ranveer singh switzerland 16 vivacity - the … price from those leaking the ... a machine gun, one...

CAPSULE

* Donkey, Kasab: Phase-Vcampaigning at new low

* BJP intends to breach SPfort

* ‘Modi, not BJP, attractsvoters in Cong bastions

SPECIAL

‘KIM JONG NAM DIED WITHIN20 MINUTES OF POISONING’Kuala Lumpur: Malaysia's healthMinister says the dose of poisongiven to North Korean ruler KimJong Un's half brother was so hi-gh that it killed him "within 15-20minutes."

8 TOURISTS DROWN AS BOATCAPSIZES OFF TN COASTTuticorin (TN): Eight touristsdrowned while 17 others wererescued after the fishing boatferrying them capsized offManappadu near here in the Bayof Bengal, a senior official said.“I do not know how many tour-ists were travelling in the boat.Eight people have drowned and17 others have been rescued andhospitalised,” Tuticorin DistrictCollector M Ravi Kumar said.

16 KILLED IN MEGHALAYAROAD ACCIDENTShillong: At least 16 people werekilled on Sunday when a truckthey were in rammed into theconcrete barricade of a road inMeghalaya’s West Khasi Hills dist-rict, police said. More than 50 pe-ople were critically injured in theaccident in Jdohkroh village.

THREE HELD FOR LOOTINGAMAZON CONSIGNMENTNew Delhi: Three men have beenarrested for looting goods worth`18 lakh of online shopping portalAmazon in suburban Gurugram, asenior police officer said on Sun-day. The police said a tip-off wasreceived on Saturday night thatsome robbers involved in lootingthe truck at Khedki Daula area ofGurugram in Haryana on Fridaywere coming to Rangpuri area ofDelhi to dispose of the articles.

CONTRACT KILLERS OFD-GANG NABBEDGandhinagar: Gujarat Policearrested four contract killerslinked with underworld donDawood Ibrahim and his brotherAnees Ibrahim on Saturdayevening from Rajkot. The accusedwere arrested from Kuvadava areaon the outskirts of Rajkot.

TN RAGHUNATHA n MUMBAI

In simultaneous raids con-ducted in Nashik, Pune,

Nagpur in Maharashtra and inthe neighbouring Goa, theThane Crime Branch sleuthson Sunday arrested 18 peopleand detained at least 350 oth-ers in connection with leakageof question papers of an exam-ination conducted by the ArmyRecruitment Board (ARB).

Following the leakage ofquestion papers, the ARB post-poned the examinations,scheduled to begin at 11 am onSunday, for an indefinite peri-od in at least nine centresacross the State.

Among the 18 people heldfor their alleged involvement inthe question paper leakage wasa retired Army official andanother serving paramilitaryperson. “Those arrested includ-ed nine from Pune, six fromNagpur and three from Goa,”Thane’s Joint Commissioner ofPolice Ashutosh Dhumre said.

Apart from making 18arrests in connection withthe question paper leakagescam, the police also detained350 people for questioning inconnection with the ques-tion paper leakage.

“The detained people are all

students, who were to appear forthe examination scheduled to beconducted by the ARB from thethree centres of Pune, Nagpurand Goa. They had obtained qu-estion papers from the 18 arrest-ed people. Of them, 79 are fromPune, 222 from Nagpur and 49from Goa,” Dhumre said.

The students reportedlypaid `4 to `5 lakh to the mid-dlemen for obtaining the copiesof question papers which wereforwarded to them throughWhatsApp.

The copies of questionpapers seized from the arrest-ed persons pertained to fourcategories of tests for which theexams were scheduled to be

held on Sunday. “We made theseizure of question papers fromthree places at midnight and 4am on Sunday. The seizedquestion papers matched withthe papers set for Sunday’sexams,” Dhumre said.

The police did not rule outthe possibility of more Armypersonnel being involved in thequestion paper leakage scam.When asked about it, Dhumresaid: “The arrested personsinclude a retired Army manand a serving paramilitary per-son. We will be able to estab-lish the identities of othersinvolved in the scam, onlyafter a detailed probe. TheArmy officers and Military

Intelligence officials are inves-tigating the involvement orotherwise of more Army offi-cials in the scam.”

Some students wereanswering the illegally obtainedquestion paper in the earlyhours on Sunday, policesources said. The trio wasarrested by officials of theCrime Branch of Thane police,alongwith personnel attachedto the Anjuna police station.

“The papers were beinganswered by the students inSandhya Bar in Anjuna policejurisdiction. They were caughtin the raids we conductedearly in the morning,” a policesource said.

“The first priority of theprobe team is to find the sourceof the question paper leak.... Asof now I am not in a positionto give more details about thepersons involved in the racketthe magnitude of which is big.The arrested persons are justmiddlemen who arranged forthe papers for the students at aprice from those leaking thesame,” Dhumre said.

Acting on a tip-off, a teamof 80 Crime Branch officialslaid a trap and caught the stu-dents and those middlemenred-handed and seized copiesof question papers from lodgesand other places,” the seniorpolice officer said.

According to Dhumre, themiddlemen had also arrangedfor the issuance of fake domi-cile certificates and residenceproofs from the students fromother places to enable them towrite the exams in that zone.

Continued on Page 7

Govt to hire 980 officers this yr

Kerala youth who

joined ISIS killed

Army recruitment paper leaked

PNS n KOZHIKODE

AKerala youth who left thecountry to join the ISIS,

was killed in a drone attack atan stronghold of the terroristoutfit in Afghanistan on Friday.Tw e n t y - f o u r - y e a r - o l dHafeesudheen TK hailed fromPadne village in Kasargod dis-trict of Kerala.

The family members ofHafeesudheen received theinformation about his death onSunday through an social mediamessage from the account ofAshfaq Majeed, who is part ofthe 21-member group that joi-ned the ISIS. Ashfaq, a onetimehotel manager, is now supposedto be in Nangarhar with his wifeShamsiya Kuriya and his child.

“Hafeesudheen was killed bya drone strike yesterday. We con-sider him to be a shuhada (mar-tyr) and Allah knows best,” saidthe message received by BCAbdul Rehman, local leader ofthe IUML and a relative of theslain youth. “I got the messageat 8.30 am, which said the bur-ial of Hafeesudheen was over.When I asked about others,Ashfaq said they are all waitingfor their turn to become mar-tyrs,” Rehman told the media.A similar message was receivedby Hafeesudheen’s mother onSunday morning.

Hafeesudheen worked inthe Gulf before returning to hisvillage three years ago. He was

reportedly “radicalised” by AbulRasheed Abdulla, who wasthen working with the PeaceInternational School inKozhikode. The group left Indiain June 2016 and arrived in theISIS-controlled Nangarharprovince in Afghanistan.

After landing in Nangarhar,Hafeesudheen had sent a chatmessage to his family express-ing his happiness, “I am now getthe jannat (paradise), here notax, Sharia law, nobody herecatching me, very good place.”

Before travelling to

Nangarhar, Hafeesudheen hadtold his family that he was goingto Calicut to join a Quranstudy circle. Two days later,however, he informed themthat he was going to Sri Lanka,to study at a seminary there.

The NIA later found that hetravelled with his group on anIndian passport, J0113124, onan Emirates flight from Mumbaito Dubai on June 5, and then toIran, and from there he madehis way to Afghanistan to jointhe ISIS. According to Afghanmedia, at least six leaders of theISIS were among 47 other mil-itants killed in an air and groundoperations carried by the secu-rity forces in Haska Meean andBati Kot districts of easternNangarhar province. As many25 other ISIS cadre were alsowounded in the operations.

A machine gun, one rock-et launcher, two AK-47s, andfour motorcycles were also con-fiscated by the Afghan securityforces. The report said theattack was carried out to flushout the foreign mercenariesthat joined the ISIS ranks.

The Kerala Police haveintimated the relatives ofHafeesudheen that there is noimmediate possibility to con-firm the news as Nangarhar isout of bound even for AfghanGovernment agencies andNIA has sought the help ofInterpol to get the details ofthe Indians in the ISIS.

PNS n NEW DELHI

The Government will hire980 officers to fill up

vacancies in the prestigiousIndian Administrative Service(IAS), Indian Foreign Service(IFS) and Indian PoliceService (IPS) through CivilServices exam 2017. In termsof recruitment, last year sawthe lowest numbers of enroll-ment from the elite service inthe last five years.

A total of 1,079 and 1,164vacancies were reported to befi l led through the Civi lServices examinations 2016and 2015, respectively. Theresults of last year’s test are yetto be declared. 1,364 and1,228 such vacancies werereported for the recruitments

to be done through the 2014and 2013 tests, respectively.

A total of 1,091 posts invarious Central services wereadvertised for the Civil Servicesexam, 2012, as per the notifi-cation by the Union PublicService Commission (UPSC),which conducts the examina-tion annually. The Governmenthad sought to fill 880 posts invarious services through CivilServices exam, 2011.

The number of vacanciesto be filled on the result ofCivil Services examination2017 is expected to be approx-imately 980 which include 27vacancies reserved for those inphysically-handicapped cate-gory, it said. The vacancies forthis year’s test are lowestadvertised in the past fiveyears by the Government.

“The final number ofvacancies may undergo achange after getting a firmnumber of vacancies from thecadre-controlling authorities.Reservation will be made forcandidates belonging toScheduled Castes, ScheduledTribes, Other Backward

Classes and Physically-Disabled categories in respectof vacancies as may be fixed bythe Government,” the UPSCnotification last week said.

Thousands of aspirantsappear in the Civil Servicesexamination conducted annu-ally in three stages — prelim-inary, main and interview —to select officers for IAS, IFSand IPS, among others.

This t ime, the Civi lServices preliminary exami-

nation 2017 has been pre-poned and it is scheduled tobe held on June 18, instead ofAugust. The UPSC will beconducting the examinationin June after a gap of three years.

The preliminary tests for2016, 2015 and 2014 were heldduring the month of August,a senior UPSC official said.The last date for receiving theapplications for the prelimi-nary test is March 17.

Lowest numberto be hiredthrough CivilServices examsin five years

Examinationpostponed, 18 arrested,350 detainedin Maha, Goa

Joined ISIS last year, killed inAfghan drone

attack on Friday

2 ISIS men with eye onGuj religious places held

Suspected ISIS men Wasim Ramodia and Naem Ramodia being taken away afterthey were arrested by Gujarat ATS on Saturday night in Rajkot PTI

NAYAN DAVE n GANDHINAGAR

The Anti-Terrorism Squad(ATS) of Gujarat on Sunday

arrested two suspected ISISoperatives from Rajkot andBhavnagar towns, who wereallegedly planning to carry out serial blasts at some reli-gious places in the State.

The alleged ISIS opera-

tives Wasim Ramodia andNaem Ramodia, who arebrothers, were arrested bythe ATS from Rajkot andBhavnagar respectively. Thecops have recovered literatureon making explosives, jehadimaterials, 58 grams of gunpowder and mobile phonesfrom them.

Continued on Page 7

This time, the Civil Services PreliminaryExamination 2017 has been preponed

and it is scheduled to be held on June 18, instead of August

GORAKHPUR: In the 2014 Lok Sabhaelection, the BJP pulled off a

phenomenal victory in UP, winning 73 of80 seats. For a change, caste factors took aback-seat and the only hawa (wind) thatprevailed was the Modi factor. Full threeyears later, Prime Minister NarendraModi’s charismatic appeal isundiminished. His rallies draw hugecrowds and tea-shop conversationrevolves around his punchlines — thelatest being Kabristan versus Shamshan.

But even BJP voters don’t refer to theparty by name. “Hum toh Modiji ki sarkar

ke liye votedalenge

(We will vote for a Modi Governmenthere) is a common refrain. In the makeshiftoffice of an NGO in Korigaon, part of theBansgaon Lok Sabha seat, I tried to beprovocative asking my interlocutors to list thegood things Modiji had done as a result ofwhich they were rooting for him. Somewhattaken aback, an elderly landholder hesitantlymuttered, “So far, he has not done anythinggreat. The one big thing he did was noteban-di but that brought about a lot of miseryalthough the intention was good. But moneyedpeople suffered more than us. And we werehappy to see them cry!”

This was immediately countered by ayounger man who started listing the benefitsdelivered, especially the Ujjwala LPG cylinderscheme and ready availability of fertilisers andseeds. He confessed he was not enthused bythe BJP candidate from the seat and said thatthe Samajwadi Party nominee would make abetter MLA. But he wanted to see “Modiji kisarkar” in UP so that rural roads, among otherthings, would improve.

He added, “Akhilesh has built his show-piece Agra-Lucknow Expressway. But the roadyou see before you here has been in this pot-holed state for the last 15 years. How does anExpressway 1,000 km away help us?”

A SP activist present in the gatheringretorted that not every road in a vast State likeUP could be built or rebuilt in two years. TheBJP voter agreed but said the local MLA shouldhave fixed it and if Modi comes to power, hewill ensure that his MLA is more responsive

to public needs. Although most voters who I met across the

State insisted that there was no “lehar” (wave)this time, But after much thought, an elderlyvoter said, “Agar koyi lehar hai toh abhi bhi Modiki lehar hai,” This discussion took place at asweet shop in the quaintly named ShaheedAshfaq Bhopa Chowk, a short distance from theiconic Chauri Chaura police station. (where 21policemen were burnt to death by an angry mobin 1922, prodding Gandhiji to controversiallycall off the First Non-Cooperation Movement)during the freedom struggle.

But despite the tepid wave in Modi’s favour,it seems that the contest for this seat and manyothers in Eastern UP is primarily between theSP and BSP, with the BJP running third but gain-ing ground daily as polling day approaches.

Indeed the Modi charm is holding in mostplaces, although the absence of a chief min-isterial face is definitely hindering the BJP. Butthose who have made up their mind to votefor the party glibly assert that the CM choicecan be left to Modiji, for he is sure to put theright man on the job. “UP ko is baar Modijiki Sarkar chahiye” (UP wants a ModiGovernment this time, his voters assert, with-out referring to the BJP anywhere).

Surprisingly, whether in Raebareli,Amethi, Faizabad or Gorakhpur, there wasuniform appreciation for the “good work” doneby Akhilesh Yadav. All those probed said elec-tricity was available for approximately 14 hoursper day on an average and roads are well main-tained now. “Jo baat Modiji kar rahe hain, wohi

Akhilesh bhi kar raha hai”, said a couple of vot-ers in Raebareli and Gorakhpur.

Then what’s the difference? And whyshould Akhilesh Yadav not get a secondchance? The unanimous answer that resonatedin all districts was, “Law and order; the goon-da-gardi by SP activists.”

At a roadside tea stall in Ayodhya, someyoung boys explained why they would vote forModi. “Hum bhavishya ki taraf dekhte hueyModiji ko chahte hain” (We want Modi look-ing to our future).

Despite strenuous denial in most placesthat caste will ultimately be the decider, rid-ing over development, the cat finally came outof the bag at a Chauri Chaura tea stall.

Continued on Page 7

By Chandan Mitra

INDEED THE MODICHARM IS HOLDING IN MOST

PLACES, ALTHOUGH THE ABSENCEOF A CHIEF MINISTERIAL FACE IS

DEFINITELY HINDERING THE BJP. BUT THOSEWHO HAVE MADE UP THEIR MIND TO VOTE

FOR THE PARTY GLIBLY ASSERT THAT THE CMCHOICE CAN BE LEFT TO MODIJI, FOR HE IS

SURE TO PUT THE RIGHT MAN ON THE JOB. ‘UPKO IS BAAR MODIJI KI SARKAR CHAHIYE’ (UP

WANTS A MODI GOVERNMENT THIS TIME,HIS VOTERS ASSERT, WITHOUT

REFERRING TO THE BJPANYWHERE)

The papers were being answered bysome of the students in SandhyaBar in Anjuna police jurisdiction.

The raids were conducted early in the morning

POLICE SOURCE

THE FRAGMENTING OFCASTE-BASED VOTES IS A

CAUSE OF CONCERN TO ALL THEMAJOR PARTIES. BUT A FEW

CERTITUDES REMAIN. YADAVS ON THEWHOLE WON'T DESERT THE

SAMAJWADIS. ASKED IN FAIZABAD, IF THERECENT ‘PARI-WAR' WILL AFFECT THEIR

VOTING INTENTIONS, A GROUP OF YADAVSVOCIFEROUSLY SAID

THAT THE COMMUNITY WILL BE WHERETHE ‘CYCLE' IS, MEANING

AKHILESH YADAV

The lure of Modi Sarkar for UP

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RANVEER SINGH

IS IN LOVE WITH

SWITZERLAND

16 VIVACITY

PNS n LUCKNOW

The Election Commissionhas made elaborate securi-

ty arrangements for the fifthphase of UP Assembly electionson Monday.

In the fifth phase, 51 con-stituencies spread across 11 dis-tricts will go to polls onMonday. The polling will startat 7 a.m. and continue till 5p.m..

In the fifth phase, around1.84 crore voters will exercisetheir franchise at 19,167 pollingbooths and decide the fate of607 candidates.

State chief electoral officerT Venkatesh said here thatarrangements for smooth con-duct of the fifth phase pollinghad been completed and thepolling parties had been dis-patched to their polling centres.

He said Central forces hadbeen deployed at all the pollingstations and poll observers

would keep a close watch onthe polling day.

The fifth phase poll is cru-cial for the Samajwadi Party-Congress alliance as they hadwon around 80 per cent ofthese seats in 2012 Assemblyelections.

In the 2012 polls, SP hadbagged 37 of these seats, BSP 3,BJP 5, Congress 5 and PeaceParty 2. In the 2014 Lok Sabhapolls, BJP led in 44 of theseseats and in the rest of the sevenseats, Congress and SP led inthree each and BSP in one.

Though SP and Congresshave an alliance, they are con-testing against each other in sixconstituencies including two inAmethi district — Amethi andGauriganj. The other con-stituencies witnessing friendlycontests between SP andCongress are Gaura in Gondadistrict, Soharatgarh inSiddharthnagar district,Tulsipur in Balrampur district

and Pyagpur in Bahraich dis-trict

Congress has not fieldedany candidate in four of these11 districts — Faizabad,Ambedkarnagar, Shravasti andSant Kabir Nagar.

All eyes will be on the tri-angular contest in Amethiwhere two wives of Raja SanjaySingh are pitted against eachother (estranged wife GarimaSingh on BJP ticket and formerbadminton player Amita Singhon Congress ticket) with con-troversial minister GayatriPrasad Prajapati making thebattle of ballot three-cornered.

The other prominent can-didates in the fray are UPAssembly Speaker Mata PrasadPandey (Itwa), BSP state pres-ident Ram Achal Rajbhar(Akbarpur), BSP senior leaderLalji Verma (Kateheri), PeaceParty president Dr Ayub(Khalilabad), UP MinisterSankh Lal Manjhi (Jalalpur).

Elaborate security for

phase 5 polling today

city 02LUCKNOW | MONDAY | FEBRUARY 27, 2017

PNS n LUCKNOW

The camp office of SSP,Lucknow, Manzil Saini was

witness to a flurry of activitieson Sunday morning when IPSofficer Amitabh Thakur alongwith his wife and social activistNutan Thakur reached there tocourt their arrest in an allegedcase of rape against them.

The IPS officer and his wifefound ASP Crime, SanjayKumar, a number of circle offi-cers and police teams welcom-ing them. He and his wife weregiven a place to sit in SSP PROcabin. Later, the SSP came andinquired about their problem.

Thakur presented somedocuments before the SSP andsaid that an FIR was registeredon July 13, 2015 immediatelyafter Mulayam Singh threatbut no investigation was donein the last 18 months. Healleged that CO, Gomti Nagar,Satyasen Yadav, who was theinvestigation officer, had not

collected any evidence in thecase and had not even visitedthe alleged scene of crime as yet.

Amitabh and Nutan saidevery police officer knew thatthe case was a plot against themand was completely false. “Butthe CO failed to mustercourage to expunge the casebecause of the alleged high-level political pressure. We arebeing falsely called/treated asrape accused for the last 18

months and the police are sit-ting on the case,” they added.

SSP Manzil Saini admittedthat no evidence was foundagainst the two and there wasnot even any mobile connectiv-ity between them and the so-called victim.

She assured them that theinvestigation would be com-pleted within one month. Afterthis, the two went back fromthe SSP’s residence.

PNS n LUCKNOW

With the arrest of five mis-creants, a joint team of

Sultanpur police and SpecialTask Force claimed to havebusted a gang of gun-runnersand robbers in Sultanpur onSunday.

Those arrested were iden-tified as Ejajulla, Ajay Shukla,Rahul Upadhyaya, MohammedRizwan and Arbaz Khan, all ofSultanpur.

The police recovered twopistols .32 bore and magazine,four country-made pistols of315 bore, six live cartridgeseach .32 bore and three live car-tridges of 315 bore, a shell of315 bore, two motorcycles, fivemobile phones, fake registra-tion papers and Rs 1,100 fromthe gun-runners who ownedtheir crime.

The STF was tipped-offabout the gang operating in thearea for a long time. It was alsoinvolved robberies and

murders. The STF sleuths also

tipped-off that the gang was todeliver the weapons to someperson near a school in the district.

Meanwhile, a man wasarrested and 369 cartons of ille-gal liquor, worth `25 lakh,smuggled from Haryana wereseized at Yamuna bridge check-post in Kairana town of Shamlidistrict, police said on Sunday.

Police on Saturday eveningintercepted a truck duringchecking drive on highwayand seized 369 cartons of ille-gal liquor which was beingsmuggled to Uttar Pradeshfrom neighbouring Haryana,they said.

The liquor was hiddeninside the truck, police said.

A man named Hanumanwas arrested in connectionwith the seizure, police said.

A case was registered in thematter and a probe is underwayin it, police added.

PNS n LUCKNOW

The Akhilesh Yadav gov-ernment has sacked

Minister of State for ReligiousAffairs, Vijay Kumar Mishra,who joined the Bahujan SamajParty on February 16.

Governor Ram Naik issuedan order on Sunday removingMishra from the state Councilof Ministers on the recommen-dation of Chief MinisterAkhilesh Yadav.

The SP had denied ticket toVijay Kumar Mishra fromGhazipur constituency whichhe represented following whichhe joined the BSP inGorakhpur in the presence ofSatish Chandra Mishra.

It took around eleven daysfor the government to sack theminister.

Earlier, Akhilesh Yadavhad dropped Minister of Statefor Higher Education (inde-pendent charge) Sharda PratapShukla from his Council ofMinisters. Shukla, the SP MLAfrom Sarojininagar constituen-cy, is contesting election onRashtriya Lok Dal ticket.

PNS n LUCKNOW

Bharatiya Janata Party’s UPunit president Keshav

Prasad Maurya said that if hisparty was voted to power, itwould re-constitute Purvanchaland Bundelkhand developmentboards and add clauses tospeed up development of theseregions.

“Uttar Pradesh cannotdevelop without developmentof Bundelkhand andPurvanchal. The first priority ofthe government will be todevelop these regions which arecraving for development sincelong,” Maurya said whileaddressing reporters inGorakhpur on Sunday.

He added that the BJPgovernment would ensuredevelopment of the entire stateas development during theAkhilesh Yadav regime hadcome to a standstill.

The BJP state presidentsaid that Chief MinisterAkhilesh Yadav had promisedhelp to farmers, students,women and youth but he failedto live up to the expectations ofthe people.

Claiming that a pro-BJPwave was blowing across UP,Maurya said his party wasgoing to form the governmentby securing two-thirds majority.

“Our rivals — SamajwadiParty-Congress alliance andBahujan Samaj Party — haveaccepted their defeat as peopleare rooting for the BJP,” he said.

Maurya said law and orderin the state had gone from badto worse in the last five years,police stations were working asSamajwadi Party offices and thecorruption and crime graphshad steadily gone up.

In reply to a question,Maurya said the demonetisa-tion decision was taken tocurb black money and peoplehad supported Prime MinisterNarendra Modi for it as reflect-ed in the recent results ofMaharashtra, Odisha andChandigarh civic polls.

“Victory of the BJP in UttarPradesh will further cementour claim that the poor andfarmers had appreciated noteban,” he added.

PNS n LUCKNOW

Samajwadi Party presidentAkhilesh Yadav onMonday countered the

Bharatiya Janata Party charge ofdiscrimination by his govern-ment on caste and religiousgrounds and dared PrimeMinister Narendra Modi for anopen debate on the issue ofdevelopment.

Akhilesh Yadav said hewas ready for a debate with thePrime Minister at any placewhere elections were to beheld till March 8.

After a gruelling scheduleon Sunday, Akhilesh addresseda press conference at theSamajwadi Party state officehere. He charged the PrimeMinister with repeatedly shift-ing the goal post and twistingthe issues.

“I am ready for a debate

with the Prime Minister atany place; it can be on thebanks of river Ganga or the vil-lage of Khajanchi, Akhileshsaid.

Khajanchi was born whilehis mother was standing in aqueue outside a bank post-noteban in Kanpur Dehat and theChief Minister had given finan-cial assistance of Rs 2 lakh tothe poor woman.

Akhilesh declined to answerwhen asked whether absence ofhis father, Mulayam SinghYadav, from campaigning hadimpacted the electoral prospectsof the Samajwadi Party. He,however, said “I will answer thisquestion on March 11”.

Assembly election resultswill be announced on March11.

“The Prime Minister isaddressing election rallies inUP every day and making

baseless allegations against theSamajwadi Party government.I have a long list of achieve-ments to tell to the people ineach district wherever I go forcampaigning. Let the PrimeMinister tell the electorate whathis government has done forthe people of UP in the lastthree years,” Yadav said.

Apprehending polarisationof the electorate ahead of theremaining three phases of theUP Assembly elections, theSamajwadi Party presidentrebutted the charges of thePrime Minister on distributionof laptops and Kanya VidyaDhan to girl students. He alsoread out a list of the beneficia-ries, most of them from theupper castes.

Akhilesh also rebutted thecharge of the Prime Ministerthat cheating was rampant inUP in the high school and

intermediate examinations.“The Prime Minister has

insulted the meritorious stu-dents by alleging discriminationon caste and religious groundsas laptops were given only to themeritorious students whoscored good marks in the exam-ination,” he asserted.

Akhilesh Yadav added: “Iappeal to all the beneficiaries oflaptops and Kanya Vidya DhanYojna to give a befitting replyto the BJP in the Assembly elec-tions for making baseless alle-gations.”

Akhilesh Yadav also rub-bished the claims of the PrimeMinister about loan waiverpromised by the BJP in its elec-tion manifesto. He also listedvarious measures taken by hisgovernment in the last fiveyears for development of theagriculture sector.

“In 2014, the PrimeMinister had promised toenhance the income of farmers.What has he done in thisregard in the last three years?Now they have come with anew promise of waiving out-standing loans of farmers. TheBJP does not have to win UPelections for this, the Centralgovernment can waive theloans any time. Why has it notdone this in BJP-ruled stateslike Madhya Pradesh,Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh,Haryana etc.?” Yadav asked.

“I see a huge turnout ofyouths wearing blue jeans andcarrying smartphones in myelection meeting. They haveaspiration and want develop-ment and jobs. The PrimeMinister is fond of ‘mann kibaat’ but the people want tohear about `kaam ki baat’,”Yadav said, adding that the BJPwas deliberately twisting issuesas it stood exposed on the issueof development and had noth-ing to showcase as its achieve-ment in UP.

PNS n LUCKNOW

Unemployment and devel-opment are big issues in

the twin temple cities ofFaizabad and Ayodhya wherefive Assembly constituencies goto polls in the fifth phase onMonday.

There is a tough fightbetween the Bharatiya JanataParty, the Samajwadi Party andthe Bahujan Samaj Party. Themost interesting contest isbeing witnessed in Ayodhyaconstituency, a strongholdwhich the BJP lost to debutantSP politician Tej Narain Pandeyalias Pawan Pandey.

Tej Narain is the SP candi-date while the BSP has, surpris-ingly, given its ticket to BazmiSiddiqui — Ayodhya’s firstMuslim candidate who hasmade the contest in this tem-ple town more interesting.

The BJP has fielded VedPrakash Gupta, a local leader

who is giving run for money toother candidates in the fray.The votes of Muslims and theupper castes will be the decid-ing factor in this constituency.

The ruling SP is also facinga rebel in the form of SuryakantPandey who is contesting theelection on the ticket of theCommunist Party of India.

The BJP had won theAyodhya seat in 1991 but lostit to the SP in the last elections.Tej Narain Pandey, a ministerin the SP government, hadcreated history in 2012Assembly polls by defeatingBJP’s Lallu Singh by over 6,000votes.

Ram temple is no longer anissue in Ayodhya as youthwant employment. The votersare also peeved over non-development of the area evenafter several announcements bythe leaders.

In the 2012 Assembly polls,out of five Assembly seats in

Faizabad — Ayodhya,Milkipur, Gosaiganj, Rudauli,Bikapur — four were bagged bythe Samajwadi Party. The BJPhad to remain content withonly Rudauli.

In Bikapur, there is a trian-gular contest between sitting SPcandidate Anandsen, ShobhaSingh who is widow ofRashtriya Lok Dal’s formerleader Munna Singh Chauhan,and BSP’s Jitendra SinghBabloo. Muslim votes will bethe deciding factor here.

The lone sitting MLA ofBJP, Ramchandra Yadav, is fac-ing tough challenge from SPcandidate Abbas Ali Zaidi andGabbar Khan of the BSP.Though the seat has highestnumber (60,000) of Muslimand around 48,000 Yadav votes,the BJP has an edge as both therivals are from minority com-munity and there is all possi-bility of division of votes.

In Milkipur, UP minister

Awadhesh Prasad, a six-timeMLA, is facing first timers —property dealer GorakhnathBaba of the BJP and RamgopalKori of the BSP. Though theminister is set to sail smooth-ly, his fate too will be decidedby the 65,000-strong Brahminand 50,000 Muslim votes.

Gosaiganj is witnessing afight of muscle power in whichsitting SP MLA with criminalbackground, Abhay Singh, isfacing challenge from IndraPratap alias Khabu Tiwari.Khabu has contested the seatfour times on BSP ticket butthis time he is trying his luckon the BJP ticket. The BSP hasfielded Dharamraj Nishad, anew face, from this seat. In the2012 elections, he had suf-fered defeat in Shahganj con-stituency of Jaunpur district.The fate of the candidateswould be decided by 40,000Kurmi and 30,000 Vaish votesin the constituency.

Lucknow (PNS): Unidentifiedassailants killed a woman and her grand-daughter in their house in Jaswantnagarpolice station area of Etawah.

Police said old enmity was the motivefor the murder but villagers said both werekilled over election related rivalry.

According to reports, 55-year-oldUsha was sleeping with her 11-year-oldgranddaughter Annu in a room of theirhouse in Bheekanpur village ofJaswantnagar when the miscreantsstormed in on Saturday night. The miscre-ants attacked both with a spade kept in theroom and escaped. The profusely bleed-

ing victims were rushed to hospital whereboth were pronounced dead.

Police said the name of a suspect,Rakesh, had surfaced and he had beennamed in the report on the complaint ofthe family. Efforts are on to track downRakesh. The family alleged that Rakesh hadelection related rivalry with them.

In another incident, unidentified mis-creants killed a 36-year-old man, YogeshChandra Mishra of Rampur Nigoh underChibramau police station area of Kannauj.

Yogesh was returning home onSaturday night when he was attacked neara temple in his village with sharp-edged

weapons.Property related dispute was said to be

the motive for the murder. In another incident, four armed mis-

creants stormed a house and looted onelakh rupees and valuables after holding thefamily members at gunpoint in Baghpatdistrict in the wee hours of Sunday.

The victim, Wakil, and his familymembers were fast asleep when the mis-creants entered the house around 3:30 am.They held Wakil and other his familymembers at gunpoint and looted cash,ornaments and valuables. The miscreantslater escaped unchallenged.

PNS n LUCKNOW

Aday after the ElectionCommission directed all

political parties to refrain fromusing caste and religion inelectioneering, Bahujan SamajParty supremo Mayawati onSunday appealed to Muslimsnot to get misled by SamajwadiParty and vote for her party.

The BSP president madethe appeal to Muslims on theeve of fifth phase polling onMonday, asking them to votefor her party candidates as thecommunity would be safe inher regime.

“Muslims are safe only inthe BSP regime and in noneother,” she said.

On Saturday, the ElectionCommission had asked allpolitical party to comply withthe Supreme Court ruling andnot to indulge in instigatingcommunal feelings during thecampaigning. This was the sec-ond such directive of the EC.

Mayawati said: “I welcomeMuslims in the Bahujan SamajParty as they first deserted theCongress and now they had

freed themselves from theclutches of the SamajwadiParty.”

She added: “The BharatiyaJanata Party flourishes duringthe Samajwadi Party regimeand becomes weak if there is aBSP government. Muslims tooare now accepting this.”

Mayawati also lashed out atSP’s senior leader MohammadAzam Khan who on Fridaycriticised Muslims in Faizabad

for putting up the flags of theBSP on their houses and com-mercial establishments.

“Azam Khan is fighting forretaining his existence in pol-itics so he is issuing such state-ments only to please his newboss Akhilesh Yadav,” she said,adding that Azam Khan wasworking against the interests ofthe Muslim community byseeking their votes for theSamajwadi Party.

Printed and Published by Vijay Prakash Singh for and on behalf of CMYK Printech Ltd., 4th Floor, Sahara Shopping Centre, Faizabad Road, Lucknow-226016 and Printed at Tin Tin Printech Pvt Ltd., C-33 Amausi Industrial Area, Nadarganj, Lucknow. Tel: (0522) 2438656 / 9336266608.

Editor: Chandan Mitra. Resident Editor: Vijay Prakash Singh. RNI No. 2016/57. Lucknow Telephones: EPABX: 4036600 Fax: 2345582. Allahabad Office: (95532) 2420818, 2421018, 3290460. Kanpur Office: (95512) 2304006, 2304416. Varanasi Office: (95542) 2414294, 2414295. Delhi

Office: Link House, II Floor, 3 Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, New Delhi 110 002. Tel: (011) 23755271-274, 41509074.

Ready for debate with PM

at any place, says Akhilesh

SP president Akhilesh Yadav addressing media persons at party office in Lucknow on Sunday Pioneer

Unemployment, development big issues in Faizabad-Ayodhya

Muslims safe only in

BSP rule: Mayawati

UP ministerVK Mishrasacked

Ballia: Samajwadi Party patron MulayamSingh Yadav has punctured the ‘cycle’, whileChief Minister Akhilesh Yadav’s feuding uncleShivpal has broken its chain, Union HomeMinister Rajnath Singh said on Sunday.

“I really wonder how Rahul Gandhi andAkhilesh will reach Lucknow riding the dam-aged cycle,” Singh said at an election rally, mak-ing fun of the ruling party’s election symbol.

The Home Minister, however, claimed thatthe atmosphere in Uttar Pradesh was conduciveto blooming of ‘lotus’ - the BJP’s poll symbol.

“Parties like Samajwadi Party, BahujanSamaj Party and Congress have created muddypools throughout the state, and in these verypools lotus will bloom,” Singh said.

He said the SP realised it has gone weak andthat’s why it forged an alliance with theCongress.

“SP patron Mulayam Singh Yadav, howev-er, has punctured the bicycle, while ShivpalSingh Yadav has broken the chain of the bicy-cle... I really wonder how will Rahul andAkhilesh reach Lucknow riding the damagedcycle,” he said.

In a dig at BSP, he said even the ‘elephant’had become weak, as it was not getting the right

fodder. ‘Elephant’ is BSP’s symbol.Rajnath also attacked Congress for first hold-

ing ‘khaat sabha’ to raise voice against the stategovernment, but later embracing PTI

Mulayam punctured ‘cycle’,

Shivpal broke chain: Rajnath

Dev of Purvanchal,Bundelkhand BJP’spriority: Maurya

Woman, granddaughter killed in Etawah

Thakurs reach Lko SSP’s

office to court arrest

Gun-runners’ gangbusted, 5 held


PIONEER NEWS SERVICE n LUCKNOW

Thousands of people cuttingacross religious lines assem-

bled at Bada Imambara to com-memorate the first deathanniversary of Maulana MirzaMohammed Athar on Sunday.Governor Ram Naik, represen-tatives of different political par-ties, clerics and other digni-taries were present at BadaImambara to pay homage toMaulana Athar, also referred toas Khateeb-e-Akbar for his ora-torial skills.

Addressing the gathering,Naik said due to his dynamicpersonality, Maulana Athar’spresence was not limited toUttar Pradesh or even India, buthe was a known personality inforeign countries as well.

“Maulana Athar had a closeassociation with Mumbai, thecity where I come from, and hehad a record against his name forreciting ‘majlis’ at Mumbai’sMughal Masjid for 58 years onthe trot during Moharram. Healways laid stress on educationfor women and gave the messageof peace and unity to peopleacross the globe,” Naik said.

“On this occasion, we all

should vow to move forwardwith the feeling of unity amongsteach other,” he added.

Maulana ShehenshahHusain Naqvi from Pakistanisaid Maulana Athar used to talkabout resolving the conflicts insociety and community andwould always ask for discussionto resolve issues. FormerGovernor Chhattisgarh andAssam Syed Sibte Razi saidMaulana Athar’s life was anexample for all as he always pre-sented the true picture of Islamthrough his religious addresses.Former Rajya Sabha MP AkhtarHasan Rizvi said he was close toMaulana Athar and would talkto him on a range of issues. “Thedemise of Maulana Athar is anirreparable loss to the commu-nity,” he added. All India ShiaPersonal Law Board spokesper-son and Maulana Athar’s sonMaulana Yasoob Abbas said hisfather always wanted the com-munity to get better facilities andhe worked in different ways forthe uplift of community.

An exhibition of pho-tographs with Maulana MirzaAthar in different frames wasalso organised at BadaImambara.


The Lucknow MunicipalCorporation (LMC) is

planning to stop Jyoti EnviroTech from doing door-to-door collection work.

It may be noted that afterhaving failed to fulfil therequirement of the SolidWaste Management project,the private agency, JyotiEnviro Tech, was replaced byEco Green Energy, and theSolid Waste Treatment plantwas handed over to it. Now,the door-to-door garbage col-lection work will be trans-ferred soon. “The agreementwith Jyoti Enviro Tech hasbeen cancelled and we havealready handed over the plantto the new agency. In thecoming days even the door-to-door garbage collectionwill be given to the new firmin the city,” said the environ-ment engineer, PankajBhushan.

