tively and only a few seats were left.

“As the seats in these camps are lim-ited the entries will be filled up on a first-come-first-serve basis by filling up theregistration form at the Regional ScienceCity, Lucknow. The main objective of

organising the vacation hobby camp is toprovide a platform to the young childrento nurture their creative talent and alsoto train hands-on in making innovativescience projects which will help them inunderstanding the concepts and also inusing their creative ideas to develop mod-els further at their homes. The wholecourse is designed in such a way so as tohelp them in their school curriculumalso,” he said.

Lucknow (PNS): TheWildlife SOS Rapid ResponseUnit rescued a peacock from an80-foot-deep well in Mankendavillage in Malpura in Agra. Thebird was released back into itsnatural habitat shortly after-wards.

On Monday afternoon, theWildlife SOS team based out ofthe Agra Bear Rescue Facilityresponded to an emergency callfrom Mankenda village inMalpura. While making theirway to the field in the morningthe villagers found a peacocktrapped inside a nearly 80-foot-

Lucknow (PNS): State BioDiversity Board secretaryPawan Kumar said that someof the domestic species weredecreasing in numbers in thestate and needed protection.He added that they includedbuffalo Bhadrawari, Khirigarhcattle and Gangacri cattlefound in the various parts ofthe state. He pointed out that

it was happening because cat-tle were used in agriculture butthey were being replaced bythe modern agriculture equip-ment. He pointed out that animportant vegetable Jaunpuriraddish known for its hugelength was also not being pre-ferred by farmers who weremore keen to sow wheat andrice. “This is a raddish which

is well known for its length butnow its numbers are decreas-ing and it needs to be protect-ed among plant species” hesaid.

Kumar said that the StateBio Diversity Board had pre-pared a baseline data for var-ious villages in the statethrough the biodiversity reg-ister. “ These registers were

prepared for the various vil-lages to get the species thatwere living in these villages,”he said. He said that as per thedata the floral biodiversity inUttar Pradesh ranged from60-295 species and the faunalbiodiversity from 26-294species which could be termedas a rich diversity. “We havenine agro-climatic zones

which have different weatherconditions and are home forspecial species. We havealways emphasised on theneed of having a the localspecies protected because ofthe fact that if ever because ofsome problem the hybrid vari-eties are destroyed then wewill never have a gene pool ofthe local species both in theflora and fauna which areimportant to the place,” hemaintained.

Ex-scientist of CDRI motivates students to plant saplings

Domestic species dip in state: Pawan Kumar

deep well. Concerned about its safety, a

three-member team accompa-nied by forest officers promptlyarrived at the location with thenecessary rescue equipment inhand.

The team did not waste anytime and started the rescue oper-ation. As the peacock was foundto be unhurt, the team laterreleased it back into the wild.

Peacock rescued

PNS ■ LUCKNOW

The Joint Military Exercise,Surya Kiran-XIII, between

India and Nepal will be con-ducted at Pithoragarh fromMay 30 till June 12. It will com-prise nearly 300 soldiers fromboth the Indian and Nepalesearmies who will be sharingtheir experiences gained duringthe conduct of various counter-insurgency and counter-ter-rorism operations in the past.

Exercise Surya Kiran is abiannual event which is con-ducted alternatively in Nepaland India. Notably in the seriesof military training exercisesundertaken by India with var-

ious countries, Exercise SuryaKiran with Nepal is the largestin terms of troop participation.The aim of this exercise is toconduct battalion-level jointtraining with emphasis oncounter-terrorism operations inmountainous terrain. Duringthe exercise aspects of disastermanagement and requirementof joint and concerted efforttowards relief work have alsobeen included.

The joint military exercisewill enhance the level ofdefence cooperation which willfurther strengthen the bilater-al relations between the twocountries.

India, Nepal to undertake joint military exercise

CMS DELEGATION TO LEAVE FOR ITALY A five-member delegation of City Montessori School,

Kanpur Road campus, will be leaving for Italy shortly to partic-ipate in the Children’s International Summer Village Camp(CISV). The delegation will comprise four students and oneteacher. The students are Anvesha Raj, Vishu Baudh, Piyush Royand Kushal Gautam led by teacher by Ratna Pandey. This inter-national camp is being organised under the aegis of Children’sInternational Summer Villages (CISV), England, in which sev-eral students’ delegations from different countries comprising fourchildren each up to 11 to 12 years of age are participating. Juniorcounsellors of 15 to 17 years of age will also be joining this campto maintain orderliness and act as the intermediaries betweenadults and the children of various countries.

SCHOOLSCANForest dept, TSA release

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nation 05LUCKNOW | THURSDAY | MAY 24, 2018

PNS n NEW DELHI

The Indian Government onWednesday summoned

Deputy High Commissioner ofPakistan, Syed Haider Shah, tolodge a strong protest over thekilling of civilians in ceasefireviolations by the Pakistan secu-rity forces. A seven-month-oldinfant died in the unprovokedfirings from the Pak side onMonday in Bhimber Sectoracross the Line of Control inJammu and Kashmir.

“It was conveyed that thedeliberate targeting of innocentcivilians, who are located awayfrom the forward line ofdefences, by Pakistan forcesusing small arms and highcaliber weapons is highlydeplorable and condemned inthe strongest terms. Targeting

of innocent civilians includingyoung children is against allestablished humanitariannorms and professional mili-tary conduct. Pakistan author-ities were called upon to inves-tigate into such heinous acts ofkilling innocent civilians andinstruct its forces to desistfrom such acts immediately,”theMinistry of External Affairssaid in a statement.

“Our strong concerns werealso shared at continued unpro-voked firing and ceasefire vio-lations across the Line ofControl and the InternationalBoundary. More than 1088such violations have been car-ried out by Pakistan forces atthe Line of Control andInternational Boundary so farduring 2018 which have led toloss of 36 lives and injuries to127 persons.

The Pakistan side was alsoasked to end the support beinggiven to cross border infiltra-tion of terrorists, includingthrough covering fire. In 2018,Indian security forces havethwarted attempts by 53 ter-rorists to infiltrate and haveneutralised 5 terrorists at thetime of crossing the Line ofControl,” the MEA added.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Prime Minister NarendraModi on Wednesday

reviewed the progress in imple-mentation of the Atal Missionfor Rejuvenation and UrbanTransformation (AMRUT)projects in which projectsworth `65,075 crore are at dif-ferent stages in 500 cities acrossthe country. The review wasmade at his 26th interactionthrough PRAGATI — the ICT-based, multi-modal platformfor Pro-Active Governance andTimely Implementation.

AMRUT is one of theModi Government’s flagshipprogrammes launched withthe aim of providing basiccivic amenities like water sup-ply, sewerage, urban transport,parks as to improve the quali-ty of life for all especially thepoor and the disadvantaged.AMRUT is a centrally spon-sored scheme with 80 percentbudgetary support from theCentre. Formula for Allocation

of AMRUT cities among Stateswas based on total populationand number of statutory urbantowns (50:50).

According to Ministry ofHousing and Urban Affairs,under AMRUT, out of StateAnnual Action Plan(SAAP)size of `77,640 crores, projectsworth `65,075 crores (84 per-cent) are under various stagesof implementation includingprojects tendered and wheredetailed project reports have

been approved. “More than 22 crores

urban population will benefitfrom this mission. Total of`11,945 crores has beenreleased so far. Close to 400projects worth `325 croreshave already been completedand for 2,188 projects worth`40,074 crores, contracts havebeen awarded and are at vari-ous stages of implementation,”the Ministry said.

Further, 895 projects cost-

ing `13,586 crores are undertendering and for 729 projectscosting `10,824 crores DPRshave been approved. Further,8.58 lakhwater tap connec-tions have been provided so farunder the Mission and by con-vergence of other schemes.

Officials said that the dead-line of the AMRUT mission isJune 2020. It is hopeful thatnearly 1.4 crore water taps willbe provided across the country.“As many as 37 lakh street lightshave been replaced with ener-gy efficient LED lights. Around322 green spaces and parksprojects have been completedunder the Mission. A Singlewindow clearance system hasbeen implemented in Delhiand Mumbai for constructionpermits, where only 8 proce-dures and less than 60 days arerequired for all approvals.Online Building PermissionSystems(OBPS) is operationalin 370Mission cities and isunder various stages of imple-mentation in remaining cities,”

it said. According to officials, 25PRAGATI meetings so far haveseen a cumulative review of 227projects with a total investmentof over `10 lakh crore.

Resolution of PublicGrievances has also beenreviewed across a range of sec-tors. In the meeting, the PrimeMinister reviewed the progresstowards handling and resolu-tion of grievances related topost offices, and railways. Hestressed on the importance ofincreasing digital transactionsacross the postal and rail net-works, especially using theBHIM App.

Modi reviewed theprogress of nine infrastruc-ture projects in the railway,road, petroleum, and powersectors. These projects arespread over several Statesincluding Haryana, Rajasthan,Gujarat, Maharashtra, UttarPradesh, Odisha, Bihar,Jharkhand, West Bengal,Telangana, Tamil Nadu andAndhra Pradesh.

PNS n NEW DELHI

The Union Cabinet onWednesday approved set-

ting up of 4,072 mobile towersin the Maoist-affected areas of10 States with 4G capacities toimprove telecom and band-width network in remote areas.The project cost estimated is`7330 crore.

Addressing the media here,Union Minister Ravi ShankarPrasad said that this would befunded from Universal ServiceObligation Fund (USOF)maintained with Department oTelecom.

Of the 4,072 mobile towers,1,054 will be installed inJharkhand, 1,028 inChhattisgarh, 483 in Odisha,429 in Andhra Pradesh, 412 inBihar, 207 in West Bengal, 179in Uttar Pradesh, 136 inMaharashtra, 118 in Telanganaand 26 in Madhya Pradesh.This project will be under themonitoring of Home Ministry’sIntegrated Development Planin the Left Wing Extremism(LWE) affected areas.

In the first phase, whichwas completed about two yearsago, 2,329 mobile towers wereinstalled at a cost of `3,167

crore in Andhra Pradesh, Bihar,Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand,Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra,Odisha, Telangana, UttarPradesh and West Bengal. Theadditional towers will strength-en the telecom network result-ing in increased mobile pene-tration in the Left WingExtremism-affected and otherareas facing security challenges,said Ravi Shankar Prasad.

As of now, out of the 90districts affected by the Maoistsproblem, 30 were termed asworst-hit. Union HomeSecretary Rajiv Gauba had saidthat 44 districts in the countryare no longer under the influ-ence of Maoists or have negli-

gible presence and most of theLeft Wing Extremism (LWE) isnow confined only to 30 worst-hit districts.

He had said the geograph-ical spread of the LWE violencehas shrunk significantly in thelast four years due to a multi-pronged strategy involvingsecurity and development-related measures.

Gauba had said significantfeatures of the anti-Naxal pol-icy were zero-tolerance towardsviolence coupled with a bigpush to developmental activi-ties so that benefits of newroads, bridges, telephone tow-ers reach the poor and the vul-nerable in the affected areas.

Govt OK’s installation of 4Kmobile towers in Naxal belt

PNS n NEW DELHI

The deadly Nipah virus thathas claimed over 13 lives in

Kerala in the last few daysseems to have spread to theneighbouring Karnataka too.Two suspected cases of Nipahvirus infection have beenreported from Mangaluru andKasargod in Karnataka.

The outbreak is likely to hittourism industry in the State aswell as Bahrain has issued atravel advisory asking its citi-zens to avoid visiting theSouthern States while the UAEto urging its citizens in India toexercise caution and abide bythe instructions of the localauthorities.

The Piniyari Governmenttoo has asked travellers toavoid visiting four northerndistricts Kozhikode,Malappuram, Wayanad andKannur, in Kerala, even as theUnion Health Ministry hassaid that the Nipah virus out-break in Kerala is a localisedoccurrence and there is nothreat of its spread,

According to reports, onepatient is a 20-year-old womanfrom Kasargod and the otherpatient is a 75-year-old manfrom Mangaluru in Karnataka.It is suspected that the woman

probably could have beenexposed to the virus when shehad visited the Perambra hos-pital in Kozhikode district ofKerala where a nurse wasundergoing treatment forNipah virus infection.

The woman had been inclose contact with the nurse.The nurse named Lini suc-cumbed to the infection onMonday.

However, the 75-year-old

man has no history of travel. Samples from both the

patients have been sent to theManipal Centre for VirusResearch (MCVR), Manipal.The samples will be sent to theNational Institute of Virology(NIV), Pune if the results fromMCVR turn positive for NipahVirus.

Tamil Nadu, Karnatakaand Puducherry Governmentshave said that there is no need

to panic in these States, but offi-cials have been asked to be onalert in case of any suspectedoutbreak. Meanwhile, the cen-tral team has devised draftguidelines, case definitions,advisory for healthcare work-ers, information to the gener-al public, advisories for samplecollection and transportationand a brief on Nipah virus dis-ease.

In an advisory issued by

Kerala Health Secretary RajeevSadanandan, it was stated thattravelling to any part of Keralawas safe. But if travellers wishedto be extra cautious, they mayavoid the four districts —Kozhikode, Malappuram,Wayanad and Kannur, it said.

The UAE too has urged itscitizens in India to exercise cau-tion and abide by the instruc-tions of Indian authorities fol-lowing the outbreak of theNipah virus in Kerala whileBahrain has issued a traveladvisory

It has asked its nationals toavoid travelling to Kerala untilan outbreak of the rare Nipahvirus is under control, the Gulfstate's consulate in Mumbaisaid on its Twitter account onWednesday.

The virus can cause flu-likesymptoms and brain damage,and the outbreak has alreadykilled 10 people in southernIndia, with at least nine morebeing treated, officials said.

There is no vaccine for theNipah virus, carried by fruitbats and spread through con-tact with bodily fluids, theWorld Health Organisation(WHO) says. Treatment for thevirus, which has a mortalityrate of about 70 per cent, is sup-portive care.

Nipah spreads to Karnataka

Doctors and patients wear safety masks as a precautionary measure after the ‘Nipah' virus outbreak, at a Medical college, inKozhikode, on Wednesday PTI

PNS n NEW DELHI

The CBI on Wednesday reg-istered an FIR against 17

persons, including 10 employ-ees of Sify Technologies Pvt Ltdin connection with the leak ofpaper for graduate level exam-ination of Staff SelectionCommission.

The agency carried outsearches at 12 locations, includ-ing four offices of the SifyTechnologies Private Limited inChennai, Noida, Mumbai andOkhla, New Delhi, besides theresidence of one of its employ-ees, Sant Prasad Gupta inSheikh Sarai area. The CBI hasalso named seven students inthe FIR who had appeared inthe examination on the basis ofthe screenshot of the questionpaper which was allegedlyleaked and became viral onsocial media.

Following the protests, the

Ministry of Home Affairs hasdirected the CBI to probe theleaks in March this year.

According to the CBI, theexamination papers were set insuch a way that an examineegot the questions in a certain‘sequence’ unique to the exam-ination centres, which weretermed as ‘labs’ in this case.Going by the pattern of thequestions leaked, the CBImanaged to locate seven stu-dents who would have receivedthose questions in that partic-ular pattern. These studentshave been named as accusedand their complicity would bedecided during the course ofinvestigation which has begunnow, the officials said.

Earlier this month, a Delhigovernment clerk, suspected tobe the mastermind of a crimesyndicate helping candidatescheat the online examinationconducted by the SSC, was

arrested. With the arrest ofHarpal Singh, on May 4, thetotal number of gang membersarrested in the case had reached10.

Last month, Delhi Policearrested five persons in con-nection with the matter.Another four were arrested inMarch, when the case wastransferred to the crime Branchfrom the north district police.

During interrogation, thepolice found that the syndicateworked as a organised group-ing. The members would hackinto the online system andassist candidates taking theexamination. The candidateswere charged between `5 and`10 lakh. The gang allegedlyhad developed a network withexamination centres and com-puter labs in various cities. TheSSC outsources the conduct ofthe examination to labs such asthese.

PNS n NEW DELHI

The Ministry ConsumerAffairs, Food and Public

Distribution has moved a draftCabinet note on creating asugar buffer stock of threemillion tonnes and fixing aminimum ex-mill price to helpcash-starved millers clear canearrears which have surged toabout `22,000 crore.

The proposal was firstmooted by sugar mill ownersciting that against the project-ed production of 32 milliontonnes of sugar this year, only25 tonnes will be consumed.Hence, there is an excess ofabout seven million tonnes ofsugar. Though the Governmenthad mandated the mills toexport two million tonnes,there is still an excess of fivemillion tonnes.

This situation has beencreated due to sharp fall insugar prices and record pro-duction. The note follows a let-ter written recently by NCPchief and former AgricultureMinister Sharad Pawar toPrime Minister Narendra Modisuggesting immediate inter-ventions to deal with hugesugar glut in the market.

India’s sugar productionhas touched an all-time high of31.6 million tonne (MT) so farin the 2017-18 season(October-September) on high-er cane output, leading to asurge in cane arrears to ̀ 22,000crore, as per the official data.

“After deliberating Pawar’ssuggestions by both the PrimeMinister’s Office (PMO) andthe Committee of Secretaries(CoS), the Food Ministry hasprepared a draft cabinet note

proposing 2-3 interventions,”said a highly placed source.

The Ministry has proposedsetting up of a buffer stock ofup to 3 MT sugar, fixing of aminimum ex-mill sale price ataround `30 per kg, re-intro-ducing the monthly releasemechanism and imposingstock limits on mills by fixingquota for each mill, the sourceadded.

Presently, the average ex-mill price of sugar is in therange of `25.60-26.22 per kg,below the cost of production.Sources said the excess avail-ability of the sweetener hasresulted in a sharp decline inex-factory prices to `24.5 perkg in Maharashtra and `25.5 inUttar Pradesh against `35 perkg a year back.

Pawar in his letter hadsuggested several other inter-

ventions such as increase inethanol price, ban on indis-criminate taxes imposed bystates on movement ofmolasses and on sale of ethanolbesides reduction in GST onethanol from 18 per cent to 5per cent.

The NCP chief had alsosought a package to bail outcash-stressed mills. Sourcessaid that the petroleum min-istry is looking into the ethanolissue, while the finance min-istry on giving a financial pack-age to millers. Early this month,the government approved aproduction subsidy of ̀ 5.5 perquintal for sugarcane farmersto help millers clear canearrears.

PNS n NEW DELHI

With petrol and dieselprices being hiked for the

10th day in a row, theGovernment on Wednesdaysaid it is working on a long-term solution to address thevolatility and frequent revisionsin rates. “The issue of fre-quent hike in fuel price is amatter of debate and concern.The Government is involved inthis whole process, includingthe concern about rise in pricesand also the uncertainty,”Union Minister Ravi ShankarPrasad told reporters here.

He was answering to volleyof questions on this regard dur-ing the briefing of Cabinet

meeting. With geopolitical sit-uation leading to an uncer-tainty over the direction ofinternational oil prices, “a newsense of urgency has devel-oped”, he said.

“The Government is keenthat instead of having an ad hocmeasure, it may be desirable tohave a long-term view whichaddresses not only the volatil-ity but also takes care of the

unnecessary ambiguity aris-ing out of frequent ups anddowns. That process is under-way,” he said.

The Minister refused toelaborate either on the mea-sures being considered or if aduty reduction was on cards.On the question of excise duty,he said proceeds from suchtaxes are used for country’sdevelopment including build-ing of highways, digital infra-structure, electricity to vil-lages, hospitals and education.

“So tax on fuel is linkedwith developmental issues. Weunderstand that there is a com-pelling need for a long-termsolution, structured solution (todeal with the present situa-

tion),” he said.Asked about former

Finance Minister PChidambaram’s criticism ofthe BJP Government raisingexcise duty to take away gainsarising from falling interna-tional prices, Prasad said hegenerally does not comment onthe Congress leader’s tweets“because ever since his partywent out of power, he hasbecome active on Twitter”.

Chidambaram had in aseries of tweets said that the fallin international oil pricesbetween 2014 and early 2016helped the Government save`15 per litre but theGovernment put an addition-al `10 on every litre of fuel.

PNS n NEW DELHI

The BJP on Wednesday hitout at Rahul Gandhi for

accusing the RSS for the deathof 10 people in police firing inTuticorin, saying the Congresspresident is hiding his “failures”behind the veil of attacking theorganisation and was ignorantof facts .

BJP spokesperson SambitPatra attacked Rahul at a mediabriefing for drawing the RSSinto the incident and said itunderlined his “inexperienceand immaturity”, wonderingwhat future the Congresswould have with such a presi-dent.

“You can inherit presiden-

cy of a party but you cannotinherit wisdom and under-standing,” he said.

Rahul had claimed thatTamils were being killed as theyrefused to “bow” to the ideol-ogy of the RSS.

In an apparent reference tothe anti-copper plant violenceat Tuticorin on Tuesday inwhich 10 people were killed inpolice firing, Congress leadersaid he was with the Tamil peo-ple.

Patra also alleged, citingmedia reports, that seniorCongress leader PChidambaram was a director inthe company, which was at thecentre of the violent protests inthe southern state, and asked

Congress leader to seek clari-fication from him.

Patra said in India’s feder-al structure, law and order is astate subject and the BJP-runCentral Government has noth-ing to do with the police firing,Patra said, asking if Rahulknew that.

He said Congress leader sooften errs by blaming the RSSfor things happening across thecountry and the BJP would liketo gift him Class VI civics bookto learn about India’s federalstructure, Constitution anddemocracy.

What has happened is amatter of sorrow and Rahul istrying to milk a sad incident forpolitical mileage, Patra alleged.

PTI n NEW DELHI

The Congress on Wednesdaysaid it will mark the fourth

anniversary of the ModiGovernment on May 26 as“Vishwasghat Divas” orBetrayal Day and “expose” theNDA’s failures on various frontsin protests held across thecountry. AICC general secre-tary Ashok Gehlot said theCongress and other like-mind-ed parties would unite to defeatthe Modi Government, whichhe described as “fascist and cor-rupt” and claimed was destroy-ing the country.

“Everyone is full of angstagainst this NDA Government.Be it farmers, youth, Dalits, thecommon man, all are sufferingunder this government,” hesaid. Gehlot also urged thePrime Minister to “stop lying”on issues and to try and createhistory instead of “distorting”it. Along with the party’s com-munications in-chargeRandeep Surjewala, Gehlotsaid the Congress would markfour years of the ModiGovernment with protests inevery district of the country,besides press conferencesaddressed by senior leaders.

The two leaders alsoreleased posters in Hindi andEnglish for its “India Betrayedcampaign” to be launched bythe Congress on May 26. TheModi Government was swornin on this day in 2014.

“On the completion of fouryears of the BJP-ledGovernment on May 26, theCongress has decided to holddharnas, protests in every dis-trict of the country to exposethe BJP for its betrayal of thepeople’s trust. The Congresswill raise all issues due towhich the common man istroubled by this Government,”Gehlot said.

CBI books 17 peopleincluding Sify Tech staff

SSC PAPER LEAK CASE

With geopolitical situation

leading to an uncertainty over

the direction of international

oil prices, a new sense of

urgency has developed:

Ravi Shankar Prasad

Govt working on solution tocheck fuel prices hike: Prasad

Rahul hiding ‘failures' behind

veil of attacking RSS: BJP

Cong to observe

‘Betrayal Day' to

mark 4th anniv

of Modi Govt

KILLING OF 7-MONTH-OLD IN CROSS BORDER FIRING

India summons Pakistan’sDeputy High Commissioner

Food Ministry moves Cabinet note onsugar buffer stock, minimum ex-mill price

ATAL MISSION FOR REJUVENATION AND URBAN TRANSFORMATION

Prime Minister Narendra Modi chairs twenty-sixth interaction through PRAGATI -ICT-based, multi-modal platform for Pro-Active Governance and TimelyImplementation, in New Delhi on Wednesday PTI

PM reviews progress work of Atal mission

nation 06LUCKNOW | THURSDAY | MAY 24, 2018

KESTUR VASUKI n BENGALURU

At his first customary Pressconference, well attended

by a galaxy of Opposition lead-ers, after taking over the man-tle on Wednesday, KarnatakaChief Minister HDKumaraswamy justified hisaligning with the Congressand said his Government willbe stable and last long for itsfull term. He said, “I havedecided to join the Congressalliance for the sake of thenation to keep the BJP away.This is also an effort for theOpposition unity to fight theBJP in 2019 polls”.

On the galaxy of leadersdescending on his coronation,he said they have come tosend a message of unity. Hesaid, “The leaders who camehere today didn’t just come upto support my Government,they wanted to send a messageto the people that they are com-ing together for 2019 elec-tions. He said, “Never before ina State Government forma-

United with Cong to keep BJP away: HDK

Karnataka Governor Vajubhai Vala greets newly sworn-in Karnataka Chief Ministerand JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy during the swearing-in ceremony of the JD(S)-Congress coalition Government in Bengaluru on Wednesday PTI

OMER FAROOQ n HYDERABAD

Senior BJP leader and formerUnion Minister Bandaru

Dattatreya’s family has suffered amajor shock with his only son, 21-year-old Vaishnav, passing away dueto cardiac arrest in the wee hours ofWednesday. He was third year stu-dent of MBBS.

According to the family sources,Vaishnav complained of chest painwhile having dinner at home inRamngara area last night and wasrushed to nearby Guru Nanak CareHospital where he died after mid-

night.Dattatreya and his family was left

in deep shock by the tragedy. As thenews spread friends and supportersof Dattatreya started gathering at hisresidence. Those who visited himinclude the State Governor ESNNarasimhan, several State Ministers,MPs and leaders of various politicalparties.

Prime Minister Narendra Modiand Vice President M VenkaiahNaidu spoke to him over phone andconveyed their condolences.Telangana Chief Minister KChndrasekhar Rao and Andhra

Pradesh Chief Minister NChandrababu Naidu also expressedtheir shock over the death ofVaishnav.

“He was the only son and onecan understand the grief of a fatherover such a loss”, ChandrababuNaidu said in his condolence mes-sage.

Vaishnav was cremated atMadannapet Shamshanghat in theafternoon. Dattatrey representsSecunderabad constituency in LokSabha and was a Minister of Statein Narendra Modi Cabinet till lastyear.

Bandaru Dattatreya’s sondies of cardiac arrest

TN RAGHUNATHA n MUMBAI

The Opposition NCP onWednesday suffered a setback

ahead of the Maharashtra LegislativeCouncil polls, as its MLC NiranjanDhavkhare resigned from the partyand appeared poised to join the rul-ing BJP.

Niranjan, son of late NCP leaderVasant Dhavkhare who was a closeassociate of party founder-presidentSharad Pawar, sent his resignation toState party president Jayant Patil.

Simultaneously, Niranjan calledon State Legislative Council chairmanRamraje Naik-Nimbalkar and ten-dered his resignation as the memberof the Upper House.

Jr Dhavkhare will join the BJPformally at a function to be held onThursday in the presence ofMaharashtra Chief Minister

Devendra Fadnavis.Niranjan was a member of the

Maharashtra Legislative Councilfrom Konkan Graduates’ con-stituency. His resignation comesbarely a fortnight ahead of the pollsto the Upper House.

Talking to media persons,Niranjan attributed his resignationfrom the NCP to “petty politics” atthe local level. “My father wasassociated with the NCP rightfrom the day of its formation in199. I have watched the develop-ments in the party from close quar-ters. The NCP was like family tome. But of late I was fed up withthe local politics. .... I am extreme-ly sad that I am leaving the NCP”.Niranjan’s exit from the NCP cameas a jolt to the party leadership,considering that his father VasantDhavkhare had been associated

with Pawar for nearly threedecades.

Sr Dhavkhare passed away afterprotracted illness in January this year.He was a force to reckon with inThane district where he had beenelected as the Mayor of the ThaneMunicipal Corporation (TMC) in1987.

Late Dhavkhare was electedunopposed to the MaharashtraLegislative Council in 1992.Subsequently, he was elected to theState Legislative Council. He waselected as the deputy chairman of theState Legislative Council once in 1998and later in 2010.

The BJP is expected to nominateNiranjan as its candidate for the Statelegislative Council polls from KonkanGraduates’ Constituency which isgoing to polls along with three localbody constituencies on June 8.

