NAVEEN KUMAR n HYDERABAD

The Banjara Hills police haverejected an RTI query seekinga certified copy of FIR filed incase pertaining to the death ofTelangana Chief Minister'spet dog Husky.

In response to the query, theofficial reason cited by thepolice was that it might'impede' investigation or 'influ-ence the fare investigation'(sic). The Banjara Hills policeinspector Kalinga Rao con-firmed that the RTI query wasindeed rejected, as investiga-tion in the case was still underway.

Early in September, thepolice booked a case against aveterinary doctor for allegednegligence that resulted inthe death of Husky, a pet dogat Pragati Bhavan, the officialresidence of Chief Minister KChandrasekhar Rao.

The 11-month-old dogbelonged to the Hulk breed,which is a cross between a pitbull terrier and a bulldog.

Husky died allegedly after theveterinarian administered aninjection on September 11.

Based on a complaint filedby Asif Ali Khan, who handlespet dogs at Pragati Bhavan, thepolice registered a case andlaunched a probe.

Continued on Page 3

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{

RNI No. TELENG/2018/76469

Established 1864Published From

HYDERABAD DELHI LUCKNOWBHOPAL RAIPUR CHANDIGARH

BHUBANESWAR RANCHI DEHRADUNVIJAYAWADA

*LATE CITY VOL. 2 ISSUE 5*Air Surcharge Extra if Applicable

The Banjara Hillspolice inspectorKalinga Raoconfirmed that theRTI query was indeed rejected, asinvestigation in the case was stillunder way

HYDERABADWEATHER

Current Weather ConditionsUpdated October 13, 2019 5:00 PM

ALMANACTODAY

Month & Paksham:Ashwini& Sukla PakshaPanchangamTithi : Pratipada : 04:29 am (Next Day)Nakshatram: Revati : 10:21 amTime to Avoid: (Bad time to start

any important work)Rahukalam: 07:39 am – 09:07 amYamagandam: 10:34 am – 12:02 pm

Varjyam: NIL

Gulika: 01:29 pm - 02:56 pmGood Time: (to start any important work)

Amritakalam: 07:42 am - 09:28 amAbhijit Muhurtham: 11:38 am - 12:25 pm

Forecast: Isolated ThunderstormsTemp: 29/22Humidity: 94%Sunrise: 06.08Sunset: 05.55

PNS n HYDERABAD

A 55-year-old TSRTC driverdied on Sunday, a day after heset himself ablaze, even as thestrike by the transport employ-ees in Telangana entered theninth day.

D Srinivas Reddy, who waspart of the group of employeeson a state-wide strike for the lastnine days, died of burn injuries,hospital sources here said. Thedriver had doused himself withkerosene and set himself ablazenear his house in Khammam,about 190 km from here, report-edly in protest against the gov-ernment not acceding to thedemands of striking employees.

However police said theywere investigating the reasonbehind his suicide.

As news about Reddy's death

spread, a large number of strik-ing employees of TelanganaState Road TransportCorporation gathered near thehospital, but police at the spotwhisked them away in policevehicles. Protests also broke outin different parts of the city and

other places, with employeesraising slogans and holding thestate government responsible forReddy's death.

The employees have been onstrike since the last nine days,demanding merger of RTC withthe government and recruit-

ment to various posts, amongothers.

Continued on Page 4

STRIKE ENTERS NINTH DAY

TSRTC driver succumbs toburns, protests break out

RTC Cantonment depot employees protesting half-naked at Jubilee Bus Stationin Secunderabad on Sunday

L VENKAT RAM REDDYn HYDERABAD

Chief Minister KChandrasekhar Rao, despitehis uncompromising stanceon TSRTC strike from Day-1,is now having secondthoughts and may soften hisstand in the days ahead as heis understood to be undertremendous pressure fromall sides with the 9-day-oldstir snowballing into a majorlaw and order issue.

According to highly-placedsources, the government haswithheld its plan to servedismissal orders to the sackedstaff. The government is nowplanning to hold talks withRTC unions again. AlthoughKCR may not be part of thedirect talks with RTC unionsinitially, the confabulationsare likely to be held at the cab-inet sub-committee level.

The death of RTC driverSrinivas Reddy on Sunday,who on Saturday immolated

himself to protest the stategovernment's tough stand onRTC strike, attracted nation-wide media attention and

drew flak from various sec-tions, putting the state gov-ernment in a fix.

Continued on Page 2

KCR likely to soften hisstand on RTC strike

RTI QUERY IN CM PET DOG'S DEATH CASE

Pope elevatesMariam Thresia,four others tosainthoodVATICAN CITY: Indian nunMariam Thresia and fourothers were declared Saints byPope Francis at a grand cer-emony at the Vatican City onSunday.

Mariam Thresia, whofounded the Congregationof the Sisters of the HolyFamily in Thrissur in May1914, was raised to the high-est position within the cen-turies-old institution duringthe ceremony at the St Peter'sSquare. The nun from Keralawas canonised along withEnglish Cardinal John HenryNewman, Swiss laywomanMarguerite Bays, BrazilianSister Dulce Lopes and ItalianSister Giuseppina Vannini.

World Bankwarns India of ‘severe’slowdown

FPIs pull outover Rs 6,200 crin October so farNEW DELHI: Foreign port-folio investors withdrew overRs 6,200 crore from Indiancapital markets in the first twoweeks of October, as globalrecession fears and trade war concerns weighed on sentiments.

Foreign investors pulled outa net amount of Rs 4,955.2crore from the equities and Rs1,261.9 from the debt segment,taking the total net withdraw-al to Rs 6,217.1 crore duringOctober 1-11, as per latestdepositories data.

Overseas investors were netbuyers in the preceding monthand had infused a net sum ofRs 6,557.8 crore in the domes-tic capital markets (both equi-ties and debt), according to thedata.

NEW DELHI: The WorldBank on Sunday slashed itsgrowth forecast for India'scurrent fiscal year to 6 percent, down from 7.5 per cent,warning that the "severe"slowdown could furtherweaken the country's stut-tering financial sector.

In its last forecast in April,the bank had said that India'seconomic outlook was strongand expected growth of 7.5per cent during the currentfiscal year that began in April.

But the country is cur-rently growing at its slowestpace in six years, expandingby just 5 per cent in the April-June quarter, hit by flaggingconsumer demand and aslackening in governmentspending. India's industrialoutput also shrank at itsfastest rate in more than sixyears in August, data releasedlast week showed, indicatingthat a slew of governmentmeasures had yet to underpina recovery.

Modi has 30 millionfollowers onInstagramPNS n NEW DELHI

After being one of the mostfollowed leaders on Twitter,Prime Minister NarendraModi's popularity has alsosurged on Instagram, wayahead of other global lead-ers. Modi is the most fol-lowed world leader on thisplatform with 30 millionpeople following hisInstagram account.

On Instagram, he is aheadof US President DonaldTrump as well as former USPresident Barack Obama.Modi is also the only worldleader to reach the 30 mil-lion followers' milestone.

In September, Modi'sTwitter follower countcrossed 50 million.

Modi who has been aconstant user of the themicro blogging platformever since his days as theChief Minister of Gujarat.He has off late taken keeninterest in sharing photosand videos on Instagram aswell.

PNS n JALGAON

Stepping up attack on theCongress and NCP over abro-gation of Article 370, PrimeMinister Narendra Modi onSunday dared them to declarein their manifesto that they willbring back the provisions whichgave special status to Jammuand Kashmir. Addressing hisfirst rally ahead of the October21 Maharashtra Assembly polls,Modi said Jammu and Kashmirwas "not just a parcel of land, butcrown of India", and assured itwill not take more than fourmonths to normalise the kindof situation that prevailed therefor 40 years. He accused theopposition parties of politicis-ing the issue of Article 370 andcharged them with "speaking onthe same lines as that of theneighbouring country".

The prime minister lavishedpraise on the DevendraFadnavis-led Maharashtra gov-ernment for its five-year per-formance, which he said, was"corruption-free" and inspiredconfidence among all, includingfarmers and industries.

Attacking the Congress andNCP, Modi said it was "unfor-tunate" that they were "politi-cising" the "unprecedented"decision of scrapping of Article370. Their leaders thoughtexactly opposite of what theentire nation feels about Jammuand Kashmir, he said.

"You look at the statementsmade by Congress, NCP oflate...They seem to be speakingone lines of the neighbouringcountry," Modi said, without

naming the leaders as he appar-ently referred to Pakistan.

Accusing the opposition lead-ers of shedding crocodile tearson the issue of Article 370, hesaid, "I challenge them, if theyhave guts, declare in their man-ifesto for state election andfuture polls too, that they willbring back Article 370 and35A, which the BJP, the Modigovernment scrapped...that theywill change the August 5 decision."

Modi dares Oppositionto bring back Article 370

PNS n NEW DELHI

Ethics and etiquettes of socialmedia, how to use Googlesearch better, yoga and pranaya-ma and resume writing are partof the "life skills" curriculumdeveloped by the UniversityGrants Commission (UGC).

The commission had recent-ly launched "Jeevan Kaushal", alife skills programme in the cur-riculum for under-graduatecourses across the country.

The programme, which car-ries eight credit points, can beaccommodated in any semesterand is aimed at inculcatingemotional and intellectual com-petencies in students and devel-op verbal and non-verbal com-munication skills.

"Today when we talk aboutwriting skills and communica-

tion skills, we cannot ignorewriting on social media. Thesocial media websites are agood medium to connect butstudents must know the advan-tages and disadvantages.

"There have to be some ethicsand etiquettes of social mediaand the curriculum will teachthem the same. There is also amodule on how to use Googlesearch better," a senior UGC

official said. The official saidoften students do not know thedifference between a curriculumvitae (CV), resume and a bio-data. Writing a good resume isalso a life skill which every stu-dent must learn before enteringthe professional world.

"What will learners gain ifthey practice love and compas-sion? What will they lose if theydon't? What are the listeningskills one must practice as ateam member and how differ-

ent they should be as a teamleader? All these skills the stu-dents should be trained in, " theofficial said. Personal skills likeempathising and trusting col-leagues for improving interper-sonal relations, projecting agood personal image to have apositive impact on one's career,networking and negotiationskills besides personal and pro-fessional moral codes of conductare part of the curriculum.

The curriculum has three

electives — integral humanbeing, yoga and pranayama andgratitude.

While the first elective talksabout obligation to self, parentsand society besides a module onliving with others with theiracceptance, the module on grat-itude is about duty versus rights.

"The module on yoga talksabout difference between yogaand pranayama and their inter-relatedness. What should bethe asanas performed beforeexamination or a presentation?All these things are listed in thecurriculum," the official said.

"The curriculum has beendeveloped by an expert com-mittee with an aim to supportour graduates to unlock and dis-cover their true potential andmaking them social responsivecitizens," the official added.

Social media, pranayam part of UGC's ‘life skills'

Ravi Prasad withdraws comments linkingeconomy's health with Bollywood collectionsPNS n NEW DELHI

Facing flak after he cited Rs 120crore business done by threemovies on a single day torebut suggestions of an eco-nomic slump in the country,Union minister Ravi ShankarPrasad on Sunday withdrew hiscomments. Prasad's commentsin Mumbai on Saturday cou-pled with his criticism of anNSSO report on high unem-ployment rate and IMF's report

of a slowdown in India hadattracted flak and the seniorBJP leader was also trolledonline.

In a statement issued onSunday, Prasad claimed thatone part of his statement hadbeen "completely twisted out ofcontext", and said "being asensitive person, I withdrawthis comment".

"My comments made yes-terday in Mumbai about threefilms making Rs 120 crore in

a single day- the highest ever,was a factually correct state-ment. I had stated this as I wasin Mumbai- the film capital ofIndia. We are very proud of ourfilm industry which providedemployment to lakhs of peopleand contributes significantly byway of taxes.

"I had also explained indetail about the various mea-sures the government hastaken as pro-people move tostrengthen our economy.

The programme, which carries eight credit points,can be accommodated in any semester and isaimed at inculcating emotional and intellectualcompetencies in students and develop verbal andnon-verbal communication skills

l Orders for dismissalof striking staff put

on hold

l Govt to win overRTC unions ahead of

Huzurnagar bypoll

l Pressure of united oppn andmounting resentment amonggovt staffl Poor response to RTC

mgmt drive for temporaryrecruitment

Teachers toresort to pen-down strikePNS n HYDERABAD

The Panchayat Raj Teachers'Union (PRTU) on Sundayexpressed its solidarity withthe cause of striking RTCworkers and announced itsdecision to observe pen-down str ike upon thereopening of schools afterthe extended Dasara vac-tion, which is scheduled toend on October 19.

At a meeting here onSunday, PRTU resolved tosupport the fight for merg-er of RTC with the govern-ment. PRTU leaderspledged their support toRTC workers. Apart fromPRTU, 22 teachers' unionswill support RTC strike,they said.

The PRTU leaders believethat the extension of Dasaravacation is intended toweaken the RTC strike. So,once the vacation ends,PRTU would join handswith other employees' asso-ciations and collectivelyfight for RTC workers'cause.

Continued on Page 2

Audio clip on complaintagainst CM goes viral K VENKATESHWARLUn HYDERABAD

An audio recording of the pur-ported conversation betweenan angry complainant and theperson who received it at theGrievances Cell of CMO wentviral on social media platformson Sunday.

The 2.56-minute audio per-tains to a complaint from oneRanjith Kumar, 33, hailingfrom Karimnagar mandal inKarimnagar district, againstnone other than ChiefMinister K ChandrasekharRao for extending the 16-day-long Dasara vacation forstudents by a week.

In the audio clip, Ranjith is

heard saying: "What is goingon in the State? The state isfully in disturbed mood.Children already forgot every-thing. Once again the gov-ernment is extending holi-days one more week. TheRTC employees are doingtheir strike. The ChiefMinister is arrogantly behav-ing. In-between the two (RTCemployees and Chief Minister)we are facing troubles. We aresuffering a lot. Whether aChief Minister, who is in piv-otal position, would talk likethat? The Chief Minister saysrun the buses to ensure thatthe people not to face troubles.

Continued on Page 4

DMK claims 30 EVMs forbypoll in TN shifted suddenlyPNS n CHENNAI

The DMK on Sunday alleged30 Electronic Voting Machines(EVMs) meant for the October21 Nanguneri Assembly by-poll in Tamil Nadu have been"suddenly shifted" for"unknown reasons."

DMK OrganisationSecretary and party's RajyaSabha member R S Bharathiwrote to Chief ElectionCommissioner Sunil Arora

and Tamil Nadu ChiefElectoral Officer SatyabrataSahoo seeking an enquiry intothe matter. He urged the ECthat the EVMs be restoredback to their original place and

be kept under adequate pro-tection without giving room"for any suspicious activities.

According to informationfrom the chief agent ofCongress candidate Ruby RManoharan, "30 EVMs whichwere kept for bye-election atNanguneri Taluk Office aresuddenly shifted to TirunelveliCollectorate for unknown rea-sons during the mid-night ofOctober 12," Bharathi said inhis letter.

Hyderabad policedeclines to give FIR copy

Not just aparcel of land,

but crown of India— NARENDRA MODI

Prime Minister

Another RTC employee killedhimself by hanging at his

residence in Langer House areaon Sunday. The deceased,identified as Surender Goud,has served TSRTC as conductorfor 14 years. Sources said thatGoud had taken a loan to build ahouse. He could not pay theinstallments and cheques issuedby him started bouncing. Heslipped into depression andtook the extreme step. TheKulsumpura police booked acase and shifted the body forpost-mortem examination.

Another RTCemployee ends life

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HYDERABAD | MONDAY | OCTOBER 14, 2019 hyderabad 02

Congress, already on shakygrounds in Telangana, alsofinds itself ill at ease about

which side to back in the TSRTCstrike. While some state leaders likeRevanth Reddy and Seethakkahave backed the striking RTCemployees, many others are hold-ing their horses and hedging theirbets before backing the strike inview of the looming HuzurnagarAssembly by-elections. They aren'tsure if the strike really has large-scale popular support among peo-ple and are not willing to commitone way or the other. Some of themfear conceding advantage to TRS byallowing it to lay blame of incon-veniencing commuters at theirdoorstep. BJP, on the other hand isnot in two minds about the strike.Its leaders, both at the state and

central level, have clearly throwntheir lot with the striking RTCworkers and called the governmenthandling highhanded and arbitrary.Strikingly different from theCongress position where the likesof Revanth Reddy and others aretaking part in RTC employees'dharnas, some other partymendon't want to be seen anywherenear the dharna sites.

Cheeky, point-blanksalvos from VH

There are occasions where youtactfully avoid confrontation withrivals, work your way around but

end up conceding vital space toopponents. There's this other waywhere you say it upfront, hold yourground and also have your way.Senior Congress leader VHanumantha Rao apparently takesthis no-nonsense approach of say-ing it like it is. He has in the pastspoken his mind about formergovernor ESL Narasimhan beingallegedly a little slow in exercisingauthority and a little inactive.That was then. VH has nowtrained guns on the new Telanganagovernor Tamilisai Soundararajantoo. He recently said Tamilisaidoes not give an audience to

Congress leaders and avoids them.This was right in the face of theGovernor who was on the daisright there along with leaders of allpolitical parties at an Alay-Balayfunction a week ago. If that wasnot blunt enough, VH even tookon Himachal Pradesh governorBandaru Dattatreya who had him-

self organised the Alay-Balay aspart of his annual calendar.Pointing at the flexis put up at thefunction, Hanumantha Rao toldDattatreya he was unhappy not tosee a single Congress leader's faceon the banners, not even part pres-ident Sonia Gandhi's. Awkwardmoments for Dattatreya andTamilisai, but VH did make apoint when it mattered.

Governor dashedNetizens’ hope

The more you are seen andheard at public functions the big-ger a power centre you seem. This

may or may not be the case, butit's exactly how commoners see itand look up to you to resolveissues. Governor TamilisaiSoundararajan's experience hasbeen such thus far. Plus, she is alsoactive on the social media wheremost of the chatter happens andperceptions are developed. Lately,Netizens have been flooding theGovernor's SM handle with scoresof public issues. Up till now, thechatterati on the Net used to typ-ically tag Minister KTR or otherofficials for issues that concernedthe general public. Now they arelooking at Tamilisai for help. But

alas, the Guv doesn't respond toappeals made on social media.Many a Netizen has sought herintervention in the ongoingTSRTS strike over the past weekbut here has been no responsefrom her.

This probably has to do withsocial media spreading the wordthat she was mulling to start thePraja Darbar tradition at RajBhavan, which the media also ranreports about. Once bitten, twiceshy. That could be why Tamilisaiis being very wary of social media,and request and speculationsmade on it.

(Contributed by PV Kondal Rao,

Kolishetty Venkatshwarlu,Naveena Ghanate)

REPORTERS’

D ARY

Cong can't strike a balance over RTC stir

US-China trade talks lowervalue of yellow metalPNS n HYDERABAD

With the successful conclusionof the fresh first round oftrade negotiations between USand China on October 10,2019, the hopes for resolutionof the trade war between thesetwo super powers have beenkindled. Consequently theyellow metal, which was hov-ering around US $ 1,500, camedown to the level of $ 1,488.87on the closing day of Saturday.Silver followed suit and closedat $ 17.65. Similarly, platinumand palladium also declinedand closed at $. 896.60 (per 10gms) and $ 1,703.25 (per 10gms), copper stood at Rs443.15 (per kg) respectively.

Other economic parame-ters, barring Brent andCrude oil, remainedfirm. Brent closed atUS$ 60.29 (per bar-rel), while Crude oilwas quoted atRs.3,869 (per bar-rel). GoldMCX stood atRs.37,845 (per10 gms) andSilver MCX at Rs.45,171 (perkg). BSE Sensex and Nifty 50closed at 38,127.08 and11,305.05 points respectively.

Leading foreign currencies'exchange rates were: US $:Rs.71.02, British Pound: Rs.89.88, Euro: Rs. 78.40,Singapore $: Rs. 51.74,Canadian $: Rs.53.81, SwissFranc: Rs.71.29.

At home, trading grad-ually picked up in view ofthe ongoing festival sea-

son. While the yellowmetal appreciated

by Rs. 90 on buy-ing support andclosed at Rs.

38,300 (per 10gms), orna-

mental goldtoo, movedup in tan-dem and

was quoted in the range of Rs.36,420- 36,520 on the closingday. Silver (0.999), recorded itsmarginal declined of Rs. 200 and

closed at Rs. 45,200 (per kg).

COMMODITIES

The sentiment in principalwholesale commodity mar-kets in the twin cities was mod-erate. Rythu Bazars and thevarious commodity marketslocated in Begum Bazar,Kishangunj, Mukthyargunj,Risala Abdullah, Mir AlamMandi, Dilsukhnagar,Kukatpally, Bowenpally andGeneral Bazar continued to befrom moderate to strong.

During the week, commonpulses such as tuar dal, moongdal, urad dal and masoor dalrecorded an appreciation in therange of 10 per cent to 12 percent, while staple food grainsand common edible oils,except groundnut oil,remained steady at the previ-ous week's closing levels.

WEEKLY MARKET REVIEW

Hindu-bashing will only stoke Hindu Rashtra stirHC UPADHYAY n HYDERABAD

The oft-repeated provocativeand abusive missiles against themammoth Hindu majoritycommunity in the country byfanatical, communal and pseu-do-secular elements have thepotential to trigger Hinduupsurge any time. And, certain-ly this is not just a figment ofimagination!

Going by the irresponsibleand unwarranted utterancesof some self- styled leaders ofminorities and crest-fallenopposition parties in the elec-toral battle, it appears that theday is not far away when theHindus, accounting for 80-plus percent of the population,would strike back and emphat-ically demand that India bedeclared as 'Hindu Rashtra'.

In fact, the authors of theConstitution knew it very wellthat this country has been andwill be the permanent abode ofHindus and therefore, hadrefrained from adding the word'secular' in it. However, the

successive Congress govern-ments were fully aware of thefact that the masses were deeplyreligious and devoted to theprinciples and practices ofHindu religion, which has theglorious history of evolutionover thousands of years.Therefore, yesteryear politicalleaders desisted from tinkeringwith Hindu sentiments.Though no stone was leftunturned to suppress the crav-ings of the Hindus for theirpolitical identity throughConstitutional diktat, theflame of Hindu Rashtraremained burning brightlythroughout. The Partitionon the lines of religionand the genocide ofHindus that ensuedadded fuel to fire.

During all theseyears, despite opposi-tion from all quarters,including the govern-ments, the Hindus areyet to be convincedabout non-declarationof the country as the HinduRashtra. During the regime of

Indira Gandhi the words, 'sec-ular' and 'socialist' were addedto the Preamble of theConstitution in an apparent bidto appease minorities andCommunists at home andabroad. In this exercise, whichradically changed the basicstructure of the Constitution, itis noteworthy that no Hinduorganisation or Hindu reli-gious leader was consulted,leave alone taking them inconfidence. The Preamble ofthe Constitution of India was

amended against the rul-ings of the SupremeCourt which laid downthat Parliament cannot

alter the 'basicstructure' oft h e

C o n s t i t u t i o n .Obviously, the addi-

tion of the words,'secular and 'socialist'in the Preamble to theConstitution amount-ed to changing the'basic structure' of the

Constitution. Most important-ly, no hue and cry was raised by

the protagonist of theConstitution who swear by it,day in and day out. On theother hand, this lobby celebrat-ed the change.

In view of this historic back-ground, there is no reason tooppose or fume over any moveto bring back the status quo bysimilar Constitutional amend-ment. Besides, dropping thewords 'secular' and 'socialist',the preamble needs to berightfully amended with theinsertion of the words 'HinduRashtra' to honour and assuagethe feelings of the vast major-ity of the Hindus, living inIndia and abroad.

Only such a step can bringtrue communal harmony in thecountry. Further, by doing so,a loud and clear message wouldgo to the anti-Hindu and anti-

nation forces that, if theyindulge in violence or hurlingabuses towards the Hindus,Jains, Sikhs and Buddhists,they won't be spared from theharshest punishment. The peo-ple belonging to the minoritycommunities know it very wellthat they can live happily andpeacefully only by winningthe goodwill of the majorityHindus and not by fightingwith them or antagonisingthem.

The Geneva Convention onminorities also clearly laysdown that the minoritiesshould mingle with the major-ity community and earn thegoodwill of majority commu-nity first; then, it shall be theduty of the majority communi-ty to protect and promote theinterests of the minorities.

The writing on the wall isclear for all so-called secularforces and self- styled leadersof minorities: it would be intheir own interests to extendunstinted support to declareIndia as the Hindu Rashtra.More Hindu-bashing will onlyaccelerate the process.

Traffic offnces can be triedunder IPC & MV Act : SC

The recent verdict of theapex court on traffic offenders,if implemented strictly, will goa long way to curb the increas-ing road accidents in the coun-try.

The Supreme Court has heldthat traffic rules violators caus-ing accidents by rash and neg-ligent driving could be triedand punished separately underthe Indian Penal Code and theMotor Vehicle Act.

A division bench, compris-ing Justice Indu Malohotraand Justice Sanjay Khanna,observed that ingredients ofoffences under both laws aredifferent and an offender canbe tried and punished indepen-

dently under them.Making an exception to the

principle that the M.V Actbeing special law, it should pre-vail over the IPC, which is thegeneral law, the bench said thatthe MV Act is a beneficial pieceof legislation whose primaryobjective is to provide a statu-tory scheme for compensa-tion of victims of accidents. Onthe other hand, the IPC is dif-ferent in nature, having theobject of punishing the offend-ers.

The court observed: ".. if theIPC gives way to the MV Actand the provisions of Cr.P.Csuccumb to provisions of theMV Act, even the cases of cul-pable homicide not amountingto murder and causing deathor grievous hurt or simplehurt by rash and negligent dri-ving would become com-poundable. Such an interpre-tation would have the conse-quence of letting an offenderget away with a fine by plead-ing guilty, without having toface any prosecution for theoffence committed."

LEGALROUNDUP

In fact, the authors of the Constitutionknew it very well that this country hasbeen and will be the permanent abodeof Hindus and therefore, had refrainedfrom adding the word ‘secular' in it

BITFURY TO SET UP BLOCKCHAININNOVATION CENTRE IN HYDPNS n HYDERABAD

The Bitfury Group, the largestfull-service blockchain technol-ogy company in the world, willestablish a blockchain researchand innovation centre inHyderabad.

Bitfury, a multibillion-dollartech giant, on Saturday enteredinto a partnership withTelangana's Blockchain Districtin this regard. It will also offercourses, necessary incubationand mentoring support to allassociated members.

Blockchain District onSaturday signed new partner-ships with Bitfury and IndianSchool of Business (ISB). TheISB will be offering co-workingspace, access to investor net-work, business expertise andmany more benefits toBlockchain District start-ups.

Jayesh Ranjan, PrincipalSecretary, InformationTechnology, Electronics andCommunications Department,launched the BlockchainDistrict logo and website on theoccasion. Ranjan said that after

several rounds of consulta-tions with industry and acad-emia, the government con-ceptualised BlockchainDistrict, which aims to beamong the world's top 10 lead-ing blockchain technology

ecosystem by proactively dri-ving key initiatives for develop-ing talent pool, infrastructure,research and innovation andcommunity building.

"Blockchain District pro-vides a platform which enables

the stakeholders to collaborate,co-create and build solutions inblockchain technology, whichtoday is at a nascent stage, buthas enormous potential in thecoming years," said Ranjan.

"Telangana being the hub of

innovation and technologywould always strive to be thefirst mover in tech-domains,"he added.

The Telangana government,IIIT-Hyderabad, C-DAC andTech Mahindra are the found-ing members of BlockchainDistrict. MLR Institute ofTechnology was also taken onboard to extend support inresearch and development andincubation.

n CITY TO HAVE EXCLUSIVE BLOCKCHAIN DISTRICT, LOGO AND WEBSITE LAUNCHED

The Indian Schoolof Business willoffer co-workingspace, access toinvestor network,businessexpertise andmany morebenefits toBlockchainDistrict start-ups

City to host meet on Big Data in agriPNS n SANGAREDDY

Over 500 delegates are set to dis-cuss the issues of trust in digitalagriculture and explore ways tobuild it at the third annual con-vention of CGIAR platform forBig Data in agriculture.

