the pioneer€¦ · incident went viral on social media, accolades have started pouring in from...

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T he informal seven-hour Modi-Xi connect over two days in Chennai will be for- mally utilised by India and China to bolster long-term trade, investment, defence and security ties even as the con- tentious issue of Kashmir which had cast its shadow on the talks between the leaders of the two Asian giants was “not raised or discussed”. Chinese President Xi Jinping, however, briefed Prime Minister Narendra Modi about Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan’s visit to Beijing earlier in the week. The two leaders raised concern about terrorism posing a common threat. The summit was held against the backdrop of China’s strong support to Pakistan on the Kashmir issue over the past few weeks and India tak- ing strong exception to it. But that didn’t come in the way of Modi-Xi’s bonhomie with the latter appreciating the hospi- tality extended to him and inviting the Prime Minister for the third informal summit, which Modi accepted. Meanwhile, the Indian embassy in Beijing has announced a five-year tourist e-visa with multiple entry facil- ity for Chinese travellers, coin- ciding with President Xi’s visit. The two sides resolved to start a new chapter of cooper- ation while prudently manag- ing their differences. The Wuhan spirit gave a new momentum and trust to our relations and a new era of cooperation will start between India and China with the “Chennai Connect”, Modi said in his remarks at the delegation level talks after a 90-minute one-on-one conversation with Xi in a luxury resort overlook- ing the Bay of Bengal. And Xi said their “candid”, “heart-to-heart” discussions on bilateral relations were “in- depth” and “good”, noting that maintaining and expanding the Sino-India relations is a firm policy of his Government. Among the 16 significant outcomes were China’s assur- ance to address India’s concerns on ballooning trade deficit and on negotiations for the pro- posed Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), work on additional confidence building measures and agreement on consolidating strategic com- munication to enhance mutu- al trust between militaries of the two countries to maintain peace on border. Modi said the Wuhan sum- mit led to increased stability and fresh momentum in Sino- India relations as strategic com- munication increased between the two sides. “We had decid- ed that we will prudently man- age our differences, and not allow them to become dis- putes, we will remain sensitive about each other’s concerns and that our relations will lead to peace and stability across the world. These are our big achievements and these will inspire us to do more in future,” Modi said. The PM also said India and China were global economic powers during most of the last 2000 years and were returning to stage gradually. For his part, Xi said the first informal sum- mit continues to produce vis- ible progress. “We have deeper strategic communication, more effective practical cooperation, more diverse people-to-people and cultural exchanges and we have closer cooperation on multi- lateral occasions. What has happened has proved that we made the right decision to have this kind of informal summit and we can well con- tinue with this form of meet- ing,” the Chinese leader said. C ome Monday, Kashmir Valley will start buzzing with mobile phone ringtones after over two months. After lifting August 2 trav- el advisory, preventing tourists from visiting J&K, the State administration on Saturday announced the much awaited decision to restore postpaid mobile phone services from October 14 from 12 pm. However, internet services will continue to remain sus- pended in the Valley. To woo tourists, the Government has decided to restore the service at tourist places. Meanwhile, at least seven persons were injured in a grenade attack by terrorists in a market area near Lal Chowk in Srinagar on Saturday. Three are in critical condition. Addressing a press confer- ence in Srinagar, J&K Government’s spokesperson Rohit Kansal said, “After reviewing the situation in Jammu & Kashmir, a decision was taken to restore mobile phone facilities in Kashmir.” R ashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) Sarsanghachalak Mohan Bhagwat on Saturday arrived here on a nine-day visit to the State. He attended a meeting of Bishistha Nagarika Sammilani (a meeting of intellectuals) organised at the SOA University campus here in the evening. “The RSS is working for development of Hindus and all other communities in the inter- est of the country,” Bhagwat said. Bhagwat is scheduled to attend the RSS’ Akhil Bharatiya Karyakari Mandal meeting to be held in the city between October 15 and 20. About 400 functionaries from different States and affil- iated groups will attend this meeting, which will be held by the RSS for the first time in Odisha. BJP working presi- dent JP Nadda will also attend the meeting. The meeting is scheduled to discuss a host of issues, including abrogation of Article 370, ban on Triple Talaq, forth- coming Assembly polls, world climate and implementation of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and Ram Mandir. At a time when the BJP is making a significant progress in Odisha and has become main opposition party, the timing of the RSS’ highest decision making body meeting is seen as a crucial move by the saffron brigade. W estern Odisha’s BJP dis- sident leader Ashok Panigrahi, finally, on Saturday resigned from the party’s pri- mary membership, dealing a blow to the saffron outfit before the Bijepur Assembly by-elec- tion scheduled for October 21. Panigrahi, who had joined the BJP in 2018 after quitting the BJD, sent in his resignation letter to party State president Basanta Panda. Panigrahi told reporters, “The party was having a use- and-throw attitude towards me and ignored me on several occasions. The party leadership nei- ther took me into confidence while taking decisions nor gave any responsibility to me during polls or the present by-poll. Therefore, I took this decision.” Asked about his future course of action and possibili- ty of joining back the BJD, Panigrahi said he would take a decision about it after holding talks with his supporters. “Before the Bijepur by-poll, I won’t join anywhere. As far as any chance of rejoining the BJD, there is hardly any such plan (now),” he added Last week, Panigrahi had made a media statement that the BJP was neglecting him and he would take a drastic step in a day or two. Later, he had made a U-turn and denied the talks of quitting the saffron party as a rumour. Though Panigrahi, a for- mer MLA, had quit the BJD and joined the BJP, he was denied a ticket by the BJP to contest the Assembly elections from Bijepur this year. S howing exemplary courage, minor boy G y a n a Ranjan risked his life to rescue a friend from drown- ing in the sea at Pentha under Rajnagar block in the district on Friday. Reports said Gyana along with three of his friends had gone to the Pentha sea beach to play. Later, they decided to take a bath in the sea. While bathing, one of his friends, Prithviraj Behera, was swept away by strong currents into the deep sea. Gyana Ranjan did not waste a second and rushed to his friend’s rescue and managed to bring him to safety. “While rescuing Prithiviraj, it felt like I would also drown with him. Initially, I was not even able to keep control of my body due to the strong current. But finally, I managed to bring him back to the shore,” said the brave boy. Later, after the video of the incident went viral on social media, accolades have started pouring in from netizens for Gyana for his bravery. BARGARH: Ahead of the Bijepur by-poll in Bargarh dis- trict, the Flying Squad of the Election Commission seized cash of 3.5 lakh from a Bolero during a vehicle inspection drive near Sarandapali in the district on Saturday evening. The person carrying the cash was identified as Madhusudan Das. Officials of the Flying Squad were interro- gating him to ascertain the pur- pose behind carrying the huge cash. Sources said that Das was on his way to Boudh when his car was intercepted. Earlier on Thursday night, the squad had seized 19 lakh from the Barpali area in the Bijepur constituency. PNS

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Page 1: The Pioneer€¦ · incident went viral on social media, accolades have started pouring in from netizens for ... cash of 3.5 lakh from a Bolero during a vehicle inspection drive near

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The informal seven-hourModi-Xi connect over two

days in Chennai will be for-mally utilised by India andChina to bolster long-termtrade, investment, defence andsecurity ties even as the con-tentious issue of Kashmirwhich had cast its shadow onthe talks between the leaders ofthe two Asian giants was “notraised or discussed”.

Chinese President XiJinping, however, briefed PrimeMinister Narendra Modi aboutPakistan Prime Minister ImranKhan’s visit to Beijing earlier inthe week. The two leadersraised concern about terrorismposing a common threat.

The summit was heldagainst the backdrop of China’sstrong support to Pakistan onthe Kashmir issue over thepast few weeks and India tak-ing strong exception to it. Butthat didn’t come in the way ofModi-Xi’s bonhomie with thelatter appreciating the hospi-tality extended to him andinviting the Prime Ministerfor the third informal summit,which Modi accepted.

Meanwhile, the Indianembassy in Beijing hasannounced a five-year touriste-visa with multiple entry facil-ity for Chinese travellers, coin-

ciding with President Xi’s visit.The two sides resolved to

start a new chapter of cooper-ation while prudently manag-ing their differences.

The Wuhan spirit gave anew momentum and trust toour relations and a new era ofcooperation will start betweenIndia and China with the“Chennai Connect”, Modi saidin his remarks at the delegationlevel talks after a 90-minuteone-on-one conversation withXi in a luxury resort overlook-ing the Bay of Bengal.

And Xi said their “candid”,“heart-to-heart” discussions

on bilateral relations were “in-depth” and “good”, noting thatmaintaining and expandingthe Sino-India relations is afirm policy of his Government.

Among the 16 significantoutcomes were China’s assur-ance to address India’s concernson ballooning trade deficit andon negotiations for the pro-posed RegionalComprehensive EconomicPartnership (RCEP), work onadditional confidence buildingmeasures and agreement onconsolidating strategic com-munication to enhance mutu-al trust between militaries of

the two countries to maintainpeace on border.

Modi said the Wuhan sum-mit led to increased stabilityand fresh momentum in Sino-India relations as strategic com-munication increased betweenthe two sides. “We had decid-ed that we will prudently man-age our differences, and notallow them to become dis-putes, we will remain sensitiveabout each other’s concernsand that our relations will leadto peace and stability across theworld. These are our bigachievements and these willinspire us to do more in future,”Modi said.

The PM also said India andChina were global economicpowers during most of the last2000 years and were returningto stage gradually. For his part,Xi said the first informal sum-mit continues to produce vis-ible progress.

“We have deeper strategiccommunication, more effectivepractical cooperation, morediverse people-to-people andcultural exchanges and we havecloser cooperation on multi-lateral occasions. What hashappened has proved that wemade the right decision tohave this kind of informalsummit and we can well con-tinue with this form of meet-ing,” the Chinese leadersaid.

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Come Monday, KashmirValley will start buzzing

with mobile phone ringtonesafter over two months.

After lifting August 2 trav-el advisory, preventing touristsfrom visiting J&K, the Stateadministration on Saturdayannounced the much awaiteddecision to restore postpaidmobile phone services fromOctober 14 from 12 pm.

However, internet serviceswill continue to remain sus-pended in the Valley. To wootourists, the Government hasdecided to restore the service attourist places.

Meanwhile, at least sevenpersons were injured in agrenade attack by terrorists ina market area near Lal Chowkin Srinagar on Saturday. Threeare in critical condition.

Addressing a press confer-ence in Srinagar, J&KGovernment’s spokespersonRohit Kansal said, “Afterreviewing the situation inJammu & Kashmir, a decisionwas taken to restore mobile phone facilities inKashmir.”

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Rashtriya SwayamsevakSangh (RSS)

Sarsanghachalak MohanBhagwat on Saturday arrivedhere on a nine-day visit to theState.

He attended a meeting ofBishistha Nagarika Sammilani(a meeting of intellectuals)organised at the SOAUniversity campus here in theevening.

“The RSS is working fordevelopment of Hindus and allother communities in the inter-est of the country,” Bhagwatsaid.

Bhagwat is scheduled toattend the RSS’ Akhil BharatiyaKaryakari Mandal meeting tobe held in the city betweenOctober 15 and 20.

About 400 functionariesfrom different States and affil-iated groups will attend thismeeting, which will be held bythe RSS for the first time inOdisha. BJP working presi-dent JP Nadda will also attendthe meeting.

The meeting is scheduledto discuss a host of issues,including abrogation of Article370, ban on Triple Talaq, forth-coming Assembly polls, worldclimate and implementationof the National Register of

Citizens (NRC) and RamMandir.

At a time when the BJP ismaking a significant progressin Odisha and has become

main opposition party, thetiming of the RSS’ highestdecision making body meetingis seen as a crucial move by thesaffron brigade.

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Western Odisha’s BJP dis-sident leader Ashok

Panigrahi, finally, on Saturdayresigned from the party’s pri-mary membership, dealing ablow to the saffron outfit beforethe Bijepur Assembly by-elec-tion scheduled for October 21.

Panigrahi, who had joinedthe BJP in 2018 after quittingthe BJD, sent in his resignationletter to party State presidentBasanta Panda.

Panigrahi told reporters,“The party was having a use-and-throw attitude towards meand ignored me on severaloccasions.

The party leadership nei-ther took me into confidencewhile taking decisions nor gaveany responsibility to me duringpolls or the present by-poll.Therefore, I took this decision.”

Asked about his futurecourse of action and possibili-ty of joining back the BJD,Panigrahi said he would take adecision about it after holdingtalks with his supporters.“Before the Bijepur by-poll, Iwon’t join anywhere. As far asany chance of rejoining theBJD, there is hardly any suchplan (now),” he added

Last week, Panigrahi hadmade a media statement that

the BJP was neglecting him andhe would take a drastic step ina day or two. Later, he hadmade a U-turn and denied thetalks of quitting the saffronparty as a rumour.

Though Panigrahi, a for-mer MLA, had quit the BJDand joined the BJP, he wasdenied a ticket by the BJP tocontest the Assembly electionsfrom Bijepur this year.

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Sh o w i n gexemplary

c o u r a g e ,minor boyG y a n aR a n j a nrisked his lifeto rescue a friend from drown-ing in the sea at Pentha underRajnagar block in the districton Friday.

Reports said Gyana alongwith three of his friends hadgone to the Pentha sea beach toplay. Later, they decided to takea bath in the sea. Whilebathing, one of his friends,Prithviraj Behera, was sweptaway by strong currents intothe deep sea.

Gyana Ranjan did notwaste a second and rushed tohis friend’s rescue and managedto bring him to safety.

“While rescuing Prithiviraj,it felt like I would also drownwith him. Initially, I was noteven able to keep control of mybody due to the strong current.

But finally, I managed to bringhim back to the shore,” said thebrave boy.

Later, after the video of theincident went viral on socialmedia, accolades have startedpouring in from netizens forGyana for his bravery.

BARGARH: Ahead of theBijepur by-poll in Bargarh dis-trict, the Flying Squad of theElection Commission seizedcash of �3.5 lakh from a Boleroduring a vehicle inspectiondrive near Sarandapali in thedistrict on Saturday evening.

The person carrying thecash was identified asMadhusudan Das. Officials ofthe Flying Squad were interro-gating him to ascertain the pur-pose behind carrying the hugecash.

Sources said that Das wason his way to Boudh when hiscar was intercepted. Earlier onThursday night, the squad hadseized �19 lakh from theBarpali area in the Bijepurconstituency. PNS

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Page 2: The Pioneer€¦ · incident went viral on social media, accolades have started pouring in from netizens for ... cash of 3.5 lakh from a Bolero during a vehicle inspection drive near

She is bold, sanskaari and honestwhich makes her the most deservingcandidate for the Dilli Darlings

crown. Meet the wealthiest of all thedarlings and the winner of the show —Shaloo Jindal.

A mother of two, a son and adaughter, Jindal was initially apprehensiveof signing the show.

“I have never faced the camerabefore. When the team came to me, I wasapprehensive of signing the show. Theteam insisted and said that there’s a reasonwhy they had shortlisted me. My familyalso encouraged me to give and asked meto see how things went. I am glad that Idecided to be a part of the show,” she tellsyou.

However it was not a piece of cake forJindal. Being surrounded by the cameraall the time came with its share ofchallenges. “It was difficult to manageeverything. For two months, I wasn’t ableto give time to my family. I received alot of criticism in the show for mydressing style. I didn’t have a stylist.The reason being I wanted to just bewho I am and not try to besomeone that I am not. I designedmy clothes and did my make-up.I wanted to stay true to mypersonality. Though, it used toget hectic sometimes but thenall’s well that ends well. Myhard work paid off,” she says.

Even his son’s classmatesused to tease and make funof him. “They used to writeDilli Darling on my son’sshirt. They used to call menames. My son criedeveryday after returningfrom school. He askedme to quit the show.But, I wanted to shuteveryone’s mouth.The moment I wonthe show, everyone’sbehaviour towards me andmy son changed. I startedreceiving lots of wishes,” shetells you.

Winning the title was

definitely a proud and happy moment forJindal, but what makes her happier is thelove she is getting from her fans.

“I receive so many messages onsocial media. The amount of love andappreciation that I have received isoverwhelming. When so many peopleshower their love on you and relate toyou, it’s a feeling that can’t be put intowords,” she tells you.

Jindal recalls one such message fromher fan during the show which said:‘Ma’am, please don’t cry in the show

because whenever my husband seeyou crying he starts crying too.Please be strong, we all are with

you.’ A lot has changed for Jindal aftercoming in the limelight. Thereare so many eyes that now

follow her everywhere.“I have always been a simple

person. There are instances when Itake an auto rickshaw to some place.And it’s completely fine, but now

whenever I am travelling in a publictransport people say dekho dekho dillidarling rickshaw mein ja rahi hai. Idon’t get affected by such commentsbecause it’s part and parcel of comingbeing in the limelight. Now, I havebecome more conscious. I have totake care of how I am dressedbefore stepping out of my house,which never bothered me earlier,”she says.

Emerging as a winner camewith a lot of criticism from thefellow contestants but it was not amatter of concern for Jindal.

“After I won the show, all theother contestants said that the

camera person only focused onme throughout and that’s thereason why I won. It’snatural when you emerge as

a winner there are things thatpeople will say about you andyou have to deal with it. I justlaughed off all their claims,”she says.

We hope that this winwill open many more doors for her.

����# �$"#%�-�$� �#' -�!�.!��%�/01�23/4 ���$��+����,- 3�*�-���

-3�� �/�� ���#�4���2����)�����5�����6�1������7�����68�����*� �6�+����� (� �� ����+���2�,9:;

Directed by Shonali Bose and co-produced by Siddharth RoyKapur, Ronnie Screwvala and

Priyanka Chopra, The Sky Is Pink isbased on a true story of AishaChaudhary, a girl from Delhi, who wasborn with Severe Combined ImmunoDeficiency (SCID).

The film, a love story of a couplespanning 25 years, is told through thelens of their spunky teenage daughter –Aisha, who was diagnosed withpulmonary fibrosis and went on tobecoming a well-known motivationalspeaker. She authored a book — MyLittle Epiphanies, published one daybefore her death. She died on January24, 2015 at 19.