Davkhare resigns as MLC,

quits NCP to join BJP

SAUGAR SENGUPTA n KOLKATA

The BJP is trying to foment trou-ble in Bengal so as to attract

Article 356 in the State, the rulingTrinamool Congress has said,adding, the saffron outfit’s nefariousdesigns to trigger social unrest in theState became more evident duringthe panchayat elections and a fewmonths preceding it.

At least 23 people were killedand about 500 injured during thethree-tier rural elections in theState.

“As is their wont the BJP hasbeen trying to create trouble inBengal by instigating social tension.This approached maximized duringthe panchayat elections when ourTrinamool Congress lost most num-ber of workers,” TMC general sec-retary Partho Chatterjee said, addingtheir designs were however thwart-ed by the people of this State.

“The BJP’s main motive is to getthe central Government to clampPresident’s Rule in Bengal so thatthey can easily grab power. But the

politically conscious people of thisState are aware and alert of theirnefarious designs. They will thwarttheir plans in future as they havedone during the panchayat elec-tions.”

The TMC won uncontestedabout 90 percent Zilla Parishadconstituencies, more than 80 percentPanchayat Samiti seats and about 70percent gram panchayat seats in thethree-tier elections in blood-smeared election that apparentlybroke all the past records of Stateoppression provoking a country-wide criticism as well as judicial rep-rimands. Bengal witnessed com-munal tensions in the weeks pre-ceding the elections in several dis-tricts of the State leading the TMCto allege “BJP hand behind suchcharged up situations.”

Chatterjee who is also a seniorminister in the Mamata Banerjeecabinet also attacked the CPI(M)and the Congress for surrenderingto the saffron party making theircadres to work for the BJP.

“It is a shame that in Bengal

which produced tall Marxist leaderslike Jyoti Basu, Pramod Dasguptaand Muzaffar Ahmed, the CPI(M)is allowing its cadres to be sold outto the BJP just to eliminate theTrinamool Congress. But the peopleof this have seen through theirdesigns and they will not allow themto succeed,” Chatterjee said adding“in spite of strengthening their ownorganization the Left is trying to playsecond fiddle to the BJP which iswhy they have come down to thethird position in the State.”

Attacking the Congress theTrinamool leader said the party hadbeen reduced to “sign board” in theState “because of their faulty policy.”

In the Centre they bat for sec-ularism but in Bengal they areholding the flags of the BJP whichwas a shame, he said adding the pan-chayat elections have exposed theCPI(M) and the Congress and morepeople would leave them.

The BJP had done exceptional-ly well in the Jangalmahal districtsof Purulia and Jhargram dominat-ed by tribal and Kurmi voters.

BJP is trying to foment tension: TMC

TN RAGHUNATHA n MUMBAI

Five legislators survived a terrorists’grenade attack on Wednesday after-

noon, when they were travelling in aconvoy of vehicles under police escortin Anantnag district of Jammu &Kashmir. The incident took place at12.30 pm, when terrorists hurled grenadeat the vehicle in which the five MLAs —two each from the NCP and Shiv Senaand one from the BJP — were headingfrom Pahalgam to Srinagar.

The legislators were on a tour tostudy the Panchayat Raj system pre-vailing in Jammu & Kashmir. “We sud-denly heard a huge sound. The tyres ofa one vehicle in our convoy got burst,

while windowpanes of another vehiclewere smashed... Before long, we realisedthat terrorists had hurled grenades onvehicles. Fortunately, all five of us aresafe,” NCP MLA Vikram Kale said, whilegiving details of the incident. Apart fromKale, four other MLAs who survived thegrenade attack were: Dipak Chavan(NCP), Tukaram Kate, Kishore Patil(both Shiv Sena) and Sudhir Parwe(BJP), “After the attack, we panicked andsped our vehicle from the scene of inci-dent. When we stopped our vehicle aftera distance, we realised one of the tyresof our vehicle was burst. We were in all20 persons, including security person-nel, in our convoy when the incidenttook place,” Kale said.

PNS n GANDHINAGAR

In a first-of-its-kind initiative,Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay

Rupani on Wednesdaylaunched ‘Boat AmbulanceService’.

The service, aimed to facil-itate fishermen, was launchedwith two boats. In near future10 more boat ambulance ser-vices would be available forthose who are offshore. It isworth mentioning that Gujarathas longest 1600-km-longcoastline and more sizable pop-ulation of the State depends onfishing and related activities.The Boat Ambulance Servicehas been launched aroundseven major fishing ports.

Nearly 1.50-lakh fishermenventure out into high sea 8-12days in a row. Each fishing boathas to have one captain, 3assistants/employees and onetrained emergency medicaltechnician.

Meanwhile Rupani and hisdeputy Nitin Patel alsolaunched launched ‘PlatinumHour’ 108 Mobile Applicationservice with a view to ulti-mately covering all the citizensfor emergency/accident.

Speaking on the occasion,CM Rupani said the PlatinumHour 108-Mobile Applicationhas five modules integrated tovoice-paper works to reachthe spot fast, locating its way tothe nearest medical treatment

out of 4,000 hospitals in thestate, blood banks and otheremergency requirements.

The 108-MobileApplication helps connect thecaller from the accident spot toEmergency Response Centre,indicating the journey onGoogle map, approximate timeto reach the spot, informationabout blood requirement,informing the relatives of thevictim to reach the hospitalwith address.

He appealed people todownload the application intheir mobile and keep theirmedical history handy, vir-tually in their hand, creatinga data for paperless healthfacility.

5 legislators survive terrorist’sgrenade attack in Anantnag

Gujarat Govt launches

‘Boat Ambulance Service’

tion had so many leaders come.This is the first time that it hashappened in the country. Thisis also a challenge for me,every step I take will have to be

weighed. The expectationacross the country that this willbe a model for the country is achallenge. I have to also look atthe promises I have made in mymanifesto”.

“I am a child of circum-stances. There is a strange sit-uation in Karnataka; ordinarypeople are divided about thiscoalition, especially on socialmedia. The suspicionsexpressed by a section of mediawill be addressed by thisGovernment”, he added andassured the people hisGovernment would last forthe full five term.

“As no party has got man-date, over the past week I haveseen all manner of opinions

even those in letters to papers.For a long time reports had keptharping on a hung assembly andI feel that impacted the people.Already the BJP as largest partywere invited and they alsobacked out of trust vote. TheCongress decided to align withJD(S) and BSP with their 78MLAs and 2 Independents, andfor this I want to thank Rahuland Sonia Gandhi, and othersthey have given me a responsi-bility” he added.

Kumaraswamy explainedthe circumstances in which heagreed to form the governmentwith the Congress and said hekeeping his ego he will work forthe welfare of the people andalso to keep the alliance intact.He said he will prove his major-ity on the floor of the house onthe 25.

“The BJP keep saying it’sunethical, but I don’t know, ifwe discuss it nobody will get aconclusive answer. The questionon all minds is if this coalitionwill last, especially as I was theone who destabilised the 2004alliance. In the 12 years since wehave also fought each other andthe question of whether this willlast”, he added.

He said justifying his stand“It is true I had said in the runup to polls that I wouldn’t joina coalition and would call foranother poll. This is why I saythat I’m a child of circum-stances and I have had to keepmy ego aside. To save thenation, I was advised that it isessential that I join hands withthe Congress”.

On the crucial issue of

farm loan wavier he said hewould work with everyone inconsultation. He said “I wantto tell Yeddyurappa thatnobody has to hit the streetsunder this Govt because we willallow everybody to approachus. I have a blueprint for farmloan waiver. I will take every-body into confidence and evenCongress must get credit for it.Today’s oath taking is a pro-gramme of the people, not mypersonal event. This govt willtry to be of the people, by thepeople and for the people”, headded.

Kumaraswamy was veryguarded and cautious inanswering volley of questionskeeping his commitment to thecoalition partner the Congress.The press conference was joint-ly addressed by Chief Ministerand Deputy Chief Minister GParameshwara. He describedthe attendance of galaxy ofOpposition leaders to hisswearing in ceremony he saidit was a responsibility bestowedon him.

“I have my own dreamsand the programmes I have willhave to match with the mani-festo promises of the Congressas well, and I will also have totake forward the schemes theyhave put forward in the previ-ous 5 years. In the Budget I willput forward all these will beincluded. I did not say I will notwaive loans. I said if my partycomes to power on its own Iwould waive all loans. But nowI’m in a coalition Govt and Ihave to take them into confi-dence”, he added.

LUCKNOW | THURSDAY | MAY 24, 2018 nation 07

PNS n GANDHINAGAR

Taking the incident of attackon cricketer Ravindra

Jadeja’s wife Riva seriously,the Home Department ofGujarat Government hasissued an advisory for cops ondealing with females.

Minister of State for HomePradeepsinh Jadeja said thatbehavior of the policemen,especially with women woulddecide overall reputation ofpolice department as well asthe Government. In case ofnon-adherence of the adviso-ry, the senior officials willhave power to take all possibleaction against the errant cops.

As per the advisory thecops have been asked to behavecordially with women. The

cops are supposed to takesteps to ensure security offemales. Forget physical attack,but they are not supposed todefame women.

Meanwhile, the police con-stable Sanjay Krangia who hadattacked Riva was released onbail. However, his suspensionwould continue and he will

have to face departmentalinquiry too.

The incident occurred onMonday late in the eveningnear Saru Section area ofJamnagar when Riva’s carslightly touched the constableidentified as Sanjay Karanjia’sbike. Interestingly the consta-ble was riding his motorcycleon the wrong side! Angry withthe damage to his bike, theconstable stopped Riva’s carand instantly started assaultingher.

An FIR has been filedagainst the errant cop andsuspended. Within an hour hewas arrested by the police,” hesaid adding that a case underIPC sections 279, 323, 324and 504 has been registeredagainst the constable.

Teachers stage a demonstration to protest against the death of Rajkumar Roy, a poll presiding officer in Kolkata on Wednesday PTI

The police constableSanjay Krangia who had

attacked Riva wasreleased on bail. However,

his suspension wouldcontinue and he will have

to face departmentalinquiry too

Gujarat advisory for cops post

attack on Jadeja’s wife

KHURSHEED WANI n SRINAGAR

An Army Major who shotinto controversial promi-

nence last year for strapping ayoungster to an armouredvehicle was briefly detained bypolice on Wednesday after heallegedly attempted to checkinto a hotel along with a localgirl. Police have ordered a highlevel probe into the incident.

Major Leetul Gogoi, hadbooked a double-bed roomonline on Wednesday using hisown credit card and subse-quently arrived at the hotel sit-uated in Dalgate pocket ofSrinagar in a car. A Kashmirigirl was accompanying the offi-cer. However, as he was fillingup his contact details, the hotelstaff asked him questions about

the girl in his company. Thistriggered a hot word exchangeforcing the hotel managementto call police. Sources said ateam of Khanyar police stationarrived on the spot and whiskedaway the off-duty army officerand the girl. Police later ordereda high level probe into the mat-ter. Before handing over Gogoito his unit, police recorded hisstatement.

"We have ordered a probewhich will be headed by theSuperintendent of Police North,"Inspector General Police,Kashmir Swayam Prakash Panisaid. Police said the girl had goneto meet an army officer in thehotel. However, the owner saidthey raised objection to the sus-picious check-in that led to ver-bal altercation.

KHURSHEED WANI n SRINAGAR

Asecurity guard with localBharatiya Janta Party (BJP)

activist has allegedly decampedwith his service rifle at RohamaRafiabad area of northKashmir’s Baramulla district.

A police statement saidthat Special Police OfficerWaseem Ahmad Malla ofRafiabad area posted at theguard room of the BJP activistMohammad Maqbool War wasreportedly deserted from theresidential guard since MondayMay 21 along-with AK 47 rifleof the security guard. He isreported to have taken awaysome ammunition also.

Officials said it was notimmediately known whetherhe has joined militant ranks buthave also not ruled out such a

possibility.Police have registered a

case and began investigation.Several policemen and somesoldiers of Kashmiri origin havedeserted the security force andjoined militant ranks in the past.

Meanwhile, at least sixcivilians including a womanwere injured after unknownpersons hurled a hand grenade

towards security forces vehiclein Bijbehara area of southKashmir’s Anantnag districton Wednesday.

Sources said suspected mil-itants lobbed a hand grenadetowards security vehicle thatmissed the intended target andexploded on the road side atGuriwan area in Bijbehara townof the south Kashmir district.

They said in the blast atleast six persons including awoman sustained splinterinjuries. The injured have beenrushed to the local hospital fortreatment. Some among injuredhave also been referred toSrinagar hospital for treatment.

The security forces havelaunched manhunt to nab the attackers. No militant outfit claimed responsibilityfor the attack.

Security guard of BJP activistdecamps with his service rifle Tried to check in with

girl, detained at hotel

CONTROVERSIAL MAJOR LANDS IN SOUP

TN RAGHUNATHA n MUMBAI

The political feud between thesaffron alliance partners

reached a flashpoint onWednesday evening, as UttarPradesh Chief Minister YogiAdityanath and Shiv Sena pres-ident Uddhav Thackerayexchanged verbal fire in courseof public rallies in the run-up tothe May 28 Palghar Lok Sabhabypolls.

Addressing a large electionrally at Virar in Palghar district,Adityanath charged that theShiv Sena had back-stabbedthe BJP and was doing thingsakin the one indulged in by thearch rival of Maratha warriorChhatrapati Shivaji.

Without naming the ShivSena, Adityanath said: “Thosewho try to distinguish the peo-ple of Uttar Pradesh andMaharashtra cannot be well-wishers of India. These are forceswho are trying to weaken India.They may be taking the name ofChhatrapati Shivaji but are doingthings akin to the one indulgedin Afzal Khan. These kind ofpeople should have no place inMaharashtra which is the land of

Chattrapati Shivaji”.Making no bones about his

displeasure about the manner inwhich the Sena roped in the sonof late BJP MP ChintamanVanga and fielded him as its can-didate, the UP chief ministersaid: “If there were to be unhap-py soul around today, it would bethat of late Shiv Sena chiefBalsaheb Thackeray. Tell me asto whether there was any Indianor a nationalist who does nothave huge respect for lateThackeray. But, late Thackeraynever back-stabbed any one. Hewould fight from the front. Hewould fight and give befittingreply to anti-nationals”.

“Late Balasaheb would loseno opportunity to expose thedivisive and national forces thattried to weaken the country. But,when I see the goings on in theShiv Sena, I have strong tobelieve hat late Balasaheb’s soulwould be most unhappy to seehis party men trying to erodetheir own traditions and defeatthe ideals of Shivaji Maharaj,”Adityanath said, adding that thepeople in the state revered theMaratha and that there werescores of Shivaji statues across

Uttar Pradesh.Castigating the Shivaji for

usurping the legacy of Shivaji,the senior BJP leader said: “Theentire country looks up toShivaji. Chhatrapti ShivajiMaharaj is a leader of the entirecountry.. We have created severalgrand memorials of Shivaji inUttar Pradesh. But, no one partycannot hijack or imprison thelegacy of Shivaji. The People whotake the name of Shivaji andindulge in the acts of AfzalKhan do not any pardon”.

In retaliation, Thackeraydubbed Adityanath as an“import” from Uttar Pradeshwhom the BJP had enlisted tocampaign for a candidatebrought in from another party.“ You hold chintan shibirs in theneighbourhood, Do you havecandidates of your own to fieldin the elections? What has hap-pened to your party? You areimporting candidates from otherpolitical parties... Here is leader(Yogi) who does not have respectfor Chhatrapati Shivaji. He gar-lands Shivaji statue wearingchappals," Thackeray said whileaddressing a public rally at NallaSophara.

Yogi & Uddhav continueto exchange verbal fire

PALGHAR LOK SABHA BY-ELECTION

PNS n JAMMU

Adead body of a staff nurseposted in Shri Mata

Vaishno Devi NarayanaSuperspeciality Hospital,Kakryal was found under mys-terious circumstances insideone of the hospital labs onWednesday morning.

The dead body was foundin a pool of blood with injurymarks in the neck area.

The local police has start-ed investigations in the case.

According to police, ataround 9.00 a.m, " dead bodyof a female identified as Vishalid/o Ram Lal R/o HimachalPradesh, age 23 years wasfound inside one of the hospi-tal laboratories".

The young nurse was post-ed as staff nurse in the hospital.

Interestingly, one male wasalso found in serious condition

identified as Pavan Chathan s/oSita ram R/o Ghazipur UP, age23 years in the same hospital.He was also posted in thesame hospital and may haveattempted suicide after attack-ing the nurse or he may havereceived injuries during thescuffle.

The police is also scanningCCTV footage of the hospitalto establish the presence of dueinside the laboratory before thecrime was reported.

Body of nurse withinjury marks recoveredin J&K hospital

A woman holds the tail unit of a mortar shell claimed to be fired from the Pakistani side, along the International Border, at Begavillage near Jammu, on Wednesday PTI

Govt working on

long-term solution

to fuel prices

SIT to probeextortion threats to UP MLAs

From Page 1similar to some sent to filmpersonalities in the 1990s. Aliwas once with Dawood butthe two later fell out. In 1998,Ali shifted to Bahrain tocarry out his operations. Inthe past decade, there hasbeen no report of his activi-ties in India but he has beenon the radar of intelligenceagencies.”

The MLAs who receivedthreats include SakendraPratap Verma (FatehpurKursi in Barabanki) ,Rajnikant Mani Tripathi(Kushinagar), Veer VikramSingh (Meeranpur Katra inShahjahanpur), LokendraPratap Singh (LakhimpurKheri), Shyam Bihari Lal(Barei l ly) , Neeraj B ora(Lucknow), Manvendra Singh(Dadraul, Shahjahanpur),Prem Prakash Pandey(Tarabganj, Gonda), VinayKumar Dwivedi (Mehnam,Gonda), Vinod Katiyar(Bhognipur, Kanpur) ,Shahshank Trivedi (Mahauli,Sitapur), Anita Lodhi (Debai,Bulandshahr).

PTI n NEW DELHI

Senior Congress leader PChidambaram on

Wednesday termed as uncon-stitutional the proposedchanges in the cadre allocationof civil services and wonderedwhether the Centre was plan-ning another “disruption” bybringing about such changes inthe UPSC rules.

He said the government’sproposal to take into accountthe marks secured in the foun-dation course for allocation ofservice and cadre would lead tosubjectivity and termed it as“undesirable”. “Is the centralgovernment planning anotherdisruption? And if yes, why?,”he asked in a blog post.

“Firstly, the proposedchange appears to be uncon-stitutional, as it is violative ofArticle 320. The selection for‘appointment’ to the service,now done solely by the UPSC,will be affected by the FCmarks given by the executivegovernment. I doubt if theproposed change can be imple-mented without amendingArticle 320,” he said.

“Secondly, anonymity andobjectivity will be greatly affect-ed. ‘Preference’ of the executive

government and ‘subjectivity’will play a role in the allotmentof service and cadre. Neitherfactor is desirable. There is aclear and present danger,” heclaimed.

The former home ministersaid the All India Services(IAS, IFS, IPS and IFoS) hadtheir strengths and weakness-es and the examination, inter-view, selection, allotment ofservice and allotment of cadrewere done on the recommen-dation of the UPSC which was“believed to be totally objec-tive”.

He said there wasanonymity in the written examand objectivity as the exami-nation and the interview wereconducted by the UPSC, withthe Executive having absolute-ly no role to play.

This, he said, was consis-tent with Article 320 of theConstitution which mandate

that “it shall be the duty of theUnion and State Public ServiceCommissions to conductexaminations for appointmentsto the services of the Union andthe services of the state respec-tively”. Chidambaram saidthere were no serious com-plaints about examinations orselection or allotment of serviceand cadre and a few and raremistakes had been corrected bythe courts.

He said the candidates’marks in the foundation course(FC) might affect their inter-seranking allotted to a particularservice or cadre.

He said under the changeproposed by the PMO, FCmarks would be taken intoaccount for allocation of serviceand cadre and the 300 markshad potential to alter the allo-cation, currently based on the2025 marks. “ W h oconducts the FC? Who sets thequestion paper(s) for the exam-ination at the end of the FC?Who marks the examinationpaper(s) of the candidates inthe FC? It is officers appoint-ed by the Executive govern-ment and answerable to theExecutive government. TheUPSC has absolutely no role toplay,” he said.

Is Centre planning another disruption byproposing changes in UPSC rules: PC

From Page 1Younger brother identified

as Krishna was killed whilemother and elder son rec-eived injuries, he said, addingfather of the children is work-ing in Vrindaban nearMathura.

Krishna is also expected tobe cremated on Thursday.

Another civilian was killedwhen he was hit by a splinterin Londi village of Hiranagarwhile two others from RSPura were killed in the heavyfiring. 40-year-old BhajanSingh, an unmarried manfrom Samkha, was killed min-utes after his family requestedhim to sleep inside the room.He ignored the request andended up losing his life. Hismortal remains were kept inthe relief camp in RS Pura ashis final rights are scheduledfor Thursday morning. Asenior BSF officer said threeBSF jawans also receivedinjured in Ballad post inRamgarh sub-sector onWednesday.

The soldiers were later

discharged after first aid treat-ment.

A senior BSF officer toldThe Pioneer, “Pakistan Armyregulars have reportedly joinedPakistani Rangers. At leastfour of them were injured inthe retaliatory action and onewas confirmed fatal injury.

Divisional Commissioner,Jammu Hemant KumarSharma told The Pioneer, anestimated number of 50,000 to60,000 border residents havebeen affected due to borderfiring and have shifted fromtheir homes to safer places.

He said they have set up 15relief camps across three dis-tricts where an estimated 2,700people are accommodated sofar. He said he have taken upthe issue of augmenting num-ber of bulletproof bunkers tosafely evict border residentsstranded in their villages dur-ing mortar shelling. “We arealso going to start constructionwork of individual bunkerssoon for border residents inthe most affected pockets,” headded.

Soon after ceasefireplea, Pak resumesshelling, kills five

From Page 1The Congress is a separate

party, it will do its own thing.We are here at the invitation ofKumaraswamy. His is also froma regional party”.

Responding to Amit Shah’sstatement that Karnatakadevelopment will have noimpact on the BJP, she said, “Itis their prerogative to say whatthey want to say.

We can only say what wehave to say. We are not scarednor will be cowed down. Weare here to strengthen theregional party”.

“If the regional partiescome together, they becomestrong. This should be under-stood by all. Like the farmerssay, ‘whoever fights us willperish’. Regional parties cannotbe taken lightly. If the region-al parties become strong, itbenefits the nation as it too

becomes strong,” she added.Andhra Pradesh Chief

Minister Chandrababu Naiduducked direct questions onunity under Rahul Gandhi andsaid, “We have come here toexpress solidarity withKumaraswamy”.

He said, “We are express-ing our solidarity and also infuture we will work together.Regional parties are all here.We want to express our soli-darity and also this is a verygood occasion and a very goodevent. Kumaraswamy is takingoath”.

To a question on whetherhe is ready to meet Sonia andRahul, he said, “What I am say-ing we are expressing solidar-ity with Kumaraswamy. Whatwe are doing is to promotemore and more regional par-ties. We want to strength-en…that is Mamataji’s mis-sion and even ours.”

G Parameshwara, thenewly appointed Deputy Chief

Minister, is a first Dalit leaderin the State. He is a former agri-cultural scientist with anAustralian PhD. He won fromKoratagere constituency. Heplays a crucial role for theCongress and always dreamt ofbecoming the Chief Minister ofthe State.

He is the KarnatakaPradesh Congress Committee(KPCC) president and has heldthe position since 2010. He wasMinister of State for HigherEducation in the SM KrishnaGovernment. Paramaeshwarawas also the Speaker during therule of the undivided JD(S)from 1994-1999.

Parameshwara’s defeat in2013 helped Siddaramaiah tobecome the Chief Minister.Parameshwara joined theCongress in 1989 as theKPCC’s joint secretary. Hejoined the party on the insis-tence of Rajiv Gandhi andhelped consolidate the party inthe State.

Show...

From Page 1One of the video mes-

sages received by this corre-spondent featured a womanpolice officer who was sob-bing and wailing for firing atthe ‘innocent demonstrators’on Tuesday.

“It was in violation of allrules that we were ordered tofire at the protesters. Nowarnings were issued whichare mandatory while resort-ing to firing. I am extremelysorry for obeying the orders,”the woman inspector whoseidentity has been concealedwas seen speaking to thecamera. Later, the policeinformed that it was a fakevideo as there were nowomen cops around whenfiring was resorted to.

Aravindan Neelakantan,eminent writer, who has beenclosely fol lowing theThoothukudi incidents fromGround Zero asked theUnion Government to ordera comprehensive probe intothe whole incident.

“Those who are shoutingagainst Sterlite are the sameones who were in the payrollof the Sterlite management.The ole of various Tamilchauvinist groups and differ-ent sects of a prominentminority community, espe-cially their leaders should be scrutinised. These people are condit ioningTamil Nadu to be a launching pad of a majorsecessionist movement,” saidthe author.

1 killed in fresh police

firing, HC stays

Sterlite expansion

PTI n NEW DELHI

With petrol and dieselprices being hiked for the

10th day in a row, the govern-ment on Wednesday said it isworking on a long-term solu-tion to address the volatilityand frequent revisions in rates.

The BJP-led governmenthad in June last year junked a15-year old practice of revisingrates every fortnight and intro-duced daily revisions whichworked well except periodsimmediately preceding an elec-tion. There was a 19-day freezein revising rates beforeKarnataka went to polls, andsince the time the hiatus endedon May 14, rates have gone upby Rs 2.54 a litre in case ofpetrol and Rs 2.41 in diesel.

The 10-day relentless priceincreases built pressure on thegovernment for cutting exciseduty to give immediate relief toconsumers but after a meetingof the Union Cabinet headedby Prime Minister NarendraModi, Law and IT MinisterRavi Shankar Prasad offered lit-tle insight if a reduction in taxwas coming.

“(The) issue of frequenthike in fuel price is a matter ofdebate and concern. The gov-ernment is involved in thiswhole process, including theconcern (about rise in prices)and also the uncertainty,” hetold reporters here.

With geopolitical situationleading to an uncertainty overthe direction of internationaloil prices, “a new sense ofurgency has developed”, hesaid. “The government is keenthat instead of having an ad hocmeasure, it may be desirable tohave a long-term view whichaddresses not only the volatil-ity but also takes care of theunnecessary ambiguity aris-ing out of frequent ups anddowns. That process is under-way,” he said. The ministerrefused to elaborate either onthe measures being consid-ered or if a duty reduction wason cards. On the question ofexcise duty, he said proceedsfrom such taxes are used forcountry’s development includ-ing building of highways, dig-ital infrastructure, electricity tovillages, hospitals and educa-tion.

In 2003, China’s Central MilitaryCommission approved the concept of‘Three Warfares’, namely: (1) thecoordinated use of strategic psycho-logical operations; (2) overt and

covert media manipulation; and (3) legalwarfare designed to manipulate perceptionsof target audiences abroad.

In recent months, Beijing has beenintensifying the implementation of this mil-itary/civilian doctrine, particularly ‘mediamanipulation’. Take the example of an arti-cle published last week in The South ChinaMorning Post. It speaks of “large-scale min-ing operations on the Chinese side of theborder with India where a huge trove ofgold, silver and other precious minerals hasbeen found.” It argues that it “may create anew military flashpoint with India.”

Though no large-scale mining has yetbeen spotted in Lhuntse County, north ofArunachal Pradesh, the writer connects itwith the Chinese claims in the area: “Peoplefamiliar with the project say the mines arepart of an ambitious plan by Beijing toreclaim South Tibet [the Chinese name forArunachal], a sizeable chunk of disputedterritory currently under Indian control.”

The article mixes the Longju borderincident in 1959, the 1962 war with India,the Chinese claims and the supposedly hugedeposit of rare earths. The sad part of thestory is that the article was immediatelycopied and pasted by PTI and the nextmorning, the entire Indian media report-ed about the issue and linked the happen-ings on the Tibetan plateau with theChinese advances in the South China Sea.

