˘ ˇ ˘ ˆ - dailypioneer.com · anjos after his detention in july had “clearly brought out”...

16
T he Orissa High Court on Wednesday granted bail to Delhi- based columnist Abhijit Iyer Mitra in the two criminal cases in which he has been jailed since October 23. In an analogous hearing, Justice Debabrata Dash ordered the two lower courts, the SDJM Court of Bhubaneswar and the JMFC Court of Konark, to impose conditions as they deem proper in releasing Mitra on bail. Abhijit was booked by the Sahid Nagar police in Bhubaneswar and the Konark police in Puri district. Mitra was arrested by the Odisha police hours after he appeared before a House Committee of the State Assembly at Bhubaneswar for his alleged derogatory and objectionable remarks on art and culture of Odisha. Earlier, his bail applications had been rejected by both the lower courts and respective District and Sessions Courts. “Bails have been granted by the High Court in both the cases in which chargesheets have been filed. In the chargesheets, the two non-bailable offences (Sections 295-A and 153-A of IPC) were dropped. For prosecu- tion, under these Sections requires sanctions from the State government and it appears sanctions may not have been given,” said Mitra’s counsel Nikhil Mehra. “There is still a chargesheet against him with certain other charges of bailable offences and we shall have to deal with them,” Mehra said, adding that certain other steps are now to be taken to secure his release from jail. On the question of granting pardon to Mitrat by the Odisha Government, Mehra said Governments do not have powers to pardon anybody. What the Governments have is the power to grant sanctions or not to grant sanctions to prosecute; and here in this case, the Odisha Government chose not to grant sanctions for the prosecution, Mehra said. The Odisha Government had on Tuesday accepted Mitra’s appeal to consider withholding sanction to prosecute him. The Privileges Committee of Odisha Assembly had pardoned him earlier on November 16 after his unconditional apology ten- dered in having hurt the sentiments of people of Odisha. T he district police on Wednesday took Good News India shelter home MD Fayaz Rahman, who was arrested over his alleged involvement in sexual harassment of girls at a shel- ter home in Beltikri in the district, on remand for two more days. He was earlier taken on a two- day remand, the duration of which came to an end on the day. The spe- cial POCSO court here again per- mitted the police to take him on fur- ther remand for two days. Briefing mediapersons, Dhenkanal SP Santosh Kumar Nayak said during the earlier remand of Rehman, police investi- gated if the organisation is licensed under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA) to obtain foreign funds. Besides, evidence was collected on the utilisation of the money, audit report and return fil- ing of the organisation. During investigation it was found that Good News India spends foreign funding of Rs 14 to 15 crore in various activities in Odisha. Nayak further informed that the organisation has been registered under West Bengal Societies Registration Act, 1961 with its head- quarters at Salgeria in Paschim Medinipur district of West Bengal. The registration enables the organi- sation to operate only in West Bengal. The organisation’s foreign fund- ing comes to its SBI account at Salgeria. Then it is transferred to the Good News India’s ICICI bank account at Bhubaneswar from where it is further transferred to the bank accounts of its 25 branches across Odisha. He further revealed that the video of the religious conversion is also from Salgeria. A police team would be sent to West Bengal to the ascertain truth about religious con- version. Nayak added the organi- sation’s 26 centres operating in Odisha do not have any registration to operate in the State. P rime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday turned the deportation of Christian Michel, the alleged middle- man in the 3,600-crore AgustaWestland chopper deal, as the final weapon on the last day of campagning against the Congress in the Rajasthan Assembly polls, saying Michel will now reveal the secrets of the political master he had served. “I had mentioned the VVIP helicopter case, I spoke about it, about the letter writ- ten by Sonia Gandhi. After BJP came to power, we looked for the files, we dug around. They had hidden it away. But one middleman finally was caught after years of digging,” Modi said at an election rally in Pali. Modi, who also addressed rallies in Sumerpur in Pali dis- trict and in Dausa, alleged the Gandhi family have been enjoying privileges for four generations. He claimed the Government’s “win” in the apex court on Tuesday was the “victory of the honest”. On Tuesday, the Supreme Court allowed the Income- Tax Department to reopen the tax assessment of Congress president Rahul Gandhi and his mother Sonia Gandhi for 2011-12 in connection with the National Herald case. “Now I will see how you escape... Look at the courage of a ‘chaiwala’ who took those running country for four gen- erations to the court’s door,” Modi said in Sumerpur in a ref- erence to his “chaiwala” roots. Referring to the deporta- tion of Michel, he said, “The entire family is shivering. The ‘raazdar’ (one who hides secrets) will speak up and they don’t know whose name he will disclose… It was a matter of thousands of crore so they are in a state of panic.” Continuing his attack on the Congress, Modi said in Dausa the Congress is a con- fused party with confused lead- ership. “They don’t know the dif- ference between Kumbharam and Kumbhkaran,” he jeered, referring to Rahul Gandhi’s gaffe on Tuesday when he mis- takenly referred to the Ashok Gehlot Government starting the “Kumbhkaran” lift project instead of saying “Kumbharam” project. Modi said such a confused leadership cannot be good for the party or the country. “They do not have leader, policy and intention,” Modi said. The Congress, he asserted, has lost the election and is now contemplating who to hold responsible for its defeat. A ccusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi of being the “protector, benefactor and promoter” of AgustaWestland and its parent company Finmeccanica, the Congress on Wednesday demanded a CBI probe into Modi’s role in “exonerating” the Italian defence and aerospace major which was blacklisted by the then UPA Government. The party in a statement said the BJP and the Prime Minister are “latching” on to Christian Miche for a “smear campaign” against Opposition leaders. AICC chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala alleged that facing “imminent defeat” in State polls, Modi and the BJP Government are seeking to “weave a web of lies” and con- struct a “mesh of deception to hoodwink” the people of India in the chopper scam case. In his rally in Rajasthan on the last day of campaigning before the State elections on Friday, Modi referred to the extradition of Michel saying, “The Government has brought the middleman involved in a helicopter scam from Dubai. He served politicians and will now disclose secrets.” “While the BJP and PM Modi are seeking fake credit without being subjected to investigation by the CBI for their own complicity and con- nivance, they are latching on to Christian Michel for commit- ting a smear campaign against Opposition leaders. The truth of Christian Michel is already out in the open,” he claimed. Surjewala alleged the state- ment made by Michel’s advo- cate Rosemary Patrizi Dos Anjos after his detention in July had “clearly brought out” that the Modi Government and its agencies were forcing him to sign a false confessional state- ment naming UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi in return for complete exoneration from any charge whatsoever in the case. H ours after he was deport- ed to New Delhi from Dubai, Christian Michel, accused and middleman in the AgustaWestland VVIP chopper deal scam, was on Wednesday produced before a Delhi court which allowed his five-day custodial interroga- tion. The CBI had sought a 14- day police remand. Michel will again be pro- duced in the court on December 10. Michel was pro- duced before Special CBI Judge Arvind Kumar, who allowed discussion between him and his advocate for five minutes. Michel landed in the national Capital around 11 pm on Tuesday. He was then taken to the CBI headquarters at the Lodhi Road here at 1.30 am. In its remand application, the CBI submitted that the cus- todial interrogation of accused Christian Michel is required to unearth the deep-rooted con- spiracy and to identify his accomplices, including the IAF officials, bureaucrats and politicians, who were instru- mental in changing the deci- sions, which made AgustaWestland eligible to participate in the bidding process and ultimately bagged it. The CBI submitted the accused has to be confronted with a number of documents. The counsel for CBI sub- mitted that investigation revealed that Michel had entered into as many as 12 con- tracts through two of his firms, namely Global Trade Commerce Ltd, London, and Global Services FZE, Dubai, with Finmeccanica, AgustaWestland, Westland Helicopters, UK among others to legitimise the illicit com- mission on the procurement of VVIP helicopters by the Ministry of Defence, India. The CBI also submitted that an amount of Euro 42.27 million was paid by the Westland Group Companies to the firms of accused Christian Michel as kickbacks without undertaking any work against the receipt of such amount. The counsel for the accused vehemently opposed the remand application saying there is no need for police cus- tody and none of these docu- ments has been produced in any international court. S everal issues were discussed by political parties during the Telangana Assembly elec- tion campaign to win hearts and minds of voters. While Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao tried to ride on Telangana sentiments and his Government’s numer- ous welfare schemes for various sections, the Opposition People’s Front highlighted issues, like the family rule, alleged corruption, farmers’ distress and failure of the Government in keeping its promises on the job front. The BJP, which is the third corner of the electoral fight, was falling back on its tried and tested formula of trying to polarise the voters by raising issues like alleged minority appeasement by the major par- ties and reservation quota for Muslims. A cursory look on the issues in the campaign: Telangana sentiment No election speech of care- taker Chief Minister and Telangana Rashtra Samiti supremo K Chandrasekhar Rao was without reference to the role he and his party played in more than a decade long movement for separate Telangana. He continued to contrast this with the dillydallying by then ruling Congress and antagonistic role of the TDP. He was also trying to use the sen- timents to quest the right of the Chief Minister of neighbouring Andhra Pradesh and TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu to interfere in Telangana politics. “Will you allow a man to come here who tried every trick to obstruct Telangana State,” he asked creating apprehensions that if the Opposition alliance “Praja Kutami” or People’s Front wins it will be remote controlled by Rahul Gandhi in New Delhi and Chandrababu in Amarvati at the cost of Telangana pride. While the TRS was seeking support from the farmers, the dominant force in rural Telangana citing 24 hours free power supply and schemes like investment support and free insurance for farmers as its major success, Congress-TDP alliance was trying to run down the claims of TRS. KCR also point out in every meeting that his Government had ful- filled the promise of waiving 2 lakh loans of every farmer. Congress president Rahul made frequent references to suicide by 4,500 farmers dur- ing TRS rule due to the distress and for not getting the mini- mum support price. KCR has promised another loan waiver of 1 lakh on returning to power benefiting 4.2 million farmers. A suspected cylinder blast killed a 32-year old tech- nician and injured three others during an experiment in the aero-dynamics laboratory of the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) here on Wednesday, police said. Four technicians of a private start-up company were involved in some experi- ment at the laboratory when an explosion occurred suddenly around 2.20 pm, they said. Technician Manoj from Mysuru died on the spot while three others suffered injuries. The injured have been admitted to a private hospital where their condition is said to be stable, police said. Though the nature of explosion and its cause are yet to be established, it is suspect- ed that the incident occurred due to a blast in a cylinder con- taining some gas, they said. Assistant Commissioner of Police Niranjan Raj Urs told PTI that the start-up company, Superwave Technologies Private Limited, was having a tie-up with the IISc for carry- ing out experiments pertaining to its research. “Forensic experts would ascertain the actual cause of the accident but it seems like a cylinder blast,” he said. T he Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Wednesday expectedly kept interest rates unchanged at 6.5 per cent but held out a promise to cut them if the upside risks to the infla- tion do not materialise. All the six members of the monetary policy committee voted for a hold on the rates. The RBI also coaxed banks to lend more in order to sup- port the slowing economy. The central bank lowered retail inflation projection to 2.7-3.2 per cent for the second half of the current fiscal, citing normal monsoon and moder- ate food prices. It retained its GDP forecast for the current fiscal at 7.4 per cent and said growth will accel- erate to 7.5 per cent in first half of 2019-20. Commenting on the RBI’s policy announcement, the Ministry of Finance said assessment of the RBI with regard to growth and inflation is same as that of the Government. India Inc too said RBI’s sta- tus quo decision was on expect- ed lines in view of headwinds, though it sought more mea- sures by the RBI to improve the credit flow to the economy. F ugitive liquor baron Vijay Mallya on Wednesday took to social media with an offer to pay back 100 per cent of “pub- lic money” to various Indian banks and urged the Government to accept his offer, days ahead of a United Kingdom court’s decision on his plea not to extradite him to India. The 62-year-old former Kingfisher Airlines boss, who has been on bail in the UK on an extradition warrant since his arrest in April last year, is fighting extradition to India on charges of fraud and money laundering allegedly amount- ing to around 9,000 crore. A ruling in the case is expected at Westminster Magistrates’ Court in London on December 10, but the busi- nessman stressed that the extradition issue was a “sepa- rate” matter which will take its “own legal course”. “The most important point is public money and I am offering to pay 100 per cent back. I humbly request the banks and Government to take it. If payback refused, why,” he questioned in one of his posts on Twitter. In reference to some Indian media reports claiming that his offer is linked to an expected ruling in the extradition case on December 10, he added: “Usual nonsense! I have made settlement offers since 2016.” After weeks of silence, Mallya shot off a series of tweets since the early hours of Wednesday to defend the loans he had acquired from various banks as a means of keeping his now-defunct Kingfisher Airline afloat. “Airlines struggling financially partly because of high ATF prices. Kingfisher was a fab airline that faced the highest ever crude prices of USD 140/barrel. Losses mount- ed and that’s where banks money went. I have offered to repay 100 per cent of the prin- cipal amount to them. Please take it,” reads one of his posts. Making a reference to his liquor group United Breweries, Mallya said that “India’s largest alcoholic beverage group” had contributed “thousands of crores” to the state exchequer over the years.

Upload: trinhcong

Post on 12-Dec-2018

217 views

Category:

Documents


0 download

TRANSCRIPT

Page 1: ˘ ˇ ˘ ˆ - dailypioneer.com · Anjos after his detention in July had “clearly brought out” that the Modi Government and its agencies were forcing him to sign a false confessional

����� �������

The Orissa High Court onWednesday granted bail to Delhi-

based columnist Abhijit Iyer Mitra inthe two criminal cases in which he hasbeen jailed since October 23.

In an analogous hearing, JusticeDebabrata Dash ordered the twolower courts, the SDJM Court ofBhubaneswar and the JMFC Court ofKonark, to impose conditions as theydeem proper in releasing Mitra onbail. Abhijit was booked by the SahidNagar police in Bhubaneswar and theKonark police in Puri district.

Mitra was arrested by the Odishapolice hours after he appeared before

a House Committee of the StateAssembly at Bhubaneswar for hisalleged derogatory and objectionableremarks on art and culture of Odisha.Earlier, his bail applications had beenrejected by both the lower courts andrespective District and Sessions Courts.

“Bails have been granted by theHigh Court in both the cases in whichchargesheets have been filed. In thechargesheets, the two non-bailableoffences (Sections 295-A and 153-Aof IPC) were dropped. For prosecu-tion, under these Sections requiressanctions from the State governmentand it appears sanctions may not havebeen given,” said Mitra’s counselNikhil Mehra.

“There is still a chargesheet

against him with certain other chargesof bailable offences and we shall haveto deal with them,” Mehra said,adding that certain other steps arenow to be taken to secure his releasefrom jail.

On the question of granting pardonto Mitrat by the Odisha Government,Mehra said Governments do not havepowers to pardon anybody. What theGovernments have is the power to grantsanctions or not to grant sanctions toprosecute; and here in this case, theOdisha Government chose not togrant sanctions for the prosecution,Mehra said.

The Odisha Government had onTuesday accepted Mitra’s appeal toconsider withholding sanction toprosecute him. The PrivilegesCommittee of Odisha Assembly hadpardoned him earlier on November 16after his unconditional apology ten-dered in having hurt the sentimentsof people of Odisha.

����� ������

The district police on Wednesdaytook Good News India shelter

home MD Fayaz Rahman, who wasarrested over his alleged involvementin sexual harassment of girls at a shel-ter home in Beltikri in the district,on remand for two more days.

He was earlier taken on a two-day remand, the duration of whichcame to an end on the day. The spe-cial POCSO court here again per-mitted the police to take him on fur-ther remand for two days.

Briefing mediapersons,Dhenkanal SP Santosh KumarNayak said during the earlierremand of Rehman, police investi-gated if the organisation is licensedunder the Foreign Contribution

(Regulation) Act (FCRA) to obtainforeign funds. Besides, evidence wascollected on the utilisation of themoney, audit report and return fil-ing of the organisation.

During investigation it wasfound that Good News India spendsforeign funding of Rs 14 to 15 crorein various activities in Odisha.

Nayak further informed thatthe organisation has been registeredunder West Bengal SocietiesRegistration Act, 1961 with its head-

quarters at Salgeria in PaschimMedinipur district of West Bengal.The registration enables the organi-sation to operate only in West Bengal.

The organisation’s foreign fund-ing comes to its SBI account atSalgeria. Then it is transferred to theGood News India’s ICICI bankaccount at Bhubaneswar fromwhere it is further transferred to thebank accounts of its 25 branchesacross Odisha.

He further revealed that thevideo of the religious conversion isalso from Salgeria. A police teamwould be sent to West Bengal to theascertain truth about religious con-version. Nayak added the organi-sation’s 26 centres operating inOdisha do not have any registrationto operate in the State.

�������������������� ��������������������� ��������� ��

����������� ������������������������� �� ���� �� ��� �� �� ������ �������� ������ ����

��� ������������ ����������� � ��� ������������ ������� � ��������������� ����!����

���������������� �������������������

� ���������������� � �������� ������������

����� �� �����������

Prime Minister NarendraModi on Wednesday turned

the deportation of ChristianMichel, the alleged middle-man in the �3,600-croreAgustaWestland chopper deal,as the final weapon on the lastday of campagning against theCongress in the RajasthanAssembly polls, saying Michelwill now reveal the secrets ofthe political master he hadserved.

“I had mentioned theVVIP helicopter case, I spokeabout it, about the letter writ-ten by Sonia Gandhi. After BJPcame to power, we looked forthe files, we dug around. Theyhad hidden it away. But onemiddleman finally was caughtafter years of digging,” Modisaid at an election rally in Pali.

Modi, who also addressedrallies in Sumerpur in Pali dis-trict and in Dausa, alleged theGandhi family have beenenjoying privileges for fourgenerations. He claimed theGovernment’s “win” in theapex court on Tuesday was the“victory of the honest”.

On Tuesday, the SupremeCourt allowed the Income-Tax Department to reopen thetax assessment of Congresspresident Rahul Gandhi andhis mother Sonia Gandhi for2011-12 in connection with theNational Herald case.

“Now I will see how youescape... Look at the courage ofa ‘chaiwala’ who took thoserunning country for four gen-erations to the court’s door,”

Modi said in Sumerpur in a ref-erence to his “chaiwala” roots.

Referring to the deporta-tion of Michel, he said, “Theentire family is shivering. The‘raazdar’ (one who hidessecrets) will speak up and theydon’t know whose name he willdisclose… It was a matter ofthousands of crore so they arein a state of panic.”

Continuing his attack onthe Congress, Modi said inDausa the Congress is a con-fused party with confused lead-ership.

“They don’t know the dif-ference between Kumbharam

and Kumbhkaran,” he jeered,referring to Rahul Gandhi’sgaffe on Tuesday when he mis-takenly referred to the AshokGehlot Government startingthe “Kumbhkaran” lift projectinstead of saying “Kumbharam”project.

Modi said such a confusedleadership cannot be good forthe party or the country. “Theydo not have leader, policy andintention,” Modi said.

The Congress, he asserted,has lost the election and is nowcontemplating who to holdresponsible for its defeat.

���������������� ���������� � ���������������������� ����������������������������� ���� ������������ ����������������������������

����� ������

Accusing Prime MinisterNarendra Modi of being

the “protector, benefactor andpromoter” of AgustaWestlandand its parent companyFinmeccanica, the Congresson Wednesday demanded aCBI probe into Modi’s role in“exonerating” the Italiandefence and aerospace majorwhich was blacklisted by thethen UPA Government.

The party in a statementsaid the BJP and the PrimeMinister are “latching” on to

Christian Miche for a “smearcampaign” against Oppositionleaders.

AICC chief spokespersonRandeep Surjewala alleged thatfacing “imminent defeat” inState polls, Modi and the BJPGovernment are seeking to“weave a web of lies” and con-

struct a “mesh of deception tohoodwink” the people of Indiain the chopper scam case.

In his rally in Rajasthan onthe last day of campaigningbefore the State elections onFriday, Modi referred to theextradition of Michel saying,“The Government has broughtthe middleman involved in ahelicopter scam from Dubai.He served politicians and willnow disclose secrets.”

“While the BJP and PMModi are seeking fake creditwithout being subjected toinvestigation by the CBI fortheir own complicity and con-

nivance, they are latching on toChristian Michel for commit-ting a smear campaign againstOpposition leaders. The truthof Christian Michel is alreadyout in the open,” he claimed.

Surjewala alleged the state-ment made by Michel’s advo-cate Rosemary Patrizi DosAnjos after his detention in Julyhad “clearly brought out” thatthe Modi Government and itsagencies were forcing him tosign a false confessional state-ment naming UPA chairpersonSonia Gandhi in return forcomplete exoneration from anycharge whatsoever in the case.

"�#$���#��%�&��� ������

Hours after he was deport-ed to New Delhi from

Dubai, Christian Michel,accused and middleman inthe AgustaWestland VVIPchopper deal scam, was onWednesday produced before aDelhi court which allowed hisfive-day custodial interroga-tion. The CBI had sought a 14-day police remand.

Michel will again be pro-duced in the court onDecember 10. Michel was pro-duced before Special CBI JudgeArvind Kumar, who alloweddiscussion between him andhis advocate for five minutes.Michel landed in the nationalCapital around 11 pm onTuesday. He was then taken tothe CBI headquarters at theLodhi Road here at 1.30 am.

In its remand application,the CBI submitted that the cus-todial interrogation of accusedChristian Michel is required tounearth the deep-rooted con-spiracy and to identify hisaccomplices, including the IAFofficials, bureaucrats andpoliticians, who were instru-mental in changing the deci-sions, which made

AgustaWestland eligible toparticipate in the biddingprocess and ultimately baggedit. The CBI submitted theaccused has to be confrontedwith a number of documents.

The counsel for CBI sub-mitted that investigationrevealed that Michel hadentered into as many as 12 con-tracts through two of his firms,namely Global TradeCommerce Ltd, London, andGlobal Services FZE, Dubai,with Finmeccanica,AgustaWestland, WestlandHelicopters, UK among othersto legitimise the illicit com-

mission on the procurement ofVVIP helicopters by theMinistry of Defence, India.

The CBI also submittedthat an amount of Euro 42.27million was paid by theWestland Group Companies tothe firms of accused ChristianMichel as kickbacks withoutundertaking any work againstthe receipt of such amount.

The counsel for theaccused vehemently opposedthe remand application sayingthere is no need for police cus-tody and none of these docu-ments has been produced inany international court.

������������������������������ !���������

����������� ������ ���������������������������������� ������������������������������������ ���������� ���������������� �

�� � ���!����������"���#�� ������$����������$ �%

��������������"������������������������������������$�����$�� �������� �&�'��� ���������$������������(������������������������$ )��������

����������������� ������������������ ����� ��� ������������ �

����� !'��"$()$$�����!�&�*�%�+���!,��-�+&�)$"�.%"���������/+�01 ���������������������� �!"!�#!����! �$%��!��&������'�(���!)*�������!��$�������� �+��%����'������,�(��!������-�����,�����$���������!"�%�������%��!*��!�$�!���)���(!��!(!"�!��!� )��% '��*��*!�%���./�0%�� �����!(!",�!�*�"��%��!*�����!%$�����$���$!"1

���!#2��3"�.)�,%)�$���"!)$�)%!�����$�$� ��3 ���1 �����)��� ����)�������$���$!"�!������$����������2��$�!���(%�����������'�%���'�� ��!�$�!�0�$�!���������!������% ��� ����%���%����!��%! ���'� ����)��(%���!���*%��!�%��1

#$4"%,�-�-�+���$��."$$)$$")��5�)"��5!4���� ��3 ���1 ����%���%��� %�%�������%�$���3�%(!�������$���$!"�!)�'��$�����4 )0�"! !���%�������5!��!�5�3!�!2�)�$���(�%'�6,6//����%���'%�%7������� ��!'��������8/����� +�"'����%�)��'%��������'!�)�$���!0��������%�*�% !*�1

�4���!6$����7��$$#���!3.!"��$�&�-�"�)��5�)"�#�� �1 ����#9�� ���$�����!�')��!��%*����)�������$���$!"�'�!% %�*���!����������#��*!��!$ %�%���!�%���!�$���%'��(��������������$%�*����%��!���%'!�%����������� %��%������!0���)���������!��%��,�%�'�)$%�*�!���5!��!,�%�������#��*!����� ��'� +���81

!�$"�.�"!!8�� �5���#��

Several issues were discussedby political parties during

the Telangana Assembly elec-tion campaign to win heartsand minds of voters. WhileChief Minister KChandrasekhar Rao tried toride on Telangana sentimentsand his Government’s numer-ous welfare schemes for varioussections, the OppositionPeople’s Front highlightedissues, like the family rule,alleged corruption, farmers’distress and failure of theGovernment in keeping itspromises on the job front.

The BJP, which is the thirdcorner of the electoral fight,was falling back on its tried andtested formula of trying topolarise the voters by raisingissues like alleged minorityappeasement by the major par-ties and reservation quota forMuslims.

A cursory look on theissues in the campaign:

Telangana sentimentNo election speech of care-

taker Chief Minister andTelangana Rashtra Samitisupremo K Chandrasekhar Raowas without reference to therole he and his party played inmore than a decade long

movement for separateTelangana.

He continued to contrastthis with the dillydallying bythen ruling Congress andantagonistic role of the TDP. Hewas also trying to use the sen-timents to quest the right of theChief Minister of neighbouringAndhra Pradesh and TDPpresident N ChandrababuNaidu to interfere in Telanganapolitics.

“Will you allow a man tocome here who tried every trickto obstruct Telangana State,” heasked creating apprehensionsthat if the Opposition alliance“Praja Kutami” or People’sFront wins it will be remotecontrolled by Rahul Gandhi inNew Delhi and Chandrababuin Amarvati at the cost ofTelangana pride.

While the TRS was seekingsupport from the farmers, thedominant force in ruralTelangana citing 24 hours freepower supply and schemes likeinvestment support and freeinsurance for farmers as itsmajor success, Congress-TDPalliance was trying to rundown the claims of TRS. KCRalso point out in every meetingthat his Government had ful-filled the promise of waiving �2lakh loans of every farmer.

Congress president Rahulmade frequent references tosuicide by 4,500 farmers dur-ing TRS rule due to the distressand for not getting the mini-mum support price. KCR haspromised another loan waiverof �1 lakh on returning topower benefiting 4.2 millionfarmers.

�)%�� #:�����

Asuspected cylinder blastkilled a 32-year old tech-

nician and injured three othersduring an experiment in theaero-dynamics laboratory ofthe Indian Institute of Science(IISc) here on Wednesday,police said. Four technicians ofa private start-up companywere involved in some experi-ment at the laboratory when anexplosion occurred suddenlyaround 2.20 pm, they said.

Technician Manoj fromMysuru died on the spot whilethree others suffered injuries.

The injured have beenadmitted to a private hospital

where their condition is said tobe stable, police said.

Though the nature ofexplosion and its cause are yetto be established, it is suspect-ed that the incident occurreddue to a blast in a cylinder con-taining some gas, they said.

Assistant Commissionerof Police Niranjan Raj Urs toldPTI that the start-up company,Superwave TechnologiesPrivate Limited, was having atie-up with the IISc for carry-ing out experiments pertainingto its research.

“Forensic experts wouldascertain the actual cause of theaccident but it seems like acylinder blast,” he said.

�)%�� � #��

The Reserve Bank of India(RBI) on Wednesday

expectedly kept interest ratesunchanged at 6.5 per cent butheld out a promise to cut themif the upside risks to the infla-tion do not materialise. All thesix members of the monetarypolicy committee voted for ahold on the rates.

The RBI also coaxed banksto lend more in order to sup-port the slowing economy.

The central bank loweredretail inflation projection to2.7-3.2 per cent for the secondhalf of the current fiscal, citingnormal monsoon and moder-ate food prices.

It retained its GDP forecastfor the current fiscal at 7.4 percent and said growth will accel-erate to 7.5 per cent in first halfof 2019-20.

Commenting on the RBI’spolicy announcement, theMinistry of Finance saidassessment of the RBI withregard to growth and inflationis same as that of theGovernment.

India Inc too said RBI’s sta-tus quo decision was on expect-ed lines in view of headwinds,though it sought more mea-sures by the RBI to improve thecredit flow to the economy.

����������������� ��� �����������������������

!"#������� ������ ������ ������� ������������

"����#$��%������&&����''���

*��������+��������������,���������������� ������-�$���������������$����� � ���� �����������(������. (�/0��������������������$ �%

�)%�� ����

Fugitive liquor baron VijayMallya on Wednesday took

to social media with an offer topay back 100 per cent of “pub-lic money” to various Indianbanks and urged theGovernment to accept his offer,days ahead of a UnitedKingdom court’s decision onhis plea not to extradite him to India.

The 62-year-old formerKingfisher Airlines boss, whohas been on bail in the UK onan extradition warrant since hisarrest in April last year, isfighting extradition to India oncharges of fraud and moneylaundering allegedly amount-ing to around �9,000 crore.

A ruling in the case isexpected at WestminsterMagistrates’ Court in Londonon December 10, but the busi-nessman stressed that theextradition issue was a “sepa-rate” matter which will take its“own legal course”.

“The most important pointis public money and I amoffering to pay 100 per centback. I humbly request thebanks and Government to takeit. If payback refused, why,” hequestioned in one of his postson Twitter. In reference tosome Indian media reportsclaiming that his offer is linkedto an expected ruling in theextradition case on December10, he added: “Usual nonsense!I have made settlement offerssince 2016.”

After weeks of silence,Mallya shot off a series oftweets since the early hours ofWednesday to defend the loanshe had acquired from variousbanks as a means of keeping hisnow-defunct Kingfisher Airlineafloat. “Airlines strugglingfinancially partly because ofhigh ATF prices. Kingfisherwas a fab airline that faced thehighest ever crude prices ofUSD 140/barrel. Losses mount-ed and that’s where banksmoney went. I have offered torepay 100 per cent of the prin-cipal amount to them. Pleasetake it,” reads one of his posts.

Making a reference to hisliquor group United Breweries,Mallya said that “India’s largestalcoholic beverage group” hadcontributed “thousands ofcrores” to the state exchequerover the years.

�� ��������������"##$��%��&�'��������

;����!%�"�%����� �!'�+��01'� �$!%�"�%�����$���� ������%

������� ������������

���!&'�()

��������9���������5�&��� ������5�#����

�*#+#�+�,��������:5������������

�*�!-�(. �����5�#�����&�����������

%���!*�! 1'� �$!%�"�%������

�%�" 6��9�6.�%��� <=>?�%���)�'�!�*��@��!�%������%'!+��

��� ������������� �!�� "�#$%& '�%��

'�"'�$�(&�) )�$��!�)�!�")���$�!*�)������)��"$

$������� ��:;<=���������������� �����������

��+���$�,�"7�)�+"�3�5�3$�$��$"�<7�'>:;?���&$��:<��@

������������� �������������������� ��

Page 2: ˘ ˇ ˘ ˆ - dailypioneer.com · Anjos after his detention in July had “clearly brought out” that the Modi Government and its agencies were forcing him to sign a false confessional

��(����)�'�"'�$�(&�)�+�,�")(��- +�����.'�)�/0��123

���������� �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� ������������������������������������� ��������������������������������������� ��������������� �� ���������������������������������������������������������� ������������ ����� ��������������� ��������������������������������������������������� ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� �������� �!����������������"���������� ���������������������������� �������������������� ���� ��������������������������������� �����������������������������#��������������������������� ���� ����$����%����&�������������������������� ��������������� �����������������������'����������������������������������� ���������������"��������������������(�����������������������������

����������� ������ ������������������� ������������������������� !��������"�� ���#�$!%���&�'��(� !)$&% �&!&�*+(� !)$&% �,%%��$-��(������������./-�����-�������������0/��� ���������1�������������))2%)�������$0�3���$4�������#�5��������6�����"�� ���#�$!%�����6�����(����������7�������6�����(��������7�57�/�����8756�9:&��!:&&)!%�057�;7�<0796��7������6��(�������7����������(���=���(��- �20�-�� ������("�/����2�������������(��>�����4����8�����(��� �"�����9�� "�#�� "�������3����/���#4����$�����&������(���$)����)%%���--��������8�����(*$,�������� ��8540�9��-"����/�$&��,���;��������(��&�$)?!@?��2)?!@@������A��#8�����()��*���������������/�������*�B �7������A��#&& �� �'���������(�%&&$&,) )),�&,) )))�&,) ))%�

����� #���:��

Intensifying their agitationfor the third consecutive day

demanding setting up of anOrissa High Court permanentBench here, lawyers onWednesday prevented the dis-trict Collector from enteringhis office.

Sources said CollectorArindam Dakua was scheduledto attend a videoconferencewith Chief Secretary AP Padhion the day, but he had toreturn from the gate of hisoffice as the agitators stoppedhim from entering theCollectorate.

A lawyer tonsured his head

as a mark of protest over thedelay in establishment of aHigh Court Bench.

The lawyers also staged ademonstration and a rally inthe town.

The lawyers threatenedthat they would continue theiragitation until their demand isfulfilled. Several outfits, includ-

ing the Central ActionCommittee (CAC), also joinedthe stir.

Notably, the lawyers havecalled for a week-long closureof all major Government officesincluding the districtCollectorate, Tehsil and otherinstitutions in the district fromDecember 3.

*�++!,�*��!��,�&&,++� �,-&.//

����������������(�����������������!("�������)�����!$�%���������

����� #��#�����

Transport officials across theState have started putting

reflective stickers on the hornsand necks of cattle to help peo-ple to easily spot stray cattlesleeping on roads, includingNational Highways, from adistance during night hours.

Transport CommissionerSanjeeb Kumar Panda helddiscussions with RegionalTransport Officers (RTOs) fol-lowing which the decision wasimplemented.

Stray cattle are posing seri-ous problems on the vehicularmovement on the city roadsand NHs. So it was decided toput reflective stickers on thehorns and neck of the stray cat-

tle, said Panda.Reports from RTO offices

from Bhubaneswar, Cuttack,Nuapada, Baripada revealedthat the initiative has beenpraised by drivers.

With rise in road acci-dents, the State TransportAuthority (STA) is taking sev-eral steps to curb accidents onroads and highways, and it isone of such steps, said Panda.

Due to accidents on NHs,about 43,000 persons have died in over one lakh road acci-dents in the State during thelast 10 years.

According to informationsubmitted in the StateAssembly recently, as many as3,079 persons had died in8,181 road accidents during2008. In 2018, as many as8,292 road accidents werereported in which 3,817 per-sons died and 8718 wereinjured.

)������������� ��������� �����������������������!''%$��������%*�(!"�

�%�,�"�4���)��%#

When a highly skilled teamof Odisha administra-

tors was stunning the entireworld with mind-blowinghockey spectacles, the saffronbrigade had chosen to lookaway and revel over the suddendiscovery of a new find to beportrayed as the Chief Ministermaterial for the 2019 polls. TheBJP masterminds in Odishawent into frenzied euphoriabelieving the former ladybureaucrat is invincible as hername suggests. AparajitaSarangi has temporarilybrought to end the never-end-ing quest for a credible figureto lead the badly distressed BJPcommunity in Odisha.Dharmendra Pradhan wasfleetingly projected as the CMstuff until the madam materi-alised. Since his defeat in 2009,

Pradhan has not been able togarner enough strength orcourage to step onto the bat-tleground again.

