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HYDERABAD, SUNDAY DECEMBER 20, 2020; PAGES 12 `3

THE SUPERCOP OF

ANDHRA

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VANTAGE POINT -NNARSIM

India Covid cases cross

one crore mark

India on Saturday crossed the sombermilestone of one crore Covid-19

cases, adding 10 lakh infections innearly a month, even as the virus

spread slowed and recoveries surgedto over 95.50 lakh, according to Union

Health Ministry data. The country'sCovid-19 case tally had surpassed the20-lakh mark on August 7, 30 lakh onAugust 23, and 40 lakh on September5. It went past 50 lakh on September

16, 60 lakh on September 28, 70 lakhon October 11, 80 lakh on October 29,

and surpassed 90 lakh on November20. The health ministry's data updatedat 8 am on Saturday showed the total

number of cases mounted to1,00,04,599, and the death toll to

1,45,136 with the virus claiming 347more lives in a span of 24 hours.

Wistron unit VPremoved overvandalism

Farooq Abdullah’sassets worth

` 12 crore seized

Assets worth ? 11.86 crore ofNational Conference

president Farooq Abdullah havebeen attached by the EnforcementDirectorate in connection with the

Jammu and Kashmir CricketAssociation (JKCA) money

laundering case, the agency saidon Saturday. Mr Abdullah's son,

former Chief Minister OmarAbdullah, refuted the agency'scharges and said the seizures

would be challenged in court. TheEnforcement Directorate, whichinvestigates financial crimes, islooking into money-laundering

allegations connected to the J&Kcricket body.

Nearly a week afterviolence erupted at a

Karnataka factory owned byTaiwan-based Wistron PvtLtd that manufactures AppleiPhones, the firm todayremoved its top executivewho oversaw Indiaoperations. "Safety andwellbeing of our teammembers is always our toppriority," Wistron said,admitting that "some workerswere not paid correctly, or ontime". In a statement, Applesaid the supplier has beenput on probation and it "willnot receive any new businessbefore completing correctiveactions".

England to WHO:New Covid strainspreads fast

England's chief medical officerChris Whitty confirmed

Saturday that a newcoronavirus strain whichsurfaced in the country couldspread faster and called forgreater public vigilance toreduce transmission. Whittysaid London had informed theWorld Health Organization of itsfindings. Health Secretary MattHancock on Monday saidscientists had identified a "newvariant" in the south of Englandthat could be causing infectionsto spread faster. Britain hasseen rising cases and hospitaladmissions this month andPrime Minister Boris Johnsonwas set to give a pressconference on the virussituation on Saturday afternoon.

Hot news

HYDERABADWEATHER

Current Weather ConditionsUpdated December 19, 2020 5:00 PM

ALMANAC

TODAY

Month & Paksham:

Margashirsha & Shukla Paksha

Panchangam

Tithi : Shashthi: 02:52 pm

Nakshatram: Shatabhisha: 09:01 pm

Time to Avoid: (Bad time to start

any important work)

Rahukalam: 04:20 pm – 05:42 pm

Yamagandam: 12:13 pm – 01:36 pm

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FFoorreeccaasstt:: SunnyTemp: 27/13Humidity: 47%Sunrise: 06:41 amSunset: 05:46 pm

Centre’s reformschanged the worldperception: Modi

6

‘Reached over 1 cr people

with doorstep

delivery of services’

5

End this politicaljockeying overAmaravati

2

Theatreowners

rue emptyhalls

Page 3

DHARANI PORTAL ON HOLD

Property registration throughCARD system from Dec 21

Govt stops slot booking for non-farm registrationsK VENKATESHWARLUn HYDERABAD

In line with the orders issuedby the Telangana High Court,the State government onSaturday stopped slot bookingsfor non-farm registrations, andissued orders stating that reg-istrations would be donethrough the erstwhileComputer AidedAdministration of RegistrationDepartment (CARD) modefrom December 21.

However, the governmenthas mentioned in its ordersthat it would provide registra-tion services to the peoplewho had already booked theirslots for the registration.

Earlier, Chief Minister KChandrasekhar Rao had can-

celed a review meeting sched-uled to address the issue. Therewas no further informationfrom the CMO as to when themeeting would be conductednext. However, the ChiefSecretary issued an order in

which the government men-tioned that a major initiative inthe registration regime fornon-agricultural propertieswas introduced on 11thDecember 2020. The uniquefeatures of the new system are

increased transparency, no dis-cretion at any level, and 100%online advance slot booking atany time, from anywhere.

Registrations of non-agri-cultural transactions com-menced on 14th December2020. The progress so far is:Slots Booked: 2599;Registrations completed: 1760.

Slot booking facility is avail-able for 23 different types oftransactions like sale, mortgage,gift, development agreement,GPA etc. Another five otherservices are ready for rollout.

A meeting with bankers wasconducted on 16th December2020. The bankers appreciatedthe initiative and assured theirsupport for the reforms.

When elections arrive Mamata will be left alone in TMC: ShahPNS n MIDNAPORE

By the time Assembly electionsare held in West Bengal ChiefMinister Mamata Banerjeewill be left alone in her TMC,a cocky Union Home MinisterAmit Shah asserted Saturdayas a battery of TMC leadersincluding the redoubtable

Suvendu Adhikari joined theBJP. Adhikari, the foremostTMC leader with a mass baseafter Banerjee, shifted alle-giance to the BJP, besides nineMLAs, including five of theruling party, and a TrinamoolCongress Lok Sabha memberin Shah's presence.

The TMC's slogan of "Maa,

Mati, Manush" (mother,motherland and people) hasbeen reduced to "extortion,corruption and nepotism",Shah said, and exuded confi-dence that the BJP will formthe next government in thestate winning over 200 seats.West Bengal has a 294-mem-ber assembly.

"When the people of Bengalare rallying behind the BJP totransform the state why is sheworried? This is just the begin-ning. These people are leavingyour party voluntarily.

"The way leaders are desert-ing your party, by the timeelections are held,

20K-litre freewater schemefrom JanuaryPNS n HYDERABAD

Telangana MunicipalAdministration Minister K.Taraka Rama Rao said thestate government will imple-ment the free water schemefor up to 20,000 litres in thefirst week of January.

He said the scheme will beapplied for this month itself soas to make sure that the billswill reflect the same in January.

As directed by ChiefMinister K. ChandrasekharRao, officials started themechanism to implement thescheme. Rao met with ChiefSecretary Somesh Kumar andother officials to deliberateextensively over the scheme.

"We will start this freewater scheme for the benefitof all the people inHyderabad as well very soon,"said Rao. He directed officialsto plan for the scheme in thenext two weeks. Rao alsoinstructed officials to com-municate effectively aboutthe scheme to all the people.

PNS n NEW DELHI

As the Congress prepares toelect a chief in the New Year,there are strong indicationsthat 50-year-old Rahul Gandhiwill return as president of thegrand old party. For, onSaturday, Sonia Gandhi, RahulGandhi and Priyanka GandhiVadra met the G23 -- fourmonths after the Group of 23dissenting leaders had ques-tioned the party's functioningin a letter to the interim pres-ident.

The five-hour meetingbetween the Gandhis and the"rebels", on the lawns of theCongress interim president's10 Janpath home, marked thefirst move towards reconcili-ation after months of feuding,revolt and resignations. Thedissidents reportedly remainedfirm on their position ofdemanding an election forthe post of Congress president,the Congress Working

Committee and the parlia-mentary board.

At this crucial meeting,Rahul Gandhi reportedly saidhe is "ready to work for theparty as all desire", apparent-ly with the concurrence ofeven the "dissenters" who hadwritten the letter criticizing theleadership and calling for anoverhaul earlier this year.

Won't tolerate any harm toIndia's self- respect, says RajnathPNS n HYDERABAD

Defence Minister Rajnath Singhon Saturday said India's han-dling of the border standoff withChina showed that the countrywas not weak and could give abefitting reply to any kind oftransgression, aggression or

unilateral acts. With the twocountries having held severalrounds of talks to resolve theissue, Singh said India wantspeaceful resolution of disputes,but asserted no harm to its self-respect will be tolerated. Indiaand China have been locked inan over seven-month standoff at

eastern Ladakh. In his address atthe Combined GraduationParade at the Air Force Academyat Dundigal on the outskirts ofthe city, Singh also said China's"attitude reflected that coun-try's intentions" during theCOVID-19 crisis.

SINO-CHINABORDER

STANDOFF

Rahul Gandhi may be‘elected' as Cong chief He is ‘ready to work as party desires'

DRI seizes drugs worth Rs 3 crPNS n HYDERABAD

Sleuths of the Directorate ofRevenue Intelligence busted aninternational racket that wasinvolved in smuggling contra-band, camouflaged among fooditems, to foreign countries. Theenforcement agency claimed tohave seized Rs 3 crore worth psy-chotropic substances on Saturday.

Bandi wants DGP to ‘raid' CM's farmhousePNS n HYDERABAD

Upping the ante, Telangana BJPchief Bandi Sanjay Kumar hassuggested that Director Generalof Police Mahender Reddyshould 'raids' Chief Minister KChandrasekhar Rao's farm-house, from where 'hiddenmoney' could be unearthed.

The Chief Minister had beenstaying in the farmhouse only to

protect the funds stashed there,Sanjay claimed on Saturday. TheBJP would be interested in dis-tributing the funds found in thefarmhouse, Sanjay observed,while addressing a gatheringafter inducting formerKarimnagar Deputy MayorRamesh into the party. Sanjay reit-erated that KCR would certainlygo to jail. Sanjay demanded theChief Minister to give Rs.72K

unemployment allowance to job-less youth as promised. Referringto the Adilabad firing incident, healleged that the MIM leader inquestion opened fire "with theencouragement of TRS". HoldingTRS activists responsible for theattacks on BJP activists inMailardev Pally, Sanjay warnedthat TRS leaders "would not staythere if BJP launches counterattacks".

Registrationsof non-farmtransactionsbegan on 14thDec ‘20’. Theprogress so faris: SlotsBooked: 2,599;Regncompleted:1,760

Defence Minister Rajnath Singhreviewing passing out parade atthe Air Force Academy inDindugal on the outskirts of thecity on Saturday

TN Pongal bonanza:` 2,500 cash, gift hampers PNS n SALEM

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister KPalaniswami on Saturdayannounced Pongal bonanza ofRs 2,500 in cash and gift ham-per to all the 2.6 crore riceration cardholders in the stateto celebrate the harvest festival.

Pongal is celebrated acrossthe state with much fervour inJanuary to usher in the auspi-cious Tamil month 'Thai' whenmarriages are conducted andnew business ventures initiated.

The government was givingaway the cash and the gifthamper to enable "all Tamilscelebrate Pongal in all homesin a grand manner," he said,adding people have beenaffected due to the COVID-19pandemic while those in theCauvery delta districts arereeling from the effects of therecent cylones and floods.

The cash as well as thePongal gift bag would be dis-

tributed through the fair priceshops from January 4, 2021onwards, the Chief Ministersaid while speaking at Irupaliin the district.

This year, the governmenthas given Rs 1,000 and a gifthamper containing ingredientsused in making sweet Pongal.

Prior to the distribution ofthe goodies at fair price shops,the government would issuetokens to beneficiaries at theirdoorstep, specifying the dateand time for obtaining the gifthampers.

"The rice ration cardholderswill be provided one kg eachof raw rice and sugar, 20grams of cashew and raisins,8 gms of cardamom besides asugarcane. These will be neat-ly wrapped in a cloth bag,"Palaniswami said, adding thistime the government wouldgive away a whole sugarcanenot just a piece as was thepractice in the past.

Under Kohli India got both highest and lowestHIGHS AND LOWS

PNS n ADELAIDE

Virat Kohli battled the humil-iation of leading India to itslowest ever Test score of 36 onSaturday but ironically, it wasalso under him that the teamnotched up its highest totalexactly four years ago.

At the Adelaide Oval, Indiaendured a maddening hourwhile collapsing to their low-est Test score of 36 as Australiacruised to an emphatic eight-wicket victory inside two andhalf days in the opening

Day/Night Test.However, the scene was

drastically different onDecember 19, 2016.

India, under Kohli, scored amammoth 759 for 7 declaredagainst England at theChepauk in Chennai to even-tually win the match by aninnings and 75 runs.

Karun Nair had hit a tripleton (303 not out) while K LRahul, who did not play againstAustralia in Adelaide despitebeing in the squad, had struck199 on the fourth day of thatfifth and last Test of the series.

India had already clinched

the five-match series 3-0 beforethe Chepauk Test.

Cheteshwar Pujara,Ravichandran Ashwin andUmesh Yadav were also part ofthat playing XI on that historicday at the MA ChaidambaramStadium.

Kohli and Pujara con-tributed 15 and 16 respective-ly in that massive total.

"It's an evidence of the char-acter of this side and what theguys prepare like for a Testmatch,

Indian banksmove to UK courtagainst MallyaPNS n LONDON

A consortium of Indianbanks led by the State Bankof India (SBI) returned tothe High Court in Londonfor a bankruptcy applicationhearing against l iquortycoon Vijay Mallya, as theypursue the recovery of debtfrom loans paid out to hisnow-defunct KingfisherAirlines.

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HYDERABAD | SUNDAY | DECEMBER , 20, 2020 hyderabad 02

The farmers' agitation inAmaravati against theJagan Mohan Reddy gov-

ernment's resolve to re-locateAndhra's executive capital toVizag and the High Court toKurnool has entered the secondyear with no relief in sight.

The first anniversary wasmarked by a huge rally of farm-ers, display of solidarity by allpolitical parties barring theYSRCP, and show of optics byTDP leader N. Chandrababu byprostrating on the small mud-hill at Uddhandrayunipalemin Guntur district to re-ignitepublic sentiment against the 3-capital formula. This was thespot where Prime MinisterNarendra Modi had laid thefoundation stone in October2015.

But the show was stolen by

the BJP, whose AP State presi-dent Somu Veerraju clearedthe fog surrounding his party'sview by announcing thatAmaravati would be built in fiveyears at a cost of Rs. 5,000 crore,against the original price tag ofRs. 1.09 lakh crore. It ended theambiguity created by the standof the national spokesman G. V.L. Narasimha Rao that theparty was committed to retain-ing Amaravati and ensuring jus-tice to the farmers and that theCentre would not intervene asit had no role, thus contradict-ing his own party MP Y.S.Chowdary's statement that theCentre would interveneat theright time.

However, the NDA govern-ment has a couple of questionsto answer, having committeditself in Parliament that the cap-ital's location was the StateGovernment's prerogative inaddition to the Union Home

Ministry's affidavit in the A. P.High Court that there wasnothing in law requiringAndhra to have only one capi-tal.

How can the Centre fund thecapital without knowing whichis the capital and how many ofthem? How can the Centre notintervene when the PrimeMinister himself had laid thefoundation stone at Amaravati.What happens if this decisionis reversed years later?

The crisis has been triggered

by Jagan by his complete volteface on Amaravati, after plump-ing for it as the capital, build-ing a house there, and tauntingNaidu for not doing so. It isdisingenuous for Jagan now tokeep referring to theSivaramakrishnan Committee'sreport opposing Vijayawada asthe capital or to building a SuperCity. The panel did not zero inon any capital, but only suggest-ed alternatives.

Telugu leaders suffer fromthe malaise of being perpetual-

ly at war with themselvesrequiring mediation by out-siders, call it death wish if youlike. All except Ghulam NabiAzad in the Group of Ministerson Telangana hailed fromneighbouring States. They hada vested interest in hastily bifur-cating AP as it was posing acompetition to flow of IT

investments to Chennai,Bengaluru and Pune.

It appeared like a re-run ofevents before 1953 whenAndhra was separated fromMadras State. The JVP(Jawaharlal Nehru, VallabhbhaiPatel, Pattabhi Seetharamayya)committee was initiallyopposed to linguistic States asthey might pose a danger toIndia's integrity, while ChiefMinister of Madras C.Rajagopalachari and othersplaced hurdles in the 'MadrasManade' (Madras city is ours)movement by the Telugus.Jawaharlal Nehru even lookedwith a touch of disdain at PottiSriramulu's fast-untodeath.Tanguturi Prakasam set-tled for a separate State withKurnool as the capital.

If Jagan has his way, Vizagwill be the fourth capital ofAndhra in 67 years afterMadras, Kurnool and

Hyderabad. It must be under-stood by Delhi and by Jagan thatthe huge electoral mandate forthe YSRC is not a licence to rollback fundamental decisions. IfNaidu, his cronies or any judgesor their offspring have indulgedin insider trading at Amaravati,cases booked against them mustbe pursued vigorously. It isunfair to punish the entire lotof farmers.

On the Centre too lies theonerous responsibility ofaccounting for the hugeamounts of money that wouldgo waste if the capital is shift-ed. A considered decision isessential for the progress of aState which has huge maritimeresources and is strategicallyimportant by being home to theEastern Naval Command atVizag and the ISRO's SpaceCentre at Sriharikota, besidesbeing granary of the South.

BJP leaders' claim about non-interference by the Centre indeciding the location of a State'scapital is absurd. Surely,Chandigarh was not chosen as

the joint capital by Haryana andPunjab, neither were Leh andSrinagar by their UnionTerritories. For that matter, itwas the Centre that decidedHyderabad as the joint capitalof Andhra and Telangana for aperiod of 10 years after bifurca-tion.

By articulating the BJP'sstand on Amaravati withoutcaveats, Somu Veerraju hasinfused new energy and enthu-siasm among farmers who sur-rendered their lands to thegovernment in the hope of abright future for the next gen-eration. Concomitantly, he hasgiven his party men, who havebeen in a stupor since 2014, acause to fight for.

Neither farmers of Amaravatinor the people of Vizag everclamoured for location of thecapital in their respective areas.The capital location was apolitico-administrative processwhich can be tampered with atAndhra's peril. The charadeover the capital must end assoon as possible.

S NAGESH KUMARFormer Resident Editor,

The Hindu

How can the Centre fund the capital

without knowing which is the capital and

how many of them? How can the Centre

not intervene when the Prime Minister

himself had laid the foundation stone at

Amaravati. What happens if this decision is

reversed years later?

‘ALL ANDSUNDRY’

End this political jockeying over Amaravati

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Marriage schemes besetby fraudulent claims

90 bogus Kalyana Lakshmi claims detected in Adilabad district PNS n ADILABAD

Adilabad district officials haveidentified 90 KalyanaLakshmi/Shaadi Mubarakapplications to be bogus. Theapplicants have received bene-fit under the scheme andapplied again affixing the samephotographs. However, the offi-cials concerned were success-ful in recovering money fromthree bogus applicants andhave prepared an action plan torecover money from the rest ofthe 87 bogus applicants.

The scam came to lightwhen the district Collectorordered officials to examine theapplications received in the dis-trict for the past three years.The officials recovered moneyfrom three bogus marriageapplicants belonging to Mavalamandal. The District Collectorhas asked the Lead DistrictManager to suspend the bankaccounts of bogus beneficiariesand middlemen.

Meanwhile, the district offi-cials have prepared a plan onrecovery of money from bogus

beneficiaries ascertaining factslike whether the moneyremained intact in the bankaccounts of the bogus benefi-ciaries or was it withdrawn. Itmay be recalled that the stategovernment launched thescheme in 2016 to extend afinancial benefit of Rs 50,116at the time of marriage topoor girls. In 2018, the govern-ment increased the financialbenefit to Rs 1, 00,116.

Annually thousands of mar-riages do take place and appli-cants apply online to derive

benefit under the scheme. Evenif they apply online, the bene-ficiaries are supposed to handover three sets of copies inTahsildar's office manually.The officials have noted thatthe manual applications ofbogus claims were not given inthe Tahsildar's office.Fraudsters, taking advantage ofonline application method,have applied using photos,bank account numbers, casteand income certificates of per-sons known to them. As if it isnot enough, they sent the

applications to the office of theRDP through login ID of theTahsildars concerned.

The bogus bills of KalyanaLakshmi/Shaadi Mubarakscheme have been passed dur-ing the lockdown period.Though the Tahsildars havethe facility to change the loginID and password they did notdo so. The officials found outthat 87 bogus applicationshave been received fromUtnoor, Ichchoda,Neradigonda, Boath, BazarHatnoor, Indravelli andSirikonda mandals. Most ofthe applications have beenreceived from the login iden-tity of Boath, Neradigonda,Bazar Hatnoor, Gudi Hatnoorand Maval mandal Tahsildars.

