SC modifies HC fiat, allowsgreen crackers for 2-hrsINKESHAF AHMED n HYDERABAD

In a significant development,the Supreme Court on Fridaymodified Thursday's order ofthe Telangana High Courtwhich imposed a blanket banon the sale and use of fire-crackers across the state withimmediate effect, during theDiwali season.

Though the rest ofTelangana will be allowed toburst crackers for two hours,four places — Hyderabad,Sangareddy, Nalgonda andPatancheru — will likely becovered by a total ban since theNational Green Tribunal(NGT) orders say that areasthat had recorded ‘poor’ AQIcannot burst crackers.

The state government will

soon issue a new order makingthe rules clear.

The apex court brought theHigh Court orders in line withthe directions issued by the NGTon November 9 of this month.

“All concerned with the Stateof Telangana must complywith the directions in letter andin spirit. We are conscious of

the fact that the respondents(the state government and thepetitioner in the case filedbefore Telangana High Courton the issue P. Indra Prakash)

are not served, but in view ofthe peculiar situation andurgency involved, theimpugned order stands mod-ified in line with the stateddirections issued by the NGTon November 9, 2020", the SCnoted in its orders.

A vacation bench of theSupreme Court, comprisingJustice AM Khanwilkar andJustice Sanjeev Khanna, passedthis interim order, whileresponding to a petition filedby the Telangana FireworksDealers Association challeng-ing the High Court order ban-ning the sale and use of thefirecrackers. It issued noticesto the state government and tothe petitioner and asked themto respond to the petition byNovember 16 (Monday).

BAN ON CRACKERS

HYDERABAD, SATURDAY NOVEMBER 14, 2020; PAGES 12 `3

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Owaisi’s entry mayimpact TMC’s swayover minorities

5

Making teamsperform in a pandemic

2

OBTUSE ANGLE

The Pioneer wishes itsreaders, advertisers, agentsand suppliers a HappyDiwali. Our offices willremain closed today(Saturday) on account ofthe festival. There will beno issue of the newspapertomorrow (Sunday).

— Resident Editor

Avoid bursting crackers,marriages for next 3 months

PNS n HYDERABAD

Telangana Public HealthDirector Dr Srinivas Rao hasadvised people in the state tobe 'more vigilant'over the nextthree months in view of thespread of the Covid-19 pan-demic.

Speaking to media personsat the Office of the Director ofPublic Health at Koti here onFriday,he observed: "Therehave been a lot of weddings in

the month of November. Itwould be better to stay awayfrom weddings and otheractivities. People are shoppingextensively in view of Diwaliand marriages".

"We are hearing about thecorona peak around the worldin the form of 'second wave'and the 'third wave'. We shouldnot allow such situations tohappen in our state. Let uschange our behavior ourselves.

PNS n HYDERABAD

Although TRS supremo andChief Minister KChandrasekhar Rao has madelight of BJP's recent win inDubbak Assembly by-polls as a'fluke', its implications for thep-ink party dominated the pro-ceedings of thecabinet meetingchaired by KCR at PragathiBhavan here on Friday, accord-ing to sources. The cabinetmeet was convened to finalizethe candidatures ofthree MLCaspirants being nominatedunder Governor's quota.

In this context, the cabinet dis-cussed at length the fallout of theDubbakbypoll,defeat at the handsof BJP, and its possible impact onthe upcoming GHMCpolls. KCRreportedly favoured advancingGHMC polls to December. Theterm of the present GHMCCouncil would expire on

February 10, 2021.He told his cabinet ministers

that it would be better to holdGHMCpolls in the first weekof December to prevent theopposition parties, especiallythe BJP,from gaining furtherstrength during the time lag ifthe GHMC polls are prolongedtill 2021 January-end. Althougha few ministers differed fromthe CM on advancingGHMCpolls citing the Dubbakoutcome, KCR did not budgefrom his position.

GHMC POLLS IN DEC

Cabinet leavesdecision to KCR

PNS n HYDERABAD

TRS supremo and ChiefMinister K Chandrasekhar Raoon Friday nominatedthree MLCsunder the Governor's quota.The state cabinet, which met atPragathi Bhavan here under thechairmanship of KCR, approvedthe candidatures of eminentpeople's poet-composerGoratiVenkanna, Washermen'sAssociation national leaderBaswarajuSaraiah, and ChiefAdvisor of Vysya SevaKendramand leader of Arya VaishyaSanghamBoggarapu Dayanand.

The government has sentthe names of these three per-

sonalities to GovernorTamilisaiSoudararajan forapproval. The Governor's for-

mal approval is expected inaday or two.

KCR nominates 3 MLCsn PV's daughter Vani finds no place n Karne ignored

Newly nominated MLCs B Dayanand, B Saraiah and Gorati Venkanna with CM KCR

n Govt observers to monitor people at public places

No test is foolproof: DPH

Reacting to the false 'positive'Covid-19 test report among

samples obtained fromTollywood actor Chiranjeevi,Director of Public Health Dr GSrinivasa Rao said on Friday thatthere will be false positives andfalse negatives in tests related toany disease.

Sadar brings outthe best of beastsRAJESH JAIN NIDARKAR n HYDERABAD

While most of us look for-ward to Diwali lights andsweets, some are more excit-ed about the day followingthe festival of lights, the daythe Yadav community inHyderabad celebrates the tra-

ditional buffalo festivalknown as ‘Sadar’.

On this day, every yearsince 1946, buffaloes are thecynosure of all eyes consider-ing the fact that they are lit-erally worth a fortune. Someare valued at a whopping Rs26 crore.

PNS n NEW DELHI

The World HealthOrganisation announced onFriday that it will set up aGlobal Centre forTraditional Medicine inIndia, with Prime MinisterNarendra Modi expressingconfidence that just like thecountry has emerged as the'pharmacy of the world', theWHO institution wil lbecome the centre for glob-al wellness.

WHO traditionalmedicine centrein India: PM Modi

CBI arrests 2 I-Tinspectors in HydPNS n NEW DELHI

The CBI has arrested twoIncome Tax inspectors inHyderabad for allegedlyaccepting a bribe of Rs 80,000for closing a pending taxmatter, officials said onFriday.

The central agency arrest-ed Income Tax inspectors

Thota Purushotham Raoand Itta Upender Rao, bothposted at Ayakar Bhavan,Hyderabad for allegedlyreceiving the bribe, theysaid. It is alleged that thecomplainant had a pendingtax matter for which theduo demanded the bribe,they said.

New BJPincharges for TS, APPNS n HYDERABAD

The BJP high command haschanged the persons inchargeof its units in several states.The party has appointedTharun Chouga as the in-charge of Telangana State andMuralidharan as the in-chargeof Andhra Pradesh state.

TRS govt at forefrontin helping poor: KTR

Ministers K T Rama Rao and Talasani Srinivas Yadav inaugurated a Multi-purpose Sports Complex in Sanathnagar on Friday — RReport oon PPage 33

Shah's Twitteraccount locked T

witter on Friday said UnionHome Minister Amit Shah's

account was temporarily lockeddue to an “inadvertent error” andthe decision was reversedimmediately. The account is fullyfunctional, a Twitter spokespersonsaid in a statement on Friday.Shah's Twitter display picture wason Thursday removed by Twitterin response to a "report from thecopyright holder". Clicking onShah's picture showed a blankpage with the message ‘Media notdisplayed’.

Plea in SC seekingmaximum rate forRT-PCR test Apetition has been filed before

the Supreme Court seeking adirection to the Centre and thestate governments to fix themaximum rate for the RT-PCR testfor Covid-19 uniformly all overIndia. The petition has sought adirection to the governments to fixthe maximum rate for the RT-PCRtest to Rs 400 uniformly acrossthe country, instead of Rs 900 toRs 2,800 as fixed by differentgovernments. There is a big lootby laboratories and they areminting money to the tune ofcrores and crores of rupees.

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(IN HYDERABAD)

Practitioners leading COVID-19 control operations requireknowledge and experience inmultiple disciplines, such aspublic health, medicine,administration, and projectexecution. It is impossible fora single human being to pos-sess all the required skills.Furthermore, COVID-19 is anunpredictable event beyondwhat is normally expected ofa situation and has potential-ly severe consequences (calledblack swan events).

Decisions have to be madewith incomplete information,lack of reliable analyticaltools, and in a milieu whereadministrators have very lit-tle control on external factors.Under these circumstances,creating the right teams andempowering them is mostimportant. The followingways of handling teams islikely to bring out the best inthem to manage COVID-19operations. First, supporting everydayprogress by making timelydecisions and providing clear

goals are great for engagingteam members and enablingthem to achieve high levels ofperformance over long peri-ods during black swan events.This is in consonance with theidea that helping team mem-bers make their decisionsincreases their commitmentto implementation, in addi-tion to, of course, improvingthe quality of decisions made. Second, COVID-19 opera-tions consist of several activ-ities to achieve micro-levelgoals. These small goals haveto be orchestrated in a waythat they add up to make alarger picture. Team membersunderstand that they are partof a larger vision with long-term value, and work whole-heartedly to ensure that theactivities are done right sothat the incremental goalsare achieved. For this, contin-uous engagement with team

members, getting dirt in one'sfingernails, and frequently"sweating the small stuff " isrequired. Third, it is critical to under-stand that team members aredifferent and a one-size-fits-all approach is unlikely to leadto the best work turnoutamong all the participants.There is an increasing realiza-tion that there are two typesof employees: promotion and

prevention-oriented. Thesetwo types require differenttypes of motivation andincentives in order to bringout the best in them. Forexample, performance of pro-motion-focused employees isenhanced if they are assuredthat they are on target, asopposed to prevention-ori-ented employees who tryharder if they are told they arefalling behind. The reason is

that promotion-focusedemployees see goals as a path-way to advancement and con-centrate on the rewards thatare likely to accrue whengoals are achieved. They arewilling to take chances, like towork quickly, dream big andthink creatively. In contrast,

prevention-focused peoplelook at their goals as respon-sibilities and they concentrateon staying safe. Being vigilant,they play not to lose and dis-like disturbing the status quo. Fourth, nagging works insome conditions and for someactivities, but has to be usedwith great care and under-standing. Repeating instruc-tions and constantly keepingtrack of progress helps tocomplete projects quickly andsmoothly. What matters isredundancy more than clar-ity - it is not the message, butthe frequency of the messagethat counts in getting the jobdone. Productivity does notincrease directly and man-agers who repeat themselvesface less number of blow-upsand work less during a crisis.Therefore, sending the samemessage over and over againin multiple ways helps partic-

ularly in the management ofpandemics like COVID-19.Fifth, team members have tobe given freedom in otherways as well. Compelling sub-ordinates to be present at alltimes (presenteeism) hasadverse effects on perfor-mance. Presenteeism is theproblem of members beingon work but not fully func-tioning because they arebeing forced to be present,and it gives a false sense ofwork going on. In fact, inCOVID-19 operations pre-senteeism is a much biggerproblem as compared to itscounterpart, absenteeism.Unlike absenteeism, presen-teeism is not easily identified- one knows when a teammember does not show upfor work (absenteeism), butone cannot tell when andhow much is the fall in ateam member's performance

when insisting on presen-teeism. However, this shouldbe done with care and fore-thought - it only works ifteam members do not taketheir work lightly, most ofthem are willing to work anddo not pretend to be ill orsurf the internet when theyshould be working.The five steps describedabove enable management ofcol lect ive emotions.Collective emotions lead toaccumulation of "emotionalcapital" in which leadersgenerate buy-in team mem-bers by giving them a voiceand ownership in designand implementation of strat-egy. Importantly, team mem-bers do not withhold supportfor progress towardsachievement of micro-levelgoals connected to COVID-19 control operations. (Author has a PhD from USAand a DLitt from KanchiUniversity. The article isbased on his research andpractice and views are per-sonal)

DR. SAMEER SHARMA

Decisions have to be made withincomplete information, lack ofreliable analytical tools, and in amilieu where administrators havevery little control on externalfactors.

PNS n HYDERABAD

A 33-year-old manager of theSecunderabad Club died andhis wife hospitalised when aluxury car rammed into thetwo-wheeler they were travel-ling on, at Cyber Towers junc-tion in Hyderabad in the earlyhours of Friday.

The car is believed to belongto Katakana Obul Reddy, sonof YSRCP MLA Katasani RamiReddy, who had asked hisfriend M Kasi Viswanath topick it from the garage. OnFriday, the Madhapur policebooked a case and arrestedKasi Viswanath on charges ofdriving under the influence ofalcohol. According to thepolice, the mishap occurredaround 1 am on Friday whenGowtham Dev and his wifeSwetha Sravani were on theirway to Kondapur fromMadhapur towards Kondapur.

Madhapur inspector PRavindra Prasad said, "The cardriver jumped the traffic sig-nal and drove the vehicle athigh speed and rammed into

the motorcycle. The impact leftGowtham with severe injuriesand he died on the spot. Hiswife was shifted to a nearbyprivate hospital where she wasundergoing treatment. Thedriver was under the influenceof alcohol." Kasi Viswanath hasbeen booked for rash and neg-ligent driving and culpablehomicide.

With the rise in drunkendriving cases Cyberabad policehave warned the errantsagainst booking them understringent sections like 304 partII of IPC (culpable homicidenot amounting to murder).

Speaking about the increasein drunken driving accidentsin Cyberabad Commission-erate limits, CyberabadCommissioner of Police VCSajjanar said, "No one canescape the legal action aftercommitting any road accidentunder the influence of alcohol.The standard operating proce-dures (SOP) have been put inplace to deal with such casesand to ensure strict punish-ment to the wrongdoers."

Special teams will work con-tinuously to apprehend thepersons, who cause road acci-dents and flee the scene. Morestringent action against suchpersons will be taken for caus-ing disappearance of evidence,not helping the injured personsfor medical care," he furthersaid. "Each and every roadaccident case is monitored bythe RTAM cell (Road TrafficAccident Monitoring cell) andall the persons involved in theroad accident are subjected toBAC tests without fail to iden-tify the persons driving underthe influence of alcohol," saidCyberabad police. Cautioningthe pub management and vio-lators of law, police added,"The managements of pubs,which knowingly allow theircustomers to drive in a drunk-en state will also be dealtunder the relevant provisionsof law and prosecuted. If any-one does not cooperate foralcohol test, action will betaken under section 205 of theMV act which presumes thedrunkenness of such persons."

Drunk driving claims one lifeat Cyber Towers junction

Making teams perform in a pandemic

PNS n HYDERABAD

After a detailed discussionwith all the stakeholders, theofficials of EducationDepartment of Telangana arethinking about reopening theschools. According to reports,the schools will be opened for120 days, starting in the monthof December. The dates ofreopening the schools, howev-er, are yet to be finalised.

The officials are also think-ing about not just the dayschools, but also the residen-tial schools that are managedby various welfare societies. Itis being planned that theschool will be initially openedonly for standard IX and X,and depending on the situationthe authorities will take a callregarding the other students.All schools will have to strict-ly adhere to Covid-19 precau-tionary measures issued bythe Union and State govern-ments.

As per reports, the officials

feel that 120 days of schoolswill be enough for the teach-ers and students to coverimportant topics for the acad-emic year 2020-21. The gov-ernment will take a decision onschools reopening dependingon the Covid situation andsuggestions from the Healthdepartment. Meanwhile, theState Council of EducationalResearch and Training under

the School EducationDepartment has released asubject-wise alternate academ-ic calendar with activity/pro-ject based syllabus for classesI to X.

The teachers are assessingthe students in the annualprogress register as part of theCCE and sending a copy of thesame to the MEO/DyEO con-cerned.

TS likely to reopenschools in Dec

Sadar brings out...Continued from page 1

While preparations for thebuffalo festival begin weeksbefore the event, a lifetime ofeffort, love and care goesbehind preparing the animalsto be showcased.

Invariably, buffaloes fromHaryana occupy the primespot and understandably so —over the years, champions likeSartaj, weighing about 1,600kg and Shahenshah whoweighed over two tonnes hadbeen the talk of the town.

This year, Madhu Yadav, aresident of Khairtabad, hopesthat his prize bull, named'Love Rana' will walk awaywith the top honours.

One of the organisers of theevent, Madhu Yadav revealsthat he has bought it fromHaryana a year ago and hasbeen nurturing it on his dairyfarm.

“His pedigree is unblem-ished. He is the son of SultanKing Dunna, who won thenational championship,” theproud owner reveals.

Madhu Yadav hopes notonly his looks, but the name

‘Love Rana’ will pique peopleat the Sadar celebrations thatwould be held atNarayanaguda in the city onNovember 15 this year.

“Ever since we brought ithere from Haryana, I havebeen personally taking care ofit. I make sure that it is givenat least 10 litres of milk everymorning and 10 litres in theevening. His diet includes dryfruits and apples,” MadhuYadav said.

“I spend at least Rs 10,000per day, just on food for myprized possession,” he said.

For a beauty such as ‘LoveRana’ everything must be thebest, even liquor.

“Every evening, he gets tohave a full bottle of the bestquality, Johnny Walker, worthRs 3,000. No compromise onexpense for my beauty,”Madhu Yadav says, addingthat the beast is important notonly for the Sadar festival, butalso for the dairy industry.

“I was offered up to Rs 26crore for him, but there is noway I would ever sell him. I ambringing it up as my ownchild,” he says.

Avoid bursting crackers, marriages...Continued from page 1

Let's celebrate Diwali withlights. Let's stay away from fire-works in view of the coronaconditions and at weddings'',he added.

The Telangana HealthDepartment has deployedobservers to look into howpeople are behaving at publicplaces and ensure their behav-iour is Covid-19 appropriate."Most of the people follow allthe instructions given by thestate government and theHealth Department. At thesame time, we also noticedsome reckless attitude amongpeople who do not wear masks.Physical distance is notadhered. Even for marriages alot of people are inviting 500-1,000people even though the

limit is 200".Dr Srinivas Rao said that

after Diwali, cases with breath-ing difficulties are on rise dueto asthma, COPD, along withCovid-19. The DPH urgedpeople to help reduce pollutionby avoiding firecrackers for thisone year.

"The pollution will increaseand infect senior citizens.Covid virus can stay on sus-pended particles released dueto firecrackers. Stay away fromcrackers, keep senior citizensand children away from them.Even pets. Even during mar-riages crackers are burnt. Stayaway from such things. Wehave a hope that in threemonths we might get vaccineor treatment. In this context,people need to be vigilantuntil the vaccine arrives.”

SC modifies HC fiat...Continued from page 1

According to the direc-tions of the NGT, there willbe a total ban against the saleor use of all kinds of fire-crackers in the NCR frommidnight of November, 09,2020 to the midnight ofNovember 30 and December1, 2020 to be reviewed there-after. As for the cities andtowns where air quality is`moderate’ or below, onlygreen crackers can be soldand the timings for use and

bursting of these crackers arerestricted to two hours dur-ing festivals like Diwali,Chaat , New Year andChristmas Eve etc., as maybe specified by the con-cerned State. The Tribunalsaid that this direction waspatterned after an earlierdirection of the SupremeCourt issued in the year2019 which applies to areasmoderately pol luted orbelow air quality due toaggravated effect duringCovid-19.

Cabinet leavesdecision to KCRContinued from page 1

The cabinet then urged theCM to take a call onadvancingGHMC polls.

According to sources, KCRreasoned that if GHMC pollswere delayed, it wouldgivescope for the oppositionparties, especially the BJP, tostep up political activities,lureTRS leaders as well as cadre,and emerge stronger forGHMC polls.

In contrast, if the polls wereheld in the first week ofDecember, the opposition par-ties would hardly get time tofind strong candidates, take upprogrammes againstTRSgovernment, or take upcampaigns.

The CM is expected to takea call in a day or two afterDiwali on holding GHMCpolls in December. The samewould be conveyed to theState ElectionCommissionlater.