The Odisha BJP had noface until late. Dharmendra wasreally accepted as one. JualOram too has no great fan fol-lowing in his own constituen-cy is above all talking crap. Hehas long ceased to be a simpletribal leader with a nature-friendly lifestyle. So, Aparajitamadam was enticed into thefold by some guile used bytrades folk leaders by danglingthe Chief Minister chair beforeher. She too has fallen easy preyimagining that people admiredher when she was a bureaucratperforming fairly well in someof her postings. But as is usualin the BJP's netting techniques,the gullible lady may havebeen promised the skies with-out being told the truth aboutthe party's slimmest prospectsof winning the magic numberto coronate her as CM. Afterbeing trapped tightly andinescapably, she was horrificallytutored to tell lies quite at theoutset. She declared publiclythat she was giving up thelucrative and glamorously pres-tigious IAS job to join a UN-linked NGO. Everybodybelieved her because she couldbe telling a lie. The StateGovernment, which had facil-itated all her achievement

sprees by giving her real freehand, permitted her to leave soas to serve the poor anywherein the world on a bigger scale.But she emerged from behindthe curtains as a saffron leader.Aparajita is married to an Odiafellow bureaucrat. Her father-in-law, a former engineer, isexcited beyond limits and takesgreat deal of pride that theBihari girl speaks immaculateOdia and knows the local cul-ture much more than manyOdia women.

All the same, the BJP maybe in far greater trouble asDharmendra may have nottaken the entry of the formerglamorous bureaucrat well ashis chances of being projectedas the BJP face in Odisha havesimply gone with the norther-ly wind. Further, the Dilip-Bijayduo that has just abandonedthe fold may cause irreparabledamage to the party no matterwhere they find a new home.Insiders keep murmuring thatAparajita would make a greatMayor of the BhubaneswarMunicipal Corporation specif-ically because she had firstbecome a celebrity adminis-trator of the urban body whilehaving a stint as itsCommissioner. It will not besurprising to witness suchattempts by her senior partymates who have been over-shadowed completely by her

despite having screamedand screeched hoarse tomake the BJP popular.Aparajita may repentlater for never havingconsidered the BJD asthe right platform.

The ‘Ram Mandir-crazy' BJP has scantregards for the secularfabric of theConstitution. The outfit,under the Modi-Shahstewardship, is moreengaged in cow vigilan-tism than improving thequality of life of thepoor. Lately, they haveembarked upon the craziestprojects of splurging publicmoney on putting up record-size statues all over the BJPregions. The skyscraping Patelstatue does not inspire Sardar’sprinciples in the hearts of vis-itors; it only attracts them tolook around the artificial lakeand expensively maintainedgardens. One has to take achopperride to see the beautyof the immeasurable work ofart. The BJP is now working ona record-size Ram statue toplease Hindu rightists as theyextract votes by using force andfear. Similarly, there are the cowvigilante thugs who keep killinginnocent cow traders and beefeaters. They have now shotdead a police inspector. Notonce have they thought of the

Hindu religion which isabsolutely established on tol-erance and universal brother-hood; hence, the name‘Sanatana Dharma'.

The Sabarimala tale isequally horrific. The saffrongangsters have made life ofpeople miserable by even defy-ing a telling Supreme Courtorder making entry of youngwomen. The Modi-Shah duohas not once condemned thefundamentalist approach ofmindless Hindu militants whoare causing horrific havoc at thetemple in Kerala. The priestscalled ‘Tanthris' are encouragedby the saffron brigade to throwthe apex court order to garbage.Only recently there have beenseveral exposures by eminentKerali and south Indian women

of respectable stature intheir articles and socialmedia postings whereinthey have categoricallymade clear the fact thattheir mothers and auntshave taken kid siblingsfor some first-rice intakerituals at the templewithout any hindrance,nay with warmest ofwelcome acts by thepriests until the lateSixties of the last centu-ry, which is not evenfifty years ago. Thestrange phenomenon offertile women being

barred from entry came onlywith some High Court orderpronounced by the judges whonever looked up history butchose to float with the populistbelief system. The temple hasundergone significant ritualchanges after the 1950 incident.One such significant change isthe restriction on entry ofwomen. The notion that this isa recent restriction finds reso-nance in the Kerala High Courtjudgment. “Women used tovisit the temple earlier. TheMaharaja of Travancoreaccompanied by the Maharani(queen) and the Diwan had vis-ited the temple in theMalayalam year of 1115 (1940).There was thus no strict pro-hibition for women to enter theSabarimala temple in olden

days,” the judgment read.Another important change

that took place was the incor-poration of ‘Harivarasanam’(Sanskrit official lullaby ofAyyappa) as the official song ofAyyappa and Sabarimala. Thissong was incorporated as theofficial song after the firing ofthe temple in 1950.Makaravilakku (ritual festivalof Sabarimala) is a most impor-tant attraction in Sabarimala. Itis during this period that themost number of pilgrims reachSabarimala. Facts categorical-ly establish that the divineMakara Jyothi that givesSabarimala pilgrimage a mag-netic attraction among Hindusis man-made. FormerTranvancore Devaswom Boardpresident Raman Nair hasadmitted that “theMakaravilakku is also donewith the help of the police andother people”. In a letter theombudsman for the Travancoreand Cochin DevaswomBoards, Nalinakshan Nair saidMakarajyothi has a history of45 years only.

The Supreme Courtrestored the human order ofequality of all in every publicdomain irrespective of caste,colour or sex. Discriminatorypractice of any kind was right-ly scrapped as unlawful. Afterall these human-friendly rul-ings too, the BJP think tank

keeps toying with plans ofcausing fissures across an oth-erwise homogeneous Indiansociety. The British colonialistswere never as non-secular ordiscriminatory on any of theirreforms attempts. The practiceof ‘Sati' was both inhumanand discriminatory. They abol-ished that the moment it caughttheir attention. In a democra-tic, secular India, theSabarimala ban on womencannot happen at all. The BJPGovernment is doing preciouslittle to uphold the Constitutionby implementing the apexcourt order by any means. TheKerala Government is moresane than the UnionGovernment as has alreadybeen proved.

Odisha fortunately has a farmore secular and democraticsociety than all the saffronStates which are certain to bitedust in the coming years. TheBJD is likely to encounter theBJP as a tiny force in 2019. Butafter what the fundamentalistgangsters have begun com-mitting, the rulers are sure ofa massive victory yet again. Thesecular BJD roped in a few for-mer civil servants only becausethe guys saw promise and afuture in the party.

(The writer is a core mem-ber of TransparencyInternational, Odisha)

����� #��#�����

As many as four littérateursfrom Odisha have been

selected for the prestigiousKendra Sahitya AkademiAward-2018.

Noted writer Dr DasarathiDas will receive the award forhis book ‘Prasanga PurunaBhabana Nua’.

Dr Gaganendranath Daswill be bestowed with theSahitya Akademi BhashaSamman. Besides, Dr PrafullaTripathy and Haladhar Nagwill be conferred with theKosali-Sambalpuri BhashaSamman.

The selections have beenapproved by the ExecutiveBoard of the Sahitya Akademi.

*&00&,-0*!+� ��!1!

+2����������3���4�������3���'���������( ��� �����

����� #��#�����

The Air Asia on Wednesdayannounced the launch of

an exciting ‘travel fair’ inBhubaneswar to promotetourism in India with interest-ing deals and offers for visitors.

Accordingly, guests canavail flat 20 per cent off on theirflight tickets on bookings madebetween December 7 and 9 fortravel between January 7 and17, 2019.

This discount is applicableon all flights operated byAirAsia’s Group network.

Guests can avail the offeracross AirAsia India domestic

network and especially to thedirect f lights fromBhubaneswar to Kolkata andBengaluru. For internationaltravel, guests can plan inter-esting destinations such asKuala Lumpur, Bangkok,Phuket, Singapore, Bali,Melbourne, Sydney and manymore destinations, informed anrelease.

The Tourism Malaysia andthe Thai Tourism are partner-ing with the Air Asia for thisevent.

������� ������������ �����������������=/�����'���$%�'�)�������%'0���

����� #��#�����

To ensure safety for pas-sengers and check illegal

transportation of narcoticsand valuable metals, the StateLevel Security Committee forRailways on Wednesday decid-ed to create a WhatsApp groupinvolving GovernmentRailway Police (GRP) andRailway Police Force (RPF)staffs under administration ofSRP Rourkela and SRPCuttack.

A decision to this effectwas taken at a meeting heldunder chairmanship of DGPDr RP Sharma here. GRP andRPF personnel would shareintelligence relating to trans-portation of narcotic drugs

and psychotic substance, unau-thorised transportation of livestocks, human trafficking,transportation of valuable met-als like gold, silver etc. as wellas any crime and law andorder situation, if happens.Details of the cases related to‘Rail Roko’ which are nowbeing registered by the RPFshould be shared with theconcerned GRPSs.

It was decided to deploytrain guards in various crime-prone night plying trains andsupply CUG mobiles to them.During bandhs, the GRP, theRPF and the Railway Authoritywould take joint efforts to dif-

fuse the situation well inadvance.

Orientation training wouldbe given to both RPF and GRPpersonnel to deal with LWEactivities. All the railway stationwill be provided with sufficientnumbers of CCTV/ baggagescanner by Railways within ashort period. It was also decid-ed to take initiative for Inter-State transfer of Zero FIR casesdirectly to the concerned PSunder intimation to the SP/SRP.

It was informed by RPFthat in some of the trains likeRajdhani and Satabdi, CCTVshave been installed inside thecoaches and other trains wouldbe fitted with CCTV gradual-ly.

Railways and CoastalSecurity Additional DGP PAcharya, SIB Joint DeputyDirector PK Sethy, ECoR RPF-cum-PCSC IG Atul Pathakand senior officers of the RPFand GRP were present.

�������������+���!%��$����$�!��(%�����!'�%�%�%��

�!*��!*$������ ���������/����������� ��� ������������

3��������5�����3���� ���' �6�������������+��'���,���

����� �������

Chief Minister NaveenPatnaik inaugurated a

sewage treatment plant at CDASector-1 here on Wednesday.The plant is expected to boostthe Millennium City’ sanitationmanagement.

The advanced sewagetreatment plant, constructed at

a cost of �110 crore, has acapacity of treating 3.60 crore litres per day, official

sources said.More than 275 km of

sewage pipeline network

has been completed under theproject.

Drainage pumping stationat Police Colony with dis-charge capacity of 72 lakh litres per hour has also beencompleted.

The Chief Minister alsolaid foundation-stone for theproposed Maulana AzadNational Urdu University cam-pus at CDA Sector-13 here.

The university will offerpolytechnic and ITI courses inthe first phase.

�!"��������������$)�!��%�"�'! �)�

��������������������3���(����

����� #��#�����

With little scope to relaxnorms relating to bilat-

eral rights for foreign airlines,the State Government’s plan to connect Bhubaneswarwith Colombo, Singapore andDubai will face hurdle, feelsenior officials.

Odisha along with severalother State Governments arerequesting the UnionGovernment to relax norms forthe international airlines torun their services from thecities in the countries.

Accordingly, the StateGovernment has urgedMinistry of Civil Aviation(MoCA) to relax the normsrelating to bilateral rights forforeign airlines, so that they canoperate direct flights to Dubaifrom Biju Patnaik InternationalAirport (BPIA).

There is huge scope fordirect international flight fromBPIA to Srilanka, Singaporeand Dubai as these destinations

of South Asian and Arabiancountries are attracting tourists.

With Air Asia started flightfrom Kuala Lumpur toBhubaneswar and Bangkok toBhubaneswar the capital city isconnected to about 21 desti-nations abroad. So touristsfrom all over the world areshowing interest in the State asa major tourist destination.

Looking at the brightprospects for foreign touristinflow, the State Governmenthad urged MoCA to relaxnorms for foreign airlines.

Under InternationalUDAN, there is lot of scope forboth domestic and interna-tional airlines to operate flightsfrom the cities likeBhubaneswar, Agartala,Guwahati, Ahemdabad, Kochi,Raipur and others.

Being Bhubaneswar aninternational airport there is lotof scope for connecting tointernational destinations sothe State Government has beensubsidizing to Air Asia for its

flight to Kuala Lumpur.Air Asia is flying its flights

continuously since April, 2017, to Kuala Lumpur andrecently it has started toBangkok from BPIA.

Though domestic airlinesmajor, Air India started inter-national flight to Bangkok inDecember, 2017, the flightoperation is stopped due tounknown reasons.

So there is little continuityon count of international flightby domestic airlines, where asforeign airlines are continuingtheir services.

Under this backdrop, relax-ing norms for internationalairlines was suggested by theState Government.

However, during theOdisha visit of Union Secretary Civil Aviation, RajivNayan Choubey, it came to the fore that MoCA is in nomood to relax such norms forforeign airlines.

Domestic airlines like AirIndia and Jet Air are flying their

flights to Srilanka, Singaporeand Dubai.

So the State Governmentwill have to limit its options tothese airlines, officials feel asthere is little scope for openingdiscussions with internationalairlines. However, the StateGovernment can offer similarsubsidies to international air-lines as per terms and condi-tions it has been extending toAir Asia for their internation-al flights to Kuala Lumpur andBangkok.

While Kuala Lumper flightoperation is subsidized,Bangkok operation is not sup-ported especially underViability Gap Funding (VGF)programme.

As in earlier MoU, it wasmentioned that Air Asia willendeavor to runmore flights toBangkok and Singapore, sothe airlines is flying the flight.However they are requestingthe State Government to extendsimilar support for Bangkokflight, sources said.

0 ��������4��������0���0 �������

(���������3������������� �

����5���

BHUBANESWAR: TheChandaka Cycle Trails, a pro-gramme under the BhubaneswarNature Walk of the BhubaneswarDevelopment Authority (BDA),was launched from Godibarihere on Wednesday.

As part of the BhubaneswarCity Festival, the cycle trail is aninitiative to go deeper into theforest and learn more about theimportance of the Chandakaforest reserve with its flora andfauna. On the inaugural day, sixcyclists moved into the forestand returned, according toreports. The cycle trail, hasbegun in collaboration with EcoTour of Forest Department andPlaybook Consultancy, will beheld at 6 am every Sunday.

Chandaka is home to 730species of plants, 39 species ofmammals, 252 species of birds,nie species of amphibians, 39species of reptiles, 19 species offishes and seven species ofinvertebrates. With the riverMahanadi on its side, the sceneinside the forest with numerouswater bodies around makes thesurrounding unique. PNS

��!�$!0!��"'����!%���+�*%����� �:�$%+!�%

�������������� !����"��#�$��$$%��� �!���$�#&$'

&�)���$%!��*����!�%�"!�0!$� %��(!�$

Page 3: ˘ ˇ ˘ ˆ - dailypioneer.com · Anjos after his detention in July had “clearly brought out” that the Modi Government and its agencies were forcing him to sign a false confessional

'�"'�$�(&�)�+�,�")(��- +�����.'�)�/0��123 � 3�����)$

����� �������

Over 1000 people fromvar-ious walks of life in undi-

vided Koraput district partici-pated in the ‘Run for Martyrs’organised by the BSF. Koraput.

It was to honour thesupreme sacrifices of the heroeswho laid down their lives inwar and other anti-insurgencyoperation of the BSF.

Odisha has remained achallenging battle field for theBorder Security Forces (BSF).It has lost many of its bravehearts in bringing back nor-malcy to the districts worstaffected by Maoist violencelike Malkangiri and Koraputsince its deployment in thesetwo places in 2010.

Apart from combatingNaxalism as mandated, BSF isconducting various civic activ-

ities like health camp, distrib-ution of essential items to vil-lagers and stationery items toschools. All these activities arecarried out to inculcate a senseof faith in the system as well asin BSF, said DIG BSF KoraputA Srinivas.

Jeypore MLA Tara PrasadBahinipati, CommandantKanwar Vishal Singh, DeepakKhandpal, Vikram Sharma,Bhupendra Pratap, ArchanaAcharya graced as guests.

Gangadhar Nanda, a mem-ber of a senior citizen forumsaid such a race is really need-ed to inculcate patriotic spiritamong the youths and motivatethem for sports as well.

Rishita Agarwal, theyoungest runner who covered5 km, said, “I have neverthought of participating insuch a programme.”

+�76.��� �����4���������3��8�(��

��"!4�#+��"��%��"��� ����

Around 300 residents ofPratap Ramachandrapur

village under Puri Sadar blockare living in panic for last sixmonths over national highway(NH) to run through their vil-lage.

The cause of fear of the vil-lagers is the poster which readsacquisition of 70 feet lands atboth sides of the road withinnext 3 to 4 months.

The villagers fear that if theGovernment acquires 70 feetland, ultimately they will losetheir houses. Suspecting theauthenticity of the poster, thevillagers demanded clarifica-tions from the Puri Collector.

Sources said the hereditaryBrahmin village under the ambitof Shreemandira Muktimandap

is having a wide road connect-ing Bhubaneswar-Brahmapurnational highway from Puri-Bhuabneswar NH nearChandanpur. The road remainsjam-packed as it is shorter byalmost 100 km between thetwo major NHs. Through the

day and night trucks, busses, carsand bikes to south Odisha makejam the village.

According to the villagers,they have lost peace after theroad was opened to Rameswarfrom Puri inside their village.Due to heavy vehicular crowd,

accidents in the village arecommon. Besides, they saidthey are facing a lot of incon-veniences during festive occa-sions when the gods and god-desses visit the village for offer-ings.

The villagers also face trou-ble during marriage and threadwearing ceremonies. As theyhave tradition of feasting on theroad, so the vehicular traffick-ing has caused a hurdle forthem.

That is why they have beendemanding a bypass route forpast two five years. In themean time, a poster citingeviction of 70 feet space at bothsides has sparked fearamongthe villagers of losing roadsidehouses.

“We are doubtful aboutthe authenticity of the poster.Someone has thrown poster atevery door,” said Dr BhaskarMishra. Mishra informed thatthey have been hearing rumorof NH in the village for a year.

If the NH is true, then theymust oppose it tooth to nail onsafety ground, besides preser-vation of village heritages beinga Sasan of Muktimandap,informed Mishra.

������"�$��2�(!�����)���$� ��%���$������!$

!�2���%*�(!"�%��%$���%��!*����������$�%���)�%

����� ����#��

Two Warders of Phulbanidistrict jail were suspend-

ed on Wednesday in connec-tion with the death of anunder-trial prisoner (UTP),who was attacked by anotherinmate in the jail premises onDecember 1.

The suspended Warderswere identified as MahendraDalei and Laxman Behera.Southern Range DIG (Prisons)Raghunath Majhi issued thesuspension order on Tuesday.

Phulbani JailSuperintendent Gariba Sahusaid the DIG suspended both theofficials for negligence of duty inconnection with the incident.

An UTP identified asLaxman Nayak ofTummudibandh had died afterbeing attacked by a fellow

inmate, Kanhu CharanPradhan, at the jail on Sundaymorning.

Kanhu, who is serving a lifesentence in the jail, allegedly hitLaxman with a stone on hishead. Laxman was immedi-ately rushed to Phulbani hos-pital in a critical conditionand later shifted to theBrahmapur MKCG MedicalCollege Hospital, where hesuccumbed to his injuries.

�*� +�,&�.&�9,�!�0*

=��!�$�����)����$�$������*�%*��'��%��$)�"

��(�����:�����3������������������������������ �����+�����;� ������.�����&-<��� �=

.����������%����������(��� �

���� �0����4

����� ����#��

The Kandhamal District Pano Samaj Kalyan Committee organ-ised a rally and a protest meeting here on Wednesday demand-

ing exclusion of some castes from the SC list and establishmentof a medical college in the district.

Committee president Ana Nayak, general secretary KhirodSahani, former ML Nakul Naik, Netra Manseth and many otherleaders participated in the rally. They demand that AMCS Tikabaliforest programmes be resumed sto that SC people can enjoyforests products. They demanded that castes like Keuta, Dewar,Dhoba and Kumbhar be excluded from the SC in the munici-pality and NAC area be recorded in favour of SC persons underthe Sarba Kshyama Yojana.

Arguing that the number of SC people is equal to the num-ber of ST population in Kandhmal district, the committee alsodemanded that Pana community be brought under the ForestRights Act. Their other demands include establishment of a schoolnamed after BR Ambedkar, reservation of Government posts inForest and Home department for SC candidates and establish-ment of a Government medical college at Phulbani.

���$���!��",�������������������$� !�$�����

�#�#�#!(��$$%�!$'�)#��) ��$�$�#����*�+#��

��"$���#�3��

The turn of the century didnot witness any improve-

ment in the fortunes of India’sWorld Cup campaign in hock-ey as the team continued toperform poorly even as teamslike Argentina, England, SouthKorea and Belgium took rapidstrides.

The World Cup returnedto Kuala Lumpur after 27years in 2002, with the num-ber of participating countriesincreasing from 12 to 16. Theteams were split into twogroups of eight each. Indiaentered the fray with newhope and memory of its onlyWorld Cup win at the samevenue in 1975. The team wasplaced in Pool-B alongsideAustralia, South Korea,England, Japan, Poland, Cubaand hosts Malaysia.

Germany, looking strongerand fitter, were grouped inPool-A with

Netherlands, a rapidlyimproving Argentina, Pakistan,Spain, New Zealand, SouthAfrica and Belgium.

India began the campaignon the wrong foot as lowlyJapan held them to a 2-2draw. In fact, Japan was lead-ing 2-0 at one stage and Indiahad to claw back into thematch with two late strikes. Inthe next three matches, Indiaslumped to defeat againstSouth Korea (1-2), Malaysia(2-3) and England (2-3). Theteam won its next two tiesagainst Cuba (4-0) and Poland(4-1) before losing to Australia(3-4) to complete the leagueengagements.

Malaysia had taken sweetrevenge by winning by thesame margin it had lost to Indiain the 1975 World Cup semi-final. India could earn onlyseven points while Australia,making a clean sweep of all itsseven matches, headed thetable followed by South Koreawhich won five of its seven ties.Malaysia, England and Japanfinished ahead of India in thetable.

In the other pool, Germanyand Netherlands qualified forthe semifinals though bothteams suffered a defeat at the

league stage.While Germany went

down to Spain 2-3, it beatNetherlands by a solitary goal.Argentina won five of itsmatches to finish just a pointbehind Netherlands andPakistan made an early exit los-ing three of its ties.

In the cross over match,India beat Spain 3-0 and play-ing for the ninth spot, wentdown to New Zealand 1-2. Inthe semifinals, Germany facedstiff resistance from the spright-ly South Koreans before emerg-ing victors (3-2). In the othersemifinal, Australia beat

Netherlands 4-1. Germanylifted the cup for the first timewhen they defeated Australia2-1 in the final. Netherlandsbeat South Korea by the samemargin to claim the thirdplace.

Four years later, the WorldCup venue shifted to a Germancity with an unpronounceablename --Monchengladbach. Thetournament was back to its ear-lier format with 12 teams.India was placed in Pool-B withholders Germany, South Korea,

Netherlands, England andSouth Africa.

Australia, Spain, NewZealand, Pakistan, Argentinaand Japan were in Pool-A.

India’s woeful story con-tinued in this edition as wellwith the team being able todraw only one game againstSouth Africa (1-1) while losingthe rest four encounters.Germany and England beatIndia by identical 3-2 marginswhile South Korea edged themout 2-1. In the last groupencounter, India was humiliat-ed by Netherlands 6-1. Indialost to Argentina in thecrossover match for minorplacing 2-3. The team managedto get the 11th position by beat-ing South Africa by a solitarygoal.

In the semifinals, Australiaousted South Korea 4-2 whileGermany beat Spain 3-1 in thetie-breaker after the matchended two-all. Germanyretained the cup defeatingAustralia 4-3 in the final. Spaintook the third spot edging outSouth Korea 3-2.

India hoped to do better

when the World Cup was heldin the country for the secondtime in 2010 at New Delhi.Twelve teams were in the fraywith champions of the previousedition, Germany grouped with

Netherlands, South Korea,Argentina, New Zealand andCanada in Pool-A. In Pool-B,India had to wrestle with topcontenders Australia, England,Spain, South Africa andPakistan.

Holders Germany wonthree of the five pool match-es but was held to draw byplucky South Korea, semifi-nalists at Monchangladbachin the previous tournament,and Netherlands. The scoreline was 2-2 in both matchesbut despite the hiccupsGermany topped the groupwith 11 points withNetherlands finishing secondwith 10 points. South Koreaalso won three matches andfinished with ten points, butNetherlands went through tothe semifinals with Germanybecause of superior goal dif-ference.

India’s woeful run in the

World Cup continued. Therewas great euphoria when theteam outclassed Pakistan 4-1 inits opening match.

But India stumbled in itsnext three encounters losing toboth Australia and Spain bywide 5-2 margins. They losttheir next tie against England2-3. Having drawn againstSouth Africa 3-3, India couldfinish fourth in the table withfour points. Pakistan faredeven worse losing four of itsmatches to end up last in thegroup.

Australia, in prime form,faced Netherlands in the semi-final and eked out a 2-1 victorywhile Germany trouncedEngland 4-1 in the othermatch to decide the finalists.In the final for the third con-secutive championship, theteam from down under beatGermany 2-1 to lift the cup forthe second time. Netherlandsedged out England 4-3 inanother tight encounter tofinish third. India lost toArgentina 2-4 to finish eighthin the competition.

The World Cup returned

to Netherlands for the thirdtime and was held at TheHague in 2014. There weredozen teams in the fray asusual with championsAustralia placed in Pool-A.The other teams in the groupwere England, Belgium, Spain,India and Malaysia.

Hosts Netherlands,Germany, New Zealand, SouthKorea, South Africa andArgentina were the teams inPool-B. While Australia deci-mated the opponents in all fivepool matches to top the group,England finished second tomove into the last four. Indiacould register only one winagainst Malaysia (3-2) anddrew the tie against Spainone-all. The team lost all otherthree matches to Belgium (2-3), England (1-2) andAustralia(0-4) and ended in the fifthposition to bow out onceagain.

In the other pool, Germanylost its matches to Argentinaand

Netherlands by solitarygoals to miss the semifinals forthe first time since 1973 (the

team played as West Germanytill 1990 and then as Germany).Netherlands and Argentina(destined to be crownedOlympic champions two yearslater) qualified for the semifi-nals from the group.

Australia, showing stu-pendous form throughout thetournament, scored goals atwill as they pulverizedMalaysia (4-0), Spain (3-0),Belgium (3-1), England (5-0)and India (4-0) in the poolmatches. In the semifinalagainst Argentina, theKangaroos won 5-1 to storminto the final where they wal-loped Netherlands 6-1 to winthe cup for the third time andretain it for the second con-secutive time. The Aussiesscored 30 goals in sevenmatches and conceded onlythree.

Germany’s poor form con-tinued as they went down toBelgium 2-4 to finish sixthwhile India claimed the ninthspot defeating South Korea 3-0.

(The writer is a senior jour-nalist based in Bhubaneswar)

,�3���������������������� �&������ ���4*�� �4 �* ���4: �����(

����� 9�����:���

The Kharif paddy collectionfor 2018-19 started in the

district with the inaugurationof the process by district CivilSupplies Officer Udit Patnaik inSarabahal market yard hereon Wednesday in presence ofRMC Secretary Akhay Barikand department DeputyRegistrar.

Inaugurating the procure-ment process, CSO Patnaikrequested the farmers and offi-cials to make the collection ina disciplined and arrangedmanner.

Besides, the farmers werealso asked to bring dry paddyand millers were asked not todiscard the paddy in casualmanner.

As per Government direc-tives, it has been targeted to col-lect 45,882.353 MT of paddyand 31,200 MT rice in the cur-rent year and for which asmany as 32 PrimaryAgriculture CooperativeSocieties (PACS) and 40 paddycollection centres have beenopened.

Sources said that the priceof FAQ general quality paddyhas been fixed at � 1,750 perquintal and � 1,770 rupees forgrade-A quality paddy.

Directions have beenissued to purchase 19 quintalsof paddy per acre from irri-gated land and 13 quintals peracre from non-irrigated land,added sources.

- �������������0.�,,)12.2�-� ��/�2(�)33��-�����

����$�������������������1�����

����� �� #�����

The Aala Hazrat WelfareCommittee (AHWC)

organised a mass marriage(Nikah) here on Sunday in theRaja Nagar field for 15 couplesof mostly poor families.

Thousands including theVIPs of Sambalpur were pre-sent to bless the newly weddedand encourage the organisers.

WODC Chairman KishoreMohanty and Sambalpur MLADr Raseswari Panigrahi blessedthe couples and lauded theefforts of the AHWC. “This

should be an eye opener for allothers,” they told.

The Baraat of the groomsin a row from Ashok Talkiesroad to the marriage groundgave a different look to the city.This is for the second time thatAHWC organised the event.The organisers also arrangedgifts but not dowry for the newcouples including beds, wash-ing machines, almirah, utensilsand new clothes etc.

“Some generous peopleand different organisationshave come forward to help,”informed AHWC secretaryAtif Alam.

“Initially, 21 parents regis-tered the names of their daugh-ters and sons for the mass mar-riage. But it could be known that

some girls were below 18 forwhich they were not allowed.However, they will complete 18just after a few months and wewill arrange their marriage sep-arately,” informed presidentIftekar Khan.

“From next time we willalso be conscious about the agefactor since it is another vitalissue as per the law of the land,”Khan added.

The newly wedded couples,their parents, relatives and thecommon people of the cityexpressed happiness over thegesture by the AHWC.

*���������� ������������� &�������+��%� ���) !�%�!�%!�*���)����������

����� 9�9���

Former Finance MinisterPrafulla Chandra Ghadai

on Wednesday observed his78th birthday in a different wayamong the residents of Nagada village under Sukinda Assembly constituen-cy. Notably, Nagada had hoggedheadlines for malnutritiondeath of many children andtook the whole country byshock.

He went to Tala Nagadaand Upar Nagar villages andinteracted with the tribals. Healso distributed free blanketsand other winter clothes to thelocal residents. Women weregiven away sarees and house-hold materials.

Ghadai said the Naveen

Patnaik Government is com-mitted to the betterment ofwomen folks. He also highlight-ed various steps undertaken bythe BJD Government for the bet-terment of the poor tribals.

“Sukinda is where my heartis. I will continue to do what-ever possible on my part for thepeople of this area till by lastbreath,” Ghadai said.

“I have always tried to livewith people. Today, I spentquality time with the residents

of Nagada villages. Theyshared their joys and sorrowswith me. I will try to see thatthese people avail allGovernment facilities and leadgood life,” told Ghadai.

At Tamka, Ghadai wasgiven a warm welcome bylocal people. In his address tothe local people, the formerMinister said he was still in theBJD and would continue towork for the party.

Many local leaders accom-panied Ghadai to Nagada.Among others present wereBhagabati Mahanta, BibekaBoss, Narayna Chandda Dhir,Sidhanchu Bhanja, PradipKumar Mohanty, SukindaBlock Chairperson PadmabatiJena, ZP Member Sarojini Rajand Bhagyalaxmi Rout.

&��4���-��)��,!")��� :*��"�3$�)"!5$3��������A����%'��!�$��@'%������)����%��!�3�%����!%$������$���$!"$�����"�$�%���*!����!��!�%������*!�3!�B�� �C���!��������!$������6DE!'��������!�$�!���!+%�*%!,��!0!�!$!,�#!�!�!$!�,����0!�!$!�,��)�%*)$!,���!�!�*!�!�$��!�)�!%��%��!*���)�$���)!�!$!��:�1�������! '� ��%�%�*�66/����%'����!�$��!+�)�����$�����"�$�!+�)��6,�DE,�///�� ����!����(��������68�'����1����F&���! �(!��$�����"�$���������'�%������������! 1

.%"$��"$�#��!+)�%���%)""�� �A����%���+��0���)��%��������� %������������)�'�!���!�$�(��0�$��!�� �����������!�%��!������%�)��������'�����*",���)�0��!�B���C!��)�$�=1</�! ������$���$!"1�������! ���(����$�)��$�%��!� !������� %�)����$)�����% �$%!���%��������%������&%�������%'������������1�� ���%���,�'� �)�����(����$! !*�$1����&���!+�)������%�'%$����(!���$*�$�%��������'���-<����%'����!�%��,��!%$�������)�'��1����)*�������!�������������%���(!��"���)�0��(�,�!��%�����%*!�%�*�'� %������!�+����'����%�)��$���!��(�)�$��)+ %��!������������1

��$�3��%���!�!+"����,!��$�3����A�������'%!����')�%�"!�$� ��(�� ��������������(%����%�!+%�%�%���B����C���!�� ������������''!�%���������������!�%��!���!"�����������(%����%�!+%�%�%�����%'%�!��$�% !�!�!��%�*!�!0�%�)+�%'�����!�����*!�%�!�%��B����C���!$��!30%�������!+)�%��#�)+!���(!�1��!+)��(!������)��$�(%������=E,///�%��'!���!�$�!'%�!�%���+"� %�%�������!�)��!��! !�������%��������������$%�!+��$�������2��$)'!�%���!�$����!+%�%�!�%��1

&,+.&!7

,�#'#��)$�$+�#�$��+�'#-.�����#�#'#����+#��

����� #������

Three persons were detainedfor possessing fake cur-

rency notes in the town onWednesday. The detainees wereidentified as Ibrar Kaji, HafizAnwar and Sakil Kaji, allBangladeshi nationals.

Locals nabbed the triofrom the Sahadevkhunta bus-stand in the town and seizedthree Rs 2000 counterfeit notesfrom their possession in theafternoon. Later, they handedthe accused to the police.

Reports said that the threeyouths had gone to Remuna byan auto-rickshaw fromSahadevkhunta 15 days ago.The three �100 notes they hadpaid to the autorickshaw driverwas reportedly fake.

However, when the autorickshaw driver spottedthe trio again at Sahadevkhuntabus stand on the day, he with

help of other locals capturedthe trio and informed the police.

Police detained them forinterrogation and seized a fewfake notes from their possession.The notes would be sent to theRegional Office of Reserve Bankof India (RBI) in Bhubaneswar

to ascertain whether they aregenuine or not.

However, the accusedrefuted the allegation of theirinvolvement in any fake noteracket. They said that theywere going to Remuna forfund collection to open amadrasa.

2�"4���������� ������������������� ����������/ ����� #������

After a few days’ lull, anIndicash Automated Teller

Machine (ATM) was vandalised by some unidenti-fied miscreants near PakharChhak on the Soro-Anantapurroad in the district late onTuesday night.

The matter came to thefore in the morning afterlocals passing by the ATMspotted the broken kiosk andthe damaged machine.

After finding the kiosk incomplete disarray, the localssubsequently, informed thepolice. As per sources, themiscreants allegedly used agas cutter and as they ran outof fuel they tried to set theATM counter on fire beforefleeing the spot.

On being informed, offi-cials of Town Police Stationrushed to the spot and sealedthe ATM. However, it is yet tobe ascertained whether moneywas looted from the machine.

