PNS n NEW DELHI

Anyone over the age of 18 canwalk in to the nearest vaccinationcentre to get registered on theCoWIN digital platform and beinoculated against COVID-19,the Union Health Ministry saidMonday afternoon.

It is not mandatory to pre-reg-ister online or book an appoint-ment to get the vaccine, the gov-ernment said, as it seeks toincrease the pace of vaccinationsand tackle the 'vaccine hesitancy'it has blamed for the slow rolloutof vaccines in parts of the coun-try, including rural areas.

'Vaccine hesitancy', the govern-ment said last week, is "a global-ly accepted phenomenon andshould be addressed by scientif-ically studying the issue at the

community level". It said it wassharing a 'COVID-19 VaccineCommunication Strategy' withstate/UT governments.

Experts believe vaccinatingpeople in the 18-44 age group -the country's largest demo-graphic - is key to being able tolift restrictions and try and re-start economic and commercialactivity.

Page 3Cabinet Sub-panel

takes stock ofpreparations for

third wave

VIJAYAWADA, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 16, 2021; PAGES 12 `3 RNI No.APENG/2018/764698

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NAVEENA GHANATE n HYDERABAD

Like flu shots, people may have totake COVID-19 vaccine onceevery year as the antibodies do notlast long, according to AsianInstitute of Gastroenterology(AIG) chairman Dr D NageshwarReddy. He highlighted this whileaddressing a session t it led‘COVID-19: Lessons Learnt &Future Strategies’ organised by theTelangana State Medical Council(TSMC) here on Tuesday.

Dr Reddy observed, “Durationof efficacy of vaccine – (for) upto 6 months’ antibodies are stillthere. Based upon the T-cellsstudy that we are doing, we mayhave the vaccine memory forabout 12 months. Like the flu vac-cine, we might have to take Covidvaccine once every year”.

He said, “In future, like everyyear we take the flu shot, we willalso take Covid shot.Interestingly, there is some datato suggest that if we mix flu shotand Covid shot, the immuno-

genicity increases”.A third dose of Covid vaccine

for some groups like uncon-trolled diabetes, immune-sup-pressed is advised by doctors.

On this, he added: “For somegroups of people, I advise a thirddose quickly. As for those who areimmune-suppressed, have uncon-trolled diabetes, and other comor-bidities, it may be worthwhile tothink of taking a third dose aftereight weeks. For others, twodoses would be sufficient”.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

The Andhra Pradesh State Councilof Higher Education (APSCHE)has stated that degree collegesshould offer courses in the Englishmedium henceforth from the aca-demic year 2021-22. All privateunaided and aided degree col-leges offering Telugumedium courses shouldsubmit proposals forconversion of allTelugu mediumcourses into Englishmedium, to theCouncil from June 18to 28, the APSCHE said.

Council Secretary Prof BSudhir Prem Kumar said thatfrom academic year 2021–22, theBoard of Higher Education hassuggested that all private aidedand unaided colleges shouldconvert Telugu medium coursesinto English medium.

The government has decidedto implement English medium inall non-professional degreecourses like BA, B Com, B Sc.

The decision was taken with aview to improving job andemployment opportunities forthe better future of the students.

There are 4,24,937 seats indegree colleges in the state and2,62,805 students are enrolledthis year. Of these, 65,989 are

Telugu medium and 1,96,816are English medium stu-

dents . After thei mpl e m e nt at i on ,65,989 studentsalready studyingTelugu medium

will continue in therespective courses as

usual.English medium will be

implemented only for new stu-dents from the 2021–22 academ-ic year.

APSCHE chairman ProfessorK Hemachandra Reddy said thata three-pronged strategy wouldbe implemented to educate stu-dents in all ways and improve joband employment opportunities.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

For the third year in a row — anda month in advance — ChiefMinister YS Jaganmohan Reddycredited Rs 248.47 crore into theaccounts of 2,48,468 beneficiariesunder YSR Vahana Mithrascheme by providing a financialassistance of Rs 10,000 for the eli-gible auto rickshaw and taxi driv-ers.

Speaking on the occasion onTuesday, the Chief Minister saidthat the amount of Rs 10,000 wasfor the recurring expenses likeinsurance and maintenance ofthe vehicle to procure fitness cer-tificate, which is being done aspromised during his 3,648 kmpadayatra.

After witnessing the difficultiesof auto drivers, who hardly earnRs 500 a day and have to pay ahuge sum of Rs 10,000 towards

insurance and other expensesrequired for getting a fitness cer-tificate, the government has comeup with this welfare initiative.

Almost 84 percent of the ben-eficiaries are from SC, ST, BC andMinorities, said the ChiefMinister, adding that the schemenot only benefits the drivers butalso for passengers who can expe-rience a safe journey.

“So far, under YSR VahanaMithra, Rs 759 crore has beencredited directly into the accountsof beneficiaries and such a schemeis available only in AndhraPradesh and nowhere in the coun-try,” he said.

As many as 42,932 beneficiar-ies have newly applied for thescheme this year, where a total of2,48,468 will be receiving the aidand those who are left out can stillapply at village/ward secretariatsand their applications would be

considered if they are eligible.People can contact on

9154294326 or call 1902 to findout about the scheme or lodge acomplaint. The Chief Ministersaid that the government also puta task force in the Transport sec-tion for smooth conduct of thescheme.

Hitting back at the oppositionleaders over the false propaganda,Jagan said that auto and taxidrivers have been looted in theprevious government with taxesand penalties.

Elaborating, he said that Rs 7.39crore had been collected towardscompounded fees, tax and penal-ties from the auto drivers between2015-16. “In 2016-17, Rs 9.68crore, in 2017-18 Rs 10.19 croreand in 2018-19 almost Rs 7.09crore had been collected.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

The Andhra Pradesh High Courton Tuesday issued notice to StateElection Commissioner NilamSawhney over a petition challeng-ing her appointment to the post.

The court ordered the stategovernment and the other defen-dants to file counters in the caseand adjourned the hearing to June29.

It can be recalled that on March31, Nimmagadda RameshKumar's term as SEC had come toan end and the State governmentappointed Sawhney as the newSEC.

Soon after taking charge as theSEC, Nilam Sawhney announcedZPTC and MPTC elections onApril 8. However, the High Courtcancelled the ZPTC and MPTCelections and suggested a freshnotification to conduct the same.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Stating that Chief Minister YSJaganmohan Reddy was very muchcommitted to social justice, YSRCPleaders said that this was reflectedin the recent allocation of MLCseats with two of the four peopleentering the Upper House are fromweaker sections.

“Empowering weaker sections isno longer just a slogan as the ChiefMinister has made it a reality dur-ing the two years of YSRCP rule,”said a YSRCP leader.

In allocation of MLC seats, fac-tors influencing the selection likesocial status, financial ability, polit-ical influence were sidelined pavingway to the weaker sections mark-ing true political empowerment.

In Chief Minister’s home districtKadapa prominence was given toBC-Yadava caste in the governor-nominated MLCs.

With this decision, after six anda half decades, a person belongingto Yadava caste has been nominat-

ed in the Governor's quota as anMLC. Since the formation of theLegislative Council in 1958, asmany as 30 MLCs were electedfrom Kadapa district and for thefirst time, the Yadav communitygot representation.

Of the four MLC posts that werevacant under Governor’s quota, thegovernment selected one SC and

one BC. Moshen Raju of WestGodavari district, Ramesh Yadav ofKadapa, Thota Trimurthulu ofEast Godavari district and LellaAppireddy of Guntur have beennominated for the MLC postsunder governor quota.

Since the day the YSRCP formedthe government in 2019, a total of15 MLCs were elected under nom-

inated and MLA quota, where 11of them have been given to BC, SCand minorities.

In vacancies that were filledafter 2018, 12 posts were given toBC, SC and Minorities, while threeof them were given to upper castes,as Janga Krishna Murthy of BC wasgiven the opportunity to be anMLC, while YSRCP is in opposi-tion.

Members elected and nominat-ed as MLCs on behalf of YSRCPsince 2019 are P Ravindra Babu(SC), Balli Kalyana Chakravarti(SC), Dokka Manikya Varaprasad(SC), Koyya Moshen Raju (SC),Mopidevi Venkata Ramana(BC),Duvvada Srinivas (BC),Potula Sunita (BC), Ramesh Yadav(BC), C Ramachandraiah (BC),Zakia Khanum (Minority),Muhammad Iqbal (Minority),Mohammed Karimunnisa(Minority), ChallaBhagirathareddy (OC), LellaAppireddy (OC) and ThotaTrimurthulu (OC).

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Education Minister AdimulapuSuresh on Tuesday said that thedepartment hopes to hold exami-nations in July as the number ofCovid cases in the state is on thedecline.

Suresh said that the governmentwould probably hold Intermediateexaminations in the first week of

July while Class 10 exams will beheld in the last week.

The Minister said he woulddiscuss the matter with ChiefMinister YS Jaganmohan Reddyand take a final decision on theexamination arrangements. Hesaid that the examinations werebeing conducted in the best inter-est of the students only.

People may need to take Covid vaxevery year, says AIG chairman

Jagan credits Rs 248.47 cr underYSR Vahana Mithra scheme

Degree courses onlyin English from2021-22: APSCHE

HC issuesnotice to SEC

YSRCP backs weaker sections for Council Inter exams likely to beheld in July first week

CoWin now no longermust for vaccination

PNS n NEW DELHI

Dismissing assumptions that chil-dren and the younger populationwere more affected in the secondwave of Covid, the government onTuesday said those in the 1-20 agegroup accounted for less than 12per cent of the cases recordedduring both the waves.Those aged 1-20 years accountedfor 11.62 per cent of the total casesduring the second wave (March 15to May 25) as against 11.31 per centin the first wave (July 1 toDecember 31), indicating not muchdifference in the proportion ofthose infected in this age-group,according to the data shared by thegovernment at a press conference.

The data showed that the 21-50age group was the most affectedcategory in both waves with thepeople from this category account-ing for 59.74 per cent of the infec-tions in the first wave as against62.45 per cent in the second.

As for people aged above 61years, the proportion was 13.89 percent in the first wave and 12.58 in

the second wave.Presenting age bifurcation of

cases in first and second waves,Lav Agarwal, Joint Secretary in theHealth Ministry, said the firstwave saw 3.28 per cent cases com-ing from 1 to 10 years age groupwhile it is 3.05 per cent in the sec-ond wave.

The age group 11-20 yearsaccounted for 8.03 per cent in the

first wave and 8.57 per cent in thesecond wave.

Amid fears about the possibili-ty of children getting more affect-ed if a third wave comes, the gov-ernment said there appears to beno substantial evidence to indicatethere will be severe infectionamong them but then highlightedthat people of all age groups needto stay vigilant and follow precau-

tions.Highlighting the improvement

in the Covid situation in thecountry, Agarwal further said thatalmost 85 per cent decline indaily new cases has been notedsince the highest reported peak onMay 7 and the number of districtsreporting more than 100 dailycases have reduced from 531 asrecorded in the week ending May4 to 165 in the week ending June13.

There has been a decline of 75.6per cent from the peak of Covidactive cases recorded on May 10across the county.

At present, there are 20 statesand union territories where theCovid active caseload is less than5,000 and a drastic reduction isbeing noted in almost all states.

Due to the restriction beingimposed at the field level in termsof containment activities, a sharpdecline of 78 per cent has beennoted since the highest reportedweekly Covid case positivity of21.4 per cent recorded betweenMay 4-10 during the second wave.

Less than 12% aged 1 to 20affected in Covid two waves

All applications forHaj 2021 cancelled:

Haj Committee

The Haj Committee of India on

Tuesday announced that allthe applications for the

pilgrimage this year stand cancelled asSaudi Arabia has stated that only a

limited number of people residing inthe Kingdom will be allowed to

perform Haj due to the COVID-19pandemic. In a circular, the committee

said that the Ministry of Haj andUmrah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, hasissued a statement informing that dueto coronavirus pandemic conditions it

has decided to allow citizens andresidents inside the Kingdom of Saudi

Arabia only to attend Haj this year inlimited numbers and international Haj

has been cancelled.

Twitter appointsinterim Chief

Compliance Officer

Twitter on Tuesday said it has

appointed an interim ChiefCompliance Officer and the

details of the official will be sharedwith the IT Ministry directly soon.

The Government had issued anotice to Twitter giving it one last

chance to "immediately" complywith the new IT rules and warned that

failure to adhere to the norms will leadto the platform losing exemption from

liability under the IT Act. Followingthis, Twitter had assured that it is in

advanced stages of finalising theappointment of chief compliance

officer as required under the new ITrules, and that it will submit additional

details within a week.

Exports jump69.35% to USD

32.27 bn in May

India's exports rose by 69.35 per

cent to USD 32.27 billion inMay on account of healthy

growth even as trade deficit droppedto an eight-month low of USD 6.28

billion, according to government datareleased on Tuesday.

Exports stood at USD 19billion in May last year and at USD29.85 billion in May 2019, the data

showed. Imports in May 2021 grewby 73.64 per cent to USD 38.55

billion, leaving a trade deficit of USD6.28 billion for the month -- the

lowest in eight months.

Taj Mahal to reopentoday, 650 visitorsallowed at a time

Only 650 will be allowed to enter

the Taj Mahal at a time whenthe monument reopens for

visitors on Wednesday, officials said.All centrally protected

monuments, museums and sitesclosed for around two months due to

the Covid pandemic will reopen onJune 16, an Archaeological Survey ofIndia (ASI) order issued on Monday

said. While 650 tourists will beallowed inside the Taj Mahal premisesat one point of time so that COVID-19

protocols are followed, suchrestrictions will not be in place for

other monuments, Agra DistrictMagistrate Prabhu N Singh said onTuesday. The monument premises

will be sanitised three times a day, theASI said.

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Sensex, Nifty scale new peaks;

banking shares drive rally

Amit Shah meets MPs amid

Cabinet expansion buzzP5

P8

P12

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Dabboo Ratnani'scalendar

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Fiscal health of anystate depends onthe management of

its available resources. Ifwe take the case ofAndhra Pradesh today,the moot question is:What would happen ifthe state dumps its finan-cial resources in unproduc-tive areas in the name of wel-fare? How can the state dis-own its noble responsibilityof creat ing communityassets? Is throwing crumbs atindividuals preferable to cre-ation of community assets?

How can the future of sucha state be sound if the 'dump-ing' continues unabated inthe blind pursuit of makingpeople smile by offeringthem freebies? There shouldbe some soul-searchingamong the powers that be inAP to answer these embar-rassing questions.

Nobody would opposewelfare programmes taken

up by an electedgovernment if they arepart and parcel of pru-dent policies that arelinked to efficient man-

agement of avail-able resources.

Thousands of peoplewould benefit from saybuilding a community hall,laying a road, or setting up abore well.

But in AP crores of peopleare getting individual bene-fits by way of directly trans-fers of money from the gov-ernment in the name of wel-fare schemes.

These include communi-ty pensions and Amma Vodi.People were previously happyto receive pensions of Rs.500/- or Rs. 1,000/- and theyused to spend that amountfrugally for meeting theirdaily needs.

In those days only Rs.200/-was paid in the form of com-munity pension and that too,

once in three months, withpeople waiting patiently forthat occasion.

But suddenly there havebeen three-fold increase invarious types of pensionamounts, following the polit-ically motivated race betweenN. Chandrababu Naidu andYS Jaganmohan Reddy, lead-ers of the main warring polit-ical forces in the state.

Some observers say peopledo not need freebies.Referring to the distribution

of subsidised rice throughfair price shops, they ask:"Are people really in need ofthat r ice?" Given theimprovement in living stan-dards, with almost five-foldincrease in daily wages, theysay daily wagers are now in aposition to get at leastRs.500/ and yet they spend35% of it on liquor con-sumption.

Total prohibit ion, i fachieved as promised in theelection manifesto of ruling

YSRCP, will certainly helplakhs of families. Still, polit-ical compulsions are prompt-ing the powers that be to takeimprudent decisions.

The seeds of theunscrupulous practice of lur-ing BPL people were sownduring the regime ofChandrababu Naidu in theerstwhile state of undivided

AP. Free distribution of LPG

connections to members ofself-help groups was oneamong those 'kotivaraalu'(one crore bless-ings). Despite his poll gim-micks, he lost in the electoralbattle. Of course, no govern-ment can afford to dispensewith freebies completely. Butin AP, there seems to be nolimit on giving away freebiesto various sections of people.

Recently the AP govern-ment announced that moneytotaling Rs.95,000 crore hadbeen deposited into the bankaccounts of beneficiariesacross the state and patteditself for its 'wise and tremen-dous' act to benefit people.

Every rupee of this hugeamount will be spent onunproductive purposes.

After all this, they say theyare 'struggling to fund' thePolavaram multi-purposeproject, which is considered

the lifeline of AP. Choices make all the dif-

ference. Should it be individ-ual benefit now or long-termcommunity benefit? Should itbe DBT or asset creation? Aresponsible government willmake the right choices.

This also explains why thePolavaram project, for whichthe foundation stone was laidby former chief minister T.Anjaiah back in 1981, has notseen the light of the day yet.

Giving freebies to peopledrags government through atrapdoor.

Once the governmentpasses the door, it can't comeout. Take the case of freepower supply to farmers con-ceived by Dr. YS RajasekharaReddy, former chief ministerof undivided AP.

He could not touch it evenafter realizing that it was amillstone around the govern-ment's neck.

He thought the scheme

was required only for abouttwo agricultural seasons toenable farmers to come out oftheir debts. But then he real-ized the hard way that habitsdie hard.

No government wouldinvite the wrath of people bystopping such popularschemes.

That's why governmentselect to continue thoseschemes, irrespective of thefiscal strain.

They are willing to borrowto finance such schemes.Thousands of crores ofrupees are borrowed to meeteven daily needs of the gov-ernment.

And then they look atways of selling governmentlands in prime localities ofvarious cities and towns.

Do we need developmentthat forces the governmentto dispense with our perma-nent assets at throwawayprices?

M D RATNA KUMAR

Senior Journalist

What would happen if the state dumps

its financial resources in unproductive

areas in the name of welfare? How can

the state disown its noble

responsibility of creating community

assets? Is throwing crumbs at

individuals preferable to creation of

community assets?

PIN

POINT

Freebies will impair fiscal health of Andhra Pradesh

SNV SUDHIR

n VIJAYAWADA

The construction sector thatprovides large scale employ-ment and has been reelingunder crisis due to Covidinduced economic downturnover the last one-and-a-halfyears, is pushed further to theedge due to the steep rise inprices of raw materials likecement and steel.

The construction sector isnot alone; all essential com-modities have already wit-nessed abnormal increase inprices.

However, for the construc-tion sector in Andhra Pradesh,matters look more bleak thanever — pandemonium pre-vailed for the larger part of thefirst year of the YSRCP govern-ment due to changes in sand

policy which left builders indisarray. Now, prices of cementand steel — the key raw mate-rials that go into construction— have shot up by at least 50percent in just a year.

A tonne of steel that costaround Rs 30,000 aroundMarch last year now costs Rs56,000; a bag of cement thatwas sold at Rs 250 to Rs 270now costs between Rs 350and Rs 400. On top of it, dueto the curfew restrictions worktimings had to be rescheduledresulting in project delays andcost overruns.

Builders who were caughtunaware of the hike in theseprices are unable to pass on theadditional costs to customerswho had booked flats long agoand are waiting for delivery.

Non-availability of labourthat had impacted overall pro-

duction, supply disruptionsand also hike in transportationcharges with the rise in fuelprices are attributed to thesteep rise in the prices of steeland cement.

The construction sector hadreceived a severe blow soonafter the YSRCP came topower after the new govern-ment stopped sand quarryingacross the state for a fewmonths on the pretext of cor-recting the ‘faulty’ sand poli-cy of its predecessor. The banon sand quarrying had a rip-ple effect on the constructionsector for almost a year.

“Covid aside, it's been abad phase for the constructionsector in Andhra Pradesh forthe last two years. First it wasa sand crisis for the greaterpart of 2019 end and early2020 and when things started

returning to normal, Covidfirst wave gave a big blow,” saida well known builder fromVizag.

He said that when the firstwave withered, the entireindustry was hoping for asemblance of normalcy. “Thesecond wave shattered all ourhopes. Now, the sudden steepincrease in the prices of steeland cement has only pushed usinto an irrecoverable crisis. Wecan't even pass on the addi-tional cost burden on cus-tomers who had pre-bookedflats where more than half ofthe payments have alreadybeen made,” the builder said.

“Already, we are facing theproblem of non-availability ofproper required labour anddue to the curfew restrictions,works are further delayed,” hetold The Pioneer.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

.Students of the NationalInstitute of TechnologyAndhra Pradesh (NIT-AP)have developed a Wi-Fimounted micro-controller thatcan integrate sensors for smartharvesting of rainwater.

This system can automatethe process of water storage,reduction in water-borne dis-ease and efficient storage.

The students from TeamLinkLer of NIT-AP inTadepalligudem aim to addresswater shortage in Indian citiesby deploying deep tech such asIoT (Internet of Things) andMachine Learning. The teamdeveloped an end-to-end soft-ware stack that provides an easyinterface to manage and con-trol in-house water resources.

The system monitors waste-water and supply systems suchas rainfall recorded, waterremaining in the storage tank,water quality index and watersupply in a given area. TheNIT-AP students have alsodesigned an underground stor-age tank with a material capa-ble of holding water for along-term basis and its treat-ment process being monitoredon a feedback IoT system.

This project came from APJAbdul Kalam’s ‘Open InnovationLab’ at NIT Andhra Pradesh.

NIT Andhra Pradesh’s TeamLinkLer won the prestigiousIndia Innovation ChallengeDesign Contest (IICDC),which was organised by US-based Texas Instruments,Department of Science andTechnology (DST),Government of India. Thecontent featured more than18,000 teams with a total ofnearly 75,000 students fromacross India taking part.

