Actor Vidya Balan says the tragic death ofSushant Singh Rajput has become amedia circus

HARD TALK

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The pandemic has brought hard times for manyfarmers and has imperiled food security for millions

HARD TIMES

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VOLUME 10, ISSUE 152 | www.orissapost.com

LEISURE | P2

Sun Temple in Konark reopens forvisitors after remaining shut for overfive months DOWNTOWN | P3

SUN TEMPLE REOPENS

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We should honour it. It took blame for our past and present failures and

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Lightning kills 6people in stateAnandapur/Jaleswar: At leastsix people including a 12-year-old girl were killed and twoothers injured after they werestruck by lightning in differentplaces of Odisha Tuesday,police said. While four personswere killed in separatelightning incidents in Keonjhardistrict, two others died and asmany received injuries insimilar mishaps during rain andthunderstorm in Balasoredistrict. The minor girl died aslightning struck her when shewas playing in front of herhouse at Pandua village.

BHUBANESWAR | WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 2 | 2020

Covid penaltiesgo up many folds

New Delhi: Fuel prices haverisen again after a one daypause as oil marketingcompanies (OMC) increasedthe pump prices of petrol onceagain by 5 paisa per litreTuesday. The OMCs, however,reduced the price of aviationturbine fuel (ATF) by close to`1,500 per kilo litre (kl) andkept the price of non-subsidised cooking gas andauto gas unchanged from lastmonth. With minor increase inpetrol prices, the pump priceof the fuel in Delhi has gone upto `82.08 a litre.

Petrol prices rise,ATF turns cheaper

AGENCIES

New Delhi, Sept 1: The Supreme CourtTuesday granted 10 years to telecomfirms such as Vodafone Idea, BhartiAirtel and Tata Teleservices for payingthe Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR)-re-lated dues to the Department ofTelecommunications (DoT) with certainconditions.

The SC asked telcos to pay 10 per centof the AGR-related dues by March 31,2021. A bench headed by Justice ArunMishra held that the demand made bythe DoT and the verdict delivered bythe top court in the matter are final.The bench asked the Managing Directorsor Chief Executive Officer of the telcosconcerned to furnish undertaking orpersonal guarantee within four weeksfor payment of dues. Failure to pay theinstalments of the dues would incurpenalty, interest and contempt of court,the bench cautioned the telecom firms.

The top court said that issue of saleof spectrum by telcos facing insolvencyproceedings shall be decided by theNational Company Law Tribunal (NCLT).The bench delivered its verdict on theissues, including the time line for stag-gered payment of AGR-related duesamounting to about `1.6 lakh crore.

While pronouncing the verdict, thebench said that till the last instalmentis paid by the telcos, their bank guaranteesfurnished to the DoT would be kept alive.During an earlier hearing, the benchhad also heard arguments on the pointas to whether spectrum can be sold bytelecom companies facing proceedings

under the Insolvency and BankruptcyCode (IBC) and how the AGR-relateddues can be recovered from them.

The top court had in October 2019delivered verdict on the AGR issue, pri-marily its definition for calculating gov-ernment dues of telecom companiessuch as licence fee and spectrum usagecharges. The DoT in March this yearmoved a plea seeking permission forallowing staggered payment of the duesby telcos over a period of 20 years.

The bench reserved the verdict onJuly 20 on staggered payments, sayingthat it will not hear "even for a second"the arguments on reassessment or re-cal-culation of the AGR-related dues. Priorto this, it had asked the telecom com-panies to file their books of accounts forlast ten year and give a reasonable timeframe for clearing the dues.

It had said that the period of 15-20years sought by some telecos was not rea-sonable and had asked the Centre as to

how it would secure the payment ofdues by them. The DoT had earlier saidthat no demand has been raised againstReliance Jio and Airtel for part dues ofReliance Communications (RCom) andVideocon respectively.

On August 21, the top court directedthe DoT to apprise it of spectrum shar-ing done by telecom companies andhow much is the liability of the sharers.

It asked the DoT secretary to file a spe-cific affidavit apprising it about whowas using the spectrum from the dateof grant of licence and from which datethe respective sharing of spectrum hastaken place. It had asked the DoT whatwas the amount paid by Reliance Jio forusing 23 per cent of RelianceCommunication spectrum. On August20, the top court had expressed concernover non-payment of AGR-related duesby telecom companies which are underinsolvency saying "without paying forthe horse, telcos are taking a ride".

10 YEARS TO TELCOSTO CLEAR AGR DUES

OSRTC buses toply from today

AGENCIES

Paris, Sept 1: The French satir-ical paper whose staff was deci-mated in a violent attack by Islamicextremists in 2015 is reprintingcaricatures of the ProphetMohammed cited by the killers,declaring "history cannot be rewrit-ten nor erased."

The announcement Tuesdaycame on the eve of the first trialfor the January 2015 attacks againstCharlie Hebdo and, two days later,a kosher supermarket.

The killings touched off a waveof violence claimed by the IslamicState g roup across Europe.Seventeen people died — 12 ofthem at the editorial offices —along with all three attackers.

Thirteen men and a woman ac-

cused of providing the attackerswith weapons and logistics go ontrial Wednesday.

In an editorial this week ac-companying the caricatures, the

paper best known for vulgar ir-reverence said that although ithad declined to publish carica-tures of Mohammed since the at-tacks, doing so for the opening of

the trial was necessary. “The onlyreasons not to stem from politi-cal or journalistic cowardice,” theeditorial said.

As the attackers, brothers Chérifand Said Kouachi, walked awayfrom the carnage, they cried out“We have avenged the Prophet.”Claiming the attacks in the nameof al-Qaida, they then killed awounded policeman point-blankand drove away.

Two days later, a jailhouse ac-quaintance of theirs stormed akosher supermarket on the eve ofthe Jewish Sabbath, killing fourhostages and claiming allegianceto the Islamic State group. TheKouachi brothers had by thenholed up in a printing office withanother hostage. All three attackersdied in near-simultaneous police

raids. The supermarket attacker,Amedy Coulibaly, also killed ayoung policewoman.

The caricatures re-publishedthis week were first printed in2006 by the Danish newspaperJyllands Posten, setting off some-times violent protests by Muslimswho believe depicting Mohammedis blasphemy.

Charlie Hebdo, which was thenlittle-known outside France andregularly caricatures religiousleaders from various faiths, re-published them soon afterwards.

The paper's Paris offices werefirebombed in 2011 and its editorialleadership placed under policeprotection, which remains in placeto this day. Laurent Sourisseau,the paper's director and one of thefew staff to have survived the at-

tack, named each of the victims ina foreword to this week's edition.

“Rare are those who, five yearslater, dare oppose the demandsthat are still so pressing from re-ligions in general, and some inparticular,” wrote Sourisseau, whois also known as Riss.

Three of the accused, includ-ing the wife of one of the attack-ers, will not be at the trial becausethey are abroad and it's not knownif they're alive or dead. Most ofthe 11 who will appear in courtsay they knew it was for a crimebut claim they had no idea it wasfor mass killings.

Among those inside the marketwas Lassana Bathily, an employeewhose home village in Mali was just20 ki l ometer s from that o fCoulibaly's.

POST NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi, Sept 1: India's top se-curity and defence authoritiesare currently meeting to discussthe fresh Chinese incursions inIndian territory at Pangong Tso ineastern Ladakh. "A high-levelmeeting is underway to discuss theongoing situation and future strat-egy in Ladakh," said a govern-ment source.

Union Defence Minister RajnathSingh, External Affairs MinisterS. Jaishankar, National SecurityAdvisor Ajit Doval, Chief ofDefence Staff General Bipin Rawat,Ar my Chief General MMNaravane and Director GeneralMilitary Operations Lt GenParamjit Singh are holding dis-cussions on the further course ofaction.

The meeting is happening afterIndian and Chinese troops were en-gaged in a brief skirmish at thesouthern bank of the PangongLake. The Chinese brought inclose to 450 troops but the IndianArmy said an attempt to change

the status quo was thwarted.Sources said Chinese People's

Liberation Army with help ofropes and other climbing equip-ment started climbing at a table-top area between Black Top andThakung Heights at Pangong Tso,south bank. Hearing the commo-tion Indian Army was alerted andswung into action.

Earlier, Indian intelligence agen-cies had alerted Indian Armyabout the Chinese's PLA plans tochange status quo in other areasalong Line of Actual Control.Thereafter, despite skirmishesbetween both armies things did notescalate. When Chinese troopssaw the strength of Indian Armytroops, the skirmishes stopped.

AGENCIES

New Delhi, Sept 1: The morato-rium period on repayment of loansduring the COVID-19 pandemicis “extendable” by two years andseveral steps have been taken tohelp the stressed sectors, the Centreand the RBI told the SupremeCourt Tuesday.

A bench headed by JusticeAshok Bhushan was informed bySolicitor General Tushar Mehta,appearing for the Centre and RBIthat the economy contracted bynearly 24 per cent in the April-June quarter due to coronavirus-related lockdown and restrictions.

The bench, also comprisingJustices RS Reddy and MR Shah,said it would hear Wednesday thepleas which have raised the issueof interest being charged on in-stalments which have been de-ferred under the RBI's schemeduring the moratorium period.

At the outset, Mehta told thebench that the Centre has filedits affidavit in the matter. When thecourt said it has not yet receivedthe affidavit, he said the benchshould look into it and the matterbe listed after two-three days.

Mehta said several steps havebeen taken for stressed sectors.“Let the Centre, RBI and bankersput their heads together on theaspect of interest on interest,” hesaid. “The moratorium is ex-tendable by two years,” he added.Mehta said authorities have utilisedthe time and narrowed down theissue to the point on interest.“There are stressed sectors and na-tional economy has contracted by23 per cent,” he said, adding, “I havefiled the affidavit and heavens willnot fall if the matter is taken aftertwo-three days or tomorrow.”

Odisha No 1 in deaths due toshort-circuit, 2nd in snakebites

Security brass discussestack to deal with China

Loan moratoriumextendable by 2 yrs,Centre, RBI tell SC

Charlie Hebdo, attacked in 2015, reprints Mohammed caricatures

BANKS EXPOSURE IndusInd Bank `1,058.2 crPNB `12,644 crYES Bank `3,057 crICICI Bank `17,246.6 crAxis Bank `21,271 crSBI `45,033 cr

POST NEWS NETWORK

Bhubaneswar, Sept 1: With fur-ther easing in Covid restrictionsallowed, state-run Odisha StateRoad Transport Corporation(OSRTC) has decided to resumeservices on 29 routes across thestate from Wednesday.

CMD of OSRTC Arun Bothrasaid they are resuming regularservice on 29 routes in 14 depotsfrom Wednesday onwards. Hesaid no standing passengers will beallowed in buses. Wearing of maskswill be compulsory for all com-muters. No one will be allowed toboard buses without masks, Bothrasaid. The passengers are requestednot to crowd in the buses. Additionalcleaning measures have been putin place to disinfect buses, he added.

In accordance with the policyand direction of the Chief Minister,the OSRTC has been active inhelping JEE candidates. On req-uisition by authorities, buses arebeing provided for movement ofstudents, Bothra said.

However, private bus operatorsare not in a mood to resume op-erations in a full-fledged mannerdue to low turnout of passengers.“Until people do not feel com-fortable to move in buses, it is dif-ficult to start operation in a full-fledged manner, ” said All OdishaPrivate Bus Owners Associationspokesperson Debasish Nayak.He requested the government tocreate awareness among people sothat they can travel in buses.

Transport minister PadmanabhaBehera said he hopes bus serviceswill return to normalcy “Thoughwe resumed government services,we had to suspend it due to lowpassengers. When footfalls rise,more owners will come forwardto run their buses,” said Behera.

10 PER CENT OF THE TOTAL DUES TO BE PAID UPFRONT BY MARCH 31, 2021

POST NEWS NETWORK

Bhubaneswar, Sept 1: Odisha sawa rise in deaths due to accidental firecaused by electric short-circuit in2019. The latest report by theNational Crime Records Bureau(NCRB) on ‘Accidental Deaths andSuicides’ for 2019 revealed that thestate tops the list of states with thehighest number of deaths causedby electric short circuit while it isamong the top three states withmost deaths due to accidental firein 2019.

As many as 970 accidental firesin Odisha during 2019 resulted indeaths of 971 persons that included768 male and 203 females. OnlyKerala and Madhya Pradesh sawmore deaths. Meanwhile, the num-ber of male victims in Odisha dueto fire accidents far exceeded thenumber elsewhere during 2019.

Similarly, fire due to electricshort circuit resulted in deaths of279 persons including 265 male and14 females in 2019 – the highest in

the country. Odisha reported only12 and 11 deaths due to fire causedby short circuit in 2018 and 2017respectively. The staterecorded 23 times morecasualties due to shortcircuit fire in 2019 ascompared to the previ-ous year’s toll of just 12.

Uttar Pradesh recorded188 deaths and 48 injuries inas many as 224 fire incidents dueto electric short circuit during thesame year.

The report also revealed that1,466 persons died due to naturalcauses in 2019 as compared to 1196in 2018. The number of deaths dueto lightning declined to 271 in 2019from 299 in 2018. The report alsobrought to the fore a continuousspike in the number of deaths dueto venomous snakebites. As manyas 1,047 persons comprising 801males and 246 females fell victim tosnakebites in the state in 2019. Thetoll under this category was 973 in2018 and 844 in 2017.

Similarly, other animals killed 112while reptiles killed 16 persons in

2019. 106 persons died after theyaccidentally ate poisonous

insects in 2019. Meanwhile, fewer

deaths happened due todrowning in 2019 as com-pared to the previous

year. As many as 1,234persons drowned in 2019 as

compared to 1,275 in 2018. Boat cap-size incidents drastically droppedin 2019. However, 443 persons diedafter they fell into water in 2019 asagainst 375 in 2018.NO FARMER ‘SUICIDE’

The report claimed that no farmerhas committed suicide in the stateduring 2019. This ran counter to astatement made by a minister on thefloor of Assembly that two farmershad committed suicide in the state.Meanwhile, various political par-ties accused the state governmentof suppressing facts related to farm-ers’ suicides after similar claims bythe NCRB report in 2018 as well.

ACCIDENTALDEATHS & SUICIDES

REPORT, 2019

POST NEWS NETWORK

Bhubaneswar, Sept 1: Toensure strict adherence toCovid-19 regulations by peo-ple, the state governmenteffected sharp increase infines for violations of normsthat could go up to `1 lakh.

The health and familywelfare department revisedthe Odisha Covid-19 regu-lations, 2020 to raise the fineslabs. Now, one will pay`1,000 for not wearing masksand splitting in public forfirst two offences and ̀ 5,000for third time onwards

If over 10 people gather atone place, person organizingthe event will pay `1 lakhfine. In case of any exigen-cies, concerned DistrictCollector or municipal com-missioner will give the per-mission in writing.

For violation of physicaldistance norms, one has topay `2,000 for the first of-fence and `10,000 for sub-sequent offences. In case ofcommercial establishments,

the owner of the shop willpay `50,000 for the first in-stance and `1 lakh for sub-sequent offences.

The government has al-lowed participation of amaximum of 50 persons in-cluding bride and groomfor a marriage function and20 for funeral function. Ifthe norms are violated in amarriage function, the gov-ernment will impose ̀ 1 lakhon the organiser. Individualsparticipating in the mar-riage will pay ̀ 2,000 for firsttime and `10,000 for nextoffences.

Similarly, for violation ofregulations in funeral func-tions, the fine amount for theorganiser was fixed at ̀ 50,000while the individuals par-ticipating in the function willhave to pay `2,000 first timeand `10,000 for further of-fences. All officers not belowthe rank of additional BDO,additional tehasildar, policeSI and zonal officer or deputycommissioner of ULBs canimpose fines.

Mumbai: Formerbeauty queen and ac-

tress Manushi Chhillar isstarting a social media cam-paign on nutrition. She wantsto tell people about the pos-itives of eating right.

“I have been told repeat-edly that we are what weeat and we have to be verycognizant about what weintake,” said Manushi onNational Nutrition Week,which commenced onTuesday.

She added: “Proper nu-trition has manifoldhealth benefits andthrough my social media,

I intend to tell as many peo-ple as possible about the pos-itives one can unlock by eating right.”

Manushi credits her doc-tor parents for inculcatingthe knowledge about howproper nutrition can bea game-changer.

“My parents are doc-tors and they have al-ways told me thatour eating habitsdefine our totalhealth. With thislearning, I havebeen able to leada very balanced

life because awareness aboutnutrition is key for anyone tounderstand whether they areplanning their meals correctly,”

she said.IANS

Mumbai: Actress VidyaBalan Tuesday stated thatit was unfortunate howthe tragic death of SushantSingh Rajput had become

a media circus. She alsocriticised the ‘mediatrials’ of actress RheaChakraborty.

Vidya’s contentioncame in response toTe l u g u a c t re s sLakshmi Manchu’s

tweet about Rhea Monday.Lakshmi had tweeted seek-ing justice for both Sushantand Rhea. She had addedthat she would want col-leagues to stand up for herif she ever faced the situ-ation that Rhea was cur-rently going through. Inthe note, Lakshmi also saidthat ‘media trials’ hadmade a ‘monster out of agirl’. Her post was re-

tweeted by actress TaapseePa n nu , wh o a g re e d with her.

I n re s p o n s e, Vi dyawrote: “God bless you,Lakshmi Manchu for say-ing this out loud. It is so un-fortunate that the tragicand untimely death of abeloved young star SushantSingh Rajput has becomea media circus.”

IANS

Mumbai: Actionstar TigerShroff has lefthis fans inawe by liftinga whopping220 kilos ofweight.

In a newInstagram video theactor has shared, he is seen doingdeadlifts with 220 kilos.

Looking totally in shape in ablack vest and black pants, Tigerseemed to be in the mood for somebanter, too. He mentioned the weightswere heavy!

“Excuse the war cries...that feltheavy af @rajendradhole #220kgs-deadlift,” he wrote.

Tiger’s friends and colleagueswere stunned seeing the video.

His rumoured girlfriend and ac-

tress Disha Patanidropped clapping emo-

jis, while Tiger'smotherAyeshaShroff

wrote:“Insane”.Actor

Sikandar Kherwrote: “Super.. nexttime try a bicep curlwith that.”

Tiger’s sisterKrishna Shroff ’sbeau Eban Hyam’scommented: “Beastmode”.

Rapper Yo YoHoney Singhsaid: “O balleyShera.”

IANS

P2 JORDAN WISHES HE HAD MORE TIME WITH BOSEMAN

leisure Actor Michael B. Jordan has penned anemotional Instagram tribute for his friend andcolleague Chadwick Boseman. “I’ve been tryingto find the words, but nothing comes close tohow I feel. I wish we had more time,” he wrote.

Actor Johnny Depp has put in a request to delaythe $50 million defamation trial as it overlaps withhis Fantastic Beasts 3 shoot. Depp has filed a suitagainst former wife Amber Heard which was listedfor a hearing, reports deadline.com.

WEDNESDAY | SEPTEMBER 2 | 2020 | BHUBANESWAR

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AQUARIUSYou may find your sched-ules running haywiretoday! Your workloadmay be daunting, espe-cially if you're an administrator. However,Ganesha says your diligence and commit-ment will tide you through.

PISCESFinancial bearings will beat the fore front of yourattention today, feelsGanesha. Bank accounts,stocks, loans and other such things willdominate your thoughts and words. Earningmoney will be your primary goal and youwill focus on those methods that will bemost profitable to you, today.

SAGITTARIUSBenevolence will be yourmiddle name today.Being frank and open-minded will have its ownadvantages. You might just give your lifepartner a patient ear. This will makethem feel treated well, says Ganesha.

LIBRAIt is your friends whoprove to be lucky andbeneficial for you today,especially if they hap-pen to be walking the corridors ofpower, says Ganesha. Do not hesitate tostart that new joint venture today. Seeyour popularity grow by leaps andbounds as you get due recognition foryour abilities and efforts.

SCORPIOThere is nothing moreenchanting and alluring toyou than some passionatetime with your love inter-est. The only problem that Ganeshasees here is that there may be toomany love interests. Your chosen part-ner, though, may get to see a differentside of you in the evening.

LEOYour competitors willtry to malign your repu-tation today. They willtry to spoil your imageand impression in front of others. Youneed to be courageous and nip theirefforts in the bud. You need to delegatedecision-making activities to otherstoday. Your wrong decisions need to beburied by you, says Ganesha.

VIRGOGive people a word ofencouragement andmotivate them toachieve bigger things,advises Ganesha. Don the thinker'scap and you may find yourself in con-templation. Criticism will hurt you, butbe as unflappable as you can and pro-ceed to your target, says Ganesha.

GEMINIEmotions, not acidity, willbe the cause of youruneasiness. Somethingimportant is going on in your life and youare nervous. It can be related to a matterconcerning law, ethics, prejudice, educa-tion, or social customs. You are, however,likely to win admiration from all quartersfor your fine taste in arts, says Ganesha.

CANCERThe day looks set to bean ordinary day, for bothwork and play, saysGanesha. Yet, if you areplanning to participate in an event or acompetition today, march ahead, by allmeans. There will, practically, be no onewho'll be able to compete with you.

ARIESToday you will feel likegoing green, and Ganeshaapproves. You could planta sapling, or organise some dustbins tokeep the neighbourhood clean. If you wishto make the world a better place to live in,do it but take it step by step.

FORTUNE FORECAST

TAURUSHoist the sails and pre-pare to leave port. Yoursugar-coated words willseal business deals with ease, predictsGanesha. The activity and action mayslow down as the day progresses. Resistthe urge to get sentimental as it couldlead to conflicts that will haunt you inthe days to come, warns Ganesha.

CAPRICORNToday, you will not be inthe right mood to workor produce expectedresults. Mounting workpressure may further dampen your self-confidence, foretells Ganesha. The dull-ness will vanish in the air by the eveningand you will be back to your happy self.