Ironically, a day later, the ultra-nation-alist Chinese tabloid, The Global Times,called the article “a dodgy report disturb-ing the Sino-Indian ties.” It said that the arti-cle had lit a firestorm but remarked that afterIndian Prime Minister’s visit to Wuhan, thetwo countries have achieved major progressin strengthening mutual trust, further it saidChina “has no intention of provoking bor-der disputes”.

The Global Times added that though:“the report severely lacked factual evidenceand was coarse,” the Indian media “wasextremely excited to see such a topic,”adding: “to many Chinese people, their firstimpression is that the report is not credi-ble, given the vague facts, the geopoliticalpoint quoted by a geologist and the denialby the expert.”

Whether it is an orchestrated move byBeijing to first plant a ‘dodgy’ piece, know-ing fairly well that some Indian correspon-dents in Beijing are experts at copy-pastereporting, and later to throw water on thefire, is difficult to know.

It is not the first time that The SouthChina Morning Post has done it. OnOctober 29, 2017, Jack Ma’s newspaperreported that “Chinese engineers are test-

ing techniques that could be used to builda 1,000km tunnel — the world’s longest —to carry water from Tibet to Xinjiang;” againthe Indian media jumped to the bait. Thereis no doubt that India needs to be preparedfor Information Warfare in the comingmonths.

Another favorite topic of the Chinesemedia propaganda has been the 1962 Warwith India. Beijing is keen to rewrite the nar-rative and sell it to lakhs of its citizens vis-iting South Tibet; its idea is to prove thatIndia attacked China in October 1962.

At the end of October 2017, as an off-shoot of the Doklam episode, Sina.com pub-lished an album of photos “to commemo-rate the 55th Anniversary of the Outbreakof the Self-Defense Counterattack.” Notethat for Beijing, it is the ill-equipped andunprepared Indian troops who attacked theChinese, giving China no option but to‘counterattack’, killing hundreds of Indianjawans and officers in the process.

One of the photos, showing the People’sLiberation Army (PLA) parading in frontof the Potala in January 1963, in Lhasalinked the 1962 War with the 2017 stand-off in Bhutan: “The leader of the ChineseCommunist Party, Mao Zedong, once esti-mated that India’s ‘embarrassment’ [of the1962 War] could usher in 10 years of bor-der security and peace. History has provedthat the period of peacetime has been longerthan estimated. Today, 55 years later, Indiaonce again provoked China.” The messagewas clear. At the time of the 1962 War, dis-information already existed.

In his Monthly Report for April 1963,

the Political Officer in Sikkim informedNew Delhi: “Early in the month it wasannounced by the Chinese authorities thatthe Chinese frontier guards in Tibet wouldbe releasing 3,213 Indian prisoners whichincluded amongst others one Brigadier[John Dalvi], 26 Field Grade Officers and29 Company Grade Officers.”

The PO added: “The propagandamachine of the Chinese made out that theIndian prisoners were living in Tibet in astate of idyllic bliss. The detention camp wasdescribed as having been established in pic-turesque surroundings where the prisonersspent their time playing games or fishingand otherwise enjoying themselves. Thefood was supposed to have been so goodthat the prisoners had according to theChinese statement on an average gained1.35 Kgs per head. The nursing carereceived by the sick is supposed to have sooverwhelmed the recipients as to haveinduced them to say that even their parentshad not bestowed more loving care onthem.”

The Indian PoWs reported the oppo-site; they ate only radish and immensely suf-fered during their months of captivity onthe cold Tibetan plateau. Today, the Chinesepropaganda is using the 1962 conflict to itsbenefit.

Che Dalha (alias Qizhala), theGovernor of the Tibetan AutonomousRegion (TAR) recently visited Zhayul,north of the McMahon line in the LohitValley. Some 50 km south in the same val-ley, the famous Battle of Walong took placein November 1962; here Indian troops and

particularly the six Kumaon regiment of theIndian Army managed to stop the Chineseadvances and paid a high price for it; theChinese too suffered heavy casualties.

China has built a Hero Memorial Parkto honour its deaths in Zhayul. During hisvisit, Che told the villagers that the mass-es should always cherish the memory of therevolutionary martyrs; he laid a wreath for447 Revolutionary Martyrs at the WarMemorial.

The story will now be told to thousandsand thousands Chinese visitors, how ‘theIndians attacked our troops’. Incidentally,Che took the opportunity to urge the vil-lagers to watch for strangers or suspiciouspersons (Indian?); he asked them to cross-examine them and send a report to the PLAmanning the Indian border.

Another memorial stands north of theThagla ridge in Tsona County. The ForwardCommand Post of General Zhang Guohua,who commanded the PLA operations in1962, has been reconstituted and opened totourists. It is located in Marmang village,the first hamlet north of the McMahon Line.

This gazetted national-level historicalsite also mentions the ‘Sino-India SelfDefense Counter Attack Battles’, hotels arealready mushrooming to receive the visi-tors. ‘Information’ will certainly be animportant part of any battle of tomorrow.Has India grasped this? Not sure. In themeantime, Indian journalists shouldscrupulously verify the facts when they write.

(The writer is an expert on India-Chinarelations and an author)

The killing of 11 protesters, highlighting the environmental and health impact ofSterlite's copper-smelting plant on the fishing community in Tuticorin, amountsto gross mishandling by the Palaniswami Government in containing the situa-

tion and instead letting it fester as a political capital for vested interests to reap theharvest of. The Madras High Court order staying the opening of an additional plantat the site further exposes the state administration's ineptitude of responding to a “peo-ple's issue.” Protests at the site are not new and people have launched mass cam-paigns over the last decade on the plant's polluting potential, forcing the company'shand on compensation and compliance of new codes. The courts have intervenedeach time, stopping production lines till reparatory measures were implemented. Theunit has had a patchy run, with groundwater contamination and gas leaks raising majorconcerns in a fragile eco-system and Sterlite upping its input costs for curbing pol-luting streaks. But never was there any killing. The fact that the police used assaultrifles immediately after routine tear-gassing on an unarmed mob, didn't follow pro-tocol of using rubber pellets and a video implying that the police wanted to set anexample by killing at least one protester prove that all democratic processes and the

rule of law were subverted and the situ-ation allowed to become flagrant. Giventhe nature of past protests, the state intel-ligence unit sure had some idea of peo-ple taking to the streets. The police shouldhave taken steps to ensure peacefulassemblage and plug the descent intomindless vandalism. But from groundreports it appears that the police wereunder instruction to take a tough lineregardless, to force an issue when it couldbe managed, to nail the Opposition butwhich backfired infamously. ThePalaniswami Government should havebeen proactive considering the Oppositionwas coalescing around the protesters.

The Opposition DMK, which draws voting support from the fishermen communityof Tuticorin, has now likened the firing to the Jallianwallabagh massacre. And withdebutante politicians and star icons Rajnikanth and Kamal Hasan throwing their heftbehind the protesters for the last 100 days, the Government has clearly lost the scriptof public opinion. That doesn't mean the Opposition is above board. The DMK, whichis spearheading the cause and inciting affected protesters, should remember that itprioritised local economy over pollution hazards by not mouthing even an anti-Sterlitesqueak when it was in power. As an Opposition, it is roaring to suit its advantage.The problem with politics of patronage in Tamil Nadu, largely a spillover from theJayalalitha era, is that nobody has really addressed the issue of pollution seriously.If Sterlite has been able to run what it has claimed to be one of the lowest cost inputcopper smelting units anywhere, it means the state pollution control board and greenclearance authorities had blatantly turned their eye away from the consequences andthe State Administration rushed through permits, even the new one, for added capac-ity. It has taken courts to assess the public health hazard that a unit of this nature caninflict over a long term in terms of complex respiratory diseases and cancer. Localpoliticians keep the plank floating in the seas, which they can grab on to for survival.

Former Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishna Advani, when he campaigned throughthe 1980s and 1990s on the issue of pseudo secularism, would point out thatwhen he spoke of the complications which extra-territorial loyalties of non-

Indic religions created in the nation-building project he did not in any way ques-tion the equal rights enjoyed by individual citizens of India professing such faiths.Nor, indeed, did he ever suggest that religious leaders from these faiths, whichwere imported into India, are any less worthy of respect than those from the Hindutradition or indeed the work they do in various fields not be recognized. On thecontrary, he would often point to his own schooling at St Patrick's High Schoolfor Boys, Karachi, with pride. The hope of those who supported the narrative, andstill do, of a non-supremacist, inclusive though culturally Indic nation was alwaysthat the proselytizing impulse and moral certitudes that are a hallmark of Abrahamicreligions would, thanks to their interaction over time with their host civilization,be 'naturalized' in a sense, making them proudly Indian faiths — from, of and forthe motherland.That hope, however, has clearly been belied.

All this is not to say that even in their current doctrinaire form these faiths arenot an integral part of the mosaic ofIndia, of course, or that their high priestsdo not have the right to guide their flockaccording to their lights. But it does raisethe question of the secular bogey beingused as a fig leaf to promote the inter-ests of a religious group, making amockery of the secular ideals consecrat-ed, in a manner of speaking, by the sep-aration of Church and State. It must alsobe notedthat this problem is peculiar toIndia's Christian population; for, unliketheir contemporaries professing theother major Abrahamic faith, Islam,which lays no claim to inheritance of asecularized discoursethereby saving it

from the charge of hypocrisy at least, manyIndians who happen to profess the Christianfaith doflag a secular modernity as a marker of their citizenship.

Though a miniscule religious minority in India, Christians have punched abovetheir weight in national discourse for various historical reasons including those to dowith the colonial power which governed us pre-1947. On balance, however, there ismuch to learn — and much has been learnt — from the sacrifices and sheer dedi-cation of the Church in education, empowerment of the marginalized and promotingan essential, innate decency in interactions with fellow citizens. Which is also whythe letter sent out to all parish churches by Anil Couto, Archbishop of Delhi, urgingbelievers to pray and fast in the run-up to the General Election “when we will have anew Government… because we are currently witnessing a turbulent political atmos-phere… which poses a threat to our secular fabric” is particularly ill-judged.How doesCouto, as a priest/leader of an organized, hierarchical religion, validate this appeal onthe grounds of what he and others mistakenly term ‘secularism' and its concomitantChurch-State separation? Hindu/Indic faiths have no centralized ecclesiastical hier-archy so it doesn't matter which sant (which is different from saint) supports whichparty; that's a completely different eco-system. But for anyone who upholds theConstitution as it existswhich draws verily from a secularized discourse, the Archbishopis certainly mixing religion with politics. Best avoided.

Living on a prayer

Delhi Archbishop urges the faithful to pray for

BJP’s defeat. Good, it ends the hypocrisy

opinion 08LUCKNOW | THURSDAY | MAY 24, 2018

Preparing for China’sinformation warfare

Vested interests

The problem with TN politics is that nobody has

addressed the issue of pollution seriously

Another shocker

Sir — I was in a state of shock afterreading the report that a Dalit rag-picker was lynched when he andhis wife were picking garbagenear Radadiya Industries locatedin the Gujarat IndustrialCorporation area in Rajkot. Whena crime is committed against aDalit every 15 minutes in ourcountry, must not we admit thatDalits need special legal protectionfor their survival? How can weignore the fact that we have total-ly failed the Dalits? There has beena 66 per cent growth in crimeagainst Dalits during the periodfrom 2007 to 2017.

In such a scenario, must notwe ensure that there should bestringent act to protect them?Must not it be ensured thatthere should be sizeable presenceof Dalits in Government admin-istration, especially in the policeforce so that such laws are prop-erly executed without any hatredtowards them?

Dalits have been exploited andtortured for thousands of years.Now, it is too much to expect thatthere will automatically be enoughpresence of them in public admin-istration. So, reservation is theonly way to ensure their partici-pation and to make the adminis-tration free from caste hatredand caste bias.

As a matter of fact, absoluteequality means no equality at allor just equality of “might is right”in a jungle raj. So, laws have beenenacted to do positive discrimina-tions in favour of some who needprotection for survival.

Sujit DeKolkata

Cut taxes

Sir — This refers to the editorial,“Fuel shock” (May 22). Extremelyhigh prices of fuel in India are acause of concern not just for thecommon man but also for theeconomy because chances are highthat it may give rise to inflation dueto high transportation costs. Today,fuel is but a necessity and not a lux-ury. The Government has beenearning revenue by imposing taxes(excise and VAT) on fuel. Whencrude oil price in the internation-al market was $142 dollar a barrel,then the cost of petrol was `50.62per litre in India. Today, whencrude price is $80 a barrel, the costof petrol is `76.57.In fact, inMumbai and Bhopal, the cost ofpetrol is nearly `85 per litre. TheGovernment must bring down theprices of fuel. This will put themoney in the pockets of con-sumers and ultimately lead to thegrowth of the nation.

Devendra KhuranaBhopal

Failing the people

Sir — One wonders why the BJPwas in a hurry to make BSYeddyurappa the Chief Minister ofKarnataka. How could they nothave been aware of the fact thatthey would be flagrantly violatingthe code of ethics? Yeddyurappa’shasty resignation, perceptibly tosave face for the BJP, was a mock-ery of democracy.

JitendraVia email

www.dailypioneer.com

p a p e r w i t h p a s s i o n

Send your feedback to: letterstopioneer@gmail.com

SOUNDBITE

No one is unhappy, we

all are together. We are

celebrating that our

government is coming

in power. I never said

that I'm an aspirant of

Karnataka Chief

Minister's post.

All is well.

Congress leader

—DK

Shivakumar

CLAUDEARPI

As Beijing intensifies the implementation of military/civilian doctrine, particularly media manipulation,India must stand prepared. Information will be an important part of any battle of tomorrow

With the entry of India

and Pakistan, the SCO

has gained more poten-

tial for cooperation and

more expectations from

the internation-

al community.

Chinese

President

—XI Jinping

Post-Karnataka, IPL

back in spotlight

Coming out of a partial eclipse of the much-hyped Karnataka poll, theIndian Premier League is again the cynosure of all eyes as was seenin the first play-off which proved to be real cliffhanger wherein the

points tally topper Sunrisers Hyderabad bowed down to second-placedChennai Super Kings in Mumbai on May 22.

All the kudos for this thrilling win goes to the South African skipper Fafdu Plessis, who came into his elements at the right time to smash 67 runsoff just 42 deliveries and helped his team reach the final for seventh time. Faf sparkled when the likes of the in-form Watson, Rayudu,Suresh Raina and MS Dhoni were back into the dugout with their team tot-tering at 66 for 6 at one stage. The game turned on its head in the last threeovers as Faf showed his class and rose like a phoenix from the ashes tochase down the though-modest-yet-insurmountable-looking target of 139.

Thanks to the new rules, the SRH are still in the race keeping theirfans' hopes alive. They will take on the winner of the qualifier 2. KKR withChris Lynn, Andre Russel, Sunil Narine and Dinesh Karthik are up againstAjinkya Rahane's Rajasthan Royals on its home turf Kolkata. SRH wouldkeenly await the outcome to fancy its chances for the final.

Azhar A KhanRampur

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

If OPEC countries

increase production of oil

that could help fix

perception of high

demand and less supply,

but in immediate future

fuel prices might stay

high.

HPCL Chairman

—Mukesh K Surana

I wouldn't say I am a femi-

nist, I would say I am a

woman. I am a human

being. I am also as proud

to be known as Saif Ali

Khan's wife, as I am to be

Kareena Kapoor.

Actor

—Kareena Kapoor

As a father who has investedmuch of his personal time(and not just money)

upbringing of his children, I can tellthat it is extremely painful to evenimagine one's child getting caughton serious charges of wrongdoing.No parent would ever want that tohappen. But if it still happens, it isa moment of reckoning for parents.

As a parent, we all wish well forour children. More than theirbecoming successful, we want ourchildren to lead a decent, happy andwholesome life. This doesn't happenon its own. Parents have to worktowards it and most parents do.

Indeed, my personal and pro-fessional life is organised aroundgiving my children a decent start inlife. As a professional, it was so easyfor me to have continued staying ona single track and keep soaring inmy profession. And I liked it thatway. But reality warranted some-thing else.

Being a father of two school-going kids, I had to think beyondmy narrow self-interest to focus onmy childrens’ upbringing. Morethan money, the children neededmy time. I consciously switchedgears to maintain a fine balancebetween personal and professionallives.

In addition to parental guid-ance, schools play an important rolein a child's upbringing. Goodschooling is as much about impart-ing academic knowledge and skillsas about instilling moral and civicvalues of honesty, truthfulness, dis-

cipline, conduct and so forth.Similarly, putting children in sportsis as much about their physical fit-ness as about their learning life’sskills.

Likewise, cultivating hobbies isas much about making them cre-ative as about turning them intosensitive human beings, havingappreciation for other aspects of life

such as art and culture.It is often said that getting your

child into a good school is only halfthe battle won and the other halfrests on parenting. I have come torealise that good parenting is most-ly about leading by example. Thereis so much that the kids learn fromtheir parents, subconsciously. Iwonder how much the kids who endup going to boarding schools areable to imbue from their parents.

I still have a few more years togo before my children finish theirschooling. Some of my friends whoare much ahead in this game,inform me that once a child is firm-ly in a professional groove, the pro-fession itself will catapult them ina career trajectory. Therefore, agood parenting and schooling now,will hold them in good stead later.

While I would like to believe inwhat my friends say, I gaze intofuture with some trepidation. More

so, when I think of persons hailingfrom decent families and havinggraduated from India's levy leagueinstitutions, getting chargesheetedfor money laundering or cheatingtax authorities or duping the gen-eral public of their hard-earnedmoney.

A few of them are even coolingtheir heels in Tihar jail. When I hearof lack of integrity and ethicsamong professionals — be itbankers, auditors, accountants,medical doctors and so forth — writlarge. I think something went amisssomewhere in the process of theirgrowing up. Could it be the resultof their parents own conduct? Or,could it be their schooling thatfailed to ingrain moral values forlife? Probably, both.

(The writer is a developmenteconomist, formerly with the Bill &Melinda Gates Foundation and theWorld Bank)

An election with no winner

LUCKNOW | THURSDAY | MAY 24, 2018

Tamils are being killed as they refuse to bow to

the ideology of the RSS. They can never be

trampled by the RSS and Modi. We are with you.

—Congress president

RAHUL GANDHI

He (Rahul Gandhi) thinks he can politically milk

any situation to suit his political opportunism by

drawing the RSS and the BJP into the battle.

—BJP spokesperson

SAMBIT PATRA

POINTCOUNTERPOINT

Before the altar of democracy,all vanity must necessarilyburn itself, bowing to the willof the people. Sadly,Government formation in

Karnataka reflected anything but the willof the voters. In the eventuality of frac-tured mandates, the winners do not takeit all but the losers stand tall.

When “We the People” vote for ‘aparty with a difference’, expectations arehigh and its leaders uphold the highestprinciples of personal and Constitutionalmorality in governance, judiciary, civilsociety and media. And most important-ly, these separate functionaries adhere tothe ‘separation of powers doctrine’, as laiddown in the Constitution.

When that fails to happen, there isan erosion of trust in ruling regimeswhen they are seen to overpower demo-cratic institutions which are best insu-lated from political power. Like theElection Commission, the judiciary,the office of the Comptroller andAuditor General (CAG), and mostimportantly in the recent event of yetanother hung assemblies, the office of theGovernor. An anachronism in today'sdemocracy, the post of the Governoronly assumes importance as politicalombudsman, albeit a very crucial func-tion, in such eventualities.

There are multiple observationspost-Karnataka, which in hindsightwas a half-victory for the BharatiyaJanata Party (BJP); an immoral victoryfor the Congress in retaining power bypropping up the Janata Dal (Secular)(JDS); and a piggyback-victory for HDKumaraswamy's party, which was notthe mandate given by the people to theparty. That leaves the voter bewilderedbecause his choice of franchise is notreflected in the opportunistic coalitionthat elbowed its way to power.

Secondly, gubernatorial optionsnow need to be clearly codified to avoidambiguity by defining a descendingorder of hierarchy which the Governormust adhere to, in repeated instances offractured verdicts. Doing so wouldminimise the scope of discretionarypowers or subjective interpretation ofpoll verdicts.

On this score, the worst prece-dence was set by the Congress whichrepeatedly invoked Article 356 atwhim to impose Central rule, sacked88 State Governments since 1952, andwas the most complicit in misusing itsappointee-governors who acted atthe behest of the Central high com-mand in repeated instances. A readyreckoner was formatted by theSarkaria Commission which listed outa protocol for the Governor to followwhen an absolute majority eluded.

While the Constitution allows thePresident or for the Governor to use hisdiscretion to decide whom to invite tobecome the Prime Minister or theChief Minister in the event of a fracturedmandate, the Sarkaria Commission's rec-ommendations are yet to be transformedto conventions.

In its impetuousness to wrest power,the BJP no longer retains its patent ofprincipled politics post-Karnataka, espe-cially after including the tainted Reddybrothers, the Governor's partisan role,or the foiled attempt at buying time andsupport to prove a majority before thefloor test.

As BJP will be incumbent in nation-al elections and the three State electionsin December, Prime Minister NarendraModi goes into battle with the cynicaltag that “all political parties are the same”,making corruption a non-issue with thevoter but handing a huge talking pointfor the Opposition to trumpet.

With a tally of 104 seats, the BJPcould have only won a majority on thefloor of the House through moneypower. And, this in itself annihilatesPrime Minister Modi's signature reformof demonetisation intended to weed outcorruption and the parallel economy.Because either way, wresting power inthe absence of a simple majority, whetherthrough the office of governor orthrough horse-trading, is an act ofpolitical impropriety.

When governors display partisanpreferences, while it is not corruption inthe popular sense of the word, it is anact of nepotism and an aberration fromconstitutional morality. This was seenpost-Goa and Manipur elections whenthe Governor swore in post-electioncoalitions organised by the BJP in pref-erence to the largest single party in hungassemblies and, thereafter, rejigged theirstance in Karnataka.

The post-Karnataka effect definite-ly galvanises an unwieldy Federal Frontcoalescing with the Congress as its part-ner, though averse to accepting Congresspresident Rahul Gandhi as its naturalleader, even as it gives a fillip to State-level pre-poll alliances. The most formi-

dable one in the offing is SamajwadiParty-Bahujan Samaj Party-Congress(SP-BSP-Congress) combine in UttarPradesh.

With a higher Index of OppositionUnity, the projected loss to the BJP in theHindi heartland itself could shrink itsstrength from 73 seats to as low as 24 to37 seats. The other ‘high- denomination’States that pose a challenge to the BJPare West Bengal with 42 seats, Bihar with40 seats where the Front will ally withthe Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) andMaharashtra where the NationalistCongress Party (NCP) would join thebandwagon. As history would tell,power- sharing formulae are opportunis-tic bonhomies which are short-lived,founded as they are on ideological dis-similarities.

However, with bipolar series in theoffing in the BJP-ruled States ofRajasthan, Madhya Pradesh andChhattisgarh, though the party isincumbent, the task is equally chal-lenging for the Congress in theabsence of a third player in these Stateswith whom they can form pre or post-poll alliance. Because Congress’s polit-ical model has now become increas-ingly dependent on local parties orlocal leaders, as the Grand Old Partyagrees to cede political space toregional players as they did in Gujaratby clubbing issues with local leadersor playing second fiddle to JDS inKarnataka, JD (U) in Bihar and SP inUttar Pradesh.

On the other hand, the BJP hadpeaked nationally in 2014 and hasbeen serially peaking in State elections,ruling 67 per cent of India. To makeup for the potential losses in the BJP-ruled States by making inroads intopolitically virgin territories in theSouth, Odisha and West Bengal are

indeed huge challenges. Besides, historically, no Prime

Minister has been able to repeatthumping mandates as “India now hasthe highest anti-incumbency votingtrend amongst democracies”. That’sbecause ‘waves’ don’t recur with thesame intensity and fervour after theirinitial ‘crest’ and the novelty of per-sonal charisma wanes with time.However, hardcore Hindutva and theModi appeal have continued to deliv-er incremental votes upto a point, asit always has, when the star campaign-er Narendra Modi descends in the lastlap of campaigning. Besides, theCentral Government is expected toimprove its performance by the timethese States go to polls in Decemberthrough increased Goods and ServicesTax (GST) collections and the rolloutof its ambitious Modicare healthscheme, which could be a vantage tothe BJP.

For now, what all this means isBJP president Amit Shah going backto the drawing board to reassess andrevise “Mission 350” that seemedwithin striking range in 2017. Becausein 2019 it will be “BJP vs Congress,CPI, SP, BSP, NCP, RJD, TMC, JDS,DMK, AAP, Liberals, Activists, Pidis...”And if the BJP gets even one seat lessthan 272 in 2019, a Sonia Gandhi-dri-ven proxy Government will be back.Pledge that it doesn’t happen!”

Post script: Unapologetically, I putmy neck on the block in penning twoof the likeliest happenings: ExpectModi to be back with a diminishedmajority for a second term. And sec-ondly, get geared for General Electionsend 2019. Modi never fails to stunwith the unexpected.

(The writer is an author and columnist)

Parenting: A balancing actthinknowS

ocialism has no

moral

justification

whatsoever; poor

people are not

morally superior to

rich people, nor are

they owed anything

by rich people

simply because of

their lack of

success. Charity is

not a socialist

concept — it is a

religious one, an

acknowledgment of

God's sovereignty

over property, a

sovereignty the Left

utterly rejects.

—Ben Shapiro

American author

Sterlite protests

reach a climax

Sadly, the Government formation in Karnataka reflected anything but the will of its voters. Inthe eventuality of fractured mandates, the winners do not take it all but the losers stand tall

In addition to parental guidance, schools play an important role in a child's upbringing. Good schooling is

as much about imparting academic knowledge as about instilling moral and civic values

BINDU DALMIA

RAJEEVAHUJA

It’s high time Central and State Governments aswell as NGT step in to ensure environmental

safety and go beyond economic considerations

NO PRIME MINISTERHAS BEEN ABLE TOREPEAT THUMPING

MANDATES AS INDIANOW HAS THEHIGHEST ANTI-

INCUMBENCY VOTINGTREND AMONGSTDEMOCRACIES.

HOWEVER, HINDUTVAAND THE MODIAPPEAL HAVECONTINUED TO DELIVER

INCREMENTAL VOTESUPTO A POINT. AS

THEY ALWAYS HAVE,WHEN THE STAR

CAMPAIGNERNARENDRA MODIDESCENDS IN THE

LAST LAP OFCAMPAIGNING

Tuticorin or Thootikudi inTamil Nadu has beenthe epicenter of contin-

uous protests against pollu-tion caused by the SterliteCopper Unit and the expan-sion of the same. Tuticorin,which is about 600 kmaway from the State capitalof Chennai, made to the news for unfortunate reasons on May22 as at least nine people were killed and another 20 injuredon the 100th day of the protest. Sterlite Copper represents thecopper unit of Vedanta Limited, which operates a 400,000 tonneper annum-plant in Tuticorin. Sterlite has been at the receivingend of long-standing protests from people of the area who havebeen alleging that the plant was polluting groundwater and caus-ing air pollution in their area.

Sterlite unit has had a long history of pollution problemsand controversies. Recently in March this year, the residents ofTuticorin woke up to itchy eyes, burning throat and breathingtrouble. As they suffered an unusual morning, the reason soonbecame clear — Sterlite Industries was the cause. The TamilNadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) quickly swung into actionand found out that the unit has been releasing noxious gas inthe air. TNPCB probe found out that sulpher-dioxide levels hadgone off the charts on the night of March 23. It showed a read-ing of 2939.55-mg/cubic meter against the prescribed limit of1250 mg/cubic meter. It also said that the emission monitor wasnot connected with the air care centre of TNPCB. The board thenissued a closure order for the factory. This incident alone showsthe scant disregard of Sterlite Industries for the people's healthand environment.

Sterlite's Tuticorin copper smelter unit has been at the cen-tre of controversy right from its inception. Legal battles start-ed in 1996 when the National Trust for Clean Environment chal-lenged the clearances granted to it at the Madras High Court.The factory was accused of polluting the environment and caus-ing irreparable health hazards. The problem is mainly due to thelocation of the unit as it is too close to the ecologically sensi-tive region of the Gulf of Mannar and there is a clear lack of suf-ficient green belt around the factory. Add to this, public hear-ings were not held before giving the plant a go-ahead. Thesefactors and the fact that pollutants from the factory are seep-ing into the ground water have pitched Sterlite and the peopleon two opposing sides.