Team LinkLer is now under-going Indian Institute ofManagement Bangalore’s (IIM-B) ‘NSRCEL TechnicalProgram’ to drive the productto the market. This pro-gramme extends support forincubation, incubation, designand product launch. NSRCELbrings together start-ups,industry mentors, eminentacademicians from its parentinstitution IIM-Bangalore andresearchers who thrive on con-tinuous interaction of theoryand practice.

Highlighting the ecosystemcreated by the Institute to sup-port such innovative projects,NIT-AP Director Prof CS PRao said, “I would congratulate

the team for their collectiveefforts for making a sustainablesolution with interdisciplinarycontributions. The future holdsthe stage for ‘Deep Tech basedsolutions for sustainableecosystem’.”

“The institute being theyoungest NIT, is equippedwith cutting-edge technologyand the team stands as anexample for effective utilisationof the institute resources. Iwish them all the best forfuture endeavours,” he added.

Elaborating on how such asystem could benefit India,Team LinkLer’s Faculty Mentorand Assistant Professor atDepartment of ElectricalEngineering, NIT AndhraPradesh, Dr Sri Phani KrishnaKarri, said, “The system is anend-to-end technological solu-tion for the raising water mis-management in cities.

The system has been devel-oped by students from variousdisciplines making it a robust,efficient and cost-effectivesolution. The system is cus-tomisable based on thedemand of a household or anentity. The students are in theprocess of commercialisingthe product after approval ofthe patent.”

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

VIT-AP School of Law onTuesday signed a MoU withAlpha Partners of Delhi, aspart of its plans to create a cen-tre of excellence in cyber secu-rity and law and other centresof excellence to encourage theresearch and practical applica-tion of the law to future legalprofessionals.

VIT-AP Vice-ChancellorSV Kota Reddy signed theMoU on behalf of the varsi-ty. He said that the centreswill work holistically to pro-vide better solutions to thesociety and to provide legal

empowerment to the people.This academic collabora-

tion with Alpha Partnerswould help students equipindustry and practice readyin the areas of corporatelaw, commercial law, realestate law, transaction ser-vices law, regulatory ser-vices law, dispute resolu-tion, intellectual propertylaw, labour and employmentlaws, compliance and regu-latory laws.

Akshat Pande, founderand managing par tner,Alpha Partners after signingthe MoU, said that VSL andAlpha Partners recognise the

value of mutual cooperationand are desirous of enteringinto this MoU to facilitateacademic col laborat ionbetween the two organisa-tions to promote academicresearch, capacity building,academic collaborative activ-ities and including studentinternships and placementactivities.

Ar vind Moorchung,senior consultant, AlphaPartners, Dr CLV Sivakumar,Registrar, VIT-AP Universityand Dr Benarji Chakka,Dean, s tudents , facultymembers and staff of theuniversity were present.

High material costs leavesconstruction sector in crisis

NIT-AP students developcontroller to tap rainwater

VIT-AP School of Lawsigns MoU to boost research

Inter exams likely to be held...Continued from Page 1

Suresh said that the governmentwas working to resolve the prob-lem of 1998 DSC candidates andwas trying to give jobs to 36 can-didates.

More than 10 lakh studentswill appear for the Intermediate

examination. The schedules of theexamination should be announced15 days prior to conducting of theexaminations.

Since curfew is in place acrossthe state till June 20, it is expectedthat the examination schedule willbe announced as per the instruc-

tions of the health officials. Engineering, Agriculture,

Pharmacy and other examinationswill be held in August, if theIntermediate exams are completednext month. The Department ofHigher Education hopes to startclasses in September, Suresh said.

Jagan credits Rs248.47 cr under...Continued from Page 1

Whereas, in the current gov-ernment, only Rs 68.44 lakhhave been collected throughpenalties and taxes in 2019-20and in 2020-21 the amountdecreased to just Rs 35 lakh,”the Chief Minister said.

He said that the TDP lead-ers have published a book of94 mistakes while the govern-ment had fulfilled over 94 per-

cent of the promises made inthe last two years. The oppo-sition had cited YSR VahanaMithra as one of the 94 mis-takes, but in reality, taxes andpenalty fees have come downsignificantly in the currentgovernment, he said.

Further, the Chief Ministerrequested the auto drivers tofollow traffic rules and not todrive under the influence ofalcohol.

People may need to take...Continued from Page 1

Even Dr Randeep Guleria,Director of AIIMS, whoaddressed the event, said thatpeople might need a boosterdose as well. Pointing to con-cerns raised about virusmutations and the duration ofefficacy of vaccines, DrRandeep Guleria said, “Futurevaccines may need to betweaked in order to providemore potent protectionagainst variants. We may alsoneed a booster dose.

This has been done forinfluenza vaccine, whichevery year we do, and (it) canbe done for RNA vaccines”.

Speaking about the gapbetween the vaccine doses, DrReddy said there was a con-troversy around the interval.He said, “We believe that 3-4

weeks should be the gap.Covishield gap from (firstdose to second dose) theyshould bring back from 16 to8 weeks”.

He said that patients whoalready had Covid and tookthe vaccine have more protec-tive antibodies, compared tothose who were not infected.He said, “We believe a singledose will protect them for 12months. Government is tak-ing serious note of this, as itwill improve vaccine availabil-ity”.

Speaking about herdimmunity, Dr Reddy said,“70-80% of population shouldhave immunity to developherd immunity. Now you canconfidently say that about25-30 crore Indians are hav-ing immunity. We have 60crore people to be vaccinated.

We have to do 1 crore vacci-nations per day over the nextthree months. By the end ofthe year, we can complete thefull population”. He pointedthat the country was produc-ing eight crore vaccine dosesnow, we have to reach 30crore a month. Then byAugust we will be able toreach 20 crore and bySeptember 30 crore . DrReddy added, “Even thoughthere is intention. If by Augustwe get our act together andvaccinate everyone, then bythe end of the year we willapproach herd immunity.This is an optimistic estimateand anything can go wrong.Due to vaccination, the inten-sity of the third wave willcome down similar to (whathappened in the case of the)Spanish Flu”.

Degree coursesonly in English...Continued from Page 1

He said that there will befull-fledged training inthree areas namely SkillDevelopment, Languageand Communication.

“We are designing spe-cialised training pro-grammes to improveEnglish speaking andwriting skills while teach-ing the curriculum to stu-dents joining degreecourses,” he said.

Chief Minis ter YSJaganmohan Reddy decid-ed at a review meeting onhigher educat ion onFebruary 12 that degreecol leges in the s tateshould offer programs inEnglish medium only

from the coming new aca-demic year. Accordingly,new and additional pro-grams have been sanc-tioned. The Board ofHigher Education hasinvited online applica-tions to change the com-bination of the respectivecourses and convert thecurrent medium toEnglish medium. Thenotification to this effectwas issued on April 27,the Council Secretarystated. He also clarifiedthat from the 2021–22academic year, applica-tions for the four-yearUnaided Undergraduate(UG) Honours pro-grammes will be allowedonly in English.

PNS n HYDERABAD

A special flight carryingnewly joined Telangana BJPleaders-- Eatala Rajenderfrom Delhi to Hyderabadaborted from taking off atDelhi Airport on Tuesdaymorning after pilot noticeda technical glitch. There wereabout 184 passengers in theflight. The alerted pilot tookback the flight to the alight-ing point and repaired thetechnical glitch immediate-ly. However, the BJP leaders’flight took off in DelhiAirport one hour late withthis problem. However, theflight reached ShamshabadAirport at 11.30 AM insteadof 9.30 AM. However, theparty activists welcomedEatala Rajender inShamshabad Airport on agrand note. During the wel-come, cajoling took placebetween the police and theBJP activists. The policeerected a special check postto obstruct the BJP activists.Eatala Rajender's son anddaughter-in-law received theformer and went to his res-idence Shamirpet in a bigrally.

PNS n LONDON

The Hinduja Group onTuesday announced thelaunch of the sale of a series ofluxury residences being creat-ed at a transformed site of for-mer British Prime MinisterWinston Churchill's Old WarOffice (OWO) building in theheart of London.

The OWO Residences byRaffles includes a range of 85homes, from studios and one-bedroom apartments up tofive-bedroom residences, witha two-bed apartment priced ataround 5.8 million pound.

The London landmark is setto complete its modern-daytransformation in 2022, whenit will also comprise a Raffleshotel with 125-rooms andsuites, a collection of ninerestaurants and bars, and a

spa.“Launching sales of these

extraordinary residences is asignificant milestone for us asa family and for the projectteam at The OWO; it's onestep closer to opening thestoried building to the publicfor the first time where brand-ed residences will sit alongside

a flagship Raffles hotel,” saidGopichand P. Hinduja, Co-Chairman of the HindujaGroup.

“London is one of the bestcities in the world, steeped inhistory and tradition, and hasbeen our home for over fortyyears. With our knowledgeand experience in restoration

of historic buildings, every-thing we do, and every deci-sion made on The OWO isunderscored by our passionand respect for the heritage ofthe building and long- termcommitment to London,” hesaid.

The Old War Office, origi-nally completed in 1906 anddesigned by British architectWilliam Young, was formerlythe site of the original Palaceof Whitehall. The buildinghas since witnessed world-shaping events while influen-tial political and military lead-ers like Winston Churchilland David Lloyd George heldoffice in the UK. Its grandarchitecture has also madethe building a backdrop forJames Bond films and, morerecently, ‘The Crown' Netflixseries.

Eatala haslucky escapefrom mishap

Hindujas to sell Churchill's old office

PNS n HYDERABAD

Municipal Administrationand IT Minister K T RamaR ao has said thatTelangana has overtakenKonaseema and Punjab inrespect of paddy cultiva-tion and become a leaderin the country.

Addressing a gatheringafter lockdown hours onTuesday at Nakrekal, KTRobser ved: "The Fo o dCorporation of India saidthat Telangana tops inpaddy cultivation. We haveovertaken Punjab. Onceupon a time, in the neigh-bour ing s tate AndhraPradesh, the delta region -Konaseema areas ofKrishna and Godavari dis-tricts, used to be shown asthe reason for AndhraPradesh b ecoming'Annapurna (rice bowl)'.

KTR: TS hasovertakenKonaseema

vijayawada 03VIJAYAWADA | WEDNESDAY | JUNE 16, 2021

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

The Andhra Pradesh state gov-ernment is drawing plans tomeet any eventuality arisingfrom a possible Covid-19 thirdwave, in the wake of expertssounding a warning.

“Among the plans being imple-mented by the government is spe-cial arrangements being made forthe training of medical staff tohandle paediatrics,” said DeputyChief Minister Alla Kali KrishnaSrinivas (Nani) who holds thehealth portfolio and chairs theCabinet subcommittee on thesubject.

The subcommittee met onTuesday to discuss the mea-sures to be taken to contain andprevent any Covid third wave.

The meeting was attendedby Ministers BotsaSatyanarayana, BugganaRajendranath Reddy andKursala Kannababu,Government Advisers SajjalaRamakrishna Reddy, Dr SidiriAppalaraju and several seniorofficials of the Medical HealthDepartment.

Speaking after the meeting,Alla Nani said that ChiefMinister YS Jaganmohan

Reddy has made it clear thatadditional doctors and staff forthe treatment of childrenshould be appointed. The ChiefMinister has also directed theHealth Department to set uphealth hubs close to habitationsacross the State.

The Chief Minister suggest-ed that steps should be takenfor providing treatment to chil-dren in government hospitals.Among the directions issued bythe Chief Minister are prima-ry health centres and area hos-pitals be thoroughly exam-ined, and treatment should becovered under Aarogyasrischeme free of cost.

Nani said that all arrange-ments are being made to pro-

vide necessary treatment to thechildren. All necessary medica-tion shall be made available forthe Covid third wave.Vaccinations to the mothers ofchildren below the age of fiveyears should speed up andtokens should be distributedone day in advance to all theeligible mothers for vaccina-tion. The health machineryshould be well prepared totackle the third wave effective-ly and blood reserves should bemaintained in blood banks,said the Minister.

The Minister directed thehealth authorities to providebetter treatment to patientsinfected with Black fungus;about 2,000 black fungus cases

were reported in the state. TheMinister warned of stern actionif the injections were sold inblack market.

Though the positive casesare on the decline one shouldbe cautious, the Minister stat-ed.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Minister for HousingCherukuvada SriranganadhaRaju on Tuesday said thatarrangements were beingmade to provide home con-struction materials to the ben-eficiaries at 30 to 40 percentbelow market prices to ensurethat the construction of hous-es shall not be a burden to thebeneficiaries.

A review meeting was heldat collector camp office onTuesday on various issues per-taining to houses for the poor,construction of houses inJagananna colonies attendedby district in-charge ministerVelampalli Srinivasa Rao,Deputy Chief Minister PamulaPushpa Srivani, MPs from thedistrict, MLAs and MLCs.

On the occasion, theMinister said that the legisla-tors had proposed allowingbeneficiaries to take sandfrom the riverbed on tractorsand the district collector wasdirected to allow it.

He said arrangements werebeing made to start construc-tion of 80,000 houses inVizianagaram district.

The Minister said the dis-trict authorities have beendirected to appoint one dis-trict level officer for eachmandal for construction ofhouses, one mandal level offi-

cer for each village in themandal and one village levelemployee for every 20 hous-es to supervise the construc-tion of houses.

He said the governmentwas taking steps to lay under-ground power lines, internet,telephone, cable TV cablesand drinking water supplypipelines for the housingcolonies in the district. Thegovernment will spend Rs30,000 crore on infrastructurein housing colonies in thestate which is a major initia-tive by the government in thenext two years, the Ministersaid.

The Housing Minister fur-ther said that the large-scalehousing construction wouldnot only provide employmentin rural and urban areas dur-ing Covid pandemic times,but also provide propertyworth lakhs of rupees to thepoor, which would also ben-efit the economy.

He said it would be possi-ble to create wealth of Rs 4lakh-crore by building 15 lakhhouses in the state. He said hewould visit the district nextmonth to look into the hous-ing progress in the district.

Minister VelampalliSrinivas Rao, Deputy ChiefMinister Pamula PushpaSrivani and others also spokeon the occasion.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

AP State Power EmployeesJoint Action Committee(APSPEJAC) on Tuesdaysaid that Energy MinisterBalineni Srinivas Reddyhas assured PRC-2018which is in force up toMarch 31, 2022, will behonoured without anymodifications in pay andpensionary benefits.

APSPEJAC held discus-sions with the manage-ments of AP Power Utilitiesand Energ y Secretar ySrikanth Nagulapalli in thepresence of the EnergyMinister at the StateSecretariat on Tuesday. TheMinister held elaborate dis-cussion on various issuesraised by APSPE JACincluding the apprehen-sions about reduction inpay scales, stoppage ofSGPs and pensionary ben-efits and gave many assur-ances.

Other assurancesinclude 100 percent reim-bursement on the billsincurred for Covid treat-ment, released of accumu-lated dearness allowancewith effect from July 1,2021, no privatisation inany form in AP powerUtilities and the EPF toGPF and direct payment ofsalaries of outsourcingemployees is under activeconsideration of the Stategovernment.

The minister also assuredimplementation of GO 121which provides family pen-sion in case of death ormedical invalidation isbeing examined for imple-mentation.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

TDP MLC Buddha Venkannaon Tuesday expressed concernthat YSRCP MP Vijay SaiReddy along with MinisterAvanti Srinivas was behind theattacks on TDP BC leaders inthe North Andhra districts aspart of a pre-planned conspir-acy.

Venkanna said that theYSRCP MP has stepped up hisvendetta politics after TDPMLA Palla Srinivasa Raorejected his plea to dump hisparty and join the ruling party.“None other than Vijayasai'sson-in-law approached andrequested the TDP MLA tojoin the YSRCP,” the MLCsaid.

In a statement here, hedeplored that Vijayasai Reddyand Avanti Srinivas werehatching multiple conspiraciesto create a chaotic atmos-phere “in order to continuetheir illegal activities in theport city of Visakhapatnam."

“To take this forward, they

have been persecuting andtargeting Backward Classesleaders in Vizag and theremaining parts of NorthAndhra,” Venkanna claimed.

He accused Vijayasai Reddyof using Vizag as the centre forall his unwanted and unlawfulactivities. “Political vengeanceagainst TDP leaders is just anexcuse to suppress all voices ofdissent against the ruling partyleaders' non-stop land grab-bing, extortions and settle-ments. The people of the portcity and North Andhra regionwere literally living in the gripof fear ever since JaganmohanReddy came to power inAndhra Pradesh,” Venkannaalleged.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Telugu Desam Party MLANimmala Ramanaidu onTuesday criticised ChiefMinister YS JaganmohanReddy, accusing him of notannouncing any special Covidpackage while all other ChiefMinisters across the countrywere passing on many bene-fits to rescue their respectivepeoples from the pandemic.

Ramanaidu termed it asinhuman on the part of theJaganmohan ReddyGovernment to declare just2,900 Covid deaths in Maythis year, when the recordsstate that the actual number ofpeople that passed away in themonth was 85,000.

The Chief Minister and hisAdvisors owed an explanationto the public why they werehiding and covering up factu-al details with regard to thevictims of Coronavirus,Ramanaidu said.

Addressing a press confer-ence here, the TDP MLA

deplored that Keralaannounced a Rs 20,000 crorepackage, Tamil Nadu Rs 4,153crore, Karnataka Rs 1,250crore and Maharashtra Rs5,476 crore package to poor-er sections, small traders andothers. However, AndhraPradesh did not give a singlerupee, he said.

Ramanaidu demanded theJaganmohan Reddy regimeto wake up and immediatelyannounce a special package to

the poor families who losttheir incomes during theCoronavirus pandemic. TheGovernment should provideRs 10,000 each to all whiteration card holders. Also, Rs10 lakh ex gratia should bepaid to the families of the vic-tims who died due to theinfection, he said.

The TDP MLA demandedimmediate payment of Rs 25lakh ex gratia to the familiesof all those who succumbed toCovid due to lack of timelyoxygen supply in hospitals.

“On June 16, TDP activistswould go and submit theirmemoranda containing the10 demands to tahsildarsacross the State. This would befollowed by submission ofmemoranda at the RDOoffices on June 18. Then, theywill be submitted at theDistrict Collectors' offices onJune 20 followed by protest'deekshas' in all the 175Assembly segments in theState on June 22,” Ramanaidusaid.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

TDP leader KS Jawahar onTuesday accused the YSRCPGovernment of handing overmeagre benefits under variouscash transfer programmesonly to take back many timesmore from the same poorbeneficiaries without any con-cern for their real well being.

Jawahar said that theJaganmohan Reddy regimehas been betraying the autorickshaw drivers in the nameof 'Vahana Mitra' since thebeginning. Just Rs 10,000 wasbeing put in the hands of theauto drivers while Rs 30,000was being taken back fromeach of them throughincreased fuel prices and heavypenalties, he alleged.

In a statement here, theTDP leader described VahanaMitra as a Dagakoru Mitra

(betrayal programme) aimedat diverting the attention of thepeople from the failures andcorruption of the rulingYSRCP. The JaganmohanReddy rule issued GO No. 21only to take back many timesof Vahana Mitra benefit fromthe drivers by imposing heavyfines on some excuse or other.The diesel price has been sky-rocketing ever sinceJaganmohan Reddy came topower in the State.

Jawahar termed it as arbi-trary on the part of the rulingYSRCP not to give cash ben-efit to the auto drivers not hav-ing their own vehicles. Aftercoming to power, the ChiefMinister limited the VahanaMitra programme only to theowner-drivers of autos. Thisone rule led to disqualificationof thousands of drivers depen-dent on the profession.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

Leaders of AP State AhleSunnat Wal Jamaat (Sunni)sought appointment of peoplefrom Sunni and Shia commu-nities to the nominated postsof AP State Waqf Board.

Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaatleader and Sufi mentor AltafAli Raza, along with SyedHafiz and Hafiz Abdul Samadon Tuesday objected to theappointment of personsbelonging to other schools ofthought other than AhleSunnat Wal Jamat to the nom-inated posts of Waqf Board.They appealed to ChiefMinister YS JaganmohanReddy to appoint their choice

to the Waqf Board.The Ahle Sunnat Wal

Jamaat leaders thanked theChief Minister for pickingMuslims for four Assembly,three Council seats andappointing them as Ministers.

They said that according tothe government gazette ofWaqf Board 1962, the major-ity of assets of the Waqf Boardbelong to Sunni Muslims andsome to Shia Muslims. Theysaid that Sunni and Shia kingsdonated thousands of acres oflands in the name of Allah fordargahs, Peer Panjas, Deevidisand other shrines.

Altaf Ali Raza, Syed Hafizand Samad deplored that somepeople from other schools of

thought and non-Shiasentered the Waqf Board andwere involved in illegal activ-ities including selling of Waqflands.

They said that the non-Sunni worked against theYSRCP and JaganmohanReddy in the elections andnow they are trying to destroythe Waqf aim by illegally sell-ing Waqf lands. They allegedthat lands of the majorityDargahs were encroached andsought the protection of Waqflands.

They appealed to the ChiefMinister to reshuffle the WaqfBoard for the protection ofholy lands and to serve thecommunity.

PNS n VIJAYAWADA

The AP Government NursesAssociation has written to ChiefMinister YS Jaganmohan Reddy,objecting to the harassment ofnurses by superintendents andother officials in governmenthospitals.

APGNA president D ManjulaDevi asked the Chief Minister toformulate guidelines and regu-lations for the protection ofnurses from harassment in gov-ernment hospitals.

Manjula Devi stated thatnurses are facing a lot of prob-lems in discharging their dutiesduring the pandemic, but weresincere in carrying out theirresponsibilities. She said thatsuperintendents and other offi-

cials were biased against nursesand harassing them on trivialmatters. The letter said that forexample, a senior nurse workingin the RUIA government hospi-tal at Tirupati was harassed bythe superintendent and similarincidents were report in sever-al other government hospitals.

Manjula Devi stated thatnurses should be assigned dutieson roster basis but the superin-tendents but this was not beingfollowed.

The Association also thankedthe Chief Minister for announc-ing ex gratia to nurses involvedin Covid-19 work.

Manjula Devi urged the ChiefMinister to initiate measures andguidelines to protect nursesfrom harassment.