RDO of Adilabad JaadiRajeshwar said 90 applicantsare found to be bogus. Moneyhas been recovered in respectof three of such applicationsand a departmental enquiry isunder way in respect of theother 87 bogus applications. Itwould take some more time torecover the money fully.

Property registration throughCARD system from Dec 21Continued from page 1

A workshop was conductedwith builders/developers on17th December 2020 at MCRHRD Institute. The responsefrom the participants was verypositive.

In the meanwhile, the HighCourt, in its order dated17.12.2020 in WP (PIL) No248, 254 and 264 of 2020, W.PNos 17930, 18397, 18408,18453 and 18854 of 2020, hasinter alia stayed mandatory slotbooking facility for registra-tions, while permitting regis-trations without insistence onAadhaar details.

In view of the above ordersof the High Court, the slotbooking facility for non-agri-cultural registrations is kept inabeyance for the time being.

However, registrations inrespect of the slots alreadybooked for 19th December2020 and thereafter will betaken up on the date and timeas per the slots already booked.

In order to obviate any hard-ship and inconvenience to thepublic, the Chief Minister hasdirected that registrations ofnon-agricultural properties betaken up in all Sub-Registrar

offices from 21st Dec 2020,without insisting on advanceslot booking, and using CARDsystem, for time being.

Accordingly, the Stamps &Registrations Department offi-cers have been directed totake necessary action andensure smooth and speedyconduct of registrations, fol-lowing due procedures andwithout causing any inconve-nience to people.

For further clarifications,one may contact Stamps &Registrations Department CallCentre - 1800 599 4788, E-mail: grievance-igrs@igrs.telangana.gov.in,WhatsApp number:9121220272 It may be men-tioned here that the TRS gov-ernment has brought Dharaniportal, under which registra-tions are done following book-ing of slots. However, due tocertain problems in registra-tion of non-farm propertieshighlighted by the petitioners,the High Court had issuedorders to the state governmentasking it not to seek Aadhaarnumbers for the registrationsof non-agriculture property.

The High Court also direct-ed the state government not toask the Aadhaar information

from the people who want slotbooking and property taxindex number (PTIN) till theAadhaar column is removedfrom the user manual.However, the High Courtallowed the state governmentto continue registrations in anold format-Computer AidedAdministration of RegistrationDepartment (CARD).

Further, the Court directedthe registration officials not todemand Aadhaar number dur-ing registration. The Courtsuggested the government takeany identity card to identify theperson during the registra-tion process. The Court alsodirected the state governmentto remove the column seekingthe family members' namesand their Aadhaar numbers,caste, social status.

The Court stated that thestate government had givenundertaking that it would notseek family members orAadhaar details, caste detailsand hence the government mustremove the field meant for slotbooking from the user manual.The slot bookings for non-agriculture assets had startedfrom December 11 and thenew registration services cameinto force from December 14.

Under KohliIndia got bothhighest andlowestContinued from page 1

playing for the country,"Kohli had said on that his-toric day four years ago.

But on Saturday, Kohlifound it hard to express"those feelings into words"after India's stunning battingcollapse in the second inningsto lose by eight wickets .

"We had a lead of 60-oddcoming and just collapsed.When you work hard fortwo days and put yourself ina strong position and then anhour puts you in a positionwhere it's literally impossibleto win," Kohli said in thepost-match presentation.

Rahul Gandhi may be ‘elected'...Continued from page 1

Rahul's comment, greeted byapplause from all present,including the rebels, has rein-forced talk about his return asthe Congress chief.

After the meeting, seniorCongress leader PawanBansal quoted Rahul Gandhias having said: "I am willingto work for the party as all ofyou desire." The formerCongress president reported-ly also agreed that "bettercommunication" was neededand the party needed tostrengthen itself at the booth-level.

But sources say Gandhidid not mince his words as headdressed veterans l ikeKamal Nath, who lost powerin Madhya Pradesh aftersenior leader JyotiradityaScindia rebelled and switchedto the BJP. He reportedly toldKamal Nath that even though

he was Chief Minister, "RSSofficers" (BJP's ideologicalmentor RashtriyaSwayamsevak Sangh) ranMadhya Pradesh. To PChidambaram, Gandhireportedly remarked that inhis state Tamil Nadu, theCongress, at the booth levelwas only an adjunct to allyDMK at the booth level.

Asked whether Gandhi'scomment and the cheers thatgreeted it meant his return aschief, Bansal said: "No onehas an issue with RahulGandhi... don't put words inmy mouth. The process ofelecting a congress presidentis in the process." Some of theleaders outside the rebelgroup, like Chidambaram,reportedly backed thedemand and asked for a shiftfrom the "general secretaryapproach" of running states.The state Congress chiefshould be empowered and

booth level committees mustbe strengthened to help theCongress retain its voters,they suggested in what wasdescribed as a "free and frankdiscussion".

Rahul Gandhi 's s isterPriyanka Gandhi Vadra, theCongress general secretary incharge of Uttar Pradesh,talked about rebuilding theorganization and "taking careof grassroots workers". Shereportedly called for "betterinner party communication".

Congress leaders said "noone was critical of RahulGandhi" at the meeting andthe rebels "supported him".

Rahul Gandhi quit asCongress president after theparty's national electiondefeat last year, forcing SoniaGandhi to take over as inter-im chief until the party elect-ed a new chief. Since then, hehas given no indication of anychange of heart.

Indian banks move to UK court against Mallya

When electionsarrive...Continued from page 1

Mamata Banerjee will be leftalone in the TMC," Shahsaid, taking a swipe atBanerjee."The kind ofTsunami I see today, youwould have never imagined,"an elated Shah said asAdhikar nodded in approval.

Shah said leaders andworkers of rival political par-ties were joining the BJPbecause of the TMC's "poli-tics of appeasement andnepotism". "Good peoplefrom the Congress,Trinamool, CPI(M).... allunder the leadership ofSuvendu Bhai, have joinedBJP today to work under theleadership of Narendra ModiJi," he said.

Mocking Banerjee's allega-tion that the BJP was tryingto engineer defections in herparty, Shah wonderedwhether forming the TMCafter quitting the Congress in1998 was not defection.

"Senior party members areleaving TMC. Mamata didi isaccusing the BJP of engineer-ing defections. We are notdoing any such thing. But Iwant to ask her when she quitthe Congress to form TMC,wasn't it defection? This isjust the beginning. She will beleft alone by the time electionarrives," Shah said.

Continued from page 1

At a virtual hearing beforeChief Insolvencies andCompanies Court (ICC) JudgeMichael Briggs on Friday, bothsides deposed retired IndianSupreme Court justices asexpert witnesses on Indianlaw in support of their argu-ments for and against a bank-ruptcy order against Mallya inthe UK.

While the banks argued aright to waive their securityover the Indian assets involvedin the case in order to recovertheir debt in the UK, lawyersfor the 65-year-old business-man argued that the funds inquestion involved publicmoney held by state-ownedbanks in India which preclud-

ed them from such a securitywaiver. "As a commercial enti-ty, a bank has a right to exer-cise its commercial wisdom todecide what it wants to do withits security, noted barristerMarcia Shekerdemian, arguingon behalf of SBI and others.

She cross-examined RetdJustice Deepak Verma, who

deposed via video link fromIndia on behalf of Mallya toestablish that the banks cannotgive up their security on theIndian assets and then pursuea bankruptcy order underEnglish law because publicmoney and public interest isinvolved in the case in India.

Retd Justice Gopala Gowdaargued the reverse in his cross-examination by Mallya's barris-ter Philip Marshall, saying thebanks had a right to relinquishtheir security in pursuit ofunpaid dues.

The exchange between thelawyers got heated at severalpoints during the course of thevirtual hearing, also being fol-lowed by Mallya, with JudgeBriggs stepping in to urge afocussed question and answer

approach to expedite the pro-ceedings. Meanwhile, Marshallonce again raised the issue ofaccess to court-held funds fromthe sale of a French property forMallya to be able to cover thelegal fees of the next hearing ashe no longer has a source ofincome from his consultancywork. The SBI led consortium of13 Indian banks, which alsoincludes Bank of Baroda,Corporation Bank, Federal BankLtd, IDBI Bank, Indian OverseasBank, Jammu & Kashmir Bank,Punjab & Sind Bank, PunjabNational Bank, State Bank ofMysore, UCO Bank, UnitedBank of India and JM FinancialAsset Reconstruction Co. PvtLtd, had initiated the proceed-ings against Mallya in December2018.

Won't tolerate any harm toIndia's self- respect, says RajnathContinued from page 1

"But we have shown thatIndia is not weak. This is newIndia that will give a befittingreply to any kind of transgres-sion, aggression or any unilat-eral action," he said. India hasfound the support of manycountries, even as it hasreceived accolades, he said.Pointing out that rounds oftalks have been held at thediplomatic and military levelsto solve the issue, the DefenceMinister said "let me reiterate,we don't want conflict, butpeace.

"But we will not tolerate anyharm to the country's self-respect," the Defence Ministerasserted. The country wasprepared to face any situation,he said. Referring to the west-

ern sector, Singh said Pakistanwas indulging in skirmisheson the borders and chargedthe neighbour with indulgingin a "proxy war" using terror-ism, despite being defeated byIndia in four wars.

The armed forces andpolice were effectively dealingwith terrorism, he said. Thecountry was not only handlingterrorism effectively within,but even taking action beyondthe borders, he said. Referringto the air strikes at terrorcamps in Balakot in Pakistan,he said they demonstratedIndia's military strength to theworld and the country's firmintentions against terrorism.

Stressing the need tochange the strategies of waraccording to evolving times,Singh said the country may

face challenges not only acrossthe borders and the seas, butalso Space and Cyberdomains, for which it needs tobe prepared. The DefenceMinister asked the newlycommissioned officers to keepthemselves updated aboutmilitary strategy and technol-ogy and also focus onArtif icial Intelligence.Observing that the govern-ment has recently taken sev-eral important measures toempower and promote indi-genisation in the armedforces, he said, on the onehand,the Light CombatAircraft (LCA) Tejas has beeninducted and operationalised,while, on the other, the fifth-generation multi-role fighterplane Rafale has also beenincluded.DRI seizes

drugs worth...Continued from page 1

Acting on definite infor-mation regarding illicitmovement of metham-phetamine consignmentfrom a foreign country,DRI officials intercepted aforeign-bound parcel witha courier. The parcel,declared to contain foodi te ms , w a s m e ant forSydney, Australia.

The consignment con-tained one kg of whitecrystalline methampheta-mine, packed in cardboardboxes generally used forpackaging goods.

On close examinationafter carefully removingthe packets, it was foundthat food items had beenused to mainly cover thecontraband. A false bottomwas noticed.

50-yr-oldfound dead PNS n HYDERABAD

A 50-year old woman wasfound dead in a drum underJeedimetla police station lim-its. According to the police, awatchman, who was on dutyin a nearby building noticedthe body in a drum. He imme-diately informed theJeedimetla police. "There areno external injuries on herbody. We are verifying thenearby CCTV footage to iden-tify her," said police. Thepolice are suspecting that shewas a vagabond and due tocold weather she might havetook shelter in the drum toavoid chilling cold.

HYDERABAD | SUNDAY | DECEMBER , 20, 2020 hyderabad 03

PNS n HYDERABAD

Several corporates have beeneyeing on hopeless cinematheatres in the city promisingthem double the rent than thetheatres are currently earning.Online business giant Amazonis said to have taken severaltheatres in the city to sustain itsbusiness operations. The the-atres are also keen on enteringinto lease agreements with aneye on augmenting the rev-enue.

Many theatres in the citycould not become functionaleven today due to the financialcrisis gripped them since lock-down. These theatres owedseveral lakhs of rupees to thestate government by way ofpower charges. This is one ofthe reasons for the theatresremaining non-functional.Partnership feuds that sur-faced during the crisis, pay-ment of salaries to the employ-ees by at least 50 per cent inspite of no business providedthe perfect setting for majorcorporates to take the theatreson lease.

The state governmentallowed running of theatresfrom December 4, but condi-tions would apply. In spite ofgiving the green signal to runtheatres, many theatresremained closed. Only thosescreens in multiplexes andshopping malls have beenscreening movies from otherlanguages. Only 50 per cent of

the seats should be sold.However, the occupancy ratiois said to be hardly 5 per cent.This is attributed to not a sin-gle Tollywood film has beenreleased so far and OTT plat-forms have been screeningnew films in full swing.

During the lockdown peri-od, OTT platforms screenedfilms in the absence of regularfilm theatres. Audiencesbecame accustomed to watchfilms from the comfort of theirhomes. Even if theatres arereopened under these circum-stances, many people might notbe interested to visit theatres.Therefore, theatre owners havebecome lackadaisical in resum-ing the business of exhibitionof films.

Some persons are optimisticabout the film theatres getting

their past glory. Some othersare facing problems unable toscreen films and finding it dif-ficult to dispose of their the-atres. Amazon has been offer-ing double the income to thetheatre owners and is keen totake many theatres on lease.Even if the old theatres areclosed down, there is nopromise of new theatres com-ing up if the rules are any indi-cation. Rules insist that tobuild a cinema theatre thestipulated area should be atleast 2,300 square yards. Tobuild a multiplex, the mini-mum area required is over3,700 square yards.

The weekly rent of filmsranges between Rs 1 lakh to Rs4 lakh. The rent for canteenand parking facility is addi-tional. The theatres have to

shell down Rs 1 lakh towardspower bill and have to takecare of other overheads likesalaries for employees, prop-erty tax irrespective of thefact that the theatres haveincome or no income. Manytheatre owners have been run-ning theatres on a meagreincome prior to the lockdownfor fearing of incurring heavyexpenditure to give facelift totheir theatres.

There are over 80 theatres inthe city. The Shanti theatre inNarayanaguda Crossroadsremained under lock and keyfor the past eight months. Thetheatre became functional in1969. The management of thetheatre, to overcome the loss-es, has decided to lease it foruse as a godown. This is not thestory of Shanti theatre alone.

There are many theatres that goShanti theatre way, for exam-ple, Galaxy, Sushma, Megha,Srimayuri, Srirama,Venkatadri, Sairaja, Amba andso on. Besides these, two moretheatres in Miyapur region arefacing the same fate. In fact,over 25 theatres to overcometheir losses are likely to turninto godowns. Owners of sometheatres have plans to pullthem down to build shoppingmalls in their place.

According to BalaGovindaraj, Telangana FilmChamber of Commerce jointsecretary and owner of Devi70mm, films like 'Vakil Saab','RRR', 'Kiraak', 'Red', 'SoloBatuke So Better' are sched-uled for release in the newyear. Audiences are keen towatch them in theatres only.Therefore, the theatres willachieve their past glory.

Theatre owners rue empty hallsTo overcome losses, over 25 theatres

in the city are likely to turn into godowns

Though govthad given thenod to reopenmovie halls witha set ofprecautionarymeasures, theoccupancy ratiois said to behardly five percent

Mist or shallow fog islikely to occur atisolated places during

the morning hours inTelangana during the nexttwo days, MeteorologicalCentre said on Saturday. Ina bulletin here, it said thatdry weather is likely toprevail in Telangana, CoastalAndhra Pradesh & Yanamand Rayalaseema during thenext five days. Rain occurred at isolated places in Coastal AndhraPradesh & Yanam and dry weather prevailed in Telangana andRayalaseema during the last 24 hours, the bulletin said. The lowestminimum temperature of 12.7 degree Celsius was recorded inAdilabad and 15 degree Celsius in Hyderabad of Telangana.tantapur in Rayalaseema recorded the lowest minimumtemperature of 17.1 degree Celsius on the intervening night ofFriday and Saturday, the bulletin added.

School of Arts and SocialSciences (SA&SS) ofMaulana Azad National

Urdu University (MANUU) isorganizing the FourthNational Urdu Social ScienceCongress online onDecember 22 and 23, 2020.According to Prof S MRahmatullah, Vice ChancellorI/c, Dean, SA&SS and the Convenor of the Congress the maintheme of the congress is “Social Sciences: Decline & Resurgence”.According to Prof Shahida, Co-Convenor, Congress & Head Dept ofWomen Education, Prof S M Rahmatullah, Vice Chancellor I/c willpreside over the inaugural session and Padma Shri Prof AkhtarulWasey, President, Maulana Azad University, Jodhpur will be theChief Guest. Prof Shahid Amin, formerly with Delhi University willdeliver keynote address and Prof Siddiqui Mohd Mahmood,Registrar I/c, MANUU will deliver welcome address. Distinguishedguest, Prof Vibhuti Patel, formerly with Advanced Center for WomenStudies, TISS, Mumbai will also address and Prof Shahida will briefabout the Congress.

Cow protection groups inthe city have decided tohost Gau-Mahadharna

and other peaceful forms ofprotest demanding nationalanimal status for cow. Theyhave also decided to conductone day hunger strike andGau-Mahapadayatra fromHyderabad to Yadadri.Speaking at a press conference, Yuga Thulasi Foundation, chairman& TTD Board, member, Kollisetty Shiva Kumar said, "For ages,Indians considered cow as sacred. The economy, culture andlivelihood revolve around it. In the current scenario, the governmentshould consider the various pros and cons, besides the implicationsof a nationwide ban on cow slaughter, but at the same time, it isalso imperative to give equal importance to our heritage and theemotional attachment the nation holds for cow". Uppalapati Srinivasdemanded enforcement of total ban on cow slaughter and a law tobe enacted in this regard. It has special significance here as severalcows are being slaughtered, especially in Hyderabad, trampling thebeliefs of Hindu community, he said.

Mist or shallow fog in TS innext 2 days: Met

CITY LIGHTS

PNS n HYDERABAD

On the directions from MunicipalAdministration Minister KTRama Rao, the Telangana StateRoad Transport Corporation(TSRTC) has identified routes inGreater Hyderabad limits to intro-duce double-decker buses fromearly next year. A committee,appointed for the purpose, saidthere is a scope for operation of thedouble-decker buses on the routesidentified earlier by effectingminor changes to the routes.

Earlier, these buses were oper-ated with a single driver and twoconductors, on Secunderabad-Zoo park route. These buses alsoplied on Mehdipatnam-Afzalgunjroute too. For the benefit oftourists visiting the city, thesebuses were also operated fromSecunderabad-Charminar routevia the Tank Bund.

These buses were plied in thecity till 2002. As fly-overs havebeen built on many city routes,operation of these buses hadbecome difficult. One of the dou-ble-decker buses was plied onMehdipatnam-Secunderabadroute till 2004. These buses havebeen phased out since majority of

the buses became outdated anddue to construction of fly-overs.Since the city expanded in alldirections, five city routes arefound to be most optimal foroperation of the double-deckerbuses.

Operation of these buses fromSecunderabad to Medchal viaSuchitra junction would enablethe commuters to catch a glimpseof Metro Rail at various places in thecity besides enabling them to seeParadise and Jubilee Bus Station. Onthe ever busy Secunderabad-Pathancheru route, the commuterswill come across Tadband AnjaneyaSwamy temple, Bala Nagar crossroads, JNTU and other attractions.

On Kothi-Pathancheru route,commuters will come across amilieu of old and new city ofHyderabad. The bus travels viaKothi, Abids, Public Gardens,Assembly building, Lakdi-ka-pul,

Ameerpet and Kukatpally. Thecommuters can catch a glimpse ofvarious markets during the jour-ney. Buses travelling on CentralBus Station-Jeedimetla route willenable commuters to see Jambaghfruit market, Karachi Bakery andExhibition Grounds. TheAfzalgunj-Hyderabad route makesthe commuters feel the old cityareas like Nampally Railway sta-tion, Vijayanagar colony, MasabTank and so on.

It may be recalled that, the dis-cussions began after TRS workingpresident and MA&UD MinisterKT Rama Rao took a trip down hismemory lane recently and tweet-ed a picture of Hyderabad's icon-ic green double-decker buses andrecalled how he took these busesto school. He further requestedTransport Minister P Ajay Kumarto look into the possibility ofresuming these services.

Double-decker buses from next year!

Pressure mountson State Govt toconduct TET PNS n HYDERABAD

The state government is under pressure fromteacher job aspirants, including the old stu-dents, to conduct Teacher Eligibility Test (TET)prior to issue of the notification for recruit-ment of teachers in government schools.

