@TheDailyPioneer facebook.com/dailypioneerFollow us on:

MONEY 8BHEL COMMISSIONS 800 MW

UNIT AT GADARWARA PROJECT

ANALYSIS 7SEPARATING GRAIN FROM THE CHAFF

SPORTS 11POMS CHALLENGE INDIA’S

HOME INVINCIBILITY

VIJAYAWADA, FRIDAY FEBRUARY 5, 2021; PAGES 12 `3

}WARANGAL

SRINU BAGSACHARYA NIZAM

RIGHTSPage 12

www.dailypioneer.com

RNI No. APENG/2018/764698

*Late City Vol. 3 Issue 85*Air Surcharge Extra if Applicable

Established 1864Published From

VIJAYAWADA DELHI LUCKNOW BHOPAL RAIPUR CHANDIGARH

BHUBANESWAR RANCHIDEHRADUN HYDERABAD

VIJAYAWADAWEATHER

Current Weather ConditionsUpdated february 4 , 2021 5:00 PM

ALMANAC

TODAY

Month & Paksham:

Paush & Krishna Paksha

Panchangam

Tithi : Ashtami: 10:06 am

Nakshatram: Vishakha: 06:28 pmTime to Avoid: (Bad time to start

any important work)

Rahukalam: 11:05 am – 12:30 pm

Yamagandam: 03:20 pm – 04:44 pm

Varjyam: 10:16 pm – 11:47 pm

Gulika: 08:15 am - 09:40 am

Good Time: (to start any important work)

Amritakalam: 10:08 am – 11:39 am

Abhijit Muhurtham: 12:07 pm – 12:52 pm

FFoorreeccaasstt:: SunnyTemp: 32Humidity: 62%Sunrise: 06:46 amSunset: 06:13 pm

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Union law minister RaviShankar Prasad said that boththe state government ofAndhra Pradesh and HighCourt in the state have toform their opinion regardingshifting of High Court toKurnool. The JaganmohanReddy government had decid-ed to have three capitals in thestate, with High Court to beshifted to Kurnool, which hasbeen declared as judicial cap-ital. However, the state govern-ment's plan has been entangledin legal issues as Amaravatifarmers approached HighCourt. Notably, Jagan duringhis last two meetings with the

Union home minister, AmitShah, had urged him to issuea notification by the Centre torelocate the High Court to

Kurnool. During both themeetings Jagan had alsoreminded Amit Shah that theBJP also had promised High

Court at Kurnool in its pollmanifesto during the 2019polls.

In a written reply to the BJPRajya Sabha member, GVLNarasimha Rao, on Thursday,the Union minister said thatthe Chief Minister of AndhraPradesh in February, 2020 hadproposed for shifting of theprincipal seat of AndhraPradesh High Court fromAmaravati to Kurnool.

"High Court of AndhraPradesh with principal seat atAmaravati was establishedunder Andhra PradeshReorganisation Act, 2014 andhas been functioning fromJanuary 1, 2019.

SNV SUDHIRn VIJAYAWADA

While the proposed DataCentre & IT Business Park byIndia's top integrated infra-structure conglomerate AdaniEnterprises Ltd (AEL) at Vizagas per a revised plan will comeup in 130 acres inMadhurawada, it is reliablylearnt that the Gujarat-basedcorporate giant has committedan investment of Rs14,634crore for the project inseven years, in five phases.

AEL had also committedemployment of 24, 990. As per

the revised DPR submitted byAEL, Data Park will provide1200 direct employment andthe companies that wouldcome up in the IT BusinessPark will provide 21,000 directjobs. In the past Adani grouphad inked an MoU with thethen TDP government to setup three such data parks at

Nakapalle, Kapuluppada andBhogapuram in Vizag. Whileit was not known about theextent of land at Bhogapuramthat Adani Group sought atthat time, the business groupplanned data parks in an extentof 150acres in Kapuluppadaand 350acres in Nakapalle.

5 8 2

SNV SUDHIRn VIJAYAWADA

All airports in Andhra Pradeshexcept that at Rajahmundryhave witnessed less than 50 percent footfall in 2020 whencompared to 2019 due to theCovid-induced situation. Aftermore than two months of lock-down announced by theCentre in March, airports wereopened for flight operations atthe end of May. Even after theairports began operation, pas-sengers avoided air travel for

fear of contracting theCoronavirus.

Andhra Pradesh has fouroperational airports at Vizag,Vijayawada, Rajahmundry andTirupati. While the Vizag air-port operates both domesticand international flights, theother three airports handleonly domestic flights.

"When compared with 2019,most of the airports in AndhraPradesh have registered lessthan 50 percent footfall in2020 due to the severity ofCovid-19 pandemic. However, Rajahmundry airport has recorded 58percent of the 2019

footfall in 2020. Among thefour airports, Rajahmundryairport registered better growthdespite the impact of Covid19," said O Naresh Kumar ofAP Andhra Pradesh AirTravellers Association(APATA). Of the other air-ports while the Vizag airportrecorded only 45percent foot-fall in 2020 when compared tothat of the previous year,Vijayawada airport registered44 percent and Tirupati airportgrossed 41percent.

Sensex, Nifty main-tain record run;

RBI decision eyed

NEW FARM LAWS MEANTHERE IS NO

PLAN B FOR FARMERS

Previous govtsdrafted Budget

with eye on votebank: PM

{

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

BJP state unit president SomuVeerraju said that his partyhas the credit of making aperson from backward class-es as the Prime Minister ofthe country.

Talking at a meeting heldhere on Thursday, Veerrajuchallenged if YSRCP andTDP can make a person fromBCs as the Chief Minister.

Starting that BJP concen-trates on the development ofthe states and not on makinga person the Chief Minister,he said that many YSRCP andTDP leaders in the state wereready to join BJP in the com-ing days. On Thursday agroup of TDP workers led byan MPP from Narsaraopetahad joined BJP.

Alleging that both YSRCPand TDP governments hadmisused the valuable miner-al wealth available in Palnaduregion, he asserted that suchnational wealth must beproperly utilised for the ben-efit of common people thatprovides employment.

However, until now, healleged the political leaders inpower used the mineralwealth to improve the per-sonal assets of their leaders.

Seers want Andhra Govt to takeserious action against vandals PNS n VIJAYAWADA

A high-profile meeting of seersto save sanatana dharma onWednesday focussed on reli-gious conversions and attacks ontemples in Andhra Pradesh.

The meeting decided to holdanother meeting of sants andheads of various religious peethsin Tirupati later in February. Theseer exhorted Hindus to beprepared for "a protracted strug-gle to protect dharma".

The seers, who held theirmeeting held at Ponnadi village,56 km away from Tirupati,expressed their dismay oversporadic attacks on temples anddeities. They took a seriousview of the desecration of LordRama's idol at the Kodandaramatemple in Ramatheertham ofVizianagaram. They termed theoffence 'unpardonable'.

It was placed on record thatChief Minister JaganmohanReddy, by not punishing theguilty, had failed to fulfil his dutytowards the state. Such devel-opments did not augur well forthe country, the seers opined.

In various instances, chariotsgot torched, idols of deities haddesecrated, temple jewels were

looted from shrines spread overthe length and breadth of thestate, from Bitragunta toAntarvedi and from Pithapuramto Pattikonda, with the rulers ofthe state becoming mere spec-tators, the meeting noted, anddecried the "utter irresponsibil-ity" on the part of rulers.

Covid: 2020 footfalls plunge 50% in AP airports

No deadline for shiftingHC to Kurnool: Centre

AEL to invest Rs 14, 634 crfor Vizag Data Park project

Govt reviews Adani Group'sbid for solar project

Data Park to comeup in 82 acres2

‘Will YSRCP,TDP make a BCperson CM?’

PNS n HYDERABAD

The Special Court for Trial ofCases against MPs/MLAs in thecity on Thursday issued sum-mons to AP CM YS JaganmohanReddy in a case relating to viola-tion of Model Code of Conductat Kodad Assembly constituencyof the state of undividedNalgonda district.

According to the addition-al Public Prosecutor of thecourt Banala Ajay Kumar, thecase was registered by theKodad Police in the year 2014under sections 341, 188 of IPCand section 30 of HyderabadPolice Act. He said that thecourt had asked Jagan toappear before it on February12th of this month. He saidthat the case was transferredto the court recently andnumbered accordingly. He isnamed as A1 in the case.

3-member panel ofKRMB to meet today

PNS n HYDERABAD

The Krishna River WaterManagement Board has decid-ed to allot water to Telugustates depending on theirneeds for the Rabi crop as wellas drinking water purposes,given adequate availability ofwater that can be drawn fromthe River Krishna.

A panel of three of its mem-bers, comprising BoardSecretary DM Raipure andEngineers-in-Chief of AP andTelangana C Narayana Reddyand Muralidhar respectively,would meet on Friday (Feb 5).

In this connection, lettershave been addressed toGovernments of AP and TS bythe board chairman AParamesham. As River Krishnahas received heavy inflows, theboard has advised the Telugustates to make use of the avail-

able water to meet their drink-ing water and irrigation needs.

After the flood flow intothe river recedes, the wateravailable for use would be cal-culated and it would be allo-cated to the two states,depending on their needs.

The Board is now pre-pared to calculate the inflowsand outflows into the riverduring the current irrigationyear. Therefore, the Board hasasked the states to give anaccount of the water used byTelugu states till Jan 31 andgave estimates of their futurewater needs up to March 31.

On the basis of the wateravailability in Srisailam andNSP, joint irrigation projectsof AP and Telangana, and theextent of water drawn byboth the states, the tri-partitecommittee would allocate theshare of water for each state.

Summons to Jagan

PNS n NEW DELHI

Over 21 per cent of the popu-lation or nearly 29.5 crore peo-ple, aged 10 years and above,showed evidence of past expo-sure to COVID-19 in theICMR's latest national serosur-vey, the government said onThursday, noting that a largeproportion of people are stillvulnerable to the infection.

The Indian Council ofMedical Research (ICMR) thirdnational serosurvey was con-ducted between December 7last year and January 8.