���������,���������%�����������

%����-$�,�"

0� ����������������>&� ����'��(��3���(������ '�����

��3�43�����

Page 4: ˘ ˇ ˘ ˆ - dailypioneer.com · Anjos after his detention in July had “clearly brought out” that the Modi Government and its agencies were forcing him to sign a false confessional

���� �)?'�"'�$�(&�)�+�,�")(��- +�����.'�)�/0��123

����� �������� ���

The inmates of two shelterhomes of Good News India

at B Sitapur and Chandragiri inGajapati district were handedover to their parents by the dis-trict administration onWednesday.

Till now 199 inmates havebeen handed over to their par-ents. But still 53 inmates are stillresiding at the shelter home atChandragiri, informed districtChild Protection Officer ArunKumar Tripathy.

Notably, after reports ofabuse of the inmates of GoodNews India shelter home atDhenkanal, the organisations

centres in Gajapati came underthe scanner of the districtadministration.

Three days ago, a six-mem-ber team of the district admin-istration conducted a raid at theParalakhemundi centre andseized various documents. Itwas ascertained that the guide-lines for hostels of theGovernment were flouted.

Therefore the districtadministration expedited theprocess of handing over theinmates to their parents. In theParalakhemundi hostel 159inmates were lodged. Out ofwhich 143 were minors and 16were adults.

Similarly, out of the 109inmates at the Chandragirihostel 56 minors were handedover to their parents on the day,informed the Child ProtectionOfficer.

&�-�%�(���

������'���������)�$���)�%�*�*)%$��%���

)�������+� ��#��� 4�(55���� �����������

BARGARH: The Bargarh SPon Tuesday set an example bysending two accident victims tohospital in his office car.

On Tuesday afternoon,Hemant Bhue and Ganesh Bhatiof Attabira area met an accidenton NH 53 near Patharla. Theywere returning from Jaringmarket when the accident tookplace. There was a huge crowdsurrounding them, but no onecame to their rescue and sentthem to hospital fearing unnec-essary harassment by police.

Bargarh SP MukeshBhamoo was returning fromAinelapali firing range and sawthe accident victims in pool ofblood. Wasting no time,Bhamoo shifted them to the dis-trict headquarters hospital fortreatment. Later, Bhamoorequested for a lift to a passer-by and came to his office. At thesame time, he also requested thepersons gathered at the accidentspot to come to the immediaterescue of any accident victim asthere would be no police hurdlesas per the direction of the SC.

The people of Bargarh andrest other places have highlylauded the humanitarian ges-ture of the SP. PNS

'����+,'������������������� �����

����� #��#�����

The foundation day lectureof the Xavier Institute of

Management Bhubaneswar(XIMB) was held onWednesday marking the suc-cessful alliance between theState Government and theJesuit Society.

Chief guest Godrej Groupchairman Adi Burjorji Godrejspoke about the future of con-sumer goods in India andstressed on adapting the “con-sumer first” thinking andapproach in the booming andlucrative sector of FMCG.

He also laid stress on howconsistent innovation requiresa lot of things to put into place,

structured processes, systemsand tools, but most importantis commitment from seniorleadership and in some caseseven a major cultural shift.

On the occasion, AdiGodrej was conferred withHonorary Doctorate in

Management, which is the firsthonorary degree conferred onanyone by the university sinceits inception in 2013.

Among others, XIMBchairman Rajive Kaul and Vice-Chancellor Dr Fr PaulFernandes were present.

-!� ��� ����������������� �������������������������� ����6���� �/�'����� ��

����� #��#�����

Union MinisterDharmendra Pradhan on

Wednesday reiterated that theState Government is promotingPC (percentage) taking practiceby adopting no tender policy inawarding public works upto Rs5 lakh and looting publicmoney.

“The new guideline toaward Government projectsup to Rs 5 lakh without tender

is the new strategy of the BJDto send money to its partyworkers,” Pradhan alleged.

Gracing BJP youth con-venors’ conference here,Pradhan said that the BJPwould hold a 10-day longdemonstration protesting thenew guideline of the State gov-ernment and would not let tax-payers’ money get embezzled.

Bharatiya Janata YuvaMorcha (BJYM) State presidentTankdhar Tripathy saidactivists would stage Hartal infront of all the ExecutiveEngineer and SDO officesacross the State betweenDecember 10 and 20 and a‘Rojgar Paramarsh Padyatra’

would be held on the birthdayof former Prime Minister AtalBihari Vajpayee on December25.

However, BJD spokesper-son Sasmit Patra refuted theallegations of the UnionMinister stating that the OdishaGovernment has only followedthe guidelines of the Centre.

“The argument ofDharmendra Pradhan is unfor-tunate. Odisha Governmenthas just executed the guidelinesof the Centre and the recom-mendation of the PublicAccounts Committee (PAC)of Odisha Assembly; BJPMLAs are also part of thePAC,” said Patra.

����� #��#�����

Union Petroleum andNatural Gas Minister

Dharmendra Pradhan saidpolypropylene would be pub-lished from the Paradip Refineysometime during the currentmonth, December.

Prdhan said this while inau-gurating 19 the NationalConference on CorrosionControl here on the day. He saidthe Union Government is nowgiving focus on a gas-based eco-nomic system. The Governmenthas planned to to supply cook-ing gas through pipelines tohouseholds and for this Rs70,000 would be invested in thefirst phase.

In Odisha,1700 km of gas pipelines willbe spread at a costof Rs 4,500 crore,he said.

He said theCentre has alsoplant to connect

gas pipeline network betweenDhamra in Bhadrak districtwith Siliguri and from there toBangladesh. For this, the gastransportation capacity of theParadip Port would beenhanced. Now, 37 MMPTAcrude oil is being transportedto IOCL refineries at Paradip,Haldia, Barauni and BangaiGaon, he said.

In future, 1212-km and 4.5MMTPA-capacity pipelineswould be laid from Paradip toHyderabad. Infrastructureworks for 360-km Paradip-Dhamra-Haladia LNG Pipelineand 345-km Paradip-Somnathpur-Haladia pipelineare now underway, he informed.

He said the capacity ofParadip Oil Refinery would beenhanced soon. Polypropylenewould be produced from refin-er from this December, he said.

����� #��#�����

Recognise each transgenderas an independent and sep-

arate household and includethem as beneficiaries in allsocial security schemes, keepreservation for them in jobs,provide them skill developmentand loans for private business,homestead land and house inthe cities. These were some ofthe demands made during aconsultation meeting.

Delhi-based NGO Centerfor Advocacy and Research(CFAR) organised the meetingin collaboration with SAKHAand Indo-Global Social ServiceSociety (IGSSS) here onNovember 30 where about 50

community people and trans-gender persons participatedfrom different slums of the city.

In the first session issues ofslum dwellers were discussedwhile the second sessionfocused on the issues of trans-gender.

“Since many households donot have voter cards and Aaddarcards, they are deprived of avail-ing benefits under social secu-rity schemes. While manyhouseholds do not have toilets,Bhubaneswar has been declaredas Open Defection Free (ODF)city,” said Rosalin Pattnaik ofCFAR, adding that theSamaveshi Sheher project isbeing run by CFAR in KargilBasti, Palaspali and Kela Sahi inthe city supported by IGSSS. Theproject targets 2024 beneficiariesout of the 1,777 families.

Meera Parida of SAKHAsaid, “Most of the time, thetransgender are ill-treated, mis-behaved by others in the soci-ety. In most of the cities, gapsare visible in linkages betweenthe department and TG com-munity, Government employ-ees have been found rude andunwilling to receive applica-tions from the TG. Besides,

majority of the TGs have noinformation on the variousschemes meant for them, havesno understanding on the dig-itization process to access theschemes etc.”

Focus group discussionwas also organised taking thetransgendercoming fromKolkata and Chhatisgarh andOdisha.

�������$

%��������������$�������2�,�������������� #��#�����

The Kalinga Institute of IndustrialTechnology (KIIT) University

alumni Shashank Shekhar has toppedthe Indian Engineering Services (IES)examination 2018 conducted by theUPSC.

Shashank passed B.Tech in elec-tronic and telecommunication engi-neering from the KIIT University in2013 and later completed M. Tech fromthe IIT, Khargapur.

Reacting to his success, Shashank said there is no point dis-cussing whether only IITians or NITians get better marks or theengineering services is only for them. Anyone who has patience,dedication and talent can qualify and this perception is completelywrong because I have done my B.Tech from KIIT, he added.

Congratulating Shashank, KIIT and KISS founder ProfAchyuta Samanta said the success of Shashank proves the qual-ity of teaching and educational ambience at the KIIT.

����� � ����

The Odisha Tennis PremierLeague (OTPL), the biggest

tennis tournament of Odisha,will be held in Bhubaneswarfrom January 9 to 13. TheNeelachal Tennis Academy,affiliated to Professional TennisRegistry, USA, will organize theevent, said tournament direc-tor Dillip Mohanty.

In a special programmeorganized in New Delhi, thetrophy was unveiled in thepresence of Director General(ICCR) and Secretary (SpecialAssignment) AmarendraKhatua, former bureaucratGokul Patnaik, former Indian

cricketer Nishanta Bordoloiand professional tennis playerAditya Khanna.

Total eight teams will par-ticipate such as Angul Acers,Bhadrak Victors, CuttackConquerors, Khordha Warriors,Kendrapara Contenders, PuriWavers, Sambalpur Shootersand SundergarhVeerans, com-prising of 40 players (16 Men’s,8 Women’s and 16 Seniors).

Many top ranked playersfrom ATP, WTA, ITF and AITAare likely to participate in thisevent. Few of them are VishnuVardhan, Nikki Poonacha, SurajPrabodh, Kunal Anand, MohitMayur, Dalwinder Singh andPrajwal Dev.

�'���#� $����/$#�*$��� !�0#��1

����� 9�����:���

The Vedanta Limited, Jharsuguda observed the ChemicalDisaster Prevention Day demonstrating a mock drill at its

captive power plant Alkali Storage Facility here recently.Factories and Boilers Deputy Director Swaroop Jena,

Assistant Director Anil Nanda, Deputy Collector and DistrictEmergency Officer Sunasira Kisan and District Project Officer(ODRAF) Sangeeta Dash attended as guests.

The mock drill was a simulation of a disaster scenario andexhibited the synchronised efforts of the combat team (opera-tions team and maintenance team), rescue team (fire services)and auxiliary team (security team, admin, HR, first aid, com-munications and logistics).

7�� �� ������������� �'�� �����*���������' /

����� #��#�����

On day 4 of .FEST or theBhubaneswar City Festival

on Tuesday, the audiences wereleft spell-bound with tradi-tional dance performancesfrom four States such as Assam,Punjab, Manipur and Jammu &Kashmir, as well as the soulfulopening performance by singer,Sohini Mishra who openedthe entertainment for the

evening.The joyful dance form,

Bihu depicted the culture ofAssam with energetic dancesteps and hand movements.

The Bihu performers wereadorned in traditionalAssamese attire and showcasedthe best of their talent with syn-chronized choreography.

The Bhangra dance per-formers symbolized the joyouscelebrations of Punjab with aspirited performance that hadthe audiences shake a leg to thebeats of the Dhol.

Known as ‘The art of thesword and the spear’, the mar-tial dance form with fire -Thang Ta from Manipur leftaudiences amazed as thetrained artists performed withvarious weapons and fire thatwere coordinated with therhythms of breathing. Jammu& Kashmir’s folk dance, Roufenthralled the audiences as theartists performed the dancewith elegant footwork andcolourful costumes.

The individual dance per-formances was followed by aspectacular finale where allthe artists, close to 80 in num-ber, from all the four States came together onthe stage, to showcase the unity of our tradition and-culture.

�����������������%������������.�+������!"�.����1&��

/)�������'��� ��� 0(������% ��������1�,�����

����� #��� ����

The Brahmapur Town police on Tuesday busted a looter gangand arrested its mastermind and three minors, informed Town

PS IIC Nihar Ranjan Pradhan at a Press meet. The mastermindwas identified as Bhagawan Sethi (22) of Laxmi Nrusinha Streethere. The police recovered five tolas of gold, 400 grams of sil-ver, bangles and lockets from their possession.

It might be mentioned that on October 27 a person hadlodged a complaint in the Town PS where it mentioned that somemiscreants had looted some items.

� ���*'$���#��#�%�� 2���

6,8//-0 �*!���%���%�����+������!$�%���$%��!%��6�����!��A���!$�!�

��������&�����$��������������$����$����� ������

#59 ������!*���!��!��!�,��������%'������ ��'�6/������'�=/

�������*!�*�+)���$G� !���� %�$����$

Page 5: ˘ ˇ ˘ ˆ - dailypioneer.com · Anjos after his detention in July had “clearly brought out” that the Modi Government and its agencies were forcing him to sign a false confessional

���� �)@'�"'�$�(&�)�+�,�")(��- +�����.'�)�/0��123

"�4$���#+��"�� ������

Seeking to put to rest thecontroversy over EVMs in

Sagar, the ElectionCommission on Wednesdayrejected the Congress' chargeof "suspicious arrival" of thevoting machines in anunmarked bus to the districttreasury office. It said the buswhich was pointed out as“unmarked” (without anynumber) by the Congress,was officially requisitionedfrom the local municipality inSagar on November 15 itself.The EC also showed that theCongress candidate hadsigned the punchnama forthe safe deposit of the EVMsin the district treasury office.

In its complaint to EC,Congress MP Vivek Tankhahad claimed that 48 hoursafter the closing of polls inMadhya Pradesh, a schoolbus bearing no number plateand carrying EVMs reachedthe Sagar district collector'soffice. "This incident is a clearcase of certain parties andindividuals engaging in cor-rupt practices to manipulatethe outcome of the recentlyconcluded election," Congresshad said.

"There has not been anytampering whatsoever with

the machines. The responsibleNayab Tehsildar and AssistantReturning Officer RajeshMehra have been suspendedfor the delayed submission ofthe machines," the EC said.The Commission alsoremoved Vikas Singh, return-ing officer of Khurai con-stituency and placed Tanvihooda in his place.

According to EC, NaibTehsildar and Mehra weregiven the duty to bring thesereserved EVMs and depositthe same.

"These machines werebrought were brought in fourvehicles, three bearing num-bers MP-15-A-4636, MP-15-BA-0559, MP-15-40GA-0970and one without any numberbelonging to the local munic-ipality which had been requi-sitioned for election duty. 50-Bus, 26-CUs and 42 VVPATin Khurai constituency were

deposited on November 30 inthe district treasury office,Sagar. A verification of the listof these deposited machineshas been done by tallyingtheir numbers with the over-al l l ist of the reser vedmachines and no discrepancyis noticed," the EC said in itsorder.

Earlier, Tankha had

claimed, "The objective ofthis was ostensibly to depositthese machines with the officeof the col lector. These spare EVMs were to bedeposited two hours after thepolls and not after two days.This happened in the Khuriaseat from where the StateHome Minister is contestingthe polls."

8��������������4��87����� �������&�&9���..&>� 97>90&,-���*&,!�&,�,��.8!�+��

����� ������

The Election Commission onWednesday ordered the

removal of Superintendent ofPolice of Telangana's Vikarabaddistrict over the arrest ofCongress' A Revanth Reddy aspolice observer found his deten-tion "unwarranted".

An official communicationissued by Telangana ChiefElectoral Officer Rajath Kumarin Hyderabad said, "TheElection Commission of Indiahas ordered the transfer of TAnnapurna, IPS, SP Vikarabad,immediately and posted SriAvinash Mohanthy IPS (RR

2005) in place of her withimmediate effect."

It is also directed thatAnnapurna's services are notutilised for election purpose, theorder said. The commissionhas also directed thatAnnapurna be attached to thepolice headquarters, EC officialssaid. The observers are deployedby the EC to keep an eye on var-ious issues related to elections.

In the early hours ofTuesday, the Vikarabad policehad taken Telangana PradeshCongress Committee workingpresident Reddy into preventivecustody citing law and orderissues.

Reddy's arrest came aheadof Chief Minister KChandrasekhar Rao 's meetingat Kodangal. Reddy had givena Kodangal bandh call andasked the party workers to stageprotests across the constituencyagainst the visit of the chief min-ister.

He was let off, but only afterRao's meeting at Kosigi in theAssembly segment got over.Condemning the police action,Congress president RahulGandhi had said the TelanganaRashtra Samithi governmentresorted to it "due to fear ofdefeat." Telangana goes to pollson December 7.

2�&��%���+,������������������3�����������

New Delhi: CBI Director AlokVerma and Special DirectorRakesh Asthana were fightinglike "kilkenny cats", exposingthe country's premier investi-gating agency to "publicridicule", the Government toldthe Supreme Court onWednesday while justifyingthe decision to divest Verma ofhis duties.

Attorney General (AG) KK Venugopal also told thebench headed by Chief JusticeRanjan Gogoi that theGovernment was well "withinits right to intervene" and send

both officers on leave by divest-ing them of their powers. Thetop law officer also assertedthat "only the God knowswhere and how this fightbetween the two top officerswould have ended" if the gov-ernment would not have takenthe action which was aimed atrestoring the public faith in theCBI.

"The Government waswatching with amazement. Thetwo top most officers werefighting like kilkennycats...Dispute between the CBIDirector and Special Directorwas pulling down integrity andrespect of premier institution,"Venugopal told the bench, alsocomprising Justices S K Kauland K M Joseph.

"fight like a Kilkenny cat"refers to an old Irish story

about two cats who fought tothe death and ate each other upsuch that only their tails wereleft. It is often used figurativelyof two people who are vehe-mently opposed in attitudes oropinions to the extent thatthey will never agree and willspark fire off each other when-ever they meet.

The AG further submittedthat the two top officers, Vermaand Asthana, were "fightingagainst each other and wentpublic which exposed CBI topublic ridicule."

Referring to media reports,he said that their public fightgave print and electronic media"a field day". "It was the duty ofthe Government to ensure thatconfidence of public in this pre-mier institution is restored," hesaid. PTI

7.9����.!�!�9�.0

9)��%�%���$�'%�%�����$%�����F�� !����%��$)�%��

� !'������4������������ �&��&� &���������1�5���

New Delhi: Continuingits crackdown on theembattled AmrapaliGroup, the SupremeCourt on Wednesday

ordered attachment and sale of the realty firm's five-starhotel, cinema hall, malls and factories across India, callingit "a worst kind of cheater" and "a perfect liar" for not com-plying with the court's direction.

The top court also ordered attachment of four swankycorporate offices of Amrapali Group situated in Noida andGreater Noida, and asked the Debt Recovery Tribunal(DRT), Delhi to auction them.

The top court gave a window to the firm's directors andtheir family members to return home-buyers' money, if theyhave it, by December 10. It asked the firm to explain bynext week the diversion of around �3,000 crore of home-buyers money for other purposes. A bench of Justices ArunMishra and U U Lalit issued notice to the Amrapali GroupCMD Anil Sharma and its directors, Chief Financial offi-cer and statutory auditor Anil Mittal, asking them why acriminal case for breach of trust should not be lodged againstthem. "You (Amrapali Group) are a worst kind of cheaterin the world. You have cheated the home buyers all alongand now you want to sell the facilities created for them. Thefacility area created for the home buyers is not a charity youhave done to them," the bench said after it was told thatthe real estate firm wants to sell a nursery school, an openspace and a nursing home to raise funds. PTI

��%7)������ !��,�)@)�"���������$���$

��������������������0�� �����

New Delhi: Delhi is facing "severeproblems" due to unauthorised con-struction and encroachment which canbe gauged from the fact that the spe-cial task force (STF) has already clearedas much as 28 lakh square metre ofsuch area, the Supreme Court said onWednesday.

A bench headed by Justice MadanB Lokur was informed that the STF,constituted in April following the apexcourt's order to oversee enforcement oflaws on illegal construction and mon-itor the removal of encroachmentshere, has also cleared about 3,202 sq mtof roads, streets and footpaths.

The bench, also comprisingJustices Deepak Gupta and HemantGupta, was told that so far the STF hasreceived around 7,000 complaints outof which about 3,400 complaints havebeen dealt with and efforts were beingmade to recruit additional staff for thetask force so that they could do theirworks expeditiously. PTI

������),&��9���� �� ���'�������� ������������� ������%��-$

New Delhi: The Supreme Courton Wednesday approved theCentre's draft witness protectionscheme and asked all the Statesto implement it till Parliamentcomes out with a legislation.

A bench headed by JusticeA K Sikri said they have madesome changes in the scheme.

The issue of witness pro-tection scheme had cropped upearlier when the top court washearing a public interest litiga-tion (PIL) seeking protectionfor witnesses in rape casesinvolving self-styled preacher

Asaram Bapu.During the hearing on

November 19, Attorney GeneralK K Venugopal had told theapex court that the draft scheme,which has now been finalised,would be made into a law "indue course", but till then thecourt should direct the States tostart implementing it.

The top court was also toldby advocate Gaurav Agrawal,who is assisting the court as anamicus curiae in the matter, thatthe Government has finalisedthe draft witness protection

scheme after discussing it withall the States.

The draft witness protectionscheme, finalised in consultationwith the National Legal ServicesAuthority (NALSA) and Bureauof Police Research andDevelopment (BPRD), has threecategories of witnesses based onthe threat perception.

In April this year, the Centrehad informed the top courtthat it had framed a draft witnessprotection scheme and it wascirculated among the states andUnion Territories administration

for comments.The court had asked the

Centre to finalise the schemeafter getting response from theStates and Union Territories.

The court had said thatwitness protection scheme canbe implemented for at least sen-sitive cases and the Ministry ofHome Affairs could come outwith a comprehensive plan. Thedraft of the Witness ProtectionScheme, 2018 states that it is thefirst attempt at the national-levelto holistically provide for theprotection of the witnesses,

which will go a long way in elim-inating secondary victimisa-tion.

The witnesses, being eyesand ears of justice, play animportant role in bringing per-petrators of crime to justice, thedraft noted. "This schemeattempts at ensuring that wit-nesses receive appropriate andadequate protection. This will goa long way in strengthening thecriminal justice system in thecountry and will consequentlyenhance national security sce-nario," the draft said. PTI

�����1��������������������������� �����31�

����� ������

The Federation of Hotel andRestaurant Associations of

India (FHRAI) on Wednesdayaccused two major online travelaggregators (OTAs) of allegedlyoffering 'illegal' discounts that, itsaid, were harmful to hoteliers andcustomers in the long run.

Citing violation of the legalpact, the FHRAI has now putMakeMyTrip and GoIbibo onnotice and also threatened to holda nationwide protest against OTAentities.

Terming as 'unethical' and'exploitative' business practices bythe OTAs, the FHRAI in a state-ment issued here alleged, "Thebiggest industry concern is thatafter securing discounted ratesfrom a hotel, the OTAs further dis-count it on their online platformswithout our consent. This damagesour reputation and distorts themarket scenario."

FHRAI Vice President andHotel and Restaurant Associationof India, Western India, presidentGS Kohli pointed out that they(OTAs) have a clause in theiragreement forbidding hotels fromdiscounting their own rates but arethemselves free to do so, besidesdemanding exorbitant commis-sions, hosting illegal and unli-cenced Bed & Breakfast accom-modations.

The OTAs commissions rangefrom 18-40 per cent, adversely hit-ting the revenues, business andlivelihood of the hotel industry, healleged.

"An immediate solution to theissues that threaten our livelihood,investments and businesses isextremely necessary and call for anactive dialogue with the OTAs,"added FHRAI Joint SecretaryVenkada Subbu.

The FHRAI also called theOTAs move to provide Bed &Breakfast (B&B), motels or accom-modations even when they wereunlicensed on their platforms as"illegal", which disrupt the businessof the organised hotels.

"More than 40 per cent of theroom inventory available on theOTAs is illegally operated. The socalled B&Bs are operating withoutvalid licenses from local or Stateauthorities. Since these operators donot have to pay for licences and thestatutory fees, they are cheaper bydefault. This disrupts the spirit of alevel playing field by pitting the flyby night operators against the organ-ised sector and is also a huge loss tothe exchequer," S K Jaiswal, VicePresident (North), FHRAI alleged.

6����� �������������������������� ��� ����������

����� ������

Army Chief GeneralBipin Rawat on

Wednesday urged girlstudents from Jammu& Kashmir to studyhard and compete forArmy's 'Super 30'coaching programmeand build their careerthrough good educa-tion.

Making this pointhere while interactingwith 18 girl studentsfrom various schoolsin the Valley, he saidthere is no other placelike Kashmir when itcomes to scenic beautyand a sublime environ-ment. "But, terrorismhas vitiated the atmos-phere," he said.

"Unlike Kashmir,you do not see bunkersin Delhi or gun-totingsecurity personneleverywhere. Peopleroam here at night inpeace. The KashmirValley also had peaceand people in Srinagareven used to go forstrolling in parks atnight or for a movie, but it's not there anymore," he said.

Rawat reiterated that infiltrators come from Pakistanto our side and create trouble and said if you also wantprogress and development in the Valley, take this mes-sage from here, and tell the people there that guns arenot good. Various militant outfits have been trying toradicalise the youths in Kashmir valley by using differ-ent means including online propaganda.

During the interaction, the Army Chief asked the stu-dents about their aspirations and while some said theywanted to become civil servants or police officers or doc-tors, only a single student said she wanted to be a teacher.

Rawat told them that the Army runs "Kashmir Super-30" — a free, special coaching programme for studentsto prepare them for entrance examinations for admissionto IITs and NITs.

He also said the Army is working with NGOs to havea similar programme for medical examination aspirants."So, work hard, compete for 'Super 30' for engineering career,and for NEET exam too, once we have it in place," he said.

The Army had earlier this year signed an MoU witha state-run firm and the National Integrity EducationalDevelopment Organisation (NIEDO) for medical aspi-rants, under which selected students will be provided withfree residential coaching for the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET).

The students, ranging from class 7-11 arrived hereon Monday and have visited the Red Fort, Rajghat andConnaught Place market in Delhi, and will see the HazratNizamuddin Dargah and take a Metro ride before head-ing to Chandigarh, an official accompanying them said.

H�&�5��������������:���

���F��� ������F���5,��������� ���:&�� ���,�����������������������:��������:���I

&�����%��)������%'����� !0� "��%��!�$:��+%+�

� ������?)(������ ����� ���5��� �4

�5����'�� ����90����������4 (������;0�� ������+A+���

(�������3��� ��5������������ �� ��� ���������� �����

—S K Jaiswal, vice president(North), FHRAI

&������������������

New Delhi: The SupremeCourt on Wednesday observedit was "extremely unfortunate"that Jharkhand Governmenthas not yet prepared an actionplan for urban homeless andsaid that the State should do itsoon so that such people were"spared the vagaries of winterseason".

A bench headed by JusticeMadan B Lokur was informedthat except states of Jharkhandand Jammu & Kashmir, allother states and union territo-ries have finalised action plansfor urban homeless for the win-ter season. When the bench,also comprising Justices DeepakGupta and Hemant Gupta,asked Jharkhand's counsel aboutit, the lawyer said he hasreceived instructions only thismorning and sought a days timeto apprise the court about it.

"It appears that the state ofJharkhand has no plan for thewinter. This is extremely unfor-tunate. We expect the state ofJharkhand to prepare a planwithin next couple of days sothat urban homeless are sparedthe vagaries of winter season,"the bench said. The counselappearing for Jammu &Kashmir said as per 2011 cen-sus, the number of urbanhomeless in the State wasaround 250 and provisionshave been made to provideblankets and other facilities tothem. PTI

4+������$����������� ����1� ����������$��� ������������������������� ���������(�

New Delhi: Prime MinisterNarendra Modi will inauguratethe Bogibeel Bridge — thelongest rail-road bridge in thecountry — on December 25,coinciding with the birthanniversary of late prime min-ister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, asenior railway official said onWednesday.

The 4.94-km BogibeelBridge is the country's longestrail-road bridge, connectingthe south bank of theBrahmaputra river inDibrugarh district of Assamwith Silapathar in Dhemajidistrict, bordering Arunachal

Pradesh."The prime minister will

inaugurate the bridge onDecember 25, which is alsoobserved as the GoodGovernance Day by the gov-ernment," the official told PTI.

While the then prime min-ister, H D Deve Gowda, hadlaid the foundation stone forthe bridge in January 1997, thework had started only in April2002, after Vajpayee laid thefoundation stone for the pro-ject, along with the then railwayminister, Nitish Kumar.

The first freight trainpassed through the bridge on

December 3 after several dead-lines for the completion of theproject were missed in thepast 16 years.

The bridge, which hasthree-lane roads on top and tworailway tracks below, is part ofinfrastructure projects plannedto improve the logistics alongthe border in ArunachalPradesh. This includes the con-struction of a trans-Arunachalhighway on the north bank ofthe Brahmaputra and new roadand rail links over the mightyriver and its major tributariessuch as the Dibang, Lohit,Subansiri and Kameng. PTI

New Delhi: Uttar PradeshGovernment told the SupremeCourt on Wednesday they havepaid 80 per cent money, �51.89lakh, to Delhi-based School ofPlanning and Architecture(SPA) which is entrusted withthe task of preparing a visiondocument for protection ofTaj Mahal.

The State Government tolda bench of Justices Madan BLokur, Deepak Gupta andHemant Gupta that the balanceamount as per the terms of ref-erence would be released short-ly to SPA which would sooncome out with the document.

Advocate Aishwarya Bhati,appearing for Uttar Pradesh,said that besides this, remu-neration of about �6 lakh forthree experts who have workedwith SPA in the exercise, hasalso been sanctioned.

On November 29, the apexcourt had told the Uttar PradeshGovernment that the visiondocument should be made pub-lic once it is finalised as there is"nothing secret" about it.

The SPA had told the courtthat process of preparing thedocument would be complet-ed within a "few days" and asper terms of reference, they

would submit it to the StateGovernment.

The Centre had alsoinformed the court that firstdraft of heritage plan for TajMahal, which is to be submit-ted to the United NationsEducational, Scientific andCultural Organisation(UNESCO), was ready and itwould be finalised within eightweeks.

The top court had earlierasked the authorities to take alarger perspective on issues ofpollution and green cover whilepreparing a vision document,saying there would not get a

"second chance" to preserve theTaj Mahal.

The top court, which hasbeen monitoring developmentin the Taj Trapezium Zone(TTZ) to protect the Taj, hadearlier slammed the Centre,Uttar Pradesh Governmentand TTZ authority for theirfailure to restore the pristineglory of Taj Mahal.

The TTZ is an area ofabout 10,400 sq km spreadover the districts of Agra,Firozabad, Mathura, Hathrasand Etah in Uttar Pradeshand the Bharatpur district ofRajasthan. PTI

�����567����������(����8��2�,�0�2>&�&9,�9���!,0

��������������������$9�����������-�������������"-4���#���:;

��(�����<������������3����&�'�'��������������$�������� ��������������=�"��� -4���������������,���� ��������� �"������� ��������%��������������$�� ��������&��������"���#�� �����������$� �%

���������������$9�(�����>6��2��&�������3�� ����������������

Page 6: ˘ ˇ ˘ ˆ - dailypioneer.com · Anjos after his detention in July had “clearly brought out” that the Modi Government and its agencies were forcing him to sign a false confessional

'�"'�$�(&�)�+�,�")(��- +�����.'�)�/0��123 ���� �)�

#+��" ��$--������������

The DMK-led Oppositionparties in Tamil Nadu have

warned the Centre that theywould break India and get theState seceded from the Union.The ultimatum was issued byVaiko, founder of the MDMKand K Veeramani, the DravidaKazhakam leader, during amammoth rally held atTiruchirapalli late on Tuesdayevening.

MK Stalin, president,DMK, who was the chief guestof the rally declared that hefully endorsed the demandsmade by Vaiko and Veeramani.The DMK chief went one stepfurther and declared that hisparty would not allow PrimeMinister Narendra Modi toenter Tamil Nadu.

The root cause for theoutbursts of the Dravidianleaders was the permissiongiven by the Central WaterCommission to theGovernment of Karnataka toprepare a detailed projectreport (DPR) on the dam tobe built at Mekedatu acrossthe Cauvery River.

“We will break India. Wewill not allow Narendra Modi

to enter Tamil Nadu even foran election campaign,” saidVaiko. Others who were pre-sent during the occasionincluded S Thirunavakarassar,president, TNCC.

“Secession from India willbecome inevitable for TamilNadu if Karnataka is allowed tobuild a dam across Cauvery,”declared Vaiko and Veeramani.The DMK leader remindedthe Centre that DMK founderCN Annadurai had said that hisparty would give up thedemand for secession but hehad announced that the reasonsfor secession were still alive.

Tamil Nadu Chief MinisterEdappadi Palaniswamy has writ-ten a letter to Prime MinisterModi informing him about theconcerns of the State over themove by Karnataka to go aheadwith the preparation of theDPR to build the Mekedatu bal-ancing reservoir-cum-drinkingwater project, Palaniswamy hadalleged in his letter thatKarnataka’s motive behindbuilding the dam was not onlyto provide drinking water but toincrease the extent of irrigationin that State and this was againstthe verdict of the Cauvery WaterDispute Tribunal.

Vaiko’s call for secession

and Stalin’s support for thesame has come at a timewhen the Tamil NaduLegislative Assembly is meet-ing to discuss the contentiousissue. Governor BanwarilalPurohit ha convened a specialsession of the legislativeassembly on Thursday to dis-cuss the proposal of theKaranataka Government tobuild a reservoir.

What is to be noted is thatthe call by Dravidian leadersto secede from India hasbecome quite frequent in thelast one year. Stalin, whileaddressing a meeting at Erodein March declared that southIndian States should standtogether and demand a sepa-rate Dravida Nadu.

“If such a situation comes,it would be welcome. We hopethat such a situation arises,”Stalin had said. The DMK his-torian K Thirunavukarassupointed out that the demandfor separate Dravida Nadu wasa live issue and it still figuredprominently in theConstitution of the party.

Govind Bharathan, seniorlawyer, pointed out that Stalin,Vaiko and Veeramani havelanded in trouble with the dec-larations they made onTuesday. “They could be hauledinto a court of law under theprovisions of the Sedition Act.It will cost them dear,” saidBharathan.

The threat of Dravidianleaders to break from India hascome at a time when TamilNadu is preparing to host thesecond edition of the GlobalInvestors Meeting in the monthof January 2019.

(�����7���1�8���������)��������������!������ F!%0��$� !�$��+��!0%�*����'�)���"1�� ������%$���� ����!�%�$�'�!�����)���������F!%0�2�$� !�$�������'!)������������)�+)�����%�������� %��%���+"����������!���!����� %��%�����������!��!�!0!�:����������!���!������������ �0�$!�)$! ����3�'�

��+&�"��$�&+�)��� �������

The saffron proliferation inBengal is a direct outcome

of a crumbling red fort. And theTrinamool Congress will neverallow the “CPI(M) harmads” toresurrect into a “saffron jallads(butcher)”, Mamata Banerjeesaid on Wednesday.

The Bengal Chief Ministerwas addressing a rally atBajkul in East Midnaporewhere she told a huge crowdthat “the CPM’s harmads whohad once unleashed a reign ofterror in your area — elimi-nating tens of innocent peo-ple who left their homes neverto come back — are nowentering the saffron camp torise their ugly heads onceagain. They will have to bestopped once again.”