The pressure is being mounted on B Ed,D Ed graduates. If the government defaultsconduct of the TET, is it likely to face legalproblems. The old students also have beenasking the government to conduct the TETto improve their score.

It may be recalled that the governmentconducted the TET prior to conducting theTeacher Recruitment Test (TRT) last time.To take the TRT test, qualifying in the TETis compulsory. Moreover, TET marks get 20per cent weightage in the TRT. The candi-dates are being given ranks in the TET. Toimprove their rankings, teachers take theTET again and again. Last time, TET washeld on July 23, 2017.

If the test is conducted again now, at least3.5 to 4 lakh B Ed and D Ed graduates arelikely to take the test. The state governmentis toying with the idea of conducting theTET online as it has many advantages overpaper-pen examination system. On thedirections from the government, DEOs of33 districts are gathering informationabout vacancies of teachers posts in vari-ous government schools. In undividedAndhra Pradesh, TET was held four timesand in new state of Telangana it was heldtwice. The score for three TETs held inundivided AP lapsed due to time constraint.The TET was held for the last time sevenyears ago in undivided AP.

MLC K Kavitha was oozingfestive spirit in the city onSaturday. “These little gesturesjust give you hope of a bettertomorrow. Sharing few glimpsesfrom the Cake Mixing party as apart of Pre-Christmascelebrations hosted by CherishFoundation,” the MLCtweeted

FESTIVE SPIRIT

PNS n HYDERABAD

Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)officials booked a case againstAgarwal Industries Private Limited inthe loan defraud case amounting toRs 200 crore. The premier agencybooked Agarwal Industries Pvt. Ltd.Hyderabad (M/s AIPL) and itsManaging Director Anirudh PershadAgarwal, Executive Director SatishKumar Agarwal and DirectorMuralilal Agarwal.

The Agarwal Industries privatelimited was primarily into processingand refining of crude oil into edibleoil. The company used to manufac-ture and supply refined oils, vanaspati,special fats under the brand name,Gold Mohar, Gold Coin. Accordingto CBI officials, the accused availedloans from erstwhile Allahabad Bankmerged into Indian Bank on the basis

of false and fabricated audited finan-cial statements.

Further, they diverted loan fundsfor other than business activitiesand for personal gains, submittedfalse stock statements to the nank toconceal their irregularities.Investigation revealed that they fal-sified their books of accounts and wil-fully defaulted in repayment andcaused wrongful loss to the Bank tothe tune of Rs 200 crores.

Based on the complaint fromIndian Bank officials, CBI booked acase and further investigation isunderway. Prima facie it appearsthat the accused indulged into cheat-ing, forgery for the purpose of cheat-ing; using forged, documents as gen-uine, falsification of accounts andcriminal conspiracy.CBI has bookedcases accordingly and started inves-tigation.

CBI books Gold Coinoil manufacturers

PNS n HYDERABAD

Two people were killed on thespot and three others injuredwhen the car in which theywere travelling collided with anoil tanker at Thimmapur vil-lage in Ranga Reddy district onSaturday. The occupants inthe car hail from Saidabadand were returning fromTirumala after worshippingLord Venkateswara when theaccident occurred, police said.

The deceased were identi-fied as SatyanarayanaChakravarthi and his sonKalayana Chakravarthi. Theinjured were shifted to

Osmania General Hospitalhere for treatment. The injuredwere identified as Sharada andHamsa (13) and Raghunath(10).

According to the police,Chakravarty along with hisfamily members went toTirumala four days ago. "Ataround 2: 30 AM on Saturday,

they reached the city outskirtsnear Thimmapur village ofKothur mandal. When the carreached Thimmapur junctionon the NH 44, Chakravartywho was driving apparentlylost control and the carrammed a tanker which wastaking a U turn," said MBhoopal Sridhar, Inspector ofpolice Kothur police station ofCyberabad Commissionerate

Chakravarty's wife Sharadaand his children were shifted toOsmania General Hospital fortreatment. Both the childrenwere reported to be in stablecondition. However Sharada'scondition is said to be critical.

Two killed, 3 hurt in road mishapPNS n HYDERABAD

Telangana has registered 627 new Covidpositive cases, increasing the state's tallyto 2.8 lakh, even as 721 more patientsrecovered from the virus to outnumberinfections on Saturday. Hyderabadaccounted for the highest number ofinfections -- 123 in the past 24 hours; fol-lowed by Rangareddy (52), MedchalMalkajgir i (48), Karimnagar andKhammam (32 each).

Among other places, Warangal Urban(29), Bhadradri Kothagudem andNalgonda (26), Mancherial (25), Siddipet(21), Sangareddy (20), Nagarkurnool(15), Mehboobnagar and Jangaon (11each).

627 new cases takeState’s tally to 2.8 lakh

Cow protection groups to host Gau - Mahadharna

MANUU to organise NationalUrdu Social Science Congress

HYDERABAD | SUNDAY | DECEMBER , 20, 2020 hyderabad 04

TS yet to receive its quota of ureaPNS n HYDERABAD

Though the Centre allocated10 lakh tonnes of urea to thestate for Yasangi season, thestate so far received only 4.82lakh tonnes, while the rest ofthe urea is stated to be in tran-sit. Currently, the urea stockwith stockists, PACS, compa-ny godowns and so on is stat-ed to be only 3.23 lakh tonnes.If the paddy transplantationincreases pushing the demandfor urea, there is every possi-bility of creation of artificialscarcity.

The state government isbeing accused of not takingproper steps to obtain theallotted quantity of urea fromthe Centre. Against the alloca-tion of 1.51 lakh tonnes inDecember by the Centre, thestate received only 82,000tonnes. If the sale of urea picksup, the existing stock in thestate is hardly sufficient tomeet the demand.

Around this time last year,the urea sale was put at 72,898tonnes as against the sale of52,473 tonnes during the cor-responding period this year.The urea stocks with dealers isput at 75,000 tonnes, while thePrimary AgriculturalCooperative Societies in vil-lages have stocks of 31,000tonnes. In fact the PACSshould maintain higher stocks.

Various fertiliser companygodowns have stocks of 17,000tonnes of urea. The Markfed issupposed to maintain bufferstocks of over 5 lakh tonnes,but the stocks available with itare put at only 2 lakh tonnes.

The total stock of DAPavailable in the state is put at36,000 tonnes. The PACS haveDAP stocks of only 6,000tonnes. The Markfed has11,000 tonnes and companygodowns have the stocks of2,000 tonnes of DAP. In fact, inrespect of 20 districts there isno urea stock available withthem. The districts are:Kamareddy, Kothagudem,wArangal Rural, Jagityal,Sangareddy, Nirmal, WarangalUrban, Siddipet, Janagoan,Wanaparty, Mahabubabad,

Rajanna Sircilla, Medak,Vicarabad, Kumrambheem,Yadadri, Nagarkurnool,Narayanapet, Bhupalapalli andMulug.

In all, 6,000 tonnes of ureashould reach the districts ofNizamabad, Karimnagar andAdilabad. The rakes are still inKakinada and Jaigadh ports.The districts of Gadwal,Warangal, Miryalaguda,Nizamabad and Khammamare supposed to receive 12,000tonnes of urea, but the rakesare still in Kakinada port.While some rakes are in tran-sit, some other rakes are stillbeing loaded with urea bags.However, officials say that theurea meant for Telangana isunder transit and would reachvery soon.

PNS n HYDERABAD

Chief Minister KChandrasekhar Rao's CabinetMinisters have been continu-ing their tirade againstTelangana BJP Chief BandiSanjay Kumar. On Saturday,Ministers Singireddy NiranjanReddy, Koppula Eshwar andTalasani Srinivas Yadavlaunched a scathing attack onKarimnagar MP and said thatthe BJP leaders have no rightto criticise the Chief Minister.

"If BJP comes to power inTelangana in next Assemblyelections, the state will bepushed into darkness. Farmerswould experience severe loss-es with the Farm Laws intro-duced by the BJP-led Centralgovernment. The farmers arestaging protests against thelaws brought by the Centre.The Telangana BJP leadersshould reveal if there is any BJPruled state which is imple-menting developmental

schemes like Telangana state?The Centre is indulging inpolitical attacks by threateningthe states. The Centre is col-lecting taxes from states and itis giving the same funds. It isnot giving funds from theirpockets," said AgricultureMinister Niranjan Reddy.

Koppula Eshwar, in Jagtial,reiterated his cr it ic ismagainst Bandi Sanjay Kumaron Saturday alleging that thecommunal parties will notwish for the development."Bandi Sanjay is making

provocative comments forthe sake of votes and is try-ing to create disturbance inthe state. The TRS lost elec-tions in Dubbak and GreaterHyderabad due to some rea-sons. However, the TelanganaBJP leaders have to remem-ber that the BJP lost twoMLC elections in PrimeMinister Narendra Modi'sconstituency," he said.

Talasani Srinivas Yadav, inSuryapet district, alleged thatthe BJP leaders are behavinglike new beggars and speak-ing as they wished after win-ning four seats in Greater

Elections. "The people wouldrevolt against BJP leaders ifthey didn't extend Rs 25,000to the f lood-hit people.Telangana BJP leaders areproud following their victo-ries in two elections. Theyshould not forget the fact thatthe TRS faced many electionslike these. The BJP leadersshould utilise the opportuni-ty given by the people toserve them. They are statingtime and again that they willarrest Chief Minister. Dothey guts to arrest the ChiefMinister?" the Ministerasked.

If BJP comes to power in Telangana innext Assembly elections, the statewill be pushed into darkness. Farmerswould experience severe losses withthe laws introduced by the BJP-ledCentral government, said Niranjan

Ministers continue their tirade against Bandi

Ponnam demandsjustice for MidManair ousteesPNS n KARIMNAGAR

TPCC working presidentPonnam Prabhakar warnedof launching an agitation byDecember 31 if the govern-ment did not respond forredressal of grievances ofdisplaced persons of MidManair villages inKarimnagar district.

Addressing a press confer-ence at the DCC office hereon Saturday, he alleged thatChief Minister KChandrasekhar Rao was met-ing out step-motherly treat-ment towards Mid Manairdisplaced while he showeredmany sops on the people ofSiddipet.

He found fault with KCRfor declaring that he wasindebted to the people ofSiddipet while forgetting hisutterances he had made wayback that, “He has sentimentwith Karimnagar and he wasready to do anything for thepeople of the district.” Hereminded that KCR shouldintrospect what was his fatewhen the people ofKarimnagar did not electhim in 2006 polls.

Prepare action plan to curbmishaps: CS tells officialsPNS n HYDERABAD

As per the directions of theChief Minister KChandrashekhar Rao, ChiefSecretary Somesh Kumar onSaturday held a review meet-ing and directed officials toprepare the frame work foraction plan on road safety forevery district in the State.

Chief Secretary reviewedthe unified action plan onemergency care and mappingof ambulance services, hospi-tals and Trauma care centers tobring down the fatalities and toextend health services withinthe golden hour. He directedthe officials to arrange trainingprogramme on emergencymedicine from NIMS to the

Health care workers of Traumacare centers.

He advised the HealthDepartment to identify staff fortaking master training onActive Bleeding Control toreduce the Mortality and

Morbidity from road accidentsin the State. He also directedthe officials to constitute ateam to study each and everyaspect related to Outer ringroad duly focussing on fencing,crossings and others.

PNS n HYDERABAD

Tourism Minister V Srinivas Goud onSaturday said that religious and her-itage tourism along with eco-tourismwill drive the future growth of tourismin the state. Speaking at the CIITelangana organised 'ReboundTourism'-a virtual conference-- onSustainable & Safe Tourism during theCovid & Beyond", organised byConfederation of Indian Industry(CII) Telangana, Srinivas Goud saidthat Telangana is very strong in Eco-tourism, tribal circuits, heritage andpilgrimage and one can find locationsoffering all these in the state, that tooin abundance.

After medical tourism, theTelangana government is nowadopting a multi-pronged strategyto develop tourism in the state, cov-ering diverse aspects and locations,he said. Right from pilgrimage tourban forest parks, waterfalls to her-itage tourism, all sectors are beingdeveloped with a focus on provid-ing good amenities to tourists for acomfortable stay.

Yadadri is going to be the spiri-tual capital of Telangana, theMinister added. He said, TS-iPass,which has helped catapult Telanganato one of the top states in the easeof doing business, is being deployedby the state to help the tourism sec-tor. Telangana Government haslaunched TS-Industrial ProjectApproval and Self-CertificationSystem (TS-iPASS) service to quick-

ly process the issuance of variouslicences, clearances and certificatesrequired to come up with hotels,resorts, travel agents, tourism eventsand other activities. It set to bringa major boost to the hospitality andtourism industry of the state, headded. Krishna B odanapu,Chairman, CII Telangana &Managing Director, Cyient saidthat Telangana has all ingredients tobe a leading state in tourism. It isa hot bed of culture & heritage, withhome to great natural and sceniclocations. Telangana's enriched withgreat spots for wildlife, adventureand recreational tourism, he said.Anindita Sinha, Convenor, CIITelangana Culture & Tourism Paneland Head- CorporateCommunications, L&T Metro RailHyderabad Limited said that theTravel and tourism sector has beenan important growth engine and jobcreator for the world economy.

Yadadri to be spiritualcapital of TS: Minister

TRS MLA distributesChristmas giftsPNS n PATANCHERU

Patancheru MLA Gudem Mahipal Reddy onSaturday launched theChristmas gifts distribu-tion programme inPatancheru. The gifts weredistributed to 3,000 poorChristian families atBharathi Nagar,Ramachandrapuram andPatancheru divisions underGHMC limits. CorporatorsSindhu Adarsh Reddy, Thonda Anjayya, PushpaNagesh and Mettu Kumar Yadav were present onthe occasion.

BJP demands govt to reviveold registration systemPNS n HYDERABAD

BJP National General Secretary PMuralidhar Rao on Saturday said thatthe party is opposed to the new reg-istration policy (Dharani web-Portal)introduced by the TRS government.To reduce corruption and improvetransparency, the Telangana govern-ment has introduced Dharnai webportal recently for the registration ofagriculture, non agriculture andproperty registrations in the state.

Addressing press conference atBJP state headquarters here, the BJPleader said that the Dharani Portal

was defective. He demanded thestate government to cancel the newregistration policy and revive the oldregistration system. If the governmentcontinues the new system, the BJPwill intensify agitational programmesacross the state, the BJP leaderwarned.

He said that the state governmenthas stopped all kinds of registrationsduring the last three months tointroduce Dharani Web Portal. Dueto this, the state has lost its Revenue,builders, stamp vendors and amongothers were also facing lot of prob-lems, he claimed.

Human sacrificebid? FamilydetainedPNS n MADHIRA

In a suspected case of witch-craft for hidden treasure, afamily reportedly tried tosacrifice a minor girl for hid-den treasure. However, thenews came to light on Fridaywhen the mother of the girllodged a complaint with thepolice.

According to police, oneGadde Narsimha Rao ofRemidicharla village inErrupalem mandal of Madhiraconstituency consulted aBengaluru-based priest, whowill perform witch-craft. Later,he hired a man to dig a 30-feetpit at his residence to trace thetreasure as per his advice. It islearnt that Narsimha Rao's rel-ative Vellanki Rani's daughterwas ill, hence, he advised herto perform puja at a temple inPedda Kakani in Guntur dis-trict for the recovery of herdaughter.

TITA comes to therescue of distressedwidow of techiePNS n HYDERABAD

A minor mistake by an IT employee landed hiswife and son in several problems. The IT employ-ee failed to update his personal details with thecompany due to which they are forced to runfrom pillar to post after his untimely death.Manjunath Goud worked with the software giantIBM for 11 years until recently when he passedaway due to cancer in November. He is survivedby his wife Lakshmi and an 8-year-old son.

While joining IBM, he specified his moth-er as his nominee for availing financial bene-fits. As only his mother is authorised to availthe benefits offered by the company,Manjunath's brother-in-law (husband ofManjunath's sister) is planning to take theentire money leaving the widow and her sonto their fate. Manjunath's wife Lakshmi, isunaware of the legal intricacies and not in pos-session of any of the documents and details ofher husband. She approached TITA seekinghelp. Lakshmi appealed to Sundeep to take theinitiative and resolve the issue. Manjunath'swife and family members might come to anunderstanding as they are likely to hold a dis-cussion very soon at the IBM office.

MIM suspendsFarooq Ahmed PNS n HYDERABAD

AIMIM on Saturday sus-pended Adilabad districtMIM president FarooqAhmed from the party. It maybe recalled that on Friday,three persons were injuredwhen a leader of MIMopened fire from his licencedrevolver and also attackedthem with a knife. The inci-dent occurred in Adilabadtown. MIM Adilabad dis-trict president MohammedFarooq Ahmed attackedrivals after a tussle betweentwo groups playing cricket inTatiguda area. A video of theattack went viral over socialmedia. Farooq, who is also for-mer vice chairman of Adilabadmunicipality, is seen openingfire from his weapon whileholding knife in another hand.

HYDERABAD | SUNDAY | DECEMBER 20, 2020 nation 05

Congress leader Rahul Gandhion Saturday wished the peopleof Goa, Daman and Diu on the

Liberation Day.Goa was liberatedfrom Portuguese rule on this day in1961."My greetings to the people ofGoa and Daman and Diuon Liberation Day. On this occasion,I honour the memory of all ourmartyrs and all those who fought valiantly for our freedom," Gandhisaid in a social media post. Meanwhile, Delhi Chief Minister andAam Aadmi Party (AAP) convener Arvind Kejriwal also greeted thepeople of Goa on the occasion. "My best wishes to the people ofGoa on 60th Goa Liberation Day. As we recall the sacrifices of thosewho fought with valour to free the state, let's resolve to liberate Goafrom corruption and unemployment," he said.

INDIA CORNER

Rahul greets people on LiberationDay of Goa, Daman and Diu

Five-time Shiv Sena MP fromMumbai, Mohan Rawale, died inGoa on Saturday following a

massive cardiac arrest, partysources said.He was 72.In a tweet,Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut said,"Mohan Rawale died. He was astaunch Shiv Sainikand a big-hearted friend...He was a five-time MP...Tributes to him." Rawalerepresented the Mumbai South Central Lok Sabha seat five timesbetween 1991 and 2004. He was expelled from the Sena briefly in2013 for dissidence, but later rejoined the party.

Senior RSS ideologue and the firstspokesperson of the organizationMadhav Govind Vaidya died here on

Saturday afternoon, his family said. Hewas 97. Vishnu Vaidya, his grandson, toldPTI that he died at a private hospital at3.35 pm. "He had contracted coronavirusbut recovered from the infection," VishnuVaidya said, adding that his healthdeteriorated suddenly on Friday.

PNS n MIDNAPORE (WB),

BJP leader SuvenduAdhikar i on Saturdayvowed to oust the MamataBanerjee regime in the2021 assembly elections inWest Bengal, exuding con-fidence that his new partywill form the next govern-ment.

Adhikari, who joined theBJP at Home MinisterAmit Shah's rally here,claimed that the TMCcame into ex is tencebecause of the saffronparty."I had first met AmitShah during the 2014 LokSabha polls... When I wasdown with COVID, myformer par ty d id notenquire about my health,while Amit Shah twiceenquired about

how I am," he saidaddressing the rally. Notingthat the BJP believes innationalism and pluralism,Adhikari alleged that theTMC wants to divide thestate on the lines of "insid-er" and "outsider".

"Shame on the TMC forsuch narrow pol it ics , "Adhikari said as the crowdroared. "I am being called atraitor by those who them-selves (TMC) are traitors.Had the BJP not been there,TMC would have nevercome into existence. In thenext assembly polls, BJPwill win Bengal and TMCwill be defeated," he said.

PNS n KOLKATA

In an open letter addressedto the grassroots membersof the Trinamool Congress,Suvendu Adhikari said onSaturday that West Bengal isstanding at a critical junctureas the people of the state aredestined to make a choice inthe 2021 Assembly electionsthat will impact them forever.Adhikari, who switched overto the BJP from the MamataBanerjee-led party, said that"an extremely deep rot andmalaise" has set in to theTrinamool Congress."Neither West Bengal nor theTrinamool Congress isanyone's fiefdom," Adhikarisaid. Asserting that the partywas not built in one day withthe contribution of oneperson, he wrote that it wasa continuous and contiguouseffort on a mammoth scale,the culmination of which wasthe TMC's coming to power.He alleged that the TMC,which the ordinary peoplebuilt brick by brick selflesslywithout any desires, is nowfilled with individuals who donot bother about anyone butthemselves.