The unfortunate aspect is how economic and financial con-siderations and profit driven motives continue to gain priorityover public and environmental safety. The evidence of SterliteIndustries being given all necessary approvals to set up oper-ations inspite of the location being in ecologically sensitive zoneis proof enough. The same trend of disregard can be seen inasbestos manufacturers too who continue to successfully staveoff national and international legislation on the carcinogenic fibreciting lack of scientific certainty. Dow Chemical and Union Carbidecontinue to deny that Methyl Isocyanate has anything to do withthe lasting effects on the health of those exposed to the disas-trous gas leak in Bhopal in 1984.

It is quite surprising as to how an industry was allowed tofunction since 1996 even after its adverse impacts on the pub-lic and environment were not only proven by various Governmentand private studies but were also explicitly brought forward byprotesting locals. The ongoing stir in Tuticorin and the unfor-tunate loss of life of the protestors is a continuance of the samewhile the Tamil Nadu Government is busy quelling the protestswith an iron hand. It is time for the Union Government to cometo the aid of the beleaguered people of Tuticorin whose causeis clearly not on priority for the State Government.

Given these disturbing facts and evidences, it is intriguinghow the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has been unable to takea swift action as it took on 15-year old diesel and 10-year oldpetrol vehicles, especially given the fact that the adverse impactsof Sterlite Units pollution are far more lethal to human healththan that of vehicular pollution. Currently, the NGT has only calledfor an independent inspection of the machinery by an expert com-mittee comprising members from the Indian Institute ofTechnology (Chennai). But going by the number of people dyingin protests and lengthening queues outside health care clinics,there is need to take more impactful action here by the NGT andthe Government.

(The writer is an environmental journalist)

KOTA SRIRAJ

3rdeye 09

money 10LUCKNOW | THURSDAY | MAY 24, 2018

PTI n MUMBAI

Benchmark Sensex plum-meted more than 306 pointson Wednesday while the

broader Nifty finished below the10,500-mark as stubborn fuelprices and renewed geopoliticalconcerns sparked a safe-havenflight among investors.

State-owned oil companiessuch as HPCL, BPCL, IOC,ONGC and OIL plunged on wor-ries that the government may askthem to share the burden of high-er petrol and diesel prices.

Metal stocks were the session’sworst performers, led by Vedantawhich lost 6.23% after protestsagainst its copper plant inTuticorin turned violent, leadingto nine deaths.

A weakening rupee and lack-lustre fourth quarter results fur-ther weighed on sentiment, bro-kers said.

On the global front, marketswere caught off-guard after USPresident Donald Trump castdoubts over the proposed summitwith North Korea and alsoexpressed dissatisfaction with lastweek’s trade talks with China.

The 30-share BSE Sensex,which opened higher at 34,656.63,witnessed selling pressure in after-noon trade. The sell-off suddenlypicked up pace towards the end ofthe session, leading the index to

the day’s low of 34,302.89. Thebenchmark finally ended at34,344.91 — showing a loss of306.33 points, or 0.88%. This is itsweakest closing since April 19,when the gauge had finished at34,427.29.

Likewise, the 50-stock NSEbarometer Nifty finished at10,430.35, down 106.35 points, or1.01%. Intra-day, it shuttledbetween 10,417.80 and 10,533.55.

Meanwhile, foreign portfolioinvestors (FPIs) sold shares wortha net `1,651.63 crore, whiledomestic institutional investors(DIIs) bought equities to the tuneof `1,496.83 crore on Tuesday, asper provisional data.

“Market edged lower amidpessimism on global trade talksand below par fourth quarterearnings. Metals sank while PSUbanks outperformed and pre-vented the market from a nosedivecorrection. Investors expect thatthe worst is over related to PSUbanks NPAs with adequate provi-sions and expectation of recapi-talisation from government.

“On the other hand, rupeecontinued to fall and the fear ofinflationary pressure may leadthe market to consolidate,” saidVinod Nair, head of research,Geojit Financial Services.

Among Sensex components,Tata Steel topped the losers’ list byfalling 6.57%, followed by ONGC

at 4.75%.Other losers were IndusInd

Bank 2.80%, ITC Ltd 1.92%, AdaniPorts 1.80%, RIL 1.58%, HDFC Ltd1.43%, Bharti Airtel 1.41%, BajajAuto 1.26%, HDFC Bank 1.22%,Kotak Bank 1.14%, Coal India0.95%, Hero MotoCorp 0.78%,Infosys 0.70%, Maruti Suzuki0.68%, Wipro 0.68%, HUL 0.66%,Axis Bank 0.56%, Asian Paints0.55%, TCS 0.31%, Sun Pharma0.23% and Yes Bank 0.06%.

However, SBI emerged as thetop gainer, spurting 3.56%, fol-lowed by NPTC 0.82%, L&T0.55%, Tata Motors 0.49% andM&M 0.05%.

Sector-wise, metal index tum-bled 3.93%, oil and gas 3.45%, real-ty 1.26%, infrastructure 1.06%,PSU 0.96%, FMCG 0.71%, auto0.54%, teck 0.48%, healthcare0.37%, bankex 0.31%, IT 0.20%and power 0.08%.

The broader markets too dis-played a weak trend, with thesmall-cap index falling 0.47% andmid-cap index shedding 0.24%.

In the Asian region, Japan’sNikkei fell 1.18%, China’s ShanghaiComposite index lost 1.41%, whileHong Kong’s Hang Seng retreated1.82%.

European shares were down aswell, with Frankfurt’s DAX declin-ing 1.47% and Paris CAC 40 los-ing 1.04% in early trade. London’sFTSE too fell 0.65%.

PTI n NEW DELHI

Homegrown auto majorTata Motors on

Wednesday reported 49.82 percent decline in consolidated netprofit to ̀ 2,176.16 crore for thefourth quarter ended March 31,2017-18. It had posted netprofit of ̀ 4,336.43 crore in thecorresponding period of 2016-17, Tata Motors said in a BSEfiling.

It consolidated incomefrom operations during thequarter under review stood at`91,279.09 crore. It was at`78,746.61 crore in the year-ago quarter. The two figures arenot comparable due to GSTimplementation from July 1 lastyear, after which the revenuefrom operations is reported netof GST.

On a standalone basis, thecompany said its net loss in thefourth quarter narrowed to`499.94 crore. It was `805.93crore in the same quarter ayear-ago. Standalone revenuefrom operations for the quar-ter was at `19,779.32 crore. Itwas at `15,080.56 crore in theyear-ago-period.

For the entire 2017-18,consolidated net profit was at`9,091.36 crore, as against`7,666.56 crore in the previousfiscal, up 18.58 per cent.

Consolidated income fromoperations for 2017-18 was at`2,95,409.34 crore. It was at`2,74,492.12 crore in 2016-17.

GRASIM INDUSTRIES Q4

NET PROFIT `853.62 CR

Aditya Birla Group firmGrasim Industries onWednesday reported a consoli-dated net profit of ̀ 853.62 crorefor the fourth quarter endedMarch 2018.

The company had posted anet profit of ̀ 1,063.62 crore dur-ing the January-March period ofthe previous fiscal, GrasimIndustries said in a regulatory fil-ing.

Total income during thequarter under review stood at`17,691.80 crore. It was`11,409.41 crore in the corre-sponding period of the previousfiscal.

Meanwhile, the companysaid its result was not compara-ble as the consolidated result ofthe company also included thefinancial results of cement plantacquired by UltraTech, a sub-sidiary of the company fromJaiprakash Associated.

“Hence, the results of thethree months and year endedMarch 31, 2017 are not compa-rable with the correspondingperiods of previous year,” thecompany said. Its total expens-es were at `15,893.34 crore.

Grasim Industries’ revenuefrom cement business during thequarter was `9,420.76 crore. Itwas `7,923.80 crore in the cor-responding quarter a year ago.

“During Q4FY18 and FY18the consolidated sales volume

registered an increase of 15 percent and 20 per cent on YoYbasis. The input costs continuedto rise in Q4FY18, due to high-er pet coke and coal prices andthe ban on pet coke usage inTPP,” said Grasim Industries ina statement.

Viscose staple fibre (VSF)was at ̀ 2,332.45 crore as against`2,115.10 crore. “The VSF busi-ness reported its highest eversales volume of 508KT in FY18,led by growth in the domesticmarket with intense marketdevelopment efforts,” it added.

For the entire 2017-18,Grasim Industries’ net profitstood at `3,687.62 crore. It was`4,245.61 crore in 2016-17.

Total income of GrasimIndustries stood at `58,328.43crore as against ̀ 41,194.93 crorein 2016-17.

Over the outlook, the com-pany said that VSF businesswould continue to focus onexpanding the market in India.“However, the new capacitieslikely to come on stream inChina may impact the globalVSF prices in the near term,” itsaid. In cement, government’sspending on infra projects, ruraland affordable housing will bethe key demand drivers.

In a separate filing, GrasimIndustries said that its board ina meeting held on Wednesdayrecommended 310 per cent div-idend i.e. ̀ 6.20 per equity shareof face value `2/- each for theyear ended March 31, 2018.

New Delhi (PTI): State-owned Hindustan PetroleumCorp Ltd (HPCL) on Wednesday reported 4 per cent dropin its March quarter net profit on lower refining marginsand inventory gains. Net profit in the January-March quar-ter of the fiscal year 2017-18 at ̀ 1,748 crore compared witha net profit of `1,819 crore in the year-ago period, HPCLChairman and Managing Director Mukesh K Surana toldreporters here. “The profit decline was because of lowerinventory gains compared to the previous quarter,” he said.

HPCL, which operates oil refineries at Mumbai andVisakh in Andhra Pradesh, earned USD 7.07 on turningevery barrel of crude oil into fuel in the fourth quarter ascompared to a gross refining margin of USD 7.99 per bar-rel a year ago. Also, the company had lower inventory gainof `157 crore in the three months ended March 31, 2018,as against `460 crore last year, he said.

Inventory gains happen when a company buys crudeoil at a particular price but by the time it is able to ship itto India and refine it into fuel, the rates have gone up. Sincefuel prices are decided on the basis of prevailing interna-tional rate, the resultant gain is classified as inventory gain.There occurs an inventory loss when the reverse happens.

While sales rose 13 per cent to ̀ 66,351 crore, the firm’srefineries processed 4.63 million tonnes of crude oil dur-ing the January-March quarter. For the full fiscal 2017-18,the company posted its highest ever net profit of `6,357crore on a turnover of `2.43 lakh crore.

BAJAJ ELECTRICALS’ MARCH-QTR NET

PLUNGES 81 PC TO `7.31 CROREBajaj Electricals’ standalone net profit plunged 81 per

cent to `7.31 crore for the quarter ended March due toimpairment of its investments in joint venture companyStarlite Lighting Ltd. It had registered a net profit of ̀ 38.42crore in the January-March period of the previous fiscal2016-17. The company reported exceptional expense of`89.36 crore due to impairment of its investments. Its totalincome in the fourth quarter of 2017-18 was ̀ 1,628.82 crore.It stood at ̀ 1,289.45 crore in the year-ago period. The com-pany also announced elevation of Anant Bajaj, son of cur-rent Managing Director Shekhar Bajaj, as its new ManagingDirector with effect from June 1, 2018. Anant Bajaj is at pre-sent joint managing director of the company.

Markets succumb to late sell-off;metal, energy stocks sink

Tata Motors Q4 net profit down

nearly 50% to `2,176 crore

HPCL Q4 profit dips 4%on lower refining margin

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EMAMILTD 1048.3 25.5 2.49ENDURANCE 1257.5 -22.9 -1.79ENGINERSIN 137.65 1.25 0.92ENIL 652 10.9 1.7EQUITAS 156.95 -0.75 -0.48ERIS 768.3 3.3 0.43EROSMEDIA 119.55 -3.7 -3ESCORTS 875.25 -15.45 -1.73ESSELPRO 251.35 -3.1 -1.22EVEREADY 251.8 -3.3 -1.29EXIDEIND 248.65 0.15 0.06FCONSUMER 54.6 -1.25 -2.24FDC 245 4.75 1.98FEDERALBNK 82.2 -0.15 -0.18FINCABLES 667 -0.4 -0.06FINOLEXIND 636.45 5.9 0.94FLFL 425 -2.05 -0.48FORCEMOT 2746.85 30.3 1.12FORTIS 144.65 -0.4 -0.28FRETAIL 552.3 19.75 3.71FSL 68.85 0.3 0.44GAIL 323.15 -4.65 -1.42GATI 99.1 -0.25 -0.25GDL 165.85 2.2 1.34GEPIL 869.85 9.15 1.06GESHIP 333.15 -0.7 -0.21GET&D 361.95 0.1 0.03GHCL 280.9 -6.3 -2.19GICHSGFIN 384.05 -1.7 -0.44GILLETTE 6505.95 -3.7 -0.06GLAXO 2404.35 -9.9 -0.41GLENMARK 515.45 3.8 0.74GMDCLTD 117.85 1.8 1.55GMRINFRA 16.95 -0.3 -1.74GNFC 452.45 -6.65 -1.45GODFRYPHLP 767.4 -20.15 -2.56GODREJCP 1101.75 24.3 2.26GODREJIND 558.95 -4.65 -0.83GODREJPROP 741.15 -21.95 -2.88GPPL 124.95 -0.3 -0.24GRANULES 89.65 0 0GRAPHITE 826.6 2.7 0.33GRASIM 1046.65 6.35 0.61GREAVESCOT 126.5 -3.55 -2.73GREENPLY 276.9 -2.35 -0.84GRINDWELL 500.85 -4.15 -0.82

GRUH 650.55 -10.9 -1.65GSFC 110.35 -2.85 -2.52GSKCONS 6198 252.7 4.25GSPL 167.8 -0.2 -0.12GUJALKALI 628.7 -16.4 -2.54GUJFLUORO 817.35 2.75 0.34GUJGAS 842.1 -12.6 -1.47GULFOILLUB 920 1.75 0.19HATSUN 728.75 -16.85 -2.26HAVELLS 542.65 -5 -0.91HCC 15.8 -0.65 -3.95HCLTECH 894.6 -9.6 -1.06HDFC 1783.9 -25.95 -1.43HDFCBANK 1966.95 -24.2 -1.22HDIL 27.1 -0.3 -1.09HEG 3426.85 -12.8 -0.37HEIDELBERG 141 -2.9 -2.02HERITGFOOD 682.35 -2.6 -0.38HEROMOTOCO 3482.15 -27.15 -0.77HEXAWARE 424.3 4.25 1.01HFCL 25.85 -0.7 -2.64HIMATSEIDE 349.95 -7.6 -2.13HINDALCO 229.85 -5.1 -2.17HINDCOPPER 70.2 1.6 2.33HINDPETRO 286.95 -25.15 -8.06HINDUNILVR 1567.6 -8.05 -0.51HINDZINC 284.3 -4.8 -1.66HSCL 135.5 2.6 1.96HSIL 362.85 -1.45 -0.4HUDCO 56.15 0.1 0.18IBREALEST 189.4 -2.15 -1.12IBULHSGFIN 1119.7 2.55 0.23IBVENTURES 405.05 -5.25 -1.28ICICIBANK 291.7 0.95 0.33ICICIPRULI 407.75 -11.1 -2.65ICIL 77.25 -1.15 -1.47ICRA 3460.7 -25.8 -0.74IDBI 66.2 3.75 6IDEA 54.65 -0.35 -0.64IDFC 50.1 -0.8 -1.57IDFCBANK 40.45 -0.7 -1.7IFCI 17.05 -0.2 -1.16IGL 263.35 4.4 1.7IL&FSTRANS 51.65 -2 -3.73INDHOTEL 136.35 -2.65 -1.91INDIACEM 127.95 -1.2 -0.93INDIANB 308.7 2.55 0.83INDIGO 1159.45 19.3 1.69INDUSINDBK 1856.7 -53.55 -2.8INFIBEAM 164.2 0.6 0.37INFRATEL 316.5 1.35 0.43INFY 1185.25 -8.3 -0.7INOXLEISUR 255.1 -8.25 -3.13INOXWIND 97.5 -1.05 -1.07INTELLECT 206.2 -4.1 -1.95IOB 15.9 0.15 0.95IOC 153.65 -7.9 -4.89IPCALAB 667.55 2.45 0.37IRB 227.6 -4 -1.73ISGEC 5643.8 -53.45 -0.94ITC 273.45 -5.35 -1.92ITDCEM 150.55 -9.5 -5.94J&KBANK 51.8 0.95 1.87JAGRAN 164.25 -1.35 -0.82JAICORPLTD 131.5 -0.5 -0.38JAMNAAUTO 92.55 2.4 2.66JBCHEPHARM 300.95 -1.9 -0.63JBFIND 83.85 -3.15 -3.62JCHAC 2547.35 32.85 1.31JETAIRWAYS 421.15 0.95 0.23JINDALSAW 102.55 0.15 0.15JINDALSTEL 226 -14.25 -5.93JISLJALEQS 102.2 1.2 1.19JKCEMENT 940.05 -0.25 -0.03JKIL 236.9 -9.6 -3.89

JKLAKSHMI 382.55 -2.55 -0.66JKTYRE 135.3 -0.4 -0.29JMFINANCIL 131.85 -1 -0.75JPASSOCIAT 15 -0.5 -3.23JSL 78.2 -1.3 -1.64JSLHISAR 165.05 3.1 1.91JSWENERGY 69.55 -0.05 -0.07JSWSTEEL 309.9 -7.9 -2.49JUBILANT 786.35 -3.5 -0.44JUBLFOOD 2565.45 51.05 2.03JUSTDIAL 436.05 5.7 1.32JYOTHYLAB 421.55 -9.5 -2.2KAJARIACER 545.5 -4.65 -0.85KALPATPOWR 446.45 -12.45 -2.71KANSAINER 491.55 -5.1 -1.03KEC 372.75 0.9 0.24KEI 481.65 25.85 5.67KESORAMIND 96.7 0.6 0.62KIRLOSENG 319.7 1.5 0.47KOTAKBANK 1255.8 -8.6 -0.68KPIT 258.8 9.65 3.87KPRMILL 616.55 -5.25 -0.84KRBL 440.3 1.25 0.28KSCL 472.1 -13.95 -2.87KTKBANK 118.55 0.5 0.42KWALITY 45.6 -0.25 -0.55L&TFH 162.65 -3.45 -2.08LAKSHVILAS 94.45 0.75 0.8LALPATHLAB 883.35 9.65 1.1LAOPALA 273.25 1 0.37LAURUSLABS 446.75 0 0LAXMIMACH 8310.15 -168.45 -1.99LICHSGFIN 475.15 -5.7 -1.19LINDEINDIA 418.3 -0.85 -0.2LT 1327.2 7.25 0.55LTI 1591.3 83.35 5.53LTTS 1318.7 45.8 3.6LUPIN 733.95 -5.95 -0.8M&M 831.8 0.95 0.11M&MFIN 464.15 -4.1 -0.88MAGMA 182.65 -8.5 -4.45MAHABANK 13.12 -0.22 -1.65MAHINDCIE 235.5 -2.05 -0.86MAHLIFE 523.3 -1.75 -0.33MANAPPURAM 111 -3.35 -2.93MANPASAND 444.1 -1.8 -0.4MARICO 310.4 -3.55 -1.13MARKSANS 28.6 2.7 10.42MARUTI 8500.9 -58.5 -0.68MAXINDIA 78.9 -0.95 -1.19MCLEODRUSS 141.75 1.45 1.03MCX 723.6 -10.2 -1.39MEGH 99.6 1.05 1.07MFSL 467.05 -7.45 -1.57MGL 796.05 6.05 0.77MHRIL 330.95 6 1.85MINDACORP 175 3.8 2.22MINDAIND 1281.8 155.2 13.78MINDTREE 1033.7 16.6 1.63MMTC 34.65 0.65 1.91MOIL 196.7 6.3 3.31MONSANTO 2755.65 30 1.1MOTHERSUMI 317.35 -17.6 -5.25MOTILALOFS 946.75 3.7 0.39MPHASIS 1080.45 14.35 1.35MRF 74016.95 61.15 0.08MRPL 96.7 -3.2 -3.2MUTHOOTFIN 398.2 1.3 0.33NATCOPHARM 790.1 32.6 4.3NATIONALUM 70.65 -2.7 -3.68NAUKRI 1167 5.05 0.43NAVINFLUOR 687.55 -8.45 -1.21NAVKARCORP 152.2 -1.5 -0.98NAVNETEDUL 127.25 -8.95 -6.57NBCC 92.05 -1 -1.07

NBVENTURES 127.65 6.2 5.1NCC 105.15 -1.7 -1.59NESTLEIND 9634.95 18.9 0.2NETWORK18 44.75 -0.85 -1.86NH 230.55 -7.2 -3.03NHPC 26.95 0.45 1.7NIITLTD 98.35 3.85 4.07NIITTECH 1070.9 20.3 1.93NILKAMAL 1654.05 -13.65 -0.82NLCINDIA 80.95 -1.35 -1.64NMDC 112.95 -0.25 -0.22NOCIL 195.3 3.4 1.77NTPC 166.35 1.35 0.82OBEROIRLTY 499.75 -11.25 -2.2OFSS 3837.35 17.15 0.45OIL 230.55 -8 -3.35OMAXE 220.8 0.6 0.27ONGC 175.55 -8.75 -4.75ORIENTBANK 77.25 0 0ORIENTCEM 120.05 -3 -2.44PAGEIND 23320.45 -72.25 -0.31PARAGMILK 323.95 0.5 0.15PCJEWELLER 196.8 5.85 3.06PEL 2349.3 -28.05 -1.18PERSISTENT 827.15 6.25 0.76PETRONET 211.1 0.5 0.24PFC 72.1 -1.3 -1.77PFIZER 2390.45 31.75 1.35PFS 18.8 -0.2 -1.05PGHH 9221.8 1.8 0.02PHILIPCARB 232.45 -4.7 -1.98PHOENIXLTD 711.25 -8 -1.11PIDILITIND 1084.2 -34.1 -3.05PIIND 852.3 10.95 1.3PNB 80.55 -1.05 -1.29PNBHOUSING 1224.55 18.5 1.53PNCINFRA 164.4 -0.35 -0.21POWERGRID 211.05 -0.1 -0.05PRAJIND 94.75 -4.6 -4.63PRESTIGE 268.85 -3.9 -1.43PRSMJOHNSN 104.9 0.55 0.53PTC 81 0.35 0.43

PVR 1344.8 -17.6 -1.29QUESS 1119.8 6.4 0.57RADICO 423.45 2 0.47RAIN 228.15 0.95 0.42RAJESHEXPO 639.7 14.5 2.32RALLIS 203.95 -1.2 -0.58RAMCOCEM 798 6.15 0.78RATNAMANI 1001.8 4.25 0.43RAYMOND 998.7 -13.8 -1.36RBLBANK 498.05 -3.45 -0.69RCF 69.35 1.2 1.76RCOM 14.25 -0.15 -1.04RECLTD 108.05 -0.85 -0.78REDINGTON 122.45 -1.95 -1.57RELAXO 686.45 -5.8 -0.84RELCAPITAL 372.75 -2.95 -0.79RELIANCE 912.25 -14.65 -1.58RELINFRA 406.7 7.6 1.9RENUKA 15.9 0 0REPCOHOME 575.4 2.8 0.49RNAVAL 14.25 -0.45 -3.06RPOWER 33.6 0 0SADBHAV 362.95 6.3 1.77SAIL 68.55 -3.85 -5.32SANOFI 4932.65 -1.25 -0.03SBIN 263.2 9.05 3.56SCHAEFFLER 5262.6 -28.1 -0.53SCHNEIDER 104.85 -0.65 -0.62SCI 62.3 -0.7 -1.11SFL 1451 -12.4 -0.85SHANKARA 1905.9 32.55 1.74SHARDACROP 412.7 -7.3 -1.74SHILPAMED 420.4 5.35 1.29SHK 248.6 -0.4 -0.16SHOPERSTOP 544.5 10.45 1.96SHREECEM 16016.7 -366.55 -2.24SHRIRAMCIT 2219.25 53.85 2.49SIEMENS 1019.05 -2.25 -0.22SINTEX 16.35 -0.1 -0.61SITINET 13.55 -0.45 -3.21SJVN 31.35 -0.15 -0.48SKFINDIA 1796.55 2.9 0.16SOBHA 517.3 22.95 4.64SOLARINDS 1109.95 -11.6 -1.03SOMANYCERA 545.5 -3.45 -0.63SONATSOFTW 338.25 -7.55 -2.18

SOUTHBANK 24.65 -0.3 -1.2SPARC 358.4 -2.5 -0.69SPICEJET 102.75 5.1 5.22SREINFRA 71.75 -1.05 -1.44SRF 1805.75 -88.15 -4.65SRTRANSFIN 1449.7 4.6 0.32STRTECH 306.65 -2.9 -0.94SUDARSCHEM 435.85 -15.3 -3.39SUNCLAYLTD 4634.65 -218.95 -4.51SUNDRMFAST 578.6 -2.1 -0.36SUNPHARMA 451.95 -1.05 -0.23SUNTECK 416.8 -5.9 -1.4SUNTV 937.55 -11.35 -1.2SUPPETRO 293 -2.7 -0.91SUPRAJIT 284 8.1 2.94SUPREMEIND 1257.95 -20.6 -1.61SUVEN 191.85 3.1 1.64SUZLON 8.92 0.09 1.02SWANENERGY 169.05 1.35 0.81SYMPHONY 1410.65 -40.8 -2.81SYNDIBANK 46.4 0.1 0.22SYNGENE 607.5 -2.3 -0.38TAKE 221.3 3.25 1.49TATACHEM 721.85 -6.6 -0.91TATACOFFEE 111.35 0.35 0.32TATACOMM 612 -0.25 -0.04TATAELXSI 1197 29.75 2.55TATAGLOBAL 249.15 2.85 1.16TATAINVEST 782.4 -6.1 -0.77TATAMETALI 780.65 -8.9 -1.13TATAMOTORS 309.25 1.5 0.49TATAMTRDVR 176.05 -2.25 -1.26TATAPOWER 77.25 -0.75 -0.96TATASPONGE 1056.15 -14.35 -1.34TATASTEEL 539.25 -37.95 -6.57TCS 3497.05 -11 -0.31TECHM 698.1 11.9 1.73TECHNO 313.75 -0.5 -0.16TEJASNET 316.3 -3.9 -1.22TEXRAIL 71 -0.9 -1.25THERMAX 1136.2 -3.85 -0.34THOMASCOOK 272.9 -0.45 -0.16

THYROCARE 598.35 -2.6 -0.43TIMETECHNO 134.25 -1.65 -1.21TIMKEN 698.9 -0.7 -0.1TITAN 918.3 3.4 0.37TNPL 314.9 -6.45 -2.01TORNTPHARM 1327.45 -9.9 -0.74TORNTPOWER 214.15 -8.95 -4.01TRENT 327.95 -2.15 -0.65TRIDENT 54.4 1.4 2.64TRITURBINE 104.15 3.55 3.53TTKPRESTIG 5879.95 84.85 1.46TV18BRDCST 53.65 -1.5 -2.72TVSMOTOR 565.05 1.3 0.23TVSSRICHAK 3117.2 -23.15 -0.74TVTODAY 432.6 -15.05 -3.36TWL 101.95 -1.95 -1.88UBL 1177.45 6.25 0.53UCOBANK 18 0.25 1.41UFLEX 279.45 -3.3 -1.17UJJIVAN 380.65 -3.2 -0.83ULTRACEMCO 3700.1 -55.9 -1.49UNICHEMLAB 270.15 -2.4 -0.88UNIONBANK 87 -1.15 -1.3UNITECH 4.43 -0.12 -2.64UPL 685.05 1.6 0.23VAKRANGEE 44.25 -2.3 -4.94VBL 706.6 12.4 1.79VEDL 252.7 -16.8 -6.23VENKYS 3157 -9.05 -0.29VGUARD 223.4 -1.75 -0.78VIJAYABANK 58.3 0.5 0.87VINATIORGA 1025.35 1.55 0.15VIPIND 411.35 17.55 4.46VMART 2264.7 -35 -1.52VOLTAS 546.25 -3.8 -0.69VSTIND 3020.75 -29.25 -0.96VTL 1233.7 14.65 1.2WABAG 454.2 0.2 0.04WABCOINDIA 7263.3 -28.1 -0.39WELCORP 128.95 -2.55 -1.94WELSPUNIND 61.85 -2.05 -3.21WHIRLPOOL 1550.2 -8.75 -0.56WIPRO 263.25 -1.8 -0.68WOCKPHARMA 640.65 -15.35 -2.34YESBANK 333.6 -1.1 -0.33ZEEL 552.95 -12.4 -2.19ZENSARTECH 1271.55 42.5 3.46

