· 2021. 2. 14. · station, bus stand and jewellery ... up a network of Kashmiri stu- ... gate...

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A sinister plot to bleed Jammu on the occasion of second anniversary of “ghast- ly” Pulwama terror attack was foiled by the alert jawans of Jammu & Kashmir Police after they recovered 6.5 kg explo- sives from a Kashmir-based nursing college student near Jammu bus stand late on Saturday evening. The IED was to be used for triggering a blast at any one of the major installations in Jammu, including its famous Raghunath Mandir, railway station, bus stand and jewellery market located in the walled city area of Lakhdatta Bazar. Nursing college student from Pulwama, currently studying in Chandigarh, was directed by the Pakistan-based handlers of Al-Badr terror out- fit to execute the terror plot. In a separate development, a consignment of weapons was also recovered from Samba. The weapons could have been airdropped in the area using Pakistani drones. Meanwhile, J&K DGP Dilbagh Singh also made a major revelation on Sunday that terrorist com- manders in Kashmir are smug- gling weapons from Bihar with the help of their over ground workers network to carry out operations in the region. He confirmed that chief commander of Lashkar-e- Mustafa, a front organisation of Jaish-e-Mohammad, had con- ducted a recce of the office of NSA Ajit Doval and had also dispatched the video footage to his handler Iliyas doctor of JeM to plan a major terror strike in New Delhi. Addressing a joint Press conference here in the district police lines in Jammu, Inspector General of Police, Jammu range Mukesh Singh said they have been on high alert for the last three days as there were inputs that on the anniversary of Pulwama attack terrorist groups may carry out some major attack in Jammu city. He said based on these inputs checking points were established at critical points and on Saturday night a person namely Suhail was found roam- ing suspiciously in the area. “He was carrying a bag. On being questioned and checking of the bag around 6.5 kg IED was recovered which was not active. During questioning he said he was a student of nurs- ing college and was studying in Chandigarh. He was tasked by Al-Badr handlers in Pakistan to place this IED at places,” he said. Singh said on further ques- tioning Suhail also revealed that after placing the IED he was supposed to take a flight to Srinagar and he was to be received by a high ranking over ground worker of Al- Bad, Athar Shakeel Khan at Srinagar. “After meeting Athar he was supposed to become an active militant. This was his planning. Another person in Chandigarh was also in the know-how of this planning. He has also been picked up from Chandigarh and has been iden- tified as Qazi Waseem and there is another person Abid Nabi associated with this out- fit. He has also been arrested," he said. The IG said by his arrest and by the recovery of this IED a major terror attack has been averted. Addressing mediapersons on the occasion, Director General of Jammu & Kashmir Police Dilbag Singh said police carried out two major success- ful operations and arrested two chief commanders of The Resistance Front (TRF) and Lashkar-e Mustafa in the last one week from different areas of Jammu. He said the TRF is being run by Lashkar-e-Tayyeba while the terror outfit Lashkar- e-Mustafa is being run by Jaish- e-Mohammad from across the border to carry out terror activ- ities not only in Jammu & Kashmir but in some other parts of the country including Delhi. “Lashkar-e-Mustafa came into being recently in August last year,” he said. Singh said the chief com- mander of Lashkar-e-Mustafa, Hidayatullah Malik, who was leading this outfit and was active from the last few months, was arrested by the police from Kunjwani area of Jammu. He said Hidayatullah was working as an OGW for a long time and later became active to carry out terror activities sponsored by Jaish-e-Mohammad. He said Malik was tasked to expand the terror base of the outfit from the South Kashmir areas to Jammu region. Singh said, “Hidayatullah had set up a network of OGWs to ferry arms consignment arriv- ing from across the border to Kashmir Valley. In addition, he was also in touch with terror associates in Bihar from where he was smuggling pistols. So far seven pistols have reached Kashmir via Chapra in Bihar.” “Hidayatullah had also set up a network of Kashmiri stu- dents studying in different cities across Punjab and was using them to ferry these con- signments to Kashmir,” he said. Referring to the modus operandi of terror outfits using tunnels, the DGP said during his interrogation Malik had also revealed that one of the active terrorist Ashiq Nengroo, who used to ferry infiltrators from Jammu to Kashmir Valley via road link, himself used the tunnel route to return to Pakistan along with his family. He said now Ashiq Nengroo is working as an active handler and organising logistics support for terrorists across Jammu & Kashmir. During 2017-18 Nengroo had managed to ferry around three dozen ter- rorists from the International Border to Kashmir Valley. T he Ministry of Road Transport & Highways on Sunday announced that all lanes in the fee plazas on National Highways will be declared as “FASTag lane of the fee plaza” from midnight of February 15, 16 of 2021. Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari made it clear that the deadline for the implementation of FASTag would not be extended further, and the vehicle owners should immediately adopt the e-pay- ment facility. The Central Government had last extended the FASTag deadline for the vehicles from January 1, 2021, to February 15, 2021 “Therefore, as per NH Fee Rules 2008, any vehicle not fit- ted with FASTag or vehicle without valid, functional FASTag entering into the FASTag lane of the fee plaza shall pay a fee equivalent to two times of the fee applicable to that category,” the Ministry said in a statement. A s massive operation inentsified to reach about 30 people trapped inside tun- nel began after a flash flood in Chamoli district a week ago, rescue teams on Sunday recov- ered 12 more bodies, including the first ones to be pulled out from the sludge-choked Tapovan tunnel. Five bodies were recovered from the Tapovan power pro- ject tunnel, six from Raini upstream and one from the riverbank in Rudraprayag, tak- ing the confirmed death toll in the Uttarakhand disas- ter to 50. Officials said 154 people still remain missing after the February 7 devastation, possi- bly triggered by an avalanche in the upper reaches of the Alaknanda river system. A surge of water in Dhauliganga and Rishiganga rivers had ripped through two hydel projects. Bodies of vic- tims were being found at dif- ferent locations by the river over the past week, but rescuers had so far failed to reach any- one — dead or alive — in the tunnel network at the National Thermal Power Corporation's 520 MW Tapovan-Vishnugad project. F ormer Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, along with his father Dr Farooq Abdullah (sitting Parliamentarian from Srinagar), found themselves locked up inside their Gupkar road house early Sunday morn- ing after they noticed a police van stationed outside the front gate had blocked their way. Angry over this develop- ment, Omar Abdullah immedi- ately took to Twitter to vent his ire against the security estab- lishment. In a series of tweets Omar wrote, “This is the ‘naya/new J&K’ after Aug 2019. We get locked up in our homes with no explanation. It’s bad enough they’ve locked my father (a sitting MP) & me in our home, they’ve locked my sis- ter & her kids in their home as well.” In response, a Twitter han- dle of Srinagar police said, “Today is the 2nd anniversary of the dreaded Lethpora Terror incident. There shall be NO ROP on ground. T he US Senate has acquitted a defiant Donald Trump in his second impeachment trial in just over a year, after the Democrats failed once again to muster enough votes to convict the former president on a charge of inciting the deadly insurrection at the Capitol on January 6. The Senate voted 57-43 on Saturday to convict Trump on a single impeachment count — incitement of insurrection. But that majority of all 50 Democrats in the upper chamber of the US Congress, joined by seven Republicans, fell 10 votes short of the 67 needed for a conviction, two-thirds of the 100-member Senate. The Senate acquitted the 74-year-old Republican leader of inciting insurrection at the US Capitol last month after he urged hundreds of his sup- porters to confront lawmakers as they were certifying that he had lost the November 3 pres- idential election to Democrat Joe Biden. He was accused of inciting riots in the Capitol which left five people, including a police officer, dead. Trump is the first president in US history to be impeached by the House of Representatives twice, and the first to be tried for impeachment after leaving office. P rime Minister Narendra Modi’s day out on Sunday to Tamil Nadu and Kerala saw the dedication and commis- sioning of a slew of develop- ment projects in both the poll- bound States which would result in creation of thousands of jobs and savings in foreign exchange. The Prime Minister also laid foundation stones for pro- jects meant for farming, devel- opment of innovation for youths, strengthening of skill of technically qualified youths and development of tourism projects. One of the important func- tions presided over by the Prime Minister was the hand- ing over of Arjun Mk-1A the state-of-the-art main battle tank to Indian Army. The high performance tank was devel- oped by the scientists of Chennai-based Combat Vehicles Research and Development Establishment (CVRDE), a unit of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and other allied institutions. General MM Naravane, Chief of Army Staff, received Arjun Arjun Mk-1A from Prime Minister Modi in an elegant function held at Chennai's Indoor Stadium. Paying homages to the sol- diers ambushed at Pulwama two years ago, the Prime Minister said, “No Indian can forget this day. Two years ago, Pulwama attack hap- pened. We pay homage to all the martyrs we lost in that attack. We are proud of our security forces. Their bravery will continue to inspire gener- ations.” Quoting the verses of Mahakavi Subramaniya Bharathi in Tamil, Modi said, “Let us make weapons; also make paper; let us make fac- tories; let us also make schools; let us make vehicles that can move and fly — also let us make ships that can shake the world.” Inspired by this vision of Subramaniya Bharathi, India has undertaken a massive effort to become self-reliant in the defence sector. Later, Modi inaugurated the Chennai Metro Rail Phase-I extension project completed at a cost of 3,770 crore which would ease traffic flow in the city. A long time dream of the farm- ers in the Cauvery Delta districts (the five districts on the banks of Cauvery river) got a boost as the Prime Minister laid the founda- tion stone for the extension, ren- ovation and modernisation of the Grand Anicut Canal System to be completed at a cost of 2,640 crore.

Transcript of  · 2021. 2. 14. · station, bus stand and jewellery ... up a network of Kashmiri stu- ... gate...

Page 1:  · 2021. 2. 14. · station, bus stand and jewellery ... up a network of Kashmiri stu- ... gate had blocked their way. Angry over this develop-

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Asinister plot to bleedJammu on the occasion of

second anniversary of “ghast-ly” Pulwama terror attack wasfoiled by the alert jawans ofJammu & Kashmir Police afterthey recovered 6.5 kg explo-sives from a Kashmir-basednursing college student nearJammu bus stand late onSaturday evening.

The IED was to be used fortriggering a blast at any one ofthe major installations inJammu, including its famousRaghunath Mandir, railwaystation, bus stand and jewellerymarket located in the walledcity area of Lakhdatta Bazar.

Nursing college studentfrom Pulwama, currentlystudying in Chandigarh, wasdirected by the Pakistan-basedhandlers of Al-Badr terror out-fit to execute the terror plot.

In a separate development,a consignment of weapons wasalso recovered from Samba.The weapons could have beenairdropped in the area usingPakistani drones. Meanwhile,J&K DGP Dilbagh Singh alsomade a major revelation onSunday that terrorist com-manders in Kashmir are smug-gling weapons from Bihar withthe help of their over groundworkers network to carry outoperations in the region.

He confirmed that chiefcommander of Lashkar-e-

Mustafa, a front organisation ofJaish-e-Mohammad, had con-ducted a recce of the office ofNSA Ajit Doval and had alsodispatched the video footage tohis handler Iliyas doctor of JeMto plan a major terror strike inNew Delhi.

Addressing a joint Pressconference here in the districtpolice lines in Jammu, InspectorGeneral of Police, Jammu rangeMukesh Singh said they havebeen on high alert for the lastthree days as there were inputsthat on the anniversary of

Pulwama attack terrorist groupsmay carry out some major attackin Jammu city. He said based onthese inputs checking pointswere established at critical pointsand on Saturday night a personnamely Suhail was found roam-ing suspiciously in the area.

“He was carrying a bag. Onbeing questioned and checkingof the bag around 6.5 kg IEDwas recovered which was notactive. During questioning hesaid he was a student of nurs-ing college and was studying inChandigarh. He was tasked by

Al-Badr handlers in Pakistan toplace this IED at places,” he said.

Singh said on further ques-tioning Suhail also revealedthat after placing the IED hewas supposed to take a flight toSrinagar and he was to bereceived by a high rankingover ground worker of Al-Bad, Athar Shakeel Khan atSrinagar.

“After meeting Athar hewas supposed to become anactive militant. This was hisplanning. Another person inChandigarh was also in the

know-how of this planning. Hehas also been picked up fromChandigarh and has been iden-tified as Qazi Waseem andthere is another person AbidNabi associated with this out-fit. He has also been arrested,"he said. The IG said by hisarrest and by the recovery ofthis IED a major terror attackhas been averted.

Addressing mediapersonson the occasion, DirectorGeneral of Jammu & KashmirPolice Dilbag Singh said policecarried out two major success-ful operations and arrestedtwo chief commanders of TheResistance Front (TRF) andLashkar-e Mustafa in the lastone week from different areasof Jammu.

He said the TRF is beingrun by Lashkar-e-Tayyebawhile the terror outfit Lashkar-e-Mustafa is being run by Jaish-e-Mohammad from across theborder to carry out terror activ-ities not only in Jammu &Kashmir but in some otherparts of the country includingDelhi. “Lashkar-e-Mustafacame into being recently inAugust last year,” he said.

Singh said the chief com-mander of Lashkar-e-Mustafa,Hidayatullah Malik, who wasleading this outfit and was activefrom the last few months, wasarrested by the police fromKunjwani area of Jammu. Hesaid Hidayatullah was workingas an OGW for a long time and

later became active to carry outterror activities sponsored byJaish-e-Mohammad. He saidMalik was tasked to expand theterror base of the outfit from theSouth Kashmir areas to Jammuregion. Singh said, “Hidayatullahhad set up a network of OGWsto ferry arms consignment arriv-ing from across the border toKashmir Valley. In addition, hewas also in touch with terrorassociates in Bihar from wherehe was smuggling pistols. So farseven pistols have reachedKashmir via Chapra in Bihar.”

“Hidayatullah had also setup a network of Kashmiri stu-dents studying in differentcities across Punjab and wasusing them to ferry these con-signments to Kashmir,” he said.

Referring to the modusoperandi of terror outfits usingtunnels, the DGP said duringhis interrogation Malik hadalso revealed that one of theactive terrorist Ashiq Nengroo, who used to ferryinfiltrators from Jammu toKashmir Valley via road link,himself used the tunnel routeto return to Pakistan along withhis family.

He said now AshiqNengroo is working as an activehandler and organising logisticssupport for terrorists acrossJammu & Kashmir. During2017-18 Nengroo had managedto ferry around three dozen ter-rorists from the InternationalBorder to Kashmir Valley.

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The Ministry of RoadTransport & Highways on

Sunday announced that alllanes in the fee plazas onNational Highways will bedeclared as “FASTag lane of thefee plaza” from midnight ofFebruary 15, 16 of 2021.

Union Road TransportMinister Nitin Gadkari made itclear that the deadline for theimplementation of FASTagwould not be extended further,and the vehicle owners shouldimmediately adopt the e-pay-ment facility. The CentralGovernment had last extendedthe FASTag deadline for thevehicles from January 1, 2021,to February 15, 2021

“Therefore, as per NH FeeRules 2008, any vehicle not fit-ted with FASTag or vehiclewithout valid, functional FASTag entering into theFASTag lane of the fee plaza shallpay a fee equivalent to twotimes of the fee applicable to thatcategory,” the Ministry said in astatement.

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As massive operationinentsified to reach about

30 people trapped inside tun-nel began after a flash flood inChamoli district a week ago,rescue teams on Sunday recov-ered 12 more bodies, includingthe first ones to be pulled outfrom the sludge-chokedTapovan tunnel.

Five bodies were recoveredfrom the Tapovan power pro-ject tunnel, six from Rainiupstream and one from theriverbank in Rudraprayag, tak-ing the confirmed death toll in the Uttarakhand disas-ter to 50.

Officials said 154 peoplestill remain missing after theFebruary 7 devastation, possi-bly triggered by an avalanche inthe upper reaches of theAlaknanda river system.

A surge of water inDhauliganga and Rishigangarivers had ripped through twohydel projects. Bodies of vic-tims were being found at dif-

ferent locations by the riverover the past week, but rescuershad so far failed to reach any-one — dead or alive — in thetunnel network at the NationalThermal Power Corporation's520 MW Tapovan-Vishnugadproject.

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Former Jammu & KashmirChief Minister Omar

Abdullah, along with his fatherDr Farooq Abdullah (sittingParliamentarian fromSrinagar), found themselveslocked up inside their Gupkarroad house early Sunday morn-ing after they noticed a policevan stationed outside the frontgate had blocked their way.

Angry over this develop-ment, Omar Abdullah immedi-ately took to Twitter to vent hisire against the security estab-lishment. In a series of tweetsOmar wrote, “This is the‘naya/new J&K’ after Aug 2019. We get locked up inour homes with no explanation.It’s bad enough they’ve lockedmy father (a sitting MP) & me inour home, they’ve locked my sis-ter & her kids in their home aswell.”

In response, a Twitter han-dle of Srinagar police said,“Today is the 2nd anniversaryof the dreaded Lethpora Terrorincident. There shall be NOROP on ground.

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The US Senate has acquitteda defiant Donald Trump in

his second impeachment trialin just over a year, after theDemocrats failed once again tomuster enough votes to convictthe former president on acharge of inciting the deadlyinsurrection at the Capitol onJanuary 6.

The Senate voted 57-43 onSaturday to convict Trump ona single impeachment count— incitement of insurrection.But that majority of all 50Democrats in the upperchamber of the US Congress,joined by seven Republicans, fell 10 votesshort of the 67 needed for aconviction, two-thirds of the100-member Senate.

The Senate acquitted the74-year-old Republican leaderof inciting insurrection at theUS Capitol last month after heurged hundreds of his sup-porters to confront lawmakersas they were certifying that hehad lost the November 3 pres-idential election to DemocratJoe Biden.

He was accused of incitingriots in the Capitol which leftfive people, including a policeofficer, dead. Trump is thefirst president in US history tobe impeached by the House of Representatives twice,and the first to be tried forimpeachment after leavingoffice.

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Prime Minister NarendraModi’s day out on Sunday

to Tamil Nadu and Kerala sawthe dedication and commis-sioning of a slew of develop-ment projects in both the poll-bound States which wouldresult in creation of thousandsof jobs and savings in foreignexchange.

The Prime Minister alsolaid foundation stones for pro-jects meant for farming, devel-opment of innovation foryouths, strengthening of skill oftechnically qualified youthsand development of tourismprojects.

One of the important func-tions presided over by thePrime Minister was the hand-ing over of Arjun Mk-1A thestate-of-the-art main battletank to Indian Army. The highperformance tank was devel-oped by the scientists ofChennai-based CombatVehicles Research and

Development Establishment(CVRDE), a unit of DefenceResearch and DevelopmentOrganisation (DRDO) andother allied institutions.General MM Naravane, Chiefof Army Staff, received ArjunArjun Mk-1A from PrimeMinister Modi in an elegantfunction held at Chennai'sIndoor Stadium.

Paying homages to the sol-diers ambushed at Pulwama two years ago, thePrime Minister said, “NoIndian can forget this day. Twoyears ago, Pulwama attack hap-pened. We pay homage to allthe martyrs we lost in thatattack. We are proud of oursecurity forces. Their braverywill continue to inspire gener-

ations.”Quoting the verses of

Mahakavi SubramaniyaBharathi in Tamil, Modi said,“Let us make weapons; alsomake paper; let us make fac-tories; let us also make schools;let us make vehicles that canmove and fly — also let usmake ships that can shake theworld.” Inspired by this visionof Subramaniya Bharathi, Indiahas undertaken a massive effortto become self-reliant in thedefence sector.

Later, Modi inaugurated theChennai Metro Rail Phase-Iextension project completed at acost of ��3,770 crore whichwould ease traffic flow in the city.A long time dream of the farm-ers in the Cauvery Delta districts(the five districts on the banks ofCauvery river) got a boost as thePrime Minister laid the founda-tion stone for the extension, ren-ovation and modernisation ofthe Grand Anicut Canal Systemto be completed at a cost of�2,640 crore.

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Happiness is the universalaim of human life. Man is

in search of happiness from thevery beginning. But most of thetimes, it has eluded him. Themore one craves for it, the moreit dodges him. Bhagavad Gitahas dealt with the subject ofhappiness extensively and hasgiven an unambiguous messageof comprehensive well-being.Sri Krishna has begun his dis-course with the assertion thatthere is no cause for grief ;because one’s essential nature,the self, is immortal andbeyond any sorrow.

As per the three modes ofmaterial nature (the gunas),happiness has also been held tobe of three kinds (shlokas from18.36 to 18.39). The joy whichsprings from a clear under-standing of the self is stated tobe in the mode of goodness(sattvik sukha). Such joy, whichresults in cessation of all sor-row, is gained after long spiri-tual practices. Though at firstit seems like poison, its resultis like nectar. The happinesswhich arises from the contactof the senses with their objectsis considered to be in the modeof passion (rajasik sukha). Suchhappiness at first appears likenectar but its end result is likepoison. And that which deludesthe soul from the beginning tillend ; and which arises fromsleep, laziness and negligence -such pleasure is said to be in themode of ignorance (tamasiksukha).

The kind of happiness,thus, varies according to thegunas. The pleasure that aris-es from gratification of thesenses is tamasik sukha. Suchmomentary pleasures driveone to inertia and envelope thesoul with the darkness of igno-rance. The one attached to

such pleasures, the tamasikperson, remains tied to his evildeeds, throughout his life.

A rajasik person deriveshappiness out of his wealth,power and glory. Such happi-ness initially looks very attrac-tive and pleasing as it givescomfort and pride of posses-sion ; but in the end it provesto be a cause of distress becauseit gives rise to more and moredesires which cannot always befulfilled. Today’s enjoyment isthe seed for tomorrow’s grief.The material happiness, thus, isshort-lived. Therefore, even inthe realm of worldly enjoy-

ments, one needs to avoidover-indulgence.