‘TMC is notanybody’sfiefdom’

PNS n MIDNAPORE (WB),

Union Home Minister AmitShah on Saturday had lunch at thehouse of a farmer in WestBengal's Paschim Medinipur districtas part of his exercise tostrengthen relations with theagriculturists ahead of theAssembly elections in the state.

Shah's move assumessignificance in the wake of theongoing farmers' protests in Delhiagainst the three farm

laws. Shah, who is on a two-dayvisit to West Bengal to takestock of the BJP's affairs in thestate, arrived here onSaturday and offered puja at a localtemple. Then, the union ministerwent to the residence ofSanatan Singh at Balijhuri and hadlunch there, sitting on the

floor of the thatched house. Shah was accompanied by BJPnational general secretaryKailash Vijayvargiya, BJP nationalvice-president Mukul Roy

and state party chief Dilip Ghosh.It was a vegetarian platter ofBengali delicacies, served on abanana leaf by the women familymembers of Singh. Shah andother guests, who sat on the floorof the verandah of the two-storeythatched house with tinned roof,had 'saak bhaja', 'lou daal','shukto' (mixed veg stew which isslightly bitter), 'phulkopitarkari'(cauliflower curry),'posto' (potato cooked in poppyseed paste) and 'tok doi'.

Amit Shah has lunch at house of farmer

BJP vows to oust TMC govt in ’21 polls

Five-time Shiv Sena MP Mohan Rawale dies

RSS ideologue M G Vaidya dead

The NIA has filed a charge sheetagainst seven people includingsix Pakistani nationals in a case

of seizure of 237 kgs of narcotics inGujarat, an official said on Saturday.The charge sheet was filed on Fridaybefore a special NationalInvestigation Agency (NIA) court inAhmedabad. The six Pakistaninationals and one Indian nationalwere booked under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code, theUnlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the Narcotic Drugs andPsychotropic Substances Act (NDPS) Act. Safdar Ali, Alahi DaadAngiyara, Azim Khan, Abdul Aziz, Abdul Gafur, Mohamad Malah, allresidents of Pakistan's Karachi, have been named in the chargesheet along with Indian national Ramjhan, a resident of Gujarat'sDwarka, the NIA spokesperson said.The case pertains to the seizureof 237 kgs of narcotics from Pakistani vessel Al-Madina near JakhauPort in Kutch, Gujarat.

Six Pakistanis booked by NIA in narcotics seizure case

PNS n KOLKATA

West Bengal Chief MinisterMamata Banerjee said onSaturday that her governmenthas reached over 1 crore peo-ple in two weeks with doorstepdelivery of services.

In a series of tweets,Banerjee said the state govern-ment will leave no stoneunturned in ensuring that the

people of West Bengal areable to get the benefits of ser-vices right at their doorsteps.

"I am immensely pleased toannounce that in just 2 weeks,over 1 Crore people acrossBengal have enthusiasticallyvisited more than 10,000

#DuareSarkar camps envi-sioned to ensure doorstepdelivery of Govt services andbenefits," she said.

"I wholeheartedly congratu-late all the GoWB(Government of West Bengal)officials and volunteers whoworked round the clock toorganize these camps everysingle day at such a massivescale. I would also like tothank every participant whovisited and availed services atthese camps," she added.

‘Reached over 1 cr people withdoorstep delivery of services’

PNS n NEW DELHI

Braving the harsh cold of Delhi,thousands of farmers protest-ing against the three recent agrilaws remained steadfast intheir demands of repealingthe legislations as their agita-tion entered its fourth week.

According to the IndiaMeteorological Department,the national capital recorded itscoldest day on Saturday withthe minimum temperaturedropping to 3.9 degrees Celsiusat the Safdarjung Observatory,which provides the representa-tive data for the city.

The mercury dipped to evenlower levels in some parts ofthe city, recording 3.3 degreesCelsius and 3.4 degrees Celsiusat Lodhi Road and Ayanagar,respectively.

The agitation has also led totraffic diversions at various

border points causing inconve-nience to commuters.

Taking to Twitter onSaturday, the Delhi TrafficPolice alerted commutersabout the closure of certainroads and suggested them totake alternative routes.

It said the Ghazipur border

is closed for traffic comingfrom Noida and Ghaziabaddue to the ongoing protest.

However, those travelling toDelhi can take alternativeroutes via Anad Vihar, DND,Apsara and Bhopra borders, itsaid.

"Tikri, Dhansa Borders are

closed for any TrafficMovement. Jhatikara Bordersis open only for two wheelersand pedestrian movement," itsaid in a tweet.

However, for those travellingto Haryana, the Delhi TrafficPolice said some borders areopened -- the Jharoda border(only for single carriageway),Daurala, Kapashera, Badusarai,Rajokri NH 8,Bijwasan/Bajghera, PalamVihar and Dundahera.

The Chilla border betweenNoida and Delhi is open fortraffic but just one carriageway.However, the other carriagewayfrom Noida to Delhi is closed,according to the traffic police.

"Singhu, Auchandi, PiauManiyari, Sabholi & Mangeshborders are closed. Please takealternate routes via Lampur,Safiabad & Singhu school tolltax borders. Traffic has been

diverted from Mukarba & GTKroad," the traffic police said.

"Please avoid Outer RingRoad, GTK road, NH-44," ittweeted.

Thousands of farmers, espe-cially from Punjab andHaryana, have been camping atvarious border of Delhi foralmost four weeks now as for-mal talks between the govern-ment and representatives offarmers' unions remaineddeadlocked with protestingpeasants refusing to acceptanything less than a repeal ofthe newly enacted laws.

The farmers have been say-ing these new laws will pave theway for a dismantling of theMinimum Support Pricemechanism and the mandisystem, leaving them to the"mercy" of big corporates,apprehensions the governmentinsists are misplaced.

Ryots steadfast as Delhi temperature plummets

PNS n NEW DELHI

As India's COVID-19 caseloadsurpassed the one crore-mark,Congress leader Rahul Gandhion Saturday alleged that theunplanned lockdown did notmanage to "win the battle in 21days as the PM claimed", butit "destroyed" millions of livesin the country.

India's COVID-19 caseloadsurpassed the somber one-crore mark on Saturday,adding 10 lakh cases in near-ly a month, while the totalnumber of recoveries surged to95.50 lakh, according to theUnion Health Ministry's data.

Taking a dig at the primeminister's remarks in Marchthat the Mahabharata war waswon in 18 days and the war

against coronavirus will take 21days, Gandhi tweeted, "1 croreCovid infections with almost1.5 lakh deaths! Theunplanned lockdown did notmanage to ‘win the battle in 21days' as the PM claimed, but itsurely destroyed millions oflives in the country."

The country's COVID-19case tally had surpassed the 20lakh-mark on August 7, 30lakh on August 23 and 40 lakhon September 5.

It went past 50 lakh onSeptember 16, 60 lakh onSeptember 28, 70 lakh onOctober 11, 80 lakh onOctober 29, and surpassed 90lakh on November 20.

The health ministry's dataupdated at 8 am on Saturdayshowed that the total numberof cases mounted to1,00,04,599 and the death tollreached 1,45,136 with the virusclaiming 347 more lives in aspan of 24 hours.

‘Unplanned lockdown’destroyed lives, saysRahul

India's Covid caseload surpassed thesomber one-crore mark on Saturday,adding 10 lakh cases in nearly amonth, while the total number ofrecoveries surged to 95.50 lakh

PNS n LATEHAR

A group of Naxalites raided acoal mining project inJharkhand's Latehar districtand opened indiscriminatefiring in which four personswere injured, police said onSaturday. The Naxalites wentto the Tetariakhar coal projectunder the jurisdiction of

Balumath police station inthe district on Friday nightand opened fire, they said. The Naxalites also set fourtrucks on fire, the police said.

A police team rushed to thespot on hearing the newsabout the Naxal attack but bythe time it reached theNaxalites had fled from thespot, they said.

4 injured inNaxal attack

PNS n NEW DELHI

Vehicle owners makingbooking for the mandatoryhigh security registrationplates (HSRP) and colour-coded stickers for their vehi-cles are being given a wait-ing period of up to fourmonths, even as the trans-port department is carrying

out a drive to encouragecompliance.

According to officials,around 30,000 bookings forHSRP are received daily,whereas only 10,000 suchregistration plates are affixedin a day. "I booked my HSRPonline recently and thescheduled waiting period istill March next year," said

Rahul Raj, a vehicle ownerfrom northeast Delhi. Thecompany, contracted for thework, is expanding its book-ing facilities as well as affix-ation capacities at doorstepas demand is rising on a day-to-day bas is , said aspokesperson of HSRP sup-pl ier Rosmerta SafetySystems.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Prime Minister NarendraModi on Saturday praisedTata Group for its role inIndia's development.

Speaking at the AssochamFoundation Week 2020 event,Modi said in the last 100years the industry chamberhas witnessed ups and downsof India's development,including the country's inde-pendence struggle.

"Tata Group has played animportant role in India'sdevelopment," Modi saidafter presenting the'Assocham Enterprise of theCentury Award' to RatanTata, marking the contribu-tion of the business group inthe nation's progress.

Speaking at the event, TataGroup Chairman EmeritusRatan Tata thanked Modifor leading the country fromfront during the difficult timeof pandemic and hoped thatthe industry will now takeforward the benefits of hisstrong leadership.

PNS n GUWAHATI

The Assam Pradesh CongressCommittee has removed itsMLA Ajanta Neog from animportant post of the party'sorganisation, two days aftershe met Chief MinisterSarbananda Sonowal andNorth-East DemocraticAlliance convenor HimantaBiswa Sarma.

The move came amid spec-ulations that the four-timeMLA from Golaghat con-stituency and former stateminister may join the BJP.

Neog was removed from thepost of District CongressCommittee President ofGolaghat with immediateeffect, according to an orderissued by the party's state uniton Friday night. "This has the

approval of All India CongressCommittee," the two-lineorder said without giving anyreason for the action. Whencontacted, Assam PradeshCongress Committee generalsecretary (Organisa tion)Ranjan Bora said the discipli-nary action was taken againstthe legislator for her "anti-partyactivities over the last few days".

Assam Cong MLAAjanta may join BJP

PNS n GUWAHATI

The ruling BJP has won sixseats and is leading in anoth-er 12 seats as the counting ofballot papers for the 36-member Tiwa AutonomousCouncil is on, the AssamState Election Commission(ASEC) said on Saturday.

BJP's ally Asom GanaParishad (AGP) is leading inone seat, as per the countingupdate given by the ASEC for19 seats. The opposition hasnot been able to lead in anyconstituency of the councilspread over four districts inAssam. Voting for the the 36constituencies of the councilspread across Nagaon,Morigaon, Hojai andKamrup Metropolitan dis-tricts took place onDecember 17. A total of 124candidates are in the fray.

4-month waiting period forvehicle owners to get HSRP

Modi praisesTata Group

Tiwa AutonomousCouncil: BJPwins six seats

PNS n SALEM (TN)

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister KPalaniswami on Saturdaylaunched his poll campaign forthe 2021 Assembly elections inthe state, saying he neverthought that he would come tothe "god-given" top post oneday.

Hailing from a humblebackground, he said he hasutilised the post to serve thepeople.

"I never thought of becom-ing chief minister. This isGod-given...I utilised it toserve the people," Palaniswamisaid and stated that his ruralbackground and education ina state-run school helped himunderstand the difficulties ofthe people and in resolvingtheir problems. Launching thecampaign from his nativeEdappadi constituency here, heindicated that life after becom-ing chief minister was chal-lenging. When he took up the

reins,the state faced severedrought, cyclones ravaged thecoast and currently the coro-navirus pandemic posed athreat.

But he overcame all theobstacles and ensured the con-tinuity of the 'Amma' (latechief minister J Jayalalithaa)government, thus proving theopposition parties' calcula-tions on whether his govern-ment would last its term,wrong, he said.

"Some questioned whethermy rule will continue afterJayalalithaa's demise. Now my

government has successfullycompleted four years in officeand is all set to step into anelection year (in 2021),"Palaniswami said.

His pro-people and develop-ment oriented initiatives ren-dered Tamil Nadu a power sur-plus state in India and also apioneer in water management,he claimed. "We tackled thedrought, cyclones and nowhave brought the covid pan-demic under control," the chiefminister said, commencinghis election campaign afteroffering worship at the SenrayaPerumal temple in PeriyaSorgai village. The AIADMKCo-Coordinator, also theparty's chief ministerial candi-date for the polls, successfullycontested from Edappadi in1989, 1991, 2011 and 2016.

Party sources indicated hemay seek re-election from thissegment for the fifth time andfirst time as chief ministerial-candidate in 2021.

EPS launches poll campaign,says CM position is ‘God given'

PNS n MUMBAI

Maharashtra Congress presi-dent Balasaheb Thorat said thatSonia Gandhi has written a let-ter to state Chief MinisterUddhav Thackeray not out ofresentment, but as part of a dia-

logue process. Gandhi has writ-ten a letter to Thackeray, inwhich she has reminded him ofthe CMP of the Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress government in thestate and sought implementa-tion of certain measures for thewelfare of Dalits and tribals. In

the letter dated December 14,she demanded reservation ingovernment contracts for SC/STprofessionals to promote entre-preneurship among them,among other things.

Talking to reporters, Thorat,who is Revenue Minister in the

Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA)government said his party wasnot unhappy in the alliance.

"Congress's stand has alwaysbeen in favour of uplift of poorand deprived sections of thesociety and Gandhi's letter waspart of dialogue on how welfare

measures can be taken. There isno resentment," he said.

Meanwhile, when askedabout the letter, Shiv Sena leaderSanjay Raut saidthat SoniaGandhi is the chairperson ofUPA and she has contributed tothe formation of MVA.

‘Sonia’s letter to Maha CM not out of resentment’

HYDERABAD | SUNDAY | DECEMBER 20, 2020 Money 06

MONEY MATTERS

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari willinaugurate and lay foundation

stones for highway projects worthRs 11,000 crore in Karnataka onSaturday. The 33 projects pertainto building 1,200 kilometres ofhighways stretch in the state."Road Transport, Highways andMSMEs Nitin Gadkari will

inaugurate and lay the foundation stone for 33 highway projects inKarnataka tomorrow," Ministry of Road Transport and Highways saidin a statement. Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa will presideover the virtual function to be attended by Union Minister V K Singh,among others. "These projects for inauguration and foundation layingcarry a road length of nearly 1,200 kilometres, involving constructionvalue of nearly Rs 11,000 crore," the statement said.

Online restaurant guide and foodordering platform Zomato has

closed USD 660 million (over Rs4,850 crore) funding round, valuingthe company at a post-moneyvaluation of USD 3.6 billion, itsfounder and CEO Deepinder Goyalsaid on Friday. In a series of tweets,

Goyal said, "Marquee global investors share our enthusiasm aboutthe future of this business. Today, we closed a USD 660 millionprimary financing round at a post-money valuation of USD 3.9billion." He also said that "10 new investors are joining us in ourjourney. This list includes Tiger Global, Kora, Luxor, Fidelity (FMR),D1 Capital, Baillie Gifford, Mirae, and Steadview". In another tweet,Goyal said that on top of this USD 660 million, the company is in theprocess of closing a USD 140-million secondary transaction.

MTAR Technologies, a precisionengineering solutions company,

has filed preliminary papers withcapital markets regulator Sebi toraise an estimated Rs 600-650crore through an initial share-sale.The IPO comprises fresh issuance

of up to 40 lakh shares and an offer for sale of up to 82,24,270 sharesfrom promoter and other existing shareholders. Proceeds from the freshissue will be used to repay debt, fund long-term working capital requirementsbesides attending to general corporate purpose. According to market sources,the IPO is estimated to fetch Rs 600-650 crore.The Hyderabad-basedcompany has precision engineering capabilities to build nuclear andpressurized water reactors, aerospace engines, missile systems, aircraftcomponents and many such other critical components and assemblies.

MTAR Tech files IPO papers to raise Rs 600-650 crore

Gadkari to inaugurate projectsworth Rs 11,000 cr in K'taka

Industry chamber PHDCCIon Saturday suggested a

10-pronged strategy in pre-budget consultations withFinance Minister NirmalaSitharaman with focus onrefueling consumption anddemand and encouragingprivate investments to attainhigher economic growth. "At

this juncture, we suggest capping the Personal Income Tax rates at25 per cent with no exemptions. This will increase the level ofcompliance and willingly get more tax-payers in the tax base,"PHDCCI President Sanjay Aggarwal said in a statement. The otheraspects of the ten-pronged strategy proposed for the Budget in thevirtual meeting include front loading of infrastructure investments,strengthening MSMEs, reducing the costs of doing business, ease ofdoing exports, increasing Tax-to-GDP ratio, focus on agriculture &rural sector and effective reforms in social infrastructure. Refuellingof consumption demand must be the theme of the Union Budget2021-22 to have a multiplier effect on production possibilities, capexexpansion, private investments and employment creation, said theindustry body. It argued that enhanced consumption expenditure willramp up capital expenditure, attract private investments and createemployment for the youth.

Zomato closes USD 660million funding round

PHDCCI’s 10-pronged strategy toattain higher growth trajectory

PNS n NEW DELHI

Finance Minister NirmalaSitharaman on Fridaypromised a "never before" likeUnion Budget as the govern-ment looks to steer the pan-demic-battered economy andpush growth.

While investment in health,medical Research &Development (R&D) anddeveloping greater skills tohandle telemedicine is going tobe critical, livelihood chal-lenges would have to be seen ina newer canvas with newer per-spective on vocational trainingand skill development.

"Send me your inputs so thatwe can see a Budget which is aBudget like never before, in away. 100 years of India would-n't have seen a Budget beingmade post pandemic like this.

"And that is not going to be

possible unless I get your inputsand wish list, clear observationof what has put you throughthe challenge... Without that, itis impossible for me to draftsomething which is going to bethat Budget like never before,a Budget which is being madeafter a pandemic," Sitharamansaid while addressing the CIIPartnership Summit 2020.

The Union Budget for 2021-22 is scheduled to be present-ed in Parliament on February1, 2021.

The minister said that torevive growth, support has tobe extended to those areaswhich have been disruptedbadly due to the COVID-19pandemic as well as to thoseareas which are now going tobe the centres for newerdemand and newer engines ofgrowth.

"Considering our size, pop-

ulation and potential that Indiahold for good growth andbuilding of economy, I would-n't hesitate here to say that weshall be the engine of globalgrowth along with a few othercountries. We will be a signif-icant contributor to global eco-nomic revival," she said.

Further, Sitharaman saidthat while providing morefunding for infrastructure, it

would be important to bring inprivate partnerships for not justproviding buildings and hospi-tals, but also for providing thecapacities to run these hospi-tals. "... many economies arewondering where to procurethe vaccine from after they areformulated or after they arecertified, those which are get-ting manufactured somewhere,will have to be obtained.

"Whereas we in India areactually very fortunate to havesuch capacities to produce theformulation, then to get it cer-tified and we in India have thecapacity to be able to produceas much as we (need)... andmore for exports...," she said.

Sitharaman also said thatthe need of the time is moreinvestments towards medicalR&D, biotechnology R&D and

pharma R&D. India has tolook at both public and privatepartnership and also engage-ment and investment in theareas of research for medicine,she added.

"We will probably be takingall the inputs that health sec-tor has given us for a goodconsideration in the Budget,"the minister said.

"A good example ofAatmanirbhar Bharat is thecapacity that we have shown toproduce vaccines, to manufac-ture formulations that the vac-cine developers have givenand be in a position not just tomanufacture those vaccineswhich we are formulating inIndia but also to receive therights to produce vaccineswhich are developed else-where not just for Indian mar-kets but also to export," shesaid.

FM promises Union Budget like ‘never before'Nirmala Sitharaman said that to

revive growth, support has to be

extended to those areas which

have been disrupted badly due to

the COVID-19 pandemic as well as

to those areas which are now going

to be the centres for newer demand

PNS n NEW DELHI

Prime Minister NarendraModi on Saturday hard sold hisgovernment's reforms span-ning from manufacturing totaxation to labour, saying theyhave changed the world per-ception about the countryfrom 'why India' to 'why notIndia' and went on to quoterecord foreign investment dur-ing the pandemic as a testimo-ny to that.

