Priti Patel to send boats carrying Emma Raducanu admits ...

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cmyk cmyk cmyk cmyk cmyk cmyk 02 IN BRIEF N EWS Emma Raducanu admits she expected an early exit at US Open AR Staff Reporter Guwahati, September 09 : AR Staff Reporter Guwahati, September 09 : News Desk Kabul, September 09 : Priti Patel to send boats carrying migrants to UK back across... Chief Minister Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma today visited the boat accident site and its surrounding areas near Nimatighat of Jorhat district and took stock of the present situation and res- cue operations by NDRF and SDRF. The Chief Min- ister monitored the search operation for around 45 minutes from a machine boat. While interacting with media persons after visiting the accident site, the Chief Minister said that the Jorhat District Administration has been directed to register a criminal case on the boat accident. He also said that while three officials of the Inland Water Transport Department were placed under suspension, the gov- ernment would also insti- tute a high level inquiry into the accident. Moreover, the Indian Institute of Technol- ogy Guwahati has retained its position in National In- stitutional Ranking Frame- work (NIRF) achieving 07 Rank in ‘Engineering’ Cat- egory this year and ranked 08 in India in ‘Overall’ Cat- egory in NIRF 2021. Dharmendra Pradhan, Hon’ble Education Minis- ter, Government of India, announced NIRF 2021 re- sults today (9th September 2021). Announcing the Officials of the Mizoram Excise and Narcotics de- partment have seized 122 grams of heroin worth Rs 2.8 lakh and arrested two persons during raids at two different locations in Aizawl, an official state- ment said on Wednesday. Acting on a tip-off, the officials raided a certain area between Vaivakawn and Hunthar localities in Aizawl on Wednesday and seized 26 grams of heroin from the posses- sion of a peddler identi- fied as B. Sangzuala (45), a resident of Chanmari West in Aizawl, the state- ment said.In another op- eration, excise officials also seized 96 grams of heroin from Chanmari neighbourhood in Aizawl on Tuesday. A drug ped- dler identified as Lalzarmawia (40), a resi- dent of New Hruaikawn village in Champhai dis- trict has been arrested for possessing the contra- band, it said. Two held with heroin Police arrested a person working as a Research Scientist at the PM Cares laboratory of Silchar Medical College and Hospital for assaulting a laboratory assistant. Ac- cording to police, the per- son identified as Supratik Roy was arrested on Monday night following the incident of assaulting the laboratory assistant F I Majharbhuiya who was hit on the jaw on Thurs- day and undergoing treatment at the hospital. On the other hand, SMCH authorities in- formed that on learning about the incident, an in- quiry committee was formed and the research scientist was found guilty during the probe and accordingly he has been terminated from his contractual services.` AR Staff Reporter Guwahati, September 09 : Researcher held A least four journalists were injured and several vehicles, computers and other properties were dam- aged when Tripura BJP workers allegedly attacked the office of a leading newspaper in Agartala on Wednesday. The BJP members allegedly vandal- ized the office of the local daily "Pratibadi Kalam" and set ablaze several ve- hicles, parked in front of the office. Anal Roy Chowdhury, the editor of the newspaper, alleged af- ter a BJP rally, workers of the ruling party attacked and ransacked his office, and burnt the cars and two-wheelers parked in front of it."At least four journalists were injured in the attack. AR Staff Reporter Guwahati, September 09 : Vandalize newspaper office Chief Minister said that from today, plying of all pri- vate ferries would be stopped as they don’t have marine engines. However, if the owners wish to convert the single engine to marine engine, the state govern- ment would provide a grant of Rs. 10 lakh with 75% sub- sidy. He further informed that from now onwards, four IWT ferries would pro- vide service between Kamalabari and Nimatighat and soon two more ferries would be sent to Majuli. Apart from the ferries, two Ro-Pax would also be operationalized, he added. The Chief Minister also said that to ensure uninter- rupted service of the Ro-Pax throughout the year, dredg- ing between Kamalabari and Nimatighat would be carried out to create a navi- gation channel. The Chief Minister further informed that the Deputy Commis- sioners of Jorhat and Majuli would reschedule timings of the ferry service and two magistrates, one each from Jorhat and Majuli would monitor timely playing of the ferries. The Govt. would also issue a Standard Oper- ating Procedure (SoP) to schedule health check-ups of those working on the boats. Informing about the status of construction of the bridge connecting Jorhat with Majuli, the Chief Minister said that a necessary process is under- way and construction will start from November. It would take four years to complete the bridge; he said, adding that a Group of CONTINUED TO PAGE 6 Govt. to institute high-level inquiry into the boat accident: CM CM visits Majuli, interacts with local organizations IIT Guwahati retains 7th position in the NIRF Rankings AR Staff Reporter Guwahati, September 09 : NIRF 2021 Ranking Results, Dharmendra Pradhan, Hon’ble Education Minis- ter, Government of India, said, “In India especially the public Institutions should come out with their own ranking framework as the state fully supports the Institutes. The entire eco- system is primarily qualitive in India but we are little hesi- tant in nature. In India we never consider education as a commodity but in western world it is slightly commer- cialized. The ranking prac- tice around the globe was a surprise to me, the quality of research work, the qual- ity of knowledge power in our institutions was a pleasant surprise to me” Congratulating the Institute on its performance, Prof. T. G. Sitharam, Director, IIT Guwahati, said, “This is a reflection of the dedicated effort by the institute fac- ulty, staff and students de- spite the pandemic. This is clearly reflected in both overall and engineering ranks over the past several years and seen in interna- tional rankings as well.” Highlighting the Academic and Research plans for the coming year, Prof. T. G. Sitharam said, “The Insti- tute has been working in CONTINUED TO PAGE 6 The Election Commission on Thursday announced bypolls to six Rajya Sabha seats - including two in Tamil Nadu and one seat each in West Bengal, Assam, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.The polls to all these seats will take place on October 4, the EC said.The two seats in Tamil Nadu fell vacant due to the resignation of AIADMK leaders K P News Desk New Delhi, September 09 : Election Commission announces bypolls to six Rajya Sabha seats including Assam ; polling on October 4 Munusamy and R Vaithilingam who are now members of the state leg- islative assembly.The West Bengal Rajya Sabha seat fell vacant after res- ignation of TMC leader and cabinet minister Manas Ranjan Bhunia.In Assam, the seat held by assembly speaker Biswajit Daimary fell va- cant after he resigned from the membership of the upper house of Parliament and his earlier party, the CONTINUED TO PAGE 6 Court asks the State government to file an affidavit explaining its objections in an interfaith mar- riage caseThe Gujarat High Court on September 9 asked the State government to file an affidavit ex- plaining its objections in an in- terfaith marriage case in which the police have lodged an FIR book- ing husband, in-laws and priests for solemnising the marriage.The 'Love jihad' case, Gujarat High Court asks why government has problems ? victim in the case has categori- cally stated that the contents of the FIR the Vadodara Police have lodged are not true and she wanted to remain married to the person who has been booked under the amended Freedom of Religion (Amendment) Act 2021 for forceful conversion through marriage.This is the first case the State police lodged after the Act was notified into the law to stop religious conversion through CONTINUED TO PAGE 6 News Desk Mumbai, September 09 : Northeast Frontier Rail- way has managed to main- tain high momentum of goods transportation to keep the economy moving and meet the requirement of essential and other N.F. R. unloads 1019 rakes of freight trains during August, 2021 AR Staff Reporter Guwahati, September 09 : commodities. Northeast Frontier Railway has un- loaded 1019 freight carry- ing trains in August, 2021 as against 897 in August, 2020 with an increase of 13.6%. NFR carried 8737 rakes of freight trains from January to August, CONTINUED TO PAGE 6 On charge of plagiarism, Dr. Jyotirmoy Jana, former As- sociate Professor, Nowgong Girls' College, filed a case against Dr. Prafulla Kumar Nath, an Associate Professor, De- partment of Assamese, Gauhati University in Nagaon Police station. As per his claim, Dr. Jana dis- covered an old Assamese drama - 'Bongal-Bongaloni' by Rudraram Bordoloi Allegation of Plagiarism against me is completely intentional & baseless : Dr. P.K. Nath AR Staff Reporter Guwahati, September 09 : (1871). Dr, Jana compiled and republished the book in 2014. The book was ac- cepted by Gauhati Univer- sity in 2016 for the second semester in the Master De- gree course in the depart- ment of Assamese. Signifi- cantly, Dr. Prafulla Kumar Nath, Associate Professor, Assamese Department, Gauhati University in asso- ciation with Bookland Pub- lication and Aditya Publica- tion published the same book (edited) in his own CONTINUED TO PAGE 6 A day after the boat accident in Majuli district of Assam, the state government has banned operation of private ferries in the state.This big announcement was made by Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma during his visit to the boat accident spot."From today, plying of Majuli boat accident, Assam government bans private ferries AR Staff Reporter Guwahati, September 09 : private ferries will be stopped as they don't have marine engine," Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma said.However, CM Sarma gave an option to the private ferry owners to convert the engines of their boats to a marine engine."If owners wish to convert single en- gine to marine engine, GoA will provide grant of Rs 10 lakh with 75% subsidy," CM Sarma said.He added: "SoP will be issued to schedule health check-ups of those working on boats."He fur- ther informed that from now onwards, four IWT ferries would provide service be- tween Kamalabari and Nimatighat and soon two more ferries would be sent to Majuli.The Assam chief minister also informed that dredging of River Brahmaputra will be done between Kamalabari in Majuli and Nimatighat in Jorhat to 'create' a naviga- tional channel."To ensure uninterrupted service of Ro- Pax throughout the year, dredging between Kamalabari & Nimati Ghat will be carried out to create a CONTINUED TO PAGE 6 Prime Minister Narendra Modi Thursday chaired the 13th BRICS summit via video conferencing along with Brazil's Jair Bolsonaro, Rus- sian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. The summit comes in wake of the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan.In his opening remarks, Prime Minister Modi said that BRICS made many achievements in the last one and a half decades. "Today we are an influen- Need to ensure that BRICS is more productive in next 15 years: PM Modi tial voice for the emerging economies of the world," Modi said in his address. He also thanked members for providing full cooperation to India during its chairship."Despite the Covid-19 situation this year, over 150 BRICS meetings and events were organised. Of these, over 20 were min- isterial-level. We tried to ex- pand the BRICS agenda. BRICS achieved many firsts this year…Our Water Re- sources Ministers will meet in BRICS format for the first time in November," Modi said.Meanwhile, Putin said the withdrawal of US forces and its allies from Afghani- stan has led to a new cri- sis. "It is still unclear how this will affect global and regional security. It is for good reason that our coun- tries have paid special at- tention to this issue," Putin was quoted as .The with- drawal of US forces & its CONTINUED TO PAGE 6 Vol. No. VI Issue No. 206 RNI-ASSENG/2014/58385 | GUWAHATI FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 10, 2021 | PAGES 8 PRICE RS. 7.00 07

Transcript of Priti Patel to send boats carrying Emma Raducanu admits ...

Page 1: Priti Patel to send boats carrying Emma Raducanu admits ...

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IN BRIEFN EWS

Emma Raducanu admits sheexpected an early exit at US Open

AR Staff ReporterGuwahati, September 09 :

AR Staff ReporterGuwahati, September 09 :

News DeskKabul, September 09 :

Priti Patel to send boats carryingmigrants to UK back across...

Chief Minister Dr. HimantaBiswa Sarma today visitedthe boat accident site andits surrounding areas nearNimatighat of Jorhat districtand took stock of thepresent situation and res-cue operations by NDRFand SDRF. The Chief Min-ister monitored the searchoperation for around 45minutes from a machineboat. While interacting withmedia persons after visitingthe accident site, the ChiefMinister said that the JorhatDistrict Administration hasbeen directed to register acriminal case on the boataccident. He also said thatwhile three officials of theInland Water TransportDepartment were placedunder suspension, the gov-ernment would also insti-tute a high level inquiry intothe accident. Moreover, the

Indian Institute of Technol-ogy Guwahati has retainedits position in National In-stitutional Ranking Frame-work (NIRF) achieving 07Rank in ‘Engineering’ Cat-egory this year and ranked08 in India in ‘Overall’ Cat-egory in NIRF 2021.Dharmendra Pradhan,Hon’ble Education Minis-ter, Government of India,announced NIRF 2021 re-sults today (9th September2021). Announcing the

Officials of the MizoramExcise and Narcotics de-partment have seized 122grams of heroin worth Rs2.8 lakh and arrested twopersons during raids attwo different locations inAizawl, an official state-ment said on Wednesday.Acting on a tip-off, theofficials raided a certainarea between Vaivakawnand Hunthar localities inAizawl on Wednesdayand seized 26 grams ofheroin from the posses-sion of a peddler identi-fied as B. Sangzuala (45),a resident of ChanmariWest in Aizawl, the state-ment said.In another op-eration, excise officialsalso seized 96 grams ofheroin from Chanmarineighbourhood in Aizawlon Tuesday. A drug ped-dler identified asLalzarmawia (40), a resi-dent of New Hruaikawnvillage in Champhai dis-trict has been arrested forpossessing the contra-band, it said.

Two heldwith heroin

Police arrested a personworking as a ResearchScientist at the PM Careslaboratory of SilcharMedical College andHospital for assaulting alaboratory assistant. Ac-cording to police, the per-son identified as SupratikRoy was arrested onMonday night followingthe incident of assaultingthe laboratory assistant FI Majharbhuiya who washit on the jaw on Thurs-day and undergoingtreatment at the hospital.On the other hand,SMCH authorities in-formed that on learningabout the incident, an in-quiry committee wasformed and the researchscientist was foundguilty during the probeand accordingly he hasbeen terminated from hiscontractual services.`

AR Staff ReporterGuwahati, September 09 :

Researcherheld

A least four journalistswere injured and severalvehicles, computers andother properties were dam-aged when Tripura BJPworkers allegedly attackedthe office of a leadingnewspaper in Agartala onWednesday. The BJPmembers allegedly vandal-ized the office of the localdaily "Pratibadi Kalam"and set ablaze several ve-hicles, parked in front ofthe office. Anal RoyChowdhury, the editor ofthe newspaper, alleged af-ter a BJP rally, workers ofthe ruling party attackedand ransacked his office,and burnt the cars andtwo-wheelers parked infront of it."At least fourjournalists were injured inthe attack.