Since last year the com-plaints regarding the door-to-door garbage collection were

flooding the LMC. This col-lection work was started inthe year 2010 in 56 wards ofthe city but after a year anumber of complaints againstthe agency started coming tothe LMC.

In 2016 some corporatorscomplained to the LMC offi-cials that the agency workersinstead of collecting thegarbage daily had reduced itsfrequency to once a week. Asper the LMC officials, it hadspent Rs 106 crore on theSolid Waste ManagementProject. But the sanitary con-ditions and the functioning ofthe treatment plant could beclearly seen in the inspectionreports and the control roomwhere the complaints werereceived easily.

After collecting garbagethe agency had to transport itto the treatment plant ordump it at the dumping sitefor which the LMC had to paynearly Rs 1,600 per tonne toit. Now the LMC would haveto pay the same amount to thenew firm, the officials said.

“If the firm will run thetreatment plant and carry outdoor-to-door garbage collec-tion it will continue to do soas per the new agreement. Buteven if this firm too failed toperform the task assigned toit the LMC will take over thecharge of doing both theworks and for it the existingmanpower will be increased,”said the sources.

It may be pointed outhere that on July 29, 2016, thethen DM, Raj Shekhar, hadinspected the Solid WasteTreatment Plant at Sewri village.

He had said that if theJyoti Enviro Tech failed toinstall the plant and make itfully functional its contractshould be cancelled. The JyotiEnviro Tech missed the dead-line of August 20, 2016.Following this the agency wasgiven time till November buteven then it failed to honourthe agreement after whichthe process of cancelling itwas initiated by the LucknowMunicipal Corporation.


Patients with kidney ail-ment patients are more

prone to cardiac disordersthan others and they feel lesspain during a heart attack.Heart problems in thesepatients are difficult to diag-nose even in ECG and bloodtests.

This was stated by cardi-ologist Dr PraveshVishwakarma on the secondday of the annual two-dayconference of CardiologicalSociety of India — ‘UPCardiCon-2017’ — organisedat King George’s MedicalUniversity (KGMU).

Eminent cardiologistsfrom different parts of thecountry took part in the con-ference. “Patients with renaldisorders are more prone toheart problems than others.Those with a long history ofdiabetes, dialysis andnephropathy should be morealert. Moreover, symptoms ofa heart attack in such patientsmay altogether differ fromthose in any other patient.Heart attack in people withkidney diseases can be detect-ed with breathlessness anduneasiness along with slightbut persistent chest pain,” DrVishwakarma said. The cardi-ologists a lso discussedadvances in heart surgery andtreatment in general.Technicians working in cathlabs have been trained withnew techniques.

Elaborating on the recent

advances in treatment forheart patients, Dr RakeshYadav of AIIMS said: “If peo-ple suffering heart failurereaches hospital in time, theirlives can be saved usingCardiac ResynchronisationTherapy (CRT). This tech-nique helps in maintaining theheart rhythm and restoring itto normal.”

“Over 30 per cent patients

who suffer heart failure dieimmediately while in othercases, patients develop compli-cations like lack of appetite andbreathlessness. Over 50 percent of such patients sufferdesynchronisation of heart,leading to imbalance in inter-nal working of heart. In suchcases, CRT technique should beused to restore regular heartrhythm. As many as three

wires are introduced at a spe-cial place in the heart in theCRT technique,” Dr Yadavexplained. He further said thatchildren might also suffer fromcardiac disorders but there hadbeen a shortage of cardiac pae-diatric surgeons. “An entireunit is required for children’sheart surgery. Paediatric anaes-thesiologists and cardiac pae-diatric surgeons play a keyrole in surgery,” he asserted.

Meanwhile, special toys,sewing machines and specialcycles were distributed amongthe mentally-challenged andspecially-abled children undera social initiative. Dr SharadChandra, Dr GauravChaudhari, Dr Aditya and DrRishi Sethi among others sup-ported the cause.


In the wake of rising attackson doctors at their work-

places, Indian MedicalAssociation (IMA) discussedthe issue of safety of doctorsand hospital staff on Sundayand drew parallels with thescenario in the US. The doc-tors associated with IMA laidemphasis on the developmentof a standard protocol whenpatients reach hospital.

They also emphasises theneed of providing qualityhealthcare and medical ser-vices along with communicat-ing with patients to avoidclash with the attendants of patients.

“We should work ondeveloping a standard proto-col for disease or problemwhen a patient undergoestreatment in hospital. Such aprotocol or guideline shouldinclude the tests prescribed,course of treatment and infor-mation related to follow-up.The records should be pre-served as they may prove help-ful for both the patients andthe doctors in any future courtcase,” said Dr Vinay Srivastavaof a Florida-based medicalcollege. He was speaking at theprogramme organised by IMA(Lucknow) on Sunday.

He further highlighted thechallenges medical practition-ers face in treatment of

patients with chronic disor-ders. “Often doctors faceextreme pressure when theytreat a patient with chronicdisorder or someone in criti-cal condition. In Indian con-text, such situations lead todistrust between doctors andpatient’s kin, resulting in clash-es and violence at hospitals,” he pointed out.

Drawing parallels with thesituation in the US, DrSrivastava said: “The situationis quite different in the USwhere litigations in consumercourts are on the rise due toalleged negligence by doctorsin providing healthcare topatients. Such situations arenot good in the interest of bothpatients and doctors. Thesesituations should be resolvedthrough interactions.”

He also emphasised thatthe cases of violence in hospi-tals were much higher in Indiathan in the US. “Governmentsshould ensure strict imple-mentation of laws meant forthe protection of doctors andhospital staff. Overall health-care services should also beimproved for greater satisfac-tion of patients and their kin,”said Dr Srivastava, an alumnusof KGMU. Indian MedicalAssociation (Lucknow) presi-dent Dr PK Gupta, Dr SarojSrivastava, Dr JD Rawat andother IMA members attendedthe programme.


Awoman in cahoots withher lover allegedlykilled her husband and

dumped the body parts in aseptic tank at her house inMadiaon five months back.

As per reports, MadhuAsthana aka Dolly ofWazirganj was married toShiva Saxena (29) of Hari OmNagar in Madiaon. Shiva wasliving with his maternal uncleJanakraj of sector C of IndiraNagar. After marriage,Janakraj gave him a house tolive at Hari Om Nagar ofMadiaon.

In October, Shiva wentmissing under mysterious cir-cumstances but Dolly did notdisclose his disappearance tohis maternal uncle. A weekafter Shiva went missing,Janakraj visited the former’shouse and was told that Shivahad gone to his native villagein Balrampur district.Believing her, Janakrajreturned home. He visited thehouse again to ask about thewell-being of Shiva and wastold that he was yet to returnfrom Balrampur. When hecame to know that Shiva nevervisited Balrampur, he askedDolly to lodge a report.

The crafty woman thenlodged a report at the policestation but she was unfazedand misled the police sayingShiva had left the house on hisown. Not only this, she evenobserved fast on Karva Chauth

(a puja on which womenobserve fast for the long life oftheir husbands) on October 19to misguide women of thelocality and Shiva’s family. Shesucceeded in fobbing off thepolice.

But Shiva’s family was notconvinced with her claim andthey started gathering infor-mation about him. They cameto know that Dolly was very

intimate to her relative Neeraj(son of her mother’s sister) andused to visit shopping mallsand other places. As suspicionover her integrity deepened,she changed the house andstarted living with Neeraj.

Soon the incident becamea talk of the town with peoplestarted fervently discussingher extra-marital affair.

On Sunday, the residents

of Hari Om Nagar locality felta foul smell emanating fromthe house where Shiva used tolive and they alerted Janakraj.

Janakraj reached theMadiaon police station wherehe expressed doubt aboutShiva’s disappearance. Policeinitially was reluctant to initi-ate a probe as the missing per-son’s wife had no complaint.When Janakraj explained that

Dolly might have a role inShiva’s disappearance, thepolice started a hunt for herand reached the new housewhere she was living. Herlover Neeraj got a whiff ofpolice action and he fled thehouse but Dolly was nabbed.

She was brought to thepolice station but extractingany information from her wasnonetheless a hard nut tocrack. She straight awaydenied the allegation and saidshe had no information aboutShiva. Later, her brother coun-selled her and asked her to dis-close the truth if she had any.

She gave in and disclosedthat she in connivance withNeeraj had killed Shiva onOctober 16 and later theychopped the head beforedumping it in the septic tank.On the information, a policeteam along with a team ofmunicipal department reachedthe crime scene. They pulledout a head and highly decom-posed body parts from theseptic tank.

It surfaced that Dolly wasvery close to Neeraj before hermarriage with Shiva in 2013.After the marriage, Neerajused to visit the house and onthe fateful day Shiva caughtthem in a compromising posi-tion and he thrashed Dolly.Neeraj took her side and bothstrangled him to death at thehouse. They later tied both hishands and dumped the bodyin the septic tank of the house.


Abductors of the missingmilk vendor, whose body

was recovered from Maal onFriday, had killed him beforedumping his body to cover uptheir crime.

The startling facts sur-faced after the police succeed-ed in ascertaining the identityof the man on Sunday. Thedeceased, identified as Naseer(25), was a resident of Madiaonand went missing after he lefthis house on February 23night. After searching himround the night on the day hewas reported missing, the fam-ily succeeded in tracing hisbike which was recovered fromoutside a tea stall in Khadra ofHasanganj police station area.They then lodged a reportwith the Hasanganj police sta-tion.

After the recovery of vic-tim’s bike, the family startedsearching him frantically whilebeing wary of victim’s well-being. On February 24, theMaal police recovered a bodybearing wounds on face, noseand eyes. The injuries seemedto be inflicted by some sharp-edged weapon. The policestarted the investigation andsucceeded in ascertaining theidentity on Sunday.

The police spokesman saida case of murder had been reg-istered in this connection and

the police were collecting thecall detail records of the vic-tim’s cell phone to trace out

persons with whom he hadtalked on the day he wentmissing.


The Assembly elections areover in Lucknow but can-

didates are yet to file their finalpoll expenditure incurred incanvassing. The officials said itwould be filed by April firstweek. “The candidates havegiven the details of their pollexpenditure till February 17and they will have to providethe details of expenses made onFebruary 18 and voting day(February 19). Along with it,the expenses made till thecounting day will also be addedto the poll register,” said chieftreasury officer (CTO) SanjaySingh.

As per rules, candidatesshould submit their poll expen-diture register to the districtelection office within 75 days ofcompletion of Assembly pollsor else action will be takenagainst them.

As per the data availablewith district election office tillFebruary 17, Samajwadi Party(SP) candidate fromSarojininagar constituencyAnurag Yadav had spent 16.4lakh while his opponent BJPcandidate Swati Singh spent Rs10.42 lakh in the campaigning.

BSP candidate from BKTconstituency Nakul Dubey hadspent Rs 8.27 lakh and SP can-didate from Lucknow Centralconstituency Ravidas Mehrotraspent Rs 4.88 lakh.

In Lucknow North con-stituency, BSP candidate Ajay

Srivastava spent Rs 7.32 lakh, SPcandidate and ministerAbhishek Mishra made expens-es of Rs 6.53 lakh and his oppo-nent BJP candidate Neeraj Borapaid poll expenses of Rs 6.39lakh till February 17. InLucknow West constituency,out of 17 candidates, nonecrossed the mark of Rs 10 lakhas BJP candidate SureshSrivastava spent Rs 8.28 lakhwhile SP candidate Mohd Rehanmade expenses of Rs 5.l Lakhand BSP candidate ArmaanKhan had paid Rs 7.92 lakh.

BJP candidate fromLucknow Cantt Rita BahugunaJoshi made expenditure of Rs10.03 lakh, BJP candidate fromLucknow East AshutoshTandon paid Rs 9.25 lakh,Congress candidate fromLucknow West AnuragBhadauria Rs 4.54 lakh, andBJP-supported independentcandidate RK Chaudhary fromMohanlalganj constituencyspent Rs 17.84 lakh tillFebruary 17.

Woman cuts husband into pieces

Police and local residents at the house where body parts of Shiva Saxena (inset) were found on Sunday Pioneer

‘Missing’ vendor was

killed by abductors

Candidates to file

final poll expenses

report in April

‘People with renal disorders more

prone to cardiac problems’

IMA discussesattacks on docs at workplaces

‘UP CardiCon-2017’ organised at King George’s Medical University Pioneer

LMC plans to ban Jyoti Enviro

from garbage collection

Thousands pay homage to ‘Khateeb-e-Akbar’

Patients with renal disorders are moreprone to heart problems than others.Those with a long history of diabetes,dialysis and nephropathy should be morealert. Moreover, symptoms of a heartattack in such patients may altogetherdiffer from those in any other patient


Unidentified miscreantsstole cash and jewellery

from a house owned by aretired ADM in sector J ofAshiyana on Saturday night.

Retired ADM SurendraKumar lives all alone at thepalatial house while his fami-ly lives in Unnao. He had goneto attend a family function onSaturday and found his homeburgled when he returnedhome. He lodged a case in thisconnection.

On information, a policeteam, along with finger printexperts and a sniffer, reachedthe crime scene. The policefailed to get any lead about themiscreants. It surfaced that themiscreants had broke open thedoors of all rooms and madeoff with Rs 1.20 lakh in cash,jewellery worth several lakh, 20live cartridges, LCD TV andother valuables from the house.The police also talked to neigh-bours of the retired officer butthey failed to give any lead.

ASSAULTEDAn incident in which a sub-

inspector allegedly thrashed awoman on Sunday. As perreports, Kamla lives withSiyadulari in Sarojininagar. Sheworks as a labourer whileSiyadulari works as a maid. OnSunday noon, a sub-inspector(she could not tell the name ofthe SI) reached her house andasked about Siyadulari. As sheexpressed ignorance about her,the S-I lost his cool. He alleged-ly caught her by her hair andthen pushed her down. Thewoman started weeping andcried for help. Locals reached thescene and they intervened in thematter. They later called thepolice but they did not help her.

Siyadulari worked as maidat the house of the S-I and hadquit due to some reason. The S-I was highly upset over this andhe reached her house to searchher. Since Siyadulari had ahunch that the S-I might comeand force her to work at hishouse, she left without inform-ing Kamla a day before.

Big theft committed

in Ashiyana house

Governor Ram Naik, along with Maulana Yasoob Abbas, having a look at the photographs of Maulana Mirza Mohammed Atharat an exhibition at Bada Imambara in Lucknow on Sunday Pioneer


U.P.Rajya Vidyut UtpadanNigam Ltd. Anpara ThermalPower Project, Anpara, E-Tender Notice 1. E-TenderNo: 32/EPD-III/DTPS/2016-

17, Office: Superintending Engineer,O&MCC-I, DTPS, Anpara, Sonebhadra.Supply: Supply of mill outlet elbow for2x500MW, DTPS. Earnest Money:29,000.00 (Rs. Twenty Nine ThousandOnly) Tender Cost: 1000.00+VATExtra), Last date for submission of e-bid (Technical & Financial) online atE-procurement website http://etender.up.nic.in).: 07.03.2017, Openingdate of part-I: 09.03.2017, For partic-ipation and detailed information login to website http://etender.up.nic.in).2.E-Tender No: 05/EMD-III/ATPS/2016-17, Office: Superintending Engineer,O&MC-V, BTPS, Anpara, Sonebhadra.Work: Round the clock routine/break-down maintenance work of electricsupply in permanent colony, new colony,FFH, VIP, Damini, two room field hos-tel & operation of DG Set of ATP, Anpara.Earnest Money: 32,000.00 (Rs. ThirtyTwo Thousand Only)(Refundable) in theform of FDR/BG pledged in favour of DY.C.A.O.,C.F.A,&B.O., ATPS, Anpara.,Tender Cost: 500.00+VAT Extra)(NonRefundable) in the form of DD pledgedin favour of DY. C.A.O.,C.F.A,&B.O.,ATPS, Anpara., Last date for submis-sion of e-bid (Technical & Financial):03.04.2017, at E-procurement websitehttp://etender.up.nic.in)., Opening dateof part-I: 06.04.2017, Period: One Year.For participation and detailed infor-mation log in to website http://etender.up.nic.in).3. E-Tender No:08/ETD/DTPS/2016-17, Office:Superintending Engineer, O&MCC-I,2X500MW, DTPS, Anpara, Sonebhadra.Work: Hiring of 02 nos. 36-seaterbuses for DTPS Anpara employees.Earnest Money: 46,436.00 (Rs. FortySix Thousand Four Hundred thirty SixOnly)(Refundable) in the form ofFDR/BG pledged in favour of DY.C.A.O.,C.F.A,&B.O., DTPS, Anpara.,Tender Cost: 500.00+VAT Extra)(NonRefundable) in the form of DD pledgedin favour of DY. C.A.O.,C.F.A,&B.O.,DTPS, Anpara., Previous Last date forsubmission of hardcopy of tenderdocument: 15.02.2017, Extended datefor submission of hard copy of ten-der document: 17.03.2017, PreviousOpening date of part-I: 18.02.2017,Extended opening date of e-bid part-I: 21.03.2017, Opening date of e-bidpart-II: Shall be intimated later. Period:One Year.For participation anddetailed information log in to websitehttp://etender.up.nic.in).4. E-Tender No:01/ETD/ATPS/2016-17, Office:Superintending Engineer, TS&HRDC-V,ATPS, Anpara, Sonebhadra.Work:Hiring of 03 Nos. 52 seater buses forcarrying the employees children ofAnpara Thermal power station fromAnpara colony to Avdhoot BhagwanRam P.G. College & back to AnparaColony. Earnest Money: 24,000.00(Rs. Twenty Four ThousandOnly)(Refundable) in the form ofFDR/BG pledged in favour of DY.C.A.O.,C.F.A,&B.O., ATPS, Anpara.,Tender Cost: 500.00+VAT Extra)(NonRefundable) in the form of DD pledgedin favour of DY. C.A.O."C.F.A,&B.O.,ATPS, Anpara., Last date for submis-sion of e-bid (Technical & Financial):12.04.2017, at e-procurement websitehttp://etender.up.nic.in). Opening dateof part-I: 15.04.2017, Period: One Year.For participation and detailed infor-mation log in to website http://etender.up.nic.in). 5. E-Tender No:35/EPD-I/DTPS/2016-17, Office:Superintending Engineer, O&M CC-I,2X500MW, DTPS, Anpara, Sonebhadra.Supply: Supply of spares & consum-ables of hydrant system. EarnestMoney: 13,000.00 (Rs. ThirteenThousand Only), Tender Cost:1000.00+VAT Extra), Last date for sub-mission of e-bid (Technical &Financial): at e- procurement websitehttp://etender.up.nic.in).: 06.04.2017,Opening date of part-I: 08.04.2017, Forparticipation and detailed informationlog in to website http:// etender.up.nic.in). 6. E-Tender No: 36/EPD-I/DTPS/2016-17, Office: SuperintendingEngineer, O&M CC-I, 2X500MW, DTPS,Anpara, Sonebhadra. Supply: Supplyof PVC Plastic sheet. Earnest Money:13,000.00 (Rs. Thirteen ThousandOnly), Tender Cost: 1000.00+VATExtra), Last date for submission ofhard copy of tender documents:07.04.2017, Opening date of e-bidpart-I: 10.04.2017, opening date of e-bid part-II: Shall be intimated later. Forparticipation and detailed informationlog in to website http://etender.up.nic.in). 7. E-Tender No: 184/EPD-III/ATPS/2016-17, Office:Superintending Engineer, [O&M] MMC-VII, ATPS, Anpara, Sonebhadra.

Supply: Supply of HT Fasteners (makeLPS, TVS and unbrako (DFL) Only of3x210MW, ATPS, Anpara. EarnestMoney: 30,000.00 (Rs. Thirty ThousandOnly), Tender Cost: 500.00+VAT Extra),Last date for submission of e-bid(Technical & Financial) at e-procure-ment website http://etender.up.nic.in):27.03.2017, Opening date of part-I:28.03.2017, For participation anddetailed information log in to websitehttp://etender. up.nic.in). 8. E-TenderNo: 166/EPD-III/BTPS/2016-17, Office:Superintending Engineer, MM&MPC-IV,2X500MW, BTPS, Anpara, Sonebhadra.Supply: Supply of Hi chrome steel grind-ing media balls for ball mills (Model:BBD-4772) of 2x500 MW, BTPS,Anpara. Earnest Money: 10,00,000.00(Rs. Ten Lacs Only), Tender Cost:5725.00+VAT Extra), Last date for sub-mission of e-bid (Technical &Financial): 03.04.2017 at e-procure-ment website http:// etender.up.nic.in),Opening date of part-I: 03.04.2017, Forparticipation and detailed informationlog in to website http://etender.up.nic.in).9. E-Tender No: 09/MMD-II/ATPS/2016-17, Office: SuperintendingEngineer, OMC-I, ATPS, Anpara,Sonebhadra.Work: Part-A: Preventivechecking & mechanical maintenance offurnace bottom ash hopper, scrapperconveyor, clinker grinder and related sys-tem of all the three units of 3x210MW,ATPS, Anpara. Part-B: Work of assis-tance in opereational work of scrapperconveyor, clinker grinder and associat-ed system of furnace bottom ash hop-per of each unit of the 3x210MW, ATPS,Anapara. Earnest Money: 26,000.00(Rs. Twenty Six Thousand Only)(Refundable) in the form of FDR/BGpledged in favour of DY. C.A.O.,C.F.A,& B.O., ATPS, Anpara., Tender Cost:500.00+VAT Extra)(Non Refundable) inthe form of DD pledged in favour of DY.C.A.O., ,C.F.A,&B.O., ATPS, Anpara.,Last date for submission of hardcopy of requisite documents:18.04.2017, Opening date of e-bidpart-I: 19.04.2017, Part-II: Shall be inti-mated later. Period: One Year. For par-ticipation and detailed information login to website http://etender.up.nic.in).10. E-Tender No: 246/EPD-I/ATPS/2016-17, Office: SuperintendingEngineer, [O&M], MMC-VII, 3X210MW,ATPS, Anpara, Sonebhadra.Supply:Supply of Rectifier transformer for3x210MW, ATPS, Anpara. EarnestMoney: 29,000.00 (Rs. Twenty NineThousand Only), Tender Cost:500.00+VAT Extra), Last date for sub-mission of e-bid (Technical &Financial) at e-procurement websitehttp://etender.up.nic.in): 12.04.2017,Opening date of part-I: 13.04.2017, Forparticipation and detailed informationlog in to website http://etender.up.nic.in).11. E-Tender No: 248/EPD-I/ATPS/2016-17, Office: SuperintendingEngineer, [O&M], MMC-VII, 3X210MW,ATPS, Anpara, Sonebhadra. Supply:Supply of armoured XLPE aluminiumconductor cable for 3x210MW, ATPS,Anapra. Earnest Money: 30,000.00 (Rs.Thirty Thousand Only), Tender Cost:500.00+VAT Extra), Last date for sub-mission of e-bid (Technical &Financial) at e-procurement websitehttp://etender.up.nic.in): 12.04.2017,Opening date of part-I: 13.04.2017, Forparticipation and detailed informationlog in to website http:// etender. up.nic.in).12. E-Tender No: 01/E&SMD/BTPS/2016-17, Office: SuperintendingEngineer, O&MC-IV, ATPS, Anpara,Sonebhadra. Work: Hot line mainte-nance of various equipments installedin 400/132 KV Switchyard of A' & BTPS,Anpara. Earnest Money: 55,000.00 (Rs.Fifty five Thousand Only) (Refundable)in the form of FDR/BG pledged in favourof DY. C.A.O.,C.F.A,& B.O., BTPS,Anpara., Tender Cost: 1000.00+VATExtra) (Non Refundable) in the form ofDD in favour of DY.C.A.O.,C.F.A,&B.O.,BTPS, Anpara., Last date for submis-sion of hard copy of requisite docu-ments: 04.04.2017, Opening date ofe-bid part-I: 07.04.2017, Part-II: Shallbe intimated later. Period: One Year. Forparticipation and detailed informationlog in to website http://etender.up.nic.in). 13. E-Tender No: 20/MSD/DTPS/2016-17, Office: SuperintendingEngineer, O&MCC-II, DTPS, Anpara,Sonebhadra. Work: Round the clockpreventive/routine maintenance of millreject system of unit no. 06&07 of2x500MW, DTPS, Anpara. EarnestMoney: 39,000.00 (Rs. Thirty NineThousand Only) (Refundable) in theform of DD Payable at Anpara/ Bankerscheque/CDR/ FDR/DAC/TDR of sched-uled bank/NSC in favour of DY.C.A.O.,C.F.A,&B.O., DTPS, Anpara.,Tender Cost: 1000.00+VAT Extra)(NonRefundable) in the form of DD/Banker'sCheque in favour of DY.C.A.O.,C.F.A,&B.O., DTPS, Anpara., Last date

for submission of hard copy of req-uisite documents: 03.04.2017,Opening date of part-I: 10.04.2017,Part-II: Shall be intimated later. Period:One Year. For participation anddetailed information log in to websitehttp://etender.up.nic.in). 14.E-TenderNo: 19/MSD/DTPS/2016-17, Office:Superintending Engineer, O&MCC-II,DTPS, Anpara, Sonebhadra. Work:Round the clock preventive/routinemaintenance of 20 nos. BHEL makeXRP 1003 Bowl mills of unit no. 06&07of 2x500MW, DTPS, Anpara. EarnestMoney: 30,500.00 (Rs. Thirty ThousandFive Hundred Only)(Refundable) in theform of DD Payable at Anpara/Bankerscheque/CDR/FDR/DAC/TDR of sched-uled bank/NSC in favour of DY. C.A.O.,C.F.A, & B.O., DTPS, Anpara.,TenderCost: 500.00+VAT Extra)(NonRefundable) in the form of DD/Banker'sCheque in favour of DY.C.A.O.,C.F.A,&B.O., DTPS, Anpara., Last datefor submission of hard copy of req-uisite documents: 03.04.2017,Opening date of part-I: 07.04.2017,Part-II: Shall be intimated later. Period:One Year. For participation anddetailed information log in to websitehttp://etender.up.nic.in). 15.E-TenderNo:18/MSD/DTPS/2016-17, Office:Superintending Engineer, O&MCC-II,DTPS, Anpara, Sonebhadra. Work:Round the clock preventive/routinemaintenance of RC feeder, PC pipes ofunit no. 06&07 of 2x500MW, DTPS,Anpara. Earnest Money: 30,000.00 (Rs.Thirty Thousand Only)(Refundable) inthe form of DD Payable at Anpara/Bankers cheque/CDR/ FDR/DAC/ TDRof scheduled bank/NSC in favour of DY.C.A.O.,C.F.A,&B.O., DTPS, Anpara.,Tender Cost: 500.00+VAT Extra)(NonRefundable) in the form of DD Banker'sCheque in favour of DY.C.A.O., C.F.A,& B.O., DTPS, Anpara. Last date forsubmission of e-bid & hard copyofrequisite documents: 03.04.2017,Opening date of part-I: 06.04.2017,Part-II: Shall be intimated later. Period:One Year. For participation anddetailed information log in to websitehttp://etender.up.nic.in). 16.E-TenderNo: 118/EPD-II/ATPS/2016-17, Office:Superintending Engineer, [O&M] MMC-VII, ATPS, Anpara, Sonebhadra.Supply: Supply of different specificationof idlers of 3x210MW, ATPS, Anpara.Earnest Money: 24,000.00 (Rs. TwentyFour Thousand Only), Tender Cost:500.00+VAT Extra), Last date for sub-mission of e-bid (Technical &Financial) at E-procurement websitehttp://etender.up.nic.in).: 30.03.2017,Opening date of part-I: 31.03.2017, Forparticipation and detailed informationlog in to website http://etender.up.nic.in).17.E- Tender No: 19/ECMD-I/ATPS/2016-17, Office: SuperintendingEngineer, [O&MCC- VI, ATPS, Anpara,Sonebhadra. Work: M&R of six coursewater proofing treatment (Fiber base selffinished bitumen felt) over TG hall roof,CW pump house and MCB switchyardof 3x210MW, ATPS, Anpara,Sonebhadra. Earnest Money:50,000.00 (Rs. Fifty Thousand Only)(Refundable) in the form of FDR/BGpledged in favour of DY. C.A.O.,C.F.A,& B.O., ATPS, Anpara.; Tender Cost:1000.00+VAT Extra)(Non Refundable) inthe form of DD pledged in favour of DY.C.A.O.,C.F.A, & B.O., ATPS, Anpara.,Last date of receipt of hard originaldocuments of requisite fee (Tendercost and earnest money): 13.04.2017,E-bid Opening date of part-I:18.04.2017, Part-II: 24.04.2017, Period:04 Months. For participation anddetailed information log in to websitehttp://etender.up.nic.in). 18. E-TenderNo: 21/BMD-I/BTPS/2016-17, Office:Superintending Engineer, O&MC-II,2X500MW, BTPS, Anpara, Sonebhadra.Work: B/D maintenance and in situ con-dition attending faults of submergedscrapper conveyor system also repair-ing of the critical spares in unit no. 4&5,2x500MW, BTPS, Anpara. EarnestMoney: 20,100.00 (Rs. TwentyThousand One Hundred Only)(Refundable) in the form of FDR/BGpledged in favour of DY. C.A.O.,C.F.A,&B.O., BTPS, Anpara. Tender Cost:500.00+VAT Extra) (Non Refundable) inthe form of DD pledged in favour of DY.C.A.O.,C.F.A,&B.O., BTPS, Anpara.Lastdate of Submission of e-bid(Technical & Financial) at e-procure-ment website http:// etender.up.nic.in):17.04.2017, Opening date of part-I:18.04.2017, Part-II: Shall be intimatedlater. Period: One Year. For participa-tion and detailed information log into website http://etender.up.nic.in).Executive Engineer (W) forChief Engineer Anpara ThermalProject Anpara, Sonebhadra (U.P)No. 684 Date 23.02.2017 "SAVEELECTRICITY ENHANCE NATIONALPRODUCTIVITY"

BODY RECOVEREDThe body of an unidentified youth

was recoverednear a shop inTransport Nagaru n d e rS a r o j i n i n a g a rpolice station area.There wereinjuries on the vic-tim’s nose and eyesand the police sus-pected that he waskilled. The body was sent for autopsy andefforts to ascertain the identity were on.

HARASSMENTA woman in Ashiyana accused her

colleague of sexual exploitation afterpromising to marry her. The woman saidthat she was working in a private com-pany and became close to Pradeep whoalso worked there. “The youth inveigledme into love and promised to marry me.He later reneged from his promise,” shealleged. Police said the woman was liv-ing separately from her husband and laterbecame close to the youth. “Both werelive-in partner,” the police said.


The Farmers’ First Project of theIndian Council of Agricultural

Research (ICAR) has beenlaunched in three contiguous vil-lages, MuhammadnagarTaluqedari, Meethenagar andNabi Panah of Malihabad tehsil.

Director, Central Institute ofSubtropical Horticulture (CISH),Shailendra Rajan, while talking toThe Pioneer, said that the objec-tive of this project was to enhancethe small and marginal farmer’sincome through participatoryassessment of horti-enterpriseinterventions and introduction ofnewer technologies.

“It was also aimed at bringingabout economic empowermentand nutritional security amongthe rural womenfolk throughlow input income sources andutilisation of local resources andto enhance the small and margin-al farmer’s income by promoting

secondary agriculture throughfarmers’ interest groups,” he said.He said that Malihabad was inter-nationally acclaimed for its deli-cious mango variety, Dussehri.

“Horticulture is an importantsource of livelihood for most ofthe farmers in this area. However,it has been seen that mango cul-tivation alone is not sustainableand there is a need for a diversi-fied horti-enterprise approach tohighlight the socio-economiccondition of the farmers. It is nec-essary to bring in linkages withdifferent stakeholders for improv-ing access to information, tech-nology, input and market in orderto ensure a higher income,” hesaid. He said that the first inter-vention in these villages covering1,100 families were nutri-smartgardens.

“In case of small farmers andlandless labourers the incidenceof nutritional deficiency is wide-spread. This intervention will

thus increase nutritional securi-ty. The income of farmers can beincreased through intercropping.With orchards giving low incomefor the reason that they havebecome dense and unproductivethe need of the hour is canopymanagement of the existingmango orchards and growingcertain relatively shade-tolerantcrops for enhancing their prof-itability. The use of excessivespraying in mango orchards isharmful for the environment andalso a financial burden on thefarmers,” he added.

Rajan said that there was aneed for the Farmers’ First Projectbecause they were not getting thebenefit of GI of Dussehri mangoduring its marketing. “The qual-ity of Dussehri mango is not con-sistent because of poor harvestingpractices, poor grading, lack ofsafe ripening and improper pack-aging. The Farmers’ First Projectwill enable farmers to use GI to

enhance their profitability. TheMalihabad region experiencesmany dust storms during mangoproduction and a huge amount offruit gets lost due to drop whichcan be utilised to make driedmango powder. The technologycan empower the rural women,”he added.

He further pointed out thatthe landless labourers and womenof weaker sections of society didnot have the space and capitalrequired for farming, poultry,dairy etc. “The Farmers’ FirstProject will help these groups toproduce mushrooms throughsupply of quality spawns andtraining. Unemployment is themajor constraint of the farmers.Intervention like rural poultry willraise additional income toimprove the livelihood security ofthe farmers. The selected ones willbe given an improved breed ofchicks and training to augmenttheir income,” he added.

Lucknow (PNS): Spandan,a kathak dance performance,was organised by Pt ArjunMishra, Kathak Academy, SwarSarita and Hindi VangmayNidhi at the Sangeet NatakAkademi here on Sunday. Theprogramme started with SurSangam, a tabla and sarod duetby Vikas Mishra fromLucknow and Hriday Desaifrom Ahmedabad who sangin Raag Charukeshi TaalTeentaal.

The second presentationwas Lucknow to Los Angeles,an international dance andmusic production, which wasgiven by Pt Anuj Mishra andthe international guest artiste,Sudeshna Maulik.This was pre-miered in Lucknow and willtour in India , Canada, USAand other parts of the world.

In this presentation thedancers presented the changingdance form which moved fromkathak to the traditionalMughal compositions and thecontemporary era and con-cluded with modern music, acollaborative work of LosAngeles.

PNS n LUCKNOW

The Indira GandhiNational Open

University (IGNOU), whichis accredited as the world’slargest university, has start-ed its online admissionprocess for the academicsession beginning July 2017.Vice-Chancellor RavindraKumar gave this informa-tion to newspersons at ameeting during his daylongvisit to the IGNOU RegionalCentre, Lucknow. He alsosaid that the process foradmission and re-registra-

tion had become online andthe interested candidatescould apply through thelink available on theIGNOU websitewww.ignou.ac.in.

The application formfor June 2017 term endexamination has also beenmade online and the inter-ested learners can apply tillMarch 30, 2017. ProfRavindra Kumar said thatby initiating these process-es IGNOU had become thefirst cashless University ofthe country.

“POS machines have

been established in all theregional centres for thesmooth online payments bythe learners. The POSmachine will become oper-ational at the RegionalCentre, Lucknow, by thefirst week of March 2017.”

IGNOU, HQs, NewDelhi, had organised athree-day-long internation-al conference on the Idea ofBharat from February 23 to25, 2017. This conferencewas inaugurated by thePresident, PranabMukherji. The HumanResource Development

Minister, PrakashJavedekar, was also present-ed during the inaugural cer-emony. The Vice-Chancellors of 15 differentCentral Universities andrepresentatives from Indiaand abroad participated init and expressed their viewson Indian culture. IGNOUwill be organising its 30thconvocation in March 2017.During this convocationdegrees will be awarded tothe successful learners whohad appeared in the termend examination of June2015 and January 2016.


It was a day filled with spiri-tual knowledge and cultural

events. Brahmakumari SisterJayanti, director ofBrahmakumaris (Europe), wasin Lucknow to give some valu-able lessons on transformingoneself through practical spir-ituality and how self-transfor-mation led to transformation ofthe family, the society and theworld as a whole. Bollywoodstar Gracy Singh’s performancespreading God’s message stolethe hearts of the audience at aprogramme organised in thecity by the Brahmakumaris.

BK Nitin from Mount Abupresented songs in God’s praiseafter which BK Radha wel-comed the guests. Sister Jayantiemphasised on the value ofknowledge of oneself in order

to promote transformation ofthe world. She also pointed outthe ever-increasing importanceof yoga on the internationalplatform, the celebration ofInternational Yoga Day being aconsequence of the attractionwhich it holds for the whole

world.The chief guest for the

evening was Justice ShabibulHasnain (Allahabad HighCourt) and the chairperson wasJustice SN Shukla (High Court,Lucknow bench). The otherguests present were RK Mittalfrom the Kabir Peace Mission,Nawab Zafar Mir Abdullah,Bishop Dr Gerald Mathias andRajendra Bagga (president,Lucknow GurdwaraManagement Committee).

BK Mohan Singhal gave abrief history of the Brahmakumaris’ World SpiritualUniversity. BK Nitin spread themessage of one world, onefamily through a melodioussong while the candle-lightingceremony took place. BK Preetitook the audience to the innerdepths of the soul through ashort meditation exercise.


Lucknow Development Authority(LDA) is once again embroiled

in a controversy as its officials havenot given possession of the commu-nity centre to a religious trust evenafter four months. The centre, worthRs 5 crore, belongs to a religioustrust and is located at an ideal sitenear Ghanta Ghar in Hussainabad.

LDA had constructed the com-plex for the trust to meet the needsof the people and its possession washanded over to the religious trust inAugust last week. But several anom-alies were detected during theinspection and the centre was givenback to LDA to rectify them.

Then LDA Vice-Chairman AKYadav had said that the complexwould be handed over to the trustafter renovation within one month,that is, by October last year. Astrong-worded letter addressed toLDA Vice-Chairman was issued bythe trust’s authorities asking him tohand over its possession at the ear-liest. Yadav had assured that itwould be renovated and issued

instructions to its chief engineer ONMishra in that regard.

On being asked, present LDAVice-Chairman Satyendra Singhsaid that he would examine the doc-uments to know its status before tak-ing any decision.

Source said that the communi-ty centre was the part of the beau-tification plan of Ghanta Ghar com-plex assigned to LDA. But it wascalled off and LDA was only askedto design and construct the centrein February 2016.