Speaking at industry associ-ation Assocham's FoundationWeek event, Modi also saidagriculture reforms brought byhis government six monthsback have started benefitingfarmers.

The reforms in the last sixyears have influenced inchanging the sentiment of theindustry from 'why India' to'why not India' in investing.

"There was a situation in thepast when investors wouldquestion 'why India' (forinvesting in the country). Withreforms (of past six years) andtheir effects, its proposition haschanged to 'why not India'," hesaid.

He cited scrapping of 1,500old and obsolete laws andfarming new ones that are intune with the changing invest-ment order as an example ofhis government's outlook.

"Earlier investors cited high

tax rates to say ‘why India' buttoday (corporate) tax rates areso competitive that they say'why not India'," he said.

Previously, a web of regula-tions and rules were cited byinvestors to ask why to investin India but easing complianceburden in the new labour lawshave made them say 'why notIndia', he said.

Red tape previously madeinvestors say ‘why India' but ared carpet is now makingthem say ‘why not India', he

said."From a non-existent culture

for innovation to a new ecosys-tem promoting and nurturingstartups has given the worldconfidence to say 'why notIndia'.

"Earlier there was so muchgovernment interference thatinvestors said ‘why India'.Today the faith reposed by thegovernment in the private sec-tor and encouragement of for-eign investors have made thesame people say 'why notIndia'," he said. He stated thatnew India is pushing towardsAatmaNirbhar Bharat (self-reliant India).

The government inSeptember last year cut theheadline corporate tax rate to22 per cent from 30 per cent,and to 15 per cent from 25 percent for new manufacturingcompanies.

In September this year, theParliament passed the labourreforms bill that among otherthings exempts companiesemploying up to 300 workersto seek government permis-sion to lay off workers or closeplants - a major demand fromindustry over the years.

Stating that there is a lot ofpositivity across the globe onIndia's growth and develop-ment, Modi said India will playan important role in the glob-al supply chain of vaccines.

Centre’s reforms changedthe world perception: Modi

The reforms in the lastsix years have influencedin changing thesentiment of the industryfrom 'why India' to 'whynot India' in investing

India allows8,424 tonneraw sugarexports to USPNS n NEW DELHI

The government on Fridaypermitted export of 8,424-tonne raw sugar under its tar-iff-rate quota (TRQ) to theUS, which enables shipmentsto enjoy relatively low tariff.

TRQ is a quota for a vol-ume of exports that enter theUS at relatively low tariffs.

"The quantity of raw sugar8,424 MTRV (metric ton rawvalue) to be exported to theUS under TRQ up toSeptember 30, 2021, is noti-fied," the directorate generalof foreign trade (DGFT) saidin a public notice.

India exports duty-freesugar to the US for up to10,000 tonnes annually underpreferential quota arrange-ment.

India, the world's second-biggest producer and thelargest consumer of sugar, hasa preferential quota arrange-ment for sugar export withthe European Union as well.

PNS n NEW DELHI

India has the potential toachieve double-digit growththrough a healthy dose ofdigital services and manufac-turing base expansion whichwill be driven by demandfrom the rural sector, youthand the aspirational middleclass, Union Minister AnuragSingh Thakur said onSaturday.

The minister of state forfinance said that in the pastsix years, the Modi govern-ment has consistently intro-duced reforms that havebrought about significantchanges.

"And now all indicators,from inflation to fiscal deficit,from forex reserves to currentaccount deficit, from GDPgrowth to financial inclu-sion– all point to a very sta-ble and sustainable econom-ic position,” Thakur said.

Talking about the recoverypost unlock, he said, it hasbeen broad-based and hasnot come only from the agri-culture sector.

Of the 48 high-frequencyindicators used by theReserve Bank to track theeconomy, 30 parametersovertook the February's level,he said addressing 48thNational Convention ofCompany Secretaries.

"We have seen stellar recov-ery in passenger vehicle sales,2-wheeler sales, oil consump-tion, steel production, cementproduction, international aircargo amongst other areas,” hesaid.

Due to the gradual andthoughtful unlocking of thelockdown and the resumptionof the business activities in thesecond quarter, he said, "weare looking at a strong eco-nomic revival, based onstrong fundamentals and aslew of structural reforms.”

India canachievedouble-digitgrowth: Thakur PNS n NEW DELHI

Regulator Sebi on Fridaybarred 16 entities from thecapital markets for up to sevenyears for indulging in front-running activities.

The entities have been pro-hibited from the capital mar-kets for a period ranging fromfive to seven years. Of the 16entities, six have been asked todisgorge illegal gains of near-ly Rs 20 crore.

Front-running refers to anillegal practice in stock marketwhere an entity trades on thebasis of advance informationfrom a broker or analyst beforethe information has been madeavailable to their clients.

The order follows a Sebiprobe into suspected front-running by certain entitiesbetween March 2009 to March2011.

The investigation revealedManish Chaturvedi, who wasemployed with Sterling Groupfrom November 2008 toNovember 2011, was not onlyinvolved in suggesting scripsfor investments by that groupbut also used to place ordersfor Sterling.

He had utilised the infor-mation pertaining to theimpending trades of Sterling

Group to his benefit by devis-ing a fraudulent scheme withthe aid of his friend, PraveenJain, who admittedly arrangedfor trading accounts of sever-al entities to be used byChaturvedi.

These entities allowed theirtrading accounts to be used asper the advice by Chaturvediin lieu of commission, lesserbrokerages, from the profitsaccruing through the front-running activity.

Besides trading in theaccounts so arranged,Chaturvedi also utilised theaccount of his mother, LaxmiChaturvedi, to place orders tofront-run the impendingorders of the Sterling Group.

Madhu Chanda, who was along standing employee anddealer of Sharekhan, had facil-itated the front-running activ-ity of Manish Chaturvedi.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Infrastructure investment trustIndiGrid on Saturday said ithas inked an agreement toacquire 100 per cent stake intwo projects of FRV SolarHoldings for Rs 660 crore.

The completion of acquisi-tion would depend uponreceipt of relevant approvalsand completion of contractu-al obligations, IndiGrid said ina BSE filing.

"India Grid Trust (IndiGrid)has signed securities purchaseagreement on December 18,2020 for acquisition of 100 percent in FRV Andhra PradeshSolar Farm-I Private Ltd (FRVI) & FRV India Solar Park II –Private Ltd (FRV II) fromFRV Solar Holdings XI BV," itsaid. The enterprise value ofthe deal is Rs 660 crore, sub-ject to adjustment on account

of movement in cash, tariffreceivables, other assets, liabil-ities outstanding as on valua-tion date and any other adjust-ments as specified in thedefinitive agreements, it added.

IndiGrid will acquire 100per cent shareholding andmanagement control in FRV Iand FRV II.

FRV I was incorporated onJuly 14, 2016. It operates 50MW (AC) solar power plant inAnanthapuramu Solar Park.The asset was commissionedin July 2018. During 2019-20,FRV I had a total revenue of Rs47 crore

FRV II was incorporated onJuly 9, 2016. It also operates 50MW (AC) solar power plant inAnanthapuramu Solar Park.The project was commissionedin January 2019. In the last fis-cal year, FRV II had a total rev-enue of Rs 50 crore.

Sebi bans 16 entities forfront-running activities

Wistron removes VPoverseeing India ops

Honda stopsproduction atGreater NoidaPNS n NEW DELHI

Honda Cars India Ltd(HCIL) has decided to pullthe plug on production at itsGreater Noida plant in UttarPradesh, sources said onSaturday.

The automaker, which is awholly-owned subsidiary ofJapanese Honda Motor Co,had set up the Greater Noidaplant in 1997.

Industry sources said theplant would, however, con-tinue to house the company'scorporate head office, spareparts division and researchand development (R&D)centre among other func-tions.

Meanwhile, the companydeclined to comment on thematter.

IndiGrid to acquire 2 projectsfrom FRV Solar for Rs 660 cr

Italian confectionery majorFerrero to acquire Eat NaturalPNS n NEW DELHI

Italy-based global confec-tionery major Ferrero Grouphas announced that it willacquire Eat Natural, the makerof high-quality cereal bars,toasted muesli and granola.

The value of the deal has notbeen disclosed.

Eat Natural, a British cere-al bars maker was created 23years ago by two friends of theIndian origin - Preet Grewaland Praveen Vijh. It has nowgrown considerably in thehealthier snacking segment.

On December 17, FerreroGroup announced that it willenter into a definitive agree-ment to acquire Eat Natural.

The deal is expected toclose in the coming months,said a joint statement addingthat the transaction is subjectto customary closing condi-tions and regulatory approvals.

As part of the transaction,

Ferrero Group will take over EatNatural's production facilities inHalstead, UK, and plans toretain the management and theemployees of the businesses.

"Eat Natural are an excellentstrategic fit for the FerreroGroup as we continue toexpand our overall footprintand product offerings intothe healthier snacking marketsegment," Ferrero GroupExecutive Chairman GiovanniFerrero said.

Eat Natural Co-founder,Praveen Vijh said, ”Ferrero isa fabulous company and weare proud that they would likeus to be part of their family.We have many shared ethics,and both have a vision to makehealthier snacking available foreveryone."

Ferrero, with a consolidat-ed turnover of over 11.4 billioneuros, is amongst the marketleaders of the sweet packagedfoods market worldwide.

Canara Bank exposure toTransstroy fraud put at Rs 678 crPNS n NEW DELHI

State-run Canara Bank onSaturday said its exposure toTransstroy India Ltd is over Rs678 crore under a consortiumlending arrangement and theborrower was declared as a wil-ful defaulter earlier in 2018.

The company is under theprocess of liquidation, it said.

In a clarification, CanaraBank said the bank's exposureto Transstroy India is of Rs678.28 crore contrary to newsclaiming it to be an allegedfraud of Rs 7,926 crore.

"In this regard, it is clarifiedthat the company was enjoyinglimits from various banksunder multiple bankingarrangements from 2001.Subsequently, a consortiumwith Canara Bank as leaderwith 13 other banks wasformed in 2013 and the totallimit sanctioned was Rs4,765.70 crore and the share ofCanara Bank is only Rs 678.28crore," it said in a regulatory fil-ing.

The Bengaluru-headquar-tered lender said that theaccount was declared as fraudand reported to the RBI on 10February 2020.

"Canara Bank has made 100per cent provision for thisaccount as per the prescribed

prudential norms. The compa-ny has already been declared aswilful defaulter on 26December 2018 by our Bank,"it said.

Out of Rs 7,926 crore fraudamount appearing in the pressnote, the amount of lendingmade by all the 14 consortium

members is Rs 4,765.70 crore,it added.

Remaining amount was lentunder multiple bankingarrangements, Canara Bankadded.

"Out of this, exposure ofCanara Bank is Rs.678.28 croreonly. The case was referred to

NCLT and was admitted byNCLT, Hyderabad on October10, 2018. The company isunder the process of liquida-tion," it said further.

The company was engagedin building infrastructureacross various sectors includ-ing, ports, bridges, oil and gas,power and mining, as per itswebsite that also informs aboutthe ongoing liquidationprocess.

On Friday, the CBI bookedHyderabad-based Transstroy(India) Ltd and its directors foralleged bank fraud of over Rs7,926 crore to a consortium ledby Canara Bank.

The officials said it was oneof the biggest banking scams inthe country.

The Central Bureau ofInvestigation (CBI) has allegedthat loans were misappropriat-ed by the directors causing aloss of Rs 7,926.01 crore to theconsortium members.

The central probe agencyhad carried out searches at thepremises of the company andthe accused directors, includ-ing former Telugu DesamParty (TDP) MP RayapatiSambasiva Rao, which led tothe recovery of incriminatingdocuments, its spokespersonhad said in a statement a dayearlier.

In a clarification, Canara Bank

said the bank's exposure to

Transstroy India is of Rs 678.28

crore contrary to news claiming

it to be an alleged fraud of

Rs 7,926 crore

PNS n NEW DELHI

Apple's contract manufac-turer Wistron on Saturdayremoves its vice-presidentVincent Lee, who was head-ing operations in India afterfinding fault in the processof wage payment during itsinternal investigation.

The Taiwanese electronicsservices major admitted themistakes at its end and apol-ogised to the workers.

"We are removing theVice President who overseesour business in India. Weare also enhancing ourprocesses and restructur-ing our teams to ensurethese issues cannot happenagain," Wistron said in astatement.

Meanwhile, Apple saidthat it has placed Wistronon probation and it will notreceive any new businessfrom the US-based compa-ny before corrective actionsare completed.

"Apple employees andindependent auditors hiredby Apple have been workingaround the clock to investi-gate the i ssues whicho ccurred at Wistron ' sNarasapura facility," Applesaid in a statement.

Workers at Wist ronCorporation's manufactur-ing facility in NarasapuraIndustrial Area in Kolardistrict near Bengaluruwent on rampage last weekover non-payment of theirwages.

The order followsa Sebi probe intosuspected front-running bycertain entitiesbetween March2009 to March2011

special 07HYDERABAD | SUNDAY | DECEMBER 20, 2020

Did you know thatturkey was originallythought to be fromIndia? Did you knowthat this bird has noth-

ing to Turkey, the country? Did youknow that since the Turks knew thatthis fowl was not theirs, they madea completely different mistake andcalled it hindi. They thought thebird was probably Indian. TheFrench, too, to begin with, calledthis bird poulet d’Inde literal trans-lation — chicken from India. TheDutch called it the word kalkoen —Calicut-hoen — hen from Calicut ormodern-day Kolkata. It is thoughtthat all this stems from the mistak-en belief that turkey trade passedthrough India.

Yet, this bird, has nothing to dowith India and everything to do withAmerica. Stranger yet, fowl’s scien-tific name doesn’t make much senseeither — Meleagris gallopthe, nameof wild turkey that was domesticat-ed, which found its way from theforests of Mexico, where they werefirst domesticated by the Mayans.

The ancient Aztec and Mayancivilisations revered the bird. TheAztecs honored wild turkey, andbelieved it to be a manifestation ofTezcatlipoca, the trickster God. TheMayans revered and honouredturkeys in similar ways.

When Europeans saw wildlife ofthe New World, wild turkeys caughttheir eye which was similar to theirgame birds. Turkey was then trans-ported in 1519 to Europe where itwas highly prized for its uniqueflavour.

So why is that India, whichtends to follow trends of what ishappening globally, has yet to adoptthis bird as part of the regular foodchain? Chef Tarun Dacha, corporate

chef, The Claridges Hotel has a sim-ple answer.

“Turkey is a gaming bird andtraditionally it was hunted to beserved on the table for Christmasand Thanksgiving festivities in theWest. Even in Europe turkey is notthe first choice of meat to be servedon these occasions. In AmericaThanksgiving and Christmas aremostly celebrated between familyand the entire bird is cooked wholeand served with vegetables andsauces. Turkey is a big bird and nowit is also reared on farms rather thanonly being hunted,” Dacha explains.

He tells you that the bird waseasy to hunt since it is a big bird andfinds it difficult to fly. The totalweight of the bird is eight to 10 kg.After dressing it is 4-5 kg.

“Christmas is a family festivalwhere everyone comes together. Itis a tradition to eat a meal togeth-er on this day. Unlike in India, tra-ditionally and it is still followed bymany, the mothers and the daugh-ters are cooking and will eat foodonly once the men of the house haveeaten. In the West, all the familymember sit down together andshare a meal. You roast the turkey,put it on the table, add the accom-paniments and enjoy the feast. If itis a small bird, the whole sense ofsharing goes away. That’s the reasonwhy the fowl is popular in America.However, the same is not true forsome European countries. Like inGermany, the turkey is replaced bygoose or pork; for Nordic countries,it is all about fasting and associat-ed with eating fish; in the UK it isduck or a roast suckling pig. But dueto marketing, turkey has found itsway here as well, he tells you.

As a meat, turkey is not popu-lar in India for many reasons. First,

it is a gaming bird and hunting ofthese birds is now allowed in thecountry. Second, India is a Hinducountry originally and Christianityis mostly an adopted religion. Assuch the eating habits of the Indiansare very regional and are differentfrom the eating habits of Americaand the European nations.

“Turkey as a meat is not veryjuicy. It is dry and also a hot meat.We like our meat juicy and mostlyenjoy it with curries. Even our tan-doori meats are soft, moist and juicy.In India Turkey is found on themenu of the 5-star hotels and prop-erties which cater to the expatsclientele for Christmas. Also, wedon’t have the tradition of cookingor eating big joints. Even a tandoorichicken is cut into pieces before itis served. One doesn’t carve out atandoori chicken,” Dacha says.

One is told that traditionally, inIndian homes, roasting is not hugeeven though baking is. The homesare equipped to deal with ovenwhere one can roast meat. “Indianfood is all about gravies and masala.Homes are not well-equipped whereone can roast a big bird. However,we love to eat roasts when we go out;doing the same at home is not highon the cards in our kitchens,” Dachatells you.

In India, 5-star hotels cater to awide range of guests, they ensurethat they have everything to offer totheir guest. Guests who come herewant to experience the cuisines ofthe world and the celebrations fromacross the world. Even chefs want toshowcase their culinary talent. Thechefs like to showcase what theyknow best. They serve turkey, suck-ling pig and cold cuts like salami andham.

“If one were to look at homes,

what is eaten during this timevaries from region to region. Incoastal Andhra Pradesh, dominat-ed by Christianity, it is biryanis andmutton curry or fish curry with riceas a special of the day. In Kerala,Alappuzha region where there areChristians, it is be duck curry andappams. They will also make Rosecookies which is made from a bat-ter of rice flour and sugar and thendeep fried. In the North-east theywill do a whole pork The basic ideais less about feasting and more oncommunity feeling, charity anddonations. Foods are centredaround what is available in thatregion. For example in Alappuzhaduck farming is huge and hence itfinds its way into the homes. Theseare Indian ducks; more bony andless meaty. They make curry andeven duck eggs are popular,” Dachatells you.

The Indian turkey is more bony.It is stringy. The imported turkeythat most hotels buy is far morejuicy in comparison. Despite the factthat local turkey is reared in someregions of North-east and Assam, itis not the preferred meat since it ischewy.

Eating this is not a great expe-rience for people. The high qualityfowl is on the expensive side. Onefull bird can cost up to `5,000. “Ifone were to cook such a large bird,one needs a huge gathering as well.Mutton is a preferred meat for fes-tivals; it is preferred even overchicken,” Dacha says.

Chef Sanjay Dasari, ExecutiveChef, The Ashok has a similar take.He tells you that turkey has yet tofind popularity in the country.According to him, what has gainedpopularity is duck. This preferenceof duck over turkey is because duck

is leaner. Of course it depends on thevariety of duck. “Peking duck isgaining popularity. Turkey on theother hand is a meat that is onlyeaten during festivities likeChristmas and New Year’s. This birdis still confined to festivals. We, atour hotel, serve the bird duringthese festivals. It is not the supplybut the demand where the issue lies,”Dasari says. Interestingly, while theduck has since then been Indianisedand one find a hotel doing a duckcurry or even a tandoori duck, theturkey continues to be roasted fulland has yet to be moulded toIndian taste.

The reason Chef Dasari tells youwhy turkey is yet to be experiment-ed with is because the guests whocome in are not asking for thisfowl.However, there is a market forthe same. “If there was a demand,like there is for ducks, we, as chefs,would like to serve the same andexperiment and change it so suitIndian palate. But this is not thecase. For now, it is a bird that peo-ple want to eat only duringChristmas. Also, not many peopleknow that this bird can be eaten. Ifwe promote it, people will see it asan option. Many hotels shy awayfrom doing the same due to lack ofdemand, unlike duck. Since peopleare asking for duck, we areIndianising the same,” Dasariexplains.

This year, The Ashok instead ofdoing a buffet as was being tradi-tionally done on New Year’s eve,they are going to serve per platewhich is visually more appealing.The change in serving style is dueto the present pandemic and fall infootfall. “We are going to serveturkey; we will serve the bird withfoods that boost immunity like

fresh orange juice and ginger. Wewill use fresh herbs to roast it, ratherthan using dry herbs. This will beserved with walnut jaggery chutney,”Dasari says and tells you that turkeymeat can be Indianised.

Chef Rubal Pupneja, juniorsous chef at the Samrat opines is thatdespite this bird being a populardish at Christmas andThanksgiving, the fact that it is noteasily available and is on the expen-sive side means that there are fewertakers.