The spiritual practices areinitially painful as these call forlot of restraint and discipline.But ultimately they lead tocessation of the worldly woes.The sattvik sukha arises fromthe serenity of one’s own mind.When one stops worryingabout the material pleasures, hefinds the happiness within, thejoy which is situated in the self.Such inner happiness is long-lasting because it does notdepend upon any external fac-tor such as an object, a being ora situation. Such a joyous per-son remains unperturbed inany situation and is not shak-en by biggest of the miseries.

The three kinds of happi-ness are not exclusive to eachother. All of these put togeth-er make one’s life enjoyable.Dominance of any one of thesepleasures determines the over-all quality of one’s happiness.

Broadly speaking, twopaths lead to happiness - the‘easy but harmful’ and ‘difficultbut beneficial’. These are thepaths of transient and endur-ing happiness, respectively. Theignorant, who are attracted bythe glitter of external plea-

sures choose the convenientpath of self-aggrandisementand suffer in the long-run.But the wise do not allowthemselves to be seduced by theallurements of the materialworld, and follow the right pathof exclusive devotion and unat-tached work. They attain long-lasting joy.

Bhagavad Gita has alsoenumerated the human traitswhich promote happiness.Tranquility of mind is a pre-requisite to true happiness.Without a peaceful mind, therecannot be any happiness. It hasfurther been stated that realpeace can be attained only bythe one who is not disturbed bythe incessant flow of desires,who is free from longing, whohas no sense of mineness ; andwho is devoid of any false ego.Only such a serene person canexperience real joy. The slavesof desires can attain neitherpeace nor happiness. No joycan be greater than the joywhich one obtains from beingat peace with oneself, andbeing one with the Divine.

Equanimity of the mind isan essential ingredient of a joy-ous living. One must cultivatean attitude of perfect equa-

nimity and accept gladly what-ever comes his way. The wisemen, who possess anequipoised mind and whorenounce the fruits of theiractions, attain that blissfulstate, which is beyond any sor-row. Only the one who is capa-ble of withstanding the urges oflust and anger, can be a happyman. Supreme happinesscomes to the one whose mindis peaceful, who is free fromevil, whose passions are paci-fied, who is free from traces ofsin ; and whose mind isengaged in the self. It has alsobeen stated that happiness canbe obtained by the one whosefaith is unwavering and who isnot of a doubting nature.

To conclude, more than anoutward voyage, journeytowards one’s happiness is aninward pilgrimage. True joy canbe experienced only by the onewhose mind is steady, equani-mous and serene ; and whosesoul is purified. When onegains knowledge about his truenature, he attains contentmentand experiences the supremedelight. He is neither per-turbed by sorrow, nor he yearnsfor happiness. He is simplyhappy, content.

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Himachal Government haslaunched a comprehen-

sive programme to solve theelectricity problem in far flungareas of the state.

“After the constitution ofHimurja in the state, theDepartment has installed 89

small hydro units of 331.25MW so far, which are of upto5 MW. These small hydro unitsare contributing significantly insolving the power problem ofthe people,” said an officialspokesman.

While the electricity prob-lem of the people of far flungareas has been solved, the uti-lization of solar power has alsobeen encouraged in otherplaces of the state, which hasalso reduced the electricitybills, he said.

The spokesman said that

small hydro units of about82.7 MW in Chamba district,98.65 MW in Kangra district,25.9 MW in Kinnaur district,60 MW in Kullu district, 10.50MW in Mandi district, 39 MWin Shimla district and 12 MWin Sirmaur district have beeninstalled.

He said that Himurja hasalso installed 41 advancedgharats (grinder), 878 advancedchulhas and 17 wind solarhybrid systems at various placesin the state. Besides this,164803 street lights, 69935

lanterns, 27713 domestic lights,off grid solar power plant of3152.45 KW, grid connectedsolar rooftop power plant of14425.54 KW and 20,24,000solar water heating systemshave been made available to thepublic by Himurja.

To ensure electricity supply,the State Government has setup one kilowatt of grid solarpower plants free of cost in 34houses of Kunnu village and 40houses of Charang village indistrict Kinnaur. Apart fromthis, 250 watt off grid solar

power plants have been set upin the houses of one thousandBPL families in Pangi sub-division of Chamba district inDecember 2020 so that elec-trical crisis arising due tobreakdown could be avoided,the spokesman said.

The Pangi area is located atan altitude of 7,000 to 11,000feet, about 461 km from theShimla. The State Governmenthas made a provision of Rs 3.83crore in the budget for the areafor setting up off-grid solarpower plants for people living

below poverty line, he added.The spokesman further

said that grid connected solarpower plants have also been setup in the capital city of Shimla.These solar power plants havebeen installed on the roofs ofabout 66 government offices inthe city, which has reducedelectricity bills in governmentoffices. Also, grid connectedprojects of 23.25 MW havebeen set up on the ground,which has provided employ-ment to unemployed youth ofHimachal, he said.

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Punjab Chief Minister CaptAmarinder Singh on Sunday

said that four people from thestate were still missing in theflash floods that followed therecent glacier mishap inUttarakhand’s Chamoli district.

Capt Amarinder, in atweet, said that Punjab waswilling to extend any help itcould to help trace the missingpeople. “Four of our Punjabiworkers Kewal Singh,Sukhwinder, Kulvir Singh andSukhwinder Singh have beenmissing from Chamoli,

Uttarakhand since the recentdisaster. I seek CM@TSRawatBJP’s interventionin tracing them. We in Punjabare ready to help Uttarakhandin every way (sic),” the tweetread.

More than 170 people arestill unaccounted for sinceSunday, when a wall of waterand debris barrelled furiouslydown the valley, leaving a trailof destruction and despair.Those missing come from allover the country, many ofthem workers at two of themany hydroelectric dams inUttarakhand.

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Haryana Congress chiefKumari Selja on Sunday

said that more than 200 farm-ers have lost their lives duringthe ongoing farmers’ agitationagainst the three farm laws butit is sad to see that the PrimeMinister has not uttered aword expressing sympathy forthe departed souls.

“The farmers’ movementhas been going on for threemonths now but the PrimeMinister has been using sar-castic words for the agitatingfarmers,” said Kumari Seljawhile addressing a KisanSammelan in Kalanwali, Sirsa.

The Congress leader alsolashed out at HaryanaAgriculture Minister JP Dalalfor his statement on the deathsof farmers.

Lashing out at Dalal, shesaid, “Everyone is sad aboutthose who die. If you cannotexpress sympathy, at least donot say anything wrong aboutthem.”

Commenting on deaths ofagitating farmers, AgricultureMinister JP Dalal had a daybefore said, “Would not theyhave died if they were at home?Out of 1-2 lakh people, don’t200 people die in 6 months?Someone is dying of a heartattack and someone after fallingill. I express my sympathiestowards them.”

However, the Minister onSunday apologised for thestatement and maintained thathis words were “misinterpret-ed”. “If anyone is hurt by mystatements, then, I apologise.My statement has been misin-terpreted. I am committed to

the welfare of farmers,” he said.Several Punjab and

Haryana farmers, participatingin farmers' agitation against theCentre's three farm laws at var-ious Delhi border points, havedied of different reasonsincluding cardiac arrest.

Congress spokespersonRandeep Singh Surjewala hadalso attacked JP Dalal over hisremarks on farmers’ protestdeaths. Surjewala said an“insensitive” person can onlymake such a statement. “Thesewords can only be used by aninsensitive man for agitating‘annadatas’,” Surjewala had saidin a tweet.

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The minimum temperatureson Sunday hovered above

normal limits in Punjab andHaryana.

According to theMeteorological Department,Chandigarh, the common cap-ital of the two states, recordeda low of 9.8 degrees Celsius.

In Punjab, Amritsarrecorded a low of 11 degreesCelsius while Ludhiana andPatiala recorded minimumtemperatures of 9.6 and 10degrees Celsius respectively.Among other places in thestate, Adampur settled at alow of 10.4 degrees Celsius,Halwara recorded 10.6 degreesCelsius, Pathankot 10.9 degreesCelsius, Bathinda 9.8 degreesCelsius, Gurdaspur 7.8 degreesCelsius and Faridkot 11 degreesCelsius.

Ambala in Haryanarecorded a low of 8.4 degreesCelsius while the minimumtemperature in Hisar was 8.3degrees Celsius. Karnal (8.6degrees Celsius), Rohtak (9.8

degrees Celsius), Bhiwani (11.1degrees Celsius) and Sirsa (9.5degrees Celsius) too recordedabove normal minimum tem-peratures.

In neighboring Himachal,the tribal Lahaul and Spiti'sadministrative centre Keylongcontinued to be the coldestplace at minus 4.3 degreesCelsius. Kalpa recorded a lowof minus 0.6 degrees Celsius.

Manali, Dalhousie andKufri registered a low of 2.6degrees, 6.1 degrees and 5.6degrees Celsius respectively.Shimla recorded a low of 6.9degrees Celsius, he added.

The Met office predicteddry weather in the hill statefrom February 14 to 19.

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Haryana Police has recov-ered 228 stolen or missing

mobile phones in a month’stime and handed it back totheir original owners. The totalworth of these phones is morethan Rs 16 lakh

Haryana AdditionalDirector General of Police(Law and Order) NavdeepSingh Virk said that 2,048mobile phones worth Rs 1.61crore were also recovered andhanded over to their respectiveowners in 2020.

Acting on such com-plaints, IT and cyber cell teamstraced the location of themobile and SIM being usedwith their IMEI number. Therecovered handsets in January

2021 also include costly high-end mobile phones. Most ofthese phones have been lostaccidently by the users whilesome others were stolen as well.Using high-end technology,the police have been workingto trace missing cell phones andmore such recoveries areexpected in coming days, hesaid. Virk said, “At 46, theHisar district recorded maxi-mum recovery of handsets fol-lowed by 25 in Panchkula, 15in Palwal. The GRP also man-aged to trace 25 handsets dur-ing the same period.”

Virk also advised the peo-ple to immediately approachthe nearest police station toreport such cases to avoid anykind of misuse of these elec-tronic gadgets.

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Hoshiarpur: A BJP leader’s vehi-cle was allegedly attacked onSunday by some unidentifiedpeople when a group of farmerswas protesting against theCentre's farm laws.

The police said that theincident took place atGarhdiwala town, about 30 kmfrom Hoshiarpur. The vehicle ofBJP district president (rural)Sanjiv Minhas was attackedwhen around 100 farmers wereprotesting against the Centre’sfarm laws outside a shop ofanother party leader, JogeshChopra.

At that time, Minhas waspresent in the shop, said officials.As the leader was being taken toa safer place, some unidentifiedpeople scuffled with police per-sonnel. They smashed the win-dow panes of Minhas's vehicle.

Minhas was taken to acommunity health centre for acheck-up, from where he wasdischarged after providing firstaid. Minhas accused theCongress workers of attackinghis vehicle. Superintendent ofPolice (Headquarter) RaminderSingh said that they are verify-ing facts and action will betaken accordingly.

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New Delhi: Eateries and salonsin east Delhi have gone all outwith special discounts on theoccasion of Valentine's Dayon Sunday.

While speaking to IANS,Mahesh Verma, AssistantManager, Kentucky FriedChicken (KFC) in Preet Vihararea, said : "We have started a'couple meal' from February 12which is valid till February 14and is available at special dis-count rates."

Owner of 'Unique Pastry'in IP Extension area on condi-tion of anonymity, said: "Specialheart-shaped cakes are beingbaked at our bakery onValentine's Day with specialdiscounts."

IANS also spoke to KritiYadav, the owner of the 'NailSite', which specialises in nailshaping and also runs a 'BeautyAcademy' in Delhi's NirmanVihar.

She said on the occassionof Valentine's Day, our salon isproviding service of nail exten-

sion, eyelash extension alongwith any nail art at reasonablerates. She also told IANS thatmanicure and pedicure servicesat home are also being extend-ed without any visiting charges.

Sahil Gupta of 'SakhiBeauty Parlour' at Patparganjarea said, "At 'Sakhi', we areoffering 50 per cent discounton facial treatment to mark theValentine's Day." IANS

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Page 3:  · 2021. 2. 14. · station, bus stand and jewellery ... up a network of Kashmiri stu- ... gate had blocked their way. Angry over this develop-

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Seventy-one per cent voters, ofthe total 31.95 lakh, exercised

their franchise during the pollingfor eight municipal corpora-tions, and 109 municipal coun-cils and nagar panchayats inPunjab, which was marred by afew incidents of violent clashes,minor skirmishes, EVM snags,amidst the allegations of boothcapturing and bogus voting.

The state’s opposition par-ties — Shiromani Akali Dal(SAD), Bharatiya Janta Party(BJP), and Aam Aadmi Party(AAP) — accused the rulingCongress of using Government machinery andwrong tactics to win the elec-tions, which were considered tobe a preview of 2022 stateassembly polls.

As per available informa-tion, nearly a dozen personswere injured in Ropar afterworkers of the ruling Congressand the SAD clashed followinga heated argument in wardnumber 1 in the city. Minorskirmishes and scuffles were

also reported from Batala,Rajpura, Tarn Taran, Bathinda,Gurdaspur, Samana, Rupnagar,Nabha, Nangal, Mohali andFerozepur.

A SAD candidate ParveenKumar Pinna, who is contestingthe Moga municipal corpora-tion election, was “assaulted byunidentified people” outsidethe Arya School polling boothin the area.

EVM snags were reportedin a few places like Ludhianaand Mohali, as per the reportsreceived. In all, around 7,000EVMs were deployed for voting.

Several first-time votersand even elderly citizens exer-cised their franchise. Held underthe shadow of COVID-19, thevoters were also screenedthrough thermal scanners atpolling booths.

The counting of votes willtake place on February 17.

A total of 9,222 candidatesare in the fray for elections to2,302 wards, and 2,832 amongthem are contesting as inde-pendents, with 2,037 repre-senting the ruling Congress,

1,569 are Akali Dal nominees,1,003 of BJP, 1,606 of AAP, and160 are fielded by the BahujanSamaj Party (BSP).

Held amidst tight securityarrangements with as many as19,000 police personnel deput-ed for the job, the polling beganon a violent note in Muktsarwhen the former senior vice-president of Muktsar municipalcouncil Yadwinder Singh Yadu,a Congress candidate from ward4, and his supporter SudhirSharma, were injured in a latenight clash between the Akalisand the Congressmen atKotkapura Road, on the out-skirts of Muktsar.

Similar incident of violencewas also reported from Ropar,where a clash between SAD andCongress workers led to nearlydozen people being injured.Minor skirmishes and heatedexchanges were also reportedbetween workers of the rulingCongress and the oppositionparties at Jagraon, Batala,Rajpura, Tarn Taran andBathinda.

Nine people were wound-

ed—a few seriously—in a clashin Ropar. The clash followed aheated argument between sup-porters of Congress and theShiromani Akali Dal, whoaccused each other of trying tobribe voters in the ongoingcivic body elections.

Minor skirmishes reportedin Tarn Taran, and in GuruHarsahai in Batala. Minor clashbetween Congress workers andthe AAP workers in ward no. 7were reported.

Allegations of bogus votingwere reported from Moga’sward number 1, while thereports of booth capturing werereceived from Rajpura, Samana,and Malout. AAP leadersaccused the Congress workersof indulging in booth capturingin Samana, Rajpura, Dhuri,Abohar and Bhikhiwind — acharge vehemently denied bythe ruling party.

Meanwhile, the KisanSangrash Committee kept acheck on all 12 polling boothsof Amritsar MunicipalCorporation ward number 37so that BJP does not set up a

help desk outside the booths. Alarge number of farmers fromnearby villages, led by SonuMahal of the committee,checked all booths and raisedanti-BJP slogans.

Taking on the state’s pollpanel, the SAD presidentSukhbir Badal tweeted, “Failedon all fronts, Congress partyleaders knew they would lose, sothey resorted to rigging andbooth capturing and even vio-lence. What can we expect froma government that unleashedgoondaism in the state? Shameon the State ElectionCommission for its absoluteincompetency! (sic)”

Leader of Opposition in theVidhan Sabha Harpal SinghCheema claimed that an AAPvolunteer was allegedly shot atin Patti by some Congressactivists. However, the policerejected the charge.

Cheema alleged that thedemocracy was “murdered” inPunjab on Sunday by theCongress and sought resigna-tion of Chief Minister CaptAmarinder Singh.

Senior SAD leader andMLA Bikram Singh Majithia, inMajitha, accused the rulingCongress of misusing the gov-ernment machinery to win thepolls. Also taking on theCongress, the BJP had chargedthe ruling party of “unleashinghooliganism under the guise ofthe farmers’ protest”.

Hitting back, the PunjabCongress said that they weremaking “baseless accusations”.Punjab Congress president SunilJakhar said: “They (Opposition)do not have any argumentagainst the Congress party,which is fighting elections pure-ly on the development workdone in the state.”

Congress leader and formerMLA from Muktsar Karan KaurBrar blamed the Akalis for theviolence, and raised questionson the functioning of the policein the town. “In our govern-ment, the Akalis are assaultingthe Congressmen. It is a com-plete failure of duty on the partof the SSP and the districtpolice,” she said,

Gidderbaha Congress MLA

Amarinder Singh Raja Warring,who visited the injuredCongressmen at a private hos-pital, said: “It is shameful thatCongressmen are being assault-ed in the constituency where theparty is in power. I ask SukhbirBadal to come here and see forhimself who is indulged in vio-lence — his men or theCongress party workers.”

Notably, there were20,49,777 male,18,65,354 femaleand 149 transgender voters,totalling 39,15,280 registeredvoters in the state for the civicbody elections. For conduct ofthe polls, the State ElectionCommission (SEC) had set up4,102 polling stations, of which,1,708 were declared as sensitiveand 861 as hyper sensitive.

Former allies, the SAD andthe BJP, fought the municipalelections separately. The SADhad walked out of the NationalDemocratic Alliance (NDA) toregister its opposition to thefarm laws last year. SAD chiefSukhbir Singh Badal and otherparty leaders campaigned fortheir party candidates.

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Lambasting the Congressparty for “blatantly misusing

civil and police machinery tocapture booths besides unleash-ing violence against the oppo-sition to intimidate voters dur-ing voting for the municipalbodies”, the Shiromani AkaliDal. (SAD) on Sunday filed acomplaint with the StateElection Commissionerdemanding countermandingof elections at all places wherethere had been large scale boothcapturing and violent incidents.

Former Minister and SADspokesman Daljit SinghCheema said that Congressgoons not only captured boothsbut also attacked oppositioncandidates and their supporterswherever they were opposed bythe opposition and the generalpublic.

Citing incidents, the SADleader said that gunshots werefired in Patti in Tarn Taran dis-trict, SAD supporters wereinjured with sharp weapons inRopar and Fatehgarh Churian,booths were captured in

Muktsar, Rajpura, Samana,Sultanpur Lodhi, Dinanagar,Ferozepur, Bhikiwind, and anFIR was registered againstGauravdeep Singh Valtoha, sonof senior SAD leader VirsaSingh Valtoha, and five others.

“Similarly policed raidedthe house of SAD candidateJaswinder Kaur in ward num-ber 26 in Khanna and registereda case against 13 members ofthe family including her hus-band. Same was done with TejChand Batra, SAD candidatefrom ward number 18 inMuktsar, who was booked in anabduction case,” said Cheemaadding that the situation wassuch that Congress goons open-ly tossed turbans of SAD work-ers and let loose a reign of ter-ror but cases were registeredagainst the victims.

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Strongly condemning thecapturing of booths and attackson AAP workers by theCongress goons at variousplaces across the State in themunicipal bodies’ elections,

AAP MLA and the Leader ofOpposition in Vidhan SabhaHarpal Singh Cheema said thatdemocracy was being killedacross Punjab today by theChief Minister Capt AmarinderSingh and the Congress goonsbacked by him.

“Capt Amarinder failed todeliver on his promises to thepeople and is now assassinatingdemocracy. Realizing his per-sonal responsibility, CaptAmarinder should resign fromthe post of Chief Minister,” hesaid.

He alleged that AAP vol-unteers have been attacked byCongress goons at many places.“A party volunteer was shot atin Patti while a volunteer wasillegally arrested by the police.Similarly, in Tarn Taran,Rajpura, Fazilka, Ferozepur,Abohar, Jalalabad, Samana,Dhuri, Bhikhiwind and at manyother places, the Congressgoons tried to occupy thebooths,” alleged Cheema whilewarning that the “Congress-backed officers, who instead ofdoing their duty honestly areworking as Congress workers

today, would be dealt with onthe formation of AAP govern-ment in 2022”.

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When 95-year-old Jal Kaurreached the polling booth, wardnumber 1 in Moga city, with thehelp of her grandsons, little didshe know that she has alreadycast her vote. The same is witha 37-year-old Sarbjit Kaur. Evenas both of them claimed thatthey have not exercised theirfranchise yet, the presidingofficer did not allow them tovote.

Alleging that someone elsehas cast her vote, Jal Kaur saidthat the poll officers tactfullyput ink on her finger to showthat she has voted. Unhappy, JalKaur chose to sit on protest out-side the polling booth demand-ing that she be allowed to casta protest vote. However, theofficers did not allow her tovote.

Notably, Congress MLAfrom Moga Dr Harjot Kamal’swife, Dr Rajinder Kaur, is con-testing the polls from ward

number 1. Accusing Congressof bogus voting, SAD candidateHarwinder Kaur alleged thatshe has intercepted manyyouths from entering thepolling booths.

