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CELEBRATING RAM NAVAMI
BENNETT, COLEMAN & CO. LTD. | ESTABLISHED 1838 | TIMESOFINDIA.COM KOLKATA | WEDNESDAY, APRIL 5, 2017 | PAGES 36 | PRICE `̀ 3.50
COURT REJECTS POLANSKI’SBID TO END HIS 40-YEAR-OLDUNDERAGE SEX ABUSE CASE 16
INCLUSIVE OF CALCUTTA TIMES & TIMES ASCENT | EPAPER.TIMESOFINDIA.COM
DON’T CREATE ‘ARTIFICIAL’ROW OVER DALAI’S TAWANGVISIT, INDIA TELLS CHINA 9
JETHMALANI: HAVE GIVEN FEECONCESSION TO KEJRI, BUT WILLSTILL FIGHT IF HE CAN’T PAY 7
Loathed by traditionalists when it fi rst arrived and now widely imitated across the globe, IPL’s 10th edition begins today with defending champions Sunrisers Hyderabad taking on runners-up Royal Challengers Bangalore. This edition is a landmark one because the next IPL will see fresh bids for all franchises and players
A DECADEOF SHAKING THE WORLD
Most runs scored Virat Kohli (RCB): 4,110 runs
Most sixes hit Chris Gayle (RCB): 251
Most centuriesGayle: 5
Fastest centuryGayle: In just 30 balls against Pune Warriors, 2013
HighestscoreGayle (175 n.o. against Pune Warriors), 2013
David Warner (C), SRH Shane Watson (C), RCB
MOST EXPENSIVE IPL BUYS (INDIAN & FOREIGN)
Yuvraj Singh16 crore
(approx) by DD in 2015
Highest strike rate Andre Russell (KKR): 173.4
Most wicketsLasith Malinga (MI): 143 wkts
Best economy rateSunil Narine (KKR): 6.1
Best bowling Sohail Tanvir (RR): 6/14 against CSK, Jaipur 2008
Mosthat-tricksAmit Mishra (SRH, DD, DeccanChargers): 3
Ben Stokes14 crore
(approx) by Rising Pune Supergiant in 2017
HERE ARE THE ALL-TIME RECORDS FROM THE NINE EDITIONS PLAYED SO FAR
(Source: iplt20.com)
FULL COVERAGE: P 19, 20
Kolkata: The Bengal govern-ment on Tuesday started issu-ing orders denotifying stret-ches of state highways passingthrough populous municipali-ties. The orders, in effect, allowliquor vends to resume sellingafter having been forced todown shutters since last week’sSupreme Court order. TOI, inits Tuesday edition, had repor-ted how the state governmentwas thinking of such a route tobeat the SC-mandated ban onsale of liquor from outlets wit-hin 500 metres of all highways.
Curiously, the state PWDwebsite says the denotificationdirective was signed on March16, a fortnight before the apexcourt’s final verdict. A major
portion of state highways wou-ld gradually be converted to“district urban” roads, offici-als told TOI.
Bars and off shops, howe-ver, did not bother much with
the niceties of nomenclatureand the apparently “back-da-ted” order. They jumped at theoffer, reopening counters oneby one on Tuesday afternoon assoon as the written orders star-
ted being issued from districtadministration offices.
“We got a whiff of the deno-tification move on Mondaynight itself. But we got the writ-ten order on Tuesday and sohad to wait,” said the owner ofan off shop on the Uttarpara-Boinchi stretch of G T Road inHooghly. This stretch used to beState Highway-6 till the districtadministration’s denotifica-tion came around 3pm on Tues-day. Hooghly district magistra-te Sanjay Bansal told TOIthat the administration haddenotified a section of the road.“Its character now will be like any other PWD-managedroad,” he said.
The denotified stretches ofState Highway-3 in North 24-Parganas and Kalyani in Nadiahave at least 30 off shops and 21 bars. “A stroke of the penhas saved all these establish-ments,” said local liquor sel-lers’ association office-bearerMihir Chakraborty.