Minor reshuffle ofIAS officers in statePNS n HYDERABAD

The state government onFriday undertook minorreshuffle of IAS officers. PVenkata Rami Reddy,Collector, Sangareddy is trans-ferred and posted as Collector,Siddipet in the place of BharatiHollikeri, IAS (2010). He is alsoplaced in FAC of the post ofCollector, Medak in the placeof M Hanumantha Rao. Ontransfer, Bharati Hollikeri isposted as Collector,Mancherial, duly relieving Sikta

Patnaik from FAC of the saidpost. Hollikeri is also placed inFAC of the post of Collector,Peddapalli, duly relieving Sri K.Shashanka, from FAC of thesaid post. On transfer, MHanumantha Rao is posted asCollector, Sangareddy in theplace of P Venkata Rami Reddy,IAS(2006), who was trans-ferred. Dr V Venkateswarlu,Collector, Medchal-Malkajgiriis transferred. Sweta Mohanty,Collector, Hyderabad is placedin FAC of the post of Collector,Medchal-Malkajgiri.

WHO traditional...Continued from page 1

WHO Director GeneralTedros Adhanom Ghebreyesusmade the announcement in avideo message at an event inwhich Prime Minister Modidedicated two future-readyAyurveda institutions in Jaipurand Jamnagar to the nation via

video conferencing on theoccasion of the 5th AyurvedaDay. The Institute of Teachingand Research in Ayurveda(ITRA), Jamnagar (Gujarat)and the National Institute ofAyurveda (NIA), Jaipur(Rajasthan) are both premierinstitutions of Ayurveda in thecountry.

CBI arrests...Continued from page 1

Searches have been con-ducted at the premises of theaccused which led to recov-ery of incriminating docu-ments and cash of approxi-mately Rs 5.50 lakh," a CBIspokesperson said.

Mustafa elected president ofconsortium of NLUsPNS n HYDERABAD

National Academy of LegalStudies and Research (NAL-SAR) Vice Chancellor profes-sor Faizan Mustafa has beenelected as the president of theConsortium of National LawUniversities. The consortiumunanimously elected him asthe president at its annualmeeting.

Professor Poonam Saxena,Vice Chancellor, NLUJodhpur, has been electedthe Vice President; professorVijender Kumar, ViceChancellor, MNLU, Nagpur,as Convener, Common LawAdmission Test (CLAT) 2021;and professor V.C.Vivekanandan, ViceChancellor, HNLU, Raipur, asthe member of the executivecommittee for CLAT-2021.

No test is fool proof: DPH Continued from page 1

"No test is fool proof. Thesetests are categorised based on

sensitivity and specificity.Sensitivity is for positivity andspecificity for negative. RT-PCRhas higher sensitivity and higherspecificity. RAT (Rapid AntigenTest) has higher specificity andless sensitivity. There arelimitations. Even in RT-PCR wegot false positives and falsenegatives many times. Any testsrelated to any disease will havelimitations," he said. Researchkeeps going on for 99percent to100percent accuracy in tests.The DPH pointed that it wasimportant to get tested thanavoid being tested. He said that

RAT helped decrease positivityrate to 3.5percent. "For 40,000tests only 900-1,000 positives; Iattribute the credit to RAT"."70% people are asymptomatic.When there are no symptoms,

we cannot keep testing themagain and again. As per normsand standards, if a person testspositive, they are positive. Allthey have to do is stay inisolation for 10days. If symptomsare there, they will go to hospital.There are chances of falsepositives and false negatives. He(Chiranjeevi) for reassurancesmight have got tested 2-3times.There is no wrong in falsepositives. As per guidelines if it ispositive, we will consider it aspositive", the DPH said.

KCR nominates...Continued from page 1

However, the haste withwhich KCR cleared MLC nom-inations has triggered an intensedebate not only in TRS circlesbut also in other political circles.

Official sources said KCRmade these nominations sud-denly withan eye on the upcom-ing GHMC elections.

MLCs have voting rights inthe election of GHMC Mayor asex-officio members. ShouldTRS fail to get the requiredmajority to secure Mayor postin GHMCpolls, KCR can utiliseMLCs votes to bag the Mayorpost.

Only MLCs hailing fromGHMC limits had voting rightsin GHMC pollstill 2009 GHMCpolls.

However, KCR amended theGHMC Act during the 2016GHMC polls allowingMLCsfrom any part of the stateto exercise their vote in GHMCif they opt to so in GHMC lim-its.

In the 40-memberTelangana Legislative Council,

BJP and Congress haveoneMLC each and one indepen-dent-affiliated to Left Parties.

TRS currently has a strengthof 33 MLCs and its friendlyparty AIMIMhas one MLC.

With the nomination ofthree MLCs, TRS' strengthhas increased to 36.

Late Prime Minister PVNarasimha Rao's daughterSurabhi Vani Devifailed toget the MLC berth, thoughher name has been bandiedabout in TRS circles for long.This is because KCRlaunched the year-long birthcentenary celebrations of PVin a grandmanner on behalfof the Telangana govern-ment in June this year.Heincluded the family mem-bers of PV, including VaniDevi, in thecelebrations com-mittee. This triggered spec-ulat ions in TRS thatKCRwants to reward one ofthe family members of PVfamily with MLC postunderGovernor's quota and VaniDevi's name has been doingthe rounds sincethen.

New BJP...Continued from page 1

AP senior BJP leaderPurandeshwari has beenappointed as in-charge ofChhattisgarh and Odisha states.The party appointed SathyaKumar as co-incharge of UP andin-charge of Andaman Nicobar.DK Aruna has been appointedas co-incharge of Karnataka.

HYDERABAD | SATURDAY | NOVEMBER 14, 2020 hyderabad 03

Telangana GovernorTamilisai Soundararajanand Chief Minister K

Chandrashekhar Rao onFriday conveyed theirgreetings to people in theState on the festive occasionof Diwali. In a statement, KCRwished that every householdbe filled with the light of diyas and that there should be the light ofhappiness in the eyes of farmers. The Chief Minister also hoped thatthis Diwali will drive away darkness with the light of wisdom. In astatement, Governor said, “This festival of lights signifies the victoryof righteousness over the evil. As our Hon’ble Prime Ministerappealed let us celebrate by buying our festival materials ofindigenous manufacturers and bring brightness in their lives duringfestival. I am sure occasions like this inspire us to conquer the evilsof modern day and build a peaceful and harmonious society. I onceagain extend my festive greetings and wishes to the people of theState and wish them a bountiful of happiness and prosperity. Let ushope to celebrate the next Diwali in Covid-19 free conditions.”

An Armyrecruitment rallyunder unit

headquarters quotawould be held at AOCCentre, Secunderabad,from January 18 toFeburary 28, 2021 forenrolment of SoldierTech (AE), SoldierGeneral Duty, Soldier Tradesmen, Outstanding Sportsmen (OpenCategory). Those under the Outstanding Sportsmen (Open Category)would have to report at Thapar Stadium, AOC Centre, Secunderabad,on January 15, 2021 at 8 am for sports trial, a press release said.Outstanding sportsmen who have represented in the field of Boxing,Football, Volleyball, Basketball, Handball, Hockey, Swimming,Wrestling, Athletics and Kabbadi can participate along with theircertificates of National or International competitions either at senioror junior level. The certificate should not be more than two years oldon the date of screening. The qualifying age bracket for the SoldierGD category is 17½ to 21 years while for Soldier Tech (AT), SolClk/SKT & Sol Tdn categories, it is 17½ to 23 years.

Guv, KCR extend Diwaligreetings to people of TS

Army recruitment rally to beheld from January 18

Mayor BonthuRammohan onFriday

inaugurated sixmodern bus sheltersin Dilsukhnagardivision. On theoccasion, the Mayorsaid as part ofimproving/providingurban infrastructure inmaking Hyderabad as global city, it is proposed to provide 1,000modern bus shelters in the city. The idea is to intend to makecommuter’s journey as comfortable as possible by setting upmodern bus shelters with better amenities. These bus shelter willoffer a wide range of amenities like toilets, drinking water, mobilecharging points, wi’fi, dustbins, and closed circuit television cameras,AC sitting areas and ticket counters and security guard is provided.These bus shelters are build in PPP mode, of size 200x30 feet thesetype of bus shelters are available only in western countries.

Mayor inaugurates six modernbus shelters in Dilsukhnagar

CITY LIGHTS

Citizens donateclothes to flood-hitNAMRATA SRIVASTAVA n HYDERABAD

The festival of lights sees sev-eral people doing charity eachyear. However, this year, as thecity steps out of severe floods,many people have been donat-ing clothes to the victims.Many foundations and volun-teers, who have been workingactively to provide all theneedful to flood-affected fam-ilies, share that people arecalling in from various parts ofthe city to donate festiveclothes to the flood victims.

Mohammed Sujathullah,the founder of Humanity FirstFoundation, shares, "I havebeen running this foundationfor years. But the response thisyear is overwhelming. Wehave been receiving severalcalls that people want todonate clothes; and not just myfoundation but several otherNGOs have been collectingkgs of clothes to donate. ManyNGOs had to even book func-tion halls to distribute theclothes in areas includingFalaknuma and Balapur,because there were that manyclothes."

Farhaan Ahmed, a volun-teer, who helped set up a

donation site at Banjara Hills,Road No 12, also shares thatthe donation of clothes areonly increasing with the day.He says, "We are still gettingso many clothes from people.In fact, many of the clothesare new and are donatedwith an intention that peoplehave new clothes to wear onDiwali. The gesture is heart-warming. For a few days, wehave seen an increase in thenumber of volunteers aswell."

Not just clothes, but peoplehave been helping the floodvictims survive the bitter win-ter as well. Sujathullah shares,"Since it has been getting cold,people are donating blankets,bed sheets and woolen clothesas well. Only recently wereceived and distributedaround 1,500 blankets and500 bed sheets."

PNS n HYDERABAD

The State Bank of India, HyderabadCircle, has come forward to adopt 15tigers at Nehru Zoological Park(NZP) here for one year. Om PrakashMishra, Chief General Manager,Hyderabad Circle , on Friday present-ed a cheque of Rs. 15 lakh to R.Sobha, Principal Chief Conservatorof Forests and Chief Wildlife Warden,Telangana, towards the adoptioncharges.

Sobha thanked Mishra for showinga great gesture towards WildlifeConservation by adoption of 15Tigers at Nehru Zoological Park forconsecutive ninth year.

Mishra said that SBI is playing vitalrole in the conservation of tigers atNehru Zoological Park. He expressedhis happiness on the management oftigers and zoo park. He said that goodhygiene is maintained and lot of careis being taken for maintaining goodhealth of the animals.

He assured that the SBI will con-

tinue to adopt the tigers in futureyears also. He congratulated the zoomanagement and the forest depart-ment for breeding the tigers ( normaland white). On this occasion, fiveJackal puppies were released into theenclosure for public display at Jackalenclosure by Om Prakash Mishra.These puppies were born during theCOVID- 19 lockdown and are eightmonths old. Dr. Sidhanand Kukerty,Additional Principal ChiefConservator of Forests (Prod) &Director Zoo Park, Hyderabad andothers were also present.

‘People’s welfare our priority’PNS n HYDERABAD

Municipal Minister KT RamaRao on Friday said that theState Government is extendingall support to the people dur-ing the Covid-19 pandemicand has offered immediaterelief to families which wereaffected due to the recent rains,he said. “In any kind of crisis,be it Covid or floods, the stategovernment has to take care ofpeople's needs and providedfinancial assistance, rehabilita-tion and immediate assistance,”he said.

The Minister inaugurateddifferent development works,including sports complex,library and laid foundationfor theme park at Nehru Parkat a total cost of over Rs 19crore along with AnimalHusbandry Minister TalasaniSrinivas Yadav. He noted thatChief Minister of Telanganais constantly striving to keepTelangana at the forefront ofdevelopment and welfare inthe country. KTR said, "As aprogressive government, allwe expect from you is contin-ued support and blessings".Over the last six years, theTelangana government hasundertaken a number of inno-

vative initiatives in the city ofHyderabad such as flyovers,underpasses, construction oflink roads, footpath, junctiondevelopment, double bed-

room house, Basti hospitaland Shaadi Mubarak. MinisterTalsani said that in the past forsanctioning Rs 5 lakh for dig-ging two borewells in the

constituency, several meet-ings used to be conducted butIn the TRS Government's rule,nearly Rs 800 crore develop-ment works were sanctionedfor Sanathnagar Constituency.He said flyovers, underpasses,55 parks and sports complex-es were being constructed at acost of Rs 800 crore in theconstituency. In the past, theCongress Government hadsold the land meant for asports complex to theProvident Fund office atSanathnagar.

Over the last six years, the Telanganagovernment has undertaken a numberof innovative initiatives in the city ofHyderabad such as flyovers,underpasses, construction of linkroads, footpath and others, said KTR

Many foundations andvolunteers say thatpeople are calling infrom various parts of thecity to donate festiveclothes to flood victims

SBI adopts 15 tigers at NZP

Panel formed to deal withtiger that killed youthPNS n HYDERABAD

Telangana's Forest Department hasformed a committee to deal with thetiger which killed a man in KumaramBheem Asifabad district onWednesday. The Chief WildlifeWarden has constituted a committeeto deal with the tiger as per theStandard Operating Procedure issuedby National Tiger ConservationAuthority. The committee, whichconsists of NGOs, veterinary officers,Gram Sarpanch and forest officials,will regularly meet to assess the sit-uation and take all possible measuresto ensure safety of people and also thetiger, officials said. Siddam Vignesh (20) was killed by atiger on November 11 in Girelli for-

est area of Rebanna Range in Asifabaddivision. The victim along with twominor boys aged 9 to 10 years belong-ing to Digada village of Dahegaonmandal went to Peddavagu stream inGirelli forest area for fishing. Aftercollecting a few fish, the victim inorder to make a temporary basket,went to the bushes at a distance awayto pluck some leaves.While doing so, the victim wasattacked by a tiger. The body wasdragged over some distance and waspartly eaten. The two boys whoaccompanied the victim rushed toDigada village and raised an alarm.The villagers came to the site andretrieved the body. Forest officialsmade a thorough search of the areaand found pugmarks of a tiger.

PNS n HYDERABAD

In a bizarre way, a pedestrianhas been conned by fraudsters.The miscreants approached apedestrian with an offer of sell-ing iPhone at dead cheap forRs 10,000 and offered the vic-tim a dummy phone.

On Thursday night, 30-year-old complaint was return-ing home after his work. Whenhe reached near Greenlands,two miscreants, who were onmotorcycle approached himand cooked up a story that theyare in dire need of money dueto which they are selling their

iPhone worth of Rs 70,000 forRs 10,000. Falling prey fortheir tricks, the victim went to

nearby ATM and withdrew Rs10,000 and handed it over tothe accused in exchange ofdummy iPhone. The accusedimmediately fled away fromthe spot, the police said. Whenthe complainant opened theblack pouch handed to him bythe miscreants, much to hissurprise, he found a dummycrystal glass piece in it. Heapproached Panjagutta Policeand lodged a formal writtencomplaint. The police bookeda case 379 IPC (theft case) and420 IPC(Cheating case) andfurther investigation is under-way.

Fraudsters dupe man of Rs 10,000 with fake iPhone

Falling prey for

their tricks, the

victim went to

nearby ATM and

withdrew Rs 10k

and handed it over

to the accused in

exchange of

dummy iPhone

95.94% clear TS PECETHyderabad: The results forTelangana State PhysicalEducation Common EntranceTest (TS PECET), which isconducted for admissions inBPED and DPED courses wasdeclared on Friday. The passpercentage for the examina-tion this year is 95.94 per cent.A total of 7,368 people appliedfor these two courses and

4,903 attended. Of these, 4,704passed the examination. Theresult was declared byTelangana State Council forHigher Education (TSCHE)Chairman, Prof T Papi Reddy.PECET Convener VSatyanarayana, HigherEducation Council Vice-Chairmen R Limbadri alsopresent on the occasion.

Police to auction2,061 unclaimedvehiclesPNS n HYDERABAD

The Cyberabad Police havedecided to auction as manyas 2,061 abandoned andunclaimed vehicles of vari-ous types kept at Moinabadpolice station. Any personhaving any objection orclaim ownership of thesevehicles may file applica-tions before theCommissioner of Police,Cyberabad and claim thevehicles within six monthsfrom the date of notification,failing which the vehicleswill be auctioned, a pressnote said.

HYDERABAD | SATURDAY | NOVEMBER 14, 2020 hyderabad 04

Moazzam Jahi Market is all decked up on the eve of Diwali. The historic markethas been adorned with multi-coloured lights, giving spectacular andpicturesque view

FESTIVAL OOF LLIGHTS

Singles ready to tie the knot, thanks to lockdownPNS n HYDERABAD

Several people who remainedsingle to enjoy bachelor's lifehave now been contemplatingto tie the knot vexed with thelonely life they have led duringthe lockdown period. Thebachelors who focused on theircareer and the divorcees arecontemplating to marry if thecontention of marriage bureaurepresentatives and psycholo-gists is taken into considera-tion.

Because of the Covid-19, allcelebrations have been put off.The number of marriages cel-ebrated this year is put at itsminimum. Under the lock-down conditions, the personswho remained single have beenentertaining plans to get mar-ried soon. The singles haverealised the difficulty in lead-ing a lonely life during the cur-rent Covid period. They are notin a position to meet friendsand relatives diretly, except onmobile phones. The singleshave faced the test of their time

during the Corona period.Ravi of Venkataramana Colonysaid that he could be able to feelthe hardship of living withinthe four walls with no work atall.

In the busy city life, familyget together on weekends areon a holiday and spend quali-

ty life together. But the singles,who have no own families willspend time with friends andacquaintances and pursue theirhobbies like cooling andsinging. But it did not becomefeasible during the lockdownperiod. The social media post-ings of images of families

spending time together haverealised that is their loss. A res-ident of Begumpet, Devi saidthat she was hooked onto hercomputer during the lock-down period. In social mediaplatforms postings made byfamilies pointed out that she ismissing a lot by virtue of beinga single woman.

An official of the organisa-tion called 'Todu Needa',Rajeshwari, said that the aged

single persons have been goingthrough fear psychosis andanxiety over the possible healthproblems they are likely toencounter. The number of suchpersons approaching theorganisation seeking a com-panion has increased, sheadded.

It may be recalled that thebig fat Indian wedding hasbecome leaner, adapting to thenew Covid-19 normal. Aftermonths of lockdown, bookingsare accelerating, with wed-dings bringing cheer to fami-lies, as well as the hospitality,fashion and textile sectors.Families now opt for toneddown celebrations with fewerceremonies, at hotels thatpromise to adhere to hygieneprotocols.

The norms include main-taining a registry of guestdetails, temperature checks,individual sanitiser bottles,fresh masks, frequent cleaningof touch points and restrooms,and distanced seating arrange-ments.

State's daily Covid countdrops below 1,000PNS n HYDERABAD

The number of daily countof Covid cases in Telanganadropped to below 1,000 onFriday even as the cumula-tive tally surpassed 2.55lakh-mark. The healthauthorities in the state tested42,163 samples during thelast 24 hours and of them997 were found positive,pushing the tally to 2,55,663.

Four more people suc-cumbed to the virus, taking thedeath toll to 1,397. The casefatality rate stands at 0.54 percent, which is lower than thenational average of 1.5 percent. According to the directorof public health and familywelfare, 44.96 per cent of thedeaths were due to Covidwhile 55.04 had comorbidities.

The state continued to seemore recoveries than newcases. As many as 1,222 peo-

ple recovered from the virusduring the last 24 hours end-ing 8 p.m. Thursday. With thisthe cumulative number ofrecovered cases mounted to2,37,172. The recovery ratenow stands at 92.75 per cent,slightly lower than the nation-al average of 92.9 per cent.

For a second consecutiveday, the daily count of positivecases was below 200 in GreaterHyderabad. Only 169 new

cases were reported from thestate capital. MedchalMalkajgiri saw the secondhighest number of cases at 85followed by Rangareddy (66),Bhadradri Kothagudem (65),Karimnagar (49), Nalgonda(46), Khammam (44) andWarangal Urban (44). Thestate now has 17,094 activecases, of which 14,466 are inhome or institutional isolation.