Presenting the findings of thesurvey, ICMR Director GeneralDr Balram Bhargava said 21.4% of the 28,589 people, aged 18years and above, surveyed dur-ing the period showed evi-dence of past exposure to thecoronavirus infection. While

25.3% of children aged 10 to 17years from the same number ofsurveyed population have hadthe disease, he said.Urban slums (31.7 per cent)and urban non-slums (26.2per cent) had a higher SARS-CoV-2 prevalence than that inrural areas (19.1 per cent),Bhargava said, adding that 23.4per cent of individuals above 60years of age had suffered fromCOVID-19.

LONDON (Reuters): The worldfaces around 4,000 variants ofthe virus that causes COVID-19,prompting a race to improvevaccines, Britain said onThursday, as researchers beganto explore mixing doses of thePfizer and AstraZeneca shots ina world first. Thousands ofvariants have been documentedas the virus mutates, includingthe so-called British, SouthAfrican and Brazilian variantswhich appear to spread moreswiftly than others. BritishVaccine Deployment MinisterNadhim Zahawi said it was veryunlikely that the currentvaccines would not workagainst the new variants.

Around 4,000 Covid

variants across world

29.5 crore people in the countryexposed to Coronavirus: Govt

Has bird flu reached the vicinity of Hyderabad?PNS n HUSNABAD

Has bird flu, contrary to official claims,reached the vicinity of Hyderabad? This dis-turbing question is uppermost in the mindsof discerning circles because of the sheernumbers of birds dropping dead just like

that. Over 1,000 poultry birds have perishedin Karimnagar district over 24 hours sinceWednesday due to a mysterious disease. Theexact cause of death of the birds has not beendetermined so far, though locals link themto bird flu.

The dead birds include poultry belonging

to a farmer from Tirupati who has been rear-ing over 1,500 local breed chicken. The lossto this farmer alone has been put at Rs 4 lakh.He has appealed to the state government forsuccour. Veterinary doctors have collectedsamples from the carcasses of dead birds andsent them to a laboratory for analysis.

SEC cancelsTDP manifestofor local polls

Pontiffs of various peeths and maths at a meeting organised to protect SantanaDharma at Ponnadi, near Tirupati, on Thursday.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Andhra Pradesh StateElection CommissionC o m m i s s i o n e rNimmagadda RameshKumar took a sensationaldecision by cancelling themanifesto announced bythe Telugu Desam Party forthe panchayat electionswhich are non-political innature.

The ruling YSRCP lead-ers have complained to theSEC against the TDP chiefChandrababu Naidu forreleasing the manifesto forpanchayat elections.

The SEC said thatannouncing the manifestowas against the guidelines ofthe local polls. He said thatthe reply from the TDPwas not satisfactory andaction should be takenagainst the party.

The SEC wrote a letter tothe TDP asking it to with-draw the manifesto imme-diately and not to cam-paign or distribute it duringthe elections. Earlier,Chandrababu Naidureleased the party mani-festo 'Palle Pragathi -Pancha Sutralu' for the pan-chayat polls 2021.

2

2

2

2

7,139 INDIAN PRISONERS LODGED INFOREIGN JAILS: MURALEEDHARAN

PRIYANKA’S CONVOY INVOLVED IN ACCIDENTWHILE ON WAY TO RAMPUR, NO INJURIES

DALIT MAN THRASHED IN TN FOR THEFT;BRUTALITY CAUGHT ON CAM GOES VIRAL

GOVT BLOCKED 296 MOBILE APPS SINCE2014: UNION MINISTER SANJAY DHOTRE

Atotal of 7,139 Indian prisoners,including undertrials, are lodged invarious jails around the world, the

Ministry of External Affairs said on ThursdaySaudi Arabia has the highest number of1,599 Indian prisoners, followed by theUnited Arab Emirates with 898 and Nepalhaving 886 inmates, according toinformation provided by Minister of State forExternal Affairs V Muraleedharan in RajyaSabha. "As per the information available withthe ministry, the number of Indian prisonersin foreign jails as on December 31, 2020, is 7,139, which alsoincludes undertrials," he said responding to a question.

Congress General Secretary PriyankaGandhi Vadra had a narrow escapewhen several vehicles of her

convoy got involved in an accident onThursday near Garh Mukteshwar.Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was on her wayto meet the family of Navneet Singh, theyoung farmer who was killed in Delhi onJanuary 26 during the Tractor Parade.Four cars belonging to the cavalcadebumped into each other on NationalHighway-9 in Hapur district while theconvoy was moving towards Rampur,though no one was injured, informed Congress sources.

In a horrific incident caught on camera, ablindfolded Dalit man was thrashed by agroup of people recently here, accusing him

of stealing money from one of them, policesaid on Thursday. Four people, including threefrom the victim's community, have beenbooked for "attempt to murder" under IPC andSC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities Act), a seniordistrict police official said. The victim wasidentified as Rahul in his early 20s. He isundergoing treatment at a hospital in thedistrict. In the video, a group of youth areseen thrashing the victim ruthlessly, after blindfolding him, using astick as he screams in pain and pleads with them to spare him.

As many as 296 mobile apps havebeen blocked by the governmentsince 2014 in the interest of the

country's sovereignty, security, andpublic order, Union minister SanjayDhotre told Rajya Sabha on Thursday."A total of 296 mobile applicationshave been blocked by governmentsince 2014, under the provisions ofsection 69A of IT Act 2000 and itsrules... in the interest of sovereignty &integrity of India, security of the Stateand public order," Dhotre, Minister ofState for Electronics and IT, said in a written reply.

2 2

As the Supreme Courthas stayed the imple-mentation of the new

farm laws enacted by theCentre, farmers across thecountry need to realise theconsequences of the Actspassed by Parliament inSeptember 2020. For, they affectnot only the farmers of Punjaband Haryana -- who have beenat the forefront of the protestsfor the past 50 days plus at theborders of the national capitalseeking repeal of the con-tentious laws -- but all farmersacross the nation in the longrun.

The Parliament has enactedthree farm laws - The Farmers'Produce Trade and Commerce(Promotion and Facilitation)Act, 2020, The Farmers(Empowerment andProtection) Agreement on PriceAssurance and Farm ServicesAct, 2020, and The EssentialCommodities (Amendment)Act, 2020 - without having anyconsultations with stakeholdersand scrutiny done by any par-

liamentary committee. Thefarmers have been agitatingagainst these acts as they posea great threat to the interests offamers in the country and denythem the legally backedMinimum Support Price(MSP) for their produce.

The Farmers' Produce Tradeand Commerce (Promotionand Facilitation) Act, 2020 pro-vides freedom of choices tofarmers and traders to sell andpurchase of agricultural pro-duce outside the physicalpremises of AgriculturalProduce Market Committee(APMC) markets that includefarm gates, factory premises,warehouses, cold storages. Italso abolished the market feelevied by the market commit-tees on farmers and traders.

Through the Act, by disman-tling the existing system, thegovernment has deregulated itsauthority over agricultural mar-kets and gives a free hand to pri-vate players in farmers' producetrade and commerce.Corporate monopoly in agri-

culture sector will cause APMCmarkets die automatically andmay not give enough opportu-nities for small trades in buy-ing and selling of farm produce.As the government has notmentioned about MinimumSupport Price (MSP) in this act,small and marginal farmers willbe the real sufferers.

According to the AgricultureCenses 2015-16 report (finalresults released in 2019), thesmall and marginal holdingstaken together (below 2hectares) constituted 86.08 percent of the total holdings whiletheir share in the operated

area stood at 46.94 per cent inthe current census. This farm-ing community does not haveaccess to market or transportfacilities to sell its agriculturalproduce at remunerative prices.

However, the Farmers(Empowerment and Protection)Agreement on Price Assuranceand Farm Services Act, 2020seeks to create avenues for con-tract farming and paves the wayfor corporates to enter agricul-ture. According to AgricultureCensus 2015-16, about 15 percent of the total holdings are inthe hands of the above margin-al farmers, while their share in

the operated area stood attabout 53 per cent. In this cate-gory, most of the lands are beingcultivated by tenant farmers andcontract farming will affectthem.

In Punjab, Haryana andparts of Rajasthan, about 90 percent of the farmers get MSP fortheir produce as they sell themin regulated market yards. Andin other states only 20 per centof farmers sell their produce inAPMCs.

With the eventual rise of cor-porate autonomy and deregu-lation of APMCs, in the longrun small and marginal farm-ers will be left with no backupoption and they have to selltheir produce below MSP asthey would be at mercy of bigprivate players.

Taking into considerationfarmers' fears over the new farmlaws, the Union government isobliged to have elaborate con-sultations with all stakeholders.While encouraging the privatesector, it should keep some reg-ulations on the agriculture sec-tor rather than completely lib-eralizing them. The MSPshould be maintained in thefuture for the benefit of thebackbone of the country.

Political game in TelanganaIn Telangana State, a politi-

cal game has begun on the newfarm acts. While claiming to befarmer-friendly, the TRS gov-ernment has taken a U-turn onregulated farming - aimed atmaking agriculture a moreprofitable venture through sci-

entific cultivation based onmarket demands- which imple-mented in 'Vanakalam' seasonstarting in the month of Maylast year. The government guid-ed the farmers on what cropshould be cultivated and inwhich area and to what extentand also assured farmers thatthe state government wouldbuy every grain of the crop cul-tivated in this system withMSP by setting up procurementcentres at village level. As it hasfailed to procure all the crops,many farmers have had to selltheir produce below MSP toprivate buyers.

With the change in politicalequation after the results ofDubbak Assembly constituen-cy by-election and GHMCelections, the TRS governmentsupported the December 8th'Bharth Bandh' call given by thefarmers staging protest againstthe new farm laws, and posedas if it was against the Uniongovernment's move on farmlaws. Within 20 days after theBharath Bandh, the Telangana

government withdrew its ownregulated farming and left thefarmers to decide for them-selves their preferred crop. Italso decided not purchase farmproduce on its own and toldfarmers could sell their producewherever they get a good pricein view of the new farm laws.The consequences of the imple-mentation of the farm acts willbecome a weapon for the rul-ing TRS party in the nextAssembly elections.

In Telangana and in otherstates, about 20 per cent of thefarmers sell their farm producein APMC yards. As there is anexisting regulated system, thefarmers who sell their produceto private buyers get at least abetter price. With the imple-mentation of the new farm lawsthat paves the way for deregu-lation of APMCs and monop-oly of big players in agriculturetrade and commerce, in futurethe farmers will have no 'PlanB' to sell their produce at MSP.