“Then there is the whole processof cooking this bird. Since it is muchlarger than chicken, it takes a longertime to cook. If the full roast chick-en gets cooked in 30-35 minutes at300 degrees, this bird takes over anhour to cook. Also, one has to cookit slowly so that it gets cooked frominside out. There is a misconceptionaround this bird as well. Peoplethink that it has more carbs; itis justthe opposite. If one were to eat thesame amount of chicken and turkey,the latter would have more protein.

“This means turkey is a health-ier option. Since it is a large bird, ithas moe bones and one can makesoup with it. One can cook its meat,shred it and make taco. Like onemakes chicken tikka, one can maketurkey tikka. One has to however,keep a few things in mind. It has tobe marinated longer and cookedslowly,” Pupneja explains.

Another factor why turkeydoesn’t find its way into our homesis because of its shelf life. At best itwill keep for two-three days in therefrigerator. But with hotels doingroasts, salads, soups and continuingto serve the bird right fromChristmas up to New Year’s night,turkey may soon find its way intoour homes as well.

ROAST TURKEY

Turkey 1Salt 5 gmCrushed black pepper 5 gmOnion 100 gmCelery 100 gmOrange 2Lemon 2For herb butter:Unsalted butter 100 gmLemon zest 2Thyme 5 gmRosemary 5 gmSage 5 gmGarlic chopped 10 gmFresh parsley (Chopped) 100 gmMETHOD:nLet the turkey rest at room tem-

perature for an hour.nAdjust your oven rack so theturkey will sit in the center of theoven, preheat oven to 170 degreeCelsius.nMake the herb butter by com-

bining butter, mince garlic, salt,pepper, rosemary, thyme, sage.nRemove the neck and gibletsfrom the inside the cavities of theturkey.nSeasoned the turkey with salt,pepper and stuff with the quar-tered lemon, onion, celery, orangeand leftover herbs.nApply the herb butter all overthe outside of the turkey.nRoast the turkey in the oven atthe temperature of 175 degreeCelsius for 2 and half hour to 3hours with aluminum foil.nAllow turkey to rest for 20-30minutes before carving.— Chef Tarun Dacha, Corporate Chef,

The Claridges Hotel

CHEESY TURKEY PATTY

For patty

Cooked minced turkey 200 gm Eggs 2 Chopped bellpeppers(red; yellow) 30 gm Chopped parsley 1 tbsp Chopped garlic 1 tsp Parmesan cheese (Grated) . . 50 gm Crushed peppercorn ½ tsp Mozzarella cheese (Stuffing)20 gm Cornflour (For binding) .2tbs Salt A pinchFor batter

Refined flour 100 gm Milk 100 ml Eggs 1Salt A pinch

Dry oregano 1 tsp For coating and frying

Bread crumbs 100 gm Refined oil To fry For honey and Dijon mustard dip

Dijon Mustard (paste) 100 gmHoney 15 gmMaple syrup 1 tbsp Olive oil 1 tbsp Dry chilli flakes 1 tbspSalt To taste METHOD

In a mixing bowl put all the ingredients— cooked minced turkey,eggs, choppedparsley, chopped garlic, choppedbellpeppers, Parmesan cheese, crushedpeppercorn and cornflour. Mix them all well.Make patty and stuff Mozzarella cheese

and reshape.Keep aside.Make a batter made of refined flour,milk, dry oregano and salt. Dip patties in this batter.Coat the turkey patties with breadcrumbs. Set aside.In a deep pan. heat oil.Deep fry the patties.For making a healthy version of it wecan do it in Air Fryer. Garnish the plate.Make sauce with honey and Dijon mus-tard dip. Serve hot.Note: To make mince out of cookedturkey simply put cooked turkey, addeggs and blend to coarse paste.

— Chef Rubal Pupneja, Jr Sous Chef,

The Samrat, New Delhi

WALNUT JAGGERY SAUCE

Onion 1 largeGarlic 2 Salt To tastePaprika 1 tspWalnut 40gmJaggery 30 gmSalted Butter 20 gmFresh Thyme 2 strandsMETHODnCollect the jus de roti (roast juices) from the roast turkey.nHeat butter and sauté finely chopped garlic and onion.nAdd paprika and sauté further.nAdd puree of walnuts and jus de roti.nSimmer for some time; add the grated jaggery and fresh thyme.nAdjust the seasoning and serve hot garnished with roasted wal-nut flakes.

— Chef Sanjay Dasari, Executive Chef, The Ashok, New Delhi

L E T ’ S G E T C O O K I N G

THE TURKEY IN INDIA IS MORE BONY. IT IS

STRINGY. THEIMPORTED TURKEYTHAT MOST HOTELS

BUY IS FAR MORE JUICYIN COMPARISON.

DESPITE THE FACT THATLOCAL TURKEY ISREARED IN SOME

REGIONS OF NORTH-EAST AND ASSAM, IT ISNOT THE PREFERRED

MEAT SINCE IT ISCHEWY. EATING THIS

IS NOT A GREATEXPERIENCE

Cooking and eating turkey is associated with festivities like Thanksgiving and Christmas especially in America

and many parts of Europe. Elsewhere, in India, while the fowl finds its way into restaurant menus, households

continue to prefer the good old chicken. SHALINI SAKSENA speaks with chefs to tell you why

WHY WE CHICKEN OUT ON TURKEY

This week you will be charged up and ready to take upphysical activity. You are goal-oriented and clear onwhat your hopes and dreams are and what you shoulddo to get there. Your enthusiasm and charismaticpersonality will impress others. You are optimisticabout your future. Your health will remain good. On thecareer front, you are trying your best to be in yoursenior’s good books. Your determination and ambitionwill make you move forward. Remember that you’llneed to use both your intellect and your heart to besuccessful. On the personal front, it is advised not to letsmall issues blow out of proportion in your mind.Beware that there is someone who does not want yourrelationship grow and who is working against you.

Lucky number 2Lucky colour PinkLucky day Sunday

ARIES March 21-April 19

This week you will prioritise and focus on your familymembers, especially children, spouse, and any elderlymembers in the family over your own health. Thoseaddicted to unhealthy diet this is a wake-up call. Poorlevel of vitamin and protein will make you feel tired andirritable. The time is not favourable healthwise, you musttake care and eat healthy to increase metabolism.Professionally, those who are looking for a job will gethired in a few days, that will test your skills andpotentials. This will be a very demanding job. Believe inyourself. Some of you will be weighed down with farmore responsibilities. On a personal level, you will haveconcern for others and people around you will begrateful, and reciprocate well.

Lucky number 14Lucky colour GreenLucky day Thursday

TAURUS April 20-May 20

Take your time to detect hidden issues and othersubconscious thinking that is stopping you from seeingthe facts. Some of you may look out for emotionalsupport from a female to identify the emotional troubleand what can be done about it. Meditation is beneficialat this time. Don’t be disappointed about not gettingthings done as this would spoil your day or maybeweek. On the career front, investing your time inattending a webinar or any online skill developmentclass will be favourable. These programs will help youvirtually connect with people. This will further provideyou unique guiding light and moral force. This weekrelationship area needs your attention and clearexpression. Express yourself before it is too late.

Lucky number 8Lucky colour MagentaLucky day Friday

GEMINI May 21-June 20

As you recover from certain health issues, you feelrecharged with energy and stamina. You will find yourself-confidence unharmed. And this is your greatestachievement, one that helped you to regain an innersense of direction. You need to be grateful for all theblessings that surround you at this time. This weekyou will reflect the positive influence and will prove tobe a motivator for others. Career-wise, you willexperience roadblock and will find stagnation in yourpresent job. The current scenario is not bright and thiscould demoralise you. Those in business will get somemonetary gains. Prioritise your expenses and avoidunnecessary spending, this will help you now as wellas in the long run. On the personal front, yourmaturity plays an important role at home.

Lucky number 15Lucky colour Sky BlueLucky day Thursday

CANCER June 21-July 22

This week you may need to get a medical examination toclear some doubts and lead a stress-free life. You arelikely to face some confusion and it will make you feellow. This is the time to lift yourself and transform yourlives. It is a crucial time when you must be honest withyourselves and decide what best action should beimplemented to rise to the challenges and embrace thebest life. Career-wise, this week will be in your favour.You are likely to appreciate your sincere and hard work.Financially, the week will be satisfactory but you need tofollow a budget to avoid any tough times. Relationshipwise, you will experience the freshness and a blissfulstate. This week you will be passionate and energetic andwill enjoy a charming personality.

Lucky number 19Lucky colour WhiteLucky day Tuesday

VIRGO Aug 23-Sep 22

You will feel great about yourself. Overall health remainsgood for you. This week is a period of great productivity.You will have a sense of fullness and confidence, that willmake you feel that you have finally found your niche. Thistime is the biggest changing point in your life, so gettingstuck and becoming aggressive about the things that arenot working in your favour could hold you back. It isadvised to choose a middle path to live life to the fullest.On the career front, you will face opposition. Yourcolleagues might not agree with your thinking. Aggressionis indicated. You need to understand the mentality ofothers and stay away from conflicts. On the personal front,you will use your charm to attract people. Be careful as acomplication is indicated in your relationships.

Lucky number 11Lucky colour BeigeLucky day Sunday

LIBRA Sep 23-Oct 22

This week brings indulgence in social activities. You willbe shifting the balance in your life from work towardmore social activities. This will improve your health andgive you more energy. This way you are trying to be ofhelp to your family as well as society. On the career front,you may feel a little confused with your career. Try not toget too overworked about it. Your modest approach andshift into a different track/department would be helpful.This is the time to define yourself do not bother yourselfwith other people’s perspective. There will be a timewhen you think that everything has come to a standstill.Use this time to enhance your skill. On the personalfront, your partner is supportive. You can try and talk toyour spouse and relieve yourself from the stress.

Lucky number 6Lucky colour PurpleLucky day Friday

SCORPIO Oct 23-Nov 21

You will enjoy this week as planned. Your health,wealth and happiness are co-related. It isrecommended that you learn some techniques to staystress-free to stay healthy. Take some time out for awalk amidst nature. That could be the great energyprovider and refreshing for you. Career-wise, you needto ease your expectations. Those in business will see agood response and hike in financial matters. Those injob need to sit down with a financial planner and figureout exactly your needs are and plan your financesaccordingly. On the personal front, you are likely to feela tight leash around you. There is a lack ofunderstanding and feelings for each other. Marriedcouples need to communicate well.

Lucky number 18Lucky colour SilverLucky day Wednesday

AQUARIUS Jan 20-Feb 18

This is a good week for your emotional and physical well-being. Your positive approach will be of great help. Thosewho are waiting on test results regarding health, relax andknow that the news will be good. You are likely to enternew realms in your spiritual exploration. You will getattracted to herbal ingredients and homemade remediesto cure health and you may join some courses. Those inthe retail business, this week will be the most fruitful. Forsome of you who are working from home should not takeit as a leisure time, otherwise, this might take a negativeturn on you. On the personal front, you may be involvedin a serious conflict. Feelings of helplessness and lack ofunderstanding are indicated. The situation may belightened up with the support of a close family member.

Lucky number 7Lucky colour GreyLucky day Saturday

PISCES Feb 19-March 20

You are likely to spend your time in spiritual pursuits tofind peace and inner calm. Follow meditation, yoga, andPranayam etc to bring balance and strength to fight anystress. You will be able to find solutions to most of theissues of life. Don’t be in a hurry for any work. Give timeto pamper yourself. The divine connect will show you theright path. This week financial worries are indicated.Professionally, you are not happy and some of you feeldemotivated. If possible, interact with people to keep upyour morale. Do not give up on a temporary low phase.This is the time to wait for the good times. Things arenot so good in the relationship area. Your partner willhave a long list of accusation, sit and discuss them.Things will move into a lighter phase.

Lucky number 20Lucky colour MauveLucky day Monday

CAPRICORN Dec 22-Jan 19

When it comes to following a healthy diet, you make thesame mistakes — neglect. Give extra attention to yourdiet, and exercise for at least half an hour so that you cantake better care of yourself. On the career front, it is timeto take a stand and make some tough choices. You needto be straight forward in your communication and to thepoint. This will bring satisfactory change andimprovement to a specific matter in life. You will findhappiness in accomplishment. This week if youimplement certain important pending decisions that willhave the potential to change the rhythm of life for thebetter. On the personal front, you have very forcefulenergy this week. You are likely to be diplomatic andknow how to get the things done in your favour.

Lucky number 13Lucky colour BrownLucky day Saturday

LEO July 23-Aug 22

This week count your blessings and enjoy the goodthings that life has to offer. Whatever you do, keep itsimple and enjoy it. Stay safe and enjoy a good meal withfamily. Some of you would like to stay close to thenature. You may spend time gardening. Females wouldbe sensitive to things around them, be nurturing andmake efforts to make lives meaningful. Professionally,good times are on the cards. Moneywise week issatisfactory, and your generosity will earn you goodwill.Overall, it is an extremely good period in your career, andyou should take full advantage of it. Do not indulge ingossip as it might hurt your image. On the personalfront, you will find emotional stability. This is the time toenjoy your relationships.

Lucky number 12Lucky colour PeachLucky day Tuesday

SAGITTARIUS Nov 22-Dec 21

YYOOUURRWWEEEEKK

AHEADMADHU KOTIYA

sundaymagazine

tarot 8HYDERABAD, December 20, 2020

How much control we have on ourdestiny? Asked a student duringmy astrology class. Well, the

answer is ‘no and yes’. Should you leaveyourself to the usual run of life, you haveno control. For, you have yourself script-ed your destiny, as it is a carryover effectof your own doing and undoing in thepast. If, however, should you turn yourattention inwards, reflect upon andidentify own desire and mental trendswell in time, you can make necessaryamends through fresh educative inputsto rewrite your destiny afresh.

Here, it will be desirable to under-stand how one’s destiny is made.Remember, human beings enjoy theexclusive privilege to guide their actionsby choice and discrimination, not avail-able with any other existence. But givenour usual tendency, seldom do we careto discriminate before we get going withour inherent desire trends, and withobvious consequences. It needs to beappreciated here that whenever there is achoice in hand, the probability of its useand misuse becomes equal. That bindsus into a cause-effect chain running insuccession, and which sets the premiseof our destiny, ordinarily difficult to

evade its future ramifications.Here again, it also needs to be appre-

ciated that the choice option availablewould also enjoin upon us with the priv-ilege to make conscientious choice tomake necessary amends, provided weremain conscious enough to live mind-fully. For, mind is a very versatile equip-ment, which can self-reflect upon itselfto identify and acknowledge its owninherent trends. Following which, apply-ing our indwelling faculty of discrimi-nate intelligence, we can make necessarycorrections and redefine our futurecourse of life. The irony, however, is thatordinarily our ego identifies itself withthe inherent mind-trends, as if thatwould be its identity. It then passionatelypursue them as if that would be its endgame. In the process, it fails to invokefaculty of discriminate intelligence fordue diligence. Consequently, we fail tolook at our own mental infirmities in anunbiased manner. Here comes the roleof Astrology which could dispassionatelyprovide us with the right lead.

“Agreed sir, we have the potential toreshape our destiny. But how to pick upthe right lead from astrological pointersin practical terms?” Asked the student.

A case in point is someone in whosechart, the Sun signifying his identity isopposite Karmakaraka Saturn, bothdebilitated. It, in the first place, speaks ofa preconditioned mind, stuck to self-defined perceptions and beliefs, and notopen to look beyond for a reality check.Second, it brings in a sense of fear andinsecurity. Third, it is indicative of iden-tity crisis because he would have beencontinuously belittled in early life. Itdoesn’t simply make him habitually sus-picious of other’s intent, but also temptshim try to forcefully prove his point. Ifthat would not be enough, Mars placedadverse to Jupiter speaks of his inflatedego, which further restricts his scope ofvision. He can’t digest any observationor suggestion, contrary to his ownbeliefs and perceptions. He, rather con-tests them loudly as Mars is placedadverse to Moon. Further to that, mind-signifying Moon is opposite Jupiter. It,though speaks of a fertile and imaginarymind, but at the same time breeds in asense of overconfidence which oftenmakes him go overboard. That, readtogether with his Aries sign, oftentempts him jump into action withoutapplying proper forethought, and withobvious consequences. What further

compounds his problems is that Moon isplaced opposite intelligence signifyingMercury, which further makes him sus-picious and overcritical of others. Thequestion now is: How to overcome theseinfirmities?

Here comes the role of a Guru. Hewill give you a lesson in the making ofthe mind and its functional modalities,and let you know how to access fulllandscape of mind, when you may knowlimits. The paradox, however, is thatbecause of our self-created limitations,we are hardly able to use between 5 to 7percent of our mind-power, the restlying dormant. He then leads youthrough meditative process to clear offthe clutters of mind, when it becomesreceptive. He then gives you lesson inthe realities of life and lets you reflect onthem in meditative mode so that theyget absorbed in the inner realms ofmind. Having become aware thus, youwill not only be able to transgress thelimitations of mind. You may be able toredefine your thought process that mayprovide right leads in life.

The wwriter iis aan aastrologer, vvastu cconsultant and sspiritual ccounsellor. CConnect wwith hhim aat

Tel: 991-111-99818037273/9871037272Email: bbharatbhushanpadmadeo@gmail.com

ASTROTURFBHARAT BHUSHAN PADMADEO

Madhu Kotiya is a tarot card reader, spiritual healer, and Founder, MShezaim Institute of Tarot and Divination. Contact details: madhu@indiatarot.com, www.indiatarot.com, M: 9873283331

You can write your destiny

TEAM AGENDA DESK > NAVNEET MENDIRATTA, CONSULTING EDITOR | H LAYOUT AND DESIGN > SATISH CHANDRA JAKHMOLA, SENIOR EDITOR (CREATIVE)

NNooww yyoouu ccaann wwrriittee ttoo uuss aatt aaggeennddaappiioonneeeerr@@ggmmaaiill..ccoomm

IT IS NOT IN THE STARS TOHOLD OUR DESTINY BUT IN

OURSELVES— WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

The traditional Korean greetingAnyeong hasseyo means ‘Are youpeaceful?’. Indeed, there is not one,but many a unique experience andpeaceful encounters that can define

the wonderful Korean experience.I was ruminating on the three giant gold-

plated Buddha statues at the Jogyesa Temple,wondering at the calm and tranquillity theyexuded, even after 2600 years of Buddha’snirvana, when a monk passing by stoppedwith a smile on his face and asked, ‘Are youIndian?’ Soon he presented his card — hewas a Doctorate in Religious Studies.

JOGYESA

I was at Jogyesa, the main Buddhisttemple in Seoul, which belongs to the leadingsect of Buddhism in Korea called the JogyeOrder. Known as Chan Budhism in Chinaand Zen Buddhism in Japan, it came to Koreafrom China, about 1200 years ago, when theKorean master, Taego Bowu went to Chinaand became the 57th Patriarch of Buddhismand the first in Korea. He followed theteachings of the Ist Patriarch of China, theIndian monk Bodhidharma or Damo, who inturn was the 28th Indian Patriarch. Today,close to 20,000 monks and 20 million peoplein Korea follow this order. The temple, thebiggest in Seoul today, was expanded in a bigway in 1938 by adding the main wooden hall,Daeungjeon, which houses three giant imagesof the Amitabha, the Historical Buddha andthe Medicine Buddha.

For a temple as large as this, it wasconspicuously quiet. People were silentlyoffering prayers, sitting over mats spread onthe floor of the main hall. An elderly ladysaw me and offered to take my photo frommy camera without my having suggested so. Itook hers too, reciprocating her warmth andaffection.

Modern Seoul is vibrant with fashionableyoung professionals who believe in the work-hard-play-hard culture. Notwithstanding theabsence of fluency in English, their business-

like approach manifests in various ways — beit the 22000 USD per capita GDP, which wasless than USD 100 in 1953; the meteoric riseof South Korean economy, which is Asia’sthird-biggest economy today, or thelegendary emergence of not just Hyundai orSamsung brands, but so many others. Itcould be felt in the interactions with anyKorean — from the presentations of myKorean Custom department friends to theabsolute professional homework of the tourguide, who took us on a tour of the WorldHeritage Site of Gyeongbokgung Palace. Forexample, to explain the concept of ‘ondeol’,the traditional heating system of Koreanhomes, our tour guide drew out a properschematic diagram to show the generation ofheat and the consequent hot air and itsmovement under the floor made up of stonesand clay.