Alleging that the CPI(M)was supplying manpower to theBJP and the Bengal unit of theCongress was playing a catalystto this Mamata’s Bengal wouldnever back a party that was

responsible for driving awaythe Bengalis from Assam.

“They are trying to captureBengal. But why will the peoplehere vote for them when theirparty is driving away Bengalisfrom Assam in the name ofNation Register for Citizens.Out of 40 lakh people who arein NRC’s rejection list, 23 lakhare Hindu Bengalis,” Mamatasaid asking “will you still backthe BJP which is victimisingyour brothers there in Assam?”

The BJP divide people onthe basis of caste, language andreligion and their Governmentin Gujarat was driving away theBiharis. Attacking the BJPGovernment for slappingdemonetisation “that ruined theeconomy” Mamata said “thepeople from Bengal — particu-larly from Malda, Murshidabad,Midnapore North and South 24Parganas who had gone to BJP-ruled States like Gujarat andMaharashtra are now comingback not only out of fear of per-secution but also because they

have lost their jobs due todemonetization.”

Listing the good works herGovernment had done notwith-standing an unfriendly andnon-cooperative CentralGovernment up there in DelhiMamata said “we have intro-duced Kanyashree (providingcycle to lakhs of girl students),Rupashree (providing monetaryhelp for higher studies), SabujSaathi (providing bicycles toboys), �2 per kg rice to about 8crore people, old-age andwidow allowance scheme, apartfrom free education, and med-ical health in newly built super-speciality hospitals.”

None of the Governments inIndia could compete with thegood works her Governmenthad done in Bengal.

“But the BJP is trying toundermine the development byimporting a new divisive culturein our State. They are trying toincite communal violence but wewill not allow them to do so,” theChief Minister said.

�)%�� �� ��#���

Patidar leader Hardik Patelon Tuesday urged the

Congress party to move a pri-vate member's bill in the nextsession of the GujaratLegislative Assembly for reser-vation to his community.

Patel met Leader ofOpposition in the Assembly,Paresh Dhanani, inGandhinagar to discuss the issue. During their meeting,Dhanani told him that his partyhad already moved a privatemember's bill seeking 20 per centreservation for economicallyweaker sections among the unre-served category.

Addressing a press confer-ence in Gandhinagar after themeeting, Patel said, "We havecome to the leader of opposi-tion with a demand that in thenext session of the state leg-islative assembly, they shouldbring a bill for quota."

He said he urged theCongress to table a bill in theHouse as the BJP Governmentin the State was "not payingheed" to their demands.

"In Maharashtra also thereis a BJP Government. Butthere, the Maratha communi-ty has been given reservation.In Gujarat, the BJP has beenruling for the last 25 years stillthey have not provided any

quota to us," he said.A bill that grants 16 per

cent reservation to Marathas inGovernment jobs and educa-tion was unanimously passedby both the Houses of theMaharashtra legislature onThursday, meeting a long-pending demand of the influ-ential community, which con-stitutes 33 per cent of the state'spopulation of around 13 crore.

"If a private member's billcomes up for discussion, thenthe BJP will have to make itsposition clear on quota for ourcommunity," Patel said.

Dhanani, who was alsopresent at the press confer-ence, said in March this yearhis party's state unit chiefAmit Chavda (who is also anMLA) had moved a bill forreservation to economicallyweaker sections among theunreserved category.

"I told Hardik that theopposition party has alreadydone this," he said.

However, before every ses-sion of the Assembly a draw isconducted to randomly selectthe private members' bills fordiscussion in the House,Dhanani explained.

"I would request the rulingparty to take up the reservationbill without holding a draw inthe next session of the assem-bly," he said.

"In the bill, we have sought20 per cent quota for the eco-nomically backward amongthe upper castes," he said.

In May 2016, the GujaratGovernment had issued anordinance for 10 per centreservation to economicallyweaker sections among theunreserved category in edu-cational institutions andGovernment jobs.

The decision was takenfollowing an agitation by thePatel community. The reserva-tion was to be given over andabove 50 per cent reservationsfor SCs, STc and OBCs.

However, that ordinancewas quashed by the GujaratHigh Court in August 2016,terming it as "unconstitution-al" and "illegal".

From August 2015, Patelhas been spearheading aprotest against the state gov-ernment for quota to thePatidar community.

"It is good that after thePatel community gave an appli-cation last month to the chair-man of OBC commissionSugnaben Bhatt with a demandto conduct a survey of the com-munity to establish its socialbackwardness, some membersof the Rajput and Brahmincommunities have alsoapproached the same commis-sion for a survey of their castesalso," Patel said.

�*�4��� �� ��� ����������":*%�� � �

����� �������

With the BJP-sponsoredtriple Rath Yatras — the

first one scheduled to begin onDecember 7 from Coochbeharin North Bengal — hitting aroad block in the absence ofadministrative clearance theBengal saffron leadership onWednesday moved the CalcuttaHigh Court seeking appropri-ate orders on the issue.

Approaching the Court ofJustice Tapobrata Chakrabartythe BJP leadership said despiterepeatedly writing letters seek-ing permission from the StateDirector General of Police,Home Secretary and theInspectors General of Policeconcerned they had notreceived any communicationfrom the other side.

The BJP’s Yatras are sched-uled to start from Coochbeharon December 7, Ganga Sagaron December 9 and Birbhumon December 14. All the Yatraswill be inaugurated by partypresident Amit Shah and will

be addressed by top party lead-ers like UP and Assam ChiefMinisters Yogi Adityanath andSarbananda Sonowal. PrimeMinister Narendra Modi willalso address four rallies atSiliguri, Durgapur, Malda andBirbhum during the Yatra.

Responding to the petitionState Advocate General KishoreDutta said that the BJP had notwritten to the appropriateauthorities for permission towhich the saffron outfit saidsimilar letters had also beenwritten to the SPs of the dis-tricts concerned. The Judgehowever advised the parties tosettle the issue amicably beforereturning to the Court. Thematter would be taken up forhearing on Thursday noon.

������,���<�����&�� �?�������������

0��+2��4���������������� ������ �

� ��'���� ������'��B#-��������� ������'��C

���+��'��� ������'��"?

Srinagar: National Conferenceon Wednesday paid tributes tothe party founder SheikhMohammad Abdullah, popu-larly known as Sher-e-Kashmir, on this 113th birthanniversary. Commemorative functionswere held across the State,with main congregationalfunction held at his mau-soleum at Naseem Bagh on thebanks of Dal Lake.

National Conference presi-dent Farooq Abdullah and vicepresident Omar Abdullah ledthe senior party leaders andfunctionaries in paying tributesto Sher-e-Kashmir.

"The best tribute to Sher-e-Kashmir would be to leaveno stone unturned to fight forthe honour and dignity of ourpeople who have sufferedimmensely due to variouspolitical machinations, insta-bi l ity and turmoil , " Farooq Abdullah said after

offering 'fatiha' at his father'sgrave.

Omar Abdullah, whilepaying tributes to his grand-father, said the party is com-mitted to nurture his legacy ofsecular thinking and inclusiveapproach for one and all.

PTI

���2#-�����+*�$�� �2#��-� *�'$���$�%���+'*��#�

6 �������������������������������"��������* ��� ��9���

Agartala: Ruling BJP’s allyIPFT has postponed itsWednesday’s shutdown inTripura following a meetingwith Chief Minister BiplabKumar Deb, an IndigenousPeople’s Front of Tripura(IPFT) spokesman said here onWednesday.

They will, however, goahead with a proposed sit-in-demonstration in Delhi nextweek to press for its decade-olddemand for separate State forthe tribals, introduction ofNRC in Tripura, he added.

"After a high level meetingbetween Chief Minister BiplabKumar Deb, Deputy ChiefMinister Jishnu Dev Varmaand our top party leaders thestrike was postponed lastnight (Tuesday)," IPFTspokesman and AssistantGeneral Secretary MangalDebbarma said.

The party delegation was ledby Revenue Minister and IPFTPresident Narendra ChandraDebbarma. "However, we arefirm to hold a sit-in demon-stration in Delhi next week andsubmit a memorandum toPrime Minister Narendra Modiand Home Minister RajnathSingh highlighting the party'sdemands," Debbarma said.

The IPFT, a tribal basedparty, as part of its agitations ear-lier announced to observe a 12-hour shutdown in the Tripura

Tribal Areas AutonomousDistrict Council (TTAADC)areas on Wednesday.

"The IPFT and its sevenfrontal organisations had calledfor the strike in the TTAADCareas in support of the party'slong pending demands." Theother IPFT demands includeintroduction of the NationalRegister of Citizens (NRC) inTripura, withdrawal of theCitizenship (Amendment) Bill,2016, introduction of inner-linepermit in the TTAADC areasand inclusion of tribals'Kokborok language in the 8thSchedule of the Constitution.

The IPFT has been agitat-ing since 2009 for a separateState to be carved out byupgrading the TTAADC,which has a jurisdiction overtwo-thirds of the State's 10,491sqkm area, home to over12,16,000 people.

In the nine-memberCouncil of Ministers, headedby Chief Minister BiplabKumar Deb, there are twoIPFT ministers — Debbarmaand Tribal Welfare and ForestMinister Mevar Kumar Jamatia(General Secretary).

Meanwhile, another tribalbased party — IndigenousNationalist Party of Tripura(INPT) — has also called aroad and rail blockade in Tripuraon December 10 on almost thesame issues. IANS

�����9��!,*������������������+��������

Page 7: ˘ ˇ ˘ ˆ - dailypioneer.com · Anjos after his detention in July had “clearly brought out” that the Modi Government and its agencies were forcing him to sign a false confessional

'�"'�$�(&�)�+�,�")(��- +�����.'�)�/0��123 ���� �)B

#$�)+"�6��+#%�� #:�����

Astatement made by Union MinisterPrakash Javadekar anticipating a political

dhamaka in Karnataka has churned the saffronbrigade which has been setting eye on poach-ing a few MLAs to destabilise the coalitionGovernment of the JD(S) and the Congress inthe State. Speculation is rife about luring someMLAs through ‘operation Lotus’, a BJP strate-gy to poach leaders to topple theKumaraswamy Government.

Javadekar had claimed that the “unholyalliance” between the JD(S) and Congresswas set to fall soon. “We were the single-largest party in Karnataka, but fell short offorming the Government by just sevenseats. The JD(S) and Congress are known foropportunistic politics and can never give astable Government in the State,” he said.Javadekar was the BJP Karnataka in chargefor the 2018 elections.

Meanwhile a Cabinet Minister inKumaraswamy Government Ramesh Jarkiholea powerful leader from Belagavi did not attendthe cabinet meeting on Wednesday giving teethto lot of speculations.

Leader of Opposition in the LegislativeCouncil and BJP leader Kota SrinivasPoojary fanned rumours, claiming thatstate cabinet minister Ramesh Jarkiholiwas likely to switch sides. "Ramesh Jarkiholiis mentally away from the current govern-ment. He has talked about his pain. Whoevercomes to the BJP, we will welcome them".

Union Minister DV Sadananda Gowda,also said the Kumaraswamy led coalitionGovernment will fall on its own. He said"The Government would collapse because ofits internal rifts. We will have to wait and seeif the upcoming Belagavi session is com-pleted”.Meanwhile Chief Minister HDKumaraswamy who is running a fragilecoalition rubbished the BJP’s predictions

and said,“ T h i searthquake

by the BJP has been happening for the past sixmonths. It’s only about making noise. OurGovernment is strong as a rock. This topic isdead. We will continue to rule for the full termin office.”

Another Congress leader and a Minister DKShivakumar a powerful vokkaliga leader said"BJP leaders are frustrated. Javadekar’s statementsuggests that they are indulging in horse-trad-ing. We have given our word to CMKumaraswamy that the coalition Governmentwill complete its full term.” Former Karnatakachief minister and the convener of the Congress-JD(S) coordination committee Siddaramaiah hitout at the BJP for its alleged attempts to dislodgethe Government.

"These people are trying to come to powerthrough unethical means from day one.Already they failed once. Now they (BJP) aretrying again by investing money," he said.”Aren't they ashamed for trying to topple theGovernment? This Government will continuedespite their attempts," he added.

Ahead of cabinet expansion the demandsfor berth has led to visible rebellion within thecentury old party. But according to sources theparty high command has asked Kumaraswamyand Siddaramaiah to douse the fire.

)��"�&�+��)���� � #��

In a relief to the MaharashtraGovernment, the Bombay

High Court on Wednesdayrefused to grant an interimstay on its new legislation grant-ing 16 per cent reservations ineducation and Government jobsto the Maratha community.

Two days after AdvocateGunaratna Sadavarte filed aPublic Interest Litigation (PIL)on behalf of his client JayashreePatil, a member of the IndianConstitutionalist Council (ICI)challenging the new MarathaReservations Act, a HC bench ofChief Justice Naresh Patil andJustice MS Karnik briefly heardthe petitioner and the state gov-ernment, before adjourning thepetition for a detailed hearing onDecember 10.

While refusing to order aninterim stay on the newMaratha Reservations Act, theHC agreed to grant a detailedhearing on all pending petitionson Maratha reservations onDecember 10.

The PIL, filed by Sadavarte,says that the new MarathaReservations – better known asthe Maharashtra State (of seatsfor admission in educationalinstitutions in the state and forappointments in the public ser-vices and posts under the state)for Socially and EducationallyBackward Classes (SEBC) Act,2018 — is in violation of the 50

per cent cap imposed by theSupreme Court on reservations.

Among other things, thepetition States that the Marathacommunity — the Kunbi-Marathas — have already beengiven a reservation under theOther Backward Classes (OBC)category and the additionalreservations will only create aclass within a class, affectingthose who do not belong to anyreserved category.

Opposing a stay on thenew Maratha Reservation Actsought by Sadavarte, State’scounsel VA Thorat told thecourt that the petitioner couldnot seek a stay on the state leg-islation through a PIL.

In his argument, Thoratsaid that most of the pendingpetitions pending in the highcourt opposed the Marathaquota on the basis of the 2014Act that provided for reserva-tion to those belonging tosocially backward communi-ties in the State. However, the2014 Act now stood repealedand the state legislature hadrecently ratified the newMaratha Reservation Act tocover the issue of quota for thecommunity. "The new legisla-tion takes care of all legalgrievances that existed in the2014 Act," Thorat told the HC bench.

After hearing both sides, theHC bench decided to combine

together all the pending petitionson the issue of Maratha reser-vation and hear them collectivelyon the next date.

With the high court agree-ing to a PIL challenging theMaratha Reservations Act, thereis considerable apprehension inthe minds of the ruling BJP,Opposition parties and Marathacommunity that the new reser-vation might get entangled inthe legal complications.

Their apprehension stemsfrom the fact that by enactinga law granting 16 per centreservations to Marathas, theMaharashtra Government hasexceeded the 50 per cent cap onreservations imposed by theSupreme Court and in theprocess followed the suit of theTamil Nadu Government.

Currently Maharashtrahas 52 per cent reservations injobs and educational institu-tions. Of the total 52 per centreservations, SCs and ST com-munities account for 13 and 7per cent, respectively, whileOBCs have 19 per cent percent reservations, Together,Special Backward Class andNomadic Tribes account for 13per cent.

The Marathas, who havenow been accorded 16 per centreservations in education andGovernment jobs, account fornearly 33 per cent of the total11.25 crore population ofMaharashtra.

Once the Maharashtra StateSEBC Act comes into force,then the total reservations in theState will go up to 68 per cent— next only to Tamil Nadu thathas 69 per cent reservations.

Though Devendra Fadnavisdispensation has not clarified asto how it would face the scruti-ny of the new law in theSupreme Court, it looks like theMaharashtra Government willtake the route taken by theTamil Nadu Government underlate chief minister Jayalalithaa,which achieved its objective ofincreasing reservations to 69 percent by passing the Tamil NaduAct of 1994 and adding the 1994Act to the Ninth Schedule of theConstitution.

Article 31B of theConstitution stipulates that thelegislation in the NinthSchedule cannot be challengedin courts. However, in 2007, theSupreme Court in IR Coelho v.State of Tamil Nadu ruled thateven those laws which areplaced in the Ninth Scheduleare subject to judicial review ifthe laws violate the basic struc-ture of the Constitution.Interestingly enough, a petitionchallenging the Tamil NaduReservation policy is expectedto come up for hearing beforethe Supreme Court in the near future.

Even for getting itsMaharashtra Reservation Act2018 included in the Ninth

Schedule of the Constitution,the BJP-led MaharashtraGovernment will have toinvolve the BJP-led NarendraModi Government which ofcourse will be more than will-ing to help the DevendraFadnavis dispensation. But, themove will have to undergo dueConstructional processes whichwill take time – a thing the BJP-led Maharashtra Governmentdoes not have on hand.

As a precautionary mea-sure, the Maharashtra had onMonday filed a caveat in theSupreme Court seeking a hear-ing in the event of anyone chal-lenging the new MaharashtraReservation Act granting 16 percent reservations to Marathas ineducation and jobs.

The move came three daysafter Maharashtra Governor CVidyasagar Rao signed theMaratha reservation bill enact-ing the law. The bill had earli-er been passed unanimously byboth the Houses of Maharashtraon November 29.

The caveat , f i led byAdvocate NishantKatneswarkar on behalf of theMaharashtra Government inthe apex court, reads thus: “Noorder be passed in the matterwithout notice to theMaharashtra Government.The caveator (MaharashtraGovernment) was the autho-rised party who issued theMaharashtra Act.”

6�������������������� /����9��� �"���.! &!779.��*�-9>09>!.��.�0*�.!�!.>�0&9, ��,�������������������������

� ��������3�������0�<#3������ ���������

#�+"��$$3�,��%�� ����:��

Asoldier sustained injuriesin north Kashmir’s Uri

sector after artillery troopsfrom Pakistan resorted tosmall arm firing during aceasef ire violat ion onWednesday.

Security sources said thatthe ceasefire violation wasreported from Kamalkote vil-lage along the Line of Control(LoC) in Uri sector of northKashmir’s Baramulla district,around 100 ki lometers from here.

Reports said thatPakistani forces used Sniperrifle to target Indian Armyjawan guarding the fence.

The jawan was injured inthe incident and investigationwas launched to ascertain thefacts about the attack.

The Indian troops alsorepulsed the attack. Therewas no conformation ondamaged caused on the otherside of the LoC.

Meanwhile, unknowngunmen shot at and injured acivi l ian Hilal Ahmad at Gangarpora village in southKashmir’s Pulwama district late on Wednesday.

Sources said that Ahmadreceived a bullet in his leg andwas immediately shifted to nearby hospital for treatment.

His condition was statedto be stable.

+� ���������&������:������� ������7�������,� ����

����� ����:��

Fomer Jammu & KashmirChief Minister Farooq

Abdullah on Wednesdaylauded Pakistan premierImran Khan’s latest peaceovertures and urged uponthe Government of India torespond positively to find outsolutions to the long-pendingissues between the two neigh-bouring countries.

Abdullah who representsSrinagar in Lok Sabha whileaddressing a gathering atannual day function of Sher-e-Kashmir Institute ofMedical Sciences (SKIMS),said that Khan’s recent state-ments have rekindled hopeamong the people of Kashmirthat a day would dawn whenthey would be able to live ina free atmosphere.

“I foresee a time when mycolleagues, friends and familymembers move around with-out security. It is perhaps forthat day, God has kept megoing. I wish that day comeswhen the two neighboringcountries of India and Pakistanlive in camaraderie,” he said.

The SKIMS was foundedby his father SheikhMuhammad Abdullah andwas named after him duringhis lifetime.

Abdullah asserted thatonly democratically electedGovernments will advance

the cause of development andwill work for the socio-eco-nomic emancipation of theunderprivileged.

“I look forward to electionsfor the state assembly at an ear-liest. Only a popularGovernment can mitigate themounting woes of the people.And it is the duty of people toelect honest people to the leg-islature,” he said.

Abdullah said that secularfabric of the country was underconstant threat and polarisationof the population is done tomeet political goals.

“Many powers that are inim-ical to the secular character ofIndia are making bigotedattempts to polarise the people onreligious lines to garner support.This is dangerous for a countrylike India,” he said.

“People want answers forall those fanciful promises thatwere made by the BJP. Peoplecannot forget the ordeal thatthey had to undergo due todemonetization. Small busi-ness men and small enterpriseholders too are at the receivingend due to the promulgation ofGST,” he said.

Earlier, addressing a gath-ering at the grave of his fatheron his 113 birth anniversary,Abdullah accused theGovernor administration inJammu & Kashmir for fid-dling with the autonomousinstitutions.

$ ���9�� ����* �*�4��� ����������

Page 8: ˘ ˇ ˘ ˆ - dailypioneer.com · Anjos after his detention in July had “clearly brought out” that the Modi Government and its agencies were forcing him to sign a false confessional

China has lately become very fondof archaeology though it is main-ly a ‘political’ archaeology. OnDecember 1, Xinhua publishedan article titled: ‘Qinghai-Tibet

Plateau first conquered by humans at least30,000 years ago.’ Does this mean that Chinaconquered Tibet much earlier than thought?History books tell us that the People’sLiberation Army (PLA) entered EasternTibet on October 7, 1950.

The news agency explained the earlier‘occupation’: “Thousands of stone artifactsrecovered from a paleolithic site in the TibetAutonomous Region (TAR) in southwestChina indicate that humans might have con-quered one of the highest and most ecolog-ically-challenging places on the globe.”

A total of 3,683 stone artifacts have beendiscovered from the 30,000-40,000-year-oldsite, including blades, flakes, chunks andtools, the last of which range from scrapers,awls, choppers, notches and burins. Thoughthe environment then was much warmer andmore humid, Gao, a researcher from theInstitute of Vertebrate Paleontology andPaleoanthropology, Chinese Academy ofSciences (CAS), admitted that humans didnot settle down permanently on the plateauat that time.

Xinhua concluded: “Most agree that thediscovery enormously prolonged human his-tory on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau with indis-putable archaeological evidence.”

Another article in Science mentioned alocation where the CAS team found piecesof stone artifacts, pottery shards as well as ani-mal bones. It was in a village in Nyingchi inthe TAR. What is interesting (and worrying)is that these researches come close to the dis-puted Indian border. The same phenomenonis happening elsewhere on the Indo-Tibetborder. For example, in Ngari Prefecture ofWestern Tibet. China is probably trying toestablish its political bonafide in the region.

Last month, Xinhua reported: “Chinesearchaeologists have excavated more than 20tombs thought to be around 2,000-year-oldin southwest China’s TAR”. The conclusionwas: “ancient tombs provide clues to mys-terious civilisation in Tibet.”

The idea is to prove that Tibet has notalways been Buddhist (which is true), sidelin-ing the importance of the religious Buddhisthierarchy, particularly the Dalai Lama. In earlyJuly, a project was launched by SichuanUniversity — Huo Wei, head of the School ofHistory and Culture of the universityannounced that “more than 70 artifacts havebeen found in these tombs in Peyang Tunggar[Dungkar] ruins [near Tholing, the capital ofthe former Guge Kingdom], including bronzemirrors, fabric, pottery, and accessories. Wefound millet in a pottery cup and tea in awooden box, which are believed to date backbetween the Han Dynasty and Jin Dynasty.”

Huo explained: “The discoveries showedthat there was a long stage of civilisation in the

Peyang Tunggar region, and thecivilisation had close ties with thesurrounding areas. BeforeBuddhism was introduced toTibet in the seventh century,there was a period calledShangshung culture according tohistorical recordings.”

Why is it important forIndia? It appears that Beijing isgoing to duplicate in Ngari whatit did in Nyingchi area and theexcavations give China a politi-cal legitimacy — it is the first the-oretical step, the road infrastruc-ture leading to the border and astring of model villages are thenext practical stages.

Moreover, three new air-ports will soon be constructed inthese frontier areas — Lhuntse(in Lhoka prefecture, north ofArunachal), Tingri (in ShigatseCity, close to the Nepal border)and Purang — which is locatedat the tri-junction with Nepaland India on way to the Kailash-Manasarowar yatra in Ngariprefecture. But that is not all.

A few days ago, China TibetNews reported that the TAR’sPreserving Institution ofCultural Relics had completedsome archaeological work onRelics of the Qing (Manchu)Dynasty at Yatung in theChumbi Valley, near Sikkim, anarea which witnessed theDoklam incident last year.

The so-called occupationof the Chumbi Valley by theManchus is a new way torewrite history and show thatthese areas close to the Indianborder have always belonged to

China …and are part of the SilkRoad, dear to ChinesePresident Xi Jinping.

The website speaks of “anirreplaceable section of SouthAsian corridor on the Silk Road,Yatung Custom Relics has beenrecognised as the witness of theCentral Government’s [Beijing]valid ruling over Tibet andChina's claim on sovereignty.”

‘Valid’ ruling is a new term,at a time when nobody disputesChina’s occupation of Tibet anylonger. The TAR ordered the‘repairing-for-salvage work’ ofthe relics and the TAR CulturalRelics Bureau set up a jointexpert group and conducted afield research, “during which sixbuildings and roads linking thebuildings have been discovered.”

The press release men-tioned: “The whole relics werefilled with collapse piles, and alarge number of porcelains, ironand bronzes were unearthed,too. Analysis on layout, scale andinterior structure of these build-ings has preliminarily shownthat they have been used asworking offices, dormitories forworkers and garrison, theTemple of Guan Yu, customsclearance place, as well as dailygoods trading center.”

Did the Manchus everoccupy the Chumbi Valley?Nobody has heard of thisbefore. China now wants to pre-serve the ‘evidence’ and con-serve the relics. The YatungCounty’s Communist Partycommittee and the YatungCounty Government jointly

formulated an EmergencyProtective Repair Plan withworking priorities for thepreservation.

Chinese ‘experts’ affirmedthat the Yatung Custom Relics“carries a lot of historical mem-ory. Preserving the relics hassignificant practical and histor-ical significance to study bor-der culture, develop patrio-tism, carry forward fine tradi-tions, safeguard national unity,as well as develop local tourismand economy.” A good prepa-ration to bring millions oftourists (soon by train) toIndia’s border! But there isanother angle omitted byXinhua and its other associatewebsites.

India had a beautiful TradeAgency in Yatung. The build-ing belonged to theGovernment of India. It wasvisited by the Prime Minister ofIndia in September 1958. It wasdestroyed by the Chinese PLAafter the 1962 war. Did not theYatung Relics Committee lookfor the vestige of Indian pres-ence in Tibet? Their approachthen seems rather selective!The Yatung Relics Departmentshould be asked to excavate thearea and open it to pilgrims,passing through the ChumbiValley on their way to theKailash Yatra. But perhaps theWuhan consensus does notallow such requests. Rules ofengagement should be fair.

(The writer is an expert onIndia-China relations and anauthor)

#� )������ *��� ���� &������+!����������������*��������������������%*�#(

,,�������������������#�����������������������+�-+.�������������������������������������� ��/�����*���!�����0�����������1/*!02������������������������(����������������������������(���������������������� �#����(��� �������������������������(������ �� 3 �� ���� ����������� ������������������ /����&������(#�(4�� 1�#42 ������� ������������������� ��� �������� ���������

������������4���(�����������������������������(��������������������������������������.5���������������������%*�#(,,�������������������������������������������������/��������(�������������������(�����/������������������������

/*!0��������������������������%*�#(,,�#��������������������������������� ���� �����������%(67������������������/��������������������������������������������/���� ���������������� �� ������������ /������������������������������ ������ ���������%�� ���������8�����9����1%*892������ �������������������� �������������������������:������������������ ������������������/*!0����������� �������������������� ���������(������������� %*�#����������������������������/�������������������%*�#67�;7���;,3������������������ �����%*�#��������3�����������������)�����������������#��������������������������������� ���������������#4��������1����#4���������������(���� 2������ ������������ ���������������%*�#(,,���������������������/*!0������������/����&��������������(��������������������<������ ������=����� ���������������/����&��������������������������������/������������������������������������������������������������������ ������������������������������������������������� ����>��������� ��������������������������������������������������������������� ���/����������������� ������������$$8)��������������������������������� ����������������������������������������������������������������������������

#� ���������� �� ������>������?����@<��������=������������� ���������������=���%��������

����������������������������������������������������� ���������������(��������������������� ������ ����=�������������=���<�������������5������������9��� =��� �����������������:���������������������������������������������� ��� �������*����� ������� �����������������=���%�������������(�������������������������������������������������������� ��67,+�����������������������������������

��������9/$����������/������������������������������������������� ���������������������������������������������������������������� �����3=���������������� ��������������������������������������������� ���������������������������������(�����������������������%������������������������������ ���,699/$��������������������A�����������������������������/��� ��������������������������=���������������������%����4����������������������������������������;�+77�����������?#�A���� @�������=����������������� ���������<�������������*����%������#�����=���������������*������� ���������������������������(�����������������������������(���������� 4����������(������?�$@�������������������/���������������������������������(����������<������� ���������� ���������

/������������������������(��������������������67,B���������:C$�������������������������<��������������� �#���<����������!����%���������������������������������=������������!���������������� ��� �?������ @��������� ���(������������������������4��������������������&��������������������������������������������������������� ���������=���������������������� ���������������������:��!������������������������������������������������������������������� ��������������������������� �������������D$���������������������������(�����������������4�������������>������������������������������� ��������������=���������������������:C$&����������������������<�����������$���������� �����������<������������������������������������ ������������������0������������������������ ������8��*����������0���������<�����������������=���%�����������������<�����������������?���(����%��������������������������0����������@*�������!����%������������ ������/(#����������������������������:�����������������������������������������������<������������������������(����=�������������������������� �����������/������������������������������������:����������������������:C$���(���������<���������������� ���������������������������������%��������=����&���������������<�������������������:C$��������������������(��������������������������<�������������(��������������� ���������������������������������������!����� ��������*����������������������� ���� ������������� ���������������<���������������������������� ������������*�����/���<���������� �������������&������������������������(� ����������������(�������������������������������"������

����4��� ��������������� '�������������������������;��� ������������������������������������3�� ����������������������������

6� /� �����5+���""��������%� &�����!���������� �������������������%��<!������ ����������!����'���������������������%� �����

����������������

Sir — This refers to the article,“Semi-finals before the 2019face-off ” (December 5) byKalyani Shankar. In terms ofpersonality and stature, therecan be no comparison betweenPrime Minister Narendra Modiand Congress chief RahulGandhi. Having said that, theCongress scion has been able tomake inroads into the people’smind by aggressively increasinghis social media presence andraising crucial issues like theRafale deal, demonetisation,farmers’ issues, among others.

But a question arises: Arethese efforts enough to pose aserious challenge to Modi’s lead-ership? The jury is still out.Coming to the ongoing electionsto five States, Rajasthan seems tobe a forgone conclusion. TheCongress will register a big win.

And if the grand old party isable to make a comeback eitherin Madhya Pradesh or even inChhattisgarh, even a 2-0 resultwill act as a moral booster forRahul Gandhi and his party inparticular. The twin wins willsurely give more teeth to theCongress to ask for a bigger

pound of flesh in the proposedmahagathnadhan against PrimeMinister Modi.

Bal GovindNoida

����������������

Sir — This refers to Army ChiefBipin Rawat’s statement thatthe Army is not yet ready to

send women on the frontline forcombat duties. To quote NelsonMandela, “It always seemsimpossible until it is done.”

It is the lack of opportuni-ties and awareness that detersmost Indian women from join-ing the Army and other defenceservices. Even their parents arenot informed and, hence, theirdreams get buried inside theirhearts.

To accelerate the pace ofdevelopment, it is obligatoryfor the Government to eradicatesuch stereotypes from the soci-ety and promote more recruit-ment of women in the IndianArmy. It must be rememberedthat it is not always necessary tobe great to make a start inorder to be great.

Tushar Anand Kolkata

������������ ������

Sir — This refers to the editor-ial, “Farmers’ plank” (November3). Farmers protest in Delhi,Mumbai and elsewhere bringfore the grim reality that they arefurious, and rightly so. Their aggression is understand-able. They had voted for the pre-sent Government with the beliefthat it would address agrariandistress.

Things as they stand todayare worrisome as farmers’ sui-cides have seen a massive rise.Besides, their problems haveworsened. Farm incomes havebeen affected by slower outputgrowth, higher costs andincreased vulnerability to cli-mate change. The policiesannounced by the Government,like loan-waivers and MinimumSupport Price for their cropshave not yielded results. Years ofcrippling debt, drought andfalling income have cast a shad-ow over the future of Indianfarming.

SatyaVia email

* � * 8 ! � � # - 6 � * � � � # � +

(���$$������������������� �� ������� A����9����

...3'#��-2� �$$�3) !�!'�+��01'� �$!%�"�%�������J ;����!%�"�%�������J %���!*�! 1'� �$!%�"�%������

(�� �'�"'�$�(&�)�+�,�")(��- ����.'�)�/0��123

)D

������ ���������� �����

�/�4�� �.�&

��%�!2����(-��)�$����$�����%���������%�*�4��%$��'�2�!�$�4'������%�*2����%'�� !0�������!*��$�����!�!�%������+�%�*� %��%���������)�%���������$%!2��+��$���+)��%��%���!$�"� %��!0��

��%��%�"� )���+��*%������'!����%��(�%'��'���!%���������!����!'%�*�!���-*!�%����+�'!)������"�!��*�%�*����+���)����!$���1�

6�� �� ��� ��K �F��0!%!��!%$)

���'���%�)�������������!�%+!��+�%�*�)�%�%��$�!��!��$*��!*!%������$%!��!������!��!���!������!���!+��,��'��'%��$���*�!�%��!�1�

+�������� K��������&� '���7%��9�

��$%!��!��+��������-���0�$�+"�%�����!�%��!�!��%����1�������%��!� !�-�%���������)�%�"������(��%��$�%����$%!1�

������������K�% ���&)����

� 9 � , � + & 0 !

! 0 0 ! . � 0 9 00 * ! ! � & 0 9 .

��� ������������� �������

��%����������������!��%'��,�H���3�+��!�$�� ���" ���IB��� +���</C�+"���!�)���:��!$%!1��''��$%�*����!+�)��#)��!)L��$!�!,���$%!�'��!��$����"�61<E��!0�

3�+��%��=/6E�%��'� �!�%�������.16>��!0��%��=/6<�!�$�%����!0��%��=/661���%�����(����!��%����!$����*��(-%�*,������!���%���%���$��(���������%����$%!����!�$!%�"+!�%�1���$%!�!���������EE/�3�+������$!"�%�������!�����)�"�!��1��������+!�%�������%��������,�!�����%-+!��$�'%�%���'%��"�*��)�,���!�!�,����$%'��$���!��� ���" ����%���$%!�(%������%�0��+"������� %��%���+"�=/E/,�(�%������-)�!�%���(%���*��(��+"�D//� %��%��1������!$���������'�-%�*��!+�)�-%�����%�����'������%0���!� %�*,�)���*!�%��$���!%�,� %'���!�$�� !����������%���,���!�� ����"�'��-��%+)������')�������%���%���$�,�(��!���*�%�*�*!*!�����'!�%�!��%�����%�����'�����*"1�

��%���� ���" ����������)�!�%����!�%������$�!�EM1D�����'����%��6>>.,�%��!�!� %�*�"�'! ��$�(�����E=1.����'����%��=/6D1���� ���"�$�����������'�%���!��!�$-

�� ��!���(!�'����� �������!���%������'�)���%����%0��������+)��������%������)'����')�%�"� %����$%!1���$%!���$��!��!�!$%* ���%������ � !'���!�$�'!�%�!��%����-�%������ %'���!�$��!+�)��%�����%�����'�����*"�������%���%���������)�� ���" ���1�

������3 ���0!�!