LDA senior officer, on the con-dition of anonymity, alleged that aconspiracy was being hatched tograb the complex because of its loca-tion. He added it would draw a hugenumber of visitors if it was furtherdeveloped into a tourist spot. Hepointed out that a group of LDAofficials and staffers were involvedin evil design. The Vice-Chairman,however, said that the propertywould be handed over to the right-ful owner and a determined effort would be made to checkthose who were engaged inunscrupulous deal.

ICAR project for farmers in 3 villages

SCHOOLSCAN

CRIMELINE

IGNOU starts online admission

process for July 2017 session

A shobha yatra being taken out by Shyam Jyoti Mandal from Tilaknagar Agrasen park on Sunday Pioneer

Trust yet to get backcommunity centre

Gracy Singh’s performance

steals hearts of spectators

File photo of Gracy Singh

Dancers, artistes

regale audienceCMS STUDENT WINS FIRST PRIZE

Sucheta Sachan, a class Xstudent ofC i t yMontessoriS c h o o l ,K a n p u rRoad, wonthe firstprize in aninter-schoolletter writ-ing competition organisedunder the aegis of the depart-ment of Post. She was award-ed a cash prize of `1,000.

SATSANGSpeaking at the World

Unity Satsang, organised atCity Montessori School, GomtiNagar auditorium, on Sunday,school’s founder-directorBharti Gandhi said that com-passion, kindness, truthful-ness, honesty, beneficence andhuman values were the orna-ments of humanity and Godloves them the most who aredecorated with these jewels oflife. Earlier, the programmebegan with the rendition ofmelodious hymns presented bythe music teachers of CMS.

nation 05LUCKNOW | MONDAY | FEBRUARY 27, 2017

GRAPEVINE

What a mix!

In these days of farewells and call-ons, the outgoing External

Affairs Ministryspokesperson VikasSwarup had an amusingexperience. He received abouquet of red roses fromhis childhood friend with“May your soul rest inpeace” written on theaccompanying card. Theflowers with such a mes-sage did not go well withSwarup, who called up his friend to find outif this was a prank. To his utter surprise itturned out to be a mix up from the florist’s end.Instead of sending the other bouquet with“Good Luck to your next posting,” he sentSwarup the dead man’s flowers. “Just imaginethe reaction of the dead man’s family that gotthe bouquet saying “Good Luck for your nextposting,” Swarup narrated this incident ohisfarewell party amidst laughter.

The truth of 75 !

Former Delhi ChiefMinister Sheila

Dikshit’s U-turn over hercontroversial remark thatparty vice-presidentRahul Gandhi was “stillnot mature”, was subjectof an interesting guft-gubetween Congress leadersat the AICC headquar-ters. While one leadercriticised Sheila saying

she should have remembered that the highcommand has already advised 75-plus lead-ers to refrain from making any kind of state-ments unless permitted, another Congressmanjustified Sheila’s remark and opposed theparty’s move to gag old leaders. “People afterthe age of 75 always speak truth. Be itAdvaniji, Mulayam or for that matter Bhagwat,”he quipped.

Monkey menace

Hordes of monkeys roamfreely inside the high

security South Block housingDefence Ministry and posingthreat to employees and visi-tors alike. Last week a woman

Indian Air Force (IAF) officer fell down thestaircase when she tried to escape fromattacking monkeys. Serving as Staff Officer toDirector Genera(Acquisitions), the officersuffered ligament tear and had to be rushedto the hospital.

Katju mauls youth leaders

CPI(M) youth wing DYFI paid the price forinviting Justice Markandey Katju for inau-

gurating the website of DYFI. When someyouth leaders showed him a memorandum ofdemand they intended to send to the PrimeMinister, Katju started checking grammar anddiction. He made the youth leaders to re-draftthe letter and advised them to show an elementof respect while writing to the PM. Katju evensaid, if these youth leaders were working in hisoffice, he would have even kicked them fortheir horrible English. At last Katju asked:“What is the name of your organisation?”Everything was going live on TV.

Women first

In a bid to make the mega InternationalWomen’s Day event at Gandhinagar on

March 6 a grand success, Union RailwayMinistry has issued instructions to the ChiefCommercial Managers of all Railway divisionsto accord priority reservation to women par-ticipants. About 6,000 women sarpanchs havebeen invited for the event to be jointly organ-ised by the Gujarat Government and UnionWater and Sanitation Ministry. Prime MinisterNarendra Modi is expected to inaugurate thefunction.

Surprise inspection futile

After dead rat were found inthe mid-day meal in

Delhi school, ChiefSecretary MM Kuttyordered a surpriseinspection of all 33NGOs kitchens associ-ated with DelhiGovernment schools. At least 33 senior offi-cers were deputed for this purpose.Interestingly, the information of the surpriseinspection was ‘leaked’. When officials inspect-ed their kitchens, they found the kitchens neatand clean. The entire exercise has proved tobe wasteful one.

KUMAR CHELLAPPAN n

CHENNAI

An uprising similar to theJallikkattu agitation which

shook Tamil Nadu in January2017 has erupted again but overa different issue. The opposi-tion against the proposedhydrocarbon exploration pro-ject at Neduvasal village inPudukottai district has snow-balled into a major event. Theentire villagers in Neduvasalobserved a day-long fast onSunday demanding the imme-diate scrapping of the project.

The agitation against thehydrocarbon project has turnedinto a Centre versus State issuewith Tamil Nadu ChiefMinister EdappadiPalaniswamy declaring that hewould stand only by the farm-ers of the State.

The day long agitation sawthe participation of Left WingExtremists, various Tamilsecessionist organisations likeMay 17 Movement and NaamTamilar Katchi to foment ant-India feelings among the localpopulation.

The bone of contention isthe Union Government’s deci-sion to allow a corporate groupto extract hydrocarbon gasfrom Neduvasal.

The move approved by theCabinet Committee forEconomic Affairs has upsetthe villagers who fear that the

project would lead toNeduvasal and nearby villagesending up as deserts.

“The Neduvasal village ishome to 2,000 acres of fertile land. The nearby vil-lagers has a total of 50,000 acresof lush green paddy fields.These are all going to bedestroyed once they startextracting hydrocarbon fromthis village. The entire groundwater table too will getdestroyed,” said GSDhanapathy, general secretary,Bharat Karshak Samaj.Dhanapathy, himself a resi-dent of Puthukottai, said nei-ther the Union Governmentnor the State Government hadtried for an outreach pro-gramme to find out the moodof the villagers since the ONGCdug the bore well in 2009.

Things reached a flash-point on Saturday when TamilNadu Health Minister C VijayaBhaskar declared that

TANGEDCO, the State powerutility, has been instructed bythe State Government not togive power to the proposedproject.

Bhaskar told reporters thatwhen CM Palaniswamy wouldtake up the matter with PrimeMinister Narendra Modi onMonday. The Minister alsorevealed that the Centre has notcommunicated with the StateGovernment till date aboutthe project.

A project to extractmethane from Mannargudi inTiruvarur district (the hometown of VK Sasikala, the jailedAIADMK general secretary) isin limbo following publicprotest.

Tamil Nadu Assembly in2015 itself had passed a unan-imous resolution against thesetting up of hydrocarbon pro-jects in the State’s fertile paddyfields and agricultural lands.

PNS n GANDHINAGAR

An important meeting of theKhadi and Village

Industries Commission(KVIC) related to welfare ofmillions of Khadi artisans willmeet at historic SabarmatiAshram in Ahmedabad onMonday morning.

“This is the first time inover 61 years of its existence thata meeting of KVIC is being heldat Sabarmati Ashram foundedby Mahatma Gandhi,” saidKVIC chairman VK Saxena,adding that Bapu’s memory isthe conscience of Khadi andholding the meeting of theCommission at SabarmatiAshram that too in the yearcommemorating the 100thanniversary of Champaranmovement would be privilegefor its office-bearers.

According to Saxena, it isa befitting tribute to the spiritof Bapu, that the Commissionwill consider and take signifi-cant decisions in this meetingconcerning the welfare of mil-lions of Khadi artisans in thecountry.

It is worth mentioning thatin the history of KVIC as manyas six chairmen have comefrom Mahatma Gandhi’s homeState Gujarat including VLMehta, UN Dhebar,Ghanshambhai Oza, KumudJoshi, Devendra Desai and cur-rent chairman Saxena.

KESTUR VASUKI n BENGALURU

As the episode of a dairyentries which allegedly

claim payoffs to the Congresshigh command has become amajor political row, Congresson Sunday dismissed it as “fake”and alleged that the matterwas raised to “malign” it.

Party general secretary andKarnataka in charge DigvijaySingh challenged the NDAGovernment at the Centre totake action if they have any evi-dence, and said the issue as a“conspiracy” against it, “at thebehest of the Prime Minister’soffice.”

After a crucial party meetin Bengaluru he said “If it istrue, we challenge the Centre totake action. For 11 months youjust sat on it…my informationis that the investigation in thiscase was finished and the caseclosed. It has been reopened onthe pressure by the PrimeMinister’s office.”

Speaking to reporters afterthe State Congress’ co-ordinationcommittee meeting DigvijaySingh said, “If you (BJP) havefacts, take action. But the fact isthat it is fake diary…the fact isthat it is being planted by theIncome-Tax authorities.”

Questioning BJP over LaharSingh diary, as well as Saharaand Birla diaries, allegedlyinvolving Prime MinisterNarendra Modi, Digvijay said,

“Let the saffron outfit not beunder the illusion that Congresscan be cowed down by thesefake allegations.”

Calling it part of an over-all strategy of BJP to malign theCongress party, he said, “…it istheir Government, theirEnforcement Directorate, theirIT department. If they have anyevidence…a shred of evidence,they are free to take action.”

He also alleged that thecopy of the fake diary wasplanted by the IT departmentto a media channel, whichenjoys proximity with those inpower in Government of India.

Siddaramaiah, who hadmaintained silence since theexcerpts from the diary weremade public, today called it a“political conspiracy” by notonly the State unit of BJP, butalso the national BJP and the

Union Government. “Theywant to malign our Congressparty and want to damage theimage of our Government, butthey cannot succeed,” he said.

Asked will this controver-sy hamper the party’s prospectsin the Karnataka Assemblyelections in 2018, Siddaramaiahsaid, “No, we will come backagain in the coming Assemblyelections. There is no doubt onthat… there is no doubt in mymind. I am categorically mak-ing it very very clear that wewill come back 100 per cent.”

A political slug fest haserupted in Karnataka over thereported diary entries by a polit-ical aide of CM Siddaramaiah,indicating alleged payments toCongress central leaders by StateMinisters, with BJP demandingdissolution of the State Assemblyand fresh polls.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Foreign Secretary SJaishankar will travel to the

United States of America onTuesday to hold talks with theDonald Trump administrationon key bilateral issues. Duringhis four-day visit, the FS isexpected to raise India’s con-cerns over the security of its cit-izens and on possible clampdown on H1B visas.

Jaishankar’s visit will betaking place barely a weekafter an Indian engineer wasshot dead by an American in acrowded bar in Kansas in anapparent hate crime incident.Sources said this incident willcertainly bring on table India's

concern on the safety of itsnationals living in the US.

The FS will also flag India’sconcerns over the proposedplans in the H1B and L1 visa

norms. The IndianGovernment has been activelyengaging with the Trumpadministration as well as mem-bers of the US Congress onthis. Indian Government hasconveyed to the US that IndianIT companies were contribut-ing to the American economyby increasing the competitive-ness of their firms.

The H1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows UScompanies to employ foreignworkers in speciality occupa-tions that require theoretical ortechnical expertise in spe-cialised fields. The technologycompanies depend on it to hiretens of thousands of employeeseach year.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Indiscriminate desiltationwork can cause “more harm”

to a river’s ecology, a high-levelpanel formed to prepare guide-lines for desilting work of2,525-km Ganga river has said.Countering the popular per-ception that desiltationimproves river’s ecology and itse-flow (environment flow), ithas argued that if carried outproperly, at best, it could onlyimprove the hydraulic perfor-mance of the river.

In its draft report submit-ted to the Union WaterResources Ministry, theMadhav Chitale-led committeehas recommended theGovernment to make institu-tional arrangement to appraiseany proposal for desiltationworks by forming a national-level technical agency.

In the case of Ganga, it hassuggested the for entrustingGanga Flood ControlCommission (GFCC), withadditional mandate to carry outsuch studies. GFCC works outplans to control inundation ofthe river basin.

The four-member com-mittee has advocated such insti-tute to conduct sediment bud-geting, morphological and

flood routing studies that wouldsubstantiate necessity of desilt-ing a river stretch concerned.

The committee also calledfor avoiding encroachment onthe river's flood plain areas, bygenerally avoid dredging inGanga and pitched for provid-ing the river with sufficientflood plain areas.

The panel has also insistedon encouraging agriculturalpractices along flood plains in away that it does not disturb pas-sage of flood by increasing resis-tance to flow. The Committeehas the opinion that desiltationworks can at best improvehydraulic performance of theriver and have no direct role inimproving ecology and/or envi-ronment flow in the river.

Underscoring the need forrealising value of sediment andviewing it as an asset, the panelhas argued that gravel in a riverhas a role to play in providingspawning habitat for fish, aer-ating water with oxygen byincreasing local roughness andinducing turbulent flows.

“De-silting/dredging mayrestrict over bank flow, there-by reducing ground waterrecharge and flood detention inadjoining low-lying areas, andconsequently, reduction in baseflow,” the panel has warned.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Prime Minister NarendraModi on Sunday said India

needs more scientists to har-ness technology for the bene-fit of the common man andurged youngsters to show moreenthusiasm to study scienceand technology. Modi wasspeaking on his monthly radiotalk — Mann Ki Baat. Hehailed the scientific communi-ty for the record launch of 104satellites and the successfultest-firing of a new missile.

“The attraction for scienceamong our young generationshould increase. The country

needs more scientists. Whenscience is harnessed keeping inmind the needs of the commonpeople, it becomes the mostvaluable contributor to gener-al humanity,” he said

Referring to a recent com-petition organised at the 14thPravasi Bharatiya Diwas, hesaid socially useful innovationswere showcased and one ofthese was an application devel-oped to help fishermen locatethe most productive fishingzones and get updates aboutweather and sea conditions.

"There are times when aproblem portrays the impor-tance of science for finding a

solution,” Modi said referringto the 2005 Mumbai floodswhich led to development of adwelling structure that saves itsoccupants and prevents water-logging.

Referring to the 38th suc-cessive successful launch ofPSLV rocket that placed arecord 104 satellite in orbit,

Modi said ISRO scientists havebrought laurels to the nation.He said the ISRO team had sev-eral young scientists, includingwomen.

“After the successful mis-sion of sending Mangalyaan toMars, ISRO scripted a worldrecord in the arena of space.ISRO has successfully launched

104 satellites simultaneouslyinto space. These satellitesbelonged to various coun-tries...India has created histo-ry by becoming the first coun-try to launch successfully 104satellites into space in one go,”he said.

He noted that one of thesatellites launched by PSLV isCartosat 2D, which has becomeoperational and will be of greathelp in mapping of resourcesand infrastructure and plan-ning for urban development.

On the successful test-fir-ing of a ballistic interceptormissile, he said that it destroyedan 'enemy' missile at an altitudeof around 100 km above theearth surface. Hardly four orfive countries in the worldpossess this capability, hesaid.In his over 30-minuteaddress, Modi also lauded theroleof the farmers for recordproduction of food grains thisyear.

Show enthusiasm, study science: PM

PNS n NEW DELHI

Peeved by the recent cases of“witch-hunting” of IAS officers in

the State including the recent arrestof 1987 batch IAS Sudhir Kumar, theBihar Branch of IAS officersAssociation on Sunday convened anextraordinary general body meetingwhere 110 officers from across theState and those on deputation else-where participated.

According to a copy of the res-olution, a core committee wouldmeet every evening to take updateand decide the future course ofaction and the members wouldwear black badge till all thedemands are met.

While the association passed aresolution condemning the recentaction against the honest IAS offi-cials, a delegation led by Secretary ofBihar IAS Association Vivek KumarSingh called on Governor and there-after formed a human chain outsidethe Raj Bhawan to express solidari-

ty with the officials under mysteri-ous lens of investigation. In theirprotest against alleged victimisa-tion of officials, the Bihar bureaucratsresolved not to obey verbal ordersfrom any departments includingChief Minister Nitish Kumar.

Major thrust in the Association'smeeting with Governor was unwar-ranted arrest of Sudhir Kumar andvictimisation 2013 Batch IAS JitendraKumar Gupta and a demand for

action against those police officerswho fabricated FIR against them.While the association sought imme-diate release of Kumar who wasarrested last week late night, it alsoresolved to take on board and appriseabout the prevailing situation to theCentral Association of IAS Officers.

The delegation would also meetthe Deputy Chief Minister TejaswiYadav, the Assembly Speaker VijayChoudhary and the Leader of the

Opposition Sushil Modi during thenext two days to apprise the groundrealities and the fear with which thetop bureaucrats of the State arefunctioning.

The matter of 2013 batch IASJitendra Kumar Gupta was also dis-cussed following a representation tothe Association by his wife seekingjustice to Gupta who is yet to berehabilitated even after cases againsthim was found to be fabricated bythe Supreme Court early this month.The association also discussed totake up matter of revision of apexscale of some of the senior officialsincluding CEO of Bihar AV Nayak.

"In the light of repeated and bla-tant assaults on officers known for theirindependent decisions making, theassociation reiterates the demand forall the safeguards sought in our mem-orarnsums to the Governor and ChiefMinister so far," 1992 Batch IASDipak Kumar Singh, who is alsoTreasurer of the Association, said in thememorandum.

He also congratulated the scientificcommunity for the record launchof 104 satellites and the successfultest-firing of a new missile

THE ATTRACTIONFOR SCIENCEAMONG OUR

YOUNGGENERATION

SHOULDINCREASE. THE

COUNTRY NEEDS MORE SCIENTISTS. WHENSCIENCE IS HARNESSED KEEPING IN MIND THENEEDS OF THE COMMON PEOPLE, IT BECOMES

THE MOST VALUABLE CONTRIBUTOR TOGENERAL HUMANITY

KHURSHEED WANI n SRINAGAR

ABorder Security Force constable shothimself dead while on duty along the

Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu &Kashmir’s Poonch district during Saturdaynight. Sources said the constable shot him-self with his service rifle and died beforebeing taken to hospital.

His colleagues shifted him to hospitalbut doctors declared him dead on arrival.

He was identified as ConstablePramodh Kumar son of Late Mukh DewChoudhary, a resident of Mohamadpur vil-lage in Siwan district of Bihar.

Police have registered a case andstarted investigation into the suicide.

The suicides among security person-nel deployed along the LoC and interna-tional border in Jammu and Kashmirbesides militancy hot areas in the Valleyhave been attributed to the higher levels ofstress among the troops. There have beenalso innumerable incidents of fratricidalkillings mostly soldiers targeting theirseniors.

BSF constable

shoots self at LoC

Khadi commissionmeet at SabarmatiAshram for firsttime in over 61 yrs

Cong dares Centre to take

action against ‘payoffs’

MAY YOUR SOUL

REST IN PEACE

Jaishankar to raise Indians’security during his US visit

Will also raiseIndia’s concerns

over the proposedplans in the H1B and

L1 visa norms

SAUGAR SENGUPTA n KOLKATA

In a major decision reflectingChief Minister Mamata

Banerjee’s policy to reach out tofringe people the BengalGovernment has decided torecognise ‘Kurukh’ and‘Rajbongshi’ languages.

Banerjee has announced her“decision to recognise Kurukhlanguage and its alphabet TolongSiki which has been declaredendangered by theUNESCO.”

Also called Kurux or Uranw,Kurukh language is believed tohave a Dravidian origin spokenby nearly two million Oraon andKisan tribal people of Odisha,Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh,and Chhattisgarh apart fromBengal. About 50,000 people innorthern Bangladesh and 28,000in Nepal and 5,000 people inBhutan speak this language. InBengal about 16 lakh Oraonpeople speak Kurukh language.

On Rajbongshi language,she said “we have decided to givedue importance to Rajbongshi orKamtapuri languages and theState has set up a committeeheaded by Nirshingha PrasadBhaduri to give recognition tothe language.” Rajbongshi isspoken by people of northernBengal (Coochbehar, Alipurduar,Jalpaiguri and North Dinajpurdistricts) apart from a largenumber of people in Bangladesh,Assam, and Nepal.

Mamata gives

recognition to

Kurukh, Rajbongshi

languages

*The bone of contention is the Centre’sdecision to allow a corporate group toextract hydrocarbon gas from Neduvasal

*The agitation against the project has turnedinto a Centre v/s State

*The move has upset the villagers who fearthat the project would lead to Neduvasaland nearby villages ending up as deserts

Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah with senior Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge,Digvijay Singh and G Parameshwara at the State Congress CoordinationCommittee meeting in Bengaluru on Sunday PTI

Panel: Proper desiltationonly improves hydraulicperformance of the river

UNION WATER RESOURCES MINISTRY

However, the concept thatdesiltation improves river’s ecology

is a myth. Infact gravel in a river hasa role to play in providing spawninghabitat for fish, aerating water with

oxygen by increasing localroughness and inducing turbulent

flows

Bihar babus vow to protest against ‘witch-hunting’

Hydrocarbon project unitesfarmers, sparks stir in TN

MANIPURUTTARPRADESH

06

LUCKNOW | MONDAY | FEBRUARY 27, 2017

FIFTH PHASESEAT: FAIZABAD AND AYODHYA

SHALABH SAXENA nLUCKNOW

If in 2012 elections, theSamajwadi Party (SP)had won all the fiveAssembly seats from

Gonda, this time around theBJP is campaigning tirelesslyto win the hearts and mindsof the voters with PrimeMinister Narendra Modi’srally held on Friday.

Son of Brij BhushanSingh, Prateek Bhushan iscontesting from Gonda Sadarseat on BJP’s ticket and is upagainst sitting MLA’s nephewSuraj Singh.

With former MLA MdJaleel Khan of the BahujanSamaj Party (BSP) also in thefray the contest is turning tobe a three-way.

Brij Bhushan, who is alsoa president of WrestlingFederation of India, is mak-ing all efforts to make his sonsail through.

In Utraula, the SP’s sittingMLA Arif Anwar Hashmi isup against Parvez Ahmad ofthe BSP and Ram Pratap ofthe BJP. In the 2012 elections,Arif Anwar edged past theBSP candidate DhirendraPratap Singh with just 1,005votes. With two Muslims can-

didates in the fray, the BJP isvery optimistic about theresult in its favour.

In Mankapur, which is areserved seat, the SP is bank-ing on six-time MLA RamVishun Azad, who got elect-ed in 1985, 1989 and 1993 onCongress party ticket andwon the seat on the SP’s tick-et from 1996 to 2007.

In the previous election,he was denied ticket in favourof Babulal.

In 2012, Babulal defeatedhis closest opponent RameshChandra of the BSP with animpressive margin of over 27thousand votes. Ramesh isonce again in the fray on BSPticket, along with BJP’sRamapati Shastri.

From Mehnaun seat, sit-ting MLA Nandita Shukla’sson Rahul Shukla is makinghis debut on the SP’s ticket.

Earlier, there wererumours that Rahul might geta BJP ticket from this veryseat. Rahul will take onArshad Ali Khan of the BSPand Vinay Kumar of the BJP.

Ram Pratap Singh is con-testing on the SP’s ticket fromGaura seat which has aCongress candidate inTarunendra Chandra Patelas well. Abdul Kalam andPrabhat Kumar Verma are inthe fray from this seat on BSPand BJP’s ticket. The set hasa majority of Kurmi andMuslim votes.

Unemployment and development have become big issues in the twin temple cities of Faizabad andAyodhya where five Assembly seats are going to the polls in the fifth phase on Monday. There is atough fight between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Bahujan Samaj

Party (BSP). The most interesting contest is being witnessed for the Ayodhya seat, the stronghold of theBJP, which they had lost to a debutante SP politician Tej Narain Pandey, alias Pawan Pandey. Ram Mandiris no longer an issue in Ayodhya as youth want employment. Voters were also peeved over the non-development of the area even after several announcements made by the leaders. The fate of the candidateswould be decided by the strong 40,000 Kurmi and 30,000 Vaish votes in the constituency.

SEAT: TERAI REGION

The sensitive Terai region close to the foothills of Nepal and parts ofeastern Uttar Pradesh are ready for the fifth phase of polling. Thedistricts going to polls in this phase are Balrampur, Gonda,

Faizabad, Ambedkar Nagar, Bahraich, Shravasti, Siddharth Nagar,Basti, Sant Kabir Nagar, Amethi, and Sultanpur. 1.84 crore voters,including 96 lakh women, will also decide the fate of Ministers VinodKumar Singh alias Pandit Singh from Tarabganj (Gonda), Tej NarainPandey alias Pawan Pandey from Ayodhya and BSP State presidentRam Achal Rajbhar from Akbarpur in this phase.

Lalji Verma (BSP)

Katheri seat in Ambedkarnagar

Ameeta Singh (Cong)

Amethi

Garima Singh (BJP)

Amethi

Akbarpur seat in Ambedkarnagar

Ram Achal Rajbhar (BSP)

Itwa, Siddharthnagar

Mata Prasad Pandey (SP)

Suraj Singh Prateek Bhushan

BJP INTENDS TO BREACH SP FORT

/ The territory covered by the present district ofGonda formed part of the ancient KosalaKingdom. After the death of Rama, thecelebrated sovereign of the Solar line who ruledKosala, the kingdom was divided into twoportions defined by the Ghaghara river. Thenorthern portion was then ruled by his son, Lavawith the city of Sravasti as his capital

/More recently, ancient Buddhist remains datingto the early days of Buddhism have been foundthroughout the region, including at Sravasti

/ The Gonda Parliamentary Constituency is one ofUttar Pradesh’s 80 Lok Sabha constituenciesand came into being in 1952

/ It comprises of 5 legislative Assembly segments

/ It is one of the two constituencies representingthe district of Gonda which belongs to theDevipatan division

/ Its headquarters lie in the city of Gonda and ithas a total area of 4,003 sq km.

/ The district has four tehsils

GondaNOW YOUR CONSTITUENCYK

PTI n MAHARAJGANJ

BJP chief Amit Shah onSunday accused the SP and

BSP of virtually destroyingUttar Pradesh and said thiselection would end the politicsof appeasement, casteism anddynastic rule.

Exuding confidence thatBJP would form the next gov-ernment in the state, Shahsaid, “Once the poll results areannounced, it will signal theend of politics of appease-ment, casteism and dynasticrule in the entire state”.

Shah also urged voters togive an overwhelming major-ity to the BJP, and strengthenPrime Minister NarendraModi.

He said as soon as the BJPforms the government, it wouldban all the slaughterhouses inthe state. “Instead of blood ofcattle, there will be streams ofmilk and ghee f lowingthroughout the state,” Shahsaid.

The BJP chief exuded con-fidence that the party would beform the government with

two-thirds majority.He said in the last 15 years

of SP and BSP rule, develop-ment has taken a backseat.

“There is acute shortage ofpower, medicines, and thecommon citizens includingwomen and traders are feelingvery much unsafe,” he saidand added that farmers are yetto get their dues from the gov-ernment.

Throwing an open chal-lenge to Akhilesh Yadav, theBJP chief said, “Counting willbegin at 8.00 AM on March11...and by noon the countingprocess will be completed,bringing to an end the rule ofAkhilesh Yadav by 1 PM”.

The BJP chief took a jibe atCongress leader Rahul Gandhi,saying, “On one hand Modigovernment has released 104satellites, and on the otherRahul is pushing the ‘cycle’,which has already becomepunctured”.

The cycle is the symbol ofthe Samajwadi Party withwhich Congress has forged analliance for the ongoing assem-bly elections in the state.

UP polls will end appeasement,casteism, dynastic rule: Shah

“INSTEAD OFBLOOD OF CATTLE,THERE WILL BESTREAMS OF MILKAND GHEEFLOWINGTHROUGHOUT THESTATE,” SHAH SAID

Dimple comes up with

new ‘Kasab’ acronym

PTI n JAUNPUR

In the latest addition to thegrowing list of acronyms in

the ongoing Uttar PradeshAssembly elections, SP MPfrom Kannauj Dimple Yadavtoday redefined ‘Kasab’ - theabbreviation coined by BJPchief Amit Shah.

“BJP says ‘Ka’ stands forCongress. Your Akhileshbhaiyya says ‘Ka’ (in Hindi)stands for Computer, ‘Sa’ standsfor smartphone, through whichyou can get all the informationabout the policies of the gov-ernment and ‘B’ stands for‘bachche’ (children),” Dimple,wife of Chief Minister AkhileshYadav said at an election rallyhere amid loud applause.

The ruling SamajwadiParty has a scheme to distrib-ute laptops to meritorious stu-dents and promised to givesmartphones if it returns topower in the state.

Shah at a rally last week atChauri Chaura in Gorakhpurhad used the ‘KASAB’ acronymto describe ‘Ka’ for Congress,‘Sa’ for SP and ‘B’ for BSP.

Shah coined the acronymmatching the name of terroristAjmal Kasab - one of the per-petrators of 26/11 Mumbaiattack. Akhilesh had earlierhit out at the BJP chief for his“Kasab” barb, saying “Ka” actu-ally stood for “kabutar”(pigeon), while BSP supremoMayawati had said, “Therecannot be a bigger Kasab thanhim” and dubbed Shah a “ter-rorist”.

Dimple said SP would give35 per cent reservation towomen, and pregnant women

would get foodgrains deliveredat their doorstep. “If SP isvoted to power, we will do awaywith the age-limit for womenin Class-III and IV governmentjobs,” she said. The KannaujMP also said that for every gasstove purchased, her partywould give a pressure cooker.

Taking a dig at PrimeMinister Narendra Modi, shesaid: “The people of the coun-try while listening to PM’s‘Mann ki Baat’ have not realisedhow the prices of LPG cylin-ders have gone up”.

POLLS: CASH, LIQUOR SEIZUREGO THROUGH THE ROOF

New Delhi: The seizure ofcash, besides liquor and drugsduring the Assembly electionsin Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand,Goa and Punjab this year haswitnessed a huge jump fromlast polls.

Uttar Pradesh has seenrecord seizure of `115.70 crorecash, 20.29 lakh barrels ofliquor worth `57.69 crore, andnarcotics weighing 2,725 kgworth `7.91 crore, as per theprogressive data recorded tillyesterday of seizure made bythe Election Commission-appointed surveillance teams.

The comparative figuresfor the detection and seizure ofthese illegal inducements in UPduring the 2012 Assembly pollsstood at `36.29 crore cash andover 3,073 litres of liquor worth`6.61 lakh.

A similar massive increasein seizure has also been noticedin Uttarakhand, where single-phase polls ended early thismonth, as `3.40 crore suspect-ed cash, 1.01 lakh litres liquorworth `3.10 crore and over 81kg of drugs worth `37.88 lakhhave been seized by these teamstill now.

Polling in one seat(Karnprayag) of the state has

been postponed as a candidatehad died.

The comparative figuresfor seizure in the hill state dur-ing 2012 stood at `1.30 crorecash, 15,151 litres of liquorworth `15.15 lakh among oth-ers.

In Punjab, where the pollshave ended now, the cashseizure this time stood at`58.02 crore as compared to`11.51 crore last elections,12.43 lakh litres of liquor worth`13.36 crore as compared toover 3,2978 litres worth `2.59crore and 2,598 kg drugs worth`18.26 crore as compared to 53kg worth `54 crore during the2012 Assembly polls.

Goa too has witnessed asimilar trend with `2.24 crorecash being seized at the end ofone-phase polls on February 4,over 76,000 litres liquor worth`1.07 crore.

The cash seizure in thebeach state during last polls wasa mere `60 lakh while thedrugs and liquor seizure wasvery less.

The comparative figuresof the seizure for Manipur,where polls will be held nextmonth, could not beobtained. PTI

MANIPURUTTARPRADESH

07

LUCKNOW | MONDAY | FEBRUARY 27, 2017

BISWAJEET BANERJEE n

UNCHAHAR (RAE BARELI)

The strategy to projectPrime MinisterNarendra Modi as theface of BJP’s election

campaign in Uttar Pradesh hasstarted showing results as hehas emerged as a crowd-pullerwith people ready to vote forModi, not the BJP.

Driving down the Rahul-Sonia land of Amethi and RaeBareli the other day, thisreporter met over a dozen per-sons. All of them were not BJPloyalists, but were ready tovote for BJP this time. “We arenot voting for the BJP. Our vote is for Modi,” said RamSaran, a farmer.

Jaiswal tea shop is a gossipplatform between Raebareliand Unchahaar which is fre-quented by journalists, lawyersand traders. “Lotus will bloomin this area not because the BJPhas done something extraor-dinary. It is simply because ofModi,” said that owner of thesweet shop Ravindra Jaiswal.

This is over 40-year-oldshop which was set up byJaiswal’s father. “I am a BJP sup-porter and would vote for the

BJP. Ask anyone here they willvote for Modi, not the BJP,” hesaid. Naresh, a customer whoreached there to purchasekhoya, said that he had votedfor the Congress in 2012 elec-tion. “My vote is for Modi thistime,” he said.

The BJP has not givenCM’s face does not botherthem. They have hopes that ifthe BJP comes to power Modiwill appoint CM someone whowill work as diligently as Modidoes. “We have two ChiefMinisterial candidates —Mayawati and Akhilesh Yadav.Both of them are not contest-ing election. This proves thatthey have no love for UP. Iftheir party wins, they will bechosen as CM by respectivelegislature party and if they loseone will go back to the RajyaSabha and other to the VidhanParishad,” said Dr TrilokiNarain Mishra, a teacher inlocal college.

The response has caughtparty strategists unaware as theysqueezed in more Modi’s ralliesin shortest possible time.Initially, the party had promisedonly two rallies in each phase —meaning there would be only 14election rallies in seven phase

election. The argument was thatas it is State election and localleaders will be given prece-dence. However, the BJP wasforced to revisit its strategy afterthe first phase of election. As thedemand for PM’s rallies startedpouring in, party strategistsidentified regions which werethe weak links.

Modi’s election meet-ings started from February4 at Meerut and next day inAligarh. On February 8, headdressed rally inGhaziabad. These rallieswere in the first phase ofelection.

In the second phase headdressed rallies in Budaun onFebruary 11 andLakhimpur Kheri onFebruary 13. In thirdphase, he addressedrallies in Kannauj onFebruary 15 and inHardoi and Barabankion February 16. PM’snext stop was inFatehpur on February19 and Orai andKaushambi onFebruary 20. Theseconstituencies were infourth phase of election.In the fifth phase, headdressed rallies inBahriach on February 23and Basti and Gonda onFebruary 24.

On February 27, thePM will address rallies inMau and Deoria, and inMaharajganj on March 1.These constituencies will goto polls on in the sixth phase.In last phase, Modi will addressrallies in Mirzapur (March 3),Jaunpur (March 4) andVaranasi (March 5).

PREETAM SRIVASTAVA n

LUCKNOW

The party-hoppersmight be changing oneparty after another justto win the elections,

but for a candidate forGosainganj seat of Faizabad,winning the polls isa very personalmatter. If hisefforts to winthe battle ofthe ballots

will succeed this time, he willget his better half as his“pledge” to become a groomonly after entering theLegislative Assembly will befulfilled. For IndrapratapKhabbu Tewari it is now ornever.

“I will like to make a verypersonal appeal to you all tosupport your very ownIndrapratap, aka KhabbuTewari to win election thistime so he could sit on ‘Ghodi’to bring his wife after thiselections,” Apna Dal (Sone Lal)leader Anupriya Patel appealedto the public while addressinga rally. Khabbu Tweari is fight-ing from BJP symbol. Patelsaid she hopes that Tewaripromise of marrying only afterhe became a MLA will be ful-

filled this time and they all willattend his marriage. “Aap logabki bar inhey ghodi par baitha dey,” sheadded.

Interestingly, Tewari, dur-

ing last three elections hastraveled from one party toanother to somehow enterinto Assembly as well asinto married life but so farhis plan failed to succeed.

Tewari, who startedhis political career in 1994-95 after winning general sec-retary post in Union election inSaket College in Faizabad hadcontested his first election fromAyodhya seat on SamajwadiParty ticket in 2007 and duringa campaigning he pledged tomarry only after becomes anMLA. However, he lost thepolls and his marriage planreceived a setback.

Again in 2012, he joinedBahujan Samaj Party and sat on‘elephant’ with a same com-mitment on marrying, if he willwin the elections. However, thistime too he lost the polls.

Now after five years, anoth-er opportunity knocked in thelife of Tewari to accomplice hismarriage plan after becoming

MLA. Thistime, Tewari went with BJP buthis plan received a hurdle afterthe party gave Gosainganj seat to Apna Dal under seatadjustment.

However, Tewari has notlost the hope and switched toApna Dal and is now fightingon “lotus” symbol. Now voterswill seal the fate of Tewari oncoming Monday whether hewill go ahead with his marriageplan or he will remain ‘bache-lor’ as Tewari had reportedlymade another commitmentthat if his ‘pledge’ will not suc-ceed this time then he will notget married.

Modi, not BJP, attracts

voters in Cong bastions

NO VICTORY, NO MARRIAGE

FOR THIS PARTY-HOPPER!

Strange predicament for turncoats in Manipur pollsPTI n IMPHAL

They were known to bediehard supporters oftheir respective par-ties but just ahead of

Manipur elections theyswitched sides and were nowfaced with a strange predica-ment of explaining their standto the voters.

The turncoats contestingon tickets of either Congress orBJP, for the forthcomingAssembly polls, were facing apeculiar situation, with partyworkers in certain parts unwill-ing to work for them in thepolls. “Why should we work fora person who has come fromCongress? We have been fight-ing all our life against theCongress and its misrule,” a BJPleader from Lamlei con-stituency said.

The Congress too was fac-ing such a situation in some ofthe seats where they have field-ed former BJP leaders. Theyalso have leaders from TMCand other parties in their list.

A section of leaders, bothin the Congress and BJP,echoed, that a section of mass-es were apprehensive aboutthe turncoats as till a few daysback, they were busy beatingtrumpets in favour of their par-ent party.

Both the candidates list ofCongress and BJP, two archrivals in Manipur elections,have several turncoats in theirlists who were earlier eitherwith Congress or BJP or someother parties, but had switchedsides just months before theforthcoming Assembly polls.