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Around 40 unidentifiedmiscreants allegedly captured apolling booth at Rajpura’s DAVSchool, that too in the presenceof the police.

Some youth entered thepolling booth at around 11.30am and closed the gate of thepolling station to prevent vot-ers from voting. It was only afterstrong protest and objections byone of the candidates and otherpeople present there that thepolice took out the miscreantsfrom the booths.

For a brief time, the pollingwas stopped following theprotests by one of the candi-dates and his supporters, butwas resumed after the admin-istrative officials reached thepolling station and normal-ized the situation.

Some reports of violenceand booth capturing were alsoreported from Nabha andPatran.

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Alleging booth capturingby the SAD workers, theCongress candidate from wardnumber 26 Captain Paramjitstated that he was pushed outof the polling station, and theAkalis, with the help of thepolice, locked the mainentrance.

He alleged that Akali can-didate, along with the police,have captured three pollingbooths. He also accused that athanedar has taken Rs 20,000bribe from the Akalis.

Later, when Punjab VidhanSabha Deputy Speaker andMalout legislator Ajaib SinghBhatti reached the spot, thepolling station was opened forvoters.

Refusing to comment onthe incident being a DeputySpeaker, Bhatti maintained thathe would definitely write to the

State Election Commission inthis regard.

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At an eleventh hour, apolling party was asked toreturn with the EVMs (elec-tronic voting machines) andother poll material after beingtold that there were no regis-tered voters at the polling booth— something that has hap-pened for the first time in therecallable past.

As per the informationavailable, a polling party wassent to booth number 42 inward number 16, but later,they were asked to report backto the returning officer. TheDistrict Administration citedshifting of votes as a reasonbehind the move.

“All the votes of boothnumber 42 were shifted fromward number 16 to two otherswards — 24 and 25 — as thenumber of votes in these wards were very less compared to other wards,” saidthe official.

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The voting turnoutrecorded a new high in

general or by-elections ofeight MunicipalCorporat ions and 109Municipal Councils andNagar Panchayats of Punjabwith 71.39 percentage ofvotes have been polled withthe maximum number ofvoters cast their votes inMansa district, and lowest inSAS Nagar (Mohali) district.

The state ElectionCommission spokespersonon Sunday said that in SASNagar, the voting turnoutwas recorded 60.08 percent,while Roopnagar's votingfigure has gone up to 73.80percent.

“The voting percentagein Fatehgarh Sahib haveachieved 75.78 percent mark,Amritsar scored 71.20 per-cent, Tarn Taran 63.12 per-cent, Gurdaspur 70 percent,Pathankot 75.37 percent,Bathinda 79 percent, Mansa82.99 percent, Faridkot vot-ing percentage reached at71.03 percent, while inHoshiarpur total 66.68 per-cent and Jalandhar's pollpercentage reached 73.29percent mark,” said thespokesperson.

Spokesperson said that64.34 percent voters exer-cised their right of franchisein Kapurthala, besides pollpercentage have reached69.71 percent in SBS Nagar,Ferozepur have scored 74.01percent voting, Sri MuktsarSahib district gained 68.65percent voting tag, Moga69.50 percent, Fazilka havemarked 72.40 percent,Patiala 70.09 percent,Ludhiana managed to getthe turnout figure on 70.33.

Apart from this, Barnaladistrict attained 71.99 per-centage mark, thoughSangrur have administeredthe mark of voting at 77.39percentage.

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Punjab Chief MinisterCaptain Amarinder Singh

on Sunday expressed shockover the recent statements ofsenior BJP leaders, includingthe Union and HaryanaAgriculture ministers, on thedeaths of protesting farmers,saying that the party has lostthe moral and ethical right tocontinue to rule at the Centreand in the state.

The Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP)-led government at theCentre should step down in theinterest of the nation, as shouldthe Manohar Lal Khattar gov-ernment in Haryana, said theChief Minister, slammingUnion Agriculture MinisterNarendra Tomar’s and stateAgriculture Minister JP Dalal’sstatements on the deaths of

farmers protesting against theblack farm laws at the bordersof the national capital for morethan two months now.

Punjab alone has paidcompensation to families of asmany as 102 farmers who havedied in these protests, said theChief Minister, lashing out atTomar over his outrageousstatement citing Delhi Policeinformation that only twofarmers have died and one hascommitted suicide. Even themedia has released details ofmore than 200 farmers (fromvarious states) who have losttheir lives in this agitation,Captain Amarinder pointedout, while also lambastingHaryana Minister Dalal overthe latter’s insensitive remarkthat farmers who have died inthis agitation would have diedsitting at homes anyways.

The Chief Minister alsoslammed the UnionAgriculture Minister over hisstatement that the CentralGovernment has no plans toprovide financial assistancefrom the Kisan Kalyan Fund tothe families of the deceasedfarmers. It was deplorable thata government that can spendRs 8 crore on publicity cam-paign for the new farm lawscannot give compensation tothe families of the farmerswho have sacrificed their livesin fighting for their rights, hesaid.

These statements of Tomarand Dalal reflect a shockinglack of concern on the part ofthe BJP leadership towards thefarmers who have been bravingthe elements and the lathis ofDelhi and Haryana Police intheir fight for survival, said

Captain Amarinder.Referring to Tomar’s claim

that the Centre has no count ofthe deceased farmers, the ChiefMinister said it was appallingthat a government whichclaimed to be working in theinterest of the farmers does noteven know how many farmershad died in the protests againsttheir farm laws, just as they hadno idea, some months ago, onhow many migrants had diedin the country during the lock-down.

“What kind of governmentis this that has no data (or soit claims) of people dying onthe streets in their own coun-try,” asked Captain Amarinder.

“Either the AgricultureMinister deliberately lied on thefloor of the House or simplydoes not care to even ascertainthe facts and figures,” said the

Chief Minister, adding thatthis was not the first time aCentral Minister had made afalse statement in Parliamenton the issue of the farm laws orthe farmers’ agitation.

Another Minister had ear-lier stated falsely in the Housethat Punjab had been taken onboard on the farm laws in itscapacity as a member of theagricultural reforms commit-tee, which was also a blatant lie,recalled Captain Amarinder,adding that not once werethese legislations even men-tioned in that committee, inwhich Punjab was includedafter one meeting had alreadytaken place.

Charging the Centre withtotal apathy towards the farm-ers, as manifest in its refusal toconcede their just demand andto compensate the families of

the deceased, the ChiefMinister said it was unfortunatethat senior ministers in theUnion Government like Tomarwere using the Parliamentaryprecincts to promote the BJP’scampaign of misinformationon the Farm laws and thefarmers’ agitation. Havingfailed to convince the farmerswith their fibs and fictions, theUnion Government is nowresorting to Parliamentaryimpropriety of the highest level,in total violation of theConstitutional principles andideologies, he added.

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Punjab State Women Commissionchairperson Manish Gulati on

Sunday called upon the Union HomeMinister Amit Shah to seek release ofjailed labour activist Nodeep aliasNavdeep Kaur — a resident of a vil-lage in Sri Muktsar Sahib district whois currently lodged in Haryana’sKarnal jail since January 12.

Gulati briefed the Union Ministerabout circumstances leading to her

arrest from Singhu border and herharassment in custody. She request-ed the Union Minister to protect theconstitutional rights of Nodeep Kaurwho hails from Giadarh village in SriMuktsar district.

PSWC chairperson is scheduled tomeet Nodeep in Karnal Jail onMonday after she had taken up thematter with her Haryana counterpartand urged to intervene in the matter.

The Haryana State WomenCommission (HSWC) had issued

written instruction to the DirectorGeneral, Jails, (Haryana) Selvaraj toensure legal assistance under Section3 (10), (1) (f) (k) of the Haryana StateWomen Commission Act-2012 toNodeep Kaur besides ensuring thesafety and security of the detainee.

HSWC chairperson had alsodirected the Director General, Jails, tomake all necessary arrangements forthe meeting, scheduled at 12 noon onFebruary 15, of Punjab State Women'sCommission chairperson and Nodeep

Kaur.The Director General has also

been asked to submit the actiontaken report in this regard.

Earlier, the Punjab women panelhad taken a “stern notice” of theNodeep Kaur’s case, seeking a statusreport from Sonipat SeniorSuperintendent of Police (SSP) byFebruary 15.

Sonipat SSP, through a writtencommuniqué, was directed to get thecase of Nodeep Kaur investigated by

a senior officer, besides submitting adetailed investigation report withinfive days, by February 15, followingwhich, the Commission would imme-diately take further action in the mat-ter.

Besides, Gulati also apprised Shahabout the plight of NRIs wives who areabandoned or cheated by the hus-bands living abroad and demandedjustice for them.

Amit Shah promised to look intothe matter and resolve the issues.

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Considering the substantialdownward trend in cases of

COVID in Punjab, the highpowered committee, constitut-ed by the Supreme Court, fordealing with COVID in prisons,has decided not to extend theparole of prisoners any further.

The Committee, headedby the Punjab and HaryanaHigh Court Judge Justice Ajay

Tewari, with the state PrincipalSecretary (Jails) DK Tiwariand ADGP (Prisons) PK Sinhaas members, recommendedthat all the prisoners surrenderback to the prisons, whichhave been designated specifi-cally for quarantining thereturnees before testing andtransferring them to theirrespective prisons.

“The whole process shallbe done in a phased manner

from February 17 onwards,for which ‘first out-first in’mechanism shall be followed,that is the prisoners who haveavailed the longest period ofparole would report back to theprisons first,” said a spokesper-son of the Jail Department onSunday.

Pointing out further, thespokesperson said that a sched-ule for the return of approxi-mately 650-700 prisoners in

one batch every nine to 10 dayshas been circulated to all theconcerned authorities. “All theparolees are required to reportat the designated jails —Barnala or Pathankot for male

and Malerkotla for female —with a negative COVID testreport (RT-PCR only) receivedwithin three days preceding thesurrender,” said the spokesper-son adding that they shall be

quarantined in the jail for fourdays (including the day of sur-render), and COVID samplecollected on fifth day, subse-quent to which, they shall betransferred to their respectiveprisons.

“If any prisoner tests pos-itive in the pre-admission test,he or she shall inform theSuperintendent of the desig-nated prison at the earliestpossible, and shall report on the

18th day from the date ofresult,” said the spokesperson.

Divulging further, thespokesperson said that as thereturn is planned in a phasedmanner, parole of all the pris-oners released on parole in2020 and presently out onparole shall stand extended tillthe date on which they havebeen asked to surrender at therespective designated jails cre-ated for this purpose.

The prisoners, above 60years in age and those withchronic comorbidities, shallbe taken back in the last batchof parole returnees, said thespokesperson.

However, this scheduleshall not apply to prisonersreleased on parole in the year2021, who shall return to therespective Special Jails, as andwhen their parole periodexpires, said the spokesperson.

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Haryana Minister of State forSports and Youth Affairs

Sandeep Singh on Sunday saidthat persistent efforts are beingmade to ensure that maximumnumber of players from the statequalify Olympics to be held inTokyo this year.

The Minister said that anadvance of Rs 5 lakh will begiven by the State Governmentfor the players who have qual-ified Olympics. Besides this, thegovernment will provide otherfacilities to the players for thepreparations for the Olympics,he said.

While motivating the play-ers, he said that the Olympicsare nearing and the qualifiedplayers will now have to workeven harder for it. Moreover, thegovernment is supporting theplayers at every step, he added.

The Sports Minister alsocongratulated Rahul Rohillaand Sandeep Punia fromBahadurgarh andMahendragarh districts respec-tively who have qualified for theOlympic Games in the BriskWalk race.

He said that players shouldkeep their spirits high and staystrong and give their best per-formance irrespective of win-ning or losing. Tipping theplayers he said that defeat canalso be turned into victorythrough hard work.

The Minister further said

that as per the instructions ofthe Chief Minister Manohar Lal,the Sports Department is mak-ing continuous efforts to ensuremaximum participation ofHaryana players in TokyoOlympics this time.

He said that Rahul ofBahadurgarh and Sandeep ofMahendragarh district havemade excellent achievement forthe state and country by quali-fying for the Olympics.

Sandeep Punia, a resident ofSurehti Jakhal of Mahendragarhand Rahul Rohilla, resident ofIndira Market, Bahadurgarhhave received the Olympicsquota by winning the 20-kmmen’s race in 1 hour 20 minutes16 seconds and 1 hour 20 min-utes 26 seconds respectivelyduring the National Open RaceWalking Competition held atRanchi. Both the players havebeen selected for the TokyoOlympics.

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The Army on Sunday addedmuscle to its firepower

capabilities when PrimeMinister Narendra Modi hand-ed over to the force the indige-nously designed and manufac-tured Arjun Main Battle Tank(MBT) MK-1A in Chennai.

Presiding over the cere-mony, Modi said the tank rep-resented the united Indianspirit as the weapon systemmanufactured in the south willguard the frontiers in the north.

The Arjun tank manufac-turing factory at Avadi inChennai will shortly get anorder for 118 such front-linefighting machines and the totalcontract is worth over �9,000crores.

It is an improved andupgraded version of the origi-nal Arjun-MK 1 MBT whichwas also indigenously designedand manufactured within thecountry. The new tanks hasincorporated more than 50upgrades and 71 new features.The Army will get an edge overits enemies as the new tank hasaccurate firing capabilities dur-ing day and night thereby pro-viding the army to launchcounter-offensive with lethaleffect, officials said here.

At the handing over func-tion, the Prime Minister alsoaccepted a salute by the state-of-the-art tank, indigenouslydesigned, developed, and man-ufactured by the DefenceResearch and DevelopmentOrganisation (DRDO)’sCombat Vehicles Research andD e v e l o p m e n tEstablishment(CVRDE) inChennai. Modi later handedover a replica model of the tankto Army Chief General M MNaravane.

“Today I am proud to ded-icate to the country one morewarrior to protect our frontiers.I am proud to hand over the

indigenously designed andmanufactured Arjun MK-1A.”

“It also uses indigenousammunition. Tamil Nadu isalready the leading auto man-ufacturing hub of India. NowI see Tamil Nadu evolving as atank manufacturing hub ofIndia,” he said.

“A tank made in TamilNadu will be used in our north-ern border to keep our nationsafe. This showcases India’sunited spirit—Bharat’s ektadarshan,” Modi added.

Highlighting the capabili-ties of the upgraded version ofthe Arjun MBT, officials saidArjun MK-1 Alpha is a “con-temporary tank in the worldwith battle winning efficacy.”

It is ‘infused’ with 71 newfeatures and would ensureeffortless mobility in all ter-rains, besides precise targetengagement during day andnight.

The production orderopens up a large avenue indefence manufacturing for over200 Indian companies andscores of Micro, Small &Medium Enterprises (MSMEs)with employment opportuni-ties to 8,000 people, they said.

Quoting from revolution-ary Tamil poet and freedomfighter Mahakavi SubramanyaBharathi, Modi said inspired bythe former’s vision, “India hastaken a massive effort tobecome self-reliant in thedefence sector.”

Of the two defence corri-dors in the country, the one inTamil Nadu has alreadyreceived investment commit-ments of over �8,100 crore,Modi said.

“We will continue workingto make our armed forces oneof the most modern forces inthe world. At the same time thefocus on making IndiaAtmanirbhar in the defencesector moves with full speed,”he said.

Later, in a tweet, he said itwas “a special day in our jour-ney to become Aatmanirbharin the defence sector,” referringto Arjun Main Battle Tank(MK-1A). Fifteen academicinstitutions, eight labs and sev-eral MSMEs were also involvedin the Arjun MK 1A.

The new tanks with itsfirst round hit probability hasone of the most accurate tankgun in the world. This majes-tic tank has indigenousKanchan Armour strappedwith DRDO developedReactive Armour Panels.

After using in differentconditions, the Army had rec-ommended a number ofimprovements to MBT ArjunMk 1, which enhanced themobility and fire power ofMBT Arjun Mk 1A. Withthese changes, this upgradedversion has successfully under-gone extensive trials by theIndian Army. The precise tar-get tracking of the tankensures accurate engagementduring day and night in bothstatic and dynamic condi-tions.

The country decided tobuild its own main battle tankand a project was initiated bythe DRDO in the 1970s at theCombat Vehicles Research andDevelopment Establishment(CVRDE).

The scientists were giventhe objective to design andbuild a state-of-the-art tankwith superior fire power, highmobility, and excellent protec-tion. The production of theArjun tanks started in 1996 atthe Indian Ordnance Factory’sproduction facility in Avadi.

At present, the Army hasmore than 100 Arjun MK-Itanks in its armour and is like-ly to induct 20 odd more tanksshortly. The first batch of 16Arjun tanks were inductedinto active service in 2004.

The old and new version ofthe MBT has a highly sophisti-cated computer-controlled inte-grated fire control system withstabilised sighting that works inall lighting conditions. The sec-ondary weapons include a co-axial 7.62-mm machine gun foranti-personnel and a 12.7-mmmachine gun for anti-aircraftand ground targets.

Officials also said the newversion launched by the PrimeMinister gas more than 55 percent indigenous content as com-pared to 40 per cent of the ear-lier version of the Arjun.

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Mounting more pressureon the Modi Government

to come clean on the Indo-China skirmishes in recentmonths, former defence min-ister A K Antony on Sundayalleged that disengagement inboth the Galwan Valley andPangong Tso Lake areas andthe creation of a buffer zonewas a “surrender” of India’srights.

Antony said he was sadthat the Narendra ModiGovernment was not givingproper priority to nationalsecurity at a time when Chinawas getting belligerent andPakistan continued to promoteterrorism.

Addressing a Press con-ference, the senior Congressleader said that at a timewhen India was facing multi-ple challenges at the borderand was facing a two-frontwar-like situation, the increasein defence budget this year ismeagre and insignificant andwas a “betrayal” of the coun-try.

The Government had onFriday stated that India hasnot “conceded” any territoryfollowing the disengagementagreement with China inPangong lake areas in easternLadakh.

Antony said disengage-ment was good as it reducedtension but it should not bedone at the cost of nationalsecurity.

“Both disengagements inGalwan and Pangong Tso area surrender,” he alleged,adding that it amounted tosurrendering of areas tradi-tionally controlled by India.We are surrendering ourrights,” he alleged, noting thatGalwan Valley as Indian ter-ritory was never a disputedland even in 1962.

“Disengagement andbuffer zone means surrenderof our land at the moment,” healleged, while warning that theGovernment is not under-standing the importance ofthis disengagement and cre-ation of the buffer zone.

He warned that Chinacan play mischief anytime by

helping Pakistan in Siachen.“We want to know from

this Government when therewill be status quo ante as onmid-April 2020 in the entireIndia-China border,” he said,asking what was the govern-ment’s plan in this regard.

He also said that the gov-ernment must take the coun-try and the people into confi-dence on restoration of statusquo ante at the borders.

He said the Governmentalways consulted leaders of allpolitical parties before takingsuch a decision and mustkeep national security inmind.

Antony alleged that thegovernment did not increasedthe defence budget to“appease” China and to give amessage that it did not wantto confront them.

“To appease China, thegovernment sent a message bynot increasing this defencebudget that we do not want toconfront you.

To appease China, wehave agreed to disengagementon China’s terms,” he alleged.

When the whole countryis facing serious challengesfrom both China andPakistan, the senior Congressleader said the armed forcesare demanding support andsubstantial increase in thedefence budget.

“But compared to lastyear’s revised defence budget,this budget has made a mea-gre and insufficient increase ofonly 1.48 per cent. It is abetrayal of the country. Thegovernment has let down ourarmed forces. TheGovernment is not payingproper attention of nationalsecurity,” Antony said.

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Of the total 29,337 kmlength of projects, only

8,632 kms length of projectshas been awarded and 1,040kms length of projects havebeen appraised so far under theBharatmala Project phase-1which is targeted to be com-pleted by 2021-22. TheDetailed Project Report for alength of 19,665 kms is stillunder preparation stage whenonly two years are left as per theschedule fixed for completionof Phase-I. Taking note of slowpace of work, a parliamentarycommittee on transport,tourism and culture asked theGovernment to examine thecauses for delay in constructionof Roads under Phase-I andtake requisite remedial mea-sures expeditiously so as toremove the stumbling blocks inorder to achieve the targetsfixed.

“In the course of exami-nation, it was seen that therewere about 375 projects ofNational Highways includingBharatmala, pending due toreasons like Land Acquisition,forest clearance, utility shift-ing, and contractor issue andso on in various States. Theseincluded projects across thecountry namely in AndhraPradesh, Assam, Bihar,Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat,Haryana, Himachal Pradesh,Jammu & Kashmir,Jharkhand, Karnataka,Madhya Pradesh,Maharashtra, Meghalaya,Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan,Tamil Nadu, Telangana, UttarPradesh, Uttarakhand andWest Bengal. These projectshave surpassed their date ofcompletion and the

Government apparently hasnot reviewed them,” the par-liamentary committee said inits report, which tabled in theParliament on Tuesday.

The Committee notedwith concern that some NHprojects are delayed due tomultiple reasons which inter-alia include poor performanceof contractor, utility shifting,delay in environment/forestclearance, land acquisition,cash flow problem of the con-cessionaire/contractor and soon. Delay in the projects hasresulted in increase in theoverall cost of the projects.

The Committee are con-strained to note that there istime and cost over-run inmany projects of theGovernment. “Amongst them,for example, is the Char-Dham Mahamarg VikasPriyojana - Improvement ofNH Connectivity to Char-Dham (Kedarnath, Badrinath,Yamunotri& Gangotri) in theState of Uttarakhand, foun-dation stone of which was laidin December, 2016 by theHon’ble Prime Minister. Itwas initially targeted for com-

pletion by March 2020, but theCommittee was informed thatit has been delayed due to lit-igation relating to forest andenvironment clearance in var-ious 63 courts and the exactdate of completion of the pro-gramme depends on the finaloutcome of the case,” thereport said.