Bachelors whofocused on theircareer arecontemplating tomarry if thecontention ofmarriage bureaurepresentativesand psychologistsis taken intoconsideration

‘Govt continues to neglectinundated Osman Nagar’PNS n HYDERABAD

Telangana Pradesh CongressCommittee (TPCC) presidentN Uttam Kumar Reddy onFriday strongly condemnedthe TRS government for nothelping the residents of OsmanNagar in the

Maheshwaram Assemblyconstituency which remainedinundated in water even afterone month after heavy rainsand floods. Accompanied withsenior Congress leaders, Uttamvisited Osman Nagar and sur-rounding areas on Friday andinteracted with the affectedfamilies.

Speaking to media personslater, Uttam said that nearly610 houses are inundated fromalmost a month and the TRSgovernment did nothing toeither help the affected fami-lies or remove the water fromthe locality. He said that hun-dreds of residents of OsmanNagar were forced to live onthe streets for the last onemonth as they could not returnto their homes. They lost alltheir household belongings

and valuables. He describedtheir conditions as inhumanand said that Osman Nagarexposes the hollowness ofclaims being made byMunicipal Administration K.Tarakarama Rao on flood reliefin Hyderabad.

"It is a shame on the TRSgovernment that even onemonth after the excess rains,thousands of houses are sub-merged in Hyderabad. It isreally inhuman that no relief orfood grains have been suppliedby TRS government to theflood ravaged residents ofOsman Nagar," he said. Uttamsaid that the TRS government

completely neglected the res-idents of Osman Nagar to theextent that it made no effortsto evacuate the water andrestore normalcy. He allegedthat there was a big conspira-cy behind keeping the entirearea inundated. He said thatthe TRS government was nothelping the residents at thebehest of land grabbers whowant the original residents toabandon their inundated hous-es.

The TPCC chief said thatthe entire Osman Nagar hasnow turned into a lake withformation of green algae on theaccumulated water.

Harish accuses BJP of ‘doublespeak’PNS n HYDERABAD

Launching a scathing attack onthe Centre for imposing restric-tions on paddy procurement,Finance Minister T Harish Raoon Friday laid bare the doublestandards of the BJP leadership.

Releasing the Centre's letterto the media on Friday, theFinance Minister said, "theCentre wrote a letter to all theStates categorically stating thatit will not procure paddy andrice from States which pur-chase them from farmers atrates higher than the MSP of Rs1,888 per quintal fixed by it.Due to the Centre's policies, theState government is unable topay remunerative price andsupport our farmers." Withthe direction of the Centre tothe states in this regard, thestates have no chance to givemore than the support pricethough they are ready to give.

Harish Rao said that theCentre addressed letters to thestates on September 17, 2020stating not to give a singlerupee more than the supportprice. Reminding the demand

of Union Minister KishanReddy that the state govern-ment has to extend higherprices to the superfine varietypaddy, Harish asked KishanReddy to make the Centretake back its letter.

He said that the FoodCorporation of India (FCI)kept the sword on the necks ofthe states by making it clearthat it will not take the rice andpaddy in case the states givemore than prescribed supportprice. Harish alleged that the

Centre tied the hands and legsof the states in this regard anddemanded the Centre to with-draw the letter immediately.

He said that Telangana pro-duces three times more thanthe state needs.

"The state produced 87.84lakh tonnes of paddy, howev-er, 26 lakh tonnes are enoughfor the state," he said, question-ing as to what the states will doin case the Centre says it willnot take 60 lakh tonnes ofpaddy. Citing the Centre's let-

ter, the Minister ridiculedKishan Reddy for the doublestandards, pointing out thatwhile the Centre issued letterimposing restrictions on paddypurchase and its pricing, thelatter, a Minister at the Centre,was trying to blame the Stategovernment for it. He alsopointed out that total paddyyield during the currentVaanakalam season was about87.84 lakh tonnes and the totalconsumption in the State wasonly 26 lakh tonnes.

‘All set for cottonprocurement’Siddipet: Finance Minister THarish Rao on Friday said allarrangements had been madeto purchase cotton at 30centres across Siddipet district.Addressing farmers afterinaugurating the CCIpurchasing centre and maizeprocurement centre at GajwelAgriculture Market, the Ministerappealed to the farmers toutilise the CCI purchasingcentres. "The government hasannounced MSP of Rs 5,775for every quintal of cotton, thathave less than 8 per centmoisture content," Harish said,adding that the CCI was notwilling to buy cotton that has12 per cent moisture content.Stating that some farmerscultivated maize against theadvice of the State, Harish Raosaid the government, however,decided to buy maize fromthese farmers at Rs 1,800 perquintal. He pointed out thatmaize purchased last year wasstill remaining in the godowns.

Due to theCentre'spolicies, theStategovernment isunable to payremunerativeprice andsupport ourfarmers, saidHarish Rao

Bandi shuts dissidents withDubbak by-election victoryK VENKATESHWARLUn HYDERABAD

Dubbak by-election result notonly infused confidence inTelangana BJP but also put torest the questions raised bysome party senior leaders overBandi Sanjay's leadership.According to state BJP sources,till Dubbak by-poll, there wasinfighting between the stal-warts and the newly-appoint-ed state BJP president BandiSanjay Kumar.

Leaders like GoshamahalMLA Raja Singh openlyexpressed his unhappiness overBandi Sanjay Kumar regardingthe state executive committee.He alleged that lion's share ofoffice bearers' posts have goneto new leaders who defected tothe party during or after 2019Lok Sabha elections and alsothe new committee didn'tinclude his men.

In this case, Raja Singhopenly expressed his unhappi-ness over Bandi Sanjay.However, many leaders didn'texpress their dissidence against

Bandi Sanjay but indulged incriticism against Bandi withtheir party colleagues. Manysenior leaders too were nothappy with the working styleof Bandi. This has continuedtill the Dubbak result.However, the Dubbak resultgave additional strength tothe Karimnagar MP in theform of praises from Delhileaders. However, unmindfulof criticisms against him,Bandi Sanjay remained firmand continued his work. Hecontinued his work by givingdue respect to the senior lead-ers in the party. According toparty leaders, Bandi nevershowed any sort of unhappi-ness towards leaders, who

revolted against him. This atti-tude helped him neutralisethe dissidence against him.He is slowly getting the gripover the state party though heis from Karimnagar district.

He appointed presidents bydividing the GHMC party intofour zones keeping civic bodyelections in view. At the sametime, he never hesitated to sackthe leaders who opposed theparty. He sacked party seniorleader Thota Kamalakar Reddyfrom Dubbak constituency, whoopposed the candidature of theDubbak election winner MRaghunandan Rao. Bandi alsosacked his own districtKarimnagar party presidentSathyanarayana Rao, who facedallegations of sexual harass-ment. One of the party leaderssaid that Bandi is ferocious onlytowards opponent parties' lead-ers but not his own party lead-ers. A young leader fromHyderabad said that some lead-ers are not digesting the growthof Bandi. But it is need of thehour as the party has to stormto the power in 2023 elections.

KCR is against Hindufestivals, alleges BJPPNS n HYDERABAD

Telangana BJP president BandiSanjay Kumar alleged that theTRS government has failed toprotect the feelings of Hindus.He alleged that the KCR gov-ernment is behaving againstHindu festivals.

"The High Court imposedban on bursting crackers onDiwali festival due to the fail-ure of the state government inarguing the case strongly. It'sbecome a fashion in disputingthe Hindu festivals every time.The government itself gavepermission for sale of crackersand with the ban on crackers,the traders are left at cross-roads. Small traders will expe-rience huge losses," he alleged.Speaking to the media atKarimnagar later in theevening, Bandi Sanjay saidthat Dubbak verdict is a slapon the face of KCR. Exudingconfidence that the BJP willwin big in GHMC elections,Bandi Sanjay questioned theChief Minister to revealwhether the latter visited

Hyderabad when it drownedin floods. "Is it not correct onthe part of TRS leaders to askthe flood victims to cast theirvote after extending floodrelief help Rs 10,000. The TRSgovernment should reveal onwhat basis the government isgiving Rs 10,000 to the floodvictims. The governmentshould also reveal from whichbank they withdrew themoney,” he questioned.

Niranjan's poser to Kishan on MSPPNS n HYDERABAD

The Central government isneglecting agriculture andfarmers in the country byadopting faulty farm policies,Agriculture Minister SNiranjan Reddy said on Friday."The BJP government at theCentre has no proper orienta-tion towards promotion ofagriculture in the country.Half of the area in Gujaratwhere Prime MinisterNarendra Modi was ChiefMinister thrice in the past hasbeen affected by drought," theMinister said, and pointed outthat on the other hand, agricul-ture lands in entire TelanganaState was being irrigatedbecause of Chief Minister KChandrashekhar Rao's com-

mitment and his clear policy tosupport farmers in the State.Niranjan Reddy was speakingafter inaugurating RythuVedika and Soil Testing Lab atRathunathapalem in the dis-trict built by TransportMinister P Ajay Kumar at acost of Rs 40 lakh in memoryof his brother P Uday Kumar.He also inaugurated a SeedTesting Lab built at a cost of Rs1.43 crore. Addressing a public meeting

on the occasion, the Ministersaid the State government wasready to procure superfinequality paddy at a price high-er than the MSP fixed by theCentre, provided the Centrewithdraws its restrictions. Hecomplained that the Centrethrough the FCI had imposedrestrictions on superfine qual-ity paddy procurement atprices higher than the MSP."But the Kishan Reddy isdemanding the State govern-ment to procure superfinequality paddy by giving anincentive. We are ready tooffer whatever it takes to helpthe farmers. Is Kishan Reddyready to take the responsibil-ity of stopping the Centrefrom causing any hindrance?"he asked.

Gandhi JUDAcontinue protestPNS n HYDERABAD

Despite order from DME toresume non-Covid servicesin Gandhi Hospital from 21November, the JUDAs havecontinued their strike onFriday. As per JUDAs, "We arecontinuing our protest as onlypart of our demands got ful-filled. We will resume dutiesonce our rest of demands getfulfilled including removingCovid specialty tag fromGandhi Hospital and restric-tion of Covid beds to 200."

The protesting doctors want-

ed all mild and moderate casesto be shifted to TIMS and KingKoti Hospital. Reacting to aquestion on opening non-Covid services in teaching hos-pitals, Director of Public healthsaid, "Covid is important butnon-Covid services are equal-ly important. Only four hospi-tals are designated Covid hos-pitals and remaining all govern-ment hospitals we are givingnon-Covid services along withCovid services. Except Gandhi,Chest, King Koti hospital,TIMS all other hospitals areextending non-covid services".

Two thieves held,booty recoveredPNS n HYDERABAD

South Zone Task Force teamon Friday arrested a thief andrecovered 33 tulas of goldornaments worth Rs 18 lakh.The accused has been identi-fied as Afatab Ahmad Shaikresident of Chandrayanagutta.Earlier he used to eke out liv-ing by selling household arti-cles on installment basis inKamareddy, Nizamabad,Adilabad and Hyderabad City.

Addressing the media,Hyderabad CP Anjani Kumarsaid, "the accused approachescustomers and lures them in thename of gift in lucky draw. He

convinces the customer to comealong and collect the gift. Later,he advices them to remove allgold ornaments and keep insafe place otherwise the gift willbe rejected." Subsequently, hewill accompany the victim andleave him/her at a place andreturns to the victim's house.He further tricks the family tohand him over the ornaments.After receiving the gold orna-ments, the offender flees away,Anjai Kumar said. In anothercase, the Panjagutta Policearrested a domestic help whocommitted theft of 118 gramsof gold ornaments with dia-monds valued at Rs 8 lakh.

Vijayashanthiterms KCR'ssurveys as‘fraud'PNS n HYDERABAD

TPCC campaign committeechairperson Vijayashanthi onFriday termed Chief MinisterK Chandrasekhar Rao's elec-tion surveys as 'fraud'.Finding fault with ChiefMinister for stating that theTRS will win the GHMCelections, Vijayashanthi saidthat KCR stated the sameeven before the Dubbak by-election. In her Facebookpost on Friday, Vijayashanthialleged that KCR's surveys arefraudulent.

"KCR said the same evenbefore Dubbak by-election.KCR has been stating thatBJP candidate won the elec-tion with sympathy but whythe TRS didn't receive thesame sympathy in those elec-tions? It seems the ChiefMinister has decided to con-duct GHMC elections with-in one month succumbing tothe pressure mounted by theMIM," she said.

The HC imposedban on firecrackers due tothe failure of thestategovernment inarguing thecase strongly,said TelanganaBJP chief BandiSanjay

PADDY PROCUREMENT

HYDERABAD | SATURDAY | NOVEMBER 14, 2020 nation 05

A tableau depicting Lord Ram passes through a street on the eve of Diwali festival, in Ayodhya on Friday

INDIA CORNER

The Jammu and KashmirPradesh CongressCommittee (JKPCC) on

Friday joined the People'sAlliance for Gupkar Declaration(PAGD), an amalgam of severalparties in the union territoryseeking restoration of theerstwhile state's specialstatus.wo Congress leadersparticipated in a meeting of the alliance at PDP president MehboobaMufti's 'Fairview' residence at Gupkar here. Mufti is also the vicechairman of the alliance, led by NC president Farooq Abdullah. "Westand by the alliance," Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Monga toldreporters outside Mufti's residence. Asked whether there were anydifferences between the alliance partners, Monga said, "There is nodisagreement and a healthy discussion took place." After the meetingat Mufti's residence, the PAGD leaders will meet again at NCheadquarters 'Nawa-i-Subah' later in the day.

PNS n PATNA

A joint meeting of the NDAlegislature party will be hereheld on Sunday where NitishKumar will be elected as itsleader, it was decided on Friday.

The decision was taken at an"informal" meeting of leadersof the four NDA constituentsin Bihar--the JD(U), BJP,HAMand Vikassheel Insaan Party(VIP) at the residence of ChiefMinister Kumar.

"The meeting will start at12:30 pm on Sunday,November 15 where all furtherdecisions will be taken," chiefminister elect Kumar, who alsoheads the JD(U) told reporter-

slater.He also said the current

state cabinet will hold its lastmeeting in the evening wherea decision on the dissolution ofthe assembly, the tenure of

which expires on November29, will be taken.

"These formalities have to becompleted before the forma-tion of a new government.The cabinet's recommenda-

tions will be forwarded to thegovernor whose approval willbe followed by other stepsleading to the formation of anew government," Kumaradded.

Despite the BJP emerging asthe largest party in the rulingalliance with 74 seats, 31 morethan the JD(U), the top lead-ership of the saffron party,including Prime MinisterNarendra Modi, has emphati-cally endorsed Kumar as thenext chief minister.

He was declared the rulingcoalition's chief ministerialcandidate much before theelection process had started.

Though Kumar did not

divulge more on what tran-spired during the meeting athis residence, informedsources said the issues dis-cussed included the represen-tation of each constituent inthe cabinet and election of thenew assembly speaker.Speculation is rife that the BJPmight push for an EBC or aDalit as a Deputy CM thoughit is not clear whether the insis-tence will be on replacing vet-eran leader Sushil KumarModi, who has been holdingthe post for the most part since2005, or replicating the exper-iment in adjoining UttarPradesh where two leadersoccupy the post.

NDA MLAs to meet tomorrow todeclare Nitish as their leader

JKPCC joins hand with Gupkar alliance

After a hot pursuit, three menallegedly involved in thegunning down of a man, his

wife and their son here werenabbed in Maharashtra and thekilling was due to a matrimonialdispute, police said on Friday.Disclosing information oncracking the case, GreaterChennai Police CommissionerMahesh Kumar Aggarwal said a special team of city police personnelapprehended them last night in Solapur district of Maharashtra withthe help of their counterparts. On November 11, Chand (74) hiswife Pushpabai (68) and their 40-year old son Shital Kumar werefound dead with bullet injuries at their residence in Elephant Gateneighbourhood here and police had said they were shot dead.Thekillings were due to a matrimonial dispute between Kumar and hiswife Jayamala, the official said, adding six people were involved inthe case.

Trio held in Maharashtra for killingthree of family in Chennai

The Meghalaya High Courthas refused to quash apolice complaint against

veteran journalist PatriciaMukhim for her Facebook postwhich allegedly incitedcommunal tension between thetribal and the non-tribalcommunities in the state.Disposing of a petition filed byMukhim, a Padma Shri awardee and the editor of The Shillong Timesnewspaper, Justice W Diengdoh said that the investigation agencyshould be given a free hand to probe into the matter. "In the event,the investigating agency is required to be given a free hand toinvestigate the matter and to come to its own conclusion in dueprocess of law. "Consequently, I find no merit in the instant petitionfor exercising powers under Section 482 CrPC. This petition isaccordingly hereby rejected," the judge said in the November10 order.

HC declines to quash FIR againstMeghalaya journalist for FB post

Deepotsav celebrations beganon Friday in the holy city ofAyodhya in the presence of

Uttar Pradesh Governor AnandibenPatel and Chief Minister YogiAdityanath, a Diwali event whichwill also see the lighting of arecord 5.51 lakh earthen lamps atdusk. Soon after landing here, theGovernor and the chief minister offered prayers to Lord Ram and laterwelcomed actors representing Lord Ram, Goddess Sita andLakshman who descended on the Saryu bank in a 'pushpak viman' --a helicopter. With a view to ensuring a global recognition and identityto Ayodhya, Adityanath has initiated a number of works in the templetown including Deepotsav being organised on the occasion of Diwalievery year. Since the formation of the Adityanath government in UttarPradesh, many events have been organised, from Deepotsav to RamLeela, which have earned a new identity to Ayodhya globally.

Grand Deepotsav celebrationsstart in Ayodhya

PNS n KOLKATA

With Asaduddin Owaisi'sAIMIM announcing that itwould contest Bengal polls,having bagged five seats inneighbouring Bihar, politicalarithmetic, in all likelihood, isset to witness a major changeas TMC's sway over minorityvotes seems to be up for a stiffchallenge.

The Mamata Banerjee-ledparty, which had been the solebeneficiary of minority votessince the defeat of the LeftFront in 2011, however, triedto put up a brave face, arguing

that Owaisi's influence onMuslims is limited to Hindi-andUrdu-speaking communi-ties that make for just six percent of Muslim electorate inthe state.

Muslims comprise 30 percent of West Bengal's voters.The state has the highest num-ber of Muslim electorate in thecountry after Kashmir.

A deciding factor in nearly100-110 seats in the 294-mem-ber Assembly, minorities espe-cially the Muslims, till 2019,have acted as a bulwark of theTMC against its rivals, withmost of them voting in favourof the party, considering it tobe a "credible" force that canresist saffron surge.

With the entry of theAIMIM, equations are likely tochange, prominent Muslimleaders said. Buoyed by theresults of Bihar polls, Owaisihad announced that theAIMIM would contest elec-tions in West Bengal, UttarPradesh and other states.

Talking about theTelangana-based party'sdetailed plan for Mission WestBengal, its national spokesper-son Asim Waqar told PTI onWednesday that the outfit hasalready set up units in 22 outof the 23 districts of the state.

"We will fight assembly pollsin Bengal. We are preparingour strategy. We have regis-tered our presence in 22 out ofthe 23 districts of the state. Wethink, as a political party, we

can make deep inroads into thestate," Waqar said. TheAIMIM's plan to enter Bengalwas frowned upon by ChiefMinister Mamata Banerjee atan anti-NRC rally in northBengal in November last year,when she, without taking aname, launched a frontalassault on the party by askingMuslims to be wary of "minor-ity extremists" fromHyderabad. Owaisi -- who isfast emerging as the leadingMuslim voice in the country -- was quick to hit back, statingthat West Bengals minoritieshave one of the worst humandevelopment indicators.According to the AIMIM,Owaisi has found Bengal to bea fertile ground for his expan-sion plans.

Owaisi’s entry may impactTMC’s sway over minorities

PNS n BENGALURU

Green firecrackers sold thisyear would have a novel featureof quick response (QR) codingsystem to avoid manufacturingand sale of counterfeit prod-ucts, the Karnataka govern-ment has said in its order.