The BJP list has the namesof the highest number of defec-

tors from other parties andCongress ranks second interms of giving tickets to turn-coats. “I joined BJP because theCongress and Manipur chiefminister Ibobi Singh have beenfooling the people for the lastso many years. This year too,Ibobi Singh tried to play dirtypolitics by bifurcating districtswhich led to this economicblockade and he is trying tocash on it,” N Biren Singh, BJPcandidate from Heingang con-stituency, told PTI.

N Biren Singh is one of thesix Congress leaders and MLAswho had joined BJP fewmonths back and is one of thefront runners for the post of chief minister, if BJPcomes to power in the strife-torn state.

A newspaper editor-turned-politician N Biren

Singh was Ibobi Singh’s “righthand man” during his Congressdays. The BJP has fielded thesix former Congress leadersand MLAs who had switchedloyalty to the party from theCongress. The six of theminclude former ministers NBiren Singh, Yumkham ErabotSingh and Francis Ngajokpaand MLAs Dr Kh Loken, ZKikhonbou Newmai andNemcha Kipgen - in nextmonth’s elections.

The Congress list also hasfew such candidates who hadjoined from BJP, TMC andother parties few months back.

“We joined Congress as wewanted to save our state fromthe divisive politics of BJP.They have joined hands withdivisive forces and our territo-rial integrity is at stake,”Congress candidates KH

Joykishan told PTI.While taking on the issue

of defection from Congressand party giving tickets toturncoats, state Congress pres-ident T N Haokip said,” BJPwas in touch with more than 20of our MLAs. They tried to lurethem with the promise of ChiefMinistership and other promis-es. But the BJP managed to takeonly six of our leaders andMLAs. We also got back atthem by taking six of their lead-ers”. Haokip, however, agreedthat switching loyalties is atrend in Manipur politics.

State BJP president KBhabananda Singh said,“People from various walks oflife are joining BJP as they wantto be part of development thatPrime Minister Narendra Modihas started. So how can we stopsomeone from joining us?”.A rally on ponies to create awareness on voting rights, in Imphal on Sunday PTI

AAP LOG ABKI BAR INHEY

GHODI PAR BAITHA DEY

Gorakhpur: Stung by‘SCAM’ and ‘KASAB’ barbs,former Union minister andCongress leader Akhilesh Dason Sunday dubbed BJP as‘Business Jalao Party’ for resort-ing to demonetisation lastNovember.

“Thanks to demonetisa-tion, nearly ten crore jobs havebeen lost. It was not noteban-di, it was rather deshbandi,”

Das told reporters here adding“BJP stands for Business JalaoParty.” Das’ retort came againstthe backdrop of Prime MinisterNarendra Modi describing‘SCAM’ as an acronym forSamajwadi Party, Congress,Akhilesh and Mayawati andBJP president Amit Shah dub-bing ‘KASAB’ as the one forCongress, SP and Behenji(Maywati).

The BSP supremo hasa l r e a d yd e s c r i b e dBJP as‘ B h a r t i y aJ u m l a( r h e t o r i c )Party’ andpunned withModi’s initialssaying they stood for “MrNegative Dalit Man.” Das, at

his press conference, accusedBJP of trying to break thecountry’s backbone with itsdemonetisation decision. Theformer Union minister claimedthere is a strong under-currentin favour of the SP-Congresscombine. “In 2017 Akhileshwill become the CM, and in2019, Congress Vice-PresidentRahul Gandhi will become thePrime Minister,” he added.

BJP means ‘Business Jalao Party’: Akhilesh Das

THE LURE OF MODI...“Aakhir chunav toh jati

par adharit hota hai” (In thefinal analysis, elections aredecided by caste) said a youngman, evidently a BSP support-er. Then there are the occa-sional jokers in the pack, queer-ing the pitch for establishedparties as in the Chauri Chauraseat. One such is a new outfitpompously calling itself NirbalIndia Soshit Hamara Dal(NISHaD). Its acronym hascleverly camouflaged and thusoutsmarted the restriction oncaste-based party names.

Popularly known as theNishad Raj Party, this outfit ledby a doctor of repute, Dr SanjayNishad, hopes to garner mostNishad (also known as Kewator Mallah) votes. In fact quiteironically both BJP and BSP,whose vote banks normally donot clash, are likely to lose thebulk of their earlier Nishadvotes to this fledgling groupwhich has tied up with theMuslim-dominated Peace Partyled by another surgeon, DrAyub. His popularity with hisbackers may not suffer despitethe lodging of an FIR againsthim on charges of molestationjust two days ago.

The fragmenting of caste-based votes is a cause of con-cern to all the major parties.But a few certitudes remain.Yadavs on the whole won’tdesert the Samajwadis. Askedin Faizabad, if the recent “pari-

war” will affect their votingintentions, a group of Yadavsvociferously said that the com-munity will be where the“Cycle” is, meaning AkhileshYadav. So BJP’s Sangita Yadavin Chauri Chaura may notmanage many votes from hercommunity. “Unke rishtedar,jaan-pehchan walon ka 500-1,000 vote unko milega. Iskealawa koyi Yadav unko votenehi denewala” (She will getjust a smattering of Yadavvotes; the bulk will go else-where). In 2014, a section ofYadavs and even Dalits hadbroken away from establishedpatterns to support the BJP.This time, despite the contin-uing Modi spell, these groupsas well as Muslims may returnto their age-old voting prefer-ences. But the BJP is countingon divisions among them, par-ticularly the Muslims to realisethe dream of “UP mein is baarModi Sarkar”.

KERALA YOUTH...“The duo was at the plan-

ning stage for ‘lone wolf ’ attackon a religious place in Gujarat.On the tip-off from our intel-ligence network, they werearrested before they could exe-cute their plan,” said a seniorpolice official with the GujaratATS, adding that both thebrothers were under watch forthe past one year. They were inlive contacts with IS operativesoverseas through social media

platform using encrypted mes-saging applications as well astwitter, facebook, whatsappand even telegram, said theofficial. A case has been regis-tered by the ATS officialsagainst the duo under unlaw-ful activity and prevention Actas well as explosive substanceAct and arrested them for fur-ther interrogation. The policesaid that the arrest would helpthem to know how they estab-lished links with ISIS and whohelped them to do so.

Sources said that father ofboth the brothers Arif Ramodiais retired employee of Rajkot-based Saurashtra University. Arif is well-knowncricket umpire in Saurashtraregion of Gujarat and residingat Nehrunagar locality ofRajkot. As far as Gujarat ATSis concerned, the arrest hasbeen seen as major achieve-ment to trace out ISIS entry inbordering Gujarat State. Thepolice are hopeful to find outmore details on possible ISISnetwork and its other opera-tives in the State as well as otherparts of the country. It is worthmentioning that KRamamurthy, an Indian doctorwho was rescued from thetrap of ISIS commented thatthe terrorist organisation waskeeping track on India’s econ-omy and education system inorder to promote its ideologyand network across the coun-try. Perhaps this is first-of-its-

kind arrest linked with ISISfrom Gujarat. The police saidthis development could desta-bilise peace and harmony notonly in bordering Gujarat butother parts of the nation too.

ARMY RECRUITMENT...“Each of the students ben-

efitting from the questionpaper leakage was to payaround `4 to 5 lakh. The mag-nitude and scale of the questionpaper leak can be gauged fromthe fact that we have alreadydetained 350 students,”Dhumre said.

The investigators suspectthat the question papers mighthave leaked either from thepress where it was printed orfrom the examination centres.

Deputy Commissioner ofPolice (Crime) Crime ParagManere who is leading theinvestigations into the ARBquestion paper leakage scam,said: “Our preliminary findingis that the entire leakage tookplace within a span of eight tonine hours. The questionpapers were leaked throughWhatsApp “. The arrestedpersons have been bookedunder Section 409 (criminalbreach of trust by a public ser-vant, or by banker, merchant oragent), ,420 (cheating) ,120-B( conspiracy) of the IPC andalso sections 72 of the IT Actand also section 13(1), 13(‘c)and 13(d) of the Prevention ofCorruption Act.

PNS n NEW DELHI

In a shocking incident, aseven year-old girl was

allegedly sedated and molest-ed by two senior girls of herschool in West Delhi’s MotiNagar area, police said onSunday. Police said that onSaturday they received a callfrom a man who claimed thathis daughter has been sexual-ly violated. Vijay Kumar,Deputy Commissioner ofPolice (DCP), West said thatout of the two girls, one is ajuvenile and the other is 20year-old. The elder girl hasbeen arrested.

In her complaint, theminor girl shared that themolestation has been happen-ing for the past few months.Afraid of disclosing about theordeal to her parents, it wasonly when she refused to go toschool. When her parentsasked her the reason, sheopened up about the tortureafter which her parents tookher to a nearby hospital whereshe was examined, said policesources. A senior officer, privyto the investigation sharedthat the seven year-old girl, aclass second student wasundergoing mental and phys-

ical torture for the last threemonths. “The elder student, a20-year-old girl was a studentof Class 9, has been arrested.Meanwhile, the younger girl, astudent of class 7 has beenapprehended. The police teamhas been trying to ascertain theage of the class 7 student.Since the seven year-old girl isterribly traumatised, she ischanging her statements. Inone of the statements, shealleged that the two senior girlsused to give her a red-colouredsedative substance.”

On Saturday at around12.10pm, we received a PCRcall where the man stated thathis daughter has been violatedin school. The complainantstated that he took his daugh-

ter to Acharya Bhikshu hospi-tal and got her medicallyexamined,” said a senior offi-cer. The girl was examined andunderwent counselling.

In her statement, theminor girl said two girls ofsenior classes used to take herto a vacant room in the schoolduring lunch time and take offher clothes as well as their own.They would also allegedlysedate her, the minor told hercounsellor. “They allegedlytouched her private parts.When she tried to resist, theywould threaten her of direconsequences,” official added.Police said that the victim andaccused girls study at theSarvodya Kanya Vidyalaya inMoti Nagar area of West Delhi.

2 girls ‘sedate, molest’

7-year-old junior

p In her complaint, the minor girl shared that the molestation has beenhappening for the past few months. Afraid of disclosing about theordeal to her parents, it was only when she refused to go to school

p Vijay Kumar, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), West said thatout of the two girls, one is a juvenile and the other is 20 year-old

p The elder student, a 20-year-old girl was a student of Class 9, hasbeen arrested. Meanwhile, the younger girl, a student of class 7 hasbeen apprehended

p In her statement, the minor girl said two girls of senior classes usedto take her to a vacant room in the school during lunch time and takeoff her clothes as well as their own. They would also allegedly sedateher, the minor told her counsellor. ‘They allegedly touched her privateparts. When she tried to resist, they would threaten her of direconsequences," official added

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

nation

On run for 2 yrs,wanted ‘Mantri’in net nowPNS n NEW DELHI

On the run for the past twoyears, the Special Cell on

Sunday said that they havefinally arrested the notoriousinterstate gangster, Nafe aliasMantri, an associate of jailedgangster, Manjeet Mahal fromKeshopur Depot, PaschimVihar on Saturday. According tothe police, Nafe, who was want-ed in nine cases of murder,attempt to murder and ArmsAct, had killed the associate ofa rival gang, Sunil alias Doctor,which set off a bloody gang war.Nafe Singh carried a reward of`1 lakh over his head.

The murder of Sunil hadfuelled revenge killings whichfinally culminated in the mur-der of his mentor-ManjeetMahal's father in January thisyear.

With Nafe's arrest, all theprimary gang leaders and theirassociates are behind bars,except for the elusive Hemantwho now heads the slain,Udaiveer alias Kale's gang andwas involved in the murder ofEx-MLA, Bharat Singh in 2015.

Special Cell had beeninvestigating the revengefuelled gang wars which hadplagued the villages of Mitraonand Dichaon Kalan in SouthWest Delhi.

Very often, analyststend to attribute risingincidents of attack onwomen to widespreadpoverty in the country

or to illiteracy or to traditionalIndian values which discriminateagainst women. If that were thecase, the typical BIMARU Stateshould rank at the top of the crimedata against women, among all theStates and the country. The real-ity is quite the other way.

In the national headlines ofshame these days is the shockingincident in Kerala, where a risingactor, on her way home fromshooting, was abducted and sub-jected to assault and videoed atnight and barely escaped a ‘quo-tation gang;. The gang is one ofseveral in that State which rendersits ‘services’ rather openly to thehighest bidder for hard cash. Anyone can hire their services freely!

The National Crime RecordsBureau says that ‘poor’ Bihar is atthe top among the States that havethe least such incidents againstwomen. In the Statewise list ofStates ranked by their crimeagainst women (assault intent tooutrage the victim’s modesty) interms of incidents among 100,000population ranked in ascendingorder of this number, Bihar hasan honourable record of just 0.25incidents among every group ofone lakh population. It stands atthe very top of the index. So toois the totally tribal State ofNagaland, with a record of just1.47 in every group of one lakh population.

Kerala, on the other hand, hasthe distinction of 100 per cent lit-eracy, the lowest proportion of thepoor — just below 10 per centagainst the national level of justshort of 30 per cent. It has thehighest density among the Statesregarding personal vehicles. Its percapita income at $2100 is higherthan even that of Maharashtra, themost industrialised part of thecountry. Kerala’s per capita incomestands head and shoulders abovethe national average of $1,400.

Bihar again is at the bottom at$600, not even half the nationalaverage. Also, Bihar is at the bot-tom of the ranking with just 63.82per cent literacy (2011 Census)against Kerala’s 93.91 per cent. So,by every measure Kerala is at thetop while Bihar is at the bottom ofranking countrywide, in incomeriches, literacy — the two States areat two ends of the data card for thecountry as a whole. Additionally,Kerala has the most robust figurein sex ratio with women at 1,028exceeding men while Bihar wal-

lows in the curse of gender ratiobeing inimical to women.

How do we then explain thefact that Bihar has the lowest inci-dence of crime against womenwhile Kerala, the model welfareState as a global example (as perNobel laureate Amartya Sen), hasthe highest? The February 18incident involving a film starbeing abducted is not the onlynotorious one. Last year, justbefore the State election, a mosthorrible and heinous incidentinvolving a college-going girlshook the conscience of the Stateand was a major cause for thehumiliating defeat of the then rul-ing Congress-led Government.

By now it is more than evi-dent that the level of disrespect towomen has nothing to do withfactors of poverty, riches, litera-cy, urbanisation etc, and isendemic to the process of devel-opment. It is so widespread acrossthe country that blaming theparty in power is useless.

Even State Governments ledby women Chief Ministers havebeen unable to reduce the fre-quency of such incidents, muchless prevent them, in their respec-

tive States. Recent incidentsagainst women even in Kolkataprovide the evidence.

Indian society is undergoinga transformation. Rapid life-stylechanges, growing economicopportunities quickly outpacedby aspirations, and an explosionin communication technology,giving exposure to raw minds andimmature minds through mobilesand television to a make-believeworld, mostly completelydivorced from reality, are playinghavoc with society. Old socialstructures (family, biradari, com-munity etc) are crumbling down,giving rise to a rootless class with-out any values whatsoever.

Concepts such as paap (sin)and the resulting divine retributionare getting outdated. And there isno respect for the law and no fearof the law-enforcing agencies.Most of the sinners (law-breakers)are smug, confident of twisting orbuying the system in their favourand escaping punishment for theirblack deeds. And thanks to cor-ruption and inefficiency of the sys-tem, most of the times the culpritsmanage to go scot-free.

This is a familiar pattern for

societies that break the tradi-tional mould, turn materialisticand abandon family values. Thetraditional value system of ‘sin’gets replaced by terms such as‘legal’ and ‘illegal’. In the West,social structures by and large areover. There is direct relationshipbetween a citizen and the state.

In most of the Western soci-eties, institutions such as familyand community have hardly anyrelevance now. Even the church,which was central to all aspects oflife till about few decades ago,hardly has any influence withindividuals in most of Europe andAmerica. There are only two tiers— individual and the state. Theold and sick are now the respon-sibility of the state.

However, the law-enforce-ment system in these countries ishonest and far more quick andefficient as compared to ours.Irrespective of the social, politi-cal or economic status of anaccused, justice and resultingpunishment are swift and hard.That obviously acts as a deterrentto some extent. But in the absenceof any spiritual underpinning,crimes, including against women,still do happen.

The media is the one thatshouts the loudest against thenational shame that emanatesfrom this apparently nationalcrime game. Yet we have a famoustelevision channel owner couple,right now undergoing trial in thecountry’s commercial capital ofsuch terrible charge as that ofmurdering their own daughter.Earlier, there was a famous mediaeditor being tried for misbehav-ing with a woman applicant for ajob in his organisation.

We have no alternative but tobuild a national consensus on howto deal with social menace such asmolestation, rape and other crimesagainst women who comprise halfthe country’s population.Psychological education about gen-der, sex, man-woman relationshipneeds to be instituted from theschool-level itself. Institutions suchas family and community need tobe reinforced. Spiritual underpin-ning to individual’s life has to re-introduced in our lives.

Social attitudes about womenmust change; but this change hasto be inculcated through behav-ioural approach. While laws againstmolestation of women need to beimplemented with no prejudice andpolice must act expeditiously, thereare no short-cuts.

(The writer is a former RajyaSabha MP from BJP and a Delhi-based political and social analyst)I

t is unlikely that Deepa Jayakumar, niece of J Jayalalithaa, is going to shakeup Tamil Nadu's political system with her declaration to work as “Amma's polit-ical heir”. Deepa Jayakumar was never in the political space during

Jayalalithaa's time nor did the former Chief Minister ever refer to her as her choice.There indeed was no chosen one, and the closest political adviser Jayalalithaahad was VK Sasikala. Deepa Jayakumar's decision to float her own outfit, MGRAmma Deepa Peravai, is a desperate bid to lay claim to a legacy that never belongedto her. But as a citizen of the country, she has every right to test the politicalwaters and try her hand at ‘reclaiming' the AIADMK from the clutches of whatshe says is Sasikala's bad influence. Deepa Jayakumar claims the backing of avast number of AIADMK cadres who are disgusted with the turn of events fol-lowing Jayalalithaa's death. It is true that supporters and workers of the partyhave been rudely shaken by the turmoil of the last fortnight or so, but they areunlikely to back somebody who has no political standing. Deepa Jayakumar hasbeen quick to add that her outfit is not a political party but a forum to unite the

AIADMK cadre. She is trying to fishin troubled waters and she clearly haspolitical ambitions. After all, DeepaJayakumar has decided to contestfrom the Dr Radhakrishna NagarAssembly constituency whichJayalalithaa had represented. She isbanking on her family connection towork the sympathy votes in herfavour. But the voters know thatJayalalithaa had kept her extendedfamily out of politics and had evenshown the door to Sasikala on twooccasions when she thought the lat-ter's influence over party affairs andgovernance had begun to be an irri-tant. Besides, elections are a politicalaffair needing a well-oiled organisa-tional machinery. Unless there is amassive sympathy wave in favour of

a candidate, that person cannot hope to be successful without the support ofsuch a machinery. Both the AIADMK and the rival DMK are ages ahead of DeepaJayakumar's outfit in this regard. It must be noted that Deepa Jayakumar hasbeen for some time now pushing her claim to Jayalalithaa's legacy but has drawnno positive response from either the Sasikala faction or the one led by formerChief Minister O Panneerselvam. This is not surprising given that both Sasikalaand Panneerselvam have fashioned themselves as the true heirs of the late leader.

That said, it will be interesting to see what the voters decide. The result ofthe by-election will be seen as a referendum on the acceptability of the warringfactions within the AIADMK. The opposition DMK sniffs an opportunity but it'spossible that the electorate in the constituency will stick to Jayalalithaa's partyin deference to her memory. Meanwhile, the incumbent Government of EdappadiK Palaniswami has to demonstrate a level of governance if it has to win the affec-tion of the voters when the time comes.

It is tragic that an Indian engineer was shot dead in the US in what appearsto be a racial hate crime. The killer (a Navy veteran) shouted, “Get out of mycountry”, before he shot the victim and injured another Indian. American laws

are strong enough to deal with such incidents and one must hope that the mur-derer will be punished sooner than later. It would be wrong, however, to gener-alise that hate crimes against Indians, or non-whites, are becoming part of theAmerican DNA. Let us not forget that a white man, who was at the scene of theincident, had taken a bullet on his body while trying to stop the shooter and thennab him. The braveheart later remarked that it was “not about where he's fromor ethnicity” but that “we are all humans”. US authorities are as much in shockas India is over the senseless killing. But, just as it would be inappropriate toview the incident as part of some trend in the US to target the non-whites underwhatever garb, it would be mischievous to attribute it to the policies of PresidentDonald Trump. In the first place, there is no evidence whatsoever to suggest thatthe shooter was motivated by President Trump's stand on immigrants. And evenif he were to claim so, it doesn't mean that President Trump had ever suggest-ed killing as a means to tackle the issue. All that the new US President has stat-

ed is that he would like to have stricterchecks on people coming into the US,especially from terror-infested regionsof the world. Yes, he did impose trav-el bans on people from certain nations,but that too was done in keeping withhis stated goal and not as a means totarget certain religious or ethnicdenominations. In any case, the mat-ter is too complicated to lend itself toa simple answer, and the US courts arepresently seized with the legalities ofthe issue.

Trump's opponents, especially onsocial media, have been ranting overthe Indian's killing, saying this is whatwould happen as a result of the USPresident’s nativist policies. This isoutright misinterpretation of facts.President Trump's call for “America

First” cannot be by any stretch of imagination seen as a rejection of universal-ims. Every leader ought to put his or her nation first, while interacting with therest of the global community. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Government hasbeen doing it, and so are others, as they seek to strike a balance between domes-tic demand and international alignment. There may be issues with certain pro-nouncements of the new US administration, but remember, President Trump isnot a despot or a dictator — he has been elected fair and square by the world'smost powerful democracy — to mock at humanism.

Isolated incidents of hate crime have happened before President Trump tookcharge, and yet none then suggested that the positions of the Presidents of thattime were responsible for the tragedies. CNN recently reported that, accordingto Federal Bureau of Investigation statistics, there had been a rise in hate crimesin the US in 2015 as compared to 2014. There were 5,818 hate crime incidentsreported, with a majority of them biased against race and ethnicity. Also, blackshad been targeted during President Obama's tenure. The well-publicised inci-dent of a white policeman shooting an unarmed black is still fresh in memory.

Politicising hate crime

Wrong to blame Trump for racial killing

opinion 08LUCKNOW | MONDAY | FEBRUARY 27, 2017

Crimes against women:Debunking perception Social attitudes about women must change; but this change has to come through behavioural approach. Whilelaws against crimes against women need to be implemented without prejudice, there are no short-cuts

One more ‘political heir’?

Niece’s feeble bid to claim Jayalalithaa legacy

Shed ego

Sir — This refers to the editorial,“BMC: Winners, losers” (February25). Both Maharashtra ChiefMinister Devendra Fadnavis andthe BJP must be complimented foran outstanding performance inthe Maharashtra civic elections. Ifthe Shiv Sena, which is an ally ofthe BJP in the State, was not ableto reach the 100-plus mark tostake claim, the credit goes to theBJP for doing well in a regionwhich has otherwise been thestronghold of the Shiv Sena.

However, it will be in theinterest of both parties to recon-cile and put their differences asideand come together for the bene-fit of the people. More so, the ShivSena needs to put its ego away andunderstand that the people havevoted for both parties. The people’swish is that they come together.

Bal GovindNoida

Sudden desire

Sir — This refers to the report,“Jaya’s niece floats new outfit onAmma’s birth anniversary”(February 25). The gravest baneof India is its innumerable polit-ical parties and leader,s and yet

many dejected, disillusioned andmisled politicians, irrespective oftheir merit and talent, often breakaway from their parties at the dropof a hat and float new outfits.

Now Jayalalithaa’s niece,Deepa Jayakumar, with a franticdesire to acquire a political slotand pursue the ‘legacy’ of Amma,has floated a new party and hasdeclared to contest the ensuingby-election from RK Nagar inChennai. Strangely, there arepeople who have come out to sup-port him. Since neither the politi-cians nor the public will changetheir attitude, we need a law tocurb this pernicious trend.

TT SakariaDelhi

Jealous China

Sir — This refers to the article,“Now it will rain benefits from thesky” (February 24) by KumarChellappan. The Indian SpaceResearch Organisation is goingfrom strength to strength, and weshould express our gratitude to ourscientists who have transcendedthe forbidden frontiers. Why mustwe worry about China’s com-ments when it is clear that it is jeal-ous of our successes.

Ashok K Mehta Via web

Unanswered questions

Sir — This refers to the article,“Defence Minister India should nothave had” (February 23) by ClaudeArpi. I got an opportunity toattend a meeting in 1966, whereKrishna Menon was directly askedabout his views on the Chineseaggression. Back then, I was a PhDscholar at the Indian AgriculturalResearch Institute (IARI), NewDelhi. Mina Swaminathan, wife ofMS Swaminathan, the thenDirector of IARI, was organisinga ‘Saturday club’ where eminentpersons were requested to deliverlectures or participate simply in aquestion-answer session.

The brusque reply of DefenceMinister Menon was, “Why didthe Chinese go away?”. He did notelaborate. Khushwant Singh in hisautobiography, Truth, Love & ALittle Malice, had devoted anentire chapter on Menon underwhom he worked as a Pressattaché in India House, London.Singh concludes his chapter quot-ing a statement of General ShivVarma: “Menon was a bachelor,the same as his father.”

GN MitraBhubaneswar

www.dailypioneer.com

p a p e r w i t h p a s s i o n

BALBIR PUNJ

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

She (Mayawati) can

enter into an

understanding with

the BJP anytime.

Actually she is

helping the BJP. One

must be careful.

Uttar Pradesh CM

—Akhilesh Yadav

Look at the vast range of

roles portrayed by Julia

Roberts, Meryl Streep or

Halley Berry. Their works

are my inspiration.

Bengali actor

—Rituparna Sengupta

You look at what's

happening in

Germany, you look at

what happened in

Sweden. They took

in large numbers

(immigrants).

US President

—Donald Trump

DISRESPECT TOWOMEN HAS

NOTHING TO DOWITH FACTORS OFPOVERTY, RICHES,

LITERACY,URBANISATION ETC,AND IS ENDEMIC TO

THE PROCESS OFDEVELOPMENT. IT IS

WIDESPREADACROSS THE

COUNTRY

SOUNDBITE

Civic poll results reflect

the mood of the people

This refers to the editorial, “BMC: winners, losers” (February 24).The results of the local bodies’ election in Maharashtra are a hugerelief for the BJP and equally a setback for the Congress and other

parties who had been cornering the BJP on demonetisation. The Congressand the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) have suffered huge losses interms of tally in various local bodies.

The verdict is a setback for the Shiv Sena particularly in the sensethat, in spite of being an ally of the BJP and sharing power with it inthe State and at the Centre, it has been singing the Opposition's tunein attacking Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his policies and deci-sions, including demonetisation and surgical strikes. By giving major-ity to none and almost equal seats to the Shiv Sena and the BJP in theBMC, the people’s message for both is that you cannot be friends andfoes at the same time; come together and work for the good of Mumbai.

MC JoshiLucknow

Send your feedback to: [email protected]

Jisha's face peers out from posters across the State demanding ‘Justice for Jisha’

J GOPIKRISHNAN

DEEPAK SINHA

The recent tragic martyr-dom of six soldiers, includ-ing an officer, is neither the

first such loss nor is it likely to bethe last in the ongoing tragedythat is Jammu & Kashmir. Weare, at this point, unaware of howthe tactical situation played outin each of the encounters, lead-ing to this tragic loss of lives.

One can speculate that itmay have been due to pure hap-penstance, bad luck, careless-ness or even deliberate sacrificefor the greater good. However,there is also the very real pos-sibility that the reason for someof the casualties may havebeen, as has been suggested bysome for a fairly long time now,the deliberate attempts by mil-itant sympathisers to disruptthe security forces from goingabout their unpleasant but necessary business.

That, as the Army chief hasnow clearly enunciated, is nolonger acceptable, and will have

serious consequences for theperpetrators. This is not onlywelcome, but a long overduestatement of intent that willmake things easier for the unitsin dealing with jihadi support-ers who interfere with ongoingoperations. It isn’t as if such tac-tics were not employed by themilitants in the 1990s, but thesewere dealt with by the securityforces with robust and decisivemeasures which acted as adeterrent for such overt supportto the militant cause.

It was never objected to byeither the political class or thelocal population because bothwere at the receiving end ofterrorist violence. Over theyears, that has changed dra-matically, as violence is nowdirected mainly against theIndian security forces andboth politicians and populaceare merely bystanders.Winning hearts and minds isall very well, but it must not be

at the cost of our soldiers. Byno means are they being paidto die; and, it’s high time thatpoliticians and fellow citizens,whatever be their ideologicalbend, got this right.

Thus, when the likes of PChidambaram and his ilk aredeliberately brought on prime-time television by some mediachannels to suggest that theArmy chief ’s statement wasunwarranted, it is a travesty ofour democratic right to freespeech and freedom of the media.

As is well known,Chidambaram has been animportant and integral memberof the Congress and its decision-making body for decades. He,as much as the rest of its lead-ership, and a veritable horde ofpoliticians from other parties aswell, is responsible for the messin Jammu & Kashmir andshould be held accountable.The last thing that one would

want to hear from such peopleis their ‘solutions’.

In these past two decades,the Congress and its allies werein power for more than a decadeand neither they, nor the presentruling dispensation for thatmatter, have even attempted tosuggest a viable political solu-tion — leave alone implementmeasures that will make thingsbetter for the people of the State.It is well known that all politi-cal leaders in the State, includ-ing the separatist lot, lack cred-ibility, and their actions onlyarouse disgust and ridicule

It is all very well forChidambaram to hold forth andsuggest the necessity for a polit-ical solution, as he has donerecently. But the question thatarises is: What stopped hisparty from implementing hisideas when it was in power overthe past decade? One shouldremember that the insurgencywas brought under control by

the Army around 1996 and lev-els of violence sufficientlyreduced for elections to beheld. The local police hadreasserted itself to deal with theprevailing law and order situa-tion. This was done at a hugecost to the Army and on theback of sacrifices of thousandsupon thousands of soldiers —many of whom made the ulti-mate sacrifice of their lives.

Many suggestions havebeen made over the years fordealing with the situation. Infact, in an earlier piece inAugust 2016 (Missing the BigStick) this writer had pointedout the viability of suggestionsmade by such eminent personsas Mohan Guruswamy and LtGen HS Panag (Retd), suggest-ing the trifurcation of the Stateinto the State of Jammu,Kashmir and the UnionTerritory of Ladakh, andrestricting the Armed Forces(Special Powers) Act to 15km

along the Line of Control. Thatsuch suggestions fell on deafears, only shows up the politi-cal class and its reluctance.

The fact of the matter is thatthe situation cannot be allowedto carry on in similar veininterminably, with only mem-bers of the security forces pay-ing the price. If the political classis unwilling to take steps to sortout the issue, then the securityforces have little choice but toput in place measures to ensurethat they do not become theonly ones to bear the brunt ofthe violence. After all, they arenot responsible for having cre-ated in the first place.

This is unlikely to go downwell with the local population orthe politicians, but, as a proverbfrom the Bible so bluntly puts it,“Whatsoever a man soweth, thatshall he also reap.”

(The writer is a military vet-eran and consultant with theObserver Research Foundation)

If the political class is unwilling to take steps to sort out the issue in J&K, then the security forces have littlechoice but to put in place measures to ensure that they do not become the only ones to bear the brunt of violence

All knew, Chidambaram didn’t

3rdeye 09LUCKNOW | MONDAY | FEBRUARY 27, 2017

Please remember… Rahul Gandhi is still not

mature. His age does not allow him to be

mature. He is what… in his forties.

—Senior Congress leader

SHEILA DIKSHIT

Don't twist my words. Rahul Gandhi has the

sensitivity and concern of a mature leader.

His words are those of a young man.

—Senior Congress leader

SHEILA DIKSHIT

Newspaper reports

detailed it on

December 31,

2005, and

subsequent reports

in January and

February 2006

wrote of it. The

entire world was

aware of this

billion-dollar deal.

It cannot be

believed that then

Finance Minister

Chidambaram was

unaware of the fact

that the amount

exceeded the limit

for approval

at his end

POINTCOUNTERPOINT

Former Finance Minister PChidambaram was economicalwith the truth when he told theCentral Bureau of Investigation(CBI) that he was not aware that

Malaysian company Maxis’ investment inAircel was above `600 crore, when heapproved the Foreign InvestmentPromotion Board’s (FIPB) recommenda-tion on March 7, 2006. Chidambaramstated to this to the CBI when he was ques-tioned on December 6, 2014. Certainsenior Finance Ministry officials madesimilar statements to the probe agency.

This writer recently paid a visit to theParliament library to check newspaperarchives in a bid to understand what hadbeen reported in the media during thosedays about Maxis’ takeover of Aircel.Every major newspaper in India had, onDecember 31, 2005, reported in a big waythat Maxis was going to invest one billiondollars in Aircel. Some newspapersreported the exact value at $I.08 billionin headlines; some even converted thevalue in rupees (those days, a dollar wasequivalent to ̀ 45), saying that the foreigninvestment was `4,700 crore. Businessdailies splashed it on the front page andother newspapers reported prominentlyin their business section. They appearedon the same day after Maxis and Aircelconducted a joint Press conference inMumbai on December 30, 2005, about thebillion-dollar acquisition plan.

The photo montage of the mainnewspapers reports on December 31,2005 is placed along with this article. Apartfrom Indian and Malaysian newspapers,international newspapers such as theFinancial Times and the Wall StreetJournal reported this deal in detail. AnInternet search shows that televisionchannels too widely reported the deal.

In January and February 2006 too,

most newspapers were reporting regular-ly on the acquisition details and on the filemovements at the FIPB. What was thebasic illegality in the Aircel-Maxis scam?Those days, the FIPB could approve for-eign investments up to ̀ 600 crore. As perRule (Finance Ministry Order datedFebruary 18, 2003), the Finance Ministerhad to send the proposals above `600crore to the Cabinet Committee onEconomic Affairs (CCEA). Then FinanceMinister was the Chairman of CCEA too.The subsequent Maxis investment of ̀ 675crore in Maran family-run Sun TV groupdetails had been sent by Chidambaramto the CCEA.

Why did Chidambaram did notsend the proposal of Maxis’ investmentin Aircel to the CCEA? Those days, SaudiTelecom had more than 25 per cent sharesin Maxis. Saudi Telecom also has majorshareholding in Pakistan TeleCommunication Limited (PTCL) and oursecurity agencies would have definitelyobjected Maxis’ entry in India, if the filereached the CCEA.

Newspapers had reported that Maxiswas going to invest `4,700 crore onDecember 31, 2005. But Maxis, in itsapplication to the FIPB on January 25,2006, stated only $800 million (`3,600crore) of investment in Aircel. Now, theComptroller and Auditor-General’s P&TAudit wing found that the actual moneywhich had come to India was ̀ 4,769 crorefrom Maxis. Where did the balance of`1,200 crore disappear?

What is the CBI doing with theseopen-and-shut findings? The CBI was try-ing limit the case to former TelecomMinister Dayanidhi Maran, based on adoubtful complaint by Aircel promoter CSivasankaran, who alleged that Maranarm-twisted him into selling Aircel toMaxis. The December 31, 2005, news

reports in the media exposes that bothSivasankaran and the Maxis owners con-ducted Press conferences in Mumbai toannounce the billion-dollar acquisitiondeal. This shows that everyone in theFinance and the Telecom Ministries wasaware of the deal’s amount. The questionthen is: Why had the CBI believed inSivasankaran’s theory of arm-twisting inApril 2011. The Congress was enjoyingthe diminishing profile of alliance part-ner DMK, when A Raja and Kanimozhiwere allegedly involved in the 2G scam.

But the Aircel-Maxis scam took a dif-ferent turn, when BJP leader SubramanianSwamy, in April 2012, came out withmoney trail of `26 lakh to companieslinked to Chidambaram’s son Karti, andblatant FIPB violations. Apart from theviolation of not sending the file to CCEA,Maxis also lied to the Indian authorities.Those days, a maximum of 74 per centwas the limit of foreign investment in tele-com companies. But after the illegal FIPBclearance, Maxis declared to the MalaysianStock Exchange that it had acquired 99.3per cent shares in Aircel by striking analliance with a Chennai-based hospitalgroup of companies. This shows thatSivasankaran was perhaps illegally offload-ing his entire shares to Maxis. It’s aston-ishing that the country’s premier probeagency believed his story of arm-twisting.

Another big fraud was the stark vari-ation in the valuation of shares. 74 per centof Aircel was valued at around `3,600crore and the rest 26 per cent was valuedat a pittance of around `30 crore! TheCAG’s finding in 2015 of the actual moneyflow of Maxis of `4,769 crore shows thataround `1,200 crore came to India wasnothing but black money or kickbacks aspart of the deal.

In a nutshell, all, includingChidambaram, Maran, Sivasankaran and

Maxis owner T Ananda Krishnan, wereallegedly part and parcel of a dubious dealto mislead Government of India, violat-ing provisions of the Prevention ofCorruption Act and the Prevention ofMoney Laundering Act.

After Chidambaram and son Karti’snames cropped up, the CBI went intosilent mode, leading to Maran’s dis-charge from ‘arm-twisting’ charges, by the2G court. While declaring Chidambaram’s‘illegalities’ in the deal in the chargesheetin August 2014, the CBI never providedproof to the court. The joint raid of theEnforcement Directorate (ED) and theIncome Tax department unearthed two-lakh-dollar money flow from Maxis’three subsidiary companies to Karti’s com-pany, Chess Management Services PrivateLimited. The raid also exposed 21 secretforeign bank accounts of KartiChidambaram and companies linked tohim, and their huge assets, hotels, vine-yards and farm houses in 14 countries.The question is: What has prevented ouragencies to act on these stunning detailsof black money allegedly stashed byChidambaram’s family?

The Central Bureau of Investigationis now acting as a mute spectator inSubramanian Swamy’s case in theSupreme Court. The apex court’s mainquestion to Swamy is: Was Chidambaramaware that the deal was above secret 600crore when he illegally approved it inMarch 2006? Newspaper reports detailedit on December 31, 2005, and subsequentreports in January and February 2006wrote of it. The entire world was awareof this billion-dollar deal. It cannot bebelieved that Chidambaram was unawareof of the fact that the amount exceededthe limit for approval at his end.

(The writer is Special Correspondent,The Pioneer)

How long will our forces bleed? thinknowM

en fear thought as they

fear nothing else on earth

— more than ruin, more

even than death. Thought is

subversive and revolutionary,

destructive and terrible, thought

is merciless to privilege,

established institutions, and

comfortable habits; thought is

anarchic and lawless,

indifferent to authority, careless

of the well-tried wisdom of the

ages. Thought looks into the pit

of hell and is not afraid...