NIFTY 50

SCRIP OPEN HIGH LOW LTP CHANGESBIN 254.65 269.75 254.3 263.45 9.55TECHM 687 707.3 683.25 701 14.6CIPLA 515 564.9 515 534 10UPL 682 696.45 680 690.9 8.6LT 1,317.00 1,350.00 1,315.00 1,330.95 10.8NTPC 164.8 167.95 164.55 166.5 1.35GRASIM 1,045.00 1,059.00 1,027.05 1,047.95 8.45IBULHSGFIN 1,110.00 1,134.95 1,103.25 1,121.05 7.55TATAMOTORS 311.1 317.25 305.4 309.4 1.7TITAN 914.2 923 908.1 919 4.8INFRATEL 317 319.5 313.75 317 1.15ICICIBANK 288.85 298.4 288.8 291 0.7POWERGRID 211 212.45 209.7 211.05 0.3M&M 828.1 835.5 820.55 831.35 1.15SUNPHARMA 454 461.5 449.45 453 0TCS 3,525.00 3,545.00 3,481.00 3,498.95 -9.95YESBANK 335 338.75 331.5 333.5 -1.2HEROMOTOCO 3,494.50 3,494.80 3,452.00 3,483.45 -16.45HINDUNILVR 1,567.00 1,586.30 1,561.00 1,566.80 -7.5WIPRO 265.55 265.7 262.6 263.2 -1.75AXISBANK 522 528.2 519.4 519.8 -3.5COALINDIA 277.15 279.9 274.75 277 -2.05LUPIN 745.2 749.9 733.1 734.2 -5.9ASIANPAINT 1,281.00 1,292.15 1,269.60 1,276.05 -10.8HCLTECH 905 918.4 891.85 897 -7.9INFY 1,195.00 1,207.65 1,181.50 1,182.95 -10.9MARUTI 8,560.00 8,564.80 8,458.20 8,482.00 -78.65KOTAKBANK 1,260.00 1,264.95 1,242.00 1,248.25 -14.45BHARTIARTL 361.8 365.8 354.25 357.4 -4.45HDFCBANK 1,987.80 1,994.00 1,963.40 1,965.00 -24.9HDFC 1,807.40 1,807.40 1,780.05 1,787.40 -22.6BAJAJ-AUTO 2,821.80 2,832.15 2,766.00 2,770.70 -37.8RELIANCE 926 926 909.15 913.8 -12.95ADANIPORTS 379.8 383.1 373.5 374.05 -5.7GAIL 327.5 329.35 319.25 323.05 -4.95ULTRACEMCO 3,750.00 3,750.00 3,690.05 3,695.00 -60.55ITC 279 279.4 272.95 274 -4.75EICHERMOT 29,853.20 29,853.20 29,300.00 29,398.40 -531.15ZEEL 565 566.8 552.65 554.05 -11.55HINDALCO 234 234.9 228.8 229.3 -5.65INDUSINDBK 1,895.00 1,898.70 1,848.60 1,852.55 -51.4DRREDDY 1,978.00 1,993.90 1,934.80 1,951.30 -58.3BAJAJFINSV 5,949.00 5,960.00 5,770.00 5,780.00 -191.8BAJFINANCE 2,148.00 2,148.00 2,066.20 2,079.85 -69.45IOC 159.2 160 152.65 153.4 -7.1ONGC 183.9 185.35 174.3 175.35 -9.85BPCL 393.8 394.5 370.05 376 -21.6TATASTEEL 576 576 537.4 541.25 -35.55VEDL 263.4 263.5 250.2 250.5 -19.45HINDPETRO 304 310.65 283.55 286.25 -25.6

SE 500B

VITAL STATS

GOLD SILVERMumbai 32641 43000 Delhi 32406 43000Kolkata 32770 43000

BSE: SENSEX

Open

High

Low

Current value

Previous close

Change (Pts)

Change (%)

68.21

91.43

80.24

0.62

NIFTY NEXT 50

SCRIP OPEN HIGH LOW LTP CHANGEASHOKLEY 141.6 146 141.05 145.85 4.95BANKBARODA 131.7 140.9 131.4 136.75 3.85GODREJCP 1,079.70 1,107.50 1,075.10 1,105.00 26.95SBILIFE 664.8 684 659.3 675 15.05EMAMILTD 1,024.40 1,058.90 1,024.40 1,044.05 19.65NHPC 26.5 27.25 26.3 27.05 0.5BRITANNIA 5,620.00 5,735.00 5,600.00 5,700.05 95.65INDIGO 1,137.60 1,168.25 1,114.85 1,160.00 19CADILAHC 344.4 353.95 342.6 347.95 4.9OFSS 3,828.85 3,875.00 3,791.00 3,821.00 30.95MRF 73,755.15 74,500.00 73,588.80 74,256.00 382.55COLPAL 1,230.00 1,245.45 1,220.50 1,236.90 6.3CONCOR 1,371.00 1,393.00 1,362.30 1,385.00 5.15SRTRANSFIN 1,443.30 1,466.00 1,441.45 1,451.15 3.9SIEMENS 1,020.00 1,033.70 1,012.10 1,025.05 1.75PGHH 9,200.00 9,324.50 9,160.05 9,221.00 12.5GICRE 695 700 690 692.2 -1.65AMBUJACEM 207.55 209.1 206.5 207.4 -0.6BEL 116.85 118.7 116.1 116.75 -0.35PETRONET 211.9 214.65 209.1 210.2 -0.7MCDOWELL-N 3,235.00 3,261.85 3,182.50 3,214.00 -12.5CUMMINSIND 741.15 747 735.5 737.2 -3.9IDEA 55 56.1 54.05 54.55 -0.35NMDC 113.5 115 112.05 112.75 -0.8RECLTD 108.9 110.9 107.7 108 -0.9MARICO 313 314.45 309.5 310.15 -2.7ACC 1,320.25 1,328.95 1,308.10 1,313.75 -11.55HAVELLS 547.6 551.45 541 544 -5.1PNB 81.4 83.5 79.7 80.75 -0.8AUROPHARMA 579.9 588 571.6 574 -6BHEL 76.1 76.6 75.1 75.25 -0.8LICHSGFIN 480.3 483.8 474.35 476.15 -5.1DLF 197.45 202.9 194.65 196.3 -2.15BOSCHLTD 18,240.00 18,285.70 17,972.60 18,003.05 -208.7PEL 2,382.50 2,408.80 2,340.25 2,348.00 -30.8HINDZINC 288.4 288.4 282.2 284.6 -3.85SUNTV 946.95 954.4 929.25 934.05 -12.9DABUR 374 377.65 366.6 368.65 -6.05ABB 1,207.85 1,223.70 1,184.55 1,189.00 -19.65DMART 1,390.00 1,399.95 1,347.20 1,355.00 -25.55PFC 73.6 74.4 71.75 72.05 -1.45L&TFH 166.15 167.05 162.2 162.45 -3.55SHREECEM 16,342.55 16,495.00 15,925.05 16,000.00 -360.25ICICIPRULI 420 423 407.45 409 -9.85JSWSTEEL 318.9 322.9 308.1 310.9 -7.5PIDILITIND 1,123.00 1,135.00 1,080.10 1,088.00 -30.1ABCAPITAL 144.9 145.35 140.6 140.8 -4.1OIL 239 239 229.55 230 -9.1MOTHERSUMI 333 340.95 314 321.45 -13.05SAIL 72.2 72.4 68.15 68.6 -3.95

34656.63

34668.47

34302.89

34344.91

34651.24

-306.33

-0.88

BSE: GAINERS

MARKSANS 28.60 (10.42)

IDBI 66.20 (6.00)

LTI 1591.30 (5.53)

ANDHRABANK 36.35 (5.36)

NBVENTURES 127.65 (5.10)

Current (Chng %)NSE: GAINERS

SBIN 263.45 (3.76)

TECHM 701.00 (2.13)

CIPLA 534.00 (1.91)

UPL 690.90 (1.26)

NTPC 166.50 (0.82)

Current (Chng %)BSE: LOSERS

TATASTEELPP 142.10 (9.89)

HINDPETRO 286.95 (8.06)

BALRAMCHIN 68.00 (7.42)

TATASTEEL 539.25 (6.57)

CENTURYTEX 934.35 (6.41)

Current (Chng %)NSE: LOSERS

HINDPETRO 286.25 (8.21)

VEDL 250.50 (7.21)

TATASTEEL 541.25 (6.16)

BPCL 376.00 (5.43)

ONGC 175.35 (5.32)

Current (Chng %)

SENSEX NIFTY

LUCKNOW | THURSDAY | MAY 24, 2018 world 11

ARIANA PAYS TRIBUTE TOMANCHESTER ATTACK VICTIMS

L o sA n g e l e s :Singer ArianaGrande haspaid tributesto the victimsof theManchesterattack on thefirst anniver-sary of theblast. Theattack on May22 last yearclaimed 22lives after as u i c i d ebomber deto-nated a shrap-nel bomb asfans came outof Grande’sconcert atManchesterArena. The24-year-oldsinger took to social media to send her love andwarmth to the people in London through aseries of tweets. “Thinking of you all today andevery day. I love you with all of me and amsending you all of the light and warmth I haveto offer on this challenging day,” she wrote alongwith a worker bee emoticon which is widelyused to represent the city as a symbol of indus-try. Grande also shared a video of youngfans in Manchester singing her latest single, “NoTears Left To Cry”. She captioned the video: “Sowish I were there with you all today. You haveno idea. Love you so very much”. “I miss youguys a lot and just wanna hug you all so tighttoday,” the singer wrote in another tweet.Grande recently opened up about the terrorattack outside her concert premises, saying thememories of the incident are still fresh.

RICHARD GERE TO STAR IN TV SERIES‘MOTHERFATHERSON’

Los Angeles: Hollywood veteran RichardGere has been officially confirmed to star in hisfirst major TV role in “MotherFatherSon” after

a gap of nearlythree decades.The 68-year-oldactor will star inthe eight-partoriginal drama,which is beingmade by BBCStudios DramaLondon forBBC Two,according toThe HollywoodReporter. Gerewill play Max, acharming self-m a d eAmerican busi-nessman withmedia outlets inLondon andaround theworld in thea n n o u n c e dseries. “It’s beenalmost 30 yearssince I workedin television. I’m so pleased to be workingnow with the BBC on this extraordinary eight-hour project with such talented people andwhich resonates so much to the time we livein,” the actor said in a statement. HelenMcCrory and Billy Howle are also part of thecast. McCrory will essay the role of Kathryn,a British heiress who has been estranged fromMax following the breakdown of their mar-riage some years ago. Howle will be seen asthe couple’s 30-year-old son, Caden who runsMax’s UK newspaper and is being preparedto follow in his father’s footsteps as one of themost influential men in the world. But whenCaden goes overboard with his self-destruc-tive lifestyle, its consequences threaten thefuture of the family, its empire and a coun-try on the brink of change. The BBC showcomes from “Assassination of Gianni Versace”writer Tom Rob Smith and James Kent hasbeen confirmed as lead director.“MotherFatherSon” will be distributed inter-nationally by BBC Studios. Filming willbegin this summer in London and on loca-tion in Spain.

GLOBEGLOBETROTTINGTROTTING

PTI n ISLAMABAD

Pakistan on Wednesday saidthat the terrorism should

not be identified with any reli-gion, individual countries ornationalities and offered towork with regional countries toeliminate the menace from theregion at a meeting of theShanghai CooperationOrganisation (SCO) alsoattended by India.

Foreign Secretary TehminaJanjua made the remarks whileinaugurating a meeting of theLegal Experts Group of theShanghai CooperationOrganisation-Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (SCO-RATS) here.

Experts from the eightSCO member states - China,Kazakhstan, India, Kyrgyzstan,Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistanand Pakistan - are attendingthe meeting. India’s presence atthe meeting assumes signifi-cance since it had boycottedthe South Asian Association ofRegional Cooperation(SAARC) summit here in 2016citing continuing support tocross-border terrorism fromPakistan.

“We now look forward toworking with regional coun-tries under the umbrella ofSCO to effectively eliminateterrorism from our region.Pakistan fully supports andwelcomes the efforts of SCO-RATS in the fight against ‘threeevils’ of terrorism, extremismand separatism,” Janjua said.

She said Pakistan is cog-nizant of the threats posed byterrorism, separatism andextremism to the region andbeyond. Janjua said Pakistanlost thousands of its citizensand security personnel, withmany more injured. It alsosuffered economic losses ofover USD 120 billion.

“But neither the humannor the financial losses havediminished my country’s

resolve to fight this menace.Through our comprehensiveefforts, over the past severalyears, supported by a firmdomestic political consensus,we have been able to turn thetide,” she said.

She said that terrorismcannot and should not beidentified with any religion,individual countries ornationalities.

Janjua said the SCO holdsspecial s ignif icance forPakistan. “We take pride inbecoming a full member ofthe SCO last year - an organ-isation that offers a uniquenew model of inter-statecooperation for peace, secu-rity, connectivity and sus-tainable development,” shesaid.

Janjua said Pakistanlost thousands of itscitizens and securitypersonnel, withmany more injured.It also sufferedeconomic losses ofover USD 120 billion

Pak ready to work with regionalcountries to end terror: Janjua

Tehmina Januja

India, Pak entry into SCO increasedpotential for cooperation: XiPTI n BEIJING

Chinese President Xi Jinpinghas said with the entry of

India and Pakistan, theShanghai CooperationOrganisation (SCO) has gainedmore potential for cooperationand more expectations fromthe international community.

In his address to the rep-resentatives to the 13th meet-ing of Security CouncilSecretaries of the SCO here yes-terday, Xi said maintainingregional security and stabilityhas been the top priority of thebloc since it was founded.

“The SCO members havefought the ‘three evil forces’ ofterrorism, separatism andextremism; prevented the over-flow of negative effects fromhot issues; and made importantcontributions to keepingregional peace, developmentand prosperity,” Xi was quotedas saying by the state-runChina Daily. Xi pointed outthat when the SCO acceptedPakistan and India last year asnew members, it gained more

potential for cooperation andmore expectations from theinternational community.

Deputy National SecurityAdviser Rajinder Khanna,Pakistan’s NSA Nasser KhanJanjua along with top securityofficials of the SCO membercountries called on Xi after theconclusion of their two-daymeeting here yesterday.

The security officials metahead of the SCO summit inthe Chinese city of Qingdao tobe held on June 9-10. PrimeMinister Narendra Modi isscheduled to take part in thesummit. It will be the first sum-mit of the SCO after India andPakistan were admitted into thebloc last year.

The SCO, in which Chinaplays an influential role, iscomprised of China,Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan,India and Pakistan.

Khanna, who is also theSecretary of the NationalSecurity Council Secretariat,today called on Xi along withother Secretaries of National

Security Councils attendingthe meeting.

In his address to the SCOsecurity officials, Xi said themember countries haveexpanded areas of cooperationand enriched their experiencein cooperation.

“Numerous challengesremain, including the ‘three evilforces’ plus drug smuggling andcross-border organised crime,each of which threatens theregion. The risks require SCOmembers to handle the issuesproperly through correct judg-ments,” he said.

The SCO members shoulduphold the strategic directionof security cooperation, con-tinue to boost mutual strategictrust, enhance coordination ofpolicy, uphold justice and joint-ly push the resolution ofregional hot issues throughpolitical and diplomatic mea-sures, Xi said. Xi called on theother SCO members to buildup their capacity for joint secu-rity operations and build anefficient law-enforcementcooperation network.

No deal with Pak on resolving Indus Waters row: WB

PTI n WASHINGTON

The World Bank has said itfailed to arrive at an agree-

ment with a visiting Pakistanidelegation on a way forward toaddress Islamabad’s concernsregarding the Indus WatersTreaty with India.

Over two days – Mondayand yesterday — a high-pow-ered Pakistani delegation led byAttorney General, Ashtar AusafAli, met with KristalinaGeorgieva, World Bank ChiefExecutive Officer, and theregional management for SouthAsia.

During the meetings, heldat Pakistan’s request to discussissues regarding the IndusWaters Treaty and opportuni-

ties within the treaty to seek anamicable resolution, “severalprocedural options” for resolv-ing the disagreement over theinterpretation of the treaty’sprovisions were discussed, thebank said.

“While an agreement onthe way forward was notreached at the conclusion of themeetings, the World Bank willcontinue to work with bothcountries to resolve the issuesin an amicable manner and inline with the treaty provisions,”the Bank said in a statement atthe end of the talks.

“The delegation of theGovernment of Pakistan alsoshared with the Bank theirconcerns about the recent inau-guration of the Kishanganga

hydroelectric plant,” the state-ment said.

Last week, Prime MinisterNarendra Modi had inaugu-rated the 330 MWKishanganga hydroelectric pro-ject in Jammu and Kashmir.Pakistan had protested theinauguration claiming that theproject on a river flowing intoPakistan will disrupt watersupplies. The embassy ofPakistan here did not immedi-ately respond to questions relat-ed to the World Bank meeting.

“The Indus Waters Treatyis a profoundly importantinternational agreement thatprovides an essential coopera-tive framework for India andPakistan to address currentand future challenges of effec-

tive water management to meethuman needs and achievedevelopment goals,” the Banksaid.

As a signatory to the Treaty,the World Bank’s role is limit-ed and procedural, it noted.

“In particular, the role inrelation to differences and dis-putes is limited to the desig-nation of people to fulfill cer-tain roles when requested byeither or both parties,” thebank said. At the conclusion ofthe talks, the World Bank saidit remained committed to “actin good faith and with com-plete impartiality and trans-parency” in fulfilling its respon-sibilities under the treaty, whilecontinuing to assist the twocountries.

The World Bank did notrespond to question if itapproached India on thePakistani allegations.

Islamabad had been raisingobjections over the design ofthe 330 MW Kishangangahydroelectric project, saying itis not in line with the criterialaid down under the IndusWaters Treaty between the twocountries. But, India says theproject design was well withinparameters of the treaty.

The project, located atBandipore in North Kashmir,envisages diversion of water ofKishan Ganga river to under-ground power house through a23.25-km-long head race tun-nel to generate 1713 millionunits per annum.

Walking, cycling may lower heart disease: Study

PTI n LONDON

People who walk or cycle towork have a significantly

lower risk of death due toheart disease or stroke, com-pared to those who commuteby car, a study has found.

Physical activity, includingless vigorous forms such aswalking and cycling, reducesthe risk of cardiovascular dis-ease, but despite this well-known benefit, levels of activ-ity are still low in many coun-tries.

There are concerns thatmany peoples’ lives involveincreasingly sedentary occu-pations and little opportunityfor leisure time physical activ-

ity.Researchers from the

University of Cambridge,London School of Hygieneand Tropical Medicine, andImperial College London in theUK set out to investigate theassociations between usingalternatives to the car which aremore active for commutingand non-commuting purposes,and illness and mortality.

For the study published inthe journal Heart, they useddata on 358,799 participantscollected between 2006 and2010. People were followed upfor an average of seven years.

They were asked abouttheir commute and non-com-mute travel and to detailwhether they relied exclusive-ly on the car or used alternativemodes of transport that were

more active at least some of thetime. Outcome measures usedwere incident and fatal cardio-vascular disease (CVD), inci-dent and fatal cancer, and all-cause mortality.

Approximately two-thirdsof commuters relied exclusive-ly on the car to travel to work,with more active travel patternsbeing more frequently report-ed for non-commuting travel.

Cycling was less prevalent,being mentioned by 8.5 percent and 7 per cent of regularcommuters for commuting andnon-commuting travel, respec-tively, and by 4.8 per cent ofother participants.

Analysis of the datashowed that regular commuterswith more active patterns of

travel on the commute had a11% lower risk of incident car-diovascular disease (CVD) and30 per cent lower risk of fatalCVD.

Those regular commuterswho also had more active pat-terns of commute and non-commute travel combined hadan even lower risk of fatalCVD - 43 per cent less risk.

Among people who werenot regular commuters, moreactive patterns of travel wereassociated with an 8 per centlower risk of all-cause mortal-ity. Researchers concluded thatinterventions that encouragepeople to make more use ofpublic transport, walking andcycling could be more widelypromoted, including by clini-

Pak teenager killed at Texas

school laid to rest in Karachi

PTI n KARACHI

The funeral of Sabika Sheikh,a Pakistani student killed in

last week’s mass school shoot-ing incident in Texas was heldhere today, with her grievingfather hoping that her deathwould be a catalyst for changeto America’s gun laws.

Sabika, 17, was among 10students and staff who werekilled on Friday at the Santa FeHigh School in Texas. Thegunman, identified as 17-year-old Dimitrios Pagourtzis, isbeing held on murder chargesand could face the death penal-ty. She was laid to rest at theAzimpura graveyard in ShahFaisal Colony after funeralprayers were offered atKarachi’s Hakeem SaeedGround.

Senior Pakistani politiciansincluding Sindh Chief Minister

Murad Shah, Sindh GovernerMuhammad Zubair and SindhHome Minister Sohail AnwarSiyal were among hundreds atthe funeral.

The body of the teenagerarrived at cargo complex ofKarachi airport this morningfrom Houston, Texas. The bodywas received by family mem-bers and officials of USConsulate at the airport.

Sabika was studying inTexas on a US StateDepartment scholarship underthe Kennedy-Lugar YouthExchange and Study pro-gramme, to improve under-standing between America andMuslim countries.

She had been attendingclasses at the school sinceAugust last, and said that get-ting accepted into the US pro-gramme to study was the bestthing that ever happened to

her.Sabika, the eldest of three

sisters, was to return home inPakistan in three weeks, by Eidul-Fitr. Her host family saidtheir time with her was “sucha precious gift.”

“My daughter is a martyrand martyrs don’t die,” Sabika’sfather Abdul Aziz Sheikh saidafter the prayers.

He said he wanted hisdaughter’s death to be a catalystfor change to America’s gunlaws. “I would like to say to theTrump administration, kindlystop this type of incident,”Sheikh said.

Sheikh called on PresidentDonald Trump to reform gunlaws in the name of his daugh-ter. “You can make rules andlaw and you can amend yourConstitution and change thelaw of guns, kindly take seriousaction on this.” Sheikh said.

MH370 search to end next week: Malaysian ministerAFP n KUALA LUMPUR

The search for flight MH370will end next week,

Malaysia’s transport ministersaid today, more than four yearsafter the plane disappeared andtriggered one of the world’sgreatest aviation mysteries. TheMalaysia Airlines jet vanished inMarch 2014 with 239 people —mostly from China — on board,en route from Kuala Lumpur toBeijing. No sign of the plane wasfound in and the Australian-ledhunt, the largest in aviation his-tory, was suspended in Januarylast year.

After pressure from familymembers, the former Malaysiangovernment struck a deal withUS exploration firm OceanInfinity to restart the search onthe condition it would only bepaid if the jet or its black boxeswere found.

The firm, which deployedhi-tech underwater drones in itshunt, stood to make up to $70million if successful.

Malaysia’s TransportMinister Anthony Loke, part ofthe new government that cameto power following May 9 elec-tions, said the hunt was officiallymeant to finish in April but hadbeen extended, and would comean end next week. “The searchwill continue until May 29,” hetold reporters. Prime MinisterMahathir Mohamad had saidearlier that the contract withOcean Infinity was beingreviewed. Grace Nathan, aMalaysian lawyer whose moth-er Anne Daisy was on theplane, said the news was not asurprise but said the govern-ment should leave the “no find,no fee” offer on the table in casea company wants to take on thesearch in future.

Trump-Kim meet on June 12: Pompeo

PTI n WASHINGTON

The historic meetingbetween President Donald

Trump and North Koreanleader Kim Jong un is set totake place on June 12, Secretaryof State Mike Pompeo toldlawmakers today.

Testifying before a power-ful Congressional committee,Pompeo identified de-nucleari-sation of North Korea as one ofthe top national security pri-ority of the TrumpAdministration.

“The maximum pressurecampaign of diplomatic andeconomic sanctions is bearingfruit with the historic meetingset to take place on June 12,”Pompeo said in his testimonybefore the House ForeignAffairs Committee.

This campaign, he said, hasbeen undertaken in concertwith an unprecedented numberof allies and partners.

“Our posture will notchange until we see crediblesteps taken toward the com-plete, verifiable, and irreversiblede-nuclearization of the Koreanpeninsula. We are clear-eyedabout the regime’s history,”Pompeo said. “It’s time to solvethis once and for all. A bad dealis not an option. The Americanpeople are counting on us to getthis right. If the right deal is noton the table, we will respect-fully walk away,” the topAmerican diplomat said.

Pompeo’s remarks came aday after President Trump onTuesday suggested that his his-toric summit with Kim “maynot work out” even as he assert-ed that the North Koreanleader was “serious” aboutdenuclearisation.

Pompeo is the only top

American official to have metKim. “In my conversationswith him, we’ve talked aboutwhat our mutual goals are, thethings that the world demandsand that America demands,and the things that NorthKorea wants to see for itself aswell,” he told Congressmen inresponse to a question.

“There’s places where westill have lots of work to do tofind common ground, but hehas shared candidly that heunderstands that economicgrowth for his people, the well-being of his people depends ona strategic shift. And we hopehe’s prepared to make that,”Pompeo said.

America’s demands havebeen unambiguous, he said.

“When I spoke with him, Icould not have been clearerabout the scope of the verifi-cation work that would be

required, all of the elementsthat would be necessary inorder for America to under-stand that there had been realdenuclearization,” the topAmerican diplomat said.

“He made clear it wasimportant to him that whenthat time came, when thoseobjectives had been achieved,that he in return would receiveeconomic help from America,in the form of private sectorbusinesses, knowledge, know-how,” he said.

Pompeo also said that Kim“wanted security assurancesfrom the world, the end of thestatus that sits between Southand North Korea, with theeventual goal of a peace treaty.”

The diplomat said he ishopeful that he and PresidentTrump will get a chance toelaborate on that further in thenext couple weeks.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo testifies at the House Foreign Affairs Committeehearing on Capitol Hill in Washington on Wednesday PTI

N Korea prepares forN-site demolition AFP n SEOUL

Invited foreign journalists began a long journey up North Korea’seast coast Wednesday to witness the slated destruction of the

reclusive regime’s nuclear test site, a high profile gesture on theroad to a summit with the US that Donald Trump now says mightnot happen. In a surprise announcement, Pyongyang said ear-lier this month that it planned to “completely” destroy thePunggye-ri facility in the country’s northeast, a move welcomedby Washington and Seoul.

Punggye-ri has been the staging ground for all six of theNorth’s nuclear tests, including its latest and by far most pow-erful one in September last year, which Pyongyang said was anH-bomb. The demolition is due to take place sometime betweenThursday and Friday, depending on the weather.

The North has portrayed the destruction on the test site asa goodwill gesture ahead of planned June 12 summit betweenKim and Trump in Singapore.

But doubts have since been cast by both sides on whetherthat potentially historic meeting will take place.

Last week Pyongyang threatened to pull out if Washingtonpressed for its unilateral nuclear disarmament. Trump also saidthe meeting could be delayed as he met with South Korean leaderMoon Jae-in in Washington on Tuesday.

“There are certain conditions we want to happen. I think we’llget those conditions. And if we don’t, we won’t have the meet-ing,” he told reporters, without elaborating on what those con-ditions might be. Politically, Trump has invested heavily in thesuccess of his meeting with Kim, and so privately most US offi-cials, as well as outside observers, believe it will go ahead.