Seoul is fast emerging as the ‘New DesignCapital’ of the world, sprinkled with artgalleries at every nook and corner of the city,with multi-storeyed markets selling artistic

souvenirs, museums, and handicraft shopsgiving workshops on pottery making, etc.Artists can be seen making live paintingswhile music waft from the streets whereperformers play. The cynosure of this‘Designer Seoul’ is the Cheonggyecheon, alovely stream with a beautiful promenaderunning along with it. More than 8 km long

it was recreated in downtown Seoul afterdemolishing buildings that covered a streamthat used to flow there in the past as well.

GYEONGBOKGUNG PALACE

The colours of Korea can be bestsavoured during the hourly ‘change ofguards’ ceremony at Gyeongbokgung Palace,bringing alive the glory of 600 years ofJoseon rule, until about the last century. Thecolourful guards stand in sharp contrast tothe serenity of the palace and its simplearchitecture. Hanyang (old name of Seoul)was chosen as the capital of Joseon dynasty(1392-1910), as per fengshui, because it wassurrounded by four mountains in the fourdirections.

The best example of traditional ‘JoseonKorea’ for me was the Bukchon Hanokvillage with hundreds of traditional Koreanhouses or hanoks, with a central courtyard,like the hutongs of Beijing or the traditionalhouses of India. We loitered, drifted and lostour way again and again in its narrow alleyswhile staring at the ever-changingcompositions of rooftops, doors, and slopingalleys, framed by a riot of cherry blossoms.

Korea has become a developed country,but that has not taken away the warmth andhospitality of the Koreans. The fight to pickup the bill with Joon, my local Korean friend,or the touching gesture of Mr Jang bringingme Korean coins for my collection, shalllinger on forever.

As I leave Seoul, I hope to visit it infuture at the time of the Yeon Deung Hoe orthe Lotus Lantern festival, celebratedannually, a few days prior to Buddha’sbirthday, when hundreds of thousands oflanterns are lit up and carried in an eveningprocession from Dongdaemun (GreatEastern Gate of the Seoul Fortress) toJogyesa — a 1300-year-old tradition, datingfrom the times of the Silla dynasty.

Excerpted with permission from On thetrail of Buddha: A Journey to the East by

Deepankar Aron, Niyogi Books, `1,995

sundaymagazine

1110If left unguided, one may facenumerous roadblocks along their way

to spiritual seeking. You must...

Hyderabad, December 20, 2020

Retelling Peter Sutcliffe’s crimes

Everyone has beendiscriminated against

or harassed — sexismis real

— Scarlett Johansson

By turning your attention inwards, youcan make necessary amends throughfresh inputs to rewrite your destiny

On the Trail of Buddha — A Journey to the East by DEEPANKAR ARON is a unique sojourn in search of the spiritual,

philosophical, and cultural linkages that bind India to the East Asian civilisations. It discovers the unity in diversity of cultures

connected by two thousand miles of the Silk Road and separated by two thousand years of history. An edited excerpt:

SEOUL IS FASTEMERGING AS THE ‘NEWDESIGN CAPITAL' OF THE

WORLD, SPRINKLEDWITH ART GALLERIES AT

EVERY NOOK ANDCORNER OF THE CITY,

WITH MULTI-STOREYEDMARKETS SELLING

ARTISTIC SOUVENIRS,MUSEUMS, AND

HANDICRAFT SHOPSGIVING WORKSHOPS ON

POTTERY MAKING, ETC

The rooftops of Bukchon Hanok village

Daeungjeon, the sanctum sanctorum of Jogyesa with its holy trinity Peace and solitude at Jogyesa Pavilions inside the Korean palaces with traditional Korean architecture Traditional Korean dance

A glimpse of traditional Seoul

Gardens and pavilions of Gyeongbokgung Palace

THE HERITAGE PALACESAND TRADITIONAL VILLAGES OF MODERN SEOUL

Remove those impediments

F R O M T H E I N S I D E

sundaymagazine

spirituality 10Hyderabad, December 20, 2020

MAN HAS TWO GREATSPIRITUAL NEEDS. ONE ISFOR FORGIVENESS. THE

OTHER IS FOR GOODNESS— BILLY GRAHAM

HIDDENSOULSPRAMOD PATHAK

We will be entering the third decade of the 21st cen-tury in a few days. This is an era of artificial intel-ligence and machine learning. Yet we find that the

attraction towards spirituality is growing in human beingsas they are swaying between hope and despair due to theimpact of the pandemic. Solace is in great demand.Information and analytics do not seem to provide succourin these times of turbulence. Humanity needs peace morethan the data. In fact, desperation is clearly discernible asthe humanity is turning towards spirituality to find a wayout. Even the age groups and the classes that were usuallynot much fancied with the idea of spirituality are leaningtowards it. The youth cutting across gender, the affluent withhigh disposable incomes and even the high flying executiveshave started embracing spirituality. As Management schoolsstart introducing courses on spirituality Quotient and thecorporate houses emphasise spirituality at workplace, theecosystem is in a state of readiness to accept spirituality.Whether all this is due to some realisation about the futili-ty of material endeavours, or a need for reprieve from thepandemic pressure is yet not clear. But that notwithstand-ing, it certainly is a welcome sign as it will slowly lead to theenrichment of the society that is in urgent need of a para-digm shift to reinvent itself. Though commerce is still thedriving force for most people, yet minimalism as a way oflife is finding favour, frugal being no less fashionable thanextravagant. Even this little change in mind-set augurs wellfor humanity. However, there is something that we need toguard against. Growth of spirituality has created an oppor-tunity for even the clever operators who find this as a chanceto capitalise on. So we are seeing the rise of charlatans along-side the genuine. There is so much noise about spiritualitythat it’s essence is getting diluted. The proverbial empty ves-sels are making more noise. Quite an irony that spiritualityitself has become an instrument of commerce with self-styledgurus of different hues occupying center stage. The idea ofspirituality is getting clouded by many shades of grey.Spirituality needs to be understood in right perspective. Itis not about renouncing the world, the way the term is pop-ularly used. Walking away from the world to find peace inthe Himalayas or the jungle is not renunciation. Renunciationis about detachment from materialistic possessions. Beinga yogi in the world is more about duties that the divine hasentrusted to the human beings who are supposed to be thehighest form of creation. The duty to be righteous and com-mitted to one’s duty without craving for its fruits. That is whatrenunciation is all about. To perform Nishkam Karma as theGita tells us. Karma or duty is a must. Spirituality is not inac-tion. It is virtuous action, dedicating the duty to God. Theworld is not Maya or illusion. It is real and meant to be lived.What is illusion is the attachment, the desires and the crav-ings. That is the Maya which is impermanent. Duty is notjust a job. Duty is the contribution one makes to this worldin making it better. Job or no job, human beings have a duty.It has to be understood that renunciation is a state of mindrather than being. An attitude, a commitment.

Pathak is a professor of management, writer, and an acclaimed public speaker. He can be reached at ppathak.ism@gmail.com

God is fully involved, much morethan we can imagine or giveHim credit for. In the Bhagavad

Gita, Lord Krishna has stated inunequivocal terms about the degree ofHis involvement, “I am engaged inaction only. Because it is essential thatI am carefully engaged in action. If I donot act, then all these worlds will bedestroyed. (3.22-24) Then, in the thir-teenth chapter, He states: “Havinglimbs on all sides; having eyes, head andmouth on all sides; having ears on allsides, He is situated in this world per-vading all.” (13.13) He states again,“God only is outside and inside of allliving entities, and situated far awayalso, and nearby too; it is He only.”(13.15) This is not all. God knowseverything which goes on in ourminds. (13.2)

This is a God-centric creation, andit suits us. Imagine a headless compa-ny. Will it be sustainable? The creationmust be unitary for it to exist. Thisarrangement is good for us, because itis controlled by God. Normally, thekarmaphala principle is applicable to allof us souls, which is: what we sow, wereap. However for devotees of God,there is special treatment. The very bestget help in getting what they do nothave and security of what they have.(9.22) For devotees like me, God helpsus in crossing all impediments by Hisgrace. (18.58) This is wonderful for me,because in this impermanent place ofmiseries. (8.15) I am assured of His helpand guidance at all times. Additionally,God makes sure that “dharma” doesnot suffer decline (4.7), this is good fordharma obeying persons like me.

God’s plans are logical. He wantsus to take shelter of Him only. Then,

by His mercy we will achieve supremepeace and His eternal abode. (18.62)What could be better? God promisesus that if we follow His instructions, i.e.align our plans with His. The difficul-ty arises from our free will, which enti-tles us to desire freely and decide forourselves. God does not ever withdrawour free will. Because if He did, we willall become robots, God being all-powerful. So what does God do to helpus? He preaches.

Anyone who has read the Gitathoroughly will realise how much Godhas tried to convince us to follow Hisinstructions, which give us unimagin-able benefits. Chapter after chapter,Lord Krishna has argued in so manyways to convince us to follow the spir-itual path; give up getting entangled inearthly attractions. God is not againstenjoyment but that should be proper,i.e. according to dharma. (7.11)

Fortunate souls realise the advan-tages of obeying God’s instructions.They can see that the Cosmic Designis in our favour. For God, there is nei-ther anything remaining to be obtained

by Him nor there is anything worth get-ting for Him; God is complete in allrespects. The Cosmic Design is suchthat even in this impermanent place ofmiseries, we can experience eternalbliss. (5.21) We just have to pay moreattention to what God is trying to con-vey to us through scriptures, to preach-ers like Adi Shankracharya, and to goodsouls; there is no lack of them. Not onlyshould we listen to God but realise thatHe is our biggest benefactor. Imaginea world without the omnipresent,omniscient and omnipotent God. Whatkind of mess we will be in. Even withGod so actively involved, we findmultiple ways to get in trouble.

Therefore, let us become sensible;pay attention to what God has instruct-ed. His active involvement is alsogood for us in becoming better persons.I have realised the importance ofbringing God in may life in a very sub-stantial way. My life has never been sofruitful. I am really blessed to have Godso involved in my life.

Bishnoi is a spiritual writer and can be reachedat spiritual@ajitbishnoi.com

Spirituality and spiritual prac-tices have always been consid-ered a virtue of saints. The cur-rent day sees a larger majorityof the world learning or prac-

ticing spirituality in some form or theother. The science of spirituality is beingdecoded. As many embark upon thisnew journey, if left unguided, they mayface numerous impediments on theirway. Like any new skill one learns, thereare always some bumps along theroad, some impediments, something tolead you astray. The choice you have isto either find yourself unable toprogress, or make an extra effort in theright direction and cross the roadblock.Some of the more common impedi-ments faced by most are:

MINDThe most important and strongest

impediment lies within ourselves, ourminds. We have been nurtured andmolded to conform to a particularnorm. Religion is one of the biggestcontributors when it comes to condi-tioning as a deep-seated unflinchingbelief that cannot be questioned.Religion is commonly mistaken to besynonymous with spirituality. Thismay keep our focus outside of ‘us’ wherewe bow to idols of deities instead ofembarking on the journey of self-enquiry and seeking the divinity with-

in. As opposed to reliance on any exter-nal factor, spirituality requires a deeppractice of contemplation on ‘who amI’ and ‘how do I elevate my spirit,aatma’. Each religion began with theaim of leading an individual out of thecycle of birth and rebirth, but over mil-lennia, it has metamorphosed with thetimes and changed its focus, creatinglimitations and rituals that are seeming-ly easier to follow and more appealingto people. Spirituality is all about theself, the aatma, its upliftment, how bestto live in the world of maya, how to lookbeyond the veil of maya.

Another big impediment to spiri-tual growth is guilt. Guilt is a creationof ‘ownership’ and is created in ourminds. It is not about not being a niceperson, or being fair. Rather, guilt stemsfrom ignorance of the true nature ofreality and a lack of understanding ofthe concepts of maya, destiny, samskaraand karma yoga. The intellect that isintent on adding logic and rationale tothe experience where there may benone, creates yet another barrier. If any-thing does not fit the framework of theknown, it is rejected by those who holdtheir intellect in high esteem.

EXPERIENCEThis can be an impediment in two

ways — both the lack of it and the pres-ence of it. Lack of experience could be

a result of other impediments such aslack of self-effort or an inability torecognise growth.

Spiritual experiences can easily bemistaken for coincidences, premoni-tions, or not be noticed at all and ratherdismissed as pure happenstance, if onedoesn’t receive proper guidance. Often,people try to find logic in practices andbend the instruction to a more appeal-ing or comfortable form, leading totheir spiritual practices never maturinginto spiritual experiences. People oftenget bored by the repetitive chanting ofa mantra and self-enquiry and overtime the excitement wanes. Little dothey realise that for a mantra to be‘siddh’ or realised, it could take up todecades — and this is if it has beengiven to you by a ‘siddh guru’, else itcould even take a few lifetimes.However in this world of instant grat-ification, the results are sought in amanner similar to cooking noodles.

On the other hand there are somewho get ‘hooked on’, for lack of a bet-ter word, to these experiences once theyrealise them. It is a fact, that consistentpractice of yoga leads to the develop-ing of abilities of some form or other.A person not under proper instruction,or one who simply finds himselfsteered in the wrong direction, may getdeeply attached to these experiences.The result of this deep attachment is the

inability to progress any further.

SUBTLE INFLUENCES:There are some factors that impede

our progress which we cannot direct-ly control and among these are the plan-etary trends. The astrological charts thatare a function of our past journey playan important role in the journey of thefuture too. After making significantprogress, for 10 years of my life, therecame a period where I was unable toexperience any spiritual growth. I wasdespondent and tried everything Icould — did more seva, more mantravidya, more meditation, more focus onmy guna mix, but nothing worked. Andas easily as the progress stalled, with thenext phase of the planetary positions,it came right back. It was a frustratingperiod of endless wait, however Imade sure that I did not abandon thejourney midway.

As we evolve spiritually, there isanother element that can impedeprogress — chakras. This is typicallytrue in the early days where we areunable to detach from the physicalworld and are in an exploratory mode,having had some powerful experiences.At this stage, the belief is strong how-ever the practice is at an initial stage.It is here that the ‘chakras’ play a role.It is my belief that the chakras comprisemagnetic energy and upon spiritualawareness they create a pull of con-sciousness towards them. Whatimpedes the progress for many, is thepull created by the initial chakras thatdo not allow the consciousness to movetowards the higher levels.

THE SPIRITUAL GUIDEHow can a spiritual guide possibly

become an impediment? The realquestion to answer is, how does oneidentify a ‘siddh guru’ or an accom-plished teacher who can help you on thepath? There will be many who don therobes and have the right kind of ‘brandappeal and packaging’. But, how manyof them have experienced ‘gati’ or speedof the spirit, have experienced singu-larity — even if for a few seconds, havehad out-of-body experiences, hadencounters with spirits, how many havethe ability to heal or change what isapparently destined. Unfortunately,very few. And most of the truly enlight-ened gurus are out there, dressed nor-mally, speaking to teach and notimpress, not bothered about the setnotions of a ‘saint’s appearance’. Thenagain, it is the guru who will find youwhen you are destined to be found. Soall you can do is have faith that whenthe time is right, your journey toenlightenment will begin.

The writer is the author of Hingori Sutras series of spiritual books

Demystifyingspirituality

REMOVE THOSE IMPEDIMENTS

How involved is God?The creation must be unitary for it to exist. This arrangement is goodfor us, because it is controlled by God, writes AJIT KUMAR BISHNOI

Creativity stems from a place of silence and space. It is a place where there areno rules, no boundaries and time stands still, says NITHYA RAJENDRAN

If left unguided, one may face numerous roadblocks along their way to spiritualseeking. You must make an extra effort in the right direction, writes HINGORI

When we look at anything beauti-ful, we can see the work of a cre-ative mind or creative force

behind it, be it man-made marvels like artand sculpture, or natural wonders such ashills, oceans and forests. The former is aresult of man’s brilliant creative mind atits best, and the latter, the creative geniusof the universal divine force. Creativity inturn stems from a place of silence andspace, a place where there are no rulesand no boundaries. A place where timestands still... So, if spirituality and creativ-ity are so closely linked, it might be usefulfor us to understand how we can tune intoour spiritual selves, and unleash our cre-ativity with Indian Classical music.

The lineage of Indian classical musicstems from the Vedas, giving it depth, anda divinity which remains unsurpassed.Since the Vedas themselves are odes tonature and the creative life forces like thesun, the air and the earth, it is no surprisethat singing Indian Classical Raagas andSwars brings us very close to nature, andby extension, its creative forces.

It is no rocket science that a walk ondewy grass, or the smell of monsoonearth, brings us to a state of peace andbliss, a state most conducive to creativity.Engaging in a soul-stirring Raaga is nodifferent. Looking at it another way, thegamut of emotions that are stirred in usby the different combinations of flat andsharp notes in classical music, resonatewith the varied colors of emotion that wefeel as human beings. When this identifi-cation happens, we are disarmed and freeto express. This expression takes the formof unbridled creativity.

I would like to share the anecdote of afour-year-old child attending a music ses-sion. Considering her young age, theteacher decided, one day, to give in to the

child’s desire to doodle on a piece ofpaper, instead of having her sit in for aformal session. But, in order to make themost of the class, the teacher put on ashloka in Raag Hansadhwani in the back-ground, just to keep the mood of the classintact. The child kept silent through theclass as she kept creating small pieces ofart with her tiny hands. This went on for acouple of more sessions, much to theteacher’s apprehension that formal learn-ing was not happening.

A few days later, the teacher got a callfrom the child’s very excited mother. Shedescribed how the child had been fre-quently humming the shloka in RaagHansadhwani, along with creating beauti-ful art! She was overjoyed, not only at howthe child was able to sing and paint simul-taneously, but also at the fact that thechild seemed to be doing these from aspace of happiness and spontaneity.

What had really happened was thatthe child’s creative side had opened up inan environment of classical music, even

though she did not actually sing in thesessions. Not only did the music penetrateher without her knowledge, it also createda soothing and disarming environment forher art to flourish, and she was left muchhappier at the end of it all.

This a simple but powerful testamentto the enormous power of music to openup our creative side. Indian Classicalmusic indeed holds immense potential asa route to spirituality, and therefore to ourcreativity. It is emotionally disarming, soit sets the stage for our innermost abilitiesto come forth without fear of judgementor criticism. This is fertile ground for theendless possibilities of our emotions andimagination to find a way to paint them-selves in the canvas of our real worldthrough boundless creativity.

It is time we allowed our creativeselves to come forth in a flourish. Whateasier way to do this than with just a smalldose of Indian classical music everyday!

The writer is a versatile Indian Classical vocalistwith over 30 years of training

Music as creative centre

SPIRITUALEXPERIENCES CAN

EASILY BE MISTAKENFOR COINCIDENCES,PREMONITIONS, ORNOT BE NOTICED ATALL AND RATHER

DISMISSED AS PUREHAPPENSTANCE, IF

ONE DOESN'TRECEIVE PROPERGUIDANCE ANDINSTRUCTION

n What is your role in Zee TV’sHamariwali Good News?

I play Mukund Tiwari, whois based out of Agra and is ashopkeeper. He has lost the X-factor in life because of beingextremely busy in fulfilling hisfamily’s desires and earningmoney. This responsibility hasput everything else in his life onthe backseat. Hence, he hasbecome stern towardseverything. He has lost hismission in life. He is rudetowards everyone and doesn’tgets along well with his wifeor children, but his sisterwhom he has given the statusof nothing less than a God.The story talks about how thetransformation happens in hislife. n What attracted you towardsthis role?

The storyline of course.Whenever an actor is narratedabout a show, the storylinecatches his attention at first.Then comes the character. n From X-Zone Saheli to nowHamariwali Good News, howhas the journey been?

It has been good. I have gotto play a lot of different roles andgot a chance to work withdifferent production houses.Whenever you see a photocelebrating an anniversary ofyour show, it feels good thatpeople still remember you andappreciate your work that youhave done 20 years back. It hasbeen an amazing journey. Eventoday, people watch my showswith a lot of expectations. This isa big achievement for an actor. nWhat has been your takeawayfrom the industry?