Cabinet Sub-panel takes stock ofpreparations for Covid third wave

State registers 5,741 newCovid cases, 53 deathsPNS n VIJAYAWADA

For the second consecutiveday, each of the 13 districtsin Andhra Pradesh regis-tered less than 900 freshcases of coronavirus, addingto 5,741 and taking the over-all tally to 18,20,134, thegovernment said on Tuesday.

The cumulative Covid-19toll in the state rose to12,052, as 53 more fatalitieswere reported in the 24 hoursending 9 am on Tuesday.

The state saw 10,567 morepatients recovering from theinfection, pushing the totalup to 17,32,948, the latestbulletin said.

The number of activecoronavirus cases hasreduced to 75,134 now, itsaid.

East Godavari andChittoor districts whichreported 831 and 830 freshCovid-19 cases respectivelyin 24 hours, had 16,428 and10,684 active cases, highest inthe state now.

West Godavari added 703new cases to its tally and theremaining 10 districts loggedless than 500 each.

Chittoor continued toreport a high number ofdaily fatalities in AP, adding12 to its tally in 24 hours.

East Godavari had six,Kadapa, Krishna, Prakasam,Srikakulam andVisakhapatnam four each,Anantapur, Guntur and WestGodavari three each,Kurnool, SPS Nellore andVizianagaram two freshdeaths each in a day.

PRC for powersector staff to beimplementedwithout changes

Housing beneficiariesto get cement cheaper

Vijayasai targetingBC leaders: TDP

TDP to press for ex gratiato families of Covid victims

CM betraying autodrivers in the nameof Vahana Mitra: TDP

Nurses ask Jaganto protect them

HC reserves orders in pleaover Group-I ‘irregularities’ PNS n VIJAYAWADA

The Andhra Pradesh HighCourt on Tuesday reservedorders on petitions allegingirregularities in the conduct ofGroup-I Mains examinations.

The court took up eightpetitions on Tuesday andheard arguments put forthfrom both sides.

Counsels for the petitionersAdiyanarayana and GVidyasagar contended thatthe Group-I Mains examina-tions were not conducted asper rules. Counsels brought tothe notice of the court that thedigital evaluation of the exam-ination paper was mentionedby the examination authoritiesin the final stage. Counsels

informed that the valuation ofTelugu medium papers weredone in the state while theEnglish medium papers weredone in other states, whichwas unfair to the students whowrote in English medium.

Counsels argued as to howthe government can carry outthe valuation process withprivate individuals. They con-tended that the Secretary

acted unilaterally by settingaside the Chairman of theAPPSC and asked to issueinterim orders suspending theinterviews.

Lawyers arguing for thegovernment that the Group-Iexaminations were conductedin accordance with the regu-lations of APPSC. The publicprosecutor brought to thenotice of the court that therewas no need to mention inadvance about the valuationprocess.

After hearing argumentsfrom both sides, the courtreserved its orders. With theGroup-1 interviews to be con-ducted very soon, there wasimmense curiosity over thecourt verdict.

Appointment demanded ofSunni, Shias to Waqf Board

16 SIs shifted inWest GodavariPNS n ELURU

West Godavari district SP KNarayana Nayak on Tuesdayissued orders transferring 16SIs in the district. K Srinivasfrom Bhimavaram One Townwas transferred to PalakolluRural, JVN Prasad fromPalakollu Town toYalamanchili, TV Suresh fromVacancy Reserve to DwarakaTirumala, D Durga Malleswarfrom Dwaraka Tirumala toVacancy Reserve, V Rambabufrom Bheemavaram TwoTown to Kalla, M Ravi Varmafrom Kalla to Marine PS andVenkataramana from EluruThree Town to Achanta.

P Appa Rao was shiftedfrom Palakollu Rural toVacancy Reserve, P Nagarajufrom Penugonda to Nidad-avolu, K Gangadhar Rao fromYalamanchili to Tanuku Town,D Ravikumar from Tanuku PSto Undi, V Appalaraju fromUndi to Vacancy Reserve andVSV Bhadrarao from Akividuto Bhimadolu.

PNS n NEW DELHI

AstraZeneca said on Tuesdaya late-stage trial failed to pro-vide evidence that its COVID-19 antibody therapy protect-ed people who had contactwith an infected person fromthe disease, a setback in its bidto find alternatives to vaccines.

The study assessed whetherthe therapy, a cocktail of twotypes of antibodies, could pre-

vent adults who had beenexposed to the virus in thepast eight days from develop-ing COVID-19 symptoms.

The therapy, AZD7442, was33% effective in reducing therisk of people developing symp-toms compared with a placebo,but that result was not statisti-cally significant — meaning itmight have been due to chanceand not the therapy.

The Phase III study, which

has not been peer reviewed,included 1,121 participantsin the United Kingdom andthe United States. The vastmajority, though not all, werefree of the virus at the start ofthe trial.

Results for a subset of par-ticipants who were not infect-ed to begin with was moreencouraging but the primaryanalysis rested on results fromall participants.

Astra antibody cocktail fails to prevent Covid

PNS n HYDERABAD

The Central Industrial SecurityForce (CISF) on Monday tookover the security of BharatBiotech International Ltd'sfacility here to protect it againstany terror threat or sabotagethat may lead to a biologicaldisaster.

The CISF deployed 64 per-sonnel headed by an Inspector-rank officer as part of the secu-rity for Bharat Biotech, thedeveloper and manufacturer ofCovaxin, India's first indige-nously-developed vaccine forCovid. The contingent of theparamilitary force was induct-ed at a ceremony held at thefacility located in Genome

Valley, the cluster of biotech-nology companies. BharatBiotech Chairman andManaging Director Dr KrishnaElla, Joint Managing DirectorDr Suchitra Ella, CISFInspector General in-charge of the southernsector Anjana Sinha,and Deputy IG, SouthZone-II, ShyamalaDinavahi attended theinduction ceremony.The CISF f lag wasunfurled on Bharat Biotechcampus on the occasion.

The CISF will control accessto the facility and its armedtroopers, including a vehicle-borne QRT, will be stationed atvantage positions in case of a

terrorist attack or sabotage.The cost of the security will beborne by company. The deci-sion to provide CISF securitywas taken recently in view of

the increased threat per-ception to Bharat

Biotech as thebiotechnology com-pany is consideredvulnerable to threatsfrom anti-nationals

and saboteurs.On the direction

of the Union HomeMinistry to provide armedsecurity cover to the premisesof Bharat Biotech, CISF offi-cials recently carried out sur-vey of the facility.

CISF takes oversecurity of BB facility

PNS n HYDERABAD

Chief Justice of India N VRamana visited the famedYadadri shrine in the district onTuesday and participated inpooja to Sri LakshminarsimhaSwamy at Balalayam. The CJIalso went through the renovat-ed main temple on the hillshrine.

Ministers Indrakaran Reddyand Jagdish Reddy welcomedthe CJI at the VVIP suite onYadadri hill. As per tradition,the temple priests welcomed theCJI with purna khumbam onhis arrival at Balalayam. ChiefJustice Ramana and his wifeparticipated in special pooja atBalalayam. He also inspected

the works at the temple townand Presidential Suite.

Takes part in Green IndiaChallenge

The CJI planted a sapling atRaj Bhavan in Hyderabad onTuesday. Participating inGreen India programme initi-ated by MP Santosh Kumar,the CJI called upon legal fra-ternity to encourage pro-grammes that enhance thegreen cover.

“It is important to protectthe Mother Nature by prom-oting greenery in a big way.We must ensure green cover soas to protect nature and ensuresustainable development forthe benefit of future genera-tions,” said the CJI.

CJI Ramana visitsYadadri temple

vijayawada 04VIJAYAWADA | WEDNESDAY | JUNE 16, 2021

DHV SAMBASIVA RAO

n KAKINADA

Ramachandrapuram hasentered the record books for itsunique legislative distinction inthe State. The LegislativeAssembly, the LegislativeCouncil and the Rajya Sabhaare being represented by threemembers from the same con-stituency, which is a very rareoccurrence.

Rajya Sabha member PilliSubhash Chandra Bose, newlyelected MLC ThotaTrimurthulu and MLAChelluboina Srinivasa

Venugopala Krishna, who wasbrought from Razole, representRamachandrapuram.

However, there are differ-ences among the three.Although Thota Trimurthulu

entered the YSRCP from a dif-ferent party, MP Bose declaredthat he was always an enemy to

him. Besides, there is aninfighting between MinisterVenugopala Krishna and MPBose and also betweenVenugopala Krishna andTrimurthulu.

With three representativesfrom the same constituency inthree legislatures, the local offi-cials say they are always on thetenterhooks.

In view of the probableCabinet expansion in anotherfour-and-a-half months,Trimurthulu reportedly hasalready been making moves fora ministerial berth though he isyet to be sworn in as an MLC.

S BHANU PRAKASH

n TIRUPATI

Land grabbing incidents over aperiod of one year have creat-ed a sense of fear among the cit-izens of the temple city. Preciouschunks of land, especially thoseon the city outskirts, are beingeyed by professional land grab-bers, it is learnt.

There have been severalinstances of anti-social ele-ments, often armed, threateningthe land owners who possessvalid documents.

In a recent incident,A.Ramachandra Reddy ofAkkarampalle complained tothe police during a ‘Spandana’programme on encroachment ofhis land by a YSRCP CorporatorRadha Krishna Reddy, but to noavail. The revenue authoritiestoo have been receiving com-plaints of land grabbing but arekeeping silent, fearing backlashfrom the ruling party leaders, itis learnt.

With more cases with con-nections to the ruling partyleaders coming to the fore, localMLA Bhumana KarunakarReddy appealed to the publicrecently not to link him or hismen to the land grabbing inci-dents.

Meanwhile, the encroachersare constructing buildings with-out any approval from the Town

Planning authorities who seemto have turned a blind eye to ille-gal constructions in the city. Insome areas, local politicians areresponsible for illegal construc-tions. Municipal officials statedthat they did not approve anyplan for the ongoing construc-tions in the Survey No. 117/2 ofAkkarampalle main road nearTTD quarters, but the construc-tions are going on at a brisk pace.

According to sources, a fewlandowners alleged that theTown Planning officials wereencouraging the encroachersfor bribes. The land grabbers insome cases have created fakedocuments and are selling it tothird parties.

“I have complained to therevenue, police and municipalcorporation authorities butnobody has taken any actionthough I have filed a case in theRDO court which has kept the

judgment pending for the last sixmonths. On the other hand, theencroachers constructing build-ings on my site are threateningto file false SC/ST atrocitiescases against me,” said ARamachandra Reddy, a landowner from Akkarampalle.

Another land owner, KishoreReddy, also from the same area,said, “My land has been grabbedby the local corporator by creat-ing false documents and hasstarted construction. When theycomplained to the police, theydid not take any action.”Landowners in the city are wor-ried about illegal encroachmentsby the political leaders and theirsupporters. They are appealingto the police officials and author-ities to save their valuable prop-erties from the grabbers. Photocaption: An Illegal constructionin Survey No. 117/2 atAkkarampalle in Tirupati.

Land sharks have a field day in temple city?

Man shoots relativedead, ends his life PNS n KADAPA

Tension prevailed inNallapureddypalle ofPulivendula mandal of Kadapadistrict as a YSRCP leaderPrasad Reddy (62) shot his rel-ative Parthasarathy Reddy (48)dead and later killed himselfon Tuesday. The incident cre-ated a sensation in the district.

According to sources, whenParthasarathy Reddy attempt-ed to attack Prasad Reddy witha knife, the latter opened firewith his licensed gun.Parthasarathy Reddy died onspot. Shortly afterwards,Prasad Reddy shot himselfdead with the same weapon.Prasad Reddy, a soft-spokenman, could have been thenext president of thePulivendula mandal.

Locals said Prasad Reddyhad spoken in support ofParthasarathy Reddy’s wifeduring a panchayat following

a dispute between the couple.Parthasarathy Reddy and hiswife later separated. This led tothe clash between them.

Parthasarathy Reddy was asoftware employee inBangalore who left the job andstarted working as a lectur-er at Loyola College,Pulivendula. Since the time thecouple split, ParthasarathyReddy and Prasad Reddy hadbeen at loggerheads and thisled to several clashes betweenthem.The police arrangedpickets in the village to main-tain peace in the village.Kadapadistrict SP Anburajan inspect-ed the scene of offence.

PNS n ELURU

Tanuku-based Sri SarvarayaSugars and Beverages donatedeight oxygen concentrators tothe Red Cross blood bank inthe district headquarters townof Eluru on Tuesday. Companymanager GVV Satyanarayana,quality manager N Srinivasand programme officer MSatyanarayana handed over theconcentrates to Red Cross bloodbank chairman, MamillapalliJaya prakash.

Speaking on the occasion,the Red Cross chairman saidthat they have been arrangingoxygen banks across the State.As part of this exercise, they pro-vided 24 oxygen concentratorsin Eluru and Narasapuram, headded.

Satyanarayana said needypatients can use the facility freeof cost until the illness is cured.AP Medical Board memberDr Dirisala Varaprasad andothers were present.

Sugar factorydonates 8 oxygenconcentrators

VASIREDDY RAVICHANDRA

n GUNTUR

Stocking of sand by JayaprakashPower Ventures on governmentpremises has turned controver-sial in the State with localsopposing handing over marketyards and school grounds to thecompany.

Representatives of JP, whichwon the sand contract in AndhraPradesh, are facing stiff resis-tance from people in Guntur dis-trict. Local farmers are alreadyblocking the dumping of sandalong the river bund in the vil-lages of the capital region. As thecontroversy continued, JP repre-sentatives also faced protests inVemur constituency recently.

The company seems to bedumping sand in the play-grounds of a 60-year-old ZP highschool in Donepudi village inKollur mandal and then sell it.As part of this, they tried todemolish the school compoundwall and the main gate with aJCB which was blocked by localyouths.

Meanwhile, JP company rep-

resentatives arrived in a vehicle,videotaped the youths andabused them in unparliamentarylanguage.

The elders of the local SCcolony intervened and confront-ed them as their children werebeing abused. The companyrepresentatives threatened theelders, they alleged.

Representatives of the compa-ny, who were in a hurry forawhile when the villagers ques-

tioned how they could demolishthe wall built with Rs 2.5 crore,stepped back.

The youths took the issue tothe notice of the VRO and thenthe Tahsildar. The youths wereshocked when the Tahsildarreplied that they had chosen theground due to lack of privatespaces. The matter was thentaken to the notice of the DistrictCollector and the Tenali RDO.Local women made it clear thatthey would agitate to save theplayground.

On the other hand, the exist-ing agricultural market yardpremises in Vemuru constituen-cy have been converted into asand dumping yard. Officials lib-erally offered the entire yard tothe JP company unconditional-ly.

Former minister NakkaAnanda Babu said that if thegovernment gives a contract toJP company, they should look forprivate lands and it was notproper to forcibly occupy gov-ernment lands. He warned thatan agitation would be launchedover the issue, he added.

Locals oppose dumping of sand atpublic places by Jayaprakash Power

PNS n GUNTUR

Home Minister MekathotiSucharita participated in thethird phase of YSR VahanaMitra programme held at theCollector’s Office in Guntur onTuesday.

After the Vahana Mitra pro-gramme was launched by ChiefMinister YS Jagan MohanReddy in a virtual mode fromthe Tadepalli CM camp office,the Vahana Mitra cheques weredistributed to the beneficiariesin the district.The HomeMinister flagged off a rally withthe beneficiaries.

Speaking on the occasion,she said that with the initiativeof the CM, Vahana Mitra ben-efits were provided to 22,512beneficiaries in Guntur districtalone. The function was attend-ed by MLC Laxman Rao, MLAsMustafa, Maddali Giridhar,Namburi Shankar Rao, BollaBrahmanayudu, Mayor Kavati

Manohar Naidu, CollectorVivek Yadav, JC Prashanti andother leaders and officials.

East GodavariEast Godavari District

Collector D Muralidhar Reddysaid that 25,794 beneficiaries inthe district would get financialassistance of Rs 25.79 crore dur-

ing the current financial yearthrough the YSR Vahana Mitrascheme. From the Collectorate,along with the Collector,Kakinada MP Vanga Geetha,Joint Collector G. Rajakumari,Kakinada Urban, Rajolu, P.Gannavaram MLAsDwarampudi Chandrasekhar

Reddy, Rapaka Varaprasada rao,Kondetti Chittibabu respec-tively and the auto, taxi, maxicab drivers, officers and staffparticipated.

West GodavariState Women and Child

Welfare Minister Taneti Vanithasaid that the State government'sfinancial assistance of Rs 10,000under the 'YSR Vahana Mitra'scheme for auto, taxi and maxicab drivers who were in trou-ble during the Corona crisiswould fill in the lives of the fam-ilies of auto and taxi drivers.

PrakasamPrakasam District Collector

Praveen Kumar said that 13,332beneficiaries in the districtwould receive financial assis-tance of Rs 13.332 crore in thefinancial year 2021_22 throughthe YSR Vahana Mitra scheme.Along with the DistrictCollector, officials and benefi-ciaries participated fromPrakasam Bhavan in Ongole.

PNS n TIRUPATI

Tirupati legislator BhumanaKarunakara Reddy has said thatdevelopment is possible only ifpublic representatives and govern-ment officials work together incoordination.

Addressing a one-day trainingprogramme on municipal gover-nance awareness for TirupatiMunicipal Corporation corpora-tors here on Tuesday, MLABhumana Karunakara Reddy saidthat apart from electing the firstwoman president in the 135-yearhistory of Tirupati Municipality,the credit for elevating a personfrom the weaker sections to themayor post goes to YSRCP.

He said, "All of us shouldwork for the development ofTirupati temple city."

Bhumana called upon the cor-porators to give priority to solveproblems related to sanitation,drainage and drinking water inthe city. He lauded theCorporation CommissionerGirisha's efforts to develop the

city.Girisha said that he would

work for the development ofTirupati by giving priority tofinding solutions to public prob-lems.

He said that the TirupatiMunicipal Corporation, whichwas formed in 2007, would workfor the development of Tirupatiwith the collective efforts of cor-porators.

"The programme was designedwith the aim of making the workof corporators easier by equippingthem with the knowledge of the

responsibilities of all the depart-ments," he said and explained theMunicipal Act apart from clari-fying the doubts of the corpora-tors. As many as 50 corporatorsparticipated in the event.

Additional CommissionerHaritha, Deputy CommissionerChandramouleswara Reddy,Mayor Mudranarayana, SE Mohan,Health Officer Dr. Sudharani, RO.Sethu Madhav, Assistant CityPlanner Shanmugam, SecretaryRamachandra Rao, ManagerHaseem and DE Vijaya KumarReddy participated.

Home Minister Mekathoti Sucharita flagging off an auto rally to mark the launch of the third

phase of the Vahana Mitra programme in Guntur on Tuesday

With MP, MLA & MLC representingit, Ramachandrapuram sets rare record

(from left) Rajya Sabha Member Pilli Subhash Chandra Bose, MLA Chelluboina Srinivasa Venugopala Krishna and MLC Thota Trimurthulu

Assembly Deputy Speaker KonaRaghupathi planting a sapling atBapatla Market Yard in Gunturdistrict on Tuesday.

FOR A GREEN CAUSE

Corporators, officials mustwork hand in hand: BhumanaPNS n GUNTUR

A group of people owingallegiance to YSRCP alleged-ly attacked a TDP leader andformer sarpanch Somasekharat Unguturu in Guntur dis-trict.

According to sources,Medarametla Anrudha, thepresent sarpanch and wife ofSomasekhar, allotted Rs 1lakh for removal of unwant-ed bushes on the village tankbund where trees were plant-ed as part of greenery devel-opment programme.Meanwhile, YSRCP leaders inthe village Rayapati Siva andDharmendra reportedlyentered into an argumentwith Somasekhar andattacked him while he wasoverseeing removal of bush-es by the side of a tank.

The victim lodged a com-plaint with the local policewho registered a case andstarted investigation.Meanwhile, pockets werearranged in the village to pre-vent any untoward incident.

PNS n ONGOLE

DSC-qualified teacher candi-dates in 1998 in Prakasam dis-trict laid a wreath at the statueof late Chief Minister YSRajasekhara Reddy in Chiralaon Tuesday and submitted apetition seeking immediateemployment.

On the occasion, the candi-dates said that the issue hadremained unresolved for thelast 23 years. They said thatduring Rajasekhara Reddy'stenure, a high-level committeereport said that a total of 3,500candidates were eligible forjobs. They said it was unfortu-nate that for some reasons, itwas still pending.

They said that they broughttheir issue to the notice ofChief Minister Jagan MohanReddy du ring the Padayatraand reaclled that he hadpromised to resolve the issueonce he came to power, but so

far no action has been taken intheir case. Apart from that, the1998 batch was put aside andthe government gave contractjobs to 2008 batch DSC quali-fied candidates. Some in the1998 batch said they were near-ing retirement due to old age,while others due to financialburdens and Corona. Currently,

there were only 2,500 people inthe 1998 DSC-qualified batchand demanded that justice bedone to the eligible amongthem. DSC-qualified unem-ployed teachers of 1998 batchHusnara Bhanu, Kabir, NVRatnam, Babu Subrahmanyam,Venkateswarlu, Chinna andunion leaders attended.

Novel protest by DSC-qualifiedteachers of 1998 batch in Chirala

TDP leaderhurt in attack

PNS n KAKINADA

Opposition parties staged aprotest against the increase inproperty and water taxes andthe proposal to imposegarbage tax in municipalitiesand municipal corporations.

CPI (M) district secretaryTatipaka Madhu, addressingthe agitators at the Secretariatin Ward No. 16 here onTuesday, warned that theincrease in taxes should bewithdrawn immediately. Ifthe government failed to con-cede the demand, the peoplewould defeat YSRCP in theforthcoming Corporationelections, he added.