The green firecrackers wereintroduced to check pollutionduring Deepavali.

The other fireworks withharmful chemicals can affectthe respiratory system andprove fatal if a person is infect-ed by coronavirus.

According to the order, thegreen firecrackers packing canbe identified through the dis-tinct green logo of CSIR-NEERI and PESO as well as aquick response (QR) coding

system."The QR code is a novel

feature incorporated on thefirecrackers to avoid manu-

facture and sale of counterfeitproducts. The feature will

assist in differentiating greenfirecrackers from the con-

ventional ones," the order said.The order of the Ministry

of Environment, Forest andClimate Change reads that

green firecrackers do not con-tain harmful chemicals, there-by reducing air pollution dueto firecrackers. Besides, these

fireworks are less harmful thanconventional firecrackers.

The green firecrackers aremanufactured as per the for-mulation developed byCouncil of Scientific andIndustrial Research-NationalEnviro nmental andEngineering Research Instituteand product approval for newformulation is given by thePetroleum and ExplosivesSafety Organisation. Greenfirecrackers would be availableas sparklers, flowerpots, andmaroons, which are made withreduction in size of shell, elim-ination of ash usage andreduced usage of raw materi-als in the compositions. Thegovernment had said that thegreen firecrackers would besold till November 16.

Green firecrackers to have QR code

PNS n MUMBAI

Anticipating a second COVID-19 wave in January-February,the Maharashtra governmenthas asked the authorities toensure there is no complacen-cy in testing and said labsshould be functional in everydistrict and municipal corpo-ration limits.

A circular from the govern-ment's health services direc-torate dated November 11 saida second wave of the pandem-ic is likely in January-February.

The second wave is expect-ed based on what is happeningin Europe, it said.

The circular said sinceOctober, the number ofCOVID-19 cases inMaharashtra has showed signsof decline. The second wave ofthe virus has hit many coun-tries, especially those inEurope, it said. The circularsaid there should be no com-placency in coronavirus testingand all labs will remain func-tional as per Indian Council of

Medical Research (ICMR)guidelines. According to theWorld Health Organisation(WHO), there should be 140tests per 10 lakh population, itsaid. For this, there should betesting labs in each district andmunicipal corporation limits,the government documentsaid.

The circular said the need ofthe hour is to celebrate a fire-cracker-free Diwali keepingin mind health interest ofCOVID-19 patients and thosewith breathing problems.

Talking about COVID-19protocols, it said wearingmasks when outdoors, fre-quent hand wash, disinfec-tion of surfaces, physical dis-tancing, avoiding spitting andsmoking in public places arenecessary measures to curb thespread of the infection.

It also advised people toavoid unnecessary travel andnot to take stress.

Till November 12,Maharashtra has recorded17,36,329 COVID-19 casesand 45,682 deaths.

PNS n MUMBAI

The Shiv Sena on Friday hitout at Amruta Fadnavis, wifeof BJP leader DevendraFadnavis, over her criticalremarks against the party andsaid she should realise thatevery alphabet was impor-tant.

On Thursday, AmrutaFadnavis took a jibe at theUddhav Thackeray-led partyover its poor performance inthe just held Bihar assemblyelections and called it "Shav(corpse) Sena".

Hitting back, the Sena,which heads the MVA govern-ment in Maharashtra, toldher to realise the importanceof alphabets in her own name.

"Don't let the alphabet 'A' inyour name go into "mruta"state (dead in Marathi). Realisethe importance of 'A' in yourname Amruta.

"Don't bring bad thoughtsin your mind during the aus-picious occasion of Diwali,"Shiv Sena spokespersonNeelam Gorhe, who is also

deputy chairperson in theLegislative Council, said in astatement here. Gorhesaid,"You will not benefit by call-ing the Shiv Sena names."

"What is going on exactly?The Shav Sena did kill its owncolleague (Congress) in Bihar.No matter where they are tak-ing Maharashtra, but thanksfor putting Bihar at rightplace," Amruta Fadnavis, abanker, had tweeted.

Devendra Fadnavis, a for-mer chief minister ofMaharashtra, was the BJP'selection in-charge in Bihar,where his party put up a stel-lar show. The Sena had con-tested certain assembly seats inBihar, but failed to open itsaccount and most of its candi-dates lost their security deposit(getting votes less than EC-mandated threshold).

The Congress, which foughtin alliance with the RJD, wononly 19 of the 70 seats it con-tested in Bihar with manyobservers blaming its poorshow for the opposition bloc'selectoral loss.

No let-up in Covid tests, 2ndwave likely in Jan-Feb: Maha

PNS n UNNAO (UP)

A 22-year-old journalistworking for a local Hindidaily was found dead on arailway track here, policesaid on Friday.

Police have lodged an FIRagainst Sub-Inspector SunitaChaurasia, constable AmarSingh and one other personafter his family said they sus-pected her to be behind theincident and claimed thatthey were friends, CircleOfficer (City) GauravTripathi said.

The family members ofthe journalist, Suraj Pande,have also alleged that he waskilled and his body thrownon the railway track in SadarKotwali area Thursdayevening.

The victim's motherLakshmi Pande in her com-plaint to police has said thatSuraj and Sunita were friendsand because of this, the con-stable on November 11threatened him on a phonecall.

Scribe's bodyfound onrailway track inUP's Unnao

Sena hits back atAmruta Fadnavis

PNS n NEW DELHI

The Commission for AirQuality Management(CAQM) on Friday directedthe CPCB and states con-cerned to ensure that there isno lapse in implementation ofthe National Green Tribunal'sdirections in view of the pre-vailing air quality scenario.

The commission said statepollution control boards, com-mittees and other field-levelfunctionaries have also beenasked to ensure that there is nolapse in implementation of theNGT's directions.

"In pursuance of the NGTorder dated November 9 andconsidering the concerns of airquality scenario in the NCRand its adverse health impact,the Commission directedCPCB, concerned state gov-ernments and authorities forstrict compliance of the direc-tions of NGT, with zero toler-ance on violation," it said.

The NGT had on Mondayimposed a total ban on sale oruse of all kinds of firecrackersin the National Capital Region(NCR) from November 9 mid-night to November 30 mid-night, saying "celebration bycrackers is for happiness and

not to celebrate deaths and dis-eases". A bench headed byNGT Chairperson JusticeAdarsh Kumar Goel had clar-ified that the direction willapply to all cities and towns inthe country where the averageof ambient air quality duringNovember 2019 was in 'poor'and above categories.

"There will be total banagainst sale or use of all kindsof firecrackers in the NCRfrom midnight of November9-10, 2020, to the midnight ofNovember 30-December 1,2020, to be reviewed there-after," the NGT had said.

Implement NGT’sdirections: CAQM

PNS n CHANDIGARH

Punjab Chief MinisterAmarinder Singh has writtento Vice President M VenkaiahNaidu, who is also the chancel-lor of Panjab University here,seeking early elections to thevarsity's senate. Singh said the“inexplicable delay in pollingwas causing resentment amongvarious constituents of theinstitution."The university sen-ate's term ended on October31. Citing improvement in thestate's COVID situation, Singhurged Naidu to advise theuniversity and the city admin-istrations for proper and time-ly conduct of the elections. Thechief minister pointed out thatever since the university was setup, its senate was constitutedafter every four years, with themembers elected through ademocratic process.

Hold polls toPanjab varsitysenate, saysAmarinder

PNS n INDORE (MP)

A fresh case has been regis-tered against self-styled god-man Namdeo Das Tyagi, forallegedly manhandling a pan-chayat staffer before thedemolition of alleged illegalconstruction at his ashramnear here, police said onFriday.

Tyagi (54), popularlyknown as Computer Baba, iscurrently in jail after he wasarrested in preventive actionwhen the administration wasremoving encroachment fromgovernment land in JamburdiHapsi village near Indore onSunday.

The godman has beenbooked in a fresh case and for-mally rearrested in jail, follow-ing a complaint from the sec-retary of a village panchayatunder Gandhinagar policestation area, additional super-intendent of police PrashantChoubey said.

The complaint stated thatTyagi and his associates hadallegedly abused, manhan-dled and ill-treated a panchay-at staffer, who had gone to freea government land from his

possession on Sunday, theofficial said. The case was reg-istered under relevant sectionsof the India Penal Code onThursday, the ASP said.

‘Computer Baba’booked in MP

The commissionsaid SPCBs,committees andother field-levelfunctionarieshave also beenasked to ensurethat there is nolapse inimplementationof NGT directions

CELEBRATIONS BBEGIN

The outcome of the BiharLegislative Assemblyelection seems to suggestthat the Indian NationalCongress is on a course

of terminal decline. The familiarqualifying refrain, “barring a mir-acle”, does not seem to apply heregiven the magnitude of its non-per-formance. It won only 19 of the 70seats, which is a shade over 27 percent, of the 243 it contested. Itsutterly poor show pulled down theRashtriya Janata Dal-led alliance,the Mahagatbandhan (MGB),despite the RJD’s brave show,emerging as the largest single partywith 75 seats, with the BJP awhisker short at 74. The BJP-ledNational Democratic Alliance(NDA) won 125 seats against theMGB’s 110.

The Congress won a little over27 per cent of the seats it contest-ed, while the RJD won a trifle above53 per cent and the three Left par-ties, which bagged 17 seats — withthe Communist Party of India(Marxist-Leninist) getting 11 — alittle more than 58 per cent. Thisis a dismal outcome for a party thathad led India’s struggle for indepen-dence from British rule and giventhe country a stable Governmentfor the first 20 years as a free nation.It enjoyed unchallenged powerduring this period when it assidu-ously nurtured India’s infantdemocracy, enabling it to strikedeep roots.

Congress leaders have contend-ed that the 70 seats their party con-tested were in areas where they hadtraditionally fared very poorly. Inthe 2010 Assembly polls, the BJP-Janata Dal (United) alliance won 65of these. They led in 67 of the 70,which were Assembly segments ofvarious Lok Sabha constituencies,in the parliamentary elections of2019 they fought together. Thequestion of the matter is: Why didthe Congress contest these? Why,recognising its pathetic lack ofworkers and organisational strengthon the ground, did it not contestfewer seats and concentrate all itsstrength in these? Significantly, ithad won 27 of the 41 seats it hadcontested in the 2015 Assemblyelections. It is difficult to avoid theconclusion that it was ambition-dri-ven optimism, without any basis inreality, that had prodded the party.Obviously, none in the latter’s deci-sion-making parlour had readMacbeth saying in Shakespeare’splay of the same name, “I have no

spur/ To prick the sides of myintent, but only/ Vaulting ambi-tion. Which o’erleaps itself/ Andfalls on th’other.” And now, lyingon the other, the party is alter-nating between licking itswounds and offering explana-tions.

The impact of this over-arch-ing strategic blunder was aggra-vated by several factors. Apartfrom a few ineffective appear-ances, the Congress’s top lead-ers like Rahul, Priyanka andSonia Gandhi were generallymissing from the scene. One,however, wonders whether itwould have made any differenceif they had been more visible andvocal. It is well-known thatSonia Gandhi is ill. While enjoy-ing a certain acceptability amongleaders of most Opposition par-ties, she lacks the command overHindi required to strike a chordwith the masses. This stands outas a major liability vis-a-visPrime Minister Narendra Modi,who can sweep crowds off theirfeet with his strident oratory andhas an uncanny ability to con-nect with people. It is no secretthat it was his speeches in astring of public rallies in the lastphase of the campaign thatturned the tide in the NDA’sfavour.

Rightly or wrongly, RahulGandhi remains burdened withthe “pappu” image, is an indif-ferent public speaker, and is seenas a part-time politician whovanishes after periodic appear-ances, generating much specu-lation about his whereabouts.The same goes for PriyankaGandhi. Consider the Hathras

rape incident. The duo burst intothe forefront of the movement,demanding justice for the victimand her family, and thendropped out of sight. The argu-ment that they had no occasionto stage another dramatic pub-lic appearance does not hold. Asuccessful politician must knowhow to create such occasions.This is particularly so because apolitician’s image is increasing-ly important in a world whereissues are too complex, andtheir solutions too technical, forordinary voters to decidebetween the plans on offer.They tend to vote for the personwho, they feel, can deliver. Theappearance of capability is animportant determinant of aleader’s acceptability.

Can Rahul and Priyankachange the way the public seemsto perceive them? Images tendto stick to people but can beovercome given foresight, deter-mination, effort and, of course,success. When Indira Gandhifirst came to power, she wasregarded as a protégé of theSyndicate and a pushover. Ifmemory serves, Ram ManoharLohia called her a “gungi Gudiya”or a dumb doll. Yet she worstedthe Syndicate on the issue of whoshould India’s President be —ensuring the victory of her can-didate, VV Giri, over theSyndicate’s nominee, N SanjivaReddy — swept the Lok Sabhaelections of 1971, played a crit-ical role in Bangladesh’s libera-tion and established herself as awidely-accepted national leader.But for the Emergency, whichremains a permanent blot on her

escutcheon, she might havebeen remembered as India’sgreatest Prime Minister.

Indira Gandhi establishedher position after becomingPrime Minister. Rahul and/orPriyanka Gandhi have to do sobefore assuming that office. Itwill be very difficult to do sothrough political action becausethe opportunities a PrimeMinister can utilise by virtue ofbeing in power — such as mak-ing populist moves like banknationalisation, which IndiraGandhi resorted to — are notavailable to those in theOpposition. The latter can utilisethe mistakes a Governmentmakes. One, however, needs acertain political stature to leadeffective movements against aGovernment and one cannotgain political stature unless onecan lead effective movements.Stature is critically important.The movement against corrup-tion that, surging through 1973-74, drove Indira Gandhi to thewall and prompted her to resortto the draconian step of declar-ing the Emergency, was led byJayaprakash Narayan who, albeitno longer in politics then, waswidely respected for his role inthe freedom movement, inIndia’s socialist politics, andland redistribution through landgifts (Bhoodan) movement.

Can Rahul and PriyankaGandhi build up a crediblestature for themselves? To startwith, they need not disappearfrom the public eye every nowand then, and begin makingknowledgeable statements aboutnot only current events but the

Congress’s political philosophyand the political, economic,social, cultural and other policiesarising therefrom. These havenot been adequately articulatedin the recent years though theparty has moved far away fromthe resolution adopted at itsAvadi session in 1955, calling forthe “establishment of a socialis-tic pattern of society where theprincipal means of productionare under social ownership orcontrol” and there is “equitabledistribution of the nationalwealth.”

The economic trajectory theparty adopted under PVNarasimha Rao’s prime minis-tership, and continued to pursueunder Prime MinisterManmohan Singh’s watch,marked a radical departure fromthe course advocated at Avadi.The Congress, however, has yetto come out with a comprehen-sive articulation of its econom-ic policy and its dialectic withconcepts of social justice, con-sumer rights, democracy, theenvironment and human free-dom. Nor has it gone beyondshibboleths and come out witha coherent formulation of itsstand on human rights and sec-ularism.

Without a philosophy, a polit-ical party lacks a compass for itspolicies and remains vulnerableto making compromises that,while serving ephemerally,undermine its long-term cred-ibility.

To articulate the party’s polit-ical philosophy when marketcapitalism increasingly sets theglobal agenda, the Gandhi sib-lings need to be familiar with thehistory and the ideology of theirparty as well as the history ofpolitical and economic thought,and the contours of variousideologies like Marxism, laissezfaire capitalism, Hindutva andthe principles of integral human-ism expounded by PanditDeendayal Upadhyay.

As of now, one cannot visu-alise them doing so. Nor can onesee a credible alternative leader-ship emerging within theCongress and of the latterbecoming an effective politicalplayer at the national level.Recall the scant regard paid tothe letter to Sonia Gandhi inAugust by 23 Congress leaderscalling for root-and-branchreforms in the party, and theirsubsequent marginalisation.Without a change, one will beleft with sharing WilliamWordsworth’s lament in On theExtinction of the VenetianRepublic, “Men are we, andmust grieve when even theshade/ Of that which once wasgreat is passed away.”

(The writer is ConsultantEditor, The Pioneer, and anauthor)

It is not the best of times to be Rahul Gandhi, whatwith the Congress hitting new lows both electorallyand politically and all of it being attributed to his lus-

treless persona, directionless ideas and unchanging ways.The Gandhi scion continues to lose the battle of per-ception despite the many image makeovers he mighthave undergone. But the latest opinion of former USPresident Barack Obama has definitely done him in. Inhis new memoir, Promised Land, the Democrat leader,who has worked extensively with the Congress-led UnitedProgressive Alliance (UPA) while in office, made quiteuncharitable and unflattering remarks about him.

Basing his observations on a short meeting he had with Rahul in 2017, he described himas having a “nervous unformed quality about him,” like a student eager to impress theteacher but “lacking aptitude and passion to master the subject.” Considering it comesfrom a world leader with proven liberal values and one who would be deeply invested inpoliticians sharing his vision, this comment definitely shows up Rahul as a reluctant leaderforced into circumstances and explains much of his recalcitrance and abandonment ofCongress affairs after the Lok Sabha debacle of 2019. This lends further grist to criticismabout his ability to lead the party again, something that his mother Sonia Gandhi wants.His political opponents and their troll armies have long tried to undermine him, both as aleader of any standing and as a serious critic of the Government by giving him nicknameslike “shehzada”, “pappu” and so on. Even when he does make valid points, like ques-tioning the Government about the ailing economy, or the plight of women or the poor han-dling of the pandemic, despite him raising the issue way before it turns into a major cri-sis for the country, his detractors are dismissive of his voice. Plus, Opposition unity hassuffered badly because of his non-serious nature with senior leaders like Mamata Banerjeeand Chandrababu Naidu refusing to deal with his immaturity. But this book has just unmadehis efforts at being serious through the year of the pandemic at least. For Obama’s wordsare sincere and precise and unlike the vacuous name-calling by trolls, are actually tren-chant, projecting the reality of Rahul as it is. And it rings more true as the former US Presidenthad a few good words for the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in comparison. Hefound him, like former US Secretary of Defence Bob Gates, to be among those who havea “kind of impassive integrity.” Clearly, this draws more attention to Singh being the “acci-dental and silent” Prime Minister, who had to kowtow to the Congress first family. The“told you so” comments are predictably flooding the Internet.

However, Rahul is not the only politician to have been at the receiving end of Obama’sbiting wit as he has described Russian President Vladimir Putin as “physically unremark-able.” This demolishes the carefully constructed belief of the latter being the epitome ofhypermasculinity in his country, particularly after his widely-publicised photo shoot in whichthe bare-chested leader can be seen riding a horse in Siberia, giving him instant mythicalstatus in Russia. He has also compared Putin to “tough, street-smart ward bosses whoused to run Chicago.” He recalls the former President of France, Nicolas Sarkozy as “boldand opportunistic” with “his chest thrust out like a bantam cock’s.” And even though hehas kind words for the US President-elect Joe Biden and calls him an honest, loyal anddecent man, Obama does say that he sensed Biden “might get prickly if he thought hewasn’t given his due — a quality that might flare up when dealing with a much youngerboss.” Obama is not bound by diplomatic niceties of his office anymore but as a states-man, he has made an honest assessment of leadership and left us to deduce what itscomponents should be by exposing shortcomings. If anything, Obama’s observation shouldbe Rahul’s wake-up call. For his own good.