BREVITY

CALVIN AND HOBBES

PEANUTS CROSSWORDSUDOKU

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post To solve the Sudoku puzzle, each row, column and box must contain the numbers 0 to 9 and the letters A to E.

DEPP WANTS $50MN TRIAL DEFERRED AS IT CLASHES WITH FILMING SCHEDULE

Tiger stuns fanswith 220 kg deadlifts

Now Vidya opens up on Rhea’s ‘media trials’

Manushi starts campaign on nutrition

BHUBANESWAR: Statisticsreveals that children across theworld have been least affected bythe outbreak of coronavirus.They either haven’t suffered atall or have escaped with mildsymptoms. However, the enor-mous psychological toll the lock-downs have on the psyches ofthe kids, those belong to eco-nomically weaker backgroundin particular, is being ignored.

In a bid to support and engagesuch kids creatively, UnmuktFoundation, a city-based organi-sation has recently launched an ini-tiative titled Project Jedi. For theuninitiated, Jedi members arepowerful protagonists of StarWars series, assigned as theguardians of peace and order.

“Our project primarily aimsto mentor children to better theircommunication skills, to makethem aware on environmentalissues, and to create independ-ent learners. To accomplishthis objective, we focus a lot

on mentorship because they’re theone who would be in direct touchwith the kids,” said Shweta Agarwal,a co-founder of the foundation.

Under this initiative, studentsfrom IIMs, NITs, and other top col-leges from diverse educationalbackgrounds have joined the pro-gramme. This apart, entrepre-neurs and people who work forcorporate houses have also joinedthis campaign. The team con-ducts virtual classes and men-torship workshops for Jedi mem-bers to keep them emotionallyhealthy during this pandemic.

Shweta said the project is astory-based module as childrenhave innate attractions for sto-ries. Stories can instil virtues inchildren, make them aware oftheir own culture and roots,broaden their horizons by ex-posing them to different cul-tures and heritage, strengthencognitive and listening skills,and make academic learningeasier, she added.

Project Jedi to honekids’ creative skillsduring pandemic

An online storytelling session underway

Urvashi showcases her 'warrior style workout'Mumbai: Actress Urvashi Rautela works

out like a warrior, going by her new post onsocial media. An Instagram video Urvashi

has posted sees her doing pull-ups with rapperCardi B's number WAP playing in the

background.“#WapChallenge done right in

weighted pull ups warrior styleworkout thank you @iamcardib@theestallion & @kyliejenner,”she captioned the video.

Urvashi is currently inHyderabad shooting for herdebut Telugu film, Black Rose.The fi lm is directed by Sampath Nandi. IANS

PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

Bhubaneswar, Sept 1: Amidststrict enforcement of COVID-19protocols as many as 3,600 studentsfrom the state appeared in the JointEntrance Examination (Main)Tuesday, official sources said.

The students appeared for theexamination in 26 different cen-tres spread across seven cities in thestate. The examination would beheld in two sittings, from 9am to 12-noon and 3pm to 6pm. As many as38, 236 students will be appearingfor the examination in the state.The examination will continue tillSeptember 6, said an official.

“Best wishes to all students ap-pearing for #JEEMain2020 duringthis challenging time. May you allbe successful and come through

with flying colours,” Chief MinisterNaveen Patnaik wished through aTwitter post.

Students are appearing for the

exam at 26 examination centres inseven cities – Bhubaneswar, Cuttack,Rourkela, Dhenkanal, Balasore,Berhampur and Sambalpur – whileadhering to COVID-19 norms.

Before being allowed entry tothe examination halls, the tem-perature of the students waschecked with thermal scanner.They also had to maintain social dis-tancing while entering the exami-nation halls.

The state government has madeelaborate arrangements for move-ment of students and theirguardians by providing them withbuses and accommodation.

“The arrangement made by thestate government has helped manystudents in getting the opportu-nity to appear in the examination.It has immensely helped the studentshailing from rural areas,” saidNirakar Mallick, a JEE aspirantfrom Kendrapara district.

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WEDNESDAY | SEPTEMBER 2 | 2020 | BHUBANESWAR

STATE MOURNING

The Tricolour hoisted half-mast atop the OdishaAssembly in Bhubaneswar,Tuesday, to mourn the demise of former PresidentPranab Mukherjee

INFECTED RECOVERED DEAD

World 2,57,21,294 1,80,15,152 8,56,299

India 36,91,166 28,39,882 65,288

Odisha 1,06,561 80,770 503

COVID-19 TRACKER

POLITICKLE by MANJUL

POST NEWS NETWORK

Bhubaneswar, Se pt 1 : TheBhubaneswar Development Authority(BDA) Tuesday celebrated its 38thfoundation day with release of its an-nual report and distributed the prizesfor children of BDA staff who scoredabove 90 per cent marks in Class Xexam. During the event, BDA Vice-Chairman Prem Chandra Chaudharysaid that engaging interaction be-tween architects, city planners andresidents would help makeBhubaneswar a well-planned city.

Chairing the meeting, the vice-chair-man of the development authoritystated that the BDA has undertakensome major projects including theComprehensive Development Plan(CDP), which incorporates child-

friendly city planning keeping in mindthe next 20 years of vision.

Similarly, other projects such as af-fordable housing, online building planapproval system, road networks re-vamped for improved connectivity,town planning schemes have been in-troduced with a focus on housing for all.

“BDA is the leading agency to ensureproper planning in the city to helpthe city grow in a planned and self-sus-

tainable manner. Besides, BDA hasbeen more people-friendly in its ap-proach to address various complaintsand grievances of public throughadopting a participatory method,"Chaudhary said.

During the event, the vice-chairmanalso unveiled the BDA Annual Report-2020, which has chronicled the per-formance of six different major branchesof the authority and Bhubaneswar

Urban Knowledge Centre (BUKC), atechnical wing of BDA. The BUKCworks in catalysing research on globalbest practices and planning for inno-vative projects under Smart CityProposal to make the city more livable.

Furthermore, Chaudhary urgedmore engaging interaction betweenarchitects, city planners and residentsto make Bhubaneswar a well-planned,culturally vibrant, environmentally sus-tainable, physically resilient and peo-ple-friendly city in the coming days.

At the conclusion, Chaudhary fe-licitated and handed over certificatesto four children of BDA employees, whohave secured more than 90 per centmarks in HSC examination. Theawardees include Jitendra Prusty,Spandan Dash, Sarthak Sovan andSaroj Kumar Baral.

PNN & AGENCIES

Bhubaneswar, Sept 1: With the re-opening of Sun temple at Konarkin Puri district Tuesday, theArchaeological Survey of India(ASI) has said that 2,500 visitorswould be allowed entry every dayin two phases.

Though other ASI-protected mon-uments in the state like Raja-Ranitemple, Udaygiri, Khandagiri,Lalitgiri Buddhist monuments wereopened earlier, the Konark templereceived visitors only September 1,ASI Superintending Officer ArunKumar Mallick said.

He said visitors are allowed entryto the monument following all thenorms set both by Union and stategovernments. Wearing of masksand social distancing have beenmade mandatory for visitors to theheritage site, he said, adding thattourists will also undergo thermalscreening before their entry.

Mallick said visitors can buytickets by scanning QR code in-stalled outside the temple and makepayment online. A total of 2,500visitors will now be allowed entryevery day in two phases. While 1,500visitors will be allowed to visit the

site between 6am and 1pm, another1,000 persons can enter the prem-ises in the afternoon hours.

He said though other ASI siteswere opened earlier, the Sun tem-ple at Konark remained closed tillAugust 31 due to restrictions im-

posed by Puri district administration.

“We have been allowed to openonly non-living temples in the statenow,” Mallick said, adding thatShree Jagannath Temple contin-ues to remain closed since March15 as a precautionary measure tocheck the spread of the infection.

2,500 CAN VISIT SUN TEMPLE DAILYWearing of masks and social distancing

have been made mandatory for thevisitors to the heritage site

Tourists will also undergo thermalscreening before their entry into the

monument

Visitors can buy tickets by scanningQR code installed outside the temple

and make payment online

Atotal of 2,500 visitors will now beallowed entry every day in two

phases—1,500 between 6am and 1pmand 1,000 in the afternoon

Security guards deployed at the entrance of Konark Sun temple, Tuesday

SAFETY MEASURES

POST NEWS NETWORK

Bhubaneswar, Sept 1: The stategovernment has urged the Centreto include Odisha under IntegratedRoad Accident Database (IRAD)system to ensure proper monitor-ing of rising road mishaps.

The Ministry of Road Transportand Highways (MoRTH) with sup-port of IIT-Madras and NationalInformatics Centre (NIC) has de-veloped the IRAD system. The min-istry has planned to roll out theproject in six states with highest fa-talities from road crashes —Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh,Maharashtra, Rajasthan, TamilNadu and Uttar Pradesh on pilotbasis. Later, it will be extended towhole country.

However, the state governmentwanted to be included in the proj-ect on the pilot phase. State Transportand Commerce secretary MadhuSudan Padhi has recently writtento MoRTH director (Road Safety)Paresh Kumar Goel in this regard.

“It is requested to launch IRAD

in the state as a pilot project im-mediately. All required steps willbe taken for successful imple-mentation of the scheme. In thestate, we have a lead agency onroad safety with full time staff tomonitor road safety activities,”Padhi said in his letter. At pres-

ent, the state government is man-ually collecting data on fatal acci-dent or cases with grievous injuryby the officials of RTO and police.

The collection of informationthrough IRAD would help expe-dite the process of identification ofblack spots apart from prioritis-ing and designing theshort/long/medium term meas-ures to mitigate these hazards andmonitoring the impact of theseroad safety measures, he said.

Moreover, Padhi said, digitalrecording of accidents directlyfrom the spot using a hand-heldtablet and geo-tagging of the acci-dent location will also ensure ac-curacy. It will also help achievefaster, better post-processing, analy-sis and presentation of data.

3,600 appear for JEE Main

BHUBANESWAR: BJD’s Odisha-Mo Parivar team provided logis-tical and other required supportto the candidates appearing for theJEE and their parents.

The team has opened six cen-tres in Bhubaneswar and 20 cen-tres in Berhampur, Cuttack,Sambalpur, Rourkela, Balasoreand Dhenkanal to help the JEEMain candidates.

As per the instructions of ChiefMinister Naveen Patnaik, Odisha-Mo Parivar team distributed waterbottles, hand sanitisers and snacks

to the students along with logis-tical support to the students whofaced hurdles in reaching the ex-amination centres. JEE Main ex-amination started Tuesday andwill continue till September 6.

Mo Parivar convener ArupPatnaik along with members en-couraged the students inBhubaneswar while MLAs DebiRanjan Tripathy and SouvikBiswal were present at the helpdesk in Cuttack. Local MLAs andsenior BJD leaders were presentat the help centres in other towns.

Students undergo thermal screening before entering a JEE (Main) examination centre in Bhubaneswar, Tuesday

Mo Parivar’s support for aspirants

Include Odisha inIRAD to monitorroad safety: Govt

CENTRAL DATABASE SYSTEM

The Ministry of Road Transportand Highways (MoRTH) with

support of IIT-Madras and NIC hasdeveloped the IRAD system

At present, the stategovernment is manually

collecting data on fatal accidentor cases with grievous injury bythe officials of RTO and police

The collection of information through IRAD would help expedite theprocess of identification of black spots apart from prioritising and

designing the short/long/medium term measures to mitigate these hazards

POST NEWS NETWORK

Puri, Sept 1: A day afterthe state government cameout with guidelines forUnlock 4.0, the district ad-ministration here Tuesdayextended the ban on cre-mation of bodies atSwargadwar by people fromoutside the district till theend of September.

However, the residents ofPuri district can cremate thebodies of their relatives atSwargadwar cremationground by following theCovid-19 guidelines, said theadministration.

People from across the

state and outside usuallyprefer to perform the lastrites of their near and dearones at Swargadwar cre-mation ground due to itsmythological importanceand close l ink withJagannath culture.

The district administra-tion had imposed a ban on thecremation of bodies fromoutside Puri district atSwargadwar July 7 to checkthe spread of novel coron-avirus. Moreover, the ad-ministration had imposedrestrictions on the immer-sion of ashes of deceasedpeople from other districts inPuri sea. Villagers travel on a boat in flood-hit Banki area of Cuttack district, Tuesday PIC: MAUSAM NANDA

Swargadwar restrictionextended till Sept-end

Conmen dupe IMDscientist of `5 lakhPOST NEWS NETWORK

Bhubaneswar, Sept 1: A scien-tist of India MeteorologicalDepartment (IMD) has sought thehelp Commissionerate Police inconnection with an alleged loanfraud of `5 lakh involving somestaffers of a private bank.

Victim Ashok Kumar Mallick, 52,a resident of Bhimatangi underAirfield police limits, alleged thathis wife along with other womenin their neighborhood had formedan SHG and taken `4, 19,573 loanfrom Fulletron India Ltd, a privatefinancier, through Satyam FinanceLtd, at 24 per cent interest January31, 2016. The SHG used Mallick’ssalary account for the transaction.

Meanwhile, one Pradee pThakury told Mallick that the SHGmembers should avail a personalloan from the private bank at muchcheaper interest rate and clear theoutstanding due with the private fi-nancer. He collected documents

like Aadhaar Card, pay slip of elec-tricity bill from Mallick in 2018.

They asked the bank’s agentand other staffers to avail a loanamounting `2.50 lakh with an EMIof `6,600. His wife also received acheque of `2.50 lakh after a fewdays. However, the accused,Pradeep, in connivance with bank

staffers never gave the loan sanc-tion letter to Mallick and insteadkept it with him.

In 2019, Mallick received a callfrom the Kolkata head office of theprivate bank that he had defaultedon paying his EMI of `17,550. Upon enquiry, the bank authori-ties informed him that a loanamount of around `8 lakh wascredited to his account.

The accused have allegedly mis-appropriated more than `5 lakhfrom the loan amount by givingthe complainant’s wife a chequeof `2.50 lakh. Sahid Nagar policehave started investigations intothe matter after registering a case.

The accused haveallegedly misappropriatedmore than `5 lakh fromthe loan amount by handing over a cheque of `2.50 lakh

FLOODING WOES

BDA thrust on planner-citizen interaction38th foundation day

downtown

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AFFIDAVITThrough an affidavit, IRabindra Pradhan, S/olate Sanga Pradhan,Village- Budanpipali, P.O.-Bhramarabadi, P.S.-Daringabadi, Dist.-Kandhamal, State- Odisha,declare that my son’sactual and correct name isRanveer Pradhan, whichis mentioned his alldocuments, that I amworking in Army in theRank-L/Nk, bearingArmy No.4289498A, thatdue to mistake in myservice record my son’sname has been wronglywritten as AgnimitraPradhan, in place ofRanveer Pradhan, thatRanveer Pradhan &Agnimitra Pradhan, isone and same person.

I, Sekh Golam Mustafachanged my name fromShaikh Golam Mustafa toSekh Golam Mustafa videaffidavit No.1015, Date:31.08.2020 before theNotary Public, Sukinda,Jajpur for all purposes.

CLASSIFIEDAFFIDAVIT

COVID BLUES

Members of All Odisha Private Schools’ Association demonstrate near the Directorate of Elementary Education atUnit-IX in Bhubaneswar, Tuesday, to press for fulfilment of their demands including financial assistance for the teachers

PNN & AGENCIES

Bhubaneswar, Sept 1: State’sCOVID-19 tally rose to 1, 06, 561Tuesday as 3,025 more people testedpositive for the infection, while 11fresh fatalities pushed Odisha’scoronavirus death toll to 503, an of-ficial of Health and Family Welfare(H&FW) department said.

As many as 1,844 fresh infectionswere detected in quarantine centres,while 1,181 people tested positive forCOVID-19 during contact tracing,said the official.

Khurda district, under whichBhubaneswar falls, reported thehighest number of new cases at666, followed by Cuttack (312),Mayurbhanj (215) and Ganjam (207),the official said, adding that 24other districts reported less than 200new cases each.

Khurda, Mayurbhanj and Puridistricts reported two fresh fatali-ties each, while one patient each diedin Cuttack, Ganjam, Jagatsinghpur,Kandhamal and Rayagada districts,added the official.

Ganjam district accounted for191 of the 503 COVID-19 deaths inthe state, followed by 67 in Khurda,36 in Sundargarh and 32 in Cuttack,the official said, adding 53 coron-avirus patients have died due toother ailments so far.

The state has so far tested 18, 39,854 samples for COVID-19, includ-ing 50,421 Monday.

Meanwhile, 3,484 persons re-covered from the infection.

The recoveries include 890 fromKhurda, 314 from Jajpur, 302 fromRayagada, 253 from Ganjam, 162from Kendrapara and 143 fromCuttack.

The total recovered cases of

Odisha now stand at 80,770.2 MLAs, actor test +ve

Meanwhile, Bhubaneswar (North)MLA Susant Kumar Rout, BariMLA Sunanda Das and veteranactor Ajit Das tested positive fornovel coronavirus , Tuesday.

In a Facebook post, Rout said,

“Today I have tested Covid-19 pos-itive and in home isolation. Now Iam stable. All those have been inclose proximity to me in the last fewdays are requested to please getthemselves tested, if necessary.(sic)”Twin cities see 505 cases

The twin cities of Bhubaneswar

and Cuttack reported 307 and 198COVID-19 cases Tuesday.

According to BhubaneswarMunicipal Corporation (BMC), ofthe fresh cases, 135 were from quar-antine centres whereas 172 werelocal contact ones. Among the freshcases, 20 were detected from OUATColony here. With this, City’s COVID-19 tally stands at 10,732.

On the other hand, 301 COVID-19patients in the City recovered fromthe viral infection, taking the totalrecoveries in Bhubaneswar to 6,635.

The Temple city has so far seen42 COVID-19 deaths. The activecases in City stand at 4,043, theBMC said.

The Cuttack MunicipalCorporation (CMC), meanwhile,said it detected 198 COVID-19 cases(124 quarantine cases and 74 localcontact ones) in its jurisdictionTuesday. It added that 318 personsalso recovered from the disease.

Toll crosses 500 with 11 fresh deaths1,844 fresh infections were detectedin quarantine centres, while 1,181people tested positive for COVID-19during contact tracing

Khurda district reported the highestnumber of new cases at 666,followed by Cuttack 312,Mayurbhanj 215 and Ganjam 207

Ganjam district accounted for 191 ofthe 503 COVID-19 deaths in thestate, followed by 67 in Khurda, 36 inSundargarh and 32 in Cuttack

With 3,484 fresh recoveries, totalrecovered cases of Odisha nowstand at 80,770

CUTTACK: The CuttackMunicipal Corporation (CMC)has imposed restrictions on peo-ple’s visit to its two offices for 15days to check the spread of novelcoronavirus.

The municipal body has askedpeople not to visit its two offices—Vikash Bhawan and BijuBhawan—for 15 days as part of itswar against the deadly virus. It hasadvised people to avail all services

through online, sources said.“The restrictions on people’s

visit to our offices will be in forcetill September 15. Only the officialsand employees of the CMC canenter into the offices. People canvisit CMC’s website to apply forbirth and death certificates,” saidan official.

Notably, some employees of theCMC have been tested positivefor COVID-19 recently.

CMC offices now restricted precincts

VITAL STATS

POST NEWS NETWORK

Bhubaneswar, Sept 1: Taking theCOVID-induced lockdowns to itsadvantage, East Coast Railway(ECoR) has completed many in-frastructure and safety relatedworks. These works could have oth-erwise hindered the train servicesand required traffic blocks.

ECoR judiciously utilised thelockdowns to augment and maintaininfrastructure for safe train oper-ations and emphasis was given onexecution of long pending con-struction and maintenance works.In normal times, about 491 hourscould have been taken for completethese works by affecting train serv-ices and taking traffic block.

Among the major works eightLimited Height Sub-ways (LHSs)have been completed at variousplaces, including closure of threemanned level crossing gates by pro-viding alternate paths. This wouldhave taken 74 hours of traffic block,affecting train services.

Moreover, 16 bridges under ECoR

have been rebuilt during theLockdown. This would have takenabout 69 hours in normal times.

Further, four girders of the Footover Bridge (FoB) at BhubaneswarRailway station have been launchedduring the period which could havebeen taken three hours of trafficblock.

Similarly, 23 sets of thick waveswitches have been renewed duringthe lockdowns so that the cross-ings will be safe when the trains pass.This work could have taken 70 hoursby blocking train traffic.

Likewise, 60 rail panel workshave been accomplished duringlockdown which could have taken

more than 12 hours by suspensionof train services. Ballast cleaningworks have been completed on 21 kmtracks during the period whichcould have take 194 hours during nor-mal time. In ballast cleaning, mudis cleared from the ballast to keepthe line free from creating jerks.

Ballast tamping works have been

undertaken on 68.5 km track dur-ing the period which could havetake 43.30 hours in normal time.The ballast tamping will keep thesleeper fit with ballast so that thetrains would run smoothly.

Apart from this, FoB girders werelunched at Charbatia andGurudijhatia stations in connec-tion with 3rd and 4th line work be-tween Salegaon-RajathagarhStations, at Kapilas Road in con-nection with Bhadrak-Nergundi3rd line work and at Talcher Roadstation in connection withSambalpur-Talcher doubling work.

Completion of these pendingworks will increase mobility oftrains with more safety.

This apart, many important proj-ects have been executed during thelockdown period that include in-stallation of lifts, PF surfaces, PFsheds, raising of PF, improvementin circulating areas among others.Safety and maintenance works re-lated to Electrical, Mechanical andSignals have also been taken upduring the period.