Oppn partiesprotest againsthike in taxes

Manugunta Mahidhar Reddy, MLA from Kandukur in Prakasam district, hasappreciated the services of Vasavi Seva Dal during the Corona pandemic in thetown. On Tuesday, he distributed food arranged by the Vasavi Seva Dal for 250ST families at Janardhana Colony in Kandukur

POOR-FEEDING

PNS n ELURU

Two persons were on Tuesdayarrested for smuggling ganja atASRAM Junction in the district,according to Rural CI A SrinivasaRao said.The Rural CI said thearrests were made after twocargo autos were interceptedduring a routine vehicle check.received on Tuesday, Uponinspection, the police foundseized 200 kg marijuana worth Rs15 lakh, Rs 7,000 cash and amobile phone and seized all ofthem. The contraband was beingtransported from Visakhapatnamto Tamil Nadu. The accusedManikyam Kondayya ofVisakhapatnam, Mohan Raj andMahesh Manoharan, both fromTamil Nadu, set up secret contain-ers, filled 100 kg of marijuana ineach auto to transport marijua-na. Srinivasa Rao further said thatin Visakhapatnam, a man namedPrasad had collected large quan-tities of cannabis from the sub-urbs of Narsipatnam and sup-plied it to various parts of TamilNadu .

2 held with200 kg ganja

Mekathoti hands over cheques toVahana Mitra beneficiaries in Guntur

nation 05VIJAYAWADA | WEDNESDAY | JUNE 16, 2021

PNS n NEW DELHI

Union home minister AmitShah's meeting with groups ofBJP MPs, which generatedspeculation about a cabinetexpansion, was part of anongoing feedback exercise onthe work of the government,Covid situation and otherissues, sources said. Over thelast five days, Prime MinisterNarendra Modi had also heldmeetings with the minstersalong with BJP chief JPNadda.

Mr Shah had met MPsfrom Uttar Pradesh,Maharashtra, Rajasthan,Gujarat and some other stateson Saturday and Sunday at hisresidence. Around 30 MPsand some ministers had vis-ited him over the weekend.

Sources said political activ-ities and physical meetingshave resumed as the secondwave of Covid has receded.The focus of the meetings thistime is on the situation in theMPs' constituencies, the han-dling of Covid and their per-

formance during the pan-demic, and the grievances ofthe people. Also any reshuf-fle in the ministry is usuallypreceded by appraisal andstock taking.

Over the last weeks, therehas been talk of cabinetexpansion with 28 berthsremaining vacant. One wasvacated by the death of LokJanshakti Party chief RamVilas Paswan, who was incharge of the Food and Public

Distribution portfolio.At present, there are 21

Cabinet ministers, nine min-isters of state with indepen-dent charge, and 23 ministersof state besides PM Modi.

An expansion is alsoexpected to settle politicaltensions within the allies andgiving due importance tostates where the BJP came topower in assembly electionsover the last two years.

From Bihar, Nitish Kumar's

Janata Dal United is expect-ing a cabinet berth. Anotherseat in the Council ofMinisters should go to MrPaswan's Lok Janshakti Party.

Rewards are also expectedin Madhya Pradesh, whichcame into BJP grasp after thechurn in the Congress andchanging of camp byJyotiraditya Scindia with achunk of his followers. MrScindia has already beengiven a Rajya Sabha seat, butthere is speculation about acabinet berth for him as well.

The exception could beBengal, where the BJP, whilefailing to oust TrinamoolCongress chief MamataBanerjee from power, wonnearly a third of the assemblyseats. There is speculationthat Bengal BJP chief DilipGhosh might get a cabinetberth.

Sources said whenever theexpansion takes place, Bengalwill be given more represen-tation to send a message thatit is top on the BJP's prioritylist.

Amit Shah meets MPs amidCabinet expansion buzz

PNS n NEW DELHI

Pashupati Kumar Paras, theman behind the coup in theLok Janshakti Party (LJP),could never quite get over the"humiliation" of nephewChirag Paswan ordering himto retract a statement praisingNitish Kumar.

Yesterday, he may have sal-vaged some of his injuredpride. Chirag Paswan waitedfor an hour and 45 minutesoutside Pashupati Paras's doorto meet him but returned dis-appointed.

For months, Paras hadshared with close aides howhe felt betrayed by "Deepu"just days after the death of hisolder brother Ram VilasPaswan, Chirag's father.

"Tum mere khoon nahin hosakte (you can't be myblood)," Chirag Paswanshouted at his uncle in frontof his mother Reena Paswan, cousin Prince Raj and aide

Saurabh Pandey.Paras was reportedly shak-

en. He replied: "From today,your uncle is dead to you."

The 71-year-old, a firsttime MP and six-term MLA,

shares the story with tears inhis eyes, sources say, addingthat he cannot get over how"Deepu" treated him over aninnocuous remark on BiharChief Minister Nitish Kumar,and even forced him to issuea clarification - "humiliation"he had never faced in hispolitical life.

When Chirag's motherReena Paswan, who had seenthe closeness between herhusband and his brother,called him on the phone,Paras reportedly asked whatthe point of her calling was, as"when Deepu threatened mewith expulsion you didn'tslap him or stop him."

That was the start of thedrama in the close-knitPaswan family that led to the

revolt against Chirag Paswan,Ram Vilas Paswan's chosenheir.

Any doubt that Paras mayhave had, only on the basis ofthe bond he shared with hisbrother, was apparently erasedbecause of Chirag's "constantarrogance".

Party leaders said: "Chiraghad never seen how fondly hisfather used to treat his uncles- he ensured they would faceno financial difficulty."

Pashupati Paras was incharge of micro and macro-managing Ram Vilas Paswan'saffairs and also those of theirbrother Ramchandra, whodied in 2019. Mr Paras,though politically indispens-able to Paswan Senior, stayedin the backroom.

PNS n NEW DELHI

The health ministry onTuesday termed as "incom-plete" and of "limited under-standing" media reports whichstated that 488 deaths betweenJanuary 16 and June 7 follow-ing vaccination were linked topost-Covid complications, andhighlighted that the vaccina-tion coverage during this peri-od was 23.5 crore.

The number of deathsreported following COVID-19vaccination in the country isonly 0.0002 per cent of the 23.5crore doses administered, andthis is within the expecteddeath rates in a population, itsaid.

In a population, deathsoccur at a certain rate. Thecrude death rate in 2017,according to SRS data, was 6.3per 1,000 persons annually, theministry said.

It is also important and per-tinent to note that the mortal-ity rate for those testing posi-tive for COVID-19 is morethan one per cent and vaccina-tion can prevent these deaths,it said.

"Therefore, the risk of dyingfollowing vaccination is negli-

gible as compared to theknown risk of dying due toCOVID-19," the ministry stat-ed.

The ministry also referred tosome media reports suggestingan increase in the cases ofsevere adverse events followingimmunisation (AEFI) thathave also resulted in "suc-cumbing of patients" post vac-cination.

According to the mediareports, 488 deaths followingvaccination are linked to post-Covid complications betweenJanuary 16 and June 7, whenthe total vaccination coveragewas 23.5 crore.

"It is clarified that thesereports are based on incom-plete and limited understand-ing of the matter at hand. Itmay be noted that the term'succumbed' insinuates causal-ity i.e. the deaths were causeddue to vaccination," the min-istry said.

AEFI is defined as any unto-ward medical occurrencewhich follows immunisationand which does not necessar-ily have a causal relationshipwith the usage of vaccine. It can be any unfavourable orunintended sign, abnormallaboratory finding, symptomor disease.

Risk of death followingvax negligible: Centre

PNS n NEW DELHI

A government report has, forthe first time, acknowledgedone death in India due tovaccination.

A 68-year-old man, fullyvaccinated, died on March31 and it has been labelled as"vaccine product relatedreaction" in a report assess-ing 31 severe cases reportedsince the governmentlaunched the vaccine drive inJanuary.

The report is by theNational Adverse EventsFollowing Immunization(AEFI) committee under theUnion Health Ministry. Ofthe 31 cases, 28 are deaths.

"This is the first deathwhere causality has beenestablished, with vaccineresulting in an anaphylaxisreaction. But compared tothe overall numbers, only asmall number had a severereaction. 31 cases were inves-tigated and one death wasdue to vaccine, and amonganaphylaxis cases, only twowere found to be product-related. Most anaphylaxisreactions are managed," saidNK Arora, Advisor, NationalAEFI Committee.

Centre confirms1 death due tovaccine

INDIA CORNER

ACongress leader fromMadhya Pradesh haslodged a complaint with

the Indore Police seekingregistration of an FIR on thecharge of "fraud" againstofficials of the Shri RamJanmabhoomi Teerth KshetraTrust alleging they"misappropriated" Rs 16 crorein buying a piece of land for the Ram temple project in Ayodhya. MPCongress Committee general secretary and media in-charge KKMishra on Tuesday said he had lodged the complaint on Mondaynight at Chhatripura police station in Indore. Referring to mediareports, Mishra said, "Officials of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi TeerthKshetra Trust had misappropriated around Rs 16 crore whilepurchasing the land for the Ram temple construction project. Forthis act, an FIR should be registered against the officials of the Truston charges of breach of trust and fraud under the Indian PenalCode".

PNS n NEW DELHI

In his first reaction after hisuncle Pashupati KumarParas ousted him as theleader of the party in LokSabha, LJP president ChiragPaswan on Tuesday likenedthe organization to a moth-er who should not be"betrayed".

In a tweet, he said hemade efforts to keep theparty founded by his fatherRam Vilas Paswan and hisfamily together but failed.

People are supreme in ademocracy, Paswan said andthanked those who havekept faith in the party.

‘Party likemother, shouldnot be betrayed’

Ayodhya land deal: Congseeks registration of FIR

VK Sasikala, the oustedchief of Tamil Nadu'sAIADMK, was heard in a

purported audio clip, sayingthat she will "come soon andset the party straight". Thelatest clip emerged a day afterthe opposition party sacked 15people she spoke withrecently. "Other elections arecoming up. We've to win and protect Jayalalithaa's legacy. I ampained that party workers are expelled when we are in opposition,"she is reportedly heard saying. "I have a responsibility. I amconfident that I'd be able to set the party straight. My wish is thatthe AIADMK should be strong even if it turns 100 years. We woulddefinitely bring Amma (Jayalalithaa) rule. I will meet all of yousoon." The AIADMK on Monday sacked 15 functionaries includingits spokesperson, Pugalendhi, for "anti-party activities" and "bringingdisrepute". Many of the expelled members had spoken with Sasikalaon the phone recently.

"Will come and set AIADMKstraight": VK Sasikala

Shiromani Akali Dal chiefSukhbir Singh Badal wasdetained this afternoon as

he led a huge protest outsidePunjab Chief Minister CaptainAmarinder Singh's home inMohali to demand the sackingof Balbir Singh Sidhu, thestate's Health Minister.The BSP's Punjab presidentJasvir Singh Garhi also joined the massive demonstration, daysafter the two parties forged an alliance for the state elections duenext year. High political drama unfolded as hundreds of protesters -carrying party flags - marched together despite heavy policebarricading. Water cannons were also used on demonstrators.Former Punjab minister and Akali Dal leader Bikram Singh Majithiawas also detained. The Akali Dal chief, 58, has sought a CBI probeinto the alleged irregularities in the sale of vaccines andprocurement of medical kits for COVID-19 patients.

Sukhbir Badal detained amidprotest at Amarinder’s House

The Trinamool has extendedits contract with electionstrategists I-PAC, or Indian

Political Action Committee, to2026 after a successfulpartnership saw MamataBanerjee sweep the April-MayAssembly polls and return asChief Minister of Bengal for athird straight term. This version of I-PAC, however, will not be led inday-to-day operations by master strategist Prashant Kishor, whoguided the Trinamool (and, in Tamil Nadu, the DMK-Congressalliance) to victory over the BJP (and its southern ally, the AIADMK)and then announced he wanted to "quit". It will be interesting to seehow well I-PAC and its new nine-member leadership team canfunction without Mr Kishor, and how efficiently it can win electionsfor Trinamool and its other clients. The new contract says I-PAC willbe involved in all state elections - panchayat and local body.

Prashant Kishor team getsMamata contract till 2026

PNS n NEW DELHI

In national capital Delhi,thousands of commuterscrowded into undergroundtrain stations and shoppingmalls on Tuesday, promptingsome doctors to warn it couldlead to a resurgence inCOVID-19 infections. MajorIndian cities have begun lift-ing strict lockdowns as thenationwide tally of new infec-tions has dropped to its low-

est level in more than twomonths

But disease experts anddoctors have cautioned that arace towards resuming busi-ness as usual would compro-mise vaccination efforts asonly about 5% of all 950 mil-lion eligible adults have beeninoculated.

Doctors say Delhi's near-complete re-opening is con-cerning. The city's authoritieshave said they would reim-

pose strict curbs if cases rise.Thousands died in the cap-

ital in May, as oxygen suppliesall but vanished and familiespleaded on social media overscarce hospital beds.

People paid 20 times theusual price to secure ambu-lances and hearses, manydied in parking lots, andmorgues ran out of space.

"Delhi's top #mall saw afootfall of 19,000 people lastweekend- as soon as it

reopened. Have we gone total-ly mad? (sic)" Ambrish Mithalof Max HealthCare in NewDelhi said on Twitter. "Waitfor #COVID19 to explodeagain- and blame the govern-ment, hospitals, country."

In the early hours ofTuesday, Delhi's undergroundrail network put out alerts onTwitter about peak trafficand longer waits, respondingto angry commuters angryabout long queues.

Delhi defies norms, doctors say bracefor ‘explosion’ of Covid positive cases

PNS n DHUBRI

With the Centre and the statehaving stepped up theCOVID-19 vaccination drive,a 36-year- old man in Assam'sDhubri district has taken itupon himself to convince peo-ple, especially those from theunderprivileged sections,about the efficacy of the jabsamid reports that many werehesitant to get themselvesinoculated.

Stating that he has taken apledge to free Dhubri of coro-navirus, Dipankar Mazumder,a medical representative byprofession, is moving from onedoor to another on his motor-cycle trying to bust all mythssurrounding the available

COVID-19 vaccines.Mazumder, popularly

known as the 'vaccine man',told PTI that he has so far suc-ceeded in persuading 80 peo-ple to visit nearby inoculationcentres. "There are some peo-ple who still do not own asmartphone and have no clueabout the vaccination process.

Many of them are scared oftaking the vaccine either dueto lack of awareness or becauseof the misinformation doingthe rounds," he said.

Currently, Mazumder hasdirected his attention to dailywage earners, especiallywomen and senior citizens, as"they are among the mostvulnerable groups of people"that could get infected.

Assam's ‘vaccine man'on door-to-door drive

PNS n CHENNAI

A year after the Galwan skir-mish, Vanathi Devi, widow ofHavildar K Palani, still remem-bers her beloved was not ableto keep his promise of return-ing home but his finalmoments and heroic sacrificein the fight with Chinesetroops makes her feel proud ofhim.

Not only his sacrifice in themountainous Galwan Valley,but also those of others besidesthe lives of soldiers guardingthe frontiers in high altituderegion speak volumes of theuntold sacrifices of the coun-try's army men, she said.

"Even after a year, my lifecontinues to be gloomy due tohis demise.It is a personal lossfor me and my twochildren.But, his sacrifice forIndia makes me feel proud ofhim," Vanathi Devi told PTI onTuesday.

Her voice quivering, shesaid she still remembers the

last conversation she had withhim..

"He told me his (retire-ment) papers were throughand he would return home ina weeks time and asked me togo ahead with the housewarming ceremony on June 3which I did," she said.

Both hoped that they wouldreunite on their wedding dayon June 6.But fate willed oth-erwise.

On June 15, she wasinformed about his sacrifice atGalwan Valley.

"Our wish that we wouldbegin life anew in our newlyconstructed home never mate-rialised," Vanathi said.

PNS n HYDERABAD

The supply price of BharatBiotech's COVID-19 vaccineCovaxin to the Central govern-ment at Rs 150 per dose is notsustainable in the long run, thevaccine maker said on Tuesday.

Hence a higher price in pri-vate markets is required to off-set part of the costs, it said ina statement.

The Centre's supplying priceis pushing the pricing structure

for the private sector upward,the firm said.

Fundamental business rea-sons ranging from low pro-curement volumes, high distri-bution costs and retail margins,among few others, contributeto higher pricing of Covaxin tothe private sector, BharatBiotech said,justifying thehigher price when comparedto other COVID-19 vaccinesavailable for the private play-ers.

Bharat Biotech is currentlysupplying Covaxin at Rs 150per dose to the Centre, Rs 400to the state government and Rs1,200 to private hospitals.

"The supply price ofCovaxin to the government ofIndia at Rs 150/dose, is a non-competitive price and clearlynot sustainable in the longrun.Hence a higher price inprivate markets is required tooffset part of the costs," it saidin a statement.

PNS n NEW DELHI

The definition of ‘terrorist act'under the stringent anti-ter-ror law UAPA is "somewhatvague" and it cannot beapplied in a “cavalier manner”to criminal acts falling underthe IPC, lest it unjustly suckspersons within its ambit, theDelhi High Court said onTuesday.

The high court, after perus-ing various judgements ofthe Supreme Court, said itwas of the opinion that theintent and purpose ofParliament in enacting theUnlawful Activities

(Prevention) Act (UAPA) andin amending it in 2004 and2008 to bring terrorist activ-ity within its scope, “was andcould only have been, to dealwith matters of profoundimpact on the ‘Defence ofIndia', nothing more andnothing less”.

The high court said “foist-ing extremely grave and seri-ous penal provisions”, engraft-ed under the UAPA, “frivo-lously” upon people wouldundermine the intent andpurpose of the Parliament inenacting a law that is meantto address threats to the veryexistence of our nation.

PNS n JAIPUR

Rajasthan MLAs who haddefected from the BSP to theruling Congress objected toany move by the party highcommand to pacify dissi-dent legislators led by SachinPilot, saying it was because ofthem that the governmentwas in crisis last year.

The MLAs said theyshould be rewarded as thegovernment was saved bythem and otherIndependents.

Former state deputy chiefminister Sachin Pilot and 18MLAs supporting him hadlast year rebelled against CMAshok Gehlot. They wereaccused of the bid to topplethe state government.

All BSP MLAs in the state--Lakhan Singh, RajendraGudha, Sandeep Yadav, WajibAli, Deepchand Kheria,Jogendra Awana--had defect-ed to the ruling Congress inSeptember 2019.

‘Cong brassshould not listento Pilot camp’

BB: Rs 150 per Covaxin dosenot sustainable in long run

UAPA defines terroristAct vaguely, says HC

Husband’s sacrifice makes mefeel proud of him: martyr’s wife

Why Chirag Paswan's uncle turned on him

streets and in military’s esti-mate, resistance has peakedthough it will not acknowledgethis publicly.

The resistance, comprisinga shadow National UnityGovernment, CivilDisobedience Movement and aPeople’s Defence Force support-ed by at least four ethnic armedorganisations, has not loststeam even after four months.Attacks on military and policeposts in the border States ofShan, Chin and Karen haveattracted brutal reprisals. Unlessthe junta is reined in,Myanmarese fear an implosion(civil war) or/and explosion thatwould produce hundreds uponthousands more refugees flee-ing to Thailand, India andChina. Sanctions by the inter-national fora — instruments toregulate the behaviour of themilitary — have not worked. Aregional process of conflict ter-mination and dispute resolu-tion has made no headway evenin selecting the Asean envoyeight weeks after it held ameeting in Jakarta on April 24,which produced a wobbly five-point consensus — locating anexit strategy for the militarybased on constructive dialogue,release of all prisoners, cease-fire and restoration of normal-ity. The UN, G7 and India,

among others, have supportedthe Asean peace initiative.

China has signalled its will-ingness to help if and when theregional process fails. Suspicionabout Chinese hand in thecoup is rampant in the countryas Beijing’s stakes are veryhigh. Most of the arson is ofChinese assets which twomonths ago was estimated at$37mn. Over the years, a love-hate relationship has devel-oped between China and themilitary. But, more recently,China had established veryproductive relations with theNLD leadership. It is clear thejunta will not allow the Chineseto meddle in its internal affairs,especially when anti-Chinasentiment is high and rising.This is a Godsend for militarysupremo Gen Min AungHlaing who has removed theretirement age of 65 for him toserve indefinitely beyond July.

The kangaroo court set upby him to try NLD leaders,including Aung San Suu Kyi,met for the first time on May24 and again on Monday. Herlawyer Khin Maung Zaw saidthat she’s being charged with“sedition and corruption tokeep her out of the scene andsmear her prestige” —euphemistically banning SuuKyi and her party from poli-

tics and despatching her intooblivion is the junta’s exitstrategy for her. The UN rightsoffice has called the chargesabsurd and bogus. In its latestreport, the Asian NetworkFor Free Elections monitoringgroup has said that the resultsof the 2020 general electionswere by and large representa-tive of the will of the people.

Gen Hlaing pines for theThai model and is an ardentadmirer of Thai Generals. Hehas an excellent backchannelwith former General and nowPrime Minister, PM PrayuthChan-o-cha. Gen Hlaing hassaid elections will be heldwhen the situation will permit.

At play are two exit strate-gies with different endgames.The regional process or Aseaninitiative seeks to restore thehybrid power-sharing modelthrough a negotiated solutionas exit for the military. TheGeneral’s endgame is to debarNLD and retire Suu Kyi toensure a USDP electoral victo-ry. In the Burma coup, it isadvantage Gen Hlaing.

(The writer, a retired MajorGeneral, was Commander,IPKF South, Sri Lanka, andfounder member of the DefencePlanning Staff, currently theIntegrated Defence Staff. Theviews expressed are personal.)

The 1950 Treaty of Peace and Friendship between India and Nepal had one verystrong element — mutual respect for the sovereignty and integrity of each other.With 70 years gone, the treaty has proved to be a milestone in bringing India and

Nepal closer. However, the same treaty has time and again got the two neighbours faceto face on certain issues. Does this make the bilateral relations strained? Probably not.It is because the present nature of India-Nepal relations is merely seen through thelens of politics. Understandably, Nepal stands very critical to geostrategic rivalry andcompetition between India and China, and often its location surpasses all other con-

siderations. Yet, people-to-people ties between Indiaand Nepal have stood firm. Further, the political insta-bility in Nepal requires a people-centric approach. Whilethe borders across South Asia are contested, suchas India-Pakistan and India-China, India shares an openborder with Nepal. Despite the large scale of risksinvolved, India has supported the idea that it is a gate-way to people, culture and civilisation. By bringing thesefactors into account, the heated moments in India-Nepal relations may see an immediate resolution.