Liquor Vends,Bars Back
In Business
State highway stretches inbustling towns denotified
1500+ SHOPS, BARS SPARED CLOSUREDenotified stretches are on | State Highways 1, 1A, 2, 3, 3A, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11A, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16
Districts that benefit | North & South 24 Parganas, Bankura, Nadia, Hooghly, Purulia, Paschim & Purba Midnapore, Birbhum, Burdwan, Murshidabad, Malda, Jalpaiguri, Cooch Behar, Alipurduar, Howrah, North Dinajpur
Character of denotified stretches | All of them pass through municipal areas
No. of liquor establishments to benefit | More than 1,500 off shops and bars
A liquor vend in Alipurduar resumed normal business from Tuesday afternoon
Udit Prasanna Mukherji &Krishnendu Bandyopadhyay TNN
Kolkata: Even as the new he-alth law puts pressure on priva-te clinical establishments to ra-tionalize their charges, a cityhospital has set the cat amongpigeons by introducing uni-form doctors’ fees, investiga-tion and procedural charges forpatients admitted across theirrooms and cabins.
An overwhelming majorityof hospitals in Kolkata conti-nue to have differential rates forpatients admitted in their sui-tes, private cabins and generalwards. Doctors’ fees, investiga-tion charges and other servicecosts vary as much as 10%-15%
depending on the kind of roomyou choose. The difference incharges for a week-long stay in asix-bedded cabin and a suite co-uld be as wide as 50%-60%.
But now, Belle Vue Clinichas done away with the diffe-rential rates. Other than the bedcharge, patients are being char-ged uniformly for everything el-se, irrespective of whether theyare being treated in a cabin or award. Every bill is accompani-ed by a notice which declaresthat the ‘charges for doctors’ fe-es, operation theatre and inves-tigation have no link with thebed charges’. “We believe the sy-stem of fixing charge as per theroom category was not fair. So,we have made it uniform,” said
PTondon, CEO, Belle Vue.While it’s not illegal to have
different rates, many believe it’s
might be paid more for atten-ding to a patient individually ina private cabin, there’s no logicbehind fixing a higher rate foran investigation or a procedurefor which no extra effort is be-ing put in. Nor is the hospital in-curring any extra cost,” said ahospital official.
A top official of a leadingTPA said most city hospitalsstick to differential pricing forpatients. “The doctors’ fee, in-vestigation charges, servicecharges generally differ withthe room. In a cabin, all the char-ges will be higher than a bed inthe ward,” he said. The officialadded that hospitals generallyargue that through differentialpricing they cross-subsidize pa-tients in the wards. But the dif-ference is often much higherthan the subsidy offered. unfair to differentiate between
patients on the basis of the bedsthey opt for. “While a doctor
Cabin or ward? Rates differ for same treatment City Clinic Turns GamechangerWith Uniform Medical Charges
CROSS-SUBSIDY THE REASON: HOSPS➤ Most private hospitals in city have differential rates for doctors’ fees, procedural and investigation charges depending on the kind of room a patient has opted for
➤ Patients in luxury cabins pay the most and those in wards the least
➤ Hospitals say the differential pricing help them cross-subsidize patients in the
wards. But the difference in charge is often much higher than the subsidy offered
➤ The difference could be as wide as 50%-60%
➤ TPAs say it is not illegal to have different rates for
surgeries and investigation for different
categories of beds
Belle Vue Clinic has now made doctors’
fees, procedural and investigation charges
uniform for all patients
CHARGES THAT VARY | Doctors’ fees, procedural charges, investigation charges, some services rendered at the cabin
Prithvijit Mitra & Udit Prasanna Mukherji TNN
Mumbai:Of all the marketingtools an airline could possiblyhave in its arsenal, “bereftlaps” wouldn’t ever have beenconsidered to be a potential re-venue spinner.
But it’s the catchphrase forAir India these days as ticketsales for its flights to the USjumped 60% after that countrybanned laptops in the cabinbaggage of passengers on cer-tain direct flights from theGulf.
All passengers on boardAir India flights from India todestinations in the US, irre-spective of their nationality,can carry laptops in their cabin
bags and use them in-flight.This has worked to the advan-tage of the national carrier. Ho-wever, those who board directflights to the US from Dubai,
Abu Dhabi, Doha, Kuwait, Jed-dah, Amman, Cairo, Istanbulor Casablanca — that is, fly oncarriers based in these air-ports — would have to manda-torily check in all electronic de-vices larger than a smartpho-ne, like laptops, tablets, etc. Mo-reover, after they disembark inthe US, these passengers joinlonger security queues as theirhandbags are checked.
Flights operated by carri-ers like Emirates, Etihad, Qa-tar Airways, Saudia etc have atransit halt in the Middle Eastbefore they fly to the US and co-me under the purview of thelaptop ban.