Thought is great and swift and

free, the light of the world, and

the chief glory of man.

—Bertrand Russell

Philosopher and mathematician

Growth that Africa

can do without

Africa faces a uniquely tragic situation. It stares atfamine even when there is no shortage of food. It’sthe accelerating population boom that’s the problem

The Aircel-Maxis scam took a different turn, when BJP leader Subramanian Swamy came out with money trail to companieslinked to Chidambaram's son Karti, and blatant FIPB violations. P Chidambaram’s defence is hollow and unbelievableGWYNNE DYER

FIRSTCOLUMN

For the first time in six years, there is famine in the world: Areal, United Nations-declared famine, with more than 30 percent of the affected population suffering acute malnutrition

and more than a 1,000 people dying of hunger each day. Andthere are three more countries where famine may be declaredany day now.

As you would expect, all four current and impending faminesare in war zones. As you might not expect, one of the afflicted coun-tries is not in Africa. It is war-torn Yemen, the poorest Arab coun-try, whose 22 million people depended on imports for 90 per centof their food. With most of Yemen in rebel hands and daily air raids,the food is no longer making it in.

But the other three places are indeed African: South Sudan,Somalia and north-eastern Nigeria. The official famine is in SouthSudan, where, after three years of brutal civil war, 40 per cent ofthe population, some five million people, are starting to starve.

There are poor people elsewhere, but apart from North Koreain 1996, every famine of the past 40 years has been in Africa. It'susually linked to armed conflict, of course, and most of the world'swars are in Africa, but that just pushes the argument back one step.

Why is Africa, a continent with only one-seventh of the world'spopulation, home to the great majority of its wars? Only the Arabworld, a much smaller region, even begins to compete, and its wars,bad as they are, almost never cause famines. Africa is a global out-lier, and there must be some common factor beyond mere poli-tics that makes it the global capital for wars and famines.

The big thing that distinguishes Africa from the rest of theplanet (except, once again, the Arab world) is a rapidly grow-ing population: the average fertility rate across the African con-tinent is 4.6 children per woman.

That was about the average fertility rate of the whole humanrace in 1960, when the entire world's population was exploding.But the global fertility rate has halved since then, while Africa'shas stayed much the same. If it remained at this level for the restof the century, today's one billion Africans would become sevenbillion, and half the human race would be African in 2100.

In fact the fertility rate is forecast to fall gradually in mostAfrican countries, although some nations — Niger, Mali andUganda, for example — will continue to have higher birth rates.But the fertility rate is falling very slowly: The forecast is thatby 2045 the average African woman will be having only threechildren — but anything above 2.2 children per woman meansthe population is still growing.

The forecast of the United Nations Population Division is thatAfrica's population will almost quadruple by the end of the cen-tury, while most other countries stand still or even fall in popula-tion. That means there will be 3.6 billion Africans by 2100 — athird of the human race. It also means that war and famine maybe their constant companions.

It's not that Africa has already outgrown its food supply. Thereis probably enough good land in Africa to feed twice the presentpopulation (though not four times as many people). Global warm-ing is likely to damage the productivity of African agriculture quitebadly in the long run, but that's not happening yet. So why is therea famine problem now?

It's because for the past half-century Africa's population hasbeen growing as fast or faster than its economies. Most Africanstherefore stay poor, and poor people, especially the rural poor,tend to have higher birth rates. And since they cannot afford toinvest much in their farms, in their children's education, or inanything else.

But Asia's annual population growth rate was only two per-cent then and is down to one percent now, while Africa's pop-ulation growth rate was 2.2 per cent then and is 2.5 per centnow. So per capita incomes in Asia are now many times high-er than in Africa.

Africa is having famines long before there is an actual short-age of food in the continent. Unless it can somehow get its pop-ulation growth under control, it will just go on getting worse.

(The writer is an independent journalist)

NEW DELHI: Regulator Sebi is infavour of a major overhaul ofthe way boards of listed firmsdischarge their duties, includ-ing for appointment andremoval of directors, and alsowants their audit committee tobe empowered to identifyfuture risks.

There is also a need for“greater tolerance” andenhanced transparency in dis-cussions and decisions taken atthe board level and by variousboard committees of listedcompanies, but the regulatorwould prefer them to adopt bestglobal practices in this regardvoluntarily rather than beingdictated to do so with a new setof stringent rules, a top officialsaid.

While a ‘guidance note’was issued last month by theSecurities and Exchange Boardof India (Sebi) on board eval-uation at listed companies,there is a view that the regula-tor should come out with a newset of regulations to ensuregreater compliance.

The regulator may soon

come out with a further detailedguidance note while it is alsomulling launching a publicconsultation process to under-stand whether there is a needfor a new set of rules and whatthose could be, a top officialsaid.

The move assumes signif-icance in the wake of recentboardroom battle at the Tatagroup and the controversy sur-rounding the reported differ-ences between some promotersand the top management atInfosys -- both of which playedout in a big way in full publicglare and forced Sebi and theGovernment to keep a closewatch to ensure safeguardinginterest of minority investorsand other stakeholders -- as alsothe message going to the foreigninvestors.

“The prominent view with-in Sebi as of now is that the con-cept of board evaluation is verynascent in India and forcing thecompanies to follow a new setof rules in this regard may notbe warranted at this stage,” a topofficial said, while adding that

the decision can be reviewed insome time after taking intoaccount response of the com-panies to the guidance note.

Also, since the regulatoritself will go through a leader-ship change soon, with seniorIAS officer Ajay Tyagi set totake charge as the next SebiChief on March 1, a final deci-sion on whether to replace theguidance note with a new set ofrules could be taken under thenew dispensation.

Corporate governance hasbeen a key focus area, with ahuge emphasis on safeguardingthe interest of minority share-holders in listed companies,during the six-year tenure ofcurrent Sebi Chairman UKSinha.

The proposed moves willalso take into account the sug-gestions made in this regard bythe regulator’s InternationalAdvisory Board (IAB), whichwas also set up during Sinha’stenure at Sebi to advise it onbest global regulatory prac-tices and evolution of variouspolicies.

In its last submission toSebi, the IAB observed that theIndian companies as also thepolicymakers need to realisethat good corporate gover-nance is about helping thecompany achieve its objectives,implement its corporate strat-egy, while keeping the interestof various stakeholders in mind.

The IAB suggested that a

matrix of expertise may beintroduced to make the boarddiverse, balanced and in tunewith the requirements for effec-tive functioning of the compa-ny. It has also called for “fulltransparency” in boardap-pointments and removalprocess, with similar require-ments being in place for bothstages, while it wants audit

committee to also focus on for-ward-looking risk assessment,in addition to retrospectiveevaluation.

After looking at globalpractices, the IAB noted that theboard evaluation is a veryimportant element in corporategovernance and it should gobeyond “a box-ticking exercise”.

“The process has to beconducive to the growth of thecompany and can differ fromcompany to company.

“The best evaluation isactually an exercise in self eval-uation of the company’s ownperformance and effectivenessin terms of its mission, finan-cial returns, strategy, businessmodel and social responsibili-ty, and in this context, whetherthe standards expected from theboard are being realised,” theIAB felt.

The advisory panel, whichincludes experts from variousfields, said it would be a goodpractice if the result of theevaluation of the board as awhole is disclosed to the share-holders.

It called for boards of list-ed companies being made awareand educated about the evalu-ation process and hoped thenew guidance note from Sebiwill help further this cause.

In its guidance note issuedlast month, Sebi has emphasisedthat the role and function ofchairperson in board evaluationneeds to be laid out clearly inadvance in order to achievemaximum benefit of theprocess.

Responsibilities of variouspersons, including independentdirectors, and committees forcarrying out evaluation ofrespective boards as well as therelevant disclosure requirementsunder corporate governanceobligations have also beentouched upon in the note.

It also advises that the nom-ination and remunerationcommittee will have to formu-late the criteria for evaluation ofperformance of independentdirectors and other members ofthe board.

It will determine whether toextend or continue the term of

appointment of the independentdirector, on the basis of thereport of performance evalua-tion of independent directors.

In the meeting of indepen-dent directors of the company(without the attendance of non-independent directors and man-agement), such directors willneed to review the performanceof non-independent directorsand the board as a whole,including the chairperson.

The performance evalua-tion of independent directorscould be done by the entireboard, excluding the directorbeing evaluated.

“A statement indicating themanner in which formal annu-al evaluation has been made bythe board of its own perfor-mance and that of its commit-tees and individual directorsshall be included in the reportby board of directors placed inthe general meeting,” it said.

The performance evalua-tion criteria for independentdirectors will be disclosed in thesection on the corporate gover-nance of the annual report. PTI

LUCKNOW | MONDAY | FEBRUARY 27, 2017 money 10

The way things are...Thisconsolidation is going to be verygood for India as we are likely toget four private and oneGovernment player...BSNL-MTNL...Which is ideal. Ideal isfive players for India, which iswhat is likely to happen

TELECOM SECRETARYJS DEEPAK

Many thought that when you takeloan from the banks, the moneyneed not be re-paid and you can

come to London and stay outhere...And democracy is liberalenough to permit defaulters to

stay here. That normal needs tobe cracked

Finance Minister Arun JaitleyGOVT

FROM

BUZZ

Sebi for overhaul of board governance at listed firms

The prominent view within Sebi as of now isthat the concept of board evaluation is verynascent in India and forcing the companiesto follow a new set of rules in this regard

may not be warranted at this stage,” a topofficial said, while adding that the decisioncan be reviewed in some time after takinginto account response of the companies to

the guidance note

PTI n BARCELONA

The fresh round of consoli-dation unfolding in the

Indian telecom market is like-ly to yield five major playersensuring “enough competitionbut not fragmentation of spec-trum”, Telecom Secretary JSDeepak said.

His comments assume sig-nificance as India -- the world’ssecond largest mobile servicesmarket after China -- is in themidst of massive consolidationwith incumbent operators join-ing forces to take on aggressivenewcomer Reliance Jio.

The consolidation in theotherwise crowded Indian tele-com industry has been has-tened by Jio’s free voice call anddata plans, forcing incumbentsto slash tariff at the cost of prof-its.

“Dropping revenue is aconcern which we are alsoaddressing...Era of free serviceand falling revenue willchange...In this backdrop, theinvestments in India are notonly welcome but are also like-ly to be productive,” Deepaktold the news agency.

On consolidation playingout in the telecom market, hesaid, “The way things are...Thisconsolidation is going to be verygood for India as we are likelyto get four private and oneGovernment player...BSNL-MTNL...Which is ideal.”

Asked if the spate of buy-outs would leave enough roomfor competition in the Indianmarket, Deepak said, “Ideal isfive players for India, which iswhat is likely to happen”.

Stating that the consolida-tion is potentially resulting in

five big players would ensure“enough competition but notfragmentation of spectrum”, hesaid, it will be “optimum for theIndian market”.

Last week, India’s largesttelecom operator Bharti Airtelannounced acquisition ofNorwegian Telenor’s India unit.Bharti Airtel’s revenue marketshare will rise to 35.6 per centfollowing the acquisition.Telenor India currently has 2.6per cent share in Indian market.

Vodafone and Idea havealready said that they are con-sidering merging their busi-nesses in India, a move thatwould create the biggest tele-com operator in the countrywith about $12 billion in sales.

Anil Ambani-led RelianceCommunications has alreadysigned a pact to merge its wire-less business with smaller rivalAircel.

Deepak, who is attending

the Mobile World Congress(MWC) here, is slated to meetsenior officials of leading glob-al telecom and tech companieslike Vodafone, Huawei, AT&T,Nokia, Ericsson, Intel, andFacebook over the next threedays. The Department ofTelecom will showcase majorreforms undertaken in theIndian mobile market to theglobal audience.

In his presentation at theMWC, Deepak would touchupon the USD 10 billionForeign Direct Investmentinflows into the telecom sectorin FY17, and outline flagshipprogrammes like Digital India,Smart Cities and Start UpIndia.Asked about concerns ontariff war hitting profitability-of telecom companies, Deepaksaid, “Telecom is scale busi-ness...With scale-up of business,even with low tariffs it is pos-sible to make profits as com-

panies have demonstrated.While profits may not happenimmediately but those whostay on for the long-term, willmake profits.”

Also, with spectrum har-monisation, the sector’s effi-ciencies are likely to go up andreduce cost, which in turn willhelp companies, he added.

It may be recalled that theGovernment received commit-ment of `65,789 crore by sell-ing 964.80 MHz of spectrum inan auction in October last year.

The Telecom Departmentundertook a slew of reforms in2016 aimed at facilitating easeof doing business. This includ-ed formulating the right ofway rules for faster telecom net-work roll-out, spectrum har-monisation, increasing theavailability of spectrum throughauction and introduction ofAadhaar-based eKYC for newmobile connections.

5 major telcos optimum for

Indian mkt: Telecom Secretary

MADHUSUDAN SAHOO n

NAGPUR

Anticipating prospectivetenders for water supply,

sewerage treatment and urbansolid waste following theupcoming Smart Citiesprojectsin the country, Nagpur-basedinfrastructure major VishvarajInfrastructure Ltd, is pitchingfor reuse of sewage water inmost of the State-ownedNational Thermal PowerCorporations (NTPCs) inIndia. However, the companysaid, the by-products of sew-erage treatment, apart from thetreated water, can be used tomake biofuels, which can beused for running trucks.

“As we have a 200-millionlitres per day (MLD) capacitysewage treatment plant (STP)at Bhandewadi, for a long timewe have been looking for buy-ers of its treated water. Earlier,we were looking for industrialusers but did not get much suc-cess in that move. Then,weapproached NTPC in Nagpurinitially with this proposal,and we have an in-principleagreement with them to sellthem at least 150 MLD. Later,we want to explore graduallyother NTPCs as we have initi-ated talks with them,” saidArun Lakhani, Chairman andManaging Director (CMD) ofVishvaraj Infrastructure Ltd,who is also the promoter offirst-of-its-kind public-private-partnership (PPP) in sewagetreatment and reuse project on100 per cent private funding.

“As the Government isencouraging the developmentof Smart Cities, tenders forwater supply and seweragetreatment and urban solidwaste will come up soon andVishvaraj will definitely bid andwin for these tenders,” saidLakhani.

As per the Governmentnorms, if any power plant islocated within 50km from amunicipal corporation then itwill be mandatory for thepower plants to use treatedsewage water of the city. “Wehave been short-listed for awater supply contract inRajasthan and is in the processof bidding for several other citywater and sewerage facili-ties,”said a senior official.

Asked if the Governmenthas shown any interest in thisproject, Lakhani said, “We havealready given our presenta-tions about the STP projectbefore the PMO and the offi-cial therein were happy aboutit. I think we will win the bidsas and when it happens. Wehope it will happen soon.”

In a move to provide inte-grated water security-bothurban water supply and waste

water management throughoutthe country, the company isalso running the Orange CityWater (OCW) project with a50:50 partnership with aFrench firm Veolia.The com-pany has been implementingone of the major integratedwater supply and seweragetreatment project forNMCunder the PPP model.The NMC is also building a 200MLD capacity STP with 24-acres spread NMC-ownedspace at Bhandewadi in theoutskirt of the city.

“We undertook a wastewater reuse project for Nagpurcity under which NTPC will bereusing the treated water fromthe STP for Mauda plant. Bydoing so, the city will get anadditional 200-MLD of water,which is enough for 200 lakh

people here,” said the official.The city was generating

over 550 MLD of sewage andhad the capacity to treat only100 MLD. The company wantsit double the capacity to 200MLD soon with its moderntechnology and expertise forreissue in industrial purposes.“For this project, the privatecompany invested 30 per centof the estimated project cost, 70per cent grants came from theJNNURM scheme, shared byboth the state and the CentralGovernment. The project wasinitiated by the NMC. This pro-ject has showcased as the modelcase study for other cities at thelaunch of Atal Mission forRejuvenation and UrbanTransformation (AMRUT) andSmart City initiative,” he said.

Showcasing whatVishvarajhas achieved for theNagpur people so far, the firmclaimed that both these uniqueprojects are acknowledgedwidely at international andnational forums and are beingemulated by many towns andin the Government policies.Both the projects wereacknowledged as the best prac-tice by Prime MinisterNarendra Modi.

Nagpur with over 2.5 mil-lion peopleis the first city of itssize in the country to outsourcewater supply to a private oper-ator under the PPP model for25 years. Under the scheme themain objective was to provide24-hour 100 per cent safedrinking water to 100 per centpopulation, including notifiedslum dwellers within five years.

In this project, the com-pany also educates people,mostly slum dwellers how tojudiciously use water. Thecompany-appointed volunteersused to do ‘MohallaShaba’ inmore than 10 centres in thecity. Besides, the projectincluded management of theentire water cycle from pro-duction, treatment, transport,storage and delivery to the cus-tomer’s tap.

Vishvaraj Infrastructure Ltdpitching for reuse of sewage water in NTPCs

CLEAN WATER MISSION,THE NAGPUR WAYnVishvaraj has beenimplementing one of the majorintegrated water supply andsewerage treatment projects forNMC under the PPP model.

n It is also running the OCWproject with a 50:50 partnershipwith a French firm Veolia tocater to the Nagpur residents.

nUnder the scheme the mainobjective is to provide 24-hour100% safe drinking water to100% population, includingnotified slum dwellers withinfive years

nThe company-appointedvolunteers used to do ‘MohallaShaba’ in more than 10 centresin the city to educate slumdwellers for proper use of water

nThe NMC is also building a200-MLD capacity STP with 24-acres spread NMC-ownedspace at Bhandewadi in theoutskirt of the city

nThe company is hopeful towin the Government tenders forwater supply and seweragetreatment and urban solid wastewhich will come up soon

PTI n BARCELONA

The executive committeemeeting of the cellular oper-

ators association (COAI), sched-uled for March 17, is likely todiscuss the issue of the deterio-rating financial health of theindustry.

The industry body is alsoplanning to commission a third-party analysis on the financialhealth of the Indian telecomindustry, which is facing hugedebt and pressure on prof-

itability, COAI Director GeneralRajan S Mathews told the newsagency.

“Besides the normalupdates that happen in areaslike eKYC, EMF, updates onlegal cases, the COAI executivemeet on March 17 is alsoexpected to discuss the state ofthe financial health of the indus-try... What do we need to do interms of interaction with theGovernment, what is the wayforward... All of that will be dis-cussed, resources will be voted

and committed on,” Mathewssaid.

Stating that the industry isin a state of “flux”, Mathews said,“The next 3-6 months are thetime when the industry is real-ly going to have to deal with theissue of how do we ensure thefinancial viability continues andwhat further consolidationcould take place.”

The industry will also bewatching out for the “emergingindustry construct around thenumber of players”.

COAI exececutive committee todiscuss industry’s financial fortunes

PTI n LONDON/NEW DELHI

Global banking giant HSBChas disclosed being probed

by tax authorities in India andseveral other countries, includ-ing against its Swiss and Dubaiunits, for allegedly abettingtax evasion of four Indians andtheir families.

Besides, the bank has beenapproached by the regulatoryand law enforcement agenciesof various countries for infor-mation on persons and entitiesnamed in the leaked ‘PanamaPapers’ -- which included hun-dreds of Indians who hadindulged in alleged tax viola-tions through offshore taxhavens with the help ofPanamanian law firm MossackFonseca.

Disclosing the “tax-relatedinvestigations” in its latestannual report published last

week, HSBC further said it hasset aside $773 million (over`5,000 crore) as a provision forvarious tax- and money laun-dering-related matters.

“There are many factorsthat may affect the range of out-comes, and the resulting finan-cial impact of these investiga-tions and reviews. Due touncertainties and limitations ofthese estimates, the ultimatepenalties could differ signifi-cantly from the amount pro-vided,” HSBC said, whileadding that it is cooperatingwith the relevant authorities.

“Various tax administra-tions, regulatory and lawenforcement authorities aroundthe world, including in the US,France, Belgium, Argentinaand India, are conductinginvestigations and reviews ofHSBC Swiss Private Bank andother HSBC companies in

connection with allegations oftax evasion or tax fraud, moneylaundering and unlawful cross-border banking solicitation,” itsaid.

Giving case-wise details, itfurther said the Indian taxauthorities in February 2015had issued a summons andrequest for information to anHSBC company in India.

“In August 2015 andNovember 2015, HSBC com-panies received notices issuedby two offices of the Indian taxauthority alleging that theIndian tax authority had suffi-cient evidence to initiate pros-ecution against HSBC SwissPrivate Bank and an HSBCcompany in Dubai for alleged-ly abetting tax evasion of fourdifferent Indian individualsand/or families and requestingthat the HSBC companies showwhy such prosecution should

not be initiated.“HSBC Swiss Private Bank

and the HSBC company inDubai have responded to theshow-cause notices,” it said, butdid not disclose the name of theIndian individuals.

The British banking majorfirst came under the scanner inIndia after a leaked list of hun-dreds of Indian clients of itsGeneva branch found its way tothe Indian tax authorities.Similar lists made their way totax authorities in various othercountries, prompting probes.

The Indian Governmenthas stepped up its fight againstblackmoney, allegedly stashedin Switzerland, in recent yearsand there have been appre-hensions that the so-calledillicit wealth might have gotshifted to other places such asDubai.

The probe got widened

after ‘Panama Papers’ -- anoth-er list of individuals and enti-ties from across the worldusing offshore tax havens --became public last year.Aboutanother long-running case,HSBC said it iscontinuing tocooperate in ongoing investi-gations by the Department ofJustice and the InternalRevenue Service in the USregarding whether certainHSBC companies and employ-ees, including those associatedwith HSBC Swiss Private Bankand an HSBC company inIndia, acted appropriately inrelation to certain customerswho had US tax reportingobligations.

“In connection with theseinvestigations, HSBC SwissPrivate Bank, with due regardfor Swiss law, has producedrecords and other documentsto the DoJ.

HSBC discloses tax evasion probes in India, other countries

PTI n LONDON

Finance Minister ArunJaitley has said democracy

is liberal enough in the UK topermit defaulters to stay hereand that “normal” needs to becracked, in an apparent refer-ence to liquor baron VijayMallya, who is wanted inIndia for loan default andother cases.

Referring to loan defaultas a major problem that needsto be addressed, UnionMinister for Finance andCorporate Affairs said Indiawas no longer willing to letdefaulters escape the law.

“Many thought that whenyou take loan from the banks,the money need not be re-paidand you can come to Londonand stay out here...Anddemocracy is liberal enough topermit defaulters to stay here.That normal needs to becracked,” he said during a ses-sion yesterday on‘Transforming India: Vision forthe Next Decade’ organised bythe London School ofEconomics’ (LSE) South AsiaCentre.

“It is the first time that youhave strong action being taken.In fact, it has never happenedthat defaulters are on the run.The fact that they are on therun and their properties arebeing attached, is a signal thatIndia as a country is sendingfor the first time. Otherwise,we had learned to live withdefaulters,” he said during hisongoing visit to the UK.

Mallya, the chief of thenow defunct KingfisherAirlines, had moved to Britainin March last year after bankssued him to recover around$1.4 billion owed by the airline.

Democracy liberal

enough in UK for

defaulters to stay,

says Arun Jaitley

LUCKNOW | MONDAY | FEBRUARY 27, 2017 money 11

{usp}

NEW DELHI: In a big jolt to Indian Oil,the Odisha Government has with-drawn tax incentives given to the`34,555-crore Paradip refinery,making the company reconsider itsplans to invest another ̀ 52,000 crorein the state.

Less than two months afterserving the first show-cause notice,the Odisha Government onFebruary 22 wrote to its single-biggest investor saying it is with-drawing the promised 11-yeardeferment on payment of sales taxon Paradip refinery products soldin the state, sources said.

The withdrawal will cost ̀ 2,000crore to Indian Oil Corporation(IOC) this year and will progres-sively increase every year as morepetrol and diesel as also petro-chemicals are sold within the state.

The sources said that besidesleading to levy of sales tax on 2 mil-lion tonnes of petrol and diesel soldin the state annually, the withdrawalis threatening viability of invest-ments in downstream petrochem-ical plants as products from it willbe consumed by an array of syn-thetic fibre and plastic industries andnow tax will also be levied on them.

When asked, IOC Director(Refineries) Sanjiv Singh said hewould not like to discuss merits ofthe State Government’s decision inthe media.

“IOC had invested about`50,000 crore in Paradip refinery onthe Odisha coast and in associatedprojects (like pipelines and port). Wehad plans for more investment,especially in downstream petro-chemical projects and refineryexpansion, considering the incen-tives given by the state. But in thepresent scenario, future investmentoptions will require to be reassessed,”he said.

IOC plans to expand the 15-mt-a-year Paradip refinery by 5 mil-lion tonnes as well as set up a

polypropylene plant and amonoethylene glycol productionfacility at the site of the 1-year oldrefinery.

He hoped Odisha will recon-sider the decision and restore theincentives that were mutually agreedupon in 2004.

Odisha had originally offeredthe tax incentives to IOC and itsthen partner Kuwait PetroleumCorp (KPC) in December 1998 toinvest in setting up a refinery in thestate. These investments were with-drawn

in February 2000, leading to thecompany shelving the project.

It restored the incentives andsigned an MoU with IOC onFebruary 16, 2004, for providing aset of eight sops.

The sources said the StateGovernment withdrew the taxincentives in “public interest”, citing6-year delay in commissioning ofthe project that was larger in capac-ity than originally planned 9-mtplant.

IOC, however, is quick topoint out that the February 16, 2004,MoU clearly allowed change indesign, capacity and configurationof the project.

Sources said the OdishaGovernment was informed aboutthe change in capacity and the delayin construction caused by cyclone,land acquisition and law and orderproblems. Also, the state govern-ment had allowed the company toavail of construction period incen-tive, listed in the MoU, totalling ̀ 550crore.

Singh said restoration of the taxincentives will send a positive sig-nal to prospective investors in thestate. “Paradip refinery has alreadyadded to the overall developmentof the area in and around Paradip,”he added.The then IOC director(refineries) Jaspal Singh, accordingtothe sources, in 2006 had written to

the state chief secretary informingIOC’s decision of considering a larg-er capacity refinery with the petro-chemical plant.

They added that the state gov-ernment did not object to increasein capacity then, and neither in 2009,when IOC finally made the invest-ment decision for just the refinery.

If the MoU was sacrosanct, theState Government should havewithdrawn the concessions in 2009itself, allowing IOC to reassess itsinvestment plans.

As per the MoU, IOC was tocommission the refinery in 2009,but actually did it in November 2015and the state government allowedIOC to avail of construction-relat-ed sops totalling `550 crore allthrough the six years.

On December 29, 2016, theState Government had served ashow-cause notice on IOC, askingwhy the fiscal incentives should notbe withdrawn, considering thatthe refinery was delayed by over sixyears.

It feels the delay has pushedback the payback time of deferredtaxes by a few years and will cost itRs 69,000 crore. But IOC disputesthis figure, saying net present valueof the 11-year deferment of sales taxis Rs 10,000 crore.

IOC’s plans for Paradip alsoincluded projects to improve petroland diesel quality to euro-VI stan-dards by 2020.

Also, the `3,500-crorepolypropylene plant is alreadyunder construction and likely to becommissioned by September 2017.

Sources said the Governmentin February 2004 had signed anagreement with IOC to give fiscalincentives for setting up a 9 milliontonne a year oil refinery at Paradipby 2009-10.

However, the project wasdelayed and started only in early2016. Also, the Government says the

refinery was originally planned for9 mt per annum capacity, but theactual size commissioned was 15million tonnes.

The sources said IOC hasreplied to the notice saying the sizeof the refinery should not matter asVAT deferment is limited to 2 mtof products sold in the state.

On the delay in commission-ing of the refinery, IOC said theGovernment made clear its inten-tion of withdrawing incentives in2010 or 2011 itself to enable the firmto redraw its plans.

More importantly, even if therefinery was commissioned in2009-10, the VAT deferment wouldhave been in operation till 2020-21and there is no case for it ending in2016-17. The company said the StateGovernment will not suffer any rev-enue loss as it will pay back the taxesafter 11 years, albeit without inter-est on it.

IOC said its board hadapproved investments only in 2009and withdrawal of VAT concessionwill reduce by 2 per cent, the rate ofreturn it considered for working outthe investment.

The Government, the sourcessaid, is of the opinion that the refin-ery no longer needs incentives as itsprofitability had increased due tohigher capacity and low global oilprices.

IOC contended that theParadip refinery is yet to achieveprofitability on a standalone basisand that its investment in highercapacity and downstream petro-chemical plants will only lead tohigher economic activity andemployment in the state.

Higher capacity was needed forsetting up two petrochem units atan additional cost of `7,250 crore.

Originally, the foundation stoneof the Paradip refinery was laid bythe then prime minister Atal BihariVajpayee on May 24, 2000. PTI

Odisha Govt withdraws tax

sops to IOC’s Paradip refinery

INDIANOIL’S MATHURA-JALANDHAR PIPELINE REPAIRED AND PUT BACK INSERVICE SAME NIGHT AFTER PILFERAGEIndian Oil Corporation (IndianOil) has repaired and restored the Mathura-Delhi section of its Mathura-Jalandhar pipeline, where an instance of illegal tapping was detected on 17th February 2017 early morning,and put it back into service the same night to ensure uninterrupted transport of petroleum products.Early on 17th February, the Corporation’s security guards patrolling the RK Puram area of Mathura districtfound illegal tapping of the pipeline being carried out through a 15-foot deep tunnel. An FIR has beenlogged with the police immediately and the case is under investigation. IndianOil owns and operates a12,500-km network of crude oil, product and gas pipelines, of which the Mathura-Jalandhar pipeline,spanning about 535 km, transports finished products from its Mathura Refinery to various consumptioncentres of Delhi, UP, Haryana, Uttarakhand and Punjab. With a throughput capacity of 3.7 million tonnes perannum, the pipeline traverses via Delhi-Panipat-Ambala and terminates at Jalandhar. Illegal tapping ofpetroleum pipelines is a global menace and pipeline operators have been adopting various measures to curbthe same. IndianOil too has taken up several measures such as day-and-night patrolling by security guards;round-the-clock online monitoring of pipeline pressure & flow conditions; installation of leak detectionsystems; surprise patrolling by senior officers; etc., and is also seeking the help of the local administrationand police in curbing instances of pipeline tapping and pilferage. Despite multiple measures being in place,there have been sporadic instances of miscreants resorting to pilferage and illegal tapping of pipelines. Contrary to media reports that the illegal tapping was going on for many months, it is hereby clarified thatno pressure variation was observed in the pipeline system in the past, except on three occasions thismonth. It is also not correct that oil worth crores of rupees has been stolen from the pipeline, as mentionedin some sections of the media. As per preliminary oil accounting done by the Company internally, only anegligible quantity might have been pilfered.

PTI n BHUBANESWAR

Union PetroleumMinister Dharmendra

Pradhan on Sunay said BJD’sanger against BJP for itssurge in the Panchayat elec-tions was the reason behindOdisha government’s rollback of tax sops to IOCL’sParadip refinery.

“The BJD Governmentshould not harm the state’sinterest by withdrawinginterest-free credit for 11years to IOCL due to itsanger against BJP for itssurge in Panchayat polls. Itwill affect flow of invest-ment ,” Pradhan toldreporters.

Accus ing the BJDGovernment of withdrawingthe tax sops on f l imsygrounds, Pradhan said hecould understand BJD’s wor-ries and anger after theimpressive show put up byBJP in the recently conclud-ed state Panchayat elections.

The move would have anadverse impact on other pro-jects in the state, stallingemployment generation andhitting unemployed youthshard, he said.

“Therefore, I will requestChief Minis ter NaveenPatnaik to refrain from caus-ing harm to the state’s inter-es t , main ly of joblessyouths ,” Pradhan saidadding , those in theGovernment have greaterresponsibilities and results inany election have to beaccepted in proper spirit.

The BJP leader pointedout that the agreementb etween the StateGovernment and IOCL witha clause for interest-freecredit for 11 years had beensigned in 2004 when BJDwas in power in Odisha andthe UPA at the Centre.

The project was com-

pleted only in 2015 due toreasons like delay in landacquisition, cyclones andlaw and order problems inthe area, the Minister saidadding, the BJD regime wasbacktracking from its com-mitment.

Refut ing the StateGovernment’s claim that thecapacity of the refinery pro-jec t was uni latera l lyincreased to 15 mt per yearfrom nine mt per annum,Pradhan said a letter regard-ing the proposal to raise thecapacity had been sent to theState Government in 2006.

The Minister said he hadalso given details of a host ofprojects with investments ofover `1.25 lakh crore comingup in the state in the petro-leum sector to the ChiefMinister.

Apart from the IOCLrefinery, there would be apetro-chemical complex atan investment of over`50,000 crore, strategic oilreserve and pipelines, he said.

NEW DELHI: The ReserveBank is expected to formu-late standard operating pro-cedure (SOP) for approvalof FDI proposals by min-istries following the gov-ernment decision to phaseout FIPB.

The proposal for set-ting up norms for foreigndirect investment (FDI)approvals in sensitive sec-tors, which are currentlyunder Government approvalof the FDI policy, was dis-cussed at a recent inter-ministerial meeting.

According to sources,several options came up fordiscussions at the meeting.

In ord e r t o f u r t h e rimprove ease of doing busi-ness, the government hasdecided to abolish ForeignInve s t m e nt Prom ot i onB oard and form a newmechanism for expeditiousclearance of foreign invest-ment proposals.

Once the FIPB is abol-ished, the onus of approvingFDI proposals would be onthe ministries and regula-tory authorities concerned.

The inter-ministerialcommittee has also dis-cussed the possibility ofapproving the FDI propos-als along with grant of

licences, sources said.In the sensitive sectors

like defence and telecom,companies having licencesc an on ly s e e k fore i g ninvestments.

Citing example of thetelecom ministry, they said,the government may extendthe power to approve theFDI proposals to the sameministry.

“For every ministry, theRBI can be requested toprepare the standard oper-ating procedure,” they said,a d d i ng t h at t h e Hom eMinistry could be asked tovet the FDI proposals fromPakistan and Bangladesh.

These issues are underdiscussions of the commit-tee formed by the govern-ment. It includes represen-t at ive s f rom t h e R B I ,Fi n an c e M i n i s t r y, t h eDepartment of IndustrialPolicy and Promotion, andthe Home Affairs Ministry.

RBI is the nodal agencyfor administration of for-eign investments and for-eign exchange.

T h e c om m it t e e i se x p e c te d to subm it i t sreport within two monthswhich will give guidelineson FDI approval proceduresin the sensitive sectors. PTI

RBI to frame standardprocedure for FDIapprovals post FIPB

BJP good show in polls behindOdisha taking back IOC sops: Pradhan

PTI n LONDON/NEW DELHI

UK-based banking majorHSBC saw its India head-

count rise by 4,000 people toreach 37,000 last year even asits worldwide workforce gottrimmed by nearly 23,000persons.

India figures as the sec-ond-biggest among HSBC’s“main centres of employment”after the UK where the bank-ing giant had approximately45,000 employees at the end of2016, down from 47,000 ayear ago.

With the banking sectorgoing through tough times,HSBC also saw its worldwideprofit drop sharply in 2016,but India is among a fewmarkets to give it a higherprofit.

Its global workforcedeclined for the second con-secutive year in 2016, afterwitnessing a rise in 2014.

“At December 31, 2016,HSBC had a total workforce of

2,41,000 full- and part-timeemployees compared with2,64,000 at the end of 2015and 2,66,000 at the end of2014.

“Our main centres ofemployment were the UKwith approximately 45,000employees, India 37,000,Hong Kong 29,000, mainlandChina 24,000, Mexico 16,000,the US 13,000 and France9,000,” HSBC has said in itslatest annual report.

Besides India, the bank’sheadcount rose in China aswell. However, the number ofemployees declined in HonkKong and the US.

HSBC said it encourages“employees to perform at theirbest and create an environ-ment to make that possible.We also encourage employeesto speak up, and reflect ourpurpose and values in thedecisions we make and howwe make them, as these deci-sions shape the future of ourcustomers and colleagues”.

As per the annual report,the global banking major’scustomer accounts in Indiafell to $11.3 billion in 2016, asagainst $11.8 billion a yearago. Globally, customeraccounts fell by $17 billion to$1.27 trillion.

Its profit before tax forIndia stood at $743 million for2016, up from $606 million inthe previous year. It paid $315million in taxes in India for2016, up from $286 million ayear ago.

HSBC’s gross loans andadvances to customers inIndia were $8.7 billion in2016, up from about $8 billionin 2015.

Its ‘net structural foreignexchange exposure’ for theIndian rupee rose to $3.9 bil-lion in 2016.

Globally, its reportedprofit before tax of $7.1 bil-lion was $11.8 billion lowerthan in 2015 while revenuewas down by a s imi laramount at $48 billion.

HSBC’s India headcount risesby 4,000 despite global drop

MUMBAI: Pitching defencebusiness as the main growthdriver, industrialist AnilAmbani will brief the sectoraland market analysts here onSunday about future plans ofhis Reliance Group in this seg-ment.

This is the first time everthat Ambani or his groupfirm Reliance infrastructure ishosting an analyst meet fordefence business.

In a brief notification tothe stock exchanges, RelianceInfra said the meet is beingheld to give an update on thegroup’s defence business.

The group officials saidAmbani, the group Chairman,will himself interact with theanalysts on the defence busi-ness and brief them about itsfuture plans and how thedefence business is going to bethe main growth driver for thegroup in the years to come.

Almost 100 analysts fromMumbai and Delhi are likelyto attend this meet, they

added.While defence is the latest

key business for Anil Ambani-led group, it is also present infinancial services, telecom,power and other infrastruc-ture sectors.

The Reliance Group’sdefence play started with theacquisition of Gujarat-basedPipavav Shipyard about twoyears ago. This remains thelargest acquisition in thedefence sector in India so far.

Pipavav Shipyard has nowbeen renamed as RelianceDefence and Engineering Ltd(RDEL). It owns the largestdry dock in the country.

Recently, the RelianceGroup also entered into ajoint venture with DassaultAviation of France to executethe largest offset obligationagainst the 36 Rafale fighterjets bought by India.