LOCKDOWNS PROVE BOON FOR ECoR INFRA PROJECTS

ECoR judiciously utilised thelockdowns to augment and

maintain infrastructure for safetrain operations

Among the major works eightLHSs have been completed at

various places, including closureof three manned level crossinggates by providing alternate paths

16bridges under ECoR havebeen rebuilt during the

Lockdown. This would have takenabout 69 hours in normal times

72.2MT freightload till August BHUBANESWAR: The ECoRhas loaded 72.2 million tonnefreight till August 2020 of thecurrent financial year. Thishas been achieved despitelockdown and closure andalso less workforce inindustries and in mineralunits. In August only, ECoRhas loaded 15.11 million tonnefreight which is 0.76 milliontonne more than thecorresponding period of lastyear – a 5.3% rise. During thefirst five months of thefinancial year, ECoR hasutilised about 7,135 wagonsper day. In August, the wagonutilisation of freight loadingper day was 7,378 – 5.2% morethan August 2019. Anadditional 363 wagons perday have been utilised inAugust, 2020.

BOOSTING MOBILITY

POST NEWS NETWORK

Bhubaneswar, Sept 1: XavierUniversity Bhubaneswar (XUB)Tuesday held its common inau-guration programme for variouscourses for this academic session.

Students of MBA-SM, MBA-UMG, MURP, MBF, MA – MassComm, M Tech – DSA, MPPG, BScMass Comm, B Com, BBM, BSc SD,B. Tech - CSE, BSc Econ, BA LLBand BBA LLB participated in thevirtual inauguration and orien-tation programme, said a releaseissued by XUB.

Associate Dean (Admissions)Bikram K Bahinipati addressed theparticipants and shared the batchprofile across the schools. DeputyRegistrar Antony Raj SJ welcomedthe students to XUB.

Vice Chancellor Fr Antony RUvari SJ delivered the inauguraladdress. He advised the studentsto be the torch bearers to the world.

XUB ORIENTATIONPROG HELD IN CITY

POST NEWS NETWORK

Bhubaneswar, Sept 1: SeveralCongress and Bharatiya JantaParty (BJP) leaders from the state,Tuesday, paid their tributes to for-mer Indian President PranabMukherjee after the latter died inhis 80s.

Separate condolence meetingswere organised in the state capitalby both the parties. Odisha PradeshCongress Committee (OPCC) pres-ident Niranjan Patnaik and BJPstate president Sameer Mohantytook part in the condolence meetings.

“The great leader has contributedimmensely to the country throughhis illustrious political career. Hisservices were unmatched. I pray godto give strength to his family mem-bers to bear the loss they have suf-fered due to the death of the lu-minary,” he said.

The event was organised at theCongress Bhavan here and was at-tended by senior party leaders likeSuresh Routray and others. Severalparty leaders garlanded the pho-tograph of the former Presidentof India.

Similarly, at the BJP StateHeadquarters the state presidentpaid homage to the departed soul.Several other party leaders likeBhrugu Buxipatra and others werealso present.

“On behalf of BJP, we organ-ised the condolence meeting. Hehas worked for more than 50 yearsin different areas of expertise dur-

ing his political career. This was agreat loss to the country as thecountry lost a former Presidentand a seasoned political leader,”Mohanty said.

POST NEWS NETWORK

Bhubaneswar, Sept 1: SeveralBJP leaders Tuesday visited different villages in flood affectedareas of Puri and Kendraparadistricts and took stock of the situation.

The leaders demanded timely ac-tion from the state administra-tion in the affected areas. Theyclaimed that many deserving vic-tims of the flood in rural areashave been waiting for governmentassistance. Party leaders PradiptaKumar Naik, LekshashreeSamantsinghar and BaijayantPanda visited parts of the affecteddistricts and interacted with theflood victims in Puri andKendrapara districts.

Whie Naik and Lekhashree vis-ited parts of Puri district, Pandatook stock of the flood situation inKendrapara.

Naik accused the state govern-ment of not delivering govern-ment assistance on time.

Students of Utkal Universityand other institutes mourned

the demise of former PresidentPranab Mukherjee, the elderstatesman of India and BharatRatna who served the nation fordecades. As a mark of respect,students lighted candles and ob-served two minutes’ silence nearthe university premises Tuesday.

Suvam Swain, a student ofPharmaceutical science, said,“We lost a great visionary per-sonality of Indian politics. He isone of the few politicians whohad a good image throughouthis political career. He visitedUtkal University as the Presidentof India in 2013 for the 45thConvocation of the university.”

Similarly, Central Universityof Odisha, Koraput also paidtribute to the departed soul. IRamabrahmam, Vice-Chancellor,Asit Kumar Das, Registrar; PDurgaprasad, Visiting Professor;senior administrators and facultyand non-teaching staff paid flo-ral tributes.

Cong, BJP pay homageto ex-President Pranab

STUDENTS MOURNMUKHERJEE

BJP seeks timely aidfor flood victims

POST NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi, Sept 1: BharatiyaJanata Party (BJP) nationalspokesperson Sambit PatraTuesday alleged that the state gov-ernment has done illegal plottingand sale of Bagala Dharmasalaland in Puri.

Addressing the media here, theBJP spokesperson referred to acouple of letters shared betweenthe state Tourism department andIndia Tourism DevelopmentCorporation (ITDC), which hadtaken up the renovation work inPuri, and alleged that the stategovernment had brought fakecharges of delay in project againstthe ITDC to withdraw the project.

Citing to a letter by ITDC toOdisha Tourism department, Patrasaid the ITDC had awarded theJagannath Vishram Sthali proj-ect at Bagala site to a constructioncompany in May 2019 through anopen tender against an amount ofRs 20.88 crore. Immediately afterthat, the work had begun for the con-struction of Vishram Sthali. Despiterepeated requests from ITDC, thestate government didn’t allow con-tinuation of the work. He ques-tioned the decision of the stategovernment for stopping the workat Bagala Dharmasala site.

POST NEWS NETWORK

Barang, Sept 1: The NandankananZoological Park (NZP) here mayreopen from first week of Octoberif sources are to be believed. Thezoo authorities have given a proposalin this regard to the state govern-ment Tuesday.

Notably, the zoo has been closedfor the last five months in the wakeof COVID-19 outbreak.

The Additional Director of NZPAmulya Kumar Parida said thatafter the reopening of the zoo,proper arrangements will be put inplace for the tourists as per theCOVID-19 guidelines like wholebody sanitisation of the tourists’ be-fore entering the zoo and handwash facility for the tourists at se-lect spots within the zoo premises.

All the guidelines issued by theUnion and state governments willbe strictly followed on the zoo prem-ises. Thermal screening of visi-tors will be conducted at the entrypoint, added Parida.

Parida also said that the zoo authorities will allow limited num-ber of tourists at a time to ensuredistancing.

“The state government will takeproper action regarding the open-ing of the zoo as per the COVID-19situation in October,” Parida said.

NZP may reopen inOct with COVID norms

NZP has remained out ofbounds for tourists forthe last 5 months in thewake of COVID outbreak

BAGALA LAND SOLDILLEGALLY: PATRA

TWIST IN ACTIVISTADITYA’S DEATHPOST NEWS NETWORK

Bhubaneswar, Sept 1: In a freshtwist, the father of deceased socialactivist Aditya Dash claimed thatDash was being repeatedly pres-surised by a Gujarat-based womanto marry her.

His father Nandi Kishore Dashtold the media that the details re-garding the psycho lady have beenhanded over to Crime Branchmuch earlier. He claimed that theCB has not taken any steps to lookinto this angle.

Aditya’s father also informed themedia that he is yet to see the lady.Meanwhile, members of a socialorg anisation Tuesday metGovernor Ganeshi Lal seekingCBI probe into the death. Notably,Aditya’s body was found lying onthe track near Lingaraj RoadRailway station July 7, 2020.

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POST NEWS NETWORK

Keonjhar, Sept 1: In a major haul,Anandapur wildlife division in thedistrict recovered 14 elephant tusksweighing 19 kg from Bayapita underHarichandanpur police limitsMonday night. The value of thetusks in grey market is pegged atabout Rs 10 lakh.

Sources said the forest officialswere tipped off on ivory piecesbeing smuggled in a car Mondaynight. The officials immediatelyswung into action and as per the di-rection of Anandapur DFO (Wildlife)Ajit Satpathy, a team was formed.The team after giving a long chasein Singbila jungle, waylaid the car.They carried out a search. As manyas 14 tusks, four mobile phones anda car used for smuggling the tuskswere seized.

Three persons have been detainedfor their involvement in the smug-gling. Of them, while one is a res-ident of Keonjhar district, the othertwo hailed from Jajpur and Bhadrakdistricts respectively.

When contacted, DFO Satpathysaid the identities of the smugglersare yet to be ascertained as theywere not cooperating. Soon theiroriginal identities will be ascer-

tained. It is suspected that they havelong been in the illegal tusk trade.The involvement of a well-man-aged racket cannot be ruled out.

It is alleged that lapses in mon-itoring of the movement of the ele-phants under Keonjhar forest di-vision recently came to light. Thedepartment suspended a forester anda forest guard June 18 for negli-gence in duty after two elephantswere found electrocuted by poach-ers in Joda section of Champuarange June 14.

Apart from poaching, accidentsand electrocution, the animals havebeen facing a threat from the shrink-ing forest cover and loss of habitatowing to mining.

The report said over the lastthree months, five elephants werefound dead in Champua and Barbilranges where the animals are saidto be unsafe for various reasons.

Statistics have it that since 2010till date, Keonjhar forest divisionalone has reported 51 elephant

deaths. In 2010-11, the district sawdeaths of nine elephants while fourdied in 2011-12.

Nine elephants died in 2012-13;four each in 2013-14 and 2014-15; sixin 2015-16; two each in 2017-18 and2018-19; six in 2019-20 and five in2020-21(till date).

19 kg of ivory seized THE VALUE OF THE TUSKS IN GREY MARKET IS PEGGED AT ABOUT `10 LAKH

Soon their(smugglers’) originalidentities will be

ascertained. It is suspectedthat they have long been inthe illegal tusk trade. Theinvolvement of a well-managed racket cannot beruled outAJIT SATPATHY | DFO (WILDLIFE),ANANDAPUR

The seized items

Cops along with the accused held

POST NEWS NETWORK

Jajpur/Kendrapara, Sept 1: It hasbeen three days that flood affectedthousands of villages in Jajpur andKendrapara districts as Baitaraniand Mahanadi rivers kept swelling.Now, restoring electricity remains oneof the biggest challenges for the dis-trict administration apart from fa-cilitating essential services.

While flood is a regular affair inthese areas, amid administrativeapathy and lack of long-term plan-ning, the current situation in theflood-hit villages appears to be ajourney back in time.

Hundreds of electricity sub-sta-tions are submerged in floodwaterleading to complete darkness in theflood-hit areas. In addition to thattelecommunication and several otheressential services have come to ahalt in these areas.

“We are marooned and this dark-ness has only increased our pain.Worse, with rising cases of snakebiteduring such times, the prevailingdarkness poses a direct threat to ourlives,” said Sambhu Pradhan fromSerapur under Bari block in Jajpurdistrict.

Sambhu went on to explain howpromises of long-term solutionswere made in the past and nothingever came of it.

With the rainy-day stocks gonein the floods, thousands of flood-hitvillagers staying in temporary huts

on river embankments are a commonsight across these districts. Amidlack of basic necessities such asfood, drinking water and medicines,hoping and praying for floodwater torecede is the only thing they arecounting on.

The condition of women in thesemakeshift tents is to be seen to be be-lieved.

Many do not have a cooking gasconnection. Surrounded by flood-water as far as the eye goes, it isnext to impossible for them to collectdry firewood as well. Worse, manyfamilies in these areas do not evenhave anything to cook. With localwater bodies contaminated by flood-water, drinking water has become aluxury.

Women managing families withyoung kids and old men under suchconditions are harrowing to say theleast. Supply of medicines or avail-ability of doctors in flood-hit areasamid the already stressed and co-rona-battered healthcare system isnegligible, locals here said.

“It becomes very difficult and un-safe after it gets dark. We have toeither burn candles or lamps. Someof us do not even have those and weshare whatever we have among eachother,” said Samuka Das fromNamatara village in Rajkanika blockof Kendrapara district.

Samuka is staying with her six-member family in a temporarykutcha house near the river em-bankment.

“While past experience suggeststhat floodwater will eventually recedewith or without administrative sup-port, waterborne disease is some-thing which will claim many liveswho struggled and survived theflood,” Das added with a heavy heart.

Another woman here pointed tothe issue of hygiene and sanitation.With most toilets now submergedunder floodwater, open defecationis the norm. Residents realize howthis can lead to further contamina-tion, but they have no better choice.

Large parts of Aul, Rajkanika,Marsaghai, Garadapur andPattamundai blocks in the district arepartly submerged and reeling indarkness for the last three days.

According to Kendrapara district

emergency officer Sambeet Satapathy,2.60 lakh people from 160 villagesin the district have been affected byflood. Unofficial numbers could behigher.

Picture, however, is pretty muchthe same everywhere.

That said, Satapathy claimed thatthe administration will try to re-store power supply as the floodwa-ter recedes.

Life, of course, will go back tonormal until the next flood arrives.

AMID FLOOD, THEY REEL UNDER DARKNESSALREADY BATTERED BY CYCLONE AMPHAN, CONDITIONS WORSENED AFTER COVID STRUCK AND NOW THE

FLOODS— IT IS TESTING TIMES FOR THE PEOPLE OF JAJPUR AND KENDRAPARA

HUNDREDS OF ELECTRICITY SUB-STATIONS ARESUBMERGED IN FLOODWATER LEADING TO COMPLETE

DARKNESS IN THE FLOOD-HIT AREAS

THE CONDITION OF WOMEN IN THESE MAKESHIFT TENTSIS TO BE SEEN TO BE BELIEVED; MANY DO NOT HAVE A

COOKING GAS CONNECTION

We are marooned and thisdarkness has onlyincreased our pain. Worse,with rising cases ofsnakebite during suchtimes, the prevailingdarkness poses a directthreat to our livesSAMBHU PRADHAN | RESIDENT, SERAPUR,BARI BLOCK, JAJPUR

It becomes very difficultand unsafe after it getsdark. We have to eitherburn candles or lamps.Some of us don’t even havethose and we sharewhatever we have amongeach otherSAMUKA DAS | RESIDENT, NAMATARA,RAJKANIKA BLOCK, KENDRAPARA

Will Bhadrak farm sector recover from the deluge?

POST NEWS NETWORK

Bhadrak/Chandbali, Sept 1:Though there has been a let-up inflood situation in Bhadrak andBalasore, farm activities in Bhadrakdistrict have been left beyond repairsdue to a swelling Brahmani.

According to reports, 618 vil-lages of 116 panchayats under sevenblocks and 10 wards in four mu-nicipalities have been affected byfloods. Official reports say 4.32 lakhpeople were affected by floods inBhadrak. Of them, 17,648 affectedpeople were accommodated at 106relief centres in Bhadrak.Meanwhile, some of them have re-turned to their homes.

Latest report says 96 relief cen-tres have given shelters to 14,100flood victims. The district admin-istration has been providing freecooked meals to them.

Several teams of NDRF, ODRAFand firefighters have been workingin relief and rescue operations

with 23 boats in flood-hitDhamnagar and Bhandaripokhariareas. Three people in Bhadrakhave reportedly died due to floods.Around 28 mobile medical teamshave been mobilised in variousflood-hit areas.

The preliminary survey saidthat 43,442 hectare of farmlandsin Bhadrak were inundated.

Collector Gyanaranjan Das saidthat after floodwater recedes, the gov-ernment will carry on assessmentof the damage to crops and houses.Relief materials are being distrib-uted among the flood affected peo-ple while safe drinking water hasbeen supplied to some villages.

As per government guidelines,compensation will be paid to the af-fected farmers, he added. Hugetracts of farmlands are under flood-waters in Chandbali area.

Water levels in Baitarani, Salandiand their distributaries are de-creasing while in some areas flood-water is spreading in farmlands. Inthis block, 18,197 hectare of farm-lands are under floodwaters. Asper the preliminary survey, 2,733houses have been damaged.

Meanwhile, a part of the river em-bankment at Rameswarpur underDhamnagar block caved intoGenguti river. Besides, the em-bankments have developed cracksat different places, triggering panicamong people.

Official reports say 4.32 lakh people areaffected by floods in Bhadrak

A part of the river embankment atRameswarpur under Dhamnagarblock caves into Genguti river

POST NEWS NETWORK

Jajpur/Bari, Sept 1: The flood inBaitarani and Brahmani rivers inJajpur district is being stated themost devastating flood in the 21stcentury, a report said.

The claim is not unfounded as thisflood has affected over 9, 81,245 peo-ple in 836 villages of 180 panchayatsacross 10 blocks. Moreover, the floodhas claimed the lives of five peoplewhile the casualty among livestockis 14,898 in the district.

Notably, the state has suffered fivemajor floods during the last 15 years.This has led to huge loss of lives andproperties and broken the financialbackbone of the people which is pre-dominantly an agricultural district.

The district recorded 341.2mmnormal rainfall in August but it hasreceived 695.82mm rainfall due tochange in climatic conditions, ex-perts opine. The flood occurred in thedistrict due to heavy rainfall in theupper catchment areas of Baitaraniand Brahmani rivers.

Observers claimed error in de-signing of river embankments andsub-standard works has led to re-currence of flood in the district yearafter year. Moreover, apathetic atti-tude of political representatives anddepartment officials and favouritsmshown to contractors has resultedin this impasse.

Sources said the district faced amajor flood in 2005 in which over1.40 lakh people in 220 villages ofJajpur and neighbouring Bhadrak dis-

trict were affected. Later, in 2011flood affected over 4,91,114 peopleand 2,61,540 livestock in 499 villagesof the district. Cultivation in 27,615hectare of farmland was damaged.At least 13 persons died while 8,221houses were fully damaged.

Over 1,07,317 people in 229 villagewere severely affected in 2015-floodwhile 1,24,076 persons in 132 villageswere affected in 2017-flood. Threepeople also died in the 2017-flood.

However, this year’s flood is themost devastating which has causeduntold sufferings for the people liv-ing in riparian villages of the district.

Locals alleged that the then stateRevenue minister Maheswar Mohanty

had sought a report in August 2017on the damaged river embankmentsand the loss of life and properties.

In past, several ministers and po-litical leaders during their visits tothe district have promised to takeup repairing and strengthening ofthe weak embankments in the district.

The tales of despair in JajpurTHE DISTRICT HAS FACED FIVE MAJOR FLOODS IN 15 YEARS

Family members of a snakebitepatient at Routsahi village under Bariblock in Jajpur district have aharrowing time as they carry her in acooking tope while negotiatingfloodwaters to reach hospital.Sources say no help came from Bariblock office or emergency servicesdespite several requests. The womanwas rushed from Ratnagiri PHC andthen to Barchana where she ispresently recovering

POST NEWS NETWORK

Jeypore, Sept 1: As many as twopolice officials of Jeypore Sadarpolice station were suspendedwhile the IIC was transferred inconnection with the custodialdeath of a person in the policestation in this district.

SP Mukesh Kumar Bhamohas placed ASI Sapan Sarkarand constable DK Majhi undersuspension on charge of dere-liction of duty. The Sadar po-lice IIC was transferred to theheadquarters while Town policeIIC Raghunath Majhi was ap-pointed in his place. LaxmipurSDPO AK Nayak has been askedto probe the matter and submita report.

Gopalram Paswan (44) of Nagorein Rajasthan, who was arrestedover his involvement in smug-gling ganja, allegedly, ended his lifewhile being under police custodyby hanging himself with a bedcover inside a bathroom of thepolice station August 29.

POST NEWS NETWORK

Koraput, Sept 1: The bodies ofthree minor girls were found float-ing in a pond at Debaganj village inKoraput district,Tuesday. The identitiesof the deceased girlswere not known im-mediately. However, dueto the heart-wrench-ing incident a pall ofgloom descended in thelocality.

Sources said familymembers of the threegirls had filed missingcomplaint at Nandapurpolice station Monday night. Inthe complaint it had been men-tioned that the three had gone outfor plucking guava at an orchard.Notably, the three minor girls were

in the same age group and werestudying in the same class.

Tuesday morning some womenwho were going to have a bath spot-ted footwear floating in the pond and

informed the fire per-sonnel regarding thematter.

On being informedfamily members of thethree girls and fire per-sonnel reached the vil-lage and recovered thebodies.

Even though theexact reason behindthe incident is yet tobe ascertained, police

said the incident may be one ofdrowning. However, keeping allangles in mind, police have starteda probe into the death of the threeminors.

Bodies of 3 minor girls fishedout from pond in Koraput dist

2 cops suspended,IIC transferred overcustodial death

Family membersof the three girlshad filed missingcomplaint atNandapur policestation Mondaynight

power post P6

T he Government of India (GoI) has recently announced it will take stepsto weed out inefficient and corrupt officials from its ranks. Ministrieshave been directed to prepare the list of such officials, within the age

group of 50-55 years, and recommend action. Obviously the Dept of Personnel& Training (DoPT) will be expected to pursue this vigorously and work wonders in cleaning up one of the world’s most dishonest and inefficient gov-ernment set up.

It is not as if this is the first time ever that the GoI has come up with sucha fancy idea. The blazing headlines that such acrobatics attract are, no doubt,of great importance to polish the sheen of the government whenever it isperceived as waning. The government is empowered to review performanceof bureaucrats who have reached the age of 50 years or have completed 30years in service. When the government finds that some of these officials arehampering public interest, the DoPT can invoke the Fundamental Rules56(j), Rule 48 of Central Civil Services (Pension) Rules 1972 and Rule16(3)(Amended) of All India Services (Death cum Retirement Benefits) Rules,1958 to remove the so called erring bureaucrats. These rules have already beenused when the Modi 2.0 government compulsorily retired 12 senior IndianRevenue Service (IRS) officers. This was followed by the sacking of 22 offi-cers of the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC).