�����-����������������&������ #�

F���5�#5��� ��������������5���

�����������5�����������������������������������#������F�����5�#��:���������N��

���������&������������,�������O��9���:

�������*�����%��'������-%�*��������� +�"����'-�%������������%�������'� - )�!�%� ,�$"�!��"�!�$!���!�� �������%�%'�1�

�4��� ��� ��K� %����!�

Page 9: ˘ ˇ ˘ ˆ - dailypioneer.com · Anjos after his detention in July had “clearly brought out” that the Modi Government and its agencies were forcing him to sign a false confessional

With Delhi’s air quality slippingagain to the severe category,a series of desperate emer-

gency measures, such as ban on con-struction activities and restrictions ontraffic, has been imposed in the capi-tal. The Supreme Court-appointedEnvironment Pollution ControlAuthority is even considering a dras-tic ban on the use of non-CNG vehi-cles if air quality continues to deterio-rate. Delhi is just a case in point. Asmany as 14 Indian cities figure in thenotorious list of the world’s 20 ‘mostpolluted’, putting an entire generationof Indians at serious health risk.

Unfortunately, current policiesseem to be working on two fronts —knee-jerk emergency measures (most-ly coming from apex court directives)

and long-term plans to shift to electric-ity. But make no mistake, rolling outelectric vehicles (EVs) will take sever-al decades. And Indian cities do nothave the luxury of waiting for 50 yearsto see EVs become a reality. We needbreathable air now! The need is for animmediate policy intervention to phaseout the most polluting vehicles whilebringing about a rapid shift to cleanergaseous fuels, such as LPG and CNG.

BS-VI norms must be imple-mented immediately: Even amongpetrol and diesel run cars, the most pol-luting are the ones that adhere to 10-year-old emission standards. Replacingthe current fleet of BS-IV vehicles byBS-VI compliant ones rapidly canbring about significant improvement inair quality. BS-VI norms can reducePM 2.5 matter from diesel-run cars by80 per cent and nitrogen oxides by 70per cent. Nitogen Oxide emissions toowill reduce by 25 per cent in petrol-runvehicles after the implementation of BS-VI norms while sulphur emissions areexpected to come down from 50 partsper million to 10 ppm.

It was only last month that the

Supreme Court had directed theUnion Government to ensure thatonly BS-VI vehicles are sold in thecountry from April 1, 2020. TheGovernment must set clear targets toachieve this goal, and look for waysfor faster implementation by offeringincentives and tax breaks to manufac-turers to upgrade their technology. Itis claimed that implementing thesenew norms will require an investmentof nearly $0.013 trillion for newtechnology and upgradation of vehi-cles in inventory. However, the costof unhealthy citizens owing to loss ofman-hours worked on the nationaleconomy, at three per cent of the $2.6trillion GDP, is still larger.

Shift to quickly deployablegaseous fuels: Instead of single-mind-edly chasing the target of shifting toEVs, we need to look for some low-hanging fruits immediately. Switchingpublic transport to CNG in 2001 hadhelped Delhi significantly improve itsair quality in the initial years. However,these gains were offset by the risingnumber of private vehicles on the roads.It is necessary to convert a large num-

ber of private vehicles to gaseous fuelsas well. Again, focussing on CNG willbe another myopic act. Auto LPG isanother viable and quickly deployableoption for private vehicles.

In fact, auto LPG has severaladvantages over CNG. Globally, autoLPG is the third most commonly usedautomotive fuel after petrol and diesel;and seven of the 10 largest car manu-facturers produce LPG-powered cars.Auto LPG occupies meagre space in carboots and can be transported in cylin-ders via lorries to reach distant outpostsfor quick accessibility. Rapidly shiftingto a mix of these two gaseous fuels isa much easier task than shifting to EVs,and can bring about an immediateimprovement in air quality.

The Government needs to incen-tivise vehicle owners who convert toauto LPG and CNG. Incentives, suchas subsidising conversion costs and per-mit-free usage, can prompt a numberof users to make the shift to cleanerfuels. One important policy interven-tion urgently required is changing theexisting system of type approval byagencies like Automotive Research

Association of India. The prohibitiveapproval cost, which is as high as �4crore every three years, has beenextremely detrimental to the CNG andLPG retro fitment industry. TypeApproval Validity must be made per-petual in line with European norms asthere is absolutely no logic for the samevehicle to undergo the same cost pro-hibitive tests every three years.

Focus on two-wheelers:According to a recent report by theIndian Institute of TropicalMeteorology, Pune, under the Ministryof Earth Sciences, emissions from thetransport sector rose by a whopping 40per cent between 2010 and 2018 in theNCR region. The total emission of thedeadly particulate matter (PM 2.5) wasfound to have increased by 15 per centover these eight years, with the trans-port sector accounting for 42.230 giga-grams of emission every year. Notably,more than 40 per cent of the vehicu-lar pollution in Delhi comes from two-wheelers. Across the country, two-wheelers account for more than 75 percent of the vehicular population.

Unfortunately, most policy inter-

ventions fail to address this significantcause of pollution. Two-wheeler pol-lution cannot be addressed by EVs inthe long run. Much like four-wheelers,we need to start pushing two-wheelerstowards cleaner fuels. Here again, autoLPG makes for the most viable alter-native with a Two Wheeler ConversionKit available at an affordable price ofabout �5,000-5,500 along with a con-venient side fitment of LPG tank.

Reward clean commuters: Oneof the most interesting examples isthat of several European countries,such as France, Belgium,Luxembourg and Italy, that offer taxbreaks to those cycling to work. Theidea of rewarding sustainable com-muting behaviour is reaping rich div-idends. For example, over 400,000Belgians, or nine per cent of thecountry’s workforce, receive a cyclingreimbursement based on kilometrescycled to and from work. India cantake a leaf or two out of these suc-cess stories and start incentivising itscitizens who opt for green transport.

(The writer is Director-General,Indian Auto LPG Coalition)

�����������������������

'�"'�$�(&�)�+�,�")(��- +�����.'�)�/0��123

#�")�"�+"����%��&+"3,�"��,$�)�)!���#%�)���$��+�$�!.�)�$�-��#�!.�6%�%!��!.��!�&"$��

-$�3$"��!.�)��)�)%�$9B�"%�$��%�%�)$"�

��"$�3"���!3%

�!3%�%��"�%�%�&�8+$�)%!����)���"3�"���)$-���5%�&)��)�#�")�"�+"�,$�)�)!���#%�)���3+$�)!�-��#�!.�������������!.�)�$��!�&"$���-$�3$"��!.�)��)�)%�$9B�!�&"$���-$�3$""��+-�&��3�%

��� �9�,0!.��� �

He wrote as Baba Nagarjun in Hindi butis revered as Vaidyanath Mishra ‘Yatri’in Maithili. Much has been writtenabout the poetic contribution by thisveteran bilingual writer. The truth, how-

ever, is that he was not only a poet par excellencebut also a distinguished novelist who did a great dealto democratise Maithili language and, particularly,its literature through his creative works. Yatri is oftenreferred to as a people’s poet. Accordingly, he choseto write in a language spoken by the ordinary peo-ple and took his subject matter from the life and expe-riences of those common men and women whomauthors before him largely ignored.

His first collection of poems called Chitra, pub-lished in 1949, has been read, understood and inter-preted as a path-breaking work in Maithili literature.It manifests a definite kind of rupture with the wayin which poetry was written by preceding poets, whoemployed ornate poetic diction and focussed on var-ious kinds of myths and conventions for their poet-ic practices. Yatri preferred to chart a different tra-jectory altogether. So, he parted ways from his pre-decessors in no uncertain terms and went ahead torefine and elevate colloquial idioms of the Mithilaregion by writing highly entertaining, engaging andsocio-politically transformative kind of poetry.Equipped with enormously useful literary tools andtechniques, such as irony, wit, humour and sarcasm,Yatri inaugurated what is usually termed as the rad-ical and modernist trend in Maithili literature.However, he never forgot to present a stringent cri-tique of the ill-effects of the idea of modernity itself.

A poem, Param Satya, of this collectionunequivocally highlights the tenets of what are calledprogressive thoughts. It is seen as an indicator of thefact that Yatri did not have inhibitions to exhibit hisindebtedness to Marxist ideas, which supposedly hadtremendous influence on the formation of his cre-ative consciousness. Such influences, indeed com-mitments to an ideological persuasion for certainkinds of socio-political transformation, are bothenabling and disabling for a wonderfully gifted andinsightful author of his stature. These enabled himto openly repudiate both in terms of language andcontent stereotypical conventions perpetuated by theapparently privileged previous poets. It is also dis-abling in the sense that ideologically-oriented poet-ry tends to lose sight of the fact about literature, pri-marily meant to maintain an autonomous status andavoid overtly occupying political space, whichinevitably turns out to be selective, rather exclusivein its approach and reach.

His second collection of poems namely,Patrahina Nagna Gaachha, was published in 1967and it brought the prestigious Sahitya AcademyAward for Yatri the following year. This collectionconsists of 43 poems. They narrate the misery andmisfortune, insult and humiliation, trial and tribu-lation of the people from the periphery because ofthe aggressive and unbridled onslaught of theprocesses of industrial modernisation. It subtly indi-cates the consistent decline and decadence of villages,migration of villagers to the urban centres, and dis-tasteful indulgence of city-dwellers that caused innu-merable problems to the disadvantaged. It indeedembodies the disturbing menace which the so-calledidea of progress has generated in the name of indus-trial development. The very title of the poem remindsus that the notion of industrial growth is inherent-

ly antithetical to the health and happinessof trees and in turn to the sustenance ofour environment. Yatri was critical of thebandwagon of modernity that went hor-ribly wrong despite its vociferous claimsto be a harbinger of progress and prosper-ity all around.

However, in no way was he willing toeither romanticise or glorify traditionalrural structures. In fact, he was extreme-ly critical of some of the prevailing sys-tems of pre-modern set-up. Being akeen observer of the existing realities anda highly discerning mind to make senseto their contemporary relevance, Yatriwalked a tightrope, aiming to bring outthe kind of changes required for a harmo-nious and peaceful co-existence betweennature and human beings. Yatri wrote asmany as 12 novels of which three werewritten in Maithili. Drawing upon the tra-dition of novel-writing by Harimohan Jha,he decided to delve much deeper into theissue of incompatibility in marriage withall the subsequent catastrophic conse-quences in the first two novels, such asParo and Navaturia. The first one unfoldsthe entire story in the first-person narra-tive by protagonist Birju, who narrates theunimaginable sort of suffering and pathosof his cousin, Paro. Through his narration,he brought to fore the inexplicably inhu-man practice of child marriage prevalentin the then Mithila region. Older men withriches and wherewithal used to get mar-ried with young girls with consent andcomplicity of their fathers who, becauseof their abject poverty, could not resist thetemptation of monetary gains out of suchmurky marital deals.

To ensure the successful completionof those material transactions, a personcalled ghatak was always available. Thisperson would arrange meetings betweenthe two parties belonging to the bride andthe bride groom respectively. And hemade sure that marriage took placeaccording to the set terms and conditions.The unfortunate fact was that most of suchmarriages were destined to get doomed

as was that of Paro. Emotionless, aged hus-bands, who were actually agents of cru-elty, tortured young brides. They knewnothing about expressing love and affec-tion, generated not only anger, bitterness,disappointment and frustration, but alsodownright hatred for them and hostilityfor the very institution of marriage. Yatriappeared to ruthlessly expose the brutal-ities committed against young girls in anunequal relationship that mark suchincompatible marriages.

Moreover, the novel mentions themutual attraction, sacrosanct love and afine understanding between two cousins.Paro very categorically acknowledgesher wish that marriage between brothersand sisters would be extremely wonder-ful. Both Birju and Paro nurture beauti-ful wishes for each other but remain alertto the limitations and restrictions that thesocial code of conduct imposes uponthem. This novel rightly raised many eye-brows. A number of readers and criticsdisliked what they thought to be the themeof incest. This part caused such furore thatit was discussed much more for the con-troversy it generated than for the socialproblem it so successfully raised.

Nonetheless, it was an innovativeattempt to deal with the issue of incom-patibility in marriage. With tremendouspoise and poignance, Yatri unfolded thereprehensible behaviour of utterly insen-sitive, irresponsible and indeed absolute-ly cruel men against their own wives, whodue to irresistible kinds of social pressures,were compelled to make many compro-mises to unsuccessfully save the failedmarriages.

His second novel, Navaturia, builtupon the same theme of incompatibilityso pervasive in the then marital relation-ships of the region. He was keen ondemonstrating that young and energeticminds need to come together to sensitisesociety, sometimes even resorting totough measures if persuasive means failto deliver that. The way youngsters comeforward and prevent an ugly marriage

between a 60-year-old man and a younggirl, Visesari, who finally got married witha young boy with a progressive outlook,shows the pre-occupation of the novelistwith making a significant statementabout the indispensability of a concertedactivism for the resolution of the problemof incompatibility in marriage. Besides,Yatri also tried to re-awaken the collec-tive consciousness of the young genera-tion that can effectively protest against theunjust practices of the older generation inorder to free young women from theshackles of an entirely suffocating systemof marriage.

His third and last novel in Maithili,Balchanma, was about a dynamic herowho came from the socio-politicallybackward caste. Yatri’s engagement withdemocratising Maithili literature wasexplicit and at its peak in this novel, whichfocussed on the enterprising character ofpeople from the periphery. It also empha-sised on the need for a mass movementalong democratic socialist lines to sharp-en the sense of camaraderie among thepoor and exploited for the sake of encour-aging them to participate in the decisive,democratic struggle for a just socio-polit-ical order devoid of poverty, exploitationand oppression of any kind.

By and large, his oeuvre evidentlypresented a serious kind of indictmentof those regressive traditions andcounter-productive modern tenden-cies which proved to be a disaster for thedowntrodden as was pretty much evi-dent from his scathing critiques of notjust obscure socio-cultural practices butalso emergent modernity which endedup creating numerous problems for themasses. His creative endeavours weremainly governed by the democraticprinciples dealing as they do with thefundamental question of justice, aimingequality in human relations and theestablishment of an egalitarian societyin our country.

(The writer is Assistant professor ofEnglish at Rajdhani College, Delhi)

!�����������%������� �������7���������������

��������������� ���2����������=���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������%����������������������������

����������������� � ��������������������������� ������������� �������������������������������������������������������������������������������� ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������� ���

5�������������5��&�� ����

�������������������

�� �������������&����

�F����������P��������� �

�&���� �������:���&��

�����:���:��5������:,:�:�:���

�����-����������5����&�� ���F

�����&�����51�����:�������������������5��� �

���������������� ������

������ ���������������

>����������������������������������������������������������������������������������(E�� ��������������#���������(������������

���������������)�������������������������� �������������������������������������������������� ��������#�����������������������������������������������������/�����=�������������������1/=�2���(�����������������������������������������

<������������������������������ �������������(���������������������������� ������������:�������� �������������� �������������/=�������� �������8��� ���������������������C����� (A����� 67,-��7�+;F<��������������������66�,GF<�#����(������������������������������������� ����������A����� 67,-����������,6���������������������,,- ����#��������� ��������� �� ��������� ���� ��������������������������������������������������������������

��������������������� �������%��#��������������� ������6+���������������%��������������������� �������������������������������������������>��"������� ����?�� ��������� �@�������������������#��������������������������=������������� ���������������������� ������� ������������������������"���������������������������H>������ (������6+��������� ����������� %#�������I������ � ��������������������I/� ������������� ���������� � ���������������������*��� ������������������"��������

/�������� %#��������������������������������(�����������������������=������������� ���(��������*���������������������������������������������/��������������������������%�����������������6+����������������������������������������������� ��������������� ����������������������������"����� ������������������D���������� �����������������(������������������������������������������������������������������������������������%�����������������������������3���������������������������������������E���

#�������������"���� �������������������%����������������������� ��������������������(����������#���������������=������������� �������������������������������������������(�������������������������� ������ /������ ������������������������������������������������������������������������������� ���������������� ������� ���������� ���������#�=������������� ����������������������������������������������������(������������������������������������������#�������������<���� �������������(���������� �����"����(������������������������������������������������/����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������

>�������������������������������������������������������������������������������� ��$�������������� ����������� ��������������� ��������������������� ������������ ���������������������/��� %#�������������������������������� ����������������������������� ������������������������������������������������ ��������"����� ����������������������=������������ ����������������� ���� ������������������������������������������������ ������������������������������E���

8������������ ������������������������ ������������������������������*��������H#� %#�������(����� (���������������������������������%������������������������������������������������������������(������������������������ ����������������������������� �������(����������������������������������������������������4����������������������������������������������� ��� �0�����������������%������������������������������������������������������������ ������������������������������������=����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������

��������������������� ���������������

����4� )C7 & . � 0 � 9 � � ,

� ��������.��� *����$�)����

�� � �.&.�2

4��5 -��0�

#�! ��*��+!��(!� %�*�!�$��%�%�*�����)�%�����������������%���$%�!���$��!"�%������!��%�!�����(%����1����0���%0���%����!����(���!������$��!(!"�(%����)��(�������

��5������ 2*�

79.!&-,!1!

��)$%������(�+!���"��(��%�6/����������(���%�0����')�������"��� ���*�����%�*�#�%�!%��%��*��$�!������� %�*�!�"����%���0�"�)�'�%���1�����!��%! ���!�"�"��� �,�!�*�%$��'0�%����!�%���"��!��1��������% � %�%������'!��������*��'� !�$���*%��!�%���)�����,�����% �!����%��������$�+"�!���(����'�%��1�������!��� ���$����$����%�!�"�% ������,�#�%�%�����% � %�%�����������!� !"(�)�$��)���"�+��$�����$1

��������� ���������

��+&�)�%�����"$C%)�)"�%)4��#$)

...3'#��-2� �$$�3) !

Page 10: ˘ ˇ ˘ ˆ - dailypioneer.com · Anjos after his detention in July had “clearly brought out” that the Modi Government and its agencies were forcing him to sign a false confessional

� ��4")'�"'$�(&�)�+�,�")(��- +�����.'�)�/0��123

�)%�� � #��

The Reserve Bank of India(RBI) on Wednesday

expectedly kept interest ratesunchanged but held out apromise to cut them if theupside risks to the inflation donot materialise.

It also coaxed banks to lendmore in order to support theslowing economy.

With all the six member ofthe monetary policy commit-tee (MPC) voting for a hold onrates, the RBI kept benchmarkrepurchase (repo) rate at 6.5per cent.

Having raised rates twicethis year, the central bankretained its ‘calibrated tighten-ing’ policy stance.

“Even as inflation projec-tions have been revised down-wards significantly and some ofthe risks pointed out in the lastresolution have been mitigated,especially of crude oil prices,several uncertainties still cloudthe inflation outlook,” it said ina statement.

While the statement wassilent on future outlook oninterest rates, RBI GovernorUrjit Patel at the customarypost MPC meeting press con-ference held out hope of a

reduction if upside risks toinflation did not materialise.

“If the upside risks wehave flagged do not materialiseor are muted in their impact asreflected in incoming data,there is a possibility of spaceopening up for commensu-rate policy actions by theMPC,” Patel said.

He said the MPC retainedits stance at calibrated tighten-ing “so as to buy time to pause,reflect and undertake futurepolicy action with more robustinflation signals”.

The RBI lowered inflationforecast for the second half ofthe fiscal year that ends inMarch 2019 to 2.7-3.2 per centfrom a range of 3.9-4.5 per cent.The projection is below themedium-term target of 4 percent.

Inflation in October easedto a 13-month low of 3.31 percent.

It retained GDP growthforecast for the current fiscalyear at 7.4 per cent.

In a bid to boost lendingby banks by freeing upresources, the RBI loweredthe reserves lenders are com-pulsorily required to hold inthe form of Government secu-rities.

!"#��������/�� �������� ����

�)%�� � #��

Reserve Bank Governor UrjitPatel on Wednesday refused

comments on the friction withthe Government, including theinvocation of the never-before-used Section 7 or the pro-posed economic capital frame-work for the central bank.

Speaking at the customarypost-policy presser rpt presserafter the fifth bi-monthly policyreview, wherein the policy rateswere left unchanged, Patel parriedthree questions on these issues.

“I would avoid those ques-tions because we are here dis-cussing the monetary policyresolution,” the Governor said.

Another questions seekinghis views on deputy governorViral Acharya’s public postur-ing on RBI autonomy and onthe economic capital manage-ment framework were also metwith similar replies.

“Is this related to the MPCresolution? I don’t think so. Weare here to discuss the MPCresolution and the macro-economy,” said Patel, who was

facing the press for the firsttime since the issues came outinto the open in October.

Relations between the MintRoad and North Block souredsince late October, after thefinance ministry mandarinsstarted consultations under thenever-before-used Section 7 ofthe RBI Act which empowersgovernment to direct the centralbank to undertake certain pol-icy measures in public interest.

According to central banksources, the Government hadsent three letters to the RBIbefore October 10 with nearlya dozen demands, which werereplied to within a week.

The Government primar-ily wants the RBI to help thestruggling non-bank lendersand MSMEs get some liquidi-ty support, liberalise theprompt corrective actionframework on 11 of the state-run banks and undertake othersteps which will help pushgrowth, while RBI has beenmaintaining a conservativestance avoiding any bad prece-dents.

,��� �������� �>���������%��������������5���

�)%�� � #��

The Reser ve Bank onWednesday lowered retail

inflation projection in therange of 2.7-3.2 per cent forthe second half of the currentfiscal, citing normal mon-soon and moderate foodprices.

The broad-based weak-ening of food prices impartsdownward bias to the head-line inflation trajectory goingforward, the RBI said in itsfifth bi-monthly monetarypolicy announced here.

Meanwhile, the centralbank maintained status quoin monetar y policyannouncement, leaving thekey interest rate unchanged at6.5 per cent.

In its previous policyreview in October, the apexbank had projected the retailinflation to be around 3.9-4.5per cent in the October-March period of 2018-19.

���� .$������#�� ��2� ($)�� �� �6378�36�2)���56�9��1

�)%�� � #��

Benchmark indices nursedlosses for the second

straight day on Wednesday asthe RBI left the repo rateunchanged, while global mar-kets wobbled on renewed con-cerns over the US-China tradedispute.

The BSE Sensex tumbled249.90 points, or 0.69 per cent,to close at 35,884.41. Similarly,the broader NSE Nifty fell84.55 points, or 0.74 per cent,to end at 10,784.95.

All sectoral indices on theBSE finished with losses, led bymetal, pharma and rate-sensi-tive auto and banking stocks.

The Reserve Bank of IndiaWednesday left the repo rateunchanged at 6.5 per centwhile maintaining the stance of‘calibrated tightening’ of poli-cy.

In a bid to boost lending,the RBI lowered the reserveslenders are compulsorilyrequired to hold in the form ofgovernment securities.

However, it failed toenthuse the markets, which hadopened weak and dropped fur-ther after RBI’s policyannouncement.

Weakness in the rupeeagainst the US dollar alsoweighed on sentiment, traderssaid. The local unit fell 11paise to 70.60 against the USdollar intra-day.

“Nifty performed in linewith the weak internationalcues and shut the shop withlosses... Nifty Midcap andSmall-cap indices fell evensharply by 1.5 per cent and 1.8per cent respectively.

“Key US indices tumbledmore than 3 per cent onTuesday on the combinedonslaught of inversion in bondyields and fresh jitters on trade,”said VK Sharma, Head PCGand Capital Markets Group,HDFC Securities.

Sun Pharma, under theregulatory lens for alleged cor-porate governance lapses, wasthe biggest loser in the Sensexpack, declining 6.59 per cent.

Other laggards includedTata Steel, Vedanta, TataMotors, M&M, Coal India andITC, falling up to 4.27 per cent.

Top gainers included HUL,HDFC, HDFC Bank, Wipro,Reliance Industries and AdaniPorts, spurting up to 2.07 percent.

Global investor sentiment

turned weak following uncer-tainty over negotiationsbetween the US and China ontheir trade dispute.

US President DonaldTrump and his Chinese coun-terpart Xi Jinping had agreed toa truce at the G20 meet.

Trump, however, muddiedthe waters by suggesting thepossibility of an extension oftrade talks.

“The negotiations withChina have already started.Unless extended, they will end90 days” from Saturday, Trumptweeted.

On a net basis, foreignportfolio investors (FPIs) soldshares worth �55.89 croreTuesday, while domestic insti-tutional investors (DIIs) werenet sellers to the tune of�521.38 crore, provisional dataavailable with BSE showed.

Brent crude, the interna-tional benchmark, was trading0.53 per cent lower at $61.75per barrel.

Elsewhere in Asia, Korea’sKospi fell 0.62 per cent, Japan’sNikkei dropped 0.53 per cent,Hong Kong’s Hang Seng shed1.62 per cent and ShanghaiComposite Index gained 0.61per cent.

$��$&��#�%��6:;�2��� ������#�*��<* =����!��� +#��)*$�

����� ������

The Foundation Stone for theConstruction of New

Integrated Terminal Building ofVijayawada Airport was laid bythe Vice President of India, MVenkaiah Naidu on December4, 2018.

The Ceremony took placein the August presence ofSuresh Prabhu, Union Ministerof Commerce&IndustryandCivil Aviation, Jayant Sinha,Union Minister of State forCivil Aviation and otheresteemed dignitaries. The firstinternational f light from

Vijayawadat oSingaporewas alsoinauguratedthe sameday.

T h eN e wIntegratedTe r m i n a lBuilding ofVijayawadaAirport will spread over 35000Sqm and is being developed bythe Airports Authority ofIndia(AAI) at the cost of �611crores. The airport would be a

steel and glass structure withstate-of-the-art passengerfriendly facilities with peakhour handling capacity of 1200passengers.

&�)�$!�%����������!%$�����'�����)'�%��������(%���*�!��$���� %�!��+)%�$%�*����F%3!"!(!$!��%�����

����� ������

NLC IndiaLimited a

Navratna CPSEunder the Ministryof Coal, Governmetof India has about10,000 employeeson the rolls underthe Non-Executivecategory.

The revisionof wages, allowances and incen-tive schemes benefiting the10,000 employees was due since01.01.2017. To revise the same,a Joint Negotiation Committeewas formed comprising therepresentatives of theManagement and the TradeUnions (CITU & LPF) basedon guidelines receiving fromDPE, Govt. of India.

The Committee after hold-ing several rounds of negotia-tions had arrived at a consen-sus and the same was finalisedby the Senior Managementteam consisting of Functional

Directors and CMD. Based onthe agreement, aMemorandum ofUnderstanding (MoU) for therevision of wages, allowancesand incentive schemes hasbeen inked Wednesday atChennai between theManagement of NLC IndiaLimited and Trade Unions inthe presence of the CMD andthe Functional Directors ofNLCIL and the Senior CentralLeaders of the Trade Unions(CITU & LPF).This will beimplemented after the approvalof Board of directors of NLCIL.

"@� @�����������,������������ �����������

����� ������

With elections around thecorner, SKOCH Group,

India’s topmost independentthink-tank for socio-econom-ic issues with a focus on inclu-sive growth, on Wednesdayorganised 54th SKOCHSummit on the state of Power,Oil and Gas to take stock of thepower sector and discuss thereforms carried out in the lastfour years of the currentGovernment.

The Summit witnessed alarge gathering of eminentindustry leaders and dignitariesfrom State and Central govern-ment organizations including,Anand Kumar, Secretary,Ministry of New & RenewableEnergy, Saurabh Chandra,Former Secretary-Petroleumand Natural Gas, Governmentof India and Chairman, MCX,NK Verma, Managing Directorof ONGC Videsh, and BPYadav, Joint Secretary, Ministryof New & Renewable Energy toname a few.

The country’s power sectorhas been going through a mas-sive transformation.

;A� �(3��<(������������������������������������������ ���

�.��� ���5�

Ousted Nissan chairmanCarlos Ghosn will face a

further accusation of under-reporting his salary by aboutfour billion yen ($35.5 million)over the last three years,Japanese media reportedWednesday.

Tokyo prosecutors plan to“rearrest” the business tycoonalong with his right-hand manand former Nissan representa-tive director Greg Kelly byMonday, according to majormedia including the Nikkeiand the Mainichi newspapers.

If confirmed, the new alle-gation would come on top of anexisting accusation that thepair conspired to understateGhosn’s pay by some five billionyen in official filings during thefive years up to March 2015.

Japanese prosecutorsdeclined to comment on thereports regarding the duo, whowere arrested on November 19and remain in custody.

In Japan, a suspect can bekept in custody and “rearrest-ed” several times on differentallegations, a system that hassparked some criticism in theinternational media.

They have yet to be offi-cially charged with any crimeand deny the allegations,reportedly insisting they hadchecked with authorities aboutthe way they declared themoney.

In a move that stunned thebusiness world, Ghosn wasarrested at a Tokyo airport onNovember 19 on suspicion ofunder-declaring his income.

Authorities then had 22days to question him overthese suspicions. That periodruns out on Monday, meaningthey are likely to rearrest himover the new allegations, givingthem a further 22 days tointerrogate the tycoon.

He is therefore likely toremain in detention until earlynext year at least. Japan hadlong celebrated Ghosn as acharismatic business leaderwho saved Nissan from thebrink of failure and rebuilt it asa money-making subsidiary ofRenault.

But since his unexpectedarrest, he has been removedfrom the boards of Nissanand Mitsubishi Motors — thethird company in the alliancethat outsold all its rivals lastyear.

-� �6������3�����/��( �����������3 ���E$@����

Page 11: ˘ ˇ ˘ ˆ - dailypioneer.com · Anjos after his detention in July had “clearly brought out” that the Modi Government and its agencies were forcing him to sign a false confessional

� ��4""'�"'�$�(&�)�+ ,�")(��- +�����.'�)�/0��123

�)%�� � #��

Measures over the last twomonths have eased liq-

uidity for NBFCs and there isno necessity for the RBI toextend help to the crisis-hit sec-tor as a lender of last resort,deputy governor Viral Acharyasaid on Wednesday.

The central bank was guid-ed by the principle of address-ing system-wide liquidityrequirements, Acharya said,enlisting the measures under-taken since problems startedwith the non-banking financecompanies (NBFCs).

“The RBI also stands readyto be the lender of last resortbut that is provided conditionswarrant that sort of an extrememeasure. In our assessment,there is no such necessity at thepresent,” he said at the custom-ary press conference after thefifth bi-monthly policy review.

Acharya said the “soundhealth” of the economy, wherethe credit growth is comfort-ably above the nominal GDPgrowth with a fair distributionacross sectors, make the RBIconfident that such support willnot be required.

The RBI has also augment-ed system-wide liquiditythrough various moves, hesaid.

According to reports, thegovernment has been wantingmeasures like a special liquid-ity window for the NBFCs,

which employ crores of people.There was no mention of theNBFC sector in a press state-ment issued by the regulatorafter a marathon board meetlast month.

Acharya said the RBI hasbeen watching developmentson this front since late-Augustand has also been in touch withSebi to understand the poten-tial redemptions.

It may be noted that theIL&FS crisis burst out in lateAugust, and the worries quick-ly spread to other NBFCs andthe possible asset liability mis-matches that they may face,which had made investorscagey.

Giving details of the mea-sures undertaken, Acharya saidbanks could raise more againstthe collateral of governmentsecurities for onlending toNBFCs and housing financecompanies (HFCs) and theconcentration limits have alsobeen upped.

“RBI has also taken mea-sures to facilitate asset and

risk transfers within the finan-cial system. This can be consid-ered as reintermediation acrossfinancial players or risks. Webelieve this is healthy for finan-cial stability overall,” he said.

Measures on partial cred-it enhancement (PCE) to aidbond raising by NBFCs andalso liberalisation on the secu-ritisation front are a part ofthese measures, he said.

“Our assessment is thatthese measures have collective-ly eased the funding stress in asteady manner over the pasttwo months. They have giventhe NBFCs and HFCs time andthe opportunity to make theirown balance sheet adjustmentson both assets and liabilitiesside,” he said.

In comments directed atanalysts who have wonderedthe efficacy of some of themoves, he explained these mea-sures were chosen from the full“set of available options” basedon an analysis of the reasonsbehind the funding stress forNBFCs and HFCs.

Acharya said it was therecognition of asset qualityissues in the banks, which ledto a greater play by the NBFCsin the financial system.

Rating agency Crisil onWednesday said NBFCs’ assetgrowth was expected to halveto around 10 per cent in thesecond half of the current fis-cal on difficulties in gettingfunding for the sector.

�)%�� ������

The Reserve Bank onWednesday retained its

GDP forecast for the currentfiscal at 7.4 per cent and saidgrowth would accelerate fur-ther to 7.5 per cent in first halfof 2019-20, driven by acceler-ation in investment activity.

The central bank said thatthe GDP growth in April-September of current fiscalhad been broadly in line withRBI projection of 7.4 per centfor full fiscal.

Stating that accelerationin investment activity bodeswell for the medium-termgrowth potential of the econ-omy, the RBI called forstrengthening of macroeco-nomic fundamentals.

“The time is apposite tofurther strengthen domesticmacroeconomic fundamentals.In this context, fiscal disciplineis critical to create space for andcrowd in private investmentactivity,” the RBI said in its fifthbi-monthly monetary policy.

“Based on an overall assess-ment, GDP growth for 2018-19has been projected at 7.4 percent (7.2-7.3 per cent in H2) asin the October policy, and forH12019-20 (April-September)at 7.5 per cent, with riskssomewhat to the downside,”RBI said.

India’s economic growth

fell to 7.1 per cent in the sec-ond quarter (July-September)of the current fiscal, from 8.2per cent in the April-June peri-od. The growth was 7.7 percent in the January-Marchperiod.

The Central Bank saidgoing forward, lower rabi sow-ing may adversely affect agri-culture and hence ruraldemand. Financial marketvolatility, slowing globaldemand and rising trade ten-sions pose negative risk toexports.

However, on the positiveside, the decline in crude oilprices is expected to boostIndia’s growth prospects byimproving corporate earningsand raising private consumptionthrough higher disposableincomes, the central bank noted.

The price of Indian basketof crude oil fell below USD 60to a barrel by end November,from USD 85 to a barrel inearly October.

“There has been significantacceleration in investmentactivity and high frequencyindicators suggest that it islikely to be sustained. Creditofftake from the banking sec-tor has continued to strength-en even as global financialconditions have tightened. FDIflows could also increase withthe improving prospects of theexternal sector,” the RBI said.

* ���� ������9�������� ������ �� ��������)%�� � #��

Reserve Bank GovernorUrjit Patel on Wednesdayrefused comments on

the friction with the govern-ment, including the invocationof the never-before-usedSection 7 or the proposed eco-nomic capital framework forthe central bank.