The Committee also rec-ommended that 4-laning ofPune-Nashik (NH-60), Pune-Tamhini-Mangaon-Diveagar(NH-756), Hadapsar-Saswad-Jejuri-LonandPhaltan-Mohol(NH-965), Patas-Baramati-Akluj-Tondale (NH-65G) and6-laning of Pune-Solapur(NH-65), Kolhapur toVaibhavwadi-Vijaydurg underBharatmala and Alibaug toSindhudurg coastal NationalHighway in the State ofMaharashtra, extension ofPatna-Areraj road to Bettiah,Ramgarhwa and Raxaul inthe State of Bihar, road con-necting Anmod at the borderof Goa to Londa, widening ofSundar Bani-Seri-Jangar-LamRoad in Rajouri district inJammu be taken up at the ear-liest.

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On the second anniversary ofthe Pulwama terror strike

on Sunday, dignitaries, filmactors and political leaders led bythe President and the PrimeMinister paid rich tributes to the40 CRPF personnel killed in theattack that days after had alsoprompted Indian Air Force to goacross borders on a “punishingmission”, hitting terror terrorcamps at Balakot in Pakistan.

Remembering the soldierswho died in Pulwama terrorattack, President Ram NathKovind said the nation is com-mitted to eliminating terrorism.“Nation salutes the sacrifice ofour brave soldiers”, he said.

Modi described CRPF‘jawans’ as “exceptional indi-viduals who devoted their livesto the country”.

On February 14, 2019, 40personnel of the Central ReservePolice Force (CRPF) were killedafter a suicide bomber rammedan IED-laden truck into a CRPFconvoy. Pakistan-backed Jaish-e-Mohammad-executed attacktook place when a convoy of 78buses with 2,500 CRPF person-nel was heading to Srinagarfrom Jammu.

“No Indian can forget thisday. Two years ago, the Pulwamaterror attack occurred. We payhomage to all the martyrs. Weare proud of our security forcesand their bravery will continueto inspire future generations,” hesaid during a public event inChennai.

Former Congress presidentRahul Gandhi also expressed hisgrief by tweeting in Hindi say-ing “tribute to the brave soldiers,who died in the Pulwama terrorattack. A tribute to their fami-lies as the country owes you.”

Actors including AkshayKumar, Varun Dhawan andRajkummar Rao paid tributesand said the country will forev-er remain indebted to the bravehearts. Kumar took to Twitterand shared a picture of themartyrs. “Remembering ourbrave hearts of #PulwamaAttack,we will always remain indebtedfor your supreme sacrifice,” the53-year-old actor tweeted.

Dhawan shared the sameimage on Instagram and cap-tioned “Jai Hind”. Actor KartikAaryan prayed for the familiesof those who were killed in theterrorist attack.

“On this day, two years

back, 40 soldiers sacrificed theirlives for our nation in Pulwamaattack. Prayers for the bravesouls and their families. We’llalways be in debt of yours,” theactor tweeted.

Rest In Power Braveheartsof Pulwama!”, actor Suniel Shettywrote.

While paying homage to theslain soldiers, Vice President MVenkaiah Naidu said he standsin solidarity with the jawans’families.

“I join the nation in payingmy humble tributes to the CRPFpersonnel who were martyred inthe dastardly Pulwama terrorattack. The grateful nation willalways remember their patrio-tism & supreme sacrifice,” theVice President Secretariat tweet-ed quoting Naidu.

Union home minister AmitShah said that the slain soldiers’sacrifice will never be forgotten.“I bow down to the brave mar-tyrs who lost their lives in thegruesome Pulwama attack onthis day in 2019. India willnever forget their exceptionalcourage and supreme sacrifice,”Shah tweeted.

“Entire nation stands unit-ed against terrorists “, said theDefence Minister.

BJP president JP Naddaalso remembered the sacrificeof CRPF personnel.

“India will always remem-ber their martyrdom. Weshould all unite to completelyend terrorism from its veryroots,” Nadda said on Twitter.

Days after the attack, theIndian Air Force on February26 carried out multiple aerialstrikes at JeM terror camps inPakistan’s Balakot, killing a“large number” of terroristsand destroying their infra-structure.

On its part, the CRPFtweeted “‘We did not forget, wedid not forgive”. The CRPFrenewed its resolve to end ter-ror saying they have not for-given or forgotten the grue-some attack.

“Be brave enough to die asmartyr”’, said BJP MP and for-mer test player GautamGambhir and asked people tobe “brave enough to die thedeath of a martyr” as he paidhis tributes. Delhi ChiefMinister Arvind Kejriwaloffered “heartfelt homage” tomartyrs, while Union MinisterSmriti Irani said: “Salute tobrave sons of mother India”.

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The Centre on Sunday saidthat India has been record-

ing a steady decline in thenumber of daily new deathssince October 1, 2020, whilethe national recovery rate isamongst the highest in theworld. Now the17th most-affected country by active cases,fourth by fatality, and secondby total and recovered cases,India has added 78,577 cases inthe past 7 days.

“Since 1st October 2020,the nation has seen an unabat-ed decline in Case FatalityRate. The Case Fatality Ratetoday stands below 1.5 (1.43%).With only 92 people suc-cumbing to the deadly coron-avirus disease, India’s CaseFatality Rate is one of the low-est in the world,” the UnionHealth Ministry said.

The recoveries have surgedto 1,06,11,731 with 11,016patients getting discharged ina span of 24 hours. “India’sCovid-19 recovery rate of 97.31per cent is amongst the high-est in the world. The differencebetween the recovered andactive cases has grown to1,04,74,164 as on date,” theministry highlighted. Till date,the cumulative number ofhealthcare and frontline work-ers vaccinated against Covid-19in the country has surpassed 82lakhs.

A total 82,63,858 benefi-ciaries have been vaccinatedthrough 1,72,852 sessions, asper the provisional report till 8am on Sunday. These include59,84,018 HCWs (1st dose),23,628 HCWs (2nd dose) and22,56,212 FLWs (1st dose).The 2nd dose of Covid-19 vac-cination started on Saturday forthose beneficiaries who havecompleted 28 days after receiptof the 1st dose. As on Day-29of the vaccination drive(February 13), a total of2,96,211 beneficiaries receivedvaccination. Out of which,2,72,583 beneficiaries were vac-cinated across 8,071 sessionsfor 1st dose and 23,628 HCWsreceived 2nd dose of vaccine.

“The country is witnessinga progressive increase in thevaccination day by day,” theministry said adding 68.55 percent of total vaccinated bene-ficiaries are from 10 states.

It said 81.58 per cent of thenew recovered cases areobserved to be concentrated in6 States. Kerala has reported themaximum number of singleday recoveries with 5,835 newlyrecovered cases. A total of1,773 people recovered inMaharashtra in a span of 24hours followed by 482 in TamilNadu.

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The Indian Consulate inDubai has issued an advi-

sory asking Indian expatriatesbased there to avoid visitingthe mission for consular ser-vices and instead use onlinemeans like a WhatsApp num-ber, email or a helpline num-ber to check the spread ofCovid-19. A section of the 2.6million Indians, many ofthem also engaged in blue col-lar jobs, based there are, how-ever, concerned over themove as a visit to the missionis necessitated only when theonline means are exhausted.

“Members of the Indiancommunity who wish to visitthe Consulate for any con-sular services are advised toavoid such visits unlessabsolutely necessary. Theyshould, instead, make use ofthe various electronic plat-forms of fered by theConsulate without having tophysically visit the office,”the mission said in the advi-sory issued on Thursday onTwitter.

Being the largest expatri-ate community, it is theresponsibility of all the Indiannationals residing in the UAEto str ict ly comply withCOVID preventive measuresand guidelines issued by theUAE health authorities from

time to time suchas wearing facemasks at all times,maintaining socialdistancing andavoid public gath-erings, it furthersaid.

Many of theexpatriates thereare labourers and

will now be left with no griev-ance redressal mechanismwhen online mechanisms arenot able to resolve their issues,a PIO settled in UAE said,adding why would a personvisit the consulate if all theissues are settled online.

Another expat who didnot wish to be identified saidit is illogical to restrict theIndians from visiting the con-sulate in the name of pre-venting Covid-19. There arealways means to regulate theflow of visitors to a place andinstead a home service shouldbe launched to cater to suchIndians who are under anykind of distress or an emer-gency due to lack of consularaccess, he further said, addingthe rich and mighty cannothave exclusive access to theconsulate.

The Indian mission housesa help centre for distressedIndians –Pravasi BharatiyaSahayata Kendra (PBSK), thatruns a 24x7 toll free helplinenumber 800 46342 of PBSKthere are cases wherein physicalinteraction is also required toresolve the issues, the expats said.

Other online options toconnect to the mission are send-ing emails [email protected] or sendmessages on a WhatsApp num-ber +971-54-3090571 besidesusing the PBSK Dubai MobileApplication.

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The Indian MedicalAssociation (IMA) on

Sunday announced a masspetition movement fromFebruary 15 to March 31 toprotest against a CentralCouncil of Indian Medicinenotification that authorisespost-graduate practitioners inspecified streams of ayurvedato perform general surgicalprocedures. The IMA said thatthis notification will lead to“mixopathy” and demandedits immediate withdrawal.

The IMA had held a pan-India relay hunger strike fromFebruary 1-14 on the issue.

The “impractical, unsci-entific and unethical notifica-tion” should be immediatelywithdrawn, it said in a state-

ment, adding that besides thepetition movement, it will alsospread awareness among thepeople on the notification.

The IMA also said that itwill submit a list of 1,000modern medicine doctorswilling to serve in remoteareas of the country to counterthe false claim of lack of doc-tors.

“All IMA members, allspecialty organisations, allmodern medicine students,all women doctors across thecountry will educate peopleabout this retrograde andunscientific mixing of differ-ent systems of healthcare. Allmodern medicine hospitalswill promote the importanceof scientific ethical surgicalexpertise,” the doctors’ bodysaid.

The IMA also announcesnon-cooperation movement“henceforth in which modernmedicines surgeons and anes-thesiologists shall not cooper-ate with AYUSH personstraining and performingsurgery”, it said.

The doctors’ body hasbeen opposing the notificationby Central Council of IndianMedicine, a statutory bodyunder the Ministry of AYUSH(Ayurveda, Yoga andNaturopathy, Unani, Siddhaand Homoeopathy).

The notification authoris-es post-graduate practitionersin specified streams ofAyurveda to be trained to per-form surgical procedures suchas excisions of benign tumours,amputation of gangrene, nasaland cataract surgeries.

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The All India MuslimPersonal Law Board has

moved the Supreme Courtagainst a plea seeking layingdown of “gender and religionneutral” uniform grounds toaward maintenance andalimony in matrimonial dis-putes as per internationalconventions and Constitution.

The Board has opposedthe plea filed by advocateand BJP leader AshwiniKumar Upadhyay which alsoseeks directions to the gov-ernment to take appropriatesteps to remove the prevailing anomalies in thegrounds of maintenance andalimony, and make them uni-form for all citizens withoutdiscrimination.

“The applicant would liketo submit that the expression

and ‘Custom and Usage’ inArticle 13 of the Constitutiondoes not include faith of a reli-gious denomination embed-ded in personal laws,” the All India Muslim PersonalLaw Board (AIMPLB) pleasaid.

“The constituent assemblywas aware of the distinctionbetween ‘personal law’ and the‘Custom and Usage’ and chose

advisedly to exclude person-al law and include Customand Usage in Article 13 of theConstitution,” it said whileseeking impleadment in thepetition filed by Upadhyay.

The AIMPLB opposed Upadhyay’s plea onthe basis that personal lawscannot be tested on the anvilof Articles 14, 15, 21 and 44 ofthe Constitution.

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Page 5:  · 2021. 2. 14. · station, bus stand and jewellery ... up a network of Kashmiri stu- ... gate had blocked their way. Angry over this develop-

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Kurnool (AP): Fourteen peo-ple, including eight womenand a child, were killed andfour others injured when amini bus collided with a lorryin Kurnool district of AndhraPradesh early on Sunday, policesaid.

The incident took place ataround 4 am when a group ofpeople hailing from Chittoor district of thestate were travelling in themini bus towards Hyderabad,a senior police official toldPTI.

They were all on their wayto Ajmer in Rajasthan, headded.

Preliminary investigationsuggests that the driver of thebus apparently lost control andthe vehicle first crashed againstthe road median and thenrolled to the other side of the

road hitting a lorry, the officialsaid.

The injured have been hos-

pitalised and the condition oftwo is stated to be serious,police said. Agencies

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Along pending demand of theDevendra Kula Vellalar com-

munity to delist from theScheduled Caste and put them inthe Other Backward Communitywould soon become a reality,according to Prime MinisterNarendra Modi.

Addressing a public meetingat the International IndoorStadium at Chennai on Sundayafter laying foundation stonesfor various development schemesin the State including a DiscoveryCentre for the Indian Institute ofTechnology-Madras, the PrimeMinister declared that the longpending demand of the DevendraKula Vellalar community wouldsoon become a reality. “The lawwhich meets this demand wouldbe introduced in the Parliamentwhen it meets the next time,” saidModi.

The demand of PuthiyaTamilakam, representing thescheduled caste community was

to merge the seven sub sectsPallar, Kudumbar, Pannadi,Kaaladi, Kadayar, DevendraKulataar and Vadhiriyaar andrename the integrated entity asDevendra Kula Vallalar, accordingto Dr Krishnasami, party presi-dent.

The Prime Minister said inhis speech that the DevendraKula Vellalar was a communityin search of its original identity.He remembered the meeting hehad with the representatives of thecommunity sometime back inChennai. “Their craving for thereclamation of their original iden-tity was discernible and I hadassured them that the demandwould be considered favourably,”said Modi.

According to Dr Krishnasami,the DKV constituted eight percent of the Tamil Nadu populationwhich means that there were 90lakh members belonging to thecommunity.

The DKV leaders had askedthe State and Centre to delist them

from the status of ScheduledCaste and they be included in theOBC list. “It was a travesty of his-tory that a community which wasexperts in wet-land farming wasdispossessed of their land and list-ed as scheduled caste by the colo-nial Britishers. Sreenivasan Pillai,the then leader of our communi-ty had written to the Britishadministrators that we were cul-turally and traditionally differentfrom Adi-Dravidar,” said DrKrishnasami who also disclosedthat because of the poor financialstatus of the community , theycould not travel to London toargue their case.

He said the stigma attached tothe community could be removedonly after it was delisted from theScheduled Caste and incorporat-ed in the list of OBC. Accordingto Dr Krishnasami, hundreds ofthousands of DKV had beenforced to get converted intoChristianity because of the harass-ment meted out to the communitymembers by caste Hindus.

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New Delhi: On the occasion ofsecond death anniversary oflate Malti Mohinder Singh, theinspiration and guide to teach-ers in the field of education, itwas resolved to follow the pathalways paved by them.

Tributes were paid to thelate Malati Mohinder Singh onher second death anniversarywith devotional songs held atthe Sri Sathya Sai InternationalCenter in New Delhi. FormerUnion Minister for Womenand Child Development, SmtManeka Sanjay Gandhi whilepaying tribute to the late Smt.Malti Mohinder Singh andsaid that the path paved bythem will always be exem-plary for all of us. FormerHaryana Chief Minister OmPrakash Chautala, ShriDevendra Singh, IAS,Additional Chief Secretary,Government of Haryana, Dr.

Sonia Rajesh Khullar and otherdignitaries paid homage paid tolate Malti Mohinder Singh.

It is noteworthy that inthe way to encourage andhonor teachers, MaltiGyanpeeth Awards were start-ed in the year 2013 in Punjab.

Under the Malti JnanpithAwards the best 15 teachers ofstate and government aidedhigh schools and senior sec-ondary schools of Punjab aregiven award of Rs. 01 lakh foreach every year.

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Amaravati: Being held underthe Covid shadow, the ongoingpanchayat polls in AndhraPradesh are witnessing thesame colour, theatrics andhuman interest stories thataccompany elections in India atall levels.

Though there was uncer-tainty whether the polls to therural local bodies would beheld as announced by the StateElection Commission, theSupreme Court's dismissal ofthe state government's appealto defer them led to the fourphase elections kick off.

As the polls are midway,some interesting aspectsinclude village volunteers con-testing polls, a contestant wear-ing a gown to campaign, sib-lings testing electoral watersand alcohol and moneyallegedly being distributed asusual. In Nellore district, twosiblings are contesting but fordifferent panchayats.

Piduru Venugopal Reddycontested the election InNellurupalli village while hisyounger sister SannareddyRajani fought for the Nellaballipanchayati.

In Vizianagaram district, agovernment official's mother isin the fray. Krishna DistrictJoint Collector LothetiSivashankar's mother LothetiKrishnaveni filed her nomina-tion for the sarpanch's post inSrungavarapukota village.

A good number of villageand ward volunteers are con-testing, and a few have alsowon.

Three former village vol-unteers managed to win theSarpanch posts inVisakhapatnam district.Ainampudi Bhaskar Raju wonin Melipaka, Padmarekha inMangalapuram and KarakaRajyalakshmi inJamadulapalem.

Subhalekha, a former vil-

lage volunteer fromMuthyalacheruvu village inAnanthapur district's Kadirimandal, has filed her nomina-tion for the sarpanch post andso did three others. However,all three withdrew them,recognising the serviceSubhalekha rendered as a vol-unteer, enabling her to winunanimously. A young Russia-educated doctor contested theSarpanch election in Gunturdistrict recently.

Jada Jitin Dev, who wasworking as a doctor in Gunturtown, sought to test his elec-toral prospects in his villageGopalamvaripalem.

In Guntur district'sPedakurapadu village ofKrosuru mandal, formersarpanch, PicchayyaChowdary, donned the garb ofSatyaharischanduru, a mytho-logical character to campaignand propel JangaSoubaghyalakshmi's electoral

prospects for the sarpanchpost.

Meanwhile, Gundepudivillage in Krishna district hasemerged as one of the smallestpanchayats in fray during thesecond phase of electionswhich happened on Saturday.

Gundepudi separated fromPolukonda panchayati in 1956.It is 20 km far away fromNandiwada, with a populationof just 196 people, out of which150 are voters.

Among these 150, 74 weremen and 76 women. Despitebeing one of the smallest pan-chayats, the village hasn't seenunanimous elections until now,though bigger villages with farlarger populations were goingfor unanimous polls.

Setting an example thatcome what may one mustalways keep fighting, a contes-tant in Guntur district straight-away went from the hospital tofile her nomination papers.

Eluru Aruna was sufferingfrom an ailment related to thenerves. She even had to be puton a ventilator but on the lastday of nominations and in abetter condition after treat-ment, she drove down toChamallamudi office to file herpapers.

As she reached the office,the poll officials, empathisingwith her, went to her car to takeher papers.

In East Godavari district'sKadiyam village, famous forhorticulture, a 92-year-oldwoman mustered all herstrength to personally visit theoffice and file nomination fora ward member's post.

In a peculiar development,a panchayat election contestantat Gummalaxmipuram inVizianagaram district literallywore his election symbol -- agown -- to impress upon thevoters to cast their vote in hisfavour. IANS ,������������������������������!���'��+������ ��+������������������#��������������+�������������� ��

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Jammu: J&K saw 73 newCovid cases on Sunday while65 patients were dischargedfrom different hospitals afterrecovery during the last 24hours.

An official bulletin saidthat of the new cases, 15 werefrom the Jammu division and58 from the Kashmir divisionwhile of the recovered patients,16 were from the Jammu divi-sion and 49 from the Kashmirdivision.

So far, 125,341 people havebeen infected with coronavirusin J&K out of which 122,768have recovered, while 1,951people succumbed, includingtwo on Sunday.

The number of active casesis now 622 out of which 160 arefrom the Jammu division and462 from the Kashmir division. IANS

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Itanagar: Army troops successfullydoused a major forest fire inArunachal Pradesh's Dibang Valleydistrict along the China border, offi-cials said on Sunday.

Defence spokesman Lt Col P.Khongsai said that troops of theSpear Corps extended immediateand critical help to the civil adminis-tration in dousing the major forest firenear Anini in Dibang Valley.

“The forest fire broke out atKoylabasti and Anini on Thursdaynight and soon engulfed the sur-rounding mountain ridges. In a quickresponse to the developing situation,the units of the local formation quick-ly deployed three response columnsand immediately took charge of thesituation. It took the Army and localadministration almost 11 hours todouse the forest fires,” he said.

Khongsai said the well-coordi-nated and timely response by theArmy averted a major disaster and

saved lives and property. The localauthorities and members of civiladministration lauded the IndianArmy's effort in averting a majortragedy in the area.

Last month, the Army, Indian AirForce, National and State DisasterResponse Force, local volunteers andadministration jointly doused a majorwildfire in the famous Dzukou Valleyon Nagaland-Manipur borders aftertwo weeks of battle.

The forest fire caused huge dam-age to the flora and fauna, forest andenvironment of the Dzukou Valley,which is one of the 10 most beautifulplaces in the mountainous northeastIndia.

The Dzukou valley, situated at analtitude of 2,452 metres above the sealevel and 30 km from Nagaland cap-ital Kohima, is also a sanctuary for theendangered Blyth's tragopan -Nagaland's state bird - and otherspecies of birds and animals. IANS

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Mathura: Uttar Pradesh ChiefMinister Yogi Adityanath, on Sundaymet saints and seers in Vrindavantown and assured them of the devel-opment of the Braj region. “The gov-ernment is working in tandem withthe religious leaders for the develop-ment of this region. We will take thisregion to the global level,” he said whileaddressing saints.