AR Staff ReporterGuwahati, September 09 :

Vandalizenewspaper

office

Chief Minister said thatfrom today, plying of all pri-vate ferries would bestopped as they don’t havemarine engines. However, ifthe owners wish to convertthe single engine to marineengine, the state govern-ment would provide a grantof Rs. 10 lakh with 75% sub-sidy. He further informed

that from now onwards,four IWT ferries would pro-vide service betweenKamalabari and Nimatighatand soon two more ferrieswould be sent to Majuli.Apart from the ferries, twoRo-Pax would also beoperationalized, he added.The Chief Minister alsosaid that to ensure uninter-

rupted service of the Ro-Paxthroughout the year, dredg-ing between Kamalabariand Nimatighat would becarried out to create a navi-gation channel. The Chief

Minister further informedthat the Deputy Commis-sioners of Jorhat and Majuliwould reschedule timingsof the ferry service and twomagistrates, one each fromJorhat and Majuli wouldmonitor timely playing ofthe ferries. The Govt. wouldalso issue a Standard Oper-ating Procedure (SoP) toschedule health check-upsof those working on theboats. Informing about thestatus of construction ofthe bridge connectingJorhat with Majuli, theChief Minister said that anecessary process is under-way and construction willstart from November. Itwould take four years tocomplete the bridge; hesaid, adding that a Group of CONTINUED TO PAGE 6

Govt. to institute high-level inquiry into the boat accident: CM

CM visits Majuli, interactswith local organizations

IIT Guwahati retains 7th positionin the NIRF Rankings

AR Staff ReporterGuwahati, September 09 :

NIRF 2021 Ranking Results,Dharmendra Pradhan,Hon’ble Education Minis-ter, Government of India,said, “In India especially

the public Institutionsshould come out with theirown ranking framework asthe state fully supports theInstitutes. The entire eco-system is primarily qualitivein India but we are little hesi-tant in nature. In India wenever consider education asa commodity but in westernworld it is slightly commer-cialized. The ranking prac-

tice around the globe was asurprise to me, the qualityof research work, the qual-ity of knowledge power inour institutions was apleasant surprise to me”Congratulating the Instituteon its performance, Prof. T.G. Sitharam, Director, IITGuwahati, said, “This is areflection of the dedicatedeffort by the institute fac-ulty, staff and students de-spite the pandemic. This isclearly reflected in bothoverall and engineeringranks over the past severalyears and seen in interna-tional rankings as well.”Highlighting the Academicand Research plans for thecoming year, Prof. T. G.Sitharam said, “The Insti-tute has been working in CONTINUED TO PAGE 6

The Election Commissionon Thursday announcedbypolls to six Rajya Sabhaseats - including two inTamil Nadu and one seateach in West Bengal,Assam, Maharashtra andMadhya Pradesh.Thepolls to all these seats willtake place on October 4,the EC said.The two seatsin Tamil Nadu fell vacantdue to the resignation ofAIADMK leaders K P

News DeskNew Delhi, September 09 :

Election Commission announces bypolls to six

Rajya Sabha seats includingAssam ; polling on October 4

Munusamy and RVaithilingam who are nowmembers of the state leg-islative assembly.TheWest Bengal Rajya Sabhaseat fell vacant after res-ignation of TMC leaderand cabinet ministerManas Ranjan Bhunia.InAssam, the seat held byassembly speakerBiswajit Daimary fell va-cant after he resigned fromthe membership of theupper house of Parliamentand his earlier party, the CONTINUED TO PAGE 6

Court asks the State governmentto file an affidavit explaining itsobjections in an interfaith mar-riage caseThe Gujarat High Courton September 9 asked the Stategovernment to file an affidavit ex-plaining its objections in an in-terfaith marriage case in which thepolice have lodged an FIR book-ing husband, in-laws and priestsfor solemnising the marriage.The

'Love jihad' case, Gujarat High Court askswhy government has problems ?

victim in the case has categori-cally stated that the contents ofthe FIR the Vadodara Police havelodged are not true and shewanted to remain married to theperson who has been bookedunder the amended Freedom ofReligion (Amendment) Act 2021for forceful conversion throughmarriage.This is the first case theState police lodged after the Actwas notified into the law to stopreligious conversion through CONTINUED TO PAGE 6

News DeskMumbai, September 09 :

Northeast Frontier Rail-way has managed to main-tain high momentum ofgoods transportation tokeep the economy movingand meet the requirementof essential and other

N.F. R. unloads 1019rakes of freight trainsduring August, 2021

AR Staff ReporterGuwahati, September 09 :

commodities. NortheastFrontier Railway has un-loaded 1019 freight carry-ing trains in August, 2021as against 897 in August,2020 with an increase of13.6%. NFR carried 8737rakes of freight trainsfrom January to August, CONTINUED TO PAGE 6

On charge of plagiarism, Dr.Jyotirmoy Jana, former As-sociate Professor,Nowgong Girls' College,filed a case against Dr.Prafulla Kumar Nath, anAssociate Professor, De-partment of Assamese,Gauhati University inNagaon Police station. Asper his claim, Dr. Jana dis-covered an old Assamesedrama - 'Bongal-Bongaloni'by Rudraram Bordoloi

Allegation of Plagiarism againstme is completely intentional& baseless : Dr. P.K. Nath

AR Staff ReporterGuwahati, September 09 :

(1871). Dr, Jana compiledand republished the book in2014. The book was ac-cepted by Gauhati Univer-sity in 2016 for the secondsemester in the Master De-gree course in the depart-ment of Assamese. Signifi-cantly, Dr. Prafulla KumarNath, Associate Professor,Assamese Department,Gauhati University in asso-ciation with Bookland Pub-lication and Aditya Publica-tion published the samebook (edited) in his own CONTINUED TO PAGE 6

A day after the boat accidentin Majuli district of Assam,the state government hasbanned operation of privateferries in the state.This bigannouncement was made byAssam chief ministerHimanta Biswa Sarma duringhis visit to the boat accidentspot."From today, plying of

Majuli boat accident, Assamgovernment bans private ferries

AR Staff ReporterGuwahati, September 09 :

private ferries will bestopped as they don't havemarine engine," Assam CMHimanta Biswa Sarmasaid.However, CM Sarmagave an option to the privateferry owners to convert theengines of their boats to amarine engine."If ownerswish to convert single en-gine to marine engine, GoAwill provide grant of Rs 10lakh with 75% subsidy," CM

Sarma said.He added: "SoPwill be issued to schedulehealth check-ups of thoseworking on boats."He fur-ther informed that from nowonwards, four IWT ferrieswould provide service be-tween Kamalabari andNimatighat and soon twomore ferries would be sentto Majuli.The Assam chiefminister also informed thatdredging of RiverBrahmaputra will be donebetween Kamalabari inMajuli and Nimatighat inJorhat to 'create' a naviga-tional channel."To ensureuninterrupted service of Ro-Pax throughout the year,dredging betweenKamalabari & Nimati Ghatwill be carried out to create a CONTINUED TO PAGE 6

Prime Minister NarendraModi Thursday chaired the13th BRICS summit via videoconferencing along withBrazil's Jair Bolsonaro, Rus-sian President VladimirPutin, Chinese President XiJinping and South AfricanPresident Cyril Ramaphosa.The summit comes in wakeof the Taliban takeover inAfghanistan.In his openingremarks, Prime MinisterModi said that BRICS mademany achievements in thelast one and a half decades."Today we are an influen-

Need to ensure thatBRICS is more productivein next 15 years: PM Modi

tial voice for the emergingeconomies of the world,"Modi said in his address. Healso thanked members forproviding full cooperationto India during itschairship."Despite theCovid-19 situation this year,over 150 BRICS meetingsand events were organised.Of these, over 20 were min-isterial-level. We tried to ex-pand the BRICS agenda.BRICS achieved many firststhis year…Our Water Re-sources Ministers will meetin BRICS format for the firsttime in November," Modisaid.Meanwhile, Putin saidthe withdrawal of US forces

and its allies from Afghani-stan has led to a new cri-sis. "It is still unclear howthis will affect global andregional security. It is forgood reason that our coun-tries have paid special at-tention to this issue," Putinwas quoted as .The with-drawal of US forces & its CONTINUED TO PAGE 6

Vol. No. VI Issue No. 206 RNI-ASSENG/2014/58385 | GUWAHATI FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 10, 2021 | PAGES 8 PRICE RS. 7.00

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NATIONAL-INTERNATIONALFRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 20212

People enjoy the sunshine in St. James's Park in London, Britain

Children read storybooks at home in Seguku, Wakiso District, Uganda

Barmer, September 09

Union Ministers RajnathSingh and Nitin Gadkari onThursday inaugurated anemergency landing strip atSatta-Gandhav stretch onNational Highway 925 forIndian Air Force (IAF)planes.A Hercules C-130Jplane of the IAF, carryingthe two ministers and Chiefof Defence Staff BipinRawat, conducted a mockemergency landing on thenational highway on Thurs-day. NH-925 is India's firstnational highway to beused for emergency landing

Emergency landing strip for IAF planeson Barmer national highway inaugurated

of IAF aircraft.The twoUnion Ministers also wit-nessed multiple aircraftoperations on the emer-gency landing facility (ELF)of NH-295 on Thursday.Sukhoi-30MKI fighter jetalso conducted a mockemergency landing at theELF in front of the twoministers.n-32 military trans-port aircraft and Mi-17v5helicopter of the IAF alsolanded at the ELF, showingits complete operationalreadiness to act as an auxil-iary military airbase.TheNational Highways Author-ity of India (NHAI) has de-

veloped the 3-km section ofSatta-Gandhav stretch ofNH-925 as an ELF for theIAF. In October 2017, fighterjets and transport planes ofthe IAF had conducted mocklandings on the Lucknow-Agra Expressway to showthat such highways can beused by the IAF planes forlanding in case of anemergency.The Lucknow-Agra Expressway, which isnot a national highway,comes under the UttarPradesh government. Offi-cials said a total of 27 otherhighways, apart from theone in Barmer, are being cur-

rently studied jointly by theIAF and the NHAI to see ifemergency landing strips canbe developed on them. Theemergency landing strip,which was inaugurated onThursday, is part of newlydeveloped two-lane pavedshoulder of Gagariya-Bakhasar and Satta-Gandhavsection having total length of196.97 km and costing Rs765.52 crore under theBharatmala Pariyojana. Thishighway project will improveconnectivity between vil-lages of Barmer and Jaloredistricts located on the inter-national border.Apart fromthe emergency landing strip,three helipads (size 100x30metres each) have been con-structed in Kundanpura,Singhania and Bakhasar vil-lages under this project, ac-

cording to the require-ments of the IAF and theIndian Army.The ELF andthree helipads have beendeveloped so as tostrengthen the securitynetwork on the westerninternational border ofthe country.During nor-mal time, the ELF will beused for smooth flow ofroad traffic and during theoperations of ELF for theIAF, the service road willbe used for smooth flowof road traffic.The ELFwas constructed in 19months. The work com-menced in July 2019 andwas completed in Janu-ary 2021. The work wascarried out by GHV In-dia Pvt Ltd under the su-pervision of the IAF andthe NHAI.

New Delhi, September 09

Bangladesh's Rapid ActionBattalion (RAB) on Thursday(September 9, 2021) arresteda top leader of the bannedmilitant outfit Jama'atulMujahideen Bangladesh (JMB)Imdadul Haque alias UzzwalMaster from Dhaka's Basilaarea.In an operation launched atmidnight, the RAB raided ahouse in Mohammadpur areawhere he had taken shelter. Act-ing on a tip-off, the RAB teamcordoned off a nearby build-ing early Thursday morning,

RAB Spokesperson Com-mander Khandaker AlMoin told DhakaTribune.RAB seized ahuge cache of arms andammunition, a bullet-proofvest, 3 lac Bangladeshitaka and some Jihadi litera-ture. He is being ques-tioned. Imdadul Haquewas living on rent andhad introduced himselfas a worker at a printingpress. He had even toldthe landlord that soonhis family members willstay with him.

Bangladesh's RAB ar-rests suspected JMB

leader from Dhaka, armsand ammunition seized

Kabul, September 09:

The Taliban has moved totighten its crackdown on es-calating protests against itsrule, banning any demonstra-tions that do not have officialapproval for both the gather-ing itself and for any slogansthat might be used.In the firstdecree issued by the hardlineIslamist group's new interiorministry, which is led bySirajuddin Haqqani, who iswanted by the United Stateson terrorism charges, theTaliban warned opponentsthat they must secure permis-sion before any protests orface "severe legalconsequences'".Wednesday'sformal ban follows violent andsometimes lethal confronta-tions between Taliban fight-ers and demonstrators in sev-eral cities since the groupswept to power, with womenoften at the forefront of theprotests.Hundreds protestedon Tuesday, both in the capi-tal and in the city of Herat,where two people at the dem-onstration site were shotdead.The move follows othersigns that Afghanistan's newall-male interim cabinet - madeup entirely of Taliban loyal-ists - is moving rapidly awayfrom earlier promises of mod-eration and inclusivity.Theprohibition on protests cameamid evidence that the Talibanis rapidly consolidating itsgrip on power after its recentconquest of the last areas op-posing it in the Panshjir Val-ley, north of Kabul.In anotherindication of the darkeningsituation for human rights,another senior Taliban figure

Taliban ban protests and slogansthat don't have their approval

said on Wednesday thatAfghan women, includ-ing the country's women'scricket team, will bebanned from playingsport.The ban was an-nounced as the interna-tional community re-sponded warily to the newTaliban government,which began work onWednesday. Theh USsecretary of state,Antony Blinken, echoedother international figuresin saying that the provi-sional Afghan cabinetwas not the inclusivegovernment the Talibanhad promised and thatthe Islamist group needsto earn the internationallegitimacy and support itseeks.Blinken, who madehis remarks alongside theGerman foreign minister,Heiko Maas, while visit-ing a US airbase in Ger-many that has been a tran-sit point for evacueesfrom Afghanistan, alsocalled on the Taliban to al-low charter flights carry-ing Americans and at-riskAfghans to depart fromthe country.Maas andBlinken had chaired a vir-tual meeting with as many

as 20 nations supportive ofthe US efforts to put pres-sure on Taliban to cooper-ate on the free passage ofthose foreign nationals andAfghans who want toleave.A US official said laterthat Taliban authorities hadagreed to let 200 Americancivilians and third-countrynationals who remained inthe country depart on char-ter flights from Kabul air-port, Reutersr e p o r t e d . Z e b u l o nSimentov blows a musicalhorn 'Shofar' at synagogue,housed in an old buildingin Kabul. The departureswere expected on Thurs-day. The official, speakingon condition of anonymity,could not say whether the200 were among peoplestranded for days in Mazar-i-Sharif because their pri-vate charters have not beenallowed to depart.Maassaid the makeup of the newgovernment was "not thesignal for more interna-tional cooperation and sta-bility in the country. It mustbe clear to the Taliban thatinternational isolation isnot in its interests, and es-pecially not in those ofAfghanistan's people."

Lucknow, September 09

The Yogi Adityanath govern-ment has sent a second teamof health experts to Firozabadwithin a week, to identify thedengue variant causing theoutbreak which appears to bemore dangerous forchildren.The three-memberteam from Lucknow`s King

Under Opposition fire, CM Yogi Adityanath sends secondteam to Firozabad to check dengue outbreak

George Medical Univer-sity (KGMU), led by se-nior paediatrician Dr S NSingh, has started inves-tigating the cases. Theteam will also guide localdoctors on how to controlthe spread of the diseaseand plan treatmentprotocols.Additional di-rector of the state health

department, AK Singh, said,"There are four serotypes ofdengue viruses, designatedas DENV-1, 2, 3 and 4. Allare transmitted human-to-human through the bite ofsome species of Aedesmosquitoes."The DENV-3infections cause denguehaemorrhagic fever which isa severe and fatal form of

the disease. It causes a sud-den drop in platelet countand bleeding in the gums.Dengue shock syndrome isthe most severe form of den-gue haemorrhagic fever."Firozabad has been theworst-hit district with thenumber of dengue casesrising alarmingly. The Na-tional Centre for Disease

Control (NCDC) had earlierconfirmed that the viral dis-ease cases were primarilydengue, along with a fewcases of malaria, scrub ty-phus and leptospirosis.TheWorld Health Organisationhad also alerted the districtadministration that the out-break might be one of den-gue haemorrhagic fever.

Beijing, September 09

Shares in the embattled Chi-nese property giantEvergrande have slumpedagain after two credit down-grades in two days amidconcerns that it will defaulton parts of its massive$300bn debt pile.Evergrande, which is one ofthe world's most indebtedcompanies, has seen itsshares tumble 75% this year.They fell by almost 10% onThursday morning toHK$3.35, which is below thelisting price when the com-pany floated on the HongKong market in 2009.Tradingin one of the company'sbonds was suspended bythe Shenzhen stock ex-change on Thursday morn-ing after the price plunged20%.The online market trad-ing platform IG saidEvergrande posed "a risk ofcontagion" after Bloombergreported that Credit Suisseand Citibank were no longeraccepting the bonds of an-other highly indebted Chi-nese property developer,Fantasia, as collateral.There

were also reports from Chinaon Wednesday of employ-ees protesting outside thecompany's offices aboutsalaries not being paid.Evergrande claims to employ200,000 people and indi-rectly generate 3.8 millionjobs in China.The companyhas run up a mountain of li-abilities totalling more than$300bn after years of bor-rowing to fund rapid growthand a string of real estate ac-quisitions as well as otherassets including a Chinesefootball team.But the firm hasstruggled to service its debtsand a crackdown on theproperty sector by Beijinghas made it even harder toraise cash, fuelling concernsit will go bankrupt.The valueof new home sales has fallen20% in China since the peakin the first three months ofthis year, and the value ofland sales are also sharplydown. Along with Beijing'stougher regulation, thesefactors have made it muchharder for Evergrande todispose of unsold proper-ties even with huge dis-counts.