Meanwhile, there is another narrowed aspect of see-ing the India-Nepal relations through the prism of socialmedia. The hashtags #GoBackIndia #BackOffIndia dur-

ing the 2015 earthquake and border disputes in the last two years were seen as defin-ing moments that weaken the bond. However, if social media were to result in India-Nepal relations, China would be the only player in Nepal considering alleged paid pro-China social media campaigns. To date, Nepal has a vast digital divide. While affordinghigh-speed internet is still a challenge, access to smart phones in southern Nepal (Madhesh)is yet to meet national parity. Therefore, India’s longstanding people-to-people ties, espe-cially those between India’s Uttar Pradesh and Bihar and Nepal’s Madhesh region, area testimony to the brighter side. On the other hand, the looming hype of the rising sta-tus of China in Nepal has its proven short-term validity. Chinese interests in Nepal areprimarily focused on handling pro-Tibet voices, encroaching Nepalese territory for anextended strategic depth and leasing out critical areas of interests within Nepal. To achievethese, China has one tool: fabricated facts, lies and social media manoeuvring.

When a father gives to his son, both laugh; when a son gives to his father,both cry, said William Shakespeare. Ram Vilas Paswan, eternal Dalit leaderand pater familias of the Paswan family, would have had no qualms agree-

ing with the English bard. A father and son ganged up against the son of anotherfather. The father and father are both brothers, their brood, first cousins. That inshort is the bloodless coup that happened in that Bihar political family the otherday, stripping Chirag Paswan of his position and power in his own party, the LokJanshakti Party. Five of the party’s MPs have formed a separate group led by Chirag’suncle and supported by his nephew. Chirag remains the lone MP, a victim of dynas-tic arrogance or political naivete. The how and why of what happened is of acad-emic interest when the moot point is how family feuds and dynastic intrigues have

straddled Indian politics from times immemorial.They were understandable in times of monarchies,but in democratic India? The Nehru-Gandhi familyhas had the dubious distinction — unless circum-stances went against them — of having kept lead-ers unrelated by blood from the apex position —the party president. There is hardly any political partyin hardly any State today that is not headed by afamily. The tradition is derisively called dynasty pol-itics. What is problematic of such arrangements isthat the party, its politics and relationship with peo-ple and power is determined by the internal strife

within the family. That demeans politics itself.The schisms and the backstabbings, strangely but consistently, are timed to hap-

pen before major political happenings, like an election, a leadership change or a Cabinetreshuffle in a State or at the Centre. It is said the Paswan saga was brewing for sometime — the young man apparently oblivious to all of it — coming to a fruition justas rumours of a reshuffle in Delhi picked up. Not dissimilarly, other family feuds arechanging tack, more for the better than worse unlike the Paswan affair, in Uttar Pradesh,Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. The Mulayam Singh Yadav family is closing ranks,the patriarch trying to patch up differences between his brother Shivpal Yadav andson Akhilesh Yadav which spoiled Samajwadi Party’s image in the State. The fam-ily of undivided Andhra Congress leader YS Rajasekhara Reddy is trying to expandits influence into Telangana as well. While YSR’s son Jagan Mohan Reddy “rules”Andhra Pradesh, his daughter Sharmila Reddy will form a party of her own in Telangana.The “overlord” of Telangana, K Chandrasekhara Rao, is already trying to keep peacebetween son and political heir KT Rama Rao and nephew and organisational wizardT Harish Rao. These family pots can overflow anytime even as Karunanidhis of TamilNadu, Pawars of Maharashtra, Bangarappas and Deve Gowdas of Karnataka awaitthe next chapter in their family sagas.

Family feuds

TAKE CARE OF STREET VENDORSSir — If at all there is any one group of finan-cially backward communities in our coun-try that has to be helped on a priority basisby any Government for that matter, it is cer-tainly the street vendors’ group whose lifehas been terribly thrown out of gear due tothe COVID pandemic for the past two years.These people were just surviving on themoney borrowed from unscrupulousmoneylenders who used to recover theirinstalments from them on a daily basis,sometimes using force.

No Government, State or Central, hasbothered about these small income earnersduring the lockdown because the powers-that-be just did not have the time to thinkabout the existence of these poor people andneither did they have any record of such ven-dors at different locations. It is high time thatall States should immediately arrange to goto the residences of these street vendors andidentify them/collect their information/databy registering them on a particular websiteof the Government.

The Government has to create a basicdata of these people along with their activ-ities immediately on the particular website.It is really a good step by the RBI in advis-ing banks to increase lending working cap-ital loans of `10,000 to all the street ven-dors but then it is not a charity because pub-lic money is being used. Proper identifica-tion and follow-up of these loans by thebanks/Government is very much essentialso that the real, honest borrowers can be fur-ther financed to increase their businessesand income, raising their standard of living.After all, good money cannot be allowed tobecome bad money, whether through anindividual or through a corporate head .

Katuru Durga Prasad Rao | Hyderabad

G7 ALSO WORRIED ABOUT CHINASir — The combined declaration proposedby the G7 nations during their 2021 meet-ing at the Carbis Bay summit reveals thejoint worry of the developed nation aboutthe rising new superpower, China. India isan invitee party at the G7 Summit, whosetiming in June reminds India about the

bloody flashback of Galwan.The G7 are also tensed with the rising

power of China. This is the same conditionwith India also. The Galwan clash has com-pleted over a year now. The irony is that boththe emerging economies have failed over anyviable solution to bring this border issue toan end. It becomes hard for India tocounter China alone. For us, multilateralsupport is a must requirement. And G7 isone such platform that can advantage us.

We, both India and the G7 nations, havethe same problems: The China issue, terror-ism, climate change, and so on. A robustpartnership between us and the G7 coun-tries can bring about improved solutions forus and the other stakeholders.

Kirti Wadhawan | Kanpur

PRESERVING ENVIRONMENT IS A MUSTSir — In the last few days, commendableaction has been taken by the States. A few

days back, the Maharashtra Governmentpassed an action plan to protect and pre-serve the trees that are older than 50 yearsin urban areas and these have been termed“Heritage trees”. It seems to be the need ofthe hour. On the one hand, while the Centreis attempting to increase the forestation anddecrease the desertification and increase thecarbon sink area also, the MaharashtraGovernment’s step seems to be allowing italthough this is not a new concept.

Recently, the Rajasthan Governmentannounced that it is going to set up a Vediceducation and Sanskar board. The verypurpose of this board is to connect theknowledge of ancient Sanskrit scriptureswith the learnings of Vedas and science inyoga. It's a praiseworthy step towards theeducation sector.

Mohit Rawal | Ujjain

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

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VIJAYAWADA| WEDNESDAY | JUNE 16, 2021

06

Send yyour ffeedback tto:letterstopioneer@gmail.com

Good togetherConsidering decades of bonhomie, Nepal would do

well to embrace India and shun Chinese lies

State administration has shut down due to rail, health, bank and civilservants being AWOL and the country’s economy has collapsed

PICTALK

Hungarian football fans march towards the Puskas Arena in Budapest, Hungary PTI

THE RESISTANCE,COMPRISING

A SHADOWNATIONAL UNITY

GOVERNMENT, CIVILDISOBEDIENCE

MOVEMENT AND A PEOPLE’S

DEFENCE FORCESUPPORTED BY AT

LEAST FOURETHNIC ARMED

ORGANISATIONS,HAS NOT LOST

STEAM EVENAFTER FOUR

MONTHS

LETTERS TO TTHE EDITOR

ASHOK K MEHTAThe bloodless coup against Chirag is not unique

but such internal strife demeans politics itself

Just days after a preliminary probe by theUttarakhand Health Department suggestedthat many of the four lakh COVID test results

issued during the Kumbh festival in Haridwarwere fake, a detailed investigation shows that atleast one lakh test reports were forged by a pri-vate agency. In one instance, a single phone num-ber was used to register over 50 people whileone antigen test kit (which has an exclusive num-ber and is meant for single use) was shown tohave tested 700 samples. The addresses andnames were fictional.

Almost 530 samples were taken from“House Number 5” in Haridwar. Is it possible fora house to have over 500 residents? Accordingto the investigation official, bizarre addresses

have been given: “House number 56, Aligarh;House number 76, Mumbai”. The official added:“The phone numbers were fake, too. People inKanpur, Mumbai, Ahmedabad and 18 other loca-tions shared the same phone number.”

The sample collection agencies were taskedto conduct tests by the State Government afterthe High Court directed Uttarakhand to carry outat least 50,000 tests daily during Kumbh. Thefestival was held from April 1 to 30 in Haridwar.The four lakh tests during this period were con-ducted by nine agencies and 22 private labs. Amajority of these were antigen tests. The Statedepartment also conducted its own teststhrough Government labs. Of the one lakh testsconducted by the agency under the scanner, 177were “COVID positive”, a positivity rate of only0.18 per cent. In contrast, the positivity rate inHaridwar in April went upto 10 per cent.Theagency was paid ̀ 350 per antigen test and high-er for RT-PCR tests, which means the scam runsinto crores. Test results by other agencies arealso being probed now.

Bhagwan Thadani | Mumbai

COVID test fraud during Kumbh

Resistance to coupbleeds Myanmar

Military coups, if suc-cessful, have instantrewards. Failure pro-duces retribution of

the worst kind. In stable democ-racies, the military is seen to beunder civilian control and actingas per the Constitution. In total-itarian States like China, the mil-itary acts under the political guid-ance of the Chinese CommunistParty — power flowing out of thebarrel of the gun. Finding the rightcivilian-military balance is noteasy in developing countries. Themost recent power friction was inMali, the Colonel’s coup, enactedtwice in six months, by the sameColonel. One of the Sudan coupswas triggered by civil society.Coups were rampant in SouthAmerica, then Africa and south-east Asia. Pakistan is a rare balanceof military- civil authority wheremilitary has always (except abrief period after 1991) called theshots. In Turkey, the Ataturkdesign has been overturned andmilitary put in its place, its con-stitutional rights abrogated. SouthKorea and Indonesia make inter-esting case studies in transfer ofpower to civilian authorities.There is no template for a coup,only an SOP. Countries under theCommonwealth have fared betterin fixing the right civil-militaryequilibrium.

Myanmar is a unique case ofmilitary-guided democracy wherethe third coup has just crossed 135days and follows a 2008 military-drafted Constitution designed toproduce a “disciplined democra-cy” via the military-supportedUnion Solidarity DevelopmentParty. According to the UNHuman Rights office, 873 civilianshave been killed and approximate-ly 5,000 protestors detained andMyanmar has gone from being afragile democracy to “humanrights catastrophe”. Popular resis-tance to the coup has resulted inclosure of State administration dueto rail, health, bank and civil ser-vants being AWOL and collapseof economy with criminal net-works taking over undergroundmarkets. The junta claims law andorder is under control, fewerprotests and killings and militaryreturning to employing non-lethal pacification methods.Dissent is less visible on the

SOUNDBITEHaving patientlywaited for theGovernment to comeclean about the cir-cumstances in whichthe unprecedented(Galwan) incident happened...noclarity is yet available.

Congress interim president

— Sonia Gandhi

What is neededfrom the new Israeli Governmentis to start acting on ending the occupation and

settlement in Palestine.

Palestinian Prime Minister

— Mohammed Ishtaye

A film like Gadar

cannot be releasedon OTT. It is amovie that wasmade to bewatched aroundpeople.

Director

— Anil Sharma

I have printed thefirst Real Quran,how it should havebeen after ProphetMuhammad. I willsend this copy toAIMPLB chief to study.

UP Shia Central Waqf Board member

— Waseem Rizvi

We lacked tranquility. Wewere unable to

control possessionand play faster,which they did.

Argentine footballer

— Lionel Messi

Italian marines caseproceedings closed

REACHED AGATTI AND MET WITH THE OFFICIALS.

INSPECTED AND REVIEWED THE STATUS OF

VARIOUS ONGOING DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS.

— LAKSHADWEEP ADMINISTRATOR

PRAFUL KHODA PATEL

WITNESSING A FURORE FOR OVER A MONTH NOW,

PEOPLE HAVE BEEN PROTESTING AGAINST CERTAIN

DECISIONS BY THE ADMINISTRATOR.

— LAKSHADWEEP MP

PP MOHAMMED FAIZAL

Yesterday, June 15, the Supreme Court ofIndia quashed the proceedings in thelong-drawn Italian marines casehas (delete has)—has agreed with the

Government of India for closure of the contro-versial Italian Marines case where in which twofishermen were shot down by two Italian soldiersfrom a foreign ship off the Kerala coast in 2012.

The Narendra Modi government agreed to thefor `10 crore compensation,— better termed asblood money in some quarters,— offered by theItalian shipping company at antheInternationalArbitration tribunal. —sentence is not complete. This is not as simple and not a question of `10cr. It has bilateral relationship issues involved.

Ironically, Irony is it wasNarendra Modi whotill May, 2014 kept raising the marines case, spokeon this case,accusingcharging the then Congressgovernment of allowing the marines to leave Indiaand asking Congress President Sonia Gandhi (accusing of what)if that amounted to “defendingthe country’s interest”. He and promised to bringthe two killer —twoItalian marines before theIndia’s courtscriminal law. Why this abject sur-render to Italian Government’s pressure?

While it appears so, it is far from either capit-ulation by India or the country happily agree-ing to monetary compensation. The robust bilat-eral ties between India and Italy nearly becameundone because of the tensions the case causedin Delhi and Rome. The Italian foreign minis-ter had to resign after the marines were initial-ly sent back to India while Italian envoy in Delhiwas barred from leaving India after the marinesrefused to return following a furlough. The casecame up when India needed Italy’s help in prob-ing the corruption charges in theAgustaWestland case and assistance in finaliz-ing the EU investment agreement..

As someone covering a Home Ministry beatcovering journalist for the past 11 years, I knewthis case very well. and I am going to disclosethe origin of this case. On February 15, 2012around 5 pm, we journalists were in UnionHome Secretary RK Singh’s room at NorthBlock. The same RK Singh who is now theUnion Power Minister. It was a regulardebriefing and while we were in a freewheel-ing chat, we journalists noticed a news breakflashing in TV about the killing of two fisher-men from a foreign ship off the Kerala coast.We alerted RK Singh and he just picked thephone and connected to P. Prabhakaran, thenDirector-General of Coast Guard.

Singh ordered the head of Coast Guard to seizethe foreign ship and hand it over to Kerala Police.As a journalist, I along with my colleagues wwereas witnessing one of the rarest speedy actions ofthe Mmanmohan Ssingh regime. .In no time, theItalian ship, Enrica Lexie, was seized by the CoastGuard and two Italian Marines were arrested byKerala Police. They were Italian Navy soldiers -Massimiliano Latorre and Salvatore Girone-hired by the ship for security from sea pirates. TheyItalian soldiers were charge-sheeted for murderby the Kerala Police,and they landed in the trialcourt in Kollam district of Kerala in their uniform.

According to my information, the tusslebetween the ship and the boat, named SaintAntony,from Kerala started on the price of thefish. Normally Sships usually buypurchase seafood and groceries from local fish from the boat-sto stock groceries and meat. The fFishermen inthe boat and the sailors in the Italian ship argued,engaged in an argumentleading to firing from

the marines. All kind of Much lob-bying took place was going to set-tle this case, while the two accusedkiller marines were languishedingin Kerala’s local jail.

First, the Italian Embassy oper-ated through the local Church. Thetwo victims fishermen– AjeeshPink and Valentine Jelastine– were-also Christians. Within two monthstheir families of the two fishermenaccepted `1 crore each and wroteto the pPolice and cCourt that theyhadve pardoned the two ItalianmMarines. The ItalianEmbassy,while providing legal helpto the accused, also produced a let-ter from the families that “in thename of Jesus” they have pardonedthe accused.

The Kerala Police objected say-ing that in criminal law, familieshave no role and their pardon can-not matter before laws of India. TheKerala High Court reminded thatblood money system and obtainingpardon from the victims’ familieswill never be entertained. Then lob-bying started in Delhi and claimsstarted floating that the incidenthappened in international watersand not in territorial waters. TheItalians approached the SupremeCourt, and Harish Salve was thelawyer complaining about the high-handedness of Kerala’s prosecutors.At In the end of 2012, then ChiefJustice of India (CJI) Altamas Kabirordered the shifting of the case fromKerala and allowed the Italianmarines to kept in Delhi’s Embassy.Soon CJI Kabir allowed themparole to visit Italy for Christmascelebrations. Shockingly, before thenext hearing oin April, 2013, theEmbassy filed an affidavit that thetwo accused were are not comingback to India. Then Janata PartyPresident Subramanian Swamyintervened in the case seeking con-tempt of court proceedings againstItalian Ambassador and there wasa heated argument between CJI and

Swamy. Sensing danger, Italyreturned the marines and keptthem in their Delhi Embassy.Meanwhile, Harish Salve relin-quished the case and his friendMukul Rohatgi took up the case ofItalian Embassy.

This time country was a facingLok Sabha election heat and BJP andits Prime Ministerial candidateNarendra Modi were accusingCongress and its President SoniaGandhi for of reportedly surrender-ing India’s interests before Italy.Modi was roaring in his speechesasking Sonia Gandhi all kinds ofquestions on this matter. Modieven Tweeted on March 31, 2014:“Italian marines mercilessly killedour fishermen. If Madam is so‘patriotic’ can she tell in which jailthe marines are lodged in?”Modiwas outraged that expressing angerover putting the killer marineswere lodged in Embassy guesthouse in Delhi instead of jail.

Modi became Prime Ministerin May, 2014. As time passed,theadvopcates of the Italian marines’advocate Mukul Mukul Rohatgibecame India’s Attorney Generaland their marines’ first advocateHarish Salve got Padma Bhushanan year later. in 2015.The anger wasgradually fizzling out and themarines were allowed to go back toItaly. andIin 2016, India agreed tocontest the Italian petition at the ad-hoc tribunal constituted to settledisputes related to the UnitedNations Convention for the Law ofthe Seav( which petition) at the UNTribunal on international shippingmatters ev evene as the SupremeCourt was handling the criminalcase. Why did India agree for theinternational tribunal’s and arbitra-tions when a criminal case waspending in Indian courts? Thesame thing happened in Vodafoneand Cairn tax evasion issues whencases were going on in Indiancourts. And in international tri-

bunals India lost the case ultimate-ly after spending huge legal expens-es running over millions of dollars.

In July 2020, as expected, theinternational tribunal ordered thatIndia can only contest for compen-sation and criminal cases will betried only in Italy. The Union gov-ernment informed the SupremeCourt that it had accepted the deci-sion of the Permanent Court ofArbitration that the marines can-not be tried in India as theyenjoyed immunity because theywere exercising official duties whenthe incident occurred. The PCAsaid India was entitled to compen-sation for the loss of life of the fish-ermen and the marines’ violationof the right of navigation.

And the Indian Governmentagreed to this curious order of thetribunaland now tells the SupremeCourt to close all criminal cases asthe “nation” has agreed to theInternational Tribunal proposal.Italy paid compensation of ̀ 4 croreeach to two fishermen’s families and`2 crore to the boat owner. Why didthe Government of India agree toaccept `10 crore and avoid crimi-nal cases in India, akin to theblood money system? In India trialcourts have to pass judgmentincluding conviction of the accusedand pass orders for compensationto victims. Accepting bBloodmMoney and obtaining pardon forthe accused from victim’s family isvalid in Arabic jurisprudence.

The Kerala High Court wasright on the conduct of the trial-but was over-ruled by the SupremeCourt.The then Opposition party,BJP, did a u-turn aftercoming topower. Abad precedence has beenset for the trial of any misde-meanor or crime committed byforeigners on Indian territory.How can we justify a foreignerkilling an Indian in Indian terrainand allow his criminal trial to beconductedon foreign soil?

The closure of the marines’ case sets a bad precedence for trying future crimes byforeigners on Indian soil in the Indian courts

IT IS FAR FROM EITHER

CAPITULATION BYINDIA OR THE

COUNTRY HAPPILYAGREEING TO

MONETARYCOMPENSATION.

THE ROBUST TIESBETWEEN INDIA

AND ITALY NEARLYCAME UNDONE

BECAUSE OF THETENSIONS THECASE CAUSED.

THE ITALIANFOREIGN

MINISTER HAD TORESIGN AFTERTHE MARINES

WERE INITIALLYSENT BACK TO

INDIA WHILE THEITALIAN ENVOY IN

DELHI WASBARRED FROMLEAVING INDIA

AFTER THEMARINES

REFUSED TORETURN

FOLLOWING A FURLOUGH

Odisha is often considered as India's best-kept secret. Thestate is quiet about its bountiful nature, its scenic seashore, mighty archaeological wonders, thick forests and

lakes, a place where nature gets its salvation. It is also a statewith a rich history of social consciousness and awareness,transferred from generation to generation through cultural fes-tivals with embedded meanings. One of the most prominentfestivals is the one that helps break the social taboo over themenstrual cycles in women. Amongst countless festivals ofOdisha, the most pious one that celebrates the importance ofwomanhood is: Raja ( pronounced : Raw-Jaw ). A festival ofyoung women that has been setting up an example by wipingout the long taboo on menstrual cycle of women. This festi-val empowers women as well as teaches the men to respectthem. The festival is celebrated for three consecutive days withlots of enjoyment and festivities involved. It is generally observedduring the second week of June. The first day is famously called'Pahili Raja' (first Raja). The second day is called, 'RajaSankranti'or 'Mithun Sankranti'. On this day the advent of Ashada(monsoon) occurs. The third day is called 'Basi Raja' (last Raja).