(The writer is TPCC officialspokesperson)

INDIRA SHOBAN POSHALA

With the eventual rise of corporateautonomy and deregulation ofAPMCs, in the long run small andmarginal farmers will be left withno backup option and they have tosell their produce below MSP asthey would be at mercy of bigprivate players

New farm laws mean there is no Plan B for farmers

Printed and published by B Krishna Prasad for and on behalf of CMYK Printech Ltd., Phone: 040-23322341, Hyderabad Office: F-502, Diamond Block, Lumbini Rockdale, Somajiguda, Hyderabad - 500 082. Telangana. Printed at Sree Seshasai Enterprises, Plot No.19, IDA Balanagar , Hyderbad-500037, Medchal -Malkajgiri District, Telangana. Chief Editor: Chandan Mitra. Resident Editor: B Krishna Prasad, AIR SURCHARGE of Rs 2.00.

Although every possible care and caution has been taken to avoid errors or omissions, this publication is being sold on the condition and understanding that information given in this publication is merely for reference and must not be taken as having authority of or binding in any way on the writers, editors, publishers, and printers and sellers who do not owe any responsibility for any

damage or loss to any person, a purchaser of this publication or not for the result of any action taken on the basis of this work. All disputes are subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of competent court and forums in Delhi/New Delhi only. Readers are advised and requested to verify and seek appropriate advice to satisfy themselves about the veracity of any kind of advertisement before

responding to any contents published in this newspaper. The printer, publisher, editor and any employee of the Pioneer Group's will not be held responsible for any kind of claim made by the advertisers of the products & services and shall not be made responsible for any kind of loss, consequences and further product-related damages on such advertisements.

vijayawada 02VIJAYAWADA| THURSDAY | FEBRUARY 5, 2021

EGG

RATES

`` 48, 380 (10 gm)

` 880

GOLD

` 72, 200 (1kg)` 1800

VIJAYAWADA 430

HYDERABAD 393

VISAKHAPATNAM 430

RREETTAAIILL PPRRIICCEE `̀44.. 3300

SILVER

VIJAYAWADA

BULLION RATES

`̀//110000

CHICKEN

RATES

Dressed/With Skin `157

Without Skin `178

Broiler at Farm `108

`̀//KKGG

(IN HYDERABAD)

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Union minister of state forelectronics and IT, SanjayDhotre said setting up of 19greenfield electronic manu-facturing clusters (EMCs) inthe entire country had beenapproved. Of these, threeEMCs have been approvedonly in Andhra Pradesh.

In a written reply to the BJPRajya Sabha member, GVLNarasimha Rao, he said Rs.6,852 crore was the committedinvestment in these three clus-ters and 9,782 jobs had alreadybeen created.

Significantly, all these threeEMCs are in the TirupatiParliamentary constituency,which will go for by-poll short-

ly. The IT minister further saidin the written reply, "AndhraPradesh is at the forefront ofpromoting and attractinginvestments in electronicsmanufacturing in India. Some

renowned companies likeDixon, Foxconn, Wingtech,Voltas, TCL, Sunny Opotech,etc. have either set up theirfacilities or are in an advancedstage of project implementa-

tion for variety of electronicproducts and components."

He added further, "Toachieve the goals of Make inIndia and Atmanirbhar Bharat,Andhra Pradesh is makingefforts to attract electronicsmanufacturing companies inupstream value chain such ascomponents manufacturingapart from assembly. Theseinclude mobile assembly units,passive components manufac-turing units, battery manufac-turing units, EMS units andconsumer electronics manufac-turing units."

In all, 31 companies have setup their units in the three oper-ational ElectronicManufacturing Clusters(EMCs) in the state.

Andhra allotted 3 electronicmanufacturing clusters

TRAI recommends regulatoryframework for DTH platformsPNS n NEW DELHI

Telecom regulator TRAI hasissued its recommendationson the back reference from theMinistry of Information andBroadcasting on the authori-ty's earlier guidelines on theregulatory framework for plat-form services offered by DTH.

TRAI recommended thatprogrammes transmitted bythe direct-to-home (DTH)operators or multiple systemoperators (MSOs) or InternetProtocol Television (IPTV)operators as a platform ser-vice shall be exclusive. The same shall not be permit-ted to be shared directly orindirectly with any otherDPO.

"Incase the same pro-gramme is found available onthe platform service of any

other DPO, MIB/TRAI mayissue directions to immediate-ly stop the transmission ofsuch a programme. The MIBalso reserves the right forcancellation of registration ofsuch platform service of theDTH operator/MSOs/IPTVoperator," TRAI said in its rec-ommendations document onFebruary 2.

The TRAI accepted theministry's view that anybodyregistered as a DPO, eitherwith the MIB or with a postoffice, shall be eligible to carryplatform service channels,provided that the ministry isable to specify compliancestructure to ensure that thoseproviding the service make fulldisclosure on ownership sta-tus and comply to the pro-gramme and advertisingcodes.2

Continued from Page 1

The CM, Andhra Pradeshin February, 2020 has pro-posed for shifting of princi-pal seat of AP High Courtfrom Amaravati to Kurnool.However, there is no propos-al for setting up High CourtBenches in other cities.Shifting of Principal Seat ofHigh Court is decided by theState Government in consul-tation with the concernedHC. The State Government isresponsible for meeting theexpenditure for running theHigh Court of the State.Similarly, the Chief Justice ofthe concerned High Court isresponsible for running theday-to-day administration ofthe Court," he said.

He further said that in thepresent instance, both thestate government of AndhraPradesh and High Court hadto form their opinion regard-ing shifting of High Court toKurnool and no time framewas laid down in such matters.

No deadlinefor shifting...

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Chief Minister YS JaganmohanReddy has directed the officialsto conduct a speedy inquiryinto the pending cases on SC,ST atrocities during the state-level high-power SC, STVigilance and MonitoringCommittee meet here onThursday.

Speaking on the occasionthe Chief Minister said thathigh-power Vigilance andMonitoring Committee meet-ings were not held since 2013,as the previous governmentlaid no focus on law enforce-ment, especially in the cases ofSCs and STs. He said that reg-ular review of SC, ST lawenforcement, both at state anddistrict level, meetings shouldbe held.

The CM said that for the firsttime in the history of the state,police department had takentough decisions regarding the SC,ST Atrocities (Prevention) Act

and took stringent action againstthose police officers, who werefound guilty, thereby proving noone was above the law and nooffender should escape.

The state government shallcontinue to provide financialassistance to the victims ofharassment without any delay,he said. He directed the offi-cials to provide jobs to familiesof the victims of rape and mur-der in SC and ST cases. He sug-gested that providing land forthe victims and in case ofunavailability, he told the offi-cials to acquire and distributeit to the victims.

The Chief Minister instruct-ed the in-charge ministers toreview the implementation ofthe Prevention of SC and STAtrocities Act in the districtsevery three months and involvesenior officials and other stake-holders. He told the officials toprepare an SOP on lawenforcement and effectiveimplementation of the Act.

The Chief Minister alsodirected the InvestigationWing of SC, ST Act cases inCID to review the progress ona regular basis.

"Police need to be closer tothe downtrodden communitiesand provide assurance on thelaw. We have already made itmandatory for Collectors tovisit village secretariats once aweek, from now on district SPs,along with Collectors shouldgo to SC and ST colonies oncea week. At the very firstCollectors' conference afterformation of the government,it was told that the state shouldstand by the oppressed sectionsand women," said the ChiefMinister and asked the officialsto focus on setting up specialcourts, especially appointinglawyers, as well as providingassistance to the victims.

Dr. G. Sunil Kumar,Director, Scheduled CastesNational Commission, laudedthe state government as the

only one in the country to havegiven Rs 10 lakh compensationto the victims in various cases.Committee members laudedthe government's handling ofincidents in East Godavari(Rajahmundry), Prakasam andSrikakulam districts with theimplementation of the Act.

Meanwhile, the officialsinformed that the numbers ofcases were decreased by 11 per-cent in 2020, which was thelowest in the past six years.Almost 36 percent reduction inSC and ST murder cases in2020, 17 percent reduction inrape cases, five percent reduc-tion in trauma cases, 46 per-cent reduction in incidents ofarson, 11 percent reduction inother IPC cases and 18 percentreduction in cases under theSC, ST Act had been recorded.

In terms of investigation, in2017, there was an average of264 days per case investigationwhich came down to just 50days in the year 2020.

Expedite pending cases of atrocitieson SCs, STs, Jagan tells officials

Continued from Page 1

While the Vizag airport hadhandled 12,65,434 passengersin 2020 when compared to27,81,494 passengers in 2019,Vijayawada airport witnesseda footfall of 5,27,62 in 2020when compared to 11,84,069passengers in 2019 and around2,24,823 f lyers usedRajahmundry airport in 2020when compared to 3,87,456 in2019. Tirupati airport hadhandled 3,57,065 passengers in2020 when compared to8,52,419 passengers in 2019.

Vizag airport witnessedmovement of 11,467 aircraft,both international and domes-tic, in 2020 compared to 21,455aircraft in 2019.

Interestingly, despite theCovid pandemic situation

cargo movement at Vijayawadaairport in 2020 was 93 percentof the total cargo movement in2019. Vijayawada airport han-dled 1,588 cargo planes com-pared to 1,708 aircraft in 2019.

"From the above statistics,it is clear that the airports inAndhra Pradesh have brightfuture and it will soon beproved as air traffic will pickup once normality returns asthe Covid-19 pandemic islikely to come to an endshortly. The proposed air ser-vices from Visakhapatnam toKurnool and back will be aboon for the passengers as itwill take lesser time to travelthe distance when comparedto journey on road or bytrain. The APATA welcomesthe new service," said DSVarma of APATA.

Covid: Footfallsplunge 50% in AP...

Continued from Page 1

However, after the YSRCPcame to power Adani Groupsubmitted a revised proposalunder which it proposed toestablish an Integrated DataCentre Park and Technology/Business Park. As per the newproposal, a 200 MW data cen-tre park, IT business park,skills university, and recre-ation centre will come up in130acres of the land.