Given this plot, the movie promisesto be a tearjerker and it doesn’tdisappoint. You end up crying buckets.If you are the kind of person who cries,don’t forget to carry an entire box of

tissue paper. There are no cliff hangers here

since the opening shot already tells youhow things end. Told in a flashback,the film is an emtional wringer,especially for parents.

The beauty of The Sky Is Pink liesin not just that despite knowing how itends, it is able to hold the audiences’attention till the credits start rolling butalso the connect that the audiencemakes with the Chaudhary family andwalks with them through their ups anddowns.

Though the film is about Aisha,strangely she is not central to the film.It is the entire Chaudhary family andhow they deal with the hand that theyhave been dealt with. Priyanka Chopraas Aisha’s mother (Moose, as she isreferred to), plays the role toperfection. Farhan Akhtar, as thepeace-loving Moose’s husband is just asgood.

Overall, it is a movie that is not tobe missed.

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�What is your role?I play Srilekha Iyengar, one

of the three judges of the showDancer No 1. She is strict andknows the value of classicaldancing. She is precise in whatshe says and is a perfectionist.She believes is talent and hardwork. Sometimes it appears asif she is a negative character butthat’s not the case. She is loving.

�Were there anyapprehensions before takingup the role?

Not at all. This is one rolethat I have never ventured intoand it comes as a beautifulchange for me. I have neverdone anything related to areality show but fiction. Here itis a blend of both. I am happyto be part of it.

�How did acting happen toyou?

I don’t exactly know how ithappened. There is a film madeon my life — Naache Mayuri.I was casted in it because thestory was based on my life andthat is how I entered theindustry. That’s all I rememberfor now.

�Can you remember a rolethatis close to your heart?

There are many roles thatare my favourite but the onethat comes close to my heart isRamola Sikand in Kaahin KissiiRoz. I believe the role was aturning point in my career. Thesecond one which was like acomeback for me on TV wasYamini Singh Raheja inNaagin.

�How has your journey beenthus far?

It has been a long one. Myjourney was never like astraight line, it was full of a lotof ups and downs. Both upsand downs are important in lifeto break the monotonyotherwise one can becomestagnant. It has been interestingwith a lot of curves and I amenjoying it all through.

�Was there moment whenyou thought of quitting inbetween?

Yes. After doing NaacheMayuri I was jobless for seven

years. People kept telling methat I am not made for thisindustry and it will neveraccept me. But somewhere inmy heart, I had that belief thatif God has brought me in thisindustry, there is a purposebehind it and He will never letme down. Because of thisimplicit faith in the Almighty,I still continue to be a part ofthis industry even after somany years. I knew that theright time will come wheneverything will change for thebetter. It did. And when itcame, it was big.

�Is it hard to balance yourwork and personal life?

No. It is easy to balancework and family. Most of thewomen are doing it today andwe actors are no exception. ButI have drew a definite linebetween my work and family.I work for 12 hours a day andthen go back home and spendthe rest of the time with my

family. I make sure thatwhatever time I am getting free,it should be well spent with mysmall family —my husband, myfather and I.

�Any advice for the aspiringactors?

Ideally, there is no need toadvise the upcominggeneration because they arefocused in life, they know whatthey want and are workingtowards it. They are dedicatedand believe in working hard.The amount of hours they putinto work is amazing. It is niceto see the new breed of actorscoming up who are soprofessional.

�Upcoming projects?At prsent, I am doing

Bepanah Pyaarr on Colors,Yeh Hai Mohabbtein on StarPlus and Tara from Satara. Iwould like to concentrate onthese shows for now.

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The Commissionerate police busted a sex rack-et operating in a spa at Shastri Nagar here

on Friday and arrested a middleman in this con-nection.

As many as five women engaged in the fleshtrade fled from the spa before the police con-ducted a raid at the health facility.

Acting on allegations by locals that the sexracket was operating at ‘Krishna Spa’ in their area,a police team raided the place in the evening andfound ten secluded rooms in the spa. A person,who was working as the middleman for the rack-et, was arrested. Efforts are on to trace and res-cue the five women, a police official said.

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Arare white snake was spotted atPanchapada village in the

Chandbali area of Bhadrak district onFriday evening.

The 3.5-feet-long snake, whichmoves very swiftly, was rescued froma garden of one Jogesh Chandra Das.Locals were panicked to see theunusual snake as they suspectedpresence of a giant snake of thisspecies in the area.

Das said, “I had never seen suchtype of snake in my life. Withoutharming it, I caught it and kept it ina jar. Such a snake species was neverspotted in this area before. Though Ihad heard about a giant snake in the area unlikethis kind, this was the first white snake we foundin our locality.”

Locals claimed that the rare white snake isa species native to China. They demanded thatthe Forest Department conduct a search in the

area to discover more rare varieties of snakes.“After internet search, we came to know that

it is a Chinese snake. Locals from acrossChandbali thronged here to see the snakecaught by my friend,” said Jogesh Das’ friendBadrinath Nayak.

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Tourism Secretary Vishal KumarDev on Saturday announced that

the third edition of Odisha TravelBazaar (OTB) would be inaugurat-ed by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaikhere on October 14 which wouldcontinue till 20.

Dev said the Department ofTourism in partnership with theFICCI would conduct the event,which would include the depart-ment's proactive outreach to stake-holders of tourism and hospitalitysector through a series of domesticroad shows and during landmarkevents such as the ITB Berlin, WTMLondon, GITB Jaipur and many

more national tourism events.The State would host 26 leading

foreign tour operators from 16 coun-tries, 60 leading domestic tour oper-ators from 19 cities in India as wellas international airline and travelwriter–all of whom would engage inB2B meetings with about 50 touroperators and hoteliers from Odishawho would participate as sellers toshowcase and market the tourismproducts of Odisha along with theUnion Ministry of Tourism andOdisha Tourism.

The key highlight of the summitis its exclusive focus on the businessof inbound and domestic tourism.

Foreign and domestic tour oper-ators would be taken on (familiari-

sation) FAM trips to familiariseabout the tourism destinations ofOdisha.

sStructured buyer–seller meetswould be held over three days fromOctober 18 to 20 to enable domes-tic and international collaborationsin business opportunities presentedby Odisha's tourism and hospitalitylandscape.

Three FAM tours are planned.The FAM-I tour would start fromBhubaneswar and cover Puri,Konark, Buddhist sites andBhitarkanika National Park.

The FAM-II tour would coverthe Golden Triangle of Odisha andthe Chilika lagoon while the FAM-III would include ethnic tours ofChatikona Tribal Market, Onkadeliand Desia Eco Resort, etc. Alsoincluded are the landscapes ofKoraput, Jeypore and Malkanagiridistricts.

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An incidence of a pregnantwoman delivering her baby

in the premises of the CapitalHospital here came to the foreon Saturday.

Reports said the familymembers of one Pana Murmuof Salia Sahi here had beenrushed her to the CapitalHospital on Friday after shecomplained of labour pain.After an initial checkup, shewas shifted to the labour room.

Later, her family allegedthat the doctor at the labourroom did not treat the patientand sent her back citing that itwas not labour pain. But hoursthereafter, the woman delivereda baby on the footpath outsidethe Blood Bank of the hospital.

Reacting to the allegednegligence on the part of theconcerned doctor, the CapitalHospital authorities said thataccording to the labour roomin-charge, the patient had comeon Friday and was attended bythe concerned doctor.

As there was no labourpain, the patient was returned.

She again arrived at the hospi-tal after sometime and deliv-ered a baby.

The authorities said that sofar they have not received anycomplaint regarding any neg-ligence. Appropriate actionwould be taken after conduct-ing a probe, if any complaint islodged.

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Apatient undergoing treatment at theSCB Medical College Hospital here

allegedly committed suicide by jumping offfrom the third floor of the hospital build-ing on Saturday.

The identity of the deceased was yetto be ascertained.

The patient had been admitted to theDestitute Ward of the hospital a few daysago. But he all of sudden broke open thegrill of a window on Saturday morning andjumped down. He was immediately res-cued in a critical condition and rushed fortreatment but was declared brought dead.

While the exact cause behind the inci-dent was yet to be ascertained, a probe wasinitiated by the hospital authorities.

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Amotorbikerace on

Friday nightclaimed the lifeof a helmetlessyouth in theDera area ofTalcher. A bicy-clist, whom theyouth’s motor-cycle hit, was left with a severed leg.

One Abinash Jain of CentralColony in Talcher town was racingwith another biker at around 8 pm.He lost control of his bike andrammed into the bicyclist crossingthe road near a petrol pump.

The intensity of the clash was sosevere that Jain died on the spotwhile the cyclist was grievouslyinjured with his leg severed.

Initially, the cyclist was rushed

to the Central Hospital in Talcherand later shifted to the SCB MedicalCollege Hospital in Cuttack after hiscondition deteriorated.

Police said prima facie, it wasclear that Jain was riding the bike ata high speed without a helmet. It wassuspected that he was racing withanother motorcyclist that led to themishap.

An investigation is underway toascertain the reason behind the acci-dent.

PARADIP: A minor boy died after being hitby a truck near Phulabelari on the Cuttack-Paradip road on Saturday morning. Thedeceased, identified as Kahnu, was study-ing in Class-V.

The truck knocked down three childrenwhile they were riding bicycles on their wayto attend tuition early in the morning.

While Kahnu died on the spot, the twoothers sustained critical injuries.

The injured were initially rushed to theKujang Community Health Centre (CHC)and later shifted to the SCB Medical CollegeHospital in Cuttack as their conditions dete-riorated.

Irate locals detained the truck andstaged a road blockade demanding com-pensation to the victims’ families. Duringinterrogation of the truck driver by police,it was found that he was driving in an ine-briated condition.

Keeping in view the palpable tension inthe area, one platoon police force wasdeployed to avoid any untoward incident. PNS

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In another such incident, awoman’s body was carried

on a bicycle by her two sonsto a cremation ground as vil-lagers refused to attend herfuneral ceremony over a pastrivalry in

Motigam village underChandahandi block inNabarangpur district onSaturday.

Nuakhai Pandey had diedon Friday evening. As the family had aconflict with some villagers belonging totheir community, its relatives deniedlending shoulders to the body.

With no option left, the woman’s twosons carried the body on a bicycle andcremated it on a nearby riverbank.

“Though our mother died lastevening, the uproar created by villagersover past rivalry obstructed us to con-duct the rituals on time. However, wecremated the body in the graveyarddespite hindrance,” said a son of thedeceased.

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In a money-laundering case,properties worth over �4,025

crore of the Bhushan Powerand Steel Limited (BPSL) havebeen attached by theEnforcement Directorate (ED).

According to the EDsources, the company divertedloans taken from banks andother financial institutions. Itswung to action after an FIRwas lodged by the CentralBureau of Investigation (CBI).

Investigations to identifyfurther proceeds of crime areunder progress under thePrevention of MoneyLaundering Act (PMLA).

An amount of �695.14crore was introduced as capi-tal in the BPSL out of artificiallygenerated Long Term Capital

Gains (LTCG) by diversion ofbank loans fund of the BPSL.LTCG was exempted fromIncome Tax during the relevanttime.

Another amount of�3,330.09 crore invested asequity by promoter companieswas also found to have beendiverted from accounts of theBPSL.

With diverted money, theBPSL had allegedly acquiredland, building and plant andmachinery worth thousandsof crores of rupees at its Odishaplant, the agency said.

The ED conducted inves-tigation on the basis of an FIRregistered by the CentralBureau of Investigation (CBI)under charges of criminal con-spiracy, cheating and forgery ofthe IPC.

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The BJP MP and MLAs ofMayurbhanj district have

expressed serious concern over theillegal cattle trafficking in the trib-als-dominated district.

The MLAs led by MPBishweswar Tudu met MayurbhanjSP Parmar Smit Purusottam Dasand expressed anguish over the ris-ing cases of cow-torturing and cow-slaughtering in the district.

They urged the SP to take strin-gent action against the people whoinvolved in illegal cattle trade. TheSP assured that appropriate actionwould be taken against those foundguilty in such cases.

Earlier on the day, on the side-lines of the concluding function of

a two-day district-level VishwaHindu Parishad (VHP) trainingcamp here, Tudu, MLAs BhaskarMadhei, Prakash Soren, BudhanMurmu, Sanatan Bijuli, NabaCharan Majhi and GaneshramKhuntia held a meeting and dis-cussed issues related to cow-tortur-

ing, trading and slaughtering andprotection of go-mata by increasinggoshalas in the district.

The peoples’ representativesalso warned the administration ofdire consequences if stringent mea-sures are not taken against the cowkillers.

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Eminent painter DebendraKhatua was killed in a road

accident in Balasore town onSaturday noon. He was 42 andis survived by his wife and aneght-year-old son.

When Khatua was on hisway to Baleswar town riding ascooter, a private bus named‘Raghunath’ from Baripada ranover him near Remuna GolaiSquare. He was overtaking anSUV when the bus hit himfrom the rear.

He was rushed to theDistrict Headquarters Hospitalhere, where doctors declaredhim brought dead.

A popular figure in thetown, the artist had been felic-itated by the Odisha Lalit KalaAkademi twice.

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Union Steel Minister DharmendraPradhan on Saturday said

Kalinganagar in Jajpur district wouldproduce 30 million tonnes of steel per annum in coming 10 yearsand lead the sector in the entire coun-try.

Pradhan was attending the vale-dictory event of a national handballtournament at Chhatia in Jajpur dis-trict.

Stating that the country has set atarget to produce 300 million tonnesof steel per annum by 2030, Pradhansaid, “Currently, India has capacity ofproducing about 150 million tonnes ofsteel.

The steel firms operating inKalinganagar has been contributingsignificantly to the country’s steel sec-tor. In next 10 years, Kalinganagar willproduce 30 MTPA steel and, thereby,lead the sector.”

Pradhan said Kalinganagar wouldalso strengthen the economy of theregion and the State by producing steel.

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ROURKELA: Sundargarh dis-trict Collector Nikhil PavanKalyan onSaturday revealedthat he has come to know thata fake ID in socialmedia hasbeen created in his name anddemands for some favours aresought from some peoplethrough it.

Speaking to mediapersons,Kalyan appealed to people notto fall prey to the demands ofthe fake ID creator. He said hewould take help of police to nabthe culprit.

Kalyan, who is very activein social media, came to knowfrom some of his friends that anaccount in his name is active inFacebook apart from his nor-mal account.

The account creator, iden-tifying himself as theSundargarh Collector, hasdemanded favours from somepeople in exchange of gettingtheir work done in theCollectorate. The Collector alsotook to Facebook to report the

matter with some snapshots ofthe conversation. The photosshared by the Collector showedthat a fraudster in the guise ofthe Collector was trying to getexpensive smartphones fromthe owner of an electronicsshop. "I with the help of someof my friends have blocked thefake account, but at the sametime I consider awareness isneeded about this wrong prac-tice so that no one falls prey toit," Kalyan added.

The Collector said, “We arein public domain and active onsocial media as well. Someanti-socials indulge in mis-chief by using our names andpositions on social media. Weidentified it before any kind ofdamage was done. I requesteveryone to be aware of suchonline frauds. I appeal to thepublic that no one shouldencourage demands of anykind of favour in my name asthis would only be a call fromsome fake IDs.” PNS

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In a significant drive to save papers,the State Government has decided to

adopt a “Single Page Salary Bill” sys-tem for its employees, which will saveover 15 lakh pages of paper everymonth.

Thus, the Government will save 1.8crore pages and hundreds of hours ofmanpower in a year. The State hastaken this initiative first in the coun-try.

The project was taken in threemajor treasuries in Bhubaneswar andhas been proved successful. Now, theGovernment has decided to adopt the“Single Page Salary Bill” system in all166 treasuries by December 31, 2019.

It was revealed at a meeting where

Finance Principal Secretary AshokKumar Meena reviewed implementa-tion of the system with concernedsenior officials.

Treasuries and Inspection JointDirector Sidharth Das briefed about thesignificant achievement of the new ini-tiative to save papers and manpower inthe treasury system.

The Finance Department will now

do away with 50 odd pages of eachsalary bill for 4.50 lakh employees ofthe State Government.

There are over 8,000 DrawingDisbursing Officers (DDO) preparingsalary bills every month.

The department took the decisionwith consultations the AccountantGeneral, Odisha.

Preparation of salary bills is, in fact,a herculean process. While one copy issent to the treasury, another copy isretained by the concerned DDO.

The Directorate of Treasuries andInspection (DTI) will provide trainingto concerned treasury officers andDDOs, said an official.

The “Single Page Salary Bill” sys-tem is part of the State Government’s5T programme, said an official.

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Unidentified miscreants allegedlylooted lakhs of rupees from the

Odisha Gramya Bank at Siko villageunder the Jankia police station in thedistrict late on Friday night.

According to sources, the employ-ees of the bank in the morning spot-ted the window of the bank broken. Thelocker was found open. They immedi-ately informed the bank manager andpolice.

Getting information, police reached

the spot and launched a probe into theincident. “We are also trying to ascer-tain the exact amount of money loot-ed by the miscreants. We are also try-ing to ascertain the involvement of thegang involved in the loot,” said a policeofficial.

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Union Human ResourceDevelopment [HRD]

Minister Dr Ramesh PokhriyalNishank on Friday laid foun-dation-stone of a new KendriyaVidyalaya (KV) building inJagatsinghpur through video-conferencing from New Delhi.

A function was organisedat the proposed KV site nearSampur village, six km fromJagatsinghpur headquarterstown. Jagatsinghpur MP DrRajashree Mallick opened theceremony.

KVS BhubaneswarAssistant Commissioner Jyothy

Kumar delivered the welcomeaddress while JagatsinghpurKV Principal AK Pradhan saidthe proposed JagatsinghpurKV building would be con-structed at a cost of Rs 24 crorebeing equipped with e-classrooms, an advanced model

science laboratory, a library, aplayground and modern infra-structures.

He expressed his gratitudeto the Jagatsinghpur districtadministration for providingland besides all logistic andadministrative supports for theproposed KV.

Jagatsinghpur CollectorSangram Keshari Mohapatraand MP Dr Mallick, amongothers, spoke.

A colorful cultural pro-gramme followed in which theKV children participated.Cluster I/C Principal PKMishra proposed a vote ofthanks.