This industry is volatile. Ibelong to a non-f i lmybackground and when I came tothe industry everyone told methat things are very dicy here.Sometimes it happens,sometimes not. But when youget into the industry, youthink that you can make it

there. Then, when you startcomparing yourself with peoplewho started with you, you realisethat the industry is volatile. Youare as good as your last show,shoot or award. This has been abig learning that you have to beon your toes and try out differentcharacters.n You have been a part of the

industry for about 20 yearsnow. Do you think you havegot your due?

Yes of course. I don’thave any regrets. I never seewhat I wanted, instead Ilook at what I have got. Todream is something thatwill never end. but as anactor you have too see

whether you have been ableto make a place for yourself or

not. Even today, I am givinginterviews to the press, thismeans that people want to knowabout my life and journey.Ever yone doesn’t becomeShahRukh Khan or HrithikRoshan. One in a million peopleshine in this field. I am happy andpositive about whatever I haveachieved and whereever I am. Inthe last eight months, life too hastaught us to be content withwhatever you have. n A role that comes close to you?

Saara Aakash is a show thatcomes close to my heart. Thatwas my first show as a lead.Back then, I was a bitflamboyant and risk-taking, so

I enjoyed being a part of it.n How easy or difficult is it to

shoot during Corona?It is quite a task. Right now I

am shooting for a daily soap in aconfined space so it is fine, but formy other action-based showsthat I am shooting for OTTplatforms is tough.

Earlier, we used to rehearsefor the action sequences, butnow to rehearse with a mask onbecomes tedious. We have a

crew of 110 people, who arejuniors forget about otherpeople. It is scary.

HYDERABAD | SUNDAY | DECEMBER 20, 2020 films & tv 11

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‘You are as goodas your last show’

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Retelling PeterSutcliffe’s crimes

HOME THEATRE

VIR DAS: OUTSIDE IN — THELOCKDOWN SPECIAL Netflix*ing: Vir Das Rated: 5.5/10

We all know how funnystand-up comedy is.We also know that

Vir Das has perfected thiscraft. The latest 50-odd minutevirtual session on Netflix onhow he entertained people inorder to raise money for charityis everything that he is knownfor— being funny and ensuringthat his audience got plenty oflaughs.

What is brilliant aboutthis show that Das conductedover Zoom is it managed to

raise over `35 lakh for 17different charities— acommendable feat — and thatover a period of three monthsvia his virtual stand-up.

We get to see a verydifferent side to him as well ashe lans his camera to show theaudience his personal space —something that his fans wouldlove to get a sneak peek intoincluding his collection of caps.Then there is the wholeheadband that he supportswhich he carries off with elan.One also gets to see how thelockdown affected thiscomedian — making this showa bit melancholy as well.

Of course there is bound tobe plenty of laughs as he goes

about asking people a simplequestion— what is the firstthing you would do oncelockdown opens? The answers,someone wanting to eat icecream to another wanting toride his bike to yet anotherwanting to eat Asian foodfrom her favourite restaurant,besides bringing a smile areextremely real and relatable.

He is engaging, making hisaudience laugh at their ownexpense.

He is also sans the stageand tells you that he longer hasthe advantage of beingshrouded in the shadows andthat it is nice to see inside hisaudiences’ home.

— Shalini Saksena

THE RIPPERNetflixDocumentary Rated: 6/10

It is a no-brainer that documentaries areinteresting to watch provided they aretold in an engaging manner. What can be

more engaging than fol lowing aninvestigation by the West YorkshireMetropolitan Police in what is considered tobe one of the biggest man hunt for a serialkiller that terrorised the women of NorthEngland for more than five years and killed13 women and attacked seven others wholived to tell the tale.

What makes this documentar yinteresting, absolutely fascinating andriveting is the way it has been told throughvarious people who were part of theinvestigation and some of the women whowere willing to talk about their bear brushwith death. Then there are accounts ofreporters who give you an inside of what washappening in the society at that time andhow the once thriving area of this part ofEngland due to Industrial Revolution fell onbad times and people lost their jobs andwomen stepped out to roam on the streetsat night to make money to support theirfamily. It also tells you how a patriarchal

mindset of the police showed these womenas loose, how the police’s warning to womento stay indoors after dark was met withresistance because they were not able to catcha killer. It was also the time when Englandsaw its first woman Prime Minister inMargret Thatcher and the changing polity ofEngland.

But perhaps the most fascinating thingabout this four-part mini series is how thekiller was always a few steps ahead of thepolice and managed to evade them eventhough no stone remained unturned andmillions of pounds were spent to catch him.What is even more bizarre is that it was a bitof luck that landed him in police net — ina totally unrelated offence — a wrongnumber plate; the car didn’t match thenumber plate it supported. Finally, the manwho had terrorised the women was caught— his name Peter Sutcliffe, a lorry driver.

His neighbours were shocked that he wasthe Yorkshire Ripper — a name given to himby the Press due to the fact that most of hisvictims were prostitutes — and killingssimilar to Jack The Ripper.

So why this documentary now when thekillings took place almost 46 years back?Sutcliffe finally died in prison at age 74 onNovember 13, 2020.

— Shalini Saksena

Funny butmelancholic too

Twinkling lights, ornaments for the Christmas tree, bells and candycanes- it is beginning to look a lot like Christmastime and OberoiHotels The Oberoi Amarvilas, Agra; The Oberoi Rajvilas, Jaipur; The

Oberoi Udaivilas, Udaipur; The Oberoi Vanyavilas Wildlife Resort,Ranthambhore; The Oberoi Sukhvilas Spa Resort, New Chandigarh;Wildflower Hall, Shimla in the Himalayas — An Oberoi Resort and TheOberoi Cecil, Shimla: are paving way for a jubilation to welcome theNew Year. This festive season promises to be the most joyful yet as asense of cheer unfurls with the onset of the celebratory period.

Plan your getaway with Oberoi Hotels & Resorts and enjoy thismomentous occasion to the fullest.

The Oberoi Amarvilas, Agra: Located merely 600 metres from theTaj Mahal, The Oberoi Amarvilas is a tribute to the legacy of Mughalarchitecture; accentuating awe-inspiring vistas of the exquisitemausoleum. When staying at the hotel on New Year’s Eve, you canindulge in a gala dinner at Bellevue, the all-day dining restaurant, whichwill be offering a wide array of world cuisine; Indian, Asian andWestern preparations, accompanied by live music from a two pieceband. You can also choose to dine privately by the poolside; the perfectsetting to for a romantic dinner or a party with loved ones.

The Oberoi Rajvilas, Jaipur: The Oberoi Rajvilas is the perfectbase from which to explore one of India’s most vibrant cities. Thisidyllic retreat evokes princely Rajasthan with luxury villas and royaltents in a fort-like setting. On New Year’s Eve, witness a royalRajasthani ceremonial welcome. The evening will be a gastronomicfeast featuring an array of Indian and international favourites. LiveRajasthani folk music, traditional dance performances and toe tappingmusic from a DJ will keep you entertained into 2020.

The Oberoi Udaivilas, Udaipur: Udaipur is home to many beautifullakes and is set against the dramatic backdrop of the Aravalli Hills.Located on the banks of Lake Pichola, The Oberoi Udaivilasmagnificently recreates the nostalgia of royal romance. Framed bybeautiful trees and demurely lit, our vast, manicured lawns are theperfect venue to usher in the New Year. The menu for the evening is anexciting mélange of Indian and Western cuisines, served with ourwarmest hospitality under starry skies. The evening’s entertainment willrange from traditional Indian dance performances to upbeat DJ music.

The Oberoi Vanyavilas Wildlife Resort, Ranthambhore: TheOberoi Vanyavilas Wildlife Resort is a luxury jungle resort locatedadjacent to Ranthambhore National Park. Between the Aravalli andVindhya mountain ranges, the resort is 180 kilometres from Jaipur andis the ultimate destination for adventurers. New Year’s Eve is celebratedwith an array of regional Indian and international cuisines served in themain dining room and starlit inner courtyard, around a glowing bonfire.There will be enthralling performances by a live band along with danceperformances from different states of India.

Wildflower Hall, Shimla in the Himalayas – An Oberoi Resort:The former residence of Lord Kitchener, Wildflower Hall exudes theambience of a grand stately home. Framed by cedar forests andtowering over Shimla at 8,250 feet above sea level, it provides a uniqueopportunity to lose yourself in the romance of nature. Stay with us andenjoy a sumptuous New Year’s Eve dinner buffet, featuring an extensiveselection of Indian and Western gourmet delicacies. Our chefs will be athand at live cooking stations, to prepare you the perfect dish, just asyou like it. There will also be a four piece live band for your exclusiveentertainment.

Plan Your Day

The best thing about Christmas is the nip in theair, the festive atmosphere and lots of yummyfood. While most of us have outgrown the Santaphase, I still feel we are each other's santa in away. It’s always great to receive gifts but to see thesmile on someone's face while receiving a gift is afeeling that cant be described in words. This year, Iwill be a part of the Secret Santa celebration onthe set of Story 9 Months Ki. While I am curiousto know what my santa will get me, I am equallystressed about being a Santa for someone. But Ipromise to be a good Santa. And I would like towish all our fans and viewers 'Merry Christmas'and hope for a bright & healthy future foreveryone.

— Aashay Mishra who plays Sarangdhar in SET’sStory 9 Months Ki

Christmas has always been veryspecial for me with all of ussinging carols, Mom baking cakesand stocking up on goodies whileDad decks up our home with theChristmas tree and all thedecoration. This used to be ourtradition since we were kids, andwe used to attend the earlymorning church service as well.Add to this list the visitingrelatives, friends and neighbourswho come to distribute cake,giving gifts to children and it goeson and on. Amidst all this flurry ofactivity what stands out always isthe happiness we get by sharingwhat we have with others. This is a

lesson that our parents taught usquite early in life. We used to hostfriends and family for lunch everyyear, spend time with them, givethem cake and gifts. This made usreally happy. I feel the true spirit ofChristmas is sharing and caring.That’s what makes it so special.With these memories of mine, I setout to reminisce special childhoodmemories of friends, colleaguesand relatives. I have the same planthis year too, decorate the housewith a Christmas tree, invitefriends over, celebrate the festivalwith plum rum cakes,yummilicious food and dance.

— Sanjay Gagnani who plays

I have a lot of friends who have theirbirthday around Christmas, so thistime I am thinking that I will plan theirparty themed around the festival. Ihave never done something like thisbefore but I am sure it will be a lot offun. We also have an interestingsequence on Christmas coming in ourshow, so that too will add a lot offestive feel on the set.

— Helly Shah who plays Riddhima inColors’ Ishq Mein Marjaawan

May this Christmasseason bring you closerto all those that youtreasure in your heart.Since I was young I havebeen celebratingChristmas I love theentire vibe of the festivaland this time also I willmake sure I take outsometime and celebrate itwith my family. Wishingeveryone a MerryChristmas.

— Madrakshi who playsParvati in SET’s

Vighnaharta Ganesh

Christmas calls for celebrationsand I want everyone to have funthis festive season. Everyone has achildhood memory associated withChristmas. In fact, we associate itwith red colour, cakes and Santa.It is a day of hope and everyone askids used to wish that Santa wouldcome to their home and maketheir dream come true. I hopeeveryone still believes in this andhas that child-like innocence inthem. Merry Christmas! Althoughit will be relatively different thisyear but I hope every one enjoywith all precautions taken.

— Rajveer Singh who plays Neelin Zee TV’s Qurbaan Hua

Christmas for me is eating cookiesand plum cake as well as wearingall the jackets and sweaters that Ihave! I grew up singing Hymnsand Carols and I absolutely loveChristmas and also watchingChristmas Movies these days isfun. The best part is that Christmasis followed by New year and thisyear has been quite a ride foreveryone. I hope the new yearbrings in joy and health andhappiness in everyone’s lives.

— Mugdha Chapekar who playsPrachi in Zee TV's Kumkum

Bhagya

Christmas is such positivefestival I love all the thingsrelated to Christmas .Everyyear I make sure I decoratethe tree visit the churchand in the evening me andmy mom bakes a cake.This year I would becelebrating with my IndianIdol family and I amplanning to bake a cake foreveryone . I wish Santahelps me win Indian Idol2020 that’s my only wishfrom him.

— Shanmukha Priya fromIndian Idol 2020

ACTORSPEAK

Let the festivities begin! Our team isplanning a 'Secret Santa' on-set as a part ofthe celebrations and I am very excited. Intimes like these, becoming each other'sSanta and getting a chance to makesomeone happy is a beautiful thought. I amlooking forward to surprise that one personon the set and I promise to go all out. Thewhole atmosphere is happy and forwardlooking towards a new beginning. As atradition, I will set up a tree in my houseand decorate it with a lot of love and hopeand buy presents for my family.

— Sukirti Kandpal who plays Alia Shroff inSET’s Story 9 Months Ki

MUSBA HASHMI chats up SHAKTI ANAND, who plays

Mukund Tiwari in Zee TV’s Hamariwali Good News,

about what attracted him towards the role, his takeaways

from the industry and whether he have any regrets

MOST MEMORABLE POSTINGS

I really enjoyed my time in Warangal from 1992-1994 andthen my stint as SP, Mahbubnagar. Since 2000, I worked asDIG of Warangal and Karimnagar Ranges, DIG Anti-CorruptionBureau and headed the state Special Intelligence Branch (SIB) deal-ing with Left Wing Extremism which was again a very memorableposting. I really enjoyed my work in all these districts. Later, I was postedin Chhattisgarh and this posting too was among my most memorable. I wasalso amongst the founder-members of the elite force ‘Greyhounds Force'.

HOME IS WHERE THE ART IS

Apart from policing and related subjects, I have varied interests — I find immensejoy in music, reading, fine arts, history, nature and fitness. Even though I hardly get timeto do all the things, I really love to travel when I do. I like to go hiking, visit beaches and seenew and adventurous places. After my work, I read a lot about new trends and what's hap-pening around the world. I call my children and talk to my friends whenever I get time afterwork. I feel I have missed a lot in life because of my busy and demanding profession butwhenever I get time or the opportunity, I like to spend time with young and happy peoplebecause we deal with abnormal situations. We see the very harsh side of people on a dailybasis so spending time with young and happy people is a big relief. I also like to inspireyoung people because they are the future.

A RARE DISTINCTION

There are not many IPS officers in India whogot the opportunity to serve in the UnitedNations. I am really fortunate to have got thisrare opportunity. Personally, it was a real learn-ing and very satisfying experience. I learnt aboutthe best practices followed globally and also gotan opportunity to work with other verticals ofthe United Nations. We worked along with 17other agencies and all these agencies that cametogether to develop a framework. I headedSecurity and Rule of law within that framework.And all these things gave tremendous exposureand this was only outside the policing domain.So working together in programme implementa-tion, programme overside-overview, police man-agement, how do we really strategise and thenidentifying these areas of intervention and work-ing together with all the stakeholder agencieswas an amazing learning experience.

REACHING OUT TO THE NAXAL-AFFECTED

We conduct multiple activities to bringthe police close to the people, includingorganising sports and games. We distrib-ute cricket kits among villagers and con-duct cricket, basketball, volleyballmatches as well as carrom board compe-titions. We also introduced the conceptof ‘shramdan’ by bringing the villagerstogether to work for development ofthe village. Such kind of activitieshelped bring people close to the policeand bridge the gap that had helped theNaxalites to take advantage of.

With our outreach programmes, thevillagers realise that we are not what wehad been portrayed as and projected his-torically. We also conduct other outreachprogrammes like arranging medical camps.

PRAISEFROM UNBESTWOMANPOLICE OFFI-CER AWARDEE

Doreen MazubaMalambo, a Zambian policeofficer who has been declaredUnited Nations Woman PoliceOfficer of the Year for 2020 thankedme for nurturing her professionallyduring my stint as the UN PoliceCommissioner in Liberia from 2009 to 2012.I was very touched by her gesture of remember-ing how I nurtured her and encouraged her. Suchgestures give us a lot of satisfaction.

HYDERABAD | SUNDAY | DECEMBER 20, 2020 12

Food: North Eastern boiledcuisine

Coffee/Tea: Tea

Strength: Resilience

Weakness: Sweets

Exercise: 45 minutes at least 3 to4 days a week.

Favourite colour:Black & Blue

Holiday spot: North East India

Dream destination: Greece

Book last: Ikigai

Movie: Can’t remember whenwas the last!! :)

Favourite place in AP: Vizag

Miss most about hometown:Nature. Fresh air. Organic foodand simple hearty people.Of late,try to make it at least once a yearto my home town.

The super cop of

ANDHRAUpon meeting Gautam Damodar

Sawang, one would never imagine himto have been born in Assam — the

DGP has adapted to Andhra cultureand language so well. Not that it

matters to Sawang, as he believes hiswork is his identity. Having been

allotted the Andhra Pradesh cadreupon joining the Indian Police Servicein 1986, Sawang took upon himself to

overcome the linguistic andgeographical hurdles, and he has done

a fine job of it. In this heart-to-heartwith The Pioneer’s ANUSHA

PUPPALA, Sawang reveals that hehimself wanted to be an IAS officer

but his father advised him to join thepolice forces as it would bring more

opportunities to serve the nation. Henow feels that he wouldn’t be doing

anything else. A self-confessedworkaholic, Sawang has risen up the

ranks — from ASP in 2000to being appointed

the DGP ofAndhra Pradeshin 2019. He also

holds the raredistinction of

having served inthe United

Nations (UN) asa Police

Commissioner,United Nations

Police, from 2008 to 2012.

HILDHOOD INARUNACHALPRADESH

I was born inAssam and spentmy initial years inArunachal

Pradesh. I did my school-ing in various states —Meghalaya, Shillong,Lakshadweep and Tripura.The last couple of years ofmy schooling was in Delhi.This was because my fatherwas in government ser-vices. My parents hail fromtwo geographical extremi-ties of our country, thestates of ArunachalPradesh and Kerala. Mymother was the first in her

family to get married to anoutsider as my father isfrom Kerala. I did myGraduation from LoyolaCollege, Chennai. Mynative place is Khonsa inTirap district of ArunachalPradesh which is one of themost backward places. I gotexposure to various cul-tures and languagesbecause I studied in differ-ent parts of the country.

DAD PREFERRED IPS TO IAS

It was more of my ownquest and exposure I gotfrom my parents and soci-ety that I chose this profes-sion. I actually wanted to

become an IAS officer andthen I thought about for-eign services. It was at thispoint of time my fatheradvised me that I could domore if I was in police ser-vices. He said ‘you canmake a direct impact ifyou are in police services’. Iwas selected for IndianPolice Services while doingPG from Delhi University.I have no regrets aboutjoining the IPS. I feel Ihave been really fortunateand it’s God’s Grace that Ihave been given thisopportunity to serve andmake a difference. Anyway you can make animpact and bring aboutchange matters.

C

ENCOURAGED KIDS TO FOLLOW THEIR PASSION

My daughter has been in the USA for the last 10years, she works at Facebook. She had thought aboutjoining IAS but I encouraged her to look beyondconventional careers since the world has opened upnow and there are so many other interesting thingsto do.

Civil service is more of self service; you have noth-ing but yourself and serve society. Conditions arebecoming more and more difficult and with globali-sation taking place, the scope is really vast.

My daughter is passionate about whatever she doesso I encouraged her to explore. She’s ventured intothe corporate world and is now a senior manager atFacebook. Our son is a sound engineer and moreinto the world of music. He did his bachelor's degreefirst and then pursued his bachelor's degree in audioin Australia. I strongly feel one should always pursuetheir passion because that's what gives you happinessfor life.

MY WIFE, THE ANCHOR OF OUR FAMILY

Ours was a love marriage — weknew each other since childhood asour parents were colleagues. Weboth come from a similar back-ground; she also hails from theNortheast. We have a daughter anda son. My wife Shilloi Sawang hasbeen the anchor of the family.Without proper anchor, life wouldhave been difficult to balance. Infact, I am very fortunate to havesomebody like her who took care ofeverything and allowed me todevote 100 percent to my profes-sion. I am nothing without my workand there were so many things Icouldn't do. She took care of every-thing; I am really blessed to haveher in my life.

WWiitthh ddaauugghhtteerr aanndd wwiiffeewwhheenn hhee ttooookk

cchhaarrggee aass DDGGPP ooff AAnnddhhrraa

PPrraaddeesshh

Gautam Sawang in United Nations with UN secretary general Ban Ki-Moon

QU

ICK

BIT

ES

With missing children rescued under Operation Muskaan