The three-day 2019 'BigData in AgricultureConvention: TRUST: Humans,Machines' will be hosted byICRISAT (International CropResearch Institute for Semi-arid Tropics) between October16 and 18, Hyderabad.

Talking about the theme ofconvention, coordinator forthe BIG DATA Platform, BrianKing, highlighted the opportu-nities machines and machine-to-machine systems offer foraccelerating food security solu-tions at a time when climatesand ecosystems are underthreat. He underlined the

importance of ensuring thatethical frameworks and insti-tutions stay abreast of the rateof changes these digital tech-nologies present.

"The global calls for digitaltrust are intensifying even asthe need for comprehensive,multifaceted solutions for glob-al food security grows," saidKing. "We need to increaseproduction, but we also needto preserve and renew ecosys-tems, manage climateextremes, and deal with deplet-ing soil and land resources.

Trustworthy digital solutionsmay be the most importanttool we have to rise to the chal-lenge-if we can build them."

Telangana State and its cap-ital city, Hyderabad, have hada prominent role to play inexpanding India's digital foot-print. K T Rama Rao, Ministerfor Information Technology, isexpected to deliver the keynoteaddress during the conven-

tion's inaugural session."Hyderabad is a very perti-

nent setting for this significantconvention. The city hostssome of the world's leading dig-ital institutions and agricultureorganisations," KTR said. "Thediscussions around trust cannotwait for tomorrow. Trust isneeded today to rely on theunion of digital and agricultureto feed a fast growing world."Leading experts in data science,research scientists, policymak-ers and local farmers will delib-erate over the problems andsolutions related to expandingtechnologies that can help builda food secure future.

The convention aims to helpdelegates tackle complexthemes of trust-building inframeworks that holisticallymanage ethics, multi-stake-holder coordination and data-driven action.

Musi project gate fixed,permanent solution soonPNS n NALGONDA

Engineers on Sunday finallymanaged to fix a stop log gatein place of a displaced regula-tory gate of Musi project andsucceeded in stopping waterfrom flowing away.

Power Minister G JagdishReddy was on site supervisingthe fixing of the new gate whileengineers began working on thegate on Saturday evening. Theoriginal plan was to replace thedamaged gate with one broughtfrom Kalyani dam in AndhraPradesh, but its size did notmatch that of Musi project'sregulatory gates which are 15feet tall and 40 feet wide.Following this, officials had anew one fabricated at a factoryin Hyderabad in eight sections

of two feet into 40 feet dimen-sions that were put together atthe project site and fixed on thedam. Regulatory gate No 5 ofMusi project was displaced onOctober 5 resulting in waterflowing out. As a consequence,water level at the project fell

from 644.8 feet to 615.5 feet inthe past eight days.

After the completion ofwork, Jagadish Reddy toldreporters that permanent mea-sures would be taken up toavoid recurrence of such inci-dents.

The three-day 2019 ‘Big Data inAgriculture Convention: TRUST:Humans, Machines' will be hosted by ICRISAT in Hyderabad between October 16 and 18

Continued from Page 1

The multiple suicide attemptselsewhere in the state, violentincidents near bus depots andbus stations, the unified oppo-sition taking on the governmentthrough protests on streets withthe support of social organiza-tions, increasing resentmentamong government employeesover the government's toughstance on RTC strike are amongthe factors that influenced KCRto modify his stand on RTCstrike.

With the Huzurnagarbypoll just a week away, thepolitical implications ofstretching RTC strike tillthen or beyond are also beingfactored in by the TRS lead-ership. So, KCR is expected towin over the striking RTCunions ahead of the bypoll.

Over the past 10 days ofstrike, the situation at theground level has only wors-ened, mainly because of thegovernment's decision to sack48,000 RTC employees onstrike. The government islikely to clarify its stance onthe strike by October 15 inthe High Court, which hadissued directions asking thestate government and RTCmanagement to give details ofthe steps taken to mitigate thehardships of people in thewake of the strike.

KCR likely tosoften ...

Teachers toresort to ...Continued from Page 1

According to PRTU lead-ers, Chief Minister KChandrasekhar Rao, by uni-laterally extending theDasara vacation, has made itclear that he is acting like adictator. They breathed fire atthe government for trying toweaken education system.That is why, the vacation hasbeen extended, they rea-soned. The leaders of PRTUalso questioned KCR'sauthority to extend Dasaravacation in the first place.

PNS n HYDERABAD

The Telangana FacilitiesManagement Council(TFMC) will organise a three-day IT Handloom Mela atSalarpuria Sattva KnowledgeCity at Inorbit Mall Road atMadhapur from October 16 to18.

The Mela, being organisedin association with IT depart-ment and Endowments andCharity department of thestate government, will featureIkkat Pattu sarees, handicraftproducts, handloom kurthasand other items.

An initiative of TFMC, it isorganized as part of the seriesof IT Handloom Melas. Thecouncil has urged IT profes-sionals to utilise this oppor-tunity to buy handloomclothes and wear them onMondays every week.

The three-day Mela, the16th edition this year, aims toreach out to 25,000 IT pro-fessionals with the aim offurthering the cause of hand-looms and motivate ITemployees to adopt hand-loom clothes.

TFMC pres identSatyanarayana Mathala saidthe response to earlier edi-tions of the mela has beenover whelming. Wear inghandloom clothes once aweek on Monday goes a long

way in protecting the weav-ing art form and helpingthose dependent on it, hesaid.

The 250-strong FMC teamhas organised several hand-loom melas, cycle rallies, fash-

ion shows to create awarenessand promote handloomclothes for the past severalmonths. The Handloom melashave registered a footfall oftwo lakh IT professionals sofar.

PNS n HYDERABAD

Balala Hakkula Sangham hasdemanded the state govern-ment to give an explanation onwhy it extended Dasara holi-days up to October 19 whenprivate educational institutionshave asked their students toattend school from Mondayonwards.

Balala Hakkula Sanghamhonorary president AchyuthaRao on Sunday said the stategovernment announced it wasextending Dasara holidays upto October 19, but privateschools are asking children toattend school from Monday.He said that private schoolmanagements are warningtheir teachers that their salarywould be cut if they failed toattend schools from Monday.

He alleged that the privateschools are considering thegovernment order papers aswaste papers neglecting theorders. The private manage-ments are openly stating thatthey don't have any relationwith the government's exten-

sion of holidays. He said thatthe students and teachers are indilemma about whose ordersto follow, the government's orschool managements'. Hesought the government to giveclear explanation in this regard.

HYDERABAD | MONDAY | OCTOBER 14, 2019 hyderabad 03

THREE-DAY HANDLOOM MELA FROM OCT 16

The TFMC fair aims to reach out to 25K techies

Child rights NGO questionsextension of school hoidaysn BALALA HAKKULA SAYS THERE IS CONFUSION AS PVT SCHOOLS OPEN ON MONDAY

The private managements are openlystating that they don't have anyrelation with the government'sextension of holidays

PNS n HYDERABAD

Telangana Real EstateDevelopers Association(Treda) will organise the 10thedition of its property show atHITEX Exhibition Centre inthe city from October 18-20.

Over 100 builders, devel-opers, building material sup-pliers, research and technolo-gy development institutes andfinancial institutions will beshowcasing their products andtechnologies at the upcomingTreda Property Show.

Hyderabad is fast becomingthe most attractive destinationfor IT and ITeS companies inIndia. While the city hasbecome a favourite choice forsome of the multinationalcompanies to set up theiroperations, it has also grownmultifold in providing neces-sary services to global com-panies.

The infrastructure andavailability of a large talentpool is a prime consideration.With the support of theTelangana government'sincentives, schemes and poli-cies such as the single-windowmechanism for the registrationof businesses and integrated ITecosystem, Hyderabad hasbecome a flagship destina-tion in the country.

The Treda Property Show,being organised by the realestate community consistingof developers, builders andpromoters, is a platform for allbuyers and sellers to meetunder one roof and explorebuying and selling options ofa wide range of properties.

Treda president RChalapathi Rao said, "Thisyear marks a special occasion

for us as we celebrate the 10thanniversary of the TredaProperty Show. Over the lastdecade, the property showhas become a benchmark forall other property shows in thecity and is undoubtedly thebiggest in any year. Our visionhas always been to encouragegrowth of the real estate sec-tor and represent and supportGovernment in framing con-ducive policies that help thegrowth of Hyderabad andTelangana state at large."

Real estate companies willdisplay their range of proper-ties i.e., apartments, villas,plots suited to various classesof customers. Suppliers willdisplay products and servicesintegral to the real estateindustry.

Financial institutions suchas State Bank of India, LICHousing Finance Ltd, AxisBank, Bank of Baroda, HDFC,ICICI Bank, Sundaram BNPParibas Home Finance andIIFL Home Finance will offerhome loan products at theevent.

While the cityhas become afavourite forsome of themultinationalcompanies to setup theiroperations, it hasalso grown fastin providingnecessary infra

Ditched byfiancé, womandrinks poisonPNS n HYDERABAD

A 24-year-old woman killedherself by consuming poisonon Sunday in Jawahar Nagar.Sources said she allegedlywent into depression afterlearning about her fiancé mar-rying another woman.

According to police, thedeceased, identified as GorlaMalleshwari, a private employ-ee, was engaged to a relativeMaram Sudhakar in front oftheir elders earlier this year.However, Sudhakar later toldher that he was not interestedin marrying her, followingwhich the family lodged acomplaint with Jawaharnagarpolice and a case of cheatingbooked against him.

Sudhakar later promised tomarry Malleshwari before a'panchayat' held in the pres-ence of elders of the families.However on October 8, toeveryone's dismay Sudhakarsent a WhatsApp message toa relative of Malleshwari stat-ing that he was getting marriedto another woman atPenchalakona temple in

Nellore district of AndhraPradesh, and that he wantedher family to his clandestinemarriage.

"On coming to know aboutthis, Malleshwari consumedsome poisonous substance ather house on Friday morningand fell unconscious. Thefamily members rushed her toGandhi Hospital where shesuccumbed on Sunday morn-ing," said G Mohan, sub-inspector of Jawaharnagarpolice station. The police shift-ed the body for an autopsy afterwhich it was handed over to thefamily. On a complaint lodgedby victim's parents, theJawaharnagar police registereda case against Sudhakar undersection 306 (abetment to sui-cide) of the IPC and are inves-tigating the matter.

Sudhakarconveyed thisto the woman’srelative viaWhatsApp

Hyderabadpolicedeclines togive FIR copyContinued from Page1

The complainant had allegedthat the dog died due to neg-ligence by the doctor and thedoctor in-charge of the pri-vate veterinary clinic, wherethe dog was rushed when itscondition worsened followingthe injection. The police replyto RTI police said, "Onreceipt of your petition, ver-ified the available recordsand it is revealed that the saidcase was under investiga-tion. As such the disclosureof evidence at this juncturewould impede the process atinvestigation or it may influ-ence the fare investigation.Hence such information can-not be provided U/Sec 8(1)(h) of Right to InformationAct. Hence your applicationhas been rejected."

Artworks stolen by 'conartist' remain untraceablePNS n HYDERABAD

The police are still cluelessabout the 'con artist' who fledthe country with the artworkof a famous Hyderabad-basedartist, who makes crystal paint-ings of well-known personal-ities about two months ago.Sayed Azmathullaj, the 72-year-old artist, was allegedlycheated by a man claiming tobe a Qatar national, who tookhis paintings on the pretext ofexhibition and showcasedthem as his own.

In 2017, I was approachedby Abdul Salam Al-Qadi, 45, aHyderabadi from old city,claiming to be a Qatari nation-al art lover. Between October2017 and April 2018, Abdulallegedly procured 11 paintingsfrom me, stating that he wouldshowcase them and also sharea monetary profit with me, saidthe artist, adding that he waspaid for five painting and wasblocked.

"The government officials inthe United Kingdom informedhim that various Gulf-basedmedia has reported mention-ing Abdul as the artist of twopaintings: the Dome of theRock in the Old City ofJerusalem and another ofTurkish President ReccepTayyip Erdogan. I was invitedto the UK Parliament to show-case my work and they werethe ones who informed methat someone else does similarartwork. That's when I got toknow that Abdul has passed offsome of my work as his own.Even my signature wasreplaced with his name," saidthe artist" said Sayed, whouses Swarovski crystalsimported from Austria for hispaintings, which take over a

week to create.Two of the paintings, com-

posed of crystals, were evenallegedly gifted to PresidentErdogan by Abdul as a giftfrom Qatar to Turkey. Afterlearning about Abdul's allegedduplicity, Sayed approachedthe Hussaini Alam police sta-tion in Hyderabad earlier thismonth on August 8, with acomplaint against Abdul.

Speaking about the issue, thePolice Inspector of HussainiAlam Ramesh Kotwal saidthat the alleged accused Abdulis not a Qatari national but alocal from Hyderabad. "He isnot present in the countryanymore. We learnt that he isshifted to Sharjah and are

probing the case," said theofficial, adding that there areno major headways made intothe probe yet.

"My work was never meantto be commercialised. I evenwrote to the Turkish con-sulate in Hyderabad, whichalerted the Qatar embassy inTurkey of Abdul's duplicity,he claims. However, therehas been no response fromthe Embassy of Qatar. Afterrepeated attempts of reachingout to Abdul, I even warnedhim before approached thepolice and my lawyer. I amyet to receive an update fromthe police on the investiga-tion" concluded a helplessSayed.

Between October 2017 and April 2018,Abdul allegedly procured 11 paintings fromme, stating that he would showcase themand also share a monetary profit with me,said the artist, adding that he was paid forfive painting and was blocked

PNS n HYDERABAD

Water supply will be affectedduring the shutdown in someof the areas in the city, theHMWS&SB said on Sunday.The shutdown has been neces-sitated as the water board isattending to leakage on 3000mm diametre pumping line atNustulapur. The shutdownwill occur from 6.00 am onOctober 16 to 6.00 pm on Oct.18.

Water supply will be affect-ed in the following areas dur-ing the shutdown:

Operations and manage-ment (O&M) Division Vl:Erragadda, Borabanda,Ellareddy Guda, Yousuf guda,SR Nagar, Ameerpet, Banjarahills, Sanathnagar, Jubilee hillsareas.

O&M Dn IX: Kukatpally.KPHB, Moosapet, Bala Nagar,Bhagya Nnagar, BharathNagar, Sanath NagarBorabanda Reservoir com-mand areas.

O&M Dn Xll: Chinthal.Jeedimetla, Shapur Nagar,Suraram, Jagadgiri GuttaQuthbullapur Petbasheerabadareas.

O&M Dn Xlll: DefenceColony, Goutham Nagar,Prashant Nagar, Chanikyapuri.Malkajgiri, Fatherbalainagarand Alwal areas.

O&M Dn XIV: New OUTColony, Kailasagiri areas.

O&M Dn XV: Hafeezpet.Miyapur. Matrusri nagar,Mayurinagar, Chanda nagar,R.C Puram Patancheru,Boloram Mayurinagar areas.

O&M Dn XVIII: Nizampet,Pragathi nagar, Bachupally,Bollram, Ameenpur.Mallampet areas.

O&M Dn XIX: Jawaharnagar, Balaji nagar, Keesara,Dammai guda, Nagaram.Cheryal, RGK Ahmadguda.Devaryanjal, Tumkunta areas.

O&M Dn XI: NFC ,Pocharam, SingapurTownship,Moula ali, Lallapet & Tarnakaareas.

O&M Dn XXI: CRPF. MES(Trishul Lines, Gunrock.Contonment Board(Rudranagar, Gunrock, RisalaBazar) & Turkapally Biotechpark areas.

Water supply shut down inHyderabad areas

8,900 kg explosives seized, 2 heldPNS n HYDERABAD

In a joint operation, Keesarapolice of Rachakonda andSOT (Special OperationTeams) of Malkajgiri seizedtwo vehicles containing explo-sive materials from Harshastone factory at Keesara onSaturday night and took cus-tody of two persons for viola-tion of explosives rules.Officials seized 8,900 kg ofexplosives and 165 non-electricdetonators from their posses-sion.

Speaking about the case,Rachakonda PoliceCommissioner MaheshBhagwat said one Sharvan

Reddy, 29, of Ghatkesar wasrunning a business in thename of VenkateshwaraEnterprises and has a licensefor explosives running maga-zine at Mallaram in ChinnaKodur of Siddipet. Anotherperson, Narayana of Badvelalso runs a business in thename of Sri Laxmi NarayanaConstructions with a validlicense and having explosivemagazine at MukkavaripalliVillage of YSR Kadapa.

However, both suppliedexplosive materials to stonescrusher factories by violatingexplosive rules and recently.Both were separately orderedto supply stock to Regenesis

Industries Pvt.Ltd ofBommalaramaram.

"On Saturday night at 7 pm,after loading the explosive mate-rial, T.Venkatesham, 32, driverof the vehicle TS 30 T 2227,started from Bommalaramaramand in Keesara and met ShravanReddy. On his instructions, heunloaded the entire explosivematerial at Harsha StoneIndustry at Vannigudem ofKeesara. Mean time on specif-ic information J.NarenderGoud, Inspector of PoliceKeesara, Naveen KumarInspector of Police, SOTRachakonda along with thestaff raided the premises andseized the material.

RWAs meet Kishanover cantonment issuesPNS n HYDERABAD

The United Federation ofResidents WelfareAssociations (U-FERWAS)Executive Committee mem-bers met Union minister GKishan Reddy here on Sunday.The U-FERWAS representa-tives discussed about theArmy roads closure, resentrestrictions on AOC roadsand pending MMTS phase IIissues.

In response to the issues,Kishan Reddy said that he hasalready taking up this issuewith local Military authoritiesand as well with union defense

minister. Upon bringing few other

issues like army's objectionover laying the second rail-way track in MMTS Phase IIdevelopment work by RVNLat four-km stretch betweenSuchitra and Sanathnagar forMoula-Ali - Santhnagar -Hitechcity MMTS connec-tivity he said he is not awareof this and definitely put allhis efforts to resolve the prob-lem. But he also said that themain reason for MMTS PhaseII delay because of the pend-ing 400-plus cores contribu-tion from Telangana stategovernment.

APJ AbdulKalam awardfor Hyd CP PNS n HYDERABAD

Commissioner of HyderabadPolice Anjani Kumar, IPS,was on Saturday honouredwith Dr APJ Abdul KalamAward for Excellence in PoliceAdministration for the year2019. The award was pre-sented to Anjani Kumar by theDeshabhimani CharitableSociety, a New Delhi-basedNGO, at a function orga-nized on Saturday at theConstitution Club of India inNew Delhi.

The annual award wasinstituted in 2001. The com-mittee which selected AnjaniKumar for this award con-sisted of Justice Iqbal AhmedAnsari, Dr.Anurag Batra andother legal luminaries fromDelhi. "In total, there were 23awards in various categorieslike health, primary educa-tion, new business, art andcreations, poetry and litera-ture for Police administration.Anjani Kumar, IPS, CP ofHyderabad, was given thisaward in the police category,"sources said.

The shutdown hasbeen necessitatedas the water boardis attending toleakage on 3000mm diametrepumping line atNustulapur. Theshutdown willoccur from 6.00am on Oct 16 to6.00 pm on Oct

Treda propertyshow in city from Oct 18-20

HYDERABAD | MONDAY | OCTOBER 14, 2019 hyderabad 04

CPI calls it quits finally,snaps alliance with TRSPNS n HYDERABAD

The alliance between rulingTRS and left party CPI endedafter a mere 13 days of strikinga deal on October 1. The CPIhas announced on Sunday thatit is withdrawing its support tothe ruling TRS party in theupcoming Huzurnagar by-election.

Party state secretary ChadaVenkat Reddy announced thedecision at Manchirial when hevisited RTC JAC dharna toextend solidarity to the strik-ing RTC employees. The CPIwas in alliance with the TRS forjust 13 days.

Chada said that the CPI isextending its full support tothe RTC employees. He madeit clear that the party is with-

drawing its support in the by-election. The CPI alleged theTRS government was taking astubborn attitude towards theRTC strike in Telangana, astate which was born out ofpopular movements. Theparty said KCR is notresponding on the RTC work-ers' demands and is planning

to privatise the transport cor-poration.

He said that the RTCemployees are resorting toextreme steps like sacrificingtheir lives owing to stressafter the Chief Ministerannounced that he wouldremove 48,000 employees. Hesaid that the people had

taught a befitting lesson tothen CM N ChandrababuNaidu when he tried to pri-vatise RTC and Singareni inunited Andhra Pradesh state.KCR will face the same fate,Chada said.

HUZURNAGAR BY-ELECTION

Party statesecretary ChadaVenkat Reddyannounced thedecision atManchirial whenhe visited RTC JACdharna to extendsolidarity to thestriking RTCemployees

Left party struck deal with ruling TRS on Oct 1 for Huzurnagar by-poll

Suspect in killingof three founddead in tankPNS n KAMAREDDY

A day after the killings of threemembers of a family -- BandelaBalaiah, his daughter Latha andniece Chandana -- by the man'sbrother came to light inBhiknoor mandal ofNizamabad district, the body ofthe suspected perpetrator of thecrime, Balaiah's brother BandelaRavi, was discovered by somevillagers in the Jangampally vil-lage tank on Sunday.

It is suspected that Ravi com-mitted suicide by jumping intothe tank after killing his broth-er, Latha and his own daughterChandana on Friday night. TheDomakonda police, who wereinformed about the body, tookit out of the tank and con-firmed that it was of BanelaRavi. Police registered a case ofmurder and possible suicideand are conducting an enquiry.

The police believe that Ravicommitted the crime becausehe was unhappy with Balaiah'seldest daughter marrying a

young man she was in lovewith an event Ravi believedthat the marriage hurt thefamily's prestige.

After killing Balaiah, Lathaand Chandana, Ravi commit-ted suicide by jumping into theGundal Cheruvu tank, near themurder spot next to a temple onthe Domakonda forest fringe.Ravi's motorcycle was recov-ered by the police from near thetank on Saturday. According toBalaiah's wife Manemma, Ravialways tried to impose his willon the rest of the family andwhen things did not go his way,he would get very angry withthe rest of the family.

Cong alleges RTC driver's death is ‘govt murder'

‘KCR may continue Dasara holidays till Sankranthi'PNS n HYDERABAD

The TPCC campaign com-mittee chairpersonVijayashanthi has said that itwas unfortunate that RTCdriver Srinivas Reddy laiddown his life over RTC work-ers' demands, much like lateSrikantha Chary's sacrificedhis life during the Telanganaagitation, but Chief MinisterK Chandrasekhar Rao seems

to be willing to throw the stateto the winds andunconcerned aboutsolving people'sproblems.

She alleged thatKCR, who other-wise values sacri-fices for politicalinterests, willnot respondto sacri-fices of

the workers. She called uponthe RTC employees to remain

positive, not think in termsof sacrificing lives and wage

a movement to achieve theirdemands. This will also put anend to the dictatorial attitudeof KCR, she alleged.

Vijayashanthi, in a post onsocial media on Sunday,recalled KCR's statementthat the government hadtaken all alternative steps toneutralize the impact of RTCstrike, but very buses arerunning and troubles of peo-ple have mounted. Shedemanded to know fromKCR why he extendedDasara holidays for onemore week due to RTC strike

if he had really made alter-native arrangements.

Ridiculing the TRS gov-ernment for extending holi-days for schools and col-leges, Vijayashanthi said thatshe now feels the governmentmay extend holidays furthertill the strike ends. "

If that happens, Dasaraholidays in schools may con-tinue till Sankranthi festival,"she said.

PNS n HYDERABAD

Telangana Congress leadershave described the suicide byself-immolation of RTC driverSrinivas Reddy as "murder bystate government". Congressleaders have demanded ChiefMinister K ChandrasekharRao to own responsibility forthe suicide of Srinivas Reddy.

Claiming that KCR is notresponding on the RTC strike,Congress leaders urged RTCemployees not to take extremesteps. They assured the RTCemployees that their partywould stand by them. Theleaders said that Telanganamovement intensified withthe self-immolation ofSrikantha Chary, and like-wise the RTC strike would alsogain public sympathy withthe suicide of Srinivas Reddy.

Senior leader PonnalaLaxmaiah claimed that alreadyfive RTC employees had dieddue to the apathy of KCR, hesaid the CM enjoyed Dasarafestival with full enthusiasmleaving RTC employees todeal with their plight duringthe festival days.

He alleged that the RTC isfacing losses due to heavytaxes and the funds that areoutstanding from the stategovernment. PonnalaLaxmaiah said KCR must ownup responsibility of the lossesin RTC as the losses increasedonly during his rule. "KCR,who dismissed 50,000 RTCemployees by uttering just a

few words, himself takes Rs4.20 lakh monthly salary asChief Minister. He also nevercomes to Secretariat,"Laxmaiah said. Expressing dis-may over RTC driver SrinivasReddy's death, Bhongir MPKomatireddy Venkat Reddy

asked RTC employees not tobe worried about the safety oftheir jobs. "Your jobs will notgo anywhere. Do not to loseconfidence and don't resort toextreme steps," he said, assur-ing them that the Congresswould stand by them.

Consoling the SrinivasReddy's family at DRDOHospital on Sunday,Malkajgiri MP A RevanthReddy demanded the policeto file cases against KCR andMinisters Puvvada AjayKumar and Talasani SrinivasYadav for making provocativestatements against RTCemployees. He alleged thatSrinivas Reddy committedsuicide due to state govern-ment's rigid and negligentattitude towards RTC employ-ees. "KCR made RTC employ-ees feel worried when he usedthe word 'self dismissed',"Revanth Reddy alleged.

Ponnala said RTC is facing losses due toheavy taxes imposed on it and non-payment of funds that are outstandingfrom the state govt. He said KCR mustown up responsibility of the losses in RTCas they increased only during his rule

OU student unions'plan protest today PNS n HYDERABAD

Osmania University StudentUnions' JAC has announcedthat it will take up variousprotest programs in supportof the ongoing RTC strike.The JAC said that it will laysiege on Ministers' offices onOctober 14. The unions saidthey will organise a hugerally at Osmania Universityon October 16, observe abandh at all Telangana edu-cational institutions on

October 19 and protest atPragathi Bhavan on October21.

On Sunday, OsmaniaUniversity students staged aVanta-Varpu programme onthe roads as part of their sup-port to RTC strike. The stu-dents raised slogans in supportof RTC employees and dis-played placards with sloganslike 'RTC Bhachao… KCR koHatao', 'Do not to play gameswith the lives of RTC workers'among others.

KCR's statement that the government hadtaken all alternative steps to neutralise theimpact of RTC strike, but very buses are

running and troubles of people have mounted.—VIJAYASHANTHI

TPCC campaign committee chairperson

TS taking rapid strides in farm mechanisationPNS n HYDERABAD

Telangana has recorded a rapidgrowth of about 82 per centgrowth in farm mechanisationwithin five years since it wasformed in 2014. The number oftractors alone increased from 1.5lakh to 2.87 lakh, recording 90per cent growth during theperiod, besides a steady growthin farm trailers and harvesters.

The state government, whichadopted a holistic approach toensure overall development ofthe agriculture sector, has beenfocusing on farm mechanisationto increase productivity, reducecost of production and increaseextent of land under cultivation.On the directions of ChiefMinister K ChandrashekharRao, the agriculture depart-ment officials charted out anaction plan and collected man-

dal-wise data enumeratingrequired agriculture machinery.

Besides providing a subsidy of75 per cent to SC/ST farmersand 50 per cent to other farm-ers, the state government hasbeen encouraging farmers topurchase machinery of theirrequirement and choice.

"Awareness camps as well asdemonstration workshops onusage of machinery for variouspurposes, including seed sow-ing, weed removal and crop cut-ting, were conducted to encour-age farmers purchase farmmachinery," officials of the agri-culture department said.

The state government spentabout Rs 110 crore in 2017-18to promote farm mechanisationand enhanced the allocations toRs 328.83 crore during previousfiscal of 2018-19. In the currentfinancial year of 2019-20, thegovernment allocated Rs 304.34crore towards subsidies underfarm mechanisation scheme.