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Alabourer died due to elec-trocution and three others

sustained critical injuries at afertiliser wagon of the DhamraPort on Saturday.

The injured labourers wereadmitted to the SCB MedicalCollege Hospital.

The incident took place ataround 4 am when the labour-ers on night shift duty were inthe fertiliser wagon and oper-ating the 440-volt machine.

The labourers were elec-trocuted after the entire sectiongot charged due to technicalglitches.

On receiving information,company officials rushed to thespot and barred everyone fromentering into the incidentarea.

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The State has bagged thee‘Kayakalp’ awards from the

Union Government for pro-moting cleanliness, hygieneand infection control practicesin public healthcarefacilities.

While DistrictHeadquarters Hospital (DHH),Rayagada got the first prize, theCapital Hospital here baggedthe second prize. TheDunguripali CommunityHealth Centre (CHC) ofSubarnapur district receivedthe first prize in CHC catego-ry.

Union Health and Family

Welfare Minister Dr HarshaVardhan distributed the awardsat a function held in NewDelhi on Friday.

Dr Bijay Kumar Swain andDr Manoranjan Mohapatrafrom the NHM Odisha gracethe occasion along with theaward recipients.

To promote Swachhta inpublic health facilities“Kayakalp- Award to PublicHealth Facilities” had been launched in May2015.

During 2018-19, sixDHHs, five SDHs, 43 CHCs,86PHCs and 42 Urban PHCswere selected for State-levelaward.

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All India Marwari YuvaManch (AIMYM) nation-

al president Amit Agrawalreceived a rousing welcome onhis maiden visit here onSaturday.

The Manch is a nationalassociation of the Marwaricommunity and has about 700branches comprising 40,000members nationwide. OnFriday evening the local branchof the association had orga-nized a welcome ceremony forhim under the leadership ofMandal assistant secretaryRajiv Sharma which wasattended by members fromJharsuguda, Brajrajnagar,Belpahar, and Kuchinda branches of the asso-ciation.

Jharsuguda Ladies WingJagruti branch head BabitaModi, Utkal Prantiya Marwari

Yuwa Manch (UPMYM)founder president Jugal KishoreSultania, and MYM State pres-ident Manish Agarwal felici-tated AIMYM nationalpresidemt Agarwal who urgedthe community to come

together for the cause of uplift-ment of all citizens of thecountry and become a role model as a com-munity.

UPMYM founder Statepresident Jugal Kishore

Sultania, MYM State presidentManish Agrawal, Mandal vicepresident Naresh Agrawal, Statesecretary Ajay Sharma andnational PRO BhawantAgrawal also shared the daiswith Agarwal.

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The Inter State CBSEKabaddi Tournament

began at Vyasanagar PublicSchool ground here onSaturday with enthusiasm.

In the opening ceremony,CBSE Odisha Regional OfficerThangkholet Mate, JajpurDistrict Athletic Associationworking president RasanandaMohanty, former chairmanSabita Rout, IIC of Jajpur Road

police station Anil KumarMohanty, Korei BEO SushantaSatapathy, VPS presidentBharat Bhusan Deo, PrincipalDr Debasmita Sahu,Bibekananda Mohanty,Ushamanjari Sahu were pre-

sent. About 50 schools fromChhattisgarh, West Bengal andOdisha participated.

On the 1st day, eightmatches under 17 Boys wereplayed while seven matchesunder 19 Boys were played.

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In connection with a blast inthe Remuna area that

occurred on October 2, theIndustrial police on Saturdayarrested a person and for-warded him to court.

The accused was identifiedas Sridhar Mohanty , a nativeof Srijang village , a marblemason ,who was residing inRemuna’s Achyutapur as a ten-ant in the house of oneKalicharan Mohapatra.

The accused abscondedever since the blast occurredand he was nabbed followingraids by a special team, said IICIndustrial police station JayantBehera.

He said the accused hadstocked crackers preparingmaterials in his rented house

and was supplying crackersafter making them illegally inthe human settlement pockets.

The enforcement agencieswere in deep slumber whenseveral other cracker manu-facturing units illegally oper-ative across the district wereflourishing.

According to the FireServices Department, only twomanufacturers have obtainedNOC from them while sourcesclaimed as many as 50 illegalunits across the district wereoperative. And they areinvolved in massive produc-tion ahead of the Diwali festi-val.

What is more worryinghere is in the most of theunits, women and minor chil-dren are involved in the crack-ers binding.

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After Mahatma Gandhi,Loknayak Jayaprakash (JP)

Narayan gave a second inde-pendence to the country byorganising a people's move-ment in the country afterAugust 15, 1947, said RajyaSabha Deputy ChairmanHarivansh Narayan Singh at aprogramme held here to cele-brate JP’s 117th birth anniver-sary.

Attending the programeorganised by the JayaprakashFoundation here on Friday,Samajwadi Party leader DrBibhuti Patnaik said he joinedthe SP after being influenced byJayaprakash. He also said that

Jayaprakash was a Gandhianwho had never fought electionsfor power.

Odisha Bhaskar MD

Madhu Mohanty, trade unionleader Krushna Chandra Patra,former MP Nagendra Pradhanand social activist Munna Khan

also spoke. On the occasion,social activists Chitta RanjanMohanty, Minaketan, lawyerSisir Das, trade union

leader Jogendra Tripathy, SPBiswanath Dhal, PrasantMishra and a organisation ‘Lifes’ were con-

ferred with the LoknayakSamman 2019.

The foundation’ souvenirwas also released.

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Former Congress PresidentRahul Gandhi will kick-off

the party's poll campaign fromHaryana''s Nuh district onOctober 14. This is likely togive an impetus to the pollcampaign of the party,Congress leaders said.

Haryana CongressPresident Selja, former chiefminister Bhupinder SinghHooda, and other leaders of theparty would be present.

Ajay Chaudhry, generalsecretary, Haryana PradeshCongress Committee said thatthis will be the first electionrally of Rahul Gandhi in theHaryana Vidhan Sabha elec-tions 2019. Chaudhary saidGandhi will also campaign inother constituencies of the State to boost the electioneering ofthe Congress candidates.

The general secretary ofHaryana PCC said the starcampaigners of the party arereaching in different con-stituencies as per demand ofthe candidates.

The Congress partyreleased it's election manifestoon Friday with a slew ofpromises. It has promised 33per cent job quota for womenin the government sector, cashincentives to educated joblessyouth apart from farm loanwaiver within 24 hours of com-ing to power.

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Mid-way in the term ofCongress led by Capt

Amarinder Singh, thePhagwara reserved Assemblyconstituency is all set to witnessan intense election battlebetween the ruling party andthe BJP for the October 21 by-poll.

The by-poll was necessi-tated after the resignation ofBJP MLA Som Parkash whowas elected to the Lok Sabha inthe 2019 general elections. Inthe 14 elections here between1957 and 2017, the Congresshas won eight times, the BJPemerged victorious on fouroccasions while anIndependent and a Janata Partycandidate won the seat onceeach.

Page 5: The Pioneer€¦ · incident went viral on social media, accolades have started pouring in from netizens for ... cash of 3.5 lakh from a Bolero during a vehicle inspection drive near

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There has not been a biggerviolation of human rights

than against those who are vic-tims of terrorism and naxalism,Union Home Minister AmitShah said on Saturday at the26th National Human RightsCommission (NHRC) founda-tion day celebration here, amidconcerns over human rightsissues in Kashmir from sever-al quarters.

He said that human rightsin the country need to belooked at with an "Indian per-spective". "There is an essentialdifference in "human rights" asit should be seen in India andin the rest of the world becauseof the inherent difference inbeliefs and circumstances",added the BJP president.

Citing Kashmir as anexample, Shah said that morethan 40,000 people have beenkilled because of terrorism inKashmir since the 1990s."Don't they have human rights?The NHRC should also lookinto this," he said. The practiceof human rights in the countryhas been built into the Indianway of life, Shah said. "If we goby global parameters [on mea-suring human rights violationsin India and in the rest of theworld], it won't be right. As faras the rights of children and

women are concerned, those ofthe poor and underprivilegedare concerned… they areinbuilt within the society, with-in our family, without anyintrusion from law," Shah said.

While emphasising on zerotolerance towards custodialdeaths and police atrocities; hespoke for the protection ofhuman rights of the victims ofterrorism and those who havebeen unable to enjoy the fruitsof development because of theviolence inflicted by naxalismand terrorism. "I think thetime has come to look athuman rights from a newdimension," he added.

The BJP leader said thou-sands of outfits are working onground to ensure that humanrights are enforced there. Thesetoo, he argued, should be givenspace and platform by theNHRC. "The ModiGovernment has fought suc-cessfully against human rightsviolations. When people don't

have access to toilets, is it not aviolation of human rights?When people are forced toburn twigs to cook food, is it nota violation of human rights? Byproviding 13 crore gas connec-tions, 10 crore toilets, 2.5 croretoilets and 3-3.5 crore houseswith electricity, the ModiGovernment carried out thebiggest exercise towards restor-ing human rights anywhere inthe entire world," Shah said.

"Our saints have written lit-erature that explicitly talksabout human rights. They gaveus the slogan of 'VasudhaivaKutumbakam (the world isone family'. So when we werethinking of the entire world,you can see that concerns likehuman rights were inbuilt inour system," he said.

Shah added that therecould not be a better charter ofhuman rights than NarsiMehta's 'Vaishnava Jana To',sung and immemorialised byMahatma Gandhi.

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The EnforcementDirectorate (ED) has

attached immovable properties,including land, building, plantand machinery, of around�4,025.23 crore of BhushanPower & Steel Limited (BPSL)in Odisha in a bank fraudcase, under Prevention ofMoney Laundering Act, 2002(PMLA).

“The quantification of the�4,025.23 crore attached assetsis interim as of now and inves-tigations to identify furtherproceeds of crime are underprogress," the ED said onSaturday.

Investigations conducted

under Prevention of MoneyLaundering Act (PMLA)revealed that BPSL had usedvarious modus operandi tosiphon off funds obtained asloans from various banks andfinancial institutions, said theED, adding an amount of�695.14 crore was introduced ascapital by Sanjay Singal and his

family members in BPSL out ofartificially generated Long TermCapital Gains (LTCG) by diver-sion of bank loans fund ofBPSL. LTCG was exemptedfrom Income Tax during therelevant time, said the agency.

"BPSL had made paymentsto various entities by way ofRTGS against fictitious pur-chases of capital goods. In lieuof the RTGS payments, theseentities had transferred cash toBPSL which was ultimatelytraced to have been used forgeneration of artificial LTCGby jacking up the prices ofpenny stocks by way of syn-chronized trading."

Another amount of�3,330.09 crore invested as

equity (share capital and pre-mium) by promoter companieswas also found to have beenrouted out of the fundsobtained as various loans frombanks diverted from accountsof BPSL in the shape ofadvances shown to variousshell companies operated bythe different entry operators,the ED said.

According to the ED, inves-tigations till date have revealedcircular diversion of fundstotalling to �4,025.23 crorewhich is related to criminalactivity of scheduled offence.

"These proceeds of crime(amount) were laundered byway of introduction into thebooks of accounts as equity for

window dressing the debt equi-ty ratio."

Investigations have furtherrevealed that, during the rele-vant period when the loanfunds were diverted and rein-troduced as equity, BPSL hadacquired land, building andplant and machinery worththousands of crores of rupeesat its Odisha plant, the ED said.

ED took over the casebased on FIR registered by theCentral Bureau of Investigation(CBI) under charges of crimi-nal conspiracy, cheating andforgery of Indian Penal Codeand under sections ofPrevention of Corruption Actagainst BPSL, its CMD SanjaySingal and others.

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Emphasising on the need touse technology for good

governance, Union HomeMinister Amit Shah onSaturday said the Kedarnathreconstruction projects includ-ing the laying of all-weatherroads leading to the shrine arebeing monitored throughdrones, thereby reducing theneed of physical inspection.

Addressing the 14th annu-al convention of the CentralInformation Commission(CIC) here, Shah said that thegovernment has used technol-ogy in several initiatives like JanDhan accounts, Aadhaar,mobile and usage of Gem por-tal for purchasing.

"Through geo-tagging,using the images of satellites,we get to know whether the

dam has been built or not, whatis the situation of water in thedam and also irrigation mon-itoring through the usage ofdrones," the home minister,who was the chief guest at theevent, said.

"Now, there has been workgoing on at Kedarnath... All-weather roads are being con-structed, they are being mon-

itored online. You would getsurprised that we don't need tosend inspector on the spot as allthe monitoring work is beingdone online using drones. It isthe successful usage of onlinemonitoring," Shah said.

Launched by PrimeMinister Narendra Modi in2017, the ambitious all-weath-er roads project wouldsmoothen the annual pilgrim-age to the four famousHimalayan shrines.

The Kedarnath recon-struction project, whose foun-dation stone was also laid byModi, was aimed at boostingfacilities for Chardham pil-grims.

The four towns of the hillystate to be connected by all-weather roads are Yamnotri,Gangotri, Kedarnath andBadrinath.

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New Delhi: The Congress onSaturday claimed the IncomeTax Department raided hous-es of five employees of theparty and accused the BJP oftrying to convert India into a"police state".

According to theCongress, the Income TaxDepartment carried out raidsat residences of five employ-ees of the party's accountsdepartment on Friday. Theraids continued on Saturday aswell.

Addressing a press con-ference at the party officehere, senior Congress leaderAnand Sharma wonderedwhether there were two sets oflaws in the country as no onequestioned the BJP, which, heclaimed, was the richest polit-

ical party in the world."India cannot be convert-

ed into a state where peopleare living in fear and insecu-rity... You (BJP) cannot createa police or a surveillance stateby terror of raids on the oppo-sition party," he said.

He alleged that the BJP-led government is obsessedwith political vendetta andnow it has started raiding thehouses of Congress employeesas part of its agenda to targetthe opposition parties.

Citing reports, Sharmaclaimed that the BJP spentabout �40,000 crore duringthe Lok Sabha elections and99 per cent of the total elec-toral bonds were in its favourbut no one questioned theparty. PTI

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Against the backdrop ofPrime Minister Narendra

Modi and Chinese President XiJinping's informal meeting atMamallapuram, the Congresson Saturday said India's mean-ingful engagement with Chinastarted with former PrimeMinister Rajiv Gandhi's visit tothe neighbouring country in1988 and the Manmohan Singhled-UPA Government took itforward to the level of matureunderstanding.

On a question on AksaiChin, Congress spokespersonAnand Sharma said theCongress Working Committee(CWC) had passed a resolutionsaying the part of Kashmir,which was illegally ceded toChina by Pakistan, should bereturned to India.

He said the party had takennote of the summit that tookplace between India and China.

The two countries were notonly neighbours, but two majoreconomies and the two mostpopulated nations in the worldand their partnership wasmulti-faceted, despite the dif-ficulties and unresolved issues

they had, Sharma said, replyingto questions about the summit.

"India has remained mean-ingfully engaged with Chinaand it started with (former)prime minister Rajiv Gandhi'svisit in 1988 and his dialoguewith then Chinese supremeleader and during the 10 yearsof the UPA government, thiswas taken forward and therelationship was brought to alevel of mature understanding,"the Congress spokespersonsaid.

He reiterated that theCongress was firm in its standthat Jammu and Kashmir wasan integral part of India andthat the Kashmir problem wasentirely our internal matter.

"I did not think that Modiwould have discussed about itwith Jinping. We are againstany third party meddling onthe Jammu and Kashmir issue,"Sharma said.

About the Centre's deci-sion to remove the restrictionson mobile communication inKashmir from Monday, he saidthe Congress always felt thatthe people in the valley shouldenjoy all the rights and freedomguaranteed in the Constitution.

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Artificial Intelligence start-up Niki is all set to diver-

sify into seven other Indian lan-guages after having tasted suc-cess in the Hindi languageapp-based internet commerceby creating a virtual agent foronline voice-based transac-tions for consumers who arehassled by the barriers likeusing the keyboard in Englishor Indian languages.

Niki has already created auser base of 18 lakh consumersin Hindi language and thestart up firm has reached anannual turnover of �300 crore.

IIT Kharagpur alumnusand CEO of Niki Sachin Jaiswal

told The Pioneer, "What we aretrying to do is to unlock inter-net commerce for the next bil-lion users in India by develop-ing a virtual agent for them. InIndia, 95 per cent of the peo-ple don't know how to use anapp because most of the appsare in English language. Typingthrough keyboard in vernacu-lar language is complicatedand one should have a basicunderstanding of computerterminologies to process theinstructions through the apps."

Niki has developed a solu-tion by developing apps inIndian languages that operatethrough voice-based com-mands to remove the sorepoints of the consumers."

The Niki app will help theusers for services like onlinerecharge, bill payments of vari-ous utilities like power, phone orgas and also facilitate in book-ing travel tickets by just issuingcommands through voice espe-cially in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities.

Besides Hindi, develop-ment of applications (apps) invarious stages of trial, testingand launch in Indian languageslike Marathi, Gujarati, Bangla,Tamil, Telugu, Kannada besidesEnglish, Jaiswal said.

The startup was founded byJaiswal along with three of hisIITian colleagues in June 2015with funding by Ratan Tata,Ronnie Screwvala and SAP.iOand other venture capitalists.

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After the flood fury thataffected the normal life of

over 2 crore people in 14 States,the southwest monsoon hasstarted its withdrawal fromWednesday. The monsoonwithdrawal will be completedby October 20. Day tempera-tures over northwest andCentral India are also forecastto dip over the next three tofour day.

According to IndiaMeteorological Department(IMD), this is the longestdelayed withdrawal of mon-soon. "The most delayed with-drawal in the past years hasbeen recorded in 1961 (1stOctober 1961), followed by30th September in 2007," theIMD pointed out.

"The withdrawal has start-ed from Kapurthala, Ambala,Karnal and Churu on

Wednesday. In view of the per-sistence of an anti-cyclonic cir-culation in the lower tropos-

pheric level over northwestIndia, gradual reduction inmoisture in the lower and mid

tropospheric levels and reduc-tion in rainfall, the southwestmonsoon has withdrawn fromsome parts of Punjab, Haryanaand north Rajasthan today(Wednesday), October 9, 2019as against the normal date ofSeptember 1," the IMD said.The normal date of of with-drawal is September 1. Themost delayed withdrawal inthe past years has been record-ed in 1961 (October 1, 1961)followed by September 30 in2007.