For this, the company issetting up manufacturingfacilities in Mihan SEZ inNagpur. PTI

Anil Ambani to spellout defence biz plans

NEW DELHI: The Government islikely to take a final call on strate-gic disinvestment of three SAILunits by September, and due dili-gence is already on for the same.

While the Government in-principle had approved strategicdisinvestment of SAIL’sBhadravati, Salem and Durgapur(alloy steel plants), modalities areyet to be worked out.

“We hope that within 6-7months, we would be in a posi-tion to take a call on whether todisinvest or not,” an officialsaid.

There is an in-principledecision to disinvest some units(of SAIL), and based on that, thegovernment is moving ahead, anofficial privy to the developmentsaid.

“We have given deadlines...Because there are a lot ofprocesses to be done -- evalua-tion and appointing transactionadvisors, legal advisors, asset val-uers, based on which the RFP(request for proposal) will befloated for actually inviting peo-ple, short-list those bidders..

All that takes time,” the officialadded.

The Government had earli-er said it would not go in for dis-tress sale of the three SAIL sub-sidiaries and rather look for amanagement that will turnaround the units.

“While in-principle theGovernment said it will disinvest,let us say if the government feelsthat the value of this property isx and if the Government is get-ting 0.8x or 0.5x, naturally theGovernment will not like to sell.So, that will be known in sixmonths or so when the

Government actually get thebids,” the official explained.

SAIL had earlier said theGovernment will hold auction toidentify strategic buyers for SAILsubsidiaries -- Bhadravati, Salemand Durgapur.

Tasked by the PrimeMinister’s Office to examine theviability of ailing state-ownedcompanies, Niti Aayog had ear-lier submitted two separate listsof sick and loss-making PSUs,one comprising those that can beclosed down and the other ofthose that should be privatisedthrough strategic sale. PTI

Final call on strategic divestmentof SAIL units by September

PTI N NEW DELHI

Country’s largest carmaker MarutiSuzuki India (MSI) has stopped

selling one of its popular hatchbacksRitz in both domestic and interna-tional markets.

Launched in 2009 in both petroland diesel versions, the Ritz sold a totalof around 4 lakh units.

Confirming the development,MSI spokesperson told PTI: “As partof refreshing our product portfolio, wecontinuously review our portfolio andintroduce new models.”

Stating that Ritz has been one ofMSI’s successful models in its port-folio, the spokesperson said it playeda role in strengthening the compa-ny’s presence amongst the moderncompact cars.

“Maruti Suzuki is committed toensure availability of spare parts andservice for next 10 years,” thespokesperson added.

Launched in 2009 in bothpetrol and diesel versions, theRitz sold a total of around 4 lakhunits.

Confirming the develop-ment, MSI spokesperson toldPTI: "As part of refreshing ourproduct portfolio, we continu-ously review our portfolio andintroduce new models."

Stating that Ritz has beenone of MSI's successful modelsin its portfolio, the spokespersonsaid it played a role in strength-ening the company's presenceamongst the modern compactcars.

End of the roadfor Maruti’s Ritz

PTI n CHENNAI

Setting the ball rolling for itsambitious aerospace park to

come up in Sriperumbudur,Tamil Nadu Government hasallocated land for 14 companiesbesides setting up an AdvancedComputing and DesignEngineering Centre at an out-lay of `350 crore.

Tamil Nadu IndustriesDevelopment Corporation(TIDCO) has proposed to setup an aerospace park in a moveto help the industry grow in thestate on a 600-acre land at theState Industries Promotion

Corporation of Tamil Nadu(SIPCOT) Industrial Park,

Sriperumbudur. “Land has beenallocated for 14 companieswhile seven more firms haveapproached TIDCO seeking

land,” an official release said onSaturday.

In order to attract aeropartscomponent manufacturingcompanies, TIDCO is setting upan Advanced Computing and

Design Engineering Centre atan investment of `350 crore, itsaid. Similarly, Tidal Park Ltdwould also set up a multi-storeyed building in the park ona 12-acre land. The constructionwork is expected to begin byJune-July. Referring to therecently conducted Aero Indiaexhibition in Bengaluru, therelease said, 11 companies fromTamil Nadu participated andsenior government officialsincluding IndustriesDepartment Principal Secretary,Vikram Kapur met the compa-ny officials representing variouscompanies during the event.

TN sanctions land for 14 aeroparts cos

TIDCO has proposed to set up an Aerospace

Park in a move to help the industry grow in

the state on a 600-acre land at the SIPCOT

Industrial Park, Sriperumbudur. Land has

been allocated for 14 firms while seven

more firms have approached TIDCO

seeking land, says an official

AFP nWOLFSBURG (GERMANY)

German car giant Volkswagenon Saturday said it was cap-

ping its chief executive’s paypackage at 10 million euros as itmoved to rein in top brass salariesin the wake of the ‘dieselgate’scandal that has cost the compa-ny billions. Other members of theboard will see their annual remu-neration capped at 5.5 millioneuros. “This reduces the maxi-mum remuneration theoretical-ly possible by up to 40 per centcompared with the previous sys-tem,” the group said in a state-ment after a meeting of thesupervisory board at its

Wolfsburg headquarters.VW’s generous pay and bonussystem has come under increas-

ing scrutiny since the groupadmitted in September 2015 tohaving installed software in 11million diesel engines world-wide to cheat emissions tests. Theresulting fallout has already costVW more than $22 billion (20billion euros) in fines and com-

pensation to drivers, dealers andauthorities in the United Statesalone. With the company still fac-ing a string of legal claims aroundthe world, experts say the final billcould be far higher. VW’s paypackages have also threatened tobecome a political hot potato asGermany heads for a tight gen-eral election in September.

The German state of LowerSaxony, where VW is based, is amajor shareholder and holdstwo seats on the group’s supervi-sory board. The state is led by thecentre-left Social Democrats,who have made clamping downon executive pay a key plank oftheir campaign. VW has long

vowed to come up with a new paysystem but the issue was givenfresh urgency last month whencompliance chief ChristineHohmann-Dennhardt left thecompany with a 12- million-eurogolden parachute after just ayear in the job.

Before that, former chiefexecutive Martin Winterkorn,who quit over the dieselgatescandal and remains under inves-tigation over his role, regularlycame under fire for his high pay-outs. He controversially pocket-ed 17 million euros in 2011, arecord for a chief executive run-ning a firm listed on the Daxindex of leading German shares.

VW caps executive pay after dieselgate crisis

OPEN-ENDED

(GROWTH)

AXIS MUTUAL FUND

Enhanced Arbitrage Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 10.8691

Enhanced Arbitrage Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 12.1247

Enhanced Arbitrage Fund - Regular Plan - Dividend 10.5298

Enhanced Arbitrage Fund - Regular Plan - Growth 11.8689

Equity Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 15.24

Equity Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 21.06

Equity Fund - Dividend 14.57

Equity Fund - Growth 20.15

Equity Saver Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 10.84

Equity Saver Fund - Direct Plan - Monthly Dividend 10.47

Equity Saver Fund - Direct Plan - Quarterly Dividend 10.62

Equity Saver Fund - Direct Plan - Regular Dividend 10.08

Equity Saver Fund - Regular Plan - Growth 10.63

Equity Saver Fund - Regular Plan - Monthly Dividend 10.3

Equity Saver Fund - Regular Plan - Quarterly Dividend 10.44

Equity Saver Fund - Regular Plan - Regular Dividend 10.32

Focused 25 Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend Option 21.13

Focused 25 Fund - Direct Plan - Growth Option 21.39

Focused 25 Fund - Dividend Option 17.1

Focused 25 Fund - Growth Option 20.34

Midcap Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 23.8

Midcap Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 27.69

Midcap Fund - Dividend 20.51

Midcap Fund - Growth 26.33

BARODA PIONEER MUTUAL FUND

Banking And Financial Services Fund - Plan A - Bonus Option 18.23

Banking and Financial Services Fund - Plan A - Div Payout Option 16.96

Banking and Financial Services Fund - Plan A - Growth Option 18.23

Banking And Financial Services Fund - Plan B (Direct) - Bonus Option 14.75

Banking and Financial Services Fund - Plan B (Direct) - Div Payout Option 17.53

Banking and Financial Services Fund - Plan B (Direct) - Growth Option 18.84

GROWTH FUND - Plan A - Dividend Option 35.06

GROWTH FUND - Plan A - Growth Option 85.32

GROWTH FUND - Plan B (Direct) - Dividend Option 34.5

GROWTH FUND - Plan B (Direct) - Growth Option 88.37

Large cap Fund - Plan A - Dividend Option 11.65

Large cap Fund - Plan A - Growth Option 12.66

Large cap Fund - Plan B (Direct) - Dividend Option 11.98

Large cap Fund - Plan B (Direct) - Growth Option 12.99

Mid-cap Fund- Plan A - Dividend Option 8

Mid-cap Fund- Plan A - Growth Option 8

Mid-cap Fund- Plan B (Direct) - Growth Option 8.26

Mid-cap Fund-Plan B (Direct)-Dividend Option 8.26

BIRLA SUN LIFE MUTUAL FUND

Advantage Fund - Dividend - Direct Plan 121.91

Advantage Fund - Growth - Direct Plan 370.78

Advantage Fund - Regular Growth 360.49

Advantage Fund -Regular Dividend 97.95

Banking and Financial Services Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 19.66

Banking and Financial Services Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 23.21

Banking and Financial Services Fund - Regular Plan - Dividend 17.61

Banking and Financial Services Fund - Regular Plan - Growth 22.59

Buy India Fund - Dividend - Direct Plan 40.63

Buy India Fund - Dividend - Regular Plan 35.91

Buy India Fund - Growth - Direct Plan 92.57

Buy India Fund - Growth - Regular Plan 90.93

Commodity Equities Fund - Global Agri Plan - Dividend - Direct Plan 17.4069

Commodity Equities Fund - Global Agri Plan - Dividend - Regular Plan 17.0712

Commodity Equities Fund - Global Agri Plan - Growth - Direct Plan 22.5581

Commodity Equities Fund - Global Agri Plan - Growth - Regular Plan 22.1662

Dividend Yield Plus - Dividend - Direct Plan 23.22

Dividend Yield Plus - Dividend - Regular Plan 16.24

Dividend Yield Plus - Growth - Direct Plan 161.43

Dividend Yield Plus - Growth - Regular Plan 156.33

Enhanced Arbitrage Fund - Dividend - Direct Plan 11.082

Enhanced Arbitrage Fund - Growth - Direct Plan 17.1453

ENHANCED ARBITRAGE FUND - INSTL PLAN - DIVIDEND 10.1628

ENHANCED ARBITRAGE FUND - INSTL PLAN - GROWTH 0

ENHANCED ARBITRAGE FUND - REGULAR PLAN - DIVIDEND 10.8559

ENHANCED ARBITRAGE FUND - REGULAR PLAN - GROWTH 16.7968

Equity Fund - Dividend - Direct Plan 121.87

Equity Fund - Dividend - Regular Plan 98.49

Equity Fund - Growth - Direct Plan 630.44

Equity Fund - Growth - Regular Plan 609.02

Equity Savings Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 11.65

Equity Savings Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 12.33

Equity Savings Fund - Regular Plan - Dividend 11.36

Equity Savings Fund - Regular Plan - Growth 12.03

Frontline Equity Fund - Dividend - Direct Plan 43.31

Frontline Equity Fund - Growth - Direct Plan 194.15

Frontline Equity Fund-Dividend 25.58

Frontline Equity Fund-Growth 187.14

Frontline Equity Fund-Plan B (Dividend) 12.5

Frontline Equity Fund-Plan B (Growth) 12.5

Index Fund - Dividend - Direct Plan 12.4448

Index Fund - Dividend - Regular Plan 12.3123

Index Fund - Growth - Direct Plan 87.542

Index Fund - Growth - Regular Plan 87.4643

India Gennext Fund - Dividend - Direct Plan 26.29

India Gennext Fund - Growth - Direct Plan 67.3

India Gennext Fund-Dividend Option 23.34

India Gennext Fund-Growth Option 64.78

India Opportunities Fund - Dividend - Direct Plan 37.6

India Opportunities Fund - Dividend - Regular Plan 27.46

India Opportunities Fund - Growth - Direct Plan 124.9

India Opportunities Fund - Growth - Regular Plan 121.76

India Reforms Fund - Dividend - Direct Plan 17.05

India Reforms Fund - Growth - Direct Plan 17.04

India Reforms Fund-DIVIDEND 13.08

India Reforms Fund-GROWTH 16.62

Infrastructure Fund - Dividend - Direct Plan 20.98

Infrastructure Fund - Growth - Direct Plan 30.58

Infrastructure Fund-Dividend 16.26

Infrastructure Fund-Growth 29.72

Infrastructure Fund-Plan B (Dividend) 10.97

Infrastructure Fund-Plan B (Growth) 11.43

International Equity Fund - Plan A - Dividend - Direct Plan 16.784

International Equity Fund - Plan A - Dividend - Regular Plan 15.0979

International Equity Fund - Plan A - Growth - Direct Plan 16.7718

International Equity Fund - Plan A - Growth - Regular Plan 16.4097

International Equity Fund - Plan B - Dividend - Direct Plan 16.2945

International Equity Fund - Plan B - Dividend - Regular Plan 15.9524

International Equity Fund - Plan B - Growth - Direct Plan 16.3024

International Equity Fund - Plan B - Growth - Regular Plan 15.9525

Long Term Advantage - Dividend - Direct Plan 23.45

Long Term Advantage - Growth - Direct Plan 25.37

Long Term Fund- Growth Option 24.78

Long Term Fund-Dividend Option 18.46

Manufacturing Equity Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 12.21

Manufacturing Equity Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 12.19

Manufacturing Equity Fund - Regular Plan - Dividend 11.95

Manufacturing Equity Fund - Regular Plan - Growth 11.94

Midcap Fund - Dividend - Direct Plan 50.77

Midcap Fund - Growth - Direct Plan 270.04

MIDCAP Fund-Dividend 33.9

MIDCAP Fund-Growth 261.3

MIDCAP Fund-Plan B (Dividend) 12.51

MIDCAP Fund-Plan B (Growth) 12.51

MNC Fund - Dividend - Direct Plan 208.28

MNC Fund - Dividend - Regular Plan 147.76

MNC Fund - Growth - Direct Plan 614.11

MNC Fund - Growth - Regular Plan 591.92

New Millenium Fund - Dividend - Regular Plan 16.95

New Millenium Fund - Growth - Regular Plan 35.72

New Millennium Fund - Dividend - Direct Plan 18.85

New Millennium Fund - Growth - Direct Plan 36.78

Pure Value Fund - Dividend - Direct Plan 44.8587

Pure Value Fund - Dividend Option 29.5389

Pure Value Fund - Growth - Direct Plan 51.2519

Pure Value Fund - Growth Option 49.5703

Small & Midcap Fund - DIVIDEND 22.832

Small & Midcap Fund - GROWTH 32.2832

Small And Midcap Fund - Dividend - Direct Plan 32.3792

Small And Midcap Fund - Growth - Direct Plan 33.4182

Special Situations Fund - Dividend 16.3293

Special Situations Fund - Dividend - Direct Plan 21.6957

Special Situations Fund - Growth 21.1674

Special Situations Fund - Growth - Direct Plan 21.7115

Top 100 Fund - Dividend - Direct Plan 29.3744

Top 100 Fund - Growth - Direct Plan 51.5637

Top 100 Fund -Dividend Option 17.1702

Top 100 Fund -Growth Option 49.6826

BNP PARIBAS MUTUAL FUND

Equity Fund-Dividend Option 16.42

Equity Fund-Growth Option 70.94

Equity Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend Option 17.15

Equity Fund - Direct Plan - Growth Option 73.86

Dividend Yield Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend Option 16.916

Dividend Yield Fund - Direct Plan - Growth Option 41.504

Dividend Yield Fund-Dividend Option 15.846

Dividend Yield Fund-Growth Option 39.194

ENHANCED ARBITRAGE FUND -DIRECT - DIVIDEND OPTION 10.137

ENHANCED ARBITRAGE FUND- REGULAR - GROWTH OPTION 10.128

ENHANCED ARBITRAGE FUND-DIRECT - GROWTH OPTION 10.137

ENHANCED ARBITRAGE FUND-REGULAR - DIVIDEND OPTION 10.128

Mid Cap Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend Option 29.407

Mid Cap Fund - Direct Plan - Growth Option 29.54

Mid Cap Fund-Dividend Option 28.064

Mid Cap Fund-Growth Option 28.18

BOI AXA MUTUAL FUND

Equity Fund Direct Plan- Quarterly Dividend 11.67

Equity Fund Direct Plan- Bonus 16.2

Equity Fund Direct Plan-Growth 31.26

Equity Fund Direct Plan-Regular Dividend 14.35

Equity Fund Eco Plan- Growth 31.11

Equity Fund Eco Plan-Bonus 31.11

Equity Fund Eco Plan-Quarterly Dividend 11.37

Equity Fund Eco Plan-Regular Dividend 14.22

Equity Fund Regular Plan- Growth 29.9

Equity Fund Regular Plan- Quarterly Dividend 11.67

Equity Fund Regular Plan- Regular Dividend 12.2

Equity Fund Regular Plan-Bonus 29.89

Manufacturing & Infrastructure Fund-Direct Plan-Growth 14.05

Manufacturing & Infrastructure Fund-Direct Plan-Quarterly Dividend 13.89

Manufacturing & Infrastructure Fund-Direct Plan-Regular Dividend 13.87

Manufacturing & Infrastructure Fund-Growth 13.42

Manufacturing & Infrastructure Fund-Quarterly Dividend 12.35

Manufacturing & Infrastructure Fund-Regular Dividend 13.41

MID CAP EQUITY & DEBT FUND - DIRECT PLAN DIVIDEND 10.86

MID CAP EQUITY & DEBT FUND - DIRECT PLAN GROWTH 10.9

MID CAP EQUITY & DEBT FUND - REGULAR PLAN DIVIDEND 10.83

MID CAP EQUITY & DEBT FUND - REGULAR PLAN GROWTH 10.83

CANARA ROBECO MUTUAL FUND

Emerging Equities - Regular Plan - GROWTH 72.78

Emerging Equities-Direct Plan-Dividend Option 50.94

Emerging Equities-Direct Plan-Growth Option 75.6

Emerging Equities-Regular Plan - DIVIDEND 38.33

Equity Diversified - Regular Plan - Dividend 31.73

Equity Diversified - Regular Plan - Growth 100.36

Equity Diversified-Direct Plan -Growth Option 102.66

Equity Diversified-Direct Plan-Dividend Option 43.64

F.O.R.C.E Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 28.46

F.O.R.C.E Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 30.63

F.O.R.C.E Fund - Institutional Plan - Growth Option 24.57

F.O.R.C.E Fund - Regular Plan - Dividend Option 21.84

F.O.R.C.E Fund - Regular Plan - Growth Option 29.66

Infrastructure - Regular Plan - DIVIDEND 25.89

Infrastructure - Regular Plan - GROWTH 42.32

Infrastructure-Direct Plan - Dividend 31.28

Infrastructure-Direct Plan - Growth 43.47

Large Cap+ Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 19.78

Large Cap+ Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 19.9

Large Cap+ Fund - Regular Plan - Dividend 15.01

Large Cap+ Fund - Regular Plan - Growth 19.2

DHFL PRAMERICA MUTUAL FUND

Arbitrage Fund - Direct Plan - Annual Dividend 10.9857

Arbitrage Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 12.0313

Arbitrage Fund - Direct Plan - Monthly Dividend 10.6315

Arbitrage Fund - Direct Plan - Quarterly Dividend 10.8787

Arbitrage Fund - Direct Plan - Regular Dividend 11.462

Arbitrage Fund - Regular Plan - Annual Dividend 10.8285

Arbitrage Fund - Regular Plan - Growth 11.867

Arbitrage Fund - Regular Plan - Monthly Dividend 10.528

Arbitrage Fund - Regular Plan - Quarterly Dividend 10.7571

Arbitrage Fund - Regular Plan - Regular Dividend 11.2317

Balanced Advantage Fund - BONUS OPTION 16.6

Balanced Advantage Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 23.36

Balanced Advantage Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 63.73

Balanced Advantage Fund - Dividend Option 14.84

Balanced Advantage Fund - Growth Option 60.88

Balanced Advantage Fund Wealth Plan- Dividend Option 20.01

Balanced Advantage Fund Wealth Plan- Growth Option 27.54

Balanced Advantage Fund-Direct Plan-Monthly Dividend Option 23.45

Balanced Advantage Fund-Direct Plan-Quarterly Divdend Option 15.57

Balanced Advantage Fund-Monthly Dividend Option 23.32

Balanced Advantage Fund-Quarterly Dividend Option 15.47

Diversified Equity Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend Option 11.36

Diversified Equity Fund - Direct Plan - Growth Option 11.36

Diversified Equity Fund - Regular Plan - Dividend Option 11.22

Diversified Equity Fund - Regular Plan - Growth Option 11.22

Equity Income Fund - Annual Dividend option 14.7626

Equity Income Fund - Direct Plan - Annual Dividend 15.9686

Equity Income Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 28.7516

Equity Income Fund - Direct Plan - Monthly Dividend 12.0754

Equity Income Fund - Direct Plan - Quarterly Dividend 12.031

Equity Income Fund - Growth Option 27.6655

Equity Income Fund - Monthly Dividend option 11.7536

Equity Income Fund - Quarterly Dividend 11.5421

Large Cap Fund - BONUS OPTION 18.63

Large Cap Fund - Direct Plan - Bonus 19.29

Large Cap Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 20.49

Large Cap Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 144.82

Large Cap Fund - Dividend 18.68

Large Cap Fund - Growth 138.35

Large Cap Fund Wealth Plan - Growth Option 28.85

Large Cap Fund Wealth Plan -Dividend Option 13.53

Midcap Opportunities Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend Option - Payout 15.28

Midcap Opportunities Fund - Direct Plan - Growth Option 17.52

Midcap Opportunities Fund - Regular Plan - Dividend Option - Payout 14.18

Midcap Opportunities Fund - Regular Plan - Growth Option 17.22

DSP BLACKROCK MUTUAL FUND

Equity Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 73.099

Equity Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 32.258

Equity Fund - Regular Plan - Dividend 58.772

Equity Fund - Regular Plan - Growth 31.455

Equity Savings Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 11.319

Equity Savings Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 11.315

Equity Savings Fund - Direct Plan - Monthly Dividend 10.957

Equity Savings Fund - Direct Plan - Quarterly Dividend 11.087

Equity Savings Fund - Regular Plan - Quarterly Dividend 10.847

Equity Savings Fund - Regular Plan - Dividend 11.207

Equity Savings Fund - Regular Plan - Growth 11.207

Equity Savings Fund - Regular Plan - Monthly Dividend 10.847

Focus 25 Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 20.214

Focus 25 Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 20.214

Focus 25 Fund - Regular Plan - Dividend 13.404

Focus 25 Fund - Regular Plan - Growth 19.683

India T.I.G.E.R. Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 29.313

India T.I.G.E.R. Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 81.46

India T.I.G.E.R. Fund - Regular Plan - Growth 79.757

India T.I.G.E.R. Fund - Regular Plan - Dividend 18.732

Micro Cap Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 33.985

Micro Cap Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 55.975

Micro Cap Fund - Regular - Dividend 33.039

Micro Cap Fund - Regular - Growth 54.412

Natural Resources and New Energy Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 20.087

Natural Resources and New Energy Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 30.368

Natural Resources And New Energy Fund - Regular - Growth 29.681

Natural Resources And New Energy Fund - Regular Plan - Dividend 19.62

Opportunities Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 45.296

Opportunities Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 189.502

Opportunities Fund-Regular Plan - Dividend 26.263

Opportunities Fund-Regular Plan - Growth 184.362

Small and Mid Cap Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 37.323

Small and Mid Cap Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 47.904

Small and Mid Cap Fund - Regular Plan - Dividend 24.012

Small and Mid Cap Fund - Regular Plan - Growth 46.578

Technology.com Fund - Regular Plan - Dividend 23.074

Technology.com Fund - Regular Plan - Growth 49.602

Technology.com Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 29.277

Technology.com Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 50.76

Top 100 Equity Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 22.545

Top 100 Equity Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 179.928

Top 100 Equity Fund - Regular Plan - Dividend 20.856

Top 100 Equity Fund - Regular Plan - Growth 175.522

Top 100 Equity Fund - Institutional Plan - Dividend 14.485

Top 100 Equity Fund - Institutional Plan - Growth 25.007

EDELWEISS MUTUAL FUND

Absolute Return Fund - Direct Plan-Dividend Option 14.23

Absolute Return Fund - Dividend Option 12.59

Absolute Return Fund - Growth Option 19.6

Absolute Return Fund -Direct Plan-Growth Option 20.06

Arbitrage Fund- Direct Plan- Dividend Option 10.5405

Arbitrage Fund- Direct Plan- Growth Option 12.2872

Arbitrage Fund- Regular Plan -Bonus Option 12.133

Arbitrage Fund- Regular Plan- Dividend Option 10.4498

Arbitrage Fund- Regular Plan- Growth Option 12.1329

Economic Resurgence Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend Option 11.071

Economic Resurgence Fund - Direct Plan - Growth Option 11.182

Economic Resurgence Fund - Regular Plan - Dividend Option 10.976

Economic Resurgence Fund - Regular Plan - Growth Option 10.975

Equity Opportunities Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend Option 15.626

Equity Opportunities Fund - Direct Plan - Growth Option 25.514

Equity Opportunities Fund - Regular Plan - Dividend Option 15.002

Equity Opportunities Fund - Regular Plan - Growth Option 24.413

Equity Savings Advantage Fund - Direct Plan - Bonus Option 11.8279

Equity Savings Advantage Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend Option 10.9715

Equity Savings Advantage Fund - Direct Plan - Growth Option 11.8302

Equity Savings Advantage Fund - Regular Plan - Bonus Option 11.7295

Equity Savings Advantage Fund - Regular Plan - Dividend Option 10.3822

Equity Savings Advantage Fund - Regular Plan - Growth Option 11.729

Mid and Small Cap Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend Option 21.869

Mid and Small Cap Fund - Direct Plan - Growth Option 22.73

Mid and Small Cap Fund - Regular Plan - Dividend Option 20.146

Mid and Small Cap Fund - Regular Plan - Growth Option 21.853

Prudent Advantage Fund - Growth Option 21.13

Prudent Advantage Fund- Plan B-Growth Option 20.85

Prudent Advantage Fund-Direct Plan-Dividend Option 17.75

Prudent Advantage Fund-Direct Plan-Growth Option 21.45

Prudent Advantage Fund-Dividend 17.42

Prudent Advantage Fund-Plan B- Dividend Option 21.26

Top 100 Fund - Direct Plan-Dividend Option 20.57

Top 100 Fund - Direct Plan-Growth option 28.11

Top 100 Fund - Dividend option 18.51

Top 100 Fund - Growth option 27.45

Top 100 Fund -Plan B - Dividend option 27.92

Top 100 Fund -Plan B - Growth option 27.59

Top 100 Fund -Plan C - Dividend option 22.25

Top 100 Fund -Plan C - Growth option 27.23

ESCORTS MUTUAL FUND

Growth Plan-DIVIDEND OPTION 18.7045

Growth Plan-DIVIDEND OPTION-Direct Plan 18.8769

Growth Plan-GROWTH OPTION 140.1106

Growth Plan-GROWTH OPTION-Direct Plan 140.7192

High Yield Equity Plan - Bonus Option 33.4666

High Yield Equity Plan - Bonus Option-Direct Plan 33.4666

High Yield Equity Plan - Dividend Option 23.0094

High Yield Equity Plan - Dividend Option-Direct Plan 18.3671

High Yield Equity Plan - Growth Option 33.4432

High Yield Equity Plan - Growth Option-Direct Plan 33.7751

Infrastructure Fund - Dividend 7.2237

Infrastructure Fund - Dividend Option-Direct Plan 7.2772

Infrastructure Fund - Growth Option 7.2478

Infrastructure Fund - Growth Option-Direct Plan 7.2616

Leading Sectors Fund - Dividend Option 23.5713

Leading Sectors Fund - Dividend Option-Direct Plan 19.2142

Leading Sectors Fund - Growth Option 26.8727

Leading Sectors Fund - Growth Option-Direct Plan 26.5846

Opportunities Fund-Dividend 16.4955

Opportunities Fund-Dividend Option-Direct Plan 16.4955

Opportunities Fund-Growth 46.6039

Opportunities Fund-Growth Option-Direct Plan 46.8451

Power & Energy Fund - Dividend Option 15.6231

Power & Energy Fund - Dividend Option-Direct Plan 15.6282

Power & Energy Fund - Growth Option 21.8163

Power & Energy Fund - Growth Option-Direct Plan 22.1499

FRANKLIN TEMPLETON MF

Asian Equity Fund - Direct - Dividend 12.7915

Asian Equity Fund - Direct - Growth 18.4226

Asian Equity Fund - Dividend Plan 12.444

Asian Equity Fund - Growth Plan 17.9376

Build India Fund - Direct - Dividend 23.146

Build India Fund - Direct - Growth 36.8761

Build India Fund Dividend Plan 21.8721

Build India Fund Growth Plan 35.1875

India Bluechip Fund- Direct - Growth 416.1408

India Bluechip Fund- Direct -Dividend 40.91

India Bluechip Fund-Dividend 39.1692

India Bluechip Fund-Growth 402.1245

India FLEXI CAP FUND - Direct - Dividend 18.3853

India FLEXI CAP FUND - Direct - Growth 71.2488

India Flexi Cap Fund-Dividend Plan 17.7762

India Flexi Cap Fund-Growth Plan 69.2057

India High Growth Companies Fund - Direct - Dividend 25.0998

India High Growth Companies Fund - Direct - Growth 35.6956

India High Growth Companies Fund - Dividend Plan 23.8681

India High Growth Companies Fund - Growth Plan 34.1689

India INDEX FUND NIFTY PLAN - Direct - Dividend 71.8512

India INDEX FUND NIFTY PLAN - Direct - Growth 71.8512

India Index Fund- Nifty Plan - Dividend Plan 70.8073

India Index Fund- Nifty Plan - Growth Plan 70.8073

INDIA OPPORTUNITIES FUND - Direct - Dividend 19.8412

India Opportunities Fund-Dividend 19.2936

INDIA OPPORTUNITIES FUND - Direct - Growth 65.232

India Opportunities Fund - Growth 63.6611

India PRIMA FUND - Direct - Dividend 66.3542

India PRIMA FUND - Direct - Growth 855.7749

India Prima Fund-Dividend 63.0238

India Prima Fund-Growth 819.4358

India PRIMA PLUS - Direct - Dividend 40.5259

India PRIMA PLUS - Direct - Growth 525.54

India Prima Plus-Dividend 38.8708

India Prima Plus-Growth 506.1177

India Smaller Companies Fund - Direct - Dividend 29.8648

India Smaller Companies Fund - Direct - Growth 50.7512

India Smaller Companies Fund-Dividend 28.4159

India Smaller Companies Fund-Growth 48.5542

INFOTECH FUND - Direct - Dividend 22.4651

INFOTECH FUND - Direct - Growth 118.5316

Infotech Fund-Dividend 21.9244

Infotech Fund-Growth 115.8147

India EQUITY INCOME FUND - Direct - Dividend 16.3202

India EQUITY INCOME FUND - Direct - Growth 40.3533

India Equity Income Fund-Dividend Plan 15.8772

India Equity Income Fund-Growth Plan 39.3982

India Growth Fund - Direct - Growth 229.4326

India Growth Fund-Direct - Dividend 66.8676

India Growth Fund-Dividend Plan 64.7487

India Growth Fund-Growth Plan 223.2771

HDFC MUTUAL FUND

Arbitrage Fund -Direct Plan - Growth Option 19.56

ARBITRAGE FUND RETAIL PLAN DIVIDEND OPTION 14.275

ARBITRAGE FUND RETAIL PLAN GROWTH OPTION 19.223

ARBITRAGE FUND RETAIL PLAN QUARTERLY DIV OPTION 13.662

ARBITRAGE FUND WHOLESALE - DIV OPTION DIRECT PLAN 10.734

ARBITRAGE FUND WHOLESALE PLAN GROWTH OPTION 19.588

ARBITRAGE FUND WHOLESALE - GR OPTION DIRECT PLAN 12.339

ARBITRAGE FUND WHOLESALE - MONTHLY DIVIDEND OPTION 10.884

ARBITRAGE FUND WHOLESALE - MONTHLY DIV - DIRECT PLAN 10.488

ARBITRAGE FUND WHOLESALE - NORMAL DIVIDEND OPTION 10.511

Arbitrage Fund-Direct Plan - Dividend Quarterly Option 14.821

Capital Builder Fund - Dividend Option 28.645

Capital Builder Fund - Growth Option 235.107

Capital Builder Fund -Direct Plan - Dividend Option 29.664

Capital Builder Fund -Direct Plan - Growth Option 242.024

Core & Satellite Fund -Direct Plan - Dividend Option 21.417

Core & Satellite Fund -Direct Plan - Growth Option 70.904

Core and Satellite Fund - DIVIDEND 20.415

Core and Satellite Fund - GROWTH 68.692

Equity Fund - Dividend Option 54.256

Equity Fund - Growth Option 525.62

Equity Fund -Direct Plan - Dividend Option 56.285

Equity Fund -Direct Plan - Growth Option 542.427

Equity Savings Fund - DIVIDEND 11.638

Equity Savings Fund -Direct Plan - Dividend Option 12.009

Equity Savings Fund -Direct Plan - Growth Option 32.583

Equity Savings Fund -GROWTH 31.709

Growth Fund - Dividend Option 31.704

Growth Fund - Growth Option 154.703

Growth Fund -Direct Plan - Dividend Option 32.506

Growth Fund -Direct Plan - Growth Option 158.081

Index Fund Nifty Plan-Direct Plan 80.0994

Index Fund-Nifty Plan(FV Rs 10.326) 79.535

Index Fund Sensex Plus Plan-Direct Plan 393.7829

Index Fund-Sensex Plus( FV-Rs32.161) 388.9448

Index Fund Sensex Plan-Direct Plan 253.5981

Index FundSensex Plan( FV Rs 32.161) 251.3636

Infrastructure Fund -Direct Plan - Dividend Option 17.645

Infrastructure Fund -Direct Plan - Growth Option 17.645

INFRASTRUCTURE FUND-DIVIDEND OPTION 14.322

INFRASTRUCTURE FUND-GROWTH OPTION 17.055

Large Cap Fund - Direct Dividend Plan 24.88

Large Cap Fund - Direct Growth Plan 96.399

Large Cap Fund - Regular Dividend Plan 22.342

Large Cap Fund - Regular Growth Plan 95.628

Mid Cap Opportunities Fund -Direct Plan - Dividend Option 35.95

Mid Cap Opportunities Fund -Direct Plan - Growth Option 48.683

MID-CAP OPPORTUNITIES FUND - Dividend Option 31.103

MID-CAP OPPORTUNITIES FUND - Growth Option 47.151

IDFC MUTUAL FUND

Arbitrage Fund-Direct Plan- Growth 21.0392

Arbitrage Fund-Direct Plan-Monthly Dividend 13.0621

Arbitrage Fund-Regular Plan- Growth 20.6038

Arbitrage Fund-Regular Plan-Monthly Dividend 12.6945

Arbitrage Fund - Plan B - Dividend 14.86269632

Arbitrage Fund - Plan B - Growth 21.25167644

Arbitrage Fund-Direct Plan- Annual Dividend 11.5425

Arbitrage Fund-Regular Plan- Annual Dividend 11.4152

Arbitrage Plus Fund-Direct Plan-Growth 18.5228

Arbitrage Plus Fund-Direct Plan-Monthly Dividend 12.2828

Arbitrage Plus Fund-Regular Plan-Growth 18.1497

Arbitrage Plus Fund-Regular Plan-Monthly Dividend 12.0225

Arbitrage Plus Fund -B-DIVIDEND 12.36084532

Arbitrage Plus Fund -B-GROWTH 16.0114

Arbitrage Plus Fund- Regular Plan- Annual Dividend 10.677

Arbitrage Plus Fund-Direct Plan- Annual Dividend 11.0831

Classic Equity Fund-Direct Plan-Dividend 16.5522

Classic Equity Fund-Direct Plan-Growth 39.2765

Classic Equity Fund-Regular Plan-Dividend 15.0591

Classic Equity Fund-Regular Plan-Growth 37.4648

Classic Equity Fund-Plan B- Dividend 14.49790104

Classic Equity Fund-Plan B- Growth 29.49102237

DEF_Direct Plan_Dividend 10.7569

DEF_Direct Plan_Growth 11.652

DEF_Regular Plan_Dividend 10.4542

DEF_Regular Plan_Growth 11.3075

Equity Fund-Direct Plan-Dividend 16.7645

Equity Fund-Direct Plan-Growth 27.5653

Equity Fund-Regular Plan-Dividend 13.9472

Equity Fund-Regular Plan-Growth 26.3197

Equity Fund -Plan B- Dividend 13.7189908

Equity Fund -Plan B-Growth 21.45998959

Imperial Equity Fund-Direct Plan-Dividend 14.3523

Imperial Equity Fund-Direct Plan-Growth 30.5315

Imperial Equity Fund-Regular Plan-Dividend 11.8627

Imperial Equity Fund-Regular Plan-Growth 29.146

Imperial Equity Fund-Plan B - Dividend 12.36902351

Imperial Equity Fund-Plan B - Growth 25.02172287

Infrastructure Fund-Direct Plan-Dividend 14.729

Infrastructure Fund-Direct Plan-Growth 14.7369

Infrastructure Fund-Regular Plan-Dividend 14.034

Infrastructure Fund-Regular Plan-Growth 14.0281

Nifty Fund-Direct Plan-Dividend 18.2666

Nifty Fund-Direct Plan-Growth 18.1122

Nifty Fund-Regular Plan-Dividend 18.1986

Nifty Fund-Regular Plan-Growth 18.0566

Premier Equity Fund-Direct Plan-Dividend 33.8411

Premier Equity Fund-Direct Plan-Growth 80.3375

Premier Equity Fund-Regular Plan-Dividend 32.9662

Premier Equity Fund-Regular Plan-Growth 78.0245

Premier Equity Fund-Plan B - Dividend 26.12841142

Premier Equity Fund_Plan B - Growth 57.52899532

Sterling Equity Fund -Regular Plan-Dividend 18.4236

Sterling Equity Fund -Regular Plan-Growth 41.1838

Sterling Equity Fund-Direct Plan-Dividend 19.1701

Sterling Equity Fund-Direct Plan-Growth 42.575

IIFL MUTUAL FUND

Growth Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 13.3146

Growth Fund - Regular Plan - Dividend 11.6578

Growth Fund -Regular Plan - Growth 13.1788

Growth Fund-Direct Plan-Growth 13.487

INDIABULLS MUTUAL FUND

Arbitrage Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend Option 10.5734

Arbitrage Fund - Direct Plan - Growth Option 11.8805

Arbitrage Fund - Regular Plan - Dividend Option 10.4159

Arbitrage Fund - Regular Plan - Growth Option 11.7071

Blue Chip Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend Option 15.15

Blue Chip Fund - Direct Plan - Growth Option 17.88

Blue Chip Fund - Dividend Option 14.48

Blue Chip Fund - Growth Option 16.82

Value Discovery Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend Option 12.2572