He said that after Independence,the governments had not worked forreligious tourism.”The KashiVishwanath corridor work is beingdone under the guidance of PrimeMinister Narendra Modi. The KumbhMela in Prayagraj is another exampleof development of religious tourism.Ayodhya is also coming up as a worldclass city,” he said.

Yogi Adityanath said he had set upthe Braj Teerth Vikas Parishad and var-ious developmental projects werebeing taken up.The Chief Minister alsovisited the famous Banke Bihari tem-ple and offered prayers. IANS

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Lucknow: Six students of B.A. (Hons) finalyear in Lucknow University (LU) havelaunched 'Mission Zindagi', an online blooddonor group, to extend a helping hand topeople facing medical emergency.

The students are creating online data-base of students, teachers and staff who areregular donors or are keen to donate andcoordinate to make donors available to theneedy.Group coordinator, Devansh KrishnaSrivastava, said: “We have created a link,'Mission Zindagi', on the website where inter-ested people may register themselves by pro-viding their details and suitable time fordonation. A registered donor closest to thepatient's location will be alerted for help.”

“Any resident who requires blood maygo to the Lucknow University website wherecontact numbers of 'Mission Zindagi' mem-bers are available. They can call our team andwe will provide help at the earliest,” he added.

The biggest benefit of the initiative is thatit would save time and help save lives.

“Students will receive calls and coordi-nate blood donation round the clock. Moremembers from all undergraduate and post-graduate courses will be added later,” he said.

Other members of group are MangeshKumar Vishwakarma, Ayushi Tripathi,Shivangi Srivastava, Utkarsh Chitranshiand Sriya. IANS

Pilibhit (Uttar Pradesh): A 16-year-old girlwas allegedly thrown off a terrace after afailed rape attempt by two of her neigh-bours, police said on Sunday.

The two pushed the girl down whenthey saw her father enter the house,alleged the family.The girl has suffered sev-eral fractures and internal injuries, said herfather while lodging a complaint with thepolice in Jahanabad area.

Harish Vardhan Singh, Station HouseOfficer (SHO), said the accused, identifiedas Arvind and Mahendra, have beenbooked under IPC section 354 (applyingforce to a woman with intent to outrage hermodesty), 504 (intentional insult) and 323(causing hurt), besides provisions of theSC/ST Act and the POCSO Act.

The police have set up teams to arrest

the two youths who are now absconding.According to reports the incident took

place on Saturday.The minor's father alleged that he

found his daughter missing from herroom. On searching, he discovered themobile phone of the key accused, a 21-year-old youth who resides in the neighbour-hood.He went to the youth's house toenquire about the whereabouts of hisdaughter. He claimed he was just in timeto prevent them from sexually assaultinghis daughter.

The two youths allegedly abused him,making casteist remarks against him. Theythen threw his daughter off the roof.

When she regained consciousness,she narrated her ordeal, saying the duo hadtried to outrage her modesty. IANS

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Lucknow: With the exit of Suheldev BhartiyaSamaj Party (SBSP) from the alliance with theBJP last year, the Yogi Adityanath Governmenthas now chalked out an elaborate plan to com-memorate the contribution of MaharajaSuheldev in national integration and reach outto the Rajbhar community.

According to the government spokesman,various programmes will be organised acrossthe state and a grand memorial will also be builtat Chittaura in Bahraich where a huge statueof Raja Suheldev, who is revered by the back-ward Rajbhar community in eastern UttarPradesh, will be installed.

The event to mark the birth anniversarycelebration on February 16 will be addressedvirtually by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

This is the first time that the governmentis celebrating Suheldev's anniversary.

“While the Prime Minister will addressthe programme virtually, Chief MinisterYogi Adityanath will be in Bahraich and isexpected to announce major projects forBahraich and Shravasti. Among other pro-jects, the memorial of Suheldev in the mid-dle of Chittaura Lake will also get a facelift.Earlier, BJP had issued a postal ticket and alsoannounced a train in his memory,” thespokesman said.

The programmes will also include poetryrecitation by renowned poets followed by light-ing of 1.25 lakh 'diyas' and other cultural events.

Bahraich district magistrate, ShambhuKumar, said: “The state government hasdecided to organise the Maharaja Suheldevbirth anniversary programmes across thestate. The chief minister will visit Bahraich, thebirth place of Maharaja Suheldev, and inau-gurate the ceremony.”

He further said, “The Basic ShikshaAdhikari (BSA) has been entrusted with the

responsibility of lighting 1.25 lakh diyas.”BSA Dinesh Kumar Yadav said at least 300

people had been engaged for the work.The move is apparently designed to

appease the Rajbhar community, which con-stitutes around 17-18 per cent of the popula-tion in the Purvanchal region.

The Chief Minister has issued directives tohold events to mark Suheldev's birth anniver-sary at the memorials of martyrs in all districts.

An officer in the state tourism departmentsaid the government would expand Chittauraas a tourist spot and a memorial would be builtwhich would have a meeting hall with the seat-ing capacity of 2,000 people. The memorialwould be built on 82 bighas of land belongingto the royal family of Payagpur.

Availability of land was the biggest obsta-cle for the construction of Maharaja SuheldevMemorial. Most of the land here is owned bythe Payagpur royal family.

Raja Yashuvendra Vikram Singh has beenappointed the lifetime vice-president ofMaharaja Suheldev Memorial Committeewhile the Bahraich district magistrate wouldbe the honorary president.

“The temple of Maharaja Suheldev wasbuilt by Raja Virendra Vikram Singh of theroyal family and his father Raja Yadvendra Singh has been the president of thetemple,” Raja Yashuvendra Vikram Singh said.

Suheldev was a legendary king of Shravasti(in present day north-eastern Uttar Pradesh)who is known to have defeated and killed theGhaznavi general, Ghazi Saiyyad Salar Masud,in Bahraich in the early 11th century.

Raja Suheldev finds mention in 'Mirat-i-Masudi', a 17th century Persian-language his-torical account.According to the legend,Suhaldev was the eldest son of King Mordhwajof Shravasti. IANS

Prayagraj (Uttar Pradesh): AnArmy personnel, on a visit to hishome, was attacked and killed byunidentified miscreants. His bodywas found on Saturday with severehead injuries in his car from theNeem Sarai area here.

Police have registered an FIRagainst unidentified assailants and awoman, who was with the army manin his car at the time of the incident.

Police have detained the womanand are also looking into her allega-tion that she was gang-raped by theassailants.Reports said the armyhavildar's blood-stained body wasfound by his family members on theinformation given by the woman.

They rushed him to the MilitaryHospital in Prayagraj, where the doc-tors declared him dead.

Superintendent of Police (City)Dinesh Kumar Singh said, “The 38-year-old victim, identified asAshutosh Kumar Singh, was a resi-dent of Mahendra Nagar underDhumanganj police station. He wasworking on the post of havildar inthe Indian Army and was posted atUdhampur in Jammu and Kashmir.He had come home on leave a fewweeks back and was set to returnback soon.”

His father Ashok Kumar Singhinformed the police that Ashutoshleft home on Friday night on someerrand. Later that night, Ashutosh'swife received a call on her mobilephone from a woman who informedher that Ashutosh was seriouslyinjured and that his car was parked

at a ground in Neem Sarai area. Thefamily members soon rushed to thesite and found him with severeinjuries.

The woman informed the vic-tim's kin that she was accompanyingAshutosh to check on a plot of landwhen they decided to buy momosbut lost the way and ended up atNeem Sarai.

Suddenly, they were interruptedby a few men who were blocking theroad and this led to an argumentwith Ashutosh when he asked themto give way for the car to pass.

The men attacked Ashutoshwith bricks causing him seriousinjuries on the head.

The SP said that on the com-plaint of the family members, an FIRhas been registered against thewoman who was accompanyingAshutosh and unidentified miscre-ants in connection with the crime.

“We have detained the youngwoman named by the family mem-bers in the FIR. During questioningshe first claimed that the unidenti-fied miscreants also tried to rape her.However, she later changed herstatement and claimed that she hadbeen gang-raped. In the light of herconflicting statements, we are gettinga medical examination of the womanconducted and have also sent herclothes for forensic examination,” headded. “The body of the victim hasbeen sent for a post-mortem exam-ination. Efforts are now on to iden-tify and arrest the miscreants,” thepolice official said. IANS

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Over 80 orphans from the Saadatganj orphanage ofthe All India Shia Orphanage in Lucknow and peo-

ple from the minority community donated more thanRs 1.5 lakh for the construction of the Ram temple.

The donations ranged from Rs 1,100 to Rs 10 andRs 100. Former chairman of Shia Waqf Board, WasimRizvi, said: “Such an initiative will send a message of unityto those who work to divide people in the name of reli-gion.”

RSS executive member, Indresh Kumar, said a newchapter of mutual harmony would be written with theconstruction of the Ram temple.

The Shri Ram Janambhoomi Teerth Kshetra trust isconducting a mass contact and fund-raising campaignfrom January 15 till February 27 for the construction ofthe grand temple in Ayodhya.

Shri Ram Janambhoomi Teerth Kshetra SecretaryChampat Rai was quoted as saying: “The accounts of thetrust in three nationalized banks show an amount of overRs 1,000 crore. Nearly 1.50 lakh VHP activists are col-lecting funds for the Ram temple. 37 activists have beendeputed to deposit the donations in the bank accounts.

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Meerut (UP): Three persons have been arrest-ed in Meerut for allegedly manufacturing and sell-ing fake high security registration plates (HSRP).

In a surprise raid on the intervening nightof Friday/Saturday in Mohanpuri area, thepolice recovered about 400 finished plates andmore than 300 'empty' ones on which numberwas yet to be written.

Abdul Rehman Siddiqui, station in-charge ofCivil Lines police station said: “We have arrest-ed manufacturing unit owner, Tanuj Agarwal, hisassociate Shriram and a seller named SandeepKumar who was picked up from Gurdwara Roadand possessed at least 18 fake plates. Police aresearching for fourth associate Mohd Wasim. Wehave also seized machines and equipment, including hydraulic press, fake holo-grams, dye, etc. used to make these fake num-ber plates.”

During questioning, the accused haverevealed that machinery, plates and equipmentwere brought from Delhi and were being sold tovarious shop owners that claimed to provide thehigh security number plate to prospective buy-ers who had no idea that the plate was fake. IANS

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therefore, had to enter theAssembly. He could haverequested an MLA to give uphis seat. But instead of doingthat, he chose not to disturbanyone; there was a VidhanParishad seat vacant which heused to become an Assemblymember. In 2001, whenNarendra Modi was in a sim-ilar situation in Gujarat, hecould not do the same. Therebeing no Vidhan Parishad inhis State, Modi had to getelected from an Assemblyseat vacated by an MLA.

Having been a memberof the Rajya Sabha, I foundthat the level of debates anddiscussions was, on thewhole, more sober andmature than in the LokSabha. Generally, the speak-ers in the Upper Houseensured that they had stud-ied and reflected on the sub-ject they spoke on whereas,in the Lok Sabha, moremembers spoke off the cuff;most of them had spent timein their constituencies overthe weekend. Many of themregularly left Delhi on Fridayafternoons, if not onThursday evenings, to returnon Monday mornings. TheRajya Sabha members couldafford to spend the weekends

in Delhi and read up beforespeaking the following week.

The Communist partieshad a commendable system;most of their Upper Housemembers spent the weekendsin Delhi. They not only stud-ied the contemporary sub-jects but also collected theBills coming up for debateand passed on their notes totheir Lok Sabha colleagues. Ioffered to organise a smallsecretariat at my cost for allmy party members so that allof us could be better preparedfor discussions. Being inpower after long and with alenient leadership, the gener-al mood in the party was oneof overconfidence. Littlewonder then that the 2004general election was lost ona manifesto which projected“India shining”. To everyIndian shining, there werecitizens not shining.

In India, our constituen-cies are large and the votersare much more varied than,say, in western countries.Moreover, our diversitymakes it useful for theMembers of Parliament andeven Assemblies to knowother parts of the country.The Upper House memberswould have the leisure to do

this kind of work during theweeks when the House doesnot sit. The Lower Housemembers cannot normallyhave much leisure; their focushas to be on their own voters.If the legislators do not taketheir knowledge side seri-ously, they would yield help-lessly to the dominance of theExecutive or the Ministers.

It is for the political parties to realise and decidewhether they wish to makeserious use of the UpperHouse or exploit it for theirconvenience. But, truly, these chambers can be usefulas knowledge-cum-wisdombanks for the parties as well as for the country. Theycan help raise the quality of politics.

Getting elected by lakhsof people is related to popu-larity or, at least, acceptabil-ity whereas knowledgedepends on education andexperience. Both are neces-sary virtues; the Lower Housemore for the party while theUpper House more for thecountry in the long run, ifused wisely.

(The writer is a well-known columnist and anauthor. The views expressedare personal.)

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����������������� ��������������Sir— The Union Home Ministry’s call forcitizens to become “cyber volunteers” andidentify, flag and report illegal, unlawful and“anti-national” online content is perhaps themost brazen and dangerous sign of anattempt to turn our democratic and freesociety into a “surveillance State”.

Though vigilante activities directedagainst individuals, social groups and com-munities have increased in the past fewyears and the Government has ignored andsometimes even patronised these, it wasnot expected of it to move towards settingup a virtual vigilante force. The pilot pro-ject is to be implemented in Jammu andKashmir and Tripura, and then extendedto other States. This will have dangerousconsequences for citizens, as it will cur-tail their rights and will jeopardise free-dom of society. It is illegal as it violatesthe basic tenets of the Constitution whichguarantee freedom of speech and privacyto every individual.

These volunteers will act like secretpolice service agents reporting to theGovernment and its machinery about anypost or comment which they dislike or disp-prove of. Where we are moving? It’s reallya matter of great concern. A time will comewhen these volunteers will dictate terms tothe common man and will assume the roleof courts. They will pronounce judgmentson social media and will lynch anybodythey feel like without any fear. We are build-ing a “Taliban” State.

Shovanlal Chakraborty | Kolkata

� ����������������������������������Sir —In March 2020, international oilprices were raised due to the COVID-19pandemic. The Central Government is nottaking immediate steps to reduce taxes onoil or petroleum. The retail petrol anddiesel rates are governed by internation-al prices. India is 85 per cent dependenton oil imports to meet its needs. Of course,it is well known that Central and Statetaxes account for about 60 per cent of retailprices. But the Union Budget includedpetrol and diesel among those products,

on which a new agricultural structure anddevelopment cess has been imposed.

Fuel prices are increasing time to timein Pakistan and Nepal but in India, rela-tively high rates will trouble the oil con-sumers or end users. By increasing therates of petrol and diesel, the Central andState Governments will generate more rev-enue from taxation. But this will onlyenrage the common people as the pricesof commodities would increase. The oilexpenditure of a farmer who operates var-ious agricultural apparatus and machineslike diesel pumps, generators and so on,will increase but the income will not riseproportionately. Hence the Centre and theState Governments should reconsiderrelaxing the prices keeping in mind theinterests of marginal farmers and commonoil consumers.

Yugal Kishore Sharma | Faridabad

��������������������������������Sir — Parents must stop telling their chil-dren that the attraction they feel towards

the opposite gender is merely infatuationand love has nothing to do with it. Bydoing so they are suffocating their chil-dren, demoralising their spirit and alsodoubting their sense of judgment. Most ofthe parents do it because they think thatin this way they would prevent the youngminds from getting distracted. They areunaware of the fact that by imposing sanc-tions and unnecessary high moral princi-ples on their children, they are actuallymaking them weak from within.

Gradually and slowly, such children willstop discussing their problems with theirparents. The distance between them willincrease which will have adverse conse-quences for the family. Adolescents whohave reached the age of puberty need to beconvinced that their love is real and that ifthey marry for love, then they will have agreat deal of parental support.

Srinivas Reddy |Hyderabad

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������8����9�1���"�������������:As expressed in this

journal, others havevoiced, from time totime, doubts about

the utility of the Upper Houseof legislature whether in theStates or at the Centre. Thecause of these doubts is the not-so-infrequent misuse of theRajya Sabha as well as theVidhan Parishads. As SanjayGandhi’s influence grew in the1970s, many of his friendswere lifted into the Rajya Sabha.Fortunately for them, the elec-tion rule-framers prescribedthe minimum age for suchcandidates as 30. Hence, likethe minimum age of 25 yearsfor the Lok Sabha, anyone whowas over 30 years was eligiblefor the Upper House. In manyways, this was the first reasonof misuse.

The Upper House wasnever meant for the youngwoman or man to get into.They, being young and fit,should cultivate the commonfolk, broaden the party baseand, in due course, contest aLok Sabha seat. The youngand raw individuals reflectedon the House discipline as wellas the quality of debates andtheir contribution toParliament. The purpose ofthe Upper House, whether atthe Centre or in States, was theexact opposite: Older, matureindividuals, preferably welleducated who could devotetime to study issues and thenspeak on them in an informedmanner. They may or may notrelate to the common folk of aconstituency, nor perhaps maythe mass voters relate to suchmembers.

The Upper House shouldbe used to accommodate lead-ers who made competentMinisters and had to get elect-ed within six months of theirappointment by the PrimeMinister or a Chief Minister.

One recent example is thatof Yogi Adityanath. He was inthe Lok Sabha when the UttarPradesh Assembly electionswere held in 2017 and he hadnot contested from any con-stituency. Yet he was selected tobe the Chief Minister and,

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Among the many challenges that needurgent attention, more so after the COVID-19 pandemic invaded our lives, is housing.

This vital segment needs a scientific and creativeintervention to make it a sustainable proposition.Lack of proper housing is one of the reasons, apartfrom loss of jobs, that led to the mass migrationof labourers from cities to the villages, during theinitial days of the countrywide lockdown. Hence,expanding access to affordable housing is essen-tial not just for equitable development but alsofor social stability.

Looking at the gravity of the issue, FinanceMinister Nirmala Sitharaman in her Budgetspeech announced the extension of the tax hol-iday on affordable housing projects for one moreyear. The Government has done this to ensureaffordable housing for migrant workers. Theaffordable rental housing projects are part of the‘Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban).’

While we continue to record improvement indealing with poverty, homelessness has eliciteda poor response from our policymakers.Consequently, slums constitute 17 per cent ofurban households in India and in Mumbai theymake up 42 per cent of the households. Theseslum clusters lack necessary amenities like privatetoilets and potable water. A high population den-sity and a weak public healthcare system meanmore susceptibility to COVID-19 and other dis-eases and epidemics. Necessary precautions likesocial distancing to stay safe of the Coronaviruscannot be practised under such deplorable livingconditions that prevail in slums and jhuggi jho-pri clusters.

Human health and well-being depends on arange of interconnected social, economic andphysical factors that impact the environment inwhich we live and sustain ourselves. The key togood housing is to ensure that residents haveaccess to transportation, affordable healthcare,jobs, education as well as other essential services.A decent habitat and shelter can contribute in notjust individual or societal well-being but also havethe potential to catalyse overall economic growth.It is, thus, critical to recognise housing investmentas a basic, fundamental building block of econom-ic activity.

Housing is not a standalone issue and is close-ly intertwined with other factors and lack of sus-tainable housing is often the cause of a slew ofhealth and developmental problems. Poor ven-tilation and the inability to maintain basichygiene are major causes of poor health. Fragilebuilding structures undermine safety and increasevulnerability to disaster. Lack of lighting and spacelimits the ability of children to study. Inadequateprivacy and lack of sanitation contribute to a hostof diseases, hence perpetuating poverty.

For many people in the developing world, theland on which they live is their only asset. If thatproperty is not recognised as legally theirs, theylose out on several social benefits. Land owner-ship is often the bedrock of other developmentinterventions. Owning land boosts nutrition, edu-cational outcomes and gender equality. The con-verse is equally true. Where land security is absentor weak —when men and women do not haverecognised legal rights to their land and can thusbe easily displaced — all other development efforts

go in vain and conflict arises.Many who live in slums have

little or no control over the owner-ship of the property they live upon.The lack of official land titles is amajor impediment to the acquisi-tion of housing finance. People donot have documentary proof ofbeing owners of the land on whichthey live and are, therefore, legallyinsecure.

Many low-income villagershave owned their land for genera-tions but lack formal ownershipdocuments. Hence, they do nothave access to formal financialservices. Once their inhabited landgets formally titled, they couldobtain access to several public ben-efits, including loans.

Traditional housing financehas not been able to offer much helpto people in the low-income group.But a range of financial institutionsare applying good microfinancepractices, thus promoting housing.The increased provision of housingmicrofinance has resulted in safeand healthy housing conditions formillions. Successful housing micro-finance providers have marriedthe core principles of micro-cred-it — peer-based borrower selectionand repayment enforcement, closefollow-up on repayment and so on— with the technical expertiserequired to investigate land owner-ship and other classical housingfinance principles.

This model has been highlysuccessful wherever Governmentsare offering long-term tenancies

and shared-ownership housing.But the sector is still in need of moresustainable business models to getlegitimacy in mainstream finance.

Housing micro-finance caninclude a range of financial servicesthat support improving or upgrad-ing housing such as home repairand expansions, additional cookingspace, water and sanitation services,energy efficiency upgrades, thepurchase of inhabitable land or per-manent structures and the con-struction of new housing.