All these drives against corruption have to be seen in the background ofthe existing machineries that are tasked to keep the system clean. For example,the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) is one such setup that is to re-port on functioning of the different ministries. When the man adorning thetop post in such an organization is himself or herself under a cloud, thenexpecting truth from reports produced under his supervision becomes sus-pect. The CAG under Vinod Rai is a great example. His reports on the 2G spec-trum allocation and Coalblock allocations that took place between 2004-2009were not only being regularly leaked to the media before they were offi-cially presented in Parliament but also all these reports fell flat in the vari-ous Courts of law later. Along with the 2G and Coalgate scam, there were alsothe Commonwealth Games scam, KG Basin and Adarsh Housing scams,which could not withstand the litmus tests. These events of the past decadehighlight the fact that the government does not possess a single outfit whichin itself can be considered honest and efficient. It is not only the CAG thathas been caught with its pants down in the past but even today the rumblingswithin that organisation against the recently appointed head may keepmany guessing as to the purpose behind the move of placing a Gujarat cadreofficer in that chair by the present government. Maybe this act will reintroducecomplete secrecy whereby no findings of misdeeds will ever see the light ofday. In a manner, this posting might be a brilliant step to cover-up any wrong-doings of this government unlike what Vinod Rai did to the UPA government.Notably, Vinod Rai, after his retirement, was rewarded handsomely by theModi government with a plump posting, as was Ranjan Gogoi and many oth-ers. The atmosphere has become so very murky that even the CentralVigilance Commission (CVC) or the Supreme Court (SC) fail to instill con-fidence and faith on their functioning.

The trouble in the bureaucracy is primarily twin headed. There are plentyof Babus who are efficient and invariably corrupt. There is also another bunchof Babus who are very honest but extremely incompetent. It is seen that mostpolitical bosses prefer to keep the former type close to their office. Every ChiefMinister or Prime Minister is known to prefer bureaucrats who can deliver.In their quest for delivering what they have promised the voters, they fall di-rectly and most willingly into the trap of these corrupt and efficient officials.In the Indian democratic system, every political party and leader desires toamass great wealth not only to fund elections but also to sustain political ex-istence. This prompts the elected representatives to seek support of officerswho can help garner wealth without getting caught. No money or benefitscan be collected without the help of bureaucrats. Therefore, attacking theproblem of corruption at the government level should ideally start with re-moving the opaque system of funding of political parties that exist in India.

Apart from the corrupt politician in league with favored bureaucrats,there are also wheels within wheels of the bureaucracy itself. Many publi-cations have claimed that for every `100 collected by corrupt officials, only`10 entered the political system. That implies 90 per cent of the wealth gen-erated by dishonesty in the governance system went to the pockets of gov-ernment executives. When the government expects ministries to shortlist cor-rupt and inefficient bureaucrats within its fold, the obvious question that arisesis who will prepare the list. Senior bureaucrats will certainly be entrustedwith this responsibility. They will, most likely, wish to remove those few hon-est officers who could be creating impediments in the big ticket corruptionsthat the secretaries might wish to do for endearing themselves to politicalbosses at the fag end of their careers. If they can please, they can expect anew lease of life to continue with their dishonest practices. To expect hon-esty and efficiency only at the senior levels is also wrong. Young officers learnthe ropes of their trade very early in their careers. Young or old, ineffi-ciency and dishonesty are human characteristic traits. The Anna Hazare typeshow of honesty has brought great grief to this nation. Getting rid of a fewinconvenient officials might be the hidden agenda of this play for honestybut that will never remove corruption or inefficiency within the Indian government system.

T he video of Melania Trump,Donald Trump's wife, andhis daughter Ivanka Trump

greeting each other at the recentRepublican National Conventionhas been watched more than fivemillion times. At first, it seems toshow a friendly relationship be-tween stepmom and stepdaughter.As Ivanka walks toward the pres-ident and first lady, Melania flashesa winsome smile, as if to say, “HiIvanka, my wonderful stepdaugh-ter. It’s so nice to see you again.”

But as soon as Ivanka has passed,Melania’s expression sours, as if tosay, “Why is this witch still hang-ing around? I wish she would go ona vacation. Somewhere far away likeMars or Venus.”

This is not too surprising, ofcourse. If you were organising aninternational conference for step-moms and stepdaughters who loveeach other dearly, you could trans-port everyone from the airport tothe hotel in a single auto-rickshaw.The driver might even be able topick up a few other passengersalong the way.

But a conference for stepmomsand stepdaughters who detest eachother would require at least 18buses. Six for all the stepdaugh-ters, six for all the stepmoms, andsix for all the spite.

There are a lot of factors, of

course, that determine the likeli-hood of a stepmom and step-daughter getting along. Age playsa critical role. If the stepdaughteris an infant when the stepmomsteps into her life, this greatly di-minishes their desire to step oneach other.

So how old was Ivanka whenDonald married Melania in 2005?She was 23 and Melania was 35.That’s partly why, when Ivankasees Melania, she doesn’t see a ma-ternal figure — she sees a rival forher father’s affection.

Ivanka: “He loves me, not you.”Melania: “He actually loves us

both. He loves you as a daughter andme as a wife.”

Ivanka: “But his love for me ismuch, much greater than his lovefor you.”

Melania: “He loves us both

equally. Ten per cent of his lovegoes to you, 10 per cent to me, and80 per cent to himself.”

Ivanka: “Ten per cent for you?Yeah, sure. That’s what his lastwife said, too. She’s lucky if she getsa Christmas card these days.”

That brings up another factorin this relationship: the numberof ex-stepmoms that a stepdaugh-ter has endured. Donald Trumphas been married twice before, soMelania not only took the place ofIvanka’s mom, Ivana, who is now71, she also took the place ofIvanka’s first stepmom, MarlaMaples, who is now 56.

You can’t blame Ivanka if she hasnoticed a disturbing trend: as shegets older, her father’s wives keepgetting younger.

The relationship between a step-daughter and stepmom is similar

to that between a daughter-in-lawand mother-in-law. Both relation-ships involve a competition for at-tention and affection, with maritalties rubbing against parent-childbonds. When both parties are adultsand occupying the same home, a turfwar can ensue. That’s what ap-parently happened when Trumpmoved into the White House. Hisdaughter tried to reserve a primespot for her office in the East Wing,and his wife launched an impres-sive campaign known as OperationBlock Ivanka.

According to Melania’s formerconfidante Stephanie WinstonWolkoff, Ivanka wanted to be knownas the First Daughter Lady – themost visible female Trump in theWhite House. Melania, of course,wanted to be more visible thanIvanka. If Ivanka was the chair ofan important meeting, Melaniawould hold a meeting to import achair; if Ivanka was wearing a V-necked dress, Melania would weara W-necked dress; and if Ivankawas hogging the limelight, Melaniawould hog the lemonlight.

You may ask, what about stepsonsand stepfathers, fathers-in-law andsons-in-law? Don’t they have sim-ilar conflicts? Indeed they do, butI don’t want to give my father-in-lawanother reason to keep his dis-tance from me.

Stepdaughters won’t step aside for stepmoms

SOME GAIN, SOME PAINI

n a recent judgement, theOrissa High Court has af-firmed the right of non-het-erosexual couples to live to-

gether. The court also declaredthat the rights of a woman in sucha relationship will be safeguardedunder the Protection of Womenfrom Domestic Violence Act, 2005.In doing so, the court backed therights of the couple to live a dig-nified life, under Article 21 of theConstitution, and furthered thespirit of landmark cases such asNALSA versus Union of India(gender identity) and Navtej SinghJohar versus Union of India (de-criminalisation of homosexual-ity). However, what could havebeen a historic judgement remainsprogressive only to an extent.

The case arose from a writ ofhabeas corpus filed by a 24-year oldtransgender for reuniting himwith his live-in partner Rashmi (fic-titious name), who was forciblyseparated from him by Rashmi’smother and uncle. Rashmi’s fam-ily members were also forcing herto get married against her willand in violation of her sexual ori-entation. The petitioner claimedthat the recognition of live-in re-lationships under the Protectionof Women from Domestic ViolenceAct is not confined to heterosex-ual relationships and even thoughthey could not marry under the cur-rent legal framework, they hav-ing attained majority have theright to live together. While thecourt granted the relief, there arecertain significant aspects thatprevent it from becoming a path-breaking judgement.

To begin with, the court em-pathises with Rashmi’s family fortheir inability to accept her rela-tionship and seems to be validat-ing patriarchal notions about awoman’s freedom to choose herlife partner. The court talks abouthow Rashmi’s decision will affecther mother and her younger sis-ter who have to live in the societyand that the girl’s decision to set-tle down with a person of herchoice is viewed by the familywith trepidation. The court high-lights Rashmi’s nature of choiceto justify the attitude of her fam-

ily and makes this a ground to re-mind Rashmi about her duties to-wards her family. These observa-tions by the court show its reticencein treating non-heterosexual re-lationships at par with hetero-sexual relationships.

Further, by normalising the re-jection of love-marriages and ho-mosexual relationships, the courtappears to have missed an oppor-tunity to establish the pre-emi-nence of constitutional rights oversocial prejudices. As an institu-tion designed to protect constitu-tional rights, the court is expectedto steer clear of any unwarrantedvalidation of archaic social moral-ity. It ought to condemn the pre-vailing social biases and preju-dices against sacred constitutionalvalues of dignity and equality ofhuman beings.

One also wonders why the courtdeliberates on the expectation ofRashmi’s mother that her daugh-ter would ‘change her mind.’ It isdifficult to overlook the fact that,by doing so, the court passivelylegitimises the mother’s belief thatsexual orientation is a matter ofchoice and that Rashmi may choose

to become heterosexual in future. The court states that the family

of Rashmi will have a right tovisit her in the residence of the pe-titioner. Both Rashmi and the pe-titioner are adults with full con-stitutional rights to live their lifewith dignity and privacy. Theyhave complete autonomy to de-cide who can and who cannot visittheir residence. While the courtmay have had its sympathies to-wards Rashmi’s family, one feelsthat there is no constitutionalfoundation for such a direction tobe passed.

The court cannot lose sight ofthe serious problems faced by vul-nerable victims such as Rashmiand the petitioner. It must be notedthat Rashmi’s family took heraway forcibly from the house whereshe lived with her partner. In asituation such as this, the safetyof the victims and their well-beingare more important than the sen-timents of the perpetrators. Itcould be argued that the court’s jobis only half-done when the decla-ration of rights is made condi-tional to such riders.

The illegal nature of the re-

spondents’ behaviour that actu-ally amounts to criminal con-duct has been sanitised while theneed for the petitioner’s protec-tion has been diluted. It is also in-teresting to note that these di-rections have been passed eventhough no counter was filed byRashmi’s family praying for anyspecific relief.

While Rashmi and the peti-tioners are the clear victims inthe case, the court has throughoutthe judgement placed greater em-phasis on their obligations, whichare not an issue. The court re-minds Rashmi about her obliga-tions under the Maintenance andProtection of Parents and SeniorCitizens Act 2007 even thoughthere is no counter-affidavit thatshe has been neglecting her mother.As a response to the concernsaired by Rashmi’s family, the courtdirects the petitioner to take goodcare of her. This, even as there isno material on record to suggestany ill- treatment of Rashmi by thepetitioner.

There could be attempts to sugar-coat the criminal nature of therespondent’s conduct and insteadoffer a sanitised account of theirbehaviour. The court states that ithopes Rashmi and the petitionerdo not cause any worry to their fam-ilies and do not give the society anexcuse to raise an accusing fin-ger at them.

One gets a feeling that while thecourt has found the law to be on theside of the petitioner, its own sym-pathies are not. The reason of lawseems clouded by the validation ofillegitimate social sentiments.Would the tone of the judgementhave been the same if the case in-volved a heterosexual couple?Because of this, what could havebeen a truly path-breaking judge-ment falls short of its potential.

The writers are facultymembers at National Law

University, Odisha. Suman focuses on issues of gender,

criminalisation and access tojustice. Rangin focuses on

issues of civil liberties and accountability of

constitutional functionaries.

LOL

FOCUS

IN THIS

The reason of law seems clouded by the validation of illegitimate social sentiments.Would the tone of the judgement have been the same if the case involved a heterosexual couple? Because of this, what could have been a truly path-breaking judgement falls short of its potential

Play For Honesty

THE WORLD’S SMARTEST MAN?

Apilot, Michael Jordon, Bill Gates,the Pope, and a pizza delivery

man were all in a plane togethertravelling through stormy conditions.Suddenly, the pilot came running backto the passengers and announced thatlightning had hit the plane, and theywere going to crash in a matter ofminutes. “There are only enoughparachutes for four of the five of us,”he announced. “Since I’m the pilot, Iget one!” After saying this, the pilotgrabbed a parachute and jumped outof the plane.“I’m the world’s greatest athlete,”

proclaimed Jordon.“This world needs great

athletes, so I must live.”Jordon then grabbed a parachute

and leaped out of the plane.“I’m the smartest man in the world,”bragged Gates. “The world needssmart men, so I must also live!” Gatesgrabbed a parachute and jumped outof the plane.At this point, the Pope began to speak.“I have lived a long life compared toyou, and you may take the lastparachute. I will go down with theplane.”“You don't have to stay here! Theworld’s smartest man jumped out ofthe plane with my backpack.”

WEDNESDAY | SEPTEMBER 2 | 2020 | BHUBANESWAR

The whole world yearns afterfreedom, yet each creature is inlove with his chains; this is thefirst paradox and inextricableknot of our nature.

SRI AUROBINDO

JEST

AS AN INSTITUTIONDESIGNED TO

PROTECT CONSTITUTIONAL

RIGHTS, THECOURT IS

EXPECTED TOSTEER CLEAR

OF ANY UNWARRANTEDVALIDATION OF

ARCHAICSOCIAL

MORALITY

GENDER & RELATIONSHIP

Readers of Orissa POSTare most welcome to contribute letters(200 words), articles andcolumns (between 750-1250words). Contributors arerequested to send theircontact numbers and fullpostal address/email ID. They may alsosend in their valuable comments, opinionand suggestions, preferably by email, to: edit@orissapost.com

B-15, Rasulgarh Industrial Estate,Bhubaneswar-751010

LettersTO THE EDITOR

THE RELATIONSHIPBETWEEN A

STEPDAUGHTERAND A STEPMOM

IS SIMILAR TOTHAT BETWEEN A

DAUGHTER-IN-LAWAND

A MOTHER-IN-LAW

Melvin Durai

Hail Pranab

Sir, In the demise of Pranab Mukherjee, the nationhas lost a great personality rightly honoured with theBharat Ratna. Sadly, the Congress party never gavehim the most-deserving post of Prime Minister eventhough he was made President of India by the partyleadership. I was privileged to get appointments fromhim both while he was President and after retirementtoo. He followed the religious tradition of attendingDurga Puja in his native village every year for three dayseven while he was President. He also fulfilled his dutyas President to attend the Dussehra celebrationsin Delhi by directly coming to the Ramlila venuefrom his native village. Every President of India,ever since the nation became a Republic, has been attending Dussehra celebrationsin Delhi without fail. Mukherjee once told me that he, in his life-time, missed Puja-celebrations in his native village only twice; once on advice from his mother becauseof his examinations. He was so humble that he was the only ex-President to acceptan invitation to be a guest-speaker at an ordinary Rotary Club meet.

Subhash Chandra Agarwal, DELHI

Media’s role

Sir, Media is a vigilant onlooker. It is the watchdog ofthe society. It is supposed to be neutral, non-partisan,non-prejudiced and impartial. It is the fourth pillar ofdemocracy. Media sensitises, awakens, informs and com-municates with the public. It is not a law and order agency.But, now-a-days, the electronic media is often seenoverstepping its limitations and acting as an extra ju-dicial agency. The media trial is anathema to our ju-dicial system which is entrusted to look after regula-tion of human behaviour in the society. A person is oftenmore sinned against than sinning by the over-zealouselectronic media. There are instances of media in-terference in the activities of the police and the judi-ciary. Such over enthusiasm by the electronic mediais violative of the guidelines of Press Council of India.This media overreach should be discouraged. Such par-allel trial and investigation by the media are an affrontto individual dignity and right to privacy.

Prabhudutt Dash, BHUBANESWAR

cmyk

cmyk

Suman DashBhattamishra &

Rangin PallavTripathy

WORDSWORTH

WISDOM CORNER

Thrasonical

This should be put in the category of educated insults, since only thosewho have swallowed the dictionary or know Latin literature understand

what it means. A thrasonical person is a braggart. The original was a formersoldier named Thraso, a character in the play Eunuchus (The Eunuch), whichwas written in 161 BC and became the most popular of the six by the writerwhom we know as Terence. Thrasonical started to appear in English in thesixteenth century, in time for Shakespeare to put it into the mouth ofRosalind in As you Like It. She describes Julius Caesar’s famous assertionveni, vidi, vici (“I came, I saw, I conquered”) as a thrasonical brag.

Angry people are not always wise. JANE AUSTEN

Great acts are made up of small deeds. LAO TZU

Art raises its head where creeds relax. FRIEDRICH NIETZSCHE

cmyk

cmyk

KERALA

WEDNESDAY | SEPTEMBER 2 | 2020 | BHUBANESWARP7 NO

RTHE

AST

PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

Guwahati, Sept 1: COVID-19 pan-demic has affected the process forissuing rejection order to everyperson excluded from the NationalRegister of Citizens (NRC) in Assameven after the final document ofcitizens was published a year ago,the top NRC official said Tuesday.

NRC State Coordinator HiteshSarma told PTI thatgovernment officialsand employees atthe ground level areengaged in work re-lated to the pan-demic so they couldnot recheck thespeaking orderwhich describes theexact reason for ex-clusion.

“The process forissuing rejection or-ders was intendedto be started fromtoday, but now it hasto wait for the pan-demic to subside,”Sarma said.

Stating a rejection order has tobe issued to each excluded person,he said, the order needs to haveanother order - speaking order -attached explaining the exact rea-son for exclusion from the finalNRC. The rejection orders are cru-cial for the concerned rejected peo-ple. They will be able to appeal tothe Foreigners Tribunals (FTs)within 120 days only after receiv-ing the rejection orders.

When he scrutinised many ofthe speaking orders, Sarma said, dis-crepancies were noticed with manynot written in the proper way andso he ordered a recheck.

The final NRC was publishedAugust 31 last year by excluding19,06,657 persons. A total of3,11,21,004 names were includedout of 3,30,27,661 applicants.

The process for updation of the

NRC in Assam was conducted underthe supervision of the SupremeCourt from 2013.

The NRC state coordinator alsoinformed that Monday he held avideo conference meeting with thedistrict Deputy Commissioners(DCs) giving them a detailed brief-ing on how to recheck the speakingorders. On being pointed out aboutthose excluded from the NRC were

facing varied prob-lems and are in ten-sion with regard totheir status as citi-zen of the country,the state NRC coor-dinator said, whenthe rejection ordersare issued those dis-agreeing with the ex-clusion can challengeit in courts.

Some of those ex-cluded from the reg-ister said they weretensed as despite pre-senting requisite doc-uments with thelegacy data to estab-

lish their Indian citizenship, theywere left out from the NRC. To easethe concerns of those excludedfrom NRC, the Union Home andExternal Affairs ministries afterpublication of NRC had stated thatexclusion does not make a resi-dent a "foreigner", and that onlyForeigners Tribunals and highercourts can decide on their Indiancitizenship.

Abu Latif Barbhuiya ofKarimganj district who hopes to gofor Haj pilgrimage after the pan-demic ebbs said he failed to getpassport as the local police is notissuing verification certificate afterexclusion of his name from theNRC, whereas his family membersare in. Rinku Das of Goalpara dis-trict is facing a lot of problem in buy-ing a plot of land in his village ashe cannot get it registered in hisname as he is not in the NRC.

INDO-ASIAN NEWS SERVICE

Thiruvananthapuram, Sept 1:With three national agencies allset to again question M. Sivasankar,former secretary to Kerala ChiefMinister Pinarayi Vijayan, it isgoing to be uneasy days ahead forthe latter.

The Customs, EnforcementDirectorate (ED) and the NationalInvestigation Agency (NIA) are nowprobing the case and have arrestedaround two dozen people, who weredirectly or indirectly involved inthis case.

Since July 5, when Customsbusted the gold smuggling case,Sivasankar has been questionedby these three agencies for longhours. The last time was August15, when he was questioned for fivehours by the ED.

After that, these agencies havebeen on a massive probe collectingevidence and corroborating it withthe arrested. According to sources,these agencies have found that thereare some missing links and verysoon Sivasankar and a chartered ac-

countant, who has been close tohim and prime accused SwapnaSuresh, would be asked to appearbefore one or more of these probeagencies.

The gold smuggling case was un-

earthed when P. S.Sarith, a formeremployee of the UAE Consulatehere, was arrested by the customsdepartment July 5 when he was fa-cilitating smuggling of 30 kg ofgold in the diplomatic baggage to

Thiruvananthapuram from Dubai.It turned murkier when the name

of Swapna Suresh, a former em-ployee of the Consulate, and em-ployed with the state 's ITDepartment, surfaced and more so,when her links with Sivasankar,who held the dual posts of PrincipalSecretary to Vijayan and state ITSecretary, came out.

The IAS officer was subsequentlyremoved from both the posts andthen suspended by Vijayan.

What has added to the already be-leaguered Vijayan is a fire in the se-cret section of the GeneralAdministration Department in theState Secretariat that took placelast week.

With the BJP and Congress al-leging that it was a 'created' fire, ateam of NIA officials will soon visitthe fire spot. Also, their demandfor the CCTV visuals at the seat ofpower is also yet not to be handedover.