One day prior to the festival, the houses and kitchens arecleaned and the young girls prepare themselves for three daysof festive proceedings. During these three days girls are notimposed to do any household work. They visit their friends' hous-es, eat sweets and enjoy together. They wear new clothes, espe-cially sarees, and adorn themselves with colourful 'bindi' andornaments. Music is played in villages, dancing together, shar-ing foods items and playing board games and singing lyricalfolklores of Raja. Everywhere, variety of swings are decorat-ed with flowers for girls to play. Savoury foods are served alongwith paan (betel leaf with stuffings), the most significant markof Raja festival. This tradition has evolved with a mythologythat people heartily believe. It is said that, Lord Jagannath's wife,Bhudevi,also known as Vasundhara; the goddess of earth, under-goes menstrual period during the three days of Raja. To markher sacredness and to give rest to goddess Bhudevi, no agri-cultural practices are performed for these three days. It is believedthat, during the peaceful three days, with the arrival of mon-soon, the goddess Bhudevi quenches her thirst. Women arealso advised not to walk with naked feet, not to cut or tear any-thing. Even though we live in the 21st century, menstruationis a topic still talked about in hushed tones and details sharedin darkness. It will not be wrong to say that this topic has notgained the freedom to be accepted by the world. Some com-munities consider this phase as unholy and have made unsci-entific justifications to back their arguments. The renowned poetand activist, Judy Grahn said: "Menstrual blood is the only sourceof blood that is not traumatically induced. Yet in modern soci-ety, this is the most hidden blood, the one so rarely spoken ofand almost never seen, except privately by women." Educatedpeople also sometimes shy awayfrom talking about it. Everyonemust understand that it is an integral process of the female anato-my and it is absolutely healthy for women after certain age toundergo menstruation. There's nothing unholy about it. It is timefor the country to adopt the call of the Raja festival of Odisha,which is sends the message to break the meaningless socialtaboo and thus contribute to a changing world.

The author is pursing graduation in BJB College,Bhubaneswar. The views expressed are personal.

Both the Congress partyand the BJP – the twomain national parties- are

facing internal problems in thestates where they rule. The basicdifference between them is theCongress is on the decline whilethe BJP is growing to replaceCongress of the latter’s heydays.

Once proud of its exemplarydiscipline and organizationalunity the BJP is at present fac-ing internal feuds. It is not thatother political parties have notseen their leaders working atcross purposes. But it makesnews when this happens in BJP.

Why is it happening whenthe party is claimed to be pass-ing through a golden period inits history? Although NarendraModi has emerged as thestrongest Prime Minister sincethe days of Indira Gandhi,the

second wave of the Coronavirusoutbreak has dented his imagethough he continues to be pop-ular. The vaccine policy, bedshortage, and oxygen shortagehave added to the confusion.The Modi magic has not workedin the recent Assembly elections

The first problem is thatthe BJP has admitted manydefectors in poll-bound states.There is heartburn amongBJP workers that while theyhave been slogging for yearsthose who entered the partyyesterday are getting therewards. This is what has hap-pened in UP, Karnataka,Assam and Uttarakhand.

In UP the stakes are veryhigh. In 2017, the BJP won amassive majority. The dissidentshave many issues. A.K. Sharma,a retired Gujarat cadre officer

who worked in the PrimeMinister’s Office has been madean MLC early this year. He isexpected to be made a ministersoon. The old-timers see him asa threat as he has the ears of thePrime Minister. Some dissi-dents are demanding a changeof chief minister. There is alsosome strain in the relationshipbetween Chief Minister YogiAdityanath and Modi.

As for West Bengal, thedefectors from the TrinamoolCongress are in the process ofreturning to the TMC startingwith the BJP’s big catch MukulRoy. In the past, he had been ablue-eyed boy of chief ministerMamata Banerjee. There arerumblings in the local BJP unitabout the poll strategy.

Governance in Karnataka issuffering due to internal feuds.

Chief Minister Yediyurappa isfacing indiscipline and there isa demand for his replacement.

Dissidence in Tripura hasonce again reared its ugly head.A few MLAs, most of theCongress turncoats have beendemanding Chief MinisterBiplav Kumar Deb’s ouster. InRajasthan, former chief minis-ter Vasundhara Raje is refusing

to heed the new state leader-ship. All these go to show thatall is not well with the BJP at thelocal level. However, these arenot beyond control.

The Congress is at presentdriven with simmering discon-tent, mutual bickering, andintraparty disputes. When theleaders are weak, naturally, thestate units are emboldened toraise their voice.

Only last August some 23leaders including Ghulam NabiAzad, Anand Sharma and B. S.Hooda had sent a letter toCongress president SoniaGandhi seeking urgent reorga-nization of the party.

In Congress-ruled states ofPunjab and Rajasthan rebels aredemanding the removal of thechief ministers. Cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Sidhu

has launched a scathing attackagainst Punjab Chief MinisterCaptain Amarindar Singh. Thehigh command has decided toaccommodate both factions inparty and government.

Rajasthan faced a rebellionlast year when Sachin Pilotraised the banner of revoltagainst Chief Minister AshokGehlot but he was pacified bythe high command. Pilot isaccusing the central leadershipof not keeping its promises.

One by one ‘Team Rahul’is getting dismantled. Two ofRahul’s trusted lieutenantsJyotiraditya Scindia and nowJitin Prasads have joined theBJP. Sachin Pilot is debatingwhether to leave Congress. Sois Milind Deora.

It is nobody’s case that therehas never been indiscipline and

factionalism in both parties. Itis only a question of how soonthese rebels are contained.While the BJP, as the rulingparty at the centre, can crack thewhip, the Congress, being in theopposition does not have thatluxury. Today the Congressparty’s chances of acquiringpower in New Delhi in theimmediate future appear bleak,and therefore different factionscan make credible threats to exitthe organization. How it dealswith the dissidents is to be seen.

New parties are born whenpeople get disenchanted withthe existing parties. But inter-nal problems arise becausethe party men feel there is nofuture for them in that party.It is for the party leaders tomanage the emerging compe-tition among the factions.

While the BJP, as the ruling party at the Centre, can crack the whip, the Congress, being in the Opposition, does not have that luxury

VIJAYAWADA | WEDNESDAY | JUNE 16, 2021

07

www.dailypioneer.com facebook.com/dailypioneer | @TheDailyPioneer | instagram.com/dailypioneer/

FIRSTCOLUMN

DESTROYINGSOCIAL TABOOS

Odisha’s Raja festival celebrates womanhood andcalls to fight patriarchal notions on menstruation

POINTCOUNTERPOINT

The author is a SpecialCorrespondent of ‘The

Pioneer’. The viewsexpressed are personal.

Disturbing dissent in both national parties

KALYANI SHANKAR

The author is a seniorjournalist. The views

expressed are personal.

N SOUMIK

J GOPIKRISHNAN

VIJAYAWADA | WEDNESDAY | JUNE 16, 2021 Money 08

MONEY MATTERS

Tata Motors-owned JaguarLand Rover (JLR) onTuesday said it is

developing a prototypehydrogen fuel cell electricvehicle (FCEV) based on thenew version of its premiumSUV, Land Rover Defender.The 'New Defender FCEV'concept is part of JLR's aim toachieve zero tailpipe emissions by 2036 and net zero carbonemissions across its supply chain, products and operations by 2039,in line with the 'Reimagine' strategy announced last month, thecompany said in a statement.It is being developed under thecompany's advanced engineering project, known as Project Zeus,which is part-funded by the government-backed AdvancedPropulsion Centre. "To deliver Project Zeus, Jaguar Land Rover hasteamed up with world-class R&D partners, including DeltaMotorsport, AVL, Marelli Automotive Systems and the UK BatteryIndustrialisation Centre (UKBIC) to research, develop and create theprototype FCEV," the company added.

EV maker HOP Electric Mobilityon Tuesday launched two newscooter models and said it

plans to roll out five vehicles,including an e-bike, by the end ofthis fiscal year.The company saidit is also looking to set upcharging stations, starting fromJaipur and further expanding them to other parts of the country. Atpresent, HOP has three market-ready vehicles, two e-scooters andone e-motorcycle and in the long-term, the brand plans to launch atleast ten new products in the next three years, it said.The two newup to 125 km range e-scooter models, LEO and LYF, are priced atRs 72,500 and Rs 65,500 onwards, respectively, come withfeatures such as Internet, GPS, mobile app, 72V architecture andhigh-performance Motor to climb any slope with loading capacity of180 kg, among others, the company said in a release.To addressthe growing demand for e-vehicle solutions HOP Electric Mobility isgearing up to launch at least five e-vehicle solutions by the end ofthis financial year, the company said in the release.

HOP Electric Mobility unveilstwo new EV scooter models

RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group firmSpencer's Retail Ltd onTuesday reported narrowing

of its consolidated net loss to Rs34.53 crore for the fourth quarterended on March 2021. Thecompany had posted a net lossof Rs 49.26 crore in the January-March period a year ago, Spencer's Retail said in a regulatory filing.Its revenue from operations was down 7.57 per cent to Rs 592.36crore during the quarter under review, as against Rs 640.88 crore inthe year-ago period. The total expenses of the company fell 7.46 percent to Rs 650.72 crore in Q4/FY 2020-21, as against Rs 703.18crore a year ago."We were witnessing a month-on-month recoveryfor the last several months which continued well into this quarter.Though we were impacted due to the resurgence of the pandemictowards the second half of the quarter, this recovery gives us a lotof confidence in the resilience of our business model," Sector HeadShashwat Goenka said.

Spencer's Retail sees net lossnarrowing to Rs 34.53 crore

The Securities Appellant Tribunal(SAT) has reduced the penaltyimposed by Sebi on CARE Ratings

to Rs 10 lakh from Rs 1 crore in a caserelated to lapses in assigning creditrating to non-convertible debentures ofReliance Communications (RCom).The tribunal has affirmed theregulator's order with regard to the violation by CARE Ratingsunder the provisions of the Sebi Act and the CRA (Credit RatingAgency) rule.However, the penalty has been reduced from Rs 1crore to Rs 10 lakh, according to a SAT order dated June 9. "It wasa case of lack of due diligence for not having acted in a timelymanner... we are of the opinion that the maximum penalty of Rs 1crore is highly excessive, harsh and arbitrary and does notcommensurate with the violation," SAT said. Further, the tribunalsaid the charge is one of lack of due diligence and it is not a casewhere ratings were not downgraded. The ratings were downgradedby CARE Ratings but not in a timely manner. "There could be acase of carelessness or sluggishness or laxity in the manner inwhich the downgrading was done by the appellant (CARE Ratings)but it is not a case of oversight," SAT noted.

SAT reduces Sebi's penaltyon CARE Ratings to Rs 10 L

JLR developing prototypehydrogen fuel cell EV

PNS n MUMBAI

Financial wealth in India grew11 per cent to USD 3.4 trillionin 2020 despite the coron-avirus pandemic, a global con-sultancy estimated on Tuesday.

The 11 per cent growth infinancial wealth was at par withthe compounded annualgrowth rate for the five years to2020, the report by BCG said.

Financial wealth is definedas the total wealth excludingreal assets and liabilities held byadult individuals.

It can be noted that after asharp correction in the earlydays of the pandemic, there hasbeen a continuing rally instocks since April last year,which has led to concernsbeing expressed across quar-ters. Concerns are also beingexpressed about a greater dis-parity in incomes and the pan-demic widening the divide.The report noted that the nextfew years will also see a faster

expansion in financial wealth,but the rate of expansion willslow down marginallyto 10 per cent perannum to take thenumber to USD5.5 trillion by2025.

The reportreveals growth in prosperityand wealth significantlythrough the crisis and is like-ly to expand in the next fiveyears," an official statementfrom the consultancy firmsaid. India is expected to leadthe percentage growth of indi-

vidualswith fortunes of over USD

100 million till 2025, it said,adding that the number willalmost double to 1,400 in thenext five years.

Indians' cross-border wealth,which is defined as financialwealth booked in a jurisdictionthat is different from the juris-diction of domicile, grew toUSD 194 billion in 2020 whichis 5.7 per cent of the financial

wealth. The proportion is set toincrease to 6.3 per cent by 2025

as per its estimates. Onthe asset allocation side,

nearly half ofthe onshore

deployment ofthe financial

wealth is incurrencyand dep o s i t s ,

followedby equi-ties and

life insurance.From a real assets

perspective, which includes realestate, consumer durables andvaluables like non-monetarygold and other metals valued atcurrent prices, there was an over14 per cent increase to USD 12.4trillion in 2020, as compared tothe year-ago period. The realassets are expected to grow by8.2 per cent per annum to USD18.5 trillion by 2025, the reportestimated.

Financial wealth jumps 11% in pandemic year to $ 3.4 tn

PNS n MUMBAI

Equity benchmarks Sensex andNifty rose for the fourth straightsession to settle at fresh life-timehighs on Tuesday as investorsshrugged off concerns over ris-ing inflation to focus on posi-tive cues coming from globalmarkets.

At the closing bell, the BSESensex quoted higher by 221.52points or 0.42 per cent at a newpeak of 52,773.05. The indexalso hit its all-time intradayhigh of 52,869.51 during thesession.

Likewise, the broader NSENifty rose 57.40 points or 0.36per cent to settle at a fresh highof 15,869.25. The NSE gaugetoo marked its life-time intra-day high of 15,901.60.

On the Sensex chart, AsianPaints was the top gainer in theSensex pack, rising over 3 percent, followed by Axis Bank,ICICI Bank, HindustanUnilever, IndusInd Bank,Infosys and HDFC Bank.

On the other hand, BajajFinserv, Dr Reddy's, Titan, SunPharma, Bajaj Finance andPowerGrid were among thelaggards.

Of the 30 shares in theSensex, 15 closed in the green.

Sectorally, BSE realty indexrose the most with 1.55 per centgains. It was followed by con-sumer discretionary goods,bank and FMCG indices.

In the broader market,smallcap and midcap indicesoutperformed the benchmark.Largecap index rose 0.35 percent. "Indian bourses contin-ued its gaining streak tracking

optimism from global peers,which is despite the risinginflation concerns. The globalmarket is eagerly awaiting thetwo-day Fed policy meeting'sdecision to see if the centralbank would signal any changein policy," said Vinod Nair,Head of Research at GeojitFinancial Services.

He further said that domes-tic retail inflation jumped to 6.3per cent in May breaching theRBI's comfort zone on accountof higher food and energyprices, which is expected to easedue to the opening of the econ-omy. Elsewhere in Asia, bours-es in Tokyo and Seoul ended ona positive note, while Shanghaiand Hong Kong were in the red.

Equities in Europe weretrading with gains in mid-ses-sion deals.

International oil benchmarkBrent crude was trading 0.32per cent higher at USD 73.09per barrel. Meanwhile, therupee slipped 2 paise to close at73.31 against the US dollar.

Sensex, Nifty scale new peaks;banking shares drive rally

Gold jumps Rs 303,silver gains Rs 134PNS n NEW DELHI

Gold in the national capital onTuesday rose Rs 303 to Rs47,853 per 10 grams reflectingovernight recovery in the glob-al precious metal prices, accord-ing to HDFC Securities. In theprevious trade, the preciousmetal had closed at Rs 47,550 per10 gram. Silver also gained Rs134 to Rs 70,261 per kg, from Rs70,127 per kg in the previoustrade. In the international mar-ket, both gold and silver weretrading flat at USD 1,864.50 perounce and USD 27.65 per ounce,respectively. Securities SeniorAnalyst (Commodities) TapanPatel said gold prices fluctuatedas the market is awaiting the out-come of the US Federal Reservemeeting.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Net office leasing across sevenmajor cities is likely to remain flator may grow slightly from 25.6million square feet achieved in2020, as corporates have notshelved their expansion planamid the second wave of theCOVID-19, according to a seniorJLL India official.

In an interview with PTI,Rahul Arora, Head of office leas-ing advisory, JLL India, said theyear 2021 started on a strong notewith net absorption of 5.5 millionsq ft of office space across sevencities -- Delhi-NCR, Mumbai,Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad,Pune and Kolkata -- duringJanuary-March quarter.

However, he said, the leasingmomentum was affected in thesecond quarter of the current cal-

endar year due to the secondCOVID-19 wave.

On the net leasing outlook for2021, Arora said: "We expect theabsorption to remain similar to2020 or perhaps better in case wedo not face another lockdown in

H2 of the year".Net absorption fell sharply to

25.6 million sq ft in 2020 from arecord 46.5 million sq ft in the pre-vious year because of the pandem-ic. "In a nutshell, office leasing didshow a fair amount resilience in

2020 and was back almost 55 percent of 2019 - which was an excep-tional year for the leasing market,"Arora said.

He highlighted that the year2021 started on a very strong note,with over 15 million sq ft of spacerequirements floated throughRFPs (request for proposals sentby corporate occupiers to devel-opers). "Even though Q1, 2021witnessed the robust absorptionof almost 5.5 million sq ft, therewas an immediate impact oflockdown 2.0. However, the ray ofhope for the sector was the factthat corporates didn't shelve butjust delayed these requirements.

“Closer to the re-opening 2.0across the country, we have sev-eral clients enquiring about vari-ous opportunities, consideringflex vs permanent, furnished vsunfinished,” he said.

Arora said corporate occu-piers are undertaking variousmeasures to ensure the eventualcome back to the office is safe, sus-tainable and productive.

"All are concerned about thewellbeing of their employees andhence we have seen severalextremely successful vaccinationdrives for all employees and theirfamilies. While WFH (WorkFrom Home) will continue for awhile, perhaps until most are vac-cinated, the market will witnessthe hybrid workplace strategies inthe coming months," he observed.

From an office leasing perspec-tive, Arora said it is evident thatthe companies do not intend toimplement WFH owing to vari-ous challenges.

"Tech giants continue to hire. Weexpect a more focussed approachon hybrid return to work – some

close to house centres, along withthe main office with only a fractionof people allowed to visit offices.

“Flex space is expected to wit-ness an increased demand in thenear term. We expect to see a larg-er workforce return to office in2022 (only post vaccinations)," hesaid. The consultant said that thesupply of new offices has beenaffected due to the non-availabil-ity of labour and lack of funds.

Arora said rentals are expectedto remain stable in key micro-mar-kets. JLL India, part of US-basedreal estate consultancy firm JLL, isone of the leading property con-sultants in India with dominancein commercial leasing and facili-ties management businesses. JLLIndia's revenue stood at around Rs4,000 crore in 2018-19. Theturnover of 2019-20 and 2020-21have not been disclosed.

Office leasing may remain flat or grow slightly in 7 cities

PNS n NEW DELHI

US-based co-working bookingplatform Upflex has tied up withreal estate consultant Anarock toenter the Indian market.

Mumbai-based Anarock saidin a statement that "it will makeUpflex, a hybrid booking plat-form with the largest global net-work of flexible workspace, avail-able to companies in India.

Anarock has signed a formalagreement to deploy Upflex'sservices across tier 1, 2, and 3 citiesin India.

The agreement combinesUpflex's technology, processes,and corporate mandates withAnarock's national distributionplatform to offer a highly cus-tomisable workspace programme.

"The unique workspace solu-tion that Upflex offers is highlyrelevant today, when the countryis still coming to grips with thepandemic,” Anarock ChairmanAnuj Puri said.

The Upflex solutions portfo-lio is designed to replace tradition-al leasing models with a low-touch, single-vendor alternative,streamlining real estate, reducingoverheads, conserving resources,and improving the employee

experience, said Rohin Shah,Director, Anarock.

Via the intuitive Upflex mobileapp, employees can search thou-sands of workspaces across 1,600cities and 75 countries, and bookconveniently located desks,offices, and meeting rooms ondemand.

Employers can track usageactivity for their distributedworkforce, see detailed utilisationdata, and handle all bookingsacross thousands of spaces andspace operators in one invoice."We are proud to join forces withAnarock. Combining our lead-ing-edge technology and globalnetwork coverage with Anarock'sunparalleled expertise of theIndian market is a winning for-

mula" Upflex Chief ExecutiveOfficer Christophe Garnier said.

"Our expansion into Indiamarks a milestone moment in thegrowth of Upflex as we introduceour products to new audiencesand help the world get back towork flexibly and safely," he said.Garnier said it would forge newpartnerships with flex work-space providers across India.

Anarock would also launchUpflex's Safe Spaces™ initiative,a global programme aimed tohelp businesses of all sizes rampup operations as COVID-19restrictions are lifted, helpingemployees return to the work-place and access spaces that fol-low strict health and safetyguidelines.

PNS n MUMBAI

India's gems and jewelleryexports in May 2021 declined by5 per cent to Rs 21,188 crore(USD 2.89 billion) compared tothe same month in pre-pandem-ic 2019, due to the disruptionscaused by the second Covidwave across the country, accord-ing to the Gem and JewelleryExport Promotion Council(GJEPC).

In 2019, the overall gem andjewellery exports in May stood atRs 22,388 crore (USD 3.20 bil-lion), according to the GJEPCdata. India's gem and jewelleryexports in May 2021 slipped intonegative territory due to thesevere disruption in manufactur-ing activity caused by the out-break of the second Covid waveacross the country, the GJEPCsaid in a statement.

The mix of partial and com-

plete lockdowns in differentstates led to limitations on work-force capacities and related man-ufacturing activities, it added.

However, gems and jewelleryexports grew by 4 per cent dur-ing April and May 2021 to Rs46,414.38 crore (USD 6.31 bil-lion) compared to the samemonths during the pre-pandem-ic year in 2019.

India's April-May 2021 exportgrowth was driven mainly by theDomestic Tariff Area (DTA),which witnessed a 15 per centgrowth in exports comparedwith the 31 per cent decline inexports recorded from SpecialEconomic Zones (SEZs), itadded.

The revival of exports has hap-pened due to the opening ofinternational markets, resurgentdemand and strong unstintedsupport from the government onvarious issues.

PNS n NEW DELHI

In growing signs of digitaladoption, a survey has showedthat interactions of people inIndia with all types of business-es through websites andmobile apps grew further dur-ing the COVID-19 pandemic,though privacy and securityremained their concerns.

According to a surveyreport of IT company IBM,respondents over 35 saw thelargest increase in digital inter-actions during the pandemic,though all age groups saw atleast some increases.