The excess rains this yearhave not only flooded severalcities and towns but is alsoexpected to cause extensivedamage to standing kharif cropsin states like Madhya Pradesh,Maharashtra, West Bengal,Rajasthan, Bihar and easternUttar Pradesh. As per data of

flood situation report by theMinistry of Home Affairs, over1700 people have died anddamaged crops of nearly 13lakh hectare in these 14 states.The delayed onset of the mon-soons initially meant a rainfalldeficit of 33 percent in June. Butthe season is ending with 10percent higher rainfall thanthe long term average. On theflip side, longer monsoon couldalso restock reservoirs and helpreplenish ground water, helpingassuage water shortages inpockets of the country of 1.3billion people and boostingproduction of rabi crops.

The IMD said that themoisture level in the atmos-phere will reduce gradually inthe lower levels over the nexttwo days, giving way to dry andcooler air from across the bor-

der to fill the lower levels, sup-pressing rainfall.

"This would set up theright conditions for the mon-soon to exit from parts ofNorth-West India initially,before the withdrawal line cov-ers more areas over West,North-West, Central and EastIndia. By the time the linecrosses Central India, condi-tions would have evolved overthe Bay of Bengal, PeninsularIndia and the Arabian Sea forthe retreating monsoon (North-East monsoon)," IMD said.

The monsoon, meanwhile,has seen a number of otherrecords being made this year,the IMD said in a detailedreview at the end of what hasbeen an exceptionally produc-tive season. After 1994, (110 percent of long-period average, or

the LPA), the rainfall receivedduring the just concluded 2019season is the highest seasonalrainfall received by the countryas a whole.

(The LPA is calculated onthe basis of the mean rainfallduring the four-month mon-soon season over the 50-yearperiod from 1951-2010. Itworks out to an average of 89cm for the country as a whole).

During 18 of the last 19years (2001-2019), North-EastIndia has received seasonalrainfall less than LPA with anexception of 2007 (110 of ofLPA), the IMD obseved.

This indicates that the sea-sonal rainfall over North-EastIndia is passing through abelow normal epoch like itwas during the early 1950s tomid-1980s.

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Being an Right toInformation (RTI) activist

isn't easy in Uttarakhand,where over 400 cases of threatsor harassment of applicantswere registered. But at thesame time, Uttarakhand isalso the State where theInformation Commissionimposed the maximum over�80 lakh penalty on publicauthorities in the last threeyears. Data compiled byTransparency InternationalIndia (TII) said only 5Information Commissionshave maintained data related tocases of threats and harass-ments while 24 others (exclud-ing J&K, an UT now) maintainno data related to cases ofthreats and harassments.

According to the reportreleased on RTI Day onSaturday, the number of appli-cations under RTI has increasedto 3.02 crore in 2019 from 2.43crore in 2018. The top fivedepartments and States receiv-ing maximum number of RTIapplications are the CentralInformation Commission(78.93 lakh), Maharashtra(61.80 lakh), Tamil Nadu (26.91lakh), Karnataka (22.78 lakh)and Kerala (21.92 lakh).

Uttar Pradesh has not pub-

lished a single report manda-tory under the Right ToInformation or RTI Act sincethe transparency law cameinto being in 2005. In contrast,Chhattisgarh is the only statewhich brought out all its year-ly reports.

On the penalty imposed,the report said that in 15, 578cases, penalty was imposed byState Information Commissions(excluding Central InformationCommission) during 2005-06to 2018-19. The highest penal-ty imposed in the last threeyears was �81 lakh by theUttarakhand State InformationCommission and �49 lakhimposed by the Rajasthan StateInformation Commission. Thereport analyses functioning of28 state information commis-sions in the country.

Chhattisgarh is the onlyState which has published theannual reports from the years2005 to 2018 while, only 9states out of the 28 states(excluding J&K, since it is a UTnow) have published annualreport up to year 2017-18.Publishing of annual report ismandatory as per RTI Act2005. Although all states(except Bihar) have a func-tional website, the websitesare only ritualistic except forstates like Central InformationCommission, Rajasthan andGujarat, giving basic infor-mation and providing no realdetails about the working ofthe InformationCommissions," the report said.

Among the highly popu-lated States, highest number ofcomplaints and appeals (4.61lakh) landed at the

Information Commission inTamil Nadu since 2005 whenRTI Act came into being, whileon the other extreme of spec-trum is Telangana whichreceived only 10,619 and WestBengal which received 20,058cases and complaints duringthe period, TII said.

On the posts lying vacant,the report found that current-ly, 24 out of 155 posts of ChiefInformation Commissioner andInformation Commissionersare vacant, whereas as per STR2018, 48 out 156 posts werevacant. Seven state InformationCommissions have one womanInformation Commissionerseach which is approximately 4.5per cent of total sanctionedposts.

"RTI legislation has beenutilized to reorient public pol-icy and it has facilitated thehealthy working of democra-cy. It is a tool to make the gov-ernance system transparent &accountable and definitely nota weapon against the govern-ment," said Rama Nath Jha,Executive Director,Transparency InternationalIndia.

"It is high time to standunited to fight and reinvent thenetwork of pro-transparencycivil society groups of countryto intensify struggle for theRight to Information 2.0", headded.

The report noted that overthe last 14 years, RTI has beenempowering the people byenabling the demand of infor-mation from Governmentauthorities which has lifted theveil of secrecy fromGovernment functioning.

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New Delhi: Rahul Gandhi is"our leader" and should returnas the president of theCongress, senior party leaderSalman Khurshid has said,days after he remarked that theparty was not able to introspectits Lok Sabha poll debacle as"its leader had walked away"after the election.

The Congress had seem-ingly disapproved Khurshid's"walked away" remarks withparty spokesperson PawanKhera saying people shouldavoid making side commentsand work towards exposing theBJP government's folliesinstead.

In a long Facebook post onFriday, Khurshid referred to the

uproar over his remarks, say-ing, "I am amazed at being lec-tured by people who know lit-tle about personal faithfulnessor political strategy. So once forall I hereby let them know thatI believe faith and allegiance isabout trust and personalchoice. Yet for grown ups it hasno place for unqualified aweand deference, real or con-trived."

"I support the Gandhi fam-ily because of personal grati-tude and understanding of his-tory and Indian democracy," hesaid.

Strategic silence is sensiblein critical moments but equal-ly speaking up is an imperativefor collective future, Khurshid

said in what he termed as hisletter to his colleagues in theCongress and "people who arelistening".

Asserting that only deadfish flow with the water,Khurshid said the Congress isnot like the BJP and mustnever be.

"When our spokespersonpoints to our duty to counterthe BJP he must remember it ispossible only if we can manifestour different world view andexpression of a mind withoutfear. The battle we join is notmere screaming ossified phras-es against the RSS but in howwe react to specific situations,including of conflict," the for-mer Union minister said. PTI

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The United States hasreached a “very substantial”

Phase 1 trade deal with China,President Donald Trumpannounced on here Friday,giving a boost to the stock mar-ket in New York.

“We’ve come to a very sub-stantial Phase 1 deal,” Trumptold reporters at the WhiteHouse following his meetingwith the visiting Chinese VicePremier Liu He.

However, the announce-ment came with a rider that theagreement was still to be put onto the paper, which will takesomewhere between three tofive weeks.

The US and China tradenegotiations had collapsedearly this year after Beijing

backed off from a draft agree-ment that was negotiated oversix months.

Trump, however, appearedto be more confident this timeand said that it might be for-mally inked in Chile later thisyear.

“We’ve come to a deal onintellectual property, financialservices, a tremendous deal forthe farmers, a purchase of $40-50 billion worth of agricultur-al products. To show you howbig that is, that would be threetimes what China had pur-chased at its highest point thusfar,” he said.

China, he said, were pur-chasing products worth $16 or17 billion at the highest pointand that would be brought upto $40 billion to $50 billion.

“So I’d suggest farmers

have to go and immediatelybuy more land and get biggertractors. They’ll be available atJohn Deere and a lot of other

great distributors,” he said.Currency and foreign

exchange were other big issuesover which the two countries

had reached an agreement, hesaid.

“We have an agreementaround transparency into theforeign exchange markets andfree markets,” TreasurySecretary Steven Mnuchin said.

“We have also made verygood progress on technologytransfer and will put some ofthe technology transfer inPhase 1. Phase 2 negotiationswill start immediately afterwe’ve concluded Phase 1 andpapered it. And I think Phase1 should happen quickly,”Trump said.

The US president said theboth sides reached an agree-ment on intellectual propertyand financial services.

“The banks and all of thefinancial services companieswill be very, very happy with

what we’ve been able to get. Ithink China is going to be veryhappy because they’ll be servedvery well by these great insti-tutions being able to go intoChina,” said the president.

Commenting on the tech-nology transfer, Trump said,“We will have some technolo-gy transfer in the agreement.But, technology transfer willlargely be done here and also inPhase 2. So, we’re going to startnegotiating Phase 2 after Phase1 is completed and signed.”

The Chinese vice premieresaid it was agreed that keepingthe China-US economic rela-tionship right would be in theinterest of the two sides and thewhole world.

“And we are making a lotof progress towards a positivedirection,” he said.

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Companies have welcomeda US-Chinese trade truce

as a possible step towardbreaking a deadlock in a 15-month-old tariff war, whileeconomists caution there waslittle progress toward settlingcore disputes including tech-nology that threaten globalgrowth.

President Donald Trumpsaid Washington will suspenda tariff hike planned forTuesday on $250 billion ofChinese goods.

In exchange, Trump saidChina agreed to buy as muchas $50 billion of Americanfarm goods. Details of otherpossible agreements weren’timmediately released.

The bruising battle overChina’s trade surplus and tech-nology ambitions has disrupt-

ed global trade. Economists warn a final

settlement might take years tonegotiate.

Despite that, financialmarkets rise ahead of eachround of talks and fall backwhen no progress is reported.

Companies acknowledgedFriday’s agreement was a mod-est step and appealed to bothgovernments to step up effortsto end the fight that is batter-ing manufacturers and farm-ers.

Washington still is plan-ning a December 15 tariffhike on $160 billion of smart-phones and other imports.

Before then, Trump andChinese President Xi Jinpingare due to attend an econom-ic conference in Chile in mid-November. That is raisinghopes a face-to-face meetingmight produce progress.

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Assuring account holders oftroubled Punjab and

Maharashtra Co-operativeBank of support, FinanceMinister Nirmala Sitharamanon Saturday said that she hasspoken to the RBI governor,who assured that customers’concerns will be taken on toppriority.

The bank was put under“directions” by the ReserveBank of India (RBI) last monthdue to weak financial health,wherein the central bank hascapped the deposit withdrawalsat �25,000.

“Spoken to governor @RBIon the #PMCBank matter. Heassured me that clients & theirconcerns will be kept on toppriority. I wish to reiterate that@FinMinIndia will ensure thatcustomers concerns are com-prehensively addressed. Weunderstand the justified wor-ries of the customers,” she saidin a tweet.

PMC is in bad healthallegedly due to its exposure tonear-bankrupt realty playerHDIL, to which it has loanedover 70 per cent of its �9,000

crore in advances.Earlier this week during a

media interaction, she hadsaid, ‘’Finance Ministry mayhave nothing to do with it(PMC bank matter) directlybecause RBI is the regulator.But from my side, I’ve asked thesecretaries of my ministry towork with Rural DevelopmentMinistry and the UrbanDevelopment Ministry to studyin detail as to what is happen-ing”.

Secretaries from thedepartment of financial ser-vices and economic affairs willbe meeting a deputy governorof RBI soon to look into the“shortcomings” of the func-tioning of multi-state cooper-ative banks and see if any

amendments can be made tothe laws, she had said.

“They will discuss legisla-tive steps needed to preventsuch incidents from happeningand empower the regulatorbetter,” she had said.

The government will bringin a legislation to this effect inthe winter session ofParliament, she had said.

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The Reserve Bank of Indiaon Friday has changed the

daily reporting system at coop-erative banks after the col-lapse of Punjab andMaharashtra Cooperative Bankfollowing the unearthing ofover �4,000 crore fraud there.

In a circular addressed tochief executives of all cooper-ative banks, the RBI has askedthem to replace the existingsystem of email-based report-ing at the branches to a web-based central system. This willmake use of RBI’s CentralInformation System forBanking Infrastructure (CISBI)which is an online portal thatpresently allots Basic StatisticalReturn (BSR) code to branch-es and offices of all banks.

These instructions arebeing issued in supercession ofall the instructions issued onthe subject so far, it said,

“Consistent with the needsof branch licensing and finan-cial inclusion policies as well asthe need for requisite coverageof additional dimensions/fea-tures, a new reporting system— Central Information Systemfor Banking Infrastructure, hasbeen web-deployed to replacethe legacy MOF system,” thecentral bank notification said.

These banks have beengiven a period of a month tonotify the regulators of theextent of compliance. Underthe new system, all cooperativebanks are required to submittheir information in a singleproforma online on the CISBIportal, as compared with theearlier system of submittingseparate documents with infor-mation about daily businessactivity at the bank through e-mail, according to the RBInotification.

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Mumbai: Indian banks’ creditgrowth rate, for the first timethis fiscal, slowed to singledigit at 8.8 per cent to �97.71lakh crore during the fort-night to September 27, accord-ing to the Reserve Bank ofIndia supplementary data.During the same period,deposits climbed 9.4 per cent.

Outstanding loans rose�596.53 trillion ($8.40 billion)from a fortnight earlier to�97.71 trillion as on September 27.

Non-food credit gained�64.30 billion to �97.11 trillion,while food credit fell Rs 46.51billion to �600.85 billion whilebank deposits grew �1.83 tril-lion to �129.07 rupees in the two weeks endedSeptember 27. IANS

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The public sector Punjab &Sind Bank (PSB) has

revealed around �441 millionloan exposure to the abscond-ing diamantaire MehulChinubhai Choksi, here onSaturday.

This is the first time the111-year-old bank has comeclean on the default perpetrat-ed by Choksi, who has now set-tled as a citizen of Antigua &Barbados, the West Indies.

The New Delhi-based PSBhas issued notices proclaiminghim as a “willful defaulter” whoowes the bank the amount forwhich it has initiated recoveryproceedings against him.

According to PSB, Choksi’scompany, Gitanjali Gems Ltd.,including its merged entityGitanjali Exports Ltd., hadavailed the loan from the bank.

Choksi is a director plus aguarantor in the company andlegal heir to Guniyal Choksi inthe loan account.

However, since they failedto clear the loan amount, thePSB declared it as a ‘non-per-

forming asset’ on March 31,2018, days after it dawned thatChoksi and his family hadalready fled the country inFebruary that year.

The bank has nowdemanded that Choksi coughout the loan amount plus inter-est and other costs with effectfrom October 23, 2018onwards. As he failed to com-ply, the PSB on September 17,2019 declared him as a ‘wilfuldefaulter’.

With this, Choksi joins thebank’s band of 27 other default-ers from different fields, basedmainly in New Delhi, Punjaband Chandigarh, one inLucknow, Uttar Pradesh andtwo in Chennai, Tamil Nadu,

against whom it has filed recov-ery suits. The latest developmentmakes PSB the third prominentgovernment-owned bank toreveal its exposure after OrientalBank of Commerce came cleanof loan defaults by Choksi andhis nephew Nirav Modi totalingto around �289 crore. (IANSstory, September 6, 2019).

The ‘mama-bhanja’ dia-mantaire duo shot into lime-light in February 2018 after thePunjab National Bank revealeda massive fraud perpetrated bythem running into over Rs13,500 crore, sending shuddersin the country’s banking indus-try.

“Besides PSB, which hasbeen a perpetually loss-makingentity, several other banks haveexposure to Choksi-Modi andtheir group companies. Whycan’t all the government bankscome clean and jointly takelegal action to recover theirdues,” former and TradeUnions Joint ActionCommittee (TUJAC),Maharashtra ConvenorVishwas Utagi told IANS.

Utagi said the other bigger

questions are: what action hasbeen taken against the depart-ments and officers dealing inforeign exchange in ReserveBank of India and other affect-ed banks, how much of the out-standings from (Nirav Modi-Choksi and others) accusedhave been recovered so farand whether the details emerg-ing now are under pressure’before the upcoming merger ofbanks.

He has demanded a ‘foren-sic audit’ into all the accountsin all Indian banks held by therealty, gems & jewellery sectorson priority to reveal the extentof defaults and the collateraldamage to society in the pub-lic interest.

Earlier this year, the StateBank of India (SBI) had firstbared its chest on a �405 croreoutstanding loan from Choksiand his family members.

The SBI’s disclosure hadcome barely two days after itbecame public that Choksi hadsurrendered his Indian citi-zenship and taken the nation-ality of Antigua & BarbadosIslands.

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Boeing unveiled a shift to itsleadership structure on

Friday as it manages the 737MAX crisis, announcing thatDennis Muilenburg will remainchief executive but step downas chairman. The companysaid splitting the roles wouldallow Muilenburg to focus fulltime on running the company“as it works to return the 737MAX safely to service” whileensuring full support to cus-tomers sharpening Boeing’sfocus on safety.

“This decision is the latestof several actions by the boardof directors and Boeing seniorleadership to strengthen thecompany’s governance andsafety management process-es,” it said in the statement.

The company namedDavid Calhoun, currently lead

independent director, to serveas non-executive chairman.

Calhoun said the “boardhas full confidence in Dennis asCEO and believes this divisionof labor will enable maximumfocus on running the businesswith the board playing an active oversight role.”

Boeing’s top-selling 737MAX plane has been ground-ed since mid-March followingtwo deadly crashes that killed346 people.

Boeing is targeting regula-tory approval for the plane’sreturn to service this year fol-lowing upgrades, but the aero-space giant has noted govern-ment authorities will have thefinal say.

A report Friday by inter-national aviation regulatorscriticized the US FederalAviation Administration’s cer-tification of the MAX.