Notably, the initial propos-al by Adani Group duringTDP regime was to develop5GW data parks in Vizagregion over a period of time atdifferent places, but as per therevised proposal by theAhmedabad-based businesshouse the capacity of the data

park proposed has been down-sized to 200MW that too atone single location.

The government will allotthe land at a price of Rs 1cr peracre to the Adani Group.

While the present invest-ment volume as per therevised proposal is Rs 14,634crore, the then Telugu DesamParty government hadclaimed that Adani Groupwould develop the hyper-scale data centre market in thestate, positioning AP as theeast coast data centre hub forIndia and South East Asiawith an investment over Rs.70,000 crores, over a period of 20years which in turn wasexpected to create in excess ofone lakh direct and indirectjobs across the state.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

The state government hadsaid that social infrastructureat the AEL project in Vizagshould be restricted to thepermissible activities andwould not include residentialdevelopment and data centrepark was to be restricted to anextent of 82 acres as estimat-ed during evaluation of theDPR. Further, the projectproponent was to ensure aninstalled capacity of 200 MWin the said land extent.Similarly, IT business parkshould not exceed an extentof 28 acres. Skills universitywill come up in 11 acres andrecreation centre in 9 acres.

As the timelines proposedby AEL, in the first threeyears from the day of hand-

ing over the land, projectshould commence operationswith 30mw, 60mw in two tofour years, 110 mw in three tofive years, 160 mw in four tosix years and finally 200 mwin seven years.

AEL committed 1,240direct employment from the200 MW data centre park,1,200 direct employmentfrom IT business park, 21,000direct employment throughcompanies operating in the ITbusiness park, 550 directemployment from the skillsuniversity, and 1,000 directemployment from the recre-ation centre, totalling a directemployment of 24,990. Thesejobs are to be created withina period of seven years fromthe date of handing over ofthe land.

Data Park to come upin 82 acres

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

.The Jaganmohan Reddy gov-ernment is reviewing one ofthe bids submitted by AdaniRenewable Energy HoldingTwelve Limited to develop five600mw solar power projects,whether to accept it or not.

The Government hadcalled for tenders to develop10 solar power projects at dif-ferent locations across thestate and Adani group hadsubmitted bids and emergedas L1 bidders for five projects.

"The bid received for thedevelopment of project in CSPuram in Prakasam district ishigher at Rs. 2.58 per kWhand the committee is examin-

ing whether such a high-priced bid should be accept-ed or not," said a senior gov-ernment official.

Average bids were receivedfor Rs 2.48 per kWh.

Tenders have been filed bybig players such as NTPC,Adani group and Torrentpower placing bids to devel-op the project. The first phasewhich stretches over 10 differ-ent locations has attracted atotal of 24 bids in all.

"It is important to notethat the authorities haveadhered to all the guidelinesprescribed by the Ministry ofNew and Renewable energy inan attempt to make theprocess transparent and

objective, unlike before. Apartfrom giving the potential bid-ders a month's time from thedate of issuance of the notifi-cation, the concerned author-ities have also run the bid doc-ument through the judicialpreview process to ensurethat the process undertaken isimplemented in a fair andtransparent manner. Thetransparent manner of pro-cessing the bids along with thereverse tendering mechanismhas ensured the discovery ofthe low tariff," the officialadded.

The average power pro-curement cost of the state asof now, is close to Rs. 5.2 perkWh.

Adani Group to invest Rs 14, 634 crore...Govt reviews Adani Group's bid for solar project

Continued from Page 1

Blood samples of 7,171healthcare workers were alsocollected during the same peri-od and the seroprevalence wasfound to be 25.7 per cent, theICMR director general said.

The survey was conductedin the same 700 villages orwards in 70 districts in 21states selected during the firstand second rounds of the

national serosurvey.On the coronavirus situation

in the country, the health min-istry said India's COVID-19cumulative positivity rate is5.42 per cent and declining.The weekly positivity rate (lastweek) was recorded at 1.82 percent, it said.

It said that 47 districts havenot reported any new case ofCOVID-19 and 251 districts

have not registered any newdeaths in the last three weeks.

So far, 49,93,427 beneficiarieshave been vaccinated in thecountry out of which 11 statesand Union Territories, includ-ing Tamil Nadu, Assam,Ladakh, Chandigarh,Meghalaya and Manipur, havecovered 30 per cent or lesshealthcare workers through theCOVID-19 vaccination, it said.

Around 4,000 Covid variants across world

Continued from Page 1

“Its very unlikely that thecurrent vaccine won’t beeffective on the variantswhether in Kent or othervariants especially when itcomes to severe illness andhospitalisation,” Zahawi toldSky News. “Allmanufacturers, Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, Oxford-

AstraZeneca and others, arelooking at how they canimprove their vaccine tomake sure that we are readyfor any variant - there areabout 4,000 variants aroundthe world of COVID now.”While thousands of variantshave arisen as the virusmutates on replication, onlya very small minority arelikely to be important and to

change the virus in anappreciable way, accordingto the British MedicalJournal. The so calledBritish variant, known asVUI-202012/01, hasmutations including achange in the spike proteinthat viruses use to bind tothe human ACE2 receptor -meaning that it is probablyeasier to catch.

29.5 crore people in the...

vijayawada 03VIJAYAWADA | FRIDAY | FEBRUARY 5, 2021

SHORT TAKES

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Vijayawada city police com-missioner B Sreenivasulu onThursday f lagged off awalkathon organised by HCGCancer Centre to mark WorldCancer Day (February 4) tocreate awareness on canceramong people here at BRTSRoad.

Dr M Gopichand, DrSridhar Muni, Raghuram andothers took part in thewalkathon.

Speaking on the occasion, BSreenivasulu appreciated theHCG Cancer Center for

undertaking the awareness ini-tiative aiming at creatingawareness among people andprevention of cancer by adapt-ing healthy lifestyle in ourdaily life.

Early detection of cancerhelps cancer patient to have ahealthy life span with propertimely treatment, he said.

Explaining that there werevarious advanced treatmentoptions available to treat alltypes of cancers, he askedpeople not get scared of can-cer.

Dr Gopichand said: "10 mil-lion people die due to cancer

every year. Cancer is the sec-ond leading cause of deathsworldwide. In India, around 12lakh new cancer cases gets reg-istered, out of which around 8lakh deaths occur every year.At least one-third of cancersare preventable by adoptinghealthy habits like consuminghealthy food, avoiding tobac-co and alcohol, inculcatingfitness activities in our daily lifeand others. Regular screeningand early detection of canceris the key and spreading thismessage is the main objectiveof the World Cancer Day witha theme 'I Can We Can'.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

TDP polituburo member VarlaRamaiah on Thursday strong-ly objected to the manner inwhich the police were deliber-ately creating hurdles for TDPAP president Atchannaidu insecuring bail in the attempt tomurder case that was filedagainst him.

Ramaiah said that underthe leadership of DGP GautamD Sawang, the AP police weremisusing Section 307 only totarget the TDP leaders.

"It was laughable that thepolice filed an attempt to mur-der case against Atchannaidujust on the basis of his voice ina phone conversation, thoughthere was no use of anyweapon or injury or conspir-acy angle," he said.

Addressing a press confer-ence here, the TDP leaderdemanded that the DGP

explain why even the casediary was not made availablewhen Atchannaidu bail appli-cation was moved in the court.

"Section 307 was falselyslapped against another TDPleader Dora Babu who wasactually a victim in that case.It was the YSRCP leaders who

attacked and damaged DoraBabu's vehicle," he alleged.

Ramaiah also demanded thesuspension of Tsunduru S-ISravani for violating the pollcode and threatening TDPleader Balakoti Reddy to pre-vent him from filing nomina-tion.

Balakoti Reddy has alreadylodged a complaint with theState Election Commission,the DGP and the SP con-cerned. The voice recording ofher phone call was available asproof, he added.

It was high time for the DGPto stop setting a wrong exam-ple for the police force. Heshould stop dancing to thetunes of the YSRCP leaders asit would further damage theimage of the AP Police. TheDGP would have to once againanswer before the court for hisomissions and commissions inthe Atchannaidu case.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

A woman and her eight-year-old daughter committed sui-cide at their residence inShankarapuram in Kadapacity on Thursday. The duocommitted suicide by hangingthemselves from a ceiling fanin their residence.

The deceased were identi-fied as Shravani, 29, andTanvika, 8, ofShankarapuram.

According to the details,Shravani was married toSivakumar Reddy nine yearsago and they had 8-year-olddaughter Tanvika.

Currently, Sivakumar isworking for an MNC in theUSA.

The woman has reported-ly committed suicide due tofamily issues. It is reportedthat Shravani and Sivakumarwere not in good terms from

the past five years and she wasstaying with her daughter inSankarapuram, as per reports.

Learning about the inci-dent, Chinna Chowk policereached the place of suicideand launched investigation.

The bodies of Shravani andTanvika were shifted to RIMShospital for post-mortem.

Inspector Ashok Reddysaid case has been registeredand the investigation wasunder progress. They are tak-ing statements from theirfamily members and friends.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

AP State ElectionCommissioner NimmagaddaRamesh Kumar extensivelytouring the entire state in thewake of the ongoing localelections.

During his visit to Nelloredistrict on Thursday, the SECheld a review meeting withofficials. Interacting with theofficials, he said that he wasvisiting the various places inthe district to know about thelocal conditions and securityarrangements.

"Many attempts were madeto stop the elections, but jus-tice will always win. There isnothing wrong with unani-mous election, but it would bethe failure of the authorities ifthe unanimous election wereregistered abnormally," he said.

The SEC questionedwhether there were unani-mous elections in Assembly,Parliament elections.

Nimmagadda further saidthat the High Court has dis-missed the petition filedagainst 2019 voters' list despitesaying that about 3.6 lakhpeople lost their voting right.He said that the High Court

did not accept the 2021 voterlist and the AP High Courtruled that it could not interferein the election process.

He commented that it wasthe right time to conduct elec-tions and reminded that theelections were also being con-ducted in other states in thecountry.

He said he was conductingthe elections as per the direc-tions of the Supreme Court. Heclarified that the elections willbe held even if the ElectionCommission is not respected

in the state. NimmagaddaRamesh Kumar reminded thatGHMC elections were alsoheld in Telangana.