Though Vijayan has been say-ing that the buck stops withSivasankar and action has beentaken against him, the CPI-M, whichoften takes a position of high moralground on issues like corruption andcheating seems to be on a stickywicket now. With the Congress andthe BJP breathing down on Vijayan'sneck, it remains to be seen whatstrategy would the CPI-M take, ifsomething untoward occurs dur-ing the course of the fresh round ofSivasankar's questioning.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Kohima, Sept 1: To Kuozeu Vizo,the landscape was as spellbindingas a rice field, golden and ripe forharvest, but it was her villageburned black.

“I still wonder how they evenknew which land belonged to whomwhen they started rebuilding the vil-lage,” said Vizo, 98. She and fellowNaga people recalled the end ofWorld War II ahead of the an-niversary of Japan’s surrenderSeptember 2.

In April 1944, 15,000 men fromthe 31st Division of Japan’s ImperialArmy commanded by Lt. Gen.Kotoku Sato arrived with the aimof taking over Kohima, a hill townthat was also the British head-quarters in the Naga Hills. The sta-tion, on the Indian border withMyanmar, was considered strate-gically important for Japanese ad-vancement into British-held India.

The face-off that ensued earnednicknames like the “Stalingrad ofthe East” — it was a decisive turnin the war — and “The Battle ofthe Tennis Court,” referring to thesetting around which heavy fight-ing went on for days, at times in-volving hand-to-hand combat.

The lines of the court have beenpreserved in the well-manicuredlawns of the Kohima War Cemetery,the final resting place for morethan 1,420 British Commonwealthsoldiers. Adjoining the adminis-trative center of Kohima is the vil-lage area, home to the Angamis, afiercely independent Naga tribe.Between April and June 1944, theJapanese and Allied forces battledacross Kohima and the villagesaround it.

Kuou Kesiezie, 108, vividly re-members sprinting down the baseof the Pulie Badze mountain. ABritish army porter, she had hur-ried back home after dropping offa load of supplies when she re-alised she still had an ammunitionbelt on her shoulder, she recalledwith a chuckle.

A population that had never beenexposed to life beyond the village sawbattle tanks and fighter planes drop-ping bombs over their beloved land.

But it was war and they had nochoice, said Visakuolie Suokhrie, 83.“They had to burn our village downto chase the Japanese out,” he said.

They returned home to total bare-ness — there were no seeds even to

plant anew. The British providedsupplies to rebuild homes. Theyplanted “rusulho,” or ration rice, avariety that many in Kohima stillcultivate.

While many Nagas supportedthe Allied forces, others backed theJapanese with whom they sharedsome physical features and in thehope that they would help the Nagasachieve independence from Britain.

BK Sachu, 86, recalled the kind-ness of a doctor who “could notwatch children suffer, he wouldtreat them. From him I understoodhow good the Japanese were,” hesaid. But Japanese troops were lowon supplies. It is said that it washunger that cost them the battle of

Kohima. Local help was impera-tive in this rough mountainous ter-rain. Anger toward the Japanesegrew as the starved soldiers forciblytook away what the villagers had.

“I was carrying a loaded basketwith a chicken placed on top.Japanese soldiers just lifted thechicken and took it away withouteven saying anything,” Vizo said.

British Field Marshal Sir WilliamSlim acknowledged the tribespeo-ple’s role in his 1956 book “Defeatinto Victory.”

“There were the gallant Nagaswhose loyalty even in the most de-pressing times of the invasion hadnever faltered. Many a British andIndian soldiers owe his life to thenaked head hunting Naga,” hewrote. The war and soldiers arelong gone. But reminders of thedevastation remain. A weedy plotbears the mangled bodies of eightchildren who were killed in 1976when a war-era bomb explodedwhere they played.

For the locals, World War II wasa conflict brought to their quietlands by outsiders, and along withit, immeasurable loss.

“We really suffered during thewar,” 101-year-old Vichüzo Rutsasaid softly from his bed.

PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

Kochi, Sept 1: Kerala FinanceMinister Thomas Isaac’s descrip-tion of Vamana as a ‘cheat’ has in-vited the ire of the BJP with the saf-fron party demanding an apologyfrom the Marxist leader for ‘in-sulting’ one of the reincarnationsof Lord Vishnu.

BJP state president K Surendransought an apology from Isaac forinsulting the devotees of LordVishnu.

In his tweet greeting people onOnam Monday and announcingthe floor price for 14 types of veg-etables, Isaac said, “we celebrateMahabali who did not discrimi-nate by caste or creed, not Vamanawho cheated him.”

“This edition of the harvest fes-tival has something to celebrate.Kerala has announced floor pricesfor 14 types of vegetables in itsdrive for self sufficiency in veg-etables,” he said.

Isaac’s tweet did not go downwell with Surendran, who said thatVamana being worshipped by croresof devotees is an avatar of LordVishnu.

Noting that the biggest Onamcelebration is being held at LordVamana temple at Thrikkakara inErnakulam district in the state,Surendran said in a Facebook post,“Isaac who insulted Vamana mustapologise to devotees of Lord

Vishnu.”According to legend, Mahabali,

a generous king who had onceruled Kerala, was sent to the netherworld by Vamana. It is said duringhis rule, the kingdom became soprosperous that Devas (gods of theHeaven) felt jealous about it asMahabali belonged to the Asuraclan and sent Vamana to endMahabali’s reign in Kerala.

Onam, the most popular festi-val in Kerala, was a low-key affairin the state Monday due to theCovid-19 pandemic.

Big celebrations were missingthis year as the people largely cel-ebrated Thiruvonam indoors tocommemorate the visit of the KingMahabali to the lands and peoplehe previously ruled.

PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

Itanagar, Sep 1: All travellers en-tering Arunachal Pradesh will betested for COVID-19 by rapid anti-gen test (RAT) at the state’s checkgates and helipads, as per the Unlock4 guidelines issued by the state gov-ernment.

State Chief Secretary NareshKumar issued a notificationMonday night on the guidelineswhich would be effective fromSeptember 1 to 30.

The antigen tests of all incominginterstate travellers at the point ofentry will be strictly carried out from8 am to 8 pm. If the travellers aredetected as being asymptomaticand negative in the test on arrival,they can report to work or performtheir activities in the state follow-ing the 'new normal', the guide-lines said.

However, they should self-mon-itor their health for 14 days from thedate of their arrival for any Covid-19 symptoms, and immediatelyseek medical consultation or call thedistrict helpline.

If the people are detected as beingasymptomatic and positive in thetest, they would have the optionfor home isolation at their desti-nation district if they fulfil the cri-teria.

Those who are symptomatic buttest negative in the test on arrival,would be shifted to the 'suspect

case' section of the dedicated Covidhealth centers or dedicate Covidhospital of the district for RT-PCR/True Nat tests.

If they test negative in RT-PCR/TrueNat, they may be shiftedto a non-Covid health facility formanagement of symptoms and incase they are detected as being pos-itive, they will be shifted to the con-firmed case section of such cen-tres and hospitals.

Travellers who are symptomaticand test positive in the test on ar-rival will be shifted to a Covid CareCentre, a Covid health centre, or aCovid hospital, depending on theseverity of their symptoms.

All travellers are to observe thestandard precautions like wearinga facemask, observing physical dis-tancing, frequent handwashingwith soap and water or using handsanitizer, following cough etiquette,while in public areas in the state.

INDO-ASIAN NEWS SERVICE

Guwahati/Agartala, Sept 1: Thefour-month long monsoon has so farbeen erratic in the mountainousnortheastern region. Four of theeight northeastern states, includ-ing Assam, have received excessrain while the remaining four re-ported a deficit.

According to the Indian Councilof Agricultural Research (ICAR) sci-entists, the erratic monsoon is likelyto affect both the kharif and rabicrops in the region.

According to the records of theIndian Meteorological Department(IMD), till August 31, Sikkimrecorded plus (excess) 65 per centrain, Meghalaya plus 19 per cent,Arunachal Pradesh plus 6 percent and Assam plus 5 per cent.Manipur recorded minus (deficit)49 per cent rainfall, Mizoramminus 30 per cent, Nagaland minus26 per cent and Tripura minus 18per cent.

According to IMD officials andexperts, the four-month long south-west monsoon (June-September)is in full swing in most parts of thehilly northeastern region whichin most years recorded a good monsoon.

IMD scientist Ranjan Phukansaid as the monsoon trough was ac-tive along the foothills of theHimalayas, Sikkim, Assam,Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalayaexperienced good and heavy mon-soon rains. "Until the first half ofthe monsoon, it was good rainfallin four northeastern states. Oneafter another low pressure in Bayof Bengal, the monsoon troughand related wind condition movedto eastern and central India re-gion skipping the northeasternstates causing less rainfall in var-ious states," Phukan told IANS

over the phone.According to the disaster man-

agement officials, monsoon floodsand landslides have claimed 140lives in Assam, 10 in ArunachalPradesh, seven in Meghalaya and

one in Tripura.The ICAR's Principal Scientist

Shankar Prashad Das said that theerratic monsoon would affect thekharif crops in the northeastern re-gion.

According to Das the reproduc-tion phase of the crops would alsobe affected in the northeastern re-gion due to the unreliable rainfall.

Like the previous years, Assamthis year too witnessed devastatingfloods that killed 113 people in 22 dis-tricts, while 26 others were killedin landslides since May 22. Withrespite from the monsoon rains,the situation improved significantlyin the first week of August evenas 57 lakh people have been affectedin 5,378 villages in 30 of the state's33 districts.

The floods also badly hit do-mestic and wild animals in vari-ous sanctuaries and national parksincluding the world-famousKaziranga National Park, where18 rhinos and 135 wild animalsdied due to the deluge.

Sans rejection order, those excluded from NRC are left in lurch

The rejection orders arecrucial for the

concerned rejected people

They will be able toappeal to the Foreigners

Tribunals within 120 daysonly after receiving therejection orders

Those excluded from NRCwere facing varied

problems and are in tensionwith regard to their statusas citizen of the country

Gold smuggling: Trouble looms ahead for Vijayan

Though Vijayan has been sayingthat the buck stops with

Sivasankar and action has beentaken against him, the CPI-M, whichoften takes a position of high moralground on issues like corruptionand cheating seems to be on asticky wicket now

With the Congress and the BJPbreathing down on Vijayan’s

neck, it remains to be seen whatstrategy would the CPI-M take, ifsomething untoward occurs duringthe course of the fresh round ofSivasankar’s questioning

ON A STICKY WICKET

Covid test must for travellers to Arunachal THOSE ENTERING THE NORTHEASTERN STATE WILL BE TESTED AT THE

STATE’S CHECK GATES AND HELIPADS

All travellers are toobserve the standardprecautions like wearinga facemask, observingphysical distancing, frequent handwashingwith soap and water orusing hand sanitizer, following cough etiquette, while in publicareas in the state

Kerala minister’s Onamtweet triggers a row

Erratic monsoon in N-E

Like the previousyears, Assam thisyear too witnesseddevastating floodsthat killed 113 peoplein 22 districts, while26 others were killedin landslides sinceMay 22. With respitefrom the monsoonrains, the situationimproved significantlyin the first week of August

Nagas recall ‘Stalingrad of the East’Between April and June 1944, the Japanese and Allied forces battled across Kohima and the villages around it

In April 1944, 15,000men from the 31stDivision of Japan’sImperial Army commanded by Lt.Gen. Kotoku Satoarrived with the aim oftaking over Kohima

An Angami Naga boy Viketouzo Miachieo, 22, displays ammunition from WorldWar II that he found a few years ago while cleaning the area beside his housein Kohima village

Citizenshipconundrum

P8

nationalWEDNESDAY | SEPTEMBER 2 | 2020 | BHUBANESWAR

Modi Govt isjeopardisingIndia’s future.

It should give jobs,not empty slogans

RAHUL GANDHI |CONGRESS LEADER

of theday uote

Likesportspersons,a law should

be enacted for thedope test of filmstars

VISHVAS SARANG | MP

MEDICAL EDUCATION MINISTER

I urge PrimeMinisterNarendra

Modi to considermore legally viableand sustainableoptions forproviding GST dues to states to helpthem tide over the COVID-19financial crisis

ARVIND KEJRIWAL | DELHI CHIEF MINISTER

No party can formgovernment in Biharalone, alliance a realitySUSHIL MODI | BIHAR DEPUTY CM

In a landmark decision, the YogiAdityanath government isplanning to set up a ‘KinnarKalyan Board’ for the welfare oftransgenders in Uttar Pradesh

FOR THE THIRD GENDER

Rajiv Kumartakes over as ECNew Delhi: Formerbureaucrat Rajiv KumarTuesday assumed charge asthe new electioncommissioner. He takes theplace vacated by AshokLavasa who joins the AsianDevelopment Bank as vice-president. Kumar, a retired1984-batch IAS officer of theJharkhand cadre, will havefive-year tenure and retire in2025. He will preside over thenext Lok Sabha polls in 2024.According to rules, anelection commissioner hassix years on the post or till heturns 65, whichever is earlier.

Gujarat to enact‘Gunda Act’ Ahmedabad: The VijayRupani government willenact the ‘Gujarat Gunda andAnti-Social Activities(Prevention) Act’ to rein inhabitual criminals. Under thislaw, those indulging in anti-social activities or disturbingpeace will be given jail termsranging from seven to 10years, and fined Rs 50,000, astate government releasesaid Tuesday. Governmentofficials found abetting suchpeople will face prison termsof not less than three yearswhich may go up to 10 years,the release further informed.

Three of a familyfound murdered Hardoi (UP): A couple andtheir son were killed byunidentified persons in anashram in the Tadiyawa areahere, police said Tuesday.Hira Das (55), his wife Meera(48) and son Netram (20),who were living in theashram built on their land,were brutally hit withstones, they said, adding theincident took place Mondaynight. Senior officials,including Superintendent ofPolice Amit Kumar,inspected the spot andformed teams to crack thecase, police said.

Migrant workerkills self at homeNoida (UP): A 28-year-oldmigrant worker fromJharkhand was found dead athis residence in UttarPradesh’s Noida Tuesday in asuspected case of suicide,police said. The man wasfound hanging through anoose from the skylight(ventilator) of his rentedaccommodation in Sector63's Chotpur village in themorning, they said. ““Hiswife and mother spotted thebody and the police wereinformed subsequently. Theywere at home when theincident happened,” anofficial from the local Phase 3police station told PTI. Thedeceased hailed fromPalamau district ofJharkhand and worked for aprivate firm in Sector 63 here,the official said.

SHORT TAKES

yy

cmyk

cmyk

PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

New Delhi, Sept 1: Thousands ofmasks and gloves, hundreds of sani-tiser bottles and face shields, touch-free operation of doors, and COVID-19 tests for an estimated 4,000 peopleincluding MPs and staff members– several arrangements have beenmade for the 18-day Parliament ses-sion from September 14 that wouldbe held under the shadow of a pan-demic for the first time ever.

Frequent sanitisation of the entireparliament complex will also be car-ried out, while arrangements havebeen made to sanitise various par-liamentary papers as well as footwearand cars of MPs, officials said.

Frisking of people will also make

way for touch-less security scan-ning, while thermal scanning willalso be totally touch-free.

The first-of-its-kind monsoon ses-sion will see Lok Sabha and RajyaSabha sitting in two different shifts,while special seating arrangementshave been made for MPs in adher-ence to social distancing guidelines.

For making the entire Parliamentcomplex a safe zone in view of theCOVID-19 pandemic, Lok SabhaSpeaker Om Birla and Rajya SabhaChairman M Venkaiah Naidu haveheld extensive discussions with of-ficials of the Home Ministry, HealthMinistry, ICMR and the DRDO.

As per the standing operatingprocedures finalised for holdingthe session from September 14 till

October 1, MPs and staff of secre-tariats of both houses, as also themedia personnel covering the pro-ceedings, will be asked to undergoCOVID-19 test at least 72 hours be-fore the start of the session.

Officials said arrangements havebeen made for tests of close to 4,000

people, including the MPs, staffmembers and journalists. Only MPsand ministers will be allowed insidethe main building, while necessaryseating arrangements will be madefor separate seating of their per-sonal staff in the complex.

A new seating arrangement fol-

lowing social distancing guidelineshas been prepared by both housesfor their respective members. MPswill also be allowed to address theChair while seated and wearingtheir masks so that the risk of in-fection might be minimised.

It has also been decided that airof air conditioners will be exchangedsix times every day to avoid anypossible infection. The DRDO willalso provide multi-utility COVID-19kits to all MPs.

Each kit will contain 40 dispos-able masks, five N-95 masks, 20 bot-tles of sanitisers of 50 ml each, faceshields, 40 pairs of gloves, a touch-free hook to open and close doorswithout touching them, herbal san-itation wipes and tea bags to en-

hance immunity.The two Houses together have

more than 780 members at present.The Health Ministry has also sug-gested that the movement ofMembers of Parliament in chambersof both the houses can be madeunidirectional to avoid face-to-faceinteractions.

The Ministry will make avail-able short video clips to all MPs onawareness about COVID-19 infec-tions and the benefits of wearingmasks, etc. All guidelines relatedto COVID-19 prevention will bestrictly followed, presiding officersof both Houses said.

The provision of ultraviolet boxeshas also been made to sanitise var-ious parliamentary papers.

Masks, gloves, sanitisers & tea bags: Parl gets pandemic-ready

PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

New Delhi, Sept 1: With 69,921people testing positive for coron-avirus infection, India’s COVID-19tally mounted to 36,91,166, whilerecoveries surged to 28,39,882Tuesday pushing the recovery rateto 76.94 per cent, according to theUnion Health Ministry data.

The death toll climbed to 65,288with 819 new fatalities being re-ported in a span of 24 hours, the dataupdated at 8 am showed.

The COVID-19 case fatality ratehas further declined to 1.77 per cent.There are 7,85,996 active cases ofcoronavirus infection in the coun-try which comprises 21.29 per centof the total caseload, the data stated.India’s COVID-19 tally had crossedthe 20-lakh mark on August 7 andwent past 30 lakh on August 23.

According to the ICMR, a cu-mulative total of 4,33,24,834 sam-ples have been tested up to August

31 with 10,16,920 samples beingtested Monday.

Of the 819 fresh deaths, 184 arefrom Maharashtra, 113 fromKarnataka, 91 from Tamil Nadu,85 from Andhra Pradesh, 63 fromUttar Pradesh, 52 from West Bengal,49 from Punjab, 20 from MadhyaPradesh, 18 from Delhi, 14 fromGujarat, 13 from Rajasthan ,12 fromUttarakhand, 10 each from Assam,Odisha and Tripura.

Nine fatalities each have beenreported from Goa, Telangana andJammu and Kashmir, eight from

Chhattisgarh, seven each fromHaryana, Jharkhand, Kerala andPuducherry, four each from Biharand Chandigarh, three fromHimachal Pradesh while Andamanand Nicobar Islands has registeredone fatality. Of the total 65,228deaths, Maharashtra has reportedthe maximum at 24,583 followed by7,322 in Tamil Nadu, 5,702 inKarnataka, 4,444 in Delhi, 3,969 inAndhra Pradesh, 3,486 in UttarPradesh, 3,228 in West Bengal, 3,020in Gujarat,and 1,453 in Punjab.

So far, 1,394 people have died of

COVID-19 in Madhya Pradesh, 1,056in Rajasthan, 836 in Telangana, 703in Jammu and Kashmir, 689 inHaryana, 582 in Bihar, 492 in Odisha,417 in Jharkhand, 306 in Assam,294 in Kerala, 277 in Chhattisgarhand 269 in Uttarakhand.

“Our figures are being recon-ciled with the Indian Council ofMedical Research,” the ministrysaid on its website, adding thatstate-wise distribution of figures issubject to further verification andreconciliation.

COVID-19 TALLY CLIMBS TO 36,91,166n The death toll climbed to 65,288with 819 new fatalities being reported in 24 hours

n There are 7,85,996 active cases ofcoronavirus infection in the countrywhich comprises 21.29 per cent ofthe total caseload

n The COVID-19 case fatality ratehas further declined to 1.77 per cent

One in four adults don’t want vaccination: SurveyNew Delhi: One in four adults globally do not want to get vaccinatedagainst COVID-19, largely due to their apprehensions about side-effectsand effectiveness of the vaccine, but the proportion of such people ismuch less at about 13 per cent in India, a new survey showed Tuesday.The World Economic Forum-Ipsos survey of nearly 20,000 adults from 27countries also put Indians as the third most optimistic population – afterChina and Saudi Arabia –about a COVID-19 vaccine being available in2020 itself. Globally, 74 per cent respondents said they would get avaccine for COVID-19 if it is available, but more than half (59 per cent) donot expect that one will be available before the end of this year. ArnaudBernaert, Head of Shaping the Future of Health and Healthcare at theWEF, said, “The 26 per cent shortfall in vaccine confidence is significantenough to compromise the effectiveness of rolling out a COVID-19vaccine. It is therefore critical that governments and the private sectorcome together to build confidence and ensure that manufacturingcapacity meets the global supply of a COVID-19 vaccination programme.”

AGENCIES

Mumbai, Sept 1: Even as severalagencies continue to focus on RheaChakraborty in their investiga-tions into Sushant Singh Rajput’sdeath, WhatsApp texts between theactor and one of his sisters revealthat his family was aware of hismental health problems.

The chats with his sister Priyankawere from June 8, six days beforethe actor was found dead in hisMumbai apartment.

Priyanka Singh, it appears fromthe messages, asked Sushant totake Librium for a week, Nexitoeveryday and Lonazep for “when-ever there is anxiety attack”.

All three are prescribed for de-pression and anxiety. This flies in

the face of claims by the familythat it was not aware of any men-tal health problems that Sushantmay have been battling.

Priyanka Singh also appears totell her brother that she can help himconnect with the “best doctor inMumbai, all confidential”.