But as the date draws near, Trump’s divergence from his topaides, the differences between the two sides and these high stakesare coming into sharp relief.

Washington has made it clear it wants to see the “complete,verifiable and irreversible denuclearisation” of the North.

Pyongyang has vowed it will never give up its nuclear deter-rence until it feels safe from what it terms US aggression.

“Everything is on thin ice,” Koo Kab-woo, a professor at theUniversity of North Korean Studies in Seoul, told AFP.

“Trump wants a swift denuclearisation, something that willbe done within his first term in office. In that case, he has to pro-vide North Korea with a corresponding, swift security guaran-tee.” Observers will be watching the nuclear test site destructionceremony closely for any clues to the North’s mood.

AFP ■ MOSCOW

Syria’s deputy foreign minister said onWednesday Damascus did not envisage

Iran and Hezbollah participating in thewithdrawal of foreign forces from the war-torn country as announced last week byRussia.

Asked whether the removal of Iranianand Hezbollah forces could end Israel’sstrikes on Syria, Faisal Mekdad told RIANovosti state news agency that “thistopic is not even on the agenda for dis-cussion.”

“All these forces oppose terrorism.They are not making an attempt to violatethe sovereignty and territory of Syria,” hesaid in comments translated into Russian.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad metVladimir Putin in the Black Sea resort ofSochi, with the Russian leader saying “for-eign armed forces will withdraw fromSyrian territory” although he gave fewdetails.

But Russia’s chief Syria negotiatorAlexander Lavrentyev later told journal-ists that the withdrawal of foreign troopsshould be done “as a whole” and includeIranians and Hezbollah, the powerfulLebanese group that is an ally of Iran andAssad.

“We are talking about all the foreigntroop divisions which still have troops inSyrian territory. That includes theAmericans and the Turks and Hezbollah,of course, and the Iranians,” Lavrentyevsaid on Friday, quoted by RIA Novosti.

Mekdad, however, suggested Russiahad not meant to say this.

“I don’t think that our Russian friendsmeant the forces that entered Syria inagreement with the Syrian government,”he said.

“Russia demanded the withdrawal of

forces that are here without agreement:that is the forces of the US, France,Turkey and other forces that are here ille-gitimately.”

Russia and Iran are both allied withAssad. Together with rebel-supportingTurkey, they have been brokering peacetalks in Astana, the Kazakh capital, run-

ning in parallel to talks supervised by theUnited Nations.

Last year, Russian Foreign MinisterSergei Lavrov said Moscow was acting onthe basis that both Hezbollah and theIranians, “just like the Russian air forces,are in Syria at the invitation of the legiti-mate government.”

LUCKNOW | THURSDAY | MAY 24, 2018 world 12

SYDNEY: A billionaire businessman previously accused ofmeddling in Australian politics on China’s behalf was co-con-spirator in a plot to bribe a top United Nations official, a seniorAustralian politician has claimed. Andrew Hastie, whochairs Canberra’s intelligence and security committee, usedthe legal protection of parliamentary privilege to say thatChinese-Australian Chau Chak Wing was a figure codenamedCC-3 by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation.

“CC-3 is Dr Chau Chak Wing,” Hastie said in a speechon Tuesday evening, further fuelling fears about Chinese effortsto shape policy and opinion in democratic institutions.

“The same man who co-conspired to bribe the UN pres-ident of the General Assembly, John Ashe. The same man withextensive contacts in the Chinese Communist Party,” he said.

“I share it with the house because I believe it to be in thenational interest.” Hastie’s allegation follows recent meetingswith US intelligence and security agency officials, who he saidconfirmed the identity. He said the reasons CC-3 had not beencharged were “best undisclosed”.

Ashe, an Antiguan who was UN General Assembly pres-ident for a year from September 2013, was accused of accept-ing bribes from Chinese businesspeople seeking to influence

the world body. He was arrested in 2015 and died a year later,with the damaging scandal a major blow to the UN, whichseeks to promote corruption-free good governance worldwide.

It prompted the UN to overhaul financial oversight of theGeneral Assembly president’s office.

Several people named in the conspiracy have previouslybeen named and some have been jailed. But the identity ofCC-3 has never been made public. Prime Minister MalcolmTurnbull was caught off guard by the revelation, admittinghe had not been forewarned by Hastie and had sought advicefrom national security agencies on the implications of pub-licly revealing intelligence from an ally. But he also claimedthe allegations were not new “and I do not propose to say any-thing more about them because they are subject to judicialproceedings”. Chau last year was at the centre of an investi-gation by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and FairfaxMedia, which claimed he and another man had donated mil-lions of dollars to Australian political parties over a decade.The reports led Canberra to announce an inquiry into espi-onage laws and foreign government interference amid grow-ing concerns about China using the political donations sys-tem to gain access.

PTI ■ WASHINGTON

The Trump administrationsupports India’s emergence

as a leading global power andas a key partner in the Indo-Pacific region, a top US offi-cial said on Wednesday./

Speaking to PTI, StateDepartment SpokespersonHeather Nauert said the tiesbetween the US and India hadnever been stronger or better.

She was responding toquestions on the status ofIndia-US relationship amidstrecent trade disputes betweenthe two countries and NewDelhi being caught in crossfireof American sanctions againstRussia and Iran.

US President DonaldTrump has signed a law, ‘TheCountering America’sAdversaries Through SanctionsAct’, CAATSA, imposing sanc-tions on Russia, Iran and NorthKorea. The Section 231 of theCAATSA mandates secondarysanctions on those who con-duct significant transactionswith the Russian defence andintelligence sectors.

“The US-India partner-ship is rooted in shared demo-cratic values and a commit-ment to a rules-based order,”Nauert said.

“We support India’s emer-

gence as a leading global powerand as a key partner in ourefforts to ensure that the Indo-Pacific is a region of peace, sta-bility, and growing prosperity,”she said.

According to a secondState Department spokesper-son, who spoke on condition ofanonymity, Secretary of StateMike Pompeo and DefenceSecretary Jim Mattis were look-ing forward to hosting theircounterparts for the first ‘India-US 2+2 Dialogue’ this year inWashington.

Dates of the dialogue areyet to be announced. It was ini-tially scheduled for mid-April,but was postponed afterTrump fired Rex Tillerson as

the Secretary of State. The Indian delegation

would be led by the ExternalAffairs Minister Sushma Swarajand the Defense MinisterNirmala Sitharaman.

“This engagement will sup-port our efforts to increasediplomatic, security, and mili-tary cooperation with India toconfront our most pressingglobal challenges, fromAfghanistan and North Koreato the threat of terrorism,” thesecond State DepartmentSpokesperson told PTI.

“We are also focused onstrengthening our economicties, including increasing two-way trade, which has morethan doubled over the lastdecade to roughly USD 115 bil-lion in 2016,” the official said.

The official said the Trumpadministration was trying toensure that bilateral trade was“fair and reciprocal” and thatU.S. companies have a level

playing field in India.“The strong people-to-

people ties between the ourcountries and our commonvalues are a tremendous sourceof strength for our partnership,”the spokesperson said, a dayafter BJP General SecretaryRam Madhav held series oftalks with senior officials of theTrump Administration.

Prominent among themwere, Brian Hook, Director ofPolicy Planning at the StateDepartment, Lisa Curtis, whoheads the South Asia in theNational Security Council ofthe White House and AliceWells senior State Departmentofficial in its South and CentralAsia Bureau.

Later, Madhav had told agathering of Indian-Americanshere that the India-US rela-tionship was scaling newheights as strategic partnersunder Prime MinisterNarendra Modi.

Pakistan voices concern over civilians being used as human shieldsUNITED NATIONS: Pakistan hassaid the civilians are being used ashuman shields in “occupied territo-ries” instead of getting protection, anapparent reference to a 2017 incidentof a man being used as a “humanshield” by the Indian Army againststone-pelters in Kashmir.

Pakistan’s PermanentRepresentative to the UNAmbassador Maleeha Lodhi speak-ing at a UN Security Council opendebate on Protection of Civilians inArmed Conflict here yesterday, saidcivilians, who should be the prima-ry subject of protection, have becomethe principal objects of attack.

She said the impact of armedconflicts on civilians is now nolonger limited to collateral damage.“Targeted attacks, sexual violence,forced conscription and indiscrimi-nate killings collectively paint anextremely bleak picture of the humancosts of modern day armed conflict,”she said.

Lodhi added that the GenevaConventions are violated, respectfor human life violated, and civiliansare used as human shields in occu-pied territories.

“Worse, perpetrators who com-mit such crimes are awarded honorsby their military commands,” shesaid, alleging that “these crimes”continue to be perpetrated inPalestine and Kashmir.

Lodhi’s remarks were an appar-ent reference to the April 2017 inci-dent in central Kashmir’s Budgamdistrict in which Farooq AhmedDar, an embroidery artisan, was tiedto a jeep by soldiers as a shield againststone pelters.

Shortly after the incident, asenior army officer was honouredwith a commendation card by theArmy chief for “his sustainedefforts in counter-insurgency oper-ations”.

AFP ■ MOSCOW

Senior Russian military officials todaycalled for the United Nations and

other international organisations to helprebuild Syrian territory recaptured bygovernment forces, in order to consoli-date the “successes” of the military cam-paign.

“To completely restore the areasthat were damaged by military actionagainst terrorist groups in Syria, and theeconomy of Syria as a whole, the help ofall the international community is need-ed,” senior military officer Sergei Rudskoisaid at a Moscow briefing.

“We call on the UN and other inter-national organisations to get involved inthis process,” Rudskoi said.

Russia in 2015 launched a militaryintervention in support of SyrianPresident Bashar al-Assad in the conflictthat has now lasted seven years and costover 350,000 lives.

Russian President Vladimir Putinwarned while meeting GermanChancellor Angela Merkel on Friday thatSyria needed aid to ensure that refugeesreturn home from Europe.

“We need to depoliticise the processof humanitarian aid and restoration of

the Syrian economy,” Putin said at a jointpress conference with Merkel.

“If Europeans want people to go backto their homes from Europe, they needto remove restrictions on help to Syriathat are incomprehensible to us, at leastin the territories under control of theSyrian government.”

Rudskoi today hailed the “significantsuccesses” of Syrian government troopswith the support of Russian forces in “lib-erating key areas of Syria from the rem-nants of terrorist groups”.

Currently “all the conditions havebeen created to restore Syria as a single,undivided state. But to achieve thisaim, not only Russia needs to makeefforts, but also the other members ofthe international community,” Rudskoisaid.

Some 6.1 million people are nowinternally displaced in Syria, more thanfive million have fled the country and 13million including six million children arein need of aid, according to the UN.

The UN says that USD 9 billion isneeded this year to help those in needinside Syria and living as refugees inneighbouring countries, but interna-tional donors in April pledged only USD4.4 billion at a conference in Brussels.

AFP ■ SEOUL

Former South Korean presi-dent Lee Myung-bak on

Wedenesdy defiantly describedthe corruption charges he facesas an “insult” at his first courtappearance since his arrest inMarch.

The 76-year-old formerCEO turned president — whoserved from 2008 to 2013 —faces multiple charges includ-ing bribery, abuse of power,embezzlement, and tax evasion.

The case against Lee meansall four former South Koreanpresidents who are still alivehave been charged or convict-ed for criminal offences.

TV footage showed Lee,wearing a dark blue suit with abadge with his inmate number“716” pinned to the lapel, beingled into a courtroom in Seoul.He was uncuffed due to hisadvanced age.

“I stand here broken-heart-ed,” Lee said in his opening

statement.He has been charged with

accepting a total of some 11 bil-lion won (USD 10.2 million) inbribes between late 2007 whenhe was elected president and2012, according to prosecutordocuments.

These allegations includeclaims that the Samsung Groupbought a presidential pardon in2009 for its chairman Lee Kun-hee, who had been convicted oftax evasion and given a sus-pended jail sentence.

“I was appalled by the alle-gations that I received bribesfrom Samsung in return for apresidential pardon,” Lee said.

“This is an insult to me,” headded.

He claimed he had giventhe Samsung chief, then amember of the InternationalOlympic Committee, a specialpardon so that he couldlead efforts to host the 2018Winter Olympics, which even-tually took place in

Pyeongchang.Samsung allegedly paid six

billion won (USD 5.6 million)in legal fees to a US law firm onLee’s behalf.

The firm was representingDAS, an auto parts companywhich prosecutors claim Leeowns in his relatives’ names,which was involved in a cost-ly court battle with a US busi-nessman at the time.

Both Samsung and Leehave denied the allegations,saying they are groundless.

The money that prosecu-tors claim Lee took includes 1.7billion won in secret fundssyphoned off from the coun-try’s spy agency and some 3.5billion won received in returnfor favours, from peopleincluding business figures, apolitician and a Buddhistmonk.

Separately, prosecutorsclaim Lee embezzled 35 billionwon from DAS over 12 yearsbetween 1994 and 2006.

AFP ■ ROME

Italy’s president onWednesday summoned

Giuseppe Conte as he pre-pared to announce whether hewill appoint the little-knownlawyer to lead a governmentformed by far-right and anti-establishment groups.

Italian media said claimsthat Conte had exaggeratedhis CV had delayed PresidentSergio Mattarella’s decision onwhether to approve him as pre-mier. Media also reported therewere worries over the choice ofan anti-euro economy ministerby the parties, whose combat-ive stance towards Brussels hascaused fears for Europeanfinancial stability.

But Mattarella’s office latersaid Conte was summoned tothe presidential palace at 1530GMT.

The anti-establishmentFive Star Movement (M5S)and the anti-immigrant Leaguenominated Conte, 54, for pre-mier on Monday. But scandalsoon struck over doubts about

his claims to have studied atcertain top world universities.

“Conte betrayed by hisCV,” ran a headline in left-lean-ing newspaper La Republicca.

“The CV affair is open,Conte is hanging in the bal-ance,” said Il Corriere dellaSera. The parties are seeking toform a coalition government ina bid to end two months ofpolitical deadlock followingMarch’s inconclusive generalelection.

Mattarella must agree tothe parties’ candidate and min-isterial team before they canseek approval for the new gov-ernment in parliament.

Conte’s official CV saysthat he “furthered his juridicalstudies” at Yale, New YorkUniversity (NYU), DuquesneUniversity in Pittsburgh, theSorbonne and Cambridge, butsome entries have been calledinto question.

NYU told AFP that theirrecords did not “reflectGiuseppe Conte having been atthe University as a student orhaving an appointment as a fac-

ulty member”. It said he wasgranted permission to con-duct research in the institution’slaw library between 2008 and2014.

Cambridge Universitydeclined to give details aboutConte.

Duquesne University toldAFP he attended as part of anaffiliation with Villa Nazareth,an exchange programme, anddid legal research but “was notenrolled as a student”.

Conte has yet to speak outpublicly about the affair.

Five Star has defend-

ed him as its choice to head acabinet in which M5S leaderLuigi Di Maio and Leaguechief Matteo Salvini are tippedto hold key posts.

“Conte is and absolutelyremains Five Star and theLeague’s prime ministerial can-didate,” state news agencyANSA quoted Di Maio as say-ing on Wednesday.

Salvini meanwhile defend-ed the coalition’s euroscepticcandidate for economy minis-ter, Paolo Savona.

Minister for industrybetween 1993-94, Savona wasstaunchly opposed to the sign-ing of the Maastricht Treatyand considers the euro a“German cage”.

“He is an expert with asolid background of studies butmade the mistake of daring tosay that the EU as it is isn’tworking,” Salvini said.

“Why do you even botherto let us vote if when the peo-ple ask for radical change youtell us to be careful?” Europeanofficials have expressed worrythat Italy could trigger a new

eurozone crisis by refusing tostick to public spending anddebt targets set by Brussels.

EU Economic AffairsCommissioner PierreMoscovici said today that Italymust deliver a “credible”response on how it will reducedebt. Italy has one of the euro-zone’s highest levels of govern-ment debt and lowest growthrates.

More than eight per cent ofits population lives in poverty,according to national statisticsagency Istat.

Di Maio and Salvini’s gov-ernment programme pledgestax cuts and increased welfarespending to boost growth. Italso plans to speed up expul-sions of illegal immigrants.

On Tuesday Salvini saidthere would have to be newelections if the coalition gov-ernment was not given the go-ahead by Mattarella.

“Either we start and webegin the change or we may aswell go back to the polls,” hesaid in a live video onFacebook.

PTI ■ LONDON

A45-year-old woman has been con-victed in a British court of taking her

teenage daughter to Pakistan and forc-ing her to marry a man 16 years hersenior, in the first successful prosecutionof its kind in the UK.

The woman, who is fromBirmingham but cannot be named forlegal reasons, was found guilty of onecount of forced marriage, one count ofpracticing deception with the intentionof causing another person to leave thecountry for the purpose of a forced mar-riage, and one count of perjury at a trialin Birmingham Crown Court yesterday.

“Forcing someone into marriageagainst their wishes is a criminal offence,and a breach of their human rights,” saidElaine Radway, District CrownProsecutor with the West MidlandsCrown Prosecution Service (CPS).

“As this prosecution demonstrates,the CPS will work with partner agenciesto identify and prosecute those whocoerce, control, dominate or exploit avictim to force them into marriage. It isthanks to the brave testimony of the vic-tim that this serious offending wasuncovered and that there was sufficientevidence to secure the conviction,” she

said. The woman took her 17-year-olddaughter to Pakistan in 2017 under theguise of a holiday. When they arrived,the victim was told that she was to bemarried to a 36-year-old man inSeptember, after she had turned 18.When her daughter protested the mar-riage, the mother burnt her passport andassaulted her.

In the days leading up to the wed-ding, the victim made contact with fam-ily in the UK for help but the ceremo-ny went ahead.

On the day of the wedding, the vic-tim was taken to a venue where a nikahwas performed, which did not requirethe groom to be present. After beingmade to sign a certificate proving themarriage had taken place, she was takento a wedding hall where she met her hus-band. The couple were then presentedto guests as man and wife, according tothe CPS.

The mother then returned to the UKwithout her daughter but was broughtbefore the Family Division of the HighCourt after the involvement of social ser-vices. She went on to lie to the court thatthe girl had not been married andwished to stay in Pakistan but the judgeordered her immediate return to the UK.

With the assistance of the UK Home

Office, the girl was brought back to theUK and told police and social workerswhat had happened, leading to hermother’s arrest in January last year.

The girl, who is now 19 anddescribed as vulnerable, had beenforcibly entered into a “marriage con-tract” years earlier with the same malerelative in Pakistan when she was just 13and had to undergo an abortion after hetook her virginity.

The girl “has been let down badly byher mother, whose love and attention shecraves,” Prosecutor Deborah Gould toldthe court.

The trial marks the first time aforced marriage case of this kind hasbeen successfully prosecuted in anEnglish court. Forced marriage wasmade an offence in the UK in 2014.

Jasvinder Sanghera, director ofKarma Nirvana – a charity that workswith victims of forced marriage, said shehoped the conviction would pave theway for future victims to have more con-fidence in the criminal justice system.

“Since 2014 we have not had onecriminal conviction where a victim hasstood up and spoken out so courageouslyabout her experiences against the per-son who has the most responsibility forher wellbeing – her mother,” she said.

‘US supports India’s emergence

as a leading global power’

“WE ARE ALSO FOCUSED ONSTRENGTHENING OUR ECONOMIC TIES,INCLUDING INCREASING TWO-WAYTRADE, WHICH HAS MORE THANDOUBLED OVER THE LAST DECADE TOROUGHLY USD 115 BILLION IN 2016”

Withdrawal of Iran, Hezbollah ‘not on agenda’

Russia calls for int’l aid to rebuild Syria

Former S Korean President Leeslams ‘insult’ corruption charges

Italy President summons PM candidate amid CV scandal

Mother convicted of tricking daughter into forced marriage

Chinese-Australian ‘linked to UN bribery scandal’ Giant of American

lit, Philip Roth,

passes away at 85

PTI n NEW YORK

Philip Roth, a giant of US liter-ature whose work explored

what it meant to be American,male and Jewish, was a toweringfigure among 20th century novel-ists whose five-decade career wonhim legions of awards around theworld. He died on Tuesday inManhattan of congestive heartfailure, the Wylie Agency told AFP,only six years after he announcedhis retirement. He was 85.

It marked the end of an extraordinary career for an authorwho found fame with the wildly graphic “Portnoy’s Complaint”in 1969 and won the Pulitzer Prize in 1998 for “AmericanPastoral,” whose “Plot against America” found renewed signif-icance under the Donald Trump presidency and published“Nemesis,” his final novel, in 2010.

Roth was widely considered the last living great, white, maleAmerican novelist, who along with Saul Bellow, Norman Mailerand John Updike helped define what it meant to be Americanin the latter half of the 20th century.

“The death of Philip Roth marks, in its way, the end of acultural era as definitively as the death of Pablo Picasso didin 1973,” wrote New York Times book critic Dwight Garnertoday.

His more than two dozen novels boldly explored male lustand sexual temptation, ageing and mortality, and while he wasnot religious he powerfully mined the Jewish-American expe-rience, drawing on his upbringing as the son of first-genera-tion middle-class Americans in New Jersey.

“You can’t invent out of nothing, or I can’t certainly,” hesaid in a 2011 documentary. “I need some reality, to rub twosticks of reality together to get a fire of reality.” Roth won twoNational Book Awards, two National Book Critics CircleAwards, three PEN/Faulkner awards and the Pulitzer — butthe Nobel prize evaded him.

He collected the Man Booker International Prize for life-time achievement in fiction in 2011, followed the next yearby Spain’s Prince of Asturias award for literature and in 2015,France presented Roth with the insignia of Commander of theLegion of Honor — a laurel the author called “a wonderfulsurprise.” - ‘American Pastoral’ .

Two years after he published “Nemesis,” about a 1944 polioepidemic, he stunned the literary world by announcing thathe would no longer write fiction. “Right now it is astonish-ing to find myself still here at the end of each day. Getting intobed at night I smile and think, ‘I lived another day’,” he toldThe New York Times in an interview earlier this year.

Misisng Indian-originschoolboy in UK found: Police

PTI n LONDON

A15-year-old Indian-originboy who disappeared from

his school after he was report-edly accused of cheating whenhe scored 100 per cent marksin an exam has been found safeand well, British police said.

Abhimanyu Chohan wentmissing from King Henry VIIIIndependent School inCoventry on Friday after hescored 100 per cent marks in amock test and was worriedabout getting into trouble.

West Midlands Police yes-terday tweeted that he hadbeen found “safe and well”, theBBC reported.

On the say he went miss-ing, Abhimanyu changed hisclothes and walked out ofschool — he was caught onCCTV on the highway in thecity. Abhimanyu’s fatherVarinder Chohan said his sonhad been worried about gettingin trouble at school after accu-sations he had cheated on anexam paper.

His family believe he mayhave left Coventry and couldhave travelled as far asOxfordshire - but he has nomoney, food or extra clothing.

“We just want him backsafe, this is so unlike him. He’sa bit of a high flyer, he’s a smartkid but he’s not street wise,”Varinder said. “We’re worriedhe may have though the was introuble because he got topmarks on a mock exam paper.”

“We think he might haveseen the paper beforehand butwe’re not sure exactly what hap-pened.”

“He was allowed to sit acompletely new paper, so Idon’t think there was even amajor problem with the school.He is due to sit his GeneralCertificate of SecondaryEducation’s next year and is oncourse to do well.

LUCKNOW | THURSDAY | MAY 24, 2018usp 13

ALIMCO SIGNS MOU WITHMINISTRY OF SOCIAL JUSTICEAND EMPOWERMENT

Artificial Limbs ManufacturingCorporation of India (ALIMCO) signs MoUwith DEPwD, Divyangjan ShashaktikaranVibhag, Ministry of Social Justice andEmpowerment for the FY 2018-19 on May22. It covers major developments to beachieved in this year for the empowerment ofDivyangjan of the country. The MoU wassigned by Shakuntala D Gamlin, secretaryDEPwD and DR Sarin, CMD, ALIMCO.

ALIMCO has been manufacturingvarious types of aids and appliances on massscale to meet the requirements of thePersons with Disabilities (PwDs), across thecountry.

NTPC'S CSR INITIATIVENTPC's CSR has taken a great initiative for all-rounddevelopment of girl child.The Girl Child EmpowermentMission (GEM) programme was inauguratedsimultaneously at Singrauli, Vindhyachal and Rihandby Saptarshi Roy, director (HR), NTPC. This CSRinitiative by NTPC will support 392 girl children in theage group of 10-12 years who have passed class V inthe last academic session from Vindhyachal, Singrauliand Rihand region. They are participating in this fourweek residential workshop.This will not only empowerthem to face the realities of life but also make themfuture-ready. A well thought and interesting curriculamhave been designed for overall development of thegirls.

UNION HOME MINISTER RAJNATH SINGH DECORATED THEGALLANT OFFICERS AND MEN OF BSF ON 16TH BSFINVESTITURE CEREMONYIn a befitting ceremony at Vigyan Bhawan, BSF braveheart's have been awardedwith medals and honoured by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh. Total 46members of the force were decorated with medals in which 14 members withpolice medals for gallantry (including 4 posthumously) and 32 Officers and men(including 7 retired members) have been awarded with police medals formeritorious service.

Retired DsG/IsG of BSF, serving DsG of CAPF, officers from differentministries of Govt of India and members from print and electronic media were inaudience with BSF fraternity on May 22.

PRAVIN L AGRAWAL APPOINTED ASBHEL’S DIRECTORPravin L Agrawal, 49 years, has beenappointed as part-time official director onthe Board of Bharat Heavy ElectricalsLimited (BHEL). An Indian Forest ServiceOfficer, Agrawal is presently joint secretaryin the Department of Heavy Industry (DHI), Ministry ofHeavy Industries and Public Enterprises.

LIFE TIME ACHIEVEMENTAWARD TO CRPF DOCTORDr Achhal Kumar Chibber hasbeen conferred the Life TimeAchievement Award-2018 by theDelhi Homoeopathic Federation incollaboration with Board ofHomoeopathic System ofMedicine Delhi in recognition ofmeritorious services rendered forthe cause of homoeopathy. Dr Chibber, currently serving in

CRPF, wasgiven thishonour inrecognition ofhis service inthe field ofHomoeopathicsystem ofmedicine. Hereceived the

award from the Health Minister,Govt of Delhi.

NALCO CMD LAUDS SUNITA LAKRA FORLEADING INDIAN WOMEN'S HOCKEY TEAM On her return from fifth Asian Champions Trophy, Sunita Lakra,the Captain of Indian Women's hockeyTeam, along with her team-mate DeepGrace Ekka, met NALCO CMD Dr TapanKumar Chand. Dr Chand appreciatedSunita Lakra for leading the team toachieve the runners up title in thetournament. The team, led by defender Sunita Lakra performedwell in the tournament, beating Japan (4-1), China (3-1) andMalaysia (3-2). In the finals, they lost the match to Korea (0-1).

NLCIL CELEBRATES THE 62ND RAISING DAYNLC India Ltd celebrated its 62nd Raising Day asGratitude Day on May 22 amidst the usual pomp andglare with festivity and enthusiasm by recallinghistorical occasion, May 20, 1957, the day NLC'smining operations were commenced by the thenPrime Minister of India, Pt Jawaharlal Nehru. Dr SaratKumar Acharya, CMD, NLCIL, the President of thefunction commenced the celebration by hoisting theNLCIL flag in the presence of AR Ansari, the formerCMD of NLC, and former functional directors andpresent functional directors.

C O R P O R A T E B R I E F S

ARUNACHALAM NALINI WINS GOLDMEDALS AT INTERNATIONAL PARAATHLETIC CHAMPIONSHIP 2018Arunachalam Nalini, deputy manager (finance), NHPCLtd won goldmedals in shotput and discusthrow at theInternational ParaAthleticChampionship2018 organisedby Asian Trackand TurfFederation atBangkok, Thailandfrom May 15 to18. Balraj Joshi,CMD, NHPC;Ratish Kumar,director (projects); NK Jain, director (personnel) andMK Mittal, director (finance) congratulated her for theexcellent performance.

All human beings are born free andequal in dignity and rights.