US gadget ban on some Gulfflights boosts AI ticket sales
60% INCREASE➤ The ban on gadgets means added security checks and longer queues on landing➤ In the past week, AI has witnessed a 60% increase in ticket sales on all its flights between India and the US➤ In 2016, 2.7 million passengers flew between India and the US➤ Of this, 1.3 million flew by Middle Eastern carriers
New Delhi: In the pursuit ofmega weapons systems likefighter jets, submarines andhowitzers, basic require-ments of soldiers in terms ofboth protection gear as wellas personal honour are oftenforgotten due to general poli-tico-bureaucratic apathy.
But now, after orderingsome new ballistic helmetsand bullet-proof jackets, the government is finallyscrambling to procure 7.60lakh medals for military per-sonnel after a recent hue andcry was over soldiers beingforced to buy cheap replicasto adorn their uniforms forthe last several years.
Though much-delayed,the move to procure the 7.60lakh medals for about Rs 28crore is a welcome step sincethe basic ethos of Indian sold-iers revolves around “Naam,Namak and Nishaan” (repu-tation of battalion/paltan, fidelity and ensign/colours).
Govt to buy 7.6L medalsfor defence
�‘Our sacrifices’, P 7
The Calcutta high court onTuesday directed the So-
uth Dum Dum Municipalityto grant permission to theRamnavami Udjapan Samityto hold a three-day fair at theLake Town-Jessore Roadcrossing. Police and fire de-partment were also directedto grant all permissions byWednesday, before the melastarts. The Samity, which hadorganised a similar fair at thesame spot last year, were de-nied permission by the muni-cipality this year, after whichit moved court. P 4
HC orders civicbody to allow
Ram Navami fair
�‘Right to make profit’, P 4
�Dubai, Doha worst hit, P 13
�Cheers for vendors, P 2
WEATHER
Max33.1 0C(-2)Min 27.10C(+2)
Sunrise:Thursday 5.25amSunset: Wednesday 5.54pmPartly cloudy sky. Maximum andminimum temperature may bearound 34°C & 270C. Maxhumidity 88% min 65% Rain: Nil
IPS officer Geetha Johrihas become Gujarat’s first
woman direc-tor general ofpolice. The1982-batch IPSofficer, howev-er, was madein-charge of
the post and not a regularDGP. She replaced P P Pan-dey, who had to quit after hisappointment was chal-lenged in the SC. Johri had acontroversial stint in the SC-appointed SIT set up to probethe post-Godhra riots. Shewas also chargesheeted byCBI in the SohrabuddinSheikh fake encounter case,but later acquitted. P 6
Guj gets 1stwoman DGP inGeetha Johri
Chief minister MamataBanerjee on Tuesday
put herself in the forefrontof the looming political battle in Bengal, remindingpeople that the state’s eth-os has always been abouthumanity and secularism.“Ram ke pujo korte giye, kauke danga ba kutsa kortehoyeni (to pay obeisance toRama, one doesn’t have toresort to riots and misinfor-mation),” she said. P 4
Retain ethosof harmony,
urges CM
Doctors are describing itas nothing short of a
miracle. Chetan KumarCheetah, a CRPF comman-dant who had slipped intodeep coma two months agoafter being hit by at leastnine bullets during a gun-battle with terrorists inJammu and Kashmir, isnow conscious and talking.Doctors at the AIIMS trau-ma centre, where Cheetahspent a month in ICU, saidhe is fit to be discharged. P 6
Shot 9 times,CRPF man back
from coma
The Centre in a guidelineissued to states on Mon-
day pushed for allowingmembers of the third gen-der to use public toilets forboth men and women. P 10
Third genderchoice on loos
Washington: The Trump ad-ministration will play a “pro-active” role in de-escalatingtensions between India andPakistan, US envoy to the Uni-ted Nations Nikki Haley saidon Monday, going so far as tosay President Donald Trumphimself might take an activepart in the process.
In remarks pointing to apossible change in Washing-ton’s publicly hands-off rolein India-Pakistan affairs (asi-de from encouraging both si-des to resolve their issues bila-terally while offering to medi-ate if both sides so desire), Ha-ley, the first Indian-Americancabinet-level official in UShistory, spoke of a more activesuo motu US role that has longbeen anathema to New Delhi.
“It’s absolutely right thatthis administration is concer-ned about the relationshipbetween India and Pakistanand very much wants to seehow we de-escalate any sort ofconflict going forward,” Ha-
ley told reporters at a pressconference following the USassuming the rotating presi-dency of the UN.
She added: “We don’tthink we should wait till so-mething happens. We verymuch think that we should beproactive in the way that weare seeing tensions rise andconflicts start to bubble upand so we want to see if we canbe a part of that.”