The SEC has released the listof sarpanchs and ward mem-bers elected unanimously inSPSR Nellore district as per thereports came by 8 pm onThursday.

Out of 17 gram panchayatsand172 wards in Jaladanki,four sarpanches and 57 wardmembers were elected unani-mously. In Kavali, onesarpanch and 63 wards mem-bers were elected unanimous-ly. In Varikuntapadu, 5sarpanches and 85 ward mem-bers were unanimously elect-ed. In Kaligiri, four out of 23sarpanches and 81 out of 214wards were unanimous, whilein Dagadarthi, one sarpanchand 50 ward members wereunanimous. In Kondapuram,four sarpanches and 80 wardmembers were elected unani-mously, while in Allur 18wards were members unani-mous. In Bogole, one sarpanchand 43 ward members wonunanimously, while inDuttalur, five sarpanches and63 ward members were elect-ed unanimous.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

MLC Dokka Manikya VaraPrasad on Thursday allegedthat TDP leaders were behindthe attacks on temples in thestate and that they were try-ing to gain political mileageout of the attacks. He has alsoslammed BJP MP GVLNarasimha Rao for raisingthe issue in Rajya Sabha.

Addressing a press confer-ence here on Thursday, hesaid that Andhra Pradesh hasno history of communal riotsor religious disputes even inthe distant past, but TDPchief N Chandrababu Naiduhas been trying to createchaos for gaining politicalmileage.

It was clearly proved thatTDP was behind the desecra-tion of idols as the CCTVfootage reveals that TDP lead-ers were carrying the Nandistatue in Atchannaidu's con-stituency.

Criticising the TDP MPs formeeting Home Minister AmitShah regarding attacks on

temples, the MLC said that allthe evidence regarding theattacks would be submitted tothe Union Minister.

TDP spoke against PrimeMinister Narendra Modi andAmit Shah during the 2019general elections, but nowthe party it is trying to movecloser to them for narrowpolitical gains, he said.

Replying to GVLNarasimha Rao's charge, he

said, "BJP's P Manikyala Raowas the Endowments Ministerwhen the temples weredemolished for KrishnaPushkaralu in Vijayawada. Hequestioned as to why the BJPleaders remained silent whenthe previous governmentdumped idols of gods inmunicipal vehicles. DuringTDP regime, almost 163 tem-ples were vandalised in 2015,207 in 2016, 139 in 2017 and123 temples in 2018, he added.

Brushing aside the allega-tions levelled by the opposi-tion leaders on rapid reli-gious conversions taking placein the state, he said thatChandrababu Naidu shouldfocus on restoring his ownparty rather than accusingthe State government.

He further clarified thatthe State government wasborrowing only as per theFRBM limits. Unlike the pre-vious government, which mis-used the funds, the borrowedmoney is being used for wel-fare activities in a most trans-parent way, he said.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Former Minister and seniorTDP leader Ch AyyannaPatrudu on Thursday criti-cised the Central Governmentover the decision to privatisethe Visakhapatnam Steel Plantwithout considering the senti-ments of the people of NorthAndhra region.

Ayyanna Patrudu termed it'regrettable' on the part of theCentre to privatise Vizag SteelPlant which was consideredas the pride of AP fordecades.

It should not be forgottenthat over 24,000 farmers sacri-ficed their precious lands forsetting up the steel plant andtheir contribution is goingwaste now, he bemoaned.

In a statement here, theTDP leader demanded thatthe Union Government reviewits decision taking into consid-eration the wishes of the localpeople.

An agitation was organisedin the past for protecting thesteel plant and even Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu

had participated in that stir atthat time. Now, the time hascome once again for the peo-ple to rise above their politicalaffiliations in order to preventprivatisation of Vizag SteelPlant, the TDP leader said.

Alleging that the rulingYSRCP failed to stop the pri-vatisation of Vizag Steel Plant,Ayyanna Patrudu recalled howthe steel plant has long been

seen as a symbol of self-respectfor AP.

The Chief Minister and hisMPs could not bring any pro-ject or funds for Polavaram orcapital city in the recent UnionBudget. Despite having 28 MPsin the Parliament, the YSRCPhas failed to ensure a betterdeal for the AP in the Budget,he ridiculed.

The TDP leader deplored

that the Chief Minister hadpromised of bringing SpecialStatus for AP by bending theneck of the CentralGovernment if his party wasgiven 25 MPs. "The YSRCP has28 MPs, but there was noSpecial Status till now nor isthere any hope of it getting infuture. Jagan Reddy owed anexplanation to the public onthis count," he said.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Telugu Desam Party MLCManthena SatyanarayanaRaju on Thursday criticisedthe leaders of ruling YSRCPby saying that they have start-ed a new drama only todivert people's attention fromthe 161incidents related toattacks on temples and torch-ing of chariots in AndhraPradesh.

Satyanarayana Raju said,"Instead of taking seriousaction against the culprits, theYSRCP Government is inmaking false allegationsagainst the TDP and otheropposition parties. The situ-ation in the state is worse thatpastor Praveen Chakravarthyhad openly confessed to havedesecrated idols, but no seri-ous action has been takenagainst him till now."

Addressing a press confer-ence here, the TDP MLCdared the YSRCP leaders toproduce evidence to provethe involvement of TDP lead-ers in attacks on templesanywhere in the State.

"It is not clear whether theGovernment had indeedordered a CBI investigationinto the torching of templechariot at Antarvedi or not.Though police arrestedPraveen Chakravarthy, therewas no information regardingthe progress of investigationin the case, he said.

Raju asked the ChiefMinister to order a CBI probeinto all the 161 incidents relat-ed to desecration of templesthat took place during hisregime, if he had any commit-ment. It is unfortunate JaganReddy not organised even asingle press conference tillnow though attacks on templeare continuing, he ridiculed.

The TDP MLC said thatthe DGP was also silent andrefrained from explaining topeople about the progress inPraveen Chakravarthy' caseand cases related to attacks ontemples.

Stating that EndowmentsMinister Vellampalli Srinivaswas behaving atrociously, hesaid that the Minister shouldresign from the post owingmoral responsibility for theattacks. The destruction ofYSRCP started with thedemolition of Praja Vedika.The YSRCP was a partywhich believes in destructionand violence, he added.

Telugu Desam slams move toprivatise Vizag Steel Plant

Varla: Police creating hurdlesfor Atchannaidu’s bail plea

YSRCP spreadingfalsehood ondesecration oftemples: TDP

SEC inspects poll steps in Nellore district

TDP leaders behind attackson temples, alleges Dokka

Liquor bottles worth Rs 2 lakh seized, 4 heldVIJAYAWADA: The Mylavaram police on Wednesday seized hugequantity of liquor bottles worth Rs 2 lakh in Krishna district. Thepolice seized 1,405 bottles of liquor, two cars and arrested fourpersons in the case. The accused were identified as G PraveenKumar, P Durga Prasad, Y Gopi Picheswar Rao and JennyApparao.Additional SP Vakul Jindal said that as part of theongoing local polls in the state, the parties were trying to lure thevoters with liquor. The police warned that stern action would betaken against people transporting illegal liquor. Mylavaram CI PSrinu, SI Rambau and the police team nabbed the culprits whowere transporting the liquor bottles purchased from Telenganastate to Somasunder Reddy of Rudravaram village in Reddigudemmandal. A case has been registered against the four culprits andthe investigation is on. The accused were sent to judicial remandafter producing in the court.

APEPDCL engineer caughtred-handed by ACB VIJAYAWADA: An Assistant Engineer of APEPDCL was caughtred-handed by the ACB officials while accepting a bribe of Rs70,000 from one M Ramarao, hailing from Somannapalem villagein Kapuluppada mandal of Visakhapatnam district on Thursday.The accused was identified as N Venkata Ramana, working asassistant engineer with APEPDCL in Chittivalasa section ofBheemili mandal. He allegedly demanded a bribe of Rs 70,000 forinstalling six new electrical connections to the complainant'snewly-constructed apartment building at Sangivalasa. A trap waslaid against the accused officer and was caught red-handed atelectrical sub-station in Chittivalasa section. The tainted amountwas recovered and the official documents were seized. The case isunder investigation.

WORLD CANCER DAY OBSERVED

Early detection is the key to treat cancer: Experts

Mother, daughtercommit suicide inKadapa district

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

The YSRCP lodged a com-plaint with State ElectionCommissioner againstTelugu Desam Party for car-rying attacks on locals andpolice in Kazipeta,Pendlimarri andObulavaripalli of Kadapa dis-trict during the gram pan-chayat polls.

YSRCP state general secre-tary Lella Appireddy onThursday complained thatAruna, who belongs to TDP,was contesting for sarpanchpost in Dumpalagattu villageof Kazipeta and was distrib-uting money to voters.

He said that when theYSRCP supporters objectedto the distribution of money,Aruna's brother and TDPstate organising secretary RVekata Reddy along withTDP activists attackedInspector, police and YSRCPsupporters.

Appireddy said that fur-ther TDP leaders kidnappedB Gangadhar belonging toDalit colony of Chowatapalliin Pendlimarri. His fatherRamanjaneyulu lodged acomplaint on which thepolice freed Gangadhar.

He alleged that now TDPordered Gangadhar and hisfamily to leave the village andthreatening expulsion.

Appireddy stated that, inthe third case, TDP leaders SSridhar, S Krishnam Rajuand S Abhishek attackedBayyaneni Reddi Kumarbelonging to Payalavaripalliof Obulavaripalli. He allegedthat TDP leaders furtherthreatened YSRCP sympa-thiser Ch Girijammam ofdire consequences.

Appireddy urged the SECto take stern action againstTDP leaders and to initiatemeasures to restrain attacksfor the smooth conduct ofgram panchayat elections.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

TDP MLC Bachula Arjunuducalled upon party leadersand cadre to fight for victo-ry in gram panchyat electionsin Gannavaram Assemblyconstituency. Panchayat elec-tions would be held onFebruary 9 in the villages ofVijayawada Rural mandal.

In view of the gram pan-chayat elections, MLCArjunudu conducted reviewmeeting with VijayawadaRural, Gannavaram andBapualapaadu leaders inparty office at Gannavaramand for Unguturu leaders atTelaprolu.

Speaking on the occasion,Arjunudu alleged that rulingYSRCP leaders were trying tothreaten TDP cadre in vil-lages not to file nominationsfor the posts of sarpanchand ward members.