Following the efforts of theagriculture department, thepopulation of farm vehicles hasincreased considerably over lastfive years. The agriculturalvehicular population increased

from 2.75 lakh in 2014 to 4.99lakh in 2019, registering anincrease of about 82 per centwith 2.23 lakh additional vehi-cles. Interestingly, general vehic-ular population in the State,including farm vehicles, record-ed a growth rate of 71.4 per centduring the period from 71.52lakh to 122.58 lakh (1.22 crore).While tractor population regis-tered a growth of 90 per cent,number of trailers increasedfrom 1.18 lakh in 2014 to 1.99lakh in 2019 with a growth rateof 68 per cent.

The number of tractors has increasedfrom 1.5 lakh in 2014 to 2.87 lakh now,recording 90 per cent growth, besides a steady growth in farm equipment

Police believeBandela Ravimay havecommittedsuicide a dayafter killing hisbrother and kin

Mid Manair projectchecked for safetyPNS n SIRICILLA

Irrigation officials have under-taken further quality checks ofthe left side of the earthenbund of Mid Manair reservoirin an attempt to put at rest anydoubts over the structure'ssafety following allegations ofleakages from the dam.

Officials said that theywould be digging to a depth of10 metres over a 200 metrestretch of the left side of thedam to study the structure'sintegrity and ensure its safety.As part of this work, the stonelining of the dam would beremoved and once the inspec-tions are completed, the holeswill be refilled and the stonepaving will be restored, the

officials said. Officials are alsocollecting soil samples andtaking photographs of thebund to study its condition.

Last month, eight borewellsto a depth of 30 metres weredug at Bogam Orre, a naturalspring near the dam to test thewater pressure followingalleged leakages. It was allegedby Congress party leaders thatthough the dam was designedto hold 25,8 TMCft of water,leakages began occuring whenthe storage capacity touched15 TMCft some weeks ago.Offiicals, in a bid to ease pos-sible pressure on the dam,released water from MidManair to Lower Manair bylifting 25 gates of the MidManair dam on August 30.

TSRTC driversuccumbs to burns,protests break outContinued From Page 1

Union Minister of State forHome G Kishan Reddy con-doled the death and said theincident has pained him verymuch.

"Suicide is not the solution.Nobody should resort to suchsteps in future," he said.

Reddy urged the TelanganaGovernment to resolve theRTC strike issue amicably byholding talks with the unions.

He also extended his con-dolences to the bereaved fam-ily.

Leaders of the oppositionCongress and BJP inTelangana also condoledReddy's death and conveyedtheir condelences to thebereaved family members.

Nearly 48,000 workers ofemployees and workersunions of TSRTC began anindefinite strike from October5 on a call by the Joint ActionCommittee of TSRTC.

On Sunday, TelanganaPanchayat Raj MinisterErrabelli Dayakar Rao allegedthat some political partieswere provoking the unionleaders and claimed it was a"political conspiracy" againstthe government.

"Congress or BJP did noth-ing for RTC employees. Didany BJP government in otherstates merge their state trans-port corporations? Partiesshould stop the dramas," hesaid.

Minister for BC Welfareand Civil Supplies GangulaKamalakar alleged that polit-ical parties were instigatingthe unions for their politicalgains.

He cautioned the workersnot to fall prey to such vicious

attempts and added that thegovernment had never said itwould privatise RTC.

The ministers further saidthe government neverpromised to merge RTC withthe government and it (merg-er of RTC) was neither thegovernment's policy nor inthe party's manifesto.

The JAC of TSRTC hasgiven a Khammam 'bandh'call for Monday and CongressLegislature Party leader MalluBhatti Vikramarka said hisparty supported the shut-down call.

Meanwhile the union lead-ers appealed to striking work-ers not to resort to suicidesand said condolence meetingswould be held on Monday atall depots in the state.

Chief Minister KChandrasekhar Rao onSaturday had said there wasno question of having talkswith the striking employees ortaking them back.

Rao also directed officialsto restore bus services andifneed be, recruit employees,utilise the services ofretiredRTC and Policedepartment drivers.

The government, he said,would not recognise the "ille-gal and unlawful" strike underany circumstances and therewas no question of having anytalks with those on strike.

"The striking employeeswill not be taken back, comewhat may", an official releasequoted him as having said.

Rao, who chaired a reviewmeeting on the situation onSaturday, directed officials topay salaries for the month ofSeptember to those who werenot participating in thestrike.

Audio clip on complaint against...Continued From Page 1

Are we not facing troubles?Whether the government usesthe school children buses?The Chief Minister has to dis-cuss with them to solve theirproblem? Why such arro-gance? Chief Minister of theState means he is like a fatherto the people. Father has toteach a lesson to the children.It is not correct on the part ofChief Minister to say that 'ifyou want to go…go….we willremove'. Chief Minister isgetting ready for fight. Is it away to the Chief Minister?Chief Minister has to convincethe RTC employees in pres-ence of State governmentemployees. Will RTC employees don'tget anger if Chief Ministersays that he will remove

50,000 employees? ChiefMinister is not giving value tothe RTC employees. The RTCemployees will come a stepdown if Chief Minister givesvalue to them. We are gettingirritation while seeing thebehavior of Chief Minister.Take this as complaint and tell.We are suffering between RTCemployees and Chief Minister.RTC is for us and ChiefMinister is for us. We the peo-ple are facing lose if theyfight each other.

One thing is the ChiefMinister's arrogance to bedecreased against employees orpeople. Chief Minister alsoscolds the people, saying thatthey are becoming groups hereand there. Chief Ministerscolds people and workers.Whose sake his rule? Whosesake we achieved Telangana

state? Telangana achieved withwaging movements, but nowthe government is suppressingthe movements in the sameTelangana.

Is it correct? WasTelangana possible if Andhrarulers suppressed the move-ments in this manner? WhereKCR would have become asChief Minister? KCR has toremember all these thingsand he has to look after thepeople and workers as hisown children. Chief Ministerhas to (back) down as afather, who downs for hischildren and sacrifices, for hischildren. Not to say 'I will notlisten… I will not do' becauseit is democracy. Bring thisissue to the notice of ChiefMinister."

The receiver said that he willsend the complaint.

n Employees’ strike taking serious turn, akin to Telangana movement intensifying after self-immolation of Srikantha Chary

OU students stage Vanta-Varpu programme in the city on Sunday

RTC employees sit on a dharna in the city on Sunday

HYDERABAD | MONDAY | OCTOBER 14, 2019 nation 05SHORT READS

Farmer hangs selfwearing BJP poll T-shirt in BuldhanaBULDHANA: In an incident thatis likely to embarrass theDevendra Fadnavisgovernment, a farmer allegedlycommitted suicide on Sundaymorning in Maharashtra'sBuldhana district while wearinga BJP promotional T-shirt.Incidentally, Fadnavis is in theeast Maharashtra city where heis scheduled to address threerallies during the day for theOctober 21 Assembly polls.Police said 38-year-old farmer,Raju Talware, was foundhanging at around 11 am at hisresidence in Khatkhed inShegaon taluka, part of Jalgaon(Jamod) Assembly seat."He was wearing a BJP T-shirtwith the caption 'punha aaluyaaaple sarkar' (let's bring ourgovernment to power again),"said an official. Maharashtralabour minister Sanjay Kutte isthe BJP candidate and sittingMLA from Jalgaon (Jamod)Assembly seat.

Our schemes are forpeople's welfare, saysUP CM Adityanath

Four arrested forprinting, circulatingfake currencyCOIMBATORE: A fake currency-printing unit was busted hereon Sunday and four peoplehave been arrested, police said.Currencies with a face value Rs14 lakh in differentdenominations were seized, thepolice said. The printers fellinto the dragnet when someshopkeepers caught twopersons trying to circulate thefake currencies late Saturdayevening and handed them overto the police. On interrogation,the duo, one of whom is takingup coaching for IASexamination, is said to haveconfessed to circulating thefake notes for the last onemonth, police said. Based onthe information, police caughtDhanraj, the kingpin of the unit,in the early hours of Sundayand learned that he wasprinting the notes in a rentedhouse and circulating themwith the help of three people.Another person was also heldin connection with the racket.

AURANGABAD: Initiatives ofBJP-Shiv Sena government inMaharashtra are about people'swelfare while those of previousgovernments were aboutgrabbing public money for thebenefit of a few, Uttar PradeshChief Minister Yogi Adityanathsaid at a poll rally inMaharashtra's Hingoli districton Sunday. MaharashtraAssembly polls are slated forOctober 21 and results will beannounced on October 24."Funds allocated for schemesand farmers were grabbed.Deals were cut while providingjobs. Development was limitedto development of a family,"Adityanath said attacking theopposition. Speaking on therevocation of provisions ofArticle 370 in Jammu andKashmir, he said the move byPrime Minister Narendra Modiwas a tribute to icons likeBabasaheb Ambedkar andChhatrapati Shivaji who foughtfor justice.

PNS n NEW DELHI

Delhi BJP president ManojTiwari on Sunday held illegalimmigrants responsible for 80per cent crimes in the nation-al capital, referring to the inci-dent of chain snatching withPrime Minister NarendraModi's niece in the city.

Tiwari said his demand fornational register for citizens(NRC) exercise in Delhi is foridentifying and evicting suchillegal immigrants involved incrimes. "As many as 80 per centcrimes involve illegal immi-grants in Delhi. That's why Ihave been demanding NRC butwhenever I do so, ArvindKejriwal rises as their shield," hesaid. Recently, Delhi ChiefMinister Arvind Kejriwal on aquestion about NRC imple-mentation in Delhi said Tiwariwill be the first to be evicted ifthe exercise is started in the city.

Tiwari said the responsibili-ty of law and order and crimecontrol lied with the DelhiPolice and he was not trying toprotect it by naming the illegalimmigrants.

"But it needs to be workedout how is the Delhi Policegoing to control crime in Delhiwhen a large number of illegalimmigrants are living in dif-ferent parts of the city," he said.

Damayanti Ben Modi,daughter of the prime minister'sbrother Prahlad Modi, becamea victim of snatching in thenational capital with her pursecontaining cash of Rs 50,000and two mobile phoneswrenched from her grasp bytwo persons when she wasalighting from an auto-rick-shaw on Saturday. The incidentoccurred a few kilometres awayfrom the residence ofLieutenant Governor AnilBaijal and Chief MinisterKejriwal. Two persons on ascooter snatched the woman'spurse containing Rs 50,000, twomobile phones, some docu-ments and other valuablesaround 7 am when she gotdown at the Gujrati SamajBhawan in North Delhi's CivilLines area, a senior police offi-cer said.

Rising above religious lines: A Nirgun morning at folk festMANISH SAIN n JODHPUR

A nip in the air, calmness in theatmosphere and the right notesof soulful folk music playing inthe backdrop, a dawn concerthere at the ongoing 12th editionof Rajasthan International FolkFestival (RIFF) music festivalwas the stuff that dreams aremade of.

In Jaswant Thada, the royalcenotaph that offered an impres-sive view of the rising sun,music blended with spiritualmessage filled the the air aswords of folk singers likeMahesha Ram, Baghe Khanand Gemra Ram rose above thebounds of religion and sere-naded not the gods, but the ideathat is "Nirgun Bhakti".

"Nirgun doesn't have a body,or a soul. There is no beginningto it as there is no end. It goesabove and beyond religion,caste, and community," BagheKhan, the famous Manganiyar

singer said. "Nirgun or nirakaris something that doesn't havea form, or colour. It isn't born,it doesn't die. It doesn't have any-thing to do with anyone, itdoesn't believe in a religion, oreven a family," he added.

Nirgun bhakti, propagatedby Indian mystic poet and saintKabir, the idea of a formless andbenign divinity, a friend figure.

Like many other practitioners ofspiritualism, Kabir too believedin the "formlessness" of God,which is reflected in his poetry.

The artistes while playingtraditional instruments like tam-bura, kamaicha, manjira, anddholak, gave emotive renditionof many Nirgun bhajans like"Joban dhan pavna, do hi dinchaar" or "Papi mohe raj karan-

ta dekhya", which talked aboutthe futility of taking pride inyouth, and how even evil rulerseventually have to deal with thefate of time, respectively.

Talking about the relevance ofsongs written by 15th-centurypoet Kabir and other Bhaktimovement proponents, GemraRam, a folk artist from theMeghwal community, said thegrowing "hatred towards eachother" is the reason why we needthese songs today more thanever. "These days people takeoffense over so many things, reli-gion or what not. They hate eachother for their opinions. The one

who follows Nirgun does notfeel anger, does not feel hatredfor others. Since he doesn'tbelieve in such divides, nothingof it affects him," the 60-year-oldvocalist said.

Though agreeing with hisco-artiste in describing Nirgunas someone who is above every-one else, folk singer MaheshaRam said the importance ofguru stands true in this belief tooand is not forgotten one bit.

"We have songs that are sungto welcome the guru, or toalarm others that the guru hasarrived, bhajans about what hehas brought for everyone and

what he'll take from us," he said.Having sung these bhajans for alarger part of their lives -- 48years for Gemra Ram alone —many of the artistes, though hes-itantly, did admit that the pop-ularity of traditional folk songsis on decline.

But then nothing of that dis-heartens a pragmatist like BagheKhan.

"Everything that has comeinto this world will cease to existone day. Same goes with thesesongs too, that were written hun-dreds of years ago. That's howlife goes on," Khan, also a folksinger, said.

The five-day annual event,kick-started on October 10, willsee a total of over 250 artistes thisyear, not just from the desertstate but all over the countrytogether with internationalartistes from Poland, Hungary,Armenia, Cuba, Ireland,Switzerland, Reunion Island,Israel and Mali.

PNS n KOLKATA,

The BJP leadership in WestBengal will be taking outrallies across the state fromOctober 15 to 26, as part ofthe party 's nationwide'Gandhi Sankalp Yatra' ini-tiative to propagate the idealsof the Father of the Nation.

Addressing a press meethere on Sunday, BJP state unitchief Dilip Ghosh said partyMPs, MLAs and panchayatpradhans will take part in therallies, each of which will bepreceded by a tableau pro-jecting Mahatma Gandhi'scontributions.

"The yatra was launched onOctober 2 elsewhere in thecountry, on the occasion ofGandhij i ' s 150th bir thanniversary. Here, we had topostpone the date in view ofthe ongoing festive season,"he said. In all, the rallies willcover a distance of 6,500 kmin the state over a period of10 days," Ghosh stated,adding the administrationwould be informed about theyatra and its course inadvance.

Asked if the party was

anticipating any restriction bythe state administration,Ghosh said, "This yatra isbeing taken out by the BJP topreach Gandhi's ideals ofnon-violence and cleanlinessto the present generation."

"I think the ruling dispen-sation will not be opposed tothe initiative. However, ifthere is any such develop-ment we will act according-ly," the BJP MP fromMidnapore said.

The state government hadlast year slammed brakes onthe saffron party's rath yatra,citing possible breakdown in

law and order. The upcomingyatra, Ghosh maintained, willboost the prime minister's'Swachh Bharat Mission'.

To a question if it will alsoraise the issue of allegedkillings of BJP party workersin Bengal, Ghosh said, "Weare taking out separate ralliesto protest the murder ofdemocracy in the state."

"Only yesterday (Saturday),we organized a sit-in in thecity against the spirallingpolitical violence and thetriple murder inMurshidabad's Jiaganj," theBJP state unit chief added.

PNS n BENGALURU

Senior Congress leaderSiddaramaiah on Sunday hit outat Prime Minister NarendraModi, alleging he had time tocampaign for US PresidentDonald Trump, seeking a sec-ond term in the general elec-tions there in 2020, but not tovisit flood-ravaged Karnataka.

Terming the BJP as "fascist"and "dictatorial," the formerChief Minister accused the stategovernment of 'colluding' withthe Assembly Speaker inrestricting the media from cov-ering the proceedings of theHouse.

"This time it was unprece-dented floods in the state alongwith drought in some parts..central government gave aidonly after 60 days that too Rs1,200 crore.. according to medamage suffered is more thanRs 1 lakh crore," Siddaramaiahsaid.

Speaking to reporters inChikkamagaluru, he said, "Modidid not visit Karnataka, heinstead was touring foreigncountries and had gone to cam-paign for US President DonaldTrump."

".. Narendra Modi tweets assoon as there were floods inBihar, expressing sympathy.

In Karnataka when therewere about 90 deaths and fourto five people are still missingdue to floods, he did not express

sympathy," he added.As many as 2,798 villages in

103 taluks of 22 districts in thestate were affected by floods, inwhich around seven lakh peo-ple were shifted to safe areas.

About 3400 cattles and 91people died during rains andfloods in August.

Further attacking the PrimeMinister, Siddaramaiah said,"Narendra Modi claims to havea 56-inch chest.. what is the useof having a big chest without amotherly heart inside it?

Having a heart that cares for

poor, farmers is very important."Questioning the use of

Karnataka sending 25 BJP MPs,who according to him have"failed" in getting proper reliefto the state, he sought to knowhow people who protestedagainst the Udupi ChikmagalurMP Shobha Karandlaje, electedher once again.

"Has she visited the floodaffected regions of her con-stituency?" he asked.

Amid criticism over the delayin sanctioning funds, the Centrehad recently released Rs 1,200crore as interim relief to thestate, which had sent a damageestimate of Rs 35,160.81 crore.

Siddaramaiah also allegedthat Speaker and the state gov-ernment colluded in restrictingcamerapersons, both electron-ic and print media, from cov-ering the proceedings of theassembly session.

"This means that BJP doesnot believe in parliamentarydemocracy, basically they arefascist and believe in dictator-ship, the same thing Hitler alsoused to do..," he added.

Modi has time to ‘campaign’ forUS Prez but not for flood-hit

Nirgun bhakti, propagated by Indian mysticpoet and saint Kabir, the idea of a formlessand benign divinity, a friend figure. Like manyother practitioners of spiritualism, Kabir toobelieved in the "formlessness" of God, whichis reflected in his poetry

Siddaramiah

This time it was unprecedented floods in the statealong with drought in some parts.. centralgovernment gave aid only after 60 days that too Rs

1,200 crore.. according to me damage suffered is more thanRs 1 lakh crore

— SIDDARAMIAH, Senior CCongress lleader

PNS n LATUR

Congress leader RahulGandhi on Sunday accusedPrime Minister NarendraModi, Union Home MinisterAmit Shah and the media ofdistracting people's attentionfrom core issues.

Addressing an election rallyat Ausa in Maharashtra'sLatur district for the upcom-ing state polls, Gandhi saidwhen the youth ask for jobs,the government tells them towatch the moon, in an appar-ent reference to ISRO's recent

lunar mission, Chandrayaan-2. He also sought to know ifModi, during his recent meet-

ing with Chinese President XiJinping, asked the latter aboutthe 2017 Doklam standoff.

He was referring to thealleged incursion of Chinesetroops into the Indian terri-tory in 2017.

Gandhi also alleged that Rs5.5 lakh crore debt of "15 richpeople" was waived off by theModi government.

"The work of media, Modiand Shah is to distract peo-ple's attention from coreissues. The media is silent onfarmers' distress, lack of jobs.The media is mum on loan

waiver to rich as it is ownedby them," he alleged.

He said the objective ofdemonetisation, and imple-mentation of the Goods andServices Tax (GST) was totake money from pockets ofthe poor and give it to therich.

"When the youth ask forjobs, the government tellsthem to watch the moon.The government speaks about(abrogation of) Article 370and moon, but is silent onproblems plaguing the coun-try," Gandhi said.

Modi, media distracting attention from core issues

PNS n RATIA (HARYANA)

In a veiled attack on the rulingBJP in Haryana, SAD chief on Sunday said those who areexpecting to form the nextgovernment in the state will sitin the opposition.

"The situation is changingtoo fast in Haryana. Thosewho are thinking of forminggovernment will sit in opposi-tion," Badal told reporters whilecampaigning for SAD candi-date Kulwinder Singh Kunalfrom Ratia seat in Fatehabaddistrict. Asked about BJP's pollmanifesto released inChandigarh, he said, "When (aBJP) government is not goingto be formed then what com-ments should I make."

The BJP has set a target of 75plus seats in the state electionto be held on October 21.

There's unease between theSAD and the BJP in Haryanaafter the Akali Dal accused thesaffron party of backtracking onits commitment to contestHaryana Assembly polls togeth-er. Later, it announced analliance with the IndianNational Lok Dal on threeassembly seats.

Last month, Badal had takena strong exception to the induc-tion of Akali MLA BalkaurSingh into BJP and had

described it as "unethical."The SAD has an alliance with

the BJP in Punjab. EarlierSunday, addressing a publicmeeting in Dariapur, the SADchief said it was a "misconcep-tion" that there was a pro-BJPwave in Haryana. There is amisconception that there is awave in favour of BJP today. It(BJP) will not win a single seatin Sirsa and Fatehabad, Badalclaimed.

PNS n BALLIA

If the NRC is implementedacross India, it will have lethalconsequences and the country'satmosphere will become likethat of Kashmir, the CPI(ML)Liberation has said.

The Left party has alsoalleged that the poor and Dalitsare being targeted through theNational Register of Citizens(NRC).

Speaking to reporters here on

Saturday, CommunistParty of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberationgeneral secretaryD i p a n k a rBhattacharya said, "Ifthe NRC is imple-mented across India, itwill have lethal conse-quences and the atmos-phere of the country willbecome like that of Kashmir."

Terming the BJP-led Centre"anti-public", he alleged that it

was following thefootsteps of

German dictatorAdolf Hitlerand aiming toimplement theNRC in the

country to serveits political inter-

est."This is a ploy to divide

the country. Through the NRC,the poor and Dalits are beingtargeted," Bhattacharya said.

NRC across India will have lethalconsequences: CPI(ML)

‘Those thinking offorming govt in Haryanawill be in Oppn’

The situation ischanging too fast inHaryana. Those who

are thinking of forminggovernment will sit inopposition

— SUKHBIR SINGH BADALSAD chief

PNS n BHOPAL

The RSS-affiliated BharatiyaKisan Sangh will hold a protestin Madhya Pradesh capitalBhopal on Tuesday as itaccused the Kamal Nath gov-ernment of ignoring farmerswho suffered crop and prop-erty damage during heavyrains this season, a func-tionary said on Sunday.

Madhya Pradesh had one ofthe most robust monsoons thisyear with rainfall being 30 percent in excess of the annualaverage. "Kharif (July-Octobersowing season) crops weredestroyed due to heavy rains.We submitted memorandumsto the administration demand-ing compensation but the stategovernment has done nothingin the past two months," BKSstate chief Rambharose

Basotiya and secretary MaheshChoudhary told reportershere. "We will organise a one-day dharna on Tuesday. Wewant the government to giverelief to rain-affected farmersand waive off loans of Rs 2lakh as announced earlier,"Choudhary said.

The BKS leaders claimedfarmers had become loandefaulters with banks as theystopped repayment after thestate government announcedthe waiver.

RSS' outfit to protestfor rain-hit farmers

‘Man with ‘56-inch chest' didwhat previous PMs couldn't’PNS n NEW DELHI

Union Home Minister AmitShahon Sunday heaped praiseon Prime Minister NarendraModi for abrogating Article370, saying the previous gov-ernments never had the courageshown by the "man with 56-inchchest" in integrating Jammuand Kashmir with India's main-stream. Addressing an electionrally in Maharashtra's Kolhapurdistrict, he said people shouldask Congress and NCP leaders,when they come to seek votes,whether they support the NDAgovernment's decision to abro-gate the provisions that gave spe-cial status to Jammu andKashmir.

He targeted Congress leaderRahul Gandhi and NCP chiefSharad Pawar for questioningthe government's move to abro-gate Article 370.

"After people of the countryand Maharashtra voted him forthe second term, Modiji didsomething for which the entirecountry was waiting for 70

years...he abrogated Article 370on August 5 and joined Jammuand Kashmir with the country'smainstream," Shah said.

Shah said since the days of JanSangh, they have been hearingthat there cannot be two primeministers, there cannot be twosymbols and two constitutions,but "it was the Congress which,by imposing Article 370,stopped the process of integrat-ing Jammu and Kashmir with

India for several years"."As a result, thousands of our

people lost their lives due to ter-rorism, but still there was nointention of any party to removeArticle 370," he said.

"Several governments cameand went, several prime minis-ters came and went, no one hadthe courage to abrogate Article370. But, the man with the 56-inch chest scrapped it in one go,"Shah said.

He said during the UPA rule,terrorists from Pakistan used toinfiltrate and kill Indian soldiers.

"They used to decapitate oursoldiers, but the then primeminister 'Mouni baba'Manmohan Singh never used toutter a single word. But after theUri and Pulwama attacks,Modiji showed the courage ofkilling terrorists in their denthrough surgical strike and airstrikes," he said. He further hitout at the opposition over thegovernment's decision to banthe practice of triple talaq.

After people of thecountry andMaharashtra voted

him for the second term, Modijidid something for which theentire country was waiting for70 years...he abrogated Article370 on August 5 and joinedJammu and Kashmir with thecountry's mainstream

— SURESH, founder of Bamboo

Illegal immigrantsresponsible for 80%crimes in Delhi: Manoj

Bengal BJP to take out 10-dayGandhi Sankalp Yatra

HYDERABAD | MONDAY | OCTOBER 14, 2019 nation 06SHORT READS

PM Modi pens poemon his ‘conversation'with ocean atMamallapuramNEW DELHI: The early morningstroll on the Mamallapurambeach brought out the poet inPrime Minister Narendra Modi.Modi said while strolling on thebeach, he got lost in"conversation" with the ocean."This conversationcarries theworld of myfeelings. Iam sharingthe feelingwith you inthe form of apoem," he wrote on Twitter inHindi on Sunday.Modi on Saturday had releaseda three-minute video of his plogon the beach where he wasseen collecting waste andurged the people to ensure thatpublic places are clean and tidy.In the eight-paragraph signedpoem, Modi describes theocean's relationship with thesun, the waves, and its pain.His collection of poems titled "AJourney" is already available.

84-year-old womankilled by son overproperty in KeralaKOLLAM: An 84-year-oldwoman reported missing sincelast month has allegedly beenkilled by her son after sherefused to part with herproperty, and her body buriedwithin the premises of theirhouse near here, police said.Sunil(50) was arrested onSunday following investigationsinto a complaint lodged by hissister that their mother hadgone missing since September3. Police said the man used tobeat up his mother insisting thatshe transfer her property to him.The incident occurred atChempumukku and police areon the look out for Sunil'saccomplice, who is absconding,in connection with the killing.

Blackbuck skinrecovered, eight heldJAMNAGAR: The forestdepartment has recovered the skinof a blackbuck from Jamnagartown in Gujarat and arrested eightpersons in this connection, anofficial said on Sunday.Theblackbuck hide was recovered fromtwo men on October 10 when theywere trying to sell it, the officialsaid. "Acting on a tip-off, officials ofthe Jamnagar forest department onThursday held two persons tryingto find customers for the blackbuckskin, used for black magic," headded. During their interrogation,the duo named six others, whowere also arrested under relevantsections of the Wildlife (Protection)Act, the official said.

Minor among threekilled in bus-vancollision in UP's EtahEATH: Three persons died andseven others suffered seriousinjuries on Sunday when a UttarPradesh Roadways bus collidedwith a van on GT Road inMalawan here, police said.The accident took placebetween Mahua Khera andPatharua villages underMalawan Police Station limits,they said.A 10-year-old waskilled and the other twodeceased are being identified,according to police.The injuredhave been admitted to thedistrict hospital and the bodieswere sent for post-mortem,they said.

NORMAL LIFE CONTINUES TO BEHIT IN KASHMIR FOR 70th DAYPNS n SRINAGAR

Normal life remained hit inKashmir for the 70th consecu-tive day on Sunday since theabrogation of Article 370 of theConstitution as the main marketscontinued to be shut and publictransport stayed off the roads,even as the weekly flea markethere was open, officials said.

The weekly flea market,locally known as the "Sundaymarket", was open as severaldozen vendors put up stalls onthe TRC Chowk-Lal Chowkroad, they added.

The market witnessed ahuge rush of customers aspeople from different areas ofthe valley thronged it to buyclothes and other items inview of the approaching win-ter, the officials said.

The other markets and busi-ness establishments remainedshut across the valley, even as afew shops were open here in thecity till 10:30 am, they added.