Searches show Librium is “asedative and hypnotic medicationof the benzodiazepine class”. It isused to treat anxiety, insomnia andsymptoms of withdrawal from al-cohol and other drugs, according to pages.

Nexito 10 MG, according to onlinehealthcare service practo.com, isused to treat depression and gen-eralized anxiety disorders. “It shouldbe started at lower doses and grad-ually increased. Do not stop tak-

ing this medicine suddenly as itmay cause withdrawal symptomslike mood changes, irritability, dizzi-ness, numbness in the hands orfeet, and difficulty in falling asleep,”according to the site.

The same site says Lonazep isused to treat certain types of seizuresand to relieve panic disorders, like

unexpected extreme fear and ten-sion due to stress. It warns: “Donot stop taking this medicine sud-denly as it may cause withdrawalsymptoms like aggressive behav-ior, blurred vision, etc.”

In the First Information Reportfiled in Bihar, Sushant’s fatherclaimed he had no knowledge abouthis son’s mental health issues. Hehas accused Rhea Chakraborty ofgiving him medication and takinghim for treatment without theknowledge of his family. TheWhatsApp chat shows the actorwas being given medication by hisfamily.

Rhea Chakraborty dated Sushantfor a year and left his home June 8,the day of these chats with Priyanka Singh.

New twist in Sushant death case WhatsApp chat between the actor and one of his sisters reveal that he was taking anti-depressants

PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

New Delhi, Sept 1: The JointEntrance Exam (JEE)-Mains foradmission to engineering collegesbegan Tuesday amid stringentprecautions and social distanc-ing measures in view of COVID-19 pandemic.

Staggered entry and exit forcandidates, sanitisers at thegate, distribution of masks andmaintaining social distancingas candidates queued up, wereamong the scenes witnessed atthe exam centres across thecountry.

The exam which has been post-poned twice in view of COVID-19pandemic is scheduled fromSeptember 1 to 6.

“Hand sanitisers are beingmade available at the entranceof the examination centre andinside the exam hall at all times.The usual process of checkingthe admit cards of candidateshas been replaced with barcodereaders, which have been madeavailable to the examinationcentre authorities,” said an of-ficial of the National TestingAgency (NTA).

While all the candidates areasked to go to the exam centres withmasks and sanitisers, once theyenter the centre, they have to usethe masks provided by the exam-ination authority.

JEE Mains held amidstringent precautions

FINAL JOURNEY

The mortal remains of former President Pranab Mukherjee being taken to Lodhi Road crematorium from his residencefor the final rites in New Delhi, Tuesday PTI PHOTO

Average 381 suicidesdaily in India in 2019

PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

New Delhi, Sept 1: India re-ported an average 381 deathsby suicide daily in 2019, totalling1,39,123 fatalities over the year,according to the latest NationalCrime Records Bureau (NCRB) data.

A 3.4 per cent increase was ob-served in suicides during 2019(1,39,123 suicides) as comparedto 2018 (1,34,516) and 2017(1,29,887), the data showed.

The rate ofsuicide (inci-dents per 1 lakhpopulation) roseby 0.2 per centin 2019 over2018, as per the data.

According tothe statistics bythe NCRB,which functionsunder theUnion HomeMinistry, thesuicide rate incities (13.9 per cent) was higheras compared to all-India suiciderate (10.4 per cent) in 2019.

Suicide by 'hanging' (53.6 percent), ‘consuming poison’ (25.8per cent), ‘drowning’ (5.2 percent) and ‘self-immolation’ (3.8per cent) were the prominentmeans of committing suicidesduring the year, the data showed.

Family problems (other thanmarriage-related issues) werebehind 32.4 per cent of suicides,marriage-related problems (5.5per cent) and illness (17.1 percent) together accounted for 55per cent of the total suicides in

the country during 2019, itstated.

For every 100 suicide deaths,70.2 were male and 29.8 females,the NCRB, which collects datafrom police recorded cases,stated.

Nearly 68.4 per cent of themale victims were married,whereas the ratio was 62.5 percent for female victims, the datashowed.

Majority of suicides were re-ported in Maharashtra (18,916),

followed by 13,493in Tamil Nadu,12,665 in WestBengal, 12,457 inMadhya Pradeshand 11,288 inKar nataka, ac-counting for 13.6per cent, 9.7 percent, 9.1 per cent, 9per cent and 8.1 percent of total suchdeaths, respectively.

These five statestogether accountedfor 49.5 per cent of

the total suicides reported inthe country and the rest 50.5per cent suicides were reportedin the remaining 24 states and7 UTs, the data showed.

Uttar Pradesh, the most pop-ulous state, reported compara-tively lower percentage shareof suicidal deaths, accountingfor only 3.9 per cent of the totalsuicides in the country, it added.

Maximum cases of mass/fam-ily suicide were reported fromTamil Nadu (16) followed byAndhra Pradesh (14), Kerala(11), Punjab (9) and Rajasthan (7),the NCRB data showed.

Pranab cremated with full state honoursPRESS TRUST OF INDIA

New Delhi, Sept 1: FormerPresident Pranab Mukherjee wascremated with full state honours atthe Lodhi road electric cremato-rium Tuesday afternoon.

His son Abhijit Mukherjee per-formed his last rites.

Mukherjee’s family and rela-tives paid their last respects clad inPPE kits while conforming toCOVID-19 safeguards.

An Army contingent gave a guardof honour and a gun salute to theformer President. The mortal re-mains of Mukherjee were earlierbrought to the crematorium in a

flower-bedecked vehicle. His bodywas clad in the Tricolour.

Mukherjee (84) died Mondayevening at the Army's Researchand Referral Hospital in Delhi can-tonment following a 21-day battlewith multiple ailments. Mukherjeewas the 13th President of Indiafrom 2012 to 2017.

Data released byNCRB showed a 3.4

per cent increase wasobserved in suicidesduring 2019 (1,39,123

suicides) as compared to 2018

(1,34,516) and 2017(1,29,887)

PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

New Delhi, Sept 1:Amid a politicalslugfest over the Facebook issue,a parliamentary panel will meetWednesday to discuss alleged mis-use of the social media platform.

The Parliamentary StandingCommittee on Infor mationTechnology, headed by seniorCongress leader Shashi Tharoor,has summoned representatives ofFacebook and will hear their views“on the subject of safeguardingcitizens’ rights and prevention ofmisuse of social/online news mediaplatforms including special em-phasis on women security in thedigital space,” the agenda of themeeting read. It has also calledrepresentatives of the Ministryof Electronics and InformationTechnology on the same issue.

PARL PANEL TO DISCUSS FBISSUE TODAY

P9

nationalWEDNESDAY | SEPTEMBER 2 | 2020 | BHUBANESWAR

Thefinal judgmenthas beendelivered, by thegrace of LordShivaJUSTICE ARUN MISHRA | SUPREME COURT JUDGE

Researchers at IIT Madras have founda method to determine whether aworker has the mental capacity tohandle a crisis in a factory or otherhigh-stress jobs by measuring theirbrainwaves using an EEG

BRAINWAVES STUDY CAN TELL IF AWORKER CAN HANDLE CRISIS SITUATION

yy

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The NDAgovernment isnot showing

enough concern toaddress the joblosses and otheradverse effectsbrought about by the COVID-19pandemic in the country

ASADUDDIN OWAISI | AIMIM PRESIDENT

of theday uote

The EDdoesn’t comefirst. If anyone

knows the law, EDcomes whendiscrepancies, ifthere is any, foundby any other agency. It has to beidentified and proved by any otheragency and then only ED comes

AJAY MAKEN | CONGRESS GENERAL SECRETARY

Thoughpeople of allcommunities

are suffering allkinds of atrocitiesunder the BJPgovernment in UP,regular incidents of injustice andatrocities on Dalits are a matter ofextreme concern

MAYAWATI | BAHUJAN SAMAJ PARTY CHIEF

2 militant hideoutsbusted in J&K Srinagar: Two militanthideouts were busted alongthe Line of Control (LoC) inBaramulla district ofJammu and Kashmir and ahuge cache of arms andammunition recoveredafter Army launched asearch operation, aDefence spokesperson saidTuesday. It seems, themodus operandi was todrop arms and ammunitionin caches near the LoC sothat the overgroundworkers or militants pickthe same for carrying outtheir activities in thehinterland, thespokesperson said.

Farmer dies afterinhaling pesticide Muzaffarnagar: A 45-year-oldfarmer died after inhaling apesticide he was spraying inhis fields in Uttar Pradesh’sMuzaffarnagar district,police said Tuesday. Theincident took place in thedistrict’s Wazirabad villageunder Bhopa police stationon Monday evening, theysaid. The farmer, UpenderKumar, inhaled thepesticide he was spraying inhis fields. He was rushed toa hospital where he wasdeclared dead, the policesaid. Village head AnujKumar soughtcompensation for the familyof the deceased fromdistrict authorities.

12 cops ‘involved’in power theftAhmedabad: Twelve policepersonnel, including twoassistant sub-inspectors,in Gujarat’s Amreli districthave been asked to vacatetheir official quarters afterthey were found to beallegedly involved in powertheft, officials said. In anorder issued on Mondaynight, Amreli DistrictSuperintendent of PoliceNirlipt Rai said despitebeing part of a disciplinedforce, these policepersonnel “indulged in acriminal and illegal act”,and asked them to vacatetheir quarters in two days.

Mild quake hitsKoyna regionSatara: An earthquake of 2.6magnitude hit the Koynadam region in Maharashtra’sSatara district Tuesdaymorning, an official said.There was no report of anycasualty or damage toproperty, the official from thedistrict administration said.“The 2.6 magnitude quakeoccurred at 7.16 am and itsepicentre was eight km fromthe Koyna dam,” he said.

SHORT TAKES

COVID-19 FINDINGS

Indian scientists find higher viral load in asymptomatic patientsTHE RESEARCHERS ADVISE TESTING ASYMPTOMATIC PRIMARY AND SECONDARY CONTACTS FOLLOWED BY SURVEILLANCEPRESS TRUST OF INDIA

New Delhi, Sept 1: Indian scien-tists have observed a higher asso-ciation between asymptomaticCOVID-19 cases and viral load, orthe amount of virus in an infectedperson's bodily fluid, in a study ofover 200 patients with SARS-CoV-2 virus in Telangana, a “surprise”finding that may better inform thepolicymakers about the spread ofthe novel coronavirus infection.

The researchers, including thosefrom the Centre for DNAFingerprinting and Diagnostics(CDFD) in Hyderabad, advise test-ing asymptomatic primary andsecondary contacts followed bysurveillance.

“It is important to consider the

possibility of infection from asymp-tomatic patients – presumably har-bouring good immunity – spread-ing into individuals possessing notso robust immunity leading to in-creased morbidity and mortality,”Murali Dharan Bashyam, fromCDFD’s Laboratory of MolecularOncology, told this news agency.

Reacting to the findings of thestudy, immunologist Satyajit Rathsaid he is quite surprised by the find-ing of higher viral loads in asymp-tomatic individuals.

“Other studies, as the authorsnote, report an association theother way round, if at all,” Rath,from the National Institute ofImmunology (NII) in New Delhi,said. The main goal of the yet-to-be peer reviewed study, published

in the medRxiv preprint reposi-tory, was to identify dominant virallineages circulating among the

population of Telangana, espe-cially in Hyderabad.

The researchers noted that

Telangana has seen an unusuallyhigh rate of infection with a sharpspike observed in the number ofcases beginning from the secondhalf of April, with 2,734 new casesand nine fatalities reported juston Tuesday, taking the caseload inthe state to 1.27 lakh.

The study analysed wholegenome sequence data of virussamples from 210 patients in andaround Hyderabad, and determinedthe highly frequent mutations inthe viral genome.

“We observed that a majority ofthe population under study (over95 per cent) was infected with the20B clade (or strain), while a fewsamples belonged to other cladesand subclades,” Bashyam said.

“More importantly, 100 per cent

of the virus from period May toJuly belongs to the 20B clade,” hesaid. The scientist noted that whileinitial entry of the virus in the statecame from 2-3 different viral clades,20B was able to establish itself as themajority strain starting from May.

“We also observed a very highpredominance of D614G spike pro-tein mutation, which now has beenshown to be associated with higherinfection rates of the virus,”Bashyam noted.

The researchers were also ableto identify a few unique mutationsnot identified from other studies inIndia, in a functionally critical re-gion of the non-structural protein3 (nsp3) of the virus, which is re-sponsible for replication of theviral genome.

PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

Allahabad, Sept 1: The AllahabadHigh Court Tuesday quashed thedetention of Dr Kafeel Khan underthe National Security Act and or-dered his immediate release, say-ing the Aligarh district magistratedid a “selective reading” of hisspeech at the AMU.

The bench comprising ChiefJustice Govind Marhur and JusticeSaumitra Dayal Singh allowed thewrit petition filed by Khan's motherNuzhat Parveen and said the orderfor his detention passed by the dis-trict magistrate is illegal.

The petition argued that Khanwas granted bail in February by acompetent court and he was sup-posed to be released on bail.However, he was not released forfour days and the National SecurityAct (NSA) was subsequently in-voked against him. Hence, his de-tention was illegal.

Khan has been in jail sinceJanuary after he delivered the al-legedly provocative speech at theAligarh Muslim University (AMU)during the anti-Citizenship(Amendment) Act (CAA) protestsin December last year. He is lodgedin Mathura jail.

Under the NSA, a person can bedetained without a charge for up to12 months if authorities are satis-fied that he or she is a threat tonational security or law and order.

Quashing Khan’s detention order,the court said, “A complete readingof the speech prima facie does notdisclose any effort to promote hatredor violence. It also nowhere threat-ens peace and tranquility of thecity of Aligarh. The address gives acall for national integrity and unityamong the citizens. The speech alsodeprecates any kind of violence.

“It appears that the DistrictMagistrate had selective reading andselective mention for few phrases

from the speech ignoring its trueintent.”The court further said in theinstant case, the “causal link isfound to be missing or completelybroken”.

“In absence of any material in-dicating that the detainee contin-ued to act in a manner prejudicialto public order from December 12,2019 up to February 13, 2020 or thathe committed any such other orfurther act as may have had that ef-fect, the preventive detention ordercannot be sustained,” it said.

“In fact, the grounds of detentionare silent as to public order atAligarh being at risk of any prej-udice in February 2020 on accountof the offending act attributed to thedetainee on the date December 12,2019,” the court said in its order.

“What remains is a mere appre-hension expressed by the detain-ing authority without supporting ma-terial on which such apprehensionmay be founded,” it said.

HC quashes Kafeel Khan’s detention under NSATHE ALLAHABAD HIGH COURT HAS ORDERED THE IMMEDIATE RELEASE OF DR KAFEEL KHAN

Khan has been in jail sinceJanuary after he delivered the

allegedly provocative speech atthe Aligarh Muslim University

during the anti-Citizenship(Amendment) Act protests in

December last year

Under the NSA, a person can bedetained without a charge for up to

12 months if authorities aresatisfied that he or she is a threat tonational security or law and order

PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

New Delhi, Sept 1: The countryreceived 27 per cent more rainfallthan normal in August, the fourthhighest amount in the last 120years, the India MeteorologicalDepartment (IMD) said.

The overall rainfall recorded inIndia from June 1 to August 31was 10 per cent more than nor-mal, the IMD said Monday. The of-ficial rainfall season in the coun-try is from June 1 toSeptember 30.

“August hasrecorded 27 per centmore rainfall thannor mal,” RKJenamani, scientistwith IMD’s nationalweather forecasting centre, said.

In its forecast forAugust last month,the IMD had predictedrainfall of 97 per centof the Long PeriodAverage (LPA) withan error margin ofplus or minus 9 percent. Monsoon in therange of 96-104 percent of the LPA is con-sidered normal.

“Rainfall recordedin August 2020 is the fourth high-est in the last 120 years and high-est in 44 years,” Jenamani added.

This is also one of the rainiestmonths of August recorded. The

August of 1926 saw 33 per cent morerainfall than normal, the highest pre-cipitation recorded so far in themonth; 1976 recorded 28.4 per centmore rainfall than normal, while theAugust of 1973 recorded 27.8 percent than normal. This year saw 27per cent rainfall. Mahesh Palwat,vice president, Skymet Weather,said due to formation of five lowpressure areas in Bay of Bengalin August, the month recorded ex-cess rainfall.

A low pressure area isa cyclonic circulation. Itis also the first stage ofa cyclone. However, itis not necessary thatevery low pressure de-velops into a cyclonicstorm.

Jenamani said fivelow pressure areasfor med over Bay ofBengal brought heavyrains over central andnorth India. Of the five,four developed into awell-marked low pres-sure area.

Several parts of thecountry witnessed floodslast month due to in-cessant rainfall lastmonth.

The IMD had pre-dicted that July will get rainfall thatis 103 per cent of the Long PeriodAverage (LPA), which falls in the"normal" category. The LPA rain-fall over the country for the 1961-2010 period is 88 centimetres.

4th highest rainfallin 120 years in Aug

Teachers and children, who do not have access to the Internet, sit on marked areas to maintain social distancing during their open-air classes after schools were closed following the coronavirus outbreak at the scenic Doodhpathriin central Kashmir’s Budgam district REUTERS PHOTO

SOCIAL DISTANCING

INDO-ASIAN NEWS SERVICE

New Delhi, Sept 1: Days after theCentre announced the guidelines forUnlock 4, the Indian Railways saidthat it is planning to run more spe-cial trains and the state govern-ments are being consulted on this.

A senior Railway Ministry offi-cial said, “The Indian Railways isin consultation with the state gov-ernments.”

According to railway ministrysources, the national transporter isplanning to operate 100 more trainsin the coming days.

The Indian Railways had sus-pended the passenger, mail and ex-press train services from March25 in the wake of the nationwidelockdown amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Railways started to operatethe Shramik Special trains fromMay 1 to transport the stranded

migrant workers, students, pil-grims and tourists. It also began 15pairs of Special Air Conditionedtrains from May 12 and 100 pairs oftimetabled trains from June 1.

Last week, the Centre gave ap-proval for the eventual resumptionof metro services from September7, and the return of up to 50 per cent

of teaching and non-teaching staffin schools outside the containmentzones from September 21.

The government in its new guide-lines has said that the states will nolonger be permitted to impose lock-downs outside the containmentzones without the Ministry of HomeAffairs permission.

INDO-ASIAN NEWS SERVICE

New Delhi, Sept 1: For the firsttime, a female IPS officer has beenappointed as Inspector General(IG) of Central Reserve PoliceForce (CRPF) Srinagar sector, oneof the terrorist-affected areas inJammu and Kashmir.

Charu Sinha, IPS officer of the1996-batch Telangana cadre, willnow be heading the Srinagar sec-tor for CRPF as the InspectorGeneral. This is not the first timewhen she has been assigned sucha tough task, earlier also; she hadworked as IG, the Bihar sector inCRPF and has dealt with Naxals.

Under her leadership, variousanti-Naxals operations were car-ried out. Later, she was trans-ferred to IG Jammu in CRPF whereshe spent a long and successfultenure. On Monday, a fresh ordercame appointing her as the IGSrinagar sector.

Current Director-General CRPFAP Maheshwari headed theSrinagar Sector as IG in 2005.

The sector, which started func-tioning in 2005, never had a fe-male officer at the IG level. Thissector is involved in anti-terroroperations and closely works withthe Indian Army along withJammu and Kashmir police. PSRanpise will replace Charu Sinhaas head of the Jammu sector.

Rlys mulls running more trainsUNLOCK 4 Shinchan’s name appears

in Bengal college merit listPRESS TRUST OF INDIA

Kolkata, Sept 1:After Hindi filmactor Sunny Leone and singerNeha Kakkar, Japanese cartooncharacter Shinchan Nohara’sname “mischievously” made itto the merit list of a college inWest Bengal.

Nohara’s name appeared atthe top of the BSc (Honours)merit list of Siliguri College innorth Bengal, an official of theinstitution said Monday.

“The name was immediatelyremoved and a fresh listput up on the collegewebsite. We havelodged a policecomplaint as itwas an act of mis-chief,” he said.

The college hadoutsourced to anagency the process

of compiling the merit list basedon details given by the candidatesduring online applications, butthe students’ details will be scru-tinised by the authorities of theinstitution before the classesbegin, the official said.

The incident comes close onthe heels of Kakkar’s name ap-pearing in the BA English(Honours) merit list of Malda’sManikchak College and Leone’sname figuring in the lists ofthree other colleges.

The four colleges have lodgedcomplaints with cyber cells of

the police. The West Bengalgovernment had earlier an-

nounced that admissionsto undergraduate courseswill be completely onlinethis year and no processingfee will be charged due to

the hardship caused by theCOVID-19 outbreak.

In a first, womanIPS officer to headSrinagar sector THE COUNTRY RECEIVED

27 PER CENT MORERAINFALL THAN

NORMAL IN AUGUST,THE FOURTH HIGHESTAMOUNT IN THE LAST

120 YEARS

THE OVERALL RAINFALLRECORDED IN INDIA

FROM JUNE 1 TOAUGUST 31 WAS 10 PER

CENT MORE THANNORMAL

THIS IS ALSO ONE OFTHE RAINIEST MONTHSOF AUGUST RECORDED.

