190921 SL 01

Steadfastness is a virtue,but only if it doesn’t come ata personal cost. Letting go

is the new scriptPAGES 14, 15, 16

THE SUNDAY EXPRESS MAGAZINE

eyeLET’S CALLIT QUITS

NEWDELHI,LATECITY

SEPTEMBER19,202124PAGES,`6.00

(`8 BIHAR&RAIPUR, ` 12 SRINAGAR)

WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMD A I L Y F R O M : A H M E D A B A D , C H A N D I G A R H , D E L H I , J A I P U R , K O L K A T A , L U C K N O W , M U M B A I , N A G P U R , P U N E , V A D O D A R A

THENEWCHIEF

Bhupendra Patel’sdizzying rise — from ayoung man who soldfirecrackers, to ownerof a construction firm,to 17th CM of Gujarat

WORLD

FRANCERECALLSENVOYS FROMU.S.,AUSTRALIA OVERSUBMARINE DEALU.S. COURTSETSASIDE PROPOSEDTRUMP-ERARULEONH-1B VISASELECTIONPAGE10

ASADREHMANKANPUR,SEPTEMBER18

SILENCEENVELOPSKursaulivil-lage under Kalyanpur Block ofKanpur Nagar district onSaturday afternoon,withmanyhouses locked. With panicspreadingdue to thedeathof atleast 12 people in the last onemonthhereduetoa“mysteriousfever”, many have left. OnSaturday,anotherdeathwasre-ported, of village head Amit

Singh's auntGeeta,40.AnilKumar (40),whoworks

at a private company in Kanpurcity, says his children andwifeare at his in-laws’ house, whilehe stayed behind to look aftertheir buffalo. “If people did nothavecattleandfarms,thevillagewould have been empty. Thereisnotasinglehousewhichdoesnothavecasesoffever,andmanyhavegonetohousesof relatives.Some have even rented housesinnearbyareas,” saysKumar.A list prepared by health of-

ficials shows the first deathduetothe“mysteriousfever”tobeof14-year-old Tannu Prajapati, onAugust 20. Nine of the other 11

deadwereyounggirlsorwomen—Parwati (62), Julie (23), Sonali(19),LaxmiPrajapati(40),LaxmiDevi (45), Chama Tiwari (28),Urmila(35),NirmalaTewari(65),Vaishnavi (11). The two menwho died were Shiv RamPrajapati (56) andMaan Singh(55). Geeta Singh's death is stilltobe recorded.Additional Chief Medical

Officer (CMO) of Kanpur Nagardistrict Dr Subodh Prakash ad-mitted they were yet to figureouttheexactcauseofthedeaths."Most of the people who diedwere not tested for dengue ormalaria, while all those whotested positive for dengue have

recovered. Zero malaria caseshave been found in the testsdone,”Prakashsaid,addingthatathree-membercommitteehasbeen set up under the DistrictPublic Health Expert to do adeathaudit.“The neighbouring villages

don’t have this problem," hepointedout.Tannu's father is a dailywa-

ger, likemostearningmembersin this village of around 1,200people. Says her sister Arti, “Atleast four people in the familyhadfever.TannufellillonAugust18,anddiedwhileweweretak-inghertoHallett(LalaLajpatRaiHospital).Ourbrotherwhoisfive

recovered."PradeepTewari,48,afarmer,

says that at least 50 of the 180-odd houses in the village arelocked. Tewari's aunt NirmalaTiwari (65) and sister-in-lawChamaTewari (28)died follow-ing fever, within days of eachother.Hedropshis voice sayinghe

doesn't want to alarm familymembersstillbattlingthe fever,including his uncleChandrashekhar(70),whoisonoxygensupportathome.Sarpanch Amit Singh says

theyareinshockabouthisaunt'sdeath. “Shewas healthy.Whenshecaughtafeverthreedaysago,

wetookhertoaprivatehospital.Hersituationworsenedandshewasreferredtoanotherhospital,whereshepassedaway,"hesays.Mohini Gupta's daughter

Vaishnavihasbeentheyoungestcasualty. The 11-year-old diedwithin three days of getting thefever. “She had a stomach ache,was vomiting and had a highfever.Myyoungersonalsofell illbut recovered.We spentmorethanRs1lakhonthetreatment,borrowingfromlocalsandmon-eylenders,” saysGupta.Herhusbandsellschaat from

acart,sheadds."Howwillwere-pay thatmoney?"

CONTINUEDONPAGE2

PAGE1ANCHOR

Followingthedeaths,officials said theywerecarryingoutfogging inKursaulivillage,Kanpur.Vishal Srivastav

UP village empties out as 12 die after fever; officials test for dengue, malaria

All-weather borderoutposts: Ministriesin blame game asLadakh project failsITBP,MHAofficialssayBOPinsulation,constructionpoor;NPCCrejectscharge

Theconstructionofover40 integratedborderoutpostswasannouncedbythegovernment in2015

BabulSupriyowithTMCleaderAbhishekBanerjee inKolkataonSaturday.ANI RELATEDREPORT,PAGE5

DEEPTIMANTIWARYNEWDELHI, SEPTEMBER18

ATAtimewhenIndiantroopsarestill ina faceoffwith theChinesealongtheLineofActualControlineasternLadakh,aninfrastructureprojectfortroopsguardingthere-gionhas turnedout tobe anon-starterafterfiveyearsofworkandinvestmentof croresof rupees.Andthefailureof theproject

has also pitted two key min-istries of the government —Ministry of Home Affairs andMinistry of Jal Shakti — againsteachother.The project involved con-

struction of over 40 integratedBorder Outposts (BOPs) an-

nounced by the government in2015. These BOPs were sup-posedtobethefirstof theirkindin the regionwith freeze-prooftoilets, runningwater and tem-peraturemaintained above 22degreeCelsiusatall times.Theprojectwasseenasasig-

nificantstepinimprovingborderinfrastructure for troops on thefrontline at a timewhen infra-structureontheChinesesidewasseentobeyearsaheadof India.ThefirstBOP,asapilotforthe

project, was sanctioned to bebuiltfortheIndo-TibetanBorderPolice (ITBP) in Lukung, on thewestern bank of Pangong Tso.The lake area saw serious con-frontation between Indian and

CONTINUEDONPAGE2

SUNDAYSTORYPAGE 11

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI,BENGALURU,SEPTEMBER18

CALLINGFOR “Indianisation” ofthecountry’s legalsystem,ChiefJusticeof IndiaNVRamanasaidSaturday that the colonial rulescurrently being followed “maynotbebestsuitedtotheneedsofthe Indianpopulation”.Addressing an event organ-

ised in Bengaluru by theKarnataka State Bar Council topay tribute to late SupremeCourt judge Justice Mohan MShantanagoudar, CJI Ramanasaid: “Very oftenour justice de-liveryposesmultiplebarriersforthe commonpeople. Thework-ingandstyleof courtsdonot sitwell with the complexities ofIndia. Our systems, practice,rules being colonial in origin, it

CONTINUEDONPAGE2

Need Indianisation of legal system,our systems and rules colonial: CJI

ATRIMITRA&LIZMATHEWKOLKATA,NEWDELHI,SEPTEMBER18

TWOMONTHS after hewas re-moved as Union Minister ofState, sitting BJP MP BabulSupriyo Saturday joined theTrinamool Congress, admittinghewasdisappointedatwhathadhappened despite his "hardworkandgoodwork".Supriyo, whowas removed

as part of a major rejig in theNarendra Modi Council ofMinisters in July, said hewould

resignasMP."Iwilldowhateverisrightpoliticallyandethically. Iwillworkaspertheleadership'sinstructions."Speaking to The Sunday

Express,Supriyosaidhehadbeenunhappy that, "after my hardwork and goodwork, it (the re-moval)happenedtome". "I, likemany others, feel I did somegoodworkasMoS."He said TMC MP Derek O'

Brien,whowas "a good friend",hadaskedhimifhewantedtojointhe TMC. "Itwas unexpected... Ican just say that I responded toagoodopportunity."

CONTINUEDONPAGE2

2 months after he wasdropped at Centre, BJPMP Supriyo joins TMC

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICECHANDIGARH,SEPTEMBER18

ADAYaftertheAmbalaPolicear-restedajournalistoveranerrorinareportaboutthearrestofaterrorsuspect,acourtgrantedhimbail,saying“therewasnothing...whichcan create enmity betweenclasses”,asclaimedintheFIR.

Police had arrested reporterSunil Brar and booked NewsEditorSandeepSharmaofDainikBhaskarnewspaper,onthecom-plaint of a sub-inspector, underSections 153 (wantonly givingprovocationwithintenttocauseriot),177(furnishing false infor-mation), 504 (intentional insultwithintenttoprovokebreachof

CONTINUEDONPAGE2

Journalist held for error inreport gets bail, court says‘nothing to create enmity’

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICENEWDELHI, SEPTEMBER18

AMAGAZINEknowntobeasso-ciatedwiththeIslamicStatehasclaimedthatthesuicidebomberwho targeted the Kabul airportasitthrongedwithpeopleseek-ing to leave last month, killingover 200 people, had been ar-restedinIndiafiveyearsagoandthendeported toAfghanistan.Identifying the bomber as

“Abdur Rahman al-logri”, thepro-IS magazine Sawt-al-Hind(Voiceof India)said,“Thebrotherwasarrested5yearsagoinIndia,whenhehadtraveledtoDelhitocarry out an Istishadhi (martyr-dom)operationontheciw(cow)worshippingHindus in revengeforKashmir.”Themagazine said itwas he

whowas behind the Kabul air-portbombing,addingthatithadkilled 250 people, including 13Americans and a dozen “apos-tate”Taliban.SourcesintheIndiansecurity

establishment did not confirmor deny the claimsmade by themagazine. In2017,theIndianin-telligenceagencieshaddeportedan Afghan national staying inLajpat Nagar, Delhi, on suspi-cions ofworking for the IslamicState, and the US forces hadtaken him into custody inAfghanistan.Hailingtheattacker,Sawt-al-

Hind said, “... the brother wastestedwith imprisonment andwas deported to Afghanistan...Staying true to his promise toAllah, the brother didn’t gohome, rather he carried out hisoperation, his heart filled with

CONTINUEDONPAGE2

Kabul bomberwas deportedby India 5 yrsago: Magazinewith IS links

CJINVRamanainBengaluruonSaturday. PTI

KEYPUNJABCLPMEETTODAY;DRAMAJUSTMONTHSBEFOREPOLLS

KANCHANVASDEVCHANDIGARH,SEPTEMBER18

AFTER A months-long dramathatplayedoutfromChandigarhto Delhi, Congress veteranAmarinder Singh Saturday re-signed as Chief Minister ofPunjab, stating he was feeling“humiliated” by the party lead-ership and suggesting that allcourses of actionwere open tohim. He alsomade it clear thathewouldopposeanyattemptbythe Congress to name NavjotSinghSidhuashis replacement,calling him an "anti-national"and"dangerous"forthecountry.Consensus seemed to be

emerging on Saturday nightaround Sunil Jakhar as the newCM, though the CongressLegislature Party (CLP) failed toreachadecision.Amarinder'sresignationcame

minutesbeforetheMLAsweretomeet at the Punjab party head-quarters. The emergency CLPmeeting, ostensibly to removehim,wasannouncedbyCongressPunjabin-chargeHarishRawatonFridaynight. Amarinder claimedhehadnotbeeninformeddespitebeing theCLP leader, andhintedthatitwasthelaststraw.

CONTINUEDONPAGE2

MANRAJGREWALSHARMACHANDIGARH,SEPTEMBER18

THEFIRSTwarningsignhadcomevery early, on August 8, 2017,barely fivemonths afterCaptainAmarinderSinghtook charge as ChiefMinister of Punjab. Asmanyas33newlyelectedMLAswrote hima letterseeking a probe into theallegedroleofformerAkaliminis-ter Bikram SinghMajithia in adrugs case citing statements to

theEnforcementDirectorate.Thatletter gathered dust. Saturday,monthsbeforetheAssemblyelec-tionsarenotified,comestheCM’sresignationinaburstofanger.Between these twopoints is

the journey of a powerful ChiefMinisterwho,criticssay,failed to sense resent-ment on the ground;who saw indissentingvoicesmerelyambitiousrivals and a high com-mandthatkeptkicking

thepoliticalcandowntheroad—untilitwastoolate.

CONTINUEDONPAGE2

Sunil JakharmaybenewCM;78of80CongMLAsattendCLPmeet

CM misread early signs,leadership kicked thecan until it was too late

VANDITAMISHRAAMRITSAR,SEPTEMBER18

ACROSS AMRITSAR, especiallyalongthewideravenuesoutsidethe walled city, CaptainAmarinder Singh looks downfrom tall billboards, wearing aslight, close-mouthed smile. Asin the Modi poster —which isconspicuouslyabsentinthiscity—Singhisframedalone,againsta stark single-colour backdrop,and next to his photo, is a gov-ernmentachievementorclaim.

“Sarkari schoolan ‘ch muftsikhia(freeeducationingovern-ment schools)”. Or “Sarkarischoolan ‘ch pre primary classanshuru (pre-primary classesstartedingovernmentschools)”,amongothers.But talk to students and the

young, and theirparents, acrosssections and classes in the city,and it is clear that amuchmorecompelling message is to befound in the ubiquitous adver-tisements of coaching centresthatpromisetopreparestudents

CONTINUEDONPAGE2

On road, Capt looks downfrom posters but his is anabsence amid talk of crises

PunjabChiefMinisterAmarinderSinghaftersubmittinghisresignation, inChandigarhonSaturday.KamleshwarSingh

AjayMaken,NavjotSinghSidhu,HarishRawatandHarishChaudhary inChandigarhonSaturday.KamleshwarSingh

Forcedtoquit,Capthitsout:Sidhuisanti-national...myoptionsopen

MANOJCGNEWDELHI, SEPTEMBER18

THE CONGRESS central leader-ship’s decision to replace PunjabChiefMinister Amarinder SinghSaturday signalled that the“weak” high command, oftenfaultedforitsindecisiveness,isbe-ginningtoassertitselfwithRahulGandhi and his sister PriyankaGandhiVadraplayingkeyroles.The decision has triggered a

debate within the party andleadersaresharplydividedonits

merit.Manyoftheleadersof theG-23grouping, for instance, areunhappywith his ouster. Someof them have already reachedouttohim.Thebigquestionnowis: Will there be leadershipchange in Rajasthan andChhattisgarhtoowherefactionshavebeenat loggerheads?In Punjab’s case, the party

leadership, sources said, pro-ceededwith somuch care andcaution that all legal pros andcons of replacing Singh wereweighedeven lateFridaynight.

CONTINUEDONPAGE2

Rahul, Priyanka movesparks debate, turnslens on Jaipur, Raipur

GOVT&POLITICS

THEREBELMAJHABRIGADE, LEDBYMINISTERSWHOWEREHANDPICKEDBYAMARINDERADMISSIONOFFAILURE, DESPERATEBID TOSALVAGESITUATION: OPPPAGE 6

New Delhi

THESECONDPAGE2 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHE SUNDAY EXPRESS,SEPTEMBER19,2021

Early signsThat firstwarningshotcame

becauseintherun-uptothe2017polls, Singhhad takenoath on agutka(holybook)towipeoutthe“drugmenace”within amonth.TheMLAshoped"bigfish"wouldbe ensnared but nothing hap-pened.The cases of sacrilege of the

GuruGranthSahibdatingbacktoOctober2015,leadingtooutrageanddeathoftwoprotestersinpo-lice firing, continuedto languishincourt.EventhoughtheJusticeRanjitSinghCommission,setupbyAmarinderSinghin2017,cat-egoricallyindictedtheBadalsforshieldingDera Sacha Sauda, theSpecialInvestigationTeamscouldnotmakemuchheadway.Therewas growinganger on

the ground but it did not reachtheearsoftheChiefMinisterwhoseldom visited the CivilSecretariat.ManyMLAsclaimedhis officewas effectively run bySureshKumar,hisChiefPrincipalSecretary.Although that appointment

was subsequently quashed bythe High Court and Kumar re-signed, the government contin-ued to appeal theHC verdict. Asenior Congress leader recountshow, at a function in Jalandhar,the compere introducedKumaras the “de-facto CM”. Kumar, fi-nally,put inhispapersSaturday.The CM later shifted to his

farmhouse,making access evenmore difficult. The pandemiclockdown only deepened thesenseofhimbeingcutoff.Astheclamourgrew,theCM

appointed sixMLAs critical ofhimas his advisers in late 2019.Buttheirappointmentcouldnotget the governor’s sanction andtheyquit.Meanwhile, Navjot Singh

Sidhu, who left BJP to joinCongress, much against the

wishes of Amarinder, began tosulk after hewas divested of hislocalbodiesportfolioinJuly2019.Sidhu quit the Cabinet in a huffonlytore-emergethisAprilafterthe Punjab and Haryana HighCourt quashed the investigationintotheKotkapurafiring.Disaffectedlegislators, ledby

threeministers from theMajharegion of Punjab, Tript RajinderBajwa, Sukhbinder Sarkaria andSukhjinder Singh Randhawa,found a rallying point in Sidhu.TheCM’s campdismissed thesevoices as disgruntled “non-per-forming”legislators.As Sidhu launched a tirade

against the government, theCongress high commandwatchedquietly.Therewasnoat-tempt to call thewarring campstoDelhi,laydownthelineorbro-kerpeace.ItwasonlyinMaythatthe Congress set up a three-member panel. Therewere alsoreportsofthepartycommission-ingsurveystogaugethepopular-ity of theCM,whowasgivenan18-pointagendatofulfilafterthepanel submitted its report earlyJune.Rather thanquelling Sidhu’s

outbursts, thishardenedtherift.But the high command contin-uedtodither,takingoveramonthto appoint him as PPCC chief.SourcessaidthesurveysfavouredSidhuandfoundtheCM’spopu-laritywasdipping.Meanwhile,Amarindergotto

work, making public appear-ances, offering friendship toSidhu, and addressing somemanifestopromises: theoldageandwidow pensionwas dou-bled;loanwaiverwassanctionedfor landless labourers.But itwastoolittle, toolate.The final strawwas a letter

signedbyover40legislatorsandfourministers to Sonia GandhiWednesday,seekingaCLPmeet-ing.

Captain postersfor “IELTS” with the goldenwords:“Visa”, “Immigration”.TheIELTSortheInternational

EnglishLanguageTestingSystem(foreaseofpronunciation,every-oneherecallsit“eyelets”),isnec-essary for studentswhowant togo abroad. By all accounts, theIELTS industry is burgeoningdaily.FortheAmarinderSinghgov-

ernment, on governmentschools, itmayhavebeenamat-ter of too little too late. But inAmritsar, his is a wan and be-

siegedpresenceinotherconver-sationsaboutothercrises, too.Here, most conversation is

aboutcrisis.About the farmers’ aandolan

thatgoeson.Thereseemstobeapalpable agreement, straddlingHindusandSikhs,believersinthefarmers’ cause and even thosewho are dry-eyed about it, thattheonusisontheCentralgovern-ment,notthefarmers.Aboutjoblessnessandthede-

clineof industry—asPunjabbe-came inhospitable for business,becauseofdeepeningcorruption,rising electricity costs, and the“gangsterculture”builtondrugsandpoliticalpatronage.About the overweening

powergiventofavouredbureau-crats in Chandigarh in theCongressregime;aboutthecon-tinuationofthesystemofpatron-ageindistricts—entrencheddur-ingtheAkaliyears.In the eyes of the people,

Amarinder became identifiedwith the corruptions and collu-sions of a discredited politicalclass—thefarmers’movement’spointedrefusaltoallowanypartybannerhasonlybroughtthe cyn-icismto the fore.Nothinghedidwas enough to help Amarinderclimb out of a very deep, darkbox.One of themost persistent

charges levelled against him isthathehasasecretpactwiththeBJP, andmore damagingly, theBadals.InthelastAssemblyelec-tionin2017,theCongressfieldedhim from the Badal bastion ofLambi(apartfromhistraditionalPatiala),ostensiblytocounterthisperception, but even that couldnotmakethebadodourgoaway.In a state so on edge, some-

thing had to give. The exit ofAmarindermayormaynothelpthe Congress’s prospects in thepolls dueearlynext year, but fornow it does break the freefall,opensupaspace.MuchoftheappealoftheMP

fromAmritsarEast,NavjotSinghSidhu,whohas emerged as theCaptain’smain challenger, restson his positioning as a relativeoutsider—honest,outspoken.Sidhu is seen to talk back to

theBadals in away that Captain

hasn’t been seen to do. ButSidhu’s challengenowwill be toprovehecanleadateam.The AAP, which like Sidhu,

also rides, somewhat uneasily,theappealof theOutsider,mustalso navigate a difficult road. Inthe last Assembly election, itssurgebumpedupagainsthurdlesin its path borne of a seemingcontradiction in terms. Eventhough Punjabis are cynicalaboutpoliticsasusual,thesearchforsomethingnewmustcontendwiththeirkeenconsciousnessoftheir older identity and excep-tionalism.

Rahul, PriyankaSourcessaidAICCgeneralsec-

retary AjayMaken,whowas inChandigarh as the party centralobserver, met Rahul GandhiFridayeveningandthensatwithRajya Sabha MP and lawyerAbhishek Singhvi to discuss thepossibilityofSinghrecommend-ing dissolution of theHouse ornot accepting the direction tostepdown.Bythen,thepartyhadaletter

with the signatures of over 60MLAs,abovethehalfwaymarkinthe117-memberHouse.It is learnt that thepartyhad

readiedoptionsoflegalremediesif Singh refused to resign. Eventhedraftresolution,passedattheCLPmeeting Saturday, was fi-nalised at theMaken-Singhvimeeting,sourcessaid.Sources said former PPCC

president Sunil Jakhar, RajyaSabhaMP Partap Singh Bajwaand stateminister SukhjinderSinghRandhawa are in the racefor newCM. Sources saidmanyof theMLAs at the CLPmeetingfavouredaSikhface.Senior leaders of the party

saidit issimplistictosaythattheCongress leadership has bor-rowed a leaf from the BJP play-book. But Singh’s removal,sources said, showed that thecentralleadershipdecidedtobitethe bullet after prevaricating formonths. Internal surveys of theparty, sources claimed, hadshownthatSinghwasdeeplyun-popularandthatthepartywouldstruggle to retain power underhis leadership.Moreso,afterthe

appointment of Navjot SinghSidhu as the PPCC president asthetwowerepullingindifferentdirections.Thepartyleadership,sources

said,mulledoverSingh’sremovalanddecidedagainstitwhentheyappointed Sidhu as PPCCpresi-dent. MostMLAs had then toocomplainedagainstSingh’sstyleof functioning.But the leadership, thinking

inaconventionalway,decidedtoback him, hoping that he andSidhuwouldpatchup.Butsomeoftheleaderspointedoutthatthepartyhighcommanddidlittletomakethathappen.Asectionofthepartybelieves

that the fresh letter by a sectionof theMLAsseekingaCLPmeet-ingwas done at the instance ofthe party high command. TheChiefMinister, the leaders said,had shownno sign of changinghisstyleoffunctioningdespitere-peatedreminders fromthehighcommand.SomeleaderssaidtheGandhi

familywasnotonthesamepageand this delayed the decision.“Mrs(Sonia)Gandhiwasinitiallynot in favour of replacing Singh.He is a veteran and they sharewarm relations,” a leaderclaimed.ButRahulandPriyanka,theleaderclaimed,differed.SpeakingattheExpressAdda

onMarch 22, SinghhadpraisedSonia highly and said hewouldsupport “hundred and one percent” the leadership of theGandhis intheCongress.AseniorleadersaidSidhu,de-

spite his acrimonious relation-shipwithSingh,wasalsonoten-thusiastic about replacing himwith another leader as itwouldcreate another power centre todealwith.Sources said Singh asked

SoniaGandhitopostponetheCLPmeeting by a day or twowhentheyspokeSaturdaymorning.Sources close to himdid not

ruleouthimleavingtheCongressandfloatingaregionaloutfit.Butwhatmadethetaskeasierfortheparty high commandwas thenegligible support that SinghcommandedamongtheMLAs.That,however, isnotthecase

in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh,

sources said. Rajasthan ChiefMinister Ashok Gehlot and hisChhattisgarh counterpartBhupesh Baghel command thesupportofmostof theMLAs.The removal of Amarinder

Singhalsohasamessage for theG-23groupingoftheparty,asen-ior leader said. “That the highcommand can act decisivelyshouldbeinthemindofall.”ThedecisiontoreplaceSingh,

however,hasnotgonedownwellwith someG-23 leaders. “Itwillhaveafallout.Fivemonthsbeforeelections... And the fact that thehighcommandisanactivepartyto removehim... does not augurwell,”aG-23leadersaid.

Border outpostsChinese troops for ninemonthsbefore disengagement wasachievedinFebruarythisyear.The projectwas awarded to

National Projects ConstructionCorporation(NPCC),aPSUundertheMinistry of Jal Shakti. FiveyearsandaboutRs20crorelater,the project has, for all practicalpurposes,beendeclaredafailurebytheITBP.Sources in the ITBP and the

MHA said the BOP is unable tomaintain temperatures of over10-11 degree Celsius and thequalityofconstructionissopoorthatthe40-oddjawansstayinginthe BOPhave begun tomiss theinsulated pre-fabricated hutswheretheylivedearlier.TheMHA, sources said, is so

unhappy that it has not onlystopped part payment to theNPCC, but is also thinking ofdumpingtheprojectaltogether.TheNPCC,ontheotherhand,

has blamed the ITBP and theMHA,claimingthatwithholdingthepaymenthas resulted in thesub-contractor concerned notmaintainingtheheatingsystem.Sources said the ITBP has

withheldpaymenttothetuneofRs4croretoNPCC.“ThecontractbetweenusandtheNPCCwastoconstructaBOPwheretempera-turewouldremainabove22de-greeCelsiusallyear,evenifitwasminus 44 degrees outside... Forus,theBOPisstillincomplete.So,why shouldwe release the pay-ment?”aseniorITBPofficersaid.

SourcesintheMHAsaideventhe quality of construction ispoor. “NPCCwas supposed toprovideRajdhanitrain-likeinsu-latedwindows in the BOPwithdouble-sheets of glass, but theyhaveusedpoorqualityglassandfixed the same in aluminiumframes, letting in icy draughts,”anofficialof theMHAsaid.The BOPwas inspected last

year by the Secretary (BorderManagement)intheMHAalongwith ITBP officers. Ever sincethere have beenmultiplemeet-ings and communications be-tweenthetwoministries,sourcessaid.D P Singh, Head of

Department (Projects), NPCC,said theworkwascompletedasper the scope of the project inOctober 2019, but the 40-oddITBPpersonnelmovedinonlyinOctober 2020. “Temperature ofthegroundfloorwasobservedtobebetween19.5 and22DegCelandatthefirstfloor17to19.5DegCel in the months of October2020toJanuary2021,”Singhsaid,providingscreenshotsofthetem-peraturereading.ITBP officials, however, said

theytoohavetakenreadings andthe temperature ishardly above10-11degrees.TheNPCCclaimedithadgone

beyondthescopeof thework toaccommodate demands of theITBP and Secretary (BM), agree-ing to additional constructionandone-yearmaintenance.AccordingtoSingh,ITBPisyet

toclearbillsofRs4croreandGSTof over Rs 1 crore. “Due to this,neithermaintenance is takingplacenortechnologypartnersarewillingtohelpout,”hesaid.According to NPCC, to in-

creasetheefficiencyofgreenfea-tures, it had submitted an en-hancementproposal to the ITBPinAugust2020.“Butnodecisionhasbeencommunicated.”Anofficial ofMHA,however,

saidthiswasonlyawayofhidingitsinabilitytodelivertheproject.“Theyarenowaskingustobuildawall between theBOPand thePangonglaketobreakthewind,”theofficialsaid.A questionnaire sent by The

Sunday Express to the ITBP andMHAdidnotelicitanyresponse.TheNPCC,meanwhile, has sentITBPanextrabillofRs1.35crore.

Babul SupriyoSupriyosaidhewassurprised

that both TMC chief MamataBanerjeeandAbhishekBanerjeewanted him in the party. "Toother people itmight look likeopportunism, but to me it's agreat opportunity... I want to bein a team to play... I don'twastetimesittingonthebench."In theAssembly elections in

thestateearlierthisyear,Supriyohadbeenamongtheparliamen-tarians fielded by the BJP.However, he had lost fromTollyganj. After hewas droppedfromtheUnionministry,hehadannouncedhewasquittingpoli-tics,whilestayingonasMP.OnSaturday,hesaidhewould

not like to comment on the BJP,andwas thankful forwhateveropportunitythepartygavehim.Incidentally, coincidingwith

Supriyo joining the TMC, theCentre reducedhis security cat-egoryfrom‘Z’ to ‘Y’.

Scribe gets bailpeace) and 505 (2) (statementscreatingorpromotingenmity,orill-willbetweenclasses).Brar was produced in the

courtofJudicialMagistrateIClass(Ambala)MukeshKumar.Policesaidhehadcommitted"aseriousoffence...againstpublictranquil-lity",andthereport"hascreatedfalse alarm... thereby promotedenmitybetweenclasses".Arguingagainstbail,thepros-

ecution said Brarmight tamperwithevidence,andthat"thema-chines fromwhere thenewspa-perwas printed are in the cus-tody of the accused and hisassociates" and "the co-accused(SandeepSharma)wasyet tobe

arrested".The prosecution also sought

Brar’scustodialinterrogation,butthecourt refused it, sayingtherewasnoneed.Brar’s counsel said police

acted under political pressureand falsely implicated him. Ontheerrorinthereport,whichsaidtheterrorsuspectwasheldfromAmbala Cantt, instead of fromavillage in Ambala, his counselsaid: “Some terrorist was ar-rested in theterritoryofAmbaladistrictand,onthebasisofhisin-formation, he published thenewsinDainikBhaskar.”Thenewspaperhadputouta

correctionthenextday.In its order, the court noted

thattheprosecutionhadnotde-nied that an arrest had beenmadefromAmbaladistrictbythePunjabPolice. "...Admittedlyex-cept Section 505 (2) of IPC, allother offences levelled againstthe accused are bailable in na-ture...Itistheallegationofprose-cution that by publishing suchfalse news, the accused createdalarminthemindof thegeneralpublicandalsotriedtocreateen-mitybetween classes.However,after perusal of the remandpa-perandthecopyof thenewspa-perproducedbytheInvestigatingOfficer, this court is of the viewthat therewas nothing (of thesort)whichcancreateenmitybe-tweenclasses," thejudgesaid.

CJImay not be best suited to theneeds of the Indian population.The need of the hour isIndianisationofourlegalsystem.”“When I say Indianisation, I

mean the need to adapt to thepractical realities of our societyand localise our justice deliverysystems. For example, partiesfromaruralplace,fightingafam-ily dispute, are usuallymade tofeeloutofplaceinthecourt.Theydo not understand the argu-ments or pleadings which aremostly in English... These days,judgmentshavebecomelengthy,which further complicates thepositionof litigants,”hesaid.

UP villageLashing out at officials, she

says they came and threatenedthemwith a case if they did notbuild a pucca toilet. The familyusesaholedugoutsidethehouseas a toilet. "You tellme howweare supposed to build a toiletwhenmostpeople in the familyare ill andwe are facing a hugedebt?"Guptasays.An official at the Kalyanpur

CommunityHealthCentre(CHC)admitted urging the villagers tobuild toilets, saying theybelievechokeddrains couldbeone rea-son for the fever outbreak. “Thevillage does not have a sewagesystem...Wehaveservednoticesto30familiestobuildpropertoi-letssoon,”saystheofficial.VillagersinKursauliarewor-

ried theymight face a boycottnext."Peopleinneighbouringvil-lages have started avoiding us.Wemight find it difficult to findwork in nearby villages soon,”saysDasarth (38),whoworksasafarmlabourer.

Kabul bombertranquillity andpleasure... Allahishis judge.”Sourcessaidtheinterrogation

of theAfghannationalwhohadbeen deported by India in 2017had led to several anti-IS opera-tions by the US forces inAfghanistan.The Indian Express had re-

portedontheyouth,whowasinhismid-20s, in July 2018, sayinghewaspartofagroupof12ISop-erativessentoutaftertraininginPakistan to carry out attacks inthe region. An 18-month-longsurveillance operation inAfghanistan, Dubai and NewDelhihadyieldedintelligenceonthe12,withtheAfghannational,the “son of awealthy business-man”, being givenNewDelhi ashistarget. FULLREPORTSONwww.indianexpress.com

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FROMPAGEONE

Forced to quit, Capt hits out at SidhuAmarinder later skipped

theCLPmeeting,whichwasat-tendedby78ofthe80MLAsoftheCongress.Itpassedtwores-olutions -- one commendingAmarinder and the other au-thorisingSoniaGandhitonamethenextCM.TheCLPwillnowmeetat11amonSunday.Onwhocouldreplacehim,

Amarinder said, “Apparentlythey (the Congress high com-mand)donothaveconfidencein me... Let them appointwhomtheytrust."However,headded hewould never acceptstateCongresschiefSidhu,thefaceof the revolt againsthim.Speakingtoreporterswhile

the CLP meeting was on,Amarindersaid:“NavjotSidhuis ananti-national... He is a to-tal disaster.... As LocalGovernmentminister,hefailedtoclear files formonths...Howwillhe runthewhole state?"HesaidSidhuwasmixedup

withPakistanandadanger forPunjab and the country. “Wehave all seen Sidhu huggingImran Khan and (PakistanArmychief)GeneralBajwa,andsingingpraisesforthePakistanPrimeMinister at the openingoftheKartarpurCorridorwhileoursoldierswerebeingkilled,”he said, adding that the ex-cricketer had attendedKhan'sswearing-in even after he hadcategorically toldhimnotto.“ThegovernmentofPunjab

means the security of India,andifSidhuismadethefaceofthe chief ministership, I willfight him at every step,”Amarinder said.

Whilerefusingtoclarifyhisstand on Jakhar as CM,Amarinder said he had been"myPPCCpresident". "Idonotknowwhytheyremovedhim."JakharhadbeenreplacedwithSidhu, in a bid to keep thepeace in thePunjabCongress.However, the high com-

mandmayrunintosomehur-dles naming Jakhar, who isconsidered close to Delhi.Punjab has never had a non-Sikh CM and ministerSukhjinderSinghRandhawaislearnt to have said at the CLPmeeting that if the partywanted a Hindu leader, itshouldchooseAmbikaSoni.TheCongressthoughishop-

ingthatthestrategyofhavingaHinduCMandaSikhstatechiefmight pay off.While Jakhar isnotanMLA, thatwillnotbeanissue as the elections are lessthan six months away. Also,Jakharenjoysacleanimage.Sources said Charanjeet

SinghChannidemandedthataDalit be namedDeputy CM. Afew at the CLP reportedly alsofavouredappointingSidhu.Amarinder claimedhehad

askedtheMLAssupportinghimtoattendtheCLPmeeting, andthepresenceof almost the en-tirelegislativewingdidn'tmeantheysupportedSidhu(theonlyother absentee besidesAmarinderwas Speaker RanaKanwarpal Singh; rules donotallowaSpeakertoattendaleg-islativepartymeeting).Rejecting theclaimthathe

had lost the confidence of theMLAs, Amarinder said, “Just a

week ago, I sent to SoniaGandhi a list of 63MLAs sup-portingme." He also said theMLAsusuallyrespondtowhatthey thinkDelhiwants.Pointing to thewins by the

Congress under him,Amarindersaidhefailedtoun-derstandthedecisiontoreplacehim. “The people of Punjabwere clearly happywithmygovernment,” he said, addingthattill three-fourmonthsago,the tide was in favour of theCongressinPunjab.“Theyhavecut off their nose to spite theirface,andendedupfromawin-ningtoalosingposition.”After submitting his one-

line resignationandthatof hisCouncil of Ministers,Amarindertoldreporters,“Ide-cided to quit in themorning,andspoketotheCongresspres-ident (SoniaGandhi)at10.”It was the third time a

meeting of theMLAswas be-ing held in two months,Amarinder said. “I am feelinghumiliated... They calledMLAstwicetoDelhi, andnowthis thirdmeeting. I feel theyhave no confidence in myworking.”Amarinder said hewould

decidehisfuturecourseincon-sultationwith his supporters.“Thereisalwaysanoption,andIwillusethatoptionwhenthetimecomes...Atthemoment, Iamstill in theCongress."Amarinder,whohadcalled

ameeting of his supporters at2 pm, is learnt to have toldthemthathewouldacceptthedecisionofthehighcommand.

Thosewhocameforthemeet-ingincludedCabinetministersSadhu Singh Dharamsot, O PSoni, Balbir Sidhu, BrahmMohindra, Vijay Inder SinglaandRanaGurmit Sodhi; apartfromMLAsAjaibSinghBhatti,RakeshPandey,RamanjitSikki,Raj Kumar Chabbewal, NavtejCheema, TarsemDC, RajinderBeri, Harpartap Ajnala, FatehJungSinghBajwaandothers.TheMPswhowerepresent

includedhiswifePreneetKaur,Ravneet Bittu, Gurjit SinghAujla, andMohammadSadiq.Asked if theBJPwasanop-

tion for him, Singh said, “Donot askme these questions. Iamgoing tobe80, I amfitter, Iama fauji(soldier), Ihavecom-pletedmy task. If one task isover, Icantaketheothertask."Saying "people come and

go in politics", Singh added, "Ihave been in politics for 52yearsandIwillbeinpolitics. Inpolitics options are neverclosed." He said hewould nottake his call immediately. "Ihave done somuch for farm-ers," he said, aswell as on thedrugproblemin thestate.Onaccusationsthathehad

aquidproquowiththeAkalis,Singh said, “For 13 years, theAkalis bookedme in variouscases. I was sacked from theAssembly. Iwent tocourt."If he would speak to the

highcommand,hesaid,“Ihaveknown Soniaji for 50 years,RahulandPriyankaarelikemyown children." He said this iswhy he did not expect to be"humiliated in thismanner".

EXP E S EDU TIONR S CA

Contact for Advt. Booking: M/s Friends Publicity Service

Ph.: 23276901, 23282028 (M):9212008155, 9212665841.

f

CORRECTION

ON18.09.21,PAGE7

ADELHIConfidential itempub-lished on September 18wrongly mentioned HaryanaCM Manohar Lal Khattar, in-stead of Union minister RaoInderjit Singh, as the subject ofa remarkmade by Unionmin-isterNitinGadkariata functiononThursday.The error is regretted.

New Delhi

Department of Social Justice andEmpowerment

Ministry of Social Justice and EmpowermentGovernment of India

Department of Social Justice & Empowerment is invitingApplications from the eligible candidates for appointmenton contractual basis as National Coordinator andConsultants for implementing scheme “Support forMarginalized Individuals for Livelihood and Enterprise(SMILE)”.

The interested candidates shall refer to the Website of theMinistry of Social Justice and Empowerment(www.socialjustice.nic.in) for eligibility conditions, financialnorms, selection procedure and other relevant details. Thelast date of submission of proposal is 30.09.2021.For any queries, contact Shri Shantanu Dixit, AssistantDirector (DP Division),Email: [email protected]

davp 38101/11/0013/2122

Nature of post NumberNational Coordinator 1Consultants 2


3THE SUNDAY EXPRESS,SEPTEMBER19,2021

THECITYWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

JOINTOPBYMAHARASHTRAANTI-TERRORISMSQUAD,DELHIPOLICE

Another arrest in ‘terror plot’, police sayaccusedwasworkingwith Chhota Shakeel

Violent crimes down, manypeddling arms and ammoare under 25, say policeJIGNASASINHANEWDELHI, SEPTEMBER18

WHILE VIOLENT crimes saw adip during the pandemic in thenational capital owing to lastyear's lockdown, the DelhiPolice claim they have made"significant"arrestsandseizuresandstoppedactivitiesof severalinterstategangs. Incomparisonto 2019, there has been a 15%drop in violent crimes in Delhi,police said.PoliceonSaturday said they

had arrestedmany "hardened"criminals and caughtmembersof interstate gangs who supplyarms and ammo to criminalsandeven juveniles.According to data released

by the National Crime RecordsBureau(NCRB),morethan3,736arms and 4,726 ammunitionwere seized by theDelhi Policein2020.A senior police officer said,

"Wecan'testimatetheworthofthese weapons properly sincemany are illegal and boughtfrom different states such asMadhya Pradesh, Haryana andUttar Pradesh. It is suspectedthat the arms are worth more

thanRs5crores."Under the Arms Act, 1959,

police arrested over 5,000 per-sons last year—most of the ac-cusedaremenunder the ageof25 with "no criminal record",data shows."Many of these gangs oper-

ate from inside prison or fromforeign locations. These gang-sters approach juveniles andyoungmen and ask them to ei-ther supply arms or help inotheroperationsof thegang.Wehave been trying to zero in onthese gangs and have arrestedsignificant members. Most ofthem target juveniles throughsocialmediaandlurethemwithpistols andmoney," said theof-ficer.Police claimmanyof the in-

terstate gangswere involved inmurder andextortion.InMarch, gangster Kuldeep

Fajja was killed in a police en-counter after he allegedly fledfrom GTB hospital with his as-sociates.Hewas involved intheChhatarsal Stadium brawl andmurder in which two-timeOlympian wrestler SushilKumar was arrested. In July,Special Cell arrested gangsterSandeep alias Kala Jathedi and

his associate AnuradhaChaudhari. Jathedi is involvedinover 40 cases of murder, extor-tionandkidnapping.

On the riseAccording topolice, cases of

cyber fraud, cheating and for-gery increased by 55% duringthe pandemic as compared toprevious years. Police said thatmany "small groups" and indi-viduals were trading in fakeIndian currency notes (FICN)fromfactories inDelhi-NCR.Data shows that fake notes

with a face value of Rs 1.8 crorehasbeenseizedandgangshavebeenbusted for tradingandus-ing the notes to cheat innocentbusinessmen and customers.These notes were heavilypumped into markets duringthepandemic, police said.ADelhiPolicespokesperson

said, "We have had instanceswhere district police teams,Special Cell and Crime Branchhad to register suomotu casesas the victims didn't lodge anFIR." This was because of thelockdownand also because thegangsoperateindifferentstatesandpolicerunintojurisdictionalissues.

JAYPRAKASHSNAIDU&MAHENDERSINGHMANRALMUMBAI,NEWDELHI,SEPTEMBER18

DAYSAFTER sixmen, includingtwoallegedlytrainedbyPakistan’sInter-Services Intelligence (ISI),werearrestedinconnectionwitha terror plot, the MaharashtraAnti-TerrorismSquad,DelhiPoliceand intelligence officials con-ducteda jointoperationtoarrestan alleged associate of ChhotaShakeel,DawoodIbrahim’sright-handman.

The accused, Zakir HussainShaikh,was arrested by theATSfromJogeshwariinMumbai,withofficialsclaimingthathewasco-ordinatingwith Chhota Shakeelandhewas in touchwith one ofthesixarrestedaccused,Dharaviresident JaanMohammed aliasSameerKaliya(47).Officials also said Shaikh’s

younger brother, who is cur-rently in Pakistan and closelyworking with Chhota Shakeel,had in 2001 planned to targetsenior BJP leader LK Advani butfledtotheneighbouringcountrywhentheplanwas foiled.Police allege that Shaikh,

bookedundertheUAPA,wasin-formed by his younger brotherthattheISIwasworkingwithD-Company to execute attacks inIndia. “He was also told by hisbrother that the ISI would pro-vide them arms and ammuni-tion through their contacts,”claimedaseniorofficer.Shaikhwas producedbefore

a Mumbai Sessions court onSaturday and remanded in ATScustody for two days. He is alsosuspected tohave been in touchwith a Pakistani national whoused a fictitious name, Anthony,whilecommunicatingwithhim,officialsclaimed.Forthepastfew

days,theATShadbeenkeepingawatchonShaikh’sactivities,afterhisnamecroppedupinJaan’sin-terrogationbytheSpecialCell,of-ficialssaid.This informationwassharedwith aMaharashtra ATSteambytheSpecialCellanddayslaterShaikhwaspickedup.The ATS officials claim Jaan

gave Shaikh Rs 20,000. OfficialsclaimShaikhwasgoingtoreceiveexplosives fromanother person,though it is not clear exactlywhereorwhentheattackswereplanned.ShaikhhasbeenbookedunderUAPASection18 (punish-mentforconspiracy),withpolicesources saying hewas also ar-

restedadecadeago inacriminalcasebytheCrimeBranch.Earlier thisweek, the Special

CellhadarrestedJaanMohammed(47);OsamaaliasSami(22),ares-identof JamiaNagar;Moolchandalias Saaju (47), a residentof RaeBareli;ZeeshanQamar(28),ares-ident of Allahabad;Mohd AbuBakar(23),aresidentofBahraich;andMohdAmirJaved(31),aresi-dentofLucknow.Two of the accused, Osama

andZeeshan,allegedlygot train-ingthisyearinPakistanandweregetting instructions fromthe ISI,the Special Cell has said. Theywere asked to conduct recce of

suitablelocationsinDelhiandUPforplanningattacks, it isalleged.Meanwhile, Humaidur-Ur-

Rehman,theuncleof Osama,sur-renderedFridayeveningandtheSpecial Cell’s NewDelhi Rangeteam took him to Delhi fromAllahabadontransitremand.“During questioning, Osama

had claimed he had gone toMuscat fromLucknow, and thathisunclewasintouchwiththeISIand coordinating with them,”said a senior officer, adding thattheclaimsarebeinglookedinto.Osamahadsaidhisunclehad

paidaroundRs5lakhforhistravelandotherexpenses.

DIVYAANEWDELHI, SEPTEMBER18

THEDOMEof the 18th CenturySafdarjungTombonAurobindoMarghassuffereddamagesow-ing to the recent rains. TheArchaeological Survey of India(ASI) has taken cognizance ofthematter andwill embark ona repair exercise soon.OnSaturdaymorning,Delhi-

based historian S Irfan Habibtweeted: "This is Safdar JungTomb, an 18th century monu-ment in the heart of Delhi.Needsurgentattentionof#ASI,thedomehasdevelopedcracks,with weed growing all over it.We just saw part of Begumpurmosquecollapse..."Onbeingaskedabouttheex-

tent of damages, an ASIspokesperson said, "We areaware of the damages and arepreparingadetailedplanforre-pairs as per our team's assess-ment. It will start within aweek." The marble structure,built in 1754 in the lateMughal

Empire style for NawabSafdarjung, isoneof the174pro-tected monuments of ASI inDelhi.Infact,theASIaddedthatthe

repairandconservationworkatthemonumentwas already onin2019-20but theyhad to stopwhen the Covid lockdownscame into place. During thelockdown,theconservationandmaintenance work at severalASImonumentssufferedowingto "restrictions and labourcrunch". The recent rains haveaddedtotheagency'swoesandtheyplantorestarttheirconser-vationscheduleatvariousmon-uments across the capital, saidtheofficial.In 2019, Safdarjung Tomb

becamethethirdASI-protectedmonumentinDelhitobeillumi-nated,afterRedFortandPuranaQila. The ASI had embarked onaprojecttorestoreandhighlightthe architectural beauty of im-portant Mughal-era monu-ments, including QutabMinarand Tughlaqabad Fort. To high-light the architecture of the

monument, including archesandminarets, 213 technologi-cally advanced LED lights wereinstalled.OnthedamageatBegumpur

Mosque inMalviya Nagar, thatHabib'stweethasraised,theASIcategorically denied any recentdamage, and said historianWilliam Dalrymple's earliertweetsandpicturesontheissuewere fake.Earlierthisweek,Dalrymple

hadclaimedonTwitterthatpor-tions of the roof of the 14thCenturyBegumpurMasjidhavecollapsed recently due to rain.But the ASI shared visual evi-dence from the 1980s to showthattheroofwasdamagedeventhen."No recent collapses have

taken place in BegumpurMosque. ASI categorically de-nies it," said the ASI official. Infact, the agency rejected thecharge that it hasneglected themonumentandsaid ithasbeencarrying out conservation andrepair work at the mosque forthepast fewmonths.