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Facebook’s digital currencyalliance lost more compa-

nies on Friday amid heavycriticism from regulatorsaround the world on theplanned Libra global cryp-tocurrency.

Credit card giants Visa andMastercard, online market-place eBay and digital pay-ments firm Stripe eachannounced they had changedtheir minds about being found-ing members of the LibraAssociation assembled to pro-mote the digital currency.

“Mastercard has decided itwill not become a member ofthe Libra Association at thistime,” the company said in anemailed statement.

“We remain focused onour strategy and our own sig-

nificant efforts to enable finan-cial inclusion around the world.We believe there are potentialbenefits in such initiatives andwill continue to monitor theLibra effort.” A Visa spokesper-son offered a similar state-ment, indicating the companywas dropping out of the alliancebut could rejoin in the future.

“We will continue to eval-uate and our ultimate decisionwill be determined by a num-ber of factors, including theassociation’s ability to fully sat-isfy all requisite regulatory

expectations,” Visa said.Silicon Valley-based eBay

said: “We highly respect thevision of the Libra Association;however, eBay has made thedecision to not move forwardas a founding member.” Stripealso said it will follow theprogress of Libra and remainopen to working with the asso-ciation at a later date.

“Stripe is supportive ofprojects that aim to makeonline commerce more acces-sible for people around theworld,” Stripe said. “Libra hasthis potential.”

Libra Association con-firmed that the companieswould no longer be foundingmembers, but said that it wouldcontinue building an alliance ofbusinesses, social-good orga-nizations, and others to imple-ment the cryptocurrency.

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GST Network (GSTN) willrelease improved version

of GST return filing interfaceon October 22 with an aim tofurther simplify the process.

“Many of the suggestionswere incorporated in version 2which is in place right now.Version 3 is going to come onOctober 22 of this month,” GSTNetwork CEO Prakash Kumarsaid at a seminar organised byIIT Delhi Alumni Associationhere.

GST Network provides ITinfrastructure and services tocentral and state governments,taxpayers and other stake-holders for implementation ofthe GST.

Goods and Services Tax(GST) has reduced complexi-ty in indirect taxation as itsimplementation has loweredthe number of forms to be filedby businesses to just 12, from495 under as many as 17 cen-tral and state laws in the pre-GST era, Kumar said.

The indirect tax adminis-tration now shares data withthe income tax department, amove that has helped inunearthing instances of taxevasion, he added.

New Delhi: Indian telecominfrastructure’s revenue poten-tial is expected to reach�21,500-�31,000 crore by 2023,as latest information technol-ogy developments are drivingdemand for new business mod-els, an EY study released onFriday evening said.

However, in order to catchup with the revenue potentialthe sector will need investmentin the range of �66,000- 93,000crore, the study said.

“Tower cos today are wellplaced to tap in on new oppor-tunities that represent a rev-enue potential of �215 billion-�310 billion by 2023. With thehigh momentum from towercos, and government’s push oninfrastructure growth, thefuture is promising for thetelecom infrastructure sector,”Prashant Singhal, EmergingMarkets TMT Leader, EY said.

As the demand for dataand 5G knocking at the door,there is seismic shift in theindustry leading to plenty ofopportunities are arising fortower companies to shift theirattention from a macro towerfocused business, towards newbusiness models hinged onfiber, small cells. PTI

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Unsold housing units inNoida, Greater Noida and

Gurugram stood at nearly 1.09lakh at the end of July, ofwhich 54 per cent were pricedat �45 lakh and below, according to property brokerage PropTiger.

With fall in interest rateson home loans and additionaltax deduction of �1.5 lakh oninterest for flats up to �45lakh, Proptiger expects thatdevelopers would be able to sellsignificant number of unsoldstocks in the affordable pricecategory.

“Real estate developers inthe key NCR markets had atotal of 108,937 unsold units tillthe end of July 2019. Of these,58,516 homes were priced at �45 lakh or less,”PropTiger said in a report.

Gurugram market includesdata of Bhiwadi, Rewari,Neemrana and Dharuhera.

“Rising instances ofbuilders facing insolvency haveseverely impacted the marketsentiment in the NCR, espe-cially in Noida property market.

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At least four people died and three werewounded in a shooting at a social club

in New York early Saturday, police said.

No one has been arrested over theshooting, which took place in Brooklyn,and the motive and exact circumstancesare not known, a New York police officialtold AFP.

The local affiliate of ABC Newsdescribed the place where the shootingtook place as an after-hours club.

Four men were pronounced dead atthe scene, while two other men and awoman suffered non-life threateninginjuries, the police official said.

Earlier reports had said as many asfive people were wounded.

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Aheavy downpour andstrong winds pounded

Tokyo and surrounding areason Saturday as a powerfultyphoon forecast to be Japan’sworst in six decades madelandfall southwest of Tokyo,with streets, beaches and trainstations deserted.

Store shelves were bareafter people stocked up onwater and food ahead ofTyphoon Hagibis.

The Japan MeteorologicalAgency warned of dangerous-ly heavy rainfall in Tokyo andsurrounding prefectures,including Gunma, Saitama andKanagawa, and later expandedthe area to include Fukushimaand Miyagi to the north.

An earthquake shook thearea drenched by the rainfallshortly before the typhoonmade landfall in Shizuoka pre-fecture on Saturday evening.

The US Geological Survey

said the magnitude 5.3 quakewas centered in the ocean offthe coast of Chiba, near Tokyo,and was fairly deep, at 59.5kilometers (37 miles).

Deep quakes tend to causeless damage than shallow ones.

“Be ready for rainfall of thekind that you have never expe-rienced,” said meteorologicalagency official Yasushi

Kajihara, adding that areasusually safe from disasters mayprove vulnerable. “Take allmeasures necessary to saveyour life,” he said. Kajihara saidpeople who live near riversshould take shelter on the sec-ond floor or higher of any stur-dy building if an officially des-ignated evacuation center was-n’t easily accessible.

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Protesters marching peace-fully hit the rain-slickened

streets of Hong Kong again inmultiple locations on Saturday,defying police warnings thatthey were gathering illegally.

Police said rioters tossinggasoline bombs also damageda subway station.

The rallies in Kowloonand a small gathering of retireesoutside police headquarters onHong Kong Island maintainedpressure on the city’s leader,Chief Executive Carrie Lam, tobend to the months-longprotest movement’s demandsahead of her annual policyaddress on Wednesday.

Many thousands ofmarchers joined the rally inKowloon, classified by police asan illegal gathering. A cohort ofpolice wearing riot helmetsand banging their plastic

shields followed some distancebehind, clearing road blocksleft by the march.

Outside police headquar-ters, about 200 people, many ofthem retirees, also gatheredpeacefully, some shoutingabuse at plainclothes officerswho did not intervene.

There were gatherings ofseveral hundred people in otherlocations, too. A rally in ashopping mall pulled togetherabout 300 people who sangand put up protest posters.

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Ankara stepped up its assaulton Kurdish-held border

towns in northeastern Syria onSaturday, defying mountingthreats of international sanc-tions, even from Washington.

Buoyed by a night of steadyadvances in the countryside,Turkish troops and their Syrianallies entered the battlegroundtown of Ras al-Ain, sources onboth sides said.

The Turkish DefenceMinistry hailed its forces’ cap-ture of the first Kurdish-heldtown of the offensive so far.

But Ras al-Ain’s Kurdishdefenders denied the town hadfallen and an AFP correspon-dent near the town said Turkishtroops and their Syrian allieshad entered but had yet to cap-ture it.

The Kurdish-led SyrianDemocratic Forces, who werethe main ground partner in theUS-led campaign against theIslamic State group, have takenmounting losses against thevastly superior firepower of theTurkish Army.

At least 20 SDF fighterswere killed in clashes overnight,taking their losses since the

Turkish offensive began onWednesday to 74, the SyrianObservatory for HumanRights, a Britain-based warmonitor, said.

Turkish air strikes onKurdish-held towns andintense artillery exchangescaused mounting casualties onboth sides of the border, with28 dead on the Syrian side,according to the Observatory,and 17 dead in Turkey, accord-ing to Turkish reports.

The Turkish Army has lostfour dead, according to thedefence ministry and the state-run Anadolu news agency.

The town of Ras al-Ainand that of Tal-Abyad furtherwest have been primary goalsof the Turkish offensive andhave both come under heavybombardment.

They lie at either end of asection of the border whichalthough Kurdish-controlledhas an ethnic Arab majority.

Ankara says its forces’ mis-

sion is to establish a safe zonerun by its mainly Arab Syrianallies in which some of the 3.6million mostly Arab refugeesfrom Syria can be rehoused.

But the Kurds say that theTurkish invasion, which has ledto an exodus of civilian resi-dents, Arab as well as Kurdish,amounts to an attempt toredraw the ethnic map of theregion at their expense.

The offensive has so fardisplaced some 100,000 people,according to the UnitedNations. Roads leading out ofthe area have been filled withfleeing civilians, some on foot,other in vehicles piled highwith their belongings.

Few had any idea when ifever they would be able toreturn to their homes. “Wealways get displaced no matterwhere we go,” said Yusra al-Saleh, who fled violence alongSyria’s northern border. “Weare destroyed,” the 38-year-old told AFP.

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Pakistan must end support toterrorist groups, a top US

Senator has said, a day aftermeeting Prime Minister ImranKhan and the army chief,

Discussing with them whatmore can be done to preemptterror attacks and prevent thespread of radicalism.

Senator Maggie Hassanalso called for finding ways tode-escalate the tensionbetween India and Pakistanthat spiked after New Delhirevoked the special status ofJammu and Kashmir in August.

She said Pakistan has animportant role to play in sta-bilising Afghanistan, where theUS has come under increasingcriticism for civilian causalitiesas a result of airstrikes in therecent months.

Asserting that her top pri-ority is to keep “Americanssafe” and promoting stabilityand ongoing counterterrorismmeasures are critical to thateffort, Hassan on Friday said,“It was particularly helpful todiscuss with key Pakistani lead-ers what more can be done topreempt terrorist attacks andprevent the spread of terroristideology.”

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US President Donald Trumpannounced late Friday that act-

ing US homeland security chiefKevin McAleenan has resigned,becoming the latest in a long list oftop officials to leave the administra-tion.

“Kevin McAleenan has done anoutstanding job as Acting Secretaryof Homeland Security. We haveworked well together with BorderCrossings being way down,” Trumpsaid in a tweet.

“Kevin now, after many years inGovernment, wants to spend moretime with his family and go to theprivate sector. Congratulations Kevin,on a job well done!”

McAleenan served in the role forsix months, replacing KirstjenNielsen, who sat at the helm of thepowerful agency for 1.5 years.

Trump said he would announcea new acting homeland security sec-retary next week, and that there were

“many wonderful candidates.” During McAleenan’s brief tenure,

the Trump administration steppedup efforts to discourage an exodus ofmigrants from Honduras, Guatemalaand El Salvador by asking Mexico toimpede their transit and requiringthem to apply for asylum in the firstcountry they enter — meaning eitherGuatemala or Mexico.

Cracking down on illegal immi-gration is a major goal on Trump’sagenda, and efforts have been pay-ing off.

US border agents arrested orstopped nearly one million undocu-mented migrants at the southernborder with Mexico in the last 12months, the most in more than adecade, according to statisticsreleased this week.

Migrants arrested at the borderfell to just over 52,000 in September,the final month of the 2019 fiscalyear, down from more than 144,000in May and the lowest monthly fig-ure in one year.

McAleenan’s exit came after hetold The Washington Post that hedid not feel in control of his depart-ment, as news reports said he wasdiscouraged by his standing in theTrump administration.

“What I don’t have control overis the tone, the message, the publicface and approach of the departmentin an increasingly polarized time,”McAleenan told the paper. “That’suncomfortable, as the accountable,senior figure.”

On Friday he tweeted a thankyou to Trump and highlighted hisdepartment’s accomplishments.

“With (Trump’s) support, overthe last 6 months, we have madetremendous progress mitigating theborder security and humanitariancrisis we faced this year, by reducingunlawful crossings, partnering withGovernments in the region tocounter human smugglers andaddress the causes of migration,and deploy additional border secu-rity resources,” McAleenan said.

Bennie Thompson, theDemocratic chairman of the HouseCommittee on Homeland Security,called McAleenan’s exit an “ouster”and said Trump must urgentlyappoint a permanent replacement.

“Today’s ouster of the ActingSecretary further highlights thatPresident Trump continues to deci-mate the leadership of theDepartment of HomelandSecurity.

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Testifying in defiance ofPresident Donald

Trump’s ban, former USAmbassador to UkraineMarie Yovanovitch toldHouse impeachment investi-gators on Friday that Trumphimself had pressured theState Department to oust herfrom her post and get her outof the country.

Yovanovitch told law-makers investigating Trump’sdealings with Ukraine thatthere was a “concerted cam-paign” against her based on“unfounded and false claims bypeople with clearly question-able motives”.

The diplomat was recalledfrom Kyiv as Rudy Giuliani —who is Trump’s personal attor-ney and has no official role inthe US Government — pressedUkrainian officials to investi-gate baseless corruption alle-gations against Democrat Joe

Biden and his son Hunter, whowas involved with a gas com-pany there. Yovanovitch testi-fied behind closed doors Fridayfor more than nine hours aspart of the House Democrats’impeachment investigation.

Her prepared remarks wereobtained by The AssociatedPress. She left without answer-ing questions.

New York Rep. SeanPatrick Maloney, a Democrat,said Yovanovitch occasional-ly had to leave the room

because she was overcomewith emotion as she was“recounting how she wasthrown to the wolves” inUkraine. “It is clear to me thatshe was fired because she wasa thorn in the side of thosewho sought to use theUkrainian Government fortheir own political and finan-cial gain — and that includesPresident Trump,” Maloneysaid.

Lawmakers leaving themeeting would not providespecifics from the confidentialdeposition. But they indicatedthat Yovanovitch was provid-ing information that wouldhelp with the impeachmentinquiry.

“It was compelling, it wasimpactful, it was powerful andI just feel grateful for theopportunity to have receivedthat information,” saidDemocratic Rep. Denny Heck,who flew in from Washingtonstate for the interview.

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Battles raged in Syria as TurkishPresident Recep Tayyip Erdogan

vowed to press on with a deadly assaultagainst Kurdish forces, while thePentagon said on Friday US troops cameunder artillery fire from Turkish posi-tions.

Erdogan’s pledge to keep up theoffensive, which the UN says has dis-placed more than 100,000 people sinceit began on Wednesday, came as the USTreasury warned President DonaldTrump was planning to activate “verypowerful” sanctions on Ankara.

Trump, whose order to pull back UStroops from the border this week effec-tively triggered the intervention, hasfaced a firestorm of criticism forappearing to give a green light to thepush.

Turkey is targeting the Kurdish-ledSyrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a keyUS ally in the five-year battle to crushthe Islamic State group.

A Pentagon spokesman confirmedan explosion within a few hundredmeters of its post close to the northernSyrian border, in an area “known by theTurks to have US forces present”.

“All US troops are accounted forwith no injuries,” Navy Captain BrookDeWalt said in a statement. US forces

had not withdrawn from their positionnear the town of Kobani, he said.

“The US demands that Turkey avoidactions that could result in immediatedefensive action,” warnedDeWalt.

Earlier Friday, US Defence SecretaryMark Esper “strongly encouraged”Turkey to halt its offensive as a preludeto such negotiations, warning of “seri-ous consequences”. But Erdogan vowedthe assault “will not stop”.

“Now there are threats coming fromleft and right, telling us to stop this,” hesaid.

“We will not step back.” TreasurySecretary Steven Mnuchin said Trumphad authorized — but not yet activated— new sanctions to dissuade Turkeyfrom further offensive military action.

“We can shut down the Turkish economy if we need to,” hesaid.

Turkey’s third such operation sincethe start of the war in Syria has been metwith international condemnation overwhat many see as the blatant US betrayal of theKurdish forces, who have lost 11,000

fighters in the campaign against IS.

As the offensive went into its thirdday, the SDF were fending for them-selves, trying to repulse multiple groundattacks along a roughly 120-kilometre(75-mile) stretch of the border.

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Expressing concern about the ongoing mil-itary offensive in northern Syria and poten-

tial targeting of civilians, the TrumpAdministration has threatened to impose sanc-tions on Turkey.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin toldreporters that President Donald Trump wouldbe signing a new executive order, giving theTreasury Department “very significant newsanction authorities” that could be targeted atany person associated with the Government ofTurkey.

“This will be both primary and secondarysanctions,” he said.

“The president is concerned about theongoing military offensive and potential tar-geting of civilians, civilian infrastructure, eth-nic or religious minorities. Also, the presidentwants to make it very clear: It is imperative thatTurkey not allow even a single IS fighter toescape,” he said.

Mnuchin, however, stressed that therewere no sanctions against Turkey as of now.

“At this point, we are not activating thesanctions. But, as the president has said, he willprovide very significant authorities basedupon the continuing efforts,” he said.

The treasury secretary said they wereputting the financial institutions on notice tobe careful about the possibility of sanctions.

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Chinese President Xi Jinpingheld talks with his

Nepalese counterpart BidyaDevi Bhandari on Saturday ashe began his two-day statevisit, becoming the first head ofthe Communist nation to visitNepal in 23 years during whichthe two countries are expect-ed to sign a number of agree-ments, including an extradi-tion treaty.

Xi, who arrived here aftera two day informal summitwith Prime Minister NarendraModi, was received byPresident Bhandari and PrimeMinister K P Sharma Oli at theKathmandu InternationalAirport and was offered a cer-emonial guard of honour by theNepal Army.

Later, Xi held talks with

Bhandari at her official resi-dence Shital Niwas.

He is also scheduled tomeet the main OppositionNepali Congress leader, SherBahadur Deuba before joiningthe banquet being hosted bythe Nepal President at HotelSoaltee, where Xi is staying.

President Xi will meetPrime Minister Oli and co-chairman of ruling NepalCommunist Party PushpaKamal Dahal “Prachanda” onSunday. There will be formaldialogue between the Nepalesedelegation led by PrimeMinister Oli and Chinese del-egation led by president Xi atSinghdurbar secretariat,” theofficial said.