While it was always felt that India should have gonebig with its first stimulus package, some moreeducated economists believed that the

Government was wise to not play its hand too soon. Isit the correct time now for the Government to infuse fundsinto the economy? It is apparent that officials in theFinance Ministry believe just that with the latest roundof prod measures announced by Nirmala Sitharaman.Yet questions remain about their efficacy because of theirselective, sectoral appeal. Definitely fertiliser, cement andsteel companies as well as those into infrastructure build-ing will be very happy. Also some kind of job creation

is expected. Under this scheme, every establishment that is registered with the EmployeesProvident Fund Organisation (EPFO) will be incentivised to hire people who were not reg-istered with EPFO earlier as well as those who lost their jobs between March 1, 2020, toSeptember 30, 2020. The Central Government will give a subsidy for new employees forestablishments with up to 1,000 employees. Yet, the average income tax payer, the whitecollar worker, who has been hit the hardest by the pandemic, might still feel hard done bywith the few direct relief measures announced. But as the Bihar elections made it veryclear that Prime Minister Narendra Modi knows his audience well, so he is ensuring thatthose in lower income groups get much of the benefits. The Opposition will almost cer-tainly protest but it has not brought any positive ideas to the table either, thus cementingits political irrelevance. One will have to wait and see if this is the spark that the economyneeds to recover from months of stasis. Certainly, increased activity in infrastructure andthe performance-linked incentives for manufacturing might push up growth curves andbring back jobs across the board. While incentives to clear the housing inventory and stepup infrastructure are good, there also needs to be an acceptance by many that the goodtimes of the past will not come back anytime soon. Sales will stay depressed for a while,as will salaries and while there might be some festive cheer about a vaccine, it may beseveral months, maybe even a couple of years before a reasonable number of Indiansreceive a shot. The stimulus believes in creating a demand but the consumer will be cau-tious for some time. However, it is the informal sector that has been the hardest hit andwhere direct cash transfers are still a patchy proposition. Modi may have spun an elec-toral magic but without a booming economy, employment and newer opportunities, par-ticularly among the subaltern castes, he cannot sustain his popularity either.

As announced, the stimulus package was said to be of ̀ 29,87,641 crore (15 per centof GDP till date) with the Government’s contribution being nine per cent of GDP and theReserve Bank of India’s the remaining six per cent. But even if we calculate the accountof the extra spend this year, it adds up to only `1,18,200 crore which is not even half ofwhat Sitharaman promised. Also this only accounts for 0.6 per cent of GDP. The first pack-age on March 27, the highlight of which was the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana, was`1.08 lakh crore; the second announcement, which was made over a period of five daysin May, added up another `1.08 lakh crore to the Centre’s fiscal cost and the third pack-age in October had a capital expenditure component of just ̀ 37,000 crore. Even after addingall the relief measures for the Coronavirus pandemic made by the Government, it wouldincrease the Centre’s actual fiscal outgo by under two per cent of GDP in 2020-21. Additionally,the expenditure in the form of production-linked incentives (PLIs) to 10 new sectors amount-ing to `1,45,980 crore will most likely kick in only in the next financial year. However, weall know that things could be a lot worse and in this festive season, we should rememberthat last Diwali nobody thought we would be here today. We can only hope that Diwali2021 is the one where the economy and society are both looking up.

Stimulus or not?

Long-term bondsSir — On November 12, FinanceMinister Nirmala Sitharamanannounced a `2.65 lakh crorestimulus package to boost theCOVID-hit economy. TheAatmanirbhar Bharat 3.0 stimu-lus package includes a subsidyscheme to give an impetus to jobcreation and an additional out-lay for the urban housing schemeas well as measures aimed at 26sectors worst hit by the lock-down. The Government shouldalso revive public sector bakeriesto set up big food processing andbakery units in each district ofthe country and produce pack-aged food to be served in trainsand for mid-day meal pro-grammes.

Huge funds required for set-ting up such big public sectorunits in large numbers can beacquired through long-term lowinterest bonds. The interestshould be exempted from taxa-tion. As per the recommenda-tions by the Raja Chelliah TaxReforms Committee, those withincomes exceeding more than`30 lakh should be required tocompulsorily invest 20 per centof their income per annum inthese bonds. Apart from gener-ating a huge number of employ-

ment opportunities, the movewill profit the public exchequer.

Madhu AgrawalChandni Chowk

Telangana HC steps inSir — Responding to a publicinterest litigation (PIL) filed byadvocate P Indra Prakash, adivision bench of the TelanganaHigh Court, comprising Justice

Raghvendra Singh Chauhan andB Vijaysen Reddy, has orderedthe Government to “immediate-ly” impose curbs on the shopsselling fireworks throughout theState. The judges observed thatfestivals do serve an importantsocial function. However, it is theduty of the State Government toensure that people’s lives are notput at risk. This decision comesafter States like Rajasthan, Delhi

and West Bengal banned the saleof firecrackers, keeping in viewthe high level of air pollution andthe rising number of COVID-19cases.

The problem of air pollutionisn’t new to India and every win-ter the conversation around itgains traction only to be forgot-ten once again. So, why is thereno political will to address sucha crucial matter? Why does a

court need to intervene when itshould be the Government, bothCentral and States, that shouldwork together to find a long-termsolution. The idea of a greenDiwali is welcome but this won’tdecrease the level of pollutionthat we are already witnessing.Strict measures need to be takenand followed through to clean upthe toxic air we breathe.

Melville D’SouzaMumbai

Multi-party Opposition Sir — India is witnessing a trendof political parties with differentviewpoints coming together withthe only aim of bringing downthe ruling Government. Forexample, the Samajwadi Party’salliance with Bahujan SamajParty and Rashtriya Lok Dal inUttar Pradesh or the GrandAlliance of Rashtriya Janata Dal,Congress and the Left parties inBihar. Such incoherent groupsare not able to present before theelectorate any credible alterna-tive. Hence, the BJP continues todraw more votes.

BP SrivastavaNoida

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

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op nionHYDERABAD | SATURDAY | NOVEMBER 14, 2020

06

Requiem for the CongressTo articulate the party’s political philosophy when market capitalism increasingly

sets the global agenda, the Gandhi siblings need to be familiar with its history

There are millions who have lost theirjobs and livelihoods. Unless moneyis put in their hands, they will notbe able to contribute to the revivalof demand and the consequent revival of the economy.

Congress leader —P Chidambaram

Congress needs to pull up its socks

The lacklustre performance of the Congress in theBihar Assembly election and the byelections in 11States has exacerbated the crisis it faces. The grand

old party had banked on several different factors in var-ious States to fare well in the polls. However, the lackof strong leadership at different levels, organisationalweaknesses, new political developments and reluctanceof voters to place unconditional trust in the party con-tributed to its disappointing performance. In Bihar, theCongress failed to cash in on the anti-incumbency fac-tor against the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA)and managed to win only 19 seats out of the 70 it con-tested.

Contrary to the expectations of the party that the elec-torate in Madhya Pradesh would give a fitting reply tothe BJP for toppling the Congress Governmentunscrupulously, it cast its votes in favour of the rulingparty. The Congress fared worse in Uttar Pradesh. Itsinability to make a comeback in the UP elections despitethe rising number of crimes against women and human

rights violations points to the party’s pathetic state.Unless its leadership realises the frailties that have affect-ed the party and takes corrective measures, it willadversely affect its future prospects. Sadly, the declineof the Congress will certainly be detrimental to Indiandemocracy.

Venu GSKollam

Send yyour ffeedback tto:letterstopioneer@gmail.com

Obama’s honesty

It is way too optimistic to believe that the latest infusion of fundsinto the economy will help India emerge from the pandemic

Former US President calls Rahul Gandhi ‘nervous, unformed’,reinforcing an image that the Congress leader ought to change

HIRANMAY KARLEKAR

Despite 450 years of exploitativePortuguese rule, Goa managed tokeep its culture intact. India wasalready independent and for 14years we had continued inexploitative Portuguese rule.

Goa Chief Minister —Pramod Sawant

You cannot express inwords what fun it is to beback on the golf course ora cricket ground, havingfun and playing withfriends.

Former cricketer —Kapil Dev

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

S O U N D B I T EWe do see the economycontinuing on a solid pathof recovery, but the mainrisk we see to that is thefurther spread of diseasehere in the US.

US Fed Reserve Chairman —Jerome Powell

Manage land records better

FAMILY-RUN PARTIES ARE THE BIGGEST THREAT TO

DEMOCRACY. THE ONLY MANTRA FOR OUR WIN WAS

SABKA SAATH, SABKA VIKAS AND SABKA VISHWAS

—PRIME MINISTER

NARENDRA MODI

LEFT PARTIES DON’T HAVE A DYNASTIC RULE. BUT I

WOULD LIKE TO KNOW HOW MANY BJP LEADERS’

SONS AND DAUGHTERS ARE IN POLITICS IN BIHAR.

—CPI LEADER

ATUL ANJAN

POINTCOUNTERPOINT

Providing error-free, tamper-proof and effort-lessly accessible land records has been a majorand prolonged governance challenge in the

country. Land is a State subject and the project forcomputerisation of land records has been draggingon for decades due to a systemic lack of capacity,will and resources. Under the Digital India LandRecord Modernisation Programme, the RuralDevelopment Ministry provides financial assistanceto States for computerisation of records, survey, re-survey and computerisation of registration of plots.This involves preparation of cadastral maps,record of land rights, tracing changes in the rightsand right-holders over time, deeds for registrationof property transfers and other plot records.

By July 31 this year, the computerisation of landrecords was more than 90 per cent complete in 23States and Union Territories (UTs). Digitisation ofcadastral maps was more than 90 per cent donein 19 States and UTs, computerisation of registra-tion was more than 90 per cent finished in 22 Statesand UTs while integration of the registration officewith the revenue office was more than 90 per centaccomplished in 16 States and UTs. This is a his-toric effort towards rural transformation.

In a major initiative to use drones and satel-lites to digitally map the entire rural landscape, theMinistry launched a new Central scheme, Surveyof Villages and Mapping with ImprovisedTechnology in Village Areas (SVAMITVA), on theNational Panchayati Raj Day on April 24.

The Geological Survey of India has been askedto create a network of Continuously OperatingReference System (CORS) stations to utilise mod-ern surveying technology. This will be based onglobal satellite positioning systems and drones foraccuracy and real-time data acquisition. SVAMIT-VA will be gradually implemented to cover all vil-lages (over 6.65 lakh) by March 2024 and one lakhvillages have been targetted by March 2021.SVAMITVA is a national scale-up of Haryana’strail-blazing project of mapping villages to createa record of rights for “abadi” (inhabited) areas usinga drone survey.

On October 11, an initial batch of one lakhbeneficiaries from 763 villages from six Statesreceived an SMS link sent on their mobile phoneto download their property cards, followed by thephysical distribution of these cards by respectiveState Governments. Each card will have a uniqueidentity number similar to the Aadhaar card.Acceptable proof of property ownership rights playsa big role in a country’s development and theseproperty cards would make accessing bank loanseasier. This will further loosen the grip of the infor-mal credit system.

SVAMITVA will help start-ups provide dronetechnology as they will get more business. RealTime Kinematic (RTK) and Post-ProcessingKinematic (PPK) drone technologies are to be usedfor the mapping. The RTK technology uses the real-time satellite navigation technique to enhance theprecision of position data derived from satellite-based positioning systems. The PTK technique isused to correct location data after drone data hasbeen captured and uploaded. A number of agri-based start-ups are coming up and the field is ripefor innovation and employment. Drone-based sur-veillance has already been successfully used formonitoring crowd movement and better trafficmanagement. It is imperative that the SVAMIT-

VA scheme is not confined to rural areasand is accelerated to include urbanareas, too, as fast as the States cooper-ate. After all, drones and satellites canonly help create authentic records of loca-tions. Who owns what rights on a par-ticular piece of land cannot be decidedby the technology service provider. So therather broken mechanism for resolvingtitle disputes needs to be fixed in paral-lel. That explains why covering all villagesis targetted by March 2024.

It would be a big advancement in thegovernance system if the whole countryis digitally mapped and each squaremetre is assigned a unique identificationcode. Spinoffs of a unique addressing sys-tem are limited only by the imagination.The enormous benefits of the uniqueaddressing system for governance andbusiness will include valuable inputs fordistribution of population, homesteads,farmed areas, wetlands, forests and so onand better planning and implementationof projects.

Such a system will be useful in mon-itoring unauthorised constructions andencroachments as well. Petty corruptionand local vested interests that patronisesuch activities can be checked throughrandomised selection of inspections byhigher authorities.

The real constraint lies in discrep-ancies and the huge pendency of disputesabout authenticity and completeness ofland records. It is a big burden on theadministrative system and courts. Thereis no ready central repository of statis-tics on cases pending with Tehsildars,Sub-Divisional Magistrates, DistrictMagistrates, Divisional Commissioners,Revenue Ministers and Revenue Boards.Over 98 lakh civil cases were pending in

courts on November 12. Of these, 60 percent were more than one year old, 34 percent were over three years old and 20 percent cases were over five years old. Howmany of them are land related is notknown.

The fact that land record digitisationis over 90 per cent complete in 23 Statesand UTs is heartening but also indicatesthe enormous challenge that lies ahead.There are just too many departments andagencies involved in management oflands and superstructures thereon. Thereis an urban-rural divide handled by dif-ferent Ministries and Departments evenas more and more rural areas get com-mercialised and urbanised. Some areasdevelop a vested interest in remainingofficially “rural” even though these arenot just adjacent but deep inside bigcities. Lal Dora lands in Delhi and “vil-lages” in Delhi-NCR make an interest-ing study of what is rural and urban interms of differential regulations and itscosts to broader public interest.

Historically, Revenue Departmentsin States are primary custodians of landmanagement, especially agriculturalplots. Forest and urban land manage-ment is with the Forest Department,Urban Development Department,municipal bodies and area developmentauthorities. In some States, separatePanchayati Raj departments maintainrecords of village lands and properties.Then there are special authorities formanagement of charitable endowmentsand Waqf properties. Some States haveseparated survey and settlement func-tions and given them to specialised agen-cies.

The Centre has a rather limited rolein these transformative reforms as land

is a State subject. It provides somefinancial assistance and shares bestpractices across the country. Some addi-tional measures are needed to speed upprogress. For historical reasons, the landlaws rooted in a colonial legacy differwidely across States. Post-Independencelaws for implementing abolition of thezamindari system, “land to the tiller”,rights of share-croppers, land ceiling,consolidation, reforming revenue systemhave been differently implemented. Itwould perhaps be premature to thinkabout evolving a model land tenancy lawor proposing a common template of landmanagement system by the Centre butcertainly a system of special incentivesfor accelerating modernisation of therecord system should be considered.

Annual State rankings may also beconsidered. States are competing inannual ranking in terms of the Ease ofDoing Business (EOBD) in the spirit ofcooperative federalism. Ease of register-ing property, ease of verifying title andease of recording and verifying chargeson immovable property are contributo-ry factors for promoting EOBD for cor-porations and Ease of Living for ordinarycitizens.

The need to speed up modernisationof the land records system can hardly beoveremphasised. Together with schemeslike PM-KISAN and the new agri-reform laws, incentivising digital pay-ments and online trade of farm producewill strengthen the process of gradual for-malisation and digitalisation of econom-ic activities and boost officially-record-ed economic growth.

(The writer is former SpecialSecretary, Ministry of Commerce andIndustry)

The real constraint lies in discrepancies and the huge pendency of disputes about authenticity and completeness of ownership documents

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

Don’t play politicsover cracker ban

RAJEEV AHUJA

Many States have come up with their own norms.Even so, some States, looking at the issue through a selfish lens, are doing a flip-flop

SUBHASH CHANDRA PANDEY

IT WOULDPERHAPS BEPREMATURE

TO THINK ABOUT

EVOLVING AMODEL LAND

TENANCY LAW OR

PROPOSING A COMMONTEMPLATE

OF LANDMANAGEMENT

SYSTEM BY THE

CENTRE BUTCERTAINLY A

SYSTEM OFSPECIAL

INCENTIVES FOR

ACCELERATINGMODERNISATIONOF THE RECORD

SYSTEM SHOULDBE CONSIDERED

After the National Green Tribunal (NGT) banned the sale and burst-ing of crackers in the Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR) tillNovember 30, firecracker traders in Delhi were up in arms against

the Government for having issued licences for the sale of fireworks inthe first place. Did the Government not have the foresight to stop issu-ing licences? It is no secret that the air quality in Delhi-NCR goes fora toss during this time of the year, especially post-Dussehra and Diwali.It doesn’t require much insight to see this coming and take preven-tive action, including non-issuance of licences for firecracker traders.But every year, all Governments deal with it as if it’s a new issue. Whyis this so? Bursting of crackers during weddings and festivals in Indiais a long-standing tradition. Hence it is a touchy issue. Any restraintis highly unpopular and has implications for the industry and employ-ment as well. And so, all governments are reluctant to take a clear andtough stand on it. Now, with the country being in the middle of theCoronavirus pandemic, the issue of air pollution has acquired an addedseriousness. Health authorities have already warned us that air pollu-tion can aggravate the ongoing crisis. Couldn’t the Delhi Governmentand the governments of the States surrounding the national Capital haveanticipated this and shown some foresight?

Outside of Delhi-NCR, the ban by the NGT is applicable in townsand cities where the air quality is in the “poor” category. However,the tribunal allowed the sale and use of “green” crackers in areas wherethe air quality is “moderate” or “better.” But even in such places, thetribunal has restricted the use of firecrackers to only two hours dur-ing festivals like Diwali, Chhath, Christmas and New Year’s Eve. ManyState Governments have come up with their own guidelines, restrict-ing the use of firecrackers. Even so, some States, looking at the issuethrough a political lens, are doing a flip-flop. The ban has been imposedon both the demand and supply of crackers. On the demand side, itis a pity that some people still need to be stopped from bursting crack-ers at a time when the contagion has forced us all to reset our lifestyles.

While most people voluntarily exercise restraint, there remains asizeable section of the population that would need to be restrained.Left to themselves, these people can create havoc for others. Giventheir mental make-up and their geographical scatter, the demand sideenforcement of the ban by Government agencies is likely to be chal-lenging. When looked at from the supply side, the ban has come toolate in the day. The stocks that have already been produced will findtheir way into the market and get sold and used. It shouldn’t come asa surprise if compliance remains tepid. The enforcement of the banhas to be made everybody’s business. This is where some advanceand longer-term planning would have helped.

Bursting of crackers that create so much air and noise pollutionhas to be treated as a social menace. A negative association betweenthe bursting of crackers and the welfare of the people at large has tobe drawn and reinforced time and again. There is a need to create asocial norm around it to build pressure against those who resort tothe firing of crackers. A collective action needs to be activated againstthis practice. Further, the law and order agencies need to engage civilsociety in the monitoring and reporting of violations of the prohibition.This just goes to show that a sophisticated approach is needed fordealing with the issue.

The bursting of firecrackers is only one of the sources of air pol-lution in major towns and cities and that, too, a transient one. Dealingwith the other sources of air pollution such as vehicular emissions,dust from construction sites, burning of solid waste and so forth requirea similar approach even before the Graded Response Action Plan kicksin. Some sources of air pollution such as the burning of crop residuedon’t have affordable technological fixes yet. The Government needsto work closely with research organisations and the industry to getcheap and sustainable technological solutions to the farmers. Wherethese solutions already exist, the Government needs to facilitate theirearly adoption by working closely with the industry and civil society.

Dealing with the challenge of air pollution requires changing peo-ples’ choices and practices. This cannot happen without theGovernment’s active engagement with the industry and civil society.Its role is not confined to merely being a referee or a regulator. It hasa facilitator’s role as well. Further, different layers of Government —Central, State, and local authorities — need to work in tandem. Delhi-NCR is probably the worst-affected by the coordination failure betweenthe different State Governments and offices. This failure is seen acrossa slew of development challenges. The education system needs to domuch more in conditioning children about the interdependence andinterconnectedness of various sectors in controlling air pollution. Peoplehave to be taught early on about the limits to individual freedom andfree will. They have to take socially responsible decisions when theiractions adversely affect others. They have to respect the rights of oth-ers to clean air and health.

(The writer is a development economist and author)

Is gender stereotyping a thing of thepast? No way! There are instancesof sexism galore even in the “post-

feministic” world. A widely circulat-ed video on a popular social mediaplatform showed how a “work fromhome” husband, hassled by his wife’snever-ending demands for participat-ing in domestic chores, longs to getback to the office. The images, nodoubt, reinforce the notion thatdomesticity is the women’s domain andthe external world belongs to men.