Several TDP supporters'votes have been deleted inGannavaram mandal. We willtake this issue serious andcomplain to the State ElectionCommissioner (SEC) DrNimmagadda RameshKumar, he added.

He further said that theparty leaders and cadre in vil-lages need not worry aboutthe hurdles being created bythe YSRCP leaders. In this sit-uation, party leaders shouldfight for victory in panchayatelections and strengtheningthe party in the constituency,he said. TDP state secretaryDonthu Chinna, Gannavaramconstituency coordinatorKoneru Nagendra Kumar,party mandal leadersGoddalla China Ramarao,Jasti Venkateswara Rao, Dr AKrishna Reddy and otherattended the meeting.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

A Dalit youth, Vara Prasad,who was tonsured atSeethanagaram police stationin East Godavari district inJuly last week last year wentmissing. His wife Kasulya onThursday lodged a missingcomplaint at theSeethanagaram police station.

The tonsuring of VaraPrasad incident became viralin which the sub-inspectorand the constable were sus-pended. It can be recalled thatVara Prasad and three othershad stopped the movement ofsand trucks passing throughthe lane of his residence dueto the death of person in thearea. He had asked the truckdrivers to wait for some timetill the body was moved fromthe place for the last rites.

A local YSRCP leadercame and questioned why thesand truck was stopped thatled to an argument.

Dalit youthwho wastonsured by S-I missing

YSRCP complains to SECon attacks by TDP leaders

There is nothingwrong withunanimouselection, but itwould be thefailure of theauthorities if theunanimouselection wereregisteredabnormally, says SEC

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

A get-together of kabaddiplayers representing Krishnadistrict right from its registra-tion in 1976, will be held onFebruary 7 in Vijayawada,according to founder secretaryPN Sankara Rao, KrishnaDistrict Kabaddi Association.

Addressing a press meethere on Thursday, he said theget-together was being held tocelebrate the more than fourdecades of the existence of thedistrict association and itscontribution to the develop-ment of kabaddi in AndhraPradesh and India.

He said octogenarians S

Nagesawara Rao, 85, and GPrabhakar Rao, 82, who pro-duced several players andcoaches, will be the centre ofattraction. "Krishna districthas the credit of establishingAndhra Kabaddi Associationas it was the No 1 associationthe State".

"Hundreds of players, bothmen and women, who repre-sented district, will be hon-oured with mementoes andthey will be given an opportu-nity to share their views abouttheir contributions. Players,coaches, administrators andother technical staff involvedin the game in the district willgrace the function,” he added.

Krishna Kabaddi Associations get-together on February 7

Fight forvictory in localpolls: TDPMLC to cadre

PNS n HYDERABAD

A local court here sentenceda labourer to 10 years rigorousimprisonment on Thursdayfor attempting to rape a 12-year-old girl at his daughter'shouse here in December 2019.

The first AdditionalMetropolitan Sessions Judge-cum-Special judge for trial ofcases under POCSO ActSuneetha Kunchala held theaccused guilty and sentencedhim to 10 years RI andimposed a fine of Rs 5,000.

In default of payment offine, the accused must under-go simple imprisonment forsix months, Additional PublicProsecutor G Narayana said.

According to Narayana,the girl, who used to seekalms, came to the accusedperson's daughter's house.On December 5, 2019, whilethe girl was sleeping, theaccused tried to rape her.When she raised an alarm, hegagged her mouth. The girl,however, mustered courageand again shouted for help.

Man gets 10-year RI for attempting to rape minor girl

VIJAYAWADA | FRIDAY | FEBRUARY 5, 2021 telangana 04

PNS n HYDERABAD

There is one allopathic doctorfor every 8,536 citizens andone Ayush doctor for every1,682 citizens occupying 15thposition in the country interms of allopathic doctorsper population and 10th posi-tion in terms of Ayush doctorsper population in the state,according to Health StatisticsReport.

While, in Andhra Pradeshthere is one allopathic doctorfor every population of 9,657.

There are over 4,123 allo-pathic doctors and 20,926 reg-istered Ayush doctors inTelangana, the report said.

In the Primary HealthCentres, 1,066 medical officersare working. There is onePrimary Health Centres forevery 33,105 citizens.

In Telangana, there are over12,159 nurses at the rate of onenurse for every population of2,894.

The state has a total numberof 64,881 pharmacists at therate of one for every 542 citi-zens. The state ranked numbersix in terms of the pharmacistsper population.

As per World HealthOrganisation, there should be

one doctor for every popula-tion of 1,000. The medicalexperts say that the number ofdoctors in Telangana shouldincrease accordingly.

In the USA there is one doc-tor for every population of 200.

Increasing undergraduateseats, enhancement of maxi-mum intake capacity at MBBSlevel from 150 to 250 andrelaxation in the norms of set-ting up of medical college in

terms of requirement for land,faculty, staff, bed/bed strengthand other infrastructure is theneed of the hour to increasethe number of doctors,experts opined adding thatthe existing state governmentand central government med-ical colleges should beupgraded by increasing theMBBS seats and new medicalcolleges attached with dis-trict/referral hospitals should

be set up preferably in under-served districts.

The government has alsoincreased postgraduate seats in2019. The ratio of teachers to stu-dents has been revised from 1:1to 1:2 for all MD/MS disciplinesand from 1:1 to 1:3 in subjectsof Anesthesiology, ForensicMedicine, Radiotherapy,Medical Oncology, SurgicalOncology and Psychiatry in allmedical colleges.

Telangana has one allopathicdoctor for every 8.5K citizens

File picture of doctors staging a protest near Gandhi Hospital in Hyderabad

A CHANDRASHEKHAR RAOn SANGAREDDY

The BJP, Congress and the rul-ing TRS are again gearing upto triumph over one anotheras after the elections to theDubbak constituency and theGreater Hyderabad MunicipalCorporation.

The MLC elections are exp-ected be held in Rangareddy-Hyderabad-Mahabubnagar,Nallagonda-Warangal-Kham-mam graduate constituenciesin the state again. The term ofthese MLCs will end on March29. The notification of theremaining municipal electionsis likely to be released by theend of this month.

In the case of the erstwhileMedak, elections were held in15 seats for 17 municipalitiesin January last year. Electionshowever, were not held forSiddipet and Zaheerabadmunicipalities. Elections werenot held in Zaheerabad due toa court case as the term ofoffice was over. Hopefull ofvictory, all the parties arewaiting for the elections to beheld in the two municipalitiesa year after the formation of

the governing bodies, follow-ing the municipal elections. Itis in this context that theMLC elections are to be heldin the state and as has alreadybeen stated there is a possibil-ity of issuing notifications forthe municipal elections by theend of this month.

The focus however will beon the Siddipet municipalitythat the BJP wants to win.

After tasting success in theDubbak by-election in Siddi-pet and the election to theGHMC, leaders of the saffronparty are upbeat.

The ruling TRS, which suf-fered a setback in the Dubbakelections, is already vying forthe Siddipet Municipality toretain its reputation. Also,with the joint district ministerHarish Rao having his ownconstituency in the district, alleyes are on the SiddipetMunicipal elections. Followingthe Dubbak debacle, it isreported that the TRS leadersare being careful not to showtoo much confidence in win-ning the municipality. TheBJP, on the other hand, isalready gearing up to take overthe Siddipet Municipality.

BJP sets its focus onSiddipet municipality

PNS n KARIMNAGAR

Assuring to develop all theDistrict Cooperative CentralBanks (DCCBs) on the lines ofKarimnagar DCCB, Ministerfor Agriculture, Marketing andCooperation S Niranjan Reddyhas called upon theKarimnagar DistrictCooperative Central Bankchairman Konduru RavinderRao, who had strived for thesuccessful functioning of theDCCB in Karimnagar district,to focus on other DCCBs in theTelangana state and help themrun in profits.

Niranjan Reddy was partic-ipating in various programmes

of the DCCB including theinauguration of a branch inChristian colony, a guesthouse, renovated administra-tion building and distribu-tion of financial assistance ofRs 100 crore to PACS on theoccasion of centenary celebra-tions of the DCCB inKarimnagar town onThursday.

Speaking on the occasion,the Minister for Agriculturewas all praise for Ravinder Raofor striving to convert the Rs57 crore loss-makingKarimnagar DCCB from intoprofit making and doing busi-

ness of over Rs 4,000 crore.Hailing Ravinder Rao forgrowing from the rank of anordinary PACS chairman fromthe interior Gambhira-opetamandal to the all-IndiaNational federation of Statecooperative banks limitedchairman, he said that theKarimnagar DCCB was set ontrack and it would continue itsjourney smoothly.

Congratulating the bank fora record recovery rate of 94 percent, he said that KarimnagarDCCB had won accolades forits genuine lending and gen-uine recovery.

Focus on DCCBs, says Agri MinisterPNS n MEDCHAL

Nearly 6,000 police personnelof the Rachakonda PoliceCommissionerate would bevaccinated from Monday andthe Covid vaccination processwould be completed in fourdays.

Police Commissioner,Mahesh Bhagwat said the staffshould go for vaccinationwithout fear and in case of anycomorbidity, they should con-sult a doctor.

Speaking at a mega healthcamp for the personal of LBNagar zone police conduct-

ed by Medicare Hospitals,Smile Dental, Lotus Hospitaland Maxivision Hospital,here on Thursday, he saidtoday's camp was second oneafter the first camp organisedin Malkajgiri zone. In com-ing days, similar campswould be organised inYadadri Bhuvangiri zone andCAR headquarters atAmberpet.

LB Nagar DCP, Sun PreetSingh, ACP, Sridhar Reddy,and representatives from hos-pitals participating in thehealth camp were also presenton the occasion.

6,000 cops to be vaccinated

Ministers T Harish Rao and Indrakaran Reddy pose for a picture with officials after inaugurating Kalpaka Vanam on Thursday

PNS n KARIMNAGAR

Continuing his tirade againstthe Union government's farmbills, Minister for Health EtalaRajender has said that thecountry also needs food alongwith the IT companies.

The farm bills should notturn into a waste paper andthey should transform the livesof the farmers, he pointed outand stated that the new farmlaws should not destabilisethe rural economy, which is thebackbone of the country.