During the meeting thetwo sides are expected to ink anumber of agreements andMoUs, including an extradition

treaty, official sources said,amid concerns that Beijing canuse it against Tibetan support-ers of the Dalai Lama living inthe country.

The draft of the treaty,finalised by officials from Nepaland China, will be discussed as

per the spirit of the statementissued jointly by the two coun-tries during Prime MinisterOli’s China visit in June lastyear, officials said on Friday.

Officials familiar with thematter said that the Nepali sidehad held several rounds of

negotiations with a Chineseteam that had come to Nepalfor the purpose, the paperreported.

“The treaty is a priority forboth the Nepali and Chinesesides,” said an official at the LawMinistry on condition ofanonymity as he was notallowed to speak on the matter.

Expert worry that Beijingis pressing to sign the treatymainly to extradite Tibetansinvolved in “anti-China” activ-ities in Nepal.

China accuses the DalaiLama as a “splittist” working forTibetan independence.

Beijing sent troops intoremote, mountainous Tibet in1950 in what it officially termsa peaceful liberation and hasruled there with an iron fistever since. The Dalai Lama fledto India in early 1959 after a

failed uprising against theChinese rule.

Nepal shares a long borderwith 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.

A leader from the rulingNepal Communist Party(NCP) confirmed that discus-sions on the treaty are on Xi’svisit agenda.

“There will indeed be a dis-cussion on the matter, but therumours about an agreementare baseless. Nepal is discussinga similar treaty with India, sodiscussions will be held withChina as well,” Narayan KajiShrestha, the ruling partyspokesperson, told theKathmandu Post on Friday.

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The lights were back onFriday for most of the

nearly 2 million NorthernCalifornia residents who lostelectricity when the State’slargest utility switched it offthis week in an effort to pre-vent wildfires.

The threat of widespreadoutages loomed in SouthernCalifornia after the windsmoved to the Los Angelesarea, where a wildfire fueledby strong Santa Ana windsprompted officials to order theevacuation of 100,000 peoplefrom their homes in thefoothills of the San Fernando Valley in LosAngeles County.

In that fire, one man wentinto cardiac arrest and died atthe scene.

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Debutant Manju Rani (48kg) was the loneIndian to enter the final, while six-time

champion M C Mary Kom (51kg) and two oth-ers signed off with Bronze medals in the WorldWomen’s Boxing Championships here onSaturday.

Sixth-seeded Rani defeated Thailand’sChuthamat Raksat 4-1. She will take on second-seeded Russian Ekaterina Paltceva in the sum-mit clash today.

“I had fought this Thai girl earlier too so thatexperience came in handy. This is the biggest winof my career so far and I am very very happy,”Rani said referring to her earlier fight againstRaksat.

However, Mary Kom, Jamuna Boro (54kg)and Lovlina Borgohain (69kg) settled for Bronzemedals. In case of Borgohain, it was her secondsuccessive third-place finish.

Mary Kom, seeded third, lost 1-4 to secondseed Busenaz Cakiroglu of Turkey who is thereigning European Championships and EuropeanGames Gold-medallist.

Boro went down 0-5 to top seed and formerAsian Games Bronze-medallist Huang Hsiao-Wen of Chinese Taipei. Borgohain (69kg)squared off against China’s Yang Liu and was beat-en 2-3 in a hard-fought bout.

The Indian contingent sought reviews of thedecisions in Mary Kom and Borgohain’s boutsbut the appeals were turned down by theInternational Boxing Association’s (AIBA) tech-nical committee.

“I am very disappointed with the decision.I think I fought much better and didn’t deserve

to lose but I will try to ensure that this setbackhelps me achieve bigger things,” Mary Kom said.

Despite this loss, it was a stupendous cam-paign for the 36-year-old Mary Kom and addedto her long list of accomplishments. This Bronze

is her first world medal in the 51kg category.Boro was up against a much taller rival and

although she fought her heart out, the heightadvantage worked for Huang, who struck somestinging body blow.

“I am happy with the Bronze but I think Icould have done better. Obviously I made mis-takes, that’s why I lost. I will go back and makesure those mistakes are not repeated and I do bet-ter next time,” Boro said after the loss.

Borgohain found a wily opponent Liu. TheChinese boxer had a definitive reach advantageand she made it count with her jabs.

Borgohain did well in counter-attacks but Liuclaimed the upperhand with her more forceful-ly-struck punches.

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Tail-enders Keshav Maharajand Vernon Philander set anexample of gutsy batsmanship

as South Africa fought hard againsta quality attack but could not stopIndia from taking a massive 326-runlead on the third day of the secondTest here.

While a total of 275 in 105.4overs is far from India’s mammothfirst innings total of 601, the 109-run ninth wicket stand betweenPhilander (44 not out) and aninjured Maharaj (72) showed whatthe top-order could have done hadthey shown some stomach for fight.

It will be interesting to see ifIndia captain Virat Kohli enforcesa follow on or give his bowlers morerest before unleashing them, eyeinga series-clinching victory in thethree-match rubber.

The duo ducked the bouncers,defended doggedly and attacked theloose deliveries as the Indian bowl-ing attack suddenly lacked answersduring the final session of the thirdday, which certainly belonged to theProteas.

Coming together at 162 foreight, Philander-Maharaj pair notonly had a century-plus stand butmore importantly consumed 43.1

overs, taking away a lot of secondinnings overs from India.

Ashwin, who had the best fig-ures of four for 69 in 28.4 overs,lauded the fighting ninth wicketstand between the lower-order bats-men. “I think the myth of tail-endersis over-stated and when he (tail-ender) bats well, he bats well.Nowadays, nobody is really a mugwith the bat. In our team also, every-body bats pretty well till No 11,” hesaid.

Asked if India will enforce thefollow-on, Ashwin said that it will

be the captain’s prerogative.“At least, I haven’t thought

about the follow-on. I think the cap-tain will decide overnight on whathe should be doing. It is also impor-tant, how bowlers recover, tomor-row (Sunday) morning.”

The pitch has shown no consid-erable signs of wear and tear overthree days but nothing can betaken away from Philander, whose,defensive technique againstRavichandran Ashwin (4/69) andRavindra Jadeja’s (1/81) tight bowl-ing, was laudable.

After a point the two seniorspinners looked a touch frustratedand Maharaj scored some usefulruns against them and then againstthe second new ball.

It was a top notch effort fromtwo individuals, for whom battingis not their primary skill.

Maharaj hit 12 boundarieseven as he looked in pain while rub-bing his shoulder. He was finallyout, caught at leg slip by RohitSharma off Ashwin but after a sat-isfying day in office.

The highlights of the morningsession was however MohammedShami’s hostile first spell and anacrobatic catch from WriddhimanSaha while the afternoon sessionwas all about relentless pressure cre-ated by Ashwin and Jadeja.

South Africa’s most experi-enced pair of skipper Faf du Plessis(64) and Quinton de Kock (31)tried to resurrect the innings witha quick stand of 75 runs but Ashwinremoved the latter before lunch tomake matters worse for the visitors.

Shami (2/44) bowled with a lotof fire, sticking to hard lengths dur-ing the session while Umesh Yadav’s(3/37) third wicket of the inningsprimarily belongs to Saha, whoonce again proved why he is ratedas the best in the world.

On a pitch where Indian bats-men looked at ease, it was an everymoment struggle for the Proteasbatsmen.

Nightwatchman Anrich Nortje(4) was uncomfortable from thestart with Virat Kohli setting anattacking field that included fourslips and a gully.

Shami got deliveries to rear upfrom the length and one suchdelivery was awkwardly fended byNortje and skipper Kohli at fourthslip took a smart catch diving to hisright.

Theunis de Bruyn (30) hit acouple of cover drives but it was amoment of inspiration from Sahathat brought about his end.

Trying an expansive drive offYadav, De Bruyn’s hard flash wasflying towards first slip and an aer-ial Saha plucked out of thin air, leav-ing South Africa tottering at 53 forfive. However Du Plessis and DeKock batted positively, punishingthe loose balls and didn't look inmuch trouble like the earlier bats-men.

Faf had 10 hits to the fenceincluding one maximum while DeKock hit seven boundaries.

It was Ashwin, who removedDe Kock with a classical off-breakthat pitched on the middle and thesouthpaw was squared up andbeaten trying to play for the turnwith bails clipped.

In the post lunch session, spin-

ners took control as SenuranMuthsamy (7) shouldered arms todelivery from Jadeja that turnedback sharply and he was adjudgedleg-before.

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Ke n y a ’sE l i u d

Kipchoge onSaturday made his-tory, smashing themythical two-hourbarrier for themarathon in the“best moment” ofhis life on a special-ly prepared coursein a vast Vienna

park.With a time of

1hr 59min 40.2sec,the Olympic cham-pion became the

first ever to run a marathon inunder two hours in the Praterpark with the course readied tomake it as even as possible.

“I’m the happiest mantoday. The message that nohuman is limited is now ineverybody’s mind,” an elatedKipchoge told reporters after therun, adding he expected moreathletes to match his feat in thefuture.

“From the first kilometres Iwas really comfortable. I havebeen training for it for the lastfour and a half months, andabove all I have been putting inmy heart and in my mind thatI’ll run an under-two-hourmarathon.”

The 34-year-old alreadyholds the world record for thedistance with a time of 2hr01min 39sec, which he set in theflat Berlin marathon onSeptember 16, 2018.

But accompanied by a posseof 41 pacemakers, who tookturns to support him, and a carin front of them setting the pace,Kipchoge bested his mark, mak-ing good on a failed attempt twoyears ago in Monza, Italy.

Maintaining a very regularpace at around 2:50 minutes perkilometre, he passed the finishline gesturing and smiling,describing his approach to thefinish as “the best moment ofmy life”.

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Dominant Daniil Medvedev reacheda staggering sixth final in a row

and will play Alexander Zverev for theShanghai Masters title today.

The US Open finalist defeated fel-low rising star Stefanos Tsitsipas ofGreece 7-6 (7/5), 7-5.

In the other semi-final on Saturday,Germany’s Zverev eased past MatteoBerrettini of Italy 6-3, 6-4 in a show-down between two more budding tal-ents.

The 23-year-old Russian Medvedevembellished his fast-growing reputationwith a fifth victory in as many match-es against Tsitsipas, 21.

In contrast, he is yet to overcomethe 22-year-old Zverev in four attempts.

“I did say before this year and dur-ing this year in the beginning thatSascha (Zverev) was the best in our‘Next Gen’ group,” the world numberfour said.

“He won three Masters whennone of us were even close to doingthis.

“Positions have changed a little bitso I think I can contest him right now.”

Sixth-ranked Zverev, long toutedas the man most likely to join the “BigThree” of Federer, Djokovic and RafaelNadal, has had a disappointing year,winning only one title.

But the German defeated 20-timeGrand Slam champion Federer onFriday and took that momentum intohis last-four clash with the 23-year-oldBerrettini.

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Kerala wicket keeper-batsman SanjuSamson made a case for himself for

the upcoming T20s against Bangladeshby hitting a blistering double century asKerala thrashed Goa by 104 runs in theirElite Group A game of the Vijay HazareTrophy here on Saturday.

Riding on Samson’s record-breakingunbeaten 212 off just 129 balls, Keralaposted a mammoth 377/3 on the boardand restricted Goa to 153/3 after playwas called off due to inclement weath-er.

Goa were 104 runs short of therevised target.

The cynosure of all eyes at the AlurCricket Stadium II was Samson.

Opting to bat, Kerala lost openersskipper Robin (10) and Vishnu Vinod (7)cheaply and were in a spot of bother at31-2.

But Samson, who struck 21 fours and10 sixes in his knock, hammered theopposition bowlers.

With this knock, Samson holds therecord for the highest Indian List Adomestic score, after he went past KarnKaushal’s 202, scored for Uttarakhand.

Samson is the eighth Indian to scorea double hundred in List A cricket. His212 is also the highest score by a wick-et- keeper in List A matches, surpassing209 by Abid Ali.

Also Samson hit the fastest List A200 by an Indian, (in 129 balls). He alsobecame the first Indian to score a list A200 at number three position.

Samson and two-down Sachin Baby(127 off 135 balls) conjured a massive338-run stand for the third wicket.

Baby struck seven boundaries andfour sixes.

The partnership of 338 betweenSamson and Baby is a new List A recordfor the third wicket, as they went past the309 run stand between Tim Curtis andTom Moody for Worcestershire in 1994.

Samson thus made a case for him-self and played a timely knock, withRishabh Pant struggling and the futureof veteran stumper-batsman M S Dhoniuncertain.

The chase was always going to beuphill task for Goa, who fell way beyondthe target.

Elsewhere, Jharkhand eked out athree-wicket win versus Andhra withmiddle-order batsman Virat Singhremaining unbeaten at 74.

Karnataka defeated Saurashtra byeight wickets to win full four points.

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Abhinav Mukund (147, 139balls, 17 fours, 2 sixes) and

Vijay Shankar (90, 93 balls, 7fours, 2 sixes) pulverised theMadhya Pradesh attack to helpTamil Nadu pile up 360 for 4 onthe way to a massive 211-run winin a Vijay Hazare Trophy GroupC match here on Saturday.

It was the eighth successivewin for the Dinesh Karthik-ledside, which has been in tremen-dous form.

Gujarat lies in second spot,having won all its seven games.

Dinesh Karthik too joined inthe fun as he pulverised the hap-less MP attack for a 28-ball 65 (8fours, 3 sixes) in a thoroughlydominant performance by TamilNadu.

The stylish Mukund, whohas been in superb form rightthrough the tournament andMurali Vijay (24, 20 balls, 4fours) started off in right earnestbefore the latter was bowled byIshwar Pandey.

Baba Aparajith, who hasbeen in excellent touch for TamilNadu, fell for just six, run out byAnand Singh Bais.

That brought Mukund andin-form Vijay Shankar, who sim-ply toyed with the MP attack thathad no answer to the duo's bat-ting.

In a splendid 191-run part-nership the two made sure TamilNadu had a solid foundation,which Karthik built on.

Once Shankar and Mukund,whose 100 came off 108 balls,departed, it was Karthik’s turn tosizzle.

Chasing 361 for a win,Madhya Pradesh kept losingwickets at regular intervals andwas never in the hunt, collapsingto 149 all out in the 29th overfrom 100 for 3.

Leggie M Ashwin took 3wickets for 14 runs whileAparajith hastened the end, tak-ing two wickets in the four ballshe bowled. Tamil Nadu takes onGujarat in its final league fixtureon October 16.

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Ravichandran Ashwin onSaturday said he wasn’t “frus-

trated” for once during the centu-ry-plus stand between VernonPhilander and Keshav Maharaj ashe is just happy to be bowlingagain in a Test match rather thancooling his heels in the reserves.

Ashwin is no longer India’sfirst-choice spinner even in Testcricket and it was understandablewhen the cocky Tamil Nadutweaker gave a cheeky reply to aquestion on the resilience shownby the South African tail on thethird day.

“I don’t get frustrated anddon’t want to get frustrated eitheras I am happy to be bowling again.Whoever bats again, I am happyto keep bowling at them,” Ashwinsaid and it wasn’t very difficult toread between the lines as to whathe meant after Ravindra Jadeja waspreferred in the West Indies.

He didn’t also forget to praiseWriddhiman Saha’s superb glove-work, which included an air-borne catch to dismiss Theunis deBruyne off Umesh Yadav’s bowl-ing.

“It’s a no-brainer to say thatSaha is one of the best goingaround. I have hardly seen himmiss anything from the rough andtoday you saw how he tookRabada’s (missed) cover drive. Itjust indicates what good set ofhands he has got,” said Ashwin.

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South African tail-ender KeshavMaharaj, who braved a sore

shoulder to hit a gritty 72, said notgoing into a shell was key to theirsplendid rearguard action.

He said his lower-order col-league Vernon Philander (44 notout) kept him in good frame ofmind.

“Vernon and I said to our-selves that we’ll just get throughto tea and see after that. Being alower order batsman your fingersdo itch to play a big shot butVernon kept me in a good mindspace,” Maharaj said after thethird day’s play.

“But I remained be positive,because if you go into your shella ball with your name will comealong sooner or later.”

Asked about his shoulder, hesaid, “It (shoulder) is very sore.Yesterday I dived on it so lot ofbruising. But hopefully I’ll be finefor the rest of the series. After afew pulls I felt normal.”

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FRENCHBULLDOZER

THE

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Jacques Chirac had a loud mirthful laugh which usually accompanieda witty remark. He genuinely enjoyed meeting people, sharing a joke,and exchanging news. Hardly a memorable orator, his words stuckbecause he was frank. And so his open opposition to the 2003 US-ledinvasion of Iraq came as no surprise and nor did his public recognition of France’s role in the deportation of Jews during the Nazi occu-

pation of the country during the second world war. He kept an open mind — he was a staunch defender of la vieille France

as much a champion and admirer of the East. He had been nicknamed ‘thebulldozer’ as Prime Minister Georges Pompidou’s main troubleshooter inthe 1960s, but it was an appellation that belied his ineffectual latter years inpolitics which was the period during which I knew him.

I first met Jacques Chirac in 2003. I was 24 years old, working as anintern at a political foundation created by Chirac’s Chief

Counsellor, his best friend for over five decades, and formerCEO of Suez (for twenty years!), Jerome Monod. Very

soon, Monod had brought me over to work as a poli-cy analyst out of his office, the salon d’argent at

the Elysee, that was placed right beside theoffice of Jacques Chirac who was the

President of the French Republic at thattime.

Chirac liked the appropriate use ofthe French language. During my earliestmeetings with him, he had told me“Speak slowly… French”. He quizzedme about India and also China, as ifbeing an Asian I was to know of both.A few times he challenged me to com-pete with his official speech writers, ofwhich I won the game only twice.Both times, I was to write about Asiantopics. In Europe he was losing therace to Germany, of being seen as themain force behind the unification ofEurope. But that did not stop himfrom bringing France to the rest of theworld.