Seventy years ago, the UniversalDeclaration of Human Rights(UDHR) was adopted embodyingthis spirit.

Protecting the rights of olderpeople is one of the urgent challengesfacing the world today, along withthose of refugees and migrants.

According to the UN, there aremore than 900 million people agedsixty and over in the world today andthis number is expected to reach 1.4billion by 2030. Many governmentsare struggling to respond to the sud-den changes in social structurebrought about by rapidly decliningbirth rates and ageing demographics.

This was one of the issues dis-cussed at the eighth session of theopen-ended Working Group onAgeing held at the UN in July 2017.It was pointed out that the enjoymentof all human rights diminishes withage, in spite of the declaration of allpeople’s equal dignity and rights in theUDHR, due to negative images of theelderly as less productive, less valuableto society, a burden to the economyand to younger generations.Participants agreed that such structur-al discrimination and prejudice canlead to the social exclusion of olderpeople and must be combated.

International discourse on thisimportant subject only began todevelop in earnest with the ViennaWorld Assembly on Ageing, held in1982.

The Assembly resulted in theadoption of five UN Principles forolder persons in 1991, comprisingindependence, participation, care,self-fulfillment and dignity. Whileindependence (respecting the will ofthe individual), care (safeguardinghealth and daily living) and dignity(ensuring protection from discrimi-nation and abuse) are of course core

rights of older people, it is crucial toremember that on their own they areonly a starting point.

I am reminded here of the dia-logue I conducted with Dr. ErnstUlrich von Weizsacker, Co-Presidentof the Club of Rome. One of the top-ics we discussed was how to bring asense of purpose and fulfillment to thelives of older people. Dr. Weizsackerstressed that it would benefit societyas a whole to create the conditions bywhich they could continue working ifthey so desired.

I fully agree; it is my firm beliefthat being able to contribute in someway to the happiness of others and theworld, be it through work or in someother capacity, brings one joy and ful-fillment in life. In that sense, the othertwo UN Principles participation and

self-fulfillment-are indispensable inenabling older people to experiencemeaning and satisfaction in theirlives.

To be treated well is, of course,essential to a person’s experience ofdignity. But even more important isbeing looked to by others as an irre-placeable source of spiritual support.It is this that brings our dignity to aneven brighter luster. The significanceof such bonds remains unchangedeven by grave illness or dependenceon others for nursing care. Being sur-rounded by people who derive joy andhappiness from your presence is itselfa source of dignity.

The need for an international legalinstrument for the protection of therights of older people was discussedat the Open-ended Working Group ofAgeing. In this regard, I strongly hopethere will be an early start to negoti-ations on a convention on the rightsof older persons.

This should be based on the UNPrinciples referenced above. Further,it should include provisions for whatis known as “ageing in place,” where-by people are enabled to continue liv-ing with dignity and a sense of pur-pose in their long-accustomed com-munities. Protecting the humanrights of older people is integral to thecreation of a culture of human rightsthat will not brook any form of dis-crimination.

The seventieth anniversary ofthe adoption of the UDHR providesan important opportunity for govern-ments to intensify efforts to protectthe rights of older persons, towardsocieties where the dignity of allpeople radiates it full potential.

(Daisaku Ikeda is founder ofSoka University and the Toda PeaceInstitute. This article draws on themesfrom his 2018 peace proposal: Towardan Era of Human Rights: Building aPeople’s Movement.)

Balraj Joshi, CMD, NHPC; RatishKumar, director (projects); NK Jain,director (personnel) and MK Mittal,director (finance) congratulatingArunachalam Nalini.

Cordlife and Delhi Gynecologists Forum (DGF) organised a fashion showdedicated to Pregnant Ladies: Saheli-DGF Gorgeous Moms 2018.To celebrate the spirit of International Mother's Day Cordlife in collabo-

ration with Delhi Gynecologists Forum (DGF) organised a unique fashion showSaheli-DGF Gorgeous Moms 2018 fashion show. In the first round of the showabout 150 pregnant ladies walked on the ramp, led by their 60 odd gynecolo-gists, in the presence of a selectgathering of 500 audiences fromwhich jury member selected thefinalists. At the fashion showsinger Shibani Kahsyap alsoenthralled the audience by hersweet voice in the musical evening.The finalists were gynecologistsPooja Jian, Nimmi Rastogi, IlaGupta and their pregnant patientNidhika Khatri, Daisy, MehzabeenHussain, Jasmeet Kaur, KhushbuSethi and Bhawna Dua were selet-ed as the finalists by the jury members and they came on the ramp at the endof the show.

Towards this, Barun Das, CEO of Mydia100, said, “Delhi gynaecologistForum and Saheli have come together to celebrate International Mother’s dayin a most unique way. Pregnancy is a beautiful experience for all mothers, andthis event is an effort from our side to help these moms-to-be to make this timeeven more delightful and memorable.’’

Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid thefoundation of 1000 MW Pakal Dul.

The Project being implemented by ChenabValley Power Projects Ltd, a joint ventureof NHPC Ltd (49 percent), JKSPDC Ltd(49 percent) and PTC Ltd (2 percent) onMay 19 at Zorawar Singh Auditorium,University of Jammu

.During the address the PrimeMinister appreciated the initiative takenby Govt of J&K and NHPC to form a jointventure company to harness the untappedhydro-potential of the State.

Pakal Dul Project is of strategicimportance to India as well as J&K as thisis the first project that shall utilise the per-missible storage under Indus Water Treaty.The precious water of our rivers whichwere earlier going unutilised to Pakistancan now be utilised for water supply andirrigation purposes in the region. This willimmensely benefit the local population.

Pakal Dulis on River Marusudar, atributary of River Chenab at districtKishtwar J&K and it will be the biggestHydroelectric Project in J&K. The projectshall be completed in 66 months at an esti-mated cost of `8112 crore and generate3330 MU of electricity annually. The pro-ject envisages construction of 167 m highconcrete faced rock-fill dam, the highestdam of its kind in India besides two HeadRace Tunnels of 9.6 km each, four TailRace tunnels of 125m each and a under-

ground power house of four units of 250MW each (1000 MW).

The project is included in PrimeMinister’s Development Package (PMDP)and Govt. of India has sanctioned a grantof `1192 crore to meet the equity contri-bution requirement of JKSPDC, one of thepromoters and a sub-ordinate loan of`2500 crore. Carrying interest rate of oneper cent.

Interests of the project affected peo-ple shall be taken care through proper

implementation of comprehensive rehabil-itation and resettlement plan approved byGoJK. The cost of land for house andhouse construction assistance, scholarshipto children of project affected families,training program for skill development etc.has been included in the plan. Also, a pro-vision of `40 crore has been kept in theplan for infrastructural development in theaffected areas to improve the socio eco-nomic condition of the people.

Local Area Development Fund(LADF) shall be established after commis-sioning of the project as per the Hydro pol-icy of the Govt. of India and an amountof `28 crore per year shall be available forimplementing welfare schemes for theProject affected people on a continuousbasis over the life of the project. ExtensiveCSR activities has also been taken up inthe region for the development of local area.

MORE POWER TO WOMENENTREPRENEURSThe Women’s Power Meet 2018launched its first chapter in thenational Capital recently with theidea of creating an empoweredecosystem for women entrepreneurs.Present on the occasion of launch atIndia Habitat Centre were NDMC

Secretary RashmiSingh who sharedan insight into thegovernment’ssupport for womenenterpreneurship

and the organiser of the event AmbikaGoel of an enterprise Hydra andseveral other partners.

The concept of ContractFarming (CF) refers to asystem of farming in

which bulk purchasers includingagro-processing/exporting ortrading units enter into a con-tract with farmer(s) to purchasea specified quantity of any agri-cultural commodity at a pre-agreed price. Although variedforms of contract farming exist-ed in pockets in the country, theformal contract farming is not,however, widespread in India.By and large, cultivation of com-mercial crops like cotton, sugar-cane, tobacco, tea, coffee, rubberand dairy have had some ele-ments of informal contract farm-ing for a long time.

In order to protect the inter-ests of producers and sponsorsof Contract Farming, theMinistry of Agriculture FWdrafted Model APMC Act, 2003,which provided provisions forregistration of sponsors, record-ing of agreement and dispute set-tlement mechanism.

Due to conflict of interest ofcontract farming sponsors withthe APMCs, which were the des-ignated registering, agreementrecording and dispute settle-ment authority the atmospherewas not facilitative. It did notprovide adequate confidence tothe farmers and incentive to thesponsors to enter into a contract.Thus, the formal contract offarming could not pick up at theground level as expected. In

some states like Maharashtra,Haryana, Karnataka, MadhyaPradesh, limited formal contractfarming has been in practice.This warranted for develop-mental, holistic and progressivelaw on contract farming. Further,though there exists IndianContract Act, 1872, it is felt notvery conducive for agriculture. Itconsiders the two parties to theagreement as equals, while farm-ers are weaker vis-à-vis thesponsor-company.

In the above context andwith a view to integrate farmerswith bulk purchasers includingexporters, agro- industries et alfor better price realisationthrough mitigation of marketand price risks to the farmersand ensuring smooth agro rawmaterial supply to the agroindustries, Union Finance

Minister in the budget for 2017-18 announced to prepare aModel Contract Farming Actand circulate the same to theStates for its adoption. In pur-suance, the Union AgriculturalMinister constituted aCommittee under theChairmanship of Dr AshokDalwai, CEO, NRAA inFebruary, 2017 to draft a holis-tic, facilitative and promotionalModel Contract Farming Act. Jtsecretary (marketing), advisor,NITI Aayog, and principal sec-retaries, in-charge of agricultur-al marketing of Maharashtra,Karnataka, Odisha, Punjab andMadhya Pradesh are amongstthe members.

The committee held fivemeetings; and held wider consul-tations with experts, academics,professionals, contract farming

companies/firms, trade associa-tions and food value chain oper-ators apart from undertakingfield visits.

The final Model Act TheState/UT Agricultural Produceand Livestock Contract Farmingand Services (Promotion andFacilitation) Act, 2018 has beenapproved by the CompetentAuthority and was released onMay 22 at Vigyan Bhawan byRadha Mohan Singh, UnionAgriculture Minister.

The details of the act werepresented by Dr Ashok Dalwai,CEO, National Rainfed AreaAuthority. This was followed byopen house discussion. Therewas unanimity among the Statesto adopt the Model ContractFarming and Services Act so asto ensure assured market at pre-agreed prices.

YOGA TO THE TUNES OF DHRUPADIndira Gandhi National Centre for theArts, on the occasion of theforthcoming International Yoga Day,June 21 is organising uniqueprogrammes. The Centrecommemorated the beginning of theevents for the International Yoga Dayby organisingthe Nada YogaProgramme, bythe famousDhrupad singerPallab Das,who, gave apresentation on yoga to the tunes ofDhrupad. Pallab Das expressed thatIndian music is not just for enjoymentbut it is a responsibility which iscoupled with sweetness andgentleness. Indian music shares a

PUBLIC HEARING ON ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUESThe proposed Asbestos Based Brake LiningManufacturing Plant by AA Friction MaterialsPrivate Ltd, to be engaged in brake lining for twowheelers and commercial vehicles at Plot no 5,Sector -7, IMT Manesar, Gurugram, Haryana, wasdeliberated for environmental clearance after apublic hearing on May 22.The public hearing was attended by more than 150people where questions raised by them on differentenvironmental issues related to the project wereanswered. The public hearing was conducted under

the chairmanship of RK Singh, additional DC andShakti Singh, RO, Gurugram South.

QUALITY EDUCATIONJAYPEE University of Information Technology, Waknaghat,Solan, HP has bagged the award of Best Private Universityof Himachal Pradesh in recognition of its efforts towardsimparting quality higher technical education. The specialmoment came Jaypee University’s way during the fourthAcademic Conclave of Dialogue, India, which wasconducted by it. The head of Civil Engineering Departmentof the university, Prof Ashok Kumar Gupta on behalf of VCreceived the award from Union Minister of State forAgriculture and Farmers Welfare, Krishna Raj and RtdMajor General GD Bakshi.

The law will provide adequate confidence to farmers and incentives to the sponsorsto enter into a contract, says Union Agriculture Minister RADHA MOHAN SINGH

Centre unveils modelact on contract farming

L I F E L E S S O N S

Treasuring the dignity of older people

Protecting the rights of olderpeople is one of the urgentchallenges facing the worldtoday, along with those ofrefugees and migrants, saysSGI President DAISAKU IKEDA

NEW HYDRO POWER PROJECT Prime Minister NARENDRA MODI laid the foundation stone for Pakal Dul Power Project

GIFT FOR MOMS

LUCKNOW | THURSDAY | MAY 24, 2018vivacity 14

Celeb life is noteasy: RanveerBollywood heartthrobRANVEER SINGH lovesall the attention. Headmits being in spot-light is like livinghis dream. Theactor, who is fond-ly called the Hindifilm industry'slivewire, thanks tohis infectiousenergy and smile,says being acelebrity comeswith some respon-sibilities — whichhe is happy toembrace — butdoesn't let any ofit take away hisfocus from hisfirst love, acting.“Celebrity life isnot easy. Thereis a lot ofscrutiny.This iscompounded with the coming ofmobile phones and smart phoneswhich have a camera. There isconstant attention, sometimes toomuch of it.”

Bollywood superstar AAMIR

KHAN says he was offered therole of late SunilDutt in RajkumarHirani's Sanju buthe refused it as hewanted to essaythe title role. Askedif he was offered toplay the role ofSunil Dutt, he said:“Hirani approached me with thescript and I loved it. He wantedme to play Dutt saab's role. ButSanju's role is unbelievable.”

‘My actingjourney hasbeen quiteinteresting.My learninghasprogressedwith every

new director I’veworked with and thedifferent languagesI’ve had to learn forthem. Whatever I amtoday and theknowledge I haveabout my craft arethrough theexperiences I havehad in front of thecamera’— SONU SOOD

Hollywood star RYAN REYNOLDS

will be seen in Michael Bay'supcoming film Six Undergroundfor Netflix. Netflix will co-financeand distribute Bay's film.This will be the firsttime the director andactor will be workingwith the streamingservice. Bay'shome studio,Paramount, wasconsidered at onepoint, given theirlong-standingrelationship.Netflix won outafter itcommitted toBay's budget ofaround $125million, making itthe studio's biggestproduction to date,passing TheIrishman, whichsources say had abudget ofaround $106million.The deal is another milestone forNetflix and film chief ScottStuber as the studio continues todraw major talent.

Ryan, Bay teamfor Netflix project

It was a fusion like no other. Notof the nuclear variety though. A

huge crowd gathered in the heart ofDelhi, Connaught Place, to catch aglimpse of their favourite stars,John Abraham and Diana Pentywho arrived in an open, black jeepon a hot summer evening whentemperatures were soaring up to 44degree Celsius. But they showed nosigns of discomfort as they wavedand smiled and also posed for self-ies with their fans while happilygoing around the inner circle of CPin a bid to promote Parmanu: TheStory of Pokhran among the masses.

What was called the ParmanuPride Parade — a clever promo-tional strategy by the makers inorder to attract eyeballs as well asconnect with the masses — wasaimed at saluting the contributionsand the joint efforts made by theIndian army, scientists, intelligenceagencies and bureaucrats, whocame together to make India anuclear superpower in 1998.According to a source, “As opposedto the notion of people taking tothe streets only for protests orappeals, for once, John and hisfilm’s team wanted India to walkthe streets for the simple reason ofbeing proud of our nation. Johnappealed to everyone, especially theyouth of the country, to be a part ofthis parade through his socialmedia handles.”

The actor himself revealed thatthe motive behind this parade wasto instill a sense of self-pride, some-thing which is considered not wor-

thy of talking about. “I am glad tosee people carrying banners whichinculcate the feeling of nationalism.We have reached a point where wecan be a superpower in the world.It feels great to be among peoplewhere so many of them are stu-dents and the national flag behindme adds up to it. It’s a proudmoment for me.” Said Diana, “Thenuclear test which India conductedin 1998 is a matter of pride for meand the country. We are happy tocelebrate it with all these peoplearound us. A huge crowd hasshown up, supporting us in thisendeavour and our fans whorespect us have made sure to be apart of this parade.”

The stars were followed by anarray of bikers with the majority ofthem carrying banners and placardswhich had messages including JaiJawaan Jai Vigyan, Parmanu-TheBattle Without Bloodshed, A MissionThat Made India Proud and manymore. Even though the Delhi Policehad closed a section of the innercircle for the parade, fan frenzy wasseen when several pedestrians start-ed running and walking alongsidethe star’s jeep to capture them withtheir smartphones.

It is of course another story thatthe said fans had to be controlledby the bouncers when they got tooclose to the vehicle of John andDiana in order to ensure the safety.Owing to an unmanageable crowd,the parade took a round of theinner circle before heading back tothe hotel on Ashoka Road.

Actress Kareena KapoorKhan, who will soon be

seen in Veere Di Wedding, saysshe is not a feminist andbelieves in equality. Kareena,along with co-actors SonamKapoor, Swara Bhasker andShikha Talsania, directorShashanka Ghosh and pro-ducers Rhea Kapoor and EktaKapoor, were at the Veere DiWedding music launch.

Asked about the idea offeminism, Kareena said: “Ibelieve in equality. I wouldn’tsay I am a feminist, I would sayI am a woman and above all, Iam a human being. I am also asproud to be known as Saif AliKhan’s wife, as I am to beKareena Kapoor. So that is justthe way I am.” Veere DiWedding is a female buddyfilm about four girls living in anurban setting and their strug-gles in life.

Kareena has always beenvocal about her personal life,but in this film, she playing acharacter which is commit-ment phobic. Asked about herrole selection criteria, she said,“I think what made me take upthis part is that for me, as acommercial mainstream actorwho is always used to workingwith mainstream actors, be itShah Rukh Khan or SalmanKhan... For me, it was very dif-ferent to be part of a film withfour girls.”

“I think the story is some-thing I got completely obsessedwith and I thought it was real-ly cool. And I think who bet-ter than this entire team to putthis film together. I think thiswas the reason I wanted to doVeere Di Wedding. As far as mycharacter Kalindi is concerned,I think she is really cool andthere is a reason why she iscommitment phobic, whichwill be revealed in the film.”

Kareena is known forworking with A-list actors inBollywood, but this time she ispaired with Sumeet Vyas. Onthis, she quipped: “I think Ihave chosen A-Lister heroinesthis time.”

Sharing her funniest mem-ories from the film’s set, theactress said: “I think it wouldbe throwing Sumeet Vyas offthe moon in the film. That was

quite funny because I havenever done that in my career.I never had the opportunity tothrow a hero off from a moon.So thank you everyone, for giv-ing me this chance, I am sureit will go down in history.”

Meanwhile producer RheaKapoor has denied any troubleso far with the Censor Boardalthough the film was yet toreceive any certificate ahead ofits June 1 release. Dismissingreports making rounds thatbecause of cuss words andlanguage used in the film,Veere Di... has received an Acertificate, Kapoor, who was atthe music launch along withthe entire cast and crew, rub-bished all the rumours. “So farwe have had no problem withthe Censor Board. I don’t wantto talk more about it becausewe still have not gotten theCensor (certificate) in ourhands. Once we get it, we willissue a proper press release,”she said. Kapoor said that vet-eran actor Anil Kapoor, herfather, had accompanied her topresent the film to the CensorBoard. “And let me tell you,...One can be certain that if wecan make a film for which myfather can come along, thenclearly, as women none of usshould be ashamed of thefilm.”

Ekta Kapoor, who is alsothe co-producer of the film,added that the film hadalready covered its cost andthey are looking at a clean run.“Actually, I love this film. I

trust the producer and I havefour stellar leading women inthe film. I have always pickeda script which was not a hit onpaper but on release becamesuper successful,” said Ekta.

To prove her point shementioned her controversial,yet hit film, Dirty Picture. “I wastold this film is a flop. How canyou make a film with VidyaBalan playing a heroine thattoo, as an item number girl?When the film released mymom hugged me and told methis is an outstanding film.Even this movie has clearedmost of its cost and we’re look-ing at a great clean run. I thinkI am one happy producer,”Ekta said.

Actress Swara Bhaskar said:“It has been 105 years since ourfilm industry came into exis-tence, and this is the first timewe are making a film in main-

stream cinema about fourfriends — it is their life storyand none is falling in love withthe same guy. So this is mostspecial and unique.”

Ekta has made anotherexception for Veere Di Wedding,which she feels will be remem-bered for being a film that tellsthe audience to “just be.” As shetweeted, “For the first time ineight years keeping a personalscreening of my film! I neverdo! The last time I kept ascreening was for The DirtyPicture. Sometimes the journey,intent, joy (and) attempt haveto take over. Even thoughfinancially the film has a morethan safe pre-sale thanks to oursuper partners ZEE, the out-come cannot always define theexperience. I am super proudof Veere Di Wedding. Yearslater... a generation will remem-ber a film came that told uswith absolute irreverence thatit’s ok to be! Be divorced,unmarried, overweight, under-sexed (and) oversexed! JustBe.” Power producers EktaKapoor and Rhea Kapoor andNikhil Dwivedi joined the castin celebrating the music of thefilm , an eccentric mix of uptempo, bhangra and soulfulmusic with something foreveryone. A film for girls andtheir boys too, Veere DiWedding highlights the bondsof friendship, love and the tri-als and complications thatcome along with this thingcalled life!

—IANS

Around 400 years after it was constructed,the Taj Mahal continues to grab eyeballsof global visitors and never ceases to amaze

them, becoming the sixth of the top ten internati-nal bucket list compiled by a travel site.Meanwhile, Angkor Wat in Cambodia continuedto top the favourite list. Five Indian landmarkseven made it to the Asia list — Taj Mahal (#2),Amber Fort (#9), Harmandir Sahib (#10),Swaminarayan Akshardham (#13) andGurudwara Bangla Sahib (#14).

The award winners were determined usingan algorithm that took into account the quanti-ty and quality of reviews and ratings for land-marks worldwide, gathered over a 12-month peri-od. This year’s Tripadvisor awards recognised 759landmarks across 68 countries and eight regionsacross the globe. On the domestic India list, theTaj was followed by Amber Fort, steadfast at num-ber 2, a position it has held since 2015. HarmandirSahib makes its way to number 3 from seventhposition last year. There were representatives frommore recent construc-tions as well.S w a m i n a r a y a nAkshardham in Delhistood at number 4

while Delhi’sGu r u d w ar a

Bangla Sahib stood at number 5. Another con-struction by Emperor Shahjahan made it to thecountry list with Agra Fort in Agra coming upsixth. Mehrangarh Fort in Jodhpur, QutubMinar and Humayun’s Tomb in Delhi and theBandra Worli Sea Link in Mumbai were the oth-ers that made it to the top 10 in India.

The Taj came in at number 6 in the world listof landmarks. It was preceeded by Angkor Watat Siem Reap, Cambodia; Plaza de Espana inSeville, Spain; Sheikh Zayed Grand MosqueCenter in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates; StPeter’s Basilica in Vatican City, Italy and MezquitaCathedral de Cordoba in Cordoba, Spain. In theAsia list, it stood at number 2 where the top spotwas occupied by the world leader, Angkor Wat.The other monuments that featured in top fiveincluded the Temple of the Reclining Buddha

(Wat Pho) in Bangkok, Thailand;Mutianyu Great Wall, Beijing,

China and Fushimi Inari-taishaShrine in Kyoto,

Japan.

Despitegrowingconcerns overthe monumentlosing itssheen, a surveyshows itcontinues to bea favouriteamong tourists

TAJ SIXTH ON GLOBAL LIST

Top five locations in IndianThere is certainly a reason whythe top five made it to the list foreach holds out a distinct attraction.n Taj Mahal is undisputedly themost beautiful example of Mughalarchitecture, makes it to the listevery year and sees an increase invisitor arrivals from all over theworld.n Amber Fort is one of the mostwell-known and most-visited fortsin India, Amber Fort is the finestexample of Indo-Islamicarchitecture. Set amidst the hills,the fort boasts of many awe-inspiring buildings within thecomplex such as Diwan-e-Aam,SukhNiwaas, Kesar Kyaari and ofcourse the stunningSheesh-Mahal. n Harmandir Sahib(Golden Temple) isthe holiest shrine inSikhism whichflourisheswith

religious fervor and sacredness.With great historical andarchitectural interest, thousands ofpeople across the world visitGolden Temple to seek spiritualsolace and religious serenity. nSwaminarayan Akshardham isspread across 100 acres in Delhiand this magnificent culturalcomplex beautifully captures the10,000-year-old culture andheritage of India. Built on the banksof River Yamuna, the templeperfectly blends technicalmodernity with traditionalarchitectural styles. nGurudwara Bangla Sahib islocated in Connaught Place, theheart of the city, Bangla SahibGurudwara has become a center ofpilgrimage for thousands of peopleevery day. Known for its history,spirituality and architecture, thisiconic landmark attracts devoteesfrom various religious backgroundsto spend time in peace.

JOHN ABRAHAM and DIANA PENTY took to thestreets of Delhi for the one of its kind Parmanumarch which celebrated a proud historic momentthat put India on the global map. By TEAM VIVA

A pride parade

Producers RHEA and EKTA KAPOOR celebrate the spirit of ‘justbeing’ at music launch of Veere Di Wedding

I’m not a feminist, I am

a human: Kareena

LUCKNOW | THURSDAY | MAY 24 , 2018 sport 15

PTI n PRETORIA

One of contemporary cricket'sgreatest batsmen, AB deVilliers, on Wednesday called

time on his illustrious internationalcareer, claiming to be "out of gas" after14 years in the top league.

The 34-year-old former SouthAfrican skipper said his jadedbody was no longer in a position totake the rigours of internationalcricket after a staggering 420 match-es across three formats with over20,000 runs and 47 hundreds. Heaveraged over 50 in both the Tests andODIs.

"I have decided to retire from allinternational cricket with immediateeffect. After 114 Test matches, 228ODI's and 78 T20 Internationals, it istime for others to take over. I have hadmy turn, and to be honest, I am tired,"De Villiers announced through avideo message on social networkingsite Twitter.

"This is a tough decision, I havethought long and hard about it andI'd like to retire while still playingdecent cricket.

After the fantastic series winsagainst India and Australia, nowfeels like the right time to step aside,"De Villiers' decision epitomised theage-old truth of sport — quit whenpeople ask "why" rather than "whynot".

While he remains a sought afterplayer in leagues across the world andcould have played the shorter formats,the affable Proteas dasher didn'twant to pick and choose.

"It would not be right for me topick and choose where, when and inwhat format I play for the Proteas. Forme, in the green and gold, it must beeverything or nothing.

"I will always be grateful to thecoaches and staff of Cricket SouthAfrica (CSA) for their supportthrough all these years. The mostimportant thank you goes out to allof my teammates throughout mycareer, I wouldn't be half the playerthat I am without the supportthroughout the years," said De Villiers.

"It's not about earning moresomewhere else, it's about runningout of gas and feeling that it is the righttime to move on. Everything comesto an end. To the cricket fans aroundSouth Africa and the world, thankyou for your kindness and generos-ity, and today, for your understand-ing."

In fact, de Villiers said that he did-n't plan to play overseas, whichmeans that he will not be seen in RCBcolours in the IPL next season.

"I have no plans to play overseas.In fact, I hope I can continue to beavailable for the Titans in domesticcricket. I will continue to be thebiggest supporter of Faf du Plessis and

the Proteas."De Villiers holds the records for

the fastest 50 (16 balls), 100 (31 balls)and 150 (64 balls) of all time in OneDay Internationals. The swahbucklingbatsman is a three-time ICC ODIplayer of the year, clinching the tro-phy in 2010, 2014 and 2015.

De Villiers succeeded Graeme

Smith as ODI captain after the 2011World Cup.

He later took over the Test cap-taincy from Hashim Amla. However,he stepped down from leader of thefive-day format in 2016 due to anelbow injury.

Cricket South Africa president,Chris Nenzani, paid tribute to the

AFP n LONDON

Pakistan coach Mickey Arthurbelieves his "fearless" side have

everything to gain when they facean "under the pump" England in thefirst Test at Lord's on Thursday.