Even after the Union gov-ernment providing minimumsupport price of Rs 1,880 perquintal for paddy and Rs 1,850per quintal for the maize, thefarmers were unable to gettheir remunerative price."What will be the plight of thefarmers if there is no MSP",asked Minister for HealthEatala Rajender.

The Minister participated inthe inauguration of the Rythuvedikas in the Illandakuntaand Kamalapur mandals in hisHuzurabad assembly segmenton Thursday.

Speaking on the occasion, he

said that the farmers' life hadnot changed even after increaseof food grain production withthe revolution in the agricul-ture sector and mechanisation.

"The farmers are unable tounderstand their plight bydoing cultivation. They wereunable to provide food to theiraged parents nor able to pro-vide good higher education totheir children", he lamented.During those days, the familieswere having a group of chil-

dren and they did not feel it aburden and enjoyed the life.But, now the families were feel-ing the burden of their ownchildren, he added.

Stating that the farmers donot make any laws, he said thatthey only elect the leaders tobring changes into their livesby enacting acceptable laws.He said that the farmers do notdo any business and they donot have any differences ofopinion on caste and creed andtheir job was only to producefood to the country andquench the hunger of the peo-ple.

He said that they were aworried lot over the procure-ment of the paddy during thecoming rabi season if the FoodCorporation of India (FCI)does not procure the paddyproduce with the implementa-tion of new farm laws.Whether the rice millers andtraders have the capacity topurchase several lakhs of met-ric tonnes of paddy, he asked.He also appealed to the farm-ing community to reduce theproduction cost and go in forregulated farming.

Eatala: Farm bills should transform farmers’ lives

Minister Eatala Rajender inauguratesRythu vedikas in the Illandakunta andKamalapur mandals in his Huzurabadassembly segment on Thursday.

Agriculture Minister Niranjan Reddyinaugurates a DCCB branch in ChristianColony on Thursday.

PNS n SIDDIPET

Finance Minister Harish Raoon Thursday said that peopleliving in Gajwel and otherparts of the district will havethe best recreation place inKalpaka Vanam, an urban parknear Gajwel town.

Addressing the media afterinaugurating the Urban parkalong with Forest MinisterIndrakaran Reddy, Harish Raosaid that state government haddeveloped the park at a cost of

Rs 7.43 crore in 117 hectares offorest land at Sangapur.

Saying that it would be aone-stop recreation destinationfor people from all walks of life,Rao said the park has a walk-ing track, cycling track, chil-dren's park, open gym andother recreation facilities. Hesaid that people can visit thepark for Vana Bojanalu andBonalu during the week ends.Since the air pollution hasbecome a major issue acrossthe globe, Rao has said that the

Telangana government hasbeen developing urban loungespaces close to all the majortowns.

Asking the people to put allpossible efforts to keep ourenvironment clean, he said thatbuying Oxygen like mineralwater is not far if people con-tinue to spoil the environment.Since Telangana had increasedthe green cover by 3.67 percentin the last six years, he has saidthat the world is looking atTelangana now.

Rachakonda Police CommissionerMahesh Bhagwat takes part in megahealth camp on Thursday.

K VENKATESHWARLUn HYDERABAD

The leaders of the TelanganaCongress have been competi-tively taking part in politicalprogrammes on their own indi-vidual.

The TPCC working presi-dent and Malkajgiri MP ARevanth Reddy has participat-ed in Rajeev Rythu Deekshaorganised at Armoor onJanuary 30. He also announcedthat he will participate in thesecond Rajeev Rythu Deekshato be held at Acchampet onFebruary 7.

Meanwhile, the CLP leaderMallu Bhatti Vikramarka is yetto organise several face-to-faceprogrammes with farmers fromFebruary 9 to February 21across the state.

Besides the programmesorganised by Revanth Reddyand Bhatti, the Telangana

Congress Affairs in-chargeManickam Tagore and TPCCpresident Uttam Kumar Reddywould be participating in thegraduate MLC elections'preparatory programmes to beheld in Khammam andMiryalaguda on February 6and 7 respectively.

The party leaders are organ-ising and taking part in sever-al individual programmes tocorner the State and Centralgovernments in regard to farm-ers' issues.

Rajeev Rythu Deeksha pro-gramme evoked good responsein Armoor, where RevanthReddy criticised BJP as well asruling TRS party in regard tobringing turmeric board toNizamabad.

However, the other leaders inthe party are in confusion overthe individual programmesbeing conducted in a scattedway only after informing the

Telangana Congress Affairs in-charge Manickam Tagore.

Speaking to the The Pioneer,

TPCC working president JettiKusuma Kumar has said thatdefinitely these programmes

will benefit the party. The partyleaders have to take up moresuch events in this manner.

He opined that the leadershave to take up padayatras intheir own constituencies beforethe Assembly elections unlikethe former Chief Minister lateYS Rajasekhar Reddy, who hadtaken up the padayatra alone.All the leaders would be unit-ed to participate in the state-level programmes organised bythe party, Kusuma Kumar said.

Meanwhile, some party lead-ers are expressing their unhap-piness as they are being ignoredfor such programmes and arevery keen to participate if theyare invited.

A senior leader on conditionof anonymity said that conduct-ing such programmes is goodfor the party but all the leadersshould be informed and invit-ed. He also opined that suchprogrammes are only for theirindividual development ratherthan the development of theparty.

Will scattered events help rejuvenate TS Congress?PNS n HYDERABAD

Advocates conducted ShriRama Janmabhoomi MandirNirman Nidhi SamarpanAbhiyan in the RangareddyCourt here on Thursday.

Hundreds of advocates,including district court barassociation president, for-mer presidents and others pa-rticipated in the event at themain entrance of the districtcourt and made their offer-ings for the construction ofRama Mandir at Ayodhya.

Shashidhar, VHP officialspokesperson said, "After 135years of legal battle in theAyodhya case, the SupremeCourt's verdict in theConstitutional bench hasbrought more respect to thejudiciary and boosted publicconfidence in the judiciary.”

Advocates holdnidhi samarpan abhiyaan in RR

PNS n MULUGU

A free medical camp wasorganised for women policeofficials by Omega Cancerand Critical Care Hospital onthe occasion of World CancerDay here on Thursday.

Speaking on the occasion,Mulugu Superintendent ofPolice Dr Sangram Singh Patilsaid that cancer is not malig-nant by early detection andcancer-causing substancesshould be avoided. Onlyawareness can eradicate can-cer, he added.

Dr Sangram Singh saidwomen in the family should bemade aware of cancer andundergo cancer tests everysix months without hesitating.

Stress is also a major causeof cancer, the SP said addingthat all the women in yourfamily should be made awareof cancer instead of beingstressed in the police job.

Dr Sangram Singh said thateradication was possible if thedisease was detected early andaction was taken as the biggestloss to their family would bedue to negligence.

Addl. Collector AdarshaRavi, Bhupalpally AdditionalSP Srinivasu, Mulugu SP SaiChaitanya, Omega CancerHospital Managing DirectorDr Charanjit, Dr RavinderReddy, Indian Red Cross statemember EV Srinivas Reddy,DPRO Prema Latha and otherpolice officials were present.

Mulugu SP Dr Sangram Singh Patil lights the lamp at a free medical camp forwomen police officials held at Mulugu on Thursday

SP: Early detection can help cure most cancers

Ministers inaugurate KalpakaVanam urban park in Siddipet

PNS n HYDERABAD

Telangana BJP leaders onThursday have refuted thecriticism of TPCC workingpresident A Revanth Reddyagainst Union Minister ofState for Home Affairs GKishan Reddy.

The BJP lone MLC NRamchander Rao has allegedthat Revanth Reddy was partof the corruption done by theTDP chief N ChandrababuNaidu. It is a shame on thepart of Revanth Reddy, whowas being caught red handed-ly in vote for note case, to crit-icise BJP leaders. He said thatthe people would not tolerateRevanth if criticised leaderslike Kishan Reddy.

Meanwhile, TS BJP spokes-person Krishna Sagar Raoalleged that Revanth Reddyseems to be making state-ments just to be in the newsthese days. His statements onKishan Reddy in reference toa new party assignment asTamil Nadu election in-chargeare unwarranted and frivo-lous, he opined.

TS BJP leadersrefute Revanthcriticism againstKishan Reddy

Dasoju Sravandemands KCRto appoint 11VCs to varsitiesPNS n HYDERABAD

AICC National SpokespersonDr Sravan Dasoju demand-ed Chief Minister K Chandr-ashekar Rao to appoint 11Vice Chancellors to therespective universities in thestate. The senior Congressleader slammed KCR formaking universities 'head-less corpses' with an arrogantattitude and deliberate inten-tion to murder the highereducation system inTelangana.

"It is so pathetic and veryunfortunate that 11 universi-ties in Telangana have beenfunctioning without VCs forseveral years. They are run-ning like headless corpses. Noperson who has head on hisneck will ever allow this tohappen as every institutionmust be run by a leader, VCin this case. However, ourHon'ble Chief Minister hasbeen destroying Universitiesin Telangana by not appoint-ing full time Vice Chancellorsand not providing sufficientfunds to operate on them-selves thereby making themdie on their own for the ben-efit of private Universities" DrSravan fired.

The Pioneerlost a dynamic

staffer

The Pioneer'sGeneral Manager(Circulation) Byrapu

Sriramulu, 52, passedaway on Thursday aftera brief illness. He issurvived by his wife,son and daughter.Sriramulu haspreviously served inseveral media housesthat bring out Teluguand English dailies. Heis the general secretaryof Hyderabad BCSangham.Themanagement and staffof The Pioneerexpressed theircondolences to thebereaved family.

VIJAYAWADA | FRIDAY | FEBRUARY 5, 2021 nation 05

Previous govts drafted Budgetwith eye on vote banks: PMPNS n GORAKHPUR

Prime Minister NarendraModi on Thursday said theprevious governments draftedthe Union budgets with an eyeon their vote banks and madethem just a medium ofannouncements they couldnot fulfil.

For decades in our country,the meaning of the Budget wasrestricted to what announce-ments were made in whosename. The Budget was turnedinto an account of the votebank, Modi said.

The prime minister waslaunching a year-long com-memoration of the centenaryof Chauri Chaura incident, anoutbreak of violence thatforced Mahatma Gandhi to calloff his non-cooperation move-ment against the British.