He was pro-business as much ashe was supportive of the arts. One ofmy most memorable projects waswhen Monod and myself, accompaniedby another colleague, travelled to Indiato prepare for Chirac’s impending visit

the following year in 2006. We met withRatan Tata at Bombay House, Rahul Bajaj

at his manufacturing unit on the outskirtsof Pune, Narayan Murthy in his officeoverlooking the Infosys campus inBangalore, as well as cultural icons such asYash Chopra, Alyque Padamsee, SanjanaKapoor, Mallika Sarabhai and others. Myjob was to take notes that would feed intothe talk points for the President’s meet-ings with his Indian counterparts. Indiansin general did not warm up to him toomuch. The French and Indian leadersoften speak different languages — I amnot referring to the French, English,Hindi languages here. But Chirac hadpolitical friendships in Iraq, Japan,Lebanon, and other unlikely countries inthe East. In fact, post retirement, theChiracs lived in a Paris apartment cour-tesy of the family of the former Lebaneseprime minister, Rafik Hariri.

In February 2006, when Chiracindeed visited India, he was keen toboost economic ties with an emphasis oncivil nuclear cooperation. That year,India and France issued a declaration onthe “development of nuclear energy forpeaceful purposes”. Civil nuclear energyalong with aerospace, healthcare, andeducation continue to form the corner-stone of the French-Indian relationship

even today. In fact, last week, after a 15

year procurement process that wasfraught with controversies, India gotits first Rafale jet in France withDefence Minister Rajnath Singh tak-ing a sortie in the combat aircraft.The first aircraft will arrive — in abatch of four — in India in May 2020once the Ambala airbase trains pilots.France and India harbour an unmetpotential for greater private sector col-laboration. Just in the field of my spe-cialisation, which is corporate sustain-ability, there is much that Frenchcompanies can offer their Indiancounterparts in terms of technology,equipment, and R&D. There are sev-eral collaborations on paper that lackany substantial tangible outputs. Thetwo countries also need to better ‘insync’. The choice of exhibits and con-tent during the recent Bonjour Indiafestival organised by France in Indiawas a glaring example of how Francejust does not get India.

France has also long been eager tobe the top choice for the brightestIndian students. France has hopedthat the trumpisation of the US willresult in more Indians choosingFrance as their destination for study.This to some extent is true. The num-ber of outbound Indian students toFrance has increased several fold overthe years yet Canada, UK, andAustralia have lapped up the brightestbrains who do not make it to the US.The calibre of Indian students goingto France is severely lacking and thisis an aspect that France’s ambassadorto India, Emmanuel Lenain, who pre-sented his credentials just last week,could look into as a priority. Therewas also a surge of MOUs betweenFrench universities and their Indiancounterparts in the past 10 yearswhich has now slowed down mostlybecause of the increasing reluctanceof French students to come to India tostudy. For various reasons, Frenchstudents no longer see India as anexciting destination to live, learn, andstudy. Moreover student internshipvisas in India are painfully difficult toobtain and the recruitment of a for-eign citizen in India is expensive, fur-ther dampening the spirits of youngFrench students to study in Indianuniversities. EduFrance, a French gov-ernment agency that continues to bethe central node for all internationalcooperation in the domain of educa-tion in France, was established duringChirac’s tenure.

Despite his tall and imposingframe, Chirac came across as an ordi-nary person. He went jogging in pub-lic and liked to catch a drink with thelocals. I remember once seeing hisdog Sumo romping the rose gardensat the Elysee, soon after which Chiracquickly stepped out of his office rush-ing to get his pet just as any of uswould. Many consider that his tactand ability to connect with commonpeople allowed him to bridge thedeep divide between the left and theright political ideologies in France.

For example, in 1968 he had success-fully negotiated for peace with theleaders of protests that had takenFrance to the brink of chaos.However, there are others who saythat Chirac was a political chameleonwho merely adapted his policiesaccording to what voters wanted. Butalmost everyone says that especiallytowards the end of his second tenureas President, Chirac had learnt the artof sitting comfortably on the fence.During the times that I interactedwith him, France’s economy wasdwindling and immigrant riots hadbroken out. Chirac had indeed ener-getically campaigned on the fracturesociale or social divide in France butin reality, he did little about correctingit. It would be hard to point to anymajor domestic reforms either thatChirac made for an economy andsociety that had badly needed them.

It used to be the window abovethe desk of Francine Ros — the untir-ing assistant to Jerome Monod forforty years — that had consistentlyoffered me the best view to the kinglywelcome parade given to state guestsin the courtyard of the Elysee.Francine Ros, wrote to me three yearsago informing me of Monod’s deathand giving me details about the prayerservice. She had earlier also told methat Sumo was in depression once heno longer had the Presidential gar-dens to frolic. But in the past year, myattempts to reach Francine provedfutile as did my calls to her when Iread with great sadness about thedeath a fortnight ago of JacquesChirac.

Chirac was indeed a dominantfigure in world politics for fourdecades. He was President of Francefor two terms, totalling twelve years.Previously he had been twice primeminister and a highly visible mayor ofParis for 18 years. Only years laterwould his mayoralty emerge as thesource of scandal: In 2011, he wasconvicted of misusing public funds tofinance his political party while run-ning the city of Paris. There have beenother criticisms of his personal life,accusing him of affairs and mistresses,confirmed by a book published by hiswife Bernadette who calls herself a“prisoner of traditions”.

Yet, Chirac is most rememberedfor his balanced stance between theLeft and the Right political ideologiesin France and his bold disposition ininternational matters, be it against theUS-led war in Iraq or his champi-oning the European Union.

“Who is Jacques Chirac?,” areporter had once asked.

Chirac had replied: “It is of littleimportance who he is in private andintimate life. It is only the politicalpersonality that should interest us.”

The writer is CEO, Sustain Labs.She is the author of Indian Instincts:

essays on freedom and equality inIndia (Penguin, 2018)

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Apopular acronym doing round these days about thekind of world we are living in is VUCA (Volatile,Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous). Whosoever

coined this may not be credited with finding a path break-ing idea as the world has always been like that. But theemphasis on volatility certainly makes a lot of sense giventhe present day milieu. While uncertainly, complexity andambiguity were always there, the degree of volatility was notas high. Truly an era of disruption. The logical culminationis the growing paranoia. It is this paranoia that is telling onthe health of this world. Physical health, mental health andeven fiscal health. In fact, they are all related. Paranoia caus-es delusions and delusions are resulting in a trust deficientsociety as people are playing cloaks and daggers with oneand another. Why this is so may not be difficult to find out.When every human being is a potential competitor, this iswhat can be expected. A basic fault with an intensely com-petitive societal paradigm is this assumption that you canonly win at the cost of others. Therefore, the focus of everyindividual is on others. What others are doing, what oth-ers are thinking, what others are plotting? In such a situa-tion when one apprehends threats from every quarter, peaceis the first casualty. And it is this that has given rise to a kindof mental disequilibrium in the human beings. Look whatis happening. Rage, depression, hatred, violence and all otherkinds of negativities are on the rise. Seems as if the worldis on a short fuse. A stressed world, a traumatised world andalso a dramatised world. Dramatised because there is a maskon every face. Mankind is trying to come to terms with itself.Mental health has thus become a global issue. More so, inIndia which according to a WHO report is leading in num-ber of depression cases. The irony is that it is not becauseof deprivation. Surveys are there to suggest that around 50percent of professionals, the rich and the prosperous, aresuffering from stress. Where lies the rub? Stress and anxi-ety, then are not necessarily afflicting only the deprived.Rather, they are affecting the depraved more. This deprav-ity of the mind is burdened with wants. The result is inces-sant hankering for something. As Buddha said, when some-one seeks then what happens is that his eyes see only thething that he seeks, and he is able to find nothing, to takein nothing... Because he always thinks about the thing heis seeking, because he has one goal, because he is obsessedwith his goal, seeking means having a goal. But finding meansbeing free, being open, and having no goal. It is this obses-sion with goal that burdens the mind, which is always desta-bilised. Little wonder, the world is witnessing rise in men-tal illness resulting in societal distress. Suicides mounting,the divorce rates rising, number of gunmen going on shoot-ing spree in prosperous societies like America becomingmore common — where are we headed? Difficult to fore-warn, but certainly not the best of the signs. The answer isto realise that, “In the end, only three things matter: howmuch you loved, how gently you lived, and how graceful-ly you let go of things not meant for you.”

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It is no wonder that attention is high-ly sought. Some people go to ridicu-lous extent to get attention. In ear-

lier times, kings used to keep certainpersons just to sing their praises. Theirarrival, etc. were announced with greatfanfare. Even now some people sur-round themselves with sycophants. Itcosts them money but they feel that itis money well spent.

We get attention due to our karmas,both good and bad. This article is abouthow to get attention the right way. It isnot about the attention a head of a ter-rorist group gets. Even the good karmaare of two types — One is due to whatwe have done in our past lives; And theother is due to what we are doing in thepresent one. Some persons have both.A classical example is that of LataMangeshkar. Her father was an accom-plished musician. He trained her fromher childhood as he also trained hisother two daughters — Asha and Usha.Lata was the serious one; she practisedand practised. She had decided to ded-icate her life to a career in singing. Shedidn’t even marry. What is the result?She is venerated as a queen of singing.She has sung all kinds of songs in manylanguages.

A contrasting example is that of awoman, who was born in a poor fam-ily. She had some talent for singing,which many have. However, she usedher ability to sing on a railway platformclose to her place of stay. People gaveher something to eat and some moneylike they give to a beggar. This contin-ued for many years till a kind soul madea video of her and posted it on a socialnetworking site. Soon she was noticedand invited to a popular reality show,where she was offered a chance to singfor a famous music director; all the yearsof singing had honed her skill.

Many people are born lucky due totheir excellent karma in their pastlife/lives. This entitles them to excellentbirth in nice families, good looks,sharp intelligence, etc. But not everyonemakes good use of them as LataMangeshkar did. For example, someoneis born as a prince, heir to a throne ofa large kingdom. He has two choices.One, he can pay attention to his stud-ies and training to be an able king or hecan choose to become a despot. Thechoice is his. He will get attention bothways. A classical example of gainingworldwide attention is the NewZealand’s prime minister. Immediatelyafter a mosque mass hate shooting, shegot very strict gun control laws passed.People took notice and cite her exam-ple for taking similar measures inother countries as well.

Prarabdha or acts of the pastlife/lives determine at what level one willbe placed in this life. A royal baby is veryhigh on the list. His courtiers will bevery low in comparison. Though atten-tion is nice but very few can handle itwell. Many get sidetracked from thechosen path. Then, one should always

be careful about who is he or she get-ting attention from, Girls are taughtfrom their childhood about this crucialaspect. Even boys should be trained tobe very careful; strangers are not the bestpersons in this connection. Only thosewho have noble motive should be wel-comed. Generally, we get attention forwrong reasons.

Wise persons are not crazy forattention. Because mostly ego drives it.One is forever trying to prove oneselfto others. The nearest and dearest arethe best persons to gain attention from.But for that we have to give them atten-tion. There is one place from whereattention is most welcome. If you havenot guessed already, He is God. One willbenefit immensely if one manages that.However, it is not an easy task, but it isnot too difficult either, as many mayassume. This is where our welfare lies,not fulfilling our desires for gainingattention from others. The cosmicdesign is for being self-sufficient in thisregard. We are best served if we haveGod as our best friend.(������� ������� ��������� ��� ������ ����

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At some point in our lives,we have all felt wronged/let down or deceived.Consequently, we haveexperienced sadness, dis-

appointment, anger or hurt... In fact,it is estimated that 90% of people expe-rience some kind of emotional traumaat some point in their lives. So, if weare the ones who were hurt, why shouldwe be the ones who forgive? Especially,if there has been no remorse, no apol-ogy, no sense of having done the wrongfrom the perpetrator/s?

To answer that, we must forgivebecause we would be doing that forourselves and not for the others.

������������������Forgiveness means differently for

different people. In essence, it meansletting go of the anger, resentment, feel-ings of hurt or even vengeance towardsthe transgressor/s. The incident oraction that hurt us may always be withus, but the sorrow loses its grip, thetransgression does not have the powerto impact us anymore, forgivenessallows us to move on with our lives. Weno longer spend our thought and ener-gy in those emotions and we openthem up for more positive, productive,creative and progressive options.

In defining forgiveness, we mustremember what forgiveness is not.Forgiveness is not an excuse, forgetting,being in denial or opening ourselves upto be vulnerable to be hurt again. It isgrowing from it, looking at it as a les-son and moving forward. Forgiveness

is an essential tool for self-empower-ment and self-improvement. Saintsthrough the ages in all religions havedescribed forgiveness as the essentialcrowning virtue on the spiritual path.

����������������������“The mind is its own place, and in

itself; Can make a heaven of hell, anda hell of heaven” — John Milton

It is essential to forgive to progressin our spiritual journey. We mustunderstand where we are comingfrom. We live in a material realm. It ispopulated by imperfect souls, many ofwhom have been bereft of God con-sciousness for many lifetimes. Suchpeople, if they behave in ways that areselfish, should not have the power tohurt us. We must adjust our expecta-tions of people, only then we can limitthe depth of impact of another individ-ual’s hurtful deed or behavior can haveon us. When we adjust our perspective,our expectations of others are reduced,and the disappointments also dimin-ish and disappear.

We must remember that we forgivenot as a favour to the other, we forgiveas a favour to ourselves. We forgive forthe good of ourselves, not for the onewho has hurt us. Forgiveness is a per-sonal gift that we give to ourselves.

Research shows us that forgivenessis a response that is deeply rooted inour cultural, cognitive, religious andspiritual beliefs and practices.Forgiveness can offer a positive andgrowth path out of the suffering cre-ated by frequently thinking and

analysing the event or circumstancesof that wrongdoing or injustice.

Forgiveness brings relief and a wayout from mental, emotional and insome cases even physical anguish, andlead to personal restoration, regrowthand upliftment. When we can forgive,we become more open-minded, objec-tive, compassionate, are able to healfrom trauma, and re-engage in happi-ness and spiritual growth again. Wemay use forgiveness as an emotion-focused coping strategy to decrease thestressful response to a perceived trans-gression or wrongdoing or injustice.When we can bring ourselves to for-give, our attitude and actions towardthe person/s that has caused the hurt,change and become more positive,benevolent, kinder and more generous.We become less reflective and analyt-ic of the hurtful situation or event andconsequently become less negative, lessangry and less agitated.

Forgiveness can be viewed as aform of mercy that reflects kindness,compassion and empathy, which areemotional pillars of strength in anyspiritual journey.

���������������������“Forgiveness is the economy of the

heart ... Forgiveness saves the expenseof anger, the cost of hatred, the waste ofspirits” — wrote the 18th centurypoet Hannah More.

Let us consider the consequences.When we don’t forgive, we harbourresentment. Harboring resentment islike pouring toxic waste into our

minds. We would not let someone out-side to come and throw garbage intoour living room, but that is what we aredoing to our selves when we keepremembering the wrong and contin-ue with the resentment.

We should not interpretUnforgiveness as just the absence offorgiving; it is a complex combinationof delayed negative emotions, negativereactions, of anger, sorrow, disbelief anddistrust. The complex delayed negativemental process of unforgiveness cancreate a stress reaction and sustainundesirable and harmful emotionssuch as resentment, bitterness, hostil-ity, hatred, anger, distrust and some-times fear. Unforgiveness is a stressfulstate in consciousness and thereforebears ill consequences on our individ-ual health. The effects from bottled-upaging anger, resentment, frustrationand sadness can lead to serious healthissues for us including but not limitedto anxiety, depression, higher bloodpressure and risks of heart attack.

If unforgiveness is prolonged andnegative emotions are sustained, thatnegative emotion “poisons” our phys-ical and mental being. Sustaininganger, resentment and vengefulness issimilar to the voluntary ingestion of apoison. “It is like drinking poison andexpecting the other person to die”.

Forgiveness, as opposed to unfor-giveness, can mitigate the effects neg-ative emotions can have on our indi-vidual mental and physical health.Forgiveness is not forgetting or approv-ing or giving up or accepting. Ratherit is a process of holding the wrongdo-er accountable while replacing the neg-ative thoughts, emotions and behaviorswith positive, kind, benevolent, gra-cious responses.

This is an essential process in con-tinuing and progressing in the spiritu-al path. To attain Divine Love for Godwe must be able to overcome and dis-card all the negativity that unforgive-ness brings. It is sometimes a difficultand laborious process, but it is onewhich we do for ourselves. It does notchange the transgressor or wrongdoer,it changes us for the better. “What doesnot kill us makes us stronger”. Beingable to forgive does just that, it strength-ens our resolve, heightens our outlookof on life, and frees us to be motivatedon a higher spiritual journey.Forgiveness frees us from our externalcircumstances, no matter what anybodydoes, it allows us to choose our emo-tions. Unless we forgive, we are lockedby the environment. And the momentwe forgive we become free and that isthe first step in moving ahead with theprocess of mind control. It is the firstessential step to progress in the eternalspiritual journey

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Ialways say that the greatest and mostvaluable export from India is Yoga. Inevery city in the world, in small towns

and villages, in mountain retreats and luxu-rious resorts, you will find the gene of yogaas an essential element of life and of living.

Yoga has become synonymous withwords such as energy, rejuvenation, align-ment, inner peace, de-stress, decompress,relax and centre. This seems like a lot ofclaims for one discipline, yet the innerdynamics of yoga, created by the consciousmovement of the body in specific postures isa powerfully integral practice honed overhundreds, if not thousands of years ofresearch and the search for freedom fromsuffering and a call to enlightenment. Toawaken to our humanity and our presencein the physical body.

Surely over the years that our varyingcultures and societies have evolved, the indi-viduals’ initial motivation for yoga practicemay be different, but it will lead the humanbody and mind into the same place. Everyhuman being will experience different quali-

ties and intensity of how yoga can benefitand change you, yet one element remainsconsistent and true for all — it is the experi-ence of being Mindful. The practice of yogais rooted in the conscious unity of the bodyand mind in an activity that brings a height-ened awareness and sensitivity to how youreally feel and the state of your mind.

Yoga asanas or postures, when practicedwith specific breathing techniques affects thecirculation of oxygen and of prana ‘energy’into the physical system, causing a naturalde-toxification of the blood and lymphaticsystem. The brain and central nervous sys-tem is revived through the biochemicalchanges in the blood when the breath flowsinto areas that may have been blocked bytension or misuse. This bio-chemical adjust-ment is generated by your own inner phar-macy, the Endocrine System, which hasseven major glands, dynamic areas ofendocrine activity.