In Justice Amy Coney Barrett’srecent Senate Judiciary confirmationmeetings, her large brood found fre-quent mention and her commitmentto motherhood was part of the pub-lic narrative. However, in the case offormer Justice Antonin Scalia, hisfatherhood and large family neverfound any mention.

During the present pandemic, ahandful of women political leadersearned applause for their effective con-tainment strategies. In a crisis, theirhumility, inclusiveness, decisivenessand empathy touched the right chordwith their beleaguered compatriots. Itcertainly unsettled the existing pre-sumptions about leadership, which isoften associated with “macho” quali-ties.

Roshee Lamichhane, Professor,Kathmandu University School ofManagement, rues that “gender stereo-typing is deeply ingrained in the veryprocess of child rearing, which, oftenmetamorphoses a girl into a submis-sive creature, and endows a boy withoverbearing character traits.” SairaShah Halim, a social activist, authorand film-maker, says that “the schoolcurriculum and textbooks furthersustain the rigid construction of gen-dered roles and condition the youngminds with many cliches. For instance,D stands for a doctor, depicting a man,N for a nurse, with the image of awoman and that father goes to officeand mother cooks at home and suchgender expectations act as a deterrentin nurturing aspirations, choices orfreedoms for many girls.” She further

says that “even emotional responses aregender-specific, such as aggression,anger and violence are signs of manlybehaviour, and consequently, womenbear the burnt, despite a host of pro-tective laws, as malefactors often findsocial support.”

The role of socio-religious forcescannot be undermined in fostering aninequitable power play in gender rela-tions. The sacred Hindu literature,Manu Smriti, whose tenets still holdsway, spoke of imposing “tight controlover women’s autonomy” and ordainedwomen to be under the protective careof male guardians like a father, hus-band and son in different phases oftheir lives. Festivals like Karva Chauth,Raksha Bandhan, Shiv Ratri, et al areperhaps the outcome of such diktats.Some States in India are now mullinga law against inter-faith marriages orthe so-called “love jihad”, possiblyanother attempt to impose a patriar-chal writ on sisters and daughters inthe name of saving family honour.

The popular entertainment indus-try is no less responsible in keepingalive gendered myths through itsscripts, casting and dialogues. In 2014,a UN-sponsored study in the 10most-profitable global film indus-

tries, including India, found that filmsoften prop up beliefs that masculinetraits and behaviour are more valuedthan feminine ones. In Hindi movies,women were only in 11.9 per cent ofthe films as central characters (2015-2017), which was only about seven percent in the 70s, according to a studyby the IBM and two Delhi-based insti-tutions.

Katherine Coffman, a HarvardBusiness School Professor, asserts that“gender stereotypes determine people’sbeliefs about themselves and others. IfI take a woman who has the exact sameability in two different categories —verbal and math — just the fact thatthere’s an average male advantage inmath shapes her belief that her ownability in math is lower.”

Researchers from Illinois, NewYork and Princeton Universities alsofound that girls as young as six yearsold tend to believe that brilliance isreserved for men, while a Universityof Warwick study says that “girls feelthe need to play down their intelligenceto not intimidate boys, pretending tobe less intelligent than they actually are,not speaking out against harassment,and withdrawing from hobbies, sportsand activities that might seem unfem-

inine.” Undoubtedly, trying to live upto such unreal ideas of masculinity andfemininity leads to a tragic loss ofpotential in young people, especiallyin women.

In the US, women comprise halfof the labour force, but only 26 per centof them are employed in computer andmath jobs, and occupy fewer seats inthe C-suite than men, particularly inmale-dominated professions likefinance and technology. They earnalmost 60 per cent of advanceddegrees, but bring home less pay, dueto “occupational sorting”, as men go forhigher-paying jobs than women. Whilegender gap in pay is a universal real-ity, the recent case of the Princeton uni-versity paying lesser to its women pro-fessors proves that even renownedinstitutions are not immune to genderprejudices.

In India, women’s struggle togain working space continues, beingonly 19.9 per cent of the total labourforce, much below the halfway marksays the World Bank. Women remainpoorly represented in core sectors ofthe economy like oil and gas (seven percent), automotive (10 per cent), phar-maceutical and healthcare (11 per cent)and information technology (28 per

cent). They earn, on average, 65.5 percent less than their male colleagues forthe same work, says a India SkillsReport 2020.

In the STEM disciplines, womenconstitute nearly 43 per cent of the totalenrolments but only three per centenrol in PhD in science and six percent in engineering and technology. Ameagre 14 per cent of them work asscientists, engineers, technologists inresearch development institutions.

A 2018 IMF study indicated thatwomen are prone to being displacedby technology as they perform moreroutine tasks, and about 11 per cent ofthem are likely to suffer from job loss-es for want of the required STEM skillsby 2030. Kelly’s Workforce insightsreveals that about 81 per cent womenin the STEM sector confronted a sub-tle gender bias in performance evalu-ations. A large proportion of them feltthat they wouldn’t be offered toppositions and faced exclusion becauseof the presence of fewer women peersand leaders.

While commenting on preva-lence of sexism in academia,Lamichhane says that issues likewomen’s looks and their linkage withcareer prospects remain contested, but,

such a purported perception, oftenmakes an impact on employees’ questto look attractive. This proclivity hasgravely impacted the sanctity of mer-itocracy and commodified the looksof women, while it is not a debatableissue at all for male employees.

Nevertheless, a recent lab researchfinding on the pre-historic skeletalremains excavated from the AndesMountains has upset the applecart forgender stereotyping, which confirmedthat women in large numbers used tobe the big game hunters, and not gath-erers alone, demolishing the millennia-old belief. Hasn’t this put into questionthe origin of gender binaries?

Sadly, the WHO and JohnHopkins University’s joint studyaffirms the existence of all-pervasive“gender stereotypes around the worldregardless of their country’s level ofdevelopment.” Yet, many women,known and unknown, dared to defythe status quo and carved a new pathfor themselves. The milestone forbridging the gender gap may be a cen-tury away, a long journey, but notunachievable.

(The writer is a retired IndianInformation Service Officer, and amedia educator)

Miles to go before we achieve gender parityIn India, women’s struggle to gain working space continues. They form only 19.9 per cent of the total labour force, much below the halfway mark

ARCHANA DATTA

HYDERABAD | SATURDAY | NOVEMBER 14, 2020

www.dailypioneer.com analysis

HYDERABAD | SATURDAY | NOVEMBER 14, 2020 Money 08

MONEY MATTERS

Saudi Arabia has claimedthat it thwarted an attackby Yemen's Iran-backed

rebels that sparked a fire nearan Aramco oil distributioncentre, involving unmannedboats loaded with explosivesdispatched into the Red Sea.In remarks carried by thestate-run Saudi Press Agencylate Thursday, an unnamedofficial at the Ministry of Energy reported that Saudi security forceshad intercepted and destroyed two explosives-packed boats that itsaid Yemen's Houthi rebels were using to target a major refineryand terminal in the southern Saudi province of Jizan.The attemptedattack took place late Wednesday near an offloading platform andcaused the floating hoses that unload oil to catch fire, according tothe energy official, who added that the blaze had been broughtunder control and caused no injuries.

Saudis say they thwarted attack on oil facility near Yemen

IKEA Foundation haspartnered with GlobalAlliance for Mass

Entrepreneurship to supportits mission to inspire jobseekers to become jobcreators. The partnershipwith IKEA Foundation willfurther the effort to buildmodel “lighthouses” inPunjab and Karnataka by

infusing all of the elements through local accelerator programswhere existing entrepreneurs experience dramatic growth and thenact as role models to make entrepreneurship aspirational for youngpeople, GAME stated. Ravi Venkatesan, Founder, Global Alliance forMass Entrepreneurship (GAME) and UNICEF Special Representativefor Young People & Innovation said, “We expect our acceleratorprograms in Ludhiana and Bengaluru to help entrepreneurs breakaway from the shackles of economic constraints, innovate andadapt and importantly to spark off a spirit of entrepreneurship. “

IKEA Foundation partners withGAME to support entrepreneurship

Leading stock exchangeBSE on Friday said it hasjoined hands with five

bullion trade associations forstrengthening the commodityderivatives market within thecountry.In this regard, BSEhas signed a Memorandum ofUnderstanding (MoU) withSangli Sarafa Association,Yavatmal Sarafa Association,Amritsar Sarafa Association, Shree Choksi Mahajan Association andGJTCI. These associations collectively represent close to 2,200members, engaged in retail sale and trade of bullion. The pact aimsto facilitate cooperation between BSE and physical marketsrepresented by these trade bodies for knowledge sharing orexchange of ideas, education and training, as well as to exploreareas of mutual benefits to ensure the best interests ofjewellers.hrough this association, BSE aims to organise seminarsand awareness programmes on price risk management for bulliontraders and jewellers, and help them shift to organised trading.

BSE signs MoU with premierbullion trade associations

Small-sized private sectorlender RBL Bank onFriday said it has raised

Rs 1,566 crore in freshcapital through a preferentialallotment of shares to agroup of investors led byBaring Private Equity Asia.After the fund-raise, the bankintends to invest in newerproducts like affordable

housing loans to strengthen its presence In the semi-urban andrural markets, it's managing director and chief executive VishwavirAhuja said. The bank had last month received the Reserve Bank ofIndia's nod, allowing Baring to hold up to 9.99 per cent of itscapital. Baring Private Equity Asia (BPEA) through its vehicle MapleII BV invested Rs 999 crore to hold 9.44 per cent of the Bank, anofficial statement said. Other investors in the preferential allotmentwere ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company, which invested Rs330 crore, and existing investors Gaja Capital which invested Rs150 crore, and CDC Group Plc with Rs 86 crore, the statement said.

RBL Bank raises Rs 1,566 crore from Baring, others

PNS n NEW DELHI

Deloitte's 90-day analysis ofthe ongoing Global ConsumerTracker survey across 18 coun-tries shows Indian consumersare gearing up for the festivalseason as the overall anxietyindex is at 31 per cent, a reduc-tion of 17 per cent comparedwith the previous update inJuly.

"This reflects green shootsin multiple spending parame-ters during the upcoming fes-tival season," the survey said.

With reduced anxiety,Indian consumers are open tospending more on convenience(73 per cent) whilst they arescouting for better deals andbargains (55 per cent), exercis-ing caution towards health,hygiene and environment safe-ty. Indian consumers are pos-itive about visiting stores (58

per cent), restaurants (47 percent), and in-person serviceproviders (52 per cent).Seventy-nine per cent of con-sumers (the highest amongthe 18 countries surveyed)would prefer to keep theircurrent vehicles for a longerperiod than they had earlierexpected. The survey saidIndian consumers are less anx-ious about their physical well-

being, health of their families,and making upcoming pay-ments and large purchases,compared with the start of thepandemic and the lockdown.

This is further reflected by adecrease in the fear of losingjobs. In-store visits haveincreased now with the adventof the festive season. Whilethere is largely an inclination toshop online for convenience

and safety, festive deals and thewedding season show a shifttowards in-store shopping forboth non-discretionary items,such as groceries (61 per cent)

and household (62 per cent), aswell as discretionary items,such as clothing (47 per cent)and electronics (46 per cent).

Consumers are open to spendingmore on convenience, says survey

Gold prices on Friday rose Rs241 to Rs 50,425 per 10gram on festival buying on

account of the auspiciousoccasion of Dhanteras andDiwali, according to HDFCSecurities. The precious metalhad closed at Rs 50,184 per 10gram in the previous trade. Silveralso gained Rs 161 to Rs 62,542per kg, compared with Rs 62,381per kg on Thursday. Dhanteras isan auspicious day for buying

gold, silver and other valuables.In the global market, gold wastrading with gains at USD 1,880per ounce and silver was flat atUSD 24.32 per ounce. NavneetDamani, vice-president at MotilalOswal Financial Services, said"Gold prices traded steady, asfears of an economic impact dueto surge in global cases ofCOVID-19 countered optimismfrom development in a potentialvaccine."

Gold rises Rs 241, silver gainsRs 161 on festival buying

PNS n MUMBAI

The Sensex rose 86 pointswhile the Nifty topped the12,700 level on Friday, track-ing recovery in financial stocksamid mixed cues from globalmarkets.

The 30-share BSE Sensexended 85.81 points or 0.20 percent higher at 43,443. Thebroader NSE Nifty rose 29.15points or 0.23 per cent to12,719.95.

Bajaj Finserv was the topgainer in the Sensex pack, ris-ing around 4 per cent, followedby Tata Steel, ICICI Bank,Axis Bank, Bajaj Finance andSBI.

On the other hand, L&T,HDFC twins, Tech Mahindra,Bharti Airtel, M&M and TCSwere among the laggards.

"Domestic equities recov-ered from early losses as selectfinancial stocks witnessedrecovery," said Arjun YashMahajan, Head InstitutionalBusiness at Reliance Securities.

Further, barring FMCG, allother sectoral indices traded ingreen. Metals and pharma wit-nessed decent traction. Whileconcerns over resurgence ofCOVID-19 cases in Europeand US dampened investors'sentiments, clarity on vaccine,strong Q2 earnings and addi-tional fiscal stimulus underAatmanirbhar Bharat 3.0 con-tinued to support domesticequities, he added.

On the global front,investors turned cautious due

to continued rise in COVID-19 cases and possibility of fur-ther restrictions on business-es.

Bourses in Shanghai, HongKong and Tokyo ended in thered, while Seoul was positive.

Stock exchanges in Europewere largely trading with gainsin early deals.

International oil benchmarkBrent crude was trading 0.69per cent lower at USD 43.23per barrel.

Sensex ends 86 pts higher;Nifty tops 12,700-mark

PNS n BEIJING

China has suspended theimport of seafood productsfrom an Indian company for aweek starting from Friday,after traces of COVID-19 werereportedly found on the outerpackaging of some samples offrozen cuttlefish exported bythe firm.

China's General Administration of Customs suspended theimport of seafood productsfrom an Indian company forone week starting from Fridayafter COVID-19 was found onthe outer packaging of somesamples of frozen cuttlefishfrom the company, the state-run Global Times reported.

The report, however, hasnot provided any details of thecompany which exported thefish to China.

It also said Liangshan coun-ty in East China's ShandongProvince on Friday reportedthat packaging from one batch

of imported frozen beef testedpositive for COVID-19. The beef was delivered fromanother Chinese city.

Control and managementof resources will be strength-ened, Bi Kexin, head of theimport and export food safe-ty bureau of the GeneralAdministration of Customs,was quoted as saying.

The Chinese customs willfur ther enhance the irinspection of cold-chainimported foods in a bid toprevent the risk of importedcoronavirus infections, Bisaid.

China has communicatedwith the authorities of 109countries that export cold-

chain food products to thecountry, with suggestionsand requirements receivingactive responses from therespective departments, Bisaid, adding that 140 cold-chain food producers from50 countries have beeninspected, and 22 companieshave been dealt with regard-ing unqualified products. thas been estimated that therehave been over 25 novelcoronavirus cases detected inimported food cold chainssince the first case was foundin July, mostly from majorfrozen food-exporting coun-tries including Ecuador,Russia, Indonesia, Brazil andNorway, the report said.

China halts imports of seafood from Indian firm

PNS n NEW DELHI

Oil India Ltd, the nation's sec-ond-largest state oil produc-er, on Friday said it has madea natural gas discovery at awell drilled in Tinsukia,Assam.

"The discovery will openup new areas for further oiland gas exploration in Assamand would help in enhancingthe gas production withfuture appraisal and develop-ment activities," the compa-ny said in a statement.

Oil India Ltd (OIL) saidwell Dinjan-1 in Tinsukiapetroleum mining lease(PML) in the upper Assambasin struck hydrocarbons.

Oil India makesgas discoveryin Assam

PNS n MUMBAI

Mahindra & Mahindra(M&M) will deliver 1,000 unitsof its all-new Thar SUV dur-ing Diwali festive period, thecompany said on Friday.

The latest version of theiconic SUV was launched onOctober 2, in two trims -- AXand LX -- with both petrol anddiesel powertrain option, andis priced between Rs 9.8 lakhand Rs 13.75 lakh (ex-show-room).

The company had com-menced deliveries of TharSUVs from November 1 withthe first unit of the vehiclegoing to the customer who hadplaced highest bid for it dur-

ing an online auction processlate September.

This was followed by anoth-er 500 deliveries to customerspan-India last week.

M&M is set to deliver 1,000all-new Thars across the coun-try during this Diwali festiveperiod, the company said in arelease on Friday.

M&M to deliver 1,000 units ofnew Thar SUV during Diwali

PNS n MUMBAI

The rupee settled on a flat noteat 74.62 against the US dollaron Friday as importers andbanks' demand for the green-back continued to exert pres-sure on the Indian currency.

At the interbank forex mar-ket, the domestic unit openedat 74.63 a dollar and wit-

nessed an intra-day high of74.47 and a low of 74.71. Thelocal unit finally closed at74.62 against the Americancurrency, registering a rise of2 paise over its previous close.

The rupee was trading in anarrow range on Friday con-sidering the weak demand forriskier assets on the occasionof Dhanteras, Ankit Agarwal

Managing Director, AlankitLimited, said. "The rapidly ris-ing COVID-19 cases in the USovershadowed the optimismon a COVID vaccine that hadsupported sentiment earlierthis week. It is expected thatthe Indian currency may weighdown by dollar purchases to bemade by the Reserve Bank ofIndia," Agarwal added.

Rupee settles on flat note, up 2 paise at 74.62 against $

PNS n MUMBAI

The coronavirus pandemichas been deterrent for goldand silver jewellery, but thesharp rise in price of the pre-cious metals compared tolast year is expected to attractinvestors this year, theConfederation of All IndiaTraders (CAIT) said onFriday.

"Corona deprivation, therehas been a decrease in thepurchasing power of the peo-ple in the country but in viewof the rising price of gold andsilver, huge investment isexpected in the markets thisyear as always," CAITPresident B C Bhartia said ina statement.

Gold and silver will be thefirst choice of investors, forwhich bullion markets havealso made preparations andvarietals are available for cus-tomers in every range, headded.

Pankaj Arora, chairmanof the gold and jewellerycommittee of the Confederation of All India Traders(CAIT), said consumptionof gold jewellery hasdecreased compared to lastyear due to the COVID-19disruptions.

Sharp rise inbullion price toattract investors

PNS n NEW DELHI

Markets regulator Sebi onThursday disposed of adjudi-cation proceedings against 16entities for their allegedinvolvement in ReligareFinvest's fund diversion matter.

The entities were alleged tohave been involved in diversionof funds amounting to Rs2,315.09 crore from the booksof Religare Finvest Ltd (RFL),a subsidiary of ReligareEnterprises Ltd (REL), for theutilisation of promoters andpromoter group entities ofREL. Shivinder and MalvinderSingh were promoters of REL.Further, 14 names have beenremoved from the list of enti-ties from whom REL and RFL

were directed to recover theloan amount, Sebi said in anorder. Among the 16 entities,the names of two entities havealready been removed from thelist by the regulator. Sebi,through an interim order inMarch 2019, had directed REL

and RFL to initiate steps torecall all the loans, amountingto Rs 2,315.09 crore, extendeddirectly or indirectly to certainentities -- including the 16 enti-ties -- along with due interest,within three months.

The entities were also direct-

ed not to dispose of any of theirassets or divert any funds,except for meeting expenses ofday-to-day business opera-tions, without the prior per-mission of Sebi, pending com-pletion of the investigationand till further orders.

Subsequently, Sebi had con-firmed the directions throughan order passed in September2019. However, the directionsissued against two entities --OSPL Infradeal Pvt Ltd andBharat Road Network Ltd --were revoked. Further, thenames of OSPL Infradeal andBharat Road Network wereremoved from the list of enti-ties from whom REL and RFLwere directed to recover theloan amount.

Proceedings against 16 entities disposed

PNS n MUMBAI

The largest pet food brandMars Petcare, which controlsover half the Rs 2,500-croremarket, expects close to 30 percent growth this year, drivenby the lockdown that hasincreased adoption of pets.