China property marketrocked as giant

Evergrande struggles torepay $300bn debts

Washington, September 09

Donald Trump's WhiteHouse asked the Penta-gon to play down and de-lay reports of brain injuriessuffered by US troops froman Iranian missile attack onIraq last year, according to aformer defense spokes-woman. Alyssa Farah saidshe fended off the pressurefrom the White House,which came after Trumphad first claimed there hadbeen no casualties andthen dismissed the injuriesas "headaches" and "notvery serious".More than100 US troops were ulti-mately diagnosed as hav-ing suffered traumaticbrain injuries in the missileattack on two bases in Iraqhousing US troops on 8

New York, September 09

Priti Patel is preparing tosend back small boatscarrying migrants in theChannel despite warningsfrom the French authori-ties that it could endangerlives.Border Force staffare being trained toemploy "turn-around"tactics at sea under plansdeveloped for two years,a statement from theHome Office said.It wouldallow UK officers to forcesmall boats back intoFrench waters. It isunclear if the proposalswould include takingmigrants back to Frenchshores.The proposalshave already beenrejected by the Frenchgovernment. A letterreleased on Wednesdayshowed they could not beaccepted by the interiorminister, Gérald Darmanin,on the grounds that"safeguarding humanlives at sea takes priority

Priti Patel to send boatscarrying migrants to UK

back across Channel

over considerations ofnationality, status andmigratory policy".Thetactics will be used, theHome Office has said,with the intention ofredirecting migrantvessels away from UKwaters and back towardsFrance.Training, which isweather dependent, isdue to conclude thismonth, with use of thetactics ready to deploy assoon as practical andsafe.Border Force hasinformed ministers theywill only be able todeploy the tactics, whichhave been developed inconsultation withmaritime experts, whenthey deem it safe to doso.In a statement, theHome Office said Patelhad become "the firsthome secretary toestablish a legal basis forthe sea tactics, workingwith acting attorneygeneral Michael Ellis andexpert QCs."In a letter

released after a bilateralmeeting broke up onWednesday, Darmaninmade clear to Patel thatthe proposals woulddamage bilateralrelations."The Frenchposition on intervention atsea remains unchanged.Safeguarding human livesat sea takes priority overconsiderations of nation-ality, status and migratorypolicy, out of strictrespect for the interna-tional maritime lawgoverning search andrescue at sea. With regardto traffic and conditionsfor crossing the Channel,France has no othersolution than to intervenemost often on the basis ofthe provisions in interna-tional law governingsearch and rescue atsea."The use of maritimerefoulements [the practiceof sending back asylumseekers] to Frenchterritorial waters wouldrisk having a negativeimpact on our coopera-tion," hewrote.Conservative MPshave called for the homesecretary to breakinernational law and sendall migrants arrivingillegally by boat straightback to France.Darmanin'sletter says that the Frenchauthorities have agreedwith the UK to "doublethe number of personneldeployed on the Channelcoast" and had beenoffered the use of a UKplane to monitor thecoast.Darmanin alsorejected a suggestionfrom the UK to form asingle force to stoppeople smugglers fromusing boats.

Trump White House tried toplay down US injuries in attack

by Iran, says ex-officialJanuary 2020, launched byTehran in retaliation for theUS drone killing of Revo-lutionary Guard generalQassem Suleimani fivedays earlier.Roughly 80%of the American casualtiesfrom the missile attackwere able to return to dutywithin days, but dozenshad to be evacuated toGermany and then the USfor treatment.A crowd atthe tomb of Iranian Revo-lutionary Guards' QudsForce commander QassemSuleimaniFarah describedthe attack as the "heaviestseveral hours of my life" inan interview with a newpodcast, One Decision,hosted by former CNNjournalist MichelleKosinski and the formerhead of Britain's MI6 intel-

ligence agency, Sir RichardDearlove.Farah, who wenton to work in the WhiteHouse, said that whenTrump claimed there hadbeen no casualties in thewake of the attack it was"true at the time that wegave those facts to thepresident".But she added:"I think where things gotshaky was there was an ef-fort from the White Houseto want to say, this was notsuccessful - the Iranianswere not successful inharming our targets in re-sponse. And I think thatwent too far."And I thinkthat it ended up glossingover what ended up beingvery significant injuries onUS troops after the fact,"Farah told the podcast, dueto air on Thursday.

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3STATE FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2021

STAFF REPORTERGuwahati, Sep 8: ChiefMinister Dr. Himanta BiswaSarma today said that theState government wouldform a three member cabi-net committee to discussand resolve all issues of thetribal people. The ChiefMinister said this while tak-

STAFF REPORTER

Guwahati, Sep 9 : The Elec-tion Commission of India(ECI) has decided to hold sixbye-elections in six statesincluding in Assam. Theseby-polls would be held inRajya Sabha seats which fellvacant due to various rea-sons. According to thepress note of ECI, pollswould be held in two seatsin Tamil Nadu and one eachin West Bengal, Assam,Maharashtra, Puducherryand Madhya Pradesh. Thepolls to all these seven seatswill take place on October 4,the EC said. In Assam, theRajya Sabha seat fell vacantafter speaker BiswajitDaimary resigned from themembership of the upperhouse of Parliament.

CORRESPONDENT

Hojai, Sep 9 : Under thechairmanship of DeputyCommissioner of Hojai dis-trict Anupam Choudhury ahigh level meeting wasorganised in order to dis-cuss the implementationwork of the Assam AdarshGram Yojana. The meetingwas held at DC's Confer-ence room in the presenceof three legislators namelyMLA from 90 No.Jamunamukh. Constitu-ency Sirajuddin Ajmal, 91No. Hojai ConstituencyMLA Ramkrishna Ghoshand 92 No. Lumding Con-stituency MLA SibuMishra at District head-quarter Sankardevnagar inHojai on Thursday. Dur-ing the meeting a detailedinteractive discussion

CM Dr. Sarma attends reviewmeeting with CCTOA

Cabinet committeeto be formed to

deal with issues oftribal people

ing part in a review meetingwith the representatives ofCoordination Committee ofTribal Organizations ofAssam (CCTOA) to discussvarious issues of the tribalpeople, which was held atNo. 1 State Guest House,Koinadhara in Guwahati to-day. Altogether 24 students

and social organizations ofthe ST communities tookpart in the meeting. TheCCTOA representativessubmitted a memorandumto the Chief Minister un-derscoring ten demandsincluding preservation oftribal belt and blocks, landrights of forest dwellers,

implementation of postbased reservation policyand filling up of backlogposts, constitutional statusto tribal AutonomousCouncils etc. The ChiefMinister after goingthrough the demands an-nounced that a three mem-ber cabinet committee willbe formed to engage withCCTOA to discuss and re-solve all issues of the tribalpeople. The Cabinet Com-mittee will frequently holddiscussions with CCTOAand take expeditious stepsfor settlement of land rightsand other issues of thetribal people. The Chief

Minister also informed thathe will hold discussion withCCTOA on progress of theissues in next six months.Education and WPT&BC Minister Dr. Ranoj Pegu,Housing and Urban AffairsMinister Ashok Singhal,BTC Chief Pramod Bodo,Principal Secretaries andother senior officers of thestate government werepresent in the meeting.

High Level meeting on theimplementation of Assam Adarsh

Gram Yojana held in Hojai

was held with all the enlisteddepartments under theAssam Adarsh Gram Yojanaregarding the draft plan andbudget to implement thementioned scheme. Notably,in the session the discus-sions were held on two vil-lages each which are selectedfrom the three LACs of thedistrict for development un-der Assam Gramin Yojana.Meanwhile, the legislatorsgave their valuable sugges-tions and ensured full sup-port and cooperation in

implementation of thescheme. Addressing themeeting, the Deputy Com-missioner called upon theofficers and employees towork dedicatedly for theupliftment of the society.Chief Executive Officer ofZila Parishad DevashishBaishya, Additional DeputyCommissioner GokulChandra Brahma, ZillaParishad President RamaBala Devi, Circle Officeralong with other officialswere present in the meet.

CORRESPONDENTBiswanath Chariali, Sep-tember 9 : Biswanathdistrict’s guardian ministerand Assam government’sminister of water resources,information and public rela-tions etc. Pijush Hazarikatoday reviewed the progressof work under various de-partments at a meeting heldat Deputy Commissioner’sconference hall. Taking noteof the deplorable road con-dition between BiswanathChariali and Gohpur town,the minister said that tillcompletion of the four-laningproject on the stretch, thecurrent road should be in

Guardian Minister Pijush Hazarikaholds review meeting at Biswanath

motorable condition. Hehas issued instructions toNational Highways andInfrastructure Develop-ment Corporation Limited(NHIDCL) to immediatelyundertake repair work onthe current road so thatcommuters do not facediscomfort while travellingon the stretch. He has alsodirected the Deputy Com-missioner of Biswanath tomake regular visits to as-sess the progress of work.He also asked NHIDCL toexpedite four-laning workon the stretch. With re-gard to implementation ofprojects under the PublicWorks Department(PWD) in the district, theminister asked the depart-ment to construct high-quality roads underPradhan Mantri GramSadak Yojana (PMGSY).He said the governmentwill not tolerate any com-promise on quality of workand the contractorsshould be issued direc-

tions accordingly. “If thepublic is not satisfied withthe quality of work, the gov-ernment will not sit idle. Ac-tion would be initiatedagainst contractors whoconstruct poor-qualityroads,” said Hazarika. Theminister has decided to holdanother meeting exclusivelywith PWD officials and con-tractors in the next 15 daysto further assess the qualityof work under various roadprojects. Reviewing theimplementation of PradhanMantri Awas Yojna(PMAY), Mr. Hazarika saidthe concerned departmentshould ensure that no eli-gible beneficiary is left outfrom availing benefit un-der the scheme. He also is-sued instructions tospeed-up implementationof Jal Jeevan Mission(JJM) in the district so thatevery household is pro-vided with tap-water con-nection by 2024. He alsoasked the agriculture de-partment to ensure that all

eligible farmers in the dis-trict avail the benefits un-der PM-KISAN scheme.Further, the minister hasasked the social welfare de-partment to identify 50most malnourished childrenin the district and those chil-dren would be adopted bythe minister, local MP andMLAs and all their ex-penses with regard to nu-trition and diet would betaken care of by them. Theminister also reviewed theprogress of work of Medi-cal and Engineering Col-leges in the district.Today’s meeting was alsoattended by TEzpur MP Mr.Pallab Lochan Das,Biswanath MLA Mr.Promod Borthakur, GohpurMLA Utpal Borah, BehaliMLA Ranjit Dutta, DCBiswanath Pranab KumarSarmah, SP BiswanathLeena Doley, SDO(C)Gohpur Aditya VikramYadav, ADCs, administra-tive officers and heads ofconcerned departments

NEWS DESKCHENNAI, Sep 9: IndianInstitute of TechnologyMadras (IIT Madras) has,once again, swept the tophonours in National Insti-tutional Ranking Frame-work (NIRF), emerging asthe undisputed leader ineducation in the country.The results of NIRF 2021were announced today byDharmendra Pradhan,Hon’ble Education Minis-ter, Government of India.IIT Madras has beenranked as No. 1 institute inIndia in both ‘Overall’ and‘Engineering’ Categories inNIRF 2021. IIT Madras hasbagged the Top Rank in‘Overall’ Category for thethird consecutive year andNo. 1 in ‘Engineering’ cat-egory for the sixth con-secutive year. In the newly-launched category of ‘Re-search Institutions,’ IITMadras was Ranked 2 in thecountry, behind only theIndian Institute of Science(IISc), Bengaluru. Con-gratulating all the Institutesthat took part in NIRF Rank-ing, Dharmendra Pradhan,Hon’ble Education Minis-ter, Government of India,said, “I am happy to be partof the India Rankings 2021along the sidelines of theShiksha Parv initiatives en-visioned by our visionaryPrime Ministry ShriNarendra Modi ji. He ar-ranged for the EducationSector to have rankings inthe country. This is the sixthyear we are having thisranking framework. This isvery essential in the 21stCentury.” Further,Dharmendra Pradhan said,“We have 50,000 educa-tional Institutions and 50million higher educationstudents. Ranking is inevi-table and must. This year,6,000 institutions took part.In the future, almost all in-stitutions must come for-ward.” Moreover, IIT Ma-dras has been recognizedas an ‘Institution of Emi-

IIT Madras Sweeps TopHonours in NIRF Ranking

nence’ (IoE) in September2019, by the Government ofIndia. As an Institute of Emi-nence, IIT Madras has setcertain targets for the next5, 10 and 15 years in Aca-demics, Research and De-velopment, and Internation-alization, among others.Congratulating students,faculty members and otheremployees for their hardwork that has resulted insuch extraordinary perfor-mance, Prof. BhaskarRamamurthi, Director, IITMadras, said, “We are de-lighted to maintain our pre-eminent position in theNIRF rankings yet again. IITMadras continues to excelin teaching, research, and in-novation, and has launchedseveral new initiatives toimplement the NEP. ” Overthe years the institute hasgrown from strength-to-strength. In February 2021,the Satellite Campus of IITMadras was inaugurated bythe Hon’ble Prime Ministerof India. Coming up at a costof Rs. 1,000 Crore in the firstphase, the upcoming ‘Dis-covery Campus,’ located atThaiyur near Chennai, willaccommodate the growingresearch infrastructure re-quirements of the institute.With IoE funding, IIT Ma-dras is creating Centres ofExcellence to encourage in-ter-disciplinary researchthat can lead to path-break-ing discoveries and innova-tions. These Centres are inemerging areas of scienceand technology, havestrong international link-ages, are highly outcome-focused, and will have inti-

mate networks with the IITMResearch Park and IITM In-cubation Cell for commercial-ization of ideas, and with theInstitute’s IP Office for patentfilings and technology trans-fer/ licensing. As an endeavortowards taking quality edu-cation to masses, the Insti-tute also launched theWorld’s first-ever OnlineB.Sc. Degree in Programmingand Data Science in June2020. This unique offering re-moves all barriers of age, dis-cipline or geographic locationand provides access to aworld-class curriculum indata science which is in hugedemand for skilledprofessionals.The Institute issteadily increasing the num-ber of inter-disciplinarydual-degree (DD-ID)programmes, and online cer-tification programmes forprofessionals, in emergingtechnology areas and thoserelevant to the developmentof the country. IIT Madras,which has also bagged thetop position in the Atal Rank-ing of Institutions on Inno-vation Achievements(ARIIA) for the last twoyears, has created a strongentrepreneurial ecosystemthat encourages students tobecome job-generators.Started in 2015, NIRF out-lines a methodology to rankeducational institutionsacross the country. The pa-rameters used for rankingbroadly cover “Teaching,Learning and Resources,”“Research and Profes-sional Practices,” “Gradu-ation Outcome,” “Out-reach and Inclusivity,”and “Perception.”

CORRESPONDENT

Hojai, Sep 8: Along withthe rest of the Country, un-der the aegis of SocialWelfare Department in as-sociation with Hojai Dis-trict Administration theclosing ceremony of weeklong Matru VandanaSaptah (September 1 toSeptember 7) under PrimeMinister Matru VandanaYojana concluded here atDC's conference room inSankardev Nagar On Tues-day. The objective of themeeting was explained byDistrict Program Coordina-tor Queen Bora. DeputyCommissioner Shri AnupamChoudhury graced the oc-casion as Chief Guest. Ad-dressing the officers andemployees, DC Choudhurysaid,"We have to keepworking for the public in-terest with integrity and apositive mindset. DC said

ECI Announced By-poll DatesFor Rajya Sabha in Assam

Sources said that the BJP islikely to field Union ministerand former CM SarbanandaSonowal from the Assamseat as he is yet to become aMP. The press release by theElection Commission re-vealed that the issue of noti-fication will be on September15, 2021, while the last datetill candidates can file theirnominations is September 22.The last date for withdrawalof the candidature is Septem-ber 27 while the counting willbe held on the same day theby-poll would be held whichis October 04. The ElectionCommission has said that pollsshall be complete by October6, 2021. The ECI said in its or-der that all "broad guidelinesof COVID-19" have to be fol-lowed during the election pro-cess that is from the time of

issue of notification to thecounting of votes. Last yearworking President ofBodoland Peoples' Front(BPF) and RajyaSabha MPBiswajitDaimary resignedfrom the party post. "Hav-ing been a member of theBPF from the date of theparty's inception, it is nowtime for me to move on," saidDaimary in his resignation

letter to party presidentHagramaMohilary. "Whilemy aim and purpose remainthe same it has always beenfrom the very beginning toserve the people of myState and country. I think Iam unable to do this any-more within this party,"Daimary said, adding thatthere is a possibility that hemight join the BJP.

CorrespondentPalasbari,Sep 9: TheKamrup administration hasserved a notice to evacu-ate 55 bigha land ofKaitasidhi village underPalasbari LAC near theLokpriya Gopinath BordoloiInternational Airport. How-ever, the people who ownthe land clarified that theywould not evacuate theirland under any circum-stance. "We have beenserved a notice to evacu-ate 55 bighas,2 katha and3.50 lecha land near the Air-port. We heard that theAdani group which hasbeen given charge of theAirport for 50 years undera lease agreement by theGovernment of India wants

to do expansion work here.But we want to clarify thatwe will not leave our landeven if we are given ad-equate compensation". saida local person. Some otherpeople in the area also saidthat they will not hand overtheir land to the Adanigroup." It may be mentionedhere that in 2018, in a meet-ing with the district admin-istration, we accepted theirproposal to give permissionto uproot or cut our trees.Since then, they have beencutting our trees. But we willnot give our land to them,"they said. Some local womenalso categorically stated thatthey are ready to becomedaily wage earners but nevergive their land

Serves eviction notice to vil-lage adjacent to LGBI airport

CorrespondentNagaon, Sep 9: A CRPFjawan named Vijay Kr Mishraof Nagaon Katimari basedCRPF battalion Camp, com-mitted suicide with his ser-vice arms after firing at oneof his fellow jawan PranjalDutta at the 34th CRPF bat-talion camp itself this morn-ing, sources added. Sourcesclaimed that CRPF head con-stable Vijay Kumar Mishra

went to their Kote to deposithis arms and ammunition thismorning and in a mysterioussituation, he shot at the Koteincharge Pranjal Dutta andinjured him on his legs follow-ing which Vijay KumarMishra himself shot at hisown head. He died on thespot. Meanwhile the injuredPranjal Dutta was immedi-ately admitted to hospital,sources added further.

CRPF jawan commits suicideafter firing at his colleague

Matru Vandana Saptahconcluded in Hojai

Our work will speak up andfind true places in the heartsof the people, it will be ourtrue accomplishment andsatisfaction in our workinglife. He further said DistrictAdministration will ensure allkinds of possible help for thesuccessful implementation ofthis program. Meanwhile,Deputy Commissionerhonoured the best compat-ible child upgrade project for

transparency in the suc-cessful implementation ofthis scheme along withAnganwadi Worker,Anganwadi Helper, DataEntry Operator, Supervisor,Lanka ICDS Block. The ChiefExecutive Officer of ZillaParishad Devashish Vaish,Additional Deputy Commis-sioner Raktim Barua, alongwith several other officialswere present in the meeting.

STAFF REPORTERAalo Sep 9: The West SiangDeputy Commissioner ShriPenga Tato had a series ofInteractive meetings withBranch Officers and officialsof the DC Office at the Con-ference of DC office today.While speaking to Officersand officials the DC stressedon punctuality, prompt dis-posal of works as perCitizen's Charter, peoplefriendly attitude , sincerityand transparent manner ofrendering services as per APRight to Public Service

DC Holds InteractiveMeetings with Govt. Officers

Act,2016 and AP Right to Pub-lic Service Rules, 2017. He saidthat our services are meant forthe people whom we serve andno one govt. officials shouldindulge in unwanted activitiesthat give bad name and imageto the administration at anycost and all should work dili-gently to facilitate benefitsmeant for the people. The govt.servants should apply leave ortour in advance unless war-ranted in emergency cases. TheDC has to get a well knit teamto take administration in theright direction and take up is-

sues concerning welfare of thedistrict assuring that adminis-tration too will be there to takeinto the problems faced by theofficials. The ADC Shri LiyiBagra spelt out the list of des-ignated services, designatedofficer, stipulated time for ser-vice delivery, appellate author-ity and conduct rules as en-shrined in Citizen's Charter. Healso laid stress on punctual-ity, commitment among allstrata of officials and rotationof officials in various officialsto acquaint them with variousnature of works.

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VOL. NO. VI, ISSUE NO. 206 FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2021

THE ASSAM RISINGE D I T O R I A LE D I T O R I A LE D I T O R I A LE D I T O R I A LE D I T O R I A LFRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 20214

Terrible reasonto skip the vaccineThere a terrible reason to skip the vaccine - 100% of people

who have "natural immunity" suffered from at least one boutof the disease, putting them at risk of severe illness, lingeringsymptoms and the prospect of spreading the virus to others.The point of the vaccine, after all, is to cut back on the risk ofgetting sick at all and to reduce the severity of symptoms if aso-called breakthrough occurs.But there's still a lot to belearned, and a lot of public-health policy that should be sub-ject to adjustment. The new data, which come out of Israel,show that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control erred by tell-ing people in early August that vaccine-induced immunity isbetter than immunity acquired from past infection. Peoplewho had two Pfizer shots were about 27 times more likely toget symptomatic Covid-19 and eight times more likely to behospitalized than were people who'd been infected. scien-tists citing that earlier data, saying that vaccine-induced im-munity might be better than protection from a past infection.I was wrong, and stand corrected.While not officially pub-lished, a scientific paper announcing the new data has im-pressed the medical community because it's based on a studyof tens of thousands of people conducted this summer whenthe delta variant was dominant, and because the researchersmeasured what matters most: whether people got sick or werehospitalized, not just whether their antibodies changed orsome tiny amount of virus was detected in their noses.Thenew findings might force a rethinking of the current U.S. policyof recommending full vaccination to people who've alreadyhad a documented case of Covid-19. And, while it still makessense to encourage anyone who hasn't had the virus to getthe shots, doctors might want to reconsider whether theModerna version would be a better bet. Several studies, in-cluding one out of the Mayo Clinic, show it might offer moredurable protection against the delta variant.The immunity frominfection may explain, in part, why the delta wave has leveledoff or started to drop in Arkansas, Missouri, Mississippi,Louisiana and Florida, where it had risen highest. The phe-nomenon also complicates the study of long-term vaccineefficacy because unvaccinated people are becoming increas-ingly immune as delta spreads through them. That means theunvaccinated are becoming inadvertently inoculated, thoughat the high cost of putting pressure on hospitals and killingpeople.That natural immunity works isn't a surprise. In thesummer of 2020, scary stories about waning post-infectionimmunity were dampening hopes that vaccines would work -as the persistence of immunity was taken as a sign that thesame effect could occur with a vaccine.Since last December,I've asked different experts how natural immunity might com-pare with vaccine-induced immunity, and it turns out that forsome diseases, vaccines can be more protective than pastinfection. But not always.people who've had Covid-19 won-dered whether the risk-benefit ratio of getting the shots mightbe different for them. Last December, nobody knew whethervaccine-induced immunity would be better than infection-induced immunity, but it was always understood that pastinfection incurred some degree of protection. There was anemergency, the risks of the shots looked minimal, and it wouldhave been slow and cumbersome to determine who had actu-ally had the virus. It's also not clear whether all the so-calledasymptomatic cases elicited immunity or whether the body'sfirst lines of defense killed the virus off before any antibodieswere created. It's also likely that at least a few people whowere never tested just assume they've had Covid-19, andothers may have had a false positive test.But now, perhapsthe sensible approach is the one taken in France, Germany,Italy and other countries - to offer people who've beeninfected a single dose of a two-shot vaccine. Data fromsome previous studies as well as conclusions drawn fromthe Israeli data show that a single shot can boost post-infection immunity to even higher levels. Other studiessuggest that a previous infection combined with a single-dose vaccine will be better than vaccines alone at protect-ing against new variants.

F ood banks and volunteers have put into practice the universalist principle that once underpinned

the welfare stateWhen Slung Low the-atre in Leeds closed during the firstlockdown in March last year, its fivecore staff decided to stay put. The pub-licly funded theatre had cash and a van,so the staff leafleted the theatre'sneighbourhood in Holbeck, an impov-erished area in south Leeds, offering tohelp with everyday tasks that had sud-denly become impossible for manypeople. Requests piled in for groceryshopping, dog-walking and prescrip-tion pick-ups. As workplaces closed,people started asking for food support.Before long, the local council ap-proached Slung Low, which normallystages large-scale theatre shows incastles and town centres, to organise afood bank for a ward of 7,500 residents.So it did, supplying around 15,000 de-liveries over 15 months: thousands ofeggs, cereal boxes, tins of beans andpints of milk.Slung Low's food bank was,like its theatre performances, a large-scale production. But it was by no meansthe only initiative of its kind to emergeduring the pandemic. Over the past 18months, 4,000 mutual aid groups formedacross the country, staffed by millionsof volunteers, who patched togethersafety nets for those in need. Whetherdelivering food, helping elderly people

Pandemic mutual aid has shown us an altogetherdifferent way of doing politics

or supporting those with deterioratingmental health, many mutual aiders fastrealised that help is a two-way street.For some, it provided an immediate wayto practise political values. Other vol-unteers I spoke with said it offered themmeaning and purpose in a way that ac-tual, paid work did not.Could this flour-ishing of mutual aid and volunteeringhave a sustainable effect on the way wedo politics, or will it simply evaporate asthe pandemic recedes from view? Regu-lar contact with Holbeck's community,many of whom live in deprivation, hasbeen an altering experience for SlungLow volunteers, one they can neitherforget nor untie themselves from. Foodbanking is an exchange of much morethan groceries: care, connection andtrust passes between people, too. "Weare part of the community and beholdento each other now," Alan Lane, thetheatre's artistic director, told me when Ivisited the food bank in June.In aneighbourhood such as Holbeck, whichhas been ground down by neglect overthe years, sticking around is a vital cur-rency. The theatre has received lettersof thanks from one family, who includeda photo "to show who you helped", andfrom an ex-prisoner who wrote that, de-spite a history of falling into crime: "Ipersonally believe due to your help I

haven't reoffended."Lane told me it tookconstant work, "shitloads of cash" andhundreds of volunteers to keep the foodbank running. Alongside funding fromthe council and volunteers from Leedscommunity hub, the theatre was able toaccess cash, goods and people. Fur-loughed ballet dancers and TV produc-ers turned up to pack food and drivedeliveries. An online community chippedin £5s and £10s. Initially, the supplies offood were erratic: months of tortilla chips,then giant bags of popcorn; 2,000 avo-cados one day, 10,000 frozen veganburgers the next, and piles of chocolatejust after Easter and Halloween. Soon,Slung Low started buying its own foodwholesale, warehousing produce, tinsand packets at the theatre.Disaster mov-ies typically depict crisis-hit societiescollapsing into selfish chaos, but in re-ality the opposite seems true. In A Para-dise Built in Hell, her book about thegoodwill that shines amid crises andemergencies, Rebecca Solnit describeshow these moments show us the depthof "the desire for connection, participa-tion, altruism and purposefulness in allof us". Helping others seems to tap intosomething at the very core of our natureas social beings.Mutual aid can alsoshow us an altogether different way ofdoing politics. Slung Low, like other pan-demic food banks I spoke to, refused toask people for proof of eligibility. Typi-cally, food support is based on referralsfrom a health visitor or social worker,which means that individuals have toshow evidence of their hardship.Naysayers told Slung Low's volunteersthat they would be overwhelmed; thatpeople would take advantage of theservice, or that it could create depen-dence. These bad faith assumptionsgovern much of the UK's welfare sys-tem, where assistance is means-testedand those who need help are frequentlytreated with suspicion, such as whenMatt Hancock explained those whowere told to self-isolate after testingpositive for Covid-19 would not receivefinancial support because the systemmight be "gamed".Instead, Slung Low

was effectively practising the univer-salism that once underpinned the wel-fare state but has long been eroded: theidea that the only way to ensure every-one has what they need is to give toanyone who asks. Lane told me the foodbank felt much like holding a finger in ariver and hoping that someone up-stream - the government - would stemthe flood. But nobody was fixing theproblems that had led so many to re-quire the food bank's assistance in thefirst place.There's a fine balance be-tween finding ways to make this sort ofvolunteering more sustainable and turn-ing it into an excuse for the governmentto devolve its welfare responsibilities.Meanwhile, as people return to full-timework and other obligations loom, it getsharder to keep the commitment going -one volunteer I met at a vaccine centretold me it was always a struggle tosqueeze a shift into her diary, but al-ways rewarding to have done so.Still,something shifted during the past 18months, for individuals as well as forcommunities. Some pandemic projectsacross the country have planted rootsand are now seeking more permanentsolutions to long-term issues. The realchange may occur if such projects con-nect communities to politics with a bigP, altering both the perception of what'spolitically possible and the demandsmade of elected politicians.In Holbeck,Slung Low eventually transferred thefood bank to local services and hassince reopened its doors as a theatre. Ithas also set up a football club, HolbeckMoor, which offers free childcare andhas several men's and women's teamsthat now meet weekly. The football clubis an enduring legacy of the theatre'spandemic volunteering. But perhaps themost significant shift is the connectivetissue that grew between the theatreand the community it serves. Thatpeople in the neighbourhood are com-ing to the theatre - to events, to makesuggestions, to engage in learning ac-tivities or ask for help - is part of a shiftin Holbeck's social fabric that could takemany new forms in the future.

Rachel Shabi

W ith the last American gone, and Afghanistan in chaos, counter-terrorism profes-

sionals are justifiably alarmed, particu-larly as congratulatory messages to theTaliban pour in from terrorist and ex-tremist religious groups, indicating adegree of triumphalism that bodes illfor democracies everywhere. It cer-tainly doesn't look good. As televisionchannels pick up on the threat andmagnify it, what is needed is a soberassessment of the nuances rather thanthe noise, and then sifting out futurecounter-terrorism directions. In some

The alphabet soup of terrorists that an ill-governedAfghanistan can launch against India

Tara Karthaways, the more things change, the morethey may remain the same. In other ar-

eas, prepare for the worst.First, regard-less of the US now deciding to workwith the Taliban and coordinating on a'daily basis', the truth of the matter isthis. As Taliban leaders make propitiat-ing statements to the international com-munity, there is absolutely no clarityas to whether these leaders are at allpositioned to speak for the group it-self, at a time when it is even unclear asto who heads it. The continued absenceof Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada isperplexing; Mullah Baradar is far fromhaving undisputed control, and thedreaded Haqqanis seem to have takencharge of security through KhalilHaqqani, without any order being issuedfrom the 'Emirate'. Sources similarly pointto the presence of Red units, (eliteTaliban units created for the provinces),and others like it in Kabul without anyauthorisation. Appointment lists so farinspire no confidence at all in any'inclusivity'. Some of the mullahs, suchas Haji Mohammad Idris, were known tobe 'expert' in laundering drug money,among other things.On the upside, itmay be remembered that many of theministers of the Ashraf Ghani govern-ment were hardly pillars of respectabil-ity. Then Defence Minister AsadullahKhalid, for instance, had a record ofrights abuses, not to mention warlordslike Abdul Rashid Dostum and GulbuddinHekmatyar. Kabul under Ghani was acentre for infighting, where almost ev-eryone with a war history had little com-mitment to reasonably honest gover-nance. In that respect, nothing muchhas changed in the situation at the top.Expect more of the same, with additionalextremist characteristics, as the Chinesewould say, moderated by the need forforeign assistance.Second, don't expecta Taliban government to have any

greater power than either the Ghani gov-ernment, or even the Soviet-backed gov-ernment of President Mohammed Daoudin the far reaches of Afghanistan. Eachof these managed under a system ofloose fealty, warlordism and threat. Evenwhile the US was at the height of itsdeployment, it had little actual controlover any activity in districts elsewhere,other than Kabul and its immediateenvirons.A new 'government' in Kabul,even if willing to act against terrorists,will not have the capability for someyears yet, if at all. Many have marveledat Taliban resilience, and its apparentunity even in adversity. That strengthhas come from the group's willingnessto recognise and accept local loyaltiesand power centres, and coopting theminto the overall structure. That includescriminal activity of all kinds, includingnot just narcotics, but also kidnapping,money laundering and sheer banditry,all of which is detailed in an earlier UNReport. It forms the foundation of whatit means to be 'Taliban', and it's highlyunlikely that Mullah Baradar or anyoneelse will be able or even want to elimi-nate such elements.In addition, analystspoint out that the Taliban unity also helddue to the single threat of 'foreign occu-pation'. With that gone, it is unlikelywhether the structure will sustainenough to carry out Kabul's orders.More likely, local commanders will op-erate to sustain themselves and Kabul,as before, will just have to lump it. So,anyone expecting Kabul to act stronglyagainst terrorists is whistling in thewind.Third, there are so many of thesegroups about. There's the Islamic State-Khorasan (IS-K), led by Shahab alMujahir, reportedly appointed by theRaqqa-based leadership. There's the al-Qaeda, still present in some 15 provinces;the al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent(AQIS), a cause of considerable uneaseto India, Myanmar and Bangladesh, sinceit includes their nationals; the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which worriesPakistan, and a medley of Central Asianand Chinese groups numbering in totalsome 8,000-10,000. The trouble is thatall these also are operationally in sup-port of the Taliban.In February 2021, adirective from the Taliban appeared onsocial media clearly aimed at Westernaudiences. The directive barred cadresfrom sheltering 'foreign fighters' onthreat of punishment.

T wo years after Boris Johnson promised a plan for social care, it can hardly be said that today's announcement was "worth

the wait". As one Tory backbencher put it, "Ifthe 'big reveal' of a decade of thinking is this,then some people want sacking."Unlike theNHS, social care - be it long-term support forelderly people in residential homes, or assis-tance to disabled people in their own homes - isnot free at the point of use in England. Instead,it has been means-tested and provided by apatchwork of individuals, charities and privatecompanies all overseen by local authorities.Thelast decade has seen state funding recede by£8bn under austerity at the same time as de-mand has risen, with older people living longerand more working age adults living with dis-abilities. The result has been squeezed budgets,underappreciated staff, and a decrease in thestandard of care. Some disabled or older peopleand their families have had to foot bills that canrun into the hundreds of thousands, while oth-ers have been left to endure inhumane condi-tions because they have no care at all.Currently,anyone with assets (usually a home) over £23,250has to pay their care costs in full, but Johnson'sproposed changes will mean that anyone withassets below £20,000 will have their fees coveredin full. Those with assets between £20,000 and£100,000 will be expected to contribute to theircost of care up to £86,000, but will be eligible forsupport on a sliding scale. In a deeply regressivemove, these changes are to be funded by a 1.25percentage point increase in national insurancecontributions and tax dividends - putting theburden on young workers, but not wealthy pen-sioners. Further still, social care will continue to

Boris Johnson has created a 'social care plan'without any plan for social care

Frances Ryan

play second fiddle to the NHS: much of the initialfunding will go to reducing the healthcarebacklog.These proposed changes will reduce theamount some people pay for care - and impor-tantly for the Tory base, will mean preservingpeople's inheritances. But the plans do little toaddress the systemic issues facing the sector.The problem with the government's efforts is notsimply the lack of adequate cash - it's a lack ofvision for how to use it. Johnson has managed tocreate a social care plan that essentially has noplan for social care.The mass outsourcing of so-cial care to the private sector in recent decades isin many ways the elephant in the room. There isno point increasing government funding if themoney goes to lining the pockets of private eq-

uity magnates who own our care homes and ser-vices, rather than improving care workers' wagesor patients' care packages.Few could claimoutsourcing brings good value or high standards.Last year, the Care Quality Commission foundthat one in six care providers in England were notmeeting acceptable standards. It's time for a con-versation about bringing more services in-houseand expanding social care co-ops run by commu-nities - and at the very least, some accountabilityon profits and waste.Then there is the issue ofstaff shortages. Recent debate over the sensible"no jab, no job" policy distracts from the realcauses of the staffing crisis: more than 70% ofcare workers are currently paid less than the realliving wage, and a quarter are on zero-hours con-tracts, meaning no sick pay for back-breakingwork.If Johnson is to fix care shortages, care staff

must be brought into parity with their NHS col-leagues, paid the living wage, and given the rightto a staff contract. When a growing number ofcarers prefer to work in the conditions of an Ama-zon warehouse rather than care homes, some-thing is seriously wrong.Disabled care users havesimilarly been ignored in the new plan, despitehalf of all care budgets going on working agedisabled people. Johnson's pledge for a cap oncare costs that protects a pensioner from sellingtheir home is little use to a 30-year-old with alearning disability. Ministers must put an end toastronomical care charges in England that areseeing some working-age people living off littlemore than £3 a day.Equally, younger disabledpeople should be given the right to - and fundingfor - independent living, which means support athome to live with dignity and fulfilment like any-one else. It is not enough for the government tooffer "personal care"; after all, life is not just abouthaving a shower, but also seeing friends and get-ting the kids to school.No reform of social carecan be complete without helping unpaid carerstoo, millions of whom will still be needed even inan improved system. Family carers (largelywomen) work around the clock and, at £67 a weekbenefit, receive less than the paltry sum givento jobseekers, while many get nothing due toharsh qualifying criteria. Carer's allowancemust be raised to lift carers out of poverty, andoutside help given for their physical and men-tal health.These plans are affordable - and fair- with the right long-term funding plan. Re-search by the TUC found increasing capitalgains tax to the same level as income tax, andgetting rid of exemptions, could raise up to£17bn a year for social care.

Page 5: Priti Patel to send boats carrying Emma Raducanu admits ...

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2021 5BUSINESS

London, Sep 9

World share marketsslipped for a third straightday on Thursday asBeijing took anotherswipe at its big tech firms,while bond marketssteeled for EuropeanCentral Bank signals laterabout a gradual with-drawal of its stimulus.Europe's regional STOXX600 (.STOXX) flirted witha six-week low in earlytrading, while Chinesetech giants Tencent,NetEase and Alibaba hadslumped 6%, 7% and 4%respectively overnightafter online gaming chiefswere summoned by au-thorities to check theyare sticking to strict newrules for the sector. Ana-

Stocks extend slide as ECBweighs up taper plan

lysts anticipate the ECB willannounce a token step to-wards reducing its emer-gency economic supportlater. The central bank haspulled out all the stops toprop up the euro zonethrough the coronaviruspandemic, but with inflationat a 10-year high and unem-ployment falling and as nor-mal life resumes,policymakers are now facinga balancing act. "The mar-ket consensus now is thatthere will be some ECB ta-pering (withdrawal of stimu-lus)," Rabobank senior cur-rency strategist, Jane Foley,said. Investors had initiallybeen spooked by the idea oftapering, but ECB officialshave been working hard inrecent weeks to reassuremarkets that the process will

be very gradual. A Reuterspoll expects only a slightslowdown in money print-ing -- to 70 billion euros amonth from the current 80billion euros -- and thiswould remain a high paceby historical standards. "Ithink now the conclusionis that this will be a prettydovish Lagarde," Foleyadded. "Which means theeuro can't get a lot of sup-port," even if there is aknee-jerk push higher.Euro zone bond yields,which reflect govern-ments' borrowing costsand drive lending ratesthroughout financial mar-kets, were holding neareight-week highs.Germany's 10-year yield,the benchmark for the bloc,was unchanged at -0.32%.Italy's 10-year yield was upless than a basis point at0.76% while the euroclimbed for the first time infour days to be worth$1.1827. Back in the equitymarkets it wasn't just aboutthe ECB. The UK's FTSE100 (.FTSE) led Europe's

losses with a 1.1% drop.Low-cost airline easyJet(EZJ.L) tumbled nearly 14%as it tapped shareholders for1.2 billion pounds ($1.66 bil-lion) . The broader travelsector was down 1.8%.MSCI's broadest index ofAsia-Pacific shares(.MIAP00000PUS) was lastdown 1%, which would beits worst daily performancesince Aug. 19, the last timemarkets decided they wereworried about the U.S. Fed-eral Reserve tapering itsmassive asset purchaseprogramme. U.S. stock fu-tures, the S&P 500 e-minis ,were down 0.25% after fallsfrom Apple and Facebookon Wednesday and afterone of the Federal Reserve'spolicymakers had urged thecentral bank to get on withits own stimulus wind-down plans. "The globalstory is looking soft and it'sbeing hit by the Delta vari-ant plus concern about po-tentially the Fed still mov-ing towards a taper," saidRob Carnell Asia head of re-search at ING. "It's an un-

settling combination ofthings." China angst hadalso played a big part inAsia's declines on Thurs-day. Hong Kong (.HSI) wasamong the biggest fallersshedding 2.02%, draggeddown by Chinese techstocks after Chinese au-thorities told gaming firmsto resolutely curb incorrecttendencies such as focus-ing "only on money" and"only on traffic". This hurtcompanies with large gam-ing operations, andTencent (0700.HK) fell 6%,Bilibili (9626.HK) lost 6.6%and NetEase (9999.HK)shed 7.4%. There was moretrouble too for thecountry's most indebtedproperty giant, Evergrande(3333.HK). Media reportsthat the company wouldsuspend some interest pay-ments on loans and pay-ments to its wealth manage-ment products hit its shares,which dropped more than10%. Its Shenzhen-tradedJanuary 2023 bond haltedafter it fell more than 20%.Korea's Kopsi (.KS11) fell1.5%, also under pressurefrom regulatory scrutiny oflocal tech players. InKorea's case, fintech namessuch as Kakao Corp(035720.KS), which sank7.2%, and Naver Corp(035720.KS), down 6.9%,were in the spotlight. Aus-tralia (.AXJO) lost nearly2% after payrolls datashowed a sharp drop injobs in the first half of Au-gust. It was calmer in thecommodities markets.

Guwahati, Sept 09

Urbanic, a London-baseddigital fashion brand andthe ultimate one-stop-shopfor edgy, chic yet economi-cal fashion, was launchedon Myntra on September 1,marking the latter's first-ever partnership with an e-commerce platform. Thebrand is an emerging favor-ite among fashion-firstGen-Z shoppers and be-yond in India, for women'swestern wear, while alsobeing popular in severalcountries, with its trendyand stylish offeringsacross categories. Urbanic

Myntra partners with Urbanic;deepens its connect with fashion-for-ward Gen-Z by bolstering its fash-

ion-in-trend portfolio

is offering a differentiatedcollection of 2000+ stylesto shoppers on Myntra,targeted at the young fash-ion-conscious consumerslooking for trendy, afford-able, far-from-basic stylesacross categories, includ-ing apparel, loungewearand accessories. The se-lection includes tops, den-ims, winter wear, lingerie,swimwear andaccessories.The associa-tion between Urbanic andMyntra gives an edge toone of the world's biggestbases of Gen-Z fashionshoppers as it createswider accessibility, espe-

cially with Myntra being thepreferred launchpad and plat-form for fashion brands in en-gaging with digitally nativeaudiences across the country.Gen-Z is one of the primaryconsumer segments thatMyntra focuses on consider-ing their wide-ranging expres-sion of fashion and the enor-mity of this fast-growing seg-ment. Myntra's associationwith Urbanic, which is afavourite among this particu-lar generation of shoppers,intensifies its bond by bol-stering its relevant portfolio,while Urbanic, can enhance itsreach and foothold in thecountry, offering the perfectopportunity for consumers toaccess a wide range of trendy'grammable pieces. Foundedin 2019, Urbanic was born witha strong grasp of the tenetsof contemporary fashion ca-tering to Gen-Z. The brandacts as a link between imagi-nation and reality for youngfashion experimenters by put-ting up and delivering thetrendiest styles. Urbanic alsoresonates at a deep level withthe spirited, outspoken andfashion conscious cohort ofyoung Indians by being vo-cal about causes such as selfexpression, body positivityand defying gender norms,among others. The brand'scommunity of style icons inthe making enjoy unparalleledaccess to a plethora of bold,experimental and affordablelines of Urbanic's clothing andaccessories.

Samsung Expands 5GPortfolio in India with Gal-axy A52s 5G; Makes Pow-erful Innovations Acces-

sible to Broader AudienceGuwahati, September09 : Samsung, India'smost trustedsmartphone brand, to-day announced thelaunch of Galaxy A52s5G in India, making pow-erful innovations acces-sible to a broader audi-ence. Galaxy A52s 5G isthe second 5G smartphone in Samsung's Galaxy A Seriesportfolio to offer Samsung 5G guarantee, making it theideal choice for consumers looking to #BeFutureReady.Galaxy A52s 5G comes with popular innovations like120Hz refresh rate, Infinity-O display, 64MP quad cam-era with OIS, water and dust resistant IP67 rating andmore. Galaxy A52s 5G is priced at INR 35999 for6GB+128GB and INR 37499 for 8GB+128GB variant andis available across retail stores, Samsung.com and lead-ing online portals from September 1, 2021. "Continuingthe philosophy of Galaxy A Series of making innovationsaccessible to all, we are delighted to launch the GalaxyA52s 5G in India. The stylish design is complementedwith powerful Snapdragon 778G processor and best insegment features like 120Hz refresh rate display, OIS en-abled camera and IP67 rating, thereby making it a perfectpackage for gaming, content creation and more. WithSamsung 5G guarantee of 12 bands' support and 3 yearsof OS upgrades, consumers can be assured that they willbe among the first to experience the benefits of 5G,"saidAdityaBabbar, Senior Director and Head, Mobile Mar-keting, Samsung India. Awesome Design.Galaxy A52s5G features an awesome design that is simple yet pur-poseful. The matte back and haze finish along with mini-mal camera housing result in a premium rear design. Gal-axy A52s 5G is available in three striking colours - Awe-some Black, Awesome White and Awesome Violet. Gal-axy A52s 5G comes with IP67 rating making it dust andwater resistant (up to 1m fresh water for 30 minutes).Awesome Display.Galaxy A52s 5G features bright andvivid Super AMOLED Infinity-O display for an immersivevisual experience.Galaxy A52s 5G sports large 6.5-inchFHD+ screen with minimized punch hole allowing you tobinge on your favourite content comfortably. The bestin segment 120Hz refresh rate display ensures supersmooth scrolling and gaming experience. The displayalso comes with Gorilla Glass 5 for superior durability.

Guwahati, Sept 9 :OPPO, the leading globalsmart device brand, to-day, announced thelaunch of its entry-levelOPPO Enco Buds. Thenew TWS allows for truewireless freedom andhigh-quality concert-likeaudio, and provides youthe best option for yourfirst wireless earbuds.This budget offering

OPPO launches Enco Buds: Battery beast with 24hours of concert-like music playtime, only at INR 1,999

packs AI-based call noise-cancellation technologywith 24-hour battery life andis built for users who wantto upgrade from their wired-and traditional Bluetoothearphones to their first trulywireless earbuds. Speakingabout the all-new OPPOEnco Buds, Damyant SinghKhanoria, Chief MarketingOfficer, OPPO India, said"OPPO is committed to pro-viding an integrated eco-system of smartphones and

IoT products. The EncoBuds leverage on OPPO'sdecades of experience andexpertise in developingaward-winning audioproducts as diverse asMP3 and MP4 players,music phones, and Blu-rayplayers to cater to youngconsumers who want toupgrade from wired ear-phones to TWS for thefirst time without compro-mising on premium fea-tures and great design." 24

hours long-lasting batterylife with Water and dust re-sistance. The OPPO EncoBuds-rated IP54 for dust andwater resistance-are perfectfor sessions at the gym, oncommutes, and for every-thing in between. To avoidfrequent recharge cycles, itscase packs a powerful 400mAh battery? that can sup-port 24-hours musicplaytime, when fully chargedalong with the earbuds. Ona single charge, the budsthemselves-with their inter-nal battery of 40 mAh offerup to six hours of nonstopmusic playback. Stable,crystal-clear audio experi-ence. For strong wirelessperformance, the OPPOEnco Buds' uses Bluetooth5.2 that allows users to be10 meters away from theirphone while they listen tomusic or make a phone call.Additionally, the Bluetooth5.2 chipset supports binau-ral low-latency transmis-sion that solves the prob-

lems of interference and dis-connection to providequick and stable connec-tions. For mobile gamers,the Enco Buds come with asuper-low 80ms-latencyGame Mode that improvesaudio-visual sync in twitch-action games; users justneed to triple-tap theearbuds to activate thismode. AI-based noise can-cellation that surpasses thecompetition. OPPO EncoBuds earphones use a 2-layer composite diaphragmas well as the AAC (Ad-vanced Audio Coding), ahigh-definition audiotransmission protocol forcrisper sound. To ensurecrystal-clear phone calls,these TWS supports anAI-based intelligent callnoise-cancellation featurethat can differentiate be-tween ambient sounds andhuman voices to effec-tively block out back-ground noises, while youare on phone calls.

Guwahati, Sept 9

Airtel customers nowpurchase Kaspersky se-curity solutions for PCand Smartphones viaAirtel Thanks app. Globalcybersecurity companyKaspersky has partneredwith Bhart iAirtel("Airtel") - India's premiercommunications solu-tions provider, to ensureinstant securi ty forinternet users inIndia.The collaborationbetween the two compa-nies will allow Airtel cus-tomers to purchaseKaspersky Total Securitysolution directly from theAirtel Thanks app in amatter of few clicks.What's more! Airtel cus-tomers also enjoy exclu-sive deals on these ad-vanced solutions fromKaspersky.Airtel custom-ers simply need to down-load the latest version ofAirtel Thanks app> Go to'Shop' section> Go tolifestyle offers> Click onthe Kaspersky bannerand get started. AirtelThanks also enables seam-less payments throughcards, net banking andUPI. The alliance is formedwith the aim to increase thecybersecurity awarenessamongst Indian internetusers and encourage themto practice cyber safety inthe wake of growingcyberthreats.Cyberthreats

Kaspersky and Airtel joinforces to make online journeys

more secure for customersare constantly evolvingand cybercriminals in thepast 2 years have beenactively targetinginternet users in India. Inthe first quarter of 2021Kaspersky products de-tected 37,650,472 differ-ent Internet-bornecyberthreats. Mobile us-ers are also at risk ascybercriminals are con-stantly targeting them forfinancial gains, as well asto obtain important pri-vate data. Mobile threatsin India have drasticallyincreased since 2019 andare becoming more tar-geted and sophisticatedin nature. India ranked7th amongst the coun-tries attacked with Mo-bile Threats in 2020.Thetop mobile threats tar-geted at the smartphoneusers globally were,Adware which toppedthe l is t with 57%( 3 , 2 5 4 , 3 8 7d e t e c t i o n s ) . Ta l k i n gabout the other threats,the number of backdoorsdetected almost tripledfrom 28,889 in 2019 to84,495 in 2020. The num-ber of detected Androidexploits increased seven-teen fold, and the numberof Trojan- Proxy threatshad increased by twelvetimes. Kaspersky solu-tions detected 156,710in-stallation packages formobile banking Trojansin 2020, which is twice the

number of attacks detectedin 2019. However, a declinein ransomwaretrojans waswitnessed as we found20,708 installation packagesfor ransomware Trojans in2020, a decrease of 3.5 timesas compared to the previousyear.Eugene Kaspersky,CEO of Kaspersky, said:"We're very much lookingforward to supportingBhartiAirtel, the leading glo-bal telecommunicationscompany and one of thebiggest mobile service pro-viders, in its goal to protecttheir users, create a moresecure internet, and build asafer digital world togetherwith Kaspersky. I'm con-vinced that this partnershipwill further contribute to es-tablishing Airtel as an inno-vational pioneer and a leaderin its industry."PradiptKapoor, CIO,BhartiAirtel said: "As cus-tomer lifestyles become in-creasingly integrated withdigital platforms, it becomesparamount for all of us tosecure these journeys withthe right solutions. Airtel isworking round the clock todeliver a secure network ex-perience through world-class infrastructure and part-nerships. We are delightedto partner with Kasperskyand make their solutionseasily accessible for Airtelcustomers, who can pur-chase and install these in amatter of minutes and enjoycomplete peace of mind."

Ford to stop manufacturingcars in India - sources

New Delhi, Sep 9:Ford Motor Co(F.N) will stopmanufacturing carsin India and shutdown its plants inthe country, twosources toldReuters, becomingthe latestautomaker to quit amarket still domi-

nated by Asian rivals. TheU.S. automaker made the de-cision because it was not prof-itable for it to continue, saidone of the sources, addingthat the process is expectedto take about a year to com-plete. Ford is the latest vehiclemaker to cease production inIndia, following U.S. compa-nies such as General Motors(GM.N) and Harley Davidson

(HOG.N), which have al-ready left a market thathad once promised expo-nential growth. Ford hasstruggled to win overIndia's frugal buyers andturn a profit in a marketdominated by mainly low-cost cars made by SuzukiMotor Corp (7269.T) andHyundai Motor(005380.KS).

New Delhi, Sep 9: ShriramCity Union Finance Ltd.(Shriram City), India's largesttwo-wheeler financer andpart of the Shriram Group, haslaunched an AI-enabled lend-ing platform - Express Two-wheeler Loans (E2L). Theplatform will allow instantloan approval of up to 100percent on-road price of thetwo-wheelers, said the com-pany. Customers can avail afully digital and paperlesstwo-wheeler loan facilityround the clock in just a fewminutes, without visiting abranch and submitting physi-cal documents. Salient Fea-tures of Shriram City UnionFinance 'Express Two-wheeler Loans An OnlinePlatform giving customers anIn-principal approval for aloan in just a few minutesCustomers will have to up-

Shriram City Union Financelaunches AI-enabled express two-

wheeler loans: Here is how to apply

load bank statements and pro-vide basic details BRE sup-ported AI-based tool calcu-lates eligibility and generatesan in-principal sanction letter/voucher Customers canpresent the voucher numberto the dealer Dealer can reviewall the relevant customer de-tails on the handheld deviceThe customer is given maxi-mum eligibility, thereby allow-ing them to choose a costlierbrand if needed Here are the

steps to avail of the ShriramCity Union Finance loan in afew simple steps: Log in toShriram City Union Finance,click on two-wheeler loans -Apply now or download MyShriramCity App. Step 1: Pro-vide basic details Step 2: Se-lect Vehicle Step 3: Provide fi-nancial details Step 4: Uploaddocuments Step 5: Get anonline voucher (in-principalsanction letter) Step 6: Visitdealer for your bike delivery

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REGIONREGIONREGIONREGIONREGIONFRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 20216Contd. From Page 1

International LiteracyDay observed in Hojai

CORRESPONDENTHojai, Sep 9 : With an ef-fort to create mass aware-ness on the significanceof education,the DistrictLegal ServiceAuthority,Hojai ob-served 'International Lit-eracy Day' with a 'Doorto Door Awareness Cam-paign'. The campaign wasorganised in collabora-tion with RobinhoodArmy at Borphukori Vil-lage in Hojai on Wednesday. Around 32 youths took part in this noble mission,which consisted of four groups of eight members' each,including students ofAjmal Law College and members of Robinhood Army. Under the supervision ofDLSA General Secretary Saleh Ahammad the groups held mass legal awarenesson the importance of education in our life. They interacted with about 75 familiesin the Borphukori and apprised them about the Right to Education Act,2009.Further they distributed awareness leaflets and highlighted the working ofDLSA,Hojai and Robinhood Army.

CM visits Majuli, interactsMinisters (GoM) would be formed to review the progress of construction.The Chief Minister also expressed profound grief on the demise of ParimitaDas of Kahilipara, Guwahati in the boat accident and said that he wouldmeet her parents and extend all needful support to them from the govern-ment. Transport Minister Chandra Mohan Patowary, Revenue & Di-saster Management Minister Jogen Mohan and Power Minister Bimal Bora,MPs Topon Kumar Gogoi and Pradan Baruah, MLAs Hitendra NathGoswami, Bhaben Bharali and Renupama Rajkhowa and DGP BhaskarjyotiMahanta were also present during the visit of the Chief Minister. ChiefMinister Dr. Sarma also visited Jorhat Medical College & Hospital todayand met those injured in the boat accident and enquired about their healthcondition. He asked the doctors to ensure the best treatment for them. TheChief Minister also thanked and expressed deep gratitude to the peoplewho showed exemplary courage and humanitarian zeal in rescuing the pas-sengers of the capsized boat. Chief Minister Dr. Sarma also visited Majulitoday and interacted with representatives of AASU, TMPK, AJYCP andother local organizations to have an understanding of their concerns andlistened to the issues raised by them. He assured that the governmentwould take all necessary steps to ensure passenger safety and hassle-free movement of ferries between Kamalabari and Nimatighat. The CMsaid that the government would fix the number of passengers per boatand ensure strict vigilance. He also said that stringent action would betaken if the number of passengers exceeds the limit. Transport MinisterChandra Mohan Patowary, Revenue & Disaster Management Min-ister Jogen Mohan and Power Minister Bimal Bora were also presentduring the visit of the Chief Minister.

Election Commission announcesBodoland People's Front, and joined the BJP.In addition, biennial election toRS seat from Puducherry which fell vacant due to retirement of sitting MP NGokulakrishnan will also be held on October 4, the Election Commissionadded."Broad guidelines of Covid-19" have to be followed during the elec-tion process, that is from the time of issue of notification to the counting ofvotes, the EC order said.The chief secretaries of states concerned are beingdirected to depute a senior officer from the state to ensure that instructionsregarding Covid-19 containment measures are complied with while makingarrangements for conducting the election.The Election Commission (EC) onThursday announced by-polls dates to seven Rajya Sabha seats includingone from Assam that has fallen vacant due to various reasons.According toEC's notification, there are two such seats in Tamil Nadu and one each inWest Bengal, Assam, Maharashtra, Puducherry and Madhya Pradesh.Thepolls to all these seven seats will take place on October 4, the EC said.InAssam, the Rajya Sabha seat held by assembly speaker Biswajit Daimaryfell vacant after he resigned from the membership of the upper house ofParliament and his earlier party, the Bodoland People's Front, and joined theBJP before the recent polls in the state.The BJP is likely to field Unionminister and former CM Sarbananda Sonowal from the Assam seat as he isyet to become a member of either house of Parliament.The press release bythe Election Commission revealed that the issue of notification will be onSeptember 15, 2021, while the last date till candidates can file their nomina-tions is September 22. The last date for withdrawal of the candidature isSeptember 27, 2021.The counting of votes will be done on the election day,October 5, 2020, till 5 pm.The Election Commission has said that polls shallbe complete by October 6, 2021.The EC said in its order that all "broadguidelines of COVID-19" have to be followed during the election process,that is from the time of issue of notification to the counting of votes.

IIT Guwahati retains 7th positionmultiple fronts of academic and industry to attract the best brains across theworld and industry leaders, who have been given appointments as honoraryand visiting faculty members and this has intensified both the academic col-laboration and industry interaction, thereby allowing more technology trans-fers and better publications. This has also resulted in attracting higher researchfunds, opening newer academic interdisciplinary schools and centers and en-gaging more closely with government organizations for socially relevant projectsas well as implementing the NEP2020.” IIT Guwahati is the only academic insti-tution in India that occupied a place among the top 100 world universities –under 50 years of age – ranked by the London-based Times Higher Education(THE) in the year 2014 and continues to maintain its superior position eventoday in various International Rankings. IIT Guwahati has eleven departments,five interdisciplinary academic centres and four schools covering all the majorengineering, science and humanities disciplines, offering BTech, BDes, MA,MDes, MTech, MSc/MS and PhD programmes. The institute offers a residen-tial campus to 412 faculty members and more than 6,000 students at present. IITGuwahati gained rank 41 globally in the ‘Research Citations per Faculty’ categoryand overall 395 rank in the QS World University Rankings 2022 released recently.Among other frontier areas of research and innovation, IIT Guwahati is workingtowards augmenting critical science research initiatives in Genomics, Develop-mental Biology, Health Care and Bioinformatics, Flexible Electronics, AdvancedFunctional Materials, Sustainable Polymers, Rural Technologies, Disaster Resil-ience and Risk Reduction, and Water Resources and Management. Started in2015, NIRF outlines a methodology to rank educational institutions across thecountry. The parameters used for ranking broadly cover “Teaching, Learning andResources,” “Research and Professional Practices,” “Graduation Outcome,” “Out-reach and Inclusivity,” and “Perception.”

Need to ensure that BRICSallies from Afghanistan has led to a new crisis, and it's still unclear how thiswill affect global & regional security. It is for good reason that our countrieshave paid special attention to this issue: Russian Pres Vladimir Putinpic.twitter.com/u8HAI6Yeb3"Afghanistan should not become a threat to itsneighbouring countries, a source of terrorism and drug trafficking," Putinadded.The BRICS (Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa) brings togetherfive of the largest developing countries of the world, representing 41 percent of the global population, 24 per cent of the global GDP and 16 per centof the global trade. India hosted the summit in its capacity as its chair.Thisis the second time Prime Minister Modi is chairing the BRICS Summit. Earlierhe had chaired the Goa Summit in 2016.

Allegation of Plagiarism againstname in 2017. Claiming it an offence, Dr. Jana filed a case against Dr. P.K.Nath and circulated the news in most of the newspapers and other socialmedia platforms. The Assam Rising met Dr. Nath to know his reaction re-garding the matter. Dr. Nath clarared that he had edited the 'Bongal-Bongaloni' (1871) by Rudraram Bordoloi namely “Bongal-Bongaloni Natok”(2017) where he clearly acknowledged the efforts of Dr. Jyotirmoy Jana.Moreover in the preface of the book Dr. Nath also mentioned the citationand reference of Dr. Jana’s book. Dr. Jana’s complaint is not valid as thisbook is not composed or created by himself. Moreover the original book'Bongal-Bongaloni' by Rudraram Bordoloi, had crossed the validity to claimcopyright. Dr. Nath also stated that “on June 4, 1957 an act to amend andconsolidate the law relating to copyright was implemented in India. Workspublished after 1923, but before 1978 are protected for 95 years from the dateof publication. If the work was created, but not published, before 1978, thecopyright lasts for the life of the author plus 70 years. For works publishedafter 1977, the copyright lasts for the life of the author plus 70 years. Workscreated before 1978, the copyright duration rules are complicated.” “I am notviolating any copyright law by any means. Dr. Jana was influenced by a thirdparty and intentionally tried to pull down his reputation and social status’’ - headded. Dr. P.K. Nath also urged Dr. Jyotirmoy Jana to withdraw the caseregarding this false allegation on him and come to an amicable settlement,otherwise legal action will be taken for such a false allegation against him.

Majuli boat accident, Assamnavigation channel," said CM Himanta Biswa Sarma.Assam Power Minister BimalBora on Thursday faced a massive protest by residents at Majuli when he had goneto the river island to take stock of the situation following the boat capsize in theBrahmaputra near Nimatighat in Jorhat district."The Assam government is fullyresponsible for this and it is a case of culpable homicide. It should be treated as aplanned crime committed by the Assam government," said a woman protester.Shealso questioned why the Ro-Pax vessels, which were launched in October last year,have not operated in the Nimatighat-Kamalabari route of the Brahmaputra.Theyalso demanded action against the deputy commissioner of Majuli for his alleged'negligence to his duties'.As per the Assam government record, 87 persons travel-ling in the boat have been rescued and two persons still remain missing.Among therescued person, a 28-year-old woman identified as Parimita Das from Guwahati diedat Jorhat Medical College and Hospital (JMCH).Parimita worked as an associateprofessor at a College in Majuli.

N.F. R. unloads 1019 rakes2021 and unloaded them in different goods sheds in its jurisdiction. Goods likeFCI rice, sugar, salt, edible oil, POL, food grains, fertilizer, cement, stone chips,iron/steel, onion, maize, auto, container and other items have been transportedduring the month. During August, 526 rakes of freight carrying trains were un-loaded in Assam out of which 317 were loaded with essential commodities. 85rakes in Tripura, 31 rakes in Nagaland, 10 rakes in Manipur, 4 rakes in ArunachalPradesh and 4 rakes in Mizoram were unloaded during last month. 211 freightrakes in West Bengal and 148 freight rakes in Bihar were also unloaded during lastmonth within the jurisdiction of NFR to meet the requirement of people of theseregions. Improved terminal handling facility and improvement in mobility due toenhanced maintenance efforts & continuous monitoring at all levels resultedin reduction in turnaround time and increased unloading. Average speed of goodscarrying trains in the NFR also increased. It is worth mentioning that a number ofconcessions/ discounts are also being given by Indian Railways to make Railway’sFreight movement very attractive for its customers.

'Love jihad' case, Gujarat Highinterfaith marriage using force, allurement or fraudulent means. Last month, provi-sions of the amended law dealing with interfaith marriages were stayed by theHigh Court.According to the details of the first case, seven persons were booked,including husband, in-laws and the priest who solemnised the marriage. All fourhave been arrested and are behind the bars.On Wednesday, the victim came to theHigh Court and stated before Justice I.J. Vora that she had voluntarily filed thepetition seeking to quash the FIR and proceedings against her husband andothers and also told the court that "she wants to live together as married couple"with her husband.In her petition in the High Court, the petitioner stated that whenshe had approached a local police station in Vadodara regarding petty and trivialmatrimonial discord, the police, under the pressure of certain elements, brought inthe "love jihad" angle and also registered the FIR under the new law.The policealso added the charges of "rape and sodomy" in the FIR which she categoricallydenied and was even shocked that the police added such charges without askingher.In her petition, she also denied the charge of forceful conversion as men-tioned by the police in the FIR and submitted that her affidavit in this regarddenying such charges of forceful conversion and others was not accepted by thelower court while denying bails to the accused.She and her husband have statedthat both were in a relationship and were aware of each other's religion and bothdecided to solemnise their marriage as per the Islamic rites and the same wasnotarised and subsequently it was registered as per the Special Marriage Act.Thecouple have submitted that the girl's father stood a witness in their marriage and bothfamilies had no issues but certain "religio-political" groups and over zealous policecommunalised and sensationalised their marriage.Now, the High Court has directedthe State government to file an affidavit and explain its objections regarding thequashing of charges and criminal proceedings in the case by September 20.

AAEA bats for complete revampingof water transport services

Abhijit ChalihaGuwahati, Sep 9: Expressing profound grief over the demise of a college teacherParimita Das, who drowned following the boat accident on mighty riverBrahmaputra near Nimatighat in Jorhat on Wednesday, All Assam Engineer’sAssociation (AAEA) demands a complete revamping of water transport ser-vices in the State. The Assam government has already suspended three offi-cials belonging to the Inland Water Transport department following the inci-dent of boat capsizing and instituted a high-level probe into the accident. Themishap occurred following a head-on collision between a ferry and a machine-boat in the afternoon hours. NDRF and SDRF personnel have rescued thelives of over 100 passengers (some are still missing). The forum of graduateengineers, in a media statement, argues that the Nimatighat boat capsizingwas an example of complete failure in the traffic management where theauthorised officials avoided their call (to decide) on time. Moreover, the IWTdepartment should have increased the number of ramps at the site accordingto the demand of daily passengers on Nimatighat-Majuli water route, it added.Unlike a motor vehicle, the machine boat uses its propeller (that moves in onedirection to produce forward thrust) without a braking device, pointed out bythe forum, adding that it is always a difficult task for the rider to suddenly stopa machine boat (also turn into a particular direction) while sailing on water. Onthe other hand, a mechanised ferryboat has the arrangement to move its pro-peller in the opposite direction. “So, the double engine arrangement, as pre-scribed by State chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, will not serve the pur-pose fully unless it has the mechanism to move the propeller in oppositedirection too,” said AAEA president Er Kailash Sarma, working president ErNava J. Thakuria and secretary Er Inamul Hye added that the departmentshould technically supervise the private boat service, particularly onBrahmaputra because of its specific water flow. AAEA finally appeals to pas-sengers to demand life jackets compulsorily from the operators and check theavailability of sufficient number of life-saving buoys (designed to be thrownto a person in water to provide buoyancy and prevent drowning) while board-ing on ferry boats for their own safety. Moreover, the forum added, passen-gers should be offered tickets before the journey and the ongoing system ofproviding tickets in the middle of it must be stopped.

Assam CM Dr. Sarmaflags off 15 mobilevaccination vans

Abhijit ChalihaGuwahati, Sep 9: Chief Minister Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma today opened andinaugurated a vaccination centre at the premises of Interstate Bus Terminusat Betkuchi here today. The vaccination centre has been opened to bring theunvaccinated passengers under total vaccination following the re-openingof inter-district and inter-state transportation services which were closedfollowing a spike in COVID 19 positive cases. It may be noted that the vacci-nation centre would prove to be a great help for the passengers who will becoming to Guwahati without receiving any job for the coronavirus. The Healthand Family Welfare Department with the help of the National Health Missionhas opened the vaccination centre. On the other hand, Chief Minister Dr.Sarma also flagged off mobile vaccination vans to be pressed into service indifferent districts of the state to target the unvaccinated people. Under theprogramme Chief Minister flagged off 15 mobile vans to be pressed intoservice forKokrajhar, Baksa and Bajali districts. These vaccination vans willprovide vaccination services at the door step of the targeted eligible popula-tion. Speaking on the occasion, Chief Minister Dr. Sarma thanked all thefunctionaries associated with COVID vaccination process, as they endured alot for making the vaccination drives in the state a success. He also said that1.91 crore people were covered under the vaccination process, as 1.5 crorepeople have already received their first dose. He also asked the Health De-partment to intensify the vaccination drive so that all the eligible people ofthe state can be brought under vaccination coverage at least the first dose by30 October, 2021. Health and Family Welfare Minister Keshab Mahanta,Guwahati Development and Urban Development Minister Ashok Singhal,Chairman Assam State Transport Corporation Ashok Bhatta Roy, MissionDirector NHM Dr. S. Lakshmanan, Nodal Officer COVID Vaccination MunindraNgatey and other senior officers were present during the event.

CSR: ONGC DonatedToilet Block and

Furnitures to SildubiLP School

CorrespondentGolaghat, Sep 9: Under its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) policy,‘ONGC, Jorhat Work Center’ donated a Toilet Block and furniture to thestudents of Sildubi LP school, Borhollla , Jorhat. ONGC spent Rs 10.02 lakhsfor construction of urinals and latrines and procurement of school furniture.In a brief function held t in Sildubi LP School yesterday, following all Covidprotocols,Executive Director- Basin Manager of ONGC’s Assam and AssamArakan Basin’, Jorhat, Sushma Rawat inaugurated the toilet block in thepresence of SDO, Titabar, Gayatri Devidas, IAS, who appreciated ONGC forthe dedicated welfare social activities. The School Headmaster expressed hisgratitude to ONGC for providing a much needed toilet block and schoolfurniture. He expressed that there are many families below poverty line in thehalf kilometre radius from the ONGC setup GGS. He also mentioned that whenthe storm hit many are rendered homeless . He appealed to ONGC to comeforward and help the destitute during such disasters. ONGC, apart from beingthe black gold explorers for the nation, endeavours to provide quality edu-cation to the future responsible citizens of India. Health and hygiene aware-ness is also kept in very high priority by the top management of ONGC .Speaking on the occasion, Rawat mentioned that as ONGC has been in thissoil for the last 66 years, it is committed to provide basic amenities for theONGC operated surrounding areas, in the field of education. She is a firmbeliever that education is the building block for the children’s progress whoare the precious assets of this nation. She wishes to work together with thelocal administration in uplifting the needy in whatever possible way.

95th birth anniversaryof Dr. Bhupen Hazarika

celebrated at NagaonCorrespondentNagaon, Sep 9 : Along with the rest of the state, various cultural as well associal organizations of the district celebrated the 95th birth anniversary ofAssamese musical maestro and 'Bharat Ratna' Dr Bhupen Hazarika with hisown songs and music. Silpi Somaj Asom, Sangeet Silpi Mancha, Nagaon,Silpi Kanon, Nagaon Lions Club and other organizations celebrated the 95thbirth anniversary of Dr Bhupen Hazarika and paid homage to the great soul ofthe soil. Silpi Somaj Asom organized a function on the occasion near at NagaonChaiali where the members of Silpi Somaj garlanded at the portrait of DrHazarika and paid tribute to him and also sang Dr Hazarika's evergreen song- 'Manuhe Manuhor Babe'. The organization also felicitated noted artistes aswell as educationists - Aboni Muktiar, Bidhan Boruah, Pabitra Pran Sarma,Jatindra Kr. Das, Dipak Khnahar, Hiranya Kakoti, Nirupoma Sahariya, DeepjyotiMedhi and Archana Nath. Besides, Silpi Somaj Asom also felicitated a dozenof perfectionists - children during the celebration. Meanwhile Sangeet SilpiMancha, Nagaon too celebrated the birth anniversary of Dr Hazarika witha day long agenda. Local MLA and the chief patron of Sangeet SilpiMancha, Nagaon, Rupak Sarma graced the occasion and paid homage tothe great legendary singer Dr Bhupen Hazarika. Addressing the occasion,Sarma said that Dr Hazarika took the Assamese nation to the world andintroduced it to the world body. Dr Hazarika enriched the Assamese cul-ture and its year-long traditions with his universal appeal for humanity,Sarma added. Two audio cassettes of Dr Hazarika's selected songs byartistes Nabanita Sarma, Rimli Sarma Bora and Gautom Bora were alsoreleased in the function. Artistes Krishna Moni Nath, Ariful Haque, PankajBezbaruah and Ranjit Bora (Dadu) and other members of the organizationwere present in the function. Similarly, Nagaon Lions Club also celebratedthe birth anniversary of Dr Hazarika at its office in the town. The clubmembers lit the earthen lamps at the portrait of Dr Hazarika and paidtribute to the great soul of the soil. Ex-president and secretary of the clubPralay Kr Shaha, Ajoy Mittal, Biswajit Mahanta, Pranab Das, GurusharanSingh and other members were present in the programme.

International Webinar on Con-servation of Indian Vultures

CORRESPONDENTGolaghat, Sep 9: A popular quiz club and youth organisation from Golaghatnamed Equinox is going to organise an International Webinar on September12 Sunday at 6 PM. The topic of the Webinar is 'Captive Breeding andConservation of Indian Vulture Species'. Dr Sachin P. Ranade, AssistantDirector, Bombay Natural History Society will be the Resource Person andChief Speaker in the Webinar. The Webinar will be inaugurated by Dr RimenBordoloi, Retired HoD, Dept of Zoology, Debraj Roy College Golaghat.Interested persons can contact Sayed Nekib and Yojurved Baruah from TeamEquinox on the numbers 7002365006 and 8638245282.

Page 7: Priti Patel to send boats carrying Emma Raducanu admits ...

SPORTS PLUS FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2021 7

London, September 09 :Damian Szymanski headedin a stoppage-time equaliseras Poland ended England's100% record in Group I todraw their World Cupqualifier 1-1 onWednesday. Harry Kanehad fired England aheadwith a swerving strike in the72nd minute as GarethSouthgate's side looked setfor a sixth straight win.Butin the second minute ofstoppage time, substituteSzymanski rose well at theback post to nod in afloated cross from RobertLewandowski as Polandkept their hopes ofqualification alive."An

England held by Poland;Germany, Italy dominant

FIFA World Cup Qualifiers

amazing feeling. I'm glad wemanaged to score that goalin the last minutes. I'mhappy," said Symanszki."I've worked hard for this,struggled with injuries. Toplay against England, toscore a goal, it's a dreamcome true."England has 16points from six games withAlbania second on 12points, Poland on 11 andHungary on 10 points.Thetop team in the groupqualifies for next year'sWorld Cup in Qatar with thesecond-place team headinginto the playoffs.WingerLeroy Sane scored one goaland made another asGermany made it three wins

in a row with a resounding 4-0 victory over Iceland inWorld Cup qualifying GroupJ on Wednesday.TheGermans took the lead in thefifth minute when Saneplayed in Serge Gnabry toscore, and after a lengthyVAR review for a possibleoffside, the goal stood.Thevisitor added a second 20minutes later when AntonioRudiger was left unmarked toscore with a header from aJoshua Kimmich free kick.Aconstant threat with his quickdribbling and precisepassing, Sane effectivelykilled the game off when herifled the ball into the roof ofthe net after another flowing

German attack 11 minutesinto the secondhalf.Werner added a latefourth that hit the left-handpost and bounced outbefore spinning backacross the line to round offan encouraging teamperformance.The Germanshave taken a maximum ninepoints from their first threegames under new coachHansi Flick, scoring 12goals and concedingnone.Germany tops thegroup on 15 points, fourahead of Armenia. Romaniais hird on 10 points withfour games left to play, withIceland fifth on fourpoints.Italy recorded itsfirst win since being

crowned Europeanchampion as strikers MoiseKean and GiacomoRaspadori inspired acrushing 5-0 win overLithuania to strengthen itsgrip on top spot in WorldCup qualifying Group C.Thetwo 21-year-olds impressedtheir manager by lighting upthe first half, as Kean nettedtwice either side of anEdgaras Utkus own goal andRaspadori, making his firststart for his country, alsoscored."Everything is intheir heads and their feet. Ifthey are committed andwork seriously, they havegreat futures. But it is up tothem," Italy manager RobertoMancini told RAI.

New York, September 09 :Emma Raducanu's searingrun from the depths of theUS Open qualifyingtournament to the highestlevels of the sportcontinued on Wednesdayas she defeated BelindaBencic, the Olympic goldmedallist and 11th seed, 6-3, 6-4 to reach the semi-finals on her debutappearance in New York.Asshe basked in the glory ofher unexpected run,Raducanu revealed thatsuch were her realisticexpectations, her flightswere booked for the end ofthe qualifying tournament.She has overstayed heroriginal plans by a week anda half."I have just beenfocusing one day at a time,taking care of each day,"Raducanu said. "Whenyou're playingtournaments, you just get

Emma Raducanu admits sheexpected an early exit at US Open

into this sort of autopilotmode of your routines,recovering on the day offin between. I didn't expectto be here at all. I mean, Ithink my flights werebooked at the end ofqualifying, so it's a niceproblem to have."With hersuccess, Raducanucontinued a breakouttournament for teenagers byjoining Leylah AnnieFernandez in the semi-final.The pair are only twomonths apart in age andRaducanu says she hasknown the Canadian sincethey were competing inUnder-12 tournaments. Yetas she was asked about her,Raducanu stressed thateach player is on their ownpath."I think to compareyourself and your resultsagainst anyone is probablylike the thief of happiness,and everyone is doing their

own thing. I mean, I didn'tcompete for 18 months, buthere I am, and it just showsthat, if you believe inyourself, then anything ispossible."Along with herquality and belief,Raducanu's composure hasbeen striking throughoutthe tournament and, as shetrailed 0-30 in her final twoservice games againstBencic, she found a way toescape each time. She saysher calmness is a productof her no-nonsenseupbringing."I think myparents have both instilledin me from a very young ageto definitely have a positiveattitude on court, because,yeah, when I was younger,it was definitely an absoluteno-go if I had any sort ofbad attitude. So from ayoung age I definitelylearned that and it'sfollowed me until now."

Chelsea fined£25,000 for

failing to controlplayers in draw

against LiverpoolLondon, September 09 :Chelsea has been fined25,000 pounds ($34,000)for failing to control itsplayers in the 1-1 PremierLeague draw againstLiverpool at Anfield lastmonth, the FootballAssociation (FA) said onWe d n e s d a y. C h e l s e aplayers clashed with theirLiverpool counterpartsand referee AnthonyTaylor after the latterdecided to send offdefender Reece James infirst-half stoppage time forhandball and award apenalty, which MohamedSalah converted."Theclub admitted failing toensure that its playersconducted themselves inan orderly fashion duringboth the 48th minute ofthe first half andfollowing the half-timewhistle," the FA said in astatement.Chelsea hostsAston Villa on Saturdayand Liverpool travels toLeeds United on Sunday.

London, September 09 :What should, on paper,have been Wales's easiestgame of this World Cupqualifying campaignturned into a taxingassignment as they wereheld to a goalless draw athome to Estonia.GarethBale and Ethan Ampadurattled the woodwork lateon but Wales plateaued toallow the visitors to pickup their first point. RobertPage prowled his technicalarea as Wales huffed andpuffed but they could notfind a way past the inspiredEstonia goalkeeper KarlHein, rendering their fainthopes of automaticqualification slim.The mostfrustrating moment arrivedseven minutes from timewhen Bale mapped out aroute towards goal but theArsenal teenager Heinrepelled his shot and then,from the rebound, theWales captain headed

London, September 09 : Thedouble Olympic championElaine Thompson-Herah hasthe talent, the track, and theconditions to finally breakFlorence Griffith Joyner's 100mworld record at the DiamondLeague final in Zurich, herfellow sprinter Andre DeGrasse has predicted.Afortnight ago Thompson-Herah ran 10.54 sec in Eugene- the second fastest time inhistory and just 0.05sec off

De Grasse backs Thompson-Herah to break 100m world

record in Zurich final

Flo-Jo's record. And DeGrasse, who won 200m goldin Tokyo, believes it ispossible she can make historygiven the warm weather andthe newly resurfaced track atthe Letzigrund Stadium."Thetrack is really nice," said DeGrasse. "I did a couple sprintsessions on it on Tuesday soI think it's possible. I sawElaine run at Prefontaine on avery fast track and she ranexceptionally well. So I think

with the right conditions, theway the weather is, the crowd,I think everything is just gonnaamplify that. It's definitelypossible."Thompson-Herah,who spent lockdown studyingGriffith Joyner and Usain Bolt'sold races to look for technicalimprovements, is now thefastest woman alive as well asthe 100m and 200m champion.But she believes there is stillroom for improvement. "I needto nail my start for the 100mand I haven't nailed it yet,"she said.The Jamaican willmeet Britain's Dina Asher-Smith, who is close to her bestagain after sustaining ahamstring injury five weeksout from the Olympics. Barelyan hour later, Asher-Smith willresurface in the 200m, whereshe will face the 18-year-oldNamibian sensation ChristineMboma and Jamaica'sShericka Jackson.

Wales left frustrated after Gareth Baleand company fail to best Estonia

against a post. The mostmoving aspect of a balmyevening was no contest. Inthe 52nd minute supportersstood for a minute'sapplause on what wouldhave been the late Walescaptain and manager GarySpeed's 52nd birthday.TheWales support enjoyedreturning in their numbersfor the first time sincewitnessing Aaron Ramsey,absent here through injury,seal qualification for Euro2020 but they werepowerless as Bale, TylerRoberts and Harry Wilsonpassed up inviting first-halfopenings. After the intervalBale made a monstrous leapat the front post to meet afree-kick by Ben Davies butHein soared to his right topaw his header clear, beforeAmpadu sent a loopingheader against a post,leaving Wales flummoxed atthe final whistle."It was justone of those nights where

we didn't take our chancesand obviously we are verydisappointed," Bale said."We had quite a few clear-cut ones as well. I felt likewe played well, we movedthe ball well but, if you don'tfinish your chances, youdon't win games. We had achance right at the start. Itwas just frustrating.Everything seemed to hit the

goalkeeper, hit the post orgo wide. We need to bemore ruthless in the nextgame."In the buildup to thisgame Bale had stressed howWales had grand plans ofousting Belgium from topspot in Group E and theymade a blistering start. ChrisGunter, on his 104thappearance, flew down theright flank before playing a

superb pass into the box forWilson but the Fulhamforward shot wide with only37 seconds gone. Bale, freshfrom bringing the match ballhome from Kazan aftervictory over Belarus onSunday, was busy but sent afirst-time shot sailing overafter Wales shifted the ballfrom left to right.Estonia wereobdurate opponents butthey came within inches ofopening the scoring beforethe interval when MattiasKäit clipped the crossbar andwould have snatched victoryas the game ticked intostoppage time but for DannyWard's intervention. Wardshook his head in disbeliefafter sprawling to his right todeny Konstantin Vassilijevfrom scoring fromdistance.In the end Waleshad to settle for a point thatkeeps their destiny in theirown hands, though the play-offs now seem the most likelyroute to Qatar.

London, September 09 :With 72 minutes on theclock, the thought occurredthat Harry Kane had not hadmuch service. It was partlybecause the Englandcaptain was trying toprovide it for others,dropping back from hiscentre-forward's position topick his passes.It was timefor Kane to take matters intohis own hands. The ball wasworked to him at the top ofthe midfield and, with littleon and Poland playersbacking off rather toorespectfully, Kane unloaded

Szymanski denies England as Polandsnatch late draw after Kane's rocket

with murderous intent.The 30yarder would haverearranged Jan Bednarek'ssenses had it been slightlylower. Instead it flew over thecentre-half before dippingand fading viciously awayfrom Wojciech Szczesny's lefthand and into the bottomcorner.At that point Englandlooked well set for the victorythat would have virtuallyassured them directqualification to the finals of theQatar World Cup next year. Ithad been a performance ofgrowing control amid afrenzied atmosphere at this

magnificent arena.Englandcontained Poland in the firstpart of the first half, when thehome team flew at them, andthey were dominant whenKane registered his 41stinternational goal. Slowly butsurely he is reeling in WayneRooney's England record of53.Declan Rice was a towerof strength in centralmidfield and the late twisthad not really beenadvertised - apart from whenJordan Pickford had an82nd-minute clearancecharged down by thesubstitute, Karol Swiderski.

New Delhi, September 09 :Former captain MS Dhoniwill soon be back in the TeamIndia dugout - this time, as amentor for the T20 WorldCup.The Indian Express haslearnt that the BCCI'sannouncement on Dhoni'sinclusion took some of itsown office-bearers bysurprise, and even theselectors came to knowabout it just minutes beforethe press conference toannounce the squad for theO c t o b e r - N o v e m b e rtournament in the UAE.Sourcessaid India's dismal white-ballrecord in ICC events undercaptain Virat Kohli and coachRavi Shastri is one of the keyfactors behind the decision.The team has either fallen atthe final hurdle or failed tomake it to the final in theChampions Trophy, andWorld T20 and 50-overWorld Cups.Kohli hasn'teven led Royal ChallengersBangalore to an IPL title.Dhoni, who leads ChennaiSuper Kings, is a three-timeIPL-winning captain and has

London, September 09 :Michael Schumacher's wifeCorinna has revealed theformer seven-times world F1champion is still battling to

New Delhi,September 09: Practically,there was noroom for him.KL Rahul andRohit Sharmaa r eundroppablenames, consistentlyproviding turbochargedstarts to their franchises.With the terrific touchRahul has been in, it wouldbe unwise to push himdown the order. That woulddisrupt the team's balance.Had the event been heldoutside Asia, maybeDhawan, with his vastexperience, would havebeen included as areplacement opener.But inUAE, in case either of themdo get injured, the teammanagement could ask one

T20 World Cup selection:Why big-match player

Shikhar Dhawan missed outo fSuryakumarYadav ofIshan Kishanto open.Yadav hasoften battedat No 3 whileKishan has

opened several times for hisfranchise, MumbaiIndians.There is also ViratKohli, who has frequentlyopened for RoyalChallengers Bangalore. Inthe end, Dhawan might havemissed out to Kishan, whooffers more utility with hiskeeping skills, outweighinghis big-tournament, big-match temperament.Thesouthpaw is often a slow-starter, almost starts in theODI mould, biding time toget his eye in and thengradually accelerating.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni isback in Team India dugout- as mentor for World T20

brought home three major ICCtrophies - World T20,Champions Trophy andWorld Cup.At the mediabriefing Wednesday, BCCISecretary Jay Shah said thedecision to call up the 40-year-old retired international andthe country's most-celebratedwhite-ball cricketer was takenafter he met Dhoni in Dubai,where IPL teams have startedconverging to complete theunfinished Covid-hit Season12."He was okay with mydecision and agreed to be aTeam Mentor of Team India forthe T20 World Cup only. I amglad that MS (Dhoni) hasaccepted the BCCI's offer andhe is keen to contribute to thenational team once again. MSwill work closely with RaviShastri as well as other supportstaff to provide support anddirection to Team India," Shahsaid.Asked if Kohli and Shastriwere consulted, Shah said: "Ispoke to the captain and vice-captain, as well as Ravi Shastri.They all are on the same page,so that's why this matter hasreached this conclusion."

Michael Schumacher's wifeprovides update on former

F1 world championrecover from brain injurycaused by a skiing accidentbut remains "here butdifferent", in a Netflixdocumentary to be aired nextweek.Updates on the formerFerrari driver's health havebeen infrequent since hisaccident in 2013, especiallyfrom his family and this isthe most expansive publicstatement about hiscondition since2014."Everybody missesMichael, but Michael ishere, different, but here,"Corinna says in thedocumentary entitled"Schumacher", which isreleased on 15 September."He still shows me howstrong he is everyday."We're together. We livetogether at home. We dotherapy. We do everythingwe can to make Michaelbetter and to make sure he'scomfortable. And to simply

make him feel our family, ourbond. And no matter what, Iwill do everything I can. Weall will. We're trying to carryon as a family, the wayMichael liked it and stilldoes. And we are getting onwith our lives."Schumacheris now 52 years old, whilehis son Mick, who was 14and with him at the time ofthe accident now races forHaas in F1. Corinnamarried Schumacher in1995 and they also have adaughter, Gina, but havealways been fiercelyprotective of their privacy.He has been in recoveryin private care at the familyhome on Lake Geneva inSwitzerland. Schumacheris still much admired in thesport but it is the accidentthat has had the greatimpact on those closest tohim. "'I miss Michael everyday," says Corinna.

Page 8: Priti Patel to send boats carrying Emma Raducanu admits ...

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Johanna Rodrigues foundher first dance-heroes inTyler, Nora, Moose andAndie from the Step Upstreets franchise. But for theRed Bull BC One CypherB-Girl champion from lastweekend, who craves origi-nality, pursues and medi-tates after it, training inB h a r a t a n a t y a m a n dKalaripayattu gave her adistinct advantage.Winningher second India title lastSaturday, B-Girl Jo reckonsshe's more self-assurednow. And as Breakingerupts its way into multi-disciplinary games likeAsiad and Olympics, Jo isexcited to carve her niche,while exploring her roots inthe two Indian art-formsthat started her dance jour-ney. Before she joined upwith the Black Ice Crew inBengaluru and went offjamming to hip hop beats

Mumbai, September 9 :

B-Girl Jo, India's best, riffing off Bharatanatyam and Kalaripayattu

along the borders like HBRLayout, B-Girl Jo did a one-year stint with AttakkalariCentre for Movement Arts,located at Wilson Garden inthe business district, off MGRoad. It was behind the glassfacade of the four-storeydance studios, stacked oneon top of another, that Jodipped her toes into some-thing totally unfamiliar."There isn't another danceform that uses the floor as

much as Breaking. My oneyear in Bharatanatyamhelped; it's similar in thesense of holding poses('freezes' in B-Girling), pre-cision and patterns. Kalari isofcourse the martial art andall about responding, react-ing, and holding breath. Andwhen I seek originality, Idraw from these two danceforms," Jo explains. The 25-year-old, now established asIndia's best B-Girl, recalls

quitting her degree, pursuingdance, initially as a dabbler.Her footwork and flows areher signatures, lighting upcyphers, but it's taken her awhile to arrive at a style shesays affirms her conviction.Hip Hop started out as animport into streets of theworld, and each city paintsthe acrobatics in their owncolours. B-Girl Jo was awareof forming her own styleeven if it was American fic-

tional characters, Nora andAndie who had piqued herinterest."I come from aCatholic upbringing back-ground. You have to under-stand my dancing was noth-ing like my Hindu and Mus-lim contemporaries - India'sbest B-Boys. So I set aboutfinding my footing, to under-stand everything about onepart of India's dance culturethat I didn't know about," shesays, about seeking diverseinfluences - folk and formal- and doing the communityclasses at Attakkalari - whichdabbles at Bollywood, Con-temporary, Kalari and clas-sical Indian dance forms.Breaking though, has someuniversa l moves . Andequally universal blooperstoo. "Look, first couple ofyears were trial and error.There were times no doubtwhen I must've looked sillyperforming. In a couple ofBattles, it was goofy even,"she recalls.While in Japan on

her first international, sheeven blanked out. "That canhappen, you just don't remem-ber the moves, you freeze orslip out of a move," shesays.Joining Black Ice Crewwould get her the sort of com-munity composure that comesfrom being among fellowBreakers - all experimenting,all perfecting, all gunning forthe bold. She had played bas-ketball at school, but not muchelse of dance or sport. "Myparents were confused initiallyabout what I was doing. Theywarned me asking me what I'ddo in a sport like this, when Igot older," Jo says. She keptgetting home prizes and isnow headed to Poland, afterthe BC One triumph.Off for a

fortnight of silence inVipassana, the champion B-Girl, also a yoga instructorsays Breaking has come along way for Indian women,even if they remain novicesinternationally. "Numbershave increased. Skill levelsare high, and basically girlshave realised it's best to fo-cus on improving strongpoints.Breaking remains apower-heavy dance form, andas it sidles into the Olympicmainstream, with NorthAmerica and Europe at theforefront, the macho,strength-move vibe of hip hopremains all-pervasive on thesport."Everyone has theirown style. But I think girlscompensate for the technical

skills with a lot of (move-ment) threads (relying onagility) and details," Joreckons.She's excited aboutthe sport being at the ParisGames. "The undergroundscene for Breaking will al-ways remain strong. But theOlympics open up avenuesas a career opportunity andto travel internationally andmeet different dancers," shesays.The grounding mightcome from the classical In-dian dance forms, but a newstyle in B-Girling is under-way, she says, whenriffing off multiple influ-ences. "Thing is I knowwhat I'm doing, learningfrom everywhere." Andwinning to boot.

Australia's Test against Afghani-stan set to be cancelled over

Taliban ban on women's sportMelbourn, September 9 : head of the Taliban's cultural

commission, told SBS onWednesday that women will bebanned from playing sport. "Incricket, they might face a situa-tion where their face and bodywill not be covered. Islam doesnot allow women to be seen likethis," Wasiq said.Federal sportsminister Richard Colbeck andfederal MP Andrew Hastie, aformer SAS troop commanderwho fought in Afghanistan, are

among several politicians to ex-press reservations about theTest. Tasmania premier PeterGutwein flagged his own con-cerns on Monday. Organisinga replacement match in thesoon-to-be vacant spot on thecalendar will be easier said thandone, especially withAustralia's border rules ensur-ing tourists might have to sign

up for a fortnight of quaran-tine. Cricket Australia chiefexecutive Nick Hockleytermed it an "extremely chal-lenging and complex situa-tion" on Wednesday, vowingto take the federal governmentand International CricketCouncil's lead.The ICC holdsthe power to revokeAfghanistan's member status,which would ensure the gamedoesn't take place. CA, which

has invested more inwomen's cricket than anyother nation, has made itsthoughts clear to the globalgoverning body.The ICCsays it is concerned aboutreports the Taliban will banwomen from playingcricket and the matter willbe discussed at its nextboard meeting.

Gareth Taylor, theManchester City manager,refused to lay the blame forhis side's ChampionsLeague exit on a lack ofpre-season action after theycrashed out of qualifyingagainst Real Madrid.A 1-0home defeat dealt byClaudia Zornoza's first-halfstrike was enough for thenewcomers, Real Madrid,following a first-leg 1-1away draw for City inSpain. They have now beenknocked out by Spanishopposition for the fourthseason in a row."We didn'tdo any games in preseasonand that was the situationwe were in," Taylor said."Our pre-season prepara-tion wasn't great and theOlympics probably hurt usmore than most teams interms of the return to train-

Real Madrid knock Manchester Cityout of Women's Champions League

Manchester City ,September 9 :

ing for most of the girls."Hewas loath to use it as an ex-cuse. "If you don't defendin the right manner and youdon't take your chances atthe other end of the pitch,you're always leaving your-self vulnerable like that."Inaddition to a lack of pre-season football, they havebeen forced to navigate theearly stage of the seasonwithout much of the spine

of the team.The goalkeeperEllie Roebuck, midfielderKeira Walsh, forwardChloe Kelly and Fifa bestplayer of the year LucyBronze are all out of action,while Ellen White andGeorgia Stanway have yetto start a game as they shakeoff knocks.A 4-0 defeat ofEverton demonstrated theyhave the ability to over-come the absences but at

the Academy Stadium theystarted to come undoneagain against Madrid hav-ing conceded late in theaway leg cancelling outCaroline Weir's effort.Citystruggled to contain RealMadrid and the visitingteam should have taken thelead just past the half-hourwhen Nahikari García slot-ted in after being playedthrough but she was inex-plicably flagged offside.Just shy of half-time theytook a deserved lead,though. Lauren Hemp gotin the way of Babett Peter'sshot but Zornoza whippeda vicious shot in from theright that took a deflectionoff Shaw as it flew in.Athalf-time Taylor turned tothe tried and tested, swap-ping the recruit KhadijaShaw for the England for-ward White.Twice Citywent close to an equaliser.First, the keeper Misa

Rodríguez gifted the ball toWhite, who squared forCaroline Weir but the Scot-tish forward was not ex-pecting the passunawareand the ball rolled past her.Then Hayley Raso, re-cruited from Everton in thesummer, snaked in from theright and hit the bar.Cityramped up the pressure andWhite went agonisinglyclose in the 79th minute,stretching to head Hemp'sball over the outstretchedhands of Rodríguez only forPeter to power the ball offthe line with City fans inhalf celebration.The crowdurged City to push forwardfor the goal that would takethe tie to extra-time but forall the pressure they couldnot find the finish.The earlyexit is a crushing blow toTaylor's ambitious team andalso means they will enterthe Continental League Cupat the group stage.

The global group of na-tional soccer leagues saidWednesday it will opposeFIFA's plans to play themen's World Cup everytwo years."A biennialWorld Cup would nega-tively disrupt the footballeconomy and undermineplayers' welfare in a cal-endar that is alreadyoverloaded," the WorldLeagues Forum said in astatement.The leagues

Soccer leagues resist FIFA plan for World Cup every 2 yearsZurich , September 9 :

joined European clubs andEuropean soccer bodyUEFA in resisting the pro-

posal being pushed byFIFA's president, GianniInfantino, and shaped by

its director of global devel-opment, Arsène Wenger."FIFA's leadership cannotbe able to turn somethingexceptional into a com-monplace event purely toserve their short-term inter-ests," said the Zurich-based leagues group,which includes the most in-fluential leagues in soccer'sfive major continents.Playing every two yearswould also "dilute the his-torical and traditional val-ues of a competition that

means so much to fansand players," the leaguessaid. Wenger will detailthe biennial plans Thurs-day after a two-day con-ference of retired soccergreats hosted by FIFA inQatar, the 2022 WorldCup host nation.Theformer Arsenal coach hassaid a decision could bemade as soon as Decem-ber, though the next FIFAcongress of 211 memberfederations is likely inMay.

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Australia's one-off men'sTest match against Afghani-stan, scheduled to start inHobart on 27 November, isset to be cancelled after theTaliban banned womenfrom playing sport, includ-ing cricket.Cricket Australiahad come under increasingpressure to call off whatwould be the first Test match

between the two nations. Itwas meant to serve as a vi-tal red-ball tune-up for TimPaine's team ahead of thissummer's Ashes series.Thesport's national governingbody on Wednesday issueda statement indicating it waswilling to pull the plug on thegame given the Taliban'sstance on women andsport."If recent media reportsthat women's cricket will notbe supported in Afghanistanare substantiated, CricketAustralia would have no al-ternative but to not host Af-ghanistan for the proposedTest match due to be playedin Hobart," the statementread."Driving the growth ofwomen's cricket globally isincredibly important toCricket Australia. Our visionfor cricket is that it is a sportfor all and we support thegame unequivocally forwomen at every level."Ahmadullah Wasiq, deputy