"Indian respondents inter-acted with all types of busi-nesses/organisations throughwebsites and mobile appsmore during COVID, espe-cially banking (65 per cent)and shopping/retail (54 percent). The survey conductedbetween March 12-26, howev-er, found that more than half

of respondents remove track-ing permission of apps if ittracks activity of users acrossother apps and websites.

"The big takeaway from thissurvey is that consumers havebecome accustomed to theconvenience of digital interac-tions during the pandemic,and this trend is expected tocontinue even after societyreturns to pre-pandemic

norms," Prashant Bhatkal,Security Software Sales Leader,IBM Technology Sales, Indiaand South Asia, said in astatement. Indian respondents,the survey revealed, createdabout 19 new online accountsduring the pandemic across allcategories, and on average,created 3 new accounts forsocial media and entertain-ment.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Government has extended asoft loan of USD 108.28 mil-lion to Eswatini (Swaziland)for construction of their newParliament building, EximBank said on Tuesday.

With the signing of thisline of credit agreement,Exim Bank has now in place272 Lines of Credit (LoC),covering 62 countries inAfrica, Asia, Latin America,and the CIS, with creditcommitments of aroundUSD 26.84 billion, availablefor financing exports fromIndia, Exim Bank said in arelease.

The soft loan agreementwas signed between NirmitVed, General Manager, EximBank, and Neal HRijkenberg, FinanceMinister, Government of theKingdom of Eswatini(Swaziland).

India extends$108.28 mn softloan to Eswatini

CSIR-IICT, pharma firm joinhands for anti-corona drug

Gems, jewellery exports

fall by 5% due to Covid

PNS n NEW DELHI

Vedanta on Tuesday said thatover 84,000 employees, busi-ness partners as well as theirfamily members have beeninoculated with first dose sofar, and it expects to completethe vaccination drive acrossall its locations by August.

The company said it alsoplans to provide the first jabacross locations to the visitorswho have not been inoculat-ed so far.

"In one of the largestCOVID-19 vaccination dri-ves carried out by corporateIndia so far, Vedanta Careshas administered one dose ofvaccine to over 84,000employees, business partnersas well as their family mem-bers," the company said.

84K employees,kin given firstdose of vaccineso far: Vedanta

PNS n HYDERABAD

The CSIR-Indian Institute ofChemical Technology (IICT)here and Bengaluru-basedAnthem Biosciences Pvt Ltdhave entered into an agree-ment for technology transferand manufacture of anti-COVID drug 2-DG. Studieshave shown that 2-DGdemonstrated quick recoveryand reduction in oxygendependence among moderate

and severely affected COVIDpatients.This drug, in the formof powder formulation, wasearlier launched by Dr Reddy'sLaboratories in India, IICTsaid in a release. Under theterms of the licence agree-ment, Anthem BiosciencesPvt Ltd, an integrated biophar-maceutical company, gets non-exclusive licence for theprocess know-how for synthe-sis of 2-DG (2-Deoxy-D-Glucose), it said.

Anarock ties up with Upflex forcoworking booking platform

Digital adoption rising but privacy,security remain top concern: IBM

f you have feltincreased screentime is doing anumber on youreyes and potential-ly contributing to

digital eye strain, a surveyshows you’re not alone.Findings show that 80 percent of respondents say pan-demic-prompted screen timeput their eyes in “overdrive”.In fact, two-thirds of respon-dents report experiencingsome degree of eye discom-fort every day and nearly aquarter say their eyes feelworse now than they did ayear ago. All that is addingup to a new sense of urgency:90 percent say it’s importantto take care of their eyes —starting now.

Over half of the respon-dents report looking at acomputer most of the day,every day, say the findings,adding that nearly 2 in 3experience some degree ofeye discomfort on a dailybasis.

Eighty per cent would bewilling to schedule routinecomputer breaks to relievedigital eye strain, whileroughly 1 in 5 prioritise pay-

ing regular visits to the eyedoctor.

In the survey, more thanhalf of respondents defined a‘digital detox’ as a break fromscreen time.

However, there are otherways to relieve your eyesother than stepping awayfrom screens completely:

Finding relief from digitaleye strain: Digital eye straincan occur from prolongedand frequent use of screens,which engages our nearvision, and exposes us to theblue light emitted by screens.Symptoms can appear aswatery, dry, sore eyes, blurredvision and headaches.Although around 65 per centreport experiencing eye dis-comfort on a daily basis, halfof Americans sometimesmiss their annual exam ornever go, according to thesurvey.

Even if you have perfectvision, prolonged screen time— pandemic-related or not— can tire out your eyes.During an eye exam, youreye doctor may suggest acomputer lens or a blue light-reducing, anti-reflective lenscoating that can help reduce

your exposure and combatdigital eye strain. If you don'twear prescription glasses,non-prescription lenses witha blue light-reducing, anti-reflective coating can beused.

In the 20-20-20 rule, whereevery 20 minutes, you take 20seconds to look at something20 feet away. This will help toreset your focus and helpyour eyes feel less fatigueddue to digital eye strain.Blinking more frequently alsohelps to relieve discomfort bymoistening your eyes.

Keeping an eye out forkids: The survey found thatmore than half of parents areworried about the effects oftheir children’s increasedscreen time. Men are morelikely than women to be wor-ried about their children'seyes and, when it comes tomillennial dads, 6 in 10 areconcerned about their chil-dren’s vision due to increasedscreen time.

Eye care is health care, andthrough a comprehensive eyeexam, an eye doctor candetect early signs of serioushealth conditions like dia-betes and hypertension.

Rules

ARCHIE

GARFIELD

SUDOKU

REALITY CHECK SPEED BUMP CROSSWORD

GINGER MEGGS

NANCY

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

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

Yesterday’s solution

CALVIN AND HOBBES

9

Vijayawada Wednesday June 16, 2021health

FUN

Two-thirds ofrespondents ina recent survey

said theyexperienced

some degree ofeye discomfortevery day and

nearly aquarter say

their eyes feelworse now

than they did ayear ago. All

that is addingup to a new

sense ofurgency: 90percent say

it's importantto take care of

their eyes —starting now.

Do you havedigital eye strain?

he pandemic hasleft a lastingimpact onlifestyles acrossthe country,including a

reconnection with theAyurvedic way of life.According to Swati SutariaVakharia, an entrepreneurwho aims to bring back age-old ayurvedic remedies usingGrandma’s ‘nuskha’ (tips andtricks) in people’s lifestyles,Indian grandparents hadplenty of such recipes whichworked well for our well-being and healthy upbring-ing.

With this pandemic, peo-ple recollected our roots andthe power of ayurveda. It is a5,000-year-old asset and giftto India that our ancestorshave given us, by using herbsand plants in recipes to livehealthy with purity. Withtime we shifted to otherchemical based products dueto comfortable packaging,accessibility and time. I thinkthe ease of the usage andconvenience had a major rolein shifting us to low qualityproducts, Swati told a newsagency, explaining the powerof natural recipes.

“When we talked to ourgrandmothers, we heardabout this and followedmany such “Nuskhe” in ourlives to get rid of the issues.

Child, spread this ‘hing kalep’ around your navel if youhave stomach ache, it will getcured in minutes. Applyturmeric with cream on yourskin and it will glow. But inthe current age, we areunable to get the right qualityingredients,” she adds.

In India, there are multiplecultures and religions, andevery group has their own

home remedies, she notes.The Ayurveda enthusiast

says: Many healing remediesand herbs are present in ourkitchen, but we are not awareof the real usage for thesame.

“Nuskha is willing to bringthose age-old recipes intoour lives again by manufac-turing them in a lab witheffective formulation and

ingredients to heal with thepower of Ayurveda! We arewilling to modernise ourancient way of healing totake them back into ournew-age lifestyle,” she says.

Nuskha has a range ofproducts, including raw for-est honey, ayurvedic and nat-ural oral care kits. They alsohave a three-drop therapy forbelly button oils.

Bringing grandma’sremedies to daily life

asing back in toexercise can be atask, especiallyafter a longbreak. VAIB-HAV SOMANI

shares easy tips that can helpyou get back into the exer-cise routine

If you are in the lock-down mode at your homeor struggling with makingtime from work commit-ments, family obligationsand doing householdchores, it may seem daunt-ing and impossible to accel-erate anything else on theplate. As a consequence,people tend to give up theone thing they don’t wish todo — exercise. And longbefore you know it yournon-workout days wouldhave extended into weeks ormonths.

Whatever the reason ofyour busyness, there areways to tug yourself out of aworkout rut and make anenduring routine. So irre-spective of whether you are

a sports person, a regularhousewife or a fitnessenthusaist, its never a badidea to shake your self upand get back into the exer-cise routine.

Here, are the few pointsthat will help you get backon track.

Planning: One of the firststeps, before you dive backinto an exercise routine, is toplan out what you want toachieve, how you want toget there, and what youwant your routine to looklike. It is always advisible tostart small and not under-take any aggressive exercisesif its been quite a while sinceyou last worked out.

Setting up a goal: Onething lockdown has assuredis that most of us havegained weight. If you haveput on a lot of weight duringthis time, then you need toset a target, what you’reexpecting and how muchweight you want to achieve.The setting goal will alwaysgive you a holistic approach

that includes stretching, cooldown and workout sessions.

Schedule your workoutlike you schedule yourmeeting: Discipline is amust in this case. As youease back into your fitnessroutine, don’t forget to makea schedule for your workoutsession. There is a high pos-sibility that your mind willsubconsciously look forexcuses to not work out andlook out for distraction todeter from your plan.Schedule a time that youwon’t get easily distracted, ifyou know you can getcaught up with work in theevening then schedule yourtime for a workout in themorning or vice versa.

Start with an easy work-out: As they say, the journeyof a thousand miles beginswith one step. Getting start-ed is sometimes the hardestpart, as you feel less moti-vated and don’t know whereto start. It is better to startthe exercise routine at aslightly less intense pace and

gradually increase themomentum with time. Thehigh intense routines initial-ly will exhaust you quicklyand may eventually feel liketoo much to deal with, sostart small but practice con-sistently.

Eating right to get backinto shape: If you listen toyour grandparents most ofthem would tell you to avoideating out of a ‘ready madepacket’, which means avoid-ing junk food and eatingmindfully.

Eating a well-balanceddiet can assist you to get thecalories and nutrients yourequire to fuel the dailyactivities and help you reachyour work out goals.

Things to avoid: Peopletend to overdo the exerciseinitially and end up beinghurt or injured as the body.So, don’t set too many unre-alistic goals at once andditch the all-or-nothingmind-set.

(The writer is the Directorof Gravolite)

E

T

ILET’S WORK IT OUT

he ruthless Covid-19has brought through-out the globe a humantragedy — a tragedythat’s having a growingimpact on the global

economy. The World Travel andTourism Council warned that thepandemic could lead to a cut offifty million jobs worldwide inthe industry and the fear cametrue. The lockdown ate up evensome famous five-star hotels likeHyatt Regency in Mumbai andnow, most of its employees areunemployed at the moment. Butwith the industry being a com-petitive one, experts feel, theyaren’t going to give up! They arestill keeping up with the latesthospitality trends of contactlesspayment and robots in hotels.

“2020 was a challenging yearindeed. Covid’s impact has beendevastating and unprecedentedfor the hospitality and tourismindustry. The first lockdown wasannounced in March 2020 andthat was followed by a flood ofcancelations of events planned,not just during the lockdown butfor the entire year, and no hotelwas prepared for this. However,F&B offerings came to the rescueas this was the only source ofrevenue and cash flow for manyhotels, and a lot of innovationwas seen here to engage with theguests for those wanting to enjoythe comfort and safety of theirhomes and for many who wantedto come and experience at thehotels. We had to quickly adaptto the social distancing norms,contactless menus, paymentoptions, quick check-in andcheck out options and put inplace some of the best practicesthe hospitality industry has everseen, to ensure the safety ofeveryone,” shares Manish Dayya,General Manager NovotelHyderabad Convention Centreand Hyderabad InternationalConvention Centre.

There is an evolution at thesocietal level! Shifted values inthe aftermath of the pandemicand increased consumer aware-ness of all things sustainable andpurposeful has set new bench-marks for hospitality enterprises.Say, for example, staycations has

become a booming tourism partbecause the surging online con-tent promising to create a bal-cony haven or a garden oasis tobe proud of is a sign of the times.“As with every crisis, new oppor-tunities surface and we focusedon innovative revenue-generatingideas. Allot of promotions havebeen activated to attract individ-ual travellers and families with ahost of recreational activitiesbeing introduced to engage theguests of all ages to promote stay-cations and workations at theproperty once things open upand that’s how the industry planto tide the market. Introductionof technological advancements isalso an embracing factor. To tidethis pandemic, we started withthe initiative ‘Missed Celebration’which gave the opportunity tothe guests who missed celebrat-ing their important occasions dueto the lockdowns followed by‘For the Love of Travel’ whichgave the opportunity to thedomestic travellers to break awayfrom the monotony of work fromhome and stay with us,” he adds.

The industry only recently

began its journey of recoveryfrom the long bout of lockdownsbut has once again been forced toshut down. They’re seeking waysto fit into the current scenarioand attempting to settle a frac-tion of their mounting losses! Forinstance, Zostel, a country-widehostel chain has converted someof its properties into quarantineand isolation centres even as theylaunched the Zostel Bubble tooffer long-stay travellers and dig-ital nomads a safe environment.

The general manager from thepopular chain of hotels inHyderabad also believes travellerbehaviour showed a positivetrend late last year and in theearly part of 2021, particularlywith staycation and locals com-ing out for food and leisure activ-ities! Weddings also provided sig-nificant growth in business. Atpresent, the focus is on long stayguests and social event segmentas weddings are the only eventsallowed as per the latest govern-ment directives. If digitised guestexperience was on the hot list lastyear, today, contactless serviceshave gained new momentum inthe form of mobile check-in,contactless payments, voice con-trol, and biometrics. Now, thefine dining experience is beingemulated at home including extraatmospheric candles, QR-codeplaylists, and unexpected free-bies.

Also, having knowing guestshave an affinity towards snappingpictures to post on social media,hospitality is again stepping uptheir game. With a view to lever-aging this free publicity, ownersare paying greater attention tophotogenic table settings anddecor backdrops! Entire mealsare served as irresistibly beautifulvignettes that demand to beshared.

The pandemic has triggeredthe rise of cloud kitchens! Why isthis? Changes in technology andin consumer habits, of course, ledto this. With hotels’ footfall at anall-time low and sales down asmuch as 90%, according toCRISIL research — takeaway hasbecome a vital source of revenue

for many hotels. CRISIL esti-mates that the recovery of the 1.5trillion rupee sector will take atleast a year after lockdown is lift-ed. According to Swiggy, a cloudkitchen initiative eliminates largecosts associated with real estateand serving staff from a conven-tional hotel thereby enabling ahotel to focus on cooking greatquality food alone. This modelenables easier expansion for hotelpartners across geographies bothwithin the city and to newercities at a fraction of the cost-reducing the risk and commit-ment normally required for themto begin operating in a new loca-tion. “The future trends in thehospitality industry show that theguests’ expectations for specialcare and customised experienceswill be increasing with time!Hotels have to focus on planningand creating a genuinely com-pelling and differentiated offer-ing, especially in our industrysegment wherein we have seen agrowing trend of people optingfor home deliveries over comingout to drink and dine, and tosatiate that demand we havestarted home deliveries of thesame delicacies served at ourrestaurants,” Manish concludes.

The most notable lessonlearned from the last year is theimportance of preparedness. Thepandemic has accelerated severaltrends which were already beingexperienced in the hospitalitysector! Therefore, it is moreimportant than ever for hoteliersto invest in the best practices,adopt the necessary changes tobounce back stronger post thepandemic.

With thepandemicresulting in hugelosses for eventhe biggest ofhotels, ThePioneer'sSHIKHADUGGAL writesabout howhoteliers havebeen innovatingto ensure both,minimal loss andcustomer safetyand satisfaction,at the same time.

HOTELIERS UPTHEIR GAME!

T

What is Zamaana, theEP, about?

Basically, the EP has allthe songs that are reallyclose to me. They talkabout things that have hap-pened and experiences thatI have been through overthe course of time that Ihave been doing music likebullying, censorship and myfaith in God. it is a mix ofmany things. When I amwriting a song, it has manythings; it is a journey. I askmyself a set of questions.For example, it could beabout society. I then answerthese myself. That is howZamaana was born.

The songs highlightissues the youth face

like bullying, censor-ship, self-esteem, cor-ruption and faith. Whychoose these sub-jects?

I have faced a lot of bul-lying when I was growingup because the way I usedto think about the world.My interests were differentwhen I was in school. I wasan introvert. I would bunkmy school to go to learnmusic. I loved to spendtime playing the instru-ments.

Others kids would makefun of me and say that Iwas weird. I was fat too thatled to bullying as well.Body shaming was so com-mon. People would lookdown upon me because I

am an artist. Where I comefrom Jammu. There is onlyone acceptable job, a gov-ernment job. People don’tunderstand art here. I waspressurised to take up agovernment job but I rodeall that.

From Shayaan to ShenB, how did that hap-pen?

I gave this name tomyself. I could have justgone with Shayaan; I lovemy name. But I wanted tocreate a totally differentpersona for myself — onewho is expressive and is anextrovert. When I becameShen B, it gave me thepower to express myself. Ihad a few friends who sup-

ported me. I had left musicfor four years to do mymasters. I went to Mumbaiand worked there but then Icame back home because Iwanted peace in my life. Myfriends encouraged me toget back to music and hereI am.

How did you get intomusic?

It has been with me sinceI was a toddler. My grand-parents were musicians so Iwould say that music is inmy blood. I come from anorthodox Muslim familyand they don’t encouragemusic. But I continued tolearn. It was only when Iturned 22 when my mothertold me about our family’slegacy but they stopped dueto religious reasons. I gotinto music because I saw afew people play guitar. Iwas hooked. I was in ClassVIII. I joined them, becamea drummer and was part oftheir band.

Why hip-hop?

If I could sing, I would.Unfortunately, I don’t havethe voice of a singer. I canjust express myself. I hadmade a rap about a man

who had bullied me and itwent viral in Jammu andthat got me more interest-ed.

What is the hip-hopscene in the city?

It is growing but sadly,those in underground raphave never left the city.There is lack of exposure.But we are slowly gettingthere. We have gatherings;rappers from other citiescome. Since there is no clubculture, the rap scene isslow.

What are the chal-lenges faced to be asinger?

When I came back homein 2019, I didn’t knowmuch about rap but I start-ed putting up my music.During the lockdown, wehad no internet. I had tolook for locations where Icould get good reception topost my music. I lost mymother due to Covid-19.She was my only supporterso things changed for meafter that. I also don’t getmany gigs. But I am agraphic designer and earnenough to work on mymusic.

Shayaan Bhataka rapperSHEN Bfrom Jammu,who hasreleased hislatest hip hoptrackZamaana,speaks withThe Pioneerabout how he got intomusic and thechallenges he faced.

head of the release ofSherni, an unconven-tional drama featur-ing Vidya Balan,Main Sherni has beenunveiled! A rip-roar-

ing song that features someunique personalities alongsideVidya Balan, it celebrates thestories of resilience, and thisspecial soundtrack has vocalsby AKASA and Raftaar. Itsalutes and applauds thecourage of these shernis whohave stood their ground, beatenthe odds and have carved theirniche by not conforming to thetraditional.

Speaking about the powerfulmusic video, Vidya Balan said,“The music video Main Sherniis our tribute to all the womenacross the globe who have thisindomitable spirit of never giv-ing up. Sherni is special for allof us and with this film andmusic video, we are celebratingwomen who have shown us thatthere is nothing a woman can’tdo. Just like Vidya Vincent, mycharacter in the movie, we wantto show that women are fearlessand powerful and that you don’thave to roar to be a tigress. Thisis what we have tried to capturein this anthem.”

The music video stars F4Racer and Driver Coach MiraErda, body positivity influencerand yoga trainer Natasha Noel,social media influencer andhula-hoop dancer Eshna Kutty,

and one of Karnataka's firsttransgender doctors TrinetraHaldar, frontline warriorJayshree Mane, Riddhi Arya, astudent who delivers food tofrontline warriors, Anita Devi, asecurity guard, Seema Duggal -teacher, and Archana Jadav, ahouse help, along with VidyaBalan. Penned by Raghav, MainSherni is composed by UtkarshDhotekar!

Singer AKASA said shecouldn’t be more proud to be apart of a song that celebrateswomen, and their strengths.“With this soundtrack, we arehoping to awaken the innershernis inside every womanaround the world and motivatethem to never give up, chasetheir dream and always keepworking hard. I have alwaysbeen all about woman powerand am truly honoured to be apart of Sherni and sing a songthat will be remembered for avery long time. As always it was

awesome working withRaftaar on this powerfultrack. The lyrics andmelody truly spoke tome and I am sure thatlisteners will get to expe-rience what the movie isall about through thesong,” she shared.

Calling it an interest-ing project, rapperRaftaar said, “SHERNI,there is such undeniablepower in that one word,and to be able to show-case the vitality of thatword in a song was a tallorder! I hope Akasa andI have managed to dothat. I am really happywith how this passionproject has panned out,as Akasa and I haveinvested our heart andsoul into it.”

Sherni is allset to roar

‘With little exposure, rapculture in Jammu is slow’

A

Manish Dayya, General Manager NovotelHyderabad Convention Centre

WednesdayJune 16, 2021

Follow us on

@TheDailyPioneer

facebook.com/dailypioneer

PTI n BRISTOL

Afavourable record inEngland and “positive

mindset” despite inadequatepreparation time will spur theIndian women’s cricket teamwhen it takes on the seasonedhosts in its first Test engagementin nearly seven years here fromWednesday.

After multiple quarantinesin India and UK, the MithaliRaj-led squad got little over aweek to prepare for its first redball game since November 2014.

Mithali was among theseven current players, who werea part of that victorious elevenagainst South Africa in Mysuru.

While experienced playerslike the skipper, her deputyHarmanpreet Kaur, SmritiMandhana and Jhulan Goswamihave not played red ball cricketat all in recent times, it will bean even tougher test for theyounger lot who don't get to playfirst-class matches in domesticcricket.