THE AUGUST OF 1926SAW 33 PER CENT MORE

RAINFALL THANNORMAL

P10WEDNESDAY | SEPTEMBER 2 | 2020 | BHUBANESWAR

internationalShri PranabMukherjee was

a devout public servantwho believed deeply in theimportance of our twonations (US, India) tacklingglobal challenges togetherJOE BIDEN | DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE

New Zealand Prime Minister JacindaArdern announced that the gunman,who killed 51 people at two mosques inChristchurch last year and was sentencedto life in prison without parole, has beendesignated as a terrorist entity

NEW ZEALAND MOSQUE SHOOTERDESIGNATED AS ‘TERRORIST ENTITY’

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No countrycan justpretend that

the global Covid-19pandemic is over

TEDROS ADHANOM

GHEBREYESUS |DIRECTOR-GENERAL OF THE WHO

of theday uote

The economicsituation isdelicate with

many uncertaintiescaused by thepandemic, but theresilience ourworkers are showing fuels amoderate optimism about therecovery of the country

PEDRO SANCHEZ | SPANISH PRIME MINISTER

The UnitedArab Emiratescommitted

treachery againsteither the Islamicworld or Arabnations and regionalcountries, as well as Palestine

AYATOLLAH ALI KHAMENEI |IRAN’S SUPREME LEADER

Hong Kong begins mass-testing Hong Kong: Hong Kongtested thousands of peoplefor coronavirus Tuesday atthe start of a mass-testingeffort that’s becomeanother political flash pointin the semi-autonomousChinese territory.Volunteers stood in lines atsome of the more than 100testing centres, thoughmany residents aredistrustful over theresources and staff beingprovided by China’s centralgovernment and some haveexpressed fear DNA couldbe collected.

Afghan flooddeath toll risesKabul: The death toll from aweek of heavy flooding innorthern and easternAfghanistan rose to at least190 Tuesday, an official said,with scores more injured asrescue crews search forthose missing under the mudand rubble of collapsedhouses. Heavy rains,compounded by mudslides,often threaten remote areasof the war-torn nation, whereinfrastructure is poor.Summer often brings heavyrainfall and flooding to thecountry’s north and east.

More trouble forRon Jeremy Los Angeles: Porn star RonJeremy was chargedMonday with 20 additionalcounts of rape and sexualassault, including oneinvolving a 15- year-old girl,the Los Angeles DistrictAttorney’s office said.Jeremy, 67, one of thebiggest names in the adultfilm industry, was chargedin June with raping threewomen and sexuallyassaulting a fourth inincidents dating back to2014. The new chargesbring the number of hisalleged victims to 17,ranging from 15-54 yearsold, and span a 16-yearperiod, the DistrictAttorney’s office said.

Protests breakout in BelarusKyiv: Authorities in Belarus detained scores ofprotesters Tuesday asuniversity students took tothe streets of the capital ofMinsk on the first day ofclasses to demand thatauthoritarian PresidentAlexander Lukashenkoresign after an election the opposition hasdenounced as rigged.Hundreds of studentsgathered outsideuniversities across Minskand marched through thecity center to the EducationMinistry, continuing afourth straight week ofmass post-election protests.

SHORT TAKES

ASSOCIATED PRESS

United Nations, Sept 1: The coro-navirus pandemic has broughthard times for many farmers andhas imperiled food security formany millions both in the citiesand the countryside.

United Nations experts are hold-ing an online conference beginningTuesday to brainstorm ways to helpalleviate hunger and prevent theproblems from worsening in theAsia-Pacific region — a challengemade doubly difficult by the loss ofmany millions of jobs due to the cri-sis. “We are facing two pandemics.COVID-19, which beyond its health

toll is crushing livelihoods, andhunger, a scourge the interna-tional community pledged to erad-icate by the end of this decade," QuDongyu, the FAO's director-gen-eral said in a commentary aheadof the virtual meeting.

Disruptions due to outbreaksof the illness and restrictions onbusinesses and travel to controlthem run the gamut, from cropsgoing unharvested by migrantworkers unable to reach their jobsto transport problems to farm fam-ilies selling livestock and equip-ment to survive. the FAO said in areport prepared ahead of the meet-ing. The combined impacts of

COVID-19, natural disasters suchas typhoons and drought, diseasesand pests such as locusts havehighlighted the need to buildstronger capacity to “manage multiple risks to food systems,”the report said.

The FAO is urging faster de-ployment of high-tech tools suchas drones and smartphone appsto monitor crops, pests and otherfarming conditions as part of atransformation of food systemsto make them more resilient andreduce risks, especially for themost vulnerable small farmersin poor countries. That includesfood insecure places like Yemen,

where the UN says more than aquarter of a million children aresuffering from severe malnutri-tion and will die without treat-ment, and parts of Africa wherenearly 5 million people are threat-ened with starvation due to locustoutbreaks. But long lines at foodbanks even in wealthy countrieslike the United States attest to thestruggle to keep families fed withtens of millions newly unemployed.

In countries like Thailand, wheretour ism hel ps to kee p the economy afloat, closed bordersand cancelled commercial flightshave a ripple effect across many industries.

The UN Food and Agricultural Organisation forecasts that the number of undernourished people will increase by up to 132 million in this year

Pandemic brings hard times for farmers, worsening hunger

`REUTERS

Tokyo, Sept 1: Japan’s chief gov-ernment spokesman, YoshihideSuga, moved a step closer to be-coming the next premier when theruling party decided Tuesday on aslimmed-down leadership vote thatfavours the long-time lieutenant ofPrime Minister Shinzo Abe.

Suga has also won the backing ofthe largest faction of the LiberalDemocratic Party (LDP), media re-ported, making him a strong front-runner to replace Abe, who an-nounced Friday he was steppingdown for health reasons.

While Suga has not announcedhis candidacy for party head, hehas indicated privately that he in-tends to run, a source told Reuters.Media reported he would formallyannounce his intention to runWednesday. The party’s leader willalmost certainly become primeminister because of its majorityin the lower house of parliament.Suga, 71, would be widely expectedto stay the policy course set out by

Abe, including the “Abenomics”strategy aimed at reviving the econ-omy and keeping it afloat amid thenovel coronavirus pandemic.

A self-made politician, Suga waschosen by Abe in 2012 for the piv-otal role of chief cabinet secretary,acting as top gover nmentspokesman, coordinating policiesand riding herd on bureaucrats.

Suga’s most likely rivals for thetop spot will be former defenceminister Shigeru Ishiba and ex-foreign minister Fumio Kishida.

Both Kishida and Ishiba an-

nounced their candidacies onTuesday. But Defence Minister TaroKono, who had been expected torun, had decided not to, Kyodo newsreported. The LDP general council’sdecision to keep rank-and-file partymembers out of the leadership votegives Suga, with his powerful back-ers, a leg-up in the race. Ishiba,who is more popular with voters,as well as hundreds of other partymembers, had opposed the format.

Announcing his candidacy, Ishibasaid it was “very regrettable” thatall LDP members would not be ableto vote for their leader. He has saidthe decision would be bad for bothdemocracy and the party.

Kishida, who was long seen asAbe’s preferred successor but hasbeen scoring low in voter polls,said the slimmed-down leadershiprace was in line with party rules andJapan must continue with fiscalstimulus. Kishida emphasised hisexperience in economics and foreignpolicy, telling a news conferencehe would do his “utmost for thenation and the people”.

JAPAN PM RACE

Suga seen as top contender

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Beirut , Se pt 1 : F r e n c hPresident Emmanuel Macronissued a ster n war ning toL e b a n o n’s p o l i t i c a l c l a s sT u e s d ay, u r g i n g t h e m t o commit to serious refor mswithin a few months or riskpunitive action, including sanc-tions, if they fail to deliver.

Macron is on a two-day visit toLebanon, marking the country'scentenary and holding talks withofficials on ways to help extract itfrom an unprecedented economiccrisis and the aftermath of lastmonth's massive blast that rippedthrough the capital Beirut. “I'mhere ... to get results and bringabout reforms,” he said Tuesday.

The visit was Macron's sec-ond since the devastating Aug.4 explosion — the most de-structive single incident inLebanon’s history — that killedat lest 190 people and injuredmore than 6,000.

This time Macron’s visit, packedwith events and political talksaimed at charting a way out ofthe crisis, also comes as Lebanonmarks its 100th anniversary.

French leader warnsLebanese politiciansof ‘last chance’

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Washington, Sept 1: Can I usea face shield instead of a mask?No. Health officials don’t rec-ommend the clear plastic barri-ers as a substitute for masks be-cause of the lack of research onwhether they keep an infectedperson from spreading viraldroplets to others.

However, those who want extraprotection may want to wear aface shield in addition to a mask.Face shields have the added ben-efit of protecting your eyes anddiscouraging you from touchingyour face by acting as a physicalbar rier, says ChristopherSulmonte, project administratorof the biocontainment unit atJohns Hopkins Hospital.

Meanwhile, the available re-search so far indicates that the

best face shields for preventingviral spread are hooded or wraparound the sides and bottom ofthe face, according to the USCentres for Disease Control andPrevention.

That’s because those shieldsleave less space for droplets fromsneezing, coughing and talking

to escape. If you do wear areusable face shield in additionto a mask, the CDC notes theimportance of cleaning it aftereach use.

The agency also says you shouldwash your hands before and aftertaking it off, and avoid touchingyour face while removing it.

FACE SHIELD OR MASK?

Lightning bolts illuminate the sky during a morning storm over Salgotarjan, Hungary PTI PHOTO

NATURE’S LIGHT SHOW

‘China can make India suffer severemilitary losses’

AGENCIES

Shanghai , Sept 1: China is ableto make India suffer more severemilitary losses than in the past ifit wants to engage incompetition, state-backed newspaperGlobal Times saidTuesday, after afresh border flare-up between the twonuclear-armedcountries.

Indian forcesfoiled an attempt byChinese troops tooccupy a hill on theAsian giants’ dis-puted border in thewestern Himalayas,officials in New Delhi said Monday.

On the same day, China’s militaryspokesman demanded India with-draw troops that Beijing said hadillegally crossed their shared bor-der. China’s foreign ministry saidChinese border troops had notcrossed the line of actual control.

“India said it preempted Chinesemilitary activity,” the Global Timessaid in an editorial. “The word‘preempt’ shows it was the Indiantroops that first took destructive ac-tions, and the Indian troops initi-ated the standoff this time.” Itadded that India faced a “powerful

China” and that New Delhishould not have any “illusions”of support from Washingtonover the issue.

“But if India wants to engagein competition,China has more toolsand capability thanIndia. If India wouldlike a military show-down, the PLA(People’s LiberationArmy) is bound to make theIndian ar my suffer much moresevere losses than itdid in 1962.”

The Global Timesis published by thePeople’s Daily, the

official newspaper of China’s rul-ing Communist Party. Tensionsbetween the two armies in thefreesing snow deserts of the Ladakhregion have been running high formonths.

In June, 20 Indian soldiers werekilled in hand-to-hand fighting withChinese troops in the nearby Galwanvalley, the neighbours’ most seriousmilitary clash in more than half acentury. Both sides had agreed topull back after that clash, but theIndian Army accused Chineseforces of violating that accordover the weekend.

AGENCIES

Paris, Sept 1: Tugging on theirmasks or dashing to hug long-unseen friends, millions of chil-dren returned to school acrossEurope and beyond Tuesday in amass experiment aimed at bridg-ing inequalities and resuscitat-ing economies — despite the per-sistent pandemic.

The virus threat lurked in theshadows as children kissed their par-ents goodbye in France, shylygreeted their teachers in Israel,settled into spaced-out desks inEngland, and raised their handsin Russia. While many US schooldistricts started class online onlyand others introduced a mix of on-line and face-to-face learning, in-per-son class is the norm as Europegoes back to schools and colleges.

France’s Prime Minister sat withelementary school children at aschool Tuesday, and the Presidentwished kids well in an Instagramvideo. In Britain, EducationSecretary Gavin Williamson sent anopen letter to parents saying school“really is the best place for them tobe. Nothing can match being in aclassroom with a real teacher toinspire them and their friends toshare their discoveries.”

The World Health Organisationis advising governments on howto resume in-person schooling safely,and acknowledged Monday thatwhile the virus remains a realthreat, school closures have hurtchildren's mental health and so-cial development, especially thosefrom low-income families, with dis-abilities or in an abusive home en-vironment. Medical experts saythe risk of opening schools depends

on how widespread COVID-19 in-fections are in the communityand what safety measures aretaken.

Evidence suggests young chil-dren don't spread the diseasevery easily, while kids aged 10and up may transmit as easily asadults. But while children ap-pear less likely to get infectedthan adults, severe cases anddeaths have occurred.

Indian forces foiled an attempt by Chinese troops tooccupy a hill on the Asian giants’ disputed border in the

western Himalayas

Tensions between the twoarmies in the freezing

snow deserts of the Ladakhregion have been runninghigh for months

Indian soldiers were killedin hand-to-hand fighting

with Chinese troops June 20in the nearby Galwan valley,the neighbours’ mostserious military clash inmore than half a century

Normalcy in Wuhan Children returned to school Tuesday in the central Chinese city of Wuhan,

the original epicentre of the coronavirus epidemic that underwentmonths of lockdown but which has not seen new cases of localtransmission for weeks. State media reported 1.4 million children in the cityreported to 2,842 kindergartens, primary and secondary schools as part of anationwide return to classes. Life has largely returned to normal in Wuhan,where the novel coronavirus was first detected late last year.

It’s class time again across Europe

PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

Islamabad, Sept 1: A Pakistanicourt Tuesday gave a "last chance"to former Prime Minister NawazSharif to surrender and appear be-fore it September 10 for hearingin a corruption case against him,according to media reports.

Sharif, 70, has been in Londonsince November last year afterthe Lahore High Court grantedhim permission to go abroad forfour weeks for treating a heartdisease and an immune systemdisorder. The three-time premierwas sentenced to seven years in theAl-Azizia Steel Mills case. A two-member special bench of theIslamabad High Court -- com-prising Justice Amir Farooq andJustice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani --Tuesday heard the petitions againstthe sentences of Sharif, his daugh-ter Maryam Nawaz and son-in-law Captain (retd) Safdar in theAvenfield and Al-Azizia Steel Millscases, Dawn News reported.

Pak court gives lastchance to Sharifto surrender

GRAVE THREAT

Brenton Tarrant

Yoshihide Suga

P11

businessWEDNESDAY | SEPTEMBER 2 | 2020 | BHUBANESWAR

The remainingthree labourcodes on

industrial relations, socialsecurity and occupationalsafety and health will betabled in the ensuingMonsoon sessionSANTOSH GANGWAR | UNION LABOUR MINISTER

After the country’s economycontracted by a record 23.9 percent in April-June quarter, real GDPfor FY21 is expected to shrink by10.9 per cent, according to StateBank of India's research report.

REAL GDP LIKELY TOCONTRACT BY 10.9%

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CIL will pumpin over `1.22lakh crore on

projects related tocoal evacuation,exploration andclean coaltechnologies by 2023-24

PRALHAD JOSHI | UNION COAL MINISTER

of theday uote

As an iconicbrand with alongstanding

legacy, Vespacontinuouslyrediscovers itself bysetting new trendsthat reflects its versatility

DIEGO GRAFFI | CHAIRMAN & MD, PIAGGIO INDIA

The tractorindustrygrowth

continues to remainstrong in August.This is primarily onaccount ofcontinued positive sentiment

HEMANT SIKKA | PRESIDENT, M&M

Three entities todisgorge `2.33crNew Delhi: Capital marketsregulator Sebi has directedthree entities to disgorgeover `2.33 crore of 'wrongfulgains' made by them byindulging in manipulativetrading in the shares of UrjaGlobal Ltd and SampadaChemicals Ltd. Chetan Dograand Chetan Dogra HUF willjointly and severally disgorgeabout `2.15 crore of wrongfulgains and ShraddhaEntertainment Pvt Ltd willdisgorge `18.05 lakh ofwrongful gains, according toSebi's order passed Monday.The regulator orderedentities to disgorge theamount.

New office spacesupply down 93%New Delhi: Fresh supply ofoffice space in Delhi-NCRplunged 93 per cent duringJanuary-June at 3 lakh sq ftas construction activitieswere impacted because oflockdown to control COVID-19 pandemic, according toproperty consultant SavillsIndia. The supply stood at 43lakh sq ft in the same periodlast year. Office spaceleasing, too, fell by 73 percent to 18 lakh sq ft in thefirst six months of thiscalendar year from 67 lakh sqft in the correspondingperiod of the previous year.

Volvo Car Indiato localise plansMumbai: The Indian arm ofSwedish luxury carmakerVolvo is optimistic aboutreturning to growth nextyear on the back of itsplans to locally assembleits entire product rangeand entry in the fastgrowing EV space, a topcompany official said.Volvo Car India said itssales volume improved inAugust as against July, andit expects a good festiveseason. The companycurrently sells sport utilityvehicles (SUVs) XC40, XC60and XC90, cross countryV90, S90 sedan and plug-inhybrid XC 90 in India.

I-T authoritiescan ‘share info’New Delhi: The CBDT hassaid the income taxauthorities can shareinformation with scheduledcommercial banks, a movethat would ease thelenders' hassle of decidingTDS deductibility on variouspayments to theircustomers. In a notificationdated August 31, theCentral Board of DirectTaxes (CBDT) included'scheduled commercialbanks', listed in the secondschedule of the ReserveBank of India Act, 1934.CBDT is the apex tax bodyon personal income tax andcorporate tax.

SHORT TAKES

Vodafone Idea cracks nearly 13%NEW DELHI: Shares of VodafoneIdea Tuesday tumbled nearly 13 percent, while those of Bharti Airtelrose more than 6 per cent after theSupreme Court granted 10 years totelecom firms for paying the AGR-related dues to the Department ofTelecommunications (DoT) withcertain conditions. Vodafone Ideashares tanked 12.76 per cent toclose at `8.89 apiece on BSE. During the day, it plummeted 24.53 per centto `7.69. The stock went into a tailspin after the order, erasing all its earlygains. Shares of Bharti Airtel, however, jumped 6.38 per cent to settle at`546.75. During the day, it rose by 7.99 per cent to `555.05. Bharti Airtel wasthe top gainer in the Sensex pack.

Govt approves 27 cold chain projects NEW DELHI: The governmentTuesday said it has approved 27cold chain projects in 11 stateswith a grant-in-aid of `208 croreunder the Pradhan Mantri KisanSAMPADA Yojana (PMKSY). TheFood Processing IndustriesMinistry in a statement saidthese projects were "approved"in Inter-Ministerial ApprovalCommittee (IMAC) meetings

under the 'Scheme for Integrated Cold Chain and Value AdditionInfrastructure' of PMKSY. The meetings, held during second fortnight ofAugust, were chaired by Food Processing Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badalthrough video conferencing, it said. According to the ministry, the 27 newintegrated cold chain projects will leverage a total investment of `743crore for creation of modern, innovative infrastructure and effective coldchain facilities for food processing sector across the nation.

BIZ BUZZBEML bags orderfrom MoD

BANGALORE: BEML Ltd said onTuesday it has received an orderfrom the Ministry of Defence(MoD) for supply of 330 highmobility vehicles, for 'PinakaProject' at an approximate cost of`842 crore. Pinaka is a multi-barrel rocket launcher developedindigenously for the Indian Armyand produced in the country byinvolving public sector andprivate sector defence industries,said the defence equipmentmanufacturer and a Schedule Acompany under the MoD. Themulti-barrel launcher system ismounted on 'highly rugged'BEML truck, known for its off-road mobility, and would providethe Indian Army with 'vitalmanoeuvrability' on the battlefield,the Bengaluru-headquarteredcompany said in a statement.

REUTERS

London/New York, Sept 1: TheCOVID-19 pandemic will mean hol-iday-goers will shy away from largerhotels for the foreseeable future infavor of boutiques and home rentals,the CEO of India-based hospital-ity startup Oyo Hotels and Homestold Reuters.

The comments by Ritesh Agarwalunderscore the anticipation withinthe hospitality industry that thecoronavirus outbreak will funda-mentally change the nature of travel.

“The hospitality industry willnever be the same again, that is ab-solutely clear,” Agarwal said in avideo interview.

“Small hotels are going to be invogue. In my view, small is going tobe the new big, wherein people willrethink a lot about going back to that1,000-room hotel versus going to a40-room niche hotel.”

Oyo, founded by Agarwal in 2013

when he was 18, allows guests tobook hotels through its mobile appand also franchises its brand and of-fers standardized amenities at ho-tels on its network.

Loss-making Oyo, which is backedby Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp,

says its network comprises morethan 43,000 hotels with over 1 mil-lion rooms across more than 800cities in 80 countries.

The hospitality industry has beenone of the most adversely affectedby the coronavirus health crisisand Oyo cut thousands of jobs at theheight of the pandemic earlier thisyear. Gurugram, India-based Oyo hasseen some green shoots of recovery,according to Agarwal.

“The last four, five months thecompany has seen some incrementalrecovery, especially in geographiessuch as Europe and the UnitedStates,” he said.

In the United States, where Oyocustomers are primarily truckers,

pharmaceutical reps and so-calledessential workers, the company’s rev-enue per available room is around92% of pre-coronavirus levels andOYO has seen record sales, Agarwalsaid.

The company has upwards of$1 billion in cash in the bank andAgarwal said COVID-19 had nothad an impact on any potentialplans for an initial public offering(IPO). “We did not have a timelinefor going public earlier and don’thave one now,” said Agarwal. “Weof course continue to keep a closeeye on the market and get potential interest of potentialcapital raise, both private and non-private.”

Small the new big for hotels post-pandemicTHE HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY HAS BEEN ONE OF THE MOST ADVERSELY AFFECTED BY THE CORONAVIRUS HEALTH CRISIS

POST NEWS NETWORK

Nashik, Sept 1: TAPARIA TOOLSLtd, an ISO-9001 accredited company,started manufacturing hand toolsin 1969 in India in technical col-laboration with a reputed com-pany by the name of A. B. Bahcoof Sweden.

Taparia Tools has been sincethen consistently producing thehand tools in India with the tech-nology of its collaborators and hassince then been constantly im-proving the same. The companyhas a well laid out fully equippedfactory located at Nashik, which isabout four hours drive from thecity of Mumbai in western India

and has another expanded unit atGoa, approx. 600 kilometers fromMumbai.