News agencies quoted heras saying, “So I think that willbe something that you will seemembers of the National Se-curity Council participate inbut also wouldn’t be surprisedif the president participatesin that as well.”
The US, till now, has stee-red clear of an active publicrole in India-Pakistan ties.
Haley: Trump may mediatebetween India and Pak
Shouldn’t WaitTill SomethingHappens: US
It’s right that
this (Trump) administration is concerned about the relationship between India & Pakistan and very much wants to see how we de-escalate any sort of conflict going forward. We think that we should be proactive
‘Are we going to have people that veto certain issues? Yes. But that doesn’t preclude the US from acting and trying to see if we can change that as well ON CHINA BLOCKING BAN ONJAISH CHIEF MASOOD AZHAR
‘I am the daughter of Indian parents who said: ‘Whatever you do, be great at it and make sure people remember you for it’”ON HER STYLE OFFUNCTIONING
— Nikki HaleyUS ENVOY TO UN
Lucknow: As promised inBJP’s election manifesto, theYogi Aditya Nath govern-ment, in its first cabinet mee-ting on Tuesday, waived croploans of around 86 lakh smalland marginal farmers of Utt-ar Pradesh, incurring a totalcost of over Rs 36,000 crore.
In a farmer-friendly deci-sion, the Yogi government also decided to set up 5,000 wh-eat purchasing centres acrossthe state. To avoid middlemen,farmers can sell their producedirectly to such centres byshowing Aadhaar cards orland sowing papers.
Calling it a coincidencethat the Yogi government’sfirst cabinet took nine deci-sions on the festival of RamNavami, cabinet ministerSiddharth Nath Singh said aproposal on illegal slaughter-houses was also discussed. Hesaid 26 illegal slaughterhou-ses in the state had been clo-sed till date.
Announcing the decisionsafter the meeting, Singh saidloans of up to Rs 1 lakh takenby small and marginal far-mers — with land holdi-ngs of less than five acres —
until March 31, 2016, would be waived.
The cabinet also decidedto declare loans worth Rs 5,630crore given by banks to thestate’s seven lakh farmers as “non-performing assets”,writing these off.
Singh said: “The total ex-penditure on these two headswould be Rs 36,359 crore,which would be raised thro-ugh ‘Kisan Rahat Bond’ to ke-ep the budget deficit withinthe limit of 3% of GDP.”
A government release sa-id: “Out of 2.30 crore farmersin the state, approximately2.15 crore have land holdingsbetween one and five acres.About 86.68 lakh of them are
estimated to have taken croploans from banks and theywould be benefited.”
Reiterating the govern-ment’s position, Singh said noofficer would be allowedto act “over-zealously” whileenforcing the law, and anyonefound doing so wouldbe taken to task. The gove-rnment is bound to followNGT and Supreme Courtrulings in letter and spirit,Singh said.
Reacting to the cabinet de-cisions, Samajwadi Party pre-sident Akhilesh Yadav accu-sed the Yogi government ofcheating the farmers.
Yogi govt walks poll talk,waives `̀36kcr farm loans
86L FARMERS TO BENEFIT➤ Loan up to 1lakh per farmer waived; 86 lakh small and marginal farmers to benefit
➤ Yogi govt will raise the waiver fund by floating Kisan Rahat Bond worth 36,359cr
➤ State to set up 5,000 wheat purchase centres; will pay 10 extra as loading charges, apart from MSP, to farmers
➤ Govt says anti-Romeo squads doing a ‘good job’, couples not being harassed
➤ Crackdown on slaughterhouses according to SC, NGT rulings, says govt
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
India rejected Nikki Haley’s suggestion of the US taking aproactive role in India-Pakistan ties, saying that outstanding
issues between the sub-continental neighbours should be sortedout bilaterally. “The government’s position for bilateral redressal ofall India-Pakistan issues in an environment free of terror andviolence hasn’t changed,” the foreign ministry said. P 13
Govt rebuffs offer, sticks to bilateral line
�Break from past line, P 13
CHEMICAL ATTACK KILLS DOZENS IN SYRIAAP
INNOCENT VICTIMS: Several children were among dozens of people killed on Tuesday in what was describedas one of the deadliest chemical weapons attacks during Syria’s six-year civil war. Casualty estimates
ranged from 50 to over 100. This photo, provided by activist group Edlib Media Center, was taken at amakeshift hospital in the rebel-held city of Khan Sheikhoun, which was hit in the air strike. The attack wasblamed on the Assad regime by activists, but the Syrian military denied responsibility | P 16
�8-member panel, P 11
�Rallies in city today, P 4