The demand for housingmicro-finance is high. The clientsare already channelising a goodportion of micro-enterprise loansfor home improvement; micro-entrepreneurs also use their homesas productive assets for generatingincome. A home can be a place tostore inventory, produce goodsand run a business. A home is alsoa personal asset that usually appre-ciates in value over time. Homeimprovement, thus, not onlyenhances living conditions but isalso an investment.

The Government also needs touse creative approaches for makingrental housing a safe option forhouse owners. Its share in overallhousing has been steadily declining.There is clearly a need to replace thecurrent rent control laws withmodern tenancy laws, so as to givefull freedom to tenants and ownersto negotiate the rent and the lengthof the lease.

Rules with respect to evictionalso need to be reformed to restore

the balance between the rights oftenants and the owners.

We need a differently struc-tured and more professional mar-ket rental sector. A model Rent Actis needed to promote rental hous-ing. There should be mutual agree-ment between the landlord and thetenant for a stipulated lease periodprior to which the tenant can’t beevicted and after the expiry of thelease period, the tenant will not bepermitted to continue in the hous-ing unit.

However, rent control laws givetenants so much security that land-lords worry that they may notregain possession of their proper-ty at the end of the lease period.People often leave their propertiesvacant until they get a tenant theyare comfortable with.

It is time the Government putsrental housing to use. Its share inoverall housing has been steadilydeclining. There is a need forreplacing current rent control lawswith a modern tenancy law, whichwould give full freedom to tenantsand owners to negotiate the rentand the length of the lease.

Policymakers, financial institu-tions and housing experts alsoneed to evaluate their current poli-cies, cultures and ways of working.With a thoughtful approach, theycan be better prepared to tackle thishumongous problem. TheGovernment will have to changecourse and shift away from the lega-cy mindset before the problem getsout of hand.

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It seemed innocent enoughat the start: Just a surge inthe number of boys com-

ing to school with notes fromdoctors saying they wereexcused from playing contactsports. But pretty soon highschools all over China werehaving trouble findingenough willing young men tomake up a football team. Itwas around the same timethat attendance at the com-pulsory classes in Marxist-Leninist-Xi-Jinping-Thoughtcrashed. Even when boysstarted talking about theirfeelings and trying to looklike K-Pop stars, people triedto laugh it all off and dubbedthem “little fresh meats.” Butsome far-sighted peopleunderstood that the nation’ssoul was at stake here.

As early as last June, SiZefu, member of the StandingCommittee of the 13thChinese People’s Political

Consultative Conference’sNational Committee andchairman of Harbin ElectricCorporation, was warningthat many of China’s youngmales had become “weak,timid and self-abasing.” Fromnot playing football to notwanting to be an “army hero”is a short, slippery slope.

This “feminisation”, Siharrumphed, “wouldinevitably endanger the sur-vival and development of theChinese nation unless effec-tively managed.” And even ashe spoke, limp-wristed youngmen with flowers in their hairwere spotted lolling about inthe street outside.

Just as Oscar Wilde her-alded the fall of the Britishempire and hippie “peaceand love” caused the US tolose the Vietnam War andstart its long decline, so too,young Chinese men wearingmake-up....Stop! Are you sure

that the Party wants you to godown this particular rhetor-ical road?

Well, okay, maybe notexactly those examples. Butwhat would the veterans ofthe Long March say aboutthese effeminate young girly-men? You can’t turn theminto proper soldiers. Chinawill be easy meat for the firstmanly country that comesalong. Harrumph!

China has a very bigbureaucracy, so it takes awhile for an issue to come tothe top of the pile but by earlythis year it had arrived. It’s notclear if President-for-Life XiJinping took a personal inter-est in the issue but his enthu-siasm for football as a symbolof national strength and man-liness is well-known, so thepolicy-makers knew theywere on a safe track.

The Education Ministrytook the lead, with the pub-

lication of a policy docu-ment last week entitled,‘Proposal to Prevent theFeminisation of MaleAdolescents’. No, really, I swearI’m not making this up.Check it out online.

The document claimsthat China needs to hiremore male teachers to serveas role models (at present fourout of five teachers in urban

areas are women) and “vigor-ously develop” sports likefootball to “cultivate the stu-dents’ masculinity.”

The official Chinese newsagency Xinhua instantly tookup the cause, condemning“androgynous” young men as“slender but weak as wil-lows,” and there was a suspi-ciously instant chorus of sup-port on social media for thenotion that traditional formsof masculinity are the foun-dation of national militarystrength.

It probably sounds freshto an adult generation ofChinese who don’t even knowtheir own country’s real his-tory. To people elsewhere, itsounds like a bunch of early20th Century Englishmen inwing collars declaring that“the battle of Waterloo waswon on the playing fields ofEton.” (No, it wasn’t. It waswon when Blücher’s Prussian

army joined the battle in theafternoon after a forcedmarch.)

It sounds like a bunch oflate imperial claptrap, becausethat’s what it is. Playing foot-ball sometimes makes youbetter at playing football. Itdoes not make you better atdominating foreigners orfighting wars — and why doyou want to do that anyway?It’s, therefore, pleasing toreport that the response inChinese official and socialmedia was far from unani-mously enthusiastic.

“Is feminisation now aderogatory term?” one Weibouser asked and received over200,000 likes, and the People’sDaily, no less, published anopinion piece arguing thatdiversity and tolerance shouldbe encouraged among femi-nine and masculine menalike.

There is probably no

country on Earth where thegenerational divergence ofopinions, especially amongthe male half, is greater thanit is in China. From an almostentirely hierarchical society aslate as the 1980s(Confucianism reinforced bythe ‘democratic centralism’ ofCommunism) to a youngergeneration that is egalitarianand gender-fluid (at least inthe big cities) is one hell of aleap.

It will eventually beresolved, as these things usu-ally are, by the magic of gen-erational turnover. The youngwill outlive the old andbecome the majority. Andhere is the authentic voice ofthe young, summed up in asingle tweet: “There are 70million more men thanwomen in this country. Nocountry in the world hassuch a deformed sex ratio.Isn’t that masculine enough?”

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The writer is a well-known developmentprofessional. The viewsexpressed are personal.

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Gwynne Dyer’s new bookis ‘Growing Pains: The

Future of Democracy andWork.’ The

views expressed are personal.

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Donald Trump has told mil-lions of his supporters that

he is ready for yet anotherphase of active public life afterthe US Senate acquitted him inhis second impeachment trial.

Following four days of theimpeachment trial, the 100-member Senate voted toimpeach the former US presi-dent by 57-43 votes, 10 votesshort of the two-thirds major-ity needed for conviction.

Trump, a Republican, is thefirst-ever president to havebeen impeached twice and thefirst president to have facedimpeachment after leavingoffice.

Trump, 74, faced thecharge of incitement of insur-rection over the deadly January6 assault of the US Capitol byhis supporters.

“Our historic, patriotic andbeautiful movement to MakeAmerica Great Again has onlyjust begun. In the monthsahead I have much to sharewith you, and I look forward to

continuing our incredible jour-ney together to achieveAmerican greatness for all ofour people. There has neverbeen anything like it!” Trumpsaid in a statement.

“We have so much workahead of us, and soon we will

emerge with a vision for abright, radiant, and limitlessAmerican future,” Trump, whoreceived 74 million votes in theNovember 3 presidential elec-tion, higher than that of anypresident before him.

While Trump has

remained quiet on his post-presidency life, speculation hasbeen rife that he might run forthe presidency in 2024 orencourage someone from hisfamily to fight out a battle forthe White House.

There is also some talk that

the former president mightpart ways with the RepublicanParty to form his own party.However, there has been no statement on thisfrom Trump.

“Our cherishedConstitutional Republic wasfounded on the impartial ruleof law, the indispensable safe-guard for our liberties, ourrights and our freedoms,”Trump said.

After the end of his termon January 20, Trump flew tohis resort in Palm BeachFlorida, where he has beenstaying since then.

Trump has been bannedfrom almost all the major socialmedia platforms includingTwitter and Facebook.

Meanwhile, severalRepublican leaders slammedthe party’s Senators who votedagainst Trump.

The seven Senators areRichard Burr, Bill Cassidy,Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski,Mitt Romney, Ben Sasse andPat Toomey.

“The Louisiana GOP

immediately censured Sen. BillCassidy, while state party offi-cials in North Carolina andPennsylvania issued sharpstatements expressing disap-pointment over the votes castSaturday by Sens. Richard Burrand Pat Toomey,” Politicoreported.

“The moves are the latest ina series of censures and disci-plinary actions doled out tolawmakers deemed to be crit-ical of the former president inthe wake of the Capitol riot,” itadded.

Republican Senator JohnCornyn said that he had con-cerns about this snap impeach-ment from the start.

“The arguments of theHouse Impeachment Managersthat the Constitution permitsthe impeachment of a privatecitizen, the free speech protec-tions of the First Amendmentdon’t apply, the due processclause of the Fifth Amendmentis optional, and that the trialmay include a presiding officerwho also serves as a juror allwere a bridge too far,” he said.

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Two Indian-origin experts inpublic service have been

appointed by the Biden admin-istration to key positions atAmeriCorps, the federalagency for volunteering andservice.

Sonali Nijhawan has beennamed Director ofAmeriCorps State andNational, and Sri PrestonKulkarni, 42, was appointed thenew Chief of External Affairs.

Though having run forCongress twice unsuccessfullyin Texas, Kulkarni was certain-ly noticed by the leadership inWashington.

Kulkarni’s appointment,along with Nijhawan and DanKohl, reflects “the Bidenadministration’s commitmentto diverse leadership,” accord-ing to the release byAmeriCorps.

In their roles, these leaderswill use service to support theadministration’s agenda, focus-ing on four of the most urgentchallenges of our time: Covid-19, economic recovery, racialequity, and climate change, theAmeriCorps said.

Kulkarni lost his race forthe Texas District 22 seat in theUS House of Representatives toformer Fort Bend CountySheriff Troy Nehls inNovember as the Democraticnominee in a deeplyRepublican district.

Kulkarni brings a variety ofexperience in service and pub-lic affairs to AmeriCorps,including 14 years as a foreignservice officer with the StateDepartment where he spe-cialised in public diplomacyand worked in public affairsand international informationprogrammes, completing toursin Taiwan, Russia, Iraq, Israel,Jamaica and Washington, thestatement said.

Nijhawan has committedher career to developing lead-ers and growing national ser-vice. Most recently, she devel-oped and served as the execu-tive director of Stockton ServiceCorps, a six-year, USD 12 mil-lion initiative to address localneeds through AmeriCorps.

Her professional back-

ground also includes extensiveexperience in education,AmeriCorps said in a pressrelease.

Inspired by the students,families, and AmeriCorpscommunity she met, she wenton to help found City YearSacramento and launch theorganisation’s 22nd site with 50new AmeriCorps members.

Nijhawan also served as theCalifornia director ofEducation Pioneers where sherecruited, placed, and support-ed managers in urban schoolsystems and education non-profits, empowering people tochallenge the status quo of ourpublic education system.

She earned a bachelor’s ineducation and psychology fromMarquette University and amaster’s in social work from theUniversity of Maryland,Baltimore.

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Vast numbers of people allover Myanmar flouted

orders against demonstrationsand marched again on Sundayto protest the military takeoverthat ousted the elected govern-ment of Aung San Suu Kyi.

Large demonstrations wereheld in the major cities ofYangon, Mandalay and thecapital, Naypyitaw, as well as infar-flung areas dominated byethnic minorities.

Resistance also took placein cyberspace, as a group call-ing itself BrotherHood ofMyanmar Hackers defaced thegovernment’s Myanmar DigitalNews website, replacing con-tent on its home page withwords and pictures against themilitary takeover.

Protesters in Yangon againrallied outside the Chinese andU.S. Embassies. They accuse

Beijing of propping up themilitary regime and applaudWashington’s actions sanction-

ing the military.“The civil disobedience

movement and demonstrations

show that the people ofMyanmar want democracy. Westand with them,” said a state-ment Saturday on the U.S.Embassy’s Twitter account.

Other protesters carriedsigns urging people to boycottbusinesses linked to the mili-tary.

Sunday’s activism tookplace after the ruling juntaissued a new order suspendingseveral basic civil liberties.

The order, issued lateSaturday and published Sundayin state newspapers, suspendsprovisions in an existing law onsecurity and privacy protection,allowing the authorities tocarry out searches and makearrests without court warrants.

It also allows the intercep-tion of electronic and othercommunications without awarrant and permits the deten-tion of detainees for more than24 hours without court permis-

sion. Civil servants have beenvery active in the protests, andsocial media postings onSunday indicated that staterailway workers have joinedthem, with some unconfirmedclaims that they have gone onstrike.

The military seized poweron February 1, detaining SuuKyi and members of her gov-ernment and preventingrecently elected lawmakersfrom opening a new session ofParliament.

The junta, led by SeniorGen. Min Aung Hlaing, said itwas forced to step in becausethe government failed to prop-erly investigate allegations offraud in last year’s election,which Suu Kyi’s NationalLeague for Democracy partywon in a landslide. The stateelection commission refutedthat contention, saying there isno evidence to support it.

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,����!�����!�����������7����+���������������(������������������������/��#���,��!�2����!&�������������������������,�������������(������&��������������������%��������������!���������������2������(���������.��!��&�#��������������� ,

Kathmandu: The NepalCommunist Party’s splinterfaction led by Pushpa KamalDahal ‘Prachanda’ on Sundayannounced a fresh agitationprogramme against the disso-lution of the House ofRepresentatives by PrimeMinister KP Sharma Oli.

Nepal plunged into a polit-ical crisis on December 20after Oli, in a surprise move,recommended dissolving the275-member House, amidst atussle for power with the chair-man of the Nepal CommunistParty’s (NCP) splinter factionled by ‘Prachanda’.

Acting on the prime min-ister’s recommendation,President Bidya Devi Bhandaridissolved the House the sameday and announced fresh elec-tions on April 30 and May 10,sparking protests from a largesection of the NCP led by‘Prachanda’, also a co-chair of

the ruling party. The faction ledby ‘Prachanda’ and MadhavKumar Nepal announced freshagitations against the dissolu-tion of the House ofRepresentatives.

During a press conferenceon Sunday, the struggle com-mittee led by leader of the fac-tion Narayan Kaji Shresthasaid a human chain will beformed on February 19 aroundTundikhel Open Ground inKathmandu as a symbolicprotest against “the House dis-solution” and corruption.

The protest rallies will bestaged in various districtsacross the country includingcapital city Kathmandu fromFebruary 17 to 24. The partywill also launch a campaign tocollect signatures against thedissolution from February 19 to27 at various public places.

The agitating faction hadearlier staged protests from

January 26 to February 10under the third phase ofprotests against the dissolutionof the House. Defending hismove to dissolve Parliament,Oli recently said some leaderstried to obstruct the function-ing of his government and hehad no other alternative otherthan seeking a fresh mandate.

“As some leaders tried tomake Parliament defunct andobstruct the government’sfunctioning, I was compelled togo for the fresh mandate. Sucha situation was created in whichthe government was unable tomove forward, which prompt-ed us to go for elections,” hesaid on February 5.

Following the House disso-lution, both the factions of theparty, one led by Prachandaand the other by Oli have beenstaging public meetings andmass rallies across Nepal toshow their strength. PTI

New York: An unidentifiedman could be responsible forfour separate stabbings thatoccurred within a few hours inthe New York City subways,leaving two people dead, author-ities said. The assaults hap-pened between Friday morningand early Saturday, New YorkPolice Department officials saidduring a news conference.

Authorities believe all fourvictims were homeless.

Police said they weresearching for a man they sus-pect could be behind all of theattacks. They were reviewingsubway security camera footageas part of the investigation. Allfour stabbings occurred alongthe A subway line.

One of the victims was dis-covered dead on a train inQueens at about midnight onFriday with several stabwounds to his neck and torso.

AP

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White House deputy presssecretary TJ Ducklo has

resigned, the day after he wassuspended for issuing a sexistand profane threat to a journal-ist seeking to cover his relation-ship with another reporter.

Ducklo had been put on aweeklong suspension withoutpay on Friday after a report sur-faced in Vanity Fair outlininghis sexist threats against afemale Politico journalist to tryto suppress a story about hisrelationship, telling her “I willdestroy you.”

The journalist had beenseeking to report on his rela-tionship with a politicalreporter at Axios who hadpreviously covered the Bidencampaign and transition.

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American and Egyptianarchaeologists have

unearthed what could be theoldest known beer factory atone of the most prominentarchaeological sites of ancientEgypt, a top antiquities officialsaid Saturday.

Mostafa Waziri, secretarygeneral of the Supreme Councilof Antiquities, said the factorywas found in Abydos, anancient burial ground locatedin the desert west of the NileRiver, over 450 kilometres (280miles) south of Cairo.

He said the factory appar-ently dates back to the regionof King Narmer, who is wide-ly known for his unification ofancient Egypt at the beginningof the First Dynastic Period(3150 BC-2613 BC).

Archaeologists found eighthuge units — each is 20 meters(about 65 feet) long and 2.5metres (about 8 feet) wide.Each unit includes some 40pottery basins in two rows,which had been used to heat upa mixture of grains and water

to produce beer, Waziri said.The joint mission is co-

chaired by Dr. Matthew Adamsof the Institute of Fine Arts,New York University, andDeborah Vischak, assistantprofessor of ancient Egyptianart history and archaeology atPrinceton University.

Adams said the factory

was apparently built in this areato provide royal rituals withbeer, given that archaeologistsfound evidences showing theuse of beer in sacrificial rites ofancient Egyptians.

British archaeologists werethe first to mention the exis-tence of that factory early1900s, but they couldn’t deter-

mine its location, the antiqui-ties ministry said.

With its vast cemeteriesand temples from the earliesttimes of ancient Egypt, Abydoswas known for monumentshonoring Osiris, ancientEgypt’s god of underworld andthe deity responsible for judg-ing souls in the afterlife.

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UK Prime Minister BorisJohnson is to host fellow

G7 leaders for a virtual meet-ing on February 19 ahead of itspresidency of a summit inJune of the Group of Sevencountries including the UK,Canada, France, Germany,Italy, Japan and the US, Downing Street said onSunday.

The virtual meeting, thefirst hosted by Johnson as partof the UK’s G7 Presidency thisyear and the first gathering ofG7 leaders since April 2020,will bring together the worldleaders to discuss how leadingdemocracies can work togeth-er to ensure equitable distrib-ution of coronavirus vaccinesaround the world and preventfuture pandemics.

Prime Minister NarendraModi is expected to attend the

G7 Summit in Cornwall in Juneafter India was invited as aguest country by the UK,alongside South Korea andAustralia.

“The solutions to the chal-lenges we face — from thecolossal mission to get vaccinesto every single country, to thefight to reverse the damagedone to our ecosystems andlead a sustainable recoveryfrom coronavirus — lie in thediscussions we have with ourfriends and partners aroundthe world,” said Johnson.

“Quantum leaps in sciencehave given us the vaccines weneed to end this pandemic forgood. Now world governmentshave a responsibility to worktogether to put those vaccinesto the best possible use. I hope2021 will be remembered as theyear humanity worked togeth-er like never before to defeat acommon foe,” he said.

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Scientists at the University ofCambridge working with

an anti-viral coating technolo-gy called DioX believe that itcould protect facemask users bykilling the deadly coronavirusin as little as an hour.

According to ‘The DailyTelegraph’, the invisible coatingon facemasks attacks the virusby rapturing its outer layer,effectively eliminating all newmutant variants, including theUK’s so-called Kent variantand the South African variant.

“The antiviral agent with-in the coating of the mask killsthe virus by breaching its pro-tective outer membrane, whichis known as its envelope. Unlikeother parts of the virus, themembrane remains the sameregardless of any type of muta-tion. Hence this way of attack-ing the pathogen will work on

any new variant of coron-avirus,” Dr Graham Christie,senior lecturer at theDepartment of ChemicalEngineering and Biotechnologyat the University of Cambridge,told the newspaper.

“In fact, you could mutatethe entire genome of the virusand it would have no effect onthe envelope. We expect to seethe same response regardless ofthe strain of coronavirusbecause structurally they are allvery similar,” he said.

The technology calledDiOX is based on quaternaryammonium salts — organiccompounds widely used in thetextile industry for theirantimicrobial properties.Laboratory tests showed thatthe mask coated with it killed95 per cent of pathogens on itssurface within one hour andthey were undetectable afterfour hours.

Beijing: China fired back at theUS On Sunday over allegationsfrom the White House thatBeijing withheld some infor-mation about the coronavirusoutbreak from World HealthOrganization investigators.

In a statement on Saturday,White House National SecurityAdviser Jake Sullivan saidWashington had “deep con-cerns about the way in whichthe early findings of the Covid-19 investigation were commu-nicated and questions about theprocess used to reach them.”

“It is imperative that thisreport be independent, withexpert findings free from inter-vention or alteration by theChinese government,” he said,referring to the WHO missioninvestigating the origins of thepandemic in the central city ofWuhan. “To better understandthis pandemic and prepare forthe next one, China must make

available its data from the ear-liest days of the outbreak,”Sullivan’s statement said.

China responded Sundaywith a statement from itsWashington Embassy that saidthe US Had already “gravelydamaged international cooper-ation on Covid-19” and wasnow “pointing fingers at othercountries who have been faith-fully supporting the WHO andat the WHO itself.”

While it welcomedPresident Joe Biden’s decision toreverse the Trump administra-tion’s move to leave the WHO,China hopes the U.S. Will “holditself to the highest standards,take a serious, earnest, transpar-ent and responsible attitude,shoulder its rightful responsibil-ity, support the WHO’s workwith real actions and makedue contribution to the interna-tional cooperation on Covid-19,” the statement said. AP

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New Delhi: GST officers will immediately sus-pend registration of taxpayers whose salesreturn or GSTR-1 forms show "significant dif-ferences or anomalies" from the return filed bytheir suppliers, a move aimed at curbing tax eva-sion and safeguarding revenues.