Dome of Safdarjung Tombdamaged, ASI to start repairs

The18thCenturymonument is located intheheartofDelhi.PraveenKhanna


AS PART of the Delhi govern-ment’s '10 Hafte, 10 Baje, 10Minute' dengue preventioncampaign,ChiefMinisterArvindKejriwalcalledonchildreninthecity to take the lead on thisweek’sactiononSunday.“Dearkids, get ready to fight

Dengue. Let's do a 10-minutehomeworkeverySundaytopro-tectDelhifromDengue.Forthis,weneedtocheckourhomesandsurrounding areas for any signsof stagnantwater. If we do findwater,let'sdrainit,replaceitreg-

ularly or cover it with a smalllayer of oil. Let's also call up ourfriendsandaskthemtotakepartin this campaign,” said Kejriwalinanaddress.Delhi has seen an uptick in

thenumberofdenguecasesthisyear, and the period fromSeptember tomid-November iswhen the city sees its highestnumberof cases.In Gurgaon, which has re-

ported 18 cases of dengue andtwo cases of malaria so far thisyear, the district health depart-mentofficialsonSaturdaysaida20-bedwardatthecivilhospitalhad been set up to deal with acontingencyoranoutbreak.

CM’s 10-min homeworkto kids to fight dengue

Total VacantHOSPITAL BEDS 16,431 16,164ICU BEDS 3,560 3,482

Cases Recoveries Deaths TestsSept17 33 56 01 74,099Sept18 41 44 00 68,624Total 404* 14,12,980 25,085 2,68,89,904

CORONAVIRUSIN THECAPITAL *T

otalactivecases

TOTAL CASES

14,38,469VACCINATIONS INLAST24HOURS1,52,911

New Delhi

SHIVNARAYANRAJPUROHITNEWDELHI, SEPTEMBER18

THE COMMISSION for AirQualityManagement(CAQM)isdeliberatingpartialorcompleteshutdown of thermal powerplantsinDelhi-NCR,aspartof itsemergencymeasureswhen airpollutionhits itspeak inwinter,The IndianExpresshas learnt.The Central Electricity

Regulatory Commission (CERC)islearnttohavehelddiscussionswith power distributors in thisregard. “Even if power produc-tion is cut by thermal powerplants, thegapcouldbefilledbyrenewableenergysources,”saidaCAQMmember.Theemergencymeasurewill

be takendependingonpollutionsource data fed by amodellingportal called Decision SupportSystem, said themember. This islikelytobeoperationalbyOctober.Theincrementalstepwaspart

of the now dissolved Environ-ment Pollution (Prevention andControl) Authority’s GradedActionPlanuntil2020.Themem-bersaidsomeothermeasuresofGRAP could be retained in thecomingpost-harvestseason.The reconstituted 18-mem-

ber CAQM was set up by theCentre inApril andcan issuedi-rections“forthepurposeofpro-tectingand improvingthequal-

ity of air in the National CapitalRegionandadjoiningareas”.Another regionalactionplan

suggestedbythestatutorybodyisaskingcoal-basedindustriestoswitchtocleanerPNG.“DelhiandUP have achieved their target.However, there are supply hur-dles in Rajasthan andHaryana.Weareintouchwiththemtore-solve it,” saidthemember.According to a CAQMdirec-

tion in August, 408 of the 1,469identified industrial units inHaryanaand124ofthe436unitsinRajasthanhadswitchedtogas.CAQM has asked state gov-

ernmentstoexpediteincentive-based e-vehicle policy. “Theshareof two-wheelersinDelhi’sairpollutionissubstantial.WithEVpoliciesinplace, incrementalgains could be achieved in thenext four-five years.We expectthese states to soon announcetheirpolicy,” said themember.Lastyear,Delhihadlaunched

incentivesforelectricvehicles. Aspera2015IIT-Kanpurstudy,roaddust accounts for 38% of Delhi’sPM2.5load,followedbyvehicles(20%),domestic(12%)andindus-trialpointsources (11%).Onstubbleburning, shareof

whichinDelhi’sPM2.5pollutionrose to 40% last year, themem-ber said the commission is fo-cusing on in-situmanagementmeasuresthroughfarmmachin-ery or the recently introducedbio-decomposer.

ILLUMINATEDAviewofRaisinaHillonSaturdayevening.AmitMehra

Sisodiaflagsoffmobile‘musicbus’New Delhi: Deputy CMManish Sisodia Saturdaylaunchedamobilemusicclassroomand recordingstudio tohelp childrenofDelhigovernmentschoolspursue their passion inmusic. “The ‘Music Bus’would reach children atlarge,identifytheirartisticpassionandlayafounda-tionwhich the School ofSpecialised Excellencewouldbuilduponandas-sist thesechildren inpur-suing their passion andachieveheightsofsuccessin that field,” the state-mentquotinghimsaid.

Noactionbyneighbouringstatestohelpfarmers:CMNew Delhi: CM ArvindKejriwalSaturdaychargedneighbouringstatesofnottaking any action to sup-port farmers on the issueofstubbleburning,sayingtheairqualityinthecapi-talwill startdeterioratingfrommid-October.PTI

JantarMantarcase:NobailforaccusedNewDelhi:ADelhi courthasdeniedbailtonationalpresidentofHinduOutfitSudarshanVahini, VinodSharma, accused in theanti-Muslimsloganeeringat JantarMantar.ENS

BRIEFLY


THE DHANSA bus stand toNajafgarh corridor of DelhiMetro’s Grey line was inaugu-rated by Chief Minister ArvindKejriwal and Union MinisterHardeep Singh Puri via videoconference on Saturday.Passenger service on this corri-dor startedat5pm.The grey line, now 6.1-km

long, comprises four stations—Dwarka, Nangli, Najafgarh andDhansa, of which Dwarka andNangliareelevatedandtheoth-ersareunderground.TheCMsaid, “It is amoment

ofgreatdelightforallthepeopleofOuterDelhi, especially residentsofNajafgarh.Tillnow,therouteoftheDelhiMetroendedattheDelhiGateregionatNajafgarh.Thereareabout50suchvillagesintheareafromwhere a huge number ofpeople come to inner Delhi towork.Allthesepeoplehadtocrossthe Phirni RoadChowk to get totheMetro,resultinginahugetraf-fic jam.Nowthatmetro serviceshave been extended to theDhansa bus stand, peoplewon’tneed to cross theChowkandbestuck in traffic. The routemaybejust1.5-kmlongbutitisaverysig-nificant stretch for residents. A

large number of people comefrom Jhajjar, Haryana towork inDelhi. Theywill also get a lot ofhelpfromthisservice.”Headded that residentshad

askedforanextrastationontheMetroduringhis campaign.Puri said thatascitiesgradu-

ally recover from thepandemic,enhancedmobilityrequirementsofthemasseswillplayanimpor-tant role in taking the economyforward. He said the gap be-tween rural and urban Delhi is

beingbridgedwithsuchconnec-tions that go deep into the inte-riorareasof thenationalcapital.UnionMinister of State for

Housing and Urban AffairsKaushalKishore,DelhiTransportMinisterKailashGahlot,andLokSabha MP from West DelhiParvesh Sahib Singhwere alsopresentat theevent.OfficialsoftheDelhiMetroRail

Corporation said, “The Dhansastation has been designed as afour-levelundergroundstructure

wheretheplatformwillbeatthebottom(atanapproximatedepthof18metres)followedbythecon-courseandthenanentirefloorforparkingaboveitwiththerooflevelatthetop(groundlevel).”Itisthefirststationtohavean

entire underground floor forparking. The parking is inte-grated with the main stationareaand isequippedwithentryand exit ramps, lifts, staircases,escalators, etc. It has space for110carsand185two-wheelers.Photographs on ‘migratory

birds’ are showcased on glasspanelsattheDhansastation,ow-ingtothe‘jheel’betweenDhansa

andNajafgarh thathasamarshyecosystem and is home to localwildlifeandmigratorybirds.Officials added that the vil-

lagesaroundareknownfortheirancient folklore and fairs areheld tocelebrate theirhistoricalsignificance. This inspired thehand-paintedartworkatthesta-tion. A few depict scenes fromfairs while others feature localdesignsandmotifs.Provisionsforenergy-efficient

lights and rainwater harvestinghavealsobeenmade.Entry2and3areconnectedthroughthesub-wayhence,pedestrianroadcross-ingatthesurfacecanbeavoided.

Soon, govt schoolsto identify kidsin distress — bytracking attendance

East civicbody nod torestaurantsto serve foodon terraces

ABHINAYAHARIGOVINDNEWDELHI, SEPTEMBER18

STRIPS OF bamboo are beingmeasured, twisted and bent tomake Ravana effigies ahead ofDussehra in corners of WestDelhi’sTitarpur,butthemakers,harriedbyCovid-relatedrestric-tions on celebrations and gath-erings, are anticipating anotheryearof poor sales.At Micheal Ekka’s roadside

stall near the Tagore GardenMetrostation,twoworkerswerehandcraftingthebambooframesthatmake the basic structure of

the effigies on Friday afternoon.“Weused to get orders for largeeffigies thatare40-fthighwhenassembled.SinceRamlilaeventsare unlikely to happen this yearalso, we have scaled down thesize of the effigies to between 5ftand15ft.Therewerebarelyanysales lastyearandthefearof an-other lockdown has preventedsome of us from hiring moreworkers,”hesaid.Thepainstakingworkofmak-

ing the bamboo frames — oneframeforeachpartofthebody—followedbypaintinganddecora-tion usually begins at Titarpurabout amonth beforeDussehra

butMicheal’sstall istheonlyoneonthepavementfornow.Requests for customised

Ravanas that have specific fea-tures — particularly angry eyesormassivemoustaches— usedto be placed regularly, someeven frommalls in Bengaluru,Micheal said. This year, just likelastyear,heisyettogetanysuchorder.Others like Bobby Mehra,

who runs Shankar Ravanwale,said they have beenmaking ef-figies at home. They have re-ceived orders online this yearfrom outside Delhi, though de-mandwithin the national capi-

tal was low last year and is un-likelytopickupthisyear,Mehrasaid.Theincomefromtheeffigysaleatthistimeoftheyearneedsto be supplemented by otherwork. Mehra, who has beenmaking effigies for about 30years now, takes up work as adriver for the restof theyear.InanothercornerofTitarpur,

inside an MCD park, PoonamKashyap is tying strips of bam-bootogethertomakelargefaces

for the Ravanas. As she effort-lessly splits larger strips intothinneroneswithasharpknife,shepointedoutthattheworkis-n’t easy. “It comeswith years ofwatchingandlearningfromoth-erswhomake it,” saidKashyap,whohasbeenatitforthepast20years. The park is usually filledwithpeoplewhomake theeffi-gies, she said, but on Friday, herfamilywas theonlyone there.Kashyaphashelpfromthree

siblingsandhasalwaysenjoyedartisticwork.“Sincewehavenootherem-

ployment,theordersatthistimeoftheyearusedtosustainus.But

with very little sales last year, ithasbecomedifficult,”saidRemaPawanKumar,Kashyap’s sister.Rema’s husbandmakes effi-

gies as well and has no othersource of income, she said. Lastyear, theyonlysold fiveeffigies.Arrowroot, paper, paint and

decorativematerial are used tomaketheRavanafromthebam-booframes.AtTitarpur,childrenpickuptheskill fromoldermak-ers, Micheal said. Kashyap’sdaughter, still a toddler, tries toslitapieceofbamboobesideher.Micheal himself has been

makingeffigies for as longashecanremember.

AT WEST DELHI’S TITARPUR

Covid shadow on Ramlila, city’s Ravana effigy makers fear another lost yr

PoonamKashyaptiesbambootogether tomakeaneffigy.AbhinayaHarigovind

ARANYASHANKARNEWDELHI, SEPTEMBER18

THESUB-DIVISIONALmagistrateofChanakyapurihasorderedtheclosureofGurdwaraBanglaSahibforvisitorswithimmediateeffect,citing violation of Covid-19 pro-tocol.Theorderdrewasharpre-sponsefromDelhiSikhGurdwaraManagement Committee presi-dentManjinderSinghSirsa,whodemanded action from ChiefMinisterArvindKejriwalagainstthedistrictofficials.In anorderdatedSeptember

16, the SDMChanakyapuri saidtheDDMA’s orders,which statethat“religiousplacesshallbeper-mittedtoopenbutnovisitorswillbe allowed”, had been violated.Apartfrombeingsenttothegur-dwaramanagement, the orderhasalsobeenmarkedtotheSHOatParliamentStreetpolicestation.“The executive magistrate,

subdivisionChanakyapuri,NewDelhi, has submitted a reportthat the management ofGurdwara Bangla Sahib, BKSMarg, New Delhi, has allowedvisitors/prayers inside theGurdwara which is a violationof... the order dated September15,2021,oftheDDMADelhi,”theSDMsaid in theorder.She added, “Now, therefore,

I, Geeta Grover, Sub-DivisionalMagistrate, Chanakyapuri, NewDelhi district, in exercise of thepower conferred under theDisasterManagementAct,2005,readwiththeEpidemicDiseasesAct, 1897,andregulationsmadethereunder, hereby direct themanagement of GurdwaraBangla Sahib, BKS Marg, New

Delhi to close it for visitorswithimmediateeffect.”GrovertoldTheIndianExpress

that her team had visited thegurdwaraonSeptember16andfoundvisitors,resultingintheis-suance of the order: “We havenot closed down the gurdwara;we have only closed it for visi-tors. Until the DDMA order al-lows visitors, they will have tokeep it closed for them.”In her order, she added,

“Failing to comply with theaboveorderwould attract strictpenalactionunderrelevantsec-tions of the law. Matter to betreated as urgent in light ofCovid-19. Issuedwith prior ap-provalof theDistrictMagistrate,NewDelhidistrict.”Sirsa, in a tweet,wrote: “We

request CM@ArvindKejriwal jito revoke the order passed bySDMChanakyapuri about clos-ing Gurdwara Sri Bangla Sahibfor Covid violations. This actionof Delhi government officialshurt Sikh sentiments... Sikhs

would protest against such dic-tatorial mindset if the order isnot revoked.”At a rally by the Shiromani

AkaliDalagainstthefarmlawsinthe capital Friday, its presidentSukhbir SinghBadal had said: “Ihave come to know that theArvindKejriwal-ledDelhigovern-ment released a notification re-strictingusfromenteringDelhi’sgurdwarasahib.Theyarescared...You knowwhat’s happening totheBJP—‘theirshopisclosed’.Astheleaderof theSAD, Icansay—whether it is farmers, poor peo-ple,ortraders...Punjab’sprosper-itydependsonbrotherhoodandpeace. Punjab needs a CMwhotakesthestateforward...SADhasavisionforthebettermentofpeo-pleinthestate.Irequestyou(pro-testers) tomaintain peace. They(government)havespreadprop-aganda that those fromPunjabcreate ruckus and use violence.Let’s show them that we canfightagainst thesystemwithoutbeingviolent.”

KEJRIWAL,PURI INAUGURATESTRETCH

TheSDMordersaid theDDMA’sorderonnot letting invisitorswasviolated.AmitMehra

Covid norms: Bangla SahibGurdwara shut for visitors

■Partialorcompleteshutdownof thermalpowerplants inNCRasemergencymeasure inwinter■Askingstates tospeedupEVpolicy■Directingcoal-basedindustries toswitchtoPNG■ In-situmanagementofcropresidueuntil

collectionpointinfrastructure is ready

■Self-reportingbyconstructionagenciestocutdustpollution■DecisionSupportSystem,areal-timeforecastingmodel,onpollutionsources

■BanonvehiclesenteringDelhiwithoutRFIDtags

A C T I O N P L A N

Thermal plant closure on the cardswhen air quality worsens: Panel

SUKRITABARUAHNEWDELHI, SEPTEMBER18

APRE-EMPTIVEsystemtotryandidentify children in distress bytracking their school attendanceis in the process of being rolledoutinDelhigovernmentschools.Since September 1, students

of classes IX toXII inDelhi havebeenpermittedtoattendschoolphysically on a voluntary basisand at 50% classroom capacity.Withthislimitedre-opening,theDelhiCommissionforProtectionofChildRights isworkingtoim-plement an ‘Early WarningSystem’ in government schools— a technology-based systemwhich aims to track student at-tendance to identify children atriskand indistress.The commission has identi-

fiedthat therearea fewreasonswhicharelargelyresponsibleforsustained absence from school— child labour, begging, sub-stanceabuse,parental incarcer-ation, parental death, disability,medical issues, and getting in-volved incrime.“Therearecircumstancesbe-

causeofwhichaparentmaynotbe able to send their child toschoolbutnoparentdeliberatelywantstodeprivetheirchildofed-ucation... For instance, theremightbeachildwhoisabsentfor4days,then7days,then18days,and then goes on to become adrop-out,anditturnsoutthatthe

child had lost their father. Thechildandthefamilyneededhelpin those days, butwe didn’t actontheearliestwarningandfailedtosupport thechild.Theearliestwarningshavetobeidentifiedtohelp children effectively and at-tendance is thebest indicator ofchilddistress,”saidDCPCRchair-manAnuragKundu.The ‘EarlyWarning System’,

designedbytheDoE’sITdepart-mentandthechildcommission,is linked to school attendancerecords.If a child is absent for more

than sevendays in a rowor hasless than 33% attendance over-all, an automated SMS will besent to the child’s guardian. Ifthereisnoresponsetothisafterafewdays,anIVRSmessagewillbe sent. After a few days, theteacher istocallandtrytoiden-tify the problem and log in theissue into the system if identi-fied.Thelaststepisahomevisitby the school managementcommittee,andif thechildcan-notbefound,theyareidentifiedashigh-riskandthemechanismof the DCPCR and the DistrictChildProtectionUnitwillbeac-tivated.Giventhatattendanceisvol-

untary now, if a teacher findsthatabsenceisbecauseofCovid-safetyconcerns,noalarmwillberaised. Currently, heads ofschoolsarebeingorientedaboutthesystemandimplementationisexpectednextmonth.


ON THE heels of South MCD’spolicy,theEastcivicbodyhasal-lowed open spaces or terracesabutting licensed eateries to beusedasserviceareas.Permissionwill be given to

serve food in open-air terraceson submission of a buildingstructural safety certificate. Theterrace is also not to be coveredwith any temporary or perma-nentstructures,thepolicystates.Noobjectioncertificatesfrom

the Fire department will bemandatory for using the terraceasadiningarea.Thiswillbeper-missibleinrestaurants,metropol-itancitycentres,communitycen-tres, local shopping centres, andconvenienceshoppingcentres.Cookingwill not be permit-

ted within the open-air space,the policy said. Live perform-anceswill alsonotbeallowed.A feewill be charged for the

open-air service area at the rateof Rs 200 per square foot. Forrestaurantsatstarhotels,thefeewill be Rs 400 per square foot,thepolicy states.The East MCD can also re-

voke the permission grantedwithout prior notice if the con-ditions stated in the policy arebreached.The policywas approved by

the Mayor by an order datedSeptember17,withanticipatoryapprovalof thecorporation.

PassengerserviceontheDhansabusstandtoNajafgarhcorridorstartedat5pmonSaturday. Photo tweetedbyDMRC

6.1-KM LONG, SHORTEST LINE

DhansaBusStand

Najafgarh

NajafgarhDrain

Nangli Dwarka(BlueLineinterchange)

FEATURESGauge StandardEntry&Exit 3Escalators 7Lift 5Platformlength 6coach

1.2km

Newcorridor onMetro’s grey line tobridge gapbetween rural, urbanDelhi

■Dwarka,Nangliareelevated;Najafgarh,DhansaBusStandareunderground

■Dhansastationhas4levels, first tohaveentireundergroundfloorforparking


4THE SUNDAY EXPRESS,SEPTEMBER19,2021

THECITYWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

0-50 Good

ASHOKVIHARSatisfactory

0 500

81AQIPM10

SIRIFORTSatisfactory

0 500

SHADIPURModerate

0 500 500

51-100 Satisfactory 101-200 Moderate 201-300 Poor 301-400 VeryPoor 401-500 Severe

IHBASSatisfactory

0

62AQIPM10

112AQIPM10

56AQIPM10

FORECAST: Sep19Generallycloudysky.

S K Y WA T C H

MAX: 350.5°Cabovenormal

MIN:261.1°Cabovenormal

New Delhi

Heart Disease, It's prevalences,diagnosis & latest treatment modalities

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CardiacArrhythmiaCardiacArrhythmia or an abnormal heart-beat is a serious but treatable conditionthat affects roughly 12 million Indians.Ar-rhythmia occur when the electrical im-pulses in the heart which coordinate theheartbeats don’t function properly caus-ing the heart to beat too fast, too slow orirregularity. (Cardiac Electrophysiologistis a heart rhythm specialist,who evaluatesand treats cardiac rhythm abnormalitiesby either medical or interventional proce-dures).

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Issued in Public Interest byDr. Amar Singhal

The views/suggestions/opinionsexpressed in the article are the

sole responsibility of the expert.

Dr Amar SinghalHead of the Interventional Cardiology,

Sri BalajiAction Medical Institute,PaschimVihar.

Email ID- [email protected]

5THESUNDAYEXPRESS,SEPTEMBER19,2021

GOVT&POLITICSWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

MAYURAJANWALKARPANAJI,SEPTEMBER18

THEUNIONgovernmentpriori-tised states known for tourismwhilerollingoutitsCovid-19vacci-nationprogrammebutchosenottomake thedecisionpublic as itwouldhavebeenseenas“political”,PrimeMinisterNarendraModisaidSaturdayashe rememberedhis“emotional”birthdayadaybefore,whenIndiasetavaccinationrecord.ThePrimeMinister,whowas

virtually addressing healthcareworkers,doctors,citizensandgov-ernment functionaries of Goa,said: “This was not discussedmuchbut in its vaccinationpro-gramme, India has given prece-dence to states related to thetourismsector.Bharatmein, humne yeh kaha nahi kyunki is pe bhiraajneetihonelagjaatihai,lekinyehbahunt zaroori tha ke hamaritourism destination jald se jald

khule (Wedidnot say it becausethis toowouldhavebecomepo-litical. But itwas very importantthat our tourism destinationsopenattheearliest).ThePrimeMinistersaidthaton

Friday,more than 425 vaccineswereadministeredeverysecond,over26,000vaccineseveryminute,andover15lakheveryhour,asare-sultofwhichIndiavaccinatedover2.5crorepeopleinaday.“Many birthdayswill come.

Manyhave gonepast. But I havealwaysbeendistancedfromthesethings…But inmy life, yesterdaywasaveryemotionalday.Becauseofyourefforts,yesterdaywasveryspecial,”hesaid.PrimeMinisterModicongrat-

ulatedGoaforvaccinating100percentofitseligiblepopulationwiththefirstdose. GoaChiefMinisterPramodSawant had said earlierthisweek that the statehadvac-cinated102percentof itseligiblepopulationwiththefirstdose.Hesaidthatinadditiontoitspopula-tion, the state had vaccinatedtouristsandforeignnationals.“Goawillplayavitalroleinre-

viving the tourism sector. Thinkaboutit—hotelindustry,taxidriv-ers, hawkers, shopkeepers —whentheyareallvaccinated,eventouristswill comewith a feelingof safety.NowGoa is among thefewinternationaltouristdestina-tionswherepeoplehavereceivedthe vaccine. The infections have

reducedbutevennow,wecannottakethisviruslightly.Themorefo-custhereisonsafetyandhygiene,more touristswill arrive here,”Modi said in the virtual interac-

tion attended by ChiefMinisterSawant, unionministers of stateShripadNaik andBharati Pawar,ministersofSawant'scabinet,sen-ior bureaucrats, and senior BJPleaders,amongothers.ModisaidthattheCharDham

yatrainUttarakhandwillalsonowbepossible.InhisinteractionwithDrNitin

Dhupdale, adoctor fromtheGoaMedical College and Hospital,Modiaskedhimpossibleside-ef-fectsofvaccination.ThePM thensaid, “Over 2.5 crore people re-ceivedthevaccineyesterdayandafter 12 am at night, a politicalparty had reactions, their feverwas rising. Iska koi logic ho saktahaikya?”Dhupdalelaughedattheremark andwent on to list post-vaccination reactions includingfever, body ache, headache orweakness.

COVIDUNDERCONTROL,GOACASINOSRESTARTFROMMONDAY,PAGE8

SANTOSHSINGHPATNA,SEPTEMBER18

AFTERAbrief family reunion tomark the death anniversary ofRamVilas Paswan, the two fac-tions of the Lok Janshakti Party(LJP) are again battling overwhichgroup is the “real LJP”.Jamui MP Chirag Paswan,

whomaintains he is the party’snational president, has decidedto field candidates in two BiharAssembly seats where bypollswill be held. The Chirag factionsaidthecomingelectionswouldsettle itsclaimofbeingthe“realLJP”. Chirag told reporters onFriday:"Weareconsideringcon-testing both seats (Tarapur inMungerdistrictandKusheshwarSthan of Darbhanga). The partywillsit togetheranddecideonitat the right time.”LJP principal general secre-

taryAbdul Khaliq,whobelongstotheChiragcamp,saidtheyhadwritten to the EC lastmonth af-terHajipurMPPashupatiKumarParas declared himself the newpresident of LJP. “We have told

the EC that the LJP constitutionsays the party president can bechanged midway only in theevent of his death or resigna-tion,”hesaid.The Paras faction’s

spokesperson,ShravanAgrawal,said: “At present, PashupatiKumarParasisthenationalchiefand has the right to distributethesymbol.LetthemcometoEC,wewill contest its claims.”Agrawal said the LJP would

not contest the KusheshwarSthan andTarapur seats as theywere won by the NDA in the2020Assemblyelections.Thebypollshavebeenneces-

sitated by the death by JD(U)MLAMewalal Choudhary andBJPMLAShashibhushanHazari.

Sonowal andMurugan areBJP candidatesfor RajyaSabha bypolls

PRESIDENT IN SHIMLAPresidentRamNathKovindstrollsalongtheRidgewithhis familymembersduringhisvisittoShimlaonSaturday.PradeepKumar

New Delhi: PrimeMinisterNarendraModi should cele-brate his birthday every dayassomeBJP-ruledstates“per-formed”onthedayandvacci-natedmany times the dailyaverage, the Congress saidSaturday.Thedigcameadayafter India achieved a vacci-nation record on the PM’sbirthday. Congress leaderRahulGandhi said this is thepaceofvaccinationneeded.“Iwish the PM celebrated hisbirthdayeveryday,” leader PChidambaramsaid. ENS

WISH EVERYDAYWASPMBIRTHDAY: CONG

PMNarendraModiduringthe interactionwithGoahealthworkers.

SOON AFTER he was droppedfrom the Union Council ofMinistersduringtheCabinetex-pansion on July 7, BABULSUPRIYO had announced thathe was quitting politics. OnSaturday, he joined theTrinamoolCongress.HetellsLIZMATHEW over telephone fromKolkata that itwas aquickdeci-sion, but not something hewould regret. Excerpts:

Nowyouare inTMCaftercriticising itvehemently forso long.Howdidithappen?Ihavebeenunhappyandfeel-

ing sad that aftermyhardworkand goodwork, it happened tome (being dropped as a UnionMoS).Likemanyothers,IfeelIdidsome goodwork asMoS. Yes, it(joiningTMC)wasanunexpectedmove. Iwas surprisedwhenmygood friend Derek O'Brien(Trinamool Rajya Sabha leader)askedmewhetherIwilljoinTMC.It (offer to join TMC)was an

absolute bolt from the blue.ThroughDerek— itwas a smallconversation—Iwastakenabackto know that bothMamata-didiand Abhishek (Banerjee) had agreatopportunityformetoworkformystate.IspokewithAbishekandDidi. Itmay look likeoppor-tunism toothers but tome it's agreat opportunity, and I re-sponded to it. I want to be in ateam to play, I don'twaste timesittingonthebench.It’s true I left politics, but

sometimes poetic justice hap-pens. Thanks to both Didi andAbhishekthattheyfeltIcoulddosomethingforBengal. Iseriouslyfoughtwiththempolitically.Butthere’s a lot of love andwarmthI felt in Trinamool when theywelcomedme. I amveryhappyabout it. I know BJP and otherpartieswill throwbrickbats,butlet themdotheirpolitical job...

Whatrolewillyouplay?I cannot say that; that's for

the party (TMC) to announce....Itwill beclear ina fewdays.

Doyouthinkyouhavetakenthedecisionimpulsively?No....Yes,it’semotionalsome-

times, but there are decisions(thatmust) taken inan instant....

whatever decision I took,what-everIhavesaidandwrittenaboutinthelasttwoorthreemonths,ithasallcamefrommyheart.

Doyoufeel letdownbythepartyyoumadeyourpoliticaldebutwith?I will not comment on BJP.

Whateverhappenedtomewasforeveryone to see. I amthankful toBJPfortheopportunityitgaveme,andIamveryproudof theworkIhavedonewithBJP.ButIfelttherewasabottlenecksomewhere,soIjumpedwhenIgotanopportunity.

Doyouholdsomeoneresponsible for thatbottleneck?In life, it'snotaboutwhathas

happenedtoyou;it’smoreabouthowyou respond to it.Mydeci-siontoquitpoliticswasoutofut-ter disillusion. I amnot backingoutofanything.

Several leadersare leavingBJP inWestBengal.Whatdoyouseeas its future inthestate? Is theresomethingwrongwiththestateunit?Iamnoonetocomment.It'sa

hugeparty. Theyhave their ownagenda and leaders. It's for thepartyhighcommandtosee.Ihavemyreservationoncertainthings,butthosearethingsof thepast.

FULL INTERVIEWONwww.indianexpress.com

THE EXPRESS

INTERVIEWWITH

BABUL SUPRIYOFORMERUNIONMINISTER,

TMCLEADER

‘Want to be in ateam to play, notto waste timesitting on bench’

LIZMATHEWNEWDELHI, SEPTEMBER18

THE BJP Saturday nominatedUnion Ministers SarbanandaSonowal and LMurugan for theRajya Sabha by-elections, fromAssamandMadhyaPradesh,re-spectively.Both theministers were in-

ductedintotheUnionCouncilofMinisters by Prime MinisterNarendra Modi in his July 7Cabinetexpansion.TheElectionCommissionannouncedbypollsonOctober4foroneseateachinWest Bengal, Assam,Maharashtra and MadhyaPradesh,andtwoinTamilNadu.Theseatsarevacantafterthe

resignation of Manas RanjanBhunia (West Bengal), BiswajitDaimary (Assam), K PMunusamy and R Vaithilingam(TamilNadu)andThaawarchandGehlot (MadhyaPradesh).InMaharashtra, the seat fell

vacant following the death ofRajeev Satav onMay 16 due topost-Covidcomplications.Their election to the Rajya

SabhaisallbutcertainastheBJPhas amajority in the both stateassemblies.Sonowal, the former Assam

ChiefMinister, istheMinisterforPorts,ShippingandWaterways.Murugan isMinister of State inthe I&B Ministry and in theMinistry of Fisheries, AnimalHusbandryandDairying.

Sonowal (left);Murugan

ChiragPaswan (left);PashupatiKumarParas

Row over ‘real LJP’:Chirag faction says willcontest Bihar bypolls

Gave vaccine priority to tourist states,didn’t reveal as itwould cause row: PM

New Delhi


EXITCAPTAINCMWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

Cong rebellion anchored by Sidhu, led byfour ministers handpicked by AmarinderNAVJEEVANGOPALCHANDIGARH,SEPTEMBER18

THEMAJHAbrigadeofthePunjabCongress,whichincludesthetrioofministers Tript Rajinder SinghBajwa, Sukhjinder SinghRandhawaandSukhbinderSinghSarkaria, apart from CharanjitSinghChanni—allhandpickedbyCaptainAmarinder Singh for hisCabinet—ledtheopenrevoltthatended in his resignation onSaturday.Therebellionwasanchoredby

state Congress president andAmritsar EastMLANavjot SinghSidhu.The four rebelministers on

August25hadmetpartyaffairsin-chargeHarishRawatinDehradunwheretheyaccusedAmarinderofbeing inaclandestine truckwiththeoppositionSAD.TheyallegedthatAmarinderhadfailedtobringperpetrators of the sacrilege ofGuruGranthSahibandthosebe-hind thedeathof twoanti-sacri-lege protestors to book, andblamedhimfornothonouringthepre-2017poll promiseof endingthedrugmenaceinthestate.The

rebel Congress leaders said itwouldbedifficulttogototheelec-torate aheadof the2022VidhanSabha elections in light of theCongress governmentnot fulfill-ingthekeypromises.Hereisalookattheleaderswholedtherevolt.TRIPT RAJINDER SINGHBAJWA: Legislator from

FatehgarhChurian con-stituency ofGurdaspurdis-trict,Bajwawassworn in asminister and

was given charge of rural devel-opment andpanchayats, animalhusbandryandfisheries,dairyde-velopment,andhighereducation.A four-time MLA, Bajwa withPPCC general secretary PargatSinghwas learnt to have led thesignature campaigndemandingfromthepartyhigh commandameeting of the CongressLegislatureParty(CLP).Morethan40MLAshadput their initialsaf-ter which the party HighCommandcalledtheCLPmeetingon Saturday, ahead of whichAmarinderresigned.

SUKHJINDER SINGHRANDHAWA:Athree-timeMLA

and sonof for-mer stateCongress chiefSantokh SinghRandhawa, herepresentsDera BabaNanak

Assembly constituency ofGurdaspur district, andwas in-ductedintotheCabinetasJailsandCo-operativesminister in 2018,aroundayearaftertheformationofpartygovernment.Randhawa,intherecentpast, remainedveryvocal against Amarinder sayingthatitwouldbedifficulttocontestthe2022polls in lightof pre-pollpromises remaining unfulfilled.He had also said that Congressgovernment itselfwas responsi-blefordelayinjusticeinsacrilegecases.SUKHBINDER SINGHSARKARIA:Having securedhis

third consecu-tive win inAssemblypolls, Sarkariawas inductedintothePunjab

CabinetduringexpansioninApril2018andwasnamedministerforWater Resources, Mines andGeology, Housing and UrbanDevelopment. Sarkaria wasamong Congress leaders whowenttomeetRawatlastmonthtoexpressanguishoverAmarinder’sworkas chiefminister.He repre-sentstheRajaSansiconstituencyofAmritsar.CHARANJIT SINGH CHANNI:Alsoathirdtimelegislator,Channi

wastheLeaderof Oppositionin VidhanVidhanduringprevious SAD-BJPregime.TheChamkaurSahibMLAwas

inductedastheminister ininthefirstCabinetandwasallottedtheportfoliosof TechnicalEducationand Industrial Training,Employment Generation andTraining,andTourismandCultureAffairs.HehasbeenvocalagainstAmarinder for not paying atten-tiontoissuesraisedbypartylead-ers andwas among thosewhowenttomeetRawatinDehradunlastmonth.

MANAMANSINGHCHHINACHANDIGARH,SEPTEMBER18

THECONGRESSLegislativeParty(CLP) inPunjabhas left thedeci-siontochoosethenewchiefmin-ister toCongresspresident SoniaGandhi. However, the names offourseniorleaders—SunilJakhar,Navjot Singh Sidhu, SukhjinderSinghRandhawaandPartapSinghBajwa — have been doing theroundsasprobablecandidates.Theeffectivetenureofthenext

CMwill, however, bebrief giventhattheAssemblyelectionsinthestate are likely to be held inFebruary 2022. Also, themodelcodeof conductwill be imposedby theElectionCommissionwellinadvance.Goingbytheprecedentof 2017polls, thecodeof conductshouldkick inbythefirstweekofJanuary,leavingthenewCMalittleover12weekstomakeanimpact.One of the names that has

raisedinterestinpoliticalquartersin Punjab asCMprobable is thatof Jakhar, who made way forNavjot Singh Sidhu as stateCongresschiefinJuly.IfnamedasCMbyCongress, itwouldbe thefirsttimeafterthereorganisationof Punjab in 1966 that therewould be aHindu leader at thehelm.What alsoworks in favourof Jakhar, the son of former LokSabha Speaker Balram Jakhar, isantecedents as a farmer.Hewasthe Leader of Opposition inPunjabAssemblyduringthepre-vious SAD-BJP government andwasperceivedtohaveperformedthat task ably. Largely seen as aloyalist to formerChiefMinisterCaptAmarinder Singh, Jakhar, inthepast,crossedswordswithhimseveraltimesanddidnothesitatetospeakhismind.TheotherCMprobable,62-year-

old Randhawa, is the Jails andCooperationministerintheoutgo-ingPunjabCabinet.Hailing from

GurdaspurintheMajharegion—consideredtobethewildwestofPunjab—Randhawatooisathree-timeMLA.Heremainedthevice-presidentofthestatepartyunitandageneralsecretaryandcomesfromaCongressfamily.Hisfather,SantokhSingh,remainedPunjabCongresspresidentfortwoterms.HejoinedhandswithSidhuandledtherevoltagainstCaptainAmarinderforthefailuretofulfilthepromisesmadeintherunuptothe2017polls.Also fromGurdaspur district

is 64-year-old Bajwa, a RajyaSabha member who is alsoamong the seniormost leadersfromPunjab.ForalmosttheentiretenureofAmarinderasCM,Bajwatookpotshotsathimovertheillsplaguing the state. However,whenSidhuraised thebannerofrevolt, aided by fourministers,Bajwawasquick toappearat theside of Amarinderwhilemain-tainingadistancefromtherebels.Thelastnameinthelistthatof

PCCpresidentSidhu,whoamidststiff opposition fromAmarinder,managed towrest away thepostof state Congress chief and hasnowdislodgedhimfromthepostof CM—allwithin a spanof fivemonths. FULLREPORTONwww.indianexpress.com

MANAMANSINGHCHHINACHANDIGARH,SEPTEMBER18

OPPOSITION PARTIES calledPunjab Chief Minister CaptAmarinder Singh’s resignationand related political develop-mentsonSaturdayas“desperateattemptstorevivethefortunesofasinkingCongress”.The Shiromani Akali Dal

(SAD), AamAadmi Party (AAP)andBharatiya Janata Party (BJP)havehit out at Congress leadersforfightingamongthemselvesforthe“spoilsofpower”whiledevel-opmentactivitiesinthestatehave“groundtoahalt”.While the BJP said Congress

was in panicmode after having“failedtodeliver” inthepast fourand ahalf years in government,SAD said the people of the state“willnotbefooled”bythechangeof CM. AAP called Congress a“sinkingTitanic”andblameditforhavingfooledthepeople.

Former BJPMinisterMohanLalwentastepfurtherandinvitedCaptAmarinderSinghtojoinBJP.He said the “writingwas on thewall for himthemomentNavjotSingh Sidhu was made stateCongresspresident”.BJPnationalgeneralsecretary

TarunChugh said that “after fail-ing toperformanddeliver in thelast four and a half years, theCongress in Punjab is licking thedusttoreviveitself”.Headdedthatthe manner in which a panicmeeting of the CLP was sum-moned reflected the “panic andconfusion”intheparty.SADpresident Sukhbir Singh

Badalsaidtheresignationwasan“admission” on the part ofCongressaswellas itshighcom-mandthatthepartyhadfailedtoperforminthestate.AAP state co-incharge

Raghav Chadha said Punjab’speople have been the biggestlosersinthis infightingbetweenCongress leaders.

RAAKHIJAGGALUDHIANA,SEPTEMBER18

THE RESIGNATION of CaptAmarinderSinghfromthepostofthe chiefminister of Punjabwaslong overdue and should havecomemuchearlierashehadlostconnect with themasses, saidmanywho spoke to The SundayExpressafterthebigdevelopmentinPunjabpoliticsonSaturday.TheysaidtheCongressislikely

tofeel thepinchintheupcomingpollsasitdoesnothaveamassleaderofAmarinder'sstatureinPunjab.BalbirSingh,whoretiredfrom

the state transport departmentandnow lives in Bathinda, said,“This (resignation) should havecome about a year ago. Captaindid good work in his previousterm (2002-07), but he failed todeliver this time.Hecouldn't ful-filthetallpromiseshemade,mak-ing it difficult even for localCongressleaderstogooutinpub-lic.Moreover, he remained inac-cessible tohis ownministers, letalonemeetingthepublic”.Apart fromanti-incumbency

against the SAD, itwere someofthe key promises made by

Amarinder—punishing culpritsbehindsacrilegeandpolicefiringincidentsatKotkapuraandBehbalKalan, ending the drugmenace,and cancellation of the faultypower purchasing agreements(PPAs)—thathelpedthepartyse-curevictoryinthe2017polls.Gora SinghBhainibagha, the

senior vice president of PunjabKisan Union, said, “They(Congress)madesomanyprom-ises and couldn't fulfil them.People had started questioningthem. Theparty took this step toslowdownandhalt the anti in-cumbencywave. It seems theytook lessons fromtheBJP,whichtwice changed its chiefministerin Uttarakhand and recently inGujarat.Now,anewfacewillnotbe questioned asmuch by thepublicwhenCongress goesbacktothemasseswiththeexcusethattheyremovedtheCM.”Sarwan Singh Pandher, a

Gurdaspur-basedfarmerandgen-eral secretaryof KisanMazdoorSangrash Committee, said thatAmarinder'sresignationhascomeastheCongressfailedtodeliveronitspromisesandwasstaringatanti-incumbency. FULLREPORTONwww.indianexpress.com

MANRAJGREWALSHARMACHANDIGARH,SEPTEMBER18

A SOLDIER, military historian,chef,anavidgardener,andapoliti-cian. FormerPunjab chiefminis-ter Captain Amarinder Singh isoneof thoserarepolitical leaderswhocan traversedifferent fieldswithelan.Butclearly,he failedtonegotiate thepolitical landmine,partly of his own making, inPunjab.Everythingseemedtobegoing his way in March 2017,when the Congress swept topowerinthestatewithovertwo-thirdmajority, relegating to thethird place its arch rival, theShiromani Akali Dal, in themaidenthree-corneredcontestinthestate.Wrackedbyincidentsofsacri-

lege, rampant drug abuse, andgrowingunemployment,thestatesawa saviour inAmarinder. Butthegovernment ran intoa sand-storminitsveryfirstyearwhena

minister close to the CM wascaughtinasandminingscam.Theglass, however,was still half-fullforAmarinder ashemanaged tocleansethestateofgangsters.Andtheslowpaceofdevelopmentwasblamedon “tall promises”madebypollstrategistPrashantKishor.The CM’s political problems

beganmuchbeforetheCongressvictorywhenthehighcommandinducted cricketerNavjot SinghSidhu into the party from BJP.Amarinderwassaidtobeagainsthis inclusionbut Sidhuwas sup-portedstronglybyRahulGandhi.ThebuzzwasthatSidhuwouldbemade thedeputy chiefminister.But that did not happen.Amarinder,whohadscriptedtheCongressvictoryinthestate,wasinnomoodtokowtow.Unlike other Congress chief

ministers,Amarinderhasseldombeendeferentialtothehighcom-mandanditsvariousfunctionar-ies, a fact that ledmany in thepartytocallPunjabtheindepend-entrepublicofAmarinder.In2015

too, hehad succeeded in replac-ing Rahul Gandhi’sman PartapSinghBajwaasthePPCCchiefduetohisstronghold.Earlier,duringhis firststintas

thechiefminister,AmarinderhadupsetthepartychiefSoniaGandhiwhenhe legislated the state outoftheSYLagreementwithoutgiv-ingheraheads-up.AfuriousSoniahadreportedlyrefusedtogivehimaudienceformonths.It’sthisautonomyofspiritand

connect with the masses thatmade Amarinder a winner inPunjab.But inhispresentstintastheCM,hefailedtoreadthemoodontheground.His legislatorsbe-gantowriteletterstohimin2017itself buthe failed toact.AndtheperceptionthathewassoftontheBadals,whichstemmedfromin-action on the issues of sacrilegeanddrugs, cost him thepopularsupport. Finally, itwasagroupofministers once considered closetohimthatturnedonhim.Scionoftheerstwhileprincely

stateofPatiala,Amarinder’sintro-

duction to politics took placewhilehewasstudyingwithRajivGandhiinDoonschool,andwouldoften be invited to holidaywithhimattheresidenceofIndia’sfirstPrimeMinisterPanditJawaharlalNehruinDelhi. Itcameasnosur-prise when Rajiv Gandhi per-suadedhimto joinCongressandcontest the LokSabhapolls from

Patiala.In1977,immediatelyafterEmergency, he lost hismaidenpolls toAkali stalwartGurcharanSingh Tohra fromPatiala. Threeyearson,heenteredtheLokSabhafromthesameseat.Though close to Rajiv,

Amarinder quit Congress to joinAkali Dal in 1984, soon afterOperationBluestar. He often re-

countshowhewasplayinggolfatNaldhera inHimachalwhenheheard the news on radio. In anIdea Exchangewith The IndianExpress,hehadsaidhewouldbewritingabookontheeventsthatunfolded in Punjab during thedarkdecadeofmilitancy.Itwas during his stint in the

AkaliDalthathewasfirstelectedto the state legislature fromTalwandiSabo,hometooneofthefiveholyseats(takhts)oftheSikhs,and became a minister forAgriculture,Forest,DevelopmentandPanchayats in the state gov-ernment. But temperamentally,hewasill-suitedtotheparty,andquitittoformShiromaniAkaliDal(Panthic)in1992.Sixyearson,hemergedwith the Congress afterhis partywaswiped out in the1998Assemblyelectioninwhichhepolledamere856votes.An alumnus of National

Defence Academy and IndianMilitaryAcademy,AmarinderwascommissionedintotheSikhregi-ment in1963. Thoughhe served

foronlythreeyears,anotablepartofitasanADCtoLtGenHarbakshSinghduring the 1965 Indo-Pakwar,theArmyservicedefinedhislife in politics aswell. In his firststint,hewasknownfortakingim-portant decisions inminutes. Aseniorbureaucrat,comparinghimtohispredecessorParkashSinghBadal, recalled howAmarinderwould take important decisionsinminutes while Badalwouldtakemonths.Thoughabigproponentofties

between East andWest Punjabduringhis first stint as theCM--whenhehosted the chiefminis-terofPakistanPunjabandsaid,“IwanttohavebreakfastinAmritsarandlunchinLahore”--hedrewalinewhen it came to India’s in-tegrity.Despite their ideological dif-

ferences, BJP acknowledgeshimasanationalist.Amarinderwasallfire and fury after the Pulwamaterror attack. Addressing thePunjabAssembly, he thundered,“IwanttotellthistoGeneralBajwa

(PakistanArmychief) that if youareaPunjabi,wetooarePunjabisandyoudaretrytoenterourter-ritory,wewillsetyouright."Inastatethathasalwaysseen

a mix of religion and politics,Amarinder remained steadfastlysecular.ManyattributeCongress’slandslide victory in 2017 to theshift of Hindu votes to thepartyaftertheMaurblastintherun-uptotheAssemblypollsin2017.TheAamAadmiParty,which

wasdrawinglargecrowdsduringthe campaign failed to convertthese into votesdue to thepartyleaders’allegedhobnobbingwithradicalelements.It was Amarinderwho first

floated thepossibility of aHinduchiefministerinthestatein2019when,whilecampaigningforfor-mer PPCC chief Sunil Jakhar inGurdaspur, he said Jakhar couldalsobethenextchiefminister.But in the end, ‘The People’s

Maharaja’, as his biography is ti-tled,lostthesupportofpeople,hisbiggeststrength.

IF CONGRESSpicks Sunil Jakharas the next chief minister ofPunjab,hewillonlybethefourthHindu face to head the statesince 1947 and the first after1966when the Patiala and EastPunjab States Union (PEPSU)was reorganised and Haryanacarvedout, creating Punjab as aSikh-majority state. All threeprevious Hindu CMs — GopiChand Bhargava, Bhim SenSachar andRamKishan—werefrom the Congress and hadplayed a vital role in the Indianfreedomstruggle.

GOPICHANDBHARGAVA:HewasthefirstCMofundivided

Punjab fromAugust1947toApril 1949. Heagain helmedthe post fromOctober 1949to June 1951and then for a

brief period in June-July 1964.Hailing from Sirsa district (nowin Haryana), he was an MBBSgraduatefromLahore.He,alongwith his brother Pandit ThakurDasBhargava,hadstarted'VidyaPracharini Sabha' and partici-pated in India’s freedomstruggle.

BHIMSENSACHAR:He was the Punjab CM from

April toOctober 1949,from April1952 to July1953,andthenfromJuly1953to January1956. He was

thefirstelectedCMofPunjab(in1952), winning from Ludhianacity south. Amid allegations ofcorruptionandconflictwithhisCabinetcolleagues,hehadtore-sign once in July 1953 but wassoon re-sworn as CM. Born inPeshawar (now in Pakistan), hehad joined the Indian NationalCongress during the freedomstruggle. He also spent sometime in Pakistan after Partitionbut later shifted to India.

RAMKISHAN:Born in Jhang,now inPakistan, helatershiftedtoJalandhar, andwas PunjabCM from July1964 to July

1966, when he had to resign asPunjabAssemblywasdissolvedfor reorganisation of the stateandcreationofHaryana.HewasthelastHindufaceasPunjabCM.Hewas given the honorific titleof ‘Comrade’duetohiscontribu-tion in the freedom struggle.Veteran Congress leaders inJalandhar remember him as agrassroots leader who used tocommuteonbicycle.

DIVYAGOYALGOPAL

ANJUAGNIHOTRICHABAJALANDHAR,SEPTEMBER18

ATAtimewhenprotestsagainstthe farm laws are in full swingand Punjab is on the brink ofelections, thepolitical upheavalcaused by Capt AmarinderSingh’s sudden resignation aschief minister has taken thefarmers and their leadership bysurprise. However, severalfarmerleadersofSamyuktKisanMorcha (SKM) said this mayhavenoeffecton theagitation.Sukhdev Singh Kokri Kalan,

general secretary, BKU(Ugrahan), the largest farmunion of the state, said, “All po-litical parties are their enemies,thoughmain enemy is BJP. Andwhen enemies are fightingamong themselves, themoraleof farmersisgettingaboost. If atall President’s rule is enforcedandCentreinterferesinthestate,farmers’confidencewillremainasupbeataseverbefore.”Bharti KisanUnion (Rajewal)

president Balbir Singh Rajewal,said, “The inter and inter-partytusslehasnobearingonthefarm-ers’agitation.ThePunjabgovern-menttoohasonlyamendedlawsoverthethreecentrallawswhichwas a kind of acceptance of theGovernment of India’s interfer-enceinstatesubjects.”Bharti Kisan Union (BKU)

Dakaunda, general secretaryJagmohan Singh said: “The rul-ing Congress has been creatingdestabilisationinthestatewhichis uncalled for when just 4-5months are left for the 2022VidhanSabhaelections...thisup-heaval may lead to President’srule in the state which is notgoodforouragitationbecauseitwill increasethecentralgovern-ment’sinterferenceinthestate.”“Itwouldhavebeenbetterto

dissolvetheVidhanSabha,”saidSatnamSinghSahni,generalsec-retary,BKUDoaba.

Ground reality: people’s maharaja who lost the common touch

PunjabChiefMinisterAmarinderSinghsubmitshisresignationtoGovernorBanwarilalPurohitonSaturday.PTI

OutsideAmarinderSingh’s residence in Chandigarh.PTI

No bearing onagitation, sayfarm leaders

AlleyesonTVupdates, atanoffice inLudhiana. GurmeetSingh

CHIEF MINISTER CaptAmarinder Singh’s resignationpromptedanumberofhiscloseaides to put in their papers. TheSunday Express takesa look:

CHIEF PRINCIPAL SECYSURESHKUMAR:Whilehisap-pointmentwas quashed by thehighcourtin2017,thestategov-ernment continued to appealagainst it.

MEDIA ADVISER RAVEENTHUKRAL:Aformer journalist,Thukral handled themedia for

theCM,andwasknownto per-sonallywriteallthemediahand-outs.CAPT SANDEEP SANDHU: Aformermerchant navy officer,SandhuwasAmarinder’spoliti-cal adviser. He handledAmarinder’s war room duringtheLokSabhaelections in2014.ADVOCATE GENERAL ATULNANDA:A lawyerwith roots inJalandhar, hewas a close confi-dant of Amarinder along withhis wife Ramila Hakim, also apart of his legal team. She hadquit in June. ENS

‘He failed to deliver onpromises, should haveresigned a year ago’

VOICESFROMGROUND

In Punjab,3 Hindu CMssince 1947

Admission of failure,desperate bid: Opp

Jakhar,Randhawa,Bajwa3-termMLAs,Sidhuafirst-timer

In race for CMpost: Hinduface, Capt’s former foe,rebelminister, PCCchief

Clockwise fromtopleft:Jakhar,Bajwa,Sidhu,Randhawa

OutsidethePunjabCongressoffice inChandigarh.PTI

Close aides put in papers

New Delhi

7WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHE SUNDAY EXPRESS,SEPTEMBER19,2021

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EXPRESSNETWORK8 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHE SUNDAY EXPRESS,SEPTEMBER19,2021

(KUMAR RAJIV RANJAN)RECOVERY OFFICER

DEBTS RECOVERY TRIBUNAL, PATNA

FORM NO.14[See Regulation 33(2)]

Government of IndiaDEBTS RECOVERY TRIBUNAL, BIHAR : PATNA

Office of the Recovery Officer2nd Floor, A, B & F Wing, Karpuri Thakur Sadan,

Ashiana Digha Road, Patna- 800025NOTICE UNDER RULE 2 OF SECOND SCHEDULE OF INCOMETAX ATC, 1961 READ WITH SECTION 29 OF RECOVERY OFDEBTS AND BANKRUPTCY ACT, 1993

R.P. No. 584/2017Date: 08.09.2021

Bank of India, Sone Bhawan, B.C.P. Marg, Patna..Certificate HolderVs.

M/s Frostber Agritech Pvt. Ltd. & Others .....Certificate DebtorDEMAND NOTICE

To,1. M/s Frostberg Agritech Pvt. Ltd., Plot No.393, Village-Begha Cole,Post Office-Patoot & Police Station- Bikram, District-Patna.2. Samir Albert, S/o Prem Prakash, C/o St. Xavier’s School, Clara Villa,Islamia Chowk, Gangjala, Saharsa-852201.3. Ruby Christian, W/o Prem Prakash, C/o St. Xavier’s School, ClaraVilla, Islamia Chowk, Gangjala, Saharsa-852201.In view of the Recovery Certificate issued in O.A. Case No.181

of 2017 dated 21.08.2017 passed by the Presiding Officer, DebtsRecovery Tribunal, Patna, an amount of Rs. 62,47,003/- (Rupees SixtyTwo Lacs Forty Seven Thousand and Three Only) along with cost,expenses and pendentalite and future interest@ 10% p.a. simple from01.03.2017 till the realization of the entire sum due and recoverable isdue against you.2. You are hereby called upon to deposit the above sum within 15 daysof the receipt of the notice, failing which the recovery shall be made asper rules.In additions to the sum aforesaid you will be liable to pay:(a) Such interest is as payable for the period commencing immediately

after this notice of the execution proceedings.(b) All costs, charges and expenses incurred in respect of the service

of this notice and other process that may be taken for recovering theamount due.3. You are, hereby, ordered to appear before the undersigned on21.10.2021 at 12 noon.

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HAMZAKHANJAIPUR,SEPTEMBER18

THE RAJASTHAN Assembly onSaturday passed four bills in-cluding the Criminal Laws(Rajasthan Amendment) Bill-2021byvoicevote.The Criminal Laws

(RajasthanAmendment)Billhasprovisionsforimprisonmentuptosevenyearsforadulterationoffood, or drugs andmedicines,making their sale a cognisableandnon-bailableoffence.TheBillmainly seeks to em-

power Food Safety Officers andDrug Inspectors, as well as ad-dress the differences in punish-ment for food adulteration un-dervarious laws.JustifyingtheBill,thegovern-

ment said, “Onmany instancesduringtheraidsbypolice,theof-fences of adulterated or unsafefood as well as adulterated orspurious drugs are detected inrespect of which FirstInformationReportisregisteredundersaidsections272to276ofthe Indian Penal Code (IPC). Insuchcases,arrestordetentionofthe accused is necessary for the

purposesofadequateandeffec-tive investigationandcollectionof evidence in time.”“Since the said offences un-

der said sections of the IPC arenon-cognisable and bailable,thepoliceaswellasFoodSafetyOfficersandDrugInspectorsarefacing difficulties in investiga-tion of the crimewhich are af-fecting health of the public atlarge. Therefore, there is an ur-gentneedforstringentpunish-mentsevenforthesaidoffencesunder the IPC that can equallyact as a deterrent,” the govern-ment said.

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEBHOPAL,SEPTEMBER18

UNION HOME Minister AmitShahonSaturdayaccusedoppo-sition Congress of using peoplefromtribalcommunitiesonlyasa vote bankwithout doing any-thing for theirwell-being.“Their(Congress's) intention

was to divide tribal votes byfielding different parties andcandidates, but the BJP is com-mitted to their developmentwhenever it gets themandate,”Shahsaid.In Madhya Pradesh's

Jabalpur foraday to takepart inthe'AmrutMahotsav'tohonourtribal leaders who had partici-pated in the freedom struggle,ShahpointedoutthatbeforetheNarendra Modi governmentcameinin2014,Rs4,200wasal-located for tribals in the UnionBudgetof2013.Thisamount,hesaid, has been doubled to 7,900crore in2021-22Budget.The budget component for

tribal development under vari-ous ministries, he said, is Rs71,900 crore in 2021-22 — upfromRs21,500crorein2013-14.Recalling Gondwana rulers

Shankar Shah and his sonRaghunath Shah, who were

killed by the British during theRevoltof1857,Shahsaidfreedomfighterswhowere forgotten byhistorianswillbethehighlightofthe 'Azadi kaaAmrutMahostav'event,ontheoccasionof75yearsof Independence. "Wewill al-waysbeinspiredbythesacrificeof(thelikesof)RajaShankarShahandRaghunathShah.Manytriballeaders sacrificed (their lives)from 1857 until India attainedfreedomin1947.Their sacrificeswill be remembered by futuregenerations,"hesaid.

Raja Shankar Shah andRaghunath, successors of RaniDurgavati, the queen of Gondempire that spread acrossCentral India in the 16th and17th centuries, were tried fortreasonby theBritishandkilledafterbeingtiedtoacannononcetheirplottoattackChhavaniandtheir attempts to fuel a revoltagainst the British empire wasfoundout. Their death is said tohave fuelled the Revolt of 1857inCentral India.Pointingoutthatthesetribal

warriors fought against theMughals, and then the British,ShahsaidtheCentrehasdecidedtosetupninemuseums in theirhonour in Gujarat, AndhraPradesh, Madhya Pradesh,Jharkhand,Chhattisgarh,Kerala,Manipur andMizoramat a costof Rs 200 crore. Of this, Rs 110crore has been spent so far, headded.Speaking at the event,

Madhya Pradesh CM ShivrajSingh Chouhan announcedhomedeliveryofPDSrationinall89 tribal blocks of the state andimplementation of PanchayatExtensiontoScheduleAreasAct,1996, which empowers pan-chayats to formulateand imple-mentdevelopment schemes fortheir respectiveregions.


PRIME MINISTER NarendraModi is learnt to have givenspace to the top bureaucrats tospeak theirmind and ideate ongood governance during amarathontwo-and-a-half-hour-longmeetingonSaturday.More than 20 Union secre-

taries shared their ideas in themeeting, andModiwas the lastto speak, The Sunday Expresshas learnt.All ministries working in

sync with each other, and thegovernment leveragingbigdatato deliver governance solutionsfeaturedasamajorthemeinthemeeting, it is learnt.“ThePrimeMinisterwasvery

receptivetothesesuggestions,”asecretary who took part in themeetingsaid.One of the topics raised by

several officers at themeetingwas the use of data as a “majornationalresource”.Thesecretaryquotedabovesaid,“Anumberofpeople suggested this. All gov-ernmentdepartmentsgeneratea lot of data — how do you usethis and technology to improvegovernanceandmakeitmoreef-ficient? It was discussed that a

governmentdepartmentshouldhaveaccesstodatageneratedbyeveryothergovernmentdepart-ment so that decision-makingcan becomemore comprehen-siveandefficient.”Modi, it is learnt, asked the

secretaries to use technologyanddata indecision-making.“One of the secretaries sug-

gested that our education andskill programme should bealigned to meet the require-ments inviewof thenewdroneregulationssothattheecosystemcanbedeveloped,”asourcesaid.Whileappreciatingthis idea,

Modi is learnt to have asked theofficers to thinkaboutdemandsof other departments and try to“align” functioning of their de-partments,theofficersaid.Forin-stance, the department dealingwith agricultural research canalign its research programmesaccording to needs of other de-partments, theofficeradded.

Earlier this month, thegovernment had notifieddronerules,amuchmorelib-eralised regime for un-mannedaircraftsystemsthanwhatexistedpreviously.

SHAJUPHILIPTHIRUVANANTHAPURAM,SEPTEMBER18

TWOBJPwomencouncillorsof the party-controlledPalakkad municipality inKeralahavewritten toPrimeMinisterNarendraModiandHomeMinister Amit Shahand sought action against aBJP councillor for allegedlyhumiliatingthemandissuingthreats at a recent partymeeting.The complaint was

moved by PrameelaSasidharan, a BJP councillorfor 20 years, and MiniKrishna Kumar, who is wifeof BJP's state general secre-taryCKrishnaKumar,againstPSmithesh,whoisalsoBJP'sPalakkadmandalam presi-dent.The complainants stated

theywerewriting after thestate leadership failed to takeaction on their complaint.Accordingtothem,theallegedincident tookplace at apartyparliamentary committeemeetingonAugust26.Denying the allegation,

Smithesh said he was notaware of any such incident.“There had been only veryusual discussions in theparty's parliamentary com-mittee,heldbeforethecoun-cil,’’ he said.In their letter, dated

September1, thecouncillorswrote: “Two of uswere hu-miliatedandwerehurled[is-sued] death threats by theBJPMandalampresidentandmunicipality standing com-mittee chairman for health,PSmithesh.Eventhoughwewrote to the party state or-ganising secretary ( MGanesan)andthepartystatepresident (K Surendran) re-garding the issue, no actionhas been taken. Consideringthe gravity of the situationand understanding thatparty leaders in Kerala havenottakenappropriatemeas-ures to correct suchmisbe-haviour,wearecompelledtoappeal to your good self andyour office to kindly inter-vene.”“Thisepisodealsoreflects

the non-conducive environ-mentfordiligentwomenBJPworkers to freely express

their thoughts and progres-sive ideas...” theywrote.SourcesinBJPsaiditsstate

leadershadintervenedintheissue and at their behest,Smithesh expressed regretover the incident afterPrameela andMini Krishnaapproachedthecentrallead-ership. The complainantswerenotpresentatthemeet-ingat thetime, theysaid.But Prameela, a former

chairperson of themunici-pality, said a regret from thecouncillorisnotenough.“Wehave asked the party to takeactionagainsthim,”shesaid.“The councillor, who has in-sulted and issued us deaththreats, should be sackedfromtheparty,orremovedasmandalampresident.”She said, “We are await-

ing a favourable decisionfromtheparty.Otherwisewewillcomplaintothepoliceaswell as the state women’scommission.”Minisaid:“Thecouncillor

threatenedtoassaultmeandmy husband, C KrishnaKumar.We are awaiting theparty (leadership's) deci-sion.”

2 BJP women councillors inKerala write to PM, Shah over‘threats’, ‘insult’ by party man

HomeMinisterAmitShahin JabalpuronSaturday. PTI

7-year jail term for adulteration of food,drugs: Rajasthan Assembly passes Bill

PM holds meet withtop officers, asksthem to ideate ongood governance


The Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind’sMaulanaMahmoodMadanifac-tion Saturday said it hopes theTalibanwill respect the humanrights of Afghans and ensureAfghanistan is not used by anynationtotargetanothercountry.Issuing a statement, it also

threwitsweightbehindtheon-going farmers’ agitation. “Thecurrent government, instead ofaddressingtheirdemands,istry-ing tocrush themovement.”“Theworkingcommitteeex-

presseshopethat thenewmas-tersofthecountry‘Taliban’,whofreed the country from foreigninterventionandpresenceoffor-eign powers after decades ofstruggle and huge sacrifices,would respect human rights ofpeopleinthelightof Islamicval-ues and the Prophet’s tradi-tions...Italsohopesthatthenewrulerswould establish good re-lationswithall countries...espe-ciallywithIndia...andtheywouldnotallowusingtheirsoilagainstanycountry,”saidthestatement,adding, that Indiahadplayed “avery important role inmakingthenewAfghanistan”.

Taliban shouldrespect humanrights, saysJamiat faction

566DAYSSINCEPANDEMICBEGAN

TRACKING THE SECOND SURGE

NEWCASES: 30,506ACTIVE CASES:3,32,775TOTAL VACCINATION: 79,42,87,699

DAILY DEATHS229

TOTALDEATHS4,44,758

WEEKLY CFR0.72%

OVERALL CFR1.35%

TESTS TODAY: 14,42,219 | TOTAL TESTS: 55,22,22,492

WEEKLY POSITIVITY: 2.03% | OVERALL POSITIVITY: 6.06%

STATESREPORTINGMOSTCASES

STATE NEW ACTIVE WEEKLY TOTALCASES CASES POSITIVITY VACCINATION

■Kerala 19,325 1,81,411 20.25% 3,32,93,852

■Maharashtra 3,391 47,919 2.34% 7,19,07,937

■TamilNadu 1,653 16,893 1.06% 4,12,18,474

■Mizoram 1,476 13,364 14.88% 10,42,496

■AndhraPradesh 1,174 14,653 2.29% 3,68,09,784

STATESREPORTINGMOSTDEATHS

STATE TODAY’S TOTAL WEEKLY OVERALLDEATHS DEATHS CFR CFR

■Maharashtra 82 1,42,022 1.27% 2.19%

■Kerala 64 23,439 0.43% 0.56%

■TamilNadu 22 35,310 1.52% 1.35%

■Karnataka 14 37,587 1.24% 1.27%

■WestBengal 12 18,641 1.66% 1.20%

Note:DataasonSept18;vaccinationnumbersasofSept17.Deathsincludethosefrompreviousdays.

Morethan20Unionsecretariessharedtheirideas inthemeeting,andModiwasthe lasttospeak, it is learnt

MAYURAJANWALKARPANAJI, SEPTEMBER18

CASINOS INGoa are set to opento tourists again fromMonday.Peoplewhoare“eitherfullyvac-cinated or those with a RTPCRreport should be allowed” intothese casinos, Chief MinisterPramod Sawant said onSaturday.He said the state govern-

ment’s expert committee hasopined that casinos, spas, mas-sage parlours can reopen butmajor events such as theSunburnmusicfestivalhavenotyetbeenpermitted.“The (state government’s)

expertcommitteecomparedthe(Covid-19) positivity rate overthe last two-threeweeks and ithasbeenunder2percent. Inor-der to revive economic activityand tourism activity, casinoshavebeenallowedtoreopenonMondaywith strict SOPs (stan-

dard operating procedures),”Sawantsaid.DrShekharSalkar,amember

oftheexpertcommittee,saidre-openingofcasinos,rivercruises,massage parlours and spaswasrecommendedincomplianceofallCovid-19safetyprotocols,and

thatthegovernmentisexpectedto issue the SOPs for reopeningonSunday.Goa has six offshore casinos

onMandovi river, off state capi-talPanaji,andaboutadozenoth-ers run inside leading hotels.Casinos, which employ thou-

sandsofpeopleandgeneratesiz-able revenue for the state gov-ernment, are expected tobreathe life into the state’stourism industry, which hasseen only a slight uptick sinceJuly.With the reopening of casi-

nos, allied touristactivitiessuchas hotels, restaurants, taxi serv-icesmayall seetheirbusinessespickingupaspeaktouristseasonsets in next month, industrystakeholders said.According to sources, the

state government's average an-nualearninginlicencefeesfromcasinosismorethanRs320crore— including this, the govern-ment earns approximately Rs1,000croreintaxesforalliedac-tivities such as restaurants, ho-tels, tourist vehicles, etc.The offshore casinos on the

Mandovialsopayentryfeesandlocal taxes to theCorporationoftheCityofPanajiandaboutRs25lakh for licenses to the Excise

Department. The ExciseDepartment also earns a con-sumptiondutyoneverybottleofalcoholconsumedinthecasinos,sources said.The casinos that have be-

comeanintegralpartof tourismin Goa, drawing both domesticand international tourists.Shrinivas Nayak, director,

MajesticPrideGroup,whichop-erates theMajesticPrideCasinoon the Mandovi , said: “It hasbeenaveryhardtime.Inthefirstlockdown, we were shut forabout sevenmonths. This time,itwasforaboutfourmonthsand20 days. We (Majestic PrideCasino) have nearly 2,500 em-ployees andwe could not havelaidthemoff.Thatisnothuman.We had no revenue butwe stillhadtobear70-80percentofourexpenses.Thelockdownwasun-certain and it kept extendingweekbyweek.”He said, “The government

was losing revenue in terms of

GSTandlicensefees.Thisisabigpercentageofrevenueforasmallstate. On average, casinos pro-vide Rs 50 crore to Rs 80 crorepermonth revenue to the stategovernment in direct revenue,the Centre gets the same rev-enue, and there is also indirectrevenue that comes from hoteloccupancy, whichwill increasetheirGST.”Stating that things have

started tomove in the right di-rection, Travel and TourismAssociation of Goa presidentNilesh Shah said, “With casinosreopening, almost 14,000 peo-pleworking in the industrywillgetaboost. Inaddition,thehotelindustry in Panaji and in NorthGoawill also get a boost. Rightnow their occupancy is about20-30percent.”OnSaturday, therewere771

activeCovid-19casesinGoaandtwo deathswere reported. ThetestpositivityrateinthestateonSaturdaywas2.18percent.

Covid under control, Goa casinos restartMonday

CasinosatPanaji inGoa:Thegovernment isexpectedtoissueSOPsfor thereopeningof casinos, rivercruises,massageparloursandspasonSunday.PradipDas/File

Cong used tribal people as votebank, did nothing for them: Shah

Kerala govt toopen schools inphases from Nov

SHAJUPHILIPTHIRUVANANTHAPURAM,SEPTEMBER18

THE KERALA government onSaturday decided to reopenschools fromNovember 1 in aphased manner as it claimedthatCovid-19caseswereslowlystabilising in the state. Primaryclasses up to 7th standard andhighersecondaryclasseswouldcommence initially.Chief Minister Pinarayi

Vijayansaidexpertshaverecom-mended primary schoolsopenfirst.“Allclasseswouldcommence fromNovember15.Theeducationandhealthdepartments should jointlymake arrangements to re-open schools. Steps shouldbe taken to reinstate healthprogramme in schools.Special masks for childrenshould be made ready inschools and steps shouldbetaken to prevent spread ofCovid-19,”hesaid.The decision to reopen

schools, which have beenclosed since March, 2020,wastakenaftertheSupremeCourtallowedthestategov-ernment to conduct offlineexaminations forClass11.

New Delhi

9WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHE SUNDAY EXPRESS,SEPTEMBER19,2021

Public Auction NoticeDebts Recovery Tribunal

A, B & F Wings, Karpuri Thakur Sadan, Ashiana Digha Road, Patna – 800 025Central Bank of India, Basatpur Branch, Motihari, District – East Champaran

VsM/s Champaran Vermi Compost Udyog & Others

(In R.P. Case No. 150/2018 arising out of Certificate No. O.A. Case No. 598/2017)E-AUCTION SALE NOTICE

As per order dated 10/08/2021, under mentioned property will be sold by public online e-Auction onthe date and time mentioned herein for recovery of Rs.43,61,260/- + Interest/cost and other expensesfrom M/s Champaran Vermi Compost Udyog & Others, the sum is recoverable together with interest, cost,charges, as per the certificate. The auction sale will be by way of online e-Auction.Description of Property:

Dated : 31/08/2021

Name and address of e-auction agency:-M/s e-Procurement Technologies Limited – Auction Tiger, Address: B–704, Wall Street–II, Opp.-Orient Club,Near Gujarat College, Ellis Bridge, Ahmedabad - 380 006, Gujarat, (India) Website: https://drt.auctiontiger.netBidder Support:

Helpdesk No. of service provider - 079-68136880/68136837, E mail Address - [email protected],[email protected] and Mobile No.-+91 9265562821/18 & 9374519754

Facilitating Agency:Name of contact person of Basatpur Branch: Mr. Vikash Kumar, Senior Manager, Basatpur Branch (MobNo.8298197070).Name of the contact person of the facilitation centre: Chintan Bhatt (M), 9978591888 (O) 079-68136878

ACCOUNT DETAIL FOR ONLINE MONEY TRANSFER

TERMS & CONDITIONS OF SALE:-1. The property shall be sold “as is where is basis”.2. The intending bidders should register the participation with the service provider well in advance and getuser ID and password for participating in E-auction. It can be procured only when the requisite Earnest MoneyDeposit be paid by prescribed mode.3. To take part in Auction, each bidder shall deposit Earnest Money (EMD) @ of 10% of the ReservePrice which shall be paid by electronic transfer to the concerned Bank’s EMDAccount or through DD/pay order drawn in favour of Recovery Officer, DRT., Patna alongwith copy of PAN card, Address proofand Identity proof with E-mail ID, Mobile No. of bidder. The Envelop containing EMD along with detailsof documents should be superscribed R.P. No.150/2018 and in case of the company copy of resolutionby the Board members of the company or any other decument confirming representation/attorney ofthe company should reach on or before 4.00 P.M. of 27/09/2021 in the office of Recovery Officer, DRT.,Patna or should credit the amount in respective Bank’s/Financial Instution’s account. EMD receivedthereafter shall not be considered.4. The successful bidder shall have to pay 25% of the sale proceeds (including EMD) on the next working dayof sale through the mode as stated above.5. The purchaser shall deposit the balance 75% of the sale proceeds before the undersinged on or before 15thday from the date of sale of the Property, exclusive of such day, or if the 15th day be Sunday or other holiday,then on the first office day after the 15th day alongwith the poundage fee @ 2% upto Rs.1,000/- and @ 1% onthe excess of such gross amount over Rs.1,000/- by prescribed mode as stated above.6. In case of default of payment within the prescribed period, the property shall be resold, after the issue offresh proclamation of sale. The deposit, after defraying the expenses of the sale, may, if the undersignedthinks fit, be forfeited to the Government and the defaulting purchaser shall forfeit all claims to the property orto any part of the sum for which it may subsequently be sold.7. The Recovery Officer has the absolute right to accept or reject any bid or bids or to postpone or cancel thee-auction without assigning any reasons.8. EMD of unsuccessful bidder shall be returned the same day of auction by DRT/Bank by credit to theaccount of bidder mention in bid form.9. Prospective bidder may avail online training from service provider.10. Prospective bidders are advised to go through the website for details terms & conditions of sale beforesubmitting their bids or contact Branch Manager of the concerned Branch.

Description of Property Reserve Price EMD Date and time of AuctionMauza-Khoda Nagar, Thana-Motihari,Ward No.14, Khesra No.262, PS- ChattauniAnchal-Motihari, East Champaran, HoldNo.271(A), Thana No.165, Tauzi No.644,Area- 01 Katha. Sale Deed No.6815dated 04.05.2007. Bounded and buttedas follows– North: Mastan, South: Road,East: Rasta, and West: Binay Kr. Sharma &Binod Kumar Sharma.

Rs. 75,00,000/-(Rupees

Seventy FiveLacs Only)

Rs. 7,50,000/-(Rupees SevenLacs and FiftyThousand Only)on or before

27/09/2021 upto4.00 P.M.

29/09/2021 between 12:30P.M. to 4.00 P.M. with autoextension clause in caseof bid in last 5 minutesbefore closing, if required.The amount by which thebiddings are to be increasedshall be Rs. 20,000/-

ACCOUNT NO. & NAME NAME IFSC CODE3352050721 Central Bank of India, Motihari Regional Office, Motihari CBIN0280030

(Kumar Rajiv Ranjan)Recovery Officer

EXPRESSNETWORK

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEMUMBAI, SEPTEMBER18

THE INCOME tax department,without naming Bollywood ac-tor SonuSood, said onSaturdaythat he has evaded over Rs 20crore in taxes. The departmentin a statement said Sood hasrouted“unaccountedincomeinthe form of bogus unsecuredloans” through fakeentities.TheI-TdepartmentonSept15

had searched 28 premises inMumbai,Lucknow,Kanpur,Jaipur,DelhiandGurgaoninconnectionwith its case against Sood and aLucknow-basedrealestatefirm.The department said it has

foundthatSoodcamouflagedpro-fessional receipts as loans in thebooks of accounts to allegedlyevadetaxes.Italsoallegedthatthe48-year-old actor has used theloanstoacquireproperties.Accordingtothetaxauthority,

Sood’s charity foundation –foundedlastJuly–raisedRs18.94croreindonationsfromApril2021tilldateandspentonlyRs1.7crorein reliefwork. The remainingRs17croreis lyingwiththefounda-tionuntilised, italleged.The department also al-

leged that Sood’s charity foun-dation has raised Rs 2.1 crorefrom outside India in violation

of Foreign Contribution(Regulation) Act norms.“The simultaneous search

operationscarriedoutatvariouspremises of an infrastructuregroup in Lucknow inwhich thesaid actor has entered into ajoint venture real estateprojectand invested substantial funds,have resulted in unearthing ofincriminating evidences per-tainingtotaxevasionandirreg-ularities in the books of ac-count,” said the statement.Thedepartmenthasallegedly

foundinstancesofcirculartradesbytheinfrastructuregrouptothetuneofRs175crore.Following the searches, the

department has seized cashworthRs1.8croreandplacedninelockersunderprohibitoryorder.Queries sent by The Indian

Express to the Sood CharityFoundation did not elicit anyresponse.

SC quashes caseagainst manaccused of forcedconversionPRESSTRUSTOFINDIANEWDELHI, SEPTEMBER18

THE SUPREME Court hasquashed criminal proceedingsagainstamanaccusedofforcibleconversion,noting that theper-sonwhowasstatedtohavebeenforced toconvert toChristianityhasdenied theallegation.ABench comprising justices

UULalit,SRavindraBhatandCTRavikumar set aside the orderpassed by theMadhya PradeshHigh Court, which refused togrant any relief to the accused,GeorgeMangalapilly.Apart from the testimony of

thewitness,thereisnothingelseon record which could poten-tially be relied upon against theaccused, theapexcourtnoted.“In thepeculiar facts and cir-

cumstancesofthecaseandespe-ciallywhentheentirefulcrumofthe prosecution rests upon theversion of the man who wasstatedtobeforciblyconverted,inour view, the testimony of saidperson assumes great signifi-cance,”theBenchsaid. Accordingtohisownversionneitherwasheforciblyconvertednorhadtheap-pellant contacted him at anyjuncture, itobserved.“Inviewof thesepeculiarcir-

cumstances, in our view, the ap-pellant is entitled to the reliefprayed for.We, therefore, allowthis appeal, set aside the orderpassed by the High Court andquashtheproceedingsagainsttheappellant in respect of offencepunishableunderSection3and4oftheMPFreedomofReligionAct,1968Act,”theBenchsaid.

9 drown in Jharkhand during Karma Puja immersion

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICERANCHI, SEPTEMBER18

NINE PEOPLE, including sevengirls between the ages of 12 and20, drowned at three differentplacesinJharkhand’sLatehardis-trictduringKaramPujafestivitiesonSaturday,authoritiessaid.Thesevengirls, fromfivedif-

ferent families, drowned in

Bukru village of Balumath areainLatehar.Deputy Commissioner Abu

Imran said, “As per informationfromvillagers, initially two girlswerestrugglingtogetoutfromapond,afterwhich fiveothergirlsattemptedtosavethem.Allsevendrowned,which appeared to beduringtheimmersion.TheywerebroughttotheSadarhospitalandwere declared dead. Amedical

boardhasbeenconstituted.”Twomore deaths were re-

ported from different areas ofLatehar during the festivities,Imransaid.KarmaPujaisamajorfestival

in Jharkhand.The deputy commissioner

said that the deputy develop-ment commissioner had beenaskedtoholdaninquiryintothedrowningof thesevengirls.

Jharkhand Chief MinisterHemant Soren expressed shockover the incident. “Shocked tohear about the death of sevengirls due to drowning during‘KaramDali’ (branch of Karamtree)immersionatSheregadaofLatehar district. May God grantpeace to thedepartedsouls andgive strength to the bereavedfamilies to bear the loss,” Sorensaid ina tweet.

Without namingSood, I-T deptsays he evadedover Rs 20 cr tax

ActorSonuSood

GI tag for Hathei chilli, Tamenglong mandarin orangeJIMMYLEIVONIMPHAL,SEPTEMBER18

HATHEICHILLI,whichis foundinManipur’s Ukrul district and isknownfor itsunique flavour, andTamenglongmandarin orange

have been granted theGeographicalIndication(GI)tag.Confirming the news in a

Facebook post, Manipur ChiefMinister N Biren Singh wrote,“Whatagreat start to theday forManipur!I’mreallyhappytosharethat2(two)productsofManipur

vizHatheiChilly&Tamenglongor-angehavebeengrantedGItagbyGovernmentofIndia.Thisisahis-toricmilestone in thehistory ofManipur&itwillincreaseincomeoffarmersinManipur.Wewillbereceiving the certificates in thenextfewdays.”

ODISHA

Samajaeditor,litterateurdiesat87Cuttack:EminentOdia lit-terateur and journalistManorama MohapatradiedhereonSaturday.Shewas87. The former editorof the largest Odia daily'Samaja'wasrushedtotheSCBMedical College andHospital after she com-plainedof chest pain. Shedied while undergoingtreatment, sources at themedical establishmentsaid. The daughter ofPadmaBhushanawardeeRadhanath Rath,MohapatrawasthefaceofwomenempowermentinOdisha. CM NaveenPatnaik andUnionminis-terDharmendra Pradhancondoledherdeath. PTI

ManoramaMohapatra

BRIEFLY

KARNATAKA

5founddeadin‘suicidepact’,girlrescuedBengaluru: Fivemembersof a family, including anine-month-oldmale in-fant, were found dead attheir homehere,while atwo-and-a-half-year-oldgirl child has barely sur-vived the trauma and isundergoingtreatment,po-lice said. Thebodieswerediscoveredfromtheirres-idence in the city'sThigalarapalya on Fridaynight. The incident cameto lightwhen theheadofthe family, HallegereShankar, whowas away,camehomeafterfourdays,as his repeated calls tofamilymembershadgoneunanswered. Police sus-pectthatthedeathsmighthave occurred four daysago, allegedly as part of asuicidepact. PTI

J&K

L-GannouncestransitcampsfortribalsJammu: J&K Lt GovernorManoj SinhaonSaturdaysaid that construction oftransitaccommodationfortribalswillsoonstartalongtraditionalroutestakenbythemon theway tohigh-land pastures. These in-clude Kandi andThanamandi in Rajouri,BehramGala in Poonch,Udhampur and RambanalongtheJammu-Srinagarnationalhighway,DubjanandLalGhulaminShopianand along the nationalhighway in Pulwama,Sinhasaid.HehandedoverforestrightscertificatestotribalsinJammu.“Wehaveformulatedarobustmech-anism to ensure theserights(underForestRightsAct) are decided at thegrassroots level inconsul-tationwithPRIsandforestdepartment,”hesaid.

ENS

TRIPURA

BDOassaulted,IASofficersseeksecurityAgartala:Threedays aftera Block DevelopmentOfficer (BDO) was al-legedlyassaultedonduty,Sepahijala and Unakotidistrictmagistrates haverequestedSPstoensurese-curity to BDOs, DeputyCollector andMagistrateswhiletheyareonduty.Themovecomesthreedaysaf-ter the Poang Bari BDO,Vaijayanta Sarkar,was al-legedly assaultedbymis-creantswhenhewent toanareatochecktheimple-mentation of PradhanMantri Awas Yojana(PMAY). Police said thattheyarrested fivepersonsinvolved in the incident.“They are in judicial cus-tody till September 27,”Manubazar officer in-chargeShibuChandraDeysaid. ENS

New Delhi


THEWORLDWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

MEANWHILE

NOTRE-DAMERESTORATIONREADYTOSTARTWorktoshoreuptheNotre-DamedeParishasbeenfinished,allowingrestorationtostartatthecathedraltwoyearsafterafiredestroyedtheatticandsentitsspirecrashingthroughthevaultsbelow,officialssaidonSaturday. Thefinalphaseofeffortstosecureitsstructureincludedreinforcingthefire-damagedvaultswithgiantwoodenarch-shapedframes,authoritiessaid.

NORTHKOREA

PhotosshowNKoreaexpandinguraniumenrichmentplantRECENTSATELLITE imagesshow North Korea is ex-pandingauraniumenrich-ment plant at its mainYongbyonnuclearcomplex,a sign that it’s intent onboosting theproductionofbombmaterials,expertssay.TheassessmentcomesafterNorthKorearecentlyraisedtensionswithitsfirstmissiletests in six months amidlong-dormantnuclear dis-armament negotiationswiththeUS.“Theexpansionof the enrichment plantprobably indicates thatNorth Korea plans to in-crease production ofweapons-gradeuraniumatthe Yongbyon site by asmuchas25%,” JeffreyLewisand two other experts atMiddlebury Institute ofInternational Studies atMontereysaidinareport.AP

Atestmissile islaunchedfromatraininNorthKorea.AP

TOPOFTHEWORLD

AUSTRALIA

Policeclashwithlockdownprotesters,267arrestedAUSTRALIA’S POLICE ar-rested 235 people inMelbourne and 32 inSydneyonSaturdayatun-sanctionedanti-lockdownralliesandseveralpoliceof-ficers were injured inclashes with protesters.Victoriapolicesaidsixoffi-cers requiredhospitalisa-tion. Several officerswereknockedtothegroundandtrampled, the police saidand television footageshowed.About700peoplemanagedtogatherinpartsofMelbourne, as2,000of-ficersmade thecity centrevirtuallyano-gozone, set-ting up checkpoints andbarricades. REUTERS

YEMEN

Houthisexecute9forinvolvementinSamaddeathYEMEN’S IRAN-ALIGNEDHouthimovementsaidonSaturday that authoritieshad executed nine menwhowereconvictedof in-volvement in the 2018killing of Saleh al-Samad,thenthearmedgroup’stopcivilianleader.Samad,whoheld the post of presidentin the Houthi-controlledadministrationwhichrunsmost of northern Yemen,waskilledinApril2018bya Saudi-led coalition airstrike in the port city ofHodeidah on Yemen’swestcoast. REUTERS

CHARLESVBAGLILOSANGELES,SEPTEMBER18

ROBERT DURST, the enigmaticreal estate scion who evadedcriminalsuspicionforhalfhislifeonly to become a national sen-sation in theUS after damagingadmissionswereairedina2015documentaryonHBO,wascon-victed Friday in the execution-stylemurderofacloseconfidantmore than20yearsago.The verdict, which came af-

teroversevenhoursofdelibera-tions,was the latestact inacasethat spanned almost fourdecades. Itbeganinthewealthyprecincts of NewYorkwith the

mysterious disappearance ofDurst’sfirstwife,Kathie, in1982and concludedwith his convic-tionforthe2000killingofSusanBerman, a friendwho prosecu-torssaidhelpedhimcoveruphiswife’sdisappearanceanddeath.Durst, a frail 78-year-oldmil-

lionairewhosat throughthetrialinawheelchair,wasconvictedoffirst-degreemurderandfacesthepossibilityofalifesentence.The trial was remarkable on

many levels. It began inMarch2020 but adjourned days laterfor 14 months because of the

coronaviruspandemic.Ultimately, the prosecution

called 80witnesses and intro-duced nearly 300 exhibits. Butthe most damaging evidencecame, as a deputy Los AngelesCounty district attorney, JohnLewin,said inhisopeningstate-ments, right out of Durst’s ownmouth. The jury heard Durstmake a series of acknowledg-mentsinanearlythree-hourin-terviewwith Lewin right afterhisarrestin2015,inhundredsofjailhouse phone calls and inmore than 20 hours of inter-viewswith theproducersof thedocumentary The Jinx: The LifeandDeathsofRobertDurst.Durst, whose family owns

many iconic buildings inManhattan, has lived a lifewithenough titillating elements thattheycouldfilladozentrue-crimeshows,includingaMafiaprincess,amissing youngwife, the deathanddismembermentof adrifter,celebrities such as LaraineNewman and Steve Rubell, anddecadesof familybetrayal.AlthoughDurstwas charged

onlywithkillingBerman,thepros-ecutioncontendedthatherdeathwasconnectedto themysteriousdisappearanceofDurst’sfirstwifeandthekillingofthedrifter.Durstwasacquittedin2003ofkillingthedrifter,Morris Black. Durstwasneverchargedinconnectionwithhiswife’sdisappearance. NYT

REAL ESTATE SCION WAS CONVICTED OF KILLING CLOSE CONFIDANTE

NY millionaire Robert Durst found guilty of murderRobertDurstevadedcriminalsuspicionforhalfhislifeonlytobecomeanationalsensationafterdamagingadmissionswereairedina2015documentary.AP

RODMCGUIRKCANBERRA,SEPTEMBER18

FRANCE’S AMBASSADOR toAustralia has described as a“hugemistake” Australia’s sur-prise cancellation of a majorsubmarinecontract in favourofa US deal, as the diplomat pre-paredto leavethecountry inanunprecedented show of angeramong the allies.French envoy Jean-Pierre

Thebault delivered his com-mentsSaturdayashelefthisres-idenceinthecapitalofCanberra.“This has been a hugemis-

take,avery,verybadhandlingofthepartnership,” Thebault said,explaining that the arms agree-ment between Paris andCanberra was supposed to bebased “on trust, mutual under-standingandsincerity.”Parisrecalleditsambassadors

toAustraliaandtheUnitedStatesonFridaytoprotestadealamongtheUnited States, Australia andBritaintosupplyAustraliawithafleet of at least eight nuclear-powersubmarines.The deal scraps a 90 billion

Australian dollar ($66 billion)contract with Frenchmajoritystate-ownedNavalGroup,signedin2016, tobuild12conventionaldiesel-electricsubmarines.“Iwould like tobeable to run

intoatimemachineandbeinasit-uationwherewedon’t endup insuchanincredible,clumsy,inade-quate,un-Australiansituation,”theFrenchambassadoradded.Australian ForeignMinister

Marise Payne’s office earlier hadissuedastatementrespondingto

the diplomat’s recall andnotingCanberra’s “regret” over its ally’swithdrawalof itsrepresentative.“Australia understands

France’s deep disappointmentwith our decision, which wastaken in accordance with ourclear and communicated na-tional security interests,” thestatement said. It added thatAustralia values its relationshipwithFranceandlookedforwardtofutureengagementstogether.

Payne andDefenceMinisterPeterDuttonarecurrentlyintheUnited States for annual talkswith their US counterparts andtheir first with President JoeBiden’s administration.Beforehewasrecalled,French

envoyThebaultsaidonFridayhefound out about theUS subma-rinedeal:“Likeeverybody,thankstotheAustralianpress.”“We never were informed

about any substantial changes,”Thebaultsaid.“Thereweremanyopportunities andmany chan-nels. Never was such a changementioned.”After the US deal wasmade

publicthisweek,PrimeMinisterScott Morrison said he toldFrench President EmanuelMacron in June that therewere“very real issues aboutwhetheraconventionalsubmarinecapa-bility”wouldaddressAustralia’sstrategic security needs in theIndo-Pacific. AP

US TO EXPEL HAITIANS FROM BORDERMigrantswalkintheRioGranderiverneartheInternationalBridgebetweenMexicoandtheUSonFriday.TheBidenadministrationplansthewidescaleexpulsionofHaitianmigrantsfromasmallTexasbordercitybyputtingthemonflightstoHaitistartingSunday,anofficialsaid,representingaswiftanddramaticresponsetothousandswhosuddenlycrossedtheborderfromMexicoandgatheredunderandaroundabridge.USauthoritiesclosedtraffictovehiclesandpedestriansinbothdirectionsattheonlybordercrossinginDelRio,Texas,afterchaosunfoldedFridayandpresentedtheadministrationwithanewandimmediatechallengeasittriestomanagelargenumbersofasylum-seekerswhohavebeenreachingUSsoil.AP

PRESSTRUSTOFINDIAWASHINGTON,SEPTEMBER18

A US federal judge has struckdown a proposed Trump-erarule that aimed to replace thecurrentH-1Bcaplotterysystemwith awage-level-based selec-tionprocess.JudgeJeffreySWhiteoftheUS

District Court for the NorthernDistrict of California vacated aTrump-era H-1B cap selectionregulation on the grounds thatthen-ActingHomeland SecuritySecretaryChadWolfwasnotlaw-fullyservinginhisroleatthetimetheregulationwaspromulgated.The judge on Wednesday

granted the US Chamber ofCommerce’smotionforsummaryjudgmentinits lawsuitchalleng-ing the regulation, according tothe court order uploadedby theChamber’s litigationcentre.

TheH-1Bvisa isanon-immi-grantvisathatallowsUScompa-niestoemployforeignworkersinspecialityoccupationsthatrequiretheoreticalortechnicalexpertise.Technology companies dependon it tohire tens of thousandsofemployeeseachyear fromcoun-trieslikeIndiaandChina.ThenumberofH-1Bvisas is-

sued each year is capped at65,000,plusanadditional20,000reservedforindividualswithad-vanceddegrees.Thecurrentsys-temforselectingapplicationsforconsideration isahybridof first-come, first-servedandalottery.During former president

DonaldTrump’s finaldays inof-fice, the US Citizenship andImmigration Services (USCIS)announced todoawaywith thetraditional lottery systeminde-ciding the successful applicantsfor theH-1Bvisas.TheUSCIS had said itwould

prioritise wages to protect theeconomic interests of Americanworkers, and better ensure thatthemost highly skilled foreignworkersbenefitfromthetempo-raryemploymentprogramme.TheH-1Bcapallocationregu-

lationwasoriginallysettotakeef-fect on March 9, 2021. TheDepartment of HomelandSecuritydelayedtheeffectivedateoftheregulationtoDecember31,2021, in response to a Biden ad-ministrationregulatoryfreeze.“Because MrWolf was not

lawfully appointed as ActingSecretary at the time the FinalRule was approved, the Courtconcludes the rulemust be setaside. In light of this ruling, theCourt does not reach Plaintiffs’alternative arguments.Accordingly, the Court vacatesthe Final Rule and remands thismattertoDHS,”thejudgesaidinitsorder.

SHARONLAFRANIERE&NOAHWEILANDWASHINGTON,SEPTEMBER18

A KEY advisory panel to the USFood and Drug Administrationoverwhelmingly rejected rec-ommendingPfizerboostershotsformost recipients of the com-pany’s coronavirus vaccine, in-stead endorsing them only forpeoplewhoare65orolderorathighriskofsevereCovid-19,andreceived their second dose atleast sixmonthsago.Thevote—thefirstonboost-

ers intheUS—wasablowtotheBiden administration’s strategytomake extra shots available tomostfullyvaccinatedadultsintheUS eightmonths after they re-ceivedaseconddose.Thebroaderrolloutwastostartnextweek.Committee members ap-

peareddismissiveoftheargumentthat the general populationneededbooster shots, saying thedatafromPfizerandelsewherestillseemed to show two shots pro-tected against severe disease orhospitalisationanddidnotproveathirdshotwouldstemthespreadofinfection.Somealsocriticisedalackof data that anadditional in-jectionwouldbesafeforyoungerpeople. “It’s unclear that every-one needs to be boosted, otherthan a subset of the populationthatclearlywouldbeathighriskfor serious disease,” said Dr.Michael G. Kurilla, a committeemember and official at theNational InstitutesofHealth.But the panel’s final recom-

mendationleftsomeroomfortheWhite House to argue that thecore of its booster strategy re-mainedintact.Dependingonhow“at high risk” is defined, tens ofmillionsofAmericanscouldcon-ceivablywindupeligibleforaddi-tionalshotsof thePfizervaccine.The committee of experts

voted 16 to 2 against a Pfizerboosterforpeople16andolderaf-teratensedaylongpublicdiscus-sion that put divisions in theagencyandtheadministrationonpublicdisplay. NYT

JANWOLFE&DAVIDMORGANWASHINGTON,SEPTEMBER18

HUNDREDS OF police officerswere on duty around the USCapitolonSaturdayastheybracedforarallybysupportersofthehun-dredsofpeoplewhobreachedthebuilding on January 6 trying tooverturnformerPresidentDonaldTrump’selectiondefeat.Ablackeight-foot-high fence

whichsurroundedthebuildingforaboutsixmonthsaftertheattackisback, 100NationalGuard troops

areon standbyand security offi-cials are performing additionalchecks on travellers arriving atWashington’snearestairportinanefforttopreventviolence.

Organisersofthe“JusticeforJ6”rallysaidtheyexpectedapeacefulevent, butUSCapitol PoliceChiefJ. ThomasManger told reportersonFriday “therehavebeensomethreatsof violence” linked to theevent,wherepolicewouldworktoavoid clashesbetweenTrumpsupportersandopponents.More than 600 people have

beenchargedwith takingpart intheJan6violence,whichfollowedaspeechbyTrumpreiteratinghisfalse claims thathis election losstoDemocraticPresidentJoeBidenwas the result of widespreadfraud.Thoseclaimshavebeenre-

jected bymultiple courts, stateelectionofficialsandmembersofTrump’sownadministration.Rioters that day battled po-

lice, beating themwith sticksandmetal barricades, smashedtheirwaythroughwindowsintothe Capitol building and ranthrough the halls, sending law-makersandthen-VicePresidentMikePence running for safety.Four people died that day. A

policeofficerwhowasattackedbyprotestersdied thedayafter andfourpoliceofficerswhotookpartin thedefenceof theCapitol laterdiedbysuicide. REUTERS

ADITIKHANNALONDON,SEPTEMBER18

THOUSANDSOFvulnerable pa-tientswith Covid-19 inUKhos-pitals are set to benefit from alife-saving new antibody treat-ment called Ronapreve, whichwas given to former US presi-

dentDonaldTrump.A combination of twomon-

oclonal antibodies, Ronapreve,willbetargetedinitiallyatthosein hospital who have notmounted an antibody responseagainst thecoronavirus.The treatment was used as

part of the suite of experimentalmedicinesgiven toTrumpwhen

hecontractedCovidlastyear.“We have secured a brand

newtreatmentforourmostvul-nerable patients in hospitalsacrosstheUKandIamthrilleditwillbesavinglives fromasearlyas next week,” said UK HealthSecretarySajid Javid.The drugwill be targeted at

people who are immunocom-

promisedandthereforehavedif-ficulty building up an antibodyresponse to the virus, eitherthroughbeingexposedtoCovid-19or fromvaccination.The NHS said that a guid-

ancewill shortlybegoingouttoclinicianssotheycanbeginpre-scribing the treatment as soonaspossible. PTI

Iwould like tobe able torun into a timemachineandbe in a situationwherewedon’t endup insuchan incredible,clumsy, inadequate, un-Australian situation.”

JEAN-PIERRETHEBAULTFRENCHAMBASSADORTOAUSTRALIA

‘Bigmistake’: Francerecalls envoys fromUS,Australia over sub deal

Proposed Trump-era rule onH-1B selection struck down

US FDA panelrecommendsPfizer boostersfor older, highrisk people

US Capitol on high alert as pro-Trumpdemonstrators converge for rally

PolicepatrolanareaneartheCapitolonFriday.Reuters

UK to roll out Covid-19 treatment that was given to Trump

FrenchAmbassador toAustralia, Jean-PierreThebault, inCanberraonSaturday.AP

SAJJADHUSSAINISLAMABAD,SEPTEMBER18

PAKISTANPRIMEMinister ImranKhanonSaturdaysaidhehas“ini-tiatedadialogue”withtheTalibanfor an inclusiveAfghan govern-ment, a day after SCOmemberssought representation forall eth-nic, religiousandpolitical groupsinthenewdispensation.The Taliban, which seized

control of Afghanistan inmid-August, hadpromisedan“inclu-sive”governmentthatrepresentsAfghanistan’s complex ethnicmakeup, but there is noHazaramemberandnowomaninthein-terim33-memberCabinet.Taking to Twitter, Khan said:

“After mtgs (meetings) inDushanbe with leaders ofAfghanistan’sneighbours&espe-cially a lengthy discussionwithTajikistan’s President EmomaliRahmon, I have initiated a dia-loguewith the Taliban for an in-

clusive Afghan govt to includeTajiks,Hazaras&Uzbeks.”After40yearsofconflict, this

inclusivitywillensurepeaceandastableAfghanistan,whichis inthe interest not only ofAfghanistan but the region aswell,Khansaidinanothertweet.In an interview to Russian

broadcasterRT,Khanpraised USPresident Joe Biden for with-drawing American troops fromAfghanistan. “There was somuch unfair criticism ofPresidentBiden,andwhathedidwas themost sensible thing todo,”hesaid. PTI

REUTERSSEPTEMBER18

ATLEASTthreepeoplewerekilledandabout20woundedinaseriesofblastsintheeasternAfghancityof Jalalabad on Saturday, twosourcesinthecitysaid.Thefatalitiesoccurredduring

aseriesof fiveblasts,thesources,whosaidtheyhadreceivedinfor-mation fromhospitals and eye-witnesses, toldReuters.Onesourcesaidmembersof

theTalibanwere among the ca-sualties. The second said thebombstargetedTalibanvehicles.Talibanspokesmenwerenot

reachable for comment.Therewasno initial claim for

theblasts. Jalalabad is the capitalofNangarharprovince,whichisastronghold for the Islamic Stategroup,whichhasbeenactivesincethefallofKabultotheTaliban.AseriesofbombingsatKabul

airport on August 26 that wereclaimed by IS killedmore than180 people. Those attackswereamong deadliest during thecountry’stwodecadesunderUSoccupation.

RONENBERGMAN&FARNAZFASSIHISEPTEMBER18

IRAN’S TOP nuclear scientistwokeupanhourbeforedawn,ashedidmostdays,tostudyIslamicphilosophybeforehisdaybegan.That afternoon, he and his

wifewould leave their vacationhome on the Caspian Sea anddrive to their country house inAbsard, a bucolic town east ofTehran, where they planned tospendtheweekend.Iran’s intelligence servicehad

warnedhimofapossibleassassi-nation plot, but the scientist,Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, hadbrusheditoff.Convinced that Fakhrizadeh

wasleadingIran’seffortstobuildanuclearbomb,Israelhadwantedtokillhimforatleast14years.Despite his prominent posi-

tion in Iran’smilitary establish-ment, Fakhrizadeh wanted toliveanormal life.And,disregardingtheadvice

of his security team, he oftendrove his own car to Absard in-

steadofhavingbodyguardsdrivehiminanarmoredvehicle.SoshortlyafternoononFriday,

Nov. 27, he slipped behind thewheel of his blackNissan Teanasedan, hiswife in thepassengerseatbesidehim,andhittheroad.Iranianagentsworkingforthe

MossadhadparkedablueNissanZamyadpickup truckon the sideof the roadconnectingAbsard tothemain highway. Hidden be-neathtarpaulinsandconstructionmaterialinthetruckbedwasa7.62mmsnipermachinegun.The news reports from Iran

that afternoonwere confusing,contradictoryandmostlywrong.A team of assassins hadwaitedalongside the road for

Fakhrizadeh to drive by, one re-port said. Residents heard a bigexplosion followed by intensemachinegunfire, saidanother.Oneofthemostfar-fetchedac-

countsemergedafewdayslater.Severalnewsorganisationsre-

portedtheassassinwasakillerro-bot and that theentireoperationwasconductedbyremotecontrol.Afterseveralunsuccessfulat-

tempts on his life in the past,Mossad had decided to trysomethingnew.Aremote-controlledmachine

gunmounted on a truckhad itsdrawbacks.Ithaditsowncameras,allowing those ina control roomtoaimandpullthetrigger.Buttherecoilaftereachshot,andthesmalllag in the transmissionof signalsweregoingtobeaproblem.Butthemachinegunwasfit-

ted with artificial intelligencethat was programmed to com-pensate for the delay, the recoilandthespeedof thetarget’scar.Itwasalsoriggedwithexplo-

sives, and it blew itself up aftercompletingthekill,leavingmanybaffled for days regarding howFakhrizadehwaskilled. NYT

An Iranian scientist and an AI-assisted,remote-controlled killing machine

IraniansmournthedeathofMohsenFakhrizadeh.NYT

Initiated dialogue withTaliban for inclusiveAfghan govt: ImranBidenfacesunfaircriticism,saysPakPM

ImranKhan

Three killed inblasts in Afghancity of Jalalabad

New Delhi

THESUNDAYEXPRESS,SEPTEMBER19,2021

SUNDAYSTORYWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

TAKE5DINING TABLES INGOVT SCHOOLS

Tablesaremadefromlocalstones.Studentswillalsobetaughtuseof cutlery,napkins

‘Wanted to servemeals in dignifiedmanner, on tableinstead of floor’Madhya Pradesh haslaunched a scheme to set updining tables in schools formid-daymeals, startingfromGuna district. So far,students in governmentschools sat onmats on thefloor to have theirmeals

IRAMSIDDIQUE

1Whatpromptedtheinitiative?Students stand in longqueues

and sit on the floor for mid-daymeals.Lastyear,RuralDevelopmentMinisterMahendra Singh Sisodiafloated the idea of setting upbenches formeals. Thesebenches,hesuggested,couldalsobeusedforclasses. His vision was to servemeals in a dignifiedmanner on atable andnothave students sit ontarpaulinsheetsformeals.

2Areyoualsoteachingtablemannerstostudents?We are using available re-

sources to teach children the useof basic cutlery, napkin etc.Studentsareonlygivenabrief setof instructionswhenthemealsareserved. The idea is to raise stan-dards of government schools,whether it is about servingmealorshowingstudentshowtoeatit.Wewant students to have well-groomedpersonalities.

3 Isthereaspecificdesignforthetables?These are basic benchesmade

ofcementandconcrete.Thesurfaceismade of locally available stoneandgranite.

4Whatisthebudgetfortheproject?The cost comes to about

Rs50,000perschool.Theconstruc-tionworkisbeingdonethroughtheMGNREGA.We aim to cover 100schoolsunder80grampanchayatsinBamori.Wehave completed20sofar.Later,theprojectwillbetakenupacrossMadhyaPradesh.

5Howhastheresponsefromstudentsbeen?Theschoolshavenotopenedso

farbecauseofCovid-19guidelines.I’msuretheywillbedelighted.

SANTANUCHOWDHURY

SITTINGON a bench outside Habu Da’s teastall,oppositetheheritage‘MitraInstitution’inBhabanipur, BablaGhosh, 36, speaksdis-missively, “What election? People alreadyknowtheoutcome.”Bhabanipur—theconstituency insouth

Kolkata thrust into the limelight as the seatfromwhereMamata Banerjeewill seek toentertheAssemblythroughaby-electiononSeptember30,afterherlossfromNandigramin the state elections earlier this year—hashadanextendedelectoralseason,andthefa-tigue is showing.The conversation in the town’s popular

addas, fromHabuDa’steastalltothefamousBalwant Singh’s Eating House, mostly fo-cuses on themundane—price rise, the un-usuallyheavyrainfall thisyear,andMamataBanerjee’s interventiontofindasponsorfortheEastBengal football club.SittingaroundatableoutsideShyamDa’s

tea stall, a group of men are having an ani-matedconversationonMSDhoni’sselectionasteammentorfortheT20WorldCup.Whenasked about the bypoll, one of them says,“Everyone knowswhowill get 98 votes outof100.What’s thepointasking?ForgetDidi,Dada(SouravGanguly)hasdoneasuperbjobby bringing inM SDhoni. Now India has asolidchanceofwinningtheT20WorldCup.”Located in south Kolkata, Bhabanipur is

arguably themost cosmopolitanpartof thecity.About40per centof its voters arenon-Bengalis —mostly migrants from Punjab,Gujarat, Bihar,UttarPradesh.The place has the quintessential old

Kolkatacharm—withdilapidatedcenturies-oldbungalows,narrowbylanes,hand-pulledrickshaws and a potua para (potter’squarters).Idol-maker Bapi Pal, 52, has no time to

discuss the bypoll. He has more pressing

things on hismind, with Durga Puja start-ingonOctober 11. “Bengal’s biggest festivalis justamonthaway.Wewereanywayrun-ning into losses for two consecutive yearsduetoCovid.Nowwehavegotsomeordersfor idols.Weareworkingroundtheclocktofinish them on time,” says Pal, who liveswithin 200metres of Mamata Banerjee’sKalighat residence.Despite theennui surrounding theelec-

tion,Bhabanipurhasissuesthatitsresidents

want fixed— thepoordrainage system, thedesiltingof theTollyNullah,andtheunevenroads thatneedtobe fixed.“The nextMLA should ensure the Tolly

Nullahiscleanedup.Everytimethereishightide, thewateroverflowsandall ourhomesget flooded,” saysPal.Thehighlypollutednullah,alsoknownas

Adi Ganga, runs by Banerjee’s home. Thecanalcontinuestoreceiveuntreatedsewageandwaste from homes in the neighbour-

hood, despite theNationalGreenTribunal’sinterventionover theyears.The constituency is also the hub of

Kolkata’s famous yellow taxis as most ofthemhavegarageshere.Shankar Verma, 47, who hails from

Ambedkar Nagar in Uttar Pradesh and hasbeenataxidriverinBhabanipurfor30years,saystheconditionofroadsneedstoimprove.“Everymonsoon, the roadsget affectedduetoheavyrains.Itgetsdifficulttodriveonpot-holedroads,”hesays.BalwantSingh’s ‘EatingHouse’onHarish

Mukherjee Road is known for its famous‘chai’. The eatery is adjacent to GurdwaraShantKutiya,whereCMBanerjeepaidavisitlastweekseekingthesupportof thePunjabicommunity. On a Thursdaymorning, theeateryisallabuzzbutthereishardlyanytalkof theupcomingbypoll.“People here have no interest. We are

busy running our business,” says SaminderPalSingh,whose familyowns theeatery.Sipping tea froma kulhad, businessman

Manbir Singh says, “The TMC is already inpower. There is no point supporting theOpposition.”Banerjee’sopponentistheBJP’sPriyanka

Tibrewal, a young lawyer whowas instru-mentalinensuringaCBIprobeintoincidentsof post-poll violence inWestBengal.BanerjeehaswontwicefromBhabanipur

since2011. IntheAssemblyelectionsearlierthis year, shehadmovedoutof Bhabanipur

to contest from Nandigram in EastMidnapore district, but lost to her formerconfidant-turned-BJP leader SuvenduAdhikaribyamarginof 1,956votes.TheTMC’sSovandebChattopadhyaywon

fromBhabanipur, securing57.71percentofthe votes, but vacated the seat to allowBanerjee to get elected to theWest BengalLegislativeAssembly.Bhabanipur’sstatusasaVIPconstituency

—besidesBanerjee,formerWestBengalChiefMinister Siddhartha Shankar Raywas twiceelectedfromhere—andthefactthatitispartofKolkatacity,probablyexplainswhyit’snotstarstruckaboutthehighlyanticipatedbypoll.StandingoutsideGuptaBrothers,asweet

shop across the road from ‘Eating House’,businessmanAkashMehta, 42, admits thatthereisnoexcitementoverthebypoll. “It’sanon-contest. In the Assembly polls, all eyeswere on Nandigram because MamataBanerjeewas up against SuvenduAdhikari.Thistime,theBJPhasnotfieldedanyheavy-weight against the Chief Minister. This hasmade the contest easier for Banerjee,” hesays, unwilling to be drawn into anymoretalkonpolitics.But there is somebodywho iswilling to

hazard a guess. Umesh Kamath, 55, whosefamilyhailsfromMadhubanidistrictinBihar,has a clear winner inmind. “Didi will win.Hergovernmenthasprovideda lotof socialwelfareschemeswhichhavehelpedpeoplelikeus,” saysKamath.

MamataBanerjee fightsabypoll fromBhabanipuronSept30.But in this seatof yellowcabs,heritagebuildings, there’sadifferentbuzz—pricerise, ‘Dada’Gangulygetting inDhoniasTeamIndiamentor

IT WAS a turbulent start in office forBhupendraPatel.Partsofthestatewerereel-ing under floods, and after an aerial surveyof Jamnagar, thenewGujaratChiefMinisterwas to head to Rajkot. But the aircraft wasgroundedduetobadweatherandPatelhadtotravelthenearly100-kmdistancebyroad—aroughstart thatwouldhave thrownthemost seasonedof administratorsoff-kilter.Worse, the swearing-in ceremonyof his

newteamthatwas tobeheld the followingdaywas postponed, reportedly because ofprotests fromministers set tobedropped.An IAS officer, whowaswith the CM as

hemet the flood-affected, told The SundayExpress that the hours-old CMwas “firm”,“composed”, “not overwhelmed”. “He toldtheadministrationtoprioritiserescueoper-ations,askingofficialstoforcefullyevacuatethosewhoresistedastheprioritywastosavelives,” said theofficer.With the Central BJP plucking the first-

timeMLAfromnearanonymityandplacinghiminthehotseat,Patel’severymove,everyorder,everynodofthehead,willbewatchedandscrutinised—inDelhiandGandhinagar.According to his affidavit in his debut

Assembly election in 2017, Patel holds adiplomaincivilengineeringfromGovernmentPolytechnicCollegeinAhmedabad,wherehisfatherRajnikantwasprincipal,andrunsVihanAssociates,aconstructioncompanymanagedbyhissonandson-in-law.According to son Anuj, their firm, now

renamed ‘Ansh Construction’ after Patel’sgrandson,handlescommercialandresiden-tialprojectsandiscurrentlybuildinganaf-fordable housing project in the poshAhmedabadneighbourhoodofSouthBopal.Apart frombeingthefirstKadvaPatidar

CM, the 59-year-old Patel is also the firstfromAhmedabadcitytogetselectedforthetop job—the16chiefministersbeforehimhave all been fromother parts of the state.

Engineer, businessmanAs a young man, Patel would set up a

temporary firecracker shop during the fes-tive season in Dariapur, in Ahmedabad’sWalled City area, while the family livednearby in Dhantura Pol, a close-knit neigh-bourhood — it celebrated his anointmentwithburstingof crackers.After college, Patel worked at a private

construction company for around threeyears.HelaterlaunchedVardanTower,ares-idential project in Naranpura, with eight ofhis college friends.Like several other Hindu families, the

Patelsmovedoutof theOldCityneighbour-hoodinthe1990s,togetawayfromthecom-munal riots that frequentlybrokeout in thearea. The family, says Anuj, first moved toNaranpura and later toMemnagar, on theoutskirts of Ahmedabad. It was from herethat Patel launched his political career, be-comingamemberof theMemnagarmunic-ipality in1995-96.Thesewere theyears that theBJP, riding

the Ram Janmabhoomi wave, was on asteadyascendancy—in1995,thepartywonallthemajormunicipalcorporationelectionsinthestate.PatelrosetobecomepresidentoftheMemnagarmunicipality, holding officefor twoterms,1999-2000and2004-06.HefoughthisfirstAhmedabadMunicipal

Corporation election from Thaltej ward in2010 andwent on to become the standingcommittee chairman twice. In 2015-17, hechaired the Ahmedabad UrbanDevelopment Authority thatmakes town-planningschemes for thecity’speriphery.Inthe2012Assemblyelection,Patelman-

agedthecampaignofAnandibenPatelfrom

Ghatlodia, a role thatestablishedhispeoplemanagementskillsandendearedhimtotheformer chief minister. After AnandibenmovedonasGovernor,havingbeendeposedas chief minister, Patel contested the 2017election from the same seat andwon by arecord1.17 lakhvotes.BJP MLA from Naroda constituency of

AhmedabadBalramThavani,whooften satnexttoPatelintheAssembly,saidbeingfromthecity,Patelwouldunderstanditsproblems

better. “As soon as Patel’s name was an-nounced as Chief Minister, I went andhuggedhim,”Thavaniadded.Anujsaysnobodyinthefamilyexpected

it. “Mymother and I were having an after-noonnapwhen thenews cameabout papabecoming CM. The phone has not stoppedringingsince.”Whatnoonedoubts, as a senior leader

puts it, is that Patel’s elevation “bears theclear stamp of Prime Minister Narendra

Modi”.Onthereasonwhy,aBJP leadersaidone important factor was that Patel wasclean and non-controversial apart frombeing “acceptable to both Anandiben andAmit Shah”. “But more than that,” theleader added, “the reason seems to be hisinexperience — thus ensuring a personwhowill toe the lineof thehighcommandwithout questioning it.”Another BJP leader said thatwhile any

successful government shouldhaveamixof experience and youth, having an all-new ministry had its risks. “The leadersmight be successful in running their en-terprises or ventures, but how good theywill be in running the government is any-body’s guess.”Thosewhohaveworkedwith Patel at-

test to him being “hardworking” and“calm” under stress. Anil Jodhani, whoservedasPatel’spersonalsecretarywhenhewastheAMCStandingCommitteechairman,recallshowduringPatel’stermin2010-14,adelegationofCongresscorporatorshadcon-frontedhimoverdrinkingwaterissues.“Oneof thecorporatorspickedupaglassofwaterand threw it on Patel’s face. But hewas un-fazed.Hedidn’tcallthesecurity... instead,thenextday,heinvitedthemall foradiscussionover tea,” says Jodhani.FormerAhmedabadMayorMeenaxiben

Patel, 63, who worked with Patel in the1990s, says, “His working style has notchanged since his days in themunicipality.Hewould always visit the local party officeandaddresspeople’s issues. Thismadehimverypopular.”Describing him as “sensitive”, a party

workersaysthatatthepeakoftheCovidpan-demic, Patel ran a tiffin service for nearly1,000CovidpatientsattheAhmedabadCivilhospital.Hisofficealsorana24X7helpdeskforpeopleseekingtreatment,foodandotherservices.TheBJP leadersaystheyfondlycallPatel “Dada” forhis faith in the late spiritualguruDadaBhagwan.The CM is also a follower of Simandhar

Swami, a living tirthankara, whose idoladornshisnewoffice.Jatin Patel, a corporator fromGhatlodia

andaclosePatelassociate, says thenewCMalso took up the responsibility for five chil-drenwho lostparents toCovid-19.A formerAMCofficial said thatasstand-

ingcommitteechairman,oneofPatel’sinitia-tives — to form a “review committee thatwouldmeeteverymonthformajorprojects”— resulted in “99 per cent of these projectsbeingcompleted".His associationwith theAMC finds a re-

flectioninthenewCMO,withPatelbringingin two former deputymunicipal commis-sionersasOfficersonSpecialDuty.

What lies aheadWith just over a year to go for the

Gujarat elections, Patel has to hit theground running.BJPGujarat chief CRPaatil has set a tar-

get of winning all the 182 Assembly seatsin the upcoming 2022 elections.With theOppositionCongress “fragmentedanddi-rectionless”, says a BJP leader, the partydoes not expect any obstacles in its bid toreturn to power.Patel’s challenges are, however, more

immediate.“The first fewmonths will be very im-

portant. Patel and his Cabinet will have toprovethat theycanadminister thestate in-dependently,effectivelyandefficiently.Thesecond major challenge is to ensure thatthedroppedministersdonotsabotagegov-ernance,” said a political observer.

“The first fewmonths will bevery important. Patel and hisCabinet will have to prove thatthey can administer the stateeffectively and efficiently. Thesecond challenge is to ensurethat the droppedministers donot sabotage governance”

ALETTER FROMBHABANIPUR,

KOLKATA

WESTBENGAL

OutsideNetajiBhawaninBhabanipur.Theneighbourhood’sstatusasaVIPconstituencyexplainswhyit’snotstarstruckaboutthebypoll.ParthaPaul

11

NILESHPARIKH,CEO, GUNAZILLAPANCHAYAT

T H E S U N D A Y P R O F I L E

The new chiefInadramatic turnof events,BJP replaced itsGujaratCMwitha first-timeMLAlastweek.RITUSHARMA&PARIMALDABHIonBhupendraPatel’sdizzying

rise—fromayoungmanwhosold firecrackers, to theownerof aconstruction firmandcorporator, to the17thChiefMinisterofGujarat

NUMBERPLATE

34.1 lakh tonnes

Food per capita up 32%Thenet availability of foodgrains percapita grewbya third in theperiodbetween1951 and2019.

In 1951, the foodavailable per capitawas 144kgper year. Thenumberincreased to 191kg in 2019.

Fewer faminesIn thefirsthalf of the20thcentury,Indiarecorded24famines.OverthreemillionpeoplewerekilledinBengal in the1943famine.Independent Indiawitnessed justonefamine—inBihar in1966—whichkilled2,000.

Hunger continuesAspera2015Foodand AgriculturalOrganisationreport, Indiahad190mnundernourishedpeople.Atpresent, Indiais ranked94thamong107countriesonGlobalHunger Index,behindPakistan,BangladeshandNepal.

NUSHAIBAIQBAL

Illustration: SuvajitDey

Everything but politics

57india Thegapbetweentheamountof foodgrainrequiredto feedthecountryandthefoodproduction,accordingtothe1951Census.Sincethen, Indiahastackledits food insecurity,goingfromafood-securetoafood-surpluscountry, thankstogovernment interventioninthefieldofagriculture. InMaythisyear, thecountryproduced304lakhtonnesof foodgrains.

BHABANIPUR

WESTBENGALVictoriaMemorial

HowrahBridge

HooghlyRiver

Kolkata

New Delhi

12 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHE SUNDAY EXPRESS,SEPTEMBER19,2021OPINION

FifthCOLUMNTAVLEENSINGHTwitter@tavleen_singh

THECONSTITUTIONof Indiawasacom-pactbetweenthestates.Thecentralpil-lar of the Constitution consists of theThree Lists — Union List, State List andConcurrentList.List II (State List), Entry 11, as origi-

nallyenacted,read:Education, includinguniversities,subjecttotheprovisionsofen-tries63,64,65and66ofList Iandentry25of List III.List III (Concurrent List), Entry25, as

originally enacted, read:Vocational andtechnical trainingof labour.

A SLEDGEHAMMERBLOW

Entries63to66posednoproblematallbecausetheydealtwithsomenamedinstitutions, institutionsofscientificandtechnical education funded by theCentral government, training institu-tions and laying down of standards.Creative interpretation reconciled theentriesandtheprinciplethat‘Education’wasaStateList subjectwasupheld.In the Emergency-induced hubris,

Parliament took a sledgehammer toEntry 11of the State List. The entrywasdeleted initsentirety;andEntry25oftheConcurrent List was re-written as:Education, including technical educa-tion, medical education and universi-ties, subject totheprovisionsofentries63, 64, 65 and 66 of List I; vocationalandtechnical trainingof labour.The sledgehammer dealt a blow to

theideasof federalism,states’rightsandsocial justice.Theanti-Emergencywar-riorswhopassed the44thConstitution

Amendment (toundotheperceived illsof the 42ndAmendment) didnot thinkit was necessary to restore the originalentries concerning ‘education’.Historically, states had established

medical colleges and allowed privatepersons to establishmedical colleges.States regulated the admission of stu-dents to these colleges. Standards andqualityofeducationimprovedovertime.Venerated doctors came out of thesestate-regulated medical colleges. InTamilNadu, names that spring tomindimmediately are Dr Rangachari andDrGuruswamyMudaliar,whosestatuesstandasguardianangelsattheentrancetoMadrasMedicalCollege.Itisacknowl-edged that Tamil Nadu is among thestates that were/are in the forefront ofmedical education and healthcare. Thepoint is, these eminent doctors (andtherearethousandsalloverthecountry)werenotadmittedbasedonanAll-Indiaexamination.

RECOGNISING STATES’RIGHTS

The case for asserting states’ rightsis this: state governmentmedical col-leges are established using themoneyof the people of the state. They are in-tended, by and large, to admit the chil-drenofthepeopleof thatstateandteachthemmedicineinEnglishand, incourseof time, in the state’s official language,whichisthelanguageof thevastmajor-ity of the people of the state. The grad-uating doctors are expected, by andlarge, to serve the people of that state,

especially in the rural areas wherehealthcarewas/iswoefully inadequate.Theyareexpected,byandlarge,tospeakandprescribe and counsel the patientsin their language.State government regulations also

addressed issues of social justice. Theyencouragedadmissionofruralstudents,students who studied in governmentschools, children from poor families,children belonging to disadvantagedsections and first generationlearners.No one in the states complained

aboutthesystemthatprevailed,at leastnot in Tamil Nadu orMaharashtra and,to the best of my knowledge, in thesouthern states. Of course, there weregraveissuesthatneededtobeaddressedsuch as capitation fees, excessive fees,poor quality of equipment, inadequateattached hospitals, inadequate labora-tory,library,hostelandplaygroundfacil-itiesandsoon.Theseproblemsarecon-tinuing problems irrespective ofwhether the state regulates admissionof students or some Central authoritydoes so.

THE DISTRESSINGFACTS

TheNationalEligibilitycumEntranceTest (NEET) stands on the premise that“When it comes to higher education,that too in professional institutions,merit has to be the sole criteria”(SupremeCourtinModernDentalCollegevs State ofMP) and that only a commonentrance test will ensuremerit-based

admissions, fairness, transparency andnon-exploitation.NEETmadeastealthyentrythrougharegulationframedbytheMedicalCouncilof India(abodythathasbeen discredited since) and is now in-corporated in Section10Dof the IndianMedicalCouncilAct, byanamendmentmade in2016.I shall reserve the highly debatable

issue of “merit” to another day. Today, Iwish to focus on the facts reported bythe JusticeAKRajanCommittee on theimpact of NEET on the admissionprocess in medical colleges in TamilNadu:

Pre-NEET Post-NEET(2016-17) (2020-21)

NumberofStateBoard 98.23 59.41studentsadmittedCBSEstudents 0.97 38.84Ruralstudents 65.17 49.91inGovtMedicalcollegesinPvtMedicalcolleges 68.49 47.14Studentsof 14.88 1.99Tamilmediuminpercentage (Source:The IndianExpress)

Pleaseaskyourselves thequestions:Why should state governments spendthestate’stax-payers’moneyandsetupgovernment medical colleges? Whyshould students study in school in themother tongue (Tamil)? Why shouldstudentsstudyinstateboardschoolsandtakethestateboardexam?Whyshouldtherebea stateboardat all?Will urbanstudents serve in the PHCs and taluk-levelhospitals?The numbers in the table speak for

themselves. On the dubious theory of“merit”,NEETisheraldinganeraofgreatinequityand injustice.

Inequity and injusticewrit large

State government medicalcolleges are established using

the money of the people ofthe state. They are intended,

by and large, to admit thechildren of the state and teach

them medicine in Englishand, in course of time, in thestate’s official language. The

graduating doctors areexpected, by and large, to

serve the people of that state,especially in the rural areas

where healthcare was/iswoefully inadequate

AcrossTHEAISLE

PCHIDAMBARAMWebsite:pchidambaram.inTwitter@Pchidambaram_IN

TWENTY-FIVEyearsago,whenIwouldtellpeopleIwasstudyingHistoryatUniversity,Iwasmetwith,ifnotexactlyasneer,ascoff,and a shrug of the shoulders. Then, youcould stillmake adecent living in careerslikePRandadvertising,oraspireforthecivilservices, post a liberal arts degree.MaybeI’mviewingthepastwithrose-tintednos-talgia,butlearningforthesakeof learningwas still considered a beautiful thing.Unlikeyouthnow,weweren’tconditionedtoplanlifemovesClass9onwards;nordidourfamilymembersexpectwechoosede-greesthatwouldcatapultusintocorporatepositionsthesecondwegraduated.ReturnonInvestment (ROI)wasanalienconcept

andamblingalongwithoutaplanwasper-fectlyacceptable.Needless to say, those days are long

gone.Iwasremindedofthatmagicaltime,languid hours immersed in reading andthought,whenIwatchedacampusdrama,The Chair, onNetflix recently. A professorfindsherselfheadingaflounderingEnglishdepartment of an Ivy League universitywhereenrolmentshavedippedbecauseoftheirperceived(low)marketvalue.Worldover, there is dwindling interest in ‘soft’subjectsanda thrustonSTEM,where it isassumed (correctly) that future earningsare. (A depressing aside, is the near com-plete absence of TV shows on academia,theshabby-genteellifeoftheminddoesn’tappeal to youthful imaginations.Aspirationalmillennialsfarpreferbacksto-ries of bankers anddrugdealers, or other

more lucrative professions—the literaryclassroom,alas, isnotambitiousenough.)Nodoubt, in aworld beset by climate

change, food shortages and inequality, itsounds embarrassingly self-indulgent tobefocusingon,say,analysingthe14thcen-turypoetChaucer,abigpartofthecourse-workofanEnglishMajor.Certainly,itcouldbeconsideredanelitist choice, if itwasn’talsotruethatmanyofthepeoplechoosingcomputerscienceanddataanalyticswouldprobably opt for something else— if theyhadthefinancialfreedomtobroadentheirinterests instead of narrowing them.Onemust salute this generation’s hard-nosedpracticality:billsneedtobepaid, firstandforemost.More andmore, there is a de-tached sort of acceptancewhen it comesto choosing careers:what doesn’tmakemoney, isn’tworthpursuing.

Theproblemisthatinthechaseforse-curity,peopleareembarkingonpathsthatset them up for less fulfilling lives. Thistrendofrelentlessself-optimisationdisre-gards our fundamental need (to para-phraseMarie Kondo) to feel occasionalbursts of joy.What youenjoydoingnowis far more important than betting onsome distant payoff, which in all likeli-hoodwill turnout tobeamiscalculationbecausemost people have absolutely noideawhatmakes themhappy. I see thispressure to be productive everywhere,even atmy book club, which is largely agroup of devoted fiction readers. Everycouple of months someonewill sancti-moniously suggest a book on cryptocur-rencies, the aim, of course, being to im-prove ourminds (and our options). Butpeople are notmachines.We are nour-

ishedbymusicandbeauty,andsilentcon-templation, as much as we are by goodfoodanddrink.The humanities primarily seek to

broadenourunderstandingof theworld.Philosophy begins in wonder, notedAristotlecenturiesagoinTheMetaphysics,when insights into human natureweregleaned frommyths and poetic fables.Doesinquiryeverend?Life’sbiggerques-tionstranscendtime,nordotheyeverloserelevance.Theworthof interpretingPlatoorKantcanneverbemeasured inmone-taryterms—thebenefitof clarityrevealsitself slowly, andmuch later.Wewill al-ways need the scholarswho put the hu-manexperienceincontext,andcontinueaskingquestionsof theworldaroundus.

Thewriter isdirector,HutkayFilms

The worth of interpreting Plato

“ALLRELIGIONSarareasetof ideasgiventothe human race in the interest of humanwell-being. (There has to be) unity of reli-gions. They differ only because they wereproduced at different times and differentspace...Governmentsoftodayaretheworstdisturbersof peace.”So say the prefatory notes inMy Life

StoryofFiftyFiveYears—amemoirbyRajaMahendraPratap(1886-1979),theJatRajaofMursan,Hathras.Inrecenttimes,therehasbeenrenewed

interest in the Raja. Last week, PrimeMinisterNarendraModi laid the founda-tionstoneforastateuniversitynamedafterhim. The interest is least becauseofwhatMahendra Pratap stood for, andmore, itseems,forpoliticalgains!For,theRajawasaveryunusualfreedomfighter.Thethirdsonof theRajaofMursan,he

was adopted by the Raja of Hathras, andmarriedtothePrincessofJind,whilestudy-ingatMAOCollege,Aligarh.ThefounderofMAO College, Sir Syed, and MahendraPratap’sfatherRajaGhanshyamwereclose.In 1920, MAO College (MohammedanAnglo-Oriental College)wasupgraded toAligarhMuslimUniversity.OneoftheBJP’sdemands ironicallyhasbeenthatAMUbenamedafterMahendraPratap.Itwasduring the timehewas atMAO

College, inthefirstdecadeof the20thcen-tury,thatthecampussawgrowingrestive-ness against the British. It startedwhenJusticeSyedMahmood,sonofSirSyed,wasremovedassecretaryofthecollegein1899,apparentlyatthebehestofBritishloyalists.In1903,HasratMohani,astudentwho

hadlaunchedthefiercelyanti-colonialpe-riodicalUrdu-e-Mualla,wasimprisoned.In1905, students from the college attendedtheCongress’s Benaras session, presidedoverbyGopalKrishnaGokhale.Ayearlater,theAligarhStudentUnionpassedaresolu-tionadvocatingHindu-Muslimpoliticalco-operationtoexpeltheBritish.In1907,therewasamassivestudentstrikeledby,amongothers,SyedMahmud(wholaterservedinJawaharlalNehru’scabinet).Asthestudentsstarted putting up portraits of Gokhale,GermanEmperorWilhelmIIandleadersoftheOttomanEmpireintheirhostelrooms,theBritishkeptananxiouswatch.MahendraPratapwasamong the stu-

dentswhowanted to change the system,buthedifferedfromothersintakingIndia’s

freedomstruggleglobalduring1915-1945— travelling theworld, delivering talks,writingcolumnsandmobilisingfunds.HealsowrotetoGokhaleseekingtogo

to SouthAfrica to joinMahatmaGandhi,whohadlaunchedaSatyagrahathere,butwasdissuadedbytheCongressleader.TheRaja then offered Rs 1,000 (then a royalsum)forthecause.In1906,heattendedtheCongress session at Calcutta, against thewishesofhisfather-in-law,therulerofJind,whoapprehendedBritishwrath. In 1910,MahendraPratapwaspartofthereceptioncommitteeof theAllahabadsessionof theCongress.Inhismemoir,hetalksaboutpro-posinga“religionof love”,andaccordinglyfounded Prem Mahavidyalaya or FreeIndustrial &ArtsNational College (oneofIndia’sfirstpolytechnics),atMathura.Inpersonallifetoo,theRajabrokebar-

riersbyeatingwithasweeperatAgra.Helaunched periodicals such as Prem andNirbal Sewak. He also joined handswiththeGhadarrevolutionaries,basedabroad,who supported amutiny in the BritishArmy.AsaneedwasfelttoraisetheIndiande-

mand on a global scale, onDecember 1,1915, his birthday, the Raja announced aprovisional Indiangovernment-in-exile inKabul.HewasthePresidentandfellowrev-olutionaryMaulanaBarkatullahthePrimeMinister.Thiscametobeknownasthe‘SilkLetterConspiracy’.Hisplanwas to form“an international

socialist army for India’s freedom”.He setup offices inGermany, and in Japan,metRashBehariBoseandraisedfundsforhim,particularlyfromAfghanistanandTurkey.

TheRajaalsobecamefriendswithrulerssuchastheAfghankingAmanullah,whomheadmiredformodernisinghiscountry.Henotes that he observed Buddha Jayantithere, and that despite Ramzan fasting,manyAfghanMuslims turnedup (a pastthattheBamiyanvandalschosetoforget).After the Bolshevik Revolution, he

writesabouthavingmetLenin,aspartof“aplantosurroundIndiawithanti-Britishem-pireandpro-Indiastates”.HesaidGermanyintheWestandJapanintheEastwerede-stroying the British, and hence the onlychallenge before the Indianswas tomin-imise the gapbetween the rich andpoorandHindusandMuslims,togainfreedom.Healsoadvocatedan‘AryanFederation’

within the Congress—proposing an all-IndialanguagewithRomancharacters,bor-rowingsimplewords fromthevariousdi-alects, for linguisticuniformity.Aryans,hesaid, shared cultures from Iran toAssam,andthiswasasteptowardsworldunity.“I want to free England, India,

Germany,Japanfromtheirwar-lords,”hesaid, saying Hitler, Mussolini, militaristJapanwere all welcome. “Why should Icondemn thosewhosemutual conflictsarebasicallyhittingatempires."Impressed, theMathura district unit

of the Congress proposed to name thetownshipof theprovincial Congress ses-sion in his name, and to erect a life-sizestatueof theRaja.TheRaja is said tohavebeenglad, but

disapprovedofastatue.

ThewriterisprofessoratAMUandspecialisesinmodernIndianhistory

historyHEADLINEMOHAMMADSAJJAD

A Raja that time forgot,but politics will not

On [email protected]

THEISSUEofcastecensushasreceivedtheanticipated stormyresponse fromvariousquartersof India,especiallytherulingelite— the ‘rationalised’ idea of ‘granting sup-porttotheweakerpopulation’continuestobethetuneofHindustan’sradio.The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled

Tribes of India have beenhistorically op-pressedanditisuponusto“uplift”them,istherefrainamongliberalemancipators.IntheoppressionofDalits,nooneisthe

lesser sinner. Theoneswhowould like toworkwithintheconundrumsofHindulib-eralismfindreasonstohateaDalit,whocanbe anyone: their servant, colleague, orbosses.Eventheonewhoiswritingthiscol-umn.Then,toadvocate“redistribution”and“representation”isanactofrefinedcourage.Many Brahmin commentators have

unilaterallyreasonedthedifficultyingath-eringacastecensus.Oneof thepushbackscomesfromtheideathatdoingacensusforgroups who are actually marginalisedwouldnotbeeasy,andthatinstead,itwouldstrengthenthecastesystem.Howcouldonedifferbetweencastesandthecastesystem?Through the standards of representation,the entire gamut of casteswould realisetheirimportanceintheplaybookofdignity.Manybackward castes, formerly Shudras,findrefugeintheHinduorderwhichsome-howputs themaboveDalit, Adivasis, andlower-caste Muslims. Apart from thisdeigned dignity, no Hindumaterialismcomestotheirrescue.That is reserved for the lords of the

Shudras—theBrahminandalliedcastes.ItisherewherespiritualShudrasareincreas-inglyrealisingtheirtrueplace,whichisnon-existent. Theprocess of identifying castesand subcastes in the New India modelwould reconfigure theoriginal purposeofthenation-state— to serve the citizens ascommunities,andnotasindividuals.One cankeeparguing for Shudra con-

sensus,whichgoesbeyondreligious iden-titythattheHinduliberalswouldliketore-tain.However,countingpeopleforaperfectpolicyisthekernelofanysuccessfulState.

Weshouldbecautiousthatthefocusofthe census isnot limited to redistribution.Italsoneedstotakeintoaccountover-rep-resentation. Thus, by universalising thecountingprocess,wecould cover Indiabyaccountingforvariouscastesandtheirrep-resentationinnation-building.For too long, Brahminshaveprotected

theirnarrative—creatingideologiesofLeft,Right, Centre, to initiate shallow fights. Acaste censuswould be anopportunity tofindoutwherewehavegonewrongasana-tion,what needs to be fixed, andwhereshouldtheNewIndiaprojectbegin.Withouthavinganeconometricunder-

standing,wecannotinitiatepoliciesorevenparliamentarydialogues.TheDepartmentof Personnel and Training has no data ofBrahmin, Baniya, Kshatriya in their hiring,andpromotions.The1931CensusundertheBritishadministrationistheclosestwehave.Weneed to know thenumbers of the

beneficiaries of the caste systemaswell.Without this, the SC, ST census is akin tocountingtheprotectedspeciesinajungle.The claimants of reservation or quota

policycannotremainmuteonthequestionofredistributiontoothergroups—theback-wardclasseswhoseconstitutionalvaliditywas birthed during the formation of theRepublic in1950constitutehalf thepopu-lation.Butthiswasignoredbythe‘Pandit’ofHindustan, Jawaharlal Nehru. From theKakaKalelkarCommissionrecommenda-tion that advised incorporation of casteslowerintheBrahminicalhierarchy,totheBPMandalreportgrantingreservationtothemarginalised, savarna fiefdom has notrecognisedpotentialofbackwardclasses.Drawingon theBritish-eraCensus,Dr

Ambedkarhadlistedover1,550sub-castesamongBrahmins. Thepoor among themalsoneedtobethefocus.Wecannotallowthemtobeexploitedandmanipulatedbytheupper,rulingcaste.The EWS policy and its applicability

needstobeassessed.Untilwefocusonsta-tusof theEWSpolicy, theShudra/middle-castechiefministerswhoflauntpoliciesforBrahminupliftmentmaywell get a tickettoswarga.Perhapswiththistherecanbeacommonconsensusamongstthecountry’spaupers,who could join forces andadvo-cateforsocialjustice;and,onewouldhope,forannihilationofcastesaswell.

SurajYengde,theauthorofCasteMatters,curatesthefortnightly ‘Dalitality’column

DalitalitySURAJYENGDETwitter@Surajyengdeom

RajaMahendraPratap’sbustatPremMahavidyalaya (oneof India’s firstpolytechnics) thathefounded.AvishekGDastidar

ON THE PrimeMinister’s birthday lastweek, every major newspaper in thecountrycarriedfull-pageadvertisementsin his praise. The Chief Ministers ofMadhya Pradesh, Assam and UttarPradeshledthechargeandwerelavishintheirpraiseofhis ‘vision’andhisachieve-ments.Thewifeofanex-chiefministeroftheBJPinMaharashtramadeherpersonalcontribution by posting a song inModi’spraiseonInstagramthatshesangwiththeuninhibiteddevotionusuallyreservedforgods.What surprised (andworried)mewas that major private news channelssoundedlikeDoordarshanofyoreintheirown obeisance to NarendraModi on his71st birthday. The Prime Minister ap-proves of genuflection and sycophancy,or it would not happen. Especially notfrom themedia, whose basic reason forbeingistoplaywatchdogandnotpoodle.The problemwith sycophancy is that

it doesmore harm than good to leaderswho encourage it. Nextweek the PrimeMinistertravelstotheUnitedStatesonhisfirst visit there since that ‘Howdy,Modi!’event inHouston,whenhe had justwonhis second term and therewas euphoriaintheair.NotjustamongoverseasIndians,who planned this assembly, but in theworld in general. There was consensusthenthatIndiawouldgetitseconomicacttogetherandbecomeamajorplayerglob-ally.IfnotequaltoChina,atleastwellonitsway to getting there.Much has changedsince, andModi could find that, this timearound,Indiaisnotseenasthatbeaconofdemocracyandhopethat itwasthen.Modi’sdevotees like toblameCovid’s

calamitous secondwave for all that hasgonewrong,butthedeclineinIndia’s im-age beganwell before then. If anything,Covidbroughtahalttoproteststhatweresweeping across the country because ofthe Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA)thatwas seen bymillions of Muslims asdeliberately discriminatory. When theHomeMinister repeated, ad nauseam,that it was the first step towards settingup a National Register of Citizens (NRC)thatwouldderecognisethosewhocouldnot prove that theywere Indians, it setalarmbells ringing.Millions ofMuslims,likemillionsofotherIndians,donothavedocuments toprove their citizenship.If therewasanydoubtthattheagenda

ofModi’s secondtermwasgoing tomakelife difficult forMuslims, it camewhenCovidwasatfirstblamedonthatcongrega-tionofTablighimaulanaswhogatheredinDelhiforaneventthathadthewrittenper-mission of theHomeMinistry.Many for-eignMuslimswho came to attend thisIslamic congregation spentmonths in jailon grounds so flimsy that Indian courtspassedseverestricturesagainsttheofficialswho arrested them.Whena governmentisseentodiscriminateopenlyagainstami-nority, its imagesuffersseriousdamage.AftertheCAAhascomethehounding

of dissident journalists andactivists, andthis continues to this day. So, it is no sur-prise that international watchdogs ofdemocracyhavestartedtospeakof Indiaas only partly free and as an illiberaldemocracy. Personally, I failed to under-standwhythePrimeMinisterhasnotspo-kenout against thosewhohavebeen re-sponsible for India’s democraticcredentials being downgraded. But lastweekwhenModi’s favouritechiefminis-termade that ‘abba jaan’ comment, I be-gan toseeasinistermethod in theplot.It is no secret that senior BJP leaders

believethattheonlywaytowinelectionsis through consolidating the Hindu votebytargetingMuslims.Andnowthatmostimportant of all state elections drawsnearer and nearer. It comes after a sum-mer when the Chief Minister of UttarPradeshshowedseriousincompetenceatthe height of Covid’s secondwave. YogiAdityanath has continued to deny thatdesperate peoplewere forced to deposittheir dead in the Ganga or bury them inshallowgravesonherbanks,buttheseareimagesthathavebeenetcheddeepinthepublicmind. If thiswerenotbadenoughfor Yogi, there has come this outbreak ofdengue fever inwhich nearly a hundredpeople,manyofthemchildren,havedied.It has exposed oncemore the fragility ofhealthservices inastatethatYogiclaims,with the backing of the PrimeMinister,hasbeentransformedunderhis rule.When it comes to propaganda, Yogi

Adityanath isaheadofModi. It ishardtoturn on the TV or open a newspaper ormagazinewithoutbeingbombardedbyadvertisements that boast of the ‘greatstrides’ that Uttar Pradesh has madesince Yogi became Chief Minister.Personally, I cannot remember a stateelection in which so much money hasbeen spent on propaganda and public-ity.Wewill knowina fewmonths if thiscolossal, expensive exercise in trying tohidethetruthbeneathathickblanketoflies hasworked.For themoment,what is important is

for the PrimeMinister to convince theleadershewillmeetonhisfirstmajorfor-eignvisit intwoyearsthatIndiandemoc-racyisasvibrantandrobustasalways.Hewouldhaveaneasiertaskif theinvestiga-tiveagenciesthatworkdirectlyunderhimspent lesstimegoingafterdissidents likeHarshMander and disobedient digitalmediaplatformswhichareonlytryingtodo their job. Servile sycophancy and en-forcedobeisancerarelyhelppoliticallead-ersenhance their stature.

Sycophancycauses harm

Across groups, thecase for a caste census

New Delhi


ECONOMYWWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM

Crude WatchUS SUPPLY TRICKLES BACK INTOMKTNew York: Oil prices fell on Friday as energy firms in the US Gulf ofMexico restarted production after hurricanes in the region shutoutput. Brent crude futures fell 33 cents to settle at $75.34 a barrel. Forthe week, Brent was up 3.3% and US crude was up 3.2%. REUTERS

BEYONDJUNE2022

ENSECONOMICBUREAUNEWDELHI,SEPTEMBER18

WITHTHEGoodsandServicesTax(GST)Councildiscussingnottoex-tend the compensationmecha-nismforstatesbeyondthelegallymandatedfive-yearperiodendinginJune2022,severalstateFinanceMinisters have raised concernsanddemandedanextensionof it.States such as Kerala, Tamil

NaduandWestBengal are learnttohavedemandedanextensionofthecompensationmechanisminthe45thCouncilmeeting,whichwasheldinLucknowonFriday.FinanceMinisterKNBalagopal

onSaturdaysaidhehasaskedforextensionof theGSTcompensa-tionregime,statingthatthestateis

alreadygrapplingwith a signifi-cantrevenueshortfall. IncasetheGST compensation regimeendsnextyear,thestatewillfacefurtherrevenueshortfall,Balagopalsaid.Inhis speechat themeeting,

Tamil Nadu Finance MinisterPThiagaRajandemandedcontin-uationofthecompensationmech-anism,anddefermentofadecisionon this issue. “While we arebroadly,andfirmlyinfavourofthecontinuationofthecompensationmechanism,weareconcernedbymanyofthedetails,”hesaid.ThiagaRajansaidalltheCouncilMemberswill requiresometimetoanalyseandassessthefeaturesandconse-quencesof theoptionspresentedduring the 45th meeting, andhence,expectthatanydecisionontheway forwardwillbedeferred

tothe46thmeetingatleast.“Tobedoublysure,weformallyplaceare-quest that no final decision bemadeonthismostimportantissuewithout the benefit of the timeneededtofullyassesstheoptions,”ThiagaRajanhadsaid.Union Finance Minister

NirmalaSitharamanonFridayhadsaid that the regime of payingcompensation to states for rev-enueshortfall resulting fromGSTimplementationwill end in Junenextyearandthatthecompensa-tioncess,leviedonluxuryandde-merit goods,will continue tobe

collected tillMarch2026only torepay the borrowingsmade in2020-21and2021-22tocompen-satestatesforGSTrevenueloss.“Ontheissueofcompensation

scenario,apresentationwasmadeto the Council wherein it wasbroughtout that therevenuecol-lections fromCompensationCessintheperiodbeyondJune2022tillApril2026wouldbeexhaustedinrepaymentofborrowingsanddebtservicingmadetobridgethegapin2020-21and2021-22.Inthiscon-textvariousoptions,ashavebeenrecommendedbyvarious com-mittees/forumswerepresented,”an official statement after themeetingsaid.MinisterofStateforUrban Development andMunicipal Affairs ChandrimaBhattacharyaonFridayhad said

thatthestatehasdemandedanex-tension of the compensationmechanismby five years. DelhiDeputy Chief Minister ManishSisodiahadsaidthematterofcom-pensationcesswouldbereferredtoaGroupofMinisters(GoM).Stateswereguaranteedcom-

pensationunderGST for the rev-enuegapbetweenactual collec-tions and theprotected amountbasedon14percentcompoundedratefrombaseyear2015-16forfiveyears after theGST rollout, untilJune2022. Last year, thegovern-ment haddecided to borrow tomeet the compensation cessdeficitthroughback-to-backloanstostates.InFY2020-21,anamountofRs1.10lakhcrorewasreleasedtostatesundertheback-to-backloanarrangement.

Centre tosimplify CoffeeAct to promoteease of doing biz

ENSECONOMICBUREAUNEWDELHI, SEPTEMBER18

THEGOVERNMENTwill relookat thecoffee lawtomake it suit-able as per thepresent needs ofthe sector and facilitate itsgrowth,thecommerceministrysaidonSaturday.The issue was discussed,

amongother things, inan inter-action of Commerce MinisterPiyushGoyalwith coffee grow-ers,roasters,exportersandotherstakeholders at Coffee BoardHeadOffice,Bengaluru.Coffee growers expressed

concerns over losing theirlands in view of the notices is-sued by banks underSecuritisation and Recon-structionofFinancialAssetsandEnforcement of SecurityInterest (SARFAESI) Act.

Georgieva deniespro-China pushon ‘Ease of DoingBusiness’ report

REUTERSWASHINGTON,SEPTEMBER18

INTERNATIONAL MONETARYFundchiefKristalinaGeorgievade-niedallegationsthatshepressuredWorldBank staff to alter data tofavour Chinaduringher timeasWorldBankCEO,astheIMF’sexec-utiveboardlaunchedaformalre-viewofthematter.Georgieva used apreviously

scheduledmeetingwiththeIMF’s2,700-strongstafftoaddressfind-ingscontainedinanindependentreportissuedonThursdayondatairregularities in theWorldBank’snow-canceled “DoingBusiness”rankingsofbusinessclimates.

PRANAVMUKULNEWDELHI,SEPTEMBER18

FROMJANUARY1, fooddeliv-eryappswillhavetocollectanddeposit5percentGSTwiththegovernment,inplaceofrestau-rants,fordeliveriesmadebytheplatforms. This transferof re-sponsibility, whichwas ap-proved by the GST CouncilFriday,was proposedby thegovernmentwith the aimofbringing several restaurantsthathadnotbeenpayingtaxesundertheGSTnet.

Whatchangesoncethiscomesintoeffect?Currently, if a cus-

tomerordersfood,forexample, fromRestaurant A usingSwiggyorZomato,thefooddeliveryplatformcollects the5per cent taxonfood from the customer andpasses it on to the restaurant.However,thegovernmentbe-lieves that several restaurantshavenot deposited their taxdespite themrecordinghighturnover. Soeffective January1, the food-delivery appswillcollectthetaxonbehalfoftherestaurantandwillalsodeposititontheirbehalf.Asaresultofthis, the restaurantswill alsohave tomandatorily registerthemselves as is done by e-commercesellers.

Doesanythingchangefortheconsumer?No, since there is nonew

tax thathasbeen introduced,theconsumerwillcontinuetopay the5percent rateon thefood they order online. Theproposal of theGSTCouncil,which got approved Friday,alsopeggedtobringthedeliv-eryservicesunderthetaxnetbut it determined that sincethecustomerdoesnotdirectly

avail theservicesofadeliveryexecutive,nordotheyhavethechoiceofwhichdeliveryexec-utive services them, the re-sponsibilityforpayingthetaxon delivery serviceswill liewiththefood-deliveryapps.

Whatchangeswithrestaurantsanddeliveryapps?Tax experts sug-

gest that the mostsignificant impactwill be onsmaller restaurants, particu-larly those with annualturnover of less than Rs 20lakh, as they were not in-cluded in theGSTnet before.With the responsibility forcollectionoftaxlyingwiththeaggregator, these smallerrestaurantswill also need topay taxes. Formost restau-rantsnow,however,therewillbeanaddedcompliancebur-den in that theywill have tokeep two separate books ofaccounts—onefor theirnor-mal business and second forthe business done throughZomatoorSwiggy.For the aggregators, this

will also increase theburdenofcompliancetowardscollect-ing and accounting for thetaxesonbehalf of the restau-rants.Themovemayalsocre-atesomeconfusionintermsofapplicabilityofinputtaxcred-its,forwhichfoodaggregatorsareexpectedtoseekclarifica-tionsfromthegovernment.

TAXATIONWATCHGOODS&SERVICESTAX

Delivery apps tocollect, deposit 5%GST: Impact oncustomers, eateries?

NewDelhi:AmidreportsthataCCIprobehasfoundGoogleallegedlyabusing its dominant positionwith respect tomobileoperatingsystemAndroid,theinternetma-joronSaturdaysaidthatAndroidhas led tomorecompetitionandinnovation. The CompetitionCommissionofIndia’s(CCI)inves-tigation armDGhas found thatGoogleindulgedinunfairbusinesspracticesinrelationtoAndroid,ac-cordingtoreports.After prima-facie finding al-

leged violation of competitionnorms, the watchdog, in early2019,hadorderedadetailedprobeagainstGoogleinthisregard.Against the backdrop of re-

portsthattheregulator’sprobehasallegedlyfoundGoogleabusingitsdominantposition, thecompanysaid.“Welookforwardtoworkingwith the Competition Commi-ssionofIndiatodemonstratehow

Androidhasledtomorecompeti-tion and innovation, not less,” aGooglespokespersonsaid.According to sources close to

thedevelopment,Googleisyettoreceivethereport.Therewasnoimmediatecom-

ment from CCI regarding theGooglematter.Asperprocedure, theCCIwill

closely analyse theprobe reportand seek theviewsand submis-sionsofthepartiesconcernedbe-forepassinganorder.PTI

Kerala,TamilNaduandWestBengalarelearnttohaveaskedforextension

BRIEFLYEthanoltenderNewDelhi:State-ownedfuelretailingfirmshavereceivedan“overwhelming”responsetothetendertheyfloatedforbuyingethanolformixinginpetrol, astatementsaid.Theoilfirmsfloatedthetendertobuyethanolforprogressivelyraising the percentage ofethanolmixedinpetrolto20percent (80percentpetrol,20percentethanol).PTI

NJMutualFundNewDelhi:NJMutual Fundhas launchedNJ BalancedAdvantage Fund, an openendeddynamicassetalloca-tionfund.TheNFOwillopenforsubscriptiononOctober8andcloseonOctober22.ENS

GSTcompensation regime:SeveralOppn-ruledstatesseekextension

79%INJULY2021Recovery inaveragecurrentcollectionefficiencyfrom67percent inMay2021across143ofitsratedsecuritisationtransactions■However,therecoveryfromtheimpactofthesecondwaveisnotyetcomplete,theagencysaid■ResumptionofeconomicactivitiespostthesecondCovidwaveimprovedsentimentsandsupportedtheloanperformanceinJune-July2021■Overdueloansinsofterdelinquencybucketsstartedperformingwiththegradualliftingofpandemic-relatedrestrictionsandthistrendwasprominent inthesecuredassetclasses

Source: India Ratings andResearch/PTI

Securitisation volumes have picked up post the secondwave lull in the Q1 FY22, helped by the improvement incollections, India Ratings and Research said

What is securitisation? Securitisation is the process of pooling and repackaging ofhomogenous illiquid financial assets into marketable securities that can be sold to investors.

‘Better collection efficiency:Securitisation volumespick up post-Q1 FY22’

Next on Council table, ratesunder inverted duty structureAANCHALMAGAZINE&MAULSHREESETHNEWDELHI/LUCKNOW,SEPT18

RATECUTSforanumberofcancerandCovid-relatedmedicinesanda shift in taxpayment liability torestaurant delivery aggregatorssuchasSwiggy,Zomatoinsteadofrestaurants,were twoof thekeydecisionstakenbytheGoodsandServices Tax (GST) Council in its45th meeting in Lucknow onFriday. TheCouncil, alsodecidedto continue compensation cesslevy only for repayment of bor-rowed amounts beyond June2022. Aproposal to bringpetro-leumproductsundertheindirecttax regimewasdiscussed, but it

was decided to keep it out of itsambitfornow.

GoingaheadEffective January1next year,

theCouncil hasdecided tomakee-commerceoperatorsengagedinrestaurantservices liable forpay-mentoftax.TheCouncilwillalsothenlook

at rate rationalisation under theinverteddutystructure,andcom-pliancemeasuresthroughe-waybillandcompositionschemes,forwhich twoGroups ofMinisterswill be constituted. The CouncilhasdecidedtosetupaGoMtoex-amine the issue of correction ofinverteddutystructureformajorsectors; rationalise rates and re-viewexemptions fromthepoint

ofviewofrevenueaugmentation.“It was also decided to set up aGoMtodiscusswaysandmeansofusingtechnologytofurtherim-prove compliance includingmonitoringthroughimprovede-way bill systems, e-invoices,FASTag data and strengtheningthe institutionalmechanism forsharingof intelligenceandcoor-dinated enforcement actions bytheCentreandtheStates,”astate-mentsaid.To correct the inverted duty

structure,GSTratechangeswillbemadeforthefootwearandtextilessector, but thedecisionhasbeendeferred for implementation tillJanuary1nextyear.

Fullreportonwww.indianexpress.com

Restaurantswillalsohavetomandatorily registerthemselvesas isdonebye-commercesellers. File

ENSECONOMICBUREAUNEWDELHI,SEPTEMBER18

THEMINISTRY of Civil Aviationhasrelaxedthecapacityandfarerestrictionsinplacefordomesticflightsinlinewiththegrowingairtrafficandtheupcomingonsetofthe festivals season. Airlineswillnowbeabletoscheduleupto85percentoftheirpre-Covidflights,comparedwith72.5percentca-pacity theywere able to deploytill Saturday. In addition to this,the applicability period for thefareceilingandfloorimposedbythe government, has been re-duced toa15-dayrollingperiod,comparedwith a 30-day rollingperiodearlier.Sincethereopeningofdomes-

ticaviation inMay2020after theinitial two-month lockdown, theCentrehasregulatedthenumberof flights airlines canoperate ondomestic routes to prevent anoverburdenonthelocalinfrastruc-ture involvedwithhealthcareac-tivities. Initially, the caponnum-berofflightswas33percentofthepre-Covid schedule, and thiswasgraduallyincreasedto80percenttillthesecondwaveofCovid19hit.Afterthatthegovernmenthadre-

duceditto50percentandthenre-laxed it to 60 per cent, 72.5 percent,andnow85percent.Similar to the restriction on

flight capacity, the governmenthasalso regulated the farebandsinwhichtheairlinescansellflighttickets.Theseareregulatedbyim-positionofaminimumandmax-imum fare on seven buckets ofsectors classified on the basis offlight duration. The governmenthasalso fromtimetotimeraisedthe fare limitations to allowair-lines to accommodate the in-creaseinfuelprices.Asper anorder issuedby the

civil aviationministry, a copy ofwhichwasreviewedbyTheIndian

Express, theminimumandmaxi-mumfareshallbechargedbyair-linesona15-dayrollingcyclefromthedateofbooking.So,forexam-ple, an airlinewill have tooffer afareinsaidbucketonlyfor15daysahead of the date of booking.Therefore,ifsomeoneisbookingaflightonSeptember20,farebandsshallbeapplicableonlyonflightsbeing offered for booking tillOctober 5. AnybookingdoneonSeptember 20 for travel afterOctober 5will not be controlledbythesefarelimitations.Similarly,anybookingdoneonSeptember21 for travel up toOctober 6willbe controlled by the fare bands,andsoon.“This is awelcomeorder as it

willgiveusmoreflexibilitytoop-erateflightsfortheupcomingfes-tivals season,when traffic rate isusually thehighestduringayear.Wearehopingthatasnumberofdomestic air travellers increases,thegovernmentwillallowairlinestooperatewith100per cent ca-pacity. The fare band relaxationwill allowpeople to plan travelwithin15daysnow.Earlier a30-dayperiodwasblockedwithhighfares asper thegovernment-im-posedbuckets,”anexecutivewithalow-costairlinesaid.

IndiraGandhi InternationalAirport inNewDelhi. File

Airlines allowed to operate 85%of pre-Covid domestic flights

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEMUMBAI, SEPTEMBER 18

ASPECIALcourtonSaturdayre-jected bail applications of YesBank founder Rana Kapoor’swifeandtwodaughters incon-nection with the alleged fraudintheDHFLcase.Thecourtsentthem to judicial custody tillSeptember 23.Bindu Kapoor, Roshni

KapoorandRadhaKapoorwerenamed as accused in the DHFLcasebutwerenotarresteddur-ing the probe.After the CBI filed a supple-

mentary chargesheet in thecase, the three were sum-monedaccording to theproce-dure. They then filed bailapplications.The investigating agency

sought time to file replies dur-ing which they were grantedinterimbail.The CBI in its reply had op-

posed stating that if enlarged

onbail, theymayabscondfromthe country and influencewit-nesses. Thecentral agencyalsosaid that they are ‘influentialpersons’ and probable wit-nessesaremostlyemployeesofYes Bank or companies linkedto the accused or personsknown to them. It had claimedthat the three were directorsof companies linked to the al-leged fraud.

Lawyers Vijay Agarwal andRahul Agarwal representingthe three said that they haveapproached the Bombay HighCourt against the order.Rana Kapoor was arrested

last year on March 8 by theEnforcement Directorate (ED)in another case related to al-leged kickbacks received byhim in lieuof loans given to in-frastructure company, DHFL.

■Thecourtsent themtojudicial custodytillSeptember23■BinduKapoor,RoshniKapoorandRadhaKapoorwerenamedasaccused intheDHFLcasebutwerenotarrestedduringtheprobe■After theCBI filedasupplementarychargesheet inthecase, thethreeweresummoned

accordingtotheprocedure.Theythenfiledbailapplications.Theinvestigatingagencysoughttimeto file repliesduringwhichtheyweregrantedinterimbail■TheCBI in its replyhadopposedstatingthat ifenlargedonbail, theymayabscondfromthecountryandinfluencewitnesses

TILL SEPTEMBER23

DHFL case: Court denies bail toRana Kapoor’s wife, daughters

GEORGEMATHEWMUMBAI,SEPTEMBER18

WITHTHEeconomyonthecome-back trail andhomebuyingmar-ketexpected tostageagrowth inthe forthcoming festival season,lenders are racing towoohomeloancustomerswith interest ratecuts.AlthoughtheReserveBankofIndia(RBI)haskeptthepolicyratesunchangedatfourpercent inthelastsevenreviewmeetings,banksledbyStateBankof India, KotakMahindra, PNB and others lastweekslashedthehomeloanrates,triggering a competition amongbankstowoocustomers.SBI, which has a home loan

portfolioofRs5.05lakhcrore,hasnowoffered credit score linkedhomeloansat6.70percent, irre-spectiveof the loanamount. Theoffer results in a savingof 45bpswhichtranslatestoahugeinterestsavingofmorethanRs8lakh,foraRs 75 lakh loanwith a 30-yeartenure, thebank says. Thehomeloanoutstandingof thebankingsectorhas showedagrowth rateof 8.9 per cent to Rs 14.66 lakhcroreasof July2021asagainstRs13.46 lakhcrore ayear ago, indi-cating that banks disbursedaroundRs120,000croreashomeloansduringthe12-monthperioddespite theuncertainties createdbytheCovidpandemic.Thehomeloansegmentisconsideredasthesafest area forbank lendingwithminimalnon-performingassets.PunjabNational Bank (PNB)

hasslashedtherepo-based lend-ingrateby25basispoints(bps)to6.55percent. It revised therepo-linked lending rate (RLLR) from6.80percentto6.55percent,witheffectfromSeptember17.Thebankhasalsoannouncedoffering top-uphomeloansatanattractiverateofinteresttoexistingaswellasbal-ancetransfercases.PNBisalreadyoffering a fullwaiver of servicecharges/processingfeesonhomeloans,vehicleloans,personalloans,pensionLoans,myProperty loan

andgoldloansunderitsfestivalbo-nanzaoffer,itsaid.KotakMahindra Bank kick-

started the festive seasonbyan-nouncing that it has reduced itshomeloaninterestratesyetagainbya further15basis points from6.65percentto6.50percent.Bankof Baroda is offering awaiver of0.25percentintheexistingappli-cableratesforhomeandcarloans.Inadditiontothat,thebankisalsoofferingawaiverofprocessingfeesinhome loans.Home loan rateswillnowstartat6.75percentandcarloanratesstartat7.00percent.SBI has removed thedistinc-

tionbetweenasalariedandanon-salariedborrower. Earlier,therateapplicableforanon-salariedbor-rowerwas15bpshigherthantheinterestrateapplicabletoasalariedborrower. Thiswouldleadtoafur-ther interest saving of 15 bps tonon-salariedborrowers.CS Setty,managing director

(retail&digitalbanking),SBI,said,“Generally,theconcessionalinter-est rates areapplicable for a loanup to a certain limit andare alsolinkedtotheprofessionofthebor-rower. This time,wehavemadetheoffersmore inclusiveand theoffersareavailabletoallsegmentsof borrowers irrespective of theloanamountandtheprofessionoftheborrower.”SBI’s6.70percenthomeloanoffer isalsoapplicabletobalancetransfercases.“Webe-lievezeroprocessingfeesandcon-cessional interest rates in the fes-

tiveseasonwillmakehomeown-ershipmoreaffordable,”Settysaid.Ontheinterestratecut,Ambuj

Chandna,president–consumeras-sets,KotakMahindraBanksaid,“Astheworldhaschangedandwearespendingmoretimeathome,ourlifestyleshavealsoevolved.Peopleare looking for comfortable resi-denceswheretheentirefamilycanwork,entertainandspendqualitytime together.”MortgagemajorHDFCandBajajFinservarealsoac-tiveofferinghomeloansat6.75percent.Banksandtherealestateseg-mentarepinningtheirhopesonafastergrowthinthesegmentastheeconomyisontherecoverymodeandindustryisalmostbacktothepre-pandemic levels. “Themoodamonghomebuyersisquiteposi-tiveandthisratecutwillactasacat-alyst forquickerdecisions.Giventhe upcoming festive season,whichisconsideredauspiciousbyalargenumberofIndianstomakebig ticket purchases, the timingofreductionininterestratecould-n’t have beenbetter,” saidAmitGoyal, CEO, India Sotheby’sInternationalRealty.Ananta Singh Raghuvanshi,

seniorexecutivedirector,ExperionDevelopers, said, “Lower interestrate regime, competitivepricingandstable supplyarekey factorsthisfestiveseason.Wehopeotherbanks would also follow suit.Besidestheattractivelowerinter-estrateregime,thefactthatdevel-operswill offer festive schemesshouldhelpboostsalesforreales-tate.”Foraffordableandmid-rangehomebuyers,homeloaninterestrates are almost as important asproperty rates. “Cost-sensitivityimpactsall aspectsof theirhomepurchasejourneyandareductionin interest rate canmake thedif-ferencebetweenpurchasedeci-sions and indecision. It is apt forlower interest rates to coincidewith the festive season. Thisyearthere is a lot of pent-updemandwaiting to hit themarket,” saidAnuj Puri, chairman, ANAROCKPropertyConsultants.

■Although theRBIhaskept thepolicy ratesunchangedat4% in thelast sevenreviewmeetings, banks ledbySBI,KotakMahindra,PNBandothers lastweekslashedhomeloanrates

POLICY RATESUNCHANGED

Home loan: Competitionheats up as banks go oninterest rate cutting spree

TheCCIwillcloselyanalysetheprobereportandseektheviewsandsubmissionsofthepartiesconcernedbeforepassinganorder

Under CCI lens, Googlesays Android has ledto more competition

New Delhi

SEPTEMBER 19, 2021 | WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM | PAGE 14

Benita Fernando

ITWASperhaps in kindergarten thatwefirstheardthestoryof therelent-less spider, the one that tried, tried,triedagainuntilanoviceScottishkingresolved to defeat the English army.Or,perhaps, itwas inprimaryschool

whenwewere taught that Thomas Edisonfailed only a thousand times (or 5,000 or10,000) before he invented the light bulb.Maybe itwas noneof these legends, but thetimewewonasilvermedalandacoach toldus, “Next time, gold.”Wewere told that theworld is our oyster, that theword “impossi-ble”doesn’t exist inourdictionaries, thatwecanachieveanythingwewant,ifonlyweper-severeandnever losesightof theprize.ThencameNaomiOsaka,throwingaham-

mer in theworks. InMay, the 23-year-oldAmerican tennis player— theworld’s high-est-paidfemaleathlete—withdrewfromtheFrenchOpen,citingmental-healthconcerns.The followingmonth, shewithdrew fromWimbledonaswell.Inasocial-mediapostonMay31,Osakawrotethatshe’sbeensufferingfrom long bouts of depression since theUSOpen in2018(whereshewonagainstVenusWilliams)andhashadahardtimecoping.Similarly,inJuly,SimoneBiles,24,shocked

theworldwhensheannouncedthatshewaswithdrawing from the individual all-roundcompetition at the TokyoOlympics. The 24-year-oldAmericanathlete,thewinnerofmostworldchampionshipmedalsandthegreatestgymnastofourtimes,hadsaid,“Wealsohaveto focus on ourselves, because at the end oftheday,we’rehuman, too.”Bileswould latergo on to clarify that her decisionwas not somuch about giving up as itwas about rear-rangingthedefinitionof success.Osaka’sandBiles’decisionstochoosewhat

theywantedtoparticipateingavepermissiontootherstodosoaswell.“Thatsomeonecouldtakesuchastepatsuchalevel...especiallyforawomanofcolour.Tenyearsago, itwouldn’thavebeenpossible,”saysShivangiTiwary,30,aBengalururesident.Biles’decisionresonatedwith Tiwary,who finishedher post-gradua-tionstudiesingender,societyandrepresenta-tion in 2020, but the road to it had been lit-teredwithobstacles.In2015,TiwaryleftherMBAprogramme

at Alliance University, a course she had en-teredmainlybecauseherfamilyexpectedherto. Inthedaysaftershedecidedtoquit, inherrentedone-bedroomapartment, Tiwarytriedtoself-diagnosewhyshe felt thewayshedid.Sheknewshewas suffering; shejustdidn’tknowwhy.Eventually,when

herparents learntofthe situation, theyweresupportive,butit didn’t quite help.She says, “There is alot of shame andguilt around quit-ting.Youendupfeel-ing you are disap-pointing someonebut you don’t knowwho that is. It couldbe your family, soci-etyor thatauntwhocomes home once ayear and asks whyyou didn’t finishyour MBA.” Thestigma against quit-tingwassohighthatTiwary eventuallycompleted hercourse in2017.Thepressuretoperformconsistentlywell,

with theworldwatching, is aweight tobear.The stakes are high,making uswant to quitpreciselywhenweareatthetopofourgame.“WhatSimonBilesandNaomiOsakahave

done is nothing short of pathbreaking: theyhavenormalisedaskingforhelpatthehighestlevelof achievement, recognitionandfame...toputyourself first,andtoprioritisewell-be-ing overwork,” read a socialmedia post byMumbai-basedentrepreneurandyouthmen-tal-healthadvocate,NikhilTaneja inJuly.In2017,afterayearintherapy,Tanejaquit

his jobatYashRaj Films. Taneja, then30, de-scribesthattimeasahigh-point inhiscareer—hewasgeneralmanagerattheproductioncompanyandalsoaproducer.Following a diagnosis of clinical anxiety,

Tanejahadinitiallyoptedforasabbatical.Histherapist said that hewas close to anervousbreakdown. “Whenyou fulfil amiddle-classgoalpost that you’d setmany years ago, yourealisethereisthenextoneandthenanother.Howmany goalposts are going to be there?Untiltherapy,Ihadneverstoppedtoconsiderwho I amorwhat Iwanted. There hadbeenno time to pause and reflect,” says Taneja.Quittingshouldhavebeenthecleardecision,buthewasdoubtful.“DidIquitbecauseIwasweak?Did I quit because Iwasnotmentally‘strong’?”heasks.Our lives, and their reflections in art and

cinema, are filledwith cautionary tales thatmake quitting difficult, evenwhen there is

working,therewerestilldeadlines,meetingswere still happening. That’s a huge exampleof industrial time.Wehadtobeatourbodiesandminds into shape anddowhateverwasexpectedofustochurnoutadeliverableandmakemoney.Wehadtokeepproducing,”saysDelhi-basedwriter,RiddhiDastidar.Duringthistime,Dastidar,29,volunteered

withmedical resourcing and then foundedMutual Aid India,which gathers fundraisersfromgrassroots collectives formarginalisedcommunities.Volunteering,however,broughton its own share of grief, anxiety and fear.Dastidar, who has been managing herObsessive-CompulsiveDisordersincecollege,wasreportingfromJharkhandonafreelanceassignmentthisyear.Shegotwaryofthesheernumbers of peoplemoving aboutwithoutmasks due to a failure of publicmessaging.DastidarusedtoreportforKhabarLahariya,afeminist grassroots newsnetwork, a job shequit in July this year. The flipside is that herlifestylewill have to be as frugal as possible.Quitting,sheacknowledges,isamatterofpriv-ilege. “Clearly, I amananxiouspersonbutallthismademe realise that I badlywanted tofinishwritingmybook,tofocusonaprojectofmyownatmyownpace,”shesays.For Pune-based Nasrin Anwar (name

changed), 25, quitting not one but two jobs,sincethepandemicbegan,wasadecisionthatwashardtoarriveat.WithadoubleMasters’ineconomicsandpopulationstudies,Anwarwasfacedwithajobmarketthatwaswaning.Herfatherwasalawyerandhermothergavetuitions,but,asseniorcitizens,neitherofthemcouldwork. Anwar’s job as a data analyst inthepublic-healthsectorbecamefarmorede-mandinginthepandemicandheremployersweretight-lippedaboutraises.“AfterIsentouttheemailthatIwasquit-

ting,Ineverlookedback.IwonderedwhyI’dstuckaround for so long,” saysAnwar.Noneof thismeantthatAnwardidn’thavetodealwiththeemotionalfalloutsofquitting.Eventhoughitwasadecisionthatwasbackedbyherparents,theyhadalreadystarteddippinginto their savings and they were ready tomortgagetheir jewelleryforanyworst-casescenario. “When you are not productive, itcan badly hamper your self-esteem. Andtherapy isn’t affordable all the time either,”shesays.Anwareventuallytookanotherjobbutthe

secondwaveofthepandemicchangedthingsdrastically.Shelostherfathertothevirusandher mother has been dealing with post-

COVID-19effectseversince. “Wewere al-ready in debt and Iwas in the strangeposition of being a25-year-oldwhohadto pay off the familyloans,” says Anwar,whoquithernewjobover religious dis-crimination at theworkplace. “The en-vironment in thehouse is really tenseand I can feel theweight of being aprovider day in anddayout,”shesays.

■ ■ ■

It’s not leavingjobsorcoursesalonefor the sake of one’smental well-beingthatcanbefinanciallydraining. After beinginabadmarriage formore than a decade,Varanasi-based

Preeti Didwaniya, now43, decided to sepa-rate fromherhusband in2014. “Butmarrieddaughters livingwith parents are not so ac-ceptable inVaranasi,”shesays.With a son to lookafter andonly receiv-

ing basic maintenance for his schooling,Didwaniya had to look for salaried work,thoughherparentsweremore thanwillingto support her. Among the reasons that shehaddecidedtoleavehermarriagewasphys-icalandmentalabuse, inadditiontothefactthat shewas not allowed to have a salariedjob. Now, Didwaniya took up a job as ateacher, but as the divorce proceedingsstretchedon foryears together, shereachedapointwheretakingcareofahousehold,heryoung son and the demands of the work-placeweretoomuchtohandletogether.“Youquit one thing but there is another crisis toface. I constantly felt as if I had to flee, thatanything could happen to me,” saysDidwaniya, who left her teaching position.Her divorce came through last year in thepandemic, after six years. DidwaniyawentontoopenadaycarecentreinVaranasiwiththecontactsshehadbuiltovertheyearssinceher separation.Giventhesepressures, theartofquitting

istoughtomasterandwithoutmanytakers.Indeed, it takes a fair amount of unlearningto acknowledge that it might be a sign ofagencytosometimesjustgiveup.Thatquit-ting is not a desperate sign, but an invest-ment in an act of hope, in believing thatwedeservebetter.

every reason to do so. And,when one doesquit, it’s rarelyallowedtobethewholestory.Peopleareexpectedtocomeback“stronger”,havingrestedandrecharged.It’sthenarrativearcfordropouts-turned-billionaires.Itlistsonlife-coachingwebsites of “inspiring peoplewhoquit jobs to travel”.Quitting somesoul-crushing(butwell-paying)jobinthecityisac-ceptable only if you turn to a life that is radi-cally different and fulfilling, like buying avineyardinItalyorfarmingintheNilgiris.ShaheenKhan,aDelhi-basedpsychother-

apistandpsychologistworkingwithProactiveforHer, awomen’s digital health clinic, says,“Ihaveseenthatevenifpeopleareextremelyunhappywiththeir jobor if it’s amisfit, thentoo,theydon’tquitbecausetheyfeelquittingwillmakethemafailure.Capitalistsocietyhasingrained inusthat ifwearenotworking formoneyorgeneratingstuff, thenwearenota

valuablemember of society. This way, wefunctionoutof guilt,” saysKhan.Asa societythat emphasisesoncommunity, taking timeoutforoneselfisseenasaselfishact,sheadds.Wedon’thearenoughpeopleinourlivesval-idatingthedecisiontoquit.“Whatweneedtounderstand is thatmost people quit aftermonthsofpondering,quittingonlywhentheycan’t takeitanymore,”shesays.

■ ■ ■

Itwas intherapythatTanejarealisedthatifhehadaweekendoradayoff,hewouldfillit upwith activities tomake the best use oftime. “Iwouldhave this anxiety about a freeday,”hesays.This intense regulation of time and the

needtobeeternallyproductiveispossiblythemost importantreasonwhymanyofushold

backfromquitting.Weareexpectedtomarkthemilestones in our lives at the appointedtimes, noneofwhich ishelpedbyambitiouslistsof“30under30”.Theunhurrieddayfeelslike awasted opportunity. GivenhowAsiancountries have someof the longestworkinghours in theworld, we growup evaluatingourselves based on howproductivewe are.Thismakes quitting difficult, particularly ifthere is no job offer or a personal venture toback up the decision, or if the reasons are atoxic environment or a bully boss. The samecanbesaidofthosemanagingmentalhealth,asthoughweletanillnesswin.Inarathertwistedway,thepandemichas

greatlywarpedoursenseoftimeandmadeasudden shift in our lives, leading to a radicalreassessmentoftheseprescribedmilestones.“During the secondwave of the pandemic,people inDelhiweredyingandwewerestill

LET’S CALL IT QUITSSteadfastness is a virtue, but only if it doesn’t come at a personal cost.

Letting go is the new script for mental and physical well-being

POINTOFVIEW

The First TableAt the Rashtrapati Bhavan, what goes intothe making of a feast to showcase India’sculinary diversity to visiting dignitaries

ARTS etc

From Clay We RiseAnuradha Roy on being a writer of thechanging world and her new novel that

interrogates grief, friendship and creativity

ILLUSTRATION:SUVAJITDEY

● ● ●

This intenseregulation oftime and theneed to beeternallyproductiveis possiblythe mostimportantreason whymany of ushold backfrom quitting● ● ●

● ● ●

Our lives,and their

reflections inart and

cinema, arefilled with

cautionarytales that

make quittingdifficult, evenwhen there is

every reason todo so

● ● ●

New Delhi

Mukesh Kumar

WHEN PRESIDENT RamNathKovindhostedare-ception for India’sOlympic contingent re-cently, the Rashtrapati

Bhavankitchenhadanopportunitytoexpressgratitudetothesportspersonsformakingthenationproud.Whenwedesignedthemenu,we kept in mind two key elements:Accommodatingtheathletes’dietaryrequire-ments andpresenting before theman arrayofregionalaswellasinternationalflavours.Toensure themealwas nutritious andwhole-some, exotic vegetable tortillawraps,well-complementeddelicaciessuchasmurghhaz-arvi tikka andmushroompies. The dessertwas a combination of rava kesari andpista-chiobaklava,afusionofclassicIndo-Westernsymphonies. Andhowcouldwe let themgowithoutservingthetraditional,highlynutri-tious Indian beverage, the Punjabi powerdrink,kesarbadamlassi?Serving the first table of the nation, we

havetobeacutelycarefulwhileplanningthemenus.AttheRashtrapatiBhavanevents,theaimistoincorporatethevastandvariedfoodcultures and showcase thediversity of Indiato the visiting dignitaries. The state banquetis an opportunity to give the visitors a senseof thevibrancyof India’s various cuisines. Atthesametime, foodhabits, likesanddislikesof the visiting dignitaries have to be consid-eredtoo.Often,flavoursandcombinationsofingredientsneeda little tweaking to suit thepreferences of the visiting guests, but it isequallyimportanttoensurethattheauthen-ticity isnot lost intheprocess.The Rashtrapati Bhavan kitchen is in

chargeof nourishing thePresident and firstfamily every day, catering to official guests,including heads of states, aswell as privatefunctionsforthePresidentandthefirst lady.TherewasatimewhentheWillingdonsandtheMountbattenswereservedconsommés,soufflés, steaks and other traditionalEuropeandelicacies.Curiously,theirkitchenoperationswereneverheadedbyaEuropeanchef.TheBritishentirelyreliedontheirteamof Indian cooks for the preparation ofWestern food.The tradition of preparing and serving

WesternfoodinthestatebanquetswasboundtochangeafterIndependence.InsearchofthemostexquisiteIndiandishessuitableforstatebanquets, the cooks turned toMughlai cui-sine for inspiration. In the 1960s, one of thefirst statebanquets to feature Indian foodonthemenuofferedamixofboth—Indianand

Westerncuisine.ItstartedwithFrenchonionsoupfollowedbybiryanialongwithdumalooandnaan and concludedwith a British styletutti-fruttidessert.Over the years, awareness grew of the

distinctive culinary traditions of the differ-ent regions of India. The first families alsohadamajorroleintransformingtheculinaryrepertoire of theRashtrapati Bhavan.Majorinputs started flowing in during the presi-dency of Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed (1974-77),when the first lady, BegumAbida Ahmed,encouragedcooks toexcel in their craft andinitiatedbriefingsbeforeeverybanquet.Shemade sure that the presidential kitchen of-fered the finestqualityofAwadhidelicaciessuchasmurghnihari,dumpukhtbiryaniandflakysheermalbreads toguests.

THAT WEHOLD CLOSE

In life, we must haveone way of living,loving, caring, andthinking, one set

of values thatis unshakeable

DINNER ISSERVED

(From top) LovlinaBorgohain (left) and

PV Sindhu at thereception hosted by

the President forIndia’s Olympic

contingent recently;President Kovind’s

(in blue) banquet forheads of states,

including FrenchPresident Emmanuel

Macron, in 2018

P O I N T O F V I E W 15EYE , THE SUNDAY EXPRESS MAGAZINE

SEPTEMBER 19, 2021

Man vs Wildin the LawnMoments of war and peace inmy garden, and why I had to takedown the scarecrow

RanjitLalRanjit Lal isanauthor,environmentalistandbirdwatcher

DOWNINJUNGLELAND

INTHE last coupleofmonths, there’sbeenwarandpeace in thegarden.Human-animal conflict, likeanever-endingcoldwar,has, at times, culminated inbrief skirmishes. Tocounter the infiltrations,meas-

ureshad tobe taken.Anoldkurtahungupona frame,withabaseball cap forhead, stuckatoneendof the thenbedofpalak—thepeacocks’ favourite—anddanglingdiscardedCDsstrungonropes.Alas, a terrible, undignified fatebefell thescarecrow.

Aftera fewdays, thebirdsgot themeasureof it. Babblersbeganplayingsee-sawonthe fellow’sarms, stoodontheheadandplayedbeing judge.Then, flewupto thedining-roomwindowhammeringawayon it.Several thunderstormscouldn’t save thepoor scare-

crow’sdignity. The finalhumiliationwasstill to come. Isoonnoticed tinyholesall over the thinmaterial. I spot-tedanorangewaspalightupon it, cutouta tinyholeandflyoff— itwasusing (andchewingup) thecotton forhome-construction. Soon, thepoor scarecrowwaspock-markedall over, as if pepperedwithbuckshot.Wesavedit fromfurther indignityandtook itdown.Not that ithadmadeanydifference to themonkeys:

Onemorning, I lookedout into thegardento findahugeloutof a rhesusmacaquecoolly snackingontheshinypurplebrinjal Ihadearmarked for lunch,wastingmorethaneating.A threatened lathi-chargeandmuchshout-ingsawthe intruder stalkingoff calmly, leastbothered.Now look, I havenothingagainst thebirds and the

beasts fromsharingmygreens— in fact, I havedonatedanentire guava tree to theparakeets (guavas are invari-ably full ofwormsandmakemeburp), and love itwhenthe small cheepingbandsof scaly-breastedmuniasde-scend tohavebreakfastwithme. Theypickupall thebajra that theparakeetsupstairshavebestoweduponthemlikemanna fromheaven. Just recently, I happilyalloweda shiny little fellowclip the long leavesof aplant and flyoffwith strips to thegardennextdoor,only to reappear and repeat—several times.Hewasob-

viously settingupacosyhomewithhiswife. Alas,wehadaveryheavydownpour soonafter and Ihaven’tseen the fellowsince.They’re said tomakerather largeball-shapednests

withanentrance tooneside.Ontheother side, everyaf-ternoon, familiesofWhite-eyesassiduously inspect thebougainvillea for spiders, and the tailorbirdshoutsexul-tantly inherusualmegaphonemanner. Late in theevenings, themagpie-robinwill let loosea longverysweetwhistle.The tori (ridgegourdcousinof zucchini)andghia

(bottlegourd)are inarapaciousstranglingbattle (gourdvsgourd).The torihasso farclaimedthehighgroundsneakingacross thefence, swarmingright tothetopofthetall saptaparni trees inthecommonlawn, itscrepe-likeyellowflowers, fluttering like flags.Theghiahasmostlybeensmotheredbuthasyieldedseveralheavy-weightghias,whichhadtobegivenaway, there’sonlysomuchghiaonecanhave! Inspiteofwatchingtime-lapsecoverageof creepersandlianasruthlesslywindingthem-selvesaroundotherplants, Ineverreally thoughtthat“domestic”plantsweresonakedlyaggressive.Betweenthetwo, thepooryoungmangotree,engulfedbyboththeseruthlesscreepers,hasbeenstrugglingtoescape.Regrettably, I don’tputoutwater for thebirdsany-

more,becausemosquito larvaemake thecontainer theirprivate Jacuzzi.But therehavebeengoodthings, too.Agigantic,

stunningowlmothvisitedonemorning, itshugeeyespotsmesmerising. Twopairsof redPierrots—their red,blackandwhitepatternsostrikingagainst thedarkgreen foliage—spentacoupleofmonths flutteringaround,becoming fondof themint flowers.There’sbeenhunting, too. Lynxspiders lurkunder

tulsi leaves.Once, I sawonegrabahoverflyandhastilymakeoffwith it, lest Iprosecute it forpoaching.Acat,barelyoff kittenhood,pouncedrepeatedlyonagardenlizard,missing itbymetres,butobviouslygettingmoredelightoutof thesport (likeachildonamattress).And, then,morehappyevents. Twoeveningsago,

Iheard tailorbirdsmakeanunholy racketandthoughtacatwasontheprowl.But itwasa family—amomandher tworecently-fledgedyoungsters—hoppingaroundexcitedly,beingshownwhere to find tidbits.Vociferously, the fledglings insistedonbeingspoon-fedandtheir exasperatedmomobliged!Somekids justnevergrowup!

A FEW GOOD THINGSRed Pierrot butterflies

RANJITLAL

Living HistoryAn Indian Express

collaboration with theRashtrapati Bhavan

ITWASatriumphantfeelingtohaveleftIndiaCOVID-free in June, when the virus waswreaking havoc across the Indianmap.Notbecause Charlie and I had been living in acave;rather,we’dtakeneveryprecautionandcare tonotcatch it.My family is by nomeans strangers to

COVID-19.Wehavedealtwith its challengesclosely. Inthefirstwave,mymomcontracteditfromourfamilychef,who’dpickeditupfromoneofhismanyhospitalvisits. Itwasafeattokeepthesefamilymemberscomfortableandwell caredfor.Morechallengingwasthetaskofkeepingtheremaininghouseholdsafe.We

succeededandwereproudtohaveendured.The secondwave hadmybrother Samir

catching the virus from a colleague. Onceagain,westrove tocare for aCOVIDpatient.Samir emerged from itwithoutmuch chal-lenge, thehouseholddidtoo.Wefought thevirustoothandnail twice,andeachtimewestayed togetherandbeat it.The second wave was not without its

tragedy.We lost two of our family’s closestandmostpreciousmembers,AbhaauntyandAjay uncle. Their loss within days of eachotherbroughthometheuglyandviciousna-ture of this disease. Like parents tomy sib-lingsandme,thesetwohadseenusthroughthe arc of our lives, and in Papa’s absence, itwas Ajay unclewho often played that role.And, now,wewere left bereft of that pres-ence, too.ThenwelostPrabhaaunty,agreatgynaecologistofDelhi,whobroughtmeandmy siblings into thisworld andwas by oursideateverynoteworthymomentofourlives.ThesethreedeathsatthehandofCOVIDwillremain stark reminders for us to appreciatetheheftandmightof thisdeadlydisease.MymotherandIflewintoNewYorkCity

early this summer with certificates thatproved we were COVID-free, but nobodychecked, nobody questioned; weweren’taskedtoshowthem.WewerecomingfromIndia, thelandof theDeltavariant,andtherewasnorequirementforustobetestedwhenwe arrived. As I settled inManhattan, I re-alised how the richest nation in theworldwas fooling itself into believing we werepost-COVID.Everywhere, Isawpeoplewith-out masks — in buildings, streets, cars. Atonce, IrealisedthatAmericaisacountrythatisn’t paying attention to its ownneeds andthinks of itself as too strong to be botheredby such trifles that the rest of the world is

havingtoface.Butapandemicisapandemicbecause it is universal. It doesn’t care ifyou’re rich or poor, a developing or devel-oped nation. It affects you nomatterwhat,nomatterwho.I’m aman from two countries.When in

America, I considermyself an American. InIndia, I’m an Indian. I’m proud to be frombothNewDelhi andNewYork.In India, as an Indian son and brother, I

became an Indian caregiver when mymother andmy brother were struck withCOVID.Theywereisolatedbutnotquitesep-arated. I and the other members of thehouseholdwereabletocareforthem,makethem feel connected to theworld, and feedthemgoodfood.Theyfeltlovedandprovided

for. As Indians, we instinctively and collec-tivelyheal eachother.In America, as an American son and

brother, I found myself thinking like anAmerican and becoming an American pa-tient.HereIwas,withaloving,caringfamily,but I quarantinedmyself in a hotel room. Itwas a rather lonelymoment, and I felt self-pity even though I was living in the hotel’sluxury.Inthatroom,Irealisedhowtoughlifeis in the US. How quickly we are left alonehere,howquicklywearemade to feelhelp-less,hopelessandhapless.LyinginthehotelinWestchester,Ifeltlike

the lastMughal emperor of India, BahadurShahZafar,whowassenttosolitaryconfine-ment in thenationof Burma, away fromhisownnation.My family cared formewhen Iwould let them.Mymother andmy sisterwould visitme— they sat in the carwhile Isatoutside thehotel. TheybroughtmefoodandcaringeveryminutemyAmericanmind-setwouldallowit.I realised, inthosemoments,howdiffer-

ent the approach to healing, suffering andmalady is in our two nations, and I washomesick.Notforaplace,butforawayofbe-ing. Iwashomesickfor Indianwarmth,hos-pitality,andconnectedness. Iwasbrokenbythisdisease, and Iwasalone.In the end, what savedme through the

loneliness of quarantine was being con-nected tomyextendedbig fat Indian familythroughtheWhatsAppgroupthatwehave.Songs sung forme, poemswritten forme,messagesof love,care,andnourishmentsentmyway.Thiswasthehealingandcuringthatbrought me back to the mindset of thosewillingto fight thisdeadlybattle. I cameoutvictorious, with monoclonal antibodies,ready to brave the challenges of life and animpendingsurgery.Inlife,wemusthaveonewayofliving,lov-

ing,caring,andthinking.Onesetofvaluesthatisunshakeable,thatwearenevertoofarfrom.India showsme the beauty of the feminine,Americatheresolutepowerofthebrute.Ihavelearnt to combine the strength of the bruteandthesoftnessandmaternalismofMotherIndia,andtogethertheygivemetheabilitytolivelifenevertoolost,nevertoostrong,butal-waysinthemiddle, lovingandsurviving.

Shaken, not StirredHow COVID-19 and solitary confinement mademe homesick for an Indian way of being — for

warmth, hospitality and connectedness

SuvirSaranSuvir Saran isachef, author, educator

andworld traveller

SLICEOFLIFE

First ladyUshaNarayanan (1997-2002)continuedthelegacyandtookagreatdealofinterest in introducing south Indian dishessuch asmini idlis and vadas in themenus,therebychallenging thedominanceof northIndianandNorthwestFrontiercuisinesinban-quets.Theinitiativehadtwooutcomes.Itnotonly introduced lighter entrée (mid-sizedmeals)optionsforproperbalancingofmenusbutalsocontributedsignificantlyinaugment-ingtheBhavan’sculinarycollection.Ataban-quet, inhonourof thenpresidentofPakistan,General PervezMusharraf, in July 2001, thedessertservedwasKerala’sadapradhaman,acoconut-jaggery-rice pudding, traditionallyeatenduringtheharvest festivalofOnam.Suchconsiderationsaboutthevariousas-

pects of food spur the creativity of chefs.We

had a taste of it recently. This year, a day be-forethe“at-home”event,partoftheRepublicDaycelebrations,thefood-testingcommitteecomprisingseniorofficials suggestedaddingsome twist to subz shami kebab tomake itmore tempting.Wehad to act fast to createsomethingsurprisingandappealing.Thefore-mostchallengewastodeliverexcellentzero-errorservicewhilemeetingthetimelinesforthe preparation andpick-up ofmeals.Whatcametotherescuewastheadviceofmymen-torchefsduringmyinitialdaysintheculinarycareer—theimportanceof flavoursandfoodscents and thewarmth they canadd. After asmall roundof discussion and analysing dif-ferent combinationsof flavours andaromas,wedecided to incorporatebeetrootki shamiin themenu. Itwas an uncommonblend ofingredientsbuttooursurprise,itcameoutasthemostappreciateddishof theday.Though the Rashtrapati Bhavan kitchen

is committed to displaying rich anddiverseIndianregionalfoodcultureinstatebanquetsmenus, a “modernist movement” has alsobeeninitiatedforreinventionof localdelica-cies.TheaimistoexpandthepossibilitiesofIndian cuisine by using modern cookingtechniques, global influencesandpresenta-tion styles to enhance thevisual and senso-rialaspectsofthedisheswhileretainingtheirtraditional essence. Smoked lentils andquinoakebabs,kasundifishtikkawithbeet-root hummus and gunpowder dhoklawithrawpapaya chutney are someof the disheswhich have featured in the RashtrapatiBhavanmenusinrecenttimesandtheyhavebeenvastlyappreciatedbydignitaries.

MukeshKumar isexecutivechefattheRashtrapatiBhavan

The First TableSmoked lentils and quinoa kebabs, kasundi fish tikka with beetroot hummus — the

making of a menu that’s as nutritious as it is eclectic

SUVIRSARAN

PHOTOSCOURTESYRASHTRAPATIBHAVANPHOTOARCHIVES

New Delhi

A R T S e t c16EYE , THE SUNDAY EXPRESS MAGAZINE

SEPTEMBER 19, 2021

EYE SPYEVERYFORTNIGHT,WEPICK,YOUWATCH

Shubhra Gupta

THEPROTAGONIST inBrunoDumont’sFrance isaglamorousTVanchor-cum-intrepid reportercalledFrancedeMeurs,whoknowsexactlyhowtobecomethestory rather than just re-

port it. LéaSeydoux inhabits thecharacterwithgreatverveandconviction, always ready foraction inherswishdesigneroutfits andkillerheels, brandishingherblinding lipstickasaweapon,andmakingFranceoneofthemost interesting filmsat thisyear’sTorontoInternational FilmFestival (TIFF).Rightat thestartweseeFranceattendinganimpor-

tantpressconference.She isaccompaniedbyherassis-tantLou(BlancheGardin)whoseemstobeathandsolelytogiveher (France)encouraging looksandanapprovingthumbsup. It’sobviousFrance isnotarookie.So,whydoesshefeel theneedforherassistant tostandby?Theexchangeof theseglances,whichhavemoreweight thantheeventFrance iscovering, feels likeaparody,andyouveryquicklyrealise that that’sexactlywhat it is:havingset thetone, the filmgetsbusysendingupfame,andourfame-obsessedculture, filteredandmediatedthroughdodgyethicsandtoo-ambitiouspractitioners.All aroundusweareseeing the impactof thismad

obsessionwithcelebrities. It’s crucial tohaveazillionInstagramfollowers. Thegramrules, butother socialmediaplatformsarenot farbehind.Twitterneeds toex-plodewhenaperson famous forbeing famoussaysordoessomethingeither inadvertently, oron instructionsfromtheirpublic relations team,whosesole job is tokeep their client “out there”. Eitheryouarean influ-encer, oryou’renothing.SomesituationsinthefilmmakeyoufearforFrance.

Sheinterviewsagun-toting“terrorist”andaskshimtopose,whilesherecordsherquestionsagainsta“better”background. Inanother instance,weseeherdodgingbul-letsandrunninghelter-skelterwithhercameramanandinterpreter.Andtheresheis inabobbingboat,chattingupfleeingrefugees, theblueMediterraneanbehindher.Wherearethesepeoplefrom?Aretheyforreal? Isthisa“manufacturedwar”,createdtowintheraceforTRPs,andpopulistvotes?Thesequestionshavestrongresonance.Francehasahusbandshecan’t stand.Andayoung

sonshe isunable todealwith. She lives inahomethatfeels likeamuseum,withgiganticpaintingsadorningthewalls andheavydrapesmasking thewindows.Thepressureof beingontopandstaying there tellsonher;aterribleaccident leavesherdevastated,but stalking fansstill ask for selfies.Therearemanyratherobvious flourishes in thisbit-

ingsatire. SomeofwhatFrancesaysanddoesmakesyouroll youreyes.Butatnopointdoes sheappear fake,evenwhenyoucanseeshe is faking it. “Things last24hoursnow,” says thehelpful Lou, “24hours later, itwillbeamemory. It’showTVworks. Theworst is thebest.”So true. Fame is transient.Nothing lasts forever.

Fronted by Léa Seydoux, Frenchdirector Bruno Dumont zooms inon his country’s media in his filmFrance, screened at TIFF this week

FRENCH ROASTA still from the film France

The StoryBecomes Her

Paromita Chakrabarti

THERE IS amoment of premoni-toryawarenessinAnuradhaRoy’snew novel, The Earthspinner(Hachette,Rs599),whenthepot-terElango,oneofitscentralchar-

acters, despairs over his love for aMuslimwoman,Zohra.“Hewantedthissigntobringhimtheonlymessageheyearnedfor,onethatwouldtellhimtheunbridgeablecrevassebe-tween himand Zohrawould one day close,the earthwouldheal itself, andhewould beabletowalkacrosstotheothersidewhereshewaswaitingforhim…Hecouldnotutterwhatshewas,aMuslim.Thespacebetweenthetwowasacharnelhouseofburntandbloodiedhu-manflesh,agiantcrackthroughtheearththatwas like an openmouthwaiting to swallowhim. He could not imagine a life withoutZohra.Thatwasunbearable.Buthedarednotimaginealifewithher.”In the novel, it is the late Seventies and

MorarjiDesaihasjustbeenelectedthePrimeMinister after thehorrors of the Emergency,butitcouldwellbeadayinthelifeofIndiato-day.The legacyof communaldistrust, inher-itedatthetimeofPartition, liessmoulderingbelowthesurface,awaitingasparktobringitoutintheopen.Yet,galvanisedbyhispassions— for his craft, for Zohra, and for Chinna, theabandoned dog who adopts him and hisneighbourhood—Elango chooses love. Likecountlessothersinthiscountry, inthefaceofinsurmountableopposition,heisreadytofaceitsdisproportionateconsequences.Theperilstoordinaryhappinesshasadeep

historyinthesubcontinentthatacquiresnewmeaningineachretelling,servingascaution-arytalesor,increasinglyinfrequently,asstoriesof hope. In the seven decades sinceIndependence,theschismsdrivenbyreligion,casteorclasshavedeepenedtodemandaho-mogenisation of identities. Roy’s tale is amulti-strandednarrative that examines thenatureofourdiversityandcreativeimpulses;the shadowof grief in our lives and the re-demptivejoyoffriendships,humanorcanine.“I think I’ve just beenwanting towrite thisbook for a very long time,without knowingexactlytheshapeitwouldtake. Iwantedittoapproachvarious themesthatare importanttome,oneofwhichwastheplaceof creativ-ity and the resistance it faces fromoutsideforces. Theotherwas theplaceof animals inthehierarchyoflifethatwehaveinthiscoun-try.Andthethirdwastounderstandhowbe-reavementaffectssomeoneveryyoung.That’ssomething I’vethoughta lotabout,because IlostmyfatherwhenIwasveryyoungandit’sbeen something that affectedme. Iwantedpotteryinit,becausethatwaswhatwasgoingto knit everything together, and because allthese themeswere very important tome, ittookmequiteawhiletoapproachit,”saysRoy,54, inavideointerview.AttheheartofRoy’sstoryliesaeight-foot

clayhorse thatElangocreates, dredged frommemories of his predecessors building oneforthelocaltemple, firedbyhisdesiretocre-ate a tribute to his beloved, andwhose de-structionformsthepivotof thenovel.Inherchildhood,Royhadencounteredthe

terracotta horses ofWest Bengal’s Bankura.Later,inthecourseofherownfascinationwithpottery, she would come to know of theAyyanar horses,made as an offering to godsforthesafekeepingoflocalcommunities.“Thehorse in South India thatwasworshipped isnot the horse that Elango ismaking, in thesensethattheactualhorsewasasacredthing.Itwas related to amyth of Shiva— inwhichLord Shiva’s fury is put into themouth of ahorse and it is sent underwater to cool off.Elango’s horse is a secular horse, because heisdoingitasanofferingtohisbeloved.ItisnotasthoughIndiawasgloriouslyharmoniousorsecular before, butwe aspired to be those

things. The destruction of this horsewas, tome, a kind of symbol of the waywe havestoppedaspiringtoharmony.Instead,it'snowhatredthat isthegoverningforce,”saysRoy.In her 2018 Tata Literature Live! Book of

the Year Award-winning novel,All The LivesWeNeverLived,thatwassetinanIndiaonthebrinkofIndependence,Royhaddrawnonthetransformativepotentialofmemoryandhis-tory and thewarnings the latter sounds outforthefuture.Asawriter,howdoesshereacttothistimeofrisingmajoritarianism?“Itjustdoesn’tseempossiblesomehow,tosomeoneofmygeneration,howdidwegethere.Werewedeluded all along?Werewe completelyoutofstep?WhenIwasamuchyoungerper-son, at that time, it seemed tous that every-

bodyarounduswantedthesamethingsasus,whichwastoaspiretothiskindofsecularidealthat had been set in stone when we gotIndependence as a country, that weweretaughtnon-stopas kids, that the cinema, artand books around us embodiedwhenwegrewup.Andwethoughtthat thiswaswhateveryonearoundus felt, too.Now, it’sbeenaprocess of really feeling disillusioned andrather stupid thatwe are completely out ofstepwithwhatmost people seem towant. Ithink it is futile to keepblaming the govern-ment foreverything.Therearesomanypeo-pleyoutalkto,whoseemtothinkeverythingisperfectlyokay,what isgoingon, that is thepart I findmore alarming, evenmore thanwhatleadersandpoliticiansdo,”shesays.

ButjustlikeElango’shorserepresentssyn-cretism, Roy says there is redemption in art,however frail itmaybe. “For thepeoplewhomake theart, it really ishowthey respond totheworld,howtheyfindrefuge,solace,every-thingunited in that one thing. In the case ofElangoandthehorsehe’smaking,thatpieceofart becomes something so representativeofwhat is fragile inour society. I didn’t start outthinkinghewouldmakeahorsewithcalligra-phyon it. But as thebookdeveloped, I thinkwhatwasplayinginmymindwasthebeautyofallthesemonuments—Islamicmonumentsweseearoundus—whichhaveverybeautifulscriptalloverthedoorwaysandarchesandsoon,whichIhavenever,of course,beenabletoreadbecauseIdon’treadthoselanguages.ButI’vealways responded to it as adesign, as art.Yet,ithasmeaningforthepersonwhocanreadit.SoIwantedtohavethesetwothingstogetheronthathorse—thislanguagethattosomepeo-pleisbeautifuljustasadesign,tosomepeopleit’sthreateningasanalienreligionratherthanasscript.Therefore,thathorsebecomesakindof speakinghorse tome,whichsaysdifferentthingstodifferentpeople,”shesays.Roy lives in Ranikhetwith her husband

RukunAdvani—withwhomsherunsthepub-lishing house, Permanent Black— and herbelovedcoterieofstrays.Fromthequietofhersurroundings, Roy trains her lens on smalltownsandcities,placesof churnthatbecometransformedunderherthoughtfulgaze.There’sanatmosphericsenseofplaceinhernarratives— Songarh (An Atlas of Impossible Longing,2008),Jarmuli(intheDSCPrizeForFiction-win-ningSleepingonJupiter,2015),Muntazir(AllTheLivesWeNeverLived)andevenRanikhetinTheFoldedEarth(2011),theonlynovelshe’ssetinarealplace.“Ican’tthinkofthenovelasseparatefromthesettingatall.It’scompletelyvitaltoit...Ireallyfeelasiftheplacealsoislikeacharacterforme,thatIwanttocreateitinthesamewaythatIwanttocreatethecharacters,”shesays.She can feel change creeping up on

Ranikhet, too.“Manypeoplewhocomebackafter 10, 15, 20 years say they feel as if noth-ing changes here. But I can see change allaroundme, among the young particularly.Firstof all, theyhavehugeaccessto informa-tion,theyhavehigherlevelsofeducation.Theyare aware,well-informed, highly intelligent.Andyet,there’sahugesenseoffrustrationbe-cause there’s gigantic unemployment. Theyreallydon’tknowwhattheywilldooncetheyleave school and college here because theirEnglish skills are not that great, they are notequipped to compete in thewayurban kidsmaybe.Soyoucanfeelakindofseethingtur-moilamongtheyoung.There’salotmoredrugusenow. Change is coming in not very goodways in that sense. In someeternal sense, ofcourse,themountainsandtreesarethesameandlifegoesonasalways,”shesays.

Forvideoexcerptsof theinterview,visitwww.indianexpress.com

Suanshu Khurana

MANIKEMAGEhithe (Inmyheart), theSinhalasonghasbroken the internet,withcelebritiesandcommonfolkgroovingtoitsliltingtune.Alovesongwithateen-popaesthetic,itisanun-complicatedmelodythatplaysonloop,acatchyfolkrhythmthatisclub-friendly,andhasacon-temporaryorchestrationwithahintofsarangi.ThereisalsoasmatteringofrapbySatheeshanRathnayaka. Sung by Sri LankanmusicianYohani Diloka de Silva along with rapperSatheeshan, it caught Bollywood superstarAmitabh Bachchan’s fancy lastmonth. HetweetedouthisobsessionwiththesongalongwithavideoeditedbyhisgranddaughterNavyaNaveli,who’dsuperimposedtheSinhalasongoverBachchan’s song-dance sequence Jahanteriyehnazarhai(fromKaalia,1981).TheactorevenspokeaboutitonhisHinditelevisionquiz

showKaunBanegaCrorepatiwhendeSilvaap-pearedinaquestion.After soothing quarantined Sri Lankans

threemonthsago,thesongreachedIndiaandgarneredover110millionviewsinnotime.IfHindi-film actorsMadhuri Dixit, ParineetiChopraandTigerShroff dancedto iton theirsocialmedia,K-popboy-bandsensationBTSlistenedto it ina“reactionvideo”. Thepopu-larity spawnedcoversglobally, instrumentalaswellasinmanylanguages,includingTamil,English, Telugu, Konkani, Hindi, Bengali andTripura’s Kokborok; spurred TikTok videos,Instagrampostsandmemes,bringingdeSilvainstant fame.Her older songs are beginningtofindnewlistenersnow.InColombo, the28-year-oldYouTubestar

deSilvasatinherhomewatchinghowitfelttogoviral. Itwas theunintendedsingle’s globalmoment.“Thiswasareallyrandomtakeonthesong.Itwasn’tplanned...itwasabigthingforus.

Weneverthoughtitcouldbelikedbysomanypeople,”saysdeSilvainavideointerview.Produced by Sri Lankan composer

Chamath Sangeeth, de Silva’s piece is thecoverofasinglethatcameoutlastyear.Sungby Satheeshan andwritten by Dulan ARXwhoalsoperformedtheoriginal rap, itwas-n’tevenabliponthecharts. “Iamahugefanof Chamath Sangeeth. So, when I saw thesong, I did a TikTok version after whichChamathaskedifwecoulddoafullversion,”says de Silva. The idea and the conversationboth came about in the lockdown so shecould not record it in a professional studio.She foundthenextbestoption—acorner inherhome.ThevideowasmadeinChamath’sstudio inColombo.DeSilva is also touchedbyhowa song in

SinhalafromSriLanka,“atinycountry”,issud-denly therage. “A lotof ourmusic is inspiredbyBollywood,probablybecauseweareneigh-bours. The influence is really strong. But I’mseeingarenewedinterestinSriLankanmusicandmost importantly in our language... Forme,thiskindofloveisalsorepresentativeofabond between India and Sri Lanka,” says deSilva,who also sang a Sinhala cover of Pehlanasha(fromJoJeetaWohiSikandar,1992)sometimeback.DeSilvawasachildoftheinternet,learning

toplaytheguitaronYouTube,creatingachan-nel on theplatformat 23anduploadinghermusic andvideoson it.Daughterof a formerarmyofficer and former air hostess, de Silvagrewuplisteningtodifferent languagesandarange ofmusic because of her parents andthroughhertravels.Whileherparentsputherintopianoclassesearlyon,shewasplayingthe

trumpetandFrenchhorn inher schoolband.She travelled to theUKandAustralia to studyaccounting,whereamixofmanykindsofmu-sic left an imprint onher. ThehighlightwasEminem’sRaptureconcertin2019inAustralia.“MyinfluencesareprobablywhyIhaven’t

stucktoagenre. I liketoexperimentwithmymusicandexploreeverythingthatIcan. Irap,I sing, Iplaytheguitar,”saysdeSilva,whobe-ganhercareerbydoingcoversofSinhalasongsandBollywoodsongsdubbed inSinhala. Shecollaboratedwithfriendsformusicvideosanddidaslewoforiginalpieces,butitwasonlyaf-terher return fromAustralia in2019 that shetook upmusic professionally. She joined arecord label, Pettah Effect, brought outAaye(One day) in 2020, inwhich she sings of hernudesbeingcirculated,ofalifewithoutmoney,singing at pubs tomake endsmeet. She fol-lowed itwithRawwathdasin in 2020, a songabout30years of civilwar in Sri Lanka. Rightnow,she’sworkingonherfirstalbum.Anup-coming single, whichwill be released thismonth, is going to be “completely differentfromManikemagehithe,”shesays.Unawareof themelodic structureof Pilu,

theHindustani classical raga of romance, deSilva has loosely followed its pattern— likemany aHindi-film song— inManikemagehithe. BollywoodandIndian live-showoffersare already knocking onher door. “Iwill be-ginbylearningHindi. Idon’tunderstanditatall.WhenIsingittoo,Idon’tthinkIgettheac-cent right,” she says, before singing the top-grossingnumberonemoretime.

Forvideoexcerptsof theinterview,visitwww.indianexpress.com

The Song ICame to Sing

Sri Lankan singer Yohani Diloka de Silva on becomingan overnight sensation with Manike mage hithe,

recording it at home, and wanting to learn Hindi

CHARTBUSTERSinhala singer Yohani Diloka de Silva

DOWN TO EARTH(Left) Anuradha Roy with her dog Piku;

her new book

And of Clay Are We CreatedWriter Anuradha Roy on exploring grief and obstacles to creative impulses

in her new novel and being a chronicler of a changing world

● ● ●

For the people who make the art, it really is how they respond to the world,how they find refuge, solace, everything united in that one thing

● ● ●

RUKUNADVANI

New Delhi

WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHE SUNDAY EXPRESS,SEPTEMBER19,2021 17

New Delhi

CLASSIFIEDS&TENDERS18 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHE SUNDAY EXPRESS,SEPTEMBER19,2021

DISTRICT POLICE HEADQUARTERS KATHUAE- mail: [email protected], Fax/Phone No.: 01922-234010

LOOK OUT NOTICEOn 15.09.2021, one person namely Lal Singh S/O Jagga Singh R/O

Tandyari, Chan Rorian Tehsil Marheen District Kathua approached P/SRajbagh and lodged a written report at P/S Rajbagh stating therein that hismother namely Soma Devi went missing from her residence on 13.09.2021 atabout 1000 hours. On this, missing report vide DDR No. 08 dated 15.09.2021has been initiated at P/S Rajbagh.

During the course of investigation, best efforts were made to locate miss-ing individual whereas she is still un-traced.As such Description Roll/Photograph of said missing individual is beingshared with the appeal that anybody having clue/information about her where-abouts may inform us accordingly. The informer will be rewarded suitably:

Name Soma DeviHusband Jagga SinghPermanent Address Tandyari, Chan RorianPresent Address Tandyari, Chan RorianTehsil MarheenPolice Station RajbaghAge 85 yearsHeight 05 Feet 01 InchComplexion WheatishBuilt AverageEyes BlackAttire Salwar and KameezLanguages known Dogri/Hindi.

Any information related to the whereabouts of the subject may be com-municated on following Contacts:

1. DPO Kathua- 01922-234010 (Phone/Fax)2. [email protected] ( Mail ID)3. PCR Kathua- 01922-234311(Phone/Fax)4. Police Station Rajbagh – 94191-56719

Sr.Superintendent of Police, Kathua.DIP/J-6872/21

MARRIAGEBUREAU

BRAHMIN

MUSLIM

KAYASTHA

DOCTORS

PPUUBBLLIICCNNOOTTIICCEEClassifiedsPPEERRSSOONNAALL

LLOOSSTT&&FFOOUUNNDD

II,,TTAABBAASSSSUUMMD/OMOHAMMADALAUDDINR/OHNO.1626,BLOCK-H-4, JAHANGIRPURI,DELHI-110033.HAVECHANGEDMYNAMETOTABASUM.FORALL FUTUREPURPOSES.

0040585065-1

II,,SSuummiitt S/o.HarbansRaiGambhir(H.R.Gambhir) R/o.HouseNo-G3.B,GroundFloor,Kalkaji,NewDelhi-19, havechangedmyname toSumit RaiGambhir,for all purposes.

0040585050-7

II,,SSaaiiyyiidduuss saiyudainNaqvi s/0LTGHULAMHUSNAINNAQVIR/0D71GFSAKETDELHI 17have changenameSAIYIDUSSAIYuDAINNAQVI to saeednaqvi,for all. 0040585050-5

II,,SSAATTIISSHHKUMARARORAS/OSOHANLALR/OB-976,SHASTRI-NAGAR,DELHI-110052.HAVECHANGEDMYNAMETOSATISHKUMARFORALLPURPOSES. 0040585050-1

II,,RRiicchhaaW/oVikasSinghR/oH.No-555, Sector-A, Pocket-B&C,VasantKunj, SouthWestDelhi-70, have changedmyname toRichaSingh for allfuturepurposes.

0040585036-1

II,,RRaajjeesshhKhattri,S/o-ManoharLal,R/o-FlatNo.204, S.F., Tower-12,MaxCity Park, SahpphireRamprasthaGreens,Vaishali,Ghaziabad,U. P. -201010,havechangedmyname toRajeshKhatri for all futurepurposes.

0040585065-2

II,,PPrreeeettiiW/oNitinDhamaR/oY-11D, TGBMeghduttam, Sector-50, Noida(U.P.) have changedmyname toPreeti Dhama forall futurepurposes.

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II,,PPRRIINNCCEE S/OSATISHKUMARR/OB-976,SHASTRINAGAR,DELHI-110052.HAVECHANGEDMYNAMETOPRINCEARORAFORALLPURPOSES.

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II,,MMoohhdd iftikhar,S/oMohdashfaque,R/o 1728,Galiakhade-wali suiwalanDaryaganj,NewDelhi-110002,namechangedMohammadistikhar,S/oMohammadashfaq,for all purposes.

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II,,SSeeeemmaaW/oRamNarayanBajpayeeR/o-K-120,MangolPuri,Delhi-110083,havechangedmyname toSanjuBajpayee for all purposes.

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II,,KKAAMMAALLARORAW/OSATISHKUMARR/OB-976,SHASTRINAGAR,DELHI-110052.HAVECHANGEDMYNAMETOKAMAL.FORALLPURPOSES.

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II,,JJaasswwaanntt S/o JagdishR/o-132,Block-L,J.J.ColonyPhase-3,Nangloi Delhi-110041,informthatmynamewrongly,writtenJamwant inmyproperty,documentsbutmyactualname is Jaswant.

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II,,JJaassvviinnddeerr SinghAnandS/oS.Jasbir SinghAnand, R/o-CB-13A,DDA-Flats,Hari Nagar,NewDelhi-110064, haveChangedmyname Jasvinder Singh,for allfuturepurposes.

0040585032-1

II,,AAnnsshhuuKumar,S/o-Hari CharanLal,R/oB-162-E,NewAshokNagar,Delhi-110096, havechangedmyname toAnshuKumarGarg,S/o-Hari CharanGarg for all purposes.

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II,,AAnnkkiittaa Sharma,D/oPradeepKumar Sharma,W/oAmitGulati,H.No.871,UpperGround-Floor,Sector-21C, Near-ParkPlazaHotel, Faridabad,Haryana-121001, have changedmyname toAnkitaGulati.

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II,,AARRUUNNAAKUMARI BODDU (W/oKANAKARAJUGORLE),motherofAKSHARAGORLE, R/oB1/121, Tower-16, Silver City,Sector-93, Noida-201304,declare thatARUNAKUMARIandARUNAKUMARI BODDUarethe sameperson

0040585012-1

II,, RajMehra,S/o-RameshChandMehra, residing-10A/31, UpperGroundFloor,East Patel-Nagar,Delhi.have changedmynametoRaj KumarMehra,for allpurposes. 0040585065-5

II,, NagaSatyaNishithaD/OPotthuri AppalaRaju, R/o 3-100Sai GaneshEnclaveG- 2,SumithraNagar, BachSideOfKanakadurgaTemple,Kukatpally, Rangareddy,Hyderabad, Telangana- 500084 .have changedmynameandshall hereafter beKnownasPotthuri NagaSatyaNishitha.

0070754374-1

II,,Munni Kanyal D/O Jagat SinghKanyal,W/OR/oS- 15/16, FlatNo-A-8, KhasraNo- 80/2,HargovindEnclave, RajpurKhurd, Delhi- 110068 . havechangedmynameandshallhereafter beKnownasMeenuSingh. 0070754402-1

II,,Minkeshari ShahiW/oAshishChoudhuryR/oHouse-No- E-432 Sector-Gama-I GreaterNoidaDistt-GautambudhnagarUttar-Pradesh-201306havechangedmyname toMeenuChoudhury. 0040585011-1

I, Sushant S/oAshokKumarYadavR/oRZ-7/257, Dayal ParkWest Sagarpur, NewDelhi110046have changedmynametoSushantYadav

0070754344-1

II,,MinakshiW/oManoj SinghRawat, R/o flat no-21, 2nd floorDDASFS flats, pocket-1, sector-19Dwarka, Delhi-110075. HaveChangedmyname toMeenakshi Rawat.

0070754352-1

II,, CISF.No.023550212,Rank-HC/GD.NameOmSinghRathore,S/o-(L)MadanSingh,inmyservice.recordsmy,daughter namehasbeenWrongly-writtenas insteadofDimpal.Correct nameofmy,daughter isDimpal Kanwar.

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II,, John LawrenceD’cunhaS/OPatrickDcunha, R/oH.No- 729BagWada, Bicholim,Mulgao,Goa- 403503, Declare that nameofMine& MyWife andMyMinorDaughter hasbeenwronglywrittenas JohnDacunha@Lawrence JohnDacunha& JoyceDacunha@Adrian JoyceMilagrinaRodriguesand Janice TeresaDacunha inmyminorDaughter, Janice TeresaD’cunha, agedabout 14Years,In her BirthCertificateNo- 182 .Theactual nameofMine& MyWife andMyMinorDaughterare John LawrenceD’cunha&Adrian JoyceMilagrinaRodriguesand Janice TeresaD’cunha.whichmaybeamendedaccordingly.

0070754383-1

II,,MMiinnaakksshhiiMaruti Bhasarkar/MinaxiMBhasarkar,W/OVirender Singh,R/O-C-2 / 276,Third floor, Shriniketankunj,Sector-17, Rohini,NewDelhi-110089,have changedmynametoMeenakshi for all futurepurposes. 0040585065-3

II,, Jitender SinghS/o. UmedSinghR/o. C-35, CBlock, KrishiViharGreater Kailash, NewDelhi-110048.Mynamewronglymentioned indocument as Jitender Signhinsteadof Jitender Singh.

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II,, CISF.No.023550212,RankHC/GD.Name-OmSinghRathore, S/o-(L).MadanSingh,inmyservice.recordsmy,sonnamehasbeenWrongly-writtenas insteadofVishal Singh.Correct nameofmy,son isVishal SinghRathore.

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II SangeetaNegi alias SangeetaRawatD/oSh.ShivCharanSinghNegiW/oDr.ArunKumarRawatR/oHouseNo.1179, Sec-A/Pocket-A, Vasant Kunj,VasantKunj S.O.,SouthWestDelhi, Delhi-110070havechangedmyname toSangeetaRawat for all purposes.

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II Puneet S/oSh.Sukhpal SinghR/o 1818, GroundFloor, Gali No.9, GovindPuri Extn.,Kalkaji,NewDelhi-110019havechangedmyname toPuneetKumar Singh for all purposes.

0040584982-4

II Km.RenuGuptaalias BhavnaGargD/o Late Sh. Jai KishanDasGuptaW/oSh.AmanGargR/o 46, 1st Floor, NewRajdhaniEnclave, NirmanVihar, EastDelhi, Delhi-110092havechangedmyname toBhavnaGarg for all purposes.

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II BhavanaSharmaW/oLateSh.Ravinder SharmaR/oRZ-52,Gali No.3, DurgaPark, Dabri,SouthWestDelhi, Delhi-110045have changed thenameofmyminor son fromDhruvSharmaaliasVeer Sharma toVeerSharma for all purposes.

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PrabhakarOjha&PrabhakerOjhabothnamesaremine. forall futurepurposes, I shall beknownasPrabhakarOjhaS/oSadanandOjhaR/oRailwayRoad, ShivVatikaColony, DadriGautamBuddhNagar.

0070754396-1

I, Vipul Sangal S/o lateKrishanKumarResidence 185, Sector-14, Vasundhara, Ghaziabadhavechangedmydaughter’snameRidhimaSinghal toAdvikaSangal for all futurepurposes. RidhimaSinghal andAdvikaSangal bothare sameperson. 0070754404-1

I, VanketMaheshwari S/OOmPrakashMaheshwari , R/oPocket- D 8/86, Sector- 06,Rohini, Delhi- 110085. DeclarethatNameofMyFather andMyMother hasbeenwronglywrittenasOMParkashandUma inmyBirthCertificate no-3277 . Theactual nameofMyFather andMyMother areOmPrakashMaheshwari andUmaMaheshwari,whichmaybeamendedaccordingly.

0070754373-1

I, PriyaBajwaD/OSertegSinghBajwa,W/OAmarpal SinghR/o211AmbicaVihar, PaschimVihar, SunderVihar S.O, Delhi-110087 . have changedmynameandshall hereafter beKnownasPriya Sra.

0070754400-1

I, NaveenSatyaVenkat BaggamS/OBaggamPralayaKumar,R/o 56- 15- 3, Golla KancharaPalem,Visakhapatnam,AndhraPradesh- 530008, havechangedmynameandshallhereafter beKnownasNaaweenBaggam.

0070754382-1

II GuruDutt VashisthaS/oBhagat SwaroopSharma,R/o1/2139,East RamNagarShahdaraDelhi,have changedmyname toGurudutt Vashisth.

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I, AshokKumar S/oBunilalYadavR/oRZ-7/257, Dayal ParkWest Sagarpur, NewDelhi110046have changedmynameto AshokKumarYadav for allpurposes. 0070754386-1

I,MahammadRafi Shaik S/OMastanShaik,R/o Flat- 214,SolitaireAbodeApartmentKailashNagar, Near SrideviTheatreAmeenpurRoad,Chandanagar, Hyderabad, K.v.Rangareddy, Telangana-500050. I have changed thenameofmyminor SonShaikNazeemAzaanagedabout 14Years andHeshall hereafter beknownasReyanAkhtar Shaik.

0070754371-1

I, Kalimpudi PradeepS/OKalimpudiVarahaluBabu, R/o30-91-1/1, AppikondaColony,NearHighSchool Street,Kurmannapalem,Duvvada,Visakhapatnam,AndhraPradesh- 530046. Declare thatNameofMine&MyFather andMyMother hasbeenwronglywrittenasKalempudyPradeep&KalempudyVarahaluBabuandKalempudyChittitally inmy10thClassCertificateNo-1210402 . Theactual nameofMine&MyFather andMyMother areKalimpudi Pradeep&Kalimpudi VarahaluBabuandKalimpudi Chittithalli,whichmaybeamendedaccordingly. 0070754375-1

I, AshokYadavUrfRamashankar S/OShankarSampatYadav, R/oBhikharipurKala, Rajatalab, Varanasi, UttarPradesh- 221311, have changedmynameandshall hereafterbeKnownasAshokYadav.

0070754369-1

I, AshokKumar S/ORohtashKumar, R/oBir Dhana (108),Jhajjar, Haryana- 124102, havechangedmynameandshallhereafter beKnownasAshokDahiya. 0070754370-1

I, AbhinavAbbat S/OSanjayAbbat, R/oHouseNo- 8100,Durgapuri, Haibowal Kalan,Ludhiana, Punjab- 141001, havechangedmynameandshallhereafter beKnownasAbbhinavAbbat.

0070754372-1

I, Hitherto knownas JoharGiriS/oRadhashyamGiri, R/oHouseNo-C 197, DayanandColony, LajpatNagar-4, SouthDelhi, Delhi-110024, havechangedmyNameandshallhereafter beknownasNityanandaGiri.

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II,,SSaattyyeennddrraa Purwar,S/O-ShriAnil KumarGupta,R/O-B-5/431-432,Sector-3,Rohini, Delhi-110085,hasbeen Irretrievablylostmy ICSEexamination 200210thPassing certificate,TUNO3617260, IndexNoT/1793/052.

0040585065-9

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PUBLIC NOTICE

Let it be known to the general publicthat my client Mr. Tejinder Singh S/oLate Sardul Singh R/o B-224,Naraina Industrial Area, Phase-1,New Delhi-110028, has voluntarilyrelinquished his share in theproperty no. B-224, NarainaIndustrialArea, Phase-l, New Delhi-110028 in favour of his brother Sh.Balwinder Singh and by virtue ofregistered relinquishment deeddated 14/09/2021. My client nowhas no right, title or interest qua theshare in the said property. Thepublication is made to avoid anyfuture comnplication or claim byany other family member. Let no oneelse claim any right on the estate orshare of my client. Issued on15/09/2021.

50%

Manish Gandhi AdvocateChamber No. X-6A, Civil Wing,Tis Hazari Court, Delhi-110054

PUBLIC NOTICEThis is to inform public at large thatmy clients Sh. Kali Charan Dassand Smt. Banarsi Devi Both R/oHouse No. E-276, E-Block,Shaheed Sukhdev Nagar, WazirPur Industrial Area, Ashok Vihar,Delhi-110052 have severed alltheir relations and ties with theirSon Namely Sh. Vikas Kumar andhave also debarred him from alltheir movable and immovableproperties and shall have noconcern in future with him.

Sd/- GURMIT SINGH HANS(ADVOCATE)

Enrl. No. D-55/98(R)

PUBLIC NOTICEThat the General Public is hereby informedand intimated through this public notice thatmy Clients Sh. Satya Narayan Maheshwari,S/o. Sh. Dhan Raj Maheshwari and his wifeSmt. Rekha Maheshwari both resident ofFlat No. 84, Data Ram Apartment, Sector-18, Rohini, North-West, Delhi110089.In their complete senses and free will havedisowned/debarred their son namely Sh.Nitin Gupta, his wife Smt. Monika Gupta,D/o. Sh. Janardan Das Gupta and theirgranddaughter Ms. Lakshita Gupta, D/o.Sh.Nitin Gupta living separately at Flat No.137, Paradise Apartment, Sector-18,Rohini, Delhi from their all moveable andimmoveable properties/assets present andfuture.That this fact also came to the knowledgeof my client that Sh. Nitin Gupta wasadopted by one Sh. Radhey Shyam Guptaand also using his name as father in manyof his Id’s.Therefore my clients and their familymembers have severed their all kinds ofrelationship and my clients and their otherfamily members shall not be responsible forany act done by them in what so manner infuture.

Sd/- PRADEEP KUMAR (ADVOCATE)Chamber No 726 Rohini District Court.

8826609945, 8700433424

PUBLIC NOTICEMy clients MADAN GOPAL SHARMA S/OSH. SADH RAM SHARMA & SHANTASHARMA W/O MADAN GOPAL SHARMABOTH R/O C-112, KEWAL KUNJAPPARTMENTS, SECTOR-13, ROHINI,DELHI-110085, have disowned their sonnamely VIVEK SHARMA and his wifeVARTIKA SHARMA and children namelyKARTIK SHARMA aged 17 years andISHITA SHARMA aged 23 years, andrevoke/ severed all relations from them due totheir bad behaviour, bad intention, my clientshave debarred them from all their rights,claims in any manner from their movable andimmovable properties and in future they willhave no concern with my client in any manner,with immediate effect.If any person dealing with them shall be doingso at their own risk and responsibilities.

Sd/- SANJEEV JAIN (Advocate)Enl. No. D-226/91

Office: RU-17, DDA Mkt,Pitampura, Delhi-110088

PUBLIC NOTICETo Whom it may Concern thatMy client Shri Balwant SinghS/o Late S. Santa SinghResident of WZ-35 (Old-09),Hind Nagar, New Delhi-110018already disowned his son &daughter-in-law namely Sh.Dharampal Singh and Smt.Sukhwinder Kaur, Both of themare Residing at WZ-35 (Old-09),First Floor, Hind Nagar, NewDelhi-110018 by giving publicnotice to that effect through hisAdvocate Mrs. Meena in dailynewspaper “JAN SATTA” on20.10.2016. Subsequently, myclient also instituted Civil SuitBearing No. 391/2019 ForRecovery of Possession,Recovery of Monies, AndDamages in respect of FirstFloor of the aforesaid propertyagainst both of them. The caseis still pending before theHon'ble Court of Ms. RishikaSrivastava, Civil Judge, TisHazari Court, Delhi. My clientwith his own free will, withoutany pressure, duress, influence,coercion from any corner and ingood health and sound dispos-ing mind and also with a view toavoid any litigation or disputebetween his legal heirs after hisdeath with respect to hisImmovable property, bearing no.WZ-35 (Old -09), Hind Nagar,New Delhi-110018, land areameasuring 97.5 square yards,had executed Registered GiftDeed dated 02.09.2021 infavour of his son Shri MukhtyarSingh. Now, except ShriMukhtyar Singh, none of othersons of my client, namely ShriJaspal Singh, Shri SatpalSingh (deceased) and ShriDharampal Singh and 3daughters namely Smt. BaljeetKaur W/o Shri Kuldeep Singh,Smt. Kulwant Kaur W/o ShriParamjeet Singh and Smt.Surinder Kaur W/o ShriRajinder Singh, has any right,title and interest in the aforesaidproperty.

Sd/- AJAY FATYAL(ADVOCATE)

E. No. D-741/1993Chamber No.79, Western

Wing, Tis Hazari Court, Delhi.

PUBLIC NOTICEMy clients Mr. SATWANT SINGH SON OF LATESH. SEWA SINGH and Mrs. PRAKASH KAURW/o Sh. SATWANT SINGH both RESIDENT OFL-97A, GROUND FLOOR, GALI NO. 21, NEWMAHAVIR NAGAR, NEW DELHI- 110018, hassevered their relations from their daughters (1)PARAMJIT KAUR ALIAS PUMMY WIFE OFGURKIRPAL SINGH ALIAS BITTO R/O RANIGARDEN, LAXMI NAGAR, SHAHDARA, DELHI(2) SARABJIT KAUR ALIAS RANO WIFESURJIT SINGH ALIAS GITA R/O GOPAL PARK,LAXMI NAGAR, SHAHDARA, DELHI, AND (3)RANJEET KAUR ALIAS BABY WIFE OFHARDEEP SINGH ALIAS LOVELY, R/OOFFSITE LAL MARKET, VIKAS PURI, NEWDELHI- 110018 disowned and debarred themfrom all moveable and immovable properties andshall not be responsible for their acts, deeds andthings done by (1) PARAMJIT KAUR ALIASPUMMY, (2) SARABJIT KAUR ALIAS RANO &(3) RANJEET KAUR ALIAS, in past, present andfuture. Anyone who deals with them shall bedoing at their own cost and risks and my aboveclients will not be held responsible of their actshereafter.

Sd/- SHIV DATT ATRI (ADVOCATE)M. NO. 989969065

SR-II B, JANAK PURI, NEW DELHI

PUBLIC NOTICE

My clients Smt. Susheela W/oSh. Ramesh Kumar and herhusband Sh. Ramesh Kumar SloGirja Shankar R/o D-5/519,Sangam Vihar, New Delhi-11008has disowned their son anddaughter in law namely Sh. AnujKumar and Smt. Roshni Wlo Sh.Anuj Kumar R/o D-34/3, SangamVihar, New Delhi-110080 fromt h e i r a l l m o v e a b l e a n dimmovable properties andassets.

G. C. PANDEY ADVOCATEChamber No.624, Saket

District Court, New Delhi

PUBLIC NOTICEBe it known to all that my client Sh. Suraj S/oSh. Singeshwar Singh R/o Flat No. 29,Tenament-3, RBIPMT Hospital, KingswayCamp, Delhi-110009, is the sole and absoluteowner of property No. B-251, ShalimarGarden Main, Sahibabad, Gaziabad, U.P.which was let out to Sh. Umesh Gupta on rentby my client at the instance of Nasir SalmaniS/o mohd. Hasinuddin, R/o C-37/1, N.S.Homes, Garima Garden, Sahibabad,Ghaziabad, U.P. In case, any person(s) whodeals with Umesh Gupta or Nasir Salmani orany of their associates/agents etc. or anybodyelse on the basis of forged and fabricateddocuments created by them in the name of myclient, for selling, alienating, transferring orcreating any third party interest in respect ofmy client's above said property or of any otherproperty belongs to my client, without writtenconsent of my client, shall do so at his/theirown cost and risk and my client shall not beresponsible for the same, as the same wouldnot be binding upon my client.

Sd/- SURENDER SINGH SHEKHAWAT(ADVOCATE)

Chamber No. M-14, M-Block, Civil Wing,Tis Hazari Court, Delhi-110054

PUBLIC NOTICEGeneral public is hereby informed thatmy clients Sh. Vaibhav Sharma and Smt.Jagjit Kaur, both are residing as well asowner of the Property Bearing No. A-61,4th Floor, Street, Greenwood CityColony, Sector-45 (Village Kanhai &Jharsa) Gurugram (Haryana)-122001. Inthe Chain of title documents of the abovesaid property, i.e. (i) Original AllotmentLetter issued by Unitech Ltd. in favour ofSana-Ur-Rehman, (ii) Original Transferof Allotment Letter dated 22.01.1997issued by Unitech Ltd. in favour of Sh.Gaurav Duggal and Ms. Taruna Duggal,(iii) Original Letter of Building SanctionPlan in favour of Sh. Anurag Duggal andSmt. Abha Duggal have lost by myclients on 03.09.2021 from theirresidence and for such lost they lodgedonline Police complaint vide No.132270872100328 dated 13.09.2021with P.S. Sector-40, Gurugram(Haryana). The above said lost originaldocuments yet not found till date.My clients are declaring that, if thoselost documents will find in future, thenthey will never misuse such documentsand they will hand over to the StateBank of India. If anybody found theabove said lost documents, pleaseintimate me.

Sd/- (Biplab Kumar Mukherjee)Enrl. No. D/1678/07 (ADVOCATE)

Office: 3657/6, Narang Colony,Tri Nagar, Delhi-110035

Mob: 9811767517, 9718621607

PUBLIC NOTICEI on behalf of my client RAHUL MANGLAS/O HARI CHAND MANGLA @ HARI C.MANGLA @ HARIK MANGLA (WdSI ¸fa¦f»ff)AGE 34 YEARS, RESIDING AT 280,TARUN ENCLAVE PITAMPURA DELHI-110034 (VOTER ID NO ACB0605857;AADHAR NO. 937964798393) DELHI-110085 declare that I have verified thedocuments of the HARI CHANDMANGLA who was also known as HARIC MANGLA @ HARIK MANGLA (WdSI

¸fa¦f»ff) s/o S P MANGLA @ S L MANGLA@ SHIV LAL MANGLA @ SOHAN PALMANGLA. My client father has expired on26.10.2010 and at that time namementioned in the death certificate wasHARI CHAND MANGLA S/O SHIV LALMANGLA. That HARI CHAND MANGLA@ HARI C MANGLA @ HARIK MANGLA(WdSI ¸fa¦f»ff) S/O SHIV LAL MANGLA @ SP MANGLA @ S L MANGLA @ SOHANPAL MANGLA are same person and isfather of RAHUL MANGLA. There is noother name of HARI CHAND MANGLAother than as stated hereinabove. Myclient Rahul Mangla has shown me alldocuments such as 12th mark sheet ofHari Chand Mangla, my client Election Idcard and Aadhar Card. I have also seenother property documents sale deeddated 21.12.1998 in favour of Hari CMangla who is father of my client who isalso known as Hari Chand Mangla. I havealso seen mutation dated 08.02.2001with respect to agricultural land bearing inKhasra no. 101/13, Alipur, Delhiadmeasuring 12 biswas. My client alsopossess original sale deed dated21.12.1998 registration no 1924 inadditional book no.I , Vol No. 51 on pages112 to 115 on 21.12.1998. The presentpublication is solely on the basis of thedocuments shown to me in my office.

Sd/-Anup Kr. Upadhyay (Adv.)

Enrol. No. D-1374/2004Office: 263-264, Vadhman Premium

Mall, Deepali, Pitampura Delhi-110034

''IMPORTANT''Whilst care is taken prior toacceptance of advertisingcopy, it isnotpossible toverifyits contents. The IndianExpress (P) Limited cannot beheld responsible for suchcontents, nor for any loss ordamage incurredasaresultoftransactions with companies,associations or individualsadvertising in its newspapersor Publications. We thereforerecommend that readersmake necessary inquiriesbefore sending any monies orentering into any agreementswith advertisers or otherwiseacting on an advertisement inany manner whatsoever.

New Delhi

19WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHE SUNDAY EXPRESS,SEPTEMBER19,2021 EXPRESSNETWORK


VICE PRESIDENT and RajyaSabha Chairman M VenkaiahNaiduonSaturdaycalleddisrup-tions of proceedings inParliament a “contempt ofHouse” and said “errantmem-bers” cannot claim that disrup-tionsareaprivilege.Naidu made the remarks

whiledeliveringthesecondRamJethmalaniMemorial Lecture—on ‘Is disruption of parliamen-tary proceedings anMP’s privi-legeand/orafacetofparliamen-tarydemocracy?”— virtually inNewDelhionSaturday.“Disruption of the proceed-

ings is a certain negation of thespirit and the intention behindthe Rulesof theHouse,theCodeof Conduct and theParliamentaryEtiquette andthescheme of parliamentary privi-leges,allaimedatenablingeffec-tive performance of individualmembersandtheHousecollec-tively. Given the consequences,disruptionofproceedingsclearlyamount to contempt of theHouse,bythelogicofwhichdis-ruption cannot be claimed as aprivilegebyerrantmembers,”he

said.The Vice President pointed

towardstherecentlyconcludedmonsoon sessionwhichendedtwodaysaheadof scheduleandin which an emotional Naiduhimself hadexpressedanguishover the disruptions and hadsaid that he had spent a sleep-less night due to incidentswhich took place insideParliament.“During the last six years,

over 60% of the valuableQuestion Hour time has beenlostduetodisruptions.Thisstateof affairs justifies the growingconcern over persistent disrup-tions,”hesaid.PointingtoRules235and241

ofRajyaSabhawhichclearlylaysdown rules for the conduct ofmembers, Naidu said that Rule235 clearly stipulatesmembersshall not obstruct the proceed-ings and interrupt memberswhilespeakingbydisorderlyex-pressionornoisesorinanyotherdisorderly manner and shallmaintain silence while notspeaking in the Council. “Rule243 requires that the Chairmanwheneverherisesshallbeheardinsilenceandanymemberwhois speaking or offering to speakshall immediately sitdown.But

these Rules are being violatedtoooften.”Expressingdisappointment

over frequent disruptions,Union Minister for Law andJusticeKirenRijijusaidthatdis-ruptors making news is not agood thing for democracy. “Ifthosewhomake effective rep-resentationor interventionsorthosewhospeakwithhighvol-ume of oratory skills are notrecognised while the disrup-torsmakenews, then it is defi-nitely not a good thing fordemocracy.”AttorneyGeneralforIndiaKK

Venugopal recalled his friend-shipwith Jethmalaniwhichbe-gan in 1974 when the lattermade a fiery speech againstIndira Gandhi in Kerala. “Ramwas not just a person, hewas aphenomenon and a legend inlaw. The Bar misses him, thecountry misses him and I toomisshim,”Venugopal said.Solicitor General Tushar

Mehta spokeon thediversity ofParliamentandsaidthatdisrup-tions result in people beingdis-illusioned about democracy.“Can parliamentarians deprivethe nation of intellectual bril-liancemerely by disruptions,”Mehtaasked.

ARUNSHARMAJAMMU,SEPTEMBER18

TAKINGTHEdrone threat “veryseriously”,theIndianArmyhasin-corporated training to tackle themenace and emerging cyberse-curitychallenges in its course forsoldiers,aseniorArmyofficersaidonSaturday.“OurArmyChiefhastakenthe

drone challenge very seriouslyand the Indian Army, includingJAK LI, is fully prepared to tackleit,” said Lt General M K Das,CommandantoftheOTAChennaiand Colonel of the JAK LI,whiletalking to themedia after the at-testationparade for 460newre-cruitsoftheJammuandKashmirLight Infantry (JAK LI) at itsRegimentalCentreinDansal.

Duetothepandemic,thecer-emonywas conductedwithouttheparentsoftherecruitsfollow-ingallthenorms.“Aspartofthepreparationasto

howto tackle this challenge, thethreat of drone and how to actagainstithasbeenincludedinourtrainingprogramme...Duringtrain-ingat theRegimentalCentre,ourrecruitsaremadefullyawareofthethreatsposedthroughscienceandtechnology,cybersecurityamongotheremergingchallenges,”hesaid,adding that “theyare further im-partedorientationtrainingwhentheyjointheirrespectiveunitssoastomakethemfullyprepared”.Recruit Peer Sartaj Ahmed

Waniwas awarded the Sher-e-Kashmir Sword of Honour andTriveniSinghMedalforbeingad-judged‘OverallBestRecruit’.

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEJAMMU,SEPTEMBER18

THE JAMMU Chamber ofCommerceandIndustrySaturdaycalled a bandh in Jammu onSeptember22over“directionlesspolicies”oftheUTadministrationaffectingthebusinessfraternity.It raised a rangeof issues, in-

cludingclosureofwineshops,re-strictionsonbanquethalls,open-ing of Reliance stores and theendingoftheannualdarbarmove,amongothers.Onwineshops, theorganisa-

tionsaidinastatement:“Firstlyitwaswine shopownerswhogotthe jolt by the so-called NewExcise Policy andnowthe liquorbarownersarethenexttargetsofthe anti-Jammuadministration.Hundreds of wine traders havelost their livelihood after the in-troductionof e-auctionof liquorvendsinJammuandKashmir.”TheJammutradersbodyalso

expressed resentment over the“proposal of big companies likeReliancetoopenstoresinJammuin the retail sector”. It said if thathappens, “small shopkeepers ofJammu will be ruined”. “TheAnnualDarbarMoveprocesswasaimedatmaintainingcommunalharmonyandbrotherhoodespe-ciallyamongthepeopleofJammuandKashmir regionsandendingthis processwould have an ad-verse impact not only upon thetraditionalbondbetweenthetworegionsandtheirpeoplebutalsoonthebusinesscommunity.”

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEVADODARA,SEPTEMBER18

BJPMP from Bengaluru South,Tejasvi Surya, Saturday said thattheNarendraModi-led govern-menthasensuredequalrightstowomenof JammuandKashmirwiththeabrogationofArticle370,which he termed as an “anti-womanlaw”.Speaking at a Women’s

Conclave in Vadodara as part ofthe71stbirthdaycelebrationsofPrimeMinister NarendraModi,SuryahailedVadodaraforsettingup an example inwomen em-powerment with twowomenMLAs, a woman MP, womanDeputymayorlookingaftercivicaffairs, and a woman as theMunicipalCommissioner.Addressing the conclave, the

BengaluruSouthMPsaidthatoneof the reasons for abrogation ofArticle 370 was to empowerwomenof JammuandKashmir.“TwoGujaratis revoked the

Article 370,which prohibited awoman from Jammu andKashmir,whodecidestomarryaperson from an outside state,from having her rights to herpropertyorpurchasingpropertyinJ&K,”Suryasaid.“The DNA of BJP ismade up

with values of respect and em-powerment of women... One ofthefoundingmembersoftheBJPwasRajmateVijayaraje Scindia,”hesaidwhilereactingtoCongressleader Rahul Gandhi’s remarksontheRSSchief. ”

J&K trade groupcalls Jammubandh onSeptember 22

Abrogation ofArt 370 ensuredequal rights towomen: Tejasvi

Army recruits beingtrained to tackle emergingchallenges: Lt Gen Das

LtGeneralMKDasawardstheSher-e-KashmirSwordofHonourtoPeerSartajAhmedWani,atDansal in JammuonSaturday. Express

MPs can’t claim disruptionsare a privilege: RS Chairman

JOHNSONTABENGALURU,SEPTEMBER18

THE KILLING of 27-year-oldAravind, alias Lee, at BengaluruFootballStadiumonSeptember12 was the latest in a series ofmurders resulting from a gangfeud between two families ineast Bengaluru that began fol-lowing disagreement over thechoiceofasongtobeplayedatafuneral in February 2013, ac-cording topolice.Before Aravind’s murder,

fourotherswerereportedkilledas a result of this feud.On one side of the warring

groups is the family andassoci-ates of a former local criminal,Daniel Raj, who was killed inFebruary2013 in theslumsofKGHalli ineastBengaluruandonthe other side is a group linkedto VinodRaj, a local goon killedin November 2014 over Raj’smurder, police said.Oneof thekeyaccusedinthe

murder of Aravind, whowas aplayer and coach of Karthick

Dilip Football Club, is StalinDaniel, son of Daniel Raj.Aravindhimselfwasassociatedwith Vinod Raj's gang, policesaid.“The origin of this running

feud is not over area domina-tion,drugsoranycriminalactiv-ity. It started as a feud over achoice of song to be played at afuneral in 2013. Thesemurdershave occurred over petty is-sues,” a police officer inBengalurueastdivision said.According to police records,

Daniel,40,apersonwithacrim-inalrecord,waskilledduringthemourning period for death ofthegrandmotherofVinod’swifeon February 2, 2013. At the fu-neral, Daniel, allegedly inebri-ated and an associate, Arun, re-portedlycreatedaruckusoverasong that was played. They al-legedly assaulted Vinod'smother andwife.Thesamenight,Vinodanda

gangofassociates, includinghisbrotherMariyaDilip, aliasBijju,allegedly attacked and killedDaniel,policeandcourtrecords

state. Inanallegedretaliatoryat-tackcarriedoutbyDaniel's fam-ily, including his wife and then19-year-old son Stalin, VinodwasmurderedonNovember23,2014.Daniel's family and their as-

sociateswereacquitted in2015after themainprosecutionwit-ness, Mariya Dilip, brother ofVinod, turned hostile duringtrial. Policesourcessaid itwasapossibleeffortatstrikingacom-promise.In February 2019, sources

said, the feud between the twogangs surfaced again whenPrashant Raj, alias PrashantKumar, 30, another brother ofthemurderedVinod,waskilledby a gang ofmore than 20 peo-ple. Prashant's murder was al-legedlyanactof revengecarriedout by killers of Vinod after hethreatened to continue to seekrevenge,Prashant’swifetoldpo-lice.Incidentally, Prashant and

Aravindwereallegedlyhired in2017 along with a few otherswith criminal records by then

personal aide of BJP leader andformer CM B S Yediyurappa tokidnap a personal aide of BJPleaderKSEshwarappa inanef-fort to extract a video from thephoneof Eshwarappa’s aide.In May 2020, the fourth

murder inthefeudbetweenthetwo gangs occurred whenMariya Dilip, alias Bijju, 39, ac-cused in Daniel Raj's murder,waskilledwhilehewasplayingrummywith a gangof seven toeight persons. The case regis-tered with police named twosons of Daniel — Stalin andSubhash—as being among thegang that carried out themur-der. The killing was allegedlycarried out over fear of an im-pendingattackbytheVinodRajgang for the 2019 murder ofPrasant.The latestmurder in the se-

ries was of Aravind onSeptember12.Aravindhadbeenassociated with the Vinod Rajgang and his murder was re-portedly aneffort toprevent anattack over the 2020 MariyaDilipmurder.

EXPRESSNEWSSERVICEMUMBAI, SEPTEMBER18

BUSINESSMANRAJ Kundra, anaccused in pornography racketcase,onSaturdaymovedaregu-lar bail plea before ametropoli-tanmagistratecourt inMumbai,claimingthathewasbeingmadea scapegoat in the casewithoutanyconclusiveevidenceandthattheMumbaiPolicehaspracticallycompleteditsprobeagainsthim.The Mumbai Police Crime

Branchhad recently fileda sup-plementarychargesheetagainstKundra and three others in thecase pertaining to alleged cre-ationof pornographic filmsandpublishingthemthroughmobileapplications like Hotshots andBollyfame.In an application filed

throughadvocatePrashantPatil,Kundra said he should begranted bail on grounds of par-itywiththeco-accused,aseightof the nine accused againstwhomtheprimarychargesheetwasfiledhavebeengrantedbailby the court. He added there isnot an "iota of evidence” in thefirst chargesheet to show hisconnectionwithHotshots.

PORNRACKET

Kundra movesbail plea inMumbai court

BEHINDBENGALURUSTADIUMMURDER

4killings and a funeral songthat sparked a gang feud

New Delhi

MMaarrttyyrr ooff CCIISSFF oonn 1199tthh SSeepptteemmbbeerrOn 19 Sep 2007 No 9419877X Late Hav ShriKumar Rai of 6/11 GR had made supremesacrifice during OP Rakshak (J&K) in Sep2007.CCoolloonneell 1111 GGRR && SSiikkkkiimm SSccoouuttss aanndd AAllll RRaannkkss

Whilst care is taken prior to acceptance ofadvertising copy, it is not possible to verify itscontants. The Indian Express (P) Limited cannotbe held responsible for such contents, nor for anyloss or damage incurred as a result oftransactions with companies, associations orindividuals adversing in its newspapers orPublications. We therefore recommend thatreaders make necessary inquiries before sendingany monies or entering into any agreements withadvertisers or otherwise acting on anadvertisement in any manner whatsoever.

“IMPORTANT”

Notice Inviting e-TenderE-NIT NO 45/PHE/SPR OF 09/ 2021.DATED 17/09/2021

For and on behalf of the Lt. Governor UT of J&K e-tenders (Two cover System) on Item RateBasis including the maintenance cost for a period of (3) three Years which includes 12months of DLP are invited from Reputed and resourceful contractors/Firms/Companies/Joint Venture of repute in PWD or Equivalent in CPWD/ Railways andother state Governments for the following work, which should be uploaded on the Procurementweb portal http://jktenders.gov.infor the subjected work referred below to be received by theSuperintending Engineer Hydralic Circle Distric Baramullah/Bandipora HQ, Sopore and asper the details mentioned in this e-tender notification and to whom all the terms and conditions ofdetailed e-NIT /Tender Documents/ PWD Form No:- 25 double are accepted. The detailed tenderdocument and Specifications etc. can be downloaded on the e-procurement portal http://jkten-ders.gov.in.

I. All Bidders have to submit Bid Security Declaration Form instead of Earnest money as per thecircular of Finance Department (Bid Security Declaration Form is as per Annexure “A “append-ed herewith)

II. The 1st lowest Bidder has to produce performance security @ 3% of totalcontract valvepledged to Superintending Engineer Hydraulic Circle Baramulla/Bandipora HQ. Sopore inshape of CDR/FDR/BG within 05 days before fixation of contract and shall be released aftermaintenance period is over.

S. No. Description Date Time

DD MM YYYY

1 Publishing date of NIT 17 09 2021 1600 hours

2 Download start date 17 09 2021 1600 hours

3 Bid submission start date 17 09 2021 1600 hours

6 Bid submission end date 30 09 2021 1600 Hours

7 Bid opening date (Technical Cover) 01 10 2021 1100 Hours

26.0 For any clarification the Bidders can contact divisional office or can email the Department at the email:- [email protected]

27.0 Any item of work which is required for satisfactory completion of the scheme / individual activity shall beexclusively responsibility of the contractor and no additional cost shall be paid to the contractor.

28.0 In case of any disputes /differences, the jurisdiction shall be to the Courts situated in Srinagar only.Supplies, if involved any, will be deducted at prevalent stock rates at the time of tender for such mate-rial. We look forward to your active participation.

For and on behalf of the Lt. Governor UT of Jammu & Kashmir

Sd/-Executive Engineer

(JSD) PHE Division Sopore

No: -PHE/Spr/CS/4327-44Dated:17-09-2021DIPK-8908/21

S. Name of Work Estimated Cost of Time of Class of Accord ofNo Cost TD completion Contract Administrative

(`̀ in lacs) (in `̀) Approval

1 Rs. Rs.3000.00 120 days305.62 lacs

Composite tender for Design/Construction of0.90 lac gallons capacity RCC,OHT havingstaging height of 25 mtr, 0.30 lc capacityclear water sump, Intake Channel, SumpCum Pump House, Sluice Chamber and pro-viding and laying of pipes for W.S.SchemeFruit Mandi (under DCW )

AAY lass/Firms/JointVenture of repute inPWD or equalent in

CPWD/Railways/Other state Govt.

Accorded vide No:14-Horti of 2018

dated: 15-02-2018.

Position of Funds:- Available;

Major Head of Account: Deposit contribution works of Horticulture Deptt.

The Bidding documents consisting of eligibility criteria, specification, bill of quantities (B.O.Q) set of terms &conditions of contract and other details can be seen/ downloaded from the e-procurement Portal“http://jktenders.gov.in”as per schedule of dates given below:-

E-TENDER INVITING NOTICE Tenders are invited through

e-tendering for supply of following material: 1:- 425,000 Kg,

Various Sizes of S.E Aluminum Winding Wire against tender

specification no. PVVNL-MT/MM/44/21 -22, Tender Cost Rs.

11800.00 (with GST), Earnest Money Deposit (EMD) :- Rs.

15,30,000.00, 2:- 166,000 Kg, Various Sizes of DPC Aluminum

Winding Wire against tender specification no. PVVNL-M

/MM/45/21-22, Tender Cost:- Rs. 5900.00 (with GST), Earnest

Money Deposit (EMD) Rs. 4,98,000.00, 3:- 510,000 Kg,

Various Sizes of DPC Aluminum Strip against tender specifica-

tion no. PVVNL-MT /MM/46/21 -22, Tender Cost Rs. 11800.00

(with GST), Earnest Money Deposit (EMD) :- Rs. 15,30,000.00,

Last Date & Time of tenders submission for all above tender

specifications:- 18.10.2021 at 2:00 PM Tender opening date &

Time (Part-1st&IInd) for all above tender specifications:-

18.10.2021 at 5:00 PM, Note:- In case of any amendment in

tender specification or extension of date, the same shall be

uploaded on e-tender website www.etender.up.nic.in and

www.pvvnl.org. "Help line Number For Information of Theft of

Electricity: "1800-180-3002 (Meerut), & 9412207451"

Sd/- Superintending Enginner (MM-I) For Managing

Director, RO. NO-8532 DATED: 18.09.2021

Paschimanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam Ltd.,Victoria Park, Meerut.

RECRUITMENT NOTICE NO.: IGDTUW/RECRUITMENT/2021/2ADVERTISEMENT FOR VARIOUS TEACHING AND NON-TEACHING GROUP ‘A’ POSTS

Indira Gandhi Delhi Technical University for Women [IGDTUW] is a Non-Affiliating Teaching-cum-Research University for Women and engaged in Education, Research, Technology, Incubation, Innovationand Extension work in Engineering and Technology, Architecture and Planning, Management, Applied Science and its allied areas and is committed to foster excellence. The University invites applicationsto fill-up the following positions in the Discipline/ Department as mentioned against each by Direct Recruitment from qualified candidates:-CATEGORY OF POSTS : GROUP ‘A’ - TEACHING

CATEGORY OF POSTS : GROUP ‘A’ - NON-TEACHING/MINISTERIAL

DIP/SHABDARTH/0279/21-22

[REGISTRAR]IGDTUW, Delhi.

INDIRA GANDHI DELHI TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY FOR WOMEN(UNDER DELHI ACT 9 OF 2012, GOVT. OF NCT OF DELHI)

(ISO 9001 : 2015 CERTIFIED UNIVERSITY)St. JAMES CHURCH, NEW CHURCH ROAD, KASHMERE GATE, DELHI - 110006.

VACANCIES FOR THE POST OF PROFESSOR - PAY SCALE/ LEVEL : Rs. 1,44,200 - 2,18,200 / Level-14, as per 7th CPC/UGC

Sl. No. Name of DisciplineCategory Total

UR SC ST OBC EWS1 Information Technology 01 -- 01 01 -- 032 Computer Science Engineering 01 01 -- 01 -- 033 Electronics and Communication Engineering -- -- -- 01 -- 014 Mechanical & Automation Engineering 01 01 -- -- -- 025 Architecture and Planning 01 -- -- -- 01 026 English 01 -- -- -- -- 01

VACANCIES FOR THE POST OF ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR - PAY SCALE/ LEVEL : Rs. 1,31,400 - 2,17,100 / Level-13 (AI), as per 7th CPC/UGC1 Information Technology 02 01 -- 03 01 072 Computer Science Engineering -- 01 -- 03 -- 043 Electronics and Communication Engineering -- -- 01 -- -- 014 Mechanical & Automation Engineering -- 01 -- 01 -- 025 Architecture and Planning -- 01 -- 01 -- 026 Mathematics -- -- 01 -- -- 01

VACANCIES FOR THE POST OF ASSISTANT PROFESSOR* - PAY SCALE/ LEVEL : Rs. 57,700 - 1,82,400 / Level-10, as per 7th CPC/UGC1 Information Technology 01 -- 02 01 -- 042 Computer Science Engineering 04 01 -- 03 01 093 Architecture and Planning -- 01 -- 03 -- 044 Physics -- -- -- 01 -- 015 Chemistry -- 01 -- -- -- 01

*Two posts of Assistant Professor are reserved for PwBD, candidates of any category i.e. UR/SC/ST/OBC/EWS may apply.

Sl. No. Name of the Post Pay Scale and LevelCategory - UR

TotalUnreserved

1 Controller of Examinations Pay Matrix Rs. 1,44,200 - 2,18,200 Level-14, As per 7th CPC 01 012 Deputy Registrar Pay Matrix Rs. 78,800 - 2,09,200 Level-12, As per 7th CPC 01 013 Assistant Registrar Pay Matrix Rs. 56,100 - 1,77,500 Level-10, As per 7th CPC 02 024 Assistant Controller of Examinations Pay Matrix Rs. 56,100 - 177,500 Level-10, As per 7th CPC 01 01

The last date for filling up the online application is 04.10.2021 till 12:00 P.M. (Night). The candidates are required to fill-up the Online Application Form and also send the printout of the online ApplicationForm along with the desired/relevant documents to “additional Registrar (HR), Indira Gandhi Delhi Technical University for Women, Room No. 205, First Floor, Administrative Block, Kashmere Gate, Delhi-110006”. The last date for submission of hard copy of application form is 11.10.2021 by 4:30 P.M.The detailed advertisement and the link of online application will be available on the University website www.igdtuw.ac.in. Candidates are advised to regularly visit the University website for updates etc.

NOTICEBOARD CORPORATE ASSOCIATE DIARY A P P O I N T M E N T S , M O V E M E N T S , C E L E B R A T I O N S , H O N O U R S

E V E N T S , A N N O U N C E M E N T S , L A U N C H E S , C S R I N I T I A T I V E S , A P P O I N T M E N T S , M O V E M E N T S , C E L E B R A T I O N S

RAILTEL; 28 students of Railtel’s CSR initiative AkanshaSuper 30, Dehradun made it to JEE Mains 2021 bringingthem one step closer to securing admission to premiereleague engineering colleges like IIT, NIT and other Govtengineering colleges of India. In association with Centre forSocial Responsibility and leadership, New Delhi, establisheda Super 30 Centre at Dehradun in 2015. This coachingcentre provides free training to 30 underprivileged buttalented students from Uttarakhand for 11 months foradmission examinations of reputed engineering collegeslike IIT, NIT and state engineering colleges.

PNB, during the festival season, has cut the interest rate onhome loans above Rs 50 lakhs by 50 basis points. PNB hasannounced that now home loans are offered at 6.60%irrespective of any upper ceiling limit and will be linked withthe applicant’s credit score. The said rate is also applicableto balance transfer cases and is lowest among public sectorbanks. Bank has also announced offering top-up homeloans at an attractive rate of interest to existing as well asbalance transfer cases.

IRCTC has launched Shri Ramayana Yatra by Deluxe ACTourists train to promote Religious Tourism. This tour willstart from Delhi Safdarjung Railway Station on 7th Nov 2021and cover the visit of all prominent places associated withthe life of Lord Shri Rama. The tour will be completed in 17days. First halt of this train will be Ayodhya where touristswill visit Shri Ram Janmbhumi temple and Hanuman templeand additionally Bharat Mandir at Nandigram.

BBPS; Global Talk Education Foundation in association withCED Foundation recently rewarded class X and XII schoolCBSE toppers of Bal Bhavan Public School, Mayur Vihar-II, Delhi in a comprehensive virtual ceremony streamed liveon CED foundation facebook page. The event wasorganised to honour the talent and the contribution of theirmentors in facilitating their learning during the difficult timesof Pandemic.

BHEL has added another feather in its cap by playing a keyrole in the successful implementation of the +800 kV, 6,000MW Ultra High Voltage Direct Current (UHVDC) Linkbetween the Western Region Grid (Raigarh, Chattisgarh)and the Southern Region Grid (Pugalur, Tamil Nadu). BHELis proud to have been associated in building this prestigiousproject of national importance, which will bring relief to thepower deficit Southern Grid.

CWC IS organizing the 4th Rashtriya Poshan Maah whichcomes under POSHAN ABHIYAAN. The campaign ofPoshan Maah is to be celebrated under 4 different themesduring 4 weeks in the month of September, 2021.

POSHAN ABHIYAAN – CWC

PSB has entered into an agreement with Shriram AutomallIndia Limited; a company specialized in repossession andauction of pre-owned vehicles. SAMIL will support Bankin resolution of non-performing vehicle loans.

AGREEMENT - PSB

PNB organised the ‘Fit India Freedom Run 2.0’ to com-memorate the Central government’s initiative, ‘Azadi KaAmrit Mahotsav’. V Dube, ED, SK Saha, ED and other seniormanagement, congregated at the PNB HO in Dwarka.

FREEDOM RUN - PNB

NFL Nirlep Singh Rai has takenover as CMD of NationalFertilizers Limited. Prior to this,NS Rai was Director(Technical) from April, 2020.He has been associated withthe NFL for 38 years and has worked in various capacities.He is also the Nominee Director on the Board of Joint ventureCompany of NFL, Ramagundam Fertilizers & Chemicals Ltd.As CEO RFCL, he is credited with commissioning of theproject. NS Rai is a B.E. (Instrumentation & Control) fromThapar University. He has rich professional experience oftechnical services & operation & maintenance of large scaleFertilizer Plants.

IRCON Yogesh Kumar Misra tookover as CMD of IRCONInternational Limited on04.09.2021. Born in 1965, YKMisra graduated in CivilEngineering from Indian Institute ofTechnology (IIT), Delhi. He is anofficer of IRSE, 1987 batch andhas over 35 years of rich and varied experience ininfrastructure works. He joined IRCON in 2006 andsubsequently took an absorption in IRCON. He has madevaluable contributions while working earlier on Design &Construction of J&K Rail Link Project and on other Railwaycapacity enhancement works. Under his leadership, IRCONhas secured several projects within India and abroad on EPC,BOT and HAM basis in the highway and railway sectors.

RCPSDC The Rubber, Chemicaland Petrochemical SkillDevelopment Council recentlyannounced the appointment ofRummy Chhabra as its newChairman. R Chhabra waselected at the meeting of theBoard of Directors of the Council held on 1st September 2021.He will be responsible for overseeing the operations ofRCPSDC and work closely with its governing Council onstrategic issues related to the growth of the Rubber, Chemicaland Petrochemical industry in India. R Chhabra is also theCMD of Metro Tyres Ltd with over 38 years of experience in theRubber sector. He is also the President of the Indian Cycle &Rickshaw Tyre Manufacturers’ Association (ICRTMA).

APPOINTMENTS

Oriental Insurance has celebrated 75th foundation day on12th September 2021. Activities carried out were treeplantation, vaccination drive, health check-up, COVID test atHead Office.

FOUNDATION DAY – ORIENTAL INSURANCE

POWERGRID’s Corporate Communication team has fea-tured in Reputation Today’s India’s Top 30 Corporate Com-munications teams. The Team has ranked 18th in the listwhich features only two PSUs from India.

FELICITATION - POWERGRID

DMRC AJIT SHARMA hastaken over the charge ofDirector Finance of DMRC. ASharma was working asDirector/Finance with theMumbai Railway VikasCorporation, a PSU under theMinistry of Railways. He is anElectrical Engineer from PEC, Chandigarh and MBA from theFaculty of Management Studies, Delhi University and has avast experience of 32 years with distinction in variouscapacities in Indian Railways as well as in areas of planningand dealing with Multilateral Development Banks inprocurement and financing during his tenure in MumbaiRailway Vikas Corporation.

NSIC Alka Nangia Arora,IDAS (91) has assumed theadditional charge of the postof Chairman cum ManagingDirector (CMD), The NationalSmall Industries CorporationLtd, on 14th September,2021. On this occasion, sheinteracted with senior officersof NSIC and encouraged allemployees to continue giving their best performance during2021-22. Ms Alka Arora is an industry veteran with over 30years of the experience in diverse activities across thecountry.

APPOINTMENTS

AK Singh, CMD, NHPC has received 1st Prize of ‘Rajb-hasha Kirti Puruskar (Griha Patrika) in Region ‘A’ for 2019-20 from Amit Shah, Home Minister during Hindi Diwas cer-emony organized at Vigyan Bhawan, ND.

AWARDS – NHPC

VGS Kumar, Dir. (Proj.) & CMD, RITES Ltd., was conferredthe prestigious ‘Eminent Engineer Award’ by the Institutionof Engineers (India) for his outstanding contribution towardstheadvancement&applicationofpracticeof engineering in thecountry.

AWARDS - RITES

WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHE SUNDAY EXPRESS,SEPTEMBER19,202120

New Delhi

21WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHE SUNDAY EXPRESS,SEPTEMBER19,2021 GOVT OF NCT OF DELHI:

TRANSPORT DEPARTMENTPOLLUTION CONTROL DIVISION

5/9 UNDER HILL ROAD DELHI-110054

PUBLIC NOTICE

ATTENTION: VEHICLE OWNERS PLYINGVEHICLES WITHOUT MANDATORY POLLUTION

CONTROL CERTIFICATE.

The Transport Department, Govt. Of NCT of Delhi in itsongoing efforts to control pollution and improve AirQuality in Delhi requests all motor vehicle owners inDelhi to ply their vehicles only with valid Pollution underControl Certificate (PUCC). Failure to possess PUCCmay lead to imprisonment up to 6 months or fine up toRs. 10,000/- or with both. They will also be disqualifiedto hold their license for 03 months.

All Registered vehicle holders/ owners are requestedto get their vehicles checked from the PollutionChecking Centres authorized by Transport Departmentto avoid any penalty / imprisonment / suspension ofdriving license immediately.

The list of authorized pollution checking centers isavailable at the website of this department (www.https://transport.delhi.gov.in).

Sd/-Dy. Commissioner (PCD)

Transport DepartmentDIP/SHABDARTH/0309/21-22

Notice is hereby given under the Securitization and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of (Security) Interest Act. 2002 (54 of2002), and in exercise of the power conferred under sub-section (12) of section 13 read with [rule 3] of the Security Interest (Enforcement) Rule2002.The Authorized Officer issued a Demand Notice on the dates noted against account as mentioned herein after, calling them to repay theamount within 60 days from the date of receipt of the said Notice. The borrower/guarantor having failed to repay the amount, notice is hereby givento the under noted borrower/guarantor and the public in general that the undersigned has taken possession of the property described herein belowin exercise of powers conferred on him under Sec. 13(4) of Section 13 of Act read with Rule 8 of the said Rules on the date mentioned againstaccount. The borrower/guarantor in particular and the public in general is hereby cautioned not to deal with the property and any dealing with theproperty will be subject to the charge of Central Bank of India for the amount and interest thereon mentioned against account herein below.The borrower's attention is invited to provisions of sub-section (8) of section (13) of the Act, in respect of time available to redeem thesecured assets.Sl.No.

Nameof theBranch

Name of theAccounts/Borrowers

Name of the owner & Description ofthe property mortgaged

Date ofDemandNotice

Date ofPossessionNoticeAffixed

Amountout-standingas on dateof DemandNotice

1. Kesariya Borrower: Mr. SatrudhanKumar Sah, S/o Mr.Sakaldeo Sah, R/o Village-Lala Chhapra, Post-Kesariya, PS-Kesariya,Dist.-East Champaran845432Guarantor: Laxman KumarSah, S/o Mr. SakaldeoSah, R/o Village-LalaChhapra, Post-Kesariya,PS-Kesariya, Dist.-EastChamparan 845424

Description of the Immovable property (Land & Building)Name of the Mortgagor: Mr. Satrudhan Kumar Sah, S/oMr. Sakaldeo Sah. Address of the Mortgagors: Village-Lala Chhapra, Post-Kesariya, PS-Kesariya, Dist-EastChamparan- 845432. Full particulars of Property: SaleDeed No.5363 dated 02.12.2002, Area 19.75 Dhur, ThanaNo.249, Tauzi No.951, Khata no.61, Khesra No.225,Location of the property:- Village-Lala Chhapra, Post-Kesariya, PS-Kesariya, Dist.-East Champaran 845432.Boundary: North-Road, South-Satyadev Ojha, East-Chandradev Sah, West-Harikrishan Ojha.

05.05.2021 14.09.2021Rs.7,61,210/-(Rupeesseven lakhsixty one

thousand twohundred tenonly) with

future Interestand incidentalcharges w.e.f.05.05.2021

2. Kesariya Borrower: Mr. VijayKumar Mishra, S/o Mr.Rajnandan Mishra, R/oWard No.9, Vill+PO-Bijdhari Nijamat,PS-Kesariya, EastChamparan-845434Guarantor: Mrs. SaritaDevi, W/o Mr. VijayKumar Mishra, R/o WardNo.9, Vill+PO- BijdhariNijamat, PS-Kesariya, EastChamparan-845434

Description of the Immovable property (Land & Building)Name of the Mortgagor: Mrs. Sarita Devi, W/o Mr.Vijay Kumar Mishra. Address of the Mortgagors:Ward No.9, Vill+PO- Bijdhari Nijamat, PS-Kesariya, EastChamparan-845434. Full particulars of Property: SaleDeed No.102 dated 09.01.2018, Area 1.00 Kattha, ThanaNo.229, Tauzi No.951, Khata No.189, Khesra No.783,Location of the property:- Ward No.9, Vill+PO- BijdhariNijamat, PS-Kesariya, East Champaran-845434. Boundary:North-Kameshwar Mishra, South-Nij Mokir, East-Nij Mokir,West-Road.

05.05.2021 14.09.2021Rs.5,33,690/-(Rupeesfive lakhthirty threethousandsix hundredninety only)with futureInterest andincidental

charges w.e.f.05.05.2021

3. Kesariya Borrower: Mr. KishoriPrasad, S/o Mr. YogendraPrasad & Mr. ShyamSunder Prasad, S/o Mr.Kishori Prasad R/o H.No.1012, Kesariya PuraniBazar, Kesariya, EastChamparan-845424Guarantor: Mr. SanjayKumar, S/o Mr. ShambhuPrasad, R/o H. No.87,Purani Bazar, Kesariya,PS- Kesariya, District-EastChamparan-845424

Description of the Immovable property (Land & Building)Name of the Mortgagor: Mr. Kishori Prasad, S/oMr. Yogendra Prasad. Address of the Mortgagors:H.No. 1012, Kesariya Purani Bazar, Kesariya, EastChamparan-845424. Full particulars of Property: (1) SaleDeed No.2583 dated 21.06.2012, Area 9.00 Dhur (2.792Decimal), Thana No.204, Tauzi No.951, Khata No.64,Khesra No.2803. Location of the property:- Mauza-KesariyaMain Road, Anchal+PS-Kesariya, East Champaran.Boundary: North-Hissa Bindu Ray, South-Md SarfarajBaidar, East-Ram Babu, West-Road SH 74. (2) Sale DeedNo.5827 dated 23.12.2013, Area 1.75 Dhur (0.50 Decimal),Thana No.206, Tauzi No.951, Khata No.38, Khesra No.34.Location of the property:- Mauza-Hamidpur Deviganj Bazar,Anchal+PS-Kesariya, East Champaran. Boundary: North-Bhola Prasad, South-Musmat Suga Kunwar, East-Bazar &Gairmajarua Land, West-Bhola Prasad.

05.05.2021 14.09.2021Rs.5,77,706/-(Rupeesfive lakh

seventy seventhousand

seven hundredsix only) withfuture Interestand incidentalcharges w.e.f.05.05.2021

4. Kesariya Borrower: Mr. ShankarRai, S/o Mr. ShivRai, R/o Ward No.6,Hameedpur, Kesariya, EastChamparan-845424Guarantor: Mrs. PhulKumari Devi, W/o Mr.Shankar Rai, R/o WardNo.6, Hameedpur,Kesariya, EastChamparan-845424

Description of the Immovable property (Land & Building)Name of the Mortgagor: 1) Mrs. Phul Kumari Devi, W/o Mr.Shankar Rai 2) Mr. Shankar Rai, S/o Mr. Shiv Rai. Addressof the Mortgagors:Ward No.6, Hameedpur, Kesariya, EastChamparan-845424. Full particulars of Property: (1) GiftDeed No.5049 dated 20.12.2012, Area 15.00 Dhur (4.50Decimal), Thana No.206, Tauzi No.951, Khata No.124,Khesra No.77 in the name of Mrs. Phul Kumari Devi W/o-Shankar Rai. Location of the property:- Mauza-Hameedpur,Ward No.6, Kesariya, East Champaran-845424, Boundary:North-Vikash Kumar & Others, South-Digar Plot No.82,East-Nij Mokir, West-Husband of Mustari & VirendraPrasad. (2) Sale Deed No.4565 dated 08.10.2013, Area5.00 Dhur (1.45 Decimal), Thana No.206, Tauzi No.951,Khata No.124, Khesra No.77 in the name of Shankar Rai,S/o Shiv Rai. Location of the property:- Mauza-Hameedpur,Ward No.6, Kesariya, East Champaran-845424, Boundary:North-Radhika Devi, South-Shivaji Rai & Hissa Baidar,East-Girija Sah & Radhika Devi, West-Mustari.

17.05.2021 14.09.2021Rs.5,29,013/-(Rupees fivelakh twentynine thousandthirteen only)with futureInterest andincidental

charges w.e.f.17.05.2021

Regional Office, Balluatal, Motihari, East Champaran-845401POSSESSION NOTICE

[UNDER RULE 8 (1) OF SECURITY INTEREST (ENFORCEMENT) RULES, 2002]

Authorised officerCENTRALBANKOF INDIA

Date : 14.09.2021Place : Kesariya

WhereasPunjab National Bank/ the Authorized Officer/s of the Punjab National Bank under the Securitization and Reconstruction of Financial Assets& Enforcement of Security Interest Act, 2002, and in exercise of powers conferred under section 13 read with Rule 3 of the Security Interest(Enforcement) Rules, 2002, issued demand notice/s on the dates mentioned in the account calling upon the borrower to repay the amount asmentioned in the account within 60 days from the date of notice(s)/ date of receipt of said notice(s).The borrower having failed to repay the amount, notice is hereby given to the borrowers and the public in general that the undersigned has takenpossession of the properties described herein below in exercise of the powers conferred to him under sub-section (4) of Section 13 of the Act readwith Rule 8 of the Security Interest (Enforcement) Rules, 2002 on the date mentioned in the account.The borrower’s/ guarantor's/ mortgagor's attention is invited to provisions of sub-section (8) of Section 13 of the Act, in respect of time available,to redeem the secured assets.The borrower/s in particular and the public in general is hereby cautioned not to deal with the property/ies and any dealing with the property/ies willbe subject to the charge of Punjab National Bank for the amounts and interest thereon.

(Authorised Officer)Punjab National Bank

Date : 18.09.2021Place : Patna

Nameof theBranch

Name of theAccount/ Borrower

Name ofthe Ownerof theproperty

Descriptionof the property mortgaged

Date ofDemandNotice

Date ofPossessionNoticeAffixed

Amountoutstandingas on dateof demandnotice

Nameof the

AuthorisedOfficer/s

Baikatpur M/s Shiv ShaktiTraders,Prop.-Sri MohanPrasad S/o SriRamashish SinghA/c No.-1315008700001147

Sri MohanPrasadS/o SriRamashishSingh

EM of Land & Building situated at Mauza-Rusulpur, Thana-Khusrupur, Sub Registry-Patnacity, Sadar Registry & Distt.-Patna,Tauzi-Govt. of Bihar, Thana No.137, KhataNo.35, Plot No.186(P), Area-10 Dhurcovered by Sale Deed No. 7124 dated13.11.2013 pertaining to Sri Mohan Prasad

25.06.2021 13.09.2021`14,90,261.05(Rs. Fourteenlacs ninetythousand twohundred sixtyone and fivepaise only)

BikashKumar

S/o Sri Ramashish Singh. Bounded by:-North-Sahayak Rasta, South-Plot Haza Bhushan Prasad,East-Warisan of Saudagar Prasad, West-Plot hazahissedar Shushil Kumar & Ranjit Kumar.

Baikatpur Sri Mukesh KumarA/c No.-1315008700000980,131500IL00000205

Sri NawalPrasad S/oSri ShyamSunder Rai

Registered Mortgage of Land and Buildingvide DeedNo.5538 Dtd.08/07/2015 situatedat Mauza-Baikatpur, Thana-Khusrupur,Distt.-Patna, under Tauzi No.-881, ThanaNo.-135, Khata No.-890, Part KhesraSurvey Plot No.2877, Sub and SadarRegistry Office Patna Sadar, Total Area-25

30.06.2021 13.09.2021`25,28,330.08(Rs. Twenty

five lacs twentyeight thousandthree hundredthirty and eightpaise only)

BikashKumar

Decimal in the name of Sri Nawal Prasad S/o Sri Shyam Sunder Rai. Boundary:- North-RailwayHunder, South-Sri Moti Gope, East-Sri Dinesh Prasad, Plot No.2805, West-Sri Munni Lal Gope.

Baikatpur Md. Muslim S/o Md.SalimA/c No.-131500SG00000080,1315008700001305,131500CF00000519

1. Md. Kalim2. Shalim &3. ShamshuMiyan AllS/o LateShohrabMiyan

EM of Land and Building vide Deed No.-15802 of 1970 Dtd.24.11.1970 situatedat Mauza-Khusrupur, Pargana-Bhimpur,Thana-Fatuha, Sub Registry and SadarRegistry Office-Patna City, Distt.-Patna.bearing Tauzi No.-2260, Thana No.-140,Khata No.26, Survey Khesra Part No.-241,Ward No.6 Total Area-6 dec in name of

30.06.2021 13.09.2021`24,00,563.16(Rs. Twentyfour lacs fivehundred sixtythree and

sixteen paisaonly)

BikashKumar

(1) Md. Kalim (2) Shalim & (3) ShamshuMiyanAll S/o Late ShohrabMiyan. Boundary:- North-Houseof Vendee, South-Md. Habibullah Miyan, East-Gali, West-Md. Saheb Miyan & Sri Chowa Das.

Baikatpur M/s VarshaHardwareProp. Sri SantoshKumarA/c No.-1315008700001031,131500CF00000494

1. SriPramodKumar S/oLate RamDas Singhand2. SriSantoshKumar S/oLate RamDas Singh

Registered Mortgage (in favour of PNBBO-Baikatpur) of Land and Building videDeed No.9119 Dtd.30.11.2015 situated atMouza-Baikatpur, P.S. & P.O-Khusrupur,Dist.-Patna under Thana No.-135, TauziNo.-16841, Khata No.-52, Khesra No.-2714 and 2715, under sub registry officePatnacity and Sadar Registry Office-Patna,Area-28½ Decimal (Originally pertaining to

30.06.2021 13.09.2021`23,10,128.94(Rs. Twentythree lacsten thousandone hundredtwenty eightand ninety fourpaise only)

BikashKumar

1. Sri Pramod Kumar S/o Late Ram Das Singh and 2. Sri Santosh Kumar S/o Late Ram Das Singh.Boundary:- North-Ramdeo Prasad Singh, South-Sambhu Prasad Singh, East-Khusrupur StationRoad, West-Self (Mortgagor/Borrower).

Langartoli Smt. MamtaJha,W/o Late SriPraveen Kumar Jha,A/c No.-0474250008033047430001547304743000090720474300014599

Late SriPraveenKumar Jha,S/o LateChakrapaniJha

Registered Mortgage of residential Flat videDeed No.11155 Dtd 31.03.2011 situatedat Flat No.202A, Block-2 on second floor,Mohalla-Rajendra Nagar, P.S.-Kadamkuan,Dist.-Patna, Ward no.18/43, Present WardNo.32, Circle No.29A (Rajendra Nagar),P.S-Code No.522, Zone No.3, within thelimits of Patna Municipal Corporation Patna

29.06.2021 16.09.2021`26,11,748.00(Rs. Twentysix lacs eleventhousand

seven hundredforty eightonly)

BikashKumar

in the name of Late Sri Praveen Kumar Jha, S/o Late Chakrapani Jha. Boundary:- North-FlatNo.203B, South-Open Space, East-Open Space, West-Flat No.201A.

Langartoli Sri Aryan Singh,S/o Nawal KishoreSinghA/c No.-0474300500097

NawalKishoreSingh

Registered Mortgage of Land and buildingvide Deed No.2745 Dtd 14.03.2019,Mauza-Musallahpur at present Mohalla-Yadav Lane, Mahal-Nirandrapur Khrauniya,Pargana-Azimabad, P.S-Kadamkuan,District-Patna, S.R.O & D.R.O-Patna underTauzi No.229, Thana Code- 583, Ward

23.06.2021 16.09.2021`70,57,240.00(Rs. Seventylacs fifty seventhousand twohundred forty

only)

BikashKumar

No.13 new 48, Holding no.207/143, Sheet No.106, M.S Plot No.1873, Circle No.36, Area-1 Katha5 Dhur in the name of Nawal Kishore Singh. Boundary:- North-Part Plot No.1873, South-Gali afterMurari Ram, East-Ram Swarath Singh Patidar, West-Rasta after Yasoda Devi.

Langartoli M/s Ashok PustakBhandar,Prop.-Sri AnandKumar, S/o SriRamdhani PrasadSinghA/c No.-HL-0474300011769CC(H)-0474250009973

Smt. KantiDevi, W/oSri AnandKumar andSri ManojKumarS/o SriRamdhaniPrasadSingh

EM of Land & Building situated at Mouza-Mihapur B Area, Thana-Kotwali Hal Thana-Jakkanpur, Sub and Sadar Registry & Distt-patna, Tauzi No.497, Thana No.19, KhataNo.116, Khesra Survey Plot No.4(P), WardNo.11, CircleNo.258,HoldingNo.498/404B,Area-1 Kattha vide Sale Deed no.22318dated 18-09-2007 (Also covered by Sale

02.02.2021 16.09.2021`36,74,476.84(Rs. Thirty sixlacs seventyfour thousandfour hundredseventy six andpaise eightyfour only)

BikashKumar

Deed No.13286 dated 20.04.2011 in which Smt. Kanti Devi, W/o Sri Anand Kumar and Sri ManojKumar S/o Sri Ramdhani Prasad Singh sold their portion to Sri Anand Kumar) pertaining to SriAnand Kumar S/o Sri Ramdhani Prasad Singh. Boundary:- North- 8" Choura Sahayak Rasta,South-Santosh Kumar and others, East-6" Sahayak Rasta, West-Munna Singh and others.

Langartoli M/s BhagwatiPlastics,Prop.-Smt. KumariPushplataA/c No.-0474250010292

Smt. ManjuKumariW/o LateBhagirathPrasadSingh

EM of Land and Building vide DeedNo.2069 Dtd 13.02.1991 situated atMohalla-Sandalpur, Halka No.11, KhataNo.669, Khesra No.1461, Nagar Parishad-Patna Municipal Corporation, SubRegistry-Patna City & Sadar, Distt-Patna,Total Area- 1 Kattha 4 Dhur in the name

28.06.2021 16.09.2021`18,82,282.00(Rs. Eighteenlacs eighty twothousand twohundred eightytwo only)

BikashKumar

of Smt. Manju Kumari W/o Late Bhagirath Prasad Singh (Originally pertaining to Late BhagirathPrasad Singh S/o Sri Ram Chalitra Prasad Singh). Boundary:- North- Phagu Paswan, South-SelfVendors, East-Self Vendors Plot No.1461 part, West-Five feet wide passage for use of vendee.

Langartoli Sri Santosh Kumar,S/o Lok Nath RaiA/c No.-04742500101590474300015552

Smt. SitaDevi, W/oLok NathRai

EM of Land and Building situated at Mouza-Paharpur, Thana- Phulwari, Sadar Registryand Distt-Patna, Thana No.14, Survey PlotNo.319, Khata No.124, Area-1 Kattha.Name of Owner:- Smt. Sita Devi, W/o LokNathRai, Boundary as perDeed:- North- NizMokir, South-Ajit Kumar Srivastav & RamNiwash Pandey, East-Police Colony, West-Rameshwar Singh and others then Rasta.

29.06.2021 16.09.2021`8,35,059.97(Rs. Eight

lacs thirty fivethousand fiftynine and paiseninety seven

only)

BikashKumar

MorchaRoad

M/s Siddhi VinayakVision,Prop.-RandhirKumarA/c No.-2916008700003772

SriRandheerKumar S/oSri GopalPrasadJaiswal

EM of property Land and Building situatedat Mohalla-Chamdoria, Thana-Chawkkalan,Patna City, Sub Registry Office-PatnaCity, Sadar Registry office & distt-Patna,Circle No.172, Holding No.12/11A, WardNo.67/53 (New) and 34/24 (old), MunicipalSurvey Plot No.192(parts), Area-13 Dhur10 Dhurki (2.1093 decimal) vide Sale DeedNo.2622 dated 02.04.2011, Pertaining to

23.06.2021 16.09.2021`29,57,303.75(Rs. Twentynine lacsfifty seven

thousand threehundred threeand paiseseventy five

only)

BikashKumar

Sri Randheer Kumar S/o Sri Gopal Prasad Jaiswal. Boundary:- North- Municipal Plot No.190, 191& 192(part) Sri Krishna Murari Gupta, South-Sri Ashok Singh & Gali, East-Municipal Plot No.214Sri Laddu Babu, West-Residential Main Road.

MorchaRoad

M/s Awadh Bakery,Prop.-Sri AbadhKishor SinghA/c No.-291600SG00000060

Smt.RadhikaDevi W/o SriRam DayalMishra

EM of Land and Building situated atMouza-Simli Muradpur, Patna City, Thana-Malsalami, Sub Registry Office-Patna City,Sadar Registry and Distt-Patna, Tauzi-Bihar Sarkar, Thana No.38, Khata No.904,CS Khesra No.2167(P), Area-3.1/8 Decimalvide Sale Deed No.80 dated 12-01-2000

30.06.2021 16.09.2021`19,23,526.00(Rs. Nineteenlacs twenty

three thousandfive hundredtwenty sixonly)

BikashKumar

pertaining to Smt. Radhika Devi W/o Sri Ram Dayal Mishra. Boundary:- North- Common RastaBadau adastral Survey Khesra No.2169, South-Sri Ram Prasad Yadav Part of Said Plot, East-NizLekhyakarigan no 1 and 2, part of said Plot, West-Sri Jai Dayal Mishra, Part of said Plot.

MorchaRoad

M/s Om Store,Prop.-Sri OmPrakash, S/oYogendra PrasadA/c No.-1775250000505,1775300003674

Sri OmPrakash, S/oYogendraPrasad

Registered Mortgage of Land and Buildingin favour of erstwhile United Bank of India(Now Punjab National Bank) vide DeedNo.2376, dated 13.03.2019 bearing M.SPlot No.1480 Part, Holding No.87/78(old), New Holding No.90 under Wardno.30/3503/70, Circle No.210, Sheet No.

30.06.2021 16.09.2021`19,17,236.54(Rs. Nineteenlacs seventeenthousand twohundred thirtysix and paisefifty four only)

BikashKumar

276, situated at Mauza-Jalkaddarbagh, P.S-Malsalami, Distt-Patna under jurisdiction of P.M.C,S.R Office-Patna City, D.S.R Office Patna, Total Area- 4 Dhur 16 Dhurki (326.64 sq.ft) (originallypertaining to Sri Om Prakash S/o Yogendra Prasad). Boundary: North-Late Rajendra Prasad,South-Niraj Kumar, East-PMC Lane, West-Sri Niraj Kumar.

POSSESSION NOTICEPossession Notice for Immovable Properties of borrower by the Authorised Officer

(For Immovable property)

(A Govt. of India Undertaking)Circle Sastra Patna North: 2nd Floor, Chanakya Tower, R-Block, Patna-800 001

New Delhi

SHAHIDJUDGEMUMBAI,SEPTEMBER18

JARKKONIEMINEN, a formerWorldNo13 insingles,leaptoffhischairtocelebratewithhisdoubles teamof Henri Kontinen, a formerWorldNo1,andHarriHeliovaara, thecurrentNo76.FinlandhadjustbeatenIndia7-6(2),7-6(2)inthedoublesrubberoftheWorldGroup1tie inEspoo.Andwith the twosingleswinsfromFriday, the Finns had secured a FinalsPlayoffsspotforthefirsttimesince2002.By the end of play on Saturday, Finland

hadrecordeda3-1winoverIndia–PrajneshGunneswaran picked up the consolationpoint bywinning thedead fourth rubber6-3, 7-5 againstWorld No 491 Patrik Niklas-Salminen.WhiletheFinnsstandthechanceofmak-

ing the top tier of the competition, theIndiansnowfacethedangerof fallingarungfurther below. Their next tie will be in theGroup1playoffs in2022.Key to Finland’swin thisweekendwere

the 20-year-oldOttoVirtanen and22-year-old Emil Ruusuvuori –who, ranked74,wasthehighest-ranked singles player in the tie.Even their doubles team is aged 32 and 31,Heliovaara being the older player. And thatwas central to Nieminen’s optimistic viewabout the futureof Finnish tennis.“Oursinglesplayersareyoungandimprov-

ingeverytimeweplay,”saidtheFinlandcap-tainafterthetie.“Wearestrongerasateam.Intheory,wecanbeat anybodyonourday.Weare getting closer (to theDavis Cup Finals).Noneofourplayershasplayedtheirbestyet.”Thiswasnevergoingtobeaneasytie for

the Indians on an indoor court temporarilylaid over an ice hockey rink in the EspooMetro Areena. But it was not expected tohavebeenthateasy for theFinnseither.PrajneshwaswellexpectedtobeatWorld

No419Virtanen in theopening rubber, andawintherewouldhavepiledonsomepres-sure on Ruusuvuori in the secondmatchagainst Ramkumar Ramanathan. But thelower-rankedplayercameupwithanupsetstraight-setswinovertheIndianranked165,setting the tone for theFinnishwin.“We lostmomentum in the firstmatch.

Wewerehopingtogetthefirstoneandtakeit fromthere. itwouldhavebeenadifferentscenario ifwewonthat,but itheldusback,”explained IndiacaptainRohitRajpal.Ramkumar lost 6-4, 7-5 to Ruusuvuori,

making it2-0 to thehostsafter the firstday.The Indians then switched Divij Sharan

with Ramkumar to team up with Rohan

Bopannaforthedoublesmatch.ThelogictogivetheChennai-ladhisfirstDavisCupdou-blesmatchwas his big-serving ability thatcouldworkwell on the slow, low-bouncingcourt.“WeknewRamandIweretherightteam

tochooseforthistie,”saiddoublesWorldNo44RohanBopanna. “Wehadchances and itcouldeasilyhavegoneto threesets.”India will now have to compete in the

World Group 1 Playoffs next year – a losstherewill take theminto the lowerGroup2for thefirst timesincethe formatwas intro-duced in1983.“Weneedtohavealargerpoolofplayers

topickfrom,”Rajpalsaid. “Togoforwardweneedtogobacktothedrawingboard.Evenin

doubles, I was talking to Rohan, at 41, theyoungerguysarenotpushinghim.Weneedto look at the next bunch of guys.We needtohavebetterplayers, better strategies.”The best-of-fivematches format is such

that just having a strong doubles teamwillnotwin the round.“The focus has to be getting the singles

wins,doublesisapartofit,”Bopannaadded.“Ifyou’re notwinning (singles)matches, that’swherewearegoingtobe,unfortunately.”The last time an Indian won a singles

match inDavisCupagainstahigher-rankedplayer was when 164-ranked SomdevDevvarmanbeatthen-No40JiriVeselyoftheCzech Republic in 2015. Now the team is atthe riskof falling intoa lowerdivision.

RohanBopannaandRamkumarRamanathanlost themust-windoublesmatch6-7(2),6-7(2) toHenriKontinenandHarriHeliovaara. Express file

Pakistan willovercome, saysPCB chief Rajaafter NZ pullsout of tourREUTERSISLAMABAD,SEPTEMBER18

NEWZEALAND'Sabruptdecision topull outof its cricket tourof Pakistanhas created "anunfortunate scenario" but the host knowshowtoovercomesuchcrises,thechairmanofthePakistanCricketBoardRamizRajasaidonSaturday. NewZealand abandoned the touronthedayoftheopeningfixtureonFridaycit-ingagovernmentsecurityalert,whileEnglandis also reconsidering itsmen's andwomen'steamvisits toPakistannextmonth.Thetourwasduetostartwiththefirstof

three one-dayers in Rawalpindi but NewZealanddidnot travel to thestadium."It's an unfortunate scenario," Raja,who

tookoverasPakistanCricketBoard(PCB)chair-manonMonday,saidinavideopostedontheboard'sTwitterhandle."Butwe'vefacedsim-ilarsituationsinthepastandhavealwaysover-comethem.We'vetremendousresilience...it'sa setback to staging international cricket inPakistanbutwe'llovercomethiscrisistoo."Several Pakistan players took to Twitter

to vent their anger and frustration at NewZealand's decision. Raja advised them tochannelitintoimprovingtheirperformance."Mymessage to the team is - vent your

angerandfrustrationthroughyourperform-anceonthefield.Ifyoubecomethebestteamin the world, others will queue up here toplayyou inPakistan."

Shock endLocal media reports said New Zealand

wouldreturnhomeonacharteredflightviathe United Arab Emirates (UAE) after theshockendtoitsfirstPakistantourin18years.PCBchief executiveWasimKhanwasnot

immediately available to elaboratewhenReuters contactedhim,while aNewZealandteamspokesmandeclinedtosharetravelplans.TopteamshavelargelyshunnedPakistan

inthewakeofanattackbyIslamistmilitantsontheSri Lanka teambus inLahore in2009that killed six policemen and two civilians,and there are fears New Zealand's decisionto leavewill keep themaway.England is already reconsidering its lim-

ited-overs trip toPakistannextmonthwhileAustralia, which is scheduled to visit inFebruary-Marchnextyear,alsoappearswary.ACricketAustraliaspokespersonsaidthe

organisationwasmonitoring the situationandwould "talkwith the relevant authori-ties once more information becomesknown."ThePCBwasalreadystaringat"financial

lossesinmillions,"theDawnnewspapersaidafterNewZealand'spullout.

Out of depth vs Finland, Indialook for larger pool of players‘Weneed to look at thenext bunchof guys’, says captain Rajpalafter visitors loseDavis CupWorldGroup1 tie to Finland3-1

E●EXPLAINED

Playoffshopesthwarted,fightnowtostay inseconddivision

AFTER THE3-1 defeat to Finland in theWorldGroup1Davis Cup tie, India hasfailed to reach the Finals Playoffs (formerly called theWorldGroup Playoffs)for the first time since 2013. The teamwill nowhave to play another tie,whichwill take place next year, to stay in theGroup1 (the second tier inDavis Cup).TheGroup 1 Playoffswill take place between all the teams like India that losttheGroup1 ties, and the teams thatwon their ties in the lower divisionGroup2. The draws for theGroup 1playoffswill only be established after the last setofmatches, scheduled forNovember, are over.

Sunday September19There'sanoptimisticflavourtotheday'sproceedings.Itmaybeaboutfourmonthsbeforeyourlifereallybeginstotakeoff,whenitdoes,you'llknowit.

Monday September20Nowisnotimetositathomemoping.Getoutandmakethemostofyourattractiveattributes.You'llsoonopenthedoortoanewjoboffer.

Tuesday September21Whatdoyoufancy?Ayearofenergy,passionandcommitment?Inthatcaseyou'vegotit.Thosewithprofessionalambitionswillbemakingachange.

Wednesday September22Ifyou'replanningpersonalactivities,goforanythingsociable.Yourdesireswillchange,andwhatmakessensenowwillbeadifferentpropositioninsixmonths'time,havealittleflexibility.

Thursday September23Thefutureliesinyourhands,butyou'renotcertainwhatexactlytogofor.You'rewaitingforapushfromapartner.Itwouldbebetterifyoutooktheinitiativeyourself.

Friday September24Youmaybedeterminedtopressaheadwithpracticaltasks,butyou'llprobablydecidetoputoffuntilnextweek.Ontheotherhand,ifyoulikechaos,thenyoucandowhateveryoulike.

Saturday September25Keepthebigpictureinmind.Ifyoulaythefoundationsforyourfutureenterprisesfirmly,youcanbeheadedforsuccess.Lifewillbeevenmorefunwhenanoldfriendwalksbackintoyourlife.

If it’s yourBirthday

SUDOKU4599

DifficultyLevel(4s)InstructionsTosolveaSudokupuzzle,everydigitfrom1to9mustappear ineachofthenineverticalcolumns, ineachoftheninehorizontalrowsandineachofthenineboxes.

DifficultyLevel1s=Veryeasy;2s=Easy;3s=Medium;4s=Hard;5s=VeryHard;6s=Genius S

OLU

TIONSUDOKU4598

Givenbelowarefour jumbledwords.Solvethejumblestomakeproperwordsandmovethemtotherespectivesquaresbelow.Selecttheletters intheshadedsquaresandjumblethemtogettheanswerforthegivenquip.Whoiswiseinlove, lovemost,_____.-AlfredLordTennyson(3,5)

SOLUTION:TAUPE,SALAD,SVELTE,PSYCHEAnswer:Whoiswiseinlove,lovemost,sayleast.-AlfredLordTennyson

PTUAE EESVLT

ADLAS CEHPSY

JUMBLEDWORDS

ARIES(Mar21-Apr20)Youmaybecaughtonthehornsofadilemmaasthedayspass,wondering

whethercareerorworldlyambitionsshouldbeyourpriority.Infact,theconflictisonlyskin-deepandcanbeeasilyresolvedifyouapproachtheproblemfromafreshperspective.Ayoungerrelationcanshowyouthewayforward.

TAURUS(Apr21-May21)Colleaguesmaybeirrationalandconditionsatworkcouldbetense.With

Plutoabouttocompleteacomplicatedseriesofplanetaryalignments,agreatdealofunspokenpotentialisintheair,andfrustrationwillresultifyoufailtomakethemostof it.Thatwouldneverdo,sogetonanddoyourbest.

GEMINI(May22-June21)TheMoon'srelationshipwithyoursignhelpscreatethebrightand

balancedconditionsthataresoimportanttoyourgeneralwell-being.If travelisontheagenda,theresultscouldbemorefortunatethanyoueverexpected.And,inlove,lineupapartnerforapleasantsurprise.

CANCER(June22-July23)You'vestruggledthroughthickandthinallbyyourself,butmuchmore

assistanceisnowavailablefromwillinghelpers,sowhynotseekadviceoverthecomingdaysratherthanjustpressingonalone?You'reabouttoreceiveatemporaryrespitefromaperennialproblem.

LEO(July24-Aug23)Yourpersonalrelationshipsarenowataturningpoint.Youareunlikelytonotice

anythingrightnowbut,overthecomingfewweeks,you'llhaveanotherstabatanengagementorassociationwhichfloppedsometimeago.Itwillbeanimmensereliefwhenpersonalplansfinallyworkoutinyourfavour.

VIRGO(Aug24-Sept23)YouremotionalMoonbringsachallengingandpassionateaspecttoyoursignthis

week,placinganundeniableaccentonfrivolityandfriendship,commoditiesthathaveoftenbeeninshortsupplyinthepast.Whynottakeadvantageofamorerelaxedmoodatworktodeferirksometasksuntil later,butnotfortoolong.

LIBRA(Sept24-Oct23)Yourpersonalstarsarestrongerthanusual.Anintimaterelationshipnow

entersanewandfulfillingphase.Butif there'sanypossibilitythatyou'llbeshortofcashoverthenextfewweeks,thisisthetimetostartraisingfunds.You'llreceiveacourteousreceptionandbenefitfromgoodturnsyou'veperformedinthepast.

SCORPIO(Oct24-Nov22)Mars,yoursplendidplanetaryruler, isinahelpfulposition,indicatingthatyou’ll

riseabovethegenerallyirritatingconditionsaroundyou.Youknowthatyou'rerightandthere'slittlepointincompromiseforthesakeof it.However,ifyouwantpartnerstocomeroundtoyourpointofview,youwillhavetoemployyourdiplomaticskills.

SAGITTARIUS(Nov23-Dec22)Dolisten carefullytowhatotherpeoplearesayinganddoing.Youmustsympathise

withtheirmanyvariousandoftendifficultsituations,otherwiseyou'llmisunderstandtheirmotives.Atwork,colleagueswillbackyourideas,sowhynottaketheleadandmakesuretheystillsupportyouwhenthecrunch-timecomes.

CAPRICORN(Dec23-Jan20)Thegeneralcelestialsituationsuitsyourathernicely,andmanypeoplewho

nevergaveyouasecondthoughtwillsoonfindthemselveshavingtobehaveinCapricornianways,orgetnowhere.Obviously,you'llhaveaheadstart,whichiscertainlyagoodthing.However,monetaryambitionsmeanthatyouwillhavetospendmoreinordertoearnmore.

AQUARIUS(Jan21-Feb19)Therecouldbeoneortwohold-upsathome,mainlybecauseofapartner's

opposition.Professionalplansaresailingalongverynicely,althoughrightnowyouprobablyfeelasifyoustillhaveasupremeefforttomake.You'reright,butitwillbeeasierthanyouthink,sodon'tbeputoffbyimaginaryworries.

PISCES(Feb20-Mar20)Something curiousishappening,andyouwouldbewelladvisedtokeepa

carefulcheckonthelegalsituation.Thelastthingyouwantistoberippedoffsomehow,orfindthatothershavetakenyouforgranted.Acashbonusprovidesasmallcomfort.

YOURWEEKAHEADBRIDGE

Southplaysin6NT,apushycontractthatdoeshavesomeplay. Westleadsthetenofhearts. Southhopefullytriesthe jackfromdummy. EasthasthequeensoSouthmustwininhishand.This isanunder-stuffedcontract,Southhavingonly31highcardpointstoworkwith. 6NTisgoingtoneedsomeluck. Specifically,Southneedsbothoftheminorsuitfinessestowork.South goes to dummywith the ten of spades and takes a club finesse. ItwinsbutWestshowsout. Well, I suppose that isbetter thanWest'shav-ingtheking.What isSouth'splan?

NORTH♠ Q73❤KJ763♦ 43♣J42SOUTH♠ KJ9❤AQ♦ AK76♣A983

NORTH♠ AK102❤ KJ♦ 853♣9863

SOUTH♠ QJ3❤A76♦ 853♣9863

WEST NORTH EAST SOUTHPass Pass Pass 2NTPass 3C Pass 3DPass 6NT Pass PassPass

SUNDAY CROSSWORD 2339QUICKCLUESACROSS1. Edict (6)4. Gossips,grapevinesor rumours (8)9. Divides (6)10. Tablesupports (8)12. Eastern(8)13. Canbeserviceablyavailedof (6)15. ____Gokhale : thegreatpatriot?(5,7)

18. Theyarenotskullandbonesbuttheyopenany lock (8,4)

21. EarlyDutchnavigator (6)22. Onewhoabandonsbeliefs (8)24. Distinguishedfighters (8)25. Smallbreedof fowl (6)26. Making funof, ridiculing (8)27. Belgianport (6)DOWN1. Knockover,oustoroverthrowbyforce (8)

2. Steamorgan(8)3. Justnibblingat the food?(6,4,1,4)5. Gainby labour (4)6. Stopsworkingaftersuccessorcompleting thetask(5,2,4,4)

7. Extemporizes (2-4)8. Nun(6)11. Awards (7)14. "O, ispoet"anagramforspeciesofatom?(7)

16. Verbalbanter (8)17. Held inhighregard(8)19. Boiledslowly (6)20. Greedymoney-lender (6)23. Eireor Ireland?(4)

CRYPTICCLUESACROSS1. Theybehave likecatsandmice(6)4. Likeanumbrella, furledorpulledout (6,2)

9. Getback, forexample, in the fall (6)10. "Theanimal requireswater,darling,"yousay(8)

12. Tall fathersmashedupfirst-classaccommodation(8)

13. Grabbedbyboys,warrantofficerfaints (6)

15. Involving theThirdForm?(2,10)18. Not fair -clientcould turnnasty(4,8)

21. Thoughtnothinghadgotwasted(6)

22. The lag instir couldbeanoldnobleman(8)

24. A laymanofold! (8)25. Acquiresomeroadbuildingmaterial first to reachyourgoal (6)

26. Institutionsprovidingoutletsafter

study(8)27. It'savessel, returnedtoastateofequilibrium(6)

DOWN1. Chipsareoutup likeanangel(8)

2. It'sgrand inactual fact!(8)

3. One'sprepared foranoutpouringaftergivingasummons(9,6)

5. Wasunderobligationto loveduringmidweek?(4)

6. Associationtakingpart in thepreviouschainof events (4,4,3,4)

7. Wonder-workingapproached likesundown(4,2)

8. Notonetoencouragecorruption inspeech(6)

11. Depressionsbeginningtovexbowling lanes(7)

14. MotivateBillwithyou inFrancebefore tea-break(7)

16. It strikesonethiscouldsinge impperhaps (8)

17. Shipsnotcompleting firstgearchange

(8)19. Acid toassistblind farmhousevictims(6)

20. Indicate there'llbenorisewhenyoudrawthedole(4,2)

23. Exploitgivingonesoundstanding(4)

QUICKCLUESAcross: 1Advertisement,10Nonce,11Neuralgia,12Offtheair,13Larch,14Moronic,16Ikebana,18Niagara,20Grammar,22Caeca,24Tightened,26Debatable,27Earns,28Ice-creamstall.Down:2Donefor,3Elephanta,4Tinea,5Squirming,6Myall,7Nigeria,8Incommunicado,9Madhyapradesh,15Chartable,17Enactment,19Acerbic,21Mongrel,23Aztec,25Gleam.CRYPTICCLUESAcross:1Appointedtime,10Carat,11Frog-march,12Androgyny,13Sligo,14Essenes,16Tabouli,18Hands-on,20Missing,22Ontop,24Attainder,26Goodturns,27Kiosk,28Trapezeartist.Down:2Parados,3Outgoings,4Nifty,5Ecosystem,6Tomes,7Martinu,8Scrapethrough,9Shooting-brake,15SantaCruz,17Busticket,19Notfour,21Indoors,23Putup,25Tessa.

Solutionsto2338

Southplays in3NTwith the six of spades lead. Aswith all opening leadsyou should spend a second or two figuring outwhat it is. When youplaylow fromdummy, Eastwill play the five so you canwin the trickwith thenine.Whereareyourtrickscomingfrom?TheWestHand: S-A10864H-4D-Q92C-Q1065TheEastHand: S-52 H-109852D-J1085 C-K7Youaregoingtoneedfourhearttricks. Fivewouldbenice, too. Whenyouattackthembyleadingtheaceandqueen,youwillseeWestfollowonceandthen showout. Overtaking the queen is not an option because youneedfour heart tricks, not three. Howdo you get to dummyafterwinning twoheartsinyourhand?Theonlycardthat looks likeanentry is thequeenofspades. Sadly, it onlylooks likeanentry. It isn't reallyanentry. Even ifWesthastheace,hecankeepyoufromgettingtoyourhearttricks. Ifyouleadtheking,heletsyouhaveit. Ifyouleadlow,he jumpsupwiththeaceandputsyourightback inyourhandwiththeking. Is3NTgoingdown?It is going down nowbut South had a chance and should havemade it.RememberIaskedyouaboutthatopeninglead? Ifyouusetheruleofeleven,youwill subtract six from eleven and thatwill tell you that there are fivespadeshigher than the six in the other threehands. Youcan see three ofthese inyourhandandtwoindummy. West ismarkedwithall thespadeshigherthanthesix.Thesolutiontothishandistowinthekingofspadesattrickoneandlaterleadtowardthequeen,whichwillgiveyouthatneededentry.Dealer:West Vulnerable:None

SOUTH WEST NORTH EASTINT Pass 2♣ Pass2S♠ Pass 3♠ Pass4S♠ All Pass

Dealer:South Vulnerable:East/West

22WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHE SUNDAY EXPRESS,SEPTEMBER19,2021 SPORT

REUTERSLONDON, SEPTEMBER 18

MARTIN ODEGAARD scored his first goalonSaturday (Sept18) sincehispermanentswitch toArsenal to further ease the pres-sureonMikelArteta, asSadioManehelpedfire Liverpool to the top of the EnglishPremier League.Defending championsManchester City

dropped two points at home toSouthampton after a 0-0 stalemate, whilestrugglingWolves lost their fourthmatchinfiveagainst10-manBrentford.Arsenalwererockbottomofthetablebe-

fore last week's fixtures but wins againstNorwichandnowBurnleyliftedthemtotherelative comfort of 12th spotbefore the lategamebetweenAstonVillaandEverton.Odegaard,whosignedfromRealMadrid

lastmonthafterspendingpartof lastseasonat the Emirates on loan, broke thedeadlockin the30thminute, curlinghomeafreekicktogive thevisitorsa1-0 leadatTurfMoor.Arsenalbreathedasighofreliefwhenthe

VideoAssistantRefereeoverturnedapenaltyawarded toBurnley in thesecondhalf, afterMatejVydra tumbledtotheturf followingachallenge by new goalkeeper AaronRamsdale.Liverpool forwardMane continued his

eye-catchingrunagainstCrystalPalace,net-ting in his ninth league match in a rowagainst the London side to send JurgenKlopp'smentopof the tablewitha3-0win.MohamedSalah's glancingheader from

KonstantinosTsimikas' cornerwaskeptoutby goalkeeper Vicente Guaita but Manepounced to lash home his 100th goal forLiverpool inall competitions.Salahdoubled theReds' lead in the78th

minute before Naby Keita sealed the winwithasweetly struckvolley.Liverpool, champions in the 2019-2020

seasonwhen theywon a 19th top-flight ti-tle,havemadeanimpressivestarttothesea-son, scoring 12 goals in their opening fivegamesandconceding justonce.

City drop pointsCity will rue their inability to beat

SouthamptonattheEtihadafterconsecutive5-0homewins.It could have beenworse for them after

referee JonMoss pointed to the spotwhenKyleWalkerbundled into thebackof AdamArmstronginthearea,showingtheEnglandinternational a redcard.But the incident was reviewed by VAR

andMoss eventually decided to overturnbothdecisions.The build-up to City'smatchwas domi-

natedbyarowoverattendance levelsat theEtihad,withmanagerPepGuardiolaurgingfans to fill emptyseats in comments that ir-ritatedsomesupporters.But fans were frustrated by battling

Southampton, who kept City's attackers atbaydespite relentlesspressure.The home side thought they had

snatched victory in thedyingminutes aftergoalkeeperAlexMcCarthysavedaPhilFodenheader and Raheem Sterling tucked in thereboundbut the flagwas raised.Watford beat Norwich 3-1 to condemn

the newly promoted Canaries to their fifthconsecutivedefeat.Watfordtooktheleadinthe17thminute

throughEmmanuelDennisbutTeemuPukkiequalised before half time. Ismaila Sarr putthevisitorsback in front in the63rdminuteandscoredagainwith10minutes togo.In the early kick-off, IvanToney scored a

goal and created another as 10-manBrentfordbeatWolves2-0tomaintaintheirimpressivestarttotheirfirstPremierLeaguecampaign.The 25-year-old striker won and con-

verted a penalty before setting up BryanMbeumoas theBeesprevailedatMolineuxdespite Shandon Baptiste's red card in thesecondhalf.TottenhamhostChelseaonSundaywhile

CristianoRonaldo'sManchesterUnitedtraveltoWestHam.

Ton up for Mane in 3-0 win;City held by Southampton

TenofSadioMane’s100goalsforLiverpoolhavecomeagainstCrystalPalace,hismostagainstasingleopponentfortheReds.Reuters

LIVERPOOL 3-0 CRYSTALPALACEMane43’

Salah78’

Keita89’

MANCITY 0-0 SOUTHAMPTONBURNLEY 0-1 ARSENAL

Oedegaard30’

New Delhi

VolXXNo.27Regd.No.DL-21046/03-05 R.N.I.No.506/57. PrintedandPublishedbyR.C.Malhotraonbehalf of The IndianExpress (P) LimitedandPrintedatThe IndianExpress (P) LimitedPress,A-8, Sector-7,Noida -201301andDBCorpLtd,DainikBhaskarVillageUnanTola,NearDanapurCantt, ShivylyaRoad,PostKhagaul, Shahpur, Patna (Bihar) andPublishedatThe IndianExpress (P) Limited,MezzanineFloor, ExpressBuilding,9&10,BahadurShahZafarMarg,NewDelhi110002.Editorial office:The IndianExpress (P) Limited,MezzanineFloor,ExpressBuilding,9&10,BahadurShahZafarMarg,NewDelhi-110002.Phone:0120-6651500.Advertisingoffice:The IndianExpress (P) Limited,B1/B, Sector-10,Noida-201301.Phone:01206651291.Chairmanof theBoard:ViveckGoenka,Chief Editor:RajKamal Jha,Editor:UnniRajenShanker, Editor (Delhi):RakeshSinha** **Responsible for selectionofNewsunder thePRBAct.Copyright:The IndianExpress (P) Limited.All rights reserved.Reproduction inanymanner, electronicorotherwise, inwholeor inpart,withoutpriorwrittenpermission ispro-

hibited.The IndianExpress®

HussamuddinentersboxingnationalquarterfinalsBellary: Commonwealth Gamesbronze medallist MohammadHussamuddin (57kg) stormed intothequarterfinalswitha5-0winoverChhattisgarh's Sahil at the NationalBoxing Championships here onSaturday.Defending championHussamuddin, who is representingServicesSportsControlBoard(SSCB),displayed smart andmature boxingand landedplenty of punches to se-cure a unanimous 5-0 win. He willfaceRushikeshGoudofMaharashtraon Sunday.In the other round of 16match in the 57kg category,Haryana's Sachin was up againstManipur's Jobison Yengkokpam.WorldyouthchampionSachin,whocausedahugeupsetonFridaybyde-featingworldchampionshipmedal-listGauravBidhuri,made lightworkofhisopponentandwon5-0tobookhis spot in the quarters. In 54kg,Goa's Roshan Zamir produced adominant show in the last round tooutwitSurajBhanSinghofRajasthan3-2 inoneof the closest boutsof theday. PTI

Bains,AishwaryaclaimdoublecrownsatAthleticsnationalsWarangal: Punjab's Harmilan KaurBains completedadouble inwomen'smiddle-distance,winningthe800mtoadd to her 1500m gold in the 60thNationalOpenAthleticsChampionshipshereonSaturday.Railways'BAishwaryaalsoclaimedahorizontaljumpsdoublebywinningthetriplejumplessthan24hours after claiming the long jumpti-tle.Toher credit, shewonbotheventswith thebest efforts of theyearbyanIndianwomanjumper.Aishwarya,whowonthelongjumpwithaleapof6.52m,edgedoutRenuGrewalofHaryanaby4cmtodoubleher joy.Bains, 23, drewonher stamina and speed to showacleanpairofheels toDelhi runnerKMChanda for the fourth successive timethis year. ThePunjabathletehadwonthe800-1500double in theNationalInter-StateChampionshipsinPatialainJuneandthoughChandaemployeddif-ferent tactics here, thePunjab runnerwasreadyandemergedontop. PTI

RaninderSinghre-electedNRAIprezforfourthtimeMohali: Seasoned administratorRaninderSinghwasonSaturday re-elected as the president of theNational Rifle Association of India(NRAI) foranunprecedented fourthterm after he beat BSP MP ShyamSingh Yadav 56-3 in the electionshere.Kanwar Sultan Singh waselected unopposed as the secretarygeneral of the national shootingbody,whileRandeepMannhasbeenmade the treasurer. Odisha MPKalikesh Narayan Singh Deo willcontinue to be the federation's sen-ior vice-president besides the eightvice-presidents. The general bodyelection of the NRAI had represen-tation from 59 of its members, outof whom 56 voted in favour ofRaninder,while3voteswerecast infavour of his opponent Yadav, whois thepresidentof theUttarPradeshState Rifle Association. PTI

BRIEFLY

MIHIRVASAVDAMUMBAI,SEPTEMBER18

IN2013, after the sport narrowlydodgedanOlympic-sized snub, a desperateInternationalHockeyFederation(FIH)turnedto India forhelp–andtohelp.Eight years later, both are smiling – for

India, the performances of themen’s andwomen’steamsattheTokyoOlympicscouldbethespringboardforfuturesuccess;fortheFIH,itcouldbeaturningpointfinancially.Andhockey,whichalmost gotdropped fromtheTokyoOlympics,maywell have secured itsspot in futureGames.“There is farmore attention on hockey

now in India. And that is good for interna-tional hockey, good for the FIH,” theworldbody’schief executiveThierryWeil says.In2013,themoodwasn’tsooptimistic.In

February that year, six months after theLondon Games, the International OlympicCommittee(IOC)reviewedall26sportsonits

programme based on 39 criteria includingpopularity, TV ratings and ticket sales. Thepurposewas to remove the sports that per-formedworstonthesecountsfromtheTokyoOlympics. Hockey just about survived thatcut.Inaninstant, thenFIHpresidentLeandro

Negre looked to India. “India is very impor-tant in keepingworld hockey alive,” Negrehadsaidadayafter the IOCvote.ButIndianhockeywasslippingintoobliv-

ion – themen’s teamhad finished 12th outof 12 teams in London, and couldn’t evenmake the cut for somemarquee competi-tions.The cash-strapped FIH and a struggling

India entered intowhatwas seen as amar-riageofconvenience.Smellingthecommer-cial potential, the FIH tooka step that is rareinany international sport:organiseonema-jortournamentinonecountryeachyear.Notjust that, ruleswere tweaked in some casestoaccommodate India in important tourna-ments.

Thisway, India got a chance toplaywiththeworld’s best teamseveryyear. The teamimprovedyearonyear,wonthejuniormen’sWorld Cup in 2016 and some of the playersfrom that team became the heroes of thebronze-medalwinningside inTokyo.

In the boardroomAs India’s performance improved, sodid

its influenceontheadministrativeandcom-mercialsides.Today,halfofFIH’ssponsorsareIndian companies and its president is alsofrom India – Narinder Batra. But still, inJanuarythisyear,itwasreportedthattheFIHmadea lossof $715,000in2019.Weil hopes the performances of Indian

teamswillhelp them“signoneor twocom-mercialcontracts.”“(With) the increase of attractiveness of

hockeyin India, Iamsurewewillhavemoretalkswithcompaniesforsponsorship,”Weil,a formerFIFAmarketingdirector, says.“Theperformanceof the Indian team(in

Tokyo)meansmore peoplewill play,whichworkswellforus.AlotofTVratingstoo.Thatshowsthepotentialofhockeyandwecanat-tractmore internationalbrands,”Weiladds.TVratingswillbecomecrucialwhenare-

view for the Tokyo Olympics is conductedgiventhatalleventswereheldwithoutspec-tatorsduetoCovid-19protocols.Atthe2016Rio Olympics, most hockeymatcheswereplayedinhalf-emptystadiums.ButinTokyo,

it seemstohavegarneredagoodaudience.“The TV ratingswould be high in India. I

amsureourratingsaremuchbetterthanpre-viousOlympics.Maybeattheendoftheyear,wewill be able tomake comparisons (withpreviouseditions),”Weil says.

Cash cowIn Europe,more eyeballs haven’t led to

more revenuegeneration,whichmeans theFIH keeps coming back to India with big-ticketevents. Indiahashostedtwooutof thelastthreemen’sWorldCupsandwillconductFIH’s flagshiptournament in2023aswell.Weil says theywant to be ‘careful’ they

don’t come to India with ‘everything’ and‘peopledonottakeinterestanymore’.Instead,he says the FIHnowhopes to raise the stan-dardof teamslike‘SouthKorea, Japan,SouthAfrica and others’ through its new tourna-ment, theNationsCup.“Inthe lastcoupleof years, therewastoo

muchmonopolyinthehigh(ranked)teams.Itwillbegoodforhockeyifwestart tomix it

up and get teams like Japan, South Africa,South Korea and others to compete forpodiumplacesattheOlympicslikeIndiahas,”Weil says.There had been speculation that the FIH

and IOC were keen to make five-a-sidehockeyanOlympic sport. Butwith abronzemedal and a fourth-place finish, it is hopedthat the IOC, which is trying to court theIndianmarket,willkeepthe11-a-sideformatintact,giventhecurrentinterest levels inthecountry.“The popularity of hockey has increased

withthis.IthinkthatFIHisreallyhappyaboutwhat happened, because I don’t thinkwehave toworry about our Olympic status forthe following years,” former Indiawomen’steamcoachSjoerdMarijnehadsaidduringarecent IndianExpress IdeaExchange.It’salmostlikethesporthascomefullcir-

cle since 2013. AndWeil, too, does not playdownthesignificanceofIndia’sperformancevis-à-vis the health of world hockey. “If it’sgoodfor India, it’sgoodfor theFIH.”

Tokyo Olympics vindicates FIH's special treatment of Indian hockeyWIN-WIN SITUATION

SANDIPGSEPTEMBER18

THERESTART of the Indian Premier League(IPL)doesn’tfeellikearestartatall.Itdoesnotfeel like the second half of a tournament oftwo(forced)halves.But likeadifferenttour-namentaltogether,anun-hypedsequel,are-latedbutdifferentproductaltogether,with-out the narrative arcs of catharsis andescapismthathadprefacedtheprequel.The first part is a hazymemory,made to

lookmore distant by the intervening sport-filled fivemonths. In this span, India lost theone-offWorldTestChampionshipfinal,resetand prevailed in a nail-biting Test series inEngland, and if you veer away from cricket,claspedtheirfirst-everOlympicgoldmedalinathletics. The time-lapse of 144 days lookslonger thanit is.Apart from the points table and stats

boardthatserveasremindersofthepast,it’s,practically and fundamentally, a fresh tour-nament.Thevenuesaredifferent,someoftheteamsweardifferent looks, all of themhaveto start anew, reacquaint themselves to themood and tempo of themost challengingfranchise-T20tournament.Some players are flying straight after

gruelling Test matches, some from TheHundred tournament inEngland, andoth-ers from hibernation. And before they getwarmed up to IPL-2021, Version 2.0, it’snearly over — 30 games are break-neckedinto 27 days.What has not changed is the lens

through which IPL has been viewed. Thelens of the World Cup. What they wouldsee, or want to see through the glasses,though would be different. Back in thesummer, itwas anauditionof sorts for theWorld Cup. Teams and strategies weresemi-formed, there were spots up forgrabs, a wider pool of players to bewatched, assessed and analysed. It was aplatform for a new star to burst forth, anavenue forout-of-formveterans to restoretheir touch, and needless to say, acquiresome familiarity with the conditions

(though India inMayandOctobercouldbevastly dissimilar).IntheApril-Mayinstalment,theEngland

andWales Cricket Board (ECB) had encour-agedmost of its T20 regulars to compete intheIPL,evenif itmeantmissingoutongamesagainst the touring New Zealanders, or achunk of the series in India before that, be-cause of the looming T20World Cup. Everyteamwantedevery IPL-contractedplayeroftheirs tobe in India.

Changed circumstancesFivemonthson,withallteamshavingfil-

tered their squad, the IPL assumes the pur-pose of a dress rehearsal, or an extended,competitivewarm-up. Like an ATP tourna-mentbefore theGrandSlams,orapitstoptocheckthefuelandgearof aracecar.Players going to theWorld Cupwould

look to adapt asmuch as they could to theconditions, gather local expertiseof pitches,climate and conditions, see how fine-tunedthey are, gaugewhatwouldwork andwhatmight not, what lengths or what strokescouldreapthemaximumrewards,andstudysome of their prospective adversaries.Familiarisingwithvenueswhere theycouldplayabulkof theirmatchescouldgiveplay-ersandteamsadiscernibleedgeintheWorldCup.It helps that teams play at least a couple

ofgamesateveryvenue,soineffectwhentheWorld Cup arrivesmost of the playerswillhave experiencedplaying onmost surfaces.Though pitches for a particular game couldbedifferent,thedifferencewouldnotbeenor-mous.Sharjahhastheflattestpitchandshort-est boundaries, not coincidentally themosthigh-scoringvenueof all.Hence, batsmen here would fancy the

aerial routemorethanatothers.AbuDhabitends toget sluggish towards theback-endof tournamentsandhas the largestgrounddimensions. It’s where spinnerswould bethe most dangerous, while fast bowlerswould have a bit of a breeze toworkwith.Dubai is the slipperiest and bounciest ofthe surfaces in the Emirates, the grounds-men leave a bit of grass, which has facili-

tatedmovementwith thenewball.Hence,fast bowlers have (relatively) enjoyedbowlingonthisgroundthantheother two.The possibility of gaining first-hand

knowledgepleasesSouthAfricacoachMarkBoucher.“They'llbepickingupbitsof information

aboutplayinginthoseconditionsthatwillre-allygetthemreadyforabigtournamentandiftheymanagethemselveswellandgetsomegood time in the nets and get used to facili-ties, itwillstandusingoodstead,”hesaidre-cently.Some believe it would level out the

playing field too, more so as the Emirateshad hosted the league earlier too. So feelsAustralia all-rounder Glenn Maxwell:“Probably makes it a little bit easier forthere not to be asmuch of a home groundadvantage. For the IPL to be there, to havea lot of international players that are po-tentiallygoingtobe in thatWorldCupover

thereplaying, I think it’s probably levelledthe playing field a fair bit.”

Indian edgeBut even in the perceived absence of

homeadvantage,Indiaseemperceptiblyad-vantaged. First, all of their squadplayers areexpected to start everymatch. It cannot besaidofothers,someofwhomeveniftheyareundroppablefortheircountry,aredispensa-ble for their franchise, and often lose out inthe juggleofoverseasplayers.Forinstance,SunrisersHyderabad’sJason

Holder, or Delhi Capitals’ ShimronHetmyerandSteveSmith.Moreover,therolesofIndia’spersonnel for thefranchisesaremoreor lessthesameastheyareforthecountry.KLRahulandRohitSharmaareopenersfortheircoun-try and club, Jasprit Bumrah is the death-bowler for both India andMumbai Indians.HardikPandyawouldstrideoutforlate-overblitzes,RavindraJadejawouldapplythemid-dle-over choke. Their acts for the countrywouldbeanextensionoftheirfranchiserole.It might be the case formany overseas

players—someoftheirrolesvary.Forexam-ple,DelhiCapitalswouldexpectSmith tobemoreexplosivethanhecouldbeforAustralia,forwhomheisthestabiliser(byT20metrics)around whom bigger hitters like DavidWarnerandGlennMaxwell thunder.HolderopensthebowlingforWestIndies,

searchingforearlywickets,whileforSunrisers,hedeliversthestockbowleract.Role-acquain-tanceinthisformat,forathletesofthehighestpedigree,isoftenoverstated,butthepowerofsubtlefactorscan’tbeunderstatedeither.Yet,most national coaches and players

wouldbedelightedatthisprospectofwatch-ingtheirplayerslockedinacompetitivetour-nament just ahead of theWorld Cupon thesamesetofgrounds.Bythetimetheyassem-ble for theWorldCuptilt, theyalreadyhaveacore inthegroove,awareandacclimatisedtotheconditions,match-fitandmatch-ready.Burningouttoosoonisnotafeareither,as

six-sevengameswouldnotleavemuchemo-tionalorphysicaltollonthem,evenforthefastbowlers. Itcould, thus,pavethepathtowardsanopen,intenseandhigh-qualityWorldCup.

Appetiser before main courseIPL-2021Version2assumesthegarbofadressrehearsalbeforeT20WorldCup

TUSHARBHADURISEPTEMBER18

ASTHEIndianPremierLeagueresumesafteralonghiatus,teamswillgenerallylooktogobywhatworked (andwhat didn’t) before thebreak.Butthetaskisnotsosimplefortheteammanagement.Theywillhavetotakeintocon-siderationvariousotherfactorsaswellsuchas1)whoisfitandavailable;2)whatisthequar-antinesituationofvariousplayers;and3)whohas played enough cricket of late to not berusty.AlookattheXIsChennaiSuperKingsand

MumbaiIndiansmayfieldinDubaionSunday:

Chennai SuperKingsFafduPlessis’groininjuryopensupaspot

to partner Ruturaj Gaikwad. RobinUthappausedtoopenforKolkataKnightRidersbuthasnotplayed forhisnewfranchise.Hecouldbepressedintoserviceatthetop.Theonlycatchis thatUthappahasnotplayedany competi-tivecricketformorethansixmonths.In that case, the CSK think tankmayuse

MoeenAliatthetoptousealeft-rightcombi-nationastheEnglandall-rounderismorethanusefulasanoff-spinneraswell.Ambati RayuduandSureshRaina canbe

expectedtoscorerunsatafairclip,butneitherhasplayedsinceMay.Buttheirexperiencewillbe valuable. Is there room for CheteshwarPujaraatNo.3tolendtheline-upsomesolid-ity?RavindraJadejaandShardulThakurcome

inasgenuineall-rounderswhile skipperMSDhonicouldbeafloatingoptioninthebattingorder.Theremaybe some freshness in theUAE

pitchesatthestartofthetournament.DeepakChahar and JoshHazlewood canbe ausefulnew-ball pairwith leg-spinner Imran Tahircompletingtheline-up.NOTABLEOMISSIONS:Dwayne Bravo

didn’tbowltowardstheendof theCaribbeanPremier Leaguedue toagroin injury, andhisbatting isnotwhat itusedtobe forhimtobeselectedon its basis alone. AndHazlewood’sbetterpedigreemaykeepoutLungiNgidifromtheXI.

Mumbai IndiansThe defending champions have fewer

selection conundrums. Rohit Sharma andQuintondeKockopenthebattingaheadofapowerful sequencewhich features IshanKishan, Suryakumar Yadav, Pandya broth-ersHardik andKrunal, followedbyKieronPollard.CSKarelikelytohaveseveral left-handers

in their line-up–Moeen, Raina, Jadeja in themiddleorder–sotheremaybeatemptationtoplayoff-spinnerJayantYadav.ButleggieRahulChahar hasmore thanheld his ownagainstleft-handers in the past and shownenoughskillandheartfortheteammanagementtogoforthemoreattackingoption.Thatleavesthreepacementocompletethe

line-up. JaspritBumrahandTrentBoultwalkinto the line-upwhile AdamMilnemay bedrafted in to share the newballwith fellowKiwi Boult and allow the skipper to keepBumrah’sovers for later in the inningsandatthedeath.

Quarantine, fitnessfactors in teamselection for CSKvs MI clash

Mumbai IndiansskipperRohitSharmaandCSKCaptainMSDhonichatduringthepreviousmeetingbetweenbothteamsinthe IPL. IPLT20.com/BCCI

23 SPORTPELE IN 'STABLE'CONDITIONBrazil football legend Pele, 80, is in a "stable" condition after "respiratory insta-bility" early on Friday led to him being admitted to an intensive care unit, SaoPaulo's Albert Einstein hospital said in a statement. Concerns grew aboutPele's health on Friday after local media reported that he had returned to anICU that he had only just left earlier this week REUTERS

THESUNDAYEXPRESS,SEPTEMBER19,2021

HOWTHEYSTANDM W L NRR Pts

DC 8 6 2 +0.547 12CSK 7 5 2 +1.263 10RCB 7 5 2 -0.171 10MI 7 4 3 +0.062 8RR 7 3 4 -0.190 6PBKS 8 3 5 -0.368 6KKR 7 2 5 -0.494 4SRH 7 1 6 -0.623 2

CSKare likely tohaveseveralleft-handers intheir line-up–Moeen,Raina, Jadeja inthemiddleorder–sotheremaybeatemptationtoplayoff-spinnerJayantYadav.But leggieRahulChaharhasmorethanheldhisownagainst left-handers inthepast

NUMBERPLATEIneight innings,ShikharDhawanhasscoredthemostnumberof runs inthe IPL2021season.

380

HarshalPatelhasthemostnumberofwicketsintheongoingIPL,havingtakenhisscalpsinsevenmatches.

17

FIHchief executiveThierryWeil.

New Delhi

WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COMTHE SUNDAY EXPRESS,SEPTEMBER19,202124

New Delhi