Speaking at the customarypost-policy presser after thefifth bi-monthly policy review,wherein the policy rates wereleft unchanged, Patel parriedthree questions on these issues.

“I would avoid those ques-tions because we are here dis-cussing the monetary policyresolution,” the Governor said.

Another question seekinghis views on deputy governorViral Acharya’s public postur-ing on RBI autonomy and onthe economic capital manage-ment framework were also metwith similar replies.

“Is this related to the MPCresolution? I don’t think so. Weare here to discuss the MPCresolution and the macroecon-omy,” said Patel, who was fac-ing the press for the first timesince the issues came out intothe open in October.

Relations between theMint Road and North Blocksoured since late October, afterthe Finance Ministry man-darins started consultations

under the never-before-usedSection 7 of the RBI Act whichempowers government todirect the central bank toundertake certain policy mea-sures in public interest.

According to central banksources, the government hadsent three letters to the RBIbefore October 10 with nearlya dozen demands, which werereplied to within a week.

The government primarilywants the RBI to help the strug-gling non-bank lenders andMSMEs get some liquidity sup-port, liberalise the prompt cor-rective action framework on 11of the state-run banks andundertake other steps whichwill help push growth, while theRBI has been maintaining aconservative stance avoidingany bad precedents.

The poll-bound govern-ment, which is staring at fallingrevenue and a likely fiscal slip-page, also wants the RBI to partwith a large portion of �9.6 tril-lion of its cash surplus, whichthe central bank has been stern-ly opposing.

As the public spat betweenthe two got wider public atten-tion, the RBI’s central board, atits November 19 meeting, haddecided to climb down anddecided to set up a panel tostudy the quantum of capital itrequires apart from restructur-ing loans of up to �25 crore togive a succor to the troubledMSMEs.

At the policy review onWednesday, the RBI said it wascommitted to act as a lender oflast resort to NBFCs but under-lined that it does not feel thenecessity do so now. It alsoformed a panel to look at theissues plaguing NBFCs. Thepanel will submit its report inJune 2019.

The frictions came to lightthrough a public speech bydeputy governor Viral Acharya,wherein he warned of investors’wrath if the RBI’s autonomy iscompromised.

After reports of actionunder Section 7 came up, thegovernment had tried to easetensions by stating that autono-my is “essential” and an accept-ed governance requirement.

&� �2�,�����8�'�������������������������������������������������������$�

&� ��������2#�����'���������������������������=BA7�$&����"%-(�$�)�.52'>�&"!,)���)�*9DE

��� �/ %�+�����������!"#�������+"$��� ������������� ���������

6+���� �������� ������������ �������� �� 5���/������������� � ��������� ,+7����� ������������ �(����<*7�=������� �������/�� ��������5��� '����((��;�

Script Last Abs ChangeTraded Price Change %3MINDIA 22163.50 -269.65 -1.208KMILES 190.35 -10.00 -4.99AARTIIND 1470.80 -0.10 -0.01ABB 1374.30 -7.50 -0.54ABBOTINDIA 7682.60 -68.80 -0.89ABCAPITAL 100.05 -2.70 -2.63ABFRL 183.10 -1.75 -0.95ACC 1473.75 -32.60 -2.16ADANIPORTS 374.15 0.30 0.08ADANIPOWER 54.00 -2.15 -3.83ADANITRANS 218.15 0.00 0.00ADVENZYMES 180.05 -2.25 -1.23AEGISLOG 212.15 -1.35 -0.63AIAENG 1691.75 -44.70 -2.57AJANTPHARM 1098.35 -41.30 -3.62AKZOINDIA 1580.90 -9.10 -0.57ALBK 45.75 -1.50 -3.17ALKEM 1910.70 3.15 0.17ALLCARGO 106.35 -0.95 -0.89

AMARAJABAT 709.45 -4.85 -0.68AMBUJACEM 216.45 -3.00 -1.37ANDHRABANK 28.00 -0.15 -0.53APARINDS 629.20 14.10 2.29APLAPOLLO 1316.05 -8.65 -0.65APLLTD 617.95 2.90 0.47APOLLOHOSP 1232.30 -11.10 -0.89APOLLOTYRE 228.00 -4.75 -2.04ASAHIINDIA 256.20 -4.45 -1.71ASHOKA 125.30 -3.30 -2.57ASHOKLEY 103.65 -3.65 -3.40ASIANPAINT 1328.30 -1.05 -0.08ASTERDM 148.00 -2.15 -1.43ASTRAL 1054.05 9.10 0.87ATUL 3461.10 -54.20 -1.54AUBANK 611.80 4.45 0.73AUROPHARMA 796.75 -27.00 -3.28AVANTI 350.20 5.55 1.61AXISBANK 614.55 -8.10 -1.30BAJAJ-AUTO 2761.90 -2.80 -0.10BAJAJCORP 350.05 -3.45 -0.98BAJAJELEC 473.15 -3.55 -0.74BAJAJFINSV 5901.80 -164.50 -2.71BAJAJHLDNG 2959.30 -25.80 -0.86BAJFINANCE 2495.35 -43.90 -1.73BALKRISIND 935.00 -15.85 -1.67BALMLAWRIE 182.15 -4.10 -2.20BALRAMCHIN 101.55 -3.25 -3.10BANDHANBNK 477.95 -7.95 -1.64BANKBARODA 107.50 -0.25 -0.23BANKINDIA 83.45 -2.10 -2.45BASF 1523.25 -17.05 -1.11BATAINDIA 1051.70 -8.35 -0.79BAYERCROP 4307.70 -18.45 -0.43BBTC 1324.75 -27.25 -2.02BEL 82.75 -1.05 -1.25BEML 732.20 -24.65 -3.26BERGEPAINT 315.60 -1.10 -0.35BHARATFIN 1014.35 -16.85 -1.63BHARATFORG 531.95 -49.10 -8.45BHARTIARTL 312.30 -6.10 -1.92BHEL 66.40 -4.05 -5.75BIOCON 624.70 1.10 0.18BIRLACORPN 613.90 -6.15 -0.99BLISSGVS 140.40 -4.95 -3.41BLUEDART 3137.20 7.45 0.24BLUESTARCO 660.60 -7.10 -1.06BOMDYEING 95.55 -0.50 -0.52BOSCHLTD 18400.95 -176.55 -0.95

BPCL 328.80 -4.80 -1.44BRITANNIA 3092.50 -5.45 -0.18CADILAHC 358.30 5.55 1.57CANBK 252.70 -1.10 -0.43CANFINHOME 248.85 -12.60 -4.82CAPF 518.00 -15.75 -2.95CAPPL 396.20 -1.25 -0.31CARBORUNIV 348.65 -2.30 -0.66CARERATING 992.45 -2.85 -0.29CASTROLIND 148.70 -2.80 -1.85CCL 265.05 -3.75 -1.40CEATLTD 1259.85 -9.20 -0.72CENTRALBK 28.80 -0.30 -1.03CENTRUM 38.40 -0.45 -1.16CENTURYPLY 177.70 0.05 0.03CENTURYTEX 905.20 -3.85 -0.42CERA 2352.55 -6.85 -0.29CGPOWER 39.10 -1.50 -3.69CHAMBLFERT 151.00 -3.00 -1.95CHENNPETRO 270.55 -3.10 -1.13CHOLAFIN 1281.75 -15.90 -1.23

CIPLA 529.15 -17.20 -3.15COALINDIA 245.00 -7.20 -2.85COCHINSHIP 376.20 0.65 0.17COFFEEDAY 263.20 -0.80 -0.30COLPAL 1227.75 -6.65 -0.54CONCOR 673.20 -5.05 -0.74COROMANDEL 416.35 6.85 1.67CORPBANK 26.10 -0.20 -0.76CRISIL 1545.85 8.05 0.52CROMPTON 219.70 0.95 0.43CUB 176.10 3.55 2.06CUMMINSIND 783.00 -27.80 -3.43CYIENT 608.25 -8.05 -1.31DABUR 410.20 0.95 0.23DBCORP 172.85 -3.75 -2.12DBL 445.80 -13.25 -2.89DCBBANK 152.70 -6.30 -3.96DCMSHRIRAM 346.45 -15.90 -4.39DEEPAKFERT 156.05 -2.90 -1.82DEEPAKNI 243.40 -5.10 -2.05DELTACORP 236.00 -0.55 -0.23DENABANK 15.70 0.05 0.32DHANUKA 430.20 -7.80 -1.78DHFL 210.85 -12.25 -5.49DISHTV 35.10 -1.45 -3.97DIVISLAB 1479.40 -13.00 -0.87DLF 176.55 2.85 1.64DMART 1497.90 12.60 0.85DRREDDY 2670.40 -34.70 -1.28ECLERX 1071.35 1.50 0.14EDELWEISS 192.95 6.25 3.35EICHERMOT 22823.60 -561.35 -2.40EIDPARRY 208.80 -7.95 -3.67EIHOTEL 185.15 -5.45 -2.86ELGIEQUIP 230.00 -1.85 -0.80EMAMILTD 434.85 -2.70 -0.62ENDURANCE 1124.75 -0.35 -0.03ENGINERSIN 112.55 -4.05 -3.47ENIL 613.25 1.25 0.20EQUITAS 118.50 -5.70 -4.59ERIS 626.95 -4.35 -0.69ESCORTS 659.75 -36.10 -5.19ESSELPRO 95.20 1.65 1.76EVEREADY 203.65 0.70 0.34EXIDEIND 253.30 -4.10 -1.59FCONSUMER 45.35 -0.05 -0.11FDC 186.00 -3.45 -1.82FEDERALBNK 83.90 -1.00 -1.18FINCABLES 470.80 0.40 0.09

FINOLEXIND 539.90 -1.15 -0.21FLFL 398.40 3.40 0.86FORBESCO 2565.25 -72.90 -2.76FORCEMOT 1656.70 -21.40 -1.28FORTIS 147.50 -0.95 -0.64FRETAIL 521.55 -4.30 -0.82FSL 53.75 0.10 0.19GAIL 349.20 -5.55 -1.56GDL 137.70 -4.35 -3.06GEPIL 827.85 17.95 2.22GESHIP 290.90 -3.95 -1.34GET&D 226.70 -7.00 -3.00GHCL 228.55 0.30 0.13GICHSGFIN 228.15 0.00 0.00GICRE 274.65 -3.60 -1.29GILLETTE 6465.80 -9.60 -0.15GLAXO 1377.10 -14.40 -1.03GLENMARK 625.85 5.45 0.88GMDCLTD 85.90 -0.25 -0.29GMRINFRA 15.60 -0.50 -3.11GNFC 338.70 -5.30 -1.54GODFRYPHLP 894.55 -14.75 -1.62GODREJAGRO 512.75 2.20 0.43GODREJCP 752.20 -10.45 -1.37GODREJIND 541.75 -9.20 -1.67GODREJPROP 693.65 -0.95 -0.14GPPL 92.85 -1.80 -1.90GRANULES 86.50 0.30 0.35GRAPHITE 882.95 -34.25 -3.73GRASIM 825.90 -20.05 -2.37GREAVESCOT 122.55 -1.60 -1.29GREENPLY 132.05 -2.15 -1.60GRINDWELL 491.40 -11.30 -2.25GRUH 299.20 -0.20 -0.07GSFC 103.70 -3.60 -3.36GSKCONS 7645.45 145.10 1.93GSPL 185.40 0.20 0.11GUJALKALI 546.45 -5.25 -0.95GUJFLUORO 894.45 3.95 0.44GUJGAS 632.95 -3.30 -0.52GULFOILLUB 768.50 -3.20 -0.41HAL 775.85 -8.25 -1.05HATSUN 624.50 7.85 1.27HAVELLS 694.35 -5.20 -0.74HCC 11.24 -0.22 -1.92HCLTECH 1051.25 15.15 1.46HDFC 1973.20 34.00 1.75HDFCBANK 2099.45 10.70 0.51HDFCLIFE 395.30 -2.05 -0.52HDIL 21.60 -0.05 -0.23HEG 4029.65 -57.55 -1.41HEIDELBERG 151.25 0.25 0.17HERITGFOOD 487.90 -9.20 -1.85HEROMOTOCO3055.10 -6.95 -0.23HEXAWARE 325.15 -5.80 -1.75HFCL 18.20 -0.40 -2.15HIMATSEIDE 214.95 -5.00 -2.27HINDALCO 221.40 -11.90 -5.10HINDCOPPER 48.00 -0.75 -1.54HINDPETRO 226.50 -1.50 -0.66HINDUNILVR 1845.60 37.35 2.07HINDZINC 269.85 -3.40 -1.24HONAUT 23231.45 -165.55 -0.71HSCL 131.30 -0.55 -0.42HSIL 202.90 -0.95 -0.47HUDCO 42.00 -0.70 -1.64IBREALEST 79.95 0.75 0.95IBULHSGFIN 775.80 -26.35 -3.28IBVENTURES 389.20 8.20 2.15ICICIBANK 351.10 -6.90 -1.93ICICIGI 889.70 -0.70 -0.08ICICIPRULI 318.15 -0.60 -0.19ICIL 60.35 -2.35 -3.75IDBI 60.70 0.85 1.42IDEA 34.05 -1.15 -3.27IDFC 38.80 -2.30 -5.60IDFCBANK 37.70 -1.35 -3.46IEX 156.85 -1.55 -0.98IFBIND 836.25 -41.85 -4.77IFCI 13.17 -0.37 -2.73IGL 259.25 0.50 0.19IL&FSTRANS 13.50 -0.70 -4.93INDHOTEL 146.80 3.25 2.26INDIACEM 91.00 -2.60 -2.78INDIANB 222.50 -2.75 -1.22INDIGO 1000.40 4.05 0.41INDUSINDBK 1603.45 -32.70 -2.00INFIBEAM 47.30 -3.15 -6.24INFRATEL 258.35 3.90 1.53INFY 681.45 -3.00 -0.44INOXLEISUR 227.90 0.40 0.18INOXWIND 80.30 -0.55 -0.68INTELLECT 220.70 -10.80 -4.67IOB 14.35 0.01 0.07IOC 134.30 -0.90 -0.67IPCALAB 796.50 -2.10 -0.26

IRB 145.20 -4.40 -2.94ISEC 262.25 -2.35 -0.89ISGEC 5298.75 -8.75 -0.16ITC 275.25 -6.60 -2.34ITDC 300.90 -3.60 -1.18ITDCEM 100.10 -1.95 -1.91ITI 90.55 -1.70 -1.84J&KBANK 37.75 -0.95 -2.45JAGRAN 110.15 1.50 1.38JAICORPLTD 102.05 -4.10 -3.86JAMNAAUTO 64.30 -2.10 -3.16JBCHEPHARM 301.95 -0.60 -0.20JCHAC 1760.00 -23.40 -1.31JETAIRWAYS 286.90 -16.50 -5.44JINDALSAW 80.05 -1.70 -2.08JINDALSTEL 148.45 -8.20 -5.23JISLJALEQS 63.65 -1.80 -2.75JKCEMENT 709.00 3.05 0.43JKIL 124.90 -4.95 -3.81JKLAKSHMI 272.85 -1.85 -0.67JKTYRE 95.15 -2.75 -2.81JMFINANCIL 85.65 -0.90 -1.04JPASSOCIAT 6.61 -0.23 -3.36JSL 36.05 -1.35 -3.61JSLHISAR 89.50 -0.05 -0.06JSWENERGY 68.85 0.05 0.07JSWSTEEL 304.40 -9.10 -2.90JUBILANT 819.05 0.10 0.01JUBLFOOD 1323.35 -8.95 -0.67JUSTDIAL 490.55 -1.00 -0.20JYOTHYLAB 187.35 -1.40 -0.74KAJARIACER 437.75 -1.40 -0.32KALPATPOWR 343.80 -11.85 -3.33KANSAINER 447.35 -1.00 -0.22KEC 273.85 -8.55 -3.03KEI 379.70 6.15 1.65KIOCL 148.65 -2.80 -1.85KNRCON 195.50 -2.25 -1.14KOTAKBANK 1211.30 -14.05 -1.15KPIT 209.80 0.15 0.07KPRMILL 581.40 -7.05 -1.20KRBL 306.50 -2.50 -0.81KSCL 516.35 -10.30 -1.96KTKBANK 101.80 -1.75 -1.69KWALITY 9.57 -0.50 -4.97L&TFH 144.10 -1.70 -1.17LAKSHVILAS 87.95 -1.20 -1.35LALPATHLAB 963.55 20.40 2.16LAOPALA 223.55 1.50 0.68LAURUSLABS 377.05 -7.80 -2.03LAXMIMACH* 5768.05 -29.60 -0.51LICHSGFIN 433.75 -10.35 -2.33LINDEINDIA 666.65 -4.75 -0.71LT 1395.65 -24.00 -1.69LTI 1546.55 -28.40 -1.80LTTS 1575.20 18.75 1.20LUPIN 859.05 -29.00 -3.27LUXIND 1461.45 -6.00 -0.41M&M 717.60 -24.70 -3.33M&MFIN 420.65 -20.10 -4.56MAGMA 115.35 -0.45 -0.39MAHABANK 12.96 -0.05 -0.38MAHINDCIE 249.65 -6.10 -2.39MAHLIFE 388.30 -3.35 -0.86MANAPPURAM 82.75 -2.10 -2.47MANPASAND 87.95 -3.35 -3.67MARICO 355.70 -2.65 -0.74MARUTI 7559.55 -165.20 -2.14MAXINDIA 64.30 -0.25 -0.39MCX 718.85 -7.90 -1.09MEGH 57.20 -1.65 -2.80MFSL 432.70 -1.95 -0.45MGL 867.65 12.35 1.44MHRIL 207.30 0.95 0.46MINDACORP 133.10 -4.10 -2.99MINDAIND 331.05 0.20 0.06MINDTREE 871.00 -13.85 -1.57MMTC 28.20 -0.20 -0.70MOIL 168.15 -0.05 -0.03MONSANTO 2735.05 -10.95 -0.40MOTHERSUMI 157.75 -9.40 -5.62MOTILALOFS 614.05 -10.65 -1.70MPHASIS 985.40 -15.60 -1.56MRF 65188.20 -867.25 -1.31MRPL 71.65 -1.85 -2.52MUTHOOTFIN 447.70 2.30 0.52NATCOPHARM* 721.20 9.05 1.27NATIONALUM 65.00 -3.05 -4.48NAUKRI 1579.05 -53.05 -3.25NAVINFLUOR 713.85 4.25 0.60NAVKARCORP 56.05 -3.15 -5.32NAVNETEDUL 106.20 0.40 0.38NBCC 54.75 -1.00 -1.79NBVENTURES 117.75 0.25 0.21NCC 83.85 -3.15 -3.62NESTLEIND 10484.55 -105.10 -0.99

NETWORK18 39.05 -0.85 -2.13NH 210.25 -4.75 -2.21NHPC 26.05 -0.30 -1.14NIACL 197.45 -0.35 -0.18NIITTECH 1112.40 -3.70 -0.33NILKAMAL 1503.10 -28.90 -1.89NLCINDIA 80.10 -1.00 -1.23NMDC 92.00 -3.45 -3.61NOCIL 164.50 -3.00 -1.79NTPC 140.90 -2.15 -1.50OBEROIRLTY 468.40 -9.85 -2.06OFSS 3567.05 10.00 0.28OIL 183.25 -3.40 -1.82OMAXE 208.65 -0.80 -0.38ONGC 143.70 -2.50 -1.71ORIENTBANK 87.00 -3.75 -4.13ORIENTCEM 78.30 -1.80 -2.25PAGEIND 25171.10 -777.35 -3.00PARAGMILK 247.60 1.40 0.57PCJEWELLER 68.00 -2.95 -4.16PEL 2163.85 -32.00 -1.46PERSISTENT 605.15 -3.55 -0.58PETRONET 210.00 -2.60 -1.22PFC 92.30 -5.20 -5.33PFIZER 2760.10 -1.05 -0.04PFS 16.35 -0.65 -3.82PGHH 9605.00 -67.65 -0.70PHILIPCARB 209.50 -3.90 -1.83PHOENIXLTD 609.80 -12.40 -1.99PIDILITIND 1155.95 -3.95 -0.34PIIND 792.35 -12.20 -1.52PNB 68.85 -0.75 -1.08PNBHOUSING 933.60 -1.90 -0.20PNCINFRA 136.50 -1.40 -1.02POWERGRID 183.40 -3.60 -1.93PRESTIGE 207.45 -4.75 -2.24PRSMJOHNSN 82.05 -1.05 -1.26PTC 80.70 -2.30 -2.77PVR 1481.20 -8.65 -0.58QUESS 677.75 -21.50 -3.07RADICO 391.40 -5.05 -1.27RAIN 129.95 -4.15 -3.09RAJESHEXPO 570.60 -0.30 -0.05RALLIS 167.80 -0.60 -0.36RAMCOCEM 597.65 1.40 0.23RATNAMANI 878.90 4.00 0.46RAYMOND 799.85 -12.20 -1.50RBLBANK 558.00 0.50 0.09RCF 60.10 -2.05 -3.30RCOM 16.31 -0.79 -4.62RECLTD 105.10 -1.30 -1.22REDINGTON 84.15 -3.30 -3.77RELAXO 754.70 -6.25 -0.82RELCAPITAL 219.35 -13.75 -5.90RELIANCE 1154.85 3.30 0.29RELINFRA 307.60 -21.70 -6.59REPCOHOME 354.75 -7.75 -2.14RNAM 181.70 -0.95 -0.52RNAVAL 13.00 -0.85 -6.14RPOWER 29.15 -0.80 -2.67SADBHAV 207.70 -1.00 -0.48SAIL 53.00 -2.60 -4.68SANOFI 6184.90 -6.45 -0.10SBILIFE 571.50 2.10 0.37SBIN 280.20 -2.10 -0.74SCHAEFFLER 5465.00 -7.75 -0.14SCHNEIDER 108.15 -3.30 -2.96SCI 42.10 -0.40 -0.94SFL 1450.00 -24.00 -1.63SHANKARA 579.60 16.05 2.85SHARDACROP 295.85 -6.55 -2.17SHILPAMED 375.90 2.60 0.70SHK 175.85 -8.70 -4.71SHOPERSTOP 494.70 -1.35 -0.27SHREECEM 16408.05 -272.70 -1.63

SHRIRAMCIT 1584.00 -37.20 -2.29SIEMENS 907.35 -33.65 -3.58SIS 765.15 2.40 0.31SJVN 26.70 -0.20 -0.74SKFINDIA 1924.20 -1.15 -0.06SOBHA 453.25 -13.10 -2.81SOLARINDS 1030.20 0.50 0.05SOMANYCERA 297.85 -1.10 -0.37SONATSOFTW 297.55 -6.25 -2.06SOUTHBANK 16.15 -0.45 -2.71SPARC 223.40 -16.60 -6.92SPICEJET 80.10 0.05 0.06SREINFRA 32.05 -1.10 -3.32SRF 2116.80 -61.35 -2.82SRTRANSFIN 1122.95 -26.50 -2.31STARCEMENT 100.95 -0.55 -0.54STRTECH 324.35 -11.35 -3.38SUDARSCHEM 329.55 -8.30 -2.46SUNCLAYLTD 3504.90 79.90 2.33SUNDRMFAST 520.45 -1.55 -0.30SUNPHARMA 413.60 -29.20 -6.59SUNTECK 349.60 -0.05 -0.01SUNTV 573.40 -17.75 -3.00SUPPETRO 201.30 -8.40 -4.01SUPRAJIT 207.10 -6.55 -3.07SUPREMEIND 988.90 4.80 0.49SUVEN 232.90 -3.55 -1.50SUZLON 5.27 -0.17 -3.13SWANENERGY 103.05 1.65 1.63SYMPHONY 1000.35 -34.70 -3.35SYNDIBANK 33.75 -0.90 -2.60SYNGENE 546.20 -12.30 -2.20TAKE 133.55 -4.20 -3.05TATACHEM 666.70 -17.40 -2.54TATACOFFEE 93.90 -1.05 -1.11TATACOMM 518.50 -4.75 -0.91TATAELXSI 1042.60 5.55 0.54TATAGLOBAL 211.50 1.90 0.91TATAINVEST 858.70 -5.10 -0.59TATAMETALI 619.95 -6.95 -1.11TATAMOTORS 169.20 -6.50 -3.70TATAMTRDVR 92.50 -3.70 -3.85TATAPOWER 80.40 -0.90 -1.11TATASTEEL 515.30 -23.00 -4.27TCS 2006.10 -3.30 -0.16TEAMLEASE 2933.35 -83.60 -2.77TECHM 725.25 1.40 0.19TEJASNET 223.35 1.55 0.70TEXRAIL 52.85 -1.30 -2.40THERMAX 1116.50 13.90 1.26THOMASCOOK 224.50 -7.10 -3.07THYROCARE 552.80 -0.15 -0.03TIFHL 515.80 -8.70 -1.66TIMETECHNO 102.85 1.30 1.28TIMKEN 516.15 -4.10 -0.79TITAN 922.30 -3.35 -0.36TNPL 251.15 0.85 0.34TORNTPHARM 1722.60 -17.85 -1.03TORNTPOWER 260.60 -3.55 -1.34TRENT 331.80 -1.30 -0.39TRIDENT 66.70 -2.00 -2.91TRITURBINE 115.45 0.10 0.09TTKPRESTIG 7099.70 -47.35 -0.66TV18BRDCST 35.15 -0.95 -2.63TVSMOTOR 554.75 -0.25 -0.05TVSSRICHAK 2439.50 -27.75 -1.12TVTODAY 371.55 3.45 0.94UBL 1206.55 -27.65 -2.24UCOBANK 18.20 -0.15 -0.82UFLEX 283.30 -8.05 -2.76UJJIVAN 224.55 -7.00 -3.02ULTRACEMCO 3963.80 -66.50 -1.65UNICHEMLAB 200.85 -2.15 -1.06UNIONBANK 76.25 -2.70 -3.42UPL 747.70 -4.55 -0.60VBL 776.75 -2.45 -0.31VEDL 198.45 -7.70 -3.74VENKYS 2306.85 -22.90 -0.98VGUARD 210.45 -2.05 -0.96VIJAYABANK 42.25 0.35 0.84VINATIORGA 1476.15 -11.80 -0.79VIPIND 522.10 -7.65 -1.44VMART 2723.20 75.40 2.85VOLTAS 551.35 -1.70 -0.31VTL 1062.35 2.35 0.22WABAG 259.95 -4.45 -1.68WABCOINDIA 6522.25 -59.65 -0.91WELCORP 150.75 -5.40 -3.46WELSPUNIND 60.15 0.05 0.08WHIRLPOOL 1379.50 -23.85 -1.70WIPRO 335.85 1.35 0.40WOCKPHARMA 516.20 -11.25 -2.13YESBANK 173.65 -2.90 -1.64ZEEL 477.75 -6.70 -1.38ZENSARTECH 231.40 2.15 0.94ZYDUSWELL 1224.80 -9.00 -0.73

�������

SCRIP OPEN HIgh LOW LTP CHANGENIFTY 50 10820.45 10821.05 10747.95 10782.90 -86.60HINDUNILVR 1803.00 1854.80 1788.00 1852.00 44.35HDFC 1927.00 1979.80 1920.60 1970.50 31.05INFRATEL 255.00 259.40 253.35 258.00 3.15HCLTECH 1036.45 1058.00 1022.00 1046.05 9.80HDFCBANK 2078.00 2105.30 2075.95 2103.00 17.45TECHM 711.05 739.90 711.05 728.00 4.45RELIANCE 1143.75 1158.80 1139.30 1158.15 5.85WIPRO 333.00 338.70 328.15 336.25 1.30ADANIPORTS 375.00 376.75 372.70 374.20 0.40BAJAJ-AUTO 2759.00 2774.50 2731.10 2765.00 1.15ASIANPAINT 1328.50 1343.00 1323.60 1328.20 -1.25UPL 749.00 754.00 737.20 749.10 -2.35TCS 2006.00 2018.00 1985.00 2003.90 -6.95TITAN 921.00 925.65 901.55 919.80 -4.00INFY 683.00 683.65 672.50 682.05 -3.20HINDPETRO 228.15 232.00 225.15 226.70 -1.50HEROMOTOCO 3059.90 3081.95 3028.40 3043.90 -25.25SBIN 282.45 283.20 277.05 280.20 -2.35KOTAKBANK 1221.55 1228.40 1203.00 1213.65 -11.65IOC 135.45 138.20 132.55 134.20 -1.45BPCL 332.15 338.35 328.05 330.05 -3.65DRREDDY 2696.00 2713.95 2646.60 2673.05 -31.00ZEEL 481.40 484.40 474.10 479.00 -6.15AXISBANK 620.90 623.95 613.40 614.90 -8.35BAJFINANCE 2539.90 2539.90 2470.30 2508.00 -35.55GAIL 354.70 356.40 347.25 348.85 -5.50LT 1412.00 1419.00 1389.15 1397.05 -22.85ULTRACEMCO 4020.30 4029.40 3954.15 3965.00 -65.65NTPC 142.95 144.90 139.20 140.70 -2.50ICICIBANK 355.30 356.35 350.45 351.25 -6.70YESBANK 173.50 178.45 172.20 173.10 -3.40INDUSINDBK 1630.00 1630.00 1591.80 1603.25 -32.50ONGC 145.95 148.10 142.40 143.20 -2.95POWERGRID 185.10 187.70 182.50 183.35 -3.90BHARTIARTL 319.70 320.85 310.20 311.85 -6.70ITC 281.00 281.80 274.20 275.90 -5.95GRASIM 843.20 843.20 816.25 827.40 -18.30MARUTI 7696.70 7739.90 7520.00 7546.90 -174.75EICHERMOT 23280.00 23280.00 22685.00 22860.00 -541.40BAJAJFINSV 6070.00 6070.00 5838.75 5917.00 -153.20COALINDIA 251.50 252.45 244.00 245.30 -6.95M&M 740.30 740.30 715.10 718.90 -21.40JSWSTEEL 310.00 311.00 302.25 304.20 -9.10CIPLA 546.00 548.90 525.30 530.00 -16.45TATAMOTORS 173.00 173.00 168.60 170.05 -5.70VEDL 202.35 204.45 197.45 198.10 -8.10IBULHSGFIN 795.00 799.95 769.00 772.00 -31.70TATASTEEL 533.00 533.00 515.00 516.50 -21.70HINDALCO 229.05 230.40 220.30 221.25 -12.10SUNPHARMA 443.00 445.25 401.50 417.20 -25.70

�������

�����������

SCRIP OPEN HIgh LOW LTP CHANGENIFTY NEXT 50 27472.90 27490.50 27124.70 27215.25 -383.90DLF 172.95 178.00 171.65 177.40 3.60CADILAHC 355.50 363.50 354.50 358.20 4.90DMART 1484.00 1508.90 1475.15 1504.95 19.25SBILIFE 565.00 575.00 565.00 574.00 4.15OFSS 3560.00 3605.00 3528.55 3578.55 15.95INDIGO 995.10 1012.00 985.50 1000.30 4.50ICICIGI 877.00 899.70 871.30 889.95 3.35BIOCON 620.90 630.00 619.45 625.40 1.80DABUR 408.40 412.70 401.80 410.00 1.00NIACL 198.00 199.65 196.90 198.00 0.05BRITANNIA 3090.00 3109.40 3065.05 3088.55 -4.55BANKBARODA 106.80 108.20 106.05 107.65 -0.20PGHH 9820.00 9820.00 9553.30 9700.00 -32.90PIDILITIND 1161.30 1178.00 1147.20 1156.50 -4.80ICICIPRULI 319.00 322.30 316.25 318.00 -1.60COLPAL 1232.40 1235.00 1207.05 1227.20 -6.50HAVELLS 693.00 698.00 685.25 695.20 -4.10BOSCHLTD 18518.90 18860.00 18292.90 18403.00 -110.85ABB 1381.95 1382.15 1362.55 1372.00 -10.05HDFCLIFE 394.00 398.65 392.50 395.55 -3.15MARICO 358.00 358.90 352.70 355.00 -3.30HINDZINC 271.50 273.50 267.35 270.60 -2.55NHPC 26.35 26.35 26.05 26.15 -0.25BEL 83.05 83.90 81.00 83.10 -0.80CONCOR 674.90 681.60 667.45 671.00 -6.55GICRE 277.05 279.95 275.00 275.50 -2.90GODREJCP 751.00 757.95 744.00 754.00 -8.95SHREECEM 16513.20 16732.45 16252.60 16470.00 -209.95PETRONET 211.50 213.20 209.00 210.00 -2.80AMBUJACEM 218.80 218.80 215.35 216.05 -2.95PEL 2185.00 2201.15 2136.30 2165.00 -31.60MRF 66000.00 66196.65 65136.00 65170.00 -958.75LICHSGFIN 440.00 446.60 428.50 437.20 -6.60L&TFH 146.10 146.15 143.00 144.05 -2.30OIL 186.35 189.40 182.75 183.00 -3.70MCDOWELL-N 655.05 655.05 641.10 644.60 -13.40BANDHANBNK 484.50 486.60 476.00 476.50 -10.65SUNTV 589.65 593.55 568.20 575.90 -14.15ACC 1504.00 1506.50 1465.85 1470.00 -38.95ABCAPITAL 102.00 102.40 99.35 99.80 -2.70SRTRANSFIN 1142.00 1149.00 1110.15 1116.45 -33.30SIEMENS 933.00 939.95 901.85 912.65 -27.95ASHOKLEY 106.65 106.90 102.65 103.90 -3.40NMDC 95.00 95.00 90.85 92.30 -3.10LUPIN 888.00 889.80 848.00 858.45 -29.20AUROPHARMA 821.00 826.80 792.00 795.80 -27.75IDEA 34.85 34.95 33.80 33.95 -1.25SAIL 55.00 55.25 52.80 53.05 -2.55MOTHERSUMI 165.00 165.00 156.45 158.30 -8.85BHEL 69.75 70.25 66.10 66.45 -4.05

Page 12: ˘ ˇ ˘ ˆ - dailypioneer.com · Anjos after his detention in July had “clearly brought out” that the Modi Government and its agencies were forcing him to sign a false confessional

'�"'�$�(&�)�+�,�")(��- +�����.'�)�/0��123

0.900&,-0.900&,-- 9+!

Istanbul: A Turkish prosecu-tor has demanded that arrestwarrants be issued againsttwo Saudi nationals close toCrown Prince Mohammedbin Salman over the murderof journalist Jamal Khashoggi,a Turkish source close to theprobe said on Wednesday.

Khashoggi, 59, was killedshortly after entering the Saudiconsulate in Istanbul onOctober 2 to obtain paperworkfor his upcoming marriage.

The chief prosecutor'soffice in Istanbul filed anapplication on Tuesday toobtain the warrants for Ahmadal-Assiri and Saud al-Qahtani,described in court documentsas being "among the planners"of the murder of theWashington Post contributorKhashoggi.

Assiri often sat in during

Prince Mohammed's closed-door meetings with visitingforeign dignitaries andQahtani was a key counsellorto the crown prince. Bothwere sacked after Riyadhadmitted Khashoggi was killedin the Saudi consulate.