There is a good chance that

17-year-old batting sensationShafali Verma opens in thegame alongside Mandhana.

She goes into the game withno baggage and could well makea big impact at the top of theorder.

The experienced trio ofMithali, Harmanpreet andPunam Raut will be expected todo the job in what will be chal-lenging conditions for themalso.

There could be some respitein store for the batters withEngland choosing Kookaburraover Dukes ball, which doesmore, for the game as the hometeam builds up to the Ashes Testagainst Australia later in the year.

It also remains to be seen ifveteran pacers Jhulan Goswamiand Shikha Pandey would beable to bowl long spells, havingnot done so for a long time.

The spinners, who had aforgettable time at home in thelimited overs series against SA,would be be itching to makeamends.

The visitors can surely takeheart from their past record inEngland where they have notlost in eight games, having wontwo out of them.

England's star all-rounderand newly-appointed vice cap-tain Nat Sciver is among the sixsquad members who played in

their last Test match againstIndia back in August 2014.

The tourists had won thatgame in Wormsley by six wick-ets.

England remain thefavourites to win the upcomingcontest but Sciver expects Indiato play fearlessly.

PTI n SOUTHAMPTON

Kane Williamson will be avail-able to lead New Zealand

against India in the World TestChampionship final, head coachGary Stead announced onTuesday as he unveiled a 15-mansquad for the marquee clash start-ing June 18.

Wicket-keeper BJWatling, who too had

missed the secondTest due to a

back injury,has also beennamed in the

squad.“Kane and

BJ have certainlybenefitted from

their week of rest andrehabilitation and we

expect them to be fit andavailable for the final,”

Stead said at a press confer-ence after the team’s arrivalhere for the WTC final start-ing June 18.

“Playing in a WorldCup Final is a reallyspecial occasion andI know the guys are

looking forward to get-ting into their work here inSouthampton,” he added.

Stead said their victory overEngland notwithstanding, it isgoing to be a tough challenge fac-ing India.

“India are a world class out-fit who possess match winners allthrough their line-up, so we'reunder no illusion about howtough they will be to beat,” he said.

New Zealand will go into theclash with one specialist spinnerin 32-year-old left-arm spinnerAjaz Patel and all-rounder Colin

de Grandhomme.Will Young is their specialist

batting cover, while Tom Blundellis the back-up wicket-keeper.

“We’ve gone with Ajaz as ourspecialist spinner after an impres-sive outing at Edgbaston and webelieve he could be a factor at theAgeas Bowl,” Stead said.

“Colin's been an integralmember of our Test set-up formany years and it was great to seehim return at Lord’s after a longinjury lay-off.

“He's a proven performer atthe top level and we back him todo a job with the bat or the ballif called upon.”

"With our squad beingreduced, Heinrich and our secondphysio Vijay Vallabh will returnhome to New Zealand on June 16,along with Jacob, Rachin andMitchell. We wish them well andthank them for their efforts,” saidStead.

New Zealand Squad:Kane Williamson (C), Tom

Blundell, Trent Boult, DevonConway, Colin de Grandhomme,Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson, TomLatham, Henry Nicholls, AjazPatel, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor,Neil Wagner BJ Watling and WillYoung.

PTI n SOUTHAMPTON

Veteran speedster UmeshYadav pipped BrisbaneTest hero Shardul

Thakur as the 15th member ofthe Indian squad that will takeon New Zealand in the WorldTest Championship final start-ing here on June 18.

Umesh, along withMohammed Shami, andHanuma Vihari all of whomgot injured during the Australiatour, were back in the 15 thatneeded to be announced as perICC squad protocol.

Apart from Shardul, thenotable names to miss outwere Mayank Agarwal, andWashington Sundar, who werein the playing XI for the Testmatch against Australia.

England series hero AxarPatel also missed out.

The other big player tohave missed out in the finalsquad is senior batsman KLRahul, who was in fact ViratKohli’s opposition captain inthe team’s intra-squad practicegame.

Rahul seemed in goodtouch during the game but alook at the squad will indicatethat all those who were firstchoice during the start of theAustralia tour are back in themix. The Indian team manage-ment’s policy since Kohli tookover has been to honour thefirst choice players in the squad

and even if the reserves dowell, it is understood thatthey get a chance only whena senior player gets injured.

Hence Umesh got pre-ferred over Shardul, whohad a half-century andseven wickets in the serieswinning Brisbane Testagainst Australia.Ravichandran Ashwin is thelone off-spinner and RavindraJadeja’s return means that therewas no place for Axar Patel.

Rahul and MayankAgarwal are also currently notin the mix and would be con-sidered only once the teammanagement has given enoughchances to both Rohit Sharmaand Shubman Gill. In case ofWriddhiman Saha, the ICCrule of being able to replace awicketkeeper with a substitutekeeper was reason for a look-in.

INDIA SQUAD:Virat Kohli (captain)

Shubman Gill, RohitSharma, CheteshwarPujara Ajinkya Rahane,Rishabh Pant (wk),RavichandranAshwin,RavindraJadeja, MdShami JaspritBumrah, IshantSharma,Mohammed Siraj,Wriddhiman Saha(wk), Umesh Yadav,

HanumaVihari.

No spot for Shardul,

Mayank & Sundar in WTC

AP n SEVILLE

The chances came and went butneither Spain nor Sweden

managed to put any of them in thenet.

Spain dominated possessionand kept the pressure on theopposing area for most of thematch but the Swedes held on fora 0-0 draw Monday at theEuropean Championship.

Sweden managed only a fewchances at La Cartuja Stadium, butthey were some of the most dan-gerous ones.

Alexander Isak, who plays forSpanish club Real Sociedad, hada shot from inside the area hit thepost after deflecting off Spaindefender Marcos Llorente in frontof the goal line.

Early in the second half,

Marcus Berg was inside the areawith the ball coming his way, buthe mishit his shot.

Álvaro Morata had Spain’sbest chance just a few minutesbefore Isak but his shot missedwide with goalkeeper Robin Olsenthe only opponent to beat.

“Everyone can make mis-takes, we all make them,” Spainmidfielder Pedri González saidabout Morata, who was booed bypart of the Spanish fans. “Heworks hard for the team and thatalways shows on the field.”

Morata had already missedsome chances and been jeered inSpain’s final warm-up matchagainst Portugal, also a 0-0 draw.

Spain pressed until the end onMonday but kept misfiring. Olsenmade a 90th-minute save off aheader by substitute Gerard

Moreno, and he had alreadystopped another close-range head-er by Dani Olmo in the first half.

“The way we earned thatpoint today, the entire team, theway the guys ran in theheat, it wasn’t just me whoearned this point,” Olsensaid.

“It was an incredibleteam effort. We didn’t playour best game. It’s not the mostwell-deserved point we’ve evertaken. But we battled. We showedthat we wanted it.” Spain endedwith 75% of possession and had17 total attempts, with five on tar-get. Sweden missed the target onits four attempts.

“We played against a rival thatdecided to defend and tried to cre-ate some danger with long balls,and it actually had the chance thewin the match,” Spain coach LuisEnrique said.

“It’s a disappointing draw forus.”

Spain had failed to score inonly one of its last 14 groupmatches at EuropeanChampionships.

Sweden hadn’t drawn any ofits last 17 international matches,since a tie against Spain in quali-fying for Euro 2020.

“If you come here and playSpain in 32 degree heat (90 degreeF) and think you're going to out-play them, you’re totally naive,”Sweden coach Janne Anderssonsaid. “I’m not at all ashamed of thispoint. If we want to take pointsfrom these types of teams, we have

to play this way.”In the other group match,

Slovakia defeated Poland 2-1 in St.Petersburg.

Spain’s matches at Euro 2020are being played in Sevilleinstead of Bilbao - the origi-nal host city for the continent-wide tournament - becausethe high contagion rate of thevirus in the northern city

wouldn’t allow for many fans toattend games.

Sweden, which hasn’tadvanced past the group stage atthe European Championship since2004, next faces Slovakia onFriday in St. Petersburg. TheSwedes will also play in Russia

against Poland.Both teams were without

players because of the coron-avirus. Spain lost captain SergioBusquets and Sweden was with-out Mattias Svanberg and DejanKulusevski. They were all still inisolation after testing positive forCOVID-19 last week.

The entire Spanish team wasvaccinated just days before itsopening match.

Luis Enrique started withRodri Hernández in Busquets'position, with youngster Pedri andKoke Resurrección alongside himin the midfield. The 18-year-oldPedri became Spain’s youngestever player at the tournament.

sport 11VIJAYAWADA | WEDNESDAY | JUNE 16, 2021

AP n RIO DE JANEIRO

Lionel Messi scored a stunningfree kick, repeatedly dribbled

through the Chilean defense andcreated opportunities regularlyfor his Argentina teammates.

Despite Messi’s intense perfor-mance, Argentina was held 1-1 by Chilein its Copa America opener. The gameat the Nilton Santos stadium in Rio deJaneiro was also marked by a tribute toArgentine football great DiegoMaradona, who died in November at age60. Messi, who turns 34 this month,

might have one of his final chances ofwinning a title with Argentina at theCopa America.

Argentina appeared to be ready tostart giving Messi what he craves. CoachLionel Scaloni's lineup wasted threeclear opportunities between the 16th and18th minutes, one from LautaroMartínez and two for Nicolás González.

And then Messi opened the scoringin the 33rd after a free kick that Chileangoalkeeper Claudio Bravo couldn't stopdespite getting a touch on the ball to hisleft. Argentina continued to pressureChile, which was missing injured strik-er Alexis Sanchez.

But Chile transformed into a moreattacking team in the second half andearned a penalty after video review.Arturo Vidal’s shot from the spot wasstopped, but Eduardo Vargas noddedinto the empty goal to level the scoringin the 57th.

Messi continued to create opportu-nities until the end of the match, buthis teammates showed the same dif-ficulty to deliver goals as they did inthe 2-2 draw at Colombia in a WorldCup qualifier in Barranquilla lastweek.

The superstar also complained aboutthe apparently irregular pitch at the sta-dium.

Chile’s Vidal said getting a drawdespite Messi's performance was a goodresult for his team, which is in transitionwith new coach Martin Lasarte.

Messi's Argentina

draws with Chile

Seven year wait endsEngland vs India

Live from 3:30 pm ISTSTAR SPORTS 2 NETWORK

Sweden hold Spain to a goalles draw

Ball will swing even without saliva: Ishant

PTI n SOUTHAMPTON

Senior India speedster Ishant Sharma believesthat the ball will swing even without saliva

during the World Test Championship finalagainst New Zealand here and somebody fromthe team will need to maintain it through thematch starting June 18.

The 32-year-old, a veteran of 101 Tests, isexpected to lead the Indian bowling attack whenthe team takes on New Zealand in the marqueeclash. “I think the ball will swing even withoutsaliva and somebody needs to take responsibil-ity to maintain the ball," Sharma said on StarSports show ‘Cricket Connected’.

“And if the ball is maintained well in these

conditions, then it becomes easier for the bowlersto take wickets in these conditions," he addedbut did not get into specifics.

Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pan-demic last year, the International CricketCouncil (ICC) has prohibited bowlers fromapplying saliva to the ball.

According to Sharma, who has 303 Testwickets to his name, adjusting to lengths isimportant in England.

“You need to train differently and adapt tothe change. In India, you get the reverse swingafter some time, but in England, the length isfuller because of the swing.

“So, you have to adjust to the lengths. It isnot easy to force that and the weather here iscooler so it takes time to acclimatize to theweather,” said Sharma.

“And the quarantine makes it difficult...Theway you train in the gym and the training onthe ground is very different, so you have to adjustto that and it takes time,” he added.

Meanwhile, young India opener ShubmanGill said that to survive in England, the battersneed to leave the loose balls.

“When I toured England with India A andthe Under-19 team, everyone asked me to playa certain number of balls if I wanted to scoreruns. “But I feel, your intent to score runs shouldnever go on the back seat and you should lookto survive," said the 21-year-old, who has playedseven Tests so far.

“When you are looking to score runs, thebowlers get to the back foot and you can putsome pressure on the bowler. I think, at timesto survive in England you have to leave the looseballs,” he added.

‘Williamson available

to lead NZ in WTC’

Indian women return to Test cricket with clash against England

‘Took advice of other cricketers to

prepare for Test against England’PTI n BRISTOL

India women's team captainMithali Raj on Tuesday

said she took advice of othercricketers to better prepare forthe longest format ahead ofthe one-off Test againstEngland starting here onWednesday.

"I have played lesser Teststhan ODI and T20, I wouldhave liked more Test match-es. I wouldn't really get downto thinking whether my gameis evolved in this format, butthe preparation has been verysimilar,” Raj said at the match-eve virtual press conference.

“And probably talking tomany other cricketers, tryingto get how they prepare forthe longer format has helped

me to prepare for this Testmatch,” said Mithali, withouttaking names of the crick-eters, whom she had spokento.

Raj said she would notwant rookie players to be bur-dened with expectations andwould advice them to enjoythe game.

“Well, we did brief them(players) about how the longformat is played and clearlyfor someone who is makinga debut, you don't want toburden them with expecta-tions and responsibility.

"So, it is just that I wouldbrief together as a team, sup-port them on the field andthey should just enjoy playingthis format,” the skipperadded.

Christian Eriksen sent his first public message from the hospital on Tuesday, thankingsupporters for their “sweet and amazing” well-wishes after his collapse at theEuropean Championship. AP

PTI n DOHA

India scored from an owngoal by Afghanistan goalie as

they ended their World CupQualifiers campaign with a 1-1draw to book a berth in the nextqualifying round of the AsianCup here on Tuesday.

A howler by Afghanistangoalie Ovays Azizi handed Indiaa 1-0 lead in the 75th minute butHossein Zamani equalised in the81st minute in a match marredby poor refereeing.

The two sides had alsoplayed out a 1-1 draw in the firstleg match in Dushanbe in 2019.

It was an open and fast-paced game with the Afghansplaying a more physical game ina match strewn with fouls andreferee Ali Reda failing to disci-pline the players.

Both sides were almostequal in ball possession andIndia had 10 shots on target asagainst seven from Afghanistan.But the Afghans committed 16fouls as against nine by theIndians. Three Afghan playerswere shown yellow cards asagainst one of India.

With seven points from

eight matches, India finishedthird in Group E behind toppersQatar and Oman, and ahead ofAfghanistan.

India under Igor Stimacended the World Cup qualifyingcampaign with one win, fourdraws and three losses. Besidesthe win against Bangladesh intheir previous match, the first leg0-0 draw against Asian champi-ons Qatar here in 2019 was thehighlight of the campaign.

India dominated the earlyperiod with captain SunilChhetri having a go at theopposition goal in the 10thminute off a pass from GlanMartins but his left-footed shotfrom a difficult angle was col-

lected by the Afghan goalie.The Afghans grew in con-

fidence and were the better sidein the later part of the first halfand they had a few shots on tar-get but none gave any difficul-ties to Indian custodianGurpreet Singh.

Five minutes before thebreather, Ashique Kuruniyanwas on the clear on the top leftedge of the box but his low crossfailed to reach Chhetri with anAfghan defender clearing it.

Chhetri, who had scoredtwice against Bangladesh, couldnot repeat that performanceand he was substituted in the69th minute. Midfield livewireBrandon Fernandes was alsoreplaced in the 62nd minute.

The Afghans looked betterearly in the second session butIndia took the lead in the 75thminute.

Kuruniyan sent a high crossfrom the left which SureshWangjam tried to reach for.Afghan goalie Azizi rose forwhat should have been an easycollection but the ball droppeddown his hands and slipped inbetween his legs into the emptygoal.

India hold vital point

he latestseason oftheAmazonPrimeshow The

Family Man has received ravereviews from fans. ActressPriyamani, who plays Suchiin the show, has been trend-ing for the past few days.However, another reason sherecently made headlines wasafter it was revealed that sheis actress Vidya Balan’scousin.

In a recent interview, Vidyawas asked about her equationwith Priyamani and she said,“Yes, but can you believewe’ve met only once in ourlives! We are distant cousins.We met on a film award stageonce because our families are

not that close.” She added,“I’m given to believe thatshe’s a wonderful actor, andshe’s doing really well for her-self. More power to her.”When asked if she haswatched the acclaimed showyet, Vidya said, “No, I haven’twatched it yet. But I’m wait-ing to."

On the work front, Vidyawill be next seen in theAmazon Prime film Sherni!

onal Bisht, who isalready a popularname in theHindi televisionworld, will soonbe seen making

her debut in Tollywoodalongside Sunil with thefilm Dare to Sleep (DTS).

The actress is known forher work in Ek DeewanaTha, Roop, Dil To HappyHai Ji and more.

Talking about DTS andher role, Donal shares, “Thefilm is a suspense thrillerstory and I play the role ofMona, who is always up forsomething different andcreative. Many stories camemy way but I chose thisbecause the character I playis not in the film just to beglam doll, she moves thestory forward. I have beenwaiting for such a story fora while now. When I signedDTS, I was very thrilledabout the action part of thefilm. It has all the grandeuran action film should have.”

The actress who alsomade her web debut recent-ly, feels that the Telugu filmindustry makes best use oftheir day without wastingtime when at work. Sharingher experience working inTollywood, she tells us,“This is my first south filmand I loved the experienceworking for Tollywood,mainly because of the pro-

fessionalism people have.Not just during the shoot,even during our workshops,people here have beenextremely friendly and pro-fessional.”

For Donal, actor Prabhasis her ultimate crush withwhom she can’t wait towork. “I love Prabhas. I'’ewatched Baahubali and fellin love with him. He has adifferent kind of charm andcharisma on his face. I real-ly want to work with him,”shares she.

The actress has been sub-ject to trolls over her name.Many even advised her tochange her name when shejoined the industry, but theactress is super proud ofwhat it is. Donal explains, “Iam very proud of what Iam, especially my name.Some said, I deliberatelynamed myself Donal. Mymother gave me this namewhen I was born. Themeaning of this name iseven more beautiful. It is aScottish word meaning‘master of universe’. Therewere people who came tome and sought my permis-sion to name their daugh-ters Donal. My name is veryspecial to me.”

Like many others, evenDonal’s plans were damp-ened due to Covid.

The actress who couldn’twait to get onto sets says,“Two hours before myflight, I got a call sayinglockdown has beenannounced in Telanganaand the shoot is not hap-pening. I am eagerly wait-ing to get back to sets. Ourthird schedule is abroad.Hoping for things to settledown, so we can resume toour normal lives.”Meanwhile, Donal says thelockdown has helped her asan actor as she could workon her craft by watching alot of films and series.

12

Vijayawada Wednesday June 16, 2021

D

tollywood

Donal Bisht, who wowedaudiences with her work in films

like Ek Deewana Tha, Roop,Dil To Happy Hai Ji and more,

talks to The Pioneer's K RAMYA SREE about her

upcoming film Dare to Sleep.

owdy StarVijayDevarakondais scaling newheights witheach passing

day. Looks like even thesky is not the limit forhim. Vijay Devarakonda,according to the latestnews, became the firstSouth Indian actor tofeature on the most pop-ular and renownedDabboo Ratnani’sCalendar.

Vijay Devarakondasharing the picture post-ed “Your BeastBoy!#DabbooRatnaniCalendear2021”. VijayDevarakonda lookedstylish and royal in a

white vest with dustedmarks and a TriumphBike. Vijay, sharing hisexperience, revealed thatit was fun shooting forDaboo’s calendar. Hehoped that everyonewould like it.

Vijay Devarakondarecently became India’ssecond most desirableman after the lateSushant Singh Rajput.He retained the mostdesirable man south titlefor the third consecutivetime, setting a record.Devarakonda is set tomake his Bollywooddebut with Ligerromancing AnanyaPandey under the direc-tion of Puri Jagannath.

VD first south star to

feature on Dabboo

Ratnani's calendar

Amitabh Bachchanreleases Son of

India's first song

ohan Baburenowned asCollection King isstarring in the leadrole after a longtime in his upcom-

ing entertainer Son of Indiaunder the direction ofDiamond Ratnababu. OnTuesday, the makers kickstart-ed the film’s musical promo-tions in a grand manner.

Bollywood super starAmitabh Bachchan releasedthe film’s first song Jaya JayaMahavera. Releasing the song,Amitabh congratulated theteam, posting, “Two greats ofIndian Cinema .. VeteranTelugu Actor M Mohan Babu& maestro Sri Ilayaraja cometogether to pay homage in anode to the valour of Lord Ramin a song ‘RaghuveeraGadhyam’ .. the film ‘SON ofINDIA’ My best wishes."Mohan Babu thankedAmitabh Bachchan saying“Shri. @SrBachchan ji,You are

the mostdistin-guishedactornotonlyinIndia,butentireworld.There is norole that youhaven’t acted, I havelearnt a lot of things fromyou.I thank you immenselyfor releasing the SongRaghuveera Gadhyam from#SonofIndia and for the bestwishes.” Rahul Nambiar sangthe song in which MohanBabu himself penned thestory and the screenplay forthe film which stars Srikanth,Tanikella Bharani and Ali inan important roles and isbankrolled by ManchuVishnu on 24 FramesFactory Banner.

pcoming Tollywoodactress Urvashi Rautelatook to social media toencourage her fans toworkout and improvetheir fitness.

The actress shared a video onInstagram where she can be seenperforming a type of ab workoutusing a punching bag. In the video,

Urvashi bends her upper body

downward grasping the punchingbag with her legs, while her trainersupports her holding her feet.

“I GOTTA WORK HARDERBeyond the usual 180 DEGREES abworkout has some major body ben-efits. Banging upside down from apunching bag (upper bodystrength). When you perform acrunch from an over-extendedposition you may be able to tap into

your innermost abdominal mus-cles,” Urvashi wrote alongside hervideo.

Just a few days ago, the actresshad shared a video of gettingpunched repeatedly in the gut byher trainer.

On the work front, the actress isall set to feature in the upcomingweb series starring RandeepHooda!

Urvashi Rautela prepping hard for her next

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