The Central Board of Indirect Taxes andCustoms (CBIC) has issued a StandardOperating Procedure (SOP) for suspension ofregistration of a person on observance of suchdiscrepancies /anomalies which indicate viola-tion of the GST Act.

As per the SOP, the registration of specifiedtaxpayers shall be suspended and system gen-erated intimation for suspension and notice forcancellation of registration in form GST REG-31, containing the reasons of suspension, shallbe sent to such taxpayers on their registered e-mail address.

The registration would be suspended incases where a comparison of the returns fur-nished by a registered person with the detailsof outward supplies furnished in form GSTR-1, or the details of inward supplies derived basedon the details of outward supplies furnished byhis suppliers in their GSTR-1, show 'significant

differences or anomalies', indicating contra-vention of the provisions of the GST Act.

"Till the time functionality for FORM REG-31 is made available on portal, such notice/inti-mation shall be made available to the taxpayeron their dashboard on the common portal inForm GST REG-17.

"The taxpayers will be able to view the noticein the 'View/Notice and Order' tab post login,"the SOP said.

Goods and Services Tax (GST) officers havealready intensified their drive against fakeinvoicing and this has also contributed toincrease in tax collections in the past couple ofmonths.

GST collections have crossed the Rs 1 lakhcrore mark for four consecutive months andsurged to an all-time high of about Rs 1.20 lakhcrore in January.

The SOP further said the taxpayers whoseregistrations are suspended would be requiredto furnish reply to the jurisdictional tax officerwithin 30 days from the receipt of such notice/ intimation, explaining the discrepancies /anomalies and the reasons as to why their reg-istration should not be cancelled. PTI

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New Delhi: Insurance sector reg-ulator Irdai has asked insurers toissue digital policies to theirpolicyholders and also tell themhow to use these documents.

The regulator has reasonedthat the step will not onlybring down the cost but alsohelp speed up claim settle-ment process.

In its circular issued to allinsurers excluding GIC Re,Lloyd's (India) and FRBs (foreignre-insurance branches), Irdaisaid that Digilocker will drivereduction in costs, elimination ofcustomer complaints relating tonon-delivery of policy copy,improved turnaround time ofinsurance services, faster claimsprocessing and settlement,reduction in disputes, reductionin fraud and improvement incustomer contactability.

On the whole it is expect-ed that it will lead to better cus-tomer experience, said theInsurance Regulatory andDevelopment Authority ofIndia (Irdai).

In order to promote theadoption of Digilocker in the

insurance sector, the Authorityadvises all insurers to enabletheir IT systems to interact withDigilocker facility to enablepolicyholders to use Digilockerfor preserving all their policydocuments.

The insurers should informtheir retail policyholders aboutDigilocker and how to use it.Insurers are also advised toenable the process by which thepolicyholders can place theirpolicies in the digilocker, saidthe regulator.

As per the circular, theDigilocker team in NeGD(National e-GovernanceDivision) under Ministry ofElectronics and InformationTechnology will provide nec-essary technical guidance andlogistic support to facilitateadoption of Digilocker.

Digilocker is an initiativeunder the Digital India pro-gramme by the governmentwhere citizens can get authen-tic documents/ certificate indigital format from originalissuers of these certificates.

It aims at eliminating or

minimising the use of physicaldocuments and will enhanceeffectiveness of service delivery,making these hassle free andfriendly for the citizens.

Notably, the decision ofIrdai has came against thebackdrop of a letter written bySanjay Dhotre, Minister ofState for Electronics & IT,Communications and HumanResource Development, toAnurag Singh Thakur, Ministerof State for Finance andCorporate Affairs with regardsto issuance of digital insurancepolicies to citizen's DigiLockeraccounts.

In the letter, Dhotre hadrequested Thakur to adviseIrdai to issue an advisory to allinsurance companies to makeavailable the digital insurancepolicy of all policy holders viatheir Digilocker account andacceptance of Digilocker issueddocuments as valid documents.

"This will provide an alter-nate channel to access andmanage all their insurancepolicies in a safe and authenticmanner. PTI

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Aurangabad: The rate ofpetrol with additives hascrossed the Rs 100 mark for alitre in Maharashtra's Parbhanidistrict on Sunday morning, anoffice bearer of a petrol dealers'association said.

After a 28 paise rise onSunday morning, the per-litrerate of petrol with additives forretail sale crossed Rs 100.

Parbhani District PetrolDealers' Association PresidentAmol Bhedsurkar told PTI,"The rates of petrol with addi-tives in Parbhani has reached to100.16 rupees for one litre. Thecost of unleaded petrol is 97.38

here."The cost of petrol in

Parbhani is one of the costliestin Maharashtra. The cost ishigher due to longer distance oftransportation.

Fuel in Parbhani comesfrom Manmad in the Nashikdistrict, which is at a distanceof 340 km.

"We need Rs 3,000 extra forevery tanker if prices go up by10 paise. Hence, the investmentin buying fuel has also goneup," Bhedsurkar said.

The transportation cost forfuel stands at nearly 21 paise alitre now, he added. PTI

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New Delhi: Doing away withrestrictive conditions for use ofsteel in highways construc-tion, the government onSunday announced that allkinds of steel will be allowed forhighways provided these meetthe quality parameters.

Earlier, the contract pro-visions required use of steelproduced by primary/integrat-ed steel producers only. Themove is aimed at ensuring costreduction in highways con-struction using steel.

"The Ministry of RoadTransport and Highways hasissued orders that all steel -whether produced from ore,billets, pellets or melting ofscrap - would be allowed to beused for National Highwayconstruction, as long as itmeets the standards requiredfor specific grades of steel," theMinistry said in a statement.

The steel proposed to beused would be tested in NABL-accredited laboratories as athird party check before

approval. The move is basedon the analysis and discussionswith stakeholders and alsotechnical opinion.

In view of the increase insteel prices, which can impactthe cost of building nationalhighways, Road Transport &Highways Minister NitinGadkari had suggested theneed to re-look at all conditionswhich could be restrictive,without impacting the qualityof material used for highwayconstruction.

With this step, the suppli-er base for steel used in theconstruction of national high-ways would increase, leading tomore competition and betterprice discovery by the markets,the statement said.

This is also part of the con-tinuous effort by the Minister

to reduce costs through useof new technology, reducingrestrictions on suppliers andmaking the procurement sys-tem transparent, it added. PTI

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New Delhi: Taking a leaf out ofReliance Industries Ltd's play-book, state-owned Oil andNatural Gas Corporation(ONGC) is forming a new sub-sidiary for gas business thatcould be used to bid and buy gasfrom the firm's own fields.

The board of ONGC at itsmeeting on February 13approved creation of a newwholly-owned subsidiary com-pany for gas and liquefied nat-ural gas (LNG) business valuechain subject to necessaryapprovals, according to thefirm's third quarter earningsannouncement.

"The company is beingformed with the objective ofsourcing, marketing and tradingof natural gas, LNG business,Hydrogen enriched CNG(HCNG), gas to power business,bio-energy/ bio-gas/ biomethane/ other biofuels busi-ness, etc," it said.

ONGC may use the newsubsidiary to buy any new gas

that the firm produces fromfields such as KG-D5 in theKrishna Godavari basin, peoplewith direct knowledge of thematter said.

The government had inOctober 2020 allowed affiliatesof gas producers to buy the fuelin open auction.

This policy change allowedReliance to buy two-thirds outof the additional 7.5 millionstandard cubic metres per day ofgas it along with partner BP plcof UK plans to produce this yearfrom the new fields in KG-D6block.

"ONGC too can look at thisoption now. The new subsidiarycan participate in any auctionthat ONGC will do for incre-mental gas from KG-D5 block,"a source said.

Besides ensuring competi-tion and fair price discovery, theONGC subsidiary can then sellthe gas so sourced to firms suchas Mangalore Refinery andPetrochemicals Ltd (MRPL) ata margin.

This would help ONGCearn better margins on the gasproduced.

"Right now gas is a loss-making business for ONGC.

The government controls gasprice which is less than cost ofproduction," the source said.The government has fixed aprice of USD 1.79 per millionBritish thermal unit for ONGC'sfields. This is half of the cost ofproduction.

It allows a higher rate ofUSD 4.06 per mmBtu for diffi-cult fields such as deepsea fields(KG-D6 and KG-D6) but eventhat is less than the cost of pro-duction from highly capitalintensive projects.

The current regulationmeans even if Reliance discov-ered a price equivalent of USD6-7 per mmBtu for the 7.5mmscmd of new gas from KG-D6, it would get only USD 4.06till March 31.

The same would apply forONGC. It might discover a ratehigher for the 15 mmscmdincremental gas planned fromKG-D5 block but it can get onlyUSD 4.06 as per current price.

"So, essentially the ONGC'sgas subsidiary can bid and buyKG-D5 gas. It will pay ONGCUSD 4.06 per mmBtu but cansell to MRPL or any other cus-tomer at a price higher than that,ensuring that the gas business

becomes a viable proposition,"the source said.

The government has givenoperators the freedom to dis-cover market prices but this rateis subject to a pricing ceiling orcap that the government notifiesevery six months. The cap for sixmonths to March 31, 2021 isUSD 4.06 per mmBtu.

In the February 5 auction,Reliance O2C Limited, an affil-iate of Reliance Industries Ltd,picked up 4.8 mmscmd out ofthe 7.5 mmscmd gas auctioned.

State gas utility GAIL(India) Ltd won 0.85 mmscmdof supplies while Shell picked up0.7 mmscmd.

Adani Total Gas Ltd got 0.1mmscmd, Hindustan PetroleumCorporation Ltd (HPCL) 0.2mmscmd and Torrest Gas 0.02mmscmd. Other buyers includ-ed IRM Energy (0.1 mmscmd),PIL (0.35 mmscmd) and IGS(0.35 mmscmd), they said.

Sources said the gas wasbought at a price of USD 0.18per million British thermal unitdiscount to JKM (Japan/Korealiquefied natural gas importprice), that is price of JKM(minus) USD 0.18 with tenuresranging from 3 to 5 years. PTI

New Delhi: Increasing com-modity prices, specially thoseof rhodium and palladium,which are used in catalysers tomeet strict emission norms, areputting cost pressure on auto-mobile makers, according to asenior official of Maruti SuzukiIndia.

The company, which hadhiked prices of its vehicles inJanuary, however is not plan-ning to pass on the burden toconsumers in the near futurealthough it is keeping a closeeye on its cost structure.

With the supply of semi-conductors becoming a chal-lenge for the automotive indus-try, Maruti Suzuki is alsowatching the situation closelyalthough it will have normalsupply this month.

"In commodities, priceshave gone up dramatically thisyear, especially that of steel, andrhodium and palladium, whichare used in catalysers of BS-VIvehicles.

"Demand across the worldhas gone up but its mining hap-pens only in Russia and SouthAfrica. There, the mining wasmuch lesser because of thepandemic," Maruti SuzukiIndia Executive Director(Marketing & Sales) ShashankSrivastava told PTI.

Supply was less and glob-al demand is very high becauseall Euro VI, BS-VI and ChinaVI vehicles require catalysers,he said adding, "so, the demandhas gone up, whereas supply isconstant and 80 per cent ofdemand for rhodium and pal-ladium comes from the autoindustry."

When asked if the issue isas critical as that of semicon-ductor, he said, "for rhodiumand palladium, supply is not anissue but price is a problem butin semiconductor supply is aproblem."

Commenting on MarutiSuzuki's position with regardsto semiconductor supplies,

Srivastava said, "right now forsemiconductors we don't havean issue. January was normalfor us. February seems to benormal but there is a majorsemiconductor shortage in theauto industry. So, we are watch-ing the situation very careful-ly. Right now we are not affect-ed."

On whether the companyplans to pass on the burden ofincreased rhodium and palla-dium prices to consumers,Srivastava replied in the nega-tive stating the company hadhiked vehicle prices in Januarybecause of increase in com-modity prices.

"In fact all OEMs haveincreased prices largely becauseof the increase in commodityprices. We keep watching thecost structure, how the costs areevolving and take decisionsaccordingly.

Now we have to draw a fineline. We have to take care of thedemand. PTI

New Delhi: The NationalCompany Law AppellateTribunal (NCLAT) has askedDevas Employees Mauritius toapproach NCLT to raise itsobjection over the court's deci-sion to admit a petition byAntrix Corporation seekingwinding up of DevasMultimedia.

While disposing of its plea,the Chennai bench of theNCLAT has directed DevasEmployees Mauritius to file aninterlocutory application andbe a party in the ongoing mat-ter at the NCLT.

On January 19, theBengaluru bench of theNational Company LawTribunal (NCLT) had admittedthe petition by AntrixCorporation, the commercialarm of Indian Space ResearchOrganisation, for winding upDevas Multimedia and hasappointed a provisional liq-uidator for the company.

It had also directed the pro-visional liquidator to take con-trol of the management, prop-erties and actionable claims ofDevas Multimedia.

The NCLT order was chal-lenged before the NCLAT byDevas Employees Mauritius,which holds 3.48 per cent ofissued equity share of DevasMultimedia.

Devas EmployeesMauritius has submitted thatbeing a shareholder of DevasMultimedia, being its con-stituent Board Member andowner and hence it has a say inthe manner in which the com-pany, its affairs, managementetc are carried out.

According to the petition-er, the NCLT order of January19, affects its right to participatein the affairs' and manage-ment of Devas Multimedia.

However, the NCLATobserved: "It is relevantly point-

ed out that just because an'Order of Admission' is passedat the initial stage, theAppellant's interest is not like-ly to be affected or prejudicialbecause latent and patent rea-son that still it may get anopportunity to be heard whenits Petition is Allowed."

The NCLAT Chennaibench, which consistedMember (Judicial) JusticeVenugopal M and Member(Technical) Balvinder Singhdirected it to file an applicationbefore NCLT, to be a party intothe main matter.

"….Deems it fit and prop-er in 'Directing' the 'Appellant'to file necessary 'InterlocutoryApplication' before the'Tribunal' (NCLT) seeking per-mission to implead itself in themain pending CompanyPetition setting out necessaryfacts/reasons for the same,"said NCLAT in its order passedon February 11. PTI

New Delhi: Markets regulator Sebi is in the process of settingup a cybersecurity fusion centre, a move aimed at detecting cyberthreats faster and resolve such incidents efficiently and effectively.

In its annual report for 2019-20, Sebi noted that cyber attacksand threats attempt to compromise the confidentiality, integri-ty and availability of the computer systems, networks and data-bases in the markets ecosystem.

Establishing a cybersecurity fusion centre or a cyber lab ispart of Sebi's three-tier structure for monitoring cybersecurity-related events in the securities markets and taking actions asdeemed necessary in the interest of protection of the securitiesmarket.The three-tier structure would strengthen the cyberse-curity preparedness or resilience of the entire securities marketecosystem.Under the tier-1, high-powered steering committeeon cybersecurity chaired by a whole-time member of Sebi hasbeen set up and a cybersecurity fusion centre would be estab-lished under the tier-2, the regulator said.

In the tier-3, division of technology and cybersecurity on Sebiwould coordinate with the steering committee, cyber securitylab security and operations centres at the respective market infra-structure institutions (MIIs). PTI

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Kattankulathur: SRM Instituteof Science and Technology,Kattankulathur has signed aMemorandum ofUnderstanding (MoU) withTamil Nadu Veterinary andAnimal Sciences University(TANUVAS). The signing wasbetween the Department ofFood Process Engineering,School of Bioengineering,SRMIST and College of Foodand Dairy Technology,Koduvalli, TANUVAS.

As per the MoU, both insti-tutes will have a broad scope tocarry out faculty and studentexchange programme to carryout training and research activ-ities for a shorter duration. Thearea will be extended to jointresearch activities to exploreopportunities to undertakeresearch projects and seekresearch funding from externalfunding agencies. This agree-ment will also facilitate to con-

duct joint academic eventssuch as short courses, seminars,workshops, or conferencesbased on mutual interests andavailable expertise in both theinstitutions. Both institutes canshare and carry out jointresearch in technology for dis-tance and computer-basedlearning.

The MoU was exchangedbetween Dr. C. Balachandran,Vice Chancellor, TANUVASand Dr. C. Muthamizhchelvan, Pro Vice Chancellor (E&T),SRMIST in the presence ofTANUVAS officials Dr.P.Tensingh Gnanaraj, Registrar;Dr. Cecilia Joseph, DirectorResearch; Dr. V. Appa Rao,Dean Research and Dr.Premnath Manoharan, profes-sor & HoD Food ProcessorEngineering. SRMIST officialsDr. S. Ponnusamy, Registrar;Dr. T.V. Gopal, Dean College ofEngineering and Technology; Dr. M. Vairamani, Chairperson, School of Bioengineering, and heads of

the departments and facultymembers.

Speaking at the signingceremony Dr. C. Balachandran,Vice Chancellor, TANUVASsaid, "The outcome of thisMoU may bring new innovativeideas and solutions for thegrowing demand and recurringissues of the Food Processingand Health sector in India.Both the universities can nowshare knowledge, technology,and faculty exchange program.We need engineers when itcomes to technology hence thescope is more in this sector."

Dr. C. Muthamizhchelvan,Pro Vice Chancellor (E&T),SRMIST said, "Gone are thedays when we worked as indi-viduals, now it is important thatwe work with other with insti-tutes/ universities. Such col-laborations open up newavenues and will benefit bothparties."

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Arjun Kapoor and Ranveer Singh’son-screen bromance in the film

Gunday was a hit as audiences real-ly loved their camaraderie. Past theseventh anniversary of the film’srelease, Arjun shares why Gunday isand will always be one of his favouritefilms.

�What did you love about the filmthat made you sign it instantly?

At the time I was starting mycareer, I was hardly six months oldin the business and Adi sir (AdityaChopra) offered me a film which wasa two-hero ensemble, big commercialset-up. When I met Ali (AbbasZafar), I loved his energy and excite-ment towards treating it like a larg-er than life adventure. It was like athrowback and a tribute to the 70’s& 80’s cinema that I grew up watch-ing. The ‘Mukul Anand, SubhashGhai space of cinema’ and at the sametime a film about brotherhood andgangsters. When you are a youngactor starting out, these are all trap-pings that you love exploring anddoing in mainstream cinema. Youwant to establish yourself at thebeginning. You want to do main-stream stuff with a sense of height-ened reality and that’s what Gundaywas all about. I got really excitedabout doing something so front foot-ed and mainstream.

�Your bromance with Ranveer inthe film was an instant hit. Tell uswhat made the bonhomie so special.

I think it was the off-camera loveand respect we had for each otherbecause we realised we have toomuch in common. In fact we are bornjust ten days apart from each other.It was much simpler for us to bondthan we realised. And when you arestarting out, you are not thinkingabout your career and rivalry. You arejust trying to make the best film pos-sible and have the most fun. Ranveerand I also knew each other before thefilm so it made it a little simpler tobreak the ice onset. Credit to Ali forwriting a film that allowed us to bebest friends. He was a big factor forbringing me and Ranveer closer. Itjust happened, it was just the flow. It’slike chalk and cheese where even

though we are poles apart, we stillmanage to fit together. It’s like sugarand spice, they are opposites but bothsound good together. We were twopeople who were completely differ-ent but ended up getting along andworking well together. People realisedthis when they saw the trailer whereboth of us looked good together.

�The film presented you in an allnew avatar. What did you love themost about your character?

Costumes. To play a character inthe 70’s, a gangster, it’s always excit-ing to go into. It was my first-peri-od film at that time. The way I wasstyled, presented, the low angle trol-leys and just being treated larger thanlife, running in slow motion, thatintroduction coming out of the train,

landing on a coal train and muchmore. I think the presentation wasway bigger than any third film couldhave gotten me and it was cool,unique and exciting. You usually feelthat you need to work a lot, beforeyou get that kind of scale but here Iwas immediately, in the third film,within the first six/eight months ofmy career.

�What do you think was the film’sUSP?

I think the camaraderie betweenRanveer and me and the big star castcoming together, was special. Aftera long time, there was a two-hero filmand the youth loved the music. Iknow for a fact that the music andtrailer made all the difference.

Today consumers have becomemore aware and conscious of

harmful chemicals hidden intheir skincare products. They areskeptical of using skincare thatwear the claim of being “organic”and “all natural”, often question-ing if these claims are just market-ing gimmicks. Dr. Jagvir Singh,Founder and President, RefreshBotanicals lists five common mis-conceptions about organic skin-care that will make you rethinkyour regimen.

MYTH 1: Using DIY masks issame as using organic products

People believe that whippingup a yogurt and honey smoothiein your blender and using it as aface mask will benefit their skinas much as an organic face mask.

While we’re all up for a DIYface treatment once in a while, theingredients you find in yourkitchen can’t really compare to theactive ingredients found in organ-ic skincare products. These spe-cial ingredients are usuallyextracted at the molecular levelleaving behind the most activeand potent part for your skin care.

MYTH 2: Organic products areineffective

Many people are afraid ofchange and stick to a product thatthey are familiar with and haveused for years. Unfortunately,many drugstore products havebeen diluted, watered down, andfilled with an abundance of chem-ical preservatives to extend thelifespan. This means that whilethe product may offer quickresults, you shouldn’t hold yourbreath waiting to see any reallong-term benefits for the healthof your skin.

Organic products, on the

other hand, are jam-packed withvital nutrients, antioxidants, vit-amins and minerals at high con-centrations that truly feeds yourskin. You’ll instantly get thatradiant, hydrated and clear skin.