According to Turkey, a 15-member Saudi team was sentto Istanbul to kill Khashoggi.

Turkish President RecepTayyip Erdogan has said theorder to kill Khashoggi camefrom the highest levels of theSaudi government, but hasinsisted it was not KingSalman.

Riyadh has since detained21 people over the murder.Despite speculation that thepowerful crown princeordered the hit, the kingdomhas strongly denied he wasinvolved. AFP

Noumea (New Caledonia): Apowerful 7.5-magnitude earth-quake shook off the coast of thePacific island of New Caledoniaon Wednesday, triggering atsunami warning that was laterlifted. No significant damagewas reported.

New Caledonia is a Frenchterritory in South Pacific witha population of about 270,000.It is a part of the Pacific's "Ringof Fire", where many earth-quakes occur.

The earthquake struck at adepth of 10 km, with its epi-centre 168 km east-south-east ofTadine, a town on one of NewCaledonia's Loyalty Islands, theBBC reported. "Based on allavailable data, the tsunami threatfrom this earthquake has nowpassed," the US-based PacificTsunami Warning Centre said ina statement. IANS

Washington: Robert Mueller,the special prosecutor in chargeof the Russia election meddlingprobe, recommended onTuesday that President DonaldTrump's former national secu-rity advisor Michael Flynn faceno jail time due to his "sub-stantial" cooperation with theinvestigation.

Mueller said in a court fil-ing that Flynn, who admitted

last year to lying about his con-tacts with Russians followingTrump's November 2016 elec-tion victory, had helped in hisand other unspecified federalcriminal investigations, includ-ing being interviewed 19 times.

Mueller also told theWashington Federal court thatdespite his "serious" offense, theretired three-star general andformer Pentagon intelligencechief had a strong record ofmilitary and public service.

The surprise recommen-dation came ahead of Flynn'supcoming sentencing, whichhad been postponed four timesover the past year.

Those postponementsindicated that, once hostile tothe investigation that threatensTrump and his inner circle, hehad possibly become a valuablewitness.

"Given the defendant's sub-stantial assistance and other

considerations set forth below,a sentence at the low end of theguideline range —including asentence that does not imposea term of incarceration —isappropriate and warranted,"Mueller said in a memoran-dum to the court.

Flynn's was the first guiltyplea secured by the Muellerinvestigation into alleged col-lusion between Trump's elec-tion campaign and Russia.

His position as a top-levelinsider in the campaign,accompanying Trump to keyevents, making a keynotespeech at the July 2016Republican convention, andthen taking hold of the WhiteHouse national security appa-ratus in Trump's first weeks inoffice, made him a potentiallyextremely valuable witness.

But many thought his ownproblems had likely compro-mised that value. AFP

Moscow: Moscow onWednesday dismissed USclaims that Russia is violatinga major Cold War treaty lim-iting mid-range nuclear arms,from which Washington isplanning to withdraw.

"Groundless accusationsare again being repeated," for-eign ministry spokeswomanMaria Zakharova said, after USSecretary of State MikePompeo declared Russia in"material breach" of theIntermediate Range Nuclear

Forces (INF) treaty."No proof has been pro-

duced to support thisAmerican position," Zakharovasaid.

She described the treaty asa "cornerstone of global stabil-ity and international security".

Kremlin spokesmanDmitry Peskov meanwhile saidfacts had been distorted "inorder to camouflage the truegoal of the US withdrawingfrom the treaty".

Pompeo said during a

meeting with fellow NATOforeign ministers on Tuesdaythat the US would withdrawfrom the deal within 60 days ifMoscow does not dismantlemissiles that Washington saysviolate it.

NATO said it was now "upto Russia" to save the treaty.

In October, PresidentDonald Trump sparked glob-al concern by declaring theUnited States would pull out ofthe treaty and build upAmerica's nuclear stockpile

"until people come to theirsenses".

But on Monday, the USleader said he wants talks withhis Chinese and Russian coun-terparts Xi Jinping andVladimir Putin "to head off amajor and uncontrollableArms Race".

Signed in 1987 by then USpresident Ronald Reagan andMikhail Gorbachev, the lastSoviet leader, the INF resolveda crisis over Soviet nuclear-tipped ballistic missiles target-

ing Western capitals.But it was a bilateral treaty

between the US and the thenSoviet Union, so it puts norestrictions on other majormilitary actors like China.

Pompeo on Tuesday saidthere was no reason why theUS "should continue to cedethis crucial military advan-tage" to rival powers.

The Trump administra-tion has complained ofMoscow's deployment ofNovator 9M729 missiles, which

Washington says fall underthe treaty's ban on missiles thatcan travel distances of between310 and 3,400 miles (500 and5,500 kilometres).

US-Russia ties are underdeep strain over accusationsMoscow meddled in the 2016US presidential election.

The two states are also atodds over Russian support forBashar al-Assad's regime inSyria's civil war, and the con-flict in Ukraine.

AFP

!���� ���������;����/���������-�� �/���� ��

������'%!����)����� )�������'� ��$�����3!%���% ������&�"��

%����$���������������������������(�����������������������,���3 �� ���������

<1.�� �������9� ��������������+� �� ������ ���* ��������� �

�!0�'���%�)�����)�������!�%+!��!���$*��!*!%������$%!A���'� !�$��

5� ���:������! ���!$����'�)�'����!'���!�0��(%�����+���Rimbo (Sweden): YemeniGovernment representa-tives were expected to joina rebel delegation inSweden on Wednesday forhigh-stakes peace talksaimed at ending four yearsof devastating war.

A 12-member teamfrom the Saudi-backedgovernment headed byForeign Minister Khaledal-Yamani left Riyadh earlyWednesday, sources toldAFP, a day after rebel del-egates landed in Stockholmaccompanied by the UNpeace envoy.

The first Yemen talkssince 2016 are widely seenas the best chance yet forpeace, as the internationalcommunity throws its

weight behind efforts toresolve a conflict that haspushed the Arab world'spoorest country to thebrink of famine.

The Government del-egation was carrying the"hopes of the Yemeni peo-ple to achieve sustainablepeace", the head of exiledPresident AbedrabboMansour Hadi's office,Abdullah al-Alimi, said ina tweet.

The delegation haddelayed its departure untilthe rebels had arrived inStockholm after they failedto show up for the last UNbid to convene peace talksin September, sources closeto the Government toldAFP.

Washington: Pakistan continues touse Afghan Taliban as a "hedge"against India, a top US commanderhas told lawmakers, as he expressedAmerica's frustration over Islamabad'sfailure to take concrete steps to denysafe havens to terrorist groups.

Marine Corps Lt GenenralKenneth McKenzie's remarks camedays after US President Trump soughtPakistan PM Imran Khan's help in theAfghan peace process.

The Trump administration, in therecent months, has intensified itsefforts to seek a negotiated settlementof America's longest war inAfghanistan where the US has lostover 2,400 soldiers since late 2001,when it invaded the country after the9/11 terror attacks. PTI

�!�3$���%"���%��%-$�)$�)1�+��+��� ��������1�������%��$��!��������)��$!"�)�*�$��������')�%�"���)�'%�����'��$� ���!������'!��"%�*��)��!�+!��%��%' %��%�������,�$��'�%+%�*�����!)�'��!��$!�*���)��!�$�!�%��!�%������!��������)�%��1

F>��$-3�%��%�)2-�!��&�%��)�%)�-%�����.%��)� ���� 1����!��%�����!�%��!�'! �!%*��!*!%����������!�%!� !�%!�'�!��4$�!�*���!,�!����!����>/�!�������(���� !$������$���$!",�)��3)���$�'�!��$1

�"%�%��)!��$��!-6$3�%���,$$#1��"%�-��#����"$G�������1���%��!�0!������%$��� !%���%�!�!��%�%���!��!%$�����$���$!"���!���������%�%'!�'�%�%��%������%��!�$�'�)���"�(%��+���������$�%��������$!"�1

:�)����5��!"��."!�3$�3�3!�!"H��+)$"+������1����!� �$%'!�� %�������,����(���$L���%����+!+"��!��+����+���)�%�*�!�(� +���!����!���$���� �!$�!$�(� !�,�!��!�'�����)$"��!"�1&����(%�*�����)���)����!����!����� �!�+�!%��$�!$�(� !��!���!���"+!+"�*%���(!��+����%��=/68,�!�!$�!�'����!�� !"������!''�������!���(� ���(%���)���%���%�����%�%�",(%���)���������$������%���$�����1�

3 ���"�

Page 13: ˘ ˇ ˘ ˆ - dailypioneer.com · Anjos after his detention in July had “clearly brought out” that the Modi Government and its agencies were forcing him to sign a false confessional

'�"'�$�(&�)�+�,�")(��- +�����.'�)�/0��123

�'������#�"$$���#��!!"�#����!"������%��*! �������!��%��!�(�+���%������"�%������'�������%��!�H(��$���)�I�!������������H��$��������%�0��!%���!�*������ !�"�'� ��% ��������!��%� �����(!"�����!�*��������������%�������������1111����$%!,�����!����)'�+��$�'��������!�����+����$����+�����,I�����!%$1�!����!�%���������$��!����(����$%*%-�!����!���� �1�����!%$,�H���!��!'�������%�0������)�$$��$%���������%�*�������!��!���!�������*��������� �1I

6&��3�4�����5��4/' �4����&����&����5����4�����;

:����5�����(/(�����3���������3�4'���������� ������&��5��

�� �����������������'�� ���������4 ����4;�� (����5������� '��� 33����&��5���� ����&���'��������������;�F,���8�����

&�� �����������!���)����#�)%�,(�����!"�$�!��!*����%������9! ��#��$� ��%���� ��������������!"��������!��� !�"��@'%�%�*������)�%�%���%��������"����%��!*�

�%� �*���������!'�������1��%���!'�����!�%����!%*L���)''������!������)!����%'�%��!�#�%�%�����"�9! ��#��$�%��"������+�$�'%$�$,��%0��������,�!�%'�%��!�����@'%��$!+�)���%�$%�*��)�(���(%�������!'��% 1H�����%� ����%��

%�������*�!%��$�%�!������)��+�'!)���������(��0�������#��''��%��! %�"B���$)'�������������%��C1�����)������ ���$��+�������������@��%���!�� ���1��0��(������)�����!���L��+����������������%�-�%�*�%������!)$%��'����0%�*����(!�$���(!�'�%�*�%�,I��!�%'�!%$1

�� �$%!�-!'���-���$)'���#��%-���"����!����!���$������%�*����!���(��$%�%�����������������������(%���#���"(��$�)�����!���!� !����!��!��%����%���

'���+�%�"*)���1������%��$�,(�%'��(%���+�!%��$�������"�����!%� ��������%�%��,�(%��!������!�)��

�!� !�L��+�����������!%����!�!�$���+!!7���!��!��(����!�����%��!������!�% ���!�,���!$�!���!��- ���1�!�%��(%���+��3�%��$�+"��%����%*%�!�*!�*�K���!�$!�,��%0)���!�$!!�$��) ��!���!0�!�!��%1 �!�(�%��,��!�%��(%��� !��"��%��%!�'�,�:%��%,�!�������� ���(��%�9!�!�$�!�������'� +���6=1

8������ (��� � 3�'����

6����� (���(4������

5�5����4"$

There are more than ahundred people — theswish set of Delhi kit-ted out in their best tosafeguard against the

vagaries of nature while answer-ing suitably to the demands offashion, tinkling their glasseswhile talking about books, liter-ature and more. But in the sea ofhumanity, one person is hard tomiss. He greets everyone withequal warmth, asks appropriateand specific questions of eachperson and tells them to helpthemselves to the hors d’oevre

that are circulating on the gardenterrace of a hotel in central Delhi.And it seems that it is around theshock of grey white hair sport-

ed by founder and director ofTeamwork Arts Sanjoy K Roy,that most of the action circumam-bulates at the curtain raiser of theJaipur Litfest. Roy along with co-directors, noted historian WilliamDalrymple and writer NamitaGokhale, are the most prominentfaces of the Jaipur Literary Festivalwhich will be held betweenJanuary 24 and 28 next year.

This year’s constellation ofspeakers includes ColsonWhitehead, author of nine booksof fiction and non-fiction, includ-ing the Pulitzer Prize winning TheUnderground Railroad, MarkusZusak, the international best-selling author of The Book Thief,which was on New York Timesbestseller list for a decade and hasbeen translated into more than 40languages, Andrew Sean Greer,bestselling author of six works offiction, including the 2018Pulitzer Prize winning novel Lessamong others.

So when one asks Roy howdoes he manage to have such awide variety of names each year,pat comes the reply, “People wantto come to us. That’s the big news.The way we look after people isone reason. It is not just an expe-

rience but also because it is animportant place to be for books.”And with the business of bookshaving practically exploded overthe years, JLF is certainly a placeto go to. “Ten years ago, a best-seller was 3,000 hardback copiesmaximum. Today you are talkingof 30,000. We sell about a 1,00,000from the bookstore over fivedays which is the number that fivebookstores sell in a month in amain city,” he adds.

The mammoth size of the fes-tival, which has been the subjectof study at the Harvard BusinessSchool, “was an accident” saysRoy. They never started out tobecome the largest festival of itskind. “The five pillars that westand on include that today Indiaacross the world is seen as a placethat one should get to know. Butit is seen as way too confusing.Maybe the festival gives the audi-ence a sense of what India is. It isa window to another world andanother philosophy,” says Roy.

The setting of Jaipur with itsold world charm and forts furtheradds to the pull of the place alongwith the Indian hospitality. “It islike the great big Indian weddingof the literature festival. Everyonegoes away as an ambassador afterattending it,” says Roy. Besides thehospitality, heritage, great pro-gramming, what made the num-ber of visitors swell from 5,000-6,000 in the initial year to abouthalf a million last year, is the factthat, “We are able to bring theworld to India and take India tothe world. All of that has com-bined to create the pillars onwhich the festival sits on. We arenot precious about reserving seatsas it is first come, first serve irre-spective of whether it is a ChiefMinister or a Minister. The factthat it is open access and there areno reservations also makes itspecial. Often some celebratedpeople told me that they did not

get seats while all the kids weresitting there. I believe that the fes-tival is for younger people, whichis evident from the fact that 61 percent of visitors are below the ageof 25. When writers look at this,it is an awakening for thembecause everywhere else it is a seaof this,” he says pointing to hisgrey hair. He also says that someof the best questions and the mostintelligent ones at the sessions areasked by younger people.

Roy feels that it’s the audiencethat lends JLF its incredible vibe.“The joint energy and its effusionthat you feel at JLF is somethingsimilar that that you feel duringa Kumbh Mela or when you gofor a pilgrimage. It is what makesthe festival what it really is,” saysRoy whose Teamwork Arts hasseveral other successful culturalfestival including Ishaara PuppetTheatre, Mahindra KabiraFestival, The Sacred Pushkar andmany other national and interna-tional ones under its ever-expand-ing belt.

The JLF is certainly thebiggest of their brands and Royhas actively worked to ensure thatits philosophy has remainedunchanged. “We try and ensurethat the speaker is presentedwith a platform where he or shedoesn’t have to say what he or shehas already said on 500 other plat-forms. Moreover, when they see

the vast sea of humanity, they stepup to the vast table and conver-sations change,” says Roy.

JLF is also known to openlyaccept dissent. “We don’t acceptit, we openly celebrate it,” assertsRoy and by way of example says,“The left, right, centre, far left, farright — everyone can take cen-trestage. Of course that means wedo get bashed by all sides but thatis our job, for I believe that weneed to give as many platforms topeople as possible to give them aperspective so that they can makeup their own mind.”

And his vision is in a waybeing realised as since the incep-tion of the JLF, many more festi-vals have sprouted on the samelines. Roy says, “We supportmany of the festivals that happenaround us. We share the authorsand we believe that there can bemore platforms in the sub conti-nent. Our only advice is that theyshould find their USP. Every fes-tival can contribute to its localeconomy to the publishing,music, theatre and more becausethere is an economics around it,”he says.

He believes that the idea ofJLF is that one can come here anddiscover the world, listen toincredible ideas and go awayfeeling amazed with it all. “Youcan disagree, you can have dis-sent, you can do whatever but if

you go away with five, 15, 50 or500 different viewpoints, that iswhat make the festival great,” hesays.

However, many of its dis-senters say that over the years theJLF has descended into a massivejamboree which has to do witheverything but books. Roy coun-ters, “You can come for whatev-er reason that drives you. You cancome to take a selfie, eat whatev-er food that we offer. Of course,we could have held it an IndiaInternational Centre or IndiaHabitat Centre or their equivalentbut this is about celebrating ourbuilt heritage and culture and thelegacy of writing which we hadforgotten for a long time.”

JLF has also travelled to anumber of places outside thecountry and while each destina-tion has contributed to its growth,each location has also made itspecific to that place. “In London,it is programmed for London. InBoulder, it is very specific toAmerica so you will have Latino,African, Caribbean and NativeAmericans and issues that arelocal. We have a local, nationaland international perspectivewhich is what makes it different.This helps us to discover amaz-ing writers that otherwise wewould have had no access to,” hesays with a satisfied smile.

Bollywood superstar SalmanKhan is the richest Indiancelebrity, according to the

2018 Forbes India Celebrity 100list, which he has topped for thethird consecutive year. ShahRukh Khan has fallen out of thetop 10 list.

The 2018 Forbes IndiaCelebrity 100 List ranking arebased on estimates of entertain-ment-related earnings of celebri-

ties. The period under consid-eration is October 1, 2017 toSeptember 30, 2018.

The actor’s earnings arepegged at �253.25 crore. Salman,52, cemented his place in the topspot thanks to the success of hismovies Tiger Zinda Hai andRace 3. His earnings werebacked by endorsements of sev-eral consumer-facing brands,and constitute 8.06 per cent of

the total earnings — �3,140.25crore — of the top 100 celebri-ties for the year.

Indian cricket captain ViratKohli jumped one spot to thesecond rank, with total earningsof �228.09 crore, a sharpincrease of 116.53 per cent fromthe previous year. Actor AkshayKumar completed the top three,with �185 crore in earnings.

With no movie releases in2017, Shah Rukh Khan, who wasat the second spot on the 2017Forbes India Celebrity list, fellout of the top 10. His earningswere down 33 per cent thisyear, at �56 crore from endorse-ments, placing him at rank 13 onthe list.

Newly-wed actress DeepikaPadukone broke into the top fiveas per the Forbes — the firstwoman celebrity to find place inthe top five with earnings of�112.8 crore, placing her firm-ly at rank 4.

Cricket star Mahendra SinghDhoni rounded up the top fivewith �101.77 crore, followed byAamir Khan (�97.50 crore),Amitabh Bachchan (�96.17crore), Ranveer Singh (�84.7crore), Sachin Tendulkar (�80.00crore) and Ajay Devgn (�74.50crore) making it to the top 10.

There is mixed representa-tion from the prolific SouthIndian film industry. There are17 celebrities from the South thisyear against 13 on the 2017 list.The number of Bollywoodactors is down from 33 to 31,despite their cumulative earn-ings increasing by 12.89 percent from the previous year.

Indian cricket team all-rounder Hardik Pandya, withearnings to the tune of �28.46crore, was the highest gainer (inpercentage terms), with hisannual earnings rising nearlynine times.

Actress Nayanthara, whoseearnings stand at �15.17 crore, isthe only woman from the SouthIndian film industry to make itto the list, following the successof her dark comedy, KolamavuKokila and the thriller Aramm.

C �"(

��9�5���5 �!����� �$� !�"�!��+��!0%�*�����%�!���+)��%��%������9!%�)�

�%���!�"�&���%�!�,�(�%'��'���+�!���$%������!�$���$%!,�(���������!��������%�% ��''!+��� !�0,��!"����� � ������

�G���������

��������#������&�#�������F�:O������

�F�����5���,9�&����������5����������:����

�'������� ������%������(�!���%������$%!��'���+�%�"!''��$%�*����!��%�$�@�+"�!� !*!7%���

�������������������

� ��

����

���

'�3��

��

Indian celebrities like Sonam Kapoor Ahuja andSwara Bhasker, and singer Sona Mohapatra, have

criticised journalist Mariah Smith for writing a“racist” article about actress Priyanka Chopra andAmerican singer Nick Jonas’ wedding.

In The New York Mag’s TheCut article, thejournalist called Priyanka, a “global scam artist”,who tricked young Jonas, into a lifelong commit-ment when all he really wanted was a fling.

“Priyanka: She is a modern-day scam artist,in my opinion. That’s right: Nicholas Jonas mar-ried into a fraudulent relationship against his willthis past Saturday,December the 1st,and I’ll tell you whyI think so...,” it read.

After the articlegot circulated onsocial media, it gar-nered huge f lakfrom some of themembers of Indianfilm fraternity.

“For a publica-tion that ‘showswomen what theyare made of ’,TheCut has a lot toanswer for. The arti-cle on Priyanka wassexist, racist and disgusting. Also it’s written by awoman which is so sad. It reeks of envy and bit-terness. Mariah, shame on you,” Sonam wrote onsocial media.

Swara also expressed her disappointment onthe micro-blogging site.

“Depressed with the state of the world and cur-rent affairs? Here is some good old fashionedpuerile filth published by TheCut to add somepointless venom to your day. Also someoneinvite Mariah to an Indian wedding, mightassuage some of her misguided angst! YellowJournalism,” wrote the Tanu Weds Manu actress.

In the article, Smith also said, “Priyanka’sindulgences and what she views as necessities speakvolumes to her personality and what she’ll do, orthink she needs to do, for her career....”

Smith also slammed the couple, who got mar-ried in Jodhpur last week, saying they had theirhigh profile wedding just to make money.

“Priyanka and Nick are finding ways for their‘love’ make them money — circumventing themethods used by the celebrities of yore, who stuckto selling their wedding or baby photos to maga-zines,” the article added.

Veteran writer-producer Vinta Nanda was left“shocked” after reading Smith’s write-up.

“What does the writer mean by saying that heis gotten married against his will to a fraudulentrelationship? Does the writer not see in picturesthat it was one of the most beautiful weddingsever?” added Nanda.

Sona found the article “deeply disgusting.” “To character assassinate a hardworking, dri-

ven, achiever like Priyanka Chopra in this warped,petty manner and for TheCut to publish such alow-brow piece is the lowest of the lows. ‘Priyanka’splan to make this Nick Jonas opportunity her for-ever b***h?’ Sick,” Sona sighed.

The former Miss World was in New Delhi onWednesday for the launch of the dating appBumble, in which she is an investor as well.

C �"(D� ���������'�3����

����$��������������������������+8)����+;�3�����7���� ������3!�?�+�!�?

������������ �����,3!=�)@������������������

��������)!�@�08)�+�

������������ ������������������������������������� ������������� ������ ����� ���������������"���#�� �����������$�

Page 14: ˘ ˇ ˘ ˆ - dailypioneer.com · Anjos after his detention in July had “clearly brought out” that the Modi Government and its agencies were forcing him to sign a false confessional

'�"'�$�(&�)�+�,�")(��- +�����.'�)�/0��123 �("?

������������������������

● Is artificial rain a solution to tack-le air pollution in Delhi?There are multiple factors that con-tribute to the air pollution in Delhi.The local emissions are already veryhigh in the capital where the transportsector contributes the maximum.Though NASA regularly gives outsatellite images of burning of the cropresidue, they were given more consid-eration when it started to affect the airquality of Delhi about two years ago.Apart from this, the transfer of dustfrom the Gulf also contributed to thisissue. One has to understand that thisis a winter phenomenon in the citysince the air is denser and thus the pol-lution settles. However, artificial rainis not a solution. For artificial rains, theclouds are injected to produce rains butin winters there is hardly any cloud for-mation and thus it is not a workableoption.

● What are some of the proposedsolutions to combat poor air qual-ity in Delhi?There are multiple actions required toaddress this issue which have to beboth long term and short term. Wehave to first monitor the pollution toknow which part of the day, which partof the city is facing the issue, or if thehot spots are static or dynamic beforewe can come up with a solution. Tomonitor the same, we have 44 stationsin the city to keep a check on the airquality and identify the emissionsources. We also have to update theemission inventory to accommodatethe new contributors. A high levelcommittee has been formed which willadvise steps to the capital and theneighbouring state governments tocombat this issue. The GradedResponse Action Plan (GRAP) is alsoput in place to come up with shortterm fixes so that emissions can bemodulated. Implementation of Odd-Even, shutting of thermal powerplants, avoiding the movement ofdebris and trucks are some of the shortterm solutions.

● Has accuracy of weatherimproved over the years? What hasbrought about this improvement?The accuracy depends on the quali-ty of input data from observation sys-tems. We not only measure the sur-face temperature but to measuretemperature, humidity and windspeed above the surface, we use the

balloon and payload method. Thistechnology has undergone improve-ments in the last few years. We tracka payload which is attached to a bal-loon filled with hydrogen gas andthen released in the atmosphere.When the inside pressure of the bal-loon is more than the external pres-sure, the balloon bursts, which ismostly at 20 to 22 km and then themeasurements are taken from 43locations across the country, twice aday. We plan to increase this to 55locations in a year’s time. Duringafternoons and nights, we measureonly the wind speed from 60 stations.Almost 40,000 payloads are requiredper year and as per the global ratecontract, currently we pay $59 dollarsper payload, which is a heavy invest-ment made only on upper air mea-surements as the data received fromthese activities are the lifeline of mostof the services.● How are IMD services helping theagriculture sector?Improvements in weather forecast

have had a significant impact on theagriculture industry. We have iden-tified 130 agriculture monitoringstations, set up in the agriculture uni-versity campuses, research farms andIndian Council of agriculturalResearch (ICAR) labs to generateforecasts. Under the Gramin KrishiMausam Seva, agro-advisory ser-vices are provided where these 130stations cover four to six nearby dis-tricts and generate customised weath-er forecasts, twice a week on Tuesdayand Friday for the next four days, forfour major crops. This way, we coverall 656 districts of the country. Aweekly outlook is also provided by theICAR. Apart from this advisory, 42million registered farmers receivetheir crop related advisory through anSMS and on the m-Kisan portal.When we had started this service,only three million farmers were tak-ing the benefit which has nowbecome 42 million. We are nowworking with states to generate thedatabase of the remaining farmer

households and then disseminatethis information further. In 2015,according to a survey conducted bythe National Council of AppliedEconomic Research, to assess the eco-nomic impact of this service, it wasfound that the total GDP contributionwas �48,000 crore. It was alsoobserved that if this service wasexpanded to 22 crops and penetrat-ed to the block level, then it had thepotential to have an economic impactof �3,50,000 crore. Keeping this inmind, we are now expanding themonitoring units to each of the 656districts. We are going to use theICAR’s Krishi Vigyan Kendras(KVKs) to set up these units. We have130 stations already in place and of theremaining units we plan to open 200units by the end of this year.

● The loss of lives of fishermen atsea has been attributed to the lackof timely information about weath-er changes. How are you addressingthis issue?

Open sea communication is a chal-lenge and to address that we havecome up with some measures to warnthe fishermen of changes in weatherconditions. The GPRS system deliv-ers alerts up till 12 nautical miles butbeyond that, it is difficult to informthe fishermen about possible calami-ties. We are linking the VHF frequen-cies at lighthouses with the fishermenboats to reach a larger radius withNAVTEX, wirelessly. This networkcan cover a distance of 12-30 nauti-cal miles. The Tamil Nadu govern-ment has also brought around 1,000satellite phones to inform the fisher-men not only about sea roughness butalso the atmosphere condition. Thefishermen can also be alerted aboutnatural disasters while they are at thesea using the NaVIC system, a home-grown GPS. Since there is no mobilenetwork coverage in the deep seasbeyond 12 nautical miles, we haveintroduced NaVIC, which can bemounted to the mobile device and willhave bluetooth connectivity.

� % ) � % ) � , � + . & ! 7 �

������$%!�� ��������*%'!�����!�� �����!���������"�%�$)'��$���'�����*"����% ������%���!'')�!'"���(�!���������'!���+)���!��!���� !$���� !�0!+������*�����%��')�+%�*����������%���(%����% ��"����$%'�%���1�����%��'����:����!����� ��������*"����� �,�#�4�"��$��7 %��!��%�����%�(�(%�������� ��O�,�$��!%����(���������%'������������*!�%�!�%���!�������%�*�% ������$!"-��-$!"��%�����������'%�%7���

The ancient civilisationsof both Turkey andIndia have a similar

passion for the woven textile.The exuberant use of metal-lic thread embedded in thesoftest silk, the great caregiven to stylised motifs andprecision weaving were theirshared hallmark and imageryand iconography transcendedgeographical borders, includ-ing the Buddhist influences,reflecting in the Ottomontextiles.

The exhibition aimed tointroduce the audience to the

Banarasi process of weaving,the hands that work the loomsand the mind that plans thecontext of the textile. In anunusual gesture, female mem-bers of the weavers’ familieswere also present, andendorsed their age-old artis-tic excellence. The exhibitionalso showcsed a threeminutetrailer to a documentary filmtitled—‘Bunkar–The Last ofthe Varanasi Weavers’, thatpremiered in the IndianPanorama at IFFI this year.

Morarka and her team ofweavers staged live looms as

master weavers showcasedtheir skills. As live classicalmusicians played tunes toexport the audience to the

land of Ghats, there weresmall salons where the origi-nal weavers from Varanasialong with a woman member

of their family were spottedcasually interacting with eachother. The women weredressed in TANTUVI Sareesby Smriti Morarka.

“Being able to showcasethe very best from the loomsof Banaras to the discerningpatrons in Delhi is always aprivilege. This time it waseven more special as we wereable bring to the fore thehands behind the looms thatwork tirelessly to create thesemagnificent works of art,”said Morarka.

While on one hand, therewas a setup of a Banarasi shopto exhibit sarees, on the otherhand, a fashion consultantfrom Mumbai tutored theaudience about modern,interesting ways of draping aBanarsi by demonstrating thesame on the contemporaryIndian models. What madethis exhibition even morespecial was the array ofBanarsi delicacies, speciallycurated for the evening.Delhi’s prominent citizensincluding spouses ofAmbassadors of variousnations to India, historians,fashion designers, blue-chipentrepreneurs, socialites, artcurators, textile connoisseursand patrons were spottedenjoying this authentic exper-ince.

Sharing details about thebrand, Morarka informed thatshe started TANTUVI, whichmeans ‘weaver’ in Sanskrit, in1998 as an attempt to revive

the dying weaving traditionsof Varanasi. She said, “Theoriginal famed techniques ofweave were no longer in usesince the weavers found themeconomically unfeasible.TANTUVI worked closelywith them to move from dis-closing these techniques usedby their ancestors to thenactually producing piecesmade in these ways. The chal-lenges were to make thedesigning sensibilities onethat would appeal to the newand still toe the line with thetraditional, as well as the costof using these laborious tech-niques. It is my endeavor atTANTUVI, to bring beforemy buyers the very best, usingclassic and timeless patternsand motifs along with duethought given to the fabric,texture and quality.”

The fabrics made underthe label of TANTUVI aremade in natural yarns of cot-ton and silk, its derivatives orin the combination of both.Providing support to the localreal zari industry, all the zariused by the organisation ispure. The primary pitch ofTANTUVI is sarees producedwith patience, skill and dedi-cation. “By making the sareesin limited numbers, we do ourbit to ensure its exclusivity. Bynot falling into the rhythm ofmass production and com-mercialisation, we commit toensure that the unique charmof each of our designs is sus-tained,” added Morarka.