Value Discovery Fund - Direct Plan - Growth Option 12.2736

Value Discovery Fund - Regular Plan - Dividend Option 11.8581

Value Discovery Fund - Regular Plan - Growth Option 11.8582

INVESCO INDIA MUTUAL FUND

Arbitrage Fund - Annual Bonus 20.0291

Arbitrage Fund - Bonus Option 13.3527

Arbitrage Fund - Direct Plan - Annual Bonus 20.5183

Arbitrage Fund - Direct Plan - Bonus Option 13.6788

Arbitrage Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend Option 13.2436

Arbitrage Fund - Direct Plan - Growth Option 20.5188

Arbitrage Fund - Dividend Option 12.8118

Arbitrage Fund - Growth Option 20.0284

Banking Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 25.03

Banking Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 43.83

Banking Fund - Retail Dividend 23.49

Banking Fund - Retail Growth 41.29

Business Leaders Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 17.24

Business Leaders Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 24.34

Business Leaders Fund - Dividend 16.41

Business Leaders Fund - Growth 22.96

Contra Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 27.37

Contra Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 38.06

Contra Fund - Dividend 24.62

Contra Fund - Growth 36.06

Dynamic Equity Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 19.49

Dynamic Equity Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 25.77

Dynamic Equity Fund - Dividend 19.07

Dynamic Equity Fund - Growth 24.28

Growth Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 15.12

Growth Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 27.46

Growth Fund - Dividend 14.11

Growth Fund - Growth 25.87

Infrastructure Fund - Direct Pan - Dividend Option 15.28

Infrastructure Fund - Direct Pan - Growth Option 15.33

Infrastructure Fund - Dividend Option 14.45

Infrastructure Fund - Growth Option 14.45

Mid Cap Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend Option 27.7

Mid Cap Fund - Direct Plan - Growth Option 41.92

Mid Cap Fund - Dividend Option 25.89

Mid Cap Fund - Growth Option 39.43

MID N SMALL CAP Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend Option 38.8

MID N SMALL CAP Fund - Direct Plan - Growth Option 42.83

MID N SMALL CAP Fund - Dividend Option 36.7

MID N SMALL CAP Fund - Growth Option 40.47

PSU Equity Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 16.8

PSU Equity Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 18.72

PSU Equity Fund - Dividend 15.97

PSU Equity Fund - Growth 17.71

JM FINANCIAL MUTUAL FUND

Arbitrage Advantage (Direct) - Annual Bonus Op - Principal Units 11.4537

Arbitrage Advantage (Direct) - Annual Dividend Option 10.1471

Arbitrage Advantage (Direct) - Bonus Option - Principal Units 11.9333

Arbitrage Advantage (Direct) - Dividend Option 10.918

Arbitrage Advantage (Direct) - Growth Option 22.3024

Arbitrage Advantage (Direct) - Half Yearly Bonus Op - Principal Units 22.3291

Arbitrage Advantage (Direct) - Half Yearly Dividend Option 10.3623

Arbitrage Advantage (Direct) - Monthly Dividend Option 11.9907

Arbitrage Advantage (Direct) - Qtrly Bonus Option - Principal Units 22.3355

Arbitrage Advantage Fund (Direct) - Quarterly Dividend Option 10.6445

Arbitrage Advantage Fund - Annual Bonus Option 22.0328

Arbitrage Advantage Fund - Annual Dividend Option 11.6799

Arbitrage Advantage Fund - Bonus Option - Principal Units 11.8658

Arbitrage Advantage Fund - Half Yrly Bonus Op - Principal Units 22.0702

Arbitrage Advantage Fund - Half Yearly Dividend Option 11.6478

Arbitrage Advantage Fund - Monthly Dividend Option 11.6174

Arbitrage Advantage Fund - Qtrly Bonus Option - Principal Units 22.0702

Arbitrage Advantage Fund - Quarterly Dividend Option 11.6682

ARBITRAGE ADVANTAGE FUND-Dividend 10.5407

ARBITRAGE ADVANTAGE FUND-Growth 21.8257

Basic Fund (Direct) - Dividend Option 19.2531

Basic Fund (Direct) - Growth Option 28.2413

Basic Fund - Dividend Option 18.7595

Basic Fund - Growth Option 26.8652

Core 11 Fund (Direct) - Growth Option 7.4744

Core 11 Fund (Direct) - Dividend Option 7.3304

Core 11 Fund - Dividend option 7.1005

Core 11 Fund - Growth option 7.1008

Equity Fund (Direct) - Annual Dividend Option 24.7657

Equity Fund (Direct) - Dividend Option 24.1536

Equity Fund (Direct) - Growth Option 59.952

Equity Fund (Direct) - Half Yearly Dividend Option 24.5983

Equity Fund (Direct) - Monthly Dividend Option 24.7657

Equity Fund (Direct) - Quarterly Dividend Option 24.7657

Equity Fund - Annual Dividend Option 23.9005

Equity Fund - Half Yearly Dividend Option 13.8263

Equity Fund - Monthly Dividend Option 23.6966

Equity Fund - Quarterly Dividend Option 23.6303

Equity Fund-Dividend 23.2891

Equity Fund-Growth 57.2129

Multi Strategy Fund (Direct) - Dividend Option 24.7513

Multi Strategy Fund (Direct) - Growth Option 27.2033

Multi Strategy Fund - Dividend option 24.0808

Premier Multi-Cap Fund-Dividend 13.045

Premier Multi-Cap Fund-Growth 47.257

Premier Multicap -Direct Plan - Dividend Option 13.46

Premier Multicap -Direct Plan - Growth Option 48.405

Retirement Savings Fund - Equity Plan - Direct Plan 14.075

Retirement Savings Fund - Equity Plan - Regular Plan 13.843

Small Cap Fund - Direct Dividend Plan 23.702

Small Cap Fund - Direct Growth Plan 32.785

Small Cap Fund - Regular Dividend Plan 22.574

Small Cap Fund - Regular Growth Plan 31.515

Top 200 Fund - Dividend Option 53.122

Top 200 Fund - Growth Option 390.434

Top 200 Fund -Direct Plan - Dividend Option 54.747

Top 200 Fund -Direct Plan - Growth Option 400.774

HSBC MUTUAL FUND

Dividend Yield Equity Fund - Dividend 18.8156

Dividend Yield Equity Fund - Growth 18.8156

Dividend Yield Equity Fund-Dividend Direct 19.3761

Dividend Yield Equity Fund-Growth Direct 19.3761

Dynamic Fund - Dividend 15.1779

Dynamic Fund - Growth 15.1779

Dynamic Fund-Dividend Direct 15.6342

Dynamic Fund-Growth Direct 15.6342

Equity Fund - Dividend 28.097

Equity Fund - Dividend Direct 29.2066

Equity Fund - Growth 170.6897

Equity Fund - Growth Direct 176.0261

India Opportunities Fund - Dividend 25.2699

India Opportunities Fund - Dividend Direct 27.5292

India Opportunities Fund - Growth 74.7474

India Opportunities Fund - Growth Direct 77.0775

Infrastructure Equity Fund - Dividend Direct 17.2749

Infrastructure Equity Fund - Growth 19.7059

Infrastructure Equity Fund - Growth Direct 20.3069

Infrastructure Equity Fund- Dividend 16.7618

Midcap Equity Fund - Dividend 20.3747

Midcap Equity Fund - Dividend Direct 24.3076

Midcap Equity Fund - Growth 47.3773

Midcap Equity Fund - Growth Direct 48.8708

ICICI PRUDENTIAL MUTUAL FUND

Balanced Advantage Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 18.78

Balanced Advantage Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 31.08

Balanced Advantage Fund - Direct Plan - Monthly Dividend 14.8

Balanced Advantage Fund - Direct Plan - Quarterly Dividend 12.2

Balanced Advantage Fund - Dividend 15.8

Balanced Advantage Fund - Growth 29.67

Balanced Advantage Fund - Monthly Dividend 14.02

Balanced Advantage Fund - Quarterly Dividend 11.75

Banking and Financial Services Fund - Dividend 35.98

Banking and Financial Services Fund - Growth 49.42

Banking and Financial Services Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 49.1

Banking and Financial Services Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 51.41

Blended Plan A - Dividend 13.5898

Blended Plan A - Direct Plan Bonus 10.9152

Blended Plan A - Growth 22.7587

Blended Plan A-Direct Plan - Dividend 13.6408

Blended Plan A-Direct Plan - Growth 23.0933

Child Care Plan Gift - Cumulative 118.58

Child Care Plan Gift - Direct Plan - Cumulative 122.35

Dividend Yield Equity Fund Direct Plan Dividend Option 13.93

Dividend Yield Equity Fund Direct Plan Growth Option 15.02

Dividend Yield Equity Fund Dividend Option 13.66

Dividend Yield Equity Fund Growth Option 14.75

Dynamic - Direct Plan - Dividend 26.1115

Dynamic - Direct Plan - Growth 232.9825

Dynamic - Dividend 22.9534

Dynamic - Growth 225.748

Dynamic Plan- Institutional Growth Option 21.9735

Dynamic Plan-Institutional Option - I 37.3807

Equity - Arbritrage Fund-Institutional Growth Option 21.8927

Equity Arbitrage Fund - Bonus 11.808

Equity Arbitrage Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 14.4943

Equity Arbitrage Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 22.1043

Equity Arbitrage Fund - Direct Plan Bonus 12.0266

Equity Arbitrage Fund - Dividend 13.7929

Equity Arbitrage Fund - Growth 21.6283

Equity Income Fund - Cumulative option 12

Equity Income Fund - Direct Plan - Cumulative option 12.24

Equity Income Fund - Direct Plan - Half Yearly Dividend 11.68

Equity Income Fund - Direct Plan - Monthly Dividend 11.68

Equity Income Fund - Direct Plan - Quarterly Dividend 11.57

Equity Income Fund - Half Yearly Dividend 11.49

Equity Income Fund - Monthly Dividend 11.16

Equity Income Fund - Quarterly Dividend 11.43

Exports and Other Services Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 35.96

Exports and Other Services Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 50

Exports and Other Services Fund - Dividend 25.99

Exports and Other Services Fund - Growth 48.54

FMCG Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 86.6

FMCG Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 183.65

FMCG Fund - Dividend 64.31

FMCG Fund - Growth 178.71

Focused Bluechip Equity Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 29.45

Focused Bluechip Equity Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 34.96

Focused Bluechip Equity Fund - Dividend 21.22

Focused Bluechip Equity Fund - Growth 33.72

Focused Bluechip Equity Fund - Institutional Option - I - Growth 36.44

Indo Asia Equity Fund - Dividend 16.31

Indo Asia Equity Fund - Growth 23.2

Indo Asia Equity Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 23.7

Indo Asia Equity Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 23.71

Indo Asia Equity Fund - Institutional Growth 23.2

Infrastructure Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 16.29

Infrastructure Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 46.57

Infrastructure Fund - Dividend 13.97

Infrastructure Fund - Growth 45.38

MidCap Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 29.74

MidCap Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 86.17

MidCap Fund - Dividend 25.11

MidCap Fund - Growth 83.33

Multicap Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 29.73

Multicap Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 248.03

Multicap Fund - Dividend 23.35

Multicap Fund - Growth 240.42

Nifty Index Fund - Cumulative Option 85.7928

Nifty Index Fund - Direct Plan Cumulative Option 87.1726

Nifty Index Fund - Direct Plan Dividend Option 11.7215

Nifty Index Fund - Dividend Option 11.4236

Nifty Next 50 Index Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 21.8134

Nifty Next 50 Index Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 21.8189

Nifty Next 50 Index Fund - Growth 21.4056

Nifty Next 50 Index Fund -Dividend 21.4056

Select Large Cap Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 26.11

Select Large Cap Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 26.95

Select Large Cap Fund - Dividend 18.45

Select Large Cap Fund -Growth 25.91

Technology Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 41.52

Technology Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 41.54

Technology Fund - Dividend 29.78

Technology Fund - Growth 40.26

Top 100 Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 24.2

Top 100 Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 295.81

Top 100 Fund - Dividend 19.15

Top 100 Fund - Growth 285.94

US Bluechip Equity Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 21.91

US Bluechip Equity Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 21.91

US Bluechip Equity Fund - Dividend 21.16

US Bluechip Equity Fund - Growth 21.16

Value Discovery Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend 48.64

Value Discovery Fund - Direct Plan - Growth 133.64

Value Discovery Fund - Dividend 33.43

Value Discovery Fund - Growth 128.4

IDBI MUTUAL FUND

DIVERSIFIED EQUITY FUND Dividend - Direct Plan 15.85

DIVERSIFIED EQUITY FUND Dividend - Regular Plan 15.49

DIVERSIFIED EQUITY FUND Growth Direct 17.89

DIVERSIFIED EQUITY FUND Growth Regular 17.51

India Top 100 Equity Fund Dividend 17.37

India Top 100 Equity Fund Dividend Direct 17.92

India Top 100 Equity Fund Growth 20.97

India Top 100 Equity Fund Growth Direct 21.57

Midcap Fund Dividend Direct 10.11

Midcap Fund Dividend Regular 10.09

Midcap Fund Growth Direct 10.11

Midcap Fund Growth Regular 10.09

Nifty Index Fund Dividend 15.8641

Nifty Index Fund Dividend Direct 16.3245

NIFTY Index Fund Growth 16.6355

NIFTY Index Fund Growth Direct 17.1169

Nifty Junior Index Fund Dividend 18.59

Nifty Junior Index Fund Dividend Direct 19.2154

Nifty Junior Index Fund Growth 18.59

Nifty Junior Index Fund Growth Direct 19.2154

Scheme NAV

funds 12LUCKNOW | MONDAY | FEBRUARY 27, 2017

world 13LUCKNOW | MONDAY | FEBRUARY 27, 2017

MOONLIGHT SHINES AT 2017 FILMINDEPENDENT SPIRIT AWARDS

London: Barry Jenkins’ powerful coming-of-age tale Moonlight has swept the 32nd annu-al Film Independent Spirit Awards, winning sixmajor trophies, including best picture. Jenkins’incisive gay drama which tied Andrea Arnold’sAmerican Honey with six nominations at theceremony also won best director, editing, cin-ematography and screenplay for the 37-year-old filmmaker and Tarell Alvin McCraney,whose play ‘In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue’was the inspiration for the project, reported TheGuardian. “There are a lot of people who pushedthat script away from their desks,” a tearfulMcCraney said. He went on to thank those whomade the decision to sign onto the film with-out worrying about the potentially damagingeffect a gay film would have on their careers.In addition, the Moonlight cast was honouredwith the Robert Altman Award for best actingensemble. Casey Affleck was named best actorfor playing Lee Chandler, a Massachusetts manforced to return to his hometown when theuntimely death of his brother turns him intothe legal guardian of his nephew, in Manchester

by the Sea. Isabelle Huppert won best femalelead for her role in darkly comic thriller “Elle”,winning out over Natalie Portman and AnnetteBening. Other winners included Molly Shannon(best supporting actress for ‘Other People’) andBen Foster (best supporting actor for ‘Hell orHigh Water’).

NATALIE PORTMAN WON’T ATTENDOSCARS DUE TO PREGNANCY

Los Angeles: Natalie Portman, who is nom-inated in the best actresscategory for “Jackie” at the89th Academy Awards,has confirmed that shewill not be able to attendthe ceremony due to herpregnancy. The 35-year-old star is expecting hersecond child with hus-band Benjamin Millepied. “Due to my pregnancy,I am unable to attend the Independent SpiritAwards and the Academy Awards. I feel so luckyto be honoured among my fellow nominees andwish them the most beautiful of weekends,”Portman told The Hollywood Reporter.

GLOBE TROTTING

PTI n PESHAWAR

The Hindu community inPakistan’s Mansehra district

cut short its annual three-dayMaha Shivaratri festival by a daymainly due to the prevailingsecurity situation in the restiveKhyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.

“We normally celebrate thisfestival for three days every year,but our elders decided to cut itshort,” Darshan Lal, a Hinducaretaker of the nearly 1,500years old Shiv Temple inMansehra, was quoted as sayingby The Express Tribune onSunday.

Members of the Hinducommunity from acrossPakistan gather at the ShivTemple in Chiti Gati Gandiyanof Mansehra district to celebrateShivaratri - believed to be theday when Lord Shiva andParvati got married.

The festival began on Fridayamid tight security. Over 700fasting devotees from as far asAbbottabad, Kohat, Banu,Mardan, Peshawar andRawalpindi performed puja andtraditional rituals such asAshnan (bathing) of Shiv withmilk and honey.

The devotees on Saturdayperformed the rites of mehndiand Sehra bandi of Shiva. Amidreverberating sounds of bellsand chants of religious slogans,devotees circled around thelinga, offering their prayers,the paper said.

PTI n LAHORE

Pakistan Rangers have killedfour terrorists and detained

600 terror suspects during over200 search operations inPunjab province under therecently launched nation-widemilitary operation ‘Radd-ul-Fasaad’.

The army last weeklaunched ‘Operation Radd-ul-Fasaad’ — an Arabic wordwhich translates roughly to‘elimination of discord’ —across the country, to eliminateterrorists and consolidate gainsof its counter-terrorism oper-ations, days after a wave of sui-cide attacks that killed morethan 125 people, including 91at a Sufi shrine in Sindh.

An important part of theoperation was deployment ofparamilitary Rangers in Punjabprovince to counter terrorism.

The army’s media wingInter-Services Public Relationssaid Punjab Rangers conduct-ed over 200 search operationsin various areas of Punjabincluding Karor, Layyah andRawalpindi and arrested 600suspects, including Afghannationals.

Four suspected terroristswere killed in an exchange offire with security personnel, itsaid in a statement.

During the operation, theparamilitary force searched

suspected houses, seminariesand shops, the statement said.

Some suspects belongingto Jamat-u-Ahrar (JuA),believed to be facilitators in therecent terror attacks in thecountry, are also among thearrested suspects.

JuA had claimed responsi-bility for the bombing on theMall Road Lahore and the sui-cide attack on a shrine inSehwan Sharif Sindh thismonth.

Weapons and banned lit-erature have been seized dur-ing the operation.

The Nawaz Sharif govern-ment has approved the deploy-ment of the Rangers in Punjabprovince for 60 days after theMall Road Lahore bombing.

It was a long standingdemand of the opposition par-ties to deploy Rangers inPunjab for operation againstmilitants believed to be holedup in the southern part of theprovince.

The Counter-TerrorismDepartment of Punjab police hasalso killed 17 terrorists mostlybelonging to JuA after theFebruary 17 Lahore bombing.

The Radd-ul-Fasaad oper-ation is aimed at the elimina-tion of the residual and latentthreat of terrorism, consoli-dating gains of operationsmade so far and ensuring thesecurity of Pakistan’s borders.

PTI n ISLAMABAD

The court employees inPakistan-occupied Kashmir

(PoK) will have to offer dailyprayers punctually — both inand outside the court — astheir annual raises would nowhinge on their offering prayersregularly and on the prescribedtimes, a top Judge has said.

Ibrahim Zia, who tookoath as the 12th chief justice ofthe PoK Supreme Court onSaturday, has directed the courtemployees to ensure punctual-ity in the court and in theirprayer timings, the ExpressTribune reported.

“The annual salary hikes ofcourt employees would nowhinge on their offering prayersregularly and on the prescribedtimes,” he said, while declaringthat offering prayers was nowmandatory for all employees ofthe court.

Zia said the move wouldensure that employees offerdaily prayers regularly and hehimself would be leading someprayers.

“To make sure employeesoffer their prayers regularly,Justice Zia said they would besecretly checked by the court,”the paper said.

However, it was not clearwhat mechanism he would useto check employees’ punctual-ity of prayers outside the office.

PTI n WASHINGTON

Donald Trump onSunday announced thathe would skip the glitzy

White House Correspondents’Association (WHCA) annualdinner, to become the first USPresident to miss the gala indecades, amidst his raging tiffwith the media.

“I will not be attending theWhite House Correspondents’Association Dinner this year.Please wish everyone well andhave a great evening!,” Trumptweeted.

The black-tie dinner, whichraises money for journalismscholarships, takes place everyspring and is usually attendedby the President, journalists,celebrities and Washingtoninsiders.

The last President to missthe dinner was Ronald Reagan,who sat out because he wasrecovering from an assassina-tion attempt in 1981, althoughhe still delivered remarks byphone, CNN reported.

According to NPR, RichardNixon was the last President tosimply skip the event, doing soin 1972.

Trump’s announcementcame a day after the WhiteHouse excluded several majorbroadcasters and newspaperslike The New York Times, CNNand BBC from an off-camerapress briefing.

He has frequentlydescribed negative news cov-erage as “fake” and accused themedia of being the “oppositionparty” and on Friday deliveredhis most slashing broadside yet,telling the ConservativePolitical Action Conferencethat major news outlets were

“the enemy of the people”.The WHCA dinner was

held for the first time inWashington DC in 1920. Thisyear’s dinner has been sched-uled for April 29.

“The level of tensionseemed incongruous with ablack-tie event that is typical-ly a jocular, if occasionallysharp-edged evening. Thedinner, which has attracted A-list celebrities in recent years,features a presidential roast ofreporters and a comic routineby a notable entertainer.Presidents are expected to beself-deprecating, which Mr.Trump is decidedly not,” TheNew York Times said.

“The event may also evokedark memories for Mr Trump,who was brutally mocked at the2011 dinner by PresidentBarack Obama and the late-

night host Seth Meyers, both ofwhom skewered the real estatedeveloper for his seemingly far-fetched political aspirationsand reality-show gaudiness.

Cameras captured MrTrump in the audience, stone-faced, and the evening hassince been cited as a primemotivator behind his presi-dential run,” the influentialAmerican newspaper com-mented.

Reacting to Trump’s deci-sion, The Correspondents’Association, in a measuredstatement, said that it “takesnote” of it. Jeff Mason, its pres-ident, wrote that the dinner“has been and will continue tobe a celebration of the FirstAmendment and the importantrole played by an independentnews media in a healthy republic.”

Washington (PTI): A boldHijab-wearing Muslim ex-WhiteHouse staffer of Bangladeshi-origin has said she quit her jobafter US President DonaldTrump announced his contro-versial travel ban, lasting justeight days in the new adminis-tration.

Rumana Ahmed was hiredin 2011 to work at the WhiteHouse and eventually theNational Security Council(NSC). “My job there was topromote and protect the best ofwhat my country stands for. I ama hijab-wearing Muslim woman–– was the only hijabi in theWest Wing –– and the Obamaadministration always made mefeel welcome and included,” shewrote in an article published inThe Atlantic. Ahmed said thatlike most of her fellowAmerican-Muslims, she spentmuch of 2016 watching with“consternation” as Trump “vili-fied our community”.

“Despite this –– or becauseof it –– I thought I should try tostay on the NSC staff during theTrump Administration, in orderto give the new president and hisaides a more nuanced view ofIslam, and of America’s Muslimcitizens. I lasted eight days.When Trump issued a ban ontravellers from seven Muslim-majority countries and all Syrianrefugees, I knew I could nolonger stay and work for anadministration that saw me andpeople like me not as fellow cit-izens, but as a threat,” she said.

AP n NEW ORLEANS

Asuspect is in custody after28 people were injured

when a vehicle ploughed intoa crowd watching the Krewe ofEndymion parade in the Mid-City section of New Orleans,police said.

Police Chief MichaelHarrison said the suspect wasbeing investigated for drivingwhile intoxicated. Harrisonwas asked twice by the mediaif terrorism was suspected.While he didn’t say “No” he didsay it looks like a case of DWI.

“We suspect that that sub-ject was highly intoxicated,” hesaid.

Twenty-one people werehospitalised after the crashwith five victims in guardedcondition. Seven othersdeclined to be hospitalised,city Emergency ServicesDirector, Dr Jeff Elder said.

The victims range in agefrom as young as 3 or 4-years-old to adults in their 30s and40s, said Elder.

Among the injured wasone New Orleans police officer.Harrison said the officer, whowas on duty, was undergoingtests to determine the extent of

her injuries. She was in “goodspirits,” he said.

The accident came duringone of the busiest nights ofMardi Gras when thousands ofpeople throng the streets ofMid-City to watch the elaboratefloats and clamor to catch beadsand trinkets tossed from riders.

As police and city officialswere assessing the accidentscene, people were streaminghome as plastic bags that usedto hold trinkets and discardedbeads littered the ground. Thearea where the accident

occurred was cordoned off withpolice barricades.

One woman at the scenetold The New Orleans Advocatethat a silver truck whisked by herjust feet away as she was walk-ing through the intersection.

Carrie Kinsella said, “I felta rush it was so fast.”

Twenty-year-old KourtneyMcKinnis told the Advocatethat the driver of the truckseemed almost unaware ofwhat he had just done.

“He was just kind of out ofit,” she said.

Kuala Lumpur: Kim Jong-Nam was dead within 20 min-utes of being attacked andwould have suffered a “verypainful death” as his majororgans shut down, Malaysia’shealth minister said on Sunday.

The estranged half-broth-er of the North Korean leaderwas killed with lethal nerveagent VX, police have revealed,after he was ambushed at KualaLumpur airport on February13. Two women can be seenshoving something into Kim’sface in leaked CCTV footage ofthe brazen assassination beforehe seeks help.

“He died in the ambu-lance. He fainted in the clinic,

Health Minister SSubramaniam told reporters.

“From the time of the onset(of the attack) he died within15 to 20 minutes.”

Autopsy results suggestedthe 45-year-old died from “veryserious paralysis” due to alethal nerve agent,Subramaniam said earlierSunday. Police are holding twowomen suspected of staging theattack as well as a North Koreanman. AFP

PTI n LONDON

The UK government is plan-ning to counter segregation

in some cities by setting upChristian and other freeschools in Muslim-dominatedareas, a media report said onSunday.

The so-called “integrated”schools could be run by organ-isations such as the Church ofEngland and enrol pupils fromChristian, Muslim and otherfaiths, alleviating the risks ofchildren growing up in segre-gated “parallel” communities,the Sunday Times reported.

“There is work going onwith the Department forEducation (DfE) to create moreintegrated schools in areaswhere schools have a very highconcentration of a particularethnic group,” the newspapersaid, citing governmentsources.

“It is part of a new inte-gration strategy across the UKinto how we use the free schoolprovision to create new schoolswith more mixed intakes acrossclass as well as ethnic back-ground.”

Muslim-dominated areassuch as Oldham, Birminghamand Derby in England arefeared to be at risk of being cutoff from British values and vul-nerable to alienation and rad-icalisation from Islamistextremist and far-right ide-ologies.

The plans, being drawn upby the Department forCommunities and LocalGovernment and the DfE, fol-low the publication of a reportinto opportunity and integra-tion by Dame Louise Casey.

The new plans will beannounced in the government’sresponse to Casey’s review inthe next few weeks.

AP n WASHINGTON

The Pentagon wants toexpand the military’s abil-

ity to battle al-Qaeda-linkedmilitants in Somalia, potentiallyputting U.S. forces closer to thefight against a stubbornextremist group that has plot-ted attacks against America,senior U.S. officials said.

The recommendations sentto the White House wouldallow US special operationsforces to increase assistance tothe Somali National Army inthe struggle against al-Shababmilitants in the fragile Horn ofAfrica nation, the officials said.They said the proposal wouldgive the military greater flexi-bility to launch airstrikesagainst extremists that appearto be a threat.

Beefing up the militaryeffort in Somalia fits withPresident Donald Trump’sbroader request for a Pentagonplan to accelerate the US-led bat-tle against the Islamic Stategroup in Iraq and Syria, anddefeat other extremist groups,

including al-Qaeda and its affil-iates. U.S. concerns about al-Shabab escalated in recent yearsas young Americans fromSomali communities traveled totraining camps in Somalia, rais-ing fears they might return to theUnited States and conduct ter-ror attacks.

Somalia was one of theseven predominantly Muslimcountries included in Trump’stravel ban last month. The exec-utive order has since been sus-

pended by federal courts. Somalia is “our most per-

plexing challenge,” Gen. ThomasWaldhauser, the head of U.S.Africa Command, said in aninterview with The AssociatedPress. The United States is “try-ing to take a look at Somaliafrom a fresh perspective in theway ahead,” he said, describingthe need to weaken the decade-old al-Shabab insurgency sothat the African nation’s militaryforces can defeat it.

Waldhauser declined to pro-vide details of the new optionsthat have been proposed.

But other officials said ele-ments include giving US specialoperations forces greater abilityto accompany local troops onmilitary operations against al-Shabab and easing restrictionson when the U.S. can conductairstrikes against the group.

The officials weren’t autho-rized to publicly discuss the con-fidential review and spoke oncondition of anonymityCurrently there are about 50 UScommandos rotating in and outof Somalia to advise and assistthe local troops. The newauthorities could result in asmall increase in the number ofU.S. forces in Somalia, officialssaid.

Defense Secretary JimMattis has approved the rec-ommendations and sent theplan to the White House earli-er this month but no final deci-sion has been made.

The White House declinedto comment, deferring questionsto the Defense Department.

AFP n MOSCOW

Russia on Sunday released aprominent opposition

activist from jail, after a courtquashed a sentence that madehim the only person convictedunder a tough law against pub-lic protests.

Ildar Dadin, 34, emergedfrom a Siberian penal colonyafter some 15 months behindbars for repeatedly holdingunsanctioned rallies againstPresident Vladimir Putin’s rule.

Dadin — who was declareda prisoner of conscience byAmnesty International — hascomplained of torture and abusebehind bars, and his casebecame a cause celebre for thosewho oppose the Kremlin.

“I will continue to fightagainst Putin’s fascist regime,”Dadin said in footage broadcastonline by the independentDozhd channel.

“I will fight so that humanrights are respected in Russia.”

Russia’s Supreme Court onWednesday overturned Dadin’sDecember 2015 imprisonmentand ordered he be freed.

He was originally sentencedto three years in jail, but that sen-tence was reduced and he cur-rently had some six months leftto run. Dadin’s case was con-troversial as it was the first time

a protester was prosecuted under2014 legislation that ratcheted uppunishment to a maximum offive years in jail for anyonecaught holding unsanctioneddemonstrations more than twicein six months.

The statute — known asArticle 212.1 — was seen as partof the Kremlin’s attempt to curbdissent following mass protestsagainst Putin in 2011-2012 anddemonstrations in Kiev thatousted Ukraine’s Russian-backedleader in 2014.

The legislative changes havehelped snuff out almost allprotests against Putin, a formerKGB officer, in Russia.

The decision to releaseDadin came after the constitu-tional court criticised the harshpunishments against peacefulprotestors — sparking hopeamong rights groups thatauthorities will no longer enforcethe tough sanctions.

Trump to skip correspondents’

dinner amidst tiff with media

In this April 30, 2011, file photo Donald Trump and Melania Trump arrive for theWhite House Correspondents Dinner in Washington AP

Hijab-wearing WHstaffer quits Trumpadmin in 8 days

Russia frees jailed opposition activist

Russian opposition activist Ildar Dadin, center, speaks to journalists as his wifeAnastasia Zotova, left, smiles upon leaving a prison in Rubtsovsk, east of Moscow, Russia, on Sunday AP

Car ploughs into parade crowd

in New Orleans; 28 injured

New Orleans emergency personnel attend to an injured parade watcher after apickup truck plowed into a crowd injuring multiple people watching the Krewe of Endymion parade in the Mid-City section of New Orleans, on Saturday AP

Hindus cut shortShivratri by a dayover securityfears in Pak

Prayers todeterminesalary of PoKcourt staff

Pak Rangers arrest

600 terror suspects

in 200 ops in Punjab

Pentagon seeks to expand fight

against extremists in Somalia

In this January 2, 2017 file photo, a Somali soldier patrols the area of a suicide carbomb attack in Mogadishu, Somalia AP

Christian schoolsplanned in Muslimareas of UK: Report

‘Kim sufferedpainful deathwithin 20 minof attack’

Adele Romanski, center left, and Jeremy Kleiner, center right, and the cast and crew of Moonlight accept the award for bestfeature at the Film Independent Spirit Awards in Santa Monica, California on Saturday AP

LUCKNOW | MONDAY | FEBRUARY 27, 2017sport 14

AP n BARCELONA

His team trailing against its fiercest rival, coachJorge Sampaoli orchestrated a 2-1 comebackat Real Betis that lifted Sevilla to the top of

the Spanish league on Saturday.Sampaoli's two halftime substitutions sparked

the turnaround in Spain's most heated city derby.Substitute Vicente Iborra got the winning goal

in the 75th minute to silence the Benito VillamarinStadium following Gabriel Mercado's equalizer.

"Vicente contributed immediately and had a lotto do with the transformation of the team,"Sampaoli said.

Betis dominated the first half and took the leadon a free kick by Riza Durmisi in the 36th whichslipped through the defensive barrier.

But Sampaoli's decisions during the break toreplace Franco Vazquez with Iborra and an inef-fective Pablo Sarabia with Wissam Ben Yedder com-pletely swung the match to the visitors' favor.

"The first half didn't reflect who we are as ateam," Iborra said. "Nobody believed in us at half-time, but we did what we needed to. We changedeverything. The first half was theirs, but the sec-ond half was ours from start to finish, and reflectswhat we are doing this season."

The second half was exactly that, a showing ofa physical, disciplined and confident team that haswon the right to be called a title contender duringSampaoli's first season in charge.

The win in the Seville derby, which came threedays after Sevilla beat Leicester 2-1 in theChampions League, pulled it level on points withLiga leader Real Madrid. Madrid plays at Villarrealon Sunday, and has a game in hand at Celta Vigo.

Both goals came on free kicks perfectly executedby Sevilla, and poorly defended by Betis.

Mercado equalized in the 57th by finishing offa save made by goalkeeper Antonio Adan of AdilRami's point-blank header. Adan had been left tofend for himself when Betis' players failed to pullan offside trap on a free kick. Iborra completed thecomeback on another set-piece when Steven Nzoniheaded on a free kick for Iborra to toe past Adan,who again got no help from his defenders.

"Their goals were too easy. That's unacceptable,especially against our greatest rival," Betis midfielderDani Ceballos said. "In the first half our attitudewas impeccable, but in the second half we got scaredand withdrew into our area. This is a painful loss."

LEGANES 4-0 DEPORTIVO LA CORUNA Deportivo coach Gaizka Garitano said he will

offer his resignation following the rout."I have the strength to continue, but I would

understand if the club lets me go," he said.Leganes overtook Deportivo in the standings,

pushing the Galician side to the edge of the rele-gation zone after its biggest win since joining thetopflight for the first time last summer.

The small Madrid-based club scored two early,

then two more after Deportivo's Raul Albentosaearned a direct red for elbowing Miguel Guerrero inthe neck. "You dream of nights like this in the firstdivision," said goal-scorer Alexander Szymanowski.

Leganes' first win in 12 rounds came a weekafter its gutsy performance at Barcelona ended ina loss.

EIBAR 3-0 MALAGA Eibar maintained its excellent home record, its

eighth in 13 matches this season at Ipurua Stadium.

Sergi Enrich recordedhis 10th league goal of thecampaign to round off thewin that pushed the mod-est Basque club into seventhplace.

ALAVES 2-1 VALENCIA Alaves continued to impress

with a second consecutive win forthree victories in four matches, after

mounting a fightbackagainst Valencia at home.

Substitute AleksandarKatai got the winner in the86th one minute after going

on.Valencia, which failed to

build on its midweek victoryover Madrid, finished with 10

men after Fabian Orellana got hissecond yellow card.

KANE SCORES HAT-TRICKLONDON: Harry Kane scored a hat trick asTottenham thrashed Stoke 4-0 Sunday to deliver arecord-equaling eighth straight Premier League vic-tory at home.

Kane reached 100 career goals at club level withhis opener as he delivered a spectacular treble with-in 37 minutes, before setting up Dele Alli to giveSpurs a 4-0 halftime lead.

Tottenham's eighth successive win at WhiteHart Lane equals the club record set in 2009.

AP n LONDON

Two days after Claudio Ranieri's firing,Leicester players went on the defen-

sive on Saturday to insist they didn't playany role in the manager behind theirastonishing English Premier League titletriumph losing his job.

"There is speculation I was involved inhis dismissal and this (is) completelyuntrue, unfounded and is extremely hurt-ful!" striker Jamie Vardy wrote onInstagram. " The only thing we are guiltyof as a team is underachieving which weall acknowledge both in the dressing roomand publicly and will do our best to recti-fy."

The social media posts and interviewsfollowed a noticeable lack of tributes fromthe championship-winning players inthe day after Ranieri's firing. They cameas Leicester's fight for top-flight survivalbecame tougher, with the team sinking

into the relegation zone of the league theywon barely nine months ago due toSaturday's results going against them.

Leicester's Thai owners were report-ed to have consulted key players beforedismissing Ranieri on Thursday.

"We are players and we can only affect(things) on the pitch, what happensabove our heads at boardroom level iscompletely out of our control," goalkeeperKasper Schmeichel told the BBC. "Allthese reports about meetings, I don't

know where they've come from. What Ican say is our owners are very hands on.They are in and around the club all thetime.

"They come to practically everygame, they come to the training groundand they speak to all the players regular-ly. We talk to them about all manner ofthings from the weather to the pitches towhatever. These guys are very successfulbusinessmen and have taken this clubfrom the bottom of the Championship tothe top. They're not going to let them-selves be influenced by any players."

Many of those players were turnedinto champions by Ranieri, a feat theynever envisioned when joining a provi-sional club which hadn't won the leaguesince being formed in 1884 until last May.

Vardy was signed by Leicester in 2012as a non-league player and his 24 goalspowered the team to the title last May. Butthe England striker has found the target

only five times this season in the league,an alarming drop by a player who waspursued by Arsenal in the summer trans-fer window.

"What we achieved together and as ateam was the impossible!" Vardy said onInstagram. "(Ranieri) believed in mewhen many didn't and for that I owe himmy eternal gratitude."