All the manufacturing facilitiesrequired for production of handtools are under one roof – one lo-cation. Hand Tools manufactur-ing is complicated involving hightechnology and labour intensiveproduction process.

The company’s research and de-velopment department is mannedby Mechanical Engineers andMetallurgists equipped with lat-est CAD design facilities etc.

From its inception, the companyhas laid high emphasis on the qual-ity of its products. It has well es-tablished quality control depart-ment to monitor the quality of theproduct at every stage of produc-tion starting from the quality ofraw material to every stage. In fact,Taparia Tools meet and in somecases even exceed the U. S FederalSpecification of hardness andtorque value besides meetingIndian, British and German stan-dards. Taparia tools are guaran-teed against manufacturing andraw material defects and are re-placed free with no question asked.

TAPARIA TOOLS

ENSURING QUALITYSINCE INCEPTION

India’s factory activity grows

REUTERS

Bangalore, Sept 1: India’s fac-tory activity grew in August forthe first time in five months as theeasing of lockdown restrictionsspurred a rebound in domestic de-mand, a private business surveyshowed Tuesday, though firms con-tinued to cut jobs.

But the bounce is unlikely to sig-nal a quick turnaround in theIndian economy, which contractedat its steepest pace on record of23.9% annually last quarter. Itwas expected to remain in re-cession this year, a Reuters pollshowed on Friday. The NikkeiManufacturing PurchasingManagers’ Index, compiled by IHSMarkit, rose to 52.0 in August from46.0 in July, above the 50-level sep-arating growth from contractionfor the first time since March.

“August data highlighted positivedevelopments in the health of theIndian manufacturing sector, sig-nalling moves towards a recoveryfrom the second quarter down-turn,” noted Shreeya Patel, an econ-omist at IHS Markit.

“However, not all was positive inAugust, delivery times lengthenedto another marked rate amid on-going COVID-19 disruptions.”

While sub-indexes tracking over-all demand and output rose to theirhighest levels since February andexpanded for the first time in five

months, foreign demand contractedfor the sixth month in a row, itslongest downturn since March2009. Also, firms cut their work-forces for the fifth straight month,adding to the millions who havealready lost their jobs due to coro-navirus-related disruptions.

Although input prices rose atthe sharpest pace in nearly twoyears, firms have cut prices of theirgoods for four months to boost de-mand.

Quickening inflation led thecentral bank to unexpectedlykeep interest rates on hold lastmonth, but according to a Reuterssurvey it will cut its key rate by25 basis points next quarter to3.75% and then pause until atleast early 2022.

Still, the factory survey showedoptimism about the coming 12months hit its highest in a year.

INDO-ASIAN NEWS SERVICE

New Delhi, Sept 1: The governmenthas completely eliminated the needto provide subsidy on domesticcooking gas as the global fall in oilprices and frequent rise in LPGgas cylinder price has brought theprice of the common man's fuelcloser to market rates.

As of September 1, the price ofnon-subsidised and subsidised 14.2kg cooking gas is identical at `594a cylinder. What this means is thatgovernment would no longer needto pay subsidy under the direct ben-efit transfer scheme (DBT) into theaccount of beneficiaries.

In fact, with the price gap betweenthe subsidised and non-subsidisedcooking gas narrowing since earlythis fiscal, the government has notmade any cash transfers into the ac-counts of beneficiaries for the last four

months. With the development, the gov-ernment could easily make a savingof over ̀ 20,000 crore in FY21 towardsLPG subsidy. This would be huge

given the pressure on the govern-ment to step up expenditure for Covid-19 relief schemes.

The government has allocated`40,915 crore as petroleum subsidyfor FY21, a 6 per cent increase from`38,569 crore allocated for the lastfiscal. Out of this,the allocation forLPG subsidy has been increasedto `37,256.21 crore for the currentyear. But so far in the first quarter

period, the government had to drawjust about `1,900 crore from thesubsidy provisions.

While global oil markets are largelyresponsible for the fall in the pricesof all petroleum products, but oilcompanies also raised the price ofsubsidised cooking gas consistentlyfrom a level of `494.35 a cylinder inJuly last year to ̀ 594 now. Had this in-crease not taken place, the 14.2 kgdomestic LPG cylinder price wouldhave been more than `100 cheaper.

According to an analysis done byEmkay Global, oil companies' underrecovery in case of kerosene hascome to a naught since March whilethat for LPG has become zero fromMay. India has about 27.76 croreLPG consumers. Of these, around1.5 crore are not eligible to get LPGsubsidy since December 2016 be-cause they have an annual taxableincome above `10 lakh.

Govt eliminates LPG subsidy

With the development,the government couldeasily make a saving ofover `20,000 cr in FY21

INDO-ASIAN NEWS SERVICE

New Delhi, Sept 1: The Covid-19-induced shrinking of economicactivity for the past few months hascontinued to have an impact on thegovernment's tax collections withrevenue under the Goods andServices Tax (GST) falling farbelow the psychological level of ̀ 1lakh crore to `86,449 crore inAugust.

This is second consecutivemonth of a fall in GST collectionsafter the number crossed over`90,000 crore in June.

The August collection, whichis 88 per cent of last year's num-ber, is however, a recovery from the

months of April and May when theCovid-induced lockdowns and se-vere disruptions in economic ac-tivities, resulting in GST collectionsnose-diving to all time low levels.

The GST collection for themonth of April was ̀ 32,294 crorewhich was a mere 28 per cent of therevenue collected during the samemonth last year and for May was`62,009 crore, which was 62 percent of the revenue collected during the same month last year.

Only in June, GST collectionsrecovered to touch `90,917 crore.However, they again fell to ̀ 87,422crore in July. The revenues fromimport of goods were 77 per centand the revenues from domestic transaction were 92 per cent of the revenues fromthese sources during the samemonth last year.

GST collectiondrops 12 pc to`86,449 crore

PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

New Delhi, Sept 1: Vodafone IdeaLtd may struggle to pay its dues inthe 10 years that the SupremeCourt granted to telecom compa-nies to clear past statutory dues,analysts said Tuesday.

While Vodafone struggles toclear its dues, Bharti Airtel maybe able to meet the payment sched-ule, brokerage Motilal OswalFinancial Services said.

The Supreme Court in its ver-dict Tuesday rejected the demandfor a 20-year time for telecom com-panies to clear an estimated `1.6lakh crore in past dues but al-lowed the liability to be cleared in10 years.

Vodafone Idea Ltd and BhartiAirtel were the only firms in theprivate sector that survived a bru-tal price war sparked by the entryof billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Jio in 2016.

AGR DUES

Airtel expected tomanage payment,Voda may struggle

QUICK TURNAROUNDUNLIKELY

The bounce is unlikely tosignal a quick turnaround inthe Indian economy, whichcontracted at its steepestpace on record of 23.9%

While sub-indexes trackingoverall demand and outputrose, foreign demandcontracted for the sixthmonth in a row

ASSOCIATED PRESS

New York, Sept 1: Coco Gauffwon over New York and becamean instant fan favorite during herrun of inspired tennis a year agoat the US Open. A year later, nofans, no energy, and no singles vic-tory for Gauff — the teen sensationis out of the US Open on Day 1.

Anastasija Sevastova knockedoff the 16-year-old Gauff in threesets, 6-3, 5-7, 6-4. The 31st-seededSevastova sent Gauff to her earliest exit from a Grand Slam tour nament in four appearances. She had never lostin the first two rounds.

“Just the beginning,” Gauff saidMonday. “I just got on tour a littleover a year ago, so I still have a lotto learn and a long ways to go.”

She’s good enough at 16 to im-press a veteran like Sevastova. “Iwish I would play like this when Iwas 16 years old,” Sevastova saidwith a laugh.

“Great player. Nothing more tosay. I think she maybe started a bitslower than me, but she was gettingbetter as the match went on.”

Gauff lost in Louis ArmstrongStadium, where she won two

matches last year and madeit to the third round be-

fore losing to 2018champion NaomiOsaka in a match thatended in tears for theteen and a hug fromthe winner.

After collectinga singles trophyat Linz, Austria,in October — be-

coming the youngest WTA titlewinner since 2004 — Gauff beganthe 2020 Grand Slam season by de-feating Venus Williams and winninga rematch against Osaka at theAustralian Open en route to thefourth round there.

Gauff was largely off her gameagainst Sevastova and had 13 dou-ble-faults, an unsettling result aftershe also lost in the first round in theWestern & Southern Open, the tour-nament that preceded the US Open

at the same site.She was also beaten at

Lexington, Kentucky, thismonth in the semifinals ofher first tournament after

tennis was suspended becauseof the coronavirus pandemic.

“The main part that hurt wasjust getting matches under my belt,getting experience,” Gauff said.“That’s what I need on tour. I’mplaying against people older thanme who have been in more situa-tions, difficult situations, than Ihave. I think the biggest thing is Ijust need experience.”

Sevastova had been 1-8 in sin-gles in 2020 and got the break-through win she needed again inNew York. Sevastova was a semi-finalist at the US Open two years ago.

“I think it’s tough for everybodycoming here,” she said. “But, yeah,this first hurdle, I won a matchagain. I think it’s going to give mea bit of confidence.”

ASSOCIATED PRESS

New York, Sept 1: Novak Djokovic ad-mittedly got a bit distracted. He wasunaware of the US Open rule abouttime allowed between points. He barkedin the direction of his entourage —among the only people in the ArthurAshe Stadium seats. In the end, though,he did what he always does in 2020: win.

“I lost my focus,” Djokovic said af-terward. “Kind of got stressed out acouple times. Screamed.”

The No.1-ranked Djokovic began hisbid for Grand Slam title No.18 Mondaynight by extending his season start to24-0 with a 6-1, 6-4, 6-1 victory over DamirDzumhur at Flushing Meadows.

“Do I want to keep the streak going?Of course, I do. Am I thinking about itas a priority No.1 every single day? No,”said Djokovic, who opened 2011 with a41-0 mark.

“It’s there, and of course it’s an ad-ditional motivation for me. It actuallyfuels me to play even stronger, play even

better, I think, bring the right intensityevery match.” During a pre-match TVinterview, Dzumhur said about Djokovic:“Hopefully, he is not 100 percent.”

That was probably a reference to theway Djokovic dealt with neck and stom-ach issues during last week’s run to theWestern & Southern Open title on thesame hard courts being used for the USOpen.

Djokovic played a three-set semifi-nal Friday, then a three-set final Saturday.But the 48 hours before facing Dzhumur,who has been ranked as high as 23rd andnow is 109th, apparently were enoughfor a full physical recovery.

“I felt good on the court today,” saidDjokovic, who trails only Roger Federer,with 20, and Rafael Nadal, with 19, in themen’s Grand Slam trophy standings.

Neither of those rivals has entered inthe US Open, only part of the reasonDjokovic is an overwhelming favorite towin what would be his sixth title in a spanof eight major tournaments.

One minor hiccup during his openingmatch had to do with the way the serveclock is being implemented at the USOpen: Chair umpires are starting that 25-second countdown much sooner nowthan they were during the Western &Southern Open.

Djokovic was not the only player to

wonder aloudabout that sys-tem during amatch Monday.“Why did youstart it?” heasked chair um-pire DamienDumusois, notingthat during the pre-vious event players gotmore time to go collecttheir towels between points.

Dumusois said the pace is inten-tionally supposed to be quicker at the USOpen, to which Djokovic replied: “Youdo it here different? Why? There is noexplanation? ... Thanks for letting usknow.”

After the match, Djokovic said: “Noone really brought it to my attention.The lack of communication is some-thing that worries me once again. Imean, that’s something that reallyupset me.

“We’ve played in the certain tempo, soto say; got used to it during the Western& Southern tournament, which justended two days ago. Two days later, wehave a different rule that was just notcommunicated to us. That’s some-thing that I found just not acceptable, notfair.”

Printed and published by Tathagata Satpathy on behalf of Navajat Printers and Media Pvt. Ltd. and printed at Navajat Printers, B-15 Industrial Estate, Rasulgarh, Bhubaneswar -751010, Odisha;Phone:7894447142(Marketing). Editor: Tathagata Satpathy, RNI No. ORIENG/2011/37159

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sportsWEDNESDAY | SEPTEMBER 2 | 2020 | BHUBANESWAR

DJOKOVICROLLS ON

GAUFF SUFFERS EARLY EXIT

Pliskova, Kerber advance in straight setsNEW YORK: Top-seeded Karolina Pliskova and 17th seed Angelique Kerber haveadvanced in straight sets at the US Open. Pliskova surged ahead of Anhelina Kalinina4-1 in the opening set, lost three games in a row, then took the last eight for a 6-4, 6-0victory. She had a 26-7 edge in winners. Pliskova is ranked third in the world but hasthe top seed here. Three-time Grand Slam champion Kerber is sticking around longer

at Flushing Meadowsthan she did a yearago. The former WorldNo.1 Kerbereliminated AjlaTomljanovic 6-4, 6-4 ina nearly empty LouisArmstrong Stadium.Kerber won the 2016US Open but lost inthe first round a yearago.

SERB QUESTIONS OPEN CLOCK ON WAY TO 24-0

AS THE WORLD NO.1 EASES PAST DZUMHUR

AT FLUSHING MEADOWS

MAINTAINING COVID-19 DECORUM: Coco Gauff and Anastasija Sevastovatouch their racquets after their match of US Open, Monday

In memory of Breonna Taylor NEW YORK: Before and after her first-round victoryat the US Open, Naomi Osaka wore a mask bearingthe name of Breonna Taylor, a black woman whowas fatally shot by police. It’s just one of seven facecoverings, each in honor of a different person, thatOsaka brought to Flushing Meadows — the samenumber of wins it takes to claim a Grand Slamtrophy. The world’s highest-earning female athletehopes she can get the chance to raise awarenessabout racial injustice by using each mask duringher stay in New York. “It’s quite sad that sevenmasks isn’t enough for the amount of names, sohopefully I’ll get to the finals so you can see all ofthem,” said Osaka, the champion at the 2018 USOpen and 2019 Australian Open. She overcamesome uneven play late Monday night to beat 81st-ranked Misaki Doi 6-2, 5-7, 6-2 in an all-Japanesematchup in an empty Arthur Ashe Stadium.

TOWEL SERVICE OFFLIMITS AT US OPEN

NEW YORK: Towel service is on a break atthe US Open. The days of grabbing a towelfrom a ballperson between points havegone the way of fans and post-matchhandshakes in this pandemic-alteredtournament. Like a toddler with a securityblanket, some players need that constanttowel break in the heat of action as part ofthe routine. Some players want a towelafter every point — but because of thepandemic, players now need to fetch theirown towels. There were boxes behind thebaselines for players to lay the towels on atsome courts; at others, players drapedthem over a fence or an advertising placard.

Spanish league announces its calendar

Barca face Villarrealin campaign openerASSOCIATED PRESS

Madrid, Sept 1: With or withoutLionel Messi, Barcelona alreadyknow they will start their seasonat home against Villarreal at the endof September.

The Spanish league announcedits calendar Monday, and the first round is scheduled for the second weekend of September. But Barcelona and other teamswho played later into this past season will have some of theirgames postponed so they have timeto prepare.

All matches will continue to beplayed in empty stadiums. Theleague hoped at least some fanswould be allowed into matches,but Spain has been struggling to contain a new surge of coron-avirus cases.

Messi, who last week toldBarcelona he wants to leave, skippedthe team’s first day of trainingMonday. He had already been a no-show Sunday as the squad under-went coronavirus testing at theclub’s training center.

He wants to leave on a clausethat allows him to leave for free atthe end of the season, but Barcelonasaid that clause has expired. Itwants the Argentine great to stayat least until the end of his contractin June 2021.

There is no sign of how long the dispute is going to last, as neither the club nor the player appear to be willing to make concessions.

Barcelona’s first match wouldhave been against promoted Elcheat Camp Nou Stadium, with thesecond against Athletic Bilbao.

The first El Clasico against RealMadrid will be in late October, alsoat Camp Nou. The return leg willbe played April 11 in Madrid.

Real Madrid, who also returnedto training Monday, will debutin the second round at RealSociedad. Only Madrid’s first-round game was postponed asthey didn’t reach the ChampionsLeague quarterfinals.

Atletico Madrid have been giventhe first two rounds off, and will startagainst Granada at home. Theleague is scheduled to finish inMay 2021.

Ronald Koeman set for a challengingstart to his tenure as Barcelona manager as they face Villarreal

Attack on family:Raina demandsthorough probePRESS TRUST OF INDIA

New Delhi, Sept 1: Former Indiacricketer Suresh Raina, who pulledout of the IPL citing personal rea-sons, Tuesday demanded a thor-ough probe into the violent attackon his aunt’s family in Punjab,revealing that after his uncle, hiscousin has also died.

The 33-year-old returned to thecountry last week from the UAE,where the league will beginSeptember 19. In his first state-ment since landing in the country,Raina, however, did not say that theattack, allegedly a case of rob-bery, was the reason why he cameback.

“What happened to my familyin (sic) Punjab was beyond horrible.My uncle was slaughtered to death,my bua & both my cousins hadsever (sic) injuries. Unfortunatelymy cousin also passed away lastnight after battling for life fordays. My bua (aunt) is still veryvery critical & is on life support,”he said.

Raina’s relatives were attackedon the night intervening August19 and 20 in Thariyal village inPunjab’s Pathankot district.

“Till date we don’t know whatexactly had happened that night& who did this. I request@PunjabPoliceInd to look intothis matter. We at least deserve toknow who did this heinous act tothem. Those criminals should notbe spared to commit more crimes.@capt_amarinder @CMOPb,” headded, tagging Punjab chief min-ister Captain Amarinder Singh.

Raina retired from interna-tional cricket August 15, along-side MS Dhoni. His departurefrom the IPL triggered intensespeculation on the possible rea-sons behind it.

CFI TO HOST FIRST-EVER CYCLING SUMMIT NEXT YEARNew Delhi: The Cycling Federation of India (CFI) Tuesday said that it will host the first-ever ‘Cycling Summit’ in2021 across Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore. The CFI has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with anew-age marketing exploration firm, Contarctica for the summit. The Cycling Summit 2021 will open with acycle ride from the heart of the city to the event venue followed by a series of ‘especially curated workshops,masterclasses and open interactions with eminent athletes’. “We have witnessed an unprecedent growth incycle sales amongst first-time riders. We wish to encourage this trend and cultivate the love for cycling inpeople from all age groups. The Cycling Summit is a step in that direction,” said CFI chairman Onkar Singh.

TWO PSG PLAYERS SUSPECTED OF BEING INFECTED WITH VIRUSParis: Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) said two of their players are suspected of being infected with COVID-19. TheFrench champion cited a ‘reassuring’ state of health for the players, who were not identified. They are said tobe following the required health protocols. Eight days after losing the Champions League final to BayernMunich, PSG are not due to start the French season until September 10. The French league granted PSG’srequest for extra days of rest, and the team’s scheduled opening game at Lens was postponed until next week.

Backing your natural skills asimportant as variations: Bhuvi

Rakitic movesback to Sevillafrom Barcelona

NEWS IN BRIEF All 13 CSK members testnegative for COVID-19New Delhi: All 13 members of theChennai Super Kings contingent, whotested positive for COVID-19 last week,have come out negative in the latesttests, the IPL team’s CEO KSViswanathan told PTI Tuesday. Indiaseamer Deepak Chahar and India Abatsman Ruturaj Gaikwad were amongthe 13 who tested positive and are in a14-day quarantine. “Yes, all 13 membershave tested negative for COVID-19. Theywill have to undergo another testThursday, September 3. We are likely tostart training Friday, September 4,”Viswanathan said from Dubai where theteam is based right now.

PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

Dubai, Sept 1: Seasoned Indiapacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar says abowler’s capability to deliver whathe is good at is equally importantas introducing new variations to hisgame.

Bhuvi, who will be seen in theSunrisers Hyderabad jersey in theIPL, said the years of experience inthe Indian team has changed himas a bowler.

“I have definitely changed as abowler in the last few years. Mostimportantly I have gained experi-ence from playing, have learnt vari-ations,” Bhuvi told the IPL web-site.

“I don’t think it is always aboutkeep adding to your arsenal, it is alsoabout being good at what you do,”he added.

The senior India pacer enduredan injury-hit 2019 when he struggledwith a hamstring injury duringthe World Cup also. He walked mid-

way during the high-profile en-counter against Pakistan inManchester.

After missing the home series

ag ainst South Africa andBangladesh, Bhuvneshwar returnedto the T20Is against West Indies.In January, he underwent sports her-nia surgery.

“It’s great to be back, personallyI have been away from this game fora while, first I was injured and thenthis pandemic and lockdown. I ampretty excited about IPL. I cannotwait to get back in action.”

Talking about the SRH set up,Bhuvneshwar said since the bowl-ing unit has been together for thepast two-three years, the playersunderstand each other well.

“Being a senior bowler my ap-proach will be similar as it hasbeen for past couple of years.I’ll try to help and share my ex-perience.

“The good thing about this bowl-ing group is that we are playingtogether for the last 2-3 years sowe understand each other prettywell. It makes things easier for a cap-tain or senior bowler like me.”

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Seville, Sept 1: Spanish clubSevilla reached a deal for the re-turn of midfielder Ivan RakiticTuesday. The club said Rakitic ar-rives from Barcelona on a con-tract until 2024.

The 32-year-old Croatian wasone of the players that incom-ing Barcelona coach RonaldKoeman said was not in his plansfor the future.

Rakitic had played three yearswith Sevilla before joiningBarcelona in 2014, where he hadplayed in nearly 200 matches. Heleft for Barcelona shortly afterhelping Sevilla win the 2014 EuropaLeague title. Rakitic has 149 ap-pearances with Sevilla, with 32goals and 41 assists.

Sevilla won their sixth EuropaLeague title this season. They fin-ished fourth in the Spanish league,securing a Champions Leaguespot for next season.