England will be looking forsome much-needed home comfortafter recent winless Test tours ofAustralia and New Zealand extend-ed their poor away record in crick-et's longest format to 13 matcheswithout a victory.

Pakistan, by contrast, enter thistwo-match campaign on the back ofa morale-boosting five-wicket winover Test debutants Ireland atMalahide last week.

"We haven't come here not towin," Arthur told reporters at Lord'son Tuesday.

"It's a changing room full ofvery, very skilled cricketers, veryyoung cricketers, fearless cricketers.If we get the breaks and things goour way, they will certainly putEngland under pressure."

England, in their first Test sinceEd Smith became their new headselector, continue to have doubtsover a batting order where captainJoe Root has been promoted tonumber three, wicket-keeper JonnyBairstow to five and Jos Buttlerrecalled at seven.

And with Jack Leach injured,England could give a Test debut tohis fellow Somerset spinnerDominic Bess.

"In their home conditions,England are a different team toEngland abroad," said Arthur. "We've had a look obviously atButtler, he adds an attacking side toEngland."

Two years ago, England wereheld to a 2-2 home draw by Pakistanin a four-Test series.

Since then veteran batsmenMisbah-ul-Haq and Younis Khanhave both retired, with Pakistan

hoping the likes of Azhar Ali andAsad Shafiq can fill the void.

But it is Imam-ul-Haq, thenephew of Pakistan selection chiefand former Test batsman Inzamam-ul-Haq, who has made three fiftiesfrom as many games this tour —including a match-clinching inningsagainst Ireland.

"He's a totally different charac-ter to Inzi," said Arthur of Imam, a22-year-old left-handed opener,who is somewhat quicker betweenthe wickets than his celebrateduncle.

"He played beautifully for us,under pressure, against Ireland in hisTest debut."

‘CHANGE WITH THE TIMES'Arthur believes Pakistan are

fitter now than when he took overtwo years ago and moreaggressive with it.

"We are an incredibly fit unit.The guys have trained unbelievablyhard, not that we weren't coming in2016 but that was the start ofalmost the fitness regime," he said.

"The brand of cricket we areplaying is certainly more attacking.

We felt we needed to change withthe times and get another bowler in,"the former South Africa andAustralia coach explained of a sidecaptained by wicket-keeper SarfrazAhmed.

Much could depend on Pakistanleft-arm quick Mohammad Amir,who has enjoyed Test success and aChampions Trophy triumph inEngland, as well as a 2017 CountyChampionship title with Essex, sincehis career was almost ended by hisinvolvement in a spot-fixing scandalat Lord's during the 2010 tour.

If the 20-year-old Bess playshe won't be the youngest slowbowler in the match, with 19-year-old Pakistan leg-spinner ShadabKhan replacing the injured YasirShah.

England appear set to decidebetween seam-bowling all-rounderChris Woakes and injury-prone fastbowler Mark Wood for the last placein their XI, with one of pacemenRahat Ali or Hasan Ali droppedfrom Pakistan's 12-man squad.

"There will be an Ali playing!"joked Arthur.

Meanwhile Buttler was wellaware of the threat posed byPakistan, whose last Test at Lord'ssaw them beat England by 75 runs.

"They've lost some experience,but as we saw in the ChampionsTrophy, Pakistan are a very strongside," he said.

England will field a trio of Testveterans in opener Alastair Cook andthe new-ball duo of Stuart Broad andJames Anderson.

"With all that comes a lot ofresponsibility and accountability,"said Arthur. "A couple are under thepump.

"Our guys don't fear that at themoment. They are looking to grabthe opportunity with both hands.

"I just hope they do because ifthey do it solidifies exactly what wewant to do with Pakistan cricket."

AFP/AP n LONDON

Neymar was back in train-ing on Tuesday to give

Brazil a big boost ahead of theWorld Cup.

Neymar has been side-lined since February afterhaving surgery on his rightfoot but spent an hour train-ing on the main pitch atBrazil's Granja Comary train-ing ground in Teresopolis,outside Rio de Janeiro.

The Paris Saint-Germainstriker was joined byManchester City duo GabrielJesus and Danilo as he tookpart in drills, using his recov-ering foot to dribble conesand shoot from long andclose range.

Neymar was cleared totake part in training afterundergoing a medical examsearlier Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Brazil's goal-keeping coaches have no hes-itation in anointing Alisson asthe team's No 1 for the WorldCup, and are even comparinghim to Germany's ManuelNeuer.

Goalkeeping coachClaudio Taffarel, who playedthree World Cups for Braziland won the trophy in 1994,said Alisson has developed"amazingly" at Roma this pastseason and deserves to start inRussia even though it will behe his first tournament.

TEJASWINI WINS GOLD, CHAIN GETS SILVER NEW DELHI: Extending her brilliant run thisseason, seasoned Tejaswini Sawant nailed agold in the women's 50m Rifle Prone event onthe opening day of ISSF World Cup Rifle/Pistolstage in Munich. Sawant shot 621.4 to pipyounger teammate Anjum Moudgil, who shot621.2 to win Silver in the event. Sawant hadwon a gold at the recently-concluded Gold CoastCommonwealth Games in Australia. ChainSingh also won a silver in the men's 50m RifleProne event, shooting a score of 627.9 to finishbehind USA's Matthew Emmons, who took goldwith a score of 628.9.

HESSON REPLACES LEHMANNDUBAI: New Zealand's Mike Hesson onWednesday replaced Australian DarrenLehmann as the coach representative in the ICCCricket Committee led by former India captainAnil Kumble. Lehmann had stepped down asAustralia coach in the wake of the ball-tampering controversy in South Africa in March.Clark has been appointed as the women'scricket representative and replaces ClareConnor, Coezter has replaced Ireland's KevinO'Brien as the Associate Membersrepresentative . Hesson, 43, has been NewZealand's coach since 2012. He mastermindedthe Black Caps' maiden appearance in the finalof the World Cup in 2015.

INDIA’S 1ST SPORTS UNIVERSITY IN MANIPURNEW DELHI: The Union Cabinet on Wednesdayapproved an ordinance to set up the country'sfirst national sports university in Manipur. LawMinister Ravi Shankar Prasad said a bill to setup the university in Imphal is already pending inParliament. Things will start moving fast oncethe President signs the ordinance. The Manipurgovernment has already allocated land foruniversity, he said. "A void exists in the sportsenvironment of the country in various areassuch as sports science, sports technology, highperformance training," the bill stated.

YOUNG GOLFERS SHOW GREAT PROMISENEW DELHI: The first camp of the Usha JuniorTraining Programme for Golf concluded onWednesday at Delhi Golf Club Under guidanceof well-known Category-A coaches, VikramSethi, Nonita Lall Qureshi and Jasjit Singh, everyparticipant will be trained on different aspects ofthe game.

Agencies

S I N G L E S

AFP n BUENOS AIRES

Argentina's World Cup preparations suf-fered a blow on Tuesday as goalkeeper

Sergio Romero was ruled out of the tourna-ment with a knee injury, the ArgentinaFootball Association(AFA) said.

The ManchesterUnited goalkeeperinjured his rightknee during train-ing in Buenos Aireson Tuesday.

"Romero will beremoved from thelist of 23 playerswho will participatein the 2018 WorldCup in Russia," theAFA said in a state-ment.

Romero, 31, is the most capped goalkeeperin the history of the Argentina national teamwith 83 appearances and represented the coun-try at the 2010 and 2014 World Cups.

AP n LONDON

Arsenal hired Unai Emery as ArseneWenger's successor on Wednesday

in the Premier League club's first man-agerial appointment in 22 years.

The 46-year-old Spaniard will notenjoy the same authority as Wenger builtup at Arsenal, being handed the title ofhead coach rather than manager.

Arsenal backed off from a gamble onformer player Mikel Arteta, who is partof Pep Guardiola's coaching staff atPremier League champion ManchesterCity. Instead, Arsenal opted for anestablished coach - and one who hasconstantly delivered trophies at Sevillaand Paris Saint-Germain.

"Several things stood out during hisinterview and the entire process; hisfootball knowledge, energy, determina-tion and love of the game," Arsenalowner Stan Kroenke said. "His famil-iarity with our club and our players, thePremier League and the game in Europewere all very impressive. He shares ourvision to move forward, to build on theplatform created by Arsene Wenger and

help this club enjoy greater success."Emery has the task of restoring

Arsenal to the Champions League - andto ultimately deliver the club's firstPremier League title since 2004.

But he picks up at London team ata low after finishing sixth in the league- the lowest in Wenger's reign.

AFP n MADRID

Gareth Bale's relationship withZinedine Zidane will come

to a crossroads when RealMadrid play Liverpool in theChampions League final onSaturday. The pair have not seeneye-to-eye for some time, eversince Zidane jettisoned theWelshman for Real's last 16 firstleg game at home to Paris Saint-Germain in February.

With their La Liga challengeall but over, Zidane's reputationhinged on a run in Europe anddropping Bale delivered aresounding message about a lackof trust when it mattered most.

But breaking point arrived inApril, in the quarter-finals, in thesecond leg at home to Juventus.Bale had scored three goals in hisprevious three games, six in fiveincluding matches for Wales,and he was rewarded with a startat the Santiago Bernabeu.

Zidane, however, hauled himoff at half-time, with Real trail-ing Juve 2-0. At best, it seemedthe Frenchman was apportioningblame to Bale. At worst, itseemed like punishment by pub-lic humiliation.

"It was not to punish Garethbut something had to change,"Zidane said after the match. "Iwas not happy with theapproach." Bale felt harshly treat-ed, he became noticeably downaround the squad and his inten-sity dropped in training. Sourcestold AFP that Bale and Zidanewere barely on speaking termsaround this period.

Three days after Real scrapedpast Juventus, via CristianoRonaldo's last-gasp penalty, theyfaced a lengthy trip to Malagaand several key players, includ-ing Bale, were left out.

Real insisted they were restedbut while the likes of Ronaldo,Toni Kroos, Luka Modric andMarcelo returned for the week-end's game against Athletic Bilbao,Bale again found himself sat on thebench. By the time he had beenoverlooked for both semi-final legsagainst Bayern Munich, the 28-year-old had started only one ofhis last five matches.

"It is always going to happenin a side like ours," Zidane said.

"There are players in goodform and in the team, who areplaying well."

Bale scored against Villarrealon Saturday to make it five goalsin his last four starts.

Decision time forZidane as Baleawaits chance

‘Fearless' Pak ready for Eng face-off

With Jack Leachinjured, Englandcould give a Test

debut to hisfellow Somersetspinner Dominic

Bess

innovative batsman."AB is one of the all-time greats

of South African cricket who hasthrilled spectators around the worldwith his sheer brilliance, coupled tohis ability to innovate and takemodern day batting in all three for-mats, but particularly in the whiteball ones, to new levels.”

ABD BIDS ADIEU TO INTERNATIONAL CRICKET

Argentina goalkeeper

Romero out of WC

420 matches & over 20,000 runs later, ‘tired’ de Villiers calls time on Proteas career

NEYMAR BACK IN TRAININGWITH BRAZIL AHEAD OF WC

Emery replaces Wenger at Arsenal

MEMORY LANE: Snippets from the file of South Africa’s ‘Superman’ AB de Villiers in action during his stellar career with the South African Cricket team

England captain Joe Root (left) and Pakistan skipper Sarfraz Ahmed pose with the trophyahead of Thursday’s England-Pak Test encounter Twitter

NDBG ENTER FINALNDBG Club defeated

Aryavrat Cricket Academy bysix wickets to enter the final ofthe 14th BBD ‘C’ DivisionLeague at SAJ ground onWednesday.BRIEF SCORES:ACA: 127 (Abhishek 36,Hamid Ansari 29; RP Singh24/3, Md Javed 10/2)NDBG: 129 (Gurvinder 44,Dherya 21, Md Javed 17;Tushar 20/2)

ARPIT SLAMS TONArpit Goswami slammed a

ton to help ASCA crush AwadhCricket Academy by 114 runsin aleague match of LCAUnder-13 Cricket Trophy atChowk Stadium onWednesday.

Batting first, ASCA piledup 213 runs for the loss of fourwickets in 30 overs. Arpit’ston came in 82 balls with thehelp of 10 boundaries. In reply,ACA were bundled out for 99runs in 23.2 overs.BRIEF SCORES:ASCA: 213 (Arpit 100, Pranjal32, Ashutosh 29; Piyush 14/2)ACA: 99 (Anar 25, Avinash 24;Chanchal 21/2, Ujjawal 22/2,Arpit Verma 23/2)

JAIPURIA THRASH ASHAFOUNDATION

Jaipuria Cricket Academythrashed Asha SportsFoundation by 124 runs in aleague match of Summer CupU-12 Cricket Tournamentat NER Stadium onWednesday.BRIEF SCORES:JCA: 135 (Vyom 51, Kartik 44;Akshat 19/1)ASF: 82 (Arjun Sharma 18,Rudraksh 12; Vyom 4/3,Akhilesh 5/2, KArtik 7/2)

PRASHANT SCRIPTSMEGA TRENDS’ WIN

Prashant Bajpai’s all-roundeffort (unbeaten 111 runs andtwo wickets) helped MegaTrends Cricket Club beatPanther Cricket Academy by165 runs at NR Stadium onWednesday.

In other matches, ASCAbeat LDACC ‘Red’ by 38 runswhile Gujral Cricket Academyoutclassed Chauhan Sportingby 83 runs.BRIEF SCORES:MTCC: 248 (Prashant 111,Kartik 5, Arvind 42; Utkarsh50/3)PCA: 83 (Suraj Patel 16;Satyam 18/4, Arvind 5/2,Prashant 7/2)

ASCA: 191 (Lalit 52,Shailendra 30, Aditya 29;Vedhansh 24/4)LDACC: 153 (Zeeshan 59,Shubh 31; Ayush 46/5, Raunak19/2)

GCA: 234 (Rohit 52, Varun 51;Ayush 52/3, Swayam 36/2,Pratham 17/2)CS: 151 (Pratham 61, Sujal 13;Gyan 17/4, Yasir 20/3).

LOCAL EVENTS

LUCKNOW | THURSDAY | MAY 24, 2018

Sometimes dumbluck! You just pickthe guys at the righttime and they justplay for the team— Stephen Flemingon Faf’s innings

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4s 1587

6s 838

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Q U O T E U N Q U O T EC O A C H T A L K

F U L L T I M E

S K I P E R S P E A K S C R I C K E T D I A R I E S

PTI n KOLKATA

Skippper Ajinkya Rahane’ slowbatting cost Rajasthan Royals

dearly as two-time championsKolkata Knight Riders comfortablybeat them by 25 runs in theEliminator to set-up the IPLQualifier-II clash with SunrisersHyderabad, here on Wednesdaynight.

On a day KKR star spinnerSunil Narine was expensive andreturned wicket-less, the likes ofPiyush Chawla, Prasidh Krishna andKuldeep Yadav stepped up to restrictRajasthan 144 for four after batsmenput on board 169 for seven.

Home skipper Dinesh Karthikand Andre Russell had revivedKKR with their magnificent battingas the hosts recovered from a dis-astrous start. They had their worststart of the season with K Gowtham(2/15) and Jofra Archer (2/33)reducing them to 46 for three insidethe Powerplay overs.

Karthik continued his sublimeform to lead them to safety with a38-ball 52, containing four fours andtwo sixes while Russell came up withhis destructive 29-ball unbeaten49, studded with three boundariesand five sixes to propel the side toa fighting total.

Royals began their chase inright earnest with Rahane (46 off 41)and Rahul Tripathi (20) adding 47runs for the first wicket. SanjuSamson played a smart innings of

50 runs from 38 balls but leg-spin-ner Piyush Chawla removed

Tripathi and Samson to tilt thematch in the hosts favour.

Rahane batted too slow, playinga lot of dot balls, and the asking rate

kept mounting. When Rahanedeparted it was tough ask for the

batsmen at the crease. Rahane got22 runs from five boundaries butconsumed 36 balls for remaining 24runs.

Kuldeep foxed the Rajasthanskipper with a googly, before Chawlaremoved an anxious Samson in hislast over.

Their equation was still withinreach with 43 runs and seven wick-ets in hand in last three overs but theyoung pacer Krishna gave away justthree runs in the 18th over to tilt thematch in their favour.

It was a lacklustre from theRajasthan middleorder batsmen asKolkata reigned supreme at thedeath to advance to Qualifier Twofor the second time in as many sea-sons.

Kolkata will face Hyderabad inthe virtual semifinal round here onMay 25.

Earlier, the sixes were a rarity inthe first half of Kolkata innings andit was only in the 14th overShubman Gill hit the first shotover the ropes in his crucial fifthwicket partnership with Karthik.

Karthik and Gill added 55 runsin 38 balls as the Under-19 WorldCup winning youngster Gillimpressed with his stroke-makingskills en route his 17-ball 28 (3x4,1x6).

From being 63 for 4 midwayinto the innings, Kolkata brilliant-ly stepped on the gas in the second-half, scoring 106 runs in the last 10overs with Russell in charge of the

proceedings.Jaydev Unadkat, who leaked 33

runs from his two overs, was a bigletdown from Rajasthan’s perspec-tive as the Ajinkya Rahane-led sidecould not choke the hosts despite aa sound start.

Starting the proceedingsfor Rajasthan, K Gowtham leftKolkata in tatters with a twin blowof Sunil Narine (four) and RobinUthappa (three) in his first two oversbefore Barbadian pacer ensuredtheir lowest powerplay score of theseason — 46/3 — dismissing NitishRana (3).

Narine smashed Gowtham’sthrough covers for a boundary tostart off the proceedings in his sig-nature style but the off-spinnerfired in a quicker one next up andthe Trinidadian was beaten andstumped in the second ball.

In the first ball of his next overGowtham plucked a smart returncatch off Robin Uthappa’s top-edgefor a soft dismissal while Archerreduced Kolkata to 24/3 inside fourovers.

There was more misery in storefor Kolkata as opener as an under-pressure Chris Lynn did not survivelong as their top four batsmenfolded for 51 in eight overs.

Just when their ship looked tosink in front of a shell-shockedcapacity Eden crowd, Karthik con-tinued to his sublime form andfound a fine ally in Gill to revivetheir innings.

PTI n MUMBAI

Mahendra Singh Dhoni was soaking in every-thing with his usual calm demeanour before

attributing Chennai Super Kings' seventh IndianPremier League final appearance to "dressingroom atmosphere", a far cry from the awe that wasbest summed up by a popular teammate's groovytribute.

Coming back after a two-year ban, two-timechampions CSK last night pulled off a thrilling two-wicket win over Sunrisers Hyderabad to make thefinal of the cash-rich league, with Faf du Plessis lead-ing the chase.

"We have been a very good team over the pastten seasons, but it's more about the dressing roomatmosphere," Dhoni said at the post-match pre-sentation ceremony.

The two-time World Cup winning captainadded, "And you can't do that without the playersand the support staff. And if the atmosphere is notgood, then players go to different directions. Butsomehow, we have managed to keep our boys ontrack."

All-rounder Dwayne Bravo celebrated the vic-tory with a dance in the dressing room. A video ofthe same was posted on Twitter by Chennai SuperKings, in which Bravo and Harbhajan Singh are seendancing in front of skipper Dhoni.

"Always happy when we win. Being in the toptwo gives you that liberty to have one more game.Faf 's innings, is where experience counts. It's noteasy when you don't play a lot of games but I alwayssay you need to train your mind as well. That's whereexperience comes in. You visualise what your roleis, how you can contribute and Faf has been bril-liant," Dhoni said.

"If we would've lost, you still give yourself a sec-ond chance. They bowled very well, and there wasa bit for the fast bowlers. Bhuvi bowled well, backedup well by Rashid. We kept losing wickets, and sowe had to push ourselves. Losing three-four wick-ets in the middle always puts you on pressure. Plus,they have a mystery bowler,” the former India cap-tain pointed out.

It's good to win a game like this, but what's moreimportant, is knowing how we can improve."

"Our bowling combination is the best we have,”the Chennai-skipper continued,“and from thebeginning I've been using different players at dif-ferent stages to test them.”

“You have to keep shuffling to know who cando what for you, and at what time. It may hurt yousometimes, and the best bowlers are playing thesegames,” Dhoni signed off.

PTI n MUMBAI

Coach Stephen Fleming says Faf duPlessis, who single-handedly guid-

ed Chennai Super Kings into the finalof Indian Premier League's 11th edi-tion, was played in the first qualifierbecause of an injury to Sam Billings.

Coming back after a two-year ban,two-time champions CSK pulled off athrilling two-wicket win over SunrisersHyderabad on Tuesday to reach theirseventh final of the cash-rich league,with du Plessis' unbeaten 67-run knockleading the chase.

"Sam got hurt in the last game. Hefell awkwardly on his hip and it hasbeen quite bruised. He probablycould've played if he was pushed but hewas uncomfortable.

"So we just took that opportunityto keep Faf in the side, having intro-duced him in the last game. We've gotdifferent combinations that we can useand today I'm very happy that Faf wasable to contribute the way he did,"Fleming said after the match.

Chasing a modest target of 140,CSK were down in the dumps at 92 forseven before Du Plessis (67 off 42 balls)engineered a stunning comeback.

"The player today who hasn'tplayed that much came out on a big-ger stage of the tournament today andfor Faf to do that is testament to hisskills set and his mindset as well.

"Sometimes dumb luck... You justpick the guys at the right time and they

just play and innings for the team thatmeans so much and we saw one ofthose today," the former New Zealandskipper explained, adding, "Sam'sinjury made it pretty clear that Faf at1 and Rayudu at 4 was the way to go."

The Qualifier 1 against the tabletoppers was only the fifth game that duPlessis played this season.

The South Africa captain grabbedthe opportunity with both hands.

"The game obviously has its upsand downs and turns but we have hada season where we have won fromunwinnable positions. Today was oneof those, it seems. It's been individualplayers who have got us out of troubleand different players all the time. Of

course, MS (Dhoni) is a usual culprit,"Fleming noted.

The former New Zealand captainalso heaped praise on young SouthAfrica pacer Lungi Ngidi, who returnedfigures of 1-20 and accounted for rivalopener Shreevats Goswami.

"He (Ngidi) has provided a spear-head for MS and it's improved the firstsix overs. So we're getting wickets in thefront, Deepak Chahar is also swingingthe ball.

"The two of them have providedopportunities to take wickets andthat's allowed our other bowlers tocome into the game a bit more, so he's(Ngidi) been quite instrumental, cer-tainly reducing the scores we're chas-ing," added Fleming.

Fleming described his team's per-formance as just about good.

"We were okay today, Ngidi wasgreat, (Ravindra) Jadeja was very goodbut it was an okay performance. Wehave been better, so I guess that's whatwe'll look at over the next four days,"he said.

‘SLOW OVER RATE PROBLEM’Chennai Super Kings head coach

Stephen Fleming admitted that slowover rate has been a problem this IPLand blamed the hot and humid weath-er for teams taking too much time toget things moving.

"We can all feel how humid it is.Late season games in Mumbai andChennai are going to be longer, because

the players do suffer. If a player bats,say for a period of time, they are undersome stress," Fleming said.

Speaking about the South African,Fleming said, "And Faf (du Plessis) islike a Ferrari car, he needs a lot of atten-tion. So, it is always going to take timewhen he is over there."

Quite a few teams and captainshave already been fined for slow overrate this season.

"But it can be sped up, there is timewasting in cricket in general, but that'sa separate discussion. Slow over ratesare killing the game, from Test crick-et down. So it does have to be policedbetter, and players have to oblige a bitmore," said Fleming, a former captainof New Zealand.

The Super Kings coach saidTuesday was the only time in the sea-son that his team was slow in the over-rate front.

"We're pretty good. That is proba-bly the only game where we've been abit slow. It's just a question for ourteam, because I felt we were off men-tally. And when you're wanderingaround without purpose, you takemore time."

"We were seven minutes down atthe drinks break and it was enough forme to crack the whip a little.

“So we were just off a bit today.And that contributes to the slowness ofthe game. We don't want to do that andwe certainly want to improve," Flemingsaid.

PTI n MUMBAI

Sunrisers Hyderabad skipper KaneWilliamson has defended his deci-

sion to use Carlos Brathwaite at thedeath overs and praised his bowlersafter a two-wicket defeat to ChennaiSuper Kings in the first qualifier ofIndian Premier League.

"Yeah, certainly we backed Carlos(Brathwaite) with his death bowling.That's why he's in this side, as anoth-er death option.

“When you're under pressure,sometimes, life gets a little bit tough,"Williamson said at the post-matchpress conference on Tuesday.

The New Zealand batting maestroadded, "Credit to the way Faf batted —he batted beautifully."

Brathwaite, playing in only his sec-ond game of the season, conceded 20runs in the 18th over.

With 43 needed off last threeovers, Chennai’s South African inter-national Faf du Plessis, who opened thebatting, launched into Brathwaite's18th over and smashed him for 20runs.

"It's obviously very tough to swal-low because we certainly back ourdeath bowling to close games outfrom that point. We have been on theright side a number of those resultsthroughout this league and today was-n't to be," he added.

Chennai Super Kings will now play

the final on May 27 while SunrisersHyderabad will play against the win-ner of the Eliminator between KolkataKnight Riders and Rajasthan Royals inQualifier 2 on Friday, May 25.

Williamson said, "The bowlerswere outstanding today. A few ballshere and there, and at the death I think,when it's a low scoring game, a coupleof edges — you know.

"It's such a fine line. It was just ashame. We always backed ourselves toclose games out from that point. Butsaying that, there are a number of otherareas that we would like to touch ongoing into our next game."

The captain then went on to con-cede that his Sunrisers side fell shortby 15-20 runs with the bat.

"It took a little bit of turn, but it wasprobably a 160 wicket, so we were a lit-tle bit short with the bat,” he confessed.

“With the bat, we could havetaken some better options in order toget maybe another 15/20 on that sur-face,” Willamson added.

"I think we could've taken a fewsmart options to get a bit more on theboard," said the New Zealand andHyderabad skipper.

"Death bowling is our strength, buttoday Chennai Super Kings played welland showed their depth with the bat.

“Frustrating, but we're up againstKolkata Knight Riders next and it'simportant we show some signs ofimprovement there," he signed off.

AFP n LONDON

England cricket director AndrewStrauss is to stand down temporarily

for the season while his wife Ruth con-tinues her treatment for cancer, with AndyFlower filling in while the former Testcaptain is on leave.

"My wife was diagnosed with cancerin December," Strauss told reporters atLord's on Tuesday.

"We are very lucky she has been verywell up to now although she is starting anew treatment on Friday which is goingto be more challenging for her and as suchI am going to be stepping back from myday-to-day duties while that treatment isgoing on."

He added: "On a day-to-day basisAndy Flower is going to be stepping infor me over the course of the (English)summer."

Flower was England's coach whileformer opening batsman Strauss enjoyeda successful spell as national captain thatincluded a 2010/11 Ashes series victoryin Australia.

The former Zimbabwe batsman hasremained in the England and WalesCricket Board set-up and is currently thecoach of England's second-string Lions.

"We all know about his qualities andhis experience of both England andEnglish cricket and he will fill in my shoes

very adequately," said Strauss."I look forward to returning and grab-

bing the reins again but at this period oftime my focus has to be on supportingRuth and my family at a challenging timefor us."

England face Pakistan at Lord's onThursday in the first of a two-Test seriesfollowing a miserable 2017/18 tour thatsaw them fail to win any of their sevenTests in Australia and New Zealand.

Strauss has since appointed a newnational selector in Ed Smith, a formerEngland batsman.

On Tuesday he revealed the estab-lishment of a scouting network made upof six former England players in MarcusTrescothick, Glen Chapple, Steve Rhodes,Richard Dawson, Chris Read and JamesTaylor to assist Smith.

KKR enter Qualifier-II with win over RR

‘Faf got chance to play after Billings' injury’

Kane praises SRH bowlers after loss Strauss steps down for

summer, Flower steps in

Dhoni praisesCSK’s ‘dressingroom atmosphere' Chennai Super Kings coach Stephen Fleming addresses Tuesday’s post-match press conference

SRH Captain Kane Williamson

FILE: England cricket director Andrew Strauss