Paying tributes to the 19people who were sent to thegallows for burning down apolice station and killing 23policemen, Modi said theChauri Chaura martyrs hadnot got the place in history thatthey deserved. He released apostage stamp to mark thebeginning of the centenaryyear of the incident.

In an address deliveredthrough video conference,Modi hailed India's power of

unity and said this will help thecountry become a world power.

The prime minister listedfeatures in his government'srecent Budget that he said willhelp farmers. But he stoppedshort of mentioning the con-tinuing protest over the agri-marketing laws enacted inSeptember.

"A lot of initiatives have alsobeen taken to empower farm-ers. Over 1,000 markets wereconnected with farmers so that

they can sell their crops any-where. Over Rs 40,000 crore forrural infrastructure will helpfarmers," he said.

He said the government isalso focusing on creatinghealthcare facilities in ruralareas so that people do nothave to go to cities for bettertreatment. .

Modi said even householdmake their budgets on thebasis on their current needsand future responsibilities. But

our earlier governments madebudgets a medium ofannouncements that theycould not fulfil. The countryhas now changed thatapproach.

On the 1922 episode, Modisaid, "Whatever happened inChauri Chaura 100 years agowas seen as a simple incidentof arson at a police station.

The fire was not only at thepolice station but in the heartsof Indians as well," he said.

The prime minister did notrefer to Mahatma Gandhi'sdecision to call off the non-cooperation movement overthe violence by his followers.

"Chauri Chaura was a self-motivated struggle of the com-mon people. It is unfortunatethat martyrs in this incidentwere not given a prominentplace in the pages of history, hesaid, appreciating the UttarPradesh government's plan tocommemorate it.

The prime minister saidthere were few instances in thehistory of the independencemovement in which as many as19 freedom fighters were giventhe capital punishment for oneincident.

He said young people shouldwrite research papers and bringnew facts to light about theincident.

A lot of initiatives have also beentaken to empower farmers. Over 1,000markets were connected with farmersso that they can sell their cropsanywhere. Over Rs 40,000 crore forrural infrastructure will help farmers,says Modi.

HC decries lawyers arguing even from parks virtually PNS n NEW DELHI

The Delhi High CourtThursday said it is "simplyshocking" that advocates arearguing or attending mattersthrough video-conferencingwhile being on "roads, sittingin parks and even running upon stairs", making it difficultfor the court to conduct pro-ceedings as are not audibleproperly.

The high court expressed itsdispleasure and said thataccording to the video confer-encing rules, the lawyers andparties are supposed to join theproceedings from a quiet placefrom where they are at leastproperly audible, even if notvisible.

Justice Prathiba M Singhwas annoyed with the regulardisturbance caused in the vir-tual hearing due to poor inter-net connection and lawyers'arguing their matters fromsuch places from where theywere not audible properly.

“It is very difficult to conductproceedings like this. For thelast 45 minutes I have managedto hear only one matterbecause the counsel wasinaudible and because half ofthe time goes in answering thelawyer who says ‘Am I audible'

for 20 times,” the judge said.Justice Singh further said she

will have to start issuing a notethat advocates who are not ina place from where they areproperly audible, will not beallowed to attend the virtualproceedings.

“Advocates are on the road,sitting in parks and even run-ning up on stairs while attend-ing or arguing the matter. Thisis simply shocking. You have toadhere to the VC rules,” shesaid.

As per the Delhi High CourtVideo Conferencing Rules, theparticipants shall be situated ina quiet location, properlysecured and have sufficientinternet coverage.

Any unwarranted distur-

bance caused during videoconferencing may if the presid-ing judge so directs render theproceedings non-est, the rulesstated, adding that all partici-pants' cell phones shall remainswitched off or in aeroplanemode during the proceedings.

The judge also said thelawyers should check theirinternet connection while par-ticipating in the virtual pro-ceedings and said even if theyare not properly visible, theyshall be audible.

Additional Solicitor GeneralSanjay Jain, who was logged infor some other case in JusticeSingh's court, said the fraterni-ty should accept with grace thefacility of virtual proceedingsbeing extended to them.

Chinese actions disturbedpeace along LA C: Centre PNS n NEW DELHI

The Chinese military'sattempts to unilaterally alterthe status quo along the Lineof Actual Control (LAC) ineastern Ladakh have serious-ly disturbed peace and tran-quillity in the region, the gov-ernment said in Rajya Sabhaon Thursday.

Minister of State forExternal Affairs VMuraleedharan said theattempts have been respondedto "appropriately" by the Indianarmed forces and it has beenmade clear to the Chineseside that such unilateralattempts are "unacceptable".

In a written response to aquestion on the overall bound-ary issue with China, the min-ister said the two sides haveagreed to seek a fair, reasonableand mutually acceptable solu-tion through dialogue andnegotiations.

He said the two sides also

agreed that pending final set-tlement of the boundary ques-tion, maintenance of peaceand tranquillity in the borderareas is an essential basis forthe overall development ofthe bilateral relationship.

"However, since April/May2020 the Chinese side under-took several attempts to unilat-erally alter the status quo alongthe LAC in westernsector.These attempts havebeen responded to appropri-

ately by our armed forces,"Muraleedharan said.

"It has also been made clearto the Chinese side that suchunilateral attempts are unac-ceptable. These actions haveseriously disturbed the peaceand tranquillity along the LACin the western sector," he said.

The government often refersto eastern Ladakh as westernsector.

The minister also said thatIndia's engagement with Chinais "complex".

"In the last few years, the twosides have agreed to managetheir differences and not allowdifferences on any issue tobecome disputes, " he said.

In addition, he said, thetwo sides also agree that thefuture direction of ties shouldbe built upon mutual respectfor each other's developmen-tal aspirations bearing in mindthe importance of respectingeach other's sensitivities, con-cerns and aspirations.

‘Centre tryingto govern Delhithrough‘backdoor’PNS n NEW DELHI

Delhi Deputy Chief MinisterManish Sisodia on Thursdayaccused the Centre of tryingto govern the national cap-ital through the "backdoor",claiming the Union cabinethas cleared a proposal togive more powers to theLieutenant Governor.

Reacting to media reportssaying the Centre onWednesday approvedamendments to theGovernment of NCT ofDelhi Act, the AAP leadertold a press conference thatthe move is "against democ-racy, Constitution and willof the citizens of Delhi".

"The central governmenthas passed a law in theCabinet to snatch power ofDelhi's elected governmentand give it to Centre-appointed LieutenantGovernor. The Delhi gov-ernment will not have powerto take its own decisions.The BJP wants to governDelhi through backdoor aspeople chose not to electthem in three consecutiveelections," he claimed.

Priyanka Gandhimeets family ofdeceased farmerin RampurPNS n RAMPUR

Congress general secretaryPriyanka Gandhi on Thursdaymet family members ofNavreet Singh here, a farmerwho lost his life during theprotest in New Delhi onRepublic Day, and also attend-ed a prayer ceremony for him.

The 27-year-old Singh diedafter his tractor overturnedduring the farmers' tractorparade on January 26.

Accompanied by seniorCongress leaders includingparty's Uttar Pradesh unitchief Ajay Kumar Lallu,Gandhi arrived at the nativeDibdiba village of the deceasedfarmer around noon.

She attended the 'antimardas' (final prayers for thedeparted) and sat with fami-ly members with her headcovered .

India ready to supplyweapons to IndianOcean countries: SinghPNS n BENGALURU

India is ready to supply vari-ous weapons systems, includ-ing missiles and electronicwarfare systems, to countriesin the Indian Ocean Region(IOR), Defence MinisterRajnath Singh said onThursday.

Delivering his keynoteaddress at the IOR DefenceMinisters' Conclave here, hesaid organising a conclave ofcountries in the IOR on themargins of the internationalevent

"Aero India-2021" showsthe importance India attach-

es to the vision of commongrowth and stability, and con-structive engagements withthem.

"Our efforts are to synergisethe resources and efforts in theIndian Ocean, including,defence Industry industrialcooperation amongst partici-pating countries," Singh said.

Many of the IOR countriesare becoming globally compet-itive and are developing newtechnologies, includingdefence shipyards for designand shipbuilding, which canbe jointly harnessed throughregional cooperation efforts,the Minister said.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh with Defence Minister of Ukraine Lt. GeneralAndrii Taran in Bengaluru on Thursday.

Talked to farmers inside TiharJail, will write report: Journalist PNS n NEW DELHI

Freelance journalist MandeepPunia, who was arrested by theDelhi Police from the Singhuborder, has said that he talkedto farmers and scribbled noteson his legs inside the Tihar Jailto write a report.

Punia was released from theprison on Wednesday after acourt granted him bail. Talking to reporters outsidethe jail, he said, "It (beinginside the prison) turned outto be an opportunity for me.I got a chance to talk to thefarmers lodged in the jail andscribbled notes on my legs. Iam going to write a detailedreport."

"My work is to report fromground zero... I asked thefarmers why and how theywere arrested," he said.

Punia said he had been cov-ering the protest at the Singhuborder from the day it started.

"It was my responsibility asa journalist to report it truth-fully and faithfully. I was try-ing to do that. I was trying to

find out the people behind theattack on the movement site.My work was interrupted bythe arrest. I lost valuable time.I do feel that that I waswronged," he tweeted.

He alleged that the policeinterfered with his work andsaid the incident had strength-ened his resolve to continuewith his work.

Punia was arrested at theSinghu border on charges of"obstructing public servants in

discharge of public functions","assault or criminal force todeter public servant from dis-charge of his duty", and "vol-untarily causing hurt to deterpublic servant from his duty".

He was sent to 14-day judi-cial custody on Sunday by thecourt of metropolitan magis-trate.

However, he was grantedbail on Tuesday after furnish-ing a personal bond of Rs25,000.

BJP targets Senaover BMC budgetPNS n MUMBAI

A day after the BrihanmumbaiMunicipal Corporation(BMC) presented its 2021-22budget, BJP leader AshishShelar on Thursday said hisparty would corner the ShivSena, which rules the civicbody, over the "flawed" bud-getary planning.

Mumbai Municipal Comm-issioner I S Chahal presentedRs 39,038.83 crore budgetbefore the ci