Seemingly explaining the delay inpaying tribute to the Italian, Vardy wrote:"I must have written and deleted mywords to this post a stupid amount oftimes! I owed Claudio to find the rightand appropriate words! Claudio has andalways will have my complete respect!"

Leicester doesn't play until Mondaywhen the central England team hostsLiverpool.

There was a break in preparations onSaturday morning as Ranieri paid a finalvisit to the training ground following hisfiring on Thursday.

NEW DELHI: Gopi T and MonikaAthare won the 2nd edition ofIDBI Federal Life InsuranceNew Delhi Marathon 2017 onSunday, clocking impressivetimings of 2:15:37 and 2:39:08respectively. All four races wereflagged off by Sachin Tendulkar,face of the event, from theJawaharlal Nehru Stadium.

It was a tough competitionamongst the elite male athletesin full marathon as all three win-ners were eyeing qualificationfor the World Championship.Gopi T from Pune's ArmySports Institute said, "I amhappy on winning the title.Dhoni and myself were runningtogether from start till the 25Kmark. This is my first marathonin 2017, where I grabbed thewinning title." Bahadur SinghDhoni who is also from ArmySports Institute, Pune, finishedthe race with a timing of 2:16:09and was the 1st runner-up.Hewas followed by Sanjit Luwangwho grabbed the 3rd positionwith a time of 2:17:20

In women's full marathoncategory, Monika Athare fromNashik completed the race in2:39:08 to come up tops in hermaiden 42k.

PTI n NEW DELHI

Rio Olympic silver medal-list PV Sindhu doesn't

want to attach any special sig-nificance to the upcoming AllEngland Championship andsaid she would be treating theprestigious premier event likeany other Super Series tour-nament.

"I consider the AllEngland as like any normalsuper series tournament.People may think as if it's a bigtournament by its name,"Sindhu said. "But as a player,I would be playing the sameplayers who I play in otherSuper Series tournaments, soit is the same for me," said the21-year-old from Hyderabadwho trains at PullelaGopichand's badminton acad-emy at Gachibowli.

The marquee $600,000tournament is scheduled to beheld from March 7 to 12 inBirmingham. Her mentor andchief coach Gopichand andlegendary Prakash Padukoneare the only two Indians whohave won the All England

Championship ever withSaina Nehwal coming tanta-lisingly close to claiming thetitle in 2015 before losing toOlympic champion CarolinaMarin. However, Sindhu hasin the past broken manyrecords when she became thefirst Indian women's shuttlerto win a bronze at the 2013World Championship andrepeating the feat at the nextedition at Denmark.

The Indian also had bro-ken new grounds when shebecame the first Indian shut-tler to win a silver at the Rio

Olympic Games, losing toMarin in the finals.

"I am preparing well andevery match is equally impor-tant in the tournament. Ihave been playing with boyshere which is helpful for me.I'm training hard day andnight to achieve the goal," saidSindhu, who will open hercampaign against Denmark'sMette Poulsen.

The sixth seeded Indian islikely to meet World No 1 TaiTzu Ying in the quarterfinals,an opponent she has lost fivetimes including the defeat atthe Hong Kong Open. Askedif she has learnt to handlepressure better now, Sindhu,who became the youngestrecipient of Padma Shri in2015, said:"I have no tensionI only play to give my best."

Sindhu is now eyeingthe World No 3 spot by thisyear end. "When I started theseason last year, I was expect-ing that I will improve myrankings. Now I am workinghard to reach world number3 by the end of this year,"Sindhu said.

SEVILLA RISE TO TOP OF LA LIGA

Sampaoli’s boys come from a goal behind to beat Betis 2-1 in Spanish League encounter

Players break silence on Ranieri exit

All England is like anyother Super Series: Sindhu

Athare, Gopiwin women’s,men’s races

ASGAR ALI, ASHISH BUDHIA IN LEADPARO (BHUTAN): India's Asgar Ali and hisnavigator Muhammad Mustafa stormed intothe lead after the first leg of the Biswa BanglaJK Tyre Himalayan Drive 5 here on Sunday,even as the 46 competitors successfully tack-led 337 kilometres through dirt tracks andforest roads to reach Paro in Bhutan. Theentire stretch that began early in the morningin Siliguri took 12 long hours, including vari-ous stoppages for formalities at the interna-tional border, saw the rally drive through thefoothills of the majestic eastern Himalayas.Ashish Budhia, head of Ranchi MotorsportsClub, who has driven the 'zero car' (or thelead car) in earlier versions of HimalayanDrive, is virtually on the tail of the leadersalong with Arindam Ghosh. Arindam Ghoshhas the distinction of taking the HimalayanDrive 4 championship in the company of hisbrother Sudip Ghosh.

71ST AIBA COMMISSIONS GET UNDERWAY NEW DELHI: Close to 150 delegates from allacross the globe are in attendance for the71st International Boxing Association (AIBA)Commissions' meeting, being held for thefirst time in India. The chairpersons from 11commissions of AIBA have gathered to dis-cuss the future of world boxing for a three-day meeting starting Sunday in Greater Noida.Alongside will be the members from AIBA proBoxing, Athletes and Youth, Coaches,Disciplinary, Ethics, Medical, Refereeing &Judging, Scientific, Technical & Rules,Women's and World Series Boxing who aregoing to be part of the three-day event thatwill be led by AIBA President Dr Ching-KuoWu, AIBA Executive Director William Louis-Marie and Boxing Federation of IndiaPresident Ajay Singh.

PACQUIAO TO FIGHT BRITAIN'S KHANMANILA: Philippine boxing hero MannyPacquiao and British fighter Amir Khan con-firmed separately on Sunday that they wouldface each other on April 23 after weeks ofconflicting reports. Pacquiao tweeted:"Negotiations between team Pacquiao andteam Khan have come to terms for the April23 bout as this is what the fanswanted.#PacquiaoKhan" Khan, 30, a few min-utes later posted on his official Twitter feed:"My team and I have agreed terms withManny Pacquiao and his team for a superfight #pacquiaokhan #April23rd." Neither ofthem gave a venue for the match.

I'M A CLEAN ATHLETE, SAYS MO FARAHLONDON: Britain's four-time Olympic champi-on Mo Farah on Sunday insisted he was "aclean athlete" after a leaked United StatesAnti-Doping Agency report suggested that hiscoach had "almost certainly" broken anti-dop-ing rules. "I am a clean athlete who has neverbroken the rules in regards to substances,methods or dosages and it is upsetting thatsome parts of the media, despite the clearfacts, continue to try to associate me withallegations of drug misuse," Farah said in astatement. Agencies

S I N G L E S

SAMPAOLI'STWO HALFTIMESUBSTITUTIONSSPARKED THE

TURNAROUND INSPAIN'S MOSTHEATED CITY

DERBY

SHIVAM SLAMS TON

Shivam Yadav cracked an unbeaten 149runs to help ASCA Blue beat ASCA Greenby five wickets in the 10th RD SinhaMemorial Cricket Tournament at AvadhSchool ground on Sunday.

Batting first, ASCA Green piled up 292for five in the allotted 35 overs withShahnawaz Khan scoring a brilliant 166runs off just 105 balls. He slammed 25boundaries and three massive sixes. SahilKhan claimed three scalps for Green team.

In reply, ASCA Blue achieved the tar-get in 30.3 overs. Shivam’s 149 runs cameoff in 79 balls, comprising 20 hits to theboundary and five towering sixes.BRIEF SCORES:Green: 292 (Shahnawaz 166, Jogendra 28,Alok 24; Sahil 23/3)

Blue: 293 (Shivam 149, Raghav 33,Shashank 28, Arun 21, Lalit 19; Areeb 44/2)

FINAL MATCH SAUTH HALL V/S 11 GRRC defeated South Hall 4-3 in a

tie-breaker to win the 3rd Sunil JangMemorial seven-a-side football tournamentat Topkhana ground on Sunday. Vinod ofSouth Hall was adjudged man of the tour-nament and best striker while most promis-ing player award went to Bhojraj. PramodSharma Parshad and QU Beli gave awaythe prizes.

TEAMS ANNOUNCEDVijay Kumar Yadav and Preeti will lead

the Uttar Pradesh judo boy’s and girl’s teamsrespectively in the Senior National JudoChampionship to be held at Chennai. TEAMS: (Boy’s) Vijay Kumar Yadav, VeerBaha Thapa, Ajay Yadav, Vishal Chauhan,Rahul, Aman Deep Yadav, Uday Raj Singh(Girl’s) Preety, Anamika Chauhan, RuchiAgarwal, Yashika Kamboj, Shalini Tyagi,Sameeksha Bhatnagar, Sheetal Chauhan.

SPORTS ACADEMYKrishnam Sports Park Pvt Ltd of

Lucknow in association with the compa-ny of Mahendra Singh Dhoni is setting upa sports complex on Hardoi road to pro-vide world class facilities to the players. Tobe spread in 50 acres, the complex will havethe facilities for cricket, tennis, football,squash, basketball, judo, wrestling, boxingand shooting. The cricket academy in thecomplex will be functional byOctober ofthis year and Dhoni himself will be a guestfaculty.

LOCAL EVENTS

LUCKNOW | MONDAY | FEBRUARY 27, 2017 sport 15

PTI n CHANDIGARH

They finished second best lastseason, but Kalinga Lancersmeant business this year as they

defeated Dabang Mumbai 4-1 in akeenly-contested summit clash towin their maiden Hockey IndiaLeague title, here on Sunday.

Skipper Moritz Fuerste (30th,58th) converted two penalty cornersfor the Lancers before Glenn Turner(18th minute) struck a field effort forthe Odisha outfit, which lost the finallast year to Jaypee Punjab Warriors.

For the first time finalist, DabangMumbai Affan Yousuf (33rd) scoredthe lone goal from a penalty cornervariation.

Earlier, Agustin Mazzilli scored alate field goal to help Uttar PradeshWizards register a 5-4 come-from-behind win over Delhi Waveriders andclaim the bronze medal in the fifth edi-tion of the tournament.

Trailing 3-4 with three minutesremaining in the game, the Argentinestriker found himself at the right placeat the right time to clinically finishFlorent van Aubel's assist from a tightangle to hand UP Wizards the leadand their first podium finish in thehistory of the tournament.

It was action-packed first quarterof the final in which both the Lancersand Dabang Mumbai created realscoring chances but both the teamsfailed to make them count.

In their first final of the HIL, itwas Dabang Mumbai who were moreassertive in the first quarter but theyfailed to get past an alert AndrewCharter in front of Lancers goal.

The Lancers finally broke thedeadlock in the 18th minute throughtournament's highest scorer so far,Australian Glenn Turner, who foundhimself positioned to tap home aMortuiz Fuerste pass from out sidethe D after it took a deflection fromLalit Upadhayay's stick.

A minute later, Dabang Mumbaisecured a penalty corner but Charterstood like a rock in front of theLancers goal to deny HarmanpreetSingh. Dabang Mumbai captainFlorian Fuchs then came tentalising-

ly close when he sprinted into theopposition circle, beating a host ofdefenders but his diagonal shot fromthe right went inches wide off the tar-get even as a diving Gurjant Singh faraway failed to get his stick.

Dabang Mumbai's Affan Yousufthen set it up with a brilliant run forManpreet Jr but the latter failed tokeep his balance and unleashed aweak shot which was easily kept awayby in-form Charter.

To add to Dabang Mumbai'swoes, Aran Zalewski won a penaltycorner for the Lancers just at thestroke of half time and skipper MoritzFuerste made no mistake in sendinghis flick into the centre of the net pastFIH's Goalkeeper of the Year, Harte.

The high intensity action contin-ued in the third quarter with DabangMumbai showing more purpose.Three minutes into the third quarterKieran Govers' secured a penaltycorner for Dabang Mumbai and AffanYousuf reduced the margin for his sidewith the help of a fine variation.

A brilliant Charter continued hisfine show in front of the Lancers goalby pulling off terrific save to denyGurjant Singh's fierce reverse hit fromtop of the circle in the 38th minute.

In the final quarter, DabangMumbai went on the offensive insearch of goals and penetrated theopposition circle numerous timesbut they erred in the final finishing.

Trailing by two goals, Dabang

Mumbai pressed hard and threeminutes from final hooter Goversfound the target on the second chanceafter Fuchs' initial shot was saved byCharter but the goal was disallowedfor dangerous ball after the Lancerswent for video referral.

With time running out, Mumbaimade desperate attempts to make acomeback and in the process earnedthree back-to-back penalty corners.Trailing by two goals, the Mumbaioutfit went for indirect tries in searchof field goals but they failed to capi-talise on the opportunities.

Fuerste drove the final nail inDabang Mumbai's coffin when heconverted his second penalty cornerof the day a minute from the hooter.

Earlier in the bronze medal play-off match, it was the former champi-ons Delhi Waveriders who werequick to get off the blocks when JustinReid-Ross scored from a field effortin the 15th minute to hand his sidea 2-0 lead.

UP Wizards' Shamsher Singh(18th) levelled the scoreline threeminutes into the second quarterwith a fine field goal after receivingan inch perfect pass fromChinglensana Singh. The Waveridersrestored their lead in the 24th minutewhen skipper Rupinder Pal Singhconverted a penalty corner and theDelhi outfit went into the halfwaybreak leading 3-2.

After the change of ends, theWaveriders extended their lead againthrough a penalty corner conversionby Rupinder in the 36th minute.

Argentine dragflicker GonzaloPeillat (38th) pulled one back for theUP Wizards two minutes later froma penalty corner to narrow down thescoreline to 3-4.

Trailing by a goal, the UP Wizardswent all out attacking in the last fewminutes of the match and madesome ambitious forays into the rivalcitadel.

The UP Wizards efforts borefruit three minutes from the finalhooter as Mazzilli scored from a tightangle past Delhi keeper VincentVanasch after being fed brilliantly byVan Aubel.

One of the senior most play-ers in international hock-

ey, two-time World Cup win-ner Mark Knowles of Australiabelieves that combining Indianand European styles of hockeyhas been the key to their suc-cess. The Punjab Warriorsskipper talks with AKSHAYSHARMA about hockey inAustralia, the Hockey IndiaLeague and much more

n Similar to what happens inIndia, hockey gets negligiblecoverage compared to othersports in Australian media. Sohow has Australia managed toremain a top internationalside over the years?

I think we had very goodcoaching for a long period oftime. We certainly try to mixEuropean, Australian andIndian kinds of styles togeth-er so that we still have a lot ofattacking flair and at the sametime we can control the gamealso. In the last six or sevenyears, we have tried to play avery aggressive game.

In terms of why Australiahas remained a successfulhockey nation without muchcoverage given to the sport, Iam not sure. It is definitely afamily sport and you grow uptruly loving it. My parentsplayed state hockey. My grand-parents did. It's a sport playedamong friends. Maybe due toit being a non-commercialsport, we play the gamebecause we truly love it. Andwhen you love something, youare more likely to put effort init.

nAccording to you what isthe typical Aussie style ofplaying hockey? Indians areregarded as more adept atdribbling and short passes.What is the Australianmethod?

Ours is definitely a style ofaggressive pressure. So, we tryto put opposition under asmuch pressure as possible andthat isn't hitting or pushing. It'strying to make people uncom-fortable. So, we play verystrong, aggressive pressinggame and I think we are closeto India in the speed at whichwe try and play at. But I thinkin our game we focus more onpassing speed than the drib-bling speed which we haveseen with India and Pakistantraditionally. So, our style isrelentless pressure and that tooat speed.

n You talked about family.Your brother-in-law (JamieDwyer) was also a greathockey player. Was theresomething special when bothof you were on the field likea special understanding orchemistry between you two?

I think definitely yes. Andit's because we knew where weboth grew up and came from.Ours is a small regional coun-try town. Growing up togeth-er, moving away from ourfamilies at similar times alsocontributed to that. Cominginto the Australian team atsimilar times was another rea-son for our closeness. Havingpretty much the identical suc-cess for fifteen years, playingfor Australia, is something

which is very rare to be able toshare with people in your fam-ily. You know your best friendsare your teammates normally,but family is another step ontop of that. So for me to haveseen someone like him, whowill go down as one of thegreatest hockey players ever,was great.

nThe Australian team hascouple of physically verystrong players, Chris Cirielloand Glenn Turner. Howimportant is physical strengthin modern day hockey? Is itmore important than skillsnow?

I don't think so. The gameis getting faster and faster. It'snow less about strength andmore about understanding ofthe game. The highest,absolutely highest quality ofskill is required. So, I think thebig hockey players would bea thing of the past.

When you look back, yousee some of the most experi-enced players like Dilip Tirkeyand others were big guys.They were solid defendersbut now, we see that the mod-ern day players are agile andnifty. Players like ManpreetSingh are quick, and able tochange directions fast as wellas play multiple positions. So,I think the game of hockeywill overtake those big guysand we will see players whocan play absolutely every-where.

nWould you like to see atournament like HIL inAustralia?

We would love to have aleague like HIL in Australia.The main issue would befinding space for it in the cur-rent international schedule.There is a very small windowthat remains in the itinerarywhen you take into account allthe international tournamentsand events like HIL and theEuropean League.

So, that will be the mainchallenge but the authoritiesare working on having some-thing like an Asian Leaguewhere teams from Australiaand other Asian countries canparticipate. Because of HIL,more and more youngAustralian players want to playin India. Players don't get theopportunity to play in front oflarge crowds and have the spot-light on them as is the case here.So, yes a league like this inAustralia would be great.

PTI n KOLKATA

Mahendra Singh Dhoni notched up hismaiden List A hundred for Jharkhand

to guide the side to a comprehensive 78-runvictory over Chattisgarh in a Group D VijayHazare Trophy fixture here on Sunday.

Dhoni survived some anxious momentsen route a 107-ball 129 but the effort was justenough to steer the team home.

Chattisgarh skipper Mohammed Kaifwon the toss and sent Jharkhand in andJharkhand were looking down the barrel at43/5 in 14.4 overs.

But former India skipper along withShahbaz Nadeem (53 from 90 balls; 4x4, 1x6)propped the total to 243/9 with a handsome151-run seventh-wicket partnership thatcame off 166 balls.

The Indian icon's career-best in domes-tic one-dayers was studded with six sixes and10 boundaries but it was not a typical Dhoniknock as he survived a few close calls beforereaching his first century for Jharkhand.

The first life came when he was yet toopen his account and stayed on after a loudcaught-behind appeal against AbhudayKant Singh (4/33), the wrecker-in-chief for

Chattisgarh.Later, he survived a close leg-before

shout from debutant legspinner ShubhamAgarwal that hit Dhoni on the backfootwhen he was on 34.

On 95, Dhoni was dropped by Kaif, aregulation catch at short extra cover. Dhonistayed on till the last ball and was finally dis-missed by a Shourabh Kharwar (1/53)when a skier was taken safely by glovesmanManoj Singh.

But by then, Dhoni had rescuedJharkhand from being on the mat.

This was Dhoni's 17th List A century,which included 10 in ODIs, and first indomestic one-dayers since February 8, 2005when he had scored an unbeaten 102 forIndia Seniors in the Challengers Trophyagainst India B.

In reply, Chattisgarh innings folded for165 in 38.4 overs as Dhoni brilliantly shuf-fled his bowlers with Varun Aaron andShahbaz Nadeem claiming three wicketseach. Reduced to 69/3 inside 16 overs, Kaiflooked to build the innings but Dhoni endedthe Chattisgarh captain's stay with a run outfor 23 before Nadeem ran through the tailwith his 3/36.

YUVI, GAMBHIR SCORE DUCKSVeteran Yuvraj Singh looked complete-

ly out of sorts as he failed to trouble the scor-ers with minnows Assam beating Punjab by3 wickets in a Group A League encounterof the Vijay Hazare Trophy.

Batting first, Punjab managed 243 in49.4 overs — a score which was 20 runsbelow par according to skipper HarbhajanSingh. Assam scored the runs in 48.4 oversoutstation recruits KB Arun Karthik (63)and Amit Verma (65). Young U-19 playerShubhman Gill scored 121 off 129 balls andadded 141 runs for the fourth wicket withIndia discard Gurkeerat Singh Mann (58).

Elsewhere, Veteran India discard GautamGambhir scored a duck as Himachal Pradeshhammered Delhi into submission with anemphatic 185-run win Group B match.

Batting first, Himachal Pradesh piled upa massive 339 for 8 in 50 overs with openerPrashant chopra smashing way to 159 off 140balls. In reply, Delhi were shot out for 154 in37 overs with six players failing to cross dou-ble figures. Gambhir was out in the secondover without troubling scores. Rishabh Pantis also having a poor tournament getting outfor two after scoring 5 in the first game.

PTI n NEW DELHI

Former India captainMohammed Azharuddin feels

that Indian team will be forced tomake a couple of changes in theirplaying XI for the second Testagainst Australia after the ham-mering it took in the openingmatch. "Any batting debacle leavesa team on the backfoot. I am notsaying series is lost but one needsto look at the kind of track thatyou want to play. I reckonChinnaswamy won't have thiskind of turn. So my gut feeling isthat Jayant Yadav and IshantSharma may be dropped from theplaying XI," Azharuddin said.

India lost the match by awhopping 333 runs and the sec-ond Test will be played inBengaluru, from March 4.

Asked to explain his obser-vation, Azhar said: "Going by theirbatting performance, I expectthem to play an extra batsman —that is Karun Nair. He should bereplacing Jayant in all likelihood.

"Also on the tracks that we areplaying, Ishant's back of the lengthstuff is not going to work. It is bet-ter that a swing bowler likeBhuvneshwar is brought into theteam by Virat."

For someone who has played99 Tests and captained India for

close to a decade, Azharuddin wascritical of the performance by theIndian spinners on a rank turner.

"I think a similar pitch wasprepared when Michael Clarke gothis 6 for 9 in Mumbai. This wasa bad pitch to bat on. But I am notat all happy with how the spinnersbowled on a track like this — espe-cially Ravindra Jadeja," said Azhar.

In fact, the stylish Hyderabadifeels that Steve O'Keefe showedexactly how to bowl on a turner.

"O'Keefe bowled the line thatJadeja should have bowled. Ifyou looked at Jadeja's line, it wason off-stump or slightly outsidethe off-stump trying to make useof the rough. That was where hemade the mistake. On this track,Jadeja's channel would have never

got him wickets and that's pre-cisely what has happened.

"Now what did O'Keefe bowl?He bowled on the middle and legline and didn't try for big turn. Thebatsmen can't leave such deliver-ies. As a result, he got four lbwdecisions. An orthodox left-armspinner when he is getting 4 lbwsmeans that he was bowlingstraight, knowing pitch will do therest," said Azharuddin.

TENDULKAR BACKS TEAMCricket icon Sachin

Tendulkar threw his weightbehind the beleaguered Indianteam and said that the ViratKohli-led side will bounce backfrom the embarrassing defeatagainst Australia.

"Coming to India-AustraliaTest series, it was a tough Testmatch for us. But it is a part andparcel of the game. The loss (in thefirst Test) does not mean that theseries is lost, the series is still wideopen," Tendulkar said. "Knowingthe spirit of the Indian team Iknow that they will fight backhard. Australian team also knowsabout it because when we beatthem, we also knew that they aregoing to come back at us reallyhard. I have no doubt that theIndian team is going to come backand compete hard," he added.

PTI n DUBAI

Captain Virat Kohli remained the high-est-placed Indian batsman at second,

while off-spinner Ravichandaran Ashwinheld on to his top position in both thebowlers' and all-rounders' list of the lat-est ICC Test rankings issued on Sunday.The Indian team, which lost the openingTest in Pune to Australia on Saturday, wasunaffected by the debacle at least in theICC rankings. In fact, opener KL Rahulclaimed his career-best ranking of 46thafter scores of 64 and 10 in the match.

The Australians, however, made sub-stantial gains with match heroes SteveO'Keefe, Steve Smith and Matt Renshawattaining significant gains.

Australia Smith reached a career-high939 rating points after an outstanding bat-ting effort in the Test which his team wonby 333 runs to take a 1-0 lead in the four-match series, the ICC said in a statement.

Smith has not only consolidated hisposition at the top of the Rankings for TestBatsmen but has also attained ratingpoints which are the sixth-best ever afterDon Bradman (961), Len Hutton (945),Jack Hobbs and Ricky Ponting (both 942)and Peter May (941).

Gary Sobers, Viv Richards and KumarSangakkara all had career-high rankingpoints of 938. Smith, who scored 27 and109 in Pune to gain six points, now leadsKohli by 66 points while England batsmanJoe Root is 91 points behind him at third

place with 848 points. Renshaw has moved up 18 places to

a career-best 34th position scoring 68 and31.

In the Rankings for Test Bowlers,Australia's left-arm spinner Steve O'Keefehas rocketed up 33 slots to a career-best29th place after figures of 12 for 70 whichearned him the player of the matchaward.

Ashwin remained at the top of thebowlers' rankings with 878 points aftertaking seven wickets. But his spin partnerRavindra Jadeja now has company at sec-ond spot as Josh Hazlewood has caughtup with him at 860 points, the Australiapace bowler's career-best.

PTI n MELBOURNE

Hailing the Australian side for winning its first Test in India in 13years, the media Down Under said Steven Smith's team is capa-

ble of conquering the series itself for the first time in over a decade.Left-arm spinner Steve O'Keefe was praised for his "superhero"

performance in Australia's stunning 333-run win inside three days."History has been made. Australia has won its first game in India

in almost 13 years. Steve O'Keefe has put his name on an honour boardamong the very best the game has ever seen and India is in shock,"a write-up in The Australian newspaper said.

"A billion plus peopledidn't see this coming. Agood 20 million plusAustralians were of the samemind. Nobody outside thecamp gave Steve Smith'smen a chance, but theyromped it in. The best bit?They beat the Indians attheir own game," it said.

The Sun-Herald hailedO'Keefe's 12-wicket haul inthe match along with skipper Smith's fighting first century in Indiaand his 10th as Australia's captain.

"Steve O'Keefe led Australia to one of its greatest Test victorieson Indian soil with a superhero performance that rewrote the recordbooks and humiliated the shell-shocked hosts inside three days," theSun-Herald said. "Australia will head to Bangalore for the second Testwith genuine belief they can pull off what only a few days ago seemedlike mission impossible and win just their second series on these shoressince 1969."

A report in Sydney Morning Herald said India's new-found resolveto use the Decision Review System (DRS) backfired spectacularly inthe first Test loss to Australia. "The most glaring example came whenopeners Murali Vijay and KL Rahul, unhappy with their lbw dismissals,wasted the side's two reviews in just 5.3 overs of India's second innings."

‘Aussies are relentlesswith pace & pressure'Lancers win maiden HIL title

Kalinga overcome Mumbai challenge with 4-1 victory; Wizards claim bronze

Dhoni blasts ton in Jharkhand win

Smith's men beat India intheir own game: Aus media

Kohli, Ashwin retainpositions in rankings

‘Jayant, Ishant should be

replaced in next Test’

SKIPPER MORITZFUERSTE (30TH,

58TH) CONVERTEDTWO PENALTY

CORNERS FOR THELANCERS BEFOREGLENN TURNER(18TH MINUTE)STRUCK A FIELDEFFORT FOR THEODISHA OUTFIT

KENDALL JENNER's “favourite”body part to work out is herstomach, and she loves the feelingafter her trainer has “killed” herabs.“My abs are my favouritething to work out. I love it whenmy trainer, Gunnar Peterson, killsmy abs,” she said.Kendall enjoys feeling sorefrom the strenuous regimebecause she believes itproves she has completedthe sets correctly, evenif she is in pain tolaugh the next day.“The next day, ithurts to even laugh.That's how I knowI'm doing theexercises right!”However, Kendallfeels guilty when sheis having a day offand is lounging in frontof the television insteadof working up a sweat.“Sometimes when I'mwatching TV, I think tomyself, 'I should bedoing crunches and sit-ups right now.' Then I getoff the couch and do it,”she added.

Ranveer in lovewith Switzerland

RANVEER SINGH, who isthe Indian ambassador forSwitzerland Tourism, istravelling to the countryand says he is really excit-

ed to explore it again.“I can never getenough ofSwitzerland! I am soexcited to explorethis gorgeous coun-try again; this timeas its brand ambas-sador. It's the bestplace to relax after atight schedule andget re-energised,”Ranveer said in a

statement. On thework front, Ranveer is cur-rently busy with filmmakerSanjay Leela Bhansali'sPadmavati, which also stars

Deepika Padukone andShahid Kapoor.Ranveer has also beenroped in for directorZoya Akhtar's GullyBoy.

CHELSEA HANDLER

was earlier offeredto host the FilmIndependent SpiritsAwards. She firstgot ready to hostthe show, but laterchanged her mind.Asked whether she

will ever host Oscars, Handlersaid: “God no. Why would I dothat? I was going to host theIndependent Spirit Awards. ThenI was like, ‘Why am I doing this?I don't want to.' I said, ‘Yes.' Andthen I said, ‘You know what, I'msorry — I can't.' I'd maybe hostthe Golden Globes. It would befun to do it with another person.

LUCKNOW | MONDAY | FEBRUARY 27, 2017vivacity 16

Kendall Jennerloves working out

Check out what smartphoneplayers have to offer atMWC 2017

TECH

TAKE

The next

element

‘I am an oldermum to threekids whoturned ninethis year. Ineed theenergy tokeep up with

them. I want to havehealthy years on me so Iget more time withthem. I was tired ofwearing long, slimmingkurtas. Though sheddingweight is a struggle,looking and feeling greatis the reward as ispulling off sarees anddresses for my TV turn.’—FARAH KHAN

Green is green, but Kerala’sgreen is distinct from what

you find anywhere else in thecountry: it serves as a visualcushion that makes up for theharshness of the summer sun.

Well, our only purpose to bein Kochi was to attend the bigannouncement of Star Plus. Afterreaching, we suddenly noticed ahouse boat on the horizon, cross-ing the waters glittering underthe sun. A lady was waving fromthe boat. As the boat came clos-er, the lady looked alike actorNeelu Vaghela (popularly knownas Bhabho) dressed in aRajasthani getup. She was here toannounce the title of second sea-son of popular soap Diya AurBaati Hum, which ran for overfive years between 2011 to 2016,amid a lot of suspense anddrama.

The sequel of the TV showwill be called Tu Sooraj MainSaanjh Piyaji. Starting fromwhere the show ended, the sequelwill take a leap of 20 years andshowcase the Rathi family witha few old and new faces. The newtitle of the show has been takenfrom the original title track ofDiya Aur Baati Hum. “We aredelighted to come back afterseven months since Diya AurBaati went off air. The show

became a household name andpeople were sending us lettersand mails to return with asequel,” said Neelu, who willreprise her role of Santosh Rathiaka Bhabho. “While people sawme donning chaniya choli inDiya Aur Baati Hum, in itssequel they will see me more insaris and a pair of specs. But myavatar will remain the same,”Neelu added.

Set against the backdrop ofRajasthan, Diya Aur Baati Hum,which was aimed at breaking thestereotypical image of women inrural India, showcased the inspi-rational journey of SandhyaRathi (played by Deepika Singh)

who along with the help of herhusband Sooraj Rathi (AnasRashid) goes against all odds tobecome an IPS officer.

Though Deepika and Anaswill not be a part of Tu SoorajMain Saanjh Piyaji, the newshow will be centred aroundtheir children Ved and Kanak.While sharing about what toexpect from Tu Sooraj MainSaanjh Piyaji, Neelu said, “Thesequel will have various twists.That’s why we have come here toshoot in Kerala. We have juststarted shooting for the show, soright now I can’t share muchdetails. But the way we show-cased women empowerment inDiya Aur Baati Hum, the samewe are going to show in itssequel.”

It will be interesting to wit-ness how the show will showcasewoman empowerment in a statewhere the literacy rate is 100 percent. In contrary to the first partwhich featured aroundRajhasthan where the girl liter-acy rate is very less.

Asked about the controver-sy of Deepika Singh not beenentirely paid for the show, Neeluexplained, “The producers werealways open for settlement andI believe this shouldn’t be stretched further.”

As the Mobile World Congress (MWC), thebiggest technology show globally, is around thecorner, smartphone manufacturers like

Samsung, Oppo, ZTE and Nokia are geared up tounveil their latest innovations and upcoming smart-phones.

The prestigious event will be held in Barcelonafrom February 27 to March 2 this year.

Contrary to reports of a total no-show, belea-guered Samsung may launch an Android tablet at theevent. The company also tweeted a media invite onits official Twitter handle and gave away a few detailslike the date and one image, appearing to show thebottom of a new device.

The event could see Samsung unveil other devicesas well but the South Korean giant will not launch thehighly-anticipated Galaxy S8 smartphone, mediareports said.

Creating the biggest hype, Nokia is rumoured tobe readying for a relaunch of the 3310, one of its mostreliable handsets that was officially unveiled in the year2000. Nokia is also set to launch its first Androidsmartphone Nokia 6 in China on February 26.

“The new 3310, which will feature the same 'inde-structible' body and long-lasting battery as the orig-inal, will retail for 59 euros, or about $62. It's expect-ed to ship with software packing the same clock, cal-culator, reminder app, and games (Snake II, Pairs II,Space Impact, and Bantumi) as its ancestor,” DigitalTrends reported earlier.

South Korean electronics conglomerate LG willintroduce the G6, which is expected to kick off an eraof premium smartphones with 18:9 screen aspectratios. The device will feature UX 6.0 and sport a 5.7-inch QHD+FullVision display.

LG UX 6.0 provides a “Square Camera” featurewhich divides the 18:9 display into two identical per-fect squares. With this, users can shoot images in 1:1format -- a popular format on social media apps suchas Instagram and review them in the adjacent win-dow.

Chinese smartphone maker ZTE is set to launchthe “Gigabit” phone that will come with 1Gbps down-load speed.

The ZTE Gigabit phone will bring enhancedmobile experience of users by making 360-degreepanoramic VR video, instant Cloud storage and enter-tainment upgrades.

The company will also showcase the newly-updat-ed “Axon 7” with both Android Nougat and Daydreamby Google, along with a range of new devices, as partof the highly — acclaimed Blade series.

Designed to give consumers a great photographyexperience, another Chinese player, Oppo, will unveila new smartphone with 5x zooming ability. The com-pany has teased the smartphone with the tagline ‘Go5x further’ on its Facebook page.

Chinese smartphone maker nubia’s latest Z11 miniS, with an improved 23MP camera and metallic uni-body, and nubia Z11, which comes with a revolution-ary bezel-less design and the FiT 2.0 technology, willbe on display at the event.

Hit by a high-profile exit amid falling numbersin China and globally, Xiaomi — once touted as theApple of China — will not showcase any product atthe MWC show.

IANS

Most of us wouldn’t havehad the ultimate tangoexperience but we hear it’s

a pure bliss; something like the con-nection with the universe. Thetango dancers boast of this ‘medi-tative’ dance sequence that involvesdancing in a well-balanced mannerset to both slow and fast pacedmusic. But Kiran Sawhney, founderNew Delhi Tango School and alsoa professional Argentine Tangodancer, view this dance form as aphysical expression of pain, passionand life. “It is a non-verbal language,to express oneself in new ways. It isa wonder drug that makes youyounger, sexier, more philosophicaland more of who you really are. Itis a way of life,” she said.

Sawhney is known for her ana-lytical and radical approach that shebrings into teaching Tango. “Tango’sstrength lies in its complex simplic-ity. It is like a natural crystal. To seeit clearly, you need to explore it fromits all sides. Every time you see anduncover a new layer, the simplicitylends itself to layer upon layer ofmeaning. There is longing, yearn-ing, desire and escape in it,”explained the passionate dancer.

The New Delhi Tango Schoolrecently organised the 3rd DelhiInternational Tango Festival. Thefour day event saw various work-shops by Tango maestros DanaFrigoli and Adrain Ferreya fromBuenos Aires, Argentina. Sawhneybelieves that everybody has theirown perspective which they bringto this dance form and that’s the

beauty of it. “Each person bringstheir own light and darkness withthem, and each looks to find theirplace in tango. And we all work tomake our peace with the dance. Itmay be a constant struggle. Like anygood fight, though, it’s worth it,” sheadded.

Sawhney teaches ArgentineTango in New Delhi, milongas(Milonga de Mis Amores) and

Tango festival. She also manufac-tures sells and exports Tango dress-es and shoes under her own brandname — Mis Amores.

It however seems tad difficult topinpoint the type that gets attract-ed to tango. In India, tango dancersnecessarily belong to an economicstratum of society. “Tango is verysophisticated and a mature danceform. There is close proximity yet,the people are extremely sophisti-cated. There are not many peoplewho are doing Tango, but once youenter, this dance has a small worldof its own which you won’t like toleave,” said Sawhney.

As they say, “you do not findtango. Tango finds you.” So hap-pened with Sawhney. The first pro-fessionally trained tango teacher inIndia Sawhney is dancing since shewas six years old. “I started withKathak, Odissi, Bharatnatyam,Bollywood, salsa, merengue, jive,rock and roll, bachata, zouk and chacha. In 2004 I went Argentina, andfound my real love and passion —the Argentine tango. I went therenot for watching the dance butTango found me,” she said.

Like meditation, the dance onlygrows as you learn it. “There aremoments of transcendence, of desirefulfilled, of finding oneself lost inanother’s arms. That is the power ofthis dance,” she signed off.

Apart from her Delhi schoolwhere she teaches Tango regularly,Kiran has taught in Singapore,Frankfurt, Benidorm festival andReykjavik too.

Actor NEELU VAGHELA talks about Tu Sooraj Main Saanjh Piyaji, a sequel of Diya aur baati hum. By ANKITA JAIN

An ode to women powerThe show fromwhere the show

ended, the sequelwill take a leap of

20 years andshowcase the

Rathi family with afew old and new

faces

DESIGNED TO GIVE CONSUMERSA GREAT PHOTOGRAPHY

EXPERIENCE, ANOTHER CHINESEPLAYER, OPPO, WILL UNVEIL ANEW SMARTPHONE WITH 5X

ZOOMING ABILITY

BEATS FOR THE SOULProfessional Tango dancer, KIRAN SAWHNEY says, ‘Tango is more than a

dance form. It’s a way of life.’ By JIGYASU JOSHI

‘TANGO IS A WONDERDRUG THAT MAKES

YOU YOUNGER, SEXIER,MORE PHILOSOPHICAL

AND MORE OF WHOYOU REALLY ARE’

ranveer singh switzerland 16 vivacity - the … price from those leaking the ... a machine gun, one...

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