MYTH 3: Organic productsneed preservatives to lastlonger

Highly organic productsoften require premium packag-ing that are equipped with air-less pumps. This prevents thehighly organic plant materialfrom oxidising, thus spoiling.When looking for organic skin-care, look for airless pumps —meaning that the product isbeing pumped through literallybeing pushed out of the contain-er.

MYTH 4: Eating healthy isenough for great skin

There is no argument withthe benefits of eating clean,antioxidant-rich foods anddrinking tons of water. However,

a healthy diet alone is not nec-essarily enough for great skin.While everything you eat doeshave an impact on your skin,food cannot cleanse away impu-rities and environmental toxinsthe way a good face wash can, orprovide a protective barrier onthe skin the way a moisturisercan. For truly beautiful skin, besure to eat healthy, exercise reg-ularly and practice safe, organ-ic skincare. Organic skincareproducts should accompany ahealthy lifestyle for a moreyouthful and fresher complex-ion.

MYTH 5: All “Natural Types”of skincare are created equal

There is a thin line betweenorganic and natural products.Note that we use the word nat-ural here, and not organic. Whilemany products may claim to be“all-natural” on their labels, itdoesn’t mean that their ingredi-ents are in fact “organic.” Naturalproducts often contain natural

ingredients but may containpesticides and other harmfulchemicals.

For a skin care brand to be ableto wear the claim of “organic,”ingredient suppliers have to under-go a rigorous process where theyare monitored for many years toensure that their farming methodsare free of pesticides, herbicides andchemicals. Additionally, skin carebrands must ensure that theirmanufacturers follow stringentpractices to ensure there is no crosscontamination of organic andinorganic materials.

In today’s time awarenessabout chemical-laden products isgaining momentum, which is high-lighting the importance of natur-al organic skincare products. Thisincreased awareness is makingmore people to switch to organicproducts. While more people aremaking the transition, morebecome mindful about the use ofchemicals in regular everydayproducts and are adapting to thenatural organic skincare regime.

������������ ��������A court-appointed legal guardian defrauds her older

clients and traps them under her care. But her latest markcomes with some unexpected baggage. StarringRosamund Pike, Peter Dinklage and Eiza González, thefilm releases on February 19 on Netflix.

�������������Against the backdrop of a turbulent era in Brazil,

this documentary captures Pelé’s extraordinary pathfrom breakthrough talent to national hero. It releases onFebruary 23 on Netflix.

������������������������A single mother enters a world of twisted mind games

when she begins an affair with her psychiatrist boss whilesecretly befriending his mysterious wife. Starring SimonaBrown, Eve Hewson and Tom Bateman, the TV dramareleases on February 17 on Netflix.

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Sports players are considered asfit individuals who showcasetheir strength, endurance and

flexibility to flex their bodiesthrough tough circumstances andpull through their sport perfor-mance. They train day in and out tohave command over their body andtechniques. Every sport has theirown demands and likewise a train-ing schedule is devised by theircoaches and followed by playersand their parents for optimal perfor-mance. Long ago it was identifiedthat despite best body and technique,something was stopping the playersto achieve their best. On deeperinvestigation it was found that mind

had a role to play in performancewhich was often not understood.With time, coaches, parents andplayers recognised this gap andstarted understanding the need formental training.

Despite increased awareness, thetaboo of visiting a mental health pro-fessional acts as a huge barrier toadopt a positive and progressivechange. Over years sport psycholo-gy (area of specialisation that usespsychological interventions in sportsset up) has found its space and par-ents, coaches and players are reach-ing out to professionals for perfor-mance enhancement.

Winning is still the biggest moti-

vator fore v e r y o n einvolved insports. Evenafter having anemphasis on partic-ipation and excellence, achievingsuccess and avoiding failures takescentre stage for one and all. Whetherone is playing an individual sport ora team sport, chief coach to subor-dinate coaches, sport science expertsalong with player’s parents make acrucial part of the team whichtogether influences the course ofaction for long.

Management of sports playersinvolves binding the entire team

strongly and keeping them on thesame page. In this competitive world,increased exposure to internationalcompetitive events, advances in sup-port from corporate and governmentsectors has led to increased perfor-mance pressure. With time, sportshas moved from mere joy, sense ofsatisfaction to pride and profes-sionalism. The demand to performis so strong that it comes with the tagof “Success at any cost.” But do wereally need success at the cost of our

mental peace?Mental health

when dis-t u r b e d

affects one’s ability to recognise theself-potential and gets bogged downby stress. Talent wasted due to lackof professional help at right time cannever stand the spirit of sports.Hence, it becomes essential to learnthe mind-body connection and men-tal toughness to become resilient intesting moments of matches.

It’s scientifically proven thatexercise promotes positive mentalhealth but sometimes this observa-tion doesn’t hold true. With increas-ing competition, competitive stress,pressure of expectations, financialcrisis, logistic issues and infrastruc-tural concerns, the challenges to per-form good are not just vested in tal-ent but in things beyond one’s con-trol too.

Anxiety, depression, personali-ty disorder, mood disorders, panic,PTSD, eating disorders as well as

more serious mental health issuesare coming to surface in popu-

lation as young as age 10. Thepeak years of sport perfor-mance and the onset of mul-tiple mental health issuescoincide and thus, this factof understanding theunderlying issues whichneed attention are simplyside-lined. While themind of a player is mostimportant, even themind-set of their coach-

es and the parents areequally important. It is

essential to create a holisticapproach in bringing a

change in their perspectivestowards winning and success. Lackof time, resources, myths that it isonly for elite players have beenwiped-out; the need of the hour ismental health training for all.

(The writer is a sports psycholo-gist.)

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ANKITA RALLIES TO WIN TOUR OPENERMelbourne: :�� �� ���� � ����� ��� �� $� �������������� ���" ����� ����� ������� ��������7%� %��� �"��� � �� � �����,��� � � �"�� 6� �������+��� ������������� �� :�����%�������������������� ������������� �����������:��� ��),H�/,(�/,. � ��� ��� �� ����� �� ��� S.I)�.IG ���� ����������������%�����,�������((� ������ �� ��������� ����������������,� ��� �����������()/����(G(�:�������������������� ��������������� ���,()*�

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MAN UTD TITLE PUSH LOSES STEAMWest Bromwich: 1��������� � ��� �M�������� ������� �� �� ������� �� ���� �� 8����� �������1���������+ ����#�������������&�M��� ����������� � ������� � � (,( ���� �� ������� �� 7���#���� �����������;��!��������������&�� ��������������1����' ����&�������,� ��������� ������ �������9������������������ �� ����������������"�������������������,� ��� ��� �(-����������������� ��������� � ����#�� � ���������������� ������������������,��������� ����� ��������� ������ ��� � �� �� ����� �� ���� � ��� � ���� ���������� �������� %��� ��"�� ���"� 8� ������ ��������� ����� ��� � � ��"�� � ��� ��� �� + ��� �����"������ ������ ,!�����

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India took command of thesecond Test after an exhilarat-ing day two when 15 wickets

fell on a rapidly deteriorating pitchwith star spinner RavichandranAshwin ensuring a massive firstinnings lead for the hosts with his29th five-wicket haul, here onSunday.

Resuming the day at 300 forsix, Rishabh Pant took India to329 in their first innings with anunbeaten 58 before running outof partners.

Ashwin (5/43) and companythen bundled out England for 134on a pitch that is getting morevicious by each passing session.The 34-year-old picked up his sec-ond five-wicket haul of the seriesby uprooting the stumps of num-ber 11 Stuart Broad.

By close of play, India were 53for one in the second innings,extending their lead to 249 runs.

Wickets fell in a heap onSunday but it was by no means anunplayable surface, as demon-strated by Rohit Sharma on theopening day and with 25 off 62,he was going strong even bystumps on day two. CheteshwarPujara (7 batting off 18) was at theother end.

However, barring Ben Foakes(42 not out), England batsmenhad no answers to the challengeposed by the Indian bowlers.The sweep shot that came to theirrescue in much easier conditionsin the previous Test, broughttheir downfall including Root.

So far, the script has playedout perfectly for India, who wonthe all important toss on theopening day and put up a decentenough total on a dustbowl intheir bid to level the series.

Ishant provided the first

breakthrough for India when hehad left-handed opener RoryBurns LBW for a duck with a ballthat nipped back and beat his

defensive push.The other opener Dom Sibley

(16) was the next to go, caught byVirat Kohli at leg-slip off Ashwin,

which was given by the thirdumpire after India chose to reviewas the on-field umpire turneddown the appeal for a catch.

The big wicket of captain JoeRoot (6), who tormented thehost bowlers in the first Test, wastaken by debutant Axar Patel

when the England captain’sattempted sweep against the turnlanded safely in the hands ofAshwin at short fine-leg.

Ashwin then struck at thestroke of lunch, having DanLawrence (9) caught at short-legby Shubman Gill reducingEngland to 39 for four.

India claimed another four inthe post-lunch session to leaveEngland gasping at 106 for eightat tea.

Ashwin added two morescalps to his tally whileMohammed Siraj (1/5), who wasintroduced as late as in the 39thover, debutant Axar Patel (2/40)and Ishant Sharma (2/22) also didthe damage.

Ashwin got the big wicket ofBen Stokes in the sixth over afterlunch. The left-hander missed anattempted clip off a beauty thatdrifted in and lost his off-stump.

Ollie Pope (22), who lookedassured against the spinners, wasbrilliantly caught by a divingRishabh Pant when he tried toglide one down the leg-side, togive Mohammed Siraj a wicket offthe first ball he bowled in Tests inIndia.

Foakes, who impressed withhis keeping skills when Indiabatted, showed his abilities infront of the wickets too. He bat-ted with poise against the spin-ners, who were looking to makethe most of a helping pitch.

Moeen Ali, coming in atnumber eight, fell when his edgehit Pant’s thighs and rebounded toAjinkya Rahane who took a finecatch diving forward.

Earlier resuming the day at300 for six, India added 29 runsto their overnight score. Theaggressive Pant scored 25 of thoseruns, hitting two fours and twosixes to remain unbeaten.

For England, pacer Olly Stonefinished with 3 for 47 in his firstgame in India. Off-spinner Ali (4for 128) picked up four wicketsbut proved expensive.

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Gutsy Naomi Osaka saved twomatch points to outlast Garbine

Muguruza in a tense comebackwhile Serena Williams was pushedto a decider but prevailed againstAryna Sabalenka in a thriller onSunday and reach the AustralianOpen quarter-finals.

Hsieh Su-wei swept into her firstGrand Slam quarter-final after 16years of trying becoming the oldestplayer to make a last-eight debut inthe Open Era. Also, Simona Halepfought back from a set down to beatFrench Open champion Iga Swiatek3-6, 6-1, 6-4.

Third seed Osaka as on the vergeof elimination at 3-5, 15-40 on herserve in the third set before rattlingoff four points in a row.

She then twice broke the serveof the two-time Grand Slam winnerMuguruza to prevail 4-6, 6-4, 7-5 inone hour and 55 minutes of grippingaction on an empty Rod LaverArena.

She will now have an all-Asianquarter-final against Chinese Taipeiveteran Hsieh Su-wei, who upset19th seed Marketa Vondrousova 6-

4, 6-2 in the fourth round.The 35-year-old overwhelmed

Vondrousova, a player 14 years herjunior. Hsieh got a early break in the

opening set and never looked trou-bled in win over the 19th seed, aplayer she also toppled in an AbuDhabi warm-up event in January.

SERENA SURVIVES ONSLAUGHTSerena Williams outlasted big-

hitting Aryna Sabalenka in a three-set thriller to make Australian Openquarter-finals.

The American withstood a bar-rage from the seventh seed to pre-vail 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 in two hours andnine minutes and set up a mouth-watering clash with world numbertwo Simona Halep.

Williams, 39, had never beforeplayed the Belarusian, who has col-lected more trophies than anyoneelse since last year French Open butnever reached the quarter-finals ofa Slam. Sabalenka, who has spokenabout modelling her big-hittinggame on Williams, showed off herpower with blistering serves andgroundstrokes in the high-octanecontest.

A composed Williams, watchedby older sister Venus in the stands,counter-attacked superbly in theearly stages and broke Sabalenka’sserve in the 10th game to win the

opening set.Sabalenka, who was born four

months after Williams made herGrand Slam debut in 1998, wasunperturbed and stepped up herassault to dominate Williams’ usu-ally reliable serve.

The 22-year-old admonishedherself before drawing level bypouncing on Williams’s falteringfirst serve, which she landed just 36%of the time in the second set.

Williams regrouped and raced toa commanding 4-1 lead in the thirdset as a frustrated Sabalenkaslammed her racquet to theground as the match began toslip away.

Sabalenka won threestraight games to get back onterms but Williams’s experience sawher through as she maintained herunbeaten run since emerging from14-day quarantine in Australia.

Halep exacted revenge onSwiatek with a comeback three-setvictory, which set up a blockbusterquarter-final with Serena Williams.

The world No 2 was thrashed bythe 19-year-old at Roland Garros,winning just three games, but turnedthe tide in Melbburne.

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The West Indies beat Bangladesh by 17 runs inthe second Test on Sunday to complete a 2-0

series sweep.Rahkeem Cornwall claimed 4/105 and com-

pleted a superb catch at first slip to end the matchas the tourists bowled out Bangladesh for 213 inthe second innings on the fourth day, 18 runs shortof their victory target.

While Cornwall took centerstage, KraiggBrathwaite (3/25) and Jomel Warrican (3/47)grabbed the remaining wickets as Bangladesh werebowled out for 213 on the fourth day.

The West Indies made 409 and 117 runs intheir two innings and Bangladesh were all out for296 in their first innings. The tourists had wonthe first Test by three wickets. which was anoth-er thriller with debutant Kyle Mayers scoring arecord-breaking fourth-inning double century.

Cornwall took centrestage as spinners pickedup all 10 wickets in a famous win.

Mehidy Hasan hit two sixes and three fourslate in the day to add drama after the hosts losttheir ninth wicket but the West Indies kept theircool to deny them a come-from-behind win.

“I would say this is a team effort. The one-day team didn’t do well. But we had some plansand came on top,” said skipper Kraigg Brathwaite.

The West Indies had lost the ODI series 3-0.“Coming over here with all the protocols in

place, it is huge,” he added.“Very thankful for this opportunity. I’m very

proud of the boys. It means everything backhome.”

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Give Rishabh Pant a“break” from constant

comparisons and let him gofrom strength to strength, hissenior India teammateRavichandran Ashiwn sug-gested on Sunday.

Be it for his keeping orbatting, be it with one ofIndia’s greatest or any otherplayer, Pant needs a breakfrom all sorts of comparisons,expressed Ashiwn, who hasbeen keeping the youngstumper on his toes withdeliveries that look like fetch-ing their team wickets everynow and then.

“He was constantly com-pared with the great MSDhoni for a long time. Now hegets compared for his wicket-keeping with (Wriddhiman)Saha, this that and all that,sometimes it’s just better togive a break and let peoplebuild on confidence,” Ashwinsaid at the end of the secondday’s play during which hecollected his 29th five-for inTest cricket.

On his swashbucklingw i c k e t k e e p e r- b a t s m a n ,Ashwin continued, “Withrespect to Rishabh’s keeping,

the name of the game is con-fidence right, he has beenbatting well, he has beenworking incredibly hard onhis keeping as well...

“And sometimes, whenyou are constantly being com-

pared to someone who hasdone well for years, it can bereally hard, I really do feel forRishabh, on a lot occasions,when I am watching gamesfrom home where he is play-ing the white-ball format.

“He has definitely got theability, that is why he is here

and I have no doubt he will gofrom strength to strength.”

After playing a key role inIndia’s incredible series win inAustralia last month, Pantsaid the comparisons withDhoni are flattering but addedhe wants to carve his ownidentity in the game.

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Pakistan clinched a four-wicket vic-tory over South Africa in the third

and final T20I with eight balls to spareat the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore onSunday to clinch the series 2-1.

South Africa were all at sea anddespite heroics from David Miller,who scored an unbeaten 85, andTabraiz Shamsi’s career-best of 4-25,Pakistan were too good for the visitorsas Hasan Ali and Mohammad Nawazclubbed 20 runs off the penultimateover, bowled by Andile Phehlukwayo(2.4-0-37-0), to clinch the game and theseries with some space to spare.

Babar Azam had won the toss andhad asked Heinrich Klaasen’s men to batfirst. South Africa had slumped to 48for six and 67 for seven before Miller’sexploits pushed the South Africaneffort to a respectable 164 for eight.

Miller clubbed five boundariesand seven sixes, four of which came inthe final over of the innings, bowled byFaheem Ashraf (3-0-38-0), in his 45-ballinnings after the entire South Africanbatting order had been caught like adeer in the headlights.

In reply, Shamsi had bamboozledthe Pakistan top-order to leave SouthAfrica with hope of clinching a victo-ry from the jaws of defeat but a lack of

support proved the difference asPakistan reached 169 for six with stilleight balls remaining in the match.

The only support Miller received inthe South African effort was from open-er Janneman Malan. The Cobras manstruck three fours and a six from 17 ballsbefore being trapped leg before fromdebutant legspinner, Zihad Mahmood(4-0-40-3).

For Pakistan, Mohammad Rizwan,who scored a century and a fifty in thefirst two games, along with new part-ner Haider Ali (15), gave the home sidea good start with an opening stand of51 from just 37 balls.

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Atired-looking Dominic Thiembecame the highest seed to fall

at this year’s Australian Open whenthe US Open champion was senttumbling out in straight sets byGrigor Dimitrov in the fourthround on Sunday while ailing worldNo 1 Novak Djokovic battled pastMilos Raonic to keep his titledefence alive.

The night match’s schedulinggave Djokovic the maximum

amount of time to recover froma midriff muscle injury sus-tained in his five-set winover American Taylor Fritzlate on Friday. And not oper-

ating at his best, Djokovicdropped a set but won 7-6(4), 4-6,6-1, 6-4 in a bruising battle. It wasthe Serb’s win No 300 in Grand Slamevents.

Earlier, Thiem, the Austrianthird seed and last year’s losing final-ist, appeared to lack energy after ral-lying to beat Nick Kyrgios over fivegruelling sets on Friday in front ofa raucous crowd. He struggled tomatch the intensity of the 18th-seed-

ed Bulgarian on a silent, fan-freeRod Laver Arena and slumped out6-4, 6-4, 6-0 in 2hr 1min.

Former world No 3 Dimitrovwill now play giant-killing Russianqualifier Aslan Karatsev in thequarter-finals after he stunned 20thseed Felix Auger-Aliassime over fivesets. The power-hitting 27-year-old,a virtual unknown before the tour-nament started, battled back fromtwo sets down to upset the Canadian

3-6, 1-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 on MargaretCourt Arena.

Also, Alexander Zverev tottedup his 50th Grand Slam win whenhe beat Serbia’s Dusan Lajovic instraight sets to reach the quarter-finals.

The German sixth seed wastested in the first two sets butfound it easier in the third, sealinghis 6-4, 7-6 (7/5), 6-3 victory withan ace.

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�� �� With apologies toHarbhajan Singh, R Ashwin onSunday cherished surpassing hisformer India teammate’s numberof Test wickets in the country.

With 266 scalps, Ashiwn isnow only behind spin legendAnil Kumble’s 350 wickets inhome Tests. Ashwin went pastHarbhajan, who took 265 wicketsin India at an average of 28.76, bydismissing Ben Stokes with aperfect off-spinner on the second

day of the second Test.“When I was watching the

2001 series where Bhajju Pa(Harbhajan) was playing, I didn’teven imagine that I would go outand become an off-spinner for thecountry.

“I was still a batsman for mystate, trying to accelerate a careertowards batting and playing forthe country, I wasn’t sure whetherI would go on and become a play-er for the Indian team,” Ashwin

said at a post-day conference.The 34-year-old Ashwin, who

has so far taken 391 wickets from76 Tests at an impressive averageof 25.26, was not aware of his featuntil he had come for the mediainteraction at the end of the day’splay.

According to Ashwin, a lot ofhis teammates, when he wasyoung, would make fun of him ashe used to try bowling likeHarbhajan.

“Lot of my teammates fromthat age, from that generation, youknow, used to make fun of me,because I used to bowl like BhajjuPa, my action, I used to try andbowl like him and all that.

“So, from there on to comeone and actually break the recordof something that he possesses,has to be incredibly special. I did-n’t know of it, now that I do knowof it, I feel happy. Sorry, BhajjuPa...,” said Ashwin. PTI

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Pant needs break from constant comparisons: Ash �� �� It is an incrediblychallenging surface, saidEngland assistant coachGraham Thorpe as Indiatook upper hand after dis-missing England for 134 intheir f irst innings onSunday.

“It is a very challengingsurface that is what I amgoing to say. In terms of mecommenting on the pitch Ithink that is for someoneabove me to look at.

“It was incredibly chal-lenging on that surface forus on day two. Theirs isobviously a very skilled spinattack as well on their ownconditions. And it was avery good toss to win,”Thorpe said at press confer-ence.

Decisions by the third

umpire have come in forcriticism in the match so farand on Sunday there was anissue over Rohit Sharmabeing ruled not out onreview after he was ruled outby the on-field umpire.

However, Thorpeoffered straight bat, saying“we have to accept the deci-sion.”

“We have to trust thetechnology...That’s really allI can say,” the formerEngland batsman said to aquestion if there was a senseof frustration with theDecision Review System.

Asked how the Englandbatsmen would need to baton a tricky pitch like the onehere, Thorpe said the bats-men had plans but could notexecute. PTI

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