��)%!��-��,�"3���!�.$"$3�!��%�)$"��)%!��-3�5�!.��,3�����F%'������%$���������$%!,� �F��0!%!��!%$),�'�������$�����!�%��!��(!�$�����%�$%�%$)!��,�%���%�)�%������*!�%�!�%����!�$���!���$%���%'���������%���)���!�$%�*�!'�%��� �����!�$�(��0���(!�$��� ��(�� ��������������(%����%�!+%�%�%���B�(��C�%������%1�������%��� %�%����������'%!��9)��%'��!�$� ��(�� ���,���!(!�'�!�$�:�����,� %�%����������!���������'%!��9)��%'��!�$� ��(�� ������%��!���!��:)�3!�,�! $!�����!(!���!�$�F%3!"��! ��!,���'���!�"���(�,���!0)��!�!��:! �%��!�$��!�%�)��$%*�%�!�%���!����*�!'�$������''!�%��1��������''!��%��,�ED�%�$%�%$)!���!�$�6D�%���%�)�%����(����!(!�$�$1

��.��!��-$)$��D@�5$�"�%��$"6%�$�!.�)�$���)%!�����#��$�����')�%�"�&��'��'� �����$E<�"�!������%���$�$%'!��$,$%��%�*)%���$�!�$�*���%�)������%'���������!�%��������'� +���61������%��''!�%��,�����&��'�������������!%$�!�� !*���������6M8>�+�!�����!���,(��� !$���)��� ���!'�%�%'��������!��!�����$)�"�!�$�!��!%��$� !��"�$� 1�����)��� ���!'�%�%'��!�$��!��)����

����+��$�� ����!��+����$)�"���'�*�%��$�+"�����:����� ���������$%!+"�!(!�$%�*����� !�!�%����!0�!,�6<�F������!0�!�,�.��%��%���!0�!�,6<���!)�"!���!0�!�,�=<=��� �:�!�$�>=6�� �:1

�)����3�!-���!(�"$�)$���+�%8+$�%�()"%�$C�$"%$��$�.!"�!-������$�&$"������%�*!�������)�%� �#�!�$�B��#C��!�!���)�'�$�!��!�������%��(%�����!�(���������%$�-�!%�%�*�'� �!�"�(%����)��!�'! �!%*���� ���'� +���6����6E����%�����!���� �!'�����6>�'%�%���%�������!�$������!����$%!����%���')��� �������(%��!���%������%�*!����1������*%��!���%��'���Q��)�����%!,� %$$���!��!�$����%'!�B�� �C������#,�:#���%��!�,%���� �$���!��������!�)�����(%����!�������!0��! %�% ) �����������%$���!�$������������� �'�$��4��:����2�����!��%'%�!���%�����'������1��������!%������(%������(%���+������'��$�!�$�(%���+�����%�%�$����)*��� !%���+"���'� +���<61����!$$%�%����������'! �!%*�,������#2��+�!�$����4�!��%��� !$������%+��2�(%���+���)������������'��$����)*���������('!�%�*�������%��+�!�$�$�'�������!'�������!2���!���� �1

��"�&( 4E�4& 4"�4&4)�% @ (4#����� �%�������������������������������� ���%�������!�����������&����������� ��������� �����+�3!�!��83�3@��������������� ������������� ���������������������������%�����������������������������%�����������&������!����<� ���)@!�� +�-6)�

%�3%���6%�%)!"��)!&"$$�$�+���5�::F��$"�$�)�������������!�%��%'������!��$�+"����:���'��!�%��!����)�%������%'��B:��C!�$��������������!�%��!���%�����,<M,/.D���$%!����)�%�����%�%��$�:���'�%�������%��� ������%��=/6M��%�-R-�%�68,<8D���$%!����)�%����$)�%�*����

�! �����%�$�%��=/68,���*%����%�*�!��%�'��!������66>�����'���,�%���� �$������'���!�"�*����!�����:��,������!��%�������*!�1

4���.!"�%�3%�(4������"!4$�)�!��I�����%)53$6$-!��$�)�!��"�%-,�5����.$)52�����%���� ���%�*����9�%�������$%�!�%����� %�����B9��C�������$%!-9!�!�����3�'�����4�!�!'%�"�������� ��������!%�(!"��!���"2�(!�����$!�����������!%�(!"���!$S)!�����%���(�����%1����� ���%�*�(!�'�!%��$�+"�����*����!�� !�!*������������!%�(!"������%�*��!�$�������%'%!������ ������!%�(!"�#�!�$,����������!%�(!",���$%'!��$�&��%*������%$���������!�%����% %��$�!�$��� %��%�������!%�(!"��!���"��*!�%�!�%��������������$�������$%!���%$�1�����9!�!�������������!�%����%�'�)$�$����%'%!������ �����:����� �������9!�!�,9!�!����� +!��",�9!�!����!��������!���"�#�!�$�!�$�����9!�!�������!�%��!��������!�%����*��'"1

�����"$�$%6$����)%!��-��,�"3�.!"�I�$�)%��)%)+)%!��,!"#%�&�.!"�)�$���+�$�!.��$"�!��,%)��3%���%-%)%$�2 !�!�#�!*(!��%���!$�!%0��!��B #�C,�!�%�%�%!�%��������������"��!$�!�&�)�$!�%��,��'�%��$�����!�%��!���(!�$���� ��(�� ��������������(%����%�!+%�%�%��B�%�"!�*3!�C�=/6M�+"����F%'������%$���������$%!,F��0!%!��!%$)1�����!(!�$(!����'�%��$�+"�������)�������������)�$!�%��,���!�! ��!$�!,�)�$������'!��*��"K4#��������%�)�%��(��0%�*������!)�������������(%����%�!+%�%�%��21���!$�!��!%$,�H���(!�� "��!����2���%�%�����'��!���!�����%��� ����(�����'�%�$����(%������'%!�����$��'�)�$�+�'� ���'%!��"�!�$��'��� %'!��"�%�$����$���G�!�$���$!"���! ����)$���!���%�$��! ����3�'���!����!'��$���%���%��!'��1����0%�*�����%����%������"!�$��%�%��,�(�����%������(��0���(!�$��'��!�%�*�!�+��������'%��"�����������'%!��'�%�$���1���! ���!�0�)������!��������)��������'�%��$���� ������%�'%�!�,���!'����,��!������!�$�(���-(%������(����!���(��0�$�%�������"���(!�$������+����� ���������%����* ���1I

%�3%��!%-����%"�����!�.$""$3�,%)�3%�)%�&+%��$3��-+��+���,�"3��5�%%)("!!"#$$������$%!������%�)�����'�����*"-����0������%'%�!��$�����'�!%� !������$%!��%�,��!�3%���%�*�,�(%���%��� ���������%*%�)��4�%��%�*)%���$��) �)���(!�$2�����=/6M������%���)���!�$%�*��������%��!�!''� ��%�� ����1��!�3%���%�*�,���!������6>M/,�+�'! �������%���'�� %'!����*%�������� ��%��!� !� !�������+�����%'%�!��$�(%�����%�����)�1��%�*���!%$,�H��!''��������!(!�$�(%�����%$��!�$�)� ����) %�%�"�!���)'��!���'�*�%�%���+"����2��!� !� !����%������%�$��$����)��% !�������)�1I

Page 15: ˘ ˇ ˘ ˆ - dailypioneer.com · Anjos after his detention in July had “clearly brought out” that the Modi Government and its agencies were forcing him to sign a false confessional

'�"'�$�(&�)�+�,�")(��- +�����.'�)�/0��123"�

�.��� ����

Manchester City opened upa five-point lead at the top

of the table with a seventhstraight Premier League victory,but was made to work for a 2-1win at Watford on Tuesday.

City's goals came either sideof half-time as Leroy Sane chest-ed home to end Watford's resis-tance before Riyad Mahrezswept home early in the secondperiod. However, they had towithstand a nervy finish afterAbdoulaye Doucoure bundledhome five minutes from time.

Pep Guardiola made sixchanges to his starting line-updespite also missing SergioAguero and Kevin De Bruynethrough injury.

Yet, City were still far toostrong for the dogged hosts, whohad goalkeeper Ben Foster tothank for the visitors not rack-ing up the 5-0 and 6-0 thrash-ings they did on their two pre-vious visits to Vicarage Road.

Guardiola changed hisentire back four from Saturday's3-1 win over Bournemouth andleft the in-form Raheem Sterling

on the bench for the full 90 min-utes.

Mahrez came in for theEngland international and theluxury of options on offer toGuardiola was obvious as bothhis wide men found the net inSterling's absence.

However, Watford were left

to rue their chances before thebreak against a City defence thatappeared to miss AymericLaporte as the Frenchman wasrotated for the first time in theleague this season.

City got uncharacteristical-ly slack in the final quarter,though, and were made to pay

when Doucoure finally turnedhome after a goalmouth scram-ble.

Guardiola was forced tothrow on Laporte and NicolasOtamendi in the closing stagesto repel Watford's aerial assault,but City held on.

Elsewhere, Bournemouth

moved above ManchesterUnited, who host Arsenal onWednesday, up to sixth thanksto a 2-1 win over Huddersfield.

Brighton edged into the tophalf as despite playing for overan hour with 10 men, they beatCrystal Palace 3-1.

�.��� �#����

Serena Williams will makeher return to the Australian

Open for the first time sincewinning in 2017 when eight-weeks pregnant, it was con-firmed on Wednesday, withvirtually all the world's top 100players due at Melbourne Park.

That includes injury-proneRafael Nadal and AndyMurray.

Williams returned fromgiving birth to her first child toreach the 2018 Wimbledonand US Open finals, but suf-fered upset losses in both toleave her stuck on 23 majorwins.

Australian Open organis-ers said she was among theentries for the opening GrandSlam of the year as she attemptsto equal Margaret Court'srecord of 24.

Her appearance will markher first major since her con-troversial rant at an umpire

during the US Open final lossto Naomi Osaka, which over-shadowed the Japanese star'sbiggest ever win.

In the aftermath, RogerFederer said Williams "wenttoo far".

"Serena Williams, current-ly ranked 16, will make herhighly anticipated return to

Melbourne for the first timesince winning in 2017 wheneight-weeks pregnant withbaby Alexis Olympia," saidtournament organiser CraigTiley.

The evergreen Federer willbe back to defend his title,along with long-time adversaryNovak Djokovic. Caroline

Wozniacki defends thewomen's crown. Organiserssaid the world's top 102 womenand top 101 men have all con-firmed they will be playing.

The only top-100 absenteefrom the women's draw is74th-ranked AgnieszkaRadwanska of Poland whorecently announced her retire-ment.

"It's always special to seeour defending champions —Caroline had her first GrandSlam win here last year so willbe keen to start 2019 on ahigh," said Tiley.

"And of course RogerFederer has special memoriesof Melbourne, having wonhere six times, something onlyNovak (Djokovic) and RoyEmerson have done in thepast.

"I've been in touch withRafa and he's back to full fitnessafter cutting his season shortafter Paris and can't wait toarrive in Australia," he added.

�.��� ������

Radamel Falcao scored a pair of penalties asThierry Henry's Monaco won 2-0 at fellow

strugglers Amiens to climb out of the bottomthree in Ligue 1 on Tuesday.

The Colombian had missed twice from thespot this season but calmly converted on 43minutes at the Stade de la Licorne after EmilKrafth upended Benoit Badiashile. Amiensdefender Bakaye Dibassy was sent off for catch-ing the Monaco captain with a raised boot inthe 90th minute, and Falcao wrapped up a sec-ond victory in three games with anotherpenalty deep into stoppage time.

Henry said he wasn't getting toocarried away with his team's victo-ry.

"From our side of things in termsof how we played it wasn't extraor-dinary but we held on. FortunatelyFalcao was there when we neededhim," Henry said.

"We must not overreact, we need to con-tinue to work and use the positive aspects of

each match to inspire us," he added.The result provisionally bumped

Henry's side up to 17th place aboveDijon and Amiens on goal difference,confirming their recent upturn underthe former France star in recent weeks.

Nice extended their unbeaten rununder Patrick Vieira to six games with

a 0-0 draw at home to Angers, who saw goal-keeper Ludovic Butelle dismissed in the clos-ing stages.

�.��� �����

Kenyan marathon masterEliud Kipchoge and

Colombian jumper CaterineIbarguen won the IAAF menand women's 2018 awards onTuesday.

Kipchoge set a newmarathon world record inBerlin in September, smashingthe previous best by an incred-ible 78 seconds as he clocked2hr 1min 39sec.

The 34-year-old Olympicchampion's effort was thelargest single improvement onthe marathon world recordsince Derek Clayton improvedthe mark by 2:23 in 1967.

Acclaimed as the greatestmarathon runner of the mod-ern era, Kipchoge has domi-nated marathon racing sincemaking his debut in Hamburgin 2013 after a successful trackcareer that saw him win worldGold and Silver (2003, 2007) inthe 5000m and Olympic Silverand Bronze (2008, 2004) overthe same distance.

He has notched up 10 winsfrom the 11 marathons he hasraced, winning three times notonly in Berlin but also London,with victories in Rio forOlympic Gold as well as inHamburg, Rotterdam andChicago.

Ibarguen, also 34, won

both horizontal jumps at theCentral American andCaribbean Games, the IAAFContinental Cup and at theIAAF Diamond League finals- winning the latter two titlesin two different cities withinthe space of 24 hours.

Sweden's 19-year-old polevaulter Armand Duplantis wonthe men's rising star awardafter equalling the second bestever vault with 6.05m at theEuropean champs in Berlin inAugust.

"Pole vaulting's a verystrange discipline," saidDuplantis. "All the stars alignedfor that one meet." Handed the

award by France's RenaudLavillenie, the world recordholder with a best of 6.16m,Duplantis was in a playfulmood.

"I think I can jump higherthan you," he said when askedby Lavillenie on how high hecould go.

American SydneyMcLaughlin won the women'srising star award after settinga world junior indoor 400mrecord of 50.36sec in March.

That was followed up twomonths later with an outdoor400m hurdles mark of 52.75sec- a world junior record and thefastest time recorded this year.

�)%�� #��#�����

Two-time champions Germanyoutclassed last edition Silvermedallist Netherlands 4-1 in

their second Pool D match to inchcloser towards booking a direct quar-terfinal berth.

Germany came back from a goaldown and scored through MathiasMuller (30th minute), LukasWindfeder (52nd), Marco Miltkau(54th) and Christopher Ruhr (58th)to register their second consecutivewin in the pool.

Netherlands, however, took theearly lead through Valentin Verga inthe 13th minute.

By virtue of this win, Germany isatop Pool D with six points from twowins ahead of Netherlands, who areon three points.

Germany had earlier defeatedPakistan 1-0 in their opening match,while Netherlands had mauledMalaysia 7-0.

In the battle between world num-ber 4 Netherlands and number 6Germany, the Dutch were the earlyaggressors but the Germans came tothe party as the match progressed.

Netherlands captain Billy Bakerhad the first real scoring opportuni-ty in the eighth minute but his shotfrom a close range was brilliantlysaved by German keeper TobiasWalter.

But the Netherlands, who werethe better team at least in the firstquarter, were not to be denied the leadas Verga broke the deadlock in the13th minute, tapping in MircoPruijser's reverse hit cross from closerange.

The Germans got their firstpenalty corner seconds before the endof first quarter but were unlucky asMathias Muller's strike from a superbvariation struck the post. Another

Germany attempt, this time fromNiklas Wellen's reverse hit was savedby Dutch goalkeeper Pirmin Blaak.

Germany continued to press hardand at the stroke of first quartersecured back-to-back penalty corners,

the second of which resulted in abeautiful goal by Muller from asuperb, well-executed variation.

The Germans continued to beaggressive after the change of ends butit was Netherlands who got four

penalty corners in a span of two min-utes but wasted all the opportunities.

The missed opportunities costNetherlands dear as Germany scoredfrom their fourth penalty cornerwith Windfeder finding the back ofDutch goal with a low grounded flick.

Two minutes later, Germanymade the scoreling 3-1 in their favourwhen Miltkau deflected in a NiklasWellen pass from the right flank. Asif that was not enough for the Dutch,Germany struck again two minutesfrom the final hooter from a penaltystroke which was converted by Ruhr.

�)%�� #��#�����

Four-time champions Pakistanplayed out a hard-fought 1-1

draw with Malaysia in a Pool Dmatch as both the teams remainedin the hunt for a knock-out roundberth on Wednesday.

After failing to break the dead-lock for a long time, Pakistan drewthe first blood in the 51st minutethrough Muhammad Atiq's fieldstrike before Malaysia restoredparity four minutes later whenFaizal Saari converted a penalty cor-ner to stay afloat in the competition.

The draw meant both Pakistanand Malaysia remained in the frayfor the knock-out rounds, havinggarnered a point each from twooutings.

Germany are leading the poolwith six points ahead ofNetherlands and Pakistan. Malaysiaare placed last because of an infe-rior goal difference.

Pakistan had earlier lost by asolitary goal to Germany, whileMalaysia were thrashed 0-7 by theNetherlands.

Pakistan will round off theirpool engagements againstNetherlands on December 9 whileMalaysia, with a goal difference ofminus 7, have an uphill task againstthe Germans the same day.

In the encounter betweenworld number 12 Malaysia andnumber 13 Pakistan, there werehardly anything to separate the twosides.

Malaysia started brightly earn-ing two penalty corners in the thirdminute. While the first attempt wasblocked by the Pakistani runner, thenext try was kept at bay by keeperImran Butt.

Next, it was Pakistan's turn toearn a penalty corner but Aleem

Bilal's drag-flick directed at the topright corner was blocked byMalaysia goalkeeper KumarSubramaniam.

Malaysia came close to scoringin the ninth minute but Butt cameup with yet another great save tostop Razi Rahim's drag-flick direct-ed at the bottom centre.

It was an end-to-end battle asexperienced Subramiam madeanother smart save to keep away areverse flick from a midfield passof Tasawar Abbas.

Pakistan attacked mostlythrough the centre with 80 per centof their circle entries coming fromthat area, while Malaysia tried tofind spaces on the right side.

Faizal Saari earned Malaysiatheir fourth penalty corner in the23rd minute but Butt once againmade a good save to deny Saari.

Both the teams made forayswith pace and trickery on eitherends but they lacked the final passinside the box.

Two minutes from half-time,

Umar Bhutta earned Pakistan theirsecond short corner but Bilal'sdrag-flick hit the runner's footresulting in another set piece,which they wasted while going fora variation. Both the teams failedto break the deadlock in the firsttwo quarters.

Ten minutes into the thirdquarter, Malaysia won their fourthpenalty corner but to no avail.

Pakistan finally tasted successin the 51st minute, courtesy skip-per Muhammad Rizwan's inchperfect pass to Atiq inside the box.The striker first received the pass,created space on the right, took a360 degree spin to shoot the ballpast Subramaniam.

Malaysia desperately needed agoal to stay afloat in the tournamentand five minutes from the finalhooter their efforts succeeded whenthey earned their fifth penalty cor-ner and Saari was up to the task,flicking the ball high to the top rightcorner of Pakistan goal to share thespoils.

,��>�����//��4 �5����4������/��

+1>&.0�!970*&�:&,#-!.��,1&��09��99 �:&0*�&H�9&,0�7.9�0:9:&,��*!��97,!0*!. �,��#:*9�.!9,0*.!!�9&,0�;

-!.��,1*��!�. &!.�!7!�0!���8&�0�,"/)&,0*!&.9�!,&,-��0�*#:*& !,!0*!. �,��

*����� !��� �1�&�B/)

,�&���� ������ ��������������������

� ����� ���=���������������/4���� ���"%�1 !�'��������%�"��'�%��$� ���� ���"���� &�&����!��!�"�������'�)+���� ���%����!"���L��!��%'%�!�%���!�����=/6M�����$��)�,����)����!����)+�����'%!�%��B��C��!%$�����)��$!"1����$�����+!��L��*�����%�*+�$"�*!���������� %�����!*)�'�! �%����3)��������T�E %��%���B.1.� %��%����)���C�%��������'��������%��6D���!"�������'��$��������%���!�%��!����! ����������)��! ����!�$�����) +������$!"���!'�%�$%�%$)!��(!��%���)��%!1���(%��������!�� !$�%$�!���$�T�.1M �!�$�������!!�$� !�'���������%��$�+���*!%��$� ������!��T�<1D 1� �

�%)5�)!��,���-�5$"��5(!+)�)��-$

+������3���A���������������� ����8����������������

*� �������� ����� ����������

���5�,�=����,4���������9������

������99? 4��

���@@����A :";;2!

��,�@@��99�� 7";;2!/������

����/�� ���� ����

(@��� �� �������,����*�����������)%�� :�������

Bengaluru FC's unbeaten runin the Indian Super League

remained intact after a dramat-ic 1-1 draw against NorthEastUnited FC at the Indira GandhiAthletics Stadium here onWednesday.

After a tightly-contestedfirst half, Eelco Schattorie'shome side took the lead thoughFederico Gallego (64th minute)midway through the second-half. However, a late acrobaticeffort from Bhutanese strikerChencho Gyeltshen (90th)ensured the Blues shared thespoils.

The result kept BengaluruFC's four-point advantage overNorthEast United at the top ofthe table intact.

On Thursday, Mumbai CityFC will be keen to continue withtheir winning streak when theytake on a beleagueredChennaiyin FC.

Page 16: ˘ ˇ ˘ ˆ - dailypioneer.com · Anjos after his detention in July had “clearly brought out” that the Modi Government and its agencies were forcing him to sign a false confessional

( ��"�'�"'�$�(&�)�+�,�")(��- +�����.'�)�/0��123

�)%�� ������

An Indian team brimming withconfidence will aim to finallyshed the poor travellers' tag

when it takes on a circumspect Australiain what is being perceived as thetourists' best opportunity to win a Testseries Down Under in 70 years.

While the narrative remained sameduring the earlier tours of South Africa(1-2) and England (1-4), Virat Kohli andhis men will like to walk the talk asIndia's tough cycle of away assignmentends with this four-Test series beginningat the Adelaide Oval on Thursday.

The series is even more importantfor Kohli as it would also define his lega-cy as a leader havingalready establishedhimself as world's pre-mier batsman.

India's past Testrecord in Australia is quite abysmal. In44 Tests on Australian soil, they haveonly managed five wins thus far.

In 70 years and over 11 tours, onlytwo drawn series, under Sunil Gavaskarin 1980-81 and with Sourav Ganguly incharge in 2003-04 is more a reflectionof temperament of touring sides over theyears rather than quality.

While the idea will be to playaggressive cricket but Indian team man-agement's choice of 12 with both RohitSharma and Hanuma Vihari in the mixis an indicator that they have climbeddown from their aggressive five-bowler

ploy in order to get 20wickets.

Injured all-rounderHardik Pandya's absence

does upset the balance of the side butgetting an Australia side, which is stillreeling under the after-effect of the balltampering scandal with Steve Smith andDavid Warner serving their respectiveone-year suspensions.

Rohit Sharma is a prime contenderfor the extra batsman's slot in Pandya'sabsence.

He last played Test cricket in SouthAfrica, and had a torrid time, manag-ing only 78 runs in four innings whilebatting at number five. He is back in themix, once again on the back of limited-overs' form, and his ability to play hor-

izontal bat shots well.Tested against the English bowling

attack at the Oval, rookie Vihari lookedcomfortable in scoring his maiden half-century there.

The Indian team management hasgone to great lengths trying to explainthat the two scorelines aren't necessar-ily true reflections of the contests, itremains to be seen if the lessons fromthose two prior tours have been learnt.

India has faced two key issues, andthe first has to do with the batting line-up not firing enough to support skip-per Kohli.

While Kohli scored 286 runs inthree Tests in South Africa, the nexthighest cumulative total was 119 byHardik Pandya and he scored 93 of those

in one innings at Cape Town.Cheteshwar Pujara only managed

100 runs in three Tests, while MuraliVijay (102 runs in three Tests) and KLRahul (30 runs in two Tests) came acropper.

Opening issues continued to plagueIndia in England as well. After only 26runs in two Tests, Vijay was sent home.

While Rahul did scored 299 runs infive Tests there, 149 of those came in thefinal innings of the series at the Oval.

His previous nine innings on touryielded only 150 runs and 37 was hishighest score, again in the first inningsat the same ground. Shikhar Dhawan,who is not part of the current Test squad,scored 162 runs in four Tests.

In total, India used four differentopening partnerships in eight Tests,including the Johannesburg Test where-in Parthiv Patel opened with Vijay.

In the second innings. Overall, theopening pair averaged 18.16 in threeTests in South Africa, and 23.70 in fiveTests in England.

Further, it didn't help that the mid-dle-order didn't start scoring runs untilthe third Test at Nottingham.

Pujara scored 278 runs in four Testsin England, albeit only managed 146runs in seven innings. Rahane tooscored 257 runs in five Tests there, butonly had two noticeable scores of 81 (atNottingham) and 51 (at Southampton)therein.

That Kohli needs more supportfrom other batsmen is a fact that hasbeen noticed by Australia.

Prithvi Shaw's ankle injury hasopened doors for the Rahul-Vijay com-bination.

In the past, captain Kohli has goneto great lengths to make room for Rahul- dropping Rahane in South Africa(2018), dropping Pujara and himselfmoving up to number three againstWest Indies (at St. Lucia in 2016), anddropping Pujara against Australia(Sydney 2015).

The bowling attack is predictablewith Ishant Sharma, MohammedShami, Jasprit Bumrah and R Ashwinmaking up four-pronged line-up.

It will go head-to-head withAustralia's similar foursome of MitchellStarc, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazelwoodand Nathan Lyon.

)$����India (12): Virat Kohli (capt), KLRahul, Murali Vijay, CheteshwarPujara, Ajinkya Rahane, RohitSharma, Hanuma Vihari, RishabhPant (wk), R Ashwin, Ishant Sharma,Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami.Australia (playing eleven): Tim Paine(capt & wk), Marcus Harris, AaronFinch, Usman Khawaja, Travis Head,Shaun Marsh, Peter Handscomb,Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Starc, PatCummins, Josh Hazlewood.

�)%�� ������

The Indian bowling attack, rated as the most bal-anced in recent years, will have its task cut in

all-rounder Hardik Pandya's absence but the addi-tional workload on hard Australian wickets should-n't be perceived as "burden", reckoned skipper ViratKohli.

Pandya is currently recuperating from a backinjury and many pundits believed that Baroda all-rounder suited Australian conditions.

The Indian skipper agreed that four-man attackled by Ishant Sharma will have to share those extraovers amongst themselves, a cushion that all-rounder Pandya would have given.

"Losing the all-rounder obviously has an impact.I mean every side would like to have a fast-bowl-ing all-rounder, which we don't have right now withHardik (Pandya) injured. That obviously is a greatluxury to have for any side," Kohli said on the eveof the first Test starting Thursday.

"We don't so we have to go with best possiblecombination. Again, the workload on guys who willplay in the absence of an all-rounder will be highbut that is something that has already been dis-cussed," Kohli said.

The hard bouncy tracks and big grounds couldtest a bowler's strength and stamina but the skip-per believes that his bowlers won't treat it as anadversity but a challenge.

"They (bowlers) should look forward to that andnot think of it as a burden or something which isgoing to be tough. Because at international level,things are tough. So, we will just have to embracethat and make something out of the resources thatwe have at present and try to put in the performancesthat the team expects from the players," Kohliexplained team's mindset.

While admitting Pandya's absence is an issue butnot a major one, felt the skipper.

"I don't see it as a major one because in Australiayou still have to bowl really well even if you are anall-rounder. To contain the batsmen is always a chal-lenge here," he added.

�)%�� ������

Gaining the respect of hiscountry is as big a priority

as taming India for Australianskipper Tim Paine, whoWednesday said that winningmatches and winning heartsare not mutually exclusive tasksfor him.

Setting the tone for thefour-match Test series that getsunderway on Thursday, Painesaid the Australian team, stillrecovering from the furore ofthe ball-tampering scandal, hasidentified the areas that need-ed some changes.

"Both (winning matchesand hearts). That's what we arehere for, we play Test cricket towin, there is no doubt about thatand clearly we've realised weneed to do some work in someareas. Gaining the respect of ourcountry is as high a priority asis winning," said the wicket-keeper-batsman in the pre-match press conference here onWednesday.

The hosts have named afour-pronged attack with JoshHazlewood and Pat Cumminsreturning to the side after miss-ing the Pakistan series in UAE.Paine said playing always helpsand he was confident that afour-bowler attack would do thenecessary job in the first Test.

"Having Josh Hazlewoodand Pat Cummins back in aswell is going to be different. Thestyle of play in Australia com-pared to the UAE is complete-ly different...We are going to goabout it the same way we didover there, it's just going to betactically slightly different.

Paine expressed confidencethat the four-bowler attack will

get through the four Tests with-out any fitness concerns.

"They got through theAshes last year I thought andbowled a hell of a lot of overs.So, they are fresh and ready togo. They have had a great prepa-ration and are ready to go.

"They are fine to go. Theywill be bowling big overs if needbe, and they are totally com-fortable with that," he said.

�)%�� �������

Young opener PrithviShaw is recovering

quickly from his ankleinjury and might return atthe Boxing Day Test inMelbourne, India coachRavi Shastri said onWednesday.

The 19-year-old fromMumbai was ruled out ofthe opening Test after hurt-ing his left ankle while try-ing to take a catch at thedeep mid-wicket boundaryduring India's practicematch against CricketAustralia XI at the SydneyCricket Ground last week.

"It was heartbreakingto see him go down the wayhe did but the good thingis he is recovering well. Hehas started walking, may be

if we can get him runningby the weekend, that willreally be a good sign,"Shastri told Australianradio channel SEN'sWhateley.

"With youth by hisside, he might recoverquickly, we will take a callas we go close to Perth," headded.

India will begin thefour-Test series againstAustralia with the firstmatch here Thursday andShastri said he expects thehosts to come hard at ViratKohli and his men.

"No team at home is aweak team, every team athome is a strong team, nomatter which oppositionyou are playing against andI would imagine Australiato come out all guns blaz-

ing," he said."But we have the talent

and experience; in thebowling department wehave the skills, so it will beone heck of a series."

The India coach saidthey need to do well con-sistently and not just insome sessions.

"You can't have one ortwo good sessions, youhave to compete the wholedistance because matchescan turn on its head in anhour or so. So the boys areaware of it and they knowthey have to be top ofgame at all times," he said.

"You need a collectiveeffort, you need at least 6-7 guys delivering all thetime and if that happens wecan well be in the winningside."

� ������4� ��6 �� �� %��� ��� ) 3�����)���!�%!� ..� E� =M� -� 66�����$%!� E/� =6� 6<� 6� 6E���!�� >.� =D� .6� 6� =D�%�'��=///� <M� 6E� 6.� -� >����$��!%$�� 66� 6� 8� -� <

� � ����4 ��/����� ���%������������

��$%!A�8/E-8�$�'��!���"$��"�=//<-/.�)���!�%!A�D8.�!���$��!%$��6>.8-.M

-�� ���%��������������$%!A�EM�!��#�%�+!���6>.8-.M

�)���!�%!A�M<�!�� ��+�)����6>M/-M6���� ���%���J�������� �

��$%!A�=.6?��!'�%�����$)�0!��!���"$��"�=//<-/.��)���!�%!A�<=>?� %'�!�����!�0��!���"$��"�=/66-6=�

� ������������$%!A�M-6/D��!�%������!���$��!%$��6>ME-MD�)���!�%!A�8-=8� %0����%���"�!��������6>>6->=

�� ���������

�������������$�#���8���

�*���#��#�@� �'�#/�@$��� !�:"�;#!� ��+>��#?�@�-8+�2

5�)�*,���-��� �!�$�)�+�!����$%!����0�'!�%�!�%���+���'�!�'�����(%���%������������%���

&����I(��0����� �������������J����

�'4���;&�??0�� ���������� ��#���4

��5� ��4���������5�3��������

�� ������� ��9� ��&������& ������%�����������@�� �

���������������������� 0� � ������( ������������������ ����

���� ,��( ��������� ����������� ������������������ �������E 9����+���$��������� ������������� ���($��$� ��

������������������%���������������������������� ���������������� ���

�3$-�%3$1 F%�!������%�%��'���%$������!��U�%����(��L��+�'�����$U�+"��%�������$%!�����)���!�%!�!���!��!����-�%��$+��!�%�)��%��'��'����$�+)��!�������! ���% ��$����L�(!�����!"�������3)������(�)��(%���)��� ��%��1

U��$��L��������)����!����%�*,(�%'���!���!�����$�%�������!��(�����+������! ���!���'�����$�����%��1�#)����%���%�L��!'� ���%�%���������!��������$�������$!"�!�$�%�L��%�����!�%��!�'�%'0��1����$��L���@��'��*)"����3)���'� �,�+�(��!�$�(!�0�+!'0,U����%L����!�� ���� !$��%��'��!���!�����(�)�$��%0������'����������!���%�����!��������%'�1

������$%!���0%������%���$���!��������'�)�$�+��!�+%�������+!��+!�����(%���)���%��!�%�*�����L��$��������$)'�L(�%'���!$��!�����$�%���� ����������!��%������%��1U�+�%�)��",�������!���*�%�*����+���% ���(����"�)��!������)������+!�� ���)�$��������)��1������'���!�%�"'����%�*������%��,�+)��3)���*���%�������%����!$��(�%'��"�)�@��'����� �!�"��%$��%������(���$,�����3)����)���!�%!1���L�*�%�*����+�������,�+)��%�L������*�%�*�����!�����!����������,�(�%'���!���!�����$�%�������!��,�(�����+�����! ���!��������'������,U�����%���!+��!��$1 ��

F@ "4���"9%��4��&�((4#1A�� ������/���������������"�B����� /�-���4

F2� " "2�&4(�4�%��( ���&%�"%��(�� "" "21�

�3$-�%3$1 �%��� �)���!�%!� %��)� �%�,���$%!�!���U� ���%�*�+���$U+)��F%�!������%L�� ���(�)�$�!���+�� )�$��� *��!�� �����)��� �������� � $)�%�*� ���� ��)�-�������%��� ��!��%�*� ����� ��)��$!",'�!'�� 9)��%�� �!�*��� �!%$� ����$���$!"1

U5�)� ������ ���"L��� � ���%�*+���$1� 9)��� �%0�� ���� *��!�� ) � � � ! � % ! �'�%'0��� ��! ��� =//6� ����!�$� (�� 3)������� ������ B��(%��%�*� %���$%!C� !�$�(�(���� !+��� ��B(%�� %�C=//.,U��!�*�����$� �)���!�%!�� �!$%�� '�!������� ��!�����"1

U5�)� ������ ������ � ����1�L �����%�*���$%!��������!�1U

��$%!��!���������(���!��������%���%���)���!�%!�!�$����%����'������������ ��'��$� �!�� !���� +��������(%���6-=�����������)������%'!%�� &�+�)!�"� !�$� 6-.� $���!�� ���*�!�$� %�� ����� +��1���(����,�!�*��� �!%$� ����%� !�$� ��� %�� !*��$� ��! � !�$� ���� ������ (%�����(������'����������%�%����1� ��

%�3%���"$���$--%�&�-!!31�-��&$"

�.��� �#�����#�

Azhar Ali and Asad Shafiq hitcenturies to leave Pakistan

in command of the third andfinal Test against New Zealandin Abu Dhabi despite a battingcollapse that curtailed their first-innings lead.

Azhar hit an attractive 134for his 15th Test hundred whileShafiq scored 104, but debutantNew Zealand off-spinner WillSomerville took four wickets torestrict Pakistan to 348 all out.

Pakistan appeared set tobuild a huge lead before col-lapsing from 286-3 to lose theirfinal seven wickets for the addi-tion of just 62 runs.

The 34-year-old Somervillefinished with 4-75 while left-armspinner Ajaz Patel took 2-100and pace spearhead Trent Boultchipped in with 2-66.

That gave Pakistan a 74-runlead — the same they got in thefirst Test at the same venuebefore losing by four runs.

New Zealand were thenreduced to 26-2 at stumps withKane Williamson unbeaten on14 and nightwatchmanSomerville on one not out toleave them trailing by 48 runswith eight wickets intact.

Paceman Shaheen ShahAfridi trapped Jeet Raval fornought while leg-spinner Yasir

Shah had Tom Latham caughtfor ten, his 199th wicket inTests.

Yasir needs just one morewicket to become the fastest to200 wickets, in his 33rd Test, arecord currently held byAustralian leg-spinner ClarrieGrimmett who reached the mile-

stone in 36 Tests, 82 years ago.Azhar and Shafiq put on 201

for the fourth wicket, but oncethey were dismissed only SarfrazAhmed (25) and Babar Azam(14) offered some resistance.

Azhar edged medium pacerColin de Grandhomme throughthe slips to complete his firstcentury since May 2017 againstthe West Indies in Dominica —and his first hundred againstNew Zealand.

He took 210 balls to reachthe three-figure mark, beforebeing caught sweeping offSomerville, just before tea.

Shafiq brought up his 12thTest ton with a sharp single offSomerville before falling leg-before to Patel to a straightdelivery.

Somerville then had Azamand Hasan Ali (nought) bowledand wrapped up the innings bygetting Sarfraz caught at mid-wicket.

Earlier, Azhar and Shafiqfrustrated New Zealand's searchfor early wickets as they tookPakistan to 224-3 at lunch.

New Zealand skipperWilliamson took the secondnew ball in the 81st over withPakistan comfortably placed at213-3, but the bowlers struggledto extract much life from a flatpitch at the Sheikh ZayedStadium.

�.��� ���:��

Middle-orderb a t s m a n

Darren Bravo wasrecalled onWednesday aftermore than twoyears away fromODI cricket as theWest Indies nameda 15-man squad fortheir three-matchseries againstBangladesh.

Lef t-handedBravo won the lastof his 96 one-dayinternational capsagainst Pakistan inOctober 2016, butreturns after fea-turing in the WestIndies' recentTwenty20 series inIndia.

Regular T20skipper CarlosBrathwaite andRoston Chase werealso brought backfor the ODI seriesstarting in Dhakaon Sunday.

Recent debu-

:�����$���������'��������������

�G ���������������( ���!������������ ��������������� ������$���������%���� ��

�������� 4��9�������5���

tants Fabian Allen,Chandrapaul Hemraj andOshane Thomas retained theirplaces after the ODI seriesagainst India last month.

In the absence of injuredJason Holder, batsman RovmanPowell was named interim cap-tain as the visitors seek tomake amends for their 2-1home series defeat toBangladesh in July.

"With two more ODISeries before the 2019 WorldCup, the Bangladesh seriesallows us to narrow our searchfor our final 15-member WorldCup squad," chairman of selec-tors Courtney Browne said ina statement.

"Darren's experience willadd value to the batting, whichin turn will place selectionpressure for spots in the squad."