The domestic manufacturedpet food market is only 5-6 percent of the Rs 2,500 crore mar-ket catering to 2.5 crore petdogs and 4.5 million cats. Butthis has the potential to growover 20 times, says GaneshRamani, general manager ofMars Petcare India.

The market has been grow-ing at around 15 per centbefore the lockdown but isnow growing at 18-20 percent, while Mars expects 28-30per cent growth this year,Ramani told PTI.

The Hyderabad-based com-pany closed 2019 with aturnover of over Rs 1,000crore, which it expects to growclose to 30 per cent this yeardue to the lockdown demand.

He said pet adoption isgoing up since the lockdown,while the natural growth wasled by nuclear families.

The lockdown has also seenprices going up by 10-15 percent, he said.

There are around 2.5 crorepet dogs and 4.5 million petcats in the country. He expectsthe pet food industry to growover 20 times as only 5-6 per

cent of the market is the man-ufactured food and the rest ismet by home food.

Mars Inc has invested overRs 2,000 crore in the countryso far, for its chocolates, petnutrition and human healthfood business here, after itsentry in 2002 through imports.Since 2008 it operates a15,000-tonne dry pet foodplant on the outskirts ofHyderabad.

Looking at such largepotential, Ramani said thecompany is planning to scaleup its plant to manufacturewet and drip format foodwhen the overall market growswhich it expects to happenover the next four-five years.

Currently only dry food islocally made and wet formatsand drip pet food is importedand overall it imports 15 percent of its volume.

We will manufacture wetand drip formats when themarket reaches scale.

Mars Petcare eyessales to jump 30%

PNS n NEW DELHI

India's fuel demand posted itsfirst yearly increase sinceFebruary as a spurt in dieseldemand ahead of the festivalseason pushed consumptionto pre-COVID-19 levels.

Total demand for petrole-um products rose 2.5 per centin October to reach 17.77million tonnes as comparedto 17.34 million tonnes ayear back, according to pro-visional data published by theoil ministry's PetroleumPlanning and Analysis Cell.

While petrol had reachedpre-COVID levels inSeptember itself, diesel con-sumption returned to normallast month.

Fuel demandposts growthsince Feb

PNS n NEW DELHI

Reliance Industries hasinvested USD 50 million inBreakthrough EnergyVentures, a climate changecompany owned byMicrosoft co-founder BillGates. In a filing to stockexchanges, Reliance said itwill make the investment intranches over the next 8 to 10years. "The capital contribu-tion commitment of USD50 million constitutes 5.75per cent of the size of thefund contemplated at pre-sent," the company said. Thetransaction is subject toapproval from the ReserveBank of India (RBI).

Reliance to invest$50 mn inEnergy Ventures

RELIGARE FINVEST FUND DIVERSION CASE

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SaturdayNovember 14, 2020

EVERYTHING CHANDINILOVES ABOUT HYD

handiniChowdarydoesn’t feelunfamiliarwith this city,she hadn’t

faced the dauntingprospect of makingnew friends and somanaged to establishan amazing profes-sional network here.“My association withthe city began when Imade my debut inTollywood and sincethen, I have been heremaking grand leaps.Initially, I was a littlehesitant about the cli-mate change here incomparison tobelonging to a coastalcity which apparentlyenables the energybalance!”

Whenever it’sweekend here,Hyderabad doesn’tgive her a chance tosnooze off but offers agood time to her to gofor her ten-mile longjog or take a relaxingbreak from her longworking week byspending quality timewith her friends atTabula Rasa or runsome errands. Thereis a marvelous sym-phony of synchronisa-tion all around, help-ing her enjoy this city!It’s a town with goodjobs, has relativelyeasy access and grow-ing twice as fast,believes the actress.However, there canalways be a persistingconquest, for instance,Chandini misses thenotable tourist desti-nations back at herhometown such asbeaches and walkingup to the hills whichshe feels is a minuspoint to not havethose here.Nonetheless,Hyderabad has amuch bigger talentattraction having theworld’s biggest filmcity — the RamojiFilm City situatedhere, allowing moregrowth and prosperity— “It’s never uncom-fortably crowded here,you still have access todiverse chances asnetworking is a breezebecause everyoneknows everyone outhere and is ready tohelp. It's exciting howI adapted to Hydera-bad despite being

brought up aroundbeaches — it’s like Iam evolving whenneeded.”

Talking about theone thing that alwaysstrikes Chandiniwhen speaking ofHyderabad — hercareer that she estab-lished here. She hashad her share ofstruggles but her pro-fession has been thechanging agent forher. There’s a lot moreshe’s looking forwardto doing in Tollywoodby working hard andspreading love, whichis an attractive qualitythat turns her into aninnovative personwhile she’s grabbingnew film projects,making her stay a lit-tle longer here inHyderabad. The festi-val of lights is here,but the Coronavirusfear is lurking every-where. Nonetheless,Chandini and herfamily aren’t lettingthe spirit of Diwali bedampened by this.“We will continue toenjoy the festivitieslike earlier but withprecautions, we mustremain responsibleand vigilant at alltimes while focusingon the safety of our-selves. There’s a loom-ing threat, hence it’scrucial to abide by allthe restrictions regu-lated by the govern-ment. I am not muchof a celebratory per-son, my mum is theone who waits forDiwali every year. Ithink we will be cele-brating indoors thistime and why not trysomething this yearlike participating infun online interac-tions. While goingoutdoors, it’s advisableto mask up,” sharesChandini.

Hyderabad city isshot through musicand films, is gettingmore diverse at abreakneck pace, wel-coming scores of mul-tiple culture peopleand local residentssharing their culturewith their new neigh-bours by expressingthemselves throughinnovative cuisine,music, faith, art, etc.,so who wouldn’t wantto permanently settlehere!

She has a love for onestone productivity,there were opportu-nities that she turned it into a boon forHyderabad'scommunity whileadvancing her career atthe same time. Vizagbeauty ChandiniChowdary, who'sgarnering abundantappreciation for her rolein Colour Photo,packed up all herpossessions, and movedhere to pursue a newcareer opportunity thatbrought her fame andappreciation inTollywood! The actresstalks to SHIKHADUGGAL about herjourney to Tollywoodand her love for the city,among other things

C

Tasty substitutes to Diwali sweets

sn’t this the mostexciting time of theyear, binging ondelicious food andenjoying the funfestive feel?

However, sometimes one goesoverboard with the sweet quo-tient which should be kept incontrol. Listing five substitutesto yummy Diwali sweets.

Carrot DelightIf innovating in the kitchen

is something you enjoy, thentry making this baked carrotsweet this Diwali. Mix orangejuice, grated carrots, con-densed milk along with sugar,ghee and bake it after you havecooked it well in the pan.

Goodness of datesFrom diabetes to high blood

pressure and heart patients,dates can be beneficial for oneand all! Dates make for anexcellent sugar substitute andcan be great for times you arecraving dessert or sugary food.Rooted deep down in Middle-Eastern culture it enjoys anunparalleled legacy. There canbe no better way to show yourloved ones that you truly carethan gifting them deliciousdates.

Corn KheerEating nutritious food that

tastes delicious should be theideal way to celebrate Diwalithis year. Prepare this kheer

using skimmed milk, sugar,corn seeds mixture and milkpowder. You may add yourchoice of dry fruits to enrichthe preparation with bags offlavour and nutrition.

Almond BarfiAlmonds are known to

reduce the risk of heart attacks,are low in cholesterol and arean excellent source of VitaminE. Use this dry fruit to make ayummy barfi this Diwali. Youcan prepare this by bringingtogether sugar and almondmeal. You can cut them into ashape you desire and decorateit with nuts.

Pineapple HalwaA lot of you might have a

soft corner for fruits. For allyou fruit lovers, pineapplehalwa can be the sweet dish forthis season. It is easy to pre-pare with a simple amalgama-tion of grated pineapple, apinch of cardamom along withkhoya prepared from low fatmilk. This is low fat, low incholesterol and has ounces ofvitamins and minerals.

There can be numerousways to please your taste budsthis Diwali and ensuring goodhealth at the same time too.Try these scrumptious sweetdishes this festive season.

I

KIDS SHOW HOWIT'S DONE!

Children’s Day reminds everyone of the preciousness of kids. A child is a fable of the life of aparent. They are the world’s most valuable resources and its best hope for the future. So childrenmust get the right encouragement to fulfill their dreams instead of being asked to try somethingbeyond their capacity. It's no wonder, kids these days are way sharper and smarter than theirfolks, thanks to technology. Here are a few children from the Telugu states, who are the icing onthe cake in our daily soap operas and whom people want to see more and more for their bubbly,notorious yet mature acting. Thanks to the support from their parents, these children are able todo what they want to — acting — without compromising on their education. This Children'sDay, The Pioneer's K RAMYA SREE speaks to these tiny tots from the Telugu television and filmindustry and finds out how they juggle between acting and education, how it feels like to be sopopular at such a tender age, and more...MOKSHA AS LOKESHWARIIN GUNDAMMAKATHA

I love both acting and studying.Before the Covid pandemic, Iwould carry my notebooks to thelocation and study as and when Igot free time. I was introduced tothe small screen with DramaJuniors in Zee Telugu and I built agood rapport with Anasuya akka,Omkar annaya, and Pradeepannaya. I also co-anchored withRavi annaya where I got theopportunity to meet big actors ofTollywood. I feel blessed to get anopportunity to work with all thesebig stars. I like to make peoplearound me happy. I gained goodrecognition from Drama Juniorsand now with Gundamma Katha,all this is only because of all thelove and support from the audi-ence. I promise to work harder andreach greater heights in life. Wekids are all very special, never takethat smile off that face. Keep yourparents happy and stay happy.

ROHAN AS CHARUKESA INKALYANA VAIBOGAME

Although it was very difficultfor me to manage acting and edu-cation, thanks to my parents andteachers, I could cope with thetimings and manage both simulta-neously. It is inspirational andmotivational for me to act along-side big stars of Television. I tellmy friends to always be happy andconfident with their choices anddreams in whatever they want toachieve. If you want to take up act-ing as your career, ask yourself

how sure and serious you areabout your decision and how is thesupport you are receiving fromtheir parents. I started my journeyat the age of three, now I get a lotof compliments when I step out,it’s all possible because of my fami-ly’s support and encouragement.

MEGHANA AS GUNDAMMAIN GUNDAMMAKATHA

My journey started with DramaJuniors season 5. I have also donetwo films and a couple of ad films.To begin with, I maintain a bal-ance between school and acting. Ishoot for two weeks and go toschool for two weeks. I keep inconstant touch with my friendsand learn about the classes Imissed on the days I don’t go toschool. Even my parents andteachers are extremely supportiveof my schedule. I feel excited andhappy to act alongside peoplewhom I had watched on Televisionearlier. My parents are proud andhappy that they could meetNagarjuna sir because of me whileI was shooting an ad film alongwith him. There are butterflies inmy stomach every time I sharescreen space alongside establishedactors. Within a short span, Igained 21,000 followers on myInstagram page monitored by myparents. I receive a lot of love andappreciation from people acrossTelugu states. Parents need toencourage their kids’ talent. Kidstoo should not focus just on stud-ies, they need to focus onextracurriculars as well, it can bepainting, dancing, etc. We must allaim to try and set a goal rightfrom this tender age, that’s whenwe can ultimately achieve what wewant to, if we start our fightyoung. My golden saying that I fol-low is: “Don’t wait for tomorrow,start from today”.

RISHI AS BUJJI INNAGABHAIRAVI

I follow a simple trick to keepmy education and acting careerintact. I always carry two bookswith me regardless of the subjectand study them whenever I get a

break from my shot. I feel happyand privileged for getting anopportunity with the senior artistsof the industry. Be it Jackey sir orChinna sir or Lakshmipriya bham-ma, I learn something new fromthem every day. I’m loving theresponse from the audience for myrole in Nagabhairavi. I feel proudof myself when people ask for self-ies with me when I go out.

SRIDEVI AS DIVYA INKALYANA VAIBOGAME

When I don’t shoot, I attendtuitions and take extra classes,that’s how I manage acting andeducation as I feel education isalso important for us. I’m enjoyingwhat I’m doing currently. Not justact along, I also get to have a lot offun with my co-stars on sets.Kalyana Vaibogame is my thirdproject and it’s overwhelming toreceive this kind of support frommy Zee Telugu family. On thisoccasion, I thank every personwho has been my constant supportand loved my work on screen.

AHANA AS DEVI IN NO. 1 KODALU

I have a tutor who teaches mewhen I miss school. My teacherswho keep in constant touch withmy mother, update her on myhomework and the classes that Imissed. People request selfieswhen I go out with my family andit’s so humbling and joyous.Initially, even my parents wereafraid of how the shooting atmos-

phere was going to be. After theystarted coming to shoot with me,they understood that acting is asafe space for children and there isnothing to worry about. I requestother children to take part inactivities that interest them. Try toconvince your parents and takepart in those activities, but ensurethese extracurricular activities donot affect your education.

CHAKRI AS ABHI INKALYANA VAIBOGAME

I juggle a lot between schooland acting. When I don’t have togo to shoots, I attend my school.In case I skip school, I go totuitions after a shoot where theteacher explains to me the classesI have missed. I met a lot of bigstars and I loved it when VijayDeverakonda anna played withme and Ajay Devgn uncle gaveme chocolates. Not just that, thewho’s who of Tollywood takegood care of me when I shootwith them and they also play withme when we get a break.Whenever I attend any familyevent, parties, or other events, theaudience call me Abhi with somuch love, that satisfies my souland purpose of acting.

The Pioneer wishes its readers ahappy Children’s Day. Let’s cele-brate the day with happiness andenjoy the gift of childhood as theyare the future leaders of India. Letus collaborate to take up theresponsibility of making a beautifulsociety, a better nation.

FUN

Rules

ARCHIE

GARFIELD

SUDOKU

REALITY CHECK SPEED BUMP CROSSWORD

GINGER MEGGS

NANCY

CALVIN AND HOBBES

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

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

Yesterday’s solution

10

Hyderabad Saturday November 14 2020 what’s brewing?

K RAMYA SREE

With the change of season and theonset of the celebrations, there’san element of joy, colour, lights,

and laughter in the air as we gear up towelcome the festivities. Whether you planto spend the occasions virtually or in-per-son, with intimate at-home gatherings -the platters of delicious food, sharing, andconversations are just what you need for

this time of year. Pair these moments withsome fine spirit recommendations rangingfrom whisky, vodka, gin, and liqueur totruly begin the celebratory experience.

This festive season, let’s clink ourcocktail glasses together as Shantanu

Sengupta and Vikram KU, BrandAmbassadors at Diageo India, sharetheir take on traditional cocktails in aDIY format, created by locally availableproduce reflecting simplistic eleganceand flavourful seasonal ingredients.

MARIGOLDoo What you need:oo The Singleton of Glendullan 12YO:

60mloo Ball of Iceoo Walnut and fig honey syrup: 10mloo Aromatic bitters: 2 dashesoo How to make:oo For the Walnut and fig syrup: Mix

250gms of walnut and fig. Boil with250gms of sugar in 250ml of water.

oo For the Cocktail: Pour in the walnutand fig honey syrup, with thebitters and the whisky. Drop a bigcube of ice. Stir gently with a barspoon for 1 minute. Garnish withorange zest and serve inrocks/whisky glass.

BLACK & WHITESPICE BASKET

oo What you need:oo Black & White Scotch

Whisky: 45mloo Ginger slice: 1oo Green cardamom: 1 cloveoo Juice of ½ limeoo Aromatic bitters: 2 dropsoo Ginger Ale to top

oo How to make:oo In a cocktail shaker, add in

the ginger slice, cardamom,and muddle. Pour in the limejuice and whisky and add ice.Shake.

oo In a Highball glass, add iceand strain the cocktail. Top itup with Ginger Ale and stir.Garnish with star anise andcinnamon stick and add inthe aromatic bitters.

oo What you need:oo Gordon’s Gin: 50mloo Fresh Bottled

Tonic to top

oo How to make:oo Fill a chilled highball

glass with fresh icecubes. Pour 50ml ofGordon's gin over theice and top up withchilled tonic. Gentlysqueeze a wedge oflime into the glassbefore dropping it in,then give it all a finalstir. The definitiveG&T, and a great way

to begin anyoccasion.

GO

RD

ON

’S G

&T

KETE

L O

NE

STR

AWBE

RR

YG

ON

DH

OR

AJ oo What you need:oo Ketel One Vodka: 60mloo Strawberry crush: 1tspoo Gondhoraaj lemon: 1 pc.oo Fresh strawberries: 2 pcs.oo Soda to top up

oo How to make:oo Stir up vodka and strawberry crush in a

tall glass filled with ice. Top up with sodaand garnish with sliced strawberry,lemon wedges, and mint sprig.

oo DRINK RESPONSIBLY AND ENJOY!

CELEBRATE DIWALI

WITH SOME CLINK!

This festive season,let’s clink ourcocktail glasses withtraditional cocktailsin a DIY format,created by locallyavailable producereflecting simplisticelegance andflavourful seasonalingredients.

TANQUERAY & GRAPEFRUIToo What you need:oo Tanqueray London Dry Gin: 60mloo Fresh grapefruit juice: 30mloo Tonic water to top upoo How to make:oo Stir up the gin and grapefruit juice in a tall glass

filled with ice and top up with tonic water. Garnishwith grapefruit wedges and rosemary sprig andenjoy.

GULABJAMUN

SOURoo What you need:oo Johnnie Walker

Black label: 60mloo Gulab jamunSyrup (or Sugar

Syrup): 15mloo Lemon juice: 20ml

oo Egg white: 1

oo How to make:oo Add ingredients to

the shaker and dodry shake.

oo Add ice to theshaker and shake

hardoo Pour into a chilled

whisky glass andgarnish withorange peel.

fter his romanticdrama AmruthaRamam, whichwas one of thefirst Telugu filmsto have had an

OTT release earlier thisyear, filmmakerKontaddiSurendharhaswrappedup thetalkie por-tions of hisnext, a hard-hittingdrama. He hascollaborated withPadmaja Films SN Reddyonce again for the project

as a producer. “It is aHyderabad-set crime thrillerwith Amitha Ranganathplaying the lead role, whilethere are six other characters(Suseel Madhavapeddi,Charishma Shreekhar,

Akash Rathore,Kishore Maarisetty,

Nivas Varma andKowtilyaPochiraju) inte-gral to the nar-rative. It tells thestory of a rape

victim (played byAmitha), and is a

challenging subjectwhich other filmmakers

don’t dare to attempt. In aweek’s schedule, the filming

will be over,” he tells us.While his first film didn't

impress critics much,Surendhar was lauded formaking a quality film undera compact budget. Thedirector adds that he didn’trush with the secondproject. “I’ve shotwhat I’ve writ-ten andenvis-aged.What Ididwasnotwait-ingforstars

to spearhead it. If I did, Iwould’ve been waiting forthe next two years. I waitedfor the actors and I gotthem. The film will be readyby December and it boilsdown to the situation then

to see whether we will gofor a theatrical

release or astreameragain,” hestates.

— NG

ith Tuck Jagadish in the final leg of shoot-ing, pre-production work on Nani’s nexttwo ventures — with Rahul Sankrityan andVivek Athreya — is in full-swing. On Friday,production house Mythri MovieMakers officially announced their

next with the actor. Vivek Athreya is direct-ing it from a script penned by him. Themakers also took the opportunity toreveal that Nazriya Fahadh will be thefilm’s leading lady. This would be theMalayalam girl’s maiden film inTelugu. Although she was on thewish list of many Telugu filmmakersafter her bubbly and emotional actin Raja Rani, she didn’t take upfilms post marriage with FahadhFaasil.

According to asource, the unti-tled Mythri pro-ject is a lovestory pepperedwith a lot ofhumour andhigh onsongs. “Itrevolvesaround the partsof Nani and Nazriya.Besides her acting chops,there is a reason whyVivek picked Nazriya forthe part and that will beestablished once her firstlook or the film’s teaser isout. The actress is excit-ed about landing a per-formance-driven role,”adds the source.