Auto-rickshaws and a fewinter-district cabs were seen ply-ing here, but other modes ofpublic transport were off theroads, the officials said, addingthat the movement of private carswas less as compared to Saturday.

Mobile services remainedsuspended in Kashmir exceptin the Handwara and Kupwaraareas in the north since thenight of August 4. Internet ser-vices across all platforms alsocontinued to be snapped in thevalley, the officials said.

State government spokesper-son Rohit Kansal told a pressconference on Saturday thatpost-paid mobile phone ser-vices across all networks wouldbe restored in Kashmir onMonday noon.He also saidabout 99 per cent areas inJammu and Kashmir were freefrom restrictions on the move-ment of people.

On August 5, the Centreabrogated Article 370 of theConstitution, which gave aspecial status to Jammu andKashmir, and bifurcated thestate into Union territories.

Security beefed up inSrinagar after grenade attackPNS n SRINAGAR

Security was beefed up inseveral areas of Srinagar - thesummer capital of Jammuand Kashmir - on Sundayfollowing a grenade attack bysuspected militants in a citymarket that left seven peopleinjured, police said.

More security personnel,along with the flying squad,were deployed in Lal Chowk,Jehangir Chowk, Hari SinghHigh Street, Regal Chowk,TRC Chowk, Polo View andthe areas around the city cen-tre, a police official said.

He said random checkingof vehicles and frisking ofpeople was being done aspart of the security drill.

The deployment of moresecurity personnel was done inthe wake of a grenade attack inHari Singh High Street marketa few hundred metres from thecity centre - on Saturday inwhich seven people were

injured, the official said. Hesaid the authorities wanted togive a sense of security to thepeople and the vendors whohad set up stalls for the week-ly flea market on Sunday.

While the flea market usu-ally remains open only onSundays, several vendorshave continued with puttingtheir stalls along the TRCChowk-Polo View-Lal

Chowk road on daily basisfor the last few weeks.

State governmentspokesperson Rohit Kansal,in a presser on Sunday, urgedthe businessmen, industrial-ists, traders, transporters,shopkeepers, hoteliers andcontractors "not to be fright-ened by any threats by terror-ists and separatists" and goabout their normal activities.

NPP urgesPrez to upholddemocracyin J-KPNS n JAMMU

Accusing the BJP of weakeningthe democratic institutions inJammu and Kashmir, theNational Panthers Party (NPP)on Sunday sought the interven-tion of President Ram NathKovind to uphold "constitu-tional guarantees" in the state.

It also called for free and fairelections to the BlockDevelopment Councils (BDC),scheduled to be held onOctober 24, besides ensuringthat reasonable political space isgiven to all opposition parties.

"There is widespread feelingin J&K that the state is head-ing towards one party systemwith the ruling BJP denyingreasonable political space tothe opposition parties.Democracy in the state is ona ventilator desperately gasp-ing for breath," the NPP saidin a petition submitted by itschairman and former ministerHarsh Dev Singh to theRashtrapati Bhavan.

"Not only are the politicalparties scared of the dictator-ial regime but the people ingeneral are invariably reluctantto ventilate their feelings forfear of reprisals," the petitionsaid.

The NPP further claimedthat the state has been the vic-tim of the wicked politicking ofsuccessive regimes over thepast seven decades.

It also said that several deci-sions which are the prerogative ofan elected legislature have beentaken by the executive by defyingthe set protocols and precedents.

"The elections to legislativeAssembly continue to be post-poned so as to suit the politi-cal expediencies of the rulingparty at the centre.

PNS n JAMMU

The strategic Jammu-Srinagarnational highway reopenedfor traffic on Sunday afterremaining closed for the pasttwo days due to a massivelandslide in Ramban district,traffic department officialssaid.

Light motor vehicles(LMVs) were allowed to ply onthe highway from both Jammuand Srinagar around 9.30 amafter getting clearance fromthe agencies responsible for itsmaintenance, they said.

The 270-km highway, theonly all-weather road linkingKashmir with the rest of thecountry, was closed late onThursday following the land-slide, which was triggeredduring widening of the road atNihard -- two kms fromRamban towards Jammu.

Thousands of vehicles wereleft stranded on either side of thehighway due to the blockade.

No passenger vehicle fromJammu or Srinagar wasallowed on the highway onFriday and Saturday as thefocus was on clearing thestranded vehicles, mostlytrucks, the officials said.

Clearing the trucks tooktime due to continuous land-slides and shooting stonesfrom hills overlooking thehighway, they said.

"The road was cleared ofdebris by the concerned agen-

cies this morning, paving theway for the resumption of nor-mal passenger traffic," theofficials said, adding that traf-fic on the highway would beregulated in accordance withthe new schedule.

According to the new sched-ule, LMVs would ply on bothsides, from Jammu to Srinagarand vice-versa, during the day.

Heavy motor vehicles(HMVs) and load carriersfrom Zig (Qazigund) will plybetween 7 pm to 11 pm andfrom Jakheni (Udhampur)between 6 am and 11 am, theofficials said.

They said no HMVs will beallowed after the cut-off tim-ings. The traffic departmentheadquarters also advisedcommuters to avoid travellingon the highway during nighthours in view of the threat oflandslides.

"The public is advised toundertake journey on thehighway only after confirmingthe status of the road fromtraffic control units," the offi-cials said.

Thousands ofvehicles werestranded oneither side ofthe highway dueto the blockade

Jammu-Srinagarhighway reopens fortraffic after two days

Tent city ready for Guru Nanak’s 550th birth anniversary fetePNS n CHANDIGARH

A massive tent city spread over270 acres has been readied atSultanpur Lodhi in Punjab toprovide free accommodationsto thousands of devotees whoare expected to converge nextmonth for the 550th birthanniversary celebrations ofGuru Nanak Dev, the founderof Sikhism.

The tent city, which has acapacity of 35,000 people, willcomprise big and small dormi-tories, family tents, cubicaltents for two persons, VIPlounges, 'langar' (communitykitchen) area, power back upand CCTVs, besides other basicamenities, according to PankajSharma, the project manager .

Pilgrims from several partsof the country and abroad willbe visiting the city, where thefirst Sikh Guru spent 14 yearsand attained enlightenment.

Indore based companyGirdhari Lal and Sons, whichhad set up a tent city in Patnain Bihar on the occasion of

350th birth anniversary of GuruGobind Singh in 2017, is under-taking the project at SultanpurLodhi. "The 90 per cent workon the setting up of tent city iscomplete," said Sharma.

The tent city, which is divid-ed into three parts, will accom-modate 35,000 devotees,Sharma told PTI.

An online registration systemwill be put in place for alloca-tion of space starting fromNovember 1, he said. The tentcity will comprise 367 big dor-mitories (60 persons in eachdormitory), 600 small dormi-tories (for 15 persons in eachdormitory), 776 family tents(for four persons each) and 476

cubical tents (for two persons),he said adding that attached toi-lets will be provided with fam-ily and cubical tents.

A 'pandal' spread over 16,000square metre will be set upwhere VIP lounges will be set up.

Area has also been demarcat-ed for 'langar' (communitykitchen) in the tent city. Besides,

there will be cloak room, wait-ing lounge and 'Joda ghars'(place to keep shoes), he said.

"There is going to be hundredper cent power back up, ROwater supply for drinking pur-poses and 250 CCTVs will be setup," he said adding that firehydrants would also be arranged.

"Arrangements will be suchthat devotees face no problemduring their stay," said Sharma.District authorities are expect-ing that 15 to 20 lakh will visitthe city for the celebrations.

Congress MLA fromSultanpur Lodhi NavtejCheema said villagers withinseven to to eight kilometres ofthis area were also being

requested to accommodatepeople at their houses as therewas going to be a huge rush ofdevotees next month.

"Already we are witnessing aheavy inflow of devotees. Thatis why we are now makingarrangements for them at mar-riage palaces, colleges, hotels andwherever we could find place fortheir stay," said Cheema.

The Shiromani GurdwaraParbandhak Committee is alsomaking arrangements foraccommodating people at'sarais' (inns) and some schoolsbuildings. Arrangements for'langar' (community kitchen)will also be made by the SGPC,an official said.

Indore based company Girdhari Laland Sons, which had set up a tent cityin Patna in Bihar on the occasion of350th birth anniversary of GuruGobind Singh in 2017, is undertakingthe project at Sultanpur Lodhi

Tharoor slams Pak for raising Kashmir atAsian Parliamentary Assembly meetPNS n NEW DELHI

Senior Congress leader ShashiTharoor on Sunday slammedPakistan at the AsianParliamentary Assembly meet-ing in Belgrade after it citeddevelopments in Jammu andKashmir for its inability to hostthe group's plenary, and saidthe country was attempting topoliticise the forum by refer-ring to an internal matter ofIndia.

Tharoor, took the floor at theAsian Parliamentary Assemblyconvened on the sidelines ofthe Inter-Parliamentary Unionannual meet, to deplore a let-ter from the chairman of thePakistan Senate which blameddevelopments in Jammu andKashmir for the country'sinability to host the APA ple-nary scheduled for December2020, sources said.

Tharoor hit out at the chair-man of the Pakistan Senate,saying he has referred to aninternal matter of India to

"unnecessarily politicise theAPA assembly".

"Jammu and Kashmir is anintegral part of the IndianUnion. There is nothing in thesituation in Jammu andKashmir that in any way affectsthe living and working condi-tions in his country, let alonein Islamabad," the former min-ister of state for external affairssaid.

"India's internal matters donot spill over its borders and donot impinge upon our neigh-

bours," Tharoor said."In the circumstances, it is

unfortunate and strange that heexpects this august assembly toaccept such a far-fetchedexcuse for his inability orunwillingness to host the APAplenary in December in 2019,"the MP fromThiruvananthapuram said.

Pakistan has tried to raisethe Kashmir issue at severalmultilateral meets, but Indiahas thwarted its efforts.

A parliamentary delegation

from India had thwartedPakistan's attempt to raise theKashmir issue at a UNICEFevent in Sri Lanka last month,asserting that it was India'sinternal matter.

India had also scuttled anattempt by Pakistan to raise theKashmir issue during theSouth Asian Speakers' Summitin the Maldives, sayingIslamabad should put an end toall state support to terrorism,which is the "biggest threat" tohumanity.

The Indian parliamentarydelegation led by Lok Sabhaspeaker Om Birla is inBelgrade to attend the 141stassembly of the InterParliamentary Union (IPU) tobe held in Serbia from October13 to October 17.

The Indian Parliamentarydelegation comprises MPsfrom across the party lines,including Tharoor, KanimozhiKarunanidhi, Wansuk Syiem,Ram Kumar Verma and SasmitPatra, the secretariat said.

Punjab records 45%hike in farm firesPNS n NEW DELHI

The paddy harvesting seasonhas started in Punjab and thestate has already recorded a 45per cent increase in stubbleburning incidents till October11, but the administrationhopes the farm fire counts willcome down gradually as aresult of intensive interven-tions made this year.

The period betweenOctober 15 and November 15is considered critical as max-imum number of stubbleburning incidents take place inthis span in Punjab andadjoining states and is one ofthe main reasons for alarmingspike in pollution in Delhi-NCR.

On Sunday, Delhi ChiefMinister Arvind Kejriwal said,"All the gains achieved so faron pollution front will be nul-lified. Whereas, we need to doa lot in Delhi and we are try-ing, however all governmentsand all agencies need to workto stop crop burning also(sic)."

The National GreenTribunal had also directedconstitution of special cells inthe office of chief secretary ofDelhi and neighbouring statesto monitor on daily basis thismonth the problem of air pol-lution by burning of cropresidue.

According to data from thePunjab Pollution ControlBoard (PPCB), the state hadrecorded 435 incidents of stub-ble burning till October 11 lastyear. This year, the figure hasshot up to 630.

Amritsar alone has report-

ed 295 incidents of farm firesduring the period. Tarn Taranand Patiala have recorded 126and 57 cases, respectively.

Punjab AgricultureSecretary K S Pannu said thefires detected by satellites don'tgive a clear picture of the stub-ble burning incidents.

"Satellites data also includefires at cremation groundsand dump yards. The numberof farm fires in Punjab at pre-sent is almost negligible. Theoverall count this year will beless than last year," he assert-ed.

Pannu said that accordingto the Centre's data, stubbleburning incidents in Punjabfrom October 1 to 10 reducedfrom 1,714 in 2016 to 430 in2019.

The Punjab governmentgave 28,000 farm implements,such as happy seeder, superstraw management system,paddy straw chopper andmulcher, to farmers and coop-erative societies on subsidisedrates in 2018 and has sanc-tioned 23,000 more this year,he said.

12 arrested forpushing childporn throughsocial media

OFFICIAL SAY OVERALL COUNT WILL BE LESS THAN 2018

PNS n THIVANANTHAPURAM

Twelve people have beenarrested and cases registeredagainst 20 people in Keralafor propagating child pornog-raphy through social media,police said here on Sunday.

The action follows raidsconducted by the CounterChild Sexual ExploitationUnit of Kerala Police at 21places in the state.

The CCSE works in coor-dination with the INTER-POL- Crimes against ChildrenUnit and the InternationalCentre for Missing andExploited Children. The raidsstarted at 6 AM on October 12and ended at around 1 AM onSunday, a senior police officialtold PTI.

Laptops, mobile phonesmodems, hard disks, memo-ry cards, computers and otherelectronic equipment wereseized from those arrested,police said in a release.

Amritsar alonehas reported295 incidents offarm fires duringthe period. TarnTaran andPatiala haverecorded 126and 57 cases,respectively

Jammu and Kashmiris an integral part ofthe Indian Union.

There is nothing in thesituation in Jammu andKashmir that in any wayaffects the living and workingconditions in his country, letalone in Islamabad

—SHASHI THAROORSenior Congress leader

HYDERABAD | MONDAY | OCTOBER 14, 2019 world 07

TROTTINGTROTTINGGLOBE

9 KILLED, 10 INJURED INGAS EXPLOSION IN CHINABeijing: At least nine peoplewere killed and 10 others injuredon Sunday in a gas explosion ata street food restaurant ineastern China, official media herereported.

74 MIGRANTS RESCUEDOFF LIBYAN COASTRome: Humanitarian groups onSunday said they have rescued74 migrants on a rubber boat inthe Mediterranean Sea off thecoast of Libya while Tunisianauthorities reported blocking asmuggling boat carrying 110migrants from setting off forItaly. The groups said six childrenwere among those rescued.

Berlin: German ChancellorAngela Merkel on Sunday urgedTurkish President Recep TayyipErdogan to halt Turkey’s offen-sive in northern Syria immedi-ately, warning it could spark fur-ther destabilisation of the regionand a resurgence of the ISjihadist group.

In a phone call withErdogan, Merkel “spoke infavour for an immediate end tothe military operation”, thechancellor’s office said in astatement.

The operation threatens todrive large parts of the popula-tion from their homes, she said,noting that it would also risk“destabilisation of the regionand lead to a resurgence of theISIS”.

Germany and France onSaturday said they were sus-pending arms exports to Turkeyover its offensive in Syria againstthe Kurdish People’s ProtectionUnits (YPG).

Turkey sees the YPG as aterrorist off-shoot of Kurdishrebels in its own territory, butWestern powers used the Kurdsas the main ground force againstthe ISIS group in Syria. AFP

Germany urges Turkey to immediately end Syria offensive

Istanbul: President RecepTayyip Erdogan said Sundaythat threats of sanctions andarms embargoes by Westernpowers would not stop Turkey’smilitary offensive againstKurdish militants in Syria.

“After we launched ouroperation, we have facedthreats like economic sanc-tions and embargoes onweapons sales. Those whothink they can make Turkeyturn back with these threats aregravely mistaken,” Erdogansaid in a televised speech.

France and Germany saidSaturday that they were sus-pending arms exports toTurkey over its offensive inSyria against the KurdishPeople’s Protection Units(YPG).

Turkey sees the YPG as a

terrorist off-shoot of Kurdishrebels in its own territory, butWestern powers used theKurdish forces as the mainground force against theIslamic State group.

Erdogan said the Turkishmilitary and its Syrian proxiesnow controlled the bordertown of Ras al-Ain while TalAbyad was being besieged fromtwo directions. AFP

Arms embargoes won’tstop Turkey’s Syriaoperation: Erdogan

Qamishli (Syria): Turkishforces and their proxies pusheddeep into Syria on Sunday,moving closer to completingtheir assault’s initial phase, whileWashington announced it waspulling out 1,000 troops fromthe country’s north.

The Kurdish administrationin northern Syria said thatTurkish bombardment near acamp for the displaced led tonearly 800 relatives of IS mem-bers fleeing.

Fighting raged but Turkish-backed forces made significantprogress along the border on thefifth day of an offensive that hasprovoked an international out-cry and left dozens of civiliansand fighters dead.

Kurdish authorities and for-eign powers have warnedrepeatedly that the hostilitiescould undermine the fightagainst the Islamic State group(IS) and allow jihadists to breakout of captivity.

Fighting has engulfed thearea since Wednesday whenAnkara launched a long-threat-ened offensive against theKurdish-led Syrian DemocraticForces (SDF), who it considers“terrorists” linked to insurgentsinside Turkey.

US Defence Secretary MarkEsper said Sunday thatPresident Donald Trump hadordered the withdrawal of up to1,000 troops from northernSyria.

“I can’t give a timelinebecause it changes hourly. Wewant to make sure that we do soin a very safe, deliberate man-ner,” he told the CBS network.

Trump has been accused ofabandoning a loyal ally in thefight against IS after orderingAmerican troops to pull backfrom the border, which Ankaratook as a green light to move in.

The Syrian Observatory forHuman Rights war monitor

reported on Sunday that 19more civilians had been killedin fighting.

More than 50 civilians havenow died on the Syrian side,with Turkish reports putting thenumber of civilians dead fromKurdish shelling inside Turkeyat 18.

The Observatory said pro-Ankara fighters “executed” atleast nine civilians on Saturdaynear the Syrian town of TalAbyad. The Kurds said a femaleKurdish party official and herdriver were among those killed.

Aid groups have warned ofanother humanitarian disasterin Syria’s eight-year-old war ifthe offensive is not halted.

The UN humanitarianagency OCHA said the exodussparked by the fighting hadgrown to 1,30,000 people and itwas preparing for that figure tomore than triple.

“We have moved into aplanning scenario where up to

4,00,000 people could be dis-placed within and across theaffected areas,” spokesman JensLaerke told AFP.

Some 12,000 IS fighters —Syrians, Iraqis as well as for-eigners from 54 countries — aredetained in Kurdish prisons,according to official Kurdishstatistics.

Displacement camps mean-while host some 12,000 for-eigners — 8,000 children and4,000 women.

“The brutal military assaultled by Turkey and its merce-naries is now taking place neara camp in Ain Issa, where thereare thousands (of people) fromfamilies of IS,” a Kurdish admin-istration statement said.

“Some were able to escapeafter bombardments that tar-geted” the camp.

It said the Ain Issa campwas “now without guards” and785 relatives of IS jihadists hadfled.

The SDF, a coalition ofKurdish and Arab fighters, wasthe main partner on the groundin the US-led campaign againstIS. According to theObservatory, at least 104 of itsfighters have been killed sincethe start of the Turkish offensive.

According to Turkishmedia, Ankara aims to take con-trol of a territory 120 kilometres(75 miles) long and 30 kilome-tres into Syria, up to the townsof Tal Abyad and Ras al-Ain.

Turkish forces and theirproxies captured Tal Abyad onFriday afternoon, which leftRas al-Ain, further east, as thelast major target in the offensive.

The fighting was intense inand around the town and theObservatory reported that aconvoy, which included jour-nalists and civilians, was hit byartillery.

Nine people were killed, fiveof them civilians, the monitor-ing organisation said.

Turkey announced it hadseized the key M4 highway,which looks like it might markthe southern limit of its advancein this initial phase of the inva-sion.It lies 30 to 35 kilometresdeep in Syrian territory.

SDF fighters have takenmounting losses against thevastly superior military fire-power of Turkey, which hasdefied mounting internationalprotests and the threat of USsanctions in pressing on with itsoffensive. AFP

Turkey and proxies advance deep into Syria

Turkish-backed Syrian opposition fighters advance in Tal Abyad, Syria on Sunday AP

Hundreds of protesters from the Kurdish community in Lebanon hold their party flags, one with a portrait of the jailed Kurdishguerrilla leader Abdullah Ocalan, as they chant slogans, during a demonstration against Turkey’s military operation innortheastern Syria, at Martyrs’ Square in downtown Beirut, Lebanon on Sunday AP

Washington: US PresidentDonald Trump on Saturdayreleased $50 million in stabil-isation assistance for Syria toprotect persecuted ethnic andreligious minorities andadvance human rights, theWhite House said.

This funding will provideemergency financial assistanceto Syrian human rightsdefenders, civil society organ-isations and reconciliationefforts directly supporting eth-

nic and religious minority vic-tims of the conflict, WhiteHouse Press SecretaryStephanie Grisham said.

It will also go towardsincreasing accountability,removal of explosive remnantsof war, community security,documenting human rightsabuses and internationalhumanitarian law violationsand support for survivors ofgender-based violence andtorture, she said. PTI

TRUMP RELEASES $50 MILLION INSTABILISATION ASSISTANCE FOR SYRIA

Washington: President DonaldTrump on Saturday stoodbehind personal attorney RudyGiuliani, one of his highest-pro-file and most vocal defenders,amid reports that federal pros-ecutors in the city Giuliani ledas mayor are eyeing him for pos-sible lobbying violations.

Behind the scenes, howev-er, many of Trump’s closestaides and advisers, inside andoutside the White House, quietlywish the president would cut tieswith Giuliani, whose leader-ship of New York after theSeptember 11, 2001, terroristattacks earned him worldwideadmiration and the moniker of“America’s mayor.” Giuliani wasa force in Trump’s defense dur-ing the lengthy Russia investi-gation by the special counsel.

Yet the effort to underminespecial counsel Robert Muellerled Giuliani to Ukraine, whichnow entangles the former federalprosecutor and mayor in legaljeopardy and is central to thedanger threatening the presi-dency he labored to protect.

The New York Timesreported Friday, citing a pair ofanonymous sources familiarwith the matter, that the inves-tigation is linked to Giuliani’sefforts to undermine MarieYovanovitch, formerly the USambassador to Ukraine.

The US attorney’s office inManhattan has declined to com-ment on the Times report.

Two Florida businessmenwith ties to Giuliani werecharged Thursday with federalcampaign finance violations.

Both played key roles in

Giuliani’s efforts to get Ukraineto launch a corruption investi-gation into Democratic presi-dential contender Joe Bidenand his son Hunter, who sat onthe board of a gas companythere. On Saturday, Trumpdeployed in Giuliani’s defensethe same two-word phrase —“Witch Hunt!” — he repeated-ly used to attack the legitimacyof the special counsel investiga-tion into Russian interference inthe 2016 presidential electionand now the House impeach-ment inquiry against him. “Sonow they are after the legendary‘crime buster’ and greatestMayor in the history of NYC,Rudy Giuliani,” Trump tweetedwhile on the way to his north-ern Virginia golf club.

“He may seem a little rougharound the edges sometimes, buthe is also a great guy and won-derful lawyer.” Later Saturday, hetold Jeanine Pirro during a tele-phone interview broadcast onher Fox News Channel programthat Giuliani continues as hislawyer.

“He’s a great gentleman. Hewas a great mayor, one of thegreatest, maybe the greatestmayor in the history of New

York,” the president said.“He was a fantastic prose-

cutor. I know nothing about himbeing under investigation ... Ican’t imagine it.”

“He’s a man that looks forcorruption and whatever hedoes I really believe he’s a total-ly, I mean, I know he’s an hon-orable man,” Trump added.

A whistleblower complaintabout Trump’s dealings withUkraine led Democratic HouseSpeaker Nancy Pelosi to open animpeachment inquiry into thepresident. Three House com-mittees taking depositions in theimpeachment probe heardFriday from Yovanovitch.

The former ambassador hassaid she was fired from her postin May after insisting thatGiuliani’s requests to Ukrainianofficials for investigations berelayed through official chan-nels, according to a formerdiplomat who has spoken withher. The former diplomat spokeon condition of anonymity todiscuss the private conversation.Trump seemed to try to createspace between himself andGiuliani on Friday whenreporters asked if Giuliani wasstill representing him.

“Well, I don’t know. I haven’tspoken to Rudy,” Trump said ashe left the White House for a tripto Louisiana, adding that the twospoke briefly on Thursday.

“He’s a very good attorney,and he has been my attorney.Yeah, sure.” Asked if he stillrepresented Trump, Giulianireplied to The AssociatedPress with a one-word textmessage: “Yes.” AP

Trump backs Giuliani, but someaides wish he would cut ties

Tokyo: Helicopters, boats andthousands of troops weredeployed across Japan to res-cue people stranded in flood-ed homes Sunday, as the deathtoll from a ferocious typhoonclimbed to as high as 33.

One woman fell to herdeath as she was being placedinside a rescue helicopter.

Typhoon Hagibis madelandfall south of Tokyo onSaturday evening and batteredcentral and northern Japanwith torrents of rain and pow-erful gusts of wind. The

typhoon was downgraded to atropical storm on Sunday.

Public broadcaster NHKsaid 14 rivers across the nationhad flooded, some spilling outin more than one spot.

The Tokyo FireDepartment said a woman inher 70s was accidentallydropped 40 meters (131 feet)to the ground while beingtransported into a rescue heli-copter in Iwaki city inFukushima prefecture, a north-ern area devastated by thetyphoon. AFP

London (United Kingdom):Prime Minister Boris Johnsonwas to brief his Ministers onSunday on progress in Britain’slast-ditch efforts to strike a newBrexit agreement with the EU.

Negotiators went behindclosed doors for intensive talksin Brussels after Johnson out-lined a new set of divorceterms to Irish Prime MinisterLeo Varadkar on Thursday.

But they have very littletime to left succeed.

EU leaders will meet inBrussels on Thursday andFriday for a summit held underthe pressures of the October 31Brexit deadline just two weeks

away.They would ideally like to

have a full proposal to vote onby then.

But the sides are trying toachieve in a few days what theyhad failed to in the more thanthree years since Britons firstvoted to leave the EuropeanUnion after nearly 50 years.

German ChancellorAngela Merkel will discuss theavailable options with FrenchPresident Emmanuel Macronlate Sunday and Johnson is tobrief his cabinet at lunchtime.

European officials said thebloc’s Brexit negotiator MichelBarnier will also brief EU

ambassadors on the state ofplay on Sunday evening.

The few details that haveleaked out suggest a compro-mise around the contentiousIrish border issue that keepsBritain’s Northern Ireland par-tially aligned with EU customsrules.

Whether such a fudge suitsboth Brussels and the moreardent Brexit backers in par-liament who must still approvea deal should become clearer inthe coming days.

Johnson rose to power inJuly on a promise not to extendBrexit for a third time — evenfor a few weeks. AFP

Typhoon leaves33 dead as Japancontinues rescue

Kathmandu: President XiJinping warned on Sunday thatanyone attempting to “split”China will be “crushed” as heheld wide-ranging talks withNepal’s top leadership here andthe two countries elevated theirbilateral ties to strategic part-nership and signed a slew ofagreements, including a plan tobuild a trans-Himalayan railwayline. During his meeting withNepalese counterpart BidyaDevi Bhandari on Saturday,President Xi announced a sup-port of 3.5 billion RMB equiv-alent to Nepalese Rs 56 billionto Nepal over the next two yearsto help the development pro-

grammes, officials said.Xi, the first Chinese presi-

dent to visit Nepal in 23 years,also pledged to upgrade theArniko Highway linkingKathmandu with Tatopani tran-sit point - which was shut downfollowing the devastating earth-quake of 2015 - and open morecustoms points facilitating con-nectivity. He said a feasibilitystudy of trans-Himalayan rail-way will soon start and Chinawill also support construction ofthe Kerung-Kathmandu tunnelroad. During his meeting withNepal Prime Minister KPSharma Oli on Sunday, Xi saidthat “anyone attempting to split

China will be crushed and anyexternal force backing suchattempts will be deemed by theChinese people as pipe-dream-ing,” China’s official Xinhuanews agency reported.

Xi’s comments came asBeijing is putting pressure onKathmandu to rein-in pro-

Dalai Lama Tibetans in Nepal.Nepal shares a long border

with Tibet and is home toaround 20,000 Tibetan exiles.Every year some 2,500 Tibetansillegally enter Nepal crossingTibetan border on their way toDharamshala to meet the 84-year-old Dalai Lama.

Beijing views the India-based Dalai Lama, the spiritu-al leader of the Tibetan people,as a separatist trying to split theHimalayan region from China.

Oli said Nepal firmly sup-ports China in safeguarding itssovereignty and territorialintegrity and stands firm inupholding the one-China poli-

cy. Nepal, added Oli, will neverallow any force to use its terri-tory for separatist activitiesagainst China, the Xinhuareport said. Xi stressed that hiscountry appreciates Nepal for itsfirm adherence to the one-China policy and its staunchsupport for China on issues con-cerning China’s core interests.

Calling Nepal and Chinatrue friends and partners, Olisaid the two countries havealways respected each other,supported each other and neverinterfered in the internal affairsof the other, adding that theirtraditional friendship isunbreakable. PTI

Hong Kong: Riot police clashed withanti-government protesters acrossHong Kong Sunday as maskedactivists vandalised businessesdeemed sympathetic to Beijing inanother weekend of chaos in thefinancial hub. Rallies erupted in mul-tiple neighbourhoods, with someprotesters blocking roads, sabotagingtrain tracks, and trashing pro-Chinabusinesses. Police said an officer wastaken to hospital after his neck wasslashed. Local television networks alsobroadcast footage of a man beatenbloody by protesters after they founda baton in his bag and suspected himof being an undercover officer.

Police have increasingly posed asprotesters, scoring some tactical suc-cesses and sparking widespread para-

noia among frontline demonstra-tors. During cat-and-mouse encoun-ters on Sunday officers made dozensof arrests, but there were fewer pro-testers than have taken to the streetsmore recently during the four-monthlong protest movement.

In Mongkok, a bustling shoppingdistrict on the Kowloon peninsula,officers burst from an unmarkedvan over a blockade of bamboo scaf-folding and quickly chased down mul-tiple protesters. Later, an AFP reporterin the neighbourhood saw protestersbeat a woman earlier accused ofhelping police clear barricades.

The woman was struck with fistsand umbrellas, and also had her facesmeared with mud.

Protesters have increasingly

turned on their ideological opponentsin recent weeks, while Beijing loyal-ists have attacked democracy activiststhroughout the summer.

Online forums used to organisethe largely leaderless movementadvertised Sunday as a “blossomeverywhere” day, encouraging activiststo gather in malls across the city.

Protests and clashes were report-ed in half a dozen neighbourhoods,with police saying they fired tear gasduring two incidents.

While the crowds were thinner,the flashmob tactics stretched policeresources and still brought chaos toparts of the city for a 19th consecutiveweekend. Throughout the day, policefound themselves berated and heck-led by bystanders as they made arrests,

highlighting how the force hasbecome loathed and pilloried bylarge parts of the population. “I’mfurious,” a female protester, whogave her surname as Chan, toldAFP. “I want the government to dis-band the entire police force.”

Hong Kong has been shaken byfour months of massive democra-cy protests which have seen increas-ingly violent clashes between hard-core demonstrators and police, aswell as regular transport disruptions.

The protests were sparked byopposition to a now-scrappedproposal to allow extraditions tomainland China, but have sincemorphed into a larger movementfor democracy and policeaccountability. AFP

Any attempt to split China will be ‘crushed’XI JINPING WARNS DURING MAIDEN VISIT TO NEPAL

Multiple arrests in HK as ‘flashmob’ protests hit pro-Bejing targets

Police chase a protester in Hong Kong on Sunday AP

Britain’s Johnson pushesfor last-ditch Brexit deal

It wasn’t surprising that the just-conclud-ed informal summit between PrimeMinister Narendra Modi and ChinesePresident Xi Jinping was high on opticsand low on concrete deliverables, which

is why it holds the potential to remarkablytransform the bilateral relationship betweenboth nations. Given the choice of the localein the picturesque, the ancient heritage andcoastal city of Mamallapuram, India’s histor-ical connect with China, together with theUNESCO recognition to the southern city,provided a fitting landscape for overwhelm-ing optics. On the other hand, the meetingwas expectedly low on deliverables, owing tothe fraught nature of bilateral issues like trade,border dispute and now China’s open supportto Pakistan on the internal reorganisation ofthe former State of Jammu & Kashmir — allof which require more than a quick-pacedinformal meeting to be resolved.

As such, the Mamallapuram summitbuilds on the tradition of informal engage-ments between the two countries after theWuhan summit in 2018 and can be seen asan overarching framework to furtherConfidence-Building Measures (CBMs). Theeased setting of such summits has the poten-tial to create grounds for discussions on issuesthat could otherwise irk the other nation. Thedecision to issue separate statements on thesummit defends its “informal” nature and,therefore, calls for both nations to not makeevery minute details of the meet public.

Even though the Ministry of ExternalAffairs (MEA), India, described the visit ofthe Chinese President as “highly productive”,doubts remain regarding countable deliver-ables specific to this visit. In his brief to themedia, Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale saidthat from the Wuhan summit in 2018 to theMamallapuram summit in 2019, India andChina have made “visible progress.” If onewere to deconstruct the ambiguous referenceto “progress”, the only visible stride appearsin the area of trade through a “mechanism”proposed by President Xi. Joint assurances tofighting terrorism and radicalism, which werepart of the discussion, have been referred toin the past, too, through forums such asBRICS and the Shanghai CooperationOrganisation (SCO). Therefore, they do notnecessarily qualify as “progress.”

India’s need for greater market accessfrom China and lowering its trade deficitfound traction in this summit mainly becausethe Middle Kingdom is already under pres-sure on the trade front, owing to its ongoingtrade dispute with the US. The Trumpadministration in no mood to step back. Assuch, granting larger market access to Indiacould be the prominent and possibly the onlycountable deliverable in the near term fromthis summit. Progress on issues such as Indiajoining the Regional ComprehensiveEconomic Partnership (RCEP), 5G technol-ogy involving Huawei and Kashmir, even ifdiscussed, is hard to imagine.

During the Wuhan summit, both nations

agreed to jointly cooperate onprojects in third countries.Although cooperation betweenthe two sides in Afghanistan hasshown potential, little progresshas been made. The lack of sub-stantial progress in Afghanistanfrom the last agreement musthave prevented any further dis-cussion on this issue.

Resolution of disputes andbig-ticket outcomes were notexpected in this summit as inmatters concerning bilateralissues of Indian concern, Chinais either at an advantageous posi-tion vis-a-vis India or has aclearly different position than us.In trade, too, numbers are high-ly favourable to China, leavingIndia to seek balance. On theissue of border dispute, Beijinghas little appetite for resolution,which was very much evident bythe progress made in the talksheld by the SpecialRepresentatives of both nations.

The lack of any joint com-munique also signals a con-scious projection of optics oversubstance. It is evident thatChina’s projected intentions inMamallapuram can be seen asdistinct from an otherwise differ-ent Chinese State behaviour.This was on display hours evenbefore the Modi-Xi meeting tookplace, especially apropos China’sstand and steps on the Kashmirissue. This strand in the Chinesebehaviour is also evident in the

nuanced dichotomy between itsstated positions and actions onground vis-a-vis India. Forinstance, there is a clear disjunc-ture in its projections at the bor-der — in subtle ways through cer-tain elements of the Chinese mil-itary — which is in variance withBeijing’s stated position. Thisallows China to either deny ordistance itself from the activitiesof such actors, with the State itselfhaving tacitly approved suchbehaviour.

While the Mamallapuramsummit gracefully displayedIndia’s cultural diplomacy gird-ed up by elements of Atithi DevoBhava (the guest is equivalent togod), it tacitly legitimised theacceptance of China’s flip-flop-ping positions on issues sensitiveto India, especially Kashmir.This is important both in the con-text of China’s recent steps andrhetoric on Kashmir as well asfrom the point of view of currentgeopolitics, where diplomacy, toa great extent, is also about sym-bolism, optics and messaging.China’s growing relations withPakistan are increasingly drag-ging India in bilateral dynamics.The summit could have beenused to send a subtle message toChina vis-a-vis the latter’s rela-tions with Pakistan.

As such, when dealing withChina, India should continue toassert the principles that it standsfor and unflinchingly project its

standard positions on issues thatare of global concern. To be sure,for China, Pakistan is a strategicleverage point, bound as they areby economics and not an iron-clad alliance. That China had tofinally relent on its move toblock the listing for MasoodAzhar as a terrorist at the UN,shows that the China-Pakistanrelationship has scope for tweakswhen there is enough interna-tional pressure and criticism.

The short history of China’srelations with Pakistan has shownthat when India puts its footdown on an issue, China is like-ly liberal in its relations withPakistan, to the disadvantage ofIslamabad. This is exactly howmost relations of dependencebetween affluent and manipula-tive major powers and develop-ing economies have shapedthemselves through history.

The pros and cons of suchrelationships get affected by theextent of separation betweenmajor powers’ affluence andtheir manipulative intentionsand the state of economic, polit-ical and military clout of thedependent State. China’s invest-ments in the China–PakistanEconomic Corridor (CPEC) andtheir consequences have blurredthe line that separates strategicintentions and economic goalsfor China in Pakistan. For the lat-ter, the state of its economy, whichlies in an uncertain zone —

between that of a LeastDeveloped Economy and a devel-oping economy — has made theterms of engagement with Chinamore unfavourable for itself.

Despite informal summitslike Mamallapuram, both Indiaand China will have to live withcertain realities, which are seem-ingly irrevocable, even thoughthey breed mistrust. Just as India’sdecision to internally reorganisethe former State of Jammu &Kashmir has become China’sconcern but cannot be rescind-ed, so have China’s investmentsin the CPEC for India, parts ofwhich pass through the Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) region.India’s relations with China willhave to factor in a continued ten-uous relationship on the onehand and sustained bilateraltrade on the other. These dynam-ics will continue to have substan-tive scope of scepticism fromeither side.

What has also come to thefore is the need for an uplift inIndia’s international diplomacywith regards to China. WhileBeijing has upped the ante againstus and has taken unprecedentedsteps, India remains painstaking-ly accommodating of such crit-icism. It is time India’s regionaland global aspirations and rolematch its pitch in internationaldiplomacy.

(The writer is Research Fellow,Indian Council of World Affairs)

Arelatively healthy adult human can keepup a pace of around a kilometre every10 minutes for half-an-hour. Those with

a degree of physical training can go faster andfor a longer duration. Yet, normal human beingstire out — the build-up of lactic acid in our mus-cles makes them ache and pain — but some,particularly long-distance runners, manage tofight this. A physically fit person, who can tra-verse 42.195 km of a marathon in around fourhours, would be considered very fit indeed.Athletes, particularly those primed for long-dis-

tance running, usually complete marathons in just over two hours. Even the bestlong-distance runners from East Africa clock that time, which is why what theKenyan runner Eliud Kipchoge has achieved in Vienna is the “four-minute mile”of our era — he ran the marathon in less than two hours. Sure, it was a racespecifically designed for him to break the record. Kipchoge had no competitorsto worry about and other runners in the field were there to ensure he kept hispace up. Even they melted away as the kilometres piled on but Kipchoge car-ried on and on, relentlessly, never seeming to run out of energy like a long-last-ing human battery. This superhuman achievement was cheered on by the crowdsin Vienna, who realised the magnitude of what was happening. This was indeedheartening to see. And thankfully, the organisers did not have plans for the eventto happen behind closed doors with the public and a worldwide audience giv-ing Kipchoge wings.

It was 75 years ago when Roger Bannister broke the four-minute barrier forrunning one mile. Kipchoge’s pace was only slightly slower than Bannister’s buthe maintained it over 26 times the distance and still managed to crack a smileand give interviews afterwards. Several physiological experts believed that twohours were an unbreakable mark and many had predicted that Kipchoge wouldnever achieve his vision. But through his willpower and sheer physical determi-nation, he did break the record. May be one day, someone will shatter his markof 1 hour 59 minutes and 40 seconds but until that day comes, all of humani-ty should celebrate this superhuman feat. One that will become as legendary asthe breaking of the “four-minute mile.” Kipchoge’s name will be rememberedmuch like Bannister’s is to this day.

There were optics aplenty, of sippingcoconut water, sightseeing tours of her-itage sites, lavish local dinner, culture

shows, long walks and an umbrella swampof Indian hospitality. But Chinese President XiJinping, a hard-boiled supreme leader of hisnation with aspirations to be the hegemonicanchor of an Asian century, is hardly expect-ed to find India incredible enough. However,he does realise its materiality in the Chinesedesign and its bridge value with the rest of theworld. Yes the informal summit in

Mamallapuram, as it did in Wuhan, did enable both him and Prime Minister NarendraModi to use their personal equation as a showpiece of neighbourhood under-standing and co-existence. It did help in simmering down tension, then over Doklamand now Kashmir, but this relationship hereon will be one based on realism ratherthan expectation, need-based practicality rather than high-sounding hyperbole.To that extent, there’s a new “connect” as Modi said and a “heart-to-heart” can-dour as Xi admitted. India cannot expect China to abandon Pakistan on its terms.Xi has to stand by his all-weather ally and cannot de-couple Kashmir to the extentthat its changed status and talk of reoccupying lost territories in Pakistan-occu-pied Kashmir (PoK) have left it worried about Shaksgam Valley, which Pakistanceded, and Aksai Chin. But now that India has the larger world opinion on Kashmiras its internal matter, including that of the US, China realises its strategic heft. Itfurther realises that pushing the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) mischievous-ly for border incursions won’t work anymore. Which is why Modi, too, confi-dently announced that there would be no further escalation of disputes. Indiahas now stared back at that threat to its territorial integrity and even resisted allattempts to be encircled by China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Not only that,by engaging with multi-lateral fora like the Quad and even Southeast Asian nationsbilaterally, India has subtly but determinedly challenged China’s diplomatic swayin the region. Besides, Xi had watched the “Howdy Modi” event in the US close-ly and wanted a counter-optics, if not a counterweight. Given its trade tusslewith the US, China also needs India’s absorptive market to keep its momentum.Besides, it is itself under international scanner on its rights issues with the UighurMuslims, Hong Kong and Tibet and does not want to face a counter-charge ofviolating UN resolutions, considering that the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor(CPEC) in Gilgit-Baltistan is in disputed territory, too. No wonder Xi kept awayfrom mentioning Kashmir. While China realises that Pakistan can only be Kashmir-centric, forcing it into embarrassing posturing, he has figured out larger issuesfor the bilateral arc. Without mentioning Pakistan, Modi and Xi did discuss com-batting terrorism and radicalisation. This is a small but forward-looking tweak.

Trade is the biggest takeaway despite China’s simultaneous breakthroughwith the US on the subject. The mutual deficit there is nearly $400 billion andPresident Donald Trump would want to appear tough in an election year. So Chinawould still need a big market like ours. Xi seems ready for sincere action to addressour trade deficit, which stands at $53.56 billion out of a two-way trade of $87billion. In its desperation to make India sign the mega free-trade pact, RegionalComprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), China has agreed to a high-level,trade-facilitator mechanism. From China, it will be led by the Vice Premier, HuChunhua, and from India it will be Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. At leastnow, there is a seriousness about a give-and-take rather than just a dump-your-goods formula. There will also be an attempt to fatten up the import basket fromIndia. Besides defence cooperation is what China is looking for as a lucrativeoption. Of course, New Delhi has to look into byproducts like a glut of Chinesegoods in an open market scenario, issues of security and spying if allowing Huaweiand so on. Much depends on the volume and nature of Indian goods and ser-vices that China allows in its home market. Still, there is a consensus on bothsides that confrontation between the two economies could only harm both. Also,by citing historical trade routes, both nations feel that they can together com-mand the world economy like they did in the past. What is good aboutMamallapuram is that there is an open acceptance of wrinkles in the silk thatModi gifted and also a solution offered in the form of “strategic communica-tion” which both sides want to continue. Of course, they must be implement-ed, too. Trust may not be easy to earn given the baggage of boundary issuesbut surely there is a new grammar of negotiation.

Draining public money

Sir — That the State Bank of India(SBI) has written off bad loansamounting to `76,600 crore is notso welcoming for the simple rea-son that a sizeable amount of tax-payers’ money has been pocket-ed by 220 defaulters. Likewise,there may be many other banks,which have their share of badloans to write off.

Political meddling in thelending policy is one of the maincauses of bad loans. How comebanks lend money without ade-quate collateral security? A star-tling revelation is that 980 bor-rowers have been listed by theReserve Bank of India, whosedebts of more than `100 croreeach have to be written off. Ofthese, 220 accounts — more thanone-fifth of the total number —belonged to the SBI.

Taxpayers would feel cheatedif the Government uses the taxcollected for loan waivers and badloan write-offs at a later date. TheGovernment should use the tax-payers’ money to create infrastructure and strengthennational security.

KV Seetharamaiah Hassan

Low-key affair

Sir — The atmosphere for theModi-Xi informal meet inMamallapuram was far fromideal. China’s support for Pakistanon the Kashmir issue has put a bigstrain on New Delhi-Beijing ties.The long shadow of Pakistancontinues to disrupt India-Chinaties. Despite going ahead with the

second informal summit,Pakistan will be the elephant inthe room.

China and Pakistan havebeen close strategic allies sinceindependence. Now, with theconstruction of theChina–Pakistan EconomicCorridor (CPEC), the centre-piece of Xi’s ambitious Belt andRoad Initiative, and China’s com-ments on Jammu & Kashmir, the

relationship has grown evenstronger.

Unlike in Wuhan where theModi-Xi meeting led to de-esca-lation in Doklam, this time noth-ing dramatic happened. At best,both Prime Minister Modi andChinese Premier Xi Jinpingremained focussed on improvingties in areas such as trade.

K S Jayatheertha Hassan

Respect the elderly

Sir — President Ram NathKovind was right when he saidthat elderly citizens symbolise ourlegacy. Speaking at an eventmarking the International Day ofOlder Persons, Kovind said thatonly by respecting senior citizenscan the younger generation andthe nation progress.

The President’s words providea valuable lesson. Whatever weare today is because of the love,care and sacrifices of our elders.It is, therefore, our duty to makesure that they are cared for.

It is unfortunate that nowa-days many old people have tofind a place in old age homesowing to the nuclear family sys-tem and the lack of time amongyoungsters, who are busy chas-ing greener pastures. Let the oldIndian tradition of respectingthe elderly not die out. Let usmake them feel that their con-tributions to the family, thesociety and the nation haveindeed been very useful.

M PradyuKannur

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

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op nionHYDERABAD | MONDAY | OCTOBER 14, 2019

08

Missing out on deliverables

VIVEK MISHRA

Despite informal summits like Mamallapuram, both India and China will have to livewith certain realities, which are seemingly irrevocable even though they breed mistrust

Both streaming and cinemacan happily co-exist. It’s ultimately what the viewerswant and what we know isthat they want both.

Actor—Ajay Devgn

Pakistan has an important roleto play in stabilising Afghanistan,engaging in robust counter-ter-rorism efforts and strengtheningthe global economy.

US Senator—Maggie Hassan

S O U N D B I T E

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

The Kashmir conundrum is far from over

This refers to the editorial, “Polls to what end?”(October 11). No doubt, our security forces havedone well to maintain peace post the abrogation

of Article 370 in Jammu & Kashmir but the clampdownin the Valley, the arrest of political leaders and grass-root workers and the alleged rights violations haveundermined the core values of Indian democracy. Themoot point is not that the detention of top leaders inKashmir discredits Indian democracy but that theAbdullahs and others of their ilk considered Jammu& Kashmir as their fiefdom with loyalty to India sub-ject to enjoying power.

However, for the restoration of normalcy, the Centreshould let political activism take wings and hold elec-tions to the Assembly. But winning locals round to backNew Delhi once again may now be difficult. Pakistan isall out to disturb India’s hold on the Valley. Entrustingthe task of restoration of tranquility to novices has itsown pros and cons. Under such circumstances, usher-

ing competitive politics is indeed imperative to restorepeace. Meanwhile, the common man can only pray thatgood sense prevails all around...hoping the Centre is onthe right track and the “change” will be tangible, pavingthe way for people’s rule.

J AkshobhyaMysuru

Send yyour ffeedback tto:letterstopioneer@gmail.com

Superhuman featIndia’s meaningful engagementwith China started with (former)Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi'svisit in 1988 and his dialoguewith then Chinese leader.

Congress spokesperson—Anand Sharma

Modi and Xi have settled down on a new grammar ofnegotiation despite trust issues over historical baggage

Kenya’s Kipchoge broke a marathon record by running 42.195 km in less than two hours. This is remarkable

Finding an old connect

If you say anything to an estab-lishment or a person, will theylike it? I cannot think of an establishment which, when criti-cised, feels happy about it.

Lyricist-writer—Javed Akhtar

China’s Himalayan ploy

SANDEEP SENT ME A LETTER AND I FORWARDED ITTO THE CONGRESS PRESIDENT. THERE IS NOTHING

PERSONAL. IT’S A POLITICAL CONVERSATION.—AICC IN-CHARGE

PC CHACKO

THIS IS A BETRAYAL OF FAITH. WE WERE AGHASTTO SEE THE LETTER BEING DISCUSSED. WE HADASKED HIM NOT TO PASS COMMENTS ON SHEILAJI.—DELHI CONGRESS LEADER KIRAN WALIA

POINTCOUNTERPOINT

Chinese President Xi Jinping’s two-day tripto Nepal, coming on the heels of the infor-mal summit with Prime Minister

Narendra Modi in India, reflects the priorityBeijing accords to the little Himalayan kingdom.The visit, which was closely watched by NewDelhi, too, was the first by a Chinese Presidentin 23 years since Jiang Zemin landed inKathmandu in 1996.

Nestled between India and China, Nepal isa strategically critical neighbour for the two bignations and in the last 60 years, New Delhi andBeijing have interacted with it differently.

Geographically, Nepal has worked as asafeguard for India from any aggression thatcould possibly come from the north. During thebrutal expedition launched by China in Tibet in1950, there were fears that Chinese aggressionmight reach Nepal, too. However, India assert-ed that any offensive against the Himalayanneighbour would be treated as an aggressionagainst it. With Tibet falling into Chineseclutches, Nepal had approached India for helpin training the Royal Nepal Army as well as forarms and ammunition. Though the two nationsdid not forge a formal defence relationship, aninformal security umbrella from India to Nepalwas agreed upon with the signing of the Treatyof Peace and Friendship in 1950.

Prior to the Tibet saga, the two century-longreign of the ruling Shah family was threatenedby the control of the Rana Prime Minister. Asa result, King Prithvi Narayan Shah had escapedto India and sought help. With India’s assistance,a new political order was established in theHimalayan country. Though India was at theforefront of re-establishing the Shah dynasty, ithad ensured respect for the sovereignty of Nepal,leading to the “special relationship” between thetwo nations.

On the other hand, China from day one ofits arrival in Tibet, has been attempting to gainpolitical and strategic clout in Nepal. WhilePrithvi Shah was wary of Chinese intentions, hissuccessor King Mahendra began to change thecourse of Nepal’s diplomatic ties and formalisedrelations with China in 1955. After the demiseof King Mahendra, his son Birendra, too, hadtried to alter Nepal’s equation with India.

Advised by China to review the Treaty ofPeace and Friendship with India, Birendra hadinvited global leaders to recognise Nepal as a“Zone of Peace” (ZoP). Despite it being endorsedby more than 50 countries, India had declinedto accept the ZoP citing the 1950 treaty becausean endorsement of the ZoP would have threat-ened India’s security, especially from the north.

Having battled for more than 15 years tobring India on board, Birendra had to shelve theplan. Again in 1988, China supplied arms toNepal in complete violation of India’s securityconcerns that had been accommodated in the1950 treaty. During this time India-Nepaldiplomatic ties touched a low and from 1955 to1990, Chinese leaders intensified efforts to mar-ginalise New Delhi’s “special relations” withKathmandu.

In the post-Cold War era, significant eco-nomic reforms were carried out in India and abroader regional economic integration alsotook place. After the South Asian Association

for Regional Cooperation (SAARC)was established in 1985, India reiter-ated its responsibilities towards theregion. This was reflected in the“Gujral Doctrine” based on the prin-ciples of unconditional cooperation toneighbours without expecting reciproc-ity. The doctrine considerably is one ofthe most significant milestones inIndia’s approach towards its neigh-bours, which is being continued by thepresent Government in its“Neighbourhood First Policy.” Thedeep India-Nepal relations have beenbased on close cultural, religious, peo-ple-to-people ties and respect fordemocratic values and non-aggressiontowards each other.

But over the last 30 years, politicaldevelopments in Nepal have beenmarred by instability in governance.The introduction of the first democra-tic system in Nepal in the 1990s hadopened the gateway for greater publicparticipation. However, Maoist insur-gency from 1994 to 2006 led thecountry into more profound politicalinstability. In 2008, Nepal emerged asa democratic country, marking a com-plete end of the monarchical systemand India was one of the few countriesto have played a crucial role in support-ing this transition.

However, a chain of events in thelast five years damaged India’s image inthe Himalayan kingdom. While Indiawas the first country to have providedhelp during the 2015 earthquake inNepal, it was in the same year that ablockade at the Indo-Nepal border hadaffected emergency supplies, leading toan anti-India movement on socialmedia like #GoBackIndia.

Kathmandu had also accused Indiaof causing delay in the implementation

of a new Constitution. As soon as thedraft of the Constitution was tabled inthe Constituent Assembly, peoplebelonging to Nepal’s southern belt, theMadhesis, had led a violent movementagainst the Government on grounds ofpoor representation and alleged humanrights violations. Fearing an exodus toBihar and Uttar Pradesh, due to theMadhesi movement, India had sent thethen Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar toraise India’s security concerns inKathmandu. However, this did not godown well with the people of Nepal.Ever since then, Kathmandu has beenattempting to shift from its “specialrelations” with India to “new relations”with China. The Belt and RoadInitiative (BRI) and joint militaryexercises between Chinese and theNepal Army are the latest examples ofthis shift.

Though the recent bonhomiebetween Nepal and China may seemminimal compared to India’s age-oldties, the message to the global commu-nity is not in our favour and New Delhineeds to be cautious in this regard. Onthe other hand, the Chinese approachin Nepal has been based on gainingstrategic depth by opening up its deeppockets and also subverting India’s rela-tions with Kathmandu. Clearly, theseacts by China are intended to ensureits strong position in Nepal, preciselyto keep a close vigil on South Asiancountries, including India.

To do so, it has exploited every lowphase in India-Nepal relations, includ-ing by supplying arms to Nepal in 1987and providing $1 million militaryassistance along with truckloads ofweapons to King Gyanendra in 2005for suppressing people’s demand tointroduce full democracy.

At present, amid global criticism ofits alleged neo-colonist $60 billion BRI,China is leaving no stone unturned toensure its success globally and in theregion. Other than India and Bhutan,every South Asian country has joinedthe BRI. In fact, India has made itamply clear that the China-PakistanEconomic Corridor (CPEC) is in com-plete violation of its sovereignty as itpasses through disputed areas withPakistan; hence, it cannot be part of anysuch initiatives.

In Nepal, the proposal to constructthe trans-Himalayan corridor, connect-ing Kathmandu with Tibet has been indiscussion for the last two years.However, considering the high terrainof the two countries, implementationof the project will be a litmus test forthe economy of Nepal.

The leadership in Nepal needs tocarefully look at the Chinese masterplan on its soil and consider the via-bility and mood of the people asChinese assistance is a debt-trap ratherthan being a grant-in-aid.

A key example of this strategy is theHambantota Port that was built withChinese assistance in Sri Lanka. Theport is now under Chinese control afterSri Lanka failed to pay off loans thatwere taken from Beijing for building it.

Xi’s recent visit to Nepal came at acritical hour to ensure the success of theBRI and its other strategic intereststhere. Hence, Nepal needs to put theaspirations and well-being of its peo-ple at the forefront instead of going byinterests of individuals and politicalparties. It also has a responsibility toensure regional balance and harmony.

(The writer is doctoral candidate,Centre for South Asian Studies,Jawaharlal Nehru University)

Though the bonhomie between Nepal and China may seem minimal compared toIndia’s age-old ties, the message to the global community is not in our favour

analysis 09F I R S T C O L U M N

Fight professionalfatigue

VINAYSHIL GAUTAM

There is a dire need to restore the passion andpurpose in jobs supporting strategy

formulation for the country

RISHI GUPTA

THE CHINESEAPPROACH IN

NEPAL HAS BEENBASED ON

GAININGSTRATEGIC DEPTH

BY OPENING UPITS DEEP

POCKETS ANDALSO

SUBVERTINGINDIA’S

RELATIONS WITHKATHMANDU.

CLEARLY, THESEACTS BY CHINA

ARE INTENDED TOENSURE ITS

STRONG POSITIONIN NEPAL,

PRECISELY TOKEEP A CLOSE

VIGIL ON SOUTHASIAN

COUNTRIES,INCLUDING INDIA

Methods of calculation of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP),developmental indicators and chartered accountancy are againin focus and suggestions on how to make them more reli-

able are few. Auditing itself often serves as a threat held out by thepowerful in running an organisation. It is often used to keep the recal-citrant at bay rather than creating new organisational or developmen-tal patterns. A discussion with policy analysts is in many ways enlight-ening on the differing psyche of finance and accounting experts. Inan era where the corporate world feels extremely stressed, char-tered accountancy breeds monotony. It is, therefore, understand-able that a lot of chartered accountants feel depleted. In a dualismof the order enumerated above, it’s very difficult to be a strategistwith a role in driving business or development forward.

There is a need to restore the passion and purpose in profes-sions supporting strategy formulation. How deep the tedium runscan be gauged by the fact that there is a three-day summit in SriLanka, starting today and ending on October 16, on the theme of“Finding your mojo: A journey of self-discovery.” This is meant forchartered accountants. Mojo is widely understood to indicate inter-nal magic that translates to external success. Nothing would movewithout mojo. On October 18, the Institute of Internal Auditors, Delhichapter, is holding a conference on strategic risk management andthe topic is: “Enhancing strategy selection through risk management.”The outcome will show the worth of the effort but the effort itselfis worth it. Passion is the biggest source of energy but like every-thing else, it has a price. Those who are not passionate about theirwork deeply resent the style of those who are. Those who are pas-sionate are often intolerant of the sluggishness of the routine approach-es. The catch 22 here, of course, is how does one save oneselffrom becoming a victim of professional sluggishness?

At the end of the day, much of strategy formulation is a politi-cal process. Those who reject the approach of the leader (if not thechief himself) will resent the idea of the head being carried through.The ability to conspire to prevent is often higher than the ability toplan for strategic optimisation.

The times also call for unorthodox methodologies. Audit as aprofession is known to work on algorithms to find the delicate bal-ance between creating breakthroughs and pulling formula. This isa complicated one. It is heartening to see that sometimes peopleget together to create a passion for attempting it, nevertheless. Thenumber of accountants and auditors is rising and so is the doubt,at times, in their ability to deliver.

It is obvious, that in the current context, financial analysts andchartered accountants are facing multiple challenges in performingtheir roles in and outside policy confabulations/board rooms. Theneed to update knowledge is universal and financial analysts andgatekeepers are no exception. At the end of the day, the individualoften feels left out in observing the mandate of the so-called direc-tives of the “institute.”

It is obvious that business prosperity cannot be made surro-gate to outdated principles. Similarly, reliability and conviction mustcontinue to call the shots. The possible direction of the financial ana-lysts and auditors is often far beyond the broadband of auditing prin-ciples. There are sectoral imperatives and nuances of functionality.Consider for example plantation management. The initiatives by topmanagement dealing with the agro business must build into it, onbehalf of the owners, considerations of climate. An assessment ofinternal and external productive environment — rooted in time test-ed principles of achieving of goals — has some strange touchstonesof success. In an era where goals themselves become variable, theenunciation of strategy becomes sticky. It does not just remain ascience but becomes an art. Business execution and administra-tion become the wheels on which strategy rolls and would impactoperations in marketing and finance.

This has to be leavened by competencies, which alone can for-mulate winning strategies. Among them, the prominent ones wouldinclude pattern recognition and isolation of exceptions using machinelearning. This would include all relevant patterns to be examined forroot cause; continuous elimination of root causes using continuousauditing; regular reporting of “unusual” transactions and in all thingskeeping the Chief Finance Officer (CFO) apprised of the developments.This is unlikely to happen unless preventive action, continuous mon-itoring, discipline and continuous forward planning are in sync. Notstrangely, all this gets ensconced in the calculation and rollout ofGDPs and strategy formulation at the national policy level. The impactof regional and national policy on specialised, sectoral performanceis immense. The price of misguidance can be huge and it oftenbecomes the cause of ill-founded doubts at the policy level.

(The writer is a well-known management consultant)

Many moons ago, when I wasa kid living with my parentsand grandparents in a

house in Karachi’s Bath Island area,we had a neighbour who everyonecalled “Kachra chacha” (Garbageuncle). Of course, no one called himthat to his face but I am sure heknew. This middle-aged man hadthis curious habit of scolding every-one he would come across about themanner in which they disposedtheir garbage. It was actually anadmirable trait but strangelyenough, in his own house, he wasnot practising what he preached.

I remember when my cousinsand I would visit his house to playwith his nephews, there would be lit-

ter strewn all over his garden andpiles of trash in the large round bal-cony which stood just above thegarage. I have no idea why this wasso but the memory of this gentlemancame to mind immediately afterwatching Prime Minister ImranKhan’s impassioned speech at theUnited Nations General Assembly(UNGA) on September 27. I mustadmit, I was impressed by the waythe Prime Minister addressed theissue of State repression being facedby Muslims living in Kashmir. ButI’m afraid, a lot else about the samespeech triggered that obscure mem-ory of “Kachra Chacha.”

It is rather easy to negate andcontradict much of what Khan saidin his speech and in the interviewshe gave to the media in the US. Hiscritics have already done that, ques-tioning the current state of repres-sion being faced by the Pakistanimedia and against Khan’s politicalopponents in the country.

They have also called him outfor doing precious little to addressthe harassment and violence that the

country’s various minority commu-nities continue to face at the handsof radicalised elements within thecountry’s majority religious commu-nity.

Therefore, his detractors believethat Khan’s pleas against hate speech,racial and religious bigotry andespecially, Islamophobia in Westernsocieties ring hollow.

They fear that such views willnever be able to find any worthwhiletraction in the West or from outsidehis excitable constituencies inPakistan. How can one point atgarbage outside his home when hecannot (or refuses to) do muchabout the garbage piled up inside hisown house?

Nevertheless, as I mentionedabove, the way the Prime Ministersweepingly condemns issues such asIslamophobia in the West andrepression on the basis of ideologyand faith against Muslims outsidePakistan, it is rather easy to countersuch condemnations by simplyputting forth the many episodes ofviolence against members of minor-

ity groups in Pakistan and alsobetween Muslim sects that havebeen reported for decades now.

It is a fact that even when aPakistani Prime Minister orPresident was willing to actually dosomething about this, he or shecould not (and cannot), because thenature of certain laws and clauseswithin the country’s constitution —mostly penned in the documentbetween 1974 and 1986 — is suchthat initiating effective reform in thiscontext is next to impossible.

This is why, even while one canargue that certain Western countries,infested with problems such asIslamophobia and racial bigotry, donot have the right to point fingersat Muslim countries such as Pakistanfor failing to curb religious violenceand harassment against minorities,one can always stress the fact that,unlike Pakistan, their constitutionsdo not have laws that can encour-age and even shield acts and actorshell bent on inflicting violence in thename of faith.

Khan has been diluting his oth-

erwise impactful narrative onKashmir and the Narendra Modiregime’s “fascism” by coupling itwith rhetorical spiels aboutIslamophobia. Apart from being rid-dled by the inherent contradictionsdiscussed above, this is largelywoven from a hodgepodge under-standing of Edward Said’s idea ofpost-colonialism, which is nowstruggling to stay relevant in arapidly changing world.

More disconcerting is the pos-sibility that the narrative beingerected by Khan may as well be theresult of either the complete failureand discarding of a narrative whichthe State and Government was try-ing to build (to counter radicalisa-tion and the spread of extremism)through the National Action Plan(NAP); or Khan was never really onboard when the plan was authoredand approved by the military andpolitical parties in January 2015.

Indeed, it is clear that the Modiregime’s arrogance towards Pakistanhas generated the need within theState and Government of Pakistan

to intensify their rhetoric on theissues of Kashmir and Hindunationalism. But this can only beeffective if it is balanced by initia-tives which would show Pakistan asdoing more to curb extremism in itsown backyard compared to India,where Hindu extremism has beenallowed to infiltrate mainstreampolitics and society.

Otherwise, it will only end upbeing nothing more than a banter-ing game between two countriesinfested by extremism, with onelabelling the other “a terrorist State,”and the other responding by callingit “fascist.”

It is surprising that, despite thefact that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) dedicated a lot of spaceto the NAP in its manifesto for the2018 election, Khan has frequentlynegated the nature of reforms sug-gested in that document. First, bycontinuously claiming that the warwhich the Pakistan military foughtagainst religious extremist groupswas “not our war,” Khan is under-mining the chaos and destruction

created by the extremists. This sentiment is also dismissive

of the manner in which the extrem-ists were tackled by the military.

There is absolutely nothing newor insightful about lecturing the USabout how it had helped Pakistancreate Islamic militants in the 1980s(before dumping them). The USGovernment itself has repeatedlyadmitted this ever since former USSecretary of State Hillary Clintonvisited Pakistan in 2011.

Most of Khan’s ideas are stillcemented in the many apologia thatemerged from a muddled potpour-ri of anti-West narratives developedduring the last three decades. Thesewere narratives that aided those whowere unwilling to recognise theirown incompetence, complacenciesand mistakes, by putting the blameon others regarding extremism.This can be a popular way ofexplaining things on Twitter, but itcan certainly not — and should not— become part of the State andGovernment policy.

(Courtesy: The Dawn)

Pak must go beyond banter about extremismImran Khan’s rhetoric against extremism abroad can only find traction if it is balanced by taking initiatives towards ending the harassment

and violence that minority communities face at the hands of radicalised elements within the country’s majority religious community

NADEEM PARACHA

HYDERABAD | MONDAY | OCTOBER 14, 2019

www.dailypioneer.com

PTI n NEW DELHI

Finance Minister NirmalaSitharaman will hold a reviewmeeting with CEOs of publicsector banks (PSBs) on Mondayto discuss various issues, includ-ing progress on credit offtake,as part of efforts to prop up theeconomy. The meeting isexpected to review fund flow tostressed NBFC and MSME(micro, small and mediumenterprises) sectors, sourcessaid. Banks are expect-ed to present reportcard on partialcredit guaranteescheme andfund raisingfrom market toenhance theircapital base.

The Centre inAugust issuedguidelines on opera-tionalising Rs 1 lakh crorepartial guarantee scheme underwhich PSBs can purchase high-rated pooled assets of finan-cially sound non-bankingfinance companies (NBFCs).NBFCs, including housingfinance companies (HFCs),

came under stressfollowing aseries of defaultsby the groupcompanies ofIL&FS in

September lastyear.Besides, the meet-

ing will also assess theprogress of first phase of out-reach programme held across226 districts across the country.This will be the second meet-ing of Sitharaman with CEOs ofPSU banks in less than amonth.

PNS n NEW DELHI

The commerce and industryministry has advised e-com-merce companies to gradual-ly slash single-use plastic inpackaging of products beingsold through their platforms,in line with the government'scommitment to reduce use ofsuch material, an official said.

The companies have alsobeen advised by theDepartment for Promotion ofIndustry and Internal Trade(DPIIT) to develop sustain-able packaging materialwhich will contribute toreducing India's plastic foot-print globally.

E-commerce companieshave been asked for discard-ing plastic used in packaging,which accounts for more than40 per cent of non-fibre plas-tic, according to the official.

"With an earnest ambitionto stop consumption of singleuse plastic, these companiesare being advised to consid-er gradually curtailing use ofsingle-use plastic in packag-ing products being soldthrough their e-commerceplatform," the official said.

When asked about theissue, Amazon spokespersonsaid the company is commit-

ted to a sustainable supplychain that leverages technol-ogy to build solutions thatoptimise the use of packagingmaterial, reduce waste andcreate eco-friendly packaging.

"We have been relentlesslyworking on reducing single-use plastic in our supplychain. Today, less than 7 percent of our packaging mate-

rial consists of single useplastic and we are workingtowards eliminating usage ofthem completely in our build-ings in India by June 2020,"the spokesperson said.

Rajneesh Kumar, ChiefCorporate Affairs Officer,Flipkart, said that some of thefocus areas for the companyis usage of electric vehicles inlogistics, waste managementand efficient packaging,including reduction of singleuse plastic.

"Earlier this year, weannounced and outlined ourvision of eliminating single-use plastic in our packagingby March 2021...As of 1stAugust, we have alreadyachieved a 25 per cent reduc-tion in usage of single-useplastics through various ini-tiatives across our packagingvalue chain, and we areaggressively moving towards100 per cent recycled plasticconsumption in our supplychain by March 2021," hesaid.

Creating alternatives forsingle-use plastic packaging isone of the significant steps wehave taken towards fulfillingour commitment to creatinga sustainable ecosystem, headded.

HYDERABAD | MONDAY | OCTOBER 14, 2019 money 10

CAPSULE

Life insurers' newpremium income inSep up 15% at Rs 20,057 crNEW DELHI: The newpremium income of lifeinsurers rose 15 per cent toRs 20,056.70 crore inSeptember, data from Irdaishowed. All 24 life insurancecompanies had a collectivenew business premiumincome of Rs 17,490.68 crorein September 2018. The state-owned Life InsuranceCorporation (LIC), the largestlife insurer, recorded a 18.37per cent rise in its newpremium during the month atRs 12,759.24 crore as againstRs 10,778.81 crore in thesame month a year earlier, thedata showed. The rest of theprivate sector players had atotal new premium income ofRs 7,297.46 crore during themonth, an increase of nearly 9per cent from a year ago, thedata on monthly businessfigures released by theInsurance Regulatory andDevelopment Authority ofIndia (Irdai) showed.

NRL to invest Rs 62cr in CSRactivities in Assam GUWAHATI: North East India'slargest refiner NumaligarhRefinery Ltd on Sunday said itwill pump in over Rs 60 crorein various developmentalprojects under its corporatesocial responsibility (CSR)activities during 2019- 20.Of the total spending underthe CSR head, the miniratnaPSU in Assam's Golaghatdistrict has earmarked 60 percent funds for schooleducation, health and nutritionprogrammes. "In 2019-20, ourCSR budget is Rs 62 crore. Inthis fiscal, a few aspirationaldistricts are underconsideration for undertakingdevelopmental activities apartfrom other programmes," NRLManaging Director S K Baruatold PTI here.Thedevelopmental programmes inthese aspirational districts willbe other than the "local areas"of the plant as defined in theCSR and Sustainability Policyof NRL, he added.

Banks areexpected topresent reportcard on partialcredit guaranteescheme andfund raisingfrom market toenhance their

capital base

‘$60 bn investment comingin gas infrastructure’PNS n NEW DELHI

India is investing over USD 60billion in developing naturalsupply and distribution infra-structure as it chases the targetof more than doubling theshare of natural gas in its ener-gy base to 15 per cent by 2030,Oil Minister DharmendraPradhan said on Sunday.

Natural gas currently con-stitutes 6.2 per cent of all ener-gy consumption in the country.Stating that the government haslaid emphasis on developing agas-based economy, he saidnatural gas is gradually becom-ing a bridging fuel for low car-bon economy in India.

The government is givingspecial impetus to develop gasinfrastructure across the lengthand breadth of the country con-necting north to south and eastto west parts of India, he said.

"I am happy to inform youthat as we speak, an estimatedinvestment of 60 billion US

dollars is underway in buildinggas pipeline and terminal infra-structure that are nearing or inadvanced stages of comple-tion," he said in his openingremarks at the thirdInternational Think TankMeeting (ITT) here.

City gas distribution net-work will soon cover 70 percent of India's population, hesaid. "Our government isexploring strategic partner-ships for overall developmentof oil & gas sector. The role ofprivate sector - both domesticand from abroad, for bringingin investments with necessaryinnovations for future energylandscape in the country, willremain crucial".

CEOs of energy firms at themeeting stated that India willcontinue to increase con-sumption of fossil fuels in itsenergy mix, and there is anurgent need for an integratedenergy policy cutting across allforms of energy.

Pradhan said energy is inte-gral to achieving the target ofearly doubling the size ofIndian economy to USD 5trillion by 2024. Talking of keychallenges confronting theenergy sector, he said: "Theforemost challenge of our timeis the Energy Trilemma. It isabout providing sustainably,securely, and affordably-suffi-cient energy to our growingpopulation".

Secondly, in recent times,significant uncertainty andchallenge were witnessed in theglobal energy markets. "Wehave seen the most disruptivedevelopments. US sanctions onIran and Venezuela, attacks onSaudi oil processing units,volatile conditions in Strait ofHormuz, unrest in the Middle-East, and US-China trade war,to name a few," he said.

"These developments havean enormous impact on India'senergy security and also on oureconomic, budgetary andinvestment dimensions," hesaid, adding India's importdependency on crude oil andLNG continues to rise unabat-ed. Import dependence is nowover 84 per cent for crude and45 per cent for natural gas.

"Going forward, it is expect-ed to increase further. Suchexcessive import dependencydoes make us vulnerable toexternal developments morethan ever before," he said.

Union Minister for Petroleum & Natural Gas and Steel, Dharmendra Pradhan chairing the 3rd meeting of the International Think Tank, in New Delhi on Sunday. TheSecretary, Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas, Dr. M.M. Kutty is also seen

I am happy to inform you that as we speak, an estimatedinvestment of 60 billion US dollars is underway inbuilding gas pipeline and terminal infrastructure that are

nearing or in advanced stages of completion—DHARMENDRA PRADHAN, Oil Minister

E-commerce firms asked to cutsingle-use plastic in packaging

E-commercecompanies havebeen asked todiscard plasticused in packaging,which accounts formore than 40 % ofnon-fibre plastic,according to theofficial

PAYMENTS SERVICE SHOULD BE ON IN TWO MONTHS

PTI n MUMBAI

Facebook-owned instant mes-saging giant WhatsApp will becompliant with data localisa-tion norms over the next twomonths, post which it can rollout its much-delayed pay-ments service here, says theNational PaymentsCorporation.

Even after the launch ofWhatsApp's payments service,it will take at least two years toreduce the cash dominance inthe economy as the user baseof digital payments must atleast treble to 300 million tohave any tangible impact onparing cash usage, the RBI-cre-ated NPCI's chief executiveDilip Asbe told PTI in aninterview.

WhatsApp has been run-ning a beta version of its pay-ments service since last year inthe country, and its officiallaunch is being keenly watchedby stakeholders, including itsover 300 million users. Manythink WhatsApp can helpIndia emulate China's WeChatstory, and help achieve thecashless payments objectives.

"There are still a couple ofintermediaries where work isin progress. One is Google,second is WhatsApp. Webelieve WhatsApp will be fullycompliant in the next twomonths' time," Asbe said.

WhatsApp has capped thenumber of payment serviceusers at 1 million now as it isyet to fully meet RBI's datalocalisation norms which

require foreign companies tostore transaction and user datawithin the country and deletethe same from foreign serverswithin 24 hours.

According to Asbe, a third-

party audit by a firm empan-eled by the RBI is currentlyunderway to ascertainWhatsApp's compliance. "Oncethe auditors complete theirprobe, we will review the same

and will see how to go ahead,"he said. Abse also clarified thathe did not meet the WhatsAppleadership team when theyvisited the city recently. He alsosaid that other applicants likeXiaomi, Amazon Pay andTruecaller have not been ableto launch their payments ser-

vices because of data localisa-tion rules. Citing a Niti Aayogsurvey, Asbe said over three-fourths of the financial trans-actions are under Rs 100 andthis is the space where unifiedpayments interface (UPI) hasto make inroads to replacecash and one step in thisregard has been increasing theacceptance points. He hopedincreased use of NPCI-devel-oped UPI platform by inter-mediaries like WhatsApp willhelp grow the digital pay-ments scene.

Currently, there are only100 million users of digitalpayments and this must touchat least 300 million to have anymaterial impact on cash in cir-culation, he said, underliningthis as the real challenge.

FM to meet CEOsof PSU banks today

Outside expert may beroped in to decide merger

PNB, UBI AND OBC

PTI n KOLKATA

With three state-run lenders -- Punjab National Bank (PNB),United Bank of India (UBI)and Oriental Bank ofCommerce (OBC) -- headingfor an amalgamation, an out-side expert may be engaged todecide the logo of the mergedentity, an official said.

The proposed merger,expected to be effective fromApril 1 next year, will lead tothe creation of the country'ssecond-largest lender afterState Bank of India, with a totalbusiness volume of about Rs 18lakh crore.

"The new name and logo ofthe merged entity will bedecided after inviting sugges-

tions from all and sundry.However, an outside expert

may be engaged to decide onthe new logo," a top official ofUBI told PTI.

He said the logo is "veryimportant" for creating identityof the new lender.

"The managing directorsand executive directors of the

three banks will meet nextweek. Talks on name and logoof the merged entity are highon the agenda," he said.

It is "very crucial" to finalisethe administrative structure ofthe entity as the three banks arehaving different set-ups at themoment, the UBI officialmaintained.

Giriraj Singhwant’s dairyout of RCEPtrade dealPTI n NEW DELHI

Union Minister Giriraj Singhhas asked the commerceministry to keep dairy sectorout of the proposed RCEPfree trade pact, voicing reser-vation on possible import ofmilk produced by cattle thatare given animal feed.

Opening of free trade indairy sector will affect farm-ers of India, which is theworld's largest producer ofmilk, the dairy and animalhusbandry minister said.

The RegionalComprehensive EconomicPartnership (RCEP) - a megafree trade agreement beingnegotiated among 10 ASEANcountries with their six FTApartners (India, China, Japan,South Korea, Australia andNew Zealand). The proposeddeal is expected to be finalisedand signed by the next month.

Last week, RCEP membercountries met in Bangkok forthree days of negotiations,perhaps for the last time toconclude the deal.

Explaining reasons whydairy sector should be keptout of the ambit of the pro-posed RCEP trade pact, theminister said: "I have objec-tion on two issues. We willnot accept the milk producedby cattle that are given animalprotein. Our condition ismilk imported should havenot any animal feed".

‘Consumeroffers at peak,will go downpost October’PTI n NEW DELHI

Consumer offers on cars dur-ing the festive season havereached a peak and it will godown going forward as keep-ing discounts at such highlevels is unsustainable, asenior Maruti Suzuki India(MSI) official has said.

The company, which isoffering cash discounts andextended warranties on var-ious models, witnessed itssales jump by 18-20 per centlast month as compared withJuly and August.

"We clearly tried to revivethe market but we cannothave high level of promotionsat all the time, these are notsustainable. So, going forwardthere will be decline in termsof offers," MSI ExecutiveDirector, Marketing and SalesShashank Srivastava told PTI.

The company also expectscurrent month to be better interms of sales as comparedwith the same period last year.

"These are probably thegreen shoots and if we lookat first week of October,which was Navratara period,then bookings and retailshave been better than lastyear as far as Navratra peri-od goes," Srivastava said.

Offtake of vehicles, includ-ing diesel models and BS-VIcompliant eight cars, hasbeen good and driving thesales, he added.

PTI n MUMBAI

State-owned Air India onSunday said the aviation jetfuel payment issues are beingsorted out and will be resolvedsoon with the oil PSUs, whichhave warned the carrier ofsnapping supplies at six keyairports if it does not makemonthly lump sum paymentby October 18.

The airline also "assured" itscustomers of smooth opera-tions, saying it has taken all themeasures in the eventuality ofthe two sides failing to reach anunderstanding on the issue.

"The issues with oil compa-nies are being sorted out andwould be resolved early," AirIndia spokesperson DhananayKumar said in a statement.

In a letter sent to Air India

last Thursday, the three gov-ernment-owned oil marketingfirms — Indian OilCorporation Ltd (IOCL),Bharat PetroleumCorporation Ltd (BPCL) andHindustan PetroleumCorporation Ltd (HPCL) —said the outstanding had notcome down considerably inthe absence of the committedmonthly lump sum payment.

PTI n NEW DELHI

Airbus Helicopters hopes thecentral government will resolvethe situation regarding thedisinvestment of Pawan HansLimited "very quickly" so thatthe national helicopter com-pany can move ahead on itsfleet expansion plans, a seniorexecutive of the global aero-space manufacturer said.

Airbus Helicopters hadsigned a Memorandum ofUnderstanding (MoU) withPawan Hans Limited (PHL) inParis in June for collaborationin introducing two new cate-gories of its helicopters - H145and H225 - in the national

company's fleet in the future.However, on July 11, the

central government issued thePreliminary InformationMemorandum to sell 51 percent of its stake in PHL. As thedisinvestment process hasbegun, PHL has put its fleet

expansion plans on hold.Since July 11, the Centre has

deferred the deadline regard-ing submission of expression ofinterest for PHL three times.On September 25, the Centreextended the last date in thisregard to October 10.

Air India to resolve Fuel payment issues with oil PSUsAs thedisinvestmentprocess hasbegun, PHL hasput its fleetexpansion planson hold

Increased use ofNPCI-developedUPI platform byintermediaries likeWhatsApp willhelp grow thedigital paymentsscene

PTI n NEW DELHI

A high-level panel constitut-ed by the government to sug-gest measures to augmentGST revenue collection willhold its first meeting onTuesday, a senior official said.

The government last weekconstituted the panel of offi-cers to suggest steps to expandtax base and check evasion inthe backdrop of falling rev-enue collections under GST.

Goods and Services Tax(GST) collections droppedsharply to a 19-month low inSeptember to Rs 91,916 crore,reflecting the slowdown in theeconomy. "The first meeting ofthe committee is scheduled tobe held on Tuesday, October15," GST Council Special

Secretary Rajeev Rajan toldPTI. The committee has beengiven 15 days time to submitits report, he said. This isgoing to be the first compre-hensive review of GST after itwas rolled out on July 1, 2017.

The 12-member panel, com-prising of state-level GST com-missioners and cental officials,has been asked to suggesturgent measures to arrest fall intax revenues and steps to betaken to improve revenue col-lection.

First meeting of panel onGST collections tomorrow

Airbus Helicopters awaiting earlyPawan Hans disinvestment

WhatsApp close to meeting data localisation norms: NPCI

With the rise insocial media gaveopportunities toartists from allaround the worldto showcase their

work. Among the famousInternational artists who flewdown to Hyderabad to attendthe event here were NathanW. Pyle — creator of theinsanely funny out-of-the-world and yet relatablecomic, Strange Planet — andJonathan Kunz — who creat-ed the quirky everyday uni-verse of War and Peas.Nathan’s webcomics gained2,50,000 followers onInstagram in just 3 weeks.Both these artists have acombined follower base ofmore than 15 lakh fans.

Speaking about his journeyas an artist, Nathan says, “Imoved to New York whichwas very expensive like manybig cities in India too. Whenyou move to expensive citiesyou try to find ways to makeends meet, so I started todraw and make T-shirtdesigns for a company. Thatwas my real first entry to

internet art and I realisedthat there are so many peo-ple who enjoy sharingimages back and forthon Internet.Smartphones werestarting to get bigback then soeveryone hadthese phonesand imageswere every-where. It’sbeen 11 yearssince I starteddrawing for theinternet andStrange Planetwas the result fora lot of trial anderror.”

Nathan tells ThePioneer that he enjoyedthe trip to Golconda Fortand Pedammama Gudi onhis first trip to Hyderabadthis time. He says he washappy to meet his fans in thecity because their knowledgeof comics is more robust thanthose in the United States.

Jonathan says he foundpeople here in the city wellinformed about world’s pop

culture,especially webcomics. “Herein India, people read comicsfrom all over the world,including the famous onesfrom America and also theirlocal Indian comics which isso cool. There is a lot of ener-gy in the crowd here which isvery nice.” “It’s my first timeto India as well, and I reallylike the place, I dint knowwhat to expect apart from thefood, people are nice here.They are very interested tolearn about comics and lookpassionate,” he adds.

Jonathan says that he hadno idea that War and Peaswould become such a big hit.He was pleasantly surprisedhow the popularity of thewebcomics grew organicallyover the years. “WhenElizebeth and me started wedidn’t have any idea that wewere going to start somethinglike War and Peas. Our wholeidea was to put a websitetogether, but later peoplestarted to read and then itgrew organically and then westarted to have the content inGerman. Later, I shifted toEnglish and then sometimes

it was just comics and thenfinally we put together

as a properly struc-tured comics.”

Both the artistssay that using

their workthey wereable to speakon variousissues aswell. “Emp-athy is so-methingboth Jona-than and Ishare. It is

something Ireally appreci-

ate when Iheard him speak

about empathywith warranties. I

think we have such anopportunity to talk about

something we care about. Inone of my comics we talkabout when someone is newto a school and you justinvite them to sit with you.That is something that I con-tinue to think is one of themost important messages inStrange Planet which iscuriosity,” says Nathan. BothNathan and Jonathan areplanning to bring out anoth-er collection of their web-comics as a book next year.

Sharing tips on creatingwebcomics, Nathan says“Wherever you are create aworld around you and thinkabout how that world willfunction. For example, if youhave a bottle and a cup, whatwould their relationship beand how would they interact?Put eyes and a face on themin your mind and everythingaround you. Just create aworld you enjoy thinkingabout it! That’s what will helpyou draw better. Pixar doesthis so well. It is just like howcompelling the movie ToyStory was for me growingwhere I believed that the toysare alive. That’s what will cre-ate a spark in you to getinvested in your work.”

o amount of rou-tine rainfall couldhold the comicfans this year asComic Con 2019witnessed heavy

rush with almost 15,000 peo-ple from all age groupsattending the two-day eventdressing up as dope comicheroes. The weekend made aperfect getaway for the youngparents who escorted theirchildren and painted theplace red with their geeks on.More than thousand peopledonned in their favouritesuperhero costumes.

This colourful and splen-did superhero phenomenonall around the world, hasreceived mixed reactionsfrom the youth in the city.Even though many wereexcited about dressing up astheir favourite Marvel or DCsuperhero, many wereunhappy with the costlyentry price and also that they

were stopped from takingselfies with international andnational cartoonists whoattended the event.

Dressing up as a comiccharacter, or cosplaying, hasevolved into an art, an inclu-sive hobby and a creativepursuit. This year, the eventsaw many cosplayers in elab-orate costumes move fromstall to stall followed by ‘oo-ohs’ and ‘aaaahs’ from awedonlookers who couldn't waitto take selfies with them.

Shirley Bobby, who cos-played as Luna Lovegood,says, “My friends and I getdressed and attend the comiccon every year. This year wegot dressed as a few charac-ters from the Harry Potterseries. We had a really goodtime, like every year, we hada ball at the event. It’s nice tosee so many people from thecosplay community comingtogether to keep our comicheroes alive through us.

Looking forward to attendthe event next year.”

One of the visitors,Emmanuel Sudhir, an engi-neering student says, “I amattending Comic Con for thefirst time and the energy hereis amazing. After seeingmany people coming in vari-ous superhero costumes, Itoo feel like doing the samenext year.” Jemia, who wascosplaying as Tartelette, wonthe grand prize worth Rs50,000 on the conclusion day.

The stalls were deckedwith merchandise from topto bottom making sure nosuperhero fan base is left out.One of the popular stalls wasa dummy wrestling ringwhere people could pose fora picture with a wrestlingchampionship belt. Anothermajor attraction was a lifesize mannequin of GalGadot’s Wonder Womanwhere people lined to flextheir inner superhero and

take selfies. Over 30 stallswhich included a bird of preyexperience centreTerminator, Frozen 2, Vikingswith AXN, Lego: Batmanwith Sony Pix, the maleficentwings kept the audience busyapart from the superheromerchandise and clothstores.

Some of the well-knownstand up comedians such asSapan Verma, co-founder ofEast India Comedy,Rajashekar Mamidana andVivek Murlidharan were seenkeeping audience engagedwith their quirky content.The event also had a danceact by Live Wire crew whogot the audience dancing totheir special performances.

With all the joy comessome disappointment too asattendees felt there weresome aspects in the eventthat upset them, with thehiked entry ticket being themajor letdown.

“The most disappointingaspect of the event was thatthe entry price was hiked.The tickets cost around Rs599 to Rs 699 and that is alot of to expect from stu-dents. Another upsetting

thing was that we were notallowed to click pictures withthe guest artists at theirstalls. Some of the organiserswere also behaving rudely. Iwasn’t that happy with theevent overall,” says Rohit

Kumar.Some attendees that The

Pioneer spoke to suggestedthat the event must havemore counters that sells oldpopular comic books. Thenumber of stalls selling mer-

chandise outnumbered thenumber of stores sellingcomic books. This is ironicalconsidering that the mostpopular Marvel merchandiseand the movies rose to popu-larity through comic books.

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MERCHANDISE STALLS WEREMORE THAN THE NUMBER OFSTORES SELLING COMICS.THIS IS IRONICAL CONSIDER-ING THAT THE MARVEL MER-CHANDISE AND MOVIES AREBASED ON COMIC BOOKS

MondayOctober 14, 2019

It was that timeof the year

again whenfans of the

comic bookcame together

to celebrate thefantastic talesthat inspired

millions acrossthe globe,

reports ARUNDANIEL

YELLAMATY

N

W

THE FLIGHT OF IMAGINATION

AT COMIC CON

The rise of WEBCOMICS

PARTY

12

Hyderabad Monday October 14, 2019

l Samahaara TheatreCo-operative presents"DONGA DONGA" AHilarious TeluguComedy, directed byRathna Shekar atPhoenix Arena, HitechCity.Donga Donga is ahilarious farce adaptedfrom two short playswritten by Shri. Shankaramanchi ParthaSaradhi.The play is scheduled for October 25 at7:30 pm.

‘I REMEMBER'l Lamakaan isscreening a filmcalled IRemembertomorrow at7:30 pm, a 48min moviebased on thejourney of awoman and herfamily as theycome to termswith the earlyonset ofAlzheimer’s disease. The movie has won six awards.

lThis is a show wherecomedian AnubhavSingh Bassi will tell youan honest story abouthis career choices andlifestyle. ‘Bas Kar Bassi’is what he said tohimself when he wasfired from his last job.The show will be heldtill October 16 atKulapati MunshiSadan, King Koti,Basheer Bagh.

EVENT

CITY GUIDE

lThe fifthedition of theIndianPhotographyFestival will beheld till October20 at variouslocations inHyderabad. IPFshowcasesvarious events,including talks,discussions andmore.

EXHIBITION

ART AAND CCULTURE

ART STROKES lDr Shikha AgnihotriPandey is exhibiting herartwork at the AllianceFrancaise Gallery untilOctober 18 between 10am and 7 pm. She hasconducted many soloshows all over India.

COMEDY

l Cinephiles FilmClub is screening afilm, L'argent onOctober 16 atLamakaan from 7pm onwards. It is aFrench drama aboutan innocent manvictimised by anarrogant upper-classdelinquent and a greedy shop owner who goeson a downward spiral into a life of crime.

l Skepticism is anoriginal Englishplay written &directed by AmaanAhmad. It is apsychological andphilosophical play,which touches theelements ofabsurdism, surrealism and skepticism. The storyrevolves around a psychologically disturbed artistwho’s going through an existential crisis. Severalemotions surround him/her and they debate andconfuse the artist furthermore. The play will beorganised by Amaan Ahmad (The Unknown Pen)at Amaan Ahmed on October 18 at 7.30 pm.

GET YOUR EVENT LISTED: To get your events listed, please send your detailsalong with a poster and contact number to features.pioneer@gmail.com

BAS KAR BASSI

FUNNY BUZZNESSl FunnyBuzzness is a wellknown comedygig series by BuzzKya Entertainmentand has beeninstrumental inbringing upseveral artistes.Stand up ComicVir Das will beperforming at theevent onOctober 20 at 6pm at HICC.

SKEPTICISM

INDIAN PHOTOGRAPHY FESTIVAL

DONGA DONGA

L'ARGENT (MONEY)

FUN TIME

Rules

ARCHIE

GARFIELD

SUDOKU

REALITY CHECK SPEED BUMP CROSSWORD

GINGER MEGGS

NANCY

CALVIN AND HOBBES

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

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

Yesterday’s solution

what’s brewing?

l Bianca Bunoiu

l Dr Chandrasekhar

l Nagabhushanam & Dharmapracharak Raminenil Dayaka Rao Errabelli

l Gorati Venkanna

l A.B. Bala Kondala Rao

lP.V

. Sin

dhu

MOMENTOF PRIDEDr Ramineni Foundation celebrated

its 20th Anniversary by honouring

the pioneering efforts of eminent

Indians hailing from several fields such

as arts, science and humanities.

Several renowned personalities such as

PV Sindhu, Dr Chandrashekhar

Sankurathri, Kalaratna Bala Kondala

Rao, Sri Gorati Venkanna were also

conferred awards on the occasion.The

ceremony was heldat NecklaceRoad,Jalavihar.

rinu master, pop-ular choreogra-pher of ’80s and’90s, with multi-ple Nandi awardsto his name,

passed away at this resi-dence in Chennai onSunday morning. He suf-fered a heart stroke. He was82-years-old.

A native of Adoni, Srinustarted off his dance careerby learning Kathak underGuruprasad Sundar. He

later practiced Kathakalifrom Vishwam. Hebranched out to films byassisting his brother-in-lawHeeralal in 1956. His firstfilm as a dance choreogra-pher was 1969 releaseNenante Nenu and therewas no looking back eversince.

Mahabaludu,Bakthakannappa, EduruleniManishi, Yugapurushudu,Yugandhar were some of hisnotable films over a career

spanning more than 35years, with more than 1,700films to his credit. He wasone of the most sought-after choreographers in’80s. For his work in filmslike Swarnakamalam,Radhagopalam and SriRamarajyam, he wasawarded the Nandi. He issurvived by wife Uma Devi,two daughters and a son.His last rites have been per-formed in Chennai onSunday evening.

Hyderabad Monday October 14, 2019

S

13

tollywood

he battle lines areclearly drawn forthe two big budgetSankranti releasesand turned out tobe a direct fight

between Mahesh Babu star-rer Sarileru Neekevvaru andAla Vaikunthaluramlo. OnSaturday evening, the makersof both the films announcedthat they would be hittingscreens on January 12.Initially, the direct clash wasnever on the cards, with theMahesh Babu-starrer plan-ning for January 9 or 10 andAllu Arjun-starrer forJanuary 14. Last month,we’ve learnt about AlluAravind and S RadhaKrishna, producers of AlaVaikunthapuramlo, targetingJanuary 12. Why the suddenannouncement on Saturdayevening? We hear it has

something to do with long-delayed Venky Mama.

Apparently, producerSuresh Babu, who is a heavyhitter in the industry, hastold his regular distributorsover the weekend that he islooking to pitch his produc-tion Venky Mama, starringVenkatesh and NagaChaitanya, for Sankranti. Thefilm is a big production forSuresh and he feels thatSankranti might be the bestbet to get his returns. Gettingscreens wouldn’t be a prob-lem for him as he holds achain of theatres and is alsopartners with AsianCinemas. Our sources closeto both Suresh Productionsand co-producer PeopleMedia Factory have con-firmed to us that VenkyMama is coming forSankranti. The tentative date

is January 14. So, with Suresh speaking to his dis-tributors, word has spreadout in the industry corridorsabout his Sankranti move,prompting the makers ofboth Sarileru Neekevvaruand Ala Vaikunthapuramlo toimmediately announce therelease date that they’vewithheld from the past threemonths. “Sankranti can takein three big films but overhere superstar Rajinikanth-starrer Darbar too is waitingto fly into the cinema hallson January 10. While itmight get good number ofscreens on day 1 but on day3, it will stare at losing morethan 80 per cent of thescreens, to accommodateMahesh and Allu Arjunfilms. There’s alsoKalyanram’s Entha ManchiVaadavuraa scheduled for

Sankranti.However, asthings

stands now,the chances

of it arrivingfor the festiveseason arebleak, as the

film’s pro-ducers don’t command cloutsimilar to that of Suresh andRaju. It will be interesting tosee how the season pans out.If both Mahesh and Arjun’sfilms eat out into each other’srevenue, they can always pinthe blame on Suresh forscheduling Venky Mama forthe festival,” said a trade ana-lyst.

Battle or no battle, onething’s for sure is that thereare plenty of options formoviegoers to choose fromthis Sankranti!

With Venky Mama producerseyeing an Sankranti release, AlaVaikunthapuramlo and Sarileru

Neekevvaru are set to hit screens on the same day, finds

NAGARAJ GOUD

THEBIGFIGHT

T

ANNAPURNAStudios topartner withSwapna Cinema

ith his maiden directorial

Seethamma Andalu

Ramayya Sitralu in 2016

failing to light up the box-

office, Srinivas Gavireddy

has gone back to the draw-

ing board to come up with a watertight

script for his second shot. He got the nod

of actor Raj Tarun again and shepherding

the project on the production front will be

none other than superstar Akkineni

Nagarjuna. The Pioneer has learnt that

Annapurna Studios think-tank — Nag, Supriya

and Naga Chaitanya — loved the script by

Gavireddy and asked him to get going with pre-

production. “The film, set in Bhimavaram, enter-

tains with the unique characterisation of Raj Tarun.

Portions of the film will be shot in Hyderabad as

well. The filming will most likely roll towards the

year-end and it will be wrapped up in 60 days,"

informed a source. We’ve been further told that

chances of the film being a joint production venture

cannot be ruled out. “Swapna Dutt might partner

with Annapurna Studios. Nag rates Swapna very

high and was pleased with the way she executed

Devadas,” added the source. —NG

'80s choreographer Srinu no more

RAKESH VARREis a happy man

ctor RakeshVarre, who hasgone solo withEvvarikiCheppoddu, isglad with the

response the film has cutacross. A love story pep-pered with humour, dealswith how Harathi’s (playedby Gargeya Ellapradada)father’s obsession overcaste spells trouble for Hari(Rakesh), who is in lovewith Harathi. The interest-ing and comical turns thatunfold in the young cou-ple’s lives from this pointforms the crux of the film.“The response has beenvery good. As the filmopened on Tuesday, we’vebeen a bit skeptical. But,thankfully, it has beenrunning to very goodoccupancy in multiplex-es, while in singlescreens, the footfalls havebeen on a steady rise.Mass audience has stayedaway from it but othersections have given their

thumbs-up. College-goingstudents are expected to fillin the theatres in big num-bers in the coming days,”the actor, best rememberedfor his turns in Badrinathand Baahubali: TheConclusion, states.

He adds that afterBaahubali, he was deter-mined to make a good filmby himself. “I had been tothe New York Film Acad-emy and learnt filmmakingthere for a year. With theknowledge and experience,I became confident tomake a film. I returned toHyderabad and heardabout 47 scripts but nonecaught my fancy. Later, Icame to know aboutBasava Shankar, who bythen had committed todirect a couple of films. Idisplayed my showreels tohim and requested him tokeep me in mind before heembarks on the casting ofhis films. A couple ofmonths later, he came tome with Evvariki

Cheppoddu,” he says. “Forauthenticity, we shot theKalahasthi scenes at thatplace itself. For a song atHimayalas, we meticulous-ly planned how it can bewrapped up in short spanof time. Also, instead ofplanes, we traveled by trainand buses.”

Talking about how heconvinced Dil Raju to dis-tribute it, he says, “Sincetime didn’t permit him, herecommended the script tosome other producer,before advising me not toproduce it myself. But Ihad to don the producer’shat eventually, as no onewas coming forward toproduce it because I amrelatively new, and caste isa sensitive issue. But weknew that the treatmentwould be sensible andcareful. After the film wasmade, Raju garu watched itand told me he’d release it,”Rakesh says, revealing thathe hasn’t signed any newmovie yet. — NG

A

SAM UNVEILS HERLOOK AS JANU

ctress SamanthaAkkineni unveiled herlook as Janu from thehighly anticipated ’96Telugu remake onSunday as she wrapped

up shooting her portions for thefilm. Dubbing the romanticdrama as another special one inher career after Oh! Baby, shetweeted, “And its a wrap !! Anot-her special film and a role that haschallenged me to be better than Iwas yesterday.. Thankyou to mydirector Prem and costarSharwanand for being a dreamteam. #Janu.. living my best life.

Grateful always (sic).”Samantha is reprising Trisha’s

role from the original, which tellsthe story of two high schoolsweethearts (played by VijaySethupathi and Trisha) who meetat a reunion after 22 years andreminisce about their past. Trishahas received accolades for thefilm, even prompting Sam to saythat the film shouldn’t be remadeat all. It’s another story that pro-ducer Dil Raju later convinced herto take up the film. The remake isset in Vizag and has music byGovinda Vasantha. Raju hasn’trevealed the release date yet.

AW

Hyderabad Monday October 14, 2019

14

celeb talks

‘OVERWORKEDBUT UNDERPAID'HASHTAG IS WHATDESCRIBESME, FEELS PC

riyanka Chopra Jonas is all over the head-lines, right from her movie to her work,and all that she has been doing. PeeCeemade her return to Bollywood with TheSky Is Pink co-starring Farhan Akhtar,Zaira Wasim, and Rohit Saraf. The movie

has received decent reviews so far, however, it did notopen to very good numbers and one might hope thatthe numbers are likely to go up over the weekend,thereby giving the movie a decent opening.

During her movie promotions, PeeCee has gone allout with her interactions, and more, and when shehad a chat with Twitter, she did go on to reveal littlesomethings we might not know, or must have never

thought of. For instance, when Priyanka wasasked about the hashtag that best describes

her, she went on to say ‘overworked butunderpaid’ and one might agree given how

she has been all over the place. During the same chat,

Priyanka was alsoasked who followedwhom first on Twitter,given their love storystarted from there,and that is when sherevealed it was Nickwho followed her andslid into her dm, ask-ing her to hang out

together some-time. Well,

they dohave theperfectlove storyafter all,don’t they?A fewweeks, andthey’llcomplete ayear.

P

ollywood actor Rajkummar Rao,who plays a Gujarati entrepreneurRaghu Mehta in his forthcomingfilm Made In China, has shared afunny Instagram video of himselfselling a pen to Hollywood star

Leonardo DiCaprio.In the video captioned, “When Raghu

Bhai met Leo Bhai. #MadeInChina” thatRajkummar shared on Saturday, he gives ahilarious spin to Dicaprio’s final scenefrom the movie The Wolf of Wall Street.

The video begins with the clip of themovie where the Titanic star asks a per-son to sell him a pen.

Adding a twist in the scene,Rajkummar enters with the clip. “LeoBhai kem chho! Arre Leo Bhai this pen isyour story but the refill is the hero. Sosell the hero,” he says in Hindi.

The one-minute clip ends with DiCaprioapplauding the skills of the businessman.

Rajkummar’s video currently has 1,49,406views. The actor’s girlfriend and actress Patralekhaatook to the comment section, where she droppedsome laughing emojis. Made In China narrates the busi-ness journey of jugaadu entrepreneur. Many scenes havebeen shot in China, and the actor took inspiration from hisown experiences to add to his character.

Dinesh Vijan presents Made In China in association withJio Studios. A Maddock Films production, the film alsostars Mouni Roy, Paresh Rawal and Gajraj Rao. It is writtenand directed by Mikhil Musale, who is making his Hindidirectorial debut with the film. It is slated to releasearound Diwali.

WHENRAJKUMMARSOLD A PENTO LEONARDODICAPRIO

B

merican filmmak-er Ryan Murphy’sfive-year-old sonFord has beatencancer.

Last year, the53-year-old American HorrorStory creator revealed Ford,who he shares with husbandDavid Miller, had been diag-nosed with neuroblastoma asa toddler.

“Ford went through a sixhour surgery and years ofintense exams whichrequired hours and hours ofanaesthesia. I cannot express

to you in this room how dif-ficult this was on him, howdifficult this was for our fam-ily,” Murphy said at theVariety Power of WomenLuncheon, where he was pre-senting Ford’s godmotherDana Walden an award forher work with the UCLAJonson ComprehensiveCancer Center, reportsaceshowbiz.com.

While adding he has yet to“emotionally recover” fromthe battle, he said, “Fordhas... I am so proud to pro-claim that he is cancer free.”

Following Ford’s diagnosis,Murphy and his familydonated $10 million to thecancer facility, which helpedcreated a wing that specialis-es in helping children accessthe best treatment.

Announcing the newsabout his son’s health lastyear, Ryan honoured hispartner as his “rock”, adding,“(He was) strong and patientand loving (I was always atrembling wreck).”

The couple, who wed in2012, also share six-year-oldson Logan Phineas.

ARYAN MURPHY'S SON IS CANCER FREE

SWARA, DIVYACOME TOGETHERFOR A BEAUTIFULODE TO LOVEA

fter missing from the big screen for a brief amount of time,actress Swara Bhasker is back with her next film. JoiningSwara, is actress Divya Dutta in the lead role for their film

titled Sheer Qorma. The first poster of the film was released onSunday. The film which revolves around a same-sex love storyshows the two actresses holding each other’s hand in a heartfeltgesture in its first poster. Their hijab and henna looks are unmiss-able.

Helmed by Faraz Arif Ansari, also stars Shabana Azmi in thesupporting role. Sharing the film’s poster on Instagram, Swara cap-tioned it, “So proud to play @farazarifansari’s gentle and shiningSitara in #sheerqorma the film.. A beautiful ode to love, love thatbinds is all. Notwithstanding gender, race, religion, generation orsexuality.. thank you Faraz! I’m so proud to have been part of thisamazing project. Not to mention the honour and dream of shar-ing screen space with the legendary @azmishabana18 and icon-ic @divyadutta25 ! #loveislove #futterwackeningfilms.”

rammy-winning DJ Zedd was“permanently banned” fromChina after he liked a tweetfrom South Park, the adult ani-mated show caught in a feudwith the Communist govern-

ment of the country.The DJ shared the same on Twitter writ-

ing, “I just got permanently banned fromChina because I

liked a

South Park tweet.”Zedd’s claim was confirmed by German

musician’s publicist, Adam Guest toCNBC.

“This is true, yes, but we don’t have anymore info to give you at this time,” FoxNews quoted him as saying.

However, the DJ whose real name ifAnton Zaslavski, didn’t clarify if he wasdenied entry into the country or only hiswas music was censored.

This comes after a controversy betweenthe show’s creators and the governmentabout its 300th episode titled Band inChina, which surfaced last Wednesday

In the following episode, Randy, a char-acter in the animation, tries selling mari-juana to China, which leads him to end upbeing sent to a work camp.

There, encounters Winnie the Pooh,also a political prisoner because he drewphysical comparisons to Chinese PresidentXi Jinping.

Meanwhile, another group of characters— Stan, Jimmy, Kenny, and Butters —formed a metal band, which caught theattention of a Hollywood manager whowanted to produce a film about them butconstantly modified the script in order forthe movie to be distributed in China.

This led the government to reported-ly cancel the show and stop its

broadcast on media plat-forms including

Weibo,Youku

amongothers.

G

GRAMMY WINNER DJ ZEDD‘PERMANENTLY BANNEDFROM CHINA' FOLLOWING‘SOUTH PARK'CONTROVERSY

sport 15HYDERABAD | MONDAY | OCTOBER 14, 2019

The experience of playingwith Haryana Steelers in

Pro Kabaddi League seasonseven has been simply incred-ible and we are very excited toplay against U Mumba in theplayoffs in Ahmedabad today.The team has gelled very wellthroughout the season and ourhard work has paid rich divi-dends. We have gone throughups and downs, but the impor-tant thing is that all playershave always believed in theirability.

We had hopes of finishingin the first two spots when theteam had a long winning streakduring the league, but unfortu-nately, we couldn’t achievedirect qualification for thesemi-finals. However, it does-n’t make a big difference for usas we can win the quarter-finalsand reach the last four stage. Allteams are equal in this compe-tition, so it doesn’t matterwhich opponent we face atwhichever stage of the tourna-ment. We will try to do our bestin every match we play.

There is certainly a differ-ent feel to a playoff match. Wehave to be mentally ready forthe fact that we can be out ofthe tournament after a singleloss. We cannot afford to maketoo many mistakes in theknockouts. These are crucialmatches. So, we have to be verycareful with the way weapproach each and every moveduring the matches. We willwork out our strategies and fol-low them properly.

There will be a slightchange in our training regimefor the playoff matches. Wehave played exceedingly wellduring the tournament, so wedon’t need to change much inour game. We will just focus onwhat we have been doing rightthroughout this edition and weare confident that we will pullthrough in all tough situa-tions. Our captain DharmarajCheralathan keeps talking andmotivating us during tight

matches. The players of theteam have also gained experi-ence as the season has pro-gressed, so all of them have alsobecome equipped to thrive inpressure situations.

Our offense and defensehas been terrific throughoutthe season. We will rectify ourmistakes after every match.However, if I have to point outone aspect which should workon is coordination betweenthe players. I feel coordinationon the mat will be the key inthe playoffs. The team whichcoordinates well with eachother has been triumphantmost times in PKL-7. So, wewill focus on talking to eachother during the playoff match-es. I was in the Haryana teamin the fifth season. I have playedwith Vikash Kandola andDharmaraj Cheralathan for afew years, so I have a greatunderstanding with them on themat. All of us complement eachother very well. We will try ourbest to reach the final. Afterworking so hard throughout thetournament, we shouldn’t stum-ble in the last stage. The teamhas made multiple comebacksin this edition and therefore weare aware that a match is neverover until the final whistle.

(The writer representsHaryana Steelers in Pro

Kabaddi League season 7)

AFP n SUZUKA

Valtteri Bottas jumped from thirdto first with an electric start to

win the Japanese Grand Prix onSunday ahead of Ferrari’s SebastianVettel and Mercedes teammateLewis Hamilton.

With only Bottas now able toovertake Hamilton in the standings,Mercedes clinched an unprecedent-ed sixth successive drivers’-con-structors’ world championship dou-ble.

“I’m happy, very happy,” said fly-ing Finn Bottas, who ended a six-month wait for his third victory of2019 after winning the season-opener in Australia and theAzerbaijan Grand Prix in April.

“Starting third isn’t easy. I hada really nice start, managed to getthe lead and then the pace was supergood, I could really control the race,”he added.

“I’m really proud to be part ofthe team. A sixth title is reallyimpressive.”

“Firstly congratulations to theteam,” said Hamilton, who nowleads the drivers’ standings by 64points from Bottas. “That’s themain point. I just wanted to bringhome good points for the team.”

Emotional Mercedes team prin-cipal Toto Wolff dedicated his team’sachievement to Formula One legendNiki Lauda, who died earlier thisyear. “We want to dedicate this toNiki because he’s just been such animportant part from the beginningof the journey,” said Wolff.

Ferrari had enjoyed a front rowlock-out in the morning qualifyingsession caused by Typhoon Hagibisbut that was as good as “SuperSunday” got for them as their raceunravelled right from the start.

Vettel twitched before the lightswent out and his hesitation enabledthe fast starting Bottas to leapfrogfrom third into the lead.

“It was my mistake,” admittedVettel who escaped a penalty for hisfalse start. “It was worse than a poorstart. It was a really poor start. Withthe lack of pace today, second placetoday was probably the maximum.”

Meanwhile Leclerc’s miserableday was completed by being relegat-ed from sixth place to seventhbehind Daniel Ricciardo’s Renault.

PTI n ULAN-UDE

Indian boxer Manju Rani’s stupen-dous debut run at the Women’s

World Championships ended witha Silver medal on Sunday after shelost the light flyweight (48kg) finalto Russia’s Ekaterina Paltceva here.

The Haryana-boxer, who wasseeded sixth, went down 1-4 to thesecond-seeded local favourite in thefirst final of the day.

Rani, who turns 20 on Saturday,was the lone Indian to make the

finals after six-time champion M CMary Kom (51kg), Jamuna Boro(54kg) and Lovlina Borgohain(69kg) settled for Bronze medals. Incase of Borgohain, it was her sec-ond successive third-place finish.

There was very little separatingRani and her rival, both of whomlooked to attack in the first round.The Russian stood out for her near

perfect left hooks in the openingthree minutes.

In the second round, the Indianconnected some good straightsand seemed to have the upperhandover the crowd favourite.

The proceedings slowed downin the final three minutes whenboth the boxers adopted a cautiousapproach. There was quite a bit of

holding, requiring the referee’sintervention quite a few times.

However, at the end of it theRussian emerged victorious perhapsfor her a shade sharper reflexes. TheIndian contingent was howevervisibly upset after the Paltceva’shand was raised as the victor.

Rani broke into the nationalcamp only this year by winning the

national crown for Punjab after notgetting the selection nod inHaryana.

Earlier this year, she won aSilver medal on debut at the pres-tigious Strandja MemorialTournament, one of Europe’s old-est and most competitive boxingevents.

Rani hails from Rithal Phogatvillage in the Rohtak district ofHaryana. The youngster lost herfather, a Border Security Forceofficer, to cancer in 2010.

AFP n SINGAPORE

Neymar’s return to ChampionsLeague action may be delayed

after the Paris Saint-Germain for-ward limped off after just 12 minutesof Brazil’s friendly against Nigeria onSunday.

The 27-year-old, who played thefull 90 minutes against Senegal onThursday, clutched his hamstringafter eight minutes and was replacedby Philippe Coutinho shortly after.

Neymar, who was playing his101st international, is now a doubtfor PSG’s Champions League meet-ing with Club Brugge on October 22.He has missed the first two rounds

because of a UEFA suspension.He was injured while on nation-

al duty back in June when he hurt anankle in a friendly against Qatar. Itruled him out of the Copa Americawhich Brazil went on to win.

If the injury was bad for Neymarthen the result was disappointing forBrazil — it is their fourth successivematch without a win.

Their previous three outingssince winning the Copa America hadyielded draws against Colombia andSenegal and a defeat by Peru.

Even when Neymar was on thepitch, the Nigerians were causingproblems with Brazil goalkeeperEderson at full stretch to keep out

Victor Osimhen.Gabriel Jesus went close for

Brazil but it was the Super Eagleswho took the lead in the 35thminute when Moses Simon slippedthe ball to Joe Aribo who got thebetter of Marquinhos before firinghome.

Brazil showed more inventionin the second half and levelled threeminutes after the break.Marquinhos’ header came back offthe bar but Casemiro was on handto stab the ball across the line.

Jesus and Coutinho both hadchances to wrap up the win forBrazil but Nigeria held firm for thedraw.

SANJAY FINDS BRACE IN INDIA'S WIN Johor Bahru: Sanjay struck twice in Indianjunior hockey team's dominating 8-2 win overNew Zealand in Sultan of Johor Cup, here onSunday. Apart from Sanjay (17', 22'), DilpreetSingh (6'), Shilanand Lakra (14'), Mandeep Mor(22'), Suman Beck (45'), Pratap Lakra (50') andSudeep Chirmako (51') scored for India whileDylan Thomas (28', 44') notched two goals forNew Zealand. It was India's second win in thetournament and they face Japan in their nextround robin league-stage match on Tuesday.

UK ROUT SIKKIM BY 253 RUNSDehradun: Medium pacer Sunny Rana returnedwith a career-best 5/26 as Uttarakhand bowlersbundled out Sikkim for just 52 to script a massive253-run victory in their Plate Group Vijay HazareTrophy fixture here on Sunday. A target of 306proved too big for the Sikkim batsmen whotumbled like a pack of cards to fold their inningsin 21.1 overs with Rana being the wrecker-in-chiefand was well-supported by Mayank Mishra (2/2)and Pradeep Chamoli (2/15). Uttarakhand (26points) jumped to the top of the Plate Groupstandings with a two-point lead over Pondicherry,who however have a match in hand.

MAHARASHTRA BEAT HP BY 3WICKETSVadodara: Azim Kazi produced a timely halfcentury to guide Maharashtra to a thrilling three-wicket win over Himachal Pradesh in a Group Bmatch of the Vijay Hazare. After Maharashtrasuffered a top-order batting collapse whilechasing a modest 202, Azim scored 84 off 82balls to take side past the finish line. After hisdismissal, Nikhil Naik (32 not out) andShamshuzama Kazi (21 not out) played a latecameo to took the side home with eight balls tospare at the Gujarat State Fertilizer CorporationGround. Arpit Guleria (2/24) was the pick of thebowlers for Himachal Pradesh.

22 PALYERS NAMED FOR NAT’L CAMPNew Delhi: Hockey India on Sunday named 22players for the national coaching camp ahead ofthe crucial FIH Olympic Qualifiers to be held onNovember 1 and 2 in Bhubaneswar. The playerswill report to chief coach Graham Reid for thecamp that commences from today at the KalingaStadium in Bhubaneswar. The team is comingfrom a successful Belgium Tour where they beatthe hosts thrice (2-0, 2-1, 5-1) and also emergedvictorious twice against Spain (6-1, 5-1). They willtake on Russia in the crucial two-match TokyoOlympic Qualifiers next month.

JAPAN FLOOR SCOTS TO REACH WCQ/FYokohama: Japan's “Ferraris” hit top gear onSunday as the hosts beat Scotland 28-21 in abarnstorming Rugby World Cup clash to createhistory by reaching the quarter-finals. Rampagingwingers Kotaro Matsushima and Kenki Fukuokadid the damage for Japan, who survived a latefightback to advance as Pool A winners alongwith Ireland. The Brave Blossoms will face two-time world champions South Africa in Tokyo nextweekend after making it a perfect four wins out offour, roared on by a crowd of 67,000. AGENCIES

SINGLES

Joginder Narwal (Dabang Delhi), Fazel Atrachali (UMumba), Pawan Sehrawat (B’luru Bulls), Nitesh Kumar(UP Yoddha), Dharmaraj Cherlathan (Haryana Steelers),Esmaeil Nabibakhsh (Bengal Warriors) pose with thePKL-7 trophy before the start of knockouts

PTI n RANCHI

Dutee Chand completed a sprintdouble in the season-ending 59th

National Open AthleticsChampionships, clocking the fastesttime in 200m by an Indian this year witha 23.17 second burst here on Sunday.

Having set a national record in the100m on Friday, Dutee added the half-lapper Gold to her collection, showingher challenger Archana Suseendran(23.41) a clean pair of heels.

The Odisha athlete not only toppedArchana’s time of 23.18 seconds clockedin the AFI Grand Prix in Patiala onAugust 16 but also came up with herown second fastest time behind the23.00 timed in the Asian Games last year.Dutee was also adjudged the best femaleathlete while shot putter TajinderpalSingh Toor, who broke his own nation-al record on Saturday, was named bestathlete in the men’s category.

There was intense competition atthe triple jump pit, even in Asian GamesGold medallist Arprinder Singh’sabsence. Abdulla Aboobacker chal-lenged his Services team-mate KarthikUnnikrishnan till the very last jump inan event that saw the top six competi-tors cross the 16m mark.

Karthik Unnikrishnan, who tookthe lead with a 16.61m in the thirdround, leapt 16.78m on his final try to

win the Gold. Chinta Yadav emerged asurprise winner of the women’s 3000msteeplechase, outsprinting her Railwaysteam-mate Parul Chaudhary in a timeof 10 minutes 11.70 seconds.

Railways’ PU Chitra was anotherathlete who completed the double,adding the women’s 800m crown to the1500m title she won earlier this week.

With Lili Das dropping out, Chitradid not have to worry much in winningthe two-lap race in 2 minutes 04.59 sec-onds.

Manju’s run ends with Silver

Manju Rani (in red) punches Ekaterina Paltceva during World Championship final PTI

Neymar limps off in friendly draw

Italy book Euro spaceJorginho, Bernardeschi score in Azzurri’s seventh consecutive qualifiers win; Norway extend La Roja’s waitAFP n ROME/OSLO

Italy became the second team toqualify for Euro 2020 after a 2-0 win over Greece on Saturday,

while three-time champions Spainedged closer to the finals despiteconceding a stoppage-timeequaliser away to Norway.

Chelsea midfielder Jorginhodispatched a second-half penaltyas Italy, wearing green kits for justthe second time in history, regis-tered a seventh straight win inGroup J.

The Azzurri, who failed toqualify for the 2018 World Cup,added a second in Rome on 78minutes through a deflected strikefrom Juventus forward FedericoBernardeschi.

Roberto Mancini’s side joinedBelgium in the draw for nextyear’s finals, where Italy will playtheir first two group games at theStadio Olimpico.

“We managed to create a teamin a short period of time. It was-n’t easy but you have to thank theplayers, who have quickly devel-oped an understanding betweenthemselves,” said Mancini, whotook over as Italy coach 18 monthsago.

“It’s a team with character thatfights and plays with the ball butone that must also improve. Nowwe have a year to try and get bet-ter.

“We have a lot of work butwe’re not very far from the bestEuropean teams. I’m happy andproud to have helped the nation-al team come through a toughpatch.”

Spain dropped their firstpoints in Group F as Joshua Kingconverted a 94th-minute spot-kick to rescue a 1-1 draw forNorway following a foul by KepaArrizabalaga on Omar

Elabdellaoui.The visitors led when Saul

Niguez slammed home from 20yards moments after half-time butSpain were denied a seventh win ina row as King’s equaliser keptNorway in the running.

“It’s a real pain to lose points inthe final seconds. It’s complicated

to play against a team who knewthat if they lost they were prettymuch out,” said Spain captainRamos.

Norway last qualified for amajor tournament at the 2000European Championship and arefourth in the group, four pointsadrift of neighbours Sweden with

three games to play.Sebastian Larsson netted two

spot-kicks as Sweden cruised to a4-0 rout of Malta to reclaim secondplace behind Spain. MarcusDanielson broke the deadlock on 11minutes in Ta’ Qali and homeskipper Andrei Agius also scored anown goal.

Romania remain a pointbehind Sweden following a3-0 win in the Faroe Islandssecured by second-half goalsfrom George Puscas, IonutMitrita and Claudiu Keseru.

SCHMEICHEL STARSKasper Schmeichel produced a

series of excellent saves as Denmarkdefeated Switzerland 1-0 to climblevel with the Republic of Irelandin Group D.

Leicester City goalkeeperSchmeichel pulled off superb stopsto deny Granit Xhaka, AdmirMehmedi and Ricardo Rodriguezbefore Yussuf Poulsen grabbed an84th-minute winner.

The Danes moved up to 12points alongside group leadersIreland, who drew 0-0 away toGeorgia, while Switzerland are

four points off the pace but witha game in hand.

Mick McCarthy’s Irelandcouldn’t establish any momen-tum earlier in the day inTbilisi and were left frustrat-ed by wayward finishing

from their few opportunities tobreak the deadlock.

Bosnia and Herzegovinareignited their qualification hopesin Italy’s group with a 4-1 win oversecond-placed Finland.

A brace from Juventus mid-fielder Miralem Pjanic and goalsfrom Izet Hajrovic and ArminHodzic pushed Bosnia to withintwo points of Finland.

Armenia blew the chance tomove level with the Finns asLiechtenstein substitute Yanik Frickcancelled out Tigran Barseghyan’seffort in a 1-1 draw in Vaduz.

Italy teammates Marco Verratti and Lorenzo Insigne stare each other before the start of second half of play during Euro 2020 qaulifiers AP

AFP n OSLO

Sergio Ramos broke theSpanish international

appearances record on Saturdayas he won his 168th cap in a 1-1 draw against Norway to over-take Iker Casillas.

The Spain captain wasnamed in the starting line-up inOslo for the Euro 2020 qualifi-er by coach Robert Moreno, 14years since making his debut ina 3-0 friendly win over China.

The 33-year-old was part ofthe Spain sides which lifted the2010 World Cup, Euro 2008 andEuro 2012 titles.

He took over the Spaincaptaincy in 2016 after goal-keeper Casillas’ final match.

The centre-back equalled

Casillas’ mark of 167 games lastmonth against the FaroeIslands.

“All that is personal is a lit-tle secondary,” said Ramos afterthe game.

“I would have happily trad-ed this 168th cap for a victory.It was not the case. But thisrecord is a great reward after somany years and it’s a greatsource of huge pride.

“I am emotional every timeI put on this shirt. That will notchange and I hope to continuedoing so for many years.”

Ramos is now only eightcaps short of the Europeanrecord held by Italian stopperGianluigi Buffon (176) and 16adrift of Egyptian AhmedHassan’s world record of 184.

Ramos sets Spain record

Player coordinationwill be key in playoffs

—PRASHANTH KKUMAR RRAI

Neymar returns to dugout after getting injured

Winner Valtteri Bottas, right in white cap, and third placed Lewis Hamilton, left, celebrate withMercedes crew at their garage after the Japanese F1 Grand Prix at Suzuka Circuit in Suzuka AP

Dutee Chand celebrates after win PTI

Victorious ValtteriBottas wins Japanese Grand Prix as Mercedesclinch record sixth constructors’ title

Dutee closes seasonwith 200m Gold

sport 16HYDERABAD | MONDAY | OCTOBER 14, 2019

PTI n PUNE

The Indian juggernaut contin-ued to roll as the hosts humil-iated South Africa by an

innings and 137 runs in the secondTest to clinch a record 11th consec-utive series victory at home, here onSunday.

The struggling South Africabatsmen surrendered yet againagainst the Indian bowlers, whoasserted their supremacy in allconditions.

The comprehensive victory,coming on the fourth day, has con-solidated India’s top position in theWorld Test Championship table.India now have 200 points in theirkitty, a handsome 140 points awayfrom nearest-rival New Zealand.

Competing in his 50th Test ascaptain, Virat Kohli has now ledIndia to their 11th consecutiveseries at home, a world record.

After being asked to follow-on,South Africa were all-out for 189 in67.2 overs just after the tea break.

Following a superb effort fromthe batsmen, it was an all-roundeffort from India’s five-prongedbowling unit with comeback manUmesh Yadav claiming 3 for 22.

Ravindra Jadeja (3/52),Ravichandran Ashwin (2/45),Mohammed Shami (1/34) andIshant Sharma (1/17) played theirpart in the comprehensive victory.

Like in the first innings, VernonPhilander (37) and Maharaj (22)again came together to delay theinevitable adding 56 runs in 21.2overs.

Once Philander was caughtdown the leg-side by WriddhimanSaha, the resistance was over in aflash.

In the morning, the stodgyDean Elgar (48 off 72 balls) put upsome stiff resistance beforeRavichandran Ashwin (2/45)snuffed him out, in what was a deci-sive blow to the Proteas, just beforelunch.

After going wicket-less in thefirst innings, Ishant Sharma (1/17struck with the very second deliv-ery of the morning, a full-length in-dipper that struck Aiden Markram’spads (0) and umpire Nigel Llonghad no hesitation in raising his fin-ger.

The opener had the ignominyof bagging a ‘pair’ in this Test.

However it was WriddhimanSaha’s superb keeping skills that hadeveryone on the edge of their seats.He showed why he is so highly-rated in world cricket.

On the third morning duringSouth African first innings, poorTheunis de Bruyn (8) had sufferedtrying to play an expansive coverdrive off Umesh Yadav (1/14 off 5

overs) that Saha had plucked fromthin air in-front of the first slip.

On the fourth morning, DeBruyn tried playing a delicate glanceafter Umesh had drifted on thepads. To his horror, he saw an air-borne Saha pull off an acrobatic

stunner that left everyone stunned.Elgar and skipper Faf du Plessis

(5 off 54 balls) added 49 runs andwere ready to show patience, espe-cially the skipper, who was present-ing dead bat.

However, the ultra defensivetactic didn’t work for a lengthy peri-od as Du Plessis got out trying todrive an Ashwin off-break. The bat-pad inside edge kept low but Saha’ssharp reflexes meant that hepouched it on the fourth attempt.

Elgar, who lost a bit of concen-tration, tried to play a lofted shotbut didn’t get his timing right asUmesh ran back from his mid-offposition to take a fine runningcatch as India got the decisivebreakthrough.

PTI n PUNE

Paceman Umesh Yadav said heowed Wriddhiman Saha a “treat”

since the wicketkeeper plucked catch-es out of thin air when his leg-sidedeliveries could have gone to theboundary line, in the second Test.

Umesh returned figures of 3 for 22in South Africa’s second innings andthe pacer admitted that the credit forhis first two wickets entirely goes toSaha for his brilliant display behind thestumps.

“I think I should treat him forthose wickets down leg-side and thatfirst catch, and I think those two wick-ets are Wriddhi bhai’s wickets,” Umeshsaid after the match.

Saha’s superb keeping skills onceagain stole the show. On the thirdmorning during South African firstinnings, poor Theunis de Bruyn (8)tried playing an expansive cover driveoff Umesh but a diving Saha held a sen-sational catch in-front of the first slip.

And on the fourth day again, Sahapulled off two stunners down the leg-side off Umesh’s bowling in SouthAfrica’s second innings to dismiss DeBruyn and Vernon Philander.

“When you put the ball outside legstump you think it’ll be a boundary, butif there is a little bit chance to converta catch, we know he will take it,”Umesh said of Saha.

Meanwhile Saha, who was mak-ing a comeback in the Test playing XIafter being sidelined for more than ayear, said keeping against quality pac-ers at nets makes life easy for him dur-ing match situations.

“The ball wobbles for all three —Umesh, Ishant, Shami. We practice forthat. But ultimately you have to comeinto the match and do it,” he said.

“Our trainers help us out withstretches, ice-baths, and we are trainedfor the match-day really well, so cred-it to them for my fitness as well as mywicket-keeping performance,” addedSaha.

PTI n ALMERE

Rising Indian shuttler LakshyaSen on Sunday clinched his

maiden BWF World Tour title bywinning the Dutch Open men’ssingles title after beating YusukeOnodera of Japan in the summitclash here on Sunday.

The 18-year-old Indian ralliedfrom a game deficit to defeat hisworld No 160 opponent 15-21,21-14, 21-15 in a final that lasted63 minutes.

The Dutch Open is a BWFWorld Tour Super 100 tourna-ment.

In the opening game, Lakshyafell behind early on and could noterase the deficit, despite comingas close as 10-11 and 13-14.Onodera managed to keep hisnose ahead and pocketed theopening game to earn the brag-ging rights. The second gamestarted on a competitive notewith the pair trying to outwit eachother. The Indian grabbed a 8-5lead at one stage but the Japaneseclawed his way back.

Lakhsya again managed tomove to 12-8 with four straightpoints. Onodera narrowed it

down to 11-12 but Lakshyajumped to 18-11 and then roaredback into the contest.

In the decider, Lakshya cameup with a clear strategy and man-aged to keep his rival at a distance.He led 9-4 before making it 11-8at the break. After the interval,Lakshya continued to move aheadand slowly marched ahead to shutthe door on Onodera.

Lakshya, currently ranked72nd, had won the Belgian Openlast month and reached the finalsof Polish Open this year.

AFP n SHANGHAI

Daniil Medvedev won hisfourth title of a spectac-

ular year with a thumping 6-4, 6-1 victory overAlexander Zverev in theShanghai Masters final onSunday.

Victory for the 23-year-old Russian, contesting asixth final in a row, wasmore evidence that he is theprime contender to join the“Big Three” of NovakDjokovic, Rafael Nadal andRoger Federer.

The US Open finalist isalso able to say that he hasfinally beaten the GermanZverev, another young con-tender at 22, at the fifthattempt. This was anemphatic statement fromthe world number four,needing just 74 minutes toseal the crown.

“I think the stadiumwas full today and you guysare amazing support, start-ing from my first match,”Medvedev told the crowd.

“You gave me goodenergy to win this tourna-ment. Thank you very much,Shanghai will always be a

special place in my heart.”Zverev, long touted as

the best of the new genera-tion of men’s tennis stars,was error-prone, but hadno complaints.

“As I said yesterday, youare probably the best playerin the world right now,” theworld number six toldMedvedev. “How you areplaying is unbelievable.”

The next generationhas stamped its authority on

Shanghai with Djokovic andFederer — beaten by Zverev— both going out in thequarter-finals.

Medvedev said that he isa better player than he wasat the start of the year, buthas really sparkled since thesummer. Starting withWashington, DC, in July,the Russian has reached sixfinals on the spin — includ-ing the US Open — winningthree of them.

AFP n STUTTGART

All conquering Americangymnast Simone Biles won

her fifth Gold, her second of theday, at the world championshipson Sunday in the women’s floorfinal to extend her own all-timerecord to 25 worlds medals.

Having earlier won the beamfinal, the 22-year-old alsoextended her own record of 19world championships Goldsafter success earlier this week inStuttgart in the team, all-round

and vault events with the USA.Biles was crowned world

floor champion for the fifthtime in her career after winningthe final by a full point fromteam-mate Sunisa Lee, whoearned Silver with Russia’sAngelina Melnikova takingBronze. Her double Gold successcame within a two-hour spellafter earlier winning the beamfinal with China’s Liu Tingting,19, taking Silver with 16-year-old team-mate Li Shijia inBronze place.

Her victories on the beamand floor makes Biles the mostdecorated gymnast in history,surpassing the previous all-timerecord of 23 world medals wonby men’s star Vitaly Scherbo ofBelarus in the 1990s.

This is the first time Bileshas finished a world champi-onships with five Gold medalshaving said she is “99percent”sure Stuttgart will be thefifth and final worlds of hercareer. The only blot onBiles’near-perfect record insouth-west Germany came inSaturday’s uneven bars finalwhen she finished fifth.

2-0! India win seriesVirat && Co ccrush SSouth AAfrica bby aan iinnings aand 1137 rruns tto sseal rrecord cconsecutive 111th sseries aat hhoome

MOST CONSECUTIVE TEST SERIES WINS AT HOMETeam Series PeriodIndia 11 Feb2013-Oct 2019Australia 10 Nov 1994-Nov 2000Australia 10 July 2004-Nov 2008West Indies 8 March 1976-Feb 1986England 7 May 2009-May 2012South Africa 7 March 1998-Nov 2001

MOST WINS AS SKIPPER IN FIRST 50 TESTSSkipper P W L D Success%Steve Waugh (AUS) 50 37 8 5 79.00Ricky Ponting (AUS) 50 35 6 9 79.00Virat Kohli (IND) 50 30 10 10 70.00

Faisel FFeatures PTI n PUNE

Sounding a warning to the rivals,India captain Virat Kohli on

Sunday said they will not “taketheir feet off the gas” and will aimfor a whitewash when the finalTest begins in Ranchi.

“Looking at the larger pictureof the Test championship, everygame has value, whether it is athome or away, that is the format.So, we’re not going to take our footoff the gas in the third Test,” Kohlisaid at the post-match presenta-tion.

“No one is going to relax atany stage, we are going to go fora result in the third Test and hope-fully make it 3-0, that’s a guaran-tee,” he said.

South African captain Faf du

Plessis conceded that India aredeserving series winners and hisside was found wanting in the con-test.

“They are very tough to beatat home, their record speaks foritself. We know in the subconti-nent your first innings is reallyimportant. The runs you put onthe board gives you a chance,” hesaid.

“But the way India batted,especially Virat with 250, it takesa lot of mental toughness. Twodays in the field can wear youdown. Especially that secondevening, the batsmen were a bitweak in the mindset. From thenit’s playing catch-up.”

He said Kohli was too goodand his hunger for runs stood out.He was not satisfied with 100, 150.”

WE’LL GO FOR 3-0 SERIES WIN: KOHLI

Virat Kohli, right, celebrates with teammates after India win the second Test AP

PTI n PUNE

South Africa captain Faf duPlessis on Sunday

acknowledged that the dif-ference between his teamand India in the ongoing Testseries has been the “inexpe-rience” of the Proteas as it’snot possible to replace worldclass players like Hashim

Amla and AB de Villiersovernight.

“I think, it’s purely acase of inexperience. I saidbefore this Test series, yourbest Test teams are the teamswith the most experience.When it comes to this Indianteam, there’s a lot of experi-ence in that dressing room,there’s a lot of Test matches

behind their names,” adejected Du Plessis said afterlosing the series and Gandhi-Mandela Trophy.

“We are at this stagewhere we have lost almost allof our experience. DaleSteyn, Morne Morkel,Hashim Amla, AB deVilliers, all of them were sea-soned campaigners. You

don’t replace those guysovernight.

“And now it’s a newgroup of guys, who haveplayed 5, 6, 10, 11, 12, 15 Testmatches. That will take time.If you take the best playersout of any team, they wouldfind the same challenges,”Du Plessis explained.

He put his hands up and

said that as captain he needsto show the way along withQuinton de Kock and DeanElgar.

“For us, it is importantas a senior player group tomake sure that we put inperformances ourselves.Myself, Deano (Elgar) ,Quinny (De Kock), we can’texpect other guys to make

runs.“We need to make sure

we make the runs first andthen the others guys to chipin with us. In a time like this,it is important that your bigguys really, really take con-trol and make sure that theyput in the bulk of the work,”said Du Plessis, puttingacross his point clearly.

Can’t replace AB & Amla overnight: Faf

PTI n PUNE

Left-arm spinner George Lindewill replace an injured Keshav

Maharaj in South Africa’s squadfor the third Test in Ranchi,starting on Saturday.

According to a CSA mediarelease, Maharaj sustained aninjury to his right shoulder whilefielding on day two of the secondmatch and MRI results revealedthat he will not be fit in time toplay in the final Test match.

“An MRI scan revealed thatKeshav has sustained an injury toa muscle in his right shoulder. Hewas re-assessed this morning,particularly with regards to bowl-ing, and he showed significantdiscomfort in this latter disci-pline,” team doctor RamjeeHashendra commented.

“Based on this morning’sassessment and the findings ofthe scan, the medical team feels,he will not be fit in time for thenext Test match in six days’time. The nature and extent ofthe injury would mean that hewill probably return to play in 14to 21 days based on his progressduring the rehabilitation phase.”

Linde infor Maharaj

VIRAT KOHLI BECAME THEFIRST INDIAN CAPTAIN TOENFORCE A FOLLOW-ONAGAINST SOUTH AFRICA.

ENGLAND WERE THELAST SIDE THAT HAD

ENFORCED A FOLLOW-ONAGAINST THE PROTEAS IN

JULY 2008 AT LORD’S

Umesh Yadav celebrates after taking wicket ofKagiso Rabada during fourth day play AP

I owe Saha treatfor stunningcatches: Umesh

PUNE: There is no dearth of talent inIndia but the youngsters have a fairidea that they have to be better than theexisting bunch of seasonedcampaigners to break into the nationalside, reckons Umesh Yadav.The Vidarbha speedster feels that thecurrent lot has gained rich experienceover the years and is setting thebenchmark for the next batch ofplayers.“Most of the boys in this set-up, atleast 7-8 have played 40 plus Tests.So when the youngsters, who arecoming up, see the kind of hard yardsseniors are putting in, it’s not easy forthem. They know that they need to getbetter than us to be in the side,”Umesh said after the match. PTI

Youngsters need tobe better than us’

Biles extends recordto 25 world medals

Simone Biles performs during Worlds AP

Daniil Medvedev and Alexander Zverev pose with their trophies APLakshya Sen in a file picture BWF/Fansite

Medvedev seals Shanghai Masters

AFP n LINZ

Teenage prodigy CocoGauff won her first

WTA title on Sunday fol-lowing a 6-3, 1-6, 6-2 winover Jelena Ostapenko inthe final in Linz that sawher hold her first trophyaloft aged 15.

Gauff, who onlyentered the field as a luckyloser after failing to quali-fy, completed a dream weekin Linz in front of a sup-portive crowd to becomethe youngest player to wina WTA event since CzechNicole Vaidisova, who tri-umphed in Vancouver andTashkent two months apartin 2004. “I’ll rememberthis day for the rest of mylife,” the delighted Gauffsaid after receiving a min-utes-long standing ovationfrom 3,000 spectators.

“I had an amazingweek and I hope to be backin the future.”

First WTAtitle for Coco

Lakshya winsDutch tourney

Indian captain Virat Kohli, center, celebrates with teammates after winning the second Test against South Africa in Pune on Sunday AP