The wellbeing and ‘mood’ of the bodyand mind are intrinsically connected to theinfluence of your endocrine glands, as these

glands secrete neuro-chemicals and hor-mones directly into the blood stream. Thesesecretions then circulate throughout yourbody influencing your mind. Yoga practiceis designed to harmonise the body’s internalenvironment, your physiology, by the inte-gration of the changes in the endocrine andnervous systems. This creates the connec-tion on a cerebral and conscious level whichthen becomes your psycho-physiology. Therelationship between the body and mindbecomes more conscious, more aware ofitself and therefore more positive. You natu-rally become more mindful and in touchwith the reality of the moment both withinyourself, within your relationships and otheractivities such as work and creativity of allkinds. Positive energy is the result of theunion of focus, awareness and activityapplied in such a way that there is totalabsorption of energy and therefore regenera-tion. This is also known as the Zen Mind oran open mind inquiring mind. An experi-ence of human consciousness and its allembracing potential.

We can say that stress happens when weare ‘mindless’. When we are unfocused ornegative, this can drain the body’s vital ener-gy by dividing one’s attention into parts.Yoga creates an opportunity to unite allaspects of ourselves and therefore allows themind and intellect to engage in a process ofacceptance creating a space for change andtransformation. This is being Mindful.

As human beings, our potential for cre-ativity in every area of life seems to have nobounds, but the biological imprinting in thebody-mind through unconscious condition-ing can limit our potential for peace, forhappiness, good health and wellbeing. Yogacan awaken us to the habitual limitations wemay have unconsciously built within our-selves so that we can break through into amore fulfilled life.

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Following India’s decision torevoke the special status of

Jammu & Kashmir, there wereprotests by anti-India elementsoutside the India House inLondon during theIndependence Day celebra-tions. One such protest wasorganised by Hizb-ut-Tahrir or“the Party of the Liberation”, aradical Islamist group whichcalls for the establishment ofthe caliphate in the Muslimworld with a view to unitingthe Muslim ummah.

Founded in 1953 byMuhammad SheikhTaqiuddin-al-Nabhani, a rad-ical activist from Haifa(Jordan), this group aims atestablishing an Islamic statewhere all aspects of human lifewould be guided by Sharia.Hizb-ut-Tahrir is of the opin-ion that restoration of thecaliphate, with all Muslims liv-ing in accordance with Sharia,is the solution to the problemsin the West Asia (Middle East).The establishment of an Islamicstate, according to Hizb-ut-Tahrir, would be in three stages.In the first stage, the organisa-tion would educate and indoc-trinate its ideology to the com-mon people; in the secondstage, it would focus on spread-ing its ideas among those whohold power in the govern-ment, military and the civil ser-vices; and in the third stage, itwould proceed to establish theIslamic state. The Islamic state,according to Hizb-ut-Tahrir,would be ruled by a caliph orkhalifah. The caliph wouldappoint the amir and the mil-itary head who would lead thejehad activities against non-Muslims.

Although Hizb-ut-Tahriradvocates a strict interpretationof Islam, it does not opposemodern technology, and rathermakes extensive use of theinternet and social networksites to spread its message. Itadvocates indoctrination inpublic places, hoping to changeparadigms and emotions sothat “people (will) behave inways that will not anger Allah”.While Hizb-ut-Tahrir pro-motes the concept of caliphate,it does not recognise the so-called caliphate created by theISIS, which has been on the runafter its defeat in Iraq and Syria.

Distribution of CDs con-taining jehad and radical Islamliterature is one of the methodsHizb-ut-Tahrir follows to tar-get people. To attract the youthinto joining it, Hizb-ut-Tahrirhas a well-maintained website,containing message, literatureand other information. Incountries where the group isnot banned, Hizb-ut-Tahriractivists freely distribute liter-ature such as The Institutions ofState in the Khalifah, bothonline and in public places.

They also organise seminarsand public discussions utilisingvarious open fora. According toUS online Journal CTX, Hizb-ut-Tahrir is slowly increasingits social capital by keepingaway from overt acts of ter-rorism while luring the edu-cated youth. The structure ofHizb-ut-Tahrir makes it reallydifficult to arrive at the realnumber of its members. It isestimated that Hizb-ut-Tahrirhas a wide base of one millionmembers in 50 countries,including the UK, Central Asia,Iran, Iraq, Algeria, Sudan,Yemen, Pakistan, Bangladesh,Indonesia and Jordan. Due toits involvement in coupattempts and anti-governmentacts, the outfit has been bannedin about 20 countries, whichinclude Egypt, Jordan, SaudiArabia, Turkey, Uzbekistan,Pakistan, Bangladesh, Chinaand Russia. In addition, theoutfit has a strong social medianetwork. In the USA alone, ithas more than 28,000 follow-ers on the Facebook.

In South Asia, Hizb-ut-Tahrir has a significant presencein Pakistan. It was banned inthe country in November 2003on charges of its links with sev-eral terror plots, including that

to kill former President ofPakistan Pervez Musharraf.According to available reports,Hizb-ut-Tahrir has made threeattempts to penetrate thePakistan Army in the lastdecade. This information cameto light when Brigadier AliKhan and four other Army offi-cers were arrested for theirlinks with the outfit. Despitethis, Hizb-ut-Tahrir activistswere reportedly seen in the gar-rison areas of Pakistan, openlyspeaking to military personnel.Hizb-ut-Tahrir’s objective is tobring military personnel, intel-lectuals and the elite under oneumbrella with the aim of replac-ing the government with acaliphate. Although the partyclaims to be working for theentire ummah, it started oper-ating in Pakistan by declaringthe nation as “Wilayah” orplace suitable for assumption ofpower. Hizb-ut-Tahrir is con-vinced that as a seat of Khilafat,Pakistan has the potential tounite the Muslim ummah andextend the message of Islam tothe whole world, as per its man-ifesto. In Bangladesh, though itwas banned in 2009, Hizb-ut-Tahrir has been carrying outanti-state, anti-government,anti-India and anti-US activities

there. It is significant to notethat Hizb-ut-Tahrir has notonly been able to penetrate thestate-run Dhaka University,Rajshahi University andChittagong University but alsosome prominent private uni-versities that are affiliated toWestern universities. Hizb-ut-Tahrir has also been involved inmobilising sections against theSheikh Hasina regime and isalso suspected to have beenlinked to the Bangladesh Riflesmutiny in 2009.

Many Hizb-ut-Tahriractivists were seen distributingleaflets calling upon the peopleof Bangladesh to rise againstIndia. The leaflets are aimed atprovoking the Bangladeshipeople: “You have been the vic-tims of Indian aggression fordecades. The enemy state killedyour officers in Pilkhana. Shebuilt the Farakka Dam; shedeprives you all your rightfulshare of water from the com-mon rivers and kills yourbrothers and sisters in the bor-der. And your current rulershave failed to stand up to theIndian aggression against you.There exists only one way ofresisting the enemy — estab-lishing the Khalifah state…And we have the action plan

ready to regain India as aMuslim land under the Islamicrule which is the only trueassured way of stopping Indianaggression permanently.”

There are several means tocollect funds for activities ofHizb-ut-Tahrir. These includeprivate donations, throughpublic campaigns and evengovernment subsidies.Donations are primarily raisedin London, Europe, the WestAsia and Pakistan. Followingallegations that the Pakistanenvoy to Bangladesh,Mohammad Mazhar Khan,had laundered money for Hizb-ut-Tahrir and other Islamistgroups in Bangladesh, theenvoy was recalled, accordingto a report in the Counter-Extremism Project. Besides,the Hizb-ut-Tahrir is funded bywealthy sheikhs from SaudiArabia and other Gulf nations.Interestingly it received theBritish Government’s aid to runBritish Foundation till its nefar-ious activities came to London’snotice.

Hizb-ut-Tahrir has sinceturned out to be one of themost organised and dangerousradical groups. In the UK,Hizb-ut-Tahrir operated onthe university campuses with-

out any restriction by theauthorities. Reportedly, thecampus of the University ofWestminster became a majorradicalising area for the youth,some of whom later joinedISIS. Prominent among themwas Mohammad Emwazi, akalate “Jihadi John”.

Its presence in more than50 countries makes itself amatter of grave concern forthem. According to its website,Hizb-ut-Tahrir organised ademonstration at Batla Housein Delhi on June 6, 2010, toprotest Israel’s alleged atrocitiesagainst Palestinians. Oneimportant target of Hizb-ut-Tahrir in West Asia is Israel. Itscurrent global leader Ata AbuRishta justifies killing of IsraeliJews because he says they areoccupying Islamic lands. Anarticle in Hizb-ut-Tahrir’s mag-azine Al-Waie June, 2001, jus-tified suicide bombing againstIsrael. In another magazine ofHizb-ut-Tahrir called Al-Fajrin 1988 said hijacking of Israeliplanes and killing of Israelis cit-izens on board was permissible.

According to the CTXjournal, Hizb-ut-Tahrir has anarmed wing called Harkat alMuhajirin fi Britaniya that istraining its cadres in chemical,

bacteriological and biologicalwarfare.

Although Hizb-ut-Tahrirhas not yet set up its office inIndia, its underground activi-ties in our neighbouring coun-tries is a matter of seriousconcern. Writing in the“Current Trends in IslamistIdeology”, eminent commen-tators Houriya Ahmed andHannah Stusrt quoting a sourcehave claimed that “Hizb-ut-Tahrir (Bangladesh) has a ded-icated India committee, simi-lar to its Bangladesh andPakistan committees, whichfocuses on recruiting Indiannationals presently studyingin UK universities. Once thesestudent activists finish theirstudies, the party hopes theywill head back to India to con-tinue Hizb-ut-Tahrir’s agendathere.” It is imperative that theIndian authorities keep a closewatch on these developmentsand initiate necessary steps.

(The writer is associatedwith the Institute for DefenceStudies and Analyses and is theco-author of the books —‘Militant Groups in South Asia’and ‘Pakistan OccupiedKashmir: Politics, Parties andPersonalities’)

After taking over as thePrime Minister in May

2014, Narendra Modi has putin a great deal of effort to makeMahatma Gandhi’s dream ofmaking India “swachchh” areality. “Swachchh BharatMission” is the flagship pro-gramme to achieve that goal.

However, the ambitioustarget of Swachchh Bharat hasits own set of challenges. Thehardest one is to make Indiaopen defecation free. On thethe 150th birth anniversary ofMahatma Gandhi this year,the PM declared the ruralIndia open defecation free.

Ending open defecation,creating cities and villages freeof litter and stagnant water, andcleaning up air are essential forlong and healthy lives of peo-ple. By galvanising the nationon the issue of sanitation, Modihas connected with the cultureof cleanliness that was thehallmark of the admirableIndus Valley Civilisation; andfor this, he will be gratefullyremembered by posterity.

However, there are alsomany inspiring people lesserknown to the world, like DrBindeshwar Pathak, a visionary

who started over five decadesback a movement to makecountry open defecation freeand restore human rights anddignity to the manual scav-enger (cleaners and carrier ofhuman excreta as headload)community. Pathak’s endeav-our paved the way for thebiggest sanitation drive inIndia. Every Indian knows ofSulabh Shauchalaya, but notmany know the story of theman behind the sanitationgiant: Dr Bindeshwar Pathak.

India is a wonderful nationbut it also has strange tradi-tions. People get up early in themorning and go for defecationin open in the absence of toi-let facilities in their houses.

In India, the inhuman,unhealthy and unhygienicpractice of cleaning humanexcreta manually by scavengersis in existence in some parts ofthe country. BeforeIndependence, this practicecontinued in the Buddhist,Mauryan, Mughal and Britishperiods. The scavengers werehumiliated and insulted, evenby those in whose houses theywent to clean toilets. They hadto clean bucket toilets before

sunrise so that nobody couldsee or touch them.

In medieval period theywere made to wear bells aroundnecks so that on hearing thesound, people could moveaway from them. Nobodywould touch them while givingthem food or water. They hadto live on the village outskirts.Their children could play onlywith pigs and animals. Therewas no question of their goingto school or entering temples.

Mahatma Gandhi was the

first person whose attentionwas drawn towards the plight ofscavengers. He wanted scav-engers to be relieved from theirsub-human occupation of clean-ing human excreta manuallyand wished to restore humanrights and dignity to them. Hegave priority to clean India overthe independence of the coun-try. The two biggest dreams ofGandhi were freedom fromBritish rule and clean India.Indians joined his movement toensure that the first dream

became a reality. However, thesecond dream “clean India”remains unfulfilled.

After Gandhi’s death, manycommittees were formed byGovernments to find out thesolution to the problem ofscavenging. Almost all com-mittees suggested onlyimprovements in the workingand living conditions of themanual scavengers, none couldgive a solution to the problem.

At this juncture, India sawa messiah for the manual scav-

engers in Bindeshwar Pathak,who has championed sanita-tion and the uplift of theuntouchables as mission of hislife. For the last five decades, hehas been working relentlessly tokeep the ecosystem clean andbring the marginalised sec-tions of society in the main-stream. He gave new dimen-sion to the Gandhian move-ment and broad-based hisprincipled fight against all kindof discrimination.

In the process of providingalternative to scavenging andrehabilitation and social upgra-dation of scavengers, Pathakcreated a pan-Indian networkwith 60,000 dedicated andcommitted volunteers and gavebirth to a mini revolutionwhich is popularly known asSulabh Sanitation and SocialReform Movement.

Lack of sanitation andaccess to toilets has been amajor problem throughoutIndia. Rural sanitationremained almost nonexistentand hardly half per cent of theurban population had access toadequate sanitation in 1991(according to WHO). It was acoincidence that in 1968 a

brilliant young social scientistof hardly 26 years emerged tosolve the problem of sanitationand related untouchability.

This is the story of DrBindeshwar Pathak from a vil-lage in Vaishali district, Bihar,belonging to an affluentBrahmin family.

An incident which hap-pened during those days inPathak’s life left a scar on hisimpressionable mind but led todetermination later to helpand improve the plight ofIndia’s untouchables particu-larly “scavengers”. He oncetouched a women dom (anuntouchable) in the village inhis grandparent’s house.Unfortunately, his grand-mother saw him. Despite hismother’s protest, she madeyoung Pathak to swallow cow-dung, sand and Ganga water topurify his soul because he had“committed” a sin by touchingan untouchable. This incidentleft a deep and lasting impres-sion on his mind. Pathak hasrecollected these events onpublic platforms.

(The writer is an environmentalist)

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Aworried father, concerned abouthis erratic son, came asking theother day: “What is in store of his

destiny? When would he start behavingsensibly? He cares for his elders the leastand has no sense of value. If his presentattitude continues, I am afraid, he mayend up a loner. If ever I try to counselhim to mend his ways, he becomesloud, and I feel embarrassed. Please sug-gest some remedial measure that couldhelp him change.”

It’s now too late for you to influencehim anyway. Had you been consciousabout shaping him during childhood,observed his tendencies, and according-ly tried to induce change, it could havemade impact. Caught up in the grind ofyour life, you never cared at that stage.What further caused the damage wasvitiated domestic atmosphere, whichimpacted his mind and psyche negative-ly. So, the emotional relationship, as isnaturally forged between a father andchild, never gained ground, and withobvious consequences. He is now grownup, lives in his own right out of his ownearnings.

Agreed, your son does have attitudi-nal problems. These problems are root-

ed in his mind, and so, he alone canbring about the desired change. I canhelp him in this respect, provided youbring him for counselling. “He won’t lis-ten to me and so, it is difficult to bringhim. Tell me, if I can do something forhim,” the old man submitted. You won’tbe able to invade your son’s mind-spaceby any means, nor can any pundit,through any belief driven puja. If yourson doesn’t consciously change himself,the learning lessons he would be putthrough will force the change in him.But there is a lesson for you as well. Thelaw of Karma doesn’t spare anybody. Ifyou ignored your obligations due whenyour son was a child and didn’t care toinduce value system in him then, youare to bear with the consequences there-of now.

Remember, astrology doesn’t definefuture course of life in finite terms. It issubject to variables operative during theongoing life, which includes the envi-ronmental conditions one is exposed to.Your son was witness to unseemly hap-penings in the family all through hischildhood, which did not let him devel-op the sense of love and respect due tohis elders.

Let us now have a look at astrologi-cal pointers to his personality relatedproblems. Erratic Rahu occupies thelagna sign Virgo. The lagna lordMercury is tenanted in the 6th house,which doesn’t augur well for him.Mercury is placed adverse to Uranus.All put together implies that he isunconventional, who may care the leastfor laid down societal norms. He seemsto be erratic and opinionated, carryingeccentric tendencies. He may often mis-direct his energies towards unproduc-tive ends. He would be driven by a senseof “I am the only right person syn-drome”, as if all others be fools. He mayunderrate others. He may wish to liveon his own exclusive ways, and if everthings don’t move on expected lines, hemay overreact.

The Sun conjunct Saturn speaks ofnegative baggage carried over from thepast reflecting a hardened attitudethereby. That has brought in a sense ofidentity crisis, which tempts him tothrow tantrums, if necessary, to provehimself on every count. It is indicativeof the sense of inertia, which may notlet him take initiatives in time, and sowould often miss opportunities in hand.Also, it indicates a sense of alienationfrom father. The Sun conjunct Mars, but

ill-disposed off to Venus, speaks ofemotional imbalance and self-indulgenttendencies. He may get over exercisedeven on trivial issues and then becomeloud.

Mind-signifying Moon is ill-dis-posed off to Uranus and Neptune. This,in the first place, accounts for his mer-curial temperament and rebellious ten-dency. Second, he would be subject toself-delusional perceptions, distancedfrom ground realities, and not open togo for a reality check, if ever advised byany. He has escapist tendencies, whomay not acknowledge truth on its firstappearance, and would rather preferpursuing own line of thinking tillpushed to the wall. If all that would notbe enough, the conjunction of Mars andSaturn makes him temperamental, mali-cious, and suspicious of all others. Ontop of that is conjunction of Uranus andNeptune, which makes him restless,chaotic and confused. And the result isthere to see. I wish, parents watch outtheir child and mould them in time.

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