The project will roll asNani reaches towards thefinish line of Sankrityan’sShyam Singha Roy, whichwill flag-off from nextmonth in Hyderabad.

awan Kalyan,who shot for 15days of Krish’sfilm before thecoronavirus-induced lock-

down, will shoot for itagain next month. WithAyyappanum Koshiyum setto demand his attentionimmediately afterSankranti, Pawandecided to com-plete a minischedule ofKrish’s film.A sourcesays,“AlthoughKrish’s wasthe first pro-ject that theactor green-lit

last year as his comebackone, the scale of it meantthat the actor wanted tocomplete Vakeel Saab first.He wanted to shift atten-tion to Krish’s project afterVakeel Saab but thenAyyappanum Koshiyum

caught his fancy.He has com-

plet-

ed the fresh schedule ofVakeel Saab onWednesday and with aschedule in December, thefilm will be wrapped up.Immediately after this, hehas allocated 10 days toKrish’s period drama. Thedirector will be filmingscenes in a specially erect-ed set at AluminumFactory, where he shot thefilm earlier,” the sourcepoints out.

An AM Ratnam pro-duction, the untitled film,co-starring Arjun Rampal,Jacqueline Fernandez andNarra Srinu among others,is believed to be made ona budget of over Rs 100crore. MM Keeravani isthe music composer.

Pawan to shoot Krish'sfilm briefly next month

efore he begins the filmingof his next, a rural-centricbuddy comedy, withJohaar director TejaMarni, actor Sree Vishnuwill be headlining a pro-

ject for Majili production houseShine Screens. According to a sourceclose to the development, hitmachine Anil Ravipudi has pennedthe script and dialogues of this as-yet-untitled project. “Ravipudi is bestfriends with producers Sahu andHarish and has been contemplating amedium-budget project for themever since the lockdown wasannounced. With his feature, F3, setto take time to go in front of thecameras, he has come up with a com-edy-drama with focus on father-sonemotional bond. There is also an

interesting love story thrown into themix,” the source informs us exclu-sively.

The source adds that Ravipudi wasthe one who wanted Vishnu to spear-head the project as he believes theactor has a natural flair for comedy.“While Vishnu generally steers clearaway from full-on commercial pro-jects, for which Ravipudi is knownfor, this story was something that he

couldn’t pass. Being in the zone of asignature Ravipudi entertainer withall the commercial trappings, it hadsubtle emotions that are trademark ofa Vishnu film. The project will alsomark Ravipudi’s debut as a producer,as he will be presenting it. AnnishKrishna is the leading contender todirect it,” the source states.

As far as the casting goes, thesource goes on to mention that

Ravipudi’s regular Rajendra Prasadwill be playing the father role. “Theformer’s bond with the latter is suchthat he can’t think of a film of hiswithout the actor. At the same time,the role poses its own challenge tothe acclaimed veteran. The shoot willkick off from the 18th of this monthin Araku, where it will be shot in astart-to-finish schedule of less than40 days,” the source concludes.

P

RAVIPUDI’SREGULARRAJENDRAPRASAD WILLBE PLAYINGTHE FATHERROLE IN THEFILM

11

Hyderabad Saturday November 14 2020tollywood

Sree Vishnu enters the

world of RavipudiThe still-untitled

project will roll laterthis month in Araku,where it will be shot

in a start-to-finishschedule. Ravipudi

has penned thescript and dialogues,

while AnnishKrishna is in the race

to direct it. Theformer will also

present it as apartner, reports

NAGARAJ GOUD

B

n the making fora long time, thefilming ofViswantDuddumpudiand Chitra

Shukla-starrer Kaadhal hasbeen wrapped up. On theoccasion of Diwali, themakers on Friday droppedthe first teaser of theromantic drama, directedby Natakam fame KalyanjiGogana. Based on a real

story which transpired in2004, the film sees

Viswant wooing Chitrawho is elder to him.

When the project wasfirst announced last year,Kasim was attached to it asa producer but it laterexchanged hands with RamMaddukuri. For reasonsunknown, originalchoice composerMani Sharmatoo made wayfor SaiKartheek. Thesupportingcast isstackedup with

the likes of Ashish Gandhi,Devi Prasad, RakenduMouli, Rocket Raghava andAnnapurnamma.

W

A

NAZRIYA'STELUGU

DEBUTWITH NANI

Amrutha Ramam director's next:

A hard-hitting crime thriller

I

Kaadhal wrapped up

sport 12HYDERABAD | SATURDAY | NOVEMBER 14, 2020

PTI nMELBOURNE

Australia head coach JustinLanger has hinted that he is

likely to stick with Joe Burns atthe opening position with DavidWarner for the first Test of thefour-match series against Indiadespite young Will Pucovski'sincredible form.

Burns averaged 32 forAustralia last summer and hadbelow-par start to the MarshSheffield Shield season with 57runs at 11.40.

The 22-year-old Pucovski,on the other hand, has producedsuccessive double hundreds,scoring 202 against WesternAustralia after an unbeaten 255against South Australia.

“Will Pucovski is doingeverything that’s humanly pos-sible to play that first Test, andthat’s something we have toweigh up ...,” Langer was quot-ed as saying by cricket.Com.Au.

“...Last time we played Testcricket, we loved the combina-tion of Joe Burns and DavidWarner. They’ve got a real syn-ergy, they work well together, soat this point I'd say that’ll remainthe same.”

Burns and Warner has

scored 1,365 runs at 50.56 as anopening pair, playing an impor-tant role in Australia’s ascent tothe top of the ICC Test rankings.

“...We should (also) neverunderestimate the job the guyshave done to get us to where weare, and that philosophy and atti-tude has been a really strong partof the success of Australiancricket for a long time,” Langersaid.

“We went through a periodwhere there was lots of ins andouts, and in my view, we shouldback the guys in there. That canchange, but it’s a pretty strongphilosophy to stick to.”

India will start the four-Testseries with the opening Day-Night game in Adelaide onJanuary 17 and Langer believesthe opening position will getmuch clearer after Australia'sfirst three-day tour game.

“It’s always nice when you’regoing into a Test match for theplayers to know as far out as pos-sible who’s going to be playing,”he said.

“Things can change, but I’dsay (the media) will have a bet-ter idea who’s going to open inthe first Test match after that firstAustralia A game.”

PTI nMELBOURNE

Veteran spinner Nathan Lyonbelieves Virat Kohli’s absence inthe last three Tests of upcoming

series doesn't necessarily makeAustralia favourites to lift the Border-

Gavaskar Trophy as India boasts of a lotof “superstars” in its team.

India captain Kohli will leave afterthe opening Test in Adelaide as he hasbeen granted paternity leave by theBCCI to be with his actor wife AnushkaSharma for the birth of their first child

in early January.Test specialist Lyon said he is obvi-

ously disappointed to get limited oppor-tunity to get a crack at Kohli, who isconsidered one of the best batsmen inthe world.

“It’s disappointing for the series.

You want to play against the best play-ers in the world. I believe he is the bestplayer in the world along with SteveSmith and Marnus Labuschagne. It’s

disappointing but they have still gotsuperstars.

“Look at Pujara, Rahane, and theyhave also got a couple of young guyscoming in. It’s still going to be a mas-sive challenge for us,” Lyon was quot-ed as saying by Fox Sports.

“Just because Virat’s not here does-n’t mean we get to hold the trophy up.We've still got a lot of work to do, a lotof homework to do,” he added.

India”s tour of Australia compris-es three ODIs, as many T20Internationals and four Tests. Theseries begins on November 27. TheTests start on December 17 in Adelaide.

Kohli will miss the Boxing Day Testin Melbourne (December 26-30), NewYear's Test in Sydney (January 7-11) andthe final game at the Gabba (January15-19).

PTI n NEW DELHI

Former India captain Rahul Dravidstrongly believes that Indian Premier

League (IPL) is “ready for expansion” interms of number of teams without compro-mising on the quality as well as quantityof talent available in the country.

There are talks that the 2021 IPL willbe featuring nine teams instead of eight andwill go up to 10 teams by 2023, which hasalways been the BCCI’s long-term plan.

The views of Dravid, who is now thedirector of National Cricket Academy(NCA), were echoed by Rajasthan Royalsco-owner Manoj Badale, who felt that anine-team IPL in 2021 is “definitely pos-sible”.

“I feel IPL is ready for expansion interms of talent, if you look from talent per-spective. There are a lot of talented play-ers who are not getting an opportunity toplay.”

Dravid said that if there are moreteams, all the talented players could be fit-ted in and there won’t be a drop in quali-ty.

“So I believe we are ready as there arelot of new names and faces in terms of tal-ent perspective,” Dravid said during the vir-tual launch of Badale’s book ‘A NewInnings’, which he co-authored with for-mer English cricketer Simon Hughes.

Badale, as a stakeholder in the IPL, wel-comed the idea of expansion and alsospoke about various aspects that needs tobe factored in.

“BCCI needs to take a decision andthey will take a call on what would be theexact approach.

“Making a nine-team league in 2021 is

definitely possible but as a consequence,you will have to have more afternoongames and maintain quality of the compe-tition,” said Badale, a British citizen ofIndian origin.

Dravid, on his part, explained whyMumbai Indians have been such a prolif-ic team having won an unprecedented fiveIPL titles in 13 editions.

“They (MI) have a strong core with ahigh quality. Their core is built withworld class T20 players and balanced itwith young exciting talent. They have avery strong scouting structure in place,”Dravid said.

He said it is because of IPL that some-one like Rahul Tewatia from Haryana hasbeen able to showcase his skills to a glob-al audience.

“Earlier, you only depended on yourstate association to select you for RanjiTrophy. Now, from a state like Haryanawhich produces so many quality spinnerslike Yuzvendra Chahal, Amit Mishra andJayant Yadav, Tewatia would have had lim-ited opportunities.

“So it’s no longer limited to stateassociations,” said Dravid.

He spoke about the heady feeling ofplaying international cricket without actu-ally playing one, which the IPL provides.

“As coaches, we can help the youngplayers in their journeys but what helpsthem grow is experience. Look at a DevduttPadikkal who is batting alongside ViratKohli or can learn from AB de Villiers.”

Another aspect in which the IPL hashelped young players is the availability ofworthwhile data to improve their game.

“Look at someone like T Natarajan. Itwas because of the the quality of data thathe was able to go back and work on hisyorker and that one skill has now got himinto the Indian team,” he said.

The last decade (2011-2020), accord-ing to Dravid, has been India’s best in termsof white ball cricket and the IPL has con-tributed with its appropriate tagline ‘talentmeets opportunity’.

“It has been India's best performingdecade in white ball cricket. We won aWorld Cup (2011), Champions Trophy(2013) and reached semi-finals and finalsof World T20. Young players have learnta lot watching and listening to experts onTV,” he said.

PTI n KARACHI

The Pakistan Cricket Board hasdecided to review Misbah-ul-

Haq's performance only after thecompletion of next year's World T20Cup, giving him a full one-year toprove his credentials as a headcoach.

“The board has taken a policydecision that it would now sit downand review whether to retain Misbahor bring in a new coach only after theWorld T20 Cup in India,” a well-informed source aware of the devel-opments told PTI.

He said that after Misbah decid-ed to relinquish his role as chief selec-tor, the board now wanted to see howhe copes with his responsibility ashead coach.

“The feeling was that Misbahwas finding it difficult to handle bothjobs and now with him having toonly worry about the head coachresponsibility he might deliver thegoods,” the source said.

He said similarly Babar Azam,who was also appointed Test captainthis week, is likely to be given a longrun by the board.

“Look unless Pakistan startslosing badly in all formats before theWorld T20 in India, there will be nochanges in the captaincy or headcoach positions.”

The source said that the boardfeels Babar is mentally strong enoughto handle the pressures of captain-

ing Pakistan across all three formats.“Even the Patron in Chief,

Prime Minister, Imran Khan ishappy with Babar’s appointment asTest captain in place of Azhar Ali,”the source added.

He said that Babar will mostprobably have a long run as captainin all three formats as he is only 26and has a lot of cricket ahead of him.

“Again unless he loses formdrastically for a long time, there isno other way Babar will lose the cap-taincy and he will be leadingPakistan in the World T20 in India.”

The PCB has been makingrapid changes on basis of one or twobad results and two recent exampleshave been Misbah relinquishinghis chief selector’s post and Azharbeing stripped of the Test captain-cy just one year after their appoint-ments.

AP n SAO PAULO

Lionel Messi had a goal disal-lowed and another denied as

Argentina was held to a 1-1 drawin South American World Cupqualifying.

The draw at La Bombonerastadium puts Argentina on the topof the standings with seven pointsfrom three matches, but Brazil - onsix - could move ahead with ahome win over 9th-place Venezuelaon Friday.

Paraguay is in 4th position withfive points.

Argentina’s fourth match inqualifying will be on Tuesday,when Paraguay hosts Bolivia andEcuador is at home to Colombia.

In Thursday’s opening match,10th-place Bolivia conceded a latepenalty to lose 3-2 at home toEcuador. The Ecuadorians are nowin 3rd place with six points in threegames.

The top four teams will auto-matically qualify for the 2022World Cup in Qatar. The fifth-placeteam will go into an inter-continen-tal playoff.

ARGENTINAParaguay once more gave

Argentina trouble, opening thescoring in the 21st minute viaÁngel Romero’s penalty. Argentinaequalized in the 41st after Giovani

Lo Celso took a corner and foundNicolás González free in the box tohead it home.

Messi appeared to giveArgentina a lead in the 57thminute, but a video reviewed deci-sion by Brazilian referee RaphaelClaus found a foul for Paraguay 27seconds earlier when the ball wasstill in Argentina’s half.

Messi nearly scored from a freekick 14 minutes later, butParaguayan goalkeeper AntonySilva made the save of the match in

the top left corner.Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni

had to be creative for the match.Messi started with pain in his leftankle, and defender NicolásTagliafico had to be replaced byGonzález, who usually plays as astriker at Stuttgart.

Scaloni also lost midfielderExequiel Palacios to injury afteronly 30 minutes, but his replace-ment Lo Celso ended as one of thebest on the pitch - though notenough to secure Argentina a

home victory.Ángel Di Maria, who was ini-

tially expected to start, entered inthe second half but was unable toproduce a goal for Argentina's

much-needed home win.

BOLIVIAEcuador’s win in La Paz was

decided in the final minutes. But a

significant moment for Boliviaoccurred earlier, off the pitch atHernando Siles stadium, wheninvestigators arrested the interimpresident of the country’s soccerfederation, Marcos Rodríguez.

Local media broadcast a videoshowing Rodriguez, who is accusedof corruption, being escorted byinvestigators during halftime.Bolivia’s soccer federation, whichhas been in political turmoil sincethe death of César Salinas in July,had been scheduled to elect a newpresident on Friday.

Juan Carlos Arce opened thescoring for the hosts in the 37thminute, with an angled low shot tothe left corner of Ecuador goalkeep-er Alexander Dominguez. TheEcuadorians equalized a minuteafter halftime when defender BederCaicedo calmly entered the penal-ty box and scored with a left-footshot.

Ángel Mena put the visitors infront in the 55th, beating Bolivia’sEnrique Flores on the right edge ofthe box and, with a precise shot,squeezing the ball between CarlosLampe’s hands and the left post.

Bolivia equalized on the hourwhen captain Marcelo Martinsheaded home after a corner. But itended in disappointment for thehosts when a VAR decision went toEcuador for a handball by AdriánJusino.

AP n LONDON

Harry Maguire, Jadon Sancho and DominicCalvert-Lewin scored as England dominat-

ed Ireland in a 3-0 victory.The friendly at an empty Wembley Stadium

on Thursday allowed 17-year-old BorussiaDortmund midfielder Jude Bellingham to makehis England debut as a second-half substitute.

“We used the ball very well, created a lot ofchances - could have been more comfortable ifwe’d taken some of those chances, but overallvery pleased,” England manager GarethSouthgate said.

With Harry Kane rested, Maguire captainedEngland for the first time - two months afterbeing dropped from the squad over a legal casein Greece.

The Manchester United defender headed inhis second England goal - following one at the2018 World Cup - when he met Harry Winks’cross in the 18th minute.

Sancho doubled the lead in the 31st. JackGrealish played out to Sancho, who cut in fromthe left before firing a low shot through Irelandmidfielder Jeff Hendrick’s legs to beat goalkeep-er Darren Randolph down low to his left.

“Jadon and Jack - they’ve got the freedomto go either side of the pitch and try and cre-ate overloads,” Southgate said.

“I thought at times both of them did thatreally well. Of course, as soon as they areturned and running at people, they are a realproblem for the opponent.”

It was Ireland defender Cyrus Christie’sfoul on Bukayo Saka which created the penal-ty that Calvert-Lewin converted from in the56th.

The victory was comfortable preparationfor the final Nations League group games awayagainst Belgium on Sunday and at home toIceland on Wednesday.

Conor Coady and Marcus Rashford havenow been ruled out of both games. Coady isself-isolating after discovering he came intocontact with someone who tested positive forthe coronavirus through the national tracingsystem, despite the Wolverhampton Wanderers defender testingnegative twice recently.

Rashford won’t link-up with England toallow further treatment on an injury atManchester United.

Langer still hasfaith in Burns

India will be strong despite Virat’s absence: Lyon

PTI nMELBOURNE

Australia head coach Justin Langerhas hailed India captain Virat

Kohli for taking paternity leave dur-ing the tour Down Under but con-ceded that his absence will definite-ly affect the visitors during the much-anticipated Test series for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

Langer said he respects Kohli forputting family ahead of cricket.

“Virat Kohli is probably the bestplayer I've ever seen in my life for somany reasons, not only batting but hisenergy and passion for the game, theway he fields,” Langer told reportersby video conference on Friday.

“I cannot believe he displays theenergy he does in everything he does

and I've got so much respect for him.I’ve also got respect for him in thesense that he’s made this decision (toreturn for the birth).”

“He’s a human being like all ofus... If I was giving advice to any ofmy players I would always say never,ever miss the birth of your childrenbecause it is one of the great thingsyou'll ever do,” the former Australiaopener added.

Langer said Kohli's absence willdefinitely impact India but they can-not afford to lower their guard.

“Of course it will have an impact(his absence), but we also know thatIndia beat us last time (in 2018-19).They're a very, very good team, wecannot get complacent for a secondwith or without Virat,” Langer said.

Langer respects Kohli’sdecision to take paternity leave

PCB to review Misbah’sperformance after 2021 T20 WC

England beatIreland 3-0

IPL is ready for expansion: Dravid

VAR steal win from Argentina

AP n SAO PAULO

Neymar has been ruled outof Brazil’s World Cup qual-

ifier against Uruguay next weekbecause of a groin injury hesustained playing for Paris-Saint-Germain in a ChampionsLeague game.

Brazil’s soccer confedera-tion on Thursday confirmedNeymar will not play in theSouth American qualifyingmatch on Tuesday inMontevideo.

PSG coach Thomas Tuchellast week said it would be“impossible” for Neymar toplay for Brazil as he recoveredfrom the injury, but Brazilcoach Tite insisted that thestriker travel.

Neymar had already beenruled out of Friday’s game

against Venezuela. Brazil teamdoctor Rodrigo Lasmar saidNeymar’s recovery after fourdays off training was notenough.

Tite had already called upFlamengo striker Pedro for thematches, without removingNeymar from the squad.

Brazil had already lost fiveplayers for the two matches,including injured midfieldersPhilippe Coutinho andFabinho, and defender RodrigoCaio.

Defenders Eder Militãoand Gabriel Menino were ruledout after contracting COVID-19.

Pedro was selected forBrazil in September 2018, butwas unable to make his debutafter sustaining a series kneeinjury.

Injured Neymar ruledout of WC qualifiers

Just because

Virat's not

here (in Australia)

doesn't mean we

get to hold the

trophy up. We've

still got a lot

of work to do,

a lot homework

